The musician, currently touring behind his latest album Boarding House Reach, has been anti-recording devices at live events for years. In a recent interview with the Toronto Sun in March, White defended his ban  pointing out how no one uses their cellphones at movies, church, or the symphony.
Director James Gunn arrives at the European Gala screening of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" in London on April 24, 2017. As of July 23, 2018, more than 240,000 people have signed a petition for Disney to rehire Gunn, who has been fired from the third film in the franchise axed over a series of offensive tweets. (Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP/Getty Images)
To determine how accurately cultural factors predicted a person's race, education or income tier, the duo tested their algorithms on subsets of the data that the programs had never seen. To keep it fair, they omitted variables that would have been a dead giveaway - if they were predicting whether someone was liberal or conservative, for example, they wouldn't allow the algorithms to consider the answer to "Which political party do you support?"
"There's no doubt in my mind if we had not done OIT it would have been a traumatic first year of school," Kroboth said. "We eat out, we fly, we've been on vacation, and these are all things we did not do in the beginning and we now do without fear. It's life changing."
Nearly half of adults are married, while a quarter have never been hitched, according to a 2018 Pew Research Center report. A 2014 Pew survey found that while 53 percent of never-married adults said theyd like to marry, this number is down from 2010, when 61 percent said theyd like to tie the knot. And 32 percent said in the same study that they arent sure if they want to get married, while 13 percent said they dont want to get hitched.
Richter says travel professionals are also expert at making the most of your travel budget, whatever that budget might be. Typically travelers look to save money on hotels, "but what about dining and excursions and other activities that add up?" Richter said. "What if you could save big in those areas with free breakfasts or better rates on tours that come with the perks of booking with an agent? That impacts the overall budget and maybe brings the cost of the hotel into perspective. Maybe you find a cheap hotel but your travel agent says you'll end up spending most your time in a taxi because the hotel is 30 miles away from anything you want to see or do."
The towers signature south wall has a strong sense of animation, and not just because of the rhythms created by the vivid contrast between its angled windows (which sheathe living spaces) and flat walls (which clad bedrooms). The angled walls, made of glass and aluminum, reflect the green of the park as well as the motion of cars and pedestrians. The zinc that covers the buildings concrete structure appears light or dark gray, depending on whether the structure is flat or its angled. The proportions  a two-story module at the base expands to three stories at the top  make what could have a mere slab seem appealingly vertical.
In response to questions about why the Tollway would need a multimillion-dollar public relations contract when it already has an 11-member internal communications team that costs about $1.6 million a year, Tollway officials said additional communications work is needed to reach out to hundreds of homeowners who will be affected by the planned expansion of I-294.
On Tuesday morning, members of the departments marine unit headed back out to the location where Jon Santarelli, 53, of Lincoln Park was last seen after he lost his balance and fell into the water about 4 miles east of Navy Pier, police officials said. But in the afternoon, the search ended for the day without a sign of Santarelli.
At an unrelated event Tuesday, Garcia praised Munoz, saying he carved himself out a legacy as it relates to being the voice of the people of his community, delivering on important improvements and changes in the community during his tenure, and being a respected member of the Chicago City Council over a 25-year period.
The issue came up at a Cook County budget hearing Tuesday after the Tribune reported the case on its website Monday, as Commissioner Stanley Moore drew a parallel to controversy involving the Forest Preserves this summer. In June, a county worker was involved in a fatal accident while driving four individuals who were carrying out community service work through the Cook County court system. Then, in July, a video went viral of a man confronting a Puerto Rican woman at a park, spawning hate crime charges and national headlines in part because a Forest Preserves officer appeared to ignore the womans request for help.
If we change the valuation model on Day One, it still takes a period of years for it to be rolled out to the county and then see how our estimates are doing vs. actual transactions, Kaegi said. We do expect to be doing better, but it will take time for it to be visible.
The City Council outlawed homing pigeons in residential areas in 2004 after people living near residents who kept the birds complained about getting splattered when they tried to hang out laundry or sunbathe. At the time, pigeon supporters said their pets are unfairly derided as rats with wings.
In her column, she said her husband was living the American dream, only to be brought down by the Obama-era Justice Department and FBI. She cites people Trump has criticized, including special counsel Robert Mueller, who was FBI director when Rod Blagojevich was arrested, and former FBI Director James Comey. Trump fired Comey, who was friends with Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. attorney who prosecuted the former governor.
McFarland was separately charged in June with scamming at least 15 people out of $100,000, including some who'd been duped by the Fyre Festival. He claimed to have tickets to high-profile events like the Super Bowl but failed to deliver them, prosecutors said. He pleaded not guilty to the new charges.
This undated surveillance photo provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows people illegally crossing the U.S. border from Canada near Derby Line, Vt. Though attention is focused on illegal immigration into the United States from Mexico, officials and documents say there has been a quiet increase in the number of people apprehended entering illegally on the northern border between Quebec and Vermont. (AP)
The apparent dismantlement of the rail-mounted transfer structure on the Sohae launchpad in North Korea is shown in this July 22 image. (Courtesy of Airbus Defense and 38 North)
As for so many of us, journalism seemed like a chance for McDougal to make an honest, fully clothed living. But according to McDougal, Trump supporter David Pecker, who runs the company that publishes the Enquirer, killed her story. He wouldn't let her take it elsewhere, she maintains, but he did promise her a bogus fitness-writing deal that never came to pass.
Willie Wilson handed out more than $200,000 in checks from the Dr. Willie Wilson Foundation, his private charity, and thousands of dollars in cash. Video of the event shows Wilson holding a wad of bills and pressing cash into the palms of churchgoers as they filed past. Gov. Bruce Rauner, who also attended Sundays event, had donated $100,000 to Wilson's foundation. Rauner said Monday he was not aware Wilson distributed cash and called it "outrageous" for a candidate for office to do so.
Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, also promised to reform the Tollway. Then he used construction projects to pump at least one contractor for campaign contributions. His 2009 indictment included charges that he attempted to extort a highway contractor and pressured him to raise $500,000. And then Blagojevichs chief fundraiser, Tony Rezko, managed to benefit from oasis contracts. Some reform, all right.
First, announce that the information released says the exact opposite of what it really says. No, Mr. President, this information proves you and U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes were lying about the evidence, not that you were accurate, and certainly not exonerated.
This week 100- to 110-degree readings will occur in western and central Texas, while Phoenix, Las Vegas and southern California will experience 100- to 115-degree temperatures  Death Valley even has 120- to 125-degree readings forecast. The East Coast all the way from northern Florida through the Carolinas into Pennsylvania and New York have experienced extensive rainfall the past few days with heavy rains and widespread flooding expected in the days ahead.
Television station WLS reports the Cook County medical examiner's office found that 51-year-old emergency medical technician James Wesley also had significant cardiac disease at the time of the March 31 crash in Bellwood. The autopsy couldn't determine whether a heart attack or cocaine intoxication led to the crash.
Candace Parker not only lived up to the winning standard set by Michael Jordan and the 1990s Bulls teams she idolized growing up  she reminded Chicagoans that standard is alive and well as long as she plays for the WNBA champion Sky.
Were being supported not only by every community around us, but from across the state, Helmer said. I think its important to remember that this was a big fire, but no one was seriously injured and we are not going to any funerals. Now, were faced with cleaning up and helping the people as much as we can.
The visit also included research on findagrave.com, which eventually led us to the memorial site of my first college boyfriend, who was such a colorful character I somehow knew he would not live to be an old man. Sure enough, he died at 46, although we never did find out why. But the cemetery sexton, who held a warehouse of fascinating stories from the grave(yard)  his own parents were killed in a house fire  promised when the family returned to visit, he would let them know an old girlfriend had stopped by to remember with fondness their brother who had died far too soon.
But it was a Pilsner style brew that took home the top prize at the event, an award that comes with a tap handle devoted to the brew at the restaurant in Flossmoor for up to the next two months.
It can be difficult to assign a monetary figure to the value of some donations. A new fire engine today could cost as much as $700,000. But a 20-year-old engine in good working order might fetch as little as $3,000 on the used-fire-engine market.
With the work going on at the toll road, Phillips said it became feasible to dig a water main tunnel under the roadway that would connect Deerfields water supply with Northbrooks. In the event one of the communities is unable to use its own source of water, it can draw from the other.
Donations to the Stuff the Bus campaign can be made from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the 1410 S. Randall Road store. Items collected will be given to district students in need of supplies this fall.
Hopp, 67, refused to allow officers to speak to his mother and told them they were trespassing, police reports said. The officers could see Hopp from a patio door and observed as he blocked his mother from answering the door and bumped into the walker she was using for mobility, reports said.
The village received a $200,000 grant from Cook County and is also using motor fuel tax funds to support the project. The Triggi bid was the lowest of the four received, Lucas said. He said the plan is to have the work begin in August, with completion around the middle of September.
It was the consensus opinion that because this is for an eight-month period and since there is a fairly steep learning curve when a new commissioner comes on the board, we decided Bob would be the best choice for this time, Brooks said. He comes with experience so all we would need to do is get him up to speed with his current issues and projects.
At an event dubbed Meet the Machines, for two-and-a-half hours children and adults arrived at Wyman Green, just outside of Village Hall, to get a close up look at and, in some cases, climb aboard the firetrucks, ambulances, cherry pickers, tractors, end loaders and sewer cameras that are part of the fleet of the village and the Glencoe Park District.
The Costco Wholesale gas station, 2930 Patriot Boulevard, currently has six double-sided fuel islands, or 12 fueling stations, according to a staff report. The company would like to to install five more double-sided fuel islands to bring the total to 22 fueling positions, according to the report.
We hope the mural will attract attention while it is being created, opening up an appreciation for the work that goes into the arts, and once it is finished, we hope it will instill a sense of wonder and pride in our residents, leading to a desire and a demand for more such projects to give a distinction to our village, Lee said.
Ive been on the phone with numbers of colleagues down there, and they believe we are very close to coming over that 50 percentile and getting it on the agenda, Strang said.
Today is truly what happens when we come together in a bipartisan manner. If you look at the sponsors of this bill, both the House and Senate, theyre Democrats and yet, this passed out with every Republican vote possible, Wehrli said.
Here at Acacia, we just really hope that it brings joy to the community, Sherman-Sporrong said. Being just feet away from the middle school, we hope that as kids are walking back and forth to school every day that they can find books in there that they would enjoy to read and that parents can find community here.
It kind of went [by] with very little fanfare, resident Elizabeth Ratner said. I think this is great that one of the visions we all share is to bring alignment between the [school] districts with regards to many of these issues of equity, the first being gender equity. I want to applaud the board for making this change.
According to police, Warner forced his way into the apartment while armed with a handgun, and he was shot and wounded by a woman after a verbal and physical altercation between the two. Warner and the woman knew each other, authorities said.
Olivia Northcutt and Mackinsey Hamilton, who will be first-graders at Roosevelt School next month, met Monday with Police Chief Frank Kaminski at the Park Ridge Police Station, where they dug into a large pizza and talked a bit about a book they enjoyed reading this summer. For Mackinsey it was Mrs. Dole is Out of Control, by Dan Gutman, and for Olivia it was the Amelia Bedelia series.
I think the board was convinced by the public to go this far, but I dont think theres any desire to pursue it with an unwilling seller, she said. Were not going to pay more for it. We dont have that kind of money.
Tuskegee Airman Oscar Lawton Wilkerson, of Chicago, marveled at his surroundings as he talked about his service. Wilkerson, 92, trained as a B-25 pilot but never saw combat as the war ended shortly after he completed his training.
Seniors are always looking for something fun to do, and this (event) is really nice, said Kay Muneta of Hammond, as she and her friend Violet Caruso of Munster relaxed on the second-floor patio before the rain began. This shows the City of Hammond cares about the seniors and wants them to have their own day  with their own music  during the festival.
"I find it kind of disingenuous that those reports were being compiled, and the legislative branch of government knew nothing about them and we fund their budget," said Democratic Rep. Greg Porter, a member of the State Budget Committee. "That's a lot of money for some reports that yielded no return."
The best Latin category comes a year after MTV didn't nominate "Despacito," last year's biggest hit by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, for any of its main awards. It caused an outcry and even led actor John Leguizamo to write an editorial for Billboard about Latinos being underrepresented in not just music, but film and TV.
A declaration from English teachers has called for forming a consistent English language teaching system in China that stretches from elementary school to college, further promoting graded English reading programs, and utilizing online resources.

The declaration on improving English language education in China was issued Sunday at the closing ceremony of the 2018 TESOL International Association China Assembly, held in Shanghai.

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages International Association, commonly known as TESOL International Association, is an organization based in the United States aiming to advance the quality of English language teaching.

According to the declaration, English speakers with sufficient professional knowledge and global outlooks are in high demand in the process of improving China's ability to participate in global affairs, further promoting the Belt and Road Initiative, and building a community with a shared future for humanity.

The declaration made an eight-point commitment to improve English language education in China, emphasizing coordinated progress in language skills, cultural understanding, and ethical standards of English learners.

While learning English, students should be guided to think in cross-cultural terms and establish the consciousness of the community with a shared future for humanity, so as to be the torchbearers in introducing Chinese culture and telling Chinese stories to the rest of the world, the declaration said.

The declaration also stressed the need to train professional English teachers and form a better environment for them to develop, as well as increase support for English language education in underdeveloped areas.

Themed "English Education in China: Striding into a New Era," the three-day event attracted over 1,800 practitioners and specialists in the field of English language education.

The next TESOL China Assembly is scheduled to be held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province next year in July.
Qi Baishi's works are on display at the Palace Museum, in a rare show of a modern Chinese artist at the venue, Wang Kaihao reports.

While Qi Baishi (1864-1957) is a household name in China, an exhibition of his paintings was last held at the Palace Museum in Beijing, or the Forbidden City, 64 years ago.

The museum, which was the seat of the royal court in imperial China from 1420 to 1911, is hosting Prosperity in Tranquility: The Art of Qi Baishi, a show on the modern artist, with some 200 of his paintings and seals exhibited at the Meridian Gate Gallery since last week. The exhibits are both from the museum's own collection and that of the Beijing Fine Art Academy.

For the general public, Qi's best-known works are his paintings of shrimps, due to the many legends on how he created them. As a result, many of his paintings of shrimps, crabs and fish are on display at the ongoing exhibition.

In 1960, Baby Tadpoles Look for Their Mother, China's first ink-and-water animation film that was inspired by Qi's other paintings, won praise abroad.

"In his early years, Qi drew shrimps to mostly learn from ancient painters," Xue Liang, a researcher with the Beijing Fine Art Academy, says. "But he later developed a personal style by using shades of dark ink to reflect the texture of a shrimp's body, giving its antennas an almost real-life feel."

Nevertheless, Qi's works went beyond aquatic life.

"Qi Baishi is the representative artist of Chinese art in the 20th century," says Wu Hongliang, deputy director of the Beijing Fine Art Academy.
The 2018 Symposium on China Studies opens in Beijing, July 23, 2018. [Photo provided to Chinaculture.org]

Focusing on the history and progress of the country since China's reform and opening-up in 1978, 28 China studies experts from 24 countries joined 11 Chinese scholars in Beijing for an in-depth discussion on Monday.

The 2018 Symposium on China Studies was hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Cultural exchange programs, such as visits to museums and viewing local historic relics, will continue in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province from Wednesday to Friday.

Xie Jinying, director of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's Bureau for External Cultural Relations, underscored the symposium's significance.

"Reform and opening-up have made an unprecedented impact on China, as well as the world," he said. "It is in line with the contemporary trend of development, cooperation and peace, which offers the world a solution towards common prosperity."

"During the past 40 years, China has charted out a win-win solution for the world's future. In the new era, it may rely on a global perspective to achieve further improvement," Xie said.

"The attitude towards China existing earlier as to the myth or the fairy tale, was replaced by recognition of its high mission in the modern real world for a long time," said Svetlov Boris, former minister of culture in Belarus.

He said he considers Chinese culture as a peculiar "Great Silk Way", which exists not only in a geographical space, but also in coordinates of historical time. "China and the West mutually supplemented each other for a long time, adopting each other's advanced scientific and technical achievements, the philosophical and artistic ideas," he said.

"Today very often culture advances economy and trade. [China's] soft power promotes strengthening of friendly relations and mutual understanding between the people," Boris said.

More than 150 influential thinkers have been brought to China since the symposium began in 2013, building a professional platform for Sinologists, academics and experts from prestigious think tanks.

This year, attending guests include Jacques Godfrain, president of the Foundation Charles de Gaulle; Jamie P. Horsley, visiting fellow at the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution, and Wilt Idema, professor emeritus at Harvard University.
Mirrors and Feathers, this year's top winner at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, will be released in more than 430 cinemas around China, including affiliates of the China Arthouse Film Screening Alliance, on July 20.



Previously titled as The Widowed Witch, the film is the directorial debut of Cai Zhijie, a former television show editor.

Blending social satire with biting humor, the story set in rural northern China's centers around a struggling three-time widow who finds herself ostracized by society, and decides to disguise herself as a shaman in order to survive.

With a budget of just around 1 million yuan ($149,000), Cai and his crew toured locations Hebei province and wrapped up filming in just nine days during the depths of winter. Most of the cast members had no previous acting experience.

An annual event to highlight independent and experimental films, the Netherlands-held Rotterdam festival awarded Mirrors and Feathers (then titled The Widowed Witch) the Hivos Tiger Award in January.

In July last year, the movie took home the best picture and best director awards at the FIRST International Film Festival, an annual event held in Xining, Qinghai province. In recent years, the festival has become a major platform for recognizing new talent in Chinese cinema.

The film will also be streamed on the iQiyi online video site from July 29.
An exhibition portraying the history and culture of "Silk Road" opened on Sunday at the Zainul Gallery of the Faculty of Fine Arts of Bangladesh's leading Dhaka University (DU) in capital Dhaka.



The nine-day exhibition features dozens of striking photographs and dresses that take visitors to the golden eras of the Silk Road that served as a trade route bringing together civilizations since ancient times.

The exhibition was organized by the Yunnan University, Dhaka University, Bangladesh-China Center for Arts and Cultural Exchange, Confucius Institute at Dhaka University and the Faculty of Fine Arts, Dhaka University in collaboration with Overseas Chinese Association in Bangladesh and Institute of Modern Language, University of Dhaka.

Teachers of the respective organizations were present during the inauguration of the exhibition, which is aimed at paving an opportunity for thousands of Dhaka University students specially to see landscapes along the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.

Experts here say countries like Bangladesh will immensely benefit from China's growth, as China has emerged as a major economy on the world stage.
You are here: Arts

A major exhibition on cloisonne enamel opened in Beijing on July 17 to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative.

The exhibition at NICE Gallery is organized by the Network of International Cultural Exchange Gallery, which is affiliated to the Ministry of Culture; the Sino-Foreign Enamel Gallery and the Beijing Enamel Factory.

More than 90 contemporary art pieces are on display.

The exhibition showcases the process of making cloisonne enamel and how this technique came to China from Europe via West Asia as a material proof of cultural exchanges along the ancient Silk Road.

The exhibition will run until Aug 12.




Twenty-eight China watchers from 24 countries and regions gathered in Beijing on Monday for the 2018 Symposium on China Studies.

Jointly hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the symposium will look at the past 40 years since the launch of China's reform and opening-up.

China experts and academics coming from countries including Britain, the Netherlands, France, the United States and India, together with Chinese scholars, are attending the event.

The symposium features on three topics, namely new concepts for China's development and new prospects for international cooperation, the Belt and Road Initiative and common development, and the Chinese culture and a community with a shared future for humanity.

The Chinese and foreign scholars will head to Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, from Wednesday to Friday, for inspections related to China's internet economy and the building of townships that focus on the development of certain industries.

The symposium has been held for six consecutive years, having been attended by 150 internationally influential sinologists and scholars from 56 countries and regions.
The rapid convergence of marketing services and digital technology is in the spotlight again, as a result of a potential stake-buying plan in the world's largest advertising house by major Chinese internet companies.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Tencent Holdings Ltd, the two biggest names in China's technology industry, are in talks to buy a stake in the roughly $2.5 billion Chinese operations of London-based WPP Plc, Sky News reported over the weekend.

The tech duo, along with China Media Capital Holdings, whose founder Li Ruigang serves as a non-executive director of WPP, are in early-phase discussions with the communications tycoon to purchase around 20 percent of its China operations, the report said. It is still unclear whether all three parties will end up participating.

Both Alibaba and Tencent declined to comment on "market speculation" when contacted by China Daily on Monday.

WPP, which runs a number of public relations agencies, market research firms and media-buying studios, has prioritized new media and the application of technology, data and content in its daily operations.

The group's 2017 annual report showed that it planned to increase its share of revenue from new media to 40 to 45 percent, while the adoption of technology continued to claim half of its income.

China is WPP's fourth-largest market by revenue. Bringing Chinese shareholders directly into the company would be a further step toward localizing its operations in a nation that is pioneering some of the world's best digital marketing practices, said an advertising veteran in China, who wished to remain anonymous.

"The potential deal came at a time when Chinese tech companies are scrambling to further tap into the media industry and when WPP is in search of cash to bolster its business," the source said.

Meanwhile, nearly 60 percent of total media ad expenditure in China is dedicated to mobile devices, much of which is fueled by China's tech majors, according to consultancy eMarketer.

Alibaba, Tencent and search engine Baidu Inc are expected to account for more than half of the nation's $60 billion-plus digital advertising scene, with Alibaba alone claiming one third, the consultancy said.

"Alibaba repeatedly uses the word 'relevant' when explaining its success with advertising," said Chris Bendtsen, senior forecasting analyst at eMarketer. "Personalization technology has succeeded in delivering relevant content, search results and ads to mobile users on Taobao and Tmall, and this will only improve in the future."

Tencent, on the other hand, has rolled out a comprehensive marketing toolkit that encompasses its video offerings, payment system, and a number of sister functionalities embedded on the ubiquitous WeChat messaging app to draw in merchants.

"Today, what is powerful about China is the fact that you have players such as Tencent and Alibaba who are in so many of these channels and such comprehensive fields that you start to see businesses get better at how they integrate across all those levels," said Michael Dunn, CEO of marketing consultancy Prophet.
Apple Inc is ratcheting up resources to address environmental challenges with a newly announced $300 million fund to promote clean energy in China.

The move is part of broader efforts by the United States-based tech heavyweight to tackle climate change and increase the use of renewable energy within its supply chain.

It also comes as the US and China are locked in a trade dispute, triggering concerns about possible negative impacts on businesses.

Under the initiative, Apple and 10 initial suppliers will jointly invest nearly $300 million over the next four years into the China Clean Energy Fund.

The fund will invest in and develop clean energy projects totaling more than 1 gigawatt of renewable energy in China, the equivalent of powering nearly a million homes.

"We're thrilled so many of our suppliers are participating in the fund and hope this model can be replicated globally to help businesses of all sizes make a significant positive impact on our planet," said Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice-president of environment, policy and social initiatives.

The 10 initial supplier partners include Catcher Technology, Compal Electronics, Golden Arrow and Sunway Communication.

Transitioning to clean energy can be complex. This is especially true for smaller companies that may not have access to viable clean energy sources. By virtue of its size and scale, Apple said in a statement that the China Clean Energy Fund will give participants the advantage of greater purchasing power, and the ability to attain attractive and diverse clean energy solutions.

The China Clean Energy Fund will be managed through a third party, DWS Group, which specializes in sustainable investments and will also invest in the fund, the California-based company added.

Apple and its suppliers aim to generate more than 4 gigawatts of new clean energy worldwide by 2020 - representing one-third of Apple's current manufacturing electricity footprint.

Xiang Ligang, founder of telecom industry website cctime.com, said Apple has been pouring resources into environmental efforts in recent years, but the new fund plan came amid mounting concerns that a trade war between the US and China will weigh on companies working in both countries.

Earlier this month, the US proposed plans to impose additional 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, after it had already slapped additional 25 percent tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese goods. China retaliated, putting tariffs on $34 billion of US imports.

China is an important market for Apple. In the quarter ended in March, Apple posted revenue of about $13 billion in China, the world's largest smartphone market, a 21 percent year-on-year rise, the company's financial reports show.

But Apple's presence in the country fell to fifth place in terms of smartphone shipments, accounting for about 11.3 percent of market share in the first quarter of 2018, data from the market research company International Data Corp show.

"The new fund is an effort by Apple to strengthen its ties with Chinese suppliers," Xiang said.

In the global arena, Apple is also facing mounting competition from Chinese rivals such as Huawei Technologies Co Ltd.

In the first quarter of 2018, though Apple maintained its spot as the second-largest smartphone vendor with shipments of about 52.2 million iPhones, its 2.8 percent growth rate pales against Huawei's 13.8 percent year-on-year rise. Huawei shipped 39.3 million smartphones in the same time frame, according to IDC.

Yu Chengdong, CEO of Huawei's consumer business group, said in June that the Chinese tech giant aims to ship nearly 200 million smartphones this year, close to Apple Inc's annual shipment of 200 million to 210 million.
President Xi Jinping has ordered a thorough investigation into an illegal vaccine production case and serious punishment of those found responsible.

Xi, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said this in an instruction while he is visiting foreign countries.

The people's health should always be a top priority and the bottom line of safety should be resolutely guarded, Xi said.

He described the illegal production of vaccines by Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences Limited (Changchun Changsheng) as hideous and appalling.

Relevant departments and local authorities should pay close attention and immediately probe the case to find the truth, Xi said, adding that the investigation should be thorough, the punishment severe, the accountability held seriously, and the case's progress should be publicized on time to address public concern.

Xi stressed that it is a bounden responsibility for Party committees and governments at all levels to ensure drug safety. A firm determination should be mustered to improve the country's vaccine management system, and utmost efforts should be made to protect the people's interests and social security and stability, he said.

Premier Li Keqiang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, instructed the State Council to immediately dispatch teams to thoroughly investigate the entire product chain -- including production and sale -- of all vaccines.

The truth must be found as soon as possible, Li said, vowing severe punishment and zero tolerance toward whichever enterprise and whoever involved.

The premier pledged to crack down hard on illicit and criminal activities that compromise people's health and safety, harshly punish offenders, and resolutely hold people who neglect their supervisory duties accountable to give the people a safe and trustworthy living environment.

Acting on the leaders' instructions, the State Council has established a task-force and sent an investigation team to the vaccine company.

Also set up were special teams at both provincial and city levels in Jilin Province for the investigation. The teams have started looking into all other high-risk pharmaceutical companies.

The Jilin provincial food and drug supervision authority has revoked Changchun Changsheng's drug GMP certificate for rabies vaccines, halted their production and sale, and suspended the approval of the company's all sorts of products.
China's urban unemployment rate fell to 3.83 percent in June, the lowest since 2002, the top human resources authority announced on Monday. The country's employment structure also improved.

Officials and experts attributed the development to a steady economic rise and a higher-quality labor force.

"There were 7.52 million new urban jobs offered in the first half of the year, up 170,000 from a year earlier," said Lu Aihong, a spokesman for the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

Lu said the ratio of jobs to job hunters was 1.23-to-1, a rise of 0.12 jobs per worker from the same period last year.

"That means the job supply continued to exceed the number of job seekers," he said.

Yang Yiyong, director of the Society Development Institute, part of the National Development and Reform Commission, said the positive employment picture over nearly two decades is the result of rapid economic growth.

"Better economic growth means more business and more orders for companies. So that requires more factories and machines to do the work, which of course results in greater demand for workers to do the jobs," he said.

Lu said the employment structure continued to be optimized due to more jobs from tertiary industries. According to the ministry, people employed in tertiary industries accounted for 44.9 percent of workers in 2017, compared with 34.6 percent in 2010.

Yang said more people have received higher education in recent decades and so the country's labor quality has obviously improved. As a result, more people are qualified for jobs in tertiary industries.

"But now there are increasing numbers of retired people over age 60 due to the aging population, possibly bringing shortages in the labor force," he said.

To cope with the increasing demand for pensions, the ministry is investing pension money in equity funds, bank deposits and nationally backed securities, such as bonds.

"Up to the end of June, 14 provincial areas entrusted the National Council for Social Security Fund to manage the pension pool of 585 billion yuan ($86 billion)," Lu said, "and 372 billion yuan of it has been invested. The rate of return on investment last year was 5.23 percent."

China's Labor Law stipulates that companies must contribute the bulk of payments toward five types of social security for employees, including injury, medical and endowment insurance. Workers pay a minimal amount.

According to the ministry, investments can expand funding sources and ease the financial burden of companies and governments as the population ages. It vowed to guarantee the social security fund's solvency.
A senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) met with a group of sinologists in Beijing for a symposium.

Huang Kunming, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, said he hoped the sinologists could link their studies of Chinese history with the development of China today to help the world understand Chinese culture and contemporary China in depth.

Sinologists from the United States, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and India talked about China and the world over the four decades of the country's reform and opening-up. They advised boosting cultural exchanges between China and the world.

Huang said people could have a clear view of the process and logic of China's development after studying the reform and opening-up. By doing so, he said they would also be able to understand China's sound interaction and interdependence with the world.

Huang said he hoped the sinologists could deepen exchanges between countries and enhance the friendship between Chinese and people around the world.

The sinologists are attending the 2018 Symposium on China Studies, an annual event now in its sixth year hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Twenty-eight sinologists and China experts from 24 countries participated in this year's symposium.
I. Livelihood Cooperation Projects, Donations and Assistance Work

1. China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation: Smiling Children meal program and clean drinking water project in Ethiopia and Sudan; women's training program in Ethiopia; donation of teaching equipment and hygiene supplies in Sudan; refugee assistance program in Uganda and South Sudan and Care Package Program in Namibia.

2. Overseas Chinese Charity Foundation of China: Belt and Road: Brightness Action program to provide free cataract treatment for impoverished local residents in African countries; financing the construction of dormitories for primary and secondary schoolgirls in Malawi.

3. Red Cross Society of China: A provision of 8 million yuan every year as humanitarian assistance to 4-5 national Red Cross Societies in Africa; community development programs in cooperation with Red Cross Societies of Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, and Madagascar.

4. China NGO Network for International Exchanges and China Foundation for Peace and Development: Lighting Africa Project in cooperation with relevant enterprises, donating 500 Humbrella equivalent of 1 million yuan to poor areas short of electricity in Africa.

5. China Youth Development Foundation: Project Hope Going to Africa program. So far, a total of 23 Hope Primary Schools have been commissioned in Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia, Rwanda and Burundi with a total funding of 5.5 million U.S. dollars.

6. Amity Foundation: Training programs for poor single mothers in Ethiopia to raise their income; Dream Class program in Kenya to help the local youth in their pursuit of better development, which will be built into a China-Africa youth exchange centre and project incubator.

7. The Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China: Overseas Service Project of Chinese Young Volunteers, under which up to 100 Chinese young volunteers will be sent to Africa in the coming three years.

8. China Charity Alliance: Through more effective coordination with relevant organizations, undertakes to devise an overall plan for the development of Chinese charity in Africa, with the aim of enhancing the efficiency and reach of Chinese charity programs in Africa.

.Capacity Building and Personnel Exchanges

1China Law Society: The building and development of China-Africa Joint Arbitration Centre; facilitation of cooperation between Chinese law schools and legal research institutes and their African counterparts in developing China-Africa joint legal research centers and training bases.

2. China Family Planning Association: China-Africa: Travel with Love program to provide adolescent sex education, reproductive health education and HIV/AIDS prevention programs and maternity care program to 2-5 African countries.

3. Gansu Hydraulic Research Institute: Provision of personnel training and technological consultancy services on rainwater utilization, water resources management in cooperation with UNEP, UNESCO, FAO and other organizations.

4. China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association: In cooperation with relevant Zambian institutions, providing vocational training in the nonferrous metals industry and helping with the building of a higher vocational school in Zambia to train skilled workers.

5. Chengdu Social Organization Academy: Establishing Belt and Road International Social Organization Training Center with a focus on helping African social organizations strengthen capacity building.

. Development Promotion

1. China Enterprise Confederation: Tripartite (China-Norway-Africa) corporate social responsibility program entitled Be a Responsible Enterprise in Africa in cooperation with employer organizations in Norway, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania.

2. International Federation of Small Hydropower: Lighting Africa, small hydropower project in cooperation with relevant UN agencies; cooperation with Tanzania and other countries in hydropower development, sustainable rural community development and renewable energy.

3. All-China Women's Federation: Strengthening exchanges and cooperation on gender equality with African people's friendship organizations; facilitating China-Africa high-level women's dialogue, friendly exchanges, thematic study trips and capacity building activities so as to bring about all-round development of Chinese and African women.

4. State-owned companies under the supervision of Beijing Municipal Government, including Beijing Construction Engineering Group, Uni-Construction Group, Zhonghao Investment Group and Urban Construction Group: Infrastructure development projects of highways, water conservancy facilities, residential houses, rail transport, and prospecting, which will create job opportunities for the local people and help to improve their livelihood.

5. China Association of Communication Enterprises, StarTimes Group and others: Cooperating with African partners in the fields of network communication, industrial capacity building and Access to TV Satellite Program.

. Cultural Exchanges

1. The World Federation of Acupuncture-Moxibustion Societies: Opening degree courses in collaboration with South African counterparts; building Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) education centers for acupuncture and moxibustion in Mauritius, Seychelles and Morocco; implementation of programs benefiting local people including Impression of TCM lectures and free TCM clinical service.

2. All-China Environment Federation: Exchanges with Kenyan environmental protection organizations under the theme of Green Belt and Road.

3. Great Wall Society of China: Establishing multilateral cooperative relations with African civil organizations to boost youth exchanges and cooperation on culture, art, music and photography.

4. Beijing Film Academy plans to host China-Africa International Film Festival in Africa; China National Centre for the Performing Arts undertakes to forge strategic cooperative partnership with Algerian Opera House.

5. Beijing Municipal Women's Federation: In cooperation with Egyptian Embassy in China, organizing China-Egypt experts dialogues, women's exchange events, Egyptian cultural exhibitions and art performance.

6. Capital University of Economics and Business, University of International Business and Economics, Capital Institute of Physical Education and other institutions of higher learning: Plan to establish partnerships with universities in Egypt, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Mozambique, Tunisia, Rwanda and other countries.

7. University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Southwest Jiaotong University and Xihua University: Plan to carry out pragmatic cooperation with relevant institutions in African countries, focusing on nurturing professionals in electronic information, transportation and machine manufacturing with an aim to train 300 senior professions for African countries in the next three years.

. Exchange Mechanisms

1. China Association for Science and Technology plans to organize events including China-Africa Think Tanks Forum, International Symposium on China-Africa Science and Technology Cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, and International Conference on China-Africa Water Civilization. Research will be conducted on African science and technology organizations and efforts will be made to build scientific alliances with the support of universities and think tanks.

2. All-China Youth Federation plans to continue the hosting of Asian-African Youth Festivals over the next three years to cover all African countries that have diplomatic relations with China.

3. Chinese Association for International Understanding undertakes to sign the Framework Agreement for Closer People-to-people Exchanges and Cooperation with Tanzania-China Friendship Promotion Association.

4. Beijing Tongrentang, Holley-Cotec and other pharmaceutical companies under the supervision of Beijing Municipal Government: Research and TCM promotion on tropical diseases in cooperation with African partners.

5. Beijing NGO Association for International Exchanges, Beijing People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, Beijing Federation of Literary and Art Circles and other organizations: Strengthening contacts and exchanges with African civil organizations by participating in international conferences and improving structured exchanges.
The Fifth China-Africa People's Forum closed on Tuesday morning with the unveiling of 30 cooperative civil programs that China plans to implement in Africa over the next three years. More than 190 guests and representatives from China and 30 African countries attended the meeting in Chengdu, Sichuan province, from July 23-24.

After consultation between Chinese and African NGOs, "The Program for China-Africa People-to-People Friendship and Partnership (2018-2020)" was drafted and announced by Dou Enyong, deputy head of the China NGO Network for International Exchanges. The program includes five major categories: Livelihood Cooperation Projects, Donations and Assistance Work; Capacity-Building and Personnel Exchanges; Development Promotion; Cultural Exchanges; and Exchange Mechanisms.

In the area of livelihood cooperation, China plans to initiate the Smiling Children meal program and a clean drinking water project in Ethiopia and Sudan, as well as a women's training program in Ethiopia and a refugee assistance program in Uganda and South Sudan.

The Red Cross Society of China will also provide 8 million yuan (US$1.17 million) annually as humanitarian assistance to between four and five national Red Cross Societies in Africa every year. Meanwhile, the China Youth Development Foundation will lead the Project Hope Going to Africa program, with a total of 23 Hope Primary Schools commissioned in Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia, Rwanda and Burundi, with a total funding of US$5.5 million.

In the realm of personnel exchange, the China Family Planning Association will start the "China-Africa: Travel with Love" program in two to five African countries to provide adolescent sex education, reproductive health education and HIV/AIDS prevention programs, as well as a maternity care program.

In the development promotion category, state-owned companies under the supervision of the Beijing government will develop infrastructure projects including highways, water conservancy facilities, housing, rail transport and prospecting, which will also create job opportunities and improve livelihoods for local people.

In cultural exchange, the Beijing Film Academy plans to host the China-Africa International Film Festival in Africa, while in the exchange mechanism category, the Beijing NGO Association for International Exchanges and other organizations plan to strengthen communication with African civil organizations by participating in international conferences and improving structured interchanges.

Dou added that the Chinese and African representatives had more in-depth discussions in various areas at this forum, leading to further agreements, which will be added to "The Program for China-Africa People-to-People Friendship and Partnership (2018-2020)" and carried out in the coming years.

"The programs have demonstrated a roadmap for future exchange and cooperation between Chinese and African civil sectors in the next three years," said Wang Yajun, deputy director of the International Liaison Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, in his closing speech, in which he praised the Fifth China-Africa People's Forum as the most fruitful since it was inaugurated in 2011.

Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, the former president of Tanzania, said of Sino-African ties since the mid-1960s, "China and Africa have always been working together with full force on a series of bilateral or multilateral occasions. Our relationships have gone beyond the traditional relationships between governments, and are also about business and civil societies."

"Africa is becoming better, thanks to the generosity and help of the Chinese people and Chinese government," Kikwete continued. "I would love to encourage China's NGOs to establish stronger relationships with African NGOs. With the Chinese government's strong support, African NGOs will benefit from many aspects and develop to better achieve their goals."

Under the theme of "pooling strength from the people for stronger China-Africa friendship and mutual trust," the Chengdu meeting served as a warmer for the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, to be held in September.
The leaders of the five BRICS countries will gather for their 10th summit, titled, "BRICS in Africa: Collaboration for Inclusive Growth and Shared Prosperity in the 4th Industrial Revolution" in Johannesburg, South Africa between July 25 and July 27. Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Brazil's President Michel Temer will attend the three-day event at the invitation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. It's expected that this year's Johannesburg summit will bring the five-member nations closer together to cooperate in order to play a more prominent role in global economic governance in the context of the current rising trends of protectionism, unilateralism, and anti-globalization.

Taking the title of the revolving BRICS presidency from China on January 1, 2018, this is the second time South Africa will host the summit of the emerging economic bloc since 2013. Last year in September, the BRICS summit was held in east China's coastal city of Xiamen, Fujian province. It is anticipated that the premier forum for international economic cooperation will be watched closely by the global public because, as President Xi Jinping noted, "The mechanism belongs not only to its members but also to the entire world." It should be noted that this will be Xi's first South Africa visit after he was re-elected president earlier this year. President Xi has always been optimistic about Africa's prospects, and he reiterated his desire for broader cooperation with the continent at the Xiamen summit.

BRICS is comprised of five emerging economies  Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, who have come together with the aim of using their growing economic and political influence to challenge Western hegemony. Today, BRICS is regarded as a rising power of the global economy as it accounts for up to 23 percent of the world's GDP, and 43 percent of the world's population.

The 10th BRICS summit is taking place at a time when the world faces extraordinary political and economic challenges caused by U.S. President Donald Trump's protectionist policy and Britain's divorce from the European Union. In the light of trade hostilities introduced by the U.S., BRICS cooperation has become more important. Admittedly, the Johannesburg summit will provide the Heads of State to lead BRICS as a bulwark against protectionism.

This year's theme consists of three major global agendas: to ensure economic stability, to enhance sustainability to create a shared future, and to push for responsible development. These agenda items resonate well with last year's Xiamen summit which also emphasized the importance of a coordinated innovation drive in line with collaboration and inclusive growth in the fourth industrial revolution to address the prolonged sluggishness of the global economy.

As a staunch supporter of and participant in the BRICS mechanism, China sees BRICS cooperation as one of its diplomatic priorities. Cooperation among BRICS nations is an innovative practice that has surpassed the outdated mentality of political and military allies and built the partnership with mutual trust and benefits.

It is important to note that while the Western block has been painfully speculating that the BRICS luster is fading, the five BRICS members have worked together to solve neighborly quarrels and other important problems related to economic and trade cooperation through pragmatism and dialogue over the past ten years.

It is hoped that the Johannesburg summit will further demonstrate BRICS inclusiveness, confidence and openness as proposed in the BRICS Plus cooperation during the Xiamen summit.

Rabi Sankar Bosu, Secretary of New Horizon Radio Listeners' Club, West Bengal, India





Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors only, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
 Flash

Visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, agreed Monday to further promote bilateral cooperation in a bid to bring more benefits to the Chinese, Rwandan and African people.

In their talks, the two leaders also spoke highly of the growth of bilateral ties over the past 47 years since their countries established diplomatic relations.

Xi recalled his meeting with Kagame in Beijing in March 2017, during which they reached extensive consensus on promoting bilateral relations and friendly cooperation and brought China-Rwanda ties to a fast track of development.

Beijing is willing to work with Kigali to translate their traditional friendship into concrete benefits for the two countries and the two peoples, and open a new chapter in their friendly cooperative relations, Xi said.

China and Rwanda, Xi stressed, should view their ties from a strategic height and long-term perspective, firmly support each other independently choosing their own development paths, and keep mutual understanding and support on issues related to each other's core interests and major concerns.

Xi called on the two countries to strengthen the link between their respective development strategies, give full play to their complementary advantages, and carry out pragmatic cooperation in more areas and at deeper levels.

China welcomes Rwanda's participation in the international cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, and encourages more Chinese investment in Rwanda to help advance the African country's industrialization and modernization, Xi said.

Xi asked the two sides to strengthen people-to-people exchanges, so as to bring closer the hearts of the two peoples and consolidate the social and public support for the future development of their friendship.

The two sides, he suggested, also need to deepen law enforcement and security cooperation, maintain close coordination on international and regional issues, and strengthen collaboration on issues of global significance, so as to safeguard the common interests of African countries and developing countries.

Over the past several decades, China-Africa relations have always been defined by sincere friendship, unity and cooperation, Xi noted, pointing out that the two sides have become a community with a shared future going through thick and thin together as well as a community with shared interests dedicated to win-win cooperation.

Strengthening unity and cooperation with African countries is an important foundation for China's foreign policy and a long-term steadfast strategic choice of Beijing, Xi said.

He compared Africa to a galloping lion, saying that China is glad to see a stronger Africa that is increasingly integrated.

Calling the African Union (AU) a banner guiding African countries to solidarity and cooperation, Xi said China always supports the AU playing a leading role in promoting peace and development of Africa and playing a bigger role in regional and global affairs.

China, he added, is willing to elevate the strategic significance of its relationship with the AU, set it as an example and make it more effective, so as to bring more benefits to the Chinese and African people.

Kagame, for his part, called China a reliable friend who shares weal and woe with Africa. He said it is of great importance for Rwanda and Africa to develop friendly ties with China.

He spoke highly of China's valuable assistance for Rwanda in such areas as infrastructure construction, agriculture and education, adding that China's helping hand has made positive contributions to his country's reconstruction and livelihood improvement.

The Rwandan president also expressed his hope to strengthen exchanges with China on state governance and deepen win-win cooperation on bilateral as well as multilateral platforms.

Rwanda is willing to enhance cooperation with China within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, which offers a significant opportunity for both Rwanda and Africa, Kagame said.

As the AU's rotating chairman, Kagame stressed that China's long-standing firm support is of great value to Africa's development.

Africa places great importance on China's role in international affairs and is committed to further deepening their friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation, he added.

The African side, he said, looks forward to attending the Beijing summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in September, and stands ready to jointly push forward the development of FOCAC, so as to generate more benefits for the people of both sides.

After their talks, the two heads of state witnessed the signing of multiple agreements on bilateral cooperation in the Belt and Road Initiative and other areas. They also met the press together.

Prior to the meeting, the Rwandan president held a grand welcome ceremony for Xi, who arrived in Kigali on Sunday for the first state visit to the African country by a Chinese head of state.

Xi inspected the guard of honor in the company of Kagame. A group of Rwandan well-wishers, dressed in traditional clothes, staged a dancing and drumming performance to express their joy and excitement.

Later in the day, Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial.

Rwanda is the third leg of Xi's first overseas visit after he was re-elected Chinese president in March. The trip has already taken him to the United Arab Emirates and Senegal, and will also take him to South Africa for a state visit and the 10th BRICS summit, and to Mauritius during a stopover.
 Flash

China on Monday said it has no intention to spur exports through competitive devaluation of its currency, rejecting the United States' accusations of manipulating the exchange rate of the yuan.

"The yuan's exchange rate is mainly determined by market supply and demand," Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang told a press briefing. "It floats in both ways, which means there are ups and downs."

Currently, the good fundamentals of China's economy provide strong support for the exchange rate of the yuan to remain generally stable.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said last week the United States was monitoring the recent weakness in China's currency yuan and would review whether it had been manipulated.

"As for the United States willfully igniting a trade war, China remains resolute and clear in its stance that it does not want a trade war, but is not afraid of and will fight one when necessary," Geng said.

The U.S. has threatened to impose tariffs on more than 500 billion U.S. dollars of goods imported from China.

"Threats and intimidation will never work on China. We are capable of and confident in safeguarding the interests of the Chinese people," said the spokesperson.

He also said, "we advise the United States to remain calm and handle and solve related issues with a rational attitude."
 Flash

China and Rwanda signed a number of cooperation documents covering such areas as investment, finance, e-commerce and law enforcement on Monday during President Xi Jinping's state visit, the first by a Chinese head of state to the African country.





The signing ceremony was witnessed by Xi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame. Before the signing ceremony, Kagame hosted a grand ceremony to welcome Xi and had a meeting with the Chinese president.





Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 47 years ago, China and Rwanda have treated each other as equals with sincerity and friendship, Xi said.





Xi recalled that during Kagame's visit to China in March 2017, they had an in-depth exchange of views on advancing bilateral ties and cooperation for mutual benefits, adding that their consensus has seen comprehensive implementation.





Xi said that Kagame, since becoming rotating chairman of the African Union, has proactively maintained the unity and cooperation of Africa, pushing the building of free trade zones, and played an important role in strengthening Africa.





Under the leadership of Kagame, Rwanda has upheld a development path that fits itsnational situation, achieved national stability and social harmony, and gained rapid economic growth, Xi said, adding that Rwanda has set an example for other countries that are being rebuilt after wars and other conflicts.





On their arrival on Sunday evening, Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, were warmly received by Kagame and his wife, Jeannette Kagame.





At the airport, a group of local people in colorful clothes traditional to the nation performed dances and beat drums to greet the guests.





The fact that the two heads of state have visited each other's countries within slightly more than a year indicates the great importance they have placed on deepening their ties, Xi said in his talk with Kagame at the airport.





Xi said he has felt the friendship of the Rwandan government and the people toward the Chinese people as soon as he set foot on the country's soil.





Kagame extended a warm welcome to Xi on behalf of the Rwandan government and people.





He said he believed Xi's visit to Rwanda will further push forward the two countries' friendly cooperation.





Rwanda is the third stop on Xi's first overseas trip after being reelected president in March. The trip has already taken him to the United Arab Emirates and Senegal.





Xi is to make a state visit to South Africa, where he is scheduled to attend the 10th BRICS Summit, and then visit Mauritius during a stopover.
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Market-Competitive Landscape Biocomposite

The Global Biocomposite Market is a highly lucrative market driven by flourishing growth in construction and automobile industry. FlexForm Technologies (US), Tecnaro GmbH (Germany), Trex Company, Inc. (US), Fiberon LLC (US), Meshlin Composites ZRT (Hungary) among others are the major players operating in this market. Most of these market participants are adopting the research and development and product launching tactics to strengthen their production capacities and market position. Taking Account of These Trends the Global Market Biocomposite is projected to witness substantial competition over the forecast period of 2017-2023.

Asia pacific is expected to be the fastest growing region during the forecast years. The growing government in construction activities especially in China and India is the major factor driving the market in the region. Moreover, the growing automobile is adding to the market growth.

Industry / Innovation / Related News:

9 January, 2018- The US Department of Energy has granted US $ 3 million dollars to Attis innovation Inc. who has acquired the Advanced Lignin Biocomposites LLC, for the development of the efficient use of lignin-based biocomposites for the growth of their bio-economy.

11 January, 2017 - Stora Enso invested 21 million pounds for its paper and board mill of Sweden and Finland. The investment plans include the setting up of a new production line for granules at its paper mill in Sweden. This investment is expected to boost the market of biocomposites in the European region.

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Biocomposite Market - Market Overview

Biocomposite is a material formed by resin or matrix reinforced by fibers such as jute, cotton, recycled wood, waste paper and flex among others. Biocomposites can be manufactured using various techniques including filament winding, machine press, compression molding, injection molding, extrusion, sheet molding, resin transfer molding and winding. Biocomposite exhibit essential properties such as high tensile strength and low density They are also considered as an effective and ecofriendly alternative for glass, carbon and other man-made fiber composites. Moreover, biocomposites are gaining popularity in many industrial sectors. The Biocomposite Market is growing substantially in industrial as well as household applications. The growing environmental awareness along the world. In addition to this, the growing demand for lightweight, low-cost, environmental-friendly, and moisture resistance materials in the building and construction industry. The growing research and development of the biocomposites are being coupled with increased adoption by the automobile industry. The Global Biocomposite Market can be segmented on the basis of the fiber type, the process type, the end-user industry and the regions. The wood fiber segment is anticipated to be the dominant segment and is expected to show the same trend during the forecast years. The growing demand for wood in the form of decking, fences, and railing in the construction industry. On the basis of the building.

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Chicago-based private equity firm completes transaction to own one of the largest and most automated gift card and prepaid card sourcing and fulfillment companies in the world CRYSTAL LAKE, Illinois, July 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Chicago-based private equity firm, LaSalle Capital, purchased National Gift Card Corp (NGC), one of the world's largest, most-automated B2B gift card and prepaid card companies. NGC serves B2B loyalty, reward and incentive marketplace with over 500 physical and digital gift card brands across the U.S., Canada, UK and Europe. LaSalle acquired all the NGC business, including the businesses of NGC US, NGC Canada, and NGC Europe.A This new ownership relationship puts NGC in position to continue its industry leadership as an independent gift card sourcing and fulfillment provider. The acquisition by LaSalle also provides NGC additional talent support on its board, greater resources for its 5-year expansion planning, and other key technology and operational items needed to continue enhancing its best-in-class gift card fulfillment services and reward products for the B2B loyalty and incentive market. "We're excited about the growth and strategic opportunities ahead of us with our new LaSalle partners," says Adam Van Witzenburg, CEO of National Gift Card. "We have established the highest levels in quality, security, and capacity serving as the gift card engine for the world's largest rewards and loyalty programs, and there's even more we will do with LaSalle as we plan for our expansion." LaSalle announced that there are no planned changes with NGC's core leadership team, or the core offering of services and products it currently provides to its clients and retail partners. "In fact, we're looking to enhance and accelerate our offering and service capabilities," says Eric Thiegs, President of National Gift Card. "Especially as it relates to our gift card API solution; we're seeing more clients integrate with our API when needing eGift card rewards in real-time for their incentive and loyalty programs." The NGC acquisition opens up the incentive market to LaSalle and its portfolio of companies.A "Adding NGC to the LaSalle family of businesses will allow us to provide additional services to NGC's clients and merchants. The NGC team has built an impressive business and we look forward to working with them to accelerate growth," says Ryan Anthony, Partner at LaSalle Capital. About National Gift Card:A NGC serves clients needing gift cards, prepaid cards, and the physical and digital fulfillment solutions for these products globally across the U.S., Canada, UK, and Europe.A NGC is headquartered in Illinois, USA. To learn more about NGC, visitA http://www.ngc-group.comA or callA +1.888.472.8747. About LaSalle Capital: LaSalle Capital is a leading private equity firm with extensive experience in the lower middle market. We currently manage two funds totaling over $345 million in capital. LaSalle has a proven track record of partnering with management teams to increase value in our companies by providing strategic operating focus and driving growth organically and through acquisitions.A If you have questions regarding this transaction or would like to discuss other opportunities in the technology-enabled business services industry, please contact Ryan Anthony of LaSalle Capital at +1 312.236.7041.A CONTACT:A Sue Voyles a Logos Communications

(734) 667-2005A sue@logos-communications.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/721782/KernMachine_NGC.jpg
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My health record

OPT OUT NOW

The My Health Record is not proving to be quite as popular as hoped for. Thousands of people flocked to the website following the announcement that they had a window of opportunity to opt out between July 16 and October 15. The site crashed! First failure of the digitalised, centralised collection of health and other personal information.

Australians have until October 15 to opt out of My Health Record (MHR). If they do not opt out then they will be automatically opted-in by the health authorities.

According to the governments My Health website, 5.9 million Australians already have a My Health Record and 12,900 health professionals are registered with My Health. The aim is to sign up all Australians and their families.

In theory, it sounds good. As the government suggests, it could provide health professionals with an immediate record of a patients medical history, including mental illness, medications and allergies.

This could in some instances prove to be lifesaving, such as in an emergency department of a hospital or for paramedics. The promise that individuals have control over what can be put on their MHR, who can access it and what they can access sounds reassuring.

If you are not sure what you want to do, you could adopt a wait and see approach and opt out now as it is always possible to opt in later. In theory it is possible to opt out at any time, but the actual physical removal of your data is problematic.

Secure?

Medicare claims: My Health Record has multi-layered and strong safeguards in place to protect your information including encryption, firewalls, secure login, authentication mechanisms and audit logging.

No one who is being honest can give an iron clad guarantee regarding security.

There are serious security issues.

The MHR is linked to a myGov account which is the online gateway to other government agencies, including the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), JobSearch, Centrelink, Child Support, Department of Veterans Affairs, My Aged Care, the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and the National Redress Scheme.

There have already been serious breaches with ATO data and Department of Human Services with health data, the latter being due to human error.

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, in its first report since the notifiable data breaches scheme came into force in February this year, found that 24 percent of eligible notifications were from health care providers.

In the UK, a similar scheme called care.data with an almost identical privacy framework, was cancelled after two years in 2016 when it was found to be selling patient data to pharmaceutical and insurance companies.

Tim Kelsey, the man in charge of setting up the British scheme, is also in charge of implementing My Health Record in Australia!

Phil Booth, the coordinator of British privacy group Medconfidential, described the similarities as extraordinary.

The parallels are incredible, he said. It looks like it is repeating itself, almost like a rewind or a replay. The context has changed but what is plainly obvious to us from the other side of the planet, is that this system seems to be the 2018 replica of the 2014 care.data. (theguardian.com, 22-07-2018)

The MHR says people can elect for information not to be used for secondary purposes. But what does that mean in practice? What secondary purposes is it talking about?

The government plans to add these additional uses and access to data AFTER people have decided whether to opt out. They are likely to include police, military, intelligence organisations and certain commercial organisations.

It is ridiculous to expect people to make a decision about opting in or out when they dont know what it is they are dealing with  an excellent reason on its own to opt out.

Even if the government had specified these secondary purposes, there is nothing to stop more being added at a later date. For example, the government claims that the data will not be used to assess eligibility for benefits. Then for what other reason is it linked to your myGov records with CentreLink, JobSearch, the ATO and all the other agencies. You dont link something unless you want to use it!

As for government promises, they are worthless. When the then Labor Health Minister Nicola Roxon introduced My Health there was a promise that it would an be opt-in only system.

Big Brother

There are some quite worrying aspects to the whole scheme and where it is heading. There have been a number of attempts to introduce a national ID system.

The Labor government was forced by public pressure to abandon the idea of the national identity card, the Australia Card, in the 1980s.

Then a Coalition government failed to gain enough support in 2007 for its Access Card  a smart card with a digital photo, a number and personal information. Health information could be added on a voluntary basis. It would replace 17 health and social services cards within the Human Services portfolio.

Despite these defeats, successive governments have been gradually eroding the privacy and democratic rights of Australians.

Of course, the way to provide a truly universal health system available to all is a fully funded Medicare and the scrapping of the $6 billion of taxpayers money being handed over to the parasitic private health insurance corporations.

Opt out

It is strongly recommended that readers and their families opt out. It is always possible to opt in at a later date.

To opt out, go online to the website myhealthrecord.gov.au. If you have not signed up for myGov that will be necessary.

As for people who lack access to a computer and the internet, have limited or no English literacy, opting out online is virtually impossible.

People with a disability, the elderly, the homeless and many others will be shut out of the having any option unless they have family who can help. Otherwise they will be opted in, most likely without their knowledge.

It does give a phone number on the website to ring if you need assistance. Or it is possible to go into a Department of Human Services office and join the long queue to seek assistance.

On top of that, it requires a certain level of medical literacy to make notes about your conditions and decide what you want included on your record, who is given access or denied access to each record.

If you do have a life threatening medical condition such as a serious allergy or suffer from epilepsy, it may be wiser to opt in by taking no action.
First Nations Workers Alliance

A campaign against modern slavery

Hannah Middleton spoke with Lara Watson, an Indigenous officer at the ACTU and the spokesperson for the First Nations Workers Alliance (FNWA).

Ms Watson says the FNWA wants to bring the issue of Aboriginal wages and conditions back into the national spotlight and has the aim of bringing an end to the federal governments Community Development Program (CDP).

A report from the Australia Institute has found that the Turnbull governments remote work-for-the-dole program is racially discriminatory, incredibly punitive, ineffective and expensive compared to metropolitan work-for-the-dole programs.

Hannah: Lara, can you tell us something about yourself and how you came to be involved with the FNWA.

Lara: I am Lara Watson, a Birri Gubba woman from central west Queensland.

Ive got strong and vibrant Aboriginal activists within my family and I got involved in the trade union movement about 15 years ago trying to find my feet in activism and the role I would play.

I started off running community campaigns like Your Rights at Work. I was a co-ordinator for YR@W.

The trade union movement also allowed me to campaign on broader Aboriginal issues I was passionate about and get support around them. One of these campaigns was when unions got out and supported the Mukaty when they were campaigning against a nuclear waste dump. I was also involved in the stolen wages campaign throughout Queensland. I advocated for Stolen Wages claimants, on behalf of Queensland Unions.

Hannah: What is the Community Development Program?

Lara: CDP, its a modern form of slavery.

CDP workers are not classified as workers. They get well below the minimum wage for working 25 hours a week for non-profit and for-profit businesses.

CDP workers arent covered by any workers compensation, so if theyre injured on the job they dont have access to work cover, workers compensation, rehabilitation or assessment on abilities to do activities after the injury.

They dont have access to leave entitlements such as carers leave, annual leave or sick leave and they dont have superannuation.

Those under the CDP are forced to work up to three times longer than city-based jobseekers to receive welfare payments.

We have CDP workers who have part of their pay paid to a government issued Basics Card or cashless welfare card, a demeaning income management system which serves as the new ration system, controlling Aboriginal spending and movement.

CDP workers have 70 times the financial penalties imposed upon them than non-remote dole workers. These penalties can include having eight weeks of payment withheld from them.

Some workers have lost their job and been put on CDP, but are still performing the same job for considerably less pay.

CDP workers are doing work that is considered a waged job but they dont receive a wage, like fencing, council work, contracture and administration of the 35,000 CDP participants. Around 33,000 are Indigenous people.

For every dollar of actual support a CDP worker receives through the program, 70 cents is spent on administration, making the program incredibly expensive compared to other work-for-the-dole schemes.

The government system thats in place has just kept this entrenched poverty. Its disempowering and is harming our communities.

It is criminal what they are doing. Its unjust, its inhumane, its just wrong.

Hannah: What is the First Nations Workers Alliance?

Lara: I was on the ACTU Indigenous Committee for about 10 years

We knew CDP workers needed a union to represent them, in particular around occupational health and safety, wages, a range of issues but because the government put them under the social security act, theyre not actually recognised as workers in this country so therefore theres no union that represents them.

This was when the First Nations Workers Alliance was born in June 2017 because we knew that there needed to be an organisation that had union values that could represent CDP workers.

We operate similar to a union representing CDP workers.

CDP workers can join and become FNWA members for free. We charge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers who must be union members to join FNWA and charge them $26 a year. Non-Indigenous people can become a supporter for $52 per year.

Weve got Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander union members who are leading this campaign. We do have non-indigenous supporters but the campaign is being led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers, including CDP workers.

We need to get into more communities but its a slow process. We wont go into communities unless weve been invited.

Looking at the communities weve been out to so far, weve been talking to CDP workers about some of the issues they have on site. Our first meeting is about getting to know each other, our second visit we are often met with surprise. Its such a shock for them that we have actually come back and their voices are being given back to them, but it shows our commitment and this is where we start delivering training to CDP workers and by our fourth visit we see an empowered work place who are campaigning on the issues they face under CDP.

Our cultural protocols are important to us, so we wont go out to community unless there has been an invitation and were not going out into communities and saying were going to do it for them. Its about listening to CDP workers and giving them access to tools and training to stand up against this discriminatory program and any future programs that get pushed on their community causing them harm.

Our training is based on normal union delegate training that we deliver as unionists but its delivered in a culturally appropriate manner and tweak for our mob. Its about delivering skills they can use in the long term on any issue in the future but we as a union movement feel this is a union issue and we will continue to fight with CDP workers for wage justice.

We have sent CDP workers to Canberra to address the Federal Indigenous caucus, which left a lasting impression on members of parliament who were present.

Hannah: Lara, what are your aims for the future?

Lara: CDP needs to be eradicated, any employment program must page at least a minimum wage, have employment conditions, OH&S and superannuation.

There needs to be community control, Indigenous people need to be given autonomy and allowed to choose how to live their lives, just as any other citizen of Australia is able to.

The CDP must be replaced with a program which creates jobs for people in remote communities, rather than destroying them.

I feel my responsibility is educating the broader society and making people aware of what is happening in remote communities under CDP because it simply isnt reported in the mainstream.

Our remote communities are always the guinea pigs so if you dont get angry about this it will affect you in the future.
The wrong people are in the boats

The crisis of the capitalist economic system continues to grow, and the imposition of limited tariffs on steel imports, etc by the United States is just another symptom of this deepening crisis. The reaction of the liberal establishment in the European Union shows clearly its weakness in relation to the dominant economic, military and political role of the United States.

In Cote dIvoire, French companies control the greater part of the commercialisation of cocoa, leaving the small local producers with less than five per cent of the value of the end product.

Workers have been told that our world is now governed by a rules-based system; that is why we needed to have the free trade TTIP and CETA, to cement this system. As the crisis deepens, the fair-weather strategy of free trade is coming under pressure, and states revert to competitive economic measures, such as protective tariffs.

Its not all due to an erratic Trump, however erratic he may be. The tension between the EU and the United States is palpable, and the alliance is under strain.

The action of Trump was to tear up the rulebook because it does not suit the interests of a significant sector of US capital. We have been led to believe for decades in globalisation, neo-liberalism, rules-based systems; and much of the liberal left has bought in to this language and strategy, unable to see what it really is: a strategy for controlling global markets and resources, for protecting the profits of transnational corporations.

The United States is still the global imperial power  economically, militarily, and thereby politically. The EUs imposition of tariffs on a few motorbikes is more a reflection of its own weakness. Its response for some time has been to call for greater centralisation and concentration of power within the EU institutions, as it needs to be able to assert itself and defend and expand its interests and even challenge the global strategy of the United States. Hence the need to further centralise decision-making on economic and fiscal strategy.

It also explains the growing militarisation of the EU itself, and the push for greater national spending on armaments, building up the independent EU military structures and capacity.

Trade as weapon

The present struggle is not due to the actions of an eccentric individual but rather to real economic forces that are at play, which express themselves in the tariff war. Workers need to remember that the United States and the EU have no problems imposing trade and other restrictions against countries on which they wish to force political and economic regime change and compliance, such as Russia, Cuba, and Venezuela. Tariffs are simply economic weapons for advancing strategic goals.

The steady growth of China, economically and politically, presents great challenges to the western imperial powers. The present tensions reflect the struggle for profitability and monopolisation. This can only lead to greater global competition between the two main imperial power blocs, the United States and the European Union, over control and influence on global territory and resources.

Nothing happens under capitalism that is not driven by profit and the accumulation and concentration of wealth.

At the time of the abolition of the Soviet Union, Marxist theory would have expected heightened rivalry and competition between the imperial countries and blocs. The existential necessity of opposing socialism forced the imperial powers to put aside their own intra-imperial divisions and competition in order to present a united front against the Soviet Union. It is interesting, and a little surprising, that this unity has lasted almost 30 years, since 1991; but it may finally be unravelling under the pressure of continuous economic crisis and stagnation.

Spheres of influence

If so, this will create a more dangerous world, with increased open competition between blocs based round the United States, the European Union, Russia, and China. In time an African bloc could also emerge as a power  though the destruction wrought by Western imperialism is so great that any such development seems a long way off.

The wars in the Middle East and North Africa show that economic competition and the pursuit of spheres of influence have the potential to lead to new horrors and catastrophes for the peoples of the world.

Stagnation

The EU is faced with what it calls a sea of illegal economic migrants; this in turn has provoked a reaction among a significant section of workers within the EU member-states.

German Chancellor Merkel wanted to retain open borders and for all migrants to be allowed into the EU. This is what German and other monopoly interests require: they need a constant flow of cheap labour.

Germany, like other EU member-states, faces a long-term and significant problem regarding population growth or stagnation. The general trend is towards a declining birth rate among indigenous populations, and migrants are needed to fill certain areas of economic activity.

This has created internal economic pressures and facilitated a race to the bottom within the EU itself; this in turn has provoked a political and cultural reaction in EU countries, which is the breeding-ground for racist and neo-fascist forces, the reserve army of capital.

The EU is exploiting these forces for its own ends and as a pretext for a further concentration of power, while workers throughout the EU are experiencing continuing attacks by national governments  directed by and operating within EU treaty obligations  on the social and economic gains made by them over many decades. Their eyes have been refocused to see migrants as the problem, not the system itself. Some have indeed begun to see the EU, or aspects of the EU, as the source of their problems, while others remain diverted from that target.

Neo-colonialism

The EU has been very effective in this strategy of misdirecting working people and equally in making use of the situation of thousands of people fleeing wars inflicted upon them by the United States and the EU itself, and their allies, throughout the Middle East.

So far they have successfully disguised the effect of EU policies imposed on the countries and peoples of Africa through the European partnership agreements.

In the United States, workers only see illegal economic migrants from Mexico and Central America  not the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) both on American workers and on the workers, the peasants and the poor south of the border.

Nor do they recognise the role being played by American monopolies, which have shifted production to Mexico, establishing factories run on slave wages and dreadful and dangerous working conditions, while the forces of imperialism get away scot-free.

If we look at the consequences of EU trading practices for Africa, the following picture emerges. Africa is rich in raw materials: gold, platinum, diamonds, uranium, tantalite, copper, oil, natural gas, precious woods, cocoa, coffee, and many others.

These resources were once directly controlled and exploited by the old European colonial powers, through brutal repression; today that dependence relationship is through European neo-colonialism, in collaboration with the African elite in power at the local level.

They have constructed a low-cost local work force; and the EU controls both the internal markets of African countries and their international markets, creating different layers and levels of dependence.

The EU demands open access for its goods and services, while restructuring the local economy, both manufacturing and agriculture, to make both subservient to the needs of the EU.

It is estimated that about a hundred companies listed on the London Stock Exchange  British and others  exploit the mineral resources of 37 sub-Saharan African countries, with a value of more than US$1,000 billion.

France controls the monetary system of 14 African ex-colonies by means of the CFA franc (originally the initials for the French African Colonies, now recycled as the African Financial Community).

To preserve parity with the euro, these 14 African countries are obliged to pay the French treasury half their monetary reserves.

In Cote dIvoire, French companies control the greater part of the commercialisation of cocoa, of which the country is the worlds main producer; the small local producers are left with less than five per cent of the value of the end product, thereby forcing many to live in dire poverty.

EU aid accounts for more than half its global aid.

21 billion in development aid was provided to Africa in 2016 by the EU and its member-states.

EU companies in 2015 had invested 32 billion in Africa.

3.35 billion was allocated to the European Fund for Sustainable Development on the African continent.

Seven EU civilian and military missions are operating in sub-Saharan Africa.

The western media and some aid organisations, ignore the real effect of neo-colonialism on the people of Africa. African countries are presented as corrupt (many are, but who corrupts them, and who benefits?) or are economically mismanaged and exist purely on foreign hand-outs.

The real picture is that African countries in fact pay foreign countries a net annual forfeit of about US$58 billion.

Consequences

The social consequences are devastating.

In sub-Saharan Africa, where the population is greater than one billion people, of whom 60 percent are children and young people up to the age of 24, about two-thirds of the people live in poverty; of these, about 40 percent  approximately 400 million people  live in conditions of extreme poverty.

This is the real existing EU policy in relation to Africa  not the slick PR peddled by Brussels and swallowed by liberals and much of the left.

The flow of people from the south is the direct result of two interconnected factors: wars and economic neo-colonialism. The numerous wars now raging are the result of imperialisms seeking of hegemony in resources, territory, and people.

Where they have secured a politically compliant national ruling elite in Africa they have used trade to batter down local barriers, taking control and dominating local economies and, most importantly, natural resources.

The local elite cream off some of the largesse and stick it in Swiss bank accounts, thereby making it available for further speculation by global finance houses, or they engage in property speculation in London, Paris, and elsewhere.

The millions of people displaced as a direct result of the policies and practices of imperialism in Africa, Asia and the Middle East are overwhelmingly concentrated within their own countries or neighbouring ones. The minority who travel to the West in search of a safer and better life for themselves and their children are treated with contempt and further cruelty. The message is: You are not wanted here. The EU engages in harsh exclusionary practices that its own liberal elite would denounce as racist, populist and nativist if they were carried out by the Trump regime.

Imagine if the imperialist government in Washington paid billions of dollars to Mexico to stop the flow of migrants; proposed setting up detention centres for migrants in Central American countries, south of their borders; pushed back boats attempting to land in the Gulf of Mexico; and verbally and legally attacked NGOs assisting migrants. (Leo Varadkar joined EU leaders and governments in this at the end of June.) Hypocrisy and double standards have never given the European powers any pause for thought.

Stolen wealth

The seeming contradiction between the need of ageing EU countries for immigrant labour and their anti-immigrant rhetoric and practices can be explained by the combination of policies the imperialist EU countries are pursuing: economic exploitation of Africa and other countries through the imposition of unfair trade and investment terms; wars in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia for influence, hegemony, and control; the scapegoating of immigrants to cover their domestic economic and austerity policies; the downward pressure on wages that immigrant labour exerts.

And a lingering post-colonial disdain for the inferior peoples and races of the global South, which leads to a welcome only for the right kind of immigrant. Any contradiction will almost certainly be resolved in the long run by economic necessity.

Imperialism, monopoly capitalism, exports capital in search of investment opportunity and profit wherever it can find it. This is the hard, economic driving factor behind all the policy and practices of the imperial powers. Until we confront and defeat imperialism at home it will be the working class of Europe, the Americas and elsewhere, and the ordinary people of the world, who will suffer the consequences of the appropriation and accumulation of wealth by monopoly capital.

Western governments and global monopolies are in a win-win situation, while the people of Africa are trapped in poverty. Where else is there for many of them to go, other than travel north to Europe, because they know that is where the stolen wealth of their country has been shipped to?

The boats making the dangerous crossing of the Mediterranean Sea carrying desperate people are going in the wrong direction, and filled with the wrong people. Its the rich and powerful who need to be put on the boats and made to scrape a living working long hours on low wages.

Socialist Voice
Trump vs China

Riding for a fall

As Donald Trump struts across the world stage imposing tariffs on imports from China and the EU, he tells American workers he is protecting their jobs. In reality, he is leading them down a slippery slope to economic catastrophe.

Lake Superior, the largest of the Great Lakes of North America.

Trump has already imposed tariffs on some US$130 billion worth of Chinese goods, to which China has so far responded with marked restraint, imposing only a limited range of tit-for-tat tariffs on US goods imported into China. The Trump White House, staffed as it is with a gung-ho team of racially motivated trade warriors, seem to think theyve got the measure of the rest of the world and can ride roughshod over everyone. But they are riding for a fall.

By imposing tariffs on imports from China and the EU, the Trump administration is virtually inviting these two powerful economic entities to work together to ensure they do not suffer unduly at the hands of the US. And there is more at stake than the US$130 billion already mentioned: The US-China Business Council, which represents American companies that do business in China, said the market is actually much larger than just US$130 billion in goods exports that the Trump administration appears to be most focused on.

US companies also exported about US$60 billion in services to China last year and US$40 billion worth of goods to Hong Kong, much of which finds its way into China. On top of that, American companies with operations in China sell hundreds of billions of dollars worth of goods and services to their Chinese customers. When all that is combined, China is about a US$550 billion market for American firms, said Erin Ennis, US-China Business Council senior vice-president.

These US companies engaged in trade with China are aware of something to which the Trump administration seems oblivious, namely that the global focus of world trade has shifted inexorably from being Anglo-Euro-US centric to being Russo-Sino-Euro centric  and Europe is only just hanging in there.

US companies fears for the future if Trumps incipient trade war is permitted to escalate, are brushed aside by the White House with assurances that This president will have the back of Americans, whether they are here on a farm in Iowa or in Shanghai trying to operate there. So said White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, but Wall Street will surely need something more concrete than that.

And its not only American companies that are fearful of Chinas possible response to Trumps bully boy tactics. China could basically block corporate remittances, or what they could also do is claim that US firms are liable for taxes in China, said Hosuk Lee-Makiyama, director of the European Centre for International Political Economy, a think tank based in Brussels.

Liable for taxes in China? Now theres a radical idea! But Erin Ennis points out some other possible responses from China that must be very scary for US capitalists: There are a variety of ways that China could escalate, she said. Licensing could begin to be slowed down. Companies could face higher levels of scrutiny for their products at ports coming in. But thats small time. How about this: China could also selectively open its market in certain areas for European Union or Japanese firms, but exclude the United States, she added.

In addition, Trump and the Republican Party are ploughing ahead with their astonishingly short-sighted policy of promoting and enabling greatly increased extraction and use of fossil fuels. Trump has just repealed an executive order that was drafted by President Obama that tried to protect the Great Lakes and the oceans bordering the United States and focused heavily on conservation and climate change. His policy was written in 2010, shortly after the deadly BP Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling explosion and 87-day oil spill.

Trump  Big Oils man in the White House  has a different policy, one that puts the emphasis on industries that use the oceans. Ocean industries employ millions of Americans and support a strong national economy, the new order states, mentioning, particularly oil and natural gas drilling, freight transportation and inevitably the military.

Obamas order had established a federal council with the responsibility to oversee various programs and decisions that could impact the oceans or Great Lakes.

The oil industry and the Republican Right are cheering Trumps rescission of Obamas order.

Randall Luthi, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, which represents companies involved in offshore drilling and offshore wind, said, This renewed broad vision will hopefully encourage productive partnerships, recognising a wide variety of ocean uses, all leading to increased economic, environmental and energy security for America through job creation, economic activity, and energy development.

Groups actually involved with protecting the environment were less sanguine. With the action today eliminating the National Ocean Policy, President Trump is trying to wash his hands of responsibility for the real and urgent threats facing Americas coastal communities  namely, the impacts of climate change, said Christy Goldfuss, senior vice-president for energy and environment at the Centre for American Progress.

Christy called on coastal governors, tribal leaders, state legislatures, and local communities [to] take up the mantle of leadership and work together to defend and restore the health of Americas oceans. Because Christy knows that the very rich (and very ignorant) as represented by Trump are not going to do it.
Israel sets apartheid in law

Israels parliament voted early Thursday (July 19) to further entrench Jewish supremacy and racial discrimination against Palestinians in its constitutional law. Legal advocates say the law violates international prohibitions on apartheid and campaigners are urging more efforts to isolate Israel through BDS  boycott, divestment and sanctions.

The so-called Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People law passed by 62-55 in the Knesset amid tumultuous scenes. Lawmakers from the Joint List, parties representing Israels approximately 1.5 million Palestinian citizens, were thrown out of the chamber after they tore up copies of the law.

Joint List chairperson Ayman Odeh said that passage of the law means Israel has declared it does not want us here and that we will always be second-class citizens.

Palestinian citizens of Israel are the survivors and their descendants of the Nakba, the ethnic cleansing of Palestine by Zionist militias before and after Israel was created in 1948.

Unlike millions of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, they have some civic rights, like the right to vote. But they already faced entrenched discrimination enshrined in dozens of laws.

The new law goes further. As a basic law it has constitutional status and gathers together some of the most discriminatory features of Israels system in one document. Among key provisions, the law defines Israel as the national home of the Jewish people, with Hebrew as its official language and Jerusalem as its capital.

The law states that the right to exercise national self-determination in the State of Israel is unique to the Jewish people, thereby denying to Palestinians any national rights or existence.

Arabic is downgraded from an official language to one with special status.

The law declares Jewish settlement as a national value and that the state will encourage and promote its establishment and consolidation  a green light to further colonisation of Palestinian lands throughout all the territories occupied or controlled by Israel.

The laws endorsement of Jewish settlement sets no geographic limits, which means it encourages Israels ongoing colonisation of the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which is illegal under international law, as well as in Syrias Golan Heights, occupied by Israel since 1967.

The seven-branch menorah, a Jewish religious symbol, is legally defined as the states emblem, and the law confirms Hatikvah, a song with Jewish sectarian lyrics, as its national anthem.

Legalising Jewish supremacy

Adalah, a legal advocacy group for Palestinian citizens of Israel, has stated that the new law falls within the bounds of absolute prohibitions under international law and embodies characteristics of apartheid.

The legislation draws a clear distinction between the realisation of basic rights between Jews and non-Jews, according to Adalah.

It defines Israeli sovereignty on a racist, ethnic basis that includes those Israel recognises as Jews anywhere in the world, but excludes non-Jews living within Israel. The law justifies discrimination against Palestinian citizens of Israel, according to Adalahs analysis.

In short, Palestinians are rendered foreigners in their own homeland.

Embarrassment

The law is proving an embarrassment to supporters of Israel who aim to present the state to the world as a democracy. Jeremy Ben-Ami, head of the Israel lobby group J Street, was among a number of liberal Zionist figures to blast the bill.

Ben-Ami claimed that the laws only purpose is to send a message to the Arab community, the LGBT community and other minorities in Israel, that they are not and never will be equal citizens.

But it appears that such critics view the law more as a public relations problem rather than fundamentally disagreeing with its racist nature.

J Street itself staunchly opposes equality for Palestinians by rejecting the right of return for Palestinian refugees solely on the grounds that they are not Jews and would therefore constitute a demographic threat.

J Streets website even panders to the claim that Palestinians would flood Israel with refugees and undermine it as a homeland for the Jewish people. But unlike the new law, J Street packages its rejection of Palestinian rights as support for peace and a two-state solution.

EU apologetics

Similarly, Emanuele Giaufret, the European Union ambassador in Tel Aviv, reportedly approached members of Israels ruling Likud party earlier this month to tell them that Israels international status could be threatened should the bill pass.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu then ordered Israels foreign ministry to reprimand Giaufret for interfering in Israels internal affairs. The European Union responded to the dressing down by acknowledging that Israel was entitled to pass discriminatory laws if it wanted to.

How Israel chooses to define itself is an internal issue for Israel to decide and we respect the internal debate which is ongoing, the EU stated.

We value Israels commitment to the shared values of democracy and human rights, which has characterised our longstanding and fruitful relations, the 28-member bloc added. We in the EU would not want to see these values being put in question or even threatened.

The EU embassy also denied through its official Twitter account that its ambassador had used derogatory language to describe the racist law.

Likud lawmakers say, and EU ambassador does not deny, that in a private meeting he said the nation-state bill Netanyahu is advancing Reeks of racism and is distancing Israel from the accepted norms of democratic countries.

While the EU considers Israels legally entrenched racism to be an internal issue, Israels attorney general warned before the bills passage that the legislation could put Israel in violation of international law.

Last year, a legal study published by a UN agency concluded that Israel already practices apartheid against the entire Palestinian people.

Adalah stated that no country in the world today is defined as a democratic state where the constitutional identity is determined by ethnic affiliation that overrides the principle of equal citizenship. If ever there was a time for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israels system of oppression, it is now, Omar Barghouti, a founder of the BDS movement, stated.

Israels official adoption of apartheid opens the door for the Palestinian people, Arab nations and our allies around the world to pressure the UN to activate its anti-apartheid laws and impose serious sanctions on Israel like those imposed on apartheid South Africa.

No courts for Palestinians

Meanwhile, another law passed in the Knesset on Tuesday limits access for Palestinians to Israels high court.

The law is meant to hamper Palestinian petitions against Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank, the Haaretz newspaper reported.

Over the last two years, Israel has been quietly carrying out some of its biggest land grabs from Palestinians in the West Bank for decades. The law also extends Israels effective annexation of the West Bank by giving settlers access to an administrative court which previously only operated in Israel.

Yousef Jabareen, a Palestinian member of Israels parliament for the Joint List, said that the Israeli government has paved the way to steal Palestinian land and has created the basis for an apartheid regime.

The Electronic Intifada
Marxism in the 21st century

The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it.

Two hundred years after the birth of Marx, looking back from our 21st-century vantage point into the middle of the 19th century, we ask, How useful is Marxism as a tool for understanding society today?

Marxism possesses a core of theoretical knowledge, which includes Marxs critique of political economy, the labour theory of value, base and superstructure, the theory of ideology, the insight that all history since the end of primitive society has been a history of class societies and class struggle, the theory of imperialism as developed by Lenin and Luxemburg, Bukharins theory of fascism as unrestrained capitalism, knowledge in the area of culture and the arts, etc. New developments require further expansion, a deepening of existing insight, or developing new fields.

Marxism is a world view where political movement and theory meet. Its purpose is to interpret the world and to change it. Marxism as a world view rests on science, philosophy, and art.

The inclusion of art as a form of understanding of the world is an extension to the traditional Marxist view, realising, for example, that Shakespeare presented on stage a profound awareness of the essential forces of capitalist society at his time, including its potential for barbarism. Brecht applied Marxist insight in his poetry and plays, adding the 20th-century experience. Ngugi wa Thiongo presents the African experience from a Marxist viewpoint.

All three writers perceive the forces at play in their societies, envisage a more humane world, and show how society must be changed to achieve this.

Dialectics is central to Marxism

Dialectics means that all aspects of life, of society, constantly develop and are therefore not static or unchangeable. Dialectical development means that movement is not simple and linear: it can go backwards as well as forward, with conflicting, at times opposing, forces at play. Dialectics enables us to grasp a changing reality. A look at the evolution of humankind, and of society over the millennia, illustrates this. And, of course, evolution has not stopped.

Human understanding itself is always tied to a given moment in history. Bourgeois society took centuries to succeed feudalism; and a series of revolutions, beginning in the 14th century, was finally completed in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The concept of utopia, as described by Thomas Metscher, is an expansion of traditional Marxism as a form of thinking about what is historically possible, a plan for a desirable society at a specific time. Utopian thinking is necessary for people to gain a viewpoint for focused action: to understand how society must change to become more humane, and how to create a world that is appropriate to us as humans.

The idea that the unchangeable human condition is to be aggressive, greedy and destructive is unhistorical, generalising one aspect of human behaviour within class society to be true for all humans at all times, and thereby preventing the understanding of necessary and possible change.

Political ethics is equally central to Metschers concept of integrative Marxism. It criticises prevailing social norms and establishes more humane ones. Jointly with the concept of utopia, it refers to a possible and humane world where kindness, peace and solidarity prevail  a world free from fear and misery.

Communism means solidarity and a peaceful world; the transformation of the bourgeois constitutional state into a universal constitutional society; the abolition of economic, social and cultural oppression; the abolition of poverty; the equitable distribution of social wealth; and the preservation of nature as the habitat of humankind. In this sense communism is a concrete utopia, and working to create conditions that are commensurate with humanity is the meaning of life.

Religion and Marxism

As a scientific theory, Marxism cannot claim absolute knowledge. If it did it would deny historical change and the fact that understanding itself is historical. Marxism would turn into a closed theory, a quasi-religion. Historical limits to knowledge leave room for individual beliefs. Religious people can be Marxists  indeed their faith may motivate political action.

Marxism is a tool for understanding and acting in the world to achieve an existence based on human equality, true economic and political democracy. All forces committed to this goal should join together. Given the enemys superiority, imperialist capital and its political agencies, the political alliance of all anti-imperialist forces is a prerequisite for resistance. Religions must be judged according to their role in the global anti-imperialist struggle. On the side of the anti-imperialist coalition they are welcome partners, on the side of imperialism they are our opponents. The question is how religion contributes to liberation.

Marxism and the struggle for human rights and justice

Law in class society is primarily class law. However, law is an achievement of civilisation: as human rights, international law, civil rights, the rule of law in constitutional states. Fundamental rights are eroded at all levels today, despite assertions of freedom and democracy.

For example, laws are imposed to undermine national independence by the Brussels bureaucracy in the interests of monopoly capital towards a federal EU superstate. The euro is a weapon for usurping economic independence and sovereignty.

The struggle for emancipation today has become a struggle to defend and build upon constitutional democracy.

The struggle to implement Marxist ideals

Social achievements since the Second World War are being rolled back by neo-liberal attacks on social welfare, health services, education, and pay and working conditions. The erosion of social achievements gained especially in the former socialist countries, and also by labour governments throughout Europe, will gain momentum if its causes persist.

The reasons lie in the dominant production, property and power relations. In this epoch of wars and revolutions, monopoly capital merges with financial capital, seeking a system of global domination. Imperialism is capable of an unimaginable acceleration of technological advance: high-tech production at present, the projected invention of trans-human intelligences designed to replace humans.

Correspondingly, it represents in its internal cultural constitution the re-barbarisation of human civilisation in an equally unimaginable measure counterposed to that technological progress.

The struggle for a humane society is a long-term one and is based on democratic revolution: a fundamental transformation of the systems of production and power within a constitutional democracy. The basis for this is the fight against neo-liberalism, the socialisation of monopoly property  financial capital, social control of basic economic relations, defence of the sovereign nation-state through the development of the constitutional state beyond its class limitations, leading to the development of an economically and politically democratic socialist constitutional society. Developments in Nyereres Tanzania, in Cuba and Venezuela are examples. This is a huge undertaking. Yet, it is the existing possibility for political action here and today.

The struggle on legal and constitutional matters (from public services and reproductive rights to national sovereignty) is a precondition for anti-capitalist revolution. Indeed the revolution has begun with this struggle.

Capital will not leave the stage of world history without a fight. Born dripping from head to foot, from every pore, with blood and dirt, it will not leave the world differently. In the meantime the maximising of profits at any cost, with perpetual wars, the erosion of democracy, and environmental destruction, could take humankind into the abyss.

Today, after two world wars and European fascism, we are moving towards a new peak. The fight for peace is now about nothing less than the survival of humankind. Peace is the central issue of our time. We have a world to gain.

Socialist Voice
Culture & Life

The toad war

On February 12, 2005, Richard Morecroft presented a nature documentary on the ABC called Goannas And The Rubbish Frogs. It dealt with an environmental disaster right here in Australia. My write-up of the program in Worth Watching began with this statement:

While Johnny Howard splurges money on the military, very little money is being provided for stopping the devastation being caused by the steady advance across the Top End of the toxic Cane Toad.

Cane Toads have been part of the Australian scene (at least in Queensland) since 1935, but it was only in the last quarter of the 20th century that the country as a whole became conscious of the ecological nightmare they represented.

Originally from South America, the toads were introduced into Queensland in a disastrously ill-considered attempt to biologically control the sugar cane beetle. The toads ignored the beetles and instead settled in to wreak havoc on our environment.

Some time in the 1970s it seems, their numbers reached a critical mass and they began to expand their territory. They are now steadily but slowly spreading south. They are rapidly spreading across the tropical north of the country.

They have already reached the matchless world heritage area of Kakadu. The ABC documentary revealed that in parts of Kakadu there were already an alarming 20,000 cane toads per square kilometre.

Cane Toads are not the only foreign animal to be deliberately introduced into this country and then allowed to run wild to the detriment of our wildlife and our pastures. Rabbits and hares, foxes and Indian Mynahs, goats and pigs, donkeys and camels, buffalo and more have all played a part in this ongoing catastrophe.

Rabbits at least entered the food chain  and helped to sustain the enormous population of foxes we acquired. Wedgetail eagles also prey on rabbits, but a pair of wedgies cover a vast territory. You dont see them all that often.

On the other hand, if I make the 20-minute drive into Wyong of an evening I will see numerous foxes caught in the headlights  and again on the return trip.

I dont know what foxes think of Cane Toads, but Kookaburras, quoll, snakes and goannas regard them as natural prey, with fatal results. Cane Toads are poisonous and predators who eat them die  quickly. Too quickly for them to learn to avoid the toads.

The Cane Toads tadpoles are large and very active, and the toad spawns vast numbers of them. They render pools unfit for other amphibians to breed or survive in.

The unchecked march of the Cane Toads puts Australias unique wildlife at risk of catastrophic collapse; whole species could disappear. Finding a way to stop the toads should be a national priority  and a very urgent one.

Back in 1999 Nature Australia carried an advertisement from a Northern Territory tourist enterprise specialising in walkabout tours in Kakadu, the Kimberley and the Red Centre.

The ad was headed Kakadus wildlife is about to change dramatically. It went on to warn that sometime between 2001 and 2005 many populations will crash. Some will recover in part. Others may never do so.

The reason for this? The cane toad is coming. When they reach Kakadus wetlands:

Their population will explode

They will eat many small animals

Animals which eat them will die.

The ad called on readers of Nature Australia to take action: Cane toads are a national problem. Write to the federal Minister for the Environment and demand that:

Cane toad research funding be increased.

Research be integrated with on-ground eradication programs.

This was  and still is  good advice. The ad was not all gloom and doom.

It noted that there is hope. In some areas cane toad populations had declined and average toad size had also decreased.

Pointing to the importance of research funding, it said: If we knew why, we could minimise their impact. Sadly, funding for cane toad research has almost disappeared.

That was in 1999. The ABC documentary Goannas And The Rubbish Frogs, after stressing the urgency of the situation, noted bitterly that at the present rate of funding, an effective genetic control is at least a decade away. Meanwhile, wet season floodwaters are carrying the cane toad ever deeper into previously pristine wilderness areas.

Its time the federal government came under real pressure to fund a genuine research and eradication campaign against cane toads  before it is too late.
Doug Gurr, UK manager for the US online giant, issued the warning on Friday

The almost untrammelled economic power of American tech giants such as Amazon, Google and Facebook is already a grave threat to free market competition in the UK and worldwide.

But when these unaccountable and rapacious behemoths start to challenge the fundamental underpinnings of our democracy, they are moving into dangerous waters indeed.

It has emerged that, at a meeting organised by Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab last Friday, the head of Amazon UK predicted there could be civil unrest within two weeks if Britain were to leave the EU without a deal. Its a claim  even if it was a worst-case scenario  that reeks of humbug and hysteria.

As a large employer in Britain, Amazon plainly thinks it has the right to speak out on our domestic affairs. But it should recognise that for a foreign company to make such claims is at best ill-advised, not least because it could encourage people to take to the streets if there is no deal. Not only that, but as a huge U.S. enterprise which  thanks to a cynical international sleight of hand  pays almost no tax in Britain (or on the Continent for that matter), it ought to be wise enough to steer clear of unhelpful political comment.

Mischief

Amazons UK boss, Cambridge-educated Doug Gurr, should remind himself that the very foundation of American independence was the principle of no taxation without representation. He seems to want representation with barely any taxation.

The possibility of a no-deal Brexit  which has been outlined in a document issued by the European Union, and is being prepared for in contingency plans drawn up in Whitehall  has sparked scaremongering and mischief from firms and lobby groups seeking to panic the British people.

It is no more nor less than the next phase of Project Fear which tried, and failed, to scare people into voting Remain with its dire warnings of an emergency budget, higher income taxes, recession and mass unemployment.

The reality is that there has been no recession, and the British economy has proved a job creation machine, with the jobless rate at 4.2 per cent  half that of the European Union average.

As a large employer in Britain, Amazon plainly thinks it has the right to speak out on our domestic affairs

Despite that, we are now seeing Project Fear: The Sequel cranking into action. For Amazon is not alone in pressing the panic button.

The dairy industry has also gone into attack mode. A report written by the political research body London School of Economics Consulting argues that delays at borders as well as additional trade costs could restrict the availability of butter, yoghurts and cheeses and send the prices of dairy products soaring.

They could, its claimed, simply become occasional luxuries for the consumer.

If anything, this kind of alarmist rhetoric is likely to provoke panic buying, which could itself lead to shortages.

It is also worth noting that a significant amount of Britains dairy produce comes from Ireland, where Taoiseach Leo Varadkars unhelpful interventions over the issue of the trade border between Northern Ireland and the Republic could end up impoverishing his own people.

His Irish compatriot, loose-lipped Ryanair boss Michael OLeary, cannot resist getting in his euros worth, too, arguing that the risks of a hard Brexit cannot be underestimated, and that flights could be grounded if Britain crashes out of the European Union without a deal.

The interventions of Amazon, the dairy producers, Ryanair and others seem intended to undermine the democratic will of British voters.

Suddenly, the stalemate between UK and European negotiators is being translated into images of British people taking to the streets, melted butter wasting at ports and planes stuck on runways.

Of course, we shouldnt be surprised by the arrogance of Amazon bosses. This is a ruthless company that leaves victims, in the shape of destroyed rival businesses, in its wake everywhere it goes.

In spite of the increasing destruction of traditional commerce on High Streets across America and Britain, supine governments have been fearful to challenge Amazons extraordinary power.

Unscrupulous

At present, the firm is valued at $879 billion on the U.S. stock market, and its founder, Jeff Bezos, was named earlier this year as the richest man in the world with a personal wealth of around $150 billion.

The truth is that Amazon knows almost no boundaries in its power and domination of retail and commerce, and in spite of U.S. President Donald Trumps pledges to bring the internet giants to heel, absolutely nothing has been done.

Tory MPs gave a withering response to the dire warnings from Amazon's UK chief

Amazon is one of the what have become known on Wall Street as the FAANG companies (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google).

Together these unscrupulous giants, and the way they interact with their users and feed off their data, allows them to become dominant players in the markets in which they operate, locking out almost everyone else.

But now these firms have also become enormously political. In the U.S. they have effectively neutralised criticism through a huge rise in political lobbying in almost every state.

But in America, much of the financing and lobbying of politicians passes under the radar.

What makes Amazons intervention in British politics so troubling is that it has done immense damage to so many British companies.

In short, it has played a large part in the crisis engulfing Britains High Streets.

Arrogance

The closure of stores by House of Fraser, Marks & Spencer, Poundworld and thousands of smaller firms can be directly placed at Amazons door.

Worst of all is the sight of an American giant making these doomsday auguries about Britains future when it has gone out of its way to deprive the British Treasury of so many millions in tax.

What moral authority does it have to pontificate about this countrys political situation when it has treated the UK like a giant cash machine?

Amazons 2017 annual report shows that the online retailer paid just 15 million of tax across Europe on sales of 19.5 billion.

The tax bill in Britain, where it employs 24,000 people, was just 7.4 million.

So far, efforts by Chancellors George Osborne and Philip Hammond to make Amazon pay more tax have had limited success.

If there is to be civil strife, as Amazon suggests, it is more likely to be triggered by the infamous working conditions in its warehouses (workers went on strike across Europe this month in protest), the companys failure to pay its fair share of taxes, and the way it uses its huge power to control prices to kill off swathes of the High Street.

Amazon may be a good inward investor to the UK, but it is certainly not a good corporate citizen.

All the intervention from its UK boss has done is underline the arrogance of a digital giant which thinks it floats above governments and the bricks-and-mortar business world, and can do what it damn well pleases.

His predictions are unwarranted and, at worse, could be downright dangerous.
The word 'island' usually conjures thoughts of sun soaked sands, idyllic turquoise ocean and gently swaying palm trees.

But a new World's Best survey conducted by Travel & Leisure proves there is no single formula for paradise.

Based on activities, natural attractions, beaches, food and friendliness, thousands of wanderlust enthusiasts voted for their favourite island havens around the world.

Beating out traditional favourites like Maui in Hawaii, Bora Bora and Tahiti, the densely populated Indonesian island of Java took first place.

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The Indonesian island of Java made the Travel & Leisure list for the first time this year, taking the top spot with its' domestic siblings Bali and Lombok coming in second and third; the ancient Borobudur Temple is barely visible in the distance in the right background)

A large waterfall in Lumajang, East Java; the 2018 World's Best survey conducted by Travel & Leisure proves there is no single stereotype for paradise

Described as the 'heart of a nation', Java is the economic and geographic centre of Indonesia and serves as home to 141 million people.

Lying in between Sumatra and popular Bali, Java featured on the World's Best list for the first time this year thanks to its' powerful waterfalls, longstanding local traditions, conservation areas and awesome nature.

It was a clean sweep for Indonesia, with neighbouring Bali and Lombok nabbing second and third place respectively.

A breath taking view of Waterfall Banyu Wana Amertha in East Java, known for its longstanding local traditions and conservation areas

Taking it all in: A relaxing afternoon at the enchanting hideaway of Plataran Borobudur Resort & Spa in Magelang, Java; 'Plataran' means God's favourite courtyard in Javanese

Participants in the survey rated Java 95.28 out of 100, a nod to the plethora of sights and experiences the region has to offer.

According to Lonely Planet, the top attractions in Java include Borobudur Temple, the world's largest Buddhist place of worship built in the 9th century, and Yogyakarta, Java's cultural and artistic centre point.

Yogyakarta is where the ancient Javanese language is at its purest and traditions are most visible to travellers.

A traveller takes in the view at Borobudur Temple, Java Tengah; the temple is one of the top attractions in Java having been built in the 9th century

Marshmallow skies: Sunrise at Langit Borobudur, Eastern Java

Java's Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park is a popular bucket list destination for nature enthusiasts, with its sprawling lunar landscape and the surreal beauty of the Bromo volcano, one of Indonesias most breathtaking sights.

Asia took home an impressive six spots in this years top fifteen, with the otherworldly Maldives and Filipino sister islands Cebu and Palawan slotting in behind the Indonesian trifecta.

Further down the list, Tasmania is another representation of the diverse beauty of islands around the world.

A returning favourite, the isle south of the Australian mainland is beloved for its' rugged beauty, thriving food scene and unique nature.
They've dubbed themselves 'Australia's number one skincare and suncare range' and promise to deliver glowing skin and endless summers to their customers.

But up until three years ago many people wouldn't have heard of cult label Bali Body.

That's because the company's founder Laura Foley launched her brand exclusively online and primarily gained traction through Instagram, with hundreds of women using the $24.95 body oil to 'cover cellulite' and make their skin glow.

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They've dubbed themselves 'Australia's number one skincare and suncare range' and promise to deliver glowing skin and endless summers to their customers

That's because the company's founder Laura Foley launched her brand exclusively online and primarily gained traction through Instagram

Woman shares before and after image of her skin before and after using the oil to smooth her legs - explaining that marks on her skin were blurred by the cream

Available in cacao, watermelon and pineapple 'flavours' these perfectly packaged products sell once every 45 seconds - and it's easy to see why.

In videos uploaded to Bali Body's social media channels girls with lithe limbs smooth the oil over their arms and legs for a bronzed tan, which dries on the skin after five minutes.

You're free to wear any coloured clothing - even white - over the top without fear of any transfer throughout the evening.

Available in cacao, watermelon and pineapple 'flavours' these perfectly packaged products sell once every 45 seconds - and it's easy to see why

In videos uploaded to Bali Body's social media channels girls with lithe limbs smooth the oil over their arms and legs for a bronzed tan, which dries on the skin after five minutes

Ms Foley invented the brand during a visit to Canggu, Bali, with her fiance at the time. They wanted to create a natural tanning product which could be used on sensitive skin and set about sourcing oils.

The result? A broad range of ingredients - without the added nasties - and a brand that has evolved into skincare, including a BB cream, and lip balm line.

Customers are only too happy to express how much the company has saved their summer skin.

Ms Foley invented the brand during a visit to Canggu, Bali, with her fiance at the time. They wanted to create a natural tanning product which could be used on sensitive skin and set about sourcing oils

The result? A broad range of ingredients - without the added nasties - and a brand that has evolved into skincare, including a BB cream, and lip balm line

'Already tan reasonably easy however I was looking for that extra bronze,' one woman said.

'All these products are both moisturising, nourishing and give me that perfect tan. I wear the BB cream every day and use the tanning oil all the time.'

Those with sensitive skin are extremely impressed by the outcome of just a few applications.

Those with sensitive skin are extremely impressed by the outcome of just a few applications

The company offers free shipping to all Australian residents and hopes to expand further into the international market this year

'I have extremely sensitive skin so when I read about Bali Body I was excited but skeptical... fast forward one month and I've ordered a set and the sunscreen because this stuff is amazing.

'I use it after shaving, before I jump on the ranger to head out on the ranch to check cows, and anytime I will catch some rays or just need hydrated, happy skin.'

The company offers free shipping to all Australian residents and hopes to expand further into the international market this year.
Raising two toddlers under the age of two is hard work already but Sarah Hegarty makes it look easy - even with four enormous dogs in the family.

The 26-year-old dog groomer from Perth and her husband Aaron Shaw have expertly raised four Samoyed dogs - Arthur, Aurora, Shimmer and Sebastian - alongside her daughters Layla, one, and Ruby, 10 months.

And together they play and learn, with Layla even taking her first steps holding onto the fur of one fluffy canine.

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The 26-year-old dog groomer from Perth has expertly raised four Samoyed dogs - Arthur, Aurora, Shimmer and Sebastian - alongside her daughters Layla, one, (pictured) and Ruby, 10 months

And together they play and learn, with Layla even taking her first steps holding onto the fur of one fluffy canine (Ruby pictured)

'They're honestly the best dogs and I couldn't imagine my life without them,' Sarah said

'Ever since I was a little kid I've dreamt of owning a Samoyed...it was once I had my own home I was finally able to get one,' Sarah told FEMAIL.

While the Hegarty family own four dogs themselves, Sarah's day-to-day grooming job also means she's treated to visits from a number of other pets.

'I am a dog groomer who specialises in big double coated breeds so most of the Perth community bring their Samoyeds to me,' she said.

'Ever since I was a little kid I've dreamt of owning a Samoyed...it was once I had my own home I was finally able to get one,' Sarah told FEMAIL

While the Hegarty family own four dogs themselves, Sarah's day-to-day grooming job also means she's treated to visits from a number of other pets

'I am a dog groomer who specialises in big double coated breeds so most of the Perth community bring their Samoyeds to me,' she said

'I also help out in rehoming and rescuing neglected or unwanted Samoyeds in Perth. While they are looking for their new homes and are being rehabilitated they stay with our family.'

In her downtime she runs the very successful 'Samoyeds of Perth' club in Western Australia and offers to babysit whenever a member needs a helping hand or travels abroad - with the same favour extended to them if they're away.

'So between all those things we always have quite a few Samoyeds in the home,' she joked.

In her downtime she runs the very successful 'Samoyeds of Perth' club in Western Australia and offers to babysit whenever a member needs a helping hand or travels abroad

Samoyed are nicknamed the 'smiling dog' for their ability to get on well with humans, particularly when it comes to comforting children

Samoyed are nicknamed the 'smiling dog' for their ability to get on well with humans, particularly when it comes to comforting children.

'Layla was born in October 2016 and Sebastian and Shimmer, who are littermates, July 30th 2016 so they've literally grown up together and are exceptionally close,' Sarah explained.

'Layla learnt to walk by holding onto the pups fur gently and following them around the house. She sneaks them food, they fall asleep together, read together, do almost everything together.

'Shimmer and Layla are always running through the house playing chasey with the toys.

'I also help out in rehoming and rescuing neglected or unwanted Samoyeds in Perth. While they are looking for their new homes and are being rehabilitated they stay with our family,' she said (a meet up of pups pictured)

'Layla learnt to walk by holding onto the pups fur gently and following them around the house. She sneaks them food, they fall asleep together, read together, do almost everything together,' she explained

'Even as a baby the pups would bring her one of their toys if they heard her crying. This is now the same with Ruby.

'All the dogs absolutely love the girls. I couldn't imagine it any other way.'

But that cloud-like formation of fur does require a significant amount of time, money and upkeep.

'Grooming would be the biggest upkeep. I brush them all at least twice a week for an hour or two, they are bathed every week (Shimmer and Sebastian) when they have shows. Arthur and Aurora are bathed every few months,' she said.

'Even as a baby the pups would bring her one of their toys if they heard her crying. This is now the same with Ruby,' she said

But that cloud-like formation of fur does require a significant amount of time, money and upkeep

In terms of food that costs about $330 per month (pictured eating some meat)

'Their coat self cleans so if they do get a little muddy once it dries dirt just falls off the coat. During the shedding season it's brushing every day though.

'In terms of food that costs about $330 per month, supplements (fish oils, bone broth etc) $50 per month and grooming $20 per month (as I already have the supplies and am a dog groomer).

'But to wash them all in a day and give them a full groom it takes me about eight hours.'

In the future Sarah hopes to become a registered breeder and own a large property that works to rescue and re-home 'as many Samoyeds as possible'

And despite the extra vacuuming she has to do around the house, there is no downside to owning the pups

'They're fed mostly inside their crates as they are crate trained,' she said

In the future Sarah hopes to become a registered breeder and own a large property that works to rescue and re-home 'as many Samoyeds as possible'.

And despite the extra vacuuming she has to do around the house, there is no downside to owning the pups.

'As soon as we bought them home they were apart of the family. They learnt where they could and couldn't go in the home (to be honest there really isn't anywhere they can't go) and at night they sleep wherever they like to.

'They're fed mostly inside their crates as they are crate trained. The crates are always open in the house and we always find the older two fast asleep in them. So they have their own personal space away from the kids and day to day life of they want.

'They're honestly the best dogs and I couldn't imagine my life without them.'

You can follow the family and the furry pets at The Samoyed Siblings.
Tiffany Trump and Marla Maples are back from touring the English countryside to continue their whirlwind London tour.

The mother-daughter duo returned from Glastonbury for a night out on the town together as Tiffany continues to enjoy a summer vacation away from law school.

Tiffany, 24, covered up for the night, slipping into a black dress and covering her shoulders with a silk black shirt she left unbuttoned and tied at the waist.

Tiffany Trump and Marla Maples are back from touring the English countryside to continue their whirlwind London tour

The mother-daughter duo returned from Glatsonbury for a night out on the town together as Tiffany continues to enjoy a summer vacation away from law school

Tiffany, 24, covered up for the night out, slipping into a black dress and covering her shoulders with a silk black shirt she left unbuttoned and tied at the waist

Marla, 54, opted for a bit more color and skin, sporting a shift dress that showed off her bronzed arms and legs

Trump's youngest daughter wore her long blonde tresses down and paired her all-black look with matching stilettos and a handbag.

Marla, 54, opted for a bit more color and skin, sporting a shift dress that showed off her bronzed arms and legs.

The dress featured a shiny green and pink floral applique, which Marla matched with gold heels.

Mother and daughter happily posed for the paparazzi as they headed for dinner at the upscale Quaglino's.

Tiffany and Marla have been plenty enjoying their time away from the states with hikes up the English countryside and wild London nights.

The mother-daughter duo happily posed for the paparazzi as they headed for dinner at the upscale Quaglino's

Tiffany and Marla have been plenty enjoying their time away from the states with hikes up the English countryside and wild London nights

Strike a pose: The duo happily showed off their ensembles for the cameras inside the eatery

Smile! Tiffany wore a black bandage-style dress with a silk shirt covering her upper half, while Marla opted to show off her toned arms in a sleeveless number

On Friday Marla shared a scenic photo of herself with Tiffany and their friend Cat Faith on top of the Glastonbury Tor.

'Secrets unfold high above #Glastonbury,' Marla captioned the image, which was taken at sunset.

'Felt as if worlds were coming together as Tiffany, Cat and I (plus some very talkative Sheep) arrived at the top of Glastonbury Tor just as the sun began to set,' she wrote.

'Loved walking this ground and following the signs that led us each on our own path to the Tower and then brought us together again.'

Beaming: Marla and Tiffany are known for their close relationship, and seemed delighted to be enjoying yet another night out together

Glam: The chic night out on the town was a world away from the quiet weekend that the duo had spent in the countryside together

Bling: Tiffany accessorized her look with a chunky tooth necklace and a daintier gold chain

Although a portion of Marla's face is cut off in the selfie, she has a smile on her lips while next to her daughter.

Tiffany, meanwhile, is pictured looking at the camera with dark sunglasses shielding her eyes, and Cat is sitting next to her with a smile on her face and a brimmed hat on her head.

Around the same time, Marla posted a video of herself being driven past Stonehenge in Wiltshire, calling the prehistoric monument' stunning.'

'And it appears,' she captioned the footage of the ring of standing stones.

Tiffany also shared photos of their trip, posting clips of the stunning scenery of the countryside in Glastonbury during an early morning walk.

What a view: Marla Maples, 54, took to Instagram on Friday to share a photo of herself sitting on top of Glastonbury Tor with her daughter Tiffany, 24, and their friend Cat (from left to right)

Morning walk: Tiffany has also been sharing snippets from their trip to Somerset

Cheers: On Thursday, Cat shared a snapshot of herself enjoying some green juice with Marla in London, writing: 'Green juice makes you glow!'

The peaceful views she shared on her Instagram Stories showed sheep and lambs meandering beneath the shade of trees as the sun rose.

Tiffany and Marla jetted into Heathrow Airport on Wednesday and, just hours after they touched town, they visited Mayfair and Soho, two affluent areas in London.

The mother-daughter duo spent the first part of their night at the exclusive Arts Club, before heading to MNKY HSE, a Latin American bar in Soho.

Tiffany, who is enjoying a break from her studies at Georgetown Law School, happily posed for photos with her friend Karen Shiboleth during the big night out.

United Kingdom: After arriving at Heathrow Airport on Wednesday, Tiffany and Marla met friends out at the exclusive Arts Club in London

Night out: The mother-daughter duo enjoyed some time at the Arts Club (left) before meeting Tiffany's friend Karen Shiboleth (right)

'Finally reunited with my best @karenshiboleth (definitely worth the trip to London to see my girl!)' she wrote in the caption.

Karen, 25, a long-time friend of Tiffany's, is originally from New York, but moved to London is September 2016 for a master's program in international relations at King's College.

Marla also posted photos from the night out, including a snapshot of herself posed with Tiffany and Karen.

'Hanging with these intelligent young beauties,' she captioned the image. 'Thx for including momma in the fun.'

All smiles: Marla struck a pose with her friend Melissa Hannan and Cat at MNKY HSE, a Latin American bar in Soho

Model move: The first daughter struck a pose with Karen while enjoying their night out

'Definitely worth the trip to London to see my girl,' the socialite captioned her Instagram post, which showed her and her pal Karen posing together for a mini shoot

Tiffany is basking in Britain's bucolic splendor just a week after her father, Donald Trump, was met with large protests when he made his first official visit to the UK.

During the trip, he met with British Prime Minister Theresa May and had tea with the Queen at Windsor Castle.

However, Trump acknowledged that the protests in London kept him from almost entirely avoiding the British capital.

Tiffany, who appears to be soaking up every moment of her summer break, enjoyed nights out in the Hamptons and New York City before her latest getaway.

Protected: The first daughter was under the watchful eye of her Secret Service detail (right) during the night out in London
He suffered a near fatal heart attack last summer but a year on and James Hewitt appears to be back to full health and living life to the full.

The former lover of the late Princess Diana was pictured enjoying a pint at Chagstock Music Festival on Saturday.

The former army officer was joined by a mystery blonde who looked festival ready in a silver sequin dress over the weekend.

And as the day pressed on his female friend even added some face gems to her ensemble adding to her sparkly appearance.

The pair were last spotted together on the day of the royal wedding in May doing a food shop in Sainsbury's, Exeter.

Princess Diana's former lover James Hewitt was seen enjoying a pint alongside a mystery blonde at Chagstock Music Festival on Saturday

James, 60, cut a casual figure in a baggy denim shirt by Ralph Lauren tucked into a pair of cream slacks making for a relaxed ensemble.

He also wore a pair of flip lens tortoise shell glasses as he enjoyed the likes of Imelda May and the Buzzcocks at the Devon based music event.

James has been keeping a low profile since his major health scare just over a year ago.

He almost died in May 2017 and doctors gave him a harrowing prognosis with only a 'slim chance' of survival.

The 60-year-old appeared to be in good health following his near fatal heart attack in May last year as he and his sparkly companion enjoyed the Devon-based event

But he defied the odds and made a good enough recovery to return home from the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.

James had emergency surgery following the heart attack and stroke and eight weeks of treatment which proved successful.

The ex-Army captain and Gulf War veteran had a five-year affair with Diana while she was married to Prince Charles.

The pair met at a party in London in 1986 when she was aged 25. He was 28.

Three years later  in a now iconic image at the height of their affair  she was pictured presenting the Life Guards officer with a polo trophy.

Princess Diana met James Hewitt at a party in London in 1986 when she was aged 25. He was 28. Three years later  in a now iconic image at the height of their affair  she was pictured presenting the Life Guards officer with a polo trophy

The couple were forced apart when he was sent to Iraq in the 1991 Gulf War and split after their affair was made public.

Last year Hewitt appeared on Australian Channel Seven's Sunday Night.

Speaking candidly from his home in the southwest, he spoke about the moment he fell in love with the late royal.

The former polo player also denied claims he was Prince Harry's father when pressed about the paternity.

'Are you Harry's father?' Australian host Melissa Doyle asked.

'No, I'm not,' Diana's former lover replied.
Two identical twin sisters are taking the international modelling world by storm aged just 18.

Elisha and Renee Herbert, from Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast, started posting photos to Instagram when they were 14.

They quickly garnered around 10,000 followers each and were soon picked up by fashion brand Peppermayo.

Four years later, they boast a combined total of almost two million followers under the tutelage of Elite Model Management, which handles some of the most famous stars in the world.

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Elisha and Renee Herbert, from Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast, started posting photos to Instagram when they were 14

They quickly garnered around 10,000 followers each and were soon picked up by fashion brand Peppermayo

The sisters boast a combined total of almost two million followers under the tutelage of Elite Model Management

The pair now jet all around the world - from Italy to Mexico and Hawaii - for fashion shoots for major brands including Calvin Klein, Lounge Underwear and Princess Polly. Left: Elisha. Right: Renee

The pair now jet all across the globe - from Italy to Mexico and Hawaii - for fashion shoots for major brands including Calvin Klein, Lounge Underwear and Princess Polly.

'It's pretty crazy, we're doing a lot of things that we never expected to happen,' the girls told the Sunshine Coast Daily.

'Everything happened pretty fast so now we're just going with it, having fun and working. we've always wanted to travel and now it's a part of our job to travel.'

The sisters, who originally wanted to become marine biologists before 'falling into' modelling, are triplets - but their brother leads a more private life studying Nanoscience at UNSW.

'He's not into that at all,' Renee told Husskie. 'He doesn't let us take photos! We have like one photo of him.'

'It's pretty crazy, we're doing a lot of things that we never expected to happen,' the girls said

The sisters, who originally wanted to become marine biologists before 'falling into' modelling, are triplets - but their brother leads a more private life

It may seem that the girls have pretty gilded lives - but being a social media influencer comes with its own pressures, namely competing with other models. Pictured: Elisha

The girl's brother Eric (centre) was school captain and is now studying Nanoscience at UNSW

It may seem that the girls have pretty gilded lives - but being a social media influencer comes with its own pressures.

'I think comparing yourself to other people and other models is a tough thing  you don't feel as confident,' Renee said.

'Girls are really competitive these days especially if you're involved in the influencer space,' Elisha added.

Advising young aspiring models how to achieve their dream, the girls added: 'Instagram is such a great platform to express yourself by posting content to allow people to follow along your journey and feel inspired by a certain lifestyle.'

Agent Joop Schouten said the pair are a 'dream' to work with and have a 'phenomenal amount' of work coming up.

'Girls are really competitive these days especially if you're involved in the influencer space,' said Elisha (pictured)

Agent Joop Schouten said the pair are a 'dream' to work with and have a 'phenomenal amount' of work coming up
A couple who fostered two children after struggling to conceive have welcomed three daughters after IVF saw them deliver triplets - and have now adopted the two boys.

Mallory Jo Williams, 27, and Michael Williams, 30, from Pennsylvania went from having no children, to five children in the space of just two years.

Following two years of trying for a baby, the couple were placed with Chase (who can't be pictured for legal reasons) and Dylan in December 2016 while the boys' biological mothers went through court proceedings to confirm whether they were fit to look after their sons.

Through the many court appearances and monitored visits, Mallory and Michael began IVF in July 2017 as Mallory had longed to carry her own children.

After struggling to conceive Mallory and Michael Williams fostered (and later adopted) two boys before falling pregnant with triplets. Pictured: The couple with Dylan on his adoption day and triplets Avery, Emery and Bradley

However, their fresh embryo transfer failed and so they were put on the list for a frozen embryo transfer, which took place in September 2017.

The frozen transfer was a success and Mallory and Michael were overjoyed at the possibility of extending their family, without realising they would be extending it by three more babies.

Mallory said: 'I was able to control every aspect in my life until getting pregnant.

'Michael and I had always wanted to adopt since we began dating, so when we had trouble getting pregnant we figured it was destiny that we should go down that path.

The couple (pictured on their wedding day) had dreamt of adopting and went down the foster to adopt route to help children in their area

After a successful second round of IVF the couple delivered three daughters born on May 7th, 2018

'We chose the 'Foster to Adopt' route because we thought it would be great to help children in our immediate area.

'We had to wait approximately six months for our first placement which felt like forever.

'We were very surprised however, to get a call in the middle of the afternoon saying the family services would be dropping off an eight-month-old boy named Chase in a couple of hours. We were beyond excited and had to rush to make sure we had everything!

'This was a shelter call which meant we were a temporary shelter until Chase went to court 48 hours later. He ended up going back to his biological mother after which crushed us.

The couple instantly 'fell in love' with Dylan (pictured) when they went to visit him in hospital where he was detoxing from several substances

The couple officially adopted Dylan on June 29th, 2018 and are currently finanlising their adoption of Chase

'Not even three days later we received a placement call for a six-week-old named Dylan. So, we went to visit him in hospital where he was detoxing from several substances and we fell in love with him instantly.

'As fate would have it, we got a call from the agency saying Chase's court decision was overturned and he'd be re-entering the care system, so would we like to welcome him back? It was a unanimous yes.

'We were slightly overwhelmed to go from zero children to two in seven days.

Mallory picture during her pregnancy with the triplets

'Fostering was the hardest thing I ever did. We treated Chase and Dylan like our own, but I was always terrified that someone would take my baby away. We lived from court date to court date.'

Mallory and Michael didn't give up hope on the possibility of carrying their own child, so after trying all the natural remedies they could, they agreed to do IVF. Mallory put aside her fear of needles and blood to go through with the process.

Mallory had 26 eggs retrieved, 13 of which were viable to use. So, initially they put in one of their seven embryos, which unfortunately wasn't prosperous.

Two months later, they agreed on putting two embryos in, figuring the most unlikely situation would be to have twins.

'Every month was so depressing when I got my period. I cut out caffeine and alcohol in the hope it would help,' added Mallory.

'I would feel really guilty that the one night out with my girlfriends would be the reason I wouldn't get pregnant. I tried everything from natural herbs and vitamins, to asking my doctor for help.

'My doctor couldn't find anything wrong with Michael or I, so we tried for three years before deciding to start IVF.

'We tried conceiving naturally from October 2014, and eventually tried IVF in July 2017, and finally got pregnant from a frozen embryo transfer in September 2017.

'We said so many times that we didn't care how many we had, we just wanted to get pregnant. But I thought I'd miscarried the night before our first ultrasound and I cried all day.

'The doctor told me to take it easy, she didn't think I was miscarrying, but I would find out the next day, so I was prepared for the worst.

'The tech put my mind at ease saying, 'things look good, I'm just trying to get a picture of them smiling' - she said 'them'!

The couple went from being childless to a family-of-seven in the space of two yeats

'We immediately thought it was twins, so we were very giddy when we were in the waiting room before seeing the doctor, who then told us it was triplets. All we could do was laugh!

'My doctor took me out of work at 20 weeks and I had appointments every week, and ultrasounds every other week. I made it to 35 weeks with no complications before my scheduled C-section.

'The girls were born on May 7th, 2018, named Avery Jo Williams (5 lbs 1oz), Emery Jo Williams (4lbs 12oz) and Bradley Jo Williams (4lbs 8oz).'

After dreaming of a family for so many years, Mallory and Michael suddenly had their wish come true with five beautiful children under their roof.

They officially adopted Dylan on June 29th, 2018 and are currently finalising their adoption of Chase to complete their family.

To find out more about Mallory and Michael's journey from zero to five children, visit their Instagram, @five.kids.n.two.years
Tuesday saw the Duchess meet the Dame as Camilla and Judi Dench met for an ice cream on the Isle of Wight.

The Duchess of Cornwall met with the actress on Queen Victoria's private beach, next to the monarch's holiday home of Osborne House in East Cowes this morning.

The royal and the Oscar winner, who have met on several occasions, could be seen enjoying a catch up over a vanilla ice cream complete with a flake.

The Duchess of Cornwall appeared to be struggling with her ice cream as she joined Dame Judi Dench in the Isle of Wight on Tuesday

But with the UK in the grips of a heatwave Camilla appeared to have a little trouble with her frozen treat.

The 71-year-old royal could be seen struggling to keep the clotted cream vanilla dripping on her white dress.

Luckily Dame Judi, 83, was on hand to help, offering the Duchess of Cornwall a napkin to clean herself up.

With the UK in the grips of a heatwave Camilla was struggling to keep her cone from dripping onto her immaculate white dress

The Duchess of Cornwall met with the actress on Queen Victoria's private beach, next to the monarch's holiday home of Osborne House in East Cowes this morning.

Upon her arrival on the beach today Camilla received a warm welcome from local school children much to her delight

The actress, who patron of the Friends of Osborne House, will show Camilla the newly restored Durbar Room, which was one of the locations for the film Victoria and Abdul in which she played Queen Victoria.

Osborne House was purchased by Victoria and Prince Albert in 1845 and was one of the Queen's favourite family homes - she once said: 'It is impossible to imagine a prettier spot.'

After her death in 1901, the house was given to the state and parts of the pavilion first opened to the public as early as 1904.

It is now cared for by English Heritage and is open to the public year round.

This will be Camilla's first visit to Victoria's former holiday home since her last trip in 2009.

The two women have met on several occasions and appeared to be enjoying their catch up

The actress, who is patron of the Friends of Osborne House, will show Camilla the newly restored Durbar Room

History lesson: The Duchess of Cornwall and Dame Judi Dench are shown artefacts relating to Queen Victoria inside the Durbar room in Osborne House

Dame Judi Dench observes a bust of the late Queen during her visit to Victoria's holiday home in East Cowes on the Isle of Wight today

Camilla and Judi are shown artefacts relating to Queen Victoria inside the Durbar room

The actress, who patron of the Friends of Osborne House, showed Camilla the newly restored Durbar Room during their joint visit today

Upon her arrival on the beach today Camilla received a warm welcome from local school children much to her delight.

The Duchess spent time chatting to each of them before joining Dame Judi for her admittedly messy ice cream.

Later Camilla will have a short walkabout in Cowes where crowds are expected to have gathered in preparation of her arrival.

She will then take part in a naming ceremony for the new red Funnel ferry Red Jet 7.

Lord-Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight, Major General Sir Martin White, said ahead of her visit: 'It will be a pleasure to welcome Her Royal Highness back to the Island where she will not only be able to meet Islanders and visitors but also see some of the changes that have been made in the intervening years.'
Teenagers across the UK are enjoying a summer of freedom after sitting the exams required to secure them a place at university.

But how much can they really expect to earn after completing their chosen degree?

A study using Office of National Statistics data has ranked 20 of the most popular courses according to the level of salary graduates are likely to be on five years after leaving university.

Unsurprisingly, medicine and dentistry are at the top of the list when it comes to earning potential - with graduates earning some 47,300 per annum within five years.

But some unexpected entries lower down on the list include law - which could see graduates taking home a relatively modest 25,200 within five years, only marginally more than those who have teaching degrees.

A new survey has revealed the stark contrast between the earnings of graduates with varying degrees five years after graduating - so how much will your degree help you earn?

The study from by online mortgage service Propillo  which placed creative arts and design degrees at the bottom of its rankings with forecast earnings of 20,000  also reveals the stark contrast in salary depending on graduates' chosen subjects.

The average UK salary is 27,600 per year.

However, the findings suggest that a third of graduates leaving university with one of the 20 most in-demand degrees can expect to earn below that figure.

According to the study, the degree with the second-highest earning potential is economics, with a median salary of 37,900 five years after graduating.

In third and fourth place were veterinary sciences and maths, with graduates looking at an average salary of 34,900 and 33,100 respectively.

Graduates with medical degrees have the highest earning potential with a projected annual salary of 47,300 five years after leaving university - in contrast to 20,200 for creative arts and design graduates

What the top 20 degrees will earn you five years after graduating 1. Medicine and dentistry 47,300 2. Economics 37,900 3. Veterinary science 34,900 4. Mathematical sciences 33,100 5. Engineering and technology 32,600 6. Nursing 28,500 7. Computer science 27,800 8. Languages (including English studies) 27,400 9. Physical sciences 27,100 10. Business and administration studies 26,800 11. Historical & philosophical studies 25,400 12. Law 25,200 13. Biological, studies 24,500 14. Social sciences (excluding economics) 24,500 15. English studies 24,000 16. Education 23,700 17. Mass communication and documentation 22,800 18. Psychology 22,600 19. Agriculture and related 20,500 20. Creative arts and design 20,200 Advertisement

Towards the bottom of the table came psychology graduates in at number 18 with earnings of just 22,600, and at 19 agricultural students who pulled in just 20,500 five years after graduating.

The findings also aimed to show how your geographical area of birth could affect your earnings later in life.

The study was compiled using data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), as well as the latest figures from the UK House Price Index (HPI) and graduate earnings one, three, five and 10 years after leaving university.

The figures revealed that its bad news if youre from the North East, as graduates born in this region will earn the lowest average salary of any graduates from across the country.

With the average UK salary of 27,600, this means a third of graduates with the top 20 most popular degrees will earn salaries below the UK average

This research, published by the Department for Education last year revealed that a degree from an elite university can earn a graduate 50,000 more than a student who did the same subject at a less prestigious institution

On average, those from the North East will earn 29,200 ten years after graduating.

In comparison, those from London will earn an additional 6,400 a year, bringing their total annual salary to 35,600, regardless of which university they attended.

Research published by the Department for Education last year revealed that a degree from an elite university can earn a graduate 50,000 more than a student who did the same subject at a less prestigious institution.

Analysis of 148 institutions and salaries based on tax data revealed which colleges produced the highest earning graduates, after they had been in the labour market for five years.

Oxford and Cambridge repeatedly topped the lists, published in 2017, although salaries vary much more according to the university a student attended in disciplines such as law, economics and business studies than they do in humanities such as English.
The UK is baking as the heatwave continues, but there's no need to swelter in the office or on a packed train if you're royal because you can cool off on a glamorous boat trip.

Young royals from around the world have been making the most of the summer months, living it up on holidays in enviable spots such as Paris and Mykonos, with Princess Talita von Furstenberg of the German Princely family of Furstenberg leading the way.

The the 19-year-old granddaughter of designer Diane von Furstenberg and Prince Egon von Furstenberg of the German Princely family of Furstenberg is busy globetrotting after completing her first year at Georgetown University in May.

In just two months, Talita has visited Spain, Austria, Israel, France and Greece, among other places  and the princess has shared plenty of bikini snapshots on Instagram along the way.

Her royal cousins have been equally busy enjoying a sun soaked break in Greece, with Princess Maria Olympia of Greece sharing a variety of smouldering snaps.

Lady Amelia Windsor, 22, who is 36th in line to the British throne, kept her cool in a daring pink bra and yellow dungarees combo as she attended a festival in Souldrop, Bedford last weekend

Princess Margaret's grandson Arthur Chatto, 19, - the Queen's great nephew - showed off his muscular physique in a sun-soaked snap on Instagram, although he didn't reveal his location

Princess Talita von Furstenberg taking a stroll through the blossom at the Chateau Minuty wine estate in Provence

Talita's cousin Princess Maria Oylmpia of Greece, 21, has been sharing sun-soaked snaps from her parents' home country

The Greek royals have no official remit after the monarchy was deposed and scrapped in 1973, but still remain impeccably connected with other regal families throughout Europe.

Olympia, a New York-based student, is thought to be holidaying in Greece with her parents Crown Prince Pavlos and Princess Marie-Chantal and some of her brothers, including Prince Alexios.

She shared a snap of her steering the family's boat, wearing a towel on her head with a filter adding a retro feel, while another shot shows two of her brother playing cards during a relaxed afternoon in Sifnos.

Although she hasn't escaped the UK, Amelia Windsor kept her cool in a daring outfit as she attended a festival in Souldrop, Bedfordshire last weekend.

Princess Maria Oylmpia added a retro look to a snap of her steering the boat during her family holiday in Greece on Monday. In another snap, uploaded on Sunday, she wowed followers in a skimpy black bikini as she caught some rays during a boat trip in Greece

Model and heiress showed off her figure in a skimpy crochet bikini as she cosied up to her boyfriend Rocco Brignone in Mykonos earlier this month

Talita's brother Prince Tassilo (left) has also joined the glossy posse on their travels. He was pictured on a night out in Mykonos earlier this month

Talita and her travelling companions, singer Charlotte Lawrence (centre) and Molly Cody (right) soaking up the sun by the pool in France last week

The fashion heiress (centre) has been travelling around Europe for the summer after completing her first year at university and partied on the beach in Mykonos earlier this month

The 36th in line to the British throne looked distinctly un-regal in bright yellow dungarees opened to the waist, teamed with a pink bra top.

Meanwhile, Princess Margaret's grandson Arthur Chatto has also taken the chance to post yet another Instagram snap showing off his chiseled physique as he stripped off in the heatwave.

The 18-year-old son of the Queen's niece Lady Sarah Chatto and 23rd in line to the throne is no stranger to sultry snaps on Instagram, and has prevoiusly showed off his muscular body in nothing but white Calvin Klein boxers.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, has also been living it up on a summer break.

The royal, 35, who is known for documenting his high-speed lifestyle on his account where he boasts almost 6 million followers, is currently exploring in the Faroe Islands where he's been diving and sailing.

The Crown Prince of Dubai is enjoying the wildlife of the Faroe Islands, part of Denmark, on a summer break

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, has also been living it up on a summer break in the Faroe Islands

Prince Alexios of Greece playing cards with his younger brother during a family break on the island of Sifnos in Greece

Princess Talita Von Furstenberg (right) is making the most of her freedom after completing her first year at university in the US and has been holidaying in France with friends
While the Duchess of Cornwall was drinking tea with Dame Judi Dench on the Isle of Wight, Prince Charles decamped to the West Midlands today, to visit a forest that replicates weather conditions of the future.

The heir to the throne, a keen environmentalist, looked in jolly spirits following his return from a sun-soaked tour of the West Country last week.

Charles, who celebrates his 70th birthday in November, was visiting the University of Birmingham's Institute of Forest Research, which looks at how changing C02 levels will affect the nation's flora and fauna.

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The Prince of Wales, 69, looked in good spirits as he toured the University of Birmingham's Institute of Forest Research Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment experiment facility in Norbury Junction, Staffordshire today

Hearing about how changing levels of CO2 are likely to affect the country's landscape in decades to come, Prince Charles chatted with researchers and scientists at the engineered woodland

Professor Jo Bradwell, pictured right of Prince Charles, took the royal on a tour of the woodland, explaining how the forests of the future might be affected

A tree-climber chats to Charles about the gantries which run through the forests and enable scientists to reach the highest part of the woodland

Looking dapper in a silver grey suit, Charles looked happy to be discussing an area close to his heart

Wearing a smart silver-grey suit and polished brown brogues, the Prince laughed and joked with researchers as he unveiled a plaque at the site.

Made of planed oak, the prince quipped: 'You're not going to put it at the top of the tree, are you?'

Charles was also presented with a gift from the university - an engraved bottle, found in the forest during site construction, which had been filled with air from the forest at its predicted CO2 level in 2050.

Accepting the present, he then joked good-naturedly with the scientists, researchers and dignitaries: 'I'll be 102 by then.'

The engineered woodland was established in 2014, with a 15 million donation, to provide fundamental science, social science and cultural research on woodlands and forests.

The outdoor facility is made up of gantry towers in the oak forest, measuring 80ft to 90ft in height. Carbon dioxide is pumped through large pipe workings, up into the canopy and measured at both ground and leaf level.

The experiment is aimed at modelling the effect of CO2 levels based on assumptions of levels in 2050, and using that data to help understand climate changes, and what forests might be able to do to help.

After being gifted an engraved bottle containing air with predicted 2050 CO2 levels, the 69-year-old prince laughed: 'I'll be 102 by then'

Pause for thought: The heir to the throne is a keen environmentalist

Charles and Professor Bradwell tour the facility; the Prince of Wales appearing animated about what the scientists at Norbury Junction are trying to do

Experiment director Professor Michael Tausz told Charles that England looks like Australia at the moment because of the current heatwave

The idea behind the experiment site is to allow scientists to work out how much carbon dioxide - a key driver in climate change - forests can take out the atmosphere.

Launched with 10 years' funding, researchers hope the facility will last well beyond the next decade.

Experiment director Professor Michael Tausz said the facility was 'massively important' to understanding and accurately modelling climate change.

He said: 'This is not a bad time to come here, actually, as England looks like Australia at the moment.'

He added: 'This is the only facility of its type in the northern hemisphere - the only other like this is in Sydney.

'It's massively important because the climate models politicians talk about come from assumptions that are based on models from the past.

'So whatever results we get here may change targets and our understanding of climate change massively.'

Later, the prince sat down with members of Action Oak, which aims to preserve the nation's oak trees

The research charity raises money to ensure the great English tree species survives

He added that Charles's visit was 'very important'.

'He has such a high profile and can tell people about what we are doing here,' he said.

The facility uses two tanks of carbon dioxide per day - all a by-product of fertiliser production, so no additional gas is produced.

The prince was also sitting down with campaigners who are working to protect the nation's oak trees from survival against pests and diseases.

Action Oak is raising money for research and monitoring of the tree species, and was officially launched earlier this year.

Charles has a long-standing interest in plant health and bio-security, attending a 2016 meeting at his country home, Highgrove, to further discuss the issue.

That meeting led to the initiative behind Action Oak, safeguarding the health of the UK's native oak from a range of threats.

The prince has been patron of Woodland Heritage - a partner of the initiative - since 2005, and its efforts to improve forest management across the UK.

As part of Tuesday's engagements, he was also visiting the new Pool House Veterinary Group's state-of-the-art Equine Clinic in Lichfield.
Tiffany Trump and Marla Maples had a mini photo shoot while shopping in London on Monday afternoon.

The mother-daughter duo happily posed for photos together as they tried on leather jackets at a Matchless store in Mayfair, an affluent area in the city's West End.

Matchless is one of the oldest British motorcycle brands, so it was only fitting that Tiffany, 24, and Marla, 54, struck a pose in front of one of the company's bikes while showing off their jackets.

Models: Tiffany Trump, 24, and Marla Maples, 54, posed for photos together as they tried on leather jackets at a Matchless store in Mayfair, an affluent area in the city's West End

Working it: The first daughter seemed to be enjoying herself during the impromptu photo shoot, and she happily posed with her arm resting on the store's display motorcycle

In addition to the leather goods they were trying on, Tiffany and Marla both had on variations of summer white for their shopping trip.

The first daughter donned a flirty white dress featuring red and purple flowers and Adidas sneakers, while Marla sported a white T-shirt by Matchless, white shorts, and gold espadrilles.

Both women opted to wear their long blonde hair down in loose waves and sunglasses, though Tiffany sported oversize black frames and Marla had on pink aviators.

The two looked like they were taking part in their very own photo shoot as they posed for the camera throughout the store.

Having a blast: The mother and daughter had bright smiles on their faces while taking photos together

Complementary looks: Tiffany and Marla both wore their own version of summer white for the shopping excursion

One snapshot shows Tiffany and Marla standing side by side in front of the store's motorcycle and clothing racks, with their arms bent to draw attention to their jackets.

While President Donald Trump's youngest daughter modeled a biker jacket with patches, her youthful-looking mom had on a sleek plain black version.

Tiffany, who is enjoying a break from her studies at Georgetown Law School, seemed to really get into the impromptu shoot, and there are a few pictures of the law student striking a pose by herself.

It was a photo-heavy day for the mother and daughter, who happily posed for the paparazzi while heading to dinner at the upscale restaurant Quaglino's later that night.

Tiffany slipped into a black dress and covered her shoulders with a silk black shirt she left unbuttoned and tied at the waist.

Cool: Marla donned a sleek leather biker jacket, while Tiffany modeled one with patches

Outfit of the day: Tiffany donned a flirty white dress featuring red and purple flowers and Adidas sneakers. She is pictured trying on a studded motorcycle jacket in the store

She wore her long blonde tresses down and paired her all-black look with matching stilettos and a handbag.

Marla opted for a bit more color and skin, sporting a shift dress that showed off her bronzed arms and legs.

The dress featured a shiny green and pink floral applique, which Marla matched with gold heels.

Tiffany and Marla have been enjoying their time away from the states with hikes up the English countryside and wild London nights.

The proud mom has been posting plenty of videos and snapshots from the trip, and on Sunday, she shared photos of herself on top of Glastonbury Tor, writing: '...in the land of Camelot... the legends come alive as the sun sets and the winds begin to stir...'

Living it up: Later that night, Tiffany and Marla enjoyed a night out on the town

Style: Tiffany slipped into a black dress and covered her shoulders with a silk black shirt she left unbuttoned and tied at the waist

Youthful look: Marla opted for a bit more color and skin, sporting a shift dress that showed off her bronzed arms and legs

Strike a pose: The duo happily showed off their ensembles for the cameras inside the eatery

One snapshot shows Marla holding on to a notebook and looking out into the distance while standing on top of Glastonbury Tor at sunset.

She also posted Instagram Stories clips of 'Tiffie guiding the lost sheep' in Glastonbury and their trip to Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare.

On Friday, Marla shared a scenic photo of herself with Tiffany and their friend Cat Faith on top of Glastonbury Tor.

'Secrets unfold high above #Glastonbury,' Marla captioned the image, which was taken at sunset.

'Felt as if worlds were coming together as Tiffany, Cat and I (plus some very talkative Sheep) arrived at the top of Glastonbury Tor just as the sun began to set,' she wrote.

'Loved walking this ground and following the signs that led us each on our own path to the Tower and then brought us together again.'

On Monday, Marla shared on Instagram Stories videos and photos from their time in the English countryside, including a clip of 'Tiffie guiding the lost sheep'

Fun times: They also visited Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare

Scenic view: On Sunday, Marla posted a snapshot of herself enjoying the sunset on top of Glastonbury Tor

Looking around: She also shared a pensive photo of herself sitting near the stairs on the hill

Although a portion of Marla's face is cut off in the selfie, she has a smile on her lips while next to her daughter.

Tiffany, meanwhile, is pictured looking at the camera with dark sunglasses shielding her eyes, and Cat is sitting next to her with a smile on her face and a brimmed hat on her head.

Around the same time, Marla posted a video of herself being driven past Stonehenge in Wiltshire, calling the prehistoric monument' stunning.'

'And it appears,' she captioned the footage of the ring of standing stones.

Tiffany also shared photos of their trip, posting clips of the stunning scenery of the countryside in Glastonbury during an early morning walk.

What a view: Marla also posted a photo of herself sitting on top of Glastonbury Tor with Tiffany and their friend Cat (from left to right) on Friday

Morning walk: Tiffany has also been sharing snippets from their trip to Somerset

The peaceful views she shared on her Instagram Stories showed sheep and lambs meandering beneath the shade of trees as the sun rose.

Tiffany and Marla jetted into Heathrow Airport last Wednesday and, just hours after they touched town, they visited Mayfair and Soho, two affluent areas in London.

The mother-daughter duo spent the first part of their night at the exclusive Arts Club, before heading to MNKY HSE, a Latin American bar in Soho.

Tiffany happily posed for photos with her friend Karen Shiboleth during the big night out.

United Kingdom: After arriving at Heathrow Airport last Wednesday, Tiffany and Marla met friends out at the exclusive Arts Club in London

Night out: The mother-daughter duo enjoyed some time at the Arts Club before meeting Tiffany's friend Karen Shiboleth (pictured)

'Finally reunited with my best @karenshiboleth (definitely worth the trip to London to see my girl!)' she wrote in the caption.

Karen, 25, a long-time friend of Tiffany's, is originally from New York, but moved to London is September 2016 for a master's program in international relations at King's College.

Marla also posted photos from the night out, including a snapshot of herself posed with Tiffany and Karen.

'Hanging with these intelligent young beauties,' she captioned the image. 'Thx for including momma in the fun.'

Model move: The first daughter struck a pose with Karen while enjoying their night out

'Definitely worth the trip to London to see my girl,' the socialite captioned her Instagram post, which showed her and her pal Karen posing together for a mini shoot

Protected: The first daughter was under the watchful eye of her Secret Service detail (right) during the night out in London

Tiffany basked in Britain's bucolic splendor just a week after her father, Donald Trump, was met with large protests when he made his first official visit to the UK.

During the trip, he met with British Prime Minister Theresa May and had tea with the Queen at Windsor Castle.

However, Trump acknowledged that the protests in London kept him from almost entirely avoiding the British capital.

Tiffany, who appears to be soaking up every moment of her summer break, enjoyed nights out in the Hamptons and New York City before her latest getaway.
Model Karlie Kloss flashed her enormous diamond ring on Instagram just hours after she and her boyfriend of six years Joshua Kushner announced their engagement.

The former Victoria's Secret Angel shared the happy news on Instagram, describing the 33-year-old financier as her 'best friend and soulmate'.

'I love you more than I have words to express,' the 25-year-old wrote alongside a romantic sunset picture of the couple that shows Joshua beaming into the camera while Karlie plants a sweet kiss on his cheek.

'Josh, youre my best friend and my soulmate. I cant wait for forever together. Yes a million times over.' She finished off the gushing caption with a diamond ring emoji.

Shortly after their announcement, the happy couple was congratulated by Joshua's sister-in-law, first daughter Ivanka Trump, who shared a heartfelt message on Karlie's Instagram post.

A bling thing! Karlie Kloss shared a clip of herself on set in Beijing showing off her enormous ring hours after revealing that her boyfriend Joshua Kushner had popped the question

Special news: Earlier on Tuesday, Karlie announced her engagement to boyfriend Joshua on Instagram, sharing this happy picture of the couple

Heartfelt: Former Victoria's Secret Angel Karlie posted a gushing caption alongside the image, referring to Josh as her 'best friend and soulmate'

Family: The couple were congratulated by Joshua's sister-in-law, first daughter Ivanka Trump, who shared a heartfelt comment on Karlie's Instagram post

'So, so happy for you and Josh! I feel blessed to have you as a sister (!!!) Karlie and look forward to the decades of happy memories we will create together as a family! [sic]' Ivanka wrote.

Karlie did not initially show off her engagement ring, instead she kept her hands out of the frame entirely; in fact the only diamonds visible in the sweet snap were those being worn in her ears and around her neck.

Diamonds are a girl's best friend! Karlie showed off the sizable rock on her Instagram Story while on a shoot in Beijing

But the model did flash her huge rock on Instagram a few hours later while she was on set in Beijing.

Joshua, meanwhile, posted a stunning picture of his girlfriend taken inside what looks like the infamous Rain Room exhibit, an experiential art installation that made appearances at New York's MoMA, and LACMA in Los Angeles.

He captioned the striking snap with one word: 'Fiance,' while also adding a heart emoji for effect.

It has been a whirlwind summer of fun so far for the newly-engaged couple, who have just returned from a sun-soaked getaway on the coast of Italy, where they were among a group of celebrity guests being hosted by billionaire David Geffen on his yacht.

There, the couple joined the likes of Paul McCartney, billionaires Barry Diller and Henry Kravis, and royal matchmaker Misha Nonoo, the designer who set up Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

And while numerous candid pictures have been posted of the couple during their stay on the lavish $200 million boat, Karlie has been careful to keep her wedding finger hidden at all times, giving away not even the smallest peek at her engagement ring.

Status update: Instead of sharing an image of himself with Karlie, Joshua instead shared the news on Instagram by posting a picture of the model, along with the caption, 'Fiance'

However, while Italy might seem like the perfect spot for a proposal, Joshua actually chose to pop the question a few weeks ago, 'during a romantic weekend together in upstate New York', according to People.

A source close to the couple added to the publication: 'Theyre both overjoyed and happily celebrating. Their hearts are full and theyre excited to build their future together.'

Celebration: Not long after Joshua, 33, popped the question, he and Karlie, 25, traveled to Capri, where they joined billionaire David Geffen on his $200 million yacht

Karlie and Jared, whose relationship was not made public until November 2012, five months after they began dating, no doubt appreciated the opportunity to celebrate their recent engagement among friends while basking in the beautiful weather in Italy before Karlie had to jet straight to China for work.

Kode with Klossy creator Karlie shared a clip of herself on set in Beijing just hours after departing Capri, where she and Joshua, who is the brother of senior White House advisor, Jared Kushner, were seen looking very much the happy couple while on-board Geffen's $200 million yacht.

There, the pair were seen laughing, kissing, and holding hands with Karlie shocking her new fiance at one point by flipping the bird in the direction of the cameras, while Josh jokingly tried to pull down her hand.

Cheeky gestures aside, it was a rare display of public intimacy between the pair, who are known for keeping their relationship incredibly private.

In an April interview with Porter magazine, Karlie opened up about her choice to remain so secretive about her relationship, explaining, 'Its not like Ive ever wanted to be so secretive about my private life.

'Carolina Herrera always says, "A woman whos an open book is boring." Theres no mystery anymore. I know in my life what really matters to me. Im not trying to hide that from the world; I just really like having a more private private life.'

She then added: 'Ive got nothing to hide, though!'

Celebration: The duo (pictured second and third from the left on the back row) joined the likes of designer and royal matchmaker Misha Nonoo and Paul McCartney on Geffen's lavish yacht

Private: Karlie (pictured far right) has kept her hand hidden in photos, giving not even a small peek at her engagement ring

Fun in the sun! The couple appeared to be having a great time on vacation, with Karlie even cheekily flipping the bird in the direction of the cameras at one point

It seems that sun-soaked getaways are really the only time that the couple feels comfortable being photographed; in addition to the latest round of Italy photos, they were also pictured together while enjoying a vacation in Jordan alongside the likes of Misha and her boyfriend Mikey Hess - Joshua's best friend - and popstar Ellie Goulding.

The group was also joined by Crown Prince Hussein.

But, having started dating in June 2012, Karlie and Joshua have only attended a handful of public events together in the six years since, and even then Joshua has avoided making an appearance on the red carpet.

Keeping quiet: Karlie and Joshua, pictured in April 2016, are notoriously private about their relationship

At this year's Met Gala, which the couple attended together, Joshua chose to skip the carpet entirely, leaving his then-girlfriend to pose for photos alone before joining her inside the lavish star-studded event, where he happily posed up for several more candid social media snaps.

The couple has also avoided making public appearances with Joshua's high-profile brother and sister-in-law; Karlie was pictured sharing a box with Ivanka and Jared at the US Open in 2016, along with the likes of billionaire Geffen and Wendi Deng, however Joshua is not thought to have been present.

It is thought to be the only time that Karlie and Ivanka have been pictured together at a public event.

Joshua has been seen with his brother and sister-in-law more recently however; he was pictured with Ivanka and the couple's three children near their home in Washington, DC, on the Jewish holiday of Shavuot last year.

The brothers were also pictured together in January 2017 when the venture capitalist attended senior White House advisor Jared's swearing in at the White House - one day after attending an anti-Trump women's march.

At the time, Joshua is said to have told others present at the march that he was merely 'observing' and not actually taking part, however it is not the first time that his own political opinions have been reported as being at odds with those of his brother's father-in-law.

Rare: Karlie and Joshua have not made a public appearance together with Jared Kushner and Ivanka; the model attended the US Open with the couple in 2016, but Josh was not present

Brothers: Joshua and Jared are also rarely seen together; they are pictured at Jared's swearing in at the White House in January 2017, one of the last times they were pictured together

Family affair: Joshua also joined his brother's family for the Jewish holiday of Shavuot at the end of May 2017. He is pictured with Ivanka and her three children

While declining an interview on Joshua's behalf with Esquire magazine in 2016, a spokesperson confirmed to the publication that he considered himself a 'lifelong Democrat', adding that he would not be voting for Trump in the presidential election.

His father, Charles Kushner, was also once a prominent and elite Democrat, before being convicted of 18 counts of tax evasion, illegal campaign donations, and witness tampering.

Karlie, meanwhile, made clear her political views in November 2016, when she shared an image of herself on Instagram filling out a voting form in favor of Hillary Clinton - along with the caption, 'I'm with her.'

No matter the status of Joshua's relationship with Ivanka and Jared, the couple's wedding is sure to be an incredibly celebrity-heavy affair; no details have yet been released about when they plan to tie the knot, however it is likely that there will be plenty of A-listers in attendance.

As well as David Geffen, Misha Nonoo and her boyfriend Mikey Hess, the couple have a slew of high-profile pals between them, from Karlie's on-again-off-again best buddy Taylor Swift to Joshua's close friend Kevin Systrom, the CEO of Instagram.

Kevin was actually one of the first people to post a picture of the couple on the social site when he subtly shared a snap of two unnamed people cuddling on a beach, albeit without any information that would give away their identities.

The snap - which was captioned, 'I think my friend likes her' - has however since been identified as one of the first photos snapped of the pair.
A devoted teacher invited 80 of her students to her wedding, because she simply couldn't imagine enjoying the occasion without her 'heroes' at her side.

Ashlyn Houck, 28, and Matt Kurtz, 33, tied the knot last month in Philadelphia. The bride, who has taught at her current school for the past four years, knew from the start she couldn't plan her wedding without including her beloved students.

'We spend a lot of time together during the school year and they become a very important part of my life, and I just couldn't picture getting married without them as a part of it,' Ashlyn, who teaches third grade, told Yahoo Lifestyle.

Big day: Devoted teacher Ashlyn Houck, 28, invited 80 of her students to her wedding last month in Philadelphia. About 30 third and fourth-graders came to the ceremony

Making plans: The bride, who has taught at her current school for the past four years, knew from the start she couldn't plan her wedding without including her beloved students

She thus invited a class of third graders as well as a fourth-grade class to join the event.

Sticking to a theme, Ashlyn sent them superhero-themed invitations, which matched the decor of her classroom.

She and Matt also hired a school bus to serve as transportation on their wedding day.

About 30 of Ashlyn's students attended the ceremony with their parents at St. Cecilia's Church, which is affiliated to the school where the bride teaches.

They seemed thrilled to join the happy occasion as they posed next to the bride inside the church. The children also took a group shot in front of the school bus, next to a Hulk cardboard cutout.

Ashlyn's career has long played a part in her romance with Matt.

When the groom proposed, back in 2014, he made sure to include her class.

Thrilled: Ashlyn's students looked delighted as they posed next to the school bus that served as the pair's wedding transportation, next to a Hulk cardboard cutout

Bond: The teacher (pictured with her husband and wedding party) said the children regularly shares tidbits of their lives with her, and she's used to doing the same

Milestones: When the groom proposed, back in 2014, he made sure to include her class. Later on, students' parents planned a surprise bridal shower for the couple

Praise: Ashlyn is 'an incredible teacher' according to one mother whose two daughters attended the ceremony

Later on, students' parents planned a surprise bridal shower for the couple, giving them another classroom-related milestone to remember.

'With my love of teaching and him proposing in my classroom, it just felt right,' Ashlyn said of her decision to include her students in her wedding.

The teacher said the children regularly shares tidbits of their lives with her, and she's used to doing the same.

By inviting them to the wedding, she wanted to show them what a special place they hold in her heart.

'They are not just students in my class during the school year, but at your wedding you want your special people there and that I want all my special people with me all the time,' Ashlyn said. 'That they are "my kids, my heroes."'

One mother, who has two daughters in the third-grade class, said her children had a great time at the wedding, and said of Ashlyn: 'She is an incredible teacher.'
Ivanka Trump is shutting down her eponymous fashion brand to focus on her work in Washington, D.C.

The news reported by the Wall Street Journal comes more than a year after the 36-year-old first daughter formally separated from the company to move to the nation's capital to work as one of her father President Donald Trump's senior White House advisers.

'When we first started this brand, no one could have predicted the success that we would achieve,' Ivanka said in a statement.

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Saying goodbye: Ivanka Trump, 36, has announced she is closing her namesake fashion brand. She is pictured leaving her home on Friday morning

Merchandise: The Ivanka Trump brand includes apparel, shoes, handbags, and jewelry

'After 17 months in Washington, I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business, but I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington, so making this decision now is the only fair outcome for my team and partners.'

According to the outlet, Abigail Klem, the brand's current president, informed its 18 employees on Tuesday that the company is closing. Ivanka is set to speak with the staffers who have been laid off later in the day.

Abigail said in a statement that she understood the decision to shutter the company had been a 'difficult' one for Ivanka to make.

The brand's president took over for the first daughter after she separated herself from the management and operations of the company, IT Collection LLC, after her father was elected president.

Celebration: Before Ivanka started her fashion brand, she opened an Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry store in New York City in 2007 (pictured)

The goods: Ivanka then launched her clothing brand in 2011. She is pictured attending the launch of Ivanka Trump footwear at Macy's Herald Square in March 2011

The bulk of Ivanka's assets  more than $50 million worth  was contained in a trust that holds her business and corporations. That trust generated over $5 million in revenue last year, according to the financial disclosure form she filed in June.

Ivanka's foray into fashion started in 2007 when she opened an Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry store in New York City. In 2011, she launched her apparel and accessorizes company.

The Ivanka Trump brand now includes apparel, shoes, handbags, and jewelry, and it's namesake was one of its greatest promoters.

Before her father was elected president, she often eschewed high-end designers and opted to wear the moderately-priced items from her label.

She famously wore a $158 pink dress from her own line to introduce her father at the 2016 Republican National Convention, and sales soared during the presidential election.

Done: Nordstrom was among the retailers who dropped Ivanka's brand over the past 18 months. She is pictured unveiling her shoe collection at a Nordstrom California in 2011

Walking advertisement: Ivanka famously wore a $158 pink dress from her eponymous line to introduce her father at the 2016 Republican National Convention

Ethical issue? The first daughter wore head-to-toe Ivanka Trump while leaving her Washington, D.C. home in March 2017

At the start of her father's presidency, she occasionally wore outfits from her own line to work, and while she has since switched to designer labels, she still dons her brand's shoes and handbags.

Despite Ivanka's attempts to distance herself from her company, the brand has been unable to break free from its associations with its namesake and the Trump family's politics.

Layoffs: Abigail Klem, the brand's current president, informed its 18 employees on Tuesday that the company is closing

Public backlash over her father's policies led to last year's launch of the anti-Trump #GrabYourWallet campaign, which calls for a boycott of stores and websites selling Trump-branded products.

Over the past 18 months, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus are among the stores that have either stopped selling the brand's products entirely or changed the way they are displayed.

After Nordstrom dropped the brand over weak sales, the president took to Twitter to publicly scold the department store.

'My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom. She is a great person -- always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!" he wrote.

At the time, a spokesperson for Nordstrom said that 'it didnt make good business sense for us to continue with the line.'

The Wall Street Journal reported that online sales of Ivanka Trumps items on Amazon.com, Macys Inc., Bloomingdales and Zappos.com fell nearly 45 per cent over the last year, according to Rakuten Intelligence.

New role: Ivanka said she is unsure if she will ever return to the fashion business, and noted she will be focusing on her work in Washington, D.C. for the 'foreseeable future'

Earlier this month, Canadian department store Hudson's Bay removed more than 150 Ivanka Trump-branded items from its website.

A Hudson Bay spokeswoman told the Wall Street Journal that Lord & Taylor and Saks Off 5th, which are also owned by Hudsons Bay Co., continue to carry the line.

However, Ivanka's decision to shut down the brand reportedly comes from her growing frustration over the restrictions she placed on the company to avoid potential conflicts of interest while working in the White House.

The ethical restrictions include 'ordering the company not to expand internationally and to seek her approval before striking agreements with new domestic partners.'

For example, the brand turned down a deal with Sanei International to expand the line into Japan in January 2017, as Sanei International has ties to the Japanese government.

It's unclear if is merely a coincidence or a strategic move on her part, but the news that Ivanka is closing her company came around the same time it was revealed her brother-in-law Joshua Kushner is engaged to his longtime girlfriend, model Karlie Kloss.
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Melania Trump was caught in a strong gust of wind as she traveled to Nashville, Tennessee, in a midi dress on her first trip to promote her 'Be Best' campaign.

The first lady, 48, visited a children's hospital on Tuesday in her first domestic trip to highlight the initiative, which she launched in May at the White House.

As she boarded a military plane at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Melania's skirt was sent flying by the elements  a mishap well known to those in the public eye.

Ready: US First Lady Melania Trump walks to board a military airplane prior to departure from Nashville International Airport in Nashville, Tennessee, July 24, 2018

Weather: Melania Trump was caught in a strong gust of wind as she traveled to Nashville, Tennessee, in a midi dress on her first trip to promote her 'Be Best' campaign

Accessories: Melania paired her sleeveless, gray and white dress with a large white belt, giving the outfit more structure by cinching the garment at the waist

Smile: The first lady, 48, had touched down at Nashville International Airport around 2pm

Melania paired her sleeveless, gray and white dress with a large white belt, giving the outfit more structure by cinching the garment at the waist.

She touched down at Nashville International Airport around 2 pm, revealing a pair of white Louboutin pumps as she stepped off the aircraft.

Her towering heels featured the signature red soles that make the French label easy to spot even from afar.

The first lady, who wore her hair down in a blowout, finished off her outfit with a pair of large black sunglasses.

She is certainly not the first public figure to be surprised by a brutal gust of wind while wearing a dress during an official visit.

Final touches: The first lady, who wore her hair down in a blowout, finished off her outfit with a pair of large black sunglasses

Campaign: Melania visited a children's hospital on Tuesday in her first domestic trip to highlight the initiative, which she launched in May at the White House

Talk: The first lady participated in a discussion at Vanderbilt University's Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital, in Nashville

Syndrome: Melania sat in on a discussion about neonatal abstinence syndrome, which occurs when a baby withdraws from drugs that he or she was exposed to in the womb

Meeting: The first lady greeted children during her visit at the hospital

Activities: She was pictured blowing bubbles as she met with the young patients

Toys: Melania played with four-year-old Essence Overton (left) and three-year-old Natalayah Fields (center) during her visit

Back in 2011, Kate Middleton suffered a similar mishap when she and Prince William landed in Calgary, Canada.

Strong winds sent her pleated yellow dress flying, prompting the duchess to try to hold it down as she and her husband were photographed on the tarmac.

A similar incident occurred when she and William landed in Wellington, New Zealand, in 2014.

Kate, who stepped off the plane while carrying a baby Prince George, had to hold down her red outfit to avoid a wardrobe malfunction.

In recent weeks, Melania has worn pants and tight pencil skirts while flying to various locations, eliminating the possibility of a mishap.

However, there is another technique to fend off possible incidents.

Queen Elizabeth II is known to have lead curtain weights sewn into the helm of her outfits so that even strong gusts of winds can't send her garments flying.

Visit: A member of staff smiled as Melania blew bubbles for the young patients

Talking: The first lady shared a conversation with four-year-old Essence at the hospital

Interacting: Melania smiled as the little girl placed her hands in hers during the visit

Embrace: Essence leaned in to give the first lady a hug while Natalayah played nearby

On Tuesday, Melania visited Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville in order to highlight her 'Be Best' initiative, which focuses on children's well-being, social media use, and opioid abuse.

She was scheduled to participate in a discussion about babies who are born dependent on drugs and visit patients.

Melania was originally supposed to also tour the neonatal intensive care unit, but according to her press secretary and communications director Stephanie Grisham, was instead set to privately meet with families whose infants in the unit have been diagnosed with neonatal abstinence syndrome.

The first lady had purchased about nine pink, blue, and white fleece blankets with the White House seal on them to give to families.

So far, Melania has done little personally to publicize the campaign around the country since she unveiled it at the White House in May.

A week after the announcement, the first lady was hospitalized for kidney surgery, stayed five nights, then remained several weeks out of the spotlight recuperating before resuming a public schedule.

She has since made two trips to the U.S.-Mexico border to meet with adults and children affected by the president's policy of separating migrant families who cross into the U.S. illegally.

Concentration: The two little girls seemed focused as they showed Melania the toys

Confident: Essence didn't look intimidated as she went to give the first lady a hug

Group: Several young patients and members of staff were gathered in the playroom

Play time: Melania blew bubbles for 18-month-old patient Elliegh Rasmussen (left)

Watching: The first lady looked on as Essence and Natalayah played with some of the toys

Schedule: Melania's visit with the young patients came after a roundtable discussion

Oops: Kate Middleton suffered a similar mishap when she and William landed in Wellington, New Zealand, in 2014. The duchess, holding a baby Prince George, also held down her outfit

The first lady did promote 'Be Best' when she accompanied the president to London this month. She has also discussed it during surprise visits in the Washington area, including an unannounced trip to Microsoft's Innovation and Policy Center last week.

Melania visited with a group of students who help the computer software maker with its work on youth-centered online safety. Being good citizens online is one focus of the first lady's campaign, though her husband is routinely criticized for using Twitter against his foes.

'To see students taking action and being positive leaders in the digital world for youth is exactly what "Be Best" is focused on,' the first lady said after visiting Microsoft.

The issue taking her to Tennessee is neonatal abstinence syndrome, which occurs when a baby withdraws from drugs  usually an opioid painkiller  that he or she was exposed to in the womb.

Withdrawal causes such symptoms as irritability, muscle tremors, difficulty feeding and sleeping, and breathing problems, according to testimony that Dr. Stephen Patrick, a pediatrician and neonatologist at the children's hospital that the first lady visited, gave earlier this year to a Tennessee state legislative committee.

Opioids are fueling the deadliest drug overdose epidemic in U.S. history. About 70,000 Americans died of a drug overdose last year, according to preliminary numbers released this month by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's a 10 per cent increase from the previous year.
Hundreds of private surgeons have been accused of being 'cash-hungry' by pushing women to undergo barbaric vaginal mesh surgery.

Campaigners have today unearthed data that reveals urogynaecologists can 'double their salaries' by offering the controversial procedure in their own clinics.

Calculations by prominent group Sling The Mesh show surgeons can earn an extra 125,000 by giving four women mesh each week privately.

Vaginal mesh, made of brittle plastic that can curl, twist and cut through tissue, has been branded the 'biggest medical scandal' since thalidomide.

Thousands of women have been maimed by the controversial implants globally, left on the brink of suicide, unable to work and reliant on wheelchairs.

A landmark NHS audit in April confirmed that thousands of women have been forced to suffer unbearable pain because of their controversial vaginal mesh implants.

Tireless fights by campaigners, backed by MailOnline, were rewarded last week, when officials declared a temporary ban on mesh being used to treat incontinence.

But the British Society of Urogynaecologists, made up of NHS and private surgeons with 'flashy websites', attacked the decision as going against the NHS' own rulebook.

'Meshed up' victims claim the stance of the surgeons, who they describe as 'misogynistic bullies', is 'because they fear their luxurious lifestyles may take a hit'.

Thousands of women have been maimed by the controversial implants globally, left on the brink of suicide, unable to work and reliant on wheelchairs (Sling The Mesh campaigners are pictured outside the Houses of Parliament)

Kath Sansom, founder of the 6,300-strong Sling The Mesh group, attacked the BSUG for choosing money over the safety of thousands of women

Number crunching by Sling The Mesh shows private urogynaecologists can earn nearly 125,000 extra a year by operating on four women with mesh each week.

It believes four operations is a feasible amount, as before the scandal emerged the risky procedure was hailed for taking just 20 minutes.

Gynaecological surgeons - who earn in the region of 90,000 - can receive fees of 589 for privately fitting TVT  the most common type of mesh, according to Bupa.

This means, in theory, they could pocket 2,356 a week or 122,512 a year, if they had no holidays and each women paid for the procedure.

Sling The Mesh argued this figure could be on the low end, as many surgeons may find time to fit more women with TVT each week, and charge for consultations.

In contrast, gynaecological surgeons can receive 548 for privately fitting a Burch colposuspension, another method to treat incontinence, which takes three hours.

Kath Sansom, founder of the 6,300-strong Sling The Mesh group, attacked the BSUG for, what she feels could be, choosing money over the safety of thousands of women.

She told MailOnline: 'If you look through some of the members in the group, you can see plenty of surgeons have flashy websites for their own private practice.

'By implanting a TVT into four women each week, they can pretty much double their salary doing private hospital work. Theyre cash-hungry.

'Its pretty obvious that their position on vaginal mesh is ... down to them living in fear that their luxurious lifestyles may be taken away from them.

Vaginal mesh, made of brittle plastic that can curl, twist and cut through tissue, has been branded the 'biggest medical scandal' since thalidomide

Tireless fights by campaigners, backed by MailOnline, were rewarded last week, when officials declared a temporary ban on mesh being used to treat incontinence (Sling The Mesh campaigners are pictured outside the House of Commons following a debate earlier this year)

WHAT WAS THE RESULT OF THE GOVERNMENT AUDIT INTO VAGINAL MESH, AND WEREN'T THEY JUST SUSPENDED? PROLAPSE BAN Health watchdogs Nice already announced the controversial surgery should only be banned for prolapse - when organs fall out of place, and not incontinence. Sling The Mesh attacked that decision, announced in December, as they estimated around three quarters of women were given vaginal mesh to treat incontinence. And the group also urged officials to add a suspension onto the use of rectopexy mesh, used for rectal prolapse, amid evidence it can also maim women. NHS AUDIT An NHS audit that delved into the effects of mesh, released in April, shone a light onto the true scale of disaster caused by vaginal mesh. The risks of complications from mesh were shown to be around the 45 per cent mark - unlike the repeated assertions by the NHS it is no more than three per cent. The dangers of mesh for prolapse and incontinence, common medical issues after childbirth, were almost equal, despite Nice only recommending a ban on the former. TEMPORARY BAN Tireless fights by campaigners, backed by MailOnline, were rewarded last week, when officials declared a temporary ban on mesh being used to treat incontinence. Baroness Julia Cumberlege, leader of the review into vaginal mesh for incontinence, called for the immediate suspension of the implants. It is not a complete ban, but a halt to implementing mesh until a list of five strict conditions laid down by 'appalled' reviewers have been met. But victims hope it sets the groundwork for an outright ban, as the review has so far found no evidence the benefits of mesh outweigh the severity of human suffering. Advertisement

Baroness Julia Cumberlege, leader of the review into vaginal mesh for incontinence, called for the immediate suspension of the implants last Monday

WHAT ARE THE CONDITIONS FOR LIFTING THE PAUSE OF SURGICAL VAGINAL MESH? The conditions of lifting the pause in the use of surgical mesh, which should be met by March 2019, are as follows: 1. Surgeons should only undertake operations for SUI if they are appropriately trained, and only if they undertake operations regularly; 2. They report every procedure to a national database; 3. A register of operations is maintained to ensure every procedure is notified and the woman identified who has undergone the surgery; 4. Reporting of complications via MRHA is linked to the register; 5. Identification and accreditation of specialist centres for SUI mesh procedures, for removal procedures and other aspects of care for those adversely affected by surgical mesh. Advertisement

'They dont want to lose their opportunities for paying the mortgage off early, driving a flash car, luxury holidays, or settling school fees.

'Their aggressive denial that mesh is a problem smacks of misogyny and continues to undermine the severity of suffering.

'They are riding rough shod over patient experience with a "we know best attitude" and giving bad advice to the Government on the safety of mesh implants.'

The BSUG's parent group, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said it was 'committed' to ensuring the safety of women.

A spokesperson said last week: 'The RCOG is committed to working with others to meet the conditions set out by the review.

But, in a statement issued after the decision to immediately suspend the use of mesh for incontinence, the BSUG declared it 'strongly opposes'.

In a letter, signed by its chair Professor Jonathan Duckett, it wrote: 'This decision is not based on any scientific logic or thinking.

'This is the single most researched incontinence procedure in the world, and to therefore place a suspension on its use contradicts all the research, scientific evidence and guidance issued by national bodies.

'This procedure has been the mainstay of surgical treatment for women with stress incontinence over the last 20 years.'

It added the decision 'goes against several key principles of the NHS constitution, including its accountability to the public, communities and patients it serves'.

Baroness Julia Cumberlege, leader of the review into vaginal mesh for incontinence, called for the immediate suspension of the implants last Monday.

WHAT ARE VAGINAL MESH IMPLANTS? THE CONTROVERSIAL DEVICES THAT HAVE BEEN COMPARED TO THALIDOMIDE WHAT ARE VAGINAL MESH IMPLANTS? Vaginal mesh implants are devices used by surgeons to treat pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence in women. Usually made from synthetic polypropylene, a type of plastic, the implants are intended to repair damaged or weakened tissue in the vagina wall. Other fabrics include polyester, human tissue and absorbable synthetic materials. Some women report severe and constant abdominal and vaginal pain after the surgery. In some, the pain is so severe they are unable to have sex. Infections, bleeding and even organ erosion has also been reported. Vaginal mesh implants are devices used by surgeons to treat pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence in women WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF MESH? Mini-sling: This implant is embedded with a metallic inserter. It sits close to the mid-section of a woman's urethra. The use of an inserter is thought to lower the risk of cutting during the procedure. TVT sling: Such a sling is held in place by the patient's body. It is inserted with a plastic tape by cutting the vagina and making two incisions in the abdomen. The mesh sits beneath the urethra. TVTO sling: Inserted through the groin and sits under the urethra. This sling was intended to prevent bladder perforation. TOT sling: Involves forming a 'hammock' of fibrous tissue in the urethra. Surgeons often claim this form of implant gives them the most control during implantation. Kath Samson, a journalist, is the founder of Sling The Mesh Ventral mesh rectopexy: Releases the rectum from the back of the vagina or bladder. A mesh is then fitted to the back of the rectum to prevent prolapse. HOW MANY WOMEN SUFFER? According to the NHS and MHRA, the risk of vaginal mesh pain after an implant is between one and three per cent. But a study by Case Western Reserve University found that up to 42 per cent of patients experience complications. Of which, 77 per cent report severe pain and 30 per cent claim to have a lost or reduced sex life. Urinary infections have been reported in around 22 per cent of cases, while bladder perforation occurs in up to 31 per cent of incidences. Critics of the implants say trials confirming their supposed safety have been small or conducted in animals, who are unable to describe pain or a loss of sex life. Kath Samson, founder of the Sling The Mesh campaign, said surgeons often refuse to accept vaginal mesh implants are causing pain. She warned that they are not obligated to report such complications anyway, and as a result, less than 40 per cent of surgeons do. Advertisement

Vaginal mesh has been subject of various legal proceedings across the world, with figures suggesting more than 100,000 are suing manufacturers of the devices (Sling The Mesh campaigners are pictured outside Parliament earlier this year)

It is not a complete ban, but a halt to implementing mesh until a list of five strict conditions laid down by 'appalled' reviewers have been met.

But victims hope it sets the groundwork for an outright ban, as the review has so far found no evidence the benefits of mesh outweigh the severity of human suffering.

Baroness Cumberlege described the ordeal of hundreds of women who were brave enough to speak out about their mesh ordeal as 'compelling'.

ISN'T VAGINAL MESH ALREADY BANNED? Nice, which advises the NHS, announced the controversial vaginal mesh surgery should only be banned for prolapse - when organs fall out of place, and not incontinence. It is believed of the women in Sling The Mesh who have been given the controversial implant, three quarters were fitted with the device to treat their incontinence. The Nice verdict came after the Government released its three-year investigation into the mesh scandal last September. It rejected calls for a ban at the time. It followed the landmark news from New Zealand that all forms of pelvic mesh would be banned - becoming the first major country to do so. Officials in the country declared in December they would remove the controversial implants from supply and limit the use of surgical mesh products. Tireless fights by campaigners, backed by MailOnline, has also led to Australian health officials making a similar move for prolapse operations. Watchdogs in the country banned the use of vaginal mesh implants for prolapse earlier in the same month after a review found benefits 'do not outweigh the risks'. Advertisement

Both the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England accepted her recommendations, which included a list of five criteria that need to be met for the pause to be lifted, including reporting every procedure to national database.

But the BSUG, which has around 500 members, claims to have 'achieved and fulfilled' the criteria listed by Baroness Cumberlege.

The full recommendations of the review, announced by former Health and Social Care Secretary Jeremy Hunt in February, is expected to be publicised next year.

A BSUG spokesperson told MailOnline: 'The BSUG represents urogynaecologists in the UK and remains committed to providing women with the safest and most effective treatments for a range of conditions.

'It is committed to patient safety and believes that any decision regarding treatment for women must be based on sound and rigorous evidence.

'Synthetic tapes for stress urinary incontinence are an effective treatment for women who suffer from this debilitating condition and for some women may be the only feasible option.'

Health watchdogs Nice already announced the controversial surgery should only be banned for prolapse - when organs fall out of place, and not incontinence.

Sling The Mesh attacked that decision, announced in December, as they estimated around three quarters of women were given vaginal mesh to treat incontinence.

And the group also urged officials to add a suspension onto the use of rectopexy mesh, used for rectal prolapse, amid evidence it can also maim women.

A Government audit that delved into the effects of mesh, released in April, shone a light onto the true scale of disaster caused by vaginal mesh.

ONLY 2% OF WOMEN SUFFER PAIN FROM MESH, SAYS BSUG - DESPITE NHS ADMITTING 45% WILL HAVE COMPLICATIONS Less than two per cent of women suffer chronic pain from their scandal-hit vaginal mesh implants, according to the BSUG. The surgeon group last week released the results of its much-awaited audit into the complications of the brittle plastic. Nearly 180 consultants recorded any side effects from 4,993 incontinence procedures for the report, which began in 2013. But only 3.7 per cent suffered any complications. And pain persisting longer than 30 days was reported in 1.9 per cent of patients. This is in stark contrast to an NHS audit earlier this year, which found the risks of mesh complications are around the 45 per cent mark. Sling The Mesh today criticised the BSUG audit as being a 'waste of time' because it 'won't have captured all mesh problems'. The campaign group said many mesh patients don't show any problems until after their six week check-up. Professor Jonathan Duckett, chair of BSUG, was one of four authors of the audit, published in the International Urogynecology Journal. The BSUG sent thousands of vaginal mesh patients this questionnaire as part of its audit, which began in 2013 Advertisement

The risks of complications from mesh were shown to be around the 45 per cent mark - unlike the previous assertions by the NHS it is no more than three per cent.

The dangers of mesh for prolapse and incontinence, common medical issues after childbirth, were almost equal, despite Nice only recommending a ban on the former.

WHAT WAS THE THALIDOMIDE SCANDAL? Thalidomide was the medication given to pregnant women to combat morning sickness between 1958 and 1961. It was withdrawn after doctors noticed an increase in the number of deformed babies born to mothers who had been on the drug. After a long battle, the families affected received total of 28 million in compensation, paid out by the drug manufacturer during the 1970s. Advertisement

All forms of pelvic mesh are already banned in New Zealand after a landmark move in December, and a similar move against use in the treatment of vaginal mesh for prolapse has been made in Australia.

The Scottish Government put in place a suspension in the use of mesh for SUI in 2014, following years of campaigning by outraged victims.

Vaginal mesh has been subject of various legal proceedings across the world, with figures suggesting more than 100,000 are suing manufacturers of the devices.

Despite the risks, widely publicised over the past year, most women experience no problem and doctors are adamant the procedure is beneficial.

The scandal came to light last April, when the NHS tried to dodge media attention over the implants that left hundreds of women in agony.

Senior doctors immediately called for a public inquiry into the controversial mesh, with some claiming the scandal could be akin to thalidomide.

At the time, 800 women were suing the NHS and device manufacturers. However, it is unsure how many women are now looking to take action in Britain.
A former champion surfer from Newquay, Cornwall, has revealed how she found her infant son's seizures were caused by a stroke while he was in the womb.

Hannah Harding, 31, who won the UK Pro Surf Tour in 2012, gave birth to her first child, Reggie Harding-Winter, in February 2015.

But he was born nine weeks premature and, soon after, began to have seizures which would make his neck spasm.

Unsure what her son was doing to begin with, Ms Harding filmed Reggie's seizures before taking him to a doctor  where her videos helped diagnose his condition.

Scans revealed Reggie, by then eight months old, had cerebral palsy caused by his brain's oxygen supply being cut off before he was born.

This happened when Ms Harding suffered a placental abruption  a serious condition in which the placenta starts to separate from the uterus before birth.

Although Reggie, now three, is fitter and healthier than expected, the right side of his body is weak so his parents are raising money for intensive physiotherapy to strengthen his weaker muscles.

Hannah Harding's first child, Reggie Harding-Winter, was born nine weeks premature in 2015 after suffering a stroke in the womb which left him with a form of cerebral palsy

A placental abruption during Ms Harding's pregnancy cut off the supply of oxygen to her son's brain  essentially causing a stroke  and left him with hemiplegia, a type of cerebral palsy.

The condition is caused by brain injury and can cause epileptic seizures and affect movement on one side of the body, as it has done in three-year-old Reggie.

He now wears a splint on his right leg to help him walk  something his parents weren't sure he would be able to do.

Ms Harding and her partner Russell Winter, 42 and also a professional surfer, now want to send their 'determined' son for intense physiotherapy to make him stronger before he starts school next year.

Ms Harding, who won the English Nationals and Women's titles of the UK Pro Surf Tour in 2012, had a textbook pregnancy until February 25, 2015, when she woke up feeling something was wrong.

She explained: 'I was 31 weeks pregnant and when I woke up, my stomach was rock solid and I was having pains.

'It was my first child, so I wasn't really sure what was going on and whether I was having Braxton Hicks  kind of practice contractions.

'My gut was telling me that something wasn't right.

'My partner at the time was at work, so he phoned a friend, who came round and called an ambulance for me.'

Reggie's brain damage was caused by a dangerous condition called a placental abruption, in which the mother's placenta separates from the uterus before birth

Reggie recovered well after the premature birth but, when he was eight months old, he began jerking his head to the side when he was being fed by his mother, Hannah

Ms Harding filmed Reggie's spasms and took them to show to a doctor, who recognised them as seizures and sent the family to hospital  scans revealed part of Reggie's brain was dead

Rushed to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro, Ms Harding had no idea she was about to give birth.

She continued: 'When I got there, I was in lots of pain and the doctors said that the baby was ok, but I was have a placental abruption and was haemorraghing internally, so they needed to get him out.

'I had an emergency c-section and they didn't have a chance to give him any steroids to help his lungs develop.

'I saw him for just a few seconds when he was born, before he was whisked away to neonatal.'

'I was expecting to still be pregnant at this stage'

Reggie, born nine weeks early, weighed 4lb 1oz.

Ms Harding said: 'It's not what you expect when you have a baby.

'I was expecting to still be pregnant at this stage and was just about to start nesting, but instead here I was, sat by my newborn son in hospital.'

Incredibly, Reggie did so well, he was allowed out of hospital a month later, four weeks earlier than expected.

His mother added: 'It was amazing bringing him home. We had to learn to tube feed him but I didn't care because he was home with us.

'We eventually got him off that, too, which was fantastic. We were so pleased with how he was doing.'

Reggie was diagnosed with a type of cerebral palsy called hemiplegia  he was given medication which managed to stop his seizures, and wears a splint on his weaker right leg

Reggie's hemiplegia was caused by the oxygen supply to his brain being cut off when his mother's placenta detached from her uterus during pregnancy

Strange movements began when Reggie was eight months

But when he was eight months old, Reggie began making some odd movements, jerking his head to the left while his mother was feeding him.

'I thought it was just a bit strange, so I took my phone out and filmed it for a bit,' Ms Harding said.

'Eventually he stopped and he seemed absolutely fine, but I showed the video to his dad when he got home. We agreed to just keep an eye on it because it was unusual.'

The next day, Ms Harding was giving Reggie his breakfast when she noticed the same movements and, again, filmed them.

She said: 'I was a bit worried about it, but thought it was just something babies did.

'Still, I took him to the doctor and showed him the videos, after which he sent us straight to hospital.'

Hemiplegia, which affects around one in 1,000 children, means Reggie's body is weaker on the right side, which makes it difficult for him to walk and use his right arm properly

Videos helped doctors diagnose Reggie's seizures

Luckily, the videos helped doctors to diagnose her son.

'It was only when they did the scans and they showed us on the screen that I saw the left part of his brain was just dark,' Ms Harding continued.

'I thought it was a tumour but they said no, it was his brain, but it was dead.

'They believe the blood supply had been cut off to Reggie's brain when I had a placental abruption  when my placenta started separating from my uterus before his birth, which can deprive babies of oxygen and nutrients and cause severe bleeding.'

Reggie was diagnosed with hemiplegia, a lifelong condition caused by damage to the brain and nerves before birth.

Hannah Harding is a former professional surfer who won the English Nationals and Women's titles of the UK Pro Surf Tour in 2012

It affects a person's abilities to move their limbs on one side of their body, and may cause other, less obvious effects such as epilepsy, learning difficulties, anxiety or challenging behaviour.

The condition is thought to affect around one in 1,000 children.

WHAT IS HEMIPLEGIA? Hemiplegia is a lifelong condition caused by brain damage which affects around one in 1,000 people. When it affects children at birth it is known as a form of cerebral palsy, and limits the body's ability to move on one side. Hemiplegia is caused by the brain's blood or oxygen supply being cut off, and part of the brain dying as a result  essentially a stroke. About 80 per cent of cases are present from birth, whereas the other 20 per cent begin later in life. As well as weakness, hemiplegia can cause epilepsy, learning difficulties, anxiety or challenging behaviour. It is not curable but various therapies can help people deal with the effects  for example physiotherapy to build muscle strength, and occupational therapy to help people adapt to life with the effects of hemiplegia. Source: HemiHelp Advertisement

Medication stopped his seizures and he has learned to walk

Reggie was given medication to control his seizures and, nine months later, they stopped completely. He now wears a splint on his right foot to help him walk.

Ms Harding said: 'He has been able to do so much more than we ever thought and he is such a determined boy.

'Reggie never crawled, because he couldn't, so he bum shuffled across the floor everywhere.

'Then he started standing and walking and we were amazed.

'When he started walking, they took a cast of his leg and made a little splint, so he wears that every day all day.

'If something is restricting him, he will find a way around it. If he is opening a bottle, he'll sit down and hold it between his legs and use his good hand.

'We thought he would struggle to speak, so I did a Makaton signing course and we started signing with him.

'He was great at it, but then he started to talk as well and now he's a right little chatter box.'

Now his parents want to take Reggie for a course of constraint induced movement therapy (CIMT), to help him build up the strength in his right side.

Ms Harding wants Reggie, three, to have physiotherapy before he starts school so he can strengthen his weaker muscles in order to be more independent

Ms Harding says her first son Reggie, who was born nine weeks premature, is a 'determined' boy who always finds away around his condition stopping him from doing things

Ms Harding explained: 'It is an intensive therapy programme, during which they will put Reggie's good, left arm in a cast.

Parents want physiotherapy to improve their son's independence

'We will then spend three hours each day for four weeks with the specialist paediatric physiotherapists, carrying out intense physiotherapy and play on his right side.'

Reggie has had his assessment in Manchester and meets all the criteria, but CIMT is not funded by the NHS.

So Ms Harding has set up a JustGiving fundraising page to raise 12,000 to cover the cost of the programme, travel and accommodation.

She added: 'The expected outcome is huge and will, hopefully, build Reggie's confidence in his right side, lower his sensitivity and help remap his brain and build muscle memory.

'The therapy itself will be in excess of 8,500 and accommodation, living expenses and travel for the period is going to cost around 3,000 to 4,000.

'There is a programme available in September, which we've been offered.

Ms Harding says that, although Reggie's therapy will be difficult, it will be worth it if it improves his quality of life

'I would love to think we might be able to reach our goal by then, but I am well aware that this is extremely ambitious.

'Reggie will be starting school next year, and the thought of him having specialist cutlery, just to help him eat or Velcro clothes so he can dress himself, is a hard thing to process.

'He is not going to like it but it will be worth it'

'The task ahead is massively daunting and is going to be extremely tough on Reggie.

'He is not going to like it and I am conscious there will be a lot of ups and downs with all of this, especially as he will be away from home and out of our normal environment.

'But it will be worth it if it is going to significantly improve his quality of life.'

To donate to Reggie's therapy, visit his JustGiving page.
Holidaymakers heading to France this summer are being urged to pack condoms amid soaring rates of chlamydia and gonorrhoea.

Rates of the common STIs, which can both lead to infertility if left untreated, have more than tripled since 2012, according to official figures.

In a desperate attempt to stem the spread of chlamydia and gonorrhoea, French officials have launched a campaign to encourage the use of condoms.

And health officials in the Netherlands, which borders the country, have warned travellers to pack their own condoms and that holiday romances can be risky.

In a desperate attempt to stem the spread of chlamydia and gonorrhoea, French officials have launched a campaign to encourage the use of condoms

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and public health service GGD Amsterdam were behind the calls to holidaymakers.

They went as far as warning Dutch tourists heading to France to bring their own condoms from home in a special campaign.

A GGD spokesman said: 'In lots of countries condoms are difficult to obtain and not always reliable. Therefore, preferably take them from home.

The spokesman added: 'Holiday romances might seem romantic but are not without danger. The circumstances are different, but the risks remain the same.'

Public Health France figures show 267,097 people were infected with chlamydia in 2016, the last full year data is available for.

In contrast, just 76,918 cases were recorded in 2012 - meaning there has been a 247 per cent jump in the space of four years.

And health officials in the Netherlands, which borders the country, have warned travellers to pack their own condoms and that holiday romances can be risky

WHAT IS CHLAMYDIA? Chlamydia is a sexually-transmitted disease. It stems from bacteria called chlamydia trachomatis. It is passed through contact, via vaginal, anal or oral sex. If left untreated it can damage a woman's fallopian tubes and cause infertility. In very rare cases it can cause infertility in men too. What are the symptoms? The majority of people do not feel symptoms of chlamydia. Doctors recommend getting regular STD tests (urine test or swab) to detect it. However, some do experience some side effects. Symptoms in women: Abnormal vaginal discharge

Burning feeling when you urinate

Pain in the eyes

Pain in the abdomen

Pain in the pelvis

Pain during sex

Vaginal bleeding Symptoms in men: Discharge from the penis

Burning feeling when you urinate

Pain and swelling in one or both testicles (rarely) How is it treated? The infection is easily treated with antibiotics. Doctors typically prescribe oral antibiotics, usually azithromycin (Zithromax) or doxycycline. Advertisement

Cases of gonorrhoea have also spiked, with nearly 50,000 cases recorded in 2016, from 15,000 in 2012.

The figures, released earlier this week, prompted Public Health France to launch its own campaign to promote the use of condoms.

Titled "'a condom can save your life', the body hopes it will make French youngsters aware of the importance of safe sex.

Youngsters between the age of 15 and 24 have been particularly affected by the rising cases of both STIs.

Dr Florence Lot, head of an STI unit for Public Health France, fears the real number may be even greater, according to local reports.

She said: 'The sharp increase in diagnoses of these infections in 2016 may be due to a number of factors.'

Dr Lot pointed to an underestimation of cases in 2012, screening campaigns, better tests used and the increase of the incidence of the STIs.

A recent survey showed that 48 per cent of French students do not use a condom when having sex.

Dr Lot explained that youngsters 'have multiple changing sexual partners and do not always use a condom'.

She said: 'This is why there are so many infections with youngsters under the age of 25.'

The amount of people with an STI is largest in the capital Paris and in the Provence region in the South of France, both popular destinations with British holidaymakers.

Around 17 million British nationals visit France every year, according to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

However, the soaring rates of chlamydia and gonorrhoea have not been mentioned on the body's travel advice section.
Going for an eye test at the opticians could spot if you are at risk of dementia, breakthrough research has found.

People who have thin retinas perform worse on tests of their memory and are more likely to experience a decline in brain power.

On the back of the landmark trial, other scientists found changes in retinal thickness can even be used to predict dementia eight years later.

Experts hope targeting patients with thin retinas with drugs and lifestyle changes could prevent the onslaught of them losing their memory.

The largest trial of its kind used data from 32,000 people who had undergone the eye test, available at NHS opticians.

People who have thin retinas perform worse on tests of their memory and are more likely to experience a decline in brain power

Professor Paul Foster, who co-led the main study, said: 'We now know we need to find people at the earliest stages before the brain is irreparably damaged.

'The hope is that either a drug or lifestyle advice can stop this.

'The combination of the two studies showing the increased risk I think does put it beyond doubt.

'There is unquestionably a link between changes in the retina and changes in peoples mental state.'

Researchers at University College London and Moorfields Eye Hospital conducted the study on participants aged between 40 and 69.

They looked at the results of OCT scans, which measure the thickness of a layer of neurons on the retina - a layer at the back of the eyeball.

At the same time, participants had also undergone a series of basic cognitive tests which assessed memory, reaction time and reasoning.

WHAT IS AN OCT SCAN? An optical coherence tomography (OCT) scan is a non-invasive eye imaging test that use light waves to take cross-sectional pictures of the retina. These pictures allow specialists to see the retina's distinctive layers to measure their thickness. OCT scans can help to diagnose conditions such as age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. Due to such scans relying on light waves, they cannot diagnose conditions that interfere with light passing through the eye, such as dense cataracts. An OCT scan involves patients putting dilating drops in their eyes to widen the pupil and make the retina easier to examine. Patients then sit in front of an OCT machine while their eyes are scanned for up to 10 minutes. They may be more sensitive to light for several hours after. Advertisement

The OCT and cognitive tests were then repeated in some participants around three years later, to measure any changes.

The study, published in JAMA Neurology, found a huge link between the thickness of the retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) and cognitive function.

And people with a thinner RNFL had almost double the risk of having mild cognitive problems - such as forgetting the number of their local takeaway.

And those people with a thinner RNFL were twice as likely to suffer cognitive decline over the next three years, the British researchers found.

The second study, also published in JAMA Neurology, backed up the findings and examined the link in more depth.

Researchers at the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam followed around 5,000 people with an average age of 69, The Mirror reports.

They discovered those with a thin retina, according to the OCT scan, were 44 per cent more likely to develop dementia over eight years.

Professor Foster and his colleagues now hope to discover the exact thickness of retinas that can lead to a diagnosis of pre-dementia,.

Professor Foster added: 'It is well known there are significant degenerative changes in the retina and optic nerves in established dementia.

'In carrying out this study our primary motivation was to determine if the RNFL and cognition relationship held true in the very earliest stages of cognitive decline.

'Our findings undoubtedly suggest that the retinal abnormalities, identifiable in established dementia, begin to manifest in the early stages of cognitive decline.'
An eight-year-old girl suffered crippling headaches and epileptic seizures after her brain became infested with 100 tapeworm eggs.

The unnamed girl, from New Delhi, was initially treated with a high dose of steroids for suspected brain cysts.

Rather than cure her symptoms, the medication caused her to balloon from 88lb (40kg) to 132lb (60kg), and left her breathless and unable to walk.

Six months later, the girl's desperate parents took her to Fortis Hopsital in Gurgaon, where scans revealed she was suffering from a condition known as neurocysticercosis.

The eggs are thought to have traveled via the bloodstream to her brain from her stomach after she ate unwashed fruit or vegetables, or undercooked pork.

After undergoing treatment to kill the eggs, the girl gradually recovered and is able to walk again.

Scan shows the infestation of tapeworm eggs (shown as white circles) in a girl's brain

The eggs, seen from a front angle of the brain, were initially misdiagnosed as brain cysts

'We had no idea our daughter could get such a dreadful disease'

The girl's treatment began with medication to reduce the swelling, followed by therapy to kill the tapeworms.

She has since lost all the weight she gained while on steroids and has returned to school.

The girl's father, who declined to be named, said: 'We had absolutely no idea that our healthy and cheerful daughter could ever get such a dreadful disease.

'But I think we are extremely lucky to get [the] right treatment before [the] eggs hatched and do more damage to our daughter's brain.'

WHAT IS NEUROCYSTICERCOSIS? Neurocysticercosis is a parasitic infestation caused by larval cysts of the pork tapeworm Taenia solium. These cysts can enter the brain, leading to life-threatening seizures. People develop the condition by eating undercooked pork. They may also swallow microscopic eggs passed in the faeces of a person with an intestinal tapeworm if they do not properly wash their hands after going to the toilet and contaminate surfaces or uncooked food. The World Health Organization recognises neurocysticercosis as a leading cause of adult epilepsy worldwide. Neurocysticercosis can be prevented through proper handwashing. Treatment often involves medication to reduce swelling in the brain and kill tapeworms. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advertisement

When medication for cysts failed to improve her symptoms, the girl's parents took her to hospital where she had brain scans that revealed the extent of the infestation (eggs shown)

Caused by unwashed fruit or uncooked pork

Praveen Gupta, director of neurology at Fortis Hospital, said: 'The scan of [the] girl's brain showed more than a 100 white dots, formed due to tapeworm eggs.

'Such an infection is caused by accidentally eating foods infested by tapeworms.

'When eggs reach the brain through the nervous system they cause neurocysticercosis, which is characterised by a severe headache, epileptic seizures and confusion.

'People often don't know, but tapeworm infestation of the brain is fairly common.

'The parasitic infestation is caused by accidentally eating improperly washed fruits, vegetables and undercooked meat infected by the pork tapeworm Taenia solium.'

The World Health Organization (WHO) recognises tapeworm infestation of the central nervous system as a leading cause of epilepsy.

According to the WHO, neurocysticercosis is the most preventable cause of epilepsy worldwide and is estimated to be behind 30 per cent of all cases.
A cannabis-like drug can reduce outbursts, emotional distress and restlessness in Alzheimer's patients, a study suggests.

Agitation is one of the most common behavioural changes in patients battling the memory-robbing disorder.

Current drugs used to tackle the common symptoms, including anti-psychotics, are not effective for everyone, and can have dangerous side effects.

But the new study, presented at a major Alzheimer's conference today in Chicago, offers hope of finding a safer way to treat agitation through synthetic cannabinoids - man-made compounds similar to those found in the cannabis plant.

It comes after Government advisers last week declared doctors should be able to prescribe medicinal cannabis to treat a host of conditions.

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) agreed cannabis does possess a medicinal benefit, in a review sent to to Home Secretary Sajid Javid.

He commissioned the review after two high profile cases, including that of epileptic 12-year-old Billy Caldwell, whose mother had seven bottles of cannabis oil that helped combat his seizures confiscated at Heathrow Airport.

The new study, presented at a major Alzheimer's conference today, offers hope of finding a safer way to treat agitation through synthetic cannabinoids - man-made compounds similar to those found in the cannabis plant

Thirty-nine participants with moderate to severe Alzheimer's were involved in the Canadian trial. Their average age was 87.

For six weeks, each participant was given the synthetic cannabinoids nabilone - chemically similar to the active component of cannabis that causes a high, THC.

Nabilone can be prescribed in the UK to treat nausea in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Its side effects include depression and pain.

The participants then had a one week break before beginning six weeks of a placebo treatment, so researchers could compare the difference.

The University of Toronto scientists assessed overall behavioral symptoms, memory, physical changes and safety throughout the study.

They used the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory - a 29-item scale used to assess how agitated patients are.

The researchers discovered agitation improved significantly in those taking nabilone, compared to when they were given a placebo.

Nabilone also significantly improved overall behavioural symptoms, according to the researchers led by Dr Krista Lanctot.

Commenting on her study, she said: 'Currently prescribed treatments for agitation in Alzheimer's do not work in everybody.

WHAT IS ALZHEIMER'S? Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, degenerative disease of the brain, in which build-up of abnormal proteins causes nerve cells to die. This disrupts the transmitters that carry messages, and causes the brain to shrink. More than 5 million people suffer from the disease in the US, where it is the 6th leading cause of death, and more than 1 million Britons have it. WHAT HAPPENS? As brain cells die, the functions they provide are lost. That includes memory, orientation and the ability to think and reason. The progress of the disease is slow and gradual. On average, patients live five to seven years after diagnosis, but some may live for ten to 15 years. EARLY SYMPTOMS: Loss of short-term memory

Disorientation

Behavioral changes

Mood swings

Difficulties dealing with money or making a phone call LATER SYMPTOMS: Severe memory loss, forgetting close family members, familiar objects or places

Becoming anxious and frustrated over inability to make sense of the world, leading to aggressive behavior

Eventually lose ability to walk

May have problems eating

The majority will eventually need 24-hour care Source: Alzheimer's Association Advertisement

'And when they do work, the effect is small and they increase risk of harmful side effects, including increased risk of death.'

Dr Lanctot, a professor of psychiatry and pharmacology, continued: 'As a result, there is an urgent need for safer medication options.

'These findings suggest that nabilone may be an effective treatment for agitation; however, the risk of sedation must be carefully monitored.'

Dr Lanctot today called for larger trials to confirm the preliminary findings about nabilone in treating agitation from Alzheimer's.

The study, which also showed nabilone seemed to cause sedation, was presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference.

Dr Doug Brown, chief policy and research officer at Alzheimers Society, issued caution over the findings.

He said: 'A common symptom of Alzheimers can be agitation, causing distress to both the person living with the condition, and their loved ones.

'These results suggest that similar medication could help manage some symptoms experienced by people with Alzheimers.'

Dr Brown called for more scientific trials. He added: 'But there are simply too many unanswered questions for it to be prescribed safely at this stage.'

Dr Carol Routledge, director of research at Alzheimers Research UK, said: 'There is a common misconception that dementia is only about memory problems.

'Many people with Alzheimers disease experience distressing behavioural symptoms like agitation.

'But current drugs that are used to tackle these symptoms are not effective for everyone and can have dangerous side effects.

'In this trial, nabilone seemed to improve agitation in people with Alzheimers, although the medication also seemed to cause sedation.'
Powerful sedatives and painkillers are endangering the lives of hundreds of thousands of people with dementia, doctors have warned.

Researchers have revealed the dangers of z-drugs, sleeping medications taken by dementia patients, and buprenorphine, an opioid painkiller.

These drugs are particularly common in care homes, where staff often use strong medication to help them deal with difficult elderly patients.

Two major studies - involving experts from leading universities across Britain - reveal the dangers of using powerful drugs on vulnerable people who have problems communicating.

The Daily Mail has been campaigning for more than a year for the Government to recognise the scale of a crisis in dangerous prescription medication, which often leave people addicted through no fault of their own.

Researchers have revealed the dangers of z-drugs, sleeping medications taken by dementia patients, and buprenorphine, an opioid painkiller

But the new findings suggest some of our most vulnerable citizens are those at the greatest risk.

The results, presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Chicago, open up a new front in the war on dangerous prescription drugs.

Experts have already warned for years that care staff too often use anti-psychotic drugs as a 'chemical cosh' to control the behaviour of difficult dementia patients.

Concerns have also been raised about the use of benzodiazepines as a sedative.

But the new studies  involving the universities of Exeter, East Anglia, Newcastle, Aston, King's College London and University College London  reveal two other types of drugs are also putting people with dementia at risk.

The first study, which included 4,500 dementia patients, found taking hypnotic sedatives known as z-drugs  such as zolpidem, zopiclone and zaleplon  increased the risk of bone fractures by 40 per cent and increased the risk of death by 34 per cent.

The pills are usually used to help people sleep but can also be used to treat anxiety  both problems that are common in dementia patients. They are taken by an estimated 80,000 dementia patients in Britain.

A second study of 162 people found buprenorphine  a common painkiller taken by 120,000 dementia patients in Britain  tripled the risk of psychotic and neurological problems, such as personality changes, confusion and sedation.

People who took the drug also saw their daytime activity drop 13 per within a week, a major risk factor for a group of people already largely confined indoors.

The scientists also believe buprenorphine increases the risk of death  though they admitted the numbers were too small for this to be definitive.

Professor Clive Ballard of Exeter University, who was involved with both studies, said: 'We should be trying to find non-drug solutions.

ARE THE DRUGS GIVEN TO DEMENTIA PATIENTS REALLY DANGEROUS? The results, presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Chicago, open up a new front in the war on dangerous prescription drugs. Experts have already warned for years that care staff too often use anti-psychotic drugs as a 'chemical cosh' to control the behaviour of difficult dementia patients. Concerns have also been raised about the use of benzodiazepines as a sedative. But the new studies  involving the universities of Exeter, East Anglia, Newcastle, Aston, King's College London and University College London  reveal two other types of drugs are also putting people with dementia at risk. The first study, which included 4,500 dementia patients, found taking hypnotic sedatives known as z-drugs  such as zolpidem, zopiclone and zaleplon  increased the risk of bone fractures by 40 per cent and increased the risk of death by 34 per cent. The pills are usually used to help people sleep but can also be used to treat anxiety  both problems that are common in dementia patients. They are taken by an estimated 80,000 dementia patients in Britain. A second study of 162 people found buprenorphine  a common painkiller taken by 120,000 dementia patients in Britain  tripled the risk of psychotic and neurological problems, such as personality changes, confusion and sedation. Advertisement

'Obviously the easiest thing is to give people a pill. But other things could work  maybe not putting people to bed so early will help them sleep, making sure they are active during the day, dealing with any anxieties.

'If they are in pain maybe physiotherapy would work.

'Obviously these approaches might not be the answer for all of them, but it could be a solution for some of the 200,000 people currently taking these drugs.'

He said previous research into the dangers of anti-psychotics led to a reduction in prescribing by 50 per cent.

'We now urgently need a similar concerted approach to z-drugs, to protect frail elderly people with dementia from fractures and increased risk of death,' he said.

The scandalous treatment of vulnerable and disabled people was highlighted during the exposure of treatment in Winterbourne View care home in Bristol in 2011.

Patients at the care home were forcibly sedated with drugs, with six care workers jailed and five others given suspended sentences as a result.

There is no suggestion in the new study that carers are using z-drugs or opiates in the same way, but the studies highlight that even well-meaning use of powerful drugs can do more harm than good.

Professor Ballard added: 'Pain is a symptom that can cause huge distress and it's important that we can provide relief to people with dementia.

'Sadly at the moment we're harming people when we're trying to ease their pain.

'We urgently need more research in this area, and we must get this dosing right. We need to establish the best treatment pathway and examine appropriate dosing for people with dementia.'

Professor Chris Fox from the University of East Anglia, who led the z-drugs study, added: 'Around half of people with dementia have trouble sleeping, wake often and wander during the night.

'Z-drugs are commonly prescribed to help treat insomnia but it is thought that they may cause increased confusion and other problems such as falls and fractures.

'People living with dementia should only be prescribed a hypnotic if the benefits clearly outweigh the risks, and any such prescription should be regularly reviewed.'

Dr Doug Brown, chief policy and research officer at the Alzheimer's Society, said: 'Sleep disturbances are a common symptom of dementia, and can make life for the person with dementia, and their carer, really challenging.

'We recommend personalised non-drug solutions, like avoiding caffeine or taking exercise in the day, to help with sleep.'

Dr Laura Phipps from Alzheimer's Research UK added: 'It is essential that people living with dementia are given as much help as possible to manage chronic pain, but this research suggests they may be particularly susceptible to harmful side-effects of common opioid-based painkillers.

'Researchers need to explore whether tailoring dosages of painkillers for people with dementia could limit their side-effects while retaining their important benefits.'
Nearly one million antidepressants were doled out to children in less than three years, new figures reveal.

Between April 2015 and March 2018, 950,000 prescriptions were issued to children under 18 in the UK, according to data obtained from Freedom of Information requests.

Prescriptions rose from 290,393 in 2015-to-2016 to 330,616 in 2017-to-2018, with the sharpest increase being in the under 12s, where prescription numbers increased by 24 per cent.

Experts have blamed long waits for specialist mental health services for being behind children's increased reliance of depression medication.

In rare cases, antidepressants can trigger thoughts of suicide and self harm in children.

Seventeen-year-old Reece Burrowes, was found dead from suicide in a park in south-east London on December 6 2015, days after being prescribed the antidepressant Sertraline by his GPs.

Reece's stepfather Simon Banks believes doctors should hesitate to prescribe young people antidepressants.

Nearly one million antidepressants were doled out to children in less than three years (stock)

COULD AN AMAZONIAN PSYCHEDELIC DRUG TREAT DEPRESSION? An Amazonian psychedelic may treat people with drug-resistant depression, research suggested in July 2018. Used by the indigenous people of the Amazon basis, the medication, known as ayahuasca, is a mix of the two plants Psychotria viridis and Banisteriopsis caapi. After being taken just once by people with drug-resistant forms of the condition, their symptoms significantly reduce after one week. Yet ayahuasca comes with side effects, with half of the study's 29 participants vomiting after taking the drug. The researchers, from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, wrote: '[T]he ayahuasca session was not necessarily a pleasant experience. 'In fact, some patients reported the opposite, as the experience was accompanied by much psychological distress.' The researchers believe their findings demonstrate ayahuasca's efficacy but add different variations of the drug may be required to make it more tolerable. Around seven percent of adults in the US and three percent in the UK suffer from depression every year. Up to 30 percent of patients do not respond to existing medications. Advertisement

Doctors prescribe antidepressants to 'alleviate distress'

Marc Bush, chief policy advisor at Young Minds, told the BBC: 'The Government recently suggested that the average waiting time for general access to Camhs [specialist child and adolescent mental health services] is around 12 weeks, which is a long time to be in distress.

'And that is why front-line professionals are turning to prescription pads, because they're thinking, 'I'm seeing someone in front of me in crisis with a level of distress I don't want to leave them with - how do I offer them some kind of alleviation from that?'

According to Dr Bernadka Dubicka, who chairs the child and adolescent faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, only one in four children are treated for their mental-health problems, with psychological therapies being vital for their recovery.

Figures obtained by the BBC's File on 4 suggest antidepressant prescriptions in England have risen by 15 per cent, Scotland by 10 per cent and Northern Ireland by six per cent.

NHS Wales was unable to provide figures due to it not holding the data requested.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) states antidepressant prescriptions should be written by a child psychiatrist within Camhs, not by GPs.

Such medication should also only be offered alongside psychological therapies, with patients being monitored throughout, NICE adds.

Millions invested into young people's mental health services

Dr Shruti Garg, a Camhs consultant at the Manchester Foundation NHS Trust, added young people may also struggle in the period between leaving Camhs' care at 16 to being provided adult mental health support at 18.

The Department of Health in England told the BBC it has pledged 1.7bn to transform Camhs. This money is due to go towards a wider range of therapies.

Health officials in Scotland and Northern Ireland have also pledged to invest 5 million and 1 million, respectively, on improving Camhs services.

Almudena Lara, head of policy at the NSPCC, said: 'Children are being left in desperate limbo while their condition potentially reaches crisis point, putting huge pressure on GP surgeries and early support services to help them.

'One in three contacts to the NSPCC's Childline last year were about mental and emotional wellbeing.

'Recent NSPCC research found that tens of thousands of children in England are being rejected for mental health treatment, or spending up to five months on waiting lists just to get a foot in the door. It's not good enough.

'We are still waiting for the Government to outline their plans to tackle children's mental health following the recent Green Paper consultation. The reforms proposed so far are not far-reaching enough and will result in thousands of young people continuing to suffer in silence.'

Between April 2015 and March 2018, 950,000 prescriptions were issued to children (stock)

Children whose parents are cousins are up to three times more likely to suffer from depression

This comes after research released last April suggested children whose parents are cousins are around three times more likely to take medication for mood disorders, such as depression and anxiety, at some point in their lives.

Such individuals are also more than twice as likely to be prescribed antipsychotic drugs, which treat conditions like schizophrenia, a study by Queen's University Belfast found.

The researchers did not speculate why children of closely related parents are more at risk of mental-health disorders.

Around one in 10 children worldwide have parents who are second cousins or more closely related.

First-cousin marriages are legal in the UK and make up around one per cent of unions.

Yet past figures suggest as many as 18 per cent of marriages in Bradford are between such relatives, particularly in its large Pakistani community.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, contact the Samaritans here.
A woman has issued a warning to other pedicure lovers after contracting an infection that almost cost her a leg.

Tracy Lynn Martinez, 35, went for a pampering session at her local salon in Winston Salem, North Carolina, on June 22.

By the next day, she had full-body chills, felt nauseous, and started vomiting. She tried to sleep it up but woke up feeling dizzy - then saw her leg had swelled to triple its size.

Martinez called an ambulance and doctors quickly diagnosed her with a severe case of cellulitis, likely developed from a strep infection from a 'callus cutter' used to slice rough skin off the balls of her feet.

After two weeks in hospital to stabilize her condition, Martinez is now being discharged - with a three-month course of medication and compression socks - and she is urging other people to beware a seemingly harmless pedicure.

Horrific incident: Tracy Lynn Martinez (right), 35, ended up in hospital after a pedicure

After two days of chills and vomiting, Martinez's leg swelled so she couldn't walk. She arrived at the hospital on June 24, and soon her infection worsened (pictured)

Doctors quickly diagnosed her with a severe case of cellulitis, likely developed from a strep infection from a 'callus cutter' used to slice rough skin off the balls of her feet

'I just wanted to share my story to save someone from going [through] what I'm going through or even death,' Martinez wrote in a Facebook that has since swept the internet.

She described the salon as 'A grade' which seemed 'very clean' with 'very nice people'.

'The whirlpool baths have the disposable bags, and they bring the new fresh tools in a new bag,' she said - before adding that they 'also bring a nice bacteria infected callus cutter too.'

Martinez said she now knows that 'major chills', as she felt, are a tell-tale warning sign of a strep or cellulitis infection after a pedicure.

At the time, she assumed she had come down with a cold. Despite vomiting, and feeling so dehydrated that she had to drink 23 bottles of water, Martinez tried to battle through.

Spreading the word: Martinez said she wanted to share her story to save someone from going through what she's going through - or even same them from death

Without antibiotic treatment, cellulitis can be life-threatening and can require amputation

The infection can get into the bloodstream and the lymph nodes, leading to sepsis and even gangrene

Once she lost her balance, however, and her leg swelled up, she knew it was nothing minor.

'I am ambulanced to the Emergency Room to find out I am toxic and have a serious case of cellulitis caused by a strep infection in my blood stream caused by the scrapes on the outside of my heel from the the callus cutter,' Martinez explained, sharing pictures of her swollen and blistering leg and foot.

Without antibiotic treatment, cellulitis can be life-threatening and can require amputation. The infection can get into the bloodstream and the lymph nodes, leading to sepsis and even gangrene.

'I have been through hell, pain, shock, all of it.... But I want to raise awareness.... Say NO to the callus cutters/shavers,' Martinez said.

Callus cutters are banned in North Carolina, as in many other states.

But even if they are available, you should avoid them, according to Dr Daniel Aires, the director of dermatology at The University of Kansas Health System.

'It's fine for a pedicurist to paint your nails or give you a massage, but would really be wary of having a sharp implement used on my skin by someone who isn't a doctor,' he told DailyMail.com.

Even if callus cutters or cuticle cutters are available, you should avoid them, according to Dr Daniel Aires, the director of dermatology at The University of Kansas Medical Center

'It's some variation on a knife. It's a medical procedure that carries a risk of infection. In a dermatology clinic, we do use sharp tools to remove things but we clean it, and put on dressing.

'If you do want to get rid of calluses, sanding them down is better than cutting it, definitely. Or, there are very safe creams over the counter which contain urea, a natural product.'

He also warns against getting rid of cuticles ('they are like gums for your teeth, you do not want to get rid of them, especially with a sharp implement').

Lastly, he warns that even if the salon seems clean, be wary that your skin is covered in bacteria that could cause your infection if you get cut. 'It's part of the jungle of the human flora. Our skin has bacteria on it, and that puts you at risk of infection.'

'Not to sound like Cassandra,' he says, referencing the daughter of the King of Troy who often predicted pain and suffering, 'you could also be at risk of things like Hepatitis C and HIV, so it is not something to dismiss.'
Online reviews of 'The Mayor's' worldwide money transfer service couldn't be more glowing.

'I tried the transfer service and I'm happy to say that my first-ever payment went through for me today,' says one elated customer.

'This is going to be a good business relationship! I can feel it! Thank you Mayor.'

Another customer writes effusively: 'Left Western Union with $4,725, I'm surprised at how easy it was.'

Accompanying the testimonials are photographs showing wads of cash strewn across car seats, sofas and customers' laps.

Ill gotten gains: A 'customer' of the credit card fraudster known as The Mayor posted this picture of wads cash said to be the proceeds of a successful credit card scam

Clearly, users of the service find it a reliable way to move cash between countries. But something sinister is going on behind the gleeful reviews and triumphant pictures.

'The Mayor' is an internet user part of an underground network of fraudsters who hack bank accounts and steal bank card details to flog to other crooks. And his customers posting on this online forum know full well what is going on.

On Monday, the Mail revealed that internet giants are struggling to stop the likes of The Mayor from operating.

Today, Money Mail exposes the terrifying criminal underworld that is right under our noses. Using Google, Facebook, YouTube and webpages that anyone can find, crooks trade all the information they need to raid your bank account and spend on your credit card.

Your cash could be up for sale

For anyone unsure of what The Mayor is actually offering, he spells it out on his forum post, which is really just an advertisement: 'I specialise in carding and transferring funds from hacked bank accounts and credit card data to you by Western Union, Money Gram or bank transfers worldwide.'

To put it in even simpler terms, The Mayor steals money from the online bank accounts of innocent victims and then 'sells' the money to unscrupulous buyers.

The buyer pays a small sum and The Mayor transfers them far more in stolen funds via Western Union, the legitimate international payments service.

The customer is given a 'secret' code to take to Western Union to collect the money in cash in their local currency.

They don't even need to show their ID, The Mayor says. In one post, a U.S. buyer says they paid $600 to receive $3,500.

The Mayor's reference to 'carding' is a sign that he runs a sophisticated operation. This is the slang fraudsters use to describe the trading of credit card, bank account and other stolen personal information.

The Mayor claims to have 'endless suppliers of hacked bank accounts and PayPal accounts in most countries' for those willing to contact him privately.

This type of data is used to commit identity fraud, where criminals go on a spending spree using their victim's money, or apply for a mobile phone or loan in their name.

Identity fraud has hit an all-time high. In 2017, almost 175,000 cases of identity theft were recorded by Cifas, the body that tracks this type of crime  that's more than double the figure recorded a decade ago.

Such fraud now costs the UK 5.4 billion a year, according to Action Fraud, which works with the police to stop cybercrime.

On top of this, there were 1.9 million unauthorised transactions on cards and bank accounts in 2017, worth a total of 731.8 million.

This number, from banking trade body UK Finance, includes fraudsters using stolen card details online and opportunistic thieves spending on lost contactless cards they have picked up in the street.

The legitimate-looking KiCarding Premium app claims to offer more than 20 tools, including tutorial guides and a temporary email inbox - which are used for credit card fraud

Banks are obliged to refund unauthorised transactions and ID theft where the customer was not at fault. So, in theory, it's the banks  and not innocent customers  who suffer from the criminal activity being carried out by The Mayor and his buyers.

But every pound a bank has to pay to cover fraud losses eats into its profits. And to keep profits high, they cut costs elsewhere. That can mean lower savings rates, higher fees and interest charges for borrowers, or even closing branches.

Phone apps to make fraud easy

The Google Play store is an online marketplace where smartphone users can download applications, from messaging service WhatsApp to music streaming service Spotify.

But Money Mail found that alongside legitimate apps were programs designed to make fraud easy.

Google itself is not responsible for creating the apps, it merely allows programmers to upload their software so other users may download it. One such app, called KiCarding Premium, was removed from the Play store by Google during Money Mail's investigation.

The app was free to download and, before it was taken down, had been reviewed by 180 users, garnering an average score of 4.3 out of five.

It is still available to download on unofficial Android app stores and on its own website.

When we sent the details of the app to fraud experts, they confirmed that it contained all the tools a crook would need to spend money on someone else's card.

This included software enabling the user to find stolen card details online and then check if the cards were still active in order to use them to purchase products from internet retailers.

Consultants from cyber security firm Secarma say the app also featured a global chat room that connected users with other hackers and 'carders' who steal, trade and use card details.

It also offered links to websites where the user could find stolen credit card information.

In total, the KiCarding Premium app claimed to offer more than 20 tools, including tutorial guides and a temporary email inbox.

Similar apps are still available on the Google Play store if you search for 'carding', including Pro Hacking Tutorials, Daz Bins Generator and Bin Credit Card Checker. All have four-star ratings.

Fraud experts at Secarma say most carding tools hide the user's real location and computer details (known as their IP address).

Many tools also offer a Bank Identification Number (Bin) checker. This allows the hacker to find out information about a credit card, such as the balance.

Another app, Social Bins, says it is designed for 'bineros'  the slang for Latin American cybercriminals. The app allows users to share information and includes tutorials which promise to teach you about 'the world of carding'.

Daz Bins Generator says in its description: 'Our application will show you the bank name, card type, country code and brand.'

It says this information can be 'used for educational purpose and also commercial purpose [sic].'

Epidemic: Identity fraud now costs the UK 5.4 billion a year, according to Action Fraud, which works with the police to stop cybercrime

So brazen they hijack forums

Until recently, the illegal trade in personal data was mostly confined to the dark web.

This is a specific corner of the internet that is difficult for ordinary users to access. You can't stumble upon it by accident without the right program and web address.

But now, hackers and traders such as The Mayor are using public forums and message boards listed on the Google search engine. This increases their exposure to a larger number of potential customers.

In some cases, the websites are set up specifically for the hacking community to trade the information they've harvested, share tips and sell tools.

Others are forums designed for legal purposes that have been hijacked.

For example, on the Poker News forum, one person posting under the username Henry777188 has advertised the sale of personal data, including contact details, dates of birth and financial information.

Another user on the same message board, going by the name of Minh Tuan, has posted a list of information that is up for sale, including credit card details, account numbers, sort codes and other personal data.

Minh Tuan sells the full details for one British person for $35.

Another user explains how to use credit card details to obtain the owner's phone number, date of birth and their mother's maiden name.

Other websites advertise lists of 'trusted' online shops where stolen information can be bought.

One example, trickscity.com, claims to do this for 'educational purposes' so people know 'what the shops look like'.

While another website listed on Google describes how to build your own card skimmer  a device that criminals attach to cash machines to record the information on cards that are inserted. It then creates a copy of the card, which can be used to commit fraud.

The instructional page includes links to stores where the parts for card skimming devices can be purchased.

It also offers a video tutorial for $320, with payment to be made in the cryptocurrency Bitcoin.

Facebook pages to swap secrets

Fraudsters have become so bold that they now communicate openly on social media about their activities.

Money Mail found Facebook pages  including World Hackers Page and Hacking Tricks  where cybercriminals are selling bank logins, card PINs and information from PayPal accounts.

The World Hackers Page appeared to operate as if it were a legitimate business. A Facebook Messenger window pops up as soon as the page loads, giving customers the chance to ask the seller any questions directly.

It offers suggestions such as: 'What's your return policy?', 'Where is your shop located?', 'Can I give feedback?' and 'Could you give me a call, I'd like to speak to someone?'

There were 1.9 million unauthorised transactions on cards and bank accounts in 2017, worth a total of 731.8 million

Both this page and the Hacking Tricks page have been taken down since the Mail reported them to Facebook.

But security experts say this will not deter criminals, who will simply set up more.

Neil Hare-Brown of Storm Guidance, which advises on cyber security risks, says it would be easy to prevent these pages from appearing, but it would be costly to recruit staff to monitor them.

'There's a ton of stuff out there that shouldn't be, but tech giants take a pragmatic view,' he says.

'They will only take down sites when they are asked or forced to with a court order.'

Youtube tutorials with 16,000 views

Video site YouTube has strict policies on inappropriate content; nudity and graphic violence, for example, are banned. But it struggles to police more than a billion users, who upload 300 hours of video every minute, so it relies on users to flag illegal content.

Money Mail found hacking tutorial videos on the site. These provided tips on how, for example, internet users could change their computer IP addresses, which give away their locations, to the same one that would have been used by the bank customer whose card details they have stolen. In theory, this trick could enable a cybercriminal to use a stolen card without triggering a fraud alert at the customer's bank.

One video gives a demonstration of someone using stolen credit card details to buy a Canon camera online for $874.09. It has been viewed more than 16,400 times and has 190 likes.

Users can post comments on these videos, and some share information on where to source credit card numbers or promote their supplies of stolen information.

Chris Underhill, from Equiniti Cyber Security, says stolen financial information and personal data is just 'lying around online waiting to be found'.

He adds: 'If you know the right search terms, you'll be able to find hacking programmes and tutorials within seconds.'

But Mr Hare-Brown says it's difficult to tell what information posted by cybercriminals is genuine and what is fake. He adds, in some cases, the fraudsters are selling data that isn't real in order to scam amateur carders.

Glyn Whittick, of the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU), admits the trading of financial information online is a real issue.

'The selling of card details online is a major problem and the DCPCU continues to target criminal gangs involved in this kind of fraud,' he says. 'Working closely with the banking industry and our law enforcement partners across the world, we are cracking down on online fraud and bringing those responsible to justice.'

Google has removed the videos on YouTube reported by Money Mail.

A spokesman says: 'Our policies are designed to provide a great experience for users and developers. That's why we remove apps from Google Play that violate those policies.'

Facebook says: 'We do not allow people to promote fraudulent activity on Facebook.

'We have removed the content brought to our attention by the Daily Mail for violating our Community Standards. We are conducting a wider investigation into the matter and are removing similar groups and accounts.

'We urge people to use our reporting tools to flag content they suspect may be illegal or violate our standards so we can take swift action.'

Western Union was approached for comment and had not responded by the time we went to press.

a.murray@dailymail.co.uk
We're due to set off to tomorrow to Spain for our family holiday but we've just been told the flight has been cancelled because the airline's crew is on strike.

If there are no flights with our airline, how will we be able to get to our destination and if we need to buy a flight with a different airline will we be left out of pocket?

When a flight is cancelled passengers should be offered a refund or an alternative flight

Rebecca Goodman, of This is Money, replies: If your airline cancels your flight, you have the right to ask for a refund or to be booked onto an alternative flight. This has happened to thousands of people recently who were due to fly with Ryanair over a series of airline staff strikes.

First, flights were cancelled because of the air-traffic controllers going on strike, and then further strikes by cabin crew were announced. This means thousands of passengers have had their flights cancelled during the peak summer holiday season.

However, when a flight is cancelled because of an airline strike, or for any other reason, passengers should be offered a refund or an alternative flight.

If there are no available alternative flights  which is often the case if staff have gone on strike and there's a big backlog of customers trying to get on flights  the airline should find you an alternative flight with a different airline or alternative transport.

This is known as 're-routing' and if you book and pay for the new flight yourself, and you end up paying out more than your original flight was, you should be able to claim for a refund. Ryanair told us passengers need to contact it before arranging alternative transport.

Carolina Vicente, travel expert at Columbus Direct insurance, explains: 'Many of those heading off on holiday will experience severe disruption due to Ryanair's cabin crew strikes.

'As it is a European airline, if you are due to travel during this time and your flight is cancelled you are protected. You have the option to take an alternative flight with the airline to your destination, or cancel your flight and claim a full refund.

If you were given 14 days or less notice you may be entitled to compensation from the airline

'If the alternative flight offered isn't at the right time for you the airline is legally required to book you on a comparable flight with them or an alternative airline. You should not be charged any more for this.

'If you were given 14 days or less notice of your flight cancellation you're entitled to compensation, however if you were given more than 14 days notice you are only entitled to a refund or a new flight.

'But remember if notified of the cancellation more than 14 days before the flight, once you've agreed to take a refund from the airline they no longer have a duty of care towards you.

'Any onward travel, or extra expense for new flights are your own responsibility if you decide to accept the refund  no compensation is owed.

'Should you wish to apply for compensation you can apply directly with the airline and compensation amounts depend on the type of flight, when the airline notifies you, how long you are left waiting for a substitute flight and how far you're travelling - anything from 125-600.'

'Our advice would be take the option that gets you there when you need to be. If you have the luxury of time waiting for the next available flight may mean you get some additional compensation money but will cost you in hours waiting at the airport.'

Rebecca Goodman adds: In some cases of cancellation you are entitled to compensation on top of the refund or the alternative flight.

However this isn't the case if the reason could not have been avoided by the airline  such as with a staff strike of extreme weather conditions.

Therefore in this instance you aren't entitled to compensation. Our guide on how to claim flight delay or cancellation compensation - and the circumstances in which you qualify for redress explains in full the reasons when you can claim for cancellation, as well as giving information on your rights if your flight is delayed.
The founder of family sausage firm Heck has accused Aldi of copying his bangers.

Andrew Keeble, a former Yorkshire pig farmer, said he had politely asked Aldi to drop its Italian-style chicken chipolatas.

He suggested the packaging is similar to Heck's Chicken Italia sausages  but received a threatening legal letter in response.

Bad taste: Andrew Keeble, a former Yorkshire pig farmer, said he had politely asked Aldi to drop its Italian-style chicken chipolatas

He is now considering taking the discounter to court.

In a letter to trade magazine The Grocer, the 52-year-old said: 'We are a small family business that has invested time and substantial cash in developing the UK's number one brand.

'Why should we stand by and watch these cowboys sell a lookalike pack to their customers?'

An Aldi spokesman said: 'The branding and colours used on this packaging are consistent with the wider Ashfield Farm range.

'We have used this brand in the UK for the past 15 years and it is clearly recognisable to customers.'
The on-off sale of British engineer Northern Aerospace to a Chinese buyer is expected to complete today after the Government dropped its concerns over national security.

The 60m deal between Northerns private equity owner Better Capital and China-owned Gardner Aerospace was agreed in June but was halted this month when Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson intervened.

Flying high: Northern, which supplies Airbus, Gulfstream and Boeing, makes wing parts and other aircraft components

But after an all-clear from the Competition and Markets Authority last week, Better Capital announced yesterday that the deal was back on track and due to be finalised today.

Northern, which supplies Airbus, Gulfstream and Boeing, makes wing parts and other aircraft components. Business Secretary Greg Clark said that even though it makes parts for military aircraft, this was not enough for an intervention over national security.
PC Joshua Savage arrives at Southwark Crown Court in London today

A police officer acted like a 'bully in uniform' when he was filmed sawing through a suspect's car windscreen with a knife, a court has heard.

Joshua Savage attacked Leon Fontana's Ford Fiesta with a baton before cutting the smashed glass with a lock knife on September 16 2016, Southwark Crown Court heard.

The incident, at around 5.25pm, at Weedington Place in Camden, north-west London, was filmed by Mr Fontana from the driver's seat and shared widely online at the time.

Police mistakenly thought he was a potentially violent drug dealer who may have had a weapon and only had a provisional licence, the court heard.

When Mr Fontana refused to leave his vehicle, the Metropolitan Police officer, 28, can be heard saying in footage played to the jury: 'Get out of the car', and 'You're not allowed to drive it' before hitting it repeatedly with his baton.

Mr Fontana, who placed his keys on the dashboard, replies: 'I've got a licence and insurance', and says he is filming for his own safety.

Prosecuting, Jonathan Polnay said: 'You might think it not unfair to say that he comes across in that clip as a bully in uniform.

'When Mr Fontana was saying 'I've got a licence and insurance' he was telling the truth.

'They (police) thought it was someone called TJ Dickson who was driving the car. To put it mildly he is well known to the police.

'He was believed to be involved in drug dealing and police had been told he may be violent.'

Savage attacked a Ford Fiesta belonging to Leon Fontana (pictured today outside court) with a baton before cutting the smashed glass with a lock knife

Savage said in a police witness statement he feared for his safety and saw the suspect 'lunge to the footwell' of the car

Savage said in a police witness statement he feared for his safety and that he saw the suspect 'lunge to the footwell' of the black Fiesta, which had tinted windows.

Savage, of Hermon Hill, Wanstead, north-east London, is charged with possessing a bladed article, common assault and destroying property.

He entered not guilty pleas on May 19. Savage, who has been placed on restricted duties by the Metropolitan Police, is on unconditional bail.

PC Savage repeatedly asks the driver to jump out of the car but he refuses to do so
The future George IV was the first person to buy a Jane Austen novel, research into the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle has discovered

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the Prince Regent was better known for his saucy personal life than his eye for literary talent.

But in between his numerous dalliances and extravagant spending, the future George IV found time to become the first person to buy a Jane Austen novel too, research into the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle has discovered.

The year was 1811 and the unknown Austen was about to publish her debut novel Sense And Sensibility, albeit anonymously with the title page of the first edition saying 'by a lady'.

A newly discovered bill from a bookseller, in copperplate script on yellowing paper, shows that on October 28, 1811, the Prince Regent bought a three-volume edition of Sense And Sensibility for 15 shillings  75 today.

The bill was found by history PhD student Nick Foretek, one of 40 researchers involved so far in the Georgian Papers Project, as he examined boxes of papers in Windsor's Round Tower.

The bill's date is significant  it was two days before the first public advertisement for Sense And Sensibility, and raises the question of what led George to buy a copy.

Mr Foretek, 29, of Pennsylvania University, said: 'This is perhaps the earliest known transaction of any Austen novel.'

The prince's copy came from Becket & Porter in Pall Mall, his preferred booksellers. Mr Foretek said: 'I imagine that the bookseller's familiarity with his client's taste for novels is likely to have led him to buy a copy for the prince.'

In 1811 the unknown Austen was about to publish her debut novel Sense And Sensibility, albeit anonymously with the title page of the first edition saying 'by a lady'

George bought all Austen's novels, but the whereabouts of his copy of Sense And Sensibility are unknown.

The Georgian Papers Project intends to catalogue and make available online some 425,000 pages of documents, both official and private, relating to the Georgian monarchy held in the Royal Archives and Royal Library.

The project is a partnership between the Royal Archives and Royal Library with King's College London, the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, and the College of William & Mary.
A mother-of-three was horrified when a man allegedly began yelling abuse at her in the parents' room of a shopping centre.

The woman claimed that the 'older man without children' walked into the parents' room at Westfield Hornsby in northern Sydney without any children and wandered around.

She posted the man's image to Facebook, saying that he began to stare at her three children as they were getting ready to leave.

A mother posted this image to Facebook of a man who allegedly walked into the parents' room and stared at her children before spitting abuse at her

Growing uncomfortable, she asked the man what he was doing there before he allegedly 'launched into a tirade of abuse'.

She said that the man was calling her names and became verbally abusive.

The mother-of-three desperately tried searching for the shopping centre's security phone number but wasn't able to find anything due to poor reception as the parent room is 'deep in the concrete bunker that is Westfield'.

She said another woman in the restroom rushed her children out of the room, refusing eye contact with Lloyd before hurriedly leaving.

When she realised that the woman left without seeking help, she quickly took a picture of the man to show security and police.

She claimed that the man was so 'animated with aggression' that he was spitting.

A woman that was hiding in one of the breast-feeding cubicles managed to get onto security who arrived after the man had allegedly left the room.

The woman alleged that the 'older man without children' walked into the parent room at Westfield Hornsby without any children

The mother handed the picture in to security, who later called and told her that they escorted the man off the premises.

'I was really disappointed in their response and care factor for violence towards women and children,' Lloyd said on Facebook.

A Westfield spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that they are aware of the incident and their priority is the safety of their customers.

'We spoke to the customer immediately after the issue was raised and again later that day to address any concerns,' they said.

'Police have also been in contact with customer.'
The record of a 1975 lunch between BBC governors and managers and diplomat Sir Stewart Crawford (pictured) is revealed in todays newly-released archive papers

Mandarins tried to persuade the BBC to spy on its own writers, broadcasters and producers deemed to have connections with subversive organisations such as communist groups.

In a strategy that MI5s chief considered politically explosive if leaked, top civil servants encouraged the broadcasters board of governors to try to deal with extremists in their midst.

The record of a 1975 lunch between BBC governors and managers and diplomat Sir Stewart Crawford is revealed in todays newly-released archive papers.

Sir Stewart told the corporations bosses that BBC management must be well aware of the problems presented... by people with extremist and subversive views obtaining time on the air and the TV screen. Admitting that there appeared to be no systemic infiltration of the BBC, he said: This satisfactory situation today has not happened of itself, but must be the result of careful watching by BBC management.

He listed two communist groups, the CPGB (Communist Party of Great Britain) and the New Left, as the main threats, although noted that extreme Right-wing groups also needed watching.

Sir Stewart recommended to the board that they create a small unit of one or two people whose function was to collate information on the political sympathies of employees. This would enable the BBC to put itself in the best possible stance to deal with extremists who will want to grind their axes, by making sure it had as complete and up-to-date information as possible on all bodies, individuals, affiliations, front organisations, sympathisers etc.

Sir Stewart reported that his remarks set going a lively discussion.

One opponent was poet and professor Roy Fuller, who said extremists would not exist if society were not rotten and did not provide plenty of wrongs which had to be righted. A manager also protested: I cant make dramatists write acceptable plays.

Sir Stewart recorded that Lord Greenhill, one of the BBCs governors, later phoned him to confirm that the talk had been a success. But another memo shows Sir Michael Hanley, Director General of MI5, warning against a similar idea as it was all politically explosive and the BBC is leaky. The result of the talks is unclear, however. The BBC has previously admitted secretly vetting employees with the help of MI5 until the 1990s.

Mandarins tried to persuade the BBC to spy on its own writers, broadcasters and producers deemed to have connections with subversive organisations such as communist groups

Sir Stewart recorded that Lord Greenhill (left) one of the BBCs governors, later phoned him to confirm that the talk had been a success'. Another memo shows Sir Michael Hanley (right) Director General of MI5, warning against a similar idea as it was all politically explosive

Other papers in the file shed new light on the activities of the governments secret Committee on Subversion in Public Life.

First created in 1972, the committee monitored groups whose aims were to undermine or overthrow Parliamentary democracy. In the period covered by the papers, it focused on Militant Tendency  a Trotskyist group that infiltrated the Labour Party.
Dad's Army star Ian Lavender has cleared up a lingering mystery about the iconic show - by revealing his character's father.

The actor - who played Frank Pike in the wartime comedy - asked creator David Croft if Arthur Wilson was indeed his father following the last episode's filming in 1977.

It followed heavy hints throughout the show's history as scripts referenced the intimate relationship between his mother, Mavis, and Uncle Arthur. Lavender revealed Croft replied to his question with 'Of course he is!'

Ian Lavender - pictured, second from the right as Pike - has revealed the identity of his on-screen father

Lavender (right) only found out that Pike's father was Wilson (left) on the final day of filming for the show in 1977

Although the programme's writers referenced a past relationship between Mavis and Arthur, Frank's father was never disclosed in the show.

Arthur, played by John Le Mesurier, was confirmed as Pike's parent as Dad's Army celebrates its 50th anniversary in a Radio Times interview with Lavender.

The actor, who was cast aged 22 in 1968, told the magazine that it was nine years before even he knew the identity of his onscreen father.

'At the end of the last episode I said to David Croft, "I just have to ask you one thing, is Uncle Arthur my father?"' he said. 'And he looked at me and said, "of course he is!"'

Although he admitted the role often led to him being type-cast in comedic roles, Lavender says he remains proud of the part.

Lavender - the only surviving member of the Home Guard platoon - also spoke of his fears that his career may be at an end after he was diagnosed with sepsis.

After surviving cancer and a heart attack, Lavender was hit by the potentially deadly condition last year during a brief return to EastEnders.

He first joined the soap in 2001 as Derek Harkinson, a gay friend of Pauline Fowler, and left in 2005. He returned in 2016 before succumbing to sepsis.

Lavender said he would like to be in EastEnders again but, after his sepsis diagnosis, fears the show wouldn't be able to insure him.

The actor, who survived bladder cancer in 1993 and a heart attack in 2004, said he enjoyed EastEnders 'immensely', adding he had 'nothing but admiration' for the hard work it takes to film a soap.

But he said the genre can be let down by actors who 'haven't done their homework' and aren't prepared for the discipline filming requires.

The Daily Mails End The Sepsis Scandal campaign has been raising awareness of the illness, which affects 150,000 people in the UK each year. Around one third of those who develop sepsis die.

Royal Mail will mark the 50th anniversary of Dad's Army with commemorative staff featuring catchphrases from the show, including Captain Mainwarings frequent outbursts of 'you stupid boy' to Pike.
A 13-year-old girl has revealed how a foster carer sexually abused children as young as four by taking them to a room and putting a blanket on the window to make it dark.

The teenager said the man, living in a West Australian mining town, had used the term 'getting silly' to describe having sex with underage girls in his care.

The Aboriginal girl made the allegations in an audio recording obtained by The Australian, which was last week given to state child protection authorities.

A 13-year-old girl has revealed how a foster carer sexually abused children as young as four by taking them to a room and putting a blanket on the window to make it dark (stock image)

The child, whose first language is an indigenous tongue, described how the paedophile had told another girl 'let's go to the room' where they were 'getting silly'.

She also revealed the man, who was a foster carer with his spouse, would instruct her and the other girls to wait in a park as he engaged in sexual acts with a mother and her underage daughter.

The girl feared she too would be sexually abused if she reported the abuse.

'I was scared. I was thinking he was going to be rude to me,' she said in the recording.

The girl was not removed from the carer, who has fled the small town where she lived, The Australian reported.

The teenager said the man in a West Australian mining town had used the term 'getting silly' to describe having underage sex with girls in his care (stock image)

She had also been reportedly returned to the predatory carer and his spouse after escaping several times.

The Western Australian Labor government's Minister for Child Protection Simone McGurk told federal Indigenous Health Minister Ken Wyatt her Department of Communities had acted swiftly to identify the children affected.

'Communities have been able to identify only two families from the information provided, and can confirm there is current involvement with both families,' she said in a letter dated January 24.
Anthony Rashid, 58, from Illinois, was found dead Friday

An Illinois man has fallen to his death while climbing Mount Rushmore.

Anthony Rashid, 58, was found dead at the base of a cliff near a popular climbing area on Friday.

Authorities in South Dakota say Rashid had gone either hiking or climbing Thursday and was found by hikers the next morning.

Officers from the National Parks Service and the Pennington County Sheriffs Office responded to the call from hikers.

Autopsy results confirmed Rashid's identify and preliminary cause of death.

He went climbing up Mount Rushmore Thursday and was found dead at the bottom of a cliff Friday morning

The Pennington County Sheriff's Office say the cause of death appears to be multiple blunt force trauma due to an accidental fall.

It is unclear if Rashid was hiking alone and authorities have informed the next of kin.

An investigation is ongoing with the assistance of the FBI.
New Zealand's acting prime minister has accused Australia of 'copying' their national flag.

Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters claims Australia should change the flag they've been using for more than six decades.

Mr Peters, who is filling in for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern while she is on maternity leave, caused a stir on morning television when questioned about the consistency of his views.

New Zealand's current flag was adopted on March 24, 1902 followed by Australia's adoption on April 14, 1954 - more than 50 years after their neighbour.

New Zealand's acting prime minister Winston Peters (pictured) has slammed Australia for 'copying' their national flag almost seven decades after first adopting it

Mr Peters claimed the New Zealand flag (right) was 'copied by Australia' (left) and that they should 'change their flag' because they had it 'first'

'We had a flag that we've had for a long time, copied by Australia, and they should actually change their flag and honour the fact that we got there first with this design, being decided by a Prime Minister and his legacy,' Mr Peters told TVNZ.

The call to change the flag has been widely debated for years as the two are often confused due to their similarity and geographical proximity.

NATIONAL FLAGS AUSTRALIA adopted the flag on April 14, 1954

features the Union Jack and Southern Cross with white stars

followed the original design chosen in 1901 after a competition NEW ZEALAND adopted the flag on March 12, 1902

features the Union Jack and four red stars with white borders

designed by First Lieutenant of Royal Navy vessel Blanche, Albert Hastings Markham, after his submission in 1869 FLAG CONFUSION The two flags are often confused due to their similarities in design and geographical proximity Advertisement

The comment comes after Mr Peters, who is also the country's Foreign Minister, previously slammed Australia for deporting New Zealand nationals without trial.

'When you're in a foreign country you're expected to obey their laws,' he said.

'But someone should be tried before they're evicted from a country.'

More than one thousand New Zealanders have had their visas cancelled in Australia since stricter deportation laws were introduced four years ago.

Some have spent the majority of their lives in Australia with little connection to their country of birth.

In the same period, the Tasman neighbour has sent back only nine Australian citizens.

Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said New Zealand needed to keep in mind the country was a buffer between themselves and boats.

'(New Zealand) don't contribute really anything to the defence effort,' Mr Dutton said last week.

'There's a lot that we do for New Zealand.'
Margaret Thatcher may have famously survived on just four hours' sleep a night, but newly released government files suggest she may have made up for it by catnapping in the back of her official car.

Papers released by the National Archives in Kew show officials became so concerned she could suffer an injury if the Daimler was forced to brake while she was nodding off, they arranged for a custom-built headrest to be fitted to protect her.

In September 1987, Bob Kingston in No 10 wrote to inform her private office: 'I am concerned that, when the PM dozes in the official car, the design of the headrests is such that, far from supporting her head and neck, they cause her head to drop forward.

Margaret Thatcher may have famously survived on just four hours' sleep a night, but newly released government files suggest she may have made up for it by catnapping in the back of her official car

'This is in itself hazardous, but when the car is braked or turned, or there is some other disturbance, she lifts her head very quickly, and this I am sure will one day cause at least minor injury.'

He added: 'I told the PM of my concern at Chequers last weekend. She agreed to the matter of a better design of headrest being pursued.'

The files also reveal the consternation among executives at Jaguar Daimler when Mrs Thatcher's successor John Major, who suffered from an old knee injury, suggested replacing the armoured Daimler, which he found too cramped.

In contrast, the official Rovers used by the Government Car Service were 'definitely more roomy' and he jumped at the prospect of a 'stretched' version which 'could add another four inches to its length'.

Hearing the news, Gavin Thompson at Jaguar Daimler wrote to a sympathetic MP, warning it would deal a 'catastrophic blow' to the company.

'The popular press would have a field day. Everybody in the country and around the world has become used to seeing our Prime Minister in a Daimler,' he wrote.

Meanwhile, executives at Rolls-Royce sensed an opportunity.

Marketing director Malcolm Hart wrote to No 10 offering to supply up to three Bentley Mulsanne S at a 'nominal' price of 10,000 each - compared with a list price of 80,000 - plus 70,000 for the cost of armouring.

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher leaves Downing Street for Northolt Airport with her Special Branch bodyguard Bob Kingston

'Our cars are exceptionally well suited to such use as they have plenty of interior space, can be entered and exited easily, are well suited to armouring, are capable of long-distance high-speed cruising and are, above all, essentially British in character,' he boasted.

Officials noted that, at a total cost of 80,000 per car, the deal offered a 'significant cash saving' compared with 110,000 for a fully armoured stretch Rover or for a 128,000 Daimler.

However, there were concerns for Mr Major's famously down-to-earth image if they went ahead.

Robin Catford in No 10 wrote: 'The obvious snags are the implications of accepting a cut-price deal and the possible repercussions, in terms of the Prime Minister's image, of moving up the quality car range. The latter has been rejected in the past: the former is likely to be a very slippery slope.'

In the event, Mr Major decided to stick with what he had, writing in a handwritten note: 'Pl(ease) express thanks but no change for now at least.'
Sexual deviants have set up hook-up camps which overlook children's play areas and used hidden enclosures to conceal their sordid activities.

Man-made tracks and three hideouts built out of shurbs were discovered in bushland this week along Bridgewater Creek in Brisbane's south-east.

The enclosures overlook netball courts, which are used by junior players, as well as a children's playground.

'It's not a rampant problem but they have a few hives constructed out of bushes to screen where the activity is occurring and camouflage the opening,' Senior Sergeant Dave Stafford told The Courier Mail.

Sexual deviants have set up hook-up camps and used hidden enclosures made from shrubs to conceal their sordid activities

Man-made tracks and three hideouts built out of vegetation were discovered in bushland this week along Bridgewater Creek in Brisbane's south-east

'Police have been patrolling there daily as soon as it was brought to our attention and the activity has decreased significantly after the response.'

Sen-Sgt Stafford said the tracks lead off the Metropolitan Districts Netball Association's car park.

Damien Madden of the Norman Creek Catchment Committee made the discovery as his team worked to maintain the bushland in the suburb of Coorparoo.

Mr Madden said rocks which the organisation had laid to reinforce the creek's banks had been ripped out.

Sen-Sgt Stafford said the tracks lead off the Metropolitan Districts Netball Association's car park (pictured)

The bushland enclosures overlook netball courts as well as a children's playground

He also found vegetation had been hacked away to make way for the tracks and used to build the enclosures.

The discovery comes after similar issues at the nearby Minnippi Parklands at Tingalpa.

Sexual deviants approached undercover police at the family recreation area and asked them to perform sex acts in 2015.

Plans for CCTV surveillance of the parklands were announced in 2013 and installed following the 2015 police operation.
A million public sector workers will get a pay rise as the Chancellor today announces bumper increases for the armed forces, teachers, doctors, dentists, prison officers and the police.

Philip Hammond will confirm the 1 per cent pay cap  which has limited annual rises for six years  has been abandoned.

The pay deals will vary across the workforce but a Government source last night told the Mail that the rises would be much better than the 1 per cent everyone is used to.

It is believed the rise could be somewhere between 1.5 and 3.5 per cent for many roles such as teachers, police officers and doctors.

Bumper increases: Chancellor Philip Hammond is set to announce a pay rise for a million public sector workers

Whitehall departments have been told they are allowed to spend more of their budgets on pay. However, there will be no new money to fund additional increases, meaning any extra pay rises will have to come from efficiency savings or cuts to services.

The raft of pay rises, which will be announced in the Commons today, comes after nurses were told in March they would get a 6.5 per cent increase over three years.

However union bosses are expected to scoff at the rise, who want as much as 5 per cent to make up for the cash lost from the six-year cap, The Sun reported.

Pay review bodies for each workforce have drawn up the recommendations after looking at variables including the turnover of staff. The announcement will prove popular with public sector workers who have long complained about the cap, but there will be concerns about how the rises will be paid for.

Unions are likely to still warn the increases are not enough. The rise for doctors will mean that millions of pounds from the 20billion NHS funding boost  announced last month to mark the Health Services 70th anniversary  will go on staffing.

This will dismay many members of the public who had hoped the Governments extra money would go towards frontline care. A senior GP earns on average 100,000 a year while hospital consultants are typically on 92,000  which excludes overtime and performance bonuses.

Public sector pay restraint has played a key role in the Governments efforts to clear Britains huge budget deficit.

Philip Hammond will confirm the 1 per cent pay cap  which has limited annual rises for six years  has been abandoned

It became a major issue at last years general election when Theresa May was challenged by a cash-strapped nurse during a live TV debate. Earlier this year, Mr Hammond signalled the end of austerity ahead of his Spring Statement when he declared: There is light at the end of the tunnel because what we are about to see is debt starting to fall after its been growing for 17 continuous years.

However, the Office for Budget Responsibility last week warned austerity may have to continue for at least another 50 years to bring the nations finances under control.

It said debt will become unsustainable without tax rises or further cuts to spending. It blamed some of the pressure on Mrs Mays 20billion NHS boost as well as rising state pension costs and the ageing population  which will require more spending on care.

The OBR said: On current policy we would expect the budget deficit to widen significantly over the long term, putting public sector debt on a rising trajectory. This would not be sustainable.

In a stark 168-page report, the watchdog said the public finances were in a perilous position and urged ministers to consider carefully any further commitments.

Meanwhile, a report yesterday found that the countrys tax burden has reached its highest level for almost half a century.

The taxman is set to take 724.9billion this year  34.3 per cent of GDP. That is the highest proportion since 1969-70, when the country was run by a Labour Government under Harold Wilson.

The report, written by the TaxPayers Alliance campaign group, also said overall Government revenues are at a 32-year high at 37 per cent of GDP, a measure of the size of the economy.

In total, the Government will raise 775.8billion  which is equivalent to around 28,000 from every household, according to the study.

The research also found that new taxes have hit poorer households the hardest. The bottom 10 per cent of earners in Britain pay 49.5 per cent of their income in tax.
Noisy children's wards in NHS hospitals breach guidelines on safe sound levels, researchers say.

A study found children and parents slept for an hour less in hospital than at home, posing a risk to their health.

Experts from Southampton Children's Hospital monitored sound levels at the bedsides of 40 children and 16 mothers in hospital and in their own home.

Noisy children's wards in NHS hospitals breach guidelines on safe sound levels, say researchers who also found young patients are getting less sleep than they would at home.

Noise levels were an average of 48.24 decibels on children's wards, compared with 34.7dB in bedrooms. The World Health Organisation says wards should be no louder than 30dB on average.

Children averaged seven-and-a-half hours' sleep per night in hospital  63 minutes less than at home. Mothers had six hours and 20 minutes  73 minutes less.

Study leader Dr Catherine Hill, a consultant in paediatric sleep medicine, said: 'When children lose sleep in hospital they have a lower pain threshold, are more emotional and may have lowered immune defences, so this is an issue we need to address.'

The study, published in the BMJ journal Archives of Disease in Childhood, said the importance of sleep had been stressed as long ago as 1859, when Florence Nightingale wrote: 'Unnecessary noise is the cruellest absence of care.'

The authors added: 'Despite 150 years of medical progress, we have forgotten the basic lessons of patient care.

'Sleep is one aspect of care that can be freely delivered.'
Takeovers of British firms by foreign companies will be easier to block if they threaten national security under tough powers proposed by ministers.

Business Secretary Greg Clark is expected to announce proposals today that will allow the Government to intervene on deals affecting a broader range of companies.

There is concern that under current rules, sensitive technology used by smaller yet vital companies or industries such as telecoms can too easily fall into foreign hands.

Business Secretary Greg Clark is expected to announce the tough new proposals today

Measures announced last month already lowered the threshold for the Government to intervene in industries such as those making military products and computing hardware.

Under the plans due to be announced in a White Paper today, ministers will be able to call in deals across the economy that pose national security concerns.

They will then be able to put conditions on the deal or block it. They could even undo a deal where it has taken place.

The Government has just waved through the sale of Derby-based components maker Northern Aerospace to Chinese-owned Gardner, following concerns about technology falling into Chinese hands.

Earlier this year it intervened in the sale of engineering company GKN to Melrose, securing a veto over the sale of its prized aerospace arm over the next five years.

After the proposals are outlined today there will then be a 12-week consultation period.
Eight scouts have been sent home from an international gathering after one was charged with supplying cannabis and another with possession of the drug.

The ten-day 'jamborette' in Scotland included activities such as mountain biking, kayaking and climbing for 1,500 participants aged 14 to 17.

But scout leaders called in police after spotting some of the children with the drug.

Eight scouts sent home from international jamboree at picturesque Blair Castle, Perthshire.

What's a jamboree? Usually it's camping, nature and no drugs A jamborette is a smaller or shorter jamboree, organised by regional scout clubs

Jamborees take place every four years to mirror the frequency of Olympic Games

Activities include camping, nature trails, zip-wiring and watching live music

The first jamboree took place in 1920 at the Olympic Arena in Kensington as a celebration of international goodwill following the First World War

Founder Sir Robert Baden-Powell said it taught us that if we exercise mutual forbearance and give and take, then there is sympathy and harmony

The biggest jamboree was held in Sweden in 2011, attracting 40,000 people Advertisement

One 16-year-old Scottish boy has been charged with supplying controlled drugs and a 17-year-old from the United States has been charged with possession of drugs, understood to be cannabis.

Police were called to the event in the grounds of the picturesque Blair Castle at Blair Atholl, Perthshire, on Thursday.

Last night a spokesman for Police Scotland said: 'After enquiries were conducted, a 17-year-old male was charged and given a Recorded Police Warning for possession of controlled drugs, and a 16-year-old male was charged and is to be reported for supplying controlled drugs.'

The teenagers were sent home from the camp along with six other scouts.

A source said: 'They were spotted near the trees by a leader who knew something was going on and the drugs were found. They then called in police and kept them in the centre of the camp until officers arrived.'

The source added: 'It's not what scouting is about and most of the others here think they are fools.'

Scouts Scotland confirmed that eight teenagers had been sent home from the gathering.

Police were called to the event in the castle grounds. A 16-year-old Scottish boy has been charged with supplying controlled drugs and a 17-year-old from the United States has been charged with possession of drugs

A spokesman for the organisation said: 'Scouts Scotland has a zero tolerance policy on narcotics use and this matter has been reported to Police Scotland.'

The huge gathering of teenagers from across the globe at Blair Atholl has been held every two years since 1946, making it the world's oldest continually held jamborette.

Scottish scouts representing every district and region in the country are paired with counterparts from as far afield as Japan, Zambia, Canada, Iceland and Hong Kong. The event is unique in that scouts camp in mixed-country leaderless patrols, giving them the opportunity to get to know other scouts from around the world.

This year's event will conclude on Friday, after which overseas scouts can stay for up to five days in the homes of Scottish scouts.
The creator of cult cartoon Rick and Morty has deleted his Twitter account after a disturbing nine-year-old 'baby rapist' sketch resurfaced.

Dan Harmon starred as child molester Daryl in the short 'comedy' film, a take on Showtime's serial-killer drama Dexter.

The clip shows his character breaking into a family home and simulating rape on a baby doll.

'I know that I'm a monster... I rape babies,' he said in the bizarre, and distasteful skit.

Dan Harmon, the creator of cult cartoon Rick and Morty has deleted his Twitter account after a disturbing nine-year-old 'baby rapist' sketch resurfaced

Dan Harmon starred as child molester Daryl in the short 'comedy' film, a take on Showtime's serial-killer drama Dexter

A graphic scene in the poorly produced short film shows Harmon pulling down his pants and simulating rape on a baby doll, whose head he turns to the side (pictured)

Many viewers were horrified by the clip of Harmon pretending to rape a baby doll (pictured)

Harmon, who was also the creator of hit comedy Community, was at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend on a drunken panel discussion with fellow 'Rick and Morty' creator Justin Roiland and actress Cassie Steele, when the five minute clip reemerged.

The 45-year-old deleted his social media account shortly afterwards.

Reaction on Twitter has been divided, with some people utterly horrified and others defending Harmon's notoriously dark sense of humor which helped create hit comedy shows.

Many were left feeling sickened and questioning Harmon's mental health after seeing the video.

One Rick and Morty fan said the footage left her feeling 'f***ing sick'. While another added: 'I just watched the Daryl video by Dan Harmon. Dan Harmon is a f***ing creep.'

'F***ing disgusting, this guy got problems,' someone else wrote.

The 45-year-old deleted his social media account shortly afterwards

Others suggested it could be the end of Harmon's career.

'Another one bites the dust, Dan Harmon. Looks like your career with Rick & Morty is over,' one wrote.

Other fans explained that it was simply a running joke in poor taste.

'It was just an edgy, shock jock video that was trying to be so offensive that it became funny,' one Twitter user wrote. 'Whether or not you found it funny is subjective.'

The 2009 video emerged just days after Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn was fired over decade-old offensive tweets.

Like Harmon, they appeared to joke about pedophilia and rape.

Among them was one where Gunn wrote: 'I like when little boys touch me in my silly place.'

In another he says: 'The best thing about being raped is when you're done being raped and it's like "whew this feels great, not being raped!"'

Nearly two dozen other tweets mainly in 2008 and 2009 were captured in screenshots before he deleted his account. The director and co-writer of the Marvel franchise, had been set to lead the third Guardians movie before Disney announced they were no longer working with him over the tweets.

Gunn had attempted to defend himself over the offensive tweets, explaining he'd made a career as a 'provocateur' but had 'developed as a person' and that his 'days saying something just because its shocking and trying to get a reaction are over.'

'For the record, when I made these shocking jokes, I wasnt living them out. I know this is a weird statement to make, and seems obvious, but, still, here I am, saying it,' he added.

The Guardians stars, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana and Dave Bautista have leaped to the director's defense since the scandal broke.

Even Family Guy has been forced to finally become more progressive in the wake of the #MeToo movement. Fans have seen the cartoon's creepy character Quagmire repeatedly rape women, from a bound and gagged underage cheerleader to a young, dead virgin.

Creator Seth MacFarlane says he is planning a Me Too episode for the character.

Meanwhile, Harmon has not commented on his Daryl video, to the surprise of his fans who are used to him doubling down on even his most offensive outbursts and comedy skits.

The writer said has never felt it right to accept his apology in the past but now said she forgave Harmon

'Very weird that Harmon would delete social media after the Daryl video resurfacing. Isn't this the kinda shit he usually doubles down on,' one Twitter user wrote.

The video, the first in a two-episode parody of Dexter was posted in June 2009 via Channel 101, a monthly short-film competition founded by Harmon and writing partner Rob Schrab.

It begins with with a warning that the 'controversial new pilot' is 'a little groundbreaking for normal people to handle'.

Harmon plays a child molester and therapist who uses his access to patients, to abuse and rape their children.

A graphic scene in the poorly produced short film shows Harmon pulling down his pants and simulating rape on a baby doll, whose head he turns to the side.

This is not the first time Harmon's 'creepy' behavior has landed him in trouble.

In January this year, he used his HarmonTown podcast to confess his 'filthy, creepy behavior' towards Community writer Megan Ganz who accused him of sexually harassing her when she worked on the show with him.

He admitted he'd been flirting with, pursuing and 'creeping on my employee' and after being 'humiliated' by rejection he said 'now I wanted to teach her a lesson'.

He said he did 'things that I would never ever ever have done if she had been male and if I had never had those feelings for her'.

'I lied to myself the entire time about it, and I lost my job, I ruined my show, I betrayed the audience, I destroyed everything, and I damaged her internal compass. And I moved on.'

Harmon finished up by saying: 'So I just wanna say, in addition to obviously being sorry  but that's really not the important thing  I wanna say I did it by not thinking about it, and I got away with it by not thinking about it. And if she hadn't mentioned something on Twitter, I would've continued to not have to think about it, although I did walk around with my stomach in knots about it.'

Ganz called his podcast 'a masterclass in How to Apologize' and that she was able to forgive him.

Times reporters reached out to Harmon and 'Rick and Morty' creators for comment.
An Alabama cop said residents should not fear cartels, just weeks after a 13-year-old girl was beheaded for witnessing her grandmother's stabbing by drug traffickers.

Bret Hamilton, assistant special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration, said the Sinaloa cartel responsible for the girl's death 'has been around forever'.

Mariah Lopez was killed after her grandmother, Oralia Mendoza, was stabbed to death in a cemetery outside of Hunstville. Mendoza was associated with the Sinaloa.

But while Hamilton said the Sinaloa, once run by El Chapo himself, has a 'huge' reach in the US, their use of violence is far less prevalent than it is in Mexico.

An Alabama cop said residents should not fear cartels, just weeks after Mariah Lopez, 13, was beheaded for witnessing her grandmother's stabbing by drug traffickers (pictured together)

Video courtesy WAFF:

'They try to maintain a low profile,' he told the Birmingham News. 'They're not going to conduct any type of violence unless they've been double-crossed.'

'If they've been double crossed by one of their distributors or someone who has purchased dope from them, they're going to take care of business.'

'And, they're going to make a statement when they do it,' he added.

Two days before her murder, Mendoza, 49, went on a trip to Norcross, Georgia to score methamphetamine, authorities said.

She was joined by another woman as well as Yoni Aguilar and Israel Palomino. Both men have since been charged in Mendoza and Mariah's murder.

Mendoza had previously dated Palomino, 34, and was living with and dating Aguilar, 26, at the time of her death.

Bret Hamilton (pictured), assistant special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration, said the Sinaloa cartel responsible for the girl's death 'has been around forever'

The two men became suspicious of a double-cross when Palomino discovered that Mendoza had removed a SIM card from her cell phone and sent texts to a mystery number during the drug run, cops said.

On June 4, Palomino and Aguilar woke up Mendoza and Mariah - who was on the autism spectrum - in the middle of the night and said they were in danger.

They promised to take the pair to a safe place and drove them to Moon Cemetery, where they stabbed Mendoza to death.

Aguilar told investigators that Palomino then forced him to behead Mariah in a secluded area because she was a witness.

Police say they found two knives tied to the murders: one under Palomino's mattress, and the other under Aguilar's. They have both been charged with capital murder.

Two days before her murder, Mendoza, 49, went on a trip to Norcross, Georgia to score meth with Yoni Aguilar (left) and Israel Palomino (right). They have been charged with her murder

News of the horrific murders rattled many in Alabama, but Hamilton was not surprised.

'This is one of those times that I'm surprised everybody else is so surprised,' he said. 'But I do this every day.'

Hamilton explained that the Sinaloa cartel is likely 'the most pervasive and extensive-reaching cartel' in the country.

'They started off mainly trafficking in marijuana in the 70s and 80s, but obviously since then they've moved into everything from methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl,' he said.

'They are also involved in human trafficking, but meth is their biggest thing.'

Hamilton said that the cartel embeds themselves in Mexican immigrant communities in the US, especially in farm areas.

Aguilar (pictured during a preliminary hearing) told investigators that Palomino then forced him to behead Mariah in a secluded area because she was a witness to Mendoza's stabbing

'They're basically hiding in plain sight,' he said.

That is why, according to Hamilton, gruesome cartel violence is so rare in the US.

'They know they're not going to be able to pay off law enforcement officials here like they can south of the border,' he added.

So while Hamilton doesn't believe Alabamans should fear the cartels, he does agree that they can be 'concerned or pissed off'.

'These are foreign nationals committing crimes through the US that are affecting our kids with poison,' he said.

'It's not going to change either. Unless we do something drastically different than what we're doing now, it's going to stay the same.'
The BBC has faced repeated accusations that its coverage has an anti-Brexit bias.

Tory MPs are among critics to have complained that the Brussels Broadcasting Corporation gives prominence to Remain stories while blaming all bad news on the referendum result.

Yet one former BBC presenter now says the corporation is probably too much in favour of Brexit and should not accept that the 2016 vote is irreversible.

Raymond Snoddy warned the BBC needed to be careful in its interpretation of its Brexit guidelines

Raymond Snoddy, who presented the BBCs weekly viewer right-to-reply programme NewsWatch between 2004 to 2013, warned that the BBC needed to be careful in its interpretation of its own guidelines on impartiality on Brexit. Snoddy, 72, said the BBC was giving too much airtime to Brexiteers and was treating the decision to leave the EU as though it had been irrevocably taken.

He said: Former Labour cabinet minister Lord Adonis has asked why Nigel Farage has appeared on BBC1s Question Time 32 times in recent years and is still appearing, despite never having been elected to Parliament. He might also have asked why hardline Brexiteers such as Sir Bernard Jenkin and Jacob Rees-Mogg are seldom off the airwaves without having held government office.

Speaking to Radio Times, he said the problem was the BBCs interpretation of its guidelines on impartiality when it comes to reporting Brexit. He added: Director-general Lord Hall says that the BBC is no longer reporting on the binary choice that faced the electorate in the referendum, but examining the Brexit negotiations and the impact of Brexit on the UK and the wider world. As if the decision to leave the EU has been irrevocably taken.

Mr Snoddy, a media commentator, supported the view that because parliament had not yet taken the formal decision to leave the EU was breaching its Royal Charter, which says BBC news must show due impartiality.

He added: It is late, but not too late, for Lord Hall to withdraw his guidelines and admit an honest mistake. If he does not, history will judge both him and BBC coverage harshly, when it is too late to do anything about it.
Should we tell the Americans what we know about two deadly fighters for Islamic State? Or should the principle (as some of the Houses more daintily cerebral MPs called it yesterday) of opposing the death penalty oblige us to withdraw such cooperation from our United States allies?

Sajid Javid, new Home Secretary, has chosen to help the US build a case against Alexanda Kotey and Shafee Elsheikh, two thugs who were part of an Islamic State execution squad.

It is said they sawed off their victims heads with serrated knives. They have not yet been tried for the crimes that have attracted such global horror.

Labours Hilary Benn (pictured in the House of Commons yesterday) claimed that we have to show we are better than Islamic State in our morals

A trial will likely happen in the US and some American states have the death penalty. For certain MPs, that meant we should have nothing to do with the matter.

Diane Abbott, Labours home affairs spokesman, yesterday led criticisms of Mr Javid and what she called his abandonment of the Governments long-standing opposition to the death penalty.

It was abhorrent and shameful to help the Americans, said Miss Abbott. Consistency demanded that we were either opposed to the death penalty in totality or not at all.

Dominic Grieve (Con, Beaconsfield) seemed to agree with her. Mr Javids decision represented a major departure from normal policy, he intoned in that punctilious, metallic voice.

Diane Abbott, Labours home affairs spokesman, yesterday led criticisms of Sajid Javid

Where was the precedent for the decision? They love a precedent, do lawyers. This issue is going to haunt the Government, predicted scrivener Grieve.That may depend on what the public thinks of the matter. If voters think Mr Javid was quite right to help the US chase two unusually horrid men, this could help the Government.

Any suggestion that Mr Grieve and other prominent Europhiles were driven by lower motives  eg distaste for Americans, who are so much more vulgar than Europeans  would be most improper, I am sure.

But it was striking that among those attacking the Javid decision was Labours Hilary Benn, pro-Brussels chairman of the Brexit select committee. He claimed that we have to show we are better than Islamic State in our morals, and should therefore have nothing to do with capital punishment.

Security minister Ben Wallace speaks as Ms Abbott listens on the opposite bench yesterday

With the Cabinet in Gateshead on a meaningless stunt, Mr Javid was not present to defend himself. That job therefore fell to Ben Wallace, security minister.

Mr Wallace is an ex-Army officer and a solid, unlawyerly figure at the despatch box. There is no tang of political sneakiness about him. Can we say the same about Mr Javid? I hope so but I am not yet entirely sure.

Mr Wallace listened with mounting impatience to the likes of Yvette Cooper (Lab, Normanton, Pontefract & Castleford), Andrew Mitchell (Con, Sutton Coldfield) and the SNPs unrivalled Joanna Cherry  unrivalled, that is, for the sort of verbose pomposity that can make you a fortune as a barrister.

Principles mean nothing to the Government any more, claimed Ms Cherry, swallowing her chin like an amphibian ingesting a delicious, fat bluebottle.

Sajid Javid, new Home Secretary, has chosen to help the US build a case against Alexanda Kotey and Shafee Elsheikh, two thugs who were part of an Islamic State execution squad

When Mr Benn made his virtuous little sally, Mr Wallaces patience snapped and he said he was not prepared to take lectures from a man who supported New Labour when it was helping countries to torture people. Benn didnt like that. Smarted like a spanked bottom. Tom Tugendhat (Con, Tonbridge & Malling), wet as washed lettuce, said the Islamic State duo had undermined community cohesion.

Is that worse than chopping off innocents heads? Support for Mr Javids decision came from former defence secretary Michael Fallon and a few others. Jack Lopresti (Con, Filton & Bradley Stoke) said we needed to stay as close as possible to the United States for strategic reasons.

Kwasi Kwarteng (Con, Spelthorne) thought it essential to bring these men to justice. And Andrew Percy (Con, Brigg & Goole) erupted in a snorting, straight-talking contribution which attacked the unrepresentative grandstanding of the likes of Abbott and Grieve and Benn and Cooper. It was, said Mr Percy, quite right to help the prosecution of these murderous, terrorist scum.
The prestigious Booker Prize has accepted a graphic novel on its longlist of 13 books.

Sabrina, by American cartoonist Nick Drnaso, is the first of its kind to be in with a chance of winning the coveted award.

The graphic novel - a genre described as 'comics for grown-ups' - explores the chilling effect of 24-hour news after a girl has disappeared.

Drnaso's selection bucks the trend as the judges have typically rewarded novels of up to 850 pages in length - whereas Sabrina has just 204.

American cartoonist Nick Drnaso is in with a shot of winning the Booker Prize with his graphic novel Sabrina

Author Michael Ondaatje has been named as one of the authors on this year's Man Booker Prize long list, just weeks after he took home the Golden Man Booker, a one-off accolade to mark the literary prize's 50th anniversary.

His seventh novel, Warlight, is on the list which features four debut novels and four authors under the age of 30.

The debut novels are Scottish poet Robin Robertson's The Long Take, which is a novel in verse, Sophie Mackintosh's The Water Cure and Guy Gunaratne's In Our Mad And Furious City.

Author Michael Ondaatje has been named as one of the authors on the long list to receive the prize for his novel Warlight

The fourth debut novel is Daisy Johnson's Everything Under, with Johnson and another author, Sally Rooney (Normal People), tying as the youngest authors on the list, at 27.

Six of the 13 authors are from the UK, three from the United States and two each from Ireland and Canada respectively.

The long list also boasts a majority of female authors, as seven out of the 13 authors are women.

Author Esi Edugyan, longlisted for her latest novel Washington Black, was previously shortlisted for the prestigious literary prize, while Irish author Donal Ryan and American author Richard Powers have both previously made the long list.

Northern Irish author Anna Burns is longlisted this year with her novel Milkman.

Ondaatje's 1992 novel, The English Patient, was named the best work of fiction from the last five decades of the Man Booker Prize at the Golden Man Booker ceremony in early July this year.

The first two pages of Sabrina. The novel explores the chilling effect of 24-hour news after a girl has disappeared

The English Patient shared the 1992 Man Booker Prize with Barry Unsworth's historical novel, Sacred Hunger.

The Man Booker Prize for fiction was first awarded in 1969 and this year for the first time the list includes novels published in Ireland.

Previously only entries written in English and published by a UK publisher were eligible. In 2014 the prize was opened up to US writers.

Drnaso's selection bucks the trend as the judges have typically rewarded novels up to 850 pages in length - whereas Sabrina has just 204

Philosopher and novelist, Kwame Anthony Appiah, the chair of this year's judges, said: 'Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the times, there were many dystopian fictions on our bookshelf - and many novels we found inspirational as well as disturbing.

'Some of those we have chosen for this longlist feel urgent and topical, others might have been admired and enjoyed in any year.

'All of these books - which take in slavery, ecology, missing persons, inner-city violence, young love, prisons, trauma, race - capture something about a world on the brink.

'Among their many remarkable qualities is a willingness to take risks with form. And we were struck, overall, by their disruptive power: these novels disrupted the way we thought about things we knew about, and made us think about things we didn't know about.

'Still, despite what they have in common, every one of these books is wildly distinctive.

'It's been an exhilarating journey so far and we're looking forward to reading them again. But now we'll have thousands and thousands of people reading along with us.'

The rest of the judging panel is comprised of Scottish crime writer Val McDermid, cultural critic Leo Robson, writer and critic Jacqueline Rose and graphic novelist Leanne Shapton.

Organisers said this year's 171 submissions - comprising of titles published in the UK and Ireland between 1 October 2017 and 30 September 2018 - were the highest number submitted in the literary prize's 50-year history.

The shortlist of six books will be announced on September 20, and the winner of the 50,000 prize will be announced at a gala event on October 16.
Lives will be put at risk if the UK and EU recklessly do not agree a post-Brexit security deal, MPs have warned.

Failing to strike a deal would be completely irresponsible and hamper the fight against terrorism and serious crime across the Continent, a damning report said.

Both sides were putting political red lines ahead of public safety, the Commons Home Select Affairs Committee said.

Commons Home Select Affairs Committee chairman Yvette Cooper said: To have no deal on security co-operation would be unthinkable

In a strongly-worded report, MPs warned that treating the UK like an outsider on security co-operation after March 2019 would undermine tackling terrorists, killers and rapists.

Losing access to the Second Generation Schengen Information System, a database of 76million real-time alerts for wanted or missing people, would be calamitous for crime-fighters.

Britain would also lose access to vital DNA, fingerprint and vehicle data and the European Criminal Records Information System, which lists EU citizens convictions. But the EU would also suffer because Britain is one of the biggest contributors to Europe-wide programmes due to our world-class intelligence and policing capabilities.

Top-secret information from the UK has been instrumental in foiling terror plots in Europe.

Committee chairman Yvette Cooper, a former Labour Cabinet minister, said: To have no deal on security co-operation would be unthinkable.

The cross-party committee said the lack of progress in talks on security meant there was a serious risk that crucial aspects of co-operation would end after Brexit.
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Satellite images appear to show that North Korea has started to dismantle a key nuclear test site.

The images come more than a month after Kim Jong Un pledged to denuclearize his country following a historic summit with President Donald Trump in Singapore.

The accord did not specifically spell out any time scales for the process or how it would be carried out.

But new satellite images, which have not been verified by outside experts, appear to show the dismantling of facilities at the Sohae satellite launching station.

North Korea appears to have started dismantling key facilities at a rocket-engine test center, a group of experts said, potentially marking a significant step after last month's summit between Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump

Satellite images appear to show the apparent dismantling of facilities at the Sohae satellite launching station, North Korea

Sohae has been the main site for North Korea's satellite launches since 2012.

It is believed to have played a large role in developing the country's intercontinental ballistic missile program, according to 38North, which released the satellite images.

The new images, which were reportedly taken on July 20 and July 22, appear to show that the rail-mounted environmental shelter at the site has been dismantled and moved.

Space launch vehicles were assembled at the shelter - which hadn't been moved since December 2017 - before they are moved to the launchpad, according to 38North analyst Joseph Bermudez Jr.

The image also appears to show that the test stand superstructure has been completely dismantled and that the base is being removed.

North Korea appears to have started dismantling key facilities at a rocket-engine test center, a group of experts said, potentially marking a significant step after last month's summit between Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump

'The rail-mounted environmental shelter has been razed and removed, the older fuel/oxidizer bunkers are in the process of being razed, and portions of the test stand's upper steel framework have been dismantled and its paneling removed,' Bermudez wrote.

'Two days later fewer vehicles are present and the test stand superstructure has been completely dismantled, leaving only the base, which is also in the process of being removed.'

'Given the state of activity, work is likely to have begun sometime within the past two weeks.'

The images also appear to show that the dismantling of the old fuel/oxidizer bunkers has also started and is partially demolished.

TRUMP AND KIM JONG UN'S HISTORIC SUMMIT Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un met for a historic summit in Singpaore on June 12. The two world leaders released a joint statement following the summit in which the North Korean leader 'reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula'. While Trump claimed Kim was going to start 'right away', the actual statement made no mention of a timetable for denuclearization. 'We're prepared to start a new history, and we're ready to write a new chapter between our two nations,' Trump said in a press conference following the summit. Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un met for a historic summit in Singpaore on June 12, releasing a joint statement following the summit in which the North Korean leader 'reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula' Trump predicted Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program will come to an end and claimed that Kim had already left Singapore and was 'on his way back' to North Korea to begin implementing their joint vows. 'I believe he's going to live up to that document,' Trump said. 'Our eyes are wide open, but peace is always worth the effort, especially in this case.' Trump revealed the document did not include a guarantee to stop producing ballistic missiles at certain sites but that Kim said he would at a 'later' time. As the summit concluded Trump flattered Kim by saying he's 'a very talented man' who 'loves his country very much' causing a stir. Trump predicted Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program will come to an end and claimed that Kim had already left Singapore and was 'on his way back' to North Korea to begin implementing their joint vows from the summit But Trump insisted that Kim's human rights abuses were a primary topic of conversation, aside from denuclearization. 'I think it will change. I think it probably has to,' he said of changes that Kim will have to embrace in order to hail in the 'glorious new era' that he says is North Korea's for the taking. Trump also predicted that among the 'winners' in the future will be the tens of thousands of people held in North Korea's prison camps. Many were also shocked when Trump revealed the US would no longer participate in joint military exercises with South Korea and agreed that they were 'provocative' towards the North. Trump characterized them as 'very expensive,' however, and tried to portray their end as an economic decision rather than a negotiated concession that the US had previously said it wouldn't budge on. Advertisement

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gives field guidance as he visits a nursery in the Kangwon Province in images that were released this week

Kim Jong Un happily posed for photos during his visit, which was released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency

A construction crane can be seen in the middle of the site with dismantled parts scattered around it. It is placed in front of the rail-mounted processing structure, which is partially dismantled.

Bermudez's timeline indicates that, if the images are accurate, the Sohae dismantling may have begun after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo paid a visit to to the country to follow up on progress from the summit.

Joel Wit, 38North's founder, said the images could indicate that North Korea is willing to 'give up its space launch program'.

'Only one step in the right direction, but an important one,' wrote Writ, a former State Department negotiator with the country.

Wearing a sun hat, white four button shirt and grey trousers, Kim Jong Un smiled as he walked through a greenhouse filled with lush plants

In another photo Kim Jong Un looks deep in thought as somebody explains something to him about the large orange silo bins

In May, images seemed to indicate that North Korea had destroyed the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, the only known nuclear test site in the country.

But analysts warned that experts needed to verify these images, and just last month US intelligence officials revealed to the Washington Post they believe North Korea is trying to conceal nuclear weapons from the US.

While news of his satellite site spread, Kim Jong Un appeared to enjoy himself on a trip to a nursery in Kangwon Province this week.

Wearing a sun hat, white shirt and grey trousers, he can been seen smiling as he walks through a greenhouse.

In another picture Kim Jong Un looks deep in thought as somebody explains the large orange silo bins.

It comes amid a claim that talks aimed at the denuclearization in North Korea hinge on the US's willingness to agree to a peace treaty with Kim.

Washington may have to make a 'bold move' for a lasting peace to replace the existing armistice agreement that brought an end to hostilities in the Korean War, a source said.

An official with knowledge of North Korea's position on the matter told CNN that Pyongyang may abandon talks on denuclearization if the US does not agree to such a deal.

President Trump would need the backing of two-thirds of the Senate to secure a legally binding peace treaty.

Kim Jong Un looks on at some machinery as he visits a nursery in Kangwon Province, while a worker explains its usage

But Trump said on Monday he was 'very happy' with how talks were progressing.

'A Rocket has not been launched by North Korea in 9 months. Likewise, no Nuclear Tests. Japan is happy, all of Asia is happy,' Trump tweeted.

'But the Fake News is saying, without ever asking me (always anonymous sources), that I am angry because it is not going fast enough. Wrong, very happy!'

Trump appeared to be referring to an article in The Washington Post on Sunday that claimed the president was frustrated with the lack of immediate progress, despite his public statements claiming the talks were a success

The article cited unnamed White House aides, State Department officials and diplomats.

Today, meanwhile, South Korea's defense ministry said it plans to reduce guard posts and equipment along the demilitarized zone on its border with the North, according to the Yonhap news agency.

The ministry said in a report to a parliamentary committee it plans to reduce some guard post troops and equipment as a preliminary test, and would then consider expanding the reduction, in order to realize an agreement to 'transform the demilitarized zone into a peace zone' made at an inter-Korean summit in April, Yonhap said.
Naval footage has captured the dramatic moment a pair of Australian sailors were rescued by a passing cargo ship after a storm disabled their yacht hundreds of kilometres out to sea and forced them to send a distress signal.

The sailors were making the voyage from Indonesia to Australia aboard their yacht, the Jepeda IV, when violent weather rolled in and snapped their mast some 370 kilometres north of Darwin.

Finding themselves adrift and helpless in the middle of the Timor Sea, the pair activated their distress beacon at 11:30pm on Sunday, Mirage News reports.

Scroll down for video

A pair of tragedy-stricken Australian sailors have been rescued by a Singaporean cargo ship after a storm disabled their vessel and left them stranded out at sea

The sailors activated their distress signal after violent weather rolled in and snapped the mast of their yacht (right) some 370 kilometres north of Darwin

Shortly thereafter, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority issued a broadcast asking for assistance from any shipping freighters in the area, whilst also deploying a search and rescue jet from Cairns to help locate the lost vessel.

It was a Singapore-flagged cargo ship named IVS Phinda that ultimately found and rescued the sailors, responding to the AMSA broadcast and diverting to the yacht's location on Sunday night.

The couple were safely retrieved by the IVS Phinda's crew at about 8:30am on Monday.

It was a Singapore-flagged cargo ship named IVS Phinda (left) that ultimately rescued the sailors, diverting to the yacht's location on Sunday night

'We commend the crew of the IVS Phinda (pictured) for their efforts,' said the Australian Maritime Safety Authority's Manager of Search and Rescue, Alan Lloyd. 'The sea can be a dangerous place and it's reassuring to know that help is always at hand'

AMSA's Manager of Search and Rescue, Alan Lloyd, expressed his gratitude at the Singaporean cargo ship for having saved the Australian sailors from potentially tragic circumstances.

'We commend the crew of the IVS Phinda for their efforts,' he said.

'The sea can be a dangerous place and it's reassuring to know that help is always at hand.'
Domestic violence perpetrators may be able to access confidential health records due to the federal government's new online health service.

Women's agencies are concerned that Australia's new online service, My Health Record, may jeopardise the privacy and safety of victims of domestic violence.

The new scheme has been rolled out and Australians have the option to opt out of the online medical records service until October 15.

The service allows users to view private health information online, from anywhere, at any time and can allow doctors to upload, view and share documents.

Women's Legal Service chief executive, Angela Lynch (pictured) is concerned that Australia's new online service, My Health Record, may jeopardise the safety of victims of domestic violence

The federal government disputed the serious safety questions that were raised, MSN reported.

Women's Legal Service chief executive, Angela Lynch believes that those in charge of structuring the online service hadn't considered the situation of women experiencing domestic violence.

'There can be some quite catastrophic consequences if these concerns are not taken into account by policymakers,' Ms Lynch said.

The service is linked to the online MyGov service, which is responsible for setting out government welfare payments.

Ms Lynch warns that if an abusive partner has access to a victim's login, its possible that they can get a range of details through the MyGov website, including their address and Centrelink details.

Anti-domestic violence groups are encouraging women to change their MyGov details immediately after leaving an abusive relationship.

A spokesman for My Health Record has disputed the claims and said that someone can only access the account if they are appointed by the individual.

They could be appointed as a 'nominated representative' where they have the ability to view information, or an 'authorised representative', where they can control it.

There are also warnings of the documents being used against victims in family court hearings (stock image)

The spokesman said that the owner of the account can add or remove 'nominated representatives' at any time.

Despite this, women's agencies believe that the creators of My Health Record have failed to consider the extent of controlling behaviour in certain situations.

A study conducted in February by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, found that one in six women experienced physical and/or sexual violence by a current or previous co-habiting partner, since the age of 15.

Ms Lynch has warned that there is now a great amount of pressure put on local doctors, as women trust their GP won't disclose the information.

'But the woman, even though she has disclosed it to her GP, may not want it disclosed wider than that to other health professionals.'

A study found that one in six women experienced physical and/or sexual violence by a current or previous co-habiting partner (stock image)

As doctors have the ability to upload documents to the health record, the spokesman said that they can place codes on specific documents.

There are also warnings of the documents being used against victims in family court hearings.

Belinda Cox, community and program manager for the Brisbane Domestic Violence Service, said perpetrators definitely had access to women's medical records.

'Look, if someone is under relatively high levels of control, they don't have controlled access to their own Facebook or email. They don't have bank accounts. And we also know there are ways and means for perpetrators to get access to people's records,' she said.
The Church of Scientology and one of its former members settled a lawsuit that she was coerced into having an abortion at 17-years-old.

Monday the church settled with plaintiff Laura Ann DeCrescenzo, 39, in Los Angeles Superior Court after a decade long battle over her abortion and being forced to work long hours as a minor.

Judge Mark Mooney met privately with attorneys for the church and DeCrescenzo and then announced the settlement in court. Otherwise a trial was scheduled to begin August 13.

John Blumberg, an attorney for DeCrescenzo, said terms of the deal are confidential.

Laura (pictured with her child recently) said she was forced to work under 'illegal conditions' a

The former Scientologist said she became pregnant at 17 and was 'coerced by CSI (Church of Scientology International) to have an abortion' (Pictured in 1996)

The church was a defendant along with its Religious Technology Center.

DeCrescenzo's allegations included forced abortion, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, unfair business practices and wage and hour violations.

Blumberg said he didn't know why the defendants decided to settle, but actions by their lawyers in court indicated that they didn't want the case to go trial.

Plaintiffs' attorneys subpoenaed Scientology leader David Miscavige, but church attorneys sought to quash orders for him to appear, Blumberg said.

'Based on their actions in trying to prevent David Miscavige from testifying, it would lead one to the inescapable conclusion that preventing an order he testify was very important to them,' Blumberg told The Associated Press.

According to a sworn declaration by DeCrescenzo, she began volunteering to do church work at age 6 or 7 in Orange County.

She said that at age 7, she was part of a Scientology group organized to picket the very civil courthouse where trial of her lawsuit would take place, according to City News Service.

She claimed the demonstration showed the church's ability to 'go to every length to bring down people who filed lawsuits' against the institution, whose followers include actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta.

'I believed that if I took any action against the Church of Scientology - whether filing a lawsuit or even speaking negatively about the Church of Scientology - that I would be subjected to severe retribution, including significant financial penalties and loss of my family,' DeCrescenzo stated.

When DeCrescenzo was 12, she was recruited to join the organization's elite Sea Org, which she said is responsible for overseeing the delivery of the religion worldwide.

DeCrescenzo alleged she was initially required to work daily from 8.30am to 10.30pm and that two more hours were later added to her work day.

DeCrescenzo says she remained with Sea Org until 2004, when she was 25.

DeCrescenzo fled the church in 2004 but says she did not file a suit because she believed the documents she signed, which included a promise not to sue, were legally binding. Above is the CSI building in LA where she worked

She says she was told she could not leave Sea Org and was released from duty only after she pretended to attempt suicide by swallowing bleach.

DeCrescenzo alleged she became pregnant in February 1996 and was convinced by the church to abort her fetus to show her allegiance to Sea Org and its long work hours.

The case was previously dismissed by another judge, but a three-justice panel of the 2nd District Court of Appeal reversed the decision in June 2011 and sent it back to the judge to determine whether the church was permitted to raise the statute of limitations as a defense.

The trial was scheduled to be conducted in two phases, beginning with a non-jury trial before Mooney to determine whether DeCrescenzo acted reasonably in waiting so long to file her lawsuit.

If he ruled in her favor, a jury would have decided any liability and damages.
A pair of angry commuters have been filmed launching a vile attack on another train passenger who was sitting at the end of a row of seats.

The man found himself on the receiving end of a profanity-laced tirade while travelling on a Sydney train on Saturday night.

He was targeted by two other passengers - one male and one female - all for staying next to the aisle on an empty three-seater.

A pair of angry commuters (pictured left and right) have been filmed launching a vile attack on another train passenger who did not move to the end of a row of seats

The man, who speaks limited English and recently moved to Australia, filmed part of the shocking encounter, and his wife transcribed a recording he made afterwards.

The incident began when the man did not move to the end of a three-seater after the person sitting by the window got off. He was preparing to deboard after another two stops.

According to his wife, the female passenger started to abuse the man before another commuter asked if he could get by to sit by the window.

Despite letting the person through, the man was verbally attacked by male passenger, who also filmed the encounter with his phone.

The bearded man, who claimed to be a security guard, said he would call the police before making a series of violent threats.

'Hope I don't bump into you in the street real soon pal, I don't give a f*** if you're recording or not,' the angry passenger said to the man.

He was targeted by two other passengers - one male (pictured) and one female - all for staying next to the aisle on an empty three-seater

'I'll rip your f***ing head off and s*** down your throat.'

'I think you screwed over the wrong person, sweetheart,' the woman said afterward.

The commuter sitting next to the man defended him, however, and told the irate pair to leave him alone.

'Why don't you just say the same thing I said to him? Hey bro can I sit down there? He would've let you sit down,' the third passenger was recorded saying.

The man's wife said the incident left her husband shocked and upset, and he was unable to go to work on Monday as a result.

'I'm speechless. I'm disgusted,' she said.

'I have no words to describe the outrageous behaviour of some people.'

She said she is speaking out to let others know to contact emergency services in similar situations.

'Just want to let anyone know it is okay to call Triple Zero when something like this happens,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'And if they have limited English there is an interpreter because no one deserves to be treated like this.

'He gave up everything he had to move here just for me ... I just don't have any words to describe how I'm feeling right now.'
A partially colour-blind biologist did not realise he had discovered a new species of dancing spider in the Australian outback until he posted photographs of his find online.

Dr Jurgen Otto was unaware of the striking colours the spider possessed until they were pointed out by readers of his website, which documents peacock spiders.

He had initially thought his discovery looked very similar to another species he had previously found.

'Unfortunately I have some form of colour blindness and are unable to see all the colours, but it still looks pretty to me,' Dr Otto said.

The Maratus unicup spider (pictured) which was named by biologist Dr Jurgen Otto and spider researcher David Hill after it was photographed in Western Australia in October last year

This particular species of peacock spider was sighted by Dr Otto near Lake Unicup while he was on the hunt for another species

The spider was last week given the scientific name Martaus Unicup by Dr Otto and spider researcher David Hill.

The name is a reference to Western Australia's Lake Unicup, where it was sighted by Dr Otto in October last year.

'The male of Maratus unicup has a brightly coloured abdomen with small expandable flaps at its sides,' Dr Otto said.

'When courting a female, the male... raises a pair of legs (the third pair) elevates his abdomen and expands the pair of small triangular flaps that are normally tucked underneath the body, revealing a pattern that is not unlike that of an Egyptian head dress.'

Martaus unicup was spotted while Dr Otto was on the hunt to find another species that was chanced upon more than two decades ago.

That other spider, which had been dubbed the Hokey Pokey because of the way it moved, was last week handed the scientific name Maratus tortus.

The Maratus tortus peacock spider (pictured) was sighted by Dr Otto last year after it was chanced upon by environmental consultant David Knowles about 23 years ago

The Maratus tortus spider had been dubbed the Hokey Pokey because of its movements

'(It) is named in reference to the unusual display of this species, more specifically the way the male twists his body during the display,' Dr Otto said.

Environmental consultant David Knowles first saw Maratus tortus close to Walpole, Western Australia, about 23 years ago.

But as no specimen was obtained, it could not be given a scientific classification.

Dr Otto and Mr Knowles went to find Maratus totrus on several occasions in recent years, with no luck.

It was not until Dr Otto took a solo journey last year where he found it, along with Martaus unicup.

The Maratus tortus spider was spotted by David Knowles close to Walpole, Western Australia

'In 2017 I visited the area on my own, during a three week stay in the southwest (of Western Australia), giving it one last try. And this time got lucky. I owe this to in part to the fact that my rental vehicle broke down and needed repairing,' Dr Otto said.

Dr Otto and Mr Hill have named most of the 70 species of peacock spiders.

Dr Otto documents his discoveries and photographs of peacock spiders on his website peacockspider.org

He has also made a YouTube clip of both the Maratus unicup and Maratus tortus.
Trevor Noah completely failed to mention the furor over his offensive joke about Indigenous Australian during Monday's The Daily Show.

The popular comedian poked fun at Trump and Putin's close relationship, R. Kelly and 3D printed weapons - yet failed to address the backlash over his comments about Aboriginals, made during his 2013 stand-up show.

Noah had joked he'd 'never seen a beautiful Aborigine' in the recently resurfaced footage.

He went onto joke that attraction was not all about looks, saying that they could 'do special things' before he began imitating the sound of a didgeridoo while inferring oral sex.

Trevor Noah completely failed to mention the furor over his offensive joke about Indigenous Australian during Monday's The Daily Show

The popular comedian poked fun at Trump and Putin's close relationship, R. Kelly and 3D printed weapons - yet failed to address the backlash over his comments about Aboriginals

Social media erupted with calls for the comedian's upcoming Australian tour, which begins in Melbourne next month, to be boycotted.

The 34-year-old said on Twitter on Monday morning that he's since educated himself and 'vowed never to make a joke like that again'.

But it was too little, too late for many who were outraged that Noah, who has made a name for himself as a comedian willing to tackle institutionalized racism and misogyny, would make such a joke.

'He grossly sexualises and objectifies First Nations Australian women for a 'joke',' Katelyn Jones of the Feminism & Decolonisation Facebook page said.

'He perpetuated incredibly harmful stereotypes ... that Indigenous women aren't beautiful, that Indigenous women are only good for their bodies; and Indigenous women are over-sexualised sex starved beings,' Ms Jones said.

Noah had joked he'd 'never seen a beautiful Aborigine' in the recently resurfaced footage of his 2013 show (pictured)

Others said Noah's comments were 'unacceptable' and 'perpetrating and encouraging racial abuse.'

'For such a social justice warrior, your race baiting isn't smart or witty at all. It's simply racist. Our beautiful black women shouldn't be treated like the punchline of a joke,' wrote one user on Twitter.

'I can't bring myself to watch that, I'm so tired of Aboriginal women being used as punchlines for cheap laughs from talentless hacks,' another person said.

'We deserve so much better and I hope this guy falls and fades into obscurity, he doesn't deserve a platform if he's going to punch down like this.'

Noah, who took on the role as The Daily Show host three years ago from Jon Stewart, apologised for his comments on Twitter on Monday.

'After visiting Australia's Bunjilaka museum and learning about aboriginal history first hand I vowed never to make a joke like that again. And I haven't. I'll make sure the clip from 2013 is not promoted in any way,' he wrote.

The clip, which was uploaded to YouTube under the title of 'Women of all Race are Beautiful', has since been removed by The Daily Show's David Meyer, who filed a copyright complaint against the video.

However, DailyMail.com has obtained the original footage.

Footage of his stand-up show shows him mocking Aboriginal women.

'All women of every race can be beautiful,' Noah tells an audience in the footage which emerged online overnight. 'And I know some of you are sitting there now going, 'Oh Trevor, yeah, but I've never seen a beautiful Aborigine.

'Yeah, but you know what you say? You say ''yet'', that's what you say; ''yet''. Because you haven't seen all of them, right?'

'Plus it's not always about looks, maybe Aborigine women do special things, maybe they'll just like, jump on top of you,' Noah, 34, concluded, inferring that their didgeridoo skills may improve their oral sex abilities.

'I know some of you are sitting there now going, 'Oh Trevor, yeah, but I've never seen a beautiful Aborigine', Noah joked

The South African-born comedian has caused controversy with previous tasteless jokes in relation to women, Jewish people and rapper Chris Brown (pictured)

The South African-born comedian who hosts the Emmy Award-winning show, caused controversy with previous tasteless jokes in relation to women, Jewish people and rapper Chris Brown.

'You show me half my jokes from even two years ago, three years agoI hate them,' Noah told GQ in 2015.

'Because you see, like, a young version of yourself. You're like, ''Why would you say that? You idiot! That makes no sense.'' Or, 'That's just stupid.' Or, ''Ahh, I can't believe I said that about a woman''.'

'You should not like what you did back then, because that shows that you've grown. If you're still doing it, that's a scarier place to be,' he said.

The comedian is set to touch down in Australia next month for a five-date tour beginning August 23 and including Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, and Sydney.
Sean Spicer has admitted to 'screwing up' the number of people who actually attended President Donald Trump's inauguration in 2017.

The former White House press secretary told BBC Newsnight that 'we all make mistakes'.

'There are things that I absolutely would love to do over, or that I could've done better. I had to do them in front of millions of people, and I wish I could have done a better job,' Spicer said.

'I am not sitting here saying I'm not without fault. I wish I could have done a better job. There were days that were extremely lonely in that job because I screwed up,' he added.

Before Monday's interview, Spicer maintained that Trump's 2017 inauguration audience was the biggest in history.

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Sean Spicer has admitted to 'screwing up' the number of people who actually attended President Donald Trump's inauguration

Before Monday's interview on BBC Newsnight, Spicer maintained that Trump's 2017 inauguration audience was the biggest in history

People gather on the National Mall in Washington, DC, to watch the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama in 2009 (left) compared to that of Donald Trump's in 2017 (right)

Spice recently told The Washington Post that his original statement should have been clearer.

'If you look at the statement that I actually made  and I will admit that we should have made it clearer  we should have focused on total audience size and not let people believe that we were talking about the Mall itself, I will concede that,' he said.

'But where has any evidence been that suggests that I'm wrong about the total population that watched it? This isn't a partisan thing. The bottom line is that there are platforms available today that weren't available for [President Barack] Obama.'

Spicer is on a media blitz for his book tour The Briefing. The former spokesman for the Republican National Committee served for six months as Trump's first press secretary.

The dispute over the size of the inauguration crowd was a result of Spicer's first interaction with the media when he officially became White House press secretary and set off a combative tone between the news outlets and the Trump administration.

On Inauguration Day, Spicer came into the White House briefing room to severely chastise the media and claimed they underestimated the size of the crowds.

The Briefing hits stores on Tuesday

Trump's ceremony had the 'largest audience to ever to witness an inauguration, period  both in person and around the globe,' he said.

But his assertion became the subject of mocking with photos being presented side by side that showed larger crowds on the National Mall for Obama's inauguration compared to the day Trump was sworn into the office.

His contentious relationship with the press became the subject of frequent sketches on Saturday Night Live, where he was portrayed by actress Melissa McCarthy.

There's been speculation that Spicer's book, which is officially out on Tuesday, is the former spokesman's way of trying to return to the White House.

It's a charge Spicer denies.

'I would wholeheartedly disagree with that,' he told The Post. 'I really was honored to do it, but there's a lot of things that I've had the opportunity to do and I'm glad I did them, but I've moved on, and this was only one of them.'

As to what advice he would give the president now, Spicer suggested Trump should show his softer side.

'I think he should share more of a personal window into his thinking. Letting his personal side [show] would be very helpful. And he should try to kill them with kindness more, not necessarily always harass. But I think I have an understanding why he reacts the way that he does: He has a street fighter, brawler mentality. You hit him, he's going to hit you back,' he said.

The dispute over the size of the inauguration crowd was a result of Spicer's first interaction with the media when he officially became White House press secretary and set off a combative tone between the news outlets and the Trump administration

Spicer announced his intention to resign as press secretary on July 21, 2017, after Trump appointed financier Anthony Scaramucci (pictured) as White House communications director

He added that the president 'never felt constrained by historical norms and protocols'.

'It's like his meeting with Kim [Jong Un]. He just said, "Put me in a room with Kim." Every single secretary and deputy secretary wigs out because that's not how it's supposed to work. And his view is, "Great, I don't care how it's supposed to work. I'm going to do it my way,"' Spicer said.

Spicer announced his intention to resign as press secretary on July 21, 2017, after Trump appointed financier Anthony Scaramucci as White House communications director.

Scaramucci lasted in the job 10 days and left the administration before Spicer did.

Spicer said he doesn't think 'The Mooch' as Scaramucci is known, was the right person for the communications director job.

'I didn't really have anything against Anthony personally, and to be honest I didn't know him that well,' he said.

'But I don't believe he was the most effective person for that job, nor did he have the skill set or qualifications to do that. And you're right, that came across. But my overlap with him was only 10 days, and I have not spoken to him since then.'
A jilted woman who accidentally sent a picture of her ex-boyfriend's penis to his mistress during a 'Weight Watchers' love triangle has denied she is a 'lunatic' - and claims he was married to another woman the entire time they were together.

Stephen Smith promised his girlfriend Nita Crawford he would marry her on her 50th birthday, but at the same time he started dating Cathy Spence, who he met at Weight Watchers in Goulburn, New South Wales.

The story of their love triangle was revealed by A Current Affair on Monday night, detailing how Ms Crawford sent a photo of her tattoo to her rival in order to embarrass her former flame - but accidentally included his penis in the snap.

After the segment aired, Ms Crawford took to Facebook to explain herself.

'You made me look like a stalking lunatic whilst making those two look like celebrities,' she said. 'You've had your fun, leave it at that.'

Nita Crawford accidentally sent a picture of her ex-boyfriend's penis to his mistress

Stephen Smith promised his girlfriend Ms Crawford he would marry her on her 50th birthday but at the same time he started dating Cathy Spence (Mr Smith and Ms Crawford pictured)

Ms Crawford sent a photo of her tattoo of Mr Smith's name to Ms Spence, but accidentally included his penis in it

Ms Crawford slammed the A Current Affair segment on Facebook, saying it made her look like a 'stalking lunatic'

Ms Crawford also claimed Mr Smith told her he left his wife in 2009, but that he was still 'with her the whole time'.

Ms Crawford blamed Mr Smith's weight-loss for his affair, saying after attending Weight Watchers he had new-found confidence.

When the couple met, Mr Smith weighed 120kg and sometimes 'looked like Shrek', Ms Crawford said.

Mr Smith continued to see Ms Spence behind Ms Crawford's back until his web of lies unravelled.

The couple bumped into Ms Spence while holding hands at Kmart, Ms Crawford said.

Ms Crawford blamed Mr Smith's weight-loss for his affair, saying after attending Weight Watchers he had new-found confidence

Mr Smith is now still with Ms Spence (pictured with an engagement ring bought for Ms Crawford on her finger) while Ms Crawford is searching for an 'honest' man

'He's dropped my hand and he's taken off, he's ducked,' she said.

Ms Crawford was so dedicated to Mr Smith that she got a tattoo of his name on her lower back.

After photos emerged on Facebook of Ms Spence and Mr Smith together she decided to send Ms Spence a picture of the tattoo, but didn't realise the photo she ended up sending featured the tip of his penis in the corner.

Mr Smith called the police claiming the photo was revenge porn. Ms Crawford was charged, but the case was thrown out by a magistrate in court.

Mr Smith said he was embarrassed about the photo of his genitals being shared online.

'[Ms Crawford's] even admitted on Instagram I think that I've got the most famous penis in Australia,' he said.

Mr Smith called the police claiming the photo was revenge porn. Ms Crawford was charged, but the case was thrown out by a magistrate in court

Mr Smith said he was embarrassed about the photo of his genitals being shared online (couple pictured together)

Ms Crawford's Facebook page is still full of photos of her and Mr Smith together

Ms Crawford said she only visited Mr Smith's home after five years of dating

Ms Crawford's Facebook page is still full of photos of her and Mr Smith together.

'Honesty is always the best policy. Don't lie, it's as simple of that,' her page reads.

Underneath a photo of the couple, Ms Crawford said she 'loved him with all my heart'.

'He cheated on me and lied to me for six long years. Took his wife on a month-long Outback adventure while he was with me,' she posted.

'It's the worst betrayal I've ever experienced.'

Ms Crawford said she only visited Mr Smith's home after five years of dating.

'Turns out he was with his wife the whole time.'
Northern Territory residents in desperate need of an ambulance are choosing not to be treated by paramedics because of a hefty call-out fee, it has been claimed.

An ambulance can cost Territorians from $360 up to about $1000, depending on the type of call-out and the distance travelled.

Paramedics have slammed the fee, claiming the cost imposed is too excessive and leading to patients opting against treatment, the NT News reported.

'People have said no because they're not covered (by insurance), and we have to respect that,' a Northern Territory paramedic told the publication.

A high ambulance call-out fee in the Northern Territory is leading to patients refusing treatment, paramedics have claimed (stock image)

Paramedics have also reported patients calling both an ambulance and the police at the same time meaning they 'have to negotiate with them'.

Ambulance services in the Northern Territory are provided by St John Ambulance.

A code one life threatening emergency call-out costs $790 for the first ten kilometres.

The call-out fee for a code two non-life threatening emergency and code three non-emergency is $360 within ten kilometres.

Paramedics in the Northern Territory have claimed patients 'have said no' to treatment and 'we have to respect that' (stock image)

COSTS AROUND THE NATION Queensland and Tasmania do not charge a fee for residents who require an ambulance New South Wales charges its residents a $382 road emergency call-out fee plus $3.44 per kilometre In the ACT, the fee is $959, plus $13 for every kilometre travelled outside the ACT, for treatment and transport required by an emergency ambulance The emergency call-out fee in South Australia is $976 and in the Perth metro area it is $967 for a life-threatening call-out In Victoria, the Metropolitan Emergency Road fee is $1,234 and the Regional and Rural Emergency Road fee is $1,820 Advertisement

Patients needing to travel further are charged an additional $5.10 for each extra kilometre.

Residents can obtain a St John Ambulance annual subscription, which costs $106.

'For the St John Ambulance Subscriber, there is absolutely no charge for emergency ambulance transport and therefore, no financial worries,' the organisation's website says.

Residents are also urged to take out ambulance cover.

'St John Ambulance encourage all Northern Territorians to take out Ambulance Cover. Ambulance costs are based on a callout fee and per kilometre fee,' St John Ambulance's website says.

'The cost of an emergency ambulance is generally around $745  $1,000. If you are covered with St John Ambulance, you won't have to pay a cent.'

Daily Mail Australia contacted St John Ambulance for further comment.
A heartbroken mother of a former Comancheros bikie has slammed her son's killer after he was gunned down in broad daylight outside his family's home.

Matthew Paul Wiggins, 29, was found guilty in May of murdering Darko Janceski, 32, and causing grievous bodily harm to his father, Slobodan Janceski, in April 2012.

Mr Janceski's distraught mother yelled out 'you will die in jail' when Justice Latham handed down the lengthy sentence, Daily Telegraph reported.

A heartbroken mother of former Comancheros bikie, Darko Janceski (pictured), slammed son's killer, Matthew Wiggins, after he was gunned down in broad daylight outside family home

Justice Megan Latham in the New South Wales Supreme Court on Tuesday sentenced Wiggins (pictured in black tie) to 33 years in prison with a non-parole period of 24-and-a-half years

Wiggins, 29, was found guilty in May of murdering Darko Janceski, 32, and causing grievous bodily harm to his father, Slobodan Janceski (pictured), in April 2012

The 32-year-old was working on a car at home when he was shot three times by Wiggins and his father (left and right), a former professional boxer, raced outside to help but was injured

Justice Megan Latham in the New South Wales Supreme Court on Tuesday sentenced Wiggins to 33 years in prison with a non-parole period of 24-and-a-half years over the 'calculated and audacious' killing in Wollongong, south of Sydney.

Mr Janceski was working on a car in front of his parents' home when he was shot three times by Wiggins, who approached on a motorcycle and was wearing a balaclava, sunglasses and a helmet.

His father Slobodan Janceskia, former professional boxer, raced outside to help but was injured in a dramatic fight with the assailant, who left his gun behind.

He managed to knock off the shooter's helmet and sunglasses and both items were later linked to Wiggins through DNA testing.

The prosecution contended Wiggins carried out the execution to avenge his missing friend, Goran Nikolovski, who - like Darko Janceski - had allegedly been a standover man for people involved in the drug trade.


Finish Ewin Hill, 66, has been named as the prime suspect in the 1996 disappearance of a teen girl

The case of a missing 14-year-old has been cold for more than two decades as police have never been able to find a body or make any arrests.

But now investigators in Tennessee have finally named a suspect in the case of Cayce McDaniel who disappeared from her home in 1996.

Police believe 66-year-old Finis Ewin Hill may be responsible for the kidnapping of the girl who called him 'Uncle Pete'.

Hill was a friend of the family's who also has an extensive criminal record that includes aggravated rape and burglary.

Earlier this year he was released from prison after serving 15 years for attempted kidnapping in 2003.

'His name had come up about being in certain places where Cayce was and her family, so he's kind of been on the radar of law enforcement for a long time,' said Milan Police Chief Bobby Sellers.

Cayce McDaniel, 14, disappeared from her Milan, Tennessee, home in 1996

The 14-year-old disappeared from her home in Milan, Tennessee, after her parents came home to find her missing and the back door wide open.

Reports say that McDaniel's mother, her mother's boyfriend and Hill were all together at a different party that night, but rumors have been swirling about Hill's involvement for years.

Since then, police have been suspicious of Hill but could never pin the crime on him.

A sketch shows a suspect in at the time of McDaniel's disappearance. Her body was never found

With the help of the FBI, investigators set up a sting operation once Hill was released from jail.

In order to try and catch him, officers communicated with Hill online under the guise of a mother of a 15-year-old girl.

An affidavit details some of Hill's disturbing messages to what he thought was a young, single mother coming out of an abusive relationship.

He said he loves to rape, chase down and beat women until they no longer move, according to the document.

At one point he admitted to having sex with a 14-year-old twice - who could have possibly been McDaniel.

He then said he wanted to have sex with the mother's 15-year-old daughter.

The dark messages put a wrench in the investigators' plan to pin him for McDaniel's disappearance as they had no choice but to arrest him.

'We wanted to draw this out and try to get more information from him, but some of his actions prompted us to make an arrest a lot quicker than we really wanted to,' Sellers said.

He was arrested last week after driving across lines to meet with the fake mother and daughter to have to sex with them.

When he arrived to the hotel in Southaven, he was met by officers who found condoms, sex toys and marijuana in his car.

Investigators are now hoping to learn more information from Hill about McDaniel's disappearance in order to bring closure to her family.
A warning has been issued to people who use an imported brand of eyeliner, after three children from the same family became sick from using the product.

The eyeliner was reported to health authorities in Western Sydney after it was found that the products could cause serious health problems.

Tests were conducted on the Hashmi Surmi Special and Hashmi Khol Aswad eyeliners, that revealed they contain 84 per cent lead and other hazardous products.

Tests were conducted on the Hashmi Surmi Special and Hashmi Khol Aswad (pictured) eyeliners, that revealed they contain 84 per cent lead

The products are manufactured in Pakistan and are stocked in Australian stores that cater chiefly to the Indian and Pakistani community, ABC reported.

NSW Minister for Better Regulation, Matt Kean said tests found the children had elevated levels of lead in their blood.

'An investigation indicated the health concerns were likely to have been caused by one of the Hashmi brand eyeliners,' he said.

It was also revealed that the eyeliners contained dangerous metals including arsenic, cadmium, chromium and mercury.

NSW Health is urging people to stop using the product immediately and to seek medical advice as soon as possible if they have used it.

The Pakistani products were referred to the Australian Border Force by NSW Fair Trading, where an investigation into the standards of cosmetics is underway.

The government has issued a warning to people who use an imported brand of eyeliner, after it was found that the products could lead to health issues (stock image)

Mr Kean said that the product is a 'total disgrace' as the packaging doesn't specify any of the harmful products.

'I'm absolutely appalled by this as we know that use of cosmetics containing lead can have long-term health effects, including brain and kidney damage, in both adults and children,' he said.
While the Trump administration fortifies the southern border, there's growing concern over the number of foreigners entering the country illegally across the porous northern border with Canada.

People crossing the border between Vermont and Quebec have paid smugglers up to $4,000, usually payable when the immigrants reach their U.S. destination, according to officials and court documents.

While the number of arrests is tiny compared with the southern border, the human smuggling is just as sophisticated.

Undated surveillance footage of a man illegally crossing into the U.S. near Derby Line, Vermont. Border guards are blaming a spike in crossings on new visa rules in Canada

'They are very well organized. They have scouted the area. They have scouted us,' said U.S. Border Patrol Agent Richard Ross. 'Basically, we are not dealing with the JV team; this is the varsity.'

Driving the increase here is the ease of entry into Canada, where visas are no longer required for Mexicans, and a border that receives less resources than the southern border, where thousands fleeing violence in Central America are being detained.

Much of the illegal border crossing activity in Vermont appears to be focused on a 30-mile segment of the Vermont-Quebec border where Interstate 91 reaches the Canadian border at Derby Line, about 50 miles southeast of Montreal.

From Derby Line, it's about a six-hour drive to New York and its teeming immigrant communities.

Guarding the border here is tricky because Derby Line and the neighboring Quebec town of Stanstead comprise one community where homes and buildings happen to be bisected by an international border.

The community library was purposely built straddling the border to serve people in both communities.

Library patrons from Quebec walk past a pillar and unimposing pots filled with petunias and other colorful flowers, which mark the border between the United States and Canada, on July 10

Quebecers simply cross an international boundary marked outside the library by pots of petunias. Occasionally, illegal border crossers will walk, or even drive, across near the library.

'This is really a town with an invisible border going through it,' said Stanstead resident Matthew Farfan, who has written a book about life along the border, after he left the library's Vermont entrance and prepared to cross back into Canada.

Against this bucolic backdrop, however, there is a growing sense of unease among U.S. law enforcement authorities.

'The number of illegal alien apprehensions at the Vermont-Canada border has skyrocketed,' said Christina Nolan, Vermont's United States attorney, whose office oversees the prosecution of people caught at the Vermont border.

So far this fiscal year, there have been at least 267 apprehensions along Vermont's border with Canada, compared with 132 all of last year, according to statistics compiled by Nolan's office.

In the Border Patrol sector that covers 300 miles of border with New York, Vermont and New Hampshire, agents have apprehended 324 people who crossed illegally from Canada so far this fiscal year, compared with 165 in all of 2017.

While the number of arrests is tiny compared with the southern border, the human smuggling is just as sophisticated. Pictured: Undated surveillance footage of an illegal crossing

U.S. Border Patrol Agent Richard Ross, who is in charge of the area just below the Quebec border, poses for a portrait on July 10 in a field where people have been caught entering the United States illegally

Last month, agents apprehended 85 people across the three states, compared with 17 in June 2017 and 19 in June 2016, statistics show.

The statistics show no corresponding spike in illegal immigration or apprehensions elsewhere along the northern frontier.

Border Patrol agents speculate it's because the area that includes Vermont is the first stretch of land border east of the Great Lakes and is a short drive from the population centers of Canada and the U.S. East Coast.

As part of a broader recent immigration crackdown, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has set up highway checkpoints in Maine, New Hampshire and upstate New York.

One person was apprehended in New York on charges she had picked up four people crossing from Canada.

Visa-less entry into Canada for countries like Mexico and Romania, another nationality noted by Nolan and Border Patrol agents as contributing to a spike in apprehensions, play a role by making the northern border more attractive for people seeking to enter the U.S. illegally, Nolan said.

A plane ticket from Mexico City to Montreal or Toronto can cost less than $350. Pictured: Motorcyclist Jim Connor, of Colchester, Vt., reads a road map over the Derby Line on July 11

A plane ticket from Mexico City to Montreal or Toronto can cost less than $350.

The Canadian government in late 2016 lifted its requirement that Mexican citizens apply for visas to enter the country as part of broader efforts to strengthen ties with Mexico. A similar requirement for Romanian citizens took effect in late 2017.

Canada views the recent visa changes for Mexico and Romania as having a minimal impact on the border, said Beatrice Fenelon, a spokeswoman for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

In the past two months, agents in Vermont have chased border crossers through the woods near Derby Line; there have been car chases and cases in which agents have lost sight of suspects in the woods, only to apprehend them days later.

'They have kind of gone southern-border style where they are taking a hike and they are coming through the tall grass,' Ross said. 'It's something I would have seen years ago when I worked in Harlingen, Texas.'

The agents won't guess how many make it across.

The flow of illegal border crossers goes in both directions. Since around the time President Donald Trump took office, thousands of immigrants in the U.S. have fled north to Canada seeking asylum.

Last October in the largest single case in memory of Border Patrol agents in the Derby Line area, 16 people were apprehended at a hotel after 14 had entered the United States west of Derby Line. The other two were the smugglers.

In another case east of Derby Line, a group of eight Mexican immigrants met at a McDonald's restaurant in Montreal after flying into Toronto and Montreal, where they hired two taxis to take them to Stanhope, Quebec, not far from where Quebec meets Vermont and New Hampshire.

A man on a bicycle crosses the U.S.-Canada border in Derby Line, where there is a library used by residents of both countries

After the immigrants walked six hours through the forest, they were apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Norton, Vermont, while riding in a taxi from Albany, New York, court documents say.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, responsible for border security in Canada, made arrests last month in two human-smuggling cases between Stanstead and Derby Line.

In one case, the suspect, a Mexican who did not have legal status in Canada, has been convicted of bringing immigrants to the Vermont border and was sentenced to six months in jail, after which he will be deported.

The Mounties are aware of the cases and ready to help their U.S. counterparts, said RCMP spokeswoman Sgt. Camille Habel.

But the RCMP doesn't appear to view the problem with the same urgency as U.S. officials: 'It's not a trend yet,' Habel said.
Karen Ristevski's death could have been caused by either blunt force trauma or strangulation.

Forensic pathologist Stephen Cordner gave evidence at Borce Ristevski's committal hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning. The hearing will determine whether the 54-year-old stands trial over his wife's death.

Questioned over the autopsy results, Professor Cordner said Ms Ristevski, 47, could have died from a head injury despite there being no evidence of skull trauma.

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Karen Ristevski's (pictured with daughter Sarah and husband Borce) death could have been caused by either blunt force trauma or strangulation

'You don't need to fracture the skull to die from head injuries,' he told the court, The Herald Sun reported.

A piece of hyoid bone from the mother's throat was broken, but that could have been removed by compression, or by animal interference after death, he said.

'We have other evidence of animals interfering with those remains,' added Prof Cordner, noting the challenges of dealing with eight months' decomposition.

Ms Ristevski went missing from the couple's Avondale Heights home in Melbourne's northwest in June 2016.

Ristevski has always denied any involvement in his wife's death and claimed she left to clear her mind following an argument.

Ms Ristevski's body was found at Macedon Regional Park eight months later and detectives allege her husband dumped it there using her Mercedes-Benz roadster.

Ms Ristevski (pictured, left, with Borce, centre, and daughter Sarah, right) went missing from the couple's Avondale Heights home in Melbourne's northwest in June 2016

Forensic pathologist Stephen Cordner (pictured) gave evidence at Borce Ristevski's committal hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning

Karen Ristevski's (pictured with daughter Sarah) could have died from head injury, Professor Cordner said

Borce is also accused of killing his mobile phone signal on the way to the park.

An Optus technical specialist on Monday told the Melbourne Magistrates Court both the Ristevski's mobile phones were detected the day Karen went missing then deactivated.

Court documents showed Borce's phone was unable to make or receive calls between 11.09am and 12.51pm on June 29, 2016.

Karen's mobile last pinged to a cell tower at Gisborne, near the Macedon Regional Park, at 11.40am.

Borce Ristevski (centre right) the husband of missing Melbourne woman Karen Ristevski and their daughter Sarah pictured at a press conference in 2016
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif hit back on Monday at threats from President Donald Trump on Twitter, warning him to 'BE CAUTIOUS!'

Mimicking Trump's bellicose Twitter threat directed at Iran's leaders the previous day, Zarif wrote: 'COLOR US UNIMPRESSED ... We've been around for millennia & seen fall of empires, incl our own, which lasted more than the life of some countries. BE CAUTIOUS!'

Zarif was responding to Trump's tweet on Sunday, in which he warned: 'NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE.'

'WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!'

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Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (left) hit back on Monday at threats from President Donald Trump on Twitter, warning him to 'BE CAUTIOUS!'

Mimicking Trump's bellicose Twitter threat directed at Iran's leaders the previous day, Zarif wrote: 'COLOR US UNIMPRESSED ... We've been around for millennia & seen fall of empires, incl our own, which lasted more than the life of some countries'

That was assumed to be a response to a speech by President Hassan Rouhani earlier in the day warning Washington not to 'play with the lion's tail' and that conflict with Iran would be the 'mother of all wars'.

'The world heard even harsher bluster a few months ago,' Zarif said of Trump's tweet.

'And Iranians have heard them -- albeit more civilised ones -- for 40 yrs.'

Trump's tweets further prompted Iran to goad the US president, calling his reaction 'passive' and saying he 'won't dare' launch an attack.

The regime also accused him of copying Zarif, who in the past has warned the West to 'never threaten an Iranian'.

Gen Gholam Hossein Gheibparvar, the chief of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard's volunteer Basij force, added that Trump's tweet amounts to nothing more than 'psychological warfare'.

He said: 'We will never abandon our revolutionary beliefs. We will resist pressure from enemies... America wants nothing less than (to) destroy Iran ... (but) Trump cannot do a damn thing against Iran.'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Trump's 'strong stance' against Iran and welcomed an end to world powers 'pampering' the regime.

Trump issued the stark threat after he had arrived back at the White House. Trump and First Lady Melania are seen returning to DC on Sunday after the weekend

Trump was responding to remarks by Hassan Rouhani (above), in which the Iranian President said 'war with Iran will be the mother of all wars'

Trump unloaded on Rouhani in an all-caps tweet but the regime brushed aside his remarks as 'passive', adding that he 'won't dare' attack

Rouhani had earlier warned America that 'Iran is the mother of all peace' before adding that 'war with Iran is the mother of all wars'.

'Don't play with fire, or you will regret [it],' he continued. 'Iranian people are the master and they will never bow to anyone.'

Rouhani warned against any US attempt to destabilize the country by encouraging protests, saying: 'You are not in a position to incite the Iranian nation against Iran's security and interests.'

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hinted at such efforts on Sunday, promising unspecified backing for Iranian dissents as he referred to the country's leaders as a 'mafia'.

Pompeo, in a California speech to a largely Iranian-American audience, dismissed Rouhani and his top ministers as 'merely polished front men for the ayatollahs' international con artistry.'

Iran 'is run by something that resembles the mafia more than a government,' Pompeo said, citing what he called Iranian leaders' vast wealth and corruption.

Pompeo said senior Iranian leaders had benefited from embezzlement, sweetheart deals and other ill-gotten gains.

Iran's ayatollahs, he said, were 'hypocritical holy men' who 'seem more concerned with riches than religion'.

In a move sure to anger Tehran, Pompeo announced that the US government is launching a 24-hour television, radio and digital information channel in Farsi to broadcast American propaganda across Iran.

The information service would insure that 'ordinary Iranians inside Iran and around the globe can know that America stands with them', Pompeo said.

The war of words grew to a fever pitch not long after Iran threatened to block international oil tankers from passing through the critical Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for Trump's looming sanctions.

Trump (pictured arriving in Washington DC from New Jersey) spoke out shortly after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo promised a 'maximum pressure' campaign against Iran

Trump's war of words with Iran echo his threats of 'fire and fury' against North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un before their appeasement at the summit in Singapore

Earlier this year, Trump tore up the nuclear agreement signed by predecessor Barack Obama by pledging to reinstate harsh sanctions against Iran

The vital strategic choke-point, just 29 nautical miles wide at its narrowest point, controls all ocean traffic to the Persian Gulf. About one-fifth of the world's petroleum passes through the strait.

Trump's words also echo his statements against North Korea's Kim Jong Un in August last year, in which he said: 'North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States.

'They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.'

Trump and Kim eventually buried the hatchet before sitting down for the first ever summit between the two world leaders in Singapore in June.

Sanctions against Iran are set to come into play after Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from a 2015 international deal over Iran's nuclear program.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, on Sunday, in a speech where he referred to the leadership of Iran as a 'mafia'

Protesters against the current Iranian regime stand outside the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum where Pompeo was speaking on Sunday

The Trump administration initially planned to shut Iran out of global oil markets completely, demanding all other countries stop buying Iranian crude by November.

But the US has somewhat eased its stance, saying it may grant sanction waivers to some allies that are particularly reliant on Iranian supplies.

Rouhani scoffed at Trump's threat to halt Iranian oil exports and said Iran has a dominant position in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping waterway.

'Anyone who understands the rudiments of politics doesn't say 'we will stop Iran's oil exports,'' Rouhani said, cited by the semi-official ISNA news agency.

'We have been the guarantor of the regional waterway's security throughout history.'

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei backed his president and said: 'If Iran's oil is not exported, no regional country's oil will be exported.'

Iran has threatened to block oil tankers transiting through the Strait of Hormuz (above). The vitale choke-point controls all ocean traffic from the Persian Gulf

'If Iran's oil is not exported, no regional country's oil will be exported,' said Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (seen on Saturday)

Iranian officials have in the past threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping route, in retaliation for any hostile US action.

Khamenei used a speech to foreign ministry officials to reject any renewed talks with the United States after President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from a 2015 international deal over Iran's nuclear program.

Khamenei added: 'The word and even the signature of the Americans cannot be relied upon, so negotiations with America are of no avail.'

He claimed it would be an 'obvious mistake' to negotiate with the US as Washington was unreliable.
Nancy Pelosi has savaged Donald Trump's plan to revoke security clearances for former Obama-era national security chiefs who have publicly criticized him.

Pelosi slammed the potential plan, which White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders revealed on Monday, and called it a 'deflection' after Trump received intense criticism for his statements at last week's Helsinki summit.

'This is so extraordinary,' Pelosi said on Monday night. 'The last thing you want in intelligence is partisanship, and we were able to avoid that for so long.'

Pelosi delivered the comments as she, Rep Adam Schiff, and Rep Eliot Engel introduced a new resolution condemning Trump's Helsinki comments.

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Nancy Pelosi, along with Rep Adam Schiff (left) and Rep Eliot Engel (right) has savaged Donald Trump's plan to revoke security clearances for former Obama-era national security chiefs

Pelosi slammed the potential plan, which White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders revealed on Monday, and called it a 'deflection' after Trump received intense criticism in Helsinki

The House Minority Leader said that Trump's threats against officials, including former CIA chief John Brennan and former FBI director James Comey, were proof that the resolution was necessary.

'This makes the case. We are the first branch of government, the legislative branch. We have views that need to be respected,' she said.

'We have decisions that we must make. We need to know what happened in Helsinki. And the president's response? "Oh, we're going to take classified security privileges of some of Obama's people away"'.

'It's all a deflection,' Pelosi continued.

Pelosi delivered the comments as she, Rep Adam Schiff, and Rep Eliot Engel introduced a new resolution condemning Trump's comments supporting Vladimir Putin

Sanders first revealed that the likes of Brennan and Comey could lose their clearance, which she claimed they were using for political means and financial gain.

Former deputy FBI directorAndrew McCabe, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former Director of the National Security Agency Michael Hayden, and former National Security Advisor Susan Rice are also on the White House list.

'The president is exploring the mechanisms to remove security clearances because they've politicized and in some cases monetized their clearances,' Sanders said.

'It's extremely inappropriate, and the fact that people with security clearances are making baseless charges provides inappropriate legitimacy to accusations with zero evidence,' she added.

It's unclear what she meant by the monetization accusation. Some of the former officials are contributors to news networks, which pay them for their work.

Former CIA director John Brennan (left) and former director of National Intelligence James Clapper (right) are in danger of losing their security clearances after angering the president

Former FBI director James Comey and Former deputy director Andrew McCabe were also on the White House hit list, despite the fact that both men no longer has a security clearance

But all of the officials have been deeply critical of the Trump administration in one way or another.

Asked if the White House was doing this because of their criticism, Sanders responded: 'I think you are creating your own story there.'

But Schiff argued that the plan was a 'cowardly action of someone who is afraid of criticism'.

'Today's action suggesting that we will punish critics of the president by stripping them of their security clearance? That is not what you see in a democracy,' he said.

'That is exactly what you see in authoritarian regimes, and we couldn't have a more timely proof of why this resolution is necessary than by what I consider despicable action and that is to try to silence critics.'

Former National Security Advisor Susan Rice and former NSA director Michael Hayden are also in danger of losing their security clearance

Schiff said Congress needed to 'stand up to it' and called on Republicans to 'wake up and speak on behalf of our Democracy'.

Pelosi likewise hit at House Republicans, saying they were 'complicit in the president's betrayal of our democracy'.

'As the whole world knows, one week ago, President Trump sold out our democracy in behavior that was damaging, destructive and disgraceful,' she said.

'Today Democrats are introducing a resolution to condemn the presidents failure to stand up to Putin's attacks on our election, on our democracy.'

'This is a very important and pivotal moment for our country.'

Pelosi acknowledged that the resolution likely would not passed the Republican-controlled House, but said she felt it was important to speak up and defend the 'security of the United States of America'.

Criticism of Trump John Brennan called the President Trump's comments in his press conference with Vladimir Putin 'treasonous.' Brennan tweeted: 'Donald Trump's press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of 'high crimes & misdemeanors.' It was nothing short of treasonous. Not only were Trump's comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you???' James Comey wrote a book 'A Higher Loyalty' about his time as FBI director and how Trump fired him. His firing resulted in the special counsel examining whether the president was obstructing the investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 election. Comey said of Trump: 'My impression was he looked exactly like he did on television, except he looked shorter to me than he did on television, but otherwise exactly the same.' Andrew McCabe, who was fired by the Trump administration, said of his firing: 'I am being singled out and treated this way because of the role I played, the actions I took, and the events I witnessed in the aftermath of the firing of James Comey.' James Clapper said in December of Trump and Putin's relationship that Putin, a former KBG operative 'knows how to handle an asset, and that's what he's doing with the president.' Michael Hayden responded to a Trump tweet in November attacking CNN and praising Fox News with: 'If this is who we are or who we are becoming, I have wasted 40 years of my life. Until now it was not possible for me to conceive of an American President capable of such an outrageous assault on truth, a free press or the first amendment.' Susan Rice denied a report that she used intelligence for political purposes: 'Absolutely not for any political purposes, to spy, expose, anything.' She also denied leaking any information about former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn: 'I leaked nothing to nobody and never have and never would.' Advertisement

'We cannot appear to endorse what the president is doing by our silence,' she added.

'I doubt the Republicans will allow this to come to a vote. All we're saying is do something.'

At least two of the officials  Comey and McCabe  do not currently have clearances, according to The Washington Post.

Comey hasn't had a security clearance for many months, a source close to him told the paper.

McCabe's clearance was likewise deactivated when he was fired from the FBI, said his spokesman Melissa Schwartz.

'Andrew McCabe's security clearance was deactivated when he was terminated, according to what we were told was FBI policy,' she wrote on Twitter. 'You would think the White House would check with the FBI before trying to throw shiny objects to the press corps.'

Clapper, who is also at risk of losing his clearance, called the move 'a petty thing to do.'

'For political reasons this is a petty way of retribution I suppose for speaking out against the president which I think, on the part of all of us, are borne out of genuine concerns about President Trump,' he told CNN.

'Security clearance has nothing to do with how I or any of us feel about the president,' Clapper added.

'And I don't get the briefings. I don't have access to classified information. It's frankly more of a courtesy that former senior officials get the security clearance. Haven't had a case of using it. Has no bearing on my regard or lack thereof for President Trump or what he's doing.'

Meanwhile, Hayden tweeted whether or not he had a clearance would not affect his work.

'I dont go back for classified briefings. Won't have any effect on what I say or write,' he wrote.

While Clapper and Hayden have said their clearance status doesn't matter, other officials do use their security clearance to perform lucrative consulting work.

The threat of losing their status and, therefore, any employment obtained on the contingency of having a clearance, could have a chilling effort on potential critics.

A security clearance requires a security clearance investigation completed within the past five years for a Top Secret clearance and 10 years for a Secret clearance, according to the State Department website.

High-level officials also typically keep their clearances for years so they can provide counsel to their successors and be called upon by their advice.

There are 13 guidelines that, if violated, could result in a security clearance being revoked. They include criminal activity, sudden unexplained wealth, helping a foreign government, alcohol or drug addiction, and unauthorized disclosure of classified information.

Any president can classify or declassify information as he see fits. It's unclear if Trump could simply order the clearances revoked.

Michael Hayden tweeted a loss of security clearance would not affect his work
The organizer of last summer's deadly white nationalist rally in Virginia has withdrawn his request for a court order allowing him to stage an event marking its anniversary.

One of Jason Kessler's lawyers announced his change of plans during a brief hearing in federal court on Tuesday.

Kessler had requested a preliminary injunction that would compel the city of Charlottesville to issue him a rally permit for next month.

Jason Kessler walks through a crowd of protesters in front of the Charlottesville Circuit Courthouse on February 27. On Tuesday, he withdrew a request to hold another rally in Charlottesville on the first anniversary of the protest in which one woman died

He sued in March, claiming the city's refusal to grant him a permit tramples on his free speech rights under the First Amendment.

After arriving more than a half hour late for the hearing, Kessler conferred with his lawyers, who had been addressing the judge. The attorneys then said he was withdrawing his request.

Kessler's lawyer, James Kolenich, told reporters afterward that he does not know why Kessler abruptly abandoned his efforts to get a permit.

'He ordinarily has good reasons for what he does. I don't know what it is right now,' Kolenich said.

The decision doesn't necessarily mean that no event will take place. No permit is needed for a gathering of fewer than 50 people.

John Longstreth, an attorney for the city, said it would be 'very difficult' for Kessler to refile another motion.

On August 12, Marcus Martin was hit by the same car that killed fellow counter-protester Heather Heyer. Martin survived and recently married his financee

A white supremacist stands behind militia members after he scuffled with a counter demonstrator in Charlottesville on August 12

Lisa Woolfork, a University of Virginia professor and Black Lives Matter Charlottesville organizer who attended the hearing, said she felt sure white supremacists would return to Charlottesville with or without a permit.

'What's more important is that we as a community come to resist,' she said.

Police Chief RaShall Brackney said that although Tuesday's development was 'a victory,' authorities would continue with public safety preparations ahead of the anniversary, as well as social media monitoring.

'We understand that the weekend and that day has national significance and even international significant so we are going to be prepared for that weekend to come regardless,' she said.

Kessler has also said he plans to hold a rally in Washington during the same weekend next month.

Several Nazi flags were seen proudly raised during the rally on August 12, which Kessler hoped to repeat this year

The National Park Service approved his application for an Aug. 12 'white civil rights' rally at Lafayette Square, near the White House. Kolenich said he didn't ask Kessler if that event is still planned.

Last August, hundreds of people traveled to Charlottesville to participate in the 'Unite the Right' rally and protest the city's plans to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee from a park that was named after the Confederate general.

The list of scheduled speakers included several leading white nationalist figures, including Richard Spencer.

On the eve of the Aug. 12 rally, dozens of young white men wearing khakis and polo shirts marched through the University of Virginia's campus, carrying torches and chanting racist and anti-Semitic slogans.

The next day, hundreds of white supremacists and counter-protesters clashed in the streets before a car plowed into a crowd, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer.

Hundreds of white nationalists marched through the University of Virginia with burning torches on August 12

James Fields Jr., 21, of Maumee, Ohio, is charged with murder in Heyer's killing under Virginia state law. He is charged separately in federal court with hate crimes.

A monthslong investigation of the rally violence, led by former U.S. Attorney Tim Heaphy, found the chaos stemmed from a passive response by law enforcement officers and poor preparation and coordination between state and city police.

Earlier this month, Kessler reached a settlement agreement in a separate lawsuit over last summer's violence in Charlottesville.

Kessler signed a consent decree in which he agreed to 'actively discourage' coordinated, armed activity at any future rallies in the city. More than a dozen other defendants signed similar agreements.
A number of urban fox sightings have got residents worried about the safety of their suburbs, as one animal 'the size of a labrador' was spotted with a dead chicken in its jaws.

Tilly Simpson, 25, was driving through Ryde, north-western Sydney on Saturday night when she spotted the fox at about 10pm.

The huge animal crossed Victoria Road with what appeared to be a fully-grown chicken hanging limply from its mouth, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

A number of urban fox sightings have got residents worried about the safety of their suburbs, as one animal 'the size of a labrador' was spotted with a dead chicken in its jaws (pictured)

'I called my boyfriend's mum and I said: "Put your chickens away because there's a fox across the road with a chicken in its mouth and it's heading in your direction",' Ms Simpson said.

'It was just so bizarre. I haven't seen them so close to the road or in the city suburbs before... [and] this one was really smart... I was amazed.'

Ms Simpson claims it's not uncommon for people to find the neighbourhood pests showing up in their yards in the nearby suburbs of Woolwich and Hunters Hill.

Warren Bromfield, for one, was out for a walk with his girlfriend recently in the north Sydney suburb of Gladesville when they both spotted a fox standing in the front yard of someone's house.

Another fox was spotted in the front yard of someone's house in the north Sydney suburb of Gladesville (pictured)

While City of Ryde council has a program in place to curb the growth of urban fox populations, legal restrictions concerning the areas where control methods can be implemented mean it is not as effective as possible.

The ready availability of food in urban garbage bins - and suburban chicken coops, as it were - only exacerbates the problem further.

Fox density in urban areas is currently about 10 per square kilometre, according to best available estimates.
A construction worker has been rushed to hospital after his jackhammer hit this cable

A construction worker has been rushed to hospital with horrific burns after hitting a high-voltage cable with a jackhammer, leaving thousands of homes without power.

The tradesman, believed to be in his 30s, was working on a building site in Bidwill, western Sydney, when he hit the 11,000 voltage cable at about 11am on Tuesday.

A NSW Ambulance spokesman said the man was unconscious and 'not in a good way' when four paramedic teams and the Careflight helicopter arrived at the scene.

The worker suffered serious burns to his face, neck and back and was airlifted to North Shore Hospital, the spokesman said.

The incident caused the Plumpton Zone Substation to crash and left about 13,600 homes and businesses in the Mt Druitt area without power.

Endeavour Energy said power to most homes had been restored by 1pm, but some would have to wait several hours for repairs to be completed.

The energy supplier and SafeWork NSW will conduct a full investigation into the incident.

The tradesman, believed to be in his 30s, was working on a building site in Bidwill, western Sydney, when he hit the 11,000 voltage cable at about 11am on Tuesday
Another man has plunged from a cliff to his death- just one day after a Mormon missionary teen was killed when he fell from a whale watching site.

The man's body was recovered from the base of a cliff next to the Shoalhaven Hospital in Nowra, New South Wales early on Tuesday afternoon.

NSW Rescue Paramedics were earlier forced to abseil down the cliff after a member of the public made the grime discovery.

A man has plunged to his death from a cliff Nowra, New South Wales (pictured) - just one day after a Mormon missionary teen was killed when he fell from a whale watching site

The man's body was recovered from the base of a cliff next to the Shoalhaven Hospital early on Tuesday afternoon before a crime scene was set up

NSW Rescue Paramedics were earlier forced to abseil down the cliff after a member of the public made the grime discovery

It is believed the cliff the man plunged from is set among a series which range up to 12 metres in height.

Nowra Police Station Inspector Ray Stynes said a crime scene had been established and investigations were on going.

'There is no suggestion the man was a patient or had anything to do with Shoalhaven Hospital,' Inspector Stynes told the South Coast Register.

The tragedy comes just one day after American tourist Gavin Paul Zimmerman plunged to his death from a popular whale-watching clifftop.

A missionary with the Church of Latter Day Saints, the 19-year-old was with a group of friends at Cape Solander, south of Sydney, when he fell into the ocean.

Mr Zimmerman's parents released a statement about the death of their son, who had been working at the church's Sydney mission since last year.

Gavin Zimmerman's (pictured) parents released a statement about the death of their son on Tuesday, after the Mormon missionary died after falling from a cliff while whale watching

A missionary with the Church of Latter Day Saints, the 19-year-old was with a group of friends at Cape Solander, south of Sydney, when he fell into the ocean

'It is with deep sorrow and heavy hearts that we share the news of our son's passing from this earth to return home to his Heavenly Father,' Raymond and Jeanette Zimmerman said, Nine News reported.

'He was a great example to us all, and he loved his mission very much. He enjoyed teaching people and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

'Gavin was a bright light in our lives.'

A friend of Mr Zimmerman's, Gio Grillo, said he had been sending her photos of his time in Australia.

The American tourist who plunged to his death from a popular whale-watching clifftop has been named as Gavin Paul Zimmerman (pictured)

A lifesaver helicopter arrived in seven minutes and crews put green dye in the water to trace the current to find the Mormon missionary

'He emailed me yesterday, telling me they were going to the cliffs and he was going to take lots of pictures to show me,' she wrote on Facebook.

'It was today when I found out what happened, one of my closest friends, one of the best missionaries I knew, fell to his death.

'Gavin was such an amazing guy. I'm so heart broken right now.'

Mr Zimmerman was thought to be taking a selfie when he lost his balance and plunged ten metres into the sea below at 3.30pm local time on Monday.

His shell-shocked friends were unable to reach where he had landed and made desperate phone calls to police.

A lifesaver helicopter arrived in seven minutes and crews put green dye in the water to trace the current to find the Mormon missionary.

They found him unconscious just below the surface after 30 minutes in the water.

Lifeguards on jet-skis pulled him from the waves and put him in a police boat from where he was winched to dry land - but paramedics could not revive him with CPR and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

It is thought the group of teenagers walked down from an official viewing platform to a slippery, rocky ledge nearer the water.

An American tourist has fallen to his death from a popular whale-watching clifftop in Australia. Pictured: Emergency crews at the scene today

The man was taking a selfie when he slipped and one of his friends caught the fall on video, The Daily Telegraph reported.

'He was here with a group of friends to go whale watching. They've made their way down onto the rock platform at this stage it appears to be misadventure where he's slipped and fallen over the edge,' New South Wales Police Chief Inspector Chris Hill said.

He added: 'If you are attending this location, those rocks are very slippery so for your safety, stay up on the whale watching platform and please don't go down on the rocks.'

In early June another man fell to his death while taking photos in the same area, which is popular for watching migrating whales.

The cliffs, next to Kamay Botany Bay National Park, are among the best places see humpbacks migrate north to warmer Queensland in the winter.

The National Parks NSW website describes the area as 'an unbeatable lookout during whale watching season'.

'If you're lucky you won't even need to look far  whales have been known to swim as close as 200m from the coast,' the site reads.
Eric Stagno, 34, was arrested for exercising naked at a Planet Fitness in Plaistow, New Hampshire, Sunday

A man has been arrested for stripping down naked at a Plaistow, New Hampshire, Planet Fitness.

When police arrested Eric Stagno, 34, Sunday he told them he thought he was in a 'judgement free zone'.

The Massachusetts man was referring to the gym's slogan, which states it in fact is 'The Judgement Free Zone'.

The gym touts itself as having 'no critics', with those positive phrases plastered along the walls of its workout areas.

According to witnesses, Stagno 'walked in, stripped down right there in front, left the clothes and belongings at the front desk, walked back and forth across the gym a couple of times and then settled in over at the yoga mats'.

When authorities arrived, they reported finding him in a 'yoga-type pose'.

The Massachusetts man told police that he was in a 'judgement free zone', referring to the gym's slogan

Planet Fitness members reported feeling 'sick,' 'unsafe' and 'disgusted' by Stagno's nudity and behavior.

Gym member Kat Lancaster told WMUR: 'To me, it's like, 'What did you smoke before you came to the gym? No, I don't think you should be at the gym naked.'

Another gymgoer Tony Nachef said: 'That's not right at all. Why would you do that? People are uncomfortable. Makes you uncomfortable. That's weird.'

Stagno was arrested and charged with indecent exposure/lewdness and disorderly conduct.

Stagno was reportedly released on $1,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court on September 21.
Running from a luxury hotel in her dressing gown while clutching her neck, this is the distressing moment a woman went looking for help after having her throat cut following a 17th birthday bash.

The 20-year-old woman, wearing a white dressing gown and in bare feet, looks at her blood-covered hands moments before flagging down a police car on Deansgate in Manchester.

Witnesses said she fled screaming for help with gash in her neck around three inches long before collapsing in one of the city's busiest roads.

Armed police then flooded the five-star Hilton and arrested six suspects including two sisters aged 17 and 20 on suspicion of attempted murder.

Five of the six have been bailed overnight with one man, aged 20, still in custody being questioned over the throat slashing.

The 17-year-old woman was arrested in her pink silky pyjamas and walked to a police van by an officer carrying her handbag. Her lawyer sister, wearing jeans and flip-flops, was paraded in handcuffs minutes later.

They had been staying together at the 150-a-night hotel after a night out to celebrate the teenager's birthday and are believed to have met the four men while partying.

They posted pictures of themselves posing with bottles of champagne on their night out, which had included a meal at the city's exclusive San Carlo Italian restaurant where they downed Prosecco, according to The Sun.

This is the moment that a woman, 20, slashed across the neck ran out into Deansgate Manchester looking for help after a 17th birthday party went wrong

A woman in pink pyjamas leaves the scene in handcuffs today after a woman had her throat slashed at the Hilton in Manchester today

This woman in ripped jeans and flip-flops was also taken from the hotel in cuffs around an hour after the attack. A man was taken away in cuffs around 15 minutes later

This man became the sixth person to be arrested on suspicion of attempted murder

This photograph shows a male suspect being led away from the scene of the throat slashing

Medical supplies used to treat the injured woman remain lying on Deansgate in Manchester

A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said crime scenes 'are now in place in one of the hotel rooms and outside the hotel itself' - but said the attack is not believed to be terrorism related.

A spokesman said: 'Four men, aged 20, 24, 26 and 26 and two women, aged 17 and 20, have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

'They are all in custody for questioning and enquiries are ongoing'.

Anthony Hilton, who works in a nearby letting agents, said a woman who appeared to have had her throat cut had been taken away in an ambulance.

'One of our colleagues walked past. He saw a woman on the floor with a large slash across the throat.' said Mr Hilton, 32, from Manchester.

He added: 'She was in hysterics, she was moaning and screaming'.

He described the woman as being in her thirties but could not comment on her condition as she was taken away.

'There must have been 15 undercover and normal police cars out in the street. Police were running to and fro from the car park and the Hilton Hotel,' he said.

Witnesses said on social media the victim ran screaming into street and that the three men were arrested shortly afterwards.

Officers could be seen speaking to other guests and hotel staff in one of the bars of the Hilton, which occupies part of the 47-floor Beetham Tower, which is described by its developers as the tallest residential building in Europe and the seventh tallest building in England.

An artist, Sasha Ray, 42, who works in a nearby furniture store, said: 'I saw a guy being arrested and a young lady in the corner of the car park across the road.

'She was lay down on the floor, and her legs were moving up and down as if she was having a fit.'

An employee of estate agents Homes4u said: 'There was a woman who had run out of the Hilton and into the car park a few doors away.

It is thought the woman was wearing a well-dressed in a white suit.

Police remain at the Hilton on Manchester's Deansgate after a woman had her throat cut

Forensics officers were working in the Hilton's car park across the road where the woman was treated after she flagged down police

More than 15 police and paramedic cars are on Deansgate today after a woman was slashed in the neck

The tall, glass, Hilton Hotel is on lockdown today after the brutal attack on a woman

Landlord of nearby The Deansgate pub John Anderson, said: 'We saw a man in his thirties being arrested and taken away in a van around 11.45.

'There were paramedics dealing with her at the car park. The first responders arrived within minutes, then an estate car with paramedics came.

'An ambulance van arrived after a while. It was hard to tell how many paramedics and police there were but there were a lot.

'It's worrying when you hear someone has had their throat slashed, you automatically assume the worst and don't know how serious the incident will become.'

A solicitor, who passed the scene at around 11:20am on their way to the law courts and asked not to be named, said: 'I was driving past at around 11.20am and stopped at the lights to turn left on to Liverpool Road.

'There was no cordon or anything but about 2 or three police vehicles.

'The woman was lying on her front in the small car park opposite the hotel. A few people were attending to her including policemen.'

A spokeswoman for North West Ambulance Service earlier today said: 'We got a call at 11.12am.

'We are still on the scene at the moment. We are treating a female patient.

'Police are also on the scene.'
A mother-of-four has been banned from her daughter's school after she attacked a student who she believed was bullying her child.

The 35-year-old woman was fined after she pulled a 13-year-old girl to the ground by her hair at a high school.

The single mother attacked the young teenager at the high school north of the Victoria-New South Wales border despite telling the principal she would not hurt the student.

A mother-of-four (pictured) has been banned from her daughter's school after she attacked a student who she believed was bullying her chil

The school girl was held down for about 20 seconds by the woman which left the girl screaming in pain at Murray High School, the Border Mail reported.

The mother's lawyer claimed the woman was frustrated at how the school was dealing with her 14-year-old daughter - who she had 'grave concerns' for.

'Her actions were a result of genuine concern for her daughter,' he said.

Magistrate Imad Abdul-Karim said the 'behaviour was unacceptable' and nothing 'excused' her actions.

The NSW woman, who was also banned from going within five metres of the victim's home, was reportedly suffering postnatal depression and sleep deprivation.

The mother-of-four was placed on an 18-month good behaviour bond with a $300 fine and recorded conviction.
A female high school student has been rushed to hospital after she was allegedly stabbed by another pupil.

Police were called to Renmark High School in South Australia's Riverland region just after 2.30pm on Tuesday.

The 17-year-old victim is understood to have been stabbed in the back and is in a serious condition.

Police were called to Renmark High School in South Australia's Riverland region just after 2.30pm on Tuesday

The 17-year-old victim is understood to have been stabbed in the back and is in a serious condition (picture at scene)

'Paramedics arrived on scene and treated the victim, shortly before police arrived and arrested the alleged offender,' South Australia Police said in a statement.

'The 17year-old victim was taken to the Berri Hospital where she remains in a serious condition.'

'An 18-year-old girl has been arrested and is currently with police.'

Renmark High principal Mat Evans issued a letter to the school community Tuesday afternoon explaining what he believed was a dispute between two students.

'Police were called and our school was placed into lockdown today after one of our students stabbed another with a knife,' the letter read.

'We share your shock at this event which we are treating with utmost seriousness.

'It is our understanding that the incident is the result of a dispute between two students and did not represent a specific threat to the wider school community.'

'Paramedics arrived on scene and treated the victim, shortly before police arrived and arrested the alleged offender,' South Australia Police said in a statement

The 17year-old victim was taken to the Berri Hospital where she remains in a serious condition

The Department for Education is liaising with the school to ensure appropriate responses are put in place, including counselling and support for students and staff,' the department said in a statement.

'An assessment is being made as to whether additional security measures are required.

'The lockdown has been lifted and the general student population released to go home.'
A doting grandmother hadn't even made it out of her own street when she was killed in a freak car accident after stopping to check if she'd remembered environmentally friendly shopping bags.

The woman, 58, and her daughter, 32, were heading to a shopping centre on Sunday afternoon when they pulled over just a few blocks from home on Ambleside Drive at Castle Hill, in Sydney's north.

Relatives told Daily Mail Australia the pair was worried they had forgotten to bring re-usable bags following a recent plastic ban by major outlets, and hopped out of the car to check the boot of their Mazda CX-7 SUV.

A doting grandmother, 58, was killed in a tragic accident in her own street in Castle Hill, north of Sydney, on Sunday afternoon (Pictured)

The woman and her daughter were going shopping when they stopped to check for re-usable bags in the boot. Police believe the foot break was not engaged, causing the car to roll back (pictured) and hit the mother

Police believe the daughter, who was driving the car, forgot to engage the foot break at which point the vehicle began to roll down the hill - hitting and killing the mother.

Neighbours told Daily Mail Australia the woman was living with her daughter's family and was often seen along the street during the day, playing with her grandchildren.

'She lived with her daughter, her daughter's husband and their two young children,' a neighbour confirmed.

'They only moved in late-last year, but we often saw her driving the kids to child care or walking up the street with them.

'They seemed like a really nice family, that's just such a tragedy.'

Residents on the quiet street said they heard a distressed woman's screams about 4.30pm on Sunday.

He said she was being comforted by what looked to be her family and paramedics.

'I can't imagine what the daughter would be feeling,' one neighbour told 9 News.

The tragic accident happened in Ambleside Drive in Castle Hill in Sydney's northwest, near the intersection of Excelsior Road (pictured), and just a few blocks from the woman's family home

Another resident said she saw a passer-by attempt to resuscitate the older woman as they waited for emergency services to arrive.

The daughter was taken to Westmead Hospital for mandatory testing and be treated for shock.

Officers from The Hills Police Area Command established a crime scene and are investigating the fatality.

A report will be prepared for the Coroner.
Australians are turning their noses up at thousands of vacant, well-paying jobs.

The mining industry in Western Australia is desperate to fill more than 1,000 positions in almost every industry, from engineers to tradesmen.

The number of mining jobs advertised online soared by 32 per cent in the past year, according to SEEK, with jobseekers needing little to no experience to earn big bucks.

The mining industry in Western Australia is desperate to fill more than 1,000 positions in almost every industry, from engineers to tradesman (stock photo)

Heavy duty diesel fitters and mechanics are needed in Perth for jobs paying up to $190,000 a year - workers simply require appropriate certifications and three years trade experience.

People who don't mind working long hours on a 'fly in fly out' roster in remote areas like Port Hedland, Karratha and Pilbara can also earn up to $50 an hour in a 'service person' role.

Workers are required for positions out of Perth including boilermakers, crane operators and riggers, dump truck and dozer operators, as well as general laborers.

Several shutdown jobs are also on offer, with roles like advanced scaffolders, scaffold supervisors, mechanical supervisors, mechanical fitters, electricians/supervisors, advanced riggers, boilermakers, labourers and trade assistants needing to be filled.

The number of mining jobs advertised online soared by 32 per cent in the past year, according to SEEK, with jobseekers needing little to no experience to earn big bucks (stock photo)

Such roles pay upwards of $43 an hour and require applicants to have recognised trade qualifications, high risk work cards and to be comfortable working at heights.

Cleaning and housekeeping positions also need filling in North West mine sites, with minimal experience and qualifications requirements making them viable options to just about anyone who can work long hours in warm conditions.

Chamber of Minerals and Energy called for skilled migrants to fill the jobs Australians didn't want.

Paul Everingham, the body's CEO, said there were currently more than 1,000 vacancies in the Kalgoorlie mining sector alone.

While Mr Everingham said companies prioritised Australian applicants, he said employers were desperate to hire anyone skilled to do the job, turning to qualified migrants instead

Chamber of Minerals and Energy CEO Paul Everingham (pictured) said there were currently more than 1,000 vacancies in the Kalgoorlie mining sector alone

'You can't sugar coat that  they're available now and they're not being filled,' he told the ABC.

While Mr Everingham said companies prioritised Australian applicants, he said employers were desperate to hire anyone skilled to do the job.

'All Australian companies want to employ Australians first, but if there aren't enough Australians,' he said.

Kalgoorlie Mayor John Bowler described the job shortage in the mining sector as a 'crisis' and urged the federal government to send skilled migrants as soon as possible

'So if we have to set up special immigration or work zones, our members would definitely welcome the ability to get access to skilled workers immediately.'

Kalgoorlie Mayor John Bowler described the job shortage in the mining sector as a 'crisis' and urged the federal government to send skilled migrants as soon as possible.

'We've got almost a crisis on our hands, and I suppose that might be a bit dramatic, but there's a lot of businesses out there that say they would employ a lot more people if they could get them,' he told the publication.
A Sydney suburb which has far more immigrants than anywhere in the country has none of the African gang problems plaguing parts of Melbourne.

Blacktown, 34km west of Sydney's CBD, is home to 567 Sudanese and South Sudanese immigrants - and police say there is 'virtually no' gang crime.

But in Melbourne suburbs like Tarneit have been experiencing a surge of violence from African youth over the last few years - with the Apex gang one of the most well-known group of trouble makers.

A Sydney suburb which has for more immigrants than anywhere in the country has none of the African gang problems plaguing parts of Melbourne (unrest pictured)

Apartments have been damaged in a string of 'gate crashed' house parties held by African-Australians in Melbourne

The city has been plagued by home invasions, assaults, car jackings and other violent behaviour by Sudanese youth over the last few years

The recent stabbing death of 19-year-old Laa Chol in a Melbourne apartment block has put the issue of African gangs back in the headlines - with many people calling for the youths to be locked up for longer or deported.

Police in Victoria continue to claim the young woman's death had nothing to do with African gangs - however Peter Dutton was quick to blame tribal tensions between local groups for the horrific murder.

Chief Inspector Bob Fitzgerald from Blacktown told News.com when violent crime happens in Sydney it isn't down to one group of people and it is 'nowhere near as near as frequent' as attacks are in Victoria.

'We don't have mass gangs roaming the street. You might see groups of Sudanese people on the street, but you'll see people of lots of different cultures hanging together as well,' he said.

But Sydney has not had the same result with their African immigrants

The African gang debate has been relaunched following the death of Laa Chol, 19

'When we do have problem people from Sudanese backgrounds in our area command, we tend to find that they are not from the area.'

He believes helping Sudanese people 'find their feet in Sydney' has led to the positive results for that community.

'It's about people not feeling isolated and giving people a fair go  that's the Australian way,' he said. 'If kids don't have options, they get bored and they make bad decisions.'

The party which left Ms Chol dead is not the first of its kind.

In 17 months there have been six reported incidents where teenagers renting apartments for parties have had unwanted guests turn up.

There is also no noticeable Sudanese crime problems in Redbank Plains which is home to 341 immigrants.
Taxi drivers are suffering financially and mentally, with some being driven to suicide, since the introduction of ride-sharing services like Uber which have severely reduced the value of their big investment in taxi licenses.

Changes to the regulation has 'disabled many of those involved in the taxi industry', according to the founding chairman of mental health group BeyondBlue and former Premier of Victoria, Jeff Kennett.

Mr Kennett is expected to be appointed head of the Commercial Passenger Vehicles Victoria - which governs the taxi and ride-sharing industry - if the Liberals win the next state election.

Taxi owners invested big sums of money to get taxi plates but the loss of the monopoly that existed prior to Uber's arrival has radically reduced their value, leaving many cab owners in financial dire straits.

Former Premier of Victoria and founding chairman of BeyondBlue Jeff Kennett (pictured) has said that changes made to the taxi industry may have caused mental struggle

Mr Kennett said he knew of taxi drivers who had taken their lives as a result.

'I'm aware of three or four,' Mr Kennett told 3AW Radio.

'There was almost last week another one that we were able to pull back from the brink.'

He now opposes the changes made to deregulate the taxi industry due to the implementation of Uber and other ride-sharing services.

Mr Kennett said that the changes have crippled many financially as they are unable to repay their debts.

'Sadly some of them are now losing their houses,' he told host Neil Mitchell on Tuesday.

'The changes the current government made are totally unecessary.

'They could've allowed the licences to stand and where a current taxi licence holder was not able to be competitive, the value of their licence would've dropped to disappearing.'

When he was premier between 1992 and 1999, Mr Kennett believed that the taxis weren't at a high enough standard and introduced the yellow taxis scheme

Mr Kennett has promised to fix the taxi industry if he is given the chance to.

Liberal Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said that he would appoint Mr Kennett as head of Commercial Passenger Vehicles Victoria, if he were to win the state election.

When he was premier between 1992 and 1999, Mr Kennett believed that the taxis weren't at a high enough standard and introduced the compulsory yellow colour scheme.

Mr Kennett isn't opposed to ride-sharing and wants to ensure that if he comes into power, there is fairness across the industry.

Mr Kennett isn't opposed to ride-sharing and wants to ensure that if he comes into power, there is fairness across the industry

'I agree the government had to regulate it but they have cost us tens of millions of dollars while destroying many of the 3000 operators,' he said.

Mr Kennett aims to strive for a 'flexible form of public transport', and plans to implement tough English language tests and ensure drivers are fully qualified.

Through revitalising the industry to meet the satisfaction of the consumer, Kennett says that he wants to ensure that commuters are safe and comfortable using whatever form of transport they like.
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A group of surfers have been blown away by a pod of whales dropping in on their pre-work session on Monday morning.

The stunning shots were captured at an isolated reef break at Cronulla, in Sydney's south, as the whales were on their way north in search of warmer waters.

In the shots, the whales are seen metres from the surfing group, skirting along the isolated but well known location.

A group of surfers have been blown away by a pod of whales who dropped by during their morning session

The stunning shots were captured at an isolated reef break at Cronulla, in Sydney's south, as the whales were on their way north in search of warmer waters

In the shots, the whales are seen metres from the surfing group, skirting along the isolated but well known location

And while it is not uncommon to see a variety of marine life in the area, and especially whales at this time if year, they rarely come as close to shore.

For the local surfers, the once in a lifetime spectacle was greeted with both shock and delight during their morning surf session in suburban Sydney.

'You don't realise how big they really are until you are up close to them,' said Harry Engle, who was in the water at the time.

'It was quite distracting as we were out there trying to catch waves but watching the whales swim past was far more interesting.'

The incredible photos were captured by photographer Brad Whittaker on a 200mm zoom lens, which brought the extraordinary shots further into focus.

For the local surfers, the once in a lifetime spectacle was greeted with both shock and delight during their morning surf session in suburban Sydney

The incredible photos were captured by photographer Brad Whittaker on a 200mm zoom lens, which brought the extraordinary shots further into focus

And while it is not uncommon to see a variety of marine life in the area, and especially whales at this time if year, they rarely come as close to shore

Social media users were similarly stunned by with the shots, with many pointing out how much the whales seemed to dwarf the clan of surfers nearby

The whales were seen swimming much closer to the suburban shoreline than usual for this time of year

Other users simply appreciated that the group of over 100 whales would stop by their suburban Sydney neighbourhood

Social media users were similarly stunned by with the shots, with many pointing out how much the whales seemed to dwarf the clan of surfers nearby.

Others simply appreciated that the group of over 100 whales would stop by their suburban Sydney neighbourhood.

'We followed these guys from the Water Run right up to Kurnell,' wrote one user.

'They were steaming along until they got to Boat Harbour, they had a great time. Just magnificent.'

One social media user wrote: 'They were steaming along until they got to Boat Harbour, they had a great time. Just magnificent.'

'You don't realise how big they really are until you are up close to them,' said Harry Engle, who was in the water at the time
A homeless man has been jailed for shoving and injuring radio star Kate Langbroek at her house as she tried to protect her three sons.

African migrant Sembata Defa, 37, was drug-affected and armed with a 40cm kebab skewer when he attacked the Fox FM personality and her babysitter at her St Kilda home in bayside Melbourne on the night of March 2.

Magistrate Fiona Hayes today jailed him for at least eight months, after he pleaded guilty to several charges related to pushing his way through her front gate, knocking down the radio presenter and causing her left arm to bruise.

A homeless man has been jailed over a 'terrifying' attack on Melbourne radio star Kate Langbroek (pictured with the bruise) as she tried to protect her three sons

'You were completely and utterly out of control,' she said.

The incident struck fear into Ms Langbroek's family and her children.

'Their feeling of safety in their own home has been substantially affected,' Ms Hayes told Melbourne Magistrates Court.

'For kids that's a really big thing. That will take them a long time to feel safe again in their home.'

African migrant Sembata Defa, 37, was drug-affected and armed with a 40cm kebab skewer when he attacked Ms Langbroek and her babysitter her St Kilda house (pictured) in March

Ms Langbroek and her husband Peter Lewis had just returned from a night out to relieve their babysitter when Defa launched the attack.

Defa first came at the babysitter on the street, banging on her car as she sat inside, before rushing to Ms Langbroek's home.

Ms Langbroek then ran inside and locked the front door before Defa could get inside.

She braced against the door as Defa yelled 'this is my f***ing house and I'm f***ing coming in'.

Magistrate Fiona Hayes today jailed a homeless man for at least eight months, for shoving and injuring radio personality Kate Langbroek (pictured) in the front yard of her house

'He continued to kick the door a number of times until Ms Langbroek thought the door was going to fall in,' a prosecutor said.

'This would've been quite a terrifying experience for all involved.'

Defa eventually stopped kicking and approached a neighbouring house, yelling out, 'I'm going to drug all of you'.

By this stage police had been called, arriving to subdue and handcuff Defa.

Defa was deemed unfit for interview at the time and had been in custody since the March attack.

He pleaded guilty to seven charges, including assaulting Ms Langbroek, trespass, possessing a dangerous article and resisting arrest.

Defa's lawyer Chris Hooper (pictured) said his client, in his drug-affected state, really thought Kate Langbroek's home was his

Defa's lawyer Chris Hooper said his client, in his drug-affected state, really thought Ms Langbroek's home was his.

'He genuinely believed he resided in those premises,' he said.

'He's really sorry. He appreciates the wrongfulness of his behaviours.'

Defa, who came to Australia from Ethiopia in the 1990s, had struggled with homelessness and mental health issues for a long time.

He was jailed for at least eight months, and given time already served since March, he will be eligible for parole in less than four months.
The surgeon who removed a harpoon bolt from a 14-year-old British boy's head after he fired it at himself while in Italy has said the 'very lucky boy' should make a full recovery.

Devon White, from Chelmsford in Essex, was carrying the weapon while travelling in a boat with his family in Sperlonga, near Rome, when it went crashing into his left eye at 60mph.

Paramedics treated him at the scene before he was airlifted 100 miles to San Camillo hospital in Rome and had the bolt removed in a gruesome three-hour procedure.

Devon White, from Chelmsford in Essex, was carrying the weapon while travelling in a boat with his family in Sperlonga, near Rome, when it went crashing into his left eye at 60mph. Pictured: The bolt lodged in his skull

Now, as the first pictures showing Devon's injuries have been released, surgeon Professor Alberto Delitala has said the boy may even retain sight in the eye

Paramedics treated him at the scene before he was airlifted 100 miles to San Camillo hospital in Rome and had the bolt (pictured) removed in a gruesome three-hour procedure

Now, as the first pictures showing Devon's injuries have been released, surgeon Professor Alberto Delitala has told The Sun the boy may even retain sight in the eye.

'He doesn't appear to have suffered brain damage,' he said, adding: 'He will remain in an induced coma for a couple of days but we are optimistic he will make a full recovery.'

But Professor Delitala said that in 38 years of performing surgery, he had never seen anything like Devon's injury.

Astonishingly, the boy remained conscious while the bolt was lodged six inches in his head and spoke calmly with emergency services personnel that came to his aid.

'He was lucky because it passed through the cavity behind his eye and out through his parietal bone, which is the roof of the skull and protects the brain,' he said.

The shaft, which was nearly 12 inches long, had to be cut in half by firefighters at the scene.

Devon, Professor Delitala explained, was 'very brave' during the procedure.

Doctors previously explained that the weapon had not smashed into vital organs, The Sun on Sunday reported.

Local police chief Salvatore Capasso told the newspaper: 'It's a miracle this boy is still alive. I have never seen anything like it.

The British teenager was left fighting for his life after he accidentally harpooned himself through the eye in an Italian holiday horror. Pictured: Medics at the scene

'The bolt was in his head and he was still alive and talking. I'm amazed he didn't die.

'I've seen many things during my career but nothing as macabre as that.'

Capasso said the 14-year-old had been on the boat with his uncle, his brother and two friends. The tourists had been firing the weapon at nearby rocks.

He said the weapon had been faulty and had not secured itself properly when it was reloaded, causing the bolt to shoot off into Devon's face.

Police were investigating the matter because the teenager, from Chelmsford in Essex, was too young to have been handling the Cressi Sioux harpoon, he said.
This is the moment a 'completely drunk' man jumped behind the wheel of a minibus to speed 'terrified' passengers through traffic and run a red light.

James Powell laughed when he was begged to stop by those on board - including a 70-year-old woman - after he jumped into the driver's seat at Cwmbran train station.

The 30-year-old swerved through other vehicles after the minibus driver got off to help people with luggage.

The driver (circled in red) watches as the minibus (in yellow) is taken over by an intoxicated Powell outside Cwmbran train station

Powell ran this red light while driving a minibus containing three terrified passengers including a 70-year-old woman

Powell from Thornhill in Cwmbran pleaded guilty to three counts of false imprisonment.

He also admitted aggravated vehicle taking and dangerous driving under the influence of alcohol with no insurance.

Powell (pictured) was jailed for 10 months and banned from driving for two years after

The father-of-two was jailed for 10 months and recieved a two-year driving ban from the date of his release.

The alcoholic must pass an extended driving test before being allowed behind the wheel.

Claire Pickthall, defending, said he was remorseful about his actions toward the three passengers on January 20:

'He is unable to say anything other than he is truly sorry,' she said.

'He is utterly appalled by how he made those ladies feel. He is as sorry as he possibly could be.'

The court heard Powell is awaiting bereavement counselling following the death of his father.

Judge Daniel Williams described the incident as 'outrageous', adding: 'This was a terrifying experience for those people on the minibus.'
Japan's 'unprecedented' heatwave has killed at least 65 people in one week, with the weather agency now classifying the record-breaking weather as a 'natural disaster'.

In the week to Sunday, at least 65 people died of heat stroke while 22,647 people were hospitalised, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said in a statement.

Both figures are 'the worst ever for any week during summer' since the agency began recording fatalities resulting from heat stroke in July 2008, a spokesman said.

People are struggling to cope in the heat as Japan continues to swelter in its 'unprecedented' heatwave, including in Nagoya, above, where temperatures reached 101.3F (38.5C)

In the week to Sunday, at least 65 people died of heat stroke while 22,647 people were hospitalised, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said

A man wipes perspiration from his face in Tokyo on July 24 as Japan suffers from a heatwave

'We are observing unprecedented levels of heat in some areas,' weather agency official Motoaki Takekawa said late Monday.

The heatwave 'is fatal, and we recognise it as a natural disaster,' he told reporters.

Eighty people in total have died from the heat since the beginning of July, and over 35,000 have been hospitalised. Many of the victims have been elderly people who were not using air conditioning.

Water is sprayed onto passersby in Nagoya, Japan, during the nationwide heatwave

Street scenes in Nagoya, Japan. The Meteorological Agency has forecast continued high temperatures in the coming weeks

Umbrellas help to ward off the sun's rays in Nagoya, above

Among those killed was a six-year-old school boy who lost consciousness while returning from a field trip.

'As a record heatwave continues to blanket the country, urgent measures are required to protect the lives of schoolchildren,' top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters today.

The government said it would supply funds to ensure all schools are equipped with air conditioners by next summer.

Vending machines in Nagoya, Japan

Japan's heatwave provides a good excuse to tuck into an ice-cream

Fans are also useful for those trying to go about their daily tasks in Japan

Less than half of Japan's public schools have air conditioning, and the figure is only slightly higher at public kindergartens.

Suga said the government would also consider extending this year's summer school holidays as the heatwave drags on.

Temperatures reaching over 104F (40C) were registered for the first time in Tokyo's metro area on Monday, where the government is promoting Uchimizu, a tradition where water is sprinkled onto the ground, as part of a summer heat awareness campaign.

Exercising near water, above, as officials urge people to use air conditioning, drink sufficient water and rest as often as possible

A woman wearing a Yukata, or summer kimono, splashes water onto the hot asphalt in an old Japanese tradition called Uchimizu ritual, meant to cool down the air as the water evaporates, outside a pachinko game parlor in Tokyo

A businessman wipes his face while walking on a street during a heatwave in Tokyo

It was marginally cooler on Tuesday, but temperatures remained well above normal in most of the country, and little relief is forecast.

The agency warned that much of the country will continue baking in temperatures of 95F (35C) or higher until early August.

Officials have urged people to use air conditioning, drink sufficient water and rest often.

People cool down in a swimming pool at Toshimaen amusement park in Tokyo

A man protects himself from the sun in Tokyo on July 24

Above: people throw water on the street to help cool temperatures, as Japan's summer has been compared to 'living in a sauna'

Japan's summers are notoriously hot and humid, and hundreds of people die each year from heatstroke, particularly the elderly in the country's ageing society.

The heatwave follows record rainfall that devastated parts of western and central Japan with floods and landslides that killed over 220 people.

And many people in the affected areas are still living in damaged homes or shelters and working outdoors on repairs, putting them at great risk.

The record-breaking weather has revived concerns about the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which will be held in two years time in July and August.

Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike this week promised that the heat would be given the same priority as measures to counter terrorism.

'It's just as important because the purpose is also to protect people's lives,' she told reporters, comparing Japan's summer to 'living in a sauna'.

Japan recorded its highest temperature ever on Monday as a deadly heatwave continued to grip a wide swath of the country and nearby South and North Korea.

About 10 people have died in South Korea as a result of the heat.

The mercury hit 106F (41.1C) in Kumagaya, a city in Saitama prefecture about 65 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of Tokyo, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

That broke the previous record of 105.8F (41C) in Ekawasaki on the island of Shikoku on August 12, 2013.

Great way to cool off: A boy frolics in the water jets at a park near Nerima in Tokyo, Japan

Splash down: Youngsters enjoy a ride down a water slide at the Toshimaen amusement park in Tokyo

Taking a selfie while cooling down in Tokyo during the deadly heatwave

Two lingering high pressure systems have trapped warm and humid air above the region, bringing record high temperatures for nearly two weeks.

Although the worst of the heatwave is expected to conclude this week, authorities have urged people to stay inside and use air conditioning.

Other steps include developing road pavements which emit less surface heat, setting up mist sprays and planting tall roadside trees.

Japan continues to swelter in a heatwave - scenes in Nagoya, Japan, above

Youths enjoy a ride down a water slide at the Toshimaen amusement park in Tokyo

Children play in the water jets at a park near Nerima in Tokyo, Japan

Ms Koike also cited traditional ways of cooling in Japan, such as hanging straw screens and spraying water on road surfaces.

'But our traditional wisdom is not enough to beat the heat like this,' she acknowledged, 'so we will be using cutting-edge technology.'

The 10 people who died in South Korea succumbed to heatstroke and other heat-related causes, seven of them last week, the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said.

About 1,040 people have fallen ill because of hot weather from May 20 to July 21, an increase of 61 per cent over the same period last year, it added.

South Korea's highest-ever morning low was recorded in the city of Gangneung, where the temperature was 87.8F (31C) at 6.45am on Monday. The morning low in Seoul was 84.6F (29.2C), a record for the country's capital, according to South Korea's weather agency.

The mercury hit 103.8F (39.9C) in the south-eastern town of Hayang, the highest temperature in the country so far this year.

In North Korea, residents fanned themselves on crowded trolleys or protected themselves from the sun with parasols as temperatures in Pyongyang, the capital, reached 93.2F (34C).

Weather reports said even higher temperatures were recorded on the country's eastern coast.
Wild brown bears have ransacked a cemetery in Russia and eaten the remains of the dead.

Two beasts were shot after the predators paid waste to at least 20 recently buried graves.

A video shows the carnage some five miles from Elizovo in remote Kamchatka region.

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Two wild browns were shot by hunters, who are now monitoring the graveyard amid fears that there were more bears involved and that they will return

Human remains were exposed as the wild animals plundered the site, and an infant's coffin was among those ripped apart, according to local reports.

Hunters are now monitoring the graveyard amid fears that more bears were involved in the attack  and will return.

Paw prints from the animals are visible at the site.

The video was filmed by a bereaved father who was visiting the graves of his children.

Pavel Korotaev said: 'The bears even broke the metal fences.

'Approximately 20 graves were ruined.

'I can't be sure the total because I was afraid to go further.

'A bear usually protects its prey, and does not leave it.

'I was lucky, apparently, the animal was sleeping.'

'They did not dig the graves as deep as they should have done': local official Dmitry Shchipitsyn has blamed the funeral agencies for not carrying out their work properly

A bereaved father visiting the graves of his children was shocked to discover that at least 20 burial sites had been ransacked

Local official Dmitry Shchipitsyn said a team had been sent to assess the damage.

'In our opinion, the reason that the bear unearthed the graves was that funeral agencies had done their work in a poor way.

'They did not dig the graves as deep as they should have done.

Brown bears are nocturnal omnivores, and are there are approximately 200,000 of them left in the world. The largest populations are in Russia with 120,000

'All the disturbed burials were made this winter and spring.'

He accused the grave diggers of being 'too lazy' to dig to the correct depth.

Russian rules dictate that burials should be to a minimum of 5ft deep.
Dozens of demonstrators dressed as characters from the novel-turned-TV series 'The Handmaid's Tale' descended on downtown Philadelphia on Monday to protest Vice President Mike Pence's visit.

They wore red cloaks and white bonnets and chanted 'this nightmare must end.'

'The Handmaid's Tale' imagines a future in which women's rights have been stripped away. Protesters said they are opposed to Trump administration policies on abortion rights, LGBT rights, immigration and other issues.

Pence spoke in the afternoon at an event promoting the administration's tax-cutting law. He was later headlining a fundraiser for Rep. Lou Barletta, who is seeking to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey.

Dozens of women clad in the red cloaks and white hoods of characters from the Handmaid's Tale took to the streets of Philadelphia

The protest's stated purpose was to demonstrate against Mike Pence and his endorsement of controversial policies

Vice President Mike Pence speaking at the America First Policies event in Philadelphia on Monday

The demonstrators said they were also protesting Barletta's support of the Trump administration.

Samantha Goldman, an organizer of the protest, told the Philadelphia Inquirer: 'We just felt that the visual of the 'Handmaid's Tale costumes, a society in which women in Gilead are stripped of their most basic rights and their humanity, was appropriate.'

A statement on the protest's registration page said the group would be protesting Pence's 'anti-women, anti-science, and anti-LGBTQ policies' while Indiana governor and his endorsement of Trump's policies.

It was recently revealed that an anti-abortion law that the Vice President signed when he was governor of Indiana could become the test case that brings the abortion issue back before the Supreme Court.

The state law prohibits abortion on the basis of gender, race or disability of the fetus - such as Down syndrome.

The law was blocked by lower courts and is one of three anti-abortion state statues sitting one level below the Supreme Court.

The protesters wore red cloaks and white bonnets and chanted 'this nightmare must end' as they marched

At one point the protesters cast off their costumes and unfurled banners decrying Pence and his beliefs

If the state of Indiana appeals the last ruling and justices accept the case, it could open the door for a broader ruling on Roe v. Wade that could redefine abortion rights on a national level.

Pence is a staunch opponent of abortion rights and has vowed to put Roe in the 'ash heap of history.'

He has long championed anti-abortion policies as a congressman from Indiana, as the governor of the state, and as vice president.

He gave a speech in February to a pro-life group where he vowed legal abortion would end 'in our time.'

Protesters could be seen linking arms and holding hands in solidarity as they marched the streets of Philadelphia on Monday
At least 207 environmentalist activists were murdered last year, campaign group Global Witness has found.

The NGO's report highlighted government-sponsored killings had soared, with police or soldiers responsible for 53 of the deaths.

Environmental defenders were often killed as a result of protecting land from development projects that include the production of coffee and palm oil.

Filipino environmentalist Ruben Arzaga, seen here in a forest in Palawan last February, was one of the 207 killed last year as part of operations to protect land

Mourners in El Nido, Philippines pay respects to Ruben Arzaga after he was shot dead in an attempt to prevent developers illegally cutting down woodlands

Lucrative projects by vast agriculture corporations often led to deaths, according to the global rights watchdog.

It has made 2017 the deadliest year on record for environmentalists.

A drive in demand for consumer goods brings a need for 'massive amounts of land' to grow products.

'When people stand up for their rights and demand that the environment be protected they are silenced in the most brutal way,' Global Witness campaigner Ben Leather said.

Government-led or big company development projects often strike a country's indigenous peoples, such as these Munduruku natives scuffling with security in Brazil in 2013

The watchdog said it had found evidence that government actors  soldiers or police  were responsible for at least a quarter of last year's deaths.

But Leather added the state 'may well have been involved' where criminal gangs had carried out murders.

Brazil was the most dangerous country for land activists with 57 killed in 2017, while the Philippines accounted for 48.

It included the death of dedicated environmentalist Ruben Arzaga who was shot dead in Palawan, El Nido, during an anti-logging operation on September 14.

His murder prompted outcry from residents on the island popular with tourists, who demanded justice for the spiteful killing.

Global Witness documented harrowing crimes against communities who speak out against big businesses and government-led development.

Hydro aluminium factories in Brazil are just one of the industries who exploit local surroundings at the expense of communities living there

Abuses led to deaths but also death threats, intimidation, arrests, cyber attacks, sexual assault and lawsuits.

'Governments have a legal and ethical duty to protect human rights defenders but they're usually attacking them verbally and, as our statistics show, through their armed forces who are conducting some of the killings,' Leather said.

Their report links the violence to what we put on our shelves.

Jessel Mae Arzaga, daughter of land activist Ruben Arzaga, cries hysterically during her father's funeral ceremony in El Nido, Philippines on September 28, 2017

Arzaga's murder prompted outcry from residents who launched a campaign demanding justice for the environmental para-enforcer

Consumer products, including timber for furniture, often lead to the deaths of land defenders who speak out against projects that need huge supplies of natural resources

Mass-scale agriculture, mining, logging and poaching all produce ingredients for everyday products such as palm oil for cosmetics, soy for beef and timber for furniture.

Global Witness singled out the government of Brazilian President Michel Temer for special criticism, accusing his administration of seeking to reduce regulation on big agribusiness during what is an election year.

'Michel Temer and the Brazilian legislature are actively weakening the laws and institutions designed to protect land rights and indigenous peoples,' the report said.

'At the same time, they have set about making it easier for big business -- apparently unperturbed by the devastating human and environmental cost of their activities -- to accelerate their exploitation of fragile ecosystems.'

Campaigners say they receive death threats '24 hours a day' for speaking out against the hydro aluminium factories in Brazil

In addition to being the deadliest single year for environmentalists since Global Witness began documenting their deaths, 2017 saw the most massacres of land activists on record.

The watchdog found seven cases in which more than four activists were killed at the same time, including the massacre of eight villagers protesting a coffee plantation by soldiers in the Philippines.

By far the most frequent victims of violence were indigenous peoples, who are often already maligned by governments and society.

'Of course, my life is at risk,' said activist Mario do Socorro Costa da Silva, who campaigns with indigenous communities in Brazil against hydro aluminium factories.

'I receive death threats 24 hours a day because I'm not going to shut my mouth in the face of this atrocity.'

As well as calling for more accountability and greater protection for at-risk communities, Leather said agribusiness investors and even consumers could help reduce the violence by demanding better transparency.

'We should be asking questions of those producing the products on our shelves,' he said.

'The palm oil sector absolutely needs to clean itself up and anyone investing needs to do proper due diligence to know that their money is not going to fund land grabs, human rights abuses and ultimately killings of those who denounce it.'
A manhunt has been launched on a Greek island to find the son of a British property tycoon suspected of his murder.

Expat Derek Arber, 65, was found with stab wounds in his back, suspected to be from a screwdriver, on Sunday morning.

Police on the island of Antiparos are now hunting for his son, the main suspect in his death, who has not been seen since.

Last night senior police officials said: The son was the last person with him and testimonies collected so far show that there was a heated argument between them.

Derek Arber (right) with his wife Lilly. He owned several properties on the Greek island of Antiparos

That he has gone into hiding, evading the authorities for over 24 hours, makes him the main suspect.

Onlookers who knew Mr Arber said he had been out for dinner on Saturday with his son Robert, who The Times named as part of the murder investigation.

Restaurant-goers said the pair seemed to have been engaged in a difficult conversation which descended into a full-blown argument. The two men then reportedly left the restaurant together.

Mr Arbers body was found on Sunday by a woman believed to be a female relative, who called the police.

A spokesman for the police said: We were notified of the crime by a family relative but when we got there the son had already left the island.

Mr Arber was stabbed to death at his home in the town of Agios Georgios on the island of Antiparos, Greece

Mr Arber and his wife were said to be well known among the local community on the island

The father was lying in a pool of blood.

They suspect a sharp object, most likely a screwdriver, was used to carry out the murder.

The coastguard and the border police have also been called in to find the missing son, who, unlike his father, did not live full-time on the island.

Mr Arber has two sons from his first marriage  Robert and Paul.

Pipinos Marianos, the owner of the tavern where the father and son were last seen, said: Robert didnt seem well.

He left about 20 minutes earlier. Then Derek left to go to a friends house, a female neighbour. And then he went to his home. The following day, we were shocked to hear about the stabbing.

Mr Marianos added: Derek was a nice, friendly man. Robert is Mr Arbers eldest son, travelling between Athens and the UK on an erratic schedule. We never knew where he was and he rarely visited.

Mr Arber had built up a reputation on the Greek island for being intelligent, adventurous and the owner of a thriving decade-old property business.

He had been living permanently on the island and was a British citizen. He reportedly also had a Greek passport.

As part of his portfolio he owned a luxury villa complex in the town of Agios Georgios on Antiparos called Lillys Villas after his wife, Lilly Arber.

He also has a daughter called Isabel who was spotted returning from a trip to Switzerland with her mother and Mr Arbers wife, Lilly, yesterday.

Mr Arber and his wife are the owners of Lilly's Villas, a company which runs anumber of holiday properties on the island

The exclusive accommodation offers guests the choice between four cliff-top houses named Bijou, Dream, Secret and Pretty.

The homes overlook the Agios Giorgios countryside on the south east of the island and also have views of the Aegean Sea.

Mr Arbers body was found at his home within a housing complex. A post-mortem examination was underway last night on the nearby island of Syros.

A police spokesman said: That examination will determine how many times the victim was stabbed and what exact tool was used by the assailant.

We suspect it was screwdriver but the coroners report will thoroughly document the sharp item that was used.
THE government has developed a blueprint for regulatory authorities responsible for standards, food and drugs, a move that will curb hierarchical structures which business operators encounter while setting up businesses.

The revelation was made here yesterday by the Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Ludovick James, saying the blueprint was vital for improving the business environment.

The government is finalising the procedures for crafting a strategy for facilitating the implementation of the blueprint, said the Deputy Permanent Secretary while opening a workshop on Business Environment Reforms in the country.

The two-day workshop, which was organised by the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA), brought together senior officials of the chamber from across the country to be enlightened on negotiation skills, lobbying and advocacy.

Mr James informed the participants that the blueprint, which was endorsed by the Cabinet two months ago, has outlined responsibilities for regulatory authorities, namely Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) and Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority (TFDA).

Following endorsement of the blueprint, TFDA and TBS have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Previously, there were interactions of responsibilities executed between the two regulatory authorities, observed Mr James.

Mr James said the blueprint was among the fruits of good cooperation between the government and private sector, saying the plan had addressed a number of challenges in the sector.

On his part, acting President of TCCIA, Mr Julius Kaijage, expressed gratitude to the government for the blueprint, saying it was a panacea for challenges that business operators faced.

We are grateful to the government for its commitment to create a conducive business environment, said the acting TCCIA president.

Regarding the workshop, Mr Kaijage said five papers would be presented at the two-day event, citing some of the papers as Changing Landscape of Private Sector Organisations: Opportunities for Collaboration and Coordination.

He mentioned other topics as Business Environment Reform Initiative-Roadmap and Blueprint: How best can TCCIA position itself in implementation?, Essential Good Practices for Governance of Private Sector Organisations and Public-Private Dialogue Framework in Tanzania: How best can TCCIA position itself?

The Dodoma Regional Executive Secretary for TCCIA, Mr Iddi Senge, said the training workshop was very important for business operators in Dodoma, saying it would equip them with knowledge on negotiation, advocacy and lobbying.

This will help us in tapping business opportunities resulting from the governments relocation to Dodoma from Dar es Salaam, he said.
A wealthy white teenager from an exclusive LA neighborhood has been acquitted of gang murder despite acting as a getaway driver for the two alleged killers.

Cameron Terrell, 18, was facing life in jail for his part in the killing of 21-year-old Justin Holmes, who was fatally shot in the back in south Los Angeles in October last year.

But jurors found Terrell not guilty on Monday after hearing that he had no idea his friends were armed an intended to shoot someone, and thought they were going spray-painting instead.

Cameron Terrell, 18, has been acquitted of gang murder after acting as the getaway driver during the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Justin Holmes in October last year

The court heard Terrell lived a double-life as the privileged son of wealthy parents and as a gangster known as 'white boy' and 'milk'

The court was told that Terrell lived a double-life, one as the privileged son of a media consultant father and interior designer mother, and the other as a gangster known as 'white boy' and 'milk'.

Social media showed that while Terrell was with his family he enjoyed fishing trips to Mexico, dirt biking and playing board games at the $1.8million home he shared with his parents in the upmarket community of Palos Verdes Estates.

But while hanging out with his friends, Terrell spent his time starring in the background of rap music videos, with lyrics espousing a lifestyle of drug-taking, violence and crime.

The court was told that on October 1, 2017, Terrell drove two 16-year-old friends to South Los Angeles in a black Mercedes that was bought for him by his father.

He parked up near the scene of the murder and let the teenagers out of his car, before waiting for them around the corner.

Police say the two teen approached a group of three men, including Holmes, and asked them where they were from, believing them to be rival gang members.

Terrell (left) admitted driving two 16-year-old suspects to South Los Angeles where they shot Holmes (right) after mistaking him for a rival gang member

The court heard that one of the teens pulled a silver revolver from his hoodie pocket, at which point one of Holmes' friends shouted 'run'.

As the group fled one of the teens is accused of firing multiple shots, hitting Holmes in the back, the LAPD said.

Holmes' friends ran to a nearby shop and asked the owner to call police before staying with him as medics arrived. He was taken to hospital but died of his wounds.

Holmes was a college student who was working a steady job. Neither he nor his friends had any gang affiliations.

Meanwhile the teens ran back to Terrell's car and jumped in before he drove them away from the scene.

Terrell later recorded a video of the pair kicking over candles at a memorial for Holmes and even sang rap lyrics glorifying the killing, ABC7 reported.

Around two weeks after the slaying police arrested the two juveniles and Terrell, who was questioned by officers.

Terrell's lawyers argued that while he was driving that day, he had no idea his friends were armed and intended to kill someone, and thought they were going spray-painting instead

Terrell studied at the exclusive Palos Verdes High School and was barred from attending classes while on bail and charged with murder

Terrell admitted that he was driving on the day in question, the Daily Breeze reports, but said he thought his friends were going 'tagging' on a rival gang's patch.

He expected that a fight might take place but had no idea his friends were armed and did not allow guns in the car.

A search of his vehicle uncovered a hoodie with a gang insignia and a backpack with a can of spray paint inside.

Terrell was subsequently charged with murder and given bail of $5million which he posted, with $500,000 being paid in cash.

The charge prompted a protest by parents at the exclusive Palos Verdes High School Terrell attended, and he was removed from classes to be home schooled.

Terrell paid tribute to Holmes in court, saying that not a day goes by that he doesn't think about what happened that day.

His family and Holmes's relatives were keep separate as they left court to avoid a confrontation, CBS Los Angeles reported.

Terrell now plans to study law at college in Houston because he has fallen in love with the justice system, his attorney said.

The two teenagers are still awaiting trial, also on murder charges.

They have not been identified because they are juveniles, but are in the process of being transferred to adult court.
An urgent search has launched for a heavily-pregnant woman who vanished from hospital two weeks ago.

Katie Nash, 18, was last seen leaving a hospital on Barker Street, Randwick, in Sydney's east, before 3pm on Friday 13 July.

The Irishwoman, is 38-weeks pregnant and there are grave concerns for her welfare.

Katie Nash, 18, was last seen leaving a hospital on Barker Street, Randwick, in Sydney's east, before 3pm on Friday 13 July

Ms Cash may also go by another name, police said in a statement.

She is described as being of Caucasian appearance, thin build, with short dark hair, green/hazel eyes and a scar on the right side of her forehead.

She was last seen wearing a grey top, grey and white floral pants and no shoes.

Anyone with information on Ms Cash's whereabouts is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Khalil Cavil (pictured), 20, took to Facebook to describe what happened at the Saltgrass Steak House on Saturday

A Texas waiter has admitted making up a racist note calling him a 'terrorist' that he claimed was left on a check.

Khalil Cavil, 20, claimed he was stiffed out of a tip on a $108 bill at the Saltgrass Steak House in Odessa, Texas over the weekend after the customer wrote on his receipt: 'We don't tip terrorist.'

Now Cavill has admitted fabricating the episode, which resulted in the customer being barred from the establishment.

Cavil told local paper the Odessa American: 'I did write it. I dont have an explanation. I made a mistake. There is no excuse for what I did.'

He no longer works at the streak house.

It comes after the restaurant carried out an internal investigation, and Cavil was found to have forged the note himself.

'After further investigation, we have learned that our employee fabricated the entire story,' Saltgrass Steak House COO Terry Turney told the Odessa American.

'The customer has been contacted and invited back to our restaurant to dine on us. Racism of any form is intolerable, and we will always act swiftly should it occur in any of our establishments. Falsely accusing someone of racism is equaling disturbing.'

Saltgrass officials said Cavil no longer works at the restaurant, but did not reveal how they determined it was a hoax.

A picture of the note shows Cavil circled his own first name, which means 'friend' in Arabic.

He posted a picture of the customer's receipt, who had scribbled at the top: 'We don't tip terrorist'

Cavil, who is black and was born in the US, took to Facebook to describe what happened at the Saltgrass Steak House on Saturday, writing: 'At the moment I didn't know what to think nor what to say, I was sick to my stomach.'

The server who is heading off to Dallas Baptist University in the fall, said in the post last week that he wanted it to serve as an example.

'I share this because I want people to understand that this racism, and this hatred still exists. Although, this is nothing new, it is still something that will test your faith.'

'So to all the haters out there, keep talkin', [you're] only helping me step into my destiny!' adds Cavil's post, which garnered thousands of likes and shares.

Terry Turney initially defended Cavil saying that the restaurant will not tolerate bigotry or abuse from customers in a statement last week.

'We stand by and support our employee. Racism of any form is unacceptable and we have banned this customer from returning to our restaurant.'
The distraught mother of a missing teenager has appealed for help in finding her diabetic daughter over fears she may have travelled to meet a stranger she talked to on Instagram.

Missing Morgan Glendinning, 13, has not been seen since Monday morning - the first day of the school holidays.

Now, her family fears the schoolgirl from Rushden in Northamptonshire may have travelled to London after meeting a person on the social media photo sharing app.

Distraught dad Brian, 46, said: 'We don't exactly know why she has gone missing. She has been talking to different people on Instagram.

'She is very secretive about who she talks to. We think she might have met up with them on there.

Morgan's mother Sharon Glendinning from has appealed for anyone who may have seen her daughter to contact police.

Morgan is diabetic and is believed to have gone missing without taking her medication with her.

Morgan Glendinning aged 13 has been missing from home in Northamptonshire since Monday morning

Ms Gelndinning said on Twitter: 'This is my daughter she is believed to have travelled to London, possibly Ealing area.

'She is type 1 diabetic. With limited insulin and test strips and no hypo treatment.

'Please share for me we are distraught.'

Sharon Gelndinning has called for help to find her missing daughter who may be in London

Northamptonshire Police have released images of the school aged girl, in a bid to find her.

Officers said she wears a distinctive jacket.

An appeal said: 'Police are increasingly concerned over the whereabouts of Morgan Glendinning.

'She has been missing since Monday morning.'

Miss Glendinning, 13, has type 1 diabetes and is not believed to be carrying medication. She wears a distinctive pink coat

Morgan is 5'5in tall and of medium build, with long, light brown hair.

She wears a favourite pink coat, regardless of the weather.

Anyone who has any information over the teenager's whereabouts should contact police on 101.
A businessman accused of killing his wife and leaving her body to rot for eight months has argued he should be tried for manslaughter not murder.

Borce Ristevski, 54, allegedly killed Karen Ristevski at the couple's Avondale Heights home in June 2016 and dumped her body in the bush.

He is now facing a committal hearing in Melbourne Magistrates Court to determine if there is enough evidence to send him to trial for murder.

Defence lawyer David Hallowes SC today suggested the charge of murder should be dropped.

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Karen Ristevski's (pictured with daughter Sarah and husband Borce) death could have been caused by either blunt force trauma or strangulation

'I will be making submissions that Your Honour should not commit on murder but manslaughter is open,' he told magistrate Suzanne Cameron.

This is no indication Ristevski would plead guilty to manslaughter and it's understood he would maintain his innocence.

Mr Hallowes will continue to argue on Wednesday that there is not enough evidence to support a murder trial.

In court on Tuesday, forensic pathologist Stephen Cordner said Ms Ristevski could have died from strangulation or a head injury despite there being no evidence of skull trauma.

'You don't need to fracture the skull to die from head injuries,' he told the court.

A piece of hyoid bone from the mother's throat was broken, but that could have been removed by compression, or by animal interference after death, he said.

Ms Ristevski (pictured, left, with Borce, centre, and daughter Sarah, right) went missing from the couple's Avondale Heights home in Melbourne's northwest in June 2016

Forensic pathologist Stephen Cordner (pictured) gave evidence at Borce Ristevski's committal hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning

'We have other evidence of animals interfering with those remains,' added Prof Cordner, noting the challenges of dealing with eight months' decomposition.

Ms Ristevski went missing from the couple's Avondale Heights home in Melbourne's northwest in June 2016.

Ristevski has always denied any involvement in his wife's death and claimed she left to clear her mind following an argument.

Ms Ristevski's body was found at Macedon Regional Park eight months later and detectives allege her husband dumped it there using her Mercedes-Benz roadster.

Karen Ristevski's (pictured with daughter Sarah) could have died from head injury, Professor Cordner said

Borce Ristevski (centre right) the husband of missing Melbourne woman Karen Ristevski and their daughter Sarah pictured at a press conference in 2016

Borce is also accused of cutting off his mobile phone signal on the way to the park.

An Optus technical specialist on Monday told the Melbourne Magistrates Court both the Ristevski's mobile phones were detected the day Karen went missing then deactivated.

Court documents showed Borce's phone was unable to make or receive calls between 11.09am and 12.51pm on June 29, 2016.

Karen's mobile last pinged to a cell tower at Gisborne, near the Macedon Regional Park, at 11.40am.
Prime minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home was kept in the dark about one of the biggest spy scandals of the Cold War because his home secretary did not want to 'add to his burden', according to newly released files.

In 1964 Sir Anthony Blunt, the surveyor of the Queen's pictures, sensationally confessed that he was the so-called 'fourth man' in the Cambridge spy ring, which also included Kim Philby, Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean.

Following an offer of immunity from prosecution, he admitted passing thousands of secret documents to the Russian KGB while working as an officer for MI5 during the Second World War.

But when his treachery was finally made public in 1979, Margaret Thatcher told an astonished House of Commons Sir Alec had not been informed of Blunt's admission even though he was the prime minister at the time.

Prime minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home (left) was kept in the dark and not told Anthony Blunt (right) was a Soviet spy because his home secretary did not want to 'add to his burden'

Files released by the National Archives show the home secretary of the day, Henry Brooke, took it upon himself not to tell Sir Alec - a decision he admitted may well have been a mistake.

In a note to Mrs Thatcher thanking her for the way she handled her Commons statement, he wrote: 'I have written to Alec to explain why in April 1964 I did not bring him in on what was happening about Blunt and to say how sorry I am if in my well-meant effort not to add to his burden I may, with hindsight, have exercised by discretion wrongly.'

Eleven years later, when an American writer researching a book on the Queen, wrote to Downing Street to check Mrs Thatcher's original statement was correct, No 10 officials contacted Lord Home (as he was by then) just to make sure.

The 86-year-old wrote back: 'My memory is pretty faulty, but I wasn't told about Blunt's activities before the knowledge was public property.'

Files released by the National Archives show then home secretary, Henry Brooke (pictured), took it upon himself not to tell Sir Alec - a decision he admitted may well have been a mistake

The files also show how, following Blunt's death in 1983, Mrs Thatcher rejected an offer to settle his estate duties through the donation of a valuable old master.

The biblical scene, Rebecca And Eliezer At The Well, by the 17th century French master Nicolas Poussin, was bought by Blunt in the 1930s for just 100, paid for by Victor Rothschild.

By the time of his death it was valued at 350,000 and Mrs Thatcher was initially enthusiastic when his estate offered the government the chance to acquire it for the nation at the knock-down price of 190,000.

But when she learned that would mean the Exchequer forgoing 200,000 in duties it would receive if the painting was sold on the open market while Blunt's estate would benefit to the tune of 40,000, she quickly changed her mind.

'No - I don't think we should buy it at this penalty,' she wrote in a handwritten note.
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Perisher ski resort in the Australian Snowy Mountains woke up to 10cm of fresh snow on Tuesday morning - and there's even more on the way.

Colder conditions are expected over the coming days, with forecasters predicting strong and gusty winds in south-east snowy mountains.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, damaging winds of up to 110km/h are expected to strengthen in the Alpine region with some possibility of blizzards.

Perisher Ski Resort in the Perisher Valley, NSW, has already received 45cm of snow so far in the last seven days

The National Parks Service of New South Wales is recommending to postpone any travel plans for the alpine regions as gusty winds are expected on Tuesday night

Colder conditions are expected over the coming days, with forecasters predicting strong and gusty winds in south-east snowy mountains

The National Parks Service of New South Wales recommends to avoid travelling to country regions on Tuesday night.

Potential regions to be affected include Thredbo, Perisher Valley, Charlotte Pass, Cabramurra, Selwyn and Khancoban.

For ski enthusiasts, however, this week will boast more fresh snow as ski slopes at Perisher have already received a total of 45cm snow alone in the last seven days, with more to come.

Guests at Perisher saw a little bit of everything today, sunshine, snow and moderate to strong winds, as they spent the day lapping up fresh lines across all four resort areas

Ski enthusiasts can expect more fresh snow over the coming weekend at Perisher, Weatherzone predicts

BOM has also issued a warning for people in parts of Gippsland, Victoria, to expect heavy and gusty winds overnight on Tuesday

The conditions have been magnificent at Perisher in the last seven days as several cold fronts have passed through

According to Weatherzone, more snow is expected on the Alpine peaks ahead in the week with frequent snow showers on Wednesday and Friday.

The Bureau of Meteorology has also warned people in Central and parts of East Gippsland, North Central, North East and West and South Gippsland as damaging cold winds supported with rain shower are expected on Tuesday night.

New South Wales can expect more sun in the coming three days but towards the weekend, wet weather is highly expected.

The temperatures have remained cool throughout the week and kept the cover crisp for a total of 45cm snow

Regions to be affected by the possible Blizzard include Thredbo, Perisher Valley, Charlotte Pass, Cabramurra, Selwyn and Khancoban

The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe warning on Sunday for Geelong, Warrnambool, Ballarat, Melbourne, Wonthaggi, Bacchus Marsh and the Alpine resorts

Damaging winds hit the west of Victoria on Sunday morning before extending to central and eastern areas during the afternoon and evening
These are the amazing scenes as a fisherman in the Philippines landed a massive 66lb moon fish and hauled it ashore.

One of the fishermen carried the fish on his shoulders after it was caught on a trawler in Atimonan, Philippines.

Angler Joseph Bautista, 40, is pictured in the video carrying the pink coloured fish ashore on his shoulders.

Angler Joseph Bautista, pictured, carried the 66lb fish ashore in the Philippines

During the video, the fish's bright orange fins can still be seen moving as it is carried ashore.

Mr Bautista said he had no intention selling it.

He said: 'I'm not taking this fish to the market to sell. This is going home with me for my family to eat.

'It's quite special to catch something so big and beautiful so we will enjoy sharing it with friends.'

The moonfish, also known as Opah, are large colourful fish found mainly in warm and tropical oceans.
New South Wales Labor is independently investigating the member for Lindsay

Federal backbencher has vehemently denied a string of accusations about her

The embattled MP is facing an internal investigation into bullying allegations

Embattled Labor backbencher Emma Husar has announced she will take personal leave effective immediately.

The announcement comes amidst allegations that she had bullied former staff members and charged taxpayers over $2,000 in the past year to drive around in a limousine, despite having a government-funded car.

Ms Husar, who won the western Sydney seat of Lindsay for Labor in 2016, is facing an internal investigation into allegations of workplace bullying and harassment of staff.

She said the last few days had been very difficult for her and her family, in a statement.

Embattled Labor MP Emma Husar has taken personal leave amid allegations she used staff to mind her children and clean up after her dog

'I have written to the chief opposition whip to advise him that I will be taking personal leave, effective immediately,' her statement said.

'I'm a single mum and my first priority is the safety and wellbeing of my children.

'The best thing for me and my family right now is for us to be out of the spotlight so I can access support.'

The announcement comes after Buzzfeed revealed the New South Wales branch of the Labor Party had been investigating Ms Husar since March, looking into allegations of bullying harassment, verbal intimidation and misusing staff.

One former staff member alleged to the website that Husar had called them 'c***s' and 'f***wits'.

Others have reportedly accused her of making her staff babysit her children during and outside work hours and walk her dog.

She has now announced she will take personal leave effective immediately

Ms Husar (pictured left with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten) was previoulsy accused of telling a man working in her electorate office to do the dishes to 'learn about white male privilege'

Her Penrith electorate office has also seen a high turnover of staff since she won her marginal seat at the July 2016 elections, with 20 people resigning during the past two years.

Earlier this week, a former male staffer claimed to Sky News he was instructed to do the dishes to learn about his 'white male privilege'.

In a Friday phone conference, Labor bosses were said to have questioned how Husar's alleged behaviour could have gone unchecked for so long, given the turnover of more than 20 staff members in just two years.

Ms Husar denied staff had raised issues with her before the investigation was launched in March.

Ms Husar has defended her use of the Comcar service stating there was limited parking which made it difficult for her to use her own car

These revelations come as Ms Husar is already facing accusations of bullying and abusing staff

'I love my job and I am incredibly passionate about representing the Lindsay community I have lived in my whole life. My community doesn't get the air time it deserves and I am working hard to change that,' she said in a statement issued last week.

'My office is a professional and respectful workplace. It should not be perceived in any other way, and of course I am sorry if any person has been given reason to think otherwise.

'I am a single mum with three children, working hard and doing my best. If I have let anyone down, I apologise.'

Australian Federal Opposition leader Bill Shorten (centre) greets locals with federal member for Lindsay Emma Husar (second right)

On Tuesday Fairfax revealed that Ms Husar has charged taxpayers over $2,000 in the past year to drive around in a limousine, despite having a government-funded car.

The member for the western Sydney seat of Lindsay made the Comcar trips from June last year to attend multiple functions in the Harbour City, according to Fairfax.

Comcar provides politicians car-with-driver services, which backbenchers are entitled to use in Canberra or when on business outside of their home state.

They can also use the service when travelling to and from the airport in their home town, but are expected to use their publicly-funded private vehicles to attend local functions.

Ms Husar defended her use of the Comcar service through Bill Shorten, stating there was limited parking which made it difficult for her to use her own car.
Barclays said the Serious Fraud Office has sought to reinstate charges against the banking giant relating to the lenders emergency fundraising from Qatar at the height of the financial crisis.

The bank plans to defend the application brought by the SFO, which alleges it gave Qatar Holding the loan 'for the purpose of directly or indirectly acquiring shares in Barclays'.

The Companies Act deems it unlawful for banks to lend money to themselves. The bank is accused of giving out a 2.2billion loan for the purpose of directly or indirectly acquiring shares in Barclays Plc.

The Serious Fraud Office has sought to reinstate charges against Barclays (pictured, the bank's Canary Wharf headquarters)

The emergency fundraising at the centre of the SFO case allowed Barclays to avoid the fate of its bailed-out rivals Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland.

Barclays pulled off an 11.8 billion fundraising package from Qatari backers and other investors in 2008 to sidestep the need for a Government rescue, which left Lloyds and RBS part-nationalised.

Money was pumped in by State-backed Qatari investors, as well as Abu Dhabi royals and investors from Singapore.

But the way the bank secured the Qatari investments has since been mired in controversy.

The Serious Fraud Office (pictured) has sought to reinstate charges against the banking giant relating to the lenders emergency fundraising from Qatar

That included a 2.2 billion loan made to the State of Qatar acting through the Ministry of Economy and Finance in November 2008.

The SFO had charged Barclays PLC with conspiracy to commit fraud and unlawful financial assistance, and Barclays Bank with unlawful financial assistance, over undisclosed fees paid to Qatar as part of a rescue deal that averted a possible state bailout at the peak of the financial crisis.

Barclays shares were trading 1.3 percent higher at 0909 GMT, outperforming a 0.7 percent rise in the FTSE 100.

In May this year the charges the SFO wants to reinstate were dismissed by Southwark Crown Court.

They were the first criminal charges to be brought in the UK against a bank and its former executives for activities during the financial crisis.

As well as two charges of conspiring to commit fraud by false representations regarding advisory services agreements with Qatar Holding in 2008, there was a charge of unlawful financial assistance in relation to a three billion US dollar (2.3 billion) loan provided by Barclays to the State of Qatar in the same year.

The bank, Mr Varley, Mr Jenkins, and their two former colleagues, Mr Kalaris and Mr Boath, were all charged with conspiracy to commit fraud over the June 2008 fundraising.

The bank, Mr Varley and Mr Jenkins faced the same charge relating to the second fundraising in October 2008, while they were been charged with providing unlawful financial assistance.

The individuals are still facing charges, as the dismissal in May relates only to Barclays as a corporate entity.
It was the house where Kanye West grew up and was supposed to become the headquarters of a charity he co-founded to help Chicago's troubled youth.

But the modest property on the city's south side has been left to rot since a feud between Kanye and childhood friend Rhymefest saw the charity cut ties with him.

Now, it is littered with hart-shaped post-its, old CDs and beer bottles that have lain there since a fundraiser back in February.

Kanye West's childhood home has been left abandoned on Chicago's south side after a failed attempt to turn it into a charity headquarters in memory of his late mother

The home is still covered in heart-shaped post-it notes from a fundraiser held at the property in February, shortly before the charity cut ties with West

The house has begun falling apart with a window from missing at the front (left) while the trash cans are still filled with spare wood and beer bottles from the fundraiser

A door at the back of the property has been smashed in, leaving it open to squatters and allowing the weather inside

A door at the back of the property has been broken, allowing squatters to access it, while a window frame has fallen away at the front, giving another access point.

Inside the home is completely empty aside from a fridge in the main room, while paint can be seen peeling from the ceiling.

It is a far cry from the original plans for the property, which was supposed to contain a recording studio and a museum to Donda West, Kanye's mother.

The plans began in 2011 when Kanye founded charity Donda's House with longtime friend and collaborator Rhymefest, in honor of his mother who died in 2007 from complications of cosmetic surgery.

Paint has also begun peeling from the outside and inside of the property, which is a far cry from plans to turn it into a museum and record studio

The bins outside are still filled with trash, five months after a fundraising event was held here

CDs were also tied to the front fence of the property during the event, and are still there

Dozens of people gathered to raise money for Donda's House, the charity Kanye co-founded in 2011 to help support Chicago's youth with music training

Before she died, West was in the process of setting up an organization called Loop Dreams, which planning to install recording studios in high schools.

Rhymefest, who was mentored by Donda West during her time as a teacher, says the charity has since gone on to help more than 500 Chicago youths.

But in May this year Rhymefest and Kanye fell out amid accusations that the multi-millionaire rapper had provided little assistance to the charity and 'abandoned' his hometown.

While Kanye did not publicly respond to the claims, wife Kim Kardashian came riding to his defense and accused Rhymefest of failing to run the organization properly.

Days later, amid controversy over Kanye suggesting that slavery had been 'a choice' and his public backing for Donald Trump, Donda's House cut ties with him.

The charity announced via Twitter that it was permanently changing its name to Art of Culture Inc, and continues to operate under that name to this day.

Meanwhile all of Donda's House social media channels and websites were reportedly handed over to Kim and Kanye, and have remained inactive since.

Rhymefest (left) a childhood friend and collaborator with Kanye was charged with running the charity, but in May accused the rapper of failing to support it

After Rhymefest hit out at Kanye, wife Kim Kardashian clapped back, accusing him of failing to run the organization properly
One of two teenagers accused of planning a terrorist attack was only 12 when he went to a Sydney protest holding a sign saying 'Behead all those who insult the prophet', a jury has been told.

At 14, he refused to stand when the Australian national anthem was played at his school, saying: 'I will only stand for Allah', prosecutor Ian Bourke SC said on Tuesday.

He was opening the Crown case at the NSW Supreme Court trial of the two teenagers - who can't be named - who have pleaded not guilty to doing an act or acts between October 6 and October 12 in 2016 in Sydney in preparation for a terrorist act.

The schoolfriends were both aged 16 when arrested at a Bankstown Muslim prayer hall on October 12, allegedly in joint possession of two M9 bayonets and a sharpener bought for $230 cash at a nearby gun shop.

A letter pledging allegiance to ISIS was allegedly found with the boys (pictured with police)

They also had clothing capable of being used as disguises, as well as a handwritten note in Arabic and English which Mr Bourke said amounted to a pledge of allegiance to ISIS or Islamic State.

Part of it read: 'I advise you to fear God and follow the steps of the Messenger of God and pledge allegiance to the caliphate because whoever dies without pledging allegiance will die a pre-Islamic death.'

The teenagers, who both allegedly had strong, fundamentalist, extremist views, intended to use the bayonets to kill or injure a member of the public, Mr Bourke contended.

'The Crown cannot say precisely when the act was to be carried out or who the particular target was,' he said.

As well as the bayonets, the teenagers allegedly purchased two hunting knives on October 6, with one telling the gun shop assistant they were going pig hunting.

This was of 'some significance' because when the older boy was arrested he spoke to some police saying 'pigs, cowards' and 'they were going to burn in hellfire', Mr Bourke said.

The boys were arrested (pictured) after they allegedly purchased bayonets from a Sydney gun store

'The Crown and police cannot say what happened to those knives as they were not located.'

He listed a string of items accessed by the teenagers on their phones or computers before their arrest.

The eldest boy, by months, had material including an image saying: 'I am a warrior of Islam and my path is Jihad' and a comment about a man of Islamic faith described as an unbeliever because he had become a police officer.

He also allegedly accessed advice on the sort of weapon to use when carrying out a terrorist act.

The teenagers accused of planning a terrorist attack were allegedly in joint possession of two M9 bayonets (pictured, stock)

At the age of 12, he was filmed in Sydney's Hyde Park at a protest against a satirical movie about the prophet Muhammad, Mr Bourke said.

His co-accused also allegedly had similar material on his devices and in 2015 went on a holiday to Egypt with his family, during which he left his parents and visited a place close to an area associated with terrorists.

He also accessed a story on his phone called: 'Jihad John's journey from schoolboy to executioner'.

The trial continues.
An animal breeder has been banned from keeping pets after she let more than 60 animals die in her maggot-infested flat.

Charmaine Collins of Bournemouth, Dorset crammed 196 animals in to her two-bedroom apartment before she was raided by police and the RSPCA.

Animals including cats and dogs, birds, lizards as well as rabbits went without food and water in squalid conditions.

Charmaine Collins, 28, let more than 60 animals die in her maggot-infested flat keeping them in squalid conditions without food or water

The two-bedroom apartment was filled with loosely-staked crates and cages filled with malnourished and dead animals

Officers were confronted with loosely-stacked crates and cages filled with animals and smaller creatures suffocating in plastic containers.

The court heard an RSPCA investigator found a severely dehydrated and 'convulsing' rabbit.

More rabbits were confined to these containers, unable to move in any direction.

The court heard an RSPCA investigator found a severely dehydrated and 'convulsing' rabbit

Animals including cats and dogs, birds, lizards as well as rabbits went without food and water in squalid conditions

The 28-year-old had almost every room filled with animals including the shed and communal area.

The only space free from the starving creatures was the bathroom.

A rotting carcass of an animal was found at the apartment and 30 dead guinea pigs were found in the shed.

A rotting carcass of an animal was found at the apartment and 30 dead guinea pigs were found in the shed

Collins began a degree in veterinary care and established an animal breeding business named Fairytales

Matthew Knight, prosecuting for the RSPCA said: 'There was a lack of food and water. They were abandoned. It was an appalling environment.'

Collins began a degree in veterinary care and established an animal breeding business named Fairytales.

She was known to the RSPCA, the businesswoman had 'similar issues' in 2016, but on a much smaller scale - two dogs and a lizard.

Collins began her degree in veterinary care and established an animal breeding business called Fairytales

Collins began buying large quantities of animals from fairs and travelled to Holland to purchase 70 rodents which have all been seized.

She admitted to six charges of relating to the care of the animals and was sentenced to a 12-month community order and 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

Collins has been ordered to pay 250 costs and an 80 surcharge as well as a ten-year ban on keeping any animal.
ISIS brides and their radical children pose a significant threat to Britain, it has been warned, as authorities are accused of underestimating their potential to attack.

A startling new report has revealed 145 women and 50 minors were among the estimated 850 people who travelled from the UK to support IS in Iraq and Syria.

Of the 425 returnees recorded, only two women and four minors were listed.

A report, From Daesh to Diaspora, found 13% of the 41,490 foreign citizens who became affiliated with the terror group in Iraq and Syria between 2013 and 2018 were women  and another 12% were minors.

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Women of ISIS: Terrorists who joined the failed caliphate in Iraq and Syria could reignite the drive to join Islamic State, a report has found

Now, it is they who may attempt to keep the failed Caliphate alive across Europe.

The report, from King's College London's International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation discovered some of those women had been involved in terror plots.

It is feared there could now be a rise of women-only terror cells and family cells.

Safaa Boular, now 18, became Britain's youngest convicted female terror plotter when she was found guilty of preparing an attack on London with the first all-women IS cell, earlier this year.

Boular first began planning a grenade and gun attack on the British Museum when she was thwarted from joining her IS husband in Syria.

When Boular was detained over an attempt to become a jihadi bride in Syria, her sister Rizlaine Boular picked up the baton and planned to stab random members of the public around the Palace of Westminster, the Old Bailey heard.

When Boular was arrested police shot her four times, but survived. She was thought to have been unarmed when officers smashed into Barghouthis home in Willesden Green, London.

The pair of sisters were encouraged by their mother Mina Dich, 44.

Dich and Boular were jailed over plotting a knife attack in central London that the female terror cell dubbed the Mad Hatters Tea Party.

Rizlaine Boular, 22, took over her sister's terror plot after she was arrested and charged

Mad Hatter's Tea Party Plot: Mina Dich, 44, was jailed for six years and nine months over knife plot

The ICSR researchers Joana Cook and Gina Vale said due to an absence of official government data the nation may well be posed with a deadly threat.

Ms Cook said: 'The British citizens that have now been confirmed as returning to the UK have not been differentiated by gender, or age delineation, though women and minors accounted for 23% of British IS [Isis] affiliates in Syria and Iraq.

'We believe some women may now pose a particular security threat based on several factors. These include the physical security roles and related training that some women have undertaken in IS-held territory, and the potential to transfer or apply these skills in other locations, or to their children.

'The narratives within IS itself related to women's roles in combat have also evolved, broadening the circumstances under which women may be asked to take up arms. We have also seen women active in IS-linked plots (directed or inspired by the group) in countries such as France, Morocco, Kenya, Indonesia and the US, suggesting that women are indeed important to consider as potential threats.'

The paper said that while IS is associated with images of 'masked men... fighting on the battlefield, or in more brutal scenes carrying out executions', it was the 'presence and support' of women and minors which helped legitimise the vision of a 'state', as well as the 'roles they played in this state-building process'.

ISIS women in court: Female terror cells could pose problems to the UK after authorities 'underestimated' their role in ISIS

The report warned authorities must go beyond seeing women as only passive jihadi brides  because they often played a role in the caliphate including spreading propaganda.

The report also warned rehabilitation is needed for minors.

Many left because they felt they did not belong in the UK, leading to calls for better integration work.

In 2015 three schoolgirls from Bethnal Green travelled to Syria to marry Isis fighters.

Amira Abase and Shamima Begum, along with friend Kadiza Sultana. It is not currently known whether they are dead or alive however, the families of Abase and Sultana have said they believe their daughters were killed.

Shiraz Maher, the director of the ICSR, added: 'These findings are significant as considerations of foreign IS-affiliates in Syria and Iraq have largely focused on the status and activities of its male members.

'Women and minors are poised to play a significant role in carrying on the ideology and organisation of IS now that the caliphate has fallen, so it is essential that governments recognise these affiliates as two distinct groups who need their own unique responses.'
A psychiatric patient who murdered a grandmother after escaping from a mental health centre made 14 emergency calls to police on the day of the killing, a coroner said.

Nicola Edgington, 36, stole a butcher's knife and stabbed 58-year-old Sally Hodkin to death in Bexleyheath, southeast London, in October 2011.

Prior to the attack Edgington, who had killed her own mother six years earlier, phoned 999 from a hospital but her calls were downgraded in importance by the Metropolitan Police, a pre-inquest review hearing was told.

Edgington, who has schizophrenia, was previously convicted of manslaughter and detained 'indefinitely' under the Mental Health Act after killing her mother in 2005. She was released into the community just three years later.

Nicola Edgington, 36, left, stole a butcher's knife and stabbed 58-year-old Sally Hodkin, right, to death in Bexleyheath, southeast London, in October 2011

Edgington was arrested by Metropolitan Police officers following the murder in 2011

A pre-inquest review into Mrs Hodkin's death heard how two police officers took Edgington to A&E after making calls to police on 10 October 2011.

She made further calls from the hospital but the importance of the calls were downgraded.

She was later transferred to the Bracton Centre, run by the Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust in Dartford, Kent, which provides forensic mental health services.

The hearing was told how Edgington was left alone in a room with a door on a latch. She is also understood to have been given access to the foyer.

A nurse who manned its reception quit her job as a result of a police investigation into the killing.

Edgington later walked out of the centre and travelled back to London, where she killed Mrs Hodkin and attempted to murder Kerry Clark, then 22, who survived after fighting off her attacker.

Edgington attacked and killed Sally Hodkin, slashing her neck with a stolen 12in butchers knife (pictured) with such force that the 58-year-old was almost beheaded

Edgington was jailed for life with a minimum term of 37 years in 2013.

Reports by NHS England and Independent Police Complaints Commission have already been carried out but a coroner ruled at a previous hearing that an investigation still needs to be conducted into the way Edgington was handled by police and medical staff on the day of the attacks.

Timeline of murder NOVEMBER 2005: Edgington killed her 60-year-old mother Marion in 2005, stabbing her nine times in the face, neck and chest with a kitchen knife at her home in East Grinstead, West Sussex. OCTOBER 2006: Found guilty of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and held under the Mental Health Act. SEPTEMBER 2009: Released from a secure psychiatric hospital. OCTOBER 2011: Attempts to stab Kerry Clark before murdering Sally Hodkin. MARCH 2013: Sentenced to life for murder Advertisement

Today Coroner Sarah Ormond-Walshe said the scope of the inquest, which is due to be held in October, will include evidence of the calls made to police.

She said she had found there had been about '14 calls' made by Edgington to police from 'various geographical locations' on the day of the attacks.

She continued: 'One of them for assistance when she was in A&E and she preferred to speak to police.

'These were on the day and my point was not necessarily suggesting there would be any (legal) argument - something would be amiss each time - but at least calling 999.'

Bryony Ballard, representing the Met Police, said the police watchdog report into the incident listed only four calls.

She continued: 'I know there were some calls made after the officers had left her there [at the hospital].

'At 4.52am, 15 minutes after PC Phillips exits the hospital and as a result of that PC Phillips is then recontacted and asked about how she was and as a result of that the call is downgraded. Then there's another call but I didn't see 14 calls.'

Nicola Edgington in Asda after she bought the knife (in plastic bag) she used to try and stab Kerry Clark with

The coroner said she will also investigate the 'environment' Edgington was left in at the unit after she was assessed by a mental health liaison nurse and duty doctor.

Edgington was previously convicted for killing her mother Marion, pictured, in 2005

She said: 'The environment Ms Edgington was left in because it was one where there a latch on the door that she was left in.

'There were 15 minute observations. Who was the person who made the decision about the 15 minute observations?'

Samantha Minchin, representing the health trust, said: 'The mental health liaison nurse and the duty doctor and I understand the duty doctor no longer works for the trust. We can make inquiries.'

The coroner said: 'There was a nurse on reception but I also read that she (Edgington) had been left in an entrance place.'

She added: 'She was allowed to go into the foyer. We did identify that nurse. As I understand it, they left as a result of some of the work that was done in order to investigate this incident.'

The hearing was adjourned to the week-long inquest which will examine possible breaches of Mrs Hodkin's right to life under Article 2 of the Human Rights Act.
Dominic Raab was interrupted by news of his own demotion today as he denied being sidelined by the Prime Minister seizing personal control of the Brexit talks.

As the new Brexit Secretary gave evidence to MPs about his role, his phone rang with a Sky News alert.

The only notification at the same time was about Theresa May's announcement appointing herself as the lead Brexit negotiator.

During his evidence, Mr Raab insisted there were 'no tensions' as he gave evidence to MPs alongside Mrs May's top aide Olly Robbins - who has just been handed more powers.

Under the changes unveiled by the PM this afternoon, Mr Robbins' unit in the Cabinet Office will have 'overall responsibility for the preparation and conduct of the negotiations'.

Meanwhile, Mr Raab's Brexit Department will be in charge of domestic planning for implementing a deal and a no-deal scenario.

Mrs May said: 'I will lead the negotiations with the European Union, with the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union deputising on my behalf.'

Appearing before the cross-party Brexit Committee, Mr Raab said he had been working closely with Mr Robbins since being appointed a fortnight ago 'to make sure there is one team, one chain of command'.

Pressed on whether Mr Robbins was really in charge, he said: 'There is no tension between us, I think that is clear.'

The exchanges came after ministers risked a backlash from Brexiteers by admitting the law underpinning EU membership will need to stay in place until the end of 2020.

Appearing before the cross-party Brexit Committee, Dominic Raab (pictured left) said he had been working closely with Olly Robbins (right) since being appointed a fortnight ago 'to make sure there is one team, one chain of command'

Mr Robbins faced pointed questioning from Brexiteers during the committee hearing today

The Brexit committee includes Eurosceptics like former Cabinet minister John Whittingdale (left) and is chaired by Labour Remainer Hilary Benn

The government's White Paper revealed that key parts of the 1972 European Communities Act - a totemic piece of legislation for Eurosceptics - will need to be kept after the UK's former departure date next March.

The move means the EU Withdrawal Bill, which allows for the repeal of the 1972 legislation, will now have to be rewritten.

The change will be 'time limited' to the length of the mooted transition period, when most EU laws will still apply to the UK.

May officially appoints herself lead Brexit negotiator Theresa May formally made herself the UK's lead Brexit negotiator today in a reshuffle of Government responsibilities. The Prime Minister has always led talks with other EU leaders but left the detail of negotiations to her Brexit Secretary. Following the resignation of David Davis and his replacement by Dominic Raab, Mrs May confirmed changes to how the Brexit department works today. Mr Raab's department is now responsible for preparing the UK for both a deal and a no deal scenario. But the negotiations will be controlled and led in Downing Street. Critics will insist this is how the talks have already worked in practice and why Mr Davis quit in protest. In a statement to MPs, Mrs May said: 'I will lead the negotiations with the European Union, with the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union deputising on my behalf.' Advertisement

Mr Raab played down claims of tensions during his evidence at the Brexit committee.

'We are very keen, Olly and I have been working very closely together from day one, to make sure there is one team, one chain of command, that we get the very best from our brilliant civil servants and that we have got full assertion of ministerial accountability,' he said.

There were 'changes and some shifting of the Whitehall deckchairs', he said, but 'the ministerial chain of command and the crucial importance of us working very closely together and having one track is vitally important'.

Mr Robbins faced pointed questioning from Eurosceptics on the committee, during which he rejected suggestions he had drawn up a 'secret' plan for Brexit ahead of the Chequers talks.

Brexiteer former Cabinet minister John Whittingdale said most ministers 'knew nothing' of the plan until the Monday before the Chequers away day on Friday, July 6 and Brexit department ministers did not see the detail until the Thursday.

Asked if that was correct, Mr Robbins said: 'I don't think so, no. The Prime Minister met a number of her colleagues over the days and weeks in the run-up to that crucial Cabinet meeting.'

Olly Robbins did not accept claims that he and the Prime Minister tried to 'circumvent' the Brexit Department, then under the control of David Davis. Tory former minister John Whittingdale said: 'So complaints from the DexEU secretary of state and ministers that this was sprung upon them without any opportunity to influence the proposals which were put to Chequers are just completely wrong, is that correct?'

Mr Robbins said: 'It's certainly not a picture of the days and weeks leading up to Chequers that I, or more importantly the Prime Minister, would recognise.'

Making a statement to the Commons earlier, Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab said 'parts' of the 1972 Act would be kept by the Withdrawal Agreement Bill.

But Labour's Sir Keir Starmer said the government was retaining 'almost all' the key legislation.

In other developments, Mrs May seized personal control of the Brexit talks today, leaving her new Brexit Secretary in charge only of preparations in the UK.

The Prime Minister formally appointed herself lead negotiator today just hours before Parliament rises for the summer.

Making a statement to MPS today, Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab said 'parts' of the 1972 Act would be kept by the Withdrawal Agreement Bill

The White Paper was published this afternoon as Mrs May and ministers continued their push to break the deadlock in Brexit negotiations with the EU.

The document lays out how Britain's divorce package - which is said to be 80 per cent finalised with the EU - will be implemented.

The document makes clear that the UK will still be subject to EU law.

'During the implementation period, the UK will maintain the same recourse to the EU's judicial review structures as a Member State,' it says.

What is the 1972 European Communities Act and why does it matter? The 1972 European Communities Act was the legislation that formally took the UK into the bloc. As a result the short, 12-clause text has a totemic status for Eurosceptics. The Act gives EU law supremacy over that made in the UK. That means when there is doubt about the interpretation of the law, cases must be referred to the European Court of Justice for a final decision. Under the provisions of the 1972 Act, some types of legislation coming out of Brussels have direct force in Britain. It spells out that others can be implemented either through Parliament passing primary legislation or by secondary legislation. Advertisement

'Should the UK have concerns about the implementation or application of EU law during the implementation period, it will retain the same formal ability to challenge such action as a Member State.

'The binding nature of CJEU (Court of Justice of the EU) rulings is currently given effect through the ECA (European Communities Act). By saving the effect of the ECA for the time-limited implementation period, the role of the CJEU will also be preserved during this period.

'This will also be facilitated by amendments in the Bill to the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018, so that sections of that Act which end the jurisdiction of the CJEU in the UK take effect at the end of the implementation period.'

Mr Raab repeated his warning that the UK could withhold payment of its 39 billion 'divorce bill' if the EU fails to reach agreement on its future trade relationship with the UK.

'There must be a firm commitment in the withdrawal agreement requiring the framework for the future relationship to be translated into legal text as soon as possible,' Mr Raab told MPs.

'It is one part of the whole deal we are doing with our EU partners.

'And of course if one party fails to honour its side of that overall bargain, there will be consequences for the deal as a whole - and that includes the financial settlement.'

Labour MP and Best for Britain champion Virendra Sharma said: 'This white paper is clearly not what anyone voted for.

Mr Raab repeated his warning that the UK could withhold payment of its 39 billion 'divorce bill' if the EU fails to reach agreement on its future trade relationship with the UK

'This isn't a standstill agreement, it's a step backwards. No one voted to have our sovereignty torn away from us under the guise of taking back control - but that's exactly what this white paper sets out.

'Continued jurisdiction of the ECJ, yet no representation on councils and committees for Britain to have a say on the laws that are passed.

'You won't find one person who voted for this rubbish, worst-of-all worlds Brexit. That's why we need a people's vote with the option to stay in the EU.'

Meanwhile, Cabinet Office minister David Lidington, the de-facto deputy prime minister, has been in Paris for talks with French politicians, the day after Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt visited Berlin.

Mrs May has been host the emir of Qatar for talks in Downing Street including future trading opportunities with the Gulf State.

Mr Hunt signalled a change in rhetoric when he visited Germany on Monday, warning that only Russian President Vladimir Putin would welcome a no-deal Brexit.

His comments strike a different tone from predecessor Boris Johnson - who said a Brexit on World Trade Organisation terms 'doesn't hold terrors' - and came despite Theresa May's insistence that 'no deal is better than a bad deal'.

In other developments, Mrs May (pictured today with the Emir of Qatar in Downing Street) seized personal control of the Brexit talks today, leaving her new Brexit Secretary in charge only of preparations in the UK

Mr Hunt warned about the dangers of the UK and EU accidentally stumbling into a 'no deal' scenario, adding that if that happened 'the only person rejoicing would be Putin'.

The Prime Minister, who took her Cabinet to north-east England for an away day on Monday, insisted that she was having 'constructive' talks with EU counterparts about the blueprint agreed by her Government at Chequers.

The last gathering of Cabinet ministers away from Downing Street was at the Prime Minister's Chequers retreat to thrash out a Brexit blueprint - eventually leading to the resignations of David Davis and Mr Johnson.

Her top team of ministers met for a special session in Gateshead on Monday, before Mrs May went to Newcastle to answer questions from workers at an engineering firm.
Beverley Allitt (pictured) is serving 13 life sentences. She is believed to be battling sepsis

A fundraising page calling for donations to help one of Britain's most notorious child killers while she 'fights for life' in hospital has been removed.

Gofundme deleted the page for Beverley Allitt after a wave of outrage hit the site.

The nurse, 49, is serving 13 life sentences for the horrific crimes that happened at Grantham and Kesteven hospital in Lincolnshire during 1991.

She murdered four children, attempted to murder three more and caused grievous bodily harm to six others.

The Gofundme page was set up on July 22 and had intended to raise 2,000.

It is unclear whether the page, set up by a profile called 'fundraising team', is part of a serious campaign or was a joke. However, a Facebook profile seemingly behind the campaign appears to be fake.

The profile, set up under the name Richard Dwight, was created the day before the Gofundme page. The user of the account later complained when their charity page had been taken down, sparking angry comments from users.

The account holder has since contacted MailOnline insisting the profile is not fake.

The Gofundme page read: 'Beverley Allitt, who has had a tough life, is now sadly fighting to survive.

'We are hoping to raise 2,000 in a bid to support her.'

A spokesperson for Gofundme said the page had been removed as it violated the terms of service of the site.

This term of service prevents them from supporting anyone who has committed a violent crime.

Allitt fell ill on July 15, 2018. She is suspected of battling sepsis.

A Gofundme page has been set up to help raise money for Allitt while in hospital. It is unclear if it has been set up as a joke

She is currently receiving care at Rampton high-security hospital.

She claimed her first victim, eight-week old Liam Taylor, on February 23, 1991.

He died after she injected him with a large dose insulin and went on to a 59-day murder spree as a result.

The spike in infant deaths sparked an investigation.

She pleaded not guilty while on trial at Nottingham Crown Court in 1993.

Allitt was sentenced in 1993 for her crimes. They include: murder, attempted murder and grievous bodily harm

The jury heard psychiatrists who concluded that Allitt was suffering from Munchausen Syndrome by proxy, a mental illness where sufferers crave attention.

When news of her illness broke many took to social media to slam the woman.

One user commented: 'I hope she rots!'.

While another commented on the Gofundme page itself and said: 'Karma for killing and harming poor innocent babies'.
This hilarious video shows a grossly overweight cat running towards its owner.

The cat, known as Jasmine, is owned by Cassie Capay who lives in Lac Seul First Nation in Canada.

During the short clip, Jasmine is seen bounding towards the camera despite her size.

According to Ms Capay: 'Me, my mother, cousin and cat were just outside.

'I walked with her down the road and my Mum had called her over; and she ran back as fast as she could.'

This is the moment Jasmine the Canadian cat ran towards her owner outside Ontario

Cassie Capay who lives in Lac Seul First Nation in Canada, owns Jasmine the cat, pictured
This is the wonderful moment a sea kayaker received an unexpected visitor when a seal hopped up onto his boat to hitch a ride.

The encounter between vet Rupert Kirkwood and the curious grey seal happened off Cornwall.

He said: 'There was no doubt it was playing because I watched it rolling in seaweed, barking, deliberately splashing me and trying to get on my kayak!

Robert Kirkwood was on his sea kayak when a seal decided to pay him a visit

The seal jumped on board the sea kayak having been swimming around the boat

Rupert Kirkwood, pictured, said the seal was acting like a dog who wanted a stick thrown

'It had the same look in its eye as a dog wanting somebody to throw its ball.'

It has been a record-breaking year for the number of grey seal pups born around the east coast of Britain.

New record totals have been recorded at sites including Horsey and Blakeney Point in Norfolk, and at Donna Nook nature reserve in Lincolnshire.

By contrast, seal pup populations on the west coast were badly hit by former Hurricane Ophelia in October.

A number of seal pup deaths were recorded off Pembrokeshire, and also at the Isle of Man.

However, at many sites around the east coast, numbers continue to swell year on year.

At Horsey, near Great Yarmouth, a new record of 1,643 grey seal pups has been recorded, topping 2016's record of 1,500.

Volunteers from Friends of Horsey Seals completed the latest count on the beach on Thursday morning.

Peter Ansell, the group's chairman, said that he expected record numbers to continue each year 'until a natural disaster', or disease or dwindling fish stocks affected the seals.

He said the increase was 'a bit like compound interest', with female seal pups maturing, returning to the beach aged four or five once in season to mate, then a year later to give birth.

Numbers were also up at Blakeney Point on the north Norfolk coast, with 2,598 pups counted on Monday - exceeding the previous record from 2014.

Stephen Prowse, lead ranger for the National Trust on the Norfolk coast, said good population survival rates in previous years and previous breeding seasons were the likely cause of the increase.

The most recent count at Donna Nook nature reserve in Lincolnshire put the tally at 1,984 grey seal pups born - more than the 1,957 counted last year.

Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, which manages the reserve, said year-on-year numbers had increased rapidly in the past, but had started to level off in recent years.

By contrast, numbers at Horsey continue to increase at a more rapid rate, though the reason for these differing rates is not known.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has branded Israel the 'most fascist, racist state' in the world after Israel's parliament passed a new law defining the country as the nation state of the Jewish people.

'This measure has shown without leaving the slightest room for doubt that Israel is the world's most Zionist, fascist and racist state,' Erdogan said in a speech to his ruling party.

In one of his toughest recent onslaughts against Israel, Erdogan claimed there was 'no difference between Hitler's obsession with the Aryan race and Israel's understanding that these ancient lands are meant only for Jews.'

'The spirit of Hitler, which led the world to a great catastrophe, has found its resurgence among some of Israel's leaders,' he added.

'The spirit of Hitler, which led the world to a great catastrophe, has found its resurgence among some of Israel's leaders,' Erdogan said

Around six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust by the Nazis during World War II.

The legislation, adopted after a tumultuous Knesset session, makes Hebrew the national language and defines the establishment of Jewish communities as being in the national interest.

Arabic, previously considered an official language, was granted only special status.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by saying Turkey was becoming a 'dark dictatorship'.

'Erdogan is massacring Syrians and Kurds and has imprisoned tens of thousands of his citizens,' Netanyahu said in a statement.

'Turkey under Erdogan is becoming a dark dictatorship, while Israel is meticulously maintaining equal rights for all its citizens, before and after the law.'

The issue of the bill is the latest source of tension between Israel and Turkey, one of the Jewish state's few key Muslim partners.

Ankara ordered out Israel's ambassador in May over the killing of protesters along the border with the Gaza Strip.

The strains have threatened a 2016 deal on normalising ties after the crisis sparked by the May 2010 deadly storming of a Turkish ship by Israeli commandos.

The legislation, adopted after a tumultuous Knesset session (pictured), makes Hebrew the national language and defines the establishment of Jewish communities as being in the national interest

Erdogan regards himself as a champion of the Palestinians and has twice recently held summits of Muslim states to denounce the recognition by the United States of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

But analysts note that behind the rhetoric economic ties remain strong, with trade robust and both sides interested in the export of Israeli energy resources to Turkey.

Arab citizens account for 17.5 per cent of Israel's more than eight million population. They have long complained of discrimination.
A former Bandidos president has revealed his softer side in a lengthy Instagram post after breaking up with his fiancee.

Brett 'Kaos' Pechey announced his split with Gold Coast model Rikki Sutton to his 5,000 followers on Tuesday. They had only been engaged since March.

Pouring his heart out, he wrote: 'She showed me what love is meant to feel like.'

Pechey blamed the break-up on his own shortcomings, saying he has ruined her life without going into further detail.

Brett 'Kaos' Pechey announced his split with Gold Coast model Rikki Sutton (pictured together) to his 5,000 followers on Tuesday

Pouring his heart out, he wrote: 'She showed me what love is meant to feel like.' Pictured: His post in full

Pechey blamed the break-up on his own shortcomings, saying he has ruined her life without going into further detail. Pictured: Rikki Sutton

The break-up comes as Pechey (pictured) prepares to face court for allegedly assaulting police during a suspected mental health break-down in March

'Rikki was the best GF I have ever had and I f****d that up plenty of times,' he wrote.

'She has been there threw [sic] thick and thin and to be honest I have just f****d up her life because of my past and my f*** ups, and she still made sure I was okay regardless if we were together or not together.'

Pechey signed off by saying he hopes the pair will get back together.

'She is still the love of my life and I was so lucky to have her by my side,' he wrote.

'I don't know how she finds the strength with what she's been through in her life, but I know I'll have her back forever.'

The break-up comes as Pechey prepares to face court for allegedly assaulting police during a suspected mental health break-down in March.

He endured a three-hour stand-off with officers after barricading himself in his Gold Coast apartment.

Pechey allegedly armed himself with swords, threw a steel pipe at officers and launched an ironing board down the stairs of the building.

Pechey signed off by saying he hopes the pair will get back together. 'She is still the love of my life and I was so lucky to have her by my side,' he wrote

Pechey was arrested at Brisbane airport in 2015 on charges of extortion after months on the run in Thailand

A court heard he threatened to stab the 26 police officers at the scene if they didn't shoot him.

He then allegedly tried to take his own life by consuming prescription drugs, which calmed him down and allowed police to detain him.

Pechey was granted bail by Southport Magistrates Court after facing charges of assaulting police, willful damage and public nuisance and will appear again later.

The court heard that Pechey was suffering a mental health battle.

In February, Daily Mail Australia reported on Pechey's war of words with Ben 'Notorious' Geppert, a former Hells Angels and Finks member.

The social media feud centered on their girlfriends who are Instagram stars and cousins.
A restaurant owner could only watch on as a thief broke into the till at his Italian eatery.

Giovanni Malacrino had just sat down to eat when he was contacted by his security company that someone had broken into his restaurant in Cardiff's city centre.

He was told by the company to contact the police. However until police responded Mr Malacrino was left feeling 'helpless' as he watched the robbery unfold.

CCTV images have been released of a man in connection to a robbery in a Cardiff restaurant

Giovanni Malacrino (pictured) is the restaurant owner and was left feeling 'helpless' as he watched the CCTV from his home

In the CCTV footage from the 11.30pm Sunday theft show a man can be seen frantically trying to open the restaurant's till.

The back door, till and printer were all damaged as a result. A few hundred pounds were taken from the till, as well as tips.

The Italian restaurant owner, who lives half an hour from his place of work, said: 'Its not just about the money though, its the inconvenience. They made a right mess and I dont want my staff to feel unsafe.

'I think he entered with a knife because he came through the back and cut through the lock on the door.'

Police ask anyone with information on the robbery of the Italian restaurant to come forward

Police have released images of a man they wish to speak to in relation to the incident.

A South Wales Police spokeswoman said: 'A man has broken in through the back door and has taken a large quantity of money from the till. CCTV has captured a suspect.'

Anyone with information is asked to contact police.

Mr Malacrino said while the person responsible has not been caught he remains hopeful they will be caught soon.
At least 11 babies have died after their mothers were given Viagra as part of a medical trial in the Netherlands.

In total 93 women were prescribed the drug at 10 hospitals across the country in an attempt to fix growth defects in their unborn children.

But 17 children developed high blood pressure in the lungs meaning they did not get enough oxygen, and 11 subsequently died.

At least 11 babies of the women who took the Viagra (shown in a stock image) died shortly after being born

Between 10 and 15 more women now face an anxious wait to see if their unborn children will be affected. The rest of the babies were not harmed.

The trial has now been cancelled and an investigation is ongoing.

A second trial with the same drug in Canada has also been paused, though there is no indication anyone there has been harmed.

A similar trial was conducted in the UK with results published in December and offered no conclusive evidence of benefits, but also did not suggest any risks.

It was hoped that Viagra, which is commonly prescribed to men to treat erectile dysfunction, would help increase blood flow through the placenta and promote the babies' growth.

Human trials were given the go-ahead after successful experiments on rats.

As part of the trial, 93 pregnant women were given sildenafil, better known as the brand name Viagra, while 90 women took placebo pills.

According to a hospital spokesman, at least 11 babies from the first test group were born prematurely and later died.

In the second test group, where the mothers were given placebos, nine babies died shortly after birth.

The research began in 2015 and was due to run until 2020, with the participation of 350 patients.

The spokesman said: 'The Amsterdam UMC has concluded studying the effects of the medication sildenafil, also known as Viagra, which was given to pregnant women whose foetuses showed severe growth defects.'

He said: 'The likelihood of developing a lung condition was much higher (among Viagra takers), as was the chances of death shortly after birth.'

According to doctors, a provisional analysis showed that Viagra 'might be detrimental for babies after birth'.

The spokesman said: 'All those involved are being assisted by the doctors involved in the study. Also, the Health and Youth Care Inspectorate (IGJ) has been made aware.'
One-eyed white supremacist Ronald Kidwell (pictured), 47, has been arrested and charged with murdering MeShon Cooper, 43, whose body was found inside his home on July 14

A one-eyed white supremacist told police he 'made the exorcist look like a bitch' as he boasted of killing a black woman who threatened to tell the world he had HIV.

According to an affidavit provided by the Johnson County District Attorney's Office Ronald Lee Kidwell, 47, said he 'flipped out' after MeShon Cooper confronted him at his home in Shawnee, Kansas in July.

Cooper, 43, was alleged to have pulled a knife from her purse at which point Kidwell physically retaliated.

Kidwell told police, according to the affidavit: 'When I get mad, I make the exorcist look like a bitch.'

Kidwell said that during the fight he gained control of the knife and stabbed Cooper with it, killing her.

Cooper had been missing for a week when her body was discovered by officers from Shawnee, Lenexa and Kansas City police.

Authorities were led to Kidwell's home after family members reported her missing.

Cooper (right), 43, had been missing for a week when her body was discovered by Kansas City officers. Kidwell's family members said the suspect would often drape himself in the Confederate flag (left) and brag about his membership in the Ku Klux Klan

When police arrived at the home, they noticed an overwhelming smell of bleach.

After requesting a search warrant, police found Cooper's body inside.

Kidwell's neighbor, Kathleen Brown, told police that Cooper had visited the suspect's home about 10 days before her disappearance, according to the Kansas City Star.

Brown claimed that after the victim left that day, Kidwell referred to her as a 'black b***h' and used a racial slur when talking about Cooper.

On July 6, Brown said Cooper was back at Kidwell's home where she and the victim spoke while the suspect went out to get beer.

The next day, Cooper's vehicle was found near Lykins Square park in Kansas City. Her family said the keys were left in the vehicle.

On July 6, Cooper was back at Kidwell's house, and he went out to get beer, Brown

Kidwell was arrested on July 14, the same day Cooper's body was found at his residence (pictured)

'If I would have known he was going to harm her in any way, I would have never let her leave my house,' Brown told the Star.

Just days after Cooper disappeared, Brown claimed that Kidwell asked her for trash bags and a handsaw.

'This was a hate crime,' Brown told the Star. 'One hundred per cent a hate crime.'

Kidwell, who has been charged with second-degree murder, would often drape himself in the Confederate flag, according to his family members.

Family members remember Cooper as being a 'wonderful person' who was 'full of life, laughter, and so much joy'

His daughter, Crystal Foster, told the newspaper that he would also brag about his membership in the Ku Klux Klan and send her photos of his swastika tattoo on his left arm.

'He's been a monster his whole life,' Foster said. 'He's the true definition of evil.'

Family members remember Cooper as being a 'wonderful person' who was 'full of life, laughter, and so much joy'.

Cooper, who was diagnosed with lupus, has a 25-year-old son who lived with her.

Her nephew, DaRon Cooper, told the Star: 'She fought off a lot of different things, a lot of different diseases, so for someone to come in and take a life like this, it's shocking and it hurts.'

DaRon said his aunt was working part-time at a Subway restaurant despite qualifying for disability. He said his family's goal now is to support her son.

'They were taking care of each other,' he said. 'With her being gone, it leaves him out to dry in a way.'

A GoFundMe account was created to benefit Cooper's son. As of Monday evening, it has raised $1,000 of its $2,000 goal.

Kidwell's bond has been set at $1million. In an interview with police, Kidwell admitted to killing Cooper by repeatedly striking her and stabbing her, but claimed it was self-defense, according to KSHB.

A GoFundMe account was created to benefit Cooper's son. As of Monday evening, it has raised $1,000 of its $2,000 goal

He also told police that his actions were not pre-meditated.

According to family members, Kidwell has a history of violently targeting victims based on their race.

'He pretends to be 'colored people's' friends and then he harms them,' Foster told the Star.

He has spent 15 years in prison on various assault charges, including a sexual assault charge stemming from 2011.

During that incident, Kidwell hit a sleeping woman on the head with a hammer before sexually assaulting her.

According to police records, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years in prison.

During the trial for the 2011 case, Kidwell was referred to as 'One Eye'.

A relative told the Star that Kidwell lost his right eye at age seven when pit bulls attacked him.
A teenage girl has been charged after a 17-year-old girl was stabbed at an elite high school.

Police were called to Renmark High School in South Australia's Riverland region just after 2.30pm on Tuesday.

The victim remains in a serious condition after being knifed in the back and airlifted to Berri Hospital.

The 18-year-old alleged attacker, from Paringa, has been charged with aggravated assault causing serious harm.

Police were called to Renmark High School in South Australia's Riverland region just after 2.30pm on Tuesday

The 17-year-old victim is understood to have been stabbed in the back and is in a serious condition (picture at scene)

She has been flown to Royal Adelaide Hospital for a treatment for a medical condition and will be questioned at her bedside on Wednesday.

'Paramedics arrived on scene and treated the victim, shortly before police arrived and arrested the alleged offender,' South Australia Police said in a statement.

'The 17year-old victim was taken to the Berri Hospital where she remains in a serious condition.'

'An 18-year-old girl has been arrested and is currently with police.'

Renmark High principal Mat Evans issued a letter to the school community Tuesday afternoon explaining what he believed was a dispute between two students.

'Police were called and our school was placed into lockdown today after one of our students stabbed another with a knife,' the letter read.

'We share your shock at this event which we are treating with utmost seriousness.

'It is our understanding that the incident is the result of a dispute between two students and did not represent a specific threat to the wider school community.'

'Paramedics arrived on scene and treated the victim, shortly before police arrived and arrested the alleged offender,' South Australia Police said in a statement

The 17year-old victim was taken to the Berri Hospital where she remains in a serious condition

The Department for Education is liaising with the school to ensure appropriate responses are put in place, including counselling and support for students and staff,' the department said in a statement.

'An assessment is being made as to whether additional security measures are required.

'The lockdown has been lifted and the general student population released to go home.'
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A sprawling site used as a US Navy base during the Second World War has gone on the market for 250,000.

The 10-acre site at Dunkeswell airfield, Devon, served as the US Navy's only European land base during the war and served as the strategic hub for the Battle of the Atlantic.

Two of the derelict buildings on the estate already have planning permission to be transformed into a large five-bedroom family home, complete with a gym, cinema, bar and library.

Meanwhile a separate outbuilding is primed to be turned into a 12-car garage - making it the perfect purchase for even the biggest automobile enthusiast.

Derelict: The 10-acre site at Dunkeswell airfield, Devon, served as a strategic base for the US Navy during the Second World War. The collection of derelict buildings, pictured, is now on the market for 250,000

Room to grow: The site has planning permission for a five-bedroom family home, pictured in a computer-generated image, complete with a gym, cinema, bar and 12-car garage. It was bought by its current owners as a place to store classic cars

Former glory: US sailors at the base, which served as the US Navy's only European land base during the Second World War

Strategy: The base was crucial in the masterminding the Allied forces movements during the Battle of the Atlantic

The decrepit buildings and parched grounds are a far cry from its Second World War glory days.

US sailors were based at the airfield as they worked on their strategy for the Battle of the Atlantic, a term coined by Sir Winston Churchill for the struggle merchant ships faced transporting supplies from Allied countries to the UK.

The Grade II-Listed Operations Block and Crew Briefing Room at the Davon base was also the nerve centre for US Navy operations in the Bay of Biscay area.

By May 1945, almost 6,500 anti-submarine missions - principally in B24 Liberator bombers - were flown from Dunkeswell.

However after the war the Ministry of Defence sold off the airfield and over the years the historically significant buildings became dilapidated.

Full of potential: An artist's impression of how the sprawling site could look as a large family home

Care and attention: The site was previously inaccessible before being cleared of brambles by its current owners

Historic: The Operations Block is the most substantial of the three buildings and adjoins the Administration Block

Transformation: The two main buildings have permission to be transformed into a 4,800sq/ft family home

Five years ago the site was bought by a couple who wanted somewhere to keep their classic car collection. At the time there was no direct access to the building which were surrounded by 6ft high brambles.

After agreeing to buy the plot, they spent the next 12 months clearing the trees, bramble and nettles.

Planning permission was granted for the buildings to be converted into a five-bedroom home with three bathrooms, a gym, cinema, bar, library, games room and a garage for 12 cars.

The Operations Block is the most substantial of the three buildings and adjoins the Administration Block.

Planning permission has been granted for the conversion of the Operations and Administration Blocks to create the 4,800sq/ft family home with three bathrooms, a gym, cinema, bar, library and a games room.

Fallen behind: After the MOD sold off the airfield and over the years the historically significant buildings became dilapidated

Dreaming big: The site, pictured, also has access to the adjoining airfield and could be perfect for an enthusiast

Country living: The historically-significant site is located in a beautiful area of the Devon countryside, pictured

In addition, there is a third building of about 2,300 sq/ft, which operated as a Crew Briefing Room.

It has planning permission to be converted into a large garage with parking for approximately 12 cars. There are also two bunkers.

The current owners are now selling the development site through Savills for 'in excess of 250,000'.

Chris Clifford, of Savills Exeter, said: 'It is a very unusual opportunity and we think it is something that would appeal to an enthusiast, whether they are a historian or someone with a light aircraft who wants to use the adjoining airfield.

'It offers space and privacy in pleasant rural surroundings and we have already got a number of viewings booked.'
The UK's terror watchdog was today announced as the next Director of Public Prosecutions despite his controversial claims about ISIS terrorists.

Max Hill last year said British jihadis returning from Syria should not be automatically prosecuted.

And he was branded 'naive' after meeting a campaign group that praised Jihadi John as a 'beautiful young man'

Mr Hill's appointment to the 204,000 a year post, replacing Alison Saunders, was confirmed by Attorney General Geoffrey Cox today.

Mr Hill will take up the job as the top prosecutor in England and Wales in November, today vowed to 'restore public trust in the Crown Prosecution Service'.

The UK's terror watchdog Max Hill (file image) was today announced as the next Director of Public Prosecutions despite his controversial claims about ISIS terrorists

Ms Saunders has been heavily criticised during her five year term for a catalogue of disclosure failings that led to cases collapsing and warnings about miscarriages of justice.

Mr Hill said he was 'honoured' to be taking over from Ms Saunders, adding: 'This is a challenging time for the CPS, with the rise in complex cases and negative publicity about its handling of disclosure in some cases.

'I have seen first-hand the sterling work of the CPS and I am determined to restore public trust in all of its work.'

The independent reviewer scrutinises the operation of the UK's laws on terrorism and produces reports. It is a part-time role.

Mr Hill is a high-ranking barrister who successfully prosecuted the failed 21/7 bombers, and appeared in the inquest into the 7/7 attacks, as well as acting in fraud, corporate crime and serious violence cases.

Mr Hill's appointment to the 204,000 a year post, replacing Alison Saunders, was confirmed by Attorney General Geoffrey Cox (file image) today

But he controversially told the BBC last year the security services had been 'right' not to prosecute every person who returned from fighting for ISIS.

He said: 'The authorities have looked at them and looked at them hard and have decided that they do not justify prosecution, and really we should be looking towards reintegration and moving away from any notion that we are going to lose a generation due to this travel.

'It's not a decision that MI5 and others will have taken lightly.

'But they have left space, and I think they are right to do so, for those who travelled out of a sense of naivety, possibly with some brainwashing along the way, possibly in their mid-teens and who return in a state of utter disillusionment and we have to leave space for those individuals to be diverted away from the criminal courts.'

Security officials branded Mr Hill naive last year after he asked for a meeting with Cage, which described Mohammed Emwazi - better known as Jihadi John - who beheaded western hostages in Syria, as a 'beautiful young man'.

Confidence in the criminal justice system was rocked last year after a flurry of cases collapsed when it emerged that vital evidence had not been passed to defence lawyers.

The collapsed rape trial of Liam Allan raised the profile of a string of similar sex cases, where charges were dropped when critical material emerged at the last minute.

Ms Saunders (file image) has been heavily criticised during her five year term for a catalogue of disclosure failings that led to cases collapsing and warnings about miscarriages of justice

The revelations prompted a review of every live rape and serious sexual assault prosecution in England and Wales, which found issues with the disclosure of unused material in 47 cases.

Mr Cox said: 'Mr Hill is a distinguished and extremely experienced Queen's Counsel who has demonstrated a profound commitment both to the criminal justice system and to public service. I am very grateful to him for taking on these onerous responsibilities.

'I am confident that he will be a good and collaborative leader of the Crown Prosecution Service and a principled and strongly independent chief prosecutor. The public will rightly expect nothing less.

'He will now build on the achievements of Alison Saunders, to whom I am grateful for her 32 years of public service.

'The role of DPP is difficult and requires exceptional qualities of judgment and character. I am looking forward to working with the new director.'
nciting or welcoming killing can carry a prison sentence of up to three years

A Danish imam has been charged with calling for the killing of Jews in a case which sparked political outrage in the Nordic nation.

Imam Mundhir Abdallah preaches in the Copenhagen neighbourhood of Norrebro at the Masjid Al-Faruq mosque, which media have linked to radical Islam.

He was charged on Tuesday, accused of citing a hadith or koranic narrative calling for Muslims to rise up against Jews.

'Judgement Day will not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them,' Abdallah said in a Facebook and YouTube video post in March.

Imam Mundhir Abdallah's sermon, from March 2017, called upon Muslims to wage a war against Jews

This is the first case of its kind in Denmark as it is the first time the prosecution has raised such charges under a criminal code introduced last year on religious preaching. No trial date has yet been set

'These are serious statements and I think it's right for the court to now have an opportunity to assess the case,' public prosecutor Eva Ronne said in a statement.

This is the first time the prosecution has raised such charges under a criminal code introduced January 1 2017 on religious preaching.

Ronne said it's legal to quote religious books like the Koran and the Bible, but that inciting or welcoming the killings of people could be punishable by up to three years in prison.

'It has always been illegal to accept killings of a certain group of people, but it's new for us to target hate preachers,' she added.

The Masjid Al-Faruq mosque in the Copenhagen neighbourhood of Norrebro which media have linked to radical Islam.

The case will be brought before the Copenhagen district court but no trial date has been set, the prosecution said.

The Jewish community, which in May filed a complaint over the imam's speech, welcomed the prosecution's decision to press charges.

The local Jewish community's spokesperson, Dan Rosenberg Asmussen, told the Danish broadcaster TV2 that 'there was no doubt about the intentions' of the imam's statement.

'It was deeply worrying,' Rosenberg added.

The Jewish community filed a complaint over the imam's speech and welcomed the prosecution's decision to press charges

Minister of immigration and integration, Inger Stojberg, who has been outspoken against Islamic practises in Denmark, has described the imam's address as 'horrible, anti-democratic and abominable'.

In a Facebook post today, Ms Stojberg wrote: 'The law against preachers is now showing its effect and the first, Mundhir Abdabllah, has just been charged with, among other things, having welcomed the killing of Jews in March of last year.

'We should not give Danish soil to imams preaching death and violence against, for example, Jews, for these hateful imams inspire rotten souls to perform their misdeeds.

We must take good care of Denmark. That's why the crackdown on hate preaching is important.'

The imam's comments discuss uprooting the Jewish community and 'liberating' Jerusalem, and waging a holy Jihad in the name of Allah

According to broadcaster DR, Omar al-Hussein, who was behind a series of shootings at a free-speech conference and a Jewish synagogue in Copenhagen in February 2015 which left two people dead, had visited the mosque the day before going on the rampage.

Denmark published in May a list of six foreigners accused of preaching hatred - five of them Muslim preachers and one Evangelical, banning them for at least two years.

The list includes two Saudis, a Canadian, a Syrian, and two Americans, including pastor Terry Jones who burned copies of the Koran in 2011.
Shameless builders have been hit with a 51,000 fine after they were caught on CCTV dumping hazardous waste on a children's playing field.

More than seven tons of garbage was discarded on the Hatch End playing fields in Pinner, north-west London.

Workers from Triangle Care and Maintenance left corrugated iron, mattresses, cardboard boxes and plastic on the grounds.

Builders have been hit with a 51,000 fine after they were caught on CCTV dumping hazardous waste on a children's playing field

Builders were caught dumping corrugated iron, mattresses, cardboard boxes and plastic on the grounds

The night footage captured the builders drop the waste off the back of a white truck and hurl it into the distance.

The rubbish began to fall into a nearby river and seep in to the stream posing a huge threat to the environment.

Because of the severe risk to the local wildlife Harrow Council ordered the mountain of rubbish to be cleaned at a 4,000 cost to the taxpayer.

The Harrow-based company was sentenced at Willesden Magistrates Court and hit with the hefty fee.

The Harrow-based company was sentenced at Willesden Magistrates Court and hit with the hefty fee of 51,0000

Because of the severe risk to the local wildlife Harrow Council ordered the mountain of rubbish to be cleaned at a 4,000 cost to the taxpayer

The company's director, Ivan Hausjell failed to attend the hearing earlier this month, ordered to wear an electronic ankle tag and ordered to 1,600.

Leader of the local council, Graham Henson said: 'That's money that should have been spent on residents who live here and actually care about Harrow,

'Thankfully the law agreed with us and the culprit was hit hard with a 51,000 bill.'

Hausjell is known for his fly-tipping habits after he repeatedly dumped household items and refurbishment waste on the playing fields in November 2016.

The council have since installed hidden cameras to combat the issue in the family park.

The Harrow Council installed hidden cameras to catch to combat the issue in the Hatch End playing fields in Pinner, north-west London
A man accused of stabbing a smiling tradie to death is unable to face court due to there being no empty jail cells.

Ricky Gerrard was due to appear at Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Tuesday after being charged with the murder of 24-year-old Sadiq Husseini.

Due to there being no empty holding cells at the court, the 20-year-old was left on remand at the Melbourne Assessment Prison, the Herald Sun reported.

Igor Sekuic, a worker at the milk bar, called 000 after witnessing the violent incident, but despite desperate attempts of paramedics, Mr Husseini (pictured) could not be saved

Security cameras have captured tradesman Sadiq Husseini (pictured) laughing and chatting inside a milk bar moments before he received fatal stab wounds to his stomach

An increase in accused being held on remand comes as Victorian bail laws changed making it more difficult for bail releases following the Bourke Street rampage in January 2017.

Despite Gerrard not being present in court, the hearing still went ahead and the court heard he was suffering from anxiety and depression, which he was formally diagnosed with before his arrest, the publication reported.

Security cameras captured the last moments of Mr Husseini in the milk bar, south-east of Melbourne, laughing and chatting before he was fatally attacked.

Footage showed him trying on a striped beanie while chatting with his friend, just minutes before he was allegedly set on by two boys in their 'mid-teens' in the car park.

The confrontation broke out about 9.20pm, ending in Mr Husseini being stabbed with an 'edged weapon' in the right abdomen and collapsing to the ground.

The man accused of allegedly stabbing Mr Husseini (pictured) was due to appear in court on Tuesday

Victorian Police attend the scene of a fatal stabbing in the Melbourne suburb of Doveton, Friday, July 20, 2018 (pictured)

The confrontation broke out about 9.20pm, ending in Mr Husseini being stabbed with an 'edged weapon' in the right abdomen and collapsing to the ground in the car park (pictured)

Igor Sekuic, a worker at the milk bar, called Triple Zero after witnessing the violent incident, but despite desperate attempts of paramedics, Mr Husseini could not be saved.

Mr Sekuic said he ran out of the store to help Mr Husseini, who at the time was unaware of the extent of his injuries.

Two males are in custody and charges are yet to be laid.

The milk bar employee said the young tradie, a regular customer, 'didn't deserve to die'.

'I was closing up the shop and I saw four people fighting... two seriously,' Mr Sekuic told Nine News.

'They were saying 'F you' and 'F this' and going at each other and wrestling on the ground... Next thing you know, [Sadiq] was stabbed and bleeding.'

Igor Sekuic, a worker at the milk bar, called Triple Zero after witnessing the violent incident

Several witnesses have been interviewed by detectives, with the area remaining closed to the public on Friday

Another eyewitness, a young woman, fled the scene for fear that she might get hurt if she tried to break up the fight.

She woke Friday morning to news a man had been killed in the fight.

Further details of the incident are yet to be determined, with the Homicide Squad investigating the young man's death.

Several witnesses have been interviewed by detectives, with the area remaining closed to the public on Friday.

Police and SES officers have commenced combing streets surrounding the scene in search of a murder weapon.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
LEADERSHIP crisis continues to ravage Young Africans camp amidst reports that the club has calmed down boycotting players.

The Clubs Acting Chairman, Clement Sanga who was said to have played a big role in bringing players back to the camp, yesterday tabled resignation, pointing to life threats as main reason.

Sanga told reporters in a press conference at Protea (Courtyard), Oysterbay in the city that his life was in danger after receiving life threatening messages from people he believed to be staunch supporters of Yanga.

He said threats on his life and his family began after Yanga suffered a humiliating 4-0 loss to Gor Mahia during their third Group D match of the CAF Confederation Cup in Nairobi last week.

Also announced to resign yesterday, is the former official, Abdallah Ahmed Bin Kleb who announced to resign on health grounds. Sanga and Bin Kleibs resignations came a few days after the teams Secretary General, Charles Boniface Mkwasa resigned on health reasons.

I am forced to resign because my life and that of my family are in danger. I am scared stiff, I cant continue leading the club while my life is threatened, Sanga told reporters.

He said he managed to learn there were members of the club planning to carry weapons and invade his home.

It was on Friday when several video clips were being circulated in social media which called members to invade my house and harm my family, he said.

He further added that the message was clear and alarming as some people seriously intended to harm him and his family.

Sanga has been the clubs Acting Chairman since May last year following the resignation of Yusuf Mehboob Manji as the chairman.

Sanga and his chairman, Manji gained the top posts on July 15, 2012 after the election results were released the following day at Diamond Jubilee Hall, Upanga in the city.

Sanga whose post tenure came under campaign, won the clubs Vice-Chairman post after pocketing 1948 votes, beating his opponent Yono Kevela who carved 475 votes.

In that election, Abdallah Bin Kleb, Moses Katabaro, Aaron Nyanda and George were elected as members of the executive committee.

In the second election held in June 2016, Manji regained the post unopposed while Sanga claimed a landslide victory over his opponent, Tito Osoro. In that election, Siza Augustino Lyimo got (1027 votes), Omary Said Amir (1069), Tobias Lingalangala (889), Salum Mkemi (894), Ayoub Nyenzi (889), Samuel Lukumay (818), Hashim Abdallah (727) and Hussein Nyika (770) were elected members of the executive committee.

During the reign of Manji, Sangas leadership job looked easier as his chairmans financial power sorted out all financial and managerial challenges.

Under Manji, Yanga managed to cripple their traditional rivals, Simba most often.
A former rugby league junior player who had cocaine in his pocket while wrestling with security at a nightclub has walked free with a two-year good behaviour bond.

Benjamin Darcy, 29, pleaded guilty in June to charges including assault and possessing drugs at The World Bar in Kings Cross, Sydney.

Magistrate Leanne Robinson accepted his remorse was genuine and acknowledged Darcy had been dealing with a number of emotional issues at the time including 'the loss of perhaps a promising career in the NRL' due to injury.

Former rugby league junior, Benjamin Darcy, was pictured outside Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney on Tuesday

The former NRL hopeful was charged with occasioning actual bodily harm, prohibited drug possession and failure to leave a licensed premise after he was kicked out of the venue in November 2017.

Magistrate Robinson fined Darcy $300 for the cocaine possession and $200 for failing to leave the nightclub.

She noted the assault victim, venue manager Michael Rowney, was 'simply going about' his job.

Court documents state as Darcy was being escorted out, he shoved Mr Rowney 'with both palms forcefully to his face' before knocking him to the ground, leaving him with a busted lip and swelling to his left cheek and eye.

Darcy had pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, prohibited drug possession and failure to leave a licensed premise after he was kicked out of The World Bar in Sydney's Potts Point in November 2017

'It's a difficult job, dealing with intoxicated and potentially drug-affected people. He ought not to have been subjected to this behaviour,' Ms Robinson said.

The ex-Roosters junior had to be pried off the manager by multiple security guards, one of which he also wrestled to the floor.

The ex-league player was 'continually aggressive and abusive' when police arrived, and smelled of liquor.

'He was unable to control the volume of his voice or his emotions,' the police facts state.

Officers handcuffed and searched Darcy, finding 0.76g of cocaine in his jeans.

Darcy's lawyer Ahmad Moutasallem said his client's 'unfortunate emotional state' stemmed from injuries suffered in the preceding years, including shoulder surgery in 2016 which 'spelled the end of his playing days'.

Magistrate Leanne Robinson sympathised with the ex-Roosters junior player and handed him a two-year good behaviour bond

'Everything in his life up until that point was devoted to becoming that elite rugby league player,' he said.

'He was almost there, and his career was cut short.'

Mr Moutasallem said Darcy 'had his life back in order' and had been undergoing drug and alcohol counselling.

He had asked the magistrate to consider not recording a conviction, while the prosecution submitted a good behaviour bond was appropriate.
One of the founders of the Femen feminist protest movement has been found dead in her Paris apartment, the group said on Monday.

Activists from Femen, known for its bold topless protests, said 31-year-old Ukrainian Oksana Shachko had been found on Monday with a suicide note next to her body.

'It is with great regret and deep pain that I must confirm the death of Oksana,' said Inna Shevchenko, one of Femen's leaders, who also lives in the French capital.

Fearless: Oksana (pictured in 2012) was found dead on Monday with a suicide note next to her body

Femen quickly drew attention around the world with its bare-breasted protests against sexism

Another Femen founder, Anna Gutsol, wrote on Facebook: 'RIP. The most fearless and vulnerable Oksana Shachko has left us.

'We mourn together with her relatives and friends,' she said, adding that the group was awaiting 'the official version from the police'.

Shachko was one of four feminist activists who founded Femen in Ukraine in 2008.

Exiled in France since 2013, she had since left the group and was working as an artist.

Operating under the slogan 'I came, I stripped, I won,' Femen quickly drew attention around the world with its bare-breasted protests against sexism.

Their protests eventually started targeting authoritarianism and racism, with Russia's Vladimir Putin a particular target, alongside France's far-right National Front party.

But in recent years the group has struggled with internal divisions as well as legal proceedings against its members.

Oksana Shachko in June 2012. She co-founded the Femen group in Ukraine in 2008

Oksana Shachko is pictured during a protest in Kiev in 2011

Oksana was forced into exile in Paris in 2013. She is pictured being escorted from police car to one of district courts in Kiev in the same year

Femen activist Oksana calls for 'impeachment for the president' during an action in Kiev in 2011

In 2011, Femen said Shachko was among three members 'kidnapped' by security agents and forced to strip naked in a forest after staging a topless protest mocking Belarussian strongman Alexander Lukashenko.

The agents had poured oil over the three women, threatened to set them on fire, and cut off their hair, Femen said.

She was abducted again by unknown assailants during a visit by Putin to Ukraine, according to the group.

Femen's lawyer said Shachko was beaten so badly that she was briefly hospitalised.
Following his Golden Man Booker Prize win for 'The English Patient', published in 1992, Michael Ondaatje has also been named in the Man Booker Prize 2018 long list for his seventh novel 'Warlight'.

The Booker Prize 2018 longlist, that features four debut novels and four authors under the age of 30, also includes cartoonist Nick Drnasos 'Sabrina', becoming the first graphic novel to be selected.

Of the 13 authors included on the Man Booker long list 2018, six are from the UK, three from the US and two each from Ireland and Canada respectively.

In addition to this, seven of those in the longlist are female. Heres everything you need to know about the Man Booker Prize, the 2018 longlist and when the award will be announced.

Michael Ondaatje, Golden Man Booker Prize winner, has also been longlisted for Warlight

What is the Man Booker Prize?

The Man Booker Prize, which launched in 1969, is a literary prize that promotes the best in fiction, and awards the best English language novel published in the UK of the year, according to the official website.

Ion Trewin, the former Literary Director of the Booker Prize Foundation from 2006 until his death in 2015, said that from the start, there was just one criterion - the prize would be for the best novel in the opinion of the judges. And 45 years later that is still a key sentence in the rules, he said in 2013.

Just what youve been waiting for  its the #ManBooker50 song! Can you name all the Man Booker Prize winners in less than a minute? Well @amateuradam can... Enjoy! pic.twitter.com/j20nZPNyQs  The Booker Prizes (@TheBookerPrizes) July 18, 2018

He continued: It is a measure of the quality of the original drafting that the main ambitions of the prize have not changed. The aim was to increase the reading of quality fiction and to attract the intelligent general audience.

Our judges are not confined to any in-group of literary critics, authors and academics, but over the years have included poets, politicians, journalists, broadcasters and actors.

This common man approach to the selection of Man Booker juries is, I believe, one of the key reasons why the intelligent general audience trusts the prize, Trewin said.

The winner of the Man Booker Prize is awarded with 50,000 and all shortlisted authors will also receive a cheque for 2,500 along with a designer bound copy of their book.

2018 marked the 50th anniversary of the Prize and a celebration was held at the Southbank Centre in London in July.

We are pleased to announce our #ManBooker2018 longlist! Watch what our judges had to say and read more here: https://t.co/Cuh2QfU0hn #FinestFiction pic.twitter.com/mLQVDppTH9  The Booker Prizes (@TheBookerPrizes) July 23, 2018

Man Booker longlist 2018

The Man Booker longlist for the 2018 prize has been announced and 13 authors are in the running for the top award.

The selected novels include debuts from Robin Robertson, Sophie Mackintosh, Guy Gunaratne and Daisy Johnson, the latter tying with Sally Rooney as the youngest on the list.

In addition to this, US author Nick Drnasos 'Sabrina' has impressed the jury and has become the first ever graphic novel to enter the long list, riffing on the subject of violence and fake news. Heres the full list of those long listed for the 2018 Man Booker Prize.

Belinda Bauer (UK) - Snap (Bantam Press)

Dubbed by many as the best crime novel theyve read in a long time, Belinda Bauers story follows three children who are left in their broken down car on a summer day by their mother, but she never returns.

Booker judges said: An acute, stylish, intelligent novel about how we survive trauma. Expertly paced, Snap offers a beautiful evocation of the lives of children, and how they perceive and manage tragedy.

Anna Burns (UK) - Milkman (Faber & Faber)

Northern Irish author Anna Burns has been longlisted for her novel 'Milkman', which follows Burns being shortlisted for the Orange prize in 2002 for 'No Bones', which also depicted the ecosystem that emerged during the conflict of the Troubles.

Booker judges said of the book: At the intersection of class, race, gender and sexual violence, it deals with oppression and power with a Beckettian sense of humour, offering a wholly original take on Ireland in the time of the Troubles through the mind of a young girl.

At turns frightening and inspirational, Milkman is stylistically utterly distinctive. #ManBooker2018 judges on Anna Burns Milkmanpic.twitter.com/CAD8Z5wv8b  Faber Books (@FaberBooks) July 24, 2018

Nick Drnaso (USA) - Sabrina (Granta Books)

As the first ever graphic novel to be long listed for the Man Booker Prize, Drnaso was selected by judges who were captivated by his work about a woman who disappears and the 24 hours that follow. With illustrations, this artist presents a tale of violence and fake news conspiracy.

Oblique, subtle, minimal, unmanipulative: the style of the pictures is the books worldview. Drnaso uses images to express an idea about whats invisible  an idea about uncertainty, and the different kinds of holes that missing people leave in our lives, Booker judges said of 'Sabrina'.

Nick Drnaso's 'Sabrina' has become the first graphic novel to be longlisted for the @ManBookerPrize. Read David Terrien's review of a story set in a 'world gone mad' that too closely resembles our own, from our summer issue: https://t.co/xi2CPtBIHm pic.twitter.com/ob28By2OQT  ArtReview_ (@ArtReview_) July 24, 2018

Esi Edugyan (Canada) - Washington Black (Serpents Tail)

Previous shortlister, Esi Edugyan is back in the Man Booker 2018 long list but this time for her novel, 'Washington Black', which is a stunning historical fiction piece about slavery, freedom and adventure.

A dazzling exploration of race in the Atlantic world, which also manages to be a yarn and a chase story. It manages to keep you on the edge of your seat, while making you, as a reader, want to savour every moment, the judges said.

Guy Gunaratne (UK) - In Our Mad And Furious City (Tinder Press)

Guy Gunaratne makes his debut this year with his book, 'In Our Mad and Furious City', which presents a different perspective of the city of London and one that is rarely seen.

The Prize judges referred to this novel as: An ambitious mosaic of virtuosic ventriloquism, Guy Gunaratnes book is an inner city novel for our times, exploring the endurance of social trauma across generations, and conveying the agony and energy of the marginalised, the outsider, and the oppressed.

Daisy Johnson (UK) - Everything Under (Jonathan Cape)

Another author making their debut in the 2018 long list, Daisy Johnson is also one of the youngest in the running for the Man Booker Prize. 'Everything Under' has been described as a fairy tale and tells the story of a lexicographers journey recollecting her childhood.

A hypnotic, mythic, unexpected story from a beguiling new voice. Everything Under is an exploration of family, gender, the ways we understand each other and the hands we hold out to each other  a story thats like the waterways at its heart.

Rachel Kushner (USA) - The Mars Room (Jonathan Cape)

Twice National Book Award nominee Rachel Kushner brings book lovers a noteworthy follow-up to 'The Flamethrowers' and depicts what it means to be poor and female in America, in her newest release 'The Mars Room'.

A novel about gender, class and the absolute corruption of the American dream, The Mars Room explores the meaning of incarceration in our moment. It feels terrifyingly authentic, Booker said.

We're over the moon to wake up to THREE wonderful titles on the #ManBooker2018 longlist - Michael

Ondaatje's Warlight, Rachel Kushner's The Mars Room and @djdaisyjohnson's Everything Under. If your ears have pricked up at these titles, here's a little guide to them  pic.twitter.com/Oxu6NwP04X  Vintage Books (@vintagebooks) July 24, 2018

Sophie Mackintosh (UK) - The Water Cure (Hamish Hamilton)

Sophie Mackintoshs 'The Water Cure' tells the story about three sisters who are stranded on an island in a tale reminiscent of Shakespeares King Lear.

Booker judges said: This chilling, beautifully written novel explores the ways in which extreme parental protection can fail, and unpicks patriarchy at its core, forcing us to ask what it means to survive, indeed whether it is possible to survive, in a mans world.

Michael Ondaatje (Canada) - Warlight (Jonathan Cape)

2018 Golden Man Booker Prize winner Michael Ondaatje has caused controversy after also being longlisted for the Prize for another novel, 'Warlight'. The author of 'The English Patient' also plays with the theme of childhood and absent parents in his new book.

Wonderfully atmospheric, beautifully paced, subtle storytelling. Warlight contains an incredible array of characters through whom Ondaatje tells the hidden, barely spoken, tale of war, especially as it impacts on children, the judges said.

Richard Powers (USA) - The Overstory (William Heinemann)

'The Overstory' by Richard Powers tells the story of an air force loadmaster who is shot out of the sky into a banyan tree during the Vietnam War and this is just one of the many narratives that carry the follow up to 'The Echo Maker', which won the National Book award in 2006.

An ecological epic, a novel of ideas, The Overstory begins with five apparently distinct narratives and then binds them into a compelling network of connections, the Booker judges said.

Robin Robertson (UK) - The Long Take (Picador)

Scottish poet Robin Robertsons 'The Long Take' is a novel in verse that follows a Canadian who has been recently demobilised after the war.

A book about a man and a city in shock, its an extraordinary evocation of the debris and the ongoing destruction of war even in times of peace. Robin Robertson shows the flexibility a poet can bring to form and style.

Sally Rooney (Ireland) - Normal People (Faber & Faber)

Sally Rooneys second novel 'Normal People' has been long listed for a Man Booker Prize and also makes her one of two youngest authors on the list, at age 27.

Her book has been described as a very intimate character study of two young people trying to figure out how to love each other, Normal People is written in compressed, composed, allusive prose that invites you read behind the lines.

Donal Ryan (Ireland) - From a Low and Quiet Sea (Doubleday Ireland)

'From a Low and Quiet Sea' is divided into four parts, the first three of which include characters with very different stories.

A deft, unshowy novel about manhood and momentous contingency, it evokes the way in which real lives unfold and wrap around each other.

When is the Man Booker Prize announced?

The shortlist of six books will be announced on September 20, 2018 and the winner of the 50,000 prize will be announced at a gala event on October 16.
Donald Trump summed up his trade policy in four words on Monday  'Tariffs are the greatest!'  just one day before he's scheduled to meet with the president of the European Commission, which is aligned against his economic priorities.

Jean-Claude Juncker will visit the White House on Wednesday as the U.S. president threatens to impose a new round of trade penalties on America's adversaries and allies alike.

'Either a country which has treated the United States unfairly on Trade negotiates a fair deal, or it gets hit with Tariffs. Its as simple as that,' Trump wrote on Twitter.

President Trump began Tuesday by gushing about trade tariffs, which have become a signature part of his economic foreign policy

'Tariffs are the greatest!' Trump declared, as he awaits the European Union's president one day from now

He repeated his frequent claim that America is a 'piggy bank' that the world's major economic powers are regularly robbing, a view that suggests the U.S. has less to lose than the nations he's trying to stare down.

The president's first tariff salvo this year focused on steel and aluminum, but now the fight is threatening to spill over into car and car parts imports.

European Union Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said last week that the EU would 'think out of the box' to find a way to counter Trump and avoid a massive transatlantic trade war.

'We are preparing a list of rebalancing measures,' Malmstrom said in Brussels. 'Similar moves on cars would be disastrous.'

Malmstrom will accompany Juncker to the White House.

'Tariff measures on cars are neither wanted or warranted,' she said. 'They are at best a solution in search of a problem. At worst they are an illegal move to gain leverage in trade negotiations.'

Trump signaled Tuesday that he disagrees.

'Countries that have treated us unfairly on trade for years are all coming to Washington to negotiate,' he boasted in a tweet.

'This should have taken place many years ago but, as the saying goes, better late than never!'

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is set to visit Washington on a trade mission Wednesday, hoping to persuade Trupm to scuttle his tariff plan

The president gloated that trading partners 'are all coming to Washington to negotiate'

Trump's focus on China, too, has proceeded in a straight line without showing signgs that the White House is willing to take an off-ramp.

On Friday he said he's considering a massive tariff package against Beijing that would be as large as all of China's exports to the U.S. combined.

'I'm not doing this for politics. I'm doing this to do the right thing for our country,' Trump said then. 'We have been ripped off by China for a long time, and I told that to President Xi.'

Canada, too, has felt the sting of Trump's 'greatest' tariffs on steel and other imports, prompting a tit-for-tat $13 billion response from Ottawa.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the move 'totally unacceptable,' framing tariffs on industrial metals as a senseless risk for the U.S. military even as the White House justified the tariffs on national security grounds.

'Canada is a secure supplier of aluminum and steel to the U.S. defense industry, putting aluminum in American planes and steel in American tanks,' he said.
China police have detained the chairwoman of Changsheng Bio-technology Co Ltd, a vaccine maker accused of falsifying data in a pharmaceutical scandal that has shocked the country this week.

More than 215,000 children in China may have been injected with faulty mandatory vaccines after the company had reportedly sold at least 252,600 doses of substandard DPT vaccine to the province of Shandong in east China.

So far, there have been no reports of injuries or side effects from the vaccines, according to authorities. However, Chinese premier Li Keqiang has vowed a thorough investigation into the scandal.

Hundreds of thousands of children in a Chinese province may have been effected with faulty vaccines (file photo). The jab, DPT, is mandatory for all children in China and costs 40p

China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) announced late Sunday that it had ordered all production stopped at Jilin-based Changchun Changsheng Bio-technology (file photo)

According to a police statement, the company's chairwoman, known by her surname Gao, as well as four other high-ranking employees were placed in criminal detention yesterday.

Ten other people from the company who are involved in the case have also been detained, state media said on Tuesday.

'The Changchun new district public security bureau has detained 15 people, including the chairwoman and others, who are involved in the Changsheng case,' the People's Daily and CCTV said in similar reports.

The news came to light when a snap investigation on July 5 by the government revealed that Changsheng Bio-technology, one of the country's biggest vaccine makers, had been fabricating records for its rabies vaccine production.

The firm also sold 252,600 doses of ineffective DPT vaccines to inoculate children against diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus. The jab is mandatory for all children in China and costs 3.8 yuan (40p).

Regulators found that Changchun Changsheng Bio-technology (pictured) had fabricated production records and product inspection records during production of its rabies vaccines

The Jilin-based company has been ordered to stop all its rabies vaccine production (file photo)

The scandal has shaken public trust in the government and sparked fierce criticism online across the country.

China's censors and regulators struggled to stay abreast of the public's response when the news first broke, deleting articles and postings on WeChat about the vaccine industry as state media tried to take control of the narrative.

However, response from the public intensified. The topic page on twitter-like Weibo with the hashtag 'Changsheng vaccine case' has been viewed over 680 million times on Monday.

China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) announced late Sunday that it had ordered the Jilin-based Changchun Changsheng Bio-technology to stop all production.

China is hit regularly by quality-control scandals, fuelling fear over the safety of food and medicines and anger at regulatory lapses.

In 2008, six infants died and 300,000 babies fell ill after drinking milk powder tainted with melamin, a chemical compound used in plastic and fertiliser production.
A former priest convicted of indecently assaulting three boys has revealed that the Catholic Church still financially supports him and even bought him a new car.

Robert Francis Flaherty, 75, was convicted in 2013 of the assaults from the 1970s and 1980s and he spoke candidly with A Current Affair on Tuesday about the charges.

Flaherty said the first instance was in 1972 when he indecently touched a 14-year-old choir boy at his church. He claims the boy consented to the 'mutual touching'.

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Robert Francis Flaherty, 75, (pictured) a former priest convicted of indecently assaulting three boys, has revealed on TV that the Catholic Church still supports him financially and even bought him a new car

The second charge related to another incident a decade later where Flaherty indecently assaulted another 14-year-old boy in Mollymook on the NSW south coast.

In this case Flaherty said he was only trying to cover the boy from the cold when he 'touched him outside his pants'.

'It was caused by carelessness, lack of judgement, lack of self-control,' he said.

In a startling confession, Flaherty said the church had maintained its financial support for him, paying his bills and even buying him a 2017 Kisa Cerato.

However Flaherty said it was standard practice in the church to support retired priests financially.

A third victim, Dwayne, who was only 11 years old when he was indecently assaulted, spoke out against Flaherty and said he was 'flabbergasted' by the assault.

He said the incident was shocking enough but it was actually the way Flaherty attempted to cover it up that shocked him the most.

Robert Francis Flaherty, 75, was convicted in 2013 of the assaults from the 1970s and 1980s

Dwayne said the priest would tell him that no one would believe a small boy over the word of a priest, especially the church.

While speaking openly about two of the assaults that brought him convictions, Flaherty still denied having every assaulted Dwayne.

Flaherty said he had no recollection of any indecent assault of the boy and said he could only ever recall having applied vapor rub to the boys back.

'I did want an apology, would have liked an apology from him that never came,' Dwayne said.

In a startling confession Flaherty said the church had maintained its financial support for him, paying his bills and even buying him a 2017 Kisa Cerato (pictured)

The Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney could not be contacted immediately by Daily Mail Australia.

However a spokeswoman for the church told A Current Affair that research suggested convicted offenders who were financially supported were 'less likely to re-offend'.

The organisation also admitted to financially supporting two other priests convicted of sexual abuse.
The European Commission offered on Tuesday to fund the cost of taking in migrants from boats in the Mediterranean, in an effort to entice more countries to shoulder the burden after Italy's new government closed its ports to rescue vessels.

Under the proposal, the Union's common budget would pay out 6,000 (5,350) for each person taken in.

However, far-right Italian interior minister Matteo Salvini has already dismissed the plan.

Italian interior Minister Matteo Salvini is part of Italy's new populist government which was elected amid popular anger over migration. He has dismissed the EU's financial incentives for taking in migrants saying Italy 'doesn't need charity'

He said: 'If they want to give money to someone else let them do so, Italy doesn't need charity.

'We want to stop the inflows in order to clear the backlog of hundreds of thousands of people.

'We are not asking for money but for dignity and we are recovering it with our own hands.'

Mr Salvini is a member of the anti-immigrant League - part of Italy's new populist government which was elected amid popular anger over migration.

Migrants intercepted aboard eleven toy dinghies off the coast in the Strait of Gibraltar, rest after arriving on a rescue boat at the port of Tarifa, Spain

The Italian government did, however, agree to continue accepting migrants rescued at sea until the bloc finds a solution for sharing responsibility.

The Commission proposed a pilot phase to be launched as quickly as possible and said a 'controlled centre' taking in migrants could count on hundreds of personnel ranging from interpreters to asylum experts, all paid for by the EU.

The set-up would allow for quick screening of arriving migrants, mostly from Africa, and sending back of those who do not qualify for asylum, the Commission said.

It would also prevent migrants from skirting registration rules and heading straight to the most sought-after destinations, including Germany and Sweden.

In parallel, the Commission presented a proposal for 'regional disembarkation platforms' that would likely be located outside of the European Union to process migrants rescued at sea.

It hopes this would discourage migrants from boarding EU-bound smuggler boats.

The plans remain vague and do not mention any potential host countries, although they are most likely to be in north Africa.

The Commission is proposing any 'controlled centre' taking in migrants could count on hundreds of personnel ranging from interpreters to asylum experts, all paid for by the EU

EU ambassadors were set to discuss the disembarkation centres on Wednesday with no sign that any of those countries will agree to them.

This follows a June leaders' summit which claimed success in reaching a hard-fought agreement to control immigration, yet left many details undecided.

EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said: 'We are ready to support member states and third countries in better cooperating on disembarkation of those rescued at sea.

'But for this to work immediately on the ground, we need to be united - not just now, but also in the long run.'

The bloc's divisive political crisis over migration returned in the last few weeks despite a sharp drop in migrant arrivals due to aid-for-cooperation deals with transit countries Libya and Turkey.

Irregular migration also has fallen steeply since 2015, when more than a million people entered the EU, but polls show it is still a top concern for many of the EU's 500 million citizens.

The governments of Italy and Germany in particular are under heavy pressure at home to ensure fewer migrants come into their territory from across the Mediterranean, while eastern European leaders are bitterly opposed to taking them in.

Poland and Hungary have refused to admit migrants under an agreement to relocate within the bloc asylum seekers from Greece and Italy, which was struck in 2015 at the height of the migration crisis - Europe's worst since World War II.

In the past week alone, Spain has accepted 1,200 migrants from boats in the Mediterranean, while Italy has prevented migrant rescue ships from docking in its ports

However, Italy has recently been closing its ports to humanitarian rescue ships, saying it is bearing an unfair proportion of asylum seekers.

By publishing its proposals, a Commission spokeswoman said it was seeking 'a truly shared regional responsibility in responding to complex migration challenges', although governments have yet to come forward to host new centres.

Spain, France and Malta may see the greatest benefit given that they have recently been taking in some arrivals from boats that Matteo Salvini has rejected.

In the past week alone, Spain has accepted 1,200 migrants from boats in the Mediterranean.

In a recent example of European divisions on the issue, both Italy and Malta turned away one boat with 60 migrants on board earlier this month, forcing it to dock eventually in Barcelona.

EU leaders warn that divisions over migration - which has fuelled rising populism and authoritarianism - could damage or even destroy the EU project.
The guessing game of who will be the next White House press secretary is heating up again despite no visible signs from Sarah Huckabee Sanders that she is thinking of leaving.

Officials, however, are said to be preparing for what they see as her inevitable departure from the high-stress, high-stakes, high-profile job of being the spokesperson for President Donald Trump - a man who likes to do his own communicating, usually via Twitter.

Heather Nauert, the current State Department spokeswoman and former Fox News host, is said to be a favorite for the position with Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host who's dating Donald Trump Jr., in the dark horse position.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders has shown no visible signs she's leaving the job of White House press secretary but officials are said to be planning for life 'without Sarah'

State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert is said to be a favorite to replace her

Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host, is also said to be in consideration

But the fact that Kimberly Guilfoyle is dating Donald Trump Jr. could hurt her chances

But the fact that Guilfoyle is dating Trump's son could complicate her appointment to the job, and several sources told Politico she is unlikely to get the position.

Other names being mentioned include Bill Hemmer, also of Fox News; Treasury Department spokesman Tony Sayegh, a former Fox News contributor; and White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah.

Washington's favorite parlor game of who will replace who heated up again when Politico reported White House officials are contemplating 'life after Sarah.' That reports follows one from CBS News in late June that Sanders was said to be planning her exit.

Sanders has said publicly she has no plans to leave but that hasn't stopped advisers for planning for her departure.

Bill Shine, who joined the White House earlier this month as its deputy chief of staff for communications, is said to be quietly soliciting opinions about who could succeed Sanders, sources told Politico.

Shine, however, denied he has been doing so.

'I have not had a meeting or discussion about this,' he told the news website. Shine also praised Sanders and said she was a 'total team player.'

Shine and others in the White House are said to want a press secretary in the mold of the late Tony Snow, a former Fox News anchor who served as President George W. Bush's spokesman.

Snow had the respect of the White House press corps but was also able to spar with them.

Shine, a former senior vice president at Fox News, is expected to draw on his connections there when looking for candidates.

There is some general consensus that the next White House press secretary should be someone who understands how to deal with the press, has some experience and credibility, has a good relationship with Trump and looks the part.

hite House deputy press secretary Raj Shah is said to be in consideration for the job

Fox News host Bill Hemmer's name has been mentioned for the position

Trump will have a starring role in choosing his next spokesperson.

And while Sanders had made no moves to suggest she is going, the speculation is she will depart after the midterm election or sometime toward the end of the year.

This month marks one year on the job for Sanders, who took the position in July 2017 after Sean Spicer left the job.

She is seen as an effective advocate for the president but her highly visible presence behind the lecture at the afternoon briefings has made her a target.

At the White House Correspondents Association Dinner in April, comedian Michelle Wolf lasered in on Sanders, calling her 'Aunt Lydia' from 'The Handmaiden's Tale' - among other insults.

Sean Spicer, who Sanders replaced, and Tony Sayegh, spokesman for the U.S. Treasury Department, are seen in July 2017 at the White House. Sayegh is said to be on the list for the White House press secretary gig

The job of White House press secretary is high-profile, high-pressure and high-stakes

'I actually really like Sarah. I think she's very resourceful. Like she burns facts, and then she uses that ash to create a perfect smoky eye. Like maybe she's born with it, maybe it's lies. It's probably lies,' Wolf said.

'And I'm never really sure what to call Sarah Huckabee Sanders, you know? Is it Sarah Sanders, is it Sarah Huckabee Sanders, is it Cousin Huckabee, is it Auntie Huckabee Sanders? Like, what's Uncle Tom but for white women who disappoint other white women? Oh, I know. Ann Coulter,' she added.

And, in late June, Sanders was asked to leave the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Virginia, because the staff did not agree with Trump's policies.

CBS News reported in late June Sanders and Shah were planning their departures with Sanders telling friends that she plans to leave at the end of the year.

Sanders pushed back hard on that, tweeting 'I love my job and am honored to work for @POTUS.'
New sketches have been released of two unidentified young men who were victims of notorious Chicago serial killer John Wayne Gacy 40 years ago.

The highly detailed facial reconstructions of the victims were released on Monday as part of a years-long effort to identify Gacy's remaining unknown victims.

Gacy raped and murdered young men and boys in a horrendous crime spree in Cook County, Illinois between 1972 and 1978.

He was arrested in 1978 and convicted of murdering at least 33 people before being executed in 1994.

Six of his victims still haven't been identified.

These sketches were released on Monday of two young men, dubbed John Doe #10 (left) and John Doe #13 (right), killed by notorious Chicago serial killer John Wayne Gacy between 1972 and 1978

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children worked with the Cook County Sheriff's office to create the new images of Gacy's two victims.

The first victim, dubbed John Doe #10, is believed to be aged between 17 and 21. His skeletal remains were found with Gacy's other victims in a crawl space under his ranch-style house in Norwood Park on December 26, 1978.

John Doe #10 is believed to have died sometime between 1972-1978.

Police say the victim was between 5'7'  5'11' tall and had sustained an injury to his left clavicle prior to his death that had healed well over time. Forensics found the victim also had a few dental fillings.

The second victim, referred to as John Doe #13, was a white male aged between 18-22 years. His remains were also discovered in the crawl space the following day on December 27, 1978.

Gacy raped and murdered young men and boys in Cook County, Illinois between 1972 and 1978. The serial killer, above in 1992, was executed in 1994

Gacy is known as one of history's most bizarre serial killers, largely because of his work as an amateur clown. He is pictured left following his 1978 arrest and right in an undated photo

The victim stood at approximately 5'9'  6'02' tall and had dark brown, wavy hair.

Police noted that one of his upper teeth was displaced behind another tooth and it was a characteristic that would have been noticeable to those who knew him. He is also believed to have died between 1972-1978.

Authorities revealed in 2011 that they were undertaking a new effort to identify the remains of eight Gacy victims.

The agency said at the time that DNA testing that wasn't available when the remains were found in 1978 could help in their efforts.

Sheriff Tom Dart ordered that the remains of the eight victims be exhumed and asked families of young men who went missing in the 1970s to provide DNA samples.

The first to be identified was William Bundy, a 19-year-old construction worker from Chicago, whose remains were identified weeks after the exhumations in 2011.

Gacy was convicted of murdering at least 33 young men and boys. Some of his victims who were identified are pictured above

Authorities said Gacy was forced to start stacking the bodies in the crawl space under his home (pictured above) because he was killing so many people

Two Gacy victims - William Bundy (left) and James 'Jimmie' Byron Haakenson (right) were identified in 2011 and 2016

A second victim, 16-year-old James 'Jimmie' Byron Haakenson, was identified in July last year. The teenager had left his Minnesota home in 1976 and was last heard from in August of that year.

Gacy is known as one of history's most bizarre serial killers, largely because of his work as an amateur clown.

The Chicago-area building contractor would lure young men to his home by impersonating a police officer or promising them construction work. He often found some of the young men hitchhiking or at bus stops.

He stabbed at least one of his victims and strangled the others. Most of the victims were buried under his home but others were dumped in a river.

Authorities said Gacy was forced to start stacking the bodies in the crawl space under his home because he was killing so many people.

While only two of Gacy's victims have been identified since the launch of the DNA-based investigation, authorities said it had solved cold cases that were not related to the serial killer, including five missing persons who were located alive and two who had died elsewhere in the country.
More Australians than ever are opting to buy properties in the US as rising local housing prices making it increasingly difficult to enter the market at home.

Nearly half of Australian investors, including millennials, are opting for a piece of the American property pie instead of sacrificing their smashed avocados on home soil.

New figures revealed young investors are sending their money offshore in favour of lower entry level price points, higher income yields and greater diversity in choice.

More Australians than ever are opting to buy properties in the US as rising local housing prices making it increasingly difficult to enter the market at home (stock photo)

The 18-28 age group has jumped from two per cent to four per cent in overseas investing, while the 28-38s climbed from six to 10 per cent, according to figures revealed in the Atlas Wealth Management Expat Insights Survey.

In the company's survey of 1774 Australian expats in 65 countries, it found a 29 per cent increase in Australians splashing their cash on properties abroad.

The shift towards joining the American property market is a direct result of Australia being too pricey for what it has available, managing director Brett Evans told news.com.au.

'More recently the demographic of the Australian resident buying an overseas property has changed to a younger investor who either can't afford a property in Australia and/or feels that they have missed the property boom in Australia and is looking for the next opportunity overseas,' Mr Evans said.

Nearly half of Australian investors, including millennials, are opting for a piece of the American property pie (pictured) instead of sacrificing their smashed avocados on home soil

'We believe the increase in the younger demographic is occurring due to the high minimum price point in purchasing Australian property as opposed to the relatively low entry price point overseas.

America was the most attractive to Australian investors at 47 per cent, according to the survey, trailed by Asia at 18 per cent, the United Kingdom at 17 per cent, and the United Arab Emirates at 10 per cent.



It found investors were most drawn overseas by lower entry prices, higher income yields, more diversity and a greater choice in properties.

It found investors were most drawn overseas by lower entry prices, higher income yields, more diversity and a greater choice in properties

The appeal is obvious when comparing the median Sydney house price, about $900,000AUD, with the US which equates to about $250,000.

'In countries like the US there are tax incentives to purchase the property that you live in and this can often be the deciding factor,' Mr Evans said.

Australian millennials have copped flack in recent years following property developer Tim Gurner's claim the generation would be able to afford houses if it stopped paying $19 for smashed avocado.
MOSHI based Uchumi Commercial Bank (UCB) shareholders have something to smile after the Annual General Meeting (AGM) approved 102.50/- per share.

However, the UCB Financial Manager, Mr Samwel Wado said at the banks AGM yesterday that shareholders will pocket 70/- per share with the remaining amount retained to bolster UCB core capital.

Total dividends per share approved have been 102.50/- and as 52.50/- will be retained to increase UCB core capital, the Board is proposing 70/- to be paid as dividends per share, he said.

The dividend paid is for the last year. On his part, the bank Board Chairman, Mr Wilson Ndesanjo, said during the year under review UCB realised net profit of 474m/- compared with 427m/- in the preceding year.

UCB was able to attain high returns reflected by earnings per shares and dividend proposal to be approved and paid per share during this meeting, he said.

Mr Ndesanjo said despite the difficult business environment that banks experienced last year, UCB was able to attain high returns reflected by profit and earnings per shares.

Also, the bank registered total assets worth 31.09bn/-, customers deposits tuned at 22.7bn/-, share capital of 6.8bn/- while having issued loans worth a total of 19.3bn/- to its customers.

The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) official, Mr Msafiri Kuboja commended UCB for positive performance as reflected in its assets, core capital, credit extended to customers.

Moshi town has a total of 15 banks which pose stiff competition but UCB has continued to record success, he said.
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A heatwave has brought record high temperatures to the Southwest, even as heavy rains are expected to cause continued flash flooding in parts of the the mid-Atlantic and Northeast.

Phoenix reached a sweltering 115 degrees on Monday, breaking the previous daily record, and could get as hot as 117 degrees on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

'The Desert Southwest, portions of California and the Pacific Northwest continue to experience this stifling heat wave that will extend into the late week,' the NWS said in a flash bulletin on Tuesday.

Forecasters issued excessive heat warnings to much of Arizona, including parts of Grand Canyon National Park, and extended into parts of Southern California and Nevada. Much of inland California and Western Oregon, including Portland, is under a heat advisory.

Taylor Jeremiah cools off while walking through a fountain early Monday in downtown Phoenix. Parts of Arizona and the Southwest are bracing for the hottest weather of the year with highs this week expected to approach 120 degrees

Phoenix firefighter Juan Rodriguez hands out a cooling neckerchief to morning commuter Arielle Thomas early Monday

Kids wear cooling neckerchiefs given to them by firefighters early Monday in downtown Phoenix

Phoenix could get as hot as 117 degrees on Tuesday, with surrounding areas approaching 120 degrees

The heat wave covers parts of California, Arizona, and Nevada, and the Pacific Northwest will see high temps as well

'Places like Phoenix, AZ will see high temperatures near 117 today and 115 on Wednesday. The Pacific Northwest will also see temperatures in the mid to upper 90s and even 100 in some places,' the NWS said.

'With these dry and hot conditions, elevated fire weather--with critical fire weather conditions for a small portion near Los Angeles, CA--will be possible across portions of the West Coast.'

On Monday morning in Phoenix, firefighters and city officials distributed bright red cloth visors, hand fans and blue-colored cooling neckerchiefs to downtown Phoenix commuters, advising them to stay inside as much as possible.

Fire Capt. Jake Van Hook said the department gets dozens of calls a day about heat-related illnesses during excessive heat warnings.

'They range from someone who just needs to get inside to someone who needs to get urgently to the hospital,' Hook said.

Phoenix city employee Tammy Vo stands by a water mister as she hands out cooling neckerchiefs to commuters on Monday

Maricopa County public health officials say 155 people died in the Phoenix area last year from heat-caused illnesses like heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

'I'm hoping to stay in the air conditioning all day, and I'm planning to take it easy,' said Lisa Kirby, who was visiting Phoenix from Rhode Island for a conference.

Meanwhile, heavy rains pummeled parts of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast early on Tuesday, swelling floods that have forced evacuations, disrupted air travel and cut power.

Water rescues were reported in parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia on Tuesday morning.

In Baltimore County, Maryland, firefighters rescued a special needs child and two adults from a school bus that became stuck in rising waters.

Hersheypark theme park in Pennsylvania closed on Monday after floodwaters from Spring Creek burst the banks

Muddy brown floodwaters in Spring Creek flow beneath the sooperdooperLooper roller coaster, in blue, and the Great Bear roller coaster, in black, at the Hersheypark theme park in Hershey, Pennsylvania on Monday

The Swatara Creek floods part of Route 645 in Pine Grove, Pennsylvania on Monday. Flash flood warnings continue in the area

Flood watches extend from southern New York down to northern South Carolina, including DC, Philadelphia and Raleigh

A jet stream pumping tropical moisture up the East Coast is expected to prolong the rainfall and flood risks through mid-week

Flash flooding was reported in eastern Pennsylvania on Monday, spurring water rescues in Pine Grove and near Hamlin.

In the nearby community of Tremont, a disaster emergency was declared on Monday morning because of flash flooding.

Flash flood watches are in place from Pennsylvania to the Carolinas, including Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC, and Raleigh, North Carolina.

A jet stream pumping tropical moisture up the Eastern Seaboard is expected to prolong the rainfall and flood risks through mid-week.

'Multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms will continue to stream across the Carolinas and into the Northeast--with some of these storms producing heavy rain,' the NWS said.

Flood waters from a storm cover Route 645 and surround a home in Pine Grove, Pennsylvania on Monday

Flood waters from a storm cover Route 645 and surrounds a home in Pine Grove, Pennsylvania on Monday

Abandoned vehicles and picnic tables sit along Route 645 in Pine Grove after flood waters from a storm stalled them Monday

Rain will continue along parts of the East Coast through Thursday, with three to five inches forecast in some places

This map shows the current radar conditions in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast as of 8.35am on Monday morning

'For today, a moderate risk of flash flooding will stretch from coastal North Carolina northward into southwest New York. On Wednesday, the moderate risk will shift into the Northeast and portions of New England.'

About 13,000 homes and businesses were without power in Maryland and Pennsylvania early on Tuesday, Poweroutages.us reported.

Areas in the East were soaked with up to 7 inches over the weekend and several more inches throughout the day on Monday.

Airports along the East Coast experienced delays of up to two and a half hours due to thunderstorms on Monday, including hubs in New York, Philadelphia and Washington DC, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
A Kuwaiti Instagram star who slammed new laws that improve conditions for Filipino domestic workers in her country has refused to apologise, despite being dropped by high-profile collaborators.

On Monday, Sondos Al Qattan addressed the backlash against her on Instagram, where she dismissed it as 'rumours', saying she treats all her employees fairly and does not 'impose long working hours'.

However, she stopped short of an apology - opting instead to thank critics who called her 'beautiful from the outside.'

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Sondos Al Qattan is a make-up and beauty blogger who has 2.3 followers on Instagram and often posts tutorials sponsored by high-profile brands

Al Qattan addressed the furore on Instagram on Monday, but was unrepentant, writing: 'just because you dont agree, doesnt mean that youre right!'

'The fact about having the passport of an employee in the possession of the employer does not in any way give an indication about a human being,' she wrote.

Al Qattan, who has 2.3 million followers, sparked an outcry after she posted a video herself lamenting the fact that 'servants' would have a day off every week and be allowed to keep their passports.

The furious rant went viral, attracting critical comments from social media users in the Middle East and Philippines.

Responding to pressure from critics, Max Factor Arabia have now said they will terminate their lucrative endorsement deals with her.

In a statement to The National, the cosmetics company said: 'Max Factor Arabia was shocked by the comments made by the influencer Sondos Al Qattan.

'Sondos' comments are personal and do not represent either the values or the principles that Max Factor Arabia stands for.

'Max Factor stands for women's empowerment and supporting every woman to express her individuality, irrespective of ethnicity and occupation.

'Max Factor Arabia is taking this incident very seriously and have immediately suspended all collaborations with Sondos.'

Shiseido, a Japanese personal care company who have colloborated with Al Qattan, also said it 'does not support or align with the recent statements made by Sondos Al Qattan.'

MAC, who has featured in Al Qattan's posts, has yet to issue a statement.

Sondos Alqattan ranting about reforms introduced in May to improve conditions for Filipino domestic workers

Make-up artist and Instagram star Al Qattan has 2.3 million followers

In the original post, Al Qattan can be heard saying: 'How can you have a servant at home who keeps their own passport with them?'

She goes on to rage: 'What's worse is they have one day off every week.

'If they run away and go back to their country, who will refund me? Honestly I disagree with this law. I don't want a Filipino maid any more.'

Speaking to AFP, Al Qattan refused to retract her original comments: 'All I said was that the employer was entitled to keep the servant's passport, and that many Kuwaitis and Gulf nationals agree with me,' she said.

'I have the right as a kafil (sponsor) to keep my employee's passport, and I am responsible for paying a deposit of up to 1,500 dinars.'

She also said keeping an employee's passport was not a human rights breach because, 'I did not deprive the employee of her salary or beat her.'

Reforms were introduced in May to protect the rights of Filipino domestic workers in Kuwait, which lies between Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

The agreement followed months of strained diplomatic relations between the two countries over treatment of overseas employees.

In February, the Philippines issued a temporary ban on workers travelling to Kuwait after a 29-year-old Filipino was found mutilated in a freezer in an abandoned flat.

Al Qattan's video, which she filmed while sitting in the front seat of a luxurious car, provoked uproar.

Migrante International, an advocacy group for overseas Filipino workers, said she sounded like 'a slave owner', the Guardian reported.

It added that the social media icon had 'a backward outlook which literally belongs to the dark ages'.

An estimated 660,000 domestic migrant workers are living in Kuwait, which has a population of four million.
A mother from California heard the heartbeat of her 14-year-old daughter for the first time since her death on Friday.

The heart that belonged to the late Isabel Santoro is now pulsing inside the chest of a 60-year-old Oregon woman, identified only as Vicky, whose life it saved after the teen died by suicide two years ago, after being bullied by classmates.

'I wish there was a way we could amplify it for everybody to hear,' the teen's mother, Lauren Santoro, said with a laugh, after first bursting into tears.

'I am so grateful to have that little girl's heart,' Vicky told KOIN News. 'My goal in life is just to make her as happy and proud of me as possible.'

When the two women met on Friday at Donate Life Northwest in Portland, emotions were high for everyone involved.

'I'm so happy to meet you,' Vicky, who lives in Sweet Home, said to Lauren, as the women embraced.

For the moment Lauren had been waiting for, they sat down at a small table and Vicky held a stethoscope to her chest.

Lauren placed the eartips into her ears, and listened for a moment, before covering her face with her hands and bursting into tears.

Lauren Santoro (right), mother of a teen who took her own life after being bullied, heard her late daughter's heartbeat for the first time since her death, on Friday at Donate Life Northwest in Portland, in the chest of Vicky from Sweet Home, Oregon (left)

When Isabel Santoro (pictured) died by suicide at the age of 14 in 2016, her family decided to donated her organs and in doing so, saved the lives of nine strangers, including Vicky

When Vicky was 58, she was told she only had about one week to live before she learned that she'd be getting a new heart

'You hear it,' Vicky said, drawing Lauren in with a hug, and comforting her as she listened for a bit longer.

Lauren may have been crying, but she had a smile on her face.

'Knowing the good that has come from our tragedy has restored hope for myself and my family and has been a comfort to us,' Lauren said.

When Vicky was 58, she was told she only had about one week to live before she learned that she'd be getting a new heart.

'I couldn't walk three feet,' she said. 'I gasped for air constantly,' she said. 'So I went up to [Oregon Health & Science University Hospital] and they said, "You're not leaving."'

But then, the staff notified her that a heart had become available, and it was a perfect match.

'All I could think of was, and I cried over, was someone lost their life, and that's why I get to live,' Vicky said.

'And it's such a humbling experience.'

'I'm so happy to meet you,' Vicky (right) said to Lauren (left), as the women embraced on Friday at Donate Life Northwest in Portland

'You hear it,' Vicky said, drawing Lauren in with a hug, and comforting her as she listened

Although Isabel only lived a short time, she was known as a kind, talented and spirited young woman.

She played in the school band, loved performing in plays, and befriended others who felt alone.

'Isabel your smile and enthusiasm are missed. Thank you for being so kind to my daughter and for taking her in when she didn't have any friends,' Angela Tribe-Scarborough from Lincoln, California wrote on Isabel's legacy page, at the time of her passing in 2016.

'You leave behind a band of people who think wonderful things about you and who remain saddened by your departure. Thank you for sharing your talents and thoughtfulness.'

Isabel's death, while tragic, saved the lives of nine strangers in total, through the donation of her heart, kidneys, liver and skin.

Isabel's death, while tragic, saved the lives of nine strangers in total, through the donation of her heart, kidneys, liver and skin; Isabel is shown at left, at a young age, in her Girl Scouts uniform, and at right, celebrating her 14th birthday

Friends and loved ones shared fond memories of Isabel at the time of her death in 2016

Although Isabel only lived a short time, she was known as a kind, talented and spirited young woman who loved performing and befriended others who felt alone

'The decision to donate Isabel's organs felt natural and right,' Lauren (left) said, pointing out that Isabel (right) had expressed interest in pursuing medicine

'The decision to donate Isabel's organs felt natural and right,' Lauren said, pointing out that Isabel had expressed interest in pursuing medicine.

'We have a family friend, a young girl, years ago who basically died in vain waiting for a heart at Stanford University,' she said.

'This is her contribution to medicine.'

It wasn't until after Isabel's death that her family learned that she had been bullied.

'Children cannot help children in situations like these,' Lauren said. 'They need to appeal to adults that are in their lives.'

As part of her mission to make Isabel proud, Vicky hopes to help 'let word get out about bullying children and what can happen.'

For confidential support in the US, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or click here.

For confidential support on suicide matters in the UK, call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or click here.

For confidential support in Australia, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or click here.
A teacher in Pennsylvania is being investigated by his school district after his extra-curricular activities surfaced in videos showing him wrestling as a Nazi caricature.

Kevin Bean, 36, who works as a teacher at the Spring-Ford Intermediate School, moonlights as a wrestler for the World-Wide Wrestling Alliance under the persona of 'Blitzkrieg: The German Juggernaut.'

The videos, first reported and shared by ProWestling Sheet's founder Ryan Satin show the Spring-Ford Area School District teacher entering the ring waving a flag with the German Iron Cross and making the Nazi arm salute while shouting 'Sieg heil!'

Kevin Bean, 36 (pictured) a teacher, is being investigated by his Pennsylvania school district for his extra-curricular activity of wrestling as a Nazi caricature

Bean wrestles under the pseudonym 'Blitzkrieg: The German Juggernaut, gives the Nazi salute and waves a flag bearing the Iron Cross

The video from the June 23 match in Quakertown has since gone viral.

While the Iron Cross is not a swastika, the Anti-Defamation League lists it in their Hate Symbols Database: 'the Iron Cross is a famous German military medal dating back to the 19th century. During the 1930s, the Nazi regime in Germany superimposed a swastika on the traditional medal, turning it into a Nazi symbol.'

While the majority of the crowd reacts negatively to Bean's character, Satin pointed out, at least one child returns the salute.

'Watching the guy do Nazi salutes on his way to the ring while children in the crowd cheer him on like a good guy is terrifying,' Satin took to his Twitter to share.

Bean has been employed by the district since 2004.

Erin Crew, spokeswoman for the Spring-Ford Area School District, told the Mercury News the administration 'was made aware of a video featuring an employee, outside of the school setting, participating in an amateur wrestling event.'

Mild mannered teacher by day, Bean is a raging caricature of a Nazi by night. The school district is investigating his extra-curricular activities

'Once administrators were made aware of the video they acted immediately to conduct an ongoing internal investigation. As this is a personnel matter, further details will not be addressed publicly.'

However, she added: 'The actions portrayed in this video do not represent the core values of the school district. As an educational organization, we pride ourselves in providing a safe and nurturing learning environment.'

Meanwhile, Dino Sanna, the owner of the WWWA came to Bean's defense calling him a 'good guy and not a hateful person,' who is very religious and maintains close ties to his local church.
The Kremlin was reticent on Tuesday about whether it would accept an invitation from U.S. President Donald Trump to hold a summit with Vladimir Putin in Washington later this year, saying only that the two men had other chances to meet as well.

The Kremlin's failure to swiftly accept Trump's invitation for a Washington summit has been noticeable.

Though Moscow saw the Helsinki summit between the two leaders held last week as a success, the fiercely negative reaction by some U.S. politicians to Trump's performance has taken some in Russia aback.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said that though Washington and Moscow agreed there was a need for another Putin-Trump meeting, Russia had not yet begun any practical preparations for a new meeting.

No go? The Kremlin said it has still to accept Trump's invitation to Putin to the White House in the fall and said other options were available, including a G20 summit in Argentina

Twitter frenzy: Trump has repeatedly hit back at critics and claimed that the 'fake news media' had misrepresented the summit

'There are other options (to meet) which our leaders can look at,' Ushakov told reporters, citing a meeting of G20 leaders in Argentina which starts at the end of November.

'Maybe there will be other international events which Trump and Putin will take part in.'

Ushakov did not explain why Moscow had not yet accepted Trump's invitation. But when he was asked for details about how Trump had behaved at the Helsinki summit, he declined, citing a desire not to inflame what he described as an already overheated U.S. political situation.

'After the (Helsinki) summit you know what kind of atmosphere there is around its outcome,' Ushakov told reporters.

'I think it would be wise to let the dust settle and then we can discuss all these questions in a business-like way. But not now.'

Russia's ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, was also cautious on Friday about the prospects of a new summit, saying only that Moscow was ready to discuss the proposal.

Before the Helsinki summit, Russian state TV expressed unease about the idea of Putin and Trump meeting in Washington, recalling how the U.S. leader had humiliated other foreign leaders, such as French President Emmanuel Macron, on home soil, something he would find harder to do on neutral ground.

For Putin, the fact that the Helsinki summit happened at all was a geopolitical victory, which Moscow interpreted as U.S. recognition of Russia's status as a great power and an overdue U.S. realisation that its interests must be taken into account.

But its hopes of a gradual thaw in troubled U.S.-Russia relations now hang in the balance after Trump faced a squall of criticism at home over his failure to publicly confront Putin over Moscow's meddling in the 2016 election, something Russia denies.

Trump's unexpectedly rapid invitation to Putin to come to Washington for another summit -- only three days after Helsinki -- has only deepened criticism of Trump's handling of Russia, overshadowing the so-far meager results of the Helsinki summit.
Gold Logie winner Grant Denyer has labelled the New South Wales drought as 'situation critical,' pleading with people to recognise the severity and the effect it has on struggling farmers.

In an emotional Facebook post, the former game show host shared a photo showing the dry conditions on his 27-acre farm in Bathurst.

'This is how dry it is at our place,' Denyer said in his post. 'My wife just took this photo of our backyard and paddocks.

'So dry, the kangaroos are drinking out of our dog bowl.

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This is the picture of Grant Denyer's farm he shared with his followers to show them hoe dry conditions had become in

Denyer is pictured here with his wife, Chezzi, on their family farm in NSW

'We're lucky we don't rely on the farm for income but so many in regional Australia do. It's so sad right now. In many places it's the worst drought since records began.'

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the entire country has been gripped by an historic lack of rainfall.

Parts of the country  particularly in eastern states  have experienced the lowest rainfall on record.

At the moment a huge 60 per cent of the state is on drought watch.

Denyer said that the strain this puts of farmers created not just a finical toll but also a mental and emotional one.

'Some families are at breaking point, unable to afford food & with no choice but to shoot their stock so they don't starve & suffer a slow death.'

These emus have been hit by cars - after being forced to look further afield for water - pictures taken near Broken Hill

One farmer in north-western NSW is already planning to shoot all 1200 of his starving sheep and bury them in a mass grave on his barren farm.

Some have turned to alternative sources of food and hydration to keep their livestock healthy.

Just last week a Victorian farmer turned to watermelon as a supplement and on Wednesday a farmer in northern end of NSW had of a load of orange peel for his cattle to feed on.

Denyer also raised the issue of mental health, touching on the clear link between worsening drought conditions and increases in suicide, suicidal thoughts, depression and anxiety.

Denyer is pictured here on his farm during more favourable weather conditions

Cows are dying from starvation and dehydration in normally fertile areas such as Tamworth in NSW's central west (above)

'Mental health issues have risen 70% in our region & suicide by farmers is the most tragic consequence of such a drastic situation.'

'Farmers harvest our food and the materials for the clothes on our back... please think of them. We need them. They need us. That's why we support @ruralaid and @buyabale.'

Farmers are reportedly having to fork out up to $10,000 a week to maintain livestock.

To help alleviate financial pressures, National Australia Bank chief executive Andrew Thorburn announced the bank will stop charging farmers penalty interest if they fall behind on their repayments due to drought.

Here Denyer is pictured with some bulls on his NSW farm before the drought hit

One in three farmers bank with NAB, meaning the other big banks will face increased pressure to join them in making the change.

'This is an investment in agriculture's future and farmers can now vote with their wallets. I hope other Aussie banks follow NAB's lead and get on board,' Mr Littleproud said on Tuesday.

'If you're a farmer whose bank doesn't offer an FMD offset, you can tell them to bugger off because there are banks now which do.'

If you or someone you know needs help, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14. For help with depression, please see Beyond Blue for a list of organisations that can assist.
Residents of one neighborhood New York say that a rabid fox is terrorizing their community after it reportedly attacked three people over the weekend.

The first incident occurred on Saturday when an early morning jogger was bit by the fox on Lee Boulevard in Yorktown at around 6.00am, according to NBC 4.

A second man was attacked in his backyard on North Deerfield Road just a few hours later.

A rabid fox (pictured) in Westchester, New York attacked three people over the weekend and earned a warning from city officials to stay away from the animal

Kathy Coakley (pictured) said she was nipped by the aggressive woodland creature at around 12.30pm on Sunday

Kathy Coakley, the third victim, said she was nipped by the aggressive woodland creature at around 12.30pm on Sunday after she tried to usher it away from her home.

'I walked into the yard, started waving my hands to get it to leave, and it got it charging at me,' Coakley told NBC 4 on Monday.

'It jumped up on me and was scratching at me and trying to bite my arm and my leg,' she added.

According to CBS 2 News, doctors said that her injuries could have been much worse but that her clothing helped protect her skin.

Nevertheless, the ferocious animal still managed to bite her knee, resulting in a trip to the emergency and seven painful anti-rabies shots. She'll be required to return to the hospital for another two treatments.

'It jumped up on me, it was on my arm, and I kind of pushed it away. Fell to the ground, but jumped right back. Kept coming at me,' Coakley said.

The first incident occurred on Saturday when a unidentified jogger was bit by the fox in Yorktown at around 6am (Pictured: leg of unidentified first victim)

Emily Marino (L) told CBS 2 News that she too encountered the fox on Sunday, but managed to get away unscathed while Ted Turner (R) said he saw the fox attack his neighbor

'At one point, I had it pinned on the ground, tried to push it to the side. It tried to bite my hand at that point.'

The Westchester Health Department warned members of the community on Tuesday to be on the lookout for the fox, who officials say has no fear of approaching people.

'Stay alert and closely supervise children and pets when outside,' Health Commissioner Sherlita Amler, MD, said in a statement. 'If you see a fox stay away from it and contact local police immediately.'

Coakley said she was required to take seven painful anti-rabies shots, and is scheduled for two more rounds

The other two victims are also getting preventive rabies treatment, health officials said.

Emily Marino told CBS 2 News that she too encountered the fox on Sunday, but managed to get away unscathed.

'He came right up to my passenger side door,' said Marino. 'You could tell he was rabid. His eyelids were hanging low.'

Westchester resident, Ted Turner, said he witnessed his neighbor get attacked.

'He was over by his pool, came around the corner, and boom, the fox was right on him,' he said. 'He couldn't get it off his leg. He was shaking his foot.'

Health officials are urging members of the community to stay away from the fox and immediately alert local authorities. They also advised to close trash can lids tightly and avoid leaving pet food outside.

For health information visit www.westchestergov.com/health or call the RABIES INFOLINE at (914) 813-5010.
The number of extremists who reject the legitimacy of the German government has increased by more than 50 per cent in the space of a year, the country's domestic intelligence agency said.

The BfV said in its annual report today that the 'Reichsbuerger' movement had increased to about 16,500 people by the end of last year from about 10,000 in 2016.

The Reichsbuerger - or Reich Citizens - movement refuses to accept the rules of post-war Germany.

Its adherents often clash with officials and police and many refuse to pay taxes to the federal government.

The movement is extremely diverse, with its adherents often sharing little more in common than a fundamental rejection of the Federal Republic of Germany. Only about 5 per cent of members are considered far-right extremists in the classical sense. Pictured: A German man sporting a far-right tattoo

Weapons seized on in November 2016 in Solingen, Germany from the radical rightwing 'Reichsbuerger' group, who are growing in number

Many identify with the German Reich of 1871-1918 or assert a form of self-rule similar to the sovereign citizens movement in the United States.

The agency says most of those counted are male, over 40 and strongly attracted to firearms.

But it says only about 5 per cent are considered far-right extremists in the classical sense.

The movement is extremely diverse, with its adherents often sharing little more in common than a fundamental rejection of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Some of those who believe in the old Reich print their own passports and driver's licenses.

They are also known to stockpile weapons, with the BfV adding in its report that some are ready to commit 'serious acts of violence'.

In recent years, some of its adherents have attacked officers during police raids, afterwards claiming they have a right to 'defend their property', Die Welt reports.

After the Second World War, Germany was stripped of vast swathes of territory by the Allies. Pictured: The Soviet flag flies over a defeated Berlin

A police officer was killed after being shot by a Reichsbuerger member during a raid to seize his firearms.

Reich Citizens look at post-1945 Germany as an invention of the victorious powers in the Second World War.

They consider the 1937 borders of the German Empire - which stretched much further east than modern Germany - to still be valid.

After the Second World War, Germany was stripped of vast swathes of territory by the Allies.

More than 12 million Germans were expelled from their homes in Eastern and Central Europe and sent to live in the smaller Germany that we know today.

The German government estimates that between 2 and 2.5 million civilians died during the expulsions.

The Soviet Union and Poland acquired most of the land that was previously settled by Germans, including famous cities like Danzig (which became Gdansk in Poland) and Konigsberg (which became Kaliningrad in Russia).

Reich Citizens wish to see these changes reversed.
Retirees could be forced to pay a one-off lump sum when they finish working to cover their long term care costs, it emerged today.

The proposal is one of several options being considered by new Health Secretary Matt Hancock after he took over a major review of how care is funded.

The plan, revealed by Rachel Sylvester in The Times today, would see people obliged to make a payment for their future care when they retire.

Current workers would be encouraged to save for the retirement charge while people without access to funds would be allowed to defer it until they die - a feature likely to prompt claims it is a 'death tax'.

MailOnline understands the new Health Secretary is 'assessing' ways to overhaul social care but that 'all options are on the table'.

The proposal is one of several options being considered by new Health Secretary Matt Hancock after he took over a major review of how care is funded

Speaking to the Health Committee today, Mr Hancock said the plans would be published by the autumn and would look at adult social care as a whole and not just for older people.

In June, the former health secretary Jeremy Hunt announced the long-awaited care reform package has been delayed yet again.

He said his social care green paper which had been due this week would not now be published until the autumn.

It means there is no end in sight to the scandal under which pensioners face catastrophic care bills which deny their children an inheritance.

Under England's broken care system, people are liable for the full cost of their care until their savings  including housing wealth  are down to just 23,500.

For an average adult in the UK earning 27,000 the contributions would be equivalent to 675 a year

Last year care minister Jackie Doyle-Price was slapped down by Downing Street for saying pensioners should not think of their homes as an asset to pass on.

She was recorded on film saying taxpayers should not be 'propping up' the elderly so they can keep their homes despite building up 'massive' care costs.

The minister told a fringe event at the Tory conference that when it comes to their homes, people see themselves as 'the custodian of an asset to give to their offspring', adding: 'They shouldn't be seen as that.'
Elton John Tuesday blasted Russia and eastern Europe governments for 'discrimination against gays' saying such bigotry was thwarting the fight against AIDS, as scientists announced disappointing results in the quest for a cure.

In a sudden tirade at the second day of a major conference, John, a seasoned AIDS campaigner, gave voice to years of frustration and spoke of the plight of gays who are oppressed in many nations.

'If there wasn't this bigotry and hatred, then this disease could be eliminated far quicker than you could ever think,' John told reporters at the Amsterdam gathering.

'Basically what it comes down to is that these countries are discriminating very badly against LGBT people,' he said, slamming governments for limiting access for lesbian, gay, transgender and bi-sexual people to testing and treatment programmes.

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Elton John said he believed institutional bigotry against AIDS sufferers was preventing a cure from being found

Prince Harry speaks with Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish at the conference

'And it's holding us back, and until we can get that... idea out of our heads that gay people are lesser, then I'm afraid we will still be sitting here in 20 years discussing the same thing.'

It came just hours after he teamed up with Britain's Prince Harry to launch a $1.2 billion initiative Tuesday to 'break the cycle' of HIV transmission dubbed the MenStar Coalition and targeted at young men, among whom infections are on the rise.

The celebrity duo were lending their mega-wattage star power to efforts to end the lingering stigma around HIV, and protect future generations, with many young people who have been born with the virus attending the conference to talk about their struggles.

'Young people are the only age group where HIV infections are rising, not falling,' warned the 71-year-old Elton John, whose foundation has raised some $400 million in the quarter century since it was set up in 1992.

'We have to do much, much more to bring men, especially younger men, more fully into the fold' in order that they also shield their sexual partners, he insisted.

Sir Elton John and partners launched a new Elton John AIDS Foundation fund on Tuesday aimed at preventing and treating HIV in Eastern Europe

Prince Harry hugged a young advocate during a session at AIDS 2018 in Amsterdam on Monday

Some 37 million people live with HIV today, with some 1.8 million new infections recorded last year. But John insisted that if the political will existed, the disease could be eliminated in his lifetime.

Some 15,000 delegates - researchers, campaigners, activists and people living with the HIV virus which causes AIDS - have gathered for a five-day global council of war amid warnings the AIDS epidemic could yet spiral out of control.

A renewed focus on preventing infection, with rates surging in some regions - particularly eastern Europe and central Asia, is critical as the scientific quest for a vaccine and cure continues.

On Monday, researchers reported setbacks in a number of studies and trials.

'A cure remains a top scientific priority,' said researcher Sharon Lewin of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity at the University of Melbourne.

However, 'what we've learnt, I think over the last decade: this is going to be a very difficult scientific challenge.'

Experts on Tuesday reported worrying cases of birth defects among women using a promising new drug, and said that 'feminising' hormone therapy appears to lower concentrations of virus-suppressing medicine in the blood.

Sir Elton, 71, pictured on stage with Prince Harry and young advocates, was on hand to launch a billion-dollar initiative aimed at targeting HIV infections in men in sub-Saharan Africa

A trial to test a new strategy to 'kick' the AIDS-causing HIV virus out of its hiding place in human cells, then 'kill' it, also yielded a disappointing outcome.

Experts this week warned that the epidemic which has killed 35 million people so far, may resurge due to political 'apathy' and a resultant shortage of funding.

Among them are men aged 24 to 35 who are accessing HIV testing and treatment at 'unacceptably low rates,' said Elton John.

'The progress we have fought so hard for is at risk from a dangerous complacency,' Prince Harry warned.

The new initiative was 'inspired by the growing alarm of the rate of new HIV infections among young women' and aimed at 'bravely tackling the root of this problem - the lack of awareness of HIV prevention amongst hard-to-reach young men.'

South African actress Charlize Theron meanwhile also raised a flag for women. The epidemic is 'not just about sex or sexuality,' she said. 'We know it is linked to the second-class status of women and girls worldwide.'

UNAIDS estimates the global fight is short some $7 billion per year.
OVER 10 million Airtel customers can now pay government bills through mobile phone thanks to the partnership with the Government Electronic Payment Gateway (GePG).



Airtel Marketing Director Isack Nchunda said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that Airtel customers can settle various government institution bills at the comfort of their home such as taxes, fees and various charges.



The GePG payment is designed for both Airtel Money users and non-users. I encourage Tanzanians to adopt the payment system as it is safe, convenient and reliable, he said after unveiling the partnership between Airtel money and GePG.



He said the number of Airtel money customers has been growing day by day and thus it was important endorsing the government agenda of financial inclusion and revenue collections.



He added, We continue to support the government on revenue collections by encouraging Airtel money customers pay their taxes and bills instantly through the e-government system that Airtel Tanzania has been connected.
A prowler has been arrested after he was captured on surveillance cameras peering through a 17-year-old girl's bedroom window and scribbling vulgar notes about her body on the glass.

The teenage suspect turned himself into Sanford Police in Florida on Tuesday - a day after authorities released the surveillance video in a bid to identify him.

Police said he was brought in by his parents before being charged with prowling and criminal trespass.

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The teenage suspect turned himself into Sanford Police in Florida on Tuesday - a day after authorities released surveillance video in a bid to identify him

'Investigators were told by the suspect's family that they became aware of the incident after seeing it shared,' Sanford Police said in a tweet.

Authorities were first alerted to the prowler on July 8 when they were called to a home about the writing left on the girl's bedroom window in the middle of the night.

Police then set up surveillance cameras and caught the offender five days later.

The girl's mother, Juanica Fernandes, told WKMG that the prowler first started leaving innocent notes for the teen in the mailbox a month ago.

It escalated with the note written in marker on the window.

Police set up surveillance cameras earlier this month after the girl's family reported that the vulgar note had been scribbled on the glass in the middle of the night

Before the note was found written in marker on the window, the girl had told her mother she felt like someone was watching her

'He basically described how he felt about my daughter's body parts and how it made him feel - in a nasty way,' Fernandes said.

'There's an impression of his face on her window. Creepiest thing is to see someone's left ear and face pressed against your daughter's window, directly pointed at her bed.'

Before the note was found written in marker on the window, the girl had told her mother she felt like someone was watching her.

The teen suspect has not been identified.
The mother of the 22-year-old dancer who lost both her legs in a horrific boating accident in the Bahamas has spoken out for the first time.

Stacey Schaffer Bender, her husband Paul Bender and her daughters Stefanie and Brooke were on a luxurious holiday when the boat they were on caught fire.

The mother-of-two told ABC she and one other woman, who later died, were both launched off the boat as it exploded.

Brooke and Paul managed to escape the blast with minor injuries but Stefanie was stuck in the burning boat.

'I could see the flames, and started scanning who I could see,' she recounted. 'I'm screaming: "Where is Stefanie" over and over, I'm hysterical.'

Stefanie Schaffer (pictured) suffered horrific injuries after a boat she was on during a family holiday in the Bahamas exploded last month. She lost both her legs and is still in intensive care

Her mother Stacey Schaffer Bender, who was also seriously injured, has spoken out about the experience and the guilt she feels for unknowingly choosing the wrong boat

She was eventually freed, but when the Vermont family made it to shore, they found no ambulances, or any medical assistance.

A nearby truck helped to get the two women to hospital, and four of the injured Americans on the boat were immediately airlifted to a hospital in St Petersburg, Florida with the help of the US Coastguard.

Stefanie's injuries were too bad for her to be airlifted, so the family had to wait until she could be to go to the US.

There, the recent college graduate and her mother were both treated. Bender was released a week ago.

Stefanie had fractured her spine, broken both of her pelvic bones, both arms, and had to have both her legs amputated below the knee.

She was placed into a medically induced coma and had about 10 surgeries. Last week, the 22-year-old had one every day.

The boat exploded about 9am on June 30, killing one woman and injuring nine others

Stefanie, pictured with an ICU nurse and a hair stylist, has finally woken up from her medically induced coma, but she is still heavily sedated

While Bender was thrown from the boat, Stefanie was stuck in the burning metal

Though she has now woken up, Stefanie is still heavily sedated in the hospital, and does not know the extent of her injuries.

Bender says her daughter has no idea how badly she has been hurt and that 'she's not going to be happy' when she finds out - but the mother-of-two is just glad her daughter finally opened her eyes again

'She's not going to be happy,' her mother said.

Stefanie is expected to be released from intensive care in the next two weeks, but will need up to a year of rehabilitation and has at least another three months left in her hospital stay.

The family have started a GoFundMe to help with Stefanie's medical expenses.

Bender says she was consumed with fear and guilt before Stefanie woke up, and still feels partly responsible for her daughter's extensive injuries.

'I sat by her bed and would look at her sweet little face and think "I might never see those eyes open again... I just want to see those beautiful brown eyes",' she said of her daughter's time in the coma.

'You wish you'd just made one different decision, and there's guilt that goes along with that.'

Twelve people were on board when the boat exploded. There were 10 Americans and two Bahamians.
A Pennsylvania state advisory board has recommended that Bill Cosby be deemed a 'sexually violent predator', which would require the convicted comedian to undergo counseling and register as a sex offender for life.

The Montgomery County District Attorney's office that prosecuted Cosby requested a hearing on Tuesday so a judge can make the final decision on whether the 81-year-old comedian should be considered sexually violent.

The 81-year-old comedian, who was convicted April 26 of aggravated indecent assault, was accused of drugging and assaulting former Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his home near Philadelphia in 2004.

A Pennsylvania state advisory board has recommended that Bill Cosby (pictured above leaving court in April) be deemed a 'sexually violent predator'

The weekslong retrial included testimony from five other women who were among the dozens to accuse Cosby of similar sexual misconduct.

The former TV star, once known as 'America's Dad' for his portrayal of kindly Dr Cliff Huxtable on 'The Cosby Show', is now under house arrest with a GPS ankle monitor awaiting sentencing.

He is only allowed to leave to visit doctors or lawyers ahead of his September 24 hearing. Cosby faces up to 10 years in prison but his representatives have said he plans to appeal.

The report by the Sexual Offenders Assessment Board, which examined 14 different criteria, is not public.

Copies are given to the prosecutor, defense attorney and court before the hearing and the board's assessor will likely testify about how she made the recommendation.

The Montgomery County District Attorney's office that prosecuted Cosby requested a hearing on Tuesday so a judge can make the final decision

Following news of the board's recommendation, Cosby's victim Andrea Constand tweeted: 'I am very thankful right now'

State law already requires Cosby to register as a sex offender because of the nature of the charge of which he was convicted.

The sexually violent predator classification would require increased treatment in prison and increased notification of neighbors upon release.

A person deemed a predator is subject to lifetime, at least monthly, mandatory sex offender counseling with a treatment provider approved by the state board.

Under Pennsylvania law, a sexually violent predator is a person who has 'a mental abnormality or personality disorder the makes the person likely to engage in predatory sexually violent offenses.'

Following news of the board's recommendation, Cosby's victim Andrea Constand tweeted: 'I am very thankful right now'.

Asked about the assessment board hearing, Cosby's spokesman Andrew Wyatt said: 'We will see them in court'.

It comes after police were called to Cosby's home earlier this month for a noise complaint while he was celebrating his 81st birthday.
The famous Trump baby blimp could soon be flying over Australian skies as demonstrators plan a mass protest to coincide with the US president's visit later this year.

The blimp made global headlines after activists crowdfunded the $30,000 needed to build it and launched it over the 200,000 people who protested against Trump during his recent visit to the UK.

While no date has been set for an Australian visit, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull invited the president to come when they met in February.

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The Trump baby blimp (pictured) may be coming to Australia when the President visits

It is expected that Trump will visit after he attends the Apec summit in Papua New Guinea in November, The Guardian has reported.

And the six-metre-high orange balloon will be waiting to greet him.

Organisers in Australia told the publication they are in talks to bring the blimp to the country when Trump visits at the end of the year.

'We have been in touch with the people that made the blimp and they are actually really keen to have it travel around the world. They're excited to get the blimp to Australia. Now we're just in the process of figuring out how to send it, which won't be too hard.

'We're expecting an absolutely enormous protest. We are expecting this could be one of the biggest protests in Australia in a long time. Our goal, like the goal of the protesters in the UK, is to make Trump feel like he is not welcome here, he said.

New South Wales Greens MP David Shoebridge, who is a member of the organising committee, criticised Turnbull for being too close to the President.

It is expected that Trump will visit after he attends the Apec summit in November

'To date, Turnbull has cuddled up to Trump. If he continues down that path, I believe he will pay a very real domestic political price for it.'

In an interview with The Sun, Trump said he felt 'unwelcome' in London after it was reported the blimp would go ahead.

'I guess when they put out blimps to make me feel unwelcome, no reason for me to go to London.

Organisers are currently working out the logistics of getting it to the country

'I used to love London as a city. I haven't been there in a long time. But when they make you feel unwelcome, why would I stay there?'

London Mayor Sadiq Khan defended his decision to approve a permit for the blimp, saying it was not his place to censor protests.

The blimp caused outrage amongst right wing politicians and activists with former UKIP leader and Trump supporter Nigel Farage labelling it 'the biggest insult to a sitting US president ever'.
The DUP's Ian Paisley faces being the first ever MP to be recalled by voters today after a 30-day suspension for failing to declare 100,000 of free holidays to Sri Lanka was confirmed.

Because of the summer and conference recesses, Mr Paisley will not be allowed back into the Commons until November - cutting Theresa May's majority for months.

The suspension is the longest imposed on an MP in decades and for the first time ever will mean a recall petition is started.

If 10 per cent of Mr Paisley's North Antrim constituents sign it, a by-election will be called - an election the MP has vowed to fight.

The DUP's Ian Paisley (pictured making a grovelling apology to the Commons last week) faces being the first ever MP to be recalled by voters today after a 30-day suspension for failing to declare 100,000 of free holidays to Sri Lanka was confirmed

Because of the summer and conference recesses, Mr Paisely will not be allowed back into the Commons until November - cutting Theresa May's majority for months

The DUP MP made a grovelling apology to the Commons last week after a damning report condemned him for taking two all-expenses-paid trips with his family to Sri Lanka in 2013 without registering them.

In March 2014, the senior Democratic Unionist lobbied against a proposed United Nations resolution to investigate alleged human rights abuses during a civil war on the Indian Ocean island without citing his financial benefits.

Mr Paisley today told his local paper, the Ballymena Guardian, he deeply regretted his actions.

He added: 'There are also some who would have me booted out of Parliament and a by-election called to fill that vacancy.

'They are opportunists, some with questionable motives, and I can tell them that I have no intention of going quietly into the night.

'If a petition leads to a by-election make no mistake about it, I will seek re-election as I have never run away from an election in my life and don't intend to do so now.'

Mr Paisley was on the verge of tears in the House of Commons last week as he issued a grovelling apology for not declaring up to 100,000 of free holidays to Sri Lanka.

The MP was almost overcome by emotion as he said sorry to his constituents in North Antrim for the 'total failure'.

The humble appearance came after the parliamentary standards watchdog recommended he be suspended from the House for 30 days - the longest punishment for decades.

Sri Lanka is renowned for its glorious landscapes and beaches, but the country has long been blighted by violence and claims of human rights abuses (file image)

Mr Paisley took the two lavish holidays in 2013.

The following year Mr Paisley lobbied then Prime Minister David Cameron on a UN resolution about human rights abuses by the authorities in Sri Lanka - again without declaring an interest.

Suspension is the longest since at least the 1930s The recommended suspension of 30 sitting days for Ian Paisley is thought to be the longest since the 1930s. It exceeds the 10 days handed to Tory Derek Conway for expenses abuses in 2008. George Galloway was handed 18 days for questioning the integrity of other MPs in 2007, and Geoffrey Robinson received a three week punishment for failing to declare interests in 2001. John McGovern of the Independent Labour Party was suspended for the 'remainder of the session' after defying the Speaker in 1931. However, it is not clear whether even that exceeds the penalty Mr Paisley is facing. At least two MPs have quit before longer suspensions were imposed on them. Denis McShane was facing a 12 month bar for expenses abuses in 2012, and Patrick Mercer six months in 2014. Advertisement

The cross-party standards committee agreed with commissioner Kathryn Stone that the backbencher's actions amounted to 'serious misconduct' and risked bringing the House of Commons 'into disrepute'.

Making a personal statement in the chamber on Thursday, Mr Paisley admitted that the suspension might mean he cannot return to the Commons until November.

He said he felt 'personal embarrassment' at his 'total failure' and said he was issuing an unqualified apology.

'I had no ulterior motive for that genuine mistake,' he said.

Mr Paisley said he regretted that he had not been able to persuade the standards committee there was no breach of lobbying rules, but said he 'accepted' the report.

Apologising directly to his constituents, Mr Paisley said he took his 'duties as an MP seriously'.

'I hope they will continue to have that confidence in me in the future.'

The sanction will also be a blow for Theresa May - as it effectively reduces her already wafer-thin majority by one.

Mr Paisley had already apologised for what he said was his 'unintentional failure' to register the hospitality, which he estimated was worth 50,000.

The commissioner, who said the cost may have been 'significantly more' than Mr Paisley's estimate, said the Sri Lankan holidays in 2013 included business-class air travel, accommodation at first-class hotels, helicopter trips and visits to tourist attractions for the North Antrim MP and his wider family.

Mr Paisley and his fellow DUP MP pictured outside parliament last year. The sanction will also be a blow for Theresa May - as it effectively reduces her already wafer-thin majority by one

The watchdog's finding read: 'In view of the seriousness of this matter, we recommend that Mr Paisley be suspended from the service of the House for a period of 30 sitting days starting on 4 September 2018.'

The commissioner also said Mr Paisley should now register the holidays with the parliamentary authorities.

What are the Commons rules on MPs registering interests? The House of Commons Code of Conduct states that MPs must declare any visit to a destination outside the UK which 'relates in any way to their membership of the House or to their parliamentary or political activities' and which cost more than 300, unless they have paid for it themselves or out of parliamentary or party funds. The rules state that MPs do not have to register family holidays, as long as they are 'wholly unconnected with membership of the House or with the member's parliamentary or political activities'. Entries in the Register of Members' Interests should cover the cost of travel, hotels, meals, hospitality and car hire, and repeat visits should be registered if their combined value comes to more than 300. Advertisement

Mr Paisley, the son of late DUP founder the Reverend Ian Paisley, is due to address the House tomorrow.

In theory the sanction could see Mr Paisley face a by-election.

Members who are suspended from the Commons for more than 10 days are open to a recall petition.

A by-election would be triggered if 10 per cent of the electorate in Mr Paisley's North Antrim constituency sign that petition.

The investigation was sparked last year when the The Daily Telegraph reported that he accepted two holidays to the Indian Ocean island.

Mr Paisley then referred himself to the standards commissioner for investigation.

The House of Commons Code of Conduct states that MPs must declare any visit to a destination outside the UK which 'relates in any way to their membership of the House or to their parliamentary or political activities' and which cost more than 300, unless they have paid for it themselves or out of parliamentary or party funds.

The rules state that MPs do not have to register family holidays, as long as they are 'wholly unconnected with membership of the House or with the member's parliamentary or political activities'.

Entries in the Register of Members' Interests should cover the cost of travel, hotels, meals, hospitality and car hire, and repeat visits should be registered if their combined value comes to more than 300.
The Trump administration was set to announce billions of dollars in aid for U.S. farmers on Tuesday to help protect them from the repercussions of trade spats between the United States and China, the European Union and others, a source familiar with the plan told Reuters.

The Washington Post earlier reported that the White House was readying $12 billion in assistance, citing two people familiar with the plan.

Politico, citing two sources familiar with the plan, also reported the administration will pay for billions in trade-related aid through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's broad authority and two commodity support programs in a farm bill under consideration in Congress.

The plan comes as Trump speaks at the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention in Kansas City in the heart of the nation's farm country.

Ready for a bailout: Trump, who traveled to Kansas City, MO, on Tuesday, imposed tariffs on imports including steel and will now prepare aid for farmers hit by the countermeasures

Boost for sector: Shares in John Deere went up as the $12 billion bailout fund emerged

Trump declared earlier Tuesday that 'Tariffs are the greatest!' and threatened to impose additional penalties on U.S. trading partners as he prepared for negotiations with European officials at the White House.

Republican senator John Hoeven, from North Dakota, said the funding may need to be approved by Congress and the aid would be temporary.

'The administration is trying to negotiate better trade deals,' he said. 'In the near term is there some relief we can look at? Well, we'll see.'

But the plan magnified objections among many Republicans that the tariffs amount to taxes on American consumers. House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin said lawmakers are making the case to Trump that tariffs are 'not the way to go.'

And fellow Republican senator Ben Sasse, who represents North Dakota, said the plan would spend billions on 'gold crutches.'

'America's farmers don't want to be paid to lose - they want to win by feeding the world,' he said. 'This administration's tariffs and bailouts aren't going to make America great again, they're just going to make it 1929 again.'

The Trump administration has slapped tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese goods in a dispute over Beijing's high-tech industrial policies. China has retaliated with duties on soybeans and pork, affecting Midwest farmers in a region of the country that supported the president in his 2016 campaign.

Trump has threatened to place penalty taxes on up to $500 billion in products imported from China, a move that would dramatically ratchet up the stakes in the trade dispute involving the globe's biggest economies.

Before departing for Kansas City, Trump tweeted that U.S. trade partners need to either negotiate a 'fair deal, or it gets hit with Tariffs. It's as simple as that.'

The president has engaged in hard-line trading negotiations with China, Canada and European nations, seeking to renegotiate agreements he says have undermined the nation's manufacturing base and led to a wave of job losses in recent decades.

The imposition of punishing tariffs on imported goods has been a favored tactic by Trump, but it has prompted U.S. partners to retaliate, creating risks for the economy.

Trump has placed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, saying they pose a threat to U.S. national security, an argument that allies such as the European Union and Canada reject. He has also threatened to slap tariffs on imported cars, trucks and auto parts, potentially targeting imports that last year totaled $335 billion.

During a Monday event at the White House featuring American-made goods, Trump displayed a green hat that read, 'Make Our Farmers Great Again.'

'Tariffs are the greatest!' Trump declared, as he awaits the European Union's president one day from now

The president is meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday. The U.S. and European allies have been at odds over the president's tariffs on steel imports and are meeting as the trade dispute threatens to spread to automobile production.

Shares of farm-related companies rose following reports of the financial assistance, which raised the prospect that farmers will have more to spend on tractors and other farm gear.

Deere & Co rose 4 percent in late morning trading, while Caterpillar Inc and AGCO Corp were up nearly 2 percent ahead of the expected announcement. Soybean futures also rose as traders bet farm aid would improve demand, reducing a current surplus supply.

The USDA did not immediately comment.

Farmers have been a particular target in the current clash over trade policy as other countries seek to retaliate for President Donald Trump's duties on Chinese goods as well as on steel and aluminum imports from the European Union, Canada and Mexico.

Those affected economies have in turn targeted U.S. agricultural products, including soybeans, dairy, meat, produce and liquor.

Some manufacturers will view the subsidies to farmers as 'frustrating,' according to a representative of a manufacturing coalition working on trade issues, speaking on condition of anonymity pending the official announcement.

Manufacturers - particularly any who use steel or aluminum - have also been hit hard by the effects of Trump's decision to levy tariffs on the two metals.

Trump, who has long praised American farmers, earlier on Tuesday defended his trade actions.

'Tariffs are the greatest! Either a country which has treated the United States unfairly on Trade negotiates a fair deal, or it gets hit with Tariffs. Its as simple as that - and everybodys talking!' he wrote on Twitter.

Democratic U.S. representative Jackie Speier of California, a major agricultural state, blasted the Republican president over the reported plan.

'OK @POTUS - you created this mess with your trade war and now you are going to spend $12 billion to placate the farmers that voted for you,' she tweeted.
Aviation experts have questioned the safety of Malaysia Airlines following a disastrous emergency landing in Brisbane.

The plane left Brisbane at 11.20pm on July 18, and was bound for Kuala Lumpur when it was found that the aircraft still had covers on its air speed indicators, which meant the pilots had no idea how fast they were going during the flight.

The flight, which was carrying 226 passengers, turned back to Brisbane after dumping a load of fuel over Moreton Bay, and made a hard and difficult landing at the airport, which left the aircraft's nose wheel damaged.

The flight which was carrying 226 passengers turned back to Brisbane after dumping a load of fuel over Moreton Bay, and made a hard and difficult landing at the airport (pictured route)

Aviation experts are questioning the safety of Malasyia Airlines following a disastrous emergency landing in Brisbane (stock image)

What is a pitot tube? Pitot tubes were invented by Henri Pitot in 1732.

A pitot tube is a wind tunnel which measures how fast the plane is going.

It is an L-shaped device with two holes on it located on the exterior of the aircraft.

The front hole is placed in the airstream.

The side hole measures the static pressure. Advertisement

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has launched an investigation into flight MH134, following its emergency landing last week, stating no flights can take-off until all safety precaution checks are completed, The Australian reported.

It is believed the problem was due to the failure of removing the covers from the pitot tubes, which measure airspeed and altitude, allowing the pilots to know what speed they're travelling at.

Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association secretary Steve Purvinas told the publication that not double checking the small things leads to 'critical failures'.

'If those checks arent happening, they shouldnt be flying a plane,' Mr Purvinas told the publication.

Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association secretary Steve Purvinas said checks need to be performed before the plane takes-off (stock image)

This is not the first time that the airline has made headlines.

In March 2014, Malaysia airlines flight MH370 disappeared while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

An extensive search for the missing flight carrying 239 passengers was called off on May 29, the the US-based firm Ocean Infinity.

Malaysia is expected to release a report into the disappearance of MH370 on July 30, according to ABC News.

A Chinese relative (right) of a missing passenger on Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 reacts as she weeps outside the main gate of the Lama Temple on March 8, 2015 in Beijing, China

Another Malaysia airlines flight made headlines in July 2014.

Flight MH17, which was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, disappeared in July 2014. It was reportedly hit by a Russian-made Buk missile over Ukraine, killing all 298 passengers, including 38 Australians on-board.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has requested negotiations with Russia regarding the incident.

Ms Bishop will also meet with the Malaysian foreign minister in August to discuss MH17, SBS reported.
Australians could be doing more harm than good by purchasing 'pure and natural' bottled water, as new figures reveal some contain dangerous levels of acid.

Water straight from the tap ranked among the best quality for drinking when compared to market leaders like Pump and Mount Franklin, news.com.au reports.

Research carried out by Gold Coast's Griffith University revealed when it came to mineral content, calcium and magnesium, tap water had the highest concentration out of all brands, except Fiji.

Water straight from the tap ranked among the best quality for drinking when compared to market leaders like Pump and Mount Franklin (stock photo)

It also had a PH balance of seven - neutral - where any number below is considered too acidic and potentially harmful for teeth enamel.

Tests found three popular bottled waters, Mount Franklin, Mount Franklin lightly sparkling and Pump contained below safe levels of PH, respectively 4.8, 3.7 and 4.6.

Water bottles are classified as a food product and therefore exempt from regulations and tests which ensure tap water is safe to drink.

Pump and Mount Franklin would not pass safety tests due to the amount of acidity they contain, which is comparable to damage inflicted by coffee and coke.

Sydney-based Natures Best has admitted to charging customers for packaging alone because its product essentially came straight from the tap.

Tests found three popular brands, Mount Franklin, Mount Franklin lightly sparkling and Pump contained below safe levels of PH, respectively 4.8, 3.7 and 4.6 (pictured)

Water scientist Dr Fred Leusch said its labeling 'pure, safe, Australian water' was nothing more than acknowledgement that tap water was safe for drinking.

'I find the name ironic  Nature's Best, pure, safe Australian  it's an acknowledgment that tap water's safe,' he said.

'In the end, I reckon when you're buying this, most of the cost is the plastic container. What's inside is just worth 0.1 of a cent.'

In terms of magnesium and calcium content, tap water had the second highest concentration at 18.5, beaten only by Fiji with 26.0.

When it came to mineral content, calcium and magnesium, tap water had the highest concentration out of all brands, except Fiji (pictured)

On the lowest end of the spectrum was Pump with 7.4, followed by the two Mount Franklin bottles, then Natures Best with an unsurprisingly similar amount to the tap.

Dr Leusch said it was virtually impossible to completely avoid fluoride, given it was evident in even the purest form of water.

He added people should be cautious not to fall for market 'gimmicks' used to persuade them into buying things they don't truly need.

'All our water is eventually from the same place, it's a closed cycle. The water that fills our rivers is actually sometimes fed from the ground, sometimes fed from rainwater  it's all the same water in the end.'
Attorney General Jeff Sessions chuckled along with an audience of high school students on Tuesday as they broke into a chant of 'Lock her up!'  an anti-Hillary-Clinton battle cry that dates from Donald Trump's 2016 campaign.

Speaking at a convention hosted by the conservative Turning Point USA group, Sessions predicted that the teens in attendance wouldn't rely on campus speech codes and other contortions of the First Amendment to express their opinions as college students.

'I like this bunch, I've got to tell you. You're not going to be backing down! Go get 'em! Go get 'em!' he urged. The brief chanting episode broke out moments later.

'Lock her up! Ha! Ha! Well, I heard that a long time on the last campaign,' Sessions laughed, moments before bemoaning universities' failure at 'molding a generation of mature, well-informed adults.'

Attorney General Jeff Sessions laughed along with high school students chanting 'Lock Her Up!' on Tuesday and repeated the phrase himself

'Lock Her Up!' was a 2016 campaign chant meant to rally conservatives around the idea that Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential candidate, should be prosecuted for mishandling classified information on her private, home-brew email server

Trump was elected president 623 days ago. But his supporters' disdain for Clinton, the former secretary of state who lost to him in stunning fashion, hasn't disappeared.

Many Republicans complained bitterly in July 2016 when then-FBI Director James Comey closed the book on a criminal investigation into Clinton's handling of classified information on a home-brew email server.

The 'Lock her up!' chant found its greatest crescendo weeks later during the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio.

Democrats, in turn, carped when Comey resurrected the Clinton email probe less than two weeks before Election Day. But by then Americans on the political right had long concluded that the fix was in at the Justice Department.

Sessions' beef on Tuesday was with university administrators who provided distraught liberal-minded students with special perks after Trump's victory.

Trump initially shied away from repeating 'Lock Her Up!' during his campaign rallies but eventually gave in and said he agreed with the sentiment

'After the 2016 election, for example, they held a cry-in at Cornell, they had therapy dogs on campus at the University of Kansas, and Play-Doh and coloring books at the University of Michigan,' he said. 'Students at Tufts were encouraged to "draw" out their feelings.'

'I can tell you this group isn't going to have to have Play-Doh when you get attacked in college,' Sessions continued. 'When you get involved in a debate, you're going to stand up and defend yourselves and the values that you believe in.'

The irony of the attorney general's swipe at a campus culture of childishness seemed lost on him amid the shouting about incarcerating Hillary Clinton.

'Rather than molding a generation of mature, well-informed adults, some schools are doing everything they can to create a generation of sanctimonious, sensitive, supercilious snowflakes. We're not going to have it,' he scolded.

President Trump resisted joining in the 'Lock Her Up!' chants for about ten days of his 2016 campaign after the slogan first appeared during the Cleveland convention.

In a Colorado rally, however, he turned the corner.

'How do you lie to the FBI, and, I mean, the answer is she lied. How do you lie to the FBI and now you're running for president? Seriously! How do you lie to the FBI and now you're running for president? How does that happen?' he marveled.

That was the cue for a few thousand people to yell the three magic words.

'You know what?' Trump asked in reply. 'I've been saying "Let's just beat her on November 8," but you know what? I'm starting to agree with you!'

'Every time I mention her, everyone screams "Lock her up!"  "Lock her up! Lock her up!" they keep screaming,' he said.

'And you know what I do? I've been nice. But ... I don't have to be so nice anymore. I'm taking the gloves off, right?'
Andrew Schroedermeier, 21, fled a trooper at 12.30am on Sunday in Fargo, North Dakota, after he was caught going 85 mph in a 55 mph zone on Interstate 29. Undated mug shot

A motorcyclist who dashed away from police at 147 mph discovered the hard way that he only had enough gas to go 125 miles.

Andrew Schroedermeier, 21, fled a trooper at 12.30am on Sunday in Fargo, North Dakota, after he was caught going 85 mph in a 55 mph zone on Interstate 29.

The first trooper was forced to give up the chase 15 miles in, before handing over to police in Hillsboro, who chased him at speeds of over 100 mph before stopping the chase near Reynolds.

Another traffic stop was attempted by another police team near Thompson but Schroedermeier again managed to get away, according to a police report seen by The Grand Forks Herald.

Schroedermeier fled across four counties. The first trooper spotted him at Fargo but gave up the chase at Argusville. Another team took over at Hillsboro but also failed to catch him. After a chase by a third group of officers he was caught at Drayton

In this third chase by other officers the motorcyclist reached a top speed of 147 mph on I-29. But after travelling a further 55 miles he ran out of gas and was arrested near Drayton at 1.30am.

Schroedermeier, who was pursued across four counties before he was caught, has been booked into Walsh County Jail facing multiple criminal charges.

His Suzuki SV1000, which has a top speed of 148 mph and a 4.5-gallon fuel tank, was impounded.
TANZANIA Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA) yesterday granted to Vodacom Tanzania a wireless communication that it won through biding recently.

The communication, Radio Spectrum Frequency Resource Licence, was auctioned by TRCA and Vodacom bid for over 10 million US dollars for 700 Megahertz Spectrum.

The auction came after demand for wireless broadband soared due to technological innovation, such as 3G and 4G mobile services, and the rapid expansion of wireless internet services.

TCRA Director General Eng James Kilaba said the licence expire date has been reduced to 15 years instead of 25 years enjoyed in previous days.

He said Vodacom will continue to pay 40,000 US dollars as tax to TCRA every year in the next 15 years of operating the frequency.

Meanwhile, the Minister for Works, Transport and Communications, Mr Isaac Kamwelwe, has challenged telecommunication companies in the country to come up with an alternative measure to tackle mobile phone money conmen.

In recent days a number of mobile money conmen have emerged who send short messages or call and trick phone users to send money thinking are helping their dear ones.

He has issued a one month directive for stakeholders to discuss on how they could refund customers swindled money through their mobile networks by these conmen.

Telecommunication companies should be responsible for [this sort] of cybercrime since customers are losing money through mobile networks.

I believe you really know criminals who involved in this, Mr Kamwelwe who was the chief guest at the soft occasion of handing over the frequency to Vodacom, said.

The Minister further added that he will propose the government to set some regulations that demand all telecommunication companies to refund customers who lose money after being coned through mobile money transaction.

On his part, the Vodacom Tanzania Acting Managing Director, Mr Hisham Hendi, said the assignment of the spectrum will benefit the telco and the country at large.

We applaud the government for endorsing the process and TCRA for administering the successful auction. Having this spectrum will help us in accomplishing our previous 4G network investment plans, he said. TCRA early said the auctioning preparations of the 700 Megahertz Spectrum took one year to accomplish.
French cinema icon Brigitte Bardot met with President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte at the Elysee Palace earlier to discuss animal rights.

The 83-year-old activist was greeted by Brigitte Macron ahead of talks with France's leader who she has previously called out for alleged views on animal cruelty.

Later the three were seen sitting down in discussions as Bardot petted Macron's adopted dog Nemo.

Brigitte Bardot (left) talks animal rights with Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron at the Elysee Palace while petting the French President's adopted dog Nemo

Earlier today Bardot was seen arriving on crutches at the Paris residence of the President where she was greeted by Brigitte

The two Brigittes exchange words at the gates ahead of Bardot's meeting on animal rights with President Macron

Emmanuel Macron has been previously accused by Bardot of having 'no compassion for animals'

Reports say Bardot was looking to address conditions of how certain animals are treated in France.

She wrote to Macron in May after the National Assembly turned down a proposal to install surveillance video at slaughterhouses at voluntary establishments.

Bardot expressed her 'disgust' at Macron's stance on the issue and accused him of 'abandoning campaign commitments'.

She also slammed Minister of Agriculture Stephane Travert for doing 'nothing' to change the 'scandalous conditions' that exploit animals in France.

Bardot, who founded the Brigitte Bardot Foundation in 1986, was 'disgusted' earlier this year when the French National Assembly refused to install CCTV at slaughterhouses

With fellow actress Sophie Marceau, Bardot led campaigns involving 13 animal rights associations that demanded lawmakers improve the conditions of livestock.

Having cameras in slaughterhouses and banning the sale of eggs from caged hens were part of the bill.

Former James Bond girl Marceau and Bardot argued in an open letter that both measures were campaign promises of President Macron.

The legislation would strengthened penalties for animal abuse, such as doubling the possible sentence to one year in prison and a fine of 15,000 euros (13,300).

Animal rights activist Bardot has fronted a campaign that called for the improved conditions of livestock in France

A string of undercover videos in recent years revealed shocking slaughterhouse conditions in France showing various abuses of pigs, cows, sheep and hens.

Under former President Francois Hollande, the lower house of parliament approved a bill ordering cameras in slaughterhouses that would have been a first in Europe.

The law-making process was abandoned when Macron took office last year however.

Macron has a rocky past with Bardot, who previously urged French voters not to vote him into office during his presidential campaign last year.

Last May, Bardot urged French voters not to support Macron during his presidential campaign, noting his 'cold steel eyes' and support for animal breeders

Instead she offered her support for far right leader Marine Le Pen, writing on Twitter in May:

'If Macron wins, animals die! The plans Mr Macron has for animals is mortifying, scandalous, desperate and without any improvement in any field.

'The contempt he gives to animal suffering can be seen in the total lack of empathy reflected in the coldness of his steel eyes.

'Whilst the scandals are increasing, he takes the side of the animal breeders and the hunters against animal rights associations that are fighting with the lobbies that seem to have power over this candidate.

'I invite those who love and respect animals not to vote for Macron!'

Throughout the 1950s and 60s Bardot was the pin-up of French film before retiring from the entertainment industry in 1973.

She was considered a sex icon perhaps best known for the film 'And God Created Woman'.

Away from the screen she has long advocated for the rights of animals and created the Brigitte Bardot Foundation in 1986.
A shop manager has put up posters of suspected shoplifters in his window after becoming fed up with a lack of action to the petty crime by the police.

John Keppie blew up CCTV images and placed home-made posters bearing the word 'thief' in his Bournemouth shop window after he says three girls spat in his face and stole drinks.

The Sweet Thoughts boss in Dorset said he took action after police failed to investigate, despite being offered the footage. But he claims officers have now warned him he could be fined for the posters.

John Keppie (pictured) was shocked when police told him he could be fined for putting the pictures up in his window

Several members of the public have also given the names of the alleged offenders to staff.

But Mr Keppie said that since the three posters appeared he has received a telephone call from the police telling him he isn't allowed to have them up. He could be in breach of the Data Protection Act (2018) and liable to a fine.

His actions come after other shop owners across the country claim police have given up investigating shoplifting incidents due to a lack of manpower. In some cases there has been compelling CCTV evidence.

Mr Keppie said he's 'had enough' and resolved to keep the posters up until somebody comes to remove them.

The shop manager says he's sick of a lack of police action in response to thefts and decided to print off these pictures to shame the suspects

'I've spoken to the police and I know I'm not meant to have them up but until someone actually comes down and makes me take them down then they will be staying up,' he said. 'The three girls came in and stole three drinks from the fridge.

'I gave chase and they actually turned round and spat at me. I told the police but they said they have more important things that they have to deal with.

'One officer came down here and spent literally seven seconds in the shop. Their response did not leave me best pleased.

'I know I'm not meant to have the pictures up but if they're big enough to steal and spit in my face then they're big enough to deal with it.

'One of the things I've done now is send the pictures to every school in Bournemouth and Poole asking if the girls attended there. I didn't need a name, just a yes or no.

'One got back to me and I passed that onto the police but as yet I'm still waiting to hear if anything has happened.

'Shoplifting is a fairly common occurrence and you can spot the ones who do it from the minute they walk in the shop.'

Kevin Strudwick, the crime manager for Bournemouth Business Reducing Crime Partnership, a co-operative of local business, police and council representatives said the 'wanted' posters risked turning the resort into the 'Wild West'.

The shop manager (pictured) says the girls spat in his face after stealing from his drink selection in the store

Mr Strudwick said: 'Unfortunately with Data Protection laws you have to be very careful with what you do.

'Putting "wanted" posters on the wall is returning to the old days of the Wild West. The CPS would not look upon it as the right thing to do and the police would also take a dim view.

'I sympathise with any shop which has sustained losses as they are devastating but you have to follow the laws, simple as that.

'It would be a different story if the shoplifter was convicted and you showed the poster to staff at the back of the store but never on public display.

'You also could have the situation where someone's parents or grandparents could see the poster who had no idea about what had happened, which would a great shock for them.

'The best course of action is to report the incident to the police, make a statement and let them do their job. Putting up posters is illegal.'

Mr Strudwick added that he believes shoplifting in Bournemouth town centre is increasing due to a reduced police presence.

He said: 'I'm not blaming the police but it doesn't take the criminals long to realise that the police presence in the town has gone down.

'You never see officers on the beat and the shoplifters know they can get away with it.'

Last week a security guard was injured while trying to detain an alleged shoplifter outside Debenhams in Bournemouth.

Latest figures reveal that 30 offences of shoplifting were reported to Dorset Police in the month of June.

Chief Inspector Bryan Duffy, of Bournemouth police, said: 'We have a number of different initiatives currently in place for reported shoplifting and encourage people to report it even if there may not be the opportunities to detect or prosecute.

'The figures show that overall incidents are reducing but I understand that this will be little consolation if you feel you are being targeted.'
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner is navigating his way through a political firestorm and fighting accusations he bought votes after it was revealed he was at a church event where one of his political allies handed out $300,000 in cash.

Rauner, the Republican incumbent who's campaigning as an anti-corruption crusader, spoke at the New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church on Chicago's South Side on Sunday with Willie Wilson, a onetime presidential candidate and a 2019 mayoral candidate.

The two men, who are political allies, addressed the congregation with Rauner saying: 'We're honored to help you pay your property taxes. Happy to do it.'

Mayor candidate Will Wilson hands out cash at a church on Sunday

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner is dealing with the political fallout of having been at the church while the cash was being distributed

Then Wilson, standing inside the African American church with stacks of bills, handed out cash to people.

Wilson, who's challenging Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in next year's election, told Politico the money was from his foundation -and that $100,000 of it came from Rauner himself.

But the blatant passing out of cash shocked Chicago, a town infamous for its political corruption, back-room deals, dead voter registration roles, bribes, and scandals.

'It looks kind of skeevy,' Ken Menzel, general counsel at the Illinois State Board of Elections, told Politico.

In the aftermath, in which opponents accused Rauner of trying to buy votes, the governor has turned on Wilson, saying he didn't know of the plan to pass out money and condemned the action.

His campaign said he was not aware cash would be passed out at the event.

'Governor Rauner has supported the Willie Wilson Foundation to help people hurt by the rigged property tax system in Cook County. He was not aware that any cash was going to be handed out at the event,' campaign spokesman Alex Browning told the news site. 'The governor respects Dr. Wilson's philanthropic pursuits, but believes distributing cash is inappropriate for any candidate seeking public office.'

But the opposition pounced.

State Rep. Christian Mitchell, director of the Democratic Party of Illinois, called the situation 'one of the most highly unethical campaign stunts Rauner has ever conducted.'

And Rauner has struggled to explain the questionable optics.

He said on Monday that 'as far as I know,' none of the $200,000 he's given to the foundation over the past year was in the cash Wilson handed out, according to theChicago Sun-Times.

If it was, Rauner said he'll demand its return.

'I think that the idea of handing out cash if you're a candidate for office is outrageous. It should not happen,' he said.

The governor said Wilson asked for a $100,000 donation last year for Wilson's foundation to help families that are struggling and can't pay their property taxes.

'I said I would. I gave him $100,000 last year  and in the last month or two I gave another $100,000 at his request to help people pay their property taxes,' Rauner said.

Wilson, meanwhile, said he's been passing out cash for years and his campaign claims Rauner knew this.

'We've been paying people's property taxes for years,' Wilson told the Sun-Times, adding the money was also meant to help people pay for smaller expenses, like food.

Wilson and Rauner are political allies; with Wilson running for Chicago Mayor next year

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner claims he didn't know Wilson was going to hand out cash at their event

The Illinois State Board of Elections says that since the money was from a foundation and not a campaign fund, Wilson did not break any campaign finance laws.

The Dr. Willie Wilson Foundation's mission is 'to serve the least of these,' according to its website.

Wilson is millionaire businessman who has owned and operated several McDonald's franchises and now owns Omar Medical Supplies. He also produces the nationally syndicated gospel music television program 'Singsation.'

He ran for mayor of Chicago in 2015 and placed third. He was a longshot Democratic presidential candidate in 2016 and won zero delegates.

Rauner is the multi-millionaire former chairman of R8 Capital Partners and former chairman of the private equity firm GTCR.

Election experts say Rauner is not in legal jeopardy but the optics aren't helpful to the candidate, who's facing a tough reelection campaign against billionaire Democrat J.B. Pritzker, of the family that owns the Hyatt hotel chain.

Others say corruption is the normal course in Chicago politics, this one is one for th record book.

'It doesn't even come close to passing the smell test. To be really honest with you,' Burt Odelson, an election attorney, told WGN-TV. 'It is not okay. Especially here in Chicago it's not okay.'
Harlow Higinbotham is an economic consultant who 'married' a Thai woman while his wife remained in the US

A super-rich economist who fathered triplets by his Thai bride and attempted to have his identity hidden in court documents had his 'worthless bid' to protect his 'double life' thrown out by a judge in court.

Harlow Higinbotham and 'wife' Wipaporn Teekhungam have been locked in legal battles across the globe from Thailand to the US and now England after their affair ended in chaos.

Higinbotham was already married when he 'wed' his girlfriend Wipaporn in her native Thailand in 2004.

As well as paying a dowry to her father, he gave her a diamond ring and handed her a credit card, saying she could spend $8,000-a-month.

The Thai bride had found out he was already married one year earlier but went ahead with their own nuptials anyway.

He told her 'she was the perfect age to bear his children', said Mr Justice Nicklin at London's High Court today.

Miss Teekhungam then went through 'intensive, painful and distressing' IVF treatment, to give birth to their triplet sons in 2009, said the judge.

Mr Higinbotham, by then back in America, sent a copy of his passport so that he could be included on the boys' birth certificates and sent their mother an email saying: 'You are my first wife and the best wife by far that I could ever imagine.'

But the relationship broke down and the former couple launched themselves in legal warfare.

Miss Teekhungam won a court order in Thailand to have her husband pay child maintenance, but his American wife then sued her for 2 million.

She described herself as a 'civic leader' and a 'famous person', coming from a 'prominent family'.

She wanted back every penny her husband had paid Miss Teekhungam during their 'affair' and seven-figure damages for her 'humiliation'.

The wife's claim was dismissed by a Thai court in 2015 and the following year, Miss Teekhungham successfully sued in America to enforce the child maintenance payments.

Feeling unsafe in Thailand, she travelled to England in 2013 and settled in Norfolk with her husband, Winton Anthony Perry, added the judge.

The legal battle moved to London after Miss Teekhungham created a Facebook profile in 2014, featuring photos of Mr Higinbotham with their sons.

She said she was just keeping a record of her boys' childhood, but he claimed the profile was 'intended to embarrass him'.

Launching court action, he said the profile was 'a misuse of private information' and breached his confidence and the Data Protection Act.

He claimed the profile was an attempt by Miss Teekhungham to increase the level of child maintenance ordered by the Thai court.

But his ex responded with a witness statement, commenting on his 'virtuallylimitless resources due to his family wealth'.

She alleged that Mr Higinbotham's claim was 'just another action intended by him to bully me into submission'.

Mr Justice Nicklin today dismissed Mr Higinbotham's appeal against an earlier ruling striking out his claim.

The Facebook profile was 'anodyne and inoffensive', and Mr Higinbotham only had evidence that it had been viewed by four people.

The judge added: 'Most rational people would recognise that the chances of keeping secret the existence of a second 'wife' and three children were slim to non-existent.

'It was plain, however, that Mr Higinbotham was confident that he could do so, perhaps relying on the fact that they were over 8,000 miles way from his first wife and life back in Illinois.

'That confidence was misplaced, as he was later to find.'

Harlow Higinbotham was forced to pay child maintenance for three sons after one of many court battles with his ex Thai lover who is now in Norfolk

The profile was taken down just a day after it was found by Mr Higinbotham's American lawyers, the judge added.

Mr Higinbotham said it had caused him 'anxiety and distress' and damaged his 'personal dignity, autonomy and integrity.'

But the judge said his claims that his human rights had been violated were 'difficult to take seriously'.

A US judge had found that Higinbotham had 'used his rather extraordinary resources to attempt to exhaust Miss Teekhungam legal reprentatives.'

Mr Justice Nicklin said that the English claim had 'not been pursued byMr Higinbotham for any legitimate purpose'.

He added: 'In many ways, this case is extraordinary. But it is also very sad. Caught in the cross-fire are three young children.'

'It scarcely needs saying, but bringing this worthless claim against their parents carried the obvious risk of causing harm to those children.'

The judge said it was 'regrettable' that publicity surrounding the case could be potentially damaging to the triplets.

But Mr Higinbotham's attempt to have himself anonymised in the judgment was 'motivated solely by self-interest.'

'He could scarcely have considered the children at all' in seeking anonymity only for himself, the judge added.
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said he thinks President Trump is 'trolling people' with the White House threat to remove security clearances from a host of top former intelligence officials who have criticized the president.

Ryan appeared to brush off the matter after White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Monday that a handful of critics, including former CIA director John Brennan, could lose their clearances. She accused them of having 'monetized' their status.

The hit on Brennan came after the former spy chief said Trump's performance in Helsinki, Finland with Russian president Vladimir Putin amounted to treason.

'I think he is trolling people, honestly,' said Ryan, who is retiring at the end of his term.

House Speaker Paul Ryan said he thinks Trump is 'trolling' critics with the threat to pull security clearances from top senior-level critics

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'This is something that's in the purview of the executive branch, I think some of these people have lost their security clearances, some people keep their clearance that's something the executive branch deals with,' Ryan added. 'That's not really in our purview,' he concluded.

Ryan's dismissal of the issue came after the White House revealed Trump is exploring ways to remove the security clearances of former CIA chief John Brennan, former FBI director James Comey and other Obama era national security officials who have been critical of his administration.

Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul floated the idea and then spoke to Trump about it at the White House Tuesday, he said.

Sanders made the shocking announcement at her briefing on Monday and charged the officials with using their security clearances for political means and financial gain.

Former deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Andrew McCabe, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former Director of the National Security Agency Michael Hayden, and former National Security Advisor Susan Rice are also on the White House list.

Former CIA director John Brennan (L) and former director of National Intelligence James Clapper are in danger of losing their security clearances after angering the president

Former FBi director James Comey no longer has a security clearance

Former deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Andrew McCabe was fired by the Trump administration and lost his security clearance at that time

Sarah Huckabee Sanders made the shocking announcement in her briefing on Tuesday

Former National Security Advisor Susan Rice is on the White House list for losing her clearance

Former Director of the NSA Michael Hayden is under fire from the Trump administration

'The president is exploring the mechanisms to remove security clearances because they've politicized and in some cases monetized their clearances,' she said.

'It's extremely inappropriate, and the fact that people with security clearances are making baseless charges provides inappropriate legitimacy to accusations with zero evidence,' she added.

Rice, who served as national security advisor to President George W. Bush, called Trump's meeting with Putin a 'historic mistake.'

'It was a historic mistake to allow the president of the United States -- not just Donald Trump, but any president, frankly -- to sit for two hours without any notetakers, without any aides present, with one of the most adversarial leaders in the world, relative to the United States,' she told ABC's 'This Week' on Sunday.

It's unclear what she meant by the monetization accusation. Some of the former officials are contributors to news networks, which pay them for their work. She made the statement as her predecessor, Sean Spicer, is engaged in a promotional book tour.

All of the officials mentioned have been deeply critical of the Trump administration in one way or another.

Benjamin Wittes, editor of the Lawfare blog and a friend of Comey's, tweeted Monday that he texted the former FBI boss to ask if he even has a clearance that could be revoked. 'Nope,' Comey responded, he wrote. '.Comey says he was 'read out' when he left government as per normal practice,' Wittes wrote.

'He even recently declined a temporary clearance from the IG to read the classified annex to the IG's recent report. He didn't want to see any classified material lest the president accuse him of leaking it,' Wittes added.

Criticism of Trump John Brennan called the President Trump's comments in his press conference with Vladimir Putin 'treasonous.' Brennan tweeted: 'Donald Trump's press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of 'high crimes & misdemeanors.' It was nothing short of treasonous. Not only were Trump's comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you???' James Comey wrote a book 'A Higher Loyalty' about his time as FBI director and how Trump fired him. His firing resulted in the special counsel examining whether the president was obstructing the investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 election. Comey said of Trump: 'My impression was he looked exactly like he did on television, except he looked shorter to me than he did on television, but otherwise exactly the same.' Andrew McCabe, who was fired by the Trump administration, said of his firing: 'I am being singled out and treated this way because of the role I played, the actions I took, and the events I witnessed in the aftermath of the firing of James Comey.' James Clapper said in December of Trump and Putin's relationship that Putin, a former KBG operative 'knows how to handle an asset, and that's what he's doing with the president.' Michael Hayden responded to a Trump tweet in November attacking CNN and praising Fox News with: 'If this is who we are or who we are becoming, I have wasted 40 years of my life. Until now it was not possible for me to conceive of an American President capable of such an outrageous assault on truth, a free press or the first amendment.' Susan Rice denied a report that she used intelligence for political purposes: 'Absolutely not for any political purposes, to spy, expose, anything.' She also denied leaking any information about former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn: 'I leaked nothing to nobody and never have and never would.' Advertisement

Asked if the White House was doing this because of their criticism, Sanders responded: 'I think you are creating your own story there.'

She added: 'The president doesn't like the fact that people are politicizing agencies and departments that are specifically meant to not be political and not meant to be monetized off of security clearances.'

Sanders didn't have details on how the clearance could be removed.

'As of now we're exploring the mechanism on those specific names,' she said.

At least two of the officials  Comey and McCabe  do not currently have clearances, according to The Washington Post.

Comey hasn't had a security clearance for many months, a source close to him told the paper.

McCabe's clearance was deactivated when he was fired from the FBI, said his spokesman Melissa Schwartz.

'Andrew McCabe's security clearance was deactivated when he was terminated, according to what we were told was FBI policy,' she wrote on Twitter. 'You would think the White House would check with the FBI before trying to throw shiny objects to the press corps...'

Sanders was also asked if the White House was politicizing the security clearance issue as they accused the former intel chiefs of doing.

'The president is not not making baseless accusations of contact with a foreign government and accusing the president of treasonous activity,' she responded.

Clapper went on CNN afterward to call the move 'a petty thing to do.'

'For political reasons this is a petty way of retribution, I suppose for speaking out against the president which I think on the part of all of us, are borne out of genuine concerns about President Trump,' he said.

He added: 'Security clearance has nothing to do with how I or any of us feel about the president. And I don't get the briefings. I don't have access to classified information. It's frankly more of a courtesy that former senior officials get the security clearance. Haven't had a case of using it. Has no bearing on my regard or lack thereof for President Trump or what he's doing.'

And Hayden tweeted whether or not he had a clearance would not affect his work.

'I dont go back for classified briefings. Won't have any effect on what I say or write,' he wrote.

While Clapper and Hayden have said their clearance status doesn't matter, other officials do use their security clearance to perform lucrative consulting work. The threat of losing their status and, therefore, any employment obtained on the contingency of having a clearance, could have a chilling effort on potential critics.

A security clearance requires a security clearance investigation completed within the past 5 years for a Top Secret clearance and 10 years for a Secret clearance, according to the State Department website.

High-level officials also typically keep their clearances for years so they can provide counsel to their successors and be called upon by their advice.

There are 13 guidelines that, if violated, could result in a security clearance being revoked. They include criminal activity, sudden unexplained wealth, helping a foreign government, alcohol or drug addiction, and unauthorized disclosure of classified information.

Any president can classify or declassify information as he see fits. It's unclear if Trump could simply order the clearances revoked.

Sanders' announcement follows Republican Senator Rand Paul's demand that Brennan lose his security clearance.

Brennan has been the most vocal in the wake of Trump's meeting in Helsinki with Putin.

In a series of tweets, Paul charged the former intelligence chief with making money off his clearance and said he would meet with Trump on Monday to demand it be revoked.

Michael Hayden tweeted a loss of security clearance would not affect his work

A spokesperson for Andrew McCabe said he lost his clearance when he was fired

Republican Sen. Rand Paul wants former CIA chief John Brennan to lose his security clearance

Former CIA chief John Brennan said President Trump's remarks in his press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin was 'treasonous'

Sen. Paul charged Brennan with making money off his security clearance

Sen. Paul said he would meet with President Trump on the issue

Sen. Paul tweeted after his meeting with Trump where he appeared to take credit for the move

Paul wrote he didn't think the former officials should use their status for paid speeches or news network contributor contracts

Paul's office did not respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment.

'Is John Brennan monetizing his security clearance? Is John Brennan making millions of dollars divulging secrets to the mainstream media with his attacks on @realDonaldTrump?,' the senator tweeted Monday morning.

He wrote in a later tweet: 'Today I will meet with the President and I will ask him to revoke John Brennan's security clearance!'

It's unclear when that meeting took place but Paul tweeted about it shortly after Sanders' briefing and appeared to take credit for the White House move.

'Just got out of WH meeting with @realDonaldTrump. I restated to him what I have said in public: John Brennan and others partisans should have their security clearances revoked,' he wrote.

He also clarified he didn't think the officials should get speaking fees or network contracts based on their status.

'Public officials should not use their security clearances to leverage speaking fees or network talking head fees,' he wrote on Twitter.

Paul, a maverick GOP senator who does not always have the best relationships with the Republican Party or Trump, has emerged as one of the president's biggest champions on his meeting with Putin.

He also defended Trump's criticism of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, telling CBS News: 'The President has gone through a year and a half of totally partisan investigations - what's he supposed to think?'

The president tweeted his thanks to Paul in return.

Paul plans to travel to Russia in early August on behalf of the administration, according to Politico.

Brennan served as President Barack Obama's CIA director and left the job in January 2017 after Trump was inaugurated.

Since then he has become one of the president's harshest critics.

Brennan soundly criticized Trump after his press conference with Putin in Helsinki last week, calling it 'nothing short of treasonous.'

He also accused the president of being 'wholly in the pocket of Putin.'

'Donald Trump's press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of 'high crimes & misdemeanors.' It was nothing short of treasonous. Not only were Trump's comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you???,' tweeted Brennan.

President Trump has been just as critical of former CIA Chief John Brennan as Brennan has been of him

Sen. Rand Paul has emerged as one of Trump's biggest champions on Russia

He was expressing his fury that the president declined to back the U.S. intelligence community's assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election.

Putin denied Russia had any role in the election.

Trump was asked if he believed his Russian counterpart or his intelligence chiefs. 'I don't see any reason why it would be' Russia, the president said.

'I have great confidence in my intelligence people,' he added, 'but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today. And what he did is an incredible offer. He offered to have the people working on the case come and work with their investigators with respect to the 12 people. I think that's an incredible offer.'

The president later clarified his remarks to say he did believe intelligence assessments that Russia meddled in the 2016 contest.

Trump also fired back at Brennan, slamming him in an interview with Fox News Channel'sTucker Carlson.

'I think Brennan is a very bad guy, and if you look at it, a lot of things happened under his watch,' Trump told Carlson.

'I think he's a very bad person.'

Brennan has not held back in the harsh language he uses to describe the president.

In June op-ed he wrote for The Washington Post, Brennan called Trump a 'snake-oil salesman' who has shown 'mean-spirited, malicious, and highly abnormal behavior.'

Trump fired back then too. He attacked Brennan on Twitter after the op-ed appeared, quoting a former Secret Service agent who appeared on 'Fox & Friends' and called Brennan a liar.
Allison Mack was photographed outside her parents' California home over the weekend, the first time the Nxivm leader has been seen during her house arrest.

In the pictures, a happy and healthy looking Mack steps just outside the front door of the Los Alamitos home to grab an Amazon delivery in shorts and a button-down shirt before immediately heading back inside.

The electronic monitoring bracelet that Mack is required to wear by law was on display as well, wrapped around her ankle along with a wrap that partially obscured the device.

Her brief appearance came just days before four more members of the branded sex-slave cult were arrested on federal charges.

Allison Mack is seen wearing an electronic ankle bracelet as she grabs an Amazon package from the front door of her parents home in Los Alamitos, California

In the pictures, a happy and healthy looking Mack steps just outside the front door home to grab the delivery in shorts and a button-down shirt before immediately heading back inside

The Smallville actress was freed on a $5 million bail after pleading not guilty to sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy and forced labor conspiracy charges related to her involvement in the sex cult NXIVM

Raniere remains behind bars while Mack was able to negotiate her release and had been seeking a plea deal in the case, though it is unclear what came of that and the US Attorney's Office for the Eatsern District of New York has refused comment on the matter.

As part of her release, Mack was ordered to cut off contact with Nxivm cult members as a condition.

That included Nicki Clyne, who is reportedly Mack's wife and still a member of the cult.

Nxivm sources claimed that Mack married Clyne so that the Candaian-born actress could reamain in the United States when she had trouble with her visa.

Mack's communications via mobile phone and online have been limited to just her attorneys.

This is the first time Mack has been seen since she's been on house arrest. Her brief appearance came just days before four more members of the branded sex-slave cult were arrested on federal charges

Allison's parents, Jonathan and Mindy Mack are seen outside of the home

On Tuesday, Mack was seen walking out of Brooklyn Federal Court with her legal team, before making her way through a scrum of waiting photographers and reporters.

She was able to secure the bond thanks to her mother putting up her house as collateral along with a retirement account in addition to Mack's New York home in Clifton Park.

Movers were seen at that property on Monday carrying out Mack's belongings.

Melinda was in court to support her daughter on Tuesday, and will soon be taking her home to Los Alamitos where she will be monitored by officials from the Central District of California.
A 27-year-old store manager who was killed in a firefight after a gunman took hostages at a Trader Joe's in Los Angeles on Saturday was hit by an officer's bullet, police confirmed on Tuesday.

Melyda Corado died in an exchange of gunfire between police and 28-year-old Gene Evin Atkins after the suspect slammed his car into the front of the store in the Silver Lake neighborhood.

LAPD chief Michel Moore said Corado, an assistant manager, ran to the front of the store after hearing the crash and was shot once in the arm while trying to escape onto the sidewalk.

Mely Corado, the Trader Joe's assistant manager who died after being struck in the arm by a police bullet during a gun battle on Saturday

'I'm sorry to report that we've now determined through our forensic investigation that one of the officers' rounds struck Ms. Corado as she was exiting the market and was in close proximity to Atkins,' Moore said.

'Ms. Corado ran back into the store and collapsed behind the manager's desk.'

In deciding whether to open fire, the officers had to consider whether the suspect in what was already a long-running series of violent events would become an active shooter in a market crowded with weekend shoppers, Moore said.

'That is the worst, worst decision that any officer ever wishes to have to make,' the chief said.

Grieving family members, co-workers and customers on Sunday remembered Corado as lively, hardworking and always smiling.

A makeshift memorial of flowers, candles and notes grew on the sidewalk outside of the store.

'I'm sad to say she didn't make it. My baby sister. My world,' her brother, Albert Corado said on Twitter. On Tuesday, he retweeted news stories saying his sister had been hit by a police round.

'Yesterday marks the saddest day in Trader Joe's history as we mourn the loss of one our own,' company spokeswoman Kenya Friend-Daniel said in a statement.

Corado died at the scene after the bullet passed through her body.

A makeshift memorial of flowers, candles and notes grew on the sidewalk outside of the store on Monday

'I'm sad to say she didn't make it. My baby sister. My world,' her brother, Albert Corado said on Twitter

The violence began when Atkins shot his 76-year-old grandmother several times at their South Los Angeles home after she complained about his having too many television sets on, said a cousin, Charlene Egland.

The grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Madison, was taken to a hospital in critical condition. Egland said she had surgery and was improving Sunday.

Madison raised Atkins from the age of 7 and he had never been violent toward her but recently seemed upset and distant, Egland said.

For the past two or three weeks, the two argued over Atkins' girlfriend, who was staying at their home, Egland said.

'She didn't want the girl over there anymore,' Egland added.

Egland said she was walking toward the house when she heard about six gunshots. Another cousin who lives in the house came running from the porch and shouted to Egland, 'I think Gene shot my mama!'

Police said Atkins' girlfriend was grazed in the head by a bullet, but the injury was not life threatening.

Corado died at the scene (pictured on Sunday) after the bullet passed through her body. LAPD has sent their condolences to her family

A note with Corado's likeness among flowers that have been left outside the store following Saturday's hostage siege

Egland ran to call 911 but Atkins allegedly forced his wounded girlfriend into his grandmother's car and drove away.

A stolen-car device helped police track the car to Hollywood but Atkins refused to pull over, police said.

During the chase, Atkins fired at officers, blowing out the car's back window, and there was more shooting before the car crashed into a pole outside the Trader Joe's, followed by another shootout with police, Police Chief Michel Moore said.

Customers and employees dived for cover and barricaded themselves inside storerooms and bathrooms as bullets flew.

Atkins held some as hostages, let some go and then surrendered several hours later.

Trader Joe's worker Sean Gerace was praised for barricading a hallway before helping several co-workers to escape.

Gerace, who was working in the back of the supermarket, took his colleagues into an upstairs storage area after hearing gunfire.

He placed a folding storage ladder outside of a window, helping colleagues escape to safety, he told NBC Los Angeles.

Gene Evin Atkins, 28, (pictured) remained behind bars on Sunday in lieu of $2 million bail, according to police
The leader of Rhode Island's Roman Catholics deleted his Twitter account on Monday.

Diocese of Providence Bishop Thomas J Tobin called the social media platform a major distraction, in what he wrote was his final tweet, shared on Monday.

Tobin aslo called it an obstacle to his spiritual life and an 'occasion of sin' for himself and others.

A screenshot of the tweet, captured before Tobin deleted his account, was posted by JD Flynn, editor-in-chief of the Catholic News Agency and a canon lawyer.

Tobin will continue, however, to have a regular outlet for his opinions in his weekly column, Without A Doubt, which appears in the Rhode Island Catholic Newspaper.

Diocese of Providence Bishop Thomas J Tobin, the leader of Rhode Island's Roman Catholics, deleted his Twitter account on Monday, calling it a major distraction and 'an occasion of sin'

The full text of Tobin's final tweet read as follows:

'A final tweet. Sadly, Twitter has become a major distraction for me, on good days and bad, an obstacle to my spiritual life, an occasion of sin for me and others.

'So, good-bye. If I've offended anyone, I'm truly sorry. If I've helped anyone along the way, thank God.

Tobin wrote on Monday: 'Twitter has become a major distraction for me, on good days and bad, an obstacle to my spiritual life, an occasion of sin for me and others'

In the past week, Tobin tweeted about abortion, air pollution, his dislike of tattoos and his favorite Pope Benedict quote, among other topics

In the past week, Tobin tweeted about abortion, air pollution, his dislike of tattoos and his favorite Pope Benedict quote, among other topics.

Tobin's Twitter username was @bishoptjt, and he had 6,100 Twitter followers before he deleted his account.

A diocese spokeswoman said Tuesday that Tobin was on vacation and couldn't comment.

Tobin still has a Facebook account, where he writes less frequently.
A landmark fracking operation at a site in Lancashire has been given the final go-ahead by the Government, despite an army of local and celebrity campaigners demonstrating against the move.

Shale company Cuadrilla has been granted permission to undertake the controversial process at the site at Preston New Road, subject to certain conditions being met.

Energy and Clean Growth Minister Claire Perry said the company had met all the necessary environmental and health and safety measures in order to give it the go-ahead.

The site has been the subject of ongoing protests from locals and campaigners including celebrities such as Emma Thompson (above)

The firm must also supply the Business and Energy Department with the latest accounts for co-investor Spirit Energy, or a deposit in support of any potential liabilities for decommissioning costs.

Ms Perry said shale gas had the potential to be a new domestic energy source 'further enhancing our energy security and helping us with our continued transition to a lower-carbon economy'.

She said: 'It also has the capacity to deliver substantial economic benefits, both nationally and locally, as well as through the creation of well-paid, high-quality jobs.

'We already have an excellent, long-standing reputation for safe oil and gas exploration.

The drilling rig at Preston New Road shale gas exploration site is in place but had not been activated as local and national campaigners demonstrated against its use. Energy and Clean Growth Minister Claire Perry backed its use believing shale gas had the potential to be a new domestic energy source

Certain conditions had to be met, including supplying the Business and Energy Department with the latest accounts for co-investor Spirit Energy, or a deposit in support of any potential liabilities for decommissioning costs

'Our world-class regulations will ensure that shale exploration will maintain robust environmental standards and meet the expectations of local communities.'

Francis Egan, chief executive of Cuadrilla, said: 'We are very pleased to be the first operator in the UK to have been awarded final consent to hydraulically fracture the UK's first onshore horizontal shale exploration well.

'This is a testament to, and underpinned by, our strong track record of running a world-class shale gas exploration site at Preston New Road, in compliance with robust health, safety, environmental and planning regulations.'

Francis Egan, chief executive of Cuadrilla, said: 'We are very pleased to be the first operator in the UK to have been awarded final consent to hydraulically fracture the UK's first onshore horizontal shale exploration well' (file picure: a protester demonstrates in front of police)

He said the move was a 'win' for Lancashire which had already benefited from more than 10 million of investment as a result of exploration work at the site, and the company would be submitting a consent application for the second well at Preston New Road.

But the site has been the subject of ongoing protests from local people and campaigners who object to hydraulic fracturing - in which liquid is pumped at high pressure deep underground to fracture rock and release gas.

Opponents fear it can cause earthquakes, pollute water, lead to damaging development in the countryside and hit house prices, and is not compatible with targets to cut fossil fuel use to tackle climate change.

Early this month, MPs warned the Government against its plans to deal with planning applications for fracking at a national level, under the nationally significant infrastructure projects regime, saying it would be damaging to local democracy.

Friends of the Earth director of campaigns Liz Hutchins said it had taken seven years for the industry to get to this point, during which time renewables had gone from supplying a tenth of the UK's electricity to a third.

'There is no need to force fracking on this community in Lancashire when the alternatives are so clear,' she said.

'The Government backed the wrong horse. Renewables have cleared the finishing line and have taken the cup while fracking is limping along on the first stretch.'

She added: 'They have also had to really push the boundaries of planning law by trying to change regulations to go all-out for fracking, and they've put everything into resuscitating this nearly dead-on-its-feet industry.'
Shannon Moser, 37, was charged on Monday with luring a minor and sex-related crimes involving two male students in West Fargo, North Dakota

A North Dakota middle school teacher who had students call her Kim Kardashian allegedly sent hundreds of nude Snapchats to two teen boys and had sex with at least one of them.

Shannon Moser, who has four children with her church pastor husband, was charged on Monday with luring a minor and sex-related crimes involving the two male students aged 15 and 16.

Police received an anonymous tip last month that Moser, a science teacher at Liberty Middle School, allegedly had sex with the 16-year-old boy in Rendezvous Park in West Fargo.

Additional tips then came in claiming that the 37-year-old had sent the same boy sexually explicit Snapchat videos and photos.

As part of their month-long investigation, police interviewed the boy but he initially denied having sex with Moser, according to court documents obtained by Duluth News Tribune.

That student later admitted to police that Moser was a family friend and she had allegedly started sending him the nude Snapchats two months ago.

Moser allegedly picked him up last month and drove to the park before pulling over on a gravel road where they had sex.

Moser faced court briefly on Tuesday where her bail was set at $30,000. She was banned from using social media. Photo courtesy of Valley News Live

The student told police the Snapchats then continued but he declined to have sex with her when she allegedly asked on another occasion.

A second boy, aged 15, also told police that Moser had allegedly been sending him explicit photos via Snapchat for a year.

He said he never engaged in physical contact with the teacher, but claims he did receive Snapchat videos of Moser and her husband having sex.

Moser, who had been a teacher at Liberty Middle School for a year, resigned on July 12 - the same day police notified the district of their investigation.

According to school records, some students had complained that others were being allowed to refer to Moser as Kim Kardashian.

Moser was an active member of the River City Church where her husband Brett was a pastor. Brett agreed to be placed on administrative leave in light of his wife's arrest.

Moser, who had been a teacher at Liberty Middle School for a year, resigned on July 12 - the same day police notified the district of their investigation

The church issued a statement on Monday calling the charges 'serious and deeply disturbing'.

'The acts outlined in the charges are a tragic betrayal of the character of a disciple of Jesus Christ,' a statement said.

'We do know that this is a devastating reality for the victims and their families, for the Moser family, for this community that we love, and for the people of River City Church.

'We also know that neither those suffering nor the one who caused the suffering is beyond the reach of Gods grace and the redemptive power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.'

Moser faced court briefly on Tuesday where her bail was set at $30,000. She was ordered not to have contact with the two teens and was banned from using social media.
A CALL has been issued to expedite implementation of the recommendations of the East African Community (EAC) Secretary General fora.

The call was issued in Nairobi, Kenya, by the East African Business Council (EABC) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ms Lilian Awinja at the Sixth Annual EAC Secretary Generals Forum.

Ms Awinja said there is low level of implementation of Secretary General Forum recommendations, failure for some dialogue parties to mainstream regional dialogue committee (RDC) activities in their work plans and inadequate funding to RDC activities from the EAC Secretariat.

She also noted that there is a failure for partner states to hold national dialogue committee meetings except for Kenya, saying that those are among issues hindering positive results and accomplishments of the EAC Secretary General fora.

Out of the previous five EAC Secretary General fora that have been held, the level of implementation of the agreed recommendations is still low as analysis indicates that only 16 per cent have been implemented and 43 per cent partly implemented, Ms Awinja was quoted as saying by a statement made available to the Daily News.

EABC is the current chair of the RDC. The forum, themed Strategising for impact: People-Centred and Market-Driven Integration kicked off yesterday in Kenya.

The forum aims to provide a platform for regular dialogue between the EAC Secretary General and the private sector, civil society and other interest groups on how to improve the EAC integration process.

The forum aims to take stock of the achievements so far, evaluate the progress, identify the challenges and re-focus the implementation process of the consultative dialogue framework with a view to realising a real people centred and market driven integration, Ms Awinja said.

Last year, EABC successfully advocated for the establishment of the consultative dialogue framework to ensure a continuous dialogue between the public sector and the non-state actors sitting on a table to discuss the EAC integration process, bring out the challenges and resolve them jointly.

That was aimed to implement Article 127(4) of the treaty establishing EAC that states that The Secretary General shall provide the forum for consultations between the private sector, civil society organisations, other interest groups and appropriate institutions of the Community.

Article 129 (2) provides for the Council of Ministers to establish modalities that would enable the business organisations or associations, professional bodies and the civil society in the Partner States to contribute effectively to the development of the Community.

EABC has successfully spearheaded the implementation of the Consultative Dialogue Framework through holding the EAC Secretary General CEOs forum, where the Secretary General of the East African Community meets with the EAC Private Sector on a regular basis, listens and resolves their issues, said Ms Awinja.

During the two-day forum, the EABC will discuss with Ambassador Liberat Mfumukeko, Secretary General of the EAC and agree on a clear path to the realisation of the objectives of the consultative dialogue framework as envisaged under article 127(4) of the EAC Treaty.

The Consultative Dialogue Framework Forum for Private Sector, Civil Society and other interest groups in the EAC integration process was endorsed by the EAC Council of Ministers at its 26th meeting in November 2012 in Nairobi, Kenya.

The Framework is guided by the principles of cooperation for mutual benefit, trust, goodwill, active and constructive participation, inclusivity and respect for diverse views, among others.

The EABC is the regional apex body of Private Sector associations and corporates from the six EAC countries, established in 1997 to foster the interests of the Private Sector in the integration process of the EAC.

Being the representative of private sector associations in the region, EABC was granted observer status in organs and activities of the EAC.

EABC participates in various sectoral meetings, meetings of the Coordination Committee, the EAC Council of Ministers and the Summit of the EAC Heads of State.
A heroine lioness invites a pack of hungry wild dogs to attack her, allowing her cub to escape.

Shalin Fernando was on a safari drive through the Moremi Game Reserve in Botswana when she spotted a mum and her cub encircled by the hungry hoard.

The pack of at least nine predators close their circle on the pair, the lioness leaps out at a couple of the dogs inviting the rest of the pack to descend on her.

As the pack focus solely on the mum, the little cub sneaks away and hide in a tree away from the melee.

Shalin said: "I was speechless and worried for the lioness and her cub.

"We spent about half an hour with a beautiful lioness and her cub then moved on looking for wild dogs.

"When arriving on the scene the wild dogs came upon the female lioness and her cub and began threatening them.

The lioness was surrounded by a pack of at least nine wild dogs. Both lioness and cub survived the fight but one dog was seen limping the next day

"According to our guide, all of her previous cubs didn't survive. "The dogs kept on trying to attack but later they gave up and moved on.

"The lioness and her cub were safe.

"We saw the wild dogs the next day and one of the dogs had been bitten and it was limping around."
Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab insisted today the Government was not stockpiling food in case of a no deal Brexit - but hinted industry was getting ready just in case.

Mr Raab said there would be an 'adequate food supply' for the country whatever happened to the negotiations in Brussels.

Ministers have repeatedly played down the risk of shortages in the event of a sudden hard Brexit next March.

There are fears a no deal Brexit could stop imports of food and other supplies, such as medicine, to Britain.

Mr Raab made his latest intervention during an evidence session with MPs on the Brexit committee today.

Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab (left in the Commons today) insisted the Government was not stockpiling food in case of a no deal Brexit - but hinted industry was getting ready just in case

Mr Raab made his latest intervention during an evidence session with MPs on the Brexit committee today (chaired by Hilary Benn, pictured today)

He said he would be 'going out to Brussels on Thursday striving very hard with our team to get the very best deal'.

Asked whether the Government was considering stockpiling food to cope with a 'no deal' Brexit, Mr Raab said: 'It would be wrong to describe it as the Government doing stockpiling.

'What we will make sure - and of course the idea that we only get food imports into this country from one continent is not appropriate - but we will look at this issue in the round and make sure that there is adequate food supply.'

It was claimed yesterday food safety controls could be suspended to prevent perishable goods being delayed at UK borders if no Brexit deal is made, according to a report.

Academics warn the UK could adopt a 'cavalier approach' to safety standards - resulting in EU countries blocking exports from the UK.

It is claimed a Government adviser told them of the plans being developed if delays emerge.

But the Government denied this was true - saying it will not suspend food safety controls regardless of a no-deal scenario.

Britain imports huge amounts of food through the EU every week and there are fears supplies could be cut off by a no deal Brexit

The warnings are contained in the Food Research Collaboration briefing, Feeding Britain: Food Security After Brexit.

In the section entitled 'Preparing for a no deal food Brexit', the report says it believes the UK will need to maintain 'open and unhindered borders' with the EU for food.

It adds: 'The Prime Minister told the Cabinet in July to prepare for no deal.

'She is right but it is already happening in Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) in some worrying directions.

'In recent months, we have learned from a senior Government adviser that plans are being prepared to 'suspend food controls' if there are any delays to imports of perishable foods at our borders.

'We learned too that other policy commentators had been told the same by senior Defra personnel.

'One Government adviser even informed us that the plans were being devised 'to avoid parliamentary scrutiny'.
Sacha Baron Cohen's Showtime series, Who is America?, is seeing an enormous bump in viewership- to the tune of an additional 1.8million viewers after a week of delayed viewing.

The show, which depicts Cohen in various incognito get-ups tricking unsuspecting interview subjects into engaging in outlandish activities and rhetoric, premiered to much lower numbers for the live broadcast on July 15.

Week one's viewership shot from just 327,000 viewers for the live program, with replays and later streaming that day bringing their initial viewing to just over 1million.

'Who Is America?' Sacha Barron Cohen snags major interviews that he conducts in disguise, and gets his famous subjects to participate in outlandish activities, such as Dick Cheney signing a 'waterboard kit.' The show's ratings have skyrocketed since its debut

Sacha Baron Cohen's Showtime series has been a controversy magnet, duping Sarah Palin into an interview dressed as a disabled veteran for one, but the original audience for last week's debut was just around 1million, until it bloomed through the week to 2.8million

However, in the week since- that number bloomed to a total of approximately 2.8million viewers- which factors in the series opener across all platforms (on-air, on demand, DVR and streaming) in the seven days since its premiere, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

In another astonishing bump for Showtime overall, they estimate the premiere of Who Is America? also drove the most signups for its streaming service over any day in all of 2018.

Cohen's first outlandish episode saw both former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin and former Vice President Dick Cheney being duped by Cohen in disguise.

Palin's dupe was particularly controversial, as Cohen's get-up was that of a disabled veteran.

Also during episode one, Cohen was able to convince Cheney into signing a 'waterboard kit.'

The second episode, which aired Sunday, was even more outlandish than the first, and resulted in calls for a Georgia State Republican to step down by members of both parties.

Georgia State Rep. Jason Spencer's appearance on Sacha Baron Cohen's 'Who Is America?' resulted in calls for his resignation

Bachelor star Corinne Olympio was duped into pretending she had done charity work she hadn't

Representative Jason Spencer, 43, appeared on Who Is America? believing he was being taught self-defense to fight off terrorists.

Spencer was seen on the show shouting the n-word multiple times, calling Muslims 'sand n*****s' and 'rapists,' imitating a Chinese tourist by speaking nonsense, and trying to ward off a potential terrorist by ripping down his pants and threatening them with his bare buttocks.

Bachelor star Corinne Olympio was tricked by Cohen who had disguised himself as Gio Madando - a billionaire Italian shutterbug with a taste for the luxe life - and cajoled Corinne into pretending she had done charity work that she hadn't.
A gas station store owner in Florida has been charged with murder after shooting a man in the arm who tried to steal $36 worth of beer.

Mehedeun Hasan, 22, was charged with second-degree murder on Tuesday after Ronnie Dofoe Jr. succumbed to his wounds over the weekend.

Polk County Police said Defoe walked into a Shell gas station last Tuesday and brazenly stole three 18-packs of Natural Ice beer, according to WFTV 9.

Polk County Police said Ronnie Defoe Jr. walked into a Shell gas station last Tuesday and brazenly stole three 18-packs of Natural Ice beer worth $36

Surveillance footage of the incident shows Hasan, 22, retrieve his gun in back of the store after realizing that he's just been robbed

Security cameras show Defoe, 43, calmly putting the beer inside his white sedan before getting into the car and starting the engine

Surveillance footage of the incident shows Hasan, who co-owns the store with his father, retrieve his 9 mm handgun in back of the store after realizing that he's just been robbed.

Security cameras show Defoe, 43, calmly putting the beer inside his white sedan before getting into the car and starting the engine.

As Hasan makes his way outside, he stumbles and drops the weapon before finally catching up to Defoe in the front parking lot pointing the gun directly at him.

According to WFTV, the 43-year-old was shot in the arm and chest as he was backing up his car to leave the gas station.

Police said Defoe made it about a mile before crashing his car.

He was taken to a nearby hospital and died on Saturday while undergoing treatment.

Hasan, who has no prior arrest record, was originally charged with shooting into an occupied vehicle and attempted second-degree murder.

Those charges were upgraded on Tuesday shortly following Defoe's death.

Hasan is currently being held at the Polk County Jail without bond.

Mehedeun Hasan (L), 22, was charged with second-degree murder on Tuesday after Ronnie Dofoe Jr. (R), 43, succumbed to his wounds over the weekend

Defoe, 43, was shot in the arm as he was backing up his car to leave the gas station and later died at the hospital
Levi Cole Ellerbe (pictured) was kidnapped, set on fire and dumped by train tracks on July 17 after his mother was attacked with mace. The infant died the next day of his injuries

A six-month old baby boy was kidnapped, set on fire and dumped near train tracks in Louisiana last week.

Baby Levi Cole Ellerbe was kidnapped on July 17 after two people came to mother Hanna Barker's trailer door just after 9pm and sprayed her in the face with what she believed was mace.

Instinctively, the Barker ran to get away, a statement from Natchitoches police said, and when she went back home, found her infant son was missing.

Police said the search for baby Levi began immediately, with additional officers from surrounding precincts called in to help.

Unfortunately, less than 90 minutes after Levi went missing, police were alerted to a fire nearby the railroad, where they found a badly burned six-month-old boy.

Levi was rushed to Natchitoches Regional Medical Center in a critical condition but died on Wednesday from his injuries.

Felicia Marie-Nicole Smith (pictured), 25, was charged with the first degree murder of Levi on Saturday

Felicia Marie-Nicole Smith, 25, was charged with the first degree murder of Levi on Saturday and booked into the Natchitoches Parish Detention Center.

It is unclear if Smith and Hanna Barker knew each other personally, but the pair are friends on Facebook.

Levi, who had three sisters, Brookelaine, Elizabeth, and Nevaeh, was laid to rest on Friday. His obituary described him as 'the happiest baby who always had a big smile'.

'He spent his time playing with siblings and cousins especially outdoors, watching PJ Masks and video gaming with Uncle J,' the moving tribute read.

'He was an animal lover and anytime he could get his hands on his dog, Rex, he loved to pull his ears.

'Levi was a blessing to our family and everyone who met him. We will always remember him as our little 'Chunky Monkey'.'

Neighbor Kanika Johnson was the one who made the 911 call. She told Town Talk she thought the fire had been started by local children and was nothing malicious.

'I just seen it on fire. I didn't see nobody or nothing,' she said. 'I just thought some kids might have set it on fire or something.'

'I had called the police and told them to hurry up and send somebody to put the fire out before it spreads.

'And [the next day] I found out it was a baby.'

Hanna has been grieving with her mother, Kristy Roberts, and her sister.
Steven Powell, 67, died Monday at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tacoma, Washington

The father-in-law of a long-missing Utah woman whose husband was eyed in a police investigation and later killed himself and his two young children, has died.

Steven Powell, 67, died Monday at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tacoma, Washington, a year after he completed a prison sentence for possession of child pornography.

Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said Powell's death was due to heart problems.

Authorities seeking evidence in Susan Powell's 2009 disappearance searched Steven Powell's home two years later.

Journals and piles of photos found during the investigation suggested that he had a sexual and emotional draw to his daughter-in-law.

Susan Powell disappeared without a trace in December 2009. Her husband claimed he took their two sons (with her above) on a camping trip and she was gone when he returned

Husband Josh Powell (above) was a person of interest in Susan's disappearance and presumed death, but was never charged before his dramatic murder-suicide

Susan Powell remains missing and she is presumed dead. Her family considered Steven Powell the last, most-likely person to know what happened to her.

'She actually moved away to Utah because he was obsessed with her,' Anne Bremner, the attorney representing Susan's parents, told the Seattle Times.

'When he was in jail, we thought he would say something,' Bremner said. 'There are a lot of secrets that will be buried with him.'

Family members held out hope that Steven Powell may have left some notes behind indicating any knowledge he has of the case. His death is the last of several people connected to the case.

The disappearance case remains open but all leads have been exhausted, Utah authorities said Tuesday.

The death of Steven Powell doesn't 'make the case any more or less likely to be solved,' the West Valley City Police Department said in a statement.

Susan Powell was last seen at the home she shared with her husband Josh and their two sons, then aged four and two, in West Valley City in December 2009.

Josh Powell told police that he took the boys on an impromptu camping trip and returned to find Susan missing. But authorities named him as a person of interest as details emerged regarding his dysfunctional marriage to Susan.

The young mother wrote in her journal in 2008: 'If I die, it may not be an accident even if it looks like one ... Take care of my boys.'

After her death, Josh Powell later moved to Puyallup, Washington.

In 2012, he intentionally killed himself and their two young sons, 7-year-old Charles and 5-year-old Braden, in an explosive house fire, investigators say.

The deaths occurred during a custody battle with the parents of his wife.

Josh Powell incinerated his home (above), killing himself and his two young sons

Investigators also eyed Josh Powell's brother, Michael, who they believe helped Josh Powell dispose of his wife's body.

Michael Powell died of suicide by jumping off a parking garage in Minneapolis in 2013.

Michael Powell (above), also a suspect, committed suicide in 2013

Investigators who searched the home of Steven Powell found evidence that he used a telephoto lens to take photos of girls 8 and 9 from his bedroom window, which looked onto their bathroom.

He was convicted of voyeurism and served 30 months in prison.

Following his release, he was found guilty of possessing child pornography on charges that were tossed from the voyeurism trial, but reinstated by an appeals judge.

He was convicted of that crime in 2015 and released from prison last July after serving another two years.

'Michael killed himself, Josh killed himself and his kids  you just look at that broken family and you wonder about Steven Powell,' Bremner said. 'I've never seen a more tragic case.'
Council chiefs today warned the Government was creating a developers' charter that could see local objections to house building ignored to hit targets.

Under new rules unveiled today, housebuilders would be able to ignore local plans for mapping areas for homes if fewer than 75 per cent of those required by Whitehall targets for 2020 are constructed.

It means in some cases developers could be able to override a rejection of planning permission by appealing over local councillors.

Council chiefs today warned the Government was creating a developers' charter that could see local objections to house building ignored to hit targets (file image)

Frack site is approved Fracking at a Lancashire site has been given the final go-ahead by ministers. Shale company Cuadrilla has been granted permission to undertake the process at Preston New Road site, subject to certain conditions. Energy minister Claire Perry said the company met all the necessary environmental and health and safety measures and shale gas had the potential to be a new domestic energy source further enhancing our energy security. Campaigners have objected to hydraulic fracturing  in which liquid is pumped at high pressure deep underground to fracture rock and release gas  fearing it can cause earthquakes, pollute water and hit house prices. Advertisement

The Local Government Association (LGA) claimed the new 'housing delivery test' would 'punish communities' opposed to bad developments.

The test is part of the new national policy planning framework (NPPF) announced by Communities Secretary James Brokenshire on Tuesday.

Mr Brokenshire said the rules would create a planning system 'fit for the future' which married requirements for building numbers, build quality and environmental requirements.

But Lord Porter, chairman of the LGA, said the plan failed to give councils the powers they needed 'to ensure homes with planning permission are built out quickly, with the necessary infrastructure, in their local communities'.

He said: 'It is hugely disappointing that the Government has not listened to our concerns about nationally set housing targets, and will introduce a delivery test that punishes communities for homes not built by private developers.

'Councils work hard with communities to get support for good-quality housing development locally, and there is a risk these reforms will lead to locally agreed plans being bypassed by national targets.

Seven courts to close Seven English courts will be closed to save cash, the Justice Secretary said. Plans to shut down Cambridge Magistrates Court were withdrawn after a public consultation. But Banbury Magistrates and County Court, magistrates courts in Maidenhead, Chorley, Fleetwood, and Northallerton, Wandsworth County Court and Blackfriars Crown Court will all go. Labour accused David Gauke of slipping out the decision on the last day of Parliament. Its whips team tweeted that the Justice Secretary was hiding from scrutiny. Mr Gauke said the Cambridge court plan got the most responses. He added: All money raised from the sale of these buildings will be reinvested into the justice system. Advertisement

'Planning is not a barrier to housebuilding, and councils are approving nine out of 10 applications.

'To boost the supply of homes and affordability, it is vital to give councils powers to ensure homes with permission are built, enable all councils to borrow to build, keep 100 per cent of Right to Buy receipts and set discounts locally.'

In a written ministerial statement Mr Brokenshire told the Commons that the NPPF 'provides greater certainty for local authorities in the decision-making and planning appeals processes', adding: 'A new Housing Delivery Test will also measure delivery of homes, with consequences for under-delivery.'

The British Property Federation said it welcomed the test.

Ian Fletcher, its director of real estate policy, said: 'This will provide a consistent measure against which different local authorities' performances can be compared.

'This is the way that the Government will deliver on its housing promises, and as importantly, cater for a generation that wants to have a home to call their own.'
Donald Trump heard an earful on Tuesday from senators in his own party after his administration pledged to provide up to $12 billion in aid for U.S. farmers to shield them from the effects of trade disputes cultivated by the White House itself.

Through a series of aggressive tariff announcements, the president is fomenting a series of spats with China, the European Union, Canada and other trading partners.

He told a veterans convention in Kansas City that the agriculture sector has 'some of the greatest lobbying teams ever put together' trying to persuade him to spare farmers the impact of a tariff battle, and asked farmers to 'just be a little patient.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican, ran out of patience on Tuesday, saying Trump's tariffs 'are a massive tax increase on American consumers and businesses, and instead of offering welfare to farmers to solve a problem they themselves created, the administration should reverse course and end this incoherent policy.'

President Donald Trump asked farmers to 'just be a little patient' on Tuesday during a speech in Kansas City, as his administration announced up to $12 billion in bailout money for parts of the agriculture industry hit by the effects of his trade wars

Foreign markets in Canada, China and elsewhere have tightened for U.S. farmers in retaliation for Trump's tariffs on other goods

Republican Senators Ben Sasse (left) and Bob Corker (right) came out against Trump's farmer bailout, saying his tariffs caused the problem the subsidies are now trying to address

Saying farmers want 'trade, not aid' he claimed the administration's cross-border commercial bickering is forcing it 'to invoke a welfare policy for our farmers, which Im sure is not what they wish.'

Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse, a frequent Trump critic, said the president's 'trade war' is 'cutting the legs out from under farmers and the White House's "plan" is to spend $12 billion on gold crutches.'

'Tariffs are taxes that punish American consumers and producers,' Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul added on Twitter. 'If tariffs punish farmers, the answer is not welfare for farmers  the answer is remove the tariffs.'

Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson said the unexpected move to manipulate trade through targeted subsidies 'is becoming more and more like a Soviet-type of economy.'

Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, another Republican who regularly challenges the White House, called the plan 'awful.'

'American farmers want markets, not handouts,' he said in a statement. 'This is what we feared all along: that this would just turn into more aid programs.'

The president has insisted that farmers will come out ahead in the long term as other nations lower their longstanding trade barriers, and the $12 billion is meant as a short-term salve to soothe the wounds

Wall Street traders flooded money into the ag sector on Tuesday following reports of the subsidies; John Deere stock shot up more than 4 per cent in a half-day

John Thune, a South Dakota GOP senator who is generally more Trump-friendly, told reporters at the Capitol that the $12 billion Band-aid is an 'acknowledgement that it has a lot of unintended consequences and creates a lot of collateral damage.'

Plenty of congressional Democrats took aim at Trump, especially those representing states with large farm economies.

'OK @POTUS  you created this mess with your trade war and now you are going to spend $12 billion to placate the farmers that voted for you,' California Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier tweeted.

Even Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, a longtime pro-Trump stalwart, had his doubts while calling the bailout money 'encouraging for the short term.'

'What farmers in Iowa and throughout rural America need in the long term are markets and opportunity, not government handouts,' Grassley said.

Trump declared earlier Tuesday that 'Tariffs are the greatest!' and threatened to impose additional penalties on U.S. trading partners as he prepared for Wednesday's negotiations with European officials at the White House.

Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson said manipulating trade through targeted subsidies 'is becoming more and more like a Soviet-type of economy'

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle slammed the White House for creating a 'mess' with multiple trade wars

Before departing for Kansas City, Trump tweeted that any U.S. trade partner needs to either negotiate a 'fair deal, or it gets hit with Tariffs. It's as simple as that.'

Tariffs are taxes on imports, meant to protect domestic businesses and put foreign competitors at a disadvantage. But they also exact a toll on domestic companies and consumers through higher prices on imported goods when American trading partners retaliate.

They can also cut off U.S. producers, including farmers, from foreign marketplaces that have been predictable annual sources of income in the past.

The Trump administration has slapped tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese goods in a dispute over Beijing's high-tech industrial policies. China has retaliated on soybeans and pork, affecting Midwest farmers in a region of the country that supported the president in his 2016 campaign.

The president tweeted his view on Tuesday that 'tarrifs are the greatest!'

Trump has threatened to place more punitive taxes on up to $500 billion in products imported from China, a move that would dramatically ratchet up the stakes in the trade dispute involving the globe's two biggest economies.

Republican lawmakers running for re-election in rural America worry that the fallout could turn voters off, even in states Trump won handily.

Trump has been talking for months about finding ways to aid farmers as China, in particular, has canceled orders for soybeans and other crops.

Sonny Perdue, secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said the $12 billion relief package will be financed through the USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation, a mechanism that will not require congressional approval.

'This obviously is a short-term solution that will give President Trump time to work on a long-term trade policy,' Perdue said.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley told reporters aboard Air Force One on the way back to Washington from Missouri that 'the president will stand up for the farmers.'

'He understands the farmers in this country feed us, they fuel us, they clothe us. And he'll do everything he can to protect them,' Gidley said.
Watson entered a no contest plea Tuesday to a misdemeanor domestic assault charge involving an incident with his girlfriend, who gave birth to their child in April

Nashville Predators forward Austin Watson entered a no contest plea Tuesday to a misdemeanor domestic assault charge involving an incident with his girlfriend, who gave birth to their child in April.

The prosecutor said the woman had asked for a dismissal of the case, but prosecutors proceeded because there were witnesses who saw Watson push her.

As a result of the plea in Williamson County General Sessions court, Watson received three months of probation and is required to complete a 26-week batterer prevention course. If he violates probation, he could spend up to one year in jail. If he abides by all stipulations, the charge will be expunged from his record.

The 26-year-old Watson was arrested June 16 by police in Franklin, Tennessee Police said he assaulted his girlfriend at a gas station. Police said the two argued and he admitted to pushing the woman.

Watson was a first-round pick in the 2010 draft and signed a three-year, $3.3 million contract a year ago. He scored a career-high 14 goals in the 2017-18 season.

Watson has 23 goals and 24 assists in 216 career regular-season games, all with the Predators

According to the affidavit, a Franklin police officer was flagged down by a witness who described a possible domestic violence situation at a nearby Shell Station. The responding officer noticed a vehicle some shoving between the driver and passenger in the front seat.

The 6ft4 Watson admitted to pushing the mother of his child to local police

"The passenger said "stop" and was trying to cover her face, the affidavit read, according to the Tennessean.

The driver, later identified as Watson, said he was arguing with his girlfriend, the passenger, over her drinking. The two were unable to attend a wedding, according to the affidavit, and that factored into the argument somehow.

Watson did tell the officer he pushed his girlfriend and the officer did notice a red mark on her chest, prompting Watsons arrest.

He has 23 goals and 24 assists in 216 career regular-season games, all with the Predators.

Watson had previously teamed with Predators players like P.K. Subban and Mike Fisher on a public-awareness campaign titled 'Unsilence the Violence.' The effort was in conjunction with the Nashville Predators Foundation's $500,000 pledge to help fight domestic violence.
Russian officials appear baffled over a massive cloud that turned day into night scaring pensioners over an area larger than Britain.

There are claims that the sudden darkness could have been caused by dust from a meteorite strike or a secret Kremlin weapon test.

Other explanations for mystified locals are a UFO, an unreported eclipse, the 'work of the devil', or smoke from raging wildfires.

Remote areas in Russia experienced a daytime blackout that nobody seems able to explain

Parts of the central Yakutia region  Eveno-Bytantaisky, Zhigansky and Verkhoyansky  were hit by sudden darkness after 11.30am

A car drives through the dusk with its headlights on as local residents panicked at the unforeseen onset of a dark sky

Moscow's defence and meteorological officials have has failed to comment on the cloud of darkness that hit three vast mainly Arctic districts in Yakutia region in the middle of the day.

There were no reports of meteorites, eclipses or weapons tests  let alone sightings of alien spacecrafts.

A local resident in from Eveno-Bytantaisky said:

'Messages are going around about about a light flash registered by the US satellites, followed by increase of radioactive level and unusual activity of the military.

'We are never going to be told is this was true or false.'

Some claimed it could be a 'new type of weapon' being tested by the Russian military.

Another source said: 'This can only be explained by a UFO.'

Residents reported darkness beginning around 11.30am and lasting almost three hours on Friday.

Gloom descended on Eveno-Bytantaisky, Zhigansky and Verkhoyansky but none of these districts have been hit by wildfires that are raging in other Siberian localities.

Russia's defence and meteorology departments have offered no comment on the blanket of dark that covered the remote Arctic areas

Speculation has led to a number of claims, including UFOs, a meteorite or secret military weapons test as reason for the blackout

The areas are so far north that at this time of year they have virtually 24-hour light.

But as one local said: 'Day suddenly turned into a dark night'.

Another added: 'I couldn't see a thing without switching lights on.

'We took torches to walk outside, but actually no-one wanted to be on the street because the feeling was as if something heavy in the air was pressing on your chest.'

Accounts spoke of a thick layer of dust after the darkness but this has been denied by some officials, who also expressed doubts that pollution from wildfires was the cause.

A local official in Nizhne-Bytantaisky settlement said: 'At first it looked like it was a strong thunderstorm coming.

'The air went dark, and got darker and darker, but this time unlike anything else we have seen before the darkness had a rich yellow undertone.

'It was very unusual. We doubt the solar eclipse version.'

Raging wildfires had been burning in Siberia though none were close enough to the towns hit by darkness, ruling out the possibility of smoke pollution

Pollution did affect the city of Yakutsk however, seen covered in a thick cloud of haze

Konstantin Starostin, head of the settlement, said: 'When the sun vanished, people started calling us, especially elderly people who were scared.

'People who live here for many years said they had never witnessed anything like this.'

The sun was reportedly missing between the hours of 11.30am and 2pm.

'We dont know what to think. If this was linked to some kind of military tests, I would say so.'

The affected towns and villages were without sunlight for three hours in places where the sun can be visible for as long as 24 hours per day

Head of Verkhoyansk town Yevgeny Potapov was quoted by The Siberian Times saying: 'Something strange happened on that day.'

There had been no advance eclipse warning, he said.

'It could have been a meteorite, but surely not that big? This is really unclear.'

Almost all Arctic districts reported a significant temperature fall around the time of the daytime darkness.
THE government received 736.36bn/- from 43 public parastatals in yet another indication that effective management and control of the entities are paying off.

At a function that was attended by Chief Executives Officers (CEOs) and board chairpersons of over 90 public entities in Dar es Salaam yesterday, President John Magufuli took a swipe of CEOs and board chairpersons whose institutions did not provide dividend.

He said that they should reassess themselves and see whether they are supposed to remain on their positions or lose their jobs.

Gone are the days of business as usual when these organisations would continue to be a drain to the state coffers and liability to the tax payers as the government now wants a return on their investments.

We support government measures to improve productivity to these organisations while maintaining zero tolerance to mediocrity that characterised their operations for long time making them a burden to the nation.

It is inconceivable that some of these poorly performing public entities afforded excessive spendings on their management which were inflating their cost of operations.

We are so much pleased that these free styles on taxpayers money has come to an end. Public parastatals must be run efficiently to avoid being a burden to the nation.

Efficiency should be new mantra. Top management including Chief Executive Officers and board chairpersons of institutions that perform poorly and as a result fail to issue dividend to the government should assess themselves whether they are worth their positions.

It is indeed time that relevant authorities take measures against public corporations, institutions and companies that are not providing dividend to the government as required by the law.

We join the Minister for Finance and Planning, Dr Phillip Mpango in congratulating three public organisations that surpassed their dividend target - Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) which issued 22.35bn/- dividend up from 13.24bn/- target, Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA) from 30.69/- to 59.86/- and Tanzania National Park Authority (TANAPA) which targeted 30.77/- but it surpassed its target by providing 34.74bn/-.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley is telling America not to trust Russian President Vladimir Putin despite her boss's cozy appearance with him at their meeting in Helsinki.

'We don't trust Russia; we don't trust Putin; we never will,' Haley told CBN News. 'They're never going to be our friend. That's just a fact.'

She does, however, defend President Donald Trump's sit down with Putin and other notorious world leaders, arguing it's important to have a dialogue.

'What I do think is, whether it's the president sitting down with [North Korea's Dictator] Kim [Jong-un] or whether the president sits down with Putin, those are things that have to happen,' she said. 'You can't get to the end of the other side if you don't have those conversations.'

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot be trusted

Her tone was different than the one President Trump sat during his meeting with Putin

Her words paint a very different picture than the one Trump offered in his meeting with his Russian counterpart, where he was heavily criticized for agreeing with Putin's assertion that Russia didn't interfere in the 2016 contest and disregarding American intelligence reports that Moscow meddled.

Trump walked those words back the next day to show his faith in the U.S. intelligence community.

And some critics claimed the president was too deferential to Putin during their meeting.

But Trump tweeted on Tuesday that no one has been tougher than Putin on him.

'I'm very concerned that Russia will be fighting very hard to have an impact on the upcoming Election. Based on the fact that no President has been tougher on Russia than me, they will be pushing very hard for the Democrats. They definitely don't want Trump!,' he wrote.

Trump was also criticized for having a nearly-two hour one-on-one meeting with Putin, which Haley said is the president's style.

'He did that with Kim. He's done it with other leaders. He did it with President Xi of China and that's just his way. He feels like he can get more out of them if he goes one-on-one like that. It's his style. It's the way he does it,' she said.

But she does expect a different style in the future.

'You're going to see their next meetings are going to have people in them, the working groups are going to come together, all of those things,' she told the Christian Broadcasting Network. 'But he's always thought just to create that genuine reality of the two of them talking, he feels like he needs to do it face-to-face.'

Haley, the former governor of South Carolina who originally endorsed Sen. Marco Rubin in the 2016 contest, is seen as a rising star in the party and possible presidential contender.

She pushed hard for a high-profile role when she offered a position in the Trump administration, saying she wanted to made a member of the Cabinet and the National Security Council.

Nikki Haley has carved out a high-profile role for herself in the Trump administration

She said her job is to make clear the U.S.'s policy and that she feels she puts on body armor everyday

Haley said she has never discussed a 2020 bid with President Trump, who is running for re-election, 'because he knows he doesn't need to raise it.'

She is the administration's advocate and go-to-person at the United Nations headquarters in New York at a time when some of the United States' traditional allies have been distancing themselves from Trump.

She told Reuters that she feels like she puts on body armor every day.

'I don't see (my role) as pushing an 'America First' policy, I see it as defending America because every day I feel like I put body armor on. I just don't know who I'm fighting that day,' Haley said.

Haley, who is of Indian-American descent, said her role is to be clear about the Trump White House's intentions.

'My job is to give clarity to everything the administration's doing so that no one wonders where we are. I always wanted to make sure there was no gray. That it was black and white,' Haley said.

She also said she's never discussed a 2020 run with the president, who plans to run again, 'because he knows he doesn't need to raise it.'

Haley also has carved out a high-profile role for herself outside of her U.N. duties and has been establishing a reputation as a Republican voice of reason.

She sounded a more conciliatory tone compared to her boss's fiery rhetoric when she addressed a conference of high school students on Monday, telling them to avoid inflammatory words in favor of real leadership.

'Raise your hand if you've ever posted anything online to quote-unquote 'own the libs,' ' Haley asked at the High School Leadership Summit at George Washington University.

'Own the libs' refers to doing something provocative to upset supposedly over-sensitive liberals.

The vast majority raised their hands and then erupted into applause, The Hill newspaper reported.

'I know that it's fun and that it can feel good, but step back and think about what you're accomplishing when you do this  are you persuading anyone? Who are you persuading?' Haley asked. 'We've all been guilty of it at some point or another, but this kind of speech isn't leadership  it's the exact opposite.'

'Real leadership is about persuasion, it's about movement, it's bringing people around to your point of view,' she added. 'Not by shouting them down, but by showing them how it is in their best interest to see things the way you do.'

Nikki Haley recently advised high school students to avoid inflammatory words in favor of real leadership

Haley is seen as a rising star in the GOP and a future presidential contender

Trump uses an 'own the libs' type strategy repeatedly when on the campaign trail as a favorite rallying cry to his base.

He used it again on Tuesday in Kansas City when he addressed the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention.

He attacked the Democrats for their criticism of his 'zero tolerance' immigration policy, which had resulted in the separation of migrant children from their families, and said the party wants to end the Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Several Democrats have said they want to reform the agency.

'The Democrats want to abandon ICE. They want to end ICE,' Trump said tying the party to the gang MS13, which he has done in the past.

Haley, who was introduced to the audience by her son, told the high school students leadership is lacking in this country.

But, she added, those in the room made her want to bet on the future.

'If I can leave you with one message today: Have the courage to stand up to the mob,' she said.
A New York City high school teacher who was accused of receiving a seven-pound shipment of date rape drugs has appeared in court.

Steven E. Rich, 51, appeared in New York Criminal Court on Tuesday, facing felony charges of first-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and possession with intent to distribute, as well as a misdemeanor drug charge.

Rich, a public high school teacher in Harlem, was arrested in February when cops said they found a large amount of Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate (GHB) in his Hell's Kitchen apartment.

Police said that a Customs agent intercepted a package of the drug being mailed to Rich's West 34th Street apartment from an international seller.

Steven Rich, 51, appeared in New York Criminal Court on Tuesday facing felony drug charges

Rich (left) was arrested in February when cops said they found the GHB in his apartment

NYPD cops set up a controlled delivery of the package and executed a search warrant immediately upon handing over the package, cops said.

In addition to the seven pounds of GHB in the shipment, police said they found MDMA, also known as Molly, as well as 30 oxycodone pills.

Investigators said that Rich admitted that he planned to go into the drug-dealing business to supplement his teaching income.

City records show that he has been a public school teacher since 2008, and last year earned $86,185.

Rich had worked as a teacher at the Thurgood Marshall Academy for Learning and Social Change in Harlem for the last eight years.

Rich (left and right) has been removed from classroom duties pending the outcome of the case

Rich worked at the Thurgood Marshall Academy high school (pictured) in Harlem since 2008

He has been removed from classroom duties while his criminal case is pending, the Education Department said.

'Mr. Rich's alleged actions betray the trust of students and families, and he was immediately reassigned away from the classroom pending the outcome of the criminal matter,' department spokesman Douglas Cohen told the Daily News.

GHB is odorless and colorless in its liquid form. It may also be synthesized into a powder.

It's a strong sedative that depressed the central nervous system, and its effects are multiplied when consumed in combination with alcohol.

Rich is currently free on his own recognizance. He is being represented by the Legal Aide Society and it is not clear when he is next due in court.
Fyre Festival organizer Billy McFarland duped investors out of millions of dollars after falsifying reports that showed 'accepted' funds from A-list artists.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged the 26-year-old investor along with his two associates with fraud on Tuesday after they allegedly swindled $27.4 million for the disastrous venture.

In court documents obtained by DailyMail.com, the SEC accuses McFarland, his companies Fyre Media, Inc., Magnises, Inc., and Chief Marketing Officer Grant Margolin and contractor Daniel Simon of 'fraudulently' inducing more than 100 investors to shell out money for their scheme.

In September 2016, less than six months before the festival was set to take place, McFarland allegedly created phony spreadsheets showing offers made and accepted through Fyre Media to 'exaggerate the success' of the company.

Fyre Festival founder Billy McFarland created phony spreadsheets showing offers made and accepted through Fyre Media to 'exaggerate the success' of the company, according to court documents

The phony list showed a $1.75 million offer from Jennifer Lopez, $1.5 million from Foo Fighters, and $1 million from Selena Gomez

McFarland instructed Margolin to produce a report to show 15 'accepted' offers that totaled to $5.4million, an average of $360,000 per offer, according to court documents.

The list showed a $1.75 million offer from Jennifer Lopez, $1.5 million from The Foo Fighters, and $1 million from Selena Gomez.

'Fyre Media's CTO sent Margolin an offer report generated directly from the fyreapp.com booking platform, which, by contrast, showed 33 'accepted' Fyre Media offers totaling just $275,800, on average, less than $8,400 per offer,' papers state.

Margolin then combined the two reports to create a new one showing 42 offers that totaled $5.6 million.

'McFarland emailed the combined offer report to a potential investor. The investor subsequently made an equity investment in Fyre Media.'

Adding to the deceit, McFarland then created a PowerPoint presentation in December to show investors that Fyre Media was on track to receive $160 million by 2017.

Fyre's chief revenue officer received a copy of the report and asked Margolin for the basis of the figure which he realize was inconsistent with his projection and characterized as 'aggressive.'

Margolin said the figure was a typo however, McFarland later edited a 'Fyre Business Update' email that was initially drafted by the CRO and tripled the stated goal for completed bookings from $50 million to $150 million.

He also increased the number of talent represented from 200 to 1,200.

According to court documents, between May 2016 and April 2017, only 60 bookings for performances and appearances were confirmed and paid - which totaled only $57,443.

The SEC found several other forms of fraud in McFarland's scheme, including falsely informing investors that he would obtain event cancellation insurance for the Fyre Festival.

He also fabricated documents to show that his company Magnises would be bought by a nonexistent third party for $35-$40 million to prove his credibility as a businessman.

'As part of this scheme, McFarland concocted an ever-changing cast of purported Magnises buyers. First, the purported buyers were an unnamed consortium of five companies (including Magnises and Fyre). Next, the purported buyers were a group led by a well-known fashion mogul. Then, the purported buyer was a Connecticut-based broker-dealer,' documents state.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the SEC announced McFarland and his company agreed to settle the charges

In April 2017, McFarland appeared to still be changing the identity of the buyer proposing in an email to a colleague that the buyers could be a mixed group of celebrities such as Jay-Z and Diddy.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the SEC announced McFarland and his company agreed to settle the charges.

The commission revealed McFarland doctored statements to show personal stock holdings of over $2.5 million, 'when, in reality, the account held shares worth under $1,500.'

'McFarland gained the trust of investors by falsely portraying himself as a skilled entrepreneur running a series of successful media companies. But this false picture of business success was built on fake brokerage statements and stolen investor funds,' Melissa Hodgman, Associate Director of the SEC's Enforcement Division said.

McFarland reportedly used funds to finance his extravagant lifestyle including his Manhattan penthouse, partying, and traveling by private plane.

He was arrested last June and pleaded guilty to all charges. He faces a maximum of 40 years in prison if convicted.
Disney stars, family members and fans have passionately stood up for Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn after he was ousted from the franchise.

Gunn was sacked when offensive tweets he posted a decade ago about pedophilia and rape were uncovered by the Daily Caller.

The 51-year-old had apologized for his past behavior long before the tweets were found, and did so again on Friday, telling fans he was now 'very different than I was a few years ago'.

And as the backlash continues, his colleagues are now gathering around him, encouraging people to sign a petition urging Marvel to reinstate him, telling stories about his positive attributes and in one case, sharing a bible verse about judging people too quickly.

Perhaps the most moving defense came from Gunn's brother Sean, who plays Kraglin in the franchise.

James Gunn has enjoyed support from Disney stars Selma Blair, Chris Pratt and Sean Gunn over the weekend after he was sacked from his role as director of Guardians in the Galaxy over tweets he made 10 years ago joking about rape and pedophilia

Praising his brother as 'kind, generous and compassionate' with friends, family colleagues, fans, and even strangers, he said James had always wanted to tell stories - and used many formats to find his voice.

'The struggle to find that voice was sometimes clunky, misguided, or downright stupid, and sometimes wonderful, moving, and hilarious,' he said.

'Since devoting his entire life to the Guardians movies and MCU six years ago, I've seen him channel that voice into his work on those movies and seen him transform from the guy who made up things to shock people.

'I saw firsthand as he went from worrying about "softening his edge" for a larger audience to realizing that his "edge" wasn't as useful of a tool as he thought it was. That his gift for storytelling was something better.

'In many respects this change in my brother was reflected in the change that the Guardians go through. I've heard my brother say many times that when Quill rallies the team with "this is our chance to give a s***" - to care - that it's the pep talk he himself needed to hear.

Sean said his brother had spoken about how the movies had changed him as a person in dozens of interviews, and said working on the films had not just made his brother, but also himself, a better person.

Selma Blair, a Disney star who is not part of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, also spoke out, sharing a link on her Twitter to the petition that would see him reinstated.

After she was flooded with angry messages from fans that believed James Gunn should have been and should stay sacked, she deleted the tweet and wrote: 'We change. We grow. Sometimes I am so forlorn people cant see it'.

Gunn has apologized and owned up to the comments during interviews in the past, but when they were uncovered by the Daily Caller,

In addition, she shared a link to a story discussing how the director's firing went against the message of the films themselves.

Chris Pratt was more subtle in his approach, and opted simply to share a bible verse on his account, capitalizing James, the book the verse was from.

'Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters. Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. JAMES 1:19,' he wrote.

'The offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James' Twitter feed are indefensible and inconsistent with our studio's values, and we have severed our business relationship with him,' Disney chairman Alan Horn in a statement after Gunn was sacked.

Since then, the director and writer has enjoyed masses of support, with a petition demanding he be reinstated as director hitting nearly 300,000 in just four days.

Former television star Roseanne Barr is one person who has not joined the bandwagon, sharing her 'disgust' at people supporting Gunn while they fought for her to lose her eponymous show.

'Im disgusted to read all of the support for James Gunns pedophile jokes - as the same people supported blacklisting me for a joke they didnt even understand,' she wrote.
Ranger Michael Maguire who died in a training exercise

An army officer has been jailed for 18 months after being convicted over the killing of a 21-year-old soldier who was shot during a training exercise.

Captain Jonathan Price, 32, was also dismissed from the army after being found guilty last month of the manslaughter of Ranger Michael Maguire by gross negligence following a seven-week court martial at Bulford, Wiltshire.

Two other officers, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Bell, 46, and Warrant Officer Stuart Pankhurst, 40, were convicted of negligently performing a duty.

Col Bell lost one year's seniority as a lieutenant colonel, which could affect his promotion prospects, while WO Pankhurst was fined 3,000.

Rgr Maguire was one of several soldiers who came under machine gun fire during an exercise at the Castlemartin Training Area in Pembrokeshire in May 2012 for members of the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment.

Rgr Maguire, from Co Cork, Ireland, died after being hit in the forehead by a stray bullet from a machine gun.

The three defendants were accused of having 'a total disregard for the safety' of their men when they organised a live ammunition exercise ahead of deployment to Kenya.

After the shooting Capt Price, who was a lieutenant at the time, said to one witness: 'I've messed up, haven't I?'

The court heard that soldiers on one part of range 10 were firing directly at those in another part of the range, who were about just over half a mile away and would have been visible.

Capt Price, now of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish, failed to set up and supervise a safe exercise, failed to attend a recce of the range when preparing a range action safety plan, placed targets too close together and failed to 'deconflict' the two exercises.

Col Bell, who was then a major and Capt Price's company commander, was the senior planning officer for the exercise and failed to review or counter-sign the Rasp produced by Capt Price and failed to supervise or support him.

Captain Jonathan Price, 32, was also dismissed from the army after being found guilty last month of the manslaughter of Ranger Michael Maguire (pictured) by gross negligence following a seven-week court martial at Bulford, Wiltshire

WO Pankhurst, who was an acting sergeant supervising the exercise, failed to produce a Rasp for the machine gun firing which he was supervising.

It emerged after the convictions that the Ministry of Defence has received a Crown Censure for breaches of health and safety regulations.

Mathew Sherratt QC, representing Capt Price, said he had recently married and had a 10-year-old stepson and urged the court to impose a suspended sentence.

'It was his dream to be in the regiment. He accepts that is finished and that is huge punishment,' he said.

'The punishment of the loss of his career is devastating for this young man. I suggest that if he could ever turn the clock back he would and he should have gone to get some help.'

Rgr Maguire was one of several soldiers who came under machine gun fire during an exercise at the Castlemartin Training Area in Pembrokeshire (pictured)

Mr Sherratt said there were 'systemic issues' in the Army and there had been changes to procedures after the death of Rgr Maguire.

Puneet Rai, representing married father-of-two Col Bell, said he was on the reserve list to be promoted to full colonel and a recent posting had been withdrawn as a result of the conviction.

'It is accepted by the Ministry of Defence that there were failings in the system which contributed to where we are today,' she said.

'Since the day of this incident Col Bell has made it his personal crusade to make sure that the failings within the system are challenged.'

Catherine Bradshaw, representing married father-of-three WO2 Pankhurst, said that any loss of rank would be particularly hard on him and suggested should receive a reprimand and fine.

After the shooting Capt Price, who was a lieutenant at the time, said to one witness: 'I've messed up, haven't I?' (pictured, two men in forensics suits on top of a tank, believed to be the one involved in the fatality in Castlemartin range)

'For WO2 Pankhurst, who joined the Army with the aspiration of becoming regimental sergeant major of his local regiment, not to have the coveted position of sergeant major comes as a blow to him,' she added.

Passing sentence on behalf of the court martial board, Assistant Judge Advocate General Alan Large said Capt Price's negligence was so great that only an immediate custodial sentence was appropriate.

'We have no doubt that the offence of gross negligence manslaughter committed in the circumstances of this case and after a contested trial are so serious that an immediate prison sentence is required,' he said.

The judge said the board had reduced the sentence from a starting point of four years after taking into account Capt Price's exemplary service to the country, including a tour to Afghanistan.

'Taking into account all the mitigation, imprisonment for 18 months is the shortest sentence we can pass. We do not consider it appropriate to suspend the sentence.'
A California groundskeeper dying of cancer said in court Monday he would 'never' have used Monsanto weed killer Roundup, had he known it could lead to his terminal illness.

The trial pitting 46-year-old Dewayne Johnson against the agrochemical colossus is expected to last into August, with the potential for a major impact on the company recently acquired by Germany-based Bayer.

The case is the first to reach trial alleging a cancer link from Roundup, one of the world's most widely used herbicides.

The legal clash involves dueling studies, along with allegations Monsanto connived behind the scenes to thwart potentially damning research.

Diagnosed in 2014 with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer that affects white blood cells, Johnson told jurors he sprayed Roundup and especially its more powerful professional grade Ranger Pro product for two years at a school in Benicia, California.

Dewayne Johnson, 46 (left) said in court Monday he would never had used Roundup if he was aware it could potentially cause terminal illness

Johnson, pictured with his sons, said during trial that Roundup had spilled all over him twice during his use of the product from a malfunctioning vaporizer

Araceli Johnson, Dewayne's wife, was beside him during Monday's hearing

One of his lawyers, David Dickens, held a Ranger Pro dispenser in his hand as he asked Johnson whether he would have used the product if he had seen a cancer warning on the label.

'I would never have sprayed RP in schools or anywhere else,' replied Johnson, whose job as groundskeeper including ridding the area of pests and weeds with the help of up to 150 gallons of diluted solution per day.

Twice, a lot of product got on his skin and clothes because of a vaporizer malfunction, and Johnson experienced an 'uncontrollable situation on my skin.'

He called the Monsanto hotline, but received no follow-up calls from representatives despite promises they would do so.

Johnson, who sat in court with his lawyer and wife, watched as his dermatologist Ope Ofodile testified in California Superior Court.

Ofodile testified that Johnson consulted her when he noticed a rash on his body starting in 2014.

'He was frightened by the state of his skin,' the physician told the trial.

After seeing the rash, Ofodile said she sent a letter to the school district board saying 'that he shouldn't be exposed to any airborne chemicals that could worsen his condition.'

Asked whether she was referring to Ranger Pro, she said, 'Yes.'

But the physician said she did not investigate what caused the rash, and that she was focusing on treating the patient rather than establishing a link to Roundup.

Johnson had little warning about the risks of Roundup, his lawyer said in opening statements earlier this month.

'He was told you could drink it, it was completely non-toxic,' lawyer Brent Wisner claimed in his opening remarks.

The lawyer said Johnson, who is between rounds of chemotherapy, 'is actually on borrowed time -- he is not supposed to be alive today.'

Roundup is one of the most popular weed killers on the market. If Johnson does win the case, it could open the door to other lawsuits against Monsanto

A key to Johnson's case will be convincing jurors that Monsanto's pesticide -- whose main ingredient is glyphosate -- is responsible for the illness.

Wisner contended that glyphosate combined with an ingredient intended to help it spread over leaves in a cancer-causing 'synergy.'

Whether glyphosate causes cancer has been the source of long debate among government regulators, health experts and lawyers.

If Monsanto loses, the case could open the door to hundreds of additional lawsuits against the company.

Monsanto has denied any link with the disease and says studies have concluded the product is safe.

'Mr Johnson's cancer is a terrible disease. We all do and we all should have great sympathy for what he is going through,' Monsanto defense attorney George Lombardi said during his opening remarks.

But the lawyer maintained that 'the scientific evidence is overwhelming that glyphosate-based products do not cause cancer, and did not cause Mr Johnson's cancer.'

Monsanto's flagship herbicide Roundup was launched in 1976.

Roundup has been approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency, according to Lombardi.

In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer -- a World Health Organization body -- classified glyphosate as 'probably carcinogenic,' and as a result, the state of California listed it as carcinogenic.

Founded in 1901 in St Louis, Missouri, Monsanto began producing agrochemicals in the 1940s. It was acquired by Bayer for more than $62 billion in June.

Johnson's family has set up a GoFundMe page to help him in his fight against Monsanto.
A majority of Americans think the Kremlin holds compromising leverage over President Donald Trump, according to a new poll taken after the president's cozy press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A bare majority of 51 per cent agreed that 'the Russian government has compromising information about President Trump,' according to a new Quinnipiac University poll, taken following the Helsinki summit where Putin got asked point blank whether he held leverage over the U.S. president.

The poll result follows more than a year's worth of exhaustive coverage on the Golden Showers dossier, the Russia probe, and an unfolding series of ties between top level and lower level Trump campaign officials who had contacts with Russians during the campaign.

Support for Trump dropped to 38 per cent in the new poll, taken after the Helsinki summit, while a 51 per cent majority believe the Russians have compromising information on him

Just over a third, 35 per cent, of Americans surveyed don't believe the Russians have compromising information on the commander-in-chief.

However Republicans don't believe the Kremlin has compromising information on Trump, by a 70 to 18 per cent margin. They are the only group, by age, party, gender, education, age, or race, who doesn't believe it.

The survey was taken between July 18 to July 23  meaning callers were reaching out to voters after Trump's controversial summit had concluded, amid media blowback and a brief effort by Trump to walk back his statement backing up Putin's 'powerful' denial of election meddling.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in Helsinki that he did prefer Donald Trump in 2016

Just over a third, 35 per cent, of Americans surveyed don't believe the Russians have compromising information on the commander-in-chief

Trump has denounced the Steele dossier and says if the Russians had information on him it would have come out already

Christopher Steele, the former MI6 agent who set-up Orbis Business Intelligence and compiled a dossier on Donald Trump

I HAVE BEEN SAVING SOMETHING FOR YOU: A bare majority of 51 per cent agreed that 'the Russian government has compromising information about President Trump,' according to a new Quinnipiac University poll

One element of the Steele dossier relates to unverified claims about Trump's trip to Moscow in 2013

Trump explained that he mixed up 'would' and 'wouldn't when speaking about Russia's involvement.

Putin, when asked point blank whether he had compromising information on Trump, quipped: ''I do know how dossiers are made up.'

He later told Fox News' Chris Wallace in an interview: 'We don't have anything on them and there can't be anything on them.'

Golden Showers by the numbers: 51 per cent believe Russia has 'compromising information' on Trump 35 per cent do NOT believe Russia has compromising material on Trump Advertisement

Trump interjected during the press conference with a less than ironclad denial: ''And I have to say if they had it, it would have been out long ago,' the president said.

The comments on the dossier vaguely referenced salacious claims in the Chris Steele-compiled document relating to alleged conduct by the president in a Moscow hotel room during the 2013 Miss Universe pageant.

'Whether it is with love or not, President Donald Trump's relationship with Russia has delivered a small blow to his already poor standing with the American people,' said Peter Brown, who conducted the poll.

'Following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Trump's job approval is back below 40 percent again,' he said.

Fifty-two per cent of voters said the summit was a failure, with 27 per cent disagreeing. Voters called it a success for Russia by 73 to 8 per cent.

Trump wasn't acting in the best interest of the nation, voters said by a 54 to 41 per cent margin.

Trump railed against the Russia 'witch hunt' in the days before and after his summit

Overshadowing the result is concern about Trump's relationship with Russia, after a campaign and first year in office where he regularly praises Putin, even as Russia is identified with a nerve agent attack in Britain, backing for the Assad regime in Syria, and interference in the U.S. elections.

A total of 68 per cent of respondents were "very concerned" or "somewhat concerned" about Trump's Russia relationship, compared to 32 percent who are "not so concerned" or "not concerned at all."
The heart of Yosemite National Park, where throngs of tourists are awe-struck by cascading waterfalls and towering granite features like El Capitan and Half Dome, will be closed as firefighters try to corral a huge wildfire just to the west that has cast a smoky pall and threatened the park's forest, officials said Tuesday.

Yosemite Valley will be closed for at least four days beginning at noon Wednesday, along with a winding, mountainous, 20-mile stretch of State Route 41, park spokesman Scott Gediman said.

At least a thousand campground and hotel bookings will be canceled - to say nothing of the impact on day visitors, park workers and small businesses along the highway, Gediman said.

Officials closed part of Yosemite National Park as crews work to battle the Ferguson fire. In this photo, flames from the Ferguson fire burn down a hillside in Mariposa County near Yosemite on July 15

A large billow of smoke is seen above Wawona Road in Yosemite National Park on July 21. Firefighters in California are working to stop the Ferguson fire from spreading

An air tanker is seen dropping retardant while crews battle the Ferguson fire in the Stanislaus National Forest near Yosemite National Park on July 21

Members of the Breckenridge Hot Shot crew are pictured above cutting back low brush as they continue to battle the Ferguson fire just west of Yosemite on July 21

'We're asking people here tonight to leave tomorrow morning,' he said. 'And anyone that's incoming tomorrow will get an email or phone call stating that their reservation is canceled.'

The last time the 7.5-mile-long valley was closed because of fire was 1990, he said.

Yosemite wasn't under imminent danger from the Ferguson fire, officials were quick to point out. Authorities decided on the closure to allow crews to perform protective measures like burning away brush along roadways without having to deal with traffic in the park that welcomes 4 million visitors annually.

Yosemite Valley is the centerpiece of the visitor experience, offering views of landmarks such as Half Dome, Sentinel Dome, Bridal Veil Fall, El Capitan and Yosemite Falls. The glacial valley's grand vista of waterfalls and shear granite faces has been obscured by a choking haze of smoke from a nearby fire.

Visitors are advised to 'limit activity during the periods of poor air quality,' the park said in a statement. 'Some facilities and services are closed or diminished.'

Firefighters are seen battling the Ferguson fire in Jerseydale near Yosemite National Park on July 22

Officials announced on Tuesday that on noon Wednesday parts of Yosemite National Park would be closed to allow crews to battle the Ferguson fire

Over nearly two weeks, flames have churned through more than 57 square miles of timber in steep terrain of the Sierra Nevada just west of the park. The fire was 25 per cent contained Tuesday morning.

Mandatory evacuations are in place in several communities, while others have been told to get ready to leave if necessary.

More than 3,300 firefighters are working the fire, aided by 16 helicopters. One firefighter was killed July 14, and six others have been injured.

Gediman suggested valley visitors divert to Tuolumne Meadows, on Yosemite's northern edge, or to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks to the south.

'There are wonderful places to visit in the region, so we're asking people to consider alternative plans,' he said.

In the state's far north, a nearly 4-square-mile wildfire has forced the evacuation of French Gulch, a small Shasta County community that dates to the Gold Rush.

The Sierra Hotshots firefighter crew have also been helping to battle the fire. They are pictured at Yosemite on July 22

Smoke rises into the air near Pinoche Peak in Yosemite National Park. More than 3,300 firefighters are working the fire, aided by 16 helicopters

Crews in Oregon are also battling a fire at Crater Lake National Park. Pictured is smoke rising into the air in the park

While crews are working to battle the Ferguson fire at Yosemite, firefighters in Oregon are trying to stop the Timber Crater 6 fire from spreading at Crater Lake National Park. Officials said on Tuesday that the fire doubled in size to 2,101 acres but the park would remain open.

Crews made good progress yesterday, a news release from the fire team said. Hot shot crews on the north and west sides of the fire worked direct along the fire line. Crews mopped up and secured lines after the burnouts to remove fuel in the fires path.

Officials said 500 firefighters and numerous helicopters were working to suppress the blaze, the Statesman Journal reports.
Nearly a quarter of American households do not speak English as their first language, a new study published on Tuesday has found.

The Migration Policy Institute discovered that 22 per cent of the US population prefers to speak another language at home, with the highest concentrations located in Nevada and Florida.

'Spanish was the top non-English language spoken at home in the country overall and in the 15 fastest-growing states with one exception: Alaska, where EskimoAleut and other Native American languages predominated,' the report found.

The Migration Policy Institute discovered that 22 per cent of the US population prefers to speak another language at home

The Washington, DC-based think tank also noted in their study that the number of foreign-born US citizens represents 13.5 per cent of the population

The Washington, DC-based think tank also noted in their study that the number of foreign-born US citizens is at its highest level ever, with approximately 44 million immigrants calling America home.

The number translates into 13.5 per cent of the population.

The data also suggests a trend showing immigrants dispersing across the country instead of gravitating to a few states and cities.

And while the number of immigrants between 2010 and 2016 increased by nine per cent, the foreign-born population surged 15 percent or more in 15 states: North Dakota, West Virginia, South Dakota, Delaware, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, Alaska, Indiana, Florida, Nevada.

'Approximately nine million immigrants, or one in every five, reside in these 15 states,' with Mexicans and Cubans dominating the influx followed by those from India and China, the MPI reported.

The data also suggests a trend showing immigrants dispersing across the country instead of gravitating to a few states and cities

North Dakota, West Virginia, and South Dakota were the states that experienced the fastest growth rates, with 48 per cent, 41 per cent, and 39 per cent, respectively.

The MPI said that 1.6 million foreign nationals in the top 15 states were able to obtain legal status via a green card between 2010 and 2016, which accounted for 22 percent of the 7.4 million immigrants who received green cards during the same period nationwide.

US estimates for illegal immigration hovers around 11 million, with about 1.7 million undocumented foreign nationals living in the 15 states examined in the study.

The report also notes that in 2014, 'about 84.2 babies were born per 1,000 immigrant women ages 15 to 44, compared to 58.3 births per 1,000 U.S.-born women in 2014, according to Pew Research Center estimates.'

Other noteworthy trends the data delineated was that immigrants are highly represented among all workers in low-skilled job (especially in Florida and Nevada) and are likely to lack basic health insurance.
A senior Labour MP was yesterday accused of outing her lesbian office manager and calling her a dyke.

Carolyn Harris, who is shadow equalities minister, was also forced to deny that she pulled the hair of Jenny Lee Clarke so hard that clumps came out.

Clarke, 42, is on trial accused of forging Mrs Harriss signature and fraudulently submitting a form to give herself a 2,000 pay rise and reduce her weekly hours from 40 to 37.5.

Carolyn Harris, who is shadow equalities minister, was also forced to deny that she pulled the hair of Jenny Lee Clarke so hard that clumps came out

The 57-year-old MP has insisted she did not approve the annual pay increase to 39,000 and had no knowledge of an email purportedly from her confirming the change. Mrs Harris, the MP for Swansea East and deputy leader of Welsh Labour, gave evidence at her former aides trial at Cardiff Crown Court yesterday.

Stephen Donnelly, representing Clarke, accused the MP of abusing her office manager and outing her to colleagues after she had confided that she was gay. Mrs Harris said there was office banter and both women would criticise each others dress sense.

Was it office banter when you said Look at your dyke boots? Mr Donnelly asked.

Mrs Harris replied: I dont remember saying that but if I did it would have been banter.

Its a term for lesbian. Jenny Clarke is. Im certainly not homophobic. Im an ally of the LGBT community and I have always been.

She said Clarke herself used the term, but told the court it would not be said in a formal capacity.

The court heard that Clarke told Mrs Harris that she was gay in 2011. Mr Donnelly asked the MP: You asked what she and her partner would do intimately? Mrs Harris replied: Thats not correct.

Clarke, 42, (pictured) is on trial accused of forging Mrs Harriss signature and fraudulently submitting a form to give herself a 2,000 pay rise and reduce her weekly hours from 40 to 37.5

The MP denied claims that Clarke had asked her to stop posing sexual questions, and said she had not needed to out her because it was quite obvious.

The jury of eight men and four women has heard that Clarke was hired by Mrs Harris the day after her election to the Swansea East seat in May 2015.

Mr Donnelly accused the MP of earlier assaulting Clarke by shaking her violently and pulling her hair so hard that clumps came out in November 2014. Mrs Harris replied: Thats totally untrue.

Jurors were told that Clarke later reported the alleged incident to police and made a statement about it in January 2016.

The MP rejected suggestions that she had got down on her knees and apologised to Clarke.

The court heard Mrs Harris wrote a letter to Clarke promising her a full-time position if she was elected as an MP, which the defence claimed was to hush her up. But the MP said: I didnt need to hush Jenny Clarke up. Nothing had happened.

We had a good friendship. I did her a good many favours including giving her a television, a car, holidays in my caravan  it was a mutually beneficial friendship.

She insisted Clarkes dismissal was in progress by January 2016, when a colleague forwarded forms highlighting the pay rise and reduction in hours. Clarke is also accused of writing an email to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority from Mrs Harriss account, confirming the changes.

In police interview, Clarke admitted signing Mrs Harriss name on the form and sending the email but insisted both were done on the MPs instruction.

The trial continues.
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Alex Hidalgo, 37, of Ogden, is accused of murdering his son on Friday while the child's mother was out running errands

A Utah man said he killed his 10-month-old son by stabbing him on a homemade altar after he found 666 'devil mark' on his body.

Alex Hidalgo, 37, of Ogden, is accused of murdering his son on Friday while the child's mother was out running errands.

When the woman returned, she found Hidalgo sitting on the couch, reading a Bible and watching a religious video.

He said the baby was dead and told her not to call anyone or he would be sent to prison, according to court documents.

She then found her son's body inside a plastic garbage bag stashed in a closet and alerted a neighbor.

While she gave the baby CPR, Hidalgo fled and broke into an abandoned home, where he was arrested on Saturday wearing bloodstained clothes - the same outfit police believe he had on when he murdered his son.

When the woman returned to the apartment (pictured), she found Hidalgo sitting on the couch, reading a Bible and watching a religious video

Hidalogo is being held without bond at the Weber County Jail on suspicion of felony charges of aggravated murder, abuse or desecration of a dead human body and obstruction of justice.

The Utah Medical Examiner's Office said an autopsy showed the child had three penetrating stab wounds to the neck including one that severed the carotid artery and the jugular vein.

The baby was given CPR by his mother and a neighbor but was pronounced dead in hospital.

Police investigators reported finding blood splatter in the apartment and a paring knife in the kitchen sink.
Hugo Penfold, 21, allegedly told the woman in the words of Donald Trump grab her by the p**** and then touched her intimately

A student repeated a vulgar remark by Donald Trump before sexually assaulting a fellow undergraduate, a court heard yesterday.

Hugo Penfold, 21, allegedly told the woman in the words of Donald Trump grab her by the p**** and then touched her intimately.

The US President was caught on tape using a similar phrase when describing how he had tried to seduce a married woman.

Penfold is also accused of raping the woman on another occasion and of carrying out the same offence on a second student.

At the opening of his trial yesterday the first alleged victim said she had repeatedly rejected Penfolds advances after meeting him in September 2016 and had reported him to the authorities at Lincoln University.

The woman, who cannot be identified, said in a statement: He has been sexually assaulting me, light touch, since November and probably before that. I would tell him that it was sexual assault and I would report him.

She told the jury at Lincoln Crown Court that the incident where Penfold quoted Mr Trump took place around the time of the US presidential election in November 2016. He touched me on the outside of my clothes. He found it funny. I said it wasnt funny and asked him to leave.

The student said Penfold raped her after she returned home from a boozy night out with friends in Lincoln city centre.

I felt drunk but not out-of-control drunk. I knew what I was doing, she said.

When Penfold arrived at her flat, he apologised for his previous behaviour and told her she was amazing, the court heard.

The woman said they were watching TV when she had to rebuff Penfolds attempts to kiss her and touch her. But she said he then got on top of her, removed her underwear and raped her despite her pleading to him to stop.

She said: He said Do you want me to make this quick? I nodded. It lasted less than five minutes.

The woman said she told him to leave and later texted him: You knew how drunk I was. You knew I said No. He messaged her saying he was sorry, the jury was told.

The US President was caught on tape using a similar phrase when describing how he had tried to seduce a married woman

Penfold of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, is also accused of putting his hand down her leggings, touching her bottom while hugging her, and kissing her against her wishes.

He denies raping the student and three charges of sexually assaulting her between October 1, 2016 and March 3 last year. He denies the further charge of raping a second female student in November 2016.

Under cross-examination, the first student said that on the night when she says she was raped she made it clear she did not consent.

She said: He did have sex with me. He was on top of me. I very clearly was not consenting. I got the impression that afterwards he realised what he had done. It wasnt consensual.

She said she had previously had a sexual encounter with Penfold. Sarah Phelan, prosecuting, said the second rape charge related to another female student.

At the opening of his trial yesterday the first alleged victim said she had repeatedly rejected Penfolds advances after meeting him in September 2016 and had reported him to the authorities at Lincoln University (pictured)

She had been on a night out to Lincoln city centre with friends and Hugo Penfold, Miss Phelan said.

She came back to her flat. She was quite drunk.

Hugo Penfold asked if he could stay with her because he had some difficulties with his own flatmates.

She told him that was OK. She told him to sleep on top of the covers and she would sleep underneath the covers. He started to grab at her. She told him to stop it. He pulled her on top of him. She responded that she didnt want it to happen.

Miss Phelan said Penfold went on to rape the student, telling the jury: She repeatedly told him to stop but he didnt.

Both students later went to the universitys wellbeing service and then contacted police.

Penfold told officers in interview that his sexual contact with both women was consensual.

The trial continues.
A chilling text message was sent to terrified local residents overnight after ten dangerous criminals broke out of a nearby prison.

Police said five inmates were still on the run after the Tuesday evening jail break as smoke poured from Greenough Regional Prison after a riot erupted among the male prisoners.

Officers recaptured five of the escaped convicts by Wednesday morning.

A massive manhunt is still underway for the remaining escapees, who are on the loose near the town of Geraldton in the mid-west region of Western Australia.

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A total of inmates escaped from Greenough Regional Prison (pictured), prompting police to issue and urgent warning to residents to keep their doors and windows locked

Chilling text messages have been sent to terrified local residents after a dozen dangerous criminals broke out of a nearby prison

A massive manhunt is still underway for the remaining escapees, who are on the loose near the town of Geraldton in the mid-west region of Western Australia

Following the riot, police sent a chilling text to residents, warning them to stay indoors.

'Several inmates have escaped Greenough Prison. Lock all doors and windows. Report anything suspicious to police,' the message read.

The escapees climbed on top of the female unit at the prison during the riot, according to 7News.

A female inmate said the men climbed onto the roof, smashed windows and lit couches on fire.

'All the officers hightailed it out of there,' she claimed.

Smoke was reportedly seen coming from the prison, a witness claimed, and an ambulance was seen arriving at the scene, Perth Now reported.

The riot is believed to be in response to regular lockdowns, according to 7News.

The escapees climbed on top of the female unit at the prison during the riot, smashed windows and lit couches on fire

Police said five inmates were still on the run after the Tuesday evening jail break as smoke poured from Greenough Regional Prison (pictured) after a riot erupted among the male prisoners

Captured prisoners were returned to their cells as authorities work to determine the identities of those still at large.

The prison was housing 323 male and female prisoners in maximum, medium and minimum security units, but is only designed for 223, ABC News reported.

The centre is located 16 kilometres south of Geraldton, which is about 420 kilometres north of Perth

A WA Police spokeswoman said 'a large police operation is currently underway to ensure public safety and apprehend the outstanding escapees.'

'There is currently a disturbance occurring at the Greenough Regional Prison involving inmates,' she said.

'We urge the public to ensure that all their doors and windows are locked and if driving in the area to keep doors locked.'

The prison (entrance pictured) is located 16 kilometres south of Geraldton, which is about 420 kilometres north of Perth




A convicted sex offender is accused of kidnapping and raping a mother-of-three at gunpoint just hours after begging the woman's husband for gas at their home.

Anthony Randklev, 39, was charged on Tuesday over the terrifying attack on the 34-year-old woman at her home near Fergus Falls, Minnesota.

Randklev is accused of going to the couple's house late on Saturday night and asking if they had any spare gas because he had run out.

The woman's husband said he gave Randklev some gas despite seeing that his gauge showed that he had plenty.

Anthony Randklev, 39, was charged on Tuesday over the terrifying attack on the 34-year-old woman at her home near Fergus Falls, Minnesota

She told police that Randklev woke her up the following morning and threatened to kill her family.

He allegedly bound her hands and covered her face before driving her to an abandoned house.

Randklev then forced the woman to undress at gunpoint and raped her, according to the criminal complaint.

He later left the woman and fled the abandoned home.

The woman's three sons, all aged under 10, had told authorities they saw a pickup truck parked outside their home when a masked man with a gun came inside and asked about their mother.

A 911 caller reported seeing a pickup truck leaving the abandoned property some three hours after the abduction.

Authorities then spotted the truck at a nearby gas station and were able to arrest Randklev after a short pursuit.

He is charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping, burglary, weapons possession, false imprisonment and fleeing police.

Randklev was jailed following an attack on a woman back in 2008. He kidnapped the woman and threatened her with a saw before he raped her.
The Royal Navy patrol ship HMS Sabre has escorted an unidentified Spanish warship out of Gibraltars waters amid ongoing Brexit tensions and Spanish pressure about the Rocks future.

Tourists on the beach and on pedallos in the seawater watched as the two vessels sailed close to each other.

HMS Sabre is a patrol ships currently part of Gibraltar Squadron, providing protection and security to the British Gibraltar Territorial Waters.

Three people on a pedalo watch the Spanish warship in Gibraltar waters

HMS Sabre protecting Gibraltar Class Scimitar patrol ship

Speed 32 knots

Range 260 nautical miles

Commissioned: January 2005

Pennant number 285

Home port: Gibraltar Advertisement

One witness told the Mail Online: It started over on the Eastern side of the Rock and they travelled to the lighthouse. It was well into British waters.

It happens frequently and always when theyre doing negotiations over something.

Today was concerning because it was a warship, and thats different to other times.

Ive seen then fire off flares before but they didnt do that here.

Spain and the UK have wrestled over the Rock for decades. A British territory since 1713 and home to a vital Royal Navy base, Spain has long demanded its return.

In the years before Brexit, Spain regularly slowed the border crossing between the Rock and the Spanish mainland.

Gibraltar's future status has also been a key part of Spanish Brexit thinking, Prime Minister Mario Rajoy regularly raising the temperature.

Britain's position - even years before the Brexit vote - has always been that Gibraltar is part of the UK and will not be surrendered to Spain.

HMS Sabre sets sail from Gibraltar to head for the unidentified Spanish warship

One witness told the Mail Online: It started over on the Eastern side of the Rock and they travelled to the lighthouse

The witness said it took about an hour for the Spanish vessel to leave Gibraltar waters

The witness said it took about an hour for the Sabre to escort the warship out of British waters.

He added that sometimes Royal Navy ships have to fire flares when ships sail into British waters but he did not see that happen on Tuesday.

Today was concerning because it was a warship, and thats different to other times,' a witness said

A Royal Navy spokesman said: 'We have no reports of anything out of the ordinary'

The Royal Navy played down the incident insisting the ship was just doing its job.

A spokesman said: We have no reports of anything out of the ordinary.

HMS Sabre is a patrol vessel and patrols the waters around Gibralter. It happens all the time.

Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory but Madrid has long wanted to it to become part of Spain again

HMS Sabre (P285) is a patrol ships currently part of Gibraltar Squadron, providing protection and security to the British Gibraltar Territorial Waters




Republican Senator Orrin Hatch is trolling Google after the search engine listed him as dead, tweeting a proof of life and noting 'the reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.'

The senator from Utah also joked that he's advanced three bills during his demise which means, 'even in death,' he 'remains one of the Senate's most prolific legislators.'

The jokes began when the senator's office discovered that Google falsely listed Hatch as having died in 2017.

The Republican senator trolled Google after it reported he died in 2017

Several jokey tweets offered reassurance the senator, 84, is alive and well

Sen. Orrin Hatch is the longest serving Republican senator in the chamber's history

His office tweeted a screen shot of the mistake with the note: 'Hi.. @Google? We might need to talk.'

Since then, his office has offered repeated proof the senator is alive, tweeting out of photos of his last birthday party - where the theme was bacon - his meetings with officials, reading the newspapers, and signing legislation.

Tuesday morning there was a tweet of the senator reading The Washington Post with the note: 'Catching up on the news this morning, grateful to be alive.'

There was also a short video of Hatch offering a play on Mark Twain's famous quote by saying: 'The reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.'

As the most senior senator, Hatch, 84, serves as President Pro Temp of the Senate - a ceremonial role that requires him to sign legislation the chamber passes and makes him third in the line of succession to the presidency after the vice president and speaker of the House.

In January of this year, Hatch announced that he will retire from the Senate at the end of his current term, January 3, 2019.

Mitt Romney is running to replace him and is favored to win.

Bacon was the theme of the senator's last birthday party

Hatch also serves as President Pro Temp of the Senate and is third in line for the presidency

Having been a senator since 1977, Hatch is the longest-serving Republican senator in U.S. history .

The social media campaign was successful: Google changed its search result in order to reflect that Senator Hatch is indeed alive.
You may not remember the story about the Burden sisters. Both unmarried, they lived their lives in a house in Wiltshire inherited from their parents. Good, kind, dutiful people, they devoted themselves to looking after a succession of elderly relations in their home.

But as they grew old, they grew worried. They began to fear about what would become of the surviving sister after one of them died.

Especially, they feared for what would become of their jointly owned home, which was brimming with age-old shared associations, so dear to them both.

The problem was the taxman. For, though the sisters relationship was as close and long-standing as that of most husbands and wives  and (to speak the truth) greatly more so than many  the Government was not prepared, as it was for married couples, to protect the joint home for the surviving sister once she was on her own.

Instead, it would tax the deceased sisters share of the property. Since its value had greatly increased in the many decades of their ownership, this meant the surviving sister would, on bereavement, be turfed out of her own home because she would need to sell it to pay the inheritance tax.

Messy

Virginia Utley with her niece Livvy - Catherine Utley's daughter. The siblings lived together to provide her with a stable home

For years, the Burdens wrote to successive Chancellors at Budget-time to ask whether the Government would consider deferring the inheritance tax in cases like theirs until after both deaths.

Every time, they were told that this was only allowed for married couples.

When civil partnerships became law in 2004, extending the rights of married couples to couples of the same sex, the Burdens saw their chance and took their case to court.

They didnt ask to be civil partners, but they did want to be treated in the same way for inheritance tax. There was nothing in the law to say that civil partners had to be in a sexual relationship.

Wasnt it, they argued, unfair discrimination not to allow devoted, long-term cohabiting sisters equal treatment for inheritance tax purposes? In 2008, the European Court of Human Rights ruled against them. The sisters, by then aged 90 and 82, were told that without a binding legal commitment between them, they could not have the advantages that went with a binding legal commitment.

They could not enter a binding legal commitment because they were sisters. And there was no further explanation as to why sisters could not enter a binding legal commitment.

All this has become topical again: the Government is conducting a review on the future of civil partnerships because same-sex marriage has left things messy.

Gay couples may now choose between civil partnership or marriage, heterosexual couples have marriage  and yet partners who live together permanently as adults but are blood-related have no access to any safeguards at all.

The most likely outcome of the Governments review will be that civil partnerships will be opened up to opposite sex couples, so that any two unmarried people will be able to benefit from the tax breaks they offer, as long, it seems, as their relationship is presumed to be based on sexual attraction or activity.

Shamefully, the Government plans, as ever, to leave family members who live together permanently as adults high and dry. Now, though, the senior Conservative peer and official historian of the Conservative Party, Lord Lexden, has launched the latest heroic attempt  there have been many by others over the years  to start the process of ending this glaring injustice.

This prominent peer, who has done much to promote gay rights, has a bill before Parliament which would extend the right to form a civil partnership to siblings over the age of 30 who have lived together for a minimum of 12 consecutive years.

Shameful

Catherine (right) and Ginda Utley have raised Catherine's daughter Livvy, now 22, together. They are campaigning to be recognised as a family legally and for inheritance purposes

At its second reading, Lord Lexden argued that now same-sex marriage was available for gay couples, it was time to reach out to those who need access to rights and safeguards but who have been ignored by the State.

It was shameful, Lord Lexden said, that, in all too many cases, long-term cohabiting siblings, often in the most devoted relationships, were left by the State to cope as best they could, at the time of their deepest grief, with the added misery of the loss of a loved shared home.

Here, I declare an interest. My sister Virginia and I, and my daughter Livvy (now in her mid-20s), were at the House of Lords to watch last weeks debate.

Virginia and I have lived together for most of our lives. When I had Livvy, Virginia stood by me, moving out of her home and buying a house with me and sharing the childcare so my daughter could grow up in a stable, loving home.

Overlooked

It has always seemed dreadful to me that the Government would punish my sisters decency and generosity to me by presenting her with a tax bill on my death which, if the current situation does not change, would mean her having to lose her home.

The older we get, the more we worry about it.

How moving and how encouraging it was, then, to hear speaker after speaker rise to support Lord Lexden.

Many peers had their own examples of the difficulties faced by the survivors of lifelong platonic partnerships after the first death.

For example, there were the two unmarried sisters who ran Baroness Wilcoxs local post office. When one died, the other lost not only the person she loved so much but the house and the business as well.

Lord Alton mentioned the sort of unassuming people who, because they do not join protest marches or organise campaign groups, are too often overlooked.

He told of a woman who lived with her brother for 30 years in their house in London, which they owned jointly.

The sister nursed her brother through his final illness. He died, comforted by the belief that their joint savings would pay for her care in old age.

In the event, the inheritance tax on his share of the property  bought for a modest sum decades earlier  came to more than they had managed to save, and she had to sell the house, with all its memories and in the neighbourhood where she was surrounded by a network of support.

Lord True, who for decades was a councillor in Richmond-upon-Thames, felt terrible about not having been able to help two sisters, former teachers, who had lived for 70 years in their parents home.

After the death of one, the other found herself forced

out  and away from all her memories and all that was familiar to her  by inheritance tax. I could do nothing, he said, about that profound injustice and suffering caused to the surviving sister.

The problems faced by live-in family members who act as carers, saving the State a fortune in social care, were raised by the formidable lawyer, Baroness Deech, who has made tireless efforts over the years to persuade successive governments to address the lack of rights for platonic partners.

Why should such carers not enjoy some tax breaks and financial support, she asked, especially if they stand to be evicted from their home when the cared-for person dies?

The Government response to all of this was floundering and nonsensical.

Civil partnerships, said the minister, Baroness Williams of Trafford,  . . . are a significant instrument, allowing same-sex couples to have their intimate partner relationship recognised by society and the law. Of course she is right, and that was the purpose for which they were introduced. But had she not grasped Lord Lexdens whole point, that that was 14 years ago and society has moved on?

Same-sex couples can now marry, so it is time to use the civil partnership legislation to address an injustice that disgracefully remains unaddressed.

The ministers main point is that inheritance tax problems faced by sibling couples must not be solved through allowing them civil partnerships because this was not an appropriate vehicle. Any extension of inheritance tax deferral to family couples would be a matter for the Treasury.

Which brings us back, full circle, to the Burden sisters  and that argument that they could not have the tax break without the partnership, and they could not have the partnership because they were sisters.

If the Government believes platonic love is somehow inferior to sexual love outside of marriage and must be punished, then it must explain why.

And if it cannot, it must act now to find a way to address the injustice. Feelings have been well and truly stirred.

The genie is out of the bottle.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency more than tripled the number of work site investigations it conducted so far in 2018, according to new federal data.

Since October 1, 2017  the beginning of fiscal year 2018  ICE has opened investigations into 6,093 workplaces, compared to 1,716 in all of fiscal year 2017.

The agency also made 984 administrative arrests as of July 20 of this year, nearly six times the 172 officials made the year prior. Administrative arrests are when someone is accused of being in the country illegally, but they haven't been charged with any other crimes.

ICE has more than tripled the number of work place investigations it's executed so far in fiscal year 2018 compared to 2017. It's also dramatically ramped up arrests of immigrants on criminal and immigration charges

ICE officials also increased the number of criminal arrests it made, taking in 675 immigrants compared to 139 in all of 2017.

Altogether, the 1,659 arrests made so far in FY2018 amount to five times the 311 arrests of FY2017.

The data comes as calls to #abolishICE are growing on Twitter, a trend started in response to the separation of children from parents at the southern U.S. border and after many public crackdowns and arrests of immigrants.

Immigrant advocates said they weren't surprised by the numbers, but that the intensified efforts ultimately represented the Trump administration's efforts to target low-hanging fruit.

'I question whether this takes away resources that really go after criminal gangs and other serious criminal aliens,' said Stephen Yale-Loehr, an Ithaca-based attorney and professor of immigration law at Cornell University.

'The administration is trying to instill fear among undocumented immigrants,' he added.

Immigration opponents, meanwhile, viewed the crackdown as a victory that signals an end to a period when they believe immigrants could live and work illegally in the U.S. without facing any consequences.

'This is good news, said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, an anti-immigration think tank based in Washington D.C. 'From a policy sense you need to deter illegal hiring as much as possible because jobs are what people come here for. If it's harder to get a job they're more likely to go home.'

The crackdowns were part of a larger effort to audit companies in order to 'create a culture of compliance among employers,' officials said in a statement.

Earlier this month, a U.S. District Court judge issued a preliminary injunction related to a California law that prevented private employers from voluntarily cooperating with federal immigration officials during work place investigations.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), officers arrest an undocumented Mexican immigrant during a raid in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn on April 11, 2018 in New York City

The U.S. Department of Justice had filed a preemptive lawsuit in March of this year to stop California from interfering with federal immigration authorities. Ultimately, the court found the law discriminated against California employers who wanted to cooperate with ICE.

The companies that ICE has targeted have been primarily staffing companies and restaurants, said Allen Orr Jr., a Washington D.C.-based attorney and second vice president for the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

'This is just another political ploy by the administration following up on its zero-tolerance policy at a time when they should be using their resources to reunite these families that were separated at the border,' he said.

'Socioeconomically, this type of enforcement will affect low-wage workers, minimum wage workers and their families,' Orr added.
Coups detat used to be conducted by Latin-American generalissimos with dark glasses and scrambled egg  huevos revueltos  on their army tunics.

In Britain the Establishment has little taste for gold braid.

Are our anti-democratic outrages carried out by murmuring mandarins working to the Cabinet-bypassing diktats of a dishonest prime minister?

First the Iraq War. Now the Chequers betrayal of Brexit?

Whitehalls most controversial fixer, Oliver Robbins, came to Westminster for a taste of parliamentary scrutiny. Mr Robbins runs Theresa Mays Europe unit at 10 Downing Street.

Dominic Raab, Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union and Olly Robbins who runs Theresa May's Europe policy unit at number 10 Downing Street

He has been given powers that arguably usurp those of HM Secretary of State for Brexit.

Mr Robbins is the man whose soft-Brexit papers were sprung on the Cabinet at Chequers.

Eurosceptic MPs have long been itching to interrogate him but were told he was unavailable.

Finally it was agreed he could go before Hilary Benns pro-Remain select committee on Brexit. Yesterday he did so. Last afternoon of term. Convenient.

Physically, Mr Robbins is a commanding presence: tall, bull-necked, strong hair, wide shoulders.

He wore a smart suit, his black shoes dazzlingly polished. He sat alongside Dominic Raab, new Brexit Secretary (predecessor David Davis having quit at Mr Robbinss interferences).

Anyone judging Raab and Robbins simply on looks might have presumed that the latter was the politician, for he bore himself with the greater pomp. Mr Raab? A foot shorter, with the darting, stressy look of a clerk.

A vein throbs on the right of his brow and he is prone to flushing in the face.

When they spoke, the balance changed. Raab was husky, lawyerly enough to see off nitpickers (eg. matinee favourite Joanna Cherry of the SNP), at other moments quite impressively brusque with low-grade pointscorers (eg. Labours Stephen Kinnock).

By contrast Mr Robbinss voice was as soft as margarine. He was deferential. He bit on the lower lip, did lots of nodding and flashed a pair of dimples, working rising inflections into his tone. Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood and his stand-in Sir Mark Sedwill, along with civil service chief executive John Manzoni, speak in almost an identical way.

John Whittingdale (Con, Maldon) claimed that most ministers knew nothing of the soft-Brexit plan pulled out of the Chequers hat.

Mr Robbins, meekly: I dont think so. He claimed Mrs Mays engagement with colleagues was constant. Constant but deceptive, perhaps.

Mr Whittingdale said it looked as if Mrs May had tried to circumvent her Cabinet.

Mr Robbins, who began most of his answers with so, said its certainly not a picture I or the Prime Minister would recognise.

Theresa Mays head of the Europe unit at number 10 Downing Street Olly Robbins was undergoing a spot of parliamentary scrutiny today. He has been given powers that arguably usurp those of HM Secretary of State for Brexit, Dominic Raab

Mr Robbinss enhanced powers were confirmed in a parliamentary written answer published a few minutes before yesterdays committee hearing.

It confirmed a change of government machinery which all but emasculates the Brexit department.

Craig Mackinlay (Con, S Thanet) said: I feel a coup detat has been going on. Mr Robbins: So, Mr Mackinlay, I honestly dont recognise the picture.

Jacob Rees-Mogg (Con, NE Somerset) wondered when Mr Robbins had started writing his Chequers papers.

These papers had their origins in other papers, said Mr Robbins. See how sneaky they are at this sort of thing? He finally conceded that the first versions of the Chequers papers were written about a fortnight earlier.

Mr Rees-Mogg, with deadly politeness, said he did not hold Mr Robbins responsible for a worrying breakdown in Cabinet government.

Mr Robbins thanked him. Mr Rees-Mogg now said that he blamed Mrs May. Mr Robbins gave a pale gulp, wishing he had not been so quick to thank the Mogg.

It is often said Tony Blair lied to ministers and to Parliament when he took us into the Iraq War, and that his dishonesty wrecked public trust in our political system.

If Mrs May has just misled her own ministers, on a national strategic relationship with the EU which may impede our economy for decades, her reputation will sink as low as that of the sharply hated Blair. And she will deserve the odium.
Prosecutors say a gunman who took hostages inside a Los Angeles supermarket has been charged with murder, attempted murder and dozens of other charges.

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office said Gene Evin Atkins was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday on 31 charges.

Police say Atkins shot his grandmother seven times, kidnapped his 17-year-old girlfriend and shot at officers as they chased his car and then as he ran into the Trader Joe's in the city's congested Silver Lake section on Saturday afternoon.

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office said Gene Evin Atkins was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday on 31 charges

Police Chief Michel Moore said a store worker, Melyda Corado, was killed by a police officer's bullet as Atkins exchanged gunfire with officers while he ran into the store.

Prosecutors say Atkins is being charged with murder under a legal rule that his actions set into motion a series of events leading to Corado being killed.

Melyda Corado, 27, died in an exchange of gunfire between police and 28-year-old Gene Evin Atkins after the suspect slammed his car into the front of the store in the Silver Lake neighborhood.

LAPD chief Michel Moore said Corado, an assistant manager, ran to the front of the store after hearing the crash and was shot once in the arm while trying to escape onto the sidewalk.

Mely Corado, the Trader Joe's assistant manager who died after being struck in the arm by a police bullet during a gun battle on Saturday

'I'm sorry to report that we've now determined through our forensic investigation that one of the officers' rounds struck Ms. Corado as she was exiting the market and was in close proximity to Atkins,' Moore said.

'Ms. Corado ran back into the store and collapsed behind the manager's desk.'

In deciding whether to open fire, the officers had to consider whether the suspect in what was already a long-running series of violent events would become an active shooter in a market crowded with weekend shoppers, Moore said.

'That is the worst, worst decision that any officer ever wishes to have to make,' the chief said.

Grieving family members, co-workers and customers on Sunday remembered Corado as lively, hardworking and always smiling.

A makeshift memorial of flowers, candles and notes grew on the sidewalk outside of the store.

'I'm sad to say she didn't make it. My baby sister. My world,' her brother, Albert Corado said on Twitter. On Tuesday, he retweeted news stories saying his sister had been hit by a police round.

'Yesterday marks the saddest day in Trader Joe's history as we mourn the loss of one our own,' company spokeswoman Kenya Friend-Daniel said in a statement.

Corado died at the scene after the bullet passed through her body.

A makeshift memorial of flowers, candles and notes grew on the sidewalk outside of the store on Monday

'I'm sad to say she didn't make it. My baby sister. My world,' her brother, Albert Corado said on Twitter

The violence began when Atkins shot his 76-year-old grandmother several times at their South Los Angeles home after she complained about his having too many television sets on, said a cousin, Charlene Egland.

The grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Madison, was taken to a hospital in critical condition. Egland said she had surgery and was improving Sunday.

Madison raised Atkins from the age of 7 and he had never been violent toward her but recently seemed upset and distant, Egland said.

For the past two or three weeks, the two argued over Atkins' girlfriend, who was staying at their home, Egland said.

'She didn't want the girl over there anymore,' Egland added.

Egland said she was walking toward the house when she heard about six gunshots. Another cousin who lives in the house came running from the porch and shouted to Egland, 'I think Gene shot my mama!'

Police said Atkins' girlfriend was grazed in the head by a bullet, but the injury was not life threatening.

Corado died at the scene (pictured on Sunday) after the bullet passed through her body. LAPD has sent their condolences to her family

A note with Corado's likeness among flowers that have been left outside the store following Saturday's hostage siege

Egland ran to call 911 but Atkins allegedly forced his wounded girlfriend into his grandmother's car and drove away.

A stolen-car device helped police track the car to Hollywood but Atkins refused to pull over, police said.

During the chase, Atkins fired at officers, blowing out the car's back window, and there was more shooting before the car crashed into a pole outside the Trader Joe's, followed by another shootout with police, Police Chief Michel Moore said.

Customers and employees dived for cover and barricaded themselves inside storerooms and bathrooms as bullets flew.

Atkins held some as hostages, let some go and then surrendered several hours later.

Trader Joe's worker Sean Gerace was praised for barricading a hallway before helping several co-workers to escape.

Gerace, who was working in the back of the supermarket, took his colleagues into an upstairs storage area after hearing gunfire.

He placed a folding storage ladder outside of a window, helping colleagues escape to safety, he told NBC Los Angeles.

Gene Evin Atkins, 28, (pictured) remained behind bars on Sunday in lieu of $2 million bail, according to police
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A lawyer for the Stanford rapist, who is back in court after serving just months in jail for sexual assault, is arguing that his client only wanted 'outcourse' not intercourse with an unconscious woman outside a fraternity party.

Brock Turner's lawyer Eric S. Multhaup stated that his client was fully dressed when he was caught engaging in 'aggressive thrusting' on the half-naked woman by two Swedish graduate students in 2015.

During the appeal hearing this week, Multhaup claimed there wasn't enough evidence that Turner intended to have intercourse, or rape. He added that Turner only wanted to have fully clothed 'outercourse', SF Gate reports.

Brock Turner's (left) lawyer Eric S. Multhaup (right) argued that his client only wanted 'outcourse' not intercourse with an unconscious woman outside a fraternity party

The justices proceeding over the hearing however, were not convinced.

'I absolutely don't understand what you are talking about,' Justice Franklin D. Elia said. She added that the law 'requires the jury verdict to be honored' and that they were not in a position to say the jury should not have found him guilty.

Justice Adrienne Grover also argued against Multhaup's suggestion that the jury 'filled in the blanks' about the crime, saying that: 'Intent is rarely proved by direct evidence.

'You can't surgically remove things and look at them separately.'

Assistant Attorney General Alisha Carlile gave the harshest response, calling the lawyer's claims a 'far-fetched version of events'.

Turner, a member of Stanford University's swim team, served only three months in prison after he was convicted of attempted rape over the incident outside a campus fraternity party in 2015, andreceived a six-month sentence from Judge Aaron Persky.

He also has to register as a sex offender if his conviction stands.

The lenient sentence received such a backlash that Persky was later recalled by voters.

Persky, who drew national condemnation for his lenient sentencing of Turner, saw his 15-year career end in what Michele Dauber, the Stanford professor who led the campaign, described as a victory for the #MeToo movement.

Judge Aaron Persky saw his 15-year career on the bench ended as California voted to recall him following outrage over his sentencing of Brock Turner

Dauber, who knew Turner's victim, said: 'The broader message of this victory is that violence against women is now a voting issue.

'This is a historical moment in time. Women are standing up for their rights and there is a national reckoning.'

Persky declined to comment and said repeatedly that he couldn't discuss the case because Turner has appealed his conviction.

But in a lengthy interview with The Associated Press, he said he didn't regret the decision and was taken aback by the reaction.

'I expected some negative reaction,' Persky said. 'But not this.'

Persky sentenced Turner to six months in jail for sexual assault despite prosecutors recommending he be given six years

Persky said he was adopting the probation department's recommendation to spare Turner prison for several reasons, including Turner's age, clean criminal record and the fact that both Turner and the victim were intoxicated.

'The problem with this recall is it will pressure judges to follow the rule of public opinion as opposed to the rule of law.'

The California Commission on Judicial Performance ruled that he handled the case legally. Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen didn't appeal the sentence.

The case sparked a national debate over the criminal justice system's treatment of sexual assault victims and racial inequities in court.

He could have been jailed for up to 14 years, the maximum sentence in California, but instead was given just six months imprisonment and three years probation. Turner served just three of those months before being released.

He has been registered as a sex offender and has to report to a probation officer for three years, during which he is not allowed to drink or take drugs.

During the trial he admitted to being drunk at the time of the incident and said he'd dabbled with LSD.

Persky and holds undergraduate degrees from Stanford and a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Many complained Persky showed too much deference to Turner, a white Stanford scholarship athlete whose parents could afford a private attorney.

Activists pointed to numerous other cases in which minorities faced much harsher sentences for less egregious crimes.

The victim, who came to be known as Emily Doe, testified she was passed out behind a trash can when two men saw Turner on top of her.

Turner was found humping an unconscious female student near these dumpsters on the campus of Stanford University back in 2015

The two men, Swedish graduate students, yelled at Turner to stop and then chased him and held him down for police when tried to flee.

Persky said he took the victim's experience into account when sentencing Turner.

But the judge said the publicity of Turner's arrest and trial and the young man's loss of a swimming scholarship also factored into his sentence.

Turner is also required to register for life as a sex offender. Persky cited numerous letters of support friends, former teachers and employers wrote on behalf of Turner.

'I think you have to take the whole picture in terms of what impact imprisonment has on a specific individual's life,' Persky said during the sentencing hearing.

The rape charges were dropped during his trial but he was convicted of three counts of felony sexual assault in March 2016.

Turner's father fueled public fury when, in a letter to a judge begging him to spare his son jail, he described it as 'a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action'.

'His life will never be the one that he dreamed about and worked so hard to achieve,' Dan. A. Turner wrote.

Turner became the face of the college campus sex scandal which engulfed the US in 2016 and which continues to be fought over and challenged by activists across the country.




Israel has shot down a Syrian fighter jet it claimed had breached Israeli airspace.

Today's incident came as advancing Syrian government forces who had retaken territory from rebels reached the Golan Heights frontier for the first time in seven years.

The Israeli military said it monitored the advance of the Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet and shot it down with a pair of Patriot missiles after it penetrated Israeli airspace by just over a mile.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the breach of Israeli territory a "gross violation" of a 1974 agreement that established the demilitarised zone between Israel and Syria.

Syria's military, however, said one of its jets had been targeted by Israel over Syrian territory as it flew sorties against Islamic State (IS) militants.

Syrian forces have been battling rebels and IS militants at the frontier with Israel for weeks in a campaign to restore President Bashar Assad's rule over south-western Syria.

Smoke trails from two Patriot missiles can be seen near the Israeli city of Safed in northern Israel today

It is the first time that Israel has shot down a manned Syrian fighter jet since 2014.

The army said there had been an increase in 'internal fighting in Syria,' including involving the air force, since the morning hours.

It said it was on 'high alert and will continue to operate against the breach' of a 1974 ceasefire agreement between the two countries.

Israel has been stressing for weeks that it would enforce the ceasefire between it and Syria amid a Russian-backed government offensive in the country's south.

'A short while ago, two Patriot missiles were launched at a Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet that infiltrated into Israeli airspace,' the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

'The IDF monitored the advance of the fighter jet, which infiltrated about two kilometres (1.24 miles) into Israeli airspace. It was then intercepted by the Patriot missiles.'

But, a Syrian military source accused Israel of firing at one of its warplanes as it carried out operations against jihadists over Syrian territory in the Golan Heights.

The source, cited by state news agency SANA, said Israel 'targeted one of our warplanes... in Syrian airspace'.

The Israeli military said the Syrian plane it shot down had departed from the Syrian T4 air base  which Israel is believed to have attacked earlier this year  and had crashed on the Syrian-held side of the Golan Heights.

Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus said: 'We do not have any information so far about the pilots. I do not know of any reports of parachutes being spotted, and we do not know if any pilots have been retrieved.'

Today's incident comes a day after Israel's air defences fired at Syrian rockets it feared could hit its territory

Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus said the aircraft crashed 'most likely in the southern part of the Syrian Golan Heights'. Israel occupies a large part of the Golan

Lt Col. Conricus said that the plane flew toward Israel at 'relatively high speed' before it allegedly breached the country's airspace.

It was not known whether the plane had deliberately crossed into Israel, he said, while confirming that the plane was Syrian, not Russian.

He added: 'The only thing we know about the aircraft is that it crashed, most likely in the southern part of the Syrian Golan Heights.'

An AFP correspondent said flames and smoke could be seen rising from the area of the fence between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Israel launched two Patriot missiles over Golan Heights to intercept a fighter jet, according to the military

Today's incident comes a day after Israel's air defences fired at Syrian rockets it feared could hit its territory.

Syrian troops have ousted rebels from a majority of the country's south, part of which borders the Israeli-occupied Golan, and are now closing in on a patch held by the Islamic State group.

The Damascus regime has long accused Israel of backing ISIS and other opposition factions.

'The Israeli enemy has confirmed its adoption of armed terrorist groups, and targeted one of our warplanes which was hitting them in the Saida region on the edge of the Yarmuk basin in Syrian airspace,' the military source said.

Photos shared on social media show the missiles being launched by Israel

The source, cited by state news agency SANA, did not specify if the plane had been hit or downed.

The town of Saida sits just inside Syrian territory, about one kilometre (less than one mile) east of the buffer zone with the Israeli-annexed Golan, and is held by ISIS.

Clashes were raging between regime troops and ISIS jihadists on the northern edges of the town on Tuesday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (above) met with the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, on Monday

Israel has been on high alert since June 19, when Syrian government forces launched the Russia-backed offensive to retake Quneitra and Daraa and provinces, adjacent respectively to the Israeli-held section of the Golan and to Jordan.

Israel has sought to avoid direct involvement in Syria's seven-year civil war, but it has acknowledged carrying out dozens of air strikes there to stop what it says are advanced weapons deliveries to Hezbollah, one of its enemies.

It has also pledged to prevent its arch-enemy Iran from entrenching itself militarily in the neighbouring country.

A series of air strikes that have killed Iranians in Syria have been attributed to Israel in recent weeks.

The strikes have led to condemnation from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, but Israel has maintained good relations with Russia and has coordinated its actions in Syria with Moscow.

Both Russia and Iran are backing Assad in the civil war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Jerusalem on Monday to discuss the Syrian conflict.

Russia offered to keep Iranian forces 100 kilometres (62 miles) away from the Israeli-occupied Golan, but Israel said the proposal did not go far enough.

'We won't accept Iranian military entrenchment in Syria, not near the border, not beyond the 100-kilometre stretch, which by the way the Russians talk about and agree to,' a senior Israeli official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

'We said there are also long-range weapons beyond that distance, and all the forces must leave Syria.'

Israel seized 1,200 square kilometres (460 square miles) of the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Six Day war, in a move never recognised internationally.

Israel activates 'David's Sling' missile defense system for first time to intercept Syrian rockets

The shooting down of the fighter jet comes a day after Israel activated a joint US-Israeli missile interceptor in response to rockets from the fighting in neighboring Syria, that were believed to be headed for Israeli territory.

The system, dubbed David's Sling, is meant to counter the type of medium-range missiles that Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militants have and rounded out Israel's multi-layer aerial defense system when it became operational in 2017.

Its activation came after Israel on two separate occasions this month fired Patriot missiles at incoming drones from Syria.

The Israeli military said two interceptors were launched after rockets from the fighting in Syria were identified.

No injuries or damage was reported, and the military says the rockets landed in Syrian territory.

The interceptors were launched on the Syrian frontier, where Damascus's Russian-backed forces have been routing rebels.

Smoke can be seen following an explosion at the Syrian side of the Israeli Syrian border as it is seen from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Israel, on Monday, July 23

The incident set off sirens throughout northern Israel and residents were forced to rush into shelters.

David's Sling's addition last year marked the completion of Israel's multi-tier system that includes the Arrow, designed to intercept long-range ballistic missiles in the stratosphere with an eye on Iran, and Iron Dome, which defends against short-range rockets from the Gaza Strip.

Israel evacuates 800 White Helmets heroes and their families from Syrian army advances so they can be resettled in Britain, Germany and Canada

An attempt to evacuate up to 800 White Helmets rescue workers in Syria to Jordan on Sunday, with the help of the Israeli military, was condemned yesterday by Damascus as a 'criminal operation'.

Nearly 300 White Helmets were left stranded in Syria after efforts to get them out of a war-torn region in the country failed.

The first responders were prevented from reaching an evacuation point in an escape operation.

Syria's civil defence unit, known as White Helmets, are trying to escape the country's war-torn region in the south into Jordan but up to 300 volunteers have been left behind. This file photo shows the group responding after air strikes on Douma in 2016

The UK has backed an international effort to rescue members of the group and their families via the frontier with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said in a joint statement with Penny Mordaunt, the International Development Secretary, that the 'brave and selfless' volunteers required 'immediate protection'.

Jordan's foreign ministry announced in a statement that the kingdom received 422 Syrian citizens, after earlier saying it had given permission for 800 to arrive.

An Israeli soldier hands out water on a bus during the evacuation of White Helmets from Syria

It has been reported the remaining White Helmets could not reach Israeli-occupied Golan Heights due to fighting between ISIS and the Syrian regime.

The saved White Helmets rescue workers in Syria were evacuated with the help of the Israeli military and could be resettled in the UK.

The Syrian regime considers the White Helmets as a 'terrorist organisations' as they operate in areas controlled by opponents to Bashar al-Assad. The group fled the area near the southern border earlier this summer.

A convoy on its way from the Golan Heights as the Israeli army helped to rescue White Helmets

A video grab shows the evacuation of White Helmet rescuers in Syria on their way to Jordan

Founded in 2013, the Syria Civil Defence, or White Helmets, is a network of first responders which rescues wounded in the aftermath of air strikes, shelling or explosions in rebel-held territory.

On Monday Damascus condemned the evacuation, calling it a 'criminal operation.'

Jordan agreed to temporarily house 422 evacuees, although its Foreign Ministry said Britain, Germany and Canada would resettle them.

Family members of the Syrian WHite Helmet rescuers on a bus during the evacuation

Spokesman Mohammed al-Kayed said the Syrians would remain in a closed area for up to three months before moving on.

Israel carried out the rescue mission on Saturday night following a request from the 'US, Canada, and EU countries'.

It is unclear at this time just how many Syrian rescue workers could be relocated to the UK.

People are escorted to a bus by Israeli soldiers during the evacuation on Sunday

Mr Hunt and Penny Mordaunt said in a joint statement: 'Following a joint diplomatic effort by the UK and international partners, a group of White Helmets volunteers from southern Syria and their families have been able to leave Syria for safety.

'They are now being assisted by the UNHCR in Jordan pending international resettlement.

'The White Helmets have saved over 115,000 lives during the Syrian conflict, at great risk to their own. Many White Helmets volunteers have also been killed while doing their work - trying to rescue civilians trapped in bombarded buildings or providing first aid to injured civilians.

Israeli soldiers guiding members of families of Syrian White Helmet rescuers into a bus

'White Helmets have been the target of attacks and, due to their high profile, we judged that, in these particular circumstances, the volunteers required immediate protection.

'We therefore took steps with the aim of affording that protection to as many of the volunteers and their families as possible.

'We pay tribute to the brave and selfless work that White Helmets volunteers have done to save Syrians on all sides of the conflict.'
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A typical pet dog's day-to-day consists of a regular schedule for meals, the toilet, brisk walks and if they're lucky, some playtime. But not for Sylar.

The four-year-old border collie wakes up every morning in his 13-acre mansion in Beijing, where he'll get to play in his personal swimming pool, enjoy a pamper session in a spa and have luxury imported dog treats such as cheese and sausages and greet his 800,000 fans in viral videos.

For 31-year-old Zhou Tianxiao, spending three million yuan (335,000) to transform an abandoned warehouse into a 'pet paradise' for his beloved pooch is more than worth it.

'I'll do anything for Sylar,' Zhou, a popular blogger, told MailOnline.

Zhou Tianxiao, 31, spent three million yuan (335,000) to transform an abandoned warehouse into a 'pet paradise' for his dog

Zhou said he got a dog after becoming tired of 'a life with no meaning'. The experience turned out to be life-changing

Zhou found the abandoned warehouse in Shunyi and spent a total of six months on the entire design and renovation process

The luxury villa, with its own bar (pictured) is exclusively open to Zhou's friends who are also dog owners and his customers

The luxury villa also has a cafe and bar that lets dog owners and guests grab a drink while their dogs are having fun outside

Before he met Sylar, Zhou said 'he had no one to live for'.

His parents separated when he was only a year old and he had been living with his grandmother. He dropped out of high school when he was 15 and started drinking heavily and playing video games at Internet cafes, day in, day out.

'Back then, I didn't have a meaning in life,' the Beijing native said. 'I was lonely and I had no one to work hard for.'

Then one day four years ago, tired of video games and drinking, he decided to get a dog. He had never owned a pet before and had no knowledge of how to look after one.

The experience, he said, was life-changing.

Four-year-old border collie Sylar enjoys a dip in his personal swimming pool wearing doggy goggles

Sylar enjoys a nice long bath in his luxury villa in the suburbs of Beijing. His owner Zhou said he would spend anything on him

All 29 rooms in the 'pet paradise' are equipped with individual backyards for guest dogs to play in the sunshine

Zhou learned how to train his dog from watching YouTube videos. Sylar can now do all sorts of tricks on command

He started watching dog training videos on YouTube and learned how to be the best pet owner. He taught Sylar to stand on his hind legs, shake hands, roll over and play dead on command. He even trained him to fetch and push a trolley full of packages.

Videos of Sylar performing various tricks were uploaded to Meipai, a Chinese video-sharing platform. The clips soon became viral, and Sylar became an internet celebrity with nearly 800,000 followers.

However, a Beijing law on pet dogs forced Zhou to make a difficult decision.

It is illegal to keep dogs taller than 35 centimetres (1.1 foot) in the city. Owners who violate the ban would have their dogs locked up and put down.

'I was only able to take Sylar for walks at 5am and 10pm in order to avoid being caught,' Zhou said. 'He wasn't able to get any sunshine.'

Zhou tattooed his beloved pooch's name on his arm. The 31-year-old owner said having Sylar is the best decision of his life

Four years ago, Zhou decided to get a dog. He met Sylar (pictured as a puppy) and decided to bring him home

The blogger saved up by operating a dog food and toy store on Taobao, China's largest e-commerce platform

He then decided to move to a two-acre lot in Shunyi, an upscale Beijing suburb. There, he continued to save up, hoping to get an even bigger place for Sylar.

'Sylar made me into a better, more responsible person,' Zhou said. 'This is my way of repaying him.'

He opened a dog food and toy store on Taobao, China's largest e-commerce site. He sold nutritious dog treats - all approved by Sylar - and offered tips and techniques to fellow pet owners.

Two years later in 2017, he saved enough to move again. This time to a much, much bigger place.

Zhou found the abandoned warehouse in the same area and spent a total of six months on the entire design and renovation process - including a giant colourful mural with Sylar's face on it.

The result is a 13-acre 'pet paradise' that opened in May. The luxury residence is currently exclusively open to Zhou's friends who are also dog owners and customers of his Taobao store.

In 2017, Zhou saved enough to move again. This time, to a much, much bigger place, also in the same area in Beijing's suburbs

The clips of Sylar doing various tricks soon became viral, and he became an internet celebrity with nearly 800,000 followers

On his online shop, Zhou sold nutritious dog treats and toys - all pre-approved by Sylar - and offered tips to other pet owners

Before Sylar, Zhou had never owned a pet before and had no knowledge of how to look after one

All 29 rooms are equipped with heating and cooling systems as well as a personal backyard. Dogs and their owners can take a dip in the heated swimming pool, which is installed with fur filters to prevent clogging.

Zhou is currently working on a 500,000 yuan (55,991) project to build a indoor training court. This way, dog owners can come and train their dogs all year round, even during the winter when temperatures usually drop to -8 degrees Celsius.

'Just like parents who want to give their child the best things in life, I want to give Sylar the best things in life,' Zhou said, who named his beloved pooch after a character in American TV series 'Heroes'.

Chinese shoppers are set to spend 46.3 billion yuan (5 billion) on their pets by 2022, up from 17.5 billion yuan (2 billion) last year as the market grows at around an annual 20 per cent, according to estimates from Euromonitor cited by Reuters.

The glam life: Border collie Sylar gets his fur air-dried in a machine that also keeps him warm as part of his pamper session

Owners in China spend an average of 497 yuan (56) on their pets every month in 2016, according to research firm Statista.

This is a great shift from China's communist past when few people kept dogs as pets, and those who owned a pet dog were scorned and marked as bourgeois timewasters by revolutionary leader Mao Zedong.

However, some dogs are not that lucky.

Despite protests and petitions, a dog-meat festival is held every year in the southern Chinese town of Yulin. Reports of animal cruelty, abuse and abandonment are reported every day.

'This is allowed to happen because there is no animal cruelty law,' Zhou said. 'It breaks my heart reading these news reports.'

While China has legislation safeguarding land-based and aquatic wildlife, it currently lacks legislation protecting animal welfare or preventing cruelty to animals.

Chinese owners are set to spend 46.3 billion yuan (5 billion) on pets by 2022, up from 17.5 billion yuan (2 billion) in 2017

Sylar changed Zhou's life. He used to drink a lot at bars and spend all his time at Internet cafes before he met the pooch

The 13-acre 'pet paradise' opened in May after six months. Zhou spent a total of 335,000 on its construction and design

In September 2009, animal rights activists and legal experts began circulating a draft Law on the Protection of Animals and in 2010, a draft Law on the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for the State Council's consideration, according to Human Rights in China, a Chinese non-governmental organisation based in New York.

The draft proposes a fine of up to 6,000 yuan (672) and two weeks' detention for those found guilty of animal cruelty, according to China Daily.

However till this day, no progress has been made.

'If you decide to get a pet, you should be responsible for it,' Zhou insisted. 'It's not a toy - it's your family.'

'In return, your pet will give you all the happiness in the world,' he said. 'Sylar is the best decision of my life and it's God's best gift to me.'

'He saved me.'

'If you decide to get a pet, you should be responsible for it,' Zhou insists. 'It's not a toy - it's your family'
Children in traditionally Buddhist Tibet have been banned from taking part in religious activities over the summer holidays, according to a Chinese state-owned newspaper.

Students were required to sign an agreement to 'not take part in any form of religious activity' during the break, The Global Times reported, quoting an education official in the regional capital of Lhasa.

The policy appears to reflect increasingly harsh restrictions on the Himalayan region's traditional Buddhist culture, largely aimed at reducing the influence of the region's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in India.

Students follow a Tibetan-language lesson at the Lhasa-Beijing Experimental Middle School on the outskirts of Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in China

Students in Lhasa were required to sign an agreement to 'not take part in any form of religious activity' during the break, according to The Global Times on Tuesday

'The students are following the regulation under the guidance of their parents and teachers,' the paper said, quoting Choephel, the head of the political education department at Lhasa Middle School, who like many Tibetans uses just one name.

No phone number was available for the department and Chinese authorities severely limit foreign journalists' access to Tibet. The report was viewed on the paper's website on Tuesday.

China claims that Tibet has been part of its territory for more than seven centuries and regards the Dalai Lama as a dangerous separatist.

Many Tibetans insist they were essentially independent before the Communist Party's People's Liberation Army's battled its way into the Himalayan region in 1950.

The presence of security forces was increased significantly after deadly anti-government rioting broke out in Lhasa in 2008 and spread quickly through Tibetan-inhabited areas in western China.

Chinese government has often regarded the Dalai Lama (pictured) as a dangerous separatist

Tibet is an autonomous region of China and located on the northern side of the Himalayas

The policy appears to reflect increasingly harsh restrictions on the region's Buddhist culture

Buddhist religious institutions that form the backbone of the region's culture have become a particular target of the authorities.

The overseas-based International Campaign for Tibet reported earlier this month that young Tibetan monks were forced to leave one of the biggest monasteries in a Tibetan region of western China as part of a drive to replace monastic life with secular education.

That threatens to cut the transmission of religious knowledge and monastic tradition between monks of different generations, the organisation said.

Recent months have also seen sweeping crackdowns on traditional Muslim culture among the Uighur ethnic minority group in the north-west region of Xinjiang and among Christians in east China.
That costumed worker sustained a concussion after being hit by a tourist

Happened one day after another ascot was attacked in Shanghai Disneyland

An unruly Shanghai Disneyland visitor has been caught on camera slapping a mascot from the back in order to get its attention.

The hit was so hard that the worker, dressed as ShellieMay the Disney bear, had to hold onto the headpiece. It is said that the worker felt unwell after the assault last Saturday.

The tourist, unidentified, was immediately told to leave the wonderland by the management, according to reports. He has also been banned from entering the popular 3.8 billion resort for six months, it is claimed.

A tourist tried to get the attention of a mascot by hitting it on the head in Shanghai Disneyland, China, on July 21. Video showed him approaching the bear from the back before slapping it

The shocking incident has been captured on a film taken by a social media user, whose screen name is 'Mengqiqi Arashi Little Prince'.

The eyewitness reported the incident to security guards.

The video was uploaded by the user onto Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, on the same day.

The web user claimed to want to seek justice for ShellieMay the Disney bear.

In the short, two-second clip, the attacking visitor can be seen stretching his arm in a bid to get the bear's attention (left) before giving it a hard slap on the back of its head (right)

In the short, two-second clip, the male tourist first waited aside as ShellieMay walked past and shook his bottom.

The tourist then stretched his body reach the mascot before giving it a slap on the back of its head.

The Disney bear turned back and walked into the rest room with the help of other staff.

'Mengqiqi Arashi Little Prince', who witnessed the incident, told Chinese video-sharing site Pear: 'The head cover is actually very, very heavy because there are metal wires to shape the head.'

The eyewitness feared that a slap as such could give the costumed worker a concussion.

The shocking incident happened just a day after another Disney mascot was attacked, also in Shanghai, according to Chinese news site KanKan News.

In the incident last Friday, the worker, who dressed as Dale the chipmunk, sustained a concussion after being hit in the head by a tourist, it is reported.

The bear touches his head and turns back after the hit (left). The mascot was ShellieMay (right), a character found in Disney resorts in Tokyo, Paris, Hawaii, Shanghai and Hong Kong

Shanghai Disneyland, the second Disneyland in China, opened to much fanfare in June, 2016

The attacking tourist was immediately asked to leave the Shanghai Disneyland by its management, reported Kan Kan, which claims to have talked to a spokesperson from Shanghai Disneyland.

KanKan's report also said the tourist has been banned from visiting the resort for six months.

MailOnline has contacted Shanghai Disneyland for comments on the matter and is awaiting a reply.

Shanghai Disneyland, the second Disneyland in China after Hong Kong Disneyland, opened to much fanfare in June, 2016.

An average of 1.4 million people visit the 390-hectare attraction every month, according to China's National Business Daily, but rude behaviour can be spotted regularly.

Previously, tourists have been caught urinating in the streets, vandalising the theme park and pushing each other around in Shanghai Disneyland.
A lifeguard has been hailed a hero after saving a boy and his mother from drowning in a swimming pool in south-east China.

The boy stepped into the deep end of the public pool by mistake in Heyuan city and was seen frantically struggling to keep his head above water.

His mother immediately rushed into the water in an attempt to save her son but then started to sink herself, prompting the lifeguard to their rescue.

Boy and his mother started to drown after they struggled to find footing in the pool in China

The lifeguard slides into the packed pool in Heyuan city and pulls the pair out in seconds

Dramatic CCTV footage of the incident on Sunday shows the lifeguard sliding into the packed pool, pulling the mother and child out in seconds.

The boy, who appeared unable to swim, attempts to doggy paddle to stay afloat but fails as the water is too deep.

His plight went unnoticed despite several people swimming right next to him.

The panicking mother wades in after her son but also finds herself fighting to find footing, leaving them both struggling in the water.

Spotting the pair a couple of feet away, the unnamed lifeguard jumped from his high chair and dashed towards the mother and child.

He ran down the steps and immediately yanked the pair out of the water.

The unnamed lifeguard jumped from his high chair and dashed towards the mother and child

A second lifeguard also offered to help the pair to safety. The pair were not injured

A second lifeguard also jumped in the pool and offered to help the pair to safety. The woman and her child were not injured thanks to the eagle-eyed guard, according to Kan Kan News.

The pool reportedly had both deep and shallow ends but the parent took her young son to the wrong end.

Net users in China praised the lifeguard's swift actions in averting the near-tragedy. Some said they couldn't even spot the drowning child in the first place.

'Such a professional and heroic lifeguard,' one said. 'He practically flew over to save the mother and son.'

'A dangerous situation was avoided thanks to this man's quick responses,' another said.

'I had to replay the video three times to be able to see the kid drowning,' another said. 'Thank goodness the lifeguard was able to spot him!'
The heatwave is having a serious impact on livestock and arable farmers.

Carrot farmer Rodger Hobson is concerned about the harsh spring and hot summer

Crops in the ground are 'parched to the bone' and sheep and cows are being given feed intended for winter as the grass has stopped growing, a National Farmers' Union leader warned.

Vegetable farmers have also been badly hit by the dry conditions and carrots may even need to be imported from abroad for Christmas dinner, it was claimed.

Giles Smith, the NFU's deputy president, said: 'Spring crops that farmers sowed in April barely know what rain is.'

Mr Smith said vegetable farmers also face problems as their reservoirs  used for irrigation  begin to run dry, adding: 'If this weather continues... we will see impacts on vegetable production. The signs are ominous.'

Rodger Hobson, of the British Carrot Growers Association, said the weather conditions means he is expecting to harvest 30 per cent fewer carrots than last year.
Iraq has seen a surge in kidnappings and killings seven months after declaring victory over Islamic State, as extremists attempt a comeback using guerrilla tactics.

In early December, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi hailed a final victory over Islamic State after Iraqi forces swept away its last remnants from the country, three years after the militant group captured about a third of Iraqs territory.

But, with its dream of a Caliphate in the Middle East now dead, Islamic State has switched to hit-and-run attacks aimed at undermining the government in Baghdad, according to military, intelligence and government officials.

The group was reinventing itself months before Baghdad announced in December that it had defeated it, according to intelligence officials, who said it would adopt guerrilla tactics when it could no longer hold territory.

Young children hold pictures of their fathers, who were killed by Islamic State militants at Kirkuk road, in Karbala, Iraq on July 5, 2018

Iraq has been experiencing an increase in kidnappings and killings, mainly in the provinces of Kirkuk, Diyala, and Salahuddin since it held an election in May.

This indicates the government will come under renewed pressure from a group that once occupied a third of the country during a three-year reign of terror.

Last month saw at least 83 cases of kidnap, murder or both in the three provinces, with most occurring on a highway connecting Baghdad to Kirkuk province.

In May, the number of such incidents in that area was 30, while in March it was seven, according to Hisham al-Hashimi, an expert on Islamic State who advises the Iraqi government.

Relatives of Saad Khudair Abbas, who was killed with a group of youth by Islamic State militants at Kirkuk road, are seen outside a house in Kerbala

Kashawi Jari, father of Walid al-Abidi, and Bassem, brother of Saad Khudair Abbas, who were killed with a group of youth by Islamic State militants at Kirkuk road, are pictured above during an interview with Reuters in Kerbala

In one incident on June 17, three Shi'ite men were kidnapped by Islamic State militants disguised as policemen at a checkpoint on the highway.

Ten days later their mutilated corpses were discovered, rigged with explosives to kill anyone who found them.

Speaking in the Shi'ite holy city of Kerbala surrounded by children wearing photos of their slain fathers around their necks, Bassem Khudair, a relative of the men, said security forces were uncooperative.

He had implored the soldiers who found the men's bullet-ridden car to pursue the kidnappers but was refused.

'We went alone, bearing personal responsibility, as three of our own had been taken and we couldn't just watch,' he said. 'Six of us, all civilians, walked for about 10 or 12 kilometres. We found their documents scattered on the ground as we walked.'

The next day, he received a phone call from his brother. The men were alive but held by Islamic State. One of the kidnappers had said they would be executed if the government did not release all female Sunni prisoners.

The kidnapper then called Khudair daily. Khudair informed the government but none of Iraq's intelligence agencies offered to trace the caller's location, he said.

In this March 9, 2017 file photo, Iraqi civilians walk toward Iraqi security forces after fleeing their homes due to fighting between government forces and Islamic State militants, on the western side of Mosul

Iraq's prime minister Haider al-Abadi, centre, raised the national flag while addressing forces from a small base on the edge of Mosul's Old City, on July 10, 2017. He had returned to Mosul to declare victory against the Islamic State group

Ten days later, the kidnapper told Khudair the men were dead. Military commanders in the provinces of Diyala and Salahuddin ducked responsibility for retrieving the bodies.

Diyala Provincial Council Chairman Ali al-Dani said the advantage currently lay with Islamic State: 'The terrorists now are moving in small groups that are hard to track. Intelligence work is needed.'

'The situation is confusing, and the reason is the chaos within the security forces. There isn't one command leading security in the province. This strengthens Daesh,' said Salahuddin Provincial Council Chairman Ahmed al-Kareem, using a pejorative term for Islamic State.

That kind of disarray among the security forces has allowed Islamic State to stage a comeback, according to military, police, intelligence, and local elected officials.

They said poor coordination, meagre support from the central government, and a culture of avoiding responsibility are hindering efforts to contain the group, which continues to stage a steady stream of lower-level attacks in addition to the spike in kidnap and murder.

Iraqis celebrated while holding national flags in Tahrir square in Baghdad, Iraq, on July 10, 2017 (stock photo)

A military spokesman did not respond to Reuters' phone calls and written requests for comment. The US-led coalition fighting Islamic State said in a statement that it 'has no safe haven in Iraq'.

In December last year, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had hailed final victory over Islamic State, saying: 'Honourable Iraqis: your land has been completely liberated. The dream of liberation is now a reality.'

The militants have regrouped in the Hemrin mountain range in the northeast, which extends from Diyala, on the border with Iran, crossing northern Salahuddin and southern Kirkuk, and overlooks Iraq's main highway.

Officials describe the area as a 'triangle of death'.

Military and intelligence officials gave varying estimates of how many Islamic State fighters remain active in Iraq.

Hashimi puts the number at more than 1,000, with about 500 in desert areas and the rest in the mountains.

Al Qaeda once held sway over most of Iraq's Sunni areas until it was beaten by U.S. and Iraqi troops and their tribal allies during the 'surge' campaign of 2006-2007.

Iraqi pro-government forces advanced towards the city of Fallujah on May 23, 2016, as part of a major assault to retake the city from Islamic State (IS) group

Its remnants hid in the desert between Syria and Iraq and later turned into Islamic State. Some officials fear an even more radical group could emerge if there are gaps in security.

'Filth wandering the desert for a loaf of bread is what they are,' said an intelligence official in Tikrit, the Salahuddin provincial capital.

Fighters are resorting to Al Qaeda's tactics: quick attacks then retreating into the desert.

Even though they possess machine guns, anti-tank weapons and mines, the militants cannot penetrate cities because they no longer enjoy support among those Sunnis who once sympathised with them, said Eid Khalaf, Salahuddin's deputy chief of police.

'They can't get food or weapons from citizens,' he said. 'Their operations are primitive; they can't send a car bomb into a city.'

Each Islamic State cell contains between three and five fighters, said Diyala Operations Commander Lieutenant General Muzher al-Azawi, who added that there were no more than 75 fighters in the province.

'They hide in the mountains, making it hard to find them. They plant explosives, use hit-and-run tactics, and snipers. They set up fake checkpoints for kidnappings,' he said.

Numerous attempts to track down and kill Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi have failed, and his fighters are still active in other Arab states.

In Syria, Islamic State still holds some territory but has suffered militarily. In Egypt, it is concentrated in the sparsely populated northern Sinai desert. It holds no territory but conducts hit-and-run attacks.

Islamic State has tried to rebuild in Libya through mobile units in the desert and sleeper cells in northern cities.

The militant group has exploited the ethnic and sectarian divide in Iraq. Iraqi and Kurdish forces fought together against Islamic State. Now ties are strained over a Kurdish bid for independence last year which Baghdad stifled.

Lack of coordination has caused a security vacuum in disputed territories, from which Iraqi forces dislodged the Kurds, creating opportunities for Islamic State.

Although life has improved in Baghdad (market above), there have been calls for the government to stem the tide of killings and kidnappings by militants

'Are we expected to go into Diyala and help them clear the area then withdraw again? We are not being attacked in those areas, Iraqi forces are. We are not there, they expelled us,' said a Kurdish security official.

Sunni tribesmen helped US and Iraqi forces turn the tide in the war against al Qaeda. Local tribes now say they need help as Islamic State claws its way back.

'We know these areas better than the security forces and at least 280 of us have been kidnapped or killed,' said Shammar tribal chief Ali Nawaf.

Last month, militants drove into a village inhabited by Shammar tribesmen and kidnapped 30 men, he said.

The next day, eight bodies were found tied up and blindfolded. Nawaf says he has 1,400 men ready to fight but they need help from the government in Baghdad.

'Either the government sends more forces, or we raise Daesh flags. If we don't plug this hole now, entire cities will fall,' Nawaf said.
The Russian Ministry of Defence has been keen to promote a range of new super weapons currently believed to be in development.

President Putin unveiled a catalogue of doomsday weaponry as part of his annual 'State of the Nation' speech in March 2018.

However, questions remain about the true nature of their capabilities, how far into development the weapons truly are, and when they will be combat-ready.

RS-28 Sarmat ICBM

The RS-28 Sarmat is intended to replace the Soviet-designed SS-18 Voyevoda, the world's heaviest ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile).

It is known as 'Satan' in the West and carries 10 nuclear warheads.

Sarmat can unleash ten large thermonuclear warheads, 16 smaller ones, or a combination of both, according to the Russian Ministry of Defence.

Each warhead is purportedly capable of taking aim at a different target.

The hypersonic glide vehicle, dubbed Avangard, launches atop an intercontinental ballistic missile (IBM) before sailing on top of the atmosphere toward its target. Russia tested its latest IBM, the Sarmat missile, for the first time last year (pictured)

The (ICBM) weapons can strike targets via both the North and South poles.

TV broadcaster Zvezda, which is run by the Russian Ministry of Defence, has previously claimed the missile will be capable of wiping out areas the size of Texas or France.

It is also capable of carrying up to 24 of Russia's new Avangard hypersonic glide vehicles, designed to sit atop of an ICBM.

Putin says both weapons will be combat-ready in 2020.

Avangard Hypersonic Glide Vehicle

Russia is also believed to be developing a hypersonic weapon that can breach even the world's most advanced missile defence systems.

The Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle purportedly travels at 20 times the speed of sound and can hit targets anywhere in the world within half an hour.

The vehicle launches atop an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, before gliding on top of the atmosphere toward its target.

It is loaded with advanced countermeasure systems that allow it to skirt around the latest-generation of missile defence systems, Russia claims.

The vehicles are equipped with onboard countermeasure systems capable of dodging even the most advanced missile defence systems. This artist's impression shows how the glider could manoeuvre at high speed to bypass missile defences

The gliders are also highly unpredictable thanks to their manoeuvrability, making them almost impossible to track using conventional systems.

Each weapon could be loaded with a nuclear warhead, however military experts say the sheer speed of the vehicles means they could do damage even without an explosive payload attached.

Putin described his hypersonic arsenal as 'invincible' during a state-of-the-nation address in March 2018.

He claimed Avangard strikes 'like a meteorite, like a fireball' and was capable of reaching targets at 20 times the speed of sound.

At this speed the weapon could circle the Earth in just over half an hour.

Speaking to MailOnline, Neil Gibson, senior weapons analyst for Jane's by IHS Markit, said: 'I think the ability of hypersonic systems to defeat air-defence system is highly exaggerated.

'They have advantages and disadvantages as per any other weapon system.

'The fact is, the vast majority of ballistic missiles are already hypersonic anyway, it's the controlled flight when still hypersonic that we are talking about here.

'If nuclear armed, they just come under 'mutually assured destruction' style posturing. Using them is always possible of course.

'Conventionally-armed versions are more likely to be used, though any confusion with what they carry - nuclear or conventional warhead - could start an exchange of nuclear weapons if it is mistaken for a nuclear attack.'

Kinzhal Hypersonic Air Launched Missile

Another new missile, the hypersonic Kinzhal, travels at ten times the speed of sound, Putin says.

It is currently undergoing tests in southern Russia.

The hypersonic Kinzhal missile is launched from a high-altitude MiG-31 fighter jet and can be fitted with either nuclear, or conventional weapons.

This still shows the hypersonic Kinzhal, which travels at ten times the speed of sound and is currently undergoing tests in southern Russia

It has an effective range of 1,250 miles (2,000 km), although Putin claims its total range is actually 'unlimited'.

Russia has already conducted some 350 training missions with the military unit tasked with testing the Kinzhal.

Putin claims the new missile would be capable of striking 'anywhere in the world', and that its high speed and manoeuvrability allowed it to pierce any missile defence.

However, despite Putin's major promises, the missile has still not been able to stay airborne for more than a few minutes, according to US intelligence sources.

The new missile has purportedly been tested four times between November and February and crashed every time.

Burevestnik nuclear powered cruise missile

The burevestnik, or thunderbird, nuclear propulsion system for Russian cruise missiles aims to give them 'unlimited range and unlimited ability to manoeuvre', according to Sergey Pertsev, a developer.

Ministry of Defence officials said in July, 2018, that work on the unlimited-range missile is going according to plan.

Footage purported to show the missile in action, although it is unclear whether it was being powered by nuclear or conventional fuel.

The 'Burevestnik' nuclear propulsion system for Russian cruise missiles, pictured, is said to have 'unlimited range and unlimited ability to manoeuvre'

'Launching systems are also being designed, while technological processes to manufacture, assemble and test the missile are being improved,' an official said at the time.

However, experts have criticised the missile, including Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.

He told Vice's Motherboard: 'The nuclear-powered cruise missile is newand bats**t crazy.'

Poseidon Drone Submarine

The Poseidon drone submarine is a sister project to burevestnik.

It is essentially a giant, nuclear-capable torpedo capable of carrying a two megaton nuclear warhead capable of obliterating military ports.

The Kremlin's Poseidon torpedo sub is designed to destroy 'enemy navy bases' and will be able to travel up to 70 knots (80 miles per hour), it claims.

Russian state news agency TASS says it has not been able to confirm details of the weapon.

The Poseidon drone submarine - with a miniature nuclear propulsion system - is shown undergoing a static test

However, it quoted a military source as saying: 'It will be possible to mount various nuclear charges on the 'torpedo' of the Poseidon multipurpose seaborne system, with the thermonuclear single warhead similar to the Avangard charge to have the maximum capacity of up to two megatonnes in TNT equivalent.'

With its nuke, the weapon 'is primarily designed to destroy reinforced naval bases of a potential enemy,' the report added.

Peresvet Combat Laser System

Named after a medieval warrior monk, very little is known about this system.

Many believe Peresvet is a jamming system carried on the back of military lorries, which can be used to 'blind' optical electronic equipment inside enemy vehicles using a laser beam.

According to ex-Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov the 'combat laser systems' that Putin addressed in his State of the Nation speech back in March had already been delivered to the nation's armed forces last year.

Many believe Peresvet is a jamming system carried on the back of military lorries (pictured), which can be used to 'blind' optical electronic equipment inside enemy vehicles using a laser beam

Once found only in works of fiction, Mr Borisov said such devices were now a very real and necessary tool of modern warfare.

'We can talk a lot about laser weapons and movies were made about them a long time ago and fantastic books have been written, and everyone knows about this,' Mr Borisov said in comments translated by the state-run Tass Russian News Agency.

But the fact that these systems have started entering service is indeed today's reality.'
You're probably familiar with most of the effects of jet lag, which leaves you feeling tired and groggy for a few days when you arrive at your chosen destination.

However, scientists now believe the effects of jet lag run much deeper than previously thought, affecting your internal organs, as well as your microbiota  the bacteria found in your gut.

This phenomenon, known as 'gut lag', has some nasty side effects, including a reduced appetite, constipation, ordiarrhoea.

Caroline Wellbery, a professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Georgetown University, Washington, DC has offered some expert advice to avoid the worst of the symptoms, including using an eye mask while travelling to mimic the natural effects of darkness to help control the body clock and avoid grogginess.

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Jet lag can be the bane of many jet-setters lives, with out of sync sleeping patterns and weary eyes an occupational hazard. Scientists now believe that the bewilderment caused by jet lag affects our microbiota - the bacteria found in our gut - as well as our sleeping pattern (stock)

Professor Wellberry has written an article for the Washington Post about so-called 'gut lag', which is caused by flying around the world.

Travelling through several different time zones on a long-haul flight can cause force your body to jump forward or back several hours when you land, throwing the body out of kilter.

This causes disruption to the internal body clock, or circadian rhythm, which relies on environmental cues such as light and dark to maintain a routine during the day.

Schedules for internal organs and its bacteria are controlled by a section of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus.

This is what allows you to feel hungry  or not  at different times throughout the day.

When travelling to a new time zone, these feeling can crop-up at unusual times.

This disruption to your appetite is known as 'gut lag' and has been linked to constipation, or a series of irregularly-timed bathroom trips.

Previous studies have found the intestinal microbiome can be directly affected by flying, leading to either diarrhoea or constipation.

According to Professor Wellberry, bowel habits can be adjusted more quickly by immediately shifting to eating during scheduled mealtimes in the new time zone.

Experts also recommend eating only small amount of food whilst en route, in order to avoid indigestion.

Eating on an unusual schedule can cause some discomfort as the body is not accustomed to digesting food at these times.

Avoiding gorging at odd times can be difficult for some people as studies have found that eating is often a way of compensating for lack of sleep.

Having something small to eat before taking off and avoiding in-flight meals can help with this.

Staying hydrated is also key, as this can help alleviate any bowel malcontent.

One of the key events to maintain this innate routine during the body's natural 24-hour cycle occurs between two to three hours before waking up.

At this point, body temperature is at its lowest point of the 24-hours, and typically coincides with the deepest sleep of the night.

WHAT ARE THE BEST WAYS TO GET OVER JET LAG? Jet lag occurs after long distance flights and is a disruption to our natural body clock - or circadian rhythm. If this is out of sync with the actual time of your location, it can have uncomfortable consequences. The side-effects tend to revolve around sleep as this is affected the most when your body clock is wrong. Symptoms include: Difficulty sleeping at bedtime and waking up in the morning

Tiredness and exhaustion

Finding it difficult to stay awake during the day

Poor sleep quality

Concentration and memory problems There is no medicinal treatment for jet lag, and it will pass with time. There are certain ways to help reduce its impact on your life, which can be employed before, during or after flight. Before you travel Avoid to much screentime before flying, the exposure to gadgets has been shown to disrupt sleep. Get plenty of rest before the plane takes off Adjust your sleeping pattern in advance by an hour or more in the direction of flight. This will help you adjust once you land. While you travel Stay hydrated. Drinking water can help keep the brain at its most efficient and flexible. Only sleep on the plane if it is the night time at the destination. Try and increase the quality of sleep while on the plane. It can be difficult in cramped conditions but using ear plugs and an eye mask can help. Stay active and keep your blood circulating well. Use stretches and take a walk around the cabin regularly. Avoid coffee, energy drinks and any alcohol. Caffeine and alcohol can amplify the affect of jet lag. After you travel Try and change your sleep schedule to that of your destination as soon as possible - sleeping (or not) on the plane at the correct time can help this and so can any changes to your sleeping routine before you left. Don't oversleep. If you are tired after a long flight it may be easy to have a long lie-in, but this can have a negative impact and stop you adjusting. Expose yourself to natural light during the day, this can help shift your body clock back in line. Avoid going to bed too early after arriving, this can result in a drastically misaligned sleeping pattern. Advertisement

Professor Wellberry writes: 'Low core body temperature appears to be a turning point in determining how sleepy or rested you feel, depending on when in the cycle you wake up.'

When flying across time zones, your body will still be working from the body clock of where you started your journey.

As a result, your core body temperature will dip in line with when your body should be in deep sleep.

If you're awake at this point  watching an in-flight movie, for example  you are likely to feel groggy and out of sorts for the rest of the day.

Worse still, the effect is amplified if you're exposed to light during this period, as it provides conflicting signals to the body.

Light instructs the body that it is awake, while the low body temperature is telling the body it is time for a period of deep sleep. This discombobulation can produce some of the strongest jet lag  and therefore, 'gut lag'  symptoms.

By flying over several different time zones, a person can jump ahead or back by several hours, which can throw a person out of kilter when they land. The primary issue stems from the disruption to a person's body clock, or circadian rhythm, which relies on environmental cues such as light and dark to maintain a routine throughout the day (stock)

According to Professor Wellberry, combating the effects depends on which direction you're travelling around the world.

When travelling east, from New York to Paris for example, it is beneficial to stay in darkness before your core temperature dips  which will happen two to three hours before you typically wake up.

After that time, seek light exposure to mimic the effect of waking up.

This can help you shift the point at which your body temperature plummets towards that of the final destination, and not the place of departure.

An eastwardly travelling passenger who usually experiences the dip at 5am in New York, should try and stay in darkness until 11am, the corresponding time in Paris.

When travelling west, the opposite applies. When catching a flight from Paris to New York, for example, light exposure comes first, followed by a planned switch to darkness using sunglasses, window shades, or an eye mask.

In this scenario, core temperature might begin to drop at around 4am in Europe  if your alarm typically goes off between 6am and 7am. That means you should aim to have light maximised until about 10pm Eastern Standard Time, then seek darkness.

Website calculators and online tools can help a prospective traveller determine what preventative measures they should take to avoid jet lag, Professor Wellberry advises.

Sleep experts also claim short naps before flying can help pay into a sleep 'debt' and help stay recharged the following day.

These can range from as short as ten minutes, to up to 90 minutes.
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One hundred million sharks are killed by humans each year, researchers estimate. However, this figure could be as high as 273 million, because the extent of illegal fishing is unknown, according to data released in 2013.

A nonprofit called Oceana used the Global Fishing Watch mapping platform to create a shark-tracking map that marked exactly where sharks' natural hunting patterns intersect with commercial fishing boats across the globe.

Researchers hoping to crackdown on illegal fishing created an interactive map by tagging 45 shark species with the longest migration patterns in the Atlantic Ocean.

Their satellite tracking programme revealed that one shortfin mako shark  which they nicknamed Oscar  covered more than 22,000 miles (35,000km) in less than two years.

Researchers warned these highly-mobile species of shark are the most vulnerable to exploitation, and a study from last year suggested shortfin makos were being killed at a rate ten times higher than previously believed.

The map, dubbed Shark Map, allows users to check the shark's migratory behaviour and see where their journeys clash with known fishing routes. Test the interactive map below.

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Using satellite data, researchers from Oceana and Global Fishing Watch overlayed the 150,000 miles (240,000km) covered by these sharks with the existing commercial fishing traffic routes.

Researchers tagged a number of species, including blue sharks, tiger sharks, scalloped hammerhead and great hammerheads.

'We thought this would be a great opportunity to overlay shark tracks to show where sharks are located in proximity to commercial fishing vessels, because sharks are extremely vulnerable to overexploitation', said Lacey Malarky, an analyst at Oceana, a nonprofit that launched Global Fishing Watch, writes Fast Company.

'Many species of large sharks remain highly vulnerable throughout our oceans, and the integration provided here highlights the magnitude of threats they face,' said project leader Austin Gallagher, chief scientist and CEO of another nonprofit called Beneath the Waves.

They found an adult male blue shark nicknamed 'Buzz' travelled 3,000 miles (4,800km) from Cape Cod to South America.

Researchers found the more mobile the shark, the more likely it is to be caught by a fishing vessel.

'Highly mobile sharks, such as those reflected in this interactive map, often navigate through a gauntlet of fishing vessels with potential interactions,' said project collaborator and shark expert Neil Hammerschlag at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.

This is especially true in international waters where there are no catch limits for many species.

'We're hoping to expand and collaborate with more researchers to not only get more shark data but then other marine wildlife data as well, so that we can really create this interactive map platform that shows all types of marine wildlife and how they're interacting with fishing vessels,' Ms Malarky said.

Around one hundred million sharks are killed each year and a nonprofit has shown the places where their natural hunting patterns cross with commercial fishing boats. Their amazing tracking programme revealed that one shortfin mako shark - which they have named Oscar - covered 22,000 miles (35,000km) in less than two years (pictured)

They found an adult male blue shark called 'Buzz' travelled 3,000 miles (4,800km) from Cape Cod to South America. Scientists are increasingly concerned about the effects of overfishing on shark populations

The map, dubbed Global Fishing Map, allows users to check the shark's migratory behaviour and see where their journeys clash with known fishing routes. Pictured are the routes of the tagged sharks and likely fishing events

Global Fishing Watch was launched two years ago by Google, Oceana and SkyTruth with the aim of providing the 'world's first global view of commercial fishing activities'.

Scientists are increasingly concerned about the effects of overfishing on shark populations.

Earlier this year, a remarkable aerial video showed thousands of blacktip sharks migrating off the coast of Florida.

In any given year, as many as 15,000 sharks will make the annual journey north as the waters off the coast of America begin to warm up.

However, scientists have observed that the number of sharks making the trip has been in decline in recent years, with overfishing a commonly-cited problem.

'Last year, we saw a dramatic decline in the number of blacktip sharks that migrated south. In fact, it was so low that we estimated the population to be about one-third of what we have seen in previous years,' said Stephen Kajiura, a professor of biology at Florida Atlantic University.

'We want to make sure that these snowbirds come back to South Florida, because if they don't, it will have a huge ecological impact in this region,' Dr Kaijura added.

Using satellite data, researchers from Global Fishing Watch overlayed the 150,000 miles (240,000km) covered by these sharks with commercial fishing traffic (pictured)

Researchers tagged a number of different species, including blue sharks, tiger sharks, scalloped hammerhead and great hammerheads

More research from last year revealed that the fishing mortality rate of shortfin mako sharks is considerably higher than previously estimated from catches reported by fishermen

Another study from last year revealed the fishing mortality rate of shortfin mako sharks is considerably higher than previously estimated from catches reported by fishermen.

An unexpectedly high proportion  30 per cent of the 40 satellite tagged sharks  were captured in fisheries, according to research from the University of Rhode Island.

After modelling the probability that a mako shark would survive a year without being captured (a 72 per cent chance) and calculating the fishing mortality rates, researchers determined that the rate at which shortfin makos were being killed in fisheries was actually 10 times higher than previously believed.

'From a conservation and protection point of view, this is huge,' said Bradley Wetherbee, Ph.D., a research scientist from the University of Rhode Island's Department of Biological Sciences and a member of NSU's GHRI.

'It's vital that we have the most accurate data possible to aid decision-makers in managing marine life populations sustainably.

'If they have inaccurate information, it's much more difficult to make the correct decisions for properly managing populations. Everyone wants the populations managed in a sustainable way,' he said.
Scientists have discovered the earliest definitive signs of terrestrial life on Earth.

The fossilised remains of microbial life, which dates back 3.22 billion years, were found on the Barberton Greenstone Belt, in South Africa.

Until now, experts believed primitive organisms moved from the oceans, which covered the majority of the planet at that time, to the world's first supercontinent around 2.7 billion years ago.

However, the latest evidence pushes back these estimates by 500 million years.

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Scientists have discovered 3.22-billion year old microbes that are the earliest definitive signs of terrestrial life ever found. Pictured are fossilised microbial mats (arrow) embedded within the sedimentary rock

Three billion years ago, Earth was a waterworld with an atmosphere rich in methane.

As a result, bacteria that fed on oxygen accumulated close to microscopic vents found on the ocean floor. When land started to emerge, sections of the seabed was forced up towards the surface.

The first supercontinent, Kenorland, was not fully formed until 2.7 billion years ago and experts previously believed the first microbes to live on land were dated back to this time.

Examples of terrestrial organisms dating back 2.7 billion years were found in a different location on the Barberton Greenstone Belt in South Africa, according to The Scientist.

However, a study last year suggested microbes found on a 3.5 billion year old volcano in the Pilbara region of Western Australia may have also have lived on land.

The evidence included well-preserved bubbles trapped in a sticky microbial fluid and layers of rock formed by ancient microorganisms.

However, these findings were not conclusive.

Now scientists led by Martin Homann from the European Institute for Marine Studies have discovered the first definitive evidence of ancient terrestrial life.

'This work represents the oldest and least unambiguous work that we have so far that life existed on land already 3.2 billion years ago,' Kurt Konhauser, a professor of earth and atmospheric sciences at the University of Alberta in Canada, who was not involved in the research, told The Scientist.

Previously the oldest fossilised remains of microbes found on land were 2.7 billion years old. They were found in a different location on the Barberton Greenstone Belt in South Africa

'The colonisation of emergent continental landmass by microbial life was an evolutionary step of paramount importance in Earth history,' researchers wrote in the paper published in Nature Geoscience.

'Here we report direct fossil evidence for life on land 3,220 million years ago (Ma) in the form of terrestrial microbial mats draping fluvial conglomerates and gravelly sandstones of the Moodies Group, South Africa,' they added.

Scientists looked at ancient sedimentary rocks which have imprints of bacteria and archaea called 'fossilised microbial mats'.

They believe this sedimentary rock was once part of an ancient river delta.

Researchers came to this conclusion by analysing the organic carbon and nitrogen isotopes within the samples. These were distinctly different from marine samples, suggesting the microbes had developed different metabolisms to live on land.

'The structures and isotopic composition of the microbial mats certainly seem to suggest the presence of photosynthetic microbes already existing on land,' said Dr Konhauser.
An AI that scrawls bikinis over nude photographs of women has been developed by scientists to block racy online images.

The system, built at a Catholic institute in Brazil, automatically seeks out lewd pictures and digitally adds swimwear to speed up the process of censorsing images.

Researchers warned that while the AI was designed to be used for good, cyber criminals could one day reverse the process to erase bikinis from people's photos.

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An AI that scrawls bikinis over nude photographs of women has been developed by scientists to block racy online images. Pictured are some of the AI's successful (centre row) and unsuccessful (bottom row) attempts to censor nude images (top line)

The AI was trained by software engineers at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul using 2,000 images of women.

It is a type of AI known as a generative adversarial network, which that 'learn' to perform tasks by recognising patterns commonly found in a set of images.

Researchers first fed their system pictures of models in bikinis to teach it what the swimwear looks like.

It was then given photos of nude women to show it where bikinis should be placed on uncensored images.

The AI connected the patterns learned from each set of images to create a system that automatically adds bikinis to racy photos.

Project scientist Dr Rodrigo Barros told the Register: 'When we train the network, it attempts to learn how to map data from one domain - nude pictures - to another domain - swimsuit pictures.

Researchers warned that while the system was designed to be used for good, cyber criminals could one day reverse the process to erase bikinis from people's photos (stock image)

'The distribution of the images from both domains are quite different.'

While the AI worked well at adding bikinis to some images, it was less successful with others.

It struggled to match the backgrounds between nude and swimwear photos, researchers said.

Dr Barros said: 'One thing that we noticed in particular is that several of our swimsuit images are photo-shoot pictures, shot on a white background, while the background of the nude pictures is often quite complex.

HOW ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCES LEARN USING NEURAL NETWORKS AI systems rely on artificial neural networks (ANNs), which try to simulate the way the brain works in order to learn. ANNs can be trained to recognise patterns in information - including speech, text data, or visual images - and are the basis for a large number of the developments in AI over recent years. Conventional AI uses input to 'teach' an algorithm about a particular subject by feeding it massive amounts of information. AI systems rely on artificial neural networks (ANNs), which try to simulate the way the brain works in order to learn. ANNs can be trained to recognise patterns in information - including speech, text data, or visual images Practical applications include Google's language translation services, Facebook's facial recognition software and Snapchat's image altering live filters. The process of inputting this data can be extremely time consuming, and is limited to one type of knowledge. A new breed of ANNs called Adversarial Neural Networks pits the wits of two AI bots against each other, which allows them to learn from each other. This approach is designed to speed up the process of learning, as well as refining the output created by AI systems. Advertisement

'The network, therefore, implicitly learns to associate "background types" for each domain. Thus, when translating, the background is often disturbed signicantly.'

He added that the AI was developed to test out a 'novel' way of censoring images on the internet.

Researchers warned that while the system was developed with good intentions, it could be used by cyber criminals to create fake pornography.

The technology could be revesed to remove bikinis from people's photos.

Dr Barros added: 'Once training is done, we can safely discard the model that maps from domain Y (swimsuit pictures) to domain X (nude pictures) and keep only the model that we are interested in.

'We would like to emphasize that removing clothing was never our intended goal, it is merely a side-effect of the method, which is discarded anyway.'
US President Donald Trump has promised to erect a wall along the US-Mexico border to curb illegal immigration, however, scientists have warned that it could have devastating implications for local wildlife.

The US-Mexico border spans more than 2,000 miles (3,200 km) and crosses some of the most biologically rich areas on the continent.

Analysis of the animals that reside in the region reveals the controversial wall could threaten the movement of 1,500 animal and plant species that reside in the area.

The report, which was co-authored by 18 scientists from around the world, found that 62 of the species threatened nu the wall were already listed as 'critically endangered', 'endangered', or 'vulnerable', and up to 17 per cent risk extirpation from the US.

More than 2,500 experts from around the world have rallied around the new study, championing its importance.

One of its authors, a leading professor from Stanford, condemned the US border wall project, branding it a 'crime against biodiversity'.

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Donald Trump (pictured) famously promised to erect a wall along the US-Mexico border in order to curb illegal immigration, but it could have devastating implications reaching wider than the US population

The US-Mexico border spans more than 2,000 miles (3,200 km) and carves through one of the most biologically rich areas on the continent. Analysis of the animals that reside here found that it could threaten the movement of the 1,500 species, both animal and plant

The new paper, co-authored by Stanford biologist Rodolfo Dirzo, warns some species face extinction if their movement is restricted by the border wall planned by President Trump.

According to the study, the border wall will harm wildlife populations by fragmenting, degrading, and eliminating existing habitat, as well as by blocking migration.

Professor Dirzo, a professor of biology at Stanford, said: '[The borders] is an ecological theatre where evolution has engendered a plethora of plays.

'A multitude of factors  climatic conditions, topography, geological history, soil types  converge to create an amazing mosaic of ecosystems.'

The research looked at 346 different species native to the region around the US-Mexico border and predicted how the wall's installation would affect each of them.

The wall would bisect the habitats of a combined 1,506 native terrestrial and freshwater species (1,077 animal and 429 plant), the researchers said.

The study concluded that animals including the Mexican Gray Wolf, Sonoran pronghorn antelope, jaguar and bighorn sheep would all be directly impacted.

The paper surmises that some species face extinction if their movement is restricted by the wall President Trump has pledged to build. The wall would bisect the area of a combined 1,506 native terrestrial and freshwater species (1,077 animal and 429 plant)

The wall would bisect the area of a combined 1506 native terrestrial and freshwater species (1077 animal and 429 plant). It found iconic animals such as the Mexican gray wolf, Sonoran pronghorn antelope (pictured), the jaguar and the bighorn sheep would all be directly impacted.

WHAT HAS PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP SAID ABOUT THE MEXICAN BORDER WALL? US President Donald Trump has promised to erect a wall along the US-Mexico border to curb illegal immigration. The 'Great Wall of Trump', as he has called it, became a key component of his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump's proposed wall height changed several times during his speeches at rallies across America. In October 2016, he said that it could be 40 to 50 feet (12 to 15 metres) high. His cost estimations have also varied - on two separate occasions in February 2016 he put it at $8 billion (6bn) and $10 to 12 billion (7.6 to 9bn). US President Donald Trump has promised to erect a wall along the US- Mexico border to curb illegal immigration. This stock image shows prototypes of US President Donald Trump's proposed border wall building materials Media estimates have been higher - CNBC, for example, has calculated a cost of $15 to $25 billion (11 to 19bn). The Washington Post calculates $42 billion (32bn) and that's just for a 25-foot (7.5 metre) high wall. Ordinary fencing already stretches along 650 miles (1,000 km) of the border. The president indicated during his campaign that the entire 1,954 miles (3,150 km) length of the US -Mexico border would have physical protection from illegal immigration and the drug trade. The White House has taken the stance that mountains and other natural barriers will do the trick in many places and only 700 to 900 miles (1,125 km to 1,400 km) of border wall is necessary. Advertisement

Writing in the study, entitled 'Nature Divided, Scientists United: USMexico Border Wall Threatens Biodiversity and Binational Conservation', the authors claim: 'A continuous border wall could disconnect more than 34 per cent of US non-flying native terrestrial and freshwater animal species from the 50 per cent or more of their range that lies south of the border.

'If cut off by a border wall, 17 per cent of the 346 species we analysed, including jaguar (Panthera onca) and ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), would have residual U.S. populations covering 20,000 km2 or less.

'This would elevate their risk of extirpation within the US according to IUCN Red List criteria.'

The paper, published in the journal BioScience, predicts that some species will face extinction if their movements are restricted by the wall Donald Trump pledged to build during the presidential campaign in 2016.

Professor Dirzo, a professor of biology at Stanford, said: '[The border] is an ecological theater where evolution has engendered a plethora of plays.

'A multitude of factors - climatic conditions, topography, geological history, soil types - converge to create an amazing mosaic of ecosystems.'

His colleague, Emeritus professor of Biology Paul Ehrlich, also of Stanford, said that a smaller development such as a shopping centre or a new road already has a direct impact on biodiversity.

Building something as large as a 2,000 mile long fence would be tantamount to a 'crime against biodiversity', one of the authors, a leading professor from Stanford, said of the project as he condemned the wall

WHAT IS THE STATE OF THE EARTH'S SPECIES? - Two species of vertebrate, animals with a backbone, have gone extinct every year, on average, for the past century. - Currently around 41 per cent of amphibian species and more than a quarter of mammals are threatened with extinction. - There are an estimated 8.7 million plant and animal species on our planet and about 86 percent of land species and 91 percent of sea species remain undiscovered. - Of the ones we do know, 1,204 mammal, 1,469 bird, 1,215 reptile, 2,100 amphibian, and 2,386 fish species are considered threatened. - Also threatened are 1,414 insect, 2,187 mollusc, 732 crustacean, 237 coral, 12,505 plant, 33 mushroom, and six brown algae species. - The global populations of 3,706 monitored vertebrate species - fish, birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles - declined by nearly 60 per cent from 1970 to 2012. - More than 25,000 species of 91,523 assessed for the 2017 'Red List' update were classified as 'threatened'. - Of these, 5,583 were 'critically' endangered, 8,455 'endangered', and 11,783 'vulnerable'. Advertisement

Building something as large as a 2,000 mile (3,200 km) long fence would be tantamount to a 'crime against biodiversity'.

Professor Dirzo added: ' Cut off like this, the bighorn sheep and other animals and plants will become zombie species - populations that are demographically and genetically doomed.'

To mitigate the effects of the proposed wall, the authors make several urgent recommendations to the US Congress and Department of Homeland Security.

Some of the recommendations include: Following existing environmental laws, taking action to mitigate ecological harm, and forgoing physical barriers in particularly sensitive areas.

The research paper also calls for the government to encourage scientific research in the borderlands, to inform and assist environmental evaluation and mitigation efforts.

The authors conclude that 'national security can and must be pursued with an approach that preserves our natural heritage.'
US households are dropping their traditional pay TV packages at a faster rate than in the past amid a rise in streaming video services like Netflix, a survey showed Tuesday.

The report by the research firm eMarketer found the number of 'cord-cutters' who have cancelled pay TV service will climb 32.8 percent this year to 33 million.

The survey found 186.7 million US adults will watch pay TV via cable, satellite or telecom provider in 2018, down 3.8 percent over last year.

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The report by the research firm eMarketer found the number of 'cord-cutters' who have cancelled pay TV service will climb 32.8 percent this year to 33 million.

That follows a 3.4 percent dip in 2017.

The drop comes with more households turning to online services like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu for on-demand video.

According to eMarketer, Netflix has some 147 million US subscribers to 88.7 million for Amazon and 55 million for Hulu.

'The main factor fueling growth of on-demand streaming platforms is their original content,' eMarketer analyst Paul Verna said.

'Consumers increasingly choose services on the strength of the programming they offer, and the platforms are stepping up with billions in spending on premium shows.

Experts say original content such as Comedian Michelle Wolf's The Break for Netflix are driving people to streaming services

'Another factor driving the acceleration of cord-cutting is the availability of compelling and affordable live TV packages that are delivered via the internet without the need for installation fees or hardware.'

The research firm said it expects the number of cord-cutters in the US to hit 55 million by 2022.

'Most of the major traditional TV providers [Charter, Comcast, Dish, etc.] now have some way to integrate with Netflix,' eMarketer senior forecasting analyst Christopher Bendtsen said.

'These partnerships are still in the early stages, so we don't foresee them having a significant impact reducing churn this year.

'With more pay TV and OTT partnerships expected in the future, combined with other strategies, providers could eventually slowbut not stopthe losses.'

Meanwhile, the streaming platforms are growing at the expense of pay TV losses.

In fact, eMarketer has increased its future viewership estimates for YouTube, Netflix, Amazon and Hulu. Growth is being fueled by more original programming and demand for multiple services.

Separately Tuesday, the US telecom giant Verizon said it lost 37,000 subscribers for its Fios pay TV service in the second quarter 'amid pressures from cord-cutting of video bundles.'

More US households are 'cord cutting,' or dropping their pay TV packages, as online video platforms like Netflix gain ground

Verizon Chief Technology Officer Hans Vestberg will take over as chief executive officer on Aug. 1 as the largest U.S. wireless carrier by subscribers races to launch its next-generation 5G network amid increasing competition in the industry.

Outgoing CEO Lowell McAdam said Verizon will have more opportunities for market growth as 5G brings new technologies that will let self-driving cars communicate with each other over a wireless network.

'There are so many things where we have zero penetration that are going to be huge five years from now,' he said during an earnings conference call.

Verizon said Houston will be the third of four cities where it plans to launch home internet 5G this year.

The company added a net 199,000 wireless customers who pay a regular monthly bill during the quarter, missing an average estimate of 210,000 net adds from analysts at Cowen and UBS.
Facebook has quietly opened a subsidiary in China worth $30 million (23million)  less than a week after CEO Mark Zuckerberg claimed the firm was 'a long time away from doing anything' in the country.

China has a history of censoring the content its citizens can access via internet connections, known by its nickname the 'Great Firewall'.

Facebook has been blocked in the country since July 2009, when the social network was linked to riots in Urumqi, the capital city of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region after it was revealed that activists were using the service to communicate.

However, Facebook this week opened a new subsidiary, whose name Lianshu literally means 'face' and 'book', in mainland China for the first time.

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Facebook is quietly opening a subsidiary in China worth $30 million (23m). China has a history of censoring the content its citizens can access via internet connections, known by its nickname the 'Great Firewall' (artist's impression)

The subsidiary is a long-awaited step for the social network and its Mandarin-speaking co-founder, Mark Zuckerberg.

The company, called Lianshu Science & Technology, is registered in Hangzhou in Zhejiang province and was established on July 18.

It has $30 million (23m) million of registered capital, according to China's corporate record database.

Facebook's Hong Kong branch holds all of its shares.

In an interview with Recode last week, however, Zuckerberg struck a different tune.

When questioned on his firm's relationship to China, he said: 'Over the long term. I think its hard to have a mission of wanting to bring the whole world closer together and leave out the biggest country.

'I mean, were, I think, a long time away from doing anything.

'At some point, I think that we need to figure it out, but we need to figure out a solution that is in line with our principles and what we want to do, and in line with the laws there, or else its not going to happen. Right now, there isnt an intersection.'

Facebook has opened a subsidiary in mainland China, records suggest. This is a long-awaited step for the social networking giant and its Mandarin-speaking founder Mark Zuckerberg

Zhang Jinghai is named as the new company's legal representative, while David Kling and Susan Taylor are listed as directors.

Kling is a Facebook vice president, while Taylor is the Menlo Park-based firm's chief accountant, according to their LinkedIn profiles.

Zhang Jinghai is also named as the legal representative at the company behind Facebook's designated photo-sharing app for China, known as Colorful Balloons, which recreated the functionality of Facebook's Moments app and debuted last year.

The app never took off, marking another setback in China for Facebook.

The US company has strived to breach the 'Great Firewall'  which tightly controls China's internet content  ever since its flagship social media platform was banned by Beijing in 2009.

Facebook chief executive and co-founder Zuckerberg has made several high-profile visits to China, once going as far as taking a photogenic jog through central Beijing while the city choked on smog.

He has attempted to cosy up to Beijing politicians as well, reportedly asking Chinese President Xi Jinping to provide a Chinese name for his daughter. Xi declined.

Earlier this month in an interview with Recode, Zuckerberg said that shrinking the company to allow competitors an easier playing field would result in Chinese corporations filling the void

Despite the efforts, Zuckerberg has been unable to get Facebook unblocked in China. It remained inaccessible Tuesday in Beijing.

The new Facebook subsidiary, registered in the eastern city of Hangzhou, will engage in the development of network IT, technology services and consulting, among other services, the corporate filing showed.

Earlier this month Zuckerberg hit back at the idea Facebook has become too big and should be broken up into smaller companies.

In the same interview with Recode, Zuckerberg said that shrinking the company to allow competitors an easier playing field would result in Chinese corporations filling the void.

He said that these corporations might not share Facebook's 'American values'.

'I think you can bet that, if the government here is worried about... whether it's election interference or terrorism... I don't think Chinese companies are going to want to cooperate as much and aid the national interest there,' he said.

Zuckerberg also spoke out against the US constraining its own companies, noting it would only give way to overseas - specifically Chinese - competitors.

'If we adopt a stance which is that, we're going to, as a country, decide to clip the wings of these [American] companies and make it so it's harder for them to operate in different places or they have to be smaller, then there are plenty of other companies out there willing and able to take the place of the work that we're doing,' he said.

'And they do not share the values that we have.'
Cats like to act like they rule roost  as anyone who lives with one will tell you.

And now scientists have found that it really is the cat, and certainly not the owner, who is responsible for harmony in the home.

Experts at the University of Lincoln have discovered cats are the 'key player' in maintaining good karma when its sworn enemy, a dog, is brought into the household.

For although they may be descended from wolves, with big, loud barks and fearsome teeth, dogs are likely to find themselves bullied mercilessly if they live with a cat.

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Scientists have found that it really is the cat, and certainly not the owner, who is responsible for harmony in the home. Experts at the University of Lincoln have discovered cats are the 'key player' in maintaining good karma when its sworn enemy, a dog, is brought into the household

More than half of owners with both pets say their cat has lashed out threateningly at their dog.

However, despite their reputation in cartoons for chasing yowling moggies up trees, fewer than one in five owners have seen their dog threaten their cat.

The findings come from a study of almost 750 pet owners who overwhelmingly believe cat is king.

The knowledge could help Britain's pet owners, as almost a quarter of us own a dog and 17 per cent have cats, with an estimated seven per cent keeping both types of animal.

Dr Sophie Hall, co-author of the paper from the School of Life Sciences at the University of Lincoln, said: 'On the face of it, these results suggest that the cat is the kingpin in a household with dogs. They are the princess and the dog is lower down in the hierarchy.

'It may be that cats' threatening acts are more obvious to owners, as they hiss or strike out with their paws at a dog.

'But it may also be the case that cats are less domesticated in their behaviours than dogs, so are less used to getting along with other four and two-legged members of the family and have had less training to do so.'

Despite their diminutive size, the latest research shows cats often injure dogs, with almost one in ten owners reporting this.

Fewer than one per cent said their dog had injured the cat.

A questionnaire on their pets, found dogs and cats can live together amicably but their owners rarely describe it as a 'close relationship'.

Whether they get on is mainly up to the cat, with cats which were frequently uncomfortable with dogs less likely to have an amicable relationship.

More than half of owners with both pets say their cat has lashed out threateningly at their dog. However, despite their reputation in cartoons for chasing yowling moggies up trees, fewer than one in five owners have seen their dog threaten their cat

DOGS FIRST BECAME DOMESTICATED ABOUT 20,000 to 40,000 YEARS AGO A genetic analysis of the world's oldest known dog remains revealed that dogs were domesticated in a single event by humans living in Eurasia, around 20,000 to 40,000 years ago. Dr Krishna Veeramah, an assistant professor in evolution at Stony Brook University, told MailOnline: 'The process of dog domestication would have been a very complex process, involving a number of generations where signature dog traits evolved gradually. 'The current hypothesis is that the domestication of dogs likely arose passively, with a population of wolves somewhere in the world living on the outskirts of hunter-gatherer camps feeding off refuse created by the humans. 'Those wolves that were tamer and less aggressive would have been more successful at this, and while the humans did not initially gain any kind of benefit from this process, over time they would have developed some kind of symbiotic [mutually beneficial] relationship with these animals, eventually evolving into the dogs we see today.' Advertisement

In total, 56.5 per cent of owners said their cat had ever threatened their dog, compared to 18 per cent whose dog had threatened the cat.

Dr Hall said: 'It is important to note that these findings are the owners' perceptions of their pets' relationships, but it seems that the cat has to be happy and content, rather than the dog, for them to live happily together.'

The study, published in the Journal of Veterinary Behaviour, said that cats and dogs may get along better if the feline is younger when they begin living together.

John Fishwick, president of the British Veterinary Association, said: 'The basic explanation of these findings is that while dogs are pack animals, cats tend to be solitary creatures.

'For a harmonious household, the important thing is to give both animals their space, perhaps with a child gate separating them or a cat flap so the cat can escape the house when necessary.

'They should eat in separate areas to avoid conflict, so both can do so undisturbed.'
Google has managed to completely stop its employee's account being hacked by requiring them to use physical security keys.

In 2017, the tech giant began giving out physical security keys to all 85,000 employees, according to KrebsOnSecurity.

Security Keys are inexpensive USB-based devices often costing less that $20, which require the user to log in to a Web site using something they know (the password) and something they have (e.g., a mobile device or USB key).

And since then, no employees have reported any confirmed takeovers of work-related accounts, Google said.

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Google's advanced protection features include an option to require a physical USB security key to connect to a desktop computer before each log-in as a way to verify a user's identity.

Researchers say protecting your account with a password often isn't enough, and tech firms have developed new methods, often needing a mobile phone or a hardware key, such as the Security Key system used by Google.

A Google spokesperson said Security Keys now form the basis of all account access at Google.

'We have had no reported or confirmed account takeovers since implementing security keys at Google,' the spokesperson said.

'Users might be asked to authenticate using their security key for many different apps/reasons. It all depends on the sensitivity of the app and the risk of the user at that point in time.'

HOW DO I USE GOOGLE'S ADVANCED PROTECTION SYSTEM? The advanced protection features include an option to require a physical USB security key to connect to a desktop computer before each log-in as a way to verify a user's identity. Mobile log-ins will require a Bluetooth wireless device. Two Security Keys are required to enroll so that you'll have a backup key in case you lose your main key. A wireless-enabled key that can connect to both your computer and mobile devices should act as your main key, Google says. Advanced protection users will have their data walled off from access by any non-Google third-party applications, such as the Apple iOS mail client or Microsoft Outlook. The program also includes a more laborious and detailed account recovery process to prevent fraudulent access by hackers who try to gain access by pretending they have been locked out. Google created a web page to walk users through setting up advanced protection, including where to purchase USB and Bluetooth security keys on Amazon. Advertisement

The idea, known as two-factor authentication, mean even if hackers know your password, they still cannot log in to your account unless they also hack or possess that second factor - usually your phone or USB key.

The most common forms of 2FA require the user to supplement a password with a one-time code sent to their mobile device via text message or an app.

The Security Key used by Google uses a form of multi-factor authentication known as Universal 2nd Factor (U2F), which allows the user to complete the login process simply by inserting the USB device and pressing a button on the device.

Sites including Dropbox, Facebook, Github, and Google's services support the new devices, with more being added daily.

Currently, U2F is supported by Chrome, Firefox, and Opera.

Microsoft says it expects to roll out updates to its flagship Edge browser to support U2F later this year.

Apple has not yet said when or if it will support the standard in its Safari browser.

For non employees Alphabet's Google offers an 'advanced protection program' to provide stronger email security for some users such as government officials, political activists and journalists who are at a higher risk of being targeted by sophisticated hackers.

The $20 Yubikey that can be used on a desktop computer

Google users will have the ability to opt in to security settings aimed at protecting Gmail, Google Drive and YouTube data from phishing attacks.

The advanced protection features include an option to require a physical USB security key to connect to a desktop computer before each log-in as a way to verify a user's identity.

Mobile log-ins will require a Bluetooth wireless device.

Advanced protection users will have their data walled off from access by any non-Google third-party applications, such as the Apple iOS mail client or Microsoft Outlook.

The program also includes a more laborious and detailed account recovery process to prevent fraudulent access by hackers who try to gain access by pretending they have been locked out.

Although Google has previously supported the use of security keys for what is known as two-factor authentication, advanced protection users will have no backup log-in method available if they lose their keys other than the fuller account recovery process.

The rollout of a suite of new email security services follows a U.S. presidential election last year shaped in part by the disclosure of emails belonging to associates of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton that were obtained through phishing schemes.

U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that those hacks, which included a breach of Clinton campaign manager John Podesta's personal Gmail account, were carried out by Russia as part of a broader cyber campaign to help Donald Trump, a Republican, win the White House.

'If John Podesta had Advanced Protection last year, the world might be a very different place,' said Joseph Lorenzo Hall, chief technologist at the Center for Democracy and Technology, who was briefed on the new features by Google.

Hall said the new features would increase the number of high-risk consumers with strong protections against phishing campaigns.

But he noted that they may create compatibility issues among some who already integrate custom security tools with their Google products.

Google created a web page, g.co/advancedprotection, to walk users through setting up advanced protection, including where to purchase USB and Bluetooth security keys on Amazon.
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To the people of Innaarsuit, the 11 million-ton iceberg looming over their village is an unsettling new arrival thats impossible to miss.

But when viewed from space, finding the huge chunk of ice is a game of Arctic Wheres Waldo?

NASA has released a stunning new natural-color image of the area around Innaarsuit, showing how the iceberg has crept terrifyingly close to the remote site in Baffin Bay this month  but from so high up, its hard to distinguish from the countless other icebergs that dot the water.

Experts warn the massive berg could be at risk of rolling over depending on its dimensions, which could spur a massive wave in its surroundings.

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NASA has released a stunning new natural-color image of the area around Innaarsuit, showing how the iceberg has crept terrifyingly close to the remote site in Baffin Bay this month  but from so high up, its hard to distinguish from the countless other icebergs that dot the water. The iceberg in question is just off the island to the left of center in the image above

This is absolutely beautiful, Kelly Brunt, a glaciologist at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center, said of the latest view. The z dimension (height) is pretty extreme.

The iceberg arrived off the coast of Innarsuit at the beginning of July, sparking fears of tsunami-like waves if it were to break apart.

On July 20th, the Landsat 8 images show the icebergs started to drift back north, and away from the village.

But, not before forcing much of the town to evacuate. A small chunk broke off on July 12, sending waves through the harbor.

Bergs pose a threat when they sluff off chunks of ice, Brunt said. The waves that are created from this process could be quite large and could inundate the inhabited coast.

If the icebergs z dimension (height) is large relative to the x and y dimension, the ice could roll.

The iceberg arrived off the coast of Innarsuit at the beginning of July, sparking fears of tsunami-like waves of it were to break apart. The image on the left shows where the iceberg had drifted as of this week

The sides of tall icebergs like this often have a series of complex water lines, suggesting they have experienced a complex history of shifting and rolling slightly as they change shape,' Brunt said.

A big roll could be pretty scary, and could create a substantial wave.

The European Space Agency released an image last week showing the giant iceberg floating perilously close to the small village.

Dozens of village residents were evacuated to higher ground due to concerns the 11 million-ton iceberg might break apart and produce waves large enough to wash away low-lying buildings.

The image captured July 9 by ESA's Sentinel-2 satellites shows several other large icebergs in the vicinity.

Separately, Greenland's broadcaster KNR published video taken by a local resident showing a time lapse of the iceberg drifting past the village.

Dozens of village residents were evacuated to higher ground last week due to concerns the 11 million-ton iceberg might break apart and produce waves large enough to wash away low-lying buildings

A massive iceberg floating off the coast of Greenland has now drifted perilously close to a village  and, its so big it can be seen from space. The satellite image, which was captured by ESA's Sentinel-2A shows a huge iceberg perilously close to the village of Innaarsuit

KNR reported that strong winds and elevated tides moved the iceberg northward, away from the harbor, over the weekend.

While iceberg sightings are relatively common in Greenland, ESA says this one is considered 'the largest in memory.'

As the local power plant sits right on the coast, there are concerns the waves caused by the iceberg could shut down the power supply.

But according to ESA, strong winds from the south may push it north and out of the way.

On June 22, an iceberg estimated to be roughly a third of the length of Manhattan broke off of a glacier in eastern Greenland.

GLACIERS AND ICE SHEETS MELTING WOULD HAVE A 'DRAMATIC IMPACT' ON GLOBAL SEA LEVELS Global sea levels could rise as much as 10ft (3 metres) if the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica collapses. Sea level rises threaten cities from Shanghai to London, to low-lying swathes of Florida or Bangladesh, and to entire nations such as the Maldives. In the UK, for instance, a rise of 6.7ft (2 metres) or more may cause areas such as Hull, Peterborough, Portsmouth and parts of east London and the Thames Estuary at risk of becoming submerged. The collapse of the glacier, which could begin with decades, could also submerge major cities such as New York and Sydney. Parts of New Orleans, Houston and Miami in the south on the US would also be particularly hard hit. A 2014 study looked by the union of concerned scientists looked at 52 sea level indicators in communities across the US. It found tidal flooding will dramatically increase in many East and Gulf Coast locations, based on a conservative estimate of predicted sea level increases based on current data. The results showed that most of these communities will experience a steep increase in the number and severity of tidal flooding events over the coming decades. By 2030, more than half of the 52 communities studied are projected to experience, on average, at least 24 tidal floods per year in exposed areas, assuming moderate sea level rise projections. Twenty of these communities could see a tripling or more in tidal flooding events. The mid-Atlantic coast is expected to see some of the greatest increases in flood frequency. Places such as Annapolis, Maryland and Washington, DC can expect more than 150 tidal floods a year, and several locations in New Jersey could see 80 tidal floods or more. In the UK, a two metre (6.5 ft) rise by 2040 would see large parts of Kent almost completely submerged, according to the results of a paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science in November 2016. Areas on the south coast like Portsmouth, as well as Cambridge and Peterborough would also be heavily affected. Cities and towns around the Humber estuary, such as Hull, Scunthorpe and Grimsby would also experience intense flooding. Advertisement

The calving event, captured in stunning footage by a team of researchers on site, spurred several other tall icebergs to separate as well, with some even flipping over entirely.

Documenting an event such as this in its entirely can pave the way for more precise simulations, experts say, and help us determine how large icebergs may affect future sea levels.

Global sea-level rise is both undeniable and consequential, says David Holland, a professor at NYUs Courant Institute of Mathematics and NYU Abu Dhabi, who led the research team. By capturing how it unfolds, we can see, first-hand, its breath-taking significance.
A headless skeleton discovered at a 400-year-old church in Jamestown, Virginia may belong to one of the first slave-owning politicians in the United States.

Archaeologists suspect the bones may be the body of Sir George Yeardley, who served as governor of the first permanent English colony.

In addition to his role in establishing a representative assembly, Yeardley's legacy goes hand-in-hand with the onset of slavery in the states.

When ships landed in Virginia carrying stolen Africans to the budding US for the first time, Yeardley was among the buyers.

A headless skeleton discovered at a 400-year-old church in Jamestown, Virginia may belong to one of the first slave-owning politicians in the United States. Archaeologists suspect the bones may be the body of Sir George Yeardley

While it could be months before the bones are truly identified, archaeologists say they may have found the body of Virginias first governor, according to the Washington Post.

Professor Turi King  the geneticist who identified the bones of Richard III when they were unearthed beneath a car park in Leicester  is one of the experts who has been called in to confirm the identity.

Professor King said: 'It's a tremendous honour to be involved in the Jamestown Rediscovery project and hopefully to help identify the putative remains of Sir George Yeardley.

'Jamestown is one of the most famous archaeological sites in US history and Yeardley oversaw the first representative Virginia General Assembly.

'Its considered to be the birthplace of American democracy. Just as in the King Richard III case, I hope to extract DNA from the remains and match against living relatives as part of the evidence to identify these being the remains of one of the founding fathers of American democracy.'

The team from Jamestown Rediscovery found the mostly-intact skeleton at the site of one of the first churches in the colony.

But, it was missing the head.

Experts say the skull may have deteriorated over time, or been destroyed by subsequent burials in the area.

The body was buried toward the front and center of the building, in whats known as the chancel, according to WYDaily.

While it could be months before the bones are truly identified, archaeologists say they may have found the body of Virginias first governor. The team from Jamestown Rediscovery found the mostly-intact skeleton at the site of one of the first churches in the colony

The closer you are to the chancel, the closer you are to God, essentially, Kaitlyn Fitzgerald, an archaeologist with Jamestown Rediscovery, told WYDaily.

You have to really be a prominent member of the society or in the clergy to be buried in the chancel of the church.

The team has been working to uncover the skeleton and find any additional clues as to the real identity.

In a major breakthrough, one researcher recently stumbled upon teeth, which could be crucial in obtaining DNA.

After spotting the first tooth in the dirt, archaeologist Mary Anna Hartley eventually found 10, according to the Post.

The skeleton was found by researchers from Jamestown Rediscovery. The video above shows a virtual tour of the 1608 Jamestown Church Chancel excavation site

The team has been working to uncover the skeleton and find any additional clues as to the real identity. The archaeologists have teamed up with the Skeletal Biology Program at the Smithsonians National Museum of History for the effort

The bones indicate the deceased was in his late 30s or early 40s when he died. This lines up with Yeardleys history, who died in 1627 around the age of 40.

Researchers will now analyze the remains to see if the DNA could match Yeardleys, working carefully so as to not contaminate the samples.

Theyll also attempt to track down any of his descendants.

The archaeologists have teamed up with the Skeletal Biology Program at the Smithsonians National Museum of History for the effort.

Yeardley served as governor of the colony three times, and convened the first meeting of the House of Burgesses in 1619  the same year enslaved Africans are believed to have arrived in English North America.

Jamestown, Virginia was the first permanent English colony in the United States. The map above shows Virginia as illustrated by John Smith in 1612

WHO WAS JAMESTOWN'S SIR GEORGE YEARDLEY? Sir George Yeardley was governor of the first permanent English colony in the US Sir George Yeardley served as governor of Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English colony. He served as governor of the colony three times, and convened the first meeting of the House of Burgesses in 1619. In addition to his role in establishing a representative government assembly, Yeardley's legacy goes hand-in-hand with the onset of slavery in the states. When ships landed in Virginia carrying stolen Africans to the budding US for the first time, Yeardley was among the buyers. He died in 1627 around the age of 40. Advertisement

Historians say Yeardley was also one of the colonys first slave holders.

The discovery, if it is in fact Yeardley, would be a major find for the Jamestown archaeologists.

And so far, the evidence seems to line up with their suspicions.

I think hes probably a leader in the colony and someone has taken great care to place him in a really oversized burial shaft in a really pristine location of the 1617 church, Hartley told WYDaily.

The most likely candidate right now is Sir George Yeardley.
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49 years after NASA made history by landing two humans on the surface of the Moon and safely returning them to Earth, the space agency has released the entire 19,000 hours of audio recorded during the Apollo 11 mission.

Although much of the world focused on the the first Earth-Moon conversation at 4:18 p.m. EDT July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed the lunar module Eagle with just 30 seconds of fuel remaining, the entire mission was actually recorded.

After painstakingly digitising the original tapes, the audio has now been put online.

To listen to full audio feeds from the mission click here

Hundreds of audio conversations between the flight controllers and other teams supporting the mission were going on every minute of the mission over an intricate intercom system.

'The untold story of that momentous 8-day, 3-hour, mission by Armstrong, Aldrin and Michael Collins was the round-the-clock support provided by Mission Control and many communications and support locations around the globe,' said NASA.

The trio of space explorers lifted off 9:32 a.m. July 16, 1969, from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, landed on the moon July 20, lifted off again at 1:54 p.m. July 21, and splashed down at 12:50 p.m. July 24 in the Pacific Ocean.

On the ground, multipurpose support rooms (MPSRs) coordinated every technical, planning and management detail and decision with Mission Control and Apollo 11 flight directors Clifford Charlesworth, Gerry Griffin, Gene Kranz and Glynn Lunney.

July 20, 1969:Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot, walking on the surface of the moon during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity (EVA). Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong took this photograph with a 70mm lunar surface camera. With one small step off a ladder, commander of the Apollo 11 mission Neil Armstrong of the US became the first human to set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969, before the eyes of hundreds of millions of awed television viewers worldwide. With that step, he placed mankind's first footprint on an extraterrestrial world and gained instant hero status.

The conversations occurred over what are called communications 'loops.'

The air-to-ground loops between the Apollo 11 crew and Mission Control were released to the news media and public as they happened as NASA fulfilled its responsibility to share its work with the American public.

However, the 'backroom loops' where individual experts discussed the details of their systems, and sometimes the details of their lives, have been locked away in special climate-controlled vaults until now

HOW THE APOLLO 11 AUDIO TAPES WERE CONVERTED John Hansen re-wiring and installing newly designed and constructed 30-track read tape playback head NASA's Johnson Space Center has the only functional remaining tape recorder capable of playing those approximately 170 remaining tapes. But the time and effort of converting them to current digital formats was daunting, and required the tape deck to be modified from being able to handle two-channels at a time to handle the 30 channels on the historic tapes. But through a collaborative effort with The University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas), the conversion finally has been completed, and the unique perspective of those at the core of supporting humankind's 'giant leap' is available to download and listen to all 19,000 hours of audio recordings. None of the original 30-track audio tapes had been completely digitized before. The first major engineering task was to refurbish the more than 45-year-old SoundScriber two-track audio play-back system to support 30-track playback. The team had to design, install, and test the new 30-track head at NASA that could replay all 30-track audio tape channels simultaneously and set up a 30-channel digitization system pipeline. Because much of the tapes documented the silence between conversations, the team had to develop a system to identify when conversations were beginning and ending and an active learning system for creating accurate transcripts of the conversations. An illustrated example of conversation detection system; the red dotted box indicates conversation initiation by environment control system (ECS) engineer and blue dotted box indicates when EECOM initiates conversation with procedure officer The team also developed a 'hot-spot detection' system to track speaker sentiment, using things such as laughter, to gain insights into behavior and cohesion of the astronauts and support team in Mission Control, and a web-based, interactive Apollo mission life-cycle interaction module aimed at helping younger users understand the highly technical content of many conversations. In addition to the 19,000 hours of digitized audio, the team produced corresponding transcripts of every conversation, and linked them to the database of digital audio. This enabled development of metadata that will help researchers comb through the hours and hours of audio to find the conversations most important to their area of interest of particular projects. Advertisement

'We're approaching the 50th anniversary of Apollo, and I'm really pleased that this resource is becoming available,' said JSC Director Mark Geyer.

'Experience is one of the best teachers, so as we continue our work to expand human exploration of our solar system, go back to the Moon and on to Mars, we stand on the shoulders of the giants who made Apollo happen.

Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot, is photographed during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity on the Moon in this July, 1969 file photo.

A view of the Earth appears over the Lunar horizon as the Apollo 11 Command Module comes into view of the Moon before Astronatus Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin Jr. leave in the Lunar Module, Eagle, to become the first men to walk on the Moon's surface.

'These tapes offer a unique glimpse into what it takes to make history and what it will take to make the future.'

'The effort,' said John H.L. Hansen, principal investigator for the effort, is a way 'to contribute to recognizing the countless scientists, engineers, and specialists who worked behind the scenes of the Apollo program to make this a success. These are truly the 'heroes behind the heroes' of Apollo-11!'

An example of the computer print-out of an audio track sheet of a 30-channel Apollo analog tape showing channel information of all tracks.

In addition to the life-and-death drama as the lunar module Eagle's computer systems threatened to abort the landing, the conversations also provide insight into the 'humans in the loop' that made Apollo possible, including many humorous moments.

Hansen noted one spot in the tapes where two NASA flight controllers are working with Buzz Aldrin because for some reason the sensor which measures his breathing is not operating properly.

In the audio spot  they explore a number of reasons, ask questions, and maybe 10-15 minutes go by.

On July 24, 1969, the Apollo 11 crew with Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin splashed down in the Pacific Ocean after achieving the first lunar landing.Upon splashing down, the Apollo 11 crew underwent a 21-day quarantine. The purpose of this was to protect against the small possibility of lunar contagion. This procedure was discontinued after Apollo 14. This photo provides a candid view of the astronauts in the Mobile Quarantine Facility.

Finally Buzz, in his own sense of humor, tells the NASA staff  'well, if I stop breathing, I'll be sure to let you know!'

In one example, Aldrin bemoans that fact that so much of the Earth's surface is water and asks if Mission Control can do anything about it.

In another, the flight controller responsible for putting video on the large screens on the front wall of Mission Control offers a channel where flight controllers could view black and white video at their consoles, and is told by Flight Director Gene Kranz that those consoles are to be used for looking at data:

While the 19,000 hours of tape data from Apollo 11 are a significant accomplishment that will provide greatly improved access to that mission, they represent only 25 percent of the audio record for all of Project Apollo.

The rest -- which still remain to be digitized and transcribed - cover the early Apollo test flights in orbit around the Earth, the two test missions that sent Apollo 8 around the Moon in December 1968, put Apollo 10 in orbit around the Moon in May of 1969, the five later Apollo missions that landed on the Moon, and the 'successful failure' that saw Apollo 13 crippled by an oxygen tank explosion and required Mission Control to use all of the innovation it could muster to bring the crew of three home safely to Earth.
The RS-28 Sarmat is intended to replace the Soviet-designed SS-18 Voyevoda, the world's heaviest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

It is known as Satan in the West and carries 10 nuclear warheads.

Sarmat will be capable of unleashing ten large thermonuclear warheads or 16 smaller ones, or a combination of both, according to the Russian Ministry of Defence

Each warhead is said to be capable of being aimed to hit a different target.

The (ICBM) weapons are capable of striking targets via both the North and South poles.

Russian Ministry of Defence run TV broadcaster Zvezda has previously claimed the missile will be able to wipe out parts of the Earth the size of Texas or France.

It is also capable of carrying up to 24 of Russia's new Avangard hypersonic glide vehicles, designed to sit atop of an (ICBM).

Putin has said both weapons will be combat ready in 2020.
US President Donald Trump has promised to erect a wall along the US-Mexico border to curb illegal immigration.

The 'Great Wall of Trump', as he has called it, became a key component of his 2016 presidential campaign.

Trump's proposed wall height changed several times during his speeches at rallies across America. In October 2016, he said that it could be 40 to 50 feet (12 to 15 metres) high.

His cost estimations have also varied - on two separate occasions in February 2016 he put it at $8 billion (6bn) and $10 to 12 billion (7.6 to 9bn).

US President Donald Trump has promised to erect a wall along the US- Mexico border to curb illegal immigration. This stock image shows prototypes of US President Donald Trump's proposed border wall building materials

Media estimates have been higher - CNBC, for example, has calculated a cost of $15 to $25 billion (11 to 19bn). The Washington Post calculates $42 billion (32bn) and that's just for a 25-foot (7.5 metre) high wall.

Ordinary fencing already stretches along 650 miles (1,000 km) of the border.

The president indicated during his campaign that the entire 1,954 miles (3,150 km) length of the US -Mexico border would have physical protection from illegal immigration and the drug trade.

The White House has taken the stance that mountains and other natural barriers will do the trick in many places and only 700 to 900 miles (1,125 km to 1,400 km) of border wall is necessary.
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A fascinating album of images reveal what Disneyland in California looked like in 1969, 14 years after the park first opened.

Larry Syverson, who was born in Texas but now lives in Virginia, took the colour images during a trip to the amusement park with his now wife, Judy.

He remembers the excursion fondly, recounting: 'We spent 15 hours at the park and didn't leave until the park closed at 1.00am. We rode 22 rides.'

A fascinating album of images reveal what Disneyland in California looked like in 1969, 14 years after the park first opened. Above, the castle in Fantasyland

Larry Syverson, who was born in Texas but now lives in Virginia, took the colour images during a trip to the amusement park with his now wife, Judy

Larry's images show park-goers dressed in fashions from the day, with sunny blue skies inspiring a convivial atmosphere.

There are no mobile phones in site, with clunky cameras used for picture-taking instead.

Popular attractions, which still remain today, can be seen in Larry's album, including It's A Small World, the castle in Fantasyland and the original Submarine Voyage.

In one shot, Larry stands smiling in front of themed area Tomorrowland.

The original Submarine Voyage attraction, which has since been madeover and renamed Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage

Larry's wife Judy (wearing pink on the left) can be seen strolling towards It's A Small World, which remains a popular attraction

A view of the sky-high Astro Orbitor in Disneyland's Tomorrowland, with adverts for Goodyear and General Electric visible

In-between taking rides, the lovebirds stopped to refuel.

Indeed, one image shows Judy sitting outside at the French Market restaurant, with groups of people sitting around her.

Larry said when he visited Disneyland in August 1969, you purchased a ticket book as you entered as the all-you-can-ride policy didn't begin until the early 1980s.

The keen traveller still has his original ticket book and other pamphlets from the park stamped with a 1957 date.

One brochure, from Tom Sawyer Island, tells passengers that 'your adventure beings on a raft patterned after the log rafts of the Mississippi at the time of Mark Twain.

'Rafts leave from Frontierland carrying you across the Rivers of America. Step ashore on Tom Sawyer Island... ready for exploration and fun!'

Larry told MailOnline Travel he was 20 years old when he visited Disneyland.

At the time, he was a geology student at the University of Oklahoma and had a summer job in Los Angeles with Union Oil of California. Judy, who was based in Oklahoma City, had flown out to see him.

A shot of the Matterhorn, modelled after the mountain in the Alps, with cable cars running through the structure

Larry said when he visited Disneyland in August 1969, you purchased a ticket book as you entered as the all-you-can-ride policy didn't begin until the early 1980s

A ticket stub shows which rides Larry was allowed to go on for the amount he paid

Since their date to Disneyland the Syversons - who recently celebrated their 47th wedding anniversary - have racked up thousands of miles travelling, with trips all over America.

Larry says that his favourite vacation was in 1984, when he journeyed along the East Coast with his wife and four sons.

He mused: 'We drove 5,626 miles and visited 27 states and seven major cities. We started from our home in Houston, Texas.

'The family agrees, this was our favourite vacation. In fact, this vacation got us to move to Virginia in 1988.'

In May 2016, during a visit to Alaska, Larry fulfilled his dream of visiting all 50 U.S. states.

He says he hasn't been back to Disneyland since that sunny day in 1969.

In one shot, Larry stands smiling in front of themed area Tomorrowland

A card shows which attractions Larry visited. The keen traveller still has the original pamphlets from his trip to the park, stamped with a 1957 date

One brochure, from Tom Sawyer Island, details what park-goers can expect to see

A detailed map for Tom Sawyer Island directs park-goers to specific areas

A horse and carriage comes into view, with one park-goer whipping out his camera to take a shot

Larry visited the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House. He says it is one of his 'all time favourite movies' and he always enjoys watching it with his grandchildren

A queue forms outside of the opera house, with crowds eager to catch a glimpse of what's on

Judy checks out a colourful display of paper flowers at the shops in New Orleans Square

Larry said at the Enchanted Tiki Room, various items would make sounds to produce music

In-between taking rides, the lovebirds stopped to refuel. Indeed, one image shows Judy sitting outside at the French Market restaurant

Boats snake along on the Jungle Cruise where exotic animals can be heard
Holidaymakers due to visit Greece are being urged to monitor news reports and follow advice issued by the local authorities or their accommodation providers, after wildfires ripped through tourist resorts leaving 74 dead.

Hundreds of tourists have been evacuated from beaches while three woman and a child drowned in the sea while trying to escape flames rampaging through woodland either side of the capital, Athens.

The blazes centre around the coastal town of Mati to the east of Athens while authorities are co-ordinating to rescue tourists who fled to the harbour in Rafina - one of the worst hit areas.

Holidaymakers due to visit Greece are being urged to monitor news reports and follow advice issued by the local authorities or their accommodation providers, after wildfires ripped through tourist resorts leaving 74 dead. Pictured are damaged beach facilities at Kineta

Greece welcomes 27million holidaymakers each year, and is especially popular with Brits who mainly head to the islands of Corfu, Crete, Rhodes and Mykonos.

But the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) says that most visitors to Greece, including Athens, will be unaffected by the fires.

In a statement, it said: 'There have been wildfires in a number of areas in southern Greece, including close to Athens; they have been confined to limited areas, but within those the impact has been high, with significant loss of life.

'Most visits to Greece, including to Athens, are unaffected, you should keep up to date with local media reports and follow the advice of the Greek authorities in affected areas.

'If you've been affected by the wildfires and need consular assistance, you can call the British Embassy in Athens on +30 210 7272 600; if you're in the UK and worried about a British national in Greece, call the FCO on 020 7008 1500.'

Pictures have emerged of scorched sunloungers and sun shades on beaches, houses burnt to the ground and people running through thick smoke and waiting in the sea to be rescued

Travel industry body Abta also reiterated to MailOnline Travel that most people going to Greece on holiday will avoid the fires.

A spokesperson said: 'The wildfires in Greece are northeast of Athens in the Penteli area and 50km west of Athens.

'This area isn't a main destination for UK tourists. People on holiday in the region are advised to monitor news reports and follow any advice or instructions issued by the local authorities, their travel company or their accommodation providers.

The fires broke out either side of Athens with Mati and Rafina the worst hit areas. The death toll is expected to climb today

'Anyone due to travel imminently to the areas affected should speak to their travel company or accommodation provider.

'Abta is in contact with the authorities in Greece and we are monitoring the situation.'

Meanwhile holiday comparison site TravelSupermarket also told holidaymakers that they should monitor the FCO website for any advice as any warning not to travel could affect travel insurance claims.

Spokesperson Emma Grimster explained: 'With events such as wild fires, advice is, on the whole, led by the Foreign and Commonwealth office (FCO).

Greece welcomes 27million holidaymakers each year, and is especially popular with Brits who mainly head to the islands of Corfu, Crete, Rhodes and Mykonos. Pictured is a house burning amid wildfire in the town of Kineta near Athens

'Holidaymakers due to travel to Greece need to keep a close eye on the FCO advice for the most up-to-date information on travelling to the country, and also keep in close contact with their travel provider to find out about any changes or delays to their travel arrangements.

'They should also check the terms and conditions of their travel insurance policy. While they won't be covered for simply deciding not to travel, if the FCO issues advice to avoid certain effected areas, travel insurance companies will tend to offer cover to travellers. Again, it is worth giving your insurer a call to find out the latest.

'If you're in the UK and worried about a British national in Greece, call the FCO on 020 7008 1500.'

Ryanair, easyJet and British Airways confirmed their flights are running as usual to Athens.

A spokesperson for easyJet said: 'Flights to and from Athens are currently operating as normal, however, we continue to closely monitor the situation and the advice provided by the relevant authorities.'

But if you would prefer to change your travel plans, you do have options.

The spokesperson added: 'Any customers who are booked to travel to Athens in the next seven days can transfer for free to another date or another route within the next three months, or alternatively can request a flight voucher to the value of their unused flights.

'Passengers wishing to do so are advised to call the easyJet Customer Services team on 0330 365 5000.'

A spokesperson for British Airways said: 'Following the tragic wildfires in Greece, we are offering a flexible re-booking policy for customers wanting to return home early.

'Our flights are operating as planned, however we would encourage any customers with concerns about their bookings to contact us or their travel agent.'

Athens Airport confirmed on Twitter that, although there had been some cancellations, diversions and delays on Monday, flights are now running as normal.
Ryanair has hit out at pilots who are staging their third 24-hour strike over an ongoing dispute by publishing their salaries online.

The Dublin-based carrier has cancelled 16 flights between the UK and Ireland today affecting some 2,500 passengers.

The 24-hour stoppage began at 1am as Irish-based pilots picketed the airline's headquarters in Swords, County Dublin, in the row over annual leave and promotions.

Ryanair has cancelled 16 flights between the UK and Ireland today affecting some 2,500 passengers, due to a 24-hour pilot strike

The airline has hit out at pilots who are staging their third 24-hour strike over an ongoing dispute by publishing their salaries online

This payslip, published online by Ryanair, shows how an Irish captain earns over 16,000 euros per month

A Belgian Ryanair captain can earn over 200,000 euros per months and a UK captain even more than that

And the airline hit back at those carrying out the strike by taking to Twitter and revealing how much it pays it flight crews, which in some instances is considerable - up to 16,000 euros (14,000) a month.

In a statement published online, the low-cost airline said: 'We apologise to the 2,500 customers whose flights today were cancelled last Thursday (and who were re-accommodated/refunded over the weekend) due to a third unnecessary strike by a small minority (25 per cent) of our Irish pilots (who earn 150,000 to 200,000 euros p.a.) over 'seniority and base transfer proposals which they can't explain and which don't even affect them.

'Our pilots should resolve these issues through out working group and not disrupt any more customer holidays.

'Across Europe today, Ryanair will operate 2,500 flights, taking over 450,000 customers to their holiday destinations.'

Ryanair pilots who are part of the Forsa union form a picket line outside the airline's headquarters in Swords, County Dublin

Yesterday, Ryanair also warned that if the industrial action continues, there could be job losses.

But trade union Forsa, which represents the pilots, slammed the carrier for making 'threatening statements'.

A spokesman for the union said: 'This kind of threatening statement is not conducive to building trust and reaching a resolution to the dispute, and Forsa doesn't accept that jobs or expansion in the airline need be put at risk by company management.'

The union said that the pilots continue to seek a 'fair and transparent method' to govern base transfers and related matters which they say is common practice in the industry.

The 24-hour stoppage began at 1am in the row over annual leave and promotions

The spokesman added: 'At present, company management has total discretion on transfers, which can see pilots moved to bases thousands of miles from their homes and families.

'Most other airlines have a fair and transparent criteria, based on seniority, to govern pilot relocations.'

Forsa and Ryanair management have met twice in the last two weeks, for some nine hours.

The union said that the discussions found common ground on the possibility of establishing a joint working group to thrash out the disputed issues, however the parties couldn't agree on terms of reference for such a group.

In a statement, Ryanair said that it is available to meet Forsa 'at any time'.

It said: 'After three months and two meetings lasting over nine hours, Forsa still haven't responded to our written proposals on seniority, base transfers and annual leave, which addresses their claimed requirements.

'Sadly Forsa prefer to strike first rather than use strikes as a last resort.

Yesterday Ryanair warned that if the industrial action continues, there could be job losses

'When Ryanair has already agreed pilot recognition deals in bigger markets like Italy and the UK, clearly it's for Forsa and 25 per cent of the Irish pilots that are causing these problems in Ireland, not Ryanair.'

Meanwhile, Ryanair cabin crew in Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Italy are going on strike on Wednesday and Thursday, leading to the cancellation of 600 flights over two days and affecting 100,000 passengers.

The airline said: 'All of our 50,000 Spain, Portugal and Belgium customers whose flights on Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th of July were cancelled last Wednesday due to a cabin crew strike were re-accommodated on alternative flights, or applied for full refunds over the weekend. We expect no further cancellations tomorrow (Wednesday, 25th).'

Unions in these countries say they want Ryanair staff to be employed according to the national legislation of the country they operate in, rather than that of Ireland.
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The world's most beautiful beaches have been revealed by 'beach inspectors' who have spent three years studying over 1,500 strips of sand.

The experts from new online platform Beach-Inspector.com have been visiting beaches around the globe examining everything from water quality to development and how child friendly they are - 120 criteria points in total.

And now they have revealed which are the best in the world for partying, water sports, 'special ambiance', a 'classic holiday' and for simply looking stunning - the 'wow' beaches.

The professional beach testers of Berlin-based Beach-Inspector.com assessed all beaches directly on-site.

They spent one or two days on every beach, recorded their own video footage for each one and took up to 100 photos before deciding which coastlines would make the cut. Kai Michael Schafer, CEO and co-founder of beach-inspector.com, said: 'Our assessment produces clear results, substantiated by facts. Where other providers stick to the evaluation of likes by users, we carried out an objective evaluation.'

Scroll down to see the winners in the 'wow category', from Cornwall to Australia....

Porthcurno Beach in Cornwall in the far south west of England, which boasts white sand surrounded by majestic rocks with lush greenery

Whitehaven Beach in the Australian Whitsunday Islands is only reachable by boat or seaplane but it is worth the journey. The experts say that the white sand of the beach is so fine that it could not even scratch sun glasses

Koh Nang Yuan Beach in Thailand boasts three islands surrounded by turquoise water and connected by two sandbanks

Manda Bay in Kenya, pictured, is often dubbed the jewel in the crown of the Kenyan coastline thanks to its white sand and deep blue waters

Another Kenyan beach, Diani beach, is one of the most famous in Africa. The inspectors say the bright white sand alone is enough to dazzle visitors

Sardinia's most beautiful beach and tourist magnet, Cala Mariolu, can only be reached by boat. The water is turquoise and the cliffs sit majestically above the white pebble bay

The strong current means swimming is not advised on Playa de Cofete beach in Fuerteventura. But the inspectors say the 11 kilometre stretch is definitely worth a visit

The inspectors say that the view from the water to Pai Plong Beach can almost be described as a jungle feeling. The beach is completely enclosed by steep rocks with magnificent vegetation

Canto de la Playa in Dominican Republic has white sand, countless beautifully curved palm trees and enchanting turquoise water. The beach is especially popular for weddings

The water at Formenteras Playa de ses Illetes in Spain offers more shades of blue than many a colour palette in art lessons, say the experts. They added: 'Together with the view of the Isla de Espalmador and the endless expanse of the beach, Playa de Ses Illetes is a real beauty'

Trou aux Biches Beach in Mauritius is described as a dream beach through and through and even more beautiful than its tough competition elsewhere on the island by the inspectors

Dolphin Reef Beach in Israel is described as looking like an oasis with tree houses . The inspectors say it would be a real eye-catcher even without its popular dolphins

No beach chairs, sunshades or souvenir vendors, the Semeti Beach on Lombok in Indonesia is described as a barely known and completely natural jewel

Nui Beach in Thailand can be reached quickly from the island of Koh Phi Phi by boat and is described as being a secret beach

Playa de los Muertos on the Costa de Almeria in Spain literally means 'beach of the dead'. But despite its name is often referred to as one of the most beautiful in the country

Praia de Joao de Arens in Portugal's Algarve is a remote and spectacular rock bay meaning not too many tourists come to this picturesque beach

According to the experts, Cala Conta in western Ibiza offers a pure island feeling. It has a view of the island of Illa des Bosc in front of it and the light and fine sand Ibiza is known for, plus bright blue water as far as the eye can see

Playa Punta Uva is one of the best known beaches in Costa Rica. The experts say that the palm trees slope almost to the water and snorkeling in the water is a top experience

Playa de las Conchas in Lanzarote is described as a true natural spectacle thanks to its yellow sand, red rocks and blue sea

The Blue Lagoon beach in Cyprus was made famous when Sir David Attenborough filmed here and legend has it that Greek deities fell in love right on this beach
Katie Holmes enjoyed a lunch break by the beach on Monday in Santa Monica.

The 39-year-old flashed a bit of her enviably toned midriff as she slightly lifted her flowing white top, which matched her sleek Nehru-collared blazer.

She appeared to have met up with Scott Eastwood, who was also seen leaving the stylish eatery.

The place to be: Santa Monica's Shutters On The Beach, which features a swank restaurant, played host to both Katie Holmes (pictured) and Scott Eastwood on Monday

On the go: The 39-year-old former Mrs. Tom Cruise and the dashing 32-year-old son (pictured) of Clint Eastwood were glimpsed leaving the joint separately

Katie, who preceded Natalie Portman in the part of Jacqueline Kennedy, wore baggy off-white trousers with the hems stylishly folded up.

Wearing her cropped brown hair tucked behind her ears, she slung a large black bag from her left arm and slipped into summery chic open-toed sandals.

Meanwhile, Scott, the dashing 32-year-old son of the legendary Clint Eastwood, was also seen emerging from Shutters that day.

Scott draped his toned torso in a white T-shirt and threw an open button-down Hawaiian shirt on top, showing off his legs in navy shorts.

Chic as ever: The 39-year-old flashed a bit of her enviably toned midriff as she slightly lifted her flowing white top, which matched her sleek Nehru-collared blazer

He allowed an bit of scruff to sprout onto his face, carrying a black notebook as he left Shutters and shielding his eyes with a pair of Ray-Bans.

Katie initially began dating Scientologist movie star Tom in 2005, and seven weeks into the relationship, they were engaged.

Their Scientologist wedding was held at the Castello Orsini-Odescalchi in Bracciano in November 2006, seven months after their daughter Suri was born.

Summertime chic: Scott draped his toned torso in a white T-shirt and threw an open button-down Hawaiian shirt on top, showing off his legs in navy shorts

Katie filed in 2012 for a divorce that was finalized only 10 days later, with Suri's mother retaining primary custody, though Tom could visit, according to People.

Ron Miscavige, father of Scientology leader David Miscavige, told the MailOnline in 2016 that Katie's misgivings about Scientology - including the effect it could have on Suri - contributed to her decision to leave Tom.

Katie and Jamie Foxx only publicly became an item late last year, though there had been speculation they were a couple since 2013.

There was a swirl of rumors that Katie's divorce agreement prohibited her from publicly dating anyone for five years after the split with Tom.

Katie has only been married the once, but Tom had previously tried matrimony with Mimi Rogers - who quipped in Playboy after the divorce that 'he thought he had to be celibate to maintain the purity of his instrument' - and Nicole Kidman.

Scott and his sister Kathryn Eastwood are the children of Clint Eastwood and Jacelyn Reeves.
You can say that again. Let me count the ways--or at least a few of the ways.



Conservatives have a loose relationship with facts. It may have started before Trump but the concept of stupid is now carved in stone.



As recently as 2016, 45 percent of Republicans still believed that the Affordable Care Act included death panels (it doesnt). A 2015 poll found that 54 percent of GOP primary voters believed then-President Obama to be a Muslim (he isnt).



Then there are the false beliefs about generally accepted science. Only 25 percent of self-proclaimed Trump voters agree that climate change is caused by human activities. Only 43 percent of Republicans overall believe that humans have evolved over time.



And then it gets really crazy. Almost 1 in 6 Trump voters, while simultaneously viewing photographs of the crowds at the 2016 inauguration of Donald Trump and at the 2012 inauguration of Barack Obama , insisted that the former were larger. Sixty-six percent of self-described very conservative Americans seriously believe that Muslims are covertly implementing Sharia law in American courts. Forty-six percent of Trump voters polled just after the 2016 election either thought that Hillary Clinton was connected to a child sex trafficking ring run out of the basement of a pizzeria in Washington, D.C., or werent sure if it was true.



The word 'FACT' is NOW being "googled" more than ever before in the history of the dictionary. If the far Right doesn't like the statement/quote we've been told it's either an "alternative fact" OR "fake news" OR the biased MEDIA...even if it's a quote. If Trump SAID it he didn't MEAN it. IF Trump MEANT it we misunderstood it.....the translators step in to tidy up. In fact, the Right has done such an outstanding job of translating Trump's lies and missteps 75% THINK Trump handled Helsinki beautifully. Their attitude seems to be "Trump's all right. The world's all wrong."



These are not stupid, uneducated people. In fact, millions of Republicans are well-educated and very successful citizens, although I must point out that suddenly they seem hell-bent on destroying public/higher education--the very education that catapulted them to success.

So if they dismiss science and they dismiss statistics, historical data, dates, times, places, quotes, demographics, video and audio feed......what's left?

Illusions? Lack of logic? Inability of rationale?

Or does this boils down to something as simple as deference to tradition and authority..? Stability? Conformity? Are they so afraid of change? Do they trust ONLY THOSE who are members of their tribe?



I'm not a Rand Paul fan but here's a quote (2015) that MAY sum this up and it's pretty interesting:



The difference between Republicans and Democrats is that Republicans believe people are fundamentally bad, while Democrats see people as fundamentally good.
Married At First Sight's Sarah Roza has made extraordinary claims that she speaks to Telv Williams' children more than he does.

The 39-year-old told Daily Mail Australia on Monday that she has a 'close relationship' with Miah, four, and Telv Jr., two, and that they 'FaceTime daily'.

It comes after Telv issued Sarah a stern warning to 'stay away from his family' after learning she paid them a 'surprise visit'.

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'I talk to his kids more than he does!' Married At First Sight's Sarah Roza (pictured) has made explosive claims about Telv Williams' children, even alleging that she speaks to them 'daily'

'I talk to his kids more than he does,' Sarah told Daily Mail Australia. 'They FaceTime me on their mother's phone daily!'

Sarah added that she and Amy are in fact 'close friends' and 'bonded' over their shared experience of dating Telv.

She also alleged that Telv would tell his children that she was 'dead' so they would stop asking after her, despite them still being in 'regular contact'.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Telv for comment.

'Stay away from my children!' Telv Williams (pictured) has warned Sarah to stop speaking to his kids after she paid them a 'surprise visit' in Perth months after their break-up

In an explosive interview with NW on Monday, Telv claimed that Sarah paid 'a surprise visit' to his former partner and their two kids in Perth.

'That was the final straw for me. I want Sarah to move on, stop talking about me to the media and stay away from my children,' he said.

'For some reason, Sarah decided to fly to Perth [from Melbourne], look up the mother of my children and go pay them all a visit.

'They met for breakfast and she even painted my daughter's nails!'

Claims: 'Sarah decided to fly to Perth, look up the mother of my children and go pay them all a visit. They met for breakfast and she even painted my daughter's nails!' an outraged Telv told NW magazine on Monday. Pictured: Telv and his children Miah, four, and Telv Jr., two

Telv and Sarah were paired on the latest season of Married At First Sight, however their union was short lived.

The couple split at the start of the year, but only made the news public on March 24.

Shortly after the split, Telv began dating brand ambassador Maddie Carolan.

After a tumultuous, on-again-off-again romance, they broke up earlier this month.

Hitting back: When contacted by Daily Mail Australia, Sarah explained that she is 'close friends' with Telv's ex Amy, the mother of his two children

Meanwhile, Sarah claims she dated fire protection engineer James Stephens for two months before breaking up on July.

In an Instagram post announcing the split, she hinted that the relationship ended after James cheated on her.

However, speaking to NW on Monday, James insisted they never actually dated and only attended a few events together as friends.
The official dates of this year's annual ARIA Awards have been announced, with executives promising performances by some of Australia's hottest musical exports.

According to a press release issued this week, the popular event will take place in Sydney on 28th November and will be aired on Nine Network.

While no artists have been confirmed to play at the upcoming event, the likes of Kylie Minogue, 5 Seconds Of Summer and Samantha Jade have been rumoured to perform.

From Kylie Minogue to 5 Seconds Of Summer: Australia's hottest music exports are rumoured to perform at 32nd ARIA Awards in Sydney on Wednesday the 28th of November (Pictured: Kylie Minogue)

ARIA Chairman Denis Handlin said in a statement released on Tuesday: 'On behalf of the ARIA board, we look forward to another wonderful celebration of Australian music at this years ARIA Awards, as we prepare to recognise incredibly talented artists who have captured the nations heart in the last year.'

He added: ' There have been a host of Australian successes on the ARIA Charts over the last twelve months from artists including 5 Seconds Of Summer, Amy Shark, Courtney Barnett, Keith Urban, Kylie Minogue, Peking Duk, Pnau, Parkway Drive, Sheppard, Troye Sivan, Delta Goodrem and Vance Joy.'

Mr Handlin added that fans should expect an unforgettable night, promising more collaborations, iconic live performances and a 'very special Hall of Fame induction.'

Coming back home? 5 Seconds Of Summer are among some of the musical exports thought to return Down Under for the prestigious awards night

Red carpet regular! Samantha Jade is rumoured to also be performing at this year's ARIA awards

Will she take out the top spot? With Amy Shark winning best pop release last year at the ARIAs, it's likely she may take home an award after her album Love Monster hit the number one spot on the ARIA charts this week

Will she return? Lorde shocked fans with her surprise performance at the 2017 ARIA Awards

The announcement comes after ratings for the ARIAs last year hit a record high, with the Nine Network delivering a 31% increase in audience numbers in 2017 according to Mumbrella.

With Amy Shark winning best pop release last year at the ARIAs, it's likely she may take home an award after her album Love Monster hit the number one spot on the ARIA charts this week.

More details of the 2018 ARIAs are expected to be released soon.
She is enjoying some downtime in Los Angeles after filming The Voice Australia.

And Delta Goodrem looked thoroughly relaxed while heading to lunch with a male friend in San Fernando Valley earlier this month.

The 33-year-old arrived at a Thai restaurant in a casual chic ensemble, including a vintage T-shirt and ripped jeans.

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Living the LA dream! Delta Goodrem (left) stepped out in San Fernando Valley in a vintage T-shirt and ripped jeans earlier this month as she went to lunch with a male friend (right)

Delta looked effortlessly chic as she stepped out in sunny LA, blending in with the stylish locals.

She accessorised with several bracelets and necklaces and concealed her gaze behind designer sunglasses.

Her brunette hair was styled loosely and she kept her look casual with black slides.

Looking good, Delta! The 33-year-old, who is believed to be recording music while in America, arrived at a Thai restaurant in a casual chic ensemble

While Delta appeared to be in holiday mode, it is believed she is also recording music while in America.

Her last studio album, Wings Of The Wild, was released in 2016.

In the meantime, she has returned to her acting roots by starring in the Channel Seven miniseries, Olivia: Hopelessly Devoted To You.

Sea change: Delta flew to Los Angeles after filming The Voice Australia last month. Pictured: Delta on The Voice

The former Neighbours star was criticised for her role as Olivia Newton-John, but told Stellar magazine she was proud of the performance.

'I know life can't be a bed of roses,' she said.

'I take on the fact I'm always learning. I don't profess to be perfect at anything. I just do my very best. I'm a hard worker.'
She's travelled the world for her successful modelling career and has visited plenty of airports in her time.

And on Monday, Nicole Trunfio was sent in tailspin when her trip to Spain was delayed.

Taking to her Instagram Story, the 32-year-old Australian personality flipped the bird as she was forced to head to a budget airport hotel in the US while she waited for her next flight.

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'F**k my life!' Nicole Trunfio flips the bird during meltdown at the airport as her trip to Spain gets delayed and she's forced to stay at a budget hotel

'Meant to be halfway to Spain but sitting in an airport hotel with Pamela in America,' Nicole wrote, adding the hashtag 'f**k my life.'

Sharing a picture of their mediocre food and drink, she added: 'Pretending we are in Barcelona.'

Before reaching the hotel Nicole seemed exited for her trip to Spain, exclaiming to fans: 'Vacation time.'

Fuming! Nicole flipped the bird at the airport with her friend from the pair's budget hotel

She's not happy: 'Meant to be halfway to Spain but sitting in an airport hotel with Pamela in America,' Nicole wrote, adding the hashtag 'f**k my life'

The trip to Spain comes after the brunette beauty travelled back to her native Australia earlier this month.

During her the trip Down Under, Nicole brought her six-month-old daughter Gigi to Sydney for the first time.

She shares her tot with her American musician husband Gary Clark Jr., as well as son Zion, three.

The clan are based in the US.

Family: The trip to Spain comes after the brunette beauty travelled back to her native Australia earlier this month with daughter Gigi (Gigi and Nicole's son Zion are pictured)

Her brood: She shares her tot with her American musician husband Gary Clark Jr., as well as son Zion, three (pictured)

Meanwhile, Nicole has been vocal about her campaign to normalise breastfeeding and last week shared a video with fans on Instagram of herself using a breast pump.

She said she shared the clip to show the 'not so glamorous' side of motherhood.

'The not so glam part (among many) of being a mother,' she captioned the video, alongside the hashtags: 'Mum life' and 'normalise breastfeeding.'
She sleeps around four hours a night and famously went back to work just an hour after she gave birth to her son Hunter back in 2014.

And Roxy Jacenko proved her dedication to her job yet again on Monday, revealing she was answering emails during her idyllic family holiday on the Amalfi Coast.

The 38-year-old posted a picture of her work station aboard the stunning $376,000-a-week superyacht she is sailing around Italy in.

No rest for the wicked! Roxy Jacenko has been enjoying a holiday in Europe with her husband Oliver Curtis and their children, Pixie, six, and Hunter, four, but she is now back to work on the family's superyacht as they stay on Amalfi Coast

Work station: The 38-year-old posted a picture of her work station aboard the $376,000-a-week superyacht she and her family are sailing around Italy in

'Work backdrop today #amalficoast,' she captioned a picture of a dinner table with her laptop resting on top.

The blonde businesswoman once said 'she gets off on work' and enjoys answering work emails.

In 2014, she jumped online within an hour of giving birth to her second child Hunter.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia before the arrival of her baby boy, Roxy admitted: 'The reality is, with one two-year-old (the age of her daughter Pixie at the time), two businesses and the level of responsibility I have I need to be organised'.

'It's no secret I'll be working remotely whilst in hospital as I did when Pixie was born, so I want to be comfy.'

She remained unapologetic about her swift return to work when speaking to NOVA FM after giving birth, telling Fitzy & Wippa: 'Like it or loathe it it is what it is, you know what I've got responsibilities and I have to be able to manage both.'

Better holiday this time: Meanwhile, last week Roxy made a joke about her husband Oliver's jail stint, as they sailed off Capri on their giant yacht

'This time I was quite quick. I was back online within the hour, rather than the three hours last time. I knew exactly what to expect.'

Meanwhile, last week Roxy made a joke about her husband Oliver's jail stint, as the couple and their children sailed off Capri on their giant yacht.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Roxy remarked how the lavish break is 'so nice for Oli. A Far cry from his last holiday!

The Sweaty Betty founder was referring to the 12 months the businessman spent in jail for conspiracy to commit insider trading.

Oliver served the majority of his time at Cooma Correctional Centre, before his release in June 2017.

Roxy previously admitted that at first she told their children Pixie, six, and Hunter, four, that their father was away on holiday in China, instead of revealing he was in prison.

In April, Roxy told Daily Mail Australia that Oliver was still struggling to overcome his time behind bars.

At the time, she said the former investment banker got emotional when they drove past Sydney's Surry Hills holding cells.

'We don't really talk about (his sentence). Oli has said previously it's something he has blocked out of his mind,' Roxy said.

'We don't really talk about his sentence': In April, Roxy told Daily Mail Australia that Oliver was still struggling to overcome his time behind bars

Getting away from it all! The pair are putting the jail stint behind them, with Roxy and Oliver looking carefree while holidaying with family and friends in Europe

'Just last weekend when we drove past Surry Hills holding cells after a meal and he was quite distressed, he mentioned being in there was the worst two weeks of his life.'

She added: 'I'm told these cells are usually for prisoners for 24 to 48 hours. For him, it was two weeks and something he never wants to remember.'

The pair are putting the jail stint behind them, with Roxy and Oliver looking carefree while holidaying with family and friends in Europe.

As well as their immediate family, they have a sizable entourage with them, including Roxy's mother Doreen and friends, among whom is chicken heiress Jessica Ingham.

Her friend and employee, Grace Garrick, is also with them on the lavish trip.
Kyle Sandiland's won't just be serving up justice on his new show Trial By Kyle.

The shock jock, 47, will also be handing out huge cash settlements to the celebrities and members of public that dare to step foot into his TV courtroom.

As well as a guaranteed appearance fee of several hundred dollars plus travel expenses, the winning participant of each case will be walking away with thousands of dollars in 'damages'.

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Money matters! Kyle Sandilands (pictured in April 2018) is set to pay out up to $5,000 in damages to successful plaintiffs in his new show Trial By Kyle, also starring Anna Heinrich

'Kyle will pay out up to $5,000 to each plaintiff depending on the jury's ruling and the circumstances of the case,' an insider tells Daily Mail Australia.

'The cases on the show may have no legal standing, but damages will be rewarded and the production company is footing the bill.

'They know Kyle can get carried away while filming so they've capped the amount.'

See you in court! Bachelor star and criminal lawyer Anna Heinrich (pictured in 2017) will help Kyle serve up justice on the upcoming Network Ten show

Bachelor star and criminal lawyer Anna Heinrich is also set to feature as Kyle's sidekick in the Jude Judy-style show that will air next month as part of Network Ten's Pilot Week.

Speaking on air earlier this month, Kyle teased what viewers can expect from the show.

'People will come in with their stupid arguments neighbourhood disputes, maybe some girl got a t*t job and she wants to sue her doctor,' he said.

'Celebrities going up against photographers, we've already got one of those logged in.'

He's back: Married At First Sight's Nasser Sultan is tipped to star on the show to settle a dispute with paparazzo Jayden Seyfarth

Famous feud: Jayden previously accused Nasser of staging paparazzi photos, which the MAFS star denied earlier this year

It's believed Kyle was referring to a rumoured episode featuring Married At First Sight star Nasser Sultan and paparazzo Jayden Seyfarth.

The pair had a very public falling out earlier this year after Jayden accused Nasser of staging paparazzi photos  something the reality TV star strongly denied at the time.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ten for comment.
Mila Kunis has spoken about how she 'f***ed up' her relationship with Macaulay Culkin and given details on husband Ashton Kutcher's divorce.

The 34-year-old actress spilled details about her private life on Monday's revealing episode of the Armchair Expert podcast.

She began by admitting she was a 'd***' during her romance with Macaulay, before revealing her family's hilarious reaction to the fact she was dating former That 70s Show co-star Kutcher.





New couple: Mila Kunis' mom from cursing 'Shut the f*** up!' in Russian when she found out her daughter was dating That 70s Show co-star Ashton Kutcher, according to the actress. Ashton and Mila seen here in 2016

The Family Guy voice actress was incredibly honest about her break-up from Macaulay, and hinted she was mostly to blame.

'I had a horrible breakup. I had a horrible, horrible, horrible breakup,' she said about the Home Alone actor.

'I f***ed up. I was an a**hole in my 20s and I'll be the first to admit it,' the actress admitted of the relationship.'

Young love: The Family Guy voice actress was incredibly honest about her break-up from Macaulay, and hinted she was mostly to blame

'And that's kinda something that took me a long time to come out and be like, 'Yeah, you know what, I was a d**k,' and accept it and I own it.'

'It's f***ed up what I did. It's f***ed up what I did, and it's f***ed up how I did it. When I got to be single I said, I just need to figure myself out. I genuinely need to know why I did what I did and, like, regroup myself as a human being.'

However the actress didn't elaborate on exactly how she'd wronged the Uncle Buck child star.

Now, the Bad Moms star is able to look back on her 20s and forgive herself for her behaviour, as she says she's grown up a lot since then.

Happy: In the candid interview with host Dax Shepherd, the star later revealed how she dropped the bombshell she was dating Ashton on her family (pictured together in 2013)

She added: 'You know, it's been so long, like I feel like enough time has gone by. I think enough mutual friends have been like ... everybody kind of forgave everybody for what went down. At 35, I could look back and be like, 'I was 20.'

In the candid interview with host Dax Shepherd, the Jupiter Ascending starlet later revealed the circumstances under which she dropped the bombshell she was dating Ashton on her mother, Elvira.

'We were driving up Laurel Canyon, and I was like, 'Mom I have to tell you I'm dating somebody.''

'And she was like, 'Oh tell me! Who are you dating?' And I was like, 'You've got to brace yourself for this one I'm dating Ashton Kutcher.'

Bumping along: Kunis and Kutcher began dating in April 2012, following his November 2011 split from wife of six years, Moore. Seen here in October 2016

'And she literally was like, 'Shut the f*** up' in Russian.'

The Black Swan actress suspected that the bad publicity surrounding Kutcher's divorce from Demi Moore might have had an impact on her mom's reaction.

'He was coming off of a divorce. He was post, post, post, way post-divorce, but I think there was a lot of misconceptions about the divorce,' she told Shepherd.

Before adding: 'We were crazy neurotic about keeping it a secret, probably to a massive fault where we alienated so many friends, I'm sure.'

Kunis and Kutcher, 40, began dating in April 2012, following his November 2011 split from wife of six years, Moore.

The couple married in 2015 and share two children together - daughter Wyatt , three, and 19-month-old son Dimitri.
He may have retired his role as Wolverine, but Hugh Jackman is still in impeccable shape.

The 49-year-old star showed off his famous washboard abs as he stripped down for a morning swim at Sydney's Bondi Beach on Tuesday.

After a sweaty gym session, the Aussie actor bared his fit physique as he hit the surf.

He really is The Greatest Showman! Shirtless Wolverine star Hugh Jackman, 49, flaunts his incredible abs as he strips down for a swim at Bondi Beach following a morning workout

Abs-olutely ripped! After a sweaty gym session, the Aussie actor bared his fit physique as he hit the surf

Sun's out, guns out! Hugh was seen running to and from the shore in a pair of blue board shorts with neon yellow detailing

Hugh was seen running to and from the shore in a pair of blue board shorts with neon yellow detailing.

Flaunting off his muscular biceps, he sprinted across the sand after bracing the brisk water temperatures.

Wet 'n wild! He was spotted making his way toward the beach's outdoor showers before washing the salty sea water from his buff body

Feeling fresh: Hugh turned heads as he combed his fingers through his hair while standing under the fresh water tap

Home: Hugh owns a home in Bondi Beach and the surf is his first port of call after he touches down in Australia

He was spotted making his way toward the beach's outdoor showers before washing the salty sea water from his buff body.

Hugh turned heads as he combed his fingers through his hair while standing under the fresh water tap.

Following his morning workout and beach dip, Hugh then warmed down outside the North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club.

Warm down: Following his morning workout and beach dip, Hugh then warmed down outside the North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club

Stretch it: The X-Men star stretched out his arms, taking turns placing one arm across the other

The X-Men star stretched out his arms, taking turns placing one arm across the other.

Feeling fresh and rejuvenated, the Les Miserables actor was later seen holding a white towel and water bottle in hand.

Beaming from ear-to-ear, the Hollywood star appeared in high spirits following his active morning routine.

Hard work pays off! Feeling fresh and rejuvenated, the Les Miserables actor was later seen holding a white towel and water bottle in hand
They announced their separation in 2009, but remained dedicated to raising their three children together.

And last week, Lisa Curry and Grant Kenny reunited to spend time with their first grandchild, Flynn Melchior Gruell.

Taking to Instagram, Lisa shared a photo of the former couple posing with the adorable newborn.

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Reunited! Lisa Curry (left) and Grant Kenny (right) doted over baby Flynn (centre) last week as they celebrated being first-time grandparents almost a decade after their marriage split

She captioned the post: ' Grannie and Pa... loving our time with our grandson.'

Flynn is Lisa and Grant's first grandchild. The couple's daughter Morgan welcomed the new addition with her husband Ryan Gruell in March.

Lisa, a retired competitive swimmer, and Grant, a former Ironman, ended their 23-year marriage in 2009 but remained on friendly terms.

Baby joy! Flynn (pictured) is Lisa and Grant's first grandchild. The couple's daughter Morgan welcomed the new addition with her husband Ryan Gruell in March this year

However, they didn't finalise their divorce until early 2017.

Lisa and Grant share three adult children together: daughters Morgan and Jaimi Lee and son Jett Kenny.

Grant also shares five-year-old daughter Trixie with radio broadcaster Fifi Box, 41.

Separated: Lisa and Grant announced their separation in 2009, but remained dedicated to raising their three children together. Pictured: Grant (centre) and Lisa (right) speaking to John Howard (left) at the launch of Lisa's book, Fit Kids, at Parliament House in Canberra in 2000

It has been an eventful 12 months for Lisa, who recently tied the knot with Elvis impersonator Mark Tabone, 52.

In May, the couple hosted a quirky wedding ceremony, inviting guests to their $1.125million Sunshine Coast property.

The former I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! star looked stunning on her special day in a pastel pink gown.
He's known for his tongue-in-cheek comments both on and off the judging panel of Britain's Got Talent.

And David Walliams was back to doing what he does best as he poked fun at his co-judge and friend Simon Cowell's cosmetic surgery.

The Little Britain star, 46, didn't hold back during a radio interview as he spoke about his boss, 58, who has always been open about his love for Botox, and quipped that he looks like he's had 'an accident'.

Cheeky!: David Walliams was back to doing what he does best as he poked fun at his co-judge and friend Simon Cowell's cosmetic surgery (pictured in 2015)

He joked: 'His face has always changed. Something has happened. You think, "What has gone on? What exactly? Did you have a terrible accident or something?"'

'Yeah, he always looks a bit different,' he playfully added.

David went on to tease that he doesn't hear from Simon outside of Britain's Got Talent filming, with The X Factor judge apparently only getting in touch during the show.

Mean: The Little Britain star, 46, didn't hold back during a radio interview as he spoke about his boss, who has always been open about Botox, and quipped he looks like he's had 'an accident'

Over the years: He joked: 'His face has always changed. Something has happened. You think, "What has gone on? What exactly? Did you have a terrible accident or something?" (Simon pictured in 2005, left, and 2018, right)

He added: 'We are friends when the show is being made. He will sort of invite you out for dinner and you think, "This is great I am having dinner with Simon Cowell."

'And then you dont hear from him for six months when the show is not on and then he will be back in touch in January.'

David's comments come after Simon admitted he had splashed out on a non-surgical facelift in a bid to maintain his incredibly smooth visage, which is reported to have cost around 2,000.

The music mogul is said to have visited cosmetic surgeon Dr Jean-Louis Sebagh, known as the 'Picasso of dermatology', for a Silhouette Soft Lift, which promises to create a more 'youthful' appearance.

No holding back!: 'Yeah, he always looks a bit different,' the Britain's Got Talent judge playfully added (Simon pictured in 2002)

Watch out!: He's known for his tongue-in-cheek comments both on and off the judging panel of Britain's Got Talent

Radio silence: David went on to tease that he doesn't hear from Simon outside of Britain's Got Talent filming, with The X Factor judge apparently only getting in touch during the show

Simon told The Sun on Sunday: 'There's lots of things you can do now, you don't just have to stuff your face with filler and Botox.

'It hurts like hell but it gets rid of sun damage and unplugs all the c**p.

'For me now, it's all about having clean skin, if you have clean skin, you look better.'

The method (also known as a 'one stitch face lift') uses an absorbable thread with cones to lift the facial skin and encourage collagen production. The unwanted excess skin is pulled back by the underlying muscle.

Candid: David's comments come after Simon admitted he had splashed out on a non-surgical facelift in a bid to maintain his incredibly smooth visage (pictured last week)

'Picasso of dermatology': The music mogul is said to have visited cosmetic surgeon Dr Jean-Louis Sebagh, known as the 'Picasso of dermatology'

The threads are 'stitched' on to the neck, brow or mid-face and promise to create a fresher, more youthful appearance.

MailOnline contacted Simon's representatives for comment at the time.

It seems the X Factor creator has opted for non-surgical procedures after realising he'd overdone botox when Sharon Osbourne also made a joke about his face not moving back in 2015.

Speaking about his age-defying attempts and grooming secret, The X Factor boss revealed that his friend's gag had prompted him to give up the treatment.

Speaking unabashedly about the treatment and his views on it, he told The Mirror: 'Hopefully I look better now  I probably did have a little too much Botox a couple of years ago, because everyone on TV has it.'
54% of voters say Trump was not acting in the best interest of the U.S. at the Helsinki summit.



73% say the summit was a success for Russia.



70% of Republicans don't believe there is compromising information against President Trump.



Trumps approval rating is at 38% compared to 43% after the summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to the poll.



63% of voters are "very concerned" or "somewhat concerned" that the Russian government may try to interfere in the 2018 elections, as 36% are "not so concerned" or "not concerned at all."

The other side: Several polls have been released based on the effects of the Helsinki summit. One consistency is a majority ofjudgement.
He has a new girlfriend after making things official with his Love Island beau Georgia Steel.

And now Sam Bird, 23, also has new eyebrows after turning to professionals for help on Sunday evening, after being cruelly mocked on social media over his uneven brows.

Just before the personal trainer appeared on Love Island Aftersun, celebrity make-up artist Marcos G transformed Sam's uneven facial hair with the help of HD Brow's Eye & Brow Pro Palette.

Make over: Sam Bird, 23, has new eyebrows as he turned to professionals for help on Sunday evening, after being cruelly mocked on social media over his uneven brows

The eyebrow brand capationed the snap: 'Have you seen Sam Bird's brow transformation? Celebrity MUA @marcosgmakeup used our Eye & Brow Pro Palette to help even them out. #LoveIsland.'

And the make-up artist who made the magic happen shared the same picture on his own Instagram page, with Sam commenting: 'Thanks you lovely man x.'

Fans on the reality star were delighted with his makeover, with one person celebrating: 'Thank goodness. No more one eyebrow in Brighton and one in Huyton!!!'

'Whoever fixed Sam's eyebrows deserves an OBE #loveislandaftersun' added another.

And his brow transformation has proved to be a hit with the ladies, with Instagram user commenting: 'His eyebrows are even for once !!!!!!!!!! Looks way sexier with even eyebrows.'

'I noticed his eyebrows looked good on telly. Hes fit now,' agreed another.

A little help from the pros: Just before the personal trainer appeared on Love Island Aftersun, celebrity make-up artist Marcos G transformed Sam's uneven facial hair with the help of HD Brow's Eye & Brow Pro Palette; Pictured in promo shots ahead of his Love Island stint

Simply the best: The eyebrow brand captioned the snap: 'Have you seen Sam Bird's brow transformation? Celebrity MUA @marcosgmakeup used our Eye & Brow Pro Palette to help even them out. #LoveIsland'

Finally! Fans on the reality star were delighted with his makeover, with one person celebrating: 'Thank goodness. No more one eyebrow in Brighton and one in Huyton!!!'

However, some fans still haven't got over the butchering of his eyebrows which occured pre-Love Island.

'lol whoever did it to him in the first place should be named and shamed,' slammed one Instagram user.

When Sam Bird first entered the villa, fans were distracted by his wonky eyebrows - as Twitter was swarmed with comments over his bizarrely mismatched facial hair.

A host of viewers penned the adage: 'Eyebrows should be sisters not twins', while others insisted he should fire his beautician immediately.

At last! 'Whoever fixed Sam's eyebrows deserves an OBE #loveislandaftersun' added another

Which one's which? Love Island fans were distracted by Sam's wonky eyebrows as he entered the villa - as Twitter was swarmed with comments over his bizarrely mismatched facial hair

When the gym owner was first revealed to be arriving in Mallorca he appeared on screen in his swim shorts while opening his trailer by stating: 'I'm ready to get the island and take a girl, it needs a new member.

'I've got the energy, and loads of attitude,' before adding teasingly: 'You'll have tame me when I'm being a naughty.'

While he was set to send temperatures soaring, he caused a disturbance with his eyebrows due to the fact they featured an alarmingly mismatched appearance.

Matchy matchy: A host of viewers penned the adage: 'Eyebrows should be sisters not twins', while others insisted he should fire his beautician immediately

Oh my: 'That new lad Sam needs to sort his eyebrows out before he gets in that villa, does his eyebrow lady hate him? #loveisland...' added another

Twitter users penned: 'I know eyebrows are sisters and not twins but this new guy- Sams eyebrows are not even related. #loveisland... Why has the new boy sam got two different shapes eyebrows?? #LoveIsland...

'Does that Sam bird have uneven eyebrows or is it just my eyes?... Sam I know your new so will give it a minute but on sight babes your eyebrow lady is cancelled...

'That new lad Sam needs to sort his eyebrows out before he gets in that villa, does his eyebrow lady hate him? #loveisland... They say that eyebrows should be sisters, not twins.. But damn that new sam guy has adopted brows bloody hell...

Hot response: While he was set to send temperatures soaring, he caused a disturbance with his eyebrows due to the fact they featured an alarmingly mismatched appearance

Eye see? 'Eyebrow fail #sacktheeyebrowlady #sam #LoveIsland... Am I the only one who noticed the difference in Sam Birds eyebrows in @LoveIsland...' added another

'Eyebrow fail #sacktheeyebrowlady #sam #LoveIsland... Am I the only one who noticed the difference in Sam Birds eyebrows in @LoveIsland...

'3 questions...1. Has Eyal secretly left the villa? 2. Who plucked Sams eyebrows? 3. Why does Rosie walk like she needs a hip replacement?...

'I just realised how much of a beauty therapist I am at heart when the only thing I was focussing on were Sams EYEBROWS. HORRENDOUS. #LoveIsland...

'theres always a guy called Sam with overdone eyebrows... Arr that new Sam on love island has proper odd eyebrows n now thats all I can see ffs...

'God, if Hayley was to see Sams eyebrows it would deffo kick off... Absolutely creasing at the new boy, Sam's, eyebrows. Never seen eyebrows so non-identical.'
There's no debate - Tom Cruise knows how to make an entrance - and an exit.

The 56-year old actor looked every bit the action hero, when he was spotted flying in and out of midtown Manhattan in a helicopter for an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Monday.

And it's all part of his globetrotting promotional tour for his new action-flick Mission Impossible: Fallout.

Coming and going in style: Tom Cruise arrived in midtown Manhattan by helicopter on Monday

And it's no wonder Tom needs a helicopter.

He is currently on one of his famous whirlwind rides that he often embarks on when promoting a film.

But the hectic pace didn't stop Tom from being the consummate gentleman when he touched down on the helipad in midtown Manhattan. He made a point of greeting some of the workers with a handshake and that million dollar smile.

And he also showed that father time still hasn't caught up with him, as he looked trim and ready in a fitted black suit.

He paired the classic ensemble with a dark button-down shirt and a pair of black leather shoes.

His hair was styled with a part slightly to the right and he accessorized with a Cartier wrist-watch and a pair of dark sunglasses.

Always the gentleman: The superstar actor greeted workers at the helipad in NYC

Million dollar smile: Tom seemed to be in a great mood while on the helipad in midtown NYC

Whirlwind ride: The 56-year old is on a promotional tour for Mission Impossible: Fallout

The Top Gun star has been known for his globetrotting ways when it comes to promoting a movie. And this latest installment in the MI franchise is no exception, with Tom making stops in Washington, DC, South Korea and Japan in recent days.

The latest film in the Mission Impossible franchise sees Ethan Hunt and the IMF team race against time after a mission gone wrong.

And 'gone wrong' is exactly how you describe one of the stunts that Tom did in London that resulted in a broken ankle.

In the scene, Tom was supposed to jump from one building to another, but he crashed into the side of it and snapped his ankle. The injury shut down production of the film.

'I went right into rehab. About 10 hours a day, 12 hours, seven days a week because six weeks later I had to be on set and twelve weeks later I had to be sprinting again,' he revealed in an interview with People. 'Doctors said they werent sure whether Id be sprinting in nine months, let alone that time. I was like, Okay, I gotta figure this out and I gotta figure it out fast.

Style and convenience: The superstar helicoptered in to NYC for an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon

Hamming it up: Tom and Jimmy shared some smiles and laughs

Pitching it: The superstar is on a global promotional tour for MI:F

Game time: Jimmy had Tom play "mad lib theater' during his appearance

What a run: The 56-year-old star has now played hero Ethan Hunt since 1996

Turns out that ankle still hasn't fully healed, but as seen by his rigorous schedule, that hasn't slowed him down at bit.

The spy flick was written, co-produced and directed by Christopher McQuarrie and marks the first film in the series to be released in Real D 3D.

The 56-year-old star has now played hero Ethan Hunt since 1996.

Mission Impossible: Fallout hits theaters across the U.S. Friday July 27.
She's never shy to flaunt her fabulous figure.

And Kim Kardashian proved on trend as she left little to the imagination in a skimpy ensemble in Los Angeles on Monday.

The 37-year-old reality star showcased her bountiful curves as she was joined by sister Khloe to film their show Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

Stunner: Kim Kardashian, 37, left little to the imagination in a skimpy ensemble in Los Angeles on Monday

Daring to impress, the wife of Kanye West revealed her ample assets as the grey tank top swathed her chest tightly.

Her lithe waist was thrust on center stage as the olive pantaloons cinched above the navel accentuating her hour glass figure.

The loose fitting leggings were tucked into a pair of cream-colored stiletto boots allowing a peek at her gorgeous gams.

She kept her trademark raven tresses long and loose as they cascaded over her petite shoulders.

Star gazing: The reality star showcased her bountiful curves

Leggy lady: The loose fitting leggings were tucked into a pair of cream-colored stiletto boots allowing a peek at her gorgeous gams

Khloe made the sidewalk her own personal runway in a thigh-grazing mini dress that showed off her lovely legs.

She swathed her fabulous post-baby body in an olive green jacket that cut just below her trim waistline.

And she kept her signature golden tresses carefree with a part down the middle as they brushed over her delicate decolletage.

Ample: Daring to impress, the wife of Kanye West revealed her ample assets as the grey tank top swathed her chest tightly

Hour glass: Her lithe waist was thrust on center stage as the olive pantaloons cinched above the navel accentuating her hour glass figure

According to TMZ, Kim took Kanye to West Hills Hospital in the San Fernando Valley on Sunday because of the flu.

The website reports that he got worse and worse until he needed medication, which led to the KKW Beauty founder to take him to the ER.

TMZ noted that Kanye, 41, was admitted for a short time before he returned home to rest and recover.

Sister support: Kim was joined by sister Khloe Kardashian, 34

A source told Dailymail.com that Kanye was 'under the weather with common cold or flu.'

Adding that he was taken to the hospital 'to see a doctor for antibiotics' and 'was in, out.'

The insider confirmed that Kanye was 'home resting now.'

Runway diva: Khloe made the sidewalk her own personal runway in a thigh-grazing mini dress that showed off her lovely legs

The rapper had tweeted about having a sinus headache on July 14.

Kanye wrote: 'I had a sinus headache on a flight once and I got a f*****g cat scan after because it was so bad.'

Adding: 'Whenever you're feeling down bored irritated or disgruntled just say...thank god I don't have a sinus headache... they feel like the episode of black mirror when the bee went into the guys ear...'

One day before the hospital visit, Kanye and Kim attended rapper Pusha T and Virginia Williams' wedding in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Hot mama: She swathed her fabulous post-baby body in an olive green jacket that cut just below her trim waistline

Meanwhile, Khloe has apologized for calling her sister Kourtney the word 'r****d' in her Instagram live stream.

She took to Twitter to apologize on Friday after fans called her out for calling her sister Kourtney 'a f*****g r****d.'

The siblings were trying to set up an Instagram live stream of their exercise routine on Thursday morning, but were having difficulty with the technical side.

Hair story: She kept her signature golden tresses carefree with a part down the middle as they brushed over her delicate decolletage

Kourtney can be heard telling her younger sis 'Yes, you can you f*cking r****d', while Khloe fires back 'are you a f*****g r****d'.

A number of fans were offended by her poor choice of words.

'You should pay more attention to you word choices especially since you have a huge following & don't know who you could be offending,' one wrote.

Retro: She accessorized with a set of retro shades

'If True had a disability you would use a different word.' But Khloe was quick to hold up her hand and accept responsibility.

'Ugh I hate that word! Why did I even say that? You are a million percent right and I actually greatly dislike when people use that word!' she responded.

'I will do better! I am sorry! much love today,' she added.
She recently announced she would be returning to the Channel 4 soap three years after her last scenes as Sinead O'Connor were aired.

And Stephanie Davis has now made her comeback to the Hollyoaks set with co-star Jennifer Metcalfe, who has been on maternity leave, to film their fun summer sequence titles.

The actresses, aged 25 and 35, were also joined by Stuart Manning, 39, who hasn't been seen on the soap since 2009 and is reprising his role of Russ Owen after nearly ten years.

She's back!: Stephanie Davis has now made her comeback to the Hollyoaks set with co-star Jennifer Metcalfe, who has been on maternity leave, to film their fun summer sequence titles

For the fun summer sequence titles, which will be aired at the start of the soap, Stephanie showed off her character's new hairdo, which has seen her long raven locks transformed into a light brunette bob wig.

Posing in character as Sinead, the actress showed off her toned figure in a pair of metallic bronze leggings and a mustard yellow wrap top with flared sleeves.

Stephanie knew how to work her best angles, and her new wig, as she posed up a storm on set and had her make-up touched up by a crew member.

Lady in red: Jennifer, 35, who will be returning to the soap as Mercedes McQueen after taking a year off on maternity leave, looked sensational in a stunning red halterneck dress

Meanwhile, Jennifer, who will be returning to the soap as Mercedes McQueen after taking a year off on maternity leave, looked sensational in a stunning red halterneck dress.

The actress, who welcomed a baby boy called Daye with her partner Greg Lake in June 2017, showed off her incredible post-baby body in the daring item of clothing, which was backless and had a matching red chiffon train to it.

Jennifer appeared delighted to be back home on set and couldn't contain her smile as she playfully posed in her glamorous ensemble, with a slick of red lipstick to match.

Meanwhile, Stuart looked dapper as he transformed into his character Russ and wore a black tuxedo, with the bow tie unfastened.

Work it: Posing in character as Sinead, the actress, 25, showed off her toned figure in a pair of metallic bronze leggings and a mustard yellow wrap top with flared sleeves

Hair transformation: For the fun summer sequence titles, Stephanie showed off her character's new hairdo, which has seen her long raven locks transformed into a light brunette bob wig (pictured out of character)

Jennifer's explosive return will be aired in August and will see Mercedes make a splashy comeback in Magaluf, with the actress flying out to Mallorca to film the special episodes.

In May, it was confirmed that Stephanie would be reprising her role as Sinead O'Connor as she revealed she was 'over the moon' to have been asked back by show bosses.

Of her big return to Chester, Stephanie told The Mirror: 'I'm over the moon to be given this amazing opportunity and so excited to bring feisty Sinead back to Hollyoaks.'

While the character isn't set to return to screens until August, Stephanie admitted she can't wait to reunite with her cast mates.

Stunning: Jennifer appeared delighted to be back home on set and couldn't contain her smile as she playfully posed in her glamorous ensemble, with a slick of red lipstick to match

Sweet: The actress welcomed a baby boy called Daye with her partner Greg Lake in June 2017

Stephanie continued: 'I just want to get stuck into learning my first scripts. I can't wait to be on set and back acting again, which is my passion.'

A spokesperson for Stephanie Davis said: 'We are so proud of her, she has been through so much and we and her have worked so hard to turn her life around.

'She is super excited to be back on screen in Hollyoaks in August. She has her own clothing range and make up range coming soon.

'She is looking after herself in every way never to go back to where she was.'

Handsome: Meanwhile, Stuart looked dapper as he transformed into his character Russ and wore a black tuxedo, with the bow tie unfastened

He's back!: Stuart hasn't been seen on the soap since 2009 and is reprising his role of Russ Owen after nearly ten years

Before making her mark on the village in 2010, Stephanie launched her career at the tender age of 16 on BBC1's Somewhere Over The Rainbow.

But her acting career came crashing to a halt after show bosses decided to axe the fan favourite after a series of incidents, which included turning up to work intoxicated.

A statement from her spokesman said at the time: 'Stephanie's contract was terminated following warnings for lateness, attendance and after a final incident in which she turned up to set unfit to work because of alcohol consumption.'

However, there appears to be no bad blood between the star and Hollyoaks executive producer Brian Kirkwood, who said he's 'delighted' that the previously troubled star is making a comeback.

Return: In May, it was confirmed that Stephanie would be reprising her role as Sinead O'Connor after she was previously axed (the actress pictured with her son Caben-Albi, one)

Speaking about Stephanie's return, Brian enthused: 'She's a hugely talented actress who has worked hard to overcome some personal issues.

'We welcome her return to Hollyoaks to reprise her role as Sinead O'Connor, a brilliant and vibrant character who the audience love.'

It's been a difficult few years for the reality star, who had one of the most tumultuous celebrity relationships with Jeremy McConnell, featuring reconciliations, public spats, domestic violence and a consequential restraining order.

Stephanie bravely confessed to being a recovering alcoholic back in February, and had sought professional help after ending of her turbulent relationship with the Irish model.

The soap actress put her career on hold to help care for her 18-month-old son Caben - who she shares with Jeremy - but previously hinted at a desire to return to the small screen.
Rapper Offset was arrested Friday in Georgia.

And the Migos member's lawyer Drew Findling is adamant about the Peach state native being profiled, talking to TMZ Monday.

The attorney suggested something was amiss after learning that a field sobriety test did not take place, noting that the test is basically standard procedure when it comes to traffic arrests.

Something fishy: After Offset (above 2017) was arrested on Friday his lawyer told TMZ something was off, claiming that the absence of a field sobriety test before the arrest is sign the rapper was profiled

Findling claims if the arrest was legitimate, a field test would have taken place.

This goes along with Findling's earlier comments to the site on Sunday, where he asserted Offset, given name Kiari Kendrell Cephus, was essentially targeted for being young, rich and black.

'We're talking about a young, African-American man driving a shiny, beautiful luxury car and clad in designer clothes and watches and jewelry,' he said, calling it a 'common theme' in crime and punishment.

'Unfortunately people in his genre become a target for law enforcement who think that lifestyle is connected to some illegal activity ... and that is a sad statement,' Findling said.

Cops say Offset, given name Kiari Kendrell Cephus, was pulled over for driving erratically, allegedly witnessed swerving between lanes and over a solid yellow line.

Just cause: Cops say the rapper whose given name Kiari Kendrell Cephus, above June 7, was pulled over for driving erratically, allegedly witnessed swerving between lanes and over a solid yellow line

Upon the stop officers said they smelled marijuana, giving them probably cause to search the vehicle.

Inside the car three weapons were found, one of which belonged to his security guard.

The Motorsport rapper was charged with two counts of illegal possession of a firearm.

He and lawyer Findling insist the other weapons belonged to another passenger who is 'a licensed gun holder.'

Shout out: After facing a Georgia judge for bail proceedings Saturday, Kiari posted a grateful Instagram of Findling (above) which was captioned: 'I WOULD LIKE TO THANK THIS MAN [sic] LAWYER/FRIEND'

After facing a Georgia judge for bail proceedings Saturday, Kiari posted a grateful Instagram of Findling which was captioned: 'I WOULD LIKE TO THANK THIS MAN [sic] LAWYER/FRIEND.

'HE HAS TAUGHT ME ALOT ABOUT GETTING MORE INVOLVED IN COMMUNITY

'HE HELPS ME FINANCIALLY OUTSIDE THE COURT ROOM HE IS THE BEST LAWYER I KNOW I LOVE HIM TO DEATH,' wrote the rapper.

Offset is currently back home with wife Cardi B and their newborn daughter Kulture after posting $17k bail on Saturday.
His whirlwind romance to Caroline Flack came to an untimely end last week.

And former Apprentice and Celebrity Big Brother star Andrew Brady is reportedly out of work in the aftermath of his broken engagement, according to his former Apprentice co-star Michaela Wain.

Commenting on the reports that Andrew, 27, has already been in talks to appear on Celebs Go Dating, Michaela said: 'I don't know whether or not he has. I hope he does.

Bad times: Former Apprentice and Celebrity Big Brother star Andrew Brady is reportedly out of work in the aftermath of his broken engagement

Over: Andrew's whirlwind romance to Caroline Flack came to an untimely end last week

'If they offer him enough money - and he's not working at the minute - then who's anybody to judge him on what show he goes on.'

A source also added to MailOnline: 'He needs the money!'

Speaking to Simon Gross' Showbiz Show, Michaela went on: 'Andrew has only ever spoken highly of Caroline. But I never thought he'd propose to someone that fast. He obviously must have loved her.

'People are saying he's fame hungry but he'd already been on The Apprentice and on Big Brother, so it's not like he's desperate, clawing for fame. And it's insulting to Caroline Flack to say he's only with her because she's famous.

Insight: Andrew's former Apprentice co-star Michaela Wain has spoken out about the reality star's 'impulsive' ways [pictured with L-R Harrison Jones and Simon Gross]

Friends: Michaela admitted that her former co-star has a spontaneous streak - especially given that he met Caroline in February and had proposed by the spring

'She's banging and she seems like a nice woman.'

Michaela admitted that her former co-star has a spontaneous streak - especially given that he met Caroline [who is 11 years older than him] in February and had proposed by the spring.

'Andrew is quite impulsive. But at the end of the day she said yes. She must have wanted to marry him,' Michaela reasoned.

Of accusations that Andrew wasn't with Caroline for the fame, she admitted that everyone who goes on a show like The Apprentice wants some level of public recognition.

Here he comes: Andrew returned to the property he reportedly still shares with former fiancee Caroline on Monday

Expecting: Michaela is now in a relationship with another fellow contestant - Harrison Jones - and expecting a son with him this year

She said: 'Nobody goes on The Apprentice expecting to win. But anyone who says they're going on TV for any other reason than to be on TV and get exposure are just liars.'

MailOnline has approached Andrew's reps for comment.

The outspoken notherner made the semi-final of the 2017 season of The Apprentice, and has continued to develop her construction company since leaving the series.

She is also now in a relationship with another fellow contestant - Harrison Jones - and expecting a son with him this year.

Meanwhile, Andrew was spotted returning to the property he reportedly still shares with former fiancee Caroline on Monday.

Holding on to the pet dog they got together while they were still a couple, while entering Love Island presenter Carolines north London home, Andrew looked flustered as he searched for his keys before making his way inside.

Irate: Andrew looked flustered as he searched for his keys before making his way inside with the former couples pet dog on Monday

Whirlwind: Caroline revealed she was engaged to Andrew after just two months of dating, sharing a picture of her diamond ring on Instagram

Incoming: Andrew was without Caroline as he arrived at the property with his dog and a holdall

Andrew admitted he was 'ashamed' of himself after meeting with Celebs Go Dating producers shortly after the split.

Taking to Twitter last week, he revealed he decided to go ahead with the meeting due to 'having no money', in a statement released just two days after they announced their break-up.

He wrote: 'I never comment on media speculation or stories. But in this instance I feel it necessary to.'

'Yes I had a meeting [with] Celebs Go Dating after Caroline and I had separated. However, this was wrong. When someone has no money and nothing to lose they tend to do crazy irrational things.

Keeping it on: Caroline also wore the diamond ring during Sunday night's Aftersun

'I am ashamed and trying to move on with my life. Please would you respect mine and Caroline's privacy and not try and speculate on who said or did what.'

Caroline had her beau's initials tattooed on her inner wrist just weeks after meeting him.

However, their turbulent romance caused them to split back in March over fears that Andrew was using Caroline for fame and amid cheating claims, but reconciled just days later.
He's been keeping a low profile after being accused of sexual exploitation by five women in a Los Angeles Times article in January.

But on Monday, James Franco made a rare public appearance as he attended the opening night of the play Straight White Men on Broadway.

The actor, 40, was accompanied by his stunning much younger girlfriend Isabel Pakzad, 25, who has stood by her man despite the allegations, which Franco has denied.

Date night: James Franco made a rare public appearance as he attended the opening night of the play Straight White Men on Broadway with girlfriend Izabel Pakzad on Monday

The couple posed for photos as they arrived at the Hayes Theater in New York City.

Franco lovingly put his arm around Pakzad's shoulders, holding her close, as photographers snapped away.

He was dressed in a black and white fine striped shirt with the top button undone and a pair of skinny black jeans with brown brogues.

In good spirits: Franco, 40, who's been keeping a low profile after being accused of sexual exploitation by five women in a Los Angeles Times article in January, was all smiles

Loved up: The actor, who has denied the allegations against him, lovingly put his arm around Pakzad's shoulders, holding her close, as photographers snapped away

Pretty look: Pazkad, 25, stepped out in a colorful summer dress paired with chunky black shoes. She wore a beige jacket over her low-cut frock and wore her long brunette hair loose

Fine romance: The lovebirds arrived at the theatre hand in hand. It's believed they have been dating since last November

His girlfriend was all smiles, stepping out in a colorful summer dress paired with chunky black shoes.

She wore a cropped beige jacket over her low-cut frock and wore her long brunette hair loose with a center parting.

Pakzad accessorized with a couple of gold neck chains with pendants and a pair of matching earrings.

Also on hand for the play's first night was Mr. Selfridge star Jeremy Piven, who looked dapper in a tailored black jacket suit that he paired with a white t-shirt and white sneakers.

VIP: Also on hand for the play's first night was Mr. Selfridge star Jeremy Piven, who looked dapper in a tailored black jacket suit that he paired with a white t-shirt and white sneakers

On the guest list, too, was actress Ari Graynor, who worked with Franco in his film The Disaster Artist.

Theatre director Lila Neugebauer also posed for pics with Meryl Streep's actress daughter Grace Gummer.

Opening night also drew the play's stars Armie Hammer, 31, and Josh Charles, 46, to the after-party at DaDong in NYC. Josh escorted his pregnant artist wife Sophie Flack, 35, to the bash.

Opening night: Armie Hammer has a leading role in Straight White Men

Maternity style: Josh Charles and his pregnant wife Sophie Flack attended the after party

Eye-catching: On the guest list, too, was actress Ari Graynor, who worked with Franco in his film The Disaster Artist. She wore full-length floral-patterned gown with half sleeves

Pals: Theatre director Lila Neugebauer posed for pics with Meryl Streep's actress daughter Grace Gummer as they arrived for the play

Straight White Men cast: The Christmas-set play stars (from l-r) Stephen Payne, Josh Charles, Paul Schneider and Armie Hammer
Kelly Dodd had a screaming row with close friend Vicki Gunvalson after accusing her of 'hooking up' her estranged husband with one of her friends.

Vicki, 56, clashed with Kelly on Monday's episode of The Real Housewives Of Orange County after ironically going out of her way to patch up her broken friendships with other housewives.

She finally apologized to Tamra Judge, 50, and her husband Eddie for spreading rumors he was secretly gay.

Crying time: Kelly Dodd wiped away tears on Monday's episode of The Real Housewives Of Orange County after accusing friend Vicki Gunvalson of 'hooking up' her estranged husband

Vicki was shaking after Eddie accepted her apology, and rushed over to see Kelly, 42, who had proved her closest friend after her falling out with Tamra.

But once there, Kelly asked: 'I'm getting all these text messages and everything that you hooked up Michael and you didn't tell me?'

'I didn't hook up Michael,' Vicki insisted.

'I had a BBQ four months ago. My friend was there and he was there. And I didn't hook up anybody,' she explained. 'They communicated afterwards and I was out. I didn't know where it was going and it was none of my business.'

Feelings hurt: Newly single Kelly was outraged at Vicki for not telling her about hooking up Michael

Getting heated: Vicki insisted that she did nothing wrong as Kelly grew increasingly upset

Her inquiry soon escalated, however, when Vicki quickly got on the defensive  and started angrily attacking Kelly for suggesting she had done anything wrong.

Vicki screamed at her: 'I thought he would tell you. It's his responsibility to tell you. Don't blame me. You take that up with Michael.'

It only got worse when Vicki let slip that she and boyfriend Steve had 'gone out with them a couple of times,' with a clearly stunned and upset Kelly asking: 'You've gone out with them a couple of times and not told me? Why would you not tell me?'

Couple times: Kelly exploded after Vicki admitted that she and her boyfriend Steve have gone out a couple of times with Michael and his new gal

Vicki again went into attack mode, shouting back at Kelly: 'Youre gonna twist this and make this my fault for not telling you? It is not my fault that your husband is dating somebody. I care so much about you that I didn't tell you.'

'Are you kidding me?' Kelly replied in tears. 'Anybody would say that's f***ed up. Anybody would say.

'That breaks my heart. That actually breaks my heart. You tell me that you're friends with them? You've gone on double dates? That's wrong.'

No problem: Vicki insisted that Kelly was causing problems by making it an issue

'Oh, Kelly, don't make this drama about you,' Vicki complained. 'You don't love your husband. He's dating somebody else. So what?'

'That's not drama Vicki  that is wrong! That is wrong!' Kelly sobbed.

After Vicki screamed 'who cares who he goes out with?' Kelly wiped away tears as she said: 'Obviously you're not my friend. You know what, I don't roll with girls like that.

Not friends: Kelly told Vicki that it was obvious they were not friends

'You know what Vicki, why don't you just leave. You know, you're just not my friend. That's it. You're not my friend.  I'm just, I'm done with you.'

As she left, Vicki shouted out: 'I don't get talked to like that. F*** her.'

Vicki later said to camera: 'I think Kelly's still in love with Michael, and he's moving on.

Moving on: Vicki later told the cameras that she believed Kelly was still in love with Michael

'If I've got some single girlfriends that want to meet her ex-husband, it has nothing to do with Kelly. She's the one that dumped him.'

Earlier, it seemed Vicki's attempts to make amends with Eddie would prove fruitless, with him quipping after she sent food to their house as a peace offering: 'I'd rather eat dog s*** than eat that.'

He seemed equally non-receptive when she made plans to crash his lunch with Tamra, telling his wife of Vicki: 'I have no intention of being friends with her.'

Not happy: Kelly kicked Vicki out of her house

No way: Eddie refused to eat food that Vicki sent over to him and Tamra Judge after she spread rumors that he was gay

But they were both stunned by just how apologetic she was for spreading the gay rumors.

'I love your wife and therefore I love you because you're a recipient of that love,' she told Eddie.

'I messed up. As God as my witness. Never meant to hurt you. There is no excuse for it. I was wrong, 100 percent.

Sincere apology: Vicki apologized to Eddie for spreading the gay rumors

There was initially some tension, especially when Tamra stressed: 'It was a nice day when my son came home and said his friend had said, ''I didn't know your stepdad was gay!'''

But Vicki again shocked them by pulling out Bible passages that she said she was using as lessons to prove just how wrong she had been.

'I wanna go back  I'm sorry. Eddie, I'm sorry,' she told him.

Tense time: Tamra told Vicki about the time her son came home and said his friend told him that his stepfather Eddie was gay

'Apology accepted,' Eddie finally told her, adding: 'I do forgive you, but there's going to be a slow process for me to trust you again.'

'Of course,' Vicki said, asking the personal trainer with a smile: 'Will you make my butt look like Tamra's?'

Shannon Beador was also keen to continue her healing process with Vicki, telling Tamra she wanted to invite them both to join her on vacation in Mexico.

Apology accepted: Eddie accepted Vicki's apology and they hugged it out

Good mood: Vicki was stoked after Eddie accepted her apology and called Kelly before visiting her

'I want to move forward if I can. Let's have some cocktail and let's go crazy,' Shannon said of Vicki.

Shannon's ex David had paid for her to go to Mexico, and she admitted having a hard time.

'This is the first time I'm taking my girls away as a single parent so I'm finding myself struggling a little bit.,' she said.

Single mom: Shannon Beador prepared to take her three daughters to Mexico on vacation

'This is the first time I've been to Mexico without David. It's hurtful, it's painful  the breaking up of something you thought was going to be in your life forever.'

New castmember Emily Simpson also shocked some of the women with her background  revealing that her husband Shane had been her boss and had proposed to her on Google chat before they were intimate because he is Mormon.

'Mormon men make excellent husbands,' she said. 'They make family first, you don't have to worry about gambling or drinking, and they're good in the sack because they can't watch porn.'

New addition: Emily Simpson talked about her husband Shane and their unique marriage

She had also joked of marriage: 'I'm an attorney so if it doesn't work out I can just do my own divorce.'

However, they were shown on their ninth wedding anniversary with clear strain as Emily wanted another daughter to join the three they had together  along with two children he has from a previous marriage  but with him putting his foot down.

'You'd have to find that person who wants to have one more child with you,' Shane told her. 'You have to leave me and pursue him.'

Ninth anniversary: The couple had a strained ninth anniversary dinner together

But Emily  whose sister Sara was a surrogate for all three of their children after Emily suffered six miscarriages  got emotional thinking about the nine embryos they had produced, saying: 'I went through a lot of hell to get those embryos. A lot of tears and emotion went into those embryos that are mine.'

'Think about the three you have. It's a lot  a good a lot,' her husband told her of their children  then pulling back from kissing her, supposedly to save her lipstick.

The other new castmember, Tamra's friend Gina Kirschenheiter, also opened up about her own unusual family life  living effectively as a single mom to her three kids while husband Matt works in Los Angeles, living in a separate apartment during the week.

Cast addition: Gina Kirschenheiter also opened up about her family life

'I am a survivalist parent  I am trying to survive every day,' she said, also admitting she 'feels like a little of an outsider in the O.C.' and 'a unicorn' because of her heavy New York accent from growing up in Long Island.

As for their living arrangements, she said: 'It is what it is. People can say whatever they want, but we're doing it.

'It's really hard, but it works for us. We do a lot of play dates and I drink a lot of wine,' she said.

RHOC returns next week on Bravo.
Tom Cruise failed to control his laughter as he performed Mad Libs with Jimmy Fallon on Monday on The Tonight Show.

The 56-year-old Hollywood superstar was on the late-night talk show promoting his latest action flick Mission: Impossible  Fallout.

He showed off his comedy chops by joining Jimmy, 43, on a regular segment called Mad Lib Theater.

Funny side: Tom Cruise showed his funny side on Monday while promoting Mission: Impossible - Fallout on The Tonight Show

After picking a series of random words, the duo pretended to be two spies swapping secret messages on a train  but with Tom constantly having to pause to hold back his laughter at the series of lines he had to deliver and hear.

Tom first stifled to control laughter as Jimmy called him 'My Little Cookie'  then again when they said they were investigating a government hack of a Walkman with a secret report on vintage sneakers.

Tom then had the host fighting back laughter, too, when he told him: 'Come here darling.'

But Tom's biggest laugh of the skit came as he said his plan was 'disguising myself as Huckleberry Finn'  ducking his head behind a paper prop he was holding and chuckling: 'Oh Jesus!'

Regular segment: The 56-year-old actor and host Jimmy Fallon, 43, participated in a Mad Lib Theater sketch

Cracking up: Tom struggled to contain his laughter while hearing the ridiculous lines

Good one: The Hollywood star fought back laughter throughout the segment

Tom then ended the skit by saving he survived by singing his 'own personal mantra, 'Poopity scoop, poopity scoop,' the Kanye West lyric that he had clearly never before heard when Jimmy suggested it as one of the random answers.

Music also came up earlier when Jimmy gave Tom a copy of his comedy album, Jimmy Fallon Blow Your Pants Off'  making the actor laugh by repeatedly telling him about the Grammy he won for it.

Jimmy also recalled how Tom had helped him build a vinyl listening room in his house by providing three pages of instructions.

Fun sketch: Jimmy and Tom shook hands after their Mad Lib Theater performance

Helping hand: The host earlier thanked Tom for sending him instructions for his home vinyl listening room

Recalling the instructions the actor sent, Jimmy said: 'The guy building it was like, ''Who is your friend?'' I was like, ''I can't tell you, he'd have to kill me, but trust me he knows his stuff''.'

'I use it all the time, every weekend I listen to records in my room, and I think of you all the time.'

Tom called himself a 'fellow audiophile, I love great sound, I love vinyl, I love music'  saying his first record was Elvis Presley's Jailhouse Rock  adding of the listening room: 'You have not heard music until you have heard it like that.'

Nice present: Jimmy in appreciation gifted Tom with a copy of his Grammy-winning comedy album

Grammy winner: The talk show host mentioned several times that he won a Grammy

After Jimmy gushed about the new Mission: Impossible movie, he also said he struggled to work out which of the daring stunt scenes broke Tom's ankle.

'It was the easy one where I am running and jump from one building to the next. It was the easy scene,' admitted Tom, who also bragged about how he 'trained for a year-and-a-half to be able to fly a helicopter' for some scenes.

He also spoke proudly of filming the follow up to Top Gun, joking: 'Took me 33 years to figure out the sequel, I'm a little slow. But sometimes I figure it out.

Broken ankle: Tom broke his ankle while performing a stunt on Mission: Impossible - Fallout

'I couldn't believe it, really it's amazing that we're doing it.'

The sequel Top Gun: Maverick is due out on July 12, 2019.

Mission: Impossible - Fallout premiered earlier this month in Paris and will be out in wide release on Friday.
She found love with Jaxon Manuel earlier this year, following her controversial appearance on Married At First Sight.

And it's full speed ahead for Davina Rankin, who announced on Tuesday that she and Jaxon are moving in together next week.

Taking to Instagram to reveal the happy news, the 27-year-old shared a sweet snap of herself kissing the cafe owner on the cheek.

'We are getting our own apartment!' Married At First Sight's Davina Rankin (right) revealed on Tuesday she is moving in with cafe owner boyfriend Jaxon Manuel (left)

She wrote in the caption: 'I don't want our fairytale getaway to be over.

'However it does make it a little easier knowing that exactly this time next week, we will be moving into our own apartment!'

She added: 'My job is decorating, so if you're a home decor connoisseur, please tag any beautiful, Brisbane-based homewares stores so I can have a stalk.'

Full speed ahead! Davina found love with cafe owner Jaxon Manuel earlier this year, following her controversial appearance on Married At First Sight

In June, Davina sparked engagement rumours when she was seen walking through Brisbane Airport with a diamond ring on her left hand.

However, she later confirmed to Daily Mail Australia it was not an engagement ring.

'I've had that ring and worn it since I was 18. It was a gift to myself when I opened my personal training studio,' she said at the time.

'Trust me, I'd be screaming it from the rooftops if it was a new sparkler from my honey!'

Wedding bells? In June, Davina sparked engagement rumours when she was seen walking through Brisbane Airport with a diamond ring on her left hand

Davina and Jaxon only recently celebrated their six-month anniversary.

Earlier this month, Davina told The Daily Telegraph that the couple plan to get married next year.

'I am so in love,' Davina said, adding they've even spoken about children together.
Great. That way it'll be the EU and NATO setting fire to their asses too. Remember, we have a carrier task force in the Gulf all the time.



We don't need Iranian oil, Europe does. The Saudis have a rather good military there too. It would be best if the Jewish state kept out of it unless attacked. By the time it's over, about 48 hrs, the Ayatollahs would be hangin' fro lamp posts and white flags wold be everywhere. Well ,maybe a day or two more.
The romance between Sarah Hyland and Wells Adams is heating up.

The Bachelorette alum has revealed he's leaving Nashville, Tennessee, where he's a radio host, and is moving to Los Angeles to be with his actress girlfriend Sarah Hyland.

Adams, 33, shared his big news about moving in with the Modern Family star during Friday's episode of the podcast he does with Miley Cyrus's sister Brandi.

Getting serious: After a nine-month romance, Wells Adams reveals he is moving from Nashville to LA and moving in with girlfriend Sarah Hyland. The couple are pictured in NYC in April

'Should I just say it? I guess its going to come out after, it doesnt even matter,' he said on Your Favorite Thing. 'Im straight up moving to L.A.'

He went on: 'First thought is: Lets go to California. Lets move in with the lady.'

'If were going to take the next step, this is the first step weve got to take to decide if we can handle living with one another, you know?' he added.

The pair have been an item since fall of 2017.

Loved up: The Modern Family actress, 27, and the Bachelorette alum and radio host, 33, started dating in October 2017. They're pictured last November at a LA Lakers game

Blended family: Wells's bloodhound Carl, left, is moving in, too, and will join Hyland's two pooches - chocolate Lab Boo and Maltipoo Barkley, right

The move isn't without some issues, Adams admitted.

'Ill tell you what Im most concerned about,' he said. 'Im not concerned about us living together or us getting along or whatever. Im most concerned about my dog and her dogs.'

'Carl sleeps on my bed. And her dog Boo sleeps on her bed. Whats going to happen?!' he explained.

Carl is a bloodhound who currently resides with him in Nashville while Hyland has two pups - Boo, a chocolate Labrador, and Barkley, a white Maltipoo.

Meanwhile, the couple are enjoying a romantic getaway in Mexico where they've been sharing snaps to social media as they soak up the sun.

So much fun! Meanwhile, the couple are enjoying a romantic getaway in Mexico where they've been sharing snaps to social media as they soak up the sun

Beach babe: Hyland posted this sexy bikini snap to her Instagram on Sunday, flaunting her toned physique

On Sunday, the actress, 27, proudly displayed her surgery scars related to kidney dysplasia as she posed up a storm in a skimpy red bikini top and teeny yellow bottoms.

She shielded her eyes from the bright sunshine in sleek winged shades and rocked a striking straw hat.

In another snap shared by the former star of The Bachelorette and Bachelor In paradise, a shirtless Adams is seen placing two starfish over his girlfriend's boobs as she giggles.

Last month, Hyland shared that she had to go to the hospital but did not disclose if it was related to her kidney dysplasia.

Meanwhile, she and Adams have been inseparable since getting together last October.

When asked about what it was like dating a high-profile celebrity, Adams told PeopleTV: 'Its been really weirdly normal. That question gets asked a lot because you expect the answer to be like its crazy because its in the spotlight.'

He added, 'But for whatever reason, its been really nice and normal and wonderful.'

Sarah - who regularly watches The Bachelor franchises - met Wells over social media, when Wells messaged her to tell her how 'funny' he thought she was.
Zoe Foster Blake made a wedding reference to Instagram on Saturday after her NRL star ex Craig Wing married his model girlfriend Johanna Chow Chuen.

The best-selling author and beauty guru jokingly shared a photo of her husband Hamish Blake and their son Sonny, in what appeared to be a 'proposal'.

It comes after the 37-year-old's former flame tied the knot with Johanna in a top secret ceremony in the French countryside, on July 14.

'Witnessing a proposal!' Zoe Foster Blake [L], 37, made a wedding reference after her hunky NRL star ex Craig Wing married his French model girlfriend Johanna Chow Chuen [both right]

Zoe, who is on a family vacation in Greece, shared a hilarious photo of husband Hamish, 36, and their four-year-old son Sonny, at the shore of a Mykonos beach.

Funnyman Hamish, clad in board shorts, is seen bending down on one knee while Sonny appears to grab his father's hand.

Zoe, with her trademark wit, wrote in the picture's caption: 'Omg I think I might be witnessing a proposal!!' alongside a diamond ring emoji, and the hashtag 'blakemewithyou'.

Witty: Zoe posted a snap of husband Hamish Blake, 36, and their son Sonny, four, in what appeared to be a mock proposal

Brood: Zoe is happily married to comedian Hamish, and the couple share Sonny as well as daughter Rudy Hazel, one

The tongue-in-cheek post comes after Zoe's ex-boyfriend Craig Wing, 38, wed his French model girlfriend Johanna Chow Chuen on July 14.

Zoe dated the buff athlete for ten years before the high-profile couple ended their relationship among a flurry of headlines in 2009.

It was rumoured that the former Cosmopolitan magazine dating expert called time on their romance, having been fed up with waiting for Craig to propose.

Craig moved on to a much more private lifestyle, secretly walking down the aisle with Johanna, far from prying eyes.

Here comes the bride! Craig wed his model girlfriend Johanna Chow Chuen in a top secret ceremony, in the French countryside, on July 14

Private: They posted absolutely no photos of their wedding, but friends shared some snaps of the big day. The couple are shown at celebrations in Itxassou, France, ahead of their wedding

The couple, who have been together for six years and became engaged in Paris on Valentine's Day 2014, wed in the French countryside, keeping their big day top secret.

The newlyweds posted absolutely no photos of their wedding, but friends shared some snaps, showing the French-born beauty in her elaborate fishtail gown.

Craig meanwhile beamed at his bride, looking dapper in a fitted suit with a soft pink rose pinned to his lapel.

Nice area: The couple's wedding took place in the winery rich region of Lorgues in south-eastern France. The couple are shown at pre-wedding celebrations in Itxassou, France

The couple's wedding took place at the five-star Chateau de Berne hotel in the winery region of Lorgues in south-eastern France.

Celebrations prior to the wedding took place at the scenic small village of Itxassou, in the province of Labourd.

The attractive twosome have since jetted off on a luxurious honeymoon, vacationing in Santorini, Greece.

Mr & Mrs Wing! The newlywed couple are pictured gazing into each other's eyes after saying I do

So romantic! The attractive twosome have since jetted off on a luxurious honeymoon, vacationing in Santorini, Greece

Craig and Johanna reportedly started dating in 2011 after they met in Sydney while the brunette beauty was studying.

The couple lived together in Japan where Craig, who previously played Rugby League for the South Sydney Rabbitohs and then the Sydney Roosters, has played Rugby Union for Japan since 2013.

Before Johanna, Craig enjoyed a very long term relationship with Zoe, with the pair first dating when she was just 18-years-old.

But after ten years together they called time on their romance, with rumours that Zoe was fed up with waiting for Craig to propose.
Indy car driver James Hinchcliffe is getting hitched.

The Dancing with the Stars alum is engaged to actress Becky Dalton and the Ontario, Canada native broke the news by sharing an adorable photo on Instagram of the couple looking perplexed.

'Wait, what?! I thought they said til DEBT do us part!', he wrote in the caption and added the hashtag, '#BeckyGetsHinched.'

Adorable: DWTS alum James Hinchcliffe shared a funny photo on Instagram to announce his engagement to actress Becky Dalton

Both James and Becky play up to the camera with their big eyes and stunned looks as the soon-to-bride holds up her engagement ring.

Fittingly, the 31-year old race car driver was wearing a Firestone tire t-shirt in the picture, while his 29-year old fiance donned a light blue spaghetti strapped blouse.

The couple are actually high school sweethearts of sorts, who went to prom together in 2004.

'I asked Becky to come with me as a friend because I would never have had the guts to ask her as a date," Hinchcliffe admitted in an interview with WTHR in Indianapolis. 'Out of my league, so that was a foolish proposition.'

Hitched: 'Wait, what?! I thought they said til DEBT do us part!', Hinchcliffe wrote in the caption and added the hashtag, '#BeckyGetsHinched'

Destiny: The couple went to prom together in 2004; then reconnected nearly 12-years later

The two went their separate ways after high school-- James followed his dream of becoming an Indy car driver, while Becky went on to pursue a career in acting.

They didn't see or talk to each other for almost 12 years- and then came near tragedy.

Hinchcliffe was nearly killed in a serious accident during practice for the Indianapolis 500 race in May 2015. Dalton saw the news reports of the crash and his recovery and eventually reached out to him through their mutual friends from high school.

They got together for a real dinner date and the rest, as they say, is history.

'People love this story,' said the blond beauty. 'I mean everyone loves one of those reconnecting stories. I'm sure there's a script in there somewhere. Maybe one day I'll write it.'

Laying down the moves: Hinchcliffe was runner-up in season 23 of DWTS

Keep your day job: Hinchcliffe has had six wins as an Indy car driver since 2011

Hinchcliffe competed in season 23 of Dancing with the Stars in 2016 and danced alongside professional Sharna Burgess.

They made it all the way to the final, but came up a little bit short and had to settle for runner-up.

The race car driver impressed with his moves during his seven-week run on the show, with judge Julianne Hough hailing him 'the best male dancer' that has ever appeared on the show.

He has had six wins as an Indy car driver since 2011, the latest came in the 2018 Iowa Corn 300.

Dalton has been acting professionally since around 2010 and is best known for her TV roles on Good Witch and Spun Out.
Mel Greig has sparked speculation that she could star on the next season of Married At First Sight after moving back to Sydney for an 'exciting' new 'project.'

Producers of the Channel Nine reality series have been reaching out to minor celebrities in a bid to outdo the explosive drama from last season as they prepare to begin production on the sixth installment of the show next month.

The 36-year-old already has a working relationship with Nine after starring in The Celebrity Apprentice back in 2015, where she was billed as the 'royal prank DJ.'

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Lights, camera, marriage! Controversial 'royal prank DJ' Mel Greig has sparked speculation that she could be set to star in season six of Married At First Sight

The Illawarra Mercury reported on Monday that Mel had resigned from her radio gig at Wave FM for an 'exciting' new opportunity.

Mel refused to confirm if her new gig was on reality TV or a hosting role, simply referring to it as a 'new challenge.'

'Im going there basically with an open plate and waiting for fate to throw things on it,' she said.

New adventure? The Illawarra Mercury reported on Monday that Mel had resigned from her radio gig at Wave FM for an 'exciting' new opportunity

The divorcee also dropped several hints that she could be headed for MAFS in her weekly column for Yahoo7 Be.

'Im moving back to Sydney because Im single, childless and thats where the opportunities are for me,' wrote the star, who has been based in Wollongong for the last three years.

'Every single friend I have in the Illawarra is either married or has children, majority are both and I honestly couldnt be happier for them, but it does make you feel like the odd one out.'

'Im moving back to Sydney because Im single, childless and thats where the opportunities are for me': The 36-year-old has hinted that she could star on season six of MAFS

She continued: 'The unknown is incredibly scary, Ive been feeling all kinds of emotions making this decision to pack up and leave but at the end of the day Im going to follow that passion and determination.

'As well as continuing to write for Yahoo7 Be, my first project kicks off in the coming weeks and its going to take me straight out of my comfort zone and into the FML zone but the result will be worth it #newchapter.'

Daily Mail Australia has approached Mel and Channel Nine for comment.

Working relationship: The infamous 'royal prank DJ' already has a good relationship with Channel Nine after starring on The Celebrity Apprentice back in 2015 (pictured)

Would YOU take Mel up the aisle? The busty divorcee has made no secret that she's single and ready to mingle

Filming for Married At First Sight is set to kick off in Sydney in late August, which would coincide with the timing of Mel's mystery 'project.'

MAFS producers have already reached out to several celebrities about a potential spot on the highly-anticipated sixth season, including The Bachelorette's Michael Turnbull, 'world's hottest grandma' Gina Stewart, and TV psychic Harry T.

Mel split with her ex-husband Steven Pollock in 2016 after just 18 months of marriage.

Since then, the blonde beauty has been open about her disastrous love life, which has included one-night stands and a scammer who squeezed $1000 out of her after their first date.

Friends in the field: Mel is best friends with Bachelor reject Heather Maltman (L), who should be able to give her some good advice about the world of reality TV dating

The second Clare? With their blonde locks, single lives and love of animals, Mel (L) shares a lot in common with season two MAFS star Clare Verrall (R)

She's also admitted to being 'lonely' and joked earlier this month that her home is filled with 'motivational quotes and vision boards' and that there's an 'empty wine bottle collection' next to her sink.

'The first moment I realised Id been single for too long was when I was making the bed this morning and I noticed that it was starting to dip on one side,' she said.

'One side of my bed was getting an indent and the other side looked fluffy and full,' she continued. 'I had crawled into my favourite sleeping position every night that Id created a mould.'
She's no stranger when it comes to stripping down on social media.

And Lena Dunham was at it once again on Monday, appearing in only a t-shirt and a pair of yellow underwear for her 3.1 million followers.

The 32-year-old Girls star posed for the photo showing off her shirt in order to show off her endorsement to her favored New York governor candidate, Cynthia Nixon, 52.

Making a point: Lena Dunham, 32, stripped down once again on Monday in only a t-shirt and a pair of yellow underwear for her 3 million followers, in order to endorse Cynthia Nixon for governor

The American Horror Story actress rolled her eyes up to the ceiling as she posed in a white, The Wing shirt.

She was sporting some serious bed head as her brunette strands and frizz stuck out in random places.

It looked as if Lena was wearing the shirt because she was stoked at perhaps becoming a member of the elite women-only, female-empowerment club whose membership fees cost $3,000 a year.

The Wing endorses Lena's favored New York governor candidate, former Sex and the City star Nixon.

Lena has endorsed her fellow actress as well, even donating $10,000 to her campaign.

Showing her support: The New York native then posted a photo of her with Nixon holding up items that read, 'I'm a Miranda and I'm voting for Cynthia,' referencing the candidate's Sex and the City character

''I'll keep giving,' Lena posted on Twitter about her contribution to Nixon.

'I am so proud to stand behind this truly progressive candidate.'

The New York native then posted a photo of her with Nixon holding up items that read, 'I'm a Miranda and I'm voting for Cynthia,' referencing the candidate's Sex and the City character.

Celebrity contributions: Nixon has received over $660,000 of fund money from fellow famous friends like Rosie O'Donnell, Alec Baldwin, Susan Sarandon and more

'Honored to host a fundraiser with my most inspiring buds for the best candidate my heart ever dreamed up! We love you @cynthiaenixon' Lena captioned that photo.

Taylor Swift's good friend isn't the only celebrity donating and endorsing Nixon's run for office.

Rosie O'Donnell gave her $21,000, Alec Baldwin shelled over $16,000, and Susan Sarandon donated $13,000. While she got donations of $5,000 from actresses Mary-Louise Parker, Carrie Coon, Sarah Paulson, Edie Falco, Allison Janney, Jane Lynch, and Taylor Schilling.

Campaign: 'Honored to host a fundraiser with my most inspiring buds for the best candidate my heart ever dreamed up! We love you @cynthiaenixon' Lena, pictured here back in early July, captioned a photo of her and Nixon

The Nixon campaign now has about $660,000 in its campaign chest for the run up to the Democratic primary election in September.

Thats far less than her opponent Gov. Andrew Cuomo, though.

He holds $31.1 million.
He's made a career out of playing the strange, the unusual and the downright bizarre.

Now world-renown actor Johnny Depp could be stepping into the shoes of late cryptocurrency billionaire Matthew Mellon in a potential biopic.

According to Page Six, the Pirates of the Caribbean star is said to be interested in playing the role, although Depp's camp has not confirmed the report.

Tinseltown talk: Page Six is reporting that Johnny Deep's name has been mentioned for a potential Matthew Mellon biopic

Tall tale: Matthew Mellon was cryptocurrency billionaire who died at the age of 54 after battling addiction most of his life; Depp has been known to play eccentrics in his career

'There is a screenplay being shopped,' sources exclusively told Page Six.

'This may be fulfilling a dream of Matthews. He would have loved this idea . . . He used to say, how cool would it be to have a movie about my crazy life?

But there could be a hitch. The family of the late banking heir are reportedly divided over whether to move forward on the proposed movie.

Another source said some 'are horrified by the idea . . . The last thing they want is the Mellon legacy portrayed on-screen.'

Mellon's crazy life: There is a screenplay being shopped,' sources exclusively told Page Six

Rockin' and rolling: Johnny has focused on his music career in recent years

Mellon died in April of 2018 at the age of 54 after battling addiction for most of his adult life.

At the age of 21, Mellon inherited trusts worth $25 million from his Mellon and Drexel families. He would eventually invest $2 million of it in the cryptocurrency XRP, known widely as Ripple, and turned it into a $1 billion fortune.

XRP is a decentralized digital asset and settles payments in 3 to 4 seconds which is considerably faster than Bitcoin.

Mellon married Jimmy Choo shoe mogul Tamara Mellon in 2000 after meeting her at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. That relationship ended in divorce as did his second marriage to Nicole Hanley Mellon.

Versatile actor: Depp as Captain Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise

By 2016, Mellon admitted that he had a $100,000-a-month OxyContin habit.

He would go on to date Kick Kennedy, the daughter of Robert F. Kennedy Jr, after moving to Los Angeles the following year.

The two were reportedly still dating when the father-of-three went to Mexico to check into a rehabilitation clinic on April 16. He was found dead in a hotel room just hours before he was scheduled to check in.

Mellon suffered a heart attack after taking the hallucinogenic drink ayahuasca. The entheogenic brew is made out of vine and roots and is used as a traditional spiritual medicine in ceremonies among indigenous peoples in the Amazon basin region.

Penchant for the strange: Depp as Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
He was recently confirmed as the latest contestant to appear in the upcoming season of Australian Survivor: Champions Versus Contenders.

And The Biggest Loser judge Steve 'Commando' Willis has already received backlash from fans, prompting his partner Michelle Bridges, 42, to jump to his defence.

Fiery Michelle hit back on Tuesday after a fan accused Steve of having a 'completely unfair advantage' on the physically demanding program.

'He does all the work!' Michelle Bridges has lashed out after a fan accused her boyfriend Steve 'Commando' Willis' of having an 'unfair advantage' on Australian Survivor

The user commented: 'Hmmm that seems like he's at a completely unfair advantage!' underneath a picture shared to her page.

Michelle hit back with: 'Not really... he does all the work.'

She went on: 'They laze and unsurvive until the "game" starts. Imagine if they all had to fend for themselves?! Build their own camp....?! S**t would go down real quick.'

It's not the first time Michelle has made her thoughts known about her partner's impending appearance on the show.

Unfair? On Tuesday, fiery Michelle hit back after a fan accused Steve of having an 'unfair advantage' on the physically demanding program

Backlash: The user commented: 'Hmmm that seems like he's at a completely unfair advantage!' underneath a picture shared to her page

Speaking exclusively to The Sunday Telegraph on Sunday, the fitness guru revealed that her one deal-breaking rule for Steve as he films the show is that he maintains a ' hand-off policy' with fellow camp-mates.

'No cuddling,' the mother-of-one declared to the publication.

Steve is one of the most famous faces slated to appear on the reboot series, which will see 12 everyday Australians battle it out with 12 champions for a shot at winning $500,000.

Guns of steel! Steve is known for his dedication to fitness and will no doubt approach his stint on Australian Survivor with gusto

Other household names appearing in the show's line-up include swimming legend Steve Gould and Australia Rugby League and Rugby Union star Mat Rogers.

Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph this week, Steve confessed that he will find it difficult to be away from his family for the duration of the show.

Steve has two children from his previous partner Froso; Ella, 10 and Jack, seven, and a two-year-old son Axel who he shares with Michelle.

The show is set to hit screens on August 1 on Network Ten.
Katherine Langford isn't the only star in her family.

The 13 Reasons Why actress, 22, will soon be sharing the spotlight with little sister, Josephine Langford, 20, who has landed the lead in upcoming teen movie, After.

Perth-born Josephine has previously starred in both American supernatural horror film Wish Upon and Australian TV series Wolf Creek - but this look sets to be her big breakthrough role.

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Sister act! 13 Reasons Why star Katherine Langford's sister Josephine, right, is tipped for big screen success after landing lead in Harry Styles inspired movie After. Katherine is pictured on the left

After is the movie adaption of One Direction fan Anna Todd's Harry Styles inspired fan-fic series which she penned on creative writing website Wattpad in 2013.

As her stories racked up 1.5 billion reads online, Anna's series was then published in book form and instantly became a New York Times number one best seller.

Josephine will play Tessa in the movie adaption, a character who falls for mysterious heartthrob Harden, who has 'tousled brown hair, cocky British accent and tattoos', just like Harry, Deadline report.

The movie is currently being filmed in Atlanta, Georgia, and is set to be released in April 2019.

Big things: Josephine, pictured on set of Wolf Creek in 2017, will play Tessa in upcoming teen movie After

Josephine previously auditioned for roles on both Neighbours and Home and Away  but failed to land either parts.

'There are certain roles that you really want to get but you need to learn to deal with the rejection,' she told The West last year.

'Now I am at a point where I realise that 90 per cent of the time you dont get a job not because of your acting but because of your look, so you cant take it too personally.'

After now looks set to propel Josephine to the same level of success sister Katherine first experienced in 2017 following the release of Netflixs first season of 13 Reasons Why.

Since then Katherine has won the Screen Australia Breakthrough Award at the Australians In Film Awards and been nominated for both a Golden Globe and MTV Movie & TV Award.
Bindi Irwin celebrated her 20th birthday alongside her family and boyfriend Chandler Powell at Australia Zoo on Tuesday.

And the wildlife warrior was treated to an epic chocolate and caramel mud cake, with a layer of marzipan on the outside.

The sweet creation, made by Nakita at Make and Bake, featured a life-size koala perched on a tree branch and bejewelled birthday candles.

Crikey, that's a cake! Bindi Irwin celebrates her 20th birthday with an epic chocolate and caramel creation featuring a life-size koala perched on a tree branch alongside glitzy candles

Bindi posed for photos in front of the decadent dessert alongside her mother Terri Irwin, 54, brother Robert, 14, and beau Chandler, 21.

The daughter of the late Steve Irwin was dressed in her signature khaki button-up shirt teamed with indigo jeans and sneakers.

Her brown locks were left out and she appeared to sport a minimal makeup palette.

Loved ones: Bindi posed for photos alongside beau Chandler Powell, 21, mother Terri Irwin, 54, and brother Robert, 14

Earlier in the day, Bindi and her loved ones took part in a crocodile feeding session.

It's no surprise to see Chandler in attendance, with Bindi having gushed about her American wakeboarder partner earlier on Tuesday.

Speaking to Nova's Fitzy & Wippa radio show in the morning, Bindi described Chandler as 'awesome' and 'perfect'.

Sweet treat: The cake, made by Nakita at Make and Bake consisted of a caramel and chocolate mud cake centre with a layer of marzipan on the outside

'I couldn't have found a more perfect person. He shares my love of wildlife and wild places, and what more could you want?' she told the radio co-hosts.

Meanwhile, Chandler had nothing but praise for Bindi, describing her as 'strong' and 'kind' in a birthday post shared to Instagram on Tuesday.

Alongside a picture of the couple snorkelling together, he wrote: 'Happy Birthday @bindisueirwin! This will forever be my favourite day of the year. Celebrating the one that I love, my life adventure buddy.

Celebrations: Earlier in the day, Bindi took part in a crocodile feeding session

'The one who in her spare time can be found drinking tea, writing letters, and getting flowers for everyone she cares about. Bee, you are the strongest person I know and spread so much kindness every single day.

'You inspire me to be a better man and I thank my lucky stars for every moment we spend together. I love you. Happy birthday,' Chandler continued.

Bindi has been dating Chandler since they first met at Australia Zoo back in November 2013.
She's already confirmed that she could be a bride on the next season of Married At First Sight.

And now the 'world's hottest grandma' Gina Stewart has added more fuel to the fire by revealing exactly what she's looking for in a potential husband.

Speaking to the Daily Star, the 47-year-old said that she doesn't care about looks or money, and that she's only after somebody with a 'big heart.'

The bride wore a bikini! Gina Stewart has revealed her wedding dreams following rumours that she's set to star in the next season of Married At First Sight

'It's going to take one hell of a man to win me over as I don't care about their looks or how big their bank account is.'

The mum-of-four also revealed that she's been dreaming about her big day since childhood.

'I have never been married before so it would be a dream to find my life partner and walk down the aisle in a beautiful dress.

'It's going to take one hell of a man to win me over as I don't care about their looks or how big their bank account is,' admitted the down-to-earth granny

'The only aisle Ive ever walked down is in the supermarket so I hope that someone special could make my dream come true one day.'

Gina said that she receives marriage proposals 'every day,' and that her suitors range from billionaires to an American sniper in Afghanistan.

The Gold Coast gran told Daily Mail Australia last week that since shooting to fame, she's been approached by several reality shows, including MAFS.

'The only aisle Ive ever walked down is in the supermarket!' Gina, who has been dubbed the 'world's hottest grandmother,' has never been married

'Yes, I have had a few shows approach me, including Married At First Sight. I'm still considering some of the offers,' she said.

Gina - who has two sons and two daughters, aged 27, 25, 23 and four - became a grandmother at age 46.

She's currently a single mum to her youngest daughter and working as a model.
Don the Con has taken this full circle. When it looked like he was going to lose to Hillary, he went to campaign rally after campaign rally and predicted that the election was being RIGGED in Hillarys favor. This brought about a very regretful response.



* President Obama was concerned that, if he made a strong statement about Russias election meddling, he would be accused of RIGGING the election for Hillary. So President Obama asked McConnell to come public with him and make a joint statement about Russian interference. McConnell REFUSED. President Obama responded by not being as forceful as he should have been regarding Russian interference.



* FBI DIRECTOR Comey was also concerned that, if he kept the reopening of the Hillary email question secret, he would be accused of RIGGING the election in Hillarys favor. Therefore, he broke with protocol and made the announcement 8 days before the election which was very unfair to Hillary.



Don the Con created the mess we are in today. Now he is being told that there is a good chance the the dems will recapture the House this fall. So he goes full circle and claims that the only way the dems can win this fall is if the Russians RIGGED it for the dems. His base will believe it and we could see serious problems in this country because this maniac is helping Putin sow doubt in our electoral process. THIS ASSHOLE IS A CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER TO THIS COUNTRY AND MUST BE REMOVED FROM OFFICE.
The judges of Shark Tank have witnessed every business pitch under the sun.

But the five entrepreneurs are left gobsmacked when a contestant offers them an impressive billion-dollar promise on Tuesday night's show.

In a promo clip for the upcoming episode, contestant Mick Ryan, 46, nervously admits he 'hasn't slept in three nights' before pitching his portable generators for caravans and camper vans.

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'I will make you a billion dollars': Shark Tank judges are left gobsmacked after contestant who 'hasn't slept in three nights' nervously pitches big buck business plan

Big bucks: In a promo clip for an upcoming episode, contestant Mick Ryan, 46, nervously admits he 'hasn't slept in three nights' before pitching his portable generators for caravans and camper vans

Leaving the panel stunned, the Perth-born business owner says: 'I want to promise you, I will be the next entrepreneur to make you a billion dollars.'

Mick, who currently sells his generators for $1,899 dollars each, is after a $2.5 million investment for a 50% stake in his business Mickey Blue Australia.

Judge Janine Allis quickly chimes in, seeking clarification on Mick's billion-dollar promise.

Stunned: Leaving the panel stunned, the Perth-born business owner says: 'I want to promise you: I will be the next entrepreneur to make you a billion dollars'

Tempted? Mick, who currently sells his generators for $1,899 dollars each, asks for a $2.5 million investment for a 50% stake in his business Mickey Blue Australia

'The first one-billion dollar business on Shark Tank,' she says, adding: 'That's a big, big audacious goal.'

Judge Steve Baxter also appears perplexed, saying: 'One of my hobbies is planning for an apocalypse, so I look at generators quite a bit. This is quite expensive for a generator.'

Unclear of Mick's clear business idea, Steve quickly cuts to the chase.

'The first one-billion dollar business on Shark Tank,' Judge Janine Allis says, adding: 'That's a big, big audacious goal'

'OK, Mick, do me a favour mate. I'm going to ask you some questions, and can you please do me a favour, because it gets really hard to understand what the hell you do,' he says.

Before the clip ends, Janine asks: 'Is this offer for the generator and the store, or is it just for this product? If you can answer that question, that would be great, just so we know what were investing in.'

Unclear whether or not the judges invest in Mick's generator business, the cliff-hanger episode is set to air on Tuesday at 8:45 pm on Channel Ten.

Up in the air: Unclear whether or not the judges invest in Mick's generator business, the cliff-hanger episode is set to air on Tuesday at 8:45 pm on Channel Ten




She revealed last year that she had all her fillers dissolved and was trying to go all-natural.

And Courteney Cox looked better than ever when she stepped out on Sunday in Cabo San Lucas.

Arriving in Mexico with her fiance Johnny McDaid, the 54-year-old actress wore a casual outfit consisting of a plain black t-shirt and ankle-length jeans.

Romantic getaway: Courteney Cox, 54, looked better than ever on Sunday in casual getup as she and her fiance Johnny McDaid, 42, arrived in Cabo

The Friends vet held her cell phone in her hand as she carried a large, black purse on her shoulder.

The actress seemed to be wearing barely-there makeup and covered most of her face with large, dark sunglasses.

Her signature brunette tresses flowed freely in the wind and she wore flat, black, strapped sandals on her feet.

Courteney, who might have tried her hardest to blend in with the public, was spotted walking with her beau and even stopping to help him light his cigarette.

Styling: The 54-year-old actress flaunted her trim physique in a casual outfit consisting of a plain, black t-shirt and ankle-length jeans

Vacation hair: Her signature brunette tresses flowed freely in the wind and she wore flat, black, strapped sandals on her feet

The Cougar Town star is currently dating on-and-off boyfriend, Snow Patrol frontman Johnny McDaid, 41.

The pair have been dating since 2013 and got engaged in 2014 - before hitting the rocks with a 'brutal' split in 2015.

It was reported at the time that Johnny was determined to get away from Tinsel Town and move back to his native Ireland, while Courteney did not want to leave Los Angeles, and they couldn't resolve their living plan.

They've been back on track since April 2016, after the ex-wife of David Arquette reportedly agreed to spend more time in the UK.

Love life: The Cougar Town star is currently dating on-and-off boyfriend, Snow Patrol frontman Johnny McDaid, 41

Rocky past: The pair have been dating since 2013 and got engaged in 2014 - before hitting the rocks with a 'brutal' split in 2015




She's known as much these days for her fashion sense as she is for her former marriage to Tom Cruise and acting roles.

And on Monday night, Katie Holmes didn't disappoint as she made another stylish red carpet appearance.

The 39-year-old showed up at the LA premiere for The Wife in a white blazer with Nehru-style collar and black wide-legged slacks.

Fashion forward: Katie Holmes made another stylish red carpet appearance Monday night at the Los Angeles premiered for the drama The Wife

The famous fashionista added a white blouse and a pair of black heels and stuck her hands in her trouser pockets as she struck a pose for photographers.

Katie wore her brunette hair in a tousled bob with a center parting.

She kept her makeup light, rimming her eyes with black liner and mascara and adding some rosy blush and lip color.

Always on trend: The 39-year-old showed up in a white blazer with Nehru-style collar over a white blouse and paired with black wide-legged slacks

Posed: Katie wore her brunette hair in a tousled bob with center parting. She kept her makeup light, rimming her eyes with black liner and mascara and adding some rosy blush and lip color

Style icon: Katie's known as much these days for her fashion sense as she is for her former marriage to Tom Cruise and acting roles

The Wife is a drama starring Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce that's already garnering some early Oscar buzz.

The veteran stars play a husband and wife - Joe and Joan Castleman - who are preparing to travel to Stockholm, Sweden, where Joe is to be presented with the Nobel Prize for Literature.

But on the eve of the biggest honor in her husband's life, Joan reaches her breaking point after 40 years of living in her husband's shadow.

Both Close and Pryce attended the screening for the film that will be released in the U.S. on August 17.

Critically acclaimed: The Wife is a drama starring Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce that's already garnering some early Oscar buzz. Both stars were in attendance for the LA screening

Celebrity offspring: Joining Close, 71, was her daughter Annie Starke, who appears in the movie playing the younger version of Close's character

Following in her footsteps: Starke is the Fatal Attraction star's only child; her father is producer John Starke. Close and Starke split in 1991, three years after their daughter's birth

Joining Close, 71, was her daughter Annie Starke, who appears in the movie playing the younger version of Close's character.

Starke is the Fatal Attraction star's only child; her father is producer John Starke. Close and Starke, who never married, split in 1991, three years after their daughter's birth.

Also on hand for the screening was actress Rose Byrne, who starred with Close on the TV series Danages.

The two seemed delighted to be reunited with Close mugging for the cameras and appearing to faint with delight on the red carpet at the sight of the Australian actress.

Close looked elegant in a full-length black gown with wide sleeves and belted at the waist, while Byrne was more casually attired in a white t-shirt and navy blazer paired with ripped blue jeans.

Good to see you: Also on hand for the screening was actress Rose Byrne, who starred with Close on the TV series Danages

Laid back style: The Australian actress, 39, was casually attired in a white t-shirt and navy blazer paired with ripped blue jeans

Playful: The two seemed delighted to be reunited with Close mugging for the cameras and appearing to faint with delight on the red carpet at the sight of former co-star Byrne

Dead faint: Close's theatrics left Byrne laughing

Christian Slater also stars in The Wife and posed for pics with his Mr. Robot co-star Carly Chaikin who turned out to support the film.

Slater, 48, was suave in a midnight blue two-piece suit with white short and dark blue patterned tie.

He added a white kerchief to his breast pocket and added a pair of shiny brown shoes.

Chaikin, 28, turned heads in a semi-sheer white tee with gray trim that revealed her black bra and wide-legged black tailored slacks.

Dapper: Christian Slater also stars in The Wife and the actor, 48, was suave in a midnight blue suit with white short and dark blue patterned tie along with white kerchief in his breast pocket

Big night: Slater posed for pics with his Mr. Robot co-star Carly Chaikin who turned out to support the film

Monochrome: Chaikin, 28, turned heads in a semi-sheer white tee with gray trim that revealed her black bra and wide-legged black tailored slacks

Jeff Goldblum decided to make the premiere a date night with wife Emilie Livingston.

And the couple, who wed in 2014 and share two children together, couldn't keep their hands off each other.

They puckered up for a full-on lip-lock on the red carpet with the 65-year-old actor making no secret of his feelings for his 35-year-old wife who stepped out in a barely there low-cut mini dress.

Happy couple: Jeff Goldblum decided to make the premiere a date night with wife Emilie Livingston. He wore a blue suit while she flashed flesh in a barely there low-cut mini dress

Passionate: The couple, who wed in 2014 and share two children together, couldn't keep their hands off each other, puckering up for a full-on lip-lock on the red carpet
Shark Tank co-host Janine Allis' hair appears to literally go up in smoke in a preview of Network Ten's entrepreneurial reality show on Tuesday.

In the clip, posted to the show's Facebook page, Janine is seated while a contestant stands behind her and starts using hair straighteners on her long brunette locks.

The 53-year-old appears to be completely unaware that smoke is rising from her head as the contestant uses the device on her tresses.

You're fired! In a preview of Network Ten's entrepreneurial reality show Shark Tank on Tuesday, co-host Janine Allis' hair appears to literally go up in smoke

'Oh dear, there's smoke coming off your head!' exclaims co-host Glen Richards, 51.

'Bring the fire blanket, bring the fire blanket,' says a shocked Andrew Banks.

Blonde host Naomi Simson, 54, sits open-mouthed as smoke continues to rise from the top of Janine's head.

Fire alert! Blonde host Naomi Simson (pictured) sits gape-mouthed as smoke appears to rise from the top of co-host Janine's head

Earlier in the preview, two female contestants are seen confidently striding onto the Shark Tank set.

As the footage rolls, the clip's narrator says: 'This Aussie duo plans to stop bad hair days forever, but will their pitch go up in flames?'

Signage of the contestants' product in the background of the set says: 'Hot Teaze. A hair revolution.'

'Oh dear, there is smoke coming off your head,' exclaims Shark Tank co-host Glen Richards

Savvy fans, however, took to Facebook to add their version of events, with one viewer writing: 'It's just steam you ding bats!'

Another wrote: 'Must be steam... best moisturiser ever.'

Shark Tank airs at 8.45pm on Tuesday night on Network Ten.
They happily announced their engagement in February and are planning to tie the knot later this year.

And Jasmine Yarbrough and Karl Stefanovic looked totally set for their big day as they attended the wedding of their friends, businessman Jack Bedwani and fashionista Rae Temily, in Tuscany on Tuesday.

The shoe designer, 34, looked every inch the glowing bride-to-be as she donned an ethereal nude lace gown, while Karl, 43, kept things dapper in a sharp tuxedo.

Practising for the big day? Jasmine Yarbrough looked glowing as she attended an Italian wedding with Karl Stefanovic ahead of their own nuptials

Jasmine shared a sweet snap of the couple on Instagram, which showed her laughing at the camera while Karl stood behind her and appeared to check her out.

'Not the only one obsessed with this dress,' she cheekily captioned the shot.

Today host Karl confirmed their engagement in February, just over a year after the couple met.

They reportedly met on a lavish boat cruise in Sydney in December 2016, just months after Stefanovic's high-profile split from his wife of 21 years, Cassandra Thorburn.

Keeping cool! Karl donned a trendy white suit while attending a celebration during the Tuscan holiday last week

Karl hinted that they will tie the knot in a late-2018 wedding when he told Nine's The Fix, saying it would be 'probably later this year'.

The wedding could be held in the stunning seaside location of Cabo San Lucas in Mexico, according to the Herald Sun.

Stefanovic's good pal James Packer has a new waterfront home within the resort town, leading to rumours that the couple may exchange their vows at the billionaire's place.

While their wedding may well be a few months away, the couple held a commitment ceremony at a private house in Palm Beach in March.

Cute couple: Jasmine, 34, and Karl, 43, happily announced their engagement in February and are planning to tie the knot later this year

Today newsreader Sylvia Jeffreys and her husband Peter Stefanovic attended the ceremony, as well as Stefanovic's youngest children Ava, 13, and River, 11.

Karl told the Sunday Telegraph afterwards: 'We are very much in love. We clicked right from the start. It's a commitment ceremony. It was lovely.'

Discussing the event on the Today show, Sylvia said:'Very small day, very low-key affair but really beautiful and very them.

'Very full of love and full of laughter, and a very special occasion for the two.'
She recently returned from her European honeymoon.

And on Tuesday, newlywed Anna Heinrich was still in holiday mode while sporting a skimpy bikini in a snap shared to Instagram.

The 31-year-old showed off her golden glow as she soaked up sun rays, while making the most of Sydney's weather, which reached 24 degrees Celsius.

'Getting some rays midwinter': Anna Heinrich strips down to a bikini as she makes the most of Sydney's warmer weather

'Afternoon break, getting some rays midwinter. Who wouldve thought?' she captioned.

She wore a black and white leopard-print bikini paired with Ray-Ban sunglasses and a straw hat to shield her face from the sun.

Anna gave a cheeky glimpse of her glistening diamond wedding rings as she rested her hand over her head.

If you've got it flaunt it! Anna regularly shared bikini selfies during her sun-drenched honeymoon

Toned, tanned and flawless! The bubbly blonde showed off her incredible physique while on her European honeymoon

During her honeymoon last month, the former Bachelor winner flaunted her toned figure in various snaps.

Anna tied the knot with former Bachelor Tim Robbards in an intimate ceremony and the reception included their close friends and family in Puglia, Italy.

The pair met during the first season of The Bachelor back in 2013.

Tim recently revealed on the Today show that they aren't thinking about having children anytime soon.
She's a busy mother to two beautiful daughters, Arabella and Ruby.

And after finding fame as the 2014 winner of House Rules, Lisa Lamond has been announced as Karcher Australia's brand new ambassador.

She teamed up with the cleaning service provider this week to share time-saving cleaning hacks.

It's that easy! House rules winner Lisa Lamond shares her time-saving cleaning tips for busy parents as she announces new ambassador gig

Just like any family, Lisa and husband Adam Dovile understand that keeping a home spotless comes as no easy task.

'For my own sanity, a tip that has taken me a few years to learn is not to leave all the housework until the weekend, taking away from any family time,' she revealed.

To keep a house looking stylish and clutter-free, Lisa recommended doing a little bit of cleaning each day and to ditch the fear of two-in-ones.

Picture perfect: Just like any family, Lisa (R) and husband Adam Dovile (L) understand that keeping a home spotless comes as no easy task with little ones. Pictured with daughters Ruby (L) and Arabella (R)

'I try and set my timer for at least 20 completely uninterrupted minutes of housework, often around my babies sleeping schedules.

'I would never choose a two-in-one shampoo but cleaning machines Im a convert!' she added.

To keep winter germs at bay around her little ones, Lisa recommended the Karcher Steam Cleaner as her new go-to for being multipurpose friendly and chemical-free.

Two-in-one! To keep winter germs at bay around her little ones, Lisa recommended the Karcher Steam Cleaner as her new go-to for being multipurpose friendly and chemical-free

Lisa also encouraged investing in homewares that are both cute and practical for storing items for a quick de-clutter of the house.

And most importantly, she revealed that leaving deep cleans to Spring only is a no-no and that donating unused items is a must.

'Its amazing how much stuff we accumulate that we dont need. I like to plan regular clear outs at the beginning of each season...to reduce everyday clutter,' she said.
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He was hit with several accusations of sexual misconduct and assault, which he vehemently denied in a statement earlier this year.

And Russell Simmons, 60, has now decided to sell his 'peaceful retreat' in Los Angeles for $8.25 million - which he purchased for a much lower $5.877 million in 2013, to be closer to his two daughters, Ming, 18, and Aoki, 15.

Parting with the property - which comes with its own swimming pool and yoga studio - seems to have been a difficult decision for the Def Jam founder, who revealed the house was 'designed to help [him] in [his] quest for inner peace' back in 2015.

Time to sell: Russell Simmons listed his peaceful retreat in Hollywood Hills for $8.25 million complete with a swimming pool and yoga studio on Monday... as he continues to battle sexual assault allegations

Russell's palatial property was originally built in 1937, and is well-placed above the Sunset Strip in the western Hollywood Hills.

The sprawling estate, spanning across 14,321 square foot, boasts a 6085 square foot home, complete with five bedrooms, a wine cellar, a swimming pool and several spacious living spaces.

Given a Mediterranean feel that reflects his love of Buddhist philosophy and rituals, the entrepreneur's house is also described as being inspired by Bali.

Getting away from it all: Russell's palatial property was originally built in 1937, and the lavish retreat is well-placed above the Sunset Strip in the western Hollywood Hills

Allegations: The music mogul, 60, currently faces several accusations of sexual misconduct and assault, which he vehemently denied in a statement earlier this year

Welcoming: Once inside the fully gated property, visitors will be left in awe by the Spanish floral display that welcomes them as they reach the home's large, stone entrance

Once inside the fully gated property, visitors will be left in awe by the Spanish floral display that welcomes them as they reach its large, stone entrance.

Giving a glimpse at the gorgeous retreat from the outside, guests are welcomed by an intricately decorated hallway that boasts several stand-out art pieces - including Shepard Faireys 'Hope' poster of Barack Obama.

Walking through the winding hallway, vast reception rooms await on either side, providing visitors with their first glimpse of the property and its lavish artwork.

Adorned with intricately detailed Buddhist statues and imagery, a plush living room acts as the perfect rest stop where homeowners and their guests can catch up and relax.

Well decorated: Walking through the winding hallway, vast reception rooms await on either side, providing visitors with their first glimpse of the sprawling property and its lavish artwork

Cosy: Adorned with intricately detailed Buddhist statues and imagery, a plush living room acts as the perfect rest stop where homeowners and their guests can chat in the relaxing space

Pretty: Another plush sitting room features floor-to-ceiling windows that gives the area a bright, open feel as guests chat the night away by a roaring fireplace

Another plush sitting room features floor-to-ceiling windows that gives the area a bright, open feel as guests chat the night away by a roaring fireplace.

The home's artistic theme continues into the dining room, where paintings and photographs line the walls while a candlelit chandelier gives the room a chic flair.

And on those warm summer nights, homeowners can also enjoy their meal under the stars as they step out into one of the many recreational areas, fitted with its own barbecue.

Stylish: The home's artistic theme continues into the dining room, where lavish paintings and photographs line the walls while a candlelit chandelier gives the room a chic flair

Stunning: And on those warm summer nights, homeowners can also enjoy their meal under the stars as they step out into the cool night air and relax in one of the many recreational areas which is fitted with its own barbecue

Comfy: Guests can then retire to another rest area, which sits next the grand swimming pool and features bright red furniture that's perfect for relaxing in the sunshine thanks to its own removable cabana

Guests can then retire to another rest area, which sits next the grand swimming pool and features bright red furniture that's perfect for relaxing in the sunshine thanks to its own removable cabana.

If homeowners wish to seek peace and tranquillity, they will be well provided for as an outdoor balcony features the perfect space for yoga, as a wooden carving of Buddha watches on.

The stunning outdoor area also has even more fun for the whole family, as a large swimming pool gives the whole family another great space to relax.

But that's not all, as the home is fitted with its own underground wine cellar that has plenty of space for beverages to be stored for a party or special event.

The home was no doubt the perfect place for Russell to 're-dedicate himself to spiritual learning' - having stepped down from his various businesses last year.

The hip hog mogul has been laying low in recent weeks after being accused of rape by three women in December 2017. He has repeatedly denied the claims, in court documents filed in April this year.

Perfect for meditation: If homeowners wish to seek peace and tranquillity, they will be well provided for as an outdoor balcony provides the perfect space for yoga, as a wooden carving of Buddha watches on

Well-fitted: But that's not all, as the home is fitted with its own underground wine cellar that has plenty of space for beverages to be stored for a party or special event
Former Biggest Loser trainer Tiffiny Hall, 33, and 2Day FM breakfast radio host, Ed Kavalee welcomed their first child, Arnold into the world in September last year.

And on Tuesday, the high-profile couple's adorable 11-month-old son made an appearance on Channel Seven's The Morning Show a few weeks shy of his first birthday.

The show's official Instagram account shared a happy snap of mum holding her beautiful bub alongside presenters, Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillies.

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'Gorgeous little man is not impressed by Larry Emdur's (left) funny faces': Tiffiny Hall (centre) appears on the Morning Show with her 11-month-old son Arnold (front-centre). Also pictured Kylie Gillies (right)

'Mummy... who's this scary man!' Gorgeous little Arnold is not impressed by Larry Edmur's funny faces,' the caption stated.

'Kylie Gillies is definitely the favorite this time. Thanks to the fit and fabulous Tiff Hall for joining us on the couch this morning.'

In the snap, Larry appeared to pull the ultimate dad-joke as he poked his tongue out at the lens, courting Arnold's full attention.

'Biiiiiig day of media for the little man and I!' Tiffiny also took to the photo-sharing app on Tuesday to document her tiny tot's big day of media

Tiffiny also took to the photo-sharing app on Tuesday to document her tiny tot's big day of media.

'Biiiiiig day of media for the little man and I! Thanks so much for having us today,' she captioned the snap.

'And also ready for nap time.'

While the pair were in the Seven Network building they decided to stop by The Daily Edition studio for another brief TV stint.

The adorable flaxen-haired boy was captured watching his mother (from backstage) during her exciting live interview.

The health and well-being guru appeared on the aforementioned programs to urge schools to kick-start 'compulsory' self-defence classes.

Cool mum: The adorable flaxen-haired boy was captured watching his mother (from backstage) during her exciting live interview

Tiffiny recently opened up about the intense and heartwarming moment she gave birth to her youngster.

The fitness fanatic, who is married to comedian Ed Kavalee, revealed to Kidspot's The Juggling Act podcast she was in labour during a routine visit to her obstetrician at the 39 week mark.

'It was just like everything in my life had built up to holding that baby,' she gushed.

'It was like everything in my life had built up to holding that baby!' Former Biggest Loser trainer Tiffiny Hall has gushed over the intense and heart-warming moment she gave birth to her son Arnold

'Every achievement, every moment of strength and passion and love was in that moment with my husband and that baby,' she said.

She explained her obstetrician said the baby needed to be delivered because the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck.

'It was so fast... It was like 45 mins in and a few pushes, and legs in stirrups and I had no time to think,' she said, adding that she felt the pain because her epidural hadn't kicked in.

'Arnie came out blue and lifeless and not like the babies I had seen on Netflix in different baby shows I had been watching,' she noted.

Cute: She explained her obstetrician said the baby needed to be needed to be delivered because the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck 'Arnie came out blue and lifeless and not like the babies I had seen on Netflix in different baby shows I had been watching'

But within 10 minutes the baby was robustly crying and in her arms.

The blonde beauty said it took a moment for her to realise she had given birth to a beautiful baby boy.

'He looked just like Ed and I couldn't believe that my husband's nose was on him!' she laughed.
She is known to be a fan of the famous family, and often channels their unique sense of style in her own clothing.

And Lauren Goodger certainly showed no signs of stopping on Tuesday night, as she shared yet another Kardashian-inspired snap to her Instagram page.

The former TOWIE star, 31, posed fiercely in a matching duster coat and flares - strikingly similar to that worn by reality star Khloe.

Their biggest fan: Lauren Goodger shared yet another Kardashian-inspired snap to her Instagram page on Monday night

Lauren paid homage to her style icon in the ensemble - formed of high rise flares and a matching long-line jacket of glittering nude lurex.

While Khloe often teams her duster coats with a plain tank, the British star opted for a stomach-baring bralet instead, to give the look a saucier feel.

Maintaining the mother-of-one's style from head to toe, Lauren even styled her hair into her trademark half-ponytail and added glamorous cat-eye sunglasses, which she balanced fiercely on her nose for the shot.

Style icon: The former TOWIE star, 31, posed fiercely in a matching duster coat and flares - strikingly similar to that worn by reality star Khloe (above)

Inspiration: Maintaining the mother-of-one's style from head to toe, Lauren (L) even styled her hair into Khloe's trademark half-ponytail (R)

Perhaps knowing the similarity will be acknowledged by fans, she added the teasing caption: 'Can just see it coming...........'

Lauren is known for her Kardashian-inspired sense of style, and even accused Khloe's sister Kim of copying her, when they both stepped out in similar skintight ensembles.

While she admitted her comparisons to Kim were a 'massive compliment', she was quick to affirm that she did, in fact, 'wear the outfit first.'

Following suit: Lauren is known for her Kardashian-inspired sense of style, and posed in a pale pink leotard and sequin boots last week - similar to that worn by both Khloe and Kendall Jenner

Copycat: She even accused Khloe's sister Kim of copying her, when they both stepped out in similar skintight ensembles (above)

Speaking of their indistinguishable looks, the busty star noted in her Now! magazine column: 'We obviously both have very good taste!'

Lauren then went on to echo her initial statement, explaining: 'I actually did wear it first.

'I mean I'm not saying that Kim K copied me but it just goes to show we like the same style - and for once - people can't say I'm trying to copy her!'

Twice as nice: While she admitted her comparisons to Kim (right) were a 'massive compliment', she was quick to affirm that she was not 'trying to be her'

The former flame of Mark Wright continued to gush over the Stateside style icon: 'It's a massive compliment, of course, when people say we're similar.' before adding: 'I think she is absolutely amazing but I'm not trying to be her.'

In her column, Lauren was referring to a grey lycra co-ord that she had modelled two weeks prior whilst promoting her new clothing range.

Aware that the look resembled Kim's signature sense of style, Lauren had named the outfit from her collection 'KIMYE' Double Wear Cycle Set.

Only a week later, Lauren then slipped into a raunchy pale pink leotard and sequin boots - similar to that worn by both Khloe and Kendall Jenner at her birthday last November.
Hog prices have been falling sharply in recent months, feeling intense pressure from escalating trade disputes between the U.S. and pork-buying trade partners.



In the current dispute, China has imposed tariffs against U.S. pork sales. These tariffs are likely to stick for a while, as President Trump escalated the fight on Friday, threatening to place taxes against all $500 billion of Chinese imports into the United States.



Additionally, Mexico, the biggest buyer of U.S. pork, has already imposed tariffs against American meat in response to the steel tariffs imposed by the White House earlier this year.



As a result, the two biggest buyers of U.S. pork will likely look to other foreign suppliers that aren't taxed as heavily, hurting demand for American hogs. This will create a massive backlog, which is pressuring prices for hogs. Earlier this year, lean hog futures traded as high as 84 cents per pound, but the upcoming August contract is closer to 65 cents now, and is projected to be as low as 46 cents per pound by December.



These prices will be devastating for U.S. hog producers, who can only hope for a trade resolution in the coming weeks if they didn't lock in higher prices earlier this year. For consumers, this likely means that their Christmas ham could be the lowest price in years.
They got engaged during a romantic holiday to India in 2016.

And Gogglebox star Stephen Webb finally tied the knot with boyfriend Daniel Lustig in a picturesque chateaux in Lot-et-Garonne, France on Monday.

The hairdresser, 46, shared a moment from the happy day on social media , two-and-a-half years after he popped the question to his significant other in front of the Taj Mahal.

Newlyweds! Gogglebox's Stephen Webb, 46, married Daniel Lustig in a romantic ceremony in France on Monday...two years after popping the question in India

Stephen wrote on the p Twitter: 'Just married @chateaudelisse #france #gogglebox #wedding @lustig75 (sic)'

The happy couple appeared to be having the time of their lives on their big day as they sported beaming smiles, and posed for pictures while holding striking red umbrellas and wearing sharply tailored suits.

Stephen tweeted: 'Love umbrellas #wedding @chateaudelisse #france #loveislove #gogglebox @lustig75 (sic)'

Previous love: Stephen was in a relationship with fellow hairdresser Chris Steed (pictured right) when Gogglebox first launched in 2013, but decided to be friends

Loved up: Daniel also shared a snap of the festivities to his own Instagram, with both men looking incredibly dapper in their contrasting blue suits

Daniel also shared a snap of the festivities to his own Instagram, with both men looking incredibly dapper in their contrasting blue suits.

The reality TV star was inundated with messages of congratulations from his loyal fans, and thanked them for their support by retweeting a selection of the posts.

One read: 'Congratulations to you both, every wish for a long and happy life together (sic)'

Another fan tweet said: 'Beautiful picture you both look so happy congratulations to you both xx (sic)'

Happy news: Stephen Webb announced his engagement Daniel after a romantic proposal in India two years ago

Stephen shared the happy news of their engagement back in 2016 with a number of scenic pics of the couple alongside the caption: 'I asked the lovely @lustig75 to marry me in the beautiful surroundings of the Oberio hotel in Agra, and he said yes.'

One pic showed off Daniel's stunning diamond ring, while Stephen also shared a snap of the beautiful setting for his romantic proposal.

The couple have been together for over two years after meeting in a queue for parking permits at Hove Town Hall.

Popping the question: Daniel admitted he was completely surprised by the proposal after Stephen asked him to take a photo of him with the iconic Taj Mahal in the background

Sharing the joy: Stephen couldn't wait to post his happy news on Twitter after the big moment

Admitting he fell in love at first sight, Stephen has told The Sun that he planned out the proposal and told his ex boyfriend Chris and his fiance Tony about his plans before jetting off on holiday, explaining 'They were very happy for us!'

Daniel, 40, admitted he was completely surprised by the proposal after Stephen asked him to take a photo of him with the iconic Taj Mahal in the background. #

He said: 'As I was taking the picture Stephen extended his hands out and asked me to zoom in. I was in complete shock as I saw the ring and heard the words, 'I love you will you marry me?'.

Coupled up: Chris married boyfriend Tony Ashby last year after getting engaged three months before Stephen

'It was all so romantic, the best day of my life!', he gushed, adding of the ring: 'I was always unsure of what kind of ring I'd like, but I have to say Stephen's done well in his choosing!'

After celebrating with a champagne dinner at the Orient Express restaurant the couple continued their trip by flying to Kerala on the south west coast.

Stephen was in a relationship with fellow hairdresser Chris Steed when Gogglebox first launched in 2013 but decided they were better off as friends after the first series and have continued to star on the show together.

Chris married boyfriend Tony Ashby last year after getting engaged three months before Stephen.

Explaining the situation in the past, Chris said: 'We were friends years ago, and then we evolved into sort of more like a relationship, so we were actually seeing each other when I got the opportunity of going on Gogglebox. So that's how Stephen and I got on it.'

'We were actually a couple for the first series! But we decided that we're better as friends. So second series, we went into it as friends, but I think a lot of followers that watched the first series continued to think that we were a couple.'
They's had some time off after filming the dramatic ninth season of My Kitchen Rules.

And on Tuesday the show's stars, Pete Evans and Manu Feildel, yet again shot down rumours of an ongoing feud as they posed on Instagram together.

A caption alongside the image, posted to Peter's account, claimed that the odd couple couldn't wait to share some 'laughs' as season ten gets underway.

Mates: On Tuesday MKR stars, Pete Evans and Manu Feildel, yet again shot down rumours of an ongoing feud as they posed on Instagram together (pictured)

'Haven't seen this gentleman for a while as we have both been creating memories with our families,' the controversial chef began.

The Paleo diet proponent added: 'But it sure is always good to reconnect and have some laughs together. MKR season 10'.

In the image, the chefs, dressed in contrasting blue suits, pull funny faces at the camera, perhaps mocking long-standing rumours that they're at odds.

Pete also shared a shot video to his Instagram Stories that showed Manu travelling with him, and taking along a huge green bag with white dots.

The 45-year-old Peter wrote in a caption: 'But it sure is always good to reconnect and have some laughs together. MKR season 10'. The chefs are pictured on My Kitchen Rules

Travel buddies: Pete also shared a shot video to his Instagram Stories that showed Manu travelling with him, and taking along a huge green bag with white dots

Last year, it was reported by Woman's Day, that tension is 'so bad' between Manu, 44, and Pete, 45, that they are forced to travel separately.

'In December they travelled to Perth and onto Broome, and on both the inbound and outbound flight they travelled separately,' a source allegedly told the magazine.

The magazine claims that even last week they flew an hour apart from each other.

Issues? Last year, it was reported by Woman's Day, that tension is 'so bad' between Manu and Pete that they are forced to travel separately

Close! But during a segment on Sunrise shot last year Pete slammed rumours of a rift. The chefs are pictured on Sunrise

All fine! 'We do love each other,' the Paleo-enthusiast told presenter Edwina Bartholomew, adding that they have a 'deep relationship'. The chefs are pictured on Sunrise

Alleging the pair have 'nothing in common,' Pete reportedly thinks Manu is an 'attention seeker' while Manu thinks Pete is 'stranger than strange.'

But during a segment on Sunrise shot soon after, Pete slammed rumours of a rift.

'We do love each other,' the Paleo-enthusiast told presenter Edwina Bartholomew, adding that they have a 'deep relationship.'
She is a Victoria's Secret Angel and toast of the fashion industry.

And Sara Sampaio looked effortlessly stylish as she attended her 27th birthday bash with beau Oliver Ripley and fellow models Jasmine Tookes and Chantel Jeffries in Los Angeles on Monday.

The brunette beauty showcased her toned figure in a ivory off-the-shoulder Dress Up dress adorned with metallic gold buttons.

Happy couple: Sara Sampaio looked effortlessly stylish as she attended her 27th birthday bash with beau Oliver Ripley in Los Angeles on Monday

Supermodel chic: Fellow models Jasmine Tookes (L) and Chantel Jeffries joined the party

The daring dress revealed her toned legs and she slipped on a pair of white sandals for the dinner at Avra restaurant.

Her chestnut tresses were styled sleek and straight while her pretty features were enhanced with fluttery lashes and berry lipgloss.

Her millionaire beau Oliver, 35, matched his love in a crisp fitted white shirt and denim jeans.

Oliver, born and raised in the UK before moving to New York, is the millionaire founder of the tech firm Black Ocean as well as a board member of nonprofit company Bespace.

Leggy: The brunette beauty showcased her toned figure in a ivory off-the-shoulder Dress Up dress adorned with metallic gold buttons

Wow factor: The daring dress revealed her toned legs and she slipped on a pair of white sandals for the dinner at Avra restaurant

Glossy: Her chestnut tresses were styled sleek and straight while her pretty features were enhanced with fluttery lashes and berry lipgloss

Hand in hand: Her millionaire beau Oliver, 35, matched his love in a crisp fitted white shirt and denim jeans

Smitten: The pair sweetly held hands as they made their way into the restaurant

The Oxford graduate was previously in a relationship with Brazilian supermodel Jeisa Chiminazzo, 31, with the pair tying the knot in 2013 before splitting in 2015.

The Vogue coverstar was in good model company for the dinner, with fellow VS angel Jasmine Tookes, 27 and model/DJ Chantel Jeffries, 24 joining.

Jasmine looked sensational in a green, orange, red and black floral printed bardot dress which flared out into an elegant A-line skirt.

The stunning gown flaunted her endless legs and she slipped on black pumps to complete her ensemble.

Toned: Sara showcased her lithe legs as she held her man's hand

Chatty: The pair were deep in conversation as they walked along

Hunky: Entrepreneur Oliver smouldered as he led his girlfriend out

Leggy: Jasmine looked sensational in a green, orange, red and black floral printed bardot dress which flared out into an elegant A-line skirt

Chic: The stunning gown flaunted her endless legs and she slipped on black pumps to complete her ensemble.

Glowing: Her brunette tresses were styled in loose waves while a pop of vibrant red lipstick enhanced her beautiful features

Her brunette tresses were styled in loose waves while a pop of vibrant red lipstick enhanced her beautiful features.

Chantel, who is the rumoured ex of Justin Bieber, flashed her toned abs in a scanty white crop-top which also revealed her cleavage.

Keeping with the flesh-flashing theme, she donned an unusual pair of jeans which featured rips just below her derriere.

She teamed the outfit with a silk floral printed jacket and black boots while her caramel flecked tresses were styled in soft waves.

Strut: Chantel, who is the rumoured ex of Justin Bieber, flashed her toned abs in a scanty white crop-top which also revealed her cleavage

Leggy: She teamed the outfit with a silk floral printed jacket and black boots while her caramel flecked tresses were styled in soft waves

Cheeky: Keeping with the flesh-flashing theme, she donned an unusual pair of jeans which featured rips just below her derriere

A rich palette of glowing make-up accentuated her striking features.

Sara, who was born in Porto, Portugal, made her debut on the Victoria's Secret runway for their annual fashion show in 2013.

She walked for the lingerie giant the following four years.

In addition to being a Victoria's Secret Angel, Sara is also an ambassador for skin and hair brand Moroccanoil and jewelry company Graff.

Radiant: A rich palette of glowing make-up accentuated her striking features




On Tuesday's episode of MasterChef, favourites Ben Borsht and Sashi Cheliah went head to head to win an advantage ahead of Wednesday night's challenge.

With the competition so close to it's conclusion, the stakes were higher than ever as the amateur cooks were tasked with making a meal that evoked autumn.

And perhaps that's why viewers were so perturbed when they felt that Ben Borsht received an unfair advantage when judges Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris suggested that he change his dish last minute.

Advice? Viewers were perturbed when they felt that Ben Borsht received an unfair advantage when judges Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris suggested that he change his dish last minute on Tuesday's episode on MasterChef (pictured)

At first, the cook wanted to use tarragon, but was asked to 'rethink' using the herb by Gary and George.

'Sorry, but the judges had to steer Ben away from his original idea, basically help him the whole way and he beats Sashi? Wrong wrong wrong,' Tweeted one viewer.

'Would Ben have won that challenge if the judges hadnt told him his original idea wouldnt work?' one wrote while another called it a 'stupid rigged result'.

Change of pace: At first, the cook wanted to use tarragon, but was asked to 'rethink' using the herb by Gary and George (pictured)

Not okay? 'Sorry, but the judges had to steer Ben away from his original idea, basically help him the whole way and he beats Sashi? Wrong wrong wrong,' Tweeted one viewer

Ben did indeed win the challenge, beating out Sashi after taking the judges advice, but the prize left viewers underwhelmed.

The 'advantage' he'd won was choosing which course he'd like to cook when the team take over Bondi eatery Icebergs on Wednesday's episode.

One viewer Tweeted: 'It's okay. The "advantage" is so lame Sashi doesn't need it'.

Winner: Ben (pictured) did indeed win the challenge, beating out Sashi after taking the judges advice, but the advantage he won left viewers underwhelmed

A fan complained: 'All the advantages this season have been terrible. And the contestants didn't even get international travel this season'

Another fan complained: 'All the advantages this season have been terrible. And the contestants didn't even get international travel this season'.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Channel Ten for comment.

It comes after renowned TV chef Iain 'Huey' Hewitson caused shockwaves earlier this month when he raged that shows like MasterChef are 'pretentious rubbish'.

Not amused: Renowned TV chef Iain 'Huey' Hewitson (pictured on A Current Affair) caused shock waves when he called shows like MasterChef 'pretentious rubbish'

Iain slammed reality cooking shows like Masterchef and My Kitchen Rules during an interview withA Current Affair earlier this month.

'They started off simple, and the next minute you turn around and they're doing deconstructed rubbish with smears on the plate!' he said.
Katie Price has revealed she is preparing to bring her children to the hotel in Thailand, where she recently put on a shocking topless display.

After jetting away with toyboy beau Kris Boyson earlier this month, the 40-year-old glamour model was seen in compromising positions outside the Ammatara Pura Pool Villas in Lamai, Koh Samui, where she has admitted she wants to go with her kids.

Following her confession, sources spoke to Heat Magazine about her behaviour and claimed her ex-husband Peter Andre, the father to her children Junior, 13, and Princess, 11, is 'appalled' by her 'disgraceful' behaviour.

Off we go: Katie Price has revealed she plans to bring her kids (Junior and Princess, pictured) to the hotel in Thailand where she recently put on a shocking topless display

Eye-popping: The 40-year-old glamour model was seen in compromising positions with toyboy Kris Boyson (above) outside the Ammatara Pura Pool Villas in Koh Samui last week

Katie, who is also mother to Harvey, 16, with ex Dwight Yorke, and Jett, four, and Bunny, three with estranged husband Kieran Hayler, has been setting tongues wagging of late due to her shocking behaviour with new man Kris.

Earlier this month, during their romantic trip to Thailand, the couple were caught on various occasions getting intimate while hardly dressed and posing for images while she straddled him suggestively and hovered around his intimate area.

Taking to Instagram after the latest bout of saucy images, Katie shared a pretty fresh-faced snap following her stay in the hotel with the caption: 'I cant wait to go back to this amazing hotel in Thailand and share the experience with my children'.

Excited: Taking to Instagram after the bout of saucy images, Katie shared a fresh-faced snap for fans (above), and gushed she couldn't wait to bring her children to the same location

Users soon noted the switch in holiday companion, as some followers wrote: 'Should of gone there with them to start with and not the bloke youve had in your life for a few weeks. SMH... Thailand ... yeah and grope another guy topless'.

Shortly after she confessed her children would be coming on holiday with her, sources discussed Pete's reaction to her saucy holiday behaviour with her beau.

Insiders told the magazine: 'Pete is appalled by Katies behaviour and thinks its a disgrace. He can shield them from things like this but all their friends can see it. She needs to stop acting like a party girl in her twenties.'

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Peter and Katie for comment.

'It's a disgrace': Shortly after her confession, sources claimed ex Peter Andre - with whom she shares Princess and Junior (above) - had been left 'appalled' by the photos

Hours before her post, Katie revealed she's most definitely part of the Mile High Club and confessed her scandalous mid-flight acts are never performed in the toilets.

She got very candid in an interview with Fabulous Magazine, and admitted she will only get some action in first class.

When Katie was asked if she's ever fornicated on a plane, she was more than willing to reveal all, although she didn't say whether or not it was with boyfriend Kris. 'Yes!' the star responded. 'Not in the toilet that's so obvious.'

Katie was pressed about how to go about getting intimate in a public plane, she added: ' You just do it other ways don't you?Put the blanket over you, little... yeah.

Besotted: Katie was spotted putting on her raunchy display with Kris last week, as the pair enjoyed a romantic holiday just one month after confirming their romance

The I'm a Celebrity star then went on to admit that first class was the only place she could ever do it.

Katie was spotted putting on her raunchy display with Kris last week, as the pair enjoyed a romantic holiday just one month after confirming their romance.

The reality star met Kris through her son Harvey's new fitness plan, and recently revealed she has finally found a man who 'ticks all the boxes'.

She told OK! last month: 'Hes a mans man. Hes got his own job, hes not false or fame hungry. In that respect, I think this is going to be a more normal relationship and less toxic.'

The romance follows her split from Kieran Hayler, which came after his affair with the family nanny emerged last summer.
She was named UN Messenger of Peace in 2008 for her efforts in the fight against HIV and AIDS in Africa.

And Charlize Theron took centre-stage as she joined Prince Harry and Sir Elton John at the second day of the 22nd International AIDS conference in Amsterdam on Tuesday.

The actress, 42, appeared incredibly passionate about the cause as she took to the podium in classic black.

On a mission: Charlize Theron took centre-stage as she joined Prince Harry and Sir Elton John at the second day of the 22nd International AIDS conference in Amsterdam on Tuesday

The Monster star gave a stimulating speech on the impact of the disease in Africa.

Representing the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, South Africa, Charlize told the packed out crowd:

'We have come a long way as a global community from that moral panic that defined early stages of this epidemic.'

Passionate: Charlize is incredible passionate about the cause

Personable: The Monster star accentuated her natural beauty with soft make-up as she addressed the crowd and gave a stimulating speech on the impact of the diseases on Africa

Smart: Charlize cut a chic figure in a long floral skirt as she made her entrance to the stage

The Gringo star also explained: 'Most of us now know and understand that HIV is not just about sex or sexuality. We know it is linked to the second-class status of women and girls worldwide.'

Theron previously stirred controversy during her speech at the 2016 international AIDS conference in Durban, when she said the virus which is ravaging Africa was fueled by 'sexism, poverty and homophobia'.

'I stand by what I said last year,' she confessed ahead of the Life Ball in Vienna earlier just months ago, stressing the importance of holistic approach in the fight against HIV.

Impassioned: Charlize told the packed out crowd: 'We have come a long way as a global community from that moral panic that defined early stages of this epidemic'

Expert: Charlize explained: 'Most of us now know and understand that HIV is not just about sex or sexuality ... We know it is linked to the second-class status of women and girls'

Dedicated: In May, Charlize recieved the was presented with the Swarovski Crystal of Hope award after her years of service for the HIV/AIDs campaign

'When you look at HIV and AIDS, you have to looks at the factors that are driving it ... you have to see why are these people getting infected.'

In May, Charlize was presented with the Swarovski Crystal of Hope award after her years of service for the HIV/AIDs campaign.

The star is the founder of Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, which supports community-based HIV programmes and has partnered with other leading organisations fighting the pandemic.

And the South African talent's work was recognised as she presented with the award, in the form of a glittering chained necklace attached to a red ribbon design - a HIV/AIDS awareness symbol.

Determined: The star is the founder of Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, which supports community-based HIV programmes

On the case: Charlize and her organisation has also partnered with other leading organisations fighting the pandemic

Proud: The South African talent's work was recognised as she presented with the award, in the form of a glittering chained necklace attached to a red ribbon design - the HIV/AIDs symbol

The Aids 2018 conference was billed as the largest gathering on HIV and AIDS in the world, bringing together more than 15,000 scientists, activists, health providers, policy makers and global leaders.

Also attending was Prince Harry, who has continued the work of his mother Princess Diana - a pioneer in the fight against AIDS - by raising awareness about the epidemic and encouraging people to get tested and know their HIV status.

At the conference, the Duke of Sussex formally announced the Men Star Coalition, which will begin in Africa next year, where men across the continent will be encouraged to self-test for HIV, in a bid to empower them to seek treatment if positive and help stop the spread of the virus.

Leading the way: The Aids 2018 conference was billed as the largest gathering on HIV and Aids in the world, bringing together more than 15,000 scientists, activists and health providers
Reality star Hannah Ferrier, 32, has become awash with fans after appearing on all three seasons of Below Deck Mediterranean.

And with even Hollywood celebrity Chrissy Teigen taken hook, line and sinker - the blonde Sydney-born starlet has revealed the secret to her success.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph on Tuesday, the chief steward said it was the fact she was genuine hooked the viewers.

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'I'm appealing to audiences because they like real people': Star of Below Deck Mediterranean Hannah Ferrier, 32, has revealed the secret to her success after three seasons on the show

'I'm appealing to audiences because they like real people and they want somebody who is not trying to be someone else,' she said.

Starring on the Bravo-produced show, the self-confessed 'independent woman' said added always upfront with other crew members on the vessel.

'I always say what I want to your face and I move on instead of it festering,' she said, conceding that it sometimes has a downside.

'I always say what I want to your face and I move on instead of it festering,' The blonde bombshell said it was her straightforward attitude that resonated with viewers of the show

Despite her dipping her toes into the wealth of privilege of large vessels in Greece, the beauty said she 'wasn't trying to be a star.'

And while she spends most of her time in the south of France, Hannah revealed she would like to film a project closer to home.

In July, the TV star found herself in the enviable position of celebrity Chrissy Teigen fan-girling over her.

Superfan! It comes after Hollywood celebrity Chrissy Teigen professed her love for the starlet after meeting in Malibu earlier this month

Starstruck: Chrissy admitted she was shaking after meeting the Bravo star

Of the Malibu encounter, she wrote: 'I just saw hannah from below deck let me tell you, I am shaking' Chrissy tweeted at the time.

'I so rarely ask people for photos. Thank you @hannahferrier_' Chrissy captioned a photo of the duo which showed her cradling baby Miles wearing a blush pink dress.

At the time, Hannah was equally enthralled at the meeting as she posted the photo to Instagram.

'So this just happened!! I ran into @chrissyteigen at the valet today and we had the biggest fan girl with each other!!! My life is now complete!!!! #belowdeckmed @bravotv @51minds'
Bachelor Nation is heartbroken following Jason Tarticks elimination from The Bachelorette.

The Buffalo, New York native was sent home during Fantasy Suite week on Monday. He did not make it to the overnight portion of the date before Becca Kufrin pulled him aside to reveal that she was falling for him, but wasnt yet in love with him like she was the other two guys.

During the episode, Jason showed up at Beccas hotel room a few days later to give The Bachelorette star a gift and share in a moment of closure.

The Bachelorette viewers were absolutely stunned by Jason Tartick's elimination from the series on Monday

After being dumped by Becca Kufrin, fans are rooting for Jason Tartick to be the next Bachelor

Becca shared with Jason: I dont want you to think that, because the other night it was so abrupt, that it was easy, because it wasntI felt terrible. Like, I was Arie [Luyendyk Jr].

Like, I completely blindsided you, but I couldnt give you that much of a reason other than how I felt. I dont want you to ever question your journey, because what we had was something so special.

The 28-year-old publicist concluded that Jason was one of the best guys shed ever met and its clear that Bachelor Nation agrees.

After his elimination, fans flocked to Twitter to express their sadness over Jasons exit.

IF JASONS NOT THE NEXT BACHELOR ILL QUIT THIS SHOW I SWEAR I WILL, one user tweeted.

Others began something of a Twitter campaign, using the hashtag #JasonForBachelor.

Jason: I wanted to close the door the right way. Subtext: I needed to make my bachelor application a little stronger #JASONFORBACHELOR, another fan wrote.

What happened on The Bachelorette?

During Mondays episode of The Bachelorette, Becca Kufrin and her three finalists spent time together in Thailand for Fantasy Suite week.

First up was Blake Horstmann, who joined Becca on a hike to a Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai. During their alone time, the Bailey, Colorado native confessed that he was grappling with some insecurity over Beccas two other relationships.

He said he feared Becca may be falling for the other guys as hard, or harder, than she is for him.

In the end, Blake said: I look for a reason to stay, not a reason to leave. I love you a lot and I can see our future.

Becca and Blake then went to the Fantasy Suite and were able to enjoy a full evening together. The following morning it was clear that Becca and Blake had grown closer.

when youre heartbroken for jason but then you remember he might be the bachelor now #TheBachelorette pic.twitter.com/uQFIUfuvHl  kathleen (@kathleen_hanley) July 24, 2018

On the next date, The Bachelorette star met up with Jason for a day trip to a local market. During the date, Becca began talking about getting a home with Jason.

This conversation prompted her to breakdown as she realized that she wasnt able to truly see a future with him.

Becca decided to move forward with the date, hoping she could salvage it at dinner, but she wasnt able to. Eventually it became clear to her that she needed to end it and send him home, which wasnt easy for her.

I literally just did to him what Arie did to me, she said through tears.

Lastly, Becca joined Garrett Yrigoyen for a day of bamboo rafting before a romantic dinner together. Over dinner and drinks, Becca asked Garret whether he could see a future with her, noting that hes the only one who hadnt yet said he loved her.

Seeing how you interacted with my family, I realized how much I truly do love you. You make me very happy. I hope youre the last woman I ever have to say that to, he said before he was given keys to the fantasy suite.

Before the episode ended, Jason returned to the show. He popped by Beccas hotel room to deliver a scrapbook he made her and have one last chat.

The conversation went well and there were no bad feelings between Jason and Becca.

Is Jason on Bachelor in Paradise?

Jason Tartick has not been announced as part of the Bachelor in Paradise cast.

Jason would make an awesome Bachelor. He is the total package. #TheBachelorette  niki carver (@nicolette1971) July 24, 2018

Jason the next Bachelor

Bachelorette fans on Twitter are hopeful that ABC will select Jason as the next Bachelor. The show's producers have not yet addressed this, or even who is in the running for the next Bachelor, and likely wont be until After the Final Rose.

Whos the next Bachelor?

Jason Tartick is currently the frontrunner for ABCs The Bachelor, however, Blake Horstmann is also a strong contender with Bachelorette viewers.

Welp, this throws off my dream scenario where Becca marries Jason, Garrett gets nothing, and Blake is the next Bachelor and I am all 25 contestants #TheBachelorette  Jordyn Taylor (@jordynhtaylor) July 24, 2018

*whispers* pick Blake so I can be next Bachelor #TheBachelorette pic.twitter.com/NIXIbI4ChV  Jordyn Taylor (@jordynhtaylor) July 24, 2018

Blake cant be the next bachelor because Im too in love with him to watch him date 25 girls who arent me. #TheBachelorette  Jenna Robinson (@JennaCatherin) July 24, 2018

In all my years of Bachelorette scouting & evaluating, Jason has shown off the charts composure, professionalism & grit. Becca just put his heart in a blender & Jason stayed strong. Definitely a front runner for the next Bachelor. Respect the Buffalo slick back#TheBachelerotte  Matt Overton (@MattOverton_LS) July 24, 2018

Who does Becca choose on The Bachelorette?

TMZ reported early on that Garrett Yrigoyen is the winner of The Bachelorette. Photos showed the pair together after what appeared to be their engagement.
She has a quartet of brothers.

And Chloe Grace Moretz enjoyed the company of one of them when she headed out shopping to a Trader Joe's in Los Angeles of a Monday.

The blonde 21-year-old actress wore a denim miniskirt with a white short-sleeved blouse as she crossed the parking lot with her brother Colin.

Side by side: Chloe Grace Moretz enjoyed the company her brother Colin when she headed out shopping to a Trader Joe's in Los Angeles of a Monday

Chloe wore her hair down and accentuated her features with a slick of scarlet lipstick, leaving platinum blonde Colin on shopping cart duty.

The siblings' parents, a plastic surgeon called McCoy and a nurse called Teri, have also raised sons Trevor, Brandon and Ethan.

In a 2015 interview with Nylon, Chloe reflected on the experience of watching Colin and Trevor come out as gay during her preteen years.

'At 11, youre incredibly observant and realizing what society is, and who you are, and people are kissing boys or girls for the first time, and youre really starting to understand what sexuality is. And to see my brothers struggle with the anxiety of having to come out was awful,' she confided in the magazine.

Stylish: Chloe wore her hair down and accentuated her features with a slick of scarlet lipstick, leaving platinum blonde Colin on shopping cart duty

'People would call them the F-word, and I would get so angry. It was really hard to see my brothers be hated on or bullied, so I stood up for them,' recalled Chloe.

She has dated Victoria and David Beckham's 19-year-old son Brooklyn Beckham on and off, but their latest split went public early this April.

Brooklyn was pap-snapped kissing Playboy model Lexi Wood at a tattoo parlor - and a day later, Chloe posted to her Insta Story that she was listening to Cardi B's scathing new infidelity-themed single Be Careful.

Backdrop: The siblings' parents, a plastic surgeon called McCoy and a nurse called Teri, also share sons Trevor, Brandon and Ethan

Perez Hilton then tweeted that Chloe had liked a fan's Instagram post that included a photo of the actress nonchalantly flipping off the camera and was captioned: 'Greetings to @brooklynbeckham from me motherf***er'.

It is unknown when exactly Brooklyn and Chloe broke up, so it is entirely possible his tattoo parlor kiss was not an act of unfaithfulness.

Since the breakup, he has been linked to an array of women including the dancer Lexy Panterra, who happens to be eight years his senior.

Chloe first confirmed her romance with Brooklyn on Watch What Happens Live in May 2016 amid swirls of rumors, but by that September, People reported they'd split.

The way they were: She has dated Victoria and David Beckham's 19-year-old son Brooklyn Beckham (left) on and off, but their latest split went public early this April

However, speculation started building late last summer that they were an item again, and by last autumn they were publicly a couple.

Chloe is co-starring with Tilda Swinton and Dakota Johnson in an upcoming remake of Dario Argento's 1977 ballerina horror film Suspiria.

Jessica Harper, who led the cast of the original film, is also putting in an appearance in the new version, which is being directed by Luca Guadagnino.

Awash in prestige pedigree, Chloe is also playing opposite iconic French actress Isabelle Huppert in Neil Jordan's forthcoming film The Widow.
Sofia Vergara is not giving away an iPhone X.

The Modern Family star confirmed her Instagram account was hacked on Tuesday.

'Guys my instagram got hacked,' she revealed via Twitter. 'Don't ansewer those idiots.' (sic)

Free iPhone! Sofia Vergara has warned fans not to engage with her Instagram account after revealing it was hacked

She added: 'Dont send them any info. we r after them.'

Fans got excited when the actress appeared to promise 1000 free phones and Apple watches to the most gullible of her 14.5million followers.

All they had to do was click into her Instagram stories and swipe up.

From there the prize bounty expanded to include gift cards too, as well as  suspiciously  the outdated iPhone 8 alongside the iPhone X.

Fake: 'Guys my instagram got hacked,' she revealed via Twitter. 'Don't ansewer those idiots.' (sic)

Seems legit: Fans got excited when the actress appeared to promise 1000 free phones and Apple watches to the most gullible of her 14.5million followers

Gracias! The hacker even added a little touch en espanol to make it seem like it genuinely came from the Colombian, signing the post: 'Gracias, Te amo.'

The hacker even added a little touch en Espanol to make it seem like it genuinely came from the Colombian, signing the post: 'Gracias, Te amo.'

It seemed to do the trick too, as the dodgy post garnered thousands of likes within minutes of being shared.

It was a little sour note on which to end what looked like an amazing long weekend for the 46-year-old.

She and husband Joe Manganiello enjoyed a Bahamas getaway at their sumptuous beach house haunt, Casa Chipi Chipi.

The couple were their to help her co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson to celebrate his fifth anniversary with husband Justin Mikita.

Oh well: It was a little sour note on which to end what looked like an amazing long weekend for the 46-year-old, as she and husband Joe Manganiello helped her co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson celebrate his fifth anniversary with husband Justin Mikita in the Bahamas




most-- of his supporters are either strung out on opioids or have IQs too low to allow them to think abstractly. Trump's latest distraction is a transparent wag the dog situation, this time with Iran. Start with The twitter call and answer above. Although Trump is stronger than ever with his base of racist and ignorant, easily manipulated voters who admire him, he keeps losing support among normal Americans who see right through him. I hate to say it, but most---- of his supporters are either strung out on opioids or have IQs too low to allow them to think abstractly. Trump's latest distraction is a transparent wag the dog situation, this time with Iran. Start with The twitter call and answer above.





Just for reference, Iran is home to one of the world's oldest continuous major civilizations, dating back thousands of years before the Vikings stumbled onto North America. Iran is 636,372 square miles, bigger than California, almost as big as Texas. Today Iran has a population of 82 million people, about the same as a combination of California, New York, Illinois and Ohio. America's longest ever war-- still unresolved-- is in Afghanistan, which is 252,072 square miles and has a population of 35 million. Afghanistan has no organized military and no technological capacity. Iran does.





Late Sunday night, Trump was on his Twitter account stoking up a rhetorical war with Iran and trying to make the mild-mannered Presdient Rouhani into his next Rocket Man. After Trump withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 international deal over Irans nuclear program, for no apparent rational reason, the U.S. has been threatening more sanctions to destabilize Iran's economy. We're up to some "mother of all wars" rhetoric now and Iran has made it clear that if Trump tries to shut down Iran's oil industry, Iran could block all Gulf oil exports coming through the Strait of Hormuz. My guess is that would cause a recession for a month or two before a full-fledged depression would swallow the entire world.













This is all on the heals of Trump's initial plan to shut Iran out of global oil markets completely by demanding all other countries stop buying Iranian oil before the end of the year.

Last month, the Trump administration said it expected all countries that buy oil from Iran, which has some of the worlds largest oil reserves, to wind down their purchases to zero by November 4 or face U.S. sanctions. Other trade with Iran is also being targeted. The administration has said it will not provide exemptions to the sanctions, even for U.S. allies in Europe who trade with Iran-- a move that will almost certainly hurt Irans economy. Iran has said it will remain a party to the accord as long as the other signatories provide Tehran with the investments that were promised in exchange for signing the agreement. The EU has enacted legislation that would target European companies that comply with U.S. sanctions on trade with Iran. But for European companies, with their global supply chains and international workforces, access to the U.S. financial system (which would be cut off in the event of U.S. sanctions), as well as access to the U.S. consumer market, are far more important than any deal with Iran. Indeed, while the EU and its member states say they will continue to abide by the deal, they have few realistic options left to keep the agreement going.



In a speech in May, Mike Pompeo, the U.S. secretary of state, listed 12 conditions that he said Iran would have to meet if it wanted diplomatic and commercial relationships with the U.S. Among them: an end to its ballistic-missile program, and to its support for terrorist groups like Hezbollah and its malfeasance in Iran and Syria. Barbara Slavin, the director of the Future of Iran Initiative at the Atlantic Council, told me at the time that the list was a nonstarter. Hes not asking the leopard to change its spots, she said of Pompeo. Hes asking it to become a lamb.



Iranians expected the nuclear deal to yield a shot in the arm to their economy, which has been crippled by years of international sanctions. But those expected benefits have been slow to materialize-- because, Irans critics say, the Islamic Republic is spending its money on military adventurism in Syria, Yemen, and other places in the region, leading to protests against both Irans elected leaders as well as the Shia clerics who hold near-absolute power.

Trump is trying to stoke civil discord in Iran but he is widely seen by Iranian as a loud-mouthed bully and his bluster only unites forces that would naturally be at odds with each other. Both Israel and the Saudis are goading Trump on to fight Iran for their own benefit. Netanyahu, for example, had been working hard before Helsinki to persuade Trump and Putin to force Iran out of Syria.
He was recently arrested for carrying a weapon while on probation stemming from a 2016 incident.

But on Tuesday, it was revealed that Cardi B confided in friends that she would stand by besieged husband Offset's side 'even if he were sentenced to prison,' according to TMZ.

The 25-year-old believes the Migos rapper 'was pulled over for doing nothing more than being a rich, successful black rapper,' reported the gossip site.

Rough day: Offset, 26, was recently arrested for carrying a weapon while on probation stemming from a 2016 incident. He's seen here in his mugshot earlier this month

According to TMZ, Cardi -whose real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almanzar- also doesn't believe Offset broke any laws, telling friends 'he doesn't own any firearms'.

She's calling the July 2 arrest, allegedly initiated because the MotorSport artist crossed a double yellow line while driving in Atlanta, Georgia, a 'targeted attack from the hip-hop cops'.

Offset - real name Kiari Kendrell Cephus - was behind bars after his SUV was pulled over by police, TMZ reported on Friday.

Happier times: According to TMZ, 25-year-old Cardi B -whose real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almanzar- also doesn't believe Offset broke any laws, telling friends 'he doesn't own any firearms'. Seen together in December 2017

The rapper was subsequently released on bond from the Clayton County Jail in Georgia.

However his lawyer Drew Findling admitted the rapper is thinking of his family during the difficult time, according to PEOPLE magazine.

The 26-year-old Migos star told his legal team that 'he is concerned' about his wife Cardi B and their newborn daughter Kulture.

Worried? Offset told his legal team that 'he is concerned' about his wife Cardi B and their newborn daughter Kulture; seen in June

'He is concerned, very concerned, about [Cardi B],' Findling says. 'Of course his new baby is his top priority as well as his other children.'

He was charged with possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of marijuana (one ounce or less), possession of a weapon during a crime and an improper lane change.

His wife and their daughter, who was born July 10, were not in the car at the time.

Safe and sound: Cardi and their newborn daughter Kulture were not in the vehicle at the time of Offset's arrest; seen in June

Behind bars: Cardi B's husband was arrested in Georgia on Friday; seen in April

'He did not commit any traffic offense and he certainly was not in possession of any weapons,' Findling said. 'This was an improper arrest and I believe in his innocence.'

The attorney added: '[Offset's] holding up as best he can considering the circumstances and knows he has not broken any laws. He is going to have his day in court.'

Cardi later took to social media to share a blurry image of the couple with the word 'home' scrawled across the photo.

Safe: Cardi later took to social media to share a blurry image of the couple with the word 'home' scrawled across the photo

'For the record Offset is NOT ON PROBATION,' she wrote in another snap shared to her millions of followers

'For the record Offset is NOT ON PROBATION,' she wrote in another snap shared to her millions of followers.

The Georgia native said he escaped punishment earlier this month after police released him following a traffic stop, after the officer took a selfie with his superstar wife, Cardi B, who was on FaceTime with him at the time.

He tweeted July 2: 'Just got let go on a pull over for a FaceTime pic with my wife (SHES THE BEST).'

Offset was previously taken into custody two years ago in Atlanta in connection with for driving with a suspended license. He was arrested the year before after a show at Georgia Southern University in connection with drug and gun charges.

Fast-paced: It's been the best of times and the worst of times for Offset, who welcomed a new child with wife Cardi B amid legal issues and an auto accident

Power couple: The breakout songstress and rap phenom were snapped last month in Atlanta

It's been an eventful time for the performer, as in May, he was hospitalized with injuries to his neck and arm after crashing his crashed his Dodge Challenger in Atlanta.

He's been in the limelight as result of his relationship with the Bodak Yellow songstress, as it was revealed by TMZ last month that he and the I Like It songstress actually tied the knot September 20, 2017, before he and Cardi B staged an onstage engagement at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center during a concert in October.

In April, the breakout beauty, whose real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almanzar, announced her pregnancy during an episode of Saturday Night Live following months of speculation.
It's often millionaire judge Steve Baxter who raises eyebrows for his unapologetic tell-it-like-it-is comments to contestants and fellow judges.

But on Tuesday's Shark Tank episode, the tech start-up investor called out Dr. Glen Richards for his 'rough' remarks towards hairdressing entrepreneurs Janet and Annie.

Turning to his fellow tycoon during the pitch, Steve said: 'Oh, that's rough, Glen. I think you should apologise there!'

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Did he go too far? Shark Tank's Steve Baxter (ABOVE) suggests Dr. Glen Richards should apologise to hairdresser entrepreneurs after making a 'rough' remark during their pitch

The two women were presenting the HTZ Hot Teaze device, that helps make hair more voluminous from the roots.

Valuing their business at $10 million, the aunt-and-niece duo were hoping for a 5 per cent investment by one of the panel for $500,000.

However, when pressed on the details of the product and the reasoning behind the large valuation the pair came unstuck.

The Veneto Group's Andrew Banks initially asked, 'how do you justify the $10 million valuation?' to which Janet claimed they had sold 'lots'.

'A $10 million valuation is complete garbage!' Dr. Richards (ABOVE) didn't hold back about the women's unrealistic expectations, and even told the pair their accountant was a 'bloody idiot'

Dr. Richards was quick to fire back: 'Hang on. "Lots"? You've only sold 208. I'm shocked. A $10 million valuation is complete garbage.'

Steve jumped in to claim the statement was out of line, while the hopeful businesswomen looked on in shock.

Andrew appeared to agree with Dr. Richards: 'You've sold 208 of these. And we don't have a business plan, and it's a $10 million valuation. It's sort of a bit cheeky, don't you think?'

When Janet explained the valuation had come from an accountant friend of hers, Boost Juice founder Janine Allis told her to find a new accountant.

Dr. Richards then frankly added: 'Janet, he's a bloody idiot. To give you a valuation of $10 million to come into the tank, and you know... you've watched this show. You knew we weren't going to be.'

You're fired! Panelist Janine appeared uncomfortable as her hair began to sizzle while trialing the product

Meanwhile, panelist Janine's hair appeared to sizzle while trialing the product.

The 53-year-old looked uncomfortable as she heard the sound of her hair crackling as the hot irons ran over her damp recently-sprayed roots.

Her co-stars joked about her treatmwnt, with Dr. Richards claiming there was 'smoke coming off your head', and Andrew joking that a fire blanket might be needed.

'Oh dear, there is smoke coming off your head': Co-host Glen Richards joked about the star's hair catching fire, as other panelists joined in on the jokes

Earlier in the preview, two female contestants are seen confidently striding onto the Shark Tank set.

As the footage rolls, the clip's narrator says: 'This Aussie duo plans to stop bad hair days forever, but will their pitch go up in flames?'

Signage of the contestants' product in the background of the set says: 'Hot Teaze. A hair revolution.'

Shark Tank airs at 8.45pm on Tuesday night on Network Ten.
She recently insisted she's never had so much as a Botox injection, let alone plastic surgery.

And Paris Hilton looked naturally fabulous on Tuesday as she took to the Tezenis show catwalk in Verona, Italy.

The 37-year-old heiress rocked a sheer dress over black lingerie for her turn for the European underwear brand.

It's all her: Paris Hilton looked naturally fabulous on Tuesday as she took to the Tezenis show catwalk in Verona, Italy

The former reality TV star slipped the spotted negligee on over a lacy black bra and high cut panties that showed off plenty of Paris' pert posterior.

Kim Kardashian's former employer paired the eye-catching ensemble with black high heels and a studded choker.

Fingerless gloves and cat eye sunglasses completed the look.

Hilton wore her wavy blonde tresses untied and cascading down her shoulders.

Peep show: The 37-year-old heiress rocked a sheer dress over black lingerie for her turn for the European underwear brand

Life's a peach! The former reality TV star slipped the spotted negligee on over a lacy black bra and high cut panties that showed off plenty of Paris' pert posterior

Untouched: She recently insisted she's never had so much as a Botox injection, let alone plastic surgery

Later, the occasional DJ took to the decks at the rear of the stage and performed a brief set for the crowd.

She also posted plenty of heavily filtered selfies for her fans on social media, taking to Snapchat in a variety of outfits.

The Hilton hotels heiress posed in everything from a glittery skirt and crop top combo to a blue romper.

One of the photos was captioned 'Ibiza, Spain'.

Wheels of steel: Later, the occasional DJ took to the decks at the rear of the stage and performed a brief set for the crowd

Star maker: Kim Kardashian's former employer paired the eye-catching ensemble with black high heels and a studded choker

Thriller: Fingerless gloves and cat eye sunglasses completed the look

Good hair: Hilton wore her wavy blonde tresses untied and cascading down her shoulders

Spinning the decks: Paris tried her hand at being the resident DJ at the fashion show

Feeling the beat: The socialite looked in her element as she entertained the crowd

Paris Hilton swears she's never had plastic surgery.

Opening up during her visit to BeautyCon New York back in April, the hotel heiress told People: 'I've never done any Botox, filler  no plastic surgery in my life.'

But the blonde beauty did credit her amazing complexion to something else, revealing: 'I've always been obsessed with skincare.'

Music-lover: The Hilton heiress busted some dance moves during her DJ set

Self(ie) absorbed: She also posted plenty of heavily filtered selfies for her fans on social media, taking to Snapchat in a variety of outfits

She's going to Ibiza! One of the photos was captioned 'Ibiza, Spain'

Different looks: The Hilton hotels heiress posed in a white Sama Danesh bikini, before switching into a stunning blue velvet one-piece by the brand

The star shared some of her favorite skin secrets, explaining how she's been using luxury creams 'like Creme De La Mer' (which retails for around $175 per one-ounce bottle) since she was only 'eight years old.'

Her lifelong obsession with potions and products inspired her to create her own Paris Hilton Skincare line.

Making sure her line was the best of the best, Paris spent two years personally testing the product.

'I've been using this for the past two years to make sure [it works],' she told People.
Her Instagram account was recently hacked.

But Sofia Vergara is back at the wheel now, and on Tuesday morning she posted a loved-up album of snapshots with her husband Joe Manganiello.

The 46-year-old Modern Family star was seen goofing around with her shirtless 41-year-old man as they frolicked in the ocean.

Return: Sofia Vergara is back at the wheel of her Instagram, and on Tuesday morning she posted a loved-up album of snapshots with her husband Joe Manganiello

In one fun photo, Joe stuck his tongue out at the camera and cradled his wife, who laughed and stretched out her statuesque legs.

The couple playfully embraced in the water, where Sofia wore a skintight sleeveless white top, a scarlet skirt and a pair of summery flip flops.

On Tuesday morning, Sofia used her Twitter account to confirm: 'Guys my Instagram got hacked. Dont ansewer those idiots. Dont send them any info we r after them.'

Having a ball: The 46-year-old Modern Family star was seen goofing around with her shirtless 41-year-old man as they frolicked in the ocean

The tweet came after spam messages appeared on Sofia's Insta Stories offering a free iPhone X and a free Apple Watch.

A post also materialized on her main Instagram page, cheerily announcing: 'Hello guys! I am giving away 1000 FREE IPhone X's and Apple watches on my Instagram stories right now!!! Claim them before it's too late! Gracias, Te amo'.

The Barranquilla-born star, whom Forbes named the world's most-paid TV actress for the sixth year running last September, enjoys a staggering 14.5 million followers on the social media platform.

The couple that laughs together: In one fun photo, Joe stuck his tongue out at the camera and cradled his wife, who laughed and stretched out her statuesque legs

Sleek and chic: The couple playfully embraced in the water, where Sofia wore a skintight sleeveless white top, a scarlet skirt and a pair of summery flip flops

Sofia and Joe have been vacationing at their typical seaside summer retreat Casa Chipi Chipi, and welcomed a bit of company.

Her Modern Family co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson and his lawyer husband Justin Mikita accompanied Sofia and Joe on their current Casa Chipi Chipi trip.

Justin and Jesse, who were married by Angels In America playwright Tony Kushner, were celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary on this holiday.

'Dont ansewer those idiots': On Tuesday morning, Sofia used her Twitter account to confirm: 'Guys my Instagram got hacked,' advising: 'Dont send them any info we r after them'

The scam: The tweet came after spam messages appeared on Sofia's Insta Stories offering a free iPhone X and a free Apple Watch
She has been living it up in the French Riviera over the past few months, walking the red carpet at Cannes Film Festival and sunning it up on Philip Green's super yacht.

And Victoria Silvsted continued to enjoy the tropical climes of Saint Tropez as she hit the beach on Tuesday.

The Swedish beauty, 43, showed off her envy-inducing physique in a white bikini top and floral maxi skirt as she made her way to celeb hotspot, Club 55 for lunch.

Soaking up the sun: Victoria Silvsted continued to enjoy the tropical climes of Saint Tropez as she hit the beach on Tuesday

Victoria struggled to contain her jaw-dropping cleavage in the white corset bikini top, which featured a halterneck design.

Pairing the look with a semi-sheer black floral print skirt, the model drew attention to her toned abs and leggy frame as she walked along the sandy shores.

Victoria completed her beach get-up with a pair of pale pink sunglasses and a matching clutch bag.

Busty display: The Swedish beauty, 43, showed off her envy-inducing physique in a white bikini top and floral maxi skirt as she made her way to celeb hotspot Club 55 for lunch

Ample assets: Victoria struggled to contain her jaw-dropping cleavage in the white corset bikini top, which featured a halterneck design

Styling her blonde locks in a glamorous curls and complemented her golden glow with a slick of pink lipstick.

Victoria has been spending the past couple of months in the French Riviera and has frequented Cannes, St Barts and enjoyed a day out on Philip Green's super yacht in Monaco.

The blonde beauty has enjoyed a lengthy stint in the spotlight after being chosen to represent her country in the Miss World pageant in 1993.

Beach babe: Pairing the look with a semi-sheer black floral print skirt, the model drew attention to her toned abs and leggy frame as she walked along the wooden decking

Swedish beauty: Styling her blonde locks in a glamorous curls and complemented her golden glow with a slick of pink lipstick

After her pageant days, the Scandinavian stunner was spotted by Hugh Hefner and went on to become a Playboy Playmate.

Since her career rocketed, she has modelled for some of the world's most prestigious fashion houses, including Chanel, Dior and Valentino.

Despite the glamorous veneer to her lifestyle as a young model, she revealed there was a dark side in a recent interview with Female First.

Victoria said: 'I started very young to model in Paris when I was 18, I remember like starving myself to fit into the clothes and it was an amazing experience but you know I did shows for Valentino, Chanel, so it was really prestigious.

But it never felt like it was my thing, I'm not like a runway skinny model, I'm more curvy. It was torture, I put myself through starvation, you know torturing myself.
Child star Finn Wolfhard has broken into the music business.

The 15-year-old Stranger Things actor and his rock band Calpurnia played a gig on Jimmy Kimmel Live! this Monday.

Young Finn and his bandmates performed Greyhound and City Boy, two singles from their inaugural EP Scout, which bowed last month.

Strumming: The 15-year-old Stranger Things actor Finn Wolfhard and his rock band Calpurnia played a gig on Jimmy Kimmel Live! this Monday

Finn was on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, while his fellow vocalist Ayla Tesler-Mabe is also the lead guitarist of the group.

Jack Anderson on bass and Malcolm Craig on drums round out the band, who formed last year and are signed to Toronto-based Royal Mountain Records.

City Boy was the lead single for Scout and was released this March, while Greyhound came out in May 18 as the third single.

New work: Young Finn and his bandmates performed Greyhound and City Boy, two singles from their inaugural EP Scout, which bowed last month

Finn was on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, while his fellow vocalist Ayla Tesler-Mabe (right) is also the lead guitarist of the group

Group shot: Jack Anderson on bass and Malcolm Craig on drums round out the band, who formed last year and are signed to Toronto-based Royal Mountain Records

Sandwiched in between them was a second single called Louie, which bowed in April and was not part of their Kimmel set-list.

The full EP Scout contains three further tracks - Wasting Time, Blame and Waves.

Finn told NME in an interview last month: 'Most of the fans of Calpurnia are Stranger Things fans, which is not a big deal at all.'

Rollout: City Boy was the lead single for Scout and was released this March, while Greyhound came out in May 18 as the third single

Missing piece: Sandwiched in between them was a second single called Louie, which bowed in April and was not part of their Kimmel set-list

Six-song record: The full EP contains three further tracks - Wasting Time, Blame and Waves

He said: 'Theyre super loyal and incredible, and really do like the music. Its the people who arent fans of the music and are just there because of Stranger Things that really bother me.'

The Vancouver-born celeb reminisced: 'I remember going up on stage and plugging in [my guitar] to tune and hearing: "Wheres your girlfriend Eleven?"

Finn went on: 'I got one at Toronto and shut them down super hard - in a nice way. They said something like: "I love Stranger Things" and I was like: "Cool man, I also like music, which is whats happening right now."'

'Loyal and incredible': Finn told NME in an interview last month: 'Most of the fans of Calpurnia are Stranger Things fans, which is not a big deal at all'
She has admitted that she has been happier than ever since hitting the big 5-0.

And Kylie Minogue continued her youthful and radiant display as she enjoyed a sun-drenched getaway to Venice, Italy on Tuesday.

The Australian hitmaker, who is in a new romance with creative director of British GQ, Paul Solomons, looked undeniably chic in a pretty black dress and fedora hat.

Stunning: Kylie Minogue, 50, continued her youthful and radiant display as she enjoyed a sun-drenched getaway to Venice, Italy on Tuesday

Kylie proved to be having the time of her life as she headed to a restaurant via a water taxi.

The star clad her petite frame in a simple, yet elegant, black dress, which she teamed with a gold necklace to add to her decolletage.

Kylie opted for a glamorous slick of make-up and shielded herself from the rays with a pair of black tinted shades.

The Spinning Around songstress teamed her look with her chic beige-coloured fedora hat and toted her belongings in a chained handbag.

Looking good: The Australian hitmaker, who is in a new romance with creative director of British GQ, Paul Solomons, looked undeniably chic in a pretty black dress and fedora hat

Happy: Kylie proved to be having the time of her life as she headed to a restaurant via a water taxi

Chic: The star clad her petite frame in a simple, yet elegant, black dress, which she teamed with a gold necklace to add to her decolletage

Beauty: Kylie opted for a glamorous slick of make-up and shielded herself from the rays with a pair of black tinted shades

Sensational: The Spinning Around songstress teamed her look with her chic beige-coloured fedora hat and toted her belongings in a chained handbag

Clearly taken by her surroundings, Kylie couldn't contain her joy as she was spotted taking some pictures of her view.

Kylie's happiness may be the result of her blossoming romance with boyfriend Paul Solomons.

According to The Sun, Kylie and Paul have been together since February after a mutual friend set them up.

Kylie was previously left heartbroken after splitting with her ex-fiance Joshua Sasse, 30, in February 2017 after three years together.

Snap happy: Clearly taken by her surroundings, Kylie couldn't contain her joy as she was spotted taking some pictures of her view

Love life: Kylie's happiness may be the result of her blossoming romance with boyfriend Paul Solomons

Former flame: Kylie was previously left heartbroken after splitting with her ex-fiance Joshua Sasse, 30, in February 2017 after three years together

'I feel different being 50': In a televised interview reported by The Daily Telegraph, Kylie confirmed the last few months have been 'great' for her

At the time, unconfirmed reports claimed Kylie had kicked the English actor out of her London home after he 'grew close to' Spanish actress Marta Milans, 35

In a televised interview reported by The Daily Telegraph, Kylie confirmed the last few months have been 'great' for her.

'Life's not a little better, it's great!' she said. Kylie went on to explain that she feels more settled than ever before.

'I feel different being 50. I'm more content,' she said. 'Some things just start to make sense.'

Stepping out in style: Kylie was spotted dining in style at a hotel in Venice

Pals: Jack Savoretti, who performs Music's Too Sad Without You, with Kylie, was spotted dining with the group

Catching up: The pair were enjoying a catch up with pals in the beautiful city
She was only in New York for about 24 hours.

But Jessica Alba made every moment count on Tuesday, as she appeared on New York Live to discuss her company, her upcoming television show, and a new cause she is working with.

The 37-year-old actress put on a stylish display as she left NBC studios, donning a khaki jumpsuit.

Making it count: Jessica Alba made every moment count on Tuesday, as she appeared on New York Live to discuss her company, her new television show, and a new cause she is working with

The Dark Angel star looked like she just stepped off the runway as she came out of Rockefeller Center's revolving golden doors.

Featuring a plunging neckline that pulled the gaze downward, the garment was cinched across her waist highlighting her slender frame.

Cropped sleeves and legs helped bring a summer-y sense to the outfit, and she added a pair of red Aquatalia mules for a bit of flash and fun.

Her brunette and gold tresses were first pulled into a high knot, and then allowed to tumble across her shoulders.

She accessorized with a pair of gold hoop earrings and completed her look white with a Hamptons-esque white purse.

Summer style: The 37-year-old actress put on a stylish display as she left NBC studios, donning a khaki jumpsuit

Golden: The Dark Angel star looked like she just stepped off the runway as she came out of Rockefeller Center's revolving golden doors

She was in the Big Apple to appear on the NBC local morning show to discuss the relaunch of Honest Beauty, her new show L.A.'s Finest, and he partnership with Staples.

Jessica is co-starring and co-producing the series with Gabrielle Union, which is a spin-off of the George Gallo-created Bad Boys film series.

'We play detectives and are partners' she revealed about the upcoming show. 'She's single and I'm a mom, and am just trying to figure out how to do it all.'

Glowing: Featuring a plunging neckline that pulled the gaze downward, the garment was cinched across her waist highlighting her slender frame

All done: Her brunette and gold tresses were first pulled into a high knot, and then allowed to tumble across her shoulders

Jessica went on to talk about some of her recent charitable contributions.

While discussing her work with Staples, she brought to light the school and office supply corporation's partnership with DonorsChoose.org, and how shoppers can choose to donate to local schools while shopping in store, and Staples will match any donation.

She also revealed that the company are going to be giving out a $50,000 scholarship, as well as four more $25,000 scholarships.
Kylie Jenner was footloose and fancy free on her trip to Paris over the weekend after opting to leave her daughter at home.

The 20-year-old traveled to France to join her boyfriend Travis Scott, who played Lollapalooza in the capital on Saturday.

'She left Stormi at home with a nanny and Kris,' a source told PEOPLE.

Kylie initially refused to have a nanny after giving birth, but it was only a matter of weeks before she recruited a team to help her care for her first child.

Jet set: Kylie Jenner, pictured here in Paris over the weekend, left her daughter with a nanny in LA while she traveled to France to visit her boyfriend

Flying solo: Stormi Webster wasn't able to watch her dad perform in Paris on the weekend, as mom Kylie Jenner opted to leave the baby at home. Seen here in May

According to the publication, she considered this trip 'too short and too far [away] for her to come'.

The makeup mogul and the Butterfly Effect rapper jetted off to Lisbon, Portugal, together on Friday before carrying on to Paris the following day for a romantic weekend away.

Thinner: Jenner was just 16 when she started using lip fillers, but ditched them after welcoming her daughter Stormi five months ago

Travis was performing at the Super Bock Super Rock music festival in the Portuguese capital - which the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star also attended - and then took to the stage in the French city on Saturday as part of Lollapalooza Paris 2018.

Kylie has recently abandoned lip fillers.

Jenner was just 16 when she started using the cosmetic enhancements, but ditched them after welcoming her daughter Stormi five months ago.

And having stopped the injections to enhance her naturally slim lips, Kylie is instead clearly making use of her make-up skills.

Ready to perform: Travis Scott played Lollapalooza in Paris on Saturday. Seen here just before the concert

She has plenty of supplies to help.

The Kylie Cosmetics boss's lipkits were a sensation from the moment they launched, regularly selling out within minutes.

And thanks to the huge success of her line, she is already worth $900 million, according to Forbes magazine.

Kylie - who launched her own cosmetics brand three years ago - is on track to become 'the youngest-ever self-made billionaire', according to Forbes.

Tummy time! In a video posted to Kylie's Snapchat account her daughter takes her first steps towards crawling
Prepare to be amazed by Shin Lim as he makes his Americas Got Talent debut.

The magician is a finalist on season 13. He was advanced after wowing Tyra Banks and Heidi Klum with his smoke card vanishing act during the last semi-final round.

Shin Lim has been buzzed about since before America's Got Talent Season 13 even premiere, though. He appeared in a leaked clip, inviting guest judge Olivia Munn to join him on stage for a trick.

He took out his cards and got to work dazzling the judges with his quick hands as he changed them around.

The America's Got Talent Season 13 judges will be wowed by sleight of hand artist, Shin Lim during Tuesday's Judges Cuts episode

Unfortunately the leaked footage doesnt reveal Shins fate. Still, fans are hopeful hell be crowned the winner when all is said and done. .

You can get your fill of Shin Lim and his tricks whenever youd like, though. Heres what you need to know about him and where you can watch him in action.

Who is Shin Lim?

Shin Lim is a young magician, known for his fast-paced card tricks. He prefers to be called a sleight of hand artist, according to his website.

Hes in his mid-20s and was born in Canada but raised in Singapore.

According to his website: Lim admits that he is actually NOT a magician, nor a wizard, and has NO intention of LYING to the audience.

He performs carefully SELF-CHOREOGRAPHED routines rather than pretending to defy the laws of Physics.

Shin has won an FISM World Champion of Card Magic award.

Hes self-taught in his craft, which makes him that much more interesting to watch. He used YouTube tutorials and a deck of playing cards to practice.

Shin Lim Instagram

Shin Lims Instagram is full of sleight of hand tricks involving cards and coins. He often redirects viewers to his YouTube page where he posts tutorials for other aspiring tricksters.

Shin has teased his appearance on Americas Got Talent Season 13 several times. He posted a photo of himself standing before a neon sign bearing the shows name as well as clips from his first audition and his Judges Cuts tricks.

See Shin Lim live

If you visit Shin Lims website you can book him for company events or parties. All you have to do is fill out the booking details on his website.

Pricing information isnt readily available on the site. You will, however, have to provide a link to the corporate or educational institution you work for when booking Shin.

Shin Lim America's Got Talent

In a preview for an August episode of America's Got Talent, Shin Lim called Olivia Munn up to the stage to help him with a few tricks. He quickly broke out his deck of cards and got to work transforming the card faces, making cards disappear and more.

His routine elicited an audible 'wow' from more than one judge on the panel and that's just a portion of the tricks he's got up his sleeve.

Check it out below.

What night is Americas Got Talent on?

Americas Got Talent is on every Tuesday.

Americas Got Talent time

New episodes of Americas Got Talent begin at 8pm ET.

What channel is Americas Got Talent on?

Americas Got Talent airs on NBC.
Whether you see it as a blue wave or just as an ordinary cyclical anti-red wave, it looks like the current anti-Trump environment is going to lead to more Democratic governors after the midterms. Before we get into that, though, let me just mention that today is Republican primary runoff day in Georgia. Peach State Republicans are deciding which of their weak, battered candidates-- Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle or Secretary of State Brian Kemp-- will face off in November against Stacey Abrams. After Trump tweeted an endorsement of Kemp, the more extremist of the two Republicans, Mike Pence joined him on the campaign trail again, this time in Macon over the weekend.





The three Republican candidates who did not advance from the May 22 primary-- Hunter Hill, Clay Tippins, and Michael Williams-- have all endorsed Kemp. Most polls showed a neck and neck race until the Trump July 18 tweet, but the latest poll from SurveyUSA shows Kemp at 40% to Cagle at 34% . A Garin Hart Young poll shows Abrams beating Cagle 48-43% and beating Kemp49-40%.





Atlanta Magazine noted that Although not dubbing them "frick and frack,"Magazine noted that voters barely see any difference between Cagle and Kemp. "[B]oth are Christian businessmen who claim to be unwavering in their pro-life beliefs and fancy themselves staunch defenders of the Second Amendment. They have both vocally praised President Donald Trump on social media and in speeches during their campaigns. (Although neither endorsed him in the 2016 primary, they did both support him in the general election)."

Republicans and Democrats alike have criticized Cagle during this campaign in light of several incriminating audio recordings leaked by Clay Tippins, his rival in the GOP primary, and later Brian Kemp. Kemp released one tape earlier this month in which Cagle said, This primary felt like it was who had the biggest gun, who had the biggest truck, and who could be the craziest.

New York Times Yesterday, the reported that "A polarizing president electrifies the opposition party going into his first midterm election, raising the partys hopes that it can reclaim governorships, ram through major policy change at the state level and redraw legislative lines in its favor for a decade to come. Its a scenario both political parties have seen before, most recently in 2010, when out-of-power Republicans rode the Tea Party-led wave against the Obama administration to smashing victories across the country. This year, governors in both parties acknowledged at the National Governors Association conference here, it is Democrats who appear poised to make major gains as Republicans brace for a backlash against President Trump that could lead to grievous statehouse losses." The last time a Democrat was elected governor of Georgia was 1998 (Roy Barnes). The last an African-American was elected governor of Georgia was... never. The last time a woman was elected governor of Georgia was also never. Remember, Stacey Abrams already won her primary-- landslide-- and whichever Republican wins today will be the person Stacey has to beat in November. If you want to help... that's what the gubernatorial thermometer on the right is for.





There are 36 gubernatorial races in November, 26 held by Republicans, 9 held by Democrats and 1, Alaska, held by an independent. We've rated each race:
Hulu teased a new series on Monday starring Sean Penn, Natascha McElhone, and Melissa George.

The First, set to premiere on September 14, follows NASA's efforts to send the first manned mission to Mars.

Penn, 57, plays Tom Hagertyan astronaut eager to make his mark on history.

Coming soon: Hulu teased new series The First starring Sean Penn on Monday. The show follows NASA's efforts to send the first manned mission to Mars

The teaser opens with footage of Sean Penn staring at the stars.

'Aurora, at that altitude you can touch it,' Penn can be heard saying as the camera shifts to an image of the Northern Lights. 'Every color. Colors you've never seen before. Lights moving all around you. The universe and it's right there.'

Penn is then seen running shirtless as he quotes astronomer Carl Sagan.

'I always think of Sagan's words: every human being that ever was lived out their lives on a mound of dust suspended in a sunbeam.'

Up in space: The teaser opens with footage of Sean Penn starring at the stars. The 57-year-old actor plays Tom Hagertyan astronaut eager to make his mark

'Aurora, at that altitude you can touch it,' Penn can be heard saying as the camera shifts to an image of the Northern Lights. 'Every color. Colors you've never seen before. Lights moving all around you. The universe and it's right there'

Training day: Penn is then seen running shirtless as he quotes astronomer Carl Sagan. 'I always think of Sagan's words: every human being that ever was lived out their lives on a mound of dust suspended in a sunbeam'

Body prep: Sean is also seen swimming through a pool with a 10-pound weight

The trailer comes to a close as a rocket blasts off into space with Sean's character on-board.

'Anytime people venture into the unknown there is a cost,' Natasha McElhone, who plays the mission's coordinator, can be heard saying.

The series also stars Melissa George, who was cast as Penn's wife.

Uniform: Penn suits up in his astronaut gear

3,2,1 liftoff: The trailer comes to a close as a rocket blasts off into space with Sean's character on-board

'Anytime people venture into the unknown there is a cost,' actress Natasha McElhone, who plays the mission's coordinator, can be heard saying

The First was created by Beau Willimonthe lead writer for Netflix's House Of Cards.

'I have such deep admiration for Sean's immense talent and extraordinary body of work,' Willimon said in a statement ahead of production. 'I feel very lucky to be collaborating with an artist of his caliber.'

Supporting role: The series also stars Melissa George, who was cast as Penn's wife
Made In Chelsea'a Louise Thompson has been rapped by Instagram officials for a post promoting a wristwatch as she posed in swimsuit sipping from a coconut at a luxury resort in April.

The 28-year-old reality star, who has featured on the series since its first season in 2011, posted a photo taking a dip at the 600-a-night Two Seasons Coron Island Resort & Spa in the Philippines on April 22 this year.

She was also wearing a 109 wristwatch made by watchmakers Daniel Wellington.

Faux pas: Made In Chelsea'a Louise Thompson has been rapped by Instagram officials for a post promoting a wristwatch as she posed in swimsuit sipping from a coconut at a luxury resort in April

Her Instagram post was captioned: 'Sippin on yummy coconuts 3x size of my skull! Wearing my @danielwellington classic petite Melrose 28mm watch and matching cuff* you can get 15% off using the code LOUISE.'

This evidently enraged one member of the public, who complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that the post was not obviously identifiable as a marketing communication.

Bosses at the ASA agreed and banned the ad - saying it should have been made clear that the Instagram post was a marketing communication.

The reality TV star - who has been known to advertise everything from hair products to fitness equipment to do-it-yourself blood tests - said that the correct hashtag had not been put on her Instagram posting, but that it had since been amended and now read paid partnership with danielwellington.

Pay-per-post: The reality TV star has been known to advertise everything from hair products to fitness equipment to do-it-yourself blood tests

Against the rules? Bosses at Daniel Wellington said it had a written contract with Louise Thompson which meant that any of her postings promoting the firm should have #sponsored or #ad on them

Bosses at Daniel Wellington said it had a written contract with Louise Thompson which meant that any of her postings promoting the firm should have #sponsored or #ad on them.

It said that all of its ambassadors who marketed the brand should comply with applicable rules regarding marketing and that they should take responsibility for designing their social media posts as they had agreed to.

Bosses at the ASA said: 'Marketing communications must be obviously identifiable as such, and that they must make clear their commercial intent if that was not obvious from the context.

'The ASA noted that there was a commercial relationship between Daniel Wellington and Louise Thompson which involved a written contractual agreement, whereby Louise Thompson agreed to promote Daniel Wellington products by posting on her Instagram account and was paid in return.

#ads for abs: Louise said that the correct hashtag had not been put on her Instagram posting, but that it had since been amended and now read paid partnership with danielwellington

'In conjunction with the payment arrangement between the two parties, we considered that the various aspects of the agreement between Daniel Wellington and Louise Thompson which set out the time period of posts, restrictions about other brands that could be posted about and the personalised discount code, meant that Daniel Wellington had sufficient control over the content for the post to be considered a marketing communication.

'Therefore, the post fell within the remit of the CAP Code. We considered that they were therefore jointly responsible for ensuring that promotional activity conducted by Louise Thompson on Daniel Wellingtons behalf was compliant with the CAP Code.

'We understood that Daniel Wellington had stipulated hashtags to be used on the captions of the post such as #sponsored or #ad. However, we noted that they were not included in the post at the time the ad was seen.

The rules: Bosses at the ASA said 'Marketing communications must be obviously identifiable as such, and that they must make clear their commercial intent if that was not obvious from the context'

Influencer: The 28-year-old reality star posted a photo taking a dip at the 600-a-night Two Seasons Coron Island Resort & Spa in the Philippines on April 22 this year

'The post included the handle @danielwellington and a personalised discount code LOUISE for followers to get 15% off Daniel Wellington products.

'While the post differed in some respects from her usual posts and contained some elements that indicated there might be a commercial relationship between Louise Thompson and Daniel Wellington, we considered that the content and context of the post did not make clear that it was advertising, as opposed to, for example, genuinely independent editorial content.

'Therefore, in the absence of a clear identifier, such as #ad, we concluded that the post was not obviously identifiable as a marketing communication and that it breached the Code.

'We told Louise Thompson and Daniel Wellington AB to ensure that in future their ads were obviously identifiable as marketing communications, for example, by including a clear and prominent identifier such as #ad.'
Her beloved pet pooch is never too far from her side.

And Paris Jackson enjoyed the company of her dog Koa to dine al fresco in Los Angeles on Monday evening.

The 20-year-old model showed off her normally bohemian aesthetic complete with a head scarf and flowing skirt as she sat outside at a table for two.

Casual: Paris Jackson enjoyed the company of her dog Koa to dine al fresco in Los Angeles on Monday evening

Paris looked completely at ease rocking a mustard yellow tank top and flowing patchwork skirt for the night out with her 'best friend.'

She added more texture to her already unique ensemble with a bright red scarf wrapped around her neck and an olive green sweater wrapped around her hips.

The daughter of Michael Jackson fastened a brown patterned scarf across her head with pieces of her blonde hair flowing past her shoulders.

Comfortable: The 20-year-old model showed off her normally bohemian aesthetic complete with a head scarf and flowing skirt as she sat outside at a table for two

Multiple sparkling necklaces were draped around her neck and Jackson seemed to be relatively makeup-free for her date night.

She took to Instagram to gush about her favorite partner in crime, with pictures of Koa perched on a chair across the table.

'date night with my best friend, love of my life, and the most beautiful girl in the whole wide world,' she wrote.

Layers: Multiple sparkling necklaces were draped around her neck and Jackson seemed to be relatively makeup-free for her date night

Jackson regularly shares updates about her best buddy to her nearly 3.2million followers, recently writing 'love of my existence' on an adorable photo of the pup relaxing in a grassy field.

Paris recently took a leap into acting, playing the role Nelly in the dark Charlize Theron/ David Oyelowo comedy Gringo.

She also just released an ad campaign for the RE/DONE + Weejuns shoe collaboration collection.

Earlier this year, romance rumors began to swirl when Paris was spotted kissing supermodel Cara Delevingne.

Paris and her famous family have received praise and backlash through decades in the spotlight. Her father, Michael Jackson, died of cardiac arrest on June 25, 2009.
She has locked horns with the likes of Henry Cavill, Kim Kardashian and Azealia Banks in recent months.

But Jameela Jamil looked to be in great spirits as she cosied up with her co-star Ted Danson, 70, at The Good Place press conference at Comic Con in San Diego on Tuesday.

The British TV presenter, 32, lived up to her fashionista status in a sensational strapless polka dot gown which showcased her decolletage.

Stylish: Jameela Jamil, 32, looked to be in great spirits as she cosied up with her co-star Ted Danson at The Good Place press conference at Comic Con in San Diego on Tuesday

Jameela looked absolutely incredible in the flirty navy number which served to accentuate her figure.

The dress boasted a daringly low-cut neckline before flaring out over her hips and ending at a stylish midi-length level.

Jameela boosted her height in a pair of black wedge heels as she joined her co-stars at the fun-filled event.

With her fringed raven tresses styled in effortless waves, Jameela looked every inch the beauty as she sported a glamorous coat of make-up along with a statement red lip.

Summer chic: The British TV presenter, 32, lived up to her fashionista status in a sensational strapless polka dot gown which showcased her decolletage

Looking good: The dress boasted a daringly low-cut neckline before flaring out over her hips and ending at a stylish midi-length level

Standing tall: Jameela boosted her height in a pair of black wedge heels as she joined her co-stars at the fun-filled event

Mane attraction: With her fringed raven tresses styled in effortless waves, Jameela looked every inch the beauty

Jameela, who plays the role of Tahani Al-Jamil in the show, was joined by her co-star Ted, who put on a suave display.

Her happy and relaxed sighting comes after she slammed actor Henry Cavill after he made controversial comments regarding his reluctance to flirt in light of the #MeToo movement.

The Superman actor, 35, issued a recent public apology, after receiving much backlash for his comments to GQ Australia, telling the magazine that he doesn't want to be 'called a rapist or something' by a woman he'd potentially flirt with.

But later that day, Jameela took to Twitter to chime in on the matter, dubbing her fellow Brit a 'clown' before declaring that he should be 'binned'.

Impact: She sported a glamorous coat of make-up along with a statement red lip

Sweet treat: During her break, Jameel indulged in some yummy looking cupcakes

Line-up: Jameela, who plays the role of Tahani Al-Jamil in the show, was joined by her co-star Ted, who put on a suave display, as well as Kristen Bell

L-R: Marc Evan Jackson, William Jackson Harper, D'Arcy Carden, Kristen Bell, Ted Danson, Jameela Jamil, Manny Jacinto, Michael Schur, Drew Goddard, and Morgan Sackett

'If you don't want to be called a rapist, then when you approach a woman... just don't rape her... Someone please direct Henry Cavill to the nearest bin please #clown

Sharing screengrabs of the interview, the London-born beauty wrote: 'If you don't want to be called a rapist, then when you approach a woman... just don't rape her... Someone please direct Henry Cavill to the nearest bin please #clown.'

Henry previously said he believes in an old fashioned manner of dating women, wanting to 'woo and chase them' to win their hearts, but added he worries his actions could be misconstrued in light of the movement shining a light on sexual abuse and harassment in the industry.

Slammed: Her happy and relaxed sighting comes after she slammed actor Henry Cavill after he made controversial comments regarding his reluctance to flirt in light of the #MeToo movement

Damning words: The actress took to Twitter to chime in on the matter, dubbing her fellow Brit a 'clown' before declaring that he should be 'binned'

Apology: Henry apologised for controversial comments he made about dating in the wake of the #MeToo movement in an interview with GQ Australia

In a statement to the Press Association, the Mission Impossible actor said: 'Having seen the reaction to an article in particular about my feelings on dating and the #MeToo movement, I just wanted to apologize for any confusion and misunderstanding that this may have created.

'Insensitivity was absolutely not my intention. In light of this I would just like to clarify and confirm to all that I have always and will continue to hold women in the highest of regard, no matter the type of relationship whether it be friendship, professional, or a significant other.

'Never would I intend to disrespect in any way, shape or form. This experience has taught me a valuable lesson as to the context and the nuance of editorial liberties.

Rise to fame: The hunk broke into the mainstream with his performance in 2013's Man of Steel

Chase: The star said, 'It's very difficult [to chase women]... Because then it's like, "Well, I don't want to go up and talk to her, because I'm going to be called a rapist or something"

'I look forward to clarifying my position in the future towards a subject that it so vitally important and in which I wholeheartedly support.'

Henry became a single man in February after splitting from his stuntwoman girlfriend Lucy Cork after less than a year together.

In his original interview he said: 'There's something wonderful about a man chasing a woman. There's a traditional approach to that, which is nice. I think a woman should be wooed and chased, but maybe I'm old-fashioned for thinking that,' he told GQ Australia this month.

Old-fashioned: 'There's something wonderful about a man chasing a woman, he said in the interview. 'There's a traditional approach to that, which is nice'

He's single! Henry smouldered in an photo shoot accompanying his GQ Australia interview

The Man Of Steel star added: 'It's very difficult to do that if there are certain rules in place. Because then it's like, "Well, I don't want to go up and talk to her, because I'm going to be called a rapist or something."

'So you're like, "Forget it, I'm going to call an ex-girlfriend instead, and then just go back to a relationship, which never really worked."

'But it's way safer than casting myself into the fires of hell, because I'm someone in the public eye, and if I go and flirt with someone, then who knows what's going to happen?'

Henry also admitted that he has worked with people in the past who have acted somewhat 'over familiar' with certain actresses.

He explained that in these situations, he would always approach the women and ask whether they were okay.
John Krasinski can recall the exact date his agent informed him he had lost the role of Captain America to Chris Evans.

That's because it occurred on his wife Emily Blunt's 27th birthday on February 23, 2010, a few short months before their Como wedding.

'My agent called and said: "Theyre going to go with Chris Evans." And I remember I said: "Yeah, look at him. Hes Captain America,"' John, 38, told Variety.

Looking back: John Krasinski (left) can recall the exact date his agent informed him he had lost the role of Captain America to Chris Evans (right)

Emily floated the idea of scrapping the birthday dinner on account of the news, but 'I said: "Its Chris Evans. Of course were going to dinner."'

John, who directed himself and Emily in this year's horror smash A Quiet Place, shot a supermodel smoldering stare from the cover of the new Variety.

Captain America: The First Avenger welcomed Chris into the role and was released in 2011, since when there have been two sequels.

Those do not include Chris' star turns in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's crossover films, most recently this year's Avengers: Infinity War.

Heartthrob: John, who directed himself and Emily in this year's horror smash A Quiet Place, shot a supermodel smoldering stare from the cover of Variety, where he told the story

Power couple: He found out that he lost the role to Chris on his wife Emily Blunt's 27th birthday on February 23, 2010, a few short months before their Como wedding

Emily herself reportedly declined a part in Captain America: The First Avenger - that of Peggy Carter, eventually played by Hayley Atwell.

She is also have said to have been in the running to feature in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Black Widow, now a plum gig for Scarlett Johansson.

'Usually the female parts in a superhero film feel thankless: She's the pill girlfriend while the guys are whizzing around saving the world,' Emily told Vulture in 2012.

'I didn't do the other ones because the part wasn't very good or the timing wasn't right, but I'm open to any kind of genre if the part is great and fun and different and a challenge in some way. I would love to do a comic-book movie or a science-fiction film that would scare the bejesus out of me. Maybe I need to be James Bond!'

What could have been: Emily herself reportedly declined a part in Captain America: The First Avenger - Peggy Carter, eventually played by Hayley Atwell

Before Chris got Captain America, one of the other actors considered for the role was Ryan Phillippe, who has also spoken in public about losing the gig.

In an interview The Advocate published in May of 2010, he described Captain America as 'something I wouldve loved to do, especially for my 6-year-old son, who wouldve thought it was the coolest thing in the world.'

He went on: 'The child within me really loved the idea of it too. There are very few things Id get that excited about, but as an actor you have to move on.'

Ryan added for good measure: 'At some point Id love to do something action-oriented like that because Ive been in martial arts since I was eight.'
Demi Lovato was rushed to the hospital after suffering a suspected drug overdose Tuesday.

Just before her hospitalization, the 25-year-old Disney alumnus was filmed Sunday during a foreboding moment on stage at the California Mid-State Fair in Paso Robles.

During what was Lovato's last performance before being hospitalised, she struggled to remember the words to her song Sober, a tune that she wrote after admitting her recent relapse from sobriety.

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Forgetful: Demi Lovato fumbled over the lyrics to her song Sober Sunday at the California Mid State Fair Sunday, above, just days before she suffered a suspected drug overdose on Tuesday

The newly blonde star started singing the piano backed tune before stepping away from the microphone, seemingly speechless.

Fans scream with support, unsure if Demi had forgotten her lyrics or was simply overwhelmed with emotions.

The star is said to be 'stable' after she was found unconscious by first responders, who revived Demi with a dose of Narcan, first reported by TMZ.

The drug blocks the effects of opioids and is able to reverse some key overdose symptoms.

Wordless: The newly blonde star started singing the piano backed tune before stepping away from the microphone, seemingly speechless

TMZ later reported on Tuesday that Demi's friends have denied it was a heroin overdose.

It's being claimed that the singer refused to cooperate with the EMT and wouldn't reveal which drug she allegedly taken.

The site reported that before her overdose Demi was 'out Monday night celebrating a friend's birthday in West Hollywood' where she shared happy photos on her private Instagram.

Prior to her recent struggles the star was extremely open about her past drug use but said she had be sober from alcohol, cocaine and Oxycontin for six years.

Lovato got candid about her drug struggles in the YouTube documentary Simply Complicated, which was released last year.

Clean: Prior to her recent struggles the star was extremely open about her past drug use but said she had be sober from alcohol, cocaine and Oxycontin for six years

In that documentary Lovato said that tried cocaine at 17, right around the time she was shooting to fame on the Disney show Sonny With A Chance.

'I loved it. I felt out of control with the coke the first time that I did it,' explained Lovato.

The star was supposed to embark on a tour soon, set to perform in Atlantic City Thursday. The date is yet to be officially cancelled.
Shark Tank entrepreneur Steve Baxter has never been one to hold back when it comes to voicing his opinions on the popular Channel Ten show.

And this week, the 47-year-old surprised viewers by opening up about another aspect of his life.

Speaking to Mick Ryan, who was pitching his generator business idea, Steve revealed that he is a 'Doomsday Prepper' in his spare time.

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'One of my hobbies is planning for an apocalypse': Shark Tank's Steve Baxter (pictured) admitted on Tuesday's episode he's a Doomsday Prepper after a budding entrepreneur pitched his generator business idea

'One of my hobbies is planning for an apocalypse, so I look at generators quite a bit. This is quite expensive for a generator.' Steve told the budding entrepreneur as he questioned the price of his product.

Fellow Shark Janine Allis laughed in response, confirming Steve wasn't making up his claims of being well-prepared for an apocalypse.

'That's true - that is one of his hobbies!' the Boost Juice founder chuckled.

'That's true - that is one of his hobbies!' Laughing in response, fellow Shark, Janine Allis (pictured) confirmed that Steve does indeed prepare for the worst in his spare time

Mick, who currently sells his generators for $1,899 dollars each, was after a $2.5 million investment for a 50% stake in his business Mickey Blue Australia.

During the episode, he left judges - which also included Naomi Simson, Andrew Banks and Dr Glen Richards - gobsmacked when he promised huge profits.

'I want to promise you, I will be the next entrepreneur to make you a billion dollars,' Mick told the Sharks.

Asking for the big bucks! Mick, who currently sells his generators for $1,899 dollars each, was after a $2.5 million investment for a 50% stake in his business Mickey Blue Australia

And his passion for the project was evident, with Mick admitting that he'd been trying to get on the show for years and he hadn't slept for three nights in the lead up to the pitch.

But despite Steve's interest in generators and Mick's audacious claims about bringing in the big bucks, the small business owner fell short when the Sharks passed on his offer.

After he walked away empty-handed, judge Naomi admitted she felt sorry for him, confessing she could tell he wasn't on his game because he seemed tired during the proposal.
She regularly hits the showbiz nightlight scene, turning heads in her skimpy ensembles.

And Charlotte Dawson made sure all eyes were on her as she headed to the Impossible bar in Manchester on Tuesday.

The reality starlet, 25, put on a leggy display in a tiny yellow palm tree print dress as she celebrated the launch of her FredaFunk clothing collection with Love Island star Georgia Harrison, 23.

Turning heads: Charlotte Dawson made sure all eyes were on her as she headed to the Impossible bar in Manchester on Tuesday

Charlotte looked effortlessly summery in the thigh-grazing dress which teased a glimpse of her ample cleavage with its sweeping neckline.

Shrugging a matching yellow denim jacket over her shoulders, the former Ex On The Beach star added a boost to her leggy frame with a pair of nude peep-toe Louboutin heels.

Charlotte kept up with her usual glamorous appearance, wearing her brunette locks in Hollywood curls while sporting a heavily bronzed make-up look.

BFF's: The reality starlet, 25, put on a leggy display in a tiny yellow palm tree print dress as she celebrated the launch of her clothing collection with Love Island star Georgia Harrison, 23

Gorgeous: Charlotte looked effortlessly summery in the thigh-grazing dress which teased a glimpse of her ample cleavage with its sweeping neckline

Georgia too opted for full-on glam as the pair arrived to the bash hand-in-hand.

The Love Island alumni, who starred on last year's series, flaunted her enviably toned stomach in a bardot blush pink crop top.

She contrasted her dramatic smoky eye and contour with ripped denim jeans and brown Chelsea boots.

Full-on glam: Georgia, who starred on last year's series, flaunted her enviably toned stomach in a bardot blush pink crop top and ripped denim jeans

The duo put on an animated display as they toasted her success on the fashion label, with female pal, Abby Benson.

There was no sign of Charlotte's boyfriend Matt Sarsfield at the bash, which seemed to be a strictly girls' night out for the brunette bombshell.

Charlotte reunited with Matt in October after spending eight months apart, during which time she starred on Celebs Go Dating.

On the show, she struck up a romance with shamed X Factor star Frankie Cocozza yet their relationship was short-lived as it soon fizzled out.

Charlotte burst on to screens when she entered Ex On The Beach's all-star fifth season as the ex-flame of Gary 'Gaz' Beadle of Geordie Shore fame.
She quit her $5,000-a-night escorting career after falling in love with Channel Seven newsreader Ryan Phelan last year.

And heartbroken Samantha X, 44, has revealed that her confidence was 'utterly shattered' when they parted ways in January after three months together.

'When my relationship with Ryan ended abruptly, I completely lost my direction,' she told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday.

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EXCLUSIVE: 'My confidence was utterly shattered': Heartbroken Samantha X, 44, has revealed she was supported by 'friends and old clients' after her 'abrupt' split with Ryan Phelan... as she returns to escorting following her brief 'retirement'

Samantha, whose real name is Amanda Goff, added: 'I stopped writing, I lost my drive and passion and my confidence was utterly shattered.

'But fortunately, I have wonderful friends who rallied round me and my old clients were on the phone asking if I needed anything.'

She explained that she pored over the pages of her own books - Hooked and its sequel Back on Top - to rebuild her self-esteem.

'I receive emails from women daily on how they got so much power and courage from my books that they have taken into their own lives, and the emails kept coming after my split [with Ryan],' Samantha said.

It's over: 'When my relationship with Ryan ended abruptly, I completely lost my direction,' Samantha told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday. Pictured: Samantha and Ryan last year

'It took for me to re-read my own books to find that power again.'

The former journalist added that she didn't regret her relationship with Ryan, however, and was open to finding love again.

'I have zero regrets about giving up for love and if someone else came into my life, I would do it all again - just not as quickly,' she said.

Samantha's decision to hang up her heels came after she fell for now ex-boyfriend Ryan.

Samantha and Ryan first confirmed their relationship last October, with the blonde bombshell sharing several photos from their European getaway.

Lost herself: Samantha, whose real name is Amanda Goff, confessed she 'stopped writing' and 'lost [her] drive and passion' following her split with Ryan

Silver lining: Samantha added, 'I have wonderful friends who rallied round me [following the split with Ryan] and my old clients were on the phone asking if I needed anything'

She then announced that October 24 was 'the end' of her escorting days.

Sharing a page from her diary on Instagram, she wrote: 'There it is in black and white, folks. October 24th: hanging up the heels day. New life awaits.'

Writing what she believed to be true at the time, she explained: 'This isn't a "I'm taking a break but I'll be back" blog  this is it. The end of escorting for me, but the beginning of something even more wonderful.'

Despite her declaration, the mother-of-two announced her return to escorting this week, claiming that the other parents at school supported her decision.

'It was the strength from other women - from school mums to other escorts - who helped me feel at peace in bringing Samantha back minus any shame and fear of judgement,' she said.

Former flames: Samantha quit her $5,000-per-night escorting career after falling in love with Channel Seven newsreader Ryan (right). They announced their romance in October but parted ways just three months later

'Time to slip into my high heels, slick on some lip gloss, and bring back Samantha. Since announcing my return, my inbox has been flooded with support from men and women - mostly women.

'I've made peace with who I am now. I love being Samantha, I love escorting, I love everything about it. I love the companionship, the excitement, the elements of a relationship without the headache.

'Some people say you can't do this job forever - but why the hell not? I've always said I'd rather wear lace gloves than oven gloves.'

Never say never! In October, Samantha X shared this photo to Instagram announcing she was retiring from sex work. At the time, her relationship with Ryan was becoming more serious

Samantha also told Daily Mail Australia that her alter ego was partly inspired by Sex and the City's Samantha Jones (played by Kim Cattrall).

'I created Samantha based on Madeline West's escort character Mel from the TV series Satisfaction and Samantha Jones from SATC - both were empowered, confident, strong and owned their sexuality,' she explained.

'I admired that female fierceness. My own version of Samantha gave me confidence and strength. And I always say Samantha is far more exciting than the real me.

'So when I gave up my alter ego Samantha, I lost a bit of myself too.'

Girl power! Despite her declaration, the mother-of-two announced her return to escorting this week, claiming that event fellow school mums supported her decision

Samantha added that her brief foray into the dating word after her 'retirement' left her thoroughly underwhelmed.

'I was asked out by a very handsome young man recently and when I politely told him I wasn't in the headspace for dating, he said "Oh I just want to have sex with you. I have just broken up with my girlfriend and just want sex",' she recalled.

'He had no idea I was in the adult industry. I thought, "Is this what dating is like now?" I was so incensed, I nearly told him my hourly rates.'

Icon: Samantha also told Daily Mail Australia this week that her alter-ego was partly inspired by Sex and the City's Samantha Jones (played by Kim Cattrall)

Samantha reasoned that going back to sex work represented her taking control of her own life and not waiting for someone 'on a white horse to rescue her'.

'Life is flexible, what you think your life was going to be can change in a flash and you just have got to keep going,' she said.

'No one is going to come galloping by on a white horse to rescue you - you need to do what makes you happy.'

During a 2014 interview on Sunday Night, Samantha X explained how boredom at work led to her transition from a divorced mother to a highly-paid escort.

Her journey began in 2012, when she visited a Sydney bordello on her lunch break from work as a magazine editor. Just two days later she was having sex for money.

Before becoming an escort, Samantha worked extensively in the media at publications such as New Idea, Prevention and InStyle.
A federal Labor MP has defended his colleague Emma Husar over allegations she used staff to mind her children, saying it's a "small price to pay" for boosting female representation in parliament.

Mike Kelly said he had no problem with Ms Husar using staff with taxpayer-funded salaries to help the single mother-of-three juggle life as a federal politician.

"It's a small price to pay for having a truly representative democracy and facilitating the ability of women to participate in our parliament," Mr Kelly told Sky News on Tuesday.

Ms Husar, who won the western Sydney seat of Lindsay for Labor in 2016, is facing an internal investigation into allegations of workplace bullying and harassment of staff.

Aside from using staff for child care, she is also accused of using people employed by her office to walk and clean up after her dog.

But Mr Kelly said Ms Husar had been up front with people about the help she needs to do her job.

"You've got a hard-working young woman here, a single mother with three kids, having to juggle a very tough electorate in Lindsay with a lot of diverse issues and then of course do the commute to Canberra," he said.

Mr Kelly said it was better for the proceedings of parliament if children weren't brought into the chamber, if it could be helped.
Chile is moving on from its reputation for producing quality but safe wines as a new generation exploits modern techniques and diverse terroir, finds Christian Davis

__________________________________________

THE FAMOUS QUOTE from master of wine Tim Atkin, that Chilean wine was like Volvos  reliable, safe, but boring, is correct on two fronts. But, crucially, not on the one that counts for the discerning, adventurous wine drinker.

Chile still produces great quality entry-level wines that are soft, fruity, easy to drink and represent excellent value for money. But boring? No.

Years ago, apart from maybe Apalta, nearly all the vineyards were on the flat central valley, producing ripe Merlots (with a bit of Carmenere mixed in), Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay  all the big guns in terms of global vol-ume varieties.

Now there are vineyards all over the place: where there is an incline, some altitude, half decent soils and, of course these days, a reliable source of water. The likes of Elqui Valley in the high north and Bio-Bio in the luxuriant south are teeming with viticulturists, winemakers and commercial estate agents trying to sell land for cultivation. There are even some trellises in the Atacama Desert.

Unabashed Chile lover Miguel Torres Maczassek  fifth generation and general manager of Spains largest wine maker, Familia Torres  says: I think Chile today has two quite different messages.

In the past decades Chile built up its first USP, namely that it was  and still is  very successful at making very good value wines. But during the past 10 years Chile has started to show a more exciting side  its amazing regional diversity with impressive treasures of different and rare wines.

Take, for example, the Maule valley and Cauquenes where you have fantastic wines made from old Carignan vines showing an incredible acidity. Or the coastal Pinot Noirs, Syrahs and Sauvignon Blancs from fantastic granite and slate soils.

Or, the wines from the historic Itata Valley, where viticulture initially started in Chile about 500 years ago and where you can go back to the origins and find ancient grape varieties such as Pais, Cinsault or Moscatel.

I love Itata, says Torres, and I see a lot of potential. There you can see the viticulture of the Old World but in the New World. Most of the vineyards are small and owned by families, not all of them have the resources to produce and bottle the wines, but I believe we are going to see great wines from Itata.

Concha y Toro is Chile and South Americas largest wine producer. Corporate export director Cristian Lopez tells DI: Chile has a fantastic diversity of vineyard sites, which means it can produce excellent examples of a wide range of wine styles. Some other countries are known only for one or two styles and, while Chile might have made its name with Cabernet Sauvignon, it is now becoming well known for leading the development of Pinot Noir, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc and even Malbec. The Chilean wine industry has been export-focused for many years and is adept at and open to matching its wines to international consumers tastes.
Legislation to cap increases in council rates across South Australia will pass parliament's lower house on Tuesday, Premier Steven Marshall says.

However, the premier said the bill's ultimate fate will be determined in the upper house as he called on the Labor opposition to declare its position.

"There's a schism in the Labor Party room. They haven't been able to decide whether they're on the side of the ratepayers of South Australia or some in their party who don't see the benefit of capping increases in council rates," Mr Marshall told reporters.
Suspended Logan Mayor Luke Smith will return to court next month in Queensland after being released on bail over accusations he obstructed police.

The 48-year-old was arrested last week after an incident at a Logan property.

Smith appeared in Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Monday.

Magistrate Athol Kennedy granted bail on the condition he report twice a week to Logan Central police station, starting Friday, and live at his father's home at Meadowbrook.

After his appearance, Smith was reportedly taken to hospital on the advice of the watch house nurse.

It's unclear if Smith was receiving treatment for a cut on his forehead, which he covered with a large band-aid during Monday's appearance, or something else.

Smith is also banned from consuming drugs or alcohol and will be subject to random testing ahead of his next court appearance on August 21.

Smith is already fighting unrelated perjury and corruption allegations after being charged in May by the Crime and Corruption Commission.
A major supermarket chain in New Zealand has moved to slash the price of women's sanitary products in a bid to battle "period poverty".

As in Australia and around the globe, the price of tampons and pads - and the struggles of women who can't afford them - have in recent years become a social issue in New Zealand.

Unsuccessful bids have been made to the country's medicine-buying agency to fund hygiene products while multiple charities have been set up to help collect and distribute donations of the items.

So there was praise when Countdown - one of two major supermarket chains in New Zealand (a subsidiary of Australia's Woolworths Group) - this week announced it would be cutting the price of its house-brand tampons, liners and pads.

"Too many women go without sanitary products themselves so they can provide essentials like food and rent for their family," the company's general manager of corporate affairs, Kiri Hannifin, said

"The fact that not all women and girls can access them is something Countdown felt we wanted to help address.'

The change will see a pack of pads - for example - go from about $NZ3.50 to about $NZ2 ($A1.85) and is expected to save women about $NZ750,000 ($A689,792) a year.

Labour Party member for Manurewa Louisa Wall - who with the Salvation Army in 2016 launched a project to distribute tampons and sanitary pads through foodbanks - was among those backing the move.

She said she had encountered stories of women resorting to using socks, newspaper, or reusing pads to get by.

"Female sanitary products aren't a luxury but for Kiwi girls, women and families on tight budgets or low incomes, they're an expense that is simply out of reach," she said.

"We've all got to work together to address this issue and make it easier to ask for help."

However, unlike across the ditch, no political moves have yet been made in New Zealand towards removing GST from sanitary products - partly because of the more consistent way the tax is applied across the board.

The Salvation Army's Pamela Waugh said more discussion was needed to address the issue.

"It's essential women who are making every effort to support themselves and their families are not held back," she said. "Sanitary products are essential items."
People in Perth may have been exposed to measles after a West Australian resident returned from the Philippines infected with the disease.

The patient arrived on flight SQ 215 from Singapore late on Friday and went to Royal Perth Hospital emergency department before going to Lucky Chans in Northbridge and the Rosemount Hotel in North Perth in the evening.

They stayed at Seasons of Perth hotel overnight and went to Halo restaurant in South Perth on Sunday morning.

Anyone who thinks they may have been infected should call ahead to their GP or emergency department so they can be isolated.
Tumbling Brisbane apartment prices and rising investor defaults have been blamed on developers and lenders failing to heed the obvious warnings signs.

Property research outfit RiskWise says the over-supply of units and falling valuations in the inner-city are not new problems but the risk should have been identified by developers years ago.

"The continuous weakness of the unit market in inner-city Brisbane should have raised red flags for developers and lenders," chief executive Doron Peleg said in a statement on Tuesday.

Mr Peleg said research showed the warning signs were clear as early as 2016 when prices for inner-city Brisbane apartments had fallen by almost two per cent over the previous 12 months but almost 20,000 units remained on the drawing board.

The alarm bells continued to ring over the next 24 months as valuations continued to drop but the number of units grew by almost 50 per cent.

"The point is that if developers and lenders put more proper risk-management practices in place, this could have been avoided," he said.

"There was no methodological and structured risk-management approach to address those risks."

Mr Peleg said developers had also failed to deal with the impact of lending restrictions introduced in 2014.

"Overall, it seems they were too optimistic about the projected market value, and it is highly likely that the price they paid for the land was also too high."

Mr Peleg said the problem starts in the feasibility stage when the projected market value and the likelihood of defaults are assessed.

"Developers and lenders have to find the right balance between taking risk and making profit," he said.
A Brisbane-based animation studio has launched its bid to become "Australia's Pixar" by developing an animal film franchise for kids.

Like A Photon has been given the green light for its first three feature films, aimed at five to 12-year-olds, both in Australia and overseas, with up to another seven already in the works.

The films are set in an "animal-only alternate reality", in which many of the main characters will be Australian wildlife.

"They are all stand-alone movies, but they have an almost Marvel-esque interweaving of characters through them," creative director Nadine Bates told AAP.

Premier Anastasia Palaszczuk said Like A Photon, the only female-owned and led animation studio in Australia, is "another proud Queensland success story" backed by Screen Queensland.

"When work commences later this year, LAPC will employ over 50 Queensland practitioners on each animated feature and will also offer significant mentoring opportunities to upskill local creative practitioners," she said.

Ms Bates said the opportunity to work with young emerging animators in Queensland is one of the biggest reasons she and business partner Kristen Souvlis were so dedicated to staying in Queensland.

"We live in this state, we love this state, we're raising our families in this state." Ms Bates said.

"We've always said we wanted to be Australia's Pixar."

The first film is currently slated for release in late 2019, but is already doing well in international pre-sales.
Intolerance and inequality threaten the future prosperity of Australia's largest city, research suggests.

The Resilient Sydney strategy, released on Tuesday with the support of 33 local councils, sets out the city's plan to stand up to cyber attacks, extreme weather and digital system meltdowns.

It cites declining connectedness between neighbours and communities as one of five key areas the city must address.

The plan aims to get the 100 organisations managing various government services across the city working together.

"Resilience is well and truly a team sport," chief resilience officer Beck Dawson said on Tuesday.

"We absolutely cannot do it by ourselves.

"The strength of the connections over the back fences, between organisations in apartment buildings, between communities and householders, between businesses and governments is what is going to make this a reality for Sydney."

Sydney has more people born overseas than London, Singapore and New York but poor transport links have fragmented the city into many separate cultural groups, the report notes.

Councils have been told to improve social cohesion by listening more to Aboriginal elders, encouraging community engagement and supporting diversity in leadership.

Other key challenges for the city include inequitable growth, heatwaves, disjointed governance and a lack of community preparedness to risks.

"When we look at the slow-burn stresses ... these are issues that we need to work collaboratively about how we shape the city so people are not subject to these ever," Ms Dawson said.

A supporter of the report, the Red Cross, on Tuesday launched an app called Get Prepared to help Australians create checklists and get ready for times of disaster.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore says the two-year-long consultation with more than 1000 people across the city had highlighted some of the "best qualities of Sydneysiders" such as generosity, inventiveness and a willingness to pull together.
One of two teenagers accused of planning a terrorist attack was only 12 when he went to a Sydney protest holding a sign saying "Behead all those who insult the prophet", a jury has been told.

At 14, he refused to stand when the Australian national anthem was played at his school, saying: "I will only stand for Allah", prosecutor Ian Bourke SC said on Tuesday.

He was opening the Crown case at the NSW Supreme Court trial of the two teenagers - who can't be named - who have pleaded not guilty to doing an act or acts between October 6 and October 12 in 2016 in Sydney in preparation for a terrorist act.

The schoolfriends were both aged 16 when arrested at a Bankstown Muslim prayer hall on October 12, allegedly in joint possession of two M9 bayonets and a sharpener bought for $230 cash at a nearby gun shop.

They also had clothing capable of being used as disguises, as well as a handwritten note in Arabic and English which Mr Bourke said amounted to a pledge of allegiance to ISIS or Islamic State.

Part of it read: "I advise you to fear God and follow the steps of the Messenger of God and pledge allegiance to the caliphate because whoever dies without pledging allegiance will die a pre-Islamic death."

The teenagers, who both allegedly had strong, fundamentalist, extremist views, intended to use the bayonets to kill or injure a member of the public, Mr Bourke contended.

"The Crown cannot say precisely when the act was to be carried out or who the particular target was," he said.

As well as the bayonets, the teenagers allegedly purchased two hunting knives on October 6, with one telling the gun shop assistant they were going pig hunting.

This was of "some significance" because when the older boy was arrested he spoke to some police saying "pigs, cowards" and "they were going to burn in hellfire", Mr Bourke said.

"The Crown and police cannot say what happened to those knives as they were not located."

He listed a string of items accessed by the teenagers on their phones or computers before their arrest.

The eldest boy, by months, had material including an image saying: "I am a warrior of Islam and my path is Jihad" and a comment about a man of Islamic faith described as an unbeliever because he had become a police officer.

He also allegedly accessed advice on the sort of weapon to use when carrying out a terrorist act.

At the age of 12, he was filmed in Sydney's Hyde Park at a protest against a satirical movie about the prophet Muhammad, Mr Bourke said.

His co-accused also allegedly had similar material on his devices and in 2015 went on a holiday to Egypt with his family, during which he left his parents and visited a place close to an area associated with terrorists.

He also accessed a story on his phone called: "Jihad John's journey from schoolboy to executioner".

The trial continues.
Today's Birthday, July 25: Glenn Murcutt, Australian architect, (1936 - ).

One of Australia's most internationally acclaimed architects, Glenn Murcutt's signature style sets out to be both eco-friendly and sustainable - as his long-standing motto goes "touch the Earth lightly".

Mercutt's designs blend harmoniously with the Australian landscape and the climate they are situated in, utilising low-energy materials that naturally keep the buildings warm or cool.

In 2016 he finished one of his most ambitious designs to date, a mosque in the Melbourne suburb of Newport. For the project, he started working with Muslim architect Hakan Elevli in 2004. It features 96 triangular gold lanterns on the roof, each standing three metres tall with panes of glass that work to enhance the lighting inside depending on what time of day, and season it is.

Mercutt was born in Papua New Guinea to Australian parents. They relocated to Australia where Mercutt learned the fundamental elements of construction from his father who taught himself how to build houses.

He graduated from Sydney Technical College in architecture in 1961. He credits teacher Noel Bazeley as an influence, as well as Neville Gruzman and Bill and Ruth Lucas, whose offices he worked in during his training.

He briefly worked in London with modernist architecture firm Ian Fraser and Associates, before returning to Sydney. By 1969 he had an established practice in Mosman, and spent most of his career preferring to work alone.

His 1974 Marie Short farmhouse became an iconic symbol of Australian architecture. Other notable houses include Magney House (1984), and Marika-Alderton House (1994).

Murcutt has garnered several prestigious awards over the years, including the Alvar Aalto Medal (1992) and a gold medal from the Australian Institute of Architects(2009).

In 2002 he became the first Australian to win the Pritzker Prize, considered the Nobel prize of global architecture.

In 2011 his eldest son Nick died of a rare form of lung cancer, aged 46. He is survived by his widow Rachel Neeson, who continues their award-winning practice Neeson Murcutt.

Murcutt continues to teach at the UNSW university, where he restricts his students from using computers, preferring their sketches to be hand-drawn.
The Australian Greens have challenged South Australia's new Liberal government to enshrine an election promise in law with a vote to ban fracking in the state's southeast.

The Liberals have imposed the moratorium but South Australia's upper house will vote on a Greens bill on Wednesday to have it become law.

"The Liberal Party will have a chance to show whether their state election promise for a 10-year moratorium on fracking for gas in the southeast was a genuine commitment or just a lot of hot air," Greens MP Mark Parnell said.

"The Greens know that with a four-year electoral cycle, a 10-year political promise is worth very little unless it's legislated.

"That way, even if the government changes again at the next election or if the current leadership gets rolled before then, it will have to come back to parliament to overturn the ban."

A busload of residents from the southeast will also be in parliament watching the debate and the vote on Wednesday afternoon.
A severe weather warning in Victoria has been cancelled after damaging winds uprooted trees and wrought havoc across the state.

Emergency crews attended numerous calls for damage to property and trees down in suburbs across Melbourne at the peak of the alert, but the Bureau of Meteorology declared the emergency over late on Tuesday night, saying winds had eased and the cold front had moved south into the Tasman Sea.

Residents of Central, East Gippsland, North Central, North East and West and South Gippsland districts were most affected, while a crane that was damaged on Monday night is still causing problems for residents of Richmond, as a recovery crew continues its salvage operation.
Catholic schools have predicted their coffers will be $250 million short across the country this year and next.

In a memo from the National Catholic Education Commission to deputy opposition leader Tanya Plibersek's office, the organisation has revealed it expects only Northern Territory schools will receive a bump in federal government funding.

The memo, sent to Labor's education spokeswoman in January, highlights the biggest cuts in NSW, with an expected $71.2 million cut in 2018 and 2019.

Victoria and Queensland follow with estimated respective cuts of $63.1 million and $56.9 million.

The Northern Territory was forecast to receive an additional $1.8 million.

The calculations compare anticipated funding for Catholic system schools under the new funding system, compared with allocations anticipated under previous government funding policies and the opposition's current policy.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull met with three senior Catholic archbishops earlier this month to address concerns around non-government school funding.

Education Minister Simon Birmingham has promised "absolute certainty" for all school sectors of funds in the future.

He is consulting with the sector on a new funding model following a report released by the National School Resourcing Board two weeks ago into socio-economic status (SES) scores.
Human bones found near Wollongong are believed to be those of a Vietnamese businessman who went missing in Sydney more than four years ago.

Minh Phuoc "Paul" Nguyen was last seen driving out of the Hilton Hotel in the CBD on the night of May 1, 2014.

NSW Police suspect the 50-year-old was later murdered at a Bankstown unit block where a blood stain was found on a carpet.

Two men were charged in 2015 over the murder of Mr Nguyen, who had suspected underworld links.

Forensic teams will continue searching an area at Cordeaux on Wednesday for more remains and other items of interest.
A Sydney businessman has been fined $60,000 after one of his workers died after falling from a ladder while installing security cameras.

The 58-year-old casual worker suffered head, shoulder and hip injuries and a broken jaw when he fell at a medical repair shop in Auburn in June 2016 and died in hospital the following day.

Ru Dong, 53, was fined $60,000 this month in the Sydney District Court for failing to ensure the worker's health and safety, Better Regulation Minister Matt Kean said in a statement on Wednesday.
One of Australia's big four banks has flagged more changes to the way it lends money after relaxing repayment rules for farmers.

Damning revelations at the financial services royal commission led National Australia Bank to announce on Tuesday it would no longer charge penalty interest payments for farmers who fall into debt on loans.

NAB chief executive Andrew Thorburn admitted he was ashamed by some of the findings during the inquiry.

"I'm proud of what we do and banks do but sometimes we get it terribly wrong," Mr Thorburn told ABC radio on Wednesday.

NAB, which is Australia's biggest agricultural lender, will also allow producers to use their farm management money to offset against loans.

"We know when people go through drought we don't want to make it worse, not just financially but also emotionally," Mr Thorburn said.

He said the bank was looking at making further policy changes, describing the royal commission as a "burning platform" forcing the bank to face criticism.

"We will be making ongoing changes, there's no question about that."

He said despite making mistakes, NAB's staff overwhelmingly did great things for clients and the inquiry was a "slice" of misconduct.
Protestors have called for an end to offshore detention but Immigration Minister Peter Dutton says any relaxation would play into the hands of people-smugglers

More than 600 people-smugglers have been arrested across six countries since Australia introduced its hardline border regime, a senior official said Tuesday, with over 30 asylum-seeker boats turned back.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, in releasing details of the conservative government's classified "Operation Sovereign Borders", said the controversial policy had saved lives.

"I've not had a death at sea on my watch," he said.

The military operation began in September 2013 and has managed to halt the flood of boat arrivals that characterised previous Labor administrations.

Before the conservatives took power and adopted a zero tolerance stance, an estimated 50,000 asylum-seekers flooded into Australia on more than 800 boats over the previous five years.

Hundreds more, many from war-torn Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and the Middle East, died at sea during the treacherous journey.

"People-smugglers are an evil scourge who are looking for innocent men, women and children to take money from them," Dutton said. "They don't care whether they make Australian land or go to the bottom of the ocean."

He said attempts to smuggle 2,500 people had since been stopped, with 33 boats turned back, mostly to Indonesia.

He thanked the governments of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia "who have helped us in not only deterring those boats and those ventures, but also their involvement in the arrests of people-smugglers involved in this evil trade".

Dutton, on the campaign trail ahead of a series of weekend by-elections, did not say which other countries had arrested people-smugglers.

Since the operation got underway, Canberra has sent any boatpeople to offshore Pacific processing camps in Papua New Guinea and Nauru and they are blocked from being resettled in Australia even if found to be genuine refugees.

They can either return home, make a life on Manus or Nauru, or go to a third country. More than 300 have since been resettled in the US under a deal struck with former president Brack Obama, although hundreds more remain in limbo.

Canberra says its policy deters people from embarking on the treacherous sea journey, but rights groups and the United Nations have slammed the wealthy nation for turning its back on vulnerable people.

There has also been fierce criticism of the camps, with reports of abuse, suicide and despondency.

Thousands of people marched across major Australian cities on Saturday calling for an end to offshore detention, but Dutton said any relaxation of the government's stance would play into the hands of people-smugglers.

"We know that we've got 14,000 people in Indonesia, and that those people are ready to hop on boats right now," he said. "So let's be realistic about the threat that's there."
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar, sheltering at refugee camps like this one in Ukhia, Bangladesh

The United Nations Security Council on Monday urged Myanmar to step up efforts for Rohingya refugees to return to the country safely and voluntarily.

During a closed-door meeting, the 15 council members called for more social and economic development aid and facilitating the return of Rohingya refugees and internally displaced persons to their homes in Rakhine state.

"The members of the Security Council continued to stress the importance of undertaking independent and transparent investigations into allegations of human rights abuses and violations," a statement read.

The UN envoy for Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, said the government was favorable toward a return to Rakhine for the hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas who fled the area.

Government authorities "declared really openly that they want to bring them back," Burgener said.

But she noted that tensions remain in Rakhine between Rohingyas -- a Muslim minority -- and the Buddhist majority.

"So they want to bring them back but they have to come back voluntarily, safe, in dignity and in a sustainable manner," said Burgener.

Talks with Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi were "very constructive, very open, very friendly," the envoy added.

Burgener said that Suu Kyi, who has been criticized internationally for her handling of the crisis, "is aware about the difficulties and challenges."

The envoy has traveled to Myanmar twice since taking office two months ago and is set to visit the country again in September, with plans to travel to other states in the country.

In late August 2017, rebels from the Rohingya Muslim community took up arms, denouncing the ill-treatment of this stateless minority in Myanmar.

More than 700,000 ethnic Rohingya have fled an offensive by Myanmar troops launched nearly a year ago in reprisal for attacks on border posts by Rohingya rebels.
Veteran pro-democracy campaigner Benson Wong, political science assistant professor at Hong Kong Baptist University, has been told his contract will not be renewed

Pro-democracy Hong Kong academics say they have been sidelined from city universities for their political views as fears grow that education is increasingly under pressure from Beijing.

Although semi-autonomous Hong Kong enjoys rights unseen on the mainland, including freedom of expression, there are growing concerns those liberties are being squeezed as China's tolerance for dissent diminishes.

A former member of a top decision-making body at one of the city's leading universities described the situation for academics as a "bloodless political battleground".

Students have voiced their support and concern for staff they feel have been targeted over their views.

In recent years they have joined faculty members in protesting against what they believe are political appointments of pro-Beijing management figures at universities.

Several academics who spoke with AFP said they felt their careers or those of their colleagues had been scuppered because of their political stance.

Pro-democracy lawmaker Cheng Chung-tai was dismissed in January this year from Hong Kong Polytechnic University having taught social sciences there for seven years.

He was fired after being prosecuted by the government for turning the China and Hong Kong flags upside down in the legislative chamber as a form of protest against the pro-Beijing camp. He was convicted and fined by the court for "desecrating" the flags.

"The action I took at the Legislative Council has nothing to do with my conduct as a teacher," he told AFP.

He accuses the university of "kneeling down" to Chinese authorities for commercial gain to safeguard its intake of mainland students, who pay higher fees than local students, and protect donations from pro-Beijing enterprises.

PolyU described Cheng's actions as "inconsistent with its commitment to quality education and aspiration to embrace internationalisation" in a dismissal letter seen by AFP.

The university said a two-month disciplinary investigation had found Cheng's behaviour "deviates from the university's requirements" in a statement to AFP.

Some academics fear university funding is also prone to political manipulation as grants are decided by a government-appointed committee.

Concerns that freedoms on campus are under threat were further exacerbated last year when 10 leading universities penned a joint statement to students warning them not to discuss Hong Kong independence.

President Xi Jinping emphasises territorial integrity as key to a resurgent China and independence talk in the territory is a red flag for Beijing.

- 'Chilling effect' -

Hong Kong's education bureau described academic freedom as the "cornerstone of our higher education sector" in a statement to AFP, adding that universities are "independent and autonomous statutory bodies".

But critics say institutions are becoming increasingly conservative and are concerned that the influence of Beijing's liaison office in Hong Kong is growing.

Benson Wong, a political science assistant professor at Hong Kong Baptist University, is a veteran pro-democracy campaigner who has argued for the right of students to discuss independence.

Wong received a letter in February, seen by AFP, telling him his contract would not be renewed when it finishes in August after eight years, without giving a reason.

Political science assistant professor Benson Wong says universities will not promote academics who are politically active

"Universities will not promote academics who are politically active and offensive to the government," he told AFP.

When asked by AFP whether Wong's dismissal was in any way connected to his political activism, Baptist University said it could not disclose details of staff members' reviews and contracts.

"Political factors are not considered when handling staff appointment and performance review," the university added.

Both the liaison office and the Hong Kong government publicly rebuked pro-democracy activist and law professor Benny Tai earlier this year for discussing Hong Kong independence at a forum in Taiwan.

Tai retains his job at the University of Hong Kong, but faces trial in November and possible imprisonment for his role in the mass Umbrella Movement pro-democracy protests of 2014.

Questions sent by AFP to China's liaison office about its involvement in Hong Kong universities went unanswered.

High-profile democracy activist Joshua Wong, 21, a former student protest leader, said punishment of politically active academics had led to a "chilling effect" across the university sector.

"Scholars and intellectuals had a lot of room to express their academic analysis and opinions in the past," Wong told AFP.

"These expulsions are being used as an example to warn other academics they could also be punished."
Strongman prime minister Hun Sen is hiking education spending in an attempt to entice young voters and drain resentment over low-paying jobs

Cambodia's ruling party has thrown resources at a weak education system ahead of elections on Sunday as it tries to entice young voters and drain resentment over low-paying jobs.

The school system was completely destroyed in the 1970s by the Khmer Rouge, who executed teachers as perceived enemies of the hardline Communist regime, and despite efforts to rebuild, standards still lag far behind Cambodia's Southeast Asian neighbours.

Now strongman prime minister Hun Sen is promising schooling for all, hiking education spending to $850 million this year, a record quarter of the overall government budget.

"I want every district to have a high school, every commune a junior school and every village a primary school," he said in a recent campaign speech.

A third of Cambodia's 15 million people are aged under 30, but its education system is yet to recover from the damage inflicted by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s

The premier is all but guaranteed to extend his 33-year grip on power in Sunday's poll after a crackdown on dissent in the run-up to the vote.

That includes the dissolution of the only viable opposition party by the Supreme Court in November, while swipes at civil society and the media have snuffed out critical voices.

But in a country where a third of the 15 million population is aged under 30, he has also carefully targeted his appeal.

He speaks regularly at graduation ceremonies, promising jobs and opportunity to thousands of young people nervous about their futures in a country reliant on low-skilled labour.

- New generation -

Some 300,000 Cambodians enter the job market each year, often without qualifications, according to the UN.

But major industries such as the garment sector, which employs nearly 750,000 people, are acutely vulnerable to automation and changing wage patterns.

After a marked drop in support at the 2013 polls, the ruling party has taken a more active role in education, including supporting the founding of 'new generation' schools across the country

At the same time education does not always equate to a well paying job and secure future.

"There are many students graduating... but few jobs," said So Van Veasna, who earns $200 a month in an administrator's position after graduating from law school.

The gap between aspiration and reality encouraged students to line up in support of the now-defunct opposition in the last general election.

Before then the government had been on a school-building frenzy. Many of those institutions were named after Hun Sen by officials keen to curry favour with the premier.

But a marked drop in support for the ruling party during the 2013 polls has compelled it to take a more active role in the school system's future.

Hun Sen speaks regularly at graduation ceremonies, promising jobs and opportunity to thousands of young people nervous about their futures in a country reliant on low-skilled labour

Hun Sen has supported the founding of "new generation" schools across the country: state-of-the art institutions boasting science labs and tablet computers, with longer class hours and a broader curriculum.

"They will have a job after they graduate because here we can train them in everything," insists Khmer literature teacher Men Solaneth at Sisowath High School in the capital.

At nine and growing, the "new generation" schools have surged in popularity with hundreds enrolled, forcing administrators to move from an open admissions policy to a testing and lottery system akin to US charter academies.

"The school has good facilities, so the students take pleasure in learning," says high school student Seng Sreyleak, who was accepted through the lottery.

Critics of the government say the majority of educational institutions don't have enough books, let alone fancy computer labs

Critics caution the new admissions system will likely favour well-connected students, especially if -- as has been mooted -- tuition fees are introduced.

But Sam Kamsann, deputy principal at Sisowath High, rejects these suggestions.

"We allocate 30 percent of seats to children from poor families and we help all students fairly," he said.

- Leaking roof, no chalk -

Sam Rainsy, a leading opposition figure who lives in self-exile in France, dismissed the education spending burst as misleading, saying the total amount in relation to GDP remains one of the lowest in the region.

And while the new-generation schools have lofty ambitions, the majority of institutions are rooted in a more prosaic reality.

Rong Chhun, a member of the Cambodian Independent Teachers' Association, told AFP that most schools across the country don't have enough books, let alone fancy computer labs.

About a hundred kilometres north of Phnom Penh, talk of a "high tech" school revolution feels impossibly remote.

The metallic roof leaks at Tanei Primary School and teacher Yi Sareth often has to buy chalk out of his own pocket.

"We have nothing, I'm sorry for my students who sometimes do not even have a book," he says.
The stigma over tattoos has long faded in the West, with everyone from college kids to celebrities and athletes happy to display their body art in public. But in some Asian countries, tattoos are often associated with crime and loose morals

Indonesian tattoo remover Sandi Widodo does a brisk business zapping sin from skin -- at bargain-basement prices.

But there's a catch for pious Muslims keen to shed body art at his Jakarta shop: they've got to recite 50 Koranic verses from memory and repent for their tattooed past.

That's a small price to pay for Riki Irawan, who hopes that getting rid of three tribal-style tattoos will bring him closer to God.

But he has another reason for ditching the ink -- his fiancee's devout parents won't let him marry their daughter unless he is tattoo-free.

"The joy of having a tattoo is temporary," the 31-year-old said.

"It only lasts for a few weeks and after that your life is ruined."

Irawan is not alone his regret judging by the volume of business at Widodo's clinic, which has a waiting list of over 1,000 people.

Tattoos are frowned upon in Islam, making it especially tough for wearers in the world's largest Muslim majority country

The stigma over tattoos has long faded in the West, with everyone from college kids to celebrities and athletes happy to display their body art in public.

But in some Asian countries, tattoos are often associated with crime and loose morals.

Tattoos are also frowned upon in Islam, making it especially tough for wearers in the world's largest Muslim majority country.

"It was uncomfortable to go into a mosque," said Widodo, who still has a fading tattoo on the side of his face.

"I tried to act normal but people were looking at me."

- 'Remove tattoo & repent' -

Widodo's current profession is a long way from his former life as a successful tattoo artist in the Hindu-dominated resort island Bali, where local men frequently sport body art and there are few hang ups about the practice.

"Tattoos are not allowed in Islam because you're not only hurting yourself, but it is altering God's creation," said Huzaemah Tahido, an official at top religious body the Indonesian Ulema Council

His tattoo-seeking clients asked for everything from relatives' names to elaborate, centuries-old designs still worn by the Southeast Asian archipelago's indigenous people.

A traditional practice known as hand-tapping -- artists gently tap a stick mounted with a needle on a subject's skin -- has even enjoyed a revival in recent years.

But for Widodo, finding religion marked a turning point and he turned his back on the business.

"Tattoos are associated with negative stuff like drugs and partying," he said.

"So I decided to quit and sold my equipment."

Indonesia's Muslim clerics say the choice is clear.

"Tattoos are not allowed in Islam because you're not only hurting yourself, but it is altering God's creation," said Huzaemah Tahido, an official at top religious body the Indonesian Ulema Council.

"If possible, remove your tattoo and repent. If you can't remove your tattoo because it's too painful, then leave it but you must still repent."

Renny Rengganis, a practising Muslim, has no plans to repent or ditch her tattoos.

Years ago, cheaper options weren't available for regretful tattoo enthusiasts like Widodo. So he set out to start a tattoo removal shop with a crowd-funding campaign that raised about $6,500 -- enough for a pair of laser removal machines

In fact, she wants to enlarge a design depicting a mother and son that covers three-quarters of her back, despite the objections of her devoutly religious relatives.

"I didn't get tattoos to rebel against anything or to express my right to do what I want with my own body," said the 35-year-old public relations professional.

"I simply like tattoos that have meaning and wanted (them) inscribed on my body forever."

- 'Drop your sins' -

For those who do regret their body art, plenty of Indonesian clinics offer tattoo removal services.

Plenty of Indonesian clinics offer tattoo removal services but most charge several thousand dollars for the repeated treatments necessary to clear colour pigmentation -- putting them out of reach for many ordinary Indonesians

But most charge several thousand dollars for the repeated treatments necessary to clear colour pigmentation -- putting them out of reach for many ordinary Indonesians.

In response, cheaper tattoo removal shops have opened in recent years including a service in Indonesia's second-biggest city Surabaya that also requires clients to recite Koranic verses.

Islamic lender Bank Muamalat has sponsored a mobile tattoo removal van on the country's main island Java.

Years ago, cheaper options weren't available for regretful tattoo enthusiasts like Widodo.

So he set out to start a tattoo removal shop with a crowd-funding campaign that raised about $6,500 -- enough for a pair of laser removal machines.

His shop -- which has a sign that reads "Drop your sins, clasp the hand of a Muslim brother" -- opened its doors last summer.

Sandi Widodo has removed tattoos from a few hundred Indonesian customers and many more are eager to tap his 150,000 rupiah ($11) service

Widodo has since removed tattoos from a few hundred customers and many more are eager to tap his 150,000 rupiah ($11) service.

One of them, Maulidul Irfan, was so desperate to remove his tattoos -- which he chalks up to teenage rebellion -- that he tried everything from cashew sap and breast milk to harsh chemicals that scarred his skin, all without success.

"I'm studying to be an Islamic study teacher so it would be embarrassing to have tattoos," the 23-year-old said at the clinic.

"People don't always judge us on who we are now, but rather what we did in the past."
Dingo attacks are rare, with just a handful of incidents reported in recent years

A woman has been savaged by dingoes in the Australian desert, with the mining worker describing how she feared for her life as the pack of wild dogs tore flesh from her legs.

Deb Rundle was on her lunch break at a site in the Pilbara region of Western Australia last week when she followed a small dingo after it snatched her phone.

The 54-year-old said she then noticed three other nearby animals, and as she began backing away, they attacked.

"There was blood everywhere on the ground. I just looked at my wounds and 'Oh my God'," she told Channel Seven television late Monday from her hospital bed.

"I looked down and thought 'Oh my God, am I going to die?, are they going to get me down?'."

Rundle, who will undergo reconstructive surgery to graft skin to her body, said she screamed for 10 minutes before co-workers came to her aid.

"They just wouldn't let go. I think once they had the taste they just didn't let go," she said of the feral dogs, which are native to Australia.

A relative of the woman added: "She had bites everywhere but her head."

East Pilbara shire president Lynne Craigie said she had never seen a dingo attack like it in her 20 years living in the region.

"Obviously any animal that's hungry is going to be aggressive but I was very surprised to hear there were three of them sort of attacking in a pack," she told broadcaster ABC.

Dingo attacks are rare, with just a handful of incidents reported in recent years.

In 2012 a German man was savaged while camping on Fraser island in Queensland state, while a three-year-old and a South Korean woman were bitten in separate incidents on the popular tourist destination known for its dingo population the year before.

A nine-year-old boy was killed by wild dogs there in 2001.

The most prominent dingo case involved baby Azaria Chamberlain who was snatched by one in 1980.

Chamberlain's mother spent three years in jail convicted of her murder, but was released in 1986 when some of her daughter's clothing was recovered by chance near a dingo lair.

She fought for decades to clear her name in a sensational case which spawned a Meryl Streep film, with a coroner finally ruling in 2012 that a wild dog took the child.
In the pink: Performers celebrate the start of the Hargeisa International Book Fair -- the event has restored life to a literary scene that once was one of the most vibrant in Africa

Aged just 16, Abdishakur Mohamed confidently presented his latest work to the Hargeisa book fair, an event that has transformed Somaliland's literary scene over the past decade.

Abdishakur spent four years writing "Ab-ka haleel" ("In the footsteps of our ancestors"), intended as a rebuttal of friends who he says were not "embracing their culture".

"Instead they see it as unimportant, and their Somali identity is in danger," he told AFP.

At the first annual event in 2008, organisers only exhibited a handful of books borrowed from friends and attracted just 200 visitors.

Ten years on and literature has taken a prominent place in Somaliland's culture.

New writers have emerged, volumes are being edited, book clubs formed and public libraries opened.

The book fair, being held from Saturday July 21 to Thursday July 26, has been a key factor in Somaliland's embrace of literature.

The fair now has international appeal and attracts exhibitors from across the world while helping to raise awareness of the self-proclaimed country's relative stability in contrast to Somalia.

Somaliland broke away from the rest of the troubled Horn of Africa country in 1991 -- but has gone without international recognition since.

- 'Here to encourage the young' -

"I come because it's a space that really allows people from all walks of life, from ambassadors, to politicians, to artists, to thinkers; different people to just come here and share ideas about the future of Somaliland -- as well as looking back at the past," said filmmaker Khadra Ali.

"We are here to encourage the young people and tell them the value of writing, whether it's books, poetry or things related to art," said author and playwright Yasmin Mohamed Kahin, whose work was exhibited at this year's fair.

Somaliland and Somalia have a long oral storytelling tradition that celebrates poets like Mohamed Ibrahim Warsame, known as Hadraawi, who is considered by some to be the Somali Shakespeare.

It was only in 1972 that the Somali language was codified by the military government of Siad Barre in an effort to strengthen national identity.

But armed resistance to Barre's increasingly authoritarian rule slowed the momentum of the language's formalisation.

The Somali army subsequently bombed Hargeisa, pushing Somalilanders into exile in Europe and the Gulf as well as to refugee camps in Ethiopia.

One visitor to the fair is activist Edna Adan, the 80-year-old former foreign affairs minister and wife of Somaliland's second president, Mohamed Ibrahim Egal.

Adan, who enjoys celebrity status among young people for her activism, recalled her late 1990s visit to the site where the Hargeisa cultural centre that hosts the fair now stands.

The complex, comprising a library, gallery and theatre, opened its doors in 2014.

"I couldn't walk in the streets here because the Somali soldiers had laid mines," she said.

Initial efforts to promote books and reading received a "very tepid" response, she said.

"But then it took off extraordinarily."

Adan added that every year there were more and more young people inspired to write in Somali, as well as foreign languages including Arabic and English.

- 'The value of books' -

"It introduced young people to the value of books -- something they didn't know before," she said.

Jama Musse Jama, a researcher at the University of Pisa, returned from Italy in 2008 and founded the fair.

He had previously assumed that his countrymen did not read because of their strong oral tradition.

The power of the word: Young people are among the thousands who attend the book fair. The first event, in 2008, featured a handful of books borrowed from friends and attracted just 200 visitors

"But then I came here and I realised that was not the reason. What was missing was the raw material. There were no books circulating," said Jama.

"We forgot who we are. We forgot art, culture, music. You know, in the 40s, 50s, 60s, Somali music used to be one of the best African music scenes. Today maybe young people have no idea what Somali music is."

But Jama insists that "things have completely changed" as awareness of literature and other art forms has grown.

Photographer Huda Ali, who in 2017 published an anthology of images depicting Somaliland, agrees.

"Ten years ago they were sometimes surprised to see a girl with a camera in the street -- it was something very strange to accept. But over time they changed," she said.

A delegation from Rwanda were the guests of honour at this year's event.

Rwandan artist Carole Karemera said that Somaliland, like her own country, had been buoyed by a new artistic "self confidence" after coming close to total destruction.
An estimated 80,000 Syrians have disappeared into government run prisons

"That's it? You're sure he's dead?" Seven years had passed with no news, but Salwa could hardly believe her nephew, a Syrian activist arrested in 2011, had been dead the last five.

That's what the civil records employee in Salwa's native Hama, a central government-held city, declared last month after shuffling through papers at her desk.

"She told me, 'Yes, we received the names of everyone who died inside'" prison, Salwa told AFP, using a pseudonym because she fears reprisals in regime territory.

Tens of thousands of people are estimated to be held in government jails across Syria, with relatives and advocates saying they are often tortured, denied fair trial, and deprived contact with families.

Their relatives are left in limbo, spending years and precious savings shuttling between security services to know where loved ones are held or if they're even alive.

Now, activists and families of imprisoned Syrians say authorities have quietly updated civil records to mark detainees as "deceased", backdating deaths to as long ago as 2013.

Rights groups and survivors have documented mass executions at the regime-run Saydnaya prison

Hearing of this through word of mouth, families of detained Syrians are flooding registries to ask: "Are they alive?".

For around 400 detainees in recent months, the answer has been "no", said Fadel Abdul Ghany, head of the Syrian Network for Human Rights.

The SNHR estimates 80,000 Syrians remain forcibly disappeared by the government.

"Before, the regime was giving no details on the detained. It wouldn't declare them dead," Abdul Ghany told AFP.

"Now it is, but in a barbaric way."

- 'Scorched our hearts' -

Hama's records were updated first, followed by Homs, the capital Damascus, Latakia and Hasakeh, and new names are still arriving at registries, the SNHR said.

In seven years of documenting Syria's uprising-turned-war, Abdul Ghany said he had never before seen families learn of the fate of the detainees in this way.

"Usually, you take a death certificate to the registry and inform them your relative is dead, not the other way around," he said.

On that June morning, Salwa and her sister-in-law worried they'd be the only people at the registry asking about imprisoned relatives.

"But when we got there, we saw a line out the door," she said.

"Most were women, mothers and sisters of detainees. Security forces stood among them, and every single woman was wiping her tears and covering her face with her scarf."

Weeping, Salwa went home to hold a single day of hushed condolences for two nephews: Saad, arrested in 2011 and marked deceased in 2013, and Saeed, detained since 2012 and recorded to have died last year.

The family had no bodies to bury and was afraid of grieving publicly in a regime-held city.

"They scorched our hearts -- those two boys were like roses. Even in mourning, we're afraid and hide our grief," Salwa said.

- 'No going back' -

The last time Islam Dabbas's family saw him was late 2012, behind bars at a regime prison near Damascus.

"He wore a sweater that read 'Just Freedom'. We stopped hearing anything a while after that," recalled his brother Abdulrahman, who has since moved to Egypt.

This month, a relative still in Syria learned of the updated files and checked Islam's.

"It said he died January 15, 2013 in Saydnaya," Abdulrahman said.

Amnesty International has dubbed the infamous prison "the human slaughterhouse", after reports of mass executions there.

"Honestly, it's a relief. My mother told me, 'He's lucky. He's at peace,'" Abdulrahman said.

They held condolences for Islam last week in Egypt, hundreds of kilometres (miles) from home and without a body.

Abdulrahman and his mother then broke the news by phone to his father, still in Syria serving out his own prison sentence.

But confirming what many long suspected is not enough, said Noura Ghazi, a Syrian lawyer and member of the detainee advocacy group Families for Freedom.

"OK, you've told us they're dead, but we want to know where the bodies are. We want to know the real way they died," Ghazi said.

Others are hesitating.

"People are so tired. Of course there's denial. Others are suspicious, saying 'Why would we believe this document is real? Or this date to be true?'" said Ghazi, who lives in Beirut.

Her husband, activist Bassel Khartabil, vanished after his October 3, 2015 arrest. In 2017, through her networks, Ghazi confirmed he died in regime detention.

"I held condolences for him, I wore black. I thought I had processed the truth," she said.

That changed when a relative of Khartabil visited a Damascus registry in early July and saw the government's freshly-recorded date of death: October 5, 2015.

"When we saw that, it's like he died all over again," said Ghazi.

"There's no going back. For more than two years I fought to know his fate. Now I'll be fighting my whole life to get his body."
Temperatures rose above 40 degrees Celsius for the first time in Tokyo's metro area, with the national weather agency warning high temperatures may continue until early August

An "unprecedented" heatwave in Japan has killed at least 65 people in one week, government officials said Tuesday, with the weather agency now classifying the record-breaking weather as a "natural disaster."

In the week to Sunday at least 65 people died of heat stroke while 22,647 people were hospitalised, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said in a statement.

Both figures are "the worst-ever for any week during summer" since the agency began recording fatalities resulting from heat stroke in July 2008, an agency spokesman told AFP.

The heat in Japan

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said Tuesday that a total of 80 people have died from the heat since the beginning of July, and over 35,000 have been hospitalised.

Among those killed was six-year-old school boy who lost consciousness on his way back from a field trip.

"As a record heatwave continues to blanket the country, urgent measures are required to protect the lives of schoolchildren," top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters Tuesday.

The government said it would supply funds to ensure all schools are equipped with air conditioners by next summer.

Less than half of Japan's public schools have air conditioning, and the figure is only slightly higher at public kindergartens.

The record-breaking weather has revived concerns about the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which will be held in two years time in July and August

Suga said the government would also consider extending this year's summer school holidays as the heatwave drags on.

On Monday, the city of Kumagaya in Saitama outside Tokyo set a new national heat record, with temperatures hitting 41.1 Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit).

And temperatures over 40 degrees were registered for the first time in Tokyo's metro area, where the government is promoting Uchimizu, a tradition where water is sprinkled onto the ground, as part of a summer heat awareness campaign.

The Tokyo government has encouraged the traditional Uchimizu ceremony, where water is splashed on the ground, as part of its summer heat awareness campaign

It was marginally cooler on Tuesday -- 36 degrees in Tokyo according to the national weather agency -- but temperatures remained well above normal in most of the country, and little relief is forecast.

"We are observing unprecedented levels of heat in some areas," weather agency official Motoaki Takekawa said late Monday.

The heatwave "is fatal, and we recognise it as a natural disaster," he told reporters.

The agency warned that much of the country will continue baking in temperatures of 35 degrees or higher until early August.

The heatwave follows record rainfall that devastated parts of western and central Japan with floods and landslides that killed over 220 people

Officials have urged people to use air conditioning, drink sufficient water and rest often.

Japan's summers are notoriously hot and humid, and hundreds of people die each year from heatstroke, particularly the elderly in the country's ageing society.

The heatwave follows record rainfall that devastated parts of western and central Japan with floods and landslides that killed over 220 people.

And many people in the affected areas are still living in damaged homes or shelters and working outdoors on repairs, putting them at great risk.

The record-breaking weather has revived concerns about the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which will be held in two years time in July and August.

Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike this week promised that the heat would be given the same priority as measures to counter terrorism.

"It's just as important because the purpose is also to protect people's lives," she told reporters, comparing Japan's summer to "living in a sauna".
A barbed-wire fence marking the southern edge of the Demilitarized Zone: South Korea is considering withdrawing some troops from the zone

South Korea is considering withdrawing some troops from its border zone with North Korea as a confidence-building measure after their landmark summit, the defence ministry said Tuesday.

The ministry said it would withdraw some soldiers and equipment at guard posts inside the Demilitarised Zone on a trial basis, and consider a gradual expansion of the pullout later.

"We will push for plans for a full-scale withdrawal in sync with surveys of historical remains and ecological features," it said in a report to parliament.

The 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty, leaving the two Koreas technically at war. The DMZ was designated as a buffer zone but the areas to the north and south of it are heavily fortified.

At their April summit, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the South's president Moon Jae-in agreed to cease all hostile acts and turn their border into a "peace zone".

Also under consideration is a joint programme with the North and the United States to exhume the remains of war dead buried in the DMZ.

The zone bisects the Korean peninsula and is about four kilometres (2.5 miles) wide. It includes a Joint Security Area (JSA) around the truce village of Panmunjom, where negotiations take place.

The ministry also said Seoul was reviewing plans to reduce guard personnel and firearms in the JSA, "based on the spirit of the armistice agreement".

North Korea's diplomatic overtures began earlier this year with its participation in the Winter Olympics in the South.

In June Kim held a historic summit with US President Donald Trump in Singapore at which he reaffirmed his commitment to work towards the "denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula".

After the summit, Trump declared the North Korean nuclear threat to be effectively over, although experts say Pyongyang has made no public commitment to give up its weapons.
A nurse looks for vaccines in a fridge at a private clinic in Hong Kong

Hong Kong clinics said they have seen a surge in demand for children's vaccines Tuesday after a safety scandal rocked mainland China.

The crisis stemmed from falsified production data of a rabies inoculation by a major mainland manufacturer.

But vaccines against diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough, given to babies and infants, were also found to be sub-standard, with doses already sold and administered.

The mounting scandal has raised questions about the safety of China's entire vaccine industry and has led some parents to seek treatment in semi-autonomous Hong Kong.

The city already has a reputation for safer medication than mainland China and has seen a rush on its products in the past after health scandals over the border.

One private Hong Kong clinic in the commercial hub of Tsim Sha Tsui said it had received hundreds of calls and messages, around six times the normal rate of enquiries, since the scandal broke over the weekend.

Manager Jacky Ho described the demand as "explosive", saying it was mostly from mainland Chinese parents looking for vaccines imported from countries other than China.

"The closest place for them to get the vaccines is Hong Kong," said Ho, who added the clinic's inoculations come from England, France and the United States.

A woman who gave her name as Mrs Yin, from Shenzhen in southern mainland China, said she had brought her two-year-old son to the clinic for three different types of vaccinations.

"We are worried about the quality of domestic vaccines," said Yin, who said she had spent HK$5,000 ($640) on the inoculations: PCV13 which protects against pneumococcal bacteria, Japanese encephalitis and the ACWY vaccination to protect against meningitis.

She said she had made an appointment for the PCV13 jab before the crisis broke, but had added the other inoculations for good measure after hearing of the scandal.

Another man from Guangdong in southern China, who gave his surname Chan said he had brought his one-year-old son to a private clinic in the same area for the PCV13 inoculation after making an appointment two months ago.

"Now I feel very lucky that we came here. We have more confidence in Hong Kong," he told AFP.

Private hospital Hong Kong Sanatorium said it had seen a rise in enquiries and had contacted suppliers to ensure "a stable supply of vaccines to meet the needs of patients in coming days" in a statement to AFP.

Hong Kong's health department said it would closely monitor the supply of vaccines to both public and private healthcare sectors but described it as "stable" for now.

Scarlett Pong, president of the city's Pharmaceutical Society, added that there was an established information network which connected Hong Kong clinics with mainland Chinese customers.

"There are agents helping them make appointments and who know where to get information like which doctor to use," she told AFP.

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A child receives a vaccination shot at a hospital in Rongan in China's southern Guangxi region: government leaders have vowed stern action over the latest vaccine scare

China's newest product safety scare burst onto the public consciousness when an obscure essay alleging corruption in the pharmaceutical industry become an internet sensation, exposing widespread anger and distrust after a string of scandals.

The furore over alleged shady dealings by a major vaccine producer has shattered already fragile trust in regulators and illustrated the rising frustrations of China's increasingly sophisticated consumers.

News that pharmaceutical company Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology had fabricated records and been forced to stop manufacturing rabies vaccines was first reported more than a week ago.

But it exploded on social media over the weekend, fuelled by a viral essay alleging decades of malfeasance by the company including the bribery of officials to allow low-quality products onto the market.

The origin and veracity of the mysterious post remains unverified, but it touched off a cat-and-mouse game as China's aggressive censors scrambled to prevent its dissemination.

However the damage was done. Millions of angry users shared the essay and other information on product-safety problems in a rare public airing of a touchy national issue.

The China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) said last week the problematic rabies vaccine had not left Changsheng's factory, but the company admitted it had shipped a separate sub-standard vaccine.

That vaccine for diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus (DPT) was found by regulators to fail quality standards -- but the company revealed that it sold 250,000 doses to Shandong province last year.

As the pressure mounted, further revelations have emerged. Authorities in the northern province of Hebei announced Monday that nearly 150,000 people had received sub-standard DPT vaccines made by another firm, Wuhan Institute of Biological Products.

The problems have rekindled already deep fears over domestically made medicines and driven worried parents online to swap information on obtaining imported vaccines.

"I dont trust the vaccines here anymore," a woman who gave only her surname Zhou told AFP as she waited with her young daughter at a pediatric clinic in Beijing on Tuesday.

Zhou said she was willing to pay for imported products rather than accept those offered for free by the government.

Hong Kong clinics said they have seen a surge in demand for children's vaccines.

- Damage control -

The government has gone into damage control, with the CFDA saying there was "absolutely no need" for foreign vaccines because China already has a "comprehensive" system for ensuring quality.

Authorities have announced a series of investigations and vowed that heads would roll for any negligence.

In a sign of the high-level unease, President Xi Jinping -- on a trip to Africa -- weighed in Monday, calling the vaccine company's actions "vile in nature and shocking", according to state media.

One reason product safety is such an explosive issue is that children have been among the victims of the worst Chinese scandals of the last decade, including a massive 2008 scandal over milk and baby formula tainted by the chemical melamine, which gives the appearance of higher protein levels.

The adulteration killed six infants and left tens of thousands hospitalised, rocking China's dairy sector and leading to a regulatory shake-up.

"This time, it deals with babies, and the volume is a lot. That's why people are concerned with it," said Scarlett Pong, president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Hong Kong, where wealthier Chinese parents often travel to access foreign medicines.

Experts say Chinese authorities are gradually improving supervision, but the country's vastness and lack of openness means it will remain a long-term battle.

"I think whoever comes up to be the political leader in the future, they will have to fulfil the demands from the public. The world is much more open now, citizens know a lot of things," Pong said.

- Deja vu -

The CFDA announced late Sunday that it had ordered all production stopped at Changchun Changsheng and police have opened a criminal investigation, detaining its chairwoman and four subordinates for investigation.

Jilin province, where the company is based, said Tuesday it also would open a corruption investigation into government officials involved.

But many jaded consumers have heard it all before.

"The problem is who is doing the investigation," said one angry commentator on the Twitter-like Weibo microblogging platform.

"If you're just investigating yourself, what kind of results will come out?"

Following a previous major vaccine scare in 2016, officials detained more than 200 people, promising to plug what Premier Li Keqiang described at the time as "many regulatory loopholes".

But some social media users this week have pointed sardonically to Sun Xianze, the official in charge of food safety during the 2008 milk scandal.

Sun was later promoted to deputy director of the CFDA, with responsibility for drug safety, where he worked until February.
A screengrab taken from video footage of the flooding in Laos after a damn collapsed

Hundreds are missing and an unknown number feared dead after a partly built hydropower dam in southeast Laos collapsed after heavy rain and sent a wall of water surging through six villages, state media and contractors said Tuesday.

Laos News Agency said the accident happened on Monday evening near the border with Cambodia, releasing five billion cubic metres of water -- more than two million Olympic swimming pools.

The agency said there were "several human lives claimed, and several hundreds of people missing" while some 6,600 people had been made homeless as authorities scrambled to evacuate villagers.

Communist Laos is traversed by a vast network of rivers and several dams are being built or planned in the impoverished and landlocked country, which exports most of its hydropower energy to neighbouring countries like Thailand.

Aerial footage posted on the Facebook page of local news outlet ABC Laos showed a vast brown inundation swamping houses and jungle alike over a huge area.

Another video showed families waiting for rescue on the rooftop of their house, with a nearby Buddhist temple partially submerged.

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Nearly 24 hours after the collapse local authorities said they were struggling to gauge the extent of the disaster.

"We do not have any formal information yet about any casualties or how many are missing," an official in Attapeu province, where much of the flooding occurred, told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that was no phone signal in the flooded region.

"We sent rescue teams who will help them and provide basic assistance first," the official added.

The Thai government said it would also send rescue experts to its northern neighbour.

- Heavy rainfall -

The $1.2 billion dam is part of a project by Vientiane-based Xe Pian Xe Namnoy Power Company, or PNPC, a joint venture formed in 2012 between a Laotian, a Thai and two South Korean companies, according to the project's website.

Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding, the Thai company, said it had been told by operators that a 770-metre-long auxiliary dam used to divert river water had failed after heavy rainfall.

"The incident was caused by continuous rainstorm which caused high volume of water to flow into the project's reservoir," it said in a statement.

One of the South Korean companies, SK Engineering and Construction, said it had sent a crisis team to Laos, according to Yonhap news agency, and was bringing in helicopters from Thailand.

South Korea's foreign ministry said another Korean firm, Korea Western Power, was also involved. The companies and others had sent helicopters, boats and rescue workers.

"All of our 53 nationals who were taking part in this construction evacuated in advance," the ministry said in a statement.

Pope Francis said in a Vatican message he had learned with sadness of the loss of life, and expressed "hertfelt solidarity" with all those affected.

The 410 megawatt capacity plant was supposed to start commercial operations by 2019, according to the venture's website.

The project consists of a series of dams over the Houay Makchanh, the Xe-Namnoy and the Xe-Pian rivers in Champasak Province.

It planned to export 90 percent of its electricity to energy-hungry Thailand and the remainder was to be offered up on the local grid.

Under the terms of construction, PNPC said it would operate and manage the power project for 27 years after commercial operations began.

- 'Battery of Asia' -

Dam projects in Laos, mainly providing power to neighbouring countries, have long been controversial with fears over environmental damage and the impact on local communities who are often displaced.

Maureen Harris, an expert on Laotian dams at the International Rivers NGO, said the flooding raised "major questions about dam standards and dam safety in Laos, including their appropriateness to deal with weather conditions and risks".

"Many of these people have already been relocated or suffered impacts to livelihoods due to the dam construction and are now experiencing further devastating impacts -- loss of homes, property and family members," she told AFP.

Laos has been keen to turn itself into "the battery of Southeast Asia" with a series of massive hydropower projects that has sparked opposition in downstream Mekong nations like Vietnam and Cambodia, who fear it will disrupt vital ecosystems, fisheries and their own river systems.

Communist authorities in Laos keep tight control on information and are often opaque about business deals and development projects. The media is state-controlled and and the government vigorously pursues dissent or protesters.

The country has around 10 dams in operation, 10 to 20 under construction and dozens more in planning stages.

"Once they cast themselves as the battery of Asia, exporting electricity became one of the major revenue sources, so it's basically selling natural resources such as water," Toshiyuki Doi, Senior Advisor at Mekong Watch, told AFP.
An unusually long durian season has produced an oversupply of the spiky, divisive fruit, prompting its fans to come out in even greater numbers

Malaysians are dashing to durian stalls across the country to munch on the pungent, spiky fruit after a long spell of unusually warm weather led to a bumper crop and sent prices tumbling.

The fruit is highly divisive, with detractors describing it as smelling of gym socks and onions while enthusiasts liken its creamy texture and intense aroma to blue cheese.

People head to street-side stalls during the durian harvest every year in parts of Southeast Asia to munch on the thorny delicacy, with prices for the most sought-after varieties soaring in recent times.

But this year a combination of unusually hot weather and heavy rainfall resulted in a long durian season, and produced an oversupply that has pushed down prices and prompted fans of the fruit to come out in even greater numbers.

Malaysia also exports durians to Singapore, where the glut in the supply of the fruit has prompted some vendors to give it away for free

Pictures circulating on social media in recent days have shown durians selling for as little as one ringgit (25 US cents) in the northern state of Kedah.

"I think all Malaysians are seizing the opportunity to eat durians this year as high prices last year kept many away," Jake Wong, 38, told AFP at a large stall on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, where about 100 customers were enjoying the fruit.

"Now I am eating durians almost twice a week."

He said his favourite variety was the popular Musang King, whose price has fallen from 100 ringgit ($25) a kilo last year to 50 ringgit now.

Stall owner Cheah Kim Wai added that "business was roaring".

"There was a bumper durian harvest at the start of July due to the hot weather," Cheah said, adding that when prices hit their lowest point earlier this month, he was selling thousands of durians a day.

Prices have also plummeted in neighbouring Singapore, which gets its durians from Malaysia, prompting some vendors to give away the fruit for free, the Straits Times newspaper reported.
A picture taken on July 23, 2018 from the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights shows a smoke plume rising during air strikes backing a Syrian-government-led offensive in the southwestern province of Daraa

Russia has offered to keep Iranian forces in Syria away from the border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights but Israel wants Tehran to completely withdraw, an Israeli official said Tuesday.

Moscow made the offer -- which would see Iranian forces stay 100 kilometres (62 miles) from Syria's border with the Golan -- during talks Monday in Jerusalem between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the official said.

But Israel said the proposal did not go far enough.

"We won't accept Iranian military entrenchment in Syria, not near the border, not beyond the 100-kilometre stretch, which by the way the Russians talk about and agree to," the senior official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"We said there are also long-range weapons beyond that distance, and all the forces must leave Syria," the official said.

The Monday meeting came after Moscow-backed Syrian government forces regained control of most of the two provinces in the country's south near the Golan Heights, through a combination of deadly bombardment and Russian-brokered surrender deals.

The advance has pushed hundreds of thousands to flee southward, with Israel enabling more than 400 rescue workers and family members to cross through its territory into Jordan on Sunday for resettlement in Western countries.

Iran is Israel's arch-enemy and Netanyahu has pledged to prevent it from entrenching itself militarily in Syria. A series of air strikes that have killed Iranians in Syria have been attributed to Israel.

Both Tehran and Moscow are backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the conflict.

Israel is eager to obtain guarantees that Iranian forces and allied groups, such as Lebanon's Hezbollah, are kept away from the Golan and even beyond.
Abubakar Shekau -- seen here in a video released in January -- is rumoured to be suffering from serious health problems

Boko Haram factional leader Abubakar Shekau has re-emerged in a new video after a long absence that fuelled speculation about his health and ability to lead the Islamist militants.

In a 36-minute message, seen by AFP on Tuesday, Shekau wore a white robe and skull cap, and held an assault rifle as he sat in front of a military camouflage canvas.

He appeared unwell but made no direct mention of his health or reports from last month that he had high blood pressure, failing eyesight and diabetes-related complications.

The jihadist leader used to appear frequently on camera but was last seen in a 14-minute video message on February 6, in which he claimed responsibility for attacks in northeast Nigeria.

He is widely believed to be aged in his late 40s. The US justice department lists 1965, 1969 and 1975 as possible years of his birth

He said the latest message was recorded on July 12 at the request of his supporters "as a kind of Eid greetings... to show that their brethren are well, in view of all sorts of things infidels are saying (about us) which we have ignored".

The end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan was celebrated in Nigeria on June 15. It was not possible to obtain independent verification of the claimed date, and there was no explanation about the apparent delay in recording or publishing the message.

In May 2017, Shekau looked frail and appeared to have difficulty reading from a prepared speech, which he held close to his face in an apparent indication of vision problems.

Two well-placed sources told AFP last month that Shekau's health was failing and he was "too weak to be in charge" of the jihadists.

His lieutenants were said to be in talks about the situation.

Boko Haram, whose insurgency has left at least 20,000 dead since 2009, split in mid-2016 over ideological differences about the targeting of civilians in the conflict.

One faction, headed by Abu-Mus'ab Al-Barnawi, whose father Mohammed Yusuf founded Boko Haram, won the support of the Islamic State group.

The Barnawi faction has been blamed for a spate of attacks in recent days against the military northeast Nigeria.

Eight people were killed in a suicide bombing at a mosque in Borno state on Monday, in an attack that bore the hallmarks of the Shekau faction.
The European Union has proposed financial incentives for member states who admit migrants from Mediterranean rescue boats

The European Union proposed Tuesday financial incentives to member countries to admit migrants from Mediterranean rescue boats as part of efforts to defuse a weeks-long showdown with Italy.

The proposals expand on those agreed at a fractious EU summit last month to respond to the decision by Italy's new populist government to turn away such vessels.

The European Commission proposed offering volunteering EU countries funds to set up and run centres on their territory to determine whether people qualify for asylum in Europe or should be sent home as economic migrants.

The Commission, the 28-nation EU's executive arm, also proposed giving any volunteer countries in the bloc 6,000 euros for every asylum seeker they admit from those "controlled centres."

"We are ready to support member states and third countries in better cooperating on disembarkation of those rescued at sea," EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said.

"But for this to work immediately on the ground, we need to be united - not just now, but also in the long run," the former Greek politician said.

In addition to processing centres within the EU, the summit also agreed to consider setting up "disembarkation platforms" outside the bloc, most likely in north Africa, in a bid to discourage migrants from boarding EU-bound smuggler boats.

EU ambassadors were set to discuss the disembarkation centres on Wednesday with no sign that any of those countries will agree to them.

The bloc's divisive political crisis over migration returned in the last few weeks despite a sharp drop in migrant arrivals due to aid-for-cooperation deals with transit countries Libya and Turkey.

The problem is the bloc has so far failed to settle rows over how to share responsibility for migrants and ease the stress on coastal countries such as Italy and Greece.

Eastern member states including Poland and Hungary have refused to admit migrants under an agreement to relocate within the bloc asylum seekers from Greece and Italy.

The deal was struck in 2015 at the height of the migration crisis, Europe's worst since World War II.

Italy's populist government, which was elected amid popular anger over migration, agreed Monday to continue accepting migrants rescued at sea, at least until the bloc finds a solution for sharing responsibility.

EU leaders warn that divisions over migration -- which has fuelled rising populism and authoritarianism -- could damage or even destroy the EU project.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have exchanged diplomatic barbs in the past

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday Turkey was becoming a "dark dictatorship" as he hit back at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's harsh criticism of a "racist" new Israeli law.

"Erdogan is massacring Syrians and Kurds and has imprisoned tens of thousands of his citizens," Netanyahu said in a statement.

"Turkey under Erdogan is becoming a dark dictatorship, while Israel is meticulously maintaining equal rights for all its citizens, before and after the law."

Earlier Tuesday, Erdogan branded Israel "the world's most Zionist, fascist and racist state" after the Israeli parliament passed a law defining the country as the nation state of the Jewish people.

In one of his toughest recent onslaughts against Israel, Erdogan claimed there was "no difference between Hitler's obsession with the Aryan race and Israel's understanding that these ancient lands are meant only for Jews."

"The spirit of Hitler, which led the world to a great catastrophe, has found its resurgence among some of Israel's leaders," he added in a speech to his ruling party.

The legislation makes Hebrew the national language of Israel and defines the establishment of Jewish communities as being in the national interest.

Arabic, previously considered an official language, was granted only special status.

The law does not specify equality and Israel's democratic character, implying that the country's Jewish nature comes first, analysts said.
Uganda's tax on social media has run into angry opposition from users

Campaigners against Uganda's tax on social media have been broadcasting calls on loudspeakers urging users not to pay the levy, playing a game of cat-and-mouse with police, witnesses said on Tuesday.

Since the start of July, access to social media networks, as well as dating sites Tinder and Grindr, has been blocked unless users pay a 200-shilling ($0.05, 0.04 euro) daily tax.

In an unusual protest, a recorded message was broadcast from loudspeakers on Monday at strategic points across the capital Kampala, according to witnesses.

"Don't pay tax on social media and mobile money transactions," it said. "It hurts your pocket and is driving us into poverty."

Mobile internet users are required to input a code on their phones to prove payment of the charge before they are able to access the sites.

The scheme has met angry opposition from users, some of whom have turned to virtual private networks (VPNs) to evade the fee while others have joined sporadic street protests.

But open demonstration in the Ugandan capital Kampala is uncommon as police and security forces quickly put down dissenting voices with teargas, batons and in the case of a recent march against the social media tax, live fire.

Police intervened to seize the loudspeakers on Monday -- but witnesses said the protest continued on Tuesday.

- 'Rise up against the taxes' -

"On Monday, police impounded the loudspeakers in Kampala," police spokesman Emilian Kayima told AFP. "We shall get to know who is behind it."

Kayima claimed the unusual protest action was the brainchild of criminals who wanted crowds to form that would be vulnerable to terrorist attack but offered no evidence for his claim.

Donati Kusemererwa, 53, owns a shop in Kampala's Kikuubo commercial district and told AFP that protesters had stationed a public address system outside his business.

"We arrived at work (Tuesday), we found the loudspeakers on the main gate saying 'we don't pay the social media tax'," he said.

"The voice on the recording says people should rise up against the taxes imposed on us by government."

Mechanic Nelson Wabwire, 31, said similar setups been found elsewhere in the city and confiscated by police.

"People now fear to be identified because police are brutal. They resort to working quietly," Wabwire said.

Earlier this month Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda said that the government would review the tax after angry opposition but ministers have since vowed to continue with the levy.

President Yoweri Museveni previously justified the charge saying many Ugandans did not pay enough tax and should not "donate money to foreign companies through chatting or even lying" on social media.
Afghanistan's grinding war has turned Kabul into one of the most dangerous places in the country for civilians

At least three people were wounded after five rockets were fired into Kabul on Tuesday, police said, but there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest attack on the Afghan capital.

The rockets landed in residential areas "near the mountains in PD5 (police district)" in the west of the city, police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai said. It is not clear if a nearby police academy was the intended target.

Three civilians were wounded in the attacks and police have been deployed to find the launch site, Stanikzai added.

The rocket attacks came two days after a suicide bomber blew himself up near Kabul international airport, killing at least 23 people, including AFP driver Mohammad Akhtar. A further 107 people were wounded.

Sunday's attack was claimed by the Islamic State group (IS), which said it had targeted Afghan Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum, who returned to Kabul after more than a year in exile.

Scores of government officials, political leaders and supporters had gone to the airport to welcome home Dostum, a powerful ethnic Uzbek leader and former warlord.

Dostum was unharmed in the attack, his armoured vehicle having already whisked him away when the bomber struck.

The attacks also came a day after top US commanders told reporters in Kabul that they were seeing progress in the nearly 17-year war.

General Joseph Votel, who heads the Central Command that oversees US operations in the region, expressed "cautious optimism" that President Donald Trump's South Asia strategy was working.

As evidence, Votel pointed to the Afghan government's unilateral ceasefire last month that was reciprocated by the Taliban for three days -- the first formal nationwide truce since the war started.

"Our campaign approach of (increasing) military pressure provided the time and space for diplomatic and social pressure to pursue this opportunity," Votel said.

- 'More work to do' -

US air and ground operations in Afghanistan have been ramped up under Trump's plan, announced last August, that gave American troops more leeway to go after Taliban and IS fighters in Afghanistan.

CENTCOM chief Gen. Joseph Votel has said the US campaign in Afghanistan is 'moving in the right direction'

"We do recognise there's a lot more work to do here... But the momentum is moving in the right direction here under our strategy," Votel added.

While the roughly 14,000 US troops in Afghanistan provide the main component of the NATO mission to support and train local forces, some are also involved in counterterrorism operations.

Ordinary Afghans have borne the brunt of the grinding war that has turned Kabul into one of the most dangerous places in the country for civilians.

Militant attacks and suicide bombs were the leading causes of civilian deaths in the first half of 2018, a recent UN report showed.

The total number of civilians killed was 1,692, the highest number for the period since the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan began keeping records in 2009.

Another 3,430 people were wounded, the report said.

Suicide bombs and "complex" attacks that involve several militants accounted for 1,413 casualties -- 427 deaths and 986 injuries -- up 22 percent from a year earlier.

If that trend continues, the figure will top the 2017 full-year record of nearly 2,300 casualties.
A picture taken on July 23 2018 from the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights shows an explosion caused by air strikes as Russian-backed Syrian regime forces press an offensive in Syria's southwestern province of Daraa

Syrian and Russian aircraft on Tuesday pummelled a jihadist holdout in southern Syria bordering Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights after deadly strikes overnight, a Britain-based monitor said.

Late Monday, Russian air strikes killed four civilians in the pocket held by the Islamic State group in the southern province of Daraa, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.

The latest deaths bring to 41 the number of civilians killed in bombardment on that pocket in less than a week, it said, 11 of them children.

Backed by Moscow's warplanes, Syrian regime forces are battling to clear out a final IS-held patch of the country's south after ousting other rebels.

On Tuesday, regime helicopters and Russian war planes carried out heavy bombardment of that area, causing widespread damage, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.

"Fierce fighting raged in the north and west of the region" controlled by a local IS branch known as Jaish Khaled bin Walid, he said.

Since Thursday, clashes between both sides have killed at least 43 regime fighters and 61 IS jihadists, the Observatory said.

IS and other jihadists are not included in the ceasefire deals that rebels have agreed with regime ally Russia across the south, which provide for an end to bombardment if rebels hand over heavy weapons and territory.

Opposition fighters who oppose a regime takeover can board buses with their families to be ferried to areas still under rebel control in the country's north.

In the latest of these transfers, buses carrying 900 rebels and relatives from the town of Busra al-Sham in Daraa arrived in northwestern Syria on Tuesday, the Observatory said.

Daraa is considered to be the cradle of the 2011 uprising that spiralled into civil war.

The regime has retaken large parts of Syria from rebels and jihadists since Russia intervened military to back President Bashar al-Assad's fighters in 2015.

More than 350,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since the conflict started in 2011 with a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests.
Nigerian Senate President Bukola Saraki, pictured in September 2015 during his trial on corruption charges. He was cleared this month

More than a dozen senators left Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari's ruling party for the main opposition on Tuesday, in a move seen as a challenge to his bid for re-election.

"Over 15 people have decamped, have defected," Senate President Bukola Saraki said in the National Assembly.

The senators left former military ruler Buhari's ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the last day before parliament adjourns for recess.

"Fifteen senators have just announced their defection from the APC to the PDP," said Saraki's spokesman Olu Onemola. Nigeria's upper house has 109 members.

The list of senators includes Rabiu Kwankwaso, a former governor of the key northern state of Kano, who lost to Buhari in the APC presidential primaries before the 2015 election.

He has been seen as a potential presidential candidate for the upcoming election in February next year but has not yet declared.

Rumours of potential defections have been swirling in recent weeks because of deteriorating relations between the executive and legislature.

Buhari has held closed-door meetings with the ambitious Saraki, who despite being a member of the ruling party believes he has been marked out as a critic and rival by the presidency.

Saraki's hand has been seen in claims from lawmakers that the security services were being used by the government to target perceived political opponents.

Many of those under investigation or on trial for corruption are PDP members. Saraki himself defected from the PDP to the APC before the last election.

Earlier this month, Saraki was cleared at Nigeria's Supreme Court of corruption charges, which he said were politically motivated.

Police on Monday summoned Saraki in person to answer claims he was linked to a gang that conducted a violent armed robbery in April in his home state of Kwara.

Saraki on Monday evening called the invitation a "ploy" to stop the mass defection and said the police were being used by the executive to conduct a political "witch hunt".

On Tuesday morning, police surrounded his house in Abuja but he managed to make it to parliament.

"The security services are being used to settle political scores," said Cheta Nwanze, of SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based advisory firm.

"Security forces have been amenable to the will of the executive but what has happened now is that the sheer impunity at a level that we've not had since the military era."
On June 29, the headquarters of the G5 Sahel -- an anti-terror force pooling troops from five countries -- was hit in a suicide bomb attack

Two mortar rounds landed on central Mali's Sevare airport late Monday in a suspected jihadist attack days ahead of a presidential poll, according to security sources and local authorities.

No casualties were reported.

Sevare lies close to the regional capital of Mopti and is home to a UN mission (MINUSMA) base as well as to the headquarters of the G5 Sahel anti-terror force which draws troops from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger.

The G5 Sahel's headquarters were hit by a terror attack on June 29, killing three people and two of the attackers.

Malians are due to vote in a presidential election on Sunday.

Shortly before midnight (GMT) on Monday evening, Sevare's airport "was targeted in a terror attack. Two shells were fired," a foreign security source on the ground told AFP on Tuesday.

A Malian security source confirmed the incident. "Both rounds came from the east of the airport. One exploded in the south and the other in the north, close to the fuel depot, which obviously was a target," the source told AFP.

"One mortar round exploded near the runway and the other close to the airport buildings. Light automatic weapons were fired after the shelling," another foreign security source said.

The attack was confirmed by a local government source, who insisted there were no casualties.

Security forces "secured the airport" several hours after the attack, the Malian source said.

Mali's unrest stems from a 2012 ethnic Touareg separatist uprising, which was exploited by jihadists in order to take over key cities in the north.

The extremists were largely driven out in a French-led military operation launched in January 2013.

But large stretches of the country remain outside of the control of the foreign and Malian forces, which are frequent targets of attacks, despite a peace accord signed with Tuareg leaders in 2015 aimed at isolating the jihadists.

The violence has also spilled over into both Burkina Faso and Niger.
Children in traditional Tibetan clothes and police watch passing Tibetan Buddhist monks during a ceremony in March

Students in Tibet have been banned from taking part in religious activities over the summer holidays, Chinese state media reported Tuesday.

The ban will fall hard on Tibet's large Buddhist community, already under pressure as Chinese President Xi Jinping tightens controls over religious observance.

The school regulations apply to all "underage students" in Tibet, the state-run Global Times reported, without specifying their ages.

The regulations follow similar edicts by the ruling Communist Party in other regions with large ethnic minority populations, starting with a clampdown on Islam in Xinjiang, a majority-Muslim region in China's far west.

China is the midst of rolling out newly revised Religious Affairs Regulations, intensifying punishments for unsanctioned religious activities across all faiths and regions.

In Linxia, another heavily Muslim area in China's west, minors under the age of 16 were barred from religious activity and study.

"We have sent notices to both students and their parents, and have had students sign an agreement that they will not take part in any form of religious activity during the summer vacation," an official at a school in Tibet's capital Lhasa told the Global Times.

Beijing says it "peacefully liberated" Tibet in 1951 and insists it has brought development to a previously backward region.

But many Tibetans accuse it of exploiting the region's natural resources and encouraging an influx of the majority Han ethnic group, which critics say is diluting the native culture and Buddhist faith.

China's constitution protects free speech and religion but critics say in reality there is little room for any opinions that challenge government policies.

This spring a Tibetan who campaigned to preserve his region's ancestral language was jailed for five years for "inciting separatism" in a case which Amnesty International denounced as "beyond absurd".

Local authorities declined to comment when reached by phone on Tuesday.
A picture taken on July 23, 2018 from the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights shows a smoke plume rising during air strikes backing a Syrian-government-led offensive in the southwestern province of Daraa

Israel shot down a Syrian fighter jet with surface-to-air missiles Tuesday after the plane infiltrated airspace it controls, the military said, in a rare incident that could provoke tensions.

Israel signalled that the plane's infiltration may have been the result of internal fighting in Syria's civil war, but stressed it would enforce the ceasefire lines between the two countries.

"This is a blatant violation of the 1974 separation agreements between Israel and Syria," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

"We will not accept any intrusion or spillage into our territory, either from the ground or from the air."

The plane, either a Sukhoi 22 or 24, crashed on the Syrian side of the fence in the Golan Heights and it was unclear what happened to the pilot or pilots, Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus told journalists.

It was hit after it penetrated some two kilometres (1.25 miles) into Israeli-controlled airspace in the southern Golan Heights, said Conricus.

A Syrian military source confirmed Israel had fired at one of its warplanes but said the fighter had been carrying out operations against jihadists over Syrian territory.

Israel "targeted one of our warplanes... in Syrian airspace", the source said, cited by state news agency SANA.

State media in Damascus gave no account of the fate of the plane or the pilots.

According to Conricus, the plane left from the T4 airbase in central Syria before heading towards the Israeli-occupied Golan.

Israel's military monitored the plane throughout and shot it down with two Patriot missiles, Conricus said.

It was the first time Israel shot down a manned Syrian fighter jet since 2014.

- 'High alert' -

"From our perspective, the event is behind us," Conricus said. "However we of course remain on high alert."

Israel's army said there had been an increase in "internal fighting in Syria" from early Tuesday.

"We issued warnings and messages through different channels in various languages, numerous times over the day, in order to avoid any miscalculations, misunderstandings or any violations of Israeli airspace," Conricus said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that bombing operations in the border area by both Syrian and Russian aircraft had dramatically decreased after the incident.

The Britain-based war monitor said there had been heavy bombing earlier on the Yarmuk river basin in the south but that had all but stopped by the evening, dropping to just one strike per hour.

The Syrian military source said the targeting of the warplane was proof of Damascus's repeated accusation that Israel supports "terrorists" in Syria.

"The Israeli enemy has confirmed its adoption of armed terrorist groups, and targeted one of our warplanes which was hitting them," the source said.

Israel has been stressing for weeks that it would enforce the ceasefire line between it and Syria amid a Russian-backed government offensive in the country's south.

Tuesday's incident comes a day after Israel's air defences fired at Syrian rockets it feared could hit its territory.

Netanyahu also met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Jerusalem on Monday to discuss the Syrian conflict.

Israel has been on high alert since June 19, when Syrian government forces launched the offensive to retake Quneitra and Daraa provinces, adjacent respectively to the Israeli-held section of the Golan and to Jordan.

A picture taken on July 23, 2018 from the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights shows a warplane dropping a payload in the southwestern Syrian province of Daraa during a Syrian-government-led offensive in the area

It has sought to avoid direct involvement in Syria's seven-year civil war, but it has acknowledged carrying out dozens of air strikes there to stop what it says are advanced weapons deliveries to the Shiite Lebanese militia Hezbollah, one of its top enemies.

- 'All forces must leave' -

It has also pledged to prevent its arch-enemy Iran from entrenching itself militarily in the neighbouring country.

A series of air strikes that have killed Iranians in Syria have been attributed to Israel in recent weeks.

The strikes have led to condemnation from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, but Israel has maintained good relations with Russia and has coordinated its actions in Syria with Moscow.

Patriot anti-missile missile is launched during joint US-Israeli military excercise in Israel's Negev desert

Both Russia and Iran are backing Assad in the civil war.

Conricus declined to say whether Israel informed Russia before shooting down the fighter jet, but said there had been conversations on a hotline between the two countries to avoid accidental clashes in Syria throughout the day.

In Monday's meeting between Lavrov and Netanyahu, Russia offered to keep Iranian forces 100 kilometres (62 miles) away from the Israeli-occupied Golan, but Israel said the proposal did not go far enough.

"We won't accept Iranian military entrenchment in Syria, not near the border, not beyond the 100-kilometre stretch, which by the way the Russians talk about and agree to," a senior Israeli official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"We said there are also long-range weapons beyond that distance, and all the forces must leave Syria."

Israel seized 1,200 square kilometres (460 square miles) of the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War, in a move never recognised internationally.

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US President Donald Trump told the Veterans of Foreign Wars that the US has to think of itself and fight "disaster" trade deals

US President Donald Trump insisted Tuesday that imposing tariffs forces other countries to negotiate with Washington, a day before the European Union chief visits trying to prevent an all-out trade war.

"What the European Union is doing to us is incredible, how bad. They made $151 billion last year, our trade deficit with the European Union. They sound nice, but they're rough," he told a convention of Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Trump claimed that after threatening the EU with tariffs on Mercedes-Benz and BMW autos, they replied: "When can we, ah, show up? When can we be there? Would tomorrow be okay?"

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is scheduled to meet Trump Wednesday in Washington, a last-ditch effort to convince him to hold off imposing punitive tariffs on European auto exports to the US.

The Europeans say such levies would trigger a global economic earthquake and earn a withering riposte from Brussels.

In his speech to an appreciative audience in Kansas City, Trump was re-emphasizing a theme he had addressed earlier Tuesday on Twitter, when he boasted" "Tariffs are the greatest!"

"Either a country which has treated the United States unfairly on Trade negotiates a fair deal, or it gets hit with tariffs," he tweeted, likening the US as a "'piggy bank' that's being robbed" through trade imbalances.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker ruffles the hair of EU Commissioner of Digital Economy and Society Gunther Oettinger at EU headquarters in Brussels

The threatened car tariffs, which would deal a blow to Germany's mighty automobile industry, come on top of high levies already slapped by Trump on aluminum and steel imports.

The European Commission has reacted with retaliatory tariffs, but new US levies on cars would prompt Europe to take further action.

Other US allies including Canada and Mexico have also hit back against the steel and aluminum tariffs.

"We have to think of ourselves," Trump said in Kansas City.

"We gotta fight it," he said, referring to "disaster" trade deals.

But the foreign minister of Germany, Europe's biggest economy, said Tuesday that the continent "will not be threatened by President Trump. If we cede once, we will often have to deal with such behavior in the future," Heiko Maas wrote on Twitter.

"No one has an interest in having punitive tariffs, because everyone loses in the end," he said.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said over the weekend that Europeans "refuse to negotiate with a gun to the head."
Iranian women walk past a mosaic decorated wall in downtown Tehran on January 7, 2018

Some young Iranians are determined to modernise their country and rescue it from economic collapse. But facing relentless US pressure and increasing hardship, many of the educated elite simply want to leave.

On an up-market balcony in Tehran, shaded from a roasting summer sun, a string of entrepreneurs are filming success stories and advice for the next generation of start-up wannabes.

For a country supposedly on the brink of economic meltdown, the mood is surprisingly upbeat.

"We are experts in adapting to times of trouble," said Reza Ghiabi, CEO of a tech-focused consultancy firm, who calls himself an "unshakable responsible optimist".

"Many Iranians had success in the past in Berlin, Silicon Valley and London, but our generation is tired of emigrating and being just an employee. Now we're trying to create something for ourselves," he told AFP.

Everyone knows the challenges are daunting: rampant unemployment, rising prices, a crashing currency.

None of it is helped by the return of full-scale US sanctions next month following Washington's decision to abandon the 2015 nuclear deal, nor the bellicose threats between President Donald Trump and Iranian officials in recent days.

"We understand this is not a good situation, but we can't just wait for things to get better. We have to do it ourselves," said Alireza Khodaie, 30, who makes high-end shoes and is one of the organisers behind Tehran's inaugural Start-Up Week that begins on August 3.

There are a few examples that offer hope for Iran's highly educated, globalised youth: the huge success of taxi app Snapp, a slew of hip new cafes and restaurants, and tech hubs fostering everything from music streaming services to online education portals.

The more business-friendly government of President Hassan Rouhani is less suspicious than its predecessors of these Western-influenced innovations.

"We've tried to be independent in the past, but we can't ignore the government, and there are now people who understand and listen. We want to be part of policy-making," said Khodaie.

- 'I won't find work' -

But that sort of optimism is fading among Iran's educated middle- and upper-classes, who see little prospect of political and economic change.

If officials in Washington hope that will lead to mass protests against the government, they are likely to be disappointed. The brutal response to past demonstrations, and fears that protests could degenerate into violent chaos like in Syria, have bred a weary resignation.

Instead, most just want to leave.

"Young people have lost all hope in their future," said 21-year-old law student Parisa.

"I've been looking for work for three months to pay for my studies and help my father. I'm a law student but I know that once my studies are finished I won't find work," she said.

"There are many who want to leave and they are right because over there, they can progress and will have a decent salary."

The US stepped up its pressure campaign this weekend, with Trump threatening unprecedented "suffering" for Iran, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announcing a renewed propaganda effort to undermine its leaders.

But that is largely background noise to Iran's youth. Around two-thirds of Iranians were born after the 1979 revolution and have grown up with the incessant back-and-forth between their government and Washington.

They are more focused on what is happening internally, and for many it was the decision in April to block the most popular social media app Telegram that was the final straw.

"I spent two days in my room, I was so depressed," said a film editor in her 20s who campaigned for Rouhani's re-election last year when he vowed no more censorship.

"He made all these promises, and still this happened. I used to be so angry with all my friends who were leaving, but for the first time I thought maybe it's time to go."

- 'Officials don't listen' -

In some ways things have improved for young people, but not fast enough to meet their heightened expectations.

Today, they openly criticise the government and the system in a way that would have been unthinkable even a few years ago, but they feel ignored.

"Officials don't listen to young people. They ignore their hopes, their views on life, society, religion, politics," said Ehsan, a 24-year-old student.

"I was one of those who told my friends they must vote because that allowed us to demand things... but now I see we can't do anything."

But abandoning friends, family and homeland is tough, so for the optimistic entrepreneurs there is a determination to struggle through.

Sanctions have not been entirely negative, said Amirreza Mohammadi, another of Start-Up Week's organisers.

By blocking foreign competition, sanctions "created jobs for young Iranians and created a desire to push forward our own projects," he said.

"Maybe one day I'll be forced to leave too," said Khodaie. "But this is somewhere I can have an impact and that moves me to stay."
Modi donated 200 cows -- considered sacred in India -- to residents of a model village

For centuries China has used gifts of giant pandas to foreign countries as a soft power diplomacy tool.

But India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has staked a claim to the concept of "cattle diplomacy".

During a visit to Rwanda on Tuesday, Modi donated 200 cows -- considered sacred in India -- to poor residents of Rweru model village, south of the capital Kigali.

The gesture builds on a Rwandan government scheme called "Girinka" which since 2006 has contributed cattle to poor rural families in an effort to combat malnutrition by ensuring children have access to milk.

"Girinka" is a greeting in the local Kinyarwanda language meaning "may you have many cows".

Modi left Rwanda for Uganda before travelling to the BRICS summit that on Wednesday will bring together his own country with China, Russia, Brazil and South Africa in Johannesburg.

"I got a glimpse of rural life in Rwanda during the memorable visit to Rweru model village. I thank President Paul Kagame for accompanying me," he said.

The Girinka scheme, which Modi said "is helping transform the lives of people across rural Rwanda", has been celebrated for helping to reduce poverty by almost a quarter between 2000 and 2010.

Modi and Kagame also announced a series of deals including a a $200 million (171 million euros) Indian loan that will be used to develop Rwanda's irrigation schemes and expand the Kigali Special Economic Zone.

Modi's visit comes a day after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Kigali, inking 15 bilateral deals including loans and grants worth millions of dollars.
Kyaw Soe Oo arrives in handcuffs on Monday for his trial

A Reuters journalist charged with breaching a draconian secrecy law told a Myanmar court Tuesday he was entrapped by police while reporting with a colleague on a massacre of Rohingya, and had been abused in custody.

Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, and Wa Lone, 32, are charged with breaking the Official Secrets Act and face up to 14 years in jail for possessing classified documents relating to security operations in northern Rakhine state.

They were arrested last December after reporting on a military crackdown against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine which the UN has described as "textbook" ethnic cleansing.

The journalists had been investigating the extra-judicial killing of 10 Rohingya men in the village of Inn Din -- a massacre in which the military eventually admitted involvement.

Giving evidence after seven months of pre-trial hearings, Kyaw Soe Oo said he and Wa Lone were invited to dinner by two police officers and handed secret documents just before they were arrested.

"(Officer Naing Lin) gave us the documents. We didn't ask for any documents from him," he said Tuesday.

"Five minutes later they went off, and as we left the restaurant we were arrested."

Naing Lin has previously denied handing anything to the journalists.

Kyaw Soe Oo said he was badgered by police about why, as an ethnic Rakhine Buddhist, he was reporting on the killing of Rohingya Muslims, widely seen as illegal immigrants in the Buddhist-majority country.

"I told them that I wanted to be professional and I was writing the news to help the rule of law," he said.

He added that police forced him "kneel for about four hours" after they discovered photos relating to the Inn Din killings on his mobile phone.

The testimony echoed Wa Lone's earlier account describing how the pair had been hooded and taken to a notorious interrogation centre where they were deprived of sleep for three days.

Northern Rakhine state has been in virtual lockdown since the military campaign which began last August forced some 700,000 Rohingya to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh. Journalists and observers are only able to visit on short chaperoned trips.

Hundreds of Rohingya villages were razed and refugees have recounted how Myanmar troops and mobs of Rakhine Buddhists committed widespread murder, rape and torture.

The military did concede its troops were guilty of murder in the Inn Din killings but insists it was an isolated incident.

It says its campaign was justified in order to root out Rohingya militants who killed about a dozen border guard police on August 25.

Doctors Without Borders estimates that at least 6,700 Rohingya were killed in the first month of the bloody crackdown alone.

Civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been condemned globally for her refusal to stand up for the Rohingya, and the prosecution of the Reuters pair has further battered her reputation.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi gives a speech during the inauguration of three large power plants as well as other projects in the energy sector, on the outskirts of Cairo

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Tuesday inaugurated energy projects across Egypt as the country pumps up its electricity production surplus after years of power cuts that peaked in 2014.

Power cuts were a key factor behind massive street protests that led to the July 2013 ouster of Egypt's Islamist president Mohamed Morsi by the military, headed at the time by Sisi.

Sisi, elected president a year later, vowed to end power shortages especially after blackouts in the summer of 2014, amid high demand for cooling in the sweltering heat.

"There are issues in Egypt that needed to be fixed a long time ago, because of circumstances in Egypt, and not due to faults in (previous) rulers," Sisi said at the inauguration, broadcast live on state television.

The new projects include three stations that will produce 14,400 megawatts of electricity, Mohamed Erfan, head of Egypt's Administrative Control Authority, said at the ceremony.

The plants costing $7 billion are located in the new capital being built east of Cairo, in Kafr el-Sheikh province north of the capital, and in Beni Suef province to the south, said Erfan.

The stations, built by Siemens company, include "the largest air-cooled station in the world" in the new capital, said Electricity Minister Mohammed Shaker.

Each of the stations operate on eight gas turbines and four steam turbines, and each can produce 4,800 megawatts of electricity, according to a video presentation at the ceremony in the new city, attended by Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser.

Shaker said the state has spent 515 billion pounds ($28.8 billion) on energy projects since June 2014 to counter shortages dating back to at least 2008.

Those projects "achieved an electricity production surplus of 25 percent, which will contribute to securing future electricity needs across the country in addition to exporting a portion of it", Erfan said.

He said they would save the country $1 billion a year in fuel bills.

Egypt has diversified its power plants after having previously relied on natural gas for about 90 percent of its electricity production, to include sources such as renewable energies and coal, Shaker said.

The second phase of a 220-megawatt wind power plant was also inaugurated Tuesday, a project undertaken in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (C) receives Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (L) and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki (R) at the presidential palace in the UAE capital on July 24, 2018

The United Arab Emirates hailed the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea on Tuesday for reaching a landmark peace deal as the two met in the UAE capital.

The UAE has close ties with the East African neighbours and, along with Gulf powerhouse Saudi Arabia, helped broker the historic rapprochement that ended decades of enmity.

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan called the peace agreement a "bold and historic step" that opens "new horizons for cooperation and joint coordination".

The move would help "enhance security and stability in the Horn of Africa and the wider region", Sheikh Mohammed wrote on Twitter, after awarding Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki the UAE's highest civil order.

Recent rivals Ethiopia and Eritrea signed an agreement in Asmara on July 9 to restore ties, ending decades of conflict.

Eritrea was once part of Ethiopia and comprised its entire coastline on the Red Sea until it voted for independence in 1993 after decades of bloody conflict.

A row over the demarcation of the shared border triggered a brutal 1998-2000 conflict, which left 80,000 people dead before evolving into a bitter cold war.

In a surprise move, Abiy last month announced he would finally accept a 2002 United Nations-backed border demarcation, paving the way for peace between the two nations.

In recent years Eritrea has strengthened ties with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which has reportedly built a military base at the strategic southern port of Assab used in its operation in Yemen.

The two Gulf countries also maintain close ties with Ethiopia and in June the UAE pledged $3 billion in aid to Addis Ababa.

Just prior to the signing of the peace deal, Isaias made a foreign trip to the UAE in early July.

The UAE has for years been pushing to boost its economic presence in Africa, seeking to outdo Gulf rival Qatar in its investment and influence.
Nurses working with the World Health Organization prepare to administer vaccines at the town all of Mbandaka

The World Health Organization has a message for those trying to understand how the latest Ebola outbreak was contained so quickly: don't give the new vaccine all the credit.

Compared to the 2013-2015 West African outbreak, which exploded into an epidemic that killed more than 11,300 people, the response to the latest flareup of the virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo was a clear success.

In an interview with AFP, WHO's deputy chief for emergency response Mike Ryan conceded that the new vaccine deployed in DRC was "a fantastic tool", but "we can't say (it) made the difference."

He instead highlighted factors like the fast local and international response as well as "painful lessons" learnt after WHO's severely criticised handling of the West African epidemic, which plunged the UN agency into an existential crisis, according to public health experts.

Data analysis in the coming weeks will clarify the role played by the rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine in stemming the outbreak that stretched from May 8 to July 24 and claimed 33 lives, according to Kinshasa.

"At this point I can only say that (the vaccine) probably played a part, but it was a small part in a very sophisticated and complex response," Ryan added.

- What went right? -

For Ryan, quick reaction was the key.

"The main reason we were faster, quicker and more effective this time was that we launched a response very, very early.

"We investigated early, we responded aggressively, we isolated cases quickly, we put in place excellent contact tracing and then in addition to that we were able to vaccinate contacts," he said.

That swift reaction in a remote part of northeastern DRC marked a stark contrast to the West African epidemic, when WHO's former chief Margaret Chan was accused of failing to sound an early global alarm about an impending catastrophe.

"WHO has learnt a lot from the last outbreak, a lot of painful lessons," Ryan said.

- 'Hope not death' -

More than 3,300 people in DRC's affected Bikoro region were vaccinated, but Ryan said that entering communities with a vaccine had advantages beyond prophylactic defences against Ebola.

"The fact that we were bringing vaccines to communities meant we were bringing hope not death," he said.

A health worker in the Central African Republic monitors the temperature of a young traveller from DRCongo

"So people were rushing forward saying 'can we be vaccinated' and that changes the dynamic because the communities now sense that the international community is bringing in salvation, not the end of the world."

Health responders were at times attacked amid the height of the West African epidemic and a more cooperative population inevitably makes it easier to trace contacts and identify patients.

"I certainly think the local communities in this Ebola response were highly receptive to the intervention, more so maybe than in West Africa," Ryan said.

Overall, the successful DRC response served as another reminder for WHO that travel restrictions do not work.

He called such measures "a highly expensive and a highly ineffective way of containing disease."

He pointed to Congo River, which in the latest outbreak risked becoming a route through which sick patients might spread the virus throughout DRC and beyond.

But WHO and the Congolese government opted for screening and sensitisation along the river, rather than movement restrictions.

The river, he said, "is the lifeblood of the country. This is the economic highway... Are we going to block (this) the vital economic artery?"
Trapped White Helmets rescue workers hold up signs urging the international community to help evacuate them from conflict areas during a demonstration in the southern Syrian city of Daraa on July 24, 2018

More than a dozen White Helmets rescue workers demonstrated Tuesday in Syria's Daraa city to demand safe passage out of the country's war-ravaged south, after scores of their colleagues were evacuated.

Israel on Sunday helped more than 400 people -- opposition-linked White Helmets rescuers and their families -- flee a pocket of southwest Syria as government forces bore down on them.

But hundreds more remain trapped in the south, fearing reprisals from approaching regime troops.

Some are stuck in the southern half of Daraa city, technically still held by rebels although a surrender deal is set to see it return to regime control.

About 15 of them gathered there on Tuesday, some in their signature white helmets, holding up handwritten Arabic signs demanding to be rescued.

"When we joined the civil defence, we were volunteering to save people," said Alwan al-Masri, who has worked with the rescuers as a firefighter in Daraa for two years.

"Now that we've reached a point where we need rescuing, there's no one to do it?" the 25-year-old told AFP.

Founded in 2013, the Syria Civil Defence, or White Helmets, saves those wounded in attacks on rebel zones.

It said 98 volunteers were ferried out of Syria at the weekend along with 324 of their relatives.

They were taken to Jordan and from there will be resettled to western nations including France, Britain, Germany, and Canada, most of whom have funded the rescue force.

"Where are the organisations that used to stand with us? Where are the donor countries?" asked Masri, adding that he and his colleagues feared regime forces would lash out at the rescuers once they took over Daraa.

A joint statement from Tuesday's demonstration said an estimated 650 members remain in the south, but the group has said there are no plans for a second evacuation.

Damascus slammed the weekend rescue as a "criminal operation," repeating its accusation that the White Helmets are a front for jihadists.

"Our message to the regime is that we're not terrorists," said Hassan al-Farouk Mahameed, 50, head of the White Helmets centre in Daraa city.

"We are of, and for, the Syrian people. We served civil society and no one else."

Mahameed said he tried to communicate with White Helmets leadership on a new evacuation, but nothing came of it.
In this image released by the US Air Force, airmen with the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Group perform preflight checks on a 34th Bomb Squadron B-1B Lancer aircraft at Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar on April 13, 2018

The US and Qatar plan to expand Al-Udeid airbase, the biggest military facility used by Washington in the Gulf as it battles jihadists, Qatari state media said Tuesday.

The two countries have also discussed making Al-Udeid a "permanent" base, the official QNA news agency said, as Doha seeks to bolster ties with Washington at a time of tensions with its Gulf neighbours.

QNA said representatives from both countries on Tuesday "laid the foundation stone for expanding" Al-Udeid.

But the Pentagon played down the development, pointing out nothing concrete had been decided.

"It is premature to discuss aspects of a potential base expansion at Al-Udeid air base in Qatar," Lieutenant Commander Rebecca Rebarich said in a statement.

"The US military is working with the Qatari ministry of defence on further details of the proposal to help us to plan appropriately and ensure we will use any new facilities effectively," she said.

According to QNA, the project includes "the construction of barracks and service buildings to support joint security efforts, as well as improving the quality of life of the troops stationed at the airbase".

Around 10,000 US troops are deployed in Al-Udeid, the largest US base in the Gulf where Washington stocks munitions and equipment and deploys warplanes used in the battle against the Islamic State group.

Other members of the US-led coalition fighting IS in Syria and Iraq are also deployed at Al-Udeid, located 35 kilometres (20 miles) southwest of Doha.

QNA said the expansion project "underscores Qatar's commitment to deepening its strategic military relations with the United States".

"The State of Qatar, along with its strategic US ally, is working on drawing up a roadmap for the future of bilateral relations, including the addition of Al-Udeid Air Base to the list of US permanent military bases," it said.

Ryan Gliha, the US charge d'affaires in Doha, echoed this in remarks at a news conference after the ceremony to lay the foundation stone for the expansion of Al-Udeid.

"We saw today the opening of a new construction project... what we hope to see in the coming years and months is (the) strengthening" of bilateral ties, he said.

"Billions of dollars have been spent already at Al-Udeid over the last 15 years to support our operations... These are essential to the fight against Daesh and our ability to lead the coalition," he said, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

Gliha described Qatar as an "indispensable partner for the United States".

In April, US President Donald Trump welcomed to the White House the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, for talks on improving bilateral ties that had been strained by Qatar's row with Gulf states.

The year-long crisis has seen regional kingpin Saudi Arabia and a number of its Arab allies impose a diplomatic and trade embargo on Qatar.

Trump had initially supported an economic blockade on Qatar, but aides -- mindful of the pivotal role of Al-Udeid in US Middle East operations -- convinced him to take a more moderate approach.
US Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback calls for a redoubling of efforts to expand religious liberty globally

The US government on Tuesday opened a three-day ministerial meeting, the first of its kind to promote freedom of religion which it says is under attack globally.

"The lack of religious freedom anywhere is a threat to peace, prosperity and stability everywhere," US Ambassador Sam Brownback said in opening remarks at the forum hosted by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

The first two days are devoted to civil society and "survivors" of religious persecution, before a gathering Thursday of ministers from numerous countries.

"The right to freedom of religion and the ability to live according to the dictate of your own soul is under attack in the world," Brownback said.

As examples, he mentioned the Muslim Rohingya in Myanmar, the mostly Muslim Uighur minority in China, and American pastor Andrew Brunson, detained in Turkey "on false charges" related to "terrorism."

"This must change. And that's why you're here," said Brownback, US Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom.

"We cannot afford to fail. Let us redouble our efforts to expand religious freedom," he said.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has made religious liberty a human rights priority.

Washington "puts religious freedom, this fundamental human right, at the very center of our discussions with every country with whom we interact," Pompeo said last week during an interview with Voice of America radio.

"No one should be punished by their government for their religious beliefs or the religious activities connected to those beliefs," said Pompeo, who is to speak Thursday in front of the other government ministers.

Washington invited representatives of more than 80 countries that defend religious liberty or have begun to do so, along with more than 175 members of civil society and about 100 religious dignitaries.

The aim is to share experiences and announce new plans to advance the cause.
Nigerian Senate President Bukola Saraki, pictured in September 2015 during his trial on corruption charges. He was cleared this month

Scores of lawmakers left Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari's ruling party for the main opposition and smaller parties on Tuesday, heaping pressure on his re-election bid next year.

Buhari and his All Progressives Congress (APC) party have until now been seen as in a stronger position to win presidential and parliamentary elections in February.

But his opponents are now picking up momentum before party primaries in August, amid mounting discontent at his style of government and handling of widespread violence across the country.

Fourteen senators and 37 members of the lower chamber House of Representatives left the APC, on the last day before parliament adjourned for recess. There are 109 seats in the Senate and 360 in the House of Representatives.

Most of those leaving joined the main opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Senate President Bukola Saraki told lawmakers their colleagues have "decamped, have defected."

"37 @HouseNGR Reps members defect from @APCNigeria," said Saraki's aide Bamikole Omisore on Twitter. Saraki has not made any announcement on whether he will stay in the APC.

The list of defecting senators includes Rabiu Kwankwaso, a former governor of the key northern state of Kano, who lost to Buhari in the APC presidential primaries before the 2015 election.

He has been seen as a potential presidential candidate for the upcoming election in February next year but has not yet declared.

Should he do so, that would put him up against former vice-president Atiku Abubakar, who quit the APC late last year, accusing it of failing to deliver on its promises.

PDP national secretary Kola Ologbondiyan called the defections "a good development for our democratic culture" and blasted Buhari for "intimidating" and "harassing" the opposition.

Buhari responded by reiterating his "total commitment to the values of democracy", urging his party members "not to despair" and promising that "no harm or injury will be done to the party."

- 'Converted democrat' -

Buhari, a 75-year-old former army general who once served as military ruler, came into power in 2015 promising Nigerians that he was a "converted democrat".

He enjoys strong support from his base in the north and the power of incumbency, which until he defeated president Goodluck Jonathan had been seen as a guarantee of electoral supremacy.

But he has been criticised as authoritarian against opponents, prompting increasing moves to stop him securing a second, four-year term.

Earlier this month, more than 30 parties, including the PDP, said they were forming a new alliance, while a splinter group formed within the APC of disaffected party members.

They called his stewardship of Nigeria in the last three years "a monumental disaster".

Social unrest has flared in Nigeria over an escalation in bloody clashes between farmers and cattle herders and Boko Haram Islamist attacks persist as a constant threat.

That has threatened Buhari's pledge to tackle insecurity, overhaul the oil-dependent economy and create much-needed jobs.

- Under pressure -

Rumours of potential defections have been swirling in recent weeks because of deteriorating relations between the executive and legislature, with lawmakers complaining that the security services were being used by the government to target perceived political opponents.

Buhari has held closed-door meetings with the ambitious Saraki, who despite being a member of the ruling party believes he has been marked out as a critic and rival by the presidency.

Many of those under investigation or on trial for corruption are PDP members. Saraki himself defected from the PDP to the APC before the last election.

Earlier this month, Saraki was cleared at Nigeria's Supreme Court of corruption charges, which he said were politically motivated.

Police on Monday summoned Saraki in person to answer claims he was linked to a gang that conducted a violent armed robbery in April in his home state of Kwara.

Saraki on Monday evening called the invitation a "ploy" to stop the mass defection and said the police were being used by the executive to conduct a political "witch hunt".

On Tuesday morning, police surrounded his house in Abuja but he managed to make it to parliament after sending a decoy to the station.

Police said in a statement that they did not "besiege" his house.
DR Congo ex-rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba returns to his country August 1, with presidential elections planned for December 23

The Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday prepared for a two-week period for candidates to register their bids for key elections as former vice president and ex-warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba took centre-stage.

As the clock ticked toward the midnight start of registration, Bemba declared he would return home next week to file his bid for the presidency -- the first opposition candidate abroad to do so.

Bemba, 55, a former warlord and businessman, was jailed at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague before an 18-year war crimes conviction was overturned on appeal in June.

He has been formally named as his party's candidate in the vote on December 23, while the Kinshasa government has authorised him to apply for a diplomatic passport.

"I intend to arrive in Kinshasa on the morning of August 1," Bemba said in Brussels on Tuesday after his party, the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC), made the announcement the previous evening.

"I am returning for family reasons, to see where my father is buried and to file my candidacy candidacy for the presidential elections," Bemba told a press conference.

He said would be arriving aboard a private plane, and that the Congolese authorities and the United Nations, which has a mission in the DRC, had been informed of his plans.

Bemba, a former rival to President Joseph Kabila, left the country in 2007 after a violent armed standoff between his militia and the security forces.

He was then arrested in Europe on an ICC warrant for war crimes committed by his men in Central African Republic.

But he insisted that his intentions were peaceful.

"My return is not an act of vengeance, there is no idea of bitterness (or) vengeance," he said.

- Unpredictable -

Bemba's declared return adds a new and potent factor of uncertainty into what is already a tense election in one of the most volatile countries in Africa.

Candidates must submit their applications to stand by August 8.

The DRC has never known a peaceful transition of power since it gained independence from Belgium in 1960 -- and some experts fear that the December 23 elections may provide the trigger for a bloody conflict.

Kabila, 47, has has been at the helm since 2001, presiding over a vast mineral-rich country with a reputation for corruption, inequality and unrest.

He was scheduled to stand down at the end of 2016 after his second elected term, technically the last permitted under the constitution.

But he has stayed in office, invoking a constitutional clause enabling him to stay in power until a successor is elected.

He has kept everyone guessing about whether he will run again, step down or take some other path that could enable him to stay in the political forefront.

Dozens have died in anti-Kabila protests. The influential Roman Catholic Church has called for three days of popular mobilisation on August 12-14 should Kabila stand again.

The five main opposition parties on Monday issued a statement to call for "free, democratic and transparent" elections.

But they insisted that Kabila should not take part and the elections should take place without electronic voting machines, which they consider a tool for rigging the results.

"Kabila can no longer stand again, the constitution is there -- if it is not respected, it's a disaster for the country," Bemba said in Brussels.

"I am campaigning for a single opposition candidacy," he said, adding, this would "not necessarily be me."

The opposition forces include the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UPDS), which last year lost its veteran leader and onetime prime minister Etienne Tshisekedi, who died at the age of 84. His son Felix now heads the party.

Another figure with the presidency in his sights is Moise Katumbi, the ex-governor of the southeastern Katanga province, who went into self-imposed exile in 2016 after falling out with his buddy Kabila.

He "will return in the next few days to file his candidacy," his lawyer in Paris, Olivier Kamitatu, said on Tuesday.

Bemba faces a ruling in a separate ICC case about bribing witnesses. Legal experts, however, believe he would be freed definitively in light of the decade he has already spent behind bars.
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, pictured on July 21, 2018, has vowed to hold a peaceful and fair vote, but there is growing concern over alleged voter intimidation ahead of the eleciton

The United Nations on Tuesday warned of growing concern over alleged intimidation and threats of violence in the run-up to Zimbabwe's historic July 30 election, the first since the fall of Robert Mugabe.

Elections during Mugabe's 37-year reign were regularly marred by violence, but Zimbabwe's new leader, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, has vowed to hold a peaceful and fair vote.

The UN High Commission for Human Rights said in a statement it was "concerned... at the increasing number of reports, particularly in some rural areas, of voter intimidation, threats of violence, harassment and coercion."

"We call on the authorities -- and political parties and their supporters -- to ensure that the elections are not marred by such acts," it said.

The election campaign has been largely peaceful, and the UN welcomed the fact that authorities had allowed open political rallies and demonstrations in Harare, the capital.

Mnangagwa, a ZANU-PF ruling party loyalist who took over from the ousted Mugabe in November, has invited international observers -- including previously-banned European Union and Commonwealth teams -- to the polls.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party and civil action groups have expressed fears of violence if the election result is close or fraud is suspected.

In 2008, then opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out of the presidential run-off after attacks orchestrated by the state and ZANU-PF claimed the lives of at least 200 of his supporters.
Sandra Chica (3rd L) arrives at Federal Court July 24, 2018, with her family for a hearing on her husband Pablo Villavicencio, who was arrested delivering pizza at a military base in Brooklyn, NY as an undocumented immigrant

Lawyers representing an Ecuadoran father of two said Tuesday they were "hopeful" he would soon be reunited with his family, 54 days after he was arrested delivering pizza to a New York military base.

The case has sparked outrage among pro-immigration groups and Democrats, widening the gulf between the city and the federal government's determination to crack down on illegal immigration.

Pablo Villavicencio, 35, an undocumented migrant, was detained on June 1 at the Fort Hamilton Army Base in Brooklyn, after a military policeman was not satisfied with his New York identity card and a background check confirmed that he was not a legal resident.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were called and moved to deport him, until a federal judge temporarily blocked his deportation order. Villavicencio has remained in detention ever since.

His wife and daughters, aged two and four, are US citizens. His youngest daughter reportedly suffers from a heart defect.

"We're hopeful that Pablo and his family will be reunited shortly," Gregory Copeland from the Legal Aid Society told reporters Tuesday after a federal court hearing in Manhattan.

"This case is about a family that was torn apart and I think having that family reunited as soon as possible is what matters," he added.

At the hearing, Judge Paul Crotty questioned the rationale for deportation, given that Villavicencio has a pending application for permanent residency.

"Is there any concept of justice here or are we just doing it because we want to?" Crotty asked. "Where's the harm to the country?" he added. It was not clear when he would make a decision.

The US government wants the case transferred to New Jersey, where Villavicencio is being held. His lawyers want the case to remain in New York, where ICE is based, and his immediate release.

His wife, Sandra Chica, who was visibly emotional, and two daughters attended Tuesday's hearing. Villavicencio did not.

"Our lives have been completely upended," Chica said Monday. A small group of activists rallied outside court, calling for his release.

The Trump administration has sought to get tough on undocumented migrants, moving to deport even those without criminal records and with deep family ties to the United States.

Villavicencio entered the United States in 2008 and in 2010 ignored an order to leave. He married in 2013 and has no criminal record, always working and paying his taxes.
US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley says that Middle Eastern countries need to do more to help the Palestinians

US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Tuesday criticized Middle Eastern countries for not doing enough to help Palestinians and move the peace process forward, saying that they need to "step up."

"It is time for the regional states in particular to step up and really help the Palestinian people, instead of just making speeches thousands of miles away," Haley said at a monthly meeting of the UN Security Council on the Middle East.

"Where are the Arab countries when it comes to encouraging reconciliation between Palestinian factions, which is essential to peace? Where are the Arab countries when it comes to denouncing Hamas terrorism? Where are the Arab countries when it comes to supporting compromises that are necessary for peace?"

Haley highlighted American assistance to the Palestinians, saying that Washington provided $300 million in bilateral aid last year, and "over six billion -- with a B -- dollars in bilateral assistance to Palestinians" since 1993.

She also mentioned US aid to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) -- but without saying that total has been significantly cut.

Since January, US financing for humanitarian programs serving Palestinians has been suspended.

"How much have the Arab countries -- some of whom are wealthy countries -- how much have they given to the Palestinians?" she asked.

"Last year, Iran's contribution to UNRWA was zero. Algeria's contribution to UNRWA was zero. Tunisia's contribution to UNRWA was zero," Haley said.

Her French counterpart Francois Delattre asked the US to reconsider its decision to cut aid to UNRWA, calling on Washington "to shoulder its responsibilities" to help fill the agency's estimated $200 million gap.

Saudi Arabia has over the past two decades provided "$6 billion to the Palestinians in humanitarian assistance, development aid and relief," its ambassador, Abdallah Al-Mouallimi, responded.

And for UNRWA, it was $1 billion during the same period, he said.

Olof Skoog of Sweden, the current president of the Security Council, let his frustration with US policy show, saying: "Everyone is waiting for a credible peace plan."

"We haven't seen that yet. It is now about a year since we were informed about a plan and we have not seen it yet. It is a problem that there is no credible plan on the table," Skoog said.

Israel's ambassador, Danny Danon, meanwhile demanded international condemnation of militant group Hamas, while his Palestinian counterpart Riyad Mansour denounced the law recently passed by the Israeli parliament defining the country as the nation state of the Jewish people.
US President Donald Trump speaks at the 119th Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention in Kansas City, Missouri

US President Donald Trump welcomed Tuesday reports that North Korea has started dismantling facilities at its main satellite launch station, which is seen as a testing ground for intercontinental ballistic missiles.

New satellite imagery shows "that North Korea has begun the process of dismantling a key missile site, and we appreciate that," Trump said during a veterans event in Kansas City, Missouri.

"We had a fantastic meeting with Chairman Kim and it seems to be going very well," Trump added, referring to his summit last month with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

US-based website 38 North published imagery Monday indicating that Pyongyang has begun taking down a processing building and a rocket-engine test stand that had been used to test liquid-fuel engines at its Sohae Satellite Launching Station.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the imagery was "entirely consistent" with commitments Kim made to Trump during their summit in Singapore.

"We've been pressing for there to be inspectors on the ground when that engine test facility is dismantled consistent with Chairman Kim's commitment," Pompeo said at a news conference in California.

"They need to completely denuclearize, that's the steps that Chairman Kim committed to and that the world has demanded," Pompeo added.

Trump once again praised his rapport with strongman Kim, with whom he said he had a "good relationship, good feeling" and said that the question of repatriating the remains of US troops killed during the Korean War would be addressed soon.

We are "working to bring back the remains of your brothers-in-arms who gave their lives to Korea," Trump said in an address to the Veterans of Foreign Wars group.

"I hope that very soon these fallen warriors will begin coming home to lay at rest in American soil."

On June 20, Trump erroneously said 200 human remains had already "been sent back" from North Korea but the issue is far from resolved and North Korea has already canceled at least one meeting to discuss the return of the remains.
Ivanka Trump serves as an adviser to her father, President Donald Trump

Ivanka Trump on Tuesday announced the closure of her namesake clothing, footwear and accessories brand, which had become a target of opponents of her father President Donald Trump.

After experiencing a sharp rise in sales in 2016, the brand suffered a backlash after her father took office, and has been dropped by several retail chains.

The 36-year-old Ivanka currently serves as an advisor to her president father, and she has faced criticism about possible conflicts of interest with her business.

"When we first started this brand, no one could have predicted the success that we would achieve," Ivanka said in a statement.

"After 17 months in Washington, I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business, but I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington," she added.

"So making this decision now is the only fair outcome for my team and partners."

Last year, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus department stores both dropped her line, citing slow sales after pressure from activists to boycott stores doing business with Trump's family.

Earlier this month, Canadian retailer Hudson's Bay -- whose holdings include US retailers Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor -- phased out the brand.

Abigail Klem, president of the Ivanka Trump brand, said in a statement that she understood the decision had been a "difficult" one for the first daughter.
A Red Cross plane, similar to this one pictured in June 2015, was forced to land by a Saudi-led coalition after leaving Yemen's rebel-held captial Sanaa

A Saudi-led coalition battling in Yemen on Tuesday said it forced a Red Cross plane to land in southern Saudi Arabia after it veered off course to fly over a military operation area in Yemen.

The plane heading to Djibouti changed its course after taking off from Yemen's rebel-held capital Sanaa, the coalition said in a statement published by the official Saudi Press Agency.

"Coalition forces communicated with the aircraft on the international distress frequency... but the crew did not respond," a coalition spokesman said.

"Commands were given to redirect the aircraft away from the operations zone but to no avail. The aircraft was forced to land in Jizan" in the south of the kingdom.

The coalition accused the crew of air space violation and jeopardising the safety of four passengers onboard.

The International Committee of the Red Cross later said the plane headed from Sanaa to Djibouti had made "an unscheduled stop" in Jizan "due to technical issues".

"The issue was resolved and the plane has landed in Djibouti this evening," it said in a statement, adding that the ICRC was "investigating".

The humanitarian agency last month pulled 71 of its international staffers from Yemen over rising security threats, following the killing of a Lebanese employee in southern Taez city in April.

Those withdrawn from Yemen represent more than half of the ICRC's international staff in the country.

The ICRC said that the decision would lead to the "crippling" of its life-saving work in the war-ravaged country, which includes emergency medical work and food assistance.

The ICRC is known for its unrelenting commitment to neutrality, seeking to engage all parties to armed conflicts including extremists like the Islamic State group while carrying out humanitarian work.

The conflict between Iran-backed Huthi rebels and Yemen's government, allied with Saudi Arabia, has claimed nearly 10,000 lives since 2015.

Yemen's multi-faceted conflict has pushed the impoverished country to the brink of famine, triggering what the United Nations says is the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, pictured in May 2018, has announced that the US government will provide up to $12 billion in aid in an attempt to assist American farmers "in response to trade damage causeed by illegal retaliatory tariffs"

The US government will provide up to $12 billion in aid to American farmers hurt by the retaliatory tariffs imposed by trading partners, US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced Tuesday.

These actions are aimed "to assist farmers in response to trade damage caused by illegal retaliatory tariffs," Perdue told reporters.

He said this is a "short-term" solution to help farmers and give President Donald Trump time to negotiate a longer term trade deal.

It was the first recognition by the Trump administration that the president's trade dispute is hurting Americans. Perdue said the department estimated damage to the agriculture sector at $11 billion.

Trump has in recent months engaged in a multifront trade confrontation, imposing steep tariffs on steel, aluminum and tens of billions of dollars in Chinese goods, which sparked swift retaliation against key US farm products like soy and pork.

Under the three USDA aid programs, farmers will either receive direct payments or sell their excess production to the government, Perdue said. In addition, the government will work to open new markets.

This will aid producers of soy, sorghum, corn, wheat, pork, dairy, fruit, rice and nuts, all products hit by tariffs imposed in response to US action.

The actions "are a firm statement that other nations cannot bully our agricultural producers to force the United States to cave in," Perdue said.

"The correct action from other nations would be to stop their bad behavior not to retaliate with illegal tariffs."
Yoko Ono, pictured here in 2012, is releasing a new album for peace

Yoko Ono on Tuesday announced that she is releasing a new album at age 85, saying that her lifelong message of peace was sorely needed in 2018.

"Warzone," which will come out on October 19, will revisit songs penned by Ono since 1970, concluding with "Imagine," her seminal pacifist anthem with her late husband John Lennon.

"The world is so messed up. Things are very difficult for everybody," she said in a statement.

A statement from her representatives added: "It is not too late to change the world. We need Yoko now more than ever."

The Japanese-born New Yorker made clear that "Warzone" was not a swan song, saying that she is working on another album.

The album's 13 tracks, produced by her son Sean Ono Lennon, are rearranged to strip back the music, bringing to the forefront Ono's voice in the vein of spoken word.

With the album announcement, she released a new take on the title track, which appeared in Ono's 1994 musical "New York Rock" about her life with Lennon.

In the 2018 version, an elephant roars and percussion kicks in like a gun as Ono describes a scene of violence over echoing reverb.

"If you hear me, please help us!" she concludes.

Ono, who grew up in Tokyo and New York, had become a rising figure in the musical avant-garde when she met Lennon and became his second wife.

The couple famously used their honeymoon as a "bed-in" to protest the Vietnam War. She has remained active in peace causes and in preserving Lennon's legacy after he was assassinated outside their New York apartment in 1980.
The European Union's ambassador to Morocco, Claudia Wiedey (L), attends the signing ceremony of a fisheries agreement between the EU and Morocco in the capital Rabat on July 24, 2018

Morocco and the European Union signed a new fishing agreement on Tuesday, after concluding three months of negotiations to replace a deal that expired last week.

The new agreement allows EU boats to access Morocco's fishing waters for 52 million euros per year ($60m), a 30 percent increase on the old deal, a document circulated by Morocco's ministry of agriculture and fishing said.

"It is a win-win agreement," said Claudia Wiedey, the head of the EU's delegation in Morocco.

The deal will come into force "by the end of the year", a Moroccan diplomatic source told AFP.

But the text still has to be approved by the North African country's legislature and the EU parliament.

Morocco's Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita claimed the new agreement includes waters off the disputed Western Sahara region and called the deal a "response to manoeuvres" by the Polisario Front independence movement.

Morocco and the Polisario Front fought for control of Western Sahara from 1975 to 1991, with Rabat taking over the desert territory before a UN-brokered ceasefire in the former Spanish colony.

In February, the European Court of Justice said including the territory of Western Sahara and its adjacent waters within a fishing agreement between the EU and Morocco would be "contrary to certain rules of general international law".

But in the EU's negotiating mandate, the European Commission said it was "possible to extend bilateral agreements with Morocco to Western Sahara under certain conditions", angering the Polisario Front.

Rabat views Western Sahara as an integral part of the kingdom and has proposed autonomy for the resource-rich territory but the Polisario Front insists on a UN referendum on independence.
US President Donald Trump spoke about North Korea and a host of topics at the 119th Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention in Kansas City, Missouri

Praising his "good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday welcomed reports that Pyongyang has started dismantling a facility seen as a testing ground for intercontinental ballistic missiles.

New satellite imagery shows "that North Korea has begun the process of dismantling a key missile site, and we appreciate that," Trump said at an event for military veterans in Kansas City, Missouri.

Hitting back at criticism that his June 12 summit with Kim in Singapore has so far yielded few concrete results, Trump suggested his newfound rapport with Kim was bearing fruit.

"We had a fantastic meeting with Chairman Kim and it seems to be going very well," Trump said.

After the summit, Trump had declared the North Korean nuclear threat was effectively over, but some US media reports suggest he has been privately furious at the pace of subsequent progress on the denuclearization issue.

US-based website 38 North published imagery Monday indicating Pyongyang has begun taking down a processing building and a rocket-engine test stand that had been used to test liquid-fuel engines at its Sohae Satellite Launching Station.

Sohae, on the northwest coast of North Korea, is ostensibly a facility designed for putting satellites into orbit, but rocket engines are easily repurposed for use in missiles and the international community has labelled Pyongyang's space program a fig leaf for weapons tests.

Satellite image courtesy of Airbus Defense and Space and 38 North shows the apparent dismantling of facilities at the Sohae satellite launching station in North Korea

38 North analyst Joseph Bermudez called the move an "important first step" for Kim in fulfilling a promise Trump said the North Korean leader had made.

But some experts urged caution and one US defense official played down the news, saying the Sohae site was not a priority in terms of monitoring the North's denuclearization efforts.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the imagery was "entirely consistent" with commitments Kim made to Trump during their summit in Singapore.

"We've been pressing for there to be inspectors on the ground when that engine test facility is dismantled, consistent with Chairman Kim's commitment," Pompeo said Tuesday at a news conference in California.

"They need to completely, fully denuclearize. That's the steps that Chairman Kim committed to and that the world has demanded," Pompeo added.

- 'Good feeling' -

On Tuesday, Trump told the Veterans of Foreign Wars group that he was hopeful the question of repatriating the remains of US troops killed during the Korean War would be addressed shortly.

The long-simmering topic was highlighted in a joint statement signed by Trump and Kim, with the US and North Korea committing to recovering remains, "including the immediate repatriation of those already identified."

North Korea military sites

"At the very end of our meeting, I said to Chairman Kim -- good relationship, good feeling -- I said, 'I would really appreciate if you could do that'," Trump said.

"He said, 'It will be done.'"

On June 20, Trump erroneously said 200 human remains had already "been sent back" from North Korea, but the issue is far from resolved and Pyongyang has already canceled at least one meeting to discuss the return of the remains.

We are "working to bring back the remains of your brothers-in-arms who gave their lives in Korea," Trump said Tuesday.

"I hope that very soon these fallen warriors will begin coming home to lay at rest in American soil."

In a sign of Washington's impatience with what it sees as North Korean foot-dragging on the denuclearization issue, Pompeo was in New York last week urging UN member states to keep tough economic sanctions in place to pressure Kim into moving forward.

China and Russia have argued that North Korea should be rewarded with the prospect of eased sanctions for opening up dialogue with the United States and halting missile tests.

South Korea has also pushed ahead with its reconciliation with the North since a landmark inter-Korean summit in April.

Seoul's defense ministry said Tuesday it was considering withdrawing some troops from the border Demilitarized Zone on a trial basis -- a move which could expand into a gradual pullout.

The 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty, leaving the two Koreas technically at war.

The DMZ was designated as a buffer zone, but the areas to the north and south of it are heavily fortified.

More than 35,000 Americans were killed on the Korean peninsula during the war, with 7,700 of these US troops still listed as missing in action -- most of them in North Korea.
Italian Defence Minister Elisabetta Trenta (L), meets with Libya's unity government Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj at his office in the capital Tripoli on July 24, 2018

Italy's Defence Minister Elisabetta Trenta on Tuesday appeared to take a swipe at a French push for Libya to hold elections this year, insisting a vote should not be rushed after visiting Tripoli.

"Italy is close to Libya, not out ahead of it, and will help it to resist foreign interference," Trenta told journalists after returning to Italy from Libya.

"We do not believe that an acceleration of the electoral process can bring stability," she said, adding that the north African nation also needed "reconciliation, the return of security and political work".

The statement appears at odds with French efforts to get conflict-wracked Libya to hold elections in December.

Rival Libyan leaders agreed to a Paris-brokered deal in May to hold a nationwide poll by the end of the year, but scepticism remains high as to whether the country is ready for such a vote.

Trenta held talks with the head of Libya's UN-backed government in Tripoli Fayez al-Sarraj a day after France's top diplomat Jean-Yves Le Drian visited the country to push Paris' initiative.

Former colonial power Italy has close ties to Libya and is deeply involved in efforts to stabilise it after years of chaos following the 2011 ouster of Moamer Kadhafi.

Rome is particularly keen to stem the flow of migrants making the perilous journey to Europe from Libya across the Mediterranean.

Seven years since dictator Kadhafi was toppled and killed in a NATO-backed uprising, Libya remains divided, with rival administrations in Tripoli and the east of the country.

The internationally backed administration in Tripoli said in a statement that Trenta had "reiterated Italy's support for national reconciliation in Libya".

The talks also focused on cooperation over curbing illegal migration, a Libyan spokesman said.
Ivanka Trump -- who serves as an adviser to her father, President Donald Trump -- says she wants to focus on her work in Washington, not the fashion business

Ivanka Trump announced Tuesday that she was closing her eponymous fashion brand, following a firestorm of criticism about potential conflicts of interests and flagging sales fueled by a political backlash.

The 36-year-old, who has been frequently photographed wearing shoes from her namesake label, stepped away from the company to work in the White House as an advisor to her father, President Donald Trump, but continued to profit from the label.

While the clothing, footwear and accessories brand experienced a surge in sales in 2016, the year that Trump won the presidency, it suffered a backlash after he took office, and had been axed by a growing number of retail chains.

As first daughter, she has travelled overseas representing the United States, attended meetings with visiting heads of state and travelled domestically, fueling speculation that she may harbor future political ambitions of her own.

"After 17 months in Washington, I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business, but I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington," she said in a statement.

"So making this decision now is the only fair outcome for my team and partners," she added.

"I know that each of them will thrive in their next chapter."

US watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington offered lukewarm approval and called on the Trump family to divest from all assets, saying they should have done so before entering the White House.

"While this is a notable step in the right direction, it's a small one that comes much too late," said CREW executive director Noah Bookbinder.

While the Ivanka Trump clothing, footwear and accessories brand experienced a surge in sales in 2016, the year that her father won the presidency, the label suffered a backlash after he took office, and had been axed by several retail chains

Reports that the brand would file for new trademarks "raises questions as to how serious this 'shut down' really is and whether the brand will continue to create conflicts of interest," he added.

Abigail Klem, president of the Ivanka Trump brand, said she knew that the decision had been a "very difficult" for the first daughter.

The label's 18 employees were informed Tuesday that the business was ending, US media reported.

- China trademarks -

The mother-of-three, who is unpaid for her White House work, made at least $82 million last year with husband Jared Kushner, a fellow Trump advisor.

The former model launched a jewelry line in 2007, before branching out into mid-level priced shoes, handbags and ultimately clothes.

She pitched the label as a mid-priced fashion and lifestyle company, geared towards working women, which was stocked by US department stores such as Macy's, T.J. Maxx, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus.

In 2016, the year that she hit the campaign trail hard on her father's behalf, the company expanded into denim, activewear and baby bedding.

In January 2017 she announced that she was stepping down from the family real estate firm, The Trump Organization, and from actively managing her brand, which was placed into a trust.

Ivanka Trump, who is a former model, launched a jewelry line in 2007, before branching out into shoes, handbags and ultimately clothes.

But the brand was thrust into a major backlash fueled by opposition to the Trump administration and calls for a boycott on those doing business with the first family.

Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus dropped her line, citing slow sales.

Earlier this month, Canadian retailer Hudson's Bay -- whose holdings include US retailers Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor -- phased out the brand.

Although Ivanka named Klem president of the label, criticism about conflicts of interest refused to die.

CREW first revealed in May that the brand had been granted five business trademarks in China, just days before the US president suddenly scrapped a US technology ban imposed on Chinese telecom firm ZTE.

In 2017, the label ended talks on a distribution deal with Sanei International in Japan, which insiders attributed to ethics recommendations and an attempt to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest.

In February 2017, Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway plugged the brand in a television interview, urging shoppers to "go buy Ivanka's stuff" -- and then earning a sharp rebuke from ethics officials.

The president had hit out at Nordstrom when it dropped the label, saying on Twitter: "My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by Nordstrom. She is a great person -- always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!"
US President Donald Trump told a veterans group that confronting unfair trade will yield results

In the first acknowledgement by President Donald Trump's administration that his aggressive trade actions are hurting Americans, the government on Tuesday announced $12 billion in aid for farmers who have been the primary targets of retaliation.

Farm products have borne the brunt of tariffs imposed by trading partners angered by US trade actions, and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the aid program will provide relief.

The program will "assist farmers in response to trade damage caused by illegal retaliatory tariffs," which USDA estimated at $11 billion, Perdue told reporters.

He said this was a "short-term" solution to help farmers and give President Donald Trump time to negotiate a longer term trade deal to help agriculture and other sectors hurt by unfair trading practices by China and others.

The response to the announcement was mixed, with many legislators criticizing the plan, calling it "welfare for farmers," and farm groups pleading for a more lasting solution.

Trump has in recent months engaged in a multifront trade confrontation, imposing steep tariffs on steel, aluminum and tens of billions of dollars in Chinese goods, which sparked swift retaliation against key US farm products like soy and pork.

He defended his aggressive stance again on Tuesday, saying it was bringing other governments to the negotiating table. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is due to meet with Trump on Wednesday after the US threatened to impose tariffs on auto imports.

"We are confronting unfair trade deals and we are doing it like nobody has ever done, because our workers have been cheated and our companies have been cheated," Trump told a veterans group in Kansas.

And in a pre-dawn tweet, he said, "Tariffs are the greatest! Either a country which has treated the United States unfairly on Trade negotiates a fair deal, or it gets hit with Tariffs. Its as simple as that - and every bodys talking! Remember, we are the 'piggy bank' that's being robbed."

- US won't 'cave in' -

Pork producers will be among those farmers to receive government aid to offset the damage from retaliatory trade tariffs

Under the three USDA aid programs, farmers will either receive direct payments or sell their excess production to the government to be used for food banks and other food aid, Perdue said. In addition, the government will work to open new markets.

This will help producers of soy, sorghum, corn, wheat, pork, dairy, fruit, rice and nuts, all products hit by tariffs imposed in response to US actions.

USDA officials told reporters they were still working to set up the programs, which they expect to be ready by early September.

The actions "are a firm statement that other nations cannot bully our agricultural producers to force the United States to cave in," Perdue said.

"The correct action from other nations would be to stop their bad behavior not to retaliate with illegal tariffs."

China, the EU, Canada and Mexico have all filed disputes against the United States in the World Trade Organization, which could authorize the retaliation if it decides the tariffs imposed by Washington were unjustified of violated global trade rules.

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall welcomed the aid, saying it "should help many of our farmers and ranchers weather the rough road ahead and assist in their dealings with their financial institutions."

However, National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson said farm families' "livelihoods are on the line with every tweet, threat or tariff action that comes from the White House."

He said "prices for farm products are plunging from already very low levels," and called for a support program to mitigate the damage "for years to come."

Republican Senator Ben Sasse, a frequent Trump critic, said the president's trade policies recalled a past of perilous economic instability.

"This administration's tariffs and bailouts aren't going to make America great again, they're just going to make it 1929 again," he said in a statement.

And Senator Ron Johnson warned that "no one wins a trade war."
US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis at a press conference in California

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Tuesday there would be no cooperation with the Russian military in Syria -- at least for now.

After US President Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Moscow last week put forward plans to Washington to cooperate on the safe return of refugees to Syria.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed Friday this had been part of the presidents' talks.

But US defense officials are aghast at the prospect of coordinating with Russia in Syria, where Russia and the US are conducting two separate military campaigns.

Not only would such a move require special permission from Congress, the Pentagon blames Russia for many civilian deaths and contributing to the conditions that caused refugee flows in the first place.

For the moment, the only coordination between the US-led coalition with Russia in Syria is through a special hotline to make sure there are no mishaps involving the two sides' ground forces or planes.

"We will not be doing anything additional until the Secretary of State (Mike Pompeo) and the president have further figured out at what point we are going to start working, alongside our allies, with Russia in the future," Mattis said at a press conference in California.

"That has not happened yet. And it would be premature for me to go into any more detail at this point, because we're not doing any more than this."

General Joe Votel, the top commander overseeing US military involvement in Syria, said Thursday he'd received no new instructions to work with Russians since Trump's summit with Putin.

Congress passed a law banning military-to-military cooperation after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.
A member of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces removes an Islamic State group flag in the town of Tabqa on April 30, 2017

Two Americans who were captured in Syria and are accused of supporting the Islamic State group have been transferred back to the United States.

The two detainees were picked up by the Syrian Democratic Forces, a US-backed ground force that has been fighting IS across parts of northern and eastern Syria.

"Two US citizens, charged in separate cases with federal violations, have been transferred from the custody of the Syrian Democratic Forces to US custody and transported to the US where they will soon appear in federal courts," US Department of Justice spokesman Wyn Hornbuckle said Tuesday.

Defendant Ibraheem Izzy Musaibli, 28, of Dearborn, Michigan is due to be arraigned in federal court in Detroit on Wednesday on charges of helping IS from April 2015 to June 2018.

"The indictment alleges that, for a substantial period of time, defendant Musaibli provided material support to ISIS, one of the most violent terrorist organizations in the world," US Attorney Matthew Schneider said in a statement.

"We will vigorously prosecute anyone who provides, or even attempts to provide, support to terrorists."

It was not immediately known if Musaibli had an attorney.

Samantha Elhassani, meanwhile, has been charged in Indiana with making false statements to the FBI. She is due in court for an initial hearing at an unconfirmed date.

The Justice Department said Elhassani was accompanied by her four minor children, all US citizens now in the custody of the Indiana Department of Child Services.

"Indiana DCS will make any necessary determinations regarding their custody, safety and well-being," it said.

Elhassani's son appeared in IS propaganda videos and her husband was an IS sniper before he was killed in a drone strike, according to reports.

Commander Sean Robertson, a Pentagon spokesman, said the Defense Department provided aircraft and aircrew to fly the detainees from Syria to the United States.

US officials have previously said the SDF have captured hundreds of IS fighters, many of them from other countries that have little or no interest in allowing them home.
WASHINGTON (AP) - As the presidential tweets ricochet from one world hot spot to another, a Trump Doctrine has emerged: Claim matchless strength, suffer no slight and counter-punch harder than you are hit - at least verbally.

President Donald Trump's searing ALL CAPS response to a relatively routine Iran provocation is the latest example of Trump's refusal to show weakness, continuing a pattern that includes showdowns with North Korea, China and even NATO allies, with Russia the notable exception. Trump's tough-guy rhetoric has become a defining characteristic of his overseas affairs, as have the relatively modest results.

His late Sunday tweet warning of "CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE" caught Trump's staff by surprise, sparked a fresh day of foreign policy confusion, and triggered fears of a potential nuclear showdown in the Middle East. The tweet was reminiscent of Trump's brash warning of "fire and fury" for North Korea last year, part of an exchange of bravado in which he and Kim Jong Un's government compared the relative size of their nuclear buttons.

President Donald Trump participates in a tour during a "Made in America Product Showcase" at the White House, Monday, July 23, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

White House officials now cast those exchanges with Kim as a negotiating tactic to bring the mercurial autocrat to the negotiating table, culminating in last month's Singapore summit. But despite Trump's pronouncements that he is "very happy" with the results of the summit, the North has yet to take concrete steps toward denuclearizing, nor has it returned the remains of some U.S. service members, as was promised as part of the two-page agreement signed in Singapore.

Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders wouldn't rule out that the latest tweet about Iran was a similar negotiating gambit. "I'm not going to get into the president's strategy," she said Monday. "But I think he's very clear about what he's not going to allow to take place."

The Iran tweet, responding to the latest threat from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, came on the heels of a frustrating week for a White House reeling from denunciations of Trump's treatment of Russia's Vladimir Putin during their summit in Helsinki. The president initially refused to say whether he believed the U.S. intelligence community's conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 election, instead giving equal weight to Putin's denials.

Critics were quick to seize upon his Iran threat as an attempt to change the subject. Sanders retorted: "I think the president has the ability, unlike a lot of those in the media, to actually focus on more than one issue at a time."

But the broadside to Tehran fit a pattern for Trump, a commander in chief who responds to the slightest provocation with punishment. The all-caps shot across Iran's bow appeared to be prompted by a speech by Rouhani, who told diplomats Sunday in Tehran that Americans "must understand that war with Iran is the mother of all wars and peace with Iran is the mother of all peace," state television reported.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., tweeted that Trump has a "dangerous habit" of attacking world leaders online. She said his "obsession with looking tough on Twitter is weakening our standing on the world stage and seriously jeopardizing our national security."

Beyond his monthslong rhetorical volleys with Kim, Trump has unleashed verbal attacks against friend and foe alike when he felt disrespected. After last month's Group of Seven meeting of industrialized nations in Canada, that nation's prime minister, Justin Trudeau, delivered a mild rebuke to Trump by suggesting that Canada may have to levy retaliatory tariffs against the United States.

"Canadians, we're polite, we're reasonable, but we also will not be pushed around," Trudeau said.

Seeing the news coverage while on Air Force One, Trump unleashed a furious series of tweets against arguably the United States' closest ally, calling Trudeau "very dishonest & weak" and threatening to escalate tensions further.

During this month's NATO summit in Brussels, Trump deployed similarly incendiary language, accusing Germany of being controlled by Russia and repeatedly casting doubt on the cornerstone of the NATO alliance, a commitment to mutual defense. Trump claimed his rhetoric secured concessions from NATO allies to boost their spending on defense closer to the previously agreed-upon target of 2 percent of gross domestic product by 2024, but the increases he claimed were already in the works. As the U.S. leader reveled in a celebratory media tour, allies denied they had given Trump anything of substance.

During the tariff standoff with China, Trump has repeatedly escalated his fiery language - and boasted that trade wars are "easy to win" - only to see Beijing retaliate and levy tariffs that could cripple some American workers, including farmers, who have trended toward supporting the president.

But for all of Trump's diplomatic bluster, there is one nation with which he has tended to pull his punches: Russia.

As the special counsel probe into possible links between Russia and Trump campaign officials forges on, Trump has stepped up his attacks on the investigation while also trying to draw closer to Moscow. In one of his tweets over the weekend, he deemed Russian election interference "a big hoax," yet again casting doubt on the findings of this nation's intelligences agencies.

Sanders insisted Monday that the Trump "has been extremely tough on Russia, probably more so than with any other country" and wondered "why that is so hard for the media to write about."

But while the Trump administration has moved to enact some tough sanctions on Russia, the president himself has repeatedly sought to tighten ties to Putin, whom he invited to the White House this fall even after the firestorm of controversy sparked by the Helsinki summit.

Putin's visit drew a cool response from Republican leaders, who have no plans for the Russian to address Congress. And some would prefer he not visit the U.S. in the fall at all.

"I'm one who thinks that it's a good thing for leaders of countries to talk, but I would consider putting that one on the back burner for a while," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

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EDITOR'S NOTE - Jonathan Lemire has covered the White House and politics for The Associated Press since 2013. Zeke Miller has covered the White House and politics for the AP since 2017.

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Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.

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Follow Lemire on Twitter at http://twitter.com/@JonLemire and Miller at http://twitter.com/@zekejmiller
BOSTON (AP) - A federal judge on Monday denied the Trump administration's bid to throw out a lawsuit that alleges its decision to end special protections shielding Haitian, Salvadoran and Honduran immigrants from deportation was racially motivated.

U.S. District Judge Denise Casper's ruling means the case that seeks to block the administration from terminating temporary protected status for thousands of immigrants from those three countries can move forward. She also rejected the administration's request to remove Republican President Donald Trump as a defendant in the case.

"This represents an extremely favorable outcome for the Honduran, Haitian and Salvadoran immigrants who have felt completely blindsided by the federal government's refusal to maintain this humanitarian protection program and who are firmly convinced that racism and discrimination were at the heart of the decision to terminate TPS," said Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal. He's executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice, which filed the lawsuit in February.

Casper denied one of the group's requests for relief but allowed all other claims to move forward, saying the immigrants have made plausible constitutional claims.

"This Court finds that the combination of a disparate impact on particular racial groups, statements of animus by people plausibly alleged to be involved in the decision-making process, and an allegedly unreasoned shift in policy sufficient to allege plausibly that a discriminatory purpose was a motivating factor in a decision," Casper wrote.

The Department of Justice didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Last month, a federal judge in San Francisco refused to throw out a similar lawsuit challenging the administration's decision to end the protections for immigrants from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Sudan.

Temporary protected status provides safe havens for people from countries experiencing armed conflicts, natural disasters and other challenges.

The program has been continuously extended for Haitians since a 2010 earthquake. Protections for El Salvadorans have been in place since earthquakes devastated the country in 2001. For Hondurans, the program known as TPS has been in place since 1999 after Hurricane Mitch devastated the Central American nation the year before.

The Trump administration argues that conditions in the countries have improved and that the program was not designed for the protections to be continuously extended.

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Follow Alanna Durkin Richer at http://twitter.com/aedurkinricher and read more of her work at http://bit.ly/2hIhzDb .
LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) - Authorities say a Florida convenience store clerk fatally shot a man who was trying to steal about $36 worth of beer.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office reports that 22-year-old Mehedeun Hasan faces a second-degree murder charge. He been in jail since last Tuesday's shooting, but his charge was upgraded after 43-year-old Rennie Defoe Jr. died Saturday.

Deputies say Defoe entered the Lakeland store, walked to the beer cooler, picked up three 18-packs of Natural Ice beer and then walked out of the store without paying.

Authorities say Defoe was already in his car and backing out of a parking spot when Hasan ran outside and opened fire. Defoe was taken to a nearby hospital, where he eventually died.

Hasan was being held without bond. Jail records didn't list an attorney.
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) - Mexican authorities have detained a Guatemalan politician and businessman who fled his country two years ago after being accused of spearheading a corruption scheme.

Guatemala attorney general spokeswoman Julia Barrera says Luis Armando Rabbe was arrested in Monterrey.

Rabbe is a media entrepreneur-turned-congressman who allegedly authorized the creation of 164 phantom jobs in congress. The people who filled those posts did not show up for work.

Special prosecutor against impunity in Guatemala Juan Francisco Sandoval says Rabbe will be transferred to Guatemala to face charges of abuse of power and misuse of state funds.

It is unclear whether Rabbe has an attorney.
TORONTO (AP) - Investigators said Tuesday there was no national security risk following the mass shooting that killed two people and wounded 13, as they continued to probe the life of the 29-year-old gunman for clues to what prompted the deadly rampage in a popular Toronto neighborhood.

Authorities also identified the 10-year-old girl who was one of those slain as Julianna Kozis of Markham, Ontario. Toronto police released a photo of the smiling, young girl, and said her family had asked for privacy during their time of grief. Police previously identified the other person killed in the shooting as 18-year-old Reese Fallon of Toronto.

The assailant, Faisal Hussain, died after an exchange of gunfire with police. His family has said he suffered from lifelong "severe mental health challenges" but they never imagined he would do such a thing. It was not immediately clear whether he took his own life or was killed by police during the attack Sunday night.

Desirae Shapiro, 19, right, and her mother, Gina Shapiro, friends of 18-year-old Danforth shooting victim Reese Fallon, mourn after visiting a makeshift memorial, Monday, July 23, 2018, in Toronto, remembering the victims of the shooting on Sunday. (Mark Blinch/The Canadian Press via AP)

"At this stage, based on the state of the investigation, which is led by the Toronto police service, there is no connection between that individual and national security," Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said.

The mass shooting in Toronto's Greektown neighborhood stunned people in a normally safe city, already unsettled by an attack just three months ago when a man used a van to plow over pedestrians on a downtown sidewalk, killing 10 people and injuring 14 in an attack apparently aimed at women.

Hussain's family issued a statement saying their son had a long history of psychosis and depression and had not responded to numerous treatment approaches, including therapy and medication.

"While we did our best to seek help for him throughout his life of struggle and pain, we could never imagine that this would be his devastating and destructive end," the family said. "Our hearts are in pieces for the victims and for our city as we all come to grips with this terrible tragedy. We will mourn those who were lost for the rest of our lives."

Investigators searched the low-income apartment that Hussain shared with his parents and siblings on Thorncliffe Park Drive in the eastern part of the city, and removed boxes of potential evidence overnight. An autopsy on Hussain was expected Tuesday.

Where Hussain got his handgun remains unknown.

Canada overhauled its gun-control laws after the country's worst mass shooting in 1989, when gunman Marc Lepine killed 14 women and himself at Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique college. It is now illegal to possess an unregistered handgun or any kind of rapid-fire weapon. Canada also requires training, a personal risk assessment, two references, spousal notification and criminal record checks.

During a debate in City Council on Tuesday, Councilman Joe Cressy asked if Toronto could outright ban guns and was informed it would be up to the federal government to change the laws. Mayor John Tory has also questioned why anybody would need a gun in Toronto and said he supported a motion urging the federal government to ban the sale of handguns in Toronto. It passed on a 41-4 vote.

"People in the city of Toronto don't need handguns," Tory said.

Goodale earlier said Ottawa was already considering tightening handgun laws even before Sunday's shooting.

Adam Vaughan, a member of the federal Liberal government, said handguns should be banned outright in large urban centers but noted he was speaking for himself and not the minister or government.

"It's time to get rid of handguns in cities. We have 10 year olds and 2 year olds being shot at in this city," said Vaughan, parliamentary secretary responsible for housing and urban affairs.

But he said the rules should be different for people living in rural areas.

"There are two different environments. In rural Canada guns are a needed tool. In urban Canada they are a hobby," Vaughan said. "I get it. My sister ran a logging camp in northern British Columbia. Without a gun, grizzlies are coming for your work mates, but nobody in urban Canada needs a gun."

Canadians have long taken comfort in the peacefulness of their communities and are nervous about anything that might indicate they are moving closer to their American counterparts.

Still, though mass shootings are rare in Canada's largest city, Toronto police had deployed dozens of additional officers over the weekend to deal with a recent rise in gun violence. The city has seen 23 gun homicides so far this year, compared to 16 fatal shootings in the first half of 2017.

Police Chief Mark Saunders said he would not speculate on the motive for Sunday's attack. "We do not know why this has happened yet," he said. "It's going to take some time."

Among those killed, was Fallon, a recent high school graduate who volunteered for Canada's Liberal Party and was to attend McMaster University in the fall. Officials have not released the names of any of the 13 wounded. The wounded ranged in age from 17 to 59.

Anthony Parise, who taught Fallon's Grade 12 English class, remembered her as "a leader among her peers" who planned to become a nurse.

"She was so excited to be accepted into the McMaster program for nursing. I know that her plan was to become a mental health nurse," he said.

Flags at Toronto City Hall as well as at Fallon's former high school, Malvern CI, were lowered to half-staff.

Not much is known yet about Kozis, the 10-year-old victim.

According to videos and witness accounts, the assailant, clad all in black, was seen walking quickly down a sidewalk on Danforth Avenue, firing a handgun into shops and restaurants in Greektown, a district of expensive homes, eateries and cafes.

At the corner of Danforth and Logan, where some of the shots were fired, about 50 people milled about on a small square Monday evening, talking in several languages. They expressed shock at a shooting in such a neighborhood.

Some hugged, some wept, and many said they wondered how the attacker obtained a gun in a country with far stricter gun laws than in the neighboring U.S. People signed a makeshift memorial reading: "We are Danforth strong."

"I'm out of my mind just thinking about it. It's Toronto," said Augustino Speciale, who paused to smell a bouquet of white lilies attached to a lamppost.

Ontario's police watchdog agency said there was an exchange of shots between the attacker and two officers on a side street before the gunman was found dead.

Toronto has long prided itself as being one of the safest big cities in the world.

"We were so used to living in a city where these things didn't happen," the Toronto mayor said. "This is an attack against innocent families and our entire city."

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Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz in New York contributed to this report.

People add flowers and messages to a memorial remembering the victims of Sunday's shooting in Toronto on Monday, July 23, 2018. A man whose family said he suffered from psychosis and depression fired a handgun into restaurants and cafes in a lively Toronto neighborhood, killing a 10-year-old girl and an 18-year-old woman and wounding over a dozen others in an attack that has shaken the confidence of many in the normally safe city. (Mark Blinch/The Canadian Press via AP)

This undated photo provided by the Toronto Police shows Julianna Kozis. Investigators said Tuesday, July 24, 2018, there was no national security risk following a shooting that killed 10-year-old Kozis and an 18-year-old woman and wounded over a dozen others, as they continued to probe the life of the 29-year-old gunman for clues to what prompted the deadly rampage in a popular Toronto neighborhood. (Family of Julianna Kozis/Toronto Police via AP)

People light candles and leave photos of 18-year-old victim Reese Fallon at a memorial remembering the victims of Sunday's shooting in Toronto on Monday, July 23, 2018. A man whose family said he suffered from psychosis and depression fired a handgun into restaurants and cafes in a lively Toronto neighborhood, killing a 10-year-old girl and an 18-year-old woman and wounding over a dozen others in an attack that has shaken the confidence of many in the normally safe city. (Mark Blinch/The Canadian Press via AP)

This undated photo provided by the family of Faisal Hussain shows Hussain. Canadian investigators said Tuesday, July 24, 2018, there was no link to "national security" in a deadly shooting in a popular Toronto neighborhood. (Courtesy of The family of Faisal Hussain via AP)

People leave personal messages on a building under renovation, remembering the victims of Sunday's shooting on and near Danforth Avenue in Toronto on Monday, July 23, 2018. A man whose family said he suffered from psychosis and depression fired a handgun into restaurants and cafes in a lively Toronto neighborhood, killing a 10-year-old girl and an 18-year-old woman and wounding over a dozen others in an attack that has shaken the confidence of many in the normally safe city. (Mark Blinch/The Canadian Press via AP)

Andre Talbot, left, and Catalina Moraga comfort each other at a memorial remembering the victims of Sunday's shooting in Toronto on Monday, July 23, 2018. A man whose family said he suffered from psychosis and depression fired a handgun into restaurants and cafes in a lively Toronto neighborhood, killing a 10-year-old girl and an 18-year-old woman and wounding over a dozen others in an attack that has shaken the confidence of many in the normally safe city. (Mark Blinch/The Canadian Press via AP)

People hold signs at a memorial remembering the victims of Sunday's shooting in Toronto on Monday, July 23, 2018. A man whose family said he suffered from psychosis and depression fired a handgun into restaurants and cafes in a lively Toronto neighborhood, killing a 10-year-old girl and an 18-year-old woman and wounding over a dozen others in an attack that has shaken the confidence of many in the normally safe city. (Mark Blinch/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Police chief Mark Saunders speaks at Toronto City Hall on Monday, July 23, 2018, during an intergovernmental meeting in the wake of a mass shooting which happened in Toronto Sunday night. (Nick Kozak/The Canadian Press via AP)

Police are photographed at the perimeter of the scene of a mass shooting in Toronto on Monday, July 23, 2018. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

Police are photographed investigating a car with a bullet hole within the scene of a mass shooting in Toronto on Monday, July 23, 2018. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

Police are shown at the perimeter of the scene of a shooting in east Toronto, on Monday, July 23, 2018. Police were trying Monday to determine what prompted a 29-year-old man to go on a shooting rampage in a popular Toronto neighborhood. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)
ATLANTA (AP) - With a damning secret recording of his opponent and a late endorsement from President Donald Trump's White House, Secretary of State Brian Kemp won a decisive victory Tuesday in the Republican runoff for Georgia governor.

A self-described "unapologetic conservative" whose campaign ran an eyebrow-raising ad that said he could use his own pickup truck to "round up criminal illegals," Kemp rode conservatives' contempt for the establishment to capitalize on his bare-knuckled, outsider politics.

He now faces Democrat Stacey Abrams, who could become the country's first black female governor, in a race that will test Democrats' assertion that changing demographics are turning Georgia from a GOP stronghold into a swing state. Among the most closely watched of the November midterms, the race already has drawn significant financial investments from both national parties.

Georgia Republican gubernatorial runoff candidate Brian Kemp hugs a supporter while making his way through a crowd after giving a victory speech during an election night party, Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Amis)

Kemp thanked supporters at a party in his hometown of Athens, Georgia, and he credited Trump's backing for sealing his win. "They poured gasoline in the fire and fueled the Kemp surge to victory," Kemp said.

Kemp portrayed the race against Abrams as a battle with the "radical left" as Georgia's future hangs in the balance. "Do you want a governor who is going to answer to Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton?" he asked.

Abrams tweeted her reaction to Kemp's win Tuesday, saying "Tonight, I have an opponent: Kemp. The race for #GAGov may change, but our values never will. Service, faith & family guide our vision for GA: Affordable health care. Excellent public schools for every child. An economy that works for all."

"Stand with us," she wrote, followed by a link to a fundraising page.

Kemp beat once heavily favored Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, who outraised Kemp more than 2-to-1 and had a Rolodex of endorsements from establishment Republicans including outgoing Gov. Nathan Deal, who was blocked by term limits from seeking a third term.

In a tweeted endorsement last week, Trump pointed to Kemp's tough stance on illegal immigration and support for gun rights. With days left in the race, Vice President Mike Pence also stumped for Kemp on the campaign trail. Both reiterated their support for Kemp in tweets Tuesday.

Kemp's victory is another endorsement success for Trump. He backed South Carolina congressional candidate Katie Arrington ahead of her upset of Republican Rep. Mark Sanford, and he helped Rep. Martha Roby of Alabama withstand a GOP primary challenge. That run could embolden the president to get even more involved in looming Republican primaries, including gubernatorial contests in Kansas, Tennessee, and Florida.

Nichole Jacobs went to Sandy Springs Christian Church to vote Tuesday for Kemp, citing his stance on immigration. Jacobs sends both her children to private schools, and feels her affluent Atlanta suburb is overrun with "illegal immigration."

"People are moving out of Sandy Springs to get into a better school district or putting their kids in private schools," Jacobs said.

Cagle began to lose ground after the release of a secret recording in June in which he says he helped pass a "bad public-policy" bill for political gain. The recording was made without Cagle's knowledge during a private conversation with former GOP gubernatorial rival Clay Tippins, who last week endorsed Kemp.

"Trump is a very powerful man," Cagle told watch party attendees Tuesday night in Atlanta after conceding to Kemp. He pumped his fist in the air, saying he put his best foot forward in the race as he congratulated Kemp.

"We have to rally behind him, so he can before the next governor of the state of Georgia," Cagle said of Kemp. "He is a person who is undeniably ready to lead this state."

Kemp had received widespread criticism - and national headlines - with television ads in which he pretends to intimidate a young man interested in his daughter with a shotgun and says he has a big pickup truck "just in case I need to round up criminal illegals and take 'em home myself."

Kemp's opponents also hammered his record of securing voter data as secretary of state, in a line of attack likely to become a refrain for Abrams during the general election.

Cagle labeled Kemp "inKempetent," pointing to a 2015 incident in which Kemp's office inadvertently released Social Security numbers and other identifying information of millions of Georgia voters on disks sent to members of the media and political parties. Kemp said a member of his staff was responsible for the error, that person was fired, and procedures were changed.

Kemp's office made headlines again last year after security experts disclosed a gaping security hole that wasn't fixed until six months after it was first reported to election authorities. Personal data was again exposed for Georgia's 6.7 million voters, as were passwords used by county officials to access files.

Kemp's office blamed Kennesaw State University, which managed the system.

The general election campaign opens with Kemp presumed as the favorite in a state where Republican nominees typically garner about 52-53 percent of the statewide vote. But Democrats look to the enthusiasm - and money - behind Abrams, while arguing that Kemp's hard-line approach could turn off enough moderates and independents.

That strategy could turn on voters like Keenan Rogers, a 25-year-old Cagle supporter, who wasn't yet ready Tuesday night to heed his preferred candidate's endorsement of Kemp.

"My knee-jerk reaction is to vote for Stacey Abrams," Rogers said, but added that he wanted to do more research. "She might be a step forward for millennials ... But right now, I'm a little apprehensive."

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Associated Press writers Brinley Hineman in Sandy Springs, Georgia, Jeff Martin in Athens, Georgia, and Jonathan Landrum in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp, center, stops for a selfie with someone as he makes his way through a crowd of supporters after giving a victory speech during an election night party, Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Amis)

FILE - In this May 20, 2018, file photo, Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams participates in a debate in Atlanta. Georgia Republicans tapped Brian Kemp to face Democrat Stacey Abrams in the Georgia governor's race this November, setting a matchup that will test history and highlight the widening gulf between two major parties moving further apart in style and substance in the era of President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/John Amis, File)

Georgia Republican gubernatorial runoff candidate Brian Kemp, center, poses with a supporter after giving a victory speech against Casey Cagle during an election night party, Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Amis)(AP Photo/John Amis)

Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp interacts with supporters after giving a victory speech against Casey Cagle during his runoff election night party, Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Amis)

Georgia Republican gubernatorial runoff candidate Brian Kemp goes on stage to declare victory against Casey Cagle during an election night party, Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Amis)

Georgia Republican gubernatorial runoff candidate Brian Kemp goes on stage to declare victory against Casey Cagle during an election night party, Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Amis)

Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle gestures to supporters as he makes his way to the stage before conceding the runoff election to Secretary of State Brian Kemp during his election-night watch party Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle makes his way to stage before speaking during his election-night watch party, Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Atlanta. Cagle is in a runoff with Secretary of State Brian Kemp for the Republican nomination. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Georgia Republican gubernatorial runoff candidate Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle speaks to reporters after conceding the election to Secretary of State Brian Kemp during his election-night watch party, Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Georgia Republican gubernatorial runoff candidate Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, right, greets a supporter before conceding the runoff election to Secretary of State Brian Kemp during his election-night watch party, Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Georgia Republican gubernatorial runoff candidate Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle leaves the stage after conceding the runoff election to Secretary of State Brian Kemp during election-night watch party Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Georgia Republican gubernatorial runoff candidate Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle concedes the runoff election to Secretary of State Brian Kemp during election-night watch party, Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle steps on stage to speak during election-night watch party Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Atlanta. Cagle conceded the election to Secretary of State Brian Kemp. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Georgia Republican gubernatorial runoff candidate Brian Kemp, center, arrives for an election night party, Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Amis)

Georgia Republican gubernatorial runoff candidate Brian Kemp, center, arrives for an election night party, Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Amis)

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle walks in to speak to members of the media before his election night watch party at the Marriott Century Center, Tuesday, July 24, 2018 in Atlanta. Casey Cagle and Brian Kemp have run to the Trumpian right as they try to win Georgia Republicans' nomination for governor in a Tuesday runoff. (Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle speaks to members of the media before his election night watch party at the Marriott Century Center, Tuesday, July 24, 2018 in Atlanta. Casey Cagle and Brian Kemp have run to the Trumpian right as they try to win Georgia Republicans' nomination for governor in a Tuesday runoff. (Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle holds his granddaughter Everett, 4, after he spoke to members of the media before his election night watch party at the Marriott Century Center, Tuesday, July 24, 2018 in Atlanta. Casey Cagle and Brian Kemp have run to the Trumpian right as they try to win Georgia Republicans' nomination for governor in a Tuesday runoff. (Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle speaks to members of the media before his election night watch party at the Marriott Century Center, Tuesday, July 24, 2018 in Atlanta. Casey Cagle and Brian Kemp have run to the Trumpian right as they try to win Georgia Republicans' nomination for governor in a Tuesday runoff. (Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle speaks to members of the media before his election night watch party at the Marriott Century Center, Tuesday, July 24, 2018 in Atlanta. Casey Cagle and Brian Kemp have run to the Trumpian right as they try to win Georgia Republicans' nomination for governor in a Tuesday runoff. (Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle greets his supporters as he walks in to speak to members of the media before his election night watch party at the Marriott Century Center, Tuesday, July 24, 2018 in Atlanta. Casey Cagle and Brian Kemp have run to the Trumpian right as they try to win Georgia Republicans' nomination for governor in a Tuesday runoff. (Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp leaves the Winterville Train Depot after voting with his wife Marty and daughter Jarrett in the runoff election on Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Winterville,Ga. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp talks to the news media after voting with his wife Marty and daughter Jarrett at the Winterville Train Depot in the runoff election on Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Winterville. Kemp is in a runoff with Lt. Governor Casey Cagle after more than a year of bitter GOP infighting over who is the best conservative candidate for governor. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House is turning up the pressure on Senate Democrats to meet with President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, though with little success.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh has met with 23 senators, all of them Republicans, since his nomination two weeks ago. Democratic lawmakers have been pushing for more information before holding any one-on-one meetings with the 53-year-old nominee.

Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that before he'll meet with Kavanaugh, Republican leadership needs to agree to make available documents from his work in President George W. Bush's administration, his writings and draft writings, and "everything that is conceivably relevant to his professional work prior to the bench."

FILE - In this July 11, 2018, photo, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh listens to Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, on Capitol Hill in Washington, during a meeting. The White House is turning up the pressure on Senate Democrats to meet with President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, though with little success. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

"It's a threshold, absolute condition," Blumenthal told reporters in a conference call.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders began Monday's press briefing by criticizing Democratic senators - particularly Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. - for not meeting with Kavanaugh.

"For members of the opposing party to demand answers to questions and yet refuse to even meet with the qualified Supreme Court nominee is unprecedented," Sanders said. "Sen. Schumer should stop these political games and meet with Judge Kavanaugh."

The meetings are a precursor to a confirmation hearing and a final Senate vote, which Republicans want to occur before Oct. 1. Democrats have called for no vote before the November midterm elections.

Democrats are demanding access to paperwork from Kavanaugh's tenure as staff secretary in Bush's White House, on the 2000 election presidential recount and on special counsel Kenneth Starr's probe of President Bill Clinton. The tally could stretch at least 1 million pages. The paper chase has become a game of high-stakes political strategy.

Recent Supreme Court confirmations have generated massive record searches: 173,000 pages of documents for the confirmation of Elena Kagan in 2010 and 182,000 pages for the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch last year. Republicans want to work out an agreement that is in keeping with that history, but Democrats are signaling they have a broader search in mind.

Blumenthal said he was only speaking for himself, but he wants to see "any documents with (Kavanaugh's) name on them, whether he is a direct recipient or a sender or he is copied, because all of them are relevant to questions that we may have."

Avoiding Kavanaugh could be politically risky for Democrats in conservative-leaning states. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is scheduled to meet with Kavanaugh next Monday, while the office of Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., is working with the White House to set up a meeting, but it has not been scheduled yet.

A Senate Democratic leadership aide said Schumer is fine with some Democrats meeting with Kavanaugh, but he won't unless there is progress in releasing documents. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a private conversation.

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the No. 2 Republican in the chamber, said half of the Democratic lawmakers have already signaled they'll vote against Kavanaugh's confirmation. He said some of the demands for documents are a stalling tactic, but that won't keep the Senate from voting.

"Instead of chasing after irrelevant records from the Bush White House, I would urge our colleagues to read Judge Kavanaugh's opinions and meet with the judge and get to know him," Cornyn said.

Cornyn warned that if the nomination process continues after the Supreme Court begins its next term in October, then the Senate will remain in session until the midterm elections on Nov. 6.

That would mean Democratic senators would be in Washington for the weeks leading up to the election, historically a time when lawmakers have the flexibility to spend time on the campaign trail. That scenario could be problematic for senators seeking re-election in states that Trump won in 2016.

"We will vote on his nomination before the midterm election," Cornyn said.

Kavanaugh had no meetings lined up with lawmakers Monday but will resume making the rounds on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.

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Associated Press writer Alan Fram contributed to this report.

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Reach Kevin Freking at https://twitter.com/APKFreking
PHOENIX (AP) - Scorching heat radiated across the U.S. Southwest on Tuesday, setting record highs in California's Death Valley, Thermal and Palm Springs in a week that forecasters say could prove to be the region's hottest this year.

The National Weather Service said a new high of 127 degrees (52.7 Celsius) was set at California's Death Valley. Weather service forecaster Chris Outler in Las Vegas said the record broke the previous one of 126 (52 Celsius) registered for the day in 1916.

He said Las Vegas reached a high of 112 (44 Celsius) on Tuesday, but that wasn't a record for the day.

Humberto Berlanga, center, wipes sweat from his face while waiting in the heat in line at the Gold & Silver Pawn shop, Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Las Vegas. The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for the Las Vegas valley. (AP Photo/John Locher)

The weather service said other record highs set Tuesday included 122 (50 Celsius) in Thermal, in California's Coachella Valley, and 121 (49.4 Celsius) in Palm Springs.

Forecaster Andrew Deemer said the Phoenix high of 116 (46 Celsius) on Tuesday was tied with the previous record set in 2014.

Arizona and parts of California, Utah and Nevada remained under an excessive heat warning with the heat wave continuing later into the week. Forecasters extended the excessive heat warning for Arizona's Grand Canyon through Thursday, with highs in the South Rim area expected in the low 90s.

"The hottest weather of the year will persist the next several days with near record highs for many locations," the National Weather Service in Phoenix said. "After this period of hot and dry weather for the majority of the area, better moisture will arrive back into the region late in the week."

The weather agency uses a complicated formula that varies from region to region to declare an excessive heat warning, including close to record or record-breaking temperatures.

In California, power grid operators called for cutbacks in electricity usage as parts of the U.S. Southwest dealt with another day of scorching heat.

With triple-digit temperatures forecast across the region, the California Independent System Operator Corp. urged people to ease off blasting air conditioners or using washing machines or other appliances during the peak power usage times of 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health also urged people to stay out of the sun.

"When temperatures are high, even a few hours of exertion may cause severe dehydration, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke," said Dr. Jeffrey Gunzenhauser, the county's interim health officer.

Children, the elderly and pets shouldn't be left in homes without air conditioning or in cars even with open windows because temperatures can quickly soar to life-threatening levels, he said.

With some of the highest Southwest temperatures over the next few days expected in Phoenix, officials cautioned people to stay hydrated and take advantage of cooler indoor buildings.

"Nationwide, heat is the #1 heat-related killer," the weather service in Phoenix said on its website.

"Another very hot day is in store for Arizona with high temps at or above record levels," the weather service office in Tucson said in a tweet. "Drink plenty of water and limit your time outside."

Maricopa County public health officials say 155 people died in the Phoenix area last year from heat-caused illnesses such as heat stroke.

Spokeswoman Jeanene Fowler said Tuesday there have been five confirmed heat-associated deaths in Maricopa County this year, with the cause of another 34 deaths still under investigation.

"The numbers are definitely under what they were at the same time last year, so that's a positive sign," Fowler said.

Elsewhere in the western U.S., the hot, sunny weather prompted officials to raise the fire danger at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming to a high ranking for the first time this year.

The high ranking comes after lightning sparked the first wildfire of the season near Yellowstone. No special restrictions were placed on campfires at the park.

Ashley Mendoza cools off in a water feature at a park, Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Las Vegas. The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for the Las Vegas valley. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A man walks through cooling misters, Tuesday, July 24, 2018 in Tempe, Ariz. Much of Arizona and parts of California, Arizona and Utah are under an excessive heat watch during a week that forecasters say could prove to be the hottest of the year. (AP Photo/Matt York)

People cool off with a water mist along the Las Vegas Strip, Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Las Vegas. The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for the Las Vegas valley. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Amado Cobian puts on a wet neck wrap to keep cool during a break from work Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Las Vegas. The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for the Las Vegas valley. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A hiker walks past a heat warning sign at dawn, Tuesday, July 24, 2018 in Phoenix. Much of Arizona and parts of California, Arizona and Utah are under an excessive heat watch during a week that forecasters say could prove to be the hottest of the year. (AP Photo/Matt York)

A biker hits the trail at dawn to beat the heat Tuesday, July 24, 2018 in Phoenix. Much of Arizona and parts of California, Arizona and Utah are under an excessive heat watch during a week that forecasters say could prove to be the hottest of the year. (AP Photo/Matt York)

A man lifts his bike off his roof rack to beat the heat with an early start at dawn, Tuesday, July 24, 2018 in Phoenix. Much of Arizona and parts of California, Arizona and Utah are under an excessive heat watch during a week that forecasters say could prove to be the hottest of the year. (AP Photo/Matt York)

A jet comes in for an approach over downtown early Tuesday, July 24, 2018 in Phoenix, as temperatures exceed 100 degrees in the morning hours. Much of Arizona and parts of California, Arizona and Utah are under an excessive heat watch during a week that forecasters say could prove to be the hottest of the year. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Hikers hit the trail at sunrise to beat the heat Tuesday, July 24, 2018 in Phoenix. Much of Arizona and parts of California, Arizona and Utah are under an excessive heat watch during a week that forecasters say could prove to be the hottest of the year. (AP Photo/Matt York)
HONOLULU (AP) - A passenger on a tour boat that was hit by lava off Hawaii's Big Island last week shielded his girlfriend and said he was waiting for death as searing debris ripped through the catamaran's roof.

"I remember getting hit with the lava in my back and just waiting for the heat," Will Bryan, a 38-year-old paramedic who was on vacation in Hawaii told The Associated Press. "I just assumed that whatever hit me was lava and I was going to burn and die."

His girlfriend, Erin Walsh, 31, was sitting next to him when lava rained down on them July 16. She said she was so traumatized she now can't stand to be near a running clothes dryer because the sound reminds her of the cacophony of lava that struck the boat.

FILE - This photo provided by the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources shows damage to the roof of a tour boat after an explosion sent lava flying through the roof off the Big Island of Hawaii, Monday, July 16, 2018, injuring at least 23 people. The lava came from the Kilauea volcano, which has been erupting from a rural residential area since early May. (Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources via AP, File)

"It's getting better each day, but I definitely feel like I'm kind of suffering from some PTSD," she told the AP Monday by phone from Portland, where the couple lives. Walsh added she still has trouble being alone in the dark.

The two were on a 49-passenger sightseeing boat that brings people to see lava from Kilauea volcano entering the sea. The volcano, which has been active for decades, began its latest eruption on May 3 and has destroyed more than 700 homes since.

The volcano's magnificent illuminations lived up to the tourists' expectations, at least at the beginning. "Everybody oohed and awed," Bryan said.

But that changed as the boat got closer. "You can hear the oohs and awes stopping. Everyone started to get nervous," he recalled.

The vessel made several passes in front of the plume, getting closer each time. Bryan said "mob mentality" prevented him and others from speaking up about their fears of getting too close.

"This stuff was magical and exciting, and no one was saying a word," he said.

Bryan was sitting on the side of the boat closest to the explosion when it happened and captured the event on video. The footage shows the lava blasting out of the ocean and the sounds of rocks and debris pinging off the metal boat as people screamed.

Whenever hot lava enters much cooler ocean waters, there is the potential for large explosions. The U.S. Geological Survey recommends people stay at least 300 yards (274 meters) away from any ocean entry.

When the blast happened, Bryan stood up and turned his back to the lava and shielded Walsh.

The debris "pelted" his back, but only burned the top layers of his clothing, with the lava never contacting his flesh. He suffered burns on his foot and lacerations up and down his legs, and Walsh also had cuts and burns on her legs and arms. She also said debris got into her eyes.

"Every time (the lava) hit a person ... as it bounced off their skin or flesh, you could hear it," Bryan said, describing the sound as a "soft thud."

The smoke and debris engulfed the boat, Bryan said, and everything went black. Flashes of lightning were produced by the explosion and crackled around them.

"There was nowhere to hide on that boat, it's so small, and it was coming from above us and it was coming from the side of us, there was nowhere to go," he said of people scrambling for safety.

"You're crawling over people, and you're trying to get to the furthest side of the boat and you're just hoping that you can get away fast enough," Bryan said.

Seconds after the initial blast, the large chunk of molten rock crashed through the roof.

"You can see in my video , there's like a flash of orange light and that's when that rock went through the roof," Bryan said. "I just remember worrying, 'There's going to be another one that's going to hit us.'"

Then it stopped.

Minutes after the explosion the captain took a jacket and dragged the basketball-sized chunk of still glowing lava rock off the boat, Bryan said.

Bryan and a doctor stabilized a woman who suffered a fractured leg, the most serious injury of those aboard. The other 22 people injured were treated for minor burns and scrapes, including 12 who were treated at a hospital in Hilo.

The nearly two-hour boat ride back to the docks was painful, uncomfortable and silent, Bryan said. The woman with the broken leg was on the floor of the boat, and Bryan recalled hearing moans every time the vessel hit a wave.

Walsh was taking video and photos with her cellphone before the explosion. She doesn't remember much after that, and even the images she took before the explosion are gone.

She took her phone in to be serviced when it wouldn't work.

"They opened it up and they said it was melted on the inside," she said.

In this July 16, 2018, image taken from video provided by Will Bryan, the glow of lava from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano is seen through a plume of gas as it enters the ocean near Kapoho, Hawaii. Bryan, a paramedic who was on vacation in Hawaii when the accident happened, says both he and his girlfriend, Erin Walsh, suffered burns and cuts from the volcanic debris that hit the tour boat they were on. (Will Bryan via AP)

FILE - In this Monday, July 16, 2018, file photo, a police officer secures the tour boat "Hot Spot" for the arrival of inspectors in Hilo, Hawaii. An explosion caused by lava oozing into the ocean sent molten rock crashing through the roof of the boat, injuring 23 people. (John Burnett/Hawaii Tribune-Herald via AP, File)

In this July 16, 2018, image taken from video provided by Will Bryan, lava and debris, foreground and right, from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano explodes from the ocean, near Kapoho, Hawaii. Bryan and his girlfriend suffered burns and cuts from the volcanic debris. (Will Bryan via AP)

In this aerial image provided by the U.S. Geological Survey, lava from Kilauea volcano enters the ocean on Hawaii's Big Island, Monday, July 23, 2018. A passenger on a lava tour boat near the volcano says he thought he was going to die when molten rock blasted out of the sea a week earlier and struck the vessel he was on. (U.S. Geological Survey via AP)
QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) - The chief justice of Pakistan's Supreme Court has appointed the first woman chief justice to Baluchistan province's highest court.

Saqib Nisar announced Monday the appointment of prominent judge Tahira Safdar effective Sept. 1 when she replaces outgoing provincial chief justice Mohammad Noor Muskanzai, who retires Aug. 31.

The legal community Tuesday hailed the appointment of Safar, who has heard many high-profile cases.

In this Nov. 23, 2015 photo, Pakistan's newly appointed judge Tahira Safdar sits in court in Quetta, Pakistan. The chief justice of Pakistan's Supreme Court has appointed the first woman chief justice to Baluchistan province's highest court. (AP Photo/Arshad Butt)

Safdar was on a three-judge panel that has yet to conclude the trial of former dictator Pervaiz Musharraf on treason charges.

Musharraf, who seized power in 1999, was declared a fugitive in 2013 and since then has been living in self-exile in Dubai to avoid arrest on criminal charges.
LAURINBURG, N.C. (AP) - Authorities arrested 26 people in raids on three casinos they say were illegally operated by the Tuscarora Indian Nation of North Carolina, which lacks federal or state recognition as a Native American tribe.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation says members of the group were making threats of war against law enforcement and operating illegal casinos, marijuana grows and an unlicensed police force.

Alcohol Law Enforcement head Terrance Merriweather says neighbors complained and the group "openly expressed beliefs that neither the laws of North Carolina nor the United States applied to them."

In this Monday, July 23, 2018 photo, provided by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, an Alcohol Law Enforcement agent looks over a cellphone in front of a row of gaming machines after authorities raided illegally operated casinos near Laurinburg, N.C. North Carolina authorities, on Monday, raided three casinos they say were illegally operated by the Tuscarora Nation, which lacks federal or state recognition as a Native American tribe. (North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation via AP)

Authorities also confiscated vehicles, drugs, money, weapons and more than 200 gambling machines on Monday.

There was no answer Tuesday at home or office listings for the organization's leader, Kendall Locklear, who was among those arrested.
RAFINA, Greece (AP) - The fire came suddenly, and the group of friends ran. When they reached the beach and there was nowhere more to run, they swam into the ocean, choking and blinded by the smoke and pulled by the strong current.

The same winds that fanned the flamed had whipped up the seas, and soon they lost sight of the shore and became disoriented.

For two hours the group struggled to stay afloat, until salvation came in the form of a fishing boat and its Egyptian crew. Nikos Stavrinidis was pulled to safety. So was his wife and two of their friends.

In this image taken from video, Nikos Stavrinidis gives a dramatic account of how he escaped from Greek forest fire, in Mati, near Athens, Tuesday July 24, 2018. Stavrinidis said he fled from the fire, swimming into the sea and choking smoke only to get swept away by the current into the sea, and then he was rescued by a fishing boat. (AP Photo)

But two more - a woman and her son - had disappeared into the waves.

"It is terrible to see the person next to you drowning and not be able to help him. You can't," Stavrinidis said, his voice breaking. "That will stay with me."

The couple had gone to the Greek port of Rafina to prepare their summer home for their daughter, who planned to visit for the summer, when they were caught up in Greece's deadliest wildfires in more than a decade.

"It happened very fast. The fire was in the distance, then sparks from the fire reached us. Then the fire was all around us," he said. "The wind was indescribable - it was incredible. I've never seen anything like this before in my life."

And so they ran, making their way toward the beach, but even that wasn't safe.

"We ran to the sea. We had to swim out because of the smoke, but we couldn't see where anything was," he said.

The current was strong and the smoke blinding, and the friends fought to stay afloat.

"We fell into the sea and tried to distance ourselves, to get away from the monoxide. We went as far in as we could," he said. "But as we went further, there was a lot of wind and a lot of current and it started taking us away from the coast. We were not able to see where we were."

Stavrinidis credited the crew of the fishing boat for saving the surviving friends.

"They jumped into the sea with their clothes still on," he said. "They made us tea and kept us warm. They were great."

Firefighters stand on a cliff top where burned trees hug the coastline in Mati east of Athens, Tuesday, July 24, 2018. Twin wildfires raging through popular seaside areas near the Greek capital have torched homes, cars and forests and killed at least 49 people, authorities said Tuesday, raising the death toll after rescue crews reported finding the bodies of more than 20 people huddled together near a beach. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
BRUSSELS (AP) - The Latest on Europe's handling of the influx of migrants to the continent (all times local):

8:50 p.m.

Italy's hard-line interior minister is dismissing as mere "charity" the proposal by the European Commission to pay EU member states 6,000 euros ($7,000) to accept and process each migrant saved at sea.

Montenegro President Milo Djukanovic, right, shakes hands with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Montenegro's capital Podgorica, Monday, July 23, 2018. Orban arrived on a two-day visit to Montenegro. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)

Matteo Salvini said "We don't ask for money, we ask for dignity."

The European Union's executive said Tuesday that it wants to offer "full financial support" to any member state volunteering to set up so-called controlled centers where people in need of international protection and those who have no right to stay in the 28-nation bloc will be assessed.

Italy has insisted the screening centers be set up in African countries.

Salvini said that over the course of time, Italian taxpayers pay between 40,000-50,000 euros per asylum-seeker. It wasn't clear what that figure is based on or how it might be offset by migrants' eventual contributions into the Italian economy.

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12:50 p.m.

Hungary's anti-immigration prime minister has described stopping a massive influx of migrants through the Balkans as Europe's only success in dealing with the problem.

Viktor Orban on Tuesday offered to help small Montenegro guard its borders against migrants, insisting that the Balkans should remain closed for people trying to reach Western Europe.

Orban says after talks with Montenegrin PM Dusko Markovic that "Europe is still making serious mistakes." He adds that "the only success has been the closure of the Balkan route, which was thanks to Hungary."

Orban's government has built two rows of razor-wire fence on its southern border with Serbia after hundreds of thousands of migrants passed through in 2015.

Some migrants recently have turned also to Montenegro and Bosnia for a passage to the West.

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12:40 p.m.

The European Commission is proposing that EU member states be paid 6,000 euros ($7,000) to accept and deal with each migrant saved at sea in the Mediterranean as they seek to reach the European Union.

The EU's executive said that it wants to offer "full financial support" to any member state volunteering to set up so-called controlled centers where people in need of international protection and those who have no right to stay in the 28-nation bloc will be assessed.

The leaders of EU member states decided in a summit last month how to deal with the pressures of migration after they accommodated Italian demands for more help.

EU member states will start discussing it on Thursday.
BAGNERES-DE-LUCHON, France (AP) - After fans had caused chaos in the Alps by setting off flares, tear gas from police accidentally played havoc with Tour de France riders during the first stage in the Pyrenees on Tuesday.

Four-time champion Chris Froome was among a large group of riders whose eyes needed treatment when police intervened to disperse farmers protesting funding cuts by disrupting cycling's biggest race.

Bales of hay blocked the road 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) into the 218-kilometer stage from Carcassonne to Bagneres-de-Luchon. Tour organizers said police used tear gas to move the protesters as the peloton approached.

Britain's Chris Froome grimaces after being treated for tear gas or pepper spray sprayed on the peloton when a farmer's protest interrupted during the sixteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 218 kilometers (135.5 miles) with start in Carcassonne and finish in Bagneres-de-Luchon, France, , Tuesday, July 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Four-time champion Froome, race leader Geraint Thomas, and world champion Peter Sagan were among those affected. Froome was treated with eye drops and Sagan poured water over his face to clean his eyes.

Stage 16 resumed after a 15-minute delay.

"I was lucky that it did not affect me too much, I had a bit of tingling in the back of the throat but I used some water to wash it out," said Thomas on the finish line in the spa town of Bagneres-de-Luchon, after keeping his overall lead intact.

Froome, who remained in second place overall, 1 minute, 39 seconds behind Sky teammate Thomas, said the effects of the gas did not last long.

"I just sprayed some water, water in the eyes, water on the face," he said. "Just felt throat and nose were burning, eyes were burning afterwards. But I think quite a lot of riders were in a similar situation. I think we're all grateful for temporary neutralization and to clear, to have a couple of (kilometers) to clear our eyes, nose out, then the racing continued again."

Frenchman Pierre Latour, who wears the white jersey for the best young rider, said he noticed police were using tear gas when he arrived at the road blockade.

"With the headwind, the gas came back to the peloton. Lots of us had to stop to drink and douse water over our eyes," Latour said.

Tour director Christian Prudhomme condemned the farmers' action and demanded more respect for riders.

"The road should remain free, we are not going to lock the riders in a stadium or on a tennis court," he said. "The riders' job is extremely dangerous, they are taking risks every day, people should not block the road, no matter what causes they are fighting for."

Belgian classics specialist Greg Van Avermaet said race organizers made a good decision by neutralizing the stage, allowing the peloton to resume competing after three kilometers.

"I was not affected because I was not in the first 10 of the group," he said. "I heard some of the guys had problems so I thought it was a good decision to stop and wait and bring everything together."

According to a statement from French authorities in the local Aude department, a small group of 20 activists made the intervention to protest a planned reduction of European Union funding in their area. Standing on the side of the road with a herd of about 50 sheep, the farmers threw hay bales on the race route just minutes before the peloton arrived.

This Tour has been marred by incidents.

Race organizers have struggled to deal with angry fans protesting Froome's participation. After fans threw flares at riders in the climb to the ski resort of Alpe d'Huez, Tour organizers banned the use of smoke flares for the rest of the race.

Froome raced all season under the cloud of a potential ban for using twice the permitted level of salbutamol during his victory at the Spanish Vuelta in September. He was cleared only just before the Tour. He said he has been repeatedly spat at since the race started, and spectators have punched him and tried to make him fall off his bike.

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Associated Press photographer Peter Dejong, Associated Press writers Andrew Dampf and Ciaran Fahey contributed to this story

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More Tour de France coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/TourdeFrance

Policemen face protestors during the sixteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 218 kilometers (135.5 miles) with start in Carcassonne and finish in Bagneres-de-Luchon, France, Tuesday, July 24, 2018. Four-time champion Chris Froome is among several riders who have had their eyes treated for tear gas or pepper spray sprayed on the peloton when a farmer's protest interrupted the 16th stage of the Tour de France. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Policemen face protestors during the sixteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 218 kilometers (135.5 miles) with start in Carcassonne and finish in Bagneres-de-Luchon, France, Tuesday, July 24, 2018. Four-time champion Chris Froome is among several riders who have had their eyes treated for tear gas or pepper spray sprayed on the peloton when a farmer's protest interrupted the 16th stage of the Tour de France. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Britain's Chris Froome treats his eyes for tear gas or pepper spray sprayed on the peloton when a farmer's protest interrupted during the sixteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 218 kilometers (135.5 miles) with start in Carcassonne and finish in Bagneres-de-Luchon, France, , Tuesday, July 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Britain's Chris Froome grimaces after he treated his eyes for tear gas or pepper spray sprayed on the peloton when a farmer's protest interrupted during the sixteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 218 kilometers (135.5 miles) with start in Carcassonne and finish in Bagneres-de-Luchon, France, Tuesday, July 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Riders wait on the road after a farmer's protest interrupted the sixteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 218 kilometers (135.5 miles) with start in Carcassonne and finish in Bagneres-de-Luchon, France, Tuesday, July 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Riders with Britain's Geraint Thomas, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey Britain's wait on the road after a farmer's protest interrupted the sixteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 218 kilometers (135.5 miles) with start in Carcassonne and finish in Bagneres-de-Luchon, France, , Tuesday, July 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
BEIRUT (AP) - The Latest on developments in Syria (all times local):

9:20 p.m.

An official based in Syria and allied with government forces says Islamic State militants have seized the body of a Syrian pilot whose fighter jet was shot down by Israel.

Trails of Patriot missiles are seen in the sky in northern Israel Tuesday, July 24, 2018. Israel shot down a Syrian fighter jet it said had breached its airspace on Tuesday while advancing Syrian government forces retaking territory from rebels reached the Golan Heights frontier for the first time in seven years. The Israeli military said it monitored the advance of the Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet and shot it down with a pair of Patriot missiles after it penetrated Israeli airspace by about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles). (David Cohen/Flash90 via AP)

The official told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the fate of the second Syrian pilot remains unknown. He did not elaborate.

The official is with the so-called "Axis of Resistance," which is led by Iran and which includes Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and other groups fighting alongside President Bashar Assad's forces. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

Israel said it shot down the jet after it flew into Israeli territory. The incident comes as Syrian government forces retaking territory from rebels reached the Golan Heights frontier for the first time in seven years.

A sliver of land along the frontier, on the Syrian side, is still in the hands of IS.

-Bassem Mroue in Beirut;

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7:05 p.m.

Israel's U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon says that Israel seeks "no escalation in the region." He spoke shortly after his country's military shot down a Syrian fighter jet it said had breached Israeli airspace.

The Israeli government said it acted after the jet entered Israeli airspace. Danon says Israeli forces saw the plane "crossing the border .... we tried to contact a few times, and there was no response."

He added that in such cases, "the only thing we can do is to protect our civilians." Danon spoke at the U.N. headquarters in New York before the Security Council's monthly Mideast meeting on Tuesday.

He says that there was no time to "wait to see what are the real intentions of the pilot" and added "that's what any other country will do in a similar situation."

Danon stressed that "Israel will not tolerate any violation of our sovereignty - not from Syria, not from Gaza, not from any other enemy that threatens our security."

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6:30 p.m.

Israel's prime minister has called the reported breach of Israeli airspace by a Syrian fighter jet a "gross violation" of a demilitarization agreement between Israel and Syria.

Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel "will not accept any such violation," whether from the air or ground.

Netanyahu's statement says he expects Syria to "rigorously" respect the 1974 agreement which sets out a demilitarized zone along the shared Syria-Israel frontier.

The Israeli military said it shot down the jet after it flew 2 kilometers into Israeli territory. The incident comes as Syrian government forces retaking territory from rebels reached the Golan Heights frontier for the first time in seven years.

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4:15 p.m.

The Israeli military says the Syrian plane it shot down departed from the Syrian T4 air base, which Israel is believed to have attacked earlier this year.

Military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus says Tuesday that the plane flew toward Israel at "relatively high speed" before breaching the country's airspace. He said it was unknown if the plane deliberately crossed into Israel nor what happened to its pilot. The plane crashed in the southern part of the Syrian Golan Heights, he said.

He said the increased activity near Israel's frontier with Syria put the military on "elevated alert" and prompted Israel to issue a number of warnings through different channels to ensure a 1974 agreement which sets out a demilitarized zone along the shared Syria-Israel frontier would not be violated

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2:45 p.m.

The Israeli military says it has shot down a Syrian fighter jet that entered its airspace.

The military says it monitored the advance of the Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet Tuesday and shot it down with a pair of Patriot missiles after it entered Israeli airspace by about two kilometers.

It is only the second such incident along the border in 30 years.

The military says that there had been an increase in the internal fighting in Syria since the morning hours, including an increase in the activity of the Syrian Air Force.

It said the Israeli military was on high alert and would continue to protect its territory.

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2:35 p.m.

Syrian state media says government forces have reached the frontier with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights after capturing territory from rebels and Islamic State militants.

Al-Ikhbariya TV on Tuesday broadcast footage from the fence demarcating the U.N. buffer zone between Syrian and Israeli forces inside the Golan Heights.

The camera showed an Israeli observation post 400 meters (440 yards) away.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967. The U.N. deployed a peacekeeping force between the two sides in 1974.

It is the first time government forces have taken up positions along the frontier since an uprising against President Bashar Assad swept through the country in 2011. Islamic State militants later seized territory from rebels along the frontier region.
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) - Romania's justice minister says four prosecutors have applied for the post of chief anti-corruption prosecutor, a prestigious yet highly scrutinized job.

Former anti-graft chief Laura Codruta Kovesi was dismissed on July 9 amid government allegations of incompetence and mismanagement. She has rejected the accusations.

The ruling Social Democratic Party has often criticized the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, claiming it unfairly targets politicians. Yet under Kovesi's leadership the agency won praise from the European Union, the U.S. and ordinary Romanians.

Justice Minister Tudorel Toader on Tuesday declined to speculate if any of the candidates would be selected, suggesting the government could extend the hiring process. Two are anti-corruption prosecutors, while the other two work for the general prosecutor's office.

Toader will put forward a candidate for President Klaus Iohannis to approve. Iohannis supports the anti-graft fight.
CAIRO (AP) - Egypt inaugurated several power generation projects, including three electricity plants built by the German conglomerate Siemens, in a ceremony Tuesday attended by President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, government ministers and officials.

The three combined-cycle power plants were built by Siemens at a cost of 6 billion euros, or $7.2 billion. They are in Kafr al-Sheikh and Beni Suef provinces and in the new capital city that is under construction outside of Cairo and are expected to provide 14,400 megawatts to Egypt's national electricity grid.

Also among other projects inaugurated was a big wind farm in Gabal al-Zeit, on the Red Sea.

At the ceremony, Electricity Minister Mohammed Shaker said Egypt has invested in projects in the electricity sector costing some 515 billion Egyptian pounds since June 2014.

Egypt suffered a severe power crunch in the years following a 2011 popular uprising that toppled longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak. The nationwide power shortage largely blamed on poor maintenance and lack of funding caused rolling blackouts, particularly during summer, that affected tens of millions of people.

During the ceremony, el-Sissi said Egypt has come a long way and Egyptians should be proud of what has been accomplished.

The Electricity Ministry's spokesman, Ayman Hamza, told local media earlier that the projects are part of a wider plan to make Egypt a regional energy hub. He said the output will cover all domestic needs and will help boost electrical exchange with neighboring countries.

Recently, Egypt raised the price of electricity by an average of 26 percent as part of austerity measures designed to overhaul the country's economy. El-Sissi says the reforms, implemented shortly after he took office in 2014, have put Egypt on "the right track" and that they will spur economic growth by over seven percent in the coming years.
MILAN (AP) - Fiat Chrysler's second-quarter earnings presentation was meant to celebrate long-time CEO Sergio Marchionne's achievement of eliminating all debt for the formerly troubled company. Instead, it will be overshadowed by his early and sudden exit for serious health problems and the debut of his replacement, Mike Manley.

Credited with the turnaround of the Jeep subsidiary, Manley faces his first big test as the group CEO on Wednesday, when he lays out the Italian-American automaker's earnings and takes questions from analysts likely to focus on how he will manage hard-earned growth and profitability.

Max Warburton, an analyst at research firm Bernstein, said the 54-year-old British manager's outing would be "a difficult baptism." The financial community, he noted, had assumed Marchionne would keep a hand in the business, perhaps as chairman "to phone in his instructions."

FILE - In this file photo dated Monday, Jan. 15, 2018, Mike Manley, head of Jeep brand, addresses the media during the North American International Auto Show, in Detroit, USA. The Fiat Chrysler's board on Saturday July 20, 2018, has recommended Jeep executive Mike Manley to replace seriously ill CEO Sergio Marchionne. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

The uncertainty created by Marchionne's sudden exit was evident in volatility in the share price Monday, when the stock opened sharply lower only to recover. By Tuesday, its losses were fully recouped. Manley then got a vote of confidence from ratings agency Standard & Poors, which said Fiat Chrysler's BB+ credit grade and positive outlook remained unchanged by the change in CEO.

For the stock, Warburton said "2019 should be a solid year. ..... But long-term concerns will build." He noted Marchionne had close control of all aspects of the company, so it's unclear how the leadership change might affect that.

Fiat Chrysler's second-quarter net income is expected to come in at 1.28 billion euros, which would be an 11 percent increase over the same period last year, according to a survey of analysts by financial data company FactSet. Sales are expected to have risen 3 percent to 28.87 billion euros.

And it will be Manley who will confirm the achievement of zero debt, announced last month by Marchionne. Marchionne remains hospitalized in Zurich, Switzerland, after his health deteriorated suddenly due to undisclosed complications from surgery on his right shoulder. No details have been disclosed, but Fiat Chrysler Chairman John Elkann has made clear that his condition precludes a return.

Manley's experience in the United States, where Fiat makes three-quarters of its profits, was key to his nomination.

While Marchionne was the most public face of Fiat Chrysler for the last 14 years, with trusted executives operating mostly behind the scenes, Manley played a key role in both drafting and presenting a new five-year business plan that foresees Jeep and Ram, the two brands he ran, as the growth-drivers. The plan calls for 9 billion euros in investments as the carmaker tries to catch up in the market for gas-electric hybrids and fully electric vehicles.

"Mike Manley has extremely strong credentials to run a global automaker in technological and strategic transition," Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said. He noted Jeep's global expansion, four-fold jump in sales volumes and the doubling of its product lineup since Manley took over in 2009.

Manley's biggest challenges will be to continue Marchionne's efforts to find industrial partners - which the former CEO repeatedly said was needed to bring down costs - and to expand into new technologies, like automation, Jonas said. Manley will also oversee the planned spin-off of components business Magneti Marelli, announced earlier this month.

Jonas noted that Marchionne continually dismissed concerns that his involvement in all strategy would hamper succession, referring to "the deep bench of talented leader he had groomed over the years."

"Investors must decide if the next generation can carry the legacy," Jonas said.
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a $205 million loan to Uganda during a visit to the country, the second stop in his tour of Africa ahead of this week's summit of the BRICS emerging economies.

The money will be used to expand Uganda's electricity grid and to promote agriculture and dairy farming, the governments said in a joint statement after signing bilateral agreements.

Uganda's government depends heavily on outside money, especially loans from Chinese banks, to implement increasingly ambitious infrastructure projects.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, centre left, is received by President Yoweri Museveni, centre right, after inspecting a parade at State House Entebbe, about 42 Km from the capital Kampala Monday July 24, 2018. Modi has embarked on a five-day three-nation tour of the African continent. (AP Photo / Stephen Wandera)

Modi first stopped in Rwanda, where he signed bilateral agreements and visited a model farm to which he donated 200 cows.

In Uganda he met with the Indian community and will address the national assembly on Wednesday. He also will participate in a Uganda-India business summit. Modi then goes to South Africa for the BRICS summit.

Uganda has a substantial Indian community, including a group of industrialists who have flourished in the years since they returned to claim assets that had been seized during the reign of dictator Idi Amin.

In 1972 Amin ordered the expulsion of Asians, many of them Indian traders, from the East African country, saying he wanted to put the economy back in the hands of local people. Most of the seized property has since been handed back to the original owners under the government of current President Yoweri Museveni.

Businessmen of Indian origin have invested heavily in Uganda's manufacturing, agricultural processing and pharmaceutical sectors.

Members of Uganda's Indian community have said they want to be recognized by the country's constitution as a tribe, something neighboring Kenya achieved last year.

India has been trying to build trade relationships in Africa. In 2015 Modi invited African leaders to New Delhi for an India-Africa summit that was the biggest of its kind.

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Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa

The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, together with the President of Rwanda Paul Kagame, centre right, greet residents of Rweru, Rwanda, after Modi gave some cows for their good health, on Tuesday July 24, 2018. Modi gifted some cows to the residents of Mweru, to support President Paul Kagame's initiative to reduce poverty and childhood malnutrition. ( AP Photo)

A local resident sings a cow poem for the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, watched by Rwandan president, Paul Kagame, top left, during a visit to Rweru, Rwanda, Tuesday July 24, 2018. Modi gifted some cows to the residents of Mweru, to support President Paul Kagame's initiative to reduce poverty and childhood malnutrition. ( AP Photo)
MOSCOW (AP) - One man who knows a great deal about Washington-Moscow summits is not ready to call the latest one in Helsinki a failure, despite its confused aftermath.

From 1985 to 1991, across ten summits that brought the Cold War to an end and ushered in unprecedented cooperation between Washington and Moscow, Pavel Palazhchenko was a constant presence as chief interpreter for Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze. In innumerable news photos from that era, he's the guy with the dark suit and mustache discreetly standing beside or just behind Gorbachev.

So when Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin took to their podiums in Helsinki last week, Palazhchenko was watching from Moscow to see how the latest chapter in the story would unfold.

In this photo taken on Monday, July 23, 2018, former chief interpreter for Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze speaks during his interview to the Associated Press at Gorbachev foundation's headquarters in Moscow, Russia. Palazchenko declined to call the latest Helsinki meeting between US President Trump and Russian President Putin an outright failure, but said there seems a lack of clarity on exactly what the two agreed on. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

His take on the controversial meeting: Next time, it might be a good idea to get things set down in writing.

But, he says, please keep holding these summits - even if the going gets difficult. There's too much at stake not to talk.

Palazhchenko declined to call Helsinki an outright failure, even though after the meeting Trump walked back comments saying that he believed Putin when the Russian leader says that Russia was not involved in election meddling in the United States. Palazhchenko did concede there was a lack of clarity on exactly what the two world leaders agreed upon.

"A couple of mistakes were made ... it was a mistake not to try to craft some kind of a joint statement," Palazhchenko told The Associated Press in an interview. "The press conference did not go well. Those things happen, stuff happens. But nevertheless, one has to move forward. Perhaps they will correct some of the mistakes that were made and move forward by trying to build a coalition."

He said it would "take time to understand what really happened" at the July 16 meeting in the Finnish capital.

"I think both Trump and Putin will be talking in the near future about what was achieved, about what they hope to achieve," he said, add that, for Trump, the important thing "is to try to create a coalition in favor of improved relations and to have public support for that process."

Palazhchenko stressed that the U.S.-Russian relationship was simply too important - to each side and to the world - for Russia and the United States not to talk.

"Those are still the two nuclear superpowers, even though more than 80 percent of the nuclear weapons that existed at the height of the Cold War have now been destroyed," he said. "They still are both very influential and so strategically I think good relations between Russia and the U.S. are very, very necessary."

Palazhchenko, 69, graduated from what is now Moscow State Linguistic University in 1972. He left government service after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and later worked at the Gorbachev Foundation as head of international and media relations.

He noted that just because two leaders disagree on important topics doesn't mean a summit wasn't worth it.

At a Geneva summit in 1985, then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Gorbachev argued vigorously over U.S. plans for the Strategic Defense Initiative missile defense, better known as "Star Wars." But, Palazhchenko said, the summit ended with the declaration that nuclear war "cannot be won and must never be fought." It also relaunched cultural and educational exchanges between the two superpowers and paved the way for later agreements to reduce the number of nuclear weapons.

And spontaneity isn't all bad - the 1990 Helsinki summit between U.S. President George H.W. Bush and Gorbachev "was something that was done almost on the spur of the moment."

Palazhchenko says those summits succeeded because "both sides - Gorbachev and Reagan, Gorbachev and Bush - wanted it to succeed" and were able to set aside friction over spy scandals and other incidents taking place at the same time.

"The lesson is the value of process, mutual respect and persistence," he said.

"I think Putin and Trump, too, wanted to succeed," he added. "The way ahead will be very difficult ... a lot of mines have not yet exploded and they will. But they I think are determined to improve their relationship."

Democrats in Congress are now seeking to summon Trump's State Department interpreter Marina Gross to find out what was discussed in the one-on-one talks with Putin in Helsinki. Palazhchenko called their request "extraordinary" but added "I don't think it's going to happen."

The interpreter said he believes that history will look more kindly on this latest Helsinki summit than the media is doing now.

"It will be very difficult to repair what has been done over the past years (to U.S.-Russia relations) but it is something where I think, once the forward movement starts, I think history will be on their side," he said.

FILE - In this Dec. 8, 1987 file photo U.S. President Ronald Reagan, right, and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev exchange pens during the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty signing ceremony in the White House East Room in Washington, D.C. Gorbachev's translator Pavel Palazhchenko stands in the middle. Pavel Palazhchenko was a constant presence as chief interpreter for Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze, and watched from Moscow to see how the latest chapter in the US-Soviet story would unfold. During an interview Palazchenko on Monday July 23, 2018, declined to call the latest Helsinki meeting between US President Trump and Russian President Putin an outright failure, but said there seems a lack of clarity on exactly what the two agreed on. (AP Photo/Bob Daugherty, File)

In this photo taken on Monday, July 23, 2018, former chief interpreter for Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze speaks during his interview to the Associated Press at Gorbachev foundation's headquarters in Moscow, Russia. Palazchenko declined to call the latest Helsinki meeting between US President Trump and Russian President Putin an outright failure, but said there seems a lack of clarity on exactly what the two agreed on. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

In this photo taken on Monday, July 23, 2018, former chief interpreter for Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze speaks during his interview to the Associated Press at Gorbachev foundation's headquarters in Moscow, Russia. Palazchenko declined to call the latest Helsinki meeting between US President Trump and Russian President Putin an outright failure, but said there seems a lack of clarity on exactly what the two agreed on. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

FILE In this file photo taken on Sunday, Sept. 9, 1990, U.S. President George H. Bush works to get an earphone plug from his ear as Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev laughs during their joint news conference in Helsinki, Finland. Pavel Palazhchenko, former chief interpreter for Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev noted during an interview Monday July 23, 2018, that the summit ended with the declaration that nuclear war "cannot be won and must never be fought," relaunched cultural and educational exchanges, and paved the way for later agreements to reduce the number of nuclear weapons. (AP Photo/Liu Heung Shin, FILE)
SRINAGAR, India (AP) - A paramilitary soldier was killed and two others wounded Tuesday in an attack by rebels fighting Indian rule in disputed Kashmir, officials said.

Militants on a motorbike sprayed gunfire at a group of soldiers in Srinagar, the region's main city, said Indian paramilitary spokesman Sanjay Sharma. He said police and soldiers cordoned off the area in an attempt to nab the attackers.

No rebel group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

An Indian police man rushes towards the sight of shootout in central Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, July 24, 2018. Suspected rebels shot and killed a paramilitary soldier and wounded another during a shootout, police said. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim it in its entirety. Rebels have been fighting Indian control since 1989, demanding that the territory be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.

Most Kashmiris support the rebels' cause while also participating in civilian street protests against Indian control.

India accuses Pakistan of arming and training the rebels, a charge Pakistan denies.

Nearly 70,000 people have been killed in the uprising and the ensuing Indian military crackdown.

Indian police men frisk a Kashmiri shopkeeper and people who took refuge inside a medical shop during a shoot out in central Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, July 24, 2018. Suspected rebels shot and killed a paramilitary soldier and wounded another during a shootout, police said. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
ISLAMABAD (AP) - Pakistanis are to vote on Wednesday in the third consecutive general elections in their nation's 71-year-long history to take place without political upheaval, a crisis or a military intervention.

Four military governments had ruled Pakistan for almost half of its existence and in its young democracy, no civilian prime minister has ever completed a full, five-year term in office without some sort of crisis. In some cases, parliaments were dissolved, a prime minister was ousted or replaced, the military staged a coup or early elections were forced.

Here is a timeline encompassing major political and other events in Pakistan's history:

Banners of election candidates from political parties are displayed on a road in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Tuesday, July 24, 2018. As Pakistan prepares to make history Wednesday by electing a third straight civilian government, rights activists, analysts and candidates say the campaign has been among its dirtiest ever, imperiling the country's wobbly transition to democratic rule. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

__Aug. 14, 1947: Pakistan emerges as a sovereign state after getting independence when the departing British left India and split the subcontinent;

__Sept. 11, 1948: Pakistan's founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah dies;

__Oct. 16, 1951: Pakistan first prime minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, is assassinated in a gun attack at a rally in the city of Rawalpind, triggering political instability;

__Oct. 7, 1958: President Iskander Mirza abolishes the constitution and declares martial law; Gen. Muhammad Ayub Khan, then army chief becomes administrator;

__Oct. 27, 1958: Ayub forces the president to step down; Mirza is sent to exile in Britain where he later dies; Ayub declared himself president;

__March 25, 1969: After months of rioting in West and East Pakistan, Khan hands over power to army chief Gen. Agha Mohammed Yahya Khan;

__Dec. 7, 1970: East Pakistan-based Awami League wins general elections; Yahya Khan delays transfer of power, triggering widespread rioting in East Pakistan; civil war breaks out;

__Dec. 16, 1971: Pakistan troops surrender in East Pakistan after Indian armed intervention in the civil war; East Pakistan becomes independent Bangladesh;

__Dec. 20, 1971: Yahya Khan resigns, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto becomes president; a parliamentary system of government is adopted and Bhutto becomes prime minister;

__July 5, 1977: Army chief Gen. Ziaul Haq seizes power;

__April 4, 1979: Bhutto is hanged after the Supreme Court upholds death sentence on charges of conspiracy to murder and Gen. Zia rejects a mercy petition; Bhutto's daughter, Benazir Bhutto, takes up her father's legacy;

__Aug. 17, 1988: Gen. Zia dies in a mysterious plane crash;

__Nov. 16, 1988: Benazir Bhutto becomes Pakistan's first woman prime minister;

__Aug. 6, 1990: Benazir Bhutto's government is dismissed amid charges of corruption and mismanagement;

__Oct. 24, 1990: Parliamentary elections are held and Nawaz Sharif becomes prime minister;

__April 19, 1993: President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dismisses Sharif government on corruption charges but the Supreme Court reinstates Sharif; Sharif and Khan fail to reconcile and end conflict so the then-army chief Gen. Waheed Kakar forces both to resign;

__Oct. 6, 1993: Bhutto is voted back into power after mass demonstrations lead to the early dismissal of her 1990 successor, Sharif;

__Nov. 5, 1996: Bhutto's government is again dismissed amid renewed charges of corruption and incompetence raised by her party's leader, Farooq Leghari;

__Feb. 3, 1997: Elections bring Sharif back to power; Bhutto goes into self-exile to avoid prosecution on corruption allegations;

__Oct. 12, 1999: Army chief Gen. Pervez Musharraf ousts Sharif's government in a bloodless coup after Sharif fails in his attempt to sack the army chief. Sharif is sent into exile after a court convicts him of conspiracy against Musharraf;

__Oct. 10, 2002: Elections are held under Musharraf and pro-Musharraf parties form government; Zafarullah Jamali becomes prime minister on Nov. 21, 2002;

__Aug. 23, 2004: Shaukat Aziz became 23rd prime minister after Jamali resigns over differences with Musharraf;

__Oct. 5, 2007: Musharraf issues a controversial national reconciliation law after striking a deal with Bhutto that paves way for elections later in the year and the return home of both Bhutto and Sharif;

__Nov. 3, 2007: Musharraf imposes state of emergency, sacks top judiciary officials to pre-empt a court verdict against his presidency;

__Dec. 27, 2007: Bhutto is assassinated in a gun-and-bomb attack after addressing an election rally in Rawalpindi;

__Feb. 18, 2008: Elections are held and Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party emerges as winner; Yousuf Raza Gilani becomes prime minister.

__Aug. 18 2008: Musharraf resigns from his post as president under pressure;

__Sept. 6, 2008: Bhutto's husband Asif Ali Zardari becomes president;

__May 2, 2011: Osama bin Laden is killed in a U.S. Navy SEALs raid in the army garrison town of Abbottabad;

__June 19, 2012: Supreme Court disqualifies Gilani as prime minister for not complying with a court order to request a Swiss court reopen corruption cases against Zardari;

__June 22, 2012: Raja Pervez Ashraf becomes prime minister, completes his term on March 16, 2013;

__May 11, 2013: Sharif's party, the Pakistan Muslim League, overwhelmingly wins in general elections, he becomes prime minister for third time;

__ July 28, 2017: Sharif is disqualified from office by the Supreme Court on corruption charges stemming from so-called leaked Panama papers;

__Aug. 1, 2017 Sharif's confidant Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is sworn in as prime minister;

__May 31: Abbasi's government completes its term in office and elections are scheduled for July 25;

__July 6: Anti-graft tribunal convicts Sharif in absentia and sentences him to 10 years in prison, his daughter and son in-law are sentenced to lesser term;

__July 13: Sharif returns home from London where his ailing wife is in hospital; he and his daughter are arrested after landing and taken to a jail in Rawalpindi.

Pakistani election staff wait for transport after collecting ballot boxes and polling material from a distribution center in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Tuesday, July 24, 2018. As Pakistan prepares to make history Wednesday by electing a third straight civilian government, rights activists, analysts and candidates say the campaign has been among its dirtiest ever, imperiling the country's wobbly transition to democratic rule. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistani troops arrive at a polling station to provide security to its staff in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Tuesday, July 24, 2018. As Pakistan prepares to make history Wednesday by electing a third straight civilian government, rights activists, analysts and candidates say the campaign has been among its dirtiest ever, imperiling the country's wobbly transition to democratic rule. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistani election staff carry polling material to stations at a distribution center in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, July 24, 2018. As Pakistan prepares to make history Wednesday by electing a third straight civilian government, rights activists, analysts and candidates say the campaign has been among its dirtiest ever, imperiling the country's wobbly transition to democratic rule.(AP Photo/B.K. Bangash)
SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) - Police in Maryland say an officer has shot a man who barricaded himself inside his ex-girlfriend's home with a knife, entered their 3-year-old son's bedroom and began writing on windows with what appeared to be blood on his fingers.

Montgomery County police said in a statement Tuesday that John Carlos Natera-Perez, also known as Jean Perez, is in grave condition.

Police say officers tried to negotiate with Perez after the boy's mother and her boyfriend escaped the home in Silver Spring on Monday night.

Police say he was seen lighting an object on fire, activating smoke detectors, and the boy could be heard screaming. Tactical team supervisors then went inside for the child's safety, and an officer saw Perez and shot him. The boy was not physically injured.
RENO, Nev. (AP) - The man accused of fatally shooting a fellow member of his congregation during services in a rural Mormon church in Nevada is scheduled to make his first court appearance Wednesday on a murder charge.

John K. O'Connor is set to make his initial appearance at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday in New River Township Justice Court in Fallon, a spokeswoman for the Churchill County District Attorney's office told The Associated Press late Tuesday.

The 48-year-old is accused of killing 61-year-old Charles E. "Bert" Miller, a longtime volunteer firefighter, and shooting his brother, Duane Miller of Spanish Fork, Utah, in the ankle during Sunday's services in Fallon 60 miles (97 kilometers) east of Reno.

The Mormon church where a longtime rural Nevada volunteer firefighter was fatally shot during Sunday services the day before is pictured in this photo taken Monday, July 23, 2018, in Fallon, Nev., about 60 miles east of Reno. (AP Photo/Scott Sonner)

O'Connor surrendered later Sunday following a standoff with police at his home about a block away. He was being held on $1 million bond at the Churchill County Jail on Tuesday on charges of open murder and battery causing substantial harm.

Police say the two knew each other from church but investigators have been unable to establish any motive for the slaying. Miller was a 35-year veteran of the Fallon/Churchill County Volunteer Fire Department.

Fallon police and city officials declined repeated requests for comment on Tuesday.

"In order to protect the fluid and ongoing investigation in this matter, (Fallon police) will not be releasing any further information or answering any questions relating to the investigation, except in the form of official press releases, if necessary," city spokeswoman Kaitlin Ritchie said in an email to AP late Tuesday.

Ritchie said on Monday, "All we know is they went to the same church" and "knew each other at church."

"Even within the church, we don't know the extent of the relationship," she said.

Duane Miller, 64, was released from a Fallon hospital Monday. He's a business management and communications professor at Utah Valley University and an adjunct faculty member in Brigham Young University's business management program.

Fallon Police Chief Kevin Gehman said Monday it appeared O'Connor focused on one individual.

"This was not an attack on a church or a congregation," he said.

It's not clear if O'Connor has a lawyer or will be appointed one Wednesday.

Local residents held a vigil Monday and again Tuesday afternoon at a park in Fallon to honor and remember Miller. Funeral services are scheduled Friday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Fallon.

The Mormon church where a longtime rural Nevada volunteer firefighter was fatally shot during Sunday services the day before is pictured in this photo taken Monday, July 23, 2018, in Fallon, Nev., about 60 miles east of Reno. (AP Photo/Scott Sonner)

This undated photo provided by the Churchill County Sheriff's office shows John O'Conner. Police in the northern Nevada city of Fallon are trying to determine why O'Conner walked into his Mormon church on Sunday, July 22, 2018, and opened fire, killing one man and injuring another. (Churchill County Sheriff's Office via AP)

A woman who would only identify herself as a niece of shooting victim Charles 'Bert' Miller, is joined by her children as she places flowers at a makeshift memorial Monday, July 23, 2018, in Fallon, Nev., outside the fire department where Miller was a longtime volunteer firefighter. Police in the northern Nevada city are trying to determine why a 48-year-old man walked into his Mormon church on Sunday, July 22, 2018, and opened fire, killing Miller and injuring another person. (AP Photo/Scott Sonner)

A woman who would only identify herself as a niece of shooting victim Charles 'Bert' Miller, is joined by her children as she places flowers at a makeshift memorial Monday, July 23, 2018, in Fallon, Nev., outside the fire department where Miller was a longtime volunteer firefighter. Police in the northern Nevada city are trying to determine why a 48-year-old man walked into his Mormon church on Sunday, July 22, 2018, and opened fire, killing Miller and injuring another person. (AP Photo/Scott Sonner)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President Trump and trade all times local):

8:15 p.m.

President Donald Trump says he'll propose to European officials on Wednesday that both sides drop all tariffs, barriers and subsidies.

House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis., leaves a news conference following a GOP caucus meeting, Tuesday, July 24, 2018, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Trump has floated the idea in the past, but he tweeted Tuesday night that he doubts the Europeans will go for the idea.

The president says on Twitter: "That would finally be called Free Market and Fair Trade! Hope they do it, we are ready - but they won't!"

Trump tweeted earlier Tuesday that trade partners must either negotiate a fair deal or pay tariffs.

Trump is meeting Wednesday with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (zhahn-KLOHD' YUN'-kur). The U.S. and European allies have been at odds over the president's tariffs on steel imports and are meeting as the trade dispute threatens to spread to automobile production.

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3:05 p.m.

Congressional Republicans are expressing deep skepticism of Trump administration's plan to bail out farms hit by tariffs, saying farmers want free trade, not handouts.

Agricultural Committee Chairman Pat Roberts of Kansas says, "They would much prefer trade, rather than aid."

Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska said Trump's trade war "is cutting the legs out from under farmers and White House's 'plan' is to spend $12 billion on gold crutches."

Senators say the aid package could help short-term, but they're worried about losing long-term access to export markets.

Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas says, "When the tariff war is over... how do we get those markets back?"

Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee says, "Instead of offering welfare to farmers" to solve a problem the administration created, it "should reverse course and end this incoherent policy."

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1:45 p.m.

The Agriculture Department is announcing a $12 billion "short-term" plan to help U.S. farmers hurt by retaliatory tariffs.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says the plan will help a broad number of farmers deal with the cost of "disruptive markets" as U.S. trading partners have retaliated for President Donald Trump's tariffs on imported goods.

Agriculture officials say the plan will not require congressional approval. It involves direct payments to farmers, the purchase of excess food and trade promotion programs to help create new export markets.

Trump said separately during a speech in Kansas City that "farmers will be the biggest beneficiary" of his trade agenda as he seeks better trade agreements.

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11:15 a.m.

The Trump administration is preparing a plan to provide billions of dollars in emergency aid to farmers who have been hurt by tariffs. That's according to two people who have been briefed on the plan who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement.

The Agriculture Department was expected to announce the plan later Tuesday.

This comes as President Donald Trump appears at the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention in Kansas City in the heart of the nation's farm country. The plan aims to provide temporary relief to farmers who have faced retaliation from U.S. trade partners during Trump's escalating trade dispute with China.

The administration has slapped tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese goods and China retaliated with duties on soybeans and pork.

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10:45 a.m.

House Speaker Paul Ryan says lawmakers are making the case to President Donald Trump that tariffs are "not the way to go."

The Republican leader told reporters Tuesday, "I've made it pretty clear I don't think tariffs are the right answer."

Ryan said he understood Trump's goal - of trying to get a "better deal for Americans" - but he disagreed with the president's strategy. Ryan said he doesn't support tariffs. He added that, "Tariffs are taxes."

Ryan's remarks came a couple hours after Trump tweeted that "Tariffs are the greatest!" and threatened to impose additional penalties on U.S. trading partners.

The president is meeting with European officials on Wednesday at the White House. The U.S. and European allies have been at odds over Trump's tariffs on steel imports and are meeting as the trade dispute threatens to spread to automobile production.

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7:50 a.m.

President Donald Trump is declaring that "Tariffs are the greatest!" and threatening to impose additional penalties on U.S. trading partners as he prepares for negotiations with European officials at the White House.

Trump is tweeting that trade partners need to either negotiate a "fair deal, or it gets hit with Tariffs. It's as simple as that."

The president writes that the U.S. is a "'piggy bank' that's being robbed." He notes that countries "that have treated us unfairly on trade for years" are coming to Washington to negotiate.

Trump is meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (zhahn-KLOHD' YUN'-kur) on Wednesday. The U.S. and European allies have been at odds over the president's tariffs on steel imports and are meeting as the trade dispute threatens to spread to automobile production.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Republican leaders in Congress are distancing themselves from President Donald Trump's invitation for Vladimir Putin to visit Washington in the fall, saying the Russian president is not welcome on Capitol Hill.

House Speaker Paul Ryan said Tuesday that Putin will not be invited to address Congress because "that is something we reserve for allies."

Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have shown no interest in holding meetings with Putin if he accepts Trump's invitation to the White House to follow up on last week's summit in Helsinki.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., right, speaks to the media, Tuesday, July 24, 2018, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

"The speaker and I have made it clear that Putin will not be welcome up here at the Capitol," McConnell told reporters Tuesday.

But it may not matter anyway. Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov threw cold water on the prospect of Putin accepting Trump's invitation to visit the White House.

Ushakov told journalists in Moscow on Tuesday that no preparations were underway for a meeting in Washington and there were "other options that our leaders could consider," such as the late November meeting of the Group of 20 in Argentina or another international event that both would attend.

Lawmakers from both parties have raised concerns about Trump's approach to the Russian leader. They strongly rebuked Trump's comments during a joint press conference in Helsinki when he stood beside Putin and denied U.S. intelligence findings that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Trump has since clarified his remarks to side with the intelligence community.

McConnell declined to back up a tweet Trump sent Tuesday suggesting any potential Russian interference in the fall midterm elections would be designed to favor Democrats. Instead, the Kentucky Republican issued a direct warning to Russia to back off.

"The Russians better quit messing around in our elections," McConnell said. "I want to make that perfectly clear: The Russians better quit messing around in our elections."

Ushakov declined to discuss the Helsinki summit, pointing to the heated reaction it caused in the U.S.

"Now we need to wait for the dust to settle, but later it may be possible to discuss these issues in a businesslike manner, but not now," Ushakov said in remarks that were carried on state news agencies and other Russian news organizations.

Congress has struggled with a response to the Russian interference. Republicans blocked another attempt in the Senate late Tuesday to pass a symbolic resolution reaffirming the findings of the intelligence community.

Instead, GOP leaders are considering new sanctions on Russia.

Speaking before Congress is an honor often given to high-profile world leaders who come to Washington. French President Emmanuel Macron addressed Congress this spring.

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Associated Press writer Lynn Berry in Washington contributed to this report.

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Follow Mascaro on Twitter at https://twitter.com/lisamascaro and Fram at https://twitter.com/asfram
MEXICO CITY (AP) - An online news site based in the beachside community of Playa del Carmen said its director was shot to death Tuesday, the second journalist for the Mexican news site slain in less than a month.

Playa News Aqui y Ahora said Ruben Pat Cahuich was killed on a street in the resort town on Mexico's Caribbean coast that has been hit by violence.

"Now it is two from our team, Governor, when will the lack of public safety in our state end?" the site wrote in a statement aimed at Gov. Carlos Joaquin Gonzalez of Quintana Roo state, which is home to the resorts of Cancun, Tulum and Playa del Carmen.

The municipal government of Playa del Carmen said Pat Cahuich was killed outside a bar. The city said it respected journalists and freedom of expression and pledged to assist state prosecutors in investigating the killing.

In late June, a gunman killed Playa News police reporter Jose Guadalupe Chan Dzib at a bar.

According to a 2017 report by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, Pat Cahuich told the organization that in June of that year he had been beaten, detained overnight and threatened by police in Playa del Carmen due to his reporting.

He told the CPJ at the time that the officers warned him "to stop publishing articles about a local police chief, and that I knew what would be coming to me if I didn't." Pat Cahuich said police were angered by an article about purported narco-banners that were hung around the city accusing the chief of being in league with a criminal gang, CPJ reported.

Jan-Albert Hootson, CPJ's Mexico representative, said he last spoke to Pat Cahuich in early July, several days after Chan Dzib's killing. Pat Cahuich did not mention any recent direct threats against him but said the situation was very tense there, Hootson said.

"Quintana Roo, particularly the region of Playa del Carmen and Felipe Carrillo Puerto, has been a very dangerous place for journalists in recent years," Hootson said.

He confirmed that Pat Cahuich was enrolled in a government program known as "the mechanism" that gives journalists and activists certain protections such as panic buttons, home security systems and in some cases bodyguards.

Jan Jarab, the Mexican representative of the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said: "Today we have spoken with Mr. Pat's colleagues and they told us about the risks and terror they face in doing their job ... many of them have received threats recently, which is tremendously worrisome."

Jarab said Chan Dzib had also reported receiving threats.

The European Union and the Inter American Press Association issued statements condemning the killing.

Playa del Carmen was once a sleepy beach town next to the island of Cozumel, but it has been hit by explosive growth and increasing violence. In January 2017, a shooting at a music festival in Playa del Carmen left three foreigners and two Mexicans dead. The shooting apparently involved drug dealing at the festival.

In the first six months of 2018, the coastal state of Quintana Roo saw homicides rise 132 percent, to the equivalent of about 35 killings per 100,000 inhabitants.

More than 30 journalists have been killed in Mexico in the past 5 years, eight of them since the beginning of 2018.

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This story has been corrected to show the slain journalist's name is Cahuich.
BRUSSELS (AP) - One of the European Union's main leaders will sit down with U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday hoping to convince him to hold off from raising tariffs on imported cars and avoid a trans-Atlantic trade war.

The visit to the White House by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker comes on the heels of an especially ill-tempered continental tour by Trump, in which he called the EU - a 28-country bloc including many historic U.S. allies - his "foe." Trump especially came down hard on Chancellor Angela Merkel and Germany, the EU's economic powerhouse.

Trump has already imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Europe, and the EU has responded in kind. But even that exchange of measures would pale in comparison with duties on cars - a huge industry that has long been the symbol of postwar wealth on both sides of the Atlantic, and especially in Germany.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker listens to Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's speech before talking about the future of the European Union at the Carlos Amberes foundation in Madrid, Thursday, July 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Trump badly wants to reduce the U.S. trade deficit with the EU and is accusing the bloc of not playing fair on trade. And when it comes to security, he says the Europeans are refusing to pay their share in NATO and instead live off the massive U.S. defense budget.

As Juncker was flying over, Trump set the tone with a tweet:

"Tariffs are the greatest!" he wrote. "Either a country which has treated the United States unfairly on Trade negotiates a fair deal, or it gets hit with Tariffs. It's as simple as that."

Germany has become increasingly fed up with such outbursts. Germany's foreign minister, Heiko Maas, told ARD television hours before Trump's tweet that, "We won't let ourselves be threatened and just cave in because, if we do that once, I fear that we will have to deal with such behavior very often in the future."

When Juncker, the doyen of compromise and consensus politics in the EU, walks into Trump's office, the hope is that the mood will be different.

"This is an occasion to de-dramatize any potential tensions around trade and to engage in an open, constructive dialogue," said Juncker's spokesman, Margaritis Schinas.

The stakes are high, as the car industry carries huge heft in terms of trade and jobs in both the EU and U.S.

The European car federation says that the United States is the No. 1 destination for EU-built cars, amounting to almost 30 percent of the total EU export value. It accounts for a quarter of U.S. car imports.

If Trump imposes a 25 percent tariff on imports of cars, trucks and auto parts, it "risks dragging us all down to a game of tit for tat retaliations that ultimately leave consumers in the U.S. as well as in Europe worse off," said Professor Alexander Mattelaer of the Egmont Institute think tank.

The EU has already told its U.S. counterparts it is preparing a list of countermeasures if the car tariffs are imposed. EU passenger car exports to the U.S. amount to $44 billion a year, dwarfing the tariff tiff on steel and aluminum, which resulted in EU countermeasures of $3.2 billion.

Not only is the EU firmly against the tariffs, but so is the U.S. car industry and many voices in Congress. Automakers, suppliers and dealers argue that the tariffs would drive up car prices for U.S. consumers and hurt auto companies by increasing the cost of imported components and invite retaliation from U.S. trading partners.

On top of that, the EU also has a huge stake in the U.S. industry, where European companies produce almost 3 million cars a year, accounting for over a quarter of production in the United States. The biggest exporter of U.S.-made cars is a German company - BMW, through its plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

German producers and supplies employ more than 118,000 people at about 300 plants, and manufacture more than 800,000 vehicles per year in the U.S. - with more than half of the cars being exported, said the German Association of the Automotive Industry.

Tariffs on the industry could change all that.

"Open markets are of decisive significance for our involvement in the U.S," said the German federation's president, Bernard Mattes.

Usually, such economic considerations alone would push the sides reach a compromise. But that's not necessarily the case now.

Juncker is not bringing any blockbuster offers to Washington, according to a senior European official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.

Instead, Juncker intends to get a better understanding of what the Trump administration really wants. He will also discuss the possibility of trade talks between major auto-exporting countries and of an EU-U.S. free-trade agreement that would reduce trade barriers on industrial products, including autos.

Whatever compromise they are looking for, "the Trump administration doesn't want mutual concessions," said Edward Alden, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

"It wants unilateral concessions" from the EU.

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Paul Wiseman in Washington and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.
QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistani intelligence officials say militants killed four troops escorting an election convoy in the volatile southwestern province of Baluchistan.

The attack, on the eve of elections, is the latest violence ahead of the balloting.

Two intelligence officials say the troops were escorting a convoy with election staffers and voting material on Tuesday in the district of Turbat when they came under attack.

The officials say the assailants first fired grenades as the convoy passed through the Niwano area, then shot at the troops. Three army soldiers and a member of the paramilitary force were killed.

Thirteen people - eight soldiers, a member of the paramilitary force and four civilians - were wounded.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Under pressure to show he's taking the threat of Russian interference seriously, President Donald Trump claimed without evidence Tuesday that Moscow will be "fighting very hard" to help Democrats win in the 2018 midterm elections.

Trump, who has offered mixed messages on Russian interference in U.S. elections - at times even calling it a "hoax" - acknowledged in a tweet that the midterms are a likely target.

"I'm very concerned that Russia will be fighting very hard to have an impact on the upcoming Election," Trump wrote. But he added "they will be pushing very hard for the Democrats. They definitely don't want Trump!"

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., right, sitting next to ranking member Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., left, listens during a hearing on "Cyber-securing the Vote: Ensuring the Integrity of the U.S. Election System," on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

That's despite Russian President Vladimir Putin saying outright last week, following the leaders' summit in Helsinki, that he wanted Trump to win in 2016. U.S. intelligence agencies also have determined that Russia interfered in the election to help him win, and the agencies have warned there are ominous signs of more cyberattacks to come.

At Tuesday's hearing, Christopher Krebs of the Homeland Security Department said the intelligence community has observed "continued malign influence operations" into 2018, though they do not appear to be "an effort at the same scope or scale" as in 2016.

As Trump tweeted on Tuesday, House Republicans held a hearing on election security in which lawmakers - even some of Trump's closest GOP allies - strongly criticized Russian interference and pointed to an indictment this month of 12 Russian intelligence officers. The indictment alleges that the Russians broke into Democratic email accounts and tried to penetrate state election systems.

House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Trey Gowdy noted that the indictment said there is no evidence the vote count was affected, "but that was not likely for a lack of trying."

Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina criticized Trump directly.

"Unfortunately, the president's recent comments at the U.S.-Russia summit in Helsinki failed to hold Putin accountable for his attacks on our country's interests and deter him from future indiscretions," she said.

Other Republicans were careful to draw a line and not directly disagree with the president.

"I don't think anyone here denies the fact that Russia attempted to meddle in the elections," said Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga. "The issue of meddling is one thing, the issue of the president colluding is another and that is indeed a witch hunt."

Democrats said Republicans haven't done enough to keep the vote secure this fall. They asked for more questioning, more documents and more money for states to secure their election infrastructure.

"We need all of our Republican colleagues to conduct oversight - not just use strong words," said Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the House oversight panel.

Earlier this year, Congress allocated $380 million to assist states with election security upgrades, and most of that money has been disbursed. Democrats want to continue the money through 2019, but Republicans have said new spending isn't needed.

The very makeup of the election infrastructure - decentralized and different in every state - provides some protection against hacking efforts. But state and local election officials have been working with the Department of Homeland Security to shore up their efforts after at least 21 state systems were scanned for vulnerabilities by Russian hackers and at least one state saw its voter registration system breached.

In addition to helping state election officials obtain security clearances so they can be briefed on the latest threats to elections, Homeland Security officials also offer remote scanning of their networks to identify any vulnerabilities as well as intensive cybersecurity reviews that involve onsite exams.

"DHS has made tremendous strides and is committed to working collaboratively with those on the front lines of administering our elections to secure election infrastructure from risks," Krebs said.

Even if state elections systems are better protected, other threats remain. Last week, Microsoft officials said they had seen evidence that suggested phishing attacks were being directed at three candidates who are all standing for election in the midterm elections. The company would not disclose the candidates, citing privacy issues.

Meanwhile in the Senate on Tuesday, two senators introduced bipartisan legislation to impose new Russian sanctions, saying the U.S. "must make it abundantly clear that we will defend our nation."

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Cassidy reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin, Lisa Mascaro, Tami Abdollah and Deb Riechmann in Washington and Frank Bajak in Boston contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump arrives at Kansas City International Airport to attend the national convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Christopher Krebs, the undersecretary at the Department of Homeland Security speaks during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on "Cyber-securing the Vote: Ensuring the Integrity of the U.S. Election System," on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
MONTGOMERY, W.Va. (AP) - Federal officials have announced a $2.2 million proposed settlement with CSX Transportation to resolve the company's liability for water pollution violations stemming from a train derailment that caused an oil spill in West Virginia.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Justice Department and the state of West Virginia announced the settlement Tuesday. Terms call for CSX to pay $1.2 million to the federal government and $1 million to West Virginia. Federal officials say they hope the fines deter similar incidents.

The CSX train was carrying crude oil when 27 cars derailed Feb. 16, 2015 in Mount Carbon. The resulting explosions and fires destroyed a home and led officials to declare a state of emergency as they evacuated nearby residents and shut down water intakes.

The Federal Railroad Administration said the derailment was caused by a broken rail.
BROOKLYN, Iowa (AP) - State and federal agents are investigating the disappearance of a 20-year-old University of Iowa student who has been missing for nearly a week from her hometown in eastern Iowa.

Volunteer searches for Mollie Tibbetts, of Brooklyn, were called off this week as the FBI and state investigators took over, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation spokesman Mitch Mortvedt said Tuesday.

"We're still asking for the public's help," Mortvedt said. "We'd like to get any information we can. The more eyes and ears we have, the better."

This undated photo released by the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation shows Mollie Tibbetts, a University of Iowa student who was reported missing from her hometown in the eastern Iowa city of Brooklyn on Thursday, July 19, 2018. A neighbor reported seeing her going for a jog Wednesday evening. The Poweshiek County Sheriff's Office said Monday, July 23, 2018, that Tibbetts had not been found. (Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation via AP)

Mortvedt said officials have little to go on, but they're "leaning more and more toward something happening to her against her will."

Television station KCRG reported Tibbetts was staying at her boyfriend's home at the time of her disappearance. She was there to watch his dogs because he had a construction job about 100 miles northeast in Dubuque. A neighbor reported seeing Tibbetts going for a jog last Wednesday evening.

The boyfriend, Dalton Jack, told the station he received a Snapchat photo from Tibbetts late Wednesday night, after she would have returned to the home from her jog.

She was reported missing Thursday when she didn't show up for work.

Mortvedt said FBI and Iowa investigators are concentrating on areas around Brooklyn that Tibbetts has known to have gone to in the past.

The FBI is also using an array of computer forensics - such as studying online history and cellphone app usage - in an effort to pinpoint where she might be, he said.

"This could shake out a bunch of different ways," Mortvedt said. "We are hoping and praying for the best outcome."

Dozens of volunteers in the town of about 1,500 had been searching fields around her house and the house where she was staying. They also blanketed the area with missing posters, T-shirts and billboard pleas for help in finding Tibbetts.

Tibbetts' aunt, Kim Calderwood of Brooklyn, told the Des Moines Register that Tibbetts' family is frustrated by the lack of progress in the search.

"We're racking our brains, thinking what can we think of to tell the investigators," she said. "It's the worst thing . to want to fix something you can't fix."
TACOMA, Wash. (AP) - The Latest on the death of Steven Powell (all times local):

11:25 a.m.

A Utah police department says its investigation into a woman's 2009 disappearance remains open but that the case is cold with all leads exhausted and the death of her father-in-law in Washington state doesn't change the case's status.

The West Valley City Police Department said Tuesday that Steven Powell's death Monday at a Tacoma hospital doesn't make it more likely or less likely that the disappearance case of Susan Powell will be solved.

Steven Powell was the father of Josh Powell, who police named as a person of interest in his wife's presumed death in Utah.

Josh Powell moved to Washington state, where he killed himself and his two young sons in an explosive fire at their Pierce County home in 2012.

Steven Powell died a year after he completed a prison sentence for possession of child pornography found during a search of his home as part of the disappearance investigation.

7:45 a.m.

Authorities in Washington state say the father-in-law of a Utah woman who went missing in 2009 has died.

The Pierce County Sheriff's Department said Steven Powell died Monday at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tacoma, a year after he completed his prison sentence for possession of child pornography.

Steven Powell is the father of Josh Powell, who is believed to have killed his wife, Susan Powell, in Utah before moving to Washington state, where he killed himself and his two young sons in an explosive fire at their Pierce County home in 2012.

Investigators found the child pornography, consisted of images Steven Powell took of the neighbor girls in various states of undress, while searching his home as part of the investigation into Susan Powell's disappearance.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump's trip to Missouri (all times local):

1:15 p.m.

President Donald Trump says Iran "is not the same country" since he withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and he's ready to deal.

President Donald Trump arrives at Kansas City International Airport to attend the national convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The president says at the national convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Kansas City, Missouri that he's "ready to make a real deal" with Iran, not like the nuclear deal agreed to during the Obama administration.

Trump's words on Iran come after his explosive Twitter threat to Iran's leader late Sunday.

Trump tweeted Sunday that if Iran threatened the U.S. it would "SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE."

It's less than two weeks before the administration expects to begin re-imposing sanctions on Iran that had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal.

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9:36 a.m.

President Donald Trump is addressing the national convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars on Tuesday, pointing to his support for the nation's veterans as his new VA secretary begins his work.

Trump was speaking at the annual VFW convention in Kansas City, where he's expected to highlight his work to increase the number of veterans who are able to see the doctor of their choice.

The Senate confirmed Pentagon official Robert Wilkie to be the new secretary of Veterans Affairs on Monday night. Wilkie has insisted that he won't privatize the VA despite concerns raised by Democrats.

Trump is also raising money for Missouri Senate candidate Josh Hawley, who is challenging Sen. Claire McCaskill in a race that's key to Republican efforts to maintain their Senate majority.

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One for a trip to Kansas City to attend the national convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
SHAWNEE, Kan. (AP) - The FBI has opened a hate crime investigation into the stabbing death of a Kansas woman whose relatives allege the suspect is a white supremacist.

Ronald Lee Kidwell, 47, is charged with second-degree murder in the slaying of 43-year-old MeShon Cooper, who was missing for a week until her body was found July 14 at Kidwell's home in Shawnee.

Kidwell's estranged daughter and a cousin told The Kansas City Star that Cooper's death was likely a hate crime because Kidwell was an avowed white supremacist. Cooper was black.

FBI spokeswoman Bridget Patton confirmed Tuesday that the agency was investigating whether Cooper's death was a hate crime.

According to a police affidavit, Kidwell told police Cooper attacked him at his home and threatened to tell everyone that he is HIV positive. He said he "flipped out" when Cooper hit him in the hand with a knife, which he grabbed before stabbing and killing her.

A joint investigation by Shawnee, Lenexa and Kansas City police led officers to Kidwell's home after phone records showed that Cooper visited Kidwell's house July 6, the last day she was seen alive, the affidavit said. A search warrant was requested after police found "an overwhelming smell of bleach" at the home. Kidwell at first denied knowing where Cooper was but eventually told police that Cooper's body was wrapped in trash bags and inside of a trashcan in his garage, according to the affidavit.

Kidwell's estranged daughter Carolyn Foster told The Star that Kidwell was a "monster" white supremacist who enjoyed targeting and assaulting black people. She said he often showed off his swastika tattoo and bragged about belonging to the Ku Klux Klan. Forster said he pretended to befriend minorities and then harmed them.

"He's been a monster his whole life," she said. "He's the true definition of evil."

His cousin, Shana Turner, said most of Kidwell's family had disowned him because of his racist views.

"Whenever I was around him, he'd talk about white power," she said. When she heard about the murder allegation, "it didn't surprise me that she (the victim) was black."

Kidwell has spent 15 years in prison on various assault charges. In 2011, Kidwell was convicted of second-degree assault in Clay County after attacking and sexually assaulting a black woman. He did so without a condom, he told detectives at the time, despite knowing he was HIV positive.

Kidwell is jailed on $1 million bail.

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Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com
NEW YORK (AP) - Ivanka Trump is shutting down her fashion line of dresses, shoes and handbags that became a target of political boycotts and spurred concerns about conflicts of interest after her father was elected.

The president's daughter said in a statement she made the decision so she could focus more on work as a White House adviser. She had stepped away from the day-to-day management of her company when she joined President Donald Trump's administration.

"After 17 months in Washington, I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business, but I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington," she said. She called the move the "only fair outcome for my team and partners."

FILE - In a Thursday, July 19, 2018 file photo, Ivanka Trump, the daughter of President Donald Trump, applauds during a signing ceremony where President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order that establishes a National Council for the American Worker in the East Room of the White House, in Washington. Ivanka Trump's clothing company is shutting down and all its employees are being laid off, according to news reports. The New York Post is reporting that its sources say the company "will be shuttered 'ASAP' and that staff have been informed that they're being laid off."(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

The Ivanka Trump brand has been buffeted by politics since she joined the White House early last year. Sales appeared to surge at times due her celebrity as the U.S. president's daughter - White House adviser Kellyanne Conway once urged on Fox News for people to "go buy Ivanka's stuff" - only to get battered as those who disliked her father's policies urged shoppers to boycott the line.

Nordstrom dropped the Ivanka Trump line last year, citing slowing sales, and recently Hudson Bay reportedly did the same.

The company said that its business was strong, and the decision to shut down had nothing do with its performance. Shutting down the brand means 18 people will lose their jobs.

Analyst Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, said that "while the company is still viable, doing business has become far more challenging and these problems will only increase."

Ivanka Trump recently has been encouraging U.S. companies to pledge to hire American workers. Her own company has been criticized for making its products in Chinese factories, for the conditions in those factories, and for being granted trademarks by foreign governments such as China that would want to curry favor with the president.

Her announcement comes amid a worsening trade fight between the United States and China. President Trump is seeking to drive China to the negotiating table and rectify what he sees as years of unfair trade practices.

The White House has imposed tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese imports and has itemized a list of $200 billion more in goods that may face tariffs by September. Neither of those tariffs would cover the clothing and handbags Ivanka Trump sells. But if the president were to make good on his threat to tax all $500 billion in Chinese imports, that would raise the price of everything her company imports from that country.

Since it is a private company, it is difficult to judge just how well Ivanka Trump's business has been faring. The bulk of her assets -more than $50 million worth - is contained in a trust that holds her business and corporations. The trust generated over $5 million in revenue last year, according to a financial disclosure report filed with the government.

When Ivanka Trump joined the White House as adviser to her father, she agreed to several restrictions so that her financial interest in the business would not conflict with her public role as a White House adviser.

Still, the company drew criticism for benefiting from her White House ties.

In April last year, the Chinese government granted her company provisional approval for three new trademarks, the same day she and her husband Jared Kushner dined with the president of China and his wife at President Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort. The approvals have continued. In three months through May this year, China granted final approval for 13 of her trademarks and provisional approval for another eight.

Ivanka Trump's company has said the 2017 Chinese trademarks were filed defensively to protect against squatters using her name. China has said its trademarks policy regarding Ivanka Trump's company is in line with normal legal practice.

The Ivanka Trump brand has also come under criticism for conditions at factories where its products were made. The Associated Press spoke with workers last year at an Ivanka Trump shoe factory in Ganzhou, China, who described long hours, low pay and abuse.

The company said at the time that the "integrity" of its supply chain was a "top priority" and that it takes such allegations "very seriously."

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AP business writers Matt Ott and Christopher Rugaber in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - A Rio de Janeiro police detective says a witness has linked two people arrested in a double homicide to the murder of an activist city councilwoman whose death shocked Brazil.

Marielle Franco and her driver were shot dead in March. Franco was known for outspokenness against police violence.

Police arrested a former military police officer and a former firefighter on Tuesday in another double homicide.

FILE - This April 14, 2018 file photo shows an image of slain councilwoman Marielle Franco projected on a wall, where people gather to protest at the site where Franco and her driver Anderson Pedro Gomes were killed, during a protest in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A Rio police detective said Tuesday, July 24, 2018, a witness has linked two people arrested in a double homicide to the murder of the activist city councilwoman whose death shocked Brazil. Franco and her driver were shot dead in March. (AP Photo/Leo Correa, File)

Detective Willians Batista tells reporters that the same witness whose testimony led to the arrests told police the two men were also involved in Franco's murder. The witness said a third man who was already in police custody was also involved. Police say they're investigating.

A lawyer for Franco's family says he has seen nothing so far that indicates they were involved in Franco's death.
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump expressed appreciation to North Korea on Tuesday following reports that Pyongyang has started to dismantle key parts of a missile test site. But Trump's top diplomat sounded a note of caution, saying inspectors would have to confirm the development.

Trump said new satellite photos indicating the North has begun to take down facilities at the Sohae site are a sign of progress from the "fantastic" summit he held last month in Singapore with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"We're all pursuing the denuclearization of North Korea and a new future of prosperity, security and peace on the Korean Peninsula and all of Asia," Trump told a VFW convention in Kansas City, Missouri. "New images just today show that North Korea has begun the process of dismantling a key missile site and we appreciate that. We had a fantastic meeting with Chairman Kim, and it seems to be going very well."

This July 22, 2018, satellite image released and annotated by 38 North on Monday, July 23, shows what the U.S. research group says is the partial dismantling of the rail-mounted transfer structure, at center, at the Sohae launch site in North Korea. 38 North said North Korea has started dismantling key facilities at its main satellite launch site in what appears to be a step toward fulfilling a commitment made by leader Kim Jong Un at his summit with President Donald Trump in June. (Airbus Defense & Space/38 North via AP)

He spoke after the North Korea-focused 38 North website released satellite imagery taken from July 20 to July 22 that seem to show dismantlement underway at Sohae. The facilities being razed or disassembled include a rocket engine test stand used to develop liquid-fuel engines for ballistic missiles and space-launch vehicles and a rail-mounted processing building where space launch vehicles were assembled before being moved to the launch pad, 38 North said.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, however, expressed a note of caution. He said that while such a step would be in line with the pledges that Kim made to Trump, it would have to be confirmed by international inspectors.

"It'd be entirely consistent with the commitment that Chairman Kim made to President Trump when the two of them were in Singapore together. We made that commitment orally," Pompeo said at a news conference in Palo Alto, California, with Defense Secretary James Mattis and their Australian counterparts.

"We've been pressing for there to be inspectors on the ground when that engine test facility is dismantled, consistent with Chairman Kim's commitment," said Pompeo, who attended the Singapore summit and has visited North Korea three times this year.

Asked what more North Korea needed to do, Pompeo replied: "That's easy. They need to completely, fully denuclearize. That's the steps that Chairman Kim committed to and the world has demanded through U.N. Security Council resolutions. It's that straightforward."

Analysts believe that Pyongyang could be trying to build trust with Washington as they engage in talks to resolve the nuclear standoff. But they say dismantling a few facilities at the site alone won't realistically reduce North Korea's military capability or represent a material step toward denuclearization.

And, like Pompeo, they expressed concern that the work is being done without verification.

After his summit with Kim on June 12, Trump said he was told by Kim that the North was "already destroying a major missile engine testing site" without identifying which site. The leaders concluded their summit by declaring their vague aspirational goal of moving toward a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, but there's lingering doubts on whether Kim would ever agree to fully give up the nuclear weapons that he may see as a stronger guarantee of his survival than whatever security assurances the United States can provide.

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Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in Kansas City, Mo., Susannah George in Washington and Kim Tong Hyung in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.

A TV screen shows a satellite image of North Korea's Sohae launch site, during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Kore, Tuesday, July 24, 2018. A U.S. research group says North Korea has started dismantling key facilities at its main satellite launch site in what appears to be a step toward fulfilling a commitment made by leader Kim Jong Un at his summit with President Donald Trump in June. The signs read: "North Korea begins dismantling satellite launch site." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A federal appeals court has ruled that Hawaii's ban on open carry permits for residents is unconstitutional.

The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that Hawaii officials had violated George Young's rights when he was denied a permit to openly carry a loaded gun.

Tuesday's decision reverses a lower court ruling that sided with officials who said the amendment only applied to guns kept in homes.

A federal appeals court has ruled that Hawaii's ban on open carry permits for residents is unconstitutional. Pictured is a handgun at the Hawaii Department of Natural Resources

'We do not take lightly the problem of gun violence, which the State of Hawaii has understandably sought to fight,' Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain wrote.

'But, for better or for worse, the Second Amendment does protect a right to carry a firearm in public for self-defense.'

If the ruling stands, it could lead to more guns in public in the few western states under 9th Circuit jurisdiction where they are currently restricted.

'States like Hawaii and California will have to allow far more guns on the streets than they do today,' said Adam Winkler, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

'States would be able to ban concealed carry but only if they allow people to carry their guns openly displayed.'

Winkler, however, expects the decision to be appealed to a full panel of the San Francisco-based court.

Tuesday's ruling comes two years after a full panel of the 9th Circuit ruled that there's no right to carry concealed guns in public.

That June 2016 ruling struck down a 2-1 panel opinion that was also written by O'Scannlain.

Gun rights is one of the most hotly debated issues in US political and legal circles, with any loosening or restriction of access to guns often leading to a court battle.

The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals (pictured in file photo) ruled 2-1 that Hawaii officials had violated the Second Amendment by denying resident George Young an open carry permit

The US Supreme Court has shied away from firearms fights in recent years, turning away challenges to restrictions after striking down gun ownership bans in the District of Columbia and Chicago in 2008 and 2010.

Judge Richard Clifton suggested in his dissent that the Supreme Court will likely settle the issue because several conflicting appeals decisions now show 'there is no single voice on this question'.

Clifton, who like the other judges on the panel was nominated by a Republican president, criticized the majority for going 'astray in several respects'.

He said the decision disregarded that states such as Hawaii have long regulated and limited the public carrying of guns, which he said did not undermine the core of the Second Amendment.

Attorney Alan Beck, who represented Young, said Hawaii County has never issued a carry permit in 20 years.

Hawaii law currently only allows residents in law enforcement or security to hold open carry permits unless in 'exceptional' cases.

Young, a Vietnam veteran who spent 21 years in the infantry, couldn't find anyone to represent him in his case and wasn't even allowed to argue his case in a lower court.

'I just thought he was a sympathetic good man who deserved an attorney,' Beck said.

'I didn't go in with any expectation of winning or losing. I just wanted to give him his day in court.'

Hawaii Attorney General Russell Suzuki said he planned to consult with the county and work with them on any further action.

'We are disappointed in the decision that would undermine Hawaii's strong gun control law and our commitment to protect the public,' Suzuki said in a statement.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The House speaker dismissed the actions of a U.S. president as merely "trolling." And the nation's attorney general knocked America's university students as a bunch of sensitive "snowflakes."

These terms are hardly new. But President Donald Trump's presence in Washington has fundamentally changed how politicians are talking in this once-stuffy town that long prided itself on civility and decorum.

A look at the latest political slang making the rounds:

House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis., attends a news conference following a GOP caucus meeting, Tuesday, July 24, 2018, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

TROLLING

Trolling refers to the practice of incessantly posting nasty words or images online as a way of provoking one's opponents.

It's what U.S. intelligence agencies have accused the Russian government of doing on social media leading up to the 2016 election. And it's what Trump does on Twitter when he posts repeatedly about "Crooked Hillary" Clinton and "Cryin' Chuck Schumer."

That's why "trolling" was an interesting choice of words by House Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday when he was asked about Trump's plan to revoke the security clearances from top former national security officials who criticize the president. (Officials often keep their security clearances active in case their expertise is needed later by their successors or future employers.)

"I think he's trolling people, honestly," Ryan told reporters with a slight shrug.

Ryan picked up on the fact that the president's threat achieves exactly the same goal as online trolling - goading one's critics to lure them into a public spat and shift debate to a topic of his choosing.

And while this might seem obvious considering Trump's Twitter feed, the idea that a Republican House speaker would shrug off a Republican president's threat as mere trolling shows how much Washington - and its lexicon - has changed.

'SNOWFLAKES'

Jeff Sessions, the nation's top law enforcement officer, on Tuesday said colleges are creating a generation of "snowflakes."

This has been a longtime favorite quip among conservatives who believe younger generations have been so coddled by their liberal parents that they have grown up to become overly sensitive and fragile. The term is part of a broader culture war between liberals, who want to see expanded rights for minorities and an atmosphere of inclusiveness, and conservatives who denounce those efforts as political correctness run amok.

In the case of Sessions, the attorney general believes college campuses are the worst offenders for creating these so-called "snowflakes."

"Rather than molding a generation of mature, well-informed adults, some schools are doing everything they can to create a generation of sanctimonious, sensitive, supercilious snowflakes," he said, reading from prepared remarks at a high school leadership summit in Washington aimed at encouraging conservative activism among students. (Sessions also at one point repeated the chant of "Lock Her Up" in reference to Democrat Hillary Clinton.)

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary says the term "snowflake" has had numerous meanings over the years, including a person who favored slavery in the 1860s in Missouri.

But by 1996, the book "Fight Club" included a line the dictionary says may have given the word its current meaning: "You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You are the same decaying organic matter as everyone, and we are all part of the same compost pile."

Follow Anne Flaherty on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnneKFlaherty
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Television helicopters hovered as thousands of protesters flooded the streets not far from where 18-year-old Michael Brown was fatally shot by a police officer.

The images of a convenience store set ablaze and heavily armed officers introduced many people to Ferguson, Missouri, a St. Louis suburb that would become synonymous with the national debate over police treatment of minorities.

Nearly four years later, the local prosecutor - who became a flashpoint when he announced no charges would be filed against the white officer who killed the unarmed black teenager - is now facing his first election challenger since the shooting on Aug. 9, 2014.

FILE - In this Feb. 10, 2016, file photo, Ferguson City Councilman Wesley Bell speaks at a press conference in Ferguson, Mo. Bell, who is running for St. Louis County prosecutor, faces St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch in the Aug. 7, 2018 Democratic primary. No other candidates are running, so the primary will almost certainly select the winner. (J.B. Forbes/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch, who is white, is facing Ferguson City Councilman Wesley Bell, a black, 43-year-old former prosecutor and judge who was elected to the council a year after Brown was killed. The Democrats are the only formal candidates in the race, meaning the winner of the Aug. 7 primary will run unopposed in November's general election.

Their race brings focus back to Ferguson, a predominantly black community where months of protests over Brown's shooting helped fuel the Black Lives Matter movement.

"I represent every protester, I represent every honest officer who's sick of their name being drug in the mud by the actions of a few, and everyone in between," Bell recently told The Associated Press.

His campaign website says he wants to "fundamentally change the culture" of the prosecutor's office, partially by assigning special prosecutors to review allegations of police misconduct.

Bell and McCulloch are both sons of police officers. But McCulloch, an ardent police supporter, became a target of critics who unsuccessfully demanded he recuse himself from the Brown case, citing his family history. Several of his relatives worked for the St. Louis police department, including his father, who was fatally shot by a black suspect when McCulloch was 12.

McCulloch, who turns 67 this month, is running for his eighth four-year term as the top prosecutor in St. Louis County, where black residents make up about 23 percent of voters.

In a recent interview with AP, McCulloch defended his office and his work with the grand jury that declined to indict the officer who killed Brown. He also said he has seen increased cooperation between the community and law enforcement in the past few years.

McCulloch said his focus is on crime victims - too many of whom, he said, are black men.

"That's something that people should be out protesting," he said.

But some say the election is referendum on the Brown case.

"This is gonna be a defining moment in history here in the city of St. Louis," said Jamilah Nasheed, a Democratic state senator from the city and a Bell supporter. "A lot of people are watching it."

The dynamics of the race - a reformist challenging an established incumbent prosecutor - echo campaigns around the country, said Peter Joy, who teaches law at Washington University in St. Louis and directs the school's Criminal Justice Clinic.

"Reform prosecutors have been elected in Brooklyn, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Philadelphia and Orlando," Joy said.

The chances of Bell doing the same?

"I think it would be a very long shot," Joy said. He noted that despite the criticism aimed at McCulloch, which often came from national groups, the prosecutor has a generally positive reputation in St. Louis County, which doesn't include the city of St. Louis.

McCulloch also has a big fundraising advantage: He had nearly $250,000 - more than six times Bell's total - at the end of June, according to the Missouri Ethics Commission. A fundraiser held for him in July was co-hosted by police officer associations from St. Louis County and the city of St. Louis.

Bell is getting extra financial help, however. A spokeswoman for Color Of Change, a California-based social justice organization, said the group's political action committee was spending about $100,000 in advertising and outreach to unseat McCulloch.

Bell also has the support of the Ethical Society of Police, an organization of black police officers in St. Louis that seeks to address race-based discrimination in the community and the police department.

Bell could also benefit from a protest vote.

Even in 2014, when McCulloch was unopposed in the November general election, 11,000 voters wrote in the name of someone else, accounting for 4.75 percent of the vote - and that election occurred almost three weeks before more protests erupted when McCulloch announced that no charges would be filed against then-Officer Darren Wilson, who fatally shot Brown during a confrontation in the middle of a street in Ferguson.

Brown was walking with a friend when Wilson pulled up in his police vehicle and told them to walk on the sidewalk. The confrontation quickly escalated.

Wilson and witnesses said Brown attacked the officer through an open window of the vehicle, then fled and had turned back toward the officer when he was shot. Some witnesses said Brown, who was suspected of stealing from a convenience store minutes earlier, had put his arms up, though others said he had not.

Protests were almost immediate. Some turned violent and involved the looting of local businesses, and hundreds of people were arrested amid images of militarized police clashing with angry demonstrators. Mostly peaceful protests went on for months, and Brown's parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit .

Wilson later resigned from the Ferguson police force.

___

Associated Press reporter Jim Salter in St. Louis contributed to this report.

FILE - In this March 4, 2015, file photo, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch talks to the press in Clayton, Mich., in response to the Justice Department's decision not to prosecute Ferguson officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown. McCulloch, who drew scorn for his investigation of the white Ferguson police officer who fatally shot Brown, is facing an Aug. 7, 2018, primary challenge from Wesley Bell, a black Ferguson city councilman who is trying to end McCulloch's bid for an eighth term in office. (J.B. Forbes/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP, File)
PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) - The Latest on a meeting in the San Francisco Bay Area between U.S. and Australian officials (all times local):

11:30 a.m.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he looks forward to testifying before Congress about the U.S. relationship with Russia.

Australia Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop, left, shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo while posing for photos for the 2018 Australia-U.S. Ministerial (AUSMIN) Consultations in Stanford, Calif., Monday, July 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Pompeo said at a news conference with Australian officials in the San Francisco Bay Area on Tuesday that history will show the world benefited from President Donald Trump's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Pompeo is scheduled to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday. He said he would discuss the Trump administration's unequaled efforts to push back against Russia.

While standing next to Putin, Trump last week openly questioned his own intelligence agencies' conclusions that Moscow tried to tip the scales of the 2016 election in his favor. The remarks sparked widespread criticism, including from members of Trump's own party.

Pompeo, Defense Secretary James Mattis and Australia's foreign and defense ministers reaffirmed their commitment to denuclearizing North Korea and touted the strong relationship between the two countries during a joint news conference at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

___

12 a.m.

U.S. talks with North Korea and trade tensions with China are among the topics U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis are expected to discuss with their Australian counterparts at a two-day meeting in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Pompeo, Mattis, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Australian Defense Minister Marise Payne are scheduled to hold a news conference on Tuesday at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University - the second day of the gathering.

The annual meeting between the two countries always includes discussions about security.

The U.S. Department of State says this year's talks will focus on threats in the Indo-Pacific region and cooperation to defeat Islamic State militants.

Australia Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop, left, walks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo before posing for photos for the 2018 Australia-U.S. Ministerial (AUSMIN) Consultations in Stanford, Calif., Monday, July 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Australia Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop, left, talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo after posing for photos for the 2018 Australia-U.S. Ministerial (AUSMIN) Consultations in Stanford, Calif., Monday, July 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Allowing inmates to stare at computer tablet screens for hours each day may be just the ticket for creating calm, orderly cellblocks, prison officials say.

But tablets, growing in popularity in prisons nationwide, also can help inmates advance their education, connect with family and prepare them for life in the technology-saturated outside world, officials say.

In Connecticut, which plans to introduce tablets in its prisons this summer, Correction Commissioner Scott Semple said officials are learning from other states that cellblocks become much quieter after tablets are introduced.

Inmate Anthony Plant holds a tablet that he checked out from corrections officer Glen Dinning, left, at the Corrections Transitional Work Center, a low risk security section at the New Hampshire State Prison for Men, in Concord, N.H., Monday, July 23, 2018. Inmates across the country are getting access to technology via tablets in an effort to help their education, keep them connected to family and reduce noise and violence in prison. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

"Just like when you walk in the mall, everyone is looking down at their phone," he said.

The devices, which are transparent so contraband can't be hidden in them, won't be hooked to the internet, but to an internal system. They will be preloaded with educational materials, including books, educational videos and games.

Inmates will also be able to use them - for a price - to send emails and make monitored phone calls to those on their approved communications lists. They will also be able to buy music, video games and other items to load onto the machines from kiosks in the prisons.

The company that provides the tablets will make a profit selling those materials, allowing the state to get the machines at no cost.

"We're trying to increase engagement opportunities for a population, because sometimes there is down time in prisons," Semple said. "We're also trying to keep them exposed to technology, because we hear from people that when they go back into society, the technology is so different that they struggle."

Connecticut got the idea from similar programs in Georgia and Colorado, Semple said.

Miramar, Florida-based JPay, one of the major tablet providers to prisons, said it has put them in 13 states so far. Prison officials estimate tablets are used in more than 10 percent of correctional facilities nationwide.

In January, New York announced plans to provide tablets to 51,000 inmates, and in April, New Hampshire signed a five-year contract with Reston, Virginia-based Global Tel-Link to provide tablets there.

Anthony Plant, 27, of Lancaster, New Hampshire, served 21 months for selling drugs. Tablets, he said, kept him in touch with relatives and eliminated conflicts among inmates vying for their once-a-day use of the phone.

"Talking with my family gave me a sense of keeping my head straight and motivated me to keep doing what I'm doing," he said.

Connecticut, which has about 13,500 inmates, expects to finalize its contract with a provider this summer.

The programs do have critics.

Questions have been raised about whether the tablets could lead prisons to decrease in-person visitation and whether there is enough regulation of private providers to prevent price gouging.

"If we believe that people in prison would benefit from resources that enrich their lives and allow them to contact their loved ones more, we shouldn't make those benefits contingent on who can pay, especially since we're talking about people who are disproportionately very poor," said Wanda Bertram, with the Prison Policy Initiative, a think tank.

And Connecticut state Sen. John Kissel, R-Enfield, a co-chair of the Judiciary Committee, said he doesn't understand why the state would give priority to criminals over, say, public school students.

"These folks have committed really bad crimes that have consequences and victims," he said. "It bothers me as to what message we're sending."

Plant said that he understands that criticism, but that the tablets, especially their educational content, are an important rehabilitation tool.

"If you don't want things like this, then change the name from the Department of Corrections to the Department of Holding," he said. "Because that's all you are doing."

Two lawsuits filed by South Dakota inmates allege tablets are prone to malfunctions and don't provide promised access to legal databases, making them a poor alternative to the law libraries they replaced.

The Colorado Department of Corrections said has had to deal with security issues, such as improper sharing of devices and inmates removing a metal strip from an early model to make weapons, said spokesman Mark Fairbairn.

But, he said, overall it has been positive, and game and music subscriptions have brought in more than $53,000 to the department's commissary service.

In Connecticut, the plan is to begin handing out the tablets in in the highest-security prisons. Because they are a privilege, Semple said, they can be an incentive for inmates to behave.

Pennsylvania introduced tablets in 2016. Inmates can buy them from Global Tel-Link for just under $150. About 16,000, or a third of the state's inmate population, have done so.

The Pennsylvania corrections department is still collecting data on violence or other conflicts, said Shirley Moore Smeal, the department's executive deputy secretary. But prison superintendents tell them the impact has been positive, she said.

"It does lead to a better environment for the population," she said. "It gives them something to look forward to. It's something that's constructive for them, and that means it's constructive for the institution itself."

The state, she said, is also looking into providing some tablets that can be loaned to prisoners who cannot afford them.

More than 70,000 people have enrolled educational programs offered on JPay's tablets, earning more than 34,000 college credits, spokeswoman Jade Trombetta said. More than 4 million courses and 5 million education videos have been downloaded.

Inmate Anthony Plant reads from a tablet at his bunk at the Corrections Transitional Work Center, a low risk security section at the New Hampshire State Prison for Men, in Concord, N.H., Monday, July 23, 2018. Inmates across the country are getting access to technology via tablets in an effort to help their education, keep them connected to family and reduce noise and violence in prison. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

New Hampshire Department of Corrections Officer Glen Dinning puts a tablet back into a charging cabinet at the Corrections Transitional Work Center, a low risk security section at the New Hampshire State Prison for Men, in Concord, N.H., Monday, July 23, 2018. Inmates across the country are getting access to technology via tablets in an effort to help their education, keep them connected to family and reduce noise and violence in prison. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The Latest on the fatal shooting of a longtime volunteer firefighter in his Mormon church in rural northern Nevada (all times local):

5:25 p.m.

The 48-year-old northern Nevada man accused of fatally shooting a longtime volunteer firefighter in the Mormon church they both attended now has a court date on a murder charge.

This undated photo provided by the Churchill County Sheriff's office shows John O'Conner. Police in the northern Nevada city of Fallon are trying to determine why O'Conner walked into his Mormon church on Sunday, July 22, 2018, and opened fire, killing one man and injuring another. (Churchill County Sheriff's Office via AP)

John K. O'Connor is scheduled to make his initial appearance at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday in New River Township Justice Court in Fallon.

O'Connor is accused of killing 61-year-old Charles E. "Bert" Miller and shooting his brother, Duane Miller of Utah, in the ankle during Sunday's services in Fallon 60 miles east of Reno (97 kilometers).

O'Connor later surrendered at his home about a block away.

Police say they knew each other from the church. But investigators have been unable to establish any possible motive for the slaying.

It's not clear if O'Connor has a lawyer or will be appointed one Wednesday.

Fallon police and city officials declined repeated requests for comment on Tuesday.

___

12:05 p.m.

Local residents plan a vigil in northern Nevada to honor and remember a longtime volunteer firefighter who was fatally shot during Sunday services at his Mormon church in rural Fallon.

City officials say the vigil for Charles E. "Bert" Miller, 61, will be held Tuesday beginning at 3 p.m. at Laura Mills Park in the town about 60 miles (97 kilometers) east of Reno.

Miller was killed and his brother, Duane Miller of Utah, was shot in the leg Sunday afternoon.

Police have charged 48-year-old John K. O'Connor with murder and battery with substantial harm.

They are in the process of interviewing dozens of witnesses, but still haven't been able to establish any possible motive.

Funeral services will be conducted at 10 a.m. Friday, with viewing at 9 a.m., at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Fallon.

____

8 a.m.

A university professor visiting from Utah has been released from a Nevada hospital after being wounded in a church shooting in which his brother was killed.

The Deseret News reports that 64-year-old Duane Miller was released Monday from a hospital in Fallon, Nevada, after treatment for an ankle wound he suffered Sunday during services in a Mormon church in the rural community of Fallon, Nevada.

Duane Miller was sitting with 61-year-old Charles E. "Bert" Miller when the brothers were shot.

Police later arrested 48-year-old John Kelley O'Connor at a home about a block from the church.

Duane Miller is a business management and communications professor at Utah Valley University and an adjunct faculty member in Brigham Young University's business management program.

Fallon is 55 miles (88 kilometers) east of Reno.

A woman who would only identify herself as a niece of shooting victim Charles 'Bert' Miller, is joined by her children as she places flowers at a makeshift memorial Monday, July 23, 2018, in Fallon, Nev., outside the fire department where Miller was a longtime volunteer firefighter. Police in the northern Nevada city are trying to determine why a 48-year-old man walked into his Mormon church on Sunday, July 22, 2018, and opened fire, killing Miller and injuring another person. (AP Photo/Scott Sonner)

A woman who would only identify herself as a niece of shooting victim Charles 'Bert' Miller, is joined by her children as she places flowers at a makeshift memorial Monday, July 23, 2018, in Fallon, Nev., outside the fire department where Miller was a longtime volunteer firefighter. Police in the northern Nevada city are trying to determine why a 48-year-old man walked into his Mormon church on Sunday, July 22, 2018, and opened fire, killing Miller and injuring another person. (AP Photo/Scott Sonner)

The equipment of Charles E. "Bert" Miller, 61, who was fatally shot the day before during Sunday services at his local Mormon church, is pictured at a makeshift memorial outside the rural Nevada fire station where the longtime volunteer firefighter worked, Monday, July 23, 2018, in Fallon, Nev. (AP Photo/Scott Sonner)

The Mormon church where a longtime rural Nevada volunteer firefighter was fatally shot during Sunday services the day before is pictured in this photo taken Monday, July 23, 2018, in Fallon, Nev., about 60 miles east of Reno. (AP Photo/Scott Sonner)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was back on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, meeting with several senators, including his chief GOP critic, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Kavanaugh, the appellate court judge tapped by President Donald Trump to fill the seat of retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, had a roster-full of meetings with Republican senators as he shores up votes before a confirmation hearing.

Paul is the one Republican in the narrowly divided Senate who has outwardly wavered in possible support. The libertarian-leaning senator says he's keeping an "open mind," but few expect he would actually oppose Trump's choice.

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, left, walks into the office of Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., for a meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The senator is particularly concerned about Kavanaugh's views on the Fourth Amendment, which protects against undue search and seizure. Paul let Trump know he preferred other potential nominees he viewed as more conservative. But he has since said he's undecided.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was less worried about Paul on Tuesday than about Democrats, who are demanding reams of documents from Kavanaugh's time as a judge and political official.

Republicans are eager to have Kavanaugh confirmed before the midterm elections as an accomplishment they can bring home to voters, and McConnell warned Democrats not to try to delay it.

"We're going to finish this nomination this fall," McConnell said. "So let there be no misunderstanding that there would be any kind of delay tactic that would take us past the first Tuesday in November."

Democrats want background on Kavanaugh's 12 years as an appellate judge as well as his earlier jobs on Ken Starr's team investigating Bill Clinton; the 2000 presidential election recount; and as staff secretary in the George W. Bush administration. The documents could top 1 million pages.

Some Democrats have declined to meet with Kavanaugh while they wait on documents.

But several Democratic senators from Trump-won states who are up for re-election in November are under pressure to back the nominee in the Senate, where Republicans hold a slim 51-49 majority and every vote matters.

One key Democrat, Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana, said Tuesday that he was set to meet with the judge in August. Others have said they, too, will meet with him.

___

Follow Mascaro on Twitter at https://twitter.com/lisamascaro
DERBY LINE, Vt. (AP) - While the Trump administration fortifies the southern border, there's growing concern over the number of foreigners entering the country illegally across the porous northern border with Canada.

People crossing the border between Vermont and Quebec have paid smugglers up to $4,000, usually payable when the immigrants reach their U.S. destination, according to officials and court documents.

While the number of arrests is tiny compared with the southern border, the human smuggling is just as sophisticated.

In this Wednesday, July 11, 2018 photo, motorcyclist Jim Connor, of Colchester, Vt., reads a road map as he sits on a rock next to flower pots, which mark the border between the United States and Canada, in Derby Line, Vt. The community library was purposely built straddling the border to serve people in both communities. Quebecers simply cross an international boundary marked outside the library by pots of petunias. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

"They are very well organized. They have scouted the area. They have scouted us," said U.S. Border Patrol Agent Richard Ross. "Basically, we are not dealing with the JV team; this is the varsity."

Driving the increase here, officials say, is the ease of entry into Canada, where visas are no longer required for Mexicans, and a border that receives less scrutiny and resources than the southern border, where thousands fleeing violence in Central America are being detained.

In a sector that covers 300 miles (480 kilometers) of border with New York, Vermont and New Hampshire, agents have apprehended 324 people who crossed illegally from Canada so far this fiscal year, compared with 165 in all of 2017, according to figures prepared by the Border Patrol for The Associated Press. Last month, agents apprehended 85 people across the three states, compared with 17 in June 2017 and 19 in June 2016, statistics show.

So far this fiscal year, there have been at least 267 apprehensions along Canada's border with Vermont alone, compared with 132 all of last year, according to statistics compiled by federal prosecutors in Vermont.

The statistics show no corresponding spike in illegal immigration or apprehensions elsewhere along the northern frontier. Border Patrol agents speculate it's because the area that includes Vermont is the first stretch of land border east of the Great Lakes and is a short drive from the population centers of Canada and the U.S. East Coast.

The northern border numbers are still small compared with the southern border. Federal statistics show that in fiscal 2017 there were 303,916 apprehensions on the U.S. border with Mexico, compared with 3,027 on the entire northern border.

Still, there is a growing sense of unease among U.S. law enforcement authorities.

"The number of illegal alien apprehensions at the Vermont-Canada border has skyrocketed," said Christina Nolan, Vermont's U.S. attorney.

Much of the illegal border crossing activity in Vermont appears to be focused on a 30-mile (50-kilometer) segment of the Vermont-Quebec border where Interstate 91 reaches the Canadian border at Derby Line, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Montreal.

From Derby Line, it's about a six-hour drive to New York and its teeming immigrant communities.

Guarding the border here is tricky because Derby Line and the neighboring Quebec town of Stanstead comprise one community where homes and buildings happen to be bisected by an international border.

The community library was purposely built straddling the border to serve people in both communities. Quebecers simply cross an international boundary marked outside the library by pots of petunias. Occasionally, illegal border crossers will walk, or even drive, across near the library.

"This is really a town with an invisible border going through it," said Stanstead resident Matthew Farfan, who has written a book about life along the border, after he left the library's Vermont entrance and prepared to cross back into Canada.

As part of a broader recent immigration crackdown, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has set up highway checkpoints in Maine, New Hampshire and upstate New York. One person was apprehended in New York on charges she had picked up four people crossing from Canada.

Visa-less entry into Canada for countries like Mexico and Romania, another nationality noted by Nolan and Border Patrol agents as contributing to a spike in apprehensions, play a role by making the northern border more attractive for people seeking to enter the U.S. illegally, Nolan said. A plane ticket from Mexico City to Montreal or Toronto can cost less than $350.

The Canadian government in late 2016 lifted its requirement that Mexican citizens apply for visas to enter the country as part of broader efforts to strengthen ties with Mexico. A similar requirement for Romanian citizens took effect in late 2017.

Canada views the recent visa changes for Mexico and Romania as having a minimal impact on the border, said Beatrice Fenelon, a spokeswoman for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

In the past two months, agents in Vermont have chased border crossers through the woods near Derby Line; there have been car chases and cases in which agents have lost sight of suspects in the woods, only to apprehend them days later.

"They have kind of gone southern-border style where they are taking a hike and they are coming through the tall grass," Ross said. "It's something I would have seen years ago when I worked in Harlingen, Texas."

The agents won't guess how many make it across.

The flow of illegal border crossers goes in both directions. Since around the time President Donald Trump took office, thousands of immigrants in the U.S. have fled north to Canada seeking asylum.

Last October in the largest single case in memory of Border Patrol agents in the Derby Line area, 16 people were apprehended at a hotel after 14 had entered the United States west of Derby Line. The other two were the smugglers.

In another case east of Derby Line, a group of eight Mexican immigrants met at a McDonald's restaurant in Montreal after flying into Toronto and Montreal, where they hired two taxis to take them to Stanhope, Quebec, not far from where Quebec meets Vermont and New Hampshire.

After the immigrants walked six hours through the forest, they were apprehended in a taxi by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Norton, Vermont, court documents say.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, responsible for border security in Canada, made arrests last month in two human-smuggling cases between Stanstead and Derby Line.

In one case, the suspect, a Mexican who did not have legal status in Canada, has been convicted of bringing immigrants to the Vermont border and was sentenced to six months in jail, after which he will be deported.

The Mounties are aware of the cases and ready to help their U.S. counterparts, said RCMP spokeswoman Sgt. Camille Habel.

But the RCMP doesn't appear to view the problem with the same urgency as U.S. officials: "It's not a trend yet," Habel said.

___

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Rob Gillies in Toronto; Michael Hill in Derby Line, Vermont; and David Sharp in Portland, Maine.

In this July 10, 2018 photo, with storm clouds on the horizon, U.S. Border Patrol Agent Richard Ross, the agent in charge of the area just below the Quebec border, poses for a portrait in a field where people entering the United States illegally from Canada have been apprehended, in Derby Line, Vt. While the Trump administration fortifies the southern border, there's growing concern over the number of foreigners entering the country illegally across the porous northern border with Canada. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

In this Tuesday, July 10, 2018 photo, as sun sets a car rolls down a hill past a field adjacent to the Quebec border, at right, on a country road in Derby Line, Vt. While the Trump administration fortifies the southern border, there's growing concern over the number of foreigners entering the country illegally across the porous northern border with Canada. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

This undated surveillance photo provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows people illegally crossing the United States border from Canada near Derby Line, Vt. Though attention is focused on illegal immigration into the United States from Mexico, officials and documents say there has been a quiet increase in the number of people apprehended entering illegally on the northern border between Quebec and Vermont. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection via AP)

This undated surveillance photo provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows a person illegally crossing the United States border from Canada near Derby Line, Vt. Though attention is focused on illegal immigration into the United States from Mexico, officials and documents say there has been a quiet increase in the number of people apprehended entering illegally on the northern border between Quebec and Vermont. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection via AP)

In this Tuesday, July 10, 2018 photo, library patrons from Quebec walk past a pillar and unimposing pots filled with petunias and other colorful flowers, which mark the border between the United States and Canada, as they freely cross the border into Derby Line, Vt. from Stanstead, Quebec to visit the Haskell Library. The community library was purposely built straddling the border to serve people in both communities. Quebecers simply cross an international boundary marked outside the library by pots of petunias. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

In this July 11, 2018 photo, a vehicle in Canada waits for a gate to rise while crossing into Derby Line, Vt. from Stanstead, Quebec. While the Trump administration fortifies the southern border, there's growing concern over the number of foreigners entering the country illegally across the porous northern border with Canada. At right is a Canada Border Services Agency station in Stanstead. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

In this Wednesday, July 11, 2018 photo, library patron freely crosses the United States border from Quebec into Vermont as she walks down the sidewalk during a visit to the Haskell Library, rear, in Derby Line, Vt. While the Trump administration fortifies the southern border, there's growing concern over the number of foreigners entering the country illegally across the porous northern border with Canada. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

In this Wednesday, July 11, 2018 photo, library patron rides his bicycle, freely crossing from the United States into Canada, outside the Haskell Library in Derby Line, Vt. While the Trump administration fortifies the southern border, there's growing concern over the number of foreigners entering the country illegally across the porous northern border with Canada. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Hundreds of government opponents protested in Poland on Tuesday as senators were debating legislation that would make it easier for the ruling party to appoint the president and members of the Supreme Court and influence judges.

Approved by the lower house last week, the legislation needs approval from the Senate, which is dominated by the right-wing ruling party and expected to back the bill, as well as from President Andrzej Duda, who hails from the party.

It is one of the final steps in the ruling party's overhaul of the judiciary which, critics say, is putting the justice system under the party's control. European Union leaders say it threatens Poland's rule of law and have triggered sanctioning procedures.

Protesters hold a giant Polish national flag during a demonstration against a judicial reform pushed through as a threat to judicial independence in front of the Senate Building in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, July 24, 2018.(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

The Law and Justice party insists it is making the justice system more efficient and removing communist-era judges to let in fresh blood. But new appointments made so far largely are of party backers.

In the latest controversy, the government lowered retirement age for Supreme Court judges to 65 from 70, forcing many of them out, and cutting short the constitutionally-guaranteed term of the chief justice. The latest legislation is to facilitate the government's efforts to replace the chief justice.

Waving national and EU flags protesters in Warsaw, Wroclaw and in some other cities chanted "We will defend democracy" and "Free courts" against the changes.

In a separate protest, pro-democracy activists staged an event in Warsaw that portrayed ruling party leaders as destroyers of the judicial authorities.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - A special prosecutor has been named to help investigate allegations that Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill drunkenly groped a lawmaker and three legislative staffers.

A Marion County judge on Tuesday appointed Fort Wayne attorney Daniel Sigler to review the state inspector general's eventual findings and determine whether Hill should face criminal charges.

Sigler is a Democrat and former prosecutor. He was also the special prosecutor in a case that led to then-Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White's conviction on voter fraud charges in 2012.

Hill is accused of groping the women at an Indianapolis bar in March. The Republican has denied the allegations and rejected calls to resign from the Republican governor and legislative leaders.

Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry sought a special prosecutor for Hill, citing legal entanglements between his and Hill's office.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) - The primary organizer of last summer's deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, withdrew his request Tuesday for a court order allowing him to stage an event there marking its anniversary, but he vowed to press forward with plans for a similar event in Washington.

One of Jason Kessler's lawyers announced his change of plans during a disjointed hearing in federal court that was disrupted by Kessler's tardy arrival.

After the hearing, Kessler tweeted that he will be "focusing exclusively" on his plans to hold a rally in Washington on the anniversary of the bloodshed in Charlottesville. The National Park Service approved his application for an Aug. 12 "white civil rights" rally at Lafayette Square, near the White House, but hasn't issued a permit for the event.

White Nationalist Jason Kessler arrives at Federal court 45 minutes late for a hearing on his rally permit in Charlottesville, Va., Tuesday, July 24, 2018. Kessler, an organizer of last summer's deadly white nationalist rally in Virginia, has withdrawn his request for a court order allowing him to stage an event marking the rally's anniversary. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

National Park Service spokesman Mike Litterst said Tuesday that there hasn't been any change in the status of Kessler's application.

"When we have all the information we need to make sure that the public is safe and that park resources are protected, then we'll issue the permit," he said.

Kessler had requested a preliminary injunction that would compel the city of Charlottesville to issue him a rally permit for next month. He sued in March, claiming the city's refusal to grant him a permit trampled on his free speech rights under the First Amendment.

After arriving more than a half hour late for the hearing, Kessler conferred with his lawyers, who had been addressing the judge. The attorneys then said he was withdrawing his request, a move they did not explain to the judge.

One of Kessler's lawyers, James Kolenich, who also was late for the hearing, told reporters afterward that he doesn't know why Kessler abruptly abandoned his efforts to get a permit.

"He ordinarily has good reasons for what he does. I don't know what it is right now," Kolenich said.

The decision doesn't necessarily mean that no event will take place in Charlottesville, activists and the city's police chief said. The city requires permits only for events at which more than 50 people are expected, or for which street closures or park reservations are sought.

Lisa Woolfork, a University of Virginia professor and Black Lives Matter Charlottesville organizer, attended the hearing and said she felt sure white supremacists would return to Charlottesville with or without a permit.

"What's more important is that we as a community come together and resist," she said.

Police Chief RaShall Brackney said that although Tuesday's development was "a victory," authorities would continue with public safety preparations ahead of the anniversary, as well as social media monitoring.

"We understand that the weekend and that day has national significance and even international significance, so we are going to be prepared for that weekend to come regardless," she said.

John Longstreth, an attorney for the city, said it would be "very difficult" for Kessler to refile another motion.

Kessler didn't address the court and didn't respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.

Last August, hundreds of people traveled to Charlottesville to participate in the "Unite the Right" rally and protest the city's plans to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee from a park that was named after the Confederate general. The list of scheduled speakers included several leading white nationalist figures, including Richard Spencer.

On the eve of the Aug. 12 rally, dozens of young white men wearing khakis and polo shirts marched through the University of Virginia's campus, carrying torches and chanting racist and anti-Semitic slogans. The next day, hundreds of white supremacists and counterprotesters clashed in the streets before a car plowed into a crowd, killing 32-year-old counterprotester Heather Heyer.

James Fields Jr., 21, of Maumee, Ohio, is charged with murder in Heyer's killing under Virginia state law. He is charged separately in federal court with hate crimes.

A monthslong investigation of the rally violence, led by former U.S. Attorney Tim Heaphy, found the chaos stemmed from a passive response by law enforcement officers and poor preparation and coordination between state and city police.

This year, a host of community events including rallies and worship services are being planned in Charlottesville over the anniversary weekend.

Earlier this month, Kessler reached a settlement agreement in a separate lawsuit over last summer's violence in Charlottesville. Kessler signed a consent decree in which he agreed to "actively discourage" coordinated, armed activity at any future rallies in the city. More than a dozen other defendants signed similar agreements.

FILE - In this Feb. 27, 2018, file photo, Jason Kessler walks through a crowd of protesters in front of the Charlottesville Circuit Courthouse ahead of a decision regarding the covered Confederate statues, during a rally in Charlottesville, Va. Kessler, a white nationalist, is seeking a court order that would allow him to stage an event marking the anniversary of last year's rally in Charlottesville. U.S. District Judge Norman Moon scheduled a hearing Tuesday, July 24, on Kessler's request for a preliminary injunction that would compel the city of Charlottesville to issue him a rally permit for August. (Zack Wajsgras/The Daily Progress via AP, File)
TORONTO (AP) - Of all the things people in Toronto are horrified by in the aftermath of the shooting that killed two people and injured 13, this stands out: The man responsible had a handgun.

To mass shooting-weary America - where there are about 300 million guns of all kinds - possession of a handgun might seem commonplace.

But in Toronto, the very idea that someone would have a handgun, much less take it out in public and fire it, is nearly incomprehensible. On Tuesday evening, after nearly 10 hours of discussing gun crimes, the City Council voted to urge the federal and provincial government to ban the sale of handguns and handgun ammunition in the largest city in Canada, and the fourth largest in North America.

A young girl writes a message on the sidewalk at a site remembering the victims of a Sunday evening shooting on Danforth Avenue, in Toronto on Monday, July 24, 2018. (Mark Blinch/The Canadian Press via AP)

"If anything, what's happened in the United States is what not to do," said City Councilman Joe Cressy, who proposed the motion Tuesday.

Agreed Toronto Mayor John Tory: "Why does anyone in this city need to have a gun at all?"

The measure passed 41 to four; the country's public safety minister said Tuesday that Ottawa was already considering tightening handgun laws, even prior to Sunday's shooting.

It's unclear how the shooter in Sunday's tragedy obtained his gun. And officials haven't discovered a motive for why 29-year-old Faisal Hussain targeted diners enjoying a warm summer night at restaurants and cafes in Toronto's popular Greektown neighborhood, killing a 10-year-old girl and 18-year-old woman. His parents said he had suffered from severe mental illness his entire life.

Cressy acknowledged that banning handguns isn't the only thing Toronto should do to combat gun violence, which is on the rise in the city. Crime prevention programs, helping those released from prison find jobs, mentoring kids and diversion programs are all initiatives that should be beefed up, along with meeting people's mental health needs, he said.

Even before Sunday's shooting, city leaders were concerned about an uptick in gun violence that had prompted the Toronto police to deploy dozens of additional officers over the weekend. The city has seen 23 gun homicides so far this year, compared to 16 fatal shootings in the first half of 2017.

Canada overhauled its laws after the country's worst mass shooting in 1989, when gunman Marc Lepine killed 14 women and himself at Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique college. It's now illegal to possess an unregistered handgun or any kind of rapid-fire weapon. Canada also requires training, a personal risk assessment, two references, spousal notification and criminal record checks to obtain a permit.

Canadians have long taken comfort in the peacefulness of their communities and are nervous about anything that might indicate they are moving closer to their American counterparts.

"There isn't a handgun culture here," said Toronto resident Alison MacLean, shaking her head and wearing a T-shirt with symbols of a peace sign, a heart and a moose. "Handguns aren't part of the common discourse."

Before 2012, about 75 percent of illegal firearms in Canada were trafficked from the United States. By 2017, however, about half originated from domestic sources, putting an end to the idea that most of Canada's illegal guns come from across the border, said Det. Rob Di Danieli of the Toronto police guns and gangs unit.

Legal Canadian gun owners are selling their weapons illegally, he said.

The allure of a quick sell at a high profit margin is one reason legal owners might sell their guns. One man sold 47 guns and made over $100,000 in a five-month period, Di Danieli said.

"They go get their license for the purpose of becoming a firearms trafficker," he said. "A lot of people are so ready to blame the big bad Americans, but we had our own little problem here."

A big difference between Canada and the U.S. is the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which grants Americans the right to bear arms. In Canada, gun ownership is not enshrined in the constitution.

"Canadians, unlike Americans, do not have a constitutional right to bear arms," Canada's high court said in a 1993 decision that upheld a ban on convertible semi-automatic weapons.

"Indeed, most Canadians prefer the peace of mind and sense of security derived from the knowledge that the possession of automatic weapons is prohibited," the court said.

Another difference is that Canadian politicians are not beholden to groups like the National Rifle Association, which donates millions of dollars to U.S. campaigns. Canada's federal elections laws put limits on contributions to political parties so that only individuals, not corporations or lobby groups, may donate.

In the wake of Sunday's shooting, many here said they were reminded of another mass shooting, one that happened 1,500 miles (2,414 km) away in Florida in February, when a former student walked into a school with an assault rifle and killed 17 students and staff members and injured 17 others.

"I was thinking about the victims in Parkland, and their strength," said 24-year-old Laila Hawrylyshyn. "And I hope the victims here in Toronto have the strength to recover from this."

She and a several dozen of her classmates in a government relations class at York University attended the City Council session on Tuesday where council members discussed gun violence with the city's police chief.

Said Cressy: "A 10-year-old and an 18-year-old dying is heartbreaking enough. I can't fathom what it's like as a parent to wake up and send your child off to school and wonder if they'll be killed. That's not a city you want to live in."

Desirae Shapiro, 19, next to wall kneeling at right, and her mother, Gina Shapiro, friends of 18-year-old Danforth shooting victim Reese Fallon, mourn while visiting a makeshift memorial, Monday, July 23, 2018, in Toronto, remembering the victims of the shooting on Sunday. (Mark Blinch/The Canadian Press via AP)

Desirae Shapiro, 19, right, and her mother, Gina Shapiro, friends of 18-year-old Danforth shooting victim Reese Fallon, mourn after visiting a makeshift memorial, Monday, July 23, 2018, in Toronto, remembering the victims of the shooting on Sunday. (Mark Blinch/The Canadian Press via AP)

Messages people wrote are shown on a makeshift memorial, Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Toronto, for the victims of Sunday's shooting. Canadian investigators said Tuesday there was no link to terrorism in the mass shooting that killed two people and wounded 13 as they continued to probe the life of the 29-year-old gunman for clues to what prompted the rampage that targeted diners at restaurants and cafes in a popular Toronto neighborhood. (Mark Blinch/The Canadian Press via AP)

A man reacts at a vigil in remembrance of the victims of a shooting the evening before, in Toronto, Monday, July 23, 2018. (Mark Blinch/The Canadian Press via AP)

A woman places a flower at a vigil in remembrance of the victims of a shooting the evening before, in Toronto, Monday, July 23, 2018. (Mark Blinch/The Canadian Press via AP)
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A Virginia police department has submitted a report on its investigation into the fatal shooting of a naked man on an interstate highway.

The Richmond Police Department said in a statement Tuesday it has submitted a report to the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office on the May 14 fatal shooting of Marcus-David Peters. The statement said the report includes witness statements, security camera videos, the officer's body camera video and forensic evidence.

The Commonwealth's Attorney's Office will issue a determination and finding.

Peters was shot and killed by a Richmond police officer on Interstate 95. Peters was unarmed but charged at the officer, who first fired a stun gun and then his service weapon.

The shooting comes amid national controversies regarding race and officer-involved shootings. Both Peters and the officer are black.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The Latest on a Pennsylvania state university administrator fired over alleged sexual misconduct with students (all times local):

4:45 p.m.

The Pennsylvania Attorney General's office says it's no longer seeking to force three former state university students who say they were sexually abused by a high-ranking administrator to pay $10,000 in court costs.

FILE - This undated file photo shows Isaac W. Sanders, who was East Stroudsburg University's vice president for advancement, in East Stroudsburg, Pa. In July 2018, a court granted a request by the Pennsylvania attorney general's office, representing the university, to recoup $10,000 in court costs from three former students, after a jury ruled against them in 2014 in their federal lawsuit accusing Sanders of using his post to offer them gifts, scholarships and campus jobs before sexually assaulting them. Sanders has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and never been charged, but he was fired by the university in 2008 following an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct toward students and financial mismanagement. (David Kidwell/Pocono Record via AP, File_

The attorney general's office had said Tuesday in a letter to the students' attorney that it's "concerned about the chilling effect such judgments could have on victims of harassment." The letter offers an apology to the students and their lawyer.

The Associated Press had reported last week that state prosecutors, representing East Stroudsburg University, had successfully asked the court for a judgment against the students after a jury ruled against them in their federal lawsuit. The students' lawyer had denounced the legal maneuver as outrageous and vindictive and said he would appeal it.

The letter says Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro had not been aware of the issue and "personally directed" prosecutors to withdraw their demand.

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10:20 a.m.

Pennsylvania taxpayers are footing the $240,000 legal bill of a former state university administrator who was fired after an internal investigation substantiated allegations of financial impropriety and sexual misconduct toward students.

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education has agreed to pay Isaac Sanders' lawyer after he successfully defended Sanders in a civil lawsuit filed by six students at East Stroudsburg University.

That's according to a June 14 settlement agreement obtained by The Associated Press.

East Stroudsburg fired Sanders in 2008, saying an investigation by its outside law firm had shown he "exercised exceedingly poor judgment."

Sanders has always denied touching any of the men, and a civil jury ruled in his favor in 2014. He has never been charged with a crime.
PARIS (AP) - Lawmakers from President Emmanuel Macron's party quoted him in tweets Tuesday night as saying he takes full responsibility in a scandal surrounding a former security chief seen in a video beating a protester.

The tweets show photos of Macron at an unannounced gathering Tuesday evening with ministers and parliament members making his first remarks since the scandal broke six days ago.

Aurore Berge, a parliamentary spokeswoman for Macron's centrist party, tweeted quotes of the president saying that "the only one responsible is me. They can come and get me."

Elysee Chief of Staff Patrick Strzoda arrives for a hearing with the deputies of the Laws Commission concerning the case of President Macron's security aide Alexandre Benalla, at the National Assembly in Paris, France, Tuesday, July 24, 2018. A parliamentary inquiry opened hearings Monday, a day after an investigating judge filed preliminary charges against the aide, Alexandre Benalla, who was caught on camera beating a protester in May. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Legislator Bruno Fuchs quoted Macron as saying the May Day action by the security aide, Alexandre Benalla, "was for me a betrayal."

Macron, a centrist who created his own political party with the promise of an exemplary presidency, has been confronted with a major political crisis since the revelation last week by the newspaper Le Monde that the man seen in internet video acting violently with protesters was a top security aide for the president.

Benalla has since been handed preliminary charges along with four others, including three ranking police officers.

A parliamentary inquiry is underway to learn why Benalla wasn't fired in May, with government ministers, the police chief and top officials at the presidential palace testifying. But opposition politicians have been calling for Macron to break his silence.

Tuesday's parliamentary session was electric as lawmakers noisily pounded the prime minister with questions. Work on a constitutional revision has been suspended and an opinion poll indicates Macron has lost support.

Berge said later on BFM-TV that Macron told the gathering he is not a fair-weather president and suggested he won't let other officials take the blame. The press has been speculating about which ministers or officials might lose their jobs.

Elysee Chief of Staff Patrick Strzoda arrives for a hearing with the deputies of the Laws Commission concerning the case of President Macron's security aide Alexandre Benalla, at the National Assembly in Paris, France, Tuesday, July 24, 2018. A parliamentary inquiry opened hearings Monday, a day after an investigating judge filed preliminary charges against the aide, Alexandre Benalla, who was caught on camera beating a protester in May. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Elysee Chief of Staff Patrick Strzoda, right, arrives for a hearing with the deputies of the Laws Commission concerning the case of President Macron's security aide Alexandre Benalla, at the National Assembly in Paris, France, Tuesday, July 24, 2018. A parliamentary inquiry opened hearings Monday, a day after an investigating judge filed preliminary charges against the aide, Alexandre Benalla, who was caught on camera beating a protester in May. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Florida Gov. Rick Scott won't be joining President Donald Trump at next week's "Make America Great Again" campaign rally.

Trump's re-election campaign is holding the rally July 31 at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa.

The Republican governor will be holding a fundraiser in nearby Clearwater at the same time. But Scott is expected to join Trump at an official White House event earlier in the day at Tampa Bay Technical High School.

During his rally Trump is expected to drum up support for candidates in next month's GOP primaries, including U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, a candidate for governor.

Scott was a big Trump supporter in 2016, but has publicly split with the president on several issues in recent months as he mounts a campaign against U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - The Latest on the fatal shooting of a Florida man over a parking lot dispute (all times local):

5:20 p.m.

An attorney for the family of a Florida man who was fatally shot over a handicapped-parking dispute says the gunman shouldn't be allowed to go free without arrest because the case doesn't fall under the state's "stand your ground" law.

In this Sunday, July 22, 2018 photo, family, friends and demonstrators hold up signs in a parking lot in Clearwater, Fla., where Markeis McGlockton, 28, was shot and killed in an altercation. The family of McGlockton issued an appeal through their attorney for the public to put pressure on State Attorney Bernie McCabe to file charges against Michael Drejka, who fatally shot the father of three last Thursday during an argument over a handicapped parking space outside a convenience store. (Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Attorney Michele Rayner said Tuesday that Markeis McGlockton posed no imminent threat to Michael Drejka before Drejka shot him last week outside a Clearwater, Florida, store.

Rayner says McGlockton shoved Drejka to the ground to protect his girlfriend and children.

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri announced he wasn't going to arrest Drejka because the case fell under Florida's controversial law which gives immunity to people who use lethal force to defend themselves if they fear for their lives.

The State Attorney's Office will decide if charges are filed.

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1:45 p.m.

The family of a Florida man who was fatally shot by another man he had pushed to the ground is demanding that prosecutors file charges against the gunman.

But some legal experts say the case is a classic example of Florida's controversial "stand your ground" law, which allows people to use force without retreating if they feel threatened.

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri last week announced he wasn't going to arrest Michael Drejka for killing Markeis McGlockton during an argument over a parking space last Thursday. He turned the case over to the State Attorney's Office for a decision on charges.

McGlockton's family on Tuesday urged the public to demand that Drejka be charged.

Nova Southeastern University law professor Shahabudeen Khan, though, says Drejka could have felt threatened while on the ground.

In this Thursday, July 19, 2018 image taken from surveillance video released by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, Markeis McGlockton, far left, is shot by Michael Drejka during an altercation in the parking lot of a convenience store in Clearwater, Fla. The family of McGlockton issued an appeal Tuesday, July 24, 2018, through an attorney for the public to put pressure on State Attorney Bernie McCabe to file charges against Drejka, a white man who fatally shot the black father of three last Thursday upon being pushed to the ground outside a convenience store. (Pinellas County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Tempe Louis, of Clearwater, pauses to observe a memorial on the side of the Circle A Food Mart, Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Clearwater, Fla., where Markeis McGlockton, 28, was shot and killed last week during an altercation in the parking lot. The family of McGlockton issued an appeal through their attorney for the public to put pressure on State Attorney Bernie McCabe to file charges against Michael Drejka, who fatally shot the father of three last Thursday during an argument over a handicapped parking space outside the convenience store. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

In this Sunday, July 22, 2018 photo, Ruth Beltran of Black Lives Matter Tampa speaks to the crowd about standing up for the rights of black people in the community as family, friends and demonstrators gather in a parking lot in Clearwater, Fla., where Markeis McGlockton, 28, was shot and killed in an altercation. The family of McGlockton issued an appeal through their attorney for the public to put pressure on State Attorney Bernie McCabe to file charges against Michael Drejka, who fatally shot the father of three last Thursday during an argument over a handicapped parking space outside a convenience store. (Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

In this Sunday, July 22, 2018 photo, family, friends and demonstrators gather in a parking lot in Clearwater, Fla., where Markeis McGlockton, 28, was shot and killed in an altercation. The family of McGlockton issued an appeal through their attorney for the public to put pressure on State Attorney Bernie McCabe to file charges against Michael Drejka, who fatally shot the father of three last Thursday during an argument over a handicapped parking space outside a convenience store. (Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

In this Sunday, July 22, 2018 photo, flowers and a sign decorate a makeshift memorial for Markeis McGlockton, in front of the location where he was killed in Clearwater Fla. The family of McGlockton issued an appeal through their attorney for the public to put pressure on State Attorney Bernie McCabe to file charges against Michael Drejka, who fatally shot the father of three last Thursday during an argument over a handicapped parking space outside a convenience store. (Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

In this Sunday, July 22, 2018 photo, Michael McGlockton, right, the father of Markeis McGlockton, wipes the face of his grandson and five year-old-son of Markeis, Markeis McGlockton Jr., as protesters gathered to voice their concerns in Clearwater Fla. The family of McGlockton issued an appeal through their attorney for the public to put pressure on State Attorney Bernie McCabe to file charges against Michael Drejka, who fatally shot the father of three last Thursday during an argument over a handicapped parking space outside a convenience store. (Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

In this Sunday, July 22, 2018 photo, Britany Jacobs, 25, consoles her 5-year-old son Markeis McGlockton Jr., during a vigil for his slain father Markeis McGlockton Sr., 28, while their cousin Mesha Gilbert, 26, left, looks on at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Clearwater, Fla. The family of McGlockton issued an appeal through their attorney for the public to put pressure on State Attorney Bernie McCabe to file charges against Michael Drejka, who fatally shot the father of three last Thursday during an argument over a handicapped parking space outside a convenience store. (Octavio Jones/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

In this Sunday, July 22, 2018 photo, family, friends and demonstrators hold up signs in a parking lot in Clearwater, Fla., where Markeis McGlockton, 28, was shot and killed in an altercation. The family of McGlockton issued an appeal through their attorney for the public to put pressure on State Attorney Bernie McCabe to file charges against Michael Drejka, who fatally shot the father of three last Thursday during an argument over a handicapped parking space outside a convenience store. (Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
U.S. newspapers are battered and broken, and this week's layoffs at the New York Daily News serve as the latest blow. But while local newsgathering has taken a hit, some observers think it's poised for a digital comeback.

Media company Tronc Inc. cut half of the Daily News' newsroom staff Monday, including the paper's editor in chief. The remaining staff, the company said, will focus on breaking news involving "crime, civil justice and public responsibility."

The Pulitzer Prize-winning tabloid has been a fixture in New York for the last century. Jere Hester, news director at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism and a former staffer at the Daily News, bemoaned the gutting of a watchdog in the nation's largest city.

New York Daily News photo assignment editor Reggie Lewis, left, and an unidentified coworker leave the newspaper's office after they were both laid off, Monday, July 23, 2018, in New York. The tabloid will cut half of its newsroom staff, saying it wants to focus more on digital news. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

"Any time we lose a reporter covering a neighborhood or City Hall, the city is greatly diminished for it. Bottom line is, when you don't have reporters out there doing grunt work in the street, stories get lost," Hester said.

The anguish in the world's media capital exemplifies what's been happening in the rest of the country for years. Estimated U.S. daily newspaper circulation, print and digital combined, fell 11 percent to 31 million in 2017, according to the Pew Research Center.

As recently as 2000, weekday subscriptions totaled 55.8 million. In just the last three years, employment in newsrooms has fallen 15 percent.

"We're seeing very steady pressure, wave after wave of layoffs, which means less journalism," said Rick Edmonds, a media business analyst at Poynter Institute. "We're starting to have a lot of places that are described as news deserts."

Concern about the layoffs extended beyond the media business to people who feared for a future with fewer facts. New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo urged Tronc to reconsider the cuts, saying they were made without notifying the state or asking for assistance.

"I understand that large corporations often only see profit and dividends as a bottom line. But in New York, we also calculate loss of an important institution, loss of jobs and the impact on the families affected."

The trend began more than a decade ago, when car dealerships, real estate companies and other businesses moved online and stopped paying newspapers for classified ads. Readers increasingly migrated to the internet and mobile apps and spent more hours on social media such as Facebook.

Over time, newspapers lost two-thirds of their revenue, and they slashed jobs as a result, said Tim Franklin, the senior associate dean of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.

The Los Angeles Times once had more than 1,200 journalists and more than 25 foreign bureaus. Now it employs about 400 journalists with bureaus in Sacramento, Washington and a handful of foreign and national outposts. Tronc sold the newspaper to Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong earlier this year.

The Denver Post has been laying off staff for more than a decade, with a 30 percent reduction coming in April from current owner Digital First Media. Its onetime rival, the Rocky Mountain News, folded in 2009.

More recently, newspapers are reeling from tariffs on Canadian newsprint put in place in March by President Donald Trump's administration. Paul Tash, chairman and CEO of Florida's largest newspaper, the Tampa Bay Times, wrote in a recent editorial that the tariffs would add $3.5 million per year to the paper's newsprint expenses if they are made permanent. Already, the paper has laid off 50 people this year, Tash wrote.

Where have all those journalists gone? In some cases, they are starting up online newspapers of their own in an effort to keep local newsgathering alive and flourishing.

Take Berkeleyside, an online newspaper in Berkeley, California, that began in 2009, when the San Jose Mercury News stopped covering the city. So far this year, Berkeleyside says it has averaged 900,000 pageviews and 270,000 unique visitors each month.

In Charlottesville, Virginia, there's an online newspaper devoted to covering education, land use and planning. In a rare bit of cooperation, Charlottesville's daily newspaper, The Daily Progress, uses some of those online stories, said Matt DiRienzo, who runs an organization called the Local Independent Online News Publishers.

DiRienzo said his group represents 225 news outlets in 45 states and Canada. Membership has doubled in the last two years, he said. He predicts a "massive decentralization" of local journalism over the coming years.

"As people realize how important the news is to democratic institutions and local businesses, these kinds of things are going to bubble up," he said. "An algorithm isn't going to replace local journalism."

But Edmonds said it's tough to start digital publications from scratch. Patch, a string of local news websites, laid off hundreds of employees after it was sold by AOL in 2014.

"It's hard to compete for advertising," Edmonds said.

Franklin is betting on traditional newspapers, which are digging deep to figure out how better to meet readers' needs and gather revenue.

Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism is in the midst of a two-year project with the San Francisco Chronicle, the Indianapolis Star and the Chicago Tribune to figure out how to gain subscribers and develop a new business model. Franklin envisions more newspapers offering paid digital subscriptions, as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post and others have successfully done.

"Could the industry have done more R&D when these trends really came into evidence? Yes, they could have and should have," he said. "Is it now too late? I don't think so. I still think that there's a path forward, and we're beginning to see local news organizations move to a reader-first approach, a digital-first approach."

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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the owner of the Los Angeles Times to Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong. It also has been corrected to read that the Tampa Bay Times CEO said the tariffs would add $3.5 million a year to newsprint expenses, not $35 million.

New York Daily News staff photographers Todd Maisel, left, and Andrew Savulich walk out of the newspaper's office after being laid off, Monday, July 23, 2018, in New York. The tabloid will cut half of its newsroom staff, saying it wants to focus more on digital news. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

New York Daily News staff reporter Chelsia Rose Marcius cries as she leaves the newspaper's office after she was laid off, Monday, July 23, 2018, in New York. The tabloid will cut half of its newsroom staff, saying it wants to focus more on digital news. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

New York Daily News staff photographer Todd Maisel takes a phone call outside the daily newspaper's office after being laid off, Monday, July 23, 2018, in New York. The tabloid will cut half of its newsroom staff, saying it wants to focus more on digital news. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

New York Daily News staff reporter Chelsia Rose Marcius cries as she is hugged by staff photographer Todd Maisel after they were both laid off, Monday, July 23, 2018, in New York. The tabloid will cut half of its newsroom staff, saying it wants to focus more on digital news. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Democratic party's newest star, New York City congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, visited the Capitol Tuesday to meet with lawmakers who may soon be colleagues.

The 28-year-old former bartender, who defeated one of the most powerful House Democrats last month, had lunch with California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna and met with several members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Khanna was the only member of Congress to endorse Ocasio-Cortez, a self-described democratic socialist, before her upset victory over Rep. Joe Crowley, a member of the House Democratic leadership.

FILE - In this July 12, 2018, file photo, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, left, the surprise winner in the congressional race who unseated 20-year incumbent Joe Crowley in New York's Congressional District 14, stands next to Zephyr Teachout, after endorsing her candidacy for Attorney General during a news conference in New York. The Democratic party's newest star, New York City congressional candidate Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, visited the Capitol on July 24, to meet with lawmakers who may soon be colleagues. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)

Khanna called Ocasio-Cortez "a bold champion for progressive values" and said he looks forward to working with her in Congress.

Ocasio-Cortez released a statement saying she looks forward to Khanna's "friendship and mentorship as we fight hard day in and day out for progressive values in Congress."

Another New York Democrat, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, did not meet with Ocasio-Cortez, but said he was not concerned that her brand of politics could drag down Democrats in less liberal states.

"On economic issues, Democrats are united in a very strong way," Schumer told reporters. "We're all for improving health care and lowering the cost, ... making it easier for middle-class people and people trying to get there to get a good job. The unity on issues is very strong."

Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a member of the progressive caucus, said she talked with Ocasio-Cortez for about 15 minutes in her office. "It was nice to meet her," Gabbard said.

The caucus co-chairs, Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva and Wisconsin Rep. Mark Pocan, also met separately with Ocasio-Cortez.

A spokesman for Pocan said they discussed possible committee assignments, what she hoped to work on in Congress and how the progressive caucus could work with her.

Ocasio-Cortez has caused a stir in Democratic politics since her surprise victory. She has emerged as the face of a growing democratic socialist movement that emphasizes government-paid health care for all, a $15 minimum wage, free college tuition and the abolition of the federal department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also known as ICE.

Ocasio-Cortez campaigned last week in Kansas, headlining a rally with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders that drew a crowd of more than 3,000 in a suburb of Kansas City.

__

Associated Press writer Alan Fram contributed to this story.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Before 14-year-old Guatemalan Samuel Cazun left a Kansas nonprofit to be reunited with his father, he gave staff members the sketches of their faces he had drawn to help them remember him.

Of the dozens of migrant children housed at The Villages in Topeka under a contract with the federal government, Samuel was among as many as nine there who were separated from family members at the southern border under the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy on illegal immigration.

It has been more than a month since immigration agents took Samuel away from his father after the two waded across the Rio Grande into Texas following about 15 days traveling by bus from Guatemala. On Monday afternoon, Samuel and his father, Edvin Cazun, tearfully embraced at the Cincinnati airport, reunited once again.

Edvin Cazun, of Guatemala, right, hugs his son Samuel at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport as they reunite after being separated about a month ago at the southern border after they crossed the Rio Grande into the United States, Monday, July 23, 2018, in Hebron, Ky. Edvin said they were separated at the "detention" and he spent 15 days without knowing anything about his son. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Samuel was all smiles when he caught sight of his father as he rode up on the elevator at the airport, waving to family members. A young cousin ran up to hug him. Edvin Cazun then briefly buried his head on his son's shoulders and embraced him before wiping away his own tears. While still at the airport, Samuel had a video chat with his mother in Guatemala on a relative's cellphone.

Samuel told The Associated Press in Spanish that the separation was "very hard" and that it made him sad. He worried when he was in Kansas that his father would be deported and that he would never see him again.

Edvin Cazun said he initially tried to come into this country legally by paying for a worker visa, but he was instead ripped off by the people selling them. When he tried to get his money back, they threatened to kill him. So he fled with Samuel to the United States, leaving behind his wife and his four other children, ages 9 to 18, and is now seeking asylum in the hopes of giving Samuel a chance at a better life.

"What I want now that we are together is for him to get ahead in life. I want to be responsible for him. I want him to study in this country. That is the best future for him, no? That is my desire as his father," Edvin Cazun said in Spanish.

Samuel said in a Tuesday phone interview that he wants to study in the United States and become a professional artist.

The Trump administration said in a court filing Monday that there have been 1,187 children reunified with their parents or "other appropriate discharges," which include guardians and sponsors. It added that some 463 parents may not be in the United States, saying those findings are based on case notes and are under review.

Immigration attorney Clare Murphy Shaw is Samuel's attorney and said Tuesday that of the seven immigrant children in Kansas she represents in immigration court, five of them have already left The Villages. The two remaining separated children are scheduled to leave either Tuesday or Wednesday.

In what is the first public glimpse at life for migrant children at The Villages in Topeka, Samuel recounted how he was among 13 male teenagers housed in one of the group homes at the facility. He had his own bed and shared a room with another teenager. The food was good and the children could talk with their parents several times a week. They would also go to classes from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. each day, studying English, mathematics, science, technology and other subjects.

There were a lot of rules to follow, such as not hugging other children, although a handshake was ok. No opening the windows. Don't go into someone else's room.

It was a lot nicer than facility the Samuel was kept in while in Texas. His first day he was kept in a cage that he compared to one used to contain animals. He slept on a mat on the floor. He thinks he probably spent five days at a second Texas facility but wasn't sure because there were no windows, the lights were on all the time and he couldn't tell whether it was even day or night.

But the hardest part was being separated from his father. Samuel said he prayed to God while at the Kansas shelter that they would soon be together.

"Now I am no longer sad," Samuel said.

Edvin Cazun, of Guatemala, indicates the arrival time of his son Samuel's flight to family members at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport before they reunite after being separated about a month ago at the southern border after they crossed the Rio Grande into the United States, Monday, July 23, 2018, in Hebron, Ky. Edvin said they were separated at the "detention" and he spent 15 days without knowing anything about his son. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Samuel Cazun, of Guatemala, right, waves to his family at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport before reuniting with his father Edvin after being separated about a month ago at the southern border after they crossed the Rio Grande into the United States, Monday, July 23, 2018, in Hebron, Ky. Edvin said they were separated at the "detention" and he spent 15 days without knowing anything about his son. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Edvin Cazun, of Guatemala, right, hugs his son Samuel at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport as they reunite after being separated about a month ago at the southern border after they crossed the Rio Grande into the United States, Monday, July 23, 2018, in Hebron, Ky. Edvin said they were separated at the "detention" and he spent 15 days without knowing anything about his son. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Samuel Cazun, of Guatemala, right, hugs his cousin Nelson, and speaks to his mother on a mobile phone after reuniting with his father Ervin at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport following their separation about a month ago at the southern border after they crossed the Rio Grande into the United States, Monday, July 23, 2018, in Hebron, Ky. Edvin said they were separated at the "detention" and he spent 15 days without knowing anything about his son. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Samuel Cazun, of Guatemala, left, and his father Ervin, right, leave Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport as they reunite after being separated about a month ago at the southern border after they crossed the Rio Grande into the United States, Monday, July 23, 2018, in Hebron, Ky. Edvin said they were separated at the "detention" and he spent 15 days without knowing anything about his son. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Samuel Cazun, of Guatemala, speaks with his mother on a mobile phone after reuniting with his father Ervin at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport following their separation about a month ago at the southern border after they crossed the Rio Grande into the United States, Monday, July 23, 2018, in Hebron, Ky. Edvin said they were separated at the "detention" and he spent 15 days without knowing anything about his son. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Samuel Cazun, of Guatemala, right, waves to his family at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport before reuniting with his father Edvin after being separated about a month ago at the southern border after they crossed the Rio Grande into the United States, Monday, July 23, 2018, in Hebron, Ky. Edvin said they were separated at the "detention" and he spent 15 days without knowing anything about his son. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Edvin Cazun, of Guatemala, indicates the arrival time of his son Samuel's flight to family members at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport before they reunite after being separated about a month ago at the southern border after they crossed the Rio Grande into the United States, Monday, July 23, 2018, in Hebron, Ky. Edvin said they were separated at the "detention" and he spent 15 days without knowing anything about his son. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Edvin Cazun, of Guatemala, right, hugs his son Samuel at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport as they reunite after being separated about a month ago at the southern border after they crossed the Rio Grande into the United States, Monday, July 23, 2018, in Hebron, Ky. Edvin said they were separated at the "detention" and he spent 15 days without knowing anything about his son. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
NEW YORK (AP) - The Latest on the fate of an Ecuadorean immigrant detained after delivering pizza to a Brooklyn Army installation (all times local):

9:30 p.m.

An Ecuadorean immigrant who was being held for deportation after he delivered pizza to a Brooklyn Army installation has been released.

Pablo Villavicencio, center, is helped into an SUV, where his wife, Sandra Chica, right, and their daughters await after he was released from the Hudson County Correctional Facility, Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Kearny, N.J. A judge on Tuesday ordered the immediate release of Villavicencio, an Ecuadorean immigrant who is being held at the facility for deportation after he delivered pizza to a Brooklyn Army installation. U.S. District Judge Paul Crotty said Villavicencio can remain in the United States while he exhausts his right to try to gain legal status. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Pablo Villavicencio (vee-uh-vih-SEHN'-see-oh) walked out of an immigration detention facility in New Jersey shortly before 9 p.m. Tuesday and was greeted with hugs from his wife and two young daughters.

A federal judge had ordered his immediate release hours earlier. The judge says he can remain in the U.S. while he exhausts his right to try to gain legal status.

Villavicencio was detained June 1 after a routine background check revealed he failed to obey a 2010 order to leave the country. He since married a U.S. citizen and applied to stay in the country.

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7:35 p.m.

A lawyer representing an Ecuadorean immigrant held for deportation after delivering pizza to a New York Army installation says "the rule of law, humanity and morality" prevailed when a judge ordered him released.

Judge Paul Crotty on Tuesday said Pablo Villavicencio (vee-uh-vih-SEHN'-see-oh) must be immediately released from a New Jersey lockup and can remain in the United States while he exhausts his right to try to gain legal status.

The Legal Aid Society attorney Adriene Holder says the judge's order is "releasing Pablo back to his family and community." Holder says the decision "should serve as a rebuke against the Trump Administration and its merciless crusade to tear families apart."

President Donald Trump says his crackdown on illegal immigration is designed to keep the country safe.

The government had argued for the case to be transferred to New Jersey.

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6:25 p.m.

A federal judge has ordered the release of an Ecuadorean immigrant who was held for deportation after he delivered pizza to a Brooklyn Army installation.

Judge Paul Crotty issued an order late Tuesday saying Pablo Villavicencio (vee-uh-vih-SEHN'-see-oh) must be immediately released. The man is being held at a New Jersey lockup.

The judge says the release is necessary because his imminent removal from the United States is no longer reasonably foreseeable.

The judge says Villavicencio can remain in the United States while he exhausts his right to complete an effort to gain legal status. Villavicencio applied to stay in the U.S. after he married a U.S. citizen. They have two young girls.

Crotty ruled after hearing arguments earlier Tuesday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Cordaro argued for the case to be transferred to New Jersey.

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12:30 p.m.

A federal judge wants to know if the U.S. government has "any concept of justice" in mind for an Ecuadorean immigrant detained while delivering pizza to a Brooklyn Army installation.

Judge Paul Crotty questioned the government's handling of the case as he heard legal arguments Tuesday over what court should help decide the fate of Pablo Villavicencio (vee-uh-vih-SEHN'-see-oh).

He did not immediately rule whether the legal case to free Villavicencio should be heard in New Jersey or New York.

Villavicencio was detained June 1 after a routine background check revealed he failed to obey a 2010 order to leave the country. He since married an U.S. citizen and applied to stay in the country.

Another judge already temporarily blocked his deportation. He has remained in ICE custody in New Jersey.

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11 a.m.

Lawyers for an Ecuadorean immigrant who was detained while delivering pizza to a Brooklyn Army installation will ask a federal judge to stop his deportation.

A hearing is scheduled Tuesday afternoon in the case of Pablo Villavicencio (vee-uh-vih-SEHN'-see-oh).

Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a statement saying the federal government has "cruelly" kept Villavicencio from his wife and two young daughters "for no legitimate reason."

Villavicencio was detained on June 1 after a routine background check revealed an arrest warrant for immigration law violations.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement says an immigration judge granted Villavicencio voluntary departure in March 2010 but he failed to leave as ordered.

The U.S. District Court judge already temporarily blocked his deportation but he has remained in ICE custody in New Jersey.

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10:15 a.m.

Lawyers for an Ecuadorean immigrant who was detained while delivering pizza to a Brooklyn Army installation will ask a federal judge to stop his deportation.

A hearing is scheduled Tuesday afternoon in the case of Pablo Villavicencio (vee-uh-vih-SEHN'-see-oh).

Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a statement saying the federal government has "cruelly" kept Villavicencio from his wife and two young daughters "for no legitimate reason."

Villavicencio was detained on June 1 after a routine background check revealed an arrest warrant for immigration law violations.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement says an immigration judge granted Villavicencio voluntary departure in March 2010 but he failed to leave as ordered.

The U.S. District Court judge already temporarily blocked his deportation but he has remained in ICE custody in New Jersey.

Protesters gather outside federal court calling for the release of Pablo Villavicencio Tuesday July 24, 2018, in New York. Villavicencio was arrested and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after making a catering delivery to Fort Hamilton Army Base last month. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

FILE - In this June 18, 2018, file photo, Sandra Chica, center, wife of Pablo Villavicencio, walks with their two daughters as she arrives for a news conference outside federal immigration offices, in New York. Lawyers for Pablo Villavicencio, who was detained while delivering pizza to a Brooklyn Army installation, will ask a federal judge to stop his deportation. A hearing is scheduled Tuesday, July 24, in the case. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

Protesters rally outside federal court calling for the release of Pablo Villavicencio, who was arrested and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after making a catering delivery to Fort Hamilton Army Base last month, Tuesday July 24, 2018, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

Protesters rally outside federal court Tuesday July 24, 2018, in New York, calling for the release of Pablo Villavicencio, who was arrested and detained last month by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after making a catering delivery to Fort Hamilton Army Base. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

Pablo Villavicencio's wife Sandra Chica, center, leave federal court with their two daughters, after a hearing on his release, Tuesday July 24, 2018, in New York. Villavicencio, a pizza delivery man, was arrested and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after making a catering delivery to Fort Hamilton Army Base last month in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

Sandra Chica, center, the wife of Pablo Villavicencio, and her children, arrive for his court hearing at federal court, Tuesday July 24, 2018, in New York. Villavicencio, a pizza delivery man, was arrested and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after making a catering delivery to Fort Hamilton Army Base last month in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

Pablo Villavicencio's wife Sandra Chica, center, and their two daughters, leave federal court after a hearing on his release, Tuesday July 24, 2018, in New York. Villavicencio, a pizza delivery man, was arrested and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after making a catering delivery to Fort Hamilton Army Base last month in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

Pablo Villavicencio's wife Sandra Chica, center, and their two daughters, leave federal court after a hearing calling for his release, Tuesday July 24, 2018, in New York. Villavicencio, a pizza delivery man, was arrested and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after making a catering delivery to Fort Hamilton Army Base last month in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

Protesters gather outside federal court calling for the release of Pablo Villavicencio, who was arrested and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after making a catering delivery to Fort Hamilton Army Base last month, Tuesday July 24, 2018, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

Pablo Villavicencio leans out of an SUV while talking to reporters after being released from the Hudson County Correctional Facility, Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Kearny, N.J. A judge on Tuesday ordered the immediate release of Villavicencio, an Ecuadorean immigrant who was being held at the facility for deportation after he delivered pizza to a Brooklyn Army installation. U.S. District Judge Paul Crotty said Villavicencio can remain in the United States while he exhausts his right to try to gain legal status. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

One of Pablo Villavicencio's daughters, center, looks at her dad while he leans out of an SUV while talking to reporters after he was released from the Hudson County Correctional Facility, Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Kearny, N.J. A judge on Tuesday ordered the immediate release of Villavicencio, an Ecuadorean immigrant who is being held at the facility for deportation after he delivered pizza to a Brooklyn Army installation. U.S. District Judge Paul Crotty said Villavicencio can remain in the United States while he exhausts his right to try to gain legal status. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Theresa May and her senior ministers will continue their attempts to sell their White Paper to Europe and seek fresh trade deals as the pace of Brexit diplomacy heats up.

Cabinet Office minister David Lidington, the de-facto deputy prime minister, will head to Paris on Tuesday for talks with French politicians, the day after Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt visited Berlin.

Cabinets Brexit summer tour

Meanwhile, Theresa May will host the emir of Qatar for talks in Downing Street that are certain to cover future trading opportunities with the Gulf State.

And International Trade Secretary Liam Fox will be speaking to business leaders and officials in Washington, with a strong commercial deal with the United States seen as key to post-Brexit success.

Excellent discussion with German Foreign Minister @HeikoMaas about the unintended geopolitical consequences of No Deal. Only person rejoicing would be Putin...  Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) July 23, 2018

Mr Hunt signalled a change in rhetoric when he visited Germany on Monday, warning that only Russian President Vladimir Putin would welcome a no-deal Brexit.

His comments strike a different tone from predecessor Boris Johnson  who said a Brexit on World Trade Organisation terms doesnt hold terrors  and came despite Theresa Mays insistence that no deal is better than a bad deal.

Mr Hunt warned about the dangers of the UK and EU accidentally stumbling into a no deal scenario, adding that if that happened the only person rejoicing would be Putin.

"I firmly believe that we can complete what we have started. We can negotiate a new relationship with the EU that works in our mutual interest."  PM @Theresa_May pic.twitter.com/vEvcswfBJs  UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) July 20, 2018

The Prime Minister, who took her Cabinet to north-east England for an away day on Monday, insisted that she was having constructive talks with EU counterparts about the blueprint agreed by her Government at Chequers.

The last gathering of Cabinet ministers away from Downing Street was at the Prime Ministers Chequers retreat to thrash out a Brexit blueprint  eventually leading to the resignations of David Davis and Mr Johnson.

Her top team of ministers met for a special session in Gateshead on Monday, before Mrs May went to Newcastle to answer questions from workers at an engineering firm.
Donald Trump could return to the UK next spring for a full state visit, the American ambassador to London has predicted.

Despite Mr Trump causing uproar on his recent visit by openly criticising Theresa Mays Brexit strategy while hundreds of thousands of people protested against the president on the streets across Britain, ambassador Woody Johnson hailed the trip a flying colours success.

He told Channel 4s When Trump Came To Town: Inside The American Embassy: Well, its hard to know, but well, yeah, I mean a state visit next spring would be, I think, kind of, the next step on his visits, but he might visit before that, who knows?

Mr Johnson added: I think everybody in this embassy saw this as a great honour to actually be around and plan for the presidents first visit.

And, I think we did it, and with flying colours.

And the president left accomplishing I think what he wanted to accomplish.

Donald Trump visit to UK

Mr Trumps visit was one of the most extraordinary by a foreign head of state in recent times.

As well as saying Mrs May had not taken his advice on Brexit, Mr Trump heaped praise on the Prime Ministers potential rival for Tory leader Boris Johnson.

At a joint press conference with Mrs May, the US president tried to row back on his criticism of the PM stating: I would give our relationship with the UK the highest level of special.

Donald Trump visit to UK

Am I allowed to go higher than that? I am not sure. Its the highest level of special.

But one of the most enduring images of the visit, which became an international talking point, was a giant blimp that flew above Parliament Square depicting Mr Trump as an angry, orange baby in a nappy.
Margaret Thatcher may have famously survived on just four hours sleep a night, but newly released government files suggest she may have made up for it by catnapping in the back of her official car.

Papers released by the National Archives in Kew show officials became so concerned she could suffer an injury if the Daimler was forced to brake while she was nodding off, they arranged for a custom-built headrest to be fitted to protect her.

In September 1987, Bob Kingston in No 10 wrote to inform her private office: I am concerned that, when the PM dozes in the official car, the design of the headrests is such that, far from supporting her head and neck, they cause her head to drop forward.

This is in itself hazardous, but when the car is braked or turned, or there is some other disturbance, she lifts her head very quickly, and this I am sure will one day cause at least minor injury.

He added: I told the PM of my concern at Chequers last weekend. She agreed to the matter of a better design of headrest being pursued.

The files also reveal the consternation among executives at Jaguar Daimler when Mrs Thatchers successor John Major, who suffered from an old knee injury, suggested replacing the armoured Daimler, which he found too cramped.

In contrast, the official Rovers used by the Government Car Service were definitely more roomy and he jumped at the prospect of a stretched version which could add another four inches to its length.

Hearing the news, Gavin Thompson at Jaguar Daimler wrote to a sympathetic MP, warning it would deal a catastrophic blow to the company.

Cars

The popular press would have a field day. Everybody in the country and around the world has become used to seeing our Prime Minister in a Daimler, he wrote.

Meanwhile, executives at Rolls-Royce sensed an opportunity.

Marketing director Malcolm Hart wrote to No 10 offering to supply up to three Bentley Mulsanne S at a nominal price of 10,000 each  compared with a list price of 80,000  plus 70,000 for the cost of armouring.

Our cars are exceptionally well suited to such use as they have plenty of interior space, can be entered and exited easily, are well suited to armouring, are capable of long-distance high-speed cruising and are, above all, essentially British in character, he boasted.

Officials noted that, at a total cost of 80,000 per car, the deal offered a significant cash saving compared with 110,000 for a fully armoured stretch Rover or for a 128,000 Daimler.

However, there were concerns for Mr Majors famously down-to-earth image if they went ahead.

Robin Catford in No 10 wrote: The obvious snags are the implications of accepting a cut-price deal and the possible repercussions, in terms of the Prime Ministers image, of moving up the quality car range. The latter has been rejected in the past: the former is likely to be a very slippery slope.

In the event, Mr Major decided to stick with what he had, writing in a handwritten note: Pl(ease) express thanks but no change for now at least.
James Callaghan secretly urged officials to find ways of ousting left-wing trade union leaders causing trouble for the government by one means or another, according to newly-released official papers.

Files released by the National Archives show that as home secretary in Harold Wilsons Labour government, Mr Callaghan was deeply concerned about the rise of a new generation of politically motivated union leaders.

In particular he singled out Jack Jones, the general secretary of the giant Transport and General Workers Union, and Hugh Scanlon, the leader of the engineering workers.

In response to his call, senior officials suggested undermining those with suspected communist leanings through inspired leakages to the press.

Subversion

The details are disclosed in a note of a meeting between the cabinet secretary Sir Burke Trend, the head of the Department of Employment Sir Denis Barnes, and James Waddell, a senior Home Office official, headed Communism in Industry.

Dated March 5 1969, it is marked Secret and Personal with only one copy to be retained.

It notes: Sir Burke Trend recalled that the Home Secretary apparently had in mind that it might be possible by one means or another for the more politically motivated trade union leaders  in particular Mr Scanlon and Mr Jack Jones  to be supplanted by others more orthodox; and it had been envisaged that further consideration might perhaps be given to this possibility.

The officials were reluctant to act, fearing it could revive the controversy which erupted three years earlier when Mr Wilson denounced the leaders of a strike by seamen as a tightly knit group of politically motivated men leading to accusations ministers were using MI5 to spy on unions.

They did however suggest one possible course of action, noting: Sir Denis Barnes said, however, that detailed exposure of Jones behaviour from time to time, perhaps by way of inspired leakages to the press, might be useful and productive.

The proposal appears to have come to nothing  something Mr Callaghan may have looked back on with regret when, 10 years later, the strikes of the winter of discontent were widely blamed for the fall of his government.

The file also includes a note from foreign secretary George Brown to Mr Wilson explaining how the English Section of the Foreign Offices secretive Information Research Department (IRD)  set-up to counter Soviet Cold War propaganda  carried out such selective briefings.

By discreet dissemination of such papers to trusted contacts, eg to various Labour Party officials at Transport House over the years, and to selected journalists, the English Section has done much to expose the activities of Communist front organisations in Britain, Mr Brown said.

Subversion

The files also show how, in 1974, the BBC director general Charles Curran invited the IRD to brief the Board of Governors on the influence of subversive movements in the field of broadcasting  although, with a general election looming, officials were doubtful about the idea.

A leak that HMG was briefing the BBC on subversion might rebound in some perverse way related to the reds under beds aspects of the last election period, and at any time it could be distorted into allegations of attempts to bring political influence to bear on the impartiality of the BBC, one warned.

The files show that Mr Wilson was not the only prime minister concerned about subversive influence.

In 1985 Margaret Thatcher authorised the revival of the secretive Whitehall Subversion in Public Life committee  including representatives of MI5  amid fears that the far left Militant Tendency (MT) was trying to infiltrate the Civil Service.

The prime minister was said to be somewhat disquieted to be told there were an estimated 1,400 MT members in the Civil Service  some in the ranks of management  who had shown themselves capable of causing disruption out of all proportion to their numbers.

Mrs Thatchers private secretary Nigel Wicks wrote she believed managers needed to be very ready to sack subversive troublemakers if they showed any cause under Civil Service rules.
The Duke of Sussex will join Sir Elton John at the International Aids Conference to launch a global organisation aimed at targeting HIV infections in men.

Harry and Sir Elton will share the stage at Aids 2018 in Amsterdam where the celebrity  who performed at the dukes recent wedding  will launch the MenStar Coalition.

The duke is attending the event in his role as co-founder of the Africa-based charity Sentebale, which helps youngsters living with HIV.

Sir Elton John to retire from touring

 The Duke of Sussex and @Sentebale #LetYouthLead advocates discuss the challenges and experiences for young people living with HIV/AIDS #AIDS2018 pic.twitter.com/aiwnTCiEcm  The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) July 23, 2018

On Monday, Harry joined Sentebales Let Youth Lead advocates during the first day of his two-day visit to the conference, to discuss the challenges young people face living with HIV in southern Africa.

Across the globe, the numbers of new transmissions among the crucial 10-19 age group is rising while in contrast progress has been made in the very young and adults.

The duke has in recent years followed in the footsteps of his mother Diana, Princess of Wales  a pioneer in the fight against Aids  by raising awareness about HIV/Aids and encouraging people to get tested and know their HIV status.

Speaking during Mondays discussion session, Harry told the young advocates from Sentebale: More and more leaders, they should be using the younger generation and the experiences you have  Im 33 years old and I already feel out of touch.

We're very excited to welcome The Duke of Sussex to #AIDS2018! https://t.co/kBWFrxl2VP  International AIDS Conference (@AIDS_conference) July 23, 2018

The duke added: We have to put power into the hands of the younger generation.

Because thats where the solutions are going to come from, thats where the passion and engagement is coming from as well.

Harry went on to say: And now we are facing another generation of complacency where a lot of people think Well, you know its solved, its done. Its not  this is where it has to start, this is where you guys are going to take over and solve it.
Robinsons squash firm Britvic has said Britains recent carbon dioxide crisis hit its fizzy drink sales and left it unable to make the most of surging demand amid the summer heatwave.

The company said UK sales of fizzy drinks, excluding the new soft drinks sugar tax, fell 2.9% in the three months to July 8 due to the CO2 woes.

It was forced to switch promotions to its still drinks ranges, which saw sales jump 11.7% stripping out the sugar tax impact.

This helped UK sales overall rise 8%, or 1.9% higher excluding the sugar tax, while underlying group sales fell 0.6% in the quarter.

Including the sugar tax, group revenues rose 3.4%.

The group  which also bottles Pepsi in the UK and Ireland  said CO2 supplies are now back to normal and it has started rebuilding its stock levels and launching further fizzy drink promotions.

Simon Litherland

Simon Litherland, chief executive of Britvic, said: Whilst the industry-wide shortage of carbon dioxide held back our ability to fully capitalise on the exceptional weather in Great Britain and Ireland, we leveraged the breadth and strength of our portfolio to moderate the impact.

Consequently, we remain confident of achieving market expectations for the full year.

Britains fizzy drink shortage was caused by a raft of closures of factories producing the gas as a by-product of the fertiliser industry.

Factories normally close temporarily for maintenance in the summer, but this year too many plants across Europe shut at the same time, leaving CO2 supplies woefully short.

In its trading update, Britvic said it was unable to fully gauge the impact of the UK soft drinks sugar tax, which was introduced in April, given the CO2 shortage and the recent boost from warm weather.

It said it would have a clearer picture of the impact at the end of the year.

Early indications remain positive for the category and Britvic, with the shift from full sugar to low or no sugar products accelerating, it added.
Chelsea should prepare themselves for a very exciting season under new boss Maurizio Sarri, according to midfielder Ross Barkley.

The Blues have just returned from a productive pre-season trip to Australia, where the Italian took charge of his first match with a 1-0 friendly win over Perth Glory, which included a run-out for 52million summer signing Jorginho.

Sarri has plenty on his agenda as he looks to sharpen the squads focus for the start of the new domestic campaign, which will see the FA Cup holders face Premier League champions Manchester City in the Community Shield on August 5.

Ross Barkley is hoping to kick-start his Blues career this season

The Italian, who replaced the sacked Antonio Conte on July 14, remains determined to keep hold of key men Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois, as well as Brazilian midfielder Willian, a reported target for Barcelona.

While discussions over the futures of those players continue, the squad will prepare for the friendly against Inter Milan at the Allianz Riviera Stadium in Nice on Saturday before a date with London rivals Arsenal in Dublin on August 1.

Midfielder Barkley will be hoping to be given another chance to impress in those games, having featured for most of the match in Perth.

The 24-year-old, who has seen his impact limited by injury since arriving at Stamford Bridge from Everton, is confident Sarris methods will help Chelsea make an impact again next season.

It has been very interesting, Barkley said on the clubs official website. The style that he wants us to play, it is really exciting and very attacking, as well as being very organised.

We have been understanding what he has been getting across in training, but the more we do it in training, the more we get used to it and I can see from the training sessions that this season is going to be very exciting.

Chelsea begin their Premier League campaign at Huddersfield on August 11.
Wildfires have raged through seaside resorts near the Greek capital, killing at least 50 people and causing tourists to flee, authorities said.

Rescuers battling the through the blazes which destroyed homes and forests near Athens discovered 26 bodies huddled together at one holiday compound, all believed to be family members. Some of them were hugging.

Many tourists and residents fled towards the coastline to escape the flames and choking smoke.

Authorities evacuated more than 700 people by sea overnight, said government minister Nektarios Santorinios, whose ministry is in charge of the coast guard.

The two largest wildfires  one 20 miles north-east of Athens near Rafina, the other 30 miles west of the capital in Kineta  broke out on Monday during hot, dry summer conditions.

Fanned by gale-force winds that frequently changed direction, the flames spread rapidly into populated seaside towns  too fast for many who were in their cars or homes to flee, fire department spokeswoman Stavroula Malliri said.

Greeces prime minister Alexis Tsipras has declared a three-day period of national mourning for the victims of the fires.

Burnt out car in Greece

The head of Greeces Red Cross, Nikos Oikonomopoulos, told Skai television that a Red Cross rescue team reported finding the 26 bodies in a compound north-east of Athens. In all, the death toll stood at 50 by Tuesday morning, government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said.

Andreaas Passios, who lives next to the compound, said: Everything happened in seconds.

I grabbed a beach towel. It saved my life. I soaked it, grabbed my wife and we ran to the sea.

Mr Passios said he and his wife stayed by the sea for two hours.

A plane flies over the smoke and fire east of Athens (Thanassis Stavrakis/AP)

It was unbelievable. Gas canisters were exploding. Burning pine cones were flying everywhere.

When the flames died down, Spyros Hadjiandreou came searching for loved ones.

My niece and cousin were staying here on holiday, he said. I dont know if they made it out.

A forest fire

I dont know if they are OK. I havent heard from them.

A Polish woman and her son were among 10 people who drowned when their boat capsized during evacuation from the wildfires.

The two had been on holiday Mati, according to Janusz Smigielski, deputy head of the Poznan-based Grecos office.

He said that Greek water police and other forces were evacuating 45 people from a Mati hotel in boats when one of them capsized. Details over the incident, including how many other people were on board the boat, have yet to be confirmed by Greek authorities, Mr Smigielski added.

Aleka Papariga, a former Greek Communist Party leader who lives near Rafina, said: The police tried to direct us away from the fire, but we couldnt escape it.

We got stuck in traffic and the flames were on top of us. We managed to find a small gap and we made it out.

Greece Forest Fire

Evangelos Bournous, the Rafina mayor, blamed the strong winds.

We were unlucky, he said. The wind changed and it came at us with such force that it razed the coastal area in minutes.

#Greece  & #Latvia  have both activated the #EUCivPro requesting assistance to combat the #forestfires that have endangered homes and properties. I urgently call on all participating states to show their #solidarity and offer assistance.    - Christos Stylianides (@StylianidesEU) July 23, 2018

Mr Tzanakopoulos said 715 people were evacuated from beaches and the coastline by navy vessels, yachts and fishing boats. The coast guard said 19 people were rescued at sea, some of whom had swum out to escape the flames.

Rafinas dock became a makeshift hospital during the night as paramedics checked survivors, some of them clad in only their bathing suits, emerging from coast guard vessels and private boats.

The fire department said 156 adults and 16 children were taken to hospital with injuries. Eleven of the adults are in a serious condition.

Burnt-out cars

In all, 47 brush and forest fires broke out across Greece on Monday and early on Tuesday, with most of them quickly extinguished, the fire department said. Ten were still burning late on Tuesday morning, including blazes in Corinth, Crete, and in central and northern Greece.

More than 400 firefighters and volunteer firefighters were battling the two fires near Athens, supported by seven water-dropping helicopters and three aircraft.

Greece sought international help through the European Union. Spain was sending two firefighting aircraft while Cyprus was sending in 60 firefighters. Israel and Turkey have both also offered assistance.

A house on fire

It is the deadliest fire season to hit Greece in more than a decade. More than 60 people were killed in 2007 when huge fires swept across the southern Peloponnese region.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who cut short a trip to Bosnia in order to return to Athens, said: Its a difficult night for Greece.

Showers that passed over the Greek capital on Monday missed the two big fires, but heavy rain is forecast across southern Greece on Wednesday.

Forest fires are common in Greece during the hot, dry summers, and temperatures recently hit highs of up to 40C.
A 14 million bid to buy a collection of more than 5,500 artefacts from the Titanic wreck site and bring them to Northern Ireland has been launched.

The rare collection has become available after a US company that currently owns the items filed for bankruptcy.

Titanic Belfast, the Titanic Foundation, National Museums Northern Ireland and the National Maritime Museum have teamed up to launch the multi-million pound Titanic Artefacts Collection campaign.

The #TitanicArtefacts campaign is an exciting collaboration between ourselves @TitanicBelfast, @TFL_Belfast, National Museums NI and @RMGreenwich which aims to bring a collection of over 5,500 artefacts home to the UK & Ireland. Find out more >> https://t.co/hEEdNjBWdg pic.twitter.com/pMu9ABmawS  Titanic Belfast (@TitanicBelfast) July 24, 2018

The campaign, which was launched in Belfast on Tuesday, has the backing of the Titanic film director James Cameron, and Dr Bob Ballard, who discovered the wreck of Titanic in 1985.

Dr Ballard will be among those speaking at the event at the Titanic Belfast.

Soon after the wreck was found, the privately-owned company RMS Titanic Inc gained exclusive rights to salvage it and recovered items from statues to shoes of the victims.

The 5,500 artefacts were recovered from the seabed over the course of seven expeditions between 1987 and 2004.

"We're on a journey to bring the artefacts home, to bring them into public ownership in perpetuity...we are fortunate to have had a very strong collaboration in this campaign." Conal, Harvey, @TitanicBelfast #TitanicArtefacts  Titanic Artefacts Collection (@TitanicArtefact) July 24, 2018

Premier Exhibitions, which currently owns the collection, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States in June 2016.

The 14.5m bid will ensure that the collection is not broken up, bringing it back home to Belfast, securing its longevity through public ownership and protecting and preserving the legacy of Titanic.

The famous ship sank after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage in 1912, resulting in the deaths of more than 1,500 people.

James Cameron - Avatar sequels

Mr Cameron helped make the ship world famous after releasing the film in December 1997.

The Hollywood director, who has added his support to the bid through his Avatar Alliance Foundation, said he feels a deep responsibility to Titanic.

His first expedition to the wreck site was in 1995 as part of the move project. He has since made 33 dives to the Titanic site over a 10-year period.

You feel responsible to get the story right and honour the dead and the tragedy, he said.

I went to the wreck site [in 1995] for a purpose, to film the Titanic for a movie but I came away with a sense of a greater purpose which is to tell that story by whatever means.

Once Titanic is in your life, it doesnt leave easily.

When the issue of the artefacts came up, Bob Ballard contacted me and said this was happening and I said we should do something do about it.

The director worked with Dr Ballard and organised a meeting with Conal Harvey, the deputy chairman of Titanic Belfast, at the National Geographic Society headquarters in the US a year ago.

The team discussed the idea of acquiring and repatriating the artefacts.

Royal visit to Northern Ireland

Following the meeting, the National Geographic Society pledged 500,000 dollars (380,000) to help with the fundraising to back up the offer.

Mr Cameron added: One of the concerns is that the collection would be broken up, sold privately, the bankruptcy court might award the company the opportunity to break up the collection, to sell it piecemeal and it would disappear from the public eye.

Thats why people who feel some responsibility around Titanic has stepped up.

If its sold privately that would be wrong, its a part of the world heritage. Its an incredible piece of history.

I spent more time on the ship than the captain did, he added.

From the first moment we raised this idea it was a dream, but I think the chances are very good and certainly its moved from an idea to a dream to a partnership.

He said the artefacts will help boost Northern Irelands economy and tourism.

Because Titanic is such a world-wide known event, I cant think of a better place for the majority of artefacts to be.
Fire crews attempting to rescue people from Grenfell Tower and control the blaze lost the battle against the building, a watch manager said.

Once the cladding caught alight, crews would not have been able to keep up with its rapid spread no matter how many more boots were on the ground, Paul Watson, watch manager at Hammersmith fire station, said.

He also described being unable to activate an automatic fire alarm throughout the building, poor radio reception and being a bit confused by the system of passing on 999 call information.

In a written statement to the public inquiry, Mr Watson said: Once the fire caught the cladding, and surrounded the building, we could have had a lot more firefighters on the ground but we wouldnt have put that job out. It moved so fast.

The building didnt do its job and the building beat us.

I came away thinking that we lost the battle and the building beat us.

I know we saved a lot of people but I know we lost a lot of people.

Flammable cladding ban

I came away from a low on that job as although we did the best we could, but circumstances, particularly the building, beat us.

Mr Watson was in charge of a staging post on the ground floor, where he was holding firefighters until the bridgehead, a coordination point tracking entry into the building, was ready for them.

While there, a firefighter radioed him to say it appeared no fire alarms were sounding in the building.

He attempted to find an automatic fire alarm panel, but was unsuccessful.

Asked by counsel to inquiry Richard Millett QC if the firefighter had given him a reason for trying to activate the alarm, he said: No, he didnt but his thoughts would have been the same as mine.

Tower block fire in London

By activating the alarm not mass evacuation, because that wouldnt have been the intent, but some people would have naturally evacuated and at that time in the morning a lot of people would have been asleep, so it would have alerted people there was a fire or something going on.

He agreed it was unusual not to find an automatic fire alarm system in a high-rise building.

Mr Watson also recalled the radios were difficult to use as there was poor reception and too many people trying to communicate at the same time.

The communication issues prompted him to move to the second floor balcony.

It was there that he first started writing information passed to him from 999 calls on the wall, but soon changed tack as there were too many of them.

Tower block fire in London

He wrote floor and flat numbers on pieces of paper, and handed them to firefighters, who then gave them to people on the bridgehead who recorded which flat they were going to.

He said in the written statement: I was then, and I still am, a bit confused that we had this system in place.

Normally all of the FSG (fire survival guidance) information goes from the control unit straight to the bridgehead.

But on this occasion we had the information going to watch manager (Glynn) Williams at the door, then to me, then to the firefighters who took the slips up to the bridgehead.
The Duchess of Cornwall and Dame Judi Dench found the perfect way to keep cool on a hot day  enjoying an ice cream.

Camilla and the actress could not resist the sweet treats when they met on the Isle of Wight, where they visited Queen Victorias former home, Osborne House.

Dame Judi, who is patron of the Friends of Osborne House and has played Victoria in a number of films, welcomed the duchess to the island after she arrived at the Queens private beach.

The actress showed Camilla the houses restored Durbar Room, which was one of the locations for Victoria And Abdul, a film starring Dame Judi in the title role.

Royal visit to the Isle of Wight

Osborne House was purchased by Victoria and Prince Albert in 1845 and was one of the Queens favourite family homes  she once said: It is impossible to imagine a prettier spot.

After her death in 1901, the house was given to the state and parts of the pavilion first opened to the public as early as 1904.

It is now cared for by English Heritage and is open to the public year round.

Royal visit to the Isle of Wight

Dame Judi and the duchess went for a carriage ride from Osbornes Swiss cottage, where Camilla met staff and volunteers, to the main house.

Osborne House was built by Thomas Cubitt, master builder and developer of much of the Duke of Westminsters Belgravia estate in London and also Camillas forebear, who designed the property with Prince Albert.

Camilla and Dame Judi ride in a horse and carriage

She also visited Cowes Town Centre and named the Red Funnel companys latest high-speed passenger ferry, Red Jet 7, during a ceremony watched by guests.

Camilla ended her visit to the island at a reception at the Royal Yacht Squadron where she told guests: I just wish I could stay a bit longer and have a swim in the sea. Sadly thats not to be.

Going to Osborne House is always such a treat as it was built by my great-great grandfather and I feel very fond of the place.

To come and launch Red Funnel 7 was very exciting, and it worked! Last time I launched a ship in Southampton I pressed the button and nothing happened so I was very pleased today it ran like clockwork.

So, thank you all very much and I very much hope I shall be back soon, hopefully on a holiday.
Bournemouth are closing in on the signing of defender Diego Rico after agreeing a 10.7million deal with LaLiga side Leganes.

Left-back Rico is set to undergo a medical with the Premier League club on Tuesday afternoon, Press Association Sport understands.

The 25-year-old is expected to agree a four-year contract with the Cherries.

Diego Rico has moved to the Vitality Stadium

Rico has scored four times in 58 appearances during his two seasons with Leganes, helping them avoid relegation from Spains top-flight with successive 17th-placed finishes.

The Spaniard, who began his career with Real Zaragoza, featured 33 times last season and was sent off in the final game, a 3-2 victory at home to Real Betis.

He will become Eddie Howes second summer signing following the arrival of Wales midfielder David Brooks from Sheffield United earlier this month.

Bournemouth, who have just returned from a pre-season training camp in Spain, begin the new season at home to newly-promoted Cardiff on August 11.
The whole of Ireland should enjoy the same human rights protections after Brexit, an influential watchdog has said.

Northern Irelands Human Rights Commission said the potential loss of legal safeguards would represent a regression.

The organisations annual report said: Twenty years since the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement human rights remain a vital underpinning of a new Northern Ireland.

Northern Irelands Human Rights Commission has warned about the potential impact of Brexit on rights. Niall Carson/PA.

It has been one of our priority objectives to work alongside the other human rights and equality commissions of the United Kingdom and Ireland to ensure that those responsible for negotiating the terms of the United Kingdoms withdrawal from the European Union guarantee no diminution of human rights and equality and a commitment to an equivalency of protections on the island of Ireland.

Our Annual Report and Accounts 2017-18 were laid in Parliament yesterday. 



You can read the document here:https://t.co/xogtglP3LS pic.twitter.com/DDWy70Jtsl  NIHRC (@NIHRC) July 24, 2018

The commission was established following the 1998 agreement and is funded by the British Government. It conducts its work independently and focuses on issues like access to abortion, homelessness and the status of refugees.

It warned against the impact on Northern Ireland of the potential loss of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and proposed withdrawal from the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice in Luxembourg following Brexit.

David Russell, chief executive of the commission, said much of the detail surrounding the status of rights enshrined in EU law following next Marchs withdrawal remain unclear.

He added: No one wants to stretch it that it would undermine the peace process but EU law does underpin the agreement.

He said the commission wanted to ensure there was no diminution of rights, given that one of the fundamental authorities of the EU would be removed from having domestic effect in the UK.

He also outlined a scenario where rights could only be protected through holding Irish citizenship, a problematic idea for unionists.
Social workers are on high alert to check on people having difficulties in the heat, council leaders said.

But the Local Government Association (LGA) also urged the public to check on vulnerable or elderly neighbours, family or friends.

The LGA urged people to take health precautions in the heat.

People enjoy the warm weather in Hyde Park

Good morning. Welcome to another hot and sunny day! Lets look out for each other and make sure the sun is enjoyed safely: https://t.co/3d7yrCcXlj #Heatwave #UV pic.twitter.com/m8nc16coy4  UK Health Security Agency (@UKHSA) July 24, 2018

As temperatures soar, the LGA warned that the elderly and those suffering from heart and respiratory problems are most at risk.

Social workers, community wardens and maintenance staff are all on high alert to identify those who could be struggling, it said.

Council workers will be making calls and extra visits to people at risk, but it also urged the public to keep an eye on people vulnerable to heat.

Try to keep out of the sun between 11am to 3pm. If going out in the heat, walk in the shade and apply sunscreen. Bring water to stay hydrated. Wear loose, cool clothing, and a hat and sunglasses. https://t.co/OnZScc3iSf #HeatWave2018   pic.twitter.com/mpz03jYTel  NHS North East London CCG (TNW) (@NHS_TNW) July 24, 2018

Izzi Seccombe, chairwoman of the LGAs Community Wellbeing Board, said: The hundreds of deaths caused by high temperatures each year are avoidable.

Social workers, community wardens and maintenance staff are all on high alert, identifying and looking out for those who might be struggling.

Councils are determined to reduce the toll as much as possible, but they cannot do it alone. Local people can make a massive difference by helping us identify other residents who might need some advice or practical help.

No-one is immune to the power of the sun.

Drinking plenty of water, keeping our homes cool, avoiding direct sunlight during the hottest hours of the day and using sunscreen are sensible precautions we all need to remember. Looking around at how our older neighbours are coping as we walk our children to school or head to the beach for a day out takes no effort, but could be crucial in making sure they are also able to make the best of the summer.

The @metoffice has said temperatures will continue to heat up through the rest of this week, with some exceptionally high temperatures possible #HeatwaveUK - vulnerable people are at increased risk of health issues. See advice from @NHSChoices here: https://t.co/gJ66kc4avN pic.twitter.com/znU7xYvyOq  Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (@WeAreLSCFT) July 24, 2018

Public Health Englands top tips for staying safe in the heat are:

 Look out for others, especially older people, young children and babies and those with underlying health conditions

 Close curtains in rooms that face the sun to keep indoor spaces cooler and remember it may be cooler outdoors than indoors

 Drink plenty of water as sugary, alcoholic and caffeinated drinks can make you more dehydrated

 Never leave anyone in a closed, parked vehicle, especially infants, young children or animals

 Try to keep out of the sun between 11am and 3pm

 Take care and follow local safety advice if you are going into the water to cool down

 Walk in the shade, apply sunscreen and wear a hat if you have to go out in the heat

 Avoid physical exertion in the hottest parts of the day

 Wear light, loose fitting cotton clothes

 Make sure you take water with you if you are travelling

Diabetes UK said that diabetes patients may need to take extra care to manage their condition as temperatures soar.

Age UK called on people to check on the elderly.

Charity director Caroline Abrahams said: Its easy to underestimate the threat posed by hot weather, but the fact is our bodies are less able to cope with extremes of temperature as we get older, making us more susceptible to heat-related illness.
The Government has published details of the legislation it plans to use to implement the withdrawal agreement taking the UK out of the European Union next March.

Unveiling the plans in a white paper in the House of Commons, Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab described it as another key milestone in the UKs path to leaving the EU.

And he repeated his warning that the UK could withhold payment of its 39 billion divorce bill if the EU fails to reach agreement on its future trade relationship with the UK.

Countdown to leaving the EU graphic

There must be a firm commitment in the withdrawal agreement requiring the framework for the future relationship to be translated into legal text as soon as possible, Mr Raab told MPs.

It is one part of the whole deal we are doing with our EU partners.

And of course if one party fails to honour its side of that overall bargain, there will be consequences for the deal as a whole  and that includes the financial settlement.

Dominic Raab unveiled his White Paper in the House of Commons (parliamentlive.tv)

The 38-page white paper sets out plans for an EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill to be brought forward after Parliament has approved a deal reached during ongoing negotiations in Brussels, to ensure its implementation in time for the March 29 2019 date of Brexit.

Initially announced last November, the Bill will create a new financial authority to manage payments to the EU over the years after Brexit

Mr Raab repeated the Governments intention to finalise the withdrawal agreement, as well as a political declaration on future UK-EU relations, in October. This would allow for the new Bill to pass through Parliament in late 2018 and early 2019.

It covers issues including the rights of EU citizens in the UK and Britons living in the remaining 27 member states, the financial settlement and the details of a transition period expected to end in December 2020. Precise details will not be known until the withdrawal agreement is concluded.

Mr Raab said the publication of the white paper will allow maximum scrutiny of the Governments plans by Parliament.

By publishing the white paper today, the Government is providing further certainty to people, to businesses, here in the UK and indeed across the EU, he told MPs.

It also sends a clear signal to the European Union that the United Kingdom is a reliable, dependable negotiating partner, delivering on the commitments it has made across the negotiation table.
The Israeli military said it has shot down a Syrian fighter jet that entered its airspace.

The advance of the Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet was monitored on Tuesday before the Israeli military shot it down with a pair of Patriot missiles after it entered Israeli airspace by about two miles.

It is only the second such incident along the border in 30 years.

Syrian troops

The military said there had been an increase in the internal fighting in Syria since the morning hours, including an increase in the activity of the Syrian air force.

Israeli forces said they are on high alert and would continue to protect Israeli territory.

Syrian forces have been battling rebels and Islamic State militants at the frontier with Israel in recent weeks.

Tuesday marked the first time Syrian government forces reached the border fence with the UNs Disengagement Observer Force at the edge of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Two Patriot missiles were launched at a Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet that infiltrated about 1 mile into Israeli airspace. The IDF monitored the fighter jet, which was then intercepted by the Patriot missiles. pic.twitter.com/owL4Pm7zER  Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) July 24, 2018

An Israeli military spokesman said the plane departed from the Syrian T4 air base, which Israel is believed to have attacked earlier this year.

Lt Col Jonathan Conricus said that the plane flew toward Israel at relatively high speed before breaching the countrys airspace.

He said it is not known if the plane deliberately crossed into Israel, and the fate of the pilot is also unknown.

The plane crashed in the southern part of the Syrian Golan Heights, he said.

Lt Col Conricus said the increased activity near Israels frontier with Syria put the military on elevated alert and prompted Israel to issue a number of warnings through different channels to ensure a 1974 agreement which sets out a demilitarised zone along the shared Syria-Israel frontier would not be violated.

It is the first time Israel has shot down a Syrian jet in four years.

The military captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967, with the UN deploying a peacekeeping force between the two sides in 1974.

It is the first time government forces have taken up positions along the frontier since an uprising against Syrian president Bashar Assad swept through the country in 2011.

Islamic State militants later seized territory from rebels along the frontier region.
The Government has been accused of a PR stunt after announcing that a million public sector workers are to get the biggest pay rise in almost a decade.

Ministers hailed rises of 2.9% for the armed forces, 2.75% for prison officers and 3.5% for teachers, in confirmation that the lengthy cap on pay for millions of public sector workers was over.

But unions and opposition parties warned of job losses and cuts to services to pay for the increases, complaining they were not being fully funded by the Treasury.

Ministers said members of the armed forces will receive an increase of 2.9% (2% consolidated, 0.9% non-consolidated), with Tuesdays award worth 680 in pay to an average soldier, plus a one-off payment of 300.

The teachers award means the main pay range will increase by 3.5% (2% to upper pay range and 1.5% to leadership). Schools will determine how it is set.

All prison officers will get at least a 2.75% (2% consolidated, 0.75% non-consolidated) increase this year, with many getting higher awards.

A police award of 2% will mean average pay for a constable will now be more than 38,600 a year.

A pay increase of at least 2% will be given to junior doctors, specialist doctors, GPs and dentists. Consultants will also get a pay rise of at least 1,150.

Ministers said teachers are in line for a pay rise of up to 1,366 a year.

Social media education

Peter Dowd, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury said the announcement was a mendacious PR stunt, adding: It shamefully takes money away from our schools, hospitals, prisons, police services and armed forces.

Unisons assistant general secretary Christina McAnea said: Behind the good news headlines, the Government is simply robbing Peter to pay Paul. Without extra money from the Treasury to fund these pay increases, services and jobs somewhere will have to be cut.

Education Secretary Damian Hinds said there will be an investment of 508 million to fully fund the deal.

Public sector pay rises

He said: There are no great schools without great teachers and I want to us to recruit and retain brilliant teachers who are fairly rewarded for the vital work they do.

Today we are announcing a fully funded pay rise of up to 3.5%  or between 800 and 1,366  for classroom teachers on the main pay range, 2% for those on the upper pay range and 1.5% for those in leadership positions.

This will mean that teaching continues to be a competitively rewarded career, and I will continue to work with the profession, Ofsted and the unions on issues like excessive workload, professional development and flexible working, to make sure teaching remains an attractive, fulfilling profession.

Schools will continue to determine how their staff are paid, but the increases will be funded with a new teachers pay grant, worth 187 million in 2018/19 and 321 million in 2019/20 from the existing Department for Education budget, paid to all schools on top of their core budgets from the National Funding Formula, said the Government.

In cash terms, teachers could receive a boost of between 1,184 and 1,366 to their salary, while salaries for new teachers will increase by between 802 and 1,003.

News today of pay rises for some public sector workers is welcome, but this does not apply to civil servants. The Civil Service Pay Remit guidance is now totally indefensible and must be withdrawn, says @Garry_Graham1. Read more here: https://t.co/fvRfFggEjD  Prospect Union (@ProspectUnion) July 24, 2018

Prospect union deputy general secretary Garry Graham said: The Government have put civil servants firmly at the back of the queue on public sector pay.

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said the pay rises for doctors and dentists recognised their value and dedication and took into account affordability and the prioritising of patient care.

From October, a consultant starting work in 2013 will have seen a 16.5% increase in their basic pay, rising to a salary of 87,665 from 75,249, it was announced.

Ministers said the pay rises were worth between 1,150 and 1,550 for consultants, between 1,140 and 2,120 for speciality doctors, between 1,600 and 2,630 for associate specialists, between 532 and 924 for junior doctors, and around 1,052 for a salaried GP with a median taxable income of 52,600.

The BMA said it was truly astonishing that the Government had ignored recommendations from the independent pay review body.

POLITICS Pay

Dr Anthea Mowat of the BMA said: Just last week the new Secretary of State talked about how heart-breaking it was to see how under-valued NHS staff feel.

Considering those words, doctors in England will rightly feel both anger and disappointment that sentiment has not been matched with action.

Since 2008, doctors have experienced the largest drop in earnings of all professions subject to pay review bodies, with consultants seeing a 19% fall in pay, junior doctors 21% and GPs 20%.

The effective pay uplift this year for some doctors will be as little as 0.75%, which will be widely seen as derisory.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders union NAHT, said: School leaders will have mixed views about this announcement. They desperately want to reward and retain their valued staff, and they will be relieved that the DfE will make an additional contribution to the pay award, as school budgets are already at breaking point.

IFS research fellow Luke Sibieta said: Todays announcement of a 3.5% pay rise for teachers on the main pay range will help with recruitment and retention for teachers early in their career, which has emerged as a serious problem in recent years.

However, about 60% of teachers will receive below-inflation awards of 2%, or in the case of school leaders, 1.5%.

Angela Rayner, shadow education secretary, said: Its now beyond doubt that the majority of teachers are facing yet another real-terms pay cut. This Conservative Government is simply refusing to give our teachers the pay rise that they deserve.
Police will lift the cordon at the home of Dawn Sturgess, who died after being poisoned with Novichok.

Investigators say no contamination risk has been identified at John Baker House, the supported-living accommodation in Salisbury, Wiltshire, where Ms Sturgess lived.

Public Health Englands advice is that the wider risk to the public remains low.

Amesbury incident

Our blog answers frequently asked questions on the Amesbury nerve agent incident: https://t.co/eWE0WRBHkY  UK Health Security Agency (@UKHSA) July 6, 2018

Ms Sturgess died on July 8 after she and her partner Charlie Rowley, 45, both fell ill in Amesbury, Wiltshire, on June 30.

It is believed they were exposed to the deadly nerve agent after handling a contaminated bottle later found in the home of Mr Rowley, who was discharged from Salisbury District Hospital on Friday.

Wiltshire police said the cordon at John Baker House would be lifted on Tuesday evening after the building was handed back to the force by counter-terror police.

We can confirm that John Baker House on Rollestone Street, Salisbury has been handed back to Wiltshire Police from the Counter Terrorism Policing Network. Read more: https://t.co/D0FlyG9Xlg pic.twitter.com/ohRMmdOQic  Salisbury Police (@SouthWiltsCPT) July 24, 2018

Deputy Chief Constable Paul Mills said: I hope that this news offers reassurance to the local community that the multi-agency work in this area is progressing.

As we start to see scenes handed back by the national investigation, Wiltshire Police will work with Wiltshire Council and other partners who are leading on the recovery process to assess and agree the next steps that need to be taken to safely return sites to public use.

At all times public safety will remain the number one priority for all agencies involved.

I would like to reiterate our thanks to the people of Salisbury for their patience and understanding, as I am acutely aware of the impact this cordon has had on the local community.

Alistair Cunningham, chair of the recovery co-ordination group, added: This is an important step forward in the process of recovery and working with Sanctuary Housing, so John Baker House can reopen for its residents.
The last day of parliament before a recess traditionally sees a rush of announcements, usually in the form of written ministerial statements. Today was no exception.

Here are seven things the government made public:

 Two RAF bases to close

RAF Red Arrows during a flypast over Buckingham Palace, in central London, following the Trooping the Colour ceremony at Horse Guards Parade as the Queen celebrates her official birthday. (Image: PA)

RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, home of the Red Arrows, is to close in 2022. The world-famous display team is to move to a location more fit for purpose. Another base, RAF Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire, where fast-jet pilots are taught, and where the Prince of Cambridge underwent training, will be closed in 2020.

Downing Street said the plans would save taxpayers 140 million and help provide more modern and efficient military bases.

 Seven courts to close

Blackfriars Crown Court

The following courts are to close: Banbury Magistrates and County Court, Maidenhead Magistrates Court, Chorley Magistrates Court, Fleetwood Magistrates Court, Northallerton Magistrates Court, Wandsworth County Court, and Blackfriars Crown Court.

A proposal to close Cambridge Magistrates Court has been withdrawn.

Money saved by the closures will be invested to support the HM Courts & Tribunals reform programme backed by both the Government and the senior judiciary, according to a written statement.

 Extra money for Crossrail

Crossrail engineers walk alongside tracks in Whitechapel, east London. (Image: PA)

The budget for Londons Crossrail has been increased from 14.8 billion to 15.4 billion. Rail minister Jo Johnson used a written statement to announce the extra 600 million, saying cost pressures have increased across the project. The Department for Transport and Transport for London remain committed to the successful delivery of the new east-west railway.

 Theresa May to take personal control of Brexit talks

Theresa May

The Prime Minister will lead the negotiations with the European Union, with Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab deputising on her behalf, according to a written statement. The Cabinet Office Europe Unit is to have overall responsibility for the preparation and conduct of the negotiations, rather than the Department for Exiting the European Union, which is to focus on preparations for life after Brexit.

 Permission given for fracking in Lancashire

File photo issued by Cuadrilla of the drilling rig at Preston New Road shale gas exploration site.

Shale company Cuadrilla has been granted permission to begin fracking at Preston New Road in Lancashire. Energy and clean growth minister Claire Perry said the firm had met all the necessary environmental and health and safety measures to be given the go-ahead, but certain conditions will have to be met, including supplying the Business and Energy Department with the latest accounts for co-investor Spirit Energy, or a deposit in support of any potential liabilities for decommissioning costs.

 Rollout of national funding formula for schools in England extended again to 2020/21

School pupils

Local authorities in England had already been allowed to continue setting a local formula for school funding in 2018/19 and 2019/20, in parallel with the Governments introduction of a national funding formula. This period has been extended to 2020/21.

We recognise that the introduction of the national funding formula has represented a significant change to the way schools are funded, a written statement said. The extension to 2020/21 is in order to continue to support a smooth transition.

 More money guaranteed for EU-funded projects

The EU and Union flags (Image: PA)

The Treasury has expanded its commitment to UK organisations receiving EU funds. It will underwrite all projects financed by the current EU budget, and also guarantee funding in the event of no Brexit deal, for UK organisations which bid directly to the European Commission so they can continue competing for, and securing, funding until the end of 2020.

A written statement said this ensures UK organisations, such as charities, businesses and universities, will continue to receive funding over a projects lifetime if they successfully bid into EU-funded programmes before December 2020.
President Donald Trump says he is very concerned that Russia will try to meddle in Novembers mid-term elections to help the Democrats win.

President Trump wrote in a tweet he is very concerned that Russia will be fighting very hard to have an impact on the upcoming Election, but added: They will be pushing very hard for the Democrats. They definitely dont want Trump!

He does not explain his reasoning.

Donald Trump visit to UK

The US intelligence community concluded Russia meddled in the 2016 election to try to help Mr Trump win, and Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week at his joint press conference with the US president that he was rooting for the Republican.

The tweet is the latest example of President Trump sowing doubts about the integrity of the US electoral system.

In 2016, he repeatedly claimed the election was rigged.
Dominic Raab has insisted he will not wallow in pessimism about the Brexit process as Eurosceptics voiced concerns his department was being sidelined by Number 10.

The Brexit Secretary played down the shifting of the Whitehall deckchairs which confirmed Prime Minister Theresa May is taking personal control of the talks with the European Union.

And he insisted the UK would not cower in talks with Brussels following concerns that a no-deal Brexit was becoming more likely.

Mr Raab appeared alongside the Prime Minister Europe adviser Olly Robbins in front of MPs amid increasing Brexiteer concerns about the influence of the senior civil servant.

Officials working on the negotiations will be brought together in the Cabinet Office Europe Unit headed by Mr Robbins  who reports direct to the Prime Minister  while Mr Raabs Department for Exiting the EU will focus on preparations for life after Brexit.

As Mr Raab and Mr Robbins appeared in front of the Exiting the EU Select Committee, Eurosceptic Tory Craig Mackinlay suggested there had been a civil service coup detat, while fellow Brexiteer Peter Bone suggested Mr Robbins had been responsible for a secret plan which led to the Chequers proposals.

Mr Robbins denied both suggestions, telling Mr Mackinlay I honestly dont recognise the picture you are painting and insisting to Mr Bone there was never a second secret white paper.

Mr Raab insisted the new arrangements were aimed at ensuring a coherent approach.

Sitting alongside Mr Robbins he said: We have been very clear about this  theres no tension between us, I think thats clear  that all the advice and all of the meetings will be attended by me, with the Prime Minister, and that all the advice will come to me.

Challenged about the prospect of a no-deal outcome, Mr Raab said that while there would be uncertainty in the short-term I think long-term actually we would still be able to thrive.

But he insisted he was working for a deal, telling MPs: What Im not going to do is wallow in pessimism about the state of this country in relation to Brexit and we are going to go into these negotiations with economic confidence and political ambition.

I am going to bring to (Michel) Barnier and to the whole enterprise as much energy as I can.

What I am not going to do is allow us to cower in the corner, afraid of our own shadow, about the potential that that energy and that ambition and that principle and that pragmatism isnt reciprocated on the other side.

I think we will be braced for all the eventualities.

Part of the Governments planning involves securing supplies of food and medicines.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told MPs he had asked officials to work up options for stockpiling by the pharmaceutical industry while Mr Raab said the Government would also take steps to ensure an adequate food supply.

Mr Raab acknowledged that the Chequers plan struck a balance between the UKs ability to diverge from the EU and the need to protect trade and address the Irish border issue.

But he said the plan was a road map to the sunlit uplands of a final deal which respects the referendum result.

Countdown to leaving the EU graphic

Meanwhile, the Government published details of the legislation it plans to use to implement the withdrawal agreement taking the UK out of the European Union next March.

Unveiling the plans in a white paper in the House of Commons, Mr Raab described it as another key milestone in the UKs path to leaving the EU.

And he repeated his warning that the UK could withhold payment of its 39 billion divorce bill if the EU fails to reach agreement on its future trade relationship with the UK.

There must be a firm commitment in the withdrawal agreement requiring the framework for the future relationship to be translated into legal text as soon as possible, Mr Raab told MPs.

It is one part of the whole deal we are doing with our EU partners.

And of course if one party fails to honour its side of that overall bargain, there will be consequences for the deal as a whole  and that includes the financial settlement.

The announcement came as Dominic Raab unveiled a Brexit White Paper in the House of Commons (parliamentlive.tv)

The 38-page white paper sets out plans for an EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill to be brought forward after Parliament has approved a deal reached during ongoing negotiations in Brussels, to ensure its implementation in time for the March 29 2019 date of Brexit.

Initially announced last November, the Bill will create a new financial authority to manage payments to the EU over the years after Brexit.

Mr Raab repeated the Governments intention to finalise the withdrawal agreement, as well as a political declaration on future UK-EU relations, in October. This would allow for the new Bill to pass through Parliament in late 2018 and early 2019.

It covers issues including the rights of EU citizens in the UK and Britons living in the remaining 27 member states, the financial settlement and the details of a transition period expected to end in December 2020. Precise details will not be known until the withdrawal agreement is concluded.
Ivanka Trumps clothing company is shutting down after some stores dropped her line and she decided ethics restrictions were holding back its ability.

In an email to CNBC, Ivanka Trump said: When we first started this brand, no one could have predicted the success that we would achieve.

After 17 months in Washington, I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business, but I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington, so making this decision now is the only fair outcome for my team and partners.

G20 meeting - Germany

"... My focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington, so making this decision now is the only fair outcome for my team and partners." Ivanka Trump issues a statement about shuttering her fashion brand. https://t.co/DY03MFKg18  CNBC (@CNBC) July 24, 2018

The New York Post reported that staff have been informed that theyre being laid off. The Wall Street Journal is also reporting the closure.

Ivanka, who is a senior adviser to her father President Donald Trump, has recently been encouraging US companies to pledge to hire American workers.

Her company has been accused in the past of using foreign workers to make its products abroad.

.@WhiteHouse National Council for the American Worker together w/ the private sector is working to equip students + workers w/ skills they need to succeed in the jobs being created across our Country & ensure Americas workforce remains the BEST in the world #WorkforceDevelopment pic.twitter.com/1IWisxiFxp  Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) July 20, 2018

Views on the brand have become highly polarised and it has faced boycotts from anti-Trump protesters.

With sales flagging by some measures, Nordstrom dropped the Ivanka Trump line last year and recently Hudson Bay reportedly did the same.

The company has also come under attack by government ethics experts for trademarks granted by foreign governments such as China seeking favour from the president.
Novichok victim Charlie Rowley has said the deadly nerve agent took just 15 minutes to poison his partner after she sprayed the oily substance on to her wrists believing it was perfume.

Mr Rowley, 45, believes he may have had the bottle in his home for a couple of days before giving it to 44-year-old Dawn Sturgess as a present.

He said the glass bottle and plastic dispenser were in a cardboard box with plastic moulding, and that Ms Sturgess had recognised the brand.

She died on July 8 after the pair fell ill on June 30 having been exposed to Novichok contained in a bottle later found in Mr Rowleys home in Amesbury, Wiltshire.

Amesbury incident

He told ITV News: I do have a memory of her spraying it on her wrists and rubbing them together.

I guess thats how she applied it and became ill. I guess how I got in contact with it is when I put the spray part to the bottle I ended tipping some on my hands, but I washed it off under the tap.

It had an oily substance and I smelled it and it didnt smell of perfume. It felt oily. I washed it off and I didnt think anything of it. It all happened so quick.

Within 15 minutes Dawn said she had a headache. She asked me if I had any headache tablets. In that time she said she felt peculiar and needed to lie down in the bath. I went into the bathroom and found her in the bath, fully clothed, in a very ill state.

Mr Rowley said he could not remember where he found the perfume box but believed it looked expensive.

Unfortunately it turned out to be to be a bad find, he told the broadcaster.

Amesbury incident

He described Ms Sturgess as a lovely lady and a wonderful woman, and said she had planned to move to Amesbury from John Baker House, her sheltered accommodation in Salisbury, within two weeks.

Mr Rowley also said he still feels to blame for what happened to her but criticised the irresponsible people who left the poison for anybody to pick up.

It was just so unfortunate. Im very angry at the whole incident, he added.

Officials refused to be drawn on Mr Rowleys comments when they were quizzed during a public meeting held in Salisbury City Hall on Tuesday evening.

Asked if there was likely to be any more Novichok in the Salisbury area, Wiltshire Police Deputy Chief Constable Paul Mills said: What we cant tell and probably will never be able to tell is actually is there anything else out there, so all we can do is be intelligence-led and go to the locations where we know they have actually been and be meticulous with the searching.

He explained that a fingertip search at Salisburys Queen Elizabeth Gardens  attended by Mr Rowley and Ms Sturgess the day before they fell ill  was being carried out as a precaution.

We dont have any specific information or intelligence that actually says theres a specific risk in that location, he added.

The interview comes as police announced the cordon at Ms Sturgesss home would be lifted after investigators found no contamination risk at the building.

Mr Rowley and Ms Sturgess were victims of the second nerve agent incident in four months following the case of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

They were found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury in March.

Police are believed to have identified the suspected perpetrators of the Novichok attack on Russian former spy Mr Skripal and his daughter.
Barcelona have agreed a deal to sign Brazilian winger Malcom from Bordeaux for 42million euros (37.3million)  just a day after Roma announced they had a deal of their own.

Malcom had been linked with Everton and Inter Milan but Roma announced on Monday that they had agreed a fee of 40million euros (35.5million) with Bordeaux for the player.

However, the 21-year-old has agreed a five-year contract at the Nou Camp and will undergo a medical on Wednesday.

Malcom is heading to the Nou Camp

A Barcelona statement on Tuesday evening read: FC Barcelona and Girondins de Bordeaux have reached an agreement for the transfer of the player Malcom Filipe Silva de Oliveira. The operation will cost 41 million euros and 1 million in variables.

The player will sign with the club for the next five seasons, until the end of the 2022/23 season.

Malcom, who has yet to represent his country at senior level, began his career in his homeland with Corinthians and was part of the Campeonato title-winning side of 2015 before moving to France in January 2016.

He spent three seasons with Bordeaux, scoring 23 goals in 96 appearances, and follows fellow Brazilian Arthur in moving to the Nou Camp this summer.
An Army officer has been jailed for 18 months after being convicted over the killing of a 21-year-old soldier who was shot during a training exercise.

Captain Jonathan Price, 32, was also dismissed from the Army after being found guilty last month of the manslaughter of Ranger Michael Maguire by gross negligence following a seven-week court martial at Bulford, Wiltshire.

Two other officers, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Bell, 46, and Warrant Officer Stuart Pankhurst, 40, were convicted of negligently performing a duty.

Col Bell lost one years seniority as a lieutenant colonel, which could affect his promotion prospects, while WO2 Pankhurst was fined 3,000.

Bulford Military Court in Wiltshire

Rgr Maguire was one of several soldiers who came under machine gun fire during an exercise at the Castlemartin Training Area in Pembrokeshire in May 2012 for members of the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment.

Rgr Maguire, from Co Cork, Ireland, died after being hit in the forehead by a stray bullet from a machine gun.

The three defendants were accused of having a total disregard for the safety of their men when they organised a live ammunition exercise ahead of deployment to Kenya.

After the shooting Capt Price, who was a lieutenant at the time, said to one witness: Ive messed up, havent I?

The court heard that soldiers on one part of range 10 were firing directly at those in another part of the range, who were about 1km away and would have been visible.

Capt Price, now of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish, failed to set up and supervise a safe exercise, failed to attend a recce of the range when preparing a range action safety plan (Rasp), placed targets too close together and failed to deconflict the two exercises.

Col Bell, who was then a major and Capt Prices company commander, was the senior planning officer for the exercise and failed to review or counter-sign the Rasp produced by Capt Price and failed to supervise or support him.

WO Pankhurst, who was an acting sergeant supervising the exercise, failed to produce a Rasp for the machine gun firing which he was supervising.

It emerged after the convictions that the Ministry of Defence has received a Crown Censure for breaches of health and safety regulations.

Mathew Sherratt QC, representing Capt Price, said he had recently married and had a 10-year-old stepson and urged the court to impose a suspended sentence.

It was his dream to be in the regiment. He accepts that is finished and that is huge punishment, he said.

The punishment of the loss of his career is devastating for this young man. I suggest that if he could ever turn the clock back he would and he should have gone to get some help.

Mr Sherratt said there were systemic issues in the Army and there had been changes to procedures after the death of Rgr Maguire.

Puneet Rai, representing married father-of-two Col Bell, said he was on the reserve list to be promoted to full colonel and a recent posting had been withdrawn as a result of the conviction.

It is accepted by the Ministry of Defence that there were failings in the system which contributed to where we are today, she said.

Since the day of this incident Col Bell has made it his personal crusade to make sure that the failings within the system are challenged.

Catherine Bradshaw, representing married father-of-three WO2 Pankhurst, said that any loss of rank would be particularly hard on him and suggested should receive a reprimand and fine.

For WO2 Pankhurst, who joined the Army with the aspiration of becoming regimental sergeant major of his local regiment, not to have the coveted position of sergeant major comes as a blow to him, she added.

Passing sentence on behalf of the court martial board, Assistant Judge Advocate General Alan Large said Capt Prices negligence was so great that only an immediate custodial sentence was appropriate.

We have no doubt that the offence of gross negligence manslaughter committed in the circumstances of this case and after a contested trial are so serious that an immediate prison sentence is required, he said.

The judge said the board had reduced the sentence from a starting point of four years after taking into account Capt Prices exemplary service to the country, including a tour to Afghanistan.

Taking into account all the mitigation, imprisonment for 18 months is the shortest sentence we can pass. We do not consider it appropriate to suspend the sentence.
KABUL, July 23 (Reuters) - Increasing prospects of peace talks with the Taliban show the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan is working, despite continuing violence and insurgent control of wide areas of the countryside, top U.S. commanders in Afghanistan said on Monday.

The comments came as speculation has grown that talks to end 17 years of war in Afghanistan may be closer after last month's ceasefire over the Eid holiday brought scenes of unarmed fighters and soldiers mingling on the streets.

"The advancement towards the reconciliation goal in President Trump's strategy has seen progress in the last year that we haven't seen in the previous 17 years and that is significant," General John Nicholson, commander of the NATO-led Resolute Support mission, told reporters.

"I believe this advancement towards peace is extremely relevant and in a way is perhaps more important than some of these other metrics that we've been using," he said.

CIVILIAN DEATHS

Almost a year after U.S. President Donald Trump sent more troops to Afghanistan and gave commanders greater authority to use air strikes against the Taliban, thousands of civilians are still being killed and wounded and the government holds no more than two-thirds of the country.

However General Joseph Votel, the top U.S. regional commander who was visiting Kabul, expressed "cautious optimism" about the progress made. He said the strategy, which set no deadline for U.S. forces to leave Afghanistan, had squeezed the Taliban and created the space for diplomatic and social pressure for peace to build.

Amid growing diplomatic activity behind the scenes, President Ashraf Ghani has offered the Taliban peace talks without conditions and the United States has offered to support and participate in the talks, while insisting they would remain Afghan-led.

The Kabul government has also said it is considering offering another ceasefire during next month's Eid al-Qurban holiday, an offer Nicholson endorsed, despite the "tactical risk" that fighters could use it to gain an advantage.

He said a serious threat remained from Islamic State fighters, who have claimed a series of high-profile attacks in Kabul and who control some areas in the eastern provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar as well as in the northern province of Jawzjan, where they have been fighting the Taliban recently.

"We are very concerned about ISIS and we are going fully at ISIS and we also note that the Taliban are fighting ISIS and we encourage that because ISIS needs to be destroyed," he said.

Commanders are preparing for a review of the U.S. strategy, which Votel said would be unlikely to lead to any significant change of course.

"I think the overall strategy that has been laid out here is working," he said. (Reporting by James Mackenzie Editing by Andrew Bolton)
DAKAR, July 23 (Reuters) - Congolese opposition leader and former warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba, whose war crimes convictions were quashed in May, will return to the country next week to submit his candidacy for president, a party official said on Monday.

His homecoming after serving a decade in prison at The Hague could dramatically shake up Congolese politics ahead of December's long-delayed election, which is meant to choose a successor to Joseph Kabila.

Kabila, who has governed since 2001, has refused to commit to stepping down despite his two-term mandate expiring in 2016. Allies in his ruling coalition have in recent weeks advanced a legal argument they say would justify his candidacy.

Bemba finished runner-up to Kabila in the 2006 election and commands a large and loyal following in western Congo. Despite still being in prison at the time, Bemba came third in a rare nationwide opinion poll in March behind two other opposition leaders.

"He is going to return on Aug. 1," the secretary-general of his Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) party, Eve Bazaiba, told Reuters. "Everything is in order."

Bazaiba said that Bemba planned to file his candidacy with the national electoral commission while in Kinshasa. The registration period opens this Wednesday and runs through Aug. 8.

If Kabila does step down, December's election would herald Congo's first democratic transition following decades marked by authoritarian rule, coups and civil war.

The ICC quashed Bemba's convictions in May related to murder, rape and pillage by fighters he sent to Central African Republic to back the country's then-president Ange-Felix Patasse. An appeals court ruled that Bemba could not be held personally responsible for those crimes.

Bemba was one of only four people convicted by the permanent war crimes court in its 16 years of operation, and the highest ranking among them.

Kabila's government moved quickly to provide Bemba a passport after his release from prison last month but has offered mixed messages about whether he might face further criminal prosecution or be allowed to contest the presidential election.

He still faces sentencing for a witness tampering charge by the ICC but has likely already served enough prison time for that.

(Reporting by Aaron Ross Editing by Edward McAllister)
By Adam Jourdan

SHANGHAI, July 24 (Reuters) - Changsheng Bio-technology Co Ltd, the Chinese vaccine maker accused of falsifying data, plunged deeper into crisis on Tuesday with police detaining its chairwoman and the country's top graft watchdog launching investigations into the firm.

Eager to contain snowballing public outrage over the scandal and maintain confidence in China's vaccine industry, authorities have responded with sharp condemnation and calls for swift punishment. President Xi Jinping has denounced the scandal as "vile and shocking".

"Anything that touches on drug or food safety also involving children is just a huge hot button in China," said Kent Kedl, Shanghai-based senior partner at consultancy Control Risks.

Chinese citizens are now openly asking why authorities hadn't done more to prevent the issue, he said, adding that the government needed to show it was taking a tough stance to ensure this did not become a problem that threatened social stability.

"This is probably the highest level of code red that the government faces."

Changsheng is already feeling the heat from the latest developments, expecting the case to have a big negative impact on its financial performance in the second half, it said in a filing to the Shenzhen stock exchange.

Changsheng's overseas sales accounted for 2.34 percent of revenues last year, according to the firm's 2017 report. Overseas markets included India, Cambodia, Nigeria and Egypt, it said.

China's drug regulator has accused Changsheng of fabricating production and inspection records related to a rabies vaccine regularly given to infants. The firm also sold 252,600 doses of ineffective DPT vaccines to inoculate children against diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus.

While there have been no known reports of people being harmed by the vaccines, Chinese regulators ordered Changsheng to halt their production and recall the rabies vaccine. Changsheng apologised publicly in a regulatory filing on Monday.

Changsheng's Shenzhen-listed shares plunged by their daily limit of 10 percent on Tuesday, extending falls that have seen it lose $1.8 billion or more than half their value since mid-July.

Trading in its shares will be suspended on Wednesday and resume on Thursday.

In fresh signs that the scandal was having a wider impact, private medical clinics in Hong Kong said inquiries by mainland Chinese seeking vaccines for their children had increased since the scandal gathered steam.

The Hong Kong Department of Health told Reuters local supply of the vaccines remained stable and it would closely monitor the situation. Macau's health bureau said current supply was sufficient for residents and there was no need for concern.

SOCIAL MEDIA "TSUNAMI"

Chinese citizens have been quick to express their fury online with one discussion hashtag on the Sina Weibo microblog gathering over 600 million views. Censors initially appeared to block some posts about the case.

"The Changsheng vaccine case has created a tsunami on the internet," the state-run Global Times newspaper said in an editorial late on Monday, adding it was unrealistic to try to control it completely, though it could not be left unchecked.

"If nothing is done to manage online public discourse, it could become a festering gateway leading the country towards chaos and creating serious unpredictability."

Zeng Mei, chief physician at the Fudan University paediatric hospital, said there was little likelihood of harm to children from Changsheng's vaccines but noted the social media attention had magnified the impact of the scandal.

"Parents are confused and lots are apprehensive," she said.

The Changsheng case, which dates to November but first gained public attention on July 15, is the latest in a slew of scandals that has plagued China's pharmaceutical industry.

Etched into public memory is the 2008 scandal in which several infants died after industrial chemical melamine was added to milk powder to raise protein levels artificially. In 2016, Chinese police busted a gang for selling around $90 million worth of illegal vaccines on the black market.

Last week, European regulators found that a common blood pressure and heart drug manufactured in bulk by Chinese firm Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical may have contained an impurity linked to cancer since 2012.

PLENTY OF PROBES

Changsheng said on Tuesday that Chairwoman Gao Junfang, three senior executives and two mid-level employees had been taken in for questioning by local police, adding they would not be in a position to carry out their duties.

Later in the day, state media said Gao and 14 others had been detained by police.

Gao is also Changsheng's largest shareholder. She has been involved with the company since it was hived off from state control between 2003 and 2006, Chinese media reports said.

Reuters was unable to contact a lawyer for Gao.

The country's top graft watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), also said it had begun an investigation into potential corruption at the firm.

Those probes are in addition to investigations by the drug watchdog as well as the securities regulator, which is looking at whether Changsheng violated information disclosure rules.

Changsheng is China's second largest producer of rabies and chicken pox vaccines, according to its 2017 annual report.

China has the second highest number of rabies cases in the world, according to the World Health Organization while the DPT vaccine is on the country's mandatory vaccine list.

Other Chinese vaccine makers have been hit by fears that the scandal will bring increased regulatory oversight, with Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products also losing 10 percent while Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products fell 4 percent.

($1 = 6.8204 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Adam Jourdan; Additional reporting by Farah Master, Anne Marie Roantree and Holly Chik in Hong Kong and Ben Blanchard in Beijing, plus Shanghai newsroom and Chyen Yee Lee in Singapore; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Dale Hudson)
Former Minister of Media, Tourism and Civil Aviation, late Dharmasiri Senanayakes 18th commemoration was held at the Dharmasiri Senanayake Statue in Borella this morning.

Floral tributes were paid to the statue by the family members and relatives of the late Minister and Deputy Minister of Finance and Mass Media Lasantha Alagiyawanna, MP Dilan Perera and Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) Chairman Asela Iddawela. Pix courtesy: GSMB Media Unit
China will continue to provide various training courses for tri-forces of Sri Lanka and make preparations to hand over a gift frigate to Sri Lanka Navy, a top Chinese military official said on Monday.

Addressing a reception held in Colombo on Monday night to commemorate the 91st anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), Senior Colonel Xu Jianwei said Chinese military attaches great importance to improving relations with the Sri Lanka military.

He said Chinese-funded auditorium complex at the Sri Lanka Military Academy would also be completed.

In the past few years, Colonel Xu said two militaries have witnessed the deepening communication and cooperation in the areas of personnel training, joint training and maritime security.

China is willing to enhance mutual strategic trust and is keen to see both countries continue supporting each other on issues for core interest. China wishes to boost the development of Belt and Road initiative to strengthen the pragmatic cooperation between two countries and two militaries, he said.

He said as a good and true friend, over the past decades, China has provided powerful support to the social-economic development and military and defence construction of Sri Lanka.

Meanwhilehe said the PLA has made indelible historical contribution to the Chinese People's Liberation, socialist construction and reform, safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, maintaining world peace and promoting human progress.

The PLA has become world-famous as a formidable, civilized and peaceful military force. China adheres to an independent foreign policy of peace and development. Under the guidance of Xi Jinpings thought on diplomacy, the major-country diplomacy with Chinese Characteristics will uphold high the banner of building a community with shared future and help make the global governance system fair and more reasonable.

China's armed forces advocate a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security concept, and will continue to develop military-to-military relations that are non-aligned, non-confrontational and not directed against any third party, Colonel Xu said. (Lahiru Pothmulla)
The exhibition of contemporary Iranian abstract art at the Theertha Red Dot Gallery is an eye-opener because the Iranian plastic arts that we are familiar with are traditional. That there is a group of men and women whose artistic instincts and creativity are in synch with what is happening with modern art movements elsewhere certainly came as a novel experience. The exhibition ends today (July 25).

Abstract art may seem to be a misnomer because the exhibit includes portrait works. But faces, too, can become abstractions, vehicles for an idea or a world view gestating in the artists mind, like in the 13 black and white ink portraits titled Hope by Omid Shayan.





The artist says even this cannot be publicly exhibited in Iran, which leads to an interesting question about our artists. There is no censorship on nudity as a subject in the plastic arts in Sri Lanka, but so few artists work with it. Its a major part of the foundation of drawing in art schools all over the world





Two of the artists -Nasim Pirhadi and Marjan Habibian- were present. Nasim, currently living in Sri Lanka, works as the curator of Red Dot. Talking to them about the contemporary art scene in Iran was quite enlightening.

Non-traditional Iranian artists work under constraints hard to imagine in this country. That doesnt mean this is a paradise for groundbreaking, challenging art in whatever form. But the Iranian situation, where art is censored by dogma, is alien to us.





Culture shock

Thats why whats evident at this exhibition comes as a kind of culture shock of a pleasant sort. What these Iranian artists have achieved is quite remarkable. Some of them live and work abroad, but they arent exiles. They have a base and following in Iran, and this isnt some underground movement. Centered in Tehran, they exhibit openly, discuss and sell their work to private collectors.

Nasim Pirhadis exhibit titled Audience consists of a series of spherical paintings and an audio installation. While a number of small, painted circles hang from the ceiling in a white space, gently swaying in the wind, the audio imposes a consistent drilling noise over the almost sepulchral silence. These are Tehran street noises. It sounds like a robotic invasion of a very civilized, private world.

The paintings themselves, almost all in monochrome, are enigmatic. Alongside large swathes of black ink, you can see miniature figures. Some are human, some are animal, goat-like figures. The human figures may be seated, and absorbed in their own private worlds. Sometimes, they are in suspension, like the animal figures which may be scaling difficult heights or falling. They are all in a very delicate equilibrium. Despite the overall tranquility of this installation, there is an underlying sense of impending trouble, even violence, accentuated by that monotonous and insistent drilling noise.

Audience 2 (acrylic on canvas) has two large spheres and three small ones where similar motifs are repeated. The large one has a miniature, seated figure looking through a telescope. There also is an animal tied feet up to a bar, as if for slaughter. Another sphere has a large vortex on the left, with a tiny group of seated figures to the right. Are they going to be sucked in to the vortex? Again, we face the same unsettling questions.

The Iranian revolution wiped out a good part of this Westernised Iranian culture. These two couples, staring at us in total ignorance of the mayhem to come, look smug within their embroidered frames





Marjan Habibian has a series of ink drawings using pen and roller. There are portraits of her mother. An art teacher, who now lives in Austria, she has made hundreds of portraits of her mother. An admirer of Matisse, one can see the same sureness of line in her work. Her drawings of a cat and a deer place her firmly in that early 20th century European drawing tradition. There are three male nudes and one female. They emphasise a withered, reposeful sexuality, a memory of the past, and not anything sensual or erotic.

The artist says even this cannot be publicly exhibited in Iran, which leads to an interesting question about our artists. There is no censorship on nudity as a subject in the plastic arts in Sri Lanka, but so few artists work with it. Its a major part of the foundation of drawing in art schools all over the world (except perhaps in very conservative societies), but most of our artists are so bad at drawing the human figure without clothes. What is the reason for prudery? It looks as if the artists themselves practise self-censorship. That will hardly make for progress in art.

The most disturbing exhibit

Negin Javaher offers three smaller nudes in colour. Fleshy, Lucian Freud like figures, they can be compared to miniatures, a Persian concept. But they are not placed in a specific cultural setting. Like much of modern art, they create their own contexts, leaving the viewer to making the connections.

Azam Tababei has the most disturbing exhibit, the photo installation titled Inhibition and Self-Discovery. Through a series of large black and white prints, she explores a fascinating relationship with a number of female mannequin figures. These are reduced to lower bodies, and amputated hands smeared with paint which resembles blood, looking even more sinister in black and white.





Non-traditional Iranian artists work under constraints hard to imagine in this country. That doesnt mean this is a paradise for groundbreaking, challenging art in whatever form. But the Iranian situation, where art is censored by dogma, is alien to us





Hung in between these disturbing images are small plastic bags with chocolate fingers inside, which the artist has made herself. You cant escape the fingers in these images. They are smeared. The artist is seen in one, smacking them. Or she could be seen as a demonic figure trying to devour her own fingers? Are they smeared with blood, or chocolate? No matter what, there is something very disturbing about it. Shes performing a self-consuming task, and this is a laconic statement about the self-consuming tasks that many people focus on during their lives.

The amputated mannequins hands reach out for each other. One can sense a desperate search for longing and intimacy. Azam Tababeis mannequin characters  and she includes herself amongst them  are victims, but they havent lost the capacity to feel and reach out.

Javid Ramazanis exhibit of two black and white portraits dating back to WWII, is an attempt to recapture a vanished past. This is poignant because that past isnt the victim of the normal passage of time, as it happens to peacetime generations. The Iranian revolution wiped out a good part of this Westernised Iranian culture. These two couples, staring at us in total ignorance of the mayhem to come, look smug within their embroidered frames. But they look pathetic when considering the historical context.

Atefah Khas Hair series uses the sensuousness of a womans hair to make an artistic statement about the feminine condition. She offers a photographic print of her auburn-coloured hair. Below it, you find strands of her real hair on a white pillow. It looks like a relic and an offering to eternal youth this hair will not age. Theres no clue as to what the owner looks like. As such, the hair itself becomes epicenter of feminine mystique and allure.

Omid Shayams 13 ink portraits titled Hope are enigmatic. They represent faces from the 16th to 18th centuries. Judging by their clothes, they are Europeans. There is one African or African-American woman. Her earrings, in the shape of a cross, suggest a colonial background. Who are these people? They are certainly not Van Goghs potato eaters. More likely, they belong to the class of people who could afford to have their portraits painted. But this artist has recalled them from the past.

These images are connected to the video installation, made in Paris, where the artist and a multi-ethnic group are reading Rubaiyat by Omar Khayyam. It is no co-incidence. Khayyams vision of people living the good life, not knowing the ultimate futility of it, is reflected in these somber, dignified portraits.

Some of these works are good examples of how to work to the limit within sanctions. It calls for both daring and imagination. In Sri Lanka, unfortunately, we rarely see such examples. Our artists are by and large content to perform way beneath the limits, often choosing the well trodden path of self-censorship.
The Colombo High Court today for the fourth time issued summons on the President and the Prime Minister to appear in court for the trial against former General Secretary of UNP Tissa Attanayake.

The court also postponed the trial against Mr Attanayake for October 9.

The trial is over the display of an allegedly fraudulent document to the media during the last Presidential Election for the purpose of affecting the result of common candidate Maithripala Sirisena.

When the case was taken up for trial before High Court Judge Sashi Mahendran, the Judge postponed the case after observing that President Maitripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe were not present in court to give evidence. (T. Farook Thajudeen)


Yesterday, July 24 marked the 35th anniversary of the 1983 anti-Tamil riots or the commonly known Black July. Much water has flowed under the bridge since that national shame. It is an even bigger shame that the country is still without a clue as to how to find a lasting solution to the root cause of the issue -- ethnic problem -- that triggered the riots. All stake holders of the problem -- the government, Tamil leaders and nationalist forces on either side of the ethnic divide -- are politically and ideologically still back at square one.

The Black July was a week when the entire country was at a standstill due to riots where goons torched the houses of Tamils, looted their houses at their will apart from killing hundreds of them for no reason. The country witnessed total anarchy with no signs of the existence of a government in the country.

It was said that the riots were organized by the then ruling party and the goons used the electoral registers to single out houses owned by Tamils in towns where the population was mixed. Whether it was state sponsored or not, it is clear that the riots were ignited due to the folly of the government of the day. Goons started mayhem after the bodies of 13 soldiers killed by the LTTE at Thinnaveli, Jaffna on the previous night were flown to Colombo for the last rites at the Kanatte cemetery. Later the government was blamed for taking them to Colombo instead of sending them to the respective villages.

It is wrong to describe, as many do that the Black July was the starting point of the thirty year long war that might have claimed nearly a hundred thousand lives of soldiers, members of various armed groups and civilians belonging to all three major communities of the country. Even prior to this catastrophe, police stations at Annakottai and Chavakachcery had been attacked by the PLOTE and the LTTE respectively. Yet, it is not gainsaying that Black July and the immediate consequent events resulted in the strengthening of the Tamil armed groups and a leap in the violence against the state. It also paved the way for foreign interference, especially that of India.

At the beginning the government was attempting only to militarily crack down on the Tamil armed groups. It was India that persuaded or in fact forced the Sri Lankan government led by President J. R. Jayawardene to talk to the armed groups, and it was the same India that laid the ideological foundation -- the concept of devolution -- for the talks. Former TULF Parliamentarian and a constitutional expert, Dr. Neelan Thiruchchelvam once in a newspaper article quoted former Indian Foreign Secretary Gopalaswamy Parthasarathy as saying that it was with great difficulty that he (Parthasarathy) convinced the acceptability of devolution of power to President Jayawardene, despite the latter also being a constitutional expert. Parthasarathy was Indias first special envoy to handle the Sri Lankan ethnic issue.

Then the history saw a plethora of peace attempts with and without foreign mediation or facilitation, The All Party Conference (APC) of 1984, Thimpu talks of 1985, Indo-Lanka Accord of 1987, Political Party Conference (PPC) of 1989, peace talks between the Premadasa government and the LTTE in 1989/90, Talks between Chandrika Kumaratunga government and the LTTE in 1994/95, Liam Fox agreement and the peace initiatives with Norwegian mediation under President Kumaratunga, Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe and President Mahinda Rajapaksa were the main among them. So many constitutional reform packages were also put forward by the governmental and the nongovernmental entities for the resolution of the problem, only to be vetoed by one or the other major party to the problem.

Yet, even after 34 years of those efforts, we have not changed. The stakeholders are still debating over the very basic points pertaining to the problem -- whether there is an ethnic problem in the country, the aptness of devolution of power as a solution, the acceptability of federalism as a mode of governance etc. with no party willing to come down from their stance. Isnt it a bigger shame than the Black July?
An accomplice, of drug dealer Keselwatte Lasantha alias Lasa, was arrested by the Police Narcotic Bureau (PNB) with 201.1 grams of heroin worth Rs. 2.4 million at Bandaranayakapura in Welikada last night.

Police said the arrested suspect had been handled by Lasa who is currently in prison.

The suspect was identified as a 44-year-old, resident of Borella.

The suspect would be produced in the Hulftsdorp Magistrates Court today seeking a seven-day detention order.

The PNB officials conducted the raid on the instruction of DIG Sajeewa Medawatta and the direction of SSP T.C.A. Dhanapala.(Darshana Sanjeewa)
A teenage love story ended on a gloomy note when the young couple was summoned to the Yakkalamulla police station recently.

The 18-year-old pretty girl had given up schooling and sought a job as a sales assistant in a supermarket. Within days, another young guy joined the staff and before long these two became inseparable lovers.

The boy had insisted that his mother would not endorse this affair, but the girl was more adamant that they should marry at any cost and that she was willing to undergo any hardship with him.

Then came the day when they decided to elope.

After a few days, police however summoned the young couple to the Yakkalamulla police station, after the boys mother lodged a complaint.

During the inquiry at the police station, the boy revealed that he was only 16 years old and would have to wait for two more years to marry the heart-broken girl who was stunned by the disclosure.(J. K. L. Chaminda)
Im truly a MD Sauce fan! Its especially made for Sri Lankan taste-buds, just like my music! - Sunil Perera

Gypsies Sunil Perera, the perennial in the music scene, goes hand in hand with another perennial favourite  MD sauces.

MD has a delectable range of 10 different sauces to spice up any meal. The Tomato sauce is made to a special original recipe carefully crafted to appeal to the Sri Lankan palate with its rich tangy flavour that speaks of the highest percentage of fresh, juicy tomatoes. It makes cutlets, patties, rolls, hotdogs, savoury crepes and rotiwraps complete.

Theres an exciting range of Chilli sauces from MD including Original Chilli Sauce, Chilli Garlic, Extra Hot Chilli, Sweet Chilli that blend well with Chinese and Thai recipes as well as devilled chicken or beef and used as a seasoning for barbecues and stir fries.

MDs latest innovation for sauce range is the MD Green Chilli sauce which enhances the taste of Samosas and Indian snacks, it is a super seasoning for Indian cooking.

Then theres the irresistible MD range especially designed for gourmet food fans such as - Sweet & Sour, Sweet Chilli and Soya Sauce.

MD Tomato Ketchup is ideal for children because it is Not Hot at All and is a MUST with French Fries and Burgers.
I have my own personality and therefore I wasnt affected by the heat of the throne



I was employed at a level where I didnt have to accept orders



Gotabaya is a person who can identify the skills of each person and is an efficient manager



In addition there were many untruths revealed from opposition platforms about the Rajapaksa Government



To quote one example a letter given to Basil today will be made available even after 10 years when requested





Secretary to the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Lalith Weerathunga, in an interview with our sister paper Deshaya spoke about the charisma of the ousted president, the times during which the war raged and the controversial manner in which former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka was arrested. This marks the first time during the past four years that Weerathunga obliged to grant an interview to a newspaper.

Excerpts:

Q You were the head of the Government services and served as the Secretary to the President during a period of ten years. How do you feel when you reminiscence the past?

There is only one President for the whole country. Rajapaksa was my chief and he was a political leader. As his secretary I had to implement his political vision. Whatever happened I am happy even today because I was the Secretary of the Leader of the State who ended a war that ravaged the country for 30 years. I was one of those people who was very close to the war.

Q Before you became the Secretary to the President you were the additional secretary to the Late Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike. What is the difference between that era and the era of Rajapaksa?

Madam possessed a distinct personal strength and a leadership, which the public respected, and accepted. As the first woman Prime Minister of the world and as the leader of the party she aspired to be a firm leader. At that time the secretary to the Prime Minister was Hemasiri Fernando who created opportunities for me to work closely with Madam.

Q The post of Secretary to the President is considered as a position that feels the heat of the throne. Did you also have that feeling?

You should direct that question to my friends and the public. If I had behaved like having experienced that heat you wouldnt be speaking to me now. There is a saying that danger accompanies positions. I was born into a middleclass family in Matara. I have my own personality and therefore I wasnt affected by the heat of the throne. However I was a workaholic, with a yearning to complete the tasks well and on time.

Q The post of President is held by a human being and sometimes his decisions may be wrong. On such occasions did you point out the errors he made?

He never asked me to do anything that was wrong. But when there were shortcomings, with regard to policy decisions, I pointed them out in public. Later when the mistakes were pointed out to him he allowed me to do the correct thing. There were many among us who were close to him, who pointed out the shortcomings in the decisions that were taken.

Q Despite the advise you offered, didnt the President order you to follow his instructions?

Never. That is why we are a happy lot today. The batch of officers of the former Government was so good and no other Government had officers of that type. This fact is now even more evident.

First and foremost the credit should be given to Alok Prasad who was the Indian High Commissioner in Colombo then. The false beliefs that were dominating in India about the war were swept aside by him





Q Who were the officers within who advised the President?

Myself, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, P.B. Jayasundera, Gamini Senarath, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, H.M.G.S. Palihakkara, Palitha Kohona and D. Dissanayake.

Q When implementing the Presidents decisions were there occasions when things went wrong?

Certain difficult decisions were arrived at and implemented as ours. We always obliged him. He is a politician. He is the one who faced elections. He never forgot about this fact.

Q Do you infer that you ate curd and treacle using a razor?

To tell you the truth, he never put us in difficult situations.

Q During the recent past there were many allegations against the Rajapaksa Government with the main one being that the country was being ruled by the Rajapaksa family. The names of Shiranthi Rajapaksa, Namal, Yoshitha, Gotabhaya, and Basil were mentioned often.

Since the president was their relative there must have been some concerns. But they never interfered in our work and never asked us to do this and that. There were occasions when proposals were presented. But no orders were given as I was employed at a level where I didnt have to accept orders. It was a job where friendly overtures were made.

Q Many are of the opinion that Gotabaya Rajapaksa is a person who does what he thinks fit and is a tough guy. Your comments.

Gotabaya is a person who can identify the skills of each person and is an efficient manager who can make use of the talents and skills of such persons. Without the skills of such a person institutions like the state intelligence cannot be put into operation.

Q What can you say about Basil Rajapaksa?

He is a person who has done politics for a long time. There were instances when he took firm decisions. To quote one example a letter given to Basil today will be made available even after 10 years when requested. He had such organizing capabilities which I hadnt witnessed elsewhere.

Q During your time of service the crucial decisions to remove Mangala Samaraweera and Anura Bandaranaike from the Rajapaksa Cabinet were taken. How were these decisions taken?

There were serious diplomatic reasons behind the scene which compelled us to take these crucial decisions. Basil wasnt in agreement. But when President Rajapaksa takes a decision its final. We were only left with the task of implementing them.

Q Anura was the son of the founder of the SLFP and Mangala was the one who performed an enormous task to bring Mahinda Rajapaksa to power. Why were they treated in this manner?

I cannot discuss these matters with you publicly, which were known to President Rajapaksa. When he was on the march towards winning the war he never condoned the action of those who were trying to topple the Government. He had no mercy for them.

Q After the successes of the war some began to address Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Great King. Some ministers tied state officials to trees in public. Some powerful individuals organised night races in Colombo and Kandy. The Government was ridiculed by these actions. As state officials, who were practical, why did you fail to point out these lapses to the President?

We witnessed these lapses and agreed that these were things that should not have happened. We made our position clear on this and made alternate proposals. These may have been ignored due to other interventions. Though not a King people accepted Mahinda Rajapaksa as their king . They worshiped him even today as before. Look at the way he is welcomed wherever he goes. He never asks for such a reception, but people spontaneously gather to welcome him.

Q Then what about the Night Races and the tying up of a state official by a minister?

We voiced our disapproval against Night Races, but for some reason our opposition was heeded. We protested against the tying up of the official. Several other state officials joined me in protesting against this matter. State officials were angry with us for not taking any action regarding this matter.

Q Back then, despite the fury of the Government service employees, decisions were taken and work was carried out. At present there is an allegation that no decisions are being taken and no work is being done.Your comments?

Back then the Government looked after and safeguarded those in the Government service. Today this environment isnt there, hence many of them remain unprotected. At that time there were many who worked untiringly and earned the goodwill and the appreciation of the Leader of the State.

Q Is there any other reason other than insecurity that is causing this present situation?

At that time there was just one leader who possessed the Mahinda Chinthanaya. There were 624 activities incorporated therein. We had only to implement them. Today even those in the Government are questioning whether there is a vision like that?

Q Do you think it was correct that Sarath Fonseka, who contributed immensely towards winning the war in the North, should have been stripped of his position and later be arrested?

There may have been many security reasons to have him stripped of his position. The State Leader would have feared and harboured suspicion regarding the environment that Fonseka had built up in the Army at that time.

Q When you reminisce how the Commander of the Army was taken into custody and the actions that followed, what do you think?

I do not approve them. Even today I am not aware as to what made them do it. At that time the story that circulated was that it was the work of Gotabaya Rajapaksa. I know for certain that it was a complete canard.

Q What was the secret behind Mahinda Rajapaksa winning the war?

Mainly it was the political leadership, followed by the contributions made by the Defense Ministry and the Tri Forces.

Q In 1987 J.R. Jayewardene stopped the war in Wadamarachchi due to the Indian intervention. Can you mention about any such interventions made during the regime of Mahinda Rajapakse to stop the war?

There were influences made by people like then British Premier Gordon Brown, former US Secretary of state Hilary Clinton, Ban Ki Moon and foreign Ministers David Miliband and Bernard Kushner.

Q Whatever was said without India the war could not have been won.Your comments.

Their assistance was needed. When we met Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh to discuss this matter he was severely under stress and one time did not allow even a photograph of our meeting to be taken.





He ( Mahinda Rajapaksa)never asked me to do anything that was wrong. But when there were shortcomings, with regard to policy decisions, I pointed them out in public. Later when the mistakes were pointed out to him he allowed me to do the correct thing

Q Who was the leading Indian who offered support to win this war?

First and foremost the credit should be given to Alok Prasad who was the Indian High Commissioner in Colombo then. The false beliefs that were dominating in India about the war were swept aside by him. He was the one who apprised Mrs. Gandhi and Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh that if this war was not ended, India would be the next target. R.K. Narayanan, the Indian National Defense Consultant, and Foreign Secretary Sivashankar Menon offered us huge support. Narayanan had a great liking towards Gotabaya and Sarath Fonseka. The Indian Government helped us so much that during the final few days of the war some of the leaders left Delhi and continued extending us support by allowing us to finish the war.

Our President remained calm for about 15 seconds and said,  Mr. Minister please remember that Sri Lanka is no more a colony of England. I am finishing this war. You go and tell your western allies that I said so

Q Do you remember how during the final phase of the war the foreign Ministers of UK and France came in search of the then President and they having a decisive discussion in Embilipitiya under the shade of a tree on the bank of Chandrika Wewa?

Their message was similar to a threat. UK Foreign Minister Miliband had reportedly told President Rajapaksa that they had come all the way to convey a message from the rest of the world. The message was to immediately stop the massacre.

Q What was President Rajapaksas reply to them?

We were not prepared for it. Our President remained calm for about 15 seconds and said, Mr. Minister please remember that Sri Lanka is no more a colony of England. It ended in 1948. I am the President now elected by the people and my responsibility is towards the people of this country. I am finishing this war. You go and tell your western allies that I said so. The French Minister of Foreign Affairs Bernard Kouchner at that moment barged in saying, Mr. President you are a friend of ours Then in rebuttal our President said, I know very well who my friends are. When our people get killed by bombs exploded by the LTTE it is only a news for you, but remember it is a great heart pain for me.

Q President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was glorified by the people after winning the war, lost the 2015 Presidential Elections. Didnt you get a hint during the final two years of the previous Government that it was degenerating?

I did. We made our observations, but the powerful groups led them astray. In addition there were many untruths revealed from opposition platforms about the Rajapaksa Government. The people now realise these falsehoods. When he lost people felt as if they too had lost. How is that more than hundreds of people visit him daily even after his defeat.

Q There were several public servants, holding high posts during the Rajapaksa regime, who slowly walked away from Temple Trees when the results of the elections were being revealed. These individuals returned to accept high positions in the present Government. Dont you think that this is a great betrayal?

There were people belonging to such groups and its amazing how they came into occupy high posts once again. But I cannot name these persons.

Q If there is a change of Government will they join the new regime too.

It is better not to comment on that now.

Q Let us return to a very sensitive question. You are a past pupil of Matara Rahula Vidyalaya and Royal College Colombo. You were very knowledgeable on administrative regulations given your vast experiences. You know the financial regulations by heart. What made you make a slip and walk into the Welikada prison?

I view this incident in a neutral manner. I maintain that I acted correctly. As there is a case I dont wish to speak further. I only know of what I did therefore there are no regrets. Before this incident during the Rajapaksa Government a certain Minister of Foreign Affairs attempted to post me as the Ambassador in USA. I told President Rajapaksa what was told to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by Former First Field Marshal of India Sam Manexsho,  Madam you out of respect had proposed to me the post of Indian High Commissioner in Britain. Do you wish that I who commandeered an army of 1.5 million to be under your Foreign Secretary. In a similar manner I said that I would go home and not return to Government Service.

Q As the one time head of Government Services, what was your immediate response when the court gave its verdict sentencing you for rigorous imprisonment ?

It was a foregone conclusion and therefore I didnt take it seriously.

Q How long were you in prison?

One day in Welikada and 12 days at the Prison Hospital.

Q There is a saying that it is only during a situation like this that you are able to recognise your friends and enemies. What was your experience like?

We are human beings. During this incident there were many who came forward to help; some who were strangers. Among them were some who never sighted me when I was holding positions. There were some who were willing to pay the fines on my behalf. The only thing I have earned from Government service are human beings.

Q How did you feel when you wore the jumper inside the prison and partake meals served on zinc plates?

I accepted that with a smile. I then remembered the popular poem by Rudyard Kipling in IF which was translated by my father when I was a child. It goes like this,  Even if you walk with Kings or even with beggars if you hold your head high, then you are a man my son

Q It was heartening to note that at the time you held the post Secretary to the President, your wife was removed from the post she held at that time. What were your thoughts on this? Was it also a painful experience like your prison sentence?

She worked at the Securities and Exchange Commission as its Chairperson. Some of the decisions she had taken at that place were not favoured by many. She became a target of a conspiracy. Many asked me at that time whether I would resign. I told them that our duties differed. There were many who did not like her and what she did. I felt sorry, and if she had continued in that institution she would have reached a very high position. She has been a tower of strength to me during all my ups and downs in life.

Q You were at one time occupying a comfortable official quarters, but now you are compelled to stay in a rented out house and travel about in a small car. Arent you sad about this change of fate?

The vehicle I am using now is owned by a relative of mine who is the owner of Nimal Stores in Matara. He is paying the lease. Earlier, when I was in position, I travelled about in good vehicles. I travelled by bus to school. Though my parents were well educated they never possessed cars. Therefore cars, vehicles, Rolex watches arent ornaments to me.

Q You lost your positions along with all the facilities and ended up being jailed. When events of this nature take place some connect them with astrology. Didnt you check your horoscope?

I am now experiencing Senasuru Erashtakaya (Influence of Saturn). This brings much malefics. It was predicted that I would experience very hard times and that it would be a miracle if I escaped getting injured.

Q On hearing the seriousness of the malefic planetary effects I am eager to know the Zodiac sign under which you were born

It is Dhanu (Sagittarius). There is a serious malefic or Erashtakaya that would last for several years.
The Constitution making process is in limbo right now and the Yahapalana Government seems quite contended with the passing of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. Attempts to introduce a new Constitution has come under much criticism by many in the country. The Daily Mirror spoke to the main architect of the drafting of a new Constitution for Sri Lanka, Parliamentarian and Constitutional expert Dr. Jayampathi Wickramarathna on the issue.

They believe that Sri Lanka must be in the control of the Sinhala Buddhists. There is no single example in the world where part of a country has used devolved power to break away.



The Executive President can take over all or part of the functions of a Provincial Council under the proposed Constitutional arrangement or ultimately dissolve the Council. So, whats more?



There is no concept called Executive Prime Minister - nowhere in the world. It is Parliament which will exercise executive power through the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Q What is the progress that has been made in drafting a new Constitution by now?

At the second sitting of the Constitutional Assembly held on May 5, 2016 six Sub-Committees were appointed to assist the Steering Committee in its mandate of drafting a constitutional proposal.

The six sub-committees were tasked to discuss and make proposals on Fundamental Rights, The Judiciary, Law and Order, Public Finance, Public Service and Centre  Periphery Relations.

Each Sub -Committee consisted of 11 members, including the Chairman, as resolved by the Steering Committee at its sitting on May 04, 2016 and subsequently approved by the Constitutional Assembly. The appointment of members to the Sub-Committees was done in an equitable manner taking into consideration party representations within Parliament, and was based on nominations made by political parties. The six Chairmen were appointed from among the members selected to the Sub-Committees and was based on considerations of seniority.

The Expert Panel has been working tirelessly and on last 18th met once again and requested for two more weeks. I must say that the Expert Panel has only a Zero Draft or Non Paper right now before them for the purpose of facilitating future talks.





The Sub-Committees were mandated to develop constitutional principles for consideration of the Steering Committee in respect of the designated subject areas. The Sub-Committees functioned independently in determining the manner in which sittings were organized, and were at liberty to engage expertise and to invite representations. The deliberations before the six Sub-Committees were consultative and interactive in nature and included shared experiences and insights on various aspects of the subject matter discussions.

The six sub-committees submitted their reports in the end of September, 2017 to the Constitutional Assembly and as expected different political parties had aired their different views in these reports.

I must admit that after the submission of sub committee reports, the progress on Constitution making process has not been fast tracked. The local government polls and the No-Confidence Motion against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also played a role to slow the progress.

However, in May 2018, the Panel of Experts of the Constitutional Assembly requested to prepare a document  an initial legal draft  based on proposals of the six sub committees that includes various views expressed by various political parties.

The Expert Panel has been working tirelessly and on last 18th met once again and requested two more weeks and was given. I must say that the Expert Panel has only a Zero Draft or Non Paper right now before them for the purpose of facilitating future talks.

Q One of the major challenges before you is to come up with a basic Constitutional Policy that could garner the support of a two thirds majority in Parliament and political parties, clergy and Maha Sangha in particular. Many who oppose the new Constitution say that you are in a move to divide the country. How are you going to confront this uphill task?

Only a very small section of people say there is an attempt to divide the country. A vast majority of Tamils accept that Sri Lanka must continue to remain as an undivided and indivisible country. The TNA also is in that position. The Federal Party, which is the main constitutional partner of the TNA was taken to the Supreme Court alleging that they were in a move to divide the country. The Supreme Court having gone through all materials put before it rejected that application. A few of those who allege that there is an attempt to divide the country through devolution are Sinhala Buddhist supremacists.

The Interim Report of the Steering Committee has very clearly said that Sri Lanka should remain as an undivided, free, sovereign, independent and democratic socialist republic. There should be constitutional provisions to prevent cessation that people enjoy sovereignty as a whole. The power to change the Constitution shall remain with the central legislature and people of Sri Lanka.





They believe that Sri Lanka must be in the control of the Sinhala Buddhists. There is no single example in the world where part of a country has used devolved power to break away. In Scotland in the UK power has been drastically devolved not because of devolution alone but because of territorial reasons. In Catalonia, the cry to break away from Spain has got heightened because the central Spanish authorities have been insensitive to Catalonian concerns and complaints at the center has been very inflexible. Like in Sri Lanka, the Central Government in Spain has found various ways and means to frustrate devolution. But if it is even a small part of Sri Lanka, general thinking is that devolution may lead to cessation and as such we must address that concern. The Interim Report of the Steering Committee has very clearly said that Sri Lanka should remain as an undivided, free, sovereign, independent and democratic socialist republic. There should be constitutional provisions to prevent cessation that people enjoy sovereignty as a whole. The power to change the Constitution shall remain with the central legislature and people of Sri Lanka.

The Provincial Councils have no role in Constitution making. So, it is very clear that Sri Lanka will continue to be a unitary state. In March, 1990 when the Chief Minister of North-East Vardharaja Perumal made his ill advised statement to declare Unilateral Independence in North East, President Premadasa wanted to dissolve the North-East Provincial Council. But the 13th Amendment did not have such provisions, and special laws had to be introduced. However, it was not a Constitutional amendment. The Steering Committee has in its report proposed that the Executive President should have the power to intervene in a province when there is a clear danger to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country. The Executive President can take over all or part of the functions of a Provincial Council under the proposed Constitutional arrangement or ultimately dissolve the Council. So, whats more?

I must say the best proposal for meaningful power devolution came from 7 Chief Ministers of the South. Their proposals are based on 30 years of experience. They have made very good suggestions and all 7 Chief Ministers are from the SLFP.

But I am sorry to say that the SLFPs own proposals contained in the report dont go that far although they are not opposed to devolution.

Only a very small section of people say there is an attempt to divide the country. A vast majority of Tamils accept that Sri Lanka must continue to remain as an undivided and indivisible country. The TNA also is in that position. Only a very small section of people say there is an attempt to divide the country. A vast majority of Tamils accept that Sri Lanka must continue to remain as an undivided and indivisible country. The TNA also is in that position.



A few of those who allege that there is an attempt to divide the country through devolution are Sinhala Buddhist supremacists.



Provincial Councils have no role in Constitution making. So, it is very clear that Sri Lanka will continue to be a unitary state.

Q Is it going to be a federal system of governance, unitary state, confederation or a union of regions?

It is certainly a unitary state with meaningful devolution. I speak for my party, the United Left Front and LSSP majority group. If I was asked to sum up the aspirations of the people on January 8, 2015, I would say Democracy. So, you want a democratic Constitution.

Development must not be exclusively centric. The President may be given certain powers in relation to PCs. But the President may be elected by Parliament. Colvin R De Silva once said that You must never have 2 powers at the apex of the state which act as counter-force to each other.

The Bill of Rights, brought afresh to the proposed draft includes not only political rights but social, economic, cultural, women and childrens rights, and that is the trend world wide.

Q The Constitution and the electoral system are closely linked components in a parliamentary democracy. The Proportional Representation (PR) Voting system has come under a lot of criticism from almost all quarters. To add insult to injury, the newly introduced local government electoral system under which the February local government polls were conducted has also been criticized by voters, political parties, members of the local government bodies and many others. How are you going to tackle this problem?

We are for a new electoral system. A mixed system based on PR and First Past the Post System. The Manape System must come to an end.

Development must not be exclusively centric. The President may be given certain powers in relation to PCs. But the President may be elected by Parliament. Colvin R De Silva once said that You must never have 2 powers at the apex of the state which act as counter-force to each other.

Q Sri Lankans will in future have as their Head of State a more powerful President or a President weakened further or a ceremonial Head of State with a Prime Minister with executive powers?

We dont want power to be centralized in one person or parliament without safeguards. The Power is to the Centre and Province. The subjects of National Security, Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity remain with the centre. The centre should have the power to make National Policy and Standard on all subjects, but the centre must not take back devolved power in the guise of national policy.

There is no concept called Executive Prime Minister - nowhere in the world. It is Parliament which will exercise executive power through the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The Prime Minister will have to go home at any moment if he loses confidence of Parliament.

Q The two party rule, the unity government or so called Yahapalana Government has been proved a flop. Do you agree?

Yes, to some extent. The 19th Amendment to the Constitution has certain flaws because we were not able to fulfil the aspirations of people and fully abolish the Executive Presidency for which President Maithripala Sirisena was voted on January 8th, 2015. That was because the government did not have a simple majority, let alone a 2/3 majority. Anyway it is a new experience for the two parties. Unfortunately, our political culture does not support such arrangements because both parties are looking forward to the next election.

We dont want power to be centralized in one person or parliament without safeguards. The Power is to the Centre and Province. The subjects of National Security, Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity remain with the centre. The centre should have the power to make National Policy and Standard on all subjects, but the centre must not take back devolved power in the guise of national policy.

Q Are you confident that the new Constitution could be introduced before 2020?

The 10 experts nominated by the Steering Committee and drawn from various professions like engineering, legal, political and academia, with different backgrounds are working on an initial draft based on interim report and 6 sub committee reports which can also be called as a Zero Document or Non Paper to facilitate further discussion. Two of them have already submitted their individual reports.

I must categorically say that Mr. Sumanthiran or myself are not involved in the expert committee work as they work independently, though the joint opposition tries to show a different picture.

The Steering Committee has decided to prepare a final report and we have no involvement in that process either and we have explained this in Parliament last week. The ball is in their court now.
To celebrate Qatar Airways recent launch of direct seasonal service to the popular Greek island of Mykonos, the award-winning airline and the Myconian Collection Hotels & Resorts are offering a chance to win two Economy Class round-trip tickets to Mykonos, as well as a luxurious three-night stay at Myconian Collection Hotels & Resorts.

Qatar Airways commenced direct seasonal service to the island of Mykonos on 30 May 2018, making it the third Greek destination on Qatar Airways rapidly expanding network. Mykonos, an ideal destination for holidaymakers, is renowned for its breathtaking natural beauty and vibrant atmosphere. The Myconian Collection Hotels & Resorts is a family-owned group of nine luxury hotels, offering visitors to Mykonos a refined level of hospitality.

To enter, participants need to simply upload their favourite picture of Mykonos between 22 July and 2 August 2018 on Instagram or Facebook and tag @qatarairways and @myconiancollectionhotels, with the hashtags #MykonosTogether and #MyconianCollection. The winner will receive two Economy Class round-trip tickets from the winners nearest Qatar Airways gateway to Mykonos, to be used in September 2018.

In addition to the round-trip tickets, the lucky winner will also receive a three-night accommodation package for two people at the Myconian Collection Hotels & Resorts, where they may immerse themselves in magnificent Aegean views, sandy beaches with crystal clear waters, superb spas, and five-star gourmet restaurants.

Residents of countries eligible to participate in this global promotion include Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Australia, Qatar, India, Sri Lanka, China and Malaysia.

Qatar Airways currently operates four weekly seasonal flights to Mykonos International Airport until 14 October 2018, with an Airbus A320, featuring 12 seats in Business Class and 132 seats in Economy Class.

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Government can easily exist without laws, but the law cannot exist without government.

~Bertrand Russell

We are all in the gutter, so said Oscar Wilde. It may well be a fact that Wilde has a lot of company from a great number of Sri Lankans surrounding him in that stinking gutter. The gutter is filled with snakes of deceit; its decrepit condition is a birthplace for all infectious diseases; its floor is crumbling under the very feet of those who dwell in it as their chosen abode; its walls are dilapidated and cringing and threatening to engulf its inhabitants.

Whichever direction its inhabitants gaze, despair and depression reign as the only reality. A comical display of a pathetic bunch of populace, one climbing over the other while others are too preoccupied with our national pastime, pulling the ones who appear to be gaining ground to real ground, is fast reaching its final Act. A catastrophic tragedy might well be that final Act, peaking to a crescendo of wailing and desperate pleading of a miserable assembly of men and women.

Such is a macabre manifestation of a people who have willingly chosen to substitute the Rule of Law with the Law of Rule.

An agonizing nation, attempting to rise from the ashes of a thirty-year-old war, never trying to conceal their displeasure with the obvious, corruption to an uncontrollable extent, petty nationalism replacing genuine patriotism and pathological swindling being accepted as the standard procedure, invariably finds herself in a living hell such as the First Circle as described in the novel of the same name, First Circle, by Nobel laureate Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

The inherent dignity in each human being living in the land was obliterated and shaded in unrecognizable colours so as to classify them as UNP, SLFP, and LSSP etc. Politicians, the demigods of the post-Independence era, have taken hold of the collective mindset of a people; their bigoted policy positions, their extreme social and cultural beliefs and their inexhaustible avarice and other mundane luxuries have subordinated the needs and necessities of a subject people.

A culture that boasted about the story of a damsel traversing from the Southern tip of the country to Northern peninsula without being subjected to any form of waylaying or harassment is now immersed in an obscene orgy of corruption

This tragic transformation which has produced some drastic social and cultural consequences is as manifestly apparent as daylight each morning.

An ancient culture that boasted about the story of a damsel traversing from the Southern tip of the country to Northern peninsula without being subjected to any form of waylaying or harassment is now immersed in an obscene orgy of corruption and disobedience to traditional values.

Politicians and, they alone, should bear the unpleasant burden of that truth.

The truth that the politicians of all ages, barring a scarce few, from the dawn of the Twentieth Century to the present day, have never learnt the difficult skill of constraining the excesses of their own greed for more money and power and it is, for any generation, young or old, hard to live with that guilt in their conscience.

Yet, after all these reasonable reasoning, the Law of Rule seems to have overwhelmed the Rule of Law.

The subjugation of the values that have been passed down the generations of our ancestors coupled with worshipping at the temples of commission agents and corruption-merchants should not be tolerated as the norm. The more apathetic a populace looks and behaves, the more hardships and anguish they will suffer.

Such stark truths may not appeal to the already-subjugated, but ignorance of the Rule of Law which is the most dynamic, fundamental and dispassionate principle that separates the human being from other animals, is no excuse for any politician to subject his voters to these abject levels of deceit and treachery.

As to exactly when this phenomenon of replacing the Rule of Law by the Law of Rule did begin to occur is as faint as the mist that is evaporating with each passing minute on a bright sunny morning. The opening up of the economy and its attendant excesses surely have caused many alien concepts to be born and the real goods and services that reached our shores have expanded not only the scope of development they promised, they created in our collective mindset a nagging desire for more and more at the least possible cost. Colour television, three-wheelers, and high-rise buildings were among all these direct effects of the opening of the economy.

Yet, when we were slaves to a closed economy, the revolting hardships and sufferings that generation of Sri Lankans had to endure are no figments of imagination.

Those hardships were real and excruciating, even to describe, leave alone suffer. At the time, from 1970 to 1980, what reigned was not only excessive dearth of goods and services, the Law of Rule, manned and exorcised by Felix Dias Bandaranaike, with the full blessings of the then Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike, also played more than a significant role in subjugating a people to exorbitant lengths and bredths in order for one single family to rule.

The concentration of political power in one person or one family is not only dangerous in the long run, it is even more so in the corruption of the systems and processes of social and economic movement of the country. We witnessed the immensely injurious effects of that Law of Rule in the 70 to 77 period and it was even more evident in the 2005 to 2014 period. Ironically in both these phases political development of Sri Lanka, she was ruled, although democratically elected, by one single family- Bandaranaikes and Rajapaksas respectively. Accumulation of wealth during these epochs was totally centred on the Family and its closest henchmen and women. During the Bandaranaike period, 70 to 77, it was a closed economy and those who were close to the Family only gained any access to wealth-making projects and programmes. The machinations of state-capitalism helped those who were close to the Family.





A comical display of a pathetic bunch of populace, one climbing over the other while others are too preoccupied with our national pastime, pulling the ones who appear to be gaining ground to real ground





However, during the 2005 to 2015 period, what was in the process was crony capitalism during the operation of which, once again who was close to the Family only gained access and ultimate goodies from Family-sponsored projects and programs. Nevertheless, this state or Family-sponsored capitalism generated sufficient wealth for the Family as well as its henchmen to boast of a growing economy. Those who were not academically or professionally qualified, yet being siblings of King Rajapaksa, overnight turned into deliverers of results thanks mainly to the fact that more than 65% of the annual budgetary appropriations were assigned to these two siblings.

They are nothing but political scavengers of the Twenty-First Century. For them the Rule of Law was of no material value. Assigned the Ministry of Defence to one and the Ministry of Economic Development to the other, they literally ran riot. White van syndrome, murder and insufferable harassment to members of the Fourth Estate, suppression of legitimate protesters, and murder of friends of their lovers were all among the alleged crimes committed during this Family Rule.

On the other hand, 10% to 30% commission accumulations even before a contract was awarded to their friends in the commercial field, First Ladys brother running berserk in SriLankan Airline, sons making a mockery of democratic government and allegedly running wild in nightclubs and other places where erotic desires are fulfilled, conducted their own Law of Rule.





It remains one of the most inspiring quotations of all time. We may all find our own struggles excruciatingly painful and depressing, yet if we focus our energies towards one single goal- the Rule of Law- we might achieve it someday





What has followed their dramatic fall from power is a climate in which these political scavengers try to reap the harvest of a vicious and malignant campaign against the current Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremasinghe who is as guilty of providing his opponents with the fodder by way of the now infamous Bond-Scam scandal. Yet there is no evidence of the Law of Rule being present within the confines of the current regime. Of course, there are a sufficient number of rumours and unproven allegations against some Ministers, including the Prime Minister, and other members of the coalition government.

But such allegations and the comparable amounts of corruption evaporate when taken into comparison with those committed by the Rajapaksa regime. If such allegations reach the levels of the past regime, rest assured, this columnist would be among the first to criticize and castigate the wrong-doers. The quotation by Oscar Wilde with which I commenced this column runs thus: We are all in the Gutter but some of us are looking at the Stars.

It remains one of the most inspiring quotations of all time. We may all find our own struggles excruciatingly painful and depressing, yet if we focus our energies towards one single goal- the Rule of Law- we might achieve it someday.

The writer can be contacted at vishwamithra1984@gmail.com
Reaffirming its commitment to give back to society, Sampath Bankrecently donated a critically needed ventilator to the National Hospital of Sri Lanka. The donation was made as part of their Hope for a Life initiative and marks the second phase in a series of planned strategic activities .The aim of the initiative is to provide some relief to the overburdened public healthcare system in Sri Lanka.

We are delighted to have Sampath Bank reiterate its commitment to public health and well-being with this lifesaving donation, said Dr. Himashi Kularatne, Senior Consultant Neurosurgeon, National Hospital. These machines are invaluable in saving patient lives and we were in need of one for some time. Understanding our need and the great positive effect it would have on patient care, Sampath Bank stepped in to endow the National Hospital with a ventilator. We are thankful to them and their continued dedication to bettering the life of every Sri Lankan.

Ventilators assist people with breathing when they are unable to do so themselves which in the ICU can be a life or death situation.

We are proud to be able to make this donation to the National Hospital and know that it will enhance their ability to save and care for lives. As a national bank our responsibility is to the people and we believe that our continuing partnership with the National Hospital has greatly benefited the people of Sri Lanka, said Aruna Jayasekera, Group Chief Human Resource Officer, Sampath Bank PLC.Through our Hope for a Life initiative we continue to look for ways to elevate the standards of Sri Lankas health sector and address some of its most critical issues.

As part of the Hope for a Life initiative Sampath Bank had previously donated a fully-fledged Neuro Navigation System to the National Hospital at a cost of Rs. 49.7 million. This was the first such system donated to a Government hospital by the private sector. It helps neuro surgeons to view the interiors of the brain accurately and identify the precise locations where nerve related surgeries should be performed. It also makes the surgery faster and less complicated.

The Bank had also undertaken a landscaping project at the National Hospital with the aim of increasing the mental wellbeing of patients. Trees and flora were planted over an acre of land thus revamping the look and feel of the hospital. This is expected to provide patients with a sense of calm during their time at the hospital. In addition, Sampath Bank also installed an ATM at the entrance of the Emergency Unit to provide medical staff, patients and visitors with access to banking facilities thereby providing them with greater convenience and reducing any added stress.

Established in 1987 Sampath Bank has become a state-of-the-art financial institution that continues to be a market leader today thanks to their constant innovation and customer focused approach to business. Their unique tailor-made solutions, superior services and convenience of access have allowed Sampath Bank to further differentiate themselves from the competition and make them the bank of choice for many in Sri Lanka.
History repeats itself; first as tragedy and second as farce! -

Karl Marx

As yet another July passes by, the spectre of the Black July haunts the minds; the pogrom that took place in July1983. Penning the very first installment of this column; exactly a year ago, I dedicated it to the memory of those victims of the dreaded Black July, who received neither justice, apology nor compensation. For some, it is, but just a fading memory; some say that such dark passages of history are best left to be forgotten rather than being whipped up thus rubbing salt to the wound. I agree, to a certain extent; but not entirely.

They are best forgotten in a context of little likelihood of repetition or re-occurrence. They are best forgotten if the two communities are in perfect harmony and such reminiscence nothing but an affront to the respective ethnic psyches. But they are not best forgotten, if we seem to be wading across a highly treacherous stretch of troubled waters in terms of ethnic relationships between the majority and the minorities, the Tamils in particular. The educative value of such incidents are immeasurable.

Lessons not learned

Civilized people learn from history. Last year, when I wrote that article, no State Minister had openly invited LTTE to be revived in order to afford safety to children in the North. When I wrote my article, no Eelam map had been paraded in public in religious festivals; no leading monk had invited a Hitler type leader, with zero ethnic tolerance, to take reins of the country.

A lot of water has gushed under the Kelani Bridge since I wrote that article. The ethno-religious political landscape has turned darker by several hues, since then.

At that time the Sinhala polity was not sliding towards the lure of an ethno-religious despot with the aegis of the Maha Sangha. 13 A was under fire alright, but not seen as demonic as it is now by all and sundry. More importantly the Constitutional Amendments, the flagship project of the Yahapalanaya government was in full sway even to the extent of including proposals for making the Sri Lankan state a secular one. Constitutional amendments and efforts at reconciliation are now but the exclusive domain of NGO s and so called traitors. Isnt it?

Winds of change for the worse

All has changed. The TNA is unequivocal in that they feel hard done by the government, which in their mind is the government of the South. We can charge, dismiss, sue or even crucify former State Minister Vijayakala Maheswaran for her alleged pro-Tiger rhetoric. After all, if Dr. Deepika Udugama is to be met with death penalty, according to a retired military officer, what more to be said about Vijayakala? The three main national leaders are in a breakneck race to pamper the chauvinistic sentiment in the south with the upcoming electoral battles in mind. They have no important task than going to temples, meeting monks and showing their allegiance with what is now grossly misunderstood as Buddhism.

It was none other than Prabhakaran, who instructed the suicide carders who came to Colombo, that the Sinhalese had very short memories. Well, he got that dead right, didnt he? We have already forgotten that we have just wriggled out of a 30-year long civil war, unbelievable suffering, unimaginable losses and irreparable damage to our national psyche.

The peace that dawned, albeit through bloodshed, is precious. Or at least, it should be! There is no choice for the three communities but to live in peace.

Three decades have passed us by sending our youth (economically poor) to be slaughtered in palm groves and them sending theirs, even teenagers (yet again poor) to blow themselves up in highways. The toll need not be inexhaustible. The poor youth, too deserve to live!

Reconciliation....? Are you kidding?

Why then is the term reconciliation still a figment of the imagination and not yet a reality? Why does it raise eyebrows in the Sinhala South every time it is uttered? Why does it remain a prerogative of foreign nationals to emphasize the importance of this word and not locals.? Why are we so reluctant to acknowledge the fact that the Tamils of the North too has a right to lead a peaceful and civilian life rather than under watchful eyes of the military and intelligence?

On the other hand why arent the Tamil leaders, even now unable to comprehend the dynamics of ethnic relations in a country where 2/3 of the population are from the majority and that you need to take cognizance of that fact rather than over estimating their worth just because an electoral system allows them a disproportionately bloated representation in Parliament. Why are they oblivious to the danger that a revival, not necessarily of the LTTE, but of the Tamil militant sentiment in general could bring unbearable suffering and destruction yet again on themselves and their charge?

Until and unless we revisit these issues in a sensible manner, it is imperative to keep reminding ourselves of the lessons that 1983 Black July hold. Never forget that history repeats itself and moves in circles.

It is an understatement to say the situation is combustible between the two communities concerned. Any one who visits the North could not but feel the ethnic tension that heaves in the background. The response Vijayakala got from the broad masses of Tamils for her perceived bravery is alarming. I have little doubt cometh the next election , she will score a record breaking return for her electorate.

The same with the South

There is already speculation on Hitler-like figures to take reins; it would not only be drug peddlers and the underworld kingpins at the receiving end if that becomes a reality. A ethnic tolerance is fated to be a sure victim of such an all right racist victory; its heal will rise the already lurking Tamil extremist sentiment, thus completing yet another cycle of ethnic violence.

The blame game and finger pointing between the North and the South, leads nowhere; if at all, it does towards self annihilation! We rarely had leaders with vision beyond the obvious and immediate next election; to resist the lure of sacrificing all possibilities of genuine reconciliation and long lasting co existence for cheap electoral success. The recent Sinhala-Muslim riots in the Central Province, is nothing but a stark reminder of how combustible ethnic relations are in this country.

Blackness never fades

We do need to remember Black July; not with a sense of vengeance or alternately , with the false complacency that that type of era is well past us. But grasping with every ounce of our intelligence, that for our mere survival, if not for advancement as a nation, we cannot afford to have a repetition, in whatever shape or size.

In that sense, we find ourselves at ground zero; Square One! The Blackness of July has not faded with time as some would love to believe and conveniently declare.

And I would keep on writing about the Black July year, after year, after year....
Merrill Perera

Renowned journalist Merrill Perera, who had been in the media field for over 40 years, started his carrier as a cub reporter at Lake House in 1963. Later he served Sun Group and Upali Newspapers Pvt LTD as a journalist. Merrill was promoted as Editor-in-Chief of Divaina, an Upali Newspapers product, by 2000.

He was a leading figure in the field of journalism for about half century and has written several books on journalism as well.

Merrill, who commands high recognition as a veteran in the media field, has toured many countries.

However it is sad that Merrill has been incapacitated by illness since 2005. He is in this condition due to a slipped disk he suffered

Giants in the media field, who held the post of Editor-in-Chief of leading newspapers in both Sinhala and English, like D. F. Kariyakarawana, Dharmapala Wettasinghe, Edmond Ranasinghe, Rex De Silva and Gamini Weerakoon had a high regard for him.

A special innovative feature introduced by him was to carry pictures with a width of 8 columns and accompanied by equally large headlines in the front page of the newspaper in case of natural disasters like floods, landmines or claymore explosions, during the war. This is a popular practice followed by newspapers today.

However it is sad that Merrill has been incapacitated by illness since 2005. He is in this condition due to a slipped disk he suffered as a result of sitting for long hours at office. He was forced to spend his EPF funds to obtain treatment at hospitals like Sri Jayewardenepura and Nawaloka. He even received medication at Apollo in India and Mt. Elizabeth in Singapore. Merrill who was subject to several surgical operations showed signs of recovery, but he was paralyzed afterwards.

Contributions received from the Presidents fund for his treatment during the tenure of President Mahinda Rajapaksa were used to obtain treatment at hospitals in Sri Lanka and abroad.

At present he is spending his life as an invalid, all alone in his small house in Panadura.

He spends the day reading his books repeatedly. He specially checks his bank passbook to find whether any sympathizer has made a contribution, generous acts which help him keep his head high during this troubled time.

Those who wish to help him financially can do so by making a contribution to A/C 104753754756 which is maintained at Sampath Bank under his name. Merrill can be reached on his mobile phone (0766 227263)
Police Organized Crimes Division has recorded a statement from former state minister Vijayakala Maheswaran this evening over a speech made by her calling for the resurgence of the LTTE.

STF Commandant, Senior DIG M.R. Latheef told Daily Mirror that she was questioned nearly four hours at her residence in Jaffna.

Ms Maheswaran had recently said at a public event in Jaffna that there was a huge need of reorganization of the LTTE in the North and East.

She later resigned from her ministerial portfolio after a huge outcry over her remarks from people all over the country. (Darshana Sanjeewa)
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Washington Sea Grant

Dr. W. Russell Callender was named director of Washington Sea Grant. Callender has more than 25 years of science, policy and management experience, including 18 years at NOAA and several years as assistant director of Virginia Sea Grant. He will join Washington Sea Grant in September. Based at the University of Washington, the program provides marine research, outreach and education services.




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SEATTLE  A small apartment building at 1410 E. Howell St. has sold for $3.6 million, according to King County records. The seller was E Howell St LLC, which acquired the property in 2008 for almost $1.4 million.

The buyer was BIG 1410 LLC, which is associated with a private family investment group in Bellevue.





. . .
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SEATTLE  A warehouse at 1264 S. King St. has sold for $3.3 million, according to King County records. The seller was TeGantvoort Land LLC, which acquired the property in 1985 for $250,000.

The buyer was H&L-King LLC, which is associated with a private investor with a Seattle residential address.





. . .
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MANZANITA, Ore. (AP)  A property owner fined $1.8 million for operating a vacation rental without a license is suing the Oregon coastal city of Manzanita.

The Daily Astorian reports that Sandra Petersen, of Washington state, sued last month in federal court in Portland to challenge the penalty as excessive and unconstitutional.





. . .
On Sunday, Eli Savit posted an essay here at Eclectablog outlining why Bill Schuette  Michigans own version of the odious Ken Cuccinelli  was out of line telling the states Civil Rights Commission that they couldnt enforce their policy of including gender identity and sexual orientation as a protected class of citizens.

Yesterday, the Civil Rights Commission met to discuss their path forward after his pronouncement was issued. Their decision was nothing short of a smack down of Schuette who is running for governor of Michigan:

[T]he commission on Monday decided to ignore Schuettes decision Friday and directed the Michigan Department of Civil Rights to continue investigating complaints of sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination. The commission is an independent, constitutionally created and establish body and the department will continue to follow its direction, Department of Civil Rights Director Agustin V. Arbulu said in a statement. The commission is not bound by the opinion of the attorney general, Arbulu said. The only recourse is for the courts to determine if issuing the interpretive statement was within the scope of the commissions authority, and that is the appropriate venue for resolving this issue.

In other words, Eli was 100% correct in his analysis and Michigan is in very good hands with most of the current members of the Commission (with the notable exception of anti-gay pastor Bishop Ira Combs Jr., of course.)

Meanwhile, Schuettes primary opponent, current Lt. Governor Brian Calley, issued a bit of a smack down himself:

Calley, who used the Michigan Freedom of Information Act to obtain Schuettes daily calendar from when Schuette took office in 2011 to July of this year, calculated that Schuette worked only 104 full eight-hour days during that nearly eight-year period. About half the days are 90 minutes or less, Calley said at a news conference at his campaign headquarters in downtown Lansing. I think this is unprecedented. I cant imagine another public official having a work schedule this blank.

Of course, the irony here is that Calley got himself a degree at Harvard University while working full time for the state, traveling back and forth to attend weekly classes in Massachusetts while he was supposed to be helping run the state.

Michigan Democratic Party Chair Brandon Dillon issued the following statement regarding the Calley-Schuette kerfuffle:

Were glad Bill Schuette and Brian Calley are finally recognizing that neither of them have been doing their jobs. Of course, you dont need to look any further than our declining schools, crumbling roads, and ongoing water crisis to know Republicans in Lansing have been a failure for the past 8 years.

LOL.
Emerson College released a poll of the Michigan gubernatorial race this week and, with the primary just two weeks from today, its looking increasingly like it will turn out as expected with former Senate Democratic Leader Gretchen Whitmer facing off against our rabid conservative ideologue and Attorney General Bill Schuette:

Democratic Primary

Whitmer 39

Thanedar 17

El-Sayed 12

Republican Primary

Schuette 35

Calley 13

General Election

Whitmer 43

Schuette 36

Not only is Whitmer looking solid for the general election with a seven point advantage, if you look only at very likely voters, Whitmer leads Schuette by a whopping 13 points.

A couple of comments here. First, Emerson College is a well-respected polling group. FiveThirtyEight has them as the second most polls to trust. That, combined with how closely this mirrors the last poll in this race, suggests that these leads are real.

Second, Abdul El-Sayeds dismal performance is being rebutted by this supporters who say they arent being polled because they dont use landlines. This is a valid argument and it is true that the Emerson College poll was a combination of online polling and IVR (interactive voice response phone calls to landlines only) polling. However, these factors are taken into account in FiveThirtyEights ranking so the argument may not be as accurate as they claim. Well know two weeks from now.

In the meantime, El-Sayed continues his efforts to demonize Whitmer as a corporate shill, beholden to big money interests like Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan whose employees raised money for her. A recent ad on her behalf run by the Super PAC Build a Better Michigan was criticized as coming from dark money sources, an accusation bolstered by the fact that they did not submit their donor list electronically. The managers of the Super PAC say it was due to a technical snafu, a claim El-Sayeds supporters called BS on since it meant the donors wouldnt be made public until after the primary. However, after pressure from Jonathan Oosting at The Detroit News and others  along with multiple fundraising emails from the El-Sayed campaign which continued to speculate that she was bought and paid for by Big Business  the Super PAC released their donor list yesterday. Turns out that, despite the attacks from her opponents, the vast majority of her money came from labor unions, Democratic groups, and progressive groups like Emilys List.

If I were a conspiracy theorist, Id wonder if their delay was intentional, designed to work El-Sayeds supporters into a lather and lure them out to the end of the shes a corporate shill! branch, only to quietly saw the branch off behind them when the donor list was finally revealed.

At any rate, El-Sayeds negative campaign approach, one he has consistently clung to since early this year, appears to be falling flat, aided and abetted by the bizarroland campaign of Shri Thanedar who is trying to brand himself as the most progressive candidate despite no evidence whatsoever of this in his past. The irony here is that, despite the attacks on her progressive bona fides, Whitmer was once feared to be too progressive to run for governor.

I find it increasingly difficult to understand the endgame here. If Whitmer DOES clinch the primary, what will El-Sayed tell his followers? Time to support the woman I have told you is an evil, corporate shill for the past year? The general election is going to be tight. We are going to need ALL progressives pulling the rope in the same direction and I fear this wont happen thanks to his highly negative campaign. The same can be said of Thanedar and his supporters, too, of course (though I question just how many actual supporters Thanedar really has.)

For his part, Thanedar has now turned his sights on Whitmer and has sent out at least two large mailers in the past week, characterizing her as bathing in money from BCBS, despite the fact that it isnt actually true. One of the mailers shows her being showered in paper money, another ironic idea given that Thanedar has put at least $6 million of his own money into his campaign and seems to be raising little from anyone else.

I, for one, will be VERY glad when this primary is over.

[CC photo credit: Ville Oksanen | Flickr]
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Aviagen sponsors PIX/AMC Australia event



Press release



During June 3-5, Aviagen participated as a major sponsor of the Poultry Information Exchange (PIX) and Australasian Milling Conference (AMC) in Queensland, Australia.







This year's show theme was "Supply Chain Opportunities - Farmers to Consumers," and Aviagen demonstrated its critical role in providing quality, high-performance broiler breeding stock to the global poultry supply chain. Aviagen's Ross brand is popular throughout Australia for high meat yield, feed efficiency and strong livability.



Sharing latest management advice



Visitors were greeted by members of Aviagen's Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) team, and Aviagen Ventilation Specialist Bernard Green and Incubation Specialist Eddy Van Lierde led a number of informative workshops. The workshops focused on topics essential to bird health, welfare and performance, offering important environmental and management advice.



Ross Clubs reward top performance



Aviagen also took the opportunity at the show to welcome new members to the prestigious Ross Clubs. Membership is awarded to poultry producers who, through skillful husbandry and dedication, have achieved the highest performance with their Ross broiler breeders. Acceptance is based on the Performance Index Factor (PIF) score of poultry flocks. (The PIF is equivalent to the European Production Efficiency Factor (EPEF).)



The Ross 400 Club, which requires PIF scores of 400 or greater, welcomed a dozen farms from Australia-based broiler growing company ProTen, which achieved a PIF as high as 456.



"We would like to offer our congratulations to ProTen for their impressive accomplishment, achieved only through close attention to detail in areas such as biosecurity, nutrition and environmental management," explained Aviagen ANZ Managing Director Michael Leahy. "Continuous improvements in our balanced breeding program boost the genetic potential of our birds, helping customers achieve these performance heights."



Leahy went on to announce that, due to the high performance seen throughout the region, a Ross 450 Club has been initiated in Australia and a Ross 500 Club in New Zealand (requiring PIF results of at least 450 and 500, respectively).



Aviagen's Technical Service Manager for Australia and New Zealand Debbie Fisher commented, "PIX is always a great opportunity to meet our customers at this major industry event, where our wider Aviagen team sits down with customers and chats about what they need and how we can deliver it. We are committed to sharing our knowledge, supporting our customers and continuing to build solid relationships with them all."



For more information on the PIX/AMC 2018 program, visit pixamc.com.au.






Japan opens up market for US sheep and goat

Japan has finalised technical requirements that will allow US sheep and goat exports into the country, for the first time after more than a decade, the US Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, announced.



"This new milestone achieved is a direct result of USDA's dedication to helping American farmers and ranchers find new markets for their products," Perdue said.



He added, "US has a reputation for high-quality agricultural products and this Administration is committed to helping US producers prosper and enable them to share these products with the world."



The agreement between the two countries materialised after extensive work by USDA technical staff with Japanese authorities to establish new terms for market access that are science-based and consistent with international public and animal health standards. These terms will permit US exports of sheep and goat meat to resume.



Last year, Japan imported US$169 million in sheep and goat meat, primarily from Australia and New Zealand.
Turkey assures readiness to help Greece amid wildfires

Turkish foreign minister says firefighting airplanes, helicopters ready to fly to Greece if needed.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Tuesday assured his countrys readiness to help neighboring Greece in the wake of deadly wildfires that have killed 50 people and injured hundreds.

If needed, our firefighting airplanes and helicopters are ready to fly to Greece, Cavusoglu said, during a joint news conference with Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci in Lefkosa, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

He conveyed his condolences to Greece over the lives lost in the fires. Id like to once again convey my condolences to the people of Greece and government of Greece. I have also conveyed my condolences and wishes to Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias this morning in a phone conversation and told him that we are equipped and ready to provide aid, he said.

Kotzias thanked for the offer to help and told his Turkish counterpart that rains in Greece would begin soon. Akinci in his remarks also conveyed his condolences to Greece and its people over the incident. We share the pain and sorrow of Greek people, he said.

Turkey's top diplomat made his first official visit to TRNC following the early elections last month. On Monday, two fires broke in the east and west coasts of the countrys Attica region, forcing locals to flee to safer areas. A firefighting operation in the area is underway.

GREEK GOVERNMENT SAYS NO TO TURKEY'S AID OFFERS

Despite Turkey's offers for helping the country, the Greek government didn't respond to any of Turkey's offers of help. Even though Turkey's 5 firefighting airplanes and 22 helicopters stands by, the Greek government's attitude has caused sparking reactions in social media as well. Many social media users have shown their reactions.
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Of this, the section through Quang Ninh is the longest, at 248 kilometers.

Specifically, the completed sections with a length of 207.2 kilometers include: 184.2 kilometers of road grade 3 (167 kilometers to National Road 18, 15 kilometers to the provincial road 355 and 2.25 kilometers to local roads) and 23 kilometers of four-lane highway from Ha Long city to Bach Dang bridge.

The remaining 43 kilometers which lead to Mong Duong - Mong Cai highway has been approved by Quang Ninh with four lanes and are auctioned to investors under the BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) type.

The section through Hai Phong is 39.63 kilometers in length, of which 20.3 kilometers were completed and the rest is scheduled to be realized in 2020.

In a recent meeting, Mr. Nguyen Duy Lam, Head of the Ministry of Transports Department of Planning and Investment, said the detailed scheme for Vietnam coastal road has received approval of the Government leader in Decision 129, dated January 18th, 2010, and has been adjusted in Document 2409 dated December 31st, 2015.

The road starts from Quang Ninh to Kien Giang, passing through 28 provinces and cities with a total length of 3,041 kilometers, including the northern coastal road from Quang Ninh to Ninh Binh, north central section from Thanh Hoa to Quang Tri, central section from Thua Thien-Hue to Binh Dinh, south central section from Phu Yen to Binh Thuan, southeast from Vung Tau to Ho Chi Minh city, and southwest from Tien Giang to Kien Giang./.
Timothy D. Belevetz of Holland & Knight In the closely-watched criminal case against Chi Ping Patrick Ho pending in the Southern District of New York, the court last week rejected the defendants argument that an indictment cannot stack FCPA charges by alleging competing bases for jurisdiction.

Ho, the head of a Hong Kong-based NGO, was indicted (pdf) in November 2017 for allegedly offering $2 million to the president of Chad in order to facilitate oil rights for a Chinese energy company and $500,000 to the foreign minister of Uganda to secure a banking deal for the company. In April, he filed a motion to dismiss certain of the FCPA counts.

The indictment charged Ho, who has been detained for eight months, with substantive violations of two different FCPA provisions, the domestic concern statute based on actions taken in his role as an agent of an organization located in the United States and the territorial jurisdiction statute based on conduct within the United States.

The indictment also charged him with conspiring with consultant and former Senegalese minister Cheikh Gadio to violate both statutes.

Ho argued that when the FCPA was expanded to include acts in the United States taken by those other than companies with publicly traded securities (issuers), and U.S. residents (domestic concerns), Congress did not mean to create multiple ways of pursuing the same claims. He claimed that, as a matter of law, it is improper to charge both statutes simultaneously.

The government took the position that the statutes are not mutually exclusive as to Ho, but that even if they were, the government is entitled to charge in the alternative and offer the jury alternative theories. It recognized that while a domestic concern like a U.S. citizen could be charged only under the domestic concern statute, Ho was not a U.S. citizen and, accordingly, could be charged under either or both FCPA statutes.

In last weeks decision, Judge Loretta A. Preska adopted the governments view that although the territorial jurisdiction statutes prohibition on bribery actions in the United States does not apply to issuers or domestic concerns (which are covered by the domestic concern statute), it does apply to their officers, directors, and agents and that the government was free to charge him under both theories.

The court also rejected Hos attempt to toss out evidence in the form of text messages and emails obtained from a search of his iPad and cell phone. The court said Hos disclosure of the passwords to the devices in response to agents request for that information before he was read his Miranda rights did not require suppression of the evidence found on the devices. Judge Preska said that the only limitation on the use of such statements is that they cannot be introduced as admissions at trial.

Given the scarcity of FCPA cases that are actually litigated, the Ho case has drawn a lot of attention. It will serve as a significant addition to the limited set of case law that governs FCPA prosecutions in place of DOJ (and SEC) policy positions, particularly if there is a conviction that makes its way to an appeal in the Second Circuit.

____

Timothy D. Belevetz is a Holland & Knight LLP partner based in the firms Washington, D.C. and Tysons offices. He concentrates his practice on white collar criminal defense, SEC enforcement, internal corporate investigations, and compliance counseling. He can be contacted here.


The Chinese pharmaceutical company under investigation for producing and selling ineffective childrens vaccines has been involved in several recent cases of bribery, according to reports from Asia.

Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology Co and its parent company, Changsheng Biotech, have been mentioned in at least 10 bribery-related cases in the past decade, China Daily said Monday.



The news outlet said the information came from China Judgment Online, a web-accessible database that discloses court rulings.

The judgments in the criminal cases say the companys employees or distributors paid money to people responsible for buying vaccines, including those working in hospitals or disease control departments at the county or city level, to be given priority in vaccine purchases, China Daily said.

The pharma supplied more than 250,000 doses of ineffective DPT (diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus) vaccines for infants and young children, Beijing-based CGTN said.

Changsheng Biotech is also Chinas second biggest rabies vaccine maker.

China regulators have accused the company of forging test data. Its vaccines have been pulled from the market.

The South China Morning Post said Tuesday,

According to court papers available online, company employees have been involved in a number of bribery cases in the last couple of years. In the most recent one, last week, Changsheng Bio-tech sales representative Wu Yuhai was found to have paid 164,000 yuan ($24,200) in bribes to the head of the Changling disease control center, Wang Feng, between 2010 and 2015, according to a court ruling in Shangqiu, Henan province. Wang was jailed for eight years for taking bribes and other offenses, but the document did not give a verdict on Wu.

Another report said a court in Henan province convicted a man in September, surnamed Song, who worked for a disease prevention and control center of accepting bribes of about $150,000 from several vaccine makers, including Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology.

Song was sentenced to 18 months in prison for bribery and fined [about $30,000], the court information said.

In November, the Xiashan District Peoples Court in Zhanjiang (Guangdong province) sentenced a woman in charge of vaccinations at a hospital to 18 months with an 18-month reprieve for bribery after she received illicit profits from the companys chickenpox vaccine agency, the report said.

In China, compulsory vaccines for DPT and other diseases are given to children at state-run hospitals and disease control centers.

Changsheng Biotech trades on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The companys 2017 annual report said it earned profits of about $83 million and spent $65 million on promotion, China Daily said.

Chinese police reportedly detained Changsheng Biotechs chairwoman and at least three other company executives.

____

Richard L. Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog.
Leduc, Alberta  Maximum Dealer Solutions Inc. is officially opened for business, Bev De Rocco, president of the income development company, announced this week.

Rocco said shes brought together veterans in the automotive aftermarket industry through a strategic partnership with four standalone businesses that will now operate as one. Her first hire was Jeff White, an F&I trainer in Canada and president of Peak Training Inc.

Jeff has done every job at every level in a dealership, Rocco said. He brings to us 30 years of automotive experience, and his innovation has many trainers up here saying they are more Jeff White like. So why not have the best in the industry leading the charge?

White added: I figured we could cover any need that might arise by forming an alliance. We have over 100 years of automotive experience in this group, and we understand your business and we realize the shortcomings of supplier training. They are great for product knowledge, but none of them have been a $4,800 per unit F&I manager.

White was a Peak & Summit Award winner as an F&I manager for a Ford Dealership before opening Peak Training Inc. in 2008. The firm works with more than 30 import and domestic dealerships.

Whether its F&I Training, distance videos for selling protection packages, CSI, increasing service absorption rates, online reputation management, sales training or sales amplification, we have the skills and tools to do it all, said De Rocco. There are not many choices in Canada for truly effective independent automotive consulting. We just felt there was a huge void and weve filled that today.

Maximum Dealer Solution is also partnered with DealerReview, which specializes in helping dealerships hit their CSI zone targets, boosting service absorption levels, and managing online reputations.

"DealerReview was the natural choice, De Rocco said. The team there has such a wealth of knowledge and a deep understanding of the dealers business. They created the perfect after-sale follow-up system that encompasses online reviews, CSI, and service absorption.

Byran Bulynx, DealerReviews founding partner, added: We wanted to create a system dealers could set and forget and still get the results we know are important to the health of their business. I believe we have achieved just that.

Maximum Dealer Solutions is also partnered with the Autoblynk Referral Rewards program, which, according to the companys press release, was designed to support the next step in the rapidly evolving modern day car buying journey.

Ray Romeo serves as CEO of Autoblynk LLC and brings knowledge in both sales training and the Autoblynk software. The Autoblynk Sales Amplification Engine will help turn your happy customers into more customers by making referring others to your dealership fast, fun, and well worth doing, he said. Dealers can leverage those positive purchase experiences and explode their dealership's growth from the inside out with Autoblynk Referral Rewards.

As for the new partnership with De Rocco and White, Romeo added: Bev worked at ADESA and Jeff is a car guy through and through. They are both great people and we are thrilled to have them representing us in Canada.
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Vietnam is affirming its position as an industrial center of Southeast Asia. We believe that the Vietnam industrial market will step into a new period and improve its position in the global value chain in the near future, the Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Stephen Wyatt, JLL Director in Vietnam.

In 1986, Vietnam devoted 335 hectares of land to developing industrial zones, and over time the figure rose to 80,000 hectares. The rapid growth is due to Vietnam gradually affirming its position as an export-oriented economy, the development economic and industrial zones, free trade agreements, strong economic growth, and young and abundant workforce.

According to the Inquirer, in the context of an increasing number of Chinese companies seeking overseas production locations, Vietnam is an ideal choice due to its geographic proximity. Many experts said that the logistics industry will become one of the bright spots of Vietnams economy in the next five to ten years, thanks to favorable conditions such as a strong rise of the middle class and the growth of e-commerce.

Vietnam now attaches importance to developing infrastructure by spending 5.8% of GDP developing the essential item, the highest investment rate in the region.

The news stressed that continuing to maintain investment in infrastructure, especially the highway and seaport system, is among the significant conditions for the country to move toward the next industry and logistics phase and improve its competitiveness compared to neighboring countries./.
TradeGecko, a Singapore based SaaS inventory and order management platform for small-medium businesses (SMBs), raised $10M in Series B funding.

The round, which brings the total capital invested to date to over $20M, was led by TNB Aura Fund 1 and Aura Venture Fund, with participation from Perle Ventures, and 33 Capital.

The company intends to use the funds to grow its product suite, providing a seamless commerce platform to thousands of commerce brands, and expanding to empower more commerce businesses around the world.

Led by Cameron Priest, CEO, TradeGecko provides SMBs with a cloud-based inventory management software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform to automate and reduce workflow inefficiencies, through integrating front end eCommerce and POS software with back-end accounting and shipping software. The company, which has North American HQ in Toronto, serves SMB commerce brands including memobottle, Dead Studios, Brooklyn Bicycle Company, Maui and Sons, and Paulas Choice Skincare.

FinSMEs

24/07/2018
Siemplify, a New York based provider of a security orchestration, automation and response (SOAR) platform, raised $14m in Series B funding.

The round, which brought the total amount raised to date to $28m, was led by Jump Capital, with participation from existing investors G20 Ventures and 83North. In conjunction witht the funding, Jump Capital Partner Saurabh Sharma will join Siemplifys Board of Directors.

The company intends to use the funds to further increase investments in sales and marketing as well as continued product innovation and customer success.

Led by Amos Stern, co-founder and chief executive officer, Siemplify provides security analysts with a holistic security operations platform featuring security orchestration and automation with patented contextual investigation and case management.

SOAR enables the management of disparate cybersecurity tools  including SIEM, endpoint protection, threat intelligence and more  through a single platform that helps security operations teams respond to threats faster and more effectively.

The company has offices in Tel Aviv.

FinSMEs

24/07/2018
. Moderna     COVID-19        6  11 .    ,        ...
The Ford GT is a tough sell. That is, its tough to resell.

Buyers of the $450,000 supercar, who are handpicked by the automaker based on factors that include prior Ford ownership and social media standing, are required to sign a contract that says they wont try to flip their vehicle during the first two years of ownership.

Ford says its a way to make sure the limited edition cars  just 1,000 are set to be built through 2020  go to true fans rather than speculators only interested in turning a profit. But that hasnt stopped a couple of approved owners from trying to unload them early anyway.

Ford sued entertainer John Cena last fall when he sold his GT to a California car dealer just a few weeks after it was delivered to him. Cena said at the time that financial issues were behind the move, and it wasnt until this June that Ford settled the suit with him out of court, and a separate one with the dealership that bought the car from him. The terms of the agreements were not disclosed, but Ford said the money recovered would be donated to charity.

I love the Ford GT and apologize to Ford, and encourage others who own the car to respect the contract, Cena said in a statement published by Jalopnik.

Cenas etreaty came too late to convince another GT owner, however, whose car crossed the block at the Mecum Auctions event in Indianapolis this May under curious circumstances, and was sold there for $1,815,000, including auction fees.

Questions were raised when the silver coupe with just 7 miles on its odometer was added to the docket days before the event, and were only cryptically answered by auction house founder Dana Mecum when he took the stage to introduce it.

We had a little issue in the courthouse about this and the judge did rule in Mecums favor that we could sell this car, Mecum said. Its America, you can buy and sell what you want.

As far as what court he was referring to, neither Ford nor Mecum would discuss the issue at the time of the sale, but Fox News has now learned the details of how it all went down.

Mecum CEO Dave Magers told Fox News that the company was contacted the week of the event by the seller, who it turns out was the second owner of the car.

According to papers filed in the Indiana Commercial Court in Marion County, the original purchaser, listed as John W. Miller, sold the GT to Michael J. Flynn of Florida-based Hollywood Wheels for $1,100,000 on May 11. Ford told the court that it knew of Millers intent to sell the car as early as March 2018.

Flynn then consigned the car to Mecum, who on May 15 advertised on its website that it would cross the auction block on Saturday, May 19. Ford filed a motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) on May 17 that sought to remove the car from the auction, arguing in part that its sale might cause irreparable harm to the companys reputation and the integrity of the GT application process.

A hearing on the matter was held on May 18. That evening, Judge Heather Welch issued an order denying the TRO, which allowed the auction to proceed.

Welch wrote that "Ford will not reasonably be able to show that Mecum tortuously interfered with contract between Miller and Ford" since Miller was no longer the legal owner of the car, and that Flynn's purchase was unencumbered as he was under no obligation to search the records of Millers ownership of the 2017 Ford GT outside of the representations made by Miller.

Welch added that the potential harms that Ford argued  both to its reputation and the GT allocation program  did not outweigh the tangible financial harm to the defendants by its cancellation, and that the company could've taken action weeks earlier when it first became aware that the car was on the market. A counter-petition by Mecum for attorneys fees was also denied.

Ford is now seeking damages from Mecum and Flynn in the same court system, with the initial case management conference between Ford and Mecum scheduled for Aug 17.

Neither Ford nor Flynn would comment on Welchs ruling or the pending litigation to Fox News, while John. W. Miller could not be reached.

Mecum has not revealed the identity of the winning bidder, who has so far remained anonymous despite having attended the auction in person.

As far as what the future holds for this car, as possibly the only GT thats been jailbroken in court, dont be surprised to see it rolling across another auction block soon.

With 750 GTs spoken for so far, Ford has announced plans to allocate the final 250 later this year.
Police in Buffalo pulled over a Mercury Mariner last week that was worth millions, but not because it was in great shape.

U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced on Monday that Edgar Joel Jimenez-Rodriguez, 38, of North Tonawanda, N.Y., was arrested on the evening of July 19 when police found 30 kilograms of cocaine in the back of the vehicle he was driving.

Kennedy said that officers were on surveillance near a Toyota dealership in the citys Grand Island neighborhood when they spotted a car hauler truck pull up to it that was full of new Toyotas and the old-looking black Mercury SUV with Florida plates, which caught their attention. The Mariner was discontinued when Mercury went out of business in 2011.

Police observed the vehicles being unloaded and Jimenez-Rodriguez arriving in a Honda Accord. The suspect was then seen taking possession of the Mercury and driving away. When police pulled him over, they conducted a security sweep of the vehicle and noticed plastic wrapping of a type used in narcotics smuggling. A drug-sniffing K-9 unit was brought in and it alerted to the Mercurys cargo area, where police found the bricks of cocaine, which have a street value of over $1 million.

Kennedy said that the driver of the car hauler was not facing charges at this time and that the dealership was not likely involved, The Buffalo News reported.

That was just a by-chance' location, where this transaction took place, Kennedy said.

Jimenez-Rodriguez has been charged with possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, which carries a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a possible life sentence and $10 million fine.
The Sexual Offenders Assessment Board is recommending to the court that recently convicted Bill Cosby be classified as a sexually violent predator.

According to the Assocaited Press, The Montgomery County District Attorney requested a hearing regarding the report on Tuesday where a judge will determine if Cosby will be classified as a sexually violent predator.

Following his conviction, the state law requires Cosby to register as a sex offender and the possible prediator classification would result in increased treatment in prison and increased notification of neighbors when and if he is released.

The assessment, which looks at 14 different areas to determine the status, is not public and ss of now, no date or time had been set for the hearing.

Cosby was convicted of drugging and molesting Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia mansion in January 2004. After 14 hours of deliberations, the jury reached a verdict around 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 26. He was found guilty on three counts of felony aggravated indecent assault. The comedian initially had no visible reaction in the courtroom as his fate was announced, but upon hearing the district attorney's request that his bail be revoked he launched into an expletive-laden rant.

The disgraced actor and comedian could get up to 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine on each of the three counts. He is likely to get less than that under state sentencing guidelines, but given his age, even a modest term could mean he will die behind bars.

The moment happened when District Attorney Kevin Steele argued Cosby's bail was not high enough. It prompted the comedian, who once called out Eddie Murphy for using curse words in his act, to push away his lawyer's hand and shout that he does not have a private plane and then refer to Steele with an expletive.

"I'm sick of him!" Cosby shouted at Steele. The request to have his bail revoked was denied.

Before his downfall, Cosby was long-known for his success as a comedian and actor. He won five Grammy Awards after breaking into the stand-up scene in the 60s. He then paralleled that success on TV, winning three consecutive Emmy Awards from 1966 to 1968 for his role on I Spy. The show elevated him to a new level of stardom and led to the eventual creation of his titular sitcom, The Cosby Show. In 1998, he became known to a new generation as the host of Kids Say the Darndest Things.

He was also once lauded as a philanthropist, and received more than 50 honorary degrees from universities across the country. Cosby's legacy of giving was topped by a $20 million gift to Spelman College in 1988 and including, among many other donations, $3 million to the Morehouse School of Medicine and $1 million in 2004 to the U.S. National Slavery Museum in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

But most of Cosbys honorary degrees were revoked as more and more women came forward to allege he had assaulted them. Following the verdict, other schools such as iNotre Dame and Carnegie Mellon revoked his degrees.

Cosby is scheduled for sentencing Sept. 24.



Fox News' Leora Arnowitz, Sasha Savitsky and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Minister of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia Prof. Muhadjir Effendy accompanied by Indonesian Ambassador in Hanoi H.E. Ibnu Hadi, Director of Southeast Asian Minister of Education Organization (SEAMEO) Secretariat Dr. Gatot Hari Priowirjanto and officials of the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia has a bilateral meeting with the Minister of Education and Training Vietnam Prof. Phung Xuan Nha in Hanoi on July 23rd, 2018.

Photo: Indonesian Embassy in Hanoi

The meeting is part of the minister's working visit to Vietnam on July 22nd - 25th, 2018 in his capacity as the President SEAMEO Council for 2017  2019 period. The bilateral meeting has reaffirmed the commitment of the two countries to continue the implementation of the Memorandum on Understanding (MOU) on Education Cooperation signed on August 23rd, 2017.
Media insiders are buzzing about how fashion magazine New Beautys new summer/fall issue looks strikingly similar to the cover of a 2016 issue of Elle magazine.

The latest issue of New Beauty features Australian supermodel Elle Macpherson posing in a navy one-piece bathing suit with long sleeves  and its the same photo used on the cover of Elle Australia in November 2016.

The images used inside New Beauty for the article on the model known as The Body are also the same  as shot by Gilles Bensimon.

Coincidentally, gawkers noted, New Beauty Editor-in-Chief Emily Dougherty worked at American Elle for 20 years before she took over as head of New Beauty earlier this year.

Oddly, the New Beauty coverline says Elle Macpherson at 54.

But, if the photos were shot two years ago, shed still be 52.

Reps for both mags did not get back to us.

Macpherson says she made it big when she managed to embrace my uniqueness and stand in my own truth.

This story originally appeared in the New York Post.
Late banking heir Matthew Mellons story could be coming to the big screen, sources exclusively tell Page Six. But apparently the family of the hard-partying cryptocurrency billionaire is divided over the project.

There is a screenplay being shopped, a friend said of the planned biopic on Mellon  who infamously battled addiction after graduating from Wharton and coming into trusts worth $25 million at age 21 as a scion of the Mellon and Drexel dynasties.

Mellon married Jimmy Choo mogul Tamara Mellon in 2000 after the pair met at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. After they split, he married and divorced fashion designer Nicole Hanley.

By 2016, Mellon was in treatment for a $100,000-per-month OxyContin habit. But he managed a comeback by reinventing himself as a flashy bitcoin billionaire, complete with a $150,000-a-month Hollywood Hills home and an armored car that resembled a tank, according to Forbes, which named him to its Richest People in Cryptocurrency list.

In April, Page Six exclusively reported Mellon died suddenly in Cancun on his way to rehab.

Said one source of the film project: This may be fulfilling a dream of Matthews. He would have loved this idea . . . He used to say, How cool would it be to have a movie about my crazy life? 

The source said that while Mellon  whose social circle included Paris and Nicky Hilton and Lindsay Lohan  was alive, he was pitched to star in a cable reality series and was interested, but that some in his family werent keen on the exposure. We hear he also wanted to create content with hip brand VFiles.

While some close to Mellon are backing the new movie concept, a source said that others are horrified by the idea . . . The last thing they want is the Mellon legacy portrayed on-screen.

A source said that theres even been buzz the films gotten interest from Johnny Depp  though that may be just wishful thinking: A source close to the movie star said hed never heard of it. Reps did not get back to us.

This article originally appeared on Page Six.
Karlie Kloss is getting hitched.

The model, 25, took to Instagram to confirm that her longtime boyfriend, Josh Kushner, popped the question.

I love you more than I have words to express, she captioned a photo of the couple. Josh, youre my best friend and my soulmate. I cant wait for forever together. Yes a million times over.

The couple who have been dating for six years, has kept their relationship low key aside from appearances together at high profile events like the Met Gala. They recently vacationed together in Italy.

However according to People, Kushner proposed a few weeks ago during a romantic weekend together in upstate New York, and that they have been celebrating since.

Kloss recently came under fire for her relationship with Kushner  who is the brother of Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trumps husband who is also an advisor to President Donald Trump  for urging fans to support a bill that would keep immigrant families together, despite her own slight connection to the White House.

A rep for the model did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This article originally appeared in the New York Post.
The legal battle between Kathy Griffin and KB Homes CEO Jeffrey Mezger continues.

Mezger and wife Sandra, who live next door to Griffin and boyfriend Randy Bick, filed an invasion of privacy lawsuit against the couple, alleging that Griffin and Bick illegally recorded the Mezgers on audio and video from their backyard, The Blast reports.

The Mezgers are requesting $5,000 for every recording Griffin, 57, and Bick, 39, made, as well as damages.

Mezger and Griffin have been embroiled in court battles for nearly a year.

In September 2017, an audio recording of Mezger calling a Griffin homophobic slur was posted online after Bick complained about noise from Mezgers grandchildren.

Mezger reportedly lost 25 percent of his annual bonus and was threatened with firing after the recording was released.

Days later, Griffin filed a restraining order against Mezger, who in turn filed one against her two weeks later.

In a May 2017 video, the CEO was allegedly shown screaming at Griffin about closing her door while standing at the fence between their yards and calling her a stupid bitch, while in a separate audio recording, Sandra called Griffin and Bicks noise complaint fking crap.

Mezgers attorney, Pete Slevin, denied that it was his client heard in the recording.

In January, Griffin admitted having security cameras for protection that can also record sound on her property, but denied intentionally spying on Mezger.

She also accused Mezger of throwing garbage into her yard while blasting Johnny Cash songs in the direction of her property in 2016, then bragging about [greasing] the palms of the Home Owners Association so they look the other way.

Attorneys for Mezger and Griffin did not immediately return requests for comment.

This article originally appeared in Page Six.
Lindsay Lohan is dead serious when it comes to her staffs choice of footwear.

The 32-year-old actress recently opened Lohan Beach House, a VIP resort with locations in Mykonos and Rhodes, Greece. As Page Six exclusively reported, Lohans business will be the subject of a new MTV reality show that begins shooting in August.

And like any good business owner, the star is already ensuring that not a single detail is out of place.

In an Instagram photo posted to the Lohan Beach House Rhodes account last Saturday, two of the venues waitresses showed off their new uniforms: silky bathrobes with super-short hemlines and trailing sleeves.

But an eagle-eyed Lohan quickly noticed that one thing wasnt matching: the waitresses sandals.

One of the two pictured staffers was wearing a pair of white platform sandals that, according to another video posted to the resorts Instagram page, appear to be Lohan Beach Houses regulation footwear. The other had opted for nude sandals instead.

Wear the same shoes please, the Mean Girls star commented on the photo, adding moments later, Or youre fired.

Most of the accounts followers initially took Lohans comments to be tongue-in-cheek, replying with laughing emojis. Summer House star Stephen McGee even asked, where can I apply?

But one fan, hoping the Freaky Friday actress was sincere in her threat of termination, wrote, pls tell me youre not joking need this to be real.

Totally serious! Lohan replied under the fans comment.

A word of advice to all future Lohan Beach House employees: To paraphrase Mean Girls favorite Gretchen Wieners, stop trying to make mismatched footwear happen. Its not going to happen.

Reps for Lohan didnt immediately return Page Sixs request for comment.

This story orginally appeared in the New York Post.
Cue the violins.

In Matt Lauer's first interview since he was fired from NBC over sexual misconduct allegations, the disgraced anchor discussed his ongoing legal battle over a piece of New Zealand land he purchased in 2017.

Lauer said the only reason his ownership of a lakeside ranch is being called into question now is because of the "difficult times" he's been through lately.

"I don't think I'm being a conspiracy theorist here, or paranoid, but I believe the groups are in some ways, unfortunately, taking advantage of some difficult times I've been through over the past six months and I think they see me as an easy mark," Lauer told Radio New Zealand from New York.

He went on to claim that people "don't know" the full "circumstances" of the allegations against him.

"I think most of the articles I've read...they make very frequent reference to that because they think, I believe...that New Zealanders are going to find some outrage there," Lauer said of his firing. "And would tell people they don't know the circumstances of that situation."

He added, "I'm not at liberty to talk nor would I want to talk about that."

Lauer purchased a lease for the Hunter Valley Station, a 10,750 hectare (26,500 acre) farm near the ski resort of Queenstown last year, which advertising material described as a "truly majestic setting," adjoining a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The property includes a five-bedroom lakefront homestead as well as several huts, about 13,000 cattle and merino sheep, and runs alongside a river filled with trout and salmon.

As the property controls the only way for the public to access Hawea Conservation Park, Lauer is required to allow visitors to cut through his property to get to the park. Lauer denies claims that he is denying the public access to pass through.

"[There's] misinformation that's out there and it's out there on purpose," he complained.

Lauer's termination triggered an investigation by New Zealand authorities, who require foreign buyers of important assets to be of good character. The provision is broad and includes criminal convictions as well as anything else that authorities decide reflects poorly on an owner's integrity.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
People have been rushing to James Gunns defense after Disney fired him from helming Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 after some old tweets were dug up in which he makes some offensive statements. Now, Roseanne Barr is speaking up to call hypocrisy on his defenders.

As previously reported, Gunn was let go after tweets from 10 years ago were resurfaced in which he makes some offensive statements under the guise of a joke.

One of the now-deleted tweets said, I like when little boys touch me in my silly place.

Another message read: The best thing about being raped is when youre done being raped and its like whew this feels great, not being raped!'

Other now-deleted tweets from 2008-2011 included jokes about the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, AIDS and the Holocaust.

Gunn has since apologized saying that he tried to be more provocative early in his career but doesnt do that kind of thing anymore. An online petition for his reinstatement at Disney has garnered thousands of signatures and fans and celebrity friends are being vocal about defending his apology for inexcusable past behavior.

Barr, who recently lost the second season of her ABC sitcom Roseanne, took to Twitter Tuesday morning to share her distaste of Gunns defenders.

Im disgusted to read all of the support for James Gunns pedophile jokes-as the same people supported blacklisting me for a joke they didnt even understand.

In May, Barrs sitcom was canceled abruptly following a racist tweet about former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett in which Barr suggested she was a hybrid between the muslim brotherhood and an ape.

Barr blamed ambien at first and issued an apology for her statements soon after, prompting many to draw a comparison between the difference in the treatment she received versus Gunn.

Some have chimed in suggesting that its a clear double standard. Others have defended Gunn arguing that his comments were from almost a decade ago, while Barrs were more recent and therefore a better reflection of who she is today.
Peter Mayhew, the original actor behind "Star Wars" character Chewbacca, revealed news of his recent spinal surgery on social media on Tuesday.

In a tweet, Mayhew shared a photo of himself sporting a medical gown and apologized for being quiet as of late. But he explained that it was due to his operation, which he said was done to improve my mobility.

STAR WARS ACTOR MARK HAMILL ADMITS HE DIDNT ACTUALLY DRESS AS TRUMP AT COMIC-CON

Ive been planning & going through some spinal surgery to improve my mobility, Mayhew tweeted. Its been a success & Ill be spending the upcoming weeks recovering. A big thank you to the doctors, staff, my family & friends that have helped me through this.

Mayhew, 74, who stands at more than seven feet tall, portrayed the beloved Wookiee character in multiple entries in the "Star Wars" series before handing over the reins to another actor.

CARRIE FISHERS BROTHER TODD DETAILS THEIR TENSE LAST CONVERSATION

In follow-up posts from Mayhew, he said that the operation would prevent him from making an appearance at the London Film & Comic Con. But he thanked fans and urged them to donate to his foundation in lieu of gifts and flowers.
Retired homicide detective Garry McFadden is coming forward in an upcoming TV special to share how investigators finally caught the Taco Bell Strangler.

Investigation Discovery is premiering a new documentary titled Bad Henry" on Tuesday. It chronicles how McFadden and his nine-person homicide unit found themselves on a hunt for serial killer Henry Louis Wallace, who murdered nine women in North Carolina, as well as one in South Carolina, from 1992 until 1994.

The show features interrogation tapes and stories from both investigators and families of the murdered women.

McFadden told Fox News he was ready to address misconceptions that have long plagued the community about how Wallace was finally captured.

Its been 25 years, said McFadden. I talked to some of the family members. And Im still getting phone calls from family members as we speak. We thought it was important for this story to be told.

"There are still wounds and I thought it was time to do it. I talked to several people who were with us back then If they were willing to participate, then we would do it We thought 25 years was enough time, sufficient time, to talk about this.

Back in 1994, the New York Times reported Wallace, who police described as a crack addict and a drifter, was charged with sexually assaulting and murdering 10 women who were neighbors of co-workers. He also choked one victims 10-month-old baby, who survived.

Wallace had previous arrests in South Carolina and Washington on charges of sex offense, burglary and larceny. Wallace had no permanent address.

North Carolinas News & Observer also revealed Wallace was a U.S. Navy veteran who committed robberies for drug money.

Wallace was nicknamed the "Taco Bell Strangler" by the media because he previously worked as a manager at the fast-food chain in Charlotte where he met several of his victims, who were employees. It is unclear how long Wallace worked there.

The case especially hit home for Wallace, who knew one of the victims. Sharon Nances death was originally reported in 1992 when she was 33 years old.

Sharon was one of the first people I met when I came to Charlotte, he explained. She was a person who was in the streets. She had a beautiful smile. Sometimes we overlook peoples hearts because of their profession I just remember her for always having a great time. There was always laughter, like, Thats the little detective, thats the little police officer who came from South Carolina and now hes in the big city."

According to the documentary, Nance was a prostitute.

It was heartbreaking Her lifestyle complicated things, but I think we need to look at it from a different perspective. She was a person. She was loved. She was a human being. So no matter what your lifestyle is like, youre still someones daughter I think we need to look at that more closely, especially as law enforcement when you are investigating these cases. Not because of their profession or lifestyle.

McFadden, who still suspects Wallace may have killed more women, said the murderer lured his victims with friendship. Charlotte Magazine also shared Wallace had even attended some of his victims funerals.

He was their friend, explained McFadden. Most females have a person in their lives who is like a good friend or a big brother. And whenever we have arguments with our loved ones or spouses and girlfriends, theres that guy she confides in.

"He gained their trust. So it was very easily done The trust factor happens a lot He knew all these womens behaviors, boyfriends, lifestyles  everything. He knew them, so they felt comfortable around him. So it was very easy to manipulate them at that point.

At the time of Wallaces capture, the Charlotte Police Department faced severe backlash by the community for reportedly being slow to realize the victims, lower-income black women, were being targeted.

McFadden pointed out police were overwhelmed and understaffed during the grips of the crack epidemic where there was a new murder reported every other day.

We were faced with the crack epidemic, he explained. A lot of people were getting robbed. A lot of homes were getting broken into. Purse snatching, carjacking, shootings, stabbings, missing persons because they were on drugs  there was a lot of crime, a lot of chaos.

"You have to remember, there were a lot of deaths and people wanted answers. And everybody was scared to talk because it was drug-related or if you said anything somebody would shoot you. We also had two officers who died during that time, And so with all this stuff that was going on, it was very chaotic. We were just trying to hold on We didnt have relationships with the community. So it was a very difficult time. Very difficult.

Police were also perplexed by Wallaces personal, horrifying method of killing women. McFadden and the CMPD Homicide Squad became increasingly worried when the body of 18-year-old Brandi Henderson was found strangled in her Charlotte home in 1994.

While the unit normally had one strangling per year, it was their second in three weeks at that time.

Now when we look at the statistics, a lot of women who are in domestic violence situations are strangled, said McFadden. So sometimes its a precursor to their death. But then, in the 90s, we did not look at it as that. We didnt have the chance to capitalize on some of the mistakes we made or things that we needed to look at more closely.

McFadden also admitted police, despite their dogged work, didnt know they were faced with a serial killer. Consequently, investigators wouldnt establish a pattern until years later.

The murders were initially addressed as individual homicide cases until police later realized Wallace was somehow connected to the women.

Heres the problem  nobody knew, said McFadden. Its never that we knew this man was killing women. It wasnt that it went on for weeks and we were hunting for a killer Its not like we thought we knew theres somebody killing these girls and we need to find them. No  There were individual homicides worked individually, not as [the workings] of a serial killer. And thats a misconception people have. Its not like we were out there looking for a serial killer and we found him. No. We did not know we had a serial killer.

We did not know a serial killer was operating right under our noses during this crime spree. I think thats a misconception that a lot of people have that we were trying to correct. We did not know we had a serial killer, to be honest. We just did not know We only realized it a couple days before we caught him.

McFadden is aware of the criticism investigators continue to face about Wallaces long-awaited capture.

Everybody, as they say, threw us under the bus, he explained. They were very angry, which they should have been because they lost their loved ones. You cant take that away. The city wanted answers and everybody had an opinion That was their feeling that we should have known.

Wallace, who ultimately confessed to the murders, has reportedly refused every interview request that has come his way to shed light on what drove him to kill. Hes awaiting execution in Raleigh.

"... Even now we have not sat down and said, Let us talk to you about that,'" said McFadden. "'Let us tell you what happened. Let us tell you how easy it could have happened like this. Which would be a great thing We hope to do that one day.

WBTV reported McFadden retired in 2011 after 30 years in the police department and working 800 homicides.

He now hopes the documentary will inspire law enforcement to better develop closer relationships with communities to not only get answers for grieving loved ones but also prevent another heinous killing spree from occurring again.

People need to understand what officers go through, said McFadden. And officers need to understand what families go through. We now have a better working relationship between law enforcement and the community.

"We need to listen to the cries of the community. Listen to the cries of law enforcement. [Law enforcement must] adequately staff their department and their unit. Give them training. Make sure they have the right tools, research, and the capabilities to solve these crimes.

I still think about Sharon, added McFadden. I still think about all the girls.

"Bad Henry" airs Tuesday, July 24th at 9 p.m. on Investigation Discovery.
Cops in Oakland Township, Mich., are seeking the publics help in tracking down an armed robber with a taste for Subway sandwiches.

Police say the suspect, wearing construction gear as well as a dust mask covering part of his face, walked into a Subway restaurant on Sunday evening posing as a customer, and proceeded to order a sandwich, WDIV reported.

Footage released by the Oakland County Sheriffs Department shows the robber requesting what appears to be a side of mayonnaise or dressing, as well as two cookies, which the on-duty employee bags and places on the counter.

OHIO BAR IN TROUBLE WITH BREWERY OVER 'OFFENSIVE' SIGN

When the employee rings up the order, however, the suspect produces a semi-automatic handgun and lays it on the counter while demanding money from the register.

The footage shows the employee complying with the suspects demands and handing over the cash drawer, which is promptly emptied by the thief.

The suspect then exited the store and fled on foot with the money from the cash register with approximately $200 cash, his Subway Sub sandwich and two cookies, investigators said, according to The Detroit News.

A K-9 unit was able to track the suspects scent to a nearby retail center, where police believe he hopped into a car and fled the scene.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

Oakland County police are now asking the public to call 1-800-SPEAK-UP with information leading to the arrest of the suspect, who is described as a black male around 30 years old. Crime Stoppers of Michigan is also offering a $1,000 cash reward.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivers his third State of the Nation Address at the Philippine House of Representatives in Quezon City, the Philippines, July 23, 2018. Rodrigo Duterte vowed on Monday to intensify his administration's war on illegal drugs, saying the fight against drug dealers and users is "far from over." (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)

MANILA, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte vowed on Monday to intensify his administration's war on illegal drugs, saying the fight against drug dealers and users is "far from over."

The president said in his third State of the Nation Address that the war against illegal drugs "will not be sidelined," and promised the campaign "will be as relentless and chilling."

"These drug dealers know fully well that their business is against the law. They know the consequences of their criminal acts, especially when caught in flagrante delicto and they violently resist arrest. They know that illegal drugs waste away lives, destroy families, and ruin relationships," Duterte added.

Duterte launched the anti-drug crackdown after he took office in June 2016 to wipe out the drug trade in the country.

Data from the Philippine government showed that 4,354 suspects have died in the Duterte administration's war on drugs compared to 147,802 that have been arrested in 102,630 anti-drug operations conducted from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2018.

And to his critics, Duterte said he would not be dissuaded from continuing his war on drugs.

During the less than one-hour speech, Duterte also vowed to combat corruption.

"Corruption is like a leech that it bleeds the government of funds programmed for its infrastructure and other social development projects. It saps the morale or the morale of dedicated and honest government workers," he said.

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[ Editor: Zhang Zhou ]
Animal advocates have taken to the streets to protest a Las Vegas restaurant that serves foie gras.

Animal Action protesters stood outside Sparrow + Wolf restaurant with signs advocating for the removal of the controversial food, which is a spread made from duck or goose liver after the animal has been force-fed for several days.

CHEF WHO CARVED MEAT DURING ANIMAL RIGHTS PROTEST SAYS HE 'JUST KIND OF SNAPPED'

"It's not food, it's violence!" read one of the signs.

Another man with the group reportedly yelled Your mom likes meat, to passing cars as a form of protest.

It's not going to stop; we have to change the agenda, we have to change the thought process," Darren Lara of Animal Action Las Vegas told KTNV. "It's about the education, exposure and disruption.

FRENCH BUTCHERS SEEK GOVERNMENT PROTECTION FROM 'MILITANT VEGANS' ACCUSED OF VANDALIZING SHOPS, CAUSING 'TERROR'

The restaurant owner, Brian Howard, told KTNV that protesters have gone beyond picketing on the street  they have also discredited his business and harassed his family.

Im being called a murderer, my sons photos on my Instagram are being taken and I'm being told I'm killing him with cancer," says Howard to KTNV.

Supporters of the restaurant came out to counter-protest and called out the animal advocates.

"If your goal is to educate, then why are you holding a business hostage?" one restaurant supporter said.

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The dish has been hotly debated in other states because of its method.

The expensive food is made by force-feeding ducks or geese for 12 to 17 days to expand the size of their liver, and give the food its buttery texture, before the animals are killed. The typical method involves placing a 10- to 12-inch tube down the birds esophagus to deliver large amounts of food.

In California, foie gras was banned in 2012, legalized in 2015, and then banned again in 2017. Foie gras producers and chefs are currently appealing the ban.

Howard said he has no plans to remove foie gras from the menu.
You can't believe everything you read, especially if it's scrawled across a restaurant receipt.

A waiter at a Saltgrass Steak House in Odessa, Texas, confirmed Monday that he made up a story about one of the restaurants patrons leaving him a racist receipt.

"I did write it," Khalil Cavil, 20, told the Odessa American of the note on the receipt, which read We dont tip terrorist.

I dont have an explanation," Cavil said. "I made a mistake. There is no excuse for what I did.

Cavil originally shared a photo of the receipt to Facebook earlier this month, claiming that a customer wrote the message and refused to leave a gratuity. He further claimed that the patron circled his first name  Khalil  which had been printed at the top of the receipt.

'RECOVERING ADDICT' PICKS UP IHOP TAB FOR EMTS

At the moment I didnt know what to think nor what to say, I was sick to my stomach, the 20-year-old had written in the now-deleted Facebook post, explaining that he shared the post to start a discussion about the racism and hatred that still exists in the country.

But Cavil isn't the first waiter to fake a handwritten message to get some Facebook love.

Dayna Morales, a server at a New Jersey restaurant and a former Marine, made news in 2013 after alleging that a customer wrote, Sorry, I cannot tip because I do not agree with your lifestyle and the way you live your life on a receipt, and posted a photo of said receipt on her Facebook page.

The couple who dined at the restaurant that evening later came forward to deny the allegations, and provided their own copy of the receipt and credit card statement to NBC New York, which reportedly showed that they had indeed left a tip.

The restaurant where Morales worked, Gallop Asian Bistro, later announced on Facebook that she was no longer employed at the restaurant.

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A different waitress named Toni Jenkins, who worked at a Red Lobster in Tennessee, was also sued by a customer after she accused him of calling her the N-word on a receipt in 2013, the Huffington Post reported. She had also shared a photo of the alleged message  along with his name visible at the top of the receipt  online.

"It's been horrific. I mean, I just have been getting all these threats and everything," said Devin Barnes, the customer who was accused of writing the message, told WSMV at the time.

Barnes did not deny leaving Jenkins no tip, but claimed he did not write the offensive message. A handwriting expert working for Barnes also allegedly provided evidence that neither he, nor his wife, had written the message. Red Lobster was not immediately available to discuss the outcome of the case.

OHIO RESTAURANT CANCELS SUNDAY CHURCH DISCOUNT FOLLOWING BACKLASH

But the Saltgrass Steak House, which had initially defended Cavil and banned the patron from returning to the restaurant, had to apologize and offer the wronged customer a free meal.

After further investigation, we have learned that our employee fabricated the entire story, Saltgrass Steak House COO Terry Turney said Monday, in a statement to the Odessa American. The customer has been contacted and invited back to our restaurant to dine on us.

Cavil also offered to return tip money that was sent to him by sympathetic Facebook users, who offered up the cash in lieu of the tip he claimed he didnt receive.

Im sorry. I deeply made a huge, big mistake," Cavil told the Odessa American. "And Im in the process of getting the help that I need.
Yelp is now offering users more information when choosing where to eat.

The review app, which many turn to for suggestions on restaurants and services, is adding health inspection scores to restaurant pages to help customers make more informed decisions all across the country.

YELP TO WARN USERS ABOUT RESTAURANTS' BAD HEALTH RATINGS

The new data is part of the brands Local Inspector Value Entry Specification  or LIVES  program that launched in some cities in 2013.

Our goal has always been to give consumers as much information as possible about local businesses, the press release said.

Yelp has partnered with HDScores to assign number values between 1 and 100 to businesses to reflect the alphabetical health score that typically appear in a restaurants window.

The health inspection score will update on the businesss page to reflect the most current information regarding hygiene.

The company is hoping the new information, which is currently available for restaurants in major cities like New York, San Francisco and Chicago, will have a positive impact on consumers  and the restaurant industry.

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On their blog, Yelp referenced a study of the Los Angeles restaurant industry, suggesting that when consumers have better exposure to restaurant hygiene scores, the number of hospitalizations due to foodborne illness drops. The LA study also demonstrated that when restaurant scores are posted conspicuously, best practices improve across the industry.
The parents of an 8-year-old girl suffering from severe headaches and epileptic seizures for months were both relieved and horrified when doctors told them her diagnosis: 100 tapeworm eggs were inside her brain.

Doctors at Fortis Hospital in New Delhi, India, told India Today the larvae traveled to the girl's brain through her bloodstream, causing massive swelling. By the time she was hospitalized, the young girl, who has not been identified, was nearly unconscious.

"Her brain scan showed more than a 100 white dots, formed due to tapeworm eggs," Dr. Praveen Gupta, director of neurology at Fortis Hospital, told the newspaper. "When eggs reach the brain through the nervous system they cause neurocysticercosis, which is characterised by a severe headache, epileptic seizures and confusion."

WOMAN COMPLAINING OF 'ELECTRIC SHOCK' IN HER LEGS HAD TAPEWORM IN SPINE

A tapeworm infection is typically caused by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the parasites.

"If you ingest certain tapeworm eggs, they can migrate outside your intestines and form larval cysts in body tissues and organs," according to the Mayo Clinic. If you ingest tapeworm larvae, however, they develop into adult tapeworms in your intestines."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the likely culprit in this girl's case was the Taenia solium, also known as a "pork tapeworm" because the infection is typically caused by eating raw or undercooked meat.

"Infection with T. solium tapeworms can result in human cysticercosis, which can be a very serious disease that can cause seizures and muscle or eye damage," the CDC explains.

NHL PROSPECT HORRIFIED TO FIND 2-FOOT TAPEWORM INSIDE HIM DURING SEASON

Gupta said they first focused on reducing the swelling of the girl's brain before administering drugs.

"Her treatment began by reducing her swelling with decongestants and later steroids and gradually the cysts (tapeworm eggs) were treated by starting anthelmintic therapy with albendazole under observation. Later the steroids and antihelminthic therapy were weaned off," Gupta described, adding that the treatment appeared to be a success.

The girl's parents told India Today they were surprised at how quickly their daughter's health bounced back, revealing that she's already returned to school.

"We had absolutely no idea that our healthy and cheerful daughter could ever get such a dreadful disease. But I think we are extremely lucky to have reached here and get right treatment," the girl's father told the newspaper.
A 34-year-old New Hampshire man with a heart of gold recently died after he was stung by a yellow jacket wasp, his wife said.

Brian Baker Jr., of Winchester, was performing electrical work outside on July 14 when a yellow jacket stung him twice. He suffered an allergic reaction to the sting, his wife, Mandi Baker, told WMUR9, adding that she quickly administered an EpiPen to her husband and called 911.

"I had him cooling with wet towels, and I believe he started to stop breathing before the ambulance was even there," Mandi Baker told WMUR9.

Baker Jr.s father, Brian Baker Sr., told the news station that medical officials performed CPR on his son for 45 minutes.

[They] really did everything to keep Brian with us, to give him a chance, he said.

The man, who was informed two years ago that he was allergic to yellow jacket stings, was taken to a medical center in Manchester but died shortly after.

Those who are allergic to yellow jacket stings can quickly suffer from anaphylaxis, a potentially fatal allergic reaction, if stung. Anaphylaxis can quickly lead to death if not treated properly. It is usually caused by allergies to food, insect stings, medications and latex, among other causes, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

Symptoms include difficulty breathing, hives or swelling, tightness of the throat, nausea and vomiting.

"He would do anything for anyone, his wife told the news station of her husband.

Our hearts feel so empty. We had to say goodbye to Brian last night. He was too sick to keep up the fight, Marci Gallagher, Baker Jr.s, sister-in-law, wrote on a GoFundMe page.
WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES BELOW

A North Carolina woman who claims she nearly lost her leg from a serious skin infection she contracted during a pedicure is now warning others about the dangers of callus cutters.

In June, Tracy Martinez of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, went for a pedicure at a very clean salon, she recalled on Facebook. The next day, however, she became ill, experiencing a fever, chills, nausea and vomiting. And her condition soon worsened.

VERMONT WOMAN REVEALS HORRIFIC WILD PARSNIP BURNS IN WARNING ABOUT DANGEROUS PLANT

I am walking off balance, my leg was huge, I'm out if it with no strength, she wrote, adding that an ambulance was called soon after to take her to a local hospital.

Physicians later told Martinez she had a severe case of cellulitis, a bacterial skin infection that can spread to your lymph nodes and bloodstream and rapidly become life-threatening, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Cellulitis occurs when bacteria, most commonly streptococcus and staphylococcus, enter through a crack or break in your skin, the academic medical center explained.

Symptoms include pain, swelling, tenderness, red spots and blisters, among other signs.

In Martinezs case, doctors informed her she likely developed cellulitis after she was minorly cut by a callus cutter  a tool that helps remove dead skin from heels and feet  that was used during her pedicure at the salon, which has not yet been identified.

In North Carolina, callus cutters are prohibited by the states Board of Cosmetics, WFAA reported. Martinez said she was unaware of this until after she was hospitalized for two weeks due to the infection.

Martinez, 35, added that she will be on medication to treat the remnants of the infection for the next three months. She will also have to wear a compression stocking on the affected leg to prevent any future infections.

Was I going to lose my leg? Was I going to lose my life?"  Tracy Martinez

I have been through hell, pain, shock, all of it. But I want to raise awareness, she wrote, warning others to say no to callus cutters.

Every day was a new chapter of what was going to happen to my leg, Martinez, whose Facebook post has garnered 50,000 reactions and more than 150,000 shares, told WFAA.

WOMAN HAS LEG AMPUTATED AFTER INFECTION FROM SHAVING CUT

Was I going to lose my leg? Was I going to lose my life?" she wondered.

Martinez was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Fox News on Tuesday.
Its your first multi-generation family getaway, and everyone from the tiny newborn to Grandpa Rob are headed to the pool for some well-deserved downtime. Just as youre looking around for the cocktail waitress, you hear Grandpa Rob say, Hey, can you rub this on my back.

Awkward.

Now, at an increasing number of hotels across North America and the Caribbean, you can avoid the uncomfortable sunscreen rubdown moment altogether. Instead point Grandpa Rob to SnappyScreen, a sunscreen-spraying booth that will cover him head to toe with no fear of missed spots.

MAN LOSES 280 POUNDS IN TWO YEARS AFTER WALKING 6,000 MILES

The booth, which first appeared in 2014 on a CNBC Power Pitch program, has since found its way into 10 resorts in the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean, including the Aruba Marriott Resort, with up to 50 more properties waiting for the device.

While the booth is no doubt an added service for guests, it has also turned out to be a revenue booster. Some hotels charge up to $5 per spray, while others are using the device strictly as a customer service. For them, the payout has been seen in increased food and beverage revenue.

According to SnappyScreen CEO Kristen McClellan, guests spend up to $26 more per day on poolside snacks and drinks when theres a complimentary SnappyScreen nearby.

According to Bloomberg, the Four Seasons Dallas at Las Colinas saw a 31 percent spike in F&B revenue during the past year, after installing a SnappyScreen. Plus, said the hotel, as an Instagram-able offering, the device has also served as free marketing for the property.

NORTH CAROLINA TODDLER'S BELLY FLOP GOES VIRAL

The product, according to McClellan, uses a custom tanning lotion thats quick-drying, hypoallergenic and water-resistant. And, as more destinations ban coral-damaging sunscreen, it is also reef-safe. It also can be sprayed on over clothing, which makes it ideal for more than just poolside guests. Additionally, McClellan is donating a portion of her sales to skin cancer awareness programs.

McClellan says that while theres a great demand for the device, shes also planning to expand beyond hotels and has been speaking with cruise lines, theme parks and even some destinations, whove all shown an interest.
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President Trump is considering the entirely proper move of pulling security clearances from a number of former government officials including disgraced former FBI Director James Comey, former CIA Director John Brennan, former DNI James Clapper and several others. These are all people who have been abusing the credibility gained by their previous positions and potentially their continued access to our secrets in a partisan political manner.

There is a longstanding tradition of granting former officials continued clearance to allow them to be consulted about actions they took and insights they might have. There is no requirement to do this but when all, regardless of party affiliation, are supposed to be working toward our security it provided a continuity of the institutional knowledge. That is no longer the case with these individuals.

They seem to be wholly invested in undermining the national security priorities and policies of the Trump administration. And in some cases, it seems they were likely to have been undermining the Trump campaign while still members of the Obama administration. A security clearance is based on trust and no one should trust James Comey with continued access to our national secrets when he wrote in his own book that he improperly took classified information with him after he was fired.

This is not a political move of itself, it is a reaction to the political moves of those acting against him.

John Brennan has become increasingly unhinged and has called President Trump treasonous. How can he be allowed anywhere near the inner workings of the Trump administration as it works to conduct our nations foreign policy? Another person likely to lose his clearance is Former CIA Director Michael Hayden who publicly warned people not to work for President Trump. That is not compatible with offering any kind of help at all to that same administration.

Taking security clearances from those who have professed to be actively hindering the presidents lawful conduct of the countrys business is a sad, but necessary, step. It is not a political move of itself, it is a reaction to the political moves of those acting against him.

All of these people have every right to speak their minds and oppose every single action Trump takes. But they have zero right to continue to hold a clearance that gives them access to classified data once they show their true colors. As a member of the disloyal opposition, they have shown they should not be trusted.

This is also a sad commentary on the state of our political affairs when supposed professionals cannot put aside their personal enmity. They could provide the useful counsel their previous positions made them privy to and help the Trump administration. Instead they call names and smear the president on social media.

As President Trump often notes himself that is sad.
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San Francisco is permitting undocumented immigrants, as political correctness demands we label them, to register to vote this November in local school board elections. Who doubts this is the first step by the left and Democrats toward full voting rights in state and eventually in federal elections? The claim by lawyers will be that it is discriminatory to allow undocumented immigrants to vote in local and state elections and not for members of Congress and for president. At bottom this is what the entire immigration debate is about.

The former head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was interviewed last week on Fox News. Thomas Homan had some important things to say about calls by the left to dismantle the agency.

What's incredible, Homan said, is these politicians, members of the legislature, would much rather abolish a law enforcement agency than fix the law. ... ICE is enforcing the laws they enacted.

Thats because politicians, who often pass laws that exempt themselves, care more about their re-election than they do about having laws they passed enforced.

Homan responded to the narrative promoted by Democrats and the major media that the overwhelming number of people arrested by ICE are innocents seeking a better life in America:

What's incredible is these politicians, members of the legislature, would much rather abolish a law enforcement agency than fix the law. ... ICE is enforcing the laws they enacted.

People want to ignore the data and the fact that ... 89 percent of everybody we arrested last year had a criminal history, either a criminal conviction or pending criminal charges, Homan said. We are prioritizing against the criminals. And abolishing ICE, there are going to be (fewer) criminals locked up. Over 100,000 criminal aliens have been arrested this year walking the streets of this country. That wouldnt happen if ICE wasnt there.

About a recent anti-ICE protest in Oregon, Homan said: I mean, to have protesters come and try to get in the middle of us doing our job, we had an office in Portland shut down for over a week. That means criminals werent being arrested, child predators werent being arrested, victims of child trafficking and sex trafficking werent being rescued, drug traffickers weren't being arrested.

Sounds like good material for a Republican campaign ad.

The media and Democrats (and even some weak-kneed Republicans) have been focusing on children separated from their parents, though there are questions about their actual relationships. About that, Homan said: If anybody wants to look to who to blame about child separations on the border, Congress needs to look in the mirror. I went up to (Capitol) Hill, along (with) the head of CBP and CIS, and told them loopholes need to be fixed. One of the loopholes is the Flores Settlement agreement, which would allow us to detain families together in a dorm setting until they see a judge. But they failed to repair it. They failed to address it. They don't want to do their job. Its much easier pointing the fingers at law enforcement.

Here are some questions I would pose to the broadcast networks CNN and MSNBC: 1) Why have so few in the mainstream media spoken to Homan, and why arent you overpaid journalists asking some of the questions he is asking? 2) Who are these demonstrators who show up at ICE offices, at the border with Mexico and in other places? How do they get there, and who pays for their signs, hotel rooms, transportation and food? Are any of them being paid? 3) Do they have jobs, and if they do, how do they get time off to demonstrate? How many bosses would allow that?

Not only is Congress failing to do its job, the major media are failing to do theirs. For Democrats, its a perfect cover for their ultimate goal: importing votes.
From Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Cynthia Nixon, a handful of self-proclaimed Democratic socialists are making waves in the 2018 midterm elections.

With the election of President Trump, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has seen a nationwide surge in the strength and popularity of an organization that typically operated on the fringes of leftist politics.

Read on for a look at what the DSA organization advocates for and how it's impacting midterm elections.

Platform

A Democratic socialist is someone thinks the economy and society should be run democratically with the end goal of meeting public needs instead of turning a profit, according to DSAs website.

DSA staunchly opposes the capitalist economic system.

DSAs constitution says members reject an economic order based on private profit, alienated labor, gross inequalities of wealth and power, discrimination based on race, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, disability status, age, religion, and national origin, and brutality and violence in defense of the status quo.

We are socialists because we share a vision of a humane social order based on popular control of resources and production, economic planning, equitable distribution, feminism, racial equality and non-oppressive relationships, their constitution states.

FOX NEWS MIDTERM ELECTIONS HEADQUARTERS

Medicare for All is a major campaign DSA advocates for, along with advancing unions and promoting Democratic socialist candidates. Other movements DSA supports include pro-abortion advocacies, alleviating the student debt crisis and raising minimum wage.

Anyone who agrees with principles of DSA can apply to become a member.

History

The Democratic Socialists of America got its start as a culmination of two groups  the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee (DSOC) and the New American Movement (NAM)  according to Temple University professor Joseph M. Schwartz, who detailed the organizations history online.

As DSAs membership grew from its official founding in 1982, it had a hand in building a strong coalition among progressive trade unionists, civil rights and feminist activists and the new politics left-liberals at the time, led by late chairman Michael Harrington.

In the 1990s, DSA pushed for a universal healthcare system, Schwartz wrote, making single-payer and Medicare for All health care plans a major national priority. Later, the group would oppose wars in Afghanistan and Iraq under the second Bush administration, and took part in the Occupy Movement in 2011.

THESE DEMOCRATS WANT TO ABOLISH ICE

Harrington died in 1989, but by the 2016 presidential election, DSA had a new de facto leader: Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Electing Sanders, an independent, to the White House became the number one priority of DSA in late 2014, according to Schwartz.

Its paid membership recently hit 46,000 nationwide after seeing an influx in interest following President Trumps election, the group said. (Prior to his election, the group boasted about 6,000 members.)

Prominent members

New York congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has emerged as a popular member of DSA. Ocasio-Cortez, 28, stunned the political world earlier this year when she defeated longtime incumbent Rep. Joseph Crowley in New Yorks Democratic primary.

Zak Ringelstein, a Maine Senate candidate, announced his DSA membership in July 2018. He is running against incumbent Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats.

I stand with the Democratic socialists, and I have decided to become a dues-paying member, Ringelstein told The Associated Press. Its time to do whats right, even if its not easy.

5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ

Cynthia Nixon, a progressive activist who is challenging Gov. Andrew Cuomo in New Yorks Democratic gubernatorial primary in September, has also aligned herself with the group.

Some more establishment, corporate Democrats get very scared by this term but if being a Democratic socialist means that you believe health care, housing, education and the things we need to thrive should be a basic right not a privilege then count me in, Nixon told Politico. As Martin Luther King put it, call it democracy or call it Democratic socialism, but we have to have a better distribution of wealth in this country.

2018 influence

DSA has endorsed 42 people running for office at the federal, state and local levels this year. These endorsements span 20 states, including Florida, Hawaii, Kansas and Michigan.

Hawaii state Rep. Kaniela Ing, 29, said he decided to run for Congress because he was encouraged by Ocasio-Cortez. He also doesnt shy away from his status as a Democratic socialist.

Despite Ocasio-Cortezs recent success, many DSA-backed candidates have struggled.

Gayle McLaughlin finished eighth in last month's Democratic primary to become California's lieutenant governor, earning just 4 percent of the vote. All three endorsed candidates for Maryland's Montgomery County Council lost last month as well. And Ryan Fenwick was blown out by 58 points in his run to become mayor of Louisville, Kentucky.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
PUERTO VALLARTA, July 23 (Xinhua) -- A "window of opportunity" to resolve complex issues in renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has shown up, Mexican Minister of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo said on Monday.

"Clearly there is a window of opportunity to be able to bed down a series of open issues," Guajardo said at the fifth Business Meeting of the Pacific Alliance in Mexico's western city of Puerto Vallarta.

The minister is scheduled to meet with Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington on July 26.

NAFTA renegotiations began in August last year after demands made by the Trump administration, which denounced the deal and threatened to abandon it.

The negotiating teams hoped to reach an "agreement in principle" at the beginning of May, but talks were suspended after Mexico and Canada disputed over the demands made by the United States.

The Pacific Alliance is a Latin American trade bloc comprising Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

Xinhuanet

Mexican minister sees opportunity to advance stalled NAFTA talks

Source: Xinhua2018-07-24 09:43:02

PUERTO VALLARTA, July 23 (Xinhua) -- A "window of opportunity" to resolve complex issues in renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has shown up, Mexican Minister of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo said on Monday.

"Clearly there is a window of opportunity to be able to bed down a series of open issues," Guajardo said at the fifth Business Meeting of the Pacific Alliance in Mexico's western city of Puerto Vallarta.

The minister is scheduled to meet with Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington on July 26.

NAFTA renegotiations began in August last year after demands made by the Trump administration, which denounced the deal and threatened to abandon it.

The negotiating teams hoped to reach an "agreement in principle" at the beginning of May, but talks were suspended after Mexico and Canada disputed over the demands made by the United States.

The Pacific Alliance is a Latin American trade bloc comprising Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

[ Editor: Xueying ]
Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen told Fox News' "Special Report" Tuesday night that the Trump administration is "on track" to meet this week's court-imposed deadline to reunited thousands of children who have been separated from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border.

"Were working hand-in-glove with [the Department of Health and Human Services] and it's certainly our intention to reunify all families that are suitable," Nielsen told host Bret Baier.

A federal judge has given the administration until Thursday to reunite 2,551 separated children aged 5 and older. The Justice Department said in a court filing Monday that 1,187 children had been reunited with parents, sponsors and guardians by the Health and Human Services Department's Office of Refugee Resettlement.

The court filing also indicated that 463 adults had been deported without their children, but the government said that number is based on case notes, is under review and could change.

Nielsen told Baier that whether those families are reunited is "in part ... up to the parents."

"If the parents contact us and they would like to be reunited, we of course will work with them," she said. "But as you know, the way the process works is the parents always have the choice to take the children with them. So, these are parents who have made the decision not to bring the children with them, and then we will continue to work with the court to understand how we can best comply with the order."

"We really want to protect the children," Nielsen added. "So, we dont want to cut corners. We want to make sure theyre going with a parent. We want to make sure theyre going with somebody that wont cause them any harm."

As Nielsen spoke, the Justice Department and the ACLU were appearing before U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw after failing to agree on on how much time parents should have to decide whether to seek asylum after they are reunited with their children.

The administration proposed a four-day waiting period, three days shorter than the ACLU proposed, according to a government filing in federal court. The longer waiting period would increase costs and occupy limited beds, David Jennings, an official at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said in a declaration filed with the court. It costs $319 a day to detain a family member, and there are about 2,500 to 2,700 beds nationwide to house families.

Sabraw imposed a temporary halt last week on deporting reunified families after the ACLU requested the one-week waiting period, citing "persistent and increasing rumors ... that mass deportations may be carried out imminently and immediately upon reunification." The ACLU argued parents needed the time to discuss whether to seek asylum with their children, lawyers and advocates.

"Things are really a mess on the ground and we absolutely need seven days," said ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt, who threatened to file a number of affidavits in an effort to prove "that parents have no idea what's going on."

Justice Department attorney Scott Stewart disputed Gelernt's remarks that reunifications were "a mess" and called the ACLU's affidavit threat "disappointing."

"We have many reasons to be proud of this effort," Stewart said. "The government has worked very hard in line with your honor's orders. We want to be clear on our efforts of good faith and make an effort to accommodate concerns."

Sabraw praised the government's progress on completing reunifications, calling it "a remarkable achievement" and "yeoman's work." However, Sabraw also said the lack of information about about the whereabouts of many parents spoke to "a policy that was in place that resulted in large numbers of families being separated without forethought as to reunification and keeping track of people, and that's the fallout we're seeing."

More than 1,600 parents were considered eligible for reunification, including 217 who have been released into the United States. About 900 more are considered "either not eligible, or not yet known to be eligible, for reunification."

Fox News' Nicole Collins and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Georgia's voters on Tuesday will select one of two Trump-supporting candidates as the Republican nominee for governor, capping off an electric race rocked by a slow burn of secretly recorded tapes and eye-catching advertising, as well as a sudden and unexpected endorsement by the president himself.

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle are locked in a contentious primary runoff, with both vying to position themselves as the true Trump conservative. The two have emerged from a crowded field of candidates, though neither won more than 50 percent of an earlier vote to avoid the July 24 runoff.

Kemp, who has called himself a "politically incorrect conservative," made headlines in May for running an advertisement boasting that he has a pick-up truck "in case I need to round up criminal illegals."

Trump unexpectedly weighed in on the race last week, tweeting his "full and total endorsement" for Kemp. Trump's endorsement reportedly caught Kemp, who was in a press conference at the time, by surprise.

WHO ARE KEMP AND CAGLE? A CLOSER LOOK AT THE TWO CANDIDATES

Speaking to Fox News on Monday, Kemp said Georgia is a solid-red state that needs an "unapologetic conservative."

"We need a nominee that's going to keep the base fired up and keep Georgia red as it's been," Kemp said. He called Trump's endorsement on Wednesday "huge," and compared it to "pouring gasoline on a fire."

Meanwhile, Cagle's candidacy has been thrown off-kilter by the release of several furtively-recorded audio tapes, including one in which Cagle allegedly offers to help pay off former gubernatorial candidate Clay Tippins' $300,000 in campaign debt in exchange for an endorsement.

Im well aware that we walked away from $300,000, Tippins said. Its the best $300,000 weve ever walked away from.

Cagle denied the allegations, saying he never offered a bribe for any reason and saying he was tiring of "antics" in the race.

In another secretly recorded tape, Cagle seemed to disparage some of his constituents, saying the race was about who had the biggest gun, who had the biggest truck and who would be the craziest.

Vice President Mike Pence made his presence felt Saturday in the race, headlining a rally for Kemp, whom he called "tough on crime" and "strong on borders."

WATCH: CAGLE DISCUSSES THE INCREASINGLY HOT PRIMARY RACE IN GEORGIA

One of the largest reactions from the crowd in Macon came when Pence trumpeted strong support for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

"Leading liberal Democrats in the country said they want to abolish ICE," Pence said. "Abolish them!" a member of the crowd yelled back.

"We will never abolish ICE," Pence said to applause from the crowd.

Kemp and Cagle are both seeking to stake out conservative positions on the coattails of Trump, each frequently evoking the president's name in television ads, stump speeches and debates. And Trump on Saturday tweeted anew that Kemp has his "full endorsement," saying "He will be a GREAT governor!"

Cagle, for his part, was making the rounds in northern Georgia on Saturday. He attended an early meet-and-greet in Cleveland, Ga., and another event in Hiawassee, near the North Carolina border.

"It's always good to be back ... in Cleveland. This is our third time during this election cycle & I know we'll be back soon. Especially with the great advertising on the sign! Proud to be supported by the Sheriff, Commission Chair, and Senator," Cagle tweeted.

The winner of Tuesday's Republican contest faces Democrat Stacey Abrams in the general election in November. Abrams is seeking to become the first black female governor in the U.S.

Pence's appearance in Georgia followed a stop earlier in the day in Tennessee, where Pence touted Republican tax cuts and campaigned with two GOP congresswomen waging tough campaigns for statewide offices.

In an appearance in Cleveland, Tenn., Pence praised U.S. Reps. Diane Black and Marsha Blackburn, who joined the rally and are hoping to lead Tennessee's statewide GOP ticket this fall. Trump has endorsed Blackburn in her bid for the U.S. Senate from Tennessee but has not formally backed a candidate in that state's GOP primary for governor, where Black is one of four leading contenders.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley on Tuesday challenged Arab countries who spout anti-Israel rhetoric to step up to the plate with financial support for Palestinians -- warning that while the U.S. is generous, "we are not fools."



At a meeting of the U.N. Security Council, Haley noted there is no end to speeches from Arab states criticizing Israels actions in the region, and the impact they are allegedly having on the Palestinian population.



If those words were useful in the schools, the hospitals, and the streets of their communities, the Palestinian people would not be facing the desperate conditions we are discussing here today, she said. But talk is cheap.



'If we extend a hand in friendship and generosity, we do not expect our hand to be bitten.'  U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley

She noted that the U.S. provided $364 million to the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and another $300 million in bilateral assistance last year, numbers that dwarf the contributions from other countries.



Since [1993], the United States has provided over $6 billion (with a b) dollars in bilateral assistance to the Palestinians. How much have the Arab countries  some of whom are wealthy  how much have they given to the Palestinians? It does not come anywhere close to what the United States has done, she said.



The U.S. withheld approximately $65 million in funding for UNRWA in January. The State Department said at the time that the money was frozen and that the U.S. wanted to see revisions in how UNRWA operates.



On Tuesday, Haley hinted that more cuts could follow, and urged other countries to step up.



Americans are very generous people. We are humanitarian oriented. And we continue to seek out ways to help the Palestinian people, whose plight is of genuine concern to us, she said.

But we are not fools. If we extend a hand in friendship and generosity, we do not expect our hand to be bitten. And as we extend our hand, we also expect others to extend theirs as well.



But she added that it wasnt entirely about money.



Where are the Arab countries when it comes to encouraging reconciliation between Palestinian factions, which is essential to peace? Where are the Arab countries when it comes to denouncing Hamas terrorism? Where are the Arab countries when it comes to supporting compromises that are necessary for peace? she asked.



Haley has been leading the charge against what the Trump administration sees as anti-Israel bias at the U.N. Last month, Haley cited the Human Rights Councils anti-Israel bias as one of the reasons for the U.S. pulling out of the controversial body.



Palestinian representative Riyad Mansour, in a lengthy speech on the Security Council floor, lamented conditions in the Gaza Strip and blasted Israel: In the occupied besieged Gaza Strip, the Palestinian people continue to endure an ever-worsening humanitarian crisis and a rapid decline in the socio-economic situation as a devastating effect of Israel's ongoing occupation, illegal and inhumane blockade and repeated military aggressions.

Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon, however, reserved his ire for the international community, which he said refused to condemn Hamas while constantly attacking Israel for defending itself.

Enough is enough, Danon said. Too many in the international community criticize our actions while Hamas terrorizes our sovereign borders.



Danon went on to accuse Hamas of holding Gaza hostage and terrorizing both Israelis and Palestinians. It is time for this body to acknowledge that Hamas is no different from Al Qaeda and ISIS, he said.

UN'S SCATHING REPORTS STOKE US CONCERNS ABOUT ANTI-ISRAEL BIAS



But the U.N.s focus seems unlikely to shift from Israel any time soon. As the Security Council meeting was underway, the U.N.s Economic and Social Council was debating an anti-Israel resolution that condemned the economic and social repercussions of the Israeli occupation.



That resolution adopted a report on the living conditions drafted by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia -- an organization that last year said Israel was an apartheid state. On Tuesday, in discussing the report as part of the resolution, the Palestinian representative also used the apartheid term and described Israel as a colonial regime.



The resolution, introduced by Egypt, praises the Palestinian government for trying to improve the economic and social situation in what it described as occupied territory, despite the obstacles imposed by the ongoing Israeli occupation. Meanwhile, it accuses occupying power Israel of human rights abuses and more.



Israels representative said Israel was deeply disappointed but not surprised by the report, and noted that there was no section discussing Hamas. She called the report little more than an extensive 22-page propaganda piece. The U.S. blasted the report as biased and one-sided.

While the resolution passed comfortably, an amendment from Israel calling for Hamas to release soldiers and civilians held in Gaza was rejected by the council, with only five members including the U.S. voting in support.

Even as the U.N. fails, time and again, to condemn Hamas, the rules of the game are changing," Danon said in a statement after the vote. "These egregious anti-Israel decisions will not be tolerated, and we will continue to respond with counter-proposals. Today was ultimately about the crimes of Hamas, something we will not let the United Nations forget.



The U.S. has long expressed concern over anti-Israel bias at the U.N. but Haley has threatened funding cuts for those who vote against U.S. interests -- including on Israel.



At a speech at an event for Christians United for Israel in Washington D.C. Monday night, Haley hinted at foreign aid cuts for countries that consistently vote against the U.S. -- something Trump and Haley have floated before.



U.N. votes should not be the only factor in our foreign aid decisions, we have many interests that go beyond the U.N., she said. But they should be one factor, and we are determined to make that connection.



Fox News Ben Evansky contributed to this report.
The liberal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals endorsed the right of individuals to carry firearms in public in a ruling Tuesday, striking down a lower court argument that the Constitution only protects that right at home.

Analyzing the text of the Second Amendment and reviewing the relevant history, including founding-era treatises and nineteenth century case law, the panel stated that it was unpersuaded by the countys and the states argument that the Second Amendment only has force within the home, the ruling states.

The case resulted from Hawaii resident George Young being denied twice in 2011 as he sought to carry a handgun. Two of the three judges -- who were both appointed by Republican presidents -- ruled against a lower court upholding the restriction.

Judge Diarmuid OScannlain wrote in his opinion that for better or for worse, the Second Amendment does protect a right to carry a firearm in public for self-defense.

In his dissent, Judge Richard Clifton said states have long allowed for extensive regulations of and limitations on the public carry of firearms, the order said.

9TH CIRCUIT SURPRISES WITH PRO-2ND AMENDMENT DECISION BLOCKING CALIFORNIA AMMO BAN

"We are disappointed in the decision that would undermine Hawaiis strong gun control law and our commitment to protect the public, Hawaii Attorney General Russell Suzuki said in a statement. But we note that Judge Clifton filed a well-reasoned dissent supporting the constitutionality of this law. We intend to consult with Hawaii County and work with them on further action."

Its the second time this month that the three-judge panel issued a pro-Second Amendment decision, after backing a lower courts decision last week to suspend Californias ban on the possession of large magazines.

The Second Amendment states: A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Activists, supported by the National Rifle Association, have argued that the state's ban on ownership of magazines holding 10 bullets or more is unconstitutional. They won a preliminary injunction by a San Diego district court last year, and a three-judge panel on the Ninth Circuit backed that injunction last week.

Based in San Francisco, the Ninth Circuit has a reputation for being one of the nation's most liberal courts. Critics have branded the court the Nutty 9th or the 9th Circus, in part because many of its rulings have been overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. This includes an infamous 2002 ruling that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional because of its use of the phrase under God.

Republicans have been working to fill vacancies with conservatives, but suffered a setback last week when the White House withdrew the nomination of Ryan Bounds for the Ninth Circuit after realizing it did not have the necessary support in the Senate. He faced criticism over past college writings.

Fox News' Bill Mears, Adam Shaw, Barnini Chakraborty contributed to this report.
Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill was hit with another politically damaging report Tuesday when her local newspaper revealed businesses tied to her husband have gotten more than $131 million in federal subsidies since she took office.

Husband Joseph Shepard doesn't personally pocket that money. But he has benefited from profits from the housing projects he's invested in that received those subsidies.

According to the investigation by The Kansas City Star, Shepard's personal income from the investments grew considerably since McCaskill took office in 2007. He reportedly made between $1,608 and $16,731 in 2006. But in 2017, Shepard reportedly earned between $365,374 and $1.1 million "from investments in housing projects that received federal subsidies."

The information came from the Missouri senator's financial disclosure forms, which only provide a range of income. The report dropped as President Trump was preparing to stump and fundraise for her likely Republican challenger in the midterms, state Attorney General Josh Hawley. Ahead of those events later Tuesday, Trump brought Hawley up on stage during a Kansas City speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention.

There is no evidence that McCaskill was involved in directing any funds into her husbands affiliated businesses, and she does not sit on any committees that award such funding. McCaskill has also voted both for and against government spending bills that benefit affordable housing programs.

Her campaign told Fox News that McCaskill has no role in how the money is awarded or in her husbands business interests. Her spokesperson blamed Hawley for trying to distort and demonize Shepard's business.

Claire's work in the Senate has absolutely nothing to do with her husband's business investments, Meira Bernstein, McCaskills campaign spokeswoman, said in an email to Fox News. It is outrageous that Hawley's backers are trying to distort and demonize Joseph Shepards business success while they celebrate Donald Trumps business record and wealth. It is the definition of hypocrisy.

Missouri Republicans, though, seized on the report. The state GOP tweeted: "DC is working for Claire and her family... how about yours?"

Hawleys campaign did not respond to Fox News request for comment on the Kansas City Star report. But in a "Fox & Friends" interview, Hawley accused McCaskill of listening to "big liberal donors" in consideration of Judge Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination, though she hasn't yet taken a position.

The subsidies report is another wave of bad press her team has had to explain as the Missouri Democrat seeks re-election in one of the tightest races of the midterm season.

In June, McCaskill was found to be using her private plane for a supposed three-day RV tour of Missouri.

McCaskill claimed at the time that a report in the Washington Free Beacon, which used aircraft tracking data to track her flights, was not accurate, but did confirm she used the plane for part of the tour.

"I added some stops with the use of the plane, but I was on the RV so much that the broken drawer drove me crazy," McCaskill said, according to Politico. "I even lost an iPad around a corner on the RV."

When news broke of the private plane incident, President Trump -- who has endorsed Hawley -- ripped into McCaskill on Twitter.

"Senator Claire McCaskill of the GREAT State of Missouri flew around in a luxurious private jet during her RV tour of the state," Trump tweeted. "RVs are not for her. People are really upset, so phony! Josh Hawley should win big, and has my full endorsement."
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is under fire for briefly repeating lock her up during the Turning Point USA High School Summit on Tuesday as the crowd chanted the anti-Hillary Clinton rallying cry. But some media watchdogs feel Sessions is being wrongly accused by reporters of joining the chant.

When Sessions took the stage, the crowd chanted the phrase and he appeared to awkwardly utter it as well, laugh it off and move on. However, CNN broke into programming with a just in chyron focusing on Sessions repeating the expression and various news organizations covered it as if he'd started the mantra himself.

HuffPost wrote that Sessions joined a group of teenagers in chanting lock her up. Politico headlined its video, Sessions: Lock her up, and The Associated Press wrote that Sessions repeated the chant. BuzzFeed wrote that Sessions joined the chant and dozens of pundits took to Twitter to mock the situation  including MSNBC Managing Editor Dafna Linzer, who wrote, The attorney general of the united states just joined a chant of lock her up at an event in DC.

Daily Wire reporter Ryan Saavedra told Fox News that the mainstream media intentionally misled the American people by dishonestly painting Sessions as participating in the chant. Saavedra pointed to CNN, which played the clip without including the next words uttered by Sessions, which were, I heard that a long time over the last campaign.

Other news organizations were more accurate, such as Vox, which headlined the story, Jeff Sessions laughs at lock her up chants, briefly repeats the line.

While pundits across the political spectrum condemned Sessions for not telling the high schoolers to knock it off, he didnt lead the derogatory chant or egg on the crowd.

This deceptive take by the media closely mirrors Trumps animal comment where they did not show the full context of what was being said and used a selectively edited clip to make an attack, Saavedra said.

Free Beacon reporter Alex Griswold quickly noticed the disparity, tweeting: I don't like how this is being described. Hearing a chant, laughing and saying it once, and moving on is not chanting, joining a chant, and it sure as hell isn't join[ing] the call to imprison... Hillary Clinton."

NewsBusters Managing Editor Curtis Houck told Fox News that it is another basic example of how many on the left have lost their minds and seize upon every perceived allegation, joke, or even slight against someone on their side of the aisle.

He was clearly acknowledging what the high school students were chanting and chuckled before moving on."  NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck

He was clearly acknowledging what the high school students were chanting and chuckled before moving on. He didn't raise his fists and chant along with them or tell the audience that the Justice Department will make sure Hillary Clinton is locked up. The fact that he didn't do those things yet the media are going gangbusters over this story shows how they should stop a few times a day and just breathe, Houck said.

Mediaite columnist Joseph Wulfsohn told Fox News that it seemed more like a reaction to the chant than him actually joining in on it, and lthat iberal media members should be resting easy with the knowledge that Sessions hasnt actually attempted to lock her up.

Hes been the attorney general for a year and a half and he still hasnt indicted Hillary Clinton or anyone in her inner circle. Once again, their overreaction outweighs the latest error from this administration, Wulfsohn said.

Sessions speech included a blistering attack on campus culture, which went largely uncovered by the mainstream media that focused on his reaction to the chant.

Rather than molding a generation of mature, well-informed adults, some schools are doing everything they can to create a generation of sanctimonious, sensitive, supercilious snowflakes, Sessions said. Too many schools are coddling students.  There was a cry-in at Cornell after the 2016 election, therapy dogs at the University of Kansas.  I hope they had plenty of tissues.

He added that instead of fostering open debate on campus, school administrations are bowing to liberal ideologies and coddling students with trigger warnings, crying rooms and therapy sessions.

Sessions called out a number of schools  including Middlebury College in Vermont and the University of California, Berkeley  that he says have actively tried to silence conservative speakers.

Fox News Andrew OReilly contributed to this report.
Underdog Republican Senate candidate Austin Petersen warned President Trump on Tuesday against going all-in for primary rival Josh Hawley in Missouri, as the president prepared to stump and fundraise for the front-running candidate.

Trump visited Kansas City Tuesday to speak to the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention, and was attending a private fundraiser later for Hawley, the state attorney general.

During the VFW speech, Trump declared We need Josh badly.

Hawley is the favorite to win the nomination on Aug. 7 and go up against incumbent Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill, in one of the most closely watched races of the midterm season.

But Petersen, a longtime libertarian, chafed at the Trump appearance, saying in a statement, The last time POTUS played in a Senate race in a red state, Alabama elected a Democrat.

MCCASKILL CAMPAIGN HIT WITH REPORT ON HUSBAND'S SUBSIDY WINDFALL

This was a reference to Trumps support for Luther Strange in Alabama, now represented by Democratic Sen. Doug Jones. But Trump has backed other eventual GOP primary winners this year. With Trump endorsing Hawley last month and stumping for him Tuesday, Petersen faces an even steeper climb in his bid for the nomination.

In an email to Fox News, Petersen curiously referenced the scandal surrounding ex-Gov. Eric Greitens in suggesting Hawley didnt adequately defend the governor amid sexual misconduct and other allegations that led to his resignation.

Hawley threw our duly elected governor under the bus before due process could be afforded. If Hawley is the next senator from Missouri, Mr. President, I have just one bit of advice... watch your back," he said.

Fox News Power Rankings list Missouris Senate race as a toss-up in November.
Montana's Democratic governor and the state's Revenue Department filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department over a recent policy change allowing some tax-exempt groups to keep the identities of their donors secret from federal tax authorities.

Gov. Steve Bullock announced the lawsuit in a video posted on his Twitter account.

"Ive been working for 10 years to make sure that corporations cant control our elections," Bullock said in the video. "Just last week, the Secretary of the Treasury made it so that corporations, foreign interests, anybody can give to dark money groups and the IRS wouldnt even collect their names. I think Americans certainly deserve better."

In the lawsuit, Bullock and the Revenue Department argue the policy change should be overturned because it was made without taking public comment and hurts states' abilities to determine whether organizations should be given tax-exempt status because states rely on data from the IRS. They also argue that the change would allow organizations to take unlimited corporate, or even foreign, contributions to influence elections.

"If the IRS knows that an organization is engaged in political activity and receives a disclosure that the organization's only significant contributors are foreign nationals, then the IRS is well-positioned to identify and stop a serious violation of federal law," the lawsuit argues.

The IRS doesn't need the donor information to effectively enforce tax law and can request it in the case of an audit, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said last week.

Neither the IRS nor the Treasury Department had any immediate comment Tuesday.

Attorney General Tim Fox, the state's chief legal adviser and a Republican, wasn't aware of the lawsuit.

"The attorney general first learned about the lawsuit on Twitter," spokesman Eric Sell said. "Governor Bullock's office only contacted us once the lawsuit was filed. Since the state's chief legal officer was not consulted prior to the filing, this looks like a political stunt by someone not focused on the job he currently occupies."

This is not the first time Bullock has fought against so-called "dark money" in elections. As attorney general, he defended the state's Copper Kings-era law that restricted direct spending by corporations on candidates and political committees, but lost when the U.S. Supreme Court applied state elections to its 2010 Citizens United decision allowing corporate spending.

In 2015, as governor, he pushed through the Disclose Act, a law that updated the state's campaign finance rules to require more disclosure and additional filing by candidates and political committees. The law has so far withstood multiple legal challenges that argue it runs counter to Citizens United.

Tuesday's lawsuit is the third time in recent months that Bullock has inserted himself and Montana into national issues and continues his efforts in support of transparent elections.

In January and June, Bullock signed executive orders requiring companies with state contracts to abide by net neutrality rules and to report their political contributions, even disclosures that aren't required under federal law.

Bullock is believed to be considering a run for the presidency in 2020 and is scheduled to visit the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire next month to support local Democratic candidates.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
New details are being reported about the secret efforts to secure the release of American college student Otto Warmbier, who suffered brain damage and died after being held captive in North Korea for 15 months after an ill-fated trip to the country in 2015.

According to a lengthy article published in GQs August issue, President Trump signed off on the secret State Department mission in June 2017 to send an American plane to North Korea to retrieve Warmbier after learning the University of Virginia student was unconscious.

Take care of Otto, Trump reportedly told then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

According to the account, North Korea was "unilaterally informed" that the American plane carrying diplomats and doctors would be landing in Pyongyang for the mission.

Warmbiers parents still held out hope their son was asleep or in a medically induced coma, GQ reported, even after told by their home state senator, Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, that he appeared to have severe brain damage.

But when his parents met the plane carrying their son at an airport in Cincinnati, they were shocked at what they saw: A vegetative Warmbier was howling inhuman sounds as he jerked violently against the straps of his stretcher. His eyes were open, but he was not communicative.

Doctors could not determine what caused the injury. But the theories began to spread that Warmbier had been tortured while in captivity  theories embraced by his parents and the president himself.

The New York Times was first to cite an anonymous official in June 2017 to report that the government obtained intelligence reports in recent weeks indicating that Mr. Warmbier had been repeatedly beaten while in North Korean custody.

Speaking to Fox News in September 2017, Warmbiers father Fred described seeing his son in the vegetative state and said, It looked like someone had taken a pair of pliers and re-arranged his bottom teeth.

Trump tweeted that same day: Otto was tortured beyond belief by North Korea.

But the GQ article cited a coroners report and quotes from intelligence experts to cast doubt on the claims. A coroner who examined Warmbier, Lakshmi Kode Sammarco, said she observed no obvious signs of torture.

Of the dozen experts I spoke to, only a single one thought there was even a remote likelihood that he had been beaten, journalist Doug Bock Clark wrote in the GQ piece.

Clark also said a senior-level American official told him, In general, the intel reports were wrong, as the medical examinations have shown.

Asked Tuesday by Fox News whether the administration believes Warmbier was tortured, a State Department spokesman told Fox News: "We hold North Korea accountable for Otto Warmbiers unjust imprisonment."

The GQ article said the Warmbiers declined to comment for the story. Fox News attempted to reach the family Tuesday through McGuire Woods, the Virginia law firm that has represented the family, but has not heard back.

In June, after his historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump said the meeting between the two leaders may not have happened if not for the death of Warmbier.

Otto did not die in vain, Trump said.

Warmbiers parents responded by saying they hope something positive can come from the summit.

We appreciate President Trump's recent comments about our family, Fred and Cindy Warmbier said in a statement. We are proud of Otto and miss him. Hopefully something positive can come from this.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo pardoned several illegal immigrants Monday in order to help them avoid deportation.

The New York Democrat, who is up for re-election this year, pardoned seven people who had minor criminal convictions, ranging from petty larceny to drug possession, his office said.

And with the pardons, Cuomo didnt miss the opportunity to take a dig at the Trump administration and its zero-tolerance immigration policies that left thousands of minors separated from their families after illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

At a time when President Trump and the Federal government are waging a war on our immigrant communities, New York stands firm in our belief that our diversity is our greatest strength, Cuomo said in a statement.

While President Trump engages in policies that rip children out of the arms of their mothers and tries to ramp up the deportation of New Yorkers to advance his political agenda of hate and division, we will protect our immigrant communities, Cuomo continued. With the Statue of Liberty in our harbor, New York will always stand against the hate coming out of Washington and instead serve as a beacon of hope and opportunity for all.

CUOMO CLAIMS HES UNDOCUMENTED, CHALLENGES OFFICIALS TO DEPORT HIM

The separation of minors from their parents was swiftly and harshly criticized by many on both sides of the aisle. After the national outrage, Trump signed an executive order in June allowing families to remain together in detention. The administration is still working on reuniting those who have been separated; nearly 1,200 were reunited by this week.

According to the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency, a 2017 executive order from Trump expanded the agencys focus to include removing immigrants who have been convicted or charged with a criminal offense, among other things.

Frank Barker, 43, was among those pardoned Monday, according to the governors office. He was convicted for criminal possession of stolen property and controlled substances and identity theft which stemmed from a drug addiction.

Also pardoned are: Jose Rafael Cruz, 53, who was convicted of a sale of a controlled substance; Ludames De La Cruz, 53, who was convicted for an attempted sale of a controlled substance; Elpidio Rodriguez, 57, who was convicted of criminal possession of a controlled substance and operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated; Tamar Samuda, 35, who was convicted nearly two decades ago for low-level assault and petit larceny; Marino Soto, 43, who was convicted of criminal possession of a controlled substance; and Carlos Suarez, 41, who was convicted for petit larceny.

CUOMO SIGNS REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS EXECUTIVE ORDER AHEAD OF TRUMPS SCOTUS NOMINATION

Cuomo faces a primary challenger in Cynthia Nixon, an actress and progressive activist who has been credited with pushing the governor to the left in the race.

During the campaign, Nixon has called for the abolishment of ICE. Lauren Hitt, a spokeswoman for Nixon, told Newsday that while Cuomos pardoning was good, Nixon would do more to end the deportation pipeline by allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain drivers licenses.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Marc Molinaros campaign accused Cuomo of political grandstanding with the pardons.

Everything Andrew Cuomo does is for his own political benefit, regardless of whether its right, wrong or dangerous to the public, spokeswoman Katherine Delgado told Newsday. In this case, its all about trying to out-liberal Cynthia Nixon for the September primary.

Cuomo has pardoned 34 people since taking office, according to a news release.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
During their meeting in Hanoi on July 23, the Party leader welcomed Smiths official visit to Vietnam at a time when the two countries have agreed to lift their relationship to the status of strategic partnership.

General Secretary Trong noted with pleasure the fruitful development of their bilateral ties across many fields, ranging from politics to economy, national defence and security to education and training.

He thanked the Australian Government for their backing in Vietnams bid to run for a non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council for 2020-2021, as well as Australias coordination and support for Vietnams role in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the region.

Vietnam highly values Australias consistent stance on the East Sea issue, he said, urging the two sides to continue their close cooperation at multilateral forums, for peace, stability, cooperation, and development in Southeast Asia and the East Sea.

For his part, Smith expressed his positive impressions of the thriving relations between Vietnam and Australia over recent years, especially the two countries efforts to elevate their relationship to the strategic partnership.

The guest said he is impressed by Vietnams achievements, noting his belief that the legislative cooperation and people-to-people exchange between Vietnam and Australia are solid evidence of the development of their bilateral ties.

Smith also voiced his hope that his trip, as well as other recent high-level visits to Vietnam by Australian leaders, would help promote the strategic partnership in the time ahead.

He affirmed that Australias consistent stance on the East Sea issue is clear and matches the stance and viewpoint of Vietnam.
Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp has won a bruising Republican runoff in the state's race for governor, leveraging a damning secret audio recording of his opponent and a last-minute Trump-Pence endorsement.

With Tuesday's win against Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, Kemp faces Democrat Stacey Abrams. She could become the country's first black woman governor.

The race will test Democrats' assertion that changing demographics have turned the Republican stronghold into a swing state. Cagle's campaign was rocked by a secret recording in which he says he helped pass a "bad public-policy" bill for political gain.

In another recording, Cagle allegedly offers to help pay off former gubernatorial candidate Clay Tippins' $300,000 in campaign debt in exchange for an endorsement.

Im well aware that we walked away from $300,000, Tippins said. Its the best $300,000 weve ever walked away from."

Cagle denied the allegations, saying he never offered a bribe for any reason and saying he was tiring of "antics" in the race.

After conceding the GOP runoff to Kemp on Tuesday, Cagle told supporters that Kemp was "undeniably ready to lead this state." The praise was a swift reversal after a nine-week runoff that saw Cagle and Kemp attack each other on multiple fronts.

Gov. Nathan Deal and the National Rifle Association had supported Cagle. But Kemp was boosted by the president's endorsement.

Speaking to Fox News on Monday, Kemp called Trump's endorsement on Wednesday "huge," and compared it to "pouring gasoline on a fire."

Kemp, who has called himself a "politically incorrect conservative," made headlines in May for running an advertisement boasting that he has a pick-up truck "in case I need to round up criminal illegals."

WHO ARE KEMP AND CAGLE? A CLOSER LOOK AT THE CANDIDATES

And in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Cagle acknowledged the significance of Trump's endorsement, but touted Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal's support for his candidacy.

"We have two gold-star endorsements: one is President Trump, and the other is Gov. Deal," Cagle said. "And Gov. Deal knows this state, and I have partnered with him to create the number-one state to do business in, the historic job numbers and the historic tax cut, as well."

Georgia, long a deep-red state whose changing demographics may make it a swing state in coming elections, went for Trump by less than six percentage points in 2016.

Georgia's potential evolution toward swing-state status comes at a critical time for Democrats. Gains in coastal and Sunbelt states  Virginia, North Carolina and potentially Arizona  could offset growing challenges for the party in the upper Midwest, where Trump shocked many Democrats in 2016 by sweeping a band of states that Hillary Clinton's campaign had considered a "blue wall."

"This is a light-red state," GOP pollster Mark Rountree said. "I don't think Georgia will be a national afterthought for either side anymore" regardless of what happens in November, Rountree adds.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Jeff Greene, a Florida gubernatorial candidate, accused the National Rifle Association of turning our kids into targets in a striking new advertisement.

As a father, I wont stand by while the NRA turns our kids into targets, a mailer, released Tuesday, says in bold letters atop an image of outlined children with backpacks as shooting targets. The fake targets say AR Practice and have the logo of the gun rights organization.

Students should be worried about grades, not guns, Greene said in a statement. When I send my kids to school, I shouldnt be afraid theyll be killed in their classrooms. No parent should.

Gun violence, particularly school shootings, has been a major topic in this years elections in Florida.

In February, 17 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students and teachers were murdered by a gunman inside the school. And in June 2016, a gunman killed 49 people inside a gay Orlando nightclub.

A LOOK AT THE REPUBLICANS RUNNING FOR GOVERNOR IN FLORIDA

Greenes mailer promises he will never take [the NRAs] blood money.

Marion Hammer, a former NRA president who now leads the group's lobbying efforts in Florida, called the mailer repulsive.

As a mother, grandmother and a proud NRA member for decades, I find his mailer repulsive, she told Fox News. It is clear that Jeff Greene is bankrupt of ideas, and he has to resort to these dumb ideas to try and get attention for himself and his campaign. When people cant win on fact, they have to resort to cheap stunts like this.

FOX NEWS MIDTERM ELECTION HEADQUARTERS

Aside from Greene, a billionaire investor who was a late entry to the race, four others are competing for the Democratic primary in August: Andrew Gillum, Gwen Graham, Chris King and Philip Levine.

The top two Republicans vying for the GOP nomination are Rep. Ron DeSantis and state Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.
The advancement of religious liberty across the globe got a major lifeline this week after the U. S. State Department on Tuesday kicked off the Ministerial on Religious Freedom.

Analysts said one of the most, if not the most, amazing thing about the conference is that it's happening at all.

Never before has there been a gathering of so many senior-ranking officials and their delegations, plus activists and NGO's, for the purpose of religious freedom.

Ambassador Sam Brownback, America's ambassador-at-large for religious freedom, kicked off the ministerial Tuesday morning.

Religious freedom really, truly is for everyone. It's a right given by God and is a beautiful part of our human dignity," Brownback said.

It is a testament to the fact that the U.S. considers it a high priority  but also that religious freedoms around the world are eroding and more and more countries are looking for solutions.

ADVOCACY GROUP SUES STATE OVER ORTHODOX JEWISH YESHIVAS

There are a list of religious persecution hotspots around the globe. They include Myanmar and the genocide of Rohingya Muslims. In Nigeria, violent religious divisions have ravaged the country, and hundreds have been killed in the last few weeks alone.

And in Turkey, Americans are outraged over the detention of U.S. Pastor Matthew Brunson, who is now on trial for what officials say are trumped up charges.

"The lack of religious freedom anywhere is a threat to peace, prosperity and stability everywhere, Brownback said during his opening remarks to delegates. The right to freedom of religious and the ability to live according to the dictates of your own soul is under attack in the world. This must change and that's why you're here."...

Three things are expected to be accomplished here during the three-day conference. One, that governments will hear of personal stories of persecution, like that of Jamie Powell, whose husband, the Rev. John Cao, was arrested by Chinese authorities and sentenced to seven years in prison.

AMISH OUTHOUSE CASE RAISES RELIGIOUS FREEDOM RIGHTS ISSUES

"It appears now John was set-up for arrest because of his faith-driven work and accused of a fabricated crime, facilitating organized border crossing  a charge that is usually given to human traffickers," Powell said.

Two, that they will hear how to access funds available to help them aid the persecuted.

And three, which the State Department considers a top issue, that government officials understand the strong link between the promotion of religious freedom and the lessening of terrorism and the increase of stability in their countries..

The ministerial comes to a climax on Thursday when Vice President Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will both speak.
Rumors of Utah Sen. Orrin Hatchs demise are greatly exaggerated -- and hes proving it with bacon.



The mischievous lawmaker, whose Twitter feed is regularly filled with jabs, memes and general tomfoolery, mocked Google after he found that his search biography showed he died on Sept. 11, 2017.

Such fact boxes are automatically populated from a variety of sources, and so it was not a manual change by a Google employee. But the GOP senator had some questions, as he tweeted a screenshot of the erroneous information.

Hi@Google? We might need to talk, he tweeted.



While the 84-year-old is retiring at the end of his term, he is still very much alive and kicking. So he decided to prove it, by showing himself engaging in a number of activities.



Here is Senator Hatch reading a newspaper earlier, read the first tweet, accompanied by an image that showed exactly that.



And it went on.



Here is Senator Hatch giving Chancellor Merkel a gift and telling her she is terrific earlier this month on 7/6, another read.



Senator Hatch making an important state visit to Chuck A Rama in May, read another.



The tweets also showed him visiting a war memorial, preparing to meet Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and signing bills.



Finally, just to put the nail in the coffin of the fake death notice, he tweeted out a picture of his 84th birthday bash in March, nearly six months after Google had him down as pushing up daisies. The theme for that celebration was bacon.

Hatch's bio has since been fixed.



The account also issued a slight humble-brag, noting that in the period Hatch was deemed dead, he advanced three bills.



Even in death, Hatch remains one of the Senates most prolific legislators, his office said.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions delivered a blistering attack on campus culture in front of a group of conservative high school students on Tuesday, saying that colleges are creating a generation of supercilious snowflakes.

Rather than molding a generation of mature, well-informed adults, some schools are doing everything they can to create a generation of sanctimonious, sensitive, supercilious snowflakes, Sessions said during a speech at Turning Point USA's High School Leadership Summit in Washington.

Sessions focused much of his address on railing against what he called the suppression of free speech on college campuses and hostility against conservative students.

He added that instead of fostering open debate on campus, school administrations are bowing to liberal ideologies and coddling students with trigger warnings, crying rooms and therapy sessions.

Too many schools are coddling students, Sessions said. There was a cry-in at Cornell after the 2016 election, therapy dogs at the University of Kansas.  I hope they had plenty of tissues.

Referencing his time at Huntingdon College in Alabama, Sessions said that conservative students today face even tougher treatment from their more-liberal peers than they did when he was in school during the turbulent 1960s.

The hostility was not as great then as it is today on college campuses, he said. Stand strong for what you believe in.

Sessions called out a number of schools  including Middlebury College in Vermont and the University of California, Berkeley  that he says have actively tried to silence conservative speakers.

Last spring, students protested a scheduled lecture by controversial sociologist Dr. Charles Murray. The incident at Middlebury College eventually turned violent, with protesters shouting down Murray and even putting a professor in the hospital.

At Berkeley, which last year saw a number of oftentimes violent protests ahead of planned speeches by conservative figures such as Ann Coulter and Ben Shapiro, school officials have vehemently denied that they have acted to suppress conservative voices on campus or condoned any violence against them.

This university cannot and will not tolerate the harassment of its students, particularly when they are being targeted simply as a result of who they are or what they believe in, UC Berkeley spokesperson Dan Mogulof told Fox News earlier this year. Mogulof added that there is a common misperception that UC-Berkeley only promotes liberal ideologies.

This is not the 1960s anymore, he said. Our student body is more diverse than it has ever been.
The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it will grant up to $12 billion in emergency aid to farmers hurt by retaliatory tariffs in the ongoing trade fight with China and other American trading partners.

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said that the plan, which will provide direct assistance and other temporary relief for farmers through the USDAs commodity program, is meant as a stopgap to give Trump time to negotiate a long-term policy with China, the European Union and others.

The plan was announced as Trump spoke at the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention in Kansas City, where he urged patience in dealing with the tariffs and claimed that farmers will be the biggest beneficiary of the trade deals in the end.

Farmers will be the biggest beneficiaries, Trump told the crowd gathered inside Kansas Citys Municipal Auditorium. Were going to do something that has never been done.

Trump also touted the adminstration's economic success, calling it a "great economic revival," and told farmers to "stick with us" as he continues trying to sort out trade deals.

"Just stick with us," he said. "Don't believe what you hear on the fake news."

The plan, however, has already magnified objections among some Republicans that the tariffs amount to taxes on American consumers. House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin said lawmakers are making the case to Trump that tariffs are "not the way to go."

Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said the plan would spend billions on "gold crutches."

"America's farmers don't want to be paid to lose  they want to win by feeding the world," he said. "This administration's tariffs and bailouts aren't going to make America great again, they're just going to make it 1929 again."

Speaking to reporters outside of a GOP lunch on Tuesday, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., compared the trade assistance to something out of the former Soviet Union.

"This is becoming more and more like a Soviet-type of economy here" with "commissars" passing out benefits, Johnson said, according to The Hill.

The Trump administration has slapped tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese goods in a dispute over Beijing's high-tech industrial policies. China has retaliated with duties on soybeans and pork, affecting Midwest farmers in a region of the country that supported the president in his 2016 campaign.

Trump has threatened to place penalty taxes on up to $500 billion in products imported from China, a move that would dramatically ratchet up the stakes in the trade dispute involving the globe's biggest economies.

The administration has also engaged in hardline trading negotiations with Canada and European nations, seeking to renegotiate agreements he says have undermined the nation's manufacturing base and led to a wave of job losses in recent decades.

The imposition of punishing tariffs on imported goods has been a favored tactic by Trump, but it has prompted U.S. partners to retaliate, creating risks for the economy.

Trump has placed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, saying they pose a threat to U.S. national security, an argument that allies such as the European Union and Canada reject. He has also threatened to slap tariffs on imported cars, trucks and auto parts, potentially targeting imports that last year totaled $335 billion.

The president on Wednesday will meet with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at the White House as the EU hopes to convince him to hold off from raising tariffs on imported cars and avoid a trans-Atlantic trade war.

During his speech in Missouri, Trump appeared less than conciliatory in his approach to European allies. He called the EU terrible and said the U.S. was losing billions of dollars.

These countries have been ripping us off for decades, he said. What the EU is doing is terrible.

The stakes are high, as the car industry carries huge heft in terms of trade and jobs in both the EU and U.S.

The European car federation says that the United States is the No. 1 destination for EU-built cars, amounting to almost 30 percent of the total EU export value. It accounts for a quarter of U.S. car imports.

If Trump imposes a 25 percent tariff on imports of cars, trucks and auto parts, it "risks dragging us all down to a game of tit for tat retaliations that ultimately leave consumers in the U.S. as well as in Europe worse off," said Professor Alexander Mattelaer of the Egmont Institute think tank.

Fox News' Kelly Chernenkoff and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
President Trump proclaimed Tuesday that Tariffs are the greatest! as he threatened new penalties ahead of what are likely to be hardball trade talks in Washington with European officials.

Tariffs are the greatest! Either a country which has treated the United States unfairly on Trade negotiates a fair deal, or it gets hit with Tariffs. Its as simple as that and everybodys talking! Remember, we are the piggy bank thats being robbed. All will be Great! Trump tweeted early Tuesday.

Coming on the heels of Trump's contentious session with NATO allies earlier this month, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is meeting with Trump on Wednesday to talk trade.

Trump has used the tariff threat as leverage to pursue new trade arrangements, and already angered European allies by imposing a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports and 25 percent tariff on steel imports.

Trump now is threatening to put a 20 percent tariff on all European-made cars coming into the United States.

Countries that have treated us unfairly on trade for years are all coming to Washington to negotiate. This should have taken place many years ago but, as the saying goes, better late than never! Trump tweeted.

The presidents meeting with Juncker takes place two weeks after his NATO summit in Brussels, where Trump tangled with NATO allies over defense spending -- compounding tensions that already had risen over tariffs and trade.

Trump, in March, first announced the tariffs on steel and aluminum. They became effective in mid-March, with exclusions for Mexico, Canada, and the EU.

But in May, the Trump administration implemented the tariffs on allies, prompting retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods. Last month, the EU began slapping tariffs on American imports like bourbon, peanut butter and orange juice.

A spokesman for the European Commission, part of the European Union, said on Monday that there would be no offers, and that the upcoming meeting is instead a dialogue.

I do not wish to enter into a discussion about mandates, offers because there are no offers, the spokesman said, according to Reuters. This is a discussion, it is a dialogue and it is an opportunity to talk and to stay engaged in dialogue.

Last month, Harley-Davidson also announced the company would move production of European-sold motorcycles abroad to avoid the increased tariffs imposed on American imports.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
President Trump on Tuesday expressed concern over the possibility of Russia interfering in this years midterm elections, the latest effort to show hes willing to get tough with the country after facing criticism last week over his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Im very concerned that Russia will be fighting very hard to have an impact on the upcoming Election, Trump tweeted.

Without citing evidence, Trump argued the Russians would prefer Democrats to win in November.

Based on the fact that no President has been tougher on Russia than me, they will be pushing very hard for the Democrats, Trump said. They definitely dont want Trump!

But it comes as Special Counsel Robert Mueller is prosecuting Russian operatives for targeting the Hillary Clinton campaign and Democratic Party during the 2016 election in an effort to help Trump. During last weeks summit, Putin denied the accusations that Trump meddled in the election but he acknowledged that he preferred Trump over Clinton in the contest.

TRUMP RESUMES DEFENSE OF PUTIN SUMMIT AFTER WALK-BACK

Earlier this month, a federal grand jury indicted more 12 Russians for allegedly hacking emails during the campaign. The internet allows foreign adversaries to attack America in new and unexpected ways, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said at the time.

In Helsinki last week, Trump said he didnt see any reason why Russia would be behind election meddling in 2016. This and other comments led to bipartisan outrage and accusations that he was taking Putins word over the intelligence communitys.

But Trump, at the White House the next day, walked back those comments and said he meant the opposite. I said the word would instead of wouldntsort of a double negative, Trump explained.

Fox News Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
Robert Wilkie has served as acting secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs since March  and now his position is permanent.

On July 23, the Senate confirmed Wilkie to lead the VA, the government's second-largest department, with 360,000 employees serving 9 million veterans.



Wilkie, 55, has led the department since Trump announced his decision to replace David Shulkin. Then, Trump said he intended to nominate presidential physician, Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, to lead Veterans Affairs, but Jackson eventually withdrew his name from consideration following controversy.

Read on for a look at four things to know about the Wilkie.

He served in the Air Force and Navy

Wilkie served in the United States Naval Reserve, according to his Defense Department biography.

He would later join the Air Force as a reserve officer and was assigned to the Office of the Chief of Staff, his biography said.

He holds a masters in strategic studies from the United States Army War College. Wilkie is also a graduate of Wake Forest University, Georgetown University and Loyola University in New Orleans.

He is also the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness

Wilkie took over as Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness in November 2017. According to his Defense Department biography, he advises the Secretary of Defense for Total Force Management on the National Guard, training, health issues and personnel requirements.

WHOS IN TRUMPS CABINET? A FULL LIST OF THE PRESIDENT STOP ADVISERS

In 2005, Wilkie was tapped to serve as assistant secretary of the Defense Department. He was the youngest senior leader in the department at the time, his biography states.

He worked for a massive engineering firm

Wilkie was vice president for strategic programs for CH2M HILL, a global engineering company, from 2010 to 2015, according to the Raleigh News & Observer.

Some of his assignments included reforming the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense Supply and Logistics System, his biography explains.

Wilkie also worked on the Hill

Wilkie worked for Sen. Trent Lott, then the Majority Leader, from 1997 to 2003, according to the News & Observer. He also served as an aide to former Sen. Jesse Helms and former Rep. David Funderburk.

Additionally, Wilkie was executive director of the North Carolina GOP, the newspaper reported.

In 1996, Wilkie unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for Congress, the News & Observer reported.
Lake Mead claims many feats, including being the countrys largest man-made reservoir and the nations deadliest national park (according to an Outside Magazine count of fatalities over a 10-year span). But theres a jewel at the bottom of its depths that is attracting renewed attention.

Seven decades after a B29 Superfortress Bomber plane crashed over the lake, the wreckage remains intact at the bottom. In commemoration of the 70th anniversary, the National Park Service released new videos from the underwater wreck site.

Flying a scientific mission to test the trajectory of intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads, the crew of five crashed on July 21, 1948 after flying too close to the surface of the water. An incorrectly calibrated altimeter and pilot error were later to blame for the crash, however all passengers survived.

The wrecked plane remains a popular destination area for professional scuba divers  but only those with a permit are allowed to see it up close. Conservationists say they plan to keep it at its current location, but the park has temporarily stopped issuing permits.

Cold, freshwater preserves things very well and its in good condition where it is and we dont see any reason to bring it up, said David Conlin, chief of the National Park Services Submerged Resources Center. Its in the best interest of the plane itself to stay where it is.

The mission that day took off from Armitage Field in Inyokern, Calif., 140 miles west of Las Vegas. The flight was part of the militarys Upper Atmosphere Research Project that was measuring data from a secret ballistic-missile guidance system known as the suntracker. Testing involved the plane repeatedly ascending 35,000 feet, then dropping to just 100 feet above the lake. Theories suggest that the reflection of the sun on the surface of the lake may have caused the captain to lose his depth perception, crashing into the water at 230 miles per hour. Divers didnt find the plane for more than half a century, discovering the site in 2002.

This was really the beginning of the Cold War, it was the dawn of the space race, all that scientific information was used to help America move forward, both to put Americans on the moon and to defend our country, Conlin said.

When Conlin and his team of divers mapped the area and documented the site in 2003, he described it as the coolest thing Ive ever seen underwater.

The plane looked like a spaceship sitting on the bottom of the lake, Conlin said about the first time he saw it. It looked like the Millennium Falcon.

The historically low levels of Lake Mead have made the wreck site a haven for professional divers. The National Park Service has issued permits in the past to a limited number of highly skilled divers. This year, however, they are devoting a period of study to improve preservation efforts and, for now, have stopped issuing permits.

Divers use to have to plunge to about 220 feet to reach the wreck site. Now, that descent doesnt take nearly as long sitting, currently its at 105 feet below the surface.

But, the allure is alive and well  especially for residents of Las Vegas and surrounding communities. Betty Gripentog was 17 years old when the crash occurred and remembers the news reports.

It was in the newspaper and I dont remember that it created a lot of interest, she said, but the story has been on for a long, long time about the crash and about it being a secretive plane.

As for the B-29, there are only 26 surviving in complete form today, of which only two are able to still fly. The rest are on static display.

In its heyday, the plane was used to drop the atom bomb on Japan. But fast-moving military technology quickly rendered the prop-driven plane obsolete  particularly when the jet engine was invented.

The others were faster and could achieve higher altitudes, said Susan Edwards, archaeologist and historian at the Desert Research Institute.

The National Park Service is the planes only custodian and the wreck site is under consideration for National Historic Landmark designation. But for the other oddities wallowing in the lake  including a school bus, an old ferry, and a flying boat  none share the same high distinction as the historic relic that is the B-29.

We just really want to bring out a really neat story, Conlin said, and get people thinking maybe theres all sorts of hidden jewels at Lake Mead and other national parks.
PM Phuc highly valued the Australian parliament leaders visit to Vietnam, which he said will help enhance the countries strategic partnership, including parliamentary relations.

Speaker Smith said his visit this time aims to strengthen ties between the two parliaments, Governments and peoples.

Talking about the recent inauguration of Cao Lanh Bridge in Dong Thap province, he said the Australian-funded facility will not only help improve local peoples life and socio-economic development but is also an important symbol of bilateral ties.

The Australian parliament always wants to step up cooperation with the National Assembly and Government of Vietnam, he said, adding that after this trip, his delegation will convey their good impression of the Southeast Asian nation to the Australian parliament so as to bolster bilateral connections in all aspects.

PM Phuc said amid the thriving strategic partnership, Vietnam is exerting efforts to realise the two countries joint statement signed last March. While bilateral trade has been on the rise, the two sides have coordinated closely at regional and international forums for the sake of peace and development.

He wanted the two sides to continue reinforcing substantive cooperation, especially in pillar and potential areas such as economy-trade-investment, security-defence, education-training, science-technology, hi-tech agriculture, and development assistance.

Vietnam is resolved to ratify the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) this year and will work closely with Australia to implement this trade pact, he noted.

The PM affirmed that the Vietnamese National Assembly and Government appreciate and want Australia to continue supporting ASEAN and Vietnams viewpoint on the East Sea issue, and promoting the serious and full implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea and efforts to achieve a Code of Conduct in the waters.

Sharing his guests view on the significance of Cao Lanh Bridge in the two countries cooperation, the host leader said he hopes that Australia will keep supporting Vietnam in such fields as infrastructure, agriculture and rural development, poverty reduction and climate change response.

He appreciated Australias continuation of official development assistance for Vietnam, asking both sides to coordinate more closely to successful organise activities marking 45 years of their diplomatic ties and 20 years of defence relations, thereby contributing to the political trust and mutual understanding between leaders and peoples of the two nations.

At the meeting, the Speaker of the Australian lower house expressed his support for PM Phucs proposals on intensifying bilateral relations.

He said there have been thousands of Vietnamese students in Australia while more and more Australian students have come to Vietnam to take part in community activities and explore the country. They serve as an effective bridge helping to deepen mutual understanding between the two peoples.

Speaker Tony Smith affirmed that Australia will continue assisting the development process of Vietnam. It also respects the freedom of navigation, which is a consistent policy the country has advocated in not only Australia or Vietnam but also anywhere else in the world.

The CPTPP is also an important issue for Australia, he said, noting that his country will actively coordinate with Vietnam in this matter so as to help bring common benefits to members of the agreement.
One year ago, a massive iceberg the size of Delaware broke off from the Larsen C ice shelf in Antarctica, triggering concerns about how the event could impact shipping routes and sea levels.

The 2,240-square-mile iceberg only traveled about 27 miles northeast before getting stuck behind an elevated ice promontory known as the Bawden ice rise. An ice rise is a more defined, elevated section of an ice shelf.

Now, researchers who monitor satellite images have noticed that the iceberg has been banging against Bawden thanks to wind and ocean currents.

MAINE BEACHGOERS FIND DECOMPOSING BODY OF POSSIBLE SHARK

Anna Hogg, an earth observation researcher at the University of Leeds in England, told Science News the Bawden ice shelft is similar to scaffolding, adding a measure of stability to Larsen Cwhich itself covers 17,100 square miles. If the shelf were destabilized, she explained, it could potentially to collapse.

That would have major consequences for sea level rise. However, that has not happened at this point.

Currents and winds carry most of the icebergs in the same direction, glaciologist Ted Scambos of the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo., told Science News.

That direction is out toward South Georgia Island, where many Antarctic icebergs eventually thin out and melt away, he added.

Scientists will continue to monitor the situation.
An Oregon woman recently came home to an unusual surprise: a mountain lion, which continued taking a nap for six more hours behind her sofa.

The odd encounter took place on July 8 in the Ashland, Ore., home of Lauren Taylor.

After drinking from a pond in Taylors backyard, the cat likely entered her home through an open back door, she explained in Facebook. The post had garnered more than 17,000 reactions and shares as of Tuesday morning.

This is wild, she wrote. The door was open and the room has huge plants and stairs built around real tree branches, so she likely didn't even realize she was walking indoors until she was inside.

BEAR RECORDED RELAXING IN HOT TUB, DRINKING MARGARITA

After entering the home, the cat was startled by Taylor's roommate, who screamed upon seeing the mountain lion. This prompted the wild animal to hide behind the sofa, where it snoozed for several hours.

Taylor made a noise to wake the feline, but then gazed lovingly into her eyes, and communicated using feline-speak eye blinking to calm her, she wrote.

It was amazing to realize that this worked. I gazed lovingly then blinked hard and then she did it back, Taylor continued, adding that the cat then went back to sleep. She clearly felt safe and she showed no inclination to leave."

When the cat awoke a second time, Taylor said she again connected in a loving gaze and communicated trust through blinking.

With just a couple hours to dawn, Taylor decided it was time to prompt her to leave without alarming her so much that she panicked.

The Oregon woman then used a drum to encourage the lion to exit the home.

"May she stay safely in the hills to enjoy a long life as a wild and healthy lion."  Lauren Taylor

BLACK BEAR CAUGHT ON VIDEO STEALING DONUTS FROM FAMILY'S GARAGE

She roused and knew just what to do.... walking out through the open doors, through the yard, across the creek, and through the empty field behind us exactly as we had shown her, said Taylor, adding she has extensive experience working with energy and animals."

It was a perfect ending to a blessed encounter that could have been dangerous if approached from a lower frequency, she continued. May she stay safely in the hills to enjoy a long life as a wild and healthy lion.

Taylor was not immediately available for additional comment when contacted by Fox News on Tuesday.
"Titanic" director James Cameron and the man who discovered the shipwreck, Robert Ballard, are backing a bid by a group of British museums to acquire a collection of 5,500 artifacts from the ill-fated ocean liner.

Cameron said there are grave concerns that the collection will be broken up and sold privately because that company has filed for bankruptcy.

"That's why people who feel some protective role have stepped up and kind of linked arms," Cameron said. "It's an incredible piece of history, an object lesson about human hubris. If it gets sold into private hands, it disappears from the public eye. It would be broken up and could never be reassembled."

RARE TITANIC PHOTO UP FOR AUCTION, OFFERS GLIMPSE INTO DOOMED LINER'S FINAL DAYS

The objects include a section of the ship's hull and a bronze cherub decoration from the ship's grand staircase. They were recovered from the wreck site in seven deep sea expeditions conducted between 1987 and 2004.

Ballard, who discovered the wreck in 1985, said the campaign is the "only viable option to retain the integrity" of the artifacts. He said the collection "deserved to be returned home to where its journey began."

Items recovered from the Titanic, which sank on April 15, 1912 taking more than 1,500 lives, continue to be popular at auction.

In April, a rare photograph of a burial ceremony for a victim of the Titanic disaster went up for auction.

SAILING TO DISASTER: RARE TITANIC PHOTOS UP FOR AUCTION

Separately, a letter written by Second Class passenger and survivor Kate Buss detailing how life was like aboard the ship during its final days went up for auction.

Additionally, a copy of a lunch menu from the first meal served onboard the ship went up for auction, also in April.



The Associated Press contributed to this story. Follow Chris Ciaccia on Twitter @Chris_Ciaccia
The Tour de France temporarily came to a standstill Tuesday after protesters stormed a road during Stage 16, leading to a number of riders inadvertently getting hit with what appeared to be pepper spray or tear gas.

Initial reports appeared to suggest a police officer used pepper spray or tear gas to fend off protesters who were trying to throw bales of hay onto the road -- and, in the process, managed to hit several riders.

The police had to use tear gas on the protesting farmerssome of which has gone into the eyes of the riders, so the race has stopped for now, Team Dimension Data, one of the teams racing, tweeted when the race came to an abrupt stop.

Several riders, including four-time champion Chris Froome, had to have their eyes treated after a protest by local farmers brought the race to a halt with riders en route from Carcassonne to Bagneres-de-Luchon.

Yellow jersey holder Geraint Thomas was also pictured dousing his face in water.

As police removed the bales blocking the road, the riders affected received medical treatment while those unaffected were seen going back to their cars for food or taking a break at the side of the road.

The race restarted around 15 minutes later.

Race organizers have had trouble controlling crowds with fans getting out of hand on the most famous climbs of the Tour.

Last Friday, a spectator threw a smoke bomb into the peloton as it passed by.

Nobody was harmed, unlike a day before when a fans camera strap appeared to snag Vincenzo Nibalis handlebars on Alpe dHuez. He slammed to the ground and broke a vertebra.

Nibali's accident occurred in a cloud of yellow smoke set off by spectators, with two police motorbikes not much more than a couple bike lengths in front of the stage leaders.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
For 40 years, the Black Hawk has been flown by the Army and now this legendary helicopter is set to become even more powerful with new futuristic cockpits.

The upgrade will give Army pilots ultra-advanced capabilities in the cockpit combined with the might of this classic military helicopter. The analog cockpits are going digital.

The UH-60V Black Hawk program is modernizing the Armys fleet of UH60L helicopters through cockpit upgrade and Northrop Grumman is providing the digital cockpit avionics.

With this upgrade, the Army is replacing the Black Hawk UH-60L analog gauges with digital electronic instrument displays.

Once UH-60Ls are upgraded with the-state-of-the art cockpits, they become UH-60Vs that essentially replicate the UH-60M cockpit experience and capabilities at the fingertips of Army pilots.

The upgrade is expected to mean less workload for pilots, but more cutting-edge capabilities that they can leverage for potent advantages in combat.

ARMY'S NEW MACHINE GUN WILL BLAST LIKE BATTLE TANKS

Pilots will have improved situational awareness and better mission safety.

More Army pilots got a key step closer to flying with these cutting-edge cockpits when Northrop Grumman recently delivered software to the US Army for integration into the UH-60V Black Hawk.

Back in January 2017 out in Huntsville Alabama, the UH-60V Black Hawk was kitted out with the new, futuristic digital cockpit flew for the very first time.

Exciting features in the futuristic cockpit

Analog to digital is a big shift. This new advanced cockpit for the UH-60M helicopters will provide a range of advantages.

The digital cockpits will have advanced features like a digital map, four multi-function displays and Stormscope.

The cockpit also incorporates Dual Embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation System (EGI), four-axis fully-coupled flight director and Joint Variable Message Format (JVMF) messaging.

TANK-KILLING ROBOT REVEALED

There is also an Integrated Vehicle Health Management System with Crash Survivable Memory Unit.

The UH-60V digital cockpit meets the militarys Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) standard. This means that the Army can rapidly insert and integrate different off-the-shelf hardware and software to further upgrade the helicopter.

PODCAST: INSIDE THE MISSION AGAINST SADDAM HUSSEINS SONS + MORE DANGEROUS HELO ASSAULTS  HEAR THE AMAZING STORIES FIRSTHAND FROM THIS FASCINATING PILOT

Black Hawk mission sets

Made by Lockheed Martin Sikorsky, Black Hawks are very versatile and the military relies on the helicopter for a range of important missions.

The UH-60L Black Hawks are updated versions of the original UH-60A Black Hawk that entered service with the U.S. Army in 1978.

The Black Hawks are beasts capable of heaving 9,000 pounds, weighing in themselves at about 22,000 pounds. They can carry the 9,000 internally, externally or as a combination of the two.

Cargo hooks and sling-loads can be used to carry supplies. They are even strong enough to carry some types of combat vehicles deep into war zones. Without ever landing, the supplies and vehicles can be delivered to the ground.

NEW FUTURISTIC ISRAELI 'DUNE-BUGGY' IS BRISTLING WITH WEAPONS, READY FOR COMBAT

Delivering troops directly into combat is a primary mission for these behemoths. They can carry about 12 fully equipped soldiers and more, if less equipped.

Black Hawks can be armed with different weapon systems. Some options include 7.62-machine guns, .50-cal machine guns, mini guns, Hellfire missiles, Stinger anti-air missiles, rockets and more. Electro-optical sensors can be used to enhance accuracy.

For armed assault missions, soldiers often use door or window guns. Special operations teams frequently use fast ropes to rapidly insert while the Black Hawk helicopter hovers above.

Very robust, UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters can withstand enemy small arms fire and many other projectiles. The floors of the Black Hawk can be armored and even the fuel system is designed to be crash-resistant and self-sealing.

To undertake longer missions or missions farther away, its possible to add 200-gallon external or internal fuel tanks.

Black Hawks also play a vital role in combat search and rescue. On these missions, the helicopters bring capabilities like rescue hoists and electro-optical sensors to locate the soldier or soldiers.

FORMIDABLE 'JAGUAR' RECON VEHICLE REVEALED, TOUTS POWERFUL CANNON AND ANTI-TANK MISSILES

For example, if a fighter pilot has been shot down and ejected behind enemy lines, powerful helicopters with advanced sensors can help conduct search missions. Ample weaponry can also handle enemy activity, providing a clear advantage in locating and rescuing the downed pilot.

Black Hawks are also crucial for medical evacuation and saving soldiers lives. The helo functions sort of like a battlefield ambulance. The 60M MEDVAC is specifically designed to fly to the wounded and evacuate them, but other variants can be rapidly adapted to swap seats for litters for the wounded.

Electronic warfare, armed escort and transporting military and government VIPs within war zones are just a few more of the missions Black Hawks undertake.

PODCAST: THIS ARMY RANGER SLAYED 3 SHARKS, FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED WITH A DEADLY VIPER

Whats next?

During testing, Northrop Grumman will evaluate the futuristic cockpits operational readiness, capabilities and compatibility with the UH-60M pilot-helo interface.

The UH-60V Black Hawk helicopter is slated to enter low-rate initial production (LRIP) next year. The digital cockpit upgrade should help extend the life of the Black Hawks and enhance the capabilities they bring to missions going forward.
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," July 23, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

SEAN HANNITY, HOST: Welcome to "Hannity."

Tonight, we have confirmation right now tonight that America's top secret FISA court system was totally abused for political gain, judges lied to repeatedly and on purpose by the top echelon in our FBI and others. The FBI has now released their foreign surveillance warrant against one-time Trump campaign associate Carter Page. These contents go to the root core of our constitutional republic.

Now, we on this program were right for a year. The media is now missed the biggest political scandal in our history. We'll explain all of this, just as we have been reporting the bulk of the FISA warrant we now know for sure was based on the unverified uncorroborated phony bought and paid for Russian lie dossier of Hillary Clinton. Clear proof your federal government has been using opposition research the deep state, to spy on a political campaign to impact, steal a presidential election.

This should rock the soul of every American in this country, regardless of political affiliation. Now, to your core, we're going to reveal the baseless corrupt motivations that are behind all of this abuse. We're going to call out all of these high-ranking deep state officials.

They literally weaponized surveillance. They saved one candidate from being indicted and they turn their guns on another candidate politically speaking. And this, of course, amid the abuse of the ongoing politicization of the intelligence gathering.

Now, the Trump administration rightly is looking to remove security clearances from former high-ranking officials. We're going to tell you who they are and why they should be removed, something that the media won't tell you tonight.

And we also have a message for Robert Mueller -- Bob, pay very close attention tonight. We found Russia collusion none of it involves Donald Trump.

Buckle up, sit tight. This is an important hour when we start with our very important breaking news opening monologue.

(MUSIC)

HANNITY: All right. This is sad news. Everything we have been telling you for months, we have been reporting for months that the media has ignored for over a year has been confirmed this weekend. I want you to pay very close attention. It gets somewhat complicated, but it's a sad chapter in American history.

You have a Trump campaign associate, his name is Carter Page, he was spied on during the height of the 2016 election by Barack Hussein Obama's DOJ through the use of a FISA warrant, the hardest warrant to get.

And tonight, we know for sure totally confirmed that the justification for this warrant was a document. You've heard it before, the unverified, uncorroborated, phony dossier put together by a foreign national with funneled money through a law firm to an op research group paid for by Hillary Clinton and the DNC.

And, by the way, this was all full of Russian lies. The whole bunch of it, Russian lies. Every single thing that they said about Donald Trump was not true.

Now, we told you about Perkins Coie, the law firm. We told you about Fusion GPS. We told you about the foreign national Christopher Steele. They dug up dirt on Clinton's opponent with Russian lies.

Let me repeat, Mr. Mueller, Russian lies to the American people to affect the outcome of a presidential election. Let me put it more simply: Obama's DOJ and FBI were spying on the campaign of an opposing party, in a presidential election year, using op research that Hillary Clinton paid for, deep state operatives tried to rig and steal a presidential election.

This is what happens in banana republics. This is Venezuela. The type of propaganda would rival Pravda in the former Soviet Union. This should never happen in the United States of America, period.

And the mainstream corrupt media in this country has been completely missing in action. Make no mistake: this phony, dirty Russian dossier wasn't just referenced in the newly released documents on late Saturday night, instead Steele's dossier was in fact the FISA application, all four of them.

But still, look at your screen, see these names? James Comey, Sally Yates, Dana Boente and Andrew McCabe, Rod Rosenstein all signed off on this warrant and all three subsequent renewals. They repeatedly lied to FISA court judges four separate times. Rod Rosenstein lied, McCabe lied -- nothing new for him -- and Yates and Comey and the rest of them all lied, and they all signed off on a warrant application based on a document that is so duplicitous even Steele himself in court proceedings and Great Britain conceded that the dossier was not confirmed or verified. He referred to it as raw intelligence and he said the chances of some of it even being true were 50/50. And Christopher Steele was ultimately fired as an FBI source for lying and leaking and still in the FISA warrants after his firing, they claimed to FISA judges that Steele was credible. He was fired for lying and leaking.

And meanwhile, James Comey admitted he knew that dossier was unverified and salacious and let's not forget, fired FBI director actually denied he told a lie to our own Bret Baier that the dossier was, in fact, playing a major role in the FISA application, the hardest warrant to ever get. They lied to the judges repeatedly.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRET BAIER, HOST, "SPECIAL REPORT": You called the dossier unverified, salacious. Why did you use that to the FISA court to ask for surveillance for Carter Page? Not only use it, but you led with it, a bulk of that FISA application deals with that dossier. Why?

JAMES COMEY, FORMER FBI DIRECTOR: You know, that's not my recollection, Bret, and I don't know that the FISA application has been released. My recollection was it was part of a broader mosaic of facts that were laid before the FISA judge to obtain a FISA warrant.

BAIER: There was a lot more than the dossier in the FISA application?

COMEY: My recollection was there was a significant amount of additional material about Page and why there was probable cause to believe he was an agent of a foreign power and the dossier was part of that, but was not all of it or critical part of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: What he said was a lie. This lie was parroted again and again by Democrats. The biggest liar in the country, Adam Schiff. Let's look at him lying to you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM SCHIFF, D-CALIF.: The information that was used in part in the FISA application came from a trusted source, Christopher Steele, someone who was a respected member of British intelligence. And it was part of a full package that was presented to the FISA court and it would have been negligent frankly given what the FBI knew about Carter Page, the history that he had, the fact had been a target of Russian recruitment even prior to this, the fact that they went out and interviewed him in March even before Christopher Steele produced any part of the so-called dossier, that they were acting in good faith.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: No, Mr. Schiff, you knew and we all now know it was the bulk of the application. He's one of the biggest liars in the country, with 500 TV appearances. Well, about that.

Meanwhile, remember, it was the Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein who was conflicted in so many different ways. He actually signed off on the last final FISA renewal against Carter Page who had this to say.

Rod, listen to your own words about the sanctity of getting a FISA warrant when you said back in May, apply these standards to yourself knowing what we now know.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROD ROSENSTEIN, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: The way we operate in the Department of Justice, if we can accuse somebody of wrongdoing, we have to have admissible evidence and credible witnesses. We need to prepare to prove our case in court and we have to fix our signature to the charging document. That's something that not everybody appreciates.

Now, there's a lot of talk about the FISA applications and many people that I see talking about it seemed not to recognize what a FISA application. A FISA application is actually a warrant just like a search warrant in order to get a FISA search warrant you need an affidavit signed by a career federal law enforcement officer who swears that the information in the affidavit is true and correct to the best of his knowledge and belief, and that's the way we operate.

And if that's wrong, sometimes it is, if you find out there's anything incorrect in there, that person is going to face consequences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Are you going to face consequences? Jeff Sessions, where are you tonight? Your country needs you to do your job tonight. And, by the way, is Christopher Steele, Rod, he's he credible to you?

And to the best of Rod's knowledge, the basis of the 2016 FISA warrant/warrants against the Trump campaign associate, we now know the following: it was unverified, it was uncorroborated as Rot Rosenstein said it must be, it was untrue, it was a document full of Russia lies and they all signed off on it.

And, by the way, in fact, everyone who signed off on this misled FISA court judges and propagated lies in order to knowingly spy on a campaign and rigged a presidential election in their favor and the media took this bait, they were fed by Christopher Steele at the behest of Fusion GPS, and they sent it out to the media. It is the biggest single scandal in American history and your media is deaf, blind and dumb and overpaid and lazy, which brings us to Carter Page.

Now, tonight, besides and despite extensive surveillance from the federal government, why is it Page hasn't been charged with a crime? Has anyone asked that question? Despite Obama's DOJ alleging he might be a Russian agent, what they told the FISA courts, why is Carter age a free man tonight?

In fact, according to Page, and I interviewed him for an hour on radio today, he actually was debriefed by the CIA and the FBI after many of his visits to Russia, cooperating with them, helping his own government he said. Here's what he said on my radio show.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

CARTER PAGE, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN AIDE: It's funny. Not only did they lie, it's -- they have two main themes which are totally contradictory. They call me a, quote/unquote, foreign agent, but then at the same time they say I'm a target of recruitment, right? So, which one is it? I mean, there's so many inconsistencies and it's just completely beyond comprehension.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HANNITY: Our own Gregg Jarrett who's reporting has been flawless in all of this will join us in a minute, probably summed up this document best. And according to his legal analysis, here are the main takeaways from the FISA warrant.

First, the warrant application was the dossier, like we've been saying front and center, the bulk of information. That means Nunes was right, the Grassley-Graham memo was right. The Democrats lied.

The FISA court was purposefully misled on a lot of fronts and not explicitly told the nature of this unverified dossier with Russian lies. There would have been no warrant without the dossier. Remember, even Andrew McCabe said that. James Comey lied about the dossiers role in this warrant.

The FISA court never knew Hillary bought and paid for this. They purposely withheld that kind of important piece of information, and the FBI were lied on news accounts and lied to judges, including what's called circular reporting from Yahoo News. They used the dossier as the basis for one of their reports. Steele lied but was still called credible by the FBI? Does that make sense?

Page has never been indicted. The FBI never actually interviewed Page, although he said he was back at March to me. The dossier was unverified, and yet it was used to obtain warrants. How dare Rod Rosenstein and everybody else sign off on that?

They are now violating -- shredding our Constitution, violating our Fourth Amendment rights. And why is it all redacted? Let's give it to the American people. Trey Gowdy even said he's seen no collusion from this document up.

And still tonight, we have even more questions than even earlier this FISA application is heavily redacted. The American people deserve to see it. I am calling for all of this warrant to be unredacted.

The president can do this and according to my sources, if the final FISA warrant is released, Rod Rosenstein is finished as his role -- in his role as deputy AG. But now because of the blatant abuse of power that took place at the highest levels of your government, the Trump administration rightly tonight is taking important steps and calling for certain Obama era officials to be stripped of their security clearances. This should have happened a long time ago, knowing what we now know.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Not only is the president looking to take away Brennan's security clearance, he's also looking into the clearances of Comey, Clapper, Hayden, Rice and McCabe. The president is exploring the mechanisms to remove security clearance because they've politicized and in some cases monetize their public service and security clearances, making baseless accusations of improper contact with Russia or being influenced by Russia against the president is extremely inappropriate, and the fact that people with security clearances are making these baseless charges provides inappropriate legitimacy to accusations with zero evidence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Well-said, Sarah Sanders, right on the money. Thank, God. They all abuse their power, the power that we give them. None of them should have security clearances. It's all true they fixed the investigation to help their favorite candidate Hillary Clinton, the worst obstruction of justice case I've ever seen in my life.

And in the case of Hillary, misled the American people literally. She violated the Espionage Act, mishandled classified, top-secret, special access programming information and destroyed such two separate felonies then rigged an investigation, clearly into Donald Trump. Their security clearances and are now obviously a clear and present danger to this country. And meanwhile, the press is spinning in circles.

But let us be clear tonight: all these people involved in the biggest political scandal of our lifetime. Robert Mueller, this is your collusion story. Robert Mueller, maybe you want to get your pit bull Andrew Weissmann on this. Hillary Clinton, the DNC, and the paid for Russian lies to rig an election and lie to the American people, all done at the highest levels of our government.

Literally using a warrant process and lying to judges and the bulk of the information judges are fed so that they can spy on an opposition party candidate associate is full of Russian lies, so maybe you'll have a little more time on your hands and go after if -- I may -- these lies that were bought and paid for by Hillary to Russia, all designed to propagandize the American people. Let me put it another way: lie to the American people.

Mr. Mueller, do your job tonight, if you care about truth, if you care about justice, if you care about the system of justice in this country being abused at this high level, if you care that somebody actually paid for Russian lies to misinform the American people and that information was spread by some of the highest levels of our government. How do you justify Russian lies being used to get a warrant on an American citizen?

It was never verified. It was never corroborated. It was never even looked at. It was just propagated and these judges when are we going to hear from them.

I never met a judge in my life that likes to be lied to, where I grew up, where my mom's a prison guard and my dad had worked in family court probation, yes, sir, no, sir, yes, ma'am, no, ma'am, yes your honor, no your honor.

May it please the court? May it please the court that these judges now be told that they've been lied to to this extent by our own top officials in our government to steal an election?

Here now, Fox News contributor, she deserves a Pulitzer in her work in all of this, Sara Carter, author of this book, "The Deep State: How An Army of Bureaucrats Protected Barack Obama and Is Working to Destroy the Trump Agenda", Fox News contributor Jason Chaffetz.

Good to see you, sir, in studio.

JASON CHAFFETZ, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Thanks for having me. Appreciate it.

HANNITY: Sara, you've been ahead of the curve. We've been reporting all this. Now, it's all been confirmed. Now, we know the lies told. Now, we know what they didn't tell the judges about who paid for this. Now, we know that they used unverified information and they put their name to it.

So, where do we go from here?

SARA CARTER, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: This is one of the most dangerous moments in modern American history when you think about this, Sean, that the intelligence community was weaponized, weaponized to unseat a duly elected president, with the intention of impeaching him if he got elected, or to -- or to skew the election so that Hillary Clinton could win. The only place to go from here, Sean, is that the president must declassify the 19 pages that are being requested by the House Intelligence Committee. That he's received the letter in June.

HANNITY: And what will happen -- if the president does exactly what you're saying and I agree with you, I know Gregg Jarrett agrees.

Do you agree, Jason?

CHAFFETZ: Yes, totally.

HANNITY: OK, if he does that, what will he find? What will the American people see?

CARTER: The American people will know the truth. The American people will see what happened, how this dossier was used beyond what we're seeing now, which was already extraordinary, how the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court was fooled and the extent of which they abused the power.

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: Isn't it that the FISA court was lied to, purpose deceived?

CARTER: Absolutely lied to, absolutely lied and deceived.

HANNITY: What would happen if I lied to the court? I'd be in handcuffs, perp walk, mug shotted, and see you later, send me a cake with a file. It's --

CARTER: We all would.

HANNITY: If I deleted emails, I deleted subpoenaed documents, it's -- my life is over.

Why? Congressman, how did this happen in the United States or if there's anything I've got wrong, please correct the record.

CHAFFETZ: No, I think your monologue is the absolutely the best synopsis that we've heard to date, you do it night in, night out. It's exactly what's happening here.

HANNITY: But now, it's different tonight.

CHAFFETZ: It is different and a couple things need to happen. Absolutely need to release that document in its totality. Rod Rosenstein should not be able to oversee this. He's involved and engaged in in the corruption that's happening there.

And you've got to ask yourself, why is it that Director Comey and the others are pushing so hard to get the Democrats elected? It's because that will neuter what would Trey Gowdy and Devin Nunes and --

HANNITY: I can't figure Trey out. He's up and down like a yo-yo, just --

CHAFFETZ: But if you want Devin Nunes to be able to continue to move forward on this, guys like John Ratcliffe to continue to go after it, if the Democrats get elected --

HANNITY: It's over.

CHAFFETZ: It's over. They will close this down.

HANNITY: They will close this all down and a chapter American abuse of power will be eliminated.

CHAFFETZ: That's why James Comey --

CARTER: Oh, no, it just won't be eliminated, Sean.

(CROSSTALK)

CHAFFETZ: -- just outwardly advocating to elect Democrats.

HANNITY: Campaigning.

Sara?

CARTER: Sean, it won't -- it won't just be eliminated. The abuse of power will continue and that that is unspeakable. What could happen from here on out should frighten every American unless this is fixed. What needs to happen is the president needs to declassify these documents. The American people need to know the truth and the FBI, the CIA and our intelligence apparatus needs to be overhauled. They need to take a look at this.

This needs to change and this abuse of power needs to stop.

HANNITY: Congressman?

CHAFFETZ: I also get rid of the attorney general. The attorney general is there a name only. I like Jeff Sessions when he was the senator, but as the attorney general, he is non-existent from any of these discussions. And until the president puts in an attorney general who actually do his job, I think the deep state is going to continue to move forward and work as well.

HANNITY: So -- and if the Democrats -- this is important -- if they win this election, this all dies.

CHAFFETZ: It does.

HANNITY: They cover the whole thing up.

CHAFFETZ: They kill it. Think about it: McCabe and these characters, Strzok, these were the people that were going to be running the FBI.

HANNITY: And they all deserve their clearances taken away, right?

CARTER: That's right.

CHAFFETZ: By default, everybody should have every one of those clearances gone.

HANNITY: Scary moment for our country. This is really scary. If we don't get this right, we are that banana republic. We are Venezuela. We are the former Soviet Union.

Tonight, Gregg Jarrett's book is finally out and Newt Gingrich and Tom Fenton and Andrew McCarthy as a special important breaking news edition of "Hannity".

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: All right. You see this book?

Here with more reaction to tonight's opening monologue -- look, I watch Gregg Jarrett write this book, "The Russia Hoax: The Illicit Scheme to Clear Hillary Clinton and Frame Donald Trump". It is now out in bookstores.

I watched him write it word by word. It is meticulously footnoted, what, with over 700, a thousand, something like that?

GREGG JARRETT, FOX NEWS LEGAL ANALYST: (INAUDIBLE)

HANNITY: It is the definitive story with all the facts, and this weekend, everything in this book as I read an early copy is now completely verified with this.

JARRETT: The book tells the story not only of what happened over the last two years, but what is still going on. And the documents that came out over the weekend prove one of the main theses in the book.

The FISA court was lied to. They were deceived. Evidence was hidden.

HANNITY: How do you lie to judges?

JARRETT: You can't.

HANNITY: How do you delete emails, acid-wash hard drives, bust up the -- how does any of this happen in America?

JARRETT: You know, it's amazing. I look back at Comey's testimony and one of the things that people don't seem to remember is Comey was asked very directly --

HANNITY: By Brett Baier.

JARRETT: -- by Jason Chaffetz during congressional testimony, did Hillary Clinton give classified documents to people who did not have classification status? And he said yes.

She should have been charged right then and there.

HANNITY: Did she -- what she did worse than Kristian Saucier and the sixth person?

JARRETT: Oh, yes. I mean, you know --

HANNITY: So, this is --

JARRETT: I go through all of the people in this book who have been charged for doing exactly what Hillary Clinton did, and yet --

HANNITY: She did worse.

JARRETT: Oh, yes, because the volume -- in fact, Comey wrote the sheer volume indicates that she was grossly negligent, but then he had Strzok and Page expunge that statement.

HANNITY: How is it possible that -- this is the biggest story of corruption and abuse of power that I can think of in our history and we have basically been a lone voice and everything that we've been reporting on, that you have reported on, Sara, I can't name all the names, there's too many people. But the -- but the -- our core group of people has now been proven right.

JARRETT: Yes.

HANNITY: How do you lie to a FISA judge repeatedly? How does Rod Rosenstein get to be the deputy AG and he signed off?

JARRETT: It's a fraud on the court and, in fact, you played the clip of Rosenstein saying that when you sign this, we take it very seriously, we're vouching for the truthfulness, the honesty the authenticity of our documents and yet, we now know --

HANNITY: Did anyone verify it?

JARRETT: -- these documents were never verified, you know? And it would have been interesting if they had actually shown the FISA judges, the dossier itself. Like you and I, they would have looked at this thing. First, they would have laughed and then they would have said, get out of my court with this garbage --

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: It holds the fact that it was bought and paid for --

JARRETT: Yes.

HANNNITY: -- by Hillary.

JARRETT: And in fact, on page 159 of my book, I recite the exact footnote. Footnote number eight from the warrant application, which is so cryptic you would have to be telepathic or clairvoyant to be able to figure out that it was funded by Hillary Clinton and came from a foreign national, an ex-spy, who used multiple hearsay Russian sources that some of whom may not even exist.

HANNITY: So, they all signed off on this but in an interrogatory, this is in your book also.

JARRETT: Yes.

HANNITY: You know, the case in Great Britain under the threat of perjury charges, what did Christopher Steele say?

JARRETT: Well, he basically said that this is just, you know, kind of raw intelligence and not entirely reliable. I mean, it took me a while to dig that out because it's a foreign court but you can get the interrogatory answers that he gave.

And once you read those answers, he'll walk away and said -- say not even Christopher Steele believed his own phony dossier.

HANNITY: So you have a leaker, a liar fired by the FBI but yet, he's in the FISA warrant which they say is credible.

JARRETT: Right. In the later applications, they say, well, we did determine that Steele -- hey didn't use his name but he referred to him as source number one -- that Steele may have misled us, but we believe that his information is credible.

HANNITY: On a scale of lying to a court, how do you, and where does that go on the scale? And am I right that this was designed to steal the presidential election?

JARRETT: If 10 is a lie, this is about a 20. I mean, this is the most egregious--

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: Where would I be right now if I did this?

JARRETT: You would be behind bars.

HANNITY: Without a tooth could you get me out?

JARRETT: No, I couldn't get you out. I mean, this is an abuse of power by arrogant people. They subverted the rule of law, they tried to undo an election.

HANNITY: Wait a minute, but also we know that this whole -- this whole phony -- by the way, Robert Mueller, Russia dossier, Russian dossier, Russian lies. The American people were purposely misled and this was spread as gospel truth.

JARRETT: It was. And so much of what Comey had to say, I mean invite people to go back and look at what Comey say originally in this. He said no reasonable prosecutor would ever bring such a case.

HANNITY: Really?

JARRETT: I haven't yet defined a prosecutor who wouldn't have loved to bring this case.

HANNITY: All right.

JARRETT: There was so much evidence against Clinton.

HANNITY: It's in bookstores everywhere. This is it. This is the book. Congratulations. I think it's going to be number one New York Times bestseller.

(CROSSTALK)

JARRETT: Listen, thanks. Thanks to you.

HANNITY: No. People need to read this book, it's all in here, all of it. Meticulously done, I watched you write it yourself, which is rare. Good job.

JARRETT: Thank you.

HANNITY: All right. Newt Gingrich is next, stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: All right. Following the White House's announcement today, that President Trump was looking into revoking the security clearance for former Obama era intelligence officials including John Brennan, he is the worst of them. James Clapper, Susan Rice, Michael Hayden, the destroyed Trump media predictably, and basically if Trump breeds, they will go into meltdown mode. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Sarah Sanders there. Let's just call it what it was, she threw a grenade in there when it comes to this news that she is now saying, the White House is now considering not only revoking the security clearance of the former CIA chief John Brennan, but also that of Comey, Clapper, McCabe and Rice.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: There're really no way to look at this other than President Trump wants to punish his critics.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Look, Jake, there's no question about it. He wants to punish them and silence them as well perhaps.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Truly extraordinary, an unprecedented threat from the White House but it doesn't seem grounded in reality. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a very dangerous day for American democracy. This is the move of an autocrat, not an American president.

KEN DILANIAN, NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER, NBC NEWS: We should minimize this. This is a huge deal. This is Nixonian. This is the president threatening to use his power essentially to punish his political enemies. And there's no other way to look at it.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

HANNITY: Now the other way is they abuse their power as it relates to, yes, trying to influence the American electorate with Russian lies that Hillary paid for.

Here's the author of the New York Times bestseller, "Trump's America: The Truth About Our Nation's Great Comeback," Fox News contributor Newt Gingrich.

We are expecting GDP growth, Barclays today revise their prediction and I don't think it's going to get there to 5.3 percent for the quarter, anything above four would be a grand slam home run by any proportion.

Let me -- let me get to the important issues here. I've never seen a group of people lie to courts like this. And fix an investigation like this, that had turned on one presidential candidate like this and abuse the power in such a level, lying to FISA judges to spy on Americans. We don't have a Constitution, sir, if this stands.

NEWT GINGRICH, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, no, we do have a Constitution but we just have to fight to preserve it. As Benjamin Franklin said to the- -

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: That's spreading it, isn't it?

GINGRICH: Well, Benjamin Franklin said to a woman right outside the constitutional convention, when she said what have you achieved, and he said, a republic, if you can keep it. We're that kind of a cycle.

And look, if I had any complaint about what Sarah Sanders said today that the president thinks he's going to do in terms of these people, is he's not going far enough or being serious enough.

I think we ought to have some kind of open reporting on every single person who lied to us about. I think we ought to have a really serious look at all the different ways in which the establishment grew more corrupt, more dishonest, more willing to lie to the American people.

And if I were to fault the president it wouldn't be for going too far, it would be for not methodically and systematically exposing to the American people, starting frankly with the FISA warrant. There's no excuse for that warrant being redacted anymore.

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: Mr. Speaker--

GINGRICH: And he kind of stroke to the--

HANNITY: -- they lied to FISA court judges four times. Four times, the bulk of the application was Hillary's bought and paid for Russian, if Robert Mueller is paying attention, lies.

GINGRICH: Right.

HANNITY: How is everything so topsy-turvy in terms of the country, the narrative, Mueller and the media?

GINGRICH: Well, you essentially have said it yourself. We know who these people are, but the question is, what do we do about it? I mean, I have no you doubt that the New York Times, the Washington Post, and CBS News and all the other manifestations of the establishment are desperately seeking to prop up the corrupt system which fed them new stories, which took care of them, which made them feel like insiders.

And I have no doubt that this is really an all-out fight between the old order desperate in its dying phases and the desire of the American people for honesty.

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: But what about--

GINGRICH: But Sean, I think the real challenge -- the challenge here is not them. I want to surprise you, the challenge is not them. We know who they are that challenges us.

And the fact is, starting with the president, we haven't been tough enough, we haven't been direct enough, we haven't been focused enough and I think if we were this whole thing would collapse in a matter of weeks, because it is so sick and the stake would be so great. And I just gave you three or four examples.

HANNITY: How about we start with the redactions. How -- and here's the challenge.

GINGRICH: Perfect.

HANNITY: We could start with the redactions, how does Rod Rosenstein be as conflicted as he is? And he signed the last warrant based on Russian lies. And he appointed Mueller. I mean, I would laugh if it wasn't so serious because the American people--

GINGRICH: No.

HANNITY: -- were systematically lied to, courts were systematically lied to. The -- our protections against unreasonable search and seizure were violated at the highest levels of our government.

GINGRICH: Right.

HANNITY: And I would argue our Constitution is meaningless unless it's fixed.

GINGRICH: You know, Sean -- Sean, here's where you and I are in a different place today.

HANNITY: Help me.

GINGRICH: And maybe it's in part because I had an opportunity to go to take a deep step back and to think about history and to try to get a feel for where we are. Where you and I are in different place is simple. The number one test is neither Rod Rosenstein, we know who he is. It's not anything's desk.

The number test is tomorrow morning, President Trump should sign a note completely eliminating the redactions and release the paper. There is no reason for him to not just go ahead and do it, get it over with. And that begins exactly what you have suggested.

HANNITY: Let me -- let me take you to a step further.

(CROSSTALK)

GINGRICH: And then there are other things. And I--

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: He should sign it, release a totally unredacted version and all those documents that Congress has been beating their brains over, how about he has the authority to release all of it? How about we release it all? Let the -- let's be transparent.

GINGRICH: I think that they should -- the only limitation should be active threats to people who are helping the United States and that should be -- and that should have to be proven. But otherwise get it all out in the open.

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: Sources and methods protected.

GINGRICH: And as I said one of the places -- right. Within that framework, dump it all out there. The only thing that is going to clean up Washington is the fresh air of accountability, transparency and honesty. Nothing else is going to clean this place up.

HANNITY: You've been--

GINGRICH: It is a snake pit, and it would - the more we learn, the sicker we realize it is.

HANNITY: You are a great historian, and you are a professor at heart, nobody knows that about you as much as I do. I guess the question is, in history we've had some very challenging times, can you think of a bigger abuse of power in our history?

GINGRICH: Sure. Look, I think the person whose situation is most like President Trump's was Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln is fighting to preserve the Constitution. He's fighting to preserve the union and he's having to do a lot of different things that are very bold and in some cases very radical.

And he is trying to do it in a way that he's deeply, bitterly opposed not just by the slave-owning south but also by a substantial number of Democrats in the north.

And I think that Trump is in a very similar place. I gave you an example a few minutes ago that I think is so astonishing. You go back and look at Benghazi, we know without any question that the President of the United States, Obama, lied.

We know that Hillary Clinton lied. We knew that Rice lied. We know that they knew they were lying, that they, in fact, hid information from Tunisia, or rather, from Libya that said their version was totally false.

And they deliberately and maliciously lied to the American people. That should all be released and we should be able to see who these people really are. And then you should say this also if that's all true and if Clapper and Brennan and others were engaged in lying to the American people, why would they keep their secrecy? Why would they be allowed clearance? And I think that it's very important to get all the stuff out in the open.

HANNITY: All right. Mr. Speaker, very powerful. Thank you. When we come back, Tom Fitton, Andy McCarthy, we'll get their report and perspective. That's straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. BOB GOODLATTE, R-VA.: We have lots of questions for John Brennan and he will definitely be sought by the committees for an interview.

This is an extremely disturbing thing to see, both he and James Comey, supposedly impartial government officials carrying out their jobs in very important areas in intelligence gathering in law enforcement express the kind of extreme bias that they've shown now, which I think reflects quite accurately on what they were doing back in 2016.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: All right. Congressman Bob Goodlatte this weekend calling on the former CIA Chief John Brennan to testify to Congress on his role in this Russia witch hunt hoax.

With reaction, Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton, he deserves a big pat on the back tonight. Former federal prosecutor, Andy McCarthy. Let's go to that particular point and get your reaction, and more importantly, just get your general reaction of what we learned today.

(CROSSTALK)

ANDREW MCCARTHY, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, look,--

HANNITY: The Saturday -- the Saturday night dump.

MCCARTHY: You know, look. On the security clearances, I think anybody who abuses their security clearance, whether it's to politicize intelligence or to leak intelligence, if they find out that you did that, you should get your clearance yanked. I don't like seeing the debate about it get politicized.

HANNITY: It's too late, they politicized it.

MCCARTHY: Well--

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: Does Hillary -- let's get to the beginning. Does Hillary violate the espionage Act?

MCCARTHY: I think she did. Yes.

HANNITY: OK. When she deleted and bleach bit and beat up her devices, is that obstruction there after she was subpoenaed?

MCCARTHY: Yes. The documents were -- the stuff was under congressional--

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: And did they not turn the top FBI officials turned on Trump in a way that was unprecedented and used their power against an opposition party candidate to stop him with an insurance policy?

MCCARTHY: I think they weaponize the intelligence and the law enforcement apparatus of the government throughout the--

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: Against Trump.

MCCARTHY: -- Obama administration, but they certainly--

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: And did they lie to FISA court judges, not once, but four times?

MCCARTHY: Yes. I mean, they -- well, first of all, they didn't, with respect to the dossier, it was not corroborated. And when they said it was verified--

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: Because they're all from that?

MCCARTHY: Well, their own policies demanded. Their own policies say that they're--

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: FBI policies and so is the law.

MCCARTHY: -- not supposed to give -- well, yes, the law demands that you provide accurate information to a court, it doesn't require that it'd be verified and corroborated, but their procedures require--

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: Rod Rosenstein said that if not there are going to be consequences. I played that tonight.

MCCARTHY: Well, let's see if there are.

HANNITY: I'm not holding my breath. Tom, go through the same list of questions in your mind. Start with Hillary end up with lying to the FISA court judges four times with Russian propaganda paid for by an opposition party.

TOM FITTON, PRESIDENT, JUDICIAL WATCH: Hey, you know, it doesn't -- it doesn't take a lot to yank a security clearance. The deep state has been playing the security clearance game with the Trump administration since it has come into office denying, pulling and punishing those who were deemed too close to Trump by pulling security clearance or delaying them.

But when it goes to Comey and McCabe it's a no-brainer. Both were fired for misconduct. (CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: What about Brennan?

FITTON: Brennan, Yates, I would --

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: Clapper.

FITTON: -- consider Yates in this by the way. Clapper, what I -- Clapper is accused of lying quite credibly. And the basis for pulling a security is credible derogatory information and it's hard to say that there is no credible derogatory information.

You got Clapper who he kind of admits to lying, you have Brennan who is accused in a book of leaking purposely the dossier to Harry Reid with the hopes it gets leaked out to the media.

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: That's all true. That's all true.

FITTON: So, yes. I report them on--

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: So he was telling a politician about something that was Russian lies bought and paid for. The CIA director is spreading Russian lies as CIA director. Does he deserve a security clearance?

(CROSSTALK)

FITTON: And then Susan Rice -- Susan Rice had a number of explanations, contradictory explanations about her involvement on unmaskings. You know, it's fair--

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: Well, I was reading all weekend, I was on unmasking and surveillance--

FITTON: OK. It's fair to ask the question--

HANNITY: -- why Brennan is one of these. And if he didn't do it or if anybody -- I find out who did this illegally, I will sue them and hire the best legal team including Andy on the planet to go after them.

All right. Let me go back to you. Wasn't this all about Russian lives paid for, disseminated, propagated and lying to courts? Wasn't this about lying to the American people with Russian lies of all things?

MCCARTHY: I think it was about pushing the envelope as far as you could push it.

HANNITY: You're being too nice.

MCCARTHY: No, I'm saying for the politics of the election and I think they did it because number one the FISA stuff is classified, and number two they were sure that Hillary was going to win and no one was ever going to be any wiser.

HANNITY: But if you -- if I lie to a court where would I be now?

MCCARTHY: You'd be in--

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: Jail.

MCCARTHY: -- you'd probably in jail.

HANNITY: And if I just swallow -- if I destroyed subpoenaed information what would happen to me?

MCCARTHY: The normal person that does this gets prosecuted.

FITTON: You know, quickly, is there any doubt--

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: Well, we've got to run. All right.

FITTON: -- is there any doubt that this whole FISA court application--

(CROSSTALK)

HANNITY: I got to role. Hannity will be back, the Democratic Party is being overtaken by the radical left, we have the proof.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: All right. Socialist superstars Bernie Sanders and yes, the new rock star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were in Kansas n Friday pushing their socialist liberal left wing agenda, and actually claiming they are the new normal to your Democratic Party. OK. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ, D-CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE, NEW YORK: We are a nation that will not stop until every child is born with the opportunity to go to college or trade school free of cost.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, D-VT.: The ideas we campaigned on which a few years ago were seen to be radical ideas are now mainstream ideas because of your support. I thank all of you for the support you gave me and for being part of a political revolution which is sweeping this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: We start this week the hundred day countdown to the most important midterm in our history. That's tomorrow night. All right. That's all the time we have left. We're always be fair and balanced. We're not the destroy-Trump media. Let not your heart be troubled. There she is, Laura Ingraham. Hi.



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This is a rush transcript from "Special Report with Bret Baier," August 15, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I have decided to revoke the security clearance of John Brennan, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency. First, at this point in my administration, any benefits that senior officials might glean from consultations with Mr. Brennan are now outweighed by the risks posed by his erratic conduct and behavior. Second, that conduct and behavior has tested and far exceeded the limits of any professional courtesy that may have been due to him.

JOHN BRENNAN, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: I do believe Mr. Trump decided to take this action, as he has done with others, to try to intimidate and suppress any criticism of him or his administration. And revoking my security clearances is his way of trying to get back at me.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

BRET BAIER, ANCHOR: John Brennan, former CIA director, security clearance revoked today, saying that it was a suppression of his freedom of speech, saying that as he was speaking freely on another cable channel. He has been speaking freely, criticizing this president pretty robustly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

JOHN BRENNAN, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: I have seen this type of behavior and actions on the part of foreign tyrants and despots and autocrats for many, many years during my CIA and national security career.

He is mean-spirited. He is dishonest. He has shown a lack of integrity. And he has continued, I think, demean the office of the presidency.

He is, I think, the most divisive president we've ever had in the Oval Office.

This is nothing short of treasonous because it is a betrayal of the nation.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I think Brennan is a very bad guy, and if you look at it, a lot of things happened under his watch. I think he is a very bad person.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

BAIER: This has all created quite a stir here in Washington, as you can imagine.

Let's bring in the panel: Matthew Continetti, editor in chief of The Washington Free Beacon; Anne Gearan, political correspondent at The Washington Post, and Jonah Goldberg, senior editor at National Review. OK, Matthew, thoughts?

MATTHEW CONTINETTI, WASHINGTON FREE BEACON: It is certainly a first for the president to deny a former CIA director has agreed to clearance. It's also a first, though, for some of Brennan's comments in the past. And so when we talk about the various norms that are being broken here, I think we do need to recognize that Brennan has behaved in a way that's very unusual for a former government official, accusing the president of treason, accusing him of running a kakistocracy, which is his I guess addition to increasing our vocabularies.

And so what Trump has done is, as usual, pivoted from one scandal by creating another one. But this case, Brennan's case, it may have been a justified exercise of his authority.

BAIER: Referencing the Omarosa dustup over the last couple days. Anne, in addition to John Brennan, other security clearances under review, James Comey, James Clapper, fired acting attorney general Sally Yates, Andrew McCabe, Susan Rice, Michael Hayden, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, and former DOJ official Bruce Ohr. Actually he is still DOJ official, links to the Steele dossier.

ANNE GEARAN, WASHINGTON POST: Right, so what did all those people have in common with the possible exception of Bruce Ohr, who was still in government? All of them have been publicly critical of the president. So I don't know what the president's intent is here, but by his actions today, he certainly is allowing his critics free rein to criticize him for retaliating in a personal way, basically carrying out a vendetta against one person who has been extremely publicly critical of him and holding a sword of Damocles over a group of others who have also been critical of him.

BAIER: Right, which is why you get Mark Warner and others saying it's Nixonian. A lot of reaction from Capitol Hill. Buck Sexton, who we know, tweeted out. He's a former official at CIA, "Brennan is not working for the government anymore. He doesn't need a clearance. He shouldn't have access. He's a partisan actor working to undermine the current commander- in-chief. This isn't that hard." Thoughts, Jonah?

JONAH GOLDBERG, NATIONAL REVIEW: I basically think everybody is right. I agree with Matt that this is unprecedented. I also agree that Brennan behaved in ways that previous CIA directors haven't, and it was an abuse of privilege that he had. I think that he was not a particularly good intelligence official throughout the Obama years and did a lot of things I criticized at the time.

At the same time, this thing is clearly for political cover. It was in the works for a while. They clearly had some kind of case that said break glass in case of Omarosa.

BAIER: So July 26, 27, is when this statement was --

GRIFFIN: Right. And to me this is very similar to the tariffs against Canada which are justified on national security grounds. And there is no national security threat from trade with Canada, but this is the authority that the president is invoking to basically do something that is rankly political and personal. And the fact that Brennan has it coming is a good defense. The idea that Michael Hayden has it coming, I don't quite see that. This will do nothing -- the idea that it is against Brennan's free speech is nonsense. He is perfectly free to keep doing this, and now he will criticize Trump even more. But it does have us not talking about Omarosa for a day.

BAIER: Here is, I mentioned, Mark Warner, the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARK WARNER, D-VA.: To me, this had an eerie memory of an enemies list. It smacks of Nixonian type practices of trying to silence anyone who is willing to criticize this president. That puts us, again, in uncharted territory. I thought there was a bit of an irony that one of the reasons they cited for taking away Mr. Brennan's clearance was erratic behavior. I wonder if this White House has looked itself in the mirror.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: Another senator, Rand Paul, was pushing for this action. He had tweeted July 23rd, "Is John Brennan monetizing his security clearance? Is John Brennan making millions of dollars divulging secrets to the mainstream media with his attacks on Donald Trump? Today I will meet with the president," he said, "and I will ask him to revoke John Brennan's security clearance." So there's other senators speaking out the other way. But to this point about suppressing free speech, that doesn't seem to be what would happen. The thing that would happen is they would possibly not be brought into consult on something that was security confidential, top secret.

CONTINETTI: Which they really do in any case. Elliot Abrams, who had served under presidents Reagan and George W. Bush, wrote in July when we were first discussing this issue that in many cases these security clearances just lapse. Or they are there if you bring them in for a consultation. I don't think the Trump administration is going to bring in John Brennan for consultations.

I will say one thing that was unusual to me about the statement was it's one thing if you say Brennan's behavior warrants the revocation of his security clearance. It's another if you say from now on from now on we're going to start blanket withdrawal of these security clearances once you leave government. And then introducing this third group of people by name and saying that they too may have their clearances revoked, including someone who continues to work for President Trump in the government, I think leaves the administration open to attack.

BAIER: You have to set the bar. What is the bar for pulling the security clearance?

There was reporting, Anne, real quickly, on another channel that the DNI, the director of national intelligence Dan Coats was not aware of this. There's reporting tonight from "Bloomberg" that he was consulted, that Vice President Pence was, John Kelly, national security adviser John Bolton, as well as DNI Coats was consulted.

GEARAN: Right so this was a collective decision. But we now know the paperwork for it was drafted weeks in advance and, as Jonah pointed out, was probably set aside waiting for the right moment. I will say one thing on the question of free speech -- Michael Flynn. Michael Flynn held or easily could have returned to his full security clearance during the last year of the Obama administration when he was on the campaign trail for then candidate Trump, disparaging the Obama administration and chanting "lock her up." That was free speech. No one tried to revoke his security clearance. It's basically the same question.

BAIER: Fair point.

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One Southwest Airlines staffer has been arrested for voyeurism after reportedly hiding a camera in a SeattleTacoma International Airport bathroom frequented by children.

Nicholas Williams was arrested on July 22 at Sea-Tac Airport around 11:30 AM, KIRO 7 reported. The 25-year-old Southwest staffer was handcuffed near gate B-9, an eyewitness said.

A reported with the station also shared a photo of a man reported to be Williams, seemingly on the job at Sea-Tac.

According to prosecutors, the man put a camera in a bathroom that children "sometimes use on their own," an act investigators say Williams admitted to doing four or five times before.

Williams role at the carrier remains unclear at this time.

OHIO MAN CALLED IN BOMB THREAT SO HE WOULD NOT MISS UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT

As of July 23, Williams was booked into King County Jail and appeared before a judge, who set his bail at $90,000. If released from prison, he will not allowed to have contact with children.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

Though representatives for Sea-Tac and Southwest did not immediately return Fox News request for additional comment on the story, the carrier provided KIRO the following statement on the matter:

"We will work with the appropriate authorities as they investigate an accusation that involves one of our Seattle Employees. We do not have additional details to provide.
A man who was caught naked in a Planet Fitness thought he'd get away with it because the gym considers itself a "judgment-free zone," officials said.

Eric Stagno, 34, of Massachusetts, was arrested on Sunday at a gym in Plaistow, N.H., after gymgoers allegedly caught him exercising in the nude, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported.

Plaistow Capt. Brett Morgan said police were dispatched to the Planet Fitness location after receiving a call from witnesses that summarily said, "the guy walked in, stripped down right there in front, left the clothes and belongings at the front desk, walked back and forth across the gym a couple of times and then settled in over at the yoga mats."

The police captain added that Stagno was in a "yoga-type pose" when authorities arrived.

Stagno said "he thought it was a judgment-free zone, apparently referencing [the gym's] slogan."

Gymgoers reported feeling "sick," "unsafe" and "disgusted" by Stagno's alleged actions.

Stagno was taken into custody without incident and charged with indecent exposure, lewdness and disorderly conduct, according to the news outlet.

He was reportedly released on $1,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 21.
In the northern Nevada city of Fallon, unnerved on Sunday by a shooting in a Mormon church, officials are trying to determine the reasons behind the violence.

Fallon Police Chief Kevin Gehman said it does not appear that 48-year-old John Kelley OConnor  who allegedly opened fire on his Mormon church on Sunday, killing one man and injuring another  was targeting the church but instead was focused on an individual victim.

It wasnt clear if the target was Charles E. Bert Miller, 61, who was killed, or another unidentified man who was shot in the leg. Authorities have not released the second mans name, but they say he has been discharged from the hospital.

OConnor was charged with murder and battery with substantial harm and was being held at the Churchill County Jail on a bond upward of $1 million, the police chief said Monday morning.

Its wasnt immediately clear Monday if he had an attorney. No one could be reached to comment on his behalf at OConnors listed phone number.

OConnor is to make his first court appearance later this week, Gehman said.

OConnor ran for the State Legislature in 2010 and 2014, first as a Democrat and then as a Libertarian.

An archived version of his campaign website, accessed through the Internet Archive website, shows OConnor campaigned in 2014 on a platform of increased term limits for public officials, less federal regulation of firearms, and the transfer of public lands from the U.S. government to state control.

OConnor allegedly sat in the church for at least part of the services before the attack, city spokeswoman Kaitlin Ritchie said.

After the shooting, OConnor reportedly walked to his home around the corner from the church. Police and sheriffs deputies surrounded his home. A hostage negotiator spoke to OConnor over the phone, and the man agreed to exit and surrender with his hands up, police said.

Gehman said police seized a handgun that appeared to match one used at the church. Possible motives remain a mystery, though.

We are trying to piece together the information we have to determine the reasons, Gehman told The Associated Press.

Miller was a 35-year veteran of the local volunteer fire department, according to police.

I dont know why youd ever want to shoot Bert Miller. Hes the nicest guy in the world, church member Rich Hutchings told the Deseret News. Its absolutely shocking.

Another church member, Steve White, told the newspaper that when the shooting started, pandemonium broke out. People were screaming and hitting the ground.

Fallon, which is about 60 miles east of Reno, has a population of about 8,700 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

In this small area, many people know each other.

Jacquie Hettinger, who lives across the street from OConnor, told The Associated Press that shes known him for more than a decade as a kind man who helped her care for her husband when he was sick.

Im just devastated, Hettinger said. I dont know what happened.

She was in the church during the shooting, but she said she was sitting in the center of the room and the shooting happened off to the side. She said she didnt see anything because it happened so fast but heard four to six gunshots.

There were about 50 people in the church at the time of the shooting, as Fox News previously reported.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not allow guns in church meetings.

We express our love to those in this congregation and our prayers for the victims and their families. Local leaders are ministering to them at this time, church spokesman Eric Hawkins said in a statement.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Hosting the reception for Speaker of the House of Representatives of Australia Tony Smith in Hanoi on July 24, President Quang spoke highly of the outcomes achieved during the talks held earlier between Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and the Australian Speaker. He agreed with the content of cooperation between the two countries in general, and their legislative bodies in particular, for the time to come.

He underlined that it is necessary for the two countries to facilitate conditions to enhance people-to-people exchange, and coordination in culture, tourism, and sports.

The State leader spoke highly of the education collaboration between both sides, expressing his hope that the Australian Government would continue its support for Vietnam in developing high-quality human resources.

Vietnam will closely work with Australia to carry out the New Colombo Plan, a US$100 million initiative to increase the number of Australians studying part of their degree in the region to deepen their knowledge and understanding of Asia, and build people-to-people ties, he noticed.

President Quang expressed his wishes that Australia will continue to create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese people community so that they can contribute to the development in each nation as well as the bilateral ties.

Vietnam, in return, will facilitate Australian citizens travel, study and investment in the country, he said.

He showed his appreciation of Australias official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam, saying that the assistance has made positive contributions to the socio-economic development in the country. Cao Lanh Bridge, which was inaugurated last May, is a vivid illustration, he noted.

Also, he applauded the close coordination between the two countries at regional and international forums, particularly the United Nations, ASEAN, and ASEAN-led mechanisms.

He thanked Australia for helping Vietnam in successfully organising the APEC Year 2017 and supporting the Southeast Asian nation in its bid to become a non-permanent member of the UN for the 2020-2021 tenure.

President Quang also took the occasion to convey his greetings to Governor-General Peter Cosgrove, and many other Australian leaders.

Speaker Smith, for his part, lauded the fruitful cooperation between the two states and parliaments in the past time, especially people-to-people exchanges, stressing that visits made by leaders from both sides had consistently aimed at consolidating political trust and comprehensive cooperation between the two nations.

Vietnam and Australia have enjoyed sound collaboration in trade, and education and training, he said, adding that the Australian House of Representatives will serve as a bridge to enhance the ties.

Many Australian businesses have gained great success in agriculture, and they want to strengthen their cooperation with Vietnamese partners in the time ahead, he stressed.
A Mississippi teen was sentenced on Monday to 15 years in prison for his role in the May 2017 shooting death of a 6-year-old boy who authorities said was inside a car stolen from a supermarket parking lot.

Madison County Circuit Judge William Chapman sentenced 18-year-old D'Allen Washington after Washington pleaded guilty in February to accessory after the fact in the kidnapping of Kingston Frazier. Prosecutors agreed to the 15-year sentence after Washington agreed to testify against two others in the case including Byron McBride. Prosecutors say McBride shot and killed Frazier after stealing the car and want to seek the death penalty against him.

The Clarion Ledger reports that Kingston Frazier's father, William Frazier, spoke in court against the sentencing, saying all three participated in stealing the car.

Frazier said Washington "could be home in three years for killing a child."

Washington, though, told the judge he didn't do enough on the night of Frazier's death.

"I also want to ask the family for forgiveness," Washington said in court. "I accept responsibility for my involvement and am truly remorseful for the loss suffered by the Frazier and Archie families."

Kingston Frazier's mother, Ebony Archie, didn't speak at the hearing, but at times during the sentencing hearing she buried her head in her hands and tears streamed down her face.

Washington's mother, Tasha Stewart, asked the judge for mercy, saying he had helped prosecutors make their case.

"We haven't run," she said. "Anything the district attorney asked, we have provided."

Dwan Wakefield also faces accessory charges. He was younger than 18 at the time of Frazier's death, but a judge has decided to try him as an adult.

Kingston Frazier was sleeping inside a Toyota Camry last May when his mother left the car running in Jackson. Authorities say McBride got out of a car, leaving behind Wakefield and Washington, and stole the Camry. Miles away, police say McBride later shot Frazier, abandoning the car in muddy ditch with Frazier's body inside.

Investigators don't believe Washington or Wakefield were present when the child was killed, citing cell phone records, surveillance video and gunshot residue tests. However, prosecutors have said the evidence shows the two picked up McBride after the shooting, meriting accessory charges.

Wakefield is set for trial in October. McBride is charged with capital murder in the case. He is undergoing a psychological evaluation before a trial can be scheduled.
Three teenage suspects are now in custody in connection with a police chase that led to a suburban Seattle officer being struck and killed by a pursuing officer in a patrol car.

Kent Police Chief Rafael Padilla said at a news conference Monday that a passenger in the suspect vehicle was arrested with the help of a police dog after the incident early Sunday that killed Officer Diego Moreno. Two other suspects, including the 16-year-old driver, have since been arrested, he said.

The chase began around 2 a.m. Sunday after a red truck was seen leaving a restaurant parking lot where gunshots were fired, according to Padilla.

Moreno had deployed spike strips at an intersection Sunday to slow the suspect vehicle, police said. He was on foot when he was struck by the patrol car that had been pursuing the suspects. Authorities haven't said what specifically led to that collision. Washington State Patrol District Commander Ron Mead on Sunday blamed the suspect for Moreno's death.

The fleeing suspect's truck landed on a spike but continued on for another mile before striking a barrier and coming to rest on its hood.

The patrol car also ran into an SUV that spun into two other vehicles. Padilla said three bystanders were provided medical care and that they were all doing OK. The officer driving the patrol car was hospitalized in critical condition but had improved by Sunday night. He remained in a Seattle hospital Monday with serious injuries, Padilla said. That officer has been with the department for 18 years and is one of their best, Padilla said. Police said they would release his name at a later time.

Padilla said Moreno made significant contributions during his eight years on the force, and described him as an "incredible human being."

The Venezuela native was honored last year by the city with a Lifesaving Medal for saving someone from an opioid overdose. In 2016, he was praised for rescuing an elderly woman from a fire.

Kent Mayor Dana Ralph said Moreno's efforts went above and beyond in the department's Shop with a Cop holiday event. Ralph said last year Moreno pulled out his own wallet to cover extra costs for the things a child wanted.

"That was the type of person he was, the public servant he was," Ralph said. "He leaves a huge hole in our hearts."

Moreno is survived by a wife and two young children.

Community members added Monday to a memorial of flowers, candles, drawings and other items outside the Kent Police Station.

A vigil will take place Wednesday evening at Kent Town Square.
Three people died in unrelated attacks at Bay Area Rapid Transit Stations in the span of just one week, authorities said.

The BART Police Department said Monday they arrested John Cowell, 27, a paroled felon accused of attacking two sisters with a knife at the MacArthur station in downtown Oakland on Sunday night.

The stabbing victims were identified as Nia Wilson, 18, who died from her injuries, and her sister, Lahtifa Wilson, 26.

Cowell was identified by BART riders after his picture was distributed. He was seen on surveillance video wearing a white and gray sweatshirt and carrying a backpack.

Surveillance video on the train and at the stations platform showed Cowell attacking Nia Wilson and her group. Footage showed the suspect fleeing the station through a parking lot and stripping off his clothes there.

BART POLICE NAB SUSPECT IN DEADLY STABBING ATTACK

Cowell was held without bail on charges of first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon and theft, court records stated.

BART Police Chief Carlos Rojas said it was not immediately clear what the reason for the attack was.

While we dont have any facts that suggest hes connected with any white supremacist group, we are going to explore all options, Rojas said at a press conference on Monday night. Cowell is white and Nia Wilson was black.

It was, in my close to 30 years of police experience, probably one of the most vicious attacks that Ive seen, Rojas said.

The stabbing attack came one day after Don Stevens, 47, was found unconscious on the BayFair stations platform, the Sacramento Bee reported. Surveillance video showed a male punching Stevens in the head before he collapsed. He was transported to a hospital where he died from head injuries on Sunday. Police have not made any arrests in connection with Stevens death.

SUSPECT IN DALLAS OFFICERS DEATH BACK IN CUSTODY AS OFFICIALS PUSH FOR TOUGHER BOND

On July 18, Gerald Bisbee, 51, was assaulted at the Pleasant Hill BART station, The New York Times reported. He died from an infection due to a small cut on his knee that he suffered in the attack. A suspect, Abdul Bey, 20, was arrested in connection with the attack.

BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost addressed the deaths in a statement to The New York Times.

One week we can carry two million people and be extremely safe, but what happens in our community bleeds into our system and we have to deal with that too, Trost said.

Fox News Samuel Chamberlain contributed to this report.
An alleged white supremacist accused of killing a black woman reportedly told police he was violently provoked during an argument in which she threatened to tell everyone that he was HIV positive.

Ronald Lee Kidwell, 47, who is accused of fatally stabbing MeShon Cooper, 43, at his home in Shawnee, Kansas, reportedly told police that she pulled out a knife from her purse after the threat before hitting him in the left hand, the Kansas City Star reported, citing an affidavit.

Kidwell told police that the womans actions caused him to flip out and physically retaliate.

When I get mad, I make the exorcist look like a b****, he told police, according to the document.

SETH ROGEN SAYS TWITTER CEO DOESN'T CARE ABOUT WHITE SUPREMACISTS ON THE SITE

Kidwell told police he overpowered Cooper, gaining control of the knife before he stabbed her with it. Cooper was reported missing on July 3.

Kidwells remarks to police came after a joint investigation by police led officers to his home on July 14, according to the report. Police said phone records showed Cooper had visited Kidwells home the day she went missing.

When police arrived at Kidwells home, they found an overwhelming smell of bleach, which prompted a request for a search warrant, the affidavit read.

Kidwell initially told police that he had no knowledge of the womans whereabouts, according to the Star, allegedly telling cops that she was killed by individuals from Kansas City.

COLLEGES SEE SHARP RISE IN WHITE SUPREMACIST PROPAGANDA

Eventually, Kidwell allegedly confessed to the crime, saying he would never be released from prison. He then told police where to find Coppers body  wrapped in trash bags inside a trashcan in his garage.

Kidwell, who reportedly lost his right eye when pit bulls attacked him when he was seven-years-old, was charged with second-degree murder with bail set at $1 million.

People who know him are not surprised of the accusations against him.

His estranged daughter, Crystal Foster, told the Star that her father was a proud white supremacist who would drape himself in the Confederate Flag and bragged about his membership with the Ku Klux Klan.

She added that he once threatened to kill her and her three children if I ever spoke to a person of color.

Hes been a monster his whole life, Foster said. Hes the true definition of evil.

Kidwell has a history of violence and was even sentenced to five years in prison after he plead guilty in 2011 to hitting a sleeping black woman on the head with a hammer and sexually assaulting her.

Kidwells cousin, Shana Turner, told the newspaper that anytime she was around him, hed talk about white power.

The FBI nor the Johnson County District Attorneys Office have commented on whether the case is being investigated as a hate crime.
A convict who a 14-year-old Tennessee girl reportedly called Uncle Pete was named a suspect in the teenagers 1996 disappearance.

Finis Ewin Hill, 66, was named a suspect in the disappearance of Cayce McDaniel, who was last seen leaving a back-to-school party at her church almost two decades ago.

"From day one, he was a suspect," Milan Police Chief Bobby Sellers told WREG. "His name had come up about being in certain places where Cayce was and her family, so he's kind of been on the radar of law enforcement for a long time."

Hill, also known as Pete, was indicted last week on child exploitation charges after he was allegedly caught traveling from Tennessee to Mississippi to have sex with an underage girl, the U.S. Attorneys Office in Tennessee said in a statement.

INDIANA MAN ARRESTED IN 1988 RAPE, MURDER OF 8-YEAR-OLD GIRL AFTER DNA MATCH FOUND ON USED CONDOMS, COPS SAY

The 66-year-old had fallen into a trap set up by police, who created a fake social media account to lure Hill to a Mississippi hotel room, authorities said.

"He was communicating with what he thought was a young, single mother coming out of an abusive relationship, but he was actually communicating with one of our police officers," Sellers told WREG.

Hill sent disturbing messages that included admitting to have sex with a 14-year-old girl and raping, chasing and beating women, police said.

But all along, investigators had been trying to solve the two decades old case, authorities said. An officer began looking into McDaniels disappearance and narrowed it down to Hill as a possible suspect after reviewing witness accounts and testimony from different people.

McDaniel went missing after she left a party and was dropped off at her home in Milan just after midnight on Aug. 16, 1996. She was never found.

At the time, McDaniels mother told police she noticed her daughter was missing when she and her boyfriend came home around 2 a.m. and the back door was open, Jackson Sun reported.

There have been different accounts and rumors about what happened the night McDaniels disappeared. Brandon Barnett, who investigated the cold case in his Searching for Ghosts podcast, told WREG some accounts said McDaniel was at a different party with her mother and boyfriend that night.

"It had too many varying stories about who was there and when they were there, and I knew I was being lied to," Barnett said.

COLD CASE KILLING OF WISCONSIN COUPLE PROMPTS NEW SUSPECT SKETCHES FROM DNA ON CLOTHING

Sellers also said witness accounts police received indicated McDaniel was at the same party as her mother, but authorities said no one at that party has come forward with information.

The party is a key event because, according to Barnett, Hill may have attended that party. Its unclear what kind of relationship the McDaniel family had with Hill but he was reportedly known to them.

"Cayce had called him Uncle Pete, so he was kind of around," Barnett said.

Barnett added that McDaniels mother also called him while he was putting his podcast series together seemingly admitting Hill was responsible for McDaniels disappearance.

Hill pleaded guilty to charges of attempted aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault and being a felon in possession of a firearm after he tried to abduct a woman in 2003, court documents showed. He was sentenced in 2005 to 15 years in prison and three years of supervised release.

Hill was released from prison earlier this year.

Despite Hills arrest last week, authorities are still looking for more information that will lead them to McDaniels body.

Wed love it if one day she were to walk back into Milan, but the odds of that happening at this point are very slim, just based on evidence and how much time has passed. So, the family just wants to put her to rest, Sellers said. If in the process we find out who was responsible for that, thats great, too.
A Florida beachgoer is looking for help in identifying the owner of a Marine Corps ring she found in Siesta Key.

Suzanne Davis Rogers posted photos of the ring to Facebook on Sunday. She said that she believes the ring's owner was in Platoon 1041, from Parris Island in 2017.

The ring's markings include the Marine Corps' emblem of an eagle, globe and anchor in the center of a red gemstone.

The date Nov. 10, 1775, the birthdate of the Corps, is also displayed on the ring, as well as "Tun Tavern," formerly a tavern in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which has been referred to as the military branch's "birthplace."

The ring also features the famous photo of Marines raising a U.S. flag on Mount Suribachi in Iwo Jima, Japan, in February 1945.
A new spate of incidents in which litters of kittens are being tossed from moving vehicles has sparked outrage among Florida animal rights advocacy groups.

Volunteers in Volusia County say they're growing concerned after learning of multiple recent instances where kittens have been injured.

On Thursday between 3:30 and 4:00 pm a litter of kittens was tossed out on 44 close to Sugar Mill intersection, the Southeast Volusia Humane Society said in a Facebook post. This is one of a number of such acts of animal abuse reported in the last 2 weeks. Several on 92, Lake Helene and I4 just to name a few.

Most recently, members rescued a cat they named Crash after receiving a tip that a litter of four kittens was tossed from a moving vehicle on State Highway 44, FOX35 Orlando reported. Crash was the only kitten that survived.

He was in shock. They really have a shocked look on their face and fearful, Humane Society Director Karen Morgan told the station. We had an incident in Lake Helen where a cat was thrown from a four wheeler, weve had incidents on U.S. Highway 92."

Headquartered in New Smyrna Beach, the Humane Society reportedly is offering a $1,500 reward to anyone with information that could result in arrests for these abuses.

The non-profit organization encourages anyone with information related to the abuse to contact law enforcement directly.
Newly released surveillance footage shows the brazen gunman who shot and killed a prominent Texas cardiologist wore a fully-loaded backpack as he tracked his victim, the latest clue released as the manhunt for the murderer continues.

Surveillance video from a Metro lift bus in Houston captured Dr. Mark Hausknecht  who was fatally shot around 9 a.m. Friday  wearing scrubs and riding his yellow bike while the gunman trailed him. The gunman was seen with a large, fully-loaded, olive green backpack while approaching Hausknecht.

Suspect is now described as wearing a blue, short sleeved polo shirt, (not a gray warm-up suit), a khaki ball cap and khaki shorts, Houston police said Monday.

SURVEILLANCE IMAGES SHOW GUNMAN BEHIND GEORGE H.W. BUSH'S FORMER DOCTOR MOMENTS BEFORE MURDER

The new video and images are a few of the tips police have revealed in the search for the shooter  none of which have led to an arrest as of Tuesday. Authorities are also offering a $5,000 reward for information.

"As far as we know none of them have cleared the case," Crime Stoppers deputy director Nichole Christoph told the Houston Chronicle. "We're still looking for the one tip that does it."

The 65-year-old doctor was heading to work at the Texas Medical Center at 9 a.m. Friday when he was shot at least twice, police said. Hausknecht dropped to the ground immediately while the gunman fled the scene on a light-colored mountain bike, police said.

"I've been with Crime Stoppers since 2012 and I don't recall another case with similar method," Christoph told the news site. "I've never seen anything like that. It's completely bizarre."

Christoph said people have submitted fewer than a dozen tips in the case, none of which have helped identify a suspect.

Its still unclear if Hausknechts death was random or if it was a targeted attack. Authorities are still combing through videos taken in the area.

"This is a crime that doesn't make sense," Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said over the weekend. "We don't even have a motive yet."

Hausknecht was a well-known doctor who had been in medical practice for almost 40 years. He specialized in cardiovascular disease, said Marc Boom, president and CEO of Houston Methodist Hospital. In 2000, Hausknecht treated former president George H.W. Bush for an irregular heartbeat. Bush said in a statement that Hausknecht was a fantastic cardiologist and a good man.
New images of two unidentified victims of serial killer John Wayne Gacy were released Monday as authorities continue efforts to identify all of the infamous murderer's victims.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the Cook County, Ill. Sheriffs Office released new facial reconstructions of the two victims. NCMEC worked with the sheriffs office to make the images of what the victims -- known as John Doe #10 and John Doe #13 -- may have looked like.

John Doe #10 was determined to be a white male between 17 and 21 years old. He was about 5-7 to 5-11. His hair and eye color was not immediately clear. Before his death, his left clavicle was injured and healed over time. Authorities believe he died between 1972 and 1978.

BART POLICE NAB SUSPECT IN DEADLY STABBING ATTACK

John Doe #13 was determined to be a white male between 18 and 22 years old. He was between 5-9 and 6-2 with dark brown hair and upper tooth that was displaced. Authorities said his tooth may have been noticeable to people who knew him. Authorities believe he also died between 1972 and 1978.

NCMEC and the Cook County Sheriffs Office have asked anyone with information on the victims to come forward and contact them.

"Hopefully, based on that reconstruction, or that approximation, we'll get some more leads," Det. Sgt. Jason Moran of the Cook County Sheriffs Office said.

Gacy was convicted of killing 33 young men and executed in 1994. His famous last words were: Kiss my a--.

Gacy, a Chicago-area building contractor, lured young men to his home by impersonating a police officer or promising them construction work. There, he stabbed one and strangled the others. He buried most of them in the crawl space and dumped others in a river.

NEW YORK GOV. CUOMO PARDONS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FACING DEPORTATION FOR CRIMES

Gacy is regarded as one of historys most unconventional killers, largely because of his work as an amateur clown. Gacy was also considered an active citizen of the community and well-liked by the towns residents.

He was convicted in 1968 of sexually assaulting two teenagers, but it is believed that Gacy killed his first victim, teenager Timothy McCoy, in 1972.

In 2011, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart ordered the victims bodies exhumed and asked relatives of the young men who vanished between 1970 and Gacys 1978 arrest to submit saliva samples in order to compare their DNA with that of the victims. Dart hoped the advances in scientific technology would help investigators identify the eight victims. Since then, two more victims were identified  William George Bundy, 19, and James Byron Haakenson, 16.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the release of an illegal immigrant who was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in June when he delivered pizza to a military base in New York.

Pablo Villavicencio must be immediately released from his holding facility in New Jersey, Judge Paul Crotty ruled.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT MAKING PIZZA DELIVERY AT NEW YORK'S FORT HAMILTON ARRESTED BY ICE

He said Villavicencio's release is necessary because his imminent removal from the U.S. is no longer reasonably forseeable.

The Ecuadorean native can remain in the country while he tries to became a legal citizen. He applied to stay in the U.S. after he married a U.S. citizen, with whom he has two young daughters.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Cordaro argued for the case to be transferred to New Jersey.

Villavicencio was arrested on June 1 after he failed to provide valid identification at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn. A routine background check revealed a warrant was out for his arrest for violating immigration laws.

ICE told Fox News last month that an immigration judge granted Villavicencio voluntary departure in March 2010 but he failed to leave as ordered.

Fox News' Lucia Suarez Sang and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The VSSS 2018 is being organised by the International Centre for Interdisciplinary Science and Education (ICISE)  Quy Nhon University under the theme of Passion Horizon.

The event consists of more than 20 lectures in seven talks, featuring scientific base, academic freedom, introduction to research, research environment, and critical thinking, in addition to morality and experience in scientific work, skills for preparing applications for scholarships and overseas studies, and general education and science ahead of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Prof. Tran Thanh Van, the founder of Rencontres du Vietnam and the ICISE, said that the VSSS 6 will inspire learners in scientific research, while encouraging, training and supporting Vietnams younger generations, who have a passion for scientific research and are intending to pursue a research career in the future.

The summer school will provide basic knowledge about scientific methodology, the basic skills of research, the approach to scientific resources, overseas study opportunities, and, more importantly, inspirations for Vietnamese youths, he stated.

The activities of the VSSS 6 will last until July 25.
The Latest on the arrest of an heiress and others in the investigation into a self-help group accused of branding women and forcing them into unwanted sex (all times local):

7:00 p.m.

An heiress to the Seagram's liquor fortune has been released on $100 million bond after pleading not guilty to racketeering charges related to a New York self-help group accused of branding women and forcing them into unwanted sex.

Clare Bronfman left a Brooklyn federal court Tuesday without speaking to reporters.

The 39-year-old Bronfman is a daughter of the late billionaire philanthropist and former Seagram chairman Edgar Bronfman Sr.

She has been involved in financing NXIVM (NEHK'-see-uhm) and supporting its co-founder, Keith Raniere, who's accused of coercing followers into becoming "slaves" to senior members of the group. He denies the charges.

5:30 p.m.

Three women described by prosecutors as high-level members of a self-improvement organization accused of forcing women into unwanted sex appeared in an upstate New York court.

None of the three women associated with the NXIVM organization entered pleas Tuesday on racketeering conspiracy charges in federal court in Albany.

Nancy Salzman, the organization's longtime president, and her daughter, Lauren Salzman, are due in federal court in Brooklyn Wednesday. A judge set bail at $5 million bond.

Bookkeeper Kathy Russell is due back in court in Albany Friday. Her bail is $25,000 bond.

The three women appeared in court as Seagram's liquor fortune heiress Clare Bronfman was arraigned in Brooklyn on racketeering conspiracy charges. Bronfman pleaded not guilty in Brooklyn federal court.

___

4:30 p.m.

An heiress to the Seagram's liquor fortune has been arraigned on racketeering conspiracy charges in connection with her work with a self-help group in upstate New York that is accused of branding women and forcing them into unwanted sex.

Clare Bronfman pleaded not guilty in Brooklyn federal court on Tuesday. Her lawyer said she did nothing wrong.

Bronfman is a daughter of the late billionaire philanthropist and former Seagram chairman Edgar Bronfman Sr.

For many years she has been involved in financing NXIVM and supporting its co-founder, Keith Raniere.

Raniere was charged this year along with a NXIVM adherent, the actress Allison Mack, with coercing followers into becoming "slaves" to senior members of the group.

They have denied the allegations.

___

2:25 p.m.

A lawyer for an heiress to the Seagram's liquor fortune says her client, arrested in a federal investigation, "did nothing wrong."

Susan Necheles (NEHK'-eh'-lehs) issued a statement Tuesday on behalf of Clare Bronfman.

Bronfman's among supporters of a group called NXIVM (NEHK'-see-uhm) charged with racketeering conspiracy.

The upstate New York organization is accused of branding women and forcing them into unwanted sex.

Necheles says the group has helped thousands of people and is not "a criminal enterprise."

Bronfman is a daughter of the late billionaire philanthropist and former Seagram chairman Edgar Bronfman Sr.

___

Noon

An heiress to the Seagram's liquor fortune has been arrested in connection with her work with a self-help group in upstate New York that is accused of branding women and forcing them into unwanted sex.

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn announced Tuesday that Clare Bronfman and three other people associated with the NXIVM organization had been charged with racketeering conspiracy.

Bronfman is a daughter of billionaire philanthropist and former Seagram chairman Edgar Bronfman Sr.

For many years she has been involved in financing NXIVM and supporting its co-founder, Keith Raniere.

Raniere was charged earlier this year along with a NXIVM adherent, the actress Allison Mack, with coercing followers into becoming "slaves" to senior members of the group.

They have denied the allegations. Bronfman has said she had no knowledge of wrongdoing.
A Maryland man who already served nearly three years in prison for beating his 7-month old son to death in December 2012 has again been charged with killing a toddler.

Francois Browne, 35, of Baltimore, Maryland, was charged Saturday in the death of 18-month-old Zaray Gary, who died last week. Examiners found that Gary, the son of Browne's girlfriend, had a broken clavicle and internal injuries.

This guy should still be in jail, Dr. Dylan Stewart, director of pediatric trauma at John Hopkins Hospital, told the Baltimore Sun. The penalties are far too lenient.

Brownes son, Kendall Browne, was hospitalized on New Years Eve in 2012 with bleeding in his brain. He reportedly told police he was alone with his son the night the boy was hospitalized

Browne was convicted of child abuse resulting in death and sentenced to 15 years in prison with all but four years suspended. He served two years and 11 months and was released in December 2015.

On July 18, police found 18-month-old Gray injured in a home in the West Forest Part neighborhood of Northwest Baltimore. Police wrote in charging documents that Browne had taken the toddler and two other children to a playground earlier in the day.

Once they returned home, the toddler reportedly started throwing up.

Police said Browne told them he was alone with the boy when he heard him moaning. Later that night the child stopped breathing.

The child was taken to Sinai Hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Doctors found bruises on the boys face, chin, neck and mouth. His clavicle was also broken, the Baltimore Sun reported.

Police said doctors also found tears in his bowels, likely caused by multiple blows to the abdomen.

Browne was taken into custody on July 20 and charged him with first-degree murder.
A Missouri lawmaker vowed Monday to beef up safety standards for amphibious duck boats following Thursdays deadly accident that killed 17 people and injured several more.

Republican State Senator David Sater told The Associated Press he was awaiting the results of the federal investigation into the accident but promised that this issue will not get dropped.

The pledge from Sater came on the same day crews recovered the Ride the Ducks boat from 80 feet of murky lake water near the tourist town of Branson.

As the vessel broke the surface mid-morning on Monday, two small Americans flags remained on the front. Unused orange life jackets dangled from the frame of the boat as a haunting reminder of the chain of events that occurred five days ago.

After pulling the duck boat out of the water, investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board took custody of it.

It is not clear how long the investigation will take but similar ones have taken up to a year.

Kelly and Bob Ivers, who are visiting friends in nearby Hollister, Mo., were among a handful of residents and tourists who watched a crane attached to a barge pull the broken boat from the lake.

I wanted to go by the Ducks office location too but I couldnt bring myself to drive past it, Kelly Ivers told Fox News. So were here instead. We prayed for the victims and for the captain. He will have to live with this his entire life.

The duck boat that sank on Table Rock Lake had 31 people on board.

The amphibious vessel overturned during a fast-moving summer storm that produced near-hurricane gusts which turned ripples into massive waves.

Cellphone video from a witness showed the duck boat taking on water and struggling to move before sinking, making it one of the deadliest duck boat accidents in U.S. history.

Coast Guard Lt. Tasha Sadowicz of the agency's St. Louis office said the boat that sank was known as "Stretch Duck 07." Like all of the duck boats in operation in Branson, it was required to undergo annual inspections.

The Coast Guard said the Branson duck boat that sank was built in 1944 and had passed an inspection in February.

But Sadowicz said the Coast Guard's "certificate of inspection" placed limits on when the boats can enter the water based on wind speed and "sea state," which refers to the height of waves.

Sadowicz did not have information on Stretch Duck 07's limits but said they will be a focal point of the investigation.

Sadowicz said investigators also want to find out if operators were adequately monitoring the weather and should have reasonably known a storm was approaching.

Witnesses have told Fox News that the weather appeared calm before a storm suddenly whipped up strong waves and spray.

But nearly eight hours earlier, the National Weather Service had issued a severe thunderstorm watch for the western and central Missouri counties.

A severe thunderstorm warning that went out at 6:32 p.m. specifically mentioned Table Rock Lake. The first emergency calls over the accident occurred just after 7 p.m.

Meteorologist Elisa Raffa of KOLR-TV in Springfield said in a phone interview Saturday that her station was forecasting the threat of severe weather all morning.

Coast Guard Capt. Scott Stoermer said the investigation will also look into whether the boat captain followed company guidelines regarding use of life jackets.

Missouri law requires boat passengers ages 7 and younger to wear life jackets, but commercial vessels like the duck boats are exempt.

The law requires enough life jackets for passengers and crew, and jackets that fit all of the children. Whether to advise passengers to use life jackets is an "operation decision" made by the captain, Stoermer said.

Survivor Tia Coleman told reporters from her hospital bed on Saturday that the boat's captain told riders they would not need life jackets. When the vessel began to take on water, Coleman said "it was too late."

"I believe that a lot of people could have been spared," said Coleman, who lost 9 members of her family on the duck boat.

The Associated Press contributed to this report
The death of a prominent North Carolina real estate developer, whose son found him with a dog leash wrapped around his neck, has now been ruled a homicide, according to a medical examiner's report released Friday.

The North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said in its report that 59-year-old William Bishop died from oxygen deprivation to the brain due to strangulation and noted ligature marks on his neck.

Authorities have been investigating Bishop's death since April 18, when his 16-year-old son said he found his father unconscious with no pulse, Durham police said in a search-warrant application obtained by The Herald-Sun. Bishop died in a hospital three days later.

The boy, who attends Durham Academy, told authorities the leash handle was in his father's hand and their 60-pound Labrador retriever was attached to the leash nearby, the report said. The medical examiner's report noted that leash was no longer around the man's neck when officers arrived, and that Bishop's son told police he had removed it.

The son called 911 but stated he was unable to perform CPR and stay on the phone because there is no cell service in the basement, the report, obtained by the Herald-Sun, stated.

Bishop was a well-known developer in Florida's Hillsborough County, where he's credited with creating several master-planned or gated communities, according to a Tampa Bay Times obituary. The newspaper said he moved to North Carolina in 2008 to pursue an advanced degree.

Bishop's ex-wife, Sharon, told the newspaper at the time that Bishop died due to a heart attack. The pair had been separated since late 2016. They married in 1998.

"Hed want to be remembered as someone who loved people and the land and who enjoyed making the world a more beautiful place," Sharon Bishop told the Tampa Bay Times.

Bishop was discovered in the basement of his home, located in a wealthy neighborhood, less than two weeks after his divorce was finalized, according to court documents obtained by the Associated Press. His ex-wife was living elsewhere and didn't appear to be at the home when the 59-year-old was found.

BART POLICE NAB SUSPECT IN DEADLY STABBING ATTACK

The medical examiner's report noted Bishop had a history of depression and cancer, and that a 2012 accident had rendered his left arm "largely functionless." A toxicology report also found no sign of alcohol or drugs.

The couple has two boys, ages 16 and 17, and William Bishop was granted permanent custody of them in 2017, according to court documents. The custody and divorce orders don't elaborate on what caused the couple to split up, but show Bishop's ex-wife signed onto the custody agreement, according to the AP.

In search warrants obtained by the The Herald-Sun and The News & Observer, Durham police Investigator T. Huelsman noted several circumstances he called suspicious in nature, as well as statements the 16-year-old made. One of the warrants included the son allegedly telling a firefighter he felt relieved his father was gone after being emotionally abused his entire life.

In another warrant, police noted the 16-year-old had searched on his phone for how to transfer bank accounts after death and how to calculate the value of an estate. Officials also said the 16-year-old called his mother five times before calling 911, according to another warrant obtained by the newspaper.

The teenager has declined to talk with police during their investigation, according to a previously released search warrant obtained by WRAL. No charges have been filed as of Tuesday.

Last month, police executed a search warrant to access a safe found in a storage room next to where Bishop's body was found, WRAL reported. The 59-year-old's girlfriend, Julie Seel, told investigators there was at least $50,000 worth of gold in the safe that Bishop, "a survivalist," always kept on hand, the television station reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
ATM users withdrawing cash from a machine in Michigan ended up paying a hefty transaction fee, police say.

Investigators allege one or more suspects stole $500 dollars each from more than 30 people by placing a device on an ATM at Credit Union ONE Bank in St. Clair Shores, FOX2 Detroit reported.

I took out $40, Bill Roose, a victim of the theft, told the station, later adding the bank told him we believe your card has been compromised for $500.

The device reportedly gave the thieves access to peoples personal information, according to police. Authorities said they are probing footage from the bank's location on Rochester Road in Troy and other areas to determine who is responsible. The incidents were reported to have happened on July 13.

I was shocked. It took me a few minutes to think something was wrong. I was shocked all morning, Melody Terrana, another victim of the scheme, told FOX2 Detroit.

The victims reportedly could have to wait between 80-120 days to be reimbursed.
A registered sex offender on probation for possessing child porn has been arrested after allegedly sexually assaulting a 6-year-old boy in a bathroom at a California public library.

Riverside Police announced Monday that Juan Francisco Palacios, described as a 29-year-old transient, was taken into custody following the incident at the SPC Jesus S. Duran Eastside Public Library last week.

As the child is going into the restroom, the suspect gets up from his seat and goes directly to there and 20 or 30 seconds is all it took for the suspect to commit that sexual assault, the departments public information officer, Ryan Railsback, told FOX11.

Police said the victims father learned of the alleged assault and notified police Wednesday afternoon.

A search of the surrounding area turned up nothing until Palacios resurfaced Sunday at another public library, where he was arrested and charged with sexual assault against a minor under the age of 10 and probation violations.

He is currently being held at a local jail on a $1 million bail, FOX11 reported.
DNA analysis came back inconclusive on skeletal remains discovered in May near where a family of eight plunged off a California cliff, leaving two children still unaccounted for months after they're believed to have died.

The Mendocino County Sheriffs Office announced the inconclusive results on Tuesday, months after the remains were sent to a DNA laboratory for testing and analysis, KOIN reported. Investigators are now hoping blood relatives will come forward to positively identify the remains. The Hart children were all adopted.

Local residents discovered the remains about a mile away from where the Hart familys SUV crashed. A pair of jeans and a shoe with the remains of a foot were found entangled together. The jeans were a girls size 10, leaving some to speculate it may have belonged to one of the two missing children  16-year-old Hannah Hart and 15-year-old Devonte.

HUMAN REMAINS FOUND INSIDE SHOE NEAR WHERE HART FAMILY'S SUV PLUNGED OFF CLIFF

The familys dramatic plunge has been shrouded in mystery since their SUV was discovered at the bottom of the cliff in Mendocino County, more than 160 miles north of San Francisco. On March 26, Sarah and Jennifer Hart, both 39, were pronounced dead along with their three adopted children  Markis, 19, Jeremiah, 14, and Abigail, 14.

The body of the fourth child, 12-year-old Ciera Hart, was discovered in April.

Though Hannah and Devontes bodies have not been located, authorities believe the entire family was in the vehicle at the time of the crash and have said all are presumed dead.

Authorities said in April that Jennifer Hart, who was driving the vehicle, had a 0.102 alcohol level, higher than the states legal limit. Her wife, as well as two of the couples six adopted children, were also found with a significant amount of an ingredient commonly found in Benadryl in their systems, according to tests. Officials said no one in the vehicle was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.

Data retrieved from the vehicles software suggested Jennifer deliberately drove the car off the cliff. Authorities believe the driver stopped at a coastal highway overlook before speeding straight off the cliff and plummeting 100 feet into the rocky Pacific Ocean below.

Details about the mothers troubled past while caring for their six adopted children also have surfaced. Days before the crash, authorities in Washington state opened an investigation looking into whether the children were neglected.

Several neighbors also came out saying they had become concerned about the Hart siblings' welfare after hearing troubling statements some of the children made.

Fox News' Kathleen Joyce contributed to this report.
A bullet fired by the LAPD killed the Trader Joes employee who died during a hostage situation during the weekend, Chief Michael Moore said Tuesday at a news conference.

Ballistics tests show that a Los Angeles police officer fired the shot that struck and killed Melyda Corado, 27, during a shootout with an alleged hostage taker at the Silver Lake supermarket Saturday, Moore said.

Gene Evin Atkins, 28, was arrested on suspicion of murder after Corado died during the more than two-hour hostage situation before Moore revealed it was officer gunfire that killed Corado.

Atkins was being held on $2 million bail, the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department said. Atkins allegedly shot his grandmother seven times and wounded another woman about two hours before the incident at the Trader Joes.

After shooting the women, Atkins drove to the supermarket, crashed his vehicle into a pole and ran inside the store, officials said. He's accused of barricading himself inside and holding dozens of employees and customers hostage.

The standoff ended when Atkins agreed to handcuff himself and walked out the front door, surrounded by four of the hostages. He was injured when he was taken into custody, police said.

Atkins is facing several other charges, Moore said.

Police released dashcam and bodycam footage from the hostage situation. He said the names of the officers involved in the incident would be released later in the week.

Corado was a recently promoted store manager and was pronounced dead at the scene.

They were just so devastated, KCAL9 employee Lynne Westafer said about the staff when they found out about Corados death. Everyone loved her. Theyre destroyed. She was in her late 20s. Its heartbreaking. I cant even tell you how upset they are.

Fox News Katherine Lam and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
A fifth man was arrested Tuesday in connection to an acid attack on a 3-year-old boy that occurred at a busy store in England on Saturday.

A 43-year-old man from Wolverhampton was held on suspicion of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm, West Mercia police said.

Our officers are continuing to work extremely hard on this investigation, Detective Inspector Jim Bayliss said in a statement. At this time we believe this is to be an isolated incident and there is not a wider risk to the public.

Four men  ages 22, 25, 26 and 39  were arrested in connection with the attack in Worcester. The child, who was in a stroller at the time of the attack, suffered serious burns to his arms and face when a corrosive liquid was thrown at him.

4 MEN ARRESTED IN CONNECTION WITH APPARENT ACID ATTACK ON 3-YEAR-OLD BRITISH BOY, POLICE SAY

Police said they believe the boy was deliberately targeted when the liquid was sprayed or thrown at him inside a Home Bargains store.

The child was discharged from the hospital on Sunday, but police said the long-term prognosis of his injuries is not yet known.

It's an awful incident and we're really, really concerned about this, Chief Superintendent Mark Travis has said, according to Sky News.

The use of corrosive liquids, which leave victims gruesomely disfigured with life-altering injuries, has grown in popularity the last few years.

In Britain, the number of reported attacks using acid rose from 262 in 2015 to 454 in 2016. In 2017, there were more than 500 acid attacks reported across the region.

ACID ATTACK ON TODDLER SHOWS CORROSIVE LIQUID IS NEW 'WEAPON OF CHOICE'

British police have reported seeing an increase in acid attacks during the last year, but it is very rare for a victim to be so young. Some attacks are related to gang fights or late-night bar confrontations.

Robin Walker, the Worcester representative in Parliament, said lawmakers are considering toughening sentences for people convicted of any type of intentional assault with acid.

He described what happened to the 3-year-old boy as "horrific."

Fox News' Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.
A firestorm that swept through a seaside resort town near the Greek capital killed at least 70 people, including families with children found clasped in a last embrace near a beach as they tried to flee the flames, officials said.

The two largest wildfires  one 20 miles northeast of Athens near Rafina, the other 30 miles west of the capital in Kineta  broke out Monday during hot, dry summer conditions.

Fanned by gale-force winds that frequently changed direction, the flames spread rapidly into populated seaside towns  too fast for many who were in their cars or homes to flee, fire department spokeswoman Stavroula Malliri said. The Greek fire brigade said the death toll has risen to 74 as of Tuesday.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras declared a three-day national mourning period for those killed in the wildfires, Sky News reported.

"The country is going through an unspeakable tragedy," he said. "Today, Greece is mourning and we are declaring three days of national mourning in the memory of those who perished."

In the seaside town of Mati, rescue workers found the bodies of 26 people huddled together near a beach, Reuters reported.

They had tried to find an escape route but unfortunately these people and their kids didnt make it in time. Instinctively, seeing the end nearing, they embraced, Nikos Economopoulos, the head of Greeces Red Cross, told Skai TV. The group was found near several burned out cars close to a walled compound, also gutted by the fire.

Authorities evacuated more than 700 people by sea overnight as tourists and residents headed to coastal areas for help, said Merchant Marine deputy minister Nektarios Santorinios, whose ministry is in charge of the coast guard.

GREECE WILDFIRES LEAVE AT LEAST 20 DEAD, DOZENS INJURED

"Everything happened in seconds," Andreaas Passios, who lives northeast of Athens, told the AP. "I grabbed a beach towel. It saved my life. I soaked it, grabbed my wife and we ran to the sea."

Passios said he and his wife stayed by the sea for two hours: "It was unbelievable. Gas canisters were exploding. Burning pine cones were flying everywhere."

A Polish woman and her son were among 10 people who drowned when their boat capsized during an evacuation, according to a travel agent in Poland.

Janusz Smigielski, deputy head of the company Grecos, told the AP the pair were on holiday in the resort of Mati, east of Athens. Greek water police were evacuating a hotel at the time and leading 45 people to boats whenone of the vessels capsized, killing all 10 passengers.

The European Union's Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Pperations posted a satellite photo on Twitter showing the extent of the fires.

Another survivor spoke of the "indescribable" wind which caused the fire to spread as he fled from his summer home in Mati, east of Athens.

Nikos Stavrinidis, one of those who went into the sea for safety but was swept away, was rescued by an Egyptian crew on a fishing boat after about two hours in the water. Stavrinidis told the AP that not all of those who fled with him survived.

"The fire appeared very quickly. The wind was indescribable, it was incredible. I've never seen anything like this before in my life," he said.

"We fell into the sea and tried to distance ourselves, to get away from the carbon dioxide... but as we went further, there was a lot of wind and a lot of current and it started taking us away from the coast. We were not able able to see where we were."

The strong winds made it hard for firefighters to tackle the fires in the area while making conditions in the sea increasingly dangerous.

2 MORE FIREFIGHTERS HURT BATTLING BLAZE NEAR YOSEMITE

"What upsets me and what I will carry in my heart is that it is terrible to see the person next to you drowning and not being able to help him," he added. "You can't. That's the only tragic thing - that will stay with me."

Rafina's dock became a makeshift hospital during the night as paramedics checked survivors, some of them clad in only their bathing suits, emerging from coast guard vessels and private boats. The fire department said 156 adults and 16 children were hospitalized with injuries. Eleven of the adults were in serious condition.

In all, 47 brush and forest fires broke out across Greece Monday and early Tuesday, with most of them quickly extinguished, the fire department said. Ten were still burning late Tuesday morning, including blazes in Corinth, Crete, and in central and northern Greece.

More than 400 firefighters and volunteer firefighters were battling the two fires near Athens, supported by seven water-dropping helicopters and three aircraft.

Greece sought international help through the European Union. Spain was sending two firefighting aircraft while Cyprus was sending in 60 firefighters. Israel and Turkey both also offered assistance.

It was the deadliest fire season to hit Greece in more than a decade. More than 60 people were killed in 2007 when huge fires swept across the southern Peloponnese region.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Minister Phung Xuan Nha said he is interested in the activities of SEAMEO centres in both Vietnam and the region at large.

Vietnam has highly appreciated the support of SEAMEO centres, especially the Indonesian centres for quality improvement of teacher and education personnel (QITEP) in maths, science, and languages, which annually provide short-term training courses for Vietnamese teachers.

Regarding bilateral relations with Indonesia, Minister Nha said he hopes the two countries will increase the exchanges of teachers, students, and experience-sharing to develop their education cooperation activities.

After hearing experiences of Vietnams Ministry of Education and Training in adopting the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), President of the SEAMEO Council Muhadjir Effendy said many SEAMEO members were keen to learn about this model.

He suggested a deeper exchange between Vietnamese and Indonesian working groups about this study to improve the quality of education on both sides.

As Indonesia looks toward sustainable development in education, the country pays great attention to vocational training and enhancing the quality of its teachers and students, he said.

The two ministers agreed to boost SEAMEO cooperation via sharing experiences in appraising the quality of education, developing tertiary education, and promoting the exchanges of students, lecturers, and researchers.

The SEAMEO Council is comprised of the 11 Southeast Asian education ministers.

Since its establishment in 1965, the organisation has set up 24 regional centres to implement research and training programmes in various fields such as education, science, and culture.

Vietnam has two SEAMEO centres located in southern Ho Chi Minh City, namely the SEAMEO Regional Training Centre and the SEAMEO Regional Centre for Lifelong Learning.

President of the SEAMEO Council Effendy is scheduled to have working sessions at the two centres in Ho Chi Minh City on July 24.
Several people were dead and hundreds were missing Tuesday after a hydroelectric dam collapsed in southeastern Laos, state media reported.

The Xepian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower dam in Attapeu province collapsed, releasing five billion cubic meters of water in the San Sai district, according to Sky News. The water swept away several homes, the official news agency KPL reported. More than 6,600 people were left homeless.

Video posted on the ABC Laos news Facebook page showed villages watching the water from the side of a river bank.

Its unclear how many people died in the dam collapse.

The dam was constructed by a joint venture led by South Korean companies, with Thai and Lao partners. The structure was scheduled to open in 2019, according to Sky News. Its plan was to export 90 percent of the electricity generated to Thailand, while the rest was set to power the local grid.

Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith suspended the planned monthly meeting of the government for August and led his Cabinet members and other senior officials to Sanamxay to monitor rescue and relief efforts being made for flood victims, according to state media.

The dam project cost about $1.02 billion

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
An American research group on Monday claimed that North Korea has begun dismantling its main missile-engine test site, a possible sign that Pyongyang is fulfilling the promises North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made to President Trump at the summit in Singapore last month.

According to an analysis of satellite imagery of the location by the North Korea-focused 38 North website-- between July 20 and 22--the North Korean government appeared to be dismantling the Sohae launch site.

Some facilities on the site were either razed or taken apart. The facilities included a rocket engine test stand, which is used to develop liquid-fuel engines for ballistic missiles. Another facility was identified as a space-launch vehicles and a rail-mounted processing building.

Since these facilities are believed to have played an important role in the development of technologies for the Norths intercontinental ballistic missile program, these efforts represent a significant confidence building measure on the part of North Korea, analyst Joseph Bermudez wrote in the 38 North report.

Bermudez said the satellite images indicate that Pyongyang took an important first step toward fulfilling a commitment made by Kim Jong-un.

South Korean officials have also said they detected dismantlement activities at the site, though didnt specify the exact nature of the activities.

The supposed dismantlement of the site comes after Trump and Kim signed an agreement to work towards the goal of complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Trump said last month after the summit that the North has already started destroying a major missile engine testing site. The president didnt identify the exact site, sparking speculations that North Korea may not be transparent about its activities.

Media reports in recent days also claimed that Trump was frustrated by the lack of progress made by North Korea in its denuclearization efforts, the New York Times reported. The president fired back on Monday, saying hes very happy with how the North has been honoring the commitments made at the summit.

But while many believe the latest presumed efforts to dismantle the site may have a positive effect on denuclearizing the communist state, experts urge caution until the North completely abandons the area.

If North Korea goes further and dismantle the entire Sohae site, that would meaningfully reduce the countrys long-range missile capability by eliminating a facility where it could fire multiple ICBMs in succession, said Lee Choon Geun, a missile expert at South Koreas Science and Technology Policy Institute.

He added, however, that while the first steps in dismantling the site are important, in reality, Pyongyang is giving up little as it appears the country is content with the current long-range weapons in its possession.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Israel shot down a Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet Tuesday after the aircraft infiltrated Israeli airspace while flying over the Golan Heights, the country's military announced.

The jet flew about 1.2 miles into Israeli airspace before it was hit by a pair of Patriot missiles, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said in a news conference the jet crashed in the Southern Golan Heights on the Syrian side. He added the Israeli military has sent numerous warnings to prevent anyone from violating its airspace.

Conricus said the jet that took off from T4 air base was traveling toward Israel in "relatively high speed." He added tht it's unclear if the jet deliberately crossed into Israel.

Conricus did not provide an update on the pilots. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said one pilot was killed and that the condition of the other was unknown.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the jet flying into the country's airspace was a "gross violation" of the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement with Syria.

"I have reiterated and made clear that we will not accept any such violation. We will not accept any such penetration of, or spillover into, our territory, neither on the ground nor in the air," the prime minister said.

"Our forces acted appropriately. We insist that the Syrians strictly abide by the Separation of Forces Agreement between us and them," his statement added.

Tuesdays incident is the first downing of a Syrian jet since a U.S. Navy F-18 Super Hornet shot one down over Syria in June 2017 after the Syrian plane fired on U.S.-backed Syrian forces.

This is the second time the Israel Air Force has brought down a Russian-made Syrian jet since 1985. The other time was on Sept. 23, 2014, when Israel also shot down a Sukhoi jet that entered over the Golan Heights.

On Feb. 10, 2018, an Israeli F-16 was downed by Syrian anti-aircraft missiles after Israel fired on an Iranian drone that entered Israeli airspace.

"Since this morning, there has been an increase in the internal fighting in Syria and the Syrian Air Force's activity. The IDF is on high alert and will continue to operate against the violation of the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement," the military said in a tweet.

On Tuesday, Syrian forces reached the Golan Heights frontier for the first time in seven years. The government forces reached the border fence with the U.N.'s Disengagement Observer Force.

Minutes before the reported shootdown, Syria's state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV was broadcasting footage from the fence demarcating the U.N. buffer zone between Syrian and Israeli forces inside the Golan Heights. A U.N. observer post could be seen just on the other side of the fence.

Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson and Yonat Friling in Jerusalem and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The suspected gunman in Sunday's Toronto mass shooting had been taken into police custody twice due to concerns about his mental health, Canada's Global News reported Tuesday.

Investigators believe Faisal Hussain, 29, killed two people and injured 13 others in the popular Greektown neighborhood of Canada's largest city. Hussain's family has said that he suffered from "severe mental health challenges" and struggled "with psychosis and depression his entire life."

The Global News report did not specify when Toronto police had encountered Hussain, but said he had a history of mental health concerns dating back to 2010. The report also did not say what happened after police apprehended Hussain.

A police source also told Global News that Hussain believed he was the Joker character from the "Batman" movies. The source added that Hussain "was fascinated with death and explosions. He also liked replica handguns."

A family spokesman confirmed to Global News that Hussain owned a replica BB gun, but denied he had any special obsession with the Batman movies or any particular character.

On Tuesday, Canada's Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said Toronto police investigators had found "no connection between [Hussain] and national security."

When questioned by Fox News, the Royal Candadian Mounted police declined to say whether Hussain was on any kind of watch list.

Multiple news outlets reported Tuesday that Hussain lived with his parents in the Thorncliffe Park neighborhood of Toronto, not far from Greektown. The Canadian drug store chain Shoppers Drug Mart told CBC News that Hussain worked part time at one of their locations.

Neighbors told Reuters that the Hussain family was originally from Pakistan and had lived in the neighborhood for more than 25 years. CBC reported that Hussain's sister had died in an accident "several years ago," while his brother has been in a coma for more than a year following a separate accident.

Aamir Sukhera, who ran a public speaking course that Hussain enrolled in, told CBC that the suspect told him in 2010 that he was getting professional help for psychosis and depression.

"I feel bad right now because I wish I had the ability to identify what triggered this sort of behavior, but I don't," Sukhera said. "I can't say why he did it or not. I wish he had talked to me about something like this. But do people talk to someone before they do something like that? I don't know."

Fox News' Marta Dhanis and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
The U.N. Mideast envoy said Tuesday that Israel and Hamas were "minutes away" from another "devastating confrontation" in Gaza on Saturday  a clash averted after U.N. and Egyptian diplomatic efforts got both sides to "step back from the brink."

Nikolay Mladenov warned that "unless we begin in earnest the crucial work required to change the current deteriorating dynamics, another explosion is almost a certainty."

He told the Security that he just returned from Gaza and "the situation is calming down although tensions remain," warning that he still "perilous" faceoff could lead to the fourth war in a decade between Hamas and Israel.

"Only through the repeated, collective efforts of all sides has another catastrophic escalation been averted over the past weeks," Mladenov said.

The latest outbursts of violence followed months of near-weekly border protests organized by Gaza's Hamas rulers. Over 130 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire since the protests began March 30.

The protests were aimed at ending the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza that has brought severe economic hardship to the territory and demanding a "right of return" for descendants of Palestinian refugees to ancestral homes in what is now Israel. More than 700,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled during the 1948 Mideast war over Israel's creation, and two-thirds of Gaza's 2 million residents are descendants of refugees.

Israel says it is defending its sovereign border and accuses Hamas of using the protests as a cover for attempts to breach the border fence and attack Israeli civilians and soldiers.

Israel's U.N. ambassador, Danny Danon, said flaming kites sent across the border by Hamas have destroyed over 7,400 acres  "that is half the size of Manhattan."

He said it is time that the Security Council declares Hamas a terrorist organization like al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, saying it is "holding hostage the entire population of Gaza" and its goal is to destroy Israel.

Danon again urged Hamas to release two Israeli civilians and the bodies of two soldiers. "One cannot demand humanitarian assistance to Gaza, which we support, while refusing to ensure the basic humanitarian rights of returning our captives and our fallen," he said.

Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour said the "dire humanitarian situation has placed an explosive pressure on the infrastructure and caused loss of livelihood among the entire population of the Gaza Strip."

He accused Israel of persisting "with its willful killing of Palestinian civilians and disregard of human life," and said it is "imperative" that international protection be provided for Gaza's civilian population.

Mansour said it is also imperative to mobilize funds for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, "given its vital role in Gaza and beyond."

UNRWA is facing a funding crisis following the Trump administration's decision to cut some $300 million to the agency this year. It is now reviewing some $200 million in assistance for the Palestinians.

U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley made no mention of the cuts to UNRWA in her speech, which accused Arab and Islamic nations of being generous with their words in support of the Palestinians but not opening their wallets.

She said Iran, Algeria and Tunisia gave nothing to UNRWA last year and Pakistan and Egypt gave just $20,000. While Turkey gave $6.7 million, Kuwait $9 million and the United Arab Emirates $12.8 million, she said the United States gave $364 million to UNRWA last year  plus an additional $300 million to the Palestinians in bilateral aid.

Since 1993, Haley said, the United States has provided over $6 billion in assistance to Palestinians.

"How much have the Arab countries  some of whom are wealthy countries  how much have they given to the Palestinians?" Haley asked. "It does not come anywhere close to what the United States has done."

Saudi Arabia's ambassador, Abdallah Al-Mouallimi, had a sharp reply, though he didn't mention the United States, which is a close ally.

He said Saudi Arabia gave $100 million to UNRWA over the past year, $1 billion to UNRWA over the last two decades, "and more than $6 billion, with a B, to the Palestinian people over the last two decades in the form of humanitarian development."

"Saudi Arabia strongly believes in actions, not words," Al-Mouallimi said.

Israel also drew sharp criticism at the council's monthly Mideast meeting from many countries over last week's approval by its parliament of a bill defining it as the nation-state of the Jewish people.

Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador, said the new law "has transformed a situation of de facto apartheid into a situation of apartheid by law."

Deputy Iranian ambassador Eshagh Al Habib said the law means the legalization of "racism and apartheid, and ultimately, it means legitimizing exclusion, segregation and systemic inequality."

He recalled the General Assembly's 1975 resolution calling Zionism "a form of racism and racial discrimination" that was revoked in 1991. Nearly 30 years later, Al Habib said, "it is crystal clear that by doing so, the U.N. General Assembly has only emboldened Israel to legalize racism."
Two dozen boys sit quietly in a small classroom in crisp uniforms, their nations flag draped around their necks. Colorful drawings decorate the walls, yet a sense of deep darkness punctuates the air: These boys have been heavily traumatized by Yemens ongoing civil war, and almost all of the students were forcibly recruited as child soldiers.

At least half of the child soldiers -- who all appear far smaller and younger than their 12 to 15 years -- are believed to have been victims of sexual assault while under control of the militia, experts say.

The most difficult thing is helping those who come from the battlefields having been sexually abused. It takes a long time to help, Dr. Mahyob Almechlatky, a psychiatrist at the Rehabilitation of Children Recruited and Impacted by War in Yemen Project in Marib, Yemen, told Fox News. Sadly, its very common. A big amount of the students have faced this and we are trying to take away the shame.

The rehabilitation center, with a staff 25 health professionals, is now trying to heal those silent scars. Financed by the King Salman (KS) Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, the project aims at rehabilitating the children and reintegrating them into society and back to school.

The intensive approach to get out the negative energy includes everything from arts and crafts, to sports, counseling and hypnosis.

Sexual abuse is very common, maybe 50 to 60 percent, said Mohammad Mobarak, the project manager for the school and the KS Relief Center. This conflict has touched too many young lives, and we just want to give them the opportunity to be a child again. They did not choose to be a part of this.

This class, three days away from graduation, will soon be added to the list of some 180 boys who have already gone through the live-in, one-month rehabilitation program since its inception in August last year.

'If I was too slow, they beat me.'  Khalil, former child soldier in Yemen

And every child has their own heart-wrenching story, each more tragic than the next.

Khalil, 14, recalls how he was playing outside his Amran home with a friend when a man drove by and offered them a ride. They ended up at a Houthi militia base. For three months Khalil was ordered to perform various military tasks such as filling sandbags.

If I was too slow, Khalil whispered, his face now lopsided, his mouth still swollen, they beat me.

Omar Abdullah, 14, also was swept up from a playground outside his local Amran mosque last year and for two months was abused. If he refused to undertake the commanders orders, he was pummeled with the barrel of an AK-47 and starved into submission.

Around a year ago, one of the Houthi supervisors offered to sneak Omar out of the military center in exchange for the equivalent of $100.

They put me between the corpses, the dead fighters, and for ten hours I could not move, Omar remembered, fleshing out that fearful drive with vivid detail. Then when we arrived the supervisor said he would blow up my house if I did not give him the money. My family had no money, so I begged my neighbor who helped.

And for Ahmed, 15, who still speaks in staccato as his eyes stare far off into the distance, he too was offered a ride home while herding his goats on the outskirts of Marib. Before he could interject, he was hurled inside and his four-month hell with a Houthi militia began.

They gave us the wrong information; they told us we were fighting ISIS, Ahmed said. But when were fighting, my friend, who was a child like me, was killed next to me and I panicked.

A local army unit attached to the Yemeni forces surrendered, and took him to the sheikh of his local tribe for safe passage home.

Other children have been coerced into committing atrocities against their fellow child recruits -- such as stabbing them to death.

The program also comprises a three month follow-up protocol to ensure the lost boys return to school, as well as a parental component.

We give courses to educate the parents on awareness and legal responsibilities to protect their children, to make sure they dont end up with fighters and that once they graduate here they go back to school, Mobarak explained.

'They can't scare me anymore.'  Ahmed, a former child soldier in Yemen

The centers expert staff say they dont ask which militia or military outfit the boys were abducted into, but the large majority are thought to have been abducted by Houthi factions who have controlled the capital Sanaa since September 2014. In March 2015, this prompted a neighboring Saudi Arabia-led coalition to intervene with a deadly bombing campaign, spiraling the country into a protracted state of war.

And since then, the United Nations has verified more than 2,000 cases of child soldier recruitment. At least 6,000 minors are still thought today to be fighting on both sides, with Houthis bearing most of the blame for violating this aspect of international law.

Outside the center, the markings of mortar rounds mottle the walls, and charred glass surrounds a prominent dip in the earth. The rehab facility has been targeted by unknown actors three times since it started eleven months ago, with the most recent assault on the night of May 2.

They cant scare me anymore, Ahmed added. I wont let them scare me anymore.
The new website with technical support from the Tourism Advisory Board will utilise the latest digital marketing strategies to share the countrys tourism assets with global audiences.

Through a collection of engaging stories, interviews, videos, virtual tours and professional photography, the website aims to entice users to explore Vietnam as a vibrant and accessible holiday destination.

Also hosted on the new domain are practical articles featuring reliable advice on everything from visa application to Vietnamese festivals to support travellers in holiday planning.

Official Administration of Tourism Facebook and Instagram pages are connected to the site as platforms for travellers to learn more about the country and share experiences from their trips.

Some highlights which users can encounter on the website are tours of top UNESCO Heritage Sites, detailed pages on Vietnamese destinations and a downloadable Vietnam Starter Kit for first-time travellers.
The indie game publisher Surprise Attack Games has renamed itself Fellow Traveller and will focus its efforts on supporting what the company describes as unusual games moving forward.

Fellow Traveller has already scooped up two games that embody this new focus and announced that it will be publishing Chance Agencys Neo Cab and Jump Over the Ages Other Water as well.

The company itself was founded in 2011 and moved into indie game publishing a few years later. In a press release, Fellow Traveller notes that many of its past titles fell on that unusual side of the indie game fence already, but going forward supporting those novel games, especially those with narrative at their core, will be the number one objective for the publisher.

In practice, this allows Fellow Traveller to work entirely with developers that are pushing the boundaries of what games can be and exploring new ways for the medium to approach narrative.

"Just like the indie record labels that inspired us to start the company, we want to build a reputation for a particular flavor of game, said managing director Chris Wright in a press release. We believe this is the next step for indie labels to help developers stand out in an increasingly crowded market and help gamers find the kind of game they love. We're all about the weird and the wonderful and pushing the boundaries of how games tell stories. We hope to attract both the developers and gamers who are into our kind of game to join us on this journey."
Square Enix has partnered with Blacknut to distribute a selection of mobile titles through the French company's game streaming service.

Established back in 2016, Blacknut's streaming platform grants users access to an ever-expanding selection of games for monthly subscription of 12.99/14.99.

Blacknut's partnership with Square will see titles such as Lara Croft GO, Hitman GO, Deus Ex GO, and Hitman Sniper added to its roster.

That means they'll be playable across Blacknut's supported devices, which currently includes Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, PC, Mac, and Linux.

Patrick Naud, studio head over at Square Enix Montreal, explained the company is eager to support "innovative and accessible" distribution techniques, and hopes the deal will introduce its mobile catalog to new players.

Right now Blacknut is only available in the UK, France, and Germany, but the service is due to be deployed throughout the rest of Europe and North America in the near future.
Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Doan Mau Diep said the ASEAN Community was officially established on December 31, 2015 on the pillars of political-security, economic, and socio-cultural communities, marking an important milestone to lift ASEAN collaboration to a greater height and requiring member states to build a community of over 630 million people in an environment of peace, friendship, and mutual support and development.

Towards achieving the ASEAN Vision 2025, the bloc has devised three master plans of the pillars, serving as a guide for their specialised agencies operations by 2025.

Diep said the conference aimed to update the progress of carrying out the master plan on ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community 2025 at the regional level and Project 161 in Vietnam; ASEANs communications activities and a communications plan towards Vietnams ASEAN Chairmanship by 2020. It also discussed a mechanism to enhance cooperation among ministries, agencies, and localities in the implementation of Project 161.

The outcomes of the review and recommendations to accelerate the progress of Project 161 will be submitted to the Prime Minister later this year.

Ha Thi Minh Duc, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs Department of International Cooperation, said nine out of 11 Vietnamese ministries and agencies, as part of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, have outlined plans to realise the project.

Up to 54 out of 63 cities and provinces nationwide have issued 2016-2020 action plans to conduct the project, and 39 out of 63 cities and provinces have submitted reports on the progress of the project.

She added that the national master plan on ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community aims to bring benefits to people in tandem with improving institutional capacity, reforming administrative procedures, and raising public awareness of ASEAN and the benefits it brings about. This will work towards extending policies on social welfare, labour, employment, health care, and support for the elderly, disabled, and other vulnerable groups.
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xspraise at 24-07-2018 10:56 PM (3 years ago) (m)

An aspiring prophet has been arrested in Ethiopia after he failed to bring a dead man back to life.

An aspiring prophet has been arrested in Ethiopia after he failed to bring a dead man back to life. Getayawkal Ayele had tried to revive the corpse of Belay Biftu by lying on top of him and repeatedly yelling "Belay, wake up".



It was not successful, and his failure enraged family members who began attacking Mr Getayawkal.



He was saved when police arrived shortly afterwards, although it did not mean he was out of trouble.



Abusing dead bodies is a crime under Ethiopian law and a local police commander has told the BBC that the man, whose real job is as a health worker, is now in custody.



The incident was filmed and has since gone viral on social media.



Residents in the small western town of Galilee, in the Oromia region, said Mr Getayawkal first went to the bereaved family and told them the story of Lazarus - who according to the New Testament was brought back to life by Jesus.



They then appear to have agreed to dig up Mr Belay.



After the failed resurrection, several members of the family fainted on the spot while others became angry and started beating Mr Getayawkal - at which point police arrived and arrested him.



Getayawkal Ayele had tried to revive the corpse of Belay Biftu by lying on top of him and repeatedly yelling "Belay, wake up".It was not successful, and his failure enraged family members who began attacking Mr Getayawkal.He was saved when police arrived shortly afterwards, although it did not mean he was out of trouble.Abusing dead bodies is a crime under Ethiopian law and a local police commander has told the BBC that the man, whose real job is as a health worker, is now in custody.The incident was filmed and has since gone viral on social media.Residents in the small western town of Galilee, in the Oromia region, said Mr Getayawkal first went to the bereaved family and told them the story of Lazarus - who according to the New Testament was brought back to life by Jesus.They then appear to have agreed to dig up Mr Belay.After the failed resurrection, several members of the family fainted on the spot while others became angry and started beating Mr Getayawkal - at which point police arrived and arrested him.

Post Reply I am Victor, I write reportage on sport news and latest metro happenings in Nigeria. Posted: at 24-07-2018 10:56 PM (3 years ago) | Hero
Waukesha, WI (53187)

Today

Rain showers this evening with clearing overnight. Low 37F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Rain showers this evening with clearing overnight. Low 37F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
The marine environment is critical to Grenadas economy and closely linked to the islands income generating tourism sector. Grenadas tri-island ocean state is not just a hub of maritime activity, but also home to unique marine biodiversity
Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) holds talks with Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Kigali, Rwanda, July 23, 2018. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

KIGALI, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, agreed here Monday to further promote bilateral cooperation in a bid to bring more benefits to the Chinese, Rwandan and African people.

In their talks, the two leaders also spoke highly of the growth of bilateral ties over the past 47 years since their countries established diplomatic relations.

Xi recalled his meeting with Kagame in Beijing in March 2017, during which they reached extensive consensus on promoting bilateral relations and friendly cooperation and brought China-Rwanda ties to a fast track of development.

Beijing is willing to work with Kigali to translate their traditional friendship into concrete benefits for the two countries and the two peoples, and open a new chapter in their friendly cooperative relations, Xi said.

China and Rwanda, Xi stressed, should view their ties from a strategic height and long-term perspective, firmly support each other independently choosing their own development paths, and keep mutual understanding and support on issues related to each other's core interests and major concerns.

Xi called on the two countries to strengthen the link between their respective development strategies, give full play to their complementary advantages, and carry out pragmatic cooperation in more areas and at deeper levels.

China welcomes Rwanda's participation in the international cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, and encourages more Chinese investment in Rwanda to help advance the African country's industrialization and modernization, Xi said.

Xi asked the two sides to strengthen people-to-people exchanges, so as to bring closer the hearts of the two peoples and consolidate the social and public support for the future development of their friendship.

The two sides, he suggested, also need to deepen law enforcement and security cooperation, maintain close coordination on international and regional issues, and strengthen collaboration on issues of global significance, so as to safeguard the common interests of African countries and developing countries.

Over the past several decades, China-Africa relations have always been defined by sincere friendship, unity and cooperation, Xi noted, pointing out that the two sides have become a community with a shared future going through thick and thin together as well as a community with shared interests dedicated to win-win cooperation.

Strengthening unity and cooperation with African countries is an important foundation for China's foreign policy and a long-term steadfast strategic choice of Beijing, Xi said.

He compared Africa to a galloping lion, saying that China is glad to see a stronger Africa that is increasingly integrated.

Calling the African Union (AU) a banner guiding African countries to solidarity and cooperation, Xi said China always supports the AU playing a leading role in promoting peace and development of Africa and playing a bigger role in regional and global affairs.

China, he added, is willing to elevate the strategic significance of its relationship with the AU, set it as an example and make it more effective, so as to bring more benefits to the Chinese and African people.

Kagame, for his part, called China a reliable friend who shares weal and woe with Africa. He said it is of great importance for Rwanda and Africa to develop friendly ties with China.

He spoke highly of China's valuable assistance for Rwanda in such areas as infrastructure construction, agriculture and education, adding that China's helping hand has made positive contributions to his country's reconstruction and livelihood improvement.

The Rwandan president also expressed his hope to strengthen exchanges with China on state governance and deepen win-win cooperation on bilateral as well as multilateral platforms.

Rwanda is willing to enhance cooperation with China within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, which offers a significant opportunity for both Rwanda and Africa, Kagame said.

As the AU's rotating chairman, Kagame stressed that China's long-standing firm support is of great value to Africa's development.

Africa places great importance on China's role in international affairs and is committed to further deepening their friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation, he added.

The African side, he said, looks forward to attending the Beijing summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in September, and stands ready to jointly push forward the development of FOCAC, so as to generate more benefits for the people of both sides.

After their talks, the two heads of state witnessed the signing of multiple agreements on bilateral cooperation in the Belt and Road Initiative and other areas. They also met the press together.

Prior to the meeting, the Rwandan president held a grand welcome ceremony for Xi, who arrived in Kigali on Sunday for the first state visit to the African country by a Chinese head of state.

Xi inspected the guard of honor in the company of Kagame. A group of Rwandan well-wishers, dressed in traditional clothes, staged a dancing and drumming performance to express their joy and excitement.

Later in the day, Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial.

Rwanda is the third leg of Xi's first overseas visit after he was re-elected Chinese president in March. The trip has already taken him to the United Arab Emirates and Senegal, and will also take him to South Africa for a state visit and the 10th BRICS summit, and to Mauritius during a stopover.
Governments around the nation are working to design the best vaccine policies that keep both their employees and their residents safe. Although the latest data shows a variety of polarizing perspectives, there are clear emerging best practices that leading governments are following to put trust first: creating policies that are flexible and provide a range of options, and being in tune with the needs and sentiments of their employees so that they are able to be dynamic and accommodate the rapidly changing situation.
'Not That Kind of Homeless'

When a homeless count was conducted in Seattle this year, the city realized that more people are living in their car than ever before and 46 percent more than the year prior. In King County, which surrounds Seattle, around 25 percent of the homeless population is reported to live in their vehicles.This phenomenon isn't unique to Seattle.Theres been an explosion in many major cities-- from Los Angeles to Portland, Ore., to San Francisco --of "vehicular homelessness." The issue is of particular concern on the West Coast, where rents have skyrocketed and the number of homeless people who don't live in shelters is up 20,000 from 2015 to 2017 Its the new form of affordable housing, says Sara Rankin, professor at Seattle University School of Law, who specializes in homeless rights advocacy.The rise of people sleeping in their cars presents unique challenges for cities and homeless advocates."What do we do with people whose basic physiological needs are not being met? When we think about people who are living in their vehicles, are they able to sleep, eat, poop and breathe safely? We have to start asking what needs to be done," says Rankin.Some cities have launched so-called safe parking programs to help this population. Meanwhile, other cities are exacerbating this population's problems by criminalizing their current way of life.Under Los Angeles law, it is illegal to use a car as shelter on most city streets. The ordinance was eased last year but only for 10 percent of the city's streets and some of them are inaccessible -- one block is a canal that can only fit an amphibious vehicle,Several cities in Washington have criminalized vehicular homelessness, including Aberdeen, Tacoma and Longview, according to Rankin.While Seattle doesn't directly outlaw vehicle residency, Rankin found that the city does have 20 vehicle ordinances -- the most in Washington state -- that make a confusing, patchwork system for residents who live in their cars. Some of those ordinances have recently been tested in court.A man who was living in his truck sued Seattle after it was impounded and expected to be sold if he didnt make payments to the city. A judge earlier this year sided with the man, ruling that because the truck was used as his home, impounding it violated a frontier-era law that forbids personal property from being sold by the government.While not a long-term solution, many homeless advocates are urging cities to start more seriously thinking about safe parking programs -- in which certain lots are designated for people living out of their cars -- as vehicular homelessness continues to climb.Seattle's now-defunct safe parking program, they say, is an example of how not to run one.Just six months after its launch in June 2016, the city deemed the safe parking program an "expensive failure" and ended it largely because people werent being re-housed. reported that despite the $16,800-per-parking-lot-spot price tag, the city had allocated few resources for helping people find more permanent housing. Instead, peripheral costs like portable bathrooms and garbage collection ate away at the program's budget."They [city officials] told me there was no evaluative measures. They didnt sit down with any experts in homelessness. They had no plan, and then just called it an expensive failure, says Rankin, the professor. The crying shame of it is now policymakers in the city are less supportive of the whole idea because there was one ill-conceived program."Rankin, however, points to two cities that have smartly executed safe parking programs: San Diego and Santa Barbara, Calif.San Diegos safe parking program kicked off in 2010 amid the Great Recession.We were seeing a new wave of [homeless] people we hadnt seen before. It wasnt generational poverty. These were people who would come to us and say we arentkind of homeless,' says Teresa Smith, executive director of Dreams for Change, a local nonprofit that helps the homeless. "Seventy percent of our clients have some form on income. So how do we capitalize on that and prevent them from becoming chronically homeless?"The nonprofit opened a lot for people to safely park their cars in which they were living and also linked them with a case manager that helps them secure long-term housing. The program has expanded to three lots, serving between 30 and 60 cars in each. The lots aim to feel like community centers with spots to cook simple meals and charge electronics. Smith says that residents often hang out and kids play together.The nonprofit was mostly autonomous from the city until San Diego experienced a Hepatitis A outbreak among homeless people in 2017. City officials then came to Smith and offered a space and funding for the third lot, which opened last year.Santa Barbaras safe parking program has been operational for more than a decade and started because a growing number of people living in RVs kept getting ticketed. Like San Diego, Santa Barbara relies heavily on case management when a vehicle comes into the lot. But unlike San Diego, the lots in Santa Barbara are much smaller -- only serving a handful of vehicles at each site.Its more private for people this way, it prevents gawking, says Cassie Roach, program coordinator of New Beginnings Counseling Center, the nonprofit that runs the safe parking program.While homeless advocates say safe parking programs are a necessity in cities with large numbers of people living in their cars, they stress that they are just a band-aid solution for a larger problem: lack of affordable housing across the country.The cost of housing is continually rising, but social service programs arent having any increase in funding -- if anything, they are getting cut," says Roach. "People are making a living, but its just not enough."
U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, a Florida Republican candidate for governor, went off over the weekend on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a liberal Democrat who surprisingly won a Bronx district primary last month."You look at this girl Ocasio-Cortez, or whatever she is, I mean, she's in a totally different universe," he said to laughs. "It's basically socialism wrapped in ignorance."DeSantis made the remarks at a political rally in Orange Park, according to the Huffington Post, which broke the story.DeSantis went on to criticize her for her views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.David Vasquez, a spokesman for DeSantis' campaign, told the Huffington Post that the congressman's comments were "expanding on the importance of education" and that teaching students more about the Constitution might "prevent more socialists like Ocasio-Cortez calling for 'free' everything."Vasquez did not say why DeSantis called Ocasio-Cortez "this girl."Ocasio-Cortez, 28, is a self-proclaimed socialist who if elected in the fall would become the youngest woman ever to serve in Congress.She shot back at DeSantis on Twitter, writing, "Rep DeSantis, it seems you're confused as to 'whatever I am.' I am a Puerto Rican woman. It's strange you don't know what that is, given that ... 75,000 Puerto Ricans have relocated to Florida in the 10 mos since Maria. But I'm sure these new FL voters appreciate your comments!"
Congressional hopeful Sylvia Garcia on Monday announced plans to step down from her Texas Senate seat in January, officially clearing the way for voters to elect her predecessor before the Legislature returns for its 2019 lawmaking session.Garcia, the Democratic candidate for the 29th Congressional District, announced she would give up her state Senate seat on Twitter, saying the people in her Houston district deserve uninterrupted representation in the next legislative session. She urged Gov. Greg Abbott to order a special election in conjunction with the Nov. 6 general election so her replacement can begin serving in the Senate at the beginning of the legislative session. She said the timing would help Harris County taxpayers avoid the cost of a separate election."Over three legislative sessions, 12,187 votes taken, over 100 bills passed, every action I have taken has been with the goal of ensuring that Senate District 6 and Texas is a place where the American Dream is attainable for everyone; no matter who you are or where you come from," she wrote in her resignation letter to Abbott.The 29th Congressional District was drawn to heavily favor Democrats, making Garcia a likely shoo-in for the post. She is running against Republican Phillip Aronoff to replace U.S. Rep. Gene Green, a Democrat who retired after more than two decades in Congress.Political insiders have worried Garcia would be hesitant to give up her current position, which could leave the state Senate seat empty when lawmakers return to Austin for the next legislative session in January. That would mean one less vote for the already outnumbered Democrats in the Senate.Garcia plans to continue representing the 6th Senate District until Jan. 2, according to the letter. The district includes the north and southeast sides of Houston."Thankfully, Sylvia is not done fighting for the people of Texas," said Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa.Abbott's office did not respond to requests for comment late Monday.
Boston police veteran William G. Gross made history yesterday when he was named the city's first black police commissioner -- an appointment that drew cautious praise across the board.Gross, 54, now serving as the department's second in command, will replace William B. Evans, who is retiring Aug. 4 to become executive director of public safety at Boston College."It shows that any kid in Boston ... will have the opportunity to be the mayor, the commissioner or the chief," Gross said. "If you want to change, you need to change, that is why I became a police officer."Gross, a 33-year veteran with the department, had stints with the gang and drug control units, as an academy instructor, a sergeant and sergeant detective, and has served on Evans' command staff as the superintendent-in-chief since 2014.Gross takes over as the city's top cop when many crime trends have decreased overall, but gun violence plagues minority neighborhoods. Police have also drawn criticism for failing to diversify, even as Boston is now a minority-majority city. Mayor Martin J. Walsh said he was "proud" to appoint the city's first African-American commissioner."I don't think the city has seen a police leader as loved and trusted in the community as Chief Gross," Walsh said. "The important thing here is consistency. We are losing an incredible leader today and bringing in a leader right behind him who will be an incredible leader so the city of Boston, the Boston Police Department, the people of Boston, don't lose that consistency."Gross' mother attended the announcement yesterday, and Gross credited her for raising him and his sisters as a single mother -- as well as the community she raised him in."This is my sincere thanks to the community for helping raise me, guide me and mentor me," he said. "Women like my mother, who were reinforced by the community, we can do that for every family in Boston. One homicide is too much. One senseless act is too much. ... We are going to walk towards each other so we can step forward and overcome any obstacle that we face in this city."Gross, who described himself as "a true, street cop," said curbing violence will be his biggest challenge.Monica Cannon-Grant of the nonprofit Violence in Boston, said, "We have to have the mindset that we have to hold him accountable as well. Just being black is cool -- but it is not enough."Citing a "state of emergency" due to violence in some minority neighborhoods, Cannon-Grant said. "I hope Chief Gross goes in with the mindset of creating real change and having real conversations with community members."Former city councilor Tito Jackson, who butted heads with Walsh on the mayoral campaign trail last year over issues including public safety and race relations, lauded Walsh for appointing Gross."Commissioner Gross will have important work to do in continuing to diversify the police department, to make some structural changes, but I know that he's up to the task. We can continue down the path of trust-building, working with young people in the community, and ensuring the whole city of Boston is safe. It's a good day," Jackson said. "And a historic one."
Description

GIS 24 July, 2018: Government is committed to enforcing a Zero Tolerance policy towards drugs within our schools and it is the responsibility of one and all to ensure that a safe and supportive environment for the entire school community is maintained. Government is committed to enforcing a Zero Tolerance policy towards drugs within our schools and it is the responsibility of one and all to ensure that a safe and supportive environment for the entire school community is maintained.

The Minister of Education and Human Resources, Tertiary Education and Scientific Research, Mrs Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, made this statement yesterday at the opening of a sensitisation workshop on Drug Use Prevention at the Le Voila Hotel, Bagatelle. The workshop was an initiative of the Ministry in collaboration with the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime and the CIM Group.

The sensitisation workshop is the second phase of a three-pronged approach initiated by the Ministry to curtail the drug bane. The deliberations and recommendations will culminate towards the introduction of the Drug Use Prevention Programme in the secondary school curriculum. The programme will be implemented on a pilot basis in 48 secondary schools and will be extended ultimately to primary schools. It will be delivered by competent facilitators in 12 sessions during the Activity Periods.

In her address, the Minister, reassured that we have not had many drug-related cases in our school but however she observed that one case registered is one too many and that the threat is real. Hence, she underpinned the importance of such a drug prevention programme in schools which she said will also teach students how to overcome negative peer pressures. We have to help them to develop sound resistance skills as well as to understand the nefarious aspects of the prevalence of substance use in their peer groups, she added.

Furthermore, Mrs Dookun-Luchoomun called upon rectors and managers, leaders of secondary schools, who are the frontline drivers of the programme, to be fully engaged in the fight against drugs at schools. She urged them to be the role models for their students, instil confidence in them, help build their self-esteem but, most importantly, teach the students refusal skills.

Prior to the sensitisation workshop, a validation workshop was carried out to examine the draft for the relevant curriculum. The first phase of the programme consisted of meeting with the various stakeholders namely Ministries, the Police, Mauritius Institute of Education, Mauritius Examinations Syndicate, and NGOs, among others.
Description

GIS 24 July, 2018: An agreement was signed on 20 July 2018 at Beau Bassin Prison for the commissioning of 190 surveillance cameras at the Central Prison and New Wing prisons. The signing ceremony was held in the presence of the Commissioner of Prisons, Mr Premananda Appadoo, and the Chief Executive Officer of Brinks Ocean Indien, Mr Eric Rey. An agreement was signed on 20 July 2018 at Beau Bassin Prison for the commissioning of 190 surveillance cameras at the Central Prison and New Wing prisons. The signing ceremony was held in the presence of the Commissioner of Prisons, Mr Premananda Appadoo, and the Chief Executive Officer of Brinks Ocean Indien, Mr Eric Rey.

The Prisons Commissioner pointed out that these new equipment will further strengthen the surveillance system permanently (24 hrs / 24 hrs) by helping officers to identify, as well as to elucidate several types of incidents, and to maintain order and discipline in a more efficient way. They will also be used to monitor the movements and behaviours of inmates and staff.

Mr Eric Rey hailed the partnership between Brinks Mauritius Ltd staff and the prison staff in order to bring this project to a successful conclusion. A common working atmosphere will continue to prevail in staff training, he underlined.

The prison department is the first public institution to engage in the rental of surveillance cameras, which is more advantageous for the client.
Description

GIS  24 July, 2018: The Joint Commission between the Republic of Mauritius and the Republic of Kenya will be held from 01 to 03 August 2018 in Kenya. It will be co-chaired by the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Kenya, Mrs Monica K. Juma, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade of the Republic of Mauritius, Mr Seetanah Lutchmeenaraidoo.

The main issues to be discussed include Ocean/Blue Economy, Fisheries, Export Processing Zone, Special Economic Zone, Financial Sector and Business Exchanges, Maritime Sector, Air Services, Education and Sugar. In the margins of the Joint Commission, various Memoranda of Understanding will be signed.

Furthermore, in line with the objective to further consolidate economic and bilateral relations between Mauritius and Kenya, the Economic Development Board will also organise a Business Forum on 01 August 2018 in Kenya, with the participation of Mauritian economic operators.

The event will provide a B-to-B platform for Mauritian operators to interact with key players operating in various business segments in Kenya. It will also provide for excellent networking opportunities and possibilities to expand referral networks, generate new business leads and explore opportunities for joint ventures, strategic alliances, franchising and project financing.
Connectivity

(TNS)  Entering the data center that occupies the former Chicago Sun-Times printing facility is like walking through the set of a James Bond film.Theres a 10-foot-tall steel fence encircling the property on the Lower West Side. There are gates, buzzers, a security desk, cameras and doors that use fingerprints as their key. The final entry into the room full of locked server cages requires an iris scan.Spurred by societys ever-increasing dependence on the cloud, demand for data centers is insatiable. The Chicago area ranks third in the country for data center capacity, but an increasing number of states, including neighboring Iowa, are wooing the facilities with tax incentives.In contrast, there are no incentives available in Illinois specifically for data centers, which can bring economic benefits like improved power grids and telecommunications systems. Those upgrades in turn help attract more companies and more jobs to Chicago. Some worry the lack of incentives could hinder industry growth in a state thats a hub of internet connectivity.Illinois will get left behind if they dont do something about it, said Butch Goldi, an executive vice president of sales for Quality Technology Services, which owns the data center in the old Sun-Times facility.For several years, Chicagos supply of data center capacity has increased with the demand. Measured in megawatts, capacity grew by more than 60 percent  adding enough to power more than 70,000 homes for a month  between 2015 and 2017, according to information from real estate firm CBRE. The only markets in the country with more data center inventory are Northern Virginia, home to many of Amazons data centers, and the Dallas-Fort Worth area.Chicago developed as an attractive market for data centers for the same reason it became a hub for railroads: its central location. Much of the fiber optic cable the internet runs on was laid along railroad tracks, and Chicago acted as the connector between east and west. Plus, the city has reliable electricity and isnt at risk for the hurricanes or earthquakes that threaten the coasts.World Business Chicago, the citys economic development arm, touts data centers as one of the perks of locating in Chicago, said Dennis Vicchiarelli, executive vice president of business development for the public-private partnership.Today, its airplanes, its railroads, and its transportation via highway, but its also fiber and data centers, he said.The city has worked to accommodate data centers, updating regulations to allow on-site fuel storage for backup generators, for example, Vicchiarelli said.The state needs to do its part as well, said Benjamin Brockschmidt, vice president of policy for the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. Data centers are economically beneficial to the areas where they locate, adding construction and contracting jobs, plus permanent positions at the facilities, he said. They also produce local infrastructure improvements such as power and telecommunications access, which can benefit other businesses in the area.The Chicago area is attracting co-location data centers, facilities like the one in the old Sun-Times building, where companies can house their servers. But the tech giants, such as Google and Amazon, have not put their data center facilities in Illinois, Brockschmidt said.Were attracting the bare minimum that the market is willing to fill, he said. Were not attracting the maximum here that we could because weve limited our potential.Illinois lawmakers have introduced bills to create tax credits for data centers in the past, but theyve stalled. The states Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity recognizes the potential the facilities hold for Illinois economy, spokeswoman Jacquelyn Reineke said. The department often helps data centers figure out how established incentive programs can work for them, she said.The state entered into an agreement with RagingWire Data Centers in December 2016 that could be worth $1.4 million over a decade. The agreement was part of the EDGE program, short for Economic Development for a Growing Economy, which provides tax breaks for companies that promise to create jobs in Illinois. RagingWire was required to create 51 full-time jobs and invest $176 million into an Itasca facility.The state is working on a few other data center projects as well, but Reineke declined to comment on the pending projects.Were definitely open to finding a way to facilitate their growth, she said.These days, businesses need more computing capabilities and therefore more server space, said Todd Bateman, who leads CBREs data center solutions agency practice. Companies that have housed their servers on their own properties for years are moving them to data centers, seeking out their security, connectivity, a reliable power supply and around-the-clock support.In response, the firms that build data centers are making them more efficient and offering larger chunks of space for servers. New players have entered the Chicago market to respond to the demand.The Quality Technology Services data center has about 24 megawatts of power available now and is working with ComEd to build a new substation on-site thats expected to increase capacity to 125 megawatts by the end of 2019. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)Quality Technology Services opened the data center in the former Sun-Times printing plant about two years ago, and the Overland Park, Kan.-based company is expanding. It has about 24 megawatts of power available now  enough to fuel more than 19,500 homes for a month  and is working with Commonwealth Edison to build a new substation on-site thats expected to increase capacity to 125 megawatts by the end of 2019.The data hall that houses cages of servers in Quality Technology Services facility  the one that requires an iris scan to enter  is filling up. The servers, routers and other equipment, with their blinking lights and erupting wires, are stacked in rows and locked in cages. On a recent morning, two neon-vested workers were building out a cage for a new customer. The company has another data hall ready for customers and has space on the property to construct another building.Peapod moved some of its servers into the facility in November, said Rick Hanzelin, the online grocery delivery companys vice president of information technology infrastructure. The Chicago-based company had servers at its facilities around the country, including at its former headquarters in Skokie. As Peapod grew, it would add data centers at its office buildings or warehouses.Peapod needed to move its systems to a space that would allow it to expand quickly, Hanzelin said. Quality Technology Services facility provides that, he said, and theres no worrying about the electrical grid or power outages like there was when the company housed its own servers.You know how summer storms move through here, Hanzelin said. There were multiple times when the generator would have to kick on. Thats the kind of stuff we want to let the professionals handle as we go forward.Chicagos position as a hub for connectivity also is demonstrated in the data center at 350 E. Cermak Road. Besides servers that companies have located there, the facility houses major telecommunications carriers, such as Sprint and Verizon, and other networks. Customers that need to connect to those carriers or networks come to the South Loop facility to do so.Its like the central nervous system of the internet, said John Stewart, senior vice president of investor relations of Digital Realty, the San Francisco-based real estate investment trust that owns the facility. The century-old building has the bones to support all the servers and equipment. It was originally built for printing presses that kicked out phone books and Sears catalogs.Thats a common method among data center developers: Take old buildings or sites that can support massive amounts of equipment and transform them into a hub of power and connectivity. In another example, an investor is planning to convert the site of an old coal-fired power plant in Hammond into a data center. The Indiana Economic Development Corp. approved an incentive of up to $9 million for that facility, based on an investment of nearly $36.2 million.Other facilities are a bit more incognito. Digital Realty owns nine other data centers in the Chicago area, including three on a campus in Elk Grove Village that from the outside look like warehouses.Agricultural media company Farm Journal recently relocated its servers to one of those facilities. The companys previous data facility in its former Philadelphia headquarters amounted to a rack of old equipment in a closet.It wasnt a proper data center, said John MacMillan, director of applications and information technology at the company, now based in Lenexa, Kan. There were times when the network in the building would just go down and youd just have to sit through it and wait.The added network reliability was a priority for Farm Journal in its server relocation, MacMillan said.The move was also about reliable electricity and cooling, and sleeping well at night knowing the lights will be on, he said. Everything will be running.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang [Photo: fmprc.gov.cn]

BEIJING, July 23 (Xinhua) -- China on Monday said it has no intention to spur exports through competitive devaluation of its currency, rejecting the United States' accusations of manipulating the exchange rate of the yuan.

"The yuan's exchange rate is mainly determined by market supply and demand," Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang told a press briefing. "It floats in both ways, which means there are ups and downs."

Currently, the good fundamentals of China's economy provide strong support for the exchange rate of the yuan to remain generally stable.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said last week the United States was monitoring the recent weakness in China's currency yuan and would review whether it had been manipulated.

"As for the United States willfully igniting a trade war, China remains resolute and clear in its stance that it does not want a trade war, but is not afraid of and will fight one when necessary," Geng said.

The U.S. has threatened to impose tariffs on more than 500 billion U.S. dollars of goods imported from China.

"Threats and intimidation will never work on China. We are capable of and confident in safeguarding the interests of the Chinese people," said the spokesperson.

He also said, "we advise the United States to remain calm and handle and solve related issues with a rational attitude."
The Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) is continuing to drive its own efficiencies through shared services.DIR is continuing its relationship with Paris-based technology services company Capgemini, the agencys Chief Procurement Officer Hershel Becker said via email. The states existing contract with Capgemini is set to expire Aug. 31, but a new four-year contract starts Sept. 1, with the opportunity for four one-year renewals.Capgeminis multi-sourcing services integrator (MSI) role going forward will include integrating and managing services for several service component providers. These include Texas.gov, the states digital service platform; data center services (DCS); managed application services (MAS); and managed security services (MSS).Texas also hired Deloitte earlier this year to spearhead its Texas.gov online platform. During the Texas Digital Government Summit* in May, Texas CIO Todd Kimbriel told Government Technology a new personal digital assistant, My Government My Way, is on the way, and by Sept. 1, Texas.gov will be plugged in to the states enterprise MSI to continue driving efficiencies across all shared services programs.The state, Becker said, is committed to increasing adoption of shared technology services through realized benefits and efficiencies.These include increased transparency and understanding of IT spend, cost savings as a result of shared infrastructure, reduction of legacy debt as a result of required technology refreshes, and reduced cyber-risk as a result of contractually required cyberstandards and frameworks, Becker said.DIR served as a guide to the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) in its recent migration to an IT multi-sourcing model. Atos, which Virginia hired for advanced managed security services to its executive branch agencies, also holds the DCS contract in Texas, which includes mainframe, server, DCS facilities and network. However, DCS service components are subject to change under the new Next Gen Data Center Services contract or contracts due in September 2020. DIRs contract for DCS components expires Aug. 31, 2020, and the agency is currently in procurement for a Next Gen DCS contract, Becker said, noting shared technology services (STS) procurements may result in a single or multiple award.STS are offered to eligible state customers in areas including managed application and security services, with each service component awarded through competitive procurement, and resulting in single or multiple awards, Becker said, depending on the nature of the services and what may be in the best interest of the state. State agencies and local governments are eligible for DIRs shared services program.The overarching idea behind a multisourcing model in making IT services available to individual agencies is that smaller, shorter-term contracts rather than larger agreements of a decade or longer can go further toward providing timely, relevant service at a cost-effective price.In a recent interview , Virginia Chief Information Officer Nelson Moe said most IT contracts should be long enough to avoid being constantly in contract mode, but no longer than about five years because things change so much.The decision has to keep up with the speed of the market change. If not, youre going to be left behind, Moe said. VITA gave notice earlier this year it would terminate a 12-year contract with Northrop Grumman Aug. 17 and forge agreements with other providers. The agency said in May it would hire the Science Applications International Corp. as its MSI.When asked whether larger contracts to achieve standardization were a precursor to smaller, more specific contracts when outsourcing IT, Becker said this is not necessarily the case. He explained that contracting entities, if implementing an MSI model, would still need to weigh factors including customer demand for service offerings, maturity of the existing outsourcing model, the nature of the outsourced services and the term of the current contracts.Contracting entities must consider cross-functional requirements and effectively communicate those across service component providers, Becker said, indicating each provider must understand those requirements and the integration required under the MSI model.
(TNS)  The Kansas City tech communitys hopes of boosting computer science among Missouris high schoolers have been dashed  at least temporarily  by a veto from Gov. Mike Parson.A bill backed by tech heavy-hitters, including Apple and Amazon, passed the Missouri House and Senate this session. Supporters sought to encourage high school students to take computer science courses by requiring that schools count the classes as a math, science or practical arts credit rather than treating it as an elective. The bill also aimed to boost awareness of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, fields.Parson vetoed the bill earlier this month.While I fully support the promotion of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and making our states students aware of career opportunities in those fields, I cannot approve of the programs provisions as written, Parson said in his veto letter.In the letter, Parson said a portion of the bill requiring the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to pick a provider for online STEM courses favored one particular vendor, which he did not name.Sen. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, sponsored the bill and said he was disappointed to see Parson veto it because computer science education is important.Its very concerning to me considering we are 18 years into the 21st century, and according to those who testified on the bill both in the House in the Senate, IT companies that talk about the unfilled positions they have  10,000 here in the state of Missouri, Libla said.However, Libla said, if the bill did favor one vendor, he supports Parsons veto.Libla said he wouldnt try to override Parsons veto but he plans to bring up the bill again next year.That will be probably the first bill I pre-file, Libla said.Ryan Weber, president of the KC Tech Council, said Parsons veto came as a complete surprise. In a statement to supporters , Weber said tech advocates cannot rest in their disappointment.Missouris children deserve education that prepares them for Missouri jobs and allows them to be competitive with students from other states, Weber said. In fact, 46 other states have passed legislation to broaden computer science education, and the students and employers in those states are already reaping the benefits. Missourians deserve that too.
(TNS)  Director of the Department of Emergency Management Paul Matthews said, while his old offices got the job done, they didn't help officials prepare Aiken County for disasters the way the Government Center does."What we've got here is state of the art," Mathews said. "I'll put this EOC up against any one in the state."The previous Emergency Operations Center was located in the old jail at the Sheriff's Office on Hampton Avenue for nearly eight years. Matthews said his old office had a barred window and a sliding metal door.Prior to operating out of the jail, the EOC was located in the chambers of the Old County Council Building on Richland Avenue. During their tenure, the Graniteville train wreck of 2005 occurred, which involved a 60-ton chlorine spill that killed nine people."We were in that facility during Graniteville," Matthews said. "The bad part is, you had to plug in every phone in the ceiling, you had to set up the tables, you had to do everything. So of course, by the time you do that, you're two hours into it and you're two hours behind."Matthews said there were concerns from the Aiken County Sheriff's Department over the safety of the building, which led to the EOC relocating to the old County Council Building until the Government Center was constructed on University Parkway.Matthews said the new facility helps the department better prepare for a variety of disasters and disruptions they handle, from weather to serious traffic delays.The EOC in the Government Center is newer, larger, and equipped with better technology to help Emergency Management prepare for any problems Aiken County might encounter. Matthews said he also bought five Weather Hawk stations on a federal grant, one of which is already installed on the roof of the building.He said these 'complete' weather stations help better predict weather patterns and are connected to cell phone towers via wireless, which is how they upload their data and is accessible online.Among their features, the complete weather stations can calculate windspeed, wind direction and can even help predict flooding in certain areas."When the rain hits the dome, it knows mathematically how big the rain drop is and how many times its hitting it," Matthews said. "It calculates it mathematically to tell you. The neat thing about it is that it can tell when its frozen. It can tell the temperature of it, which helps when an ice storm pops up."Matthews hopes to also install these stations in areas like Monetta, Wagner, Beech Island, North Augusta and Graniteville."Weather is our primary threat," Matthews said. He claimed that ice storms can be more damaging to Aiken than hurricanes, but the county plays a big role as an evacuation site."Were the only state that goes through formal procedures every year to look at our shelters, to look at our partners," Matthews said. "Theres no other state that does that. Florida doesnt even do that."A new EOC and technology aren't the only things responsible for making emergency operations run smoothly in Aiken. Matthews said that the people of Aiken County also play a significant role."I am a very fortunate emergency manager," Matthews said. "You dont go to many counties where the sheriff, and the city police chief, and the fire chiefs, and the emergency manager and everybody get along...Here we are very fortunate. We all get along."For more information on natural disasters and other emergencies, and how to prepare for them, visit scemd.org
(TNS)  Schools in Suffolk County will now have access to a smartphone-based application that alerts authorities in the event of an active shooter or emergency situation, county officials announced Monday.Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone signed legislation for a $2 million bond to cover the licensing of the Rave Panic Button for public and private schools across the county.When administrators and faculty at participating schools are faced with an emergency, they can activate the application on a smartphone, which immediately calls 911 and simultaneously alerts other personnel. It also allows communication between law enforcement and first responders with those on the school premises, and provides up-to-date information that responders may need, such as the layout of the school building.This is about making sure we do everything we can and provide the tools that we can to keep our kids safe, Bellone, a Democrat, said at a news conference at Kings Park High School.Concerns surrounding school safety were amplified this past school year after mass shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas.Districts across Long Island have been working to increase safety measures, including updates to building infrastructure, hiring additional school security staff and boosting mental health services for students.Unfortunately, we know when tragedy strikes, every second, every minute is crucial, Kings Park school district Superintendent Timothy Eagen said. The Rave mobile app is the best way that we can get emergency management, first responders, Suffolk County PD, and even our own staff in the know immediately in terms of whats going on.The Kings Park district is one of about 25 so far that have expressed interest in using the application, said Suffolk County Fire Rescue Emergency Services Chief Joel Vetter. Without the bond, each district would need to pay for the licensing, including an annual fee of $26,000, Vetter said.Districts already must submit emergency plans to the State Education Department, State Police and local law enforcement agencies, but Rave would require that the plans shared with local responders be digital and updated frequently, Vetter said.Participating schools would work with law enforcement and first responders to decide who should have the application within the district, to set the application up, and to develop a training protocol, he said.Some businesses, colleges and hospitals have also expressed interest in using the application, and all of the 56 library buildings in the county already use it, officials said.Nassau County introduced the application to its public schools in 2016, and to date has 44 of its 56 public school districts using the program, according to the Nassau County Police Department.Suffolk Legis. Robert Trotta (R-Fort Salonga), called the application a "stunt," and voted against the measure when it was brought before lawmakers last week. The measure passed 17 to 1. "If I believed it was a good thing for the security for the children of Suffolk County, I would have voted for it," he said. "In this country, we all are trained to dial 911. I don't want anyone searching for an app during an emergency situation."Kenneth Bossert, president of the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association and Elwood schools superintendent, said the application is just one tool school districts can use to improve their response to an emergency situation. The hope is that all 69 public school districts across Suffolk County will use the application, and some could have it up and running by this fall, he said. If students do not feel safe in our classroom, they cannot learn. If teachers and faculty do not feel safe in our classroom, they cannot educate our children."
Officials in Medford, Ore., are notifying online billing system users that the municipalitys Click2Gov system was breached, potentially affecting 1,842 customers, according to local media reports Medford, which uses Superions Click2Gov system, is one of a number of cities across the U.S. that recently discovered their systems had been compromised. Wellington, Fla., for example, is one of the cities hit by the breach, which is believed to have affected municipalities in California, Texas, Arizona and Wisconsin, thereports.The city of Medford discovered on June 5 that cyberattackers used malware to pilfer credit and debit card information, cardholder names, expiration dates and CVV codes of users who paid for city utilities, permits and business licenses between Feb. 18 and March 14, 2018, and between March 29 and April 16, 2018.Medford officials shut off the online payment server after the breach discovery and found a vulnerability in Superions Click2Gov function, the report notes. Superion, however, says that all the affected servers were hosted by the city governments and not the company, which has offered technology solutions to keep them secure, thereported.The city of Medford has more than 30,000 customers that use its Click2Gov online payment system, according to KDRV.com.
(TNS)  MORGANTOWN, W.Va.  County clerks from around the state are in Morgantown taking a two-day plunge into election protection and cybersecurity.Secretary of State Mac Warner brought the election protection and training conference to the University Holiday Inn on Pineview Drive Monday and today.Warner said there is $6.5 million in federal funding available to assist counties in improving their election security, including new voting equipment and help with Americans with Disabilities Act compliance.While national media is focused on Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, Matt Masterson, senior cybersecurity advisor for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) highlighted Mondays schedule with an overview of the need for secure elections clear down to the county level.Masterson mentioned the 2016 Russian hacking of Illinois election system. Outside of Illinois, you are all targeted, he said.Hackers come in several varieties, he said: Foreign governments, terrorists, criminal hackers, even office insiders with a grudge. Their motives may vary, too, but overall, they want to undermine confidence in the election process in all 10,000 jurisdictions across the country.Attacks can also come in various forms. In March, Atlanta was subject to a ransomware attack that is costing millions to recover from. With ransomware, the attacker uses software to lock you out of your system and demands money to let you back in.Another common attack is spear phishing: specifically targeted spoof emails form an apparently trusted source intended to glean vital information.Attacks may not go through the front door. The Target retail chain was hacked by starting small  an HVAC vendors system  and working its way up the chain. So thinking youre a small county that wont interest hackers is the wrong way to think, he said.Masterson identified several keys to preparedness. Practice defense in depth: make sure theres no single point of access to the entire system. Establish layers of protection.Employ air gaps, meaning make sure your whole system isnt internet connected. Dont reuse memory devices, which can get corrupted. Update passwords after every election.Overall, pursue resilience. You have to be prepared to detect and recover.During a break, Warner talked about his involvement and interest in cybersecurity, stemming from his military days and hands-on elections experience in Haiti, Panama, Bosnia, Ukraine and other countries.Thats what has me energized as I came into this job as secretary of state. Then news of the Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee system and the Russian election meddling came to light. Even before the election, the federal government knew a fair amount but didnt really know what to do with the knowledge, he said. DHS was struggling with that role while getting pushback from the states to stay out of their business.But DHS designated elections systems as part of the nations critical infrastructure, Warner said. I decided it was better to be on the inside and have a role in how it played out. Hes a member of the Elections Assistance Commission Government Coordinating Council.Harvards Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs learned that a former military man was West Virginias secretary of state and invited Warner and his team to Boston for three exercises to help fine-tune its elections cybersecurity training.Warner, in turn, invited two county clerks to help bring the message back to the counties. One of them was Monongalia Countys Carye Blaney, who served as a moderator for this conference.Blaney said she recognizes that election security threats are real, no matter what the size of the state or county. We need to be prepared as the front line of defense in our counties.Our role in Monongalia County, she said, weve sort of been on the front lines of all the technology.  I think thats one of the reasons why the secretary asked me to participate.The conference, which concludes today with train-ing exercises and post-op evaluations, drew clerks from 53 counties and county elections officials  more than 150 people.
A delay in Miami could have reignited Hockenheim's chances of staying on the F1 calendar.

It has now been confirmed that the 2019 schedule will not include an inaugural street race in Miami.

"We have decided to postpone sign-off until later in the summer, with the aim of running the first Miami grand prix in 2020," announced F1 commercial boss Sean Bratches.

The bad news out of Miami could be good news for Hockenheim.

It is believed Liberty Media may simply prefer to plug the calendar gap with a substitute race, even though talks for a 2019 German grand prix broke down recently over the cost.

But Hockenheim's Georg Seiler told Kolner Express: "I'm not interested in whether Miami is on the calendar.

"I thought we would not be back until 2020, but I've also heard that Liberty Media is interested in being in Germany in 2019 as well.

"We are curious as to what they propose," he added.

Seiler also told the Mannheimer Morgen newspaper that he would need a decision about 2019 "in the next few weeks".

He wants a deal with "no financial risk", and bemoans the lack of government support. Last weekend, Seiler met with German federal minister Andreas Scheuer.

"If politicians are interested in keeping formula one in Germany, that's a good sign," he said. "But we are far from that."

(GMM)
Princess Cruises, a leading global cruise brand of Carnival Corporation & plc, the worlds largest leisure travel company, announced a memorandum of agreement with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri S.p.A. to build two new cruise ships on a next-generation platform. The new builds are slated to be delivered in late 2023 and spring 2025, respectively.

The new vessels will be Princess Cruises first ships to be dual-fuel poweredprimarily by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)which will significantly reduce air emissions and marine gasoil (MGO). The new ships, which will be the largest by capacity in the Princess Cruises fleet, will be built at Fincantieris shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy.

The two ships will be 175,000 gross tons and will accommodate approximately 4,300 guests (lower berths). Specification details for the ship design, along with anticipated features and amenities of this all-new platform design for Princess Cruises, will be shared in the future.

The agreement for Princess Cruises next-generation cruise ships represent Carnival Corporations 10th and 11th contracted LNG-based vessels. Carnival Corporation currently has 20 new ships under contract and scheduled for delivery between 2018 and 2025.
Pablo Villavicencios wife and daughters. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Pablo Villavicencio, the pizzeria employee who was turned over to ICE while making a delivery to a Brooklyn military base, was freed from detention tonight. In the nearly two months since he was detained, no real progress had been made  unless you count a mid-June temporary restraining order pending a hearing on the case. That changed when Villavicencios counsel won a habeas corpus motion extending his stay and allowing him to secure valid immigration status.

People are rallying outside the courthouse at 500 Pearl Street in NYC in support of Pablo Villavicencio, an immigrant man who got ICE called on him by an army base after he delivered a pizza to them. Pablo is set to see a judge today at 11am. #AbolishICE #FreePablo pic.twitter.com/Jlzl5du8AW  Ash J (@AshAgony) July 24, 2018

In advance of the hearing, Villavicencios family, activists, and New York government officials exerted pressure to try to get him out of detention. This started yesterday with a press conference at City Hall, where Villavicencios wife Sandra Chica and daughters pleaded for his return. Chica talked about the difficulty of living without him, saying shes effectively been a single mother since her husband was detained. His 4-year-old daughter, Luciana, also spoke, saying, I want him to be home every day. Chica also returned to the fact that Villavicencio has no criminal record.

Earlier today, New York governor Andrew Cuomo said that the federal government has cruelly kept Villavicencio from his family for no legitimate reasons. He called the arrest a disgraceful affront to our New York values, and his continued detainment unconscionable. Protesters, joined by City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, rallied outside the downtown Manhattan courthouse where Villavicencio was having his hearing.

The hearing was focused on whether the case should be heard in New York or New Jersey. During it, federal Judge Paul Crotty asked if the U.S. government has any concept of justice in mind for Villavicencio but no ruling was, initially reached.

The Legal Aid Society, which is representing Villavicencio, released a statement around 2 p.m., saying it is our position that the Federal government wholly failed to address or justify their cruel treatment of Mr. Villavicencio. It also expressed hope that Judge Crotty would find merits in its arguments and release Villavicencio. That hope was fulfilled.

Earlier this evening, the Legal Aid Society and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP released a second statement announcing Villavicencios release.

The Legal Aid Society and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP won a habeas corpus motion today in Federal court freeing their client, Pablo Villavicencio, from Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detention (ICE) detention and extending a stay of deportation which will allow Villavicencio time to secure valid immigration status. Judge Paul A. Crotty of the United States District Court - Southern District of New York granted the motion. On June 1, Pablo Villavicencio was arrested and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while delivering a catering order to Fort Hamilton Army Base in Brooklyn. In mid-June, a judge granted a temporary restraining order staying Villavicencios deportation pending a hearing on the entirety of his case. The rule of law, humanity and morality prevailed tonight with the Courts order releasing Pablo back to his family and community, said Adriene Holder, Attorney-In-Charge of the Civil Practice at The Legal Aid Society. This decision should serve as a rebuke against the Trump Administration and its merciless crusade to tear families apart. Today is also an affirmation that the Courts can still serve as a check on the Executive when it breaks with our laws and principles. The Villavicencio family has finally received a crucial measure of relief from their 53-day nightmare and we will continue to fight alongside them to protect their right to remain in the community they call home.

This post has been updated throughout following Villavicencios release.
Master sommelier Pascaline Lepeltier was walking through Central Park when she recognized a scent: manure, which rhymes with flaneur when she says it. Its funny because some guys love this smell  that kind of dirty, sweaty smell, Lepeltier says. Thats what they want in natural wine. Horse shit.

To be clear, Lepeltier supports natural wine. That is, wine made from organically grown grapes fermented in their own naturally occurring yeasts. During fermentation, a whole ecosystem of yeasts and bacteria grow, die, interact, and expel by-products, including alcohol. Commercial winemakers use chemicals and machines to manipulate that ecosystem; organic winemakers do the same with organic grapes. Natural wine is even purer  or dirtier, if youre being literal about terroir. Nothing added and nothing removed is the mantra: no industrial yeasts, no additives, no synthetic processes. In natural wine, the resulting imperfections are not really imperfections; they are the goal.

Some quibble over which methods count as natural, from filtering to machine-harvesting to vineyard architecture. (Im offended by vines on a wire. Its slavery, a Spanish winemaker tells Lepeltier and Alice Feiring in their book The Dirty Guide to Wine.) Some use prehistoric winemaking methods, like subterranean fermentation in clay amphorae. The semiotics of what counts as natural, and why, and who gets to decide, can be a source of rancor. (As far as two-word phrases capable of ruining bourgeois dinner parties in New York go, natural wine is up there with Lena Dunham and democratic socialism.) Whatever the process, the results can be downright funky: white wines that can be amber, orange, and cloudy. Red wines that resemble fizzy beet juice and occluded amethysts. The flavors can be intense and unfamiliar  savory, salty, and startlingly sour. These wines flout the conventions of connoisseurship, but among the citys wine geeks and sommeliers, natural wine has an intense following. Justin Chearno, the wine director at the Four Horsemen, describes himself as really, really, really evangelical, especially early in his career. After Cork Dork author Bianca Boskers dismissal of so-called natural wines appeared last year in the New York Times, she says she received hate mail.

When Lepeltier arrived in New York in 2009, natural wine barely existed in the citys lexicon. Now natural wines are on the menu at New Yorks most-hyped restaurants  Lilia, Le Coucou, Atomix, Una Pizza Napoletana. The Four Horsemen, which is co-owned by LCD Soundsystems James Murphy, has 40 seats and a cellar with 600 natural wines. And this past spring, when the former chefs of Minetta Tavern and Balthazar launched Frenchette, the wine list was 100 percent natural. Frenchette has gone off the rails, wrote the Times wine critic, Eric Asimov, calling the relentlessly obscure list brilliant, challenging, and occasionally even appalling. (Which he liked.)

Even the citys most upscale restaurants are getting into weird wine: Last year, Eleven Madison Park shocked traditionalists by pairing a smoky sweet-potato dish with a biodynamic orange wine from Austrian winemaker Christian Tschida. (Orange wines are white wines fermented in contact with their skins, a technique conventional winemakers use only for reds.)

But theres still some culture clash. According to Lepeltier, significant natural-wine excitement comes from cool people who were not talking to the three-Michelin star restaurant or the top wine shop. They were talking to the new crowd that was buying the wine. She added: If you are not, like, tattooed, beard, dirty wine, you are not natural enough. 

At the top of Lepeltiers cool list is Zev Rovine, a Brooklyn-based natural-wine importer and occasional presence on Vicelands late-night The Untitled Action Bronson Show. It would probably also include Bronson, a heavily tattooed Albanian-American from Queens who hosts another Viceland show, Fuck, Thats Delicious. He has the physique and social manner of a wrecking ball, wears oversize T-shirts while dining at the worlds finest restaurants, and rarely appears onscreen without a murky glass of natural wine in hand. His review of Canta Mananas Les Vins du Cabanon rose involved throwing himself against the side of a building in Paris, saying, Put me on the wall and eat my ass! On his late-night show, Bronson pops new natural-wine bottles on every episode, once triggering a wine rush in what is still (for all the frenzy) a tiny market.

Theres a lot of really fucked-up natural wine out there, says Jon Bonne, author of The New Wine Rules, who was, for almost a decade, wine critic for the San Francisco Chronicle.

I contacted Bonne after a natural-wine booster cautioned: Jon Bonne doesnt really have a true understanding of natural wines. Plus, his wife works for a traditional import company. (Thats Valerie Masten, a vice-president at Skurnik Wines.) Bonne believes natural-wine merchants who are ignorant  or taking advantage of ignorance  sell overpriced wine under the guise of iconoclasm. Theyre being curated for the correct virtue points; theyre not being curated for quality. It is being passed off as fine or as interesting or as characterful by folks who frankly quite often either (a) have willfully decided that theyre not going to acknowledge these issues, or (b) arent experienced enough to identify them. And so what used to be considered a fuck-up is now considered character.

Bonne is not a lonely skeptic. Tasting-menu palaces like Eleven Madison Park have opened their doors to natural wines, but not the floodgates. Speaking of his orange wine, EMPs Cedric Nicaise admits, It is not my favorite style of wine. It is never something that I crave or that I want to drink a whole bottle of. The relative ease of drinking a whole bottle comes up with alarming frequency when talking about natural wines, which tend to be lighter and lower in alcohol content. Some say hangovers are gentler when the booze contains no added sugars or sulfites, but that could be superstition. (Its the wine worlds version of arguing about gluten intolerance.)

Perched on a barstool at East Village wine bar Ruffian, Bonne steers me to a glass of 2017 Picpoul de Pinet from Domaine Julie Benau, which he describes as a natural wine that would suit a conventional wine drinkers taste. What I find more often than not in a lot of what Ill call modern natural wine is the sole purpose is to be gluggable, he says. Its a weird, kind of Marxist view of drinking. Because its this idea that elevating the wine is somehow elitist.

Wine populism came up in several interviews. Chearno, who grew up among beer-drinkers in Ohio, says, To me, wine was never something for working-class people, and I was blown away when it became accessible to me, which involved realizing wine was an agricultural product and not something that was, like, discussed by lawyers over dinner.

If you havent noticed, Bonne is fairly unapologetic in his elitism. He thinks the second purpose of natural wine is to willfully kind of piss on a thousand years of history, as though a millennium of cultural work is somehow irrelevant because its uncool.

He calls out Burgundy winemaker Yann Durieux, who makes wines with techniques that conventional Burgundians have, for years, dismissed. If he did it in some random little corner of France, he would just be yet another dude with dreadlocks who is making wines I dont want to drink, Bonne continues. But hes doing it in Gevrey-Chambertin. Hes doing it in Haute Cotes de Nuits. Places that are expensive, which means charging 80, 90, a hundred, or multiple hundreds of euros down the line. And that, to me, is actually offensive. That is the apotheosis of the idea that everyone else in wine has to be wrong, because we still believe that theres a value in some wine traditions.

Durieuxs importer at Wine Source, Mathieu Jullien, expressed polite outrage on Durieuxs behalf. Because he wears dreadlocks and drives a dirty car, he does not belong in Burgundy? He was born in Burgundy! He was inspired and guided by Henri-Frederic Roch, of the legendary Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, under whom Durieux studied. The tradition is not the haircut!

Is Bonne responding to a real degradation of craft, or merely its signifiers? Admitting he sounds like a cranky old man, Bonne continues: Punk music is always my analogy. Where in the early days, not only did you not have to understand anything to listen to it, you didnt have to understand anything to play it. He believes natural wine is still in its early days. When do you evolve? When do you learn how to play your instrument and become Johnny Rotten?

But enough shit-talking. Lets talk manure. That horse-shit scent, politely called barnyard, is the product of Brettanomyces, a bacterium present in many wines. Lepeltier, a partner at downtown bistro Racines NY, explained: It triggers some sexual stuff. And Im sure about that. Lepeltier has a degree in philosophy and total certainty in her opinions and taste. Like a musky perfume, barnyard wines appeal to something very, very primitive in us. So thats one reason [people like it]. And the second thing is: You can recognize it.

Too much brett is a flaw, but its a flaw that rarely afflicts conventional wines, which utilize an array of synthetic techniques for halting the development of brett. Whether youre drinking Moet or Yellow Tail, a conventional wine will never smell strongly of shit. Now, the vast majority of natural wines do not smell strongly of shit either. But if you dont know how to recognize the thing that you want, then you will gravitate to the component of it that you can recognize. This could happen because you know natural wines are cool and you want to like something cool. Or it could happen because, over the course of drinking wines you enjoy for a variety of reasons, barnyard happens to be one of several through-lines you notice connecting them. Or maybe, after encountering barnyard in so many positive environments, you have retrained the neural pathways that connect your taste buds with feels good sections of your brain. Maybe you actually like barnyard now.

It triggers some sexual stuff and Im sure about that.

Either way, once enough people develop a taste for barnyard, the momentum of competitive taste kicks in. If taste is a performance of cultural knowledge, then rarefied taste suggests knowing more than everyone else. By the logic of one-upmanship, taste-chasers will be locked in a race for ever-rarer exemplars and more extreme versions of their taste. That is, until the pendulum swings.

For at least a generation, Robert Parkers 100-point scoring system has dominated the hierarchy of tastes in wine. A wave of Parkerization put a premium on full-bodied wines with high alcohol content. Parkers favorite wines are now the most expensive wines in the world, which must be annoying for Robert Parker when he goes wine-shopping.

Though a natural wine could, in theory, conform to any aesthetic, the wines currently marketed as such tend to fit a sort of dressed-down, casual-chic vision of abundance. As a recent feature in Fortune explained, The French, perfecters of both making and consuming natural wine, have an onomatopoeic term for this, glou glou, the sound these easy-drinking reds and whites make hurtling down your throat on a warm June day. This is wine designed to be gulped, not sipped. Glou glou is both demonstratively and deceptively simple. A visibly unfiltered wine shows off its makers rustic approach to viniculture. But that is only possible when the wine is elaborate  organic, biodynamic, location-specific, and labor-intensive.

The glou glou aesthetic applies to more than wine. Glou glou is a stripped-down renovation that showcases a buildings bones. Its not wearing makeup and looking great, because youre well rested and have an elaborate skin-care routine. (Natural wine, like natural beauty, requires long-term commitment. Minimalism works best when its minimal only on the surface.) Glou glou is passing a Polaroid camera around the party (then arranging the Polaroids into an artful display and photographing that with your iPhone). Glou glou is serving caviar with potato chips, as they do at Brunette, a natural-wine bar run by a married couple, designers who ditched New York City for the Hudson Valley. The tabletops are unadorned marble. The walls are whitewashed brick.

Glou glou is a maddening form of luxury, one that simultaneously rejects and performs elitism. Glou glou rejects the near past in favor of a modernized version of the old past. This makes glou glou incomprehensible to tastemakers from the near past  the ones who abandoned whatever elements of the old past glou glou seeks to resurrect. But heres the worst part: Everyone who partakes in glou glou knows this. Glou glou is self-conscious, self-aware, and self-critical. Glou glou is how millennials do snob.

Like all trends associated with millennials, glou glou boils down to economics. Asimov explains: Think about a Burgundy as you would Manhattan real estate. In the 90s, Manhattan real estate was expensive, but that has expanded exponentially. You have a growing income disparity, in which you have a small number of people who have so ridiculously much money that theyll pay anything for a great Manhattan apartment. Theyll pay anything for a great Burgundy. And that has driven up the price of everything else tremendously. In the 80s or the 90s, I was a young person just starting out in life. It was a splurge for me to buy a first-growth Bordeaux or a Grand Cru Burgundy, but I could do it. Now Im the wine critic of the New York Times. That might be as far up in my profession as I can be. And I cant afford those wines.

Natural wines are expensive but not garishly so. Thats part of why Frenchettes wine list impressed Asimov  and another reason natural wine seems so drinkable. As a restaurant, Frenchette appeals to a heat-seeking customer pool of food lovers, fashion followers and Wall Street whales, Asimov writes, in the Times:

Its easy to imagine a wine list for this crowd: vintage Champagne and high-end Burgundy for moneyed customers, a few rare bottles to demonstrate the reach and influence of the sommelier, some big names in Bordeaux and Napa Valley for the trophy and status hunters, and a nod to the Loire Valley for those who have been to the Paris wine bars. In short, a list just like those at dozens of other popular restaurants, with bottles that are the wine drinkers equivalent of comfort foods  akin to a menu of hamburgers, salmon and boneless chicken breasts.

In its wine list, Frenchette abandoned comfort. Thats how you make a statement. Chefs are not judged by their boneless chicken breasts but by the bolder items on their menus. But the same tattooed generation that made natural wine cool also has a lowbrow-brilliant attitude toward Waffle House and Chick-fil-A. Comfort is just another matter of taste, isnt it?

If there is a ground zero for glou glou in New York City, its in Bushwick. Specifically, Robertas.

Amanda Smeltz joined the staff of Robertas in 2012. Four years after Carlo Mirarchi turned the Bushwick pizza parlor into the gourmet juggernaut, he launched Blanca, an ambitious tasting-menu restaurant in a converted garage behind Robertas. Artisanal pizza is inherently glou glou. A Michelin-starred tasting-menu restaurant in an artisanal pizza parlors backyard? Glou glou squared.

Today, Smeltz is the wine director at Cafe Altro Paradiso and Estela, but her wine training began in Milwaukee before she moved to New York in 2009 to pursue an M.F.A. in poetry. Then two wines changed her life.

Usually, if you talk to people about natural wine, they will tell you about this, Smeltz says, when I ask whether she remembers the first time she drank natural wine. I have two wines that got in my glass and I was just like  She pantomimes sniffing a glass and reeling, as though inhaling smelling salts.

A brunette with a nose ring who seems like shed be fun at parties, Smeltz expresses emotion through gesture and sound effect. Its like the oxygen leaves the room. Youre just like  she scrunches her face and breaks into high pitch Wait, what? Youre like, Ive smelled a thousand wines, and then someone puts one in your glass and shows you a thing. And the power of your own sense of smell [drives] an unmitigated experience between your body and that thing. And it took my breath away. It was like the wind got knocked out of me. And it was a Pinot Blanc from Alsace by a producer named Marc Tempe, who has been biodynamic for a very long time.

The second time, she was working as a sommelier at the Breslin. The year was 2009. The wine was Herve Souhauts La Souteronne, and she was drinking with two other somms. We opened it up and put it in the glass, and it was just like, Ho-ho-ho-oly shit! The sound effect here is foulmouthed Santa Claus, as played by Foghorn Leghorn. Like, all three of us just started laughing.

In the world of fine dining, Bushwick was (and kind of still is) the hinterlands. But for a natural-wine freak like Smeltz, this was both a challenge and an opportunity: When youre out in the hinterlands, all of the rules here on this island dont apply, she says of Manhattan. Radical changes in decorum, attire, etiquette, cuisine, and, yes, wine made sense. I have a super-huge philosophical argument about what best means, and what historicity means, and what Francophilia means in the context of wine, Smeltz says. I have really big questions about that stuff. In Manhattan, you have to do it. Its been part of wine-drinking culture for long enough. When youre in Bushwick, you do not have to do that at all. No one gives a shit.

Her first challenge was to persuade postrecession millennials to buy wine in the first place. She describes her thought process: Everybody wants to come to this restaurant to eat pizza anyway. I already have a captive audience. What can I do to sneak wine-drinking on a people who otherwise do not? Like, what can I do to convert the table of eight dudes who are slamming pitchers of Budweiser? The answer: weird wines. Wines that pique curiosity. Wines from countries nobody knows about. Wines your parents would hate.

Amanda Smeltz is working in Manhattan again. (But still living in Bushwick.) She advocates for natural wine in a way that approaches spirituality: Wine is powerful because it arrests on the level of the body. Theres an opportunity to teach people to pay attention to being alive. Theres an opportunity to remind them of the power of their body, the power of their senses and the world, the power of plants and the Earth. Wine is a luxury product, but in its ideal form, its also an experience that awakens the senses. Ive watched it happen, man. Ive watched, like, a 25-year-old punk skater kid whos apathetic as fuck, doesnt give a shit about anything, put his nose in a glass and be like, Wow.

But even punk skater kids can grow up to be The Man. One of the strangest phenomena I noticed while reporting this story is that everyone in wine talks about an imaginary snobby other. (In the case of Jon Bonne, maybe not so imaginary.) Natural-wine advocates see themselves as rebels. (Alice Feirings delightfully dramatic The Battle for Love and Wine: or How I Saved the World From Parkerization overtly positions her as a warrior against Big Wine.) But when rebels gain ground, there will inevitably be a point when they are rebels no more. During our conversation at Ruffian, Jon Bonne reminds me that Robert Parker himself was once an outsider. Parker lived on a dairy farm as a little kid and was a fan of Ralph Naders consumer advocacy. He invented his 100-point-score system with the goal of democratizing wine.

Wine stores sometimes display bottles on shelves adorned with Parkers numerical scores. Shops that specialize in the wines featured in this article rarely do that. Instead, they offer origin stories. Christian Tschida: foot-stomped grapes on a fourth-generation vineyard. Frank Cornelissen: reclusive vigneron who buries terra-cotta amphorae on the slopes of Mount Etna. Gut Oggau: abandoned 17th-century winery, restored by a loving family whose hand-drawn faces appear on the labels. Its not only natural wine; its the whole movement, Action Bronson opines by phone while eating Dominican food on Myrtle Avenue. When I smoke hash, its single source. One person growing it, one person washing it with water and ice, and then it gets to me and I smoke it. So its literally the least amount of hands possible. He recommends pairing San Fernando Valley O.G. cannabis with Czech Moscato. They bring out the characteristics of each other so well. Its like me and my lady.

When a wine expresses terroir, it is said to express the flavor of a place. To drink wine is to drink the soil on which grapes grow, the climate that cultivated them, the history. Whether rejecting machine additives is the best way to maintain terroir is the subject of heated debate. (Cedric Nicaise believes sulfur dioxide is necessary to preserve it. Frenchettes Jorge Riera believes it mangles flavors and makes hangovers worse.) But as mood and movement, natural wines definitely stuff your nose a little deeper into the terroir. Which is how, I think, glou glou captures a modern urban dream of escape  a fantasy that can involve estates in rural Austria, weed farms in California, or ditching the city to open a wine bar in the Hudson Valley. The dreamiest elements of these fantasies are, of course, bullshit. (Agriculture involves significant financial pressure and manual labor.) But sometimes, in that alcoholic haze of glou glouing on a summer day, synesthesia occurs. And you can taste the bucolic fantasies, ecological optimism, and visions of a world in such perfect harmony that all you have to do is reach and squeeze a fruit right in front of you and out pours wine. And it tastes so good that nothing can stop you from glou glouing. Not even horse shit.

*This article appears in the July 23, 2018, issue of New York Magazine. Subscribe Now!
Police officers gather at the crime scene in Toronto, Canada, on July 23, 2018. (Xinhua/Li Haitao)

TORONTO, July 23 (Xinhua) -- A 18-year-old female university student and a 10-year-old girl were killed, and 13 others injured when a gunman opened fire in a busy Toronto street Sunday night.

The suspected shooter, a 29-year-old Toronto man, also died. Toronto police said he used a handgun to shoot and and exchanged gunfire with police before he died of a gunshot wound.

Police are investigating to determine whether the suspect was killed by police or died by suicide.

The tragedy happened around 10:00 p.m. Sunday near Danforth and Logan Avenues in Toronto's east-end Greektown neighborhood.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed condolences on Twitter, calling the shooting a "terrible tragedy."

Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders told a press conference Monday that it's too early to say what motivated the shooting.

He said police don't know what prompted the attack, acknowledging that there are concerns about ongoing gun violence in Toronto.

Media reports said police are investigating whether the gunman was working alone or had accomplices in planning or carrying out the shooting, what he may have been reading or talking about online, and how he obtained his gun.

Toronto Mayor John Tory Monday described the shooting as "an unspeakable act" and further evidence that stricter gun control regulations are needed in the city.

Tory, who has previously called for gun law reform, said he plans to push the provincial and federal governments for action on the issue.

"This city has a gun problem, in that guns are far too readily available to far too many people," said the mayor.
Sport

Pakistan look to extend winning run; WI and SA eye return to winning ways

Dubai: A buoyant Pakistan will look to extend their winning streak when they take on New Zealand in their second T20 world Cup match on Tuesday. Pakistan are brimming with confidence after breaking the losing jinx against India at the World Cup. They finally


TEHRAN, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry on Monday condemned the recent anti-Iran remarks by the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as "baseless and unfounded."

The hypocritical and worthless remarks made by Pompeo were merely part of propagandist hype, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Bahram Qasemi said in a statement.

On Sunday, Pompeo told a gathering of a group of Iranian-American in California that "the level of corruption and wealth among Iranian leaders shows that Iran is run by something that resembles the mafia more than a government."

"These remarks, more than ever, reveal the utter helplessness of the U.S. government after its illegal withdrawal from the nuclear deal and its failure to achieve the goals of this unwise and one-sided move which made Washington globally isolated," Qasemi was quoted as saying by the Ministry's website.

"Such words are precisely in line with the United States' long-term policy of destabilizing the region, which is a violation of its international obligations," he added.
Irate Local Residents Attack South Sudan UN Base

Angry mobs Monday attacked a UN compound in South Sudan's Upper Nile State, alleging discrimination against the locals in employment.



UN Maban offices in South Sudan's Upper Nile State that were set ablaze by local residents on July 23, 2018 over allegations of discrimination in employment. JOSEPH ODUHA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

SOURCE: The EastAfrican



By Joseph Oduha



MABAN, 24 July 2018 [Gurtong]-The unruly mobs damaged vehicles, ransacked offices and set some buildings ablaze at the Maban camp.



They complained that most of the aid workers at Maban were from Equatoria, in the south of the country.



An aid worker, who requested to remain anonymous as she is not authorised to speak to the media, said tensions had remained high between the local youths and the aid agencies in the area for a about a week.



UN Maban vehicles in South Sudan's Upper Nile State that were damaged by local residents on July 23, 2018 over allegations of discrimination in employment. JOSEPH ODUHA | NATION MEDIA GROUP



The communications officer for the Norwegian Refugee Council in Juba, Mr Gilesto Moses, said the situation had been tense since last week.



"Yeah, the tension was palpable since last week, but we were unaware that it would result to this," he said on the telephone.



Efforts to get a comment from the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) were unsuccessful as multiple telephone calls to their offices were not answered.



The Upper Nile base that borders the Blue Nile State in Sudan, hosts an estimated 170,000 refugees and returnees from Sudan.




Haiti - USA : An American sentenced to 23 years in prison for abuse of a minor in Haiti





Monday, James Daniel Arbaugh (40), resident at Stuart Draft in Virginia was sentenced to 276 months (23 years) in prison, followed by a life term of supervised release, for having in 2016 engaging in illicit sexual contacts with a minor, said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Departments Criminal Division.



Let's recall that James D. Arbaugh, 40, from Stuarts Draft, Virginia, pleaded guilty on February 6, 2018 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23506-haiti-flash-american-pedophile-pleads-guilty-to-acts-on-a-haitian-minor.html , for having an unlawful relationship with a 12-year-old child before U.S. District Court Judge Elizabeth K. Dillion of the Western District of Virginia.



"James Arbaugh was a wolf in sheeps clothing: he posed as a selfless missionary when in reality he was exploiting his position to prey on and sexually abuse vulnerable children in one of the most impoverished areas of the world," said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski. "Todays sentencing is a testament to the unwavering commitment of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners to hold sexual predators like Arbaugh accountable for their deplorable crimes."



According to admissions made in connection with his guilty plea, Arbaugh has lived in Haiti for approximately 15 years and has traveled regularly back to the United States during that time. According to statements made by the Court during Armbaughs sentencing hearing, during his time in Haiti, Arbaugh traveled as a Mennonite missionary regularly visiting remote towns and villages, where he would befriend and groom children in these communities. Arbaugh admitted that in 2016, while in Haiti, he engaged in illicit sexual contact with a minor under the age of 12 by touching the minors genitals under the minors clothing.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23506-haiti-flash-american-pedophile-pleads-guilty-to-acts-on-a-haitian-minor.html



SL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Politic : Results of the parliamentary week





During the week of 16-20 July 2018, pending the appointment of a new Prime Minister, the Senate carried out 3 sessions and the Chamber of Deputies none (source OCID).



In the Chamber of Deputies, in the absence of President Gary Bodeau, Vice-President Caleb Desrameaux tried unsuccessfully to hold a plenary session on July 17, 2018. With 44 respondents on the first roll call and 31 on the second, the requisite 60-member quorum was not reached and therefore the meeting was canceled.



For its part, the Senate carried out 3 sessions: 2 in plenary and 1 behind closed door on July 17th.



The first plenary session was held on Wednesday 18 July with the presence of 17 senators. The discussions took place around the riots from 6 to 8 July 2018.



The second session was held Thursday, July 19 with 17 senators who continued discussions on the vote on the proposed law on the commercialization, possession, control and carrying of firearms in the country, from the article 4. The debate being finished the vote of this text remains in continuation.



In addition, a new parliamentary block called "Senators Group for Political Balance (GSEP)" was presented to the Senators Assembly on Friday, July 20, 2018 https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-25022-icihaiti-politic-a-new-political-group-in-the-senate.html . This group consists of 10 Senators, most of whom belonged to the former pro-government majority : Rony Celestin, Pr"sident (PHTK), Jean-Rigaud Belizaire, Vice-president (Consortium), Gracia Delva, Secretaire (AAA), and members : Onodieu Louis KID), Francenet Denius (VERITE), Pierre Francois Sildor (PHTK), Wilfrid Gelin (PHTK), Jean Marie Ralph Fethiere (PHTK), Nahun Marcelus (Bouclier) and Denis Cadeau (Bouclier)



See also :

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-25022-icihaiti-politic-a-new-political-group-in-the-senate.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-24992-haiti-politic-weekly-balance-of-parliamentary-activities.html



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping...





Beginning of the summer season, already 179 victims

From June 29 to July 22, 2018, in its last report, the organization Stop Accidents indicates that from June 29 to July 22, 86 accidents were reported on the national territory for this beginning of the summer season. The death toll is 154 wounded and 25 dead.



Revival of the cotton sector

Une mission composee de membres de l'Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture (FAO),  Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria  (EMBRAPA) et de lAgence Bresilienne de Cooperation (ABC) est en Haiti du 22 juillet au 2 aout pour travailler avec le Gouvernement a lelaboration du projet de relance du secteur cotonnier dans le pays, une Cooperation trilaterale Sud-Sud entre le Bresil, la FAO et Haiti. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-24397-haiti-agriculture-towards-the-resumption-of-cotton-cultivation.html



The US welcomes the step of Moise

Accredited US Ambassador to Haiti Michele J. Sison praised on the Voice of America, President Jovenel Moise's approach, for his consultations with the various actors of national life in order to appoint a consensus Prime Minister...



Senate : Beginning of the analysis of the amending budget

The Economic and Finance Committee of the Senate is expected to begin on Tuesday the analysis of the draft amending budget 2017/2018 with stakeholders. A working meeting with economists is planned, said Senator Jean Rigaud Belizaire, President of the Commission, who does not rule out the possibility of meeting with the resigning ministers.



Evaluation of the discrimination of voodoo

On Monday, the Confederation of Haitian Voodooists officially launched an evaluation and awareness project against voodoo discrimination that will last for a period of 3 months.



Paramedics change uniform

Starting today, all Paramedics of the National Ambulance Center (CAN) will be wearing a new green uniform, which will carry their registration number to identify them.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Ministers

Learn about the ministers of the Health portfolio, including who they are, what they are responsible for and what they do.
(Bloomberg) For the most die-hard bulls among the China-focused hedge fund community, June was a month of reckoning. Funds with the highest net exposures to Chinas markets suffered hefty losses after the benchmark stock index posted its biggest monthly decline since January 2016. Among them are Top Ace Asset Managements China-focused Scienart Advantage Fund, which plunged an estimated 20 percent in June, according to people with knowledge of its returns. Greater China funds run by Yuanhao Capital Management and Modus Asset Management also slumped.

To read this article:
Only five per cent of respondents viewed that the central administration should promote urbanisation and 12 per cent that the administration should not meddle in regional development.

Nearly four-fifths (79%) of Finns are of the opinion that the central administration should guarantee the availability of services also outside urban areas in order to make sure the entire country remains inhabited, finds a survey commissioned by YLE .

Taloustutkimus interviewed 1,012 over 15-year-old Finns for the survey between 11 and 19 June 2018.

The survey results were met with joy particularly by members of the Centre Party. Finns want that there is life and activity all across Finland. The survey shows that the state can have an active role in this by securing services, for example, commented Anu Vehvilainen (Centre), the Minister of Local Government and Public Reforms.

Prime Minister Juha Sipila (Centre) expressed his confidence that the entire country can be kept inhabited. The entire Finland can be kept inhabited. That is what Finns want. Jobs, education and services being equally available across the country is the most important foundation for this, he tweeted.

Ari Prihti (BR), a municipal councillor for Punkalaidun, pleaded with national decision makers to take the results seriously and promote the vitality of sparsely populated regions by offering tax breaks to businesses and residents.

Others viewed that the survey results should be taken with a grain of salt.

Juhana Vartiainen (NCP), for example, estimated that the survey would have yielded different results if the question was re-phrased.

For example, a more informative question could have been: would you be ready to pay 100, 500 or 1,000 euros a year in additional taxes to have the central administration take more action to slow down urbanisation?, he explained.

His assessment was echoed by population researcher Timo Aro.

If you ask a question like this, you should be able to demonstrate to the respondents what itd mean to, for example, the central government budget, he told Helsingin Sanomat on Monday, viewing that the responses could have been markedly different if the respondents had been asked about their willingness to fund the services.

Its misleading to speak or ask about keeping the whole country inhabited because it isnt a reality, he stated.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Roni Rekomaa  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
A record-breaking summer in terms of the peat harvest is sad news for Finnish nature and climate. It is insane that an exceptional heatwave allows us to extract a record amount of peat, the burning of which will only intensify climate change, she states in a press release .

Emma Kari (Greens) has demanded that the government put an end to the energy use of peat amid estimates that a record amount of peat will be harvested from wetlands in Finland in 2018.

Finland must combat climate change and abandon the use of peat immediately.

Kari reminds that peat is comparable to coal in terms of carbon dioxide emissions. The Finnish government, she adds, has agreed to discontinue the use of coal for energy by 2029 but curiously encouraged  rather than reduced  the energy use of peat by lowering taxes on peat.

It is insane for the climate if you replace one fossil fuel with another, she states. That is why I asked Minister of the Environment Kimmo Tiilikainen (Centre) in June to reveal what the government intends to do to stop the use of peat for energy. His only response was to defend the use of peat. There are no plans to do anything.

She also points out that populations of birds endemic to wetlands have declined by a third over a short period of time in the Nordics. According to her, the decline has been caused by the destruction of natural wetlands and the situation is particularly alarming in Finland.

The two greatest challenges for humankind are managing climate change and stopping the sixth wave of extinction. If we continue to use peat to the current extent, we are part of the problem, not part of the solution, says Kari.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Janne Raassina  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
The scene is a familiar one. A column of American GIs, hunched over from the weight of 80 pound rucksacks, warily works its way through a miasma of dense green foliage, rifles at the ready. Their frightened eyes peer from masks of dust and sweat. They watch and listen for that telltale sign that will give them just enough warning to avoid the mine, booby trap or hidden ambush that could mean instant death or dismemberment for them or their comrades.

This patrol, however, was different from the thousands that preceded it. It was April 6, 1970, 1,853 days since the first American ground troops landed in Vietnam. Accompanying these GIs into harms way were veteran CBS Correspondent John Laurence and a two-man sound and camera crew, the 1970 equivalent of embedded correspondents. Their reports would later become a documentary on a soldiers-eye view of life on the ground in the war. They had heard that this unit, Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment (2-7th Cav), was one of Armys best.

Laurences crew had already filed a story about Charlie Companys respect and affection for its previous commanding officer, Captain Robert Jackson. But Jacksons heart condition had required his evacuation from the field. He was replaced by Captain Al Rice, whom the men did not know well.

Suddenly everything stopped. The unit was ordered by higher headquarters to change direction and move down a dirt road. Sergeant Gene Dunnuck, the companys point man, told his platoon leader that walking down the road was no good. Dense foliage crept right to the edge of the narrow trail, making it the perfect location for an enemy ambush. Fresh tracks indicated the possible presence of North Vietnamese infantry a lot of them.

I aint gonna walk down there, he said. The word was passed back to Captain Rice, who told the platoon leader to get his men back on the trail and get moving. Dunnuck refused. So did the rest of the platoon.

Correspondent Laurence asked the men to describe on camera what was going on. They explained that their previous company commander told them never to walk down a road or trail, because thats what the enemy expected. Instead, they moved by cutting their own trail. In that way Charlie Company had achieved the best combat record in the battalion.

Captain Rice, who had taken over the company from Captain Jackson only four days earlier, worked his way to the front of the column. Rice was no stranger to Vietnam. Hed served in long range reconnaissance patrol units. He was in no mood to dally. Rice called his three platoon leaders aside. Once again, while the camera was there, Rice said: Now either move out, or else I move out and they sit on their butts right here. Its that simple.

Rice took point, accompanied by his command group of six men. He headed down the road. No one else followed. The radio crackled with new orders. Instead of going 1,300 yards to the east as originally ordered, they were to go 300 yards to the west, cut out a landing zone for three helicopters and get lifted out as soon as possible.

Another squad took the lead. The longer we sit here, the worse it gets, Rice told his men, Everybody going? Okay, lets go. Sergeant Dunnuck and the second squad followed reluctantly.

This is crazy, senseless, walking down a road, one trooper told Laurences camera. Youre like a duck in a shooting gallery, said another.

They finally reached a small clearing without making contact with the enemy, and the helicopters came to lift them out. Once they were back in the relative safety of a forward base camp, the members of 2nd Squad, 2nd Platoon took the opportunity to tell the CBS News crew how they felt. Tired, frustrated and angry, they unloaded.

Private first class Gordy Lee of San Diego, Calif., said: Back in the world we call it a rebellion. Here its just downright refusal.the CO says, Okay were going to walk through it; the whole company says, No, negative. Weve heard of too many companies, too many battalions want to walk the road, and thats why they arent what they are now. They just got blown away.

We dont know whats going to happen, said Spc. 4 John Schultz of Lynwood, Calif. It doesnt really make any difference. Were just going to refuse to do it. You may be in jail, but you wont be dead.

And from Pfc Carlton Dudley of Newberns, Fla.: If he told me to do it again, and I was walking point, Id just flat refuse. They can send me to LBJ [Long Binh Jail] and thats all there would be to it. Theyd bust me of course, but that dont mean nothing either. Im just in the Army to spend my time and get out. I aint got no use for the Army.

That night, Laurence returned to Saigon and cabled his superiors in New York. He told them he had a unique story of a minor rebellion. It was the beginning of an escalating controversy that worked its way up to the highest levels of CBS News and the Pentagon. The incident would come to serve as a favorite example to journalists and historians of the collapse of discipline and morale among U.S. troops in Vietnam. But was this interpretation justified by events on the ground? The evidence that has emerged over 35 years suggests otherwise.

The controversy began to unfold early the next morning when Laurence got a call from Colonel William V. Ochs, the 1st Brigade commander who, coincidentally, was related to the owners of the New York Times. Ochs had heard about what happened the day before. He wanted Laurence to meet him to talk about the larger picture.

Laurence was reluctant. Standard operating procedure for journalists was not to discuss stories before completing them. But, since he was with Charlie Company as an invited guest, he felt an obligation to hear what Ochs had to say. The conversation is reported in Laurences 2002 book The Cat From Hue, and in J.D. Colemans 1991 book Incursion.

Ochs asked what CBS was going to report about the incident. Laurence said he was calling it a rebellion. Major J.D. Coleman, the 1st Cavalry Divisions public information officer (PAO) and the person who secured clearance for Laurence to go out in the field, asked him to read them the text of the story. Laurence reluctantly agreed, and ended by reading his conclusion:

If there is another dimension to the minor rebellion of Charlie Company, it is that a hundred experienced soldiersmost of whom believe in the biggest picture of all, the political reasons for the Vietnam Warveteran soldiers who are not afraid of combat, normally brave and obedient menwould not walk down a road that, to them, was symbolic of the way 40,000 other GIs had gone before.

Ochs spoke up, Im not sure I would characterize what happened as a rebellionrebellion has a connotation to it that implies an insurrection, an uprising.

Well, I did tone it down in the final paragraph by calling it a minor rebellion, Laurence responded.

Major Coleman jumped in: God damn it Jack [Laurence], we dont think its fair to use the word rebellion at all. You make it sound like a God-damned revolt.

Well, J.D., said Laurence, it stands by itself. When people see the film of what happened, they can make up their own minds whether it was a rebellion or a mutiny or a temporary reluctance to obey orders.

You know damn well it depends on how you set it up in your narration, Coleman shot back. People are going to react to what you say on the film and how its edited. Thats what matters.

Laurence refused to yield: Well, we think it was a rebellion. So do the troops.

At that point, Ochs provided some news of his own: Mr. Laurence, there were other factors bearing on the situation. The reason for the order to move along the road to the pickup zone is that a B-52 strike was about to be delivered to that area and we had to get the company out of there in a hurry.

Laurence was caught completely by surprise. Ochs went on to explain that the mission was ordered at the last minute by higher headquarters based on intelligence reports that the North Vietnamese were assembling there to launch an attack on Fire Support Base Blonden, a nearby 1st Cavalry Division position.

This was before the days of smart bombs, so standard procedures were to keep a margin of safety of at least 1,500 meters. Charlie Company was too close to the target and therefore in danger. Because of a series of delays in finally extracting Charlie Company, the strike was called off at the last minute. When CBS cameraman Keith Kay asked why Captain Rice wasnt told this, Ochs replied: Ill have to admit it, we fouled up at this end. There was a definite breakdown in passing information down to lower levels.

The commanding officer of the 2-7th Cav, Lt. Col. Robert Hannus, had been severely wounded in an attack on the battalions forward headquarters at Firebase Jay on March 30. [See sidebar.] In the ensuing confusion, according to Laurence and Coleman, Charlie Company did not receive its usual secure radio, which would have allowed it to send and receive encrypted messages. Division policy prohibited sending B-52 target information in the clear because the North Vietnamese Army monitored these transmissions and could take evasive action. Hence, there was no way to pass on this information to Captain Rice or his men.

This explanation sounded plausible to Laurence and he promised to check it out. What Laurence did not know was that General Creighton Abrams, the senior U.S. commander in Vietnam, was so upset about canceled B-52 strikes that he required a written explanation from his division commanders whenever a strike was canceled or diverted. According to Laurence, the Pentagon confirmed that the strike was canceled.

Laurence shipped the film to New York and sent an accompanying cable describing his meeting, the canceled B-52 strike and warning of possible heavy flak from the Pentagon. The story ran on both the CBS morning and evening news shows on April 9. Harry Reasoner, filling in for anchorman Walter Cronkite, ended the story:

Later, high-ranking 1st Cavalry officers told Laurence that Charlie Company was ordered to go down the road in order to move quickly out of the way of an impending B-52 strike. The officers added there was no time to explain why to the soldiers, because of the urgency of the mission.

On April 12, Laurence and his crew were back out in the field with Charlie Company. Captain Rice greeted them warmly. Apparently the controversy had blown over. The GIs of the 2nd Squad told Laurence that Rice relieved the platoon leader, 1st Lt. Rey Martinez, who had sided with them the day of the refusal. Later that day, Charlie Company made its fifth helicopter assault in 19 days, to a place less than a mile from the Cambodian border. The landing was unopposed. Laurence used a quiet moment after the company had settled in to talk to Sergeant Dunnuck, the squad leader who had sparked the refusal. He hardly sounded like the point man for a rebellion.

Both Dunnuck and Laurence had heard the stories circulating through the battalion that because Charlie Company had gone soft, scared to obey an order, it had lost its reputation as the best rifle company in the division. Laurence described Dunnuck as determined to get [that reputation] back.

Laurence asked Dunnuck what he thought they were accomplishing. I guess we got to be here to help these people get their freedom, you know, he said. And I think that CommunismI wouldnt want to live under Communism, you know. I think they dont want to live under it either. So, were here to help them out, replied Dunnuck.

Laurence asked him how he got his nickname, Killer. Dunnuck explained that he blew a series of claymores over a group of North Vietnamese soldiers taking a bath in a bomb crater, then fired M-60 rounds into the crater to make sure they were dead.

Laurence asked Dunnuck how he felt about killing. Dunnuck said he respected the tenacity of the North Vietnamese, but killing Dont mean nothinI guess you could say it was a job to do, thats all. Either you get killed or you kill him.

The 26-year-old Dunnuck had been out in the field for several months. He hoped to be in line for an open supply sergeant position, but feared his association with the road incident might have ended that possibility.

On April 16, the Army finally made its first official statement about the incident. It ran as part of an Associated Press story in the Pacific Edition of the Stars and Stripes under a full-page headline that read: Troops Praised for Balking at COs Order. It quoted the 1st Brigades deputy commander, Lt. Col. Robert Drudick, as saying: Thank God weve got young men who question. The young men in the Army today arent dummies, they are not automatons. They think.

The story went on to confirm the impending B-52 strike and the inability to transmit the target coordinates in the clear. An Army spokesman concluded that the men would not be punished because it was not the order itself they questioned, it was its execution. There hasnt been a war in which the troops didnt question certain judgments. It happens time and againits nothing new.

The honeymoon proved to be a short one. Newsweek, in its April 20 edition, carried a brief story about the incident, titled Just Downright Refusal. It rehashed the more contentious elements of Laurences story, including the now-famous exchange between Laurence and Private Gordy Lee:

Laurence: Was there a rebellion today?

Lee: You might call it that. Back in the world they call it rebellion. Here its just a downright refusal.

The Newsweek story also quoted an unnamed Army colonel who said: The troops had a discussion and they finally carried out their mission. I dont consider this even near rebellion.

Perhaps, Newsweek concluded, but it demonstrated as did an incident last year in which a U.S. unit refused to go into battlethat extreme caution, even to the point of disobedience, may become the watchword in a war that the U.S. says it no longer seeks to win.

The 300-word article was unsigned and included nothing about the impending B-52 strike, the recent change of command or Charlie Companys fine record prior to this incident. Other than CBS and Newsweek, no other major news organizations reported the story.

Laurence was summoned to another meeting with Colonel Ochs. The brigade commander told Laurence that the Newsweek article was being passed around by the troops and that it was in the best interests of Charlie Company to let them go about their business without the distraction of a TV news camera. His tour with Charlie Company was over.

Laurence argued, but without success. CBS News president Richard Salant eventually wrote a letter of protest to the Pentagon, but other events soon overshadowed the story. On May 1, 1970, American units officially entered Cambodia in force for the first time. Not one to miss one of the biggest stories of the war, John Laurence and his crew hitched a helicopter ride into the Fishhook region of Cambodia, where the first American troops had air assaulted just minutes earlier.

One of the first faces he saw when he landed on Cambodian soil was that of Sergeant Dunnuck. It hadnt been planned, but in one of those ironies in the fast-moving assault, Laurence was reunited with C Company at a place called LZ X-ray. The unit the Army picked to take the lead in one of the most important missions of the warthe assault on the suspected location of COSVN, the headquarters for all Communist forces in South Vietnamwas Captain Al Rices Charlie Company, 2-7th Cavalry.

The assault turned out to be unopposed, and COSVN turned out to be more elusive than American planners had hoped. Laurence did use the opportunity to file an exclusive report back home, titled Charlie Company in Cambodia. It was the lead story that night on the CBS Evening News. Captain Rice, the company commander, was efficient, confident, and completely in command, reported Laurence.

On May 27, Laurence got back out to Charlie Company, which had since pulled out of Cambodia and been assigned to the relatively easy duty of maintaining perimeter security for the divisional headquarters at Phuoc Vinh. Laurence found tensions over the rebellion diminished but not gone. No one had seen his TV reports, but reaction to the Newsweek story was still strong. Several members of the company outside of the 2nd Platoon let him know they were angry that the men of C Company might have been portrayed as cowards.

Laurence took a quiet moment out in the field on May 7, 1970, to write his conclusions about the episode. As he later recorded in his book and remarked in the documentarys narrative, the lives of the line infantrymen after five years of war were still very much the same, but there was a different attitude in the spring of 1970: A certain sense of independence, a reluctance to behave according to the militarys insistence on obedience, like pawns or puppets. Sometimes there was open rebelliousness. The grunts were determined to survive. Since they were forced to endure the most extreme physical hardships, they insisted on having something to say about the making of decisions that determined whether they might live or die. It happened, among other units, in Charlie Company.

Laurence himself ended up in the hospital in June 1970 suffering from dehydration, malnutrition, fatigue and fever. Diagnosed with some undetermined tropical disease, he left Vietnam and returned to the United States. CBS packaged Laurences stories into a one-hour documentary titled The World of Charlie Company. It first aired on July 14, 1970, and went on to win a number of broadcasting awards.

Sergeant Dunnuck and his squad completed their tours of duty and returned home without further incident. Soldiers of the 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) remained in Vietnam for another year, serving as part of the fire brigade for the military region around Saigon. The units colors returned to Fort Hood on March 1, 1971, as part of the planned withdrawal of U.S. ground forces.

Laurences April 9 film report about the refusal to walk the road became one of the favorite examples in what became a barrage of news stories about the collapse of morale and fighting spirit of American GIs in the early 1970s. While the escalating tensions involving drug abuse, racial friction and declining morale in some units were well documented, there was absolutely no evidence in Laurences stories, or elsewhere, linking this behavior to the men of Charlie Company.

Taken as a whole, The World of Charlie Company is a balanced picture of good soldiers coping with unusual circumstances in a dangerous environment. With not too much left to fight for in this late stage of the war, they fought for what most good soldiers do: for each other.

John Laurence himself seemed to understand this better years later. In 2002, in an interview with C-Spans Brian Lamb, he said he was probably wrong to have labeled the refusal to walk the road as a rebellion in the first place.

Time has also softened the views of Laurences sometime friend, sometime adversary, J.D. Coleman, the 1st Cavalry Divisions PAO. In his 1991 book, Coleman said of Laurences work: Anyone willing to get a realistic look at the war waged by the grunts of the 1st Air Cavalry Division in April and May of 1970 shouldnt waste time with the propaganda films produced by Hollywood that masquerade as the real story. Obtain, instead, a videotape of The World of Charlie Company.

Sergeant Dunnuck lost his battle with cancer in 1990. J.D. Coleman died in 2005. Eventually none of the participants in The World of Charlie Company will be here to speak for themselves. Perhaps the ultimate irony is the same film gathered by John Laurence and his crew that caused so much controversy while these men were alive, will speak for them to future generationsnot as an indictment, but as a tribute to these soldiers who served their country honorably when serving their country was not an easy thing to do.

William J. Shkurti is the senior vice president for Business and Finance at The Ohio State University, where he earned a bachelors degree in economics in 1968 and a masters degree in public administration in 1974. In 1970-71 he served as a lieutenant with B Battery, 2nd Battalion, 35th Field Artillery, in northwest Tay Ninh Province. He lives in Columbus, Ohio. For additional reading, see: The Cat from Hue, by John Laurence; and Incursion, by J.D. Coleman.

Originally published in the June 2008 issue of Vietnam Magazine. To subscribe, click here.
Annie Etheridge truly belonged on the battlefield

The world never produced but very few such women, for she is along with us through storm and sunshine, in the heat of the battle caring for the wounded, and in the camp looking after the poor sick soldier, and to have a smile and a cheering word for everyone who comes in her way. Every soldier is alike to her. She is with us to administer to all our little wants, which are not few. To praise her would not be enough, but suffice to say, that as long as one of the old Third shall live, she will always be held in the greatest esteem, and remembered with kindly feelings for her goodness and virtues. Color Sergeant Daniel Crotty 3rd Michigan Infantry

Accounts of women who dress in mens uniforms and go off to battle are prevalent throughout the history of warfare. In folklore, these women often disguise themselves as men in order to fight alongside their husbands or lovers. But romantic as these stories sound, nearly all are apocryphal. Nevertheless, there are plenty of examples during the Civil War of women both North and South who served their respective armies in a no-nonsense and useful way. Of those, none surpassed Lorinda Anna Annie Blair Etheridge.

Annie was 21 and living in Detroit when the war broke out. Along with 19 other women, she joined the 2nd Michigan Infantry to serve as an unpaid vivandierea woman who traveled with the army and generally saw to a wide range of soldiers needs. Within a few months, all the women but Annie had returned home.

Annies vivandiere functions were many: She cooked for the soldiers, washed their clothes, wrote letters for them, nursed them when they were sick, tended their wounds during and after battles, and comforted them as they lay dying. Annie had worked as a nurse before the war, and she brought her considerable skill and experience to the battlefield. Some soldiers referred to her as Michigan Annie, but most called her Gentle Annie, possibly after the then-popular 1856 song by Stephen Foster. Her gentleness, however, could not mask her quiet strength and courage in the face of enemy fire.

Nor did she retire to the rear when a battle began. According to an article in the February 28, 1863, Ottawa (Ill.) Free Trader: At the commencement of a battle, she fills her saddle bags with lint and bandages, sticks a pair of pistols in her belt, mounts her horse, and gallops to the front, passes under fire, and, regardless of shot and shell, engages in the work of staunching and binding up the wounds of our soldiers. She was, for all intents and purposes, a combat medic.

When Maj. Gen. Philip Kearny observed Annie tending the wounded under fire at the Second Battle of Bull Run, he swore to make her a sergeant, and assign her a horse. Kearny had no chance to fulfill his promise. He was killed at Chantilly, Va., on September 1, 1862, two days later, and although Annie was given the horse, she received no official appointment to a military rank.

According to one soldier with whom she served, She is always to be seen riding her pony at the head of the Brigade on the march or in the fight. Genl. [Hiram G.] Berry used to say she had been under as heavy fire as himself. Annie had tended Berry through a dangerous fever, and the two became fast friends. He so admired her that he asked her to escort his body home, should he be killed in battle. Shortly thereafter, he was shot dead by a Rebel sharpshooter at Chancellorsville on May 3, 1863, and it was forever Annies regret that she was unable to honor his request. If he had been my own father, she later wrote, my grief could not have been deeper.

As a nurse on the front lines, Annie witnessed unspeakable horrors. On one occasion, she was treating a wounded man when a shell literally blew him apart beneath her hands. In battle after battle, she emerged from the field unscathedwith one exception. It was at Chancellorsville that Annie received her only wound. As the enemy line opened fire, a mounted officer took shelter from the Rebel guns by hiding behind Annie. Incredulous, she turned to look at him, just as he was shot from his horse. Another ball grazed Annies hand and struck her own horse. The animal took off at a dead run, with Annie clinging desperately to the reins. Finally, a soldier of her regiment stopped the runaway, while the others cheered her.

Countless letters written by soldiers to their loved ones at home mention Annie with affection and gratitude. Perhaps the most poignant was a letter written to Annie herself by a dying Ohio soldier.

January 14th, 1864. AnnieDearest Friend: I am not long for this world, and I wish to thank you for your kindness ere I go. You were the only one who was ever kind to me, since I entered the Army. At Chancellorsville, I was shot through the body, the ball entering my side, and coming out through the shoulder. I was also hit in the arm, and was carried to the hospital in the woods, where I lay for hours, and not a surgeon would touch me; when you came along and gave me water, and bound up my wounds. I do not know what regiment you belong to, and I dont know if this will ever reach you. There is only one man in your division that I know. I will try and send this to him; his name is Strachan, orderly sergeant in Sixty-third Pennsylvania volunteers. But should you get this, please accept my heartfelt gratitude; and may God bless you and protect you from all dangers; may you be eminently successful in your present pursuit. I enclose a flower, a present from a sainted mother; it is the only gift I have to send you.I know nothing of your history, but I hope you always have, and always may be happy; and, since I will be unable to see you in this world, I hope I may meet you in that better world, where there is no war. May God bless you, both now and forever, is the wish of your grateful friend. George H. Hill

Cleveland, Ohio

Strachan himself was killed before he had the opportunity to give Annie the letter. It was found on his body and delivered to her.

Annie served with the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th Michigan throughout the war, beginning at Blackburns Ford, Va., in July 1861. And though she was one of only two women awarded the prestigious Kearny Cross of Valor, she neither sought nor received payment for her extraordinary service.

After the war, she worked for the Treasury Department, but was soon replaced by a male. In 1886, she requested a $50-a-month pension from Congress, as a stipend in recognition of her war serviceshe would be awarded half that amount. Upon her death on January 23, 1913, Gentle Annie was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery alongside her husband, a one-armed veteran of the 7th Connecticut Infantry. On the tombstone below her name it simply says, Nurse.

Ron Soodalter writes from Cold Spring, N.Y.
China will continue to maintain the policy of sincerity, affinity and good faith, uphold justice and pursue shared interests, to bring China-Africa relations to a higher level, Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan said Monday.

Wang made the remarks during a speech at the opening ceremony of the Fifth China-Africa People's Forum in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu.

Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan speaks at the opening ceremony of the Fifth China-Africa People's Forum in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu, July 23, 2018. [Photo: Xinhua]

"Chinese people and African people are as close as family members sharing fortune and hardships and are natural allies," said Wang, adding that since the Johannesburg summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2015, China-Africa cooperation has yielded abundant fruits and China-Africa relations have entered a new era.

"After all, state-to-state relations must be implemented by people and people-to-people exchanges between China and Africa have a broad prospect in building a closer community with a shared future for China and Africa," Wang said.

He called on social organizations and personnel from China and Africa to promote political mutual trust, work for mutual benefit in economy, learn from each other's cultures, and coordinate in multilateral interaction.

Wang also met with Vincent Meriton, president of Parti Lepep and vice president of Seychelles and Clement Mouamba, prime minister of the Republic of Congo, respectively.

During his meeting with Meriton, Wang said leaders of China and African countries would develop a blueprint for closer China-Africa relations during the Beijing summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which will be held in September.

He said China stands ready to work with Seychelles to deepen mutual trust, enhance experience exchanges on governance, implement a policy of sincerity, affinity and good faith, and cooperate on the construction of the Belt and Road, to benefit the people as soon as possible.

Meriton said cooperation between the two countries, as well as Africa and China, has established an example for an equal, fair, and reasonable global order by adhering to the idea of equality, respect, and win-win cooperation and Seychelles hopes to cement the people-to-people friendship with China.

During his meeting with Mouamba, Wang said China supports the Republic of Congo's efforts to achieve prosperity and hopes the two sides can make joint efforts to push forward people-to-people cooperation between the two countries as well as China and Africa.

Mouamba said the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and other relevant meetings have unveiled the traits of Africa-China cooperation which are sincerity, unity, pragmatism, and win-win result.

The Republic of Congo is grateful for the aid China has provided and stands ready to forge pragmatic cooperation in various fields, to make progress on the Belt and Road Initiative and build a community with a shared future for China and Africa, he said.
Military Police in Tet 1968

I thoroughly enjoyed the February edition, which was devoted to remembering the Tet Offensive of 1968. It is gratifying to see that the soldiers who served during that offensive are not forgotten. When I received my copy of the magazine, I looked forward to reading your article on the Battle for Saigon. It was well written, but I think you missed a very important fact of this battle.

I served with the 716th Military Police Battalion in Saigon during Tet and found little mention of the involvement of that unit in your story. In Saigon, in late January of 1968, there were virtually no combat units available in the city. When the Tet Offensive began, it fell to the brave soldiers of the 716th MP Battalion to defend Saigon until help arrived. To the best of my knowledge, no MP unit had ever before been directly involved in armed combat against the enemy as a unit, and I am not sure it has happened since.

During Tet, the 716th MP Battalion lost 27 men killed in action and suffered 44 wounded. Members of the 716th were also awarded: one Distinguished Service Cross, one Silver Star, 89 Bronze Star Medals, 71 Purple Hearts and 64 Army Commendation Medals, for their service during the Tet Offensive. In addition, the 716th was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, again the only unit to be so recognized in the history of the MP Corps.

No facility in Saigon fell to the enemy during Tet, even though these defenders of Saigon were greatly outnumbered. The 716th MP Battalion was made up of Companies A, B and C, the 527th MP Company, the 90th MP Detachment, and C-52nd Infantry, attached for Security Assignments. It was because of these fine soldiers that the Battle for Saigon was not lost. The 716th performed admirably until help arrived, several hours after the initial engagements had commenced.

There are no men more deserving of recognition for their courage and fighting ability than those who served in the 716th MP Battalion during Tet. I am proud to have served with each of them and just thought you ought to know the rest of the story.

Michael L. Young

Lexington, Va.

Tet and the Media

I was disappointed in Don Norths article, VC Assault on the U.S. Embassy. The former ABC reporter who wrote the article clearly showed his bias against the American war effort in Vietnam, at the same time that he was attempting to deny biased reporting on the war. He admitted that he was editorializing on the significance of the battle when he wrote, the capture of the US embassy for almost seven hours is a psychological victory that will rally and inspire the Viet Cong. But the fact is that the embassy was attacked but not taken. What qualified him to draw such a broad conclusion? He rushed to get his story out without checking the facts.

His admiration for AP reporter Peter Arnett sheds more light on Norths attitude than it does on Arnetts reporting. Arnetts anti-American bias was evident through out his reporting career. In 1998 he falsely accused the U.S. government of using lethal nerve gas during a mission to kill American defectors in Laos during the Vietnam war in 1970. This report turned out to be completely unfounded.

I was home on leave before going to Vietnam. I saw the events unfolding on TV, but I didnt think the battle was a psychological defeat. I read and heard about that when I returned home from Nam.

Paul Marks

Lake Forest, Calif.

Prior to Tet 1968, the press realized that with selective reporting it could manipulate the public perception of the war. The news became conflicted: MACV said one thing and the press another. In this duel of views, the press became antagonists, then propagandists. Contempt bred arrogance within the press corps. They closed ranks against the follies and the war. Americas pre  eminent journalist called the war a loser, and the publics support for the war waned.

The press hold on the public mind brought President Richard Nixon down. Empowered, the press became the self-anointed moral conscience and compass of the nation. The distance between the headlines and the editorial page blurred. Hard, objective, truthful reporting became all but extinct. The press slipped the leash of the moral and public responsibility, and has run amok ever since. The losers were the troops and the nation.

Don North highlights the military hostility toward the press: The fallout is still with us. Indeed it is. The press performance in both Gulf Wars shows us that with some exceptions, the press is still venomously antimilitary. However, rebounding on the press, mistrust and hostility is shared by the military and an ever-growing number of the populace.

The military rebuilt itself magnificently. The press has yet to start.

Allen Mixson

Portland, Ore.

Tet in Go Vap

I thoroughly enjoyed your Tet special.

Overlooked by history is the fight for the artillery at Go Vap (pages 28 and 29). In addition to the Vietnamese Artillery Headquarters, the ARVN 61st FA Battalion was at Go Vap. The 61st had been formed the previous fall and was to direct the support for the 5th ARVN Ranger Group, which had been assigned the mission of Saigon defense. The 61st was in its last stage of training and was to take its final readiness test after Tet. I had the honor of being the adviser to the battalion commander, Captain Nguyen Van Dat. The battalion camp was next to the ARVN Artillery Headquarters. We had six howitzers emplaced and 12 in the gun park.

On the first day of Tet, the 61st had only a small detachment, as most of the soldiers were off for the holiday. I was in my quarters in Saigon. The VC may not have realized that the 61st was in its location when they overran an adjacent ARVN housing compound, killing all the inhabitants. They surrounded the 61st, and the battalion managed to hold and kept them from advancing past Go Vap.

The second day of Tet, I managed to convince a warrant officer Huey pilot to drop me off at the 61st camp. (My first attempt had failed when a captain refused to go near the camp due to the heavy firing.) All that day, I provided support for the 4th Vietnamese Marine Corps Battalion, which was fighting its way to us. After dark, the VC intensified their assault on the camp. I directed AC-47 and Huey gunships to fire at the assault and kept the VC away until just before dawn. The VC then started their final charge.

I notified my headquarters that I was in a direct fire mode with the howitzers. (My S-3 asked if I had air clearance. I answered that my maximum ordinate was six feet and dropping.) I then manned the assistant gunners seat on a howitzer, with Captain Nguyen Van Dat in the gunners seat. The VC got through the fence and within 10 meters of the gun line. We were firing high-explosive rounds at the sides of buildings to activate the fuzes. The VC retreated, and the Vietnamese marines finally linked up. At dawn, there were two forward air controllers overhead, and they fired on the fleeing VC. The adviser to the Vietnamese marines was kind enough to write to my superiors and recommend me for a decoration. In time, I received the Silver Star. The 61st was awarded a Unit Citation prob ably setting a record for the shortest time between activation and unit award. Captain Nguyen Van Dat was given a spot promotion to major.

As you can see, there was more to the battle than the removal of firing locks.

Exequiel R. Sevilla Jr.

Lt. Col., U.S. Army (ret.)

Fairfax, Va.

That Notorious Tet Photograph

I enjoyed your special issue on the Tet Offensive, but I must point out one glaring omission on pages 6 and 7 of the issue, where you published the two-page picture of Lt. Col. Nguyen Ngoc Loan executing a Viet Cong terrorist.

At the time that I viewed this incident on television, I too thought that the ARVN were a corrupt, undisciplined bunch of thugs that America was backing. Only years later did I reconsider that, when I saw an interview of photographer Eddie Adams, and heard him say he regretted the photo because the press did not print the why of Colonel Loans actions. It turns out, as reported in numerous places, that the VC terrorist Bay Lop had just killed a South Vietnamese colonel and his family.

Not surprisingly, the American news media, along with the rest of the world press, has ignored the why of this incident for the past 40 years. The Hanoi Communists have made out this terrorist as a martyr and a national hero. I can understand the American news medias bias, since they wanted to undermine the American war effort while ignoring Hanoi Communist atrocities; thus their indifference to the Hue massacre for the past 40 years.

By not printing the why of this picture, you have done your readers a great disservice, especially the younger ones who were not born yet and are now studying this history. Frankly your readers deserved a lot better than they got.

Eugene Bokor

Pittsburgh, Pa.

Agent Orange in North Vietnam?

In the News section of the April issue, there is a story about U.S. government workers and service members saying they were in Guam when U.S. Air Force B-52s dropped Agent Orange on North Vietnam.

I find it hard to believe that the United States would have dropped Agent Orange on North Vietnam, and it is really hard to believe that if they did, the B-52 was the aircraft of choice.

Jack Morrison

11TH ACR, 1967-69

Rockport, Ind.

The Editor replies: You are correct. We regret the editing error in the news report.

Ace of Spades Trumps Again

Your October 2007 article about the origin of the use of the Ace of Spades brought back a lot of memories.

For a short time in May and June 1968, I was with a small group of soldiers from the 6th Battalion, 31st Infantry, 9th Infantry Division, assigned to river boats for re supply and ferry work. We would meet infantry units at prearranged map points. On almost every trip, we received fire from the banks. It made us feel like ducks in a shooting gallery.

Our biggest problem was trying to keep the kids off of the boats. Every time we beached, they seemed to pop up from no  where; if you werent on your toes they could strip your boat clean in about three minutes. Someone had to sleep on the boat when we were away from base camp.

We had heard that the Vietnamese were afraid of the spade symbol. We didnt know why that was so, but we needed help.

The decks of spades were handy, but they didnt keep the kids away. So I wrote home and asked my mother to make us some flags to fly on the boats. When we put them up, we were amazed at how well they worked. The spade made those kids sit on the bank, and they wouldnt approach our boat even when we tried to coax them close. It was a relief not to have to worry about that anymore.

My mother heard a newscast that a helicopter had crashed into a river. The pilot was rescued by a small boat flying an Ace of Spades flag. She wrote and told me she knew that I was all right, but that I wasnt keeping my head down. Mothers just seem to know.

The other use for a deck of 52 cards was to cut up one card every week. I still have my coming-home card: the Ace of Spades.

Jaxon Caren

Kooskia, Idaho

Correction

On page 39 of the April issue, in Big Catch in the Fishhook, an AH-1 Cobra gunship was referred to as an AG-1 Cobra gunship.

Originally published in the June 2008 issue of Vietnam Magazine. To subscribe, click here.
Two very important lessons we have learned since the Vietnam War

It has been six years since we blundered into Iraq with half the ground forces or less that we needed to accomplish the mission. The Army and Marines have been ridden hard and put away wet. The equipment is completely worn out. The troops, amazingly, are holding up far better, despite the endless rotations and no end in sight.

By this point along the Vietnam War timeline morale was completely in the toilet and headed south from there. Even though we seemed to have forgottenor more accurately, just ignored many of the hard-learned lessons from Vietnam, we still have managed to hold on to at least two important lessons, which account largely for the fact that morale is still pretty good at this point even though the strains are showing.

The first lesson is that the individual replacement system we used in Vietnam was an unmitigated disaster. There was very little unit cohesion in Vietnam, especially as the war dragged on. Units were not teams. They became collections of strangers, with each individual focused almost exclusively on surviving to the end of his tour. There was no group identity, no sense of mission. Students of warfare from Ardant du Picq to S.L.A. Marshall constantly emphasized the fact that the soldiers in combat do not fight for their country, or for God, or for the flag, or for motherhood and apple piethey fight for each other.

Modern war is so complex and so team-centric that individuals by themselves can accomplish almost nothing. The Germans understood this better than anybody. In both World Wars, they never even replaced casualties in units on the battlefield. When a unit was finally attrited down to the point where it was no longer combat effective, they pulled it out completely, sent it back far to the rear, rebuilt it from scratch, and then started it through the training cycle as if it was a brand new unit.

The reason we went with the individual replacement system in Vietnam is that it was easier to operate, and far more efficient than rotating entire units in and out. The key rub here is that in warfare, efficiency and effectiveness are not the same thing; far too often they are mutually exclusive. But the people who ran the personnel system during Vietnam were more focused on operating and defending their precious system, which of course made their own jobs easier. For at least the last 100 years the U.S. Armys single worst enemy has been its own personnel system.

Fortunately, we learned that lesson, and this time around we send entire units in and out together. But it isnt efficient or easy to manage. The bean counters and the management wonks still go crazy because it takes three units for every one committed to combatone in the box, one getting ready to go and one just back and reconstituting. Nonetheless, the troops are hanging together and performing magnificently under harrowing conditions.

Another critical difference between now and the Vietnam years is the way that returning soldiers are treated by the American people at large. The late 1960s and early 1970s were a hard time to be an American soldier. After going to the far side of the world and putting your life on the line for your country, it was very tough to come back to widespread scorn, constantly being called a baby-killer and worse. The treatment of Vietnam veterans was one of the blackest stains on the pages of U.S. history, and apparently most Americans have learned that lesson.

Although public support for the present war isnt much better at this point than it was at the height of Vietnam, the American people havent turned against their own soldiersso far. There isnt a day that goes by that I dont hope that my Marine son never has to experience what we did.

Originally published in the June 2008 issue of Vietnam Magazine. To subscribe, click here.
Sea rice has now matured across desert fields in Dubai, with yields greater than the global average output per hectare of 4.5 tons, Science and Technology Daily reported on July 22.

Scientists with China's Qingdao Seawater Rice Research and Development Center, led by renowned rice scientist Yuan Longping, chose 80 suitable rice varieties, including the sea rice, for the trial beginning on Jan. 8.

In order to grow rice in desert conditions, the scientists had to improve the land conditions by developing a new plant protection system that saves freshwater and avoids secondary salinization of soil.

Under a framework agreement named Green Dubai signed by both the Qingdao R&D center and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) side, later this year the team will plant rice on Dubais farmlands on a larger scale, to test and establish the prime mode for planting. The Qingdao R&D center and the UAE government also plan to set up a 100-hectare seawater rice experiment farm next year under the framework agreement.

Long term, Yuans team plans to help extend the coverage of seawater rice to over 10 percent of Dubais total area.
How To Target Event Emails To Drive Sales  Sierra Nevada Style

Whether a beer company or a band, savvy marketing rules apply. Here we look at how a targeted marketing strategy employed by the craft beer company Sierra Nevada helped them to dramatically boost event ticket sales.



By Tamisha McQuilkin, the Program Manager for Technology Partnerships at MailChimp from the Eventbrite blog

Sierra Nevada was one of the first brands to take craft beer mainstream. And the company still stays on the cutting edge of everything it does.

Take email marketing. Sierra Nevada doesnt just fall back on the status quo of rote event announcements. To spread the word about its many events nationwide, the California-based beer company uses targeting and savvy messaging.

Whether your event is Sierra-Nevada-level huge or still scaling up, the same email marketing rules apply. By sending well-timed messages to just the right people, you, too, can inspire elevated fan fervor and sell more tickets faster.

From ticket announcement to just before the event, here are the types of emails Sierra Nevada uses for their email campaigns.

The six emails Sierra Nevada sends before each flagship event Email #1: One week before tickets go on sale

Subject: Beer Camp tickets go on sale on April 15 Hey [name]! Just wanted to let you know that tickets to Beer Camp go on sale in just one week

Flagship Sierra Nevada events like Beer Camp host up to 4000 attendees per event and sell out rapidly. Dave Hermann, who manages email marketing for such events, says, Its fast velocity, so we use a save-the-date email to let people know they have to be ready at 9 a.m. to get those tickets.

Exactly who he sends email to is part of the strategy. Hermann uses segmentation to divide Sierra Nevadas enormous global email list into geographies, areas of interest, and past ticket-purchase behavior. He might, for instance, send targeted emails about a Tahoe-based festival to West Coasters whove been to a Sierra Nevada festival before or whove expressed an interest in music events.

To accomplish this level of segmentation, Hermann relies on the MailChimp for Eventbrite integration, which automatically shuffles email contacts into the right lists. Done well, email targeting can improve conversion by 355% and revenues by 781%.

Email #2: When tickets go on sale

Subject: Beer Camp tickets are on sale! Its time! Grab your tickets to Beer Camp before they sell out

The moment tickets go on sale, target recipients get the second message. Act now! isnt just an old sales technique. For many of Sierra Nevadas events, tickets sell out quickly. The brand has the back of loyal fans, who would be disappointed to miss out.

For the undecided, this second email imparts more detail about ticket types available and particulars of the event. Thanks to accurate targeting, Sierra Nevada averages a 39.9% open rate and 7% click-through rate for ticket-on-sale email announcements.

Emails #3-5: In the weeks leading up to the event

Subject: 5 things you need to know about Beer Camp Sure, youre coming for the beer, but did you know that Beer Camp will also include

After tickets go on sale, Sierra Nevada sends periodic reminder emails to get the undecided and the ticket-holders excited.

For instance, recipients might get a listicle style article with five numbered pieces of information, such as 5 Things You Need to Prepare for Beer Camp. These emails are quirky and funny  never cookie cutter. They hold genuinely useful and entertaining information for interested fans.

Subject: At long last, heres the full lineup for Beer Camp We know youve been chomping at the bit to plan your schedule at Beer Camp. Heres a final list of who is playing when.

Or, Sierra Nevada might announce the full band lineup along with a colorful infographic illustrated with stages, bands, and times.

Subject: Which of these beers sound good to you? Well be debuting six exclusive brews at Beer Camp

Or, the brand might announce the beer lineup. For Beer Camp, for example, there are collaborative beers created in partnership with small local breweries, only available at the festival. This email colorfully teases the libation options.

Half of our consumers come for the party, Hermann says, and half come for the beer. So the brand spreads the wealth in terms of types of info, although Hermann can also send targeted emails to specific groups based on what he knows about their interests.

For instance, some Sierra Nevada customers are part of a subscription bottle service, so Hermann knows theyre likely to savor the beer menu.

Email #6: One week before the event

Subject: Your last chance to buy tickets to Beer Camp! What are you waiting for?

Finally, Sierra Nevada will send a reminder email a week before the event.

In this email, Hermann makes sure to include plenty of links to things like beers, bands, activities, and, critically, a ticketing page. Instead of routing the latter through the Sierra Nevada site, Hermann sends them directly to Eventbrite. Fewer clicks means a higher likelihood of completing the purchase.

By taking advantage of sophisticated, automated targeting usingEventbrites MailChimp integration, Hermann has cut down on the time he spends creating, sending, and measuring the metrics of emails.

At the same time, Sierra Nevada has continued to sell out quickly and add more and more events to its roster.

Big or small, you, too, can use the power of email targeting with the MailChimp for Eventbrite integration. To find out more, download Creative Event Email Examples: Success Stories from Top Event Brands.

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Jay-Z Made In America Festival To Stay In Philadelphia

Days after it threatened to relocate Jay-Zs Made In America Festival from its longtime home at the heart of Philadelphia, the city reversed course. Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenneys administration sparked the controversy last week when they said that in 2019 they planned to relocate the festival. Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

The festival has been held on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, located in the citys heart, since its inception in 2012.

The Mayors administration cited operational difficulties in staging the event at its current location, including the time to set up and break down the infrastructure for the festival. However, the threatened move sparked an immediate backlash, that included Jay-Z penning a scathing open letter taking Kenneys administration to task in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Today, the city appears to have backed away from the planned move entirely.

A joint statement from the office of Mayor Jim Kenney and Roc Nation on Monday said:

Mayor Jim Kenney and Desiree Perez, Chief Operating Officer of Roc Nation, had a productive meeting today to discuss the future of the Made in America festival. Both parties have agreed to continue to host the festival along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, and are committed to addressing operational and community challenges associated with this large-scale event. I am greatly appreciative of everything that Made in America has done for the City of Philadelphia and I remain committed to its continued success. The Made in America festival belongs in Philadelphia  the birthplace of our country  and Im optimistic that we can turn an unfortunate misunderstanding into a positive outcome and even stronger event. I look forward to working with Roc Nation and Live Nation, and maintaining this Philadelphia tradition for years to come, Kenny added in the statement.

In her own statement, Roc Nations COO, Desiree Perez said:

We are happy to announce the Made in America festival will continue at the heart of the Philadelphia, the Benjamin Franklin Parkway for many years to come. After a candid and constructive discussion with the Mayor, we are confident any miscommunication is corrected, and we are proactively addressing any concerns. We are committed to bringing the best experience possible to Philadelphians and all music lovers as well as the continuing prosperity of the city.

 CelebrityAccess

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Musicians Guide to Charity Fundraising [Cyber PR]

Many artists do not feel comfortable posting about themselves endlessly or hyping up their new releases constantly. For those of you who fall into this category, you will love this post. A fabulous way to inspire and unite with your tribe is by creating a charity fundraiser which is easy to share on socials, and a great way to get fans involved in the mission you believe in.

_____________________________

Ways to Garner Support & Gather Your Tribe

By Ariel Hyatt of CyberPR

As a performer, you are a person of influence. This can go a long way in creating awareness and garnering support for charities or causes that you care about and in todays world there are many ways to do this and you may even end up helping yourself in the process.

Crowdfunding Sites

GoFundMe : One of the most popular websites people use for fundraising especially when donating to charities.

PayPal : While often used for regular business transactions PayPal can also be used to receive donations for non-profit organizations

Sites like these are great for Crowdfunding with a charity angle because you can set a goal and track your progress and see who is donating. Also, possibly consider setting up giving levelsoffer something of value in return for support.

Benefit Concert

This is a great way to get people involved in your cause and get your music heard! A great guide on how to effectively program and execute a benefit concert is: How To Do A Benefit: Guidelines for Performing Artists and Others Who Want to Make a Difference by Jen Chapin

Make sure there is a clear way for people donate at the concert and your audience knows just how your concert will benefit or contribute to your cause.

Consider connecting with other artists and working together to even more effectively reach your goal.

Offer prizes or merchandise giveaways to incentivize attendance

Social Media Campaigns

Social media is, as always, going to be your best friend as you set out to get people on board with supporting your cause; Some platforms, like Facebook, have streamlined ways for you to do so. Here are a few things that you may want to keep in mind as you get started.

Be clear and conscience in your mission and goal with the fundraiser. People should know why you support this cause and, more importantly, why they should too. Make sure a way people to get involved is obviously displayed, such as a link to a crowdfunding site or directly to the charities website. Make sure to occasionally recognize donors and other supporters of your cause. Its always to say Thank you! Keep people up to date on the progress of the fundraiser Make use of relevant hashtags and if necessary start your own hashtag campaign You can always schedule posts to take out some of the work of remembering to post When you can Boost your posts to put it in front of more people Make sure to invite friends and family to support and share Dont be afraid to work with other artists and organizations Use similar strategies that may have worked for your peers Create a video of yourself talking about the campaign Include in posts, newsletter, etc.



Twitter

Twitter can be an essential tool for your charity fundraising efforts because unlike Facebook, its acceptable to post more frequently throughout the day. This allows you to be consistent with audience engagements and increase traffic to your fundraising sites.

Writing Your Tweets:

Send tweets to public figures who may have a connection to your cause asking them to spread word or even to donate. This will help increase your reach, especially if the influencer retweets your content. When doing this, include a period before the @ so the tweet isnt sent as a direct message and can be viewed on your main feed as well as your followers feeds. Make these tweets personal to increase the chances they will respond.

Use relevant hashtags, even create your own specific to your fundraiser to streamline traffic directly to tweets associated with your fundraiser.

Ask your followers to retweet the links to your fundraiser to aid your efforts and thank them when then do. Again, make these tweets personal to create strong relationships with your audience.

Use Twitter polls to engage your audience. You can use this feature to ask for campaign ideas, get feedback from an event, or as a way to continue to build meaningful relationships with your followers.

Focus your tweets around statistics, lists, how-tos, or quotes when you arent promoting your fundraiser. Stats can be about your fundraising goal status or stats relevant to your cause. Sticking to these four categories will help you create consistent content that provides value to your followers.

Consider shortening your links, using a service like Bitly, to minimize the number of characters in your tweets.

And Also

Link to crowdfunding site or Facebook in the bio. You should also pin your initial tweet introducing your fundraiser to your profile so its the first thing people see when they stumble upon your profile.

Retweet posts from the charitys Twitter or from accounts relevant to the cause to let your fans know what youre supporting. This is good for connecting your audience closer to the cause as well as supporting others involved with the cause.

Live tweet any events you host for your fundraising campaign as well as any other events you attend related to the cause.

Facebook

Thankfully Facebook makes fundraising very simple! Like any crowdfunding site they allow you to create a fundraiser with the ability to set a goal and track progress. The benefit of this being through Facebook is that you can share it with your followers so that they can donate directly to the organization as they scroll through their feed and its very simple to create and connect with a charity.

To create a fundraiser for a charitable organization on Facebook click here or follow these steps:

Click Fundraisers in the left menu of your News Feed.

Click Raise Money.

Select Nonprofit/Charity.

Select a charitable organization, choose a cover photo and fill in the fundraiserdetails. Click Create.

Makes sure to share the fundraiser and invite your friends and family to support. Notice! Facebook does NOT have a limit to the number of friends that can be invited to support your fundraiser!



Instagram

Although Instagram does not have a way to create a fundraiser it can still be a great tool just by simply posting about the cause you are supporting and directing people to the crowdfunding site you are using or straight to the donation page of the charitys website.

Another thing to consider when using Instagram for fundraising is taking advantage of the shopping feature on Instagram. You could start a promotional campaign where profits from your merchandise sales go to the charity you are supporting.

Heres How to Start Using the Shopping Feature on Instagram

Shopping feature on Instagram You can use this feature in conjunction with your campaign by simply monitoring your sales and donating a portion of your profits to the charity you have chosen to support. To use this feature your account must first be approved for shopping on Instagram Start by looking over their merchant agreement and connecting your profile to a Facebook catalog. Approval may take a few days as they review your profile but once youre approved you just follow a few easy steps:



Tap to go to your profile Tap the Get Started alert at the top of your profile If you dont see the alert in the image above, tap Tap Shopping Tap Continue Select a product catalog to connect to your business profile Tap Done

Here is an article that showcases some artists who are very strong on Instagram for some inspiration.

Mailing List

As a musician, you should already have a newsletter and mailing list to keep your fans up to date on tour dates, new music, and other news relevant to your music career. Use your mailing list to your advantage and plug your fundraiser in your newsletter to your fans. Your fans may share the same interests as you, therefore may value the similar causes and may feel compelled to donate since it is something you care about.

Heres How You Can Use Your Mailing List for Fundraising:

Have an enticing subject and heading to make your fans actually want to read about the cause your supporting. You know your audience best, you know how to grab their attention.

Include the link to the platform you chose for your fundraising, such as GoFundMe and Facebook. Another option would be to use PayPals donation button feature, which is easy to embed but fans may feel less compelled to donate if it looks like theyre just sending money to a PayPal and not an actual cause.

Include stories of impact from the organizations successes. It provides context for your fans in regards to what their donations will be going towards. Linking to outside sources, such as blogs covering the cause or charity, provide another way for your fans to learn more about what youre fundraising for and make them feel obligated to donate.

Structure and format your newsletter with our best practices

Ariels Birthday Fundraiser For my birthday this year, Im asking for donations to AL Otro Lado Inc. Ive chosen this nonprofit because they are a binational organization that works to offer legal services to deportees and migrants in Tijuana, Mexico, including deportee parents whose children remain in the U.S. Even though the policies have been reversed many asylum seekers will need help and assistance and advocacy. I found out about this organization here if you want to read more. I hope youll consider contributing as a way to stand in solidarity with me. Click here to support this cause!

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Songwriters Cry Foul As SESAC, HFA Propose Changes That Could Sink Music Modernization Act

Two major songwriter organizations are crying foul after the Harry Fox Agency and SESAC proposed changes to the Music Modernization Act that the trade groups believe could scuttle or at least severely weaken the sweeping legislation.

The Nashville Songwriters International Association and the Songwriters of North America are not pleased with changes to the Music Modernization Act proposed by Blackstone, the owners of SESAC and the Harry Fox Agency, that come after months of public support for the bill

"Blackstone, SESAC and Harry Fox have had months to review and suggest changes to this bill, to participate in the process with the rest of the industry in good faith," the Nashville Songwriters International Assn. and the Songwriters of North America charge in a statement. "Their repeated message has been, 'This bill is good for songwriters. We are fine with it.' Now at the last minute they are introducing what is essentially a poison pill. And while representatives of Blackstone claim they do not want to kill this landmark bill, what they are suggesting would do just that. If their proposal becomes part of the bill, NSAI and SONA would no longer be able to support the MMA which we've worked years to achieve."

If major songwriter groups oppose amended bill, others would likely follow; and that could mean the end of much needed legislation that would modernize how songwriters and music publishers are protected and compensated.

What Is Blackstone's End Game?

As it currently stands, the Music Modernization Act (MMA) creates a blanket licence and establishes the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) overseen by a Board that included both publishers and self-published songwriters to administer play data, pay royalties and create a public database of rights holders.

While Harry Fox and others could still compete in an open market, the shift means that at a substantial portion of their business is likely gone.

SESAC and Harry Fox claim other motives:

"SESAC is committed to working towards a version of the Music Modernization Act that retains all of the benefits for writers, publishers and DSPs and which will move music licensing into the 21st Century while supporting a competitive market in music rights administration. We expect that as the Senate continues to work through these issues with input from concerned and well-meaning stakeholders, an appropriate resolution will be reached and the MMA will be passed before the end of the year." Likewise, "Blackstone strongly supports music modernization, and we are confident legislation will be signed into law this year as long as all parties continue working in the same cooperative spirit that has characterized the process so far."

Thus far, there have been no statements from The National Music Publishers Association and other major players.

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-Smart City initiatives will attract technology investments of more than $81 billion globally in 2018, and spending is set to grow to $158 billion in 2022, according to the new release of the International Data Corporation ( IDC ) Worldwide Semiannual Smart Cities Spending Guide . The Spending Guide provides a detailed look at the technology investments associated with a range of Smart Cities priorities, programs, and use cases.

"The new edition of IDC's Worldwide Smart Cities Spending Guide represents a substantial stride towards gaining granular insight into how cities around the world are transforming. We are now delivering detailed sizing of 25 named use cases, as well as the first release of a new database of spending at City level," said Serena Da Rold, program manager in IDC's Customer Insights & Analysis Group. "Intelligent transportation and data-driven public safety remain the largest investment areas, but we are also finding significant pockets of spending and growth in back-office and platform-related use cases, which are less often publicized but increasingly happening behind the scenes in cities around the world."

The three largest use cases, which will attract nearly one quarter of global Smart Cities spending in 2018, are fixed visual surveillance, advanced public transit, and smart outdoor lighting. By 2022, intelligent traffic management will overcome smart outdoor lighting in third position, and the top three use cases will only account for one fifth of total spending, as smaller and fast-growing use cases emerge and reach critical mass. Officer wearables and vehicle to everything (V2X) connectivity, in particular, will generate the fastest growth, although they currently start from a small base in most regions. For more detail on IDC's definition of the overall Smart Cities opportunity and select use cases, please see IDC's Worldwide Semiannual Smart Cities Spending Guide Taxonomy, 2H17 (IDC #US43443919).

On a geographic basis, the Asia/Pacific region, including China and Japan, will account for nearly 42% of global spending in 2018, followed by the Americas (33%), and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) (25%). The United States is the largest country market for Smart City spending (over $23 billion in 2018), followed by China. The three largest use cases appear among the top five in terms of spending across all regions, but other use cases that emerge among the largest current Smart Cities investment areas include mobile video capture and recording in the United States and Latin America, and digital permitting, licensing, and inspection in the Middle East and Africa region.

Spending by the 53 Cities that are currently sized in IDC's database accounts for around 15% of global Smart City spending, with Singapore, Tokyo, New York City, London, and Shanghai leading the way in terms of 2018 investments.

"IDC expects to see strong, continued investment by the private and public sector in urban areas and in Smart Cities and Communities programs and projects," said Ruthbea Yesner, vice president of IDC's Smart Cities and Communities programs. "This also means that it is a more competitive market. This spending guide offers solution suppliers the ability to take a data-driven approach to developing products and services, and understanding buyer trends."

IDC's Worldwide Semiannual Smart Cities Spending Guide quantifies the expected technology opportunity around smart cities initiatives from a region and worldwide level. Spending data is available for nine regions with a focus on 25 use cases across five strategic priorities, as well as the overall Smart Cities market size. Starting from the current release, the spending guide offers a complementary Cities database, providing Smart City 2018 spending for over 50 cities across nine regions. The spending guide is designed to provide IT vendors with insights into this rapidly growing market and how the market will develop over the five-year forecast period.

About IDC Spending Guides

IDC's Spending Guides provide detail on key technology markets from a regional, vertical industry, use case, buyer, and technology perspective. The spending guides are delivered via pivot table format or custom query tool, allowing the user to easily extract meaningful information about each market by viewing data trends and relationships.

About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,100 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC's analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading media, data and marketing services company that activates and engages the most influential technology buyers. To learn more about IDC, please visit www.idc.com. Follow IDC on Twitter at @IDC and LinkedIn.
State Sen. Adam Hinds got a number of local initiatives into the state budget.

Hinds Secures Funding For Rural School Aid In State Budget

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Nine rural Berkshire County schools will get a little extra state aid this year because of a new program introduced by state Sen. Adam Hinds.

Hinds secured $1.5 million to start a rural sparsity aid program in the state budget. For schools in towns with less than 10 students per square mile and a per capita income below the state average, the state will give an additional $100 per student. The Pittsfield Democrat sees that as only a start and hopes to expand the program next year.

"The overall line item is $1.5 million and we view that as a starting point because we are introducing the concept. We truly hope that it will expand to an amount so we can not only give more to each of these schools - there are 34 schools - but also expand to the original concept of 21 students per square mile and below," Hinds said.

Hinds had pitched the program at $300 per student and to have it for schools with 21 students per square mile but it had been scaled back in order to get enough support. The effort follows a report filed by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education showing that rural schools have been struggling financially to maintain programming.

"We don't want a situation in Massachusetts where we are not providing equal education. We've seen the direct impact of that fiscal problem when we have a handful of schools closing in recent years," Hinds said.

Central Berkshire Regional School District, which serves students from a number of small, rural towns, will see $162,000 extra in state aid because of the program. Others include Farmington River, Florida, Hancock, Lanesborough, Mount Greylock, Savoy, Southern Berkshire Regional School District, and Williamstown - all with various levels of additional support.

All schools across the state will also see increases in Chapter 70 funding and special education circuit breaker reimbursement. Hinds added that the state was able to increase its reimbursement for regional school transportation as well.

"It was a strong budget, I can say that confidently, in big areas that matter to us. There are different pots of money particularly in education that we really wanted to see movement in," Hinds said.

"We now have the highest Chapter 70 funding for education ever. We have fully funded special education circuit breaker money - it is only 75 percent reimbursement but it is huge for a lot of my schools. We have regional school transportation up to 80 percent, last year it was 73 percent."

The budget is not quite finalized. The state's $41.9 billion budget had just been released from the legislator's conference committee - a group which meshes the budget passed by the Senate and the budget from the House into a final document - but still needs to be signed by the governor. Gov. Charlie Baker is likely to cast a number of vetoes and then the legislator will go through a process to override those.

But, Hinds said he is optimistic that the current proposal is very close to the final version once all that is said and done.

The budget also includes $100,000 to plan out the pilot program for the Berkshire Flyer. The concept is to bring train rides from New York City to the Berkshires on the weekend during the summer months. The Department of Transportation previously determined that the program would be feasible and Hinds is now looking to craft a pilot program.

"This year will be spent essentially putting together a marketing plan, a finance plan, and finalizing the last mile of transportation - so what does somebody do once they land in Pittsfield," Hinds said.

Hinds said a working group consisting of MassDOT, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, and 1Berkshire will now sort out the details.

Meanwhile, the budget also boosts funding for the regional transit authorities. The Berkshire Regional Transit Authority had been looking at raising fares and cutting services because of a proposal to level fund its budget. The BRTA will see an increased level of state support, but some of it is tied to having the BRTA look at creative ideas.

Once such idea is the creation of a transportation management authority , which would bring together a number of organizations that have transportation vehicles together to provide rides to the more rural areas. Hinds secured money in the budget to help that program develop further.

"Our BRTA is great but we also have to rethink how we are going to have ore service, later in the day, outside of the spine that it runs on. We hope this is the next step for essentially identifying a hybrid system with other vehicles that move around the county," Hinds said.

The budget also includes a study on culverts. Hinds said in one of his towns there is a culvert that is just four inches short of being considered a small bridge, and thus eligible for state support to repair. The town had to pay out some $800,000 for the project. Hinds hopes that study will lead to a large culvert program to give towns support for those projects too.

"Towns are stuck with huge expenditures that are just shy of that - we need to look at our current regulations explore creating a new culvert program," Hinds said.

Hinds was disappointed that his proposal to bolster local efforts to combat opioids fell somewhat short. He had asked for $250,000 which would go to the Sheriff's Department and include the Berkshire Opioid Abuse Prevention Coalition, Northern Berkshire Community Coalition, Railroad Street Youth Project, and the United Way to combat opioid abuse. But, the line was only funded at $150,000.

"We didn't get as much as we wanted," Hinds said. "But it is a start."

The budget also includes smaller local earmarks such as $75,000 for Gallery 51 in North Adams.

"It plays such a critical role in this effort, from a city planning perspective, that you have the college coming downtown and Mass MoCA coming downtown," Hinds said.




iciHaiti - France : Success of the Festival Ayiti Fest





On July 21st at the Dungeon Park in Septmonts (Aisne Dept., Northern France), the 3rd edition of Festval "Ayiti Fest" made no less than 1,500 entries on a sunny day. A success for Olivier Vacandare, President of the organizing association "The new life in Haiti" (La nouvelle vie a Haiti) which bet on 1,000 participants. Given the growing popularity of this festival, the organizers plan to carry it out over 2 days next year.



This festival, completely free, brought together five groups of Creole, African and Jamaican inspirations, including the Motolo group, headliner of the festival. To wait between each artist, the "Sambabulles Batucada" made the audience dance to the sound of drums.



IH/ iciHaiti


















Nigerian lawmaker Senator Ben Murray Bruce and former presidential aide, Reno Omokri have taken to social media to condemn what is happening to Senate president Bukola Saraki.

Mr Saraki has been summoned by police to read and react to statement of arrested Offa robbery suspects who fingered him as their sponsor in their statement.

This comes after few weeks after the Senate president was cleared of all charges of false assets declaration by the Supreme Court.

It what seems like a response to the new police summons of Mr Saraki, Mr Ben Bruce and Mr Reno Omokri have weighed in on the matter.

The Bayelsa state lawmaker expressed deep worry over the Senate presidents travail, saying he stands with him at this time.

He wrote:

The sieges and any use of force on @BukolaSaraki, the legitimate Senate President or Ike Ekweradu, his Deputy are an act of desperation. #IStandWithSaraki and I urge you to do the same. If we allow what is currently being done to them to stand, we are in full blown dictatorship!  Ben Murray-Bruce (@benmurraybruce) July 24, 2018

According to Mr Omokri, Mr Saraki is only a victim of a tyrannical government, whos afraid of it own shadow.

He wrote:
China stands for hope and the future, only by studying in China can we have hope and a better future, a sophomore at the Chinese Department of Cairo University in Egypt bluntly told a Global Times reporter.

As China becomes increasingly prosperous, foreign students more often see China as a good option for study.

Media outlets in many African countries have reported on Chinas successful experience, calling on their own citizens to study in China, learn from Chinas experience and then contribute their knowledge to the construction of their own country, Global Times reported.

Under this context, African students are interested in studying in China, and its even seen as a fashionable choice by students in countries such as Egypt and Sudan.

The number of African students studying in China has soared over the past 15 years. In 2003, there were less than 2,000 African students in China, while by 2015, the number reached almost 50,000, according to a research report released by UNESCO.

Egyptian students have applied enthusiastically for a scholarship program established by the Chinese government, all hoping to be one of 139 students given the scholarship to study in China this year, Han Chong, an official from the Education Department of Chinese Embassy in Egypt told Global Times.

The trend is not confined to Africa. In recent years, students from all over the world have become increasingly attracted to studying in China, their choice of major no longer being limited to traditional options such as Chinese language, history and culture.

Parrot, a student from London, has been an exchange student in a Beijing university, and thanks to a two-year immersive learning experience he is now able to host business meetings in both Chinese and English.

Pitt has benefited from a U.K. based program which intends to send 80,000 British students to study or work in China annually by the year 2020. The young man majored in Chinese Financial Market Research from a university in Xian, northwest Chinas Shaanxi province, 10 years ago. He got a decent job in a bank soon after his return to the U.K.

At present, 400 Chinese universities and colleges are eligible to accept foreign students.

Tsinghua University has enrolled about 150 students from the U.K. in the past 10 years, with quite a few from world renowned universities such as Oxford and Cambridge. Their fields of study include law, public management, business administration and media.

Peking University and the London School of Economics and Political Science have also jointly set up a summer program, offering courses to students from all over the world who are interested in Chinese economy, politics and culture.
The planned three day closure of the Third Mainland Bridge for the purpose of Investigative Maintenance Test earlier has been postponed.

The maintenance was earlier slated to begin on 27th and end on 30th, July has now been moved to 24th to end on 26th August.

This announcement was made by the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola.

In a press statement, Mr Fashola said the shift in the date was arrived at after due consultations with the Lagos State Government and wide deliberations with other relevant stakeholders adding that the date shift was done.

in order to give succour and relief to the people of Lagos State and other inter-state road users and support the efforts of the state government.
A 20-year-old self-confessed sniper of the dreaded Eiye confraternity in Lagos State, Mariam Abiola, Monday revealed how she killed four rival gang members in the Ilasamaja area of the state.

Abiola, who admitted dropping out of school in Senior Secondary School 3, was arrested on Monay morning. The girl, who was arrested together with three male accomplices, said it was easier for her to operate unnoticed wearing a hijab.

She told police interrogators that a member of her gang she described as an herbalist always prepared charms for her before she embarked on any major operation.

Abiola narrated, I was arrested early last year in Mushin. I had run away from my parents home in Abeokuta, Ogun State, when I was 15 years. .

After I fled to Lagos in search of work, I was staying with one brother Wasiu, who is also a gang member. Another brother, Sadiq, said he would introduce me to a job that would be fetching me money.

He said I needed to blend into the system by being a member of the Eiye confraternity. I agreed. Thereafter, Sadiq taught me how to use a gun. By the time I went through training three times, I knew how to fire accurately.

Anytime I was going to kill, Sadiq would give me the persons picture and send the address to my phone. I usually wore a white male flowing gown and white hijab whenever we were going to kill any rival member.

We always went in a group of four, including Wasiu and Segun. The gun was usually tucked inside my white flowing gown. On getting to the targets house, which was usually at night, other members would jump through the fence and open the gate for me. .

I would enter and fire the person in the chest and forehead before leaving there. At the end of each killing, Sadiq would pay me N10,000 and five others N20,000. I had struck at Fabiyi, Hassan and Aje streets and another street, all in Ilasamaja.

Before we leave for any killing, we would visit the herbalist who would give us charms to put residents to sleep until the operation is concluded. I never felt bad killing anybody.
Like it did in the South West and South South, foremost telecommunications operator in Nigeria, Globacom has treated its dealers and enterprise customers in the Northern and South Eastern regions of the country to a lavish appreciative bash.

While the prestigious Sheraton Hotel was used to fete the stakeholders in the Abuja region on Thursday, the high profile Golden Royale Hotel was the venue of the unbridled fun unleashed on Glo stakeholders in the South Eastern region on Friday.

In Abuja, King Sunny Ade was on hand to entertain high networth guests. He danced, wriggled and sang to serenade attendees who had a wow time, to say the least. GloChief Retail Officer, Mr. David Maji welcomed guests. He was accompanied by his top sales executives. MC Tagwaye alias Mr. President, Gordons and Acapella supplied rib cracking jokes and wisecracks to wash down the sumptuous meal and choice drinks.

All the guests were presented with one plasma television set each while lucky dealers who participated in the raffle draw won one million naira, five hundred thousand naira and two hundred and fifty thousand naira cash prizes at the event.

This is another way of saying thank you to our partners who been giving tremendous support to our business, Mr. Maji said.

The story was the same at the Enugu event, as it was an evening of cool live music supplied by Royal Stars Band, high-level comedy and sumptuous dinner, complete with a rich variety of drinks.

Dexterous comedian and compere who has earned respectable reputation in the East, Senator, piloted the event. The night was also enriched by the presence of veteran actress, Patience Ozokwor, popularly called Mama G, ace comic, Victor Osuagwu and high flying pop artiste, Phyno, who performed his hits for the enjoyment of the guests.

Globacoms Coordinator, Corporate Services, Yomi Ogunbamowo formally welcomed the guests on behalf of the Chairman of the Board of Globacom, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr. Globacoms Marketing Director, South-South, Ashok Israni. Also there were Akoko Macaulay, Zonal Head, Enterprise Division, and Tochukwu Okechukwu, Regional Manager, Primary Sales (South-East 2).

A dealer went home with N1 million, two others bagged N500,000 each while four dealers went home with N250,000 each after they were picked in a lucky dip.

Every one of the stakeholders also took home a flat screen television set.

More photos:
Saraki Reacts after Police invite him Again over alleged Involvement

The Nigeria Police Force has once again invited the senate president Bukola Saraki over his alleged involvement in the Offa Robbery attack that left dozens of persons dead.

The police had earlier said some of the suspects indicted him and invited Saraki but later asked him to respond in writing which the senate president did.

However, in a statement on Monday night, the IGP Ibrahim Idris asked Saraki to report to the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Force on Tuesday.

The statement, signed by Idris said the invitation was for Saraki to make further clarification following his letter.

The letter read:

Letter of Invitation; Case of Offa robbery and gruesome murder of more than 31 persons and snatching of 21 AK47 Rifles on the 5th of April, 2018. I refer to this office letter CR:3000/IGP.SEC/ABJ/VOL./130/571 dated 4th June 2018 and your letter of response NASS/8th/S/SP/lGP/15/6/18 dated 7th June 2018 on the above subject matter (copies attached) and to further restate as follows. Recall that the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) is investigating a case of Armed Robbery which occurred on the 5th of April, 2018 during which a gang of dare devil Armed Robbers, stormed Offa, Kwara State and attacked a Police Station, robbed six Banks namely First Bank, Guaranty

Trust Bank, ECO Bank, Zenith Bank, Union Bank and lbolo Micro Finance Bank, killed over thirty one (31) Persons including nine Police officers and pregnant women and snatched twenty (21) AK47 nfles. During the investigation of the Armed Robbery by the Intelligence Response Team, a CCTV footage of the Armed Robbery in one of the banks, captured the image of two persons. The CCTV footage was circulated on the social media and this led to their identification as Kunle Ogunleye and Micheal Adikwu. The two persons were tracked and arrested by the Police and they made very useful statements and named the five gang leaders who organized the Armed Robbery. Some of the five gang leaders made confessional statements admitting their participation in this worst Armed Robbery in the history of Nigeria and that they are political thugs under the name, Youth Liberation Movement aka Good boys allegedly sponsored by you and that you have given them firearms, money and vehicles. It was equally discovered that one of the vehicles, a Lexus Jeep, used by the gang leader (Ayoade Akinnibosun) has a sticker plate number SARAKI Kwara State of Harmony. The Lexus Jeep was parked in the Government House after the arrest of Ayoade Akinnibosun and in order to conceal evidence, the Chief of Staff to the Executive Governor of Kwara State, arranged for the removal of the sticker plate number SARAKI Kwara State of Harmony from the Lexus jeep and quickly registered it in the name of the suspect, six days after the suspect has been arrested by the Police. Specifically Mr Ayoade Akinnibosun m 27 Years in his Confessional Statement stated that members of his group are Political Thugs working for Senator Bukola Saraki and Governor of Kwara State. That he is the head of the Political Thugs named Youths Liberation Movement covering about seven (7) Local Governments Areas of Kwara South. That he gets vehicle and monetary gifts etc from Senator Bukola Saraki through the Chief of Staff to the Governor of Kwara State; that the last money he got directly from Senator Bukola Saraki was Five Hundred Thousand (N500,000) Naira. He made mention of some other thugs in Kwara Central with guns which Senator Bukola Saraki is sponsoring as Alhaji Alawo, Alhaji Dona, Alhaji Jawando among others, that Senator Bukola Saraki supplies the armsand vehicles to the thugs; that everyone in Kwara Central fear them because of their guns and ability to kill anybody without hesitation. Furthermore the suspect Ayoade Akinmbosun stated that the date you Senator Saraki visited Offa in sympathy with the victims to the Palace of the Oba, that he and two other gang members were with you in the convoy. In your response to the above allegations, you stated by virtue of my participation in politics, I have a large followership which makes it impossible for me to know all of them. I can say categorically that I am in no way associated with the vehicle mentioned in your letter nor have I given any arms to any thug or other persons in kwara State or anywhere else. For the records, your letter under reference did not include the full text of the statements made by the accused persons. After a careful perusal of your letter to the Police, it was discovered that the statement requires further clarification and coupled with the fact that you stated that the full text of the statements of the suspects were not shown to you, it is imperative you report to the Police to make further statements after giving you the full text of the statements of the suspects. It is in line with the above that you are requested to report to the head of the Investigation Team at the Intelligence Response Team at Guzape Junction, Asokoro Extension Abuja on 24th of July, 2018 at 8am for further investigation on the matter.

Writing on his Facebook page, Saraki reacted to the news, saying that the invitation is a ploy to stop a planned defection of some APC lawmakers and the plan is to detain him on Tuesday and Wednesday.

See Sarakis post below:
Senate president Bukola Saraki has again been summoned by the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, over the killing of over 40 persons during an armed robbery attack in Kwara state.

According to Police the robbery suspects after their arrest, confessed to being sponsored by the Senate president.

The attack which police has described as the most deadly armed robbery in the countrys history, was carried out in four banks in Offa.

Last June, the Senate president was summoned by the police but was later asked to submit his response to the allegations in writing. Saraki, responded in writing as requested, while maintaining his innocence.

In his letter, Saraki said he would not comment on the statement of the suspects because he has no knowledge of what they wrote.

Police headquarters, in a statement on Monday made public, a June 23, 2018 letter, which the IGP wrote to Saraki, have summoned him(Saraki) to the Intelligence Response Team in Guzape neighbourhood, Abuja.

The police have asked the Senate president to make himself available by 8am on July 24th and would also have the chance to read the statements of the suspects.
Former presidential aide, Mr Reno Omokri has weighed in on the state of the nation.

Omokri dropped his two cents on some of the topics that are currently trending in the country.

He spoke of the defection of many All Progressives Congress, APC. He also talked about Adams Oshiomholes, the partys national chairmans response to the defections.

Mr Omokri also weighed in on the accident, Buba Galadima, Chairman of the Reformed APC was involved in.

The writer didnt fail to talk about Bishop David Oyedepos statement asking President Muhammadu Buhari to resign.

On Oshiomhole

President @MBuhari should see the thunderous applause that erupted spontaneously after Bishop Oyedepo called for his resignation as a sign. Bishop Oyedepo doesnt talk anyhow. It is no coincidence that he announced prayers yesterday and things are happening today! No coincidence!  Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) July 24, 2018

Does Oshiomhole reason or is it the Lara effect that is affecting his judgment? Three days ago he was begging r-APC members not to leave. Two days ago he said he was not too proud to beg intending defectors. Now today he calls them mercenaries and says he is happy they left!  Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) July 24, 2018

On Oyedepo

President @MBuhari should see the thunderous applause that erupted spontaneously after Bishop Oyedepo called for his resignation as a sign. Bishop Oyedepo doesnt talk anyhow. It is no coincidence that he announced prayers yesterday and things are happening today! No coincidence!  Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) July 24, 2018

I dare Muhammadu Buhari to lay a hand on Bedshop @DavidOyedepoMin for speaking the truth to him. He tries it and he meets his Waterloo! Bishop Oyedepo is right in asking @MBuhari to resign and GO. This is a failed leadership that has brought little beside sorrow, tears and blood!  Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) July 24, 2018

On R-APCs chairmans accident

The strange car accident of the r-APC chairman yesterday and the sieges on prominent members of that APC faction today appears too coordinated. Though I have no proof, but this coincidences are too convenient for President Buhari whose desperation for power is already well known!  Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) July 24, 2018

On Saraki
Six operatives of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS), led by Inspector Monday Asemota have been arrested for allegedly extorting N40,000 from twin brothers Mark and Martins on their to NYSC Camp, according to a human rights activist, Prince Harrison.

Harrison revealed that the officers hve been detained and charged for misconduct by IGP Xsquad in Delta state.

Read the full report as shared by Human rights activist, Prince Harrison:

SIX FEDERAL SARS OFFICERS ATTACH TO DELTA STATE POLICE COMMAND INVOLVED IN EXTORTION ARRESTED AND DETAINED.

Behind Bars Rights Initiative facilitated the arrest of Six SARS officers led by Inspector Monday Asemota for extorting N40,000 from twin brothers MARK and MARTINS on their to NYSC Camp.

They were detained and charge for Misconduct and Official Corruption by IGP Xsquad.

Mark and Martins were arrested on 22nd July 2018 on their way to Warri, Delta state from Abraka. Their vehicle was stopped and they were asked to submit their phone for searching.

The officers threatened to detained them in police cell for refusing to give consent. They seized their phones, searched their bag and discovered N70,000. The officers took them to a petrol station, counted N30,000 and handed over to them. The boys pleaded but were ignored.

They immediately informed BBI Intervention Squad (BBIS) and the officers were tracked in Ekpan Police station Warri. The N40,000 was refunded to BBI team.

We reported the case to IGP Xsquad, Delta State Police command and they immediately sent their men to Ekpan Police station.

Today, the officers were invited for interview and when asked if they extorted money from Mark and Martins, they said YES.

They have been defaulted, detained and awaiting trial.

A safe, harrased, brutalised and corrupt free Nigeria is achievable.

Lagos

Porthacourt

Enugu

Ibadan

Benin

Owerri

Abuja

We are coming soon.

God bless Delta State

God bless Nigeria Police

God bless Nigeria

Gwamnishu Emefiele Harrison (GEM)

Ex Awaiting Trial Prisoner

Director General

For: Behind Bars Rights Initiative.

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Senate president Bukola Saraki was summoned by the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, over the deadly Offa bank robberies that claimed over 40 lives in Kwara state.

According to Police the robbery suspects after their arrest, confessed to being sponsored by the Senate president.

Police headquarters, in a statement on Monday made public, a June 23, 2018 letter, which the IGP wrote to Saraki, summoning him(Saraki) to the Intelligence Response Team in Guzape neighbourhood, Abuja.

The Senate president was asked to avail himself by 8am on July 24th, in order to get a chance to read the statements of the suspects and also react.

See reactions

.@PoliceNG blocking @bukolasaraki's residence must be the most ill advised decision ever made. He's the President of @NGRSenate Yes he's not above the law but wait for him to report to Force HQ. Not just Saraki, you cant invite a Nigerian Citizen and then go block them at home. https://t.co/CLE1fv1KN8  Kayode Ogundamisi (@ogundamisi) July 24, 2018

The news of the sieges on the residences of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, is both troubling and unsettling. No democratic nation ought to treat the leadership of its Parliament like common criminals. https://t.co/TOh1yGXD6Y  Atiku Abubakar (@atiku) July 24, 2018

There is a difference between Bukola Saraki and the office of the Senate President. In my opinion, today's moves by the Police are an affront on that office. And moves like this never happen without consequences on Democracy itself.  JJ. Omojuwa (@Omojuwa) July 24, 2018

There are so many ways to deal with Saraki when we had the chance, but what is happening today is just turning him to a hero, gaining sympathy for him. I dont know who came up with this plan but its a terrible one which if it fails, will have major consequences for us as APC.  Peacock (@dawisu) July 24, 2018

I hold no brief for Bukola Saraki but a security show of force on one individual while the rest of us are wallowing in Insecurity is irresponsible and callous to say the least!  Zahra Zaraa Danejo (@tinkizee2) July 24, 2018

So you hound Saraki and get people to his side by your stupidity. Now you've lost 14 Senators, and more will follow as they realise the potential cost of having you around for another four years Daft.  Chxta (@Chxta) July 24, 2018
A polygamous man, who is unable to have an erection whenever he meets with his first wife, took his second wife to court, accusing her of bewitching him and the second wife has now been sentenced to 13 months in prison.

Godwishes Magarira of Makanda Village in Gutu, Zimbabwe, took Memory Shiri, 24, before Gutu resident Magistrate, Victor Mohadi. He pleaded with Magistrate Victor Mohamadi to punish Shiri for bewitching him and causing him to have erectile dysfunction whenever hes with his other wife.

The court heard that in 2016, Magarira approached Shiri and asked her why he fails to have an erection whenever he wants to have sex with the first wife and Shiri answered ndakakusunga which translates in English to mean,  I bewitched you. Shiri then took a nappy pin and a needle which were tied together and untied them while Magarira was watching and she told him that she had sorted out the problem.

Magarira accused Shiri of boasting that she can control his sex life. Magarira also got a medical examination report to prove that he was having sexual problems.

Witchcraft is not allowed under the Zimbabwean law and Shiri has now been sentenced to 13 months in prison wholly suspended on condition that she perfoms 455 hours of community service.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) and his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa hold talks in Pretoria, South Africa, July 24, 2018. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

PRETORIA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- China and South Africa on Tuesday pledged to carry forward their traditional friendly relations and advance their comprehensive strategic partnership in the new era.

During the talks between visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa, the two leaders agreed to strengthen high-level exchanges, deepen political mutual trust, align their development strategies, promote practical cooperation and increase people-to-people exchanges, thus enabling the two peoples to enjoy more fruits of the bilateral cooperation.

Xi expressed appreciation to Ramaphosa for his important contributions to the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries and to the development of bilateral relations.

Noting that China and South Africa are both major developing countries and emerging-market countries with important influence, Xi said that since the forging of diplomatic relations 20 years ago, the two sides have been committed to mutually-beneficial cooperation and common development, stood together through thick and thin, shared weal and woe, and established a "comrade plus brother" relationship featuring sincere friendship, mutual trust and close bond.

He said that China-South Africa relations have leapt from a partnership to a strategic partnership and then to a comprehensive strategic partnership over the past years, bringing tangible benefits to the two peoples.

"Taking the opportunity of the 20th anniversary of diplomatic ties, China stands ready to work with South Africa on supporting each other in hosting this year's BRICS summit in Johannesburg and the Beijing summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), inheriting the past and ushering in the future, and pushing for more outcomes from the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership, so as to bring greater benefits to our two peoples," Xi said.

Noting that China-South Africa relations are now standing at a new historical point, the Chinese president proposed the two sides to focus on the following areas to advance the bilateral relations:

-- The two sides should strengthen high-level exchanges, deepen political mutual trust, support each other in independently choosing the development path that suits their own national conditions, continue to understand and support each other on issues involving respective core interests and major concerns, increase exchanges between the governments, legislative bodies and various other areas, and deepen the inter-party exchanges and cooperation.

-- The two sides should enhance cooperation within the frameworks of the Belt and Road Initiative and the FOCAC, align their development strategies, deepen exchanges and cooperation in new economy sectors and sunrise industries, and share the development opportunities brought by the fourth industrial revolution. The Chinese side is willing to focus on promoting cooperation in such areas as infrastructure construction, trade and investment, scientific and technological innovation, and finance, and supports the endeavors made by the South African government to develop the economy, create jobs, improve people's livelihood and promote social transformation.

-- The two sides should deepen people-to-people bonds, implement the consensus the two sides have reached on facilitating personnel exchanges and strengthening cultural and educational exchanges, and consolidate cooperation in human resources development and tourism.

-- The two sides should promote security and law-enforcement cooperation. The Chinese side is willing to strengthen cooperation with South Africa on law-enforcement capacity building.

-- The two sides should increase coordination within multilateral frameworks including the UN, G20, BRICS and BASIC (Brazil, India, South Africa and China), jointly safeguard multilateralism, oppose unilateralism and protectionism, and promote a more just and equitable international order.

For his part, Ramaphosa said that South African and Chinese peoples enjoy traditional friendship, and the two countries have constantly consolidated and developed their relations since the establishment of diplomatic ties 20 years ago.

The relations have gone beyond the bilateral scope with important strategic significance, and the two countries have carried out fruitful cooperation on regional and multilateral levels, he said, noting that the special friendly ties have brought substantial benefits to the two peoples.

Ramaphosa said that it is in the fundamental and long-term interests of South Africa to continue to strengthen political mutual trust, expand practical cooperation, enhance scientific, technological and people-to-people exchanges with China, and promote their comprehensive strategic partnership.

He pledged that South Africa will continue to firmly adhere to the one-China policy, push for positive progress in cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, increase communication and coordination with China on major international and regional issues, oppose unilateralism, strengthen multilateralism, and safeguard the common interests of developing countries.

On the 10th BRICS summit in Johannesburg on July 25-27, Xi said that it is the first one to be held in the second "golden decade" of BRICS cooperation and has a special significance.

BRICS gathers the world's five major emerging economies -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

"We should bear in mind the big picture of BRICS cooperation, constantly cement our strategic partnerships, make a loud and clear voice on upholding multilateralism, and jointly build an open world economy," Xi said, while pledging to coordinate with and support South Africa for a successful BRICS summit.

Xi and Ramaphosa will co-chair the FOCAC Beijing summit in September. Hailing the contributions that South Africa has made for the institutionalization of the FOCAC and friendly cooperation between China and Africa as co-chair of the forum, Xi said that China looks forward to discussing with African countries on plans to promote China-Africa friendly cooperation in the new era and jointly build a closer China-Africa community with a shared future.

"It is China's long-term and firm strategic choice to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with African countries," he said.

Ramaphosa expressed gratitude for China's support in the 10th BRICS summit in Johannesburg. He told Xi that he looks forward to attending the FOCAC Beijing summit and will coordinate with China to ensure the success of the two major events.

After the talks, the two heads of state witnessed the signing of a series of bilateral cooperation documents and met with the press.

Ramaphosa held a grand welcome ceremony for Xi prior to the talks.

Xi arrived in Pretoria on Monday to pay his third state visit to the "rainbow nation."

South Africa is the fourth stop of Xi's five-nation Middle East and Africa tour, which has taken him to the United Arab Emirates, Senegal and Rwanda. He will also visit Mauritius during a stopover.
San Diego, CA - July 24, 2018 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Gopher Protocol Inc. (OTCQB: GOPH) ("Gopher"), a company specializing in the creation of Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence enabled mobile technologies, is developing its network and cyber security system or gEYE. Gopher's gEYE system development has started as part of Avant! AI engine.

As Avant! is constantly searching the Internet for information and has access to other Gopher's devices through gNET communication protocol, a strong network and cyber security system is needed. The gEYE system aim will be to secure Gopher's gNET communication protocol as its other technology advancements.

The gEYE includes multiple layers of security methods, including advanced encryption, which involves hackers deception. With traditional encryption, an attacker making an incorrect guess gets gibberish in return to their data breach attempt. With gEYE encryption method, the intruder gets something that looks like real data but actually is false information that appears real. An attacker would have no way of knowing which creditable-looking data is the correct one. This is only one method that Gopher uses in order to secure our system. In addition, gEYE will include constant system's monitoring, network boundaries and firewall segmentations, vulnerabilities prediction system, threats detection and real-time, immediate incident response. Gophers gEYE system will be at the forefront of any Gopher's system, ensuring secured, safe and smooth operation.

Dr. Rittman, the Company CTO stated: "gEYE is our security guard to ensure privacy and hacking free environment for safe and smooth operation. We are investing vast efforts in our gEYE security system since it is targeted to be used in a wide variety of our future applications."

About Gopher Protocol Inc.

Gopher Protocol Inc. (GOPH) ("Gopher") (http://gopherprotocol.com/) is a development-stage company which consider itself Native IoT creator, developing Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence enabled mobile technology. Gopher has a portfolio of Intellectual Property that when commercialized will include smart microchips, mobile application software and supporting cloud software. The system contemplates the creation of a global network. The core of the system will be its advanced microchip technology that can be installed in any mobile device worldwide. Gopher envisions this system as an internal, private network between all enabled mobile devices providing shared processing, advanced mobile database management/sharing and enhanced mobile features.

Corporate Site: http://gopherprotocol.com

Press page/ press kit - http://gopherprotocol.com/?page_id=228

Consumer and product website for Guardian Patch: http://www.guardianpatch.com/.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors as disclosed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission located at their website (http://www.sec.gov). In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, governmental and public policy changes, the Companys ability to raise capital on acceptable terms, if at all, the Companys successful development of its products and the integration into its existing products and the commercial acceptance of the Companys products. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release.

Contact:

Dr. Danny Rittman, CTO

Gopher Protocol Inc.

VM Only 888-685-7336

Media: press@gopherprotocol.com

SOURCE: Gopher Protocol Inc.

Disclaimer/Disclosure:

Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investment involves risk and possible loss of investment. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Contact each company directly regarding content and press release questions. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Disclosure: GOPH is a PR, social media and publishing client and compensates Investorideas.com: three months effective April 4, 2016 - three thousand five hundred per month Amended February 2018 five thousand per month. More disclaimer info: http://www.investorideas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp

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Sarasota, Florida - July 24, 2018 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Florida's medical cannabis patients will soon be able to access the nation's most consistent medical capsules and lozenges, thanks to a partnership between Wana Brands, an experienced producer of marijuana infused products, and the award-winning producer of pharmaceutical grade cannabis products, AltMed Florida.

The agreement will bring Wana Brands' leading line of cannabis-derived medical products to Florida dispensaries, once they receive all required approvals from the Florida Department of Health's Office of Medical Marijuana Use. The products will be available exclusively at AltMed Florida's MuV Medical Cannabis Dispensaries.

The products include WanaCapsXR, the world's first slow-release cannabis capsule, which Wana Brands introduced for medical cannabis patients in 2015. With five proprietary extended release formulations available, ranging from High THC to High CBD, WanaCapsXR provide medicinal benefits for 8-12 hours, allowing patient to reduce the frequency of re-dosing. The extended release formula lessens potential side effects such as disorientation and dizziness.

Wana Lozenges will also be available, containing 5mg THC each to enable effective and precise dosing.

This agreement solidifies Wana Brands continued expansion from its Colorado headquarters, where it is the No. 1 infused products cannabis brand, according to BDS Analytics' May 2018 Brandshare Report. The company's popular products are also available in Arizona, Oregon and Nevada dispensaries, with Illinois among the states imminently coming online. Wana Brands expects to expand into California, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, and internationally in Canada through 2019.

"With our products such as WanaCapsXR, Wana Brands is perfectly positioned to provide reliable and consistent products to Florida's medical marijuana patients," said Nancy Whiteman, Founder & CEO of Wana Brands. "Wana Brands has developed a remarkable line-up of cannabis products that have been built on precision, quality, professionalism and innovation. We have invested in refining our recipes for patients, so that the taste of our products comes through, not the taste of medicine. We look forward to introducing our lozenges and extended-release capsules to the Florida market as well."

"As a national brand and an award-winning customer favorite, Wana Brands is known for its consistent quality and rounds out the portfolio of products offered to our patients," said John Tipton, CEO of AltMed Florida.

Florida's medical cannabis market is expected to grow rapidly and exceed $1 billion by 2020. With a population of 21 million, 19 percent of whom are seniors, Florida is estimated to eventually have hundreds of thousands of medical marijuana patients. The burgeoning system currently has 138,558 registered patients and 1,572 registered physicians, with 400,000 patients forecast by 2020.

Since Florida voters approved medical marijuana in a referendum in November 2016, 14 medical cannabis production licenses have been awarded by the state, and dispensaries began opening across the state once regulations were finalized in November 2017. Each licensee can open 25 dispensaries.

Conditions authorized for medical cannabis use include cancer, ALS, Crohn's Disease, epilepsy, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, seizures, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease. Floridians are not allowed to grow their own medical marijuana or smoke cannabis flower so rely on companies like Wana and AltMed Florida to provide consistent, safe medicine.

Chewable medical marijuana products are not yet legal in Florida's new medical cannabis market, but with this agreement, Wana Brands and AltMed will be positioned to distribute gummies as new product categories are approved by Florida's Office of Medical Marijuana Use.

For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact Shawna McGregor / Grasslands at 917-971-7852 or shawna@mygrasslands.com.

**Product photos available at www.wanabrands.com/assets.**

Wana Brands: Enhance Your Life.

Named The Cannabist Peoples Choice Award Winner for Best Edible in January 2018, Wana Brands leads the cannabis infused products industry in quality, consistency and potency. Wana products include a full line of edibles, including its market leading gummies and WanaCaps XR , a family of extended release cannabis capsules that provide symptom relief for up to 12 hours. Wana Brands is the No. 1 ranked edibles brand in sales revenue in the highly competitive Colorado market according to BDS Analytics 2017 Brand Share report. Wana products are also available in Arizona, Oregon and Nevada, with planned entry into California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, and internationally in Canada in 2018. For more information, visit www.wanabrands.com. Follow Wana on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

AltMed

Alternative Medical Enterprises, LLC, headquartered in Sarasota, FL and doing business as AltMed Enterprises, is a fully integrated company that brings pharmaceutical industry precision to the development, production and dispensing of medical cannabinoids.

Media Contact:

Shawna McGregor

Grasslands: A Journalism-Minded Agency

shawna@mygrasslands.com

917-971-7852

More Info:

This news is published on the Investorideas.com Newswire - a global digital news source for investors and business leaders

Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Contact management and IR of each company directly regarding specific questions.

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BRITISH COLUMBIA - July 24, 2018 (Investorideas.com Newswire) The Best of BC Wine Country Awards are back - a crowd-sourced online survey curated by the BC Wine Institute launches today inviting the public to vote on their favourite BC wine experiences from specific "Best of" categories related to BC wine and food tourism.

From Monday, July 23 through August 17, the Best of BC Wine Country Awards will generate authentic recommendations from the public on categories including: Best of BC Wine; Best of BC Place; and Best of BC Experience. Within these, 12 sub-categories are offered for each of BC's unique wine regions!

"We are excited to bring back the Best of BC Wine Country Awards for a second year to encourage visitors to share their favourite experiences while touring BC wineries this summer," notes Maggie Anderson Communications and Content Director of the BC Wine Institute. "Whether it's for the experience, the award-winning wines, the local food, the people or the scenic views, we want to know first-hand from winery-goers what keeps bringing them back."

Integrated this year are BC wine give-aways, offering voters the chance to experience the Best of BC Wine Country by winning one of three prizes: (1) Best of BC Wine gift basket; (2) An overnight stay at a Best of BC Winery Accommodation or (3) Dinner for two at a Best of BC Winery Restaurant. All they need to do is vote and share their excitement for #BestofBC18 on social media.

"Here in BC, they are essentially the people's choice awards of wine. Winners are selected by consumers  not wine experts." says Claire Newell, travel expert and best-selling author of Travel Best Bets. "My friends and I voted last year over a glass of our favorite BC wine with our tablets or smartphones in-hand. I expect more of my friends will join this year because there are prizes to win!"

With 276 BC grape wineries open to the public, more than 74 winery restaurants and 16 regional wine trails throughout the province, download the Wines of British Columbia new Trip Planner App and start exploring the award-winning wines available in your backyard. Have your say in what makes BC a world-class wine destination, and vote for your top picks for a chance to experience the Best of BC Wine Country.

Awards are presented for the Okanagan Valley, Similkameen Valley, Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island, Gulf Islands and other regions including: Thompson Valley; Shuswap; Lillooet; Kootenays; Prince George. Winners will be published on WineBC.com and #BestOfBC18 prize winners will be announced on September 13.

Vote for your Best of BC Wine Country and enter to win #BestofBC18 here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/bestofBCwine18

Download the Wines of British Columbia Trip Planner app by searching "BC Wine" in either the App Store or Google Play store or click the links directly for: Android or iPhone.

Check out last year's Best of BC Wine Country Award winners for trip inspiration here: bestof.winebc.com

Editors: Best of BC Wine Country Awards logo and banner images are linked for your consideration, BestofBC18

Quick facts about the BC Wine Industry:

BC is home to 929 vineyards, including more than 350 licensed wineries

There are more than 10,200 acres (4,130 hectares) of wine grapes planted in British Columbia

BC's grape wine industry has grown from just 17 grape wineries in 1990 to more than 275 today

BC's wine industry employs about 12,000 people and has an economic impact of $2.8 billion annually

Each year, BC's wineries welcome more than 1,000,000 visitors

Wines of British Columbia Trip Planner offers visitors an interactive touring app with personalized itineraries to explore the character of each wine region

About The British Columbia Wine Institute:

Since 1990, the BCWI has played a pivotal role in taking BC's wine industry from a vision to an internationally recognized niche region producing premium wines and providing exceptional wine tourism experiences. The BCWI markets the wine and regions of BC; delivers quality trade, media and consumer tastings; and acts as the voice of BC's wine industry by advocating to government on behalf of industry that contributes $2.8 billion in provincial economic growth annually.

The BCWI represents all wineries in British Columbia to grow the premium market share for the Wines of British Columbia, while driving awareness of our world-class wines and tourism product - currently drawing 1,000,000 visitors with $600 million in tourism and tourism employment related economic impact every year. For more information about BC Wine Institute's programs and services, please visit WineBC.com.

For details on the Wines of British Columbia, go to WineBC.com, like the Wines of British Columbia Facebook page and follow @WineBCdotcom on Twitter and Instagram.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Laura Kittmer

Media Relations Manager

British Columbia Wine Institute

T: 250.762.9744 ext. 108

LKittmer@WineBC.com

www.WineBC.com
July 24, 2018 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Technical analyst Clive Maund charts a health technology stock whose platform allows hospitals and healthcare organizations to buy, sell and trade surplus medical equipment and supplies.

The fundamental story for H-Source Holdings Ltd. (HSI:TSX.V; HSCHF:OTCQB) in a nutshell is as follows:

A lot of new medical equipment and supplies for hospitals, some of it very expensive, ends up never being used, for various reasons. What H-Source does is to find buyers for this stuff, getting much better prices for it than would be obtained if it was in effect sold onto a secondhand market. The company appears to be doing increasingly well at this too.

On the 1-year chart we can see that its stock appears to be shaping up to make significant gains soon. In recent weeks it has battling resistance at the 1718 cent level as it completes what is believed to be the Right Shoulder of an upsloping Head-and-Shoulders bottom, with improvement in its technical condition symbolized by the bullish moving average crossthe 50-day rising up through the 200-daythe latter flattening in readiness for turning up. Upside volume has started to build in the past few days, which still looks small thanks to the freak volume on a day last December that has resulted in an improvement in volume indicators after a long period of weakness.

On the 3-year chart we can see the origin of the resistance at the 1718 level, which results from a considerable volume of trading just above this level, mainly during 2017. Once it breaks above this level, it should make a run at the next significant resistance level in the C$0.24C$0.255 area. H-Source trades in reasonable volumes on the US OTC market. There are 63 million shares in issue.

H-Source Holdings website.

H-Source Holdings HSI.TSX.V (Canada), HSCHF on OTC, trading at C$0.17, $0.14 at 12.00 noon on 24th July 2018.

Clive Maund has been president of www.clivemaund.com, a successful resource sector website, since its inception in 2003. He has 30 years' experience in technical analysis and has worked for banks, commodity brokers and stockbrokers in the City of London. He holds a Diploma in Technical Analysis from the UK Society of Technical Analysts.

Disclosure:

1) Clive Maund: I, or members of my immediate household or family, own shares of the following companies mentioned in this article: None. I personally am, or members of my immediate household or family are, paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None. My company has a financial relationship with the following companies mentioned in this article: None. CliveMaund.com disclosures below. I determined which companies would be included in this article based on my research and understanding of the sector.

2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: H-Source Holdings. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees.

3) Statements and opinions expressed are the opinions of the author and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The author is wholly responsible for the validity of the statements. The author was not paid by Streetwise Reports for this article. Streetwise Reports was not paid by the author to publish or syndicate this article. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports requires contributing authors to disclose any shareholdings in, or economic relationships with, companies that they write about. Streetwise Reports relies upon the authors to accurately provide this information and Streetwise Reports has no means of verifying its accuracy.

4) This article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.

5) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the interview or the decision to write an article, until one week after the publication of the interview or article. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of H-Source Holdings, a company mentioned in this article.

Charts provided by the author.

CliveMaund.com Disclosure:

The above represents the opinion and analysis of Mr Maund, based on data available to him, at the time of writing. Mr. Maund's opinions are his own, and are not a recommendation or an offer to buy or sell securities. Mr. Maund is an independent analyst who receives no compensation of any kind from any groups, individuals or corporations mentioned in his reports. As trading and investing in any financial markets may involve serious risk of loss, Mr. Maund recommends that you consult with a qualified investment advisor, one licensed by appropriate regulatory agencies in your legal jurisdiction and do your own due diligence and research when making any kind of a transaction with financial ramifications. Although a qualified and experienced stock market analyst, Clive Maund is not a Registered Securities Advisor. Therefore Mr. Maund's opinions on the market and stocks can only be construed as a solicitation to buy and sell securities when they are subject to the prior approval and endorsement of a Registered Securities Advisor operating in accordance with the appropriate regulations in your area of jurisdiction.

More Info:

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Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Contact management and IR of each company directly regarding specific questions.

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July 24, 2018 (Investorideas.com Newswire) There has been a decent bullish rally in the AUDUSD pair after it hit the critical support level at 0.68336. From that level, the pair started its bullish rally and found some decent resistance at 0.81116. Though the pair fell from that level the bulls again took control of this market after the pair hit the major trend line support level at 0.76242. Most of the professional price action traders went long on the trend line support and made a decent profit. The bullish rally ends up by forming a double top pattern near the critical resistance level at 0.80954.

After the breakout of the weekly trend line support, most of the professional price action traders went short in this pair and made a decent profit. Currently, the pair is testing the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level drawn from the low of 10th January 2016 to the high of 21st January 2018.

Figure: AUDUSD testing weekly Fibonacci retracement level

From the above figure, you can clearly see the pair now testing the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level. Though we had a bullish price action confirmation signal the conservative traders are still waiting in the sideline for a strong weekly bullish candle. Majority of the expert traders in the CFD trading industry is expecting a bullish breakout in the pair.

If the bulls manage to clear out the critical resistance level at 0.74780 we will see a strong surge in price towards the 200 weekly SMA. This level is going to provide a significant amount of resistance to this pair and any bearish price action confirmation signal will push the price lower. On the contrary, a weekly closing of the price above the 200 weekly SMA will confirm the establishment of temporary bottom formation at the critical support level at 0.73264. With a temporary bottom in place, the ultimate target for the AUDUSD pair would be the broken trend line resistance at 0.77270. The long-term trend traders will be cautiously waiting for bearish price action confirmation signal at that level to execute short orders. However, a clear break of the broken trend line resistance will lead this pair towards the double top region.

On the downside, we need to break below the major support level at 0.73155 to establish strong bearish moment. A weekly closing of the price below that level will lead this pair towards the next major support level at 0.71585. From this level, we might see some decent bullish bounce but executing long orders without having a bullish price action signal will be an immature act.

Fundamental factors

Fundamentally the recent performance of the Aussie economy is not up to the market. Most of the expert Singaporean traders are expecting the ranging market in this upcoming week since we don't have any major news release. On the contrary, the U.S dollar index is slowly recovering its loss which suggests a decent performance in the U.S economy. If the FED officials come up with a hawkish statement in their next FOMC meeting minutes the AUDUSD pair will fall sharply in the global market. On Wednesday we have CPI q/q data release for the Aussie economy and strong positive data will boost the Aussie bulls in the trading industry. On the contrary, a negative data release will create extensive selling pressure for this pair which might even clear out the critical support level at the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level.

Fundamentally the Aussie dollar is trading mixed against most of its major rivals. But when it comes to its rival U.S dollar the bears seem to dominate the market trend. But the technical data in the weekly and daily chart strongly suggest the bears are losing control of this market. Though the aggressive traders have already gone long in this pair the conservative traders should wait for a clear bullish breakout from this ranging market.

Contact:

http://dwaynebuzzell.com/

dwaynebuzzell@gmail.com

Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investment involves risk and possible loss of investment. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Contact each company directly regarding content and press release questions. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. More disclaimer info: http://www.investorideas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp. This article is paid for published third party content and not the content of Investorideas.com . Learn more about posting your articles at http://www.investorideas.com/Advertise/

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July 24, 2018 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Asserting this is "about as good as it gets," Thibaut Lepouttre of Caesars Report describes the prospects following the release of assay results from this company.

Last month, Integra Resources Corp. (ITR:TSX.V; IRRZF:OTCQB) reported on the assay results of three RC holes that were drilled on the DeLamar gold-silver property in Idaho. The results were absolutely excellent, as the drill bit intersected long, thick and relatively consistent intervals of gold and silver in an area that was barely explored. Kinross Gold Corp. (K:TSX; KGC:NYSE), the previous owner and operator of the project, didn't drill deep enough, as the few holes it drilled at Sullivan Gulch didn't go much deeper than 100 meters. That wasn't sufficient to encounter the mineralization, and the Sullivan Gulch area represents the low-hanging fruit for a resource expansion.

Of the intercepts, 64% and 59% were encountered outside of the mineralized resource envelope (which contains the current 2.67 million-ounce [Moz] gold equivalent [AuEq] resource estimate). That's great for resource expansion purposes, but there's another important and interesting takeaway from this ratio.

It does seem to indicate the average grade of the current resource at DeLamar (118 Mt at 0.7 g/t AuEq) might have been underestimated; it would be a huge coincidence if most of the holes drilled at DeLamar would encounter abnormal grades of in excess of 1 g/t AuEq. Sure, this is just speculation on our part for now, but keep in mind the assay results of the first few holes that have been released also contained quite a bit of rock grading in excess of 1 g/t AuEq.

We also noticed the gold equivalent calculations were using a very conservative 85:1 silver/gold ratio. That's interesting, as it once again emphasizes the conservative nature of Integra's reporting. Applying a more common 75:1 ratio (which is the silver/gold ratio used by most peers calculating a gold-equivalent resource, with the silver credit converted into gold) would increase the gold-equivalent grades to 2.28 g/t AuEq over 221 meters and 1.89 g/t AuEq over 198 meters. "Pretty good" would be an understatement, given excellent (historical) metallurgical recoveries.

Using a higher silver/gold ratio could indicate ITR might be underreporting its gold-equivalent grades compared to other gold-silver exploration companies.

But let's take a second to explain the importance of the metallurgical test work. Historical records show a recovery rate of 92% of the gold and 75% of the silver in a mill circuit, while the historical recovery estimates for the heap-leach scenario averaged 84% gold and 64% silver. As Kinross never optimized its heap-leach plans, we would expect some fine-tuning to increase the recovery rates to in excess of 85% for the gold and to about 65-70% for the silver. But to err on the cautious side, let's assume recovery rates of 80% for gold and 60% for silver.

There's an important detail to mention here. It's not unlikely the transitional and sulfide ore could also be heap leached. The common misperception is that heap leach only works on oxides, but that's not true. In DeLamar's case, Kinross noted a very consistent metallurgical performance, whether it was milling oxide, transitional or sulfide rock. The amount of data for a heap-leach scenario is more limited, so Integra Gold will be focusing on optimizing the heap-leach potential of the project.

It will be interesting to see the recovery rate of the sulfide mineralization at DeLamar. It definitely is possible to see an elevated recovery rate. For instance, Minera Alamos Inc. (MAI:TSX.V: MAIFF:OTCQB) is leaching sulfide mineralization in Mexico at an acceptable recovery rate. Should Integra's metallurgical test work (results are expected in Q4) confirm the transitional and sulfide material could be successfully leached (a recovery rate of 65-70% for sulfides would be great), then that's a game-changer for the project.

Integra Resources is doing everything right. Its exploration program is stepping out and adding more tonnes to the total size of the mineralized envelope (which could push the next resource update to 5 million ounces gold-equivalent), while the higher grade nature of the mineralization could make this project even more profitable than we originally assumed.

We are looking forward to the next batch of drill results, as well as the metallurgical test results, by the end of this year. If the met work confirms our suspicions, Integra Resources could very well be sitting on one of the most exciting advanced-stage exploration projects in the USA. A 5 million-ounce heap-leachable project on a past-producing mine site is probably as good as it gets.

Thibaut Lepouttre is the editor of the Caesars Report, a newsletter and mining portal based in Belgium that covers several junior mining companies with a special focus on precious metals and base metals. Lepouttre has a Bachelor of Law degree and two economics masters degrees that have forged his analytical approach to the mining sector. Considered a number cruncher, Lepouttre focuses on the valuations of companies and is consistently on the lookout for the next undervalued mining company.

Disclosure:

1) Thibaut Lepouttre: I, or members of my immediate household or family, own shares of the following companies mentioned in this article: a long position in Integra and Minera Alamos; no position in Kinross. I personally am, or members of my immediate household or family are, paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None. My company currently has a financial relationship with Integra Resources. I determined which companies would be included in this article based on my research and understanding of the sector.

2) The following companies mentioned in this article are sponsors of Streetwise Reports: None. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees.

3) Comments and opinions expressed are those of the specific experts and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.

4) The article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.

5) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the interview or the decision to write an article, until one week after the publication of the interview or article.

More Info:

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Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Contact management and IR of each company directly regarding specific questions.

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New York, NY and Delta, BC - July 24, 2018 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Investorideas.com (www.investorideas.com), a global news source covering leading sectors issues the first in a new series of educational trading podcasts featuring the founder of Stock Analyst Guru, LLC, Richard Lazarow.

Hear the podcast:

http://www.investorideas.com/Audio/Podcasts/2018/072418-StocksGuru.mp3

InvestorIdeas & Stock Analyst Guru - Support and Resistance Trading Ep1 - Get your Trade on

Richard is a highly-skilled and insightful professional stock analyst / portfolio manager / stock trader with over a dozen years of institutional equity experience in successfully analyzing, investing in, and managing stock positions at Hedge Funds and other Investment Funds in Manhattan, NY.

Richard graduated from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania with a BSE in Finance, and he received an MBA with honors from NYU's Stern School of Business, also in Finance. Prior to receiving his MBA, he was a leveraged buyout analyst (LBO) analyst and a real estate analyst.

Stock Analyst Guru, LLC - Richard Lazarow

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All people have the right to make fundamental decisions about their own bodies and health. Thats why we work with diverse local, regional and international partners toward the goal of reproductive justice: a world where all human rights are respected, protected and fulfilled.
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Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors CPNE Jobs

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On Thursday, 20th July 2018, in Porto Montenegro, Ricardo Guadalupe, CEO of Hublot, next to David Margason, Managing Director of Porto Montenegro, launched a strategic partnership that sees the Swiss luxury watch brand become Official Timekeeper and Official Watch of the superyacht marina and the Porto Montenegro Yacht Club.

On the ruins of a former arsenal, Porto Montenegro Marina and Yacht Club was erected less than 10 years ago by visionary men including LVMH Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault, Jacob Rothschild and Canadian businessman and philanthropist Peter Munk. Located in the deep-water Bay of Kotor, boasting spectacular natural beauty, Porto Montenegro has quickly turned into a sophisticated haven for sailors from all over the world. Now boasting a fully-integrated marina with more than 450 berths, Porto Montenegro also features 290 luxury waterfront residences, a five-star hotel and a Yacht Club as well as over 50 retail units and dozens more projects in the development pipeline.

 Hublot

Relying on its nautical roots, Hublot has made a significant number of smart moves all along the Mediterranean coastline in the past few years. In 2007, the Swiss watchmaker set up one of its first boutiques within the walls of the Hotel Byblos in Saint-Tropez. In 2017, Hublot launched the Classic Fusion Ibiza and the Classic Fusion Mykonos, and celebrated the opening of four directly operated Boutiques, adopting a nautical theme, in Cannes, Saint-Tropez, Capri and Porto Cervo.

To seal this truly unique partnership, Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadalupe and 120 privileged guests gathered by Porto Montenegro Yacht Club infinity pool. Hublot revealed the Classic Fusion Chronograph Porto Montenegro. To celebrate summer the new timepiece showcases the blue of the sky and the sea, its blue sunray dial is adorned with the Porto Montenegro logo at 3 oclock as well as on the case-back. Powered by a self-winding movement, this limited edition comes with a blue rubber and calfskin strap. Made of titanium, its sleek case is an epitome of timeless elegance. Only 30 pieces are being released, now available at Excelsior, Hublot exclusive retailer in Porto Montenegro as well as all across Central Europe.
A huge blaze swept through a building in the historic commercial district of Mosky in central Cairo late on Monday.

The health ministry said one person was injured in the fire, which broke out at a four-storey mall in the area's famous Jewish Alley.

Ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said five firefighting vehicles were sent to the scene to put out the blaze.

Online footage showed large sheets of flames rising into the sky and post-fire photos showed charred shops that had been gutted by fire.

Eyewitnesses told Al-Ahram Arabic news website that the fire started in a first-floor plastic hardware shop due to a short circuit when electricity returned following a power cut.

The fire burned for almost four hours before it was eventually contained, they added.

Shop owners said losses are estimated at millions of pounds.

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As a high-level Egyptian security and military delegation visits Washington DC, Ezzat Ibrahim investigates how political feuds in Washington have led US foreign policy away from desirable outcomes for Egypt

Shortly before the delegations meetings with senior US military, political and economic figures, the US House of Representatives National Security Subcommittee held a hearing on the threat of the Muslim Brotherhood. When the Egyptian delegation arrived in Washington to discuss bilateral relations in the midst of round-the-clock meetings, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs announced it would hold a hearing on Egypt and invited prominent critics of the Egyptian government to the session held on 24 July.

In what follows, Al-Ahram Weekly analyses what took place in the two hearings.

A high-profile Egyptian military delegation is currently in Washington, with the Military White Paper Delegation, led by MG Mohamed Elkeshky, assistant minister of defence for foreign relations, visiting the US capital from 16-26 July where it met separately with congressmen and congresswomen.

They included Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, Congresswoman Lois Frankel, Congressman Austin Scott, Congressman Austin Scott, Congressman Brian Mast, Congressman Ed Royce, Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger, Congressman Louie Gohmert, Congressman Eliot Engel, Congressman Paul Cook, Senator John Boozman, Senator Ben Cardin, Congressman Hal Rogers, Congressman Doug Lamborn, Congressman Joe Wilson, Congresswoman Jody Hice, Congressman Steve Chabot, Congressman Brad Schneider, Congressman John Rutherford, Congresswoman Liz Cheney, Congressman Jeff Fortenberry, Senator Bob Menendez and Senator Ron Johnson.

The delegation also held meetings with senior officials from the Pentagon, the Central Intelligence Agency, the State Department and the National Security Council. Other meetings included experts from think tanks from across the spectrum in the capital and senior officials of the US Chamber of Commerce.

According to sources close to the meetings, the Egyptian delegations meetings caused some anger among the anti-30 June Revolution camp in Washington and led to controversy and moves to counter the positive impact of the meetings.

The White Paper Delegation visited Washington as part of the ongoing communication and consultation between Egypt and the United States to exchange views on various issues of common concern. The joint meetings also aimed to strengthen the framework of communication and coordination between the two sides in order to contribute to overcoming any difficulties.

For years, the meetings have helped both countries to advance their strategic partnership and have contributed to the development of the capabilities of the Egyptian military.

Sources in Washington told the Weekly that the Egyptian delegation had discussed in its talks with the congressmen and representatives of agencies concerned with bilateral cooperation and common interests Egypts efforts to secure regional shipping lanes and the Suez Canal and land and sea borders on various strategic fronts.

The Egyptian delegation reviewed in detail the efforts of the Egyptian Armed Forces to eradicate terrorism in the Sinai Peninsula. In most meetings, representatives and senators agreed that what has been achieved in the past months to defeat terrorism represents an important qualitative leap that deserves support for Egypt in its current efforts, the sources added.

A source at a think tank in Washington said that the Egyptian delegation had said that terrorism has receded in not more than two per cent of Sinai and in the border areas. In all the meetings with the American parties, Egypts vision of defeating terrorism focused on elements including military and security confrontation, on the one hand, and comprehensive intellectual, economic and social confrontations, on the other.

For many years, Egypt has pointed to the need to dry up the sources of terrorism and to hold accountable countries that provide financial, political and logistical cover for extremist groups. Likewise, countries that provide media platforms for extremists should be subjected to legal and political accountability, something that has not received proper attention in US and Western circles.

Last month, David M Satterfield, US acting assistant secretary for Near Eastern affairs, told the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa that in Egypt, our foreign assistance request includes $1.3 billion in Foreign Military Financing [FMF], supporting the Egyptian Armed Forces capacity to counter terrorism in Sinai, and to secure land and maritime borders. Our long-standing partnership across a range of regional issues, specifically efforts to defeat terrorism and prevent ISIS from strengthening its presence in Sinai, are critical to American national security interests in the region.

The United States will also continue funding priorities that advance American interests by strengthening the stability of the Egyptian state and the resiliency and prosperity of its 100 million people. For example, US assistance supports Egypts stability by helping to improve the quality of education and public health programmes, support responsive and accountable government institutions, and create opportunities for Egypts youth entering the workforce,he said.

In the Capitol Hill meetings in Washington, Congress members from both the Democratic and Republican parties raised questions about the freedom to worship of Christians in the country with the Egyptian delegation, Al-Ahram Weekly learned. The Egyptian side responded that the Egyptian government had major achievements to its credit in the work of restoration and reconstruction since the burning of churches in Egypt by the supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood group five years ago.

Egyptian-American military relations have recovered momentum after experiencing challenges over recent years as a result of the suspension of some cooperation programmes, and manifestations of restoring the momentum of the relationship are the resumption of the Bright Star exercises, increasing intelligence cooperation, and information exchange,one American insider told the Weekly.

It is understandable that the Egyptian government feels uncomfortable because of the current political conditionality on the US military aid programme, and therefore wants to lift restrictions on the use of the programme, especially the identification of four areas for the disbursement of military aid,he added.

Conditionalities

According to different sources, the US political conditionality on the aid programme might push Egypt to work with other countries to meet its requirements for armaments.

There are also other major obstacles when making purchases from the aid programme or through the Egyptian state budget (which has spent almost $4 billion on spare parts and new weapons over the last few years).

In the recent rounds of talks, the Egyptian delegation stressed the need to reduce the political conditionality since it leads to a confusion between the political and military issues, which affects overall bilateral relations.

One source told the Weekly that such a political conditionality sends the wrong message that the American counterparts do not understand the nature of the challenges Egypt is facing, including the challenge of domestic and regional terrorism.

He emphasised that Egypt has proved that it was absolutely right when it stressed the need to prevent the collapse of the nation state and to confront all Political Islam organisations without discriminating among them, the source added.

Since 2012, Congress has passed appropriations legislation that withholds the obligation of FMF to Egypt until the US secretary of state certifies that Egypt is taking various steps towards supporting democracy and human rights.

Except for in the 2014 financial year, US lawmakers have included a national security waiver to allow the administration to waive these congressionally mandated certification requirements under certain conditions.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2018 contains the most recent legislative language conditioning aid to Egypt. As in previous years, it requires that funds may only be made available when the secretary of state certifies that the government of Egypt is sustaining the strategic relationship with the United States and meeting its obligations under the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty.

The US Congressional Research Service in its latest update on Egypt last June elaborates that the act also includes a provision that withholds $300 million of FMF funds until the secretary of state certifies that the government of Egypt is taking effective steps to advance, among other things, democracy and human rights in Egypt. The secretary of state may waive this certification requirement, though any waiver must be accompanied by, among other things, an assessment of the government of Egypts compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2270 and other such resolutions regarding North Korea.

The United States has shown dissatisfaction with a certain number of policies that it considers to be detrimental to improving bilateral relations and returning them to a path that is in line with an important strategic relationship.

There is information in Washington that the US side is talking to Egyptian negotiators on specific issues that need to be settled before the end of the political conditionality. Congressmen raised issues of military cooperation between Egypt and North Korea, the growing ties with Russia, the promulgation of Egypts new NGO law and convictions in cases of foreign financing.

When these issues were raised in the joint meetings, Egypt stressed that it was keen not to prejudice the course of strategic relations between the two countries and that it does not carry out acts that could harm US interests in the Middle East, despite the fact that Washington is taking steps that have hampered the partnership and harmed Egyptian interests, most notably political conditionality, the suspension of the delivery of Egyptian military equipment and spare parts, the reduction of aid, and others, sources told Weekly.

Egypt has made efforts to overcome controversial issues between Cairo and Washington, including clarifying Egypts commitment to implementing UN Security Council Resolutions on North Korea, closing the Egyptian defence office in Pyongyang, and reducing Egyptian representation there. Cairo has also repeatedly explained the circumstances of the issuance of the NGO law at a difficult time for the internal Egyptian situation, pointing out that the executive regulation of the law has not yet been issued and is pending evaluation. There are 48,000 civil-society organisations operating freely in various civil society fields in the country, according to statistics from the Ministry of Social Solidarity.

Meanwhile, the political situation in Washington has cast a long shadow over US policy towards Egypt. The anti-Trump camp is exerting efforts to disrupt White House foreign policy in order to indicate the failure of the president to deal with critical issues. Policy towards Egypt is a major concern among a significant cohort of Democrats in Congress and various think tanks.

The Congressional hearing that criticised the Egyptian government and the outcome of the 30 June Revolution received applause in Washington, but the hearing that warned against the Muslim Brotherhood was scarcely reported in the US media or followed by US think tanks.

Deliberate Criticism

Last April, Egypt slammed a US Senate hearing that suggested that Washington was reconsidering its relationship with Cairo because of Egypts poor human-rights record, in other words deliberately aiming to present a negative image of the situation in the country.

The hearing, in the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programmes, was held to review US military aid for Egypt.

At the time, Egypts Foreign Ministry spokesman expressed his great regret at the way the meeting was organised, which sharply deviated from the usual pattern of such meetings over the years, leading to a negative reading of the situation in Egypt.

The three experts who testified at the hearing called for re-examining foreign assistance priorities and shaping a new approach to US-Egypt ties amid what they called the deterioratingsecurity, economic, and political conditions in Egypt.

On 12 June, the House Subcommittee on National Security held a hearing in which a number of members of Congress and experts emphasised that the Muslim Brotherhood had committed numerous acts of terrorism and that jihadist ideologyhas continued to fuel the group despite its renunciation of violence some decades ago.

Chair of the Subcommittee Ron De Santis told the hearing held to examine the potential threat the Brotherhood poses to the United States that the groups one year in power in Egypt under former president Mohamed Morsi had produced chillingresults.

Morsis government used state institutions to promote Islamic radicalism, rolled back the freedom of the press and launched a wave of blasphemy prosecutions,he said.

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chair of the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, called for a hearing under the title Egypt: Security, Human Rights and Reformon 24 July.

Those invited included regular names. One was Jared Genser, a well-known lawyer who has been campaigning for the release of the daughter of the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood Youssef Al-Qaradawi and her husband from an Egyptian prison. Genser was represented at the hearing as an adjunct professor of law at the Georgetown University Law Centre.

Another participant was Michele Dunne, director and senior fellow of the Middle East Programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, who is a zealous critic of the Egyptian government and is often seen at such hearings.

A third name was Andrew Miller, deputy-director for policy at the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED), who wrote last April welcoming Egypts highest appeals court decision for a retrial in the 2012-2013 NGO foreign-funding case in which 43 US- and Germany-based non-governmental organisation employees were sentenced to up to five years in prison for illegally receiving foreign funds, operating without a licence, and performing prohibited activities in Egypt.

Miller published an article following the decision in The Hill newspaper saying that this is also an opportunity for president Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi to prove his willingness to work for a better relationship with Washington. The 2013 verdicts continue to strain US-Egyptian relations, owing in part to the issues salience in Congress, where many view Case 173 as an anti-democratic travesty and an anti-American affront from an ostensibly close ally. Al-Sisi knows that Congress has a say on issues important to Egypt, especially US security assistance.

In more than one official meeting in recent months, the Egyptian government has confirmed to US government agencies that civil-society organisations in Egypt will find answers to the concerns they have raised after the approved amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code.

Defendants in absentia can now exercise the right to file appeals and appoint lawyers to proceed with their case without having to be present in Egypt.

Furthermore, sources revealed that the Egyptian side has repeatedly stressed that in the case of final judgements a presidential pardon can be considered and the administration had accepted the new formula in dealing with this case. Defendants in absentia need to be persuaded to follow the proposed path and appoint lawyers.

In a message seen by the Weekly to Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, an Egyptian-American constituent in Florida asked the Congresswoman to reconsider the panel saying that Egypt is not perfect and needs more reforms and improvement on several fronts but not by bringing negative witnesses with the objective of just stirring the situation and creating a wide gap between Egypt and the US.

Support

As can be seen from the outcomes of previous meetings and discussions, there are certain issues that are supported by a number of Congressmen in the US regarding relations with Egypt, including current ones, as in the case of the foreign funding of non-governmental organisations. Some researchers at major research centres have succeeded in drafting a congressional agenda and linking the funding case with vital strategic issues of US foreign policy.

The anger, or posture of rejection, within some prestigious US think tanks following the deviation of political transition scenarios in Egypt from ones they stood behind after the 25 January Revolution has led to an emphasis on controversial issues such as the issue of foreign funding in order to obtain concessions like the opening up of the Egyptian public domain to foreign-funded civil society groups without oversight from the state. This is unacceptable at present.

The use of Congressional hearings in the US to put pressure on Egypt on thorny issues under the guise of the protection of human rights, freedoms and minorities does not carry much credibility due to the double standards employed in dealing with human-rights issues, not least in the way that Congress and US think tanks deal with the human rights situation in the Palestinian Territories. In this area senior researchers are not lining up to make criticisms as they are in the unnecessary case of foreign funding in Egypt.

Outside the controversial hearings, according to informed sources the US and Egyptian governments are considering a short-term strategic vision based on specific goals including, among other goals, strengthening the strategic dialogue with the aim of discussing key issues between the two countries on a permanent basis, establishing new joint mechanisms to enhance the level of joint security coordination through the establishment of a new mechanism similar to what has become common with other countries in the region, and strengthening armaments and training in domestic counter-terrorism.

Against all the odds in Washington, including an unwarranted propaganda campaign aiming at achieving other goals, both governments are working to alleviate cooperation in order to keep the military and security coordination at its highest level to contain current threats in the Middle East,a senior Egyptian official in Washington said.

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The Middle East's largest sustainable civil infrastructure conference  GeoMEast 2018  is expected to take place in Egypt by the end of November 2018, aiming to help the establishment of sustainable infrastructure in Egypt and the Middle East.

The GeoMEast series is a conference held by the Soil-Structure Interaction Group in Egypt (SSGIE) and the Egyptian Housing and Building National Research Center (HBRC) affiliated with the Egyptian cabinet.

"GeoMEast's discussions aim to maximize the outcomes of national projects that are being carried out by Arab countries, especially Egypt," said Hany Farouk Shehata, general secretary of the organizing committee, speaking to the media.

Shehata explained that the projects will include Suez Canal Area Development Project and the New Capital, among other important projects.

"The goal is to study how the conference's discussions can benefit the execution of Egypt's national projects, in accordance with principles of sustainability," added Shehata.

2018 GeoMEast will cover topics such as the challenging infrastructure issues which are to result from climate change in Egypt and the Middle East.

The conference will also discuss projects related to highways, bridges structures and tunneling, while studying means to include geotechnical and geological techniques in the structure-building process.

A number of leading international organisations are also supporting the GeoMEast congress and exhibition.

The 2018's conference is the second exhibition to be organized in partnership by SSGIE and HBRC.

The first took place last year in July 2017 at Egypt's famous Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, with 600 specialists and representatives of around 60 countries from around the world in attendance.

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The James Smith Cree Nation and the Cumberland House Cree Nation are filing legal paperwork, seeking reparations from Husky Energy following the 2016 oil spill into the North Saskatchewan River. Crews work to clean up an oil spill on the North Saskatchewan river near Maidstone, Sask on Friday July 22, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
FILE - In this July 12, 2018, file photo, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, left, the surprise winner in the congressional race who unseated 20-year incumbent Joe Crowley in New York's Congressional District 14, stands next to Zephyr Teachout, after endorsing her candidacy for Attorney General during a news conference in New York. The Democratic partyAos newest star, New York City congressional candidate Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, visited the Capitol on July 24, to meet with lawmakers who may soon be colleagues. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
CORVALLIS, Ore.  A Corvallis city councilor is accused of threatening to shoot and kill his brother-in-law.

Councilor Mark Page pleaded not guilty Monday to charges including unlawful use of a weapon, menacing, reckless endangering, harassment and disorderly conduct.

Police said they responded to a reported domestic dispute at Touchstone Place and 53rd Street in Corvallis Saturday night.

Officers said Page started a fight with his brother-in-law, Steven Robison, before picking up a gun.

Page is accused of chasing Robison around the driveway, yelling Im gonna kill you and Im gonna put two in you tonight. Police said children from both families watched the incident happen.

Page, who represents Ward 8 in the Corvallis City Council, was arrested and taken to jail.

City Manager Mark Shepard said Pages arrest has no impact on his standing as a city councilor. Shepard said it is an issue for law enforcement and the courts.

Page will make his next court appearance Aug. 27 for a status check hearing.
Egypts security forces killed 13 terrorist elements in an exchange of fire in North Sinai governorate on Tuesday, Al-Ahrams Arabic website reported.

According to Al-Ahram, security forces received information that a group of terrorist elements were using an under-construction building as a hideout in a village near Arish city.

As the security forces raided the house, the terrorist elements opened fire on the security forces, who fired in return.

Thirteen terrorists were killed in the exchange of fire.

Security forces found four automatic rifles, two shotguns, three improvised explosive devices and ammunition inside the hideout.

The raids are part of the comprehensive Operation Sinai 2018, a counter-terrorism campaign that involves the army, navy, air force and police.

The operation was launched in February to target terrorist and criminal elements and organisations in north and central Sinai, parts of the Nile Delta and the Western Desert.

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FOREST CITY, Iowa - Monday marked the first official day of the annual Winnebago International Travelers' (or WIT) Grand National Rally in Forest City.

This year, the annual event, now in its 49th year, coincides with Winnebago Industry's 60th birthday.

Campers and RVs from across the country and even from Canada are parked in the area for the week-long event, which will feature factory tours, caravans, canvas art, meetings with product designers, seminars from vendor products, and many more activities.

Daniel and Linda Tuzzolo from Georgia have been coming to the rally since 2004, and love the sense of community at the rally.

"When you come up here, you're like a big family. We have get togethers and stuff like that, row parties and it's...just wonderful meeting everybody and getting back and seeing old friends and meeting new friends, or making new friends."

And they've noticed the amount of newcomers has increased.

"We have more people, new people getting up here, and first timers. Lots of first timers, and that's the best thing about it. Get their foot in the door and show 'em what Winnebago is about."

The event will run until this Saturday.
CHARLES CITY, Iowa- Around 2 dozen Charles City residents addressed the Charles City City Council on Monday about storm water damage.

Peggy Sweet was among those who said this has been an issue she and her family have been faced with for a number of years. She said infrastructure is mostly to blame.

The city council said they know the issue exists and there are two locations in town where it floods more than others. Sweet said she wants to see something done, but understands where city leaders are coming from.

I believe the City Council is listening to people, it's just an expensive problem, she said. They know it's there, they just have to set priorities for what can be done and what can't be done.
Iran will respond with equal countermeasures if the United States tries to block its oil exports, the foreign ministry in Tehran said on Tuesday.

U.S. officials are stepping up diplomatic efforts to pressure countries to stop importing Iranian oil.

"If America wants to take a serious step in this direction it will definitely be met with a reaction and equal countermeasures from Iran," foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday backed President Hassan Rouhanis suggestion that Iran might block Gulf oil exports if its own exports are stopped.

Already fraught relations between Tehran and Washington have worsened in recent days.

On Monday, Iran dismissed an angry warning from President Donald Trump that it risked dire consequences "the like of which few throughout history have suffered before" if it made threats against the United States.

Iran's parliamentary speaker on Tuesday described Trump's comments as "the words of a troublemaker".

"The United States is experiencing disorder and wildness in its diplomatic relations," Ali Larijani was quoted as saying by IRNA.

Iran has faced the threat of U.S. sanctions since Trump decided in May to withdraw the United States from a 2015 agreement between world powers and Iran over its disputed nuclear programme.

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CLEAR LAKE, Iowa  A Clear Lake man is accused of threatening to kill a woman, choking her and throwing a hot wax candle at her.

Stanley Lewis, 38, is facing a felony domestic abuse charge in relation to an incident late Monday night in the 2300 block of Main Ave.

The victim told authorities that she was choked for 1-2 minutes and couldnt breathe, was threatened to be killed and was cut in the leg with a box cutter.

Authorities also say that Lewis broke several drawers and threw the victims clothing and property all over the residence.

Lewis is being held in the Cerro Gordo County Jail.
CRESCO, Iowa  A Howard County teen accused of 12 crimes pleads guilty to three.

Tyler John Dozark, 19 of Cresco, was charged in August 2017 with 10 counts of 3rd degree burglary and two counts of attempted 3rd degree burglary. Authorities say that in the first two weeks of April 2017, Dozark burglarized the Subway and A&W/Long John Silvers in Cresco, Quams Auto Salvage, the Elma Locker, Backwoodz Steak House and Lanes, Busti Lumber, the Chester Community Center, EDF Renewable Services, and Elma Express and tried to illegally enter the KDF Bar and the Tank and Tummy Gas Station in Lime Springs.

As part of a deal with prosecutors, Dozark pleaded guilty to three counts of 3rd degree burglary and received a deferred judgment. He has been sentenced to two to five years of supervised probation and if he fulfills all the terms of that probation, this conviction will be wiped from his record.

Dozark will also have to pay restitution to all his victims.
MASON CITY, Iowa  A former employee is suing the Mason City School District.

Jodie Anderson is accusing the District, current Superintendent David Versteeg, School Board member Jodi Draper, and District Human Resources Director Thomas Dryzcimski of gender and wage discrimination and of retaliating against her when she pointed out and tried to correct those issues.

Anderson was hired as Human Resources Director in July 2015 by former Mason City Superintendent Dr. Anita Micich. In her lawsuit, Anderson says she and Dr. Micich noticed in the spring of 2016 an apparently discriminatory difference between what the School District paid male and female employees. Anderson says she expressed her concern about men being paid more than women to then-superintendent Michael Penca in February 2017.

Anderson says the School Board then voted in the spring of 2017 to freeze her salary for the 2017-2018 school year and would be the only regular district employee to not receive a raise.

The lawsuit then alleges that Anderson was told in June 2017 by Jodi Draper that Draper had sent an email to other School Board members asking for Anderson to be fired. Anderson says she gave notice of her resignation the very next day but eventually agreed to work as an HR consultant for the District.

Andersons lawsuit than states that Thomas Dryzcimski was hired in September 2017 as her replacement but at a salary over $20,000 more than Anderson had been paid for the same job.

The lawsuit asks for the Mason City School District to be required to correct the discriminatory salaries being paid to female employees and for Anderson to be paid for lost earnings and benefits, emotional distress, and attorneys fees.

The lawsuit was filed Friday in Cerro Gordo County District Court. The Mason City School District issued a public statement Monday in response which includes what the District calls the following factual clarifications.

- Ms. Anderson received over $7,500 in excess compensation during her employment not approved by the School Board while working under former superintendent Dr. Anita Micich  a fact that was confirmed by a reaudit performed by the State Auditors Office.

- Ms. Anderson voluntarily resigned from her employment with the District, despite multiple attempts to convince her to stay with the District after her notice of resignation. Following her resignation and well before her replacement was hired, Ms. Anderson offered and contracted with the District, on her terms, to serve as a human resources consultant.

- Ms. Andersons replacement, Tom Drzycimski, served as the chief administrative officer for Cerro Gordo County for more than 20 years where he was responsible for managing personnel and human resources matters. Mr. Drzycimski had significantly more public sector human resources experience than Ms. Anderson, who had no public sector human resources experience prior to her employment with the District.

In its statement, the School District says it is fully confident in its position and that its actions will be vindicated by a court of law.
MASON CITY, Iowa - In the early morning hours of November 7, 2017, Mason City Police found the bodies of Kenneth and Kathleen Hackbart, and started searching for their grandson Codie Matz as a person of interest in the investigation.

That afternoon, Matz was taken into custody in the Des Moines suburb of Bondurant, then transported back to Cerro Gordo County, where he was charged with 2 counts of first-degree murder.

During Monday morning's sentencing, it was a very emotional scene in the courtroom at the Cerro Gordo County Law Enforcement Center, with family members on both sides of the aisle shedding tears.

Family members were invited to give victim impact statements. The feelings ranged from anger to forgiveness.

"Nobody meant anything to you. You had no respect for anybody. The only things you had respect for were drugs, booze and cigarettes," one family member said.

"Codie, what you did is not OK. But God forgives, and I also forgive, but I will never forget," another said.

Matz also seemed emotional as he took responsibility for what he did.

"What I did and how I treated them was unacceptable ... I acknowledge being wrong what I did, and I acknowledge the best thing for me to do is take the life sentences. And I realize hell is hot, the devil's mean, and if I'm going down, I'm going down," Matz said.

Then Matz learned his fate: life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Cerro Gordo County Attorney Carlyle Dalen says that the sentencing could serve as closure for the family.

"This family is trying to work through this. They're trying to take the next step and I think this helps them move forward. There is some closure that you feel when somebody takes responsibility and goes forward, but he's going to die in prison. That's the end result. He's going to suffer by dying in prison," Dalen said.

Matz will be transported to the Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Oakdale to serve out his sentence.
ROCHESTER, Minn.  Its a gesture from a little girl that will make a big difference.

Rachel Barth is almost six years old, and is donating over $65 to Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans (MACV).

She made the money from her lemonade stand, which had the goal of helping people from the start.

We saw people on the street begging for money, Barth said.

More specifically, she had the goal of helping homeless veterans.

Veterans are nice because they fought for America to help Americas team win, Barth said.

The little girls donation will help veterans in Olmsted County. She received a certificate and military coin for her donation.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)  Gov. Mark Dayton has ordered flags at state and federal buildings to be flown at half-staff Thursday to honor a corrections officer killed by an inmate at Stillwater state prison.

Officer Joseph Gomm was killed Wednesday at the state's flagship prison after being attacked by an inmate serving time for homicide. Edward Muhammad Johnson had been disciplined several times at the prison for multiple violent encounters before the fatal attack.

Gomm was the first state corrections officer to die while on duty in Minnesota. Dayton issued a proclamation on Monday ordering the flags to half-staff all day Thursday.

Gomm was a 16-year veteran of the department.
NORTHWOOD, Iowa  An Worth County attempted murder trial has been moved to Bremer County.

Trapp Leroy Trotter, 31 of Northwood, is accused of stabbing and slashing Andrew Nodtvedt of Manly on June 2. Trotter is pleading not guilty to charges of attempted murder, 1st degree burglary, and 4th degree criminal mischief.

Trotters trial was scheduled to start on August 1 in Northwood but has been relocated to Waverly due to pre-trial publicity and moved to September 26.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)  Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson on Tuesday joined a chorus of politicians calling to address police departments' handling of sexual assault cases, forming a new task force in light of a Star Tribune investigation that discovered widespread failings.

The Minneapolis newspaper published a yearlong investigation that analyzed more than 1,000 sexual assault cases from 20 different departments statewide over a recent two-year period and discussed individual cases with victims who felt their cases weren't adequately handled. Their review found that police departments never assigned an investigator in 25 percent of reported cases, never interviewed witnesses in half of them.

Just a quarter of the cases were forwarded to prosecutors for possible criminal charges. Less than 1 in 10 of the cases reviewed by the Star Tribune resulted in a conviction.

Minnesota law enforcement representatives called the newspaper's finding troubling but not surprising. Nate Gove, director of the Peace Officer Standards and Training board, said many law enforcement agencies don't have enough time or money to investigate every case.

But the investigation triggered prompt outrage and sharp response from other state officials, including state lawmakers and office-seekers.

Sen. Warren Limmer, a top Republican, promised Monday that lawmakers would "be digging deeper in public hearings to find out why Minnesota's law enforcement agencies have failed so many women" when they return next year. Gubernatorial hopeful and state Rep. Erin Murphy called for a task force to audit police department investigations of sexual assaults.

Like Murphy, Swanson is running in an Aug. 14 Democratic primary for governor. The task force announced Tuesday would include victim advocates, law enforcement representatives, health care professionals and lawmakers. Spokesman Ben Wogsland said the final makeup of the task force hadn't yet been determined.

Swanson indicated it should consider policies and training for departments to impose when handling sexual assault cases, noting that Minnesota does not currently require such training of its officers.

"Victims of sexual assault deserve justice, and these cases deserve thorough and proper investigation and prosecution by the criminal justice system," she said. "My hope is that the task force can help identify reforms to make Minnesota a national leader in the handling of these cases."
(Kitco News) - Gold and silver prices are slightly higher in early U.S. trading Tuesday. Some mild short covering by the shorter-term futures traders is featured in both markets today, following recent losses that have driven prices to 12-month lows. The lack of major market news events in the world at present is allowing the chart-based traders to dominateand the technicals for both gold and silver remain firmly bearish. August gold futures were last up $1.60 an ounce at $1,227.20. September Comex silver was up $0.125 at $15.545 an ounce.

World stock markets were mostly higher overnight. U.S. stock indexes are pointed toward higher openings when the New York day session begins.

In overnight news, the Euro zone Markit purchasing managers index composite (PMI) was reported at 54.3 in July from 54.9 in June. A number above 50.0 signals expansion in the sector.

Featured in the marketplace early this week is rising world government bond yields, on ideas the major central banks of the world will embark upon rolling back their heretofore easy monetary policies. Reports say the Bank of Japan is on the verge of scaling back its very accommodative policies.

The key outside markets today find Nymex crude oil prices higher and trading just above $68.00 a barrel. Meantime, the U.S. dollar index is weaker early today.



The big U.S. economic data point of the week is Fridays first estimate of gross domestic product (GDP). The number is expected to come in at up a strong 4.4%. However, some analysts are even calling for a number of 5.0% or just above.

U.S. economic data due for release Tuesday includes the weekly Goldman Sachs and Johnson Redbook retail sales reports, the monthly house price index, the U.S. flash services PMI, the flash manufacturing PMI, and the Richmond Fed business survey.

Technically, gold bears have the solid overall near-term technical advantage amid a price downtrend on the daily bar chart. Gold bulls' next upside near-term price breakout objective is to produce a close in August futures above solid resistance at $1,250.00. Bears' next near-term downside price breakout objective is pushing prices below solid technical support at $1,200.00. First resistance is seen at Mondays high of $1,235.20 and then at $1,240.00. First support is seen at the overnight low of $1,218.10 and then at last weeks low of $1,210.70. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 1.5

September silver futures bears have the solid overall near-term technical advantage. Silver bulls' next upside price breakout objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at $16.00 an ounce. The next downside price breakout objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at $15.00. First resistance is seen at $15.625 and then at $15.75. Next support is seen at todays low of $15.34 and then at last weeks low of $15.185. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 1.5.
(Adds comment from Zambia, quote) July 24 (Reuters) - A computer system used by customs officials in Democratic Republic of Congo had technical problems at the weekend, adding to delays to mining trucks carrying copper and cobalt, sources and officials said on Tuesday. Congo is the world's biggest source of cobalt, used in making batteries, and is Africa's leading copper producer. Companies operating there include Glencore .

Eric Monga, president of the Chamber of Commerce for the Katanga copper region, told Reuters by phone the computer problem had now been fixed. "For me, it was a small problem," Monga said, adding it was solved in a day. It was not immediately clear how much material has been affected and some sources said there had already been issues with delays. Two sources speaking on condition of anonymity said delays were now between six and nine days. Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) spokesman Topsy Sikalinda said operations are normal on the Zambian side. Glencore was not available for immediate comment. (Reporting by Aaron Ross in Dakar and Melanie Burton in Melbourne; additional reporting by Zandi Shabalala, Peter Hobson and Pratima Desai in London, Chris Mfula in Lusaka and Ed Stoddard in Johannesburg, writing by Barbara Lewis; editing by Veronica Brown and David Evans)

Reuters Messaging: barbara.hm.lewis.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
The Syrian army has captured some areas held by Islamic State (IS) militants in a region of the southwest near the border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, state media said on Tuesday.

Engineering units were sweeping the areas taken in the Yarmouk basin region for mines and booby traps, it reported, citing a military source.

Recapturing the Yarmouk basin from IS would bring all of southwest Syria, long a crucible of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, back under his control along with the entire frontiers with Israel and Jordan.

The army's Russian-backed offensive to recover southwestern Syria has already defeated rebels fighting Assad, but the Yarmouk Basin has remained under IS control.

Fighting near the Golan Heights frontier is sensitive to Israel, which on Monday said it had used two missiles to bring down rockets launched in the battle between the Syrian army and IS.

IS lost most of its territory last year after rival offensives by the army, backed by Russia, and an alliance of U.S.-backed Kurdish and Arab militias swept through eastern Syria.

This year it also lost its foothold near Damascus in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp. However, it has maintained an insurgent campaign in some desert areas in the east.

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Two people were killed Tuesday and six, including a security commander loyal to Yemen's government, wounded in a suicide attack in Aden, a security source said.

The attacker blew himself up while riding a motorbike near a vehicle carrying the commander of a battalion of UAE-backed forces, the source told AFP.

The explosion killed a female passerby and a soldier driving the vehicle that was carrying the commander, who was among four wounded passengers, the source said.

Two civilians were also wounded, added the source, who is loyal to Yemen's internationally recognised government.

A doctor in Aden confirmed the toll of two dead and six wounded to AFP.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack in the southern city.

Nearly 10,000 people have been killed in Yemen's conflict since 2015, when Saudi Arabia, UAE and other countries joined the government's fight against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has flourished in the chaos of the civil war, especially in the south of the country.

Ten suspected Al-Qaeda jihadists and two soldiers fighting for Yemen's government were killed last week in southern Yemen, in clashes and a drone strike, local officials and security sources said Sunday.

Yemen's multi-faceted conflict has pushed the impoverished country to the brink of famine, triggering what the United Nations says is the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

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Turkey has told American officials it opposes U.S. sanctions on Iran and is not obliged to implement them, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday.

President Donald Trump has pulled the United States out of a 2015 nuclear pact with Iran and ordered U.S. sanctions on Tehran, while a senior State Department official said Washington has told allies to cut imports of Iranian oil by November

Turkey has criticised Trump's move to withdraw from the nuclear pact and has publicly resisted the U.S. call to cut oil imports from Iran.

"We do not have to adhere to the sanctions imposed on a country by another country. We don't find the sanctions right either," Cavusoglu told a news conference in Azerbaijan.

"We held meetings with the United States in Ankara and told them openly: Turkey gets oil and gas from Azerbaijan, Iran, Russia and Iraq. If I don't buy from Iran now, where am I supposed to meet that need from?" Cavusoglu said.

Last week U.S. Treasury and State Department officials met Turkish counterparts in Ankara to discuss sanctions on Iran. Ankara said authorities were working to prevent Turkey being hurt by the measures.

Turkey depends on imports for almost all of its energy needs. In the first four months of this year, Turkey bought more than 3 million tonnes of crude oil from Iran, almost 55 percent of its total crude supplies, according to data from the Turkish energy watchdog (EPDK).

Ties between Ankara and Washington, NATO allies, have been strained over a host of issues including several legal cases.

A Turkish court last week ruled to keep American pastor Andrew Brunson in jail, in a case that has deepened existing rifts and jeopardised the procurement of Lockheed Martin F-35 jets by Turkey.

The U.S. Senate passed a bill last month including a measure that prohibits Turkey from buying the jets because of Brunson's imprisonment and Turkey's purchase of Russia's S-400 air defence system, which are incompatible with NATO systems.

Cavusoglu, however, said there were no issues with the procurement of the jets and the United States could not exclude Turkey from the project.

"The United States needs to understand that it is not possible to get a result from Turkey through sanctions. They will see results if they approach Turkey with dialogue and respect," he said.

"We will not bow down to such pressures, sanctions or threats. Everyone will get used to the new Turkey."

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By Dong Sun-hwa







Actor Kim Jung-hyun is under fire for his "inappropriate" attitude during Friday's production report conference for his upcoming MBC drama, "Time."







Kim was expressionless during the entire conference. When his partner in the series, Seohyun of K-pop girl band Girls' Generation, tried to link arms for pictures, he refused.







Asked if he was not feeling well, the actor said, "It is for my role."







The actor's agency explained that Kim has been immersed in his drama character  who is getting close to death.







Despite the agency's explanation, criticism of Kim has continued for being disrespectful to everyone, including his companions and the press.







Kim made his debut in the film "Overman" in 2015, and recently starred in the JTBC drama "Welcome to Waikiki."







"Time" will premiere on July 25.




North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects in the state's eastern region, according to its media Tuesday. Yonhap



North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited a sapling farm in the country's eastern region in an apparent bid to highlight the importance of forests, the state media reported Tuesday.

Kim gave a "field guidance" at the sapling farm in Kangwon Province, accompanied by senior ruling party members, including Hwang Pyong-so, Han Kwang-sang and Jo Yong-won, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

This marks the first reported outing by Kim in seven days. He was reported to have visited the same sampling farm in 2015 and 2016.

Kim lavished praise on workers there for building the farm that can produce some 20 million seedlings a year in a short period of time and address problems that could arise in the process of managing such a large-scale facility, the KCNA said.

His trip to the farm is seen in line with North Korea's stepped-up push for reforestation of the country by improving sapling cultivation techniques and planting more trees.

North Korea earlier agreed with South Korea to cooperate in protecting their forests along the inter-Korean border and other areas from damage caused by harmful insects.

The two Koreas also promised to discuss how to modernize sapling cultivation, prevent forest fires, and exchange methods to protect and grow forests. (Yonhap)
An employee works among stainless steel sheets at a steel factory in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, China, September 2, 2015. Reuters



China began an anti-dumping investigation on Monday into stainless steel imports worth $1.3 billion, including from a privately owned Chinese mill with operations offshore, after complaints of damage to the local industry.

The Commerce Ministry said the investigation will target imports of stainless steel billet and hot-rolled stainless steel sheet and plate from the European Union, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia, which nearly tripled last year.

The move follows a complaint by Shanxi Taigang Stainless Steel, with backing from four other state-owned mills including Baosteel's stainless steel division, which blamed cheap imports for falling prices, it said.

China makes and consumes around half the world's stainless steel, which is used to protect against corrosion in buildings, transportation and packaging.

While the complaint targets eight foreign producers, it also lists a number of Chinese companies, including the Indonesian unit of one of the world's top producers, Tsingshan Stainless Steel, and 19 traders who import product.

Some private Chinese companies have opened or started building plants in Indonesia in recent years, drawing on its plentiful nickel resources and lower cost of production.

A significant portion of the new production has been sold in China, analysts say.

The rapid increase in imports damaged the Chinese market, according to the complaint filed by Shanxi Taigang and released with the commerce ministry document.

Almost two-thirds of China's stainless imports came from Indonesia last year, up from 5 percent in 2016 and zero in 2015, the complaint said. That rose to as high as 86 percent in the first quarter, it said.

Imported prices of the stainless steel products fell 23 percent to $1,867 a tonne in 2017 from $2,436 a year earlier.

"If we allow these products to continue to enter the Chinese market with low prices and take more market share, sales of China's domestic products will continue to decrease," the complaint said.

Industrial dispute

Peter Peng, senior consultant at CRU in Beijing, said the investigation was "totally driven by an industrial dispute between SOEs (state-owned enterprises) and the fast-growing private mills."

"Due to their cheap production costs, it's more competitive than Chinese products," he said.

Tsingshan opened a mill in Indonesia last year with annual capacity of 3 million tonnes while Delong Holdings plans to start production there next year.

Anti-dumping duties would force mills to find new markets for their product, adding to a global glut, Peng said.

The European companies targeted by the inquiry include Spain's Acerinox, Finland's Outokumpu Oyj and Luxembourg-based Aperam.

Among the Japanese companies are Nisshin Steel Co Ltd , Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp and JFE Steel Corp. Indonesia's PT Jindal Stainless and South Korean steelmaker Posco are also listed.

"We are quite surprised (by) this action and (will) have to carefully analyze the situation," said Matteo Rigamonti, director of specialty steels at the European industry association Eurofer.

Europe exported just 22,000 tonnes of stainless billet and hot-rolled sheet and plate in 2017, he said, down 50 percent from 2014 and a small fraction of China's total imports of the metal.

China imported 703,000 tonnes of those products in 2017, up almost 200 percent from a year earlier, with 98 percent coming from the regions targeted by the investigation.

Shanxi Taigang accounts for 25-35 percent of China's stainless production. (Reuters)
People pay their respects to Rep. Roh Hoe-chan of the Justice Party  who died of an apparent suicide  at Severance Hospital, Seoul, Tuesday, a day after his death. / Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hun



By Lee Suh-yoon



Citizens, both young and old, and from all points of the political spectrum, mourned the death of Rep. Roh Hoe-chan, an iconic politician of the minor progressive Justice Party, Tuesday, a day after his apparent suicide, which produced a leadership loss for the nation's progressive bloc.



With bowed heads and teary eyes, a steady trickle of visitors came to pay their respects to Roh at the Severance Hospital in Seoul, where a memorial altar had been set up. Not only fellow politicians but also many ordinary citizens came to mourn.



In single file, people entered the room of the altar lined with funeral garlands sent by unions and politicians. Some broke out in silent tears when they saw Roh's face in the framed photo at the altar.



The mourning started Monday evening after Roh jumped to his death from an apartment building in central Seoul in an apparent suicide. In a note, Roh admitted to accepting 40 million won ($35,200) in illegal political funds from a group involved in a recent online opinion-rigging scandal, saying he "will take full responsibility."



Many visitors seemed unable to come to terms with the fact Roh killed himself over what they thought of as a relatively small scandal in Korean politics.



"I guess a pure and clean white shirt like Roh can be considered sullied by even a small speck," Seo Won-chang, 49, an instructor at Jongno Hagwon, said to The Korea Times. "I was not a supporter of Roh or the Justice Party, but like every Korean, I respected Roh for the kind of life he led."



Along with Rep. Sim Sang-jung, Roh was a central figure in the Justice Party. He was needed even more after the Justice Party's recent progress in the regional elections this year, where it recorded a two-figure  10.1 percent  approval rating for the first time.



Jeong Jong-rak, 21, a student at Korea University, which Roh attended, also said he still could not believe Roh's death. "I could not believe my ears when I heard the news," Jeong said. "He was a role model who inspired me to want to go into politics  an icon of the progressive bloc."



Over 3,000 people have visited the memorial altar and some left handwritten letters.



"I'm sorry you had to bear the heavy burden on your own," one visitor wrote. "We, the living, will now try our best."



Many members of unions and labor rights groups also visited the memorial altar. Roh himself worked as a welder in a factory for a few years before becoming a full-time politician.



"He gave his all to help laborers, and he himself also lived the life of one," said Kim Seung-woo, 38, a labor rights activist. "I can't believe he is suddenly gone."



Kim Sun-woo, 64, who identified herself as a conservative, said the Justice Party's loss was a loss for Korean politics in general.



"The main opposition Liberty Korea Party is rotten, and not a proper conservative party, and Roh was the one who was able to effectively tell them off about what they have become," she said. "I used to dislike all kinds of labor rights protests; but Roh, he translated these radical voices into softer terms and delivered them to the public."



Others were also worried about the aftermath of Roh's death on the progressive bloc.



"I have been a member of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea for the last 20 years and honestly not much has changed." Nam Young-sil, 43, said. "We needed the more radical Justice Party to stand tall and push the liberal bloc in the right direction. It hurts as much as when former President Roh Moo-hyun passed away," she added.


By Doug Bandow





Last year the U.S. and North Korea were threatening to attack one another. It was a dramatic reminder that history had not ended.



President Donald Trump pressed China to squeeze the Democratic People's Republic of Korea economically as part of his strategy of "maximum pressure." Beijing did so, though tighter sanctions enforcement reflected the Xi government's frustration with its nominal ally as well as U.S. lobbying.



This year both Pyongyang and Washington switched to diplomacy. However, the Trump administration was recently reminded that the North is not ready to simply hand over its nukes. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's July trip to Pyongyang caused the DPRK to accuse him of making "gangster-like" demands.



President Trump decided that Beijing was likely to blame. He tweeted that the People's Republic of China "may be exerting negative pressure on a deal because of our posture on Chinese Trade  Hope Not!"



Americans don't know what the PRC has been saying to Pyongyang. However, serving Washington's interest would not be Beijing's top priority, to put it mildly.



Yet the president has no one to blame but himself. After all, in his effort to win the PRC's aid, he suggested that he might cut China a better trade deal. Now, after benefiting from Beijing's tougher sanctions enforcement, he appears to have forgotten that offer.



Even had he not suggested a quid-pro-quo, it should hardly surprise him if his Chinese counterparts looked for asymmetric responses to his decision to unleash a potentially costly trade war. Surely he would do the same in the same situation.



Moreover, the U.S. continues to ignore China's obvious concerns regarding the Korean Peninsula. First, the PRC doesn't want to risk an implosion, which could generate mass refugee flows, violent factional conflict, and loose nuclear weapons.



Second, President Xi Jinping, like his predecessors, does not want to contribute to a reunited Korea allied with America and used as a base to contain Beijing. An independent DPRK reliant on the U.S. would be little better from China's perspective.



Washington apparently has done nothing to help allay these concerns. And North Korea, which famously played the Soviet Union against the PRC during the Cold War, undoubtedly has stoked Chinese fears. So, it would be natural for the Xi government to take a friendlier approach to the North if the latter was threatening to embrace Beijing's great rival.



Moreover, the president appears to have had utterly unrealistic expectations regarding Kim Jong-un's willingness to yield his nuclear weapons, or at least how quickly he would do so. The one page "agreement" signed in Singapore was at best a letter of intent which simultaneously promised everything and nothing.



Of particular importance, the North Koreans appeared to consciously set a sequence leading to denuclearization: first establish a trusting relationship, second create a peace regime, and only third proceed with disarmament. This would fit with Kim's pre-summit comment that nuclear weapons would not be necessary if the DPRK and U.S. warmed relations and met often.



If Kim is willing to yield his nukes  the vast majority of American Korea analysts are skeptical  then the U.S. has no complaint if he proceeds cautiously. After all, past U.S. behavior could not instill confidence in Kim that Washington is serious about respecting his security. Ask Libya's Moammar Gadhafi how the latter liked the results of his nuclear deal with America.



Indeed, the president appointed as his national security adviser an uber-hawk who had favored war against the DPRK; said nothing when that official pointed to Libya as a good model for North Korea; and dumped the denuclearization accord negotiated by his predecessor. Is there any reason to expect greater administration respect for Pyongyang if the latter gives up its leverage?



Such natural distrust could be overcome by creating a web of diplomatic, economic, and political ties, but that will take time. Kim needs to be convinced that the president wants peace and stability.



Beijing is more likely to dampen rather than feed North Korean suspicions if it believes that Washington will respect Chinese interests. That argues for serious discussions between the PRC and South Korea as well as America over possible end games on the Korean Peninsula.



To his credit, President Trump was willing to help break the Korean deadlock. But the recent summit was a beginning, not the end. The process will be smoother if the U.S. improves its relationship with Beijing as well as North Korea.





Doug Bandow (chessset@aol.com) is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. A former special assistant to President Ronald Reagan, he is author of "Tripwire: Korea and U.S. Foreign Policy in a Changed World."




Samsung Electronics and the advocacy group representing victims of work-related diseases Tuesday inked an agreement to accept upcoming mediation on the long-standing dispute surrounding compensation, which has lasted more than 10 years.



In a landmark decision to end the long drawn-out case, the tech giant decided to accept any proposal made by the mediation committee, which will be delivered in two months. The Supporters for the Health and Rights of People in the Semiconductor Industry (SHARPS) also decided to comply with the forthcoming decision.



The mediation body led by former Justice Kim Ji-hyung earlier warned that the committee will be dissolved unless the two sides reach an understanding to accept whatever verdict is made.



"We plan to prepare a mediation that includes details on compensation, apology, prevention and social contribution," Kim said. "The mediation will also seek to include ways to effectively cope with risks of work-related diseases sparked by uncertainties of issues surrounding industrial safety and health."



"The complete settlement of the case was the only way to console victims and their families, and it is socially valuable to do so," Samsung Electronics Co. said in a statement.



Hwang Yu-mi's father, Hwang Sang-ki, also welcomed the latest progress in settling the case.



"It is regrettable that we failed to settle the case surrounding workers who were sick and died by hazardous chemicals at workplaces, just because they were poor and weak," Hwang Sang-ki said. "We cannot help but raise questions about the existence of the government and the company."



"It is, however, reassuring that common ground has been found for settling Samsung's work-related illness case," Hwang added. "Such a thing should never be repeated."



The standoff involving the world's largest producer of semiconductors first surfaced when Hwang Yu-mi, who worked for Samsung Electronics Co.'s chip production line, died of leukemia in 2007.



SHARPS was established in the following year to stand up for workers who suffered from similar issues after working at Samsung's production lines.



While victims have been claiming that such diseases are workplace related, Samsung has rejected such assertions.



Samsung Electronics started direct talks with the advocacy group in 2013, with Samsung Vice Chairman Kwon Oh-hyun apologizing in 2014. The two parties, however, failed to reach an agreement, with the first mediation announced in July 2015 ending without making any progress.



In September 2015, the tech giant set up a fund estimated at 100 billion won ($88.2 million) and started its own compensation program for victims independent of SHARPS.



The advocacy group, on the other hand, has refused to accept the compensation and started an indefinite protest in front of Samsung Group's main office in Seoul.



The organization is set to end the protest as the parties reached an agreement on arbitration.

The dispute is expected to be fully settled around September and October.



Industry watchers said Samsung's decision was apparently made by the group's heir Lee Jae-yong, who was released from jail in February after being embroiled in a political scandal that led to the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye. Since his release, Samsung has been struggling to overcome its tainted public reputation.



SHARPS, meanwhile, said that as of June 2018 there were 320 victims who suffered from work-related illnesses after working for Samsung, with 118 of them already having passed away. (Yonhap)


France's opposition conservative party said on Tuesday it had asked for a vote of no-confidence in the government over the political crisis engulfing President Emmanuel Macron's bodyguard.

"The government has failed and must be held responsible in front of parliament," the head of The Republicans party at the lower house Christian Jacob told reporters.

A vote of no-confidence is unlikely to bring down Macron's government as it has a solid majority in parliament

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Egypt has spent EGP 515 billion since mid-2014 to develop the country's national electricity grid, Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker said on Tuesday.

As a result, Egypt increased its power capacity by 84 percent in the period from June 2014 to June 2018, adding around 25,000 megawatts (MW) to the national grid to reach 55,000 MW and resulting in a 25 percent surplus, the head of the Administrative Control Authority Mohamed Erfan said on Tuesday.

Shaker said that EGP 433.5 billion of the total amount invested has been allocated to projects to boost Egypt's electricity generation, while the rest was spent on upgrading the country's power transport and distribution capacities.

The minister was speaking during a televised ceremony to inaugurate major electricity projects, which was attended by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.

Among the projects inaugurated by El-Sisi on Tuesday were three 6-billion euro gas-fired combined cycle power plants with a total power generation capacity of 14,400 megawatts (MW) - or 14.4 gigawatts (GW) - built by Siemens, boosting the countrys electricity generation by 50 percent.

Siemens said on Tuesday this provides "enough power to supply up to 40 million people with reliable electricity."

The first phase of the megaproject, which the German company says are the world's largest combined cycle power plants, was inaugurated in March 2017.

The stations are located in the New Administrative Capital, in the town of Burullus in Kafr El-Sheikh, and in Beni Suef governorate, and each has a capacity of 4,800 megawatts.

El-Sisi and Siemens said the megaproject has set a new world record for execution of power projects, by delivering 14.4 GW of power in 27.5 months.

"A single combined cycle power plant block with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts typically takes approximately 30 months for construction," Siemens said on its official website on Tuesday.

At an impromptu speech at the ceremony, El-Sisi hailed what his government has achieved in the electricity sector over the past four years as "beyond imagination," adding that Egypt's plan to develop the electricity grid would be sufficient for over a decade.

El-Sisi referred to the country's energy crisis a few years ago, when there were recurrent power cuts, saying it was crucial to develop the ageing state-run infrastructure to handle rapidly growing demand for electricity in a country of more than 97 million people.

"We do not look for half solutions, we work towards decisive solutions," he said.

"What we are doing will satisfy Egypt for 10, 15 years and we won't face any other [crisis]," El-Sisi added.

Projects El-Sisi inaugurated on Tuesday also include a number of power transport lines in a number of governorates, as well as a wind power plants in Gabal El-Zeit area in the Red Sea governorate, which El-Sisi's office described in a statement as "the biggest of its kind in the world."

Egypt aims to meet 20 percent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2022.

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Hassan Allam Holding and Lightsource BP form a joint venture to develop and operate utility scale solar projects in Egypt

Hassan Allam Holding (HAH) and Lightsource BP formed a joint venture to develop solar energy products on Tuesday.

"Lightsource BP powered by Hassan Allam Utilities will fund, develop and operate solar projects locally, offering world-class solutions to domestic and commercial Egyptian customers in solar energy and energy storage," read an official statement by both firms released on Tuesday.

No details as to the size of the investment were given.

Egypt is set to become a global leader of the solar power generation, with the Benban Solar Project  the largest of its kind in the word with a full-load sustained output of 1.6 gigawatts-peak  projected to begin operation in Aswan in 2019.

Renewable power is targeted to account for 20 percent of Egypt's energy mix by 2022.

The advantages of investing in Egypt's solar power are twofold, according to co-CEO of HAH Hassan Allam, who highlights the offer of "steady income streams, that smooth out the traditionally cyclical revenues of our existing businesses," and adds the further attraction of "high growth potential," since there is a high demand for renewable energy in emerging markets that "leapfrogs" that of developed economies.

"We see exciting potential in Egypt following the countrys economic recovery and recently announced renewable power targets," added Nick Boyle, CEO and Co-founder of Lightsource BP.

Lightsource BP was established in 2010, and rapidly grew to become the largest utility-scale solar developer, and largest operations and maintenance services provider in Europe, with over US$3 billion of capital invested across 2 gigawatts of solar projects globally.

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This story has been published on: 2021-10-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.

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The wake for Sales El-Artist will be held tonight at El-Hegaz Masque in Talibiya

The Alexandrian accordionist Saleh Abdelaziz, known by Saleh El-Artist, died Monday after a struggle with illness.

The funeral was held in Ahl El-Sunna Mosque in Maadi, and the wake will be held tonight at El-Hegaz Mosque in Talibiya.

Saleh El-Artist was considered one of the best accordionist players Egypt and in the Arab world.

His repertoire includes countless performances over nearly 20 years of musical experience. He performed alongside Fathy Salama, participating in his Grammy award-winning album Egypt (2004), as well as being an essential member of Salama's ensemble Sharkiat.

Sharkiat is an oriental Jazz band that has been active since it was founded by Salama in 1989.

On 3 July Salehs brother Sokkar El-Artist posted a photo on his Facebook page asking fans to pray for his brother who was ill, without specifying the type of illness. Three weeks later he posted the news of Saleh's death.

People have been mourning Salehs loss on Facebook, including Saleh and Sokkar's third brother, the accordionist Said El-Artist, who was celebrating getting his star added to the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Hollywood Avenue in Los Angeles earlier this week.

Salama has posted calling Saleh El-Artist a great accordion player, member of Sharkiat band and friend.

Norwegian composer and saxophonist Trygve Seim said: Its hard to believe that this wonderful person and absolutely amazing musician passed away. RIP dear Saleh El- Artist. I will always be incredibly grateful for all the many concerts I got to do with you, and for everything you taught me about Arabic music."

For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture

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The documents published by the Egyptian national archives include King Farouk I's abdication letter and a decree announcing Mohamed Naguib as the first President of the Egyptian Republic

Egypt's National Archive has published a collection of original documents from the 23 July revolution, which saw the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of an Egyptian republic in 1952.

The documents include the original letter, dated 26 July, 1952, sent by the Free Officers Movement to King Farouk I. The letter demands that he abdicate his throne to his son, Prince Ahmed Fouad II, who was an infant at that time, and never ruled the country.

King Farouk I ruled Egypt from 28 April, 1936 until 26 July, 1952. He was born in 1920 and died the age of 45 in Capri, Italy, on 18 March, 1965.

The collection of documents also includes the abdication letter of King Farouk I, dated 26 July, 1952, marked with the king's seal and issued from Ras El-Tin palace in Alexandria.

It also includes a royal decree announcing Prince Ahmed Fouad II as King of Egypt and Sudan.

The second group of documents includes the declaration of the constitution from the commander of the Egyptian armed forces and the leader of the army's revolution, Mohamed Naguib, dated 10 February, 1953. Naguib later became Egypt's first president, serving in office from June 18, 1953 until November 14, 1954.

The collection also records the turn of Egypt's political scene in a document dated 17 April, 1954, in which Mohamed Naguib resigns and Gamal Abdel Nasser acceded to the presidential office. The documents also include a list of Nasser's full cabinet.





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Jonathan Gold, the esteemed Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic, died Saturday -- just weeks after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

In his years of writing for L.A. Weekly and then the L.A. Times, Gold introduced Angelenos and the world to the delicious, diverse city many would not have noticed without him. As tributes pour in from family, friends, colleagues, readers, chefs and everyone in between, KPCC's Take Two and Airtalk spoke to several people whose lives were forever changed by Gold and his writing. Here's how they will remember Gold and his legacy in L.A. and all over Southern California:

MARK GOLD, JONATHAN GOLD'S BROTHER

Mark Gold is also the associate vice chancellor for environment and sustainability at UCLA. In addition to having a close relationship as siblings, the two collaborated professionally to bring environmental sustainability to the food service industry.

On growing up with Jonathan Gold:

"Growing up in the Gold household, dinner was bloodsport. We were all pretty darn opinionated and shared lot of those opinions and so in some ways, he was trained as a critic right off the bat.



"L.A. was always home. He lived in New York for a couple of years, and then he came back to L.A. because L.A. was home. Laurie, his wife, became editor-in-chief of LA Weekly. They came back because... people of the world and the world is L.A. And I think the way he embraced that was incredible.



"Starting off with his Pico adventures that everybody's heard on NPR for years on This American Life. He's always loved exploring the whole mosaic that is Los Angeles... He understands how diversity and immigrants have enriched L.A. to make it the most interesting and incredible city in the world, and he loved that about L.A."





Cabral was a restaurant scout for Jonathan Gold at the L.A. Times. The gig entailed going out to find the best restaurants and food spots for Gold to review. Cabral and Gold connected when Cabral reached out at as a 16-year-old aspiring food writer.

No words. Without him, there would be no me. Straight up. I feel like I just lost my father. Thank you to everyone who has reached out. My condolences to his family.



Old punx never die. Jonathan Gold 4 life.  Javier Cabral (@theglutster) July 22, 2018

On discovering Gold's writing growing up in East L.A.:

"I remember being awestruck by first seeing like Ramones reference in an article about dumplings or something like that. I was like, what the hell? Who is this guy?"





"He respected each restaurant, each chef, each cook for their own saison -- their own flavors. He didn't write about it in a way that would undermine who they were as a cook or their food. He respected every single chef or cook as they were.



"So he was opposed to the whole melting pot concept, because the melting pot concept relies on the idea that everything will blend in and become one thing. But for him, he respected everyone separately."





"He inspired a whole generation of not just diners, but also writers like myself. I grew up in a kind of poor family in East L.A., and he made me see that I don't have to have a hundred bucks to go out and take my family out for dinner. I can take my dad out to go eat some pho for fifteen bucks.



"He made every kind of restaurant, including the ones in the San Gabriel Valley or in the little regions around L.A. He made food very approachable by anyone including me, a little Mexican-American kid who had nothing."





Genet Agonafer, chef of the Ethiopian restaurant Meals by Genet, credits his attention to her restaurant's success. The family business in L.A.'s Little Ethiopia was on the verge of closing when Gold's writing put them on the map. Agnoafer and Meals by Genet were also featured in the 2015 documentary City of Gold.

"He found people like me who would never get a publicist. We would never get anywhere without him and the passion he puts. He wrote 'chicken stew for the soul' about my doro wot. He put me on the best ten dishes of 2004. Without him, people like me don't exist. He made a name for me, and I am just so grateful.



"Before I was making it, there was no one to serve it. And with him, to this day, I cannot make it fast enough. I'm honored he loved my dish, I'm honored to know him."





De La Torre Jr., the co-founder and general manager of the Mexican restaurant Guisados in Boyle Heights and other locations in L.A., said Guisados went from 10 to 15 customers a day to long lines going out the door.

"It was game changing for us, there's no other way to put it. We were just a restaurant with fun ideas. The day his article came out, it took us to a different level of exposure."





Sean Xie, co-owner of Chengdu Taste, a Sichuan restaurant that opened in Alhambra in 2013, and has since expanded to five other cities in the U.S.

"We didn't know how Jonathan found out about us. When we opened, we were in Alhambra. Most people in L.A. who live in the Westside don't even know about the city. Eighty pecent of the city's residents are Chinese.



"Initially, our service staff don't even speak English well. Somehow Jonathan discovered our restaurant. Then we started noticing over the weekends, we see these non-Chinese customers coming (in). Right now, we have over 50 percent non-Chinese customers coming to our restaurant. That's because of Jonathan."





Jonathan Gold would've turned 58 this coming Saturday. We'll be remembering him this week by toasting to him over a delicious meal. If you're doing the same, share a photo with us with the hashtag #ToastGold.

You made it! Congrats, you read the entire story, you gorgeous human. This story was made possible by generous people like you. Independent, local journalism costs $$$$$. And now that LAist is part of KPCC, we rely on that support. So if you aren't already, be one of us! Help us help you live your best life in Southern California. Donate now.
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Editor's note: This story was updated at 9:50 a.m. Tuesday with new information.

Local residents, customers and staff are still grappling with a terrifying police standoff at the bustling neighborhood Trader Joe's in Silver Lake on Saturday that ended with a suspect in handcuffs and a beloved store manager dead.

Police arrested 28-year-old Gene Evins Atkins following a shootout and an hours-long hostage situation. Atkins himself was injured after exchanging gunfire with officers. Store manager Melyda Corado was killed after a bullet fired by a Los Angeles police officer struck her, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore said Tuesday.

Here's what we know so far.

WHAT THE POLICE SAY HAPPENED

Police use a mirror to see inside the Silver Lake Trader Joe's after a gunman took hostages inside on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of local resident Christian Dunlop)

The incident began with a report of a shooting in South L.A. about 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

According to a statement released Monday by the LAPD, Atkins allegedly shot his grandmother and injured another young woman, kidnapped her and fled in his grandmother's car. Police were able to track the vehicle, which was equipped with LoJack.

Chief Moore offered new details about the pursuit and multiple shootings in a press conference on Tuesday, July 24.

Just after 3 p.m., uniformed officers from the Hollywood division observed Atkins in the area and attempted to pull him over, which kicked off the pursuit.

During the chase, Atkins fired at pursuing officers multiple times through the back window of his car. When the suspect approached the Trader Joe's on Hyperion Avenue, he swerved and crashed into a pole in front of the store.

As the two pursuing LAPD officers pulled up to the scene, the suspect fired at them again. The officers returned fire at Atkins as they exited their vehicle, Moore said. At that same moment, Corado walked to the front door after hearing the commotion caused by the crash just as the suspect was running inside.

One of the officer's bullets struck Corado and she sustained a "through-and-through wound to the left arm that moved into her body," Moore said. Corado then moved back into the store and collapsed behind the manager's desk.

The officers took up positions behind a nearby wall. Atkins, now inside the store, fired more rounds toward officers through a front window, but officers did not return fire, Moore said. Atkins then held more than 40 employees and customers hostage.

Emergency personnel blocked off the area for hours as they negotiated with the suspect. Moore said Atkins threatened to kill some of the hostages. But at some point, Atkins asked for handcuffs, put them on himself and surrendered, according to police, who said they recovered a handgun at the scene.

Ten people were evaluated by emergency medical personnel. Six were taken to local hospitals, but none of them had life-threatening injuries.

WHAT WITNESSES DESCRIBED

Crowds gathered Sunday to pay their respects at the Trader Joe's in Silver Lake, where just a day earlier a police pursuit ended in a shootout and a hostage situation that ended with one woman dead and the suspect in handcuffs. (Brian Frank/LAist)

Don Kohles, a 91-year old Silver Lake resident, said he was walking into the store when he heard two loud sounds: the suspect's car crashing into a pole, and police firing at the suspect.

"I saw this man run in the two doors, and the doors closed behind him, and then the police shot out both windows," Kohles told KPCC/LAist.

Kohles said a Trader Joe's staff member told him to get on the floor, and he stayed down there with other employees before police came and helped him out.

One customer, Cyrani Ackerman, told the L.A. Times she was inside Trader Joe's with her daughter when the shooting began. Ackerman said the gunman ordered an employee to bring everyone out where he could see them. When he realized police had surrounded the building, she said he threatened to kill them, but eventually he began letting people go.

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE SUSPECT

Atkins was arrested on suspicion of murder and is being held on $2 million bail, police told KPCC and LAist.

Family members told NBC4 he had been living with his grandmother since he was about 9.

Charlene Egland, a cousin who lives next door, said he had been in and out of mental facilities since childhood and that he may be "suffering from a mental illness," according to NBC4.

"He's not the same from when we were growing up. He changed. I don't know if it has something to do with his mom passing away, because she died four years ago," Egland said.

Atkins had allegedly been violent toward his grandmother before, smashing the windows in her house and slashing her tires, Egland said. But Egland also told the Times that his grandmother had repeatedly cared for him despite prior run-ins with police and sometimes violent arguments.

"Whenever he got into something, she'd go to his rescue; that's why I can't even believe what he did to her," Egland said.

WHO WAS MELYDA CORADO?

Melyda Corado is seen in a picture posted to a GoFundMe page.

Family members identified the woman who died as store manager Melyda Corado, 27.

"I'm sad to say she didn't make it. My baby sister. My world. I appreciate the retweets and the love. Please respect my family's privacy as we are still coming to terms with this," Albert Corado said on Twitter.

Im sad to say she didnt make it. My baby sister. My world. I appreciate the retweets and the love. Please respect my familys privacy as we are still coming to terms with this. #TraderJoes #SilverLake  Albert Jaragua Crad (@digitalurn) July 22, 2018

The victim was remembered as "Mely" and "Mel" in several comments posted at a vigil on Sunday.

A Facebook page for "Mely Corado" bore dozens of comments expressing loss and love and sharing a link to help the family.

Corado's Facebook page indicated she worked at Trader Joe's. In comments she left, she expressed her love of Danish butter cookies, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, dogs, tequila and the movie "Black Panther." In one comment, she wrote "Wakanda forever." A Post-It note stuck to the wall outside the Trader Joe's on Sunday also read "Wakanda forever" in an apparent reference to her appreciation for the film.

"She was amazing," one store employee told NBC4. "She gave great hugs and she was always just so warm and welcoming to customers and employees and everyone she met. She was just so sweet and so professional about everything."

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OTHER VICTIMS?

Egland, Atkins' cousin, told the L.A. Times that the gunman's grandmother had come out of surgery and will likely be OK.

Another victim, described as a 22-year-old woman, was hit by glass fragments during the incident. She was able to take herself to the hospital for treatment, according to police.

The young woman Atkins allegedly kidnapped has been described as his girlfriend. NBC4 said she had been grazed by a bullet but was expected to be OK.

HOW THIS HAS AFFECTED THE STORE AND ITS STAFF

A woman leaves a candle among the flowers and messages showing support for the employees of Trader Joe's at a vigil on Sunday. (Brian Frank/LAist)

In a statement, Trader Joe's acknowledged the loss of an employee in "this terrifying and unimaginable ordeal" and said the company's thoughts were with the family.

"Yesterday marks the saddest day in Trader Joe's history as we mourn the loss of one of our own," the statement read.

Long-time customers, local residents and staffers came together in support at a vigil Sunday, embracing, shedding tears and remembering their friend and colleague Corado.

Flowers, candles and handwritten notes were laid out on the sidewalk and posted to the wall on Hyperion Avenue. One poster read "Silver Lake loves you." Some folks poked candles through the tiny paper cups used for coffee samples, which bore the TJ's logo.

The company said its Silver Lake store will remain closed until further notice to give staff time to process the incident.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

A GoFundMe page has been set up for the family of Melyda Corado to help pay funeral costs and expenses. You can donate here.

WHAT QUESTIONS DO YOU HAVE?

News happens every day. Here at LAist, our goal is to cover the stories that matter to you and the community you live in. Now that we're part of KPCC, those stories (including this one you're on right now!) are made possible by generous people like you. Independent, local journalism isn't cheap, but with your support we can keep delivering it. Donate now.
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Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti insists he's not running for president -- yet -- but he is considering it. That said, he claimed he spends more time talking to the media about the topic than thinking about it himself.

During an hour-long conversation on Friday, Garcetti freely shared criticism of the current occupant of the White House, while sidestepping his own possible presidential ambitions.

"We have the biggest threat to our democracy in our lives, at least in my life," he said. "We have a president who is treating allies like enemies, who's treating enemies like friends."

Garcetti said he thinks President Trump isn't listening to the American people or getting things done effectively.

"You have to actually address the problems that are before you. You can't invent problems like the White House does and then not even solve those."

The L.A. mayor, who has been talking to media outlets around town, didn't break news during his stop at the KPPC/LAist newsroom. But he did go in-depth on some issues raised by our reporters and our readers. Here's more from our discussion:

HOMELESSNESS

A homeless man naps on a downtown sidewalk in Los Angeles last year. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images)

If the mayor officially seeks the presidency, he is likely to face questions about the city's most visible and intractable problem: homelessness. The number of homeless in L.A. dropped by 5 percent from the previous year, according to a head count released in May. Still, over 30,000 people lack permanent shelter in the city.

Asked about any plans to crack down on homeless people sleeping on L.A.'s sidewalks, Garcetti said that the city is not planning to step up enforcement any time soon.

"You can only begin to consider that when you have a neighborhood system set up that can solve homelessness in that neighborhood and we're a long way, any neighborhood, from declaring that," he said.

Garcetti's plan to build homeless shelters in each of the city's 15 council districts would improve the situation, he said, but would still not be enough to justify stepped up enforcement.

So far, finding sites for those proposed shelters has been slow. When City Council President Herb Wesson suggested a site in Koreatown, he was met with heavy opposition -- which raised questions about whether the shelter expansion plan would die in the face of NIMBYism.

Garcetti disputed that idea, saying neighbors had opposed the specific site, but were open to having a shelter go up in Koreatown.

"A few years ago, you would have had many more voices saying, 'We don't want this at all,'" he said. "So that's a good fight to have about where rather than if."

The mayor also called for a uniform set of quality standards for homeless shelters.

A KPCC investigation earlier this year found thousands of shelter beds sitting empty in L.A. County, along with serious hygiene, sanitation, and safety issues.

"We haven't had standards, we haven't had oversight," he said. "And my worry now is that voters gave us money from Measure H and we have hired and are hiring what will be a thousand new professionals to do outreach teams, to do mental health care, anti-addiction programs, etcetera. I want to make sure they're effective."

The quality of services for the homeless has improved, he said, but he would advocate for a more comprehensive set of standards, expected outcomes, and training for those providing services.

TRAFFIC FATALITIES

L.A. officials and the cast of "On Your Feet" christen a new diagonal crosswalk in Hollywood with a Conga line. It's the second so-called "scramble" crosswalk on a street known for pedestrian injuries. The first reduced pedestrian injuries by more than half. (Caleigh Wells / LAist)

Speaking about his Vision Zero initiative that aims to eliminate all traffic fatalities in Los Angeles by 2025, the mayor redoubled his commitment to the aggressive goal.

"I launched Vision Zero. I'm not going to retreat from it because it's difficult any more than I would on homelessness. If the decision is to retreat, that is not leadership."

Speaking to some of the challenges facing the Vision Zero effort -- including residents who oppose road changes designed to reduce fatalities for fear they could make traffic worse -- Garcetti says it's all a part of the often messy democratic process. He said he will continue to push at times hesitant City Council members to experiment with more aggressive and effective Vision Zero projects in their districts, although neighborhood opposition can be severe.

"You'll have community members who say they want it one way, but there are other community members -- this is part of democracy -- who don't. Plus, there's the politics of a council member as well. I will continue to be the voice to push council members to at least try, and then prove us wrong," he said.

Due to the peculiarities of L.A.'s government, council members rather than the mayor have the final say on whether lane changes and other Vision Zero projects are rolled out in their districts. Looking forward, Garcetti encouraged communities and council members to test proposed street modifications before rejecting them outright.

"I would encourage all communities to, before you say 'no' to something that might reduce lanes and may accommodate bicycles and now electric scooters, to say, 'Let's try, and then unwind.' I think that's the best way to go forward," he said.

IMMIGRATION

Marchers in L.A. protest Trump administration immigration policies in June. (Kyle Grillot / LAist)

The mayor plans to join with other city executives in opposing an anticipated federal government rule change that would disqualify legal immigrants from seeking citizenship or permanent residency if they receive such government benefits as food stamps.

"We'll be launching a pretty big campaign because there's a public comment moment for that," Garcetti said.

The government has long imposed a means test for newcomers to ensure they don't end up relying on the government for basic survival. But it hasn't been used to exclude from the country legal immigrants who are already living here.

Immigrant advocates say some families are already turning down public assistance for fear that they could be deported.

The proposal is one of a series of changes pushed by the Trump administration to restrict both legal and illegal immigration.

POLITICAL AMBITIONS

Garcetti defended his time out of the state to attend events that could benefit him politically. The mayor said he's been honest about the fact that he's thinking about running for president, but he probably spends more time talking to the media about it than he does personally pondering whether to run.

He said his out-of-state travel is not new and benefits the city, but acknowledged he occasionally takes political trips, describing them as making up a small portion of his time.

When asked whether he will be releasing out-of-state travel and security details as requested by the Los Angeles Times, he deferred to the LAPD, saying the police are in charge of his family's security.

"It's a dangerous job. There are threats and I want to make sure that they're well protected. But to be clear again, I pay for my own costs. Taxpayer dollars aren't used for any political trip of my own in terms of my costs, my hotel, my flight etc. I'm very, very strict about that. Always have been long before any of these conversations," he said.

CIVILITY IN POLITICS

In what could be a theme for a possible presidential bid, Garcetti decried what he called a lack of decency and diminished kindness in politics.

"You get that in social media, you feel it when you go out there -- it's on all sides of the spectrum," the mayor said. That lack of civility, has the potential to erode democracy, unless people find a way to talk with each other across the divide, he said.

Garcetti noted that when 18 mayors gathered at the border in June to denounce the separation of migrant families, the officials included both Republicans and Democrats.

"There's a role for the street, but there's also a role for the seat," the mayor said, noting people should speak out in times of moral crisis. But for people tasked with solving problems, it should not come at the cost of real action, he argued.

ASIA TRIP

The mayor left Monday for Asia, where he said he will promote the city's tourism and trade, including the impact of newly imposed tariffs on the port in Long Beach. He will be out of the country for eight days, visiting Japan, Korea, Vietnam and China -- "in record hot temperatures."

KPCC/LAist's Rina Palta, Matt Tinoco, Mary Plummer, and Sandra Oshiro contributed to this story.

News happens every day. Here at LAist, our goal is to cover the stories that matter to you and the community you live in. Now that we're part of KPCC, those stories (including this one you're on right now!) are made possible by generous people like you. Independent, local journalism isn't cheap, but with your support we can keep delivering it. Donate now.
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The founders of Safe Parking L.A. had a simple idea -- match people living in their cars with safe places to park overnight, let them sleep without disruption.

The group of friends who started the nonprofit two years ago thought churches and synagogues would be clamoring to open up their parking lots for the night, and that money to fund these efforts would flow from politicians' coffers.

They were wrong.

To date, the nonprofit has only been able to launch three "safe parking" sites with about 30 spots among them -- a disappointment given that some 9,000 Angelenos live in cars, vans and recreational vehicles.

Fewer than a handful of city and county politicians have committed any funding, forcing the group to turn to private donors.

Among the biggest letdowns for founders is that only one place of worship, in a city with hundreds of them, has successfully started a safe parking program with them: St. Mary's, a historically Japanese-American Episcopal church in Koreatown.

"I thought more people would raise their hand," said Scott Sale, who founded Safe Parking L.A. with friends from Leo Baeck Temple. "I was surprised that there was as much sensitivity or hesitation on the part of churches and synagogues."

St. Mary's Episcopal Church's lot is where homeless people can park in their cars at night. (Josie Huang / LAist)

WHY RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS HESITATE

To Sale, religious organizations seem like they'd be perfect partners. Many are community leaders in raising money and volunteering to serve the city's homeless. Many have underused parking lots.

But when it comes to sharing their physical plant with homeless strangers, some congregations have raised concerns about issues that include liability.

Councilman Bob Blumenfield, who represents western San Fernando Valley and has voiced support for safe parking, has heard some of the reservations first-hand.

Leaders at his own synagogue in Tarzana voted this spring to work with Safe Parking L.A. But first they want to make sure that all of the cars parking overnight in its lot are registered and insured, Blumenfield said. This can be a challenge for a transient population.

In Blumenfield's conversations with faith leaders in his district, he's stressed the positive aspects of safe parking, such as the free security the program provides.

"You get a security guard," Blumenfield said. "Your parking lot is safer than it ever was."

Safe Parking L.A. will also add participating organizations to its insurance policy and screen those using the parking lots by running names through the National Sex Offender database.

Other religious congregations worry about children crossing paths with the homeless.

"A lot of the problem is that synagogues and churches have preschools and schools, and their parents are scared to death of having homeless living in their lots, even though they will never see them," said Pat Cohen, another Safe Parking L.A. founder.

Pat Cohen, a founder of Safe Parking L.A. (far right), and Brooke Wirtschafter of IKAR (second to right), show support for putting a safe parking program on IKAR's lot in the South Robertson neighborhood. (Josie Huang / LAist)

AND THEN THERE'S THE COST

Not all religious groups feel this way. One Jewish congregation, IKAR, has pledged to open its parking lot in the South Robertson neighborhood, and last week showed up at a meeting of the neighborhood council with representatives of Safe Parking L.A. to seek its support. The council did.

IKAR plans to offer meal programs to encourage interaction between the homeless visitors and congregants, including the younger ones.

"It's an opportunity for the children to see the problem and how they can be part of some of the solutions," IKAR Executive Director Melissa Balaban said at the meeting.

But before IKAR and Safe Parking L.A. can launch their program, they'll need to find $100,000. That's the amount it costs to operate each site for a year. The money largely goes to paying for the security guard. The budget also includes the cost of renting a portable bathroom that needs to be cleaned multiple times a week and a $500 per month payment to participating religious organizations for use of their utilities.

Safe Parking L.A. has received $38,000 from L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas to help cover the cost of operating St. Mary's program. Supervisor Sheila Kuehl has contributed $209,000 to open the safe parking lot currently run on county-owned land in Hollywood and another lot scheduled to open later this year on county property in North Hollywood.

Meanwhile, Councilman Mike Bonin has committed enough money to open two lots on city-owned land in his council district sometime this year, according to his office.

In cases where funding for a particular lot has fallen short, the founders of the nonprofit have turned to private donors and friends. The third of the parking programs it runs is located on the Department of Veteran Affairs campus in West L.A. and is funded entirely by donations from individuals who want to honor the veterans' community, Cohen said.

Cohen holds out hope that more religious congregations will join forces with Safe Parking L.A., and by doing so, will build buzz for the program.

With IKAR on board, Cohen said the congregation could help the nonprofit put pressure on local politicians to support it.

"We could be a team," Cohen said.

Emily Uyeda Kantrim, who manages the Safe Parking L.A. program, makes a presentation. (Josie Huang / LAist)

SHOULD PLACES OF WORSHIP FILL IN THE GAPS FOR CARE?

Moving forward, Safe Parking L.A. can expect more help in recruiting places of worship to participate in its program.

Becky Gross, who works on safe parking issues for L.A. Homeless Services Authority, said the partnership between religious organizations and safe parking programs are proving to be a success.

For the last year, LAHSA has been funding a pilot safe parking program at a Methodist church in South Los Angeles that primarily serves families with children. Gross said homeless households have felt more comfortable staying overnight on church property. She said church members have also embraced the program, donating clothing and shoes and providing meals during the holidays.

"The (safe parking) program helps the participants build a strong community, not only amongst themselves but with the church community as well," Gross said. "So I think that inspires people to be more successful and get the services they need."

Gross said future recruitment of churches and synagogues might take place at religious leaders' prayer breakfasts.

One religious scholar cautioned against imposing too many expectations on religious leaders "to fill the gaps in a frayed social safety net."

Brie Loskota, executive director of the Center for Religion and Civic Culture at the University of Southern California, said faith-based groups are already lobbied to help by different nonprofits and governmental organizations.

"Every door of the congregation is being knocked on by multiple people, often by groups that have very similar things they want to accomplish but have never talked to each other," Loskota said.

But religious groups will continue to be targeted by those groups for which fighting homelessness is a key priority.

Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, an L.A.-based social justice organization led by faith-based leaders, has made recruiting more religious organizations to do safe parking a top goal, said CLUE spokeswoman Tessie Borden.

"It's been a very challenging mission but certainly not one that we see as impossible and certainly not one we're going to abandon," Borden said.

Josie Huang covers religion, international affairs and the Southern California diaspora under a grant from the Luce Foundation.

News happens every day. Here at LAist, our goal is to cover the stories that matter to you and the community you live in. Now that we're part of KPCC, those stories (including this one you're on right now!) are made possible by generous people like you. Independent, local journalism isn't cheap, but with your support we can keep delivering it. Donate now.
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By Annie Gilbertson and Ryan Fonseca

The suspect led police on a wild 15-minute chase through winding Los Angeles city streets, shooting at officers out the back of his car. The patrol officers in pursuit held their fire and pulled back.

Then he crashed outside a Trader Joe's in Silver Lake and the gunman fired more shots at officers, even as he fled into the busy store.

Officers faced a split-second decision: hold their fire or shoot.

They decided to shoot -- yelling at bystanders: "Get down! Get down! Watch your head!"

The harrowing shootout outside the grocery story, captured on police body and dashcams, culminated in an hours-long hostage situation Saturday afternoon. More than 40 customers and staff were trapped inside the store as authorities tried to negotiate with the gunman, who police say was threatening their lives.

In the minutes before the standoff, one of the officers' bullets struck the alleged gunman, Gene Evin Atkins, 28, in the left arm. And as he ran into the store, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore said Tuesday, another police bullet hit an unintended target -- 27-year-old Melyda Corado. Corado died at the scene. The store manager had apparently rushed to the front when she heard the crash.

Moore called her death a "tragic loss" and said the officers were faced with the "worst decision" they'd ever have to make under the most difficult circumstances.

"These are no-win situations," Moore said. "This is a heartbreaking reminder of the split-second decisions that officers must make every day."

Corado's death is likely to heighten scrutiny of officers' decision to fire toward the storefront. LAPD use of force policy allows officers to use force on fleeing suspects when they believe the suspect may pose a significant threat to others. At the same time, officers are cautioned to be aware of the backdrop and "avoid using deadly force that might subject innocent bystanders or hostages to possible death or injury."

Moore, expressing deep regret at a Tuesday news conference, released a detailed account of the events leading up to the fatal shooting in Silver Lake. Moore placed blame squarely on Atkins, who will face multiple charges, including for Corado's murder. Atkins is being held in lieu of $18.7 million bail.

Atkins was being pursued by officers in connection to the shooting of his grandmother and the kidnapping of another woman, identified as his girlfriend, in South L.A. That shooting took place about 1:30 p.m. and police were called to the scene. Authorities had previously said they were able to track down Atkins, who allegedly had stolen his grandmother's car, using LoJack.

Among the new information released Tuesday by Moore:

Patrol officers began their pursuit of Atkins about 15 minutes prior to him crashing the car outside the Trader Joes in the 2700 block of Hyperion Ave.

Moore said Atkins fired shots at the officers during the chase but the officers did not return fire.

After he crashed the car into a pole, Atkins ran from the car and fired at officers again. At that point, officers returned fire. Atkins was shot in his left arm.

Moore said the investigation found that Corado had moved to the front of the store after the crash, just as Atkins ran inside.

She sustained a "through-and-through wound to her left arm that moved into her body." Corado then moved back into the store and collapsed behind the manager's desk, the chief said.

Melyda Corado is seen in a profile picture posted to her Facebook account.

After the suspect moved inside the store, officers took up positions behind a nearby wall. The suspect fired more rounds toward officers through a front window, but officers did not return fire, Moore said.

Moore said the investigation is ongoing and he has not made a final decision, but affirmed several times that he believed his officers had done the right thing in returning fire at the suspect when he shot at them at the end of the pursuit.

"As chief of police, I believe it's what they needed to do to defend the people of Los Angeles, defend the people in that store and defend themselves," he said.

Live Press Conference: : LAPD Chief Moore provides an update on the Officer-Involved Shooting that occurred at a Tr https://t.co/CmQlJ0u0QX  LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) July 24, 2018

Moore took the unusual step of playing both dashcam and bodycam video from the incident during the news conference, although he said technical difficulties meant they didn't play the tape they'd planned on showing.

Later Tuesday morning they released this footage via YouTube.

[Caution: Explicit language and violence is shown]

The video highlights the tense, fast-moving scenario facing officers, one of whom can be seen visibly shaking as gunfire came toward them.

LAPD use of force policy allows officers to use force on fleeing suspects when they believe the suspect may pose a significant threat to others. At the same time, officers are cautioned to be aware of the backdrop and "avoided using deadly force that might subject innocent bystanders or hostages to possible death or injury."

Moore described the patrol officers involved in the shooting as young and solid. One has served for two years and the other for six. Moore said both were devastated by Corado's death.

Atkins arraignment was initially scheduled for Tuesday but is not expected to take place August 14.

He could be held criminally culpable, even though a bullet fired by an officer killed her, because of what is known as the "provocative act" doctrine, in which someone can be tried murder if their actions created a situation which led to it.

One witness at the scene, Christian Dunlop, saw what appeared to be a Trader Joe's employee in a Hawaiian shirt pulling a person out the front door, who he now believed to be Corado. He said the blame lies with the gunman.

"Unfortunately, an individual, from what I understand, made some wrong choices and the repercussion of those wrong choices is why that woman ended up dead," Dunlop said.

Rick Webb, a police use of force consultant and former LAPD commander, said officers faced an incredibly high-pressure situation.

"These officers have to come up to solution very, very quickly," Webb said.

During a special meeting Tuesday to discuss law enforcement's use of surveillance, the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners did not address the shooting at Trader Joe's. When KPCC/LAist later asked about the incident, Commissioner Cynthia McClain-Hill declined to comment.

Despite the unruly audience, only one person mentioned the shooting as a brief anecdote within a larger speech against perceived police misbehaviors.

Crowds gathered Sunday to pay their respects at the Trader Joe's in Silver Lake, where just a day earlier a police pursuit ended in a shootout and a hostage situation that ended with one woman dead and the suspect in handcuffs. (Brian Frank/LAist)

Bystander deaths are rare in police shootings.

In 2005, an LAPD officer fired a shot that struck a toddler held hostage in Watts by her father. The little girl, Suzie Marie Pena, was shot once in the head.

The police chief at the time, William Bratton, told the Los Angeles Times the toddler's death marked only the second time that in the nearly 40-year history of SWAT team that "an innocent life" had been lost.

KPCC/LAist politics editor Sandra Oshiro and Bradley Bermont contributed to this story.

UPDATES:

7:49 p.m. This story updated with more description of the scene of the shooting.

1:23 p.m.: This story was updated with reporting on a special meeting by the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners.

11:45 a.m.: Based on charging documents released, Atkins middle name has been changed to Evin, it was previously given by authorities as Evins.

11:13 a.m. This story updated with additional information about charges and pressures faced by the officers.

10:38 a.m.: This story updated with additional context about the shooting and tactics, as well as the YouTube video released by the LAPD.

This article originally published at 9:10 a.m. (not p.m. like we said earlier, sorry)

News happens every day. Here at LAist, our goal is to cover the stories that matter to you and the community you live in. Now that we're part of KPCC, those stories (including this one you're on right now!) are made possible by generous people like you. Independent, local journalism isn't cheap, but with your support we can keep delivering it. Donate now.
Scene from "City of Gold."

By Harold Meyerson

Jonathan Gold, who died decades too young this past weekend, was to Los Angeles as Balzac was to Paris and Bellow to Chicago. He enabled his readers to see his city as no one had seen it before, with a breadth and complexity that had eluded L.A.'s earlier chroniclers.

Jonathan began cruising the city's boulevards and back streets to document its food trucks and strip-mall eateries around the time that L.A. was becoming the latter-day Ellis Island - the epicenter of the third great wave of American immigration, bringing the peoples and cultures of Latin America and Asia into our civic and national life. Dish by dish, he brought these cultures and their creators to the attention of the largely Anglo readers of the city's two papers, the Times and the Weekly. In the process, he gave those readers what has always been hardest for Angelenos to apprehend - a view of their sprawling, disconnected metropolis as a variegated but cohesive whole. Westsiders drawn to his recommendations found what for them were undiscovered countries -- not just the food of lesser-known Chinese provinces and the -stan nations of Central Asia, but places they wouldn't have otherwise gone to: the San Gabriel Valley, East Hollywood, Pico Boulevard just west of downtown.

I've been trying to think of who filled this function during the original Ellis Island period, who told the story, through whatever prism, of all of New York City in 1914 - and haven't come up with anyone. Writers told the story of the part of New York's cacophonous landscape that was theirs, as, say, Abe Cahan, the editor of the Yiddish-language daily The Forward, did with the city's Eastern European Jewish immigrants, but no one endeavored to convey New York's vast entire panoply. That's had to await the encyclopedic accounts that historian Mike Wallace is only now producing.

In like fashion, the Los Angeleses conveyed by Scott Fitzgerald, Nathanael West, Raymond Chandler, John Fante, Mike Davis, Gustavo Arellano and their peers may be exquisitely realized, but these writers, like all good writers, confined their scope to what they actually knew. Jonathan confined his own scope, of course, to what he knew as few others did - the ingredients, combinations and guiding spirits that went into the city's food, which is to say, the world's food. But that meant he dealt with the whole of Los Angeles, albeit (forgive me) in bite-sized chunks.

In that sense, he became a voice of, and for, the whole city. The only other Angeleno I can think of who's been a voice for the whole city is Vin Scully. When the Dodgers arrived (I was eight at the time), Scully created an ongoing narrative that residents listened to across the metropolis, and with a verbal and story-telling brilliance that Jonathan, in a wholly different medium, was to match. The difference is that Scully talked to Los Angeles, while Jonathan talked both to it and about it. Scully helped build one aspect of a distinct citywide identity at a time when one barely existed; Jonathan helped build one, too, in a city radically more diverse than the one Scully encountered when the Dodgers arrived in 1958.

What Jonathan was about was what a number of us in Los Angeles journalism have endeavored to be about during the past three decades - introducing and explaining this new city, this new America, to our readers. I was an editor at L.A. Weekly for a number of years when Jonathan was there, though, as my beat was politics and the economy, I never actually edited any of his work. (But, boy, did I hear from my fellow editors who did, given Jonathan's propensity for filing at the last possible moment.) But in conveying the complexities of, say, Eastside politics, or documenting the similar voting patterns of the city's Jewish and Latino communities on matters touching immigration, we were, in a sense, telling a story similar to the ones that Jonathan told so well.

That's why Jonathan's body of work will be read by historians not just for the way it elevated food criticism to an art form, but also because it championed and helped explain the embrace that urban America has largely given to its third-wave immigrants. That body of work stands not only as a brilliant form of criticism, but as a cumulative refutation of the nativist phobias that our president foments and personifies. Jonathan spoke for the new American food, but ultimately, more importantly, for that new America itself.

Harold Meyerson, who was executive editor of LA Weekly from 1989 through 2001, is executive editor of The American Prospect.


 older | Main Largehearted Boy Page | newer 

July 24, 2018

In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book.

Previous contributors include Jesmyn Ward, Lauren Groff, Bret Easton Ellis, Celeste Ng, T.C. Boyle, Dana Spiotta, Amy Bloom, Aimee Bender, Heidi Julavits, Hari Kunzru, and many others.

Alexia Arthurs' impressive debut collection How to Love a Jamaican is filled with tender and masterful depictions of women young and old and the love in their lives.

Kirkus wrote of the book:

"These stories unravel the knot of being in a place but not quite belonging and the sense of missing but not quite understanding what was lost. . . . This strong debut collection . . . beckons the reader back, again and again."



In her own words, here is Alexia Arthurs' Book Notes music playlist for her short story collection How to Love a Jamaican:







I love song references in fiction for its ability to allow a narrative to be in conversation with the times, and in this way invested in the tangible world. In my short story collection, How to Love a Jamaican, the artists Kanye West, Tupac, Biggie, Britney Spears, Bob Marley, and Beenie Man are referenced in relationship to characters and are implicated in conversations about race, gender, and sexuality. I wanted to write a collection about the Caribbean that could speak to contemporary life. Now, I want to create another list of songs, a list that speaks to my headspace as I was writing these stories.



Is this Love? / Corinne Bailey Rae

Bob Marley was a brilliant songwriter, but the cover of this song by Corinne Bailey Rae moves me to feeling every time I hear it. I love the simplicity of the lyrics: I wanna love you and treat you right/I wanna love you every day and every night/We'll be together with a roof right over our heads/We'll share the shelter of my single bed. The essence of HTLAJ is love relationshipsfamilial, romantic, platonicwith other Jamaicans, so this songwanting to love someone, wanting to care for themreally speaks to the collection.

Liability / Lorde

The characters in HTLAJ tend to wrestle with solitude and loneliness, similar to the speaker in this song: So I guess I'll go home into the arms of the girl that I love/The only love I haven't screwed up/She's so hard to please but she's a forest fire/I do my best to meet her demands, play at romance/ We slow dance in the living room, but all that a stranger would see is one girl swaying alone, stroking her cheek. These are feelings of rejection, complicated by the fact that Jamaican communities for all their beauty and intimacy can feel narrow-minded in acceptance. I suppose this is the challenge of home, for every kind of background and for however long human beings have walked the earth. Characters throughout the collection are confronted, finally, with themselves. In a way, these stories are love songs to selves.

Fools / Diane Birch

This songFools knockin' on my door, calling out my name/Tellin' me to change my waysspeaks to the women in HTLAJ who own their bodies and their lives in defiance of the hypermasculinity and the traditional gender roles in Jamaican culture.

Bag Lady / Erykah Badu

Not so much bag lady but bag people, the characters in HTLAJ are holding on to thingsrelationships, ways of being and believingthat do not serve them. Badu sings, Bag lady you gone hurt your back dragging all them bags like that/ I guess nobody ever told you all you must hold onto, is you, is you, is you.

Sometimes, redemption is in the letting go.

Sex With Me / Rihanna

You know I got the sauce (sauce)/ You know I'm saucy/ And it's always wet/A bitch never ever had to use lip gloss on it/ I'ma need you deeper than six, not a coffin/ We're not making love, tryna get nasty

While I was writing some of these stories, I imagined that they were in conversation with This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz, which is largely concerned with Dominican-American men. Women are often the ones on the receiving end of desire, infidelity, and abuse. I wanted to write female-centric stories about Caribbean women who desire too, and desire in complicated ways.

Where Do We Begin Now / Alicia Keys

This is a tender coming-out love song. Keys begins, What they gon do 'cause we the same sex? And we spendin' all this time/This could be the love we ain't made yet. Even though it's on my mind. Queer narratives, especially those depicted in historically homophobic regions, tend to weigh heavy on the violence and humiliation. This generalization is a failure. I wanted to write desiring, honoring queer stories.

Cold War / Janelle Monae

I was made to believe there's something wrong with me/ And it hurts my heart/Lord have mercy ain't it plain to see/That this is a cold war/

Do you know what you're fighting for/This is a cold war/You better know what you're fighting for

Every story in HTLAJ is a fight song, characters pursuing and sometimes failing to pursue the life they want, while waging against racism, sexism, homophobia and other obstacles out of their control. Cold War is a more than worthy anthem.

Buffalo Soldier / Bob Marley & The Wailers

This song traces the life of a slave who is taken from Africa, made to fight in the Indian Wars on the side of European colonists, and is later taken to the Caribbean. Ive experienced that sometimes Afro-Caribbeans distance themselves from African Americans or Africans, in a way to say that we are different or better than. The reality is that Afro-Caribbeans who emigrate to the U.S. are seen and treated as black first and forefront, no matter the cultural distinctions that separate them from American blacks. HTLAJ is interested in this division and unity. Buffalo Soldier is a song for black resistance, and also one of togethernessIf you know your history then you would know where you coming from/Then you wouldn't have to ask me who the heck do I think I am. Sometimes we forget who we are.

F.U.B.U. / Solange

I love that Solange wrote a song for black people: All my niggas in the whole wide world/ Made this song to make it all y'all's turn/ For us, this shit is from us/ Get so much from us/Then forget us. When it came time to dedicate HTLAJ, I knew in my bones that Id written it for Jamaicans. This came to me intuitively, as Id always thought Id dedicate my first book to my family. Of course, I hope that people of all backgrounds read the collection and find personal meaning in it. But I wrote these stories for Jamaicans. Jamaica has contributed so much to our global culturemany people dont know that Hip Hop has roots in Jamaican musicbut so many people have a polarizing relationship with the island. The popular images come to mindreggae music, beaches, the crime rate, or a famous Olympian. Weve given so much, and I think Jamaica is owed more understanding.



Alexia Arthurs and How to Love a Jamaican links:

the author's website

excerpt from the book

excerpt from the book

Kirkus review

Publishers Weekly review



also at Largehearted Boy:

Support the Largehearted Boy website

Book Notes (2015 - ) (authors create music playlists for their book)

Book Notes (2012 - 2014) (authors create music playlists for their book)

Book Notes (2005 - 2011) (authors create music playlists for their book)

my 11 favorite Book Notes playlist essays

Antiheroines (interviews with up and coming female comics artists)

Atomic Books Comics Preview (weekly comics highlights)

guest book reviews

Librairie Drawn & Quarterly Books of the Week (recommended new books, magazines, and comics)

musician/author interviews

Note Books (musicians discuss literature)

Short Cuts (writers pair a song with their short story or essay)

Shorties (daily music, literature, and pop culture links)

Soundtracked (composers and directors discuss their film's soundtracks)

weekly music release lists

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During his brief, comic stint as White House press secretary, Sean Spicer had a special, up-close view of President Trump. In his memoir, The Briefing, he portrays a president who may seem foreign to many Americans. In Spicers telling, Trump has a deep vein of compassion and sympathy. He is a man of Christian instincts and feeling. He is a man who showed his humanity in a phone call after Spicers father died. The sincere compassion and empathy in his voice was something I will never forget, the former press secretary writes. I wish more people saw that side of him.

What many people see is something quite different. Instead of a wonderful, loving man, the American public sees a fellow who boasts of grabbing women by the ..., a fellow who denigrates the parents of a soldier who was killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq, a fellow who tweeted that MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski was bleeding badly from a face-lift, a fellow who presided over family separations at the Southern border, a fellow who ... there is just too much in this category.

Even a half-witted political memoir would grapple with such a disconnect  perhaps by acknowledging some fault in the boss, or perhaps by comparing his low points with those of other presidents. Yet The Briefing isnt a political memoir, nor is it a work of recent history, nor a tell-all, or tell-anything. Rather, it is a bumbling effort at gaslighting Americans into doubting what they have seen with their own eyes as far back as June 2015, when Trump announced his candidacy and labeled Mexican immigrants as rapists, beginning a pattern of racist attacks.

Spicer marches in lockstep with the Trump administrations now-common practice of maligning the news media. He rummages through the mistakes of major news outlets during the Trump era. The Washington Post, the New York Times, ABC News, CNN and others are criticized for false reports or suspect claims, such as the time Spicer stood accused  falsely, he says  of expropriating a mini-refrigerator from junior staff members. Spicer draws a broad conclusion about the media from an unfortunate incident on Inauguration Day, when Time magazine reporter Zeke Miller tweeted incorrectly that the Oval Offices bust of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. had been removed. Spicer writes, It reaffirmed the way the media has been transformed: by believing that being first and sensational is better than being right. The problem is that, once tweeted or reported, a breaking story begins the narrative, and no correction ever has as much impact as the initial report, no matter how wrong it is.

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To hear Spicer lecture about errors, one might suppose hed show some concern about the false and misleading tweets that Trump blasts daily to his 53 million followers. In the face of these outbursts, the media often expected me to be an ombudsman if not an outright apologist for Donald Trumps tweets, writes Spicer, 46. I never did that. And I consider my stance on this to be a matter of principle.

President Trump on Jan. 28 2017, with, from left, then-Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Vice President Mike Pence, then-White House press secretary Sean Spicer and then-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Trump is on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Andrew Harnik / Associated Press)

On the larger question of Trumps mendacity ... uh, what mendacity? Twisting language into the incomprehensible  and meaningless  was a special talent of Spicer the press secretary and also clearly of Spicer the memoirist. In discussing the presidents truthfulness, he writes: If Trump was frank to a fault, openly imprecise in his language, and brashly indulgent of truthful hyperbole on his own behalf, many found Hillary [Clinton] to be skirting the truth in ways that were much more serious. If that passage was hard to track, try this one from Spicer in the White House briefing room; here he was responding to a national security question: I think that it is interesting, the level of or the lack of interest that Ive seen in these developments when it goes in one direction versus, where I think it was going, where other, other amounts of interest that have come from this room and beyond.

Trumps use of language  often slandering his opponents, for instance, as Lyin Ted, Little Marco or Crooked Hillary  doesnt seem in Spicers view to be either coarse or an unfortunate precedent for presidential politics. It was genius. Trump was a master of branding and psyched out his opponents by defining them with nicknames that stuck, Spicer writes.

As he embarked on his half-year tenure as press secretary, Spicer floated the controversial idea of moving the briefings to a larger space in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Jeff Mason, a Reuters correspondent then serving as the president of the White House Correspondents Assn., told Spicer that more room might be needed in the early weeks of the administration but that interest in the briefings would diminish as time went on. Attempting to show what a clever soul he was, particularly in comparison to some know-nothing journalist, Spicer writes: As the calendar flipped from February to March, and the briefings became must-see TV, attracting millions of daily viewers, I would gently remind him of that prediction.

Spicers observation demonstrates a tragicomic lack of self-awareness. Has the former press secretary entirely forgotten his portrayal by Melissa McCarthy on Saturday Night Live? His appearances on the briefing podium were must-see TV, precisely because they were absurd ineptitude that facilitated McCarthys send-ups. Spicer doesnt offer much personal reflection on McCarthys performances. He seems a little confused about how to respond. I had no choice but to laugh, he writes. But there was no denying it was funny.

Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer, left, and Alec Baldwin as President Trump on Saturday Night Live, May 13, 2017. (Will Heath / NBC)

In tracing his career, Spicer lays out a classic Washington tale. He secured grunt work as a young professional, he networked, he gave his life to Republican politics, he got a break or two in the campaign field and he ultimately landed at the Republican National Committee working alongside Reince Priebus. When Trump came along, there was Spicer, ready to help. For years and years, in other words, Spicer labored in Republican politics, all for the privilege of working for this boorish president. Did Spicer undergo a period of soul-searching? Theres little sign of it in his book. Trump won, and that was that.

Spicer relives the controversy over the crowd size at Trumps inauguration. The morning after the ceremony, Trump phoned his press secretary to ask if hed seen the news. The president was clear, Spicer writes. This needed to be addressed  now. He held a press event and offered what he thought was a strong statement about the medias inaccurate reporting on inauguration attendance and then left without taking questions.

I went back to my office, expecting an attaboy from the president; instead, Reince was waiting for me and said the president wasnt happy at all with how I had performed.

Silly Spicer  it had escaped him that the president wanted a polished, nuanced argument defending his position. The former press secretary blames himself for this oversight. I started to wonder if my first day would be my last, he writes. I had made a bad first impression, and looking back, that was the beginning of the end.

Wemple, the Washington Posts media critic, focuses on the cable-news industry. Before joining the Post, he ran a short-lived and much publicized local online news operation, and for eight years served as editor of Washington City Paper.

The Briefing: Politics, the Press, and the President, by Sean Spicer (Regnery Publishing)

The Briefing: Politics, the Press and the President

Sean Spicer

Regnery: 278 pp., $28.99
As Tesla ramps up its Fremont, Calif., factory to escape what Elon Musk called production hell with its new Model 3 electric sedan, some customers are enduring their own state of suffering trying to get Teslas serviced.

Parts shortages, long repair delays and problems getting through on customer help lines have led to scenes of strife at Teslas service centers.

At the entrance to the companys Dublin, Calif., center recently, an agitated Model X owner was trying to drop his SUV off for repair. A Tesla service agent said he couldnt leave the car there because the facility was too busy. He could make an appointment to bring it in another time, maybe in a couple of weeks.

But I dont want to drive it! said Kaushal Bhaskar, a software engineer from nearby San Ramon who complained he sometimes couldnt get the passenger door to open, while other times the door would open up all by itself  including once on the Interstate at highway speeds. This is a safety concern for me!

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Another service rep was assisting Mike, the owner of a red Model 3 with door-lock problems who declined to give his last name. Hed lock the car, walk away, and it would electronically unlock itself. That caused him to alter his vacation plans. I couldnt take it to Yosemite like that, he said.

The agent said Mike would have to leave the car there awhile: The amount of cases Ive got right now is unbelievable.

Service complaints are common at traditional automobile dealers, of course, even for new cars. But weeks-long waits for basic auto repair are rare, and months-long waits for body parts are practically unheard of for all but the most exotic vehicles, because spare parts from automakers and after-market manufacturers are stocked in inventory.

Spare body parts for repair almost always are made by the original manufacturer, said Bill Hampton, editor of the industry trade publication Auto Beat Daily.

But, he said, its not surprising that such parts arent a top priority right now at Tesla.

When youre making dramatic efforts to manufacture 5,000 [Model 3s] in one week, you sure cant say, Hey, some guy in Topeka needs a new hood. Too bad, Hampton said.

The parts shortage goes well beyond California. In Norway, the third largest market for Tesla cars after the U.S. and China, some customers told Norwegian media they have been waiting months on body parts for their damaged Teslas. Musk addressed the Norway problem on Twitter on July 5, saying Norwegians are right to be upset with Tesla. We are having trouble expanding our service facilities in Oslo especially. Can solve quickly with Tesla mobile service vans, but awaiting govt permission to do so.

He has not addressed problems in the U.S. or elsewhere. The Times asked Tesla to make a service executive available to talk about what the company is doing to improve customer service, but it declined.

Only Tesla knows the full extent of its quality problems. J.D. Power, which ranks initial vehicle quality, measures all mass-market automakers except Tesla, which declines to provide quality data requested by the market research firm.

A Tesla spokesman said in a prepared statement that the companys own global satisfaction scores for service are above 90%. A new parts distribution service was opened this spring in California, the statement said, and while call volumes have increased dramatically due to the overwhelming excitement around the Model 3, this hasnt impacted our ability to respond to emergency roadside events.

Tesla has plans in place to hire more staff in customer support in the event they are unable to find their answers at Teslas support site or in their Tesla account, the company said. And it plans to open a large new service center in Oslo later this year. Tesla cars have topped Consumer Reports owner satisfaction survey for the last two years, the company noted.

110 days and counting for me. Ridiculous. https://t.co/CF1UeLhFlA  Jeff Klein (@JeffreySKlein) July 11, 2018

Jeff Klein, a publishing executive in Northridge, said the hood and front quarter panel on his wifes Model S were damaged in a March accident. Four months later, the car is still parked at a Tesla certified repair shop, waiting for parts, while Klein makes monthly payments on the lease. Klein didnt need a loaner vehicle.

The general manager said it could take several months, that Tesla didnt seem to realize that their cars might get in accidents and they had no parts inventory, Klein said. Their parts are made to order, just like their cars.

On Tesla online forums, customers complain about long hold times on Teslas customer service phone line and waits of sometimes hours to check the status on a car delivery or repair, or to ask for a refund on a car deposit. Some report Tesla doesnt get back to them at all.

Mathijs Kok of Bueren, Germany, said the company promised by phone someone would return his call to correct a windshield problem on his new Model S. No one called him back.

The next time he had a problem  this one with unresponsive roadside assistance  Kok emailed the company. He never heard back, despite some followup reminders.

Kok, who said he runs a customer support department at Aerosoft GmbH, a flight simulator software maker, called the email snub nasty.

The lack of callbacks was sloppy, almost certainly caused by too much work, he said. In a nutshell, its damned hard to get in contact and they have lacking procedures to make it possible for issues to be missed and not followed up in time.

Service problems are not new at Tesla. In August, the companys president for sales, marketing, delivery and service, Jon McNeill, said on the Tesla Motors Club forum the company had streamlined customer service to make contacting the right person at Tesla easier. Six months later, McNeill quit Tesla to become chief operating officer at Lyft.

In June, Karim Bousta, Tesla vice president of worldwide service and customer experience, left, as did David Erhart, senior director for reliability and testing.

Teslas sales and service approach differs greatly from most automakers, which sell their cars to franchised dealers. Tesla owns and runs retail sales and service operations on its own.

The companys 74 service centers in the U.S. are complemented by Tesla Rangers, a mobile service program that dispatches service workers to fix some cars on site.

The company also has pioneered over the air updates, where software updates can be beamed to the car without having to bring it to the dealer.

Tesla executives have said this approach lowers Teslas capital costs. But accelerating production  to 53,339 cars of three different models in the second quarter, up 55% from a year earlier and almost a five-fold increase from the same period in 2015  may be overwhelming Teslas service resources.

Add to that the wide variety of Model 3 quality problems reported on Tesla customer forums, including broken glass, bad paint jobs, body panel gaps, dead batteries, wind noise, dents, scratches and software problems including door locks and weirdly behaving touch screens.

Tesla has one of the most rabidly loyal customer bases of any automaker, of course. The same forums are peppered with praise for the cars and with Tesla service. And auto reviewers are near unanimous in their praise for the way the Model 3 drives.

Consumer Reports relies on customer surveys for its own quality assessments. Mike Quincy, an automotive specialist at the research organization, called Teslas quality record mixed.

The good news is that the Model S has a new-car predicted reliability better than average, Quincy said, referring to the mainstay Tesla sedan. The bad news is that the Model X has proved far worse than average. Too few surveys have been collected yet to evaluate the Model 3.

If Model 3 quality proves subpar and service issues arent fixed, it could mean deeper trouble for Tesla as the company tries to go mainstream, according to Karl Brauer at Kelley Blue Book.

Early Tesla buyers are so in love with the car, theyd ignore things most buyers wouldnt put up with, like delays for repairs, or batteries that fail multiple times, Brauer said.

He suggested that Musk spend more time straightening out issues at Tesla and less time on cave rescue operations or offering to fix water contamination problems in Flint, Mich., Musks latest social cause.

As the Model 3 broadens Teslas customer base, it may test the companys over the air service model.

At the Dublin service center, Bhaskars service rep said a review of his vehicles operational data, captured on Teslas cloud storage system, showed the door never opened by itself. But I have seen it with my own eyes, Bhaskar insisted. (The Times called the Dublin center three times to ask the service manager for comment. No calls were returned.)

Bhaskar told the rep hed take the car home and make an appointment, but wanted a written statement acknowledging the door safety problem. Were not putting this on paper, he was told. Here, thats not the way business is done.

The issue was escalated, and after 45 minutes Bhaskar was allowed to leave his car. He departed in a Mercedes-Benz SUV loaner.

russ.mitchell@latimes.com

Twitter: @russ1mitchell

UPDATES:

5:20 p.m.: This article was updated to include mention of Teslas Consumer Reports owner satisfaction rating.

This article was originally published at 1:25 p.m.
Walt Disney Co. reached a tentative settlement Monday with four unions at the Disneyland Resort, putting an end to a contentious dispute that attracted the attention of Sen. Bernie Sanders and prompted a ballot measure to require the Burbank media giant to pay resort workers a living wage.

Although details of the settlement were not disclosed, the agreement appears to end a heated, months-long contract dispute with about 9,700 employees who work in the eateries and retail shops, operate the attractions and provide maintenance at the two Anaheim theme parks, the Disney hotels and nearby shopping district.



For the record: A previous version of this story said the Walt Disney Co. had reached a tentative agreement with three unions. The tentative agreement was reached with the Master Services Council, which represents four unions at the Disneyland Resort.

The Disneyland Resort and Master Services Council are proud to have reached a tentative agreement, which we are hopeful will be ratified later this week, the park and the council that represents the workers said in a joint statement. We have had a successful history of working together since Disneyland Park opened in 1955, and this contract continues that shared commitment to cast members.

Union members vote on the proposed contract Thursday.

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Negotiations began in April for the contract that was set to end in June. Employees have been working under an extension to the contract.

The unions have been pushing Disney to pay a living wage by, among other tactics, commissioning a study that looked at the economic hardship of the workers and sponsoring a rally featuring Sanders, who called on Disney to share its wealth with employees who are struggling to make ends meet.

The unions were successful in collecting at least 13,185 valid signatures  or at least 10% of the citys voters  to put on the Nov. 6 ballot a measure requiring large hospitality companies that accept a subsidy from the city to pay at least $15 an hour, with salaries rising $1 an hour every Jan. 1 through 2022. Once the wage reaches $18 an hour, annual raises would then be tied to the cost of living.

If the measure passes, it would apply to the Disneyland Resort and at least one other high-end hotel proposed in Anaheim.

The Disneyland Resort announced last month that it had offered a 36% pay increase to the resort workers over a three-year period. The pay increase offered by Disney would give staffers a minimum of $15 an hour by 2020  a year after the ballot measure would reach that pay scale.

Californias minimum wage went to $11 an hour Jan. 1.

But union officials said the offer included the elimination of some benefits to workers and was rejected.

During protests and rallies, union leaders cited a survey that found 73% of employees questioned dont earn enough to pay for such expenses as rent, food and gas.

The online survey, funded by the labor groups pushing for higher wages for workers at Disneyland and California Adventure Park, also said that 11% of resort employees have been homeless or have not had a place of their own in the last two years.

The online study was conducted by the Economic Roundtable, a nonprofit research organization in Los Angeles, and the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College. Disney officials called the study inaccurate and biased.

To continue to put pressure on the resort, the unions were also planning perhaps their most public protest Tuesday, when workers were scheduled to begin a weeklong fast at an empty lot across the street from the Disney California Adventure Park. The protest has been canceled.

hugo.martin@latimes.com

To read more about the travel and tourism industries, follow @hugomartin on Twitter.
Actor-director Dolph Lundgren is heading for the Hollywood Hills.

Cashing in on all his action roles, Lundgren earlier this month paid $3.9 million for a modern estate above the Sunset Strip, records show.

The steel-and-glass structure, originally listed for $4.4 million, offers city light views from three different levels. Within 5,230 square feet are four bedrooms and six bathrooms, including a sleek master suite with a private balcony.

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Wood finishes even out the whitewashed floor plan, coating the cabinetry in the kitchen, a wine closet in the dining room and a set of floating stairs. Theres also a living room with a built-in fireplace, a game room, theater, office and a pair of two-car garages.

A rooftop patio caps the abode, and a pool sits to the homes side.

Lundgren, 60, broke big in Hollywood as the machine-like Soviet boxer Ivan Drago in Rocky IV, a role hes set to reprise in the upcoming Creed II. The Swedish actor will also appear in Aquaman and the fourth installment of The Expendables, which comes out in 2020.

Josh and Matt Altman of Douglas Elliman were the listing agents, according to the MLS. James Chalke of Nelson Shelton Real Estate represented Lundgren.

jack.flemming@latimes.com

Twitter: @jflem94
Beyond being two of the most anticipated new dramas in London this summer, Ben Powers English adaptation of Italian playwright Stefano Massinis The Lehman Trilogy at the National Theatre and Alan Bennetts Allelujah! at the Bridge Theatre wouldnt seem to have much in common. Stylistically, theyre as different as chalk and cheese.

But both plays track the way money can insidiously corrupt the soul of a nation. Irony may have worn down our capacity for high tragedy, but capitalism run amok is a recipe for good old-fashioned catastrophe. These tales about a storied New York financial services firm grown too big and byzantine for its own good and a cradle-to-grave community hospital in Yorkshire endangered by privatization reveal the chaos that occurs when values are dictated by balance sheets.

Directed by two of the leading British directors, Sam Mendes production of The Lehman Trilogy and Nicholas Hytners production of Allelujah! share another trait: Neither follows the standard conventions of playwriting. Massini spins drama from oral history like the Homer of investment banking, and Bennett, reworking the model for his Tony-winning drama, The History Boys, offers a mixed salad of comedy, melodrama, stinging political critique and offbeat musical interludes that only he would have the blase temerity to toss together.

This English version of The Lehman Trilogy, which is likely bound for New York after a string of raves, is a condensed version of Massinis five-hour epic that made a splash in Paris and Milan. Divided into three acts, each running approximately an hour, Powers efficient adaptation receives a sleek Mendes staging that has full faith in the spell of this uniquely American story and the three brilliant actors (Simon Russell Beale, Ben Miles and Adam Godley) who incant it.

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This is an origins tale that harks back to the founding of Lehman Brothers as a dry goods store in Alabama by Henry Lehman (Beale), an immigrant of Bavarian Jewish heritage who arrived from Germany in 1844 and was joined in succession by his brothers Emanuel (Miles) and Mayer (Godley). Henry was considered the head, Emanuel the arm and Mayer, who was the moderating influence between them, was affectionately nicknamed the potato. Each played an indispensable role in the journey from simple merchants of suits and fabrics to powerful middlemen (the fancy word is brokers) buying and reselling raw cotton.

The actors are dressed in dark 19th-century attire designed by Katrina Lindsay, but Es Devlins rotating glass box set never lets us lose sight of the harsh fate meted out in 2008 to a company that many wrongly assumed was too big to fail. (The bankruptcy, a pivotal moment in the Great Recession, is glimpsed at the top of the show.) How the small family business grew to become a banking colossus is a fascinating saga of American capitalism as it moves from 19th-century innocence to 21st-century decadence.

A piano player accompanies the unfolding chronicle, providing a romantic underscore for the tumble of words, most of which are spoken directly to the audience. Dialogue occurs, but telling triumphs over showing.

Other characters come into sharp focus after Henry, Emanuel and Mayer die or fade into the background. Beale, up for any challenge, also plays Philip, the genius son of Emanuel who branches the business into the railroads. Miles assumes the part of Henry, the Lehman who chose politics over banking. Godleys roles include Bobby, Philips art-loving, Yale-educated son, who steered the firm through the shoals of the Great Depression. The protean cast is faultless. But the figures become blurrier as the story progresses and the sheer proliferation of characters makes it difficult at times to sort out who is meant to be speaking.

How a small business grew to a banking colossus is a fascinating saga of American capitalism as it moves from 19th-century innocence to 21st-century decadence.

The true protagonist of The Lehman Trilogy isnt a specific family member but American capitalism itself. Its this larger story of how a nations unparalleled economic promise, which allowed immigrants with nothing but industriousness and a talent for shrewd risk-taking to become titans of wealth, was perverted as new innovations and strategies were constantly needed to keep the dream of extraordinary prosperity alive.

Speaking of dreams, the production stages (with help from Luke Halls video design) the terrifying visions that wake various members of the Lehman family in the middle of the night. The general theme is that the higher one climbs, the more trepidation there is about falling, yet to stop climbing poses its own hazards  a metaphor for capitalism that leads inevitably to the Great Recession.

The final third of The Lehman Trilogy is the least satisfying. The chronology is fuzzy, the characters are less individualized and the bankruptcy comes almost as an afterthought. Perhaps the loss is the result of Powers reduction, but Massinis play seems too simplistic in tracing the rise of a family fortune and too hurriedly complicated in the unraveling of what had been built.

Henry, Emanuel and Mayer are viewed more or less uncritically. The business practices that established the companys foundation are viewed as a series of triumphs. Surely, theres more to a success story that had its roots in the slave-reliant South and depended on a fire that wiped Montgomerys cotton plantations out. (The Lehmans had a knack for making the most of other peoples disasters.)

The expansion by Philip into new arenas is cheered along more nervously, but the plays giddy approval of the familys moneymaking prowess rarely wavers. When Bobby invites in the computer guys with their high-octane trading, the dance grows manic  literally, as this chapter has elderly Bobby doing the twist as the company accelerates in ways that Henry could never have imagined. Something diabolic has been unleashed. But the Lehman family isnt scrutinized. Its the system that is seen to have gone out of control.

Morality tales need moral actors (of the good and bad variety), and the play doesnt make sufficient room for Pete Peterson and Lewis Glucksman, two crucial figures in the Lehman Brothers later history described in opposition as the perfect banker and a ruthless trader. The Lehman Trilogy is at its most engaging at the birth of the family enterprise, when the head, the arm and the potato synergized their distinctive personalities into a winning formula.

As the 21st-century incarnation of the company is being packed up at the end, its to the Alabama store that the play returns. Henry eulogizes the lost age: Before the markets and the chaos / the fire and the flood. / When there was nothing / but three brothers / standing together in the morning sun / dreaming of America. But though the play would rather romanticize the period when a fortune was cleverly amassed out of thin air, its here where the seeds of destruction were planted.

Alan Bennetts Allelujah! at the Bridge Theatre: Budget cutbacks leave older hospital residents with an uncertain fate. (Manuel Harlan)

The setting for Bennetts Allelujah! is the geriatric ward of the Bethlehem, a community hospital whose days are numbered. A documentary film is being made in conjunction with the campaign to Save the Beth! But tightening National Health Service budgets make that unlikely, leaving the elderly residents to an uncertain fate.

Hospital closures are as pressing a problem in the U.S. as they are in Britain, but theater economics in America would make this wobbly, large-cast play a challenging prospect for transfer. The extensive character list, which includes a doctor whose immigration status is unsettled, a brusque government consultant whose father is a patient, a hospital chairman who cant resist a photo op or a hackneyed sound bite, a jaded nurse with a violent antipathy to bed-wetting and a cadre of old people who are by turns adorable and exasperating, hints at the problem of dramatic overcrowding.

Bennett, the reigning master of miscellany, has created competing story lines in an effort to structure a play that cant quite duplicate The History Boys magic. Theres charm in some of the sprawl, and the inclusion of dance numbers (A, Youre Adorable, Love and Marriage, Good Golly, Miss Molly, among them), which have the arthritic and the senile momentarily recovering their vibrancy, is utterly delightful.

This dark hospital comedy is a kind of state-of-the-nation revue by a dramatist who, at 84, is clearly outraged by Britains slide into neo-Thatcherism.

The plot, however, grows increasingly contrived. A nurse on the ward, Sister Gilchrist (a waste of the remarkable Deborah Findlay), is conscripted to ratchet up the drama with her clandestine solution to the problem of no open beds. And this is only one of several soap opera-ish surprises.

Hytner has a remarkable collaborative history with Bennett (The History Boys, The Lady in the Van, The Habit of Art, among other productions). But a play doctor is needed to fix this dark hospital comedy, which is a kind of state-of-the-nation revue by a dramatist who, at 84, is clearly outraged by Britains slide into neo-Thatcherism.

Colin (Samuel Barnett, a memorable History Boys alum), the management consultant who has the health ministers ear, speaks the new version of the old conservatism: The notion of a hospital catering for a community from birth to death is a sentimental one. Its the stuff of television. We do not need these birth-to-death emporiums.

Austerity has once again dried up empathy. Dr. Valentine (an appealing Sacha Dhawan, who was also in The History Boys) is warned by Salter (Peter Forbes), his ever-political hospital chairman, not to be so demonstratively caring with the patients: Just endeavor to be more detached. A whisker less affectionate. More  unfeeling. In a word, more professional.

Bennetts anger is always at its most tonic when converted into witty Bennettisms. When one hospital resident ruefully muses that Heavenll be the same as Heathrow. Therell be a VIP lounge, the economic lunacy of our age is skewered with droll eclat.

The Lehman Trilogy and Allelujah! are still working out their kinks, but together they tell a tale of unhinged modern capitalism and its worsening discontents.

charles.mcnulty@latimes.com

Follow me @charlesmcnulty
Twenty years ago, Tom Hanks Capt. John Miller looked up at Matt Damons young title character in Saving Private Ryan and whispered in a raspy voice, Earn this.

In essence, Miller was speaking about the great debt owed to the men and women of the armed forces  of any war  who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. It was a movie and a message that resonated deeply with veterans and civilians alike. Director Steven Spielberg was lauded for making such a potent statement about war and sacrifice.

The truth, however, was that Spielberg wasnt sure if anyone would see his film, which had been released in July 1998. (A special 4K DVD edition of the film was released this spring by Paramount.)

I didnt anticipate the success of the movie, he says today. In very early screenings, certain associates and other people in my life were saying that I made it too tough. I feared that almost nobody would see it because the word of mouth would spread quickly after the first 25 minutes.

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Saving Private Ryan has joined the pantheon of great war movies. Its also heavily influenced every war picture since; the type of frenetic, no-holds-barred, filmmaking style that Spielberg brought to Omaha Beach, and later in the Alamo-like siege of the French village of Ramelle, has inspired a new generation of filmmakers  in film and television  who have adopted his style of putting the audience deep into the action. Gladiator, Flags of Our Fathers, The Pacific, Hacksaw Ridge, Dunkirk and certainly all of the high-action superhero films all owe a nod to Private Ryan, particularly the D-Day scene.

Audiences, indeed, were stunned by the opening dramatization of the U.S. landing on Omaha Beach. In jaw-dropping, realistic fashion, using every filmmaking technique in his toolbox, Spielberg showed American soldiers being annihilated by a seemingly unbreakable line of German fortifications, beach obstacles and firepower. In more than 50 years of World War II combat films, no major filmmaker had ever dared show so much.

Steven Spielberg, and Tom Hanks on the set of the movie Saving Private Ryan. (HBO)

And yet no modern filmmaker was more qualified to tell this story than Spielberg. It wasnt just his ability to throw audiences into the midst of startling screen moments. Spielberg was a student of World War II, a man fascinated with the drama, the stakes, the history. Given a movie camera as a teenager, Spielberg could have picked any story and any genre to film. Out of the box, he chose to make World War II films.

Recalls Spielberg, I picked World War II because, growing up, it was the seminal conversation inside my family. My parents talked about the Holocaust and they talked about World War II. And I was born knowing this. My dad was a veteran  hes still with us, thank God, 101 years old  he was in the Army Air Corps from 1942 to the beginning of 1945.

He had many veterans over to the house, and I became absolutely obsessed with the Second World War, based on my fathers stories, recollections and also based on all the World War II movies that eventually began playing on American television.

Hanks was another teenager immersed in World War II history. Says Hanks today, Starting in 1973, local Channel 2 up in Oakland ran The World at War. I couldnt get enough of it. And that tied into the connection that Steven and I shared, that we had grown up on an awful lot of fictional movies about World War II, or films that took moments from the war and then turned them into understandable morality plays like a certain type of genre movie.

Hanks also points out that prior to Private Ryan there hadnt been many major studio World War II combat films since A Bridge Too Far, over 20 years earlier. Says Hanks, The concept of looking at military service in these wars had evolved into an examination of the constant human folly of going to war in the first place. `Catch-22 and movies like `MASH had come along, and they werent about the struggles of combat.

The international success of Private Ryan was not only due to the intensely realistic filmmaking by Spielberg, but also the entertaining story, based on a script by Robert Rodat, and the amazing team of actors assembled to tell an extraordinary story.

It was probably my greatest professional experience and a major learning experience for me, both as a filmmaker and as an actor, says Ed Burns, an independent filmmaker who was cast as Pvt. Reiben, the BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle) man.

Burns wasnt the only filmmaker cast in the film. Vin Diesel had just completed two films  Multi-Facial, a short, and a feature film titled Strays  and miraculously for Diesel, Spielberg had seen them. Diesel had been auditioning for stage, film and television roles for years with little success. His turn toward filmmaking was his last effort to try to make an actual living in Hollywood. Diesel was working as a telemarketer, trying to make ends meet when Spielberg called him and changed his life virtually overnight.

He asked me to meet him on the set of `Amistad  recalls Diesel. And I remember thinking, How should I look? Hes writing a role for me based on my being a director, so what do I do here? And what was I going to say to him? I promised myself I wouldnt say something hes probably heard a thousand times, like, Im a big fan of your work. And, lo and behold, I get in front of him and he says, Im a fan of your work, and I say, Im such a fan of your work.

Like Vin Diesels Pvt. Carpazo character, Adam Goldbergs Pvt. Mellish had not yet crystallized in the script. Says Goldberg, My role wasnt written in the movie until I was cast. During the auditions, we didnt have scenes from `Saving Private Ryan. Everyone who read for the film read sides from A Midnight Clear, a World War II movie from a few years before. Like Burns and Diesel, Goldberg had just directed his own first feature, the drama Scotch and Milk.

Tom Hanks, right, and Tom Sizemore, left, appear in a scene from the movie Saving Private Ryan. (David James / AP)

Tom Sizemore, who won the part of Sgt. Horvath, right hand to Capt. Miller, wasnt even supposed to be in the film. He was hired to play a key role in Terrence Malicks The Thin Red Line, and he was about to leave for shooting in Australia when Spielberg came calling. Says Sizemore, He came right out and said, Do you want to go to Australia with Terry Malick or do you want to come to Great Britain and Ireland with me and Tom Hanks? And I told him I wanted to go to Great Britain and Ireland.

Another actor who was summoned to the soundstage-based deck of the Amistad was Canadian actor Barry Pepper, who was then rooming with fellow Canadian Ryan Reynolds in the San Fernando Valley. For Spielberg, Pepper would transform into Tennessee sharpshooter Pvt. Jackson. Pepper was overwhelmed by the experience.

It was a seminal experience for me because it was like being invited behind the curtain of Oz. Steven and his crew were operating on a total different level than I had ever witnessed  the scope of his vision, the attention to detail was beyond anything I had ever dreamed of.

Private Ryan is packed with emotional combat scenes. One of the most gripping is a fight between Goldbergs Mellish character and a German SS soldier. Says Goldberg, I was originally just going to be shot in the final battle, when [senior military advisor] Capt. Dale Dye suggested that I get into a hand-to-hand combat fight, because one of the things I excelled in at boot camp was using the bayonet.

So Steven and I started talking about it, about wanting it to be as realistic as possible. There was a lot more of what you saw in the rough cut  it was so graphic that Stevens projectionist  who projected the dailies in Los Angeles  told him he cant leave the scene in the movie. Its too painful to watch. Remembering back, I think there was a lot more of me screaming how much it hurts.

Speaking of painful scenes to watch, on the other side of the wall from Goldbergs desperate fight stands actor Jeremy Davies unit translator, Cpl. Upham, frozen in place, unable to come to Mellishs aide. That scene was literally invented on its shooting day by Spielberg, who was creating timeless moments, seemingly on the fly.

Halfway through the shoot, says Davies, Steven took me aside and said hed seen some of the dailies, and that hed been inspired to start telling Ryan from Uphams POV. He told me that Upham represented the audience more than any other character, given that, of course, most of us will never experience war, and Upham was only trained to serve as an interpreter in noncombat situations.

Regarding the enigma of Hanks Capt. Miller character, Spielberg says, Tom was the adult in the story. Tom has played adults and sometimes as an adult hes played a kid. In this case, he brought something to the movie that I hadnt seen Tom bring to any other movie before, and that was a stillness. I felt safe around him; I felt safe around his character. So when his hand shakes  and we played that hand shaking a lot  it was meant to discombobulate the audience.

Adds Hanks, One of the things we did was examine the true past of Charlie Company, 2nd Ranger Battalion, where they had been prior to D-Day, and we learned that their history stretched back to North Africa and the disaster of the Kasserine Pass. They had a protracted history of battle in World War II prior to D-Day  and from that, I discovered other avenues in to what [Millers] behavior was and what he was actually thinking. I think he was horribly afraid because he didnt want to get more guys killed. And landing on that concept really changed everything.

The Omaha Beach sequence was naturally the most challenging scene in the film. Baby boomer audiences had previously seen the 1962 version of the battle in Darryl F. Zanucks The Longest Day. However, it was shot from a distance, and Spielberg was determined to put his cameras right in the surf as the men came ashore.

Before shooting began, the director spoke with author Stephen E. Ambrose, considered one of the top World War II historians in the country. Says Spielberg, Stephen Ambrose gave me contact information for some of the veterans who had actually stormed Omaha and Utah Beach on June 6th  he had interviewed a lot of them for his book Citizen Soldiers  and I met with a couple of them.

I remember one of the guys telling me the entire charge up the beach was a blur  not a blur to his memory, because he still remembered every single grain of sand when he had his face buried in it from that fusillade raining down on them from above. But he described how everything was not in focus for him. And he described the sounds, and he described the vibrations of every concussion of every 88 shell that hit the beach, which gave some of them bloody noses, rattled their ears. The ground would come up and slam into their faces from the concussions.

Burns relates a story that occurred on the last day of shooting. The very last scene we shot is the interior of the church  I think it was our only interior scene in the whole movie. At lunchtime, Tom takes the group of of us back behind the church; hes got a bottle of Jack Daniels and a bunch of shot glasses. He pours us a shot and says, Guys, I want to make a little toast about how great an experience its been working with all of you. Then he says, Ive been to the editing room and Ive seen what Steven has cut so far, and I have good news and bad news.

The good news is that we are making a pretty incredible film and if the movie turns out like I think its going to turn out, were all going to be part of film history. This is a movie that will live on long after were all gone. Generations will watch this movie after youve all passed. Thats the good news. The bad news is that its all downhill from here.

Screenwriter and film historian Steven Jay Rubin is the author of Combat Films: American Realism 1945-2010.

calendar@latimes.com
Is it possible to be a great filmmaker and not make great films? Steve Mitchells entertaining documentary King Cohen makes that case for prolific writer-director-producer Larry Cohen, who worked steadily in New York and Hollywood from the late 50s to the 2000s, inspiring other independent artists with his creativity and ingenuity  without ever really delivering a masterpiece.

Dont misunderstand: Cohens responsible for some of the most memorable B-movies of the 70s and 80s, including Black Caesar, Its Alive, Q, The Stuff and God Told Me To (the latter of which comes closest to peerless genius). But his real legacy may be the way he worked.

Mitchell follows a conventional bio-doc model with King Cohen, leaning heavily on interviews with the man himself, intercut with copious clips from his movies and comments from frequent collaborators (such as actors Michael Moriarty and Fred The Hammer Williamson) and admiring peers (fellow directors John Landis, Joe Dante, and Martin Scorsese).

The film drags a bit in its final third, when the stories start to get repetitive and the movies that Cohen talks about are less interesting. But the anecdotes from Cohens early years in TV, coming up with a new salable idea nearly every day  and the tales of how he made impressive-looking genre films by hiring veteran crews that couldnt find work and stealing shots without permits  are like a blueprint for how a clever artist can get a lot from a little.

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King Cohen

Not rated

Running time: 1 hour, 47 minutes.

Playing: Ahrya Fine Arts, Beverly Hills; Laemmle NoHo 7, North Hollywood

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calendar@latimes.com
The skin-care race is revving up.

The categorys rally, which got rolling roughly 18 months ago, is steadily gaining momentum. Sales of prestige treatment products are running 14 percent ahead in the U.S. for the latest 12-month period, ended in May, according to the NPD Groups total measured market. That compares with a 9 percent increase for 2017 and 3 percent for 2016.

Those figures make skin care beautys emerging growth engine, outpacing makeup. Color cosmetics is still a larger category  with $2 billion in first-quarter sales versus $1.5 billion for skin care  but its sales gained just 4 percent in the latest 12-month period, according to NPD.

Makeup is still booming in some of the less-developed markets, said Carol Hamilton, group president of the Luxe division of LOreal USA. But the growth of skin care is beating makeup in every single market.

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The generational shift that has electrified makeup is also behind the surge in skin care. Whats new and different is you now have the Millennials incredibly interested, passionate and turned on to [the category], said Jane Hertzmark Hudis, group president at Estee Lauder Cos. When you add the Millennials to the ageless [those over age 45] you get explosive growth.

The U.S. isnt the only market surging. Millennials across Asia, too, are showing an interest. You have young people who are able to understand the trends from Korea, the cool products from Japan, said Hertzmark Hudis. So this is a global movement.

The growing popularity of health and wellness is a key driver for the category. Hamilton credits the inspiration for the wellness trend, at least in the U.S., to the advent of SoulCycle in 2006. It took the drudgery out of working out and made it much more about your mental health. It made it fun, she said. But she also sees a deeper meaning at work. Skin care, in the context of well-being, is the tool shaping a new beauty standard, she said, one that prizes the appearance of healthy, glowing skin.

Its become a new status symbol, she said. The selfie makeup look that said you were cool and with it and had a certain stature was five years ago. Today the new beauty status symbol is this glowing skin that looks like you are not wearing anything.

Hamilton muses that the move away from makeup is possibly reflective of a larger change in the national zeitgeist as the public discourse turns more serious. The populations more responsible mood has affected even attitudes toward ones appearance. The shift from less frivolous values to deeper values is one which favors skin care, wellness and health over highly decorative makeup, she said. There is this profound social trend of awareness. While established brands like Clinique, Estee Lauder, Lancome, Philosophy and La Mer are posting healthy growth in skin care, the category  like makeup  has mushroomed with the influx of indie and new brands from the U.S., Europe and Korea.

Its outside of the more traditional or legacy brands, said Larissa Jensen, executive director and industry analyst of NPD Group, of skin cares growth. Were seeing a lot of brands entering skin care. As a category, its probably the most fragmented. Theres just a lot more players.

Rising brands include Drunk Elephant, Tata Harper, Tatcha, Sunday Riley and Dr. Jart. As with makeup, Sephora has been a key driver of the categorys gains, posting double-digit increases, according to Artemis Patrick, chief merchandising officer. To do so, it has leveraged its digital footprint, with initiatives like a Skin Care Aware Group, which launched on Sephora.com in 2017 and now numbers 314,237 people. In this group there is a massive interest in self-care and wellness and thats really motivating the interest in skin care, she said. Skin is a natural extension of wellness, nutrition and health. Those two worlds are absolutely colliding.

Patrick cited the innovation and social media dexterity of indie brands like Drunk Elephant, Tatcha and Sunday Riley in discussing her top performers, whose brand founders are stepping up to the camera and answering questions from their constituents via social media. On Drunk Elephant, Tiffany Masterson is answering any questions people have, Patrick said. Sunday does the same.

When we really see success is when we combine the power of those brand founders with our digital channel. For example, Victoria Tsai from Tatcha participated in a live chat on our Beauty Insider platform. We saw a three-time lift versus our average comments, she said.

Consequently, established brands like Kiehls and La Mer have quickly upped their games as well, telling their story really well and continuing to bring in new consumers, Patrick said.

One of the breakthroughs for Lauder, for example, came two years ago with Cliniques Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm, a makeup remover launched at the height of the selfie craze. Last October, before-and-after videos were shot, using influencers and celebrities  Kristen Chenoweth and Blake Lively  for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We got over two-and-a-half million views during that time and raised $250,000, said Jane Lauder, global brand president of Clinique, who shot and posted one of herself, as well. But the idea is that in skin care now were finally figuring out how to connect stories visually as well as being storytellers.

When Lauder and others talk about storytelling, theyre not talking about traditional skin-care claims. The antiaging claims race that escalated over the last decade in the treatment category has become a completely different conversation. Today the stories that are most resonant are founder stories, said Jensen at NPD. It is their ability to tell their stories  of their brand, their owner, their ingredients, she said. Its not about the facts, or the claims. Its emotion.

Candor and transparency are also a big plus, particularly in terms of ingredients. The rush to transparency has gotten so strong that the major houses are following suit by spotlighting key ingredients in their products. Theyre recognizing that this is the way to communicate with consumers, Jensen said.

In August, Sephora will look to drive the momentum of skin care with a new area dedicated to clean brands and wellness. There will be quite a few launches tied into that strategy, said Patrick, noting that while hydrators are the hottest category, emerging items like ingestibles are gaining in importance.

Wendy Liebmann, founder and president of WSL Strategic Retail, suggests that the future of skin care lies in a combination of products like these and services like Skin Laundry with its 10-minute laser facials.

Theres also an element of cross-breeding in the future. What is becoming more relevant is a skin-care and makeup hybrid, said Sarah Lee, cofounder of Glow Recipe, which recently launched its fourth product  a Watermelon Jelly sheet mask, and is said to be on track to hit $30 million in retail sales this year. Rather than using one product after another, consumers want products that can go beyond traditionally what [products] used to do, she continued. Not just a foundation or makeup but [something that] actually hydrates and protects your skin with SPF and with antiaging properties.

If brands can continue to deliver on consumers ever-increasing expectations, look for the current growth surge to continue. Its going to continue to be about product performance, innovation and teaching, said Patrick, adding the importance of social media for good measure. More and more brands are going to get on that movement.
She was a 17-year-old who loved the beach and was looking forward to the prom when the principal at Los Angeles High School gave her the shocking news.

Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga would always remember what the man said in explaining why, just two months from graduation, she and other Japanese American students would not receive their diplomas.

 Because your people bombed Pearl Harbor,  she quoted the principal as saying after the attack in 1941. He put the responsibility for Pearl Harbor on our shoulders.

She was soon forced out of school and into an internment camp.

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Herzig-Yoshinaga, an activist and researcher who would go on to uncover key documents that proved the U.S. government had racist motives for incarcerating Japanese Americans during World War II, died Wednesday in Torrance. She was 93.

She died following a brief illness, said her son, David Abe.

Herzig-Yoshinagas discovery of the records, described by experts as a bombshell finding, played a major role in a landmark law that provided reparation payments to internees and a formal apology by President Reagan in 1988.

Her work also served as critical evidence in throwing out the convictions of three men who defied confinement orders and curfew laws targeting Japanese Americans.

Herzig-Yoshinaga was a researcher for the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Citizens, a group created by Congress in 1980 to study the relocation orders of World War II.

Shed become a master at navigating the National Archives in Washington, D.C., after spending much of her personal time there in her 50s, galvanized by the social movements of the 1960s and 70s and driven by a sense of injustice over her incarceration decades earlier.

One day in 1982, she found a red, bound volume containing a draft report by Lt. Gen. John L. DeWitt that detailed an official rationale for sending Japanese Americans to internment camps.

The government had long claimed that the internment of 120,000 people of Japanese descent on the West Coast was done out of military necessity because there was little time to determine their individual loyalties.

But DeWitts draft report said the reason for the relocations was not that there was insufficient time, but that Japanese cultural traits made it impossible to separate the sheep from the goats and distinguish who could be trusted.

We were astounded, said Peter Irons, a retired professor of political science at UC San Diego who was working alongside Herzig-Yoshinaga at the time.

We hadnt the faintest idea that it existed, or that the changes made to it were designed to conceal the racist reasons for the internments, Irons said. He added that the draft report was instrumental in his efforts to overturn the convictions of Japanese Americans who defied the curfew and relocation orders.

The document Herzig-Yoshinaga found was a record that the government hoped no one would ever discover, Irons said. All such copies were believed to have been burned. The discovery contributed to the commissions finding that interment was driven by race prejudice, war hysteria and the failure of political leadership.

The research led to the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which provided each surviving internee $20,000 and an official apology.

Born in 1924 in Sacramento to Japanese immigrants, Herzig-Yoshinaga was raised in Los Angeles and hoped to attend secretarial school after graduating from high school.

When relocation orders came in 1942, she eloped with her boyfriend and the two were shipped to the Manzanar internment camp in the eastern Sierra, far from her mother, father and siblings, who were sent to other camps.

Herzig-Yoshinaga gave birth to a baby girl at Manzanar. After the camps were shut down a few years later, she moved to New York City, remarried, and had two more children.

Her third husband, Jack Herzig, was a former U.S. Army paratrooper who fought the Japanese during World War II. He initially knew little about the internments but became an active partner in his wifes quest to understand the governments actions against her community.

Together they would scrutinize archives, and their condominium in Washington, D.C., was eventually overtaken by boxes containing the records. He died in 2005 at age 83.

Dale Minami, a San Francisco-based attorney who knew Herzig-Yoshinaga, described her as a gracious woman with a steely commitment to social justice.

Minami was lead counsel in a successful effort in 1983 to overturn the conviction of Fred Korematsu, who had been arrested in 1942 for refusing to report to an internment center. The case relied on Herzig-Yoshinagas finding.

She wasnt out there in front of the cameras and doing public speaking, but what she discovered laid the groundwork for the Commission [on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Citizens] to say that the incarcerations were wrong, said Lorraine Bannai, a professor at Seattle University School of Law who also worked on the Korematsu case.

She never sought public recognition, Bannai said. She would say, Its all these young people who did all of this work, and Im privileged to be a part of it. 

maya.lau@latimes.com

Twitter: @mayalau
Outraged by a deal between wealthy landowners and state officials that bars the public from accessing Hollister Ranch by land, a coalition of activists on Monday took a final shot at opening a secluded stretch of the California coast.

The legal challenge is the publics only way to intervene in an agreement reached quietly by the state Coastal Commission, the California Coastal Conservancy and the Hollister Ranch Owners Assn. granting access to a section of untarnished shoreline in Santa Barbara County only to select guided tours or those who can boat or paddle in.

Coastal officials in return agreed to give up their claim of any public route by land, capping a bruising legal battle with powerful landowners, who for decades have fought to keep Hollister Ranchs 8.5 miles of coastline almost entirely to themselves.

This deal is unfair to the beach-going public, said the Gaviota Coast Conservancy, California Coastal Protection Network, Coastwalk/California Coastal Trail Assn. and the Santa Barbara County Trails Council in a motion to Santa Barbara County Superior Court.

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This proposed settlement was conceived and executed behind closed doors, and offers no benefit to public coastal access, said Marc Chytilo, an attorney representing the groups. It has become necessary for community groups to step into the breach and prevent this one-sided relinquishment of public rights and misuse of funds.

Hollister Ranch encompasses 14,500 acres of hilly grassland, coastal sage scrub and secluded beaches. (Hollister Ranch Owners Assn.)

The deal received preliminary approval in May. But in an unusual legal twist, Judge Colleen Sterne said she was concerned that the public was not provided sufficient knowledge of the settlement and invited Californians to formally intervene as a third party to the case.

The response has been immense. More than 1,500 people emailed the Coastal Commission lambasting the deal. Attempts of reaching the beach by kayak have proven treacherous even for the most able-bodied and experienced.

Column: Hollister Ranch access agreement is a wipeout and a sellout, hundreds of beach lovers scream 

The public seemed intentionally left out of the negotiations, advocates said, pointing to a court brief by the state attorney generals office arguing that offering the public this opportunity to intervene was unnecessary and would undermine the power of public agencies to settle cases and unnecessarily delay litigation.

Nothing requires that the public be given notice of the carefully crafted settlement the parties have achieved in this case, let alone an opportunity to comment on the settlement, the brief said. The Conservancy and Commission fully represent the interests of the public in this matter.

The optics, critics said, are damaging  particularly at a time when high-powered interests across the state are fighting to keep beaches to themselves. At Martins Beach, a Silicon Valley billionaire is trying to challenge the very constitutionality of the states Coastal Act before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Some commissioners, who had voted in closed session last year, said they were also taken aback by the terms of the deal.

There are a lot of things that have been pointed out by the public that make me feel uneasy about the settlement, Commissioner Mark Vargas said, addressing those who spoke out during a meeting in Santa Cruz earlier this month. I was not privy to some of these final notes from the settlement agreement until recently, and they make me very uncomfortable, they make me very nervous. I sympathize and appreciate the publics input on this.

Attorneys for the Hollister Ranch Owners Assn. said they will review the filings.

(Jon Schleuss / Los Angeles Times)

The clash over property rights and public access at Hollister Ranch began about 40 years ago when a group of landowners sued the Coastal Commission for requiring public access-ways when applying for development permits. State lawmakers allowed them to pay a $5,000 fee in lieu of an access way. This money, amounting to $295,000 today, was set aside to fund a state access plan that remains in limbo.

With Hollister Ranch essentially exempted from the typical access rules for beachside properties, the last chance the state had for public access by land was a rugged road that the YMCA offered to open to the public in 1982 as it sought permission to build a recreational center.

Coastal officials are now agreeing to give up any claim to this path. The route involves walking through a drainage tunnel that opens into a steep and sudden drop, depending on the amount of sand. Making this trail safe for the general public, they said, would be nearly impossible.

The public access by land, which coastal officials gave up under the settlement deal, would require people to walk through a drainage tunnel to get to the beach. (California Coastal Commission)

With such limited options, they said, the deal at least provides the first opening of any public access at Hollister Ranch. Officials are looking into boat rides to the beach and other ways to expand public access by ocean.

Landowners, as part of the settlement, agreed to expand the Hollister Ranch Managed Access Program. This includes inviting disabled veterans and other underserved groups on guided trips, and providing at least 24 opportunities a year for K-12 groups of at least 20 students to learn about tide pools and marine ecosystems.

These programs will be funded by the in-lieu fees, according to the settlement. Critics say this is an insult to the original public access plan and further hampers the states ability to fight for more access in the future.

Read more about the Hollister Ranch settlement deal 

Coastal Commission Executive Director Jack Ainsworth said the settlement, though not ideal, shows just how hard it has been to win access at Hollister Ranch.

The comments received, the public angst has provided an opportunity to shine a bright light on the historic lack of public access at Hollister Ranch, he told commissioners. I believe the answer to opening up wider public access to the ranch will take a legislative change.

The ranch has infamously kept the public at bay with a guard shack, gates and security patrols. Landowners have contended that letting the public in could spoil the ranchs coastline and undo years of effort to protect the environment.

Rich Everett, an organic farmer from Santa Cruz who recently bought property on Hollister Ranch, said unfettered use of the ranchs roads presents many safety concerns. Cattle roam on private roads free of fencing, he said, and cars have been known to go into the ranchs many steep canyons  with no fire and rescue within a reasonable distance.

The state doesnt have the resources to properly keep the public safe The state doesnt have the resources to take on more land, he said. Have them focus on taking care of the coastline that they do have thats open, and see how they do with that.

Judy Alexander of Santa Barbara, who said the Hollister Ranch settlement is concerning, calls on the Coastal Commission to fight for public beach access for all. (David Royal / For the Times)

In the more than 1,500 emails to the commission, Californians pushed back and said the deal is not in the best interest of California and its citizens, especially those who dont have the means to live right on the coast.

If we deny land access, it becomes a private beach, said Kathleen Hamilton, who drove for seven hours from Riverside to address the commission in Santa Cruz. The California beaches belong to all. And your job is to keep it that way.

There are other options, advocates said. Some suggested a trail that begins at nearby Gaviota State Park beach, where theres plenty of parking. A 2-mile hike would be a lot easier, they said, than a 2-mile paddle along a dangerous stretch of coast. Hikers could also reserve times to prevent overcrowding, as is the practice at some public parks.

One of the principle purposes of the Coastal Act is to maximize the publics access to and along the beach and to achieve recreational opportunities for all the people, the coalition stated in its motion to intervene. The public has the right to object to terms of the settlement on the grounds that it does not represent a fair settlement and is not in the public interest.

The judge has agreed to reconvene Sept. 10 for a final hearing on whether to approve the settlement.

rosanna.xia@latimes.com

Interested in coastal issues? Follow @RosannaXia on Twitter.
The Church of Scientology and one of its former members settled a lawsuit Monday that she filed nearly a decade ago alleging she was forced to work long hours as a preteen and was coerced to have an abortion at 17.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mark Mooney met privately with attorneys for the church and plaintiff Laura Ann DeCrescenzo, then announced the settlement in court. Trial was scheduled to begin Aug. 13.

John Blumberg, an attorney for DeCrescenzo, said terms of the deal are confidential. Attorneys for Scientology didnt immediately return calls seeking comment.

The church was a defendant along with its Religious Technology Center. DeCrescenzos allegations included forced abortion, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, unfair business practices, and wage and hour violations.

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Blumberg said he didnt know why the defendants decided to settle, but actions by their lawyers in court indicated that they didnt want the case to go trial.

Plaintiffs attorneys subpoenaed Scientology leader David Miscavige, but church attorneys sought to quash orders for him to appear, Blumberg said.

Based on their actions in trying to prevent David Miscavige from testifying, it would lead one to the inescapable conclusion that preventing an order he testify was very important to them, Blumberg said.

According to a sworn declaration by DeCrescenzo, she began volunteering to do church work at age 6 or 7 in Orange County. She said that at age 7, she was part of a Scientology group organized to picket the same courthouse where trial of her lawsuit would take place, according to City News Service.

She said the demonstration showed the churchs ability to go to every length to bring down people who filed lawsuits against the institution, whose followers include actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta.

I believed that if I took any action against the Church of Scientology  whether filing a lawsuit or even speaking negatively about the Church of Scientology  that I would be subjected to severe retribution, including significant financial penalties and loss of my family, DeCrescenzo stated.

When DeCrescenzo was 12, she was recruited to join the organizations elite Sea Org, which she said is responsible for overseeing the delivery of the religion worldwide.

DeCrescenzo alleged that she was initially required to work daily from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and that two more hours were later added to her workday. DeCrescenzo says she remained with Sea Org until 2004, when she was 25.

She says she was told she could not leave Sea Org and was released from duty only after she pretended to attempt suicide by swallowing bleach.

DeCrescenzo alleged she became pregnant in February 1996 and was persuaded by the church to have an abortion to show her allegiance to Sea Org and its long hours.

The case was previously dismissed by another judge, but a three-justice panel of the 2nd District Court of Appeal reversed the decision in June 2011 and sent it back to the judge to determine whether the church was permitted to raise the statute of limitations as a defense.

The trial was scheduled to be conducted in two phases, beginning with a non-jury trial before Mooney to determine whether DeCrescenzo acted reasonably in waiting so long to file her lawsuit. If he had ruled in her favor, a jury would have decided any liability and damages.
A college student visiting his adoptive family in Sherman Oaks over the summer was taken into police custody early Tuesday after authorities said he stabbed his father and a second man.

The attack occurred before 1 a.m. in the 4600 block of Burnett Avenue, said LAPD spokeswoman Norma Eisenman.

The students mother called police and said that her son had stabbed his father and a second man who was also described as his father, Eisenman said. One person suffered cuts to the face, she said.

According to police, the attack occurred during a family argument.

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Whenever something in the home gets so far out of hand where violence is the option, theres a lot to be concerned about, said LAPD Lt. Mike Kozak.

(Los Angeles Times)

One victim was listed in critical condition and the other was in stable condition, Eisenman said. The 25-year-old suspect suffered cuts to his hand and was treated at the scene before being taken into custody, she said.

He did discuss the incident with us and he let us know he was involved with the incident and so theres no outstanding suspect, Kozak said.

joseph.serna@latimes.com

For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter.
Tatiana Velasquez wept Monday as she bent down beside a makeshift memorial outside Trader Joes in Silver Lake and scrawled a message to her manager at the store where shes worked for a year.

Our angel Mely, she wrote on the concrete in blue chalk. #017 crew will never forget you.

Velasquez was among dozens of people who visited the grocery store  known internally as No. 17  to pay tribute to Melyda Corado, 27, who was killed Saturday afternoon in a shootout between a gunman and Los Angeles police.

Mourners left bouquets of flowers and candles. Co-workers, customers and strangers wrote messages on colorful sticky-notes and posters made of paper Trader Joes shopping bags.

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She was always in a good mood, always smiling. Its devastating that Ill never see her again, said Velasquez, 18, lamenting that Corado will never get to be a mother, something shed talked about often. She was someone everyone knew. She was always ready to greet customers.

Jorge Magallon, a 62-year-old Silver Lake resident who has been a regular customer for a decade, said Corado was a hard worker. She was always this way and that, asking: What do you need? Do you need anything?  he said.

The deadly confrontation stunned the tight-knit neighborhood, where residents routinely alert neighbors of goings-on using the social media app Nextdoor and sometimes walk their dogs while wearing pajamas. Company officials said the store will remain closed until further notice.

1 / 16 Paolo Singer, 27, of Silver Lake prays at a memorial outside of Trader Joes in Silver Lake, where a shooting left one woman dead and at least two wounded Saturday. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 16 A portrait of Melyda Corado, who was shot and killed Saturday, is pinned to a memorial outside Trader Joes in Silver Lake. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 16 Fiona Shields, of Los Feliz, leaves a note at a memorial outside of Trader Joes in Silver Lake on Monday. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 16 A couple embrace at a memorial Sunday night for Melyda Corado, a store manager who was killed in Saturdays shootout involving a gunman and LAPD officers at Trader Joe s in Silver Lake. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 16 Members of the community pay their respects Sunday night to Melyda Corado, a store manager who was killed in Saturday s shootout involving a gunman and LAPD officers at Trader Joe s in Silver Lake. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 16 Members of the community pay their respects Sunday night to Melyda Corado, a store manager who was killed in Saturday s shootout involving a gunman and LAPD officers at Trader Joe s in Silver Lake. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 16 Community members mourn for Melyda Corado, the Trader Joes store manager who was killed Saturday in Silver Lake. Photographs by Marcus Yam Los Angeles Times (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 16 People embrace outside a Trader Joes market after a gunman took dozens of people hostage inside the store before surrendering to police. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 16 A woman is evacuated on a gurney outside the Silver Lake Trader Joes where a gunman held hostages for several hours. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 16 A gunman suspected of shooting two people at a South L.A. home before opening fire outside a Trader Joes in Silver Lake is in custody after a tense standoff. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 16 The scene around the Trader Joes in Silver Lake after a police pursuit ended near there and a hostage drama ensued. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 16 Officials push a gurney to the scene of the Silver Lake Trader Joes where a gunman held hostages for several hours. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 16 Los Angeles police SWAT officers escort a group of people who were held for their safety by police at businesses surrounding a Trader Joes market after a gunman took dozens of people hostage inside the store before surrendering to police. (Damian Dovarganes / AP) 14 / 16 Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, center, and Police Chief Michel Moore, right, brief the media at a news conference after a gunman held dozens of people hostage inside a Trader Joes market before surrendering to police in Los Angeles. (Damian Dovarganes / AP) 15 / 16 A woman is evacuated on a gurney outside the Silver Lake Trader Joes where a gunman held hostages for several hours. (Damian Dovarganes / AP) 16 / 16 In this image from video provided by KNBC-TV, Los Angeles police remove a passenger from a car that crashed after police pursuit of a driver who then ran into a nearby Trader Joes market in Silver Lake. (KNBC-TV via AP)

This is a place so many people go to on a daily basis, said Jennifer Rovero, a photographer who was in the stores parking lot when the rampage unfolded. This has been devastating, but today when I drove by and saw the outpouring of flowers and notes, it made me proud to be a part of our little neighborhood. Well get through this.

Authorities are working to determine whether the gunfire that killed Corado came from the suspect, Gene Atkins, or police. Los Angeles Police Cmdr. Alan Hamilton, who oversees the departments Force Investigation Division, which examines officer shootings, said the complexity of the investigation means that a preliminary presentation to the police chief may be delayed to next week.

Through tears, Velasquez on Monday recalled the harrowing moments that followed the shooting. She had been restocking the salad section when she heard tires screech and a loud crash. Then gunfire.

She ran to the stores backroom to warn her co-workers  and to hide. Velasquez pulled out her phone and typed out a text to her mom, thinking it could be her last: There is a shooting at Trader Joes. I love you always and forever. Tell everyone.

It was a message that, after graduating from high school recently, she never thought shed have to send.

I couldnt help to think theres all these kids in the U.S. who are doing the same thing, sending these last word texts while theyre in a classroom, she said, through tears. I thought Im safe, I dont have to deal with school shootings. Now theres a shooting at my workplace. Its a grocery store. People shouldnt be afraid to buy groceries.

The store was the final scene in a violent rampage that began when Atkins, 28, allegedly shot his grandmother in the South L.A. home they shared, kidnapped his girlfriend and led officers on a wild chase from Hollywood to the Trader Joes market in the span of a few hours. Atkins was arrested on suspicion of murder after the gun battle and is being held on $2-million bail.

That afternoon, Sandra Stratton heard there was an active shooter across the street from her home. Without thinking, she got in her car and fled.

That instant flight reaction was something she learned not too long ago after surviving the Las Vegas shooting at a country music concert in October. She visited Trader Joes on Monday morning to process the violence  for the second time  and offer support to survivors.

I felt like I needed to come over here and work out a few things, she said. Its like, is it going to stop?

Stratton said other survivors of the Las Vegas shooting have become her support network, and she hopes the same thing happens for those who survived Saturdays shooting at Trader Joes.

People who werent there dont understand, she said. They will never understand. Theyll say, Its OK, get over it. You dont get over it. The way you do daily things change.

After the Vegas shooting, she said, she started wearing her car keys around her neck, ready to escape quickly if necessary.

For some in the community, the shooting was infuriating  and unbearable.

Im leaving L.A. Weve had it, Silver Lake resident Patrice Leigh said as she shopped at Gelsons market nearby. L.A. is destroyed Theres no gun control.

Leigh said she had been shopping at Trader Joes just an hour before the shooting. You think, Oh my God, I could have been there,  she said.

alejandra.reyesvelarde@latimes.com | Twitter: @r_valejandra

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com | Twitter: @AleneTchek

richard.winton@latimes.com | Twitter: @LAcrimes
The Los Angeles Police Department announced Tuesday that one of its officers fired the bullet that struck and killed a Trader Joes employee in the frantic moments they exchanged gunfire with a suspect in an attempted murder case over the weekend.

On behalf of myself and the rest of the Department, I want to express my deepest condolences and sympathy to her family and everyone that knew her, Chief Michel Moore said of the store manager, Melyda Corado, 27. I know that its every officers worst nightmare to hurt an innocent bystander during a violent engagement. I spoke with the officers this morning  theyre devastated. They were devastated in the immediate aftermath of this event.

Moore said that the officer who fired the shot that killed Corado was with a partner chasing suspect Gene Atkins, who had allegedly shot his grandmother hours earlier and had repeatedly fired on pursuing officers chasing him through Hollywood and Silver Lake. The LAPD has not identified the officer who fired the shot that killed Corado.

Gene Evin Atkins appears in Los Angeles Criminal Court on Tuesday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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When Atkins crashed his car into a utility pole next to the market, he jumped out and fired at police as he ran into the store, Moore said. The two officers in closest pursuit got out of their car and returned fire. One of those bullets struck Corado, Moore said.

Im sorry to report that weve now determined through our forensic investigation that one of the officers rounds struck Miss Corado as she was exiting the market and was in close proximity to Atkins, Moore said. Miss Corado ran back inside the store and collapsed behind the managers desk.

The chief said he would wait until the investigation was completed before determining what consequences, if any, the officers involved in the gun battle would face internally. But on its face, he said, their decision to shoot at Atkins appeared justified.

I believe its what they needed to do in order to defend the people of Los Angeles, defend the people in that store and to defend themselves, Moore said. I ask that you place yourself in these two officers positions and ask yourself What would you have done?

LAPD body camera video shows an officer shootng at suspect Gene Evin Atkins as he runs into the Trader Joes market. (LAPD)

Moore noted that he was releasing details of the shooting along with police dashboard and body camera video of the incident earlier than is typical in order to frame the circumstances that these officers found themselves in.

The videos show three perspectives of the chaotic car chase through busy Silver Lake on Saturday afternoon.

As the police cruiser speeds after the suspects Toyota Camry, the gunman opens fire on the officers and shoots out his rear window.

Oh  ! Shots fired, shots fired! a male officer who is driving yells as the vehicles weave in and out of traffic in Silver Lake.

Moments later the female officer in the passenger seat says, All right, partner, I got my gun out.

Do not, do not shoot, the male officer responds. Get distance. We are getting distance.

The dash camera video then shows the suspects car swerving left onto Hyperion Avenue toward Trader Joes and then crashing head-on into a utility pole.

1 / 16 Paolo Singer, 27, of Silver Lake prays at a memorial outside of Trader Joes in Silver Lake, where a shooting left one woman dead and at least two wounded Saturday. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 16 A portrait of Melyda Corado, who was shot and killed Saturday, is pinned to a memorial outside Trader Joes in Silver Lake. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 16 Fiona Shields, of Los Feliz, leaves a note at a memorial outside of Trader Joes in Silver Lake on Monday. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 16 A couple embrace at a memorial Sunday night for Melyda Corado, a store manager who was killed in Saturdays shootout involving a gunman and LAPD officers at Trader Joe s in Silver Lake. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 16 Members of the community pay their respects Sunday night to Melyda Corado, a store manager who was killed in Saturday s shootout involving a gunman and LAPD officers at Trader Joe s in Silver Lake. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 16 Members of the community pay their respects Sunday night to Melyda Corado, a store manager who was killed in Saturday s shootout involving a gunman and LAPD officers at Trader Joe s in Silver Lake. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 16 Community members mourn for Melyda Corado, the Trader Joes store manager who was killed Saturday in Silver Lake. Photographs by Marcus Yam Los Angeles Times (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 16 People embrace outside a Trader Joes market after a gunman took dozens of people hostage inside the store before surrendering to police. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 16 A woman is evacuated on a gurney outside the Silver Lake Trader Joes where a gunman held hostages for several hours. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 16 A gunman suspected of shooting two people at a South L.A. home before opening fire outside a Trader Joes in Silver Lake is in custody after a tense standoff. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 16 The scene around the Trader Joes in Silver Lake after a police pursuit ended near there and a hostage drama ensued. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 16 Officials push a gurney to the scene of the Silver Lake Trader Joes where a gunman held hostages for several hours. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 16 Los Angeles police SWAT officers escort a group of people who were held for their safety by police at businesses surrounding a Trader Joes market after a gunman took dozens of people hostage inside the store before surrendering to police. (Damian Dovarganes / AP) 14 / 16 Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, center, and Police Chief Michel Moore, right, brief the media at a news conference after a gunman held dozens of people hostage inside a Trader Joes market before surrendering to police in Los Angeles. (Damian Dovarganes / AP) 15 / 16 A woman is evacuated on a gurney outside the Silver Lake Trader Joes where a gunman held hostages for several hours. (Damian Dovarganes / AP) 16 / 16 In this image from video provided by KNBC-TV, Los Angeles police remove a passenger from a car that crashed after police pursuit of a driver who then ran into a nearby Trader Joes market in Silver Lake. (KNBC-TV via AP)

Seconds later, the police car stops and gunfire can be heard as the suspect springs from his vehicle, holding a weapon, and dashes into the market. It was at about that time that one of the officers bullets struck Corado, passing through her arm before entering her body, according to the police chief.

Following the initial exchange of gunfire outside the market, the officers moved to a wall opposite the market. Atkins allegedly shot three more times at police from inside, striking the wall and a pole near police, Moore said. The sound of rounds hitting a pole and exterior walls can be heard on at least one of the officers body camera video.

The incident then turned into a hostage crisis that ended hours later with Atkins surrender. No other customers or employees were injured.

Following Moores announcement Tuesday morning, Mayor Eric Garcetti released a statement supporting the chiefs choice to release the videos and circumstances of Corados death.

Saturday was a dark day for the family of Melyda Corado, and it is our responsibility to shed light as quickly as possible on what happened, the statement read. Melydas loved ones are entitled to answers  and Angelenos deserve complete transparency in understanding the full circumstances of her death.

I met with Melydas father on Saturday to share my sorrow over his daughters death, and he has my commitment to a thorough investigation and helping the family in any way possible  as they take those first, enormously difficult steps toward coping with the trauma of losing such a vibrant, compassionate young woman who was loved by so many.

Atkins, 28, faces 31 charges, including one count each of murder, kidnapping, fleeing a pursing peace officers vehicle while driving recklessly, grand theft, driving or taking a vehicle without consent, shooting at an occupied vehicle and assault with a firearm. He is also charged with two counts of premeditated attempted murder, four counts of attempted murder of a peace officer, four counts of assault on a peace officer with a semiautomatic firearm, and 13 counts of false imprisonment of a hostage. The counts include special enhancements for allegedly using a gun and causing great bodily injury or death, which can increase Atkins sentence if convicted.

During a brief appearance in a downtown courtroom Tuesday, Atkins waived his arraignment until Aug. 14. Dressed in blue jail shirt and pants, Atkins showed little emotion as he stood in the defendants box surrounded by several deputies. L.A. County Superior Judge Gustavo Sztraicher ordered Atkins held on $18.75 million bail.

Chief Michel Moore wraps up a news conference at LAPD headquarters, where he announced that one of his officers fired the bullet that struck and killed a Trader Joes employee during a confrontation with a suspect Saturday. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

The decision to engage in a firefight at the busy shopping center led some to question the LAPDs response, while others were quick to praise the officers for risking their lives in an effort to stop Atkins.

Charles Sid Heal, a retired L.A. County sheriffs commander and expert on law enforcement shootings, said the video reflects the realities of the life-and-death decisions officers face when a suspect fires at them in a public place.

The suspect created the situation and law enforcement inherited it, Heal said. The alternative was to surrender the lives of hostages inside the store, plus he could have killed those officers  you can play the scenario over and over again, but nobody is going to have a better option.

Heal, a former SWAT supervisor, said Atkins could have entered the store and shot those inside.

People in a case of a tragic loss of life will look for solutions, but sometimes there isnt one, Heal said. The standard is not perfection. As an officer, if you dont shoot here, you are risking the lives of hostages and your officers. As tragic as this loss is, this isnt a complex decision.

Its one of those lose-lose situations, Geoff Alpert, a professor of criminology at the University of South Carolina and an expert on police use of force, told The Times on Sunday. Unless you can walk away with no one else getting injured or killed, theres going to be someone criticizing something.

But some were openly critical of the LAPDs decision to shoot at Atkins when there were bystanders in the area.

How are police deciding to open fire in a packed place, in the afternoon, on a Saturday? asked Jesse Palmer, a 38-year-old neighbor of the slain woman. Its not like its an empty lot. Its not like its an abandoned warehouse. What sort of protocol is required before you shoot into an area thats congested and booming with commerce?

The chaotic series of events that led to the shooting and a subsequent standoff inside the popular Trader Joes began hours earlier in South L.A. Police said Atkins had become involved in an argument with his grandmother at their home in the 1600 block of East 32nd Street. The dispute turned bloody and Atkins shot the woman multiple times before forcing his girlfriend into his grandmothers Toyota Camry, authorities said.

Police used an anti-vehicle theft system to track Atkins to Hollywood hours later, but he fled. He shot at police during the ensuing car chase, shattering the rear window of the Camry, before crashing into a light post on Hyperion Avenue, where the Trader Joes is located, according to law enforcement officials.

Atkins fired at officers as he ran toward the store and was injured by a volley of return fire, police said.

In the gun battle, the stores manager was killed when she stepped into the parking lot.

Corados brother, Albert Corado, has been mourning his sisters death on social media since Saturday.

Im sad to say she didnt make it. My baby sister. My world. I appreciate the retweets and the love. Please respect my familys privacy as we are still coming to terms with this, he wrote Saturday night.

He followed that up on Sunday, writing: I miss my sister. I wish this wasnt happening. Feels good to be with family, though. My dad is doing his best to keep it together. I am, too. Family is coming to visit from as far away as Australia. #MelydaCorado you were immensely loved.

On Monday, he expressed appreciation for all the support flooding in for his sister.

What an amazing night. Went to the memorial for Mely outside of Trader Joes in Silverlake. The amount of people who have left flowers and notes and have lit candles is astonishing, he wrote. Saw so many of her coworkers and people who came to celebrate my sisters life.

The store where Corado worked, meanwhile, remains closed, the company said. It released a new statement Tuesday that read in part:

We remain heartbroken over the tragic death of Melyda Corado and the trauma our crew members and customers have suffered, the statement read. Mely was a valued and beloved crew member. Our sole focus remains on supporting her family and those involved in Saturdays horrible ordeal in Silver Lake. Out of respect for them, we will not be providing further comment on todays developments, but do want to again express our appreciation for the overwhelming outpouring of support from customers and crew members across the country.

UPDATES:

2:30 p.m.: This article was updated with details on Atkins appearance in court.

12:15 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from the victims brother, a statement from Trader Joes and details of the charges against the suspect.

11:40 a.m.: This article was updated with comments from Mayor Eric Garcetti and details from police camera footage.

8:50 a.m.: This article was updated with additional comments from Chief Moore.

This article was originally published at 8:15 a.m.
Elbert Big Man Howard, a co-founder of the Black Panther Party who served as a newspaper editor, an information officer and the logistics genius behind the groups popular social programs, has died at 80.

His wife, Carole Hyams, said Howard died Monday in Santa Rosa, Calif., after a long illness.

Friends and family described Howard as a gentle giant who could paint in words what a jazz song was saying. Howard was an author, volunteer jazz disc jockey, author, lecturer and activist in Sonoma County, where he made his home.

Howard was one of six people who founded the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense in Oakland in October 1966, along with Bobby Seale and Huey Newton. The political organization started out patrolling police for possible abuse against blacks.

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Key members quit in 1974 after years of fatal fights with police and each other. Later it became clear that the FBI had engaged in surveillance and harassment to undermine the party and incriminate its leaders.

Howard quit the party in 1974, but in its active years, he served as editor of its newspaper and deputy minister of information. He traveled to Europe and Asia to set up chapters and was responsible for the social programs that made the party famous.

Billy X. Jennings, a longtime friend and party archivist, said Howard was the person who negotiated lower prices and organized refrigerated trucks for food giveaways. As a college administrator, he organized a program for jail inmates to take courses.

He was a beloved member, Jennings said. People might have had different grudges against Bobby or Eldridge [Cleaver], but nobody got a grudge against Big Man.

Howard was born Jan. 5, 1938, in Chattanooga, Tenn., as the only child of Emma and Anderson Howard. He joined the Air Force and was posted to Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, Calif.

Jennings said that after Howard was discharged, he enrolled in Merritt College, where he met Seale and Newton. Seale remains active in politics. Newton was killed in 1989.

Hyams was a nurse when she met Howard in 1969; they broke up when he started traveling on party business.

He was huge, he was impressive, he was quiet, she said. He seemed shy almost, but carried himself with great distinguishment.

After Howard left the party, he returned to Tennessee and worked as a sales manager, Jennings said. The friends got back in touch in the 1990s, and Howard became active in party reunions and events.

In 2005, Hyams reached out to Howard by phone after a friends son found his information online. They got back together and were married in her Sonoma County home in 2008.

In addition to his wife, survivors include his daughter, Tynisa Howard Wilson of Landover, Md., and grandsons Jaylen and Amin; stepson Robert Grimes of San Pablo, Calif., and three step-grandchildren.
A representative from the Sexual Offenders Assessment Board is recommending Bill Cosby be classified as a sexually violent predator.

The Montgomery County District Attorney requested a hearing on the report Tuesday so a judge can decide if Cosby will be classified as a sexually violent predator. No date had been set for the hearing as of early Tuesday.

The 81-year-old was convicted April 26 on sexual assault charges related to accusations he had drugged and assaulted Andrea Constand in 2004.

The assessment, which looks at 14 different areas to determine the status, is not public. Pennsylvania law requires Cosby to register as a sex offender because of the conviction. The classification would require increased treatment in prison and increased notification of neighbors when he is released.

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Cosby is scheduled for sentencing Sept. 24.
With two days to go before a court-imposed deadline, the federal government has reunited or otherwise resolved cases for fewer than half of the 2,551 children 5 and older separated from their parents at the border, according to a Monday court filing.

The Trump administration also said it believes 463 parents were deported while their children remained in the U.S., but that it is reviewing those cases.

The filing is the latest in a class-action lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union in February on behalf of families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border under the administrations zero-tolerance immigration policy.

U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw in June ordered the Trump administration to reunify families, starting with children younger than 5. Now the administration is trying to meet a Thursday deadline for older children.

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The government reported 1,187 reunifications or other appropriate discharges. Those children were reunited with 879 parents who were still in immigration detention when the government was ordered to put the families back together, the filing said.

More than 500 parents have been green-lighted, the government said, and are waiting on transportation to be reunited with their children, many of whom were sent to facilities across the U.S.

The government reported that about 130 parents told immigration officials during interviews that they preferred their children stay in the U.S., often with other relatives.

The ACLUs attorneys have been pushing the government for the names of those parents, and in Mondays court filing called for the administration to give them an updated list.

These parents urgently need consultations with lawyers, so that they do not mistakenly strand their children in the United States, ACLU attorneys wrote in the court filing.

The government said in the filing that it would provide an updated list Tuesday. The ACLU attorneys asked the judge for an order to ensure that happens.

ACLU attorneys also want a list of deported parents. The Trump administration had agreed to provide the list by last Friday, but in Mondays filing, government attorneys said they needed more time. Some of this information is still under review, the filing said.

The government said 64 parents didnt qualify to be reunited with their children because they had significant criminal histories or were otherwise deemed ineligible.

The government first worked to meet a July 10 court deadline to reunite children younger than 5 with their parents, and now are trying to meet the Thursday deadline to return children in the 5-to-17 age group to their families.

Sabraw has repeatedly criticized the governments lack of early planning for family reunification. On Friday, he praised the governments progress toward the final deadline.

Last week, following an ACLU request, Sabraw temporarily suspended deportations of reunited families. The government plans to argue against that decision; Sabraw has scheduled a hearing for Tuesday afternoon.

Follow me on Facebook for live updates about immigration news

kate.morrissey@sduniontribune.com, @bgirledukate on Twitter
Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan is dismissing President Trumps threat to revoke the security clearances of six former top national security and intelligence officials who have been critical of his administration.

I think hes just trolling people, honestly, Ryan told reporters at a news conference Tuesday, addressing what opponents and experts say would be an unprecedented politicization of the clearance process.

This is something thats in the purview of the executive branch, Ryan added with a laugh.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday that the president was exploring the mechanisms to strip clearance from former CIA Director John Brennan as well as five other former officials who have held some of the most sensitive positions in government: former FBI Director James B. Comey; former director of national intelligence James Clapper; former CIA Director Michael Hayden; former national security advisor Susan Rice; and Andrew McCabe, who served as Trumps deputy FBI director until he was fired in March.

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RELATED: Trump considering yanking the security clearances of former officials whove criticized him 

The leaders have served in both Democratic and Republican administrations, including Trumps. But at least two of the former officials, McCabe and Comey, do not currently have security clearances, making the threat moot.

Sanders accused the officials of having politicized and in some cases monetized their public service and security clearances by making baseless accusations that the Trump administration had improper contact with Russia or was influenced by Russia.

The fact that people with security clearances are making these baseless charges provides inappropriate legitimacy to accusations with zero evidence, she said.

Sanders did not cite specific comments made by any of the officials. But the president has been seething over the backlash to his meeting last week with Russias Vladimir Putin and the ongoing investigations into Russias meddling in the 2016 election, whether his campaign aides were involved in the effort and whether he obstructed justice.

Experts said there is some dispute about whether the president has the authority to unilaterally terminate a security clearance, but said such a move would be unprecedented and ill-advised.

Legalities aside, it seems like a terrible mistake to use the security clearance system as an instrument of political vendettas, said Steven Aftergood at the Federation of American Scientists Project on Government Secrecy.

Democratic Rep. Adam B. Schiff of Burbank , a ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, tweeted that politicizing security clearances to retaliate against former national security officials who criticize the President would set a terrible new precedent.

An enemies list is ugly, undemocratic and un-American, he added.

The threat to deny the officials access to classified information marks the latest escalation in the presidents ongoing war with the members of the U.S. intelligence community. It came hours after Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky tweeted that he would be meeting with Trump to discuss revoking Brennans clearance for his scathing criticism of the presidents performance at the summit with Putin.

Paul publicly raised the idea of stripping Brennans security clearance  and pension  during appearances on Fox News last week, where he also called Brennan the most biased, bigoted, over-the-top, hyperbolic sort of unhinged director of the CIA weve ever had.

Former CIA directors and other top national security officials are typically allowed to keep their clearances, at least for some period, as a courtesy and so they can be in a position to advise their successors. The clearances are also sometimes required to work for government contractors.

While standing next to Putin, Trump last week openly questioned his own intelligence agencies conclusions that Moscow tried to tip the scales of the 2016 election in his favor and seemed to accept Putins insistence that Russias hands were clean.

Brennan slammed those comments as nothing short of treasonous and accused Trump of being wholly in the pocket of Putin.

Clapper, reacting to the White House talk of revoking clearances, said on CNN that Trumps idea was kind of a petty way of retribution, I suppose, for speaking out against the president, which I think, on the part of all of us, are borne out of genuine concerns about President Trump.

Hayden tweeted Monday that revoking his security clearance wouldnt have any effect on what I say or write. And former Brennan deputy chief of staff Nick Shapiro said Brennan hasnt made one penny off of his clearance and doesnt need a security clearance to speak out against the failings of Trump.

Melissa Schwartz, a spokeswoman for McCabe, tweeted that his security clearance was deactivated when he was terminated, per FBI policy.

You would think the White House would check with the FBI before trying to throw shiny objects to the press corps, she wrote.

Brookings Institution legal analyst Benjamin Wittes, a Comey friend, tweeted that hed texted with Comey and that the former FBI director told him that he no longer has a security clearance and was read out when he left government as per normal practice.

Wittes added that Comey declined a temporary clearance from the [inspector general] to read the classified annex to the IGs recent report. He didnt want to see any classified material lest the president accuse him of leaking it.

As for whether Trump has the authority to do what Sanders suggested, Aftergood called it a disputed question.

John V. Berry, an attorney who regularly represents federal intelligence agency employees, said he didnt see any reason the president wouldnt be able to revoke clearance but that doing so would be terrible for America and totally defeat the process of defending national security.

If we start interjecting politics into this, our countrys going to be significantly weakened, Berry said.

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said Trump had allowed his former national security advisor Michael Flynn to keep his security clearance for weeks after the Justice Department warned that he was under investigation for lying about his secret conversations with the Russians and allowed his son-in-law Jared Kushner to keep his security clearance after repeatedly concealing his foreign contacts.

President Trump should get his own staffs security clearances in order rather than engaging in crass political retribution against former officials, Cummings said in a statement.

The No. 2 Republican in the Senate, John Cornyn of Texas, told reporters he could understand Trumps aggravation, but that accusing the former top officials of abusing their security clearance was a very serious allegation and I want to see what the results are.
Progressives are right to fear Judge Brett Kavanaugh, but it is not his views on abortion, race or gay marriage that will haunt them. Instead, Kavanaughs threat to liberalism lies in his hostility to the modern technocratic state, where federal bureaucracies rule with few checks and balances.

As soon as President Trump nominated Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony M. Kennedy on the Supreme Court, Democrats resorted to their well-worn playbook. Heres House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco): Judge Kavanaughs long history of opposition to the full, fundamental right of every woman to make her own decisions about her body, family and health care poses a grave threat to womens rights and to our founders promise of liberty and justice for all.

Yet as a federal appeals court judge in the District of Columbia, an investigator for Kenneth W. Starrs Whitewater probe and a White House official under President George W. Bush, Kavanaugh has written almost nothing significant about abortion or other cultural hot topics; we know little about his legal theories on these matters. On the other hand, he has left a striking paper trail attacking the 20th century administrative state, a system that operates as a kind of perpetual-motion machine for progressivism.

If Kavanaughs views were to prevail in the Supreme Court, independent agencies might disappear into the past.

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Our modern system breaks with the framers original design for lawmaking. As James Madison noted in Federalist 51, the Constitution creates an obstacle course for any new law (familiar to those who grew up watching Schoolhouse Rock!): An identical bill must pass the two separate houses of Congress, one representing the states (the Senate) and one the people (the House), and receive presidential approval. The framers expected that federal laws would be scarce, and state laws plentiful. As Madison wrote, The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite.

For 100 years, the U.S. followed Madisons model of a modest federal government. But a century ago, during the Progressive Era, President Wilson decided federalism and the separation of powers couldnt keep pace with the demands of a industrialized society. He called on Congress to delegate broad swaths of authority to new federal agencies that could exercise expert, scientific judgment freed from politics.

During the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt put Wilsons ideas into practice with the New Deal. The Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Communications Commission and most of the other alphabet agencies in Washington date back to the New Deal; the Environmental Protection Agency and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are more current examples. These bureaucracies issue regulations with all the force of laws, execute them and even adjudicate the results, effectively becoming a fourth branch of government.

Presidents appoint the leaders of the agencies but often cant control them because Congress forbids the removal of agency heads except for violations of law or abuse of power. Courts routinely defer to agencies. And once Congress creates an agency, it rarely snatches its power back. After all, reelection comes easier if Congress members can fob off tough decisions about the environment, technology or the economy to someone else.

To progressives, the agencies insulation allows experts to set policy without the messiness of having to pass laws. Technocrats, not politicians, make complex decisions about the nations airwaves or automobile pollution. Never mind that the framers system of rare, limited federal lawmaking is replaced by a supercharged, unencumbered bureaucratic engine spewing out regulations.

Kavanaugh has directly challenged aspects of the bureaucratic fourth branch. In a 2010 article in Harvard Law Review, he attacked the Chevron doctrine, a Supreme Court ruling that requires judges to defer to an agencys interpretation of the laws it administers, calling it an atextual invention. Instead of deferring to agency experts, Kavanaugh argues, courts should closely scrutinize whether their regulations satisfy Congress directives.

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute from L.A. Times Opinion 

Kavanaugh has also suggested that the Constitution limits Congress power to delegate its legislative responsibilities to unaccountable independent bureaucrats. For example, Congress cannot simply order the EPA to clean the air without specifying why, how and or at what cost. If Kavanaughs suggestion took hold, Congress and the president might have to accept political responsibility for basic policy, rather than punting to the agencies.

Kavanaughs ideas about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are instructive. The CFPB, established after the 2008 recession, may be the most egregious of the independent agencies. Theres no commission or board, just a single director. Congress doesnt fund its operations, so it has no sway over the CFPB. Kavanaugh, in a dissenting opinion last year, argued that Congress had vested too much unfettered, unconstitutional power in a single unaccountable officer. If Kavanaughs views were to prevail in the Supreme Court, independent agencies might disappear into the past.

Kavanaughs paper trail indicates that he might very well seek to revitalize federalism and the separation of powers, rendering the administrative state more responsive and accountable. Liberals will kick and scream, but they too would benefit from a diminished and humbler bureaucracy. As we are learning during the current administration, delegated authority can be used for conservative as well as liberal ends. No one should doubt that bureaucratic insulation strengthens the technocrats at the expense of representative government.

Saikrishna Prakash is a law professor and Miller Center fellow at the University of Virginia. John Yoo is a law professor at UC Berkeley and a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand Facebook
To the editor: President Trump wants Russian leader Vladimir Putin to visit the United States for another summit later this year. This is, in my opinion, most unfortunate, because Putin can manipulate Trump.

We have already seen the presidents failures in Singapore and Helsinki. Narcissism has consequences. All an autocrat has to do is praise Trump, and the president might just give away the store. In any case, no matter what happens, Trump will describe his next meeting with Putin as a tremendous successes.

In May, the Washington Post identified more than 3,000 lies or misleading statements uttered by Trump since he took office. Unfortunately, his show is entertaining to about 40% of the country, and he was elected president, after all. Russian interference also helped him, and Russian money helped save his faltering business, but Trumps show portrayed him as a genius.

Trump did not prepare for Helsinki. He did not have to prepare, because on Trumps show, he is always an amazing success. As long as his voters like the show, then the show will go on.

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Harry C. Triandis, Carlsbad

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To the editor: Its a great idea for Trump to host Putin right around our midterm election on Nov. 6. The Russian presidents visit will help get out the vote.

Let Putin observe the protests of a free people riling against the injustice of our last tainted election. He can watch firsthand as patriots of all political parties rally together and send a message to him and Trump that We the People will not tolerate outside interference in our democracy.

An added benefit would be if special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs findings are unveiled while Putin is in the country.

Bob Hoffman, Long Beach

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
To the editor: The six distinguished former national security intelligence officials whose security clearances President Trump may revoke have provided lifetimes of public service, and there is no reason to question their loyalty.

These people have worked diligently to analyze and advise about threats from Russia and other adversaries. This is another dramatic indication of Trumps tendency to side with Russia against our intelligence community.

To serve as competent consultants to presidents, Congress and the military-industrial complex, people like former national security advisor Susan Rice and former CIA Director John Brennan should have access to the classified material that they ought to know. Their institutional knowledge is a national asset. There are no proven instances of them misusing classified material.

Trump seems unwilling to tolerate criticism of him or questions about Russias election meddling. This wholly illogical pettiness smells like a Nixonian enemies list.

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Gary Colboth, Long Beach

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To the editor: The people whose security clearances Trump now wants to revoke  Rice, Brennan, former FBI Director James B. Comey, former National Security Agency head Michael Hayden, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and former Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper  are a whos-who of the most trusted people in the United States.

The president has tried from the start to silence the news media by calling them fake news, and now he wants to silence all his critics. This is what dictators do.

When will Republicans in power realize they are Americans first?

Bart Braverman, Indio

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To the editor: These officials should lose their security clearances. Some can credibly be accused of having broken laws.

As for Rice, even years ago she was telling lies on TV about what happened in Benghazi. Did you forget our dead ambassador?

Virginia Prcic, Westlake Village

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To the editor: It certainly is not a surprise that Trump can be petty and vindictive toward anyone who dares to criticize him.

But for Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who likes to fancy himself a conservative who defends the individual from the ravages of an all-powerful federal government, to champion harsh punishments on those with the temerity to exercise their rights under the 1st Amendment is odd to say the least.

Gordon J. Louttit, Manhattan Beach

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
In a world in which facts are all too often ignored, there are some things that are simply undeniable  that every 365 days we get a year older, pollution of discarded plastics is destroying our oceans, and fashions of the 1970s were, well, lets just say, unlike those of any other era.

Those three facts melded together like a blob of lava in a lamp this past Saturday as friends of Kimberley Clark of the Burbank Unified School District gathered to celebrate her birthday in a 1970s-themed party that also served as a fundraiser for the Ocean Cleanup Foundation.

Clark, who grew up in Burbank, has been an adventurous traveler since she was very young.

She lived in Europe for 10 years, residing in six different countries before returning to Burbank.

A graduate of John Burroughs High School, Clark earned a bachelors degree with honors in English from California State University, Northridge, and a masters degree in business and transactional writing from Brunel University in London.

Having chalked up a career resume that includes work as a writer, editor and creative director for an advertising agency, she is best known for her high-profile work with Burbank Unified as the executive assistant to Supt. Matt Hill, and as the districts public information officer.

A member of the Toluca Guild of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, Clark is also a graduate of the 2014 class of Leadership Burbank, has been a longtime volunteer with the senior community outreach program at St. Josephs Medical Center and serves as a board member for the Burbank Temporary Aid Center.

In keeping with the polyester-o-plenty theme of last weeks party that honored Clark, many guests arrived in wildly patterned shirts, jumpsuits, bell-bottomed pants, platform shoes, puka shell necklaces, maxi-dresses, mini-skirts and go-go boots.

Fueled by the soundtrack of pulsating disco, the evening was rife with the sharing of throwback memories of the 70s, kindled by a display of popular toys from the decade that saw a Saturday Night Massacre lead to a presidential resignation, Saturday Night Fever define the eras music, dance and fashion, and Saturday Night Live change the landscape of American comedy.

Among those who enjoyed the flashback festivities were City Councilman Bob Frutos and his wife, Laura, Mary Catherine Logan-Brooks of Burbank Unified and her husband, Brent, and Burbank Chamber of Commerce board chairwoman Gema Sanchez and her husband, Rey.

Others who got into the grooviness of the gathering included Silvia Mancini of the Walt Disney Co., Amelia Josephine Lewis, who worked on the CBS medical drama Code Black, starring Rob Lowe and Marcia Gay Harden, which just concluded its run last week.

Also among the attendees were Connie Barron Trimble, David Dobson, Christina Ellixson, Michael Lowe, Mary Doyle, Michael Vasquez, John Ellingwood, Jeannette de los Reyes and Linda Ackerman Cozakos.

Funds raised in honor of Clark will benefit the Ocean Cleanup Foundation, which has developed a technology to extract plastic pollution from the oceans and prevent more debris from entering ocean waters.

Founded in 2013, the organization utilizes a passive method of removing marine pollutants with a drifting flotation system that catches and concentrates debris that are then extracted by support vessels.

The first system is set to be deployed this year, and the foundation estimates it will be able to clean up 50% of the debris in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch within five years of its full-scale deployment in 2020.

DAVID LAURELL may be reached by email at dlaurell@aol.com or (818) 563-1007.
Laguna Beach in Latin must mean paradox.

Beautiful, infuriating paradox. This beachside jewel that attracts 6 million visitors a year relies on tourists, yet holds them at arms length.

Privately, residents do everything they can to avoid tourists in the summer.

Go to Main Beach? Oh, heck no, too many tourists.

Heisler Park? No, absolutely not, tourists.

Downtown? No, damn tourists.

And yet tourists keep Laguna employed, so there is no outright hand-biting.

Its more like provocative nibbling.

Laguna changes during the summer  of that there is no doubt. But not all of it is bad.

Yes, there is more traffic, trash and boorish behavior. But there are some good things, subtle things, that keep it interesting. More often than not, summer in Laguna is a shimmering mirror of its visitors: grateful, spicy and otherworldly.

Foreign tongues paint the air in abstract colors, inscrutable yet mesmerizing. Its a reminder that Laguna is like Switzerland, playing no favorites. Its a seven-mile mecca that draws an international smorgasbord attracted to the same things: impossibly soft sand, on-demand leisure and infinite shades of blue.

So many bodies are on Main Beach that there isnt enough selfie space; everyone is filling the oceanic backdrop and becoming a perpetual, unwitting photobomb.

After a while, the faces and sounds start to blur because they are so unrelenting.

Instead of trying to make sense of the macro, you focus on smaller details.

Shirtless young men still have a tendency to wear their shorts low enough to show off their underwear, as if the name of another man wrapped around their waistband is somehow seductive.

Other young men will bring bulbous foam boards and try their skill at surfing, picking an empty break away from the locals. They have that much sense, at least.

Everything is a bit wonky.

Non-volleyballers play volleyball, hurting their wrists in the process.

Motorcycle packs rev their engines, infuriating everyone.

Honkers honk, and violators violate.

The beach patrol keeps busy with regular citations for open containers.

Strollers, coolers and mini-vans. Stiff suburban flip-flops are finally broken in by sea salt and barnacles.

There is ice cream everywhere, dripping and spilling no matter how fast people lick.

Dogs are popular, of course, dragged around on leashes, panting in the heat.

The homeless are largely pushed to the edges of our vision or have retreated to the canyon encampments. There seem to be new panhandlers this summer. You can tell theyre new because they havent figured out the good spots yet.

Amid the frenzy, you take refuge in a familiar face, maybe a known shopkeeper or bartender.

How are you? you ask, more fondly than usual.

Hey, they say, busy.

Shopkeepers have their game face on. They need to stay on point. Small talk is a luxury.

And maybe thats the crux of it: Residents lose their leisure during the summer to tourists, and the resentment is palpable.

One of the obvious signs youre dealing with tourists is that they patronize the wrong restaurants. I couldnt help myself late Saturday afternoon when I walked past an older couple staring blankly at the curbside menu of a particular establishment.

No, not here, I said quietly. Go two doors down to that one or the one next to it.

I rattled off a couple of extra for good measure.

Thank you, they said.

Either way, almost everyone gets business. The bars fill early and often because of inexhaustible supplies of cucumber, ginger and red chili salt.

And every summer, our weak spots get exposed.

Park Avenue is not closed yet and it shows. No one is there, except eight cars hogging their parking spaces. The only thing Park Avenue is during the summer is a pedestrian fatality waiting to happen. No one, and I mean absolutely no one, pays attention to the crosswalk signal.

Cars regularly stop on Coast Highway because of the illegal pedestrians. Its a known problem. The same applies to Forest Avenue.

Again, its a paradox. We love tourists but watch where you walk.

Maybe its just Laguna being Laguna.

Maybe its better to just lick the ice cream and enjoy the view while it lasts.

Then secretly rejoice when its over.

DAVID HANSEN is a writer and Laguna Beach resident. He can be reached at hansen.dave@gmail.com.
After reading Costa Mesa council denies permits for 2 sober-living homes (July 19), I thought about Councilwoman Katrina Foleys efforts to control sober-living homes in Costa Mesa.

I have known Foley, a longtime local business owner (law practice), Costa Mesa city councilwoman and 2018 mayoral candidate, for several years and appreciate that she has deep roots in the community. As a result, Foley doesnt take positions or make City Council decisions without considering what is best for local businesses, residents and their families, including her own family.

Foleys comment cited in the article is a very good example of her current, thoughtful position on sober-living homes and is consistent with her previous efforts. In the past, Foley led the effort to make several revisions to regulations governing sober-living homes in Costa Mesa, including requiring increased transparency and preventing evicted occupants from adding to our homeless population.

However, she recognized that state and federal laws needed to be changed in order to protect the public and patients from rehab home operators that are exploiting the current laws. Foley went to Sacramento, and Washington, D.C., to testify in committee hearings and educate committee members about the abuses of bad rehab home operators.

She has also worked with the county to obtain Costa Mesas share of mental health funding and continues to work with other cities and states to correct the laws that allow rehab home operators to exploit and traffic addiction patients.

Based on her actions and position on sober-living homes, and her vested interest in Costa Mesa, I am voting for Foley for mayor in November.

Margaret Mooney

Costa Mesa

*

Unwanted, desalination project goes forward anyway

Re O.C. Water District approves updated terms for buying water from H.B. desalination plant if Poseidon gets final permits, (July 20): Reading between the lines of staff writer Priscella Vegas article, one can deduce that the proposed Poseidon desalination plant does not enjoy much community support and is assailed as both a $1 billion boondoggle and an insult to our coastal environment. Dozens of speakers in public comments, myself among them, railed at the board for considering a project where the details were still so unclear, the costs were not yet determined, and the future is still murky after 15 years of wrangling. Dozens of speakers also criticized the board majority members for forcing this expensive water down our throats.

Tim Geddes

Huntington Beach

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Sanctuary city lawsuit is mean-spirited

Re Judge denies states request to delay Huntington Beach lawsuit against sanctuary law (July 19): What is the true meaning of Huntington Beach City Attorney Michael Gates expressing that hes very pleased with an Orange County Superior Court judges decision to allow this mean-spirited lawsuit to proceed? Further, what is the truth beneath Huntington Beach Mayor Mike Posey and Mayor Pro Tem Erik Petersons proposal to seek relief from the states sanctuary law?

Are they hanging on the coattails of President Trump? If so, how long will those coattails last before theyre tattered and shredded by the sharp edges of reality? Remember what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once warned, The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.

Ben Miles

Huntington Beach

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Voters are getting a say on Fairview Park

In November 2016, much of the at-large Costa Mesa public voted in favor of ballot Measure AA. This measure, dubbed by some groups as the Save Fairview Park campaign, directly affects some of our current and future residents in District 5. It also directly affects disabled populations who want to enjoy Fairview Park.

While those who drafted Measure AA may have had a venerable goal (I too am pro-environment and want to save Fairview Park) in composing lacking, vague/stringent language and exemptions, the writers potentially kept some populations from being able to enjoy the park while putting the safety of some of our District 5 residents at risk.

In a recent Costa Mesa City Council meeting, the council had the opportunity to decide what the public would be able to vote on this November. One option was to solely go with the Fairview Park Steering Committees language and recommendations for the November vote, which in one way disenfranchised disabled populations and in numerous other ways put the safety of nearby District 5 residents at risk. Another option was to go with a project on which I worked with District 5 residents, one that asked the council to include items A-E as public safety exemptions now  not wait until November.

Our requested exemptions included making areas of the park accessible in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, providing a turnaround for District 5 residents who live next to Fairview Park (providing security for them) and allowing a drainage system so they no longer have flooding and standing water. A third possible option was to consider allowing at-large, unaffected voters to decide whether items A-E should be considered. This would have kept the affected District 5 residents in harms way and denied the disabled access until the voters decided this November.

In a somewhat shocking upset, the council moved our option forward. I am sure disabled populations are now relieved their needs were considered and their problems will finally be resolved. Now we just have to continue to hold our council accountable to its word, and to agreed upon timetables, and see this through until the changes we requested are actually made.

Rebecca Trahan

Costa Mesa

The writer is a City Council candidate in District 5.

*

How to get published: Email us at dailypilot@latimes.com. All correspondence must include full name, hometown and phone number (for verification purposes). The Pilot reserves the right to edit all submissions for clarity and length.
Country-rock guitarist Tony Gilkyson is a player of rare, evocative skill. Hes a tried and true veteran whose wildly variegated resume includes jobs with everyone from Bob Dylan to Alice Cooper. The guitarist, who appears Thursday at Burbanks Viva Cantina, has a dazzling style that mixes deliberate, sturdy craftsmanship and highly colorful, expressive musical phrasing.

Its a unique instrumental voice first employed in the far-flung beer joints of New Mexico and developed on the feverish 1980s Hollywood rock club circuit, where Gilkyson performed with country rockers Lone Justice and graduated to replacing punk legend Billy Zoom in the acclaimed band X for a 10-year stretch. Along the way he became an in-demand session player, racking up innumerable performance and production credits.

Born in Los Angeles, his father was the prolific folk musician and Disney soundtrack contributor Terry Gilkyson. There was a real music culture in my family. My dad had moved here in 48. We grew up here but then we left for New Mexico in 68, Gilkyson said. Originally, I was a drummer when I started playing music. But at 13 or 14 I realized that the [drum equipment] load-in and load-out and always being the last one to leave was not that much fun.

I crossed over to guitar at 17 or 18. Id always played guitar, studied guitar, but then I really got into it. And living up in northern New Mexico, I was hanging out with all these musicians from Oklahoma and Texas, and I got very influenced by their music, the way they played. These were very opinionated, roots-oriented guys, great musicians.

I dropped out of high school and started playing the clubs. I was underage so I got a drivers license that wasnt entirely accurate. It was an interesting intersection of cowboys and hippies and locals  some of them were country gigs, some were R&B, and rock n roll. No Top-40 gigs. Those were down in Albuquerque and no one wanted to go there, so thankfully I was spared that.

Gilkyson launched an intense romance with country music, but he always kept his perspective, and options, wide open. I like rock n roll, yes, but thats the quandary, I like a lot of music. I studied world music for two years in college  I loved Indonesian music, studied African music, made a lot of interesting friends, Gilkyson said. But my love of country music  when I was at Cal Arts, I was so enamored of country music that a lot of people wondered why I was there at all. And I did play in a punk rock band for 10 years, but it felt very comfortable. I liked doing that.

Apart from his role as a session player and studio producer, Gilkyson has released two well received solo albums (Sparko and Goodbye Guitar), which characteristically alternate between tastefully acrobatic instrumentals and hard-bitten folk-rock meditations. His particular style is a complex, communicative brand of hot California country, redolent with traces of influence from such string-bending forebears as James Burton and Roy Nichols, both of whom made great impact working with Merle Haggard.

Ive been recording a lot of instrumentals, country instrumentals. We started doing them a year ago, did the tracks with [X drummer] DJ Bonebrake, Gilkyson said. Ive got four of them done, a few more set to go. Some of them are like the Burton Corn Pickin type of thing. Ive got one called Tulare Hayride that I really like. I want to get these out.

Whatever he chooses to perform, Gilkysons music is invariably engaging and exciting, a combination of the mellow and the maverick thats his alone. He wouldnt have it any other way.

At this point I am not so particularly interested in doing something groundbreaking, as I am in assimilating what I already know, Gilkyson said. I still love to play guitar and I am very interested in putting my own particular bent on a song. A lot of the things in music no longer interest me, but that motivates me.

If it inspires you, if it gives you goose bumps, then screw what everybody else thinks, and do it.

--

Who: Tony Gilkyson & Gregory Boaz, with Rick Shea & the Losin End

Where: Viva Cantina, 900 W. Riverside Dr., Burbank

When: Thursday, Nov. 12, 7:30 p.m.

Cost: Free

More info: (818) 845-2425, vivacantina.com

--

JONNY WHITESIDE is a veteran music journalist based in Burbank and author of Ramblin Rose: the Life & Career of Rose Maddox and Cry: the Johnnie Ray Story.
Albert Pujols was activated off the disabled list and started at first base Monday night, 10 days after receiving an injection of platelet-rich plasma in a swollen left knee that had bothered the Angels slugger for weeks.

And so began a two-month juggling act for manager Mike Scioscia, who will try to get Pujols and Shohei Ohtani in the lineup together as much as possible while giving Pujols, 38, enough time off his feet to keep him productive. All with only one designated hitter spot at his disposal.

Well be able to manage it, Scioscia said. There will be days when Albert DHs, days when Shohei gets a day off and days when, if Albert needs a day off, it will be there. Well look at things on a day-to-day basis and see what lineup makes sense.

Pujols started 48 games in the field before the All-Star break after being limited by foot injuries to 34 games at first base the previous two seasons. That allowed the Angels to start the left-handed-hitting Ohtani at DH three or four times a week.

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The division of DH at-bats was clearer when Ohtani was pitching. The two-way star did not hit on the days before, during and after he pitched, giving Pujols built-in starts at DH. The picture was muddled when Ohtani suffered a June 6 elbow injury that has relegated him to DH since July 3.

Now, there could be days when Scioscia has to choose between Pujols and Ohtani as his DH. Pujols has a .251 average, .720 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, 16 homers and 52 RBIs. He hit .429 with four homers and six RBIs in four games before going on the DL.

Ohtani, who homered Monday, has a .256 average, .789 OPS, two home runs and three RBIs in 15 games since his return. He hit .289 with a .907 OPS, six homers and 20 RBIs in 34 games before going on the DL.

Scioscia said Pujols down time got a lot of the inflammation under control, and hes ready to go. Pujols said he will be able to play first base as often as he did before the break. Ive been doing it all year, he said. I dont have to worry about it.

One challenge for Scioscia will be determining when Pujols, who rarely yields to injury, needs a day off.

Albert is gonna play at 30%, hes never gonna say he cant, Scioscia said. But weve given him days off, and I think he understands that, for his benefit, for him to stay at a certain level, its necessary at times.

On second thought

The Angels are giving top infield prospect Luis Rengifo a lengthy look at second base this summer in an effort to cultivate a long-term solution to a position theyve struggled to fill since Howie Kendrick departed after 2014.

Rengifo, 21, a speedy switch-hitter acquired from Tampa Bay for first baseman C.J. Cron in March, made 65 of 76 starts at Class-A Inland Empire and double-A Mobile this season at shortstop.

After a July 12 promotion to triple-A Salt Lake, Rengifo started six of his first 10 games at second, batting .326 with nine RBIs. In 91 games across three levels, hes batting .315 with a .902 OPS and has more walks (55) than strikeouts (48).

Johnny Giavotella and Danny Espinosa did little to distinguish themselves at the position from 2015-2017. Ian Kinsler, a standout defender, has been inconsistent on offense this season.

Short hops

Kinsler ranked first among American League second basemen and Andrelton Simmons (shortstop) and Kole Calhoun (right field) ranked third at their positions in the midseason rankings of the SABR defensive index, which accounts for 25% of the Gold Glove selection process. Detroits Jose Iglesias (7.6) and Oaklands Marcus Semien (7.4) ranked slightly ahead of Simmons (7.0). Justin Upton ranked fourth among AL left fielders, Martin Maldonado was fifth among catchers and Mike Trout was seventh among center fielders.  To make roster room for Pujols and Monday night starter Jaime Barria, pitcher Deck McGuire was optioned to triple-A and reliever Oliver Drake was designated for assignment.

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com

@MikeDiGiovanna

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com

@MikeDiGiovanna
Ducks defenseman Brandon Montour didnt have to go out of his way to avoid an arbitration hearing.

Montour lives and trains in Toronto in the summer, which was where he and his representation met Tuesday with the Ducks management to work out a two-year contract worth $6.77 million.

Im right down the street, Montour said. I took a quick Uber to the office there to meet.

The deal conveniently came together just before the restricted free agents scheduled arbitration hearing. Montour will be paid $3.25 million next season and $3.52 million in 2019-20. The smooth-skating 24-year-old will remain part of a terrific young defense anchored long-term by Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm and Josh Manson, who are signed through at least 2021-22.

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Ive told plenty of people that I love it in Anaheim, Montour said. How could you not? The staff and my teammates, everything is unbelievable.

I want to be a Duck for a long time and thats what Im going to strive to do. For the most part, I think these guys are on board as well.

Montour said he didnt push for a longer-term contract. He was second among Ducks defensemen with nine goals last season, including five on the power play, and was tied with Fowler with 32 points. Montour averaged nearly 26 minutes per game in the postseason.

But for the most part, for me, a younger player, I didnt know what exactly I am right now, Montour said. I know my strengths and I believe in myself in helping this team and [can] be a contributor to my team as of now.

I think we all agreed with a shorter term and getting better as we keep going on. Ive only played [128] games. It was one of those things where I think the shorter term was best fit for both of us. As we go on in the next year or two, well keep chatting about, hopefully, a longer term, like the rest of my D-corps there.

The signing leaves Ondrej Kase and Nick Ritchie as the Ducks remaining unsigned restricted free agents.

curtis.zupke@latimes.com

Twitter: @curtiszupke
Members of the French Parliament demanded answers Monday after a senior security aide to President Emmanuel Macron was indicted on charges of engaging in gang violence and impersonating a police officer.

In what has become the biggest scandal to rock Macrons 14-month-old administration, Alexandre Benalla was recorded on camera violently attacking a young man and a woman at a Workers Day demonstration as protesters clashed with riot police on May 1. He has since been fired.

Macron, who knew of the alleged criminal assaults less than 24 hours after they happened, is now under growing pressure to explain why his office failed to report them to the public prosecutors office.

The presidents office had claimed Benalla  who was wearing a police-issue helmet, visor and a police armband and was carrying a police-frequency radio  was authorized to join the operation as an observer. Police officials have denied this.

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Benalla, 26, appeared before a judge on Sunday afternoon along with Vincent Crase, a member of Macrons governing La Republique en Marche (the Republic on the Move) party, also charged with violence against protesters. Three senior police officers were indicted at the same time on charges of having illegally handed over video of the attacks to Benalla.

Macron has made no public statement about the increasingly damaging scandal. After a crisis dinner at the Elysee Palace on Sunday, an unidentified advisor told French journalists that the president considered Benallas behavior shocking and unacceptable.

On Monday, two senior officials, Interior Minister Gerard Collomb and Paris Police Chief Michel Delpuech, gave evidence at a hastily called inquiry at the National Assembly.

President of the Laws Commission Yael Braun-Pivet waits for the arrival of French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb for a hearing about presidential security aide Alexandre Benalla at the National Assembly in Paris on July 23, 2018. (Francois Mori / Associated Press)

Lawmakers want to know, among other things, why Benalla was suspended for two weeks, then allowed to return to his post, retaining job perks that included a luxury flat in central Paris. He was fired only after questioning by police in the aftermath of the publication Wednesday, by Le Monde news site, of video of the assaults. That was the first the public knew of the scandal.

During more than two hours of quizzing by members of Parliament, Collomb said that he understood Benallas presence at the demonstrations as an observer was legitimate but that his violent behavior was unacceptable. He told the hearing he had no idea how Benalla obtained a police armband and radio.

Both Collomb and Delpuech admitted knowing about Benallas attack for more than two months, but passed the buck back to the presidents office, saying as Benallas employer, the Elysee was responsible for reporting his actions to the prosecutors office.

Asked why his officers had handed over video recordings of the assaults to Benalla, Delpuech suggested there were unhealthy friendships between the officers and Benalla.

Delpuech contradicted the Elysee spokesman and Collomb, insisting he had not given any authorization for Benalla to attend the protests and was astonished to discover he was present. Alain Gibelin, director of public order at the Paris police prefecture, also testified that Benalla had no official authorization to be with police at the protest.

The rules are simple: Only the police prefect can give an authorization. I repeat in a precise and formal manner: Mr. Benalla had no authorization whatsoever from the prefect of police to be present at this demonstration, Gibelin said. He said he later discovered a subordinate officer had given Benalla a police helmet and visor; he said he had no idea how Benalla had obtained the armband and radio.

He said those questions were the subject of a police disciplinary investigation. Three further investigations are underway: a criminal investigation overseen by a judge and separate parliamentary investigations in the National Assembly and Senate.

Willsher is a special correspondent.
The Israeli military said it shot down a Syrian fighter jet that crossed into Israeli airspace Tuesday amid fierce fighting on the Syrian side of the volatile border.

It was the latest in a series of confrontations that have heightened fears of a dangerous escalation in the region. Tensions between Israel and Syria, technically at war since 1948, have been building over the last month as Syrian government forces, backed by Russian air power, have made sweeping gains against rebel factions in the southwest of the country.

News of the downed warplane came shortly after the Syrian government said its forces had taken back positions near the frontier with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that had been under the control of rebels for seven years.

Syrian state media said the jet was targeted as it took part in sorties against fighters loyal to the extremist group Islamic State in the Yarmouk basin, a sliver of land bordering the Golan Heights.

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The official Syrian Arab News Agency portrayed the shoot-down, which it said took place over Syrian territory, as evidence of Israeli collusion with the militants  a frequent claim by Syrian officials, and one that Israel rejects.

The Israeli military said the Syrian Sukhoi jet penetrated about a mile into Israeli airspace before two Patriot missiles intercepted it. The plane crashed on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, an Israeli military spokesman, told reporters.

He didnt know whether there were casualties. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a pro-opposition war monitor based in Britain, reported that one pilot was killed and that the fate of the second pilot was not known.

Conricus said it was unclear whether the Syrian plane had deliberately entered Israeli airspace, but Israeli forces had observed an irregular amount of aerial activity on the Syrian side of the border during the course of the day.

Israel issued numerous warnings through different channels and in different languages  including a hotline set up between Israeli and Russian officers to avoid accidentally trading fire over Syria  in a bid to ensure such a breach did not occur, he said.

Israel has avoided taking sides in the war in Syria, now in its eighth year. But it has repeatedly stated that it wont tolerate any violation of a 1974 agreement that established a demilitarized zone between Israel and Syria  whether by Syrian President Bashar Assads government or its allies, Russia and Iran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Tuesdays incident a gross violation of the agreement, reached after Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967.

We will not accept any such penetration of, or spillover into, our territory, neither on the ground nor in the air, Netanyahu said in a video statement.

The countrys military has been on high alert as the fighting in Syria has moved closer to the Golan Heights. On Monday, Israel said it used its new Davids Sling aerial defense system for the first time, firing two missiles at projectiles that were launched in Syria and appeared to be headed toward Israel.

Last week, Syrian opposition factions that previously received support from the United States agreed to surrender their last enclaves in the southwestern provinces of Dara and Quneitra in exchange for safe passage for hundreds of fighters, their families and some civilians to the northern, rebel-held province of Idlib.

Over the weekend, 98 rescuers from the Syria Civil Defense were evacuated with 324 family members through Israel to Jordan after receiving promises of asylum in Canada and Europe. The operation drew angry denunciations from Syria and Russia, which regard the volunteers  also known as the White Helmets for their trademark hard hats  as terrorists because they operate in rebel areas.

Fighting is now concentrated in the Yarmouk basin, the last pocket of territory held by Islamic State in southwestern Syria.

On Tuesday, the Syrian state-run broadcaster Al Ikhbariya reported that Assads forces had reached a fence marking the beginning of a United Nations-monitored buffer zone between Syria and Israeli forces in the Golan Heights.

The station broadcast images from a correspondent who said he was standing about 40 yards from the fence. The camera then panned to what the correspondent said was a U.N. post on the other side of the fence and an Israeli post about 400 yards away.

It is the first time that government forces are reported to be in control of positions along the Golan Heights since 2011, when the uprising against Assad began.

Israeli leaders have said they have no objection to Syrian government troops returning to positions they occupied before the war.

We had no problem with the Assad regime. For 40 years, not a single bullet was fired in the Golan Heights, Netanyahu told reporters this month.

What worries Israel is whether Assads forces will be accompanied by fighters sent by Iran, some of whom are believed to be wearing Syrian uniforms.

This is a problem we have to be very cautious about, to make sure Iran does not establish its forces along our border, said retired Brig.Gen. Yossi Kuperwasser, a former head of the Israeli militarys Intelligence Research and Assessment Division.

Israel has carried out dozens of airstrikes against Iranian targets in Syria over the years, many of them said to be weapons shipments destined for the Lebanese militia Hezbollah.

Israels Defense Ministry has also announced plans to spend $8.3 billion on missile defense systems over the next 10 years, double previous projections, to contend with what officials describe as a major increase in threats faced by the nation.

Netanyahu reiterated the countrys concerns during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the chief of the Russian militarys general staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, in Jerusalem on Monday.

A senior Israeli official said the Russians were offering to enforce a 62-mile buffer zone from which Iranian forces would be barred. The official, who was not authorized to be quoted publicly, said Israel would not tolerate any Iranian buildup in Syria  not near the border and not beyond the 100-kilometer strip which the Russians are talking about.

We said there are weapons with a longer reach than that, and all these forces have to leave Syria, the official said.

Times staff writer Zavis reported from Beirut and special correspondent Tarnopolsky from Jerusalem. Special correspondent Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut contributed to this report.

alexandra.zavis@latimes.com

UPDATES:

3:50 p.m.: This article was updated with a report that at least one of the pilots of the downed jet was killed and additional details.

10:25 a.m.: This article was updated throughout with staff reporting.

7:20 a.m.: This article was updated with additional details that include the advance of Syrian troops near the Golan Heights.

This article was originally published at 4:50 a.m.
Mayors call for gambling reform

Five Victorian mayors will join The Alliance for Gambling Reform today on the steps of the Victorian Parliament in a united call for the next Victorian Government to embrace meaningful gambling reform.

The mayors of Darebin, Moreland, Yarra, Whittlesea and Wyndham City Councils joined with Alliance spokesman and director Tim Costello who welcomed the unprecedented commitment of local government leaders to the vital community cause of addressing Australias world record levels of gambling harm.

Councils are at the coal face of gambling harm and are not conflicted by the tax revenue or intimidated by an industry which has exerted way too much power over our major political parties, leaving Australia with the largest per capita gambling losses in the world.

Mr Costello says the next Victorian Parliament must show some spine and heart and address this issue to prevent the needless suicides, family violence, bankruptcy and fraud, which flows when $2.7 billion a year is ripped from the community through addictive poker machines in suburban pubs and clubs.

City of Darebin recently proposed a motion to the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) State Council calling on Vision Super to investigate divesting its shares in Woolworths.

Darebin Council also resolved to assist all local clubs and community groups divest themselves from support from poker machines.

Darebin Mayor, Kim Le Cerf, said, The community harms from poker machines greatly outweigh any perceived benefits.

The untenable situation is highlighted by AFL clubs now starting to eliminate these highly dangerous and addictive machines.

In Darebin, poker machines strip $81million per year mostly from our disadvantaged neighbourhoods.

They are responsible for growing levels of inter-generational poverty that both major parties continue to ignore.

As community leaders we want reform. We call on the State Government and opposition parties to commit to $1 maximum bets, clamp down on losses disguised as wins and reduce venue opening hours.

The Darebin community lost $81million in 12 venues in 2016-17.
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The US authorities refused to comment today on media reports that Pakistani-American convict in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack case David Coleman Headley was battling for his life after being attacked by inmates at a detention centre.

"We are not able to locate information about this individual," the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago said in a brief email response to PTI when asked about the incident. According to some media reports, Headley was attacked on July 8 by two other inmates.

The reports said he suffered serious injuries and was rushed to North Evanston hospital, where he was admitted to the critical care unit. Headley has been sentenced to 35 years in prison by a US court for the 2008 terrorist attack on Mumbai that killed more than 160 people.

Headley who recced various Indian cities, including Mumbai before the 26/11 attacks was arrested in 2009. PTI
San Fernando, PampangaAn air, sea, and land command post was established in Clark, Pampanga to speed up the rescue, evacuation, and mobilization of equipment and manpower in disaster-affected areas here. Even the Department of Trade and Industry in Central Luzon has sent eight teams to monitor the prices of basic goods and commodities in the calamity-stricken areas in the region. The command post stationed at Clark will be supported by Philippines Air Force, Philippines Navy, National Risk Reduction and Management Council, and the regional government offices. The command post, located at Clarks Air Force City, is the headquarters of Philippines Air Force inside the former American airbase, complete with manpower, trucks, ambulances, and equipment for sea and land operations. Bobby Manalo, operations officer of the regional disaster council, said the command post will be headed by Director Marlou Salazar of the RDRRMO in Central Luzon. Manalo said the command post will cover Regions I, II and III and others affected by the three typhoons that devastated these areas in the past three weeks. Most of them are now under a state of calamity as they remain submerged in floodwaters. The government decided to put up the organized command post to speed up assistance for the people in these areas, especially in evacuation, rescue operations, and delivering relief goods, and avert deteriorating conditions, Manalo said. Warren Serrano, DTI spokesman in Central Luzon, said businessmen must maintain the prices of basic commodities in these areas as provided for under Republic Act. 7581 or the Price Act.Serrano said DTI teams composed of three persons were fielded to 11 in Bataan, Pampanga, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija and Tarlac. They will visit enterprises like malls and public markets in the calamity-stricken areas to determine the prices of bottles and containers of water, fresh fruit, locally manufactured noodles, household liquefied petroleum gas, kerosene, and rice comply with the law," Serrano said. These basic goods are important during calamities, especially to the marginalized sector, he added. Initial reports received by Director Judith Angeles of DTI Region III showed prices of goods remained the same before the calamity period, but the agency still sent out teams as a preventive measure against unscrupulous businessmen. After the calamities, Angeles said they will launch a discount caravan in cooperation with manufacturers in the calamity areas to give the people basic commodities at low prices. The Price Act mandates a penalty of P2 million and up to 15 years of imprisonment against violators, as determined by a judge.
A Korean fugitive and an American citizen engaged in selling ukay- ukay were arrested and ordered deported by the Bureau of Immigrations intelligence operatives in Cebu and Pampanga. Ordered deported were American Roy Frederick Barker and South Korean national Cho Jinrae, according to Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente. Barker was arrested in Cebu City last July 17 while Cho was collared in Angeles City, Pampanga last July 21. Both of them are overstaying and undesirable aliens. They should be deported for blatantly violating our immigration laws, Morente said. According to Immigration Intelligence Chief Fortunato Manahan Jr., Barker was already issued a summary deportation order by the BI Board of Commissioners for overstaying in the country and engaging in gainful activity without the proper visa.The American has been allegedly engaged in the ukay-ukay retail trade business which foreigners are forbidden to do under the law. Cho, on the other hand, is a Korean fugitive wanted in his homeland for cases of fraud. According to Manahan, Cho is the subject of a red notice from the Interpol. He has also been overstaying in the country and is the subject of a deportation complaint filed with the BI. Morente reiterated BIs warning to all foreigners against violating the countrys immigration laws to avoid arrest and deportation. He likewise appealed to the public to report to his office any suspicious or illegal activities by foreigners in their locality.
This fall, when top college seniors are meeting with on-campus recruiters from the likes of McKinsey, Google and Goldman Sachs, a handful of ambitious young social entrepreneurs are hoping to lure them to a decidedly less flashy alternative: a post-graduate stint working for local or state government.

Two upstarts with similar names, Lead for America https://www.lead4america.org/ and Govern for America https://www.govern4america.org/ , plan to begin accepting applications this fall for a Teach for America-style fellowship starting in 2019. They hope to attract bright college graduates to such jobs as policy analyst, assistant to the county manager, and parks and recreation manager. The two-year commitments will expose them to the challenges and opportunities of careers in state and local government.

by Jena McGregor

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/can-they-make-government-jobs-as-cool-as-google-and-goldman/2018/07/20/da230dc4-8b83-11e8-a345-a1bf7847b375_story.html?utm_term=.69b6b32ed40d
The Michigan Good Food Fund has awarded ten Michigan food-based businesses a total of $100,000, with each business receiving a $10,000 Catalytic Investment Award.



Businesses are deemed "good food enterprises" on account of their commitment to providing healthy food access in otherwise underserved communities. The money comes from the statewide loan program the Michigan Good Food Fund.



Four of the ten winning businesses are located in the city of Detroit. They include:

Baobab Fare, an East African restaurant, market, and juice and coffee bar

Fresh Corner Cafe, a caterer and distributor of fresh, local, and healthy foods

Guerilla Food, a purveyor of farm-to-table dinners featuring Detroit-grown produce

Sweet Potato Delights, a maker of sweet potato-based hummus and baked goods



The Catalytic Investment Award money can be used toward infrastructure investments, capital expenditures, and predevelopment costs. The Michigan Good Food Fund also prepares the entrepreneurs for financing.



"These ten awards are supporting businesses that are increasing healthy food access and sparking job creation across the state, from farm to fork," Mary Donnell, program manager of the Michigan Good Food Fund, said in a statement.



"In addition, they are supporting female entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs of color, a core part of our mission."



The remaining winners include MaMang of Flint, Mighty Fine Poultry Processing of Ann Arbor, The COGIC Community Center Forward Center for Healing and Cultural Advancement of Battle Creek, Malamiah Juice Bar of Grand Rapids, The Mason Jar Cafe of Benton Harbor, and The Redheads of Traverse City.



Got a development news story to share? Email MJ Galbraith here or send him a tweet @mikegalbraith.
July 24, 2018 Syria - For The Third Time Israel Falsely Claims Iran Pull-Back Deal With Russia A typical Israeli propaganda scheme is to falsely claim that an agreement with some entity has been made and to then push that entity to stick to a "deal" it never agreed to. Israel dislikes any 'Iranian presence' in Syria. It tries to press on Russia to push Iran out of Syria by claiming that Russia offered or made such a deal. Last fall a campaign in Israeli media claimed that Russia had agreed to push Iran away from the border with Israel. Russia denied that anything like that happened. Iranian forces in Syria are legitimately there. In late May a similar campaign repeated that scheme. It claimed that the Russian Foreign Minister had agreed to move Iran out, when in fact he had called on U.S. forces to leave Syria. Moon of Alabama documented both campaigns. Yesterday we saw a third attempt by Israel to pretend that Russia had offered or made a deal to counter 'Iranian presence': A senior political source participated in the meeting between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and Russian Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov, at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem Sunday evening. "It was made clear again that we would not accept Iranian consolidation in Syria, not near the border, and not in the 100-kilometer strip that the Russians are talking about and committing to," the senior official said. "We said that there is long-range weapons placed beyond this area and all these forces have to leave Syria. Russia has considerable capabilities to deal with this, because it is a very significant factor within Syria." Damascus is only some 50 kilometers from the Israel occupied Golan Height. Does anyone believe that Russia can tell Iranians to not go to Damascus? That it can tell Iran to not defend its ally Syria? Such an "offer", which Russia most likely never made, would be nonsense. Russia has no means to tell Iran what to do. Even the U.S. acknowledges that: We have assessed that its unlikely Russia has the will or the capability to fully implement and counter Iranian decisions and influence in Syria, Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats said Thursday at the Aspen Security Forum. Russia would have to make significantly greater commitments [in Syria] from a military standpoint, from an economic standpoint, he said. We dont assess that theyre keen to do that. The Israeli haranguing about an 'Iranian presence' is a self fulfilling prophecy. Each Israeli attack on Syrian grounds proves that Iranian forces would have legitimate reason to be in Syria. They are obviously needed to help their Syrian allies to defend against such attacks. Other news sites picked up on the alleged Russian "offer" claim and pretended that it is real. Reuters weirdly headlines: Israel rejects Russian offer to keep Iranian forces 100 km from Golan: official: JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel on Monday rebuffed a Russian offer to keep Iranian forces in Syria at least 100 kilometers from the Golan Heights ceasefire line, an Israeli official said on Monday.

...

The official said that Netanyahu told Lavrov we will not allow the Iranians to establish themselves even 100 kilometers from the border. From that quote it seems that it was Netanyahoo, not Lavrov, who introduced the "100 kilometers" line. Axios offered a similar stupid headline: Russia wants to push Iran 65 miles from Israel's border in Syria: Russia wants to push Iranian forces, Hezbollah and Pro-Iranian Shiite militias 65 miles from the Syrian-Israeli border in the Golan Heights, a senior Israeli official said after a meeting today in Jerusalem between Prime Minister Netanyahu and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov.

...

The senior Israeli official said in a conference call with reporters that Israel's goal is to get all Iranian and pro-Iranian forces out of the entire Syrian territory, but the Russians want, in the first phase, to push the Iranians 65 miles from the Israeli border. Russia had rejected such Israeli claims last fall. It again rejected similar claims in May. It will also debunk the current nonsense. No such offer was made. Israel 'rejected' something it invented itself and has the chutzpah to make even more lunatic demands: According to the Israeli official, Netanyahu gave Lavrov a list of demands regarding Iranian military presence in Syria: Iran needs to take all of its long range missiles and weapons out of Syria.

Iran needs to stop the production of precision munitions in Syria.

Iran needs to take all its air defense systems out of Syria.

The border crossings between Syria and Lebanon needs to be monitored to prevent arms smuggling to Hezbollah from Syria.

The border crossings between Iraq and Syria needs to be monitored to prevent infiltration of Shiite militias into Syria from Iraq. Netanyahoo also asked for a pink pony. Syrian companies produce ammunition. Syrian workers manufacture missiles of various ranges and precision. They have done so for decades. There may once a while be some lone Iranian engineer visiting to give advice. The Syrian Arab Army has long range missiles and it is the SAA, not Iran, that provides air defense for Syria. There are no longer Iranian forces or other personal in notable numbers in Syria. During the war Iran helped to build up Syria's National and Local Defense Forces (NDF/LDF). Hizbullah came from Lebanon to support the Syrian efforts. Iranian advisors joined some Syrian army groups. But as the Syrian army won back more and more control over its land these groups lowered their presence: Hizbollah now only has 10% of its units compared to peak of 2016. Similarly, NDF/LDF that used to be almost 90k are now closer to 3k. ... All the Israeli harrumphing about Iran in Syria is a diversion from the fact the Israel and the U.S. lost their war on Syria. Israel openly stated that it preferred ISIS and other Jihadis near the occupied Golan Height. But now those forces are defeated. The Syrian army is back at the Golan Heights line and no shooting down of a Syrian jet or attack on this or that minor factory will change that. These are provocations to goad Syria into a response attack on Israel and to draw Iran and the U.S. into a war. The southwestern Daara region is nearly cleaned up. The Syrian army is already moving forces northwards to Idleb governorate where some 15-20,000 Jihadis are busy killing each other. An all out attack on that last governorate with significant Jihadi presence will commence in September. A local guerilla movement against the U.S. presence in northeast Syria is growing. It is unlikely that the Trump administration is willing to sustain the occupation there when it starts to cause a number of casualties. In a year from now the Syrian government will likely have regained full control over its country. Posted by b on July 24, 2018 at 13:17 UTC | Permalink Comments next page  next page 
Morgan Hill City Councilman Larry Carr is scheduled to go to trial in August on a charge of domestic battery, stemming from a November 2017 incident at the downtown home he shared with his girlfriend at the time.

Carr, 49, appeared July 20 at the South County Courthouse for the latest pre-trial hearing in the misdemeanor case. Carrs alleged victim sat next to him throughout the morning court session. She had told Morgan Hill Police officers the night of Carrs arrest that he broke her glasses and pulled her hair during a heated verbal argument.

Carr pleaded not guilty to the charge in February. He told investigating police officers that any contact he made with the woman during the November argument was accidental.

Carr declined to comment on the case outside the courtroom July 20. His attorney, Stuart Kirchick, said Carr and the victim are on very good terms. The attorney said he did not know their current relationship status, or if they still were living together.

In February, at the same hearing where Carr pleaded not guilty, the judge granted him a one-year peaceful contact order that regulates the contact he can have with the alleged victim.

The womans attorney, Wesley Schroeder, was also in court for Carrs hearing July 20. Schroeder said the woman has a right to an attorney, but otherwise declined to comment on why she retained him as legal counsel. Schroeder also declined to answer questions about his clients current relationship with Carr.

Judge Jacqueline Duong set a trial date of Aug. 13 for Carrs case. Kirchick said the trial, expected to last about five days, likely wont begin on that date because he expects to be working on an unrelated trial in a different Santa Clara County courtroom at the time. But he thinks Carrs trial will begin before August is over.

The judge also ordered the victim to be on telephone standby for possible testimony during the trial. Schroeder asked that any subpoena or other court order for the woman be directed to him.

It has not been determined if the August trial will be a jury trial or bench trial. California law allows Carr to request a jury trial, but he can waive that right and be tried by a judge. Kirchick said he and the prosecutor are discussing what type of trial will take place.

Kirchick added that recent delays in Carrs case are not unreasonable, and such delays are common in criminal proceedings. He added he has been unavailable for a speedier trial for Carr due to his involvement in an unrelated trial that began in April. He expects that trial will last until at least November, but he will be available for Carrs proceedings in August.

Morgan Hill Police responded to Carrs residence the evening of Nov. 25, 2017, and arrested Carr after taking statements from both parties. The victims sister called police to report the incident. Carrs girlfriend had called her sister earlier in the evening, during the argument with Carr, and told her that Carr was threatening her, pulled her hair and damaged her glasses, according to police reports.

Police arrested Carr after taking statements from him and and the woman.

Carrwho is currently serving in his fifth term as a Morgan Hill councilmemberwas convicted of a similar misdemeanor charge in 2015, in relation to an incident at the couples previous home March 23. Carr pleaded no contest to domestic battery and completed a 16-week counseling program. The court later dismissed the charge from his record, at Carrs formal request. Carr has also denied acting violently in that incident, and said he pleaded no contest to avoid prolonged court proceedings.

If Carr is convicted of the 2017 charge, the court can consider the 2015 conviction as a prior offense in his sentencing, according to authorities.
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WASHINGTON (AP)  Checking out a speedboat, a fighter jet and a giant industrial magnet parked on the White House driveway, President Donald Trump showcased an array of "Made in America" products Monday as his administration pushes back aggressively against critics who say his punishing tariffs on imported goods threaten to harm the U.S. economy.

Trump's event with a smorgasbord of American goods came at the start of a week in which trade discussions are expected to dominate, including talks with European officials and a trip to Illinois in which the president is planning to visit a community helped along by his steel tariffs.

Trump has vowed to force international trading partners to bend to his will as he seeks to renegotiate a series of trade deals he has long argued hurt American workers. But as he deepens the U.S. involvement in trade fights, it raises questions on whether American consumers will feel the pain of retaliatory tariffs  and whether the president will incur a political price for his nationalistic trade policies in the 2018 midterm elections.

"Our leaders in Washington did nothing, they did nothing. They let our factories leave, they let our people lose their jobs," Trump said at the White House. "That's not free trade, that's fool's trade, that's stupid trade and we don't do that kind of trade anymore."

Trump noted that he would be meeting Wednesday with European officials, including European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. The U.S. and European allies have been at odds over the president's tariffs on steel imports and are meeting as the dispute threatens to spread to the lucrative automobile business. "Maybe we can work something out," he said.

On Thursday, the president will visit Granite City, Illinois, the home of a U.S. Steel Corp. mill that has reopened after he imposed tariffs on steel imports.

On the South Lawn, the president walked among a number of products manufactured across the nation, including a Lockheed Martin F 35 aircraft from Maryland, a Ford F-150 pickup truck from Michigan, a Newmar recreational vehicle from Indiana and a Ranger speedboat from Arkansas.

Trump has already put taxes on imported steel and aluminum, saying they pose a threat to U.S. national security, an argument that enrages staunch U.S. allies such as the European Union and Canada.

He's threatening to use the national security justification again to slap tariffs on imported cars, trucks and auto parts, potentially targeting imports that last year totaled $335 billion.

And he's already imposed tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese imports in a separate dispute over Beijing's high-tech industrial policies. He has threatened to ratchet that up past $500 billion.

"He likes tariffs," said William Reinsch, a former U.S. trade official under President Bill Clinton now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "His preferred remedy is always tariffs, whether it makes any sense or not."

"It's a policy of victimization: 'Other people have been taking advantage of the United States for years ... Now they have to pay,'" Reinsch said, echoing the president's argument.

Trade analysts say the United States has not pursued such aggressive trade policies in decades.

"I can't think of another time when you had as many battles and particularly as many battles with no resolution in sight," said Edward Alden, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

In 1971, President Richard Nixon imposed a broad 10 percent import tax for four months to pressure Japan and European countries to drive up the value of their currencies. The idea: provide relief to American exporters, who were being put at a price disadvantage by a strong dollar.

In 1930, the U.S. raised tariffs dramatically to protect American industry, encouraging other countries to do the same in a global trade war that made the Great Depression worse.

Economists said the tariffs that Trump has imposed so far  and the resulting retaliation  are unlikely to do much economic damage. But things could escalate rapidly.

"If you look at what's teed up, particularly with China and with the auto tariffs, pretty soon you are talking about some pretty large numbers. Those will do some real damage," Alden said.

Oxford Economics has calculated that a full-blown U.S.-China trade war  in which each country taxes all the other's imports  would shave 1 percent off the U.S. economy and wipe out 700,000 jobs in the United States by 2020.

The Peterson Institute for International Economics has estimated that a trade war over autos could cost up to 1.2 million American jobs.

Critics said Trump's aggressive approach makes it tough for other countries to offer concessions, lest they be seen by their own people as caving in to bullying.

"The Trump administration has not left an easy path to walk away from the fights they've created," Alden said.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
KINSHASA, Congo (AP)  Congo's latest outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus is over, the health ministry announced Tuesday, after a speedy response to limit its spread in remote rural areas and a city of more than 1 million people.

Health experts said the use of a still-experimental vaccine on more than 3,300 people was a major factor in containing the outbreak, Congo's ninth since the hemorrhagic fever was first identified in 1976.

There were 54 Ebola cases, including 33 deaths, in the outbreak that was declared in early May in northwest Equateur province, the health ministry said.

"Although the scale of the crisis we were facing was unprecedented, the speed and effectiveness of the response put in place by the government and its partners were also exceptional," Health Minister Dr. Oly Ilunga Kalenga said.

The outbreak posed a serious challenge when it spread to the city of Mbandaka and its more than 1 million residents. The other initial cases were in hard-to-reach rural areas without basic infrastructure such as electricity, making the vaccination efforts more difficult.

"From the start, we had prepared for the worst of scenarios," the health minister said. "And our fears were quickly confirmed" with the spread to Mbandaka early on in the outbreak.

The city sits on the heavily traveled Congo River upstream from the capital, Kinshasa, and its 10 million residents. There were concerns the virus would spread not only within the country but to neighboring nations including Central African Republic.

The outbreak was declared over after a 42-day observation period, equaling two 21-day incubation periods, with no new confirmed cases recorded.

"It's a great relief for us," said Dominique Ekila, a 44-year-old resident of Kinshasa. "Since May, I had stopped traveling to Equateur province to sell fish ... With this announcement I will soon plan my next trip."

Esther Mavinga, who sells vegetables in Kinshasa, said she was grateful the outbreak was over.

"We were very worried that this epidemic would come to Kinshasa. The God we prayed to heard our prayers and spared us," she said.

There is no specific treatment for Ebola, which is spread via contact with the bodily fluids of those infected, including the dead. Symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain and at times internal and external bleeding. The virus can be fatal in up to 90 percent of cases, depending on the strain.

The World Health Organization, which played a major role in the outbreak response and delivery of the vaccines, congratulated Congo.

Dr. Ibrahima Soce Fall, the agency's regional emergencies director in Africa, called the response vastly improved after the devastating Ebola outbreak in West Africa that killed more than 11,300 people from 2014 to 2016. WHO, criticized for its slow response, went through a "profound reform" after that, he said.

The same day the latest outbreak was declared, WHO was able to release $2 million allocated for the initial response and international teams were able to deploy quickly in a coordinated effort, Fall said.

But Dr. Stacey Mearns, senior health coordinator of the International Rescue Committee's emergency response team, warned against too much celebration.

"It's always good to see the end of an outbreak, but it's certainly not the end of Ebola in Congo. Ebola is endemic here," she said.

___

Petesch reported from Dakar, Senegal.

___

Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)  A dispute last week over a handicapped parking space quickly escalated into a fatal shooting and now the dead man's family is outraged that the gunman has avoided arrest, seemingly protected by Florida's controversial "stand your ground" law.

The family of Markeis McGlockton issued an appeal Tuesday for the public to put pressure on State Attorney Bernie McCabe to file charges against Michael Drejka, a white man who fatally shot the black father of three last Thursday upon being pushed to the ground outside a Clearwater, Florida, convenience store.

"Mr. Drejka is walking around the streets of Clearwater free as a bird," Michele Rayner, an attorney for McGlockton's family, said at a news conference. "This is essentially murder, plain and simple."

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri last week announced he wasn't going to arrest Drejka and said the State Attorney's Office will make a decision on charges.

Drejka confronted McGlockton's girlfriend about parking in a handicapped space without a permit while she waited in a car outside a convenience store, telling her to move her "f------ car," the girlfriend, Britany Jacobs, said Tuesday at the news conference.

After exiting the store and seeing the argument, McGlockton shoved Drejka to the ground, and Drejka pulled out his gun. Seconds later, Drejka shot McGlockton in the torso, according to surveillance video from the store.

The case fell under Florida's controversial "stand your ground" law, which allows people to use force without retreating if they feel threatened, the sheriff said.

"I'm not saying I agree with it, but I don't make that call," Gualtieri said at a news conference last Friday.

The few seconds between when Drejka hit the ground and fired the shot "gives me pause," the sheriff said.

But Rayner said McGlockton was merely protecting his girlfriend and two children who were in the car when he shoved Drejka and that McGlockton posed no imminent threat to the shooter. McGlockton was backing away when he was shot in the side, she said.

"There is going to be a lot of conversation ... about the 'stand your ground' law and the problems with the 'stand your ground' law, how it disproportionately does not benefit people of color, how there are too many nuances in the law and it's too loosely applied," Rayner said. "Ultimately, this case isn't 'stand your ground.'"

Some legal experts, though, said Tuesday that the case is a classic example of the "stand your ground" law. The often racially-charged statute gained national prominence in 2012 after neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman fatally shot unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, claiming self-defense. Zimmerman, a white Hispanic, ended up waiving his right to a self-defense immunity hearing and was acquitted of criminal charges at trial.

Nova Southeastern University law professor Shahabudeen Khan said Drejka could have felt threatened while on the ground.

"The key issue that would help the gunman, it's the physical position on the ground he is in because of that initial push," Khan said. "He fell on the ground. He is in a weak physical position and posture even if there is a few-second pause."

Added Khan, "The law allows him to do exactly what he did. That is stand your ground."

For the past 13 years, Florida's "stand your ground" law has eliminated a citizen's duty to retreat before using deadly force in responding to an apparent threat. A change to the law last year switched the burden of proof from defense attorneys making a case for it to prosecutors having to disprove the self-defense claim.

Jacobs, who has three children with McGlockton, and his parents described him as a family man who liked to rap and draw.

"He didn't have to go like this! He didn't have to go like this!" she said.

___

Follow Mike Schneider at https://twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
CHESHIRE  Although new blight rules made it to the Town Council last week, councilors agreed to consider it further and sent it back to the towns ordinance committee.

Town leaders want to carefully define which blight conditions could result in fines to keep the ordinance from becoming a weapon neighbors can invoke during disputes.

Theres always the concern that people might be using the ordinance, if its too broad, against people in their neighborhood, said Patti Flynn-Harris, a Democratic councilor and ordinance committee member.

She and fellow committee member Paul Bowman, council vice chairman and a Republican, had recommended the proposal to the full council. Both had second thoughts the day after their ordinance committee meeting, wanting to more carefully define blight conditions. Town Attorney Al Smith is reviewing the proposal.

Were very aware that this isnt something that people are taking lightly, Flynn-Harris said. Weve all gotten calls and comments on it.

Under the proposed changes, property owners face fines of $100 per day for each violation that's not fixed by a town-set deadline.

The proposal allows residents to submit written and signed complaints about blight or unsafe premises to the town's blight enforcement officer. That position hasn't been assigned but could be the fire marshal.

The blight proposals would include businesses as well as residences. In the initial proposal, blight would included dilapidated structures as well as garbage, mechanical devices and unregistered cars visible from a public right-of-way.

Rob Oris, council chairman and a Republican, said councilors want to address homes health and safety with new rules but said they dont want to be too intrusive of private property rights.

How to handle some of these issues is still a question mark for some of the council members, Oris said.

Flynn-Harris said a car parked on a lawn might be a nuisance to some, but shouldnt constitute blight. A rusted out car surrounded by vegetation in a front lawn, though, is a problem for the neighborhood.

Were trying to be really good and careful about it, she said.

jbuchanan@record-journal.com

203-317-2230

Twitter: @JBuchananRJ
MERIDEN  A New Britain man faces a larceny charge after police said he stole his girlfriends car.

Freddie Cruz, 36, of 187 Greenwood St., New Britain, was charged with third-degree larceny.

Police responded to the Hawthorn Suites, 1151 E. Main St., on July 6 for a report of a stolen car, according to Cruzs arrest warrant. Officers spoke with a woman who said had been staying at the hotel for three weeks following a house fire and that Cruz had been staying with her intermittently.

On the day of the incident, the woman woke up around 6 a.m. and noticed Cruz was gone, the warrant said. The woman later discovered her car was also gone and her car key was missing from her key chain.

Cruz was arraigned in Meriden Superior Court on Monday. Bond was set at $1,500 and he is due back in court on Aug. 14.

 Lauren Sellew
A $3.25 million grant was awarded to 64 school districts and consortiums to provide school-based mental health services.

According to the release, all the funded projects involve collaboration with community mental health providers and other stakeholders to create comprehensive support systems for children, youth, and families. Grant fund activities for the 2018-19 school year range from $11,000 to the grant maximum of $75,000.

In a given year, one in five students faces a mental health issue, with more than 80 percent of incidents going untreated. Those students who do get help, more often than not, receive it through their school, said State Superintendent Tony Evers. This grant is a good start toward student mental health needs. But, we absolutely must do more to address student mental health so our kids have the support they need to be successful in school and eventually their communities.

Students deal with the same mental issues as adults and these problems can tie into major challenges found in schools, according to the release. Grant funds may be used for a variety of services and the grant proposals will include activities to:

 develop and support student and staff social and emotional wellness

 increase staff capacity to create trauma sensitive environments

 provide training to staff and students to recognize mental health

challenges and know how to advocate for themselves and others

 provide student support groups led by school and community mental health providers

 develop referral processes to ensure students who need additional support are referred to qualified providers

 create spaces in schools for community mental health providers to work with students

 provide guidance to students and families to access multiple systems and supports

Here is a list of schools receiving grants for mental health services:

Adams-Friendship Area $54,297

Altoona $75,000 Amery $75,000

Appleton Area $65,000

Arcadia $59,650

Ashwaubenon $69,500

Beaver Dam Unified $74,760

Beloit $75,000

Boscobel Area $68,171

Cadott Community $23,926

Chippewa Falls Area Unified $75,000

De Pere $71,297

Elkhorn Area $67,500

Ellsworth Community $75,000

Fond du Lac $75,000

Green Bay Area Public $49,535

Hayward Community $55,500

Hudson $70,985

Jefferson County Mental Health Consortium $75,000

-- Edgerton, Fort Atkinson, Jefferson, Johnson Creek, Lake Mills Area, Watertown Unified, and Whitewater Unified

Kenosha $52,195

Kettle Moraine $75,000

La Crosse $24,100

Little Chute Area $32,688

Lodi $23,300

Madison Metropolitan $75,000

Marinett

Menominee Indian $75,000

Milwaukee Public $75,000

New London $57,500

Northwood $62,375

Onalaska $58,860

Oshkosh Area $75,000

Pardeeville Area $11,119

Pewaukee $42,720

Phillips $68,700

Prairie du Chien Area $75,000

Prescott $66,700

Racine Unified $75,000

Ripon Area $75,000

Sevastopol, Door County Consortium $75,000  Gibraltar Area, Sevastopol, Southern Door County, Sturgeon Bay, and Washington

Stanley-Boyd Area $12,800

Stevens Point Area Public $63,500

Stoughton Area $66,836

Sun Prairie Area $75,000

Tomorrow River $67,814

Trempeauleau Valley Consortium $75,000  Blair-Taylor, Independence, and Whitehall

Waukesha $74,862

Waupun $74,200

West Allis-West Milwaukee $73,590

Wheatland J1 $28,320

Wisconsin Rapids $75,000

Wrightstown Community $75,000
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: US-based global financial giant Citibanks India unit, Citibank India, has declared a decline of over 6 per cent in its net profit for FY18. According to details released by the bank, it recorded a net profit of `3,403 crore for the year, against `3,626 crore in FY17. The banks India operations have been impacted primarily due to the rising yields on its investment portfolio, Citibank N A, India said in a statement. For the Citi Franchise in India (Citi) in aggregate, total assets, including credit extended to Indian corporate clients from offshore Citi entities, stood at `2.35 lakh crore as on March 31, 2018, it added.

Among other key metrics, the banks net non-performing assets (NPAs) remained unchanged at 0.5 per cent of the net advances, while the capital to risk weighted assets was a tad lower at 17 per cent against 17.6 per cent in 2016-17. The current account savings account ratio too remained unchanged at 58.2 per cent in FY18.

Disciplined risk management has allowed us to maintain our credit quality, despite a challenging market environment, said Niraj Parekh, Chief Financial Officer, Citibank India. Foreign banks profits in India have seen an across the board decline this year. Banks like HSBC, Deutsche Bank and Barclays have all recorded declining profits from their India operations in FY18. Barclays net profit fell 39 per cent, that of Deutsche Bank by 8 per cent fall and HSBC net fell by 3 per cent.

Welspun Corp PAT down 14 per cent at Rs 43.65 crore

Mumbai: Welspun Corp, the flagship company of Welspun Group, on Monday reported 14.71 per cent decline in consolidated profit after tax (PAT) at I43.65 crore for the June quarter. The companys PAT stood at I51.18 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago. Total income from operations for the quarter under review grew by 24 per cent at I2,085.51 crore from I1,681.77 crore last year.

Hindustan Zinc net up marginally at Rs 1,918 crore

New Delhi: Vedanta Group firm Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) on Monday posted a marginal 1.5 per cent rise in net profit at I1,918 crore for the quarter ended on June 30, 2018. The company had posted a net profit of I1,889 crore in the year-ago period, HZL said in a filing to BSE.Total income during the April-June quarter increased to I5,609 crore from I5,527 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

Vijaya Bank profit slumps 43 per cent to Rs 144 crore

New Delhi: Vijaya Bank on Monday reported 43.3 per cent decline in net profit at I144.34 crore for the June quarter even though the NPA ratio improved. The PSBs net profit stood at I254.69 crore in the same quarter of FY18. Total income rose to I3,935.77 crore for the said quarter from I3,510.11 crore last year. Gross NPAs fell to 6.19 per cent of the gross advances from a level of 7.3 per cent a year ago.

ACCs first quarter net profit rises marginally at Rs 329 crore

New Delhi: Cement major ACC Ltd on Monday reported a marginal increase in consolidated net profit to I329 crore for the June quarter. It had posted I326 crore profit in April-June period of last fiscal, ACC Ltd said in a BSE filing. The company, which follows January-December as its financial year, said net sales were at I3,768 crore, up from I3,329 crore in the year-ago period.
The Chinese People's Armed Police Force (PAP) in Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region has recently conducted extreme counter-terrorist training on the plateau at an altitude of 4,000 meters above sea level, with experts saying such training attends to China's need in safeguarding border security.

Footage from China Central Television (CCTV) on Sunday showed 12 special combat soldiers completing the drill of arresting mock terrorists within eight hours amid a complex operational environment, including highways, caves, cliffs and jungle.

"Due to its special geographical location, Tibet is a preferential choice of terrorist forces, like the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, Taliban, Al Qaeda and ISIS, to penetrate China," Song Zhongping, a military expert, told the Global Times on Monday.

The strengthening of anti-terrorism forces in the region will help China respond to such threats, Song said.

The soldiers used different tactics and various weapons in accordance with the specific condition of individual drills.

They chose to climb over a cliff to outflank the targets instead of a direct raid during an attack against enemies hiding in caves, reported CCTV.

A PAP official in Tibet told the CCTV that the soldiers completed the drills within a range of nearly 100 kilometers without any supply and support.

"Anti-terrorist actions in Tibet face harsh conditions, such as thin air, high altitudes and freezing temperatures, which are challenging for the soldiers and weaponry. Such extreme training will help counter-terrorists adapt to the environment and develop various tactics to improve their combat capability," Song added.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Inching closer to formation of country's biggest telecom operator, Idea Cellular and Vodafone have made joint payment of Rs 7,248.78 crore under protest to the Department of Telecom for merging their mobile business.

"Idea Cellular and Vodafone have made payment under protest as demanded by the DoT for the merger. Rs 3,926.34 crore have been paid in cash and bank guarantee of Rs 3,322.44 crore have been furnished," an Idea Cellular official confirmed the development.

The Department of Telecom gave conditional nod for merger of these companies on July 9 and asked companies to meet the demand raised for taking merger on record.

The combined operations of Idea and Vodafone will create the country's largest telecom operator worth over USD 23 billion (or over Rs 1.

5 lakh crore), with a 35 per cent market share and a subscriber base of around 430 million.

The merger is expected to give breather to both debt-ridden firms Idea and Vodafone, from cut-throat competition in the market where margins have hit rock bottom with free voice calls.

It will have the capacity to provide 4G spectrum in all telecom circles of the country.

According to a presentation by Idea, the combined 4G spectrum of both the companies are capable of offering up to 450 megabit per second broadband speed on mobile phones in 12 Indian markets.

With the new entity coming in force, Bharti Airtel will lose the tag of India's biggest telecom service provider to the new entity.

The combined debt of both the companies is estimated to be around Rs 1.15 lakh crore.

Vodafone will own 45.1 stake in the combined entity, while Kumar Mangalam Birla-led Aditya Birla Group would have 26 per cent and Idea shareholders 28.9 per cent.

The Aditya Birla Group has the right to acquire up to a 9.

5 per cent additional stake from Vodafone under an agreed mechanism with a view to equalising the shareholdings over time If Vodafone and the Aditya Birla Group's shareholdings in the combined company are not equal after four years, Vodafone will sell down shares in the combined company to equalise its shareholding to that of the Aditya Birla Group over the following five-year period.

Until equalisation is achieved, the voting rights of the additional shares held by Vodafone will be restricted and votes will be exercised jointly under the terms of the shareholders' agreement.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Reliance Communications (RCom), burdened by debt, has received a temporary reprieve from apex telecom tribunal -- the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) -- on a showcause notice issued by the Department of Telecom (DoT) on cancelling RCom's licence and spectrum rights.

Posting the matter for directions on August 10, TDSAT instructed the Telecom Department "not to give effect to the decision which it may take in the meantime". RCom had approached the tribunal after tagainst the government's showcause notice on spectrum and licence cancellation. The DoT has raised a demand for `774 crore from the company, however PTI reported on Monday that payments have already been made to the government through encashment of previous Bank Guarantees.

In its petition, RCom said it had approached the tribunal in anticipation of DoT's move (on termination or revoking of licences and withdrawal of spectrum) given that thousands of jobs and millions of subscribers would be at stake. Consequently, the company has requested TDSAT to set aside and quash the showcause notices dated June 19, 2018 and June 22, 2018 and "restrain" the DoT from terminating or revoking licences or spectrum held by RCom.

RCom also sought that time till August 31 be given to the company to reinstate the bank guarantees that have been encashed by the Telecom Department.

Anil Ambani-led RCom has entered into an agreement brother Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio to sell spectrum and other telecom assets for around `17,000 crore and clear its debt partially. If DoT cancels licences or revokes spectrum rights of RCom, the present deal could be adversely impacted.

RCom is also under the debt resolution process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) and has not been paying any dues till the completion of the process. If the deal with Jio goes through, RCom has said the latter will take on deferred spectrum payment liabilities and any BGs given now by RCOM would anyway be replaced by the acquirer.
By Express News Service

KOLKATA: A three-and-half-year-old girl child was raped allegedly by a 49-year-old migrant shopkeeper from Bihar in Ghoom in Darjeeling district of West Bengal on Monday evening.

The victim was with his father at their residence when the accused Ramshankar Shah, a native of Muzzafarpur in Bihar and a shopkeeper, brought alcohol for the victim's father and drank with him and raped the three-and-half-year old girl after the victim's father got inebriated, sources revealed. The accused had opened his shop beside the victim's house four years ago and was close to the victim's family. Upon return to the residence, the victim's mother found her bleeding profusely and in a state of shock and the accused inside the house.

The victim was rushed to a local hospital and an FIR lodged against the accused after which he was arrested. Accused Shah has been booked under Section 6 (punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the POCSO Act. The incident has sparked off bitter hate comments against Bihari migrants on social media by Darjeeling residents on Tuesday.
By Express News Service

VIJAYAWADA: The ruling TDP has launched an all-out attack on the Opposition YSRC for giving a bandh call on Tuesday. Several Ministers and leaders sought to know what will be the benefit to the State with the bandh and alleged that YSRC chief YS Jaganmohan Reddys decision would damage the interests of AP. Interestingly, the Congress too echoed the voice of the TDP and made it clear that it would not support the YSRC bandh.

Meanwhile, the Left parties and Jana Sena also announced that they would not support the State bandh.

Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu alleged that the YSRC was resorting to opportunistic politics by acting as per the directions of the BJP. The YSRC kept itself out of the Lok Sabha (through resignation of MPs) as they have no guts to confront the Centre, he said.

Energy Minister K Kala Venkata Rao said the people of the entire State would oppose the bandh as it is aimed at gaining political mileage.Stating that the bandh will cause loss to the State and not to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Social Welfare Minister Nakka Anand Babu advised the YSRC to withdraw the bandh.

TDP MLC YVB Rajendra Prasad said extending support to the bandh was nothing but extending support to the Centre and PM Modi.Alleging that the YSRC had given the bandh call to highlight that it was championing the cause of special category status (SCS), the Congress said that there will no be use to the State with the bandh. Instead of creating difficulties in the State, the YSRC chief, if he has any sincerity, should halt the activities of Central institutes, the Congress said.

CPI State secretary K Ramakrishna said that the Left parties had already organised protests against the Centre and would continue their fight along with Jana Sena. We will not participate in the bandh, he said.
A Sharadhaa By

Express News Service

Director Nagathihalli Chandrashekar and his team will be off to Europe soon to shoot for the upcoming film, which is yet-to-be titled. The Basaveshwara statue on the banks of river Thames in London has been finalised for the muhurath shot of the film, starring Vasishta Simha and Manvitha Harish. The shoot is to begin on August 4.

As earlier reported, Nagathihallis film, the story of which is written by his daughter, Kanasu, is on the lines of 90s superhit, America, America. The Maestru of the Kannada industry is currently juggling roles of film director, president of Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy, mentor at his Tent house and travelogue.

While sharing a photograph of Manvitha Harish with City Express, the director also confirmed that Vasishta will be replacing Gurunandan. We had Gurunandan on board initially, but he made an early exit because of a commitment with another film, he says, adding, Weve found a replacement in Vasishta, whose baritone voice and acting method will work for us.

Vasishta Simha

Nagathihalli is awaiting the actors schedule to be done with his current commitment because he requires a makeover for my film. A photo shoot is planned with Vasishta in the coming days. Through the film, I want to break away from the typical NRI look. Instead, the British born Kannada boy will have a rugged look. The story has layers to it, in addition to love and crime, we are bringing in the cultural and ideological differences between the two countries, he says.

Meanwhile, Nagathihalli has brought on board senior actors, Prakash Belawadi and Sumalatha, who will play the roles of NRIs in his film. The film is produced by YN Shankare Gowda with a couple of filmmaker friends, including NRIs, investing in the project. Even as the director and his team zero-in on an apt title, they will continue shooting across Wales, Scotland and Manchester.

British DOP Will Price on board

The director has roped in British cameraman, Will Price for his upcoming project. Will has worked in three feature films, multiple short films, music videos, documentaries and commercial ventures. This Sandalwood film will mark his debut in an Indian film. Meanwhile, the makers also plan to hire a few artistes from the UK. However, details will be revealed once contracts are signed.
Sridevi S By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: Search for the term Incredible India on the internet and one will get a number of results showing well-known tourist destinations in the country. Incredible India is, however, defined mostly by crowded tourist locations, laments popular chat show host Vinay Bharadwaj. Now with the aim to show lesser-known destinations from across India, Vinay is now making a documentary, called Incredible India.

Vinay who grew up in Singapore has become quite a sensation on the internet with his shows Lets talk with Vinay and Mind Talk. With these two projects, he brought out inspiring stories from across the country and promoted the importance of mental health awareness.

With this documentary, he now wants to explore and promote rural tourism. A team of five is behind this project and he has earmarked 12 unexplored destinations across India, which will be showcased in 12 episodes. Vinays friend, Pushpam not only came up with the idea but has also commissioned the pilot project, which was shot in Demul Village in Himachal Pradesh.

Tucked away from tourism and media glare, Demul village is located in the foothills of the Himalayas in Spiti. It is a small village with 50 houses. There is neither cellphone signal nor landline connectivity in this village. Only one house has a satellite phone, which the villagers use to connect to the outside world. There are no hotels and we stayed with the villagers. People live together like a large family and have more real friends then virtual ones. Thats what makes this village special, says Vinay.

Though Demul is located in the Himalayas, the village gets rainfall only once a year. The toilets are dry. It is a cold desert and is covered with snow for six months in a year. And yet, they produce the finest quality barley and peas and export it outside India. Thats incredible, isnt it?, he asks.Tourism today has grown manifold in India. When such hidden gems are shown to the world, the ever-enthusiastic travellers can extend a helping hand to these villagers. We hope this documentary sets a benchmark, he adds.
Namita Bajpai By

Express News Service

LUCKNOW: As a face-saving exercise, BSP chief Mayawati cracked the whip on party's newly appointed vice-president and party coordinator Jai Prakash Singh on Tuesday removing him from both the party posts for his unsavoury comments against Congress president Rahul Gandhi at a workers meet in Lucknow on Monday. While pitching for Mayawati as the next Prime Minister of the country after 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Jai Prakash Singh had rejected Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's credentials to lead the country ever.

Announcing removal of Jai Prakash from the post of party vice-president and national coordinator, the BSP chief said: "I have come to know the party's newly appointed vice-president Jai Prakash Singh made some personal remarks against the leadership of rival parties and the BSP doesn't approve it. It could be his personal opinion which was against BSP ideology of 'humanitarianism'." She added that owing to his irresponsible comments and remarks over the leaders of other parties he was being removed from his party posts with immediate effect.

"BSP has always respected all religions and ideologies of other parties. Jai Prakash's remarks are not in sync with party culture," she said while reading out her statement to the media persons in Delhi. However, the BSP chief cautiously skipped the proposal floated by Jai Prakash Singh projecting her as the next PM.

Mindful of the fact that such comments may jeopardise her efforts to cobble up a grand alliance of SP, BSP, Congress and RLD in UP ahead of 2019, Mayawati dropped a word of caution for her party cadre asking them to express their thoughts only about the ideology and policies of the blue brigade. "I want to make it clear to all the party workers-senior and junior - that they are supposed to talk only about the party ideologies, ideologues and also the party president without indulging in criticism of any leader of other parties at conferences and meets ," she pointed out.

Disapproving the slogans ranted at the workers' meet, the BSP chief also asked the party cadre to refrain from speaking anything about the prospective grand alliance at any level. "They should leave the grand alliance issue to the party high command," Mayawati maintained.

Notably, During BSP coordinators' meeting in Lucknow on Monday, Singh had stated that Rahul Gandhi was unfit to become country's Prime Minister as he was more like his foreigner mother (Sonia Gandhi) rather than his father Rajiv Gandhi. Jai Prakash had also claimed that Rahul Gandhi would never be successful in Indian politics.

During the meeting, the BSP coordinator had announced that behenji, as Mayawati is popularly known, will be projected as India's first Dalit Prime Minister to the run up to Lok Sabha polls. He claimed that Modi will be defeated by Mayawati. As per the party sources, action against Jai Prakash, apparently more of a posturing, had come as his remarks may affect Mayawati's efforts to strike an alliance with the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Rajasthan.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Congress upped the ante against PM Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and reiterated a scam in the 2015 Rafale fighter jet deal.

Former defence minister AK Antony lead the Congress charge: "Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman is misleading the country about the Rafale deal. She told in the Lok Sabha that in the Inter-Governmental Agreement between India and France there is a secret clause that prevents centre from revealing the actual price of Rafale aircraft. The statement is totally wrong."

"The more they are trying to hide, the more suspicion will add."

Sitharaman had countered Rahul Gandhi recently in parliament when the Congress leader said French president Emmanuel Macron had told him that there was no such secrecy clause in the deal. The French government too issues a statement backing Sitharaman.

Antony pointed out that in the 2008 UPA agreement, there was no secret clause that prevented the government from revealing the pricing of the Rafale aircraft.

Noting there was no technology transfer and production of 108 aircraft at HAL, Antony said the price negotiated during UPA time might have substantially reduced without these two conditions.

"Instead government procured the aircraft at substantially higher prices. That is why this government is reluctant to reveal actual details," he said.

Instead of HAL, the private sector company got a joint venture with the French company, said the Congress.

"The Prime Minister arbitrarily without any sanction of the CCS announced the purchase or acquisition by India of 36 ready to fly aircraft from Dassault the holding company which manufactures many planes including Rafale," said Congress leader Anand Sharma.

"It is very clear that from Rs. 526 crores the price had gone up to Rs. 1670 crores. So they have to explain Rs. 526 crores - during the UPA negotiated price for 18. Now it has gone up to Rs. 1670 crores," he said.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Indian community in Rwanda, estimated at around 3000, is delighted with the visit of Narendra Modi to their country, the first ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister.

During his interaction with the community leaders in Kigali Monday evening and Tuesday morning before leaving for Kampala, Uganda, Modi invited them to attend the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas next year as well as other business and cultural events in India.

On behalf of Indian community, I would like to convey our sincere thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for visiting Rwanda and giving us this wonderful opportunity, it is indeed a great milestone between these two countries for further strengthening the bilateral relations, trade partnership and socio-economic exchange , we were honored to have listened his kind words and received the personal invitation for Pravasi Bhartiya Divas, along with other occasions well packaged by our PM himself, Mukesh Sahu, Chairman - Indian Community in Rwanda (INAR), told The New Indian Express.

Narendra Modi in Rwanda. (Photo | Twitter)

"It's a great honour for Indians in Rwanda to receive Narendra Modi ji in Kigali, concurred INAR Vice-chairman Srinath Vardhineni. His visit will certainly help Indians in Rwanda and enhance our bilateral relationship with Rwanda. The opening of the Indian High Commission in Rwanda is another milestone in foreign policy of the government of Mr Modi to make India a global power," he said.

ALSO READ | Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Uganda on second leg of his Africa tour

Apart from the community in Rwanda, several Indians from the neighbouring states of Democratic Republic Of Congo and Burundi had also come to Kigali to interact with Modi, who visited the Gizozi Genocide memorial centre and Rweru Model Village, where he formally gifted 200 cows to support President Paul Kagames Girinka programme, a social protection scheme of one cow-one family to uplift the people from poverty and to bring about brotherhood and solidarity.

Wonderful interaction with the Indian diaspora in Rwanda.



In every part of the part of the world, the Indian diaspora is distinguishing itself and making us proud of their accomplishments.



Rwandas Indian community is a very positive influence on the India-Rwanda friendship. pic.twitter.com/6b2wd1eEQ0

 Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 23, 2018

He then addressed a business event jointly organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce (FICCI) and Rwanda Development Board (RDB) before leaving for Entebbe airport in Kampala, Uganda, where after a ceremonial reception, he held a one-on-one meeting with Ugandan President Yoweri Musevani followed by delegation level talks and the signing several agreements. He is expected to address the Ugandan parliament on Wednesday before he leaves for South Africa to attend the BRICS Summit.
Rajesh Asnani By

Express News Service

JAIPUR: In a huge embarrassment to the Vasundhara Raje government in Rajasthan, a BJP MLA has claimed that Rakbar Khan died of thrashing in police custody, rather than mob lynching by gau rakshaks.

MLA Gyan Dev Ahuja claimed on Monday that the beating in the police station lasted for three hours and that the gau rakshaks did rough up Rakbar but he was stable when he was handed over to the police.

On that day, the people did beat Rakbar Khan, but his death was not caused by that beating. When Rakbar was handed over to the police, he was in a stable condition. However, after being taken to the police station, he was beaten so brutally that it caused his death. I have informed the State Home Minister, Gulab Chand Kataria and demand a judicial inquiry into the matter so that the culprits can be held responsible.

If Rakbar was already half dead after being beaten up by the mob, why did the police take him to the police station and not hospital directly?

Ahuja has even alleged that the Ramgarh police station is involved in many acts of corruption and has questioned the action taken by the police in this particular incident. Home minister Kataria has instructed the Director General of Police to send a three-member team from Jaipur to Alwar to investigate whether the reported three-hour delay in reaching the hospital is verified or not.I have told the DG, do not leave scope for any confusion. Send three senior police officers from Jaipur to confirm the delay made by police in taking Akbar to hospital and if there is any truth behind take appropriate action, said Kataria.

When asked about the allegations made by Ahuja he answered, The team has gone to Alwar to investigate if Akbar Khan was in police custody for three hours, what exactly happened there? Till the team submits its final report nothing can be said about this matter. The Home minister dismissed the demand made by Ahuja for a judicial inquiry and said, Judicial investigation is wastage of time. At least let the administrative inquiry reach a conclusion.

Ahuja no stranger to controversy
A report that China is developing unmanned submarines to "challenge Western naval powers," was slammed by Chinese experts as overblown and confrontational.

China's large unmanned submarines will be able to perform missions including reconnaissance, mine placement and suicide attacks via artificial intelligence, the South China Morning Post reported on Sunday.

They are expected to be deployed in the early 2020s, the Hong Kong-based newspaper said.

Many countries are developing unmanned submarines, and China is only one of them, a submarine expert, who asked not to be named, told the Global Times on Monday.

However, such a submarine - capable of carrying out multiple missions as the report suggested - does not exist as of yet, the expert noted, adding that even if one had reached the experimental phase, it was still far off deployment.

It is normal for China to develop such weapons to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity. The development is not directed against any specific country, Zhang Junshe, a senior research fellow at the People's Liberation Army Naval Military Studies Research Institute, told the Global Times on Monday.

The South China Morning Post reported that China will use the unmanned submarines to challenge the advantageous position established by Western naval powers in strategic waters like the South China Sea and western Pacific Ocean.

The report echoed "rhetoric of the China threat theory" and was "trying to create a confrontational atmosphere between China and the US," Zhang said.

"The US is by far leading the world in the development of unmanned submarines, and so it is an exaggeration to say that China is challenging the advantageous position established by Western naval powers," he said.
By Express News Service

ALWAR: The post-mortem report submitted by the hospital in Alwar, Rajasthan stated that all-together 13 injuries were found in Rakbar 's body, who was allegedly lynched on the suspicion of cow smuggling on Saturday.

ALSO READ: History of mob lynching and attacks by cow vigilantes in India since the start of 2017

The report also stated that 750 ml of blood was found in the left lung of the deceased in the autopsy.

The report further suggested that the victim had two broken ribs, a fractured arm and injuries all over the body.

WATCH | Indulge in cow smuggling and you will be killed: Rajasthan BJP MLA Gyan Dev Ahuja

"Cause of death, in this case, is shocked as a result of anti-mortem injuries sustained over body mentioned in PMR," the report, which was released by the medical board comprising of Rajiv Gupta, SMU, Amit Mittal (MD Medicine) and Sanjay Gupta from the surgery department which examined the body.

The police have arrested three people suspected to be involved in the attack on Khan. Under fire for a delay in taking the deceased to the hospital, the Rajasthan Police set up a four-member committee to probe the allegations. The panel ordered the suspension of the then assistant sub-inspector posted at the Ramgarh police station, Mohan Singh, and transferred three others to police lines.

The action was taken after a video purportedly showing ASI Singh admitting to his "mistake" went viral.

The committee will also probe whether Khan became a victim of police beating on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday.

Meanwhile, as the row over Rakbars lynching grew bigger, there were a slew of shocking statements from BJP leaders of all hues from around the country.

Escalating the row over the Alwar incident, Rajasthan minister Jaswant Yadav asked Muslims to stop the cow smuggling business, saying it "boils the blood of the Hindus". He also asked the Muslims to understand the sentiments of the Hindus.

A BJP MLA from Telangana, T Raja Singh Lodh, who represents Goshamahal in Hyderabad, said incidents of lynching will not stop until cow gets the status of 'Rashtra Mata'(mother of the nation).
Namita Bajpai By

Express News Service

LUCKNOW: Breaking her silence on prospective grand alliance, especially, after Congress Working Committee (CWC) declared its president Rahul Gandhi as alliance leader, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati reiterated her position in a terse statement saying that her party would enter into an alliance with any other party only on getting a respectable chunk of seats to contest in the upcoming elections.

While CWC had projected Rahul Gandhi as party's PM candidate, the BSP had floated the proposal to project Mayawati as its prime ministerial candidate at a last week's workers' meet in Lucknow. Reading out her statement to media persons here on Tuesday, the BSP chief was categorical in her reference to Congress Party when she claimed without mincing her words that in three poll-bound states-- Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh-the BSP would ally with the grand old party (Congress) only if it is given good number of seats to contest.

Besides, MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the BSP is contemplating to align with SP and RLD in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Clearing the air on her party's approach, the BSP chief said: "It must be amply clear to those Congress leaders, who are issuing a different statements in connection with Congress-BSP alliance in three poll-bound states, that BSP will fight elections with Congress only if it will get respectable number of seats," she said and added: "Otherwise, my party is capable of going it alone on all the seats in these three states. We are fully prepared to fight the assembly elections on our own with our full might."

Earlier, Mayawati launched a blistering attack on Central government over the issue of mob lynching in reference to the latest incident which took place in Alwar, Rajasthan. She suggested the Union government to bring a stringent law against mob lynching in the current session of Parliament.

"It is possible now as the Parliament is currently in session otherwise the countrymen won't forgive the BJP government," Mayawati averred. She also referred to BSP founder president Kanshi Ram's idea of governance saying that the governments of the day should not be very strong else it turned autocratic. "Sarake Majboot nahi Majboor honi chaihye, anyatha woj nirankush ho jati hain (the governments should not be strong but constrained. Otherwise they become despotic)," said Mayawati.

Condemning mob lynching in the name of cow protection, the BSP chief accused the Modi government in no uncertain terms of unleashing mobocracy to terrorise, torture and exploit Dalits, deprived and Muslims. Calling the BJP government at Centre anti-people, Mayawati charged it with spreading communal and social disharmony in the country where no one was feeling secured and protected.
By Express News Service

KOLKATA: Four women were stripped and beaten up on charges of child-lifting by residents of Daukimari village under Dhupguri police station in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal on Monday. While two women, residents of Dhupguri town, two km from Daukimari, had gone there as agents of a microfinance firm, the other two women had come from Siliguri and Dhupguri towns to sell garments.

The four women were taken to a primary school in the village and asked to remove their clothes suspecting that they had hidden tranquilisers to kidnap children. However, upon not finding anything, the victims were beaten up by men and women of the village, sources revealed. Police rescued the victims from the school and admitted them to hospital with multiple injuries.

Narrating the incident, a victim said: "A group of locals stopped us and asked our purpose of visit. We told them we had come for work and were from Dhupguri town. However, they refused to believe us and took us to the school and asked us to strip. Several women had also joined the mob and upon not finding anything from us, they beat us up," a victim said.

Another victim who was not related to the first two women from Dhupguri said: "We had garments with us but they dragged us to the school where two more women unknown to us were surrounded by a mob. Some people in the mob said we were part of the same group and were moving in smaller groups to kidnap children. Then they stripped searched us and then beat us up."

No case has yet been lodged neither has anyone been arrested. "We will soon file a case and make arrests," said an official at Dhupguri police station. Dhupguri Block Development Officer Dipankar Roy said that police has been asked to act against rumour mongers.
By PTI

MUMBAI: The opposition Congress blamed today Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for the Maratha reservation agitation taking a violent turn and demanded his resignation.

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil of the Congress accused the state government of dilly-dallying on the demands of the community when it was taking out "silent" morchas cross the state to press for its demands, including reservation in jobs and education.

Nine policemen were injured in stone pelting, while two protesters attempted suicide during the Maharashtra bandh called by Maratha outfits to press for reservation.

"Fadnavis should have chalked out a time-bound programme to deliver on the promise of Maratha reservation when silent morchas (rallies) were being taken out.

"But, since the BJP government is anti-reservation, it has not given reservation not only to Marathas but also Muslims and Dhangars (shepherd community)," he said.

He said Fadnavis's "provocative" statements on the eve of "Ashadhi Ekadashi" were also responsible for the violence and he should take moral responsibility and quit.

During the just-concluded monsoon session of the legislature in Nagpur, the opposition demanded that the government take steps to provide reservation to Marathas. But, there was no satisfactory response from the government, Vikhe Patil said.

State Congress spokesman Sachin Sawant said Fadnavis'

"irresponsible" statements levelling false allegations against the Maratha quota stir leaders were the main reason for the agitation taking a violent turn.

He alleged the BJP engaged in caste polarisation since the silent morchas were taken out by the community and the ruling party took benefit of the polarisation during the local body elections across the state.

"Now, there is a huge discontent against the BJP government and this is the reason it is pitting Dalits against Marathas by engineering the Bhima-Koregaon violence earlier this year (in Pune district)," Sawant said.

On Sunday, Fadnavis, while announcing his decision not to participate in the annual puja at the Lord Vitthal Temple Pandharpur on the occasion of Ashadhi Ekadashi, said "Police have intercepted some messages, like 'will release snakes among devotees', 'could create a situation that would lead to stampede', among others."

A pro-quota leader of the community had said in Pandharpur that if Fadnavis visited the temple town on July 23, "they will hold a massive protest there and disrupt the puja".

Fadnavis had hit hack at protesters, saying such a move was a shame for a "progressive" state like Maharashtra.

"The puja is beyond politics. But some 10 lakh people (devotees) are there (in Pandharpur). Efforts are being made by some organisations and people to create a lifethreatening situation in Pandharpur," the CM had said.

The Maratha Kranti Morcha, the organisation leading the agitation, has demanded an apology from Fadnavis for alleging that some members from the community were planning violence at Pandharpur.

Fadnavis has said only the courts can take a decision on granting reservation to the Marathas, a politically influential community.

"Some (pro-reservation) organisations are aware of it; still they are instigating the community. If throwing stones at me can get reservation for the Maratha community, then I am ready for it," he had said.

"Those who hold devotees to ransom cannot be called true followers of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj," the CM had said.
Amit Agnihotri By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Congress move to empower Rahul Gandhi to decide the 2019 poll alliances and project him as the partys prime ministerial nominee was meant to avoid any ambiguity on the leadership issue and to send a clear message to allies ahead of the general elections. Party insiders said the CWC considered the pros and cons of the move before taking the decision knowing well that bringing around the regional parties to the idea might not be easy.

This is Rahuls Congress and he is our leader, said a senior AICC functionary. The CWC decision is in sharp contrast to former Congress chief Sonia Gandhis efforts over the past few months to forge Opposition unity in her capacity as the Congress Parliamentary Party leader.

Congress strategists said they were aware of the prime ministerial ambitions of regional leaders like West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, NCP president Sharad Pawar, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati, as also the fact that they were more comfortable dealing with Sonia Gandhi than Rahul.

We clearly did not want two power centres within the party and the allies must also realize the new spirit in the party, a CWC member said. Rahuls single-point agenda is to marshall all resources to oust the Modi government.

Among the regional bigwigs, Banerjee has been the most vociferous in attacking PM Modi and the BJP. She has dabbled with the idea of a federal front and claimed at a rally in Kolkata on Sunday that her party was actually leading the anti-Modi league. The Congress played down the remarks, saying Banerjee shared the same pedigree and would not be too much of a hassle when it comes to forging Opposition unity.

She belongs to the Congress family and shares the same values, said a senior Congress leader.

Sources said alliances with BSP, SP and NCP would be sewn up in time while Rahul would soon take a call on how to proceed with TMC. In Bihar, the deal with RJD should face no problems as party chief Lalu Prasads son Tejashwi is leading the Opposition and has a good working relationship with Rahul.
By Online Desk

Following the suicide of protestor Kakasaheb Shinde, the Maratha agitation, demanding reservation in government jobs and education has turned violent with various regions including Aurangabad witnessing rising violence in which a policemen and two others were injured.

The 27-year-old on Monday had jumped off a bridge over Godavari River in Aurangabad. However, he was declared brought dead when he was rushed to the hospital, police said.

Maharashtra government on Tuesday announced Rs 10 lakh ex gratia for Kakasaheb Shinde's family.

Various Maratha groups have announced a Maharashtra shutdown on August 9 - celebrated as August Kranti Day - to intensify the agitation going on since nearly two years.

The Maratha Kranti Morcha, which had called for a statewide bandh in Maharashtra has warned of bigger protests if Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis doesn't apologise to the community.

The group alleges that some members from the community were planning violence at Pandharpur town in Solapur district, where the Chief Minister was earlier scheduled to perform puja at a temple on 'Ashadhi Ekadashi'.

"We will continue our agitation until Chief Minister Fadnavis apologises to the Maratha community. We will observe bandh in Aurangabad and other parts of the state today," Ravindra Patil, the coordinator of a pro-reservation group of Marathas, said.

Law and Order situation was disrupted in parts of the state as the agitation spread to areas like Aurangabad.

A fire brigade vehicle was torched in Aurangabad and a police jeep was set ablaze in Hingoli even as the issue was raised in the Lok Sabha by Shiv Sena MP Vinayak Raut.

In Deogaon Rangari of Aurangabad, three people attempted suicide on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, three persons attempted suicide. While Jayant Sonavne jumped into a river, Jagannath Sonavne consumed poison in support of the agitation.

Protestors have also set ablaze a truck and the situation escalated further when the mob pelted stones at police in Aurangabad's Gangapur.

ALSO READ | Attempts being made to incite Maratha community before polls: Maharashtra Revenue Minister

The outfit, which led the 'jal samadhi' protest in which Shinde died, is leading the agitation seeking reservation for the community in government jobs and education.

In the last few days, protests have taken place in Buldhana, Akola, Parali, Washim and even in Mumbai.

Fadnavis had said on Sunday that he was cancelling his visit, scheduled yesterday, to the temple in Pandharpur after protesting Maratha outfits threatened to disrupt the event.

All major political parties including Congress' Ashok Chavan and Sachin Sawant, Nationalist Congress Party's Jitendra Awhad and others have urged the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party government to resolve the issue of Maratha reservations expeditiously.

Quotas for Marathas, a politically influential community that constitutes around 30 per cent of the state's population, has been a hugely contentious issue.

The community leaders had earlier taken out several rallies in various districts to highlight their demands.

(with inputs from IANS)
Ramananda Sengupta By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Prime minister Narendra Modi arrived in Kigali, Rwanda, on Monday evening, becoming the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the tiny landlocked central/East African nation. In another first, Modi will gift 200 locally-sourced cows to buttress Rwandan President Paul Kagames Girinka scheme, under which poor families are gifted dairy cows by the government, and the first female calf born of the cow is in turn gifted to a neighbour, thereby not just boosting agricultural production and better nutrition, but also promoting brotherhood and solidarity in the community.

Modi, whose plane arrived hours after Chinese President Xi Jinping left Kigali after a two-day state visit, was greeted on the tarmac by President Kagame and senior officials, and accorded a ceremonial welcome at the airport. He then attended the restricted and delegation-level talks, witnessed the signing of agreementson dairy cooperation, leather and defence, among other thingsand attended a banquet dinner hosted by Kagame. He also attended a reception hosted by Indias High Commissioner to Uganda, Ravi Shankar, who also covers Rwanda and Burundi for the Indian community in Rwanda, estimated at around 3,000.
By ANI

RWERU MODEL VILLAGE: In his maiden visit to Rwanda, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday gifted 200 cows to villagers as a part of Rwandan Government's Girinka Programme.

The function, to mark the handing over of cows was held at Rweru Model village, in the presence of Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

Under this programme, the poorest residing in the region get cows from the government and gift the first female calf to a neighbour to promote brotherhood.

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister appreciated the Girinka programme and President Paul Kagame's initiative in this regard.

Prime Minister Modi also added that the Girinka programme will help transform villages in Rwanda.

The Girinka programme was initiated by President Paul Kagame in response to the alarmingly high rate of childhood malnutrition and as a way to accelerate poverty reduction and integrate livestock and crop farming.

The programme is based on the premise that providing a dairy cow to poor Girinka programme transforms livelihoods, reconciles communities improving agricultural productivity through the use of manure as fertilizers.

Since its introduction in 2006, hundreds of thousands have received cows through the Girinka program. By June 2016, a total of 248,566 cows had been distributed to poor households.

The program has contributed to an increase in agricultural production in Rwanda - especially milk production and products, reduced malnutrition and increased incomes.

After concluding his visit to Rwanda today, Prime Minister Modi will leave for Uganda on a two-day visit. This will mark the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the country in over two decades.

In the last leg of his three-nation Africa tour, the Prime Minister will visit South Africa to attend the 10th edition of the BRICS Summit which is scheduled to take place Johannesburg.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Nearly 19,000 NGOs in the country have been barred from receiving foreign funds by the government since 2011 by cancelling their FCRA registration, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju told the Lok Sabha today.

Rijiju also told the House that as on date, 2,547 NGOs have not adhered to the government orders to submit their pending annual returns -- income and expenditure, receipts of funds from abroad and balance sheets.

"Registration of 18,864 Foreign Contribution Regulation Act registered associations and institutions have been cancelled from 2011 till now and they have been barred from receiving foreign funds," he said replying to a written question.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Stepping up its attack on PM Modi and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the Congress on Tuesday moved a breach of privilege motions against the two leaders for misleading the Lok Sabha on the price of controversial Rafale jet deal.

The motion, moved by Congress leader in the house Mallikarjun Kharge, is supported by other members M Veerappa Moily, KV Thomas and Jyotiraditya Scindia and Rajeev Satav. The deal, redone in 2015 has become a major flashpoint between Modi and the Congress, which has been using it to target the PM.

The opposition party has alleged a scam in the deal saying the price per aircraft went up threefold from Rs 500 crore during UPA to Rs 1600 crore. Also, technology transfer to public owned HAL in the UPA deal was replaced by a joint venture between the makers Dassault and private sector Reliance under the Modi government.

The privilege motion refers to PM's speech on July 20 during the no-confidence motion when he "asserted that the demand for revealing the purchase price of Rafale jets was against the interest of the nation and had to be contradicted by both the Indian and the French governments."

It also questions the PM's claims of transparency in the deal, saying Modi made a factually incorrect statement. On the same day, Rahul Gandhi had referred to his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron who reportedly was okay with the price of the jets being made public.

He also blamed Sitharaman for 'lieing' when she said the price was covered under a secrecy clause. Sitharaman hit back saying the secrecy clause was signed by the UPA in 2008 but the Congress fielded then defence minister AK Antony to point out that it related to technology and not commercial cost.

Picking holes in the government argument, the Congress cited a reply given in the house by the minister of state for defence on November 18, 2016, pegging the price of one Rafale jet at Rs 670 crore. The opposition also cited the 2016 annual report of Dassault which mentioned the price details of the aircraft sold to India. The fate of the Congress' motion will now be decided by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan who may accept or reject it.
Source: tass.com

MOSCOW, July 23. /TASS/. The first military patriotic park of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army will open at the Korla training range in northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region during the 2018 International Army Games (ArMY-2018), Russias Defense Ministry reported on Monday.

"The Patriot military patriotic park of culture and leisure is being prepared for its opening at the Korla training range in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in China as part of the ArMY-2018 Games. The site is designed to demonstrate the capabilities of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Armys armament and military hardware," the ministry said.

The park is a museum compound in the open air. The exposition will feature about 100 pieces of military hardware of the last several decades. Visitors will be able to view Type 88A, Type 96 and Type 96B tanks, Type 86A and 04A infantry fighting vehicles, the PLZ07 122mm self-propelled howitzer, the Type PHL 03 300mm multiple launch rocket system, the Type 92 armored personnel carrier and other weapon systems. Engineering equipment is represented by the heavy mechanized bridge and the obstacle-clearing vehicle.

The military component is not the parks sole part. Ethnographic and cultural-historical clusters have been set up on the compounds territory to demonstrate the samples of Chinese calligraphy, national painting, nephrite items, and also many handcrafted articles.

The militaries from Russia, China and other countries participating in the Safe Route international contest will be the first to visit the park. After an excursion is organized for them, the park will be open for all visitors.

The Russian Armed Forces military patriotic park Patriot was opened outside Moscow in June 2015. It features the military and historical compound called the Guerilla Village, the Center of Military and Tactical Games, the Congress and Exhibition Center while its open air sites demonstrate models of Soviet and Russian military hardware. When the park hosts large-scale events, it is attended by several dozen thousand visitors, including from foreign countries. Currently, work is underway to create the parks local branches in several Russian regions.
Amit Agnihotri By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Congress on Monday upped the ante against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and reiterated a scam in the 2015 Rafale fighter jet deal. Former Defence minister AK Antony led the Congress charge. Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman is misleading the country about the Rafale deal. She said in the Lok Sabha that in the Inter-Governmental Agreement between India and France there is a secret clause that prevents the Centre from revealing the actual price of Rafale aircraft. The statement is totally wrong.

The more they are trying to hide, the more suspicion will add, he said.

Sitharaman had countered Rahul Gandhi recently in Parliament when the Congress leader said French president Emmanuel Macron had told him there was no such secrecy clause in the deal. The French government too issued a statement backing Sitharaman.

Antony pointed out that in the 2008 UPA agreement, there was no secret clause that prevented the government from revealing the pricing of Rafale aircraft. Noting that there was no technology transfer and production of 108 aircraft at HAL, Antony said the price negotiated during UPA time might have substantially reduced without these two conditions. Instead, government procured the aircraft at substantially higher prices. That is why this government is reluctant to reveal actual details, he said.

Instead of HAL, the private sector company got a joint venture with the French company, said the Congress. It is very clear that from Rs 26 crore, the price had gone up to Rs 1670 crore. So, they have to explain Rs 526 crore during the UPA-negotiated price for 18. Now it has gone up to Rs 1,670 crore, said Congress leader Anand Sharma.
Rajesh Asnani By

Express News Service

JAIPUR: The political footprint of the Alwar lynching grew on Monday with the lone eyewitness to the mob attack claiming the assailants had bragged, The MLA Sahib is with us. No one can even touch us.

The mob was referring to BJP MLA Gyan Dev Ahuja, who has already sought to blame the Alwar police for lynching victim Rakbar Khans death.

According to the statement given to the police by Aslam, who along with Rakbar was taking a couple of cows to Haryana in the wee hours on Saturday when they were attacked by Gau Rakshaks, five of the seven assailants kept making offensive statements while beating Rakbar up.

Aslams statement, recorded at his Kolgaon village in Nooh district in Haryana, said they were returning on foot to their village after purchasing two cows from Khanpur in Alwar.

Also Read | Alwar lynching: Could have responded in better way, say Rajasthan Police

A bike came from the opposite side and the scared cows jumped into a nearby field. When both Rakbar and Aslam went to catch the cows, they found themselves surrounded by seven persons with laathis. The mob caught and assaulted Rakbar with sticks.

Aslam somehow managed to flee. The mob addressed each other by name and Aslam remembers five - Vijay, Dharmendra, Paramjeet, Naresh and Suresh. That was when he heard them brag about the local MLA, too.

Last year, after Pahlu Khans lynching allegedly over cow smuggling, Gyan Dev Ahuja had sparked off a huge controversy saying: Any person smuggling cows would have to suffer a similar fate.

A high-level probe panel set up by the embarrassed Rajasthan Police on Monday ordered the suspension of the officer-in-charge of the case and transferred three others to police lines.

The preliminary investigation suggests there was an error in prioritising the situation, Special DGP (law and order) N R K Reddy, a member of the committee, admitted.

BJP MLA Gyan Dev Ahuja even justified his stand by saying, After Pehlu Khans death last year he explained to the people that cow smuggling has reduced drastically and in case any such incident gets reported, the concerned person should be handed to the police. Justice will serve its course.

Also Read | Government sets up Two high-level committees to suggest measures on mob violence, lynching

Analysts say politics of the three-time MLA revolves around controversial statements and he does not have good relations with Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje. Ahuja regards himself as a senior leader and wanted to be in Rajes ministry. But Raje never took him seriously and that annoyed Ahuja, who last year resigned from seven committees including the chairmanship of the committee of estimates of the state government. His critics believe that his ticket might be cut this time.

On Aslams statement to police mentioning his name, Ahuja replies sharply, All this is rubbish and just cooked up canards against me. I have not even been in Alwar for the past two months as my wife is ill. I was told about this incident much after it happened. The government is free to check my mobile details. I think this is a calculated campaign to malign my image.

Clearly, the verbal war between the Raje government and its controversial MLA could greatly intensify.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday called unsatisfactory a report filed by the Central government after the July 19 meeting of the Lokpal Selection Committee, which comprised the Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of India (CJI).

Justice Ranjan Gogoi told Attorney General K K Venugopal that the affidavit filed by the Centre was unsatisfactory and that it has again refrained from giving a timeline on the appointment of the Lokpal.

Centre, in its affidavit, stated that the meeting was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, CJI Dipak Misra, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and jurist Mukul Rohatgi to constitute the search committee, which will then shortlist names for Lokpal and other members and then recommend them to the selection committee for final approval.

Last week, the court had expressed its optimism that the search committee will be constituted in the meeting and a time frame will be also be laid down for shortlisting of the names. On the contrary, the affidavit filed on Tuesday revealed that on July 19, only a decision was taken that the members of the selection committee will recommend the names as to who should constitute the committee. Not only the search committee was not formed, there was no time frame given as to by when the recommendations have to be made and when will the committee be set up and did not disclose as by when the next meeting would take place.

This led advocate Prashant Bhushan, who was appearing for the PIL petitioner, say the government had been dragging its feet for more than four years and the court should exercise its authority to appoint the Lokpal and fulfil the statutory requirement. The court asked the government to file a fresh affidavit on four weeks, specifying a time frame within which each step in the process of Lokpal's appointment can be completed. The court was hearing a contempt petition filed by an NGO which has raised the issue of non-appointment of Lokpal despite the apex court's judgment of last year.

The apex court, in its last year's verdict, had said there was no justification to keep the enforcement of Lokpal Act suspended till the proposed amendments, including on the issue of the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, were cleared by Parliament.
Ayshvarya Narayanan By

Online Desk

The All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) on June 20 announced to go on an indefinite nationwide strike to protest against the government for various issues, including a demand to rationalise taxes on diesel and reduce its prices, in accordance with the international market.

The organisation declared that 93 lakh trucks and other goods vehicles will stay off the roads across the country as a part of the agitation.

IN PICS | As the nationwide trucker strike persists, here's all you need to know

The unanimous decision to go for an indefinite 'nationwide Chakkajam' from July 20 was taken at the 205th meeting of the governing council of AIMTC.

With the strike entering its fifth day, here is everything you need to know about the stir.

What are their demands?

Reduction in diesel prices through tax cut by bringing it under GST, uniform pricing nationally and quarterly revision.

Toll barrier-free India.

Transparency and reduction in third-party insurance premium. Exemption of GST on TPP and abolish excess commission paid to agents through comprehensive policy.

Abolition of TDS, rationalisation of presumptive income in section 44AE of Income Tax Act & E-way bill operational issues.

National permit for buses and tourist vehicles.

Abolition of Direct Port Delivery (DPD) tendering system; streamlining of port congestion.

Why did the talks with the government fail?

The AIMTC members on July 19 met Union Minister Piyush Goyal and Road & Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari at the Transport Bhavan in Delhi and held talks regarding the issue.

According to media reports, an official close to Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari's office informed that during the meeting, transporters were conveyed that instant solutions cannot be provided to the truckers' demands but assured them that the government is exploring options.

On July 23, the official social media handle of AIMTC tweeted saying, "The transport fraternity of India has suspended its operations since last four days, but the government remain insensitive to the perils of this sector and its burning issues. More than 15 crore people associated with this trade and pained and disappointed at the current scenario."

Timeline of the strike- July 19: AIMTC holds talks with Centre, which end on an inconclusive note. Following this, the core committee chairman Bal Malkit Singh said, We will go on with the indefinite strike as scheduled from Friday.

AIMTC holds talks with Centre, which end on an inconclusive note. Following this, the core committee chairman Bal Malkit Singh said, We will go on with the indefinite strike as scheduled from Friday. July 20: Indefinite nationwide strike starts with as many as 93 lakh trucks and other goods vehicles staying off the roads across the country.

Indefinite nationwide strike starts with as many as 93 lakh trucks and other goods vehicles staying off the roads across the country. July 22: Tamil Nadu government announces that agricultural produce can be transported in State Transport Corporation buses, without causing disturbance to passengers.

Tamil Nadu government announces that agricultural produce can be transported in State Transport Corporation buses, without causing disturbance to passengers. July 23: Malkit Singh warns that they may compel the transporters engaged in ferrying essential commodities to suspend operations if the government doesn't address their issues.

Malkit Singh warns that they may compel the transporters engaged in ferrying essential commodities to suspend operations if the government doesn't address their issues. July 24: Telangana petroleum tank trucks owners observe a daylong strike. All the petroleum tankers in the state were off roads.

When have such protests taken place in the past

October 9, 2017: The AIMTC went on a two-day nationwide strike to protest against the GST and rise in diesel prices.

January 2009: The AIMTC went on a eight-day nationwide strike. It was called off after the transport ministry agreed to not increase the toll taxes at national highways and promised to look into issues relating to national permits and rationalisation of taxes.

The partaking federations

Many lorry owners' federations across India have extended their support to the protest.

The Andhra Pradesh Lorry Owners Association (APLOA) decided that around 3 lakh Lorries from the state will stay off the roads.

The Federation of Madhya Pradesh Motors and Goods Transport Association announced that 95 per cent of the state's transporters are participating in the strike.

Associations in Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu have also joined the demonstration.

Essential services like water, milk and medicine, have been exempted from the strike. Leaders of AIMTC claimed about 75 per cent of 93 lakh goods vehicles in India joined the stir.

The cost of the truckers strike and how it affects the common man

The sector is likely to suffer a business loss of about Rs. 4,000 crore per day for the truckers due to the suspension of operations.

The strike will also hamper the supply of goods.

Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry has estimated that the loss due to this strike could be to the tune of Rs. 1,000 crore per day in the state.

ASSOCHAM had also said that the current strike by truckers would cause a loss of Rs. 20,000-25,000 crores per day to the economy.

According to lorry operators in Andhra Pradesh, the state had lost over 60 crores in the first two days of the strike.

Tamil Nadu government will lose about Rs 100 crore a day, the state federation said.

The protest has left one dead.

On 23 July, a truck carrying vegetables from Mettupalayam in Coimbatore, was on its way to Chengannur in Alappuzha district of Kerala, when the supporters of the ongoing lorry strike, allegedly hurled stones at it. Mubarak Badshah, a cleaner hailing from Mettupalayam was killed while the driver sustained injuries in the incident.

The ongoing truckers' strike has affected every single person directly or indirectly involved in this business. It also hit the sale of non-perishable items. The prices of vegetables, fruits and is expected to go up and cause greater inconvenience to people in the coming days. The truckers don't seem to give up until their demands are met by the government.
By PTI

MUMBAI: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) today came out in support of the Maratha community protesting for reservation in government jobs and education.

The party said tomorrow's Mumbai bandh, called by Maratha outfits to push for their reservation demand, should be observed peacefully.

"The government can omit Maratha families having high income from the ambit of reservation, but there is a sizeable population in the Maratha community that needs such an affirmative action," Ashok Dhawale, a Central Committee member of the CPI(M), told reporters here.

Calling for maintaining peace, he said, "Tomorrows bandh should be observed peacefully.

" While giving reservation to the Marathas, the state government should not encroach upon the existing quotas for other communities, he added.
Prasanta Mazumdar By

Express News Service

GUWAHATI: The ongoing crisis in Manipur University, arising out of the demand by students as well as teachers to sack vice chancellor Adya Prasad Pandey, to continue for now. Chief Minister N Biren Singh and some of his ministerial colleagues held a meeting with the leaders of protesting students and teachers on Tuesday but failed to break the ice.

The protestors stuck to their guns, making it amply clear that they would not withdraw the agitation till the VC resigned. "The Manipur University Students' Union (MUSU) and the Manipur University Teachers' Association (MUTA) had a meeting with a state government delegation led by the Chief Minister. However, there was no concrete development," MUSU president Dayaman Mayanglambam told reporters emerging from the meeting.

He said the state government had assured the protestors that it would exert pressure on the Central government to meet the demands.

"We will continue our agitation till the demands are fulfilled," Mayanglambam categorically stated. Two days ago, an all-party meeting had resolved to urge Pandey to step down. The VC is, however, in no mood to resign. Meanwhile, Internet and mobile SMS services have remained suspended across the state.

The MUSU had launched the protests in the first week of June demanding the VC's resignation. In due course, the MUTA lent its support to MUSU. They levelled a series of charges against the VC which include financial misappropriation and not filling up key positions that of a regular registrar, examination controller, librarian and curator etc.

To resolve the crisis, the Ministry of Human Resources Development had constituted two fact-finding committees but the varsity fraternity rejected them. It insists that the VC has to go. The protestors reiterated that VC's removal was a "sine quo non to precede" any intervention to resolve the present crisis.
Avay Shukla By

It is now more or less official: at least 35 killings or mob lynchings have taken place in the year since May 2017. The trigger has been either alleged cattle smuggling or child lifting, the victims generally belonging to minority communities or are outsiders. They have been conveniently branded WhatsApp killings and the government has issued a stern warning to WhatsApp to clean up its act. The canand the blamehas been conveniently kicked down the road to 2019.

But here are some inconvenient questions: WhatsApp has some 1.5 billion subscribers globally, of which 200 million or nearly 15 per cent are in India; why is it that all the killings are happening only in India? Second, the messaging app has been in this country since 2009; why is it that the mob murders have started only now, in the last couple of years? What has changed so drastically in this period as to justify, finally, Nirad Chaudhuris diagnosis that this is the continent of Circe, which turns men into monsters?

It is the changing and deteriorating nature of politics which is primarily responsible for the spurt in vigilantism, not the messaging app. The old culprits remainshoddy policing, a defunct justice system, social fault lines, an imperfect technological platform that assures anonymitybut these are supplementary emboldening factors, not the primary causative impetus. The latter is provided by the newly created ecosystem of hate and fear whose holy grail is the vote, which has to be grabbed no matter the cost to the individual or the society. The credo of Satan prevails: It is far better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven.

There is no shying away from it, and it must be said: Politiciansoverwhelmingly those from the ruling party at the Centre, but also from other partiesare sowing the seeds of vigilante violence by their acts and deeds and creating a fertile soil in which they can grow their deadly crops, hoping to harvest them at election time. People will believe what they are conditioned to believe, and if it is drilled into them day in and day out that certain communities are not to be trusted, that cow killers are on the loose, that liberals and intellectuals are anti-national, that all Kashmiris are secessionists, that universities are the breeding ground of traitors, that conversions and love jihad are decimating the Hindu numbers, and worse, they will believe it all.

WhatsApp is only the messenger, the message itself comes from elsewhere in the corridors of power, amplified by some channels which have specialised in converting news into fake views. And very soon hate becomes a badge of honour, bravery and pride. The malady has gone way beyond fake news now, it has metastasised into vigilantism, a natural progression, according to Voltaire: Those who can make you believe absurdities can also make you commit atrocities.

The government will of course not accept this thesis, but consider: What other message did a Union minister send when he honoured a dead man accused of killing Akhlaq? The mans body was in a casket draped in the national flag (he had died in judicial custody). What message did a BJP MP from Jharkhand send when he announced that he would pay the legal expenses of those accused in the mob killing of four people on suspicion of cattle lifting?

What was Union Minister Jayant Sinha, he of the superficial and deceptive veneer of Harvard and McKinsey, conveying earlier this month when he garlanded and felicitated the eight accused in another mob lynching case? Or when Giriraj Singh, unfortunately another minister and a serial offender in such matters, visited a bunch of riot accused in jail in Bihar to offer them his help? Such incendiary and inappropriate behaviour would have led to their sacking in any country where political decency exists, but here there has not been one word of disapproval, let alone admonition, from any party or government leader.

This is not just about hate speech, its about a hate ecology that is replacing our tolerant anarchy with inspired mob violence. Many years ago Dr Ambedkar had noted that democracy in India is only a top-dressing of the Indian soil which is essentially undemocratic. Even this fragile topsoil is now being blown away by a devils wind. When the subconscious of the individual is seeded with caste and communal hatred, Freuds theory comes into playin a mob this altered subconscious gets unlocked and unfettered violence results. It helps when the powers that be approve of this vigilantism, and a rotten justice system promises that no one will actually get punished after the dust has settled down.

So let us not pin the entire blame on WhatsApp. Yes, it can do much more to remove anonymity and delete accounts. But it is not responsible for the viciousness that permeates our public and political discourse, the imploding of moral values in our society; it cannot be blamed for the messaging that comes from our political leaders and their sycophantic channels that magnify the hatred and antagonism every day on prime time. That is something our shrinking civil society will have to deal with. The problem is not technological as Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad seems to think, its behavioural and intellectual. After all, if you deliberately issue a license to kill, why blame the gun?
By Express News Service

VISAKHAPATNAM: Visakhapatnam Railway Station authorities have chosen an interesting way to grab passengers attention and discourage them from using plastic on the stations premises: Eye-catching posters of Baahubali characters now order people to adhere to the ban on the non-biodegradable material.

The ban has been in place for a year, but officials decided to step up the drive and seek the help of popular Tollywood movie characters to drive home the point.

Shops and canteens at the station do not use plastic bags or cups and passengers have been dissuaded from bringing plastic bags inside the station. Though the station is maintained well, the tracks are often littered with plastic bottles and parcel boxes. To avoid rag-pickers selling uncrushed plastic bottles, two bottle crushing machines were installed at the station.

Posters with lines from Baahubali and Bharat Ane Nenu encourage people not to bring plastic inside the station. Though passengers wont be fined for the use of plastic, they are regularly told to avoid it inside the station. We want to attract the attention of passengers, so we thought these Tollywood movie stars would have a good impact. Fines are being imposed on vendors using plastics starting from `500, said Divisional Railway Manager MS Mathur.

A few vendors have been booked for continuing to use plastic covers. A total of 1,322 littering cases have been filed from January 2018 till date and a fine of `1,32,000 collected.
By UNI

NEW DELHI: Reiterating its demand for Special status to Andhra Pradesh, Telugu Desam Party on Tuesday charged the NDA government at the Centre with blatantly violating the Reorganisation Act and federal structure of the Constitution.

Initiating a short duration discussion on the non-implementation of the provisions of Andhra Pradesh Re-organisation Act in the Rajya Sabha, TDP Member Y S Chowdary said, ''Andhra Pradesh is not seeking any charity from the government but only demanding what is the rightful due of the people of the state".

He said the Centre also did not honour the promises made by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Mr Chowdary said during the election campaign in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised of giving special category status to Andhra Pradesh not once but thrice.

He said the Prime Minister even said the special category status would not be of five but 10 years, adding that the PMO has reduced the funds allocated to the state.

Leader of the Opposition and Congress member Ghulam Nabi Azad while supporting the demand of TDP also accused the BJP-led government of not fulfilling its promise of granting special category status to Andhra Pradesh.

He said of the Rs 16,000 crore promised to the state, only Rs 400 crore were disbursed to the state.

Mr Azad said for the development of Amaravati, Rs 10,000 crore was needed but the government only gave Rs 1,500 crore.

Giving history of the state, Mr Azad said, "Andhra Pradesh had undergone a long metamorphosis and it needs full sympathy from the Parliament and the entire country".

The Congress leader said if the demand of Telangana was just, so was the demand of Andhra Pradesh.

"There should be a privilege against this government for not fulfilling its promise and deceiving the people and Parliament," Mr Azad said.

GVL Narasimha Rao of the BJP said the Centre had already extended the loan repayment mechanism granted to special category states to Andhra Pradesh also.

Mr Rao also quoted earlier speeches of Chief Minister Chandra Babu Naidu which were objected by the TDP members. Mr Rao said the value of the package was going on so why was the state government demanding special category status for the state.
Anusha Ravi By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: On July 5, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy announced a partial crop loan waiver for farmers of Karnataka. Three weeks later, the process hasnt moved an inch.

In fact, the government is yet to reimburse banks for the waiver announced by the previous Siddaramaiah government, leave alone beginning the process of clearing loans announced by Kumaraswamy.

Apart from claims of talking to bankers, the government hasnt even issued guidelines to banks or entered into an understanding on how to go about the farm loan waiver. On Tuesday, Kumaraswamy is expected to address the State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) where representatives of all banks in the state are expected to make their stand clear on the loan waiver. Farmers in the state, however, have given the government an ultimatum accusing Kumaraswamy of mere lip service.

Rs 1,500 crore have been released so far to cooperative banks, said a source from the CMO when asked about the progress. This amount, however, is only the first installment of the pending waiver announced by Siddaramaiah.

The government should pay banks another instalment to clear off the waiver announced by the previous government even before they begin clearing loans announced by Kumaraswamy. Bankers will submit a list of loan accounts during Tuesdays meet along with an estimate of how much the waiver will cost the exchequer, the source added, confirming that banks will be reimbursed as and when the states treasury fills up.

SLBC, however, is yet to prepare a list of beneficiaries. The committee of bankers is awaiting the governments guidelines.

So far, nothing has been finalised. We are yet to received the guidelines. Preparing the list of defaulters is a long process because of the amount of information that is required. Preparation of list will be done only after guidelines are issued, said an office bearer of the SLBC who did not wish to be named. A solid announcement from bankers is expected on Tuesday post the meeting.

Farmers, however, are not amused. Giving the government a deadline of August 15, Karnataka State Farmers Union has pledged to go on a statewide bandh if the government fails to take concrete measures.

First, he (Kumaraswamy) said all loans will be waived off, then said farm loans will be considered. He converted that to just crop loan waiver and now has announced a waiver of outstanding loans but not running them. The CM is simply lying, said Kodihalli Chandrashekhar, President, KRRS.

Sources in the government had claimed that the process of the waiver would take three months to take off.

However, the inordinate delay in even issuing guidelines to banks, especially after the CM claimed on the floor of the house that bankers have been taken into confidence, has not gone down well with farmers.
Source colombogazette.com

China is to boost the military ties with Sri Lanka and gift a frigate to the Sri Lankan Navy, a Chinese official said today.

Senior Colonel Xu Jianwei of the Chinese Embassy in Colombo said that this year China will continue to provide various training courses for the Sri Lankan tri-forces, to complete building a Chinese-funded auditorium complex at the Sri Lanka Military Academy, and make preparations to hand over a gift frigate to the Sri Lanka Navy.

He said that China is willing to enhance mutual strategic trust and is keen to see both countries continue supporting each other on issues for core interest.

China wishes to boost the development of Belt and Road initiative to strengthen the pragmatic cooperation between two countries and two militaries, he added.

Senior Colonel Xu Jianwei was speaking at a reception held at the Shangri-La hotel in Colombo today to mark the 91st Anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army.

As a good and true friend, over the past decades, China has provided powerful support to the social-economic development and military and defense construction of Sri Lanka. The friendship between China has withstood the test of time and grew even stronger. Chinese military attaches great importance to improving relations with Sri Lanka military.

In the past few years, two militaries have witnessed the deepening communication and cooperation in the areas of personnel training, joint training, maritime security etc, he said.

Secretary to the Ministry of Defense Kapila Waidyaratne, who was the chief guest at the event, said that Chinas military assistance to Sri Lanka indicates the success of the bilateral relationship between the two countries.

However he noted that Sri Lanka is yet to reap the full benefits of Chinas concurrences in Sri Lanka.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, opposition leader R. Sampanthan and other Ministers, the Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Cheng Xueyuan and other officials were also present at the event. (Colombo Gazette)

Report by Easwaran Rutnam / Pictures by Zarani
B Kishan Singh By

Express News Service

HUBBALLI: The Special Investigation Team (SIT), which nabbed two accused in Gauri Lankesh murder case from Hubballi, was camping in the city for over a week.

A source from the police department told The New Indian Express that the SIT team was following the whereabouts of the accused - Amit Baddi, a resident of Tadapatri Galli and Ganesh Miskin, a resident of Chaitanya Nagar - before arresting them in Hubballi.

Ganesh Miskin used to work in an incense stick unit, whereas Amit Baddi was working as a small time employee.

Police said that both accused have had cases against them in the past, pertaining to religious disturbance and violence during festivals. Both are hardcore followers of Hindutva and used to take part actively in religious processions.

The Old Hubballi and Kasabapet police had booked cases against the duo in 2013-14 for their involvement in a violence between people belonging to two religions.

But the police said that both of them were quiet since last two years and were not seen in religious rallies.

The SIT team was following the accused duo and gathering information for the last one week. The team also went through their social media pages and messages. The local police too assisted them in finding the previous cases and their connections in Hubballi. While Miskin was found near Nekar Nagar, Baddi was called to the city police station on the pretext of inquiry, said a police officer.
George Poikayil By

Express News Service

KASARGOD: The two-storey house looks imposing from the road, a mix of old-fashioned grandeur and wood carvings. But it also looks vacated. Inside, it is a mouldy mess. Kumaran P V, 71, a former autorickshaw driver, and his wife K V Lakshmi, 64, stay in the house at Adukkathuparamba in Madikai panchayat. But they have stopped living 10 years ago. Like the mould, their existence is superficial.

The house was in the finishing stage, when their youngest son, Mahendra Kumar, 40, was arrested and jailed for attempt to murder of four persons in Japan for 12 years. Their second son V K Venugopal, who went to Japan on a visiting visa to secure his release, is overstaying there. He says he will not return without Mahendra. Now he is forced to do odd jobs clandestinely to eke out a living, she says. The ailing couple hasnt seen their two sons for the past 10 years. The family maintains Kumar did not get a fair trial. He was framed by his rivals and they usurped his business, she says.

Mahendra was running an Indian restaurant, Himalaya, in Ibaraki, and was about to start the second one, when he got in conflict with the law, she says. It was an Easter Sunday, I remember, she says.

According to his mother, Kumar was at home when he was called by his friends saying they were being assaulted by another group of Malayalees, on March 23, 2008.

He reached there to mediate but found both sides were armed and were at each other. But when the police came, all scooted, except for four persons who were injured, she says.

He was about to open the second hotel when fate played a cruel joke

Mahendra Kumar was charged with attempt to murder of the four persons. He was branded the gang leader too. But no one else was even arrested. So, where is the gang? asks his mother Lakshmi. In the court, he was not properly represented and he was sentenced to 12 years in jail, not counting the time he spent in jail as an undertrial.

Till two years ago, Lakshmi used to go to Delhi and meet the Union ministers, and even President Pratibha Rao Patil to secure the release of Kumar, who is lodged a prison at Tochigi district, 100 km from Tokyo.

She did not do anything for us. Now once in a while, I talk to Karunakaran ettan, she says, referring to the Lok Sabha member, who helps them meet political leaders in Delhi. The ailing parents are on the verge of losing their home. Kumaran has chronic diabetes and serious foot problems while Lakshmi is a heart patient. We are living in fear of dying without seeing our son, she says.

When contacted over WhatsApp video call, Venugopal, who lives in Ibaraki, says the Japanese prison authorities were willing to allow Mahendra serve the rest of the sentence in India. The officials told me since he has served three-fourths of the sentence, there is provision for him to serve the rest of the time in an Indian prison, he says.

The prison authorities have forwarded the papers to the Indian embassy. If India agrees, Mahendra will be home in six months, he says. Yet, the embassy officials reportedly told Indians who represented Kumar there was no such treaty with Japan, reducing his chances for an early release. Mahendra Kumar, who is 40 years, spent more than half his life in Japan. He left home on a visiting visa when he was 19 years old. He overstayed and worked there for 10 years.He managed to get a proper job visa and came home for a months holiday in February 2008, says Lakshmi.

While returning, Kumar pledged the house with a bank and raised Rs 15 lakh to set up a restaurant in Japan. He set up Himalaya, and in five months he was about to start his second restaurant when fate played the cruel joke on us, says Lakshmi. But even from prison, Mahendra Kumar sent his mother `75,000, the wages he earned working in the jail. The rest of the EMIs were paid by Venugopal doing the odd jobs, she says. Now, the mother has pledged the house again.I sent the money to my son so that he can do something to get Mahendra back. What will I do with the house without my sons? asks Lakshmi.
Tiki Rajwi By

Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Although Kerala has come out tops in overall good governance for the third consecutive year according to the latest Public Affairs Index (PAI) released by the Public Affairs Centre (PAC), in two crucial areas - Transparency and accountability and Delivery of justice - the state has slipped badly.

Kerala has crashed from the third position to eleventh in Transparency and accountability and from the second to sixth in Delivery of justice, show comparisons with PAI 2017. When PAC first ranked the states in 2016, Kerala had stood first in both categories. PAC, a think-tank devoted to governance issues, released its PAI 2018 in Bengaluru on Saturday.

While Kerala has made huge strides in several other sectors this year to bag the top position, in Social protection too the state has slipped from the first position in 2017 to fifth in 2018 among the big states (states with a population over two crores).

For calculating the Delivery of Justice ranking, the think-tank had taken into account criteria such as pendency of cases in the High Court and District Courts and the number of under-trials. For Transparency and accountability, the criteria included the status of the State Information Commission and the Lok Ayukta, number of services provided under the states e-governance plan, social audits under the NREGA, panchayat devolution and the criminal records of MLAs.

We have followed public data alone for ranking the states, PAC senior fellow C K Mathew said over the phone from Bengaluru. A higher or a lower rank is the result of a combination of factors. Other states may have done well in a particular year in a particular sector while one state may have remained static. In this case, Kerala may not have worked that hard in a given sector. For ranking states in social protection, the criteria included allocation and off-take of food grain under PDS, the incidence of crime against SC/ST communities, unemployment rate and the number of state government employees.

On the bright side, Keralas top rank in good governance resulted from the significant gains it made in categories like economic freedom, financial management, environment and essential infrastructure. In sectors like crime, law and order; women and children; and support for human development, it maintained the top position.
By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Giving relief to an aged mother who had knocked many doors to ensure justice is done to her son whose life was cut short by callous men in uniform, the CBI Special Court on Tuesday found all the six policemen guilty in connection with the custodial murder of Udaya Kumar, a 27-year-old, at Fort Police station on September 27, 2005.

K Jithukumar and S V Sreekumar, who took Udaya Kumar and his friend Suresh Kumar to the station from a park in the city, were found guilty of murder, and T Ajith Kumar (then SI), E K Sabu (then CI) and T K Haridas (then Assistant Commissioner) of fabricating evidences and hatching conspiracy.

ALSO READ | Udaya Kumar custodial murder: CBI court awards death sentence to two accused cops

The third accused, Soman, who was an additional SI at the time of murder, died during the trial. The quantum of punishment will be announced on Wednesday by CBI special court judge J Nasser. The first two accused were sent to remand while the rest have been asked to appear before the court on Wednesday.

ALSO READ | Crime Branch report reveals 59 criminals in Kerala police force

Udaya Kumar and Suresh were whiling away time at Sreekandeshwaram Park when constables Jithukumar and Sreekumar apprehended them after they found `4,500 in his pocket. Suspecting that the cash was stolen, the policemen took them to the Fort station for interrogation. The pair were subjected to brutal third-degree treatment in a bid to extract confession from them.

Udaya Kumar was also subjected to Uruttal  a colloquial term used to mention the torture method where the lower limbs are crushed using a heavy wooden pestle, something that was widely used on naxal sympathisers in Kerala during the Emergency.

Wait of 13 years; Relief for Prabhavati

It was the steadfastness exhibited by Prabhavati Amma, mother of Udaya Kumar, which brought the culprits to the dock. Udaya Kumar was her only child and the pangs of his death never went away.

On the morning before he went out, Udaya Kumar had promised his mother that he would be back soon. A promise that was never fulfilled.

It was his body that came back to me. After his death, I havent slept for the past 13 years, she said before breaking down into tears. I wanted to provide my son justice so that when I meet him hereafter, I could tell that I have done enough for him, she said.

Prabhavati added that mothers who had gone through similar experiences should come out and fight against the police brutality.

Had mothers come out against the brutality earlier, such cases wouldnt have repeated. No other mothers and children should go through such an experience again, she said.

The visibly relieved mother said there were attempts to harm her, but she is least bothered about her safety now. Attempts were made to kill me so that the culprits could escape. But I had no fear. I had lost my only child.

She also thanked the judiciary for coming to her aid. I am thankful to all who stood by me. Whenever I came to the court, even strangers would come and tell me not to give up. Earlier, I never went out for anything like this. After the tragedy struck, I thought I should go out. I wanted to go on until I get justice, she said as her voice cracked.
T Muruganandham By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Days after the AIADMK extended its full support to the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre in the opposition-sponsored no-confidence motion, Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and his confidantes  deputy coordinator of the party KP Munusamy and organising secretary Manoj Pandian  rushed to New Delhi on a sudden visit. The visit has triggered speculations in political circles since the purpose was not spelt out.

No official confirmation could be obtained about the purpose of Panneerselvams sudden visit to Delhi. However, sources privy to Panneerselvam said he was most likely to meet Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and if possible, interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal.Significantly, Panneerselvam closeted with Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami at the latters chamber for about 30 minutes earlier in the day. Later, Panneerselvam and other ministers presented a bouquet to Palaniswami as a mark of sharing the happy moment of the water level of the Mettur dam reaching 120 feet after five years. So, Panneerselvam might have taken the information to be conveyed to whoever he would meet in Delhi on Tuesday.

Panneerselvam reached the Delhi airport around 8.30 pm and to the surprise of the media, around 20 MPs, most of them are seniors including deputy coordinator of the AIADMK and MP V Maitreyan, R Vaithilingam, A Navaneethakrishnan, PR Sundaram, Vigila Satyanand and G Hari received Panneerselvam by presenting shawls and bouquets.

When asked about the purpose of the sudden visit of Panneerselvam, a senior functionary in Delhi told Express, Two days ago, BJP national president Amit Shah rang up Panneerselvam and sought support of the AIADMK MPs. Now, he is in Delhi. He is unlikely to meet Amit Shah but a couple of senior Union Ministers.Meanwhile, Minister for Tamil Official Language and Culture K Pandiarajan denied any political motive of Panneerselvams Delhi visit. He said in Chennai that Panneerselvam might have gone to Delhi to seek more Central funds for the Tamil Nadu schemes and expressed confidence that he would return home with more schemes for the State.
Sinduja Jane By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: The Directorate of Public Health has appointed nodal officers in all districts to monitor dengue after a surge in the number of cases in the bordering state Kerala, and also as they slowly surge in Tamil Nadu. According to the National Vector Borne Diseases Control Programme data, there were 1,655 dengue cases and one dengue-related death recorded in Tamil Nadu from January to July 8. So, the officials have intensified mosquito control measures and also surveillance of fever cases in all districts in the State.

Meanwhile, the NVBDCP data shows that 2,564 dengue cases and 15 deaths were reported in Kerala, neighbouring Karnataka recorded 1,671 cases during the same period. The Directorate of Public Health and the district administration office have also engaged workers for fogging operation and other vector- control measures across the State. Speaking to Express Dr K Kolandaswamy, Director of Public Health, said, We have given instruction to focus on domestic breeding sources. We have engaged workers at these breeding sources and also appointed nodal officers in all districts to monitor fever cases in an attempt not to miss any dengue case.

We also started fever management protocol practice to doctors and nurses in all the hospitals. Also, instructions have been given to focus on removing scrap and unwanted containers, which are breeding sources of dengue mosquitoes. We are trying to control the cases, hopefully, this year, Kolandaswamy added. The official also said that last year water shortage also contributed much to the dengue outbreak in the state, but this year as most of the water bodies are full with surplus water, the officials are expecting it wont be a repeat of last year.

Water shortage was problematic last year since households stored water in barrels and other containers. These are the breeding sources of dengue mosquitoes. But, this year with surplus water in water bodies and also as we are expecting monsoon, there won't be much problem, Kolandaswamy said. Last year, 23,294 dengue cases and 65 deaths were reported in Tamil Nadu, the highest number of cases and deaths in the country. In Kerala, 19,994 cases and 37 deaths were reported while in Karnataka the figures were 17,844 cases and 10 deaths.
By PTI

HYDERABAD: Incidents of lynching will not stop till the time cow gets the status of "Rashtra Mata", a BJP MLA from Telangana has said, amid the outrage over the killing of a Muslim man over suspicion of being a cow smuggler in Rajasthan's Alwar.

T Raja Singh Lodh, the BJP MLA from Goshamahal here, said in a video message on a social networking website on Sunday he does not want "khoon-kharaba" (bloodletting) on the issue, but if it has to stop, cow must be declared the Mother of the Nation.

In the 7-minute clip, the lawmaker also urged MPs to make such a demand in Parliament.

"Till cow is not accorded the status of 'Rashtra Mata', I feel the war for 'gau raksha' (cow protection) will not stop even if 'gau rakshaks' (cow protectors) are put into jails or bullets are fired at them," Singh said.

He also sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's support for the demand.

"Till the time a ministry of cow protection is created in every state and stringent laws are enacted for cow protection, I feel such killings will not stop.This is my feeling and I am telling the fact," Singh, known for making controversial remarks, said.

Maintaining that he never supported the killing or beating up of people by "gau rakshaks", Singh, however, deplored "nobody discusses protection of cows and how to stop such violence".

"Recently, a man named Rakbar alias Akbar Khan, a cow smuggler was killed.

The media reported some cases of cow smuggling were pending against him," he said, claiming many cow protection activists were killed by cattle smugglers but such incidents were ignored by media.

However, when a cow smuggler is killed the electronic media rakes up the issue, which is also raised in Parliament, he said.

Singh also took to Twitter where he claimed a Hindu man was lynched in Rajasthan the same day as Khan over his love affair with a Muslim girl.

"Same day When Rakbar Khan was allegedly Lynched Kheta Ram Bheel a Dalit was also Lynched in Rajasthan by the Muslim family of the girl he loved.

BUT MEDIA & other secular parties are not interested as all the accused are from Peaceful community which doesn't suit their agenda," he wrote.

Rakbar and his friend Aslam were accosted by alleged cow vigilantes in Alwar's Ramgarh on Saturday.

Aslam managed to flee, but Rakbar was brutally assaulted.

He later died from injuries received during the attack.

The Ghoshamahal MLA has often found himself on the wrong side of the law because of his remarks.

He recently said the holy Quran was responsible for the spread of terrorism and those hosting Iftaar parties were begging for Muslim votes.
By PTI

BEIJING: Post-Doklam, China and Bhutan have discussed their boundary dispute and reached many agreements during the visit of a senior Chinese minister to the Himalayan kingdom, the Chinese foreign ministry said today.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou, accompanied by a high-level delegation, paid a two-day visit to Bhutan which ended today.

Kong also invited Bhutan to take part in Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

China and Bhutan do not have diplomatic relations but maintain contacts through periodic visits by officials.

This is the first time a senior Chinese official visited Thimphu since last year's 73-day-long Doklam military standoff with India.

Bhutan had objected to China building a road in the area claimed by it.

India had also opposed the road which is too close to the strategic and narrow Chicken's Neck corridor linking India's northeast.

During the visit of Kong, the two sides exchanged views on China-Bhutan ties, and also the boundary issue, and reached many agreements," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a media briefing here.

A press release issued by the Chinese foreign ministry on the visit of Kong said he had stated during his talks that the two sides should continue to push forward the border negotiations, abide by the principled consensus reached, jointly maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas, and create positive conditions for the final settlement of the border issue.

Significantly, China also sought to rope in Bhutan for the BRI of which the controversial China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a flagship project.

India had protested to Beijing as the CPEC traverses through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

China welcomes Bhutan's active participation in the Belt and Road Initiative to share China's development dividends, said Kong.

He called on the King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and also met Bhutanese Foreign Minister Damcho Dorji.

For its part the Bhutanese side stated that it admired China's development achievements, welcomed the positive progress made by President Xi Jinping's "One Belt, One Road", the press release said.

Besides appreciating China's contribution to promoting world peace, prosperity and development, Bhutan said it welcomed China to play a greater role in the international arena, the press release said.

The Chinese delegation included the Chinese Ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui.

In his talks with the Bhutanese officials, Kong said China and Bhutan have maintained a sound momentum of development in recent years and made new progress in exchanges and cooperation in various fields.

China attaches great importance to the traditional friendly relations with Bhutan and will as always respect Bhutan's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, respect its political system and development path chosen according to its own national conditions, and Bhutan's independent foreign policy of peace, the press release quoted him as saying.

China is willing to work with Bhutan to maintain high-level contacts, expand pragmatic cooperation, strengthen multilateral communication and coordination, and achieve common development on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit, Kong said.

Bhutan said although diplomatic relations between the two countries have not been established, the traditional friendship between the two is a good example for countries large and small to get along with each other, the Chinese press release said.

Bhutan firmly adheres to the One-China' policy concerning Taiwan and Tibet and is committed to deepening exchanges and cooperation with China and it is willing to maintain communication with China on bilateral relations and border issues, it said.

The two sides also exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern, it said.
BENGHAZI: Two security personnel were killed and three other people wounded in an attack Tuesday on a police station in eastern Libya, medical and security sources said.

A hospital official said it had received "two dead and three wounded" following the attack in Al-Aguila, 120 kilometres (75 miles) east of the city of Ajdabiya.

The two dead were security personnel at Al-Aguila police station, Ajdabiya hospital said in a statement on Facebook.

A security source, asking not to be named, said that "armed men attacked Al-Aguila police station... and set fire to part of the building".

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

The Islamic State group has repeatedly launched attacks in and around Ajdabiya, including on roadblocks manned by soldiers loyal to military strongman Khalifa Haftar.

A June 3 attack killed a woman and injured five people in a car at a roadblock near Al-Ganane police station, 18 kilometres south of Ajdabiya.

Two soldiers were killed and one was kidnapped in strikes on May 22 claimed by IS against two checkpoints south of Ajdabiya.

Libya plunged into chaos after the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

An eastern administration supported by Haftar's forces and a UN-backed unity government based in Tripoli have vied for power, while a myriad of militias and jihadist groups have also stoked insecurity.
By PTI

KAMPALA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today arrived in Uganda on the second leg of his three-nation Africa tour as part of India's outreach to the resource-rich continent.

The Prime Minister's aircraft landed at Entebbe International Airport, marking the start of his two-day Uganda visit - the first bilateral tour by an Indian prime minister since 1997.

He was accorded a red carpet welcome at the airport.

His programme in Uganda includes a call on President Yoweri Museveni, restricted and delegation-level talks, and participation at an India-Uganda joint business event.

Modi will also address the Ugandan Parliament, the first Indian prime minister to do so.

He will also address an Indian community event here.

From Uganda, Modi will head to South Africa tomorrow to participate in the BRICS Summit, whose theme this year is 'BRICS in Africa'.
Chinese ambassador to Brunei Yang Jian (2nd R, front) and Brunei's Second Minister of Defense Haji Awang Halbi (2nd L, front) attend a reception celebrating the 91st anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China in Bandar Seri Begawan, capital of Brunei, July 23, 2018. The Chinese Embassy in Brunei hosted a reception on Monday evening to celebrate the 91st anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China. (Xinhua/Jeffrey Wong)

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese embassy in Brunei hosted a reception here on Monday evening to celebrate the 91st anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China, which falls on Aug. 1.

About 300 guests including Brunei's Second Minister of Defense, Major General (Retired) Haji Awang Halbi, Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF), Major General Dato Aminan, other high-level military officers and foreign delegates in Brunei attended the reception.

During the past 91 years, the Chinese PeopIe's Liberation Army has made great achievements in capacity building, safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as maintaining world peace and stability.

"As a contributor to world peace, the Chinese People's Liberation Army facilitates global development and supports international order," Wu Geng, Defense Attache of the Chinese embassy in Brunei said in his speech on the reception.

"It is ready to further strengthen exchanges and cooperation with foreign armed forces and jointly made greater contributions to world peace and common development," he added.

As for bilateral military relations between China and Brunei, Wu Geng said that the two armies enjoy friendly and strong ties underpinned by mutual trust and respect.

"I am confident that the longstanding friendship between our two armed forces will continue to be strengthened," he said.
BANGKOK: Massive flooding from a South Korean-constructed hydroelectric dam in Laos left several people dead and hundreds missing, state media said Tuesday. Rescue efforts were underway as top government officials rushed to the site and public appeals were launched for aid.

The official Lao news agency KPL said the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower dam in southeastern Attapeu province collapsed Monday evening, releasing large amounts of water that swept away houses, flooded villages and made more than 6,600 people homeless.

A later report on the website of the state-run Vientiane Times newspaper, however, said water had overflowed the dam, rather than bursting it. It said the dam was at risk of collapse, and rain and strong winds predicted for the next few days could make the situation worse.

The Xepian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower dam in Attapeu province collapsed Monday evening, releasing large amounts of water that swept away houses and made more than 6,600 people homeless. (Photo | AP)

It said two people were confirmed dead by Tuesday afternoon from flash floods that affected eight villages, and that the government had declared the flooded area an emergency disaster zone.

KPL said the disaster "claimed several human lives" and "left hundreds of people missing," without providing details.

Photos and videos posted on social media showed people sitting on rooftops to escape the surging water, while others were carried to safety or rescued by boat. State media said helicopters were also being used to rescue people.

The dam was built by a joint venture led by South Korean companies with Thai and Lao partners, and was still under construction. KPL described the portion that reportedly collapsed as a "saddle dam," which is an auxiliary dam used to hold water beyond what is held by the main dam.

South Korea's Yonhap News agency quoted an unidentified official at SK Engineering & Construction, one of the two South Korean partners in the project, as saying rain in the area was triple the usual amount, and one of five auxiliary dams had overflowed.

Many areas of Laos have recently been hit by floods from heavy seasonal rains.

Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith suspended his government's planned Cabinet meeting and traveled with fellow ministers and other senior officials to Sanamxay district to monitor rescue and relief efforts, KPL and the Vientiane Times reported.

Provincial authorities issued a call for emergency aid  clothing, food, drinking water, medicine, cash and other items  from the "party, government organizations, business community, officials, police and military forces and people of all strata."

Laos is one of the poorest countries in Asia. It has transitioned from communism to a market economy but remains a single-party state where freedoms are limited. There is virtually no freedom of the press, and foreign reporters who visit operate under tight restrictions, limiting the flow of information.

Electricity from several hydroelectric dams provides a large share of Laos' export earnings, with Thailand being a major buyer.

KPL said the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy project cost an estimated $1.02 billion. Much of the financing came from Thai lenders.

According to the website of the company that built and runs the dam, it is majority-owned by SK E&C and Korea Western Power. The Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Public Co. Ltd. of Thailand holds a 25 percent stake and the Lao Holding State Enterprise holds 24 percent.

The dam was built to divert the Houay Makchanh, Xe-Namnoy and Xe-Pian rivers into reservoirs that feed into a 410-megawatt power plant that is due to begin operations in 2019. Only 10 percent of the power generated was to be used locally, with 90 percent exported to Thailand.

Laos is supposed to receive taxes, royalties and other income estimated at $33 billion per year from the dam.

According to project assessment documents, about 30 villages were affected by the project with more than 2,000 people in eight villages resettled. Roughly 10,000 people live in the affected area, with most belonging to ethnic minorities.

The project was supposed to be a cash cow for SK E&C, part of the SK Group, one of South Korea's top three conglomerates whose businesses include SK Hynix, the world's second-largest memory chipmaker, and SK Telecom, South Korea's largest telecoms carrier.

South Korea's Yonhap News agency reported that SK E&C sent its president to Laos and set up an emergency team in Seoul. The company did not respond to several calls seeking comment.

SK E&C was still trying to find out whether water had overflowed the dam or if the dam had collapsed, but its efforts were mainly focused on rescuing people stranded by the flooding, Yonhap said.

Last September, a dam in the northeastern province of Xieng Khouang burst, damaging infrastructure, farm land and water supplies but causing no reported casualties. Officials blamed the rupture on bad construction and heavy rains.

The accident at the 15-MW Nam Ao hydropower dam led to hearings in the country's National Assembly on safety standards at hydropower projects, and promises by the government to inspect such projects and cancel those failing to meet the standards, the Vientiane Times reported.
By PTI

WASHINGTON: The US will never trust Russia or its President Vladimir Putin, America's envoy to the UN Nikki Haley has said amidst an uproar over President Donald Trump's alleged bonhomie with his Russian counterpart.

Trump, who met with Putin in Helsinki last week, has been slammed by the US media and political opponents for failing to defend the American intelligence community during a much-talked about Press conference with Putin in Helsinki after their first summit.

The US Ambassador to the UN told Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) News: "We don't trust Russia, we don't trust Putin, we never will. They're never going to be our friend. That's just a fact."

At the same time, Haley supported the move to have talks with the Russians.

"What I do think is, whether it's the President sitting down with (North Korean leader) Kim Jong-un or whether the President sits down with Putin, those are things that have to happen.

You can't get to the end of the other side if you don't have those conversations," Haley said in response to a question.

She came out in support of Trump's one-on-one meeting with the world leaders.

"He (Trump) did that with Kim. He's done it with other leaders. He did it with President Xi (Jinping) of China and that's just his way. He feels like he can get more out of them if he goes one-on-one like that. It's his style. It's the way he does it.

ALSO READ | I gave up 'nothing' in Helsinki summit: Donald Trump on Twitter

"You're going to see their next meetings are going to have people in them, the working groups are going to come together, all of those things.

But he's always thought just to create that genuine reality of the two of them talking, he feels like he needs to do it face-to-face," said Haley, the first-ever Cabinet-ranking Indian-American official.
By PTI

ISLAMABAD: Elections have been postponed in eight national and provincial assembly constituencies in Pakistan which goes to the polls tomorrow, according to a media report.

In one of the constituencies, a candidate had been disqualified while in the other seven, the contesting candidates had passed away, the Express Tribune reported.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hanif Abbasi was handed a life sentence in the Ephedrine quota case, rendering him unfit to contest the polls for NA-60, leading to the postponement.

ALSO READ | Military fans out across Pakistan ahead of tomorrow's election

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced to defer polling in PK-78 Peshawar, PP-87 Mianwali, PS-87 Malir, PK-99 Dera Ismail Khan, PB-35 Mastung, PP-103 and NA-103 Faisalabad constituencies.

The polls shall be contested in 841 constituencies of the country tomorrow. Of these, votes shall be cast in 271 constituencies out of 272 National Assembly seats.

While in the four provinces, candidates will battle it out in 500 of the 507 seats available.

The run-up to the elections has been one of the bloodiest in the countries history which saw a string of deadly attacks by terrorists targeting election candidates and their supporters.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

A few passing clouds, otherwise generally clear. Low around 40F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

A few passing clouds, otherwise generally clear. Low around 40F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Ivanka Trump is closing shop on her eponymous fashion brand.



The first daughter and White House adviser cited her current role in Washington as a factor in her decision to end the business venture now.



"After 17 months in Washington, I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business, but I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington, so making this decision now is the only fair outcome for my team and partners," Trump said in a statement.



Trump took a leave from actively leading the women's clothing and accessories line, which she launched back in 2014 when she came to the White House to serve in her father's administration last year.



While company president Abigail Klem insisted in a statement that the company has seen strong sales even though the last year, Trump's business had become a lightning rod for critics of her father's administration. The company came under media scrutiny over labor practices employed by the company, with reports that workers in foreign factories where the Ivanka line was produced struggled to make a living wage.



"We are incredibly proud of the brand we have built and the content and product weve developed for our customers. Our platform has become an indispensable resource for our loyal community of women. Weve seen strong sales since the brands inception, which continued through this year with the successful launch of our rapidly growing e-commerce business," Klem said in a statement, adding that she knew it was a "very difficult decision for Ivanka" to end the venture.



Last year, major department stores Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus said they would no longer carry Trump's collection, citing the brand's performance in their stores.



After Nordstrom dropped the brand, President Trump took to Twitter to blast the company for the decision, saying his daughter had been treated unfairly.

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
The Chinese naval hospital ship Peace Ark slowly sails into Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu, on July 23, 2018. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Jiangshan)

By Yang Jingzhong and Jiang Shan

PORT VILA, VANUATU, July 24 (ChinaMil) -- The Chinese naval hospital ship Peace Ark (Hull 866), which is on the Harmonious Mission 2018, arrived at Port Vila on July 23 and began an eight-day friendly visit to Vanuatu, during which it will provide humanitarian medical services.

This is Peace Arks second visit to Vanuatu after its first successful visit in 2014.

Prime Minister of Vanuatu Charlot Salwai and some senior Vanuatu officials including the minister of interior ministry, the foreign minister, the minister of health, the general superintendent of police, and the acting commander of mobile forces, greeted the visiting Chinese ship and held a grand welcoming ceremony at the wharf.

In the welcoming speech, Salwai expressed his warm welcome and sincere gratitude to the Chinese government for re-sending the Chinese naval hospital ship Peace Ark to Vanuatu. He said that the Peace Ark's visit on the occasion of Vanuatu Independence Day and its celebration of the holiday with the people of Vanuatu all demonstrated the friendship between the two countries.

The mission commander of the Harmonious Mission - 2018 of China said that Peace Ark was a symbol of friendship between the peoples of China and Vanuatu. "Todays meeting is just like an reunion of relatives, and it will further deepen mutual understanding, expand exchanges and cooperation, enhance the two peoples senses of participation, gain, and happiness in developing bilateral relations, and make greater contributions to deepening the strategic partnership of mutual respect and common development between the two countries," he said.

During the visit, the Peace Ark will also send several medical teams to local hospitals, villages, and communities to conduct itinerant medical visits and work with medical staff of Vanuatu to carry out joint medical diagnoses, treatments and surgeries, and provide health services.

Sailors of the Chinese naval hospital ship Peace Ark man the rails as the ship sails into Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu, on July 23, 2018. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Jiang Shan)
At Center of New Debate

on the Alamo Is ... Phil Collins
(Newser)  Researchers say remnants of Japan's Fukushima nuclear reactor meltdown have been detected in California wine. Per CNN, bottles of rose and Cabernet sauvignon were tested for the radioactive isotope cesium-137, a byproduct of the fission of uranium-235, one of the substances in fuel rods used at the plant when it suffered catastrophic equipment failures following a March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. French scientists this month submitted research to the Cornell University Library that showed some wines produced subsequent to the disaster were twice as radioactive than those made before.

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While the news sounds jarring, and highlights the globe-spanning impacts of Fukushima and other nuclear disasters, experts say wine-lovers shouldn't be overly worried. Michael Pravikoff, a French physicist who worked on the study, told the New York Times that the levels of cesium-137 seen in the wine are not dangerous. Pravicoff also said the levels drop with each year. These levels are so low, way below the natural radioactivity thats everywhere in the world," Pravikoff told the paper. The California Department of Public Health released a statement assuring the public that the state's wines are safe. Since the disaster, cesium has been similarly observed in fish caught off the coast in the plant's vicinity. (Read more Fukushima Dai-ichi stories.)
(Newser) 

President Donald Trump is considering revoking the security clearances of six former Obama-era officials who have been critical of his administration, the AP reports. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday the president is "exploring the mechanisms" to strip clearance from former CIA Director John Brennan as well as five other former top national security officials: former FBI Director Jim Comey, James Clapper, Michael Hayden, Susan Rice and Andrew McCabe. The comments came hours after Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky tweeted that he was planning to talk to Trump about revoking Brennan's clearance. Brennan had offered particularly scathing criticism of the president's performance at a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week.

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Ex-CIA directors and other top national security officials typically keep their clearances, at least for a period, so they can advise their successors. Sanders accused the officials of having "politicized and in some cases monetized their public service and security clearances" by "making baseless accusations of improper contact with Russia or being influenced by Russia." Brennan had called Trump's press conference with Putin "nothing short of treasonous." While standing next to Putin, Trump had openly questioned his own intelligence agencies' conclusions that Moscow was to blame for meddling in the 2016 US election to help Trump and seemed to accept Putin's insistence that Russia's hands were clean.

(Read more Donald Trump stories.)
(Newser)  Just days after the Korean Peninsula's top US military commander warned that North Korea's nuclear production capability remains intact, some slightly more encouraging news: The country appears to be dismantling its main satellite launch site, the BBC reports. US-based monitoring group 38 North reported Monday that satellite images of the country's Sohae station, believed by the US to be a test site for launching intercontinental ballistic missiles, appear to show that North Korea has started dismantling "key facilities" at the site. And an official from South Korea's presidential office said Tuesday that Seoul has also been detecting dismantlement activities at the site, the AP reports. 38 North calls it "an important first step towards fulfilling a commitment made by Kim Jong Un at the June 12 Singapore Summit" with President Trump, during which Kim reportedly agreed to denuclearize.

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But analysts say that unless the entire Sohae site is dismantled, North Korea's military capabilities won't be diminshed. And sources tell CNN that North Korea expects the US to reciprocate in the form of agreeing to a permanent peace treaty with Pyongyang, that ensures the survival of Kim's regime, if negotiations are to continue. Multiple sources recently told the Washington Post that Trump, who has publicly been urging patience with the denuclearization process, has privately been expressing frustration with the perceived slow pace. But Trump hit back at that report Monday, tweeting, "A Rocket has not been launched by North Korea in 9 months. Likewise, no Nuclear Tests. Japan is happy, all of Asia is happy. But the Fake News is saying, without ever asking me (always anonymous sources), that I am angry because it is not going fast enough. Wrong, very happy!" (Read more North Korea stories.)
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This May Be the 'Most Humiliating' Who Is America? Segment Yet

Georgia lawmakers are calling for state Rep. Jason Spencer to resign after his appearance
(Newser)  A $108 bill from a Texas steakhouse, showing no gratuity and the words, "We don't tip terrorist," inspired thousands to speak out against racism. But though "racism of any form is intolerable  falsely accusing someone of racism is equally disturbing," the COO of Saltgrass Steak House in Odessa said Monday, revealing "our employee fabricated the entire story." "I made a mistake. There is no excuse for what I did," Khalil Cavil told the Odessa American on Monday. A week earlier, the 20-year-old had shared on Facebook the receipt with his name circled, saying it made him "sick to my stomach," per USA Today. "I want people to understand that this racism, and this hatred still exists," wrote Cavil, described as a non-Muslim black man who was named after a friend of his father.

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After the post generated some 8,000 comments, per the Washington Post, Saltgrass responded by banning the customer who was supposed to have left the note on the receipt, though it now says that person will be welcomed back with a free meal. The restaurant declined to say how it found out the story was invented but noted Cavil is no longer working there. Cavil gave no motive for the falsity but apologized, noting he's "in the process of getting the help that I need." Cavil added $1,000 he received in donations is now being returned. "It was not about the money," Cavil had announced before his admission. "It's about shedding a light on an issue I feel very passionately about." Around the same time, Cavil's mother said her son "never expected how big this has become," per the American. (Read more Texas stories.)
(Newser)  Meal kits are all the rage: The $2.2 billion business supplying consumers with fresh ingredients to be turned into a delicious dish at home is likely to see 25% to 30% annual growth over the next five years, USA Today reports, citing food industry consulting firm Pentallect. Now, Chick-fil-A is getting in on the action. In a 12-week trial beginning Aug. 27, the fast-food company says it will offer meal kits at 150 restaurants across Atlanta. Per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the two-person meals up for grabs for $15.89 will take about half an hour to cook and come in five varieties, including some new to Chick-fil-A: Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Enchiladas, Dijon Chicken, Pan Roasted Chicken, and Chicken Flatbread. Side dishes include kale salad and macaroni and cheese, per CNN.

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Available at the counter or drive-thru, the kits are designed "so our guests don't have to order ahead, subscribe to a service, or make an extra stop at the grocery store," trial leader Michael Patrick says, per Delish. "This is one of the most innovative product launches in our company's history," he adds, per the Journal-Constitution, noting the kits with raw, marinated chicken come in 100% recyclable, compostable boxes and can be refrigerated for seven days. If all goes well, the kits could be made a nationwide menu item, but one food consultant has his doubts. Noting his surprise that a company known for fast and simple food would offer more complicated meals to its customers, Aaron Allen tells CNN that the trendy trial has the feel of a publicity stunt "a little bit like IHOB." (Read more Chick-Fil-A stories.)
Recently, Australias Minister for Defense Marise Payne and British Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson have discussed joint naval operations in the Pacific during their two-day meeting.

According to the Guardian, the British newspaper, the UK plans to send its largest aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, to the Pacific Ocean. This is to facilitate the British Navy to conduct free navigation patrols in the South China Sea to demonstrate its strength in the region.

The Australian navy has been invited to accompany the pride of Britains fleet, the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier, when it comes to the Pacific, Australia Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Earlier, British National Security Adviser Sir Mark Sedwill said that the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier would need support from the friendly forces on high-end combat missions due to the reduced size of the escort fleet.

Unmatched Ability and Ambition

Australias escort of the British aircraft carrier is unlikely to be a display of the British-Australian friendship at the top of the two governments. On the contrary, it indicates the smaller British Navy is incapable of moving alone, the Global Times commented.

According to the British media, the UK initially planned to form an aircraft carrier battle group including the Queen Elizabeth. However, the reality is that the British Navys capital warships, six Type 45 destroyers, have to stay on ports for maintenance due to engine failure and seldom set out in a year.

At the end of November 2017, all six of Type 45 destroyers were broken down. The Type 26 frigate is still under construction and is expected to be delivered to the British Navy after 2020.

The Global Times believes that it seems to be the only viable choice to seek help from her younger brother, Australia, for the Queen who lacks the escort of destroyers and frigates that act like guards.

Still envisages the Sun Never Sets?

Some said that returning to the Asia-Pacific of the smaller British Navy, whose military power can hardly match its ambition, is merely for image. Why is the UK determined to come to the South China Sea? What are British strategic interests in this region?

Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow from the Institute of International Studies of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (SASS), believes that one of the important reasons behind the UKs proposal to expand its military presence in the South China Sea is to divert the British peoples attention amid overwhelming Brexit in order to create some space to buffer the disadvantageous strategic dilemma in the country.

Hu said another reason is that once the former maritime hegemon, the UK, is still relishing its former glory. The UK always wants to maintain the glory of the British Empire and stubbornly believes that the entire Pacific region should belong to the British territory and sphere of influence.

It coincides with the review recently published on the Australian Lowyinterpreter. org.

The review said the British Royal Navy has always been proud of its continued global influence. Some believe that as a respected conventional maritime force, the UK may be able to maintain a rule-based order through conducting free navigation, moderate but routine existence and strengthening capacity building in the region. Cabinet ministers in the UKs government who are eager to maintain the image of a globalized UK are therefore supporting the ideas with a close-lipped smile.

However, there are several problems.

First of all, as the Royal Navy has been considerably scaled down, is it really feasible for the Royal Navy to enhance its presence in the Indian Ocean-Pacific region? Secondly, will a large navy deployment in the region really contribute to regional peace and security? Is it really a worthwhile move for the UK?

It can be seen that the UK still wants to continue to play the big boss role in international affairs, said Hu. However, the Australian media poured cold water on the UK. In view of an ever-growing China, cruising in the South China Sea is dangerous for the distant and small-sized British Navy, Hu added.

Only Thought

Liu Xiaobo, an associate research fellow at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies (NISCSS), believes that from a practical perspective, the UKs concern for the South China Sea stems from the consideration of the US-British relations.

However, there may be some ambiguity if you say the UK is trying to cooperate with the US Indo-Pacific Strategy as the UK is struggling for Brexit, so it can barely introduce an EU strategy, let alone an Indo-Pacific Strategy.

Fundamentally speaking, the UK is unlikely to play a central role in this region as the interests there are relatively minor to it.

Liu said that the UK seems to pursue a regional order based on balance and rules, but it remains unknown how far the specific actions of it can go.

For example, he said, the carrier-based aircraft F-35 purchased by the UK just flew back home from the US in this June. Military finances may find it difficult to support an aircraft carrier formation to cruise in Asia because a cruise costs a large sum of money. There will be a lot of controversy within the British government.

Ding Duo, an assistant research fellow at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies (NISCSS), pointed out that though the UK has no urgent strategic interests in the South China Sea, based on its traditional maritime powers and maritime trade, its concerns about freedom of navigation is expected.

The interaction between the UK and Australia in the South China Sea is not a South China Sea issue in nature, but rather a consideration for strengthening bilateral defense and security cooperation. They just need to find a focus or a reason and it appears that the South China Sea is the most suitable one, Ding said.

He also said that according to media disclosure, there are certain problems in the current development of the navies in both the UK and Australia. Though the British aircraft carrier intends to let Australian ships to accompany in the South China Sea, it could only be a show but there are many difficulties exists in reality.

China will certainly take appropriate countermeasures to protect its legitimate rights and interests if the deployment poses a threat to Chinas sovereignty, maritime interests and security in the South China Sea.

According to Ding, as the situation in the South China Sea has been stable recently, any move of the extraterritorial countries to hype up the South China Sea issue is not welcome by anyone. These countries will not receive any positive response from the coastal countries around the South China Sea.

Disclaimer: The author is Yao Ling with the nanhai.haiwainet.cn. It is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military online. The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn. Chinamil.com.cn does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same. If the article carries photographs or images, we do not vouch for their authenticity.
(Newser)  It's OK to want to get buffjust not in the buff in public, reports the AP. A Massachusetts man recently discovered that while trying to do a little yoga at a New Hampshire Planet Fitness. Police tell NECN that 34-year-old Eric Stagno apparently wanted to test the chain's "Judgement Free Zone" slogan Sunday afternoon at a Plaistow gym, where he stripped down to his birthday suit and began striking some yoga poses on a mat. That's exactly where cops found Stagno, prompting him to cite the gym's motto as he was being handcuffed and arrested, police Capt. Brett Morgan tells the New Hampshire Union Leader.

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Other gym patrons described feeling "disgusted," "unsafe," and "sick" while viewing the reportedly nude workout, though Morgan says there was one small consolation: "He certainly wasn't near the front window for everyone to see." He adds that Stagno, who was checked out by paramedics, turned down an offer of further treatment. Stagno was charged with indecent exposure, lewdness, and disorderly conduct and will next appear in court on Sept. 21. In the meantime, he's been released on $1,000 bail. (Perhaps he would've been more comfortable at this museum exhibit or in this London restaurant.)
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(Newser)  The 2015 deaths of two firefighters were caused by a woman who set fire to her own nail salon, and not for the first time, a judge ruled Monday. Thu Hong Nguyen was found guilty of two counts each of first-degree arson, second-degree murder, and second-degree assault after using flammable liquid, possibly acetone, to start a fire in the storeroom of Kansas City's LN Nails and Spa on Oct. 12, 2015. More than 100 firefighters responded as the three-alarm blaze ripped through a three-story building. Among them, John Mesh and Larry Leggio were killed when a brick wall collapsed. Two others were seriously injured. The Kansas City Star reports that the second arson count was over a 2013 fire set at a nail salon Nguyen previously operated. She afterward collected $50,000 in insurance money, per KCTV.

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In fact, prosecutors said each of five nail salons Nguyen operated in Texas and Missouri since 2006 were closed after a fire or burglary, leading to four insurance payouts. Each was for more than the purchase price of the business, per the Star. An auditor with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said Nguyen received more than $250,000 in business and personal insurance payouts over a dozen years. After her arrest, Nguyenwho faces up to 30 years in prison at her Sept. 14 sentencingreportedly admitted to a fellow inmate that she'd set the latest fire but didn't mean for anyone to die. "We're very happy with the verdict," Mesh's brother told reporters. It "has lifted a little bit of weight off our chest to where we can finally continue on with our healing process," added Leggio's wife. "We still have a little bit of a way to go." (Read more arson stories.)
(Newser)  Israel angered Syria over the weekend when it coordinated the evacuation of members of the White Helmets civil defense group from the latter country. On Tuesday, things got even dicier, with Israel's military announcing that it shot down a Syrian jet that had crossed about a mile into Israeli airspace. The plane went down within the Syrian border, but it wasn't immediately clear if the pilot or pilots were able to evacuate, reports the Times of Israel. Syria, meanwhile, rejects the accusation that the jet was ever in Israeli territory. It's the first time in four years that Israel has downed a Syrian jet.

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The incident comes as Syrian forces seek to reclaim territory near the Israeli border from rebels and Islamic State militants, notes the AP. In fact, Syrian TV was showing footage from the fence marking the UN buffer zone between Israeli and Syrian troops in the Golan Heights just prior to the plane being shot down. Israeli captured the Golan Heights from Syria back in 1967, and this is the first time in seven years that Syrian troops have been back along the frontier. (Read more Israel stories.)
(Newser)  "Hi.. @Google? We might need to talk." That was Orrin Hatch's tweet to the tech site late Monday night after he spotted an error in his bio that popped up in a Google search, and it was a pretty big one. According to Google, the 84-year-old Utah senator was said to have died on Sept. 11 of last year, a fact that he vehemently, and understandably, denies. Apparently, the Google fact boxes pull their data from multiple online sources, meaning no one purposely marked Hatch "deceased," Fox News notes.

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Hatch's tongue-in-cheek efforts to show he still dwells among the living include several "proof of life" tweets showing him over the past several months signing bills, hobnobbing with Angela Merkel, hugging Smokey Robinson, and indulging in bacon for his birthday in March. Tuesday morning, his office posted a pic of him reading the paper, with the comment, "Catching up on the news this morning, grateful to be alive." (Read more Orrin Hatch stories.)
(Newser)  The White House hosted a "Made in America Product Showcase" Monday, and one of the attendees was Matt Roberts, president of the last US manufacturer of forks, spoons, and knives. That his Sherrill Manufacturing from upstate New York snagged an invite to the event wasn't a surprisebut Syracuse.com reports that Roberts soon spotted an anomaly in the State Dining Room. Everybody had just eaten with flatware made from China. The utensils were made by Oneida Ltd., which once manufactured its products in New York, but no more. In fact, Roberts' company now uses a former Oneida plant.

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"With all of the things going on in the world, forks and spoons in your kitchen are not exactly the top priority at the White House," says Roberts. But the story suggests that might soon change. It notes how New York Congresswoman Claudia Tenney has been pushing for the White House to make the switch, once even getting an assurance of it from President Trump himself (see the video). While Trump wasn't at Monday's event, two of his top economic advisers, Wilbur Ross and Peter Navarro, were in attendance, as was Tenney, who was making sure they knew the full story. (Read more Made in America stories.)
(Newser)  Because Tour de France bicyclists needed another physical challenge: Cops accidentally hit some of them with tear gas on Tuesday. It happened as officers were breaking up a farmers' protest that interrupted the 16th stage, reports Australia's ABC. The farmers, upset at slashed government funding, had blocked the road with hay balesand themselvesas the main pack of riders approached. Officers clearing the road used liberal doses of tear gas or pepper spray, and it was still in the air by the time riders arrived.

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The race had to stop completely for 15 minutes as several riders received treatment, mainly drops to their eyes, reports the Guardian. Among them was British cyclist Chris Froome, who isn't having an easy time of it at the tour. Froome is riding under the cloud of doping suspicions, even though he was cleared just before the start of the race. He says he's been repeatedly spat on and jostled by spectators along the way, reports the AP. (Read more Tour de France stories.)
(Newser)  If a state panel gets its way, Bill Cosby will be known from here on out as a "sexually violent predator." If a judge agrees, the 81-year-old entertainer would have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, reports Philly.com. He'd also have to undergo treatment. The recommendation is from Pennsylvania's Sexual Offenders Assessment Board, whose evaluation of Cosby hasn't been made public, reports the AP. It follows Cosby's conviction in April of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004, a crime for which Cosby faces up to 10 years in prison at his September sentencing. As for the "predator" recommendation, the judge in Cosby's case will make the final determination, and no date has been set for that hearing. (Constand says she forgives Cosby.)
(Newser)  The attorney general gave a speech to young conservatives Tuesday in which he mocked the way colleges are "coddling" students as part of a liberal movement. But attracting far more attention is that Jeff Sessions laughed along as the high school students in the audience began chanting, "Lock her up" in reference to Hillary Clintonand then repeated the line himself. Politico sees it as a "remarkable" utterance from the nation's top law enforcement officer, though not all coverage was as concerned with it. A story on the speech by Fox News, for example, doesn't mention it. The chant began amid Sessions' ridicule of "supercilious snowflakes" on college campuses at the Turning Point USA High School Leadership Summit.

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"I like this bunch, I gotta tell ya, youre not going to be backing down. Go get 'em! Go get 'em!" he told the group. The chant then began, and Sessions, chuckling, repeated the line once himself, adding, "I heard that a long time over the last campaign." The right-wing site Twitchy rounds up outraged reaction from "Twitter libs," including former Obama adviser Dan Pfeiffer, who said Session should resign immediately. "Wait a second," points out Twitchy. "Isn't this exactly what Donald Trump wants to happen, which could then trigger the end of the Mueller investigation?" (Before Sessions spoke, Nikki Haley had a much different message to the group: Enough with trying to "own the libs" in public discourse, she urged.)
(Newser)  Bobcat Goldthwait thinks Disney might want to remove his voice from one of its upcoming theme park attractions, so as not to appear "hypocritical." The comedian made the suggestion in an Instagram post criticizing Disney's firing of James Gunn over controversial posts the Guardians of the Galaxy director made a decade ago, which were surfaced by conservative websites. "You see heres the deal, years ago I made a lot of sarcastically shocking and offensive jokes," reads Goldthwait 's post. "Many that Im embarrassed about now, and Id hate to make you guys look bad seeing that Im openly critical of the president and his administration, and you seem to be taking your lead from some of his radical fringe supporters."

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Goldthwait named the attraction as World of ColorVillainous, and said that in it he reprises his role voicing Pain in Hercules. (Interestingly, the attraction has not yet been formally announced, and his post fueled rumors on Disney boards that the attraction will be an overlay of the existing World of Color attraction for Halloween in 2019.) Goldthwait had another suggestion for Disney, too: "I think James Woods may have recorded a voice for this new attraction, too. Why not check out some of his whacky past tweets?! Theyre a hoot!" He also referred to the 1995 movie (from Disney arm Buena Vista Pictures) Powder, which, the Hollywood Reporter notes, was directed by Victor Salva, who was convicted in 1988 of molesting a 12-year-old actor in one of his films. A number of Gunn's colleagues have come to his defense; Guardians star Dave Bautista wrote on Twitter that "this was a #cybernazi attack that succeeded." (Read more Disney stories.)
BEIJING, July 24 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday called on the U.S. government to urge relevant U.S. airlines to observe the one-China principle.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang made the remarks at a press briefing in response to a question regarding U.S. airlines not having changed their listing of Taiwan on their websites.

In late April, China's civil aviation authority sent a formal notice to 44 foreign airlines, asking them to list Taiwan as part of China on their websites.

"The one-China principle represents the consensus shared by the international community and is the political foundation for the steady development of China-U.S. relations, something not negotiable," said Geng, pointing out that the U.S. side is very clear about this.

"We hope the U.S. government can urge the relevant enterprises to observe the one-China principle and rectify the relevant websites as soon as possible," Geng said.
(Newser)  President Trump showed off a new campaign hat on Mondayit's green with yellow letters, reminiscent of the John Deere logo, and it reads "Make Our Farmers Great Again," notes Politico. (See Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue sporting one here.) The message is a calculated one as the White House seeks to ease farmers' concerns that a US trade war will hit them hard. On Tuesday, the White House put the word out that its efforts will go well beyond hats, howeverit's rolling out $12 billion in emergency aid to farmers, especially those dealing with dairy, pork, and soybeans, reports CNBC. Details:

The money: It will come partly from a program set up in the Depression to help farmers called the Commodity Credit Corporation, reports the Washington Post. Because it's an existing program, congressional approval isn't necessary. Trump had asked Perdue to explore options months ago, and more details are still to be released.

It will come partly from a program set up in the Depression to help farmers called the Commodity Credit Corporation, reports the Washington Post. Because it's an existing program, congressional approval isn't necessary. Trump had asked Perdue to explore options months ago, and more details are still to be released. Short-term: Perdue said the "one-time" program would help farmers dealing with "illegal retaliation" to US tariffs, reports the Wall Street Journal. This is a short-term solution that will give President Trump and his administration time to work on long-term trade deals."

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The politics: The rollout comes as Trump travels to Missouri, Illinois, and Iowa ahead of the midterms, states where the agricultural community has voiced concern about the fallout of retaliatory tariffs from other nations. "The farmers will be the biggest beneficiary," Trump said of his trade disputes in Missouri on Tuesday, per USA Today. "Just be a little patient."

The rollout comes as Trump travels to Missouri, Illinois, and Iowa ahead of the midterms, states where the agricultural community has voiced concern about the fallout of retaliatory tariffs from other nations. "The farmers will be the biggest beneficiary," Trump said of his trade disputes in Missouri on Tuesday, per USA Today. "Just be a little patient." Criticism: The new plan isn't sitting well with members of Trump's own party who are worried about the longer-term picture. What is our future down the road?" asks Senate Agriculture Committee chief Pat Roberts of Kansas. "We are trying to make the point that we dont want aid, we want trade. Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse: This trade war is cutting the legs out from under farmers and White Houses plan is to spend $12 billion on gold crutches." But it wasn't only politicians: "This proposed action would only be a short-term attempt at masking the long-term damage caused by tariffs," Brian Kuehl of the trade group Farmers for Free Trade tells the New York Times.

The new plan isn't sitting well with members of Trump's own party who are worried about the longer-term picture. What is our future down the road?" asks Senate Agriculture Committee chief Pat Roberts of Kansas. "We are trying to make the point that we dont want aid, we want trade. Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse: This trade war is cutting the legs out from under farmers and White Houses plan is to spend $12 billion on gold crutches." But it wasn't only politicians: "This proposed action would only be a short-term attempt at masking the long-term damage caused by tariffs," Brian Kuehl of the trade group Farmers for Free Trade tells the New York Times. 'Welfare' theme: Sens. Bob Corker of Tennessee and Rand Paul of Kentucky both hit upon the same phrase in their criticism: If tariffs punish farmers, the answer is not welfare for farmersthe answer is remove the tariffs, Paul tweeted. Our farmers have been in nonstop, saying they want trade, not aid, and now theyre being put on welfare, said Corker. Hopefully soon this ill-thought out policy will end.

Sens. Bob Corker of Tennessee and Rand Paul of Kentucky both hit upon the same phrase in their criticism: If tariffs punish farmers, the answer is not welfare for farmersthe answer is remove the tariffs, Paul tweeted. Our farmers have been in nonstop, saying they want trade, not aid, and now theyre being put on welfare, said Corker. Hopefully soon this ill-thought out policy will end. No end in sight: Most stories point out that the emergency aid is a good sign that Trump doesn't intend to stop the trade disputes anytime soon. He extolled them again on Tuesday morning with a "Tariffs are the greatest!" tweet. And in Missouri, he said, What the European Union is doing to us is incredible, how bad. They sound nice but theyre rough.

(Read more farmers stories.)
(Newser)  Charlie Rowley found a sealed box of perfume and gave it to his girlfriend, Dawn Sturgess. She sprayed some on her wrists, and within 15 minutes, was complaining of a headache. Just moments after that, "she said she felt peculiar and needed to lie down in the bath, which at the time I thought was a bit strange," Rowley recalls in a new interview with ITV News. "I went into the bathroom and found her in the bath, fully clothed, in a very ill state." Soon he, too, was critically ill; the UK couple had unknowingly come in contact with Novichok, the nerve agent used to poison Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, via the perfume. Sturgess died eight days later. Rowley says he found the perfumea well-known brandin a public place, though he doesn't remember where; his memory of the whole incident is hazy. He says he often picked up items he found if he thought they would be useful.

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After opening the package with a knife, he put the pump dispenser in the bottle and some of the liquid got on his own hands. "It had an oily substance and I smelt it and it didn't smell of perfume. It felt oily, so I washed it off really quick but I didn't think anything of it. It all happened so quick," he recalled in the first interview he's given since leaving the hospital. "It's very strange. It's quite scary to think that something can be disguised in that manner and left to be found in public." He was unconscious for weeks after the incident and has been left with difficulties thinking and concentrating. When he woke up and police asked him about the bottle of perfume, he was convinced it couldn't have been the culprit; when tests showed that it was, he says he was "in complete shock." "It looked expensive, unfortunately it turned out to be a bad find," he says, adding that he blames himself for the death of Sturgess, a mother of three. Click to watch his interview. (Read more Novichok stories.)
Mumbai:

Extending Mondays rally, the benchmark BSE Sensex jumped over 150 points to record a new high of 36,869.34 in early trade on Tuesday on strong Asian cues amid buying by domestic institutional investors (DIIs).

The market rally was driven by strong activity on the metal, oil and gas, PSU, infrastructure, banking, FMCG and capital goods counters, rising up to 0.88 per cent.

The 30-share BSE index spurted by 150.74 points, or 0.41 per cent, to hit a new high of 36,869.34, surpassing its previous record of 36,749.69 clocked on Monday.

The gauge has gained 367.37 points in the past two sessions.

The 50-share NSE Nifty also rose 41.15 points, or 0.37 per cent, to 11,125.90.

Read | RBI, I-T department should ascertain if money deposited post demonetisation is black: Venkaiah Naidu

Major gainers include Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, HUL, M&M, Tata Steel, Adani Ports, L&T, ICICI Bank, Coal India, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, Infosys, Power Grid, Kotak Bank, SBI, Asian Paints, HDFC, Axis Bank, Sun Pharma and ITC, rising up to 1.42 per cent.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net of Rs 259.37 crore and DIIs bought shares worth a net of Rs 124.82 crore yesterday, provisional data showed.

Traders said positive cues from other Asian markets and sustained foreign capital inflows, influenced sentiments here.

Japan's Nikkei rose 0.60 per cent, Shanghai Composite Index 1.59 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng 1.50 per cent in early trade.

Read | Rupee slips 15 paise to 69.01 against US dollar

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.06 per cent lower yesterday and Nasdaq closed up 0.28 per cent.

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New Delhi:

In a bid to prove the credibility of government's historical decision to ban all the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes of Mahatma Gandhi series, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday urged RBI and the Income Tax Department to ascertain whether the money deposited in banks post demonetisation was 'white or black'.

With an aim to flash out all the black money from its banking system, the Government of India on November 8, 2016, had announced demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 as legal tenders.

Post demonetisation Naidu said, "people started enquiring from drivers, cooks, servants whether they have bank accounts or not", adding that "Some people requested them to park some of their ill-gotten money in bank accounts".

What was the purpose of demo (demonetisation)? Apart from counterfeit notes, the purpose was to bring money into the system. So, money reached banks with address. What else you want!, he added.

Read | BJP helping 'suited-booted' friends to convert black money into white, alleges Congress

Therefore, Naidu urged the RBI and I-T department to prove the money which has come back to the banks is white or black. He was speaking at the centenary celebration of New India Assurance in Delhi.

That should be done at the earliest so that the credibility of these reforms would be maintained. This is my advice to the RBI and also the other agencies involved, the Vice President was quoted.

Expressing concern over low penetration of insurance in the country, Naidu asked insurers to devise simple, unique and innovative policies so that people buy products on their own.

Insurance should become assurance that would be good for the country, he stated.

Both financial inclusion and industrialisation have to take place hand in hand for India to continue its onward march to become one of the leading economies in the world in the next two decades, Naidu asserted.

Read | NABARD rebuts Congress allegations of Amit Shah-linked bank's demonetisation haul



Last year, the RBI revealed that 99 per cent of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes have been returned to the banking system.

As per the latest RBI data, around Rs 15.28 lakh crore or 99 per cent of the Rs 15.44-lakh-crore worth scrapped currency notes had come back to the banking system during the period from November 8, 2016 and June 30, 2017.

(With inputs from agencies)

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New Delhi:

Maratha outfits have called for a bandh in Maharashtra on Tuesday, a day after a man demanding reservation for the community jumped to his death in a river in Aurangabad district.

A pro-reservation Maratha leader further threatened to continue their agitation until Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis apologises to the community. Some Maratha groups have also planned to protest in Mumbai in the near future.

Earlier, 27-year-old protester, Kakasaheb Shinde, jumped off a bridge over Godavari River while staging the jal samadhi protest in Aurangabad. He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead. The agitation is being led over demand of reservation for the community in government jobs and education.

Shindes death had triggered a fresh set of protests in several parts of Maharashtra, with opposition leaders seeking to put the onus on the BJP-led government in the state.

Apart from that, the demands of the Maratha Kranti Morcha also include an apology from Fadnavis, who alleged that some members from the community were planning violence at Pandharpur town in Solapur district, where the chief minister was earlier scheduled to perform puja at a temple on Ashadhi Ekadashi. Fadnavis, however, had cancelld his visit following the protest.

In the last few days, protests have taken place in Buldhana, Akola, Parali, Washim and even in Mumbai.

Read | Maharashtra announces Rs 25 per litre as minimum price of milk; to come into effect from July 21

Highlights of Maratha Kranti Morcha protest:

# 02:52 pm: I appeal to the people, please maintain peace we can solve it by a peaceful dialogue, 15 lakh pilgrims are in Pandharpur for Wari, they should not face problems in going back to their homes: Deepak Kesarkar, MoS Maharastra.

# 01:25 pm: Maharashtra: Maratha Kranti Morcha workers tonsured their heads in Aurangabad's Gangapur during their protest demanding reservation for Maratha community in govt jobs and education.

# 01:22 pm: Maratha Kranti Morcha workers set ablaze a truck in Aurangabad's Gangapur as a mark of their protest demanding reservation for Maratha community in government jobs and education.

#WATCH: Maratha Kranti Morcha workers set ablaze a truck in Aurangabad's Gangapur as a mark of their protest demanding reservation for Maratha community in government jobs & education. #Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/OIdBJlSLpo  ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2018

# 01:10 pm: 3 people attempted suicide in Maharashtra on Tuesday. A Jayant Sonavne and Guddu Sonavane attempted suicide by jumping into river and a Jagannath Sonavne consumed poison in Deogaon Rangari in Aurangabad. All 3 admitted to hospital.

# 12:18 pm: Aurangabad: Locals attacked the vehicle of Shiv Sena MP Chandrakant Khaire when he went to attend funeral of the youth who drowned in Godavari river in the district on Monday during 'jal samadhi agitation held' for reservation for Maratha community in govt jobs and education.

Quotas for Marathas, a politically influential community that constitutes around 30 per cent of the states population, has been a hugely contentious issue. In 2017, a huge rally was organised by the Maratha Kranti Morcha in connection to the matter in Mumbai.

Despite assurances from Fadnavis to fulfil the demands, nothing concrete has been done till now, community leaders have claimed.






New Delhi:

In a student-friendly move, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday dashed a letter to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) chairman Anita Karwal, seeking a probe into the alleged NEET data leak scandal.

Taking to Twitter, the Congress on Tuesday confirmed the news and said, "Congress President Rahul Gandhi writes to the Chairperson CBSE to order an enquiry into the data breach and to put in place effective safeguards to prevent safeguards to prevent future breaches".

"It's alleged that data of candidates who appeared for NEET this year, is available on certain websites for a price & has leaked data of over 2,00,000 students. I strongly urge you to order an inquiry," Rahul wrote in his one-page letter to the CBSE.

Congress President @RahulGandhi writes to the Chairperson CBSE to order an enquiry into the data breach and to put in place effective safeguards to prevent safeguards to prevent future breaches. pic.twitter.com/R7WWbsHb7D  Congress (@INCIndia) July 24, 2018

Read | Madras High Court orders CBSE to grant 196 marks for 49 erroneous Tamil questions

Meanwhile, talking about the NEET 2018 data leak issue, MoS HRD Satyapal Singh said, "The DG of NIC has told me there has been no data leak from their server. But some private agency has collected data from students".

"So, perhaps it has been compromised. However, the Govt of India ensures no data leak from any Govt agency," Singh added.

In a massive breach of data, the personal details such as phone numbers, email IDs and addresses of thousands of NEET applicants were made available online for a payment of up to Rs 2 lakh.

The CBSE conducted the NEET on May 6 in 136 cities in 11 languages, the results of which was announced on June 4. Over 13 lakh candidates had appeared for the same.

The NEET data scandal came to light months after the Class XII Economics paper of the CBSE had allegedly been leaked one day before the examination.

Read | Madras High Court raps CBSE over NEET question paper errors

According to reports, several handwritten notes, containing the Class XII Economics questions were widely circulated on WhatsApp a day before the examination on March 26.

The board, however, had conducted the Class XII Economics re-examination on April 25 and published the both Class X and Xlass XII examination results on time.
New Delhi:

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Tuesday passed on a clear-cut message to the Congress by saying that her party will contest upcoming Assembly elections in coalition only if it gets a respectable number of seats.

The Bahujan Samaj Party will contest elections as a part of coalition government only if it gets a respectable number of seats, the BSP chief said in a statement.

The states of Rajasthan, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh will go to polls later in 2018.

While Congress leaders in Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh feel that an alliance with the BSP will be beneficial for them in the coming elections, leaders of Rajasthan claimed that it will hurt the party in the long run.

Also Read | Pakistan Elections 2018: India the talking point

Mayawati, who recently warned her party leaders against speaking publically on the pre-poll alliance, gave similar advice to the Congress leaders making statements on the possible Congress-BSP coalition.

The Bahujan Samaj Party wants to tell Congress leaders giving reactions about an alliance with the BSP in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh that the same condition applies to Congress as well, she said.

In June 2018, a Congress leader had said that they will reach out to Mayawati for a possible tie-up to take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in upcoming Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections.

However, state BSP president Narmada Prasad Ahirwar dismissed possibilities of alliance with the Congress and said that the party will contest elections on all 230 seats in Madhya Pradesh.

Also Read | Uddhav Thackeray takes a jibe at Centre, says 'We are friends of the Bharatiya Janata, not of any party'

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New Delhi:

In a major breakthrough to the murder of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh, the Karnataka police on Monday arrested two more accused for allegedly destructing significant evidences in the case.

Hailing from Karnataka's Hubli, Amith Baddi and Ganesh Miskin will be in police custody for questioning over the next 15 days. While Amith Baddi is a goldsmith by profession, Gamesh Miskin drives a TSR and makes incense sticks in his leisure time. Both Baddi and Miskin are also accused of murder, abetment, conspiracy and violation of various sections of the Arms Act.

Their arrest came days after police on July 18 had arrested Mohan Nayak, 50, from Sullia in the coastal Dakshina Kannada district. With this, the number of arrests in the month-old case has gone up to nine.

In a dramatic turn of events, police on February had taken 38-year-old Hindu Yuva Sena member, KT Naveen Kumar into custody, who was accused of ferrying the killer to Lankesh's house in the dreadful night of September 5, 2017.

Read | Gauri Lankesh Murder: Accused KT Naveen Kumar agrees for narco-analysis test, says lawyer

Kumar is also accused of planning the murder of KS Bhagawan, another rationalist, writer and a strong critic of Hindutva.

Post that, police spelled out the role of Parashuram Waghmare, Mohan Nayak, Amol Kalle and Praveen in the murder of the 55-year-old journalist.

According to police, Waghmare is the key accused, who pulled the trigger on Lankesh outside her residence in Bengaluru on September 5 while Nayak provided shelter to all of them from June to July 2017, when the murder plot was being cooked.

Going by the forensic report, the gun used in Lankesh's murder as the same which shot MM Kalburgi, a well-known rationalist, who was murdered in August 2015. Following the report, four more suspects were trapped from Maharashtra.

Gauri Lankesh, the Indian journalist-turned-activist from Bangalore, was shot dead by a group of miscreants outside her residence on September 5, last year. She was the editor of the Gauri Lankesh Patrike, a tabloid known for 'anti-establishment' views.

Read | Bengaluru Police makes first arrest in Gauri Lankesh murder case, arrested member of Hindu Yuva Sena

Following her murder, several protests, across the country and especially in prominent parts of Karnataka, had taken place.

An award of Rs 10 lakh had also been announced for the people, who lead to the arrest of the murderers.

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New Delhi:

India cannot afford to have generations of stunted children Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said on Tuesday, urging states to prioritise regular monitoring with efficient distribution of supplementary nutrition.

States must identify people who could be benefited by the Poshan Abhiyan, said Gandhi while chairing the second meeting of the National Council on Indias Nutrition Challenges.

India cant afford to have generations of stunted children. States should prioritise identification of beneficiaries, regular monitoring & efficient distribution of supplementary nutrition, Gandhi said at the meeting.

The Poshan Abhiyan is a programme launched by the government to improve nutritional outcomes for children, pregnant women and lactating mothers and to reduce the level of stunting, under-nutrition, anemia and low birth weight in children.

Those present in the meeting included Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan and Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar.

Parents should join food inspection for the success of the mission to fight malnutrition, Paswan said.

Anganwadi workers at the frontline should be adequately compensated and parents should join food inspections, he said.

More needs to be done to ensure the Poshan Abhiyaan reaches beneficiaries and nutrition becomes a Jan Andolan with programme convergence, public buy-in and inter-ministerial cooperation, Kumar said.

Kumar launched guidelines for making the nutrition movement into a Jan Andolan, along with modules for yoga and a caller-tune ringtone for Poshan Abhiyaan.

We are taking the Poshan Abhiyaan to the masses through block-level public events, social media campaigns, involvement of panchayats and recognising children as drivers of change, said NITI Aayog Member V K Paul, on how nutrition is becoming a public movement.

The Poshan Abhiyan aims to bring down stunting of the children in the age group of 0-6 years from 38.4 per cent to 25 per cent by 2022.

The project will additionally ensure convergence of all nutrition-related schemes and provide performance-based incentives to states and community nutrition and health workers, facilitating a focus on results.

(With inputs from agencies)

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New Delhi:

The Jinnah House in South Mumbai is a property of the Government of India and the question of disposing it does not arise, Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir informed the House on Wednesday.

The sea facing bungalow that once belonged to Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah does not come under the purview of the Enemy Property Act and the house is under the administration of the Evacuee Property Act, 1950, the minister said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.

Also Read | We are friends of the Bharatiya Janata, not of any party: Shiv Sena

"Jinnah's house is a Government of India property and the question of disposing the said property does not arise," Ahir said.

Evacuee property means any property in which an evacuee has no right or interest, whether personally or as a trustee or as a beneficiary or in any other capacity.

Read | LIVE: Maratha Kranti Morcha intensifies protest over quota demands

Jinnah's House - South Court - is an unoccupied property in Malabar Hill, a premium neighbourhood of Mumbai.

The house was built by Jinnah and remained his main residence till he left India following the Partition.

(With inputs from agencies)

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New Delhi:

With a heated argument over several political issues, it was a dramatic day at Parliament on Monday. While a group of TDP leaders was staging protests over demand of special category status for Andhra Pradesh, the ruling BJP moved a privilege motion against Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his afalse allegationsa at Parliament.

Meanwhile, Tuesday, the fifth day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament may witness another round of dramatic twists with Congress moving a privilege motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman over the Rafale deal row.

Here are the highlights of day 5 from Parliament Monsoon Session:

#05:30 pm:A Our government is committed to fulfilling all promises made toA Andhra Pradesh, says Home Min Rajnath Singh in Rajya Sabha.

# 02:34 pm:A Andhra Pradesh demands full sympathy from the entire nation: Ghulam Nabi Azad.

# 02:20 pm:A Lok Sabha is adjourned till 2:30 pm.

# 02:19 pm:A Rajya Sabha begins debate on State Reorganisation Act.

# 02:12 pm:A Rajya Sabha proceedings resume.

# 01:39 pm:A Those talking about lynching incidents are hypocrites, says BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi.

# 01:04 pm:A If state government recommends this, we will consider a CBI inquiry: Home Minister Rajnath Singh in reply to Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan.

If state govt recommends this, we will consider a CBI inquiry: Home Minister Rajnath Singh in reply to Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan in Lok Sabha who demanded a CBI inquiry over the incidents of rape at shelter home in Bihar's Muzaffarpur pic.twitter.com/r0dUIlDPEr a ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2018

# 12:42 pm:A Rajya Sabha is adjourned till 2 pm following ruckus.

# 12:42 pm:A Bank of International settlements data shows a decrease of 34.5 per cent in assets held by Indian residents in Switzerland in 2017, as compared to 2016. Earlier data claiming 50 per cent increase misinterpreted: Finance Minister Piyush Goyal in Rajya Sabha.

# 12:41 pm:A According to data released by Swiss National Bank, loans and deposits of individual Indians in the bank decreased by 34.5% in the last year compared to the previous year: Goyal.

# 12:37 pm:A After Modi govt came to power in 2014, amount deposited in Swiss National Bank fell by 80% in 3 years: Finance Minister Piyush Goyal in Lok Sabha.

# 12:36 pm:A Question Hour begins in Rajya Sabha.

# 12:34 pm:A Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan demands CBI inquiry into Muzaffarpur Shelter Home Rape Case, in Lok Sabha, says 'Till the time the inquiry is not completed, it is to be seen that the girls are given proper security.'

# 12:28 pm: Mob-lynching didn't start recently, the incidents of lynching have been going on since years. I have said this earlier too, the biggest mob lynching is, what happened in 1984:A Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Lok Sabha.

We are thoughtful about this. This didn't start only recently, the incidents of lynching have been going on since years. I have said this earlier too, the biggest mob lynching is, what happened in 1984: Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Lok Sabha pic.twitter.com/shJ3mUdOus a ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2018

# 12:23 pm:A Venkaiah Naidu lauds MPs for smooth conduction of Zero Hour.

# 12:11 pm:A RJD leader Manoj Jha and Jay Prakash Narayan Yadav raise issue of child sexual abuse in Bihar shelter home, say this is shameful for the entire nation.

# 11:52 am:A TDP members continue with their protest seeking Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh showing placards.

# 11:41 am:A Our government will ensure that all farmers get maximum benefit of the MSP hike. The onus is also partly on the state governments to make sure procurement is convenient for the farmers: MoS Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in Lok Sabha.

# 11:30 am:A Rajya Sabha Zero Hour begins: TMC leader Shanta Chettri brings up issue of mob violence in name of cow protection

# 11:26 am:A Question Hour begins: Jan Aushadhi centres lack enough manpower or medicines: BJD MP Tathagatha Satpathy.

# 10:36 am:A Delhi: All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs stage protest in front of Gandhi statue in Parliament over incidents of lynching.

# 10:33 am:A Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MPs protest in front of Gandhi statue in Parliament over the demand of special status for Andhra Pradesh.

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MPs protest in front of Gandhi statue in Parliament over the demand of special status for #AndhraPradesh pic.twitter.com/BiAEmUShaY a ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2018

# 10:07 am:A CPM MP Mohd Salim gives Zero hour notice in Lok Sabha over situation of violence in West Bengal and Tripura.

# 10:04 am:A Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan and RJD MP JP Yadav give Adjournment Motion Notice in Lok Sabha over the incidents of rape at a shelter home in Bihar's Muzaffarpur.

# 09:58 am:A Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha gives Zero Hour Notice in Rajya Sabha over the incidents of rape at a shelter home in Bihar's Muzaffarpur.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha gives Zero Hour Notice in Rajya Sabha over the incidents of rape at a shelter home in Bihar's Muzaffarpur (File pic) pic.twitter.com/hwSRdYbv0o a ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2018

Earlier on Monday, while speaking in the House on the no-confidence motion against the government, Congress president Rahul Gandhi had alleged that Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman lied to the nation on the Rafale deal and that she did so under pressure from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Gandhi scion also said Sitharaman had herself said earlier that she would disclose the details about the deal, but later cited a secrecy clause.

The Congress chief said the French president had clearly conveyed to him that there was no problem in sharing details relating to the Rafale deal worth Rs 58,000 crore.

Alleging corruption in the deal, the Congress has been demanding details, including cost of equipment and weapons, but the government has refused to share them citing a secrecy pact with France, he said.

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New Delhi:

It is just a month that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena have parted their ways, but the former allies are already at logger heads over several political issues across the country.

While the recent incident of mob-lynching in Rajasthan's Alwar took the country by storm, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray took a jibe at the Narendra Modi-led BJP government over growing instances of lynching.

Mocking the Bharatiya Janata Praty's name, Thackeray said, "We are a part of the government but if something is wrong, we will definitely talk about it. We are friends of the Bharatiya Janata, not of any party".

Criticising the Centre for its failed attempts to curb the cow-vigilantism, the Sena chief said, the 'BJP's idea of Hindutva was fake'.

Read | No-trust: Sena compares Modi to France, Rahul to Croatia

"In this country, cows are safe but women are not," Thackeray said while giving an interview to Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

"In the name of saving the cow, if you are shifting focus to whether someone is eating beef or not, then it is a sham. This is not Hindutva. I do not accept the idea of Hindutva that is being adhered to in the country. Our women are unsafe and you are protecting cows," Thackeray added.

"We (Shiv Sena) never said cows should be slaughtered. But while protecting cows, India has become the most unsafe country for women. One should be ashamed of it. You want to save 'gau-mata' (cow) but what about 'mata' (mother)," he concluded.

In what could be a big blow for the Modi government, the Shiv Sena on June 7 announced that it will contest all upcoming elections on its own and wont ally with the Saffron party.

Read | No-confidence motion in Parliament: Shiv Sena leaves BJP in dismal, skips no-trust vote debate

The announcement came a day after BJP president Amit Shahs meeting with Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray at his residence in Mumbai to repair the strained ties with the disgruntled ally. Shah was accompanied by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis during the meeting with Thackeray.

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New Delhi:

No sooner than the vote on Opposition-sponsored no-confidence motion took place in Parliament another incident of lynching of a Muslim dairy worker near Alwar, off Delhi on way to Jaipur, rocked the country. The timing of the ghastly incident is such that it has ended up in clouding debate on more serious issues that the nation faces today and Parliament was debating until the other day or may continue to do so in future as well.

The French fighter aircraft or Rafale deal raised by the Congress president Rahul Gandhi in his speech hours before the trust vote in the Lok Sabha continues to be one of the main issues as it remains unsettled between the Government and the Opposition, leaving a common Indian in the dark, despite a whole days debate in Parliament last Friday.

Also Read | Rahul Gandhi's apt warning to Shashi Tharoor

And the Alwar lynching has taken place before the high-stake deal involving a staggering sum of billions of rupees allegedly at an exaggerated price could be discussed any further. Sadly, this is so despite former defence minister AK Antony released documents related to the aircraft deal on Monday, or July 23, to support Congress claim that the fighters were bought at exorbitant rates which were higher than the price charged from other countries like Qatar and Egypt by the French company Dassault for the same aircraft.

Obviously, the Government that has been more interested to maintain the secrecy shrouding the cost of the Rafale deal was quick to dismiss the claims made by the Congress predecessor of present Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as an attempt to defend the Congress chief Rahul Gandhi. Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad blamed Antony and his Congress colleagues of harping on something unfounded simply because the top family of the main Opposition party was alleging this though it was already replied to by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament at the end of the debate on the no-trust motion.

Also Read | Mobocracy: What ails the system

These exchanges between Congress and BJP veterans took place via the media at a time when the media was too preoccupied with the unseemly debate hovering around the brutality with which a poor cattle herder, Akbar alias Rakbar, was lynched near a national highway and police were lackadaisical in taking the victim to hospital in time, costing him and his poor dependents his precious life. The ruling partys higher ups like their peers in the Opposition too were dragged like others in offering their wise takes on the bizarre incident; and this seems to be heading to no end.

So much so that Rahul Gandhi tweeted to express his anguish and indignation over the incident and Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal called Rahul as merchant of hate in the wake of Congress leaders comment on Alwar incident which should have otherwise been treated as a tragedy instead of being made a point to score over each other. Before this, mob lynching was discussed in Parliament. And this was so during the debate on confidence vote too. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh came up with a salvo to flatten the Opposition by saying that the 1984 riots under the Congress rule were the biggest case of mob lynching.

Also Read | How Modi punctured the Oppositions power bubbles

True though this is but two wrongs cannot be put together to make a right. Not only 1984 but also 2002 Gujarat riots were beastly acts. And together these with many other riots before after them can only make a surfeit of wrongs which should not be allowed to go on unchecked simply because one political party can use this or that riot to silence other. The political use of riots as well as lynching is even more sinister than such deplorable incidents. It is the political stake in riots because of which such incidents have been going on unchecked.

Also Read | Education can play effective deterrent to crime against women

A sort of expediency has sadly come to be attached with riots and communal flare ups. And the cost of this, whether visible or invisible, is huge. The visible cost is loss of life and limb that also entails ruining of families and invisible cost though always in wraps denies citizens their right to know, weigh, think and decide without any gloss over their eyes about what can be right or wrong for them as a people and as citizens of a lawful, imaginative and forward-looking society.
New Delhi:

In the largest security arrangement ever, over 370,000 troops have been deployed across Pakistan for Wednesdays general elections.

According to the Pakistan Army, it would deploy 371,388 troops at 85,000 polling stations for the July 25 election. This would be the largest deployment for any election in the countrys history.

Deployment of troops completed across the country, the military said in a statement.

Also Read Opinion | Pakistan at crossroads of history: Trying times ahead

The troops along with local security agencies will provide a safe and secure environment for voting, even as leaders of mainstream parties and certain candidates face serious security threats, the Army said.

Recently, the country was hit by a series of terror attacks on candidates and campaign rallies. Terror attack on one rally in Balochistan province on July 13 killed 151 people.

Also Read Opinion | Pakistan Elections 2018: India the talking point

Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was criticised for deploying the army both inside and outside polling stations. Army Chief General Qamar Bajwa has, however, said that security forces deployed for election duties would strictly comply with the code of conduct given by the ECP.

Bajwa also said the army will only perform a facilitative role in the election and that the polling process is to remain under the control and authority of the ECP.

The countrywide election campaign, hit by a series of terrorist attacks, ended midnight Tuesday.

(With inputs from agencies)

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London/Islamabad,:

Nobel Laureate and education activist, Malala Yousafzai on Tuesday urged the people of Pakistan, specially the women to vote in Wednesdays general elections.

In a tweet, Malala urged the Pakistanis to get up, and exercise their right to vote.

The people of Pakistan - especially women - the power is in your hands, she said, adding that Democracy shall win.

The 21-year-old Pakistani national, who lives in UK, did not say whether she voted.

In 2012, Malala was shot in the head, neck and shoulder by a Taliban militant while travelling home from school after writing an anonymous diary about life under the extremists.

After recovering from her near-fatal injuries, she and her family relocated to Birmingham, UK. She is studying politics, philosophy and economics at Lady Margaret Hall in Oxford.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has directed its polling staff to ensure proper guidance and assistance to voters, especially to elderly, transgenders and pregnant women on the polling day.

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Kolkata:

Bangladesh on Monday described the publication of draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam as an internal matter of India and said it would not interfere.

The second and final draft of the NRC is scheduled to be published on July 30, a date set by the Supreme Court.

The issue has not been raised at the official level by the Government of India with the Bangladesh government at any stage, High Commissioner of Bangladesh Syed Muazzem Ali said.

So, as of now this is an internal matter and I have seen conflicting positions of different Indian states on this particular issue and I will not interfere in an internal matter, he told reporters here.

The high commissioner said the issue can only become bilateral only after the Indian government takes it up with the Bangladesh government.

Ali was asked whether his country has made any decision in the backdrop of the expected publication of the draft NRC on July 30, leading to a possibility of people moving across the border to their territory.

As of now I do not want to get into the details. We all have gone through the newspapers and we all know the origin of this crisis. My only request to everybody is let sanity prevail, he said.

Assam, which had faced influx of people from Bangladesh since the early 20th century, is the only state having an NRC, which was first prepared in 1951.

Terming the Rohingya issue as a man-made one, the Bangladesh diplomat requested the Myanmar government to take back their citizens.

We do not have any bilateral problem with Myanmar. Myanmars problem is that they are not willing to recognise the people in their Arakan region as the citizen of their country.

So if you do not want to recognise your people as your own and start sending them to my country, then its a problem, he said.

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His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, chairing the Cabinet yesterday, in the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, instructed all ministries to rationalise expenditure by reducing unwanted spending.

The directive was in line with the Governments efforts to consolidate financial stability. HRH the Premier gave directives to the Ministerial Committee for Construction and Infrastructure to study seven sites to implement housing projects that serve 15 villages and regions, according to a proposal submitted by the Housing Ministry.

The projects will serve Diraz, Bani Jamra, Jannusan, Sitra, Al Salhiya, Al Qurayyah, Umm Al Hassam, Nuwaidrat, Nabih Saleh, Galali, Al Dair, Samaheej, Buri, Al Naim and Dar Kulaib villages, in addition to other sites that are currently examined by the Urban Planning and Development Authority.

HRH the Prime Minister commended the efforts of the kingdoms delegation to the UN Economic and Social Councils High-level Political Forum (HLPF), where Bahrain presented its first Voluntary National Review (VNR) on the Implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, held recently at the UN headquarters in New York.
His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa received a cable of thanks from President of the Arab Parliament, Dr Mishaal bin Fahm Al Salami, in appreciation of the royal support for the Arab Parliament to serve Arab causes.

Al Salami stressed the Arab Parliament support for the Kingdoms measures to maintain its security and stability.

He said the AP, at its session on July 4 held in Cairo, in coordination with members of Bahrains Shura and Representatives councils, adopted an important decision on responding to politicised reports, data and decisions issued by regional organisations, as well as to the European Parliaments recent statement on human rights status in the Kingdom.
The High Criminal Court sentenced a 58-year-old Bahraini man to six months behind bars along with BD500 fine for consuming drugs.

The defendant was arrested after police received a tip-off, which said he was possessing morphine stuffed cigarettes. Police officers are said to have seized 12 cigarettes from his apartment. They were hidden inside a jackets pocket.
After years of denials, Samsung Electronics has offered an official apology to its former workers who are suffering from or have died from diseases allegedly brought on by their working environments.

Samsung Electronics vice chairman Kwon Oh-hyun made the announcement on Wednesday, saying that the company was sincerely sorry for having neglected the pain of the victims and their families, and for not having settled the issue earlier.

The company promised proper compensation and said it would abide by the decisions made by an independent third-party panel of mediators.

Samsung also vowed to check the safety of its semiconductor production facilities, and to come up with concrete measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.

The overall dispute came to light in 2007 when Hwang Yu-mi, a former employee at a Samsung semiconductor production plant, died of leukemia at the age of 23. Similar cases followed, with employees dying of rare blood-related diseases.

Family members attribute their exposure to chemicals at factories as the cause. However Samsung had denied the claim and resisted offering an apology.

The apology finally came about a month after Sim Sang-jeung, a progressive party lawmaker, called on the company to apologize to the more than 200 workers who developed rare cancers or died after working at semiconductor plants.
A GCC man while trying to break up a fight was hit with a rock on his forehead, according to court files. The quarrel occurred at dawn near a local hotel, and the GCC man had to pay a big price for his good deed.

When I left the hotel in the early morning hours, I saw two people fighting. I tried to end the fight so they dont harm each other. But one of them threw a rock on my forehead, the victim told prosecutors. The incident was witnessed by a member of the Bahraini Special Forces, who rushed to help the injured man.

As soon as he was hit, the fighters fled the scene, leaving him unconscious, he said. They were arrested later. They faced a trial before the High Criminal Court, which sentenced one of them to three years behind bars, while the other man received six months jail.
One of Japanas top policymakers has indicated that the government will continue to resist U.S. efforts to create a bilateral free trade agreement between the two nations.

aJapan is not going to do anything with any country that harms the national interest,a said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga. aWith FTA negotiations too, weall handle them in that way.a

During a wide-ranging interview in Tokyo on Saturday, Suga also said he expects Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to stand for re-election in September as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. If Abe wins that contest, which appears likely, he could remain prime minister until 2021 to become the nationas longest serving postwar prime minister.

Sugaas comments on the trade relationship with the U.S. came as officials from the Group of 20 countries meeting in Argentina pushed back against the Trump administration, which has shunned multilateral agreements and embraced tariffs.

Economy minister Toshimitsu Motegi and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer are expected to sit down for bilateral trade discussions later this month.

Suga said that he knows the U.S. is keenly interested in a bilateral trade deal, but that Japan will continue to insist that the U.S. returning to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement is in the best interests of both countries. President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the agreement during his first week in office.

At home Japan needs to ensure that the economy doesnat slump with an increase in the sales tax planned for October 2019. Government advisers have suggested tax relief for home and car purchases, as well as measures to raise the nationas potential growth rate.
The President of the Senate Dr Bukola Saraki has arrived the National Assembly Complex where he is set to preside over Tuesdays plenary.

The President of the Senate Dr Bukola Saraki has arrived the National Assembly Complex where he is set to preside over Tuesdays plenary.

Saraki whose convoy was blocked by security operatives on his way from his Maitama residence, has been sighted in the National Assembly where the plenary of the Senate is about to commence.





Saraki who was invited by the Police to report at its Guzape office by 8am on Tuesday over the ongoing investigation into the Offa robbery, was blocked at the junction of the Lake Chad Street where he resides.





However, Daily Trust reports that the Police spokesperson, DCP Jimoh Moshood has said that he was unaware of any siege on the home of the number three citizen of Nigeria.





The Nation reported that the police only blocked Sarakis convoy for about 30 minutes. The convoy was about to leave the house at about 7am when the police arrived.





When the convoy was cleared to go at about 7.30 a.m, some police vehicles trailed it up to the National Assembly complex.

Saraki exchanging pleasantries with his colleagues as he makes his way to preside over plenary



Police were said to have extracted a promise from the Senate President that he would honour the invitation by the Inspector General of Police today. Police were said to have extracted a promise from the Senate President that he would honour the invitation by the Inspector General of Police today.





Saraki has been invited by the Inspector General of Police to report at 8a.m today at Guzape Police station to give further statement on the multiple robbery incidents that occurred in Offa, Kwara state on 5 April, in which 31 people were killed.





Some of the suspects arrested claimed Saraki gave them money and guns as members of a group used by the politician to cow opponents.





In a letter sent to Saraki on Monday night, Idris asked him to make himself available to the head of the Investigation Team at the Intelligence Response Team at Guzape Junction, Asokoro Extension, Abuja at 8a.m.





The police had on 4 June asked for Sarakis reaction to the statement made by some of the suspects arrested in connection to the most deadly robbery in the history of Nigeria. Saraki wrote a statement dated 7 June.



The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, drove himself into the National Assembly complex in a rickety private vehicle.





It was gathered that Saraki was not in the vehicle when a detachment of security operatives blocked his convoy at his Apo residence.





The security operatives had aimed at preventing them from leaving the house.





Saraki reportedly sensed a sinister move by the opposing camp, at the National and decided to outsmart them by quickly sneaking into the National Assembly with a vehicle he drove.





We also gathered that Saraki had also perfected his plans to announce his defection from the All Progressives Congress, APC, today and adjourn the plenary sine dine.




Nigerias President, Muhammadu Buhari has met behind closed doors with the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, at the Presidential...

Nigerias President, Muhammadu Buhari has met behind closed doors with the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.





The agenda of the meeting was not made public. The meeting was, however, held a few hours after news broke that security operatives laid a siege on the residences of the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki; and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, Punch reports.





The meeting also came a day after the police high command again invited Saraki for questioning over the recent Offa robbery.





The police had asked Saraki to report on Tuesday at 8am but he had not complied with the directive as of the time the police boss was meeting Buhari.





His failure to honour the invitation forced the police to issue a statement threatening to use all legal means to get him.





Idris did not speak with State House correspondents after the meeting he had with Buhari.





The Presidency has yet to issue a statement on the meeting at the time of filing this report.




The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has invited Ike Ekweremadu, deputy senate president, for questioning over alleged mone...

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has invited Ike Ekweremadu, deputy senate president, for questioning over alleged money laundering.





The commission invited him in a letter dated July 24 and signed by Mohammed Abba, the director of operations.





The EFCC said Ekweremadus name featured prominently in a case of conspiracy, abuse of office and money laundering being investigated.





Ekweremadu was asked to report to the office of the commission on Tuesday for clarification.





Meanwhile, security operatives have laid siege to the residence of the deputy senate president in Apo Legislative Quarters.





Uche Anichukwu, his special adviser on media, made the disclosure to TheCable.





He said Ekweremadus residence is currently under the siege of men of the Nigeria Police Force and the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).





They took over the entire vicinity before 6am. There is no going in or coming out.





The development is coming after the convoy of Senate President Bukola Saraki was intercepted by police officers who laid siege to his house.





Saraki was on Monday summoned by the police over a case of armed robbery in Offa, Kwara state.




The Ministry of Education on Monday released the admission list of pupils into the Junior Secondary School of the 104 Federal Government ...

The Ministry of Education on Monday released the admission list of pupils into the Junior Secondary School of the 104 Federal Government Colleges across the country.The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, approved the admission, after over 80,000 pupils wrote the entrance examination in April 2018.The ministry, however, lamented that the insecurity situation in the North-East and North-West regions affected the admission into the FGCs in the regions, noting that there would be a supplementary examination to enable those colleges fill their vacancies.In a release by the Permanent Secretary, Sonny Echono, the admission was based on a national merit criteria of 60 per cent on a cut-off score of 146 and above, and equality of state of 30 per cent.Echono said, The Minister of Education has approved the release of admission into Junior Secondary School 1 of the 104 Federal Government Colleges in the country. This follows the 2018 selection exercise for placement of qualified candidates into the Junior Secondary Schools held in Owerri, Imo State.The selection exercise employed the national merit criteria of 60 per cent with a cut-off score of 146 and above, and equality of state of 30 per cent of the colleges carrying capacity.Due to the effect of insecurity in the North-East and North-West zones of the country which affected the filling of the colleges capacity, the minister has approved for supplementary examination to be held tentatively on August 11 for such colleges to fill their vacancies.Candidates are requested to check their result at the Federal Ministry of Education, Abuja, at all the Federal Government Colleges and also online.
Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose has reacted to the invasion of the residences of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and Deputy S...

Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose has reacted to the invasion of the residences of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu.





The Police on Tuesday morning blocked the Senate President, Bukola Sarakis convoy at Lake Chad junction in Abuja.





Saraki was reportedly on his way to report to the police headquarters after he was invited for questioning by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris over Offa bank robbery when the incident happened.





Also, the Department of State Security (DSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday morning laid siege at the residence of the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu in Abuja.





Reacting, Fayose condemned the incident, stating that he warned Nigerians of impending tyranny in the country.




President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday met with Ibrahim Idris, inspector-general of police, at the presidential villa in Abuja.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday met with Ibrahim Idris, inspector-general of police, at the presidential villa in Abuja.





The meeting held a day after Idris summoned Senate President Bukola Saraki over the robbery in Offa, Kwara state.





According to the police, the suspects arrested in connection with the incident, accused Saraki of arming them.





Saraki has since denied the allegation.





Idris did not speak with state house correspondents after the meeting he had with Buhari.





He also met with Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.





Mansur Dan Alli, minister of defence; Ganriel Olonishakin, chief of defence staff; Tukur Buratai, chief of army Staff; met with Abba Kyari on Tuesday.





They did not entertain questions from journalists.




The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole, on Tuesday met with President Muhamamdu Buhari a few hours after some members of the party in the National Assembly dumped the APC.Oshiomhole told State House correspondents at the end of the meeting with the President that he was happy with the development because those who left the party were mercenaries.He said the ruling party was not disturbed by the development.
A former Deputy Governor of Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, says it will take 22 years to clear the debts incurred by the government of Governor Rauf Aregbesola.Omisore said this in Abuja on Monday shortly after receiving his Certificate of Return from the Social Democratic Party.The governorship candidate of the SDP said about half of Osun States allocation from the Federation Account went to servicing accumulated debts.He said this had led to the inability of the state to pay salaries.Omisore added, The state is deplorable. It has no infrastructure, health services; salaries are being owed and we are the most indebted state in this country. Our ISPO, that is, our debit from FAAC, is signed till 2040. That is 25 years from 2015.So, it is a peculiar situation and a task that cannot be given to a youth corps member or a mere politician. It is not a joke.When asked how he would increase the revenue of the state, Omisore said there was a need to effectively exploit the Agric sector.The ex-lawmaker said policies which promoted wealth creation and investment would be implemented and once this happened, wealth would return to the state.Omisore said the candidates of the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party were novices who were being foisted on the state by godfathers.He added, Nigeria has evolved to voting people with experience, with qualifications who have done it before. It is not just about running for office. It is not about having a godfather who will sponsor you and be making money from Osun State through the governor.Reacting the allegations, Osun State Commissioner for Information, Mr Adelani Baderinwa, said, I cant dignify Omisore with a response because he has a credibility problem and he should go and clear himself first from the EFCC before we can react to his lies.His problem is part of what the state inherited. If people like him did not steal Nigerias money the way they did, there would be no financial crisis which the whole nation is facing now. If he and others did not steal, there is no way Osun will not get his fair share of his allocation.
A day after his Singapore summit last month with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un calling for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, Trump said in a tweet, "There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea."

"A Rocket has not been launched by North Korea in 9 months. Likewise, no Nuclear Tests. Japan is happy, all of Asia is happy," Trump said on Twitter. "But the Fake News is saying, without ever asking me (always anonymous sources), that I am angry because it is not going fast enough. Wrong, very happy!"

U.S. President Donald Trump declared Monday that he is "very happy" with the pace of ongoing negotiations with North Korea to end Pyongyangs nuclear weapons program, rebuffing news accounts to the contrary.

But their agreement contained no details about when or how North Korea would abandon its nuclear weapons program or shut down its existing nuclear facilities. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met in Pyongyang recently with North Korean officials to try advance discussions, but there appeared to be little progress. Some diplomats say the North Koreans have canceled meetings and failed to maintain basic communications with the U.S.

As he did Monday, Trump has publicly professed satisfaction at the pace of negotiations with North Korea, saying last week there was "no rush" in completing talks with Pyongyang because U.S. and United Nations economic sanctions against North Korea remain in place.

On Monday, the U.S. State, Treasury and Homeland Security departments said, "The international community cannot let up on pressure" until North Korea ends its nuclear weapons program.

Trump said last week that U.S. relations with North Korea "are very good and the process is moving along." He said that with eventual denuclearization, there would be "big benefits and exciting future for North Korea at end of process!"

But several news outlets have reported in recent days that behind the scenes at the White House Trump has voiced his displeasure to aides at the pace of talks in pushing North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program.
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole, on Monday said there was no man of honour, who left the Peopl...

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole, on Monday said there was no man of honour, who left the Peoples Democratic Party because of its alleged crimes against the nation, that would want to return to the opposition party.He insisted that he was not losing sleep over the emergence of a faction of the party called Reformed-APC.Oshiomhole, who spoke in an interview with State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, commented on the alleged plan by the R-APC members to leave the APC on Thursday.He said no matter their irritations in the ruling party, no aggrieved member should be thinking of returning to the PDP.He said, No, I am not losing sleep. I am sleeping very well. I still maintain that I dont see any man of honour who with his eyes open left the PDP on the account of their gross mismanagement, abuse of the treasury and all of the crimes that the PDP committed; I dont see them, whatever their irritations, that can be justifications, to return to that house.All we need to do is to play back their own tape about what the PDP represents and why they left. I still hold the view that you cannot vomit in the morning and convert it to lunch in the afternoon, if you have honour. That position still remains the same.Despite his position, Oshiomhole explained that the party could distinguish between those who had genuine complaints and those he described as mercenaries.He said the party would try and listen to those with genuine grievances but would not change its core values to accommodate the mercenaries who he said were after personal issues.He said he would not lose his sleep because of people who he claimed could not deliver their unit during elections.He however did not disclose those who fall under the two categories of mercenaries and those with genuine complaints.Oshiomhole said, I have made this point clear that we can distinguish the mercenaries from those who genuinely have complaints. Our business as party leaders is to try and manage, listen and find solutions to those who have verifiable complaints.But those who are permanent mercenaries and are in this business for personal issues, there is not much we can do about that and we are not going to change the core values of the party in order to retain them.So, let me reinstate, we remain committed and I have said so in my acceptance speech when I was elected, that we acknowledge the fact that there are people with genuine complaints. For such people, we are ready to listen and act on the basis of justice, fairness, no arrogance and exclusion. I remain committed to those.However, on principle, I do not deal with political mercenaries, that remains my position. I will not miss my sleep because a lot of these guys cannot on a good day deliver their units.We have the records that tell us who won elections where. I am a tested fighter. I fought them from Edo from zero- zero and I overcame their most powerful godfathers.So, I know what I am talking about. I speak from experience and I will talk, negotiate and persuade but there are core principles that are not negotiable.Begging, R-APC, not an act of cowardice  National chairmanAlso in Abuja on Thursday, Oshiomhole explained why he had been begging members of the R-APC not to leave the APC. He said that his action was not an act of cowardice.Oshiomhole, while speaking at the launch of a book by Senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim (APC, Yobe-East), pointed out that the appeal being made to the aggrieved members was all about restoring peace and getting justice for those who deserved it.He stated that it was not as a result of being jittery.Oshiomhole said, Throughout the weekend and up till today (Monday), many of the national dailies reported different stories with the impression that I have not been sleeping within the last one week as a result of alleged midnight meetings with aggrieved party members, who they say I have been begging not to leave the party.In some of the reports, the insinuations even went as far as saying that I made juicy offers to the aggrieved party members in stopping them from defecting. While I will not be too direct in reacting to such reports here, I will only say though I have been meeting aggrieved party members over whatever injustices they felt the party or some chieftains of the party had done to them. I have not been having sleepless nights as being reported, and also I am not in any way jittery.Rapprochement move, as far as I am concerned, is not an act of cowardice but a desirous endeavour in making peace since you cant decree peace but only work for it. So, in a nutshell, I am not ashamed of doing that as chairman of a great party. To those who the rapprochement moves are being directed to, we want them to appreciate that we are more or less trying to prevent them from making a blunder of dumping palm wine for kain kain (local gin).In its response, the PDP described the former governor of Edo State as fake.It said that while he boasted during the day, he would visit aggrieved members of the APC at night, begging them not to leave the ruling party.The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, who spoke with one of our correspondents, said that both Oshiomhole and the national leadership of the APC had become jittery over the planned defection.He said, We will rather forget and ignore him. He is a drowning man and his party will soon become the opposition party in Nigeria. That is why hes busy running his mouth.In day time, he goes out shouting, calling people names but at night, as from 2am, he goes about visiting and begging people he had abused, asking them not to leave and offering them positions and tickets.We should rather ignore him. We understand his predicament. So, we wont waste our time talking to or responding to a fake man who is heading a faction of the APC.
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has reacted to the invasion of the residence of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and that of th...

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has reacted to the invasion of the residence of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and that of the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.

We had earlier reported that the Police on Tuesday morning blocked the Senate President, Bukola Sarakis convoy at Lake Chad junction in Abuja.





He was reportedly on his way to report to the police headquarters after he was invited for questioning by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris over Offa bank robbery.





Also, the Department of State Security Service (DSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday morning laid siege at the residence of the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu in Abuja.





However, reacting to the development, Atiku while condemning the siege urged President Buhari to take charge and call the security operatives to order.





His reaction was contained in a press statement by the Spokesman to the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Organisation, Segun Showunmi.





The Statement reads, We are outraged at the information reaching us which suggests that our democracy is under unprecedented attack. Separation of powers and an independent legislator is the hallmark of a stable democracy.




Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has described the sustained rancorous relationship between the legislative arm of government and the executive as a threat to democracy.In a statement signed by its National Chairman, Alhaji Balarabe Musa and the Secretary General, Chief Willy Ezugwu, CNPP urged all Nigerian security agencies to stop meddling into the political affairs of the country and allow democratic forces to freely operate like in every other democracy.It said, The barricade of the residence of the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki and that of the Deputy President of the Senate, Chief Ike Ekweremadu is the culmination of the altercation between the executive and the legislative arms of government in the country.The body of registered political parties and association stated this while reacting to the security barricade of the residential houses of both Saraki and Ekweremadu in Abuja on Tuesday morning.Continuing it said, Following truncated impeachment process against President Muhammadu Buhari at the Senate, the constant intimidation of lawmakers by the agents of the executive is the culmination of the ongoing distrust between the two arms of government.No democracy will survive in an atmosphere of unbridled interference by the executive in the affairs of the legislative chambers, using the coercive forces at its disposal to muzzle dissenting voices and distort free flow of democratic forces and freedom to associate.The constitution of Nigeria, which both the executive and legislative members swore to uphold guarantees freedom of association and right to hold opinion and it will be detrimental to the deepening of our democracy for security agencies to deny any Nigerian these rights, rather all security forces are to ensure that these rights are respected, the CNPP stated.
The Senate has urged security operatives on siege to Deputy President of the Senate, Mr Ike Ekweremadus residence, to vacate the place and allow him to enjoy his constitutional right.This followed a motion by Senator Chukwuka Utazi at plenary on Tuesday.He said that the siege was a violation of the right of Ekweremadu, explaining that this morning I left Enugu for Abuja to attend todays sitting.Half way to the airport, I heard a distress call from the aides working with the Deputy Senate President that his residence and the entire street had been cordoned off and nobody can move out of the house.As I am talking now, the people of Enugu State resident in Abuja have moved to his house and they are there shouting in the rain for his release.What offence has he committed that would warrant his wife and children to be denied freedom to go about their duties.People are worried. We want to know what he has done.Some people told me that they heard some people want to defect today and because of that they dont want him to come to the sitting.I also heard that they dont want the senate president to come so that both presiding officers will not be here but thank God that the Senate President is in this place, he said.The lawmaker prayed the senate to demand that Ekweremadus resident be vacated.Supporting the motion, Sen. Sam Anyanwu (PDP-Imo) said the development was a threat to democracy.He said, I was with Ekweremadu yesterday and there was no notice from the Police. I wonder why his house is under siege today.If he is still wanted they should invite him and he will respond.There will be tomorrow. No matter the intimidation my confidence in you and Ekweremadu is renewed and we must protect this institution, he told Saraki.Sen. Emmanuel Bwacha (PDP-Taraba) said it was not only a threat to democracy but to the unity of the country.It is with a heavy heart I rise to contribute to this. This is not only threatening, but the unity of the country and we need to thread with caution. What is happening has never happened.When I heard of the siege I became afraid.We need prayers and we have to stand up as statesmen. It is about the institution and the matter is beyond political party but the threat on democracy.I advise that security operatives should know they are meant to protect us and no country has used violence to settle matters.We can pack our things and go and those trying to dent the image of the president should be careful, he said.In his reaction, the President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, said there was also a siege to his house at the early hours of Tuesday.He said he was meant to report to the Police on account of invitation to answer to alleged involvement in a robbery case in Offa some months ago but could not do that.Saraki said there would not have been plenary if he had gone to the Police, given the fact that Ekweremadu was prevented from leaving his house.Ekweremadu cannot come out for no fault of his and by the plan I wouldnt have been here as well.It was the intervention of Almighty God that I am here today.The deputy senate president called me that he was blocked from coming out. Even my convoy was blocked, he said.Meanwhile, the Senate has adjourned plenary for members annual vacation. They will resume on September 26.
At 5:22 this morning, Cape Coral Police responded to a traffic crash in the 900 block of Cape Coral Parkway, E., where it was reported that a vehicle struck a pedestrian. The pedestrian, identified as Steven A. Grant, 54, of Cape Coral, suffered a fatal injuries in the crash.

According to a report from the CCPD, a 2012 silver Chevy Malibu was traveling east in the inside travel lane of Cape Coral Parkway, just east of the intersection at Southeast 8th Court. Grant was reportedly walking across the eastbound lanes of Cape Coral Parkway mid-block, outside of the available marked crosswalks, when he walked in front of the Malibu.

The police report indicates Grant came to final rest in the eastbound center travel lane of Cape Coral Parkway, approximately 100 feet from the area of impact. The driver of the Malibu, who was uninjured in the accident, made a controlled stop and came to rest in the inside travel lane of Cape Coral Parkway.

Police reported that witnesses to the fatal accident indicated that several other vehicles struck the pedestrian immediately following the initial impact with the Malibu but failed to stop at the scene afterwards.

The investigation is ongoing and Cape Coral Police Department is attempting to identify other vehicles and drivers from this crash. If you have information about their identity please contact the Cape Coral Police Department at 239-574-3223 or at www.capecops.com/tips-disclaimer.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will not arrive in the United States for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump with a specific trade offer, the commission said on Monday.

Juncker will travel to Washington on Wednesday for talks focused on trade tensions after the U.S. imposition of tariffs on EU steel and aluminum and Trump's threats to extend those measures to European cars.

Trump's top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, has said he expected Juncker to come with a "significant" trade offer, but the commission said on Monday that would not happen.

"I do not wish to enter into a discussion about mandates, offers because there are no offers. This is a discussion, it is a dialogue and it is an opportunity to talk and to stay engaged in dialogue," commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas told a news conference.
A man clad in black fired a handgun into restaurants and cafes in a lively Toronto neighborhood, killing a 10-year-old girl and an 18-year-old woman and wounding 13 others in an attack that has shaken the confidence of many in the normally safe city.

The mass shooting late Sunday in Toronto's Greektown district came just three months after a van struck and killed 10 people in an apparent attack directed toward women.

Police declined to release the name of the 29-year-old gunman from Toronto who died after an exchange of gunfire with police. Police Chief Mark Saunders said he would not speculate on a motive but did not rule out terrorism.

"It's almost inconceivable that these things can happen," said Mayor John Tory. "We were so used to living in a city where these things didn't happen and as we saw them going on in the world around us (we) thought they couldn't happen here. This is an attack against innocent families and our entire city."

The slain 18-year-old was identified as Reese Fallon, who volunteered for Canada's Liberal party. Her family said in a statement they were devastated. "She was... smart, passionate and full of energy. It is a huge loss," said Canadian Member of Parliament Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, who knew Fallon. An online Facebook profile said she was a student of McMaster University.

The 13 wounded ranged in age from 10 to 59, and suffered injuries ranging from serious to minor, Saunders said. He did not name the victims, who included eight women and girls, and seven men.

Dr. Najma Ahmed of St. Michael's Hospital said five patients had been admitted in serious or critical condition and that three of the five underwent immediate lifesaving operations.

A video taken by a witness showed a man dressed in black clothes and a black hat walking quickly down a sidewalk and firing three shots into at least one shop or restaurant in Toronto's Greektown, a residential area crowded with Greek restaurants and cafes. Witnesses heard many shots and described the suspect walking past restaurants and cafes and patios on both sides of the street and firing into them.

Ontario's police watchdog said there was an exchange of gunfire between the assailant and two officers on a side street before the gunman was found dead near Danforth Avenue where the shootings occurred. It was not immediately clear whether he killed himself or was killed by police.

A spokeswoman for the Special Investigations Unit, Monica Hudon, would not say whether the gunman was shot dead by police and said his identity was still being confirmed. She said an autopsy would be performed Tuesday.

Det.-Sgt. Terry Browne said he could not release the name of the suspect because of the probe by the Special Investigations Unit. He said police had sought a search warrant for an address related to the suspect but didn't say where.


President Moon Jae-in on Monday praised opposition lawmaker Roh Hoe-chan, who killed himself earlier in the day over a corruption probe, for his role in Korean politics.

Moon said he feels "extremely saddened" by the death of the Justice Party's floor leader. "We did not share the same political party, but being involved in politics during the same period, we both put in efforts to make Korean society a more progressive one," he added.

Moon said Roh made big contributions to widen the political arena from a progressive standpoint. He sent his condolences to the lawmaker and his family.

Roh jumped to his death from his apartment block and left a suicide note admitting he took illegal campaign donations and apologizing to his family.
Korean Ambassador to Japan Lee Su-hoon met with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono on Monday to offer condolences over the loss of life due to severe flooding in western Japan.

Lee also handed over US$1 million worth of aid from the Korean government (US$1=W1,134).

The flooding in Hiroshima and Okayama prefectures is the worst to hit Japan in 36 years. It has killed 219 people and affected more than 4,000 since early this month. Lee wished the country a speedy recovery.

Kono thanked the Korean government and people for their support and said he would deliver the aid to the victims as soon as possible.
The parents of a mentally challenged boy attracted criticism for tattooing their home phone number on his arm, to make it easier for anyone who found him to contact them.

On the morning of July 22nd, police Wenzhou, China, received reports of a young boy walking aimlessly on the local highway. 10 minutes later, a police patrol spotted the boy, and after guiding him to safety, stopped their car to ask him some questions. It was clear from the very beginning that the child suffered from some sort of mental disability, as he was unable to provide basic information like his name or his age. After searching the boy for anything that could help them identify him, one of the officers noticed a series of numbers that appeared to have been scribbled on his forearm. It turned out to be a tattoo.

Photo: The Paper

It didnt take long for the officers to figure out that the tattoo was a phone number, which they immediately dialed. Luckily, the boys mother picked up and she provided the policemen with the family address, so the boy was safely returned to his home.

Still, the officer couldnt help ask the mother why she had opted to tattoo the phone number directly on the boys arm, as this was obviously not the most practical choice. As you can see in the picture above, at one point the family changed their phone number, so the old one had to be crossed out with the tattoo gun, and the new one tattooed underneath. This surely had caused the boy unnecessary suffering.

The child is intellectually disabled, and she has our phone number tattooed on her forearm because of this, the woman said.

Photo: The Paper

Officer Yang told Chinese newspaper The Paper that although he could see that the mother had meant well, her drastic decision didnt make any sense to him. He advised people in similar situations to register the disabled persons fingerprints with the police, or create a sturdy bracelet for them with contact information, instead of putting them through the unnecessary and painful tattooing process.

This story went viral on Chinese social media and got mixed reactions from users. Some said that no matter how worried the parents were, the tattoos were unnecessary, others described their solution as too extreme, while some users took their side, saying that in certain situations, tattoos like this can prove a viable last resort.
A 30-year-old woman from California is being hailed as a hero for saving a strangers life by donating one of her kidneys to him.

At the start of 2018, Jessica Morris, a 30-year-old dental technician from Orange County, California, set a very special new year resolution  to save someones life. A two-hour drive away, in San Francisco, freelance writer David Nachere, also 30, had almost given up hope of finding a kidney donor after suffering from end-stage kidney failure for six and a half years, and was coming to terms with the idea of dying. But he decided to give it one more shot and posted an ad for a kidney on Craiglist. Luckily for him, Jessica was looking for a way to fulfill the promise she had made to herself and contacted him.

Photo: Jessica Morris

Id been looking for a while  but it remained just an idea that I wanted to do, rather than actually seriously going through with it, Jessica recently told Caters News. Its easy to say youll do something, its another thing altogether to follow through with it. I was pretty straightforward with David, he probably thought I was weird. He was skeptical and hopeful, but you can tell he was refusing to get too excited about it.

Considering what David had been going through for most of his life, its easy to understand his skepticism. His first kidney failed him when he was only three months old, he had endured 27 operations throughout his life, and prior to learning that his second kidney was failing, he was diagnosed with Crohns Disease. Life hadnt exactly dealt him a winning hand, so when he heard from a total stranger about a kidney donation, he had to keep himself from getting too excited.

Also, most of the other people who had contacted him about the ad either wanted thousands of dollars to even continue the conversation, or were based in other countries and were asking for assistance with immigrating to the United States. The rest never replied to Davids follow-up email. But then came Jessicas message.



I was 100 percent skeptical, Nicherie told KTVU. I assumed it was a scam. She was very to the point when I started talking to her more, but I had already been burned.

Even after they met and instantly hit it off, David couldnt believe he would get another chance at life. But then he got confirmation that Jessica was a match and was asked to schedule the surgery.

It didnt sink in for David that his life was really about to change until he got the call to schedule the surgery, Jessica recalled.

After two months of careful preparation, including dozens of tests, lab work, countless X-rays, and a psychiatric evaluation, Jessica and David went into surgery together, and she gave him a part of herself so that he could go on living.



Theyre both recovering, and although this kind of surgery carries a risk of significant complications, both Morris and Nicherie are focusing on the positive the operation was a success and both have found a friend for life in each other.

Hell probably be my friend for life. He has a piece of me for life, so he has no choice, Jessica jokingly said, adding that they hope to go backpacking together soon.

She gave me purpose to live, she gave me hope, David told KPIX 5. Even if it turned out she had been not healthy enough or couldnt donate, or just something, she gave me something I didnt have.
How simple life is in the black and white world of Donald Trump, who has blissfully launched a trade war with the rest of the world without a care about its impact. He expects China, Canada, Mexico and the EU to simply roll over.

The tweeter-in-chief tapped this gem out today:

"Tariffs are the greatest! Either a country which has treated the United States unfairly on Trade negotiates a fair deal, or it gets hit with Tariffs. Its as simple as that - and everybodys talking! Remember, we are the piggy bank thats being robbed. All will be Great!

That tweet came ahead of news that Team Trump is gearing up a $12B emergency relief program for American farmers, who will face big financial losses due to the president's unilateral decision to launch a trade war.

The president is apparently clueless that his trade war will translate into higher prices for American consumers and loss of jobs.

Or as George Mason University economics professor Donald Bourdreaux puts it: Trump's trade war is economic suicide.

In an opinion piece posted today on foxnews.com, Boudreaux wrote that tariffs aren't a one-way street, as trading partners will hit back with their own taxes on US exports.

The US economy depends on trade. Boudreaux notes that exports support 10M US jobs, while imports support another 16M and "every one of us has a life that's full of items manufactured abroad." China has announced retaliatory tariffs on more than 100 products and has threatened to stop purchasing American oil and natural gas. The EU, Canada and Mexico have unveiled their own tariffs on US goods.

Trump remains unruffled. He has rejected pleas from Farm Belt Republican Senators to call off the tariff plan. They fear a Depression-era crisis will soon sweep the heartland.

Nebraska's Ben Sasse quickly condemned Trump's $12B farmer bailout plan.

This trade war is cutting the legs out from under farmers and White Houses plan is to spend $12 billion on gold crutches, he said. This administrations tariffs and bailouts arent going to make America great again, theyre just going to make it 1929 again.

Trump's advisors better tell him what happened in 1929 and throughout the 1930s.
Legacy RecordingsElectric Light Orchestra was hugely popular in the U.S. during its 1970s and '80s heyday, but the band was even more successful in its native U.K. Now, a new vinyl box set featuring reproductions of 15 singles and one EP that the group released in the U.K. from 1972 through 1978 will hit stores on September 21.

The U.K. Singles Volume One: 1972-1978 contains 16 seven-inch vinyl discs that boast sleeves and labels replicating those of the original releases. Among the classic tunes featured in the collection are ELO's space-age cover of Chuck Berry's "Roll over Beethoven," and classic tunes like "Can't Get It Out of My Head," "Evil Woman," "Strange Magic," "Livin' Thing," "Telephone Line," "Turn to Stone," "Mr. Blue Sky" and "Sweet Talkin' Woman."

The aforementioned EP, titled The ELO EP, originally was released exclusively in the U.K. in 1978 and featured four of the band's previous hits.

All of the recordings appearing in the box set were remastered from the analog tapes.

In other news, an expanded 35th anniversary edition of ELO's 1983 studio album Secret Messages will be released as a two-LP, 150-gram vinyl set on August 3. This will mark the first time the album will be available on vinyl. The collection will include six previously unreleased bonus tracks.

Meanwhile, as previously reported, Wembley or Bust, the 2017 concert film documenting a show that Electric Light Orchestra's current incarnation, Jeff Lynne's ELO, played in London, will get its U.S. television premiere on Showtime this Friday, July 27, at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

The band will kick off a North American tour on August 2 in Oakland, California.

Here's the full track list of The U.K. Singles Volume One box set:

Disc 1: "10538 Overture" b/w "First Movement (Jumping Biz)" (1972, U.K. #9)

Disc 2: "Roll over Beethoven" b/w "Queen of the Hours" (1973, U.K. #6)

Disc 3: "Showdown" b/w "In Old England Town" (Instrumental) (1973, U.K. #12)

Disc 4: "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" b/w "Oh No Not Susan" (1974, U.K. #22)

Disc 5: "Can't Get It Out of My Head" b/w "Illusions in G Major" (1974)

Disc 6: "Evil Woman" b/w "10538 Overture (live)" (1974, U.K. #10)

Disc 7: "Nightrider" b/w "Daybreaker (live)"(1976)

Disc 8: "Strange Magic" b/w "Showdown (live)" (1976, U.K. #38)

Disc 9: "Livin' Thing" b/w "Fire On High" (1976, U.K. #4)

Disc 10: "Rockaria!" b/w "Poker" (1976, U.K. #9)

Disc 11: "Telephone Line" b/w "Poor Boy (The Greenwood)/ King of the Universe" (1977, U.K. #8)

Disc 12: "Turn to Stone" b/w "Mister Kingdom" (1977, U.K. #18)

Disc 13: "Mr. Blue Sky" b/w "One Summer Dream" (1978, U.K. #6)

Disc 14: "Wild West Hero" b/w "Eldorado" (1978, U.K. #6)

Disc 15: "Sweet Talkin' Woman" b/w "Bluebird Is Dead" (1978, U.K. #6)

Disc 16: The ELO EP: "Can't Get It Out of My Head"/"Strange Magic" b/w "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle"/"Evil Woman" (1978, U.K. #34)

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Novelist Choi In-hun died of colorectal cancer at the age of 84 on Monday. Choi described literary writing as a "thought experiment" and probed the ideological conflicts and angst of intellectuals in modern Korea through his works.

His best-known novel, "The Square" published in 1960, was a critical examination of the division of the two Koreas, told from the perspective of an intellectual who attempts to reconcile the Cold War ideological conflicts that divide the Korean Peninsula.

The book is considered a "must-read" modern literary work. It tells the story of a young South Korean man who defects to the North immediately after the division of the peninsula, but becomes a prisoner of war while fighting for the North during the Korean War. After the armistice, the protagonist grows disgusted with both sides and decides to leave for a third country, India, only to commit suicide by throwing himself into the ocean on the way.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism will posthumously award Choi the Geumgwan medal, the nation's highest order of cultural merit.
A senior U.S. State Department official will visit Seoul soon to get a better grasp of inter-Korean economic cooperation.

Mark Lambert, a special representative for North Korean policy, is expected to meet executives of South Korean businesses that have been involved in cross-border projects.

They will include firms that had workshops in the joint Kaesong Industrial Complex, Hyundai Asan, which used to run package tours to Mt. Kumgang in North Korea, as well as KORAIL and KT.

"Lambert will listen to executives of South Korean companies about their involvement in cross-border economic projects and determine whether they violate sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council and the U.S.," a diplomatic source said.
Samsung will unveil the Galaxy Note 9 in New York on Aug. 9. Apple the new iPhone in September.

Sales of both Samsung's flagship phone released earlier this year and the iPhone X that hit stores last year fell short of expectations, and it is unclear how the new models can buck the trend.

But the photos show mainly how similar phones have become in a saturated market, the bezels perhaps a little thinner but otherwise much the same as the last editions.

Samsung and Apple have started their regular campaign of strategically "leaking" photos of the new Galaxy Note and iPhone to bloggers and IT websites to generate hype.

 Tinkering with Accessories

U.S. blogger Evan Blass last week tweeted nine photos of the new Galaxy Note 9, evidently taken for advertising use and featuring a fluorescent yellow stylus. Samsung is placing its hopes on tinkering with the S Pen since otherwise very little remains to be done that can help a smartphone stand out.

IT bloggers believe the S Pen features music replay and photographic functions, and there seems to be a fingerprint scanner under the camera, a change from next to it in its predecessor.

The Galaxy Note 9's screen is going to be biggest in the series so far, but that is about all in the way of thrills.

Apple blogger Ben Geskin, meanwhile, has tweeted a photo of the new iPhone. There would be three versions with 5.8-inch, 6.1-inch and 6.5-inch screens, and boffins believe Apple will use OLED screens on the 5.8 and 6.5-inch versions and LCD on the 6.1-inch model. The new models will feature an M-shaped display like the iPhone X last year.

 Scraping the Barrel

New colors provide another frail lifeline in the battle against sameness. A German IT website says the Galaxy Note 9 will come in lavender and brown as well as standard hues, and a Dutch IT website says lilac will be added to the color options.

Apple is expected to offer the usual black, white and gold color for the 6.5-inch iPhone, while the 6.1-inch version will be available in more funky colors like red, blue and orange.

The website 9to5mac.com reports that Apple plans to offer at least four new colors for the new iPhone.
It takes longer for young people to find their first job after graduating from high schools or universities this year.

According to Statistics Korea, it took an average of 10.7 months for young people between 15 and 29 to find their first job since they left school this year. This is the longest since the survey began in 2007 and 1.2 months longer than it took in 2010.

It took longer for those with a lower educational background to find their first job. While university graduates searched for an average of 7.7 months, those with only a high-school diploma took 16 months.

Many more university students are taking leave of absence and delaying graduation to buy more time to find a decent job. Out of 2.93 million graduates of vocational colleges and universities, 1.3 million or 44.4 percent had taken a leave, 1.3 percentage points higher than last year's figure and the same as the record set in 2016.

Overall it took four years and 2.7 months for university students to graduate, the longest ever. But after all that effort they worked for an average of just one year and 5.9 months in their first job.


Cheong Wa Dae said Monday that it was aware of suspected shipments of North Korean coal arriving in a South Korean port as early as October 2017 and that the Korea Customs Service had been investigating the matter. But the presidential office said it has yet to arrive at a clear decision on the issue.

The Panamanian freighter Sky Angel and Sierra Leone-registered Rich Glory arrived at Incheon and Pohang ports in October carrying about 9,000 tons of coal from the Russian port of Kholmsk that was disguised as Russian product. That is enough evidence to raise red flags. A panel of experts at the UN Security Council ruled that the shipments could violate sanctions, but Cheong Wa Dae is still "investigating" the matter. It not only failed to seize the suspicious vessels but according to records allowed them to enter South Korean ports another 32 times.

If international cooperation breaks down in enforcing sanctions against North Korea, a resolution to the nuclear crisis becomes impossible. The South Korean government should spearhead efforts to pinpoint potential weaknesses in international sanctions instead of ignoring evidence that included satellite photos proving the violations. The Moon Jae-in administration would have acted much faster if this was a matter involving violations by the conservative camp or business community at home in the name of eradicating what it calls "a deep-rooted evil." But when it comes to North Korea's perceived sensitivities it drags its heels.

Meanwhile Russian President Vladimir Putin has extended the work visas of North Korean slave laborers until December 2019 even though that is banned under a UNSC resolution from September last year. There have also been fresh revelations that the number of traders operating along the China-North Korea border rose from 1,000 when sanctions kicked in to around 5,000 recently. What is Seoul doing to stop these violations? Instead, the foreign minister "asked for exemptions within the framework of sanctions to continue dialogue and cooperation with the North." Russia and China make strange bedfellows for this government.

If sanctions break down, North Korea will never give up its nuclear weapons. The president needs to take a firm stand so that the North will not be tempted to keep its nuclear weapons, and he should be the first to demand that China and Russia abide by UN regulations.


KPS Capital Partners to Sell Expera Specialty Solutions to Ahlstrom-Munksjo for $615 Million July 24, 2018 (Press Release) - KPS Capital Partners, LP ("KPS") announced [on July 23] that it has signed a definitive agreement, through an affiliate, to sell Expera Specialty Solutions, LLC ("Expera" or the "Company") to Ahlstrom-Munksjo Oyj ("Ahlstrom-Munksjo"), of Finland, a global leader in fiber-based materials, for $615 million. Expera is a leading North American manufacturer of specialty paper products for the industrial & technical, food and pressure-sensitive release liner segments. Headquartered in Wisconsin, Expera employs approximately 1,800 people. KPS created Expera in June 2013 by completing two discrete and highly synergistic acquisitions: the technical and specialty paper businesses of Wausau Paper Corp. and Packaging Dynamics Corporation, respectively. Raquel Palmer, a Partner of KPS, said, "The success of our investment in Expera demonstrates KPS' ability to see value where others do not, to buy right and to make businesses better. KPS, in partnership with management, created one of the largest specialty paper companies in the world by successfully integrating the acquisition of two distinct businesses, achieving meaningful post-merger synergies, investing in new manufacturing capabilities, funding innovation, new product development and technology, and implementing a culture of continuous improvement. Expera is another example of KPS' investment strategy achieving success across economic cycles, geographies and industries, and we take immense pride in the Company's accomplishments." Ms. Palmer added, "We congratulate and thank Expera's management team. Under KPS' ownership, Expera has more than doubled the profitability of the assets the Company acquired through manufacturing excellence, operational improvements, increased productivity and profitable growth. We are proud that during our ownership, Expera invested a significant amount of capital in a new manufacturing facility and a state-of-the-art silicone coater to support its unique and proprietary aerospace products." Russ Wanke, Chief Executive Officer of Expera, added, "KPS was the only investor with the vision to recognize that two challenged businesses could have a stronger future together, creating one of the leading specialty paper businesses in North America. Working in partnership with KPS, we invested significantly in our people and operations, focusing on employee engagement, manufacturing excellence and providing best-in-class product quality and support to our customers. We are grateful to KPS for providing our team with the expertise, capital and resources needed to grow our business and to further our culture of continuous improvement. As part of Ahlstrom-Munksjo, Expera will remain committed to our core strategic imperatives and we look forward to a great future. We thank our customers, suppliers and employees for their contributions to our success." KPS thanks the United Steelworkers of America for its support in the creation and ultimate success of Expera. Completion of the transaction, which is expected in the second half of 2018, is subject to customary closing conditions and approvals. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison LLP served as legal counsel and Deutsche Bank and Barclays served as financial advisors to KPS and Expera with respect to the transaction. SOURCE: KPS Capital Partners, LP EDITOR'S NOTE: Both Ahlstrom-Munksjo and Expera Specialty Solutions have published press releases regarding the acquisition on their respective websites: Expera Specialty Solutions is a leading North American manufacturer of specialty paper products for use in the tape, pressure-sensitive release liner, industrial and food packaging segments. To learn more, please visit: www.expera.com . Ahlstrom-Munksjo is a global leader in fiber-based materials, supplying innovative and sustainable solutions to customers worldwide. The company's offerings include decor paper, filter media, release liners, abrasive backings, nonwovens, electrotechnical paper, glass fiber materials, food packaging and labeling, tape, medical fiber materials and solutions for diagnostics. To learn more, please visit: www.ahlstrom-munksjo.com .
As a teenager, Karl Lagerfeld left Hamburg, Germany for Paris and never looked back. Last year, for the first time in decades, the designer returned to his hometown to present Chanel's pre-fall Metiers d'art collection inspired by the port city. Playful handbags fashioned into iconic cultural symbols from the region were sprinkled throughout the lineup of merchant fleet caps, sailor pants, and nautical cable-knit sweaters. Among them was a wool crossbody bag shaped like an accordion, the German instrument commonly played on the streets and docks of Hamburg.

Chanel Accordion Handbag, $6700; Select Chanel boutiques

Photos Courtesy of Chanel
Tencent's Pony Ma launches guidebook for Bay Area future

From:ChinaDaily | 2018-07-24 11:25

One of the country's internet titans launched his Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area how-to book over the weekend, based partly on his own experience in the early years of a booming Shenzhen.

Tencent Chief Executive Pony Ma Huateng's book Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area: Digital revolution Opens Chinese Bay Era made its debut in Shenzhen on Sunday. The book analyses the experiences and trends of other bay areas in the world, proposes a development path for the Pearl River Bay Area and draws an outline of its future.

As the principal author, Ma looks back to his experience in Shenzhen over the three decades since his family moved to the city in 1984. He said in the preface that his confidence in the Bay Area comes from his affection for the area and opportunity to build it into an entirely digitized zone in terms of economy, government administration and culture.

The entrepreneur and his creation, Tencent, have been active promoters of a digital Bay Area and even a digital China. During the 13th National People's Congress in March, he brought eight suggestions to the top legislature, mostly concerning digital solutions in different industries.

Last year, Tencent tried linking residents' identity cards to its messaging app WeChat in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong, teaming up with the local government in order to build a digital information center. They plan to expand the program across the border to Hong Kong and Macao so Bay Area residents can pass check points more easily.

More concrete plans could be found in the book, which is co-written by dozens of scholars, economists and entrepreneurs.
It's not easy to see the positive in any kind of conflict, much less something as devastating as war. But for designer Elena Velez, there are points to pick apart: The possibilities in rebuilding post-destruction, for one.

Her latest collection, _and carry on, is a reflection of the in-between, with garments deconstructed and disconnected, somehow looking both delicate and incredibly sturdy  like half of a short, wide-armed trench, or a loose, skewed-to-the-side corset with metal bits jutting out at random. These pieces look only partly put together by traditional standards, but whether they seem closer to completion or total disintegration is subjective to the viewer.

Velez, has been designing since childhood, is a recent Parsons grad, having studied both in Paris and New York. The Puerto Rican designer is based in the latter now, but takes trips back to Milwaukee, where she grew up, on a regular basis.

When PAPER caught up with Velez to learn more about this new collection, she also excitedly told us about the Wisconsin city's flourishing creative community. Despite travel figuring heavily into her education and career (she's worked and interned in Australia and did a year abroad in Brazil, too) and making solid connections in New York, Velez says it's important for her to keep contributing there. Read our conversation, below, to find out why, and learn more about the inspiration behind _and carry on.

Tell us about the inspiration behind your new collection, _and carry on. How did you come to the 1941 wartime garment industry as a point of inspiration? To provide a bit of context, I'm really fascinated by what I like to call aftermath industries, which are kind of these moments throughout history and subculture where people have been forced to create or to design after some sort of a societal collapse. I think that they're really fascinating to me because there's some really interesting sustainability techniques that I think can be extracted from those moments. I also am really visually inspired by creativity under constraint: mending and making do, DIY, very utilitarian techniques. As I was trying to craft my pieces, I was thinking about how I could really apply all of that interest. My research took me into WWII, and I was looking at apocalypses throughout time, whether they're imagined or real, and it brought me into this wartime moment. I was really fascinated by this duality between destruction and rehabilitation, and I was blown away by some of the visual imagery of war-torn architecture, crumbling infrastructure and industrial debris, and bomb sites. But I was also really in love with this idea of people finding other ways to create and to make under all of this pressure. That's when I discovered this CC41, which is Controlled Commodity fashion  a rations scheme that was introduced by the British government in response to labor and garment shortages during the war. I wanted to really find a way to speak to this duality between man's ability to create and destroy.

How did the metal factor into the concept? There's great accessories in the mix, but when used in the garments, it seems to contribute to the deconstructed, disconnected feel many of them have. Metal to me was this thing that brought those two worlds together of creation and destruction. I'm seeing these torn metal, bent metal architectures, then I'm also thinking about how metal was being removed from garments and reallocated to the warfront. People were not using hardware anymore; they were reallocating buttons, and all the metal that was typically in garments and furniture, all of it was going toward the warfront. As I was starting to experiment, I was looking at all of these different ways that I could create a collection that was visually inspired by this catastrophe and warfare but was really structurally considered using some of those techniques. So the collection is visually inspired by collapsed architecture, things being dismantled and falling apart, but the way that I chose to make the collection is referential to that industrial renovation that was taking place. Another component that was really important to me waste in my hometown. I'm from the Midwest; I'm from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. At the time [of WWII], it was really well known for being the "machine shop to the world." They provided a lot of steel and metal to the warfront. I got to collaborate with some local, hometown artisans to revisit that craft, and we welded and bent all of these steel features that I got to sew with later. That was a lot of fun.

I was wondering about where you sourced some of that metal and other textiles. I know you took an intentionally sustainable approach in creating this line. Totally. All of the materials are authentic to the WWII time period, so a lot of the materials are from 1933 to 1945. And those were gotten from dealerships online, salvos, and old war shops, and I kind of cut them apart. I found parachutes, repurposed canvas bags. So there is that element of authenticity in the collection, and all of the materials involved are also specific to the regulations of the time. They only worked with specific materials and textiles, so I tried to not only adhere to the fabrication, but also the techniques that they would have used ,including cutting. They had all of these different rules on how long skirts could be, stuff like that, so it's all kind of referential to that time period. And the metal is scrap steel from Milwaukee, so there is that kind of authentic moment happening there too, which is something I was really intrigued by.

I'm also really interested in Machine Shop, the short film that features the line. I know you created that in collaboration with a lot of Milwaukee artists. Can you tell us about the idea behind that? I really wanted to make a fashion film at first, and I was going to go home over break and just make this fashion film. But then I started to compile a casting list and a call sheet and I was realizing how many amazing multidisciplinary artists that I had in my own community in Milwaukee, and then I was like, you know what? I want to turn this less into a fashion film and more into a film that is inspired a bit more by the inspiration of the collection, but isn't strictly fashion. So the film is divided into all these vignettes that have to do with architecture and warfare and femininity, and they're all kind of placed in iconic places around [the city]. Milwaukee is very industrial and blue collar, and I got to find all of these warehouse spaces and cold storage units, and places that would have been contributing something around the time of [WWII]. It was this amazing opportunity to get to collaborate with people from my community and get to create something cool that had to do with the collection, but wasn't specifically tied to the collection. I wanted to find a way that we could all contribute something unique to it, so we had choreographers, spoken word artists, the whole deal. It was a lot of fun.

What's the creative community in Milwaukee like? Milwaukee is incredible, and nobody knows. It's this tiny, little underground space right now, and there's such an amazing culture of artists and musicians, and everyone's just so excited and willing to collaborate and contribute to a project just for the love of it. I don't think that I ever could have completed a project like that in New York. There's just a community that is so engaged and involved and supporting each other's work, and it's just a really welcoming space. Milwaukee doesn't really have a very thriving fashion community, obviously, but people are really doing what they can to make stuff that they love for them, by them. It's really this really amazing space; there's something really interesting going on there right now.
Activist Rama Issa came across our radar when she delivered an impassioned, eloquent speech at the 'Keep Families Together' March alongside Amy Schumer, Padma Lakshmi, and Kerry Washington earlier this month. She is the executive director of the Arab American Association, and has previously worked with refugee youth in Beirut and with the Mayor's Fund to Advance NYC.

As part of a project that interrogated what American pride means in the Trump era, she told us what the 4th of July means to her. Recently, she also sat down with us to talk about how she got involved with activism, how ICE infringes on the civil liberties of communities of color, and how racism exists even in liberal circles. Read the full conversation below:



How did you get started as an activist? I grew up in Brazil. Ever since I was a kid, I was exposed to income disparity and realized I came from privilege and I didn't understand why in many ways. When we moved to the States, I was 15 years old. We moved post-9/11, in 2002. We knew why we were here, why we came, and why we were leaving Brazil behind and before that Syria. For me, post-9/11, I felt extremely under attack. I went to college at the University of Florida at the height of the Iraq war, so a lot of my activism was anti-war. I did a lot of immigration justice and anti-war work. I worked with workers rights and that kind of got me started. Then I went to the Middle East for a year, where I worked with refugee children in Beirut and refugee camps there. I came back to the States and moved to New York, and it was a seamless transition for me to go into the nonprofit world and do the work on the ground and work with youth. It's not just activism, it really is a career of service that I have chosen at a very early age. I knew I was going to do everything in my power to uplift the voices of the most marginalized people in my community.

I didn't realize that ICE was created post-9/11 until recently. I'm curious if you think the immigration issues that are happening right now are tied to the xenophobia and Islamophobia that was rampant in the U.S. then and that continues now? [ICE was created] alongside policies like the Patriot Act as a way to instate fear in the minds of everyday Americans that we needed a law enforcement that specifically targeted folks of color. It really is a way of dehumanizing people of color  brown and black folk. Using ICE as a way to terrorize these communities in order to deter them from coming to this country is something that is very new to this administration, but the fact that ICE has existed for 15 years, it's something that is part of the way this nation has implemented policies that are very white-centric. During the Obama administration, white liberals would say "Oh, we're post-race!" But now they're seeing that this country has always had racist undertones and some people just thought they could forget about it for a few years. Yeah, there are racist undertones even in liberal circles. You can even think of Bill Maher who loves to talk about Muslims and Islam being the bedrock of all bad ideas. He says that over and over again and just because he's a liberal doesn't mean he's not an Islamophobe. Like you said, the undertones of white supremacy have always been there, and the fact that we have always used national security as an excuse to crack down on vulnerable folks and people of color, and mask it with national security, dates back to the inception of this nation. We don't even have to go that far back, we can talk about the Chinese Exclusion Act, we can talk about Japanese internment camps. It's history repeating itself, none of this is actually new. We are living in an era where social media and the interconnectedness across the globe is so large that people are waking up to this.

It's easy to be complacent and not pay attention until there is a huge crisis. Absolutely, I think that it's a post 9/11 world too, where you can say easily, "Well this is for national security. We're protecting Americans, therefore we need to curb civil rights, the rights of immigrants or those who are seeking asylum, we need to create this law enforcement apparatus thats sole job is to round up people and criminalize them." The systems have been there and I think that what Trump has shown us, if anything, is that these systems have already existed. Now he's just taking more advantage of it and taking it to the next level, but he didn't create those systems. They have been around for many decades. What I heard a lot post 9/11, from my white peers, "Oh why is this a concern? If you're not doing anything wrong, then you have nothing to worry about." But those are the people who have the privilege of not being persecuted for doing nothing. Yeah, it's this idea where you're like, "So for national security, you're willing to give up your civil rights?" How does this really work?



The only people willing to give up their civil rights are those whose lives aren't politicized and the people whose lives are in line with the ideas of the government. Absolutely, if you come from privilege, this is easy for you, but if you are constantly under attack, you take a step back and you're like "But why? why am i constantly the one being authorized?" Related | 13 Cultural Leaders on What July 4th Means to Them

I saw someone tweet that the government is specifically going after children as a way to cause inter-generational trauma. It's a way of harming not only current migrants but also the next generation. What this administration has been doing is creating trauma that is irreversible  and why? At the end of the day, it's because no one cares about brown children, because if they did care, they would know that separating them from their families creates a sort of trauma that requires years and years of rehabilitation and counseling to be able to come back from. To be pulled away from your family and dropped in a detention center and treated like a caged animal  as a kid you wonder, "why is this happening to me? Why don't I have my family with me?" If you talk to doctors or folks that study brain development, they will tell you that these are crucial years for a child's brain development and if you are pulling them away from their families, you are setting them up for failure and creating a generation that is going to experience large amounts of trauma and it's going to take them a really long time to come back from that. It's not something that we do to kids and then all the sudden they forget about it, it's not something that a child is going to forget ever. So for a country that talks about child-welfare or protecting our children, we clearly aren't interested in protecting all children.

Also, when marginalized people have justified rage towards the United States, they are suddenly seen as aggressive and violent. But we never see what caused this rage. Suddenly there's this idea of angry people of color. Always. The context of why they are angry is completely stripped out. Even when the media constantly talks about radicalism and all of that  why are people radicalized? I don't understand the missing piece here. When you invade someone's country and kill someone's family and disrupt their government and their society, what do you expect people to feel?This is the colonizer narrative, like, "Why are you so angry?" "Well, I don't know you just came into my country and took all my resources and killed half of my people. How am I supposed to feel?" This is what state violence looks like. When you pull children away from their families and then you expect them to be thankful to the nation that did that, is insane. [People of color] are not angry because they are Brown or Black, we are angry because of the way that the state has violated our rights and broken up our families and communities. Related | Over 100 Politicians Want ICE Abolished



White people say all the time "Why is everything political?" and I'm like, "As a person of color your existence is politicized." Your identity is politicized. The greatest example is Linda Sarsour, being a Palestinian American. She is constantly being politicized because she's Palestinian. Well, she's Palestinian, that's just her ethnicity and who she is. You cannot politicize someone's ethnicity, someone's culture, someone's tradition and that's what I think white people don't understand  because their ethnicity is not politicized, they're seen as the "normal."

Can you tell me about the march you spoke at and what the experience was like for you? That whole week was a heavy week for all immigrants. I speak for myself, as someone who is Syrian and is directly impacted by the Muslim ban. As a representative of a community running the Arab American Association of New York, I represent a community of Yemeni people, Syrian people, and other impacted folks. For me, it's not just what I am experiencing, but what my community is going through. Seeing the sense of anxiety and fear heightened and the feelings isolation and not belonging. Then having to deal with all of that while knowing that all of this is tied to keeping our family separated because that's the essence of the Muslim ban, to make sure that we're not able to reunite our families living overseas with us living here. And then seeing what this administration is doing on the border, exactly the same thing, denying the humanity of people who are crossing the border saying, "We're here because we seek asylum and made this incredibly dangerous trip because this is our last resort. And this is how bad it's gotten for us to have to do this and for us to be 'welcomed' into this country by having ICE snatch the children out of your hands and put you in detention centers and put children in cages." It's cruel and inhumane and immoral. Having to reflect on all of this just made me really sick.

But at the same time, standing up with folks from my community and with people from different immigrant communities and with allies into this bigger movement, where we are coming together and telling the administration that enough is enough. We did not sign up for this. This is not what we want America to be. This is not what we want our nation to be seen as. This is not how we treat humans. There is that sense of solidarity and something so beautiful about being in a space with all of these people and feeling like you're not alone.

I believe that our fight is going to be on the streets and is going to continue on the streets. We are going to have to come out and support each other and love each other. That's the only way we can overcome this and push our elected officials to do something about this. Before this whole movement, you were not hearing folks say "Abolish ICE!" We have created this momentum on the streets, through actions, through civil disobedience.

Photo courtesy Rama Issa
You may not be familiar with Wallace Shawn's rarely produced 1978 play Marie & Bruce, and that's okay. But Shawn, the prolific playwright and actor perhaps best known to lay people for his roles in Clueless, My Dinner With Andre, and The Princess Bride, has an ardent fan in actress and musician Theda Hammel who is currently starring in the (*very Beanie Feldstein voice*) titular role (Marie) at JACK in Clinton Hill through July 28.

The piece, produced by comedian John Early and directed by Knud Adams, is an atmospheric exploration of the extreme emotional corners a couple finds themselves in during a steamy summer evening, with a scatalogical monologue or two to boot. Hammel, whom you may know from her popular stint hosting as Hamm Samwich (alongside Early) at Ars Nova's much beloved Showgasm or Hamm Radio karaoke in Williamsburg, is trans, and thus Marie has been recontextualized to be trans as well. In this particular moment when the debate surrounding cis actors playing trans parts makes headlines, this production of Marie and Bruce is a rather timely antidote to that notion.

PAPER spoke with Hammel about playing Marie, the not-so-two-way street in cis/trans casting (for now), her interest in "trans boredom," and collaborating again with Early.

What was your first introduction to the play? Wallace Shawn is a very brilliant but very underrepresented playwright, and doesn't get performed as much as he should. I was lucky enough to have a theatre director in high school give me one of his plays, not this one. I became fascinated by that and went to the library and checked out Marie and Bruce. It begins with this amazing torrent of vulgarity. Right away a flood of profanity and being quite engrossed and fascinated by it. It had a cool shape to it.



Is it adapted at all? I know Wallace Shawn is involved, but is it the same script? When there is an official, proper revival of one of his plays he always revises the text. So he has a very kind of non-precious view of his own work. We are using a base version of the original 1978 script because that's the one that I fell in love with. And there are some things in the newer version that are really interesting, but it wasn't the exact same play.

It still feels very '70s? How does it work for now? I totally agree. We're all kind of time bound. It's governed by the circumstances we're in. They are a youngish married couple, supposed to be in their thirties who go to this party. In a way the dialogue of the party can't help but be inflected by the diction of the '70s. Our production is not set in the '70s. That's kind of boring and because we really wanted to situate it in a world where it seems plausible that a cis man could date or even marry a trans woman and take her to a party without it being a huge upheaval.

"We really wanted to situate it in a world where it seems plausible that a cis man could date or even marry a trans woman and take her to a party without it being a huge upheaval."

So Marie is trans in this? Yes. Or does it really matter? I guess there are different ways to do it. If I was less visibly trans, if I was a more passing trans woman, we could maybe just do an interpretation where we didn't think about it at all, where it's just implied or assumed that I'm a cis woman, a cis actress, a cis wife. There's another interpretation where it can be kind of trans blind, "gender blind"  which I very much don't want to do that. [Laughs] So what I want to represent is trans heterosexuality where one party is trans, but it's like a heterosexual pairing. It's not a queer pairing in my opinion. And then the way that things play out, I'm not like eating estrogen on stage, and like tape tucking myself while sobbing into a mirror. I'm just on stage looking trans. And then all of the work of building out our interpretation and working in rehearsal and getting these subtle kind of things, we really try to incorporate and foreground the fact of Marie's transness for our own benefit. There is no explicit mention of it or allusion to it. She just kind of sits on a couch at this party and feels really alienated, which I think can be a very trans experience. And so hopefully it's self-evident.

Very recently there was the backlash against Scarlett Johansson, a cis actress being cast in a trans role. You're taking on a role that heretofore was cis and are recontextualizing it. The street doesn't go both ways. The actors who are famous who are cis, and the institution that keeps them employed "Hollywood"  because they have their foot in the water of the contemporary pop-culture zeitgeist and realize that trans people are very much in the news, it falls into the category of "good, right thinking" and liberal thinking. I'm Jared Leto and I'm going to do a "sensitive" portrayal of whatever. The truth is though that their eye and their hearts always land on stories about trans experience that are completely sentimental and kind of pitiful. Hollywood loves a sad trans story, like the end of The Danish Girl, Eddie Redmayne out in the sunlight having a botched GRS says "I'm finally a woman!" then dies. The point is these stories are conceived, framed and performed all through the cis vantage. And that has the effect of highlighting trans stories that I don't find relatable to my own life or to the lives of trans people I know or find interesting in any regard. What is much more interesting to me is what I would call "trans boredom." At a certain point trans people, though transness governs a lot of our lives, stop being so excited at the fact of being trans  like the clothes and the wardrobe... all of these things that a Hollywood actor cannot resist. They get almost aroused by all of these wardrobe changes, whereas for trans people it's just moving through life, centered in their own experience. Yes they have ups and downs and emotional extremes, but those extremes might be much more similar to those of a cis person. Instead of waiting for a brilliant trans part to come along, I want access to the same depiction of universal human experience that cis people get. I think that this play says something very essential about womanhood and relationships and about estrangement that I would like a crack at it. I'm ignoring all of the implications and we'll see how it reads. But I don't see anything about Marie that prohibits me as a trans person from performing it. There may be other variables like... maybe I'm not a very good actress! But it's not my transness.

"Hollywood loves a sad trans story [...] these stories are conceived, framed and performed all through the cis vantage."

Is that paradigm of cis actors playing trans roles something you're hoping to change? Do you think it will change ever? I think there are two approaches: One is a very rapidly implemented approach, which is just arbitrarily put trans people in cis parts and then just proceed. Do not think about it. And that way we'll just give trans actors a chance to act something other than Law & Order: SVU prostitutes, and people who are being killed. The second approach, which is a little more intense, is for trans people to have authorship. And that is happening more frequently as trans people take the reins over their own representation. I think that Pose is a breakthrough revolutionary show in that respect. Trans voices are behind the screen and driving the whole vehicle. Related | Janet Mock on Why FX's 'Pose' Is 'Deeply Revolutionary'

Marie reminds me of everyone in New York once it gets above 90 degrees would you agree? Just kind of unhinged. This is something that I brought up early in the process. I said we need to place it in the summer because in the winter everyone forgets how hot it gets. Complete amnesia. In that way her having to share space, intimate space in a very hot summer with her husband and partake in all of his bodily functions, like there is this cloacal motif in the play that's hard to miss. Urine and feces, and the smell of urine. She calls him a turd and there is a giant monologue about shitting.

Obviously this is something you wanted to do for a while but it is a kind of obscure piece. Was it something you had trouble convincing others to get on board? I didn't have to try to convince John to do it, and then we didn't really have to convince Knud, our director who has worked with Wallace Shawn before and directs contemporary, new plays. My expectations for this play are just that the people who see it find it enjoyable. The description of the play is Marie is going to leave her husband, then go to a party, and she doesn't leave him. There is no way to do a fun synopsis, so we're just taking a lot of sexy pictures.

You recently interviewed Wallace Shawn for Dazed. How was that? It was really crazy. I just love listening to him talk. He had given us the go ahead for this interpretation and then he came to the dress rehearsal. I had a complete mental breakdown. I was like, "How can I do this? He'll be five feet away." But then the breakdown dissolved, and now I'm very, very excited. I think it's very warm and has a lot of humor to it. Related | Talking 'Pose' with Mother Mj Rodriguez

"Instead of waiting for a brilliant trans part to come along, I want access to the same depiction of universal human experience that cis people get."

You've worked with John before on different things, specifically your iconic run at Ars Nova a while back. What keeps bringing you together, and for something like this? I've never in my relationship with John presented as an actor. I think that John is so amazingly talented and is such a gifted, effortless performer. I know he likes me as a musician and as a talker. He and Kate Berlant had shot this pilot and I was in it slightly, called This Is Heaven. It sadly never aired. I'm just myself at the party and played a little song. He seemed to like my performance in this pilot and then I dug into clay with my thumbs and I spread out this idea that I might act a little bit. I really don't know what compelled him to agree to this, but I'm so glad he did. We met at the Atlantic Theatre in an acting program. Since then we've torn our shirts of the theatre, so returning to it we're doing it a bit cautiously and with a real determination as much as possible to avoid lame pitfalls that contemporary theatre tends to fall into. But that's where we met. I was really obsessed with David Mamet when I was in high school and that's his company. Although I no longer feel that much interest in David Mamet at all, it did lead me on a weird series of events that led me to meet John.

Anything else from you guys upcoming? Nothing on the docket right now. Somewhere along the line I want to do a trans Hamlet because it has my name in it. Hamm-let. That's the schtick. Go straight to trans Hamlet then I can quit theatre. I don't wanna be stuck in the back alleys of theatre for the rest of my life. I want to do this, I want do trans Hamlet, and I want shoot a movie.

Photos Courtesy of Theda Hammel / Poster, Set Design & the Role of Bruce by Gordon Landenberger




The Ugly Destination Of Trump's Iran Policy

07/24/18

By Paul Pillar (source: LobeLog)



The MEK's Maryam Rajavi with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani



President Trump's belligerent, all-caps tweet about Iran this past weekend is hardly a natural response to anything the Iranians have been saying or doing lately. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani did make a speech on Sunday in which he stated, "America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars," while advising Trump that "to play with the lion's tail" would become a source of "regret." So, Rouhani was saying that he wants peace with America and that moving toward war would be a bad idea. Hardly the stuff that ordinarily would provoke a flaming riposte.

To the extent Iranian leaders might be sounding a little testy these days, no one should be surprised. In response to Iran's internationally certified compliance with an agreement in which the country willingly subjected itself to some of the most severe restrictions and intrusive monitoring in the history of nuclear arms control, the Trump administration has reneged on U.S. obligations under the same agreement, sworn hostility toward Iran, waged economic warfare against it, and blatantly attempted to destabilize it.

Trump's now-familiar methods give rise to some possible motivations for his blast on Twitter. The president is, of course, a master of commanding and diverting the attention of the media and the public. This stoking of the fire aimed at Iran helped to steal headlines from a miserable, Russia-centered week that included the embarrassment at Helsinki. The week continued with a release of documents that knock down a scenario that Trump and his partisan defenders have tried to spin about allegedly ignoble motives underlying the investigation into Russia's election interference.

Trump's threat in his tweet of "consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before" brings to mind his earlier threat against North Korea of "fire and fury like the world has never seen." This comparison in turn evokes another of Trump's now-familiar tactics, which he tried to use with the North Korean issue, which is to create a crisis as part of his contention that his predecessors left him a mess and then, after holding a meeting or signing something, claiming that he has achieved a wonderful success. The current tension with Iran, featuring the U.S. reneging on the nuclear agreement, certainly is a creation of the Trump administration. But there any similarity with the North Korean case ends. There is no U.S.-Iranian summit meeting, or even normal, working-level diplomacy, in the offing. The administration is too committed to permanent hostility toward the Islamic Republic of Iran to move in that direction.

A critical difference between the two cases concerns the positions of other states in each region. Neighbors of North Korea have welcomed dialogue and detente with Pyongyang, with South Korea's President Moon Jae-in deserving most of the credit for moving things in that direction. By contrast, the principal regional rivals of Iran-to whom Trump has subcontracted most of his Middle East policy-don't want any detente between Washington and Tehran. For Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, unending U.S.-Iranian hostility sustains their own privileged relationships with the United States, keeps a major regional rival isolated, and diverts attention from their own foibles and vulnerabilities.

The timing of Trump's all-caps blast most likely was related to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's speech the same day, which was a full-throated call to destabilize the Iranian government. The secretary and the president probably hope for some form of regime change in Iran as the one development that somewhere up the line-say, within about two years, before the U.S. election in 2020-they will be able to point to as a foreign policy "accomplishment" in the absence of any other developments for which they can make that claim. Pompeo, at least, is smart enough to realize how implausible is a "better deal" with Iran on its nuclear program, despite the administration rhetoric on that theme. A nothing-but-pressure approach was tried before for years and failed, and now it's even less likely to yield results when its only protagonist is not an international coalition but instead an isolated United States.

In this regard, it is revealing that in his speech this week, Pompeo said almost nothing about nuclear matters-an issue that would have dominated any U.S. speech on Iran a few years ago. There was nothing to say, other than that the issue was resolved, in the best feasible way, by the multilateral agreement that was negotiated under the previous administration and that the Trump administration categorically rejected.

On North Korea, it must be sinking in even with Trump that, despite his rhetoric after the Singapore summit meeting, the North Korean nuclear problem is nowhere near being solved. Solving it would be a genuine foreign-policy accomplishment, but this, too, may be out of reach during what would be a politically meaningful time frame for Trump.

Regime change in Iran is itself an unlikely "accomplishment," notwithstanding the administration's rhetoric and economic warfare intended to bring it about. Wishful thinking prevails. Street demonstrations in Iran that are far smaller than those that fizzled out in the time of the Green Movement several years ago are looked on with hope as harbingers of the regime's imminent collapse. (An interesting duality in Pompeo's appearance was that, although he pointed to protests in Iran as evidence of what he portrayed as a population unhappy with the regime, his response to a protestor who interrupted his own speech-shouting something about the migrant children controversy-was "if there were only so much freedom of expression in Iran.")

Much of the administration's interference and economic warfare makes regime change in Iran less, not more, likely. The sanctions lend credibility to the regime's argument that Iran's economic shortcomings are due more to the United States than to the regime's mismanagement. The sanctions hurt ordinary Iranians far more than privileged members of the regime. Moreover, a U.S. administration that is openly anti-Islamic-as represented by the travel ban, which affects Iranians more than any other nationality-is hardly taken in Iran as a credible source of inspiration.

Even if the regime in Iran were to change significantly in the next couple of years, that leaves the question of the direction of change. The bankruptcy of the administration's thinking on this subject is underscored by the role that the cult-cum-terrorist-group known as the Mujahedin-e Khalq (or MEK)-which was invited to Pompeo's speech-plays in that thinking. The MEK has American blood on its hands, and it lost almost all support it once had in Iran when it became an auxiliary to Saddam Hussein's security apparatus during the Iran-Iraq War. Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, and his lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani, are among those close to the president who have sung the praises of the MEK in exchange for fat speaking fees.

If significant political change were to occur in Tehran in the next couple of years-especially after everything the Trump administration has done, including reneging on the nuclear agreement, to discredit moderates such as Rouhani-that change would most likely be in a hardline direction. One possibility would be the Revolutionary Guard acquiring more extensive powers, even to the point of a military dictatorship.

Change is unlikely to be in a more democratic direction. Indeed, the regional rivals of Iran with sway over the administration's policies do not want more democracy (or any democracy, for that matter) in Iran. Such a development could become a basis for U.S.-Iranian rapprochement that they definitely do not want, and that could lessen their own privileged positions with Washington. An Israeli intelligence officer told a visiting scholar when Iran's Green Movement was active in 2009 that a victory by the movement would be "Israel's worst nightmare" because it would mean less Iranian isolation and, consequently, more Iranian power.

The Saudi regime needs to worry not only about a possible tilt by the United States toward a more democratic Iran but also the example that such a democracy would set for subjects of the Saudi regime's own highly autocratic rule. Herein lies another curiosity in Secretary Pompeo's speech, which made a big deal about Iranian leaders supposedly enriching themselves as a reason to look for regime change in Iran. Wouldn't there be similar political implications for the rake-offs of Saudi oil revenues that sustain the expensive tastes of the royal family?

The best outcome-and it isn't good at all-that one can hope for from the administration's current course on Iran is endless tension, more antagonizing of Iranian citizens who see the United States as hostile to their own interests, and a constant risk of escalation to open warfare. If the remaining parties to the nuclear agreement cannot keep that accord going, and if the Trump administration's threats continue to revive thinking in Iran about the value of a nuclear deterrent, then a new nuclear crisis might be added to the mess.

Armed conflict would, of course, be even worse. Donald Trump probably is not now seeking such a war, but one cannot rule out that someday he would as a way to escape from greater political troubles he encounters concerning the Russia investigation or anything else. The bigger worry in the meantime is Bolton, who has long yearned for such a war and, in his current job, is in a position to increase the chances of one breaking out.





About the author:



Paul R. Pillar is Non-resident Senior Fellow at the Center for Security Studies of Georgetown University and an Associate Fellow of the Geneva Center for Security Policy. He retired in 2005 from a 28-year career in the U.S. intelligence community. His senior positions included National Intelligence Officer for the Near East and South Asia, Deputy Chief of the DCI Counterterrorist Center, and Executive Assistant to the Director of Central Intelligence. He is a Vietnam War veteran and a retired officer in the U.S. Army Reserve. Dr. Pillar's degrees are from Dartmouth College, Oxford University, and Princeton University. His books include Negotiating Peace (1983), Terrorism and U.S. Foreign Policy (2001), Intelligence and U.S. Foreign Policy (2011), and Why America Misunderstands the World (2016).


Iran, Russia step up energy ties amid West's sanctions

07/24/18

Source: Press TV

Russia and Iran have discussed energy cooperation between the two countries and through OPEC as part of their efforts to blunt the impact of Western sanctions. According to Russia's Energy Ministry, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh and Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak met in Moscow and discussed the possibility of Russian oil companies taking part in projects in Iran.



Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak (R) &

Iran's Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh

Tehran, September 2014

President Vladimir Putin has said Russia is prepared to continue its oil investment in Iran at the level of $50 billion in the face of US plans to reimpose sanctions on the Iranian oil and gas sector on November 4.



A $4 billion deal signed by a major Russian oil company "will be implemented soon" in Iran, Ali Akbar Velayati, a top adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, said this month after visiting Moscow.



Velayati met Putin who reiterated that Russia rejected America's decision to impose sanctions on Iran.



The Iranian official said two other major Russian oil companies, Rosneft and Gazprom, had started talks with Iran's Ministry of Petroleum to sign contracts worth up to $10 billion.



Iran and Russia have yet to implement an oil-for-goods scheme originally signed in 2014 and extended for five more years in April, which calls for Iranian crude exports of up to 500,000 barrels per day in return for Russian goods.



The scheme includes Iran's use of Russian machinery, equipment and installations Iran needs in its strategic petroleum, mining, construction and transportation sectors.



A tentative arrangement calls for swapping around 300,000 barrels per day of Iranian crude oil via the Caspian Sea and the rest from the Persian Gulf.



As many as 12 projects in Iran's petroleum sector have been presented to Russia's Gazprom, Rosneft, Gazprom Neft, Zarubezhneft, Taftneft and Lukoil for development.



Novak has said Russian companies are open to partnership with other foreign entities for work in Iran - something which Iranian officials have been encouraging as a way to guard against sanctions.



In March, India's ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) signed a cooperation agreement similar to the one Zarubezhneft inked with Iran's IDRO Oil a month before to jointly bid for the development of Susangerd oilfield in southwest Iran.



Zarubezhneft has already signed a $742 million deal with Iran's Dana Energy to boost production at Aban and Paydar fields in Ilam province near the Iraqi border.



Iran and Russia have a common reason to seek each other. Russian oil firms are under sanctions from the West over the Ukraine crisis while the specter of unilateral US sanctions has been driving international firms away from Iran.



Nevertheless, the two sides have a bumpy road ahead because they are natural rivals. Iran and Russia are interchangeably own the world's biggest gas reserves beside being major oil producers.



"The fact is that even after the implementation of the JCPOA and at the height of the strategic and political cooperation between Iran and Russia, economic and trade cooperation with the country in order to deepen strategic relations was at the minimal level," Tehran-based Sharq daily wrote.



"This was partly due to the fact that in principle there is no advantage in establishing and strengthening economic and trade relations between Iran and Russia in comparison with Europe and Asia, and partly because the two sides basically do not believe in the establishment and sustainability of such relations."



According to the paper, for Russian companies the priority now is to work with American and European companies.



"Therefore, Iran in principle cannot count on economic and trade cooperation with Russia and Russian companies, and perhaps Iran's work with Russians and Russian companies to reduce the risks of the new round of US sanctions would be much harder and more expensive than with European companies," it added.



However, proponents of closer ties believe that geostrategic conditions have changed for both countries and that a new era of cooperation might be feasible for Russia and Iran despite having a history of mistrust.
The British Government will be investing 20 million pounds to enhance trade relations with the Government of Ghana, UK High Commissioner H.E Iain Walker has disclosed.



H.E Iain Walker, in an exclusive interview with ace broadcaster Abeiku Santana on Tuesday, July 24, 2018 on Okay FM's Drive show "Ekwanso Dwoodwoo", noted that the British government is committed to the Akufo-Addo government's "Ghana Beyond Aid" policy.



He commended President Nana Akufo-Addo for introducing the policy, believing it would help strengthen trade relations between the two countries.



According to him, the British government has already invested 2 million pounds to address Ghana's health challenges and other economic areas.



Speaking to host Abeiku Santana, the UK High Commissioner to Ghana stated there is a mutual relationship between Ghana and the UK.



He was optimistic the government's vision to make Ghana a country with little or no need for aid from developed foreign countries would foster investor relations.



He indicated that, as part of measures to support the vision of the current administration, the UK government is giving Ghana 20 million to invest in the economy.



"We really support the idea of Ghana moving beyond aid. We think that's a great thing and that's the kind of partnership we're aiming to do...It has to be true. Ghana has to move beyond aid", he stated.









Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Ghana Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD) has described as inaccurate and unintendedly misleading, the statement by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) that it has suspended two of its members for tax evasion.



In a press statement, CBOD said the BDCs do not collect petroleum taxes or pay petroleum taxes in the petroleum tax administration process.



It said the press release by the NPA "identifies two of our members, Misyl Energy Co. Ltd and Globex Energy Co. Ltd as tax evasion culprits. This we respectfully believe is inaccurate and unintendedly misleading."



"The BDCs mentioned in the NPA release have not been sanctioned for tax evasion but rather for under-declaring their fuel sales volumes to the NPA. An action which is considered a breach of the NPA Act, 2005, (ACT691) as well as the terms and conditions governing their licenses., Misyl Energy Co. Ltd and Globex Energy Co. Ltd"



"BDCs do not collect petroleum taxes or pay petroleum taxes in the petroleum tax administration process. This function is the sole preserve of Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs). The taxes are to be paid by OMCs after reconciliation with the GRA subject to agreed payment terms," the statement added.



The CBOD added that even though it acknowledges and supports interventions by the NPA and government agencies to address the menace of petroleum tax evasion that continues to bedevil the industry, the reason for their suspension is erroneous.



The NPA on Tuesday announced that it has suspended five Bulk Oil Distributors (BDCs) and three Oil Marketing Companies for engaging in activities leading to loss of tax revenue to the government.



The BDCs, whose one-month suspension began on July 18, 2018 are Union oil Ghana Limited, Agapet Limited, Excel Oil Company Limited, Misyl Energy Company Limited and Globex Energy Company Limited.



The OMCs are, Petro Afrique Company Limited, Life Petroleum Company Limited and Unique Company Limited.



As part of their suspension, they are not to engage in the sale, supply, transportation, discharge and receipt of petroleum products for those periods.

Source: Daily Graphic









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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.
Down jacket maker Bosideng banking on premium tag for success

From:ChinaDaily | 2018-07-24 11:00

Chinese mainland down jacket maker Bosideng Corp said it plans to transform the majority of its stores into higher-end outlets located in central business districts, as it is bullish on the growing revenue potential of the down jacket market in China.

Founded in 1976 in Changshu, Jiangsu province, Hong Kong-listed Bosideng now has more than 3,000 stores across China, accounting for 4 percent of the domestic market share. It produces one-third of the world's down jackets. The company said it plans to renovate 70 percent to 80 percent of its stores within three years.

The company plans to reopen its flagship store in London, which closed last February due to lukewarm sales. Bosideng said the reopening of the store is an important move for its brand strategy, as it looks to further expand into overseas markets.

"We plan to locate our stores in shopping centers in Chinese cities' central business districts, and launch new flagship stores in Beijing and Shanghai. Those stores will come with more fashionable decoration," said Rui Jinsong, senior vice-president of Bosideng.

"We would also like to cooperate with renowned international designers and suppliers, and change the brand image that consumers associate with us," he said.

Last year, Bosideng achieved sales revenue of 8.88 billion yuan ($1.31 million), jumping 30.3 percent year-on-year. During the same period, its net profit reached 616 million yuan, surging 57.1 percent year-on-year, according to its latest earnings report released in March.

Rui said that the popularity of high-end down jacket brands in China, including international brands Moncler and Canada Goose, have helped to expand and inject vitality into the overall market in the country.

"As a market segment with strong seasonal factors and limited consumption regions, some consumers used to think that down jackets are not stylish enough, and they prefer to wear coats instead," he said.

Zhao Ping, director of the research department at the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, said if a brand wants to become globally renowned, it has to offer classic products that are easily identifiable for consumers, in addition to premium quality.

There are over 1,000 brands in China that focus on manufacturing and selling down jackets. This year, the domestic market scale is expected to reach 106.8 billion yuan, according to the data provided by the China National Garment Association.
e.TV Ghana in partnership with Japan Motors has launched the 8th Edition of the annual e. TV Ghana and Japan Motors Corporate Run and Walk.



The Corporate Run and Walk event which is scheduled for September 21 at the Silver Star Tower is aimed at bringing together corporate institutions in Ghana to promote health and networking through team-building and physical activities on Founders Day.



Speaking at the launch which took place on Monday July 23 at the Silver Star Tower, Mr. Ernest Boateng, CEO for Global Media Alliance Group said the 5 km run is to provide a better platform for corporate institutions and their staff to interact and socialize while engaging in healthy activities.



Due to the demanding nature of most jobs, it often gets difficult for people to make time to exercise. The collaboration between e. TV Ghana and Japan Motors is therefore to encourage the culture of keeping fit. This is the 8th year of organizing this event and we at e. TV Ghana will want to entreat all corporate institutions to sign up and be part of this great initiative, Mr. Boateng stated.



He added that 5ghc from each registration will be set aside and later donated to the Ghana Blind Union as a form of support to the union. This is a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative that the two entities have been carrying out for the past 8years.



Also a percentage of the proceeds from the event will be donated to the Ghana Blind Union. This is something that e. TV Ghana and Japan Motors does every year to support the Ghana Blind Union through Corporate Run, Mr. Boateng said.



Mr. Salah Kwaku Kalmoni, Event Director of Corporate Run, explained that the 5 km race will start at 6:00 am from the Silver Star Tower to 37 Station, continuing to the El-Wak traffic light, then left to the Airport roundabout, to the Airport Traffic Lights and finish at the Silver Star Tower. Other activities to be held on the day include an exhibition, an awards ceremony, dancing competition and medical screening.



He continued that registration for single entry is GHS 30 while corporate entry for a group of five is GHS 300.



Registration centres include e.TV Ghana and Happy FM - Asylum Down, Silver Star Tower - Airport City, and YFM - Accra Mall.









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President of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) Kweku Asante Krobea has stated that though not a written policy, it is always advisable for nurses to wear their uniforms only when they are carrying out their duties.



According to him, the uniforms may likely contain agents from the wards that may be passed on to persons who come into contact with the nurses.



In our parlance, we call it the nosocomial infection, the likelihood that they pick these infections from the ward and can take it to the public.



Mr Asante Krobea said even those who sit in a trotro or taxi have the highest rate to transfer infections to members of the public.



That is why it will make a lot of sense to say that you may have to put it off you, when you finish working in the ward.



Some nurses wear ordinary clothes to work while others stick to their official uniforms.



Speaking on TV3, some nurses said they wear ordinary clothes because they think there are infections in the world and would not want to carry it to the hospital.



Others said when they are late they wouldnt want to go home and change before going to work so they prefer wearing the uniform all the time.



But speaking on TV3s Midday Live, Mr Asante Krobea added that when nurses wear their uniform, they are to take away the infections from it.



And so while the nurse goes into her apron, and even her cap as well, she is supposed to take away a considerable amount of infection-causing agents.







Source: 3news.com









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President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has commissioned a motor king assembling plant, in Tamale as part of employment creation.



The commissioning of the plant was part of the governments one district one factory (1D1F) initiative, to help create employment for the youth in the Tamale Metropolis.



The factory, which was constructed by the Motor King Limited (MKL), a Chinese firm, was designated as a 1D1F initiative by the government to help tackle the problem of unemployment in the country.



President Nana Akuffo-Addo said the Motor King Limited would not pay import duties on the raw materials needed for the operations of the company.



The Motor King Limited would enjoy a tax holiday for five years for contributing their quota towards economic growth, he indicated.



The President noted that the firm would also be provided with a Research and Innovation Grant to support their activities in research and promotions.



Mr Alan Kyerematen, the Minister of Trade and Industry, noted that the firm would be given technical experts to take charge of their financial and technical operations.



Dr Gao Nong, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Motor King Limited, said the company would be introducing Motor king mobile library project to enhance teaching and learning in the rural areas.



She stated that management of MKL would support the government to promote quality standards in health care delivery, agricultural productions and education through cost effective transportation in the country and announced that the company would modernise the assembling factory to serve the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions.



According to Dr Nong, MKL was in partnership with Shandon Wuzheng Group, China and Northern Development Authority, to setup agricultural mechanisation centres in the Northern region to introduce modern agriculture technologies and technical training to local farmers.



Mr Wang Shi Ting, the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, said the Chinese government was planning to provide grant to implement the construction of a multi-purpose fishing port complex at James Town in Accra, to boost the fishing industry and to ease the work of local fishermen.



He encouraged the Chinese investors to support governments One District One Factory and One Village One Dam initiatives, to boost the Ghanaian economy.

Source: GNA









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The Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Koku Anyidoho has hinted of the partys opposition to the nomination of Mrs Jean Mensa and Dr Eric Bossman Asare as chairperson and deputy chair of the Electoral Commission (EC).



According to the opposition NDC, the two, Jean Mensa and Eric Bossman Asare have links to the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and that their nomination for consideration for appointment, were part of NPPs moves to influence the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections in their favour.



They described Jean Mensa as a pro-NPP favourite who does not like the NDC.



Speaking in a radio interview in reaction to the announcement of the nomination on Monday, Mr Anyidoho said even though the NDC may not be able to influence the Council of State from approving the nominations, they [NDC] will make sure they engage the public through the media.



Besides that, they will ensure that their [Jean and Bossman Asare's] leadership at the helm of affairs at the Electoral Commission will not be that smooth.



Asked whether Jean Mensa was not competent for the position of chairperson of the EC, Mr Anyidoho responded, I am not talking about competence that one when she starts, we will see.



Rather, he said the problem was with her political coloration and insisted that as for Dr Eric Bossman Asare, he had already publicly declared his links to the NPP and therefore making his nomination biased.



When you have a deputy like Dr Bossman Asare, as for him, his socks is NPP, his underpants is NPP, his singlet, NPP, toothbrush NPP, his hankerchief NPP, his toothpaste NPP, his bedsheet NPP, his bathing sponge, NPP, that even makes matters worse for Jean Mensa too, because Dr Asare doesnt hide his NPP coloration, Mr Anyidoho stated in the radio interview with Accra based Asempa FM.



He maintained that Dr Asare was a professor in his own right, but I am saying the man himself does not hide the fact that he is NPP."



Asked how he got to know about his coloration, Mr Anyidoho insisted Dr Asare admitted in a radio interview, he lectures students and he doesnt hide his NPP coloration from his students. Im not saying it is a crime to be NPP, let's get it right, same as it is not a crime to be NDC, it is not a crime to be NPP, so if Professsor Asare is NPP, wonderful, but Im saying that when you carry that colour in the office as head of the EC, then we begin to question the appointing authority, that Mr President, why have you so politicised the Electoral Commission of the Republic of Ghana?"



Even if Akufo-Addo appoints Gabby Asare Otchere Darko as the EC boss, appoint Asante Bediatuo as the number one deputy, and appoint Ursula Owusu as the number two deputy, the NDC is still going to win the 2020 elections.



It is not because any EC person is going to rig the election for anybody oh!, Why, the way Ghana elections is conducted, even Charlotte Osei when they were calling her names and insulting her and destroying her female persona, was she able to rig the elections for the NDC, assuming she possibly was going to [do that in favour of the NDC]?



He said counting of Ghanas election results is done in the open, results are declared in the open and therefore no EC person can change results.



We are not saying they are bringing anybody to come and rig elections, but all we are saying is that, you have done some kind of appointment that puts a lot of question marks on the people you are putting there."



On Adwoa Esuama Abrefa who is being considered for appointment as a Member of the Commission, Mr Anyidoho said they have little information on her but said with Samuel Tettey, he is coming from the ranks of the commission and rising up and therefore he will not have much to say about him.



Asked about what the NDC was going to do about the nominations, Mr Anyidoho said they cannot influence the Council of State's approval. We can speak to the issues, let Ghanaians open their minds to the issues... Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown, but Im saying hey Jean [Mensa], welcome aboard the political train, you gonna enjoy it.



I hope she enjoys the ride because it's going to be bumpy. It's going to be very, very bumpy, especially when your classmate Koku Anyidoho is concerned, its going to be bumpy especially at IPAC meetings.



Ordinarily, the circumstances under which, she is coming, draped in political colours, at IPAC meetings Im also going to be in my NDC colours, too bad for her. When we meet outside IPAC meetings, we can be friends, but at IPAC meetings Ill be representing the National Democratic Congress and no compromises.



He insisted that after the burial of former Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, we are going to engage and engage frontally, we are going to begin the engagement process and nothing is going to stop us.







Source: Daily Graphic









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The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has directed all its members to boycott registration for the Ghana Card from the National Identification Authority (NIA).



A press release signed by General Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketiah on Monday, 23 July 2018, explained that the Functional Executive Committee (FEC) at its meeting on Thursday, 12 July 2018, took a decision not to participate in the ongoing National Identification Card (Ghana Card) registration exercise until the partys demand that the Voters ID card is included as one of the requirements for registration, is met.



The statement said: The likelihood that the Ghana Card would be used as the major document for the compilation of a new voter register makes it all the more compelling for the inclusion of the current voters ID card as a requirement for the ongoing Ghana Card registration exercise since its coverage is more extensive and its validity more genuine.



Party faithful throughout the country are, therefore, enjoined to boycott the Ghana Card registration exercise until the authorities yield to our demand and include the voters ID card as requirement.



The statement further added that: All party executives at all levels of the party are to ensure that FECs directive spreads like wild fire throughout the country.



Minority legislators have already boycotted the registration claiming the exercise will disenfranchise and de-nationalise several Ghanaians because only birth certificates and passports will be used as identification for registration.



They, therefore, did not participate. Only legislators from the Majority side making themselves available for the registration exercise when the NIA officials went to parliament to have legislators registered for the card.







Source: classfmonline.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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Audio Attachment: Listen to Samuel Ofosu Ampofo in an interview with Kwami Sefa Kayi.

Director of Elections of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Samuel Ofosu Amofo has thrown salvoes at the nomination of the Director of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), Madam Jean Adukwei Mensa as the new Chairperson for the Electoral Commission (EC).



According to him, Madam Jean Mensa is more than likely to act in favour of the ruling NPP.



He said the NDC as a party does not have any issue with her competency or qualification, but rather, her biased nature towards the NPP.



Mr. Ofosu Ampofo said the President's nominee must be someone who is unbiased and not affiliated to any party, unlike this nomination.



Chronicling some events that happened some 3 years ago, he said the NDC were part of the IEAs political party platform but they boycotted due to Jean Mensah's inclination towards the NPP and her posture on certain issues.



It undermines the credibility of the whole Electoral Commission, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo told Kwami Sefa Kayi in an interview on Peace FMs Kokrokoo, Tuesday morning.



He said the President should not have settled on someone who has a big issue with their biggest political opponent, as there are many Ghanaians qualified for the job.



Today, when you google (Jean Mensah), you will see the running battle the NDC has had with the woman . . . you know the NDC pulled out of the IEA presidential debate because of the womans posturing and certain things she said. It got to a time she even insulted Koku Anyidoho and the NDC, he alleged.



Asked about the specifics of the running battle they had with the IEA Boss, Mr. Ofosu Ampofo declined to go into details but gave the assurance that at the appropriate time the party would come out to state those facts.











He raised an instance where prior to the IEA debate in 2016, Madam Jean Mensa dealt with Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, a former Foreign Affairs Minister and Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya West constituency in the Central Regon, instead of contacting party officials.



She sidelined NDC, went and dealt with individuals who cannot take decisions for the party . . . she communicated with Hon. Hanna Tetteh . . . you deal with the party not an individual in the party . . . She doesnt represent NDC when it comes to taking a decision at the highest level of the party whether we are going to attend a presidential debate or not. It is the General Secretary of the party and the National Chairman who represents the NDC when it comes to NDC matters, he told Peace FM.



He said these among other things made the NDC withdraw from the IEA debate.



President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has named the boss of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), Jean Adukwei Mensah, as the new Chairperson of the Electoral Commission.



Her appointment follows the removal from office last month of the former Chairperson of the EC, Mrs Charlotte Osei, and the two deputies, Mr. Amadu Sulley and Mrs. Georgina Opoku Amankwah, by President Akufo-Addo, after the Committee established by the Chief Justice, Justice Sophia Akuffo, to investigate petitions brought against them, recommended their removal.



A statement signed by the Chief of Staff Hon. Frema Opare, also named Mr. Samuel Tettey together with Dr. Eric Asare Bossman, as Deputy Chairpersons and Ms. Adwoa Asuama Abrefa, as a Member of the Commission



The National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Monday criticized the nomination of the Executive Director of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), Jean Adukwei Mensah, as the new Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, describing her as a "known pro-NPP and an avowed anti-NDC person".



General Secretary of the opposition party, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, affectionately called General Mosquito, claims the Nana Addo-led New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, has appointed its own referee to conduct and rig the 2020 presidential and parliamentary polls in their favour.





Source: Alex Ofei-Kwayisi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Progressive Peoples Party (PPP) is unhappy President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo did not consult them before appointing Mrs Jean Adukwei Mensa as chair of the Electoral Commission (EC).



Nana Akufo-Addo named Mrs Mensa, Executive Director of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) as the new Chair of the EC with her deputies being political science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr Eric Asare Bossman and Samuel Tettey, Director of Electoral Services in charge of elections at the EC, pending approval by the Council of State.



The appointments follow the dismissal of EC Chair Charlotte Osei and her two deputies Amadu Sulley and Georgina Opoku Amankwah.



The PPP, in a statement, however, said although the president has no obligation to consult political parties or any group of persons outside the Council of State, it is their considered opinion that consulting broadly with political parties would have enhanced the appointment process and the cohesion of the country.



It would have also helped to deepen our democracy a little bit. The process would have passed the litmus test of transparency, good governance and best practice, the statement said.



The PPP, however, congratulated the new appointees and charged them to be just, fair and firm in the discharge of their duties.



Below is the full statement:



The Progressive people Party congratulates Mrs. Jean Adukwei Mensah, Mr. Samuel Tettey, Dr. Eric Asare Bossman and Ms. Adwoa Asuama Abrefa upon their appointment as the new Electoral Commissioners of the Republic of Ghana. However, we wish to point out with all due respect, that our Party was not consulted before the appointments were made.



Constitutionally, the President has no obligation to consult political parties or any group of person(s) outside the Council of State. However, it is our considered opinion that consulting broadly including political parties would have enhanced the appointment process and the cohesion of this nation. It would have also helped to deepen our democracy a little bit.



The process would have passed the litmus test of transparency, good governance and best practice.

We do not doubt the competence and capability of any of the appointed commissioners and will help in any way possible to succeed. It is our hope that other political parties and other stakeholders will give them their support.



The PPP will like to reiterate its earlier position that anybody who is privileged to be appointed to those sensitive positions must be just, fair and firm in the discharge of their duties. Public service does not only require competence but emotional intelligence, humility, temperate language and most of all the willingness to render account to the people at any given point in time.



Mrs. Jean Adukwei Mensah and her team will have to settle immediately to address teething issues like the amendment and implementation of the political parties law, implementation of ROPAL, cleaning of the bloated register by linking the registration of NIA to creating a voters registration which is devoid of acrimony and finally to restore confidence and trust in the work of the Electoral Commission.



We therefore call upon then Council of State to expedite the appointment process for the Commission to start work.



Murtala Mohammed

PPP (National Secretary)









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong has denied ever describing the House as useless.



The outspoken legislator, however, admitted stating that Parliament was cheap and apologized for his comment when he appeared before Parliaments Privileges Committee on Monday.



I said Parliament had become cheap, I didnt say Parliament is useless. I dont mind retracting that word but I want to state on record that I never said Parliament was useless



I dont have a problem if Parliament feels offended. I apologize. Im not a tin god.

Despite his apology, the Chairman of the Committee, Joe Osei Wusu said the Committee will sit again after interrogating the matter further, since Mr. Agyapong is only admitting just a part of the allegations brought against him.



Mr. Agyapong was dragged before Parliament by Minority Chief Whip Muntaka Mubarak for allegedly making contemptuous comments on Accra-based Net2 TV, a station he owns.



The video of the show on which he made the comments was played at the sitting multiple times after which members of the Committee questioned the legislator.



Despite earlier seeking to challenge the source of the evidence presented to the Privileges Committee by Muntaka Mubarak, Ken Agyapong admitted that he made the comments.



He however stated that the Asawase MP made the claims against him to Parliament with ill-intent.



It is my voice [in the video] but Muntaka must give us the source of the evidenceMuntaka has a bad motive and didnt do a good work for Parliament.

Ken Agyapong however declined to cross-examine Muntaka stating that I have apologized so I dont need to ask [Muntaka] any question. I have apologized to Parliament for using the word cheap



Bid to suspend sitting fails



Before his apology, the Assin Central MP failed in his bid to have the Privileges Committee suspend its inquiry into the matter.



He had written to the Committee urging it to suspend the sitting after he filed a motion to have the Speaker of Parliament rescind the referral of his case to the committee.



But Chairman of the Committee, Joe Osei Owusu, held that the mandate of the committee was to only inquire into the matter and not oversee a trial.





The first sitting in June ended inconclusively after three MPs from the Central Region on the Committee recused themselves over possible bias.



The MPs were Gomoa Central MP, Naana Eyiah Quansah; Agona West MP, Cynthia Morrison and Upper Denkyira West MP, Samuel Nsowah-Djan.



The three have subsequently been replaced on the committee from the Majority.



The replacements are Yaw Buaben Asamoah, Adentan MP; Yaw Maama Afful, Jaman South MP; and Nana Akua Afriyie, Ablekuma North MP.





Why Ayapong was hauled before Parliament



Muntaka Mubarak filed a motion accusing Mr. Agyapong of making contemptuous comments about the House in public.



Muntaka Mubarak, who engaged in a fierce media war with Kennedy Agyapong over the matter, appeared before the committee to give evidence to back his claims.



Following a media tirade from Kennedy Agyapong, Muntaka Mubarak called for the suspension of the Assin Central MP from Parliament.



Kennedy Agyapong had described Muntaka Mubarak as dumb for referring him to Parliaments Privileges Committee over the purported insult.



He reiterated that Kennedy Agyapongs conduct was unfit for someone in the legislature.



The committee subsequently established a prima facie case against Mr. Agyapong, hence his latest appointment with the committee.

video-

Source: citinewsroom.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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The Minority in Parliament have accused the government of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of making moves to influence the 2020 presidential and parliamentary polls in their favour, by appointing individuals with links to the NPP to manage the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana.



President Nana Akufo-Addo, on Monday, 23 July, named Mrs Jean Mensa, Executive Director of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), as the new Chair of the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana.



The newly-appointed deputies are a political science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr Eric Asare Bossman; Ms Adjoa Esuama Abrefa, a corporate legal practitioner with specialisation in land property acquisition, and Samuel Tettey, Director of Electoral services in charge of elections at the Electoral Commission.



Commenting on the development, the Minority Spokesperson on Communications, A.B.A. Fuseini, told Class91.3FM's parliamentary correspondent Ekow Annan that: We have no doubt in our minds that the NPP is in an attempt to pack the Electoral Commission in order to steal the verdict of 2020 because they are so hopelessly uninspiring and many Ghanaians are ready to boot them out.



He said the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) had problems with the IEA (Institute of Economic Affairs) at some point in time and had to boycott the IEA under her patronage, so, we have issues with this, regarding the credentials of Ms Mensa.



Even Bossman, they have made statements to the effect that they are sympathetic to the NPP and there is no doubt about that, he added.



The Member of Parliament (MP) for Sagnarigu constituency further accused the government of hastening to bundle the commissioners out and then go ahead and immediately appoint people of their liking to those positions.







Source: classfmonline.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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Hong Kong jeweler robbery suspects captured in Chinese mainland

From:ChinaDaily | 2018-07-24 00:00

SHENZHEN - Five suspects in connection with a jeweler robbery case in Hong Kong have been captured in South China's Shenzhen city, police said Monday.

A jewelry and watch store was raided in Tsim Sha Tsui district of Hong Kong on the morning of July 1, with 33 luxury watches and six bracelets worth 23 million Hong Kong dollars ($2.9 million) stolen.

In cooperation with their counterparts across the border in Hong Kong, police in Shenzhen caught three suspects, including two men from Hong Kong, in Longgang District on July 17. They also seized 12 watches and HK$1.74 million in cash.

Another two men, who allegedly helped sell the stolen goods, were apprehended later in Luohu and Futian districts. Several other suspects were captured in Hong Kong.

Further investigation is underway.
Former Deputy Minister for Transport, Joyce Bawah Mogtari, has urged the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government to stop the endless propaganda and falsehood, peddled against former President John Dramani Mahama.



She wants government to celebrate the benefit of projects if you wont acknowledge Mahamas vision.



In a Facebook post on Tuesday, 24 July 2018, she outlined some of the projects by Mr Mahama and indicated that the Terminal 3 of the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) is one of the interventions by the former President with enormous benefit.



She pointed out that: As we get ready for its eventual inauguration in October and the facility inaugurated for use, the government of Nana Akufo-Addo has begun, rather sadly, an unfortunate attempt to rundown the project and spread false claims against the initiator of the project, John Mahama.



"One would have expected this government to commend the NDC administration of President Mahama for its vision and foresight, for actualising what would have probably remained a dream for many more years.



But just as they have been doing since assuming office in January 2017, the Nana Akufo-Addo government is rather talking down Mr. Mahamas established legacy again, ahead of the projects inauguration.



Yes, it has become fashionable and it is gradually defining the character of this government not to celebrate the successful completion of projects, the benefits to the people, its enormous impact on job creation and other business opportunities, but rather disseminate false information about the actual cost of the project.



She further condemned government for claiming that the project was overpriced and emphasised that the project went through all the international tender procedures, including value for money justification.



Today, agents of the government, while preparing to celebrate the success of the Terminal 3 project are busy spreading false information that the project cost was high, and could have been done for less. They do this without explaining the various components of the project, and how it was funded, she noted.





Below is the full post:



Ghanaians, not only the traveling public, who have seen photos and videos or gone past the new terminal building at the Kotoka International Airport continue to celebrate the completion of yet another major infrastructural facility.



For a very long time, the business community and particularly travellers were calling for the upgrading of facilities at the countrys international airport. A number of reforms that began saw the gradual upgrade of the existing facilities including new baggage carrousels, customs and immigration booths and e-immigration kiosks and a general upgrade of the existing terminals.



These improvements in line with a national vision promoted by former President John Dramani Mahama and implemented by the Ministry of Transport have ensured an enhancement of the passenger experience of travellers.



The ongoing modernisation effort is what has also culminated today in the completed Terminal 3 building at the Kotoka International Airport. For aviation watchers, this is a major infrastructural addition for a country that has been working to develop the Accra airport into a hub for the sub-region.



As we get ready for its eventual inauguration in October and the facility inaugurated for use, the government of Nana Akufo-Addo has begun, rather sadly, an unfortunate attempt to rundown the project and spread false claims against the initiator of the project, John Mahama.



One would have expected this government to commend the NDC administration of President Mahama for its vision and foresight, for actualising what would have probably remained a dream for many more years.



But just as they have been doing since assuming office in January 2017, the Nana Akufo-Addo government is rather talking down Mr. Mahamas established legacy again, ahead of the projects inauguration.



Yes, it has become fashionable and it is gradually defining the character of this government not to celebrate the successful completion of projects, the benefits to the people, its enormous impact on job creation and other business opportunities, but rather disseminate false information about the actual cost of the project.



Today, agents of the government, while preparing to celebrate the success of the Terminal 3 project are busy spreading false information that the project cost was high, and could have been done for less. They do this without explaining the various components of the project, and how it was funded.



For example, in throwing the figures around, they will never tell you that the new terminal, now referred to by some as the Mahama Terminal, was funded with a syndicated loan facility, secured solely on the books of the Ghana Airport Company Limited, which will be responsible for repaying the facility and not central government.



For a facility that was syndicated by a consortium of financial institutions, off course, a thorough Value for Money audit and due diligence was carried out by all the stakeholders before the Agreement and award of Contract.



As a former Deputy Transport Minister, may I also indicate how Ghanaians have increasingly come to realise the governments refusal to acknowledge the work of the former NDC Administration of John Mahama.



The situation with the Mahama Terminal is no different from the sensitive, life-saving 650-bed University of Ghana Medical Centre project.



Everything cannot be politics as usual in our beloved country.



We recall the initial attempt to appropriate the John Mahama vision that gave birth to this flagship project at the airport as an NPP idea, and it will not be the last time the NPP due to some inexplicable and morbid fear to acknowledge the actual source of a project, attempt to plagiarise a John Mahama project and pass them off as their own.



Now that the propaganda has obviously failed the NPP Government, without any independent experts technical assessment, is alleging that the project was overpriced.



THE FACTS



1. Airports and specialised facilities are not comparable across board like simple commodities (oranges and bananas). The cost of such projects depends on many variables such as scope, materials, size and the standard that one needs.



2. The Terminal 3 project followed ALL the international tender procedures, including value for money justification.



3. The commercial banks and institutional investors such as the African Development Bank (AfDB) undertook exhaustive due diligence before committing to fund the project. These organisations will never assess a project, find them to be overpriced and still go ahead to fund the project. Never!



4. The support and endorsement of financing institutions such as AfDB, AFC, DBSA, Stanchart and Qatar National Bank who agreed to fund the project should indicate to all concerned folks that it is a good project.



My point is that it is a non-starter to attempt to compare project costs without reference to the scopes and bills of quantities, and all the relevant contracts and conditions.



So instead of folding your arms and being a political quantity surveyor why not stop the talk-shop and actually do something to improve the lives of the struggling masses of Ghanaian?



Joyce Bawah Mogtari

Former Deputy Min-Transport









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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Last week, news broke out about the alleged involvement of Mr. Bernard Antwi Boasiako and Lawyer Owusu Afriyie in illegal mining.



Chiefs at Jacobu in the Amansie central district of the Ashanti region, were reported to have left the Minister of Chieftaincy and Traditional Affairs, Kofi Dzamesi and his delegation in shock when they fingered the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the ruling NPP and the acting CEO of Forestry Commission as persons engaging in illegal mining despite the ban.



The angry chiefs were further reported to have said the Chief Executive Officer of Forestry Commission, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie has betrayed his country on his job as the commissioner and went on to state that Sir John and the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Mr. Bernard Antwi Boasiako aka chairman Wontumi have become the bad nuts in the current government, sabotaging the countrys quest for development in its fight against illegal mining."



As it stands, the allegations by the chiefs according to Andy Owusu, an aide to Chairman Wontumi, has dented the reputation of these two fine gentlemen considered in our modern day society as highly influential.



In a statement issued by Mr. Owusu, he stated that I ordinarily and naturally do not meddle in chieftaincy issues as I have the strongest of respect for them. Again, with the President's resolve to end illegal mining (Galamsey), and for it to succeed, my active involvement in crusading against this menace is vital in eradicating galamsey. 



Andy Owusu however proceeded to state that it is so sad to note that some of the chiefs from Jacobu, could stoop so low and allow elements within the opposition NDC to push some of them in making such an unfounded allegations against these personalities. 



What makes it laughable is the fact that despite the rant to discredit Sir John and Wontumi, the chiefs woefully failed to give evidence to back their claims, he added.



Bitter about the development, Andy Owusu indciated that the stance and rant of the chiefs could have been influenced some haters, especially from the camp of the National Democratic Congress; specifically, Brogya Genfi, has had a hand in pushing this agenda.



He hinted that Chairman Wontumi and Sir John were never worried about efforts by those faceless cowards hiding behind these chiefs to damage their reputation.



He therefore advised the chiefs and the NDC not to mock the achievements of President Akufo-Addo since his administration placed a ban on illegal mining.



Andy Owusu noted that Chairman Wontumi and Sir John wont allow such destructions to blind them and would continue to support the president on his initiative to introduce clean mining in Ghana.



He ended by advising the chiefs to be themselves, and speak the truth while resisting any move to allow themselves to be used by others.

Source: Peacefmonline.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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Reality Winner, 26, walks out of the Federal Courthouse in Augusta, Ga., Tuesday, June 26, 2018 after pleading guilty to leaking a classified document allegedly taken while she was working as a NSA contractor at Fort Gordon, Ga. She has been held in custody for nearly 13 months on a charge of violating the federal Espionage Act. Read more

Last week's news that special counsel Robert Mueller had the goods on 12 high-level Russian spies whose job was to hack computers and muck up America's 2016 presidential election was a political bombshell  but also a resounding vindication for a 26-year-old Georgia woman with the wonderfully poetic name of Reality Winner.

In the spring of 2017, with public concern mounting about the extent of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, federal officials still sought to assure people that there'd been no major success in penetrating electronic voting systems. But Winner, a commended Air Force veteran with a top-secret security clearance, then working for a government contractor, had seen evidence that federal officials weren't telling the whole truth.

And so Winner did what Daniel Ellsberg, Mark Felt, and others whose difficult decisions made in real time have long since been vindicated by history had done: She blew the whistle. In sending her evidence to the news media, Winner took down a cover-up of information that the Russians had, in fact, been far more aggressive  and successful  in targeting voting systems. Indeed, one major electronic voting-records vendor, later identified as VR Systems, had been hacked into, and Russians then used that information to target voting officials in the critical swing state of Florida with "spear-phishing" emails aimed at compromising their computer networks.

Several key state officials said no one had warned them about the Russian scheme until the leaked memo from the National Security Agency, or NSA, appeared in The Intercept in June 2017. To them, Winner's leak was a form of public service. And both the validity of the information, and its seriousness, was confirmed last week when the hacking of VR Systems and other underreported Russian efforts to gain access to voter rolls was a centerpiece of Mueller's indictment.

But to say that the vindication of Reality Winner was bittersweet would be a gross understatement.

When the indictments came down, the young Air Force vet still sat in a Lincoln County, Ga., jail cell, awaiting formal sentencing after she decided in June to plead guilty to one count of felony transmission of national defense information, an inevitable outcome in a federal prosecution that was ridiculously stacked against Winner from Day One. Under her plea agreement, Winner will spend 5 years and three months in prison  until late 2022, if time served is included.

Winner's arrest and the aggressive prosecution of her under a federal law  the Espionage Act  intended for spies, not whistle-blowers, came just four months after President Trump and then-FBI director Jim Comey sat in the Oval Office and spoke about jailing journalists and the need to put a leaker's (in Comey's acknowledged words) "head on a pike." They both laughed about that.

Prosecutors then brought them the head of Reality Winner, and the case is no laughing matter. Not when a president has already declared war on the public's right to know what his government is doing and has branded journalists as "enemies of the American people."

Winner, who won an Air Force Commendation Medal for her work in identifying "high-value targets" for American drone strikes, is clearly a woman with a strong notion of right and wrong, who wanted America to do better. For that, she was punished under a law aimed at traitors and forced to surrender 63 months of her freedom, the longest sentence, if it's not commuted, that will ever be served by an American whistle-blower. Her unconscionable punishment shows how a national-security state can devolve into a police state when the issue becomes who owns the truth: the government or the governed.

"Far from a criminal, she should be considered a hero," Trevor Timm, executive director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, which supported Winner during her prosecution, told me. Timm is also a little dumbfounded (and so am I) that Winner's case didn't get more attention, in a time when the Trump-Russia story is often the lead item on cable TV news. Or why she didn't get more support from mainstream news orgs in a time when the White House has all but declared war on journalism.

After all, Trump's expressed passion for jailing journalists and his Justice Department's zeal in prosecuting Winner to the fullest extent of the law may be appalling, but it's also the culmination of a long-standing war on whistle-blowers that's accelerated with the security-state obsessions of post-9/11 America, under presidencies and Congresses run by both parties.

It was a Democrat, Barack Obama, who ran in 2008 with a promise to extend protections to whistle-blowers, only to betray those words as president. Under Obama, eight whistle-blowers were prosecuted, initially, under the Espionage Act, far more than any commander-in-chief who came before him. Most of the persecuted made the same difficult choice as Winner, pleading guilty to lesser charges because of the Kafkaesque nature of the Espionage Act.

America's obsession with valuing its secrecy over doing the right thing led to utter absurdities. Not a single high-ranking government official spent one day behind bars for the unlawful torture of terrorism suspects, arguably the greatest moral stain on our nation during the George W. Bush years, but a CIA analyst who blew the whistle on torture named John Kiriakou was locked up for two years in a federal prison here in Pennsylvania.

So far, history is repeating itself. The nightmare of a foreign power like Russia trying to tip the scales of a weakened American democracy and install Donald Trump in the White House is the political scandal of the century, and yet two years into it, the only person convicted of a felony and sitting in a jail cell is the woman seeking to expose part of the cover-up.

Yet, as Timm noted, the perversions of the American justice system when it comes to government secrecy made it essentially impossible for Winner to defend herself. Under the Espionage Act, defendants aren't able to present evidence about their motive, that a leak of documents was in the public interest and didn't actually harm national security, as seemed true here. A motion by Winner's lawyers to allow testimony from the state election officials who were grateful to learn about the security flaws exposed by the leak was shot down by the federal judge who also refused to grant bail to the Air Force veteran.

Timm noted, incredulously, that the day after the leaked NSA document was published in The Intercept, a federal agency  the U.S. Election Assistance Commission  sent out a bulletin to state officials warning about the security issues that had been revealed. "This is at the same time," Timm noted, "that the government was saying that by releasing this information, Reality Winner was putting national security at risk."

If America wants to emerge from the current quagmire, we need a system that will encourage responsible truth-tellers, not deprive them of their liberty. Let's be honest: Those things aren't going to happen with a president who's at war with the First Amendment or a Congress brainwashed to do his bidding. But if citizens do succeed in flipping the government over the next couple of cycles, how can a new generation of leaders keep the promise that Barack Obama broke a decade ago, and make America safe for the next Reality Winner?

Timm said any solution would start with rewriting the Espionage Act, to make it clear that the law is targeting treasonous spies, not patriotic whistle-blowers. Likewise, he said federal law could also be reformed to allow whistle-blowers like Winner or Kiriakou to present evidence on whether their leak was motivated by the public interest or whether national security was, in fact, harmed.

What's more, we need more big shots in Big Media with the biggest megaphones to help remind people that it was leaked information that let the public know about the depths of Watergate, the crimes committed at Abu Ghraib, and the Vietnam War lying that was laid bare in the Pentagon Papers. In fact, it's a little crazy  and maybe revealing  that while the journalism world was going ga-ga over the Pentagon Papers-era defiance in the movie The Post, very little ink was spilled in defense of Reality Winner.

All of us, true political leaders, the media, everyday citizens, need to fight for courage and for truth-telling and to speak out in its defense, or else we will continue to stumble through our current nightmare, where reality is a loser.
Avid antique enthusiasts, Carl Engelke and Markus Aman sit in their living room paging through some of the family heirlooms they unexpectedly stumbled upon in the Jinxed in Fishtown. Read more

On a rainy Saturday afternoon in February, Carl Engelke and Markus Aman decided to swing by Fishtown's Jinxed in search of a bookshelf. Little did the avid antiquers know that the casual outing would turn into one of the most memorable shopping jaunts of their lives.

When Engelke and Aman arrived at the shop full of vintage gems, the couple realized that they had stumbled into Jinxed's annual Heart Show, an art exhibition and party packing the store with wall-to-wall people.

To break free from the crowd, they quickly sneaked to the back. Here, they began to peruse the unorganized chaos of weathered books filling Jinxed's literary section.

"I look up from the magazine I was looking at, and Markus is holding this book and his face goes white as a ghost," Engelke said.

Amid the cacophony of guests and a pig spinning on a roasting stick, the two realized they had quietly discovered an entire shelf of long-lost family heirlooms. Tears instantly filled their eyes.

It all began when Aman picked up a red leather book, finding the words "To Astrid, on her graduation from college, with love, from grandfather, June 1954" inscribed on the first page.

Aman instantly paused at "Astrid," a relatively uncommon name that was also that of Engelke's mother; she died when Engelke was 21. Aman told Engelke what he found, and Engelke immediately recognized the cursive scribble taking over the top-right corner of the page.

"We just sort of stood there in shock, trying to keep it together," Engelke said. "It was the same exact handwriting as a book from my grandpa that I already had at home."

Engelke's father died unexpectedly from a heart attack when Engelke was just 6 years old, so it was his mother who raised him and his two brothers, largely on her own in Chester County. She died in 1983 from a bleeding ulcer that was misdiagnosed as the flu. A strong woman who family members say was always the life of the party, Astrid still remains alive in numerous stories about her. Details of her life are shared so often that Aman, who never got the chance to meet Astrid, feels as though he knows her well. The couple believed that the discovery at Jinxed was Astrid's way of reaching out.

"There was a little bit of a spooky, kind of surreal feeling," Aman said. "It felt like my mother-in-law had just handed me a book."

The book, Conjugial Love: Delights of Wisdom, is a religious script by Emanuel Swedenborg full of philosophical teachings about love between a man and a woman. The work of Swedish theologian and scientist Swedenborg informed Astrid's religion, the New Church. Also referred to as Swedenborgianism, a relatively small Christian-based congregation, the sect bases its teachings on the Bible as explained by the writings of Swedenborg. Astrid grew up going to Bryn Athyn Cathedral, and both of her grandfathers were practicing ministers there during the mid-19th century.

After scanning the remainder of the Jinxed bookshelf, Engelke and Aman found two dozen other books that were either written by Swedenborg or were about the Bryn Athyn Cathedral. Many also had front-page inscriptions, several of which could be traced back to family members of Engelke's best friends growing up.

"It was really neat to be able to share these stories with people that are dear, dear friends of mine," said Engelke, who ended up connecting with childhood buddies across the country about the books.

Given Aman's passion for antiquing, the two find themselves at such places as Jinxed often, both regularly in Philly and all across the country.

"Whenever we travel, Aman makes it a mission to find an antique store to visit along the way," Engelke said. "Never in my wildest imagination did I think I'd find something that was my mother's."

The couple, who married three years ago on their 18th anniversary, have lived in the same Washington Square West apartment for nearly 20 years. Every inch of wall space is covered with a collectible, whether a painting or a tapestry, and all of the rooms, from the bathroom to the kitchen, are filled with antiques ranging from vases to chandeliers to period piece couches.

"The books are just one piece among thousands, but these are the collectibles that hold the most personal connection," Aman said. "They're among those few items that you'd snatch in a hurry if you ever had to flee."

The books are now on the couple's dining room table, as the two never ended up walking out with the bookshelf they initially sought that February Saturday at Jinxed.

Were still looking for that mythical glass bookcase, Engelke said. Theyre too precious to simply crowd on a shelf with our other books.
Demi Lovato during the arrivals at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017. Read more

Demi Lovato was rushed to a Los Angeles hospital from her Hollywood Hills home just before noon Tuesday and was administered an emergency treatment for narcotic overdose, according to reports from TMZ.

People magazine reports that Lovato is stable, according to a close source, and TMZ says that Lovato's aunt has posted that the former Disney star is awake and responsive.

>> READ MORE: After Demi Lovato overdose, Atlantic City beach concerts gets a new headliner, becomes free show

Lovato was scheduled to perform in Atlantic City on Thursday, but a city official confirmed to the Inquirer and Daily News that Lovato would not be headlining.

The concert was Lovato's only East Coast date this season; Lauv  who was scheduled to open  wrote on Twitter, "f-, my heart goes out to @ddlovato right now."

Lauv will still play on Thursday, though. In a tweet late Tuesday, concert organizers spelled out options for ticket holders for the concert.

Lovato was also scheduled to appear on Fox's Beat Shazam Tuesday night in a pre-taped episode. According to a Fox release, the episode had been pulled and was to be replaced with another new Season Two episode.

Following Lovato's hospitalization, celebrities offered kind words on Twitter.

The pop singer and her family have been open about their struggles with mental health and addiction in the past. She has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was previously hospitalized. In a 2015 interview with Elle, Lovato said, "I knew at a young age I had a problem," and in her recent YouTube documentary Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated, she talked about her past addiction. "I just came to a breaking point; the next 12 months were extremely difficult," she said about her decision to seek treatment.

Lovato's latest personal address of her substance abuse and health issues is in her song "Sober," where she reveals she has relapsed after six years. The song was released June 21. She tweeted a clip of the new music with the caption "My Truth."

On Saturday, Lovato tweeted her feelings about the song:

Staff writer Amy S. Rosenberg contributed to this article.
With plastic straws falling quickly out of favor and some companies taking steps to ban them entirely, a growing number of reusable sipping alternatives are popping up in local stores.

Klean Kanteen, a California-based company already known for its durable water bottles, makes a starter set that includes four metal straws along with removable silicone tips to make them bendy. Available at Target and on Amazon, they are stainless steel and dishwasher-safe, and come with a small brush to clean them.

The plastic straw resistance has been building for much of 2018, with coffee shops and environmental groups being among the first to declare war on them. The movement reached a new level this month, with Seattle becoming the first U.S. city to ban them, followed by an announcement that Starbucks will phase them out by 2020.

Klean Kanteen steel straws, $9.99 for a pack of four with silicone tips and cleaning brush. At local Target stores, Target.com or Amazon.com.
Rachel Freeman said she overdosed after using heroin stamped with "Santa Muerte." Read more

In a Philadelphia park Friday night, Rachel Freeman watched as a half-dozen people slid into overdoses, a shocking display even for the drug-torn Kensington neighborhood.

But as paramedics revived them, they began to scream and shake  much different from a typical overdose reaction. "It was almost like being in a horror movie," Freeman said.

Nonetheless, Freeman, a slight 50-year-old with brightly painted fingernails who is known as "Mom" by drug users in the community, prepared her own bag of heroin later that night. She felt safer using a bag stamped "Santa Muerte" (literally, "Holy Death"), a variety reputed to be some of the last pure heroin available in the city, uncontaminated by fentanyl or other adulterants.

Freeman didn't realize that Santa Muerte was what everyone else in the park had bought, too. She woke up at Temple University Hospital after overdosing.

On Friday and Saturday, at least 165 people around the city overdosed  an unprecedented number, health officials said, and thought to have been driven by the type of drug Freeman bought. Health officials believe it may have been heroin cut with an anticholinergic, a substance found in muscle relaxers and the antihistamine diphenhydramine (Benadryl) that causes dangerous side effects.

Yet the death toll  10 people  is about the typical number of overdose deaths on a given weekend in a city where 1,217 people died of an overdose in 2017.

Still, the cluster tested the city's response to overdoses and drove home a fact that advocates, law enforcement officials, and drug users have known for months: Philadelphia's heroin supply, long noted for its purity and cheapness, is almost entirely contaminated, largely with the synthetic opioid fentanyl and sometimes with other substances.

Thomas Farley, the city health commissioner, said over the weekend that the alarming incidents are still more proof that the city needs to open a safe injection site, a controlled setting where people can get help more quickly.

The health department said police first reported six overdoses within about 15 minutes Friday at the intersection of Kensington and Allegheny Avenues. Outreach workers from the health department and community organizations were dispatched to the neighborhood and, along with paramedics, responded to several overdoses themselves.

On Tuesday, health officials were awaiting testing of bags found in the hands of overdose victims over the weekend. The drug that health officials fear was behind last weekend's rash, stamped with "Santa Muerte," has been specifically sought out by longtime heroin users like Freeman who fear overdosing on fentanyl.

Though many people think of illicit opioid use as a fast route to death, there are people who use heroin for many years without overdosing  as long as they know that pure heroin is what they are using.

Some more recent arrivals in Kensington, however, say they actually prefer the deadlier synthetic opioid fentanyl. "There's no one doing heroin," claimed a young man sitting in a folding chair at the Frankford Avenue heroin encampment Sunday morning. "You'll be doing six bags of heroin [for the effect of] one bag of fentanyl."

But fentanyl's effects are impossible to predict, especially when taken unintentionally. The synthetic was present in 84 percent of all opioid-related deaths in Philadelphia last year.

"There's a lot of people who started using injection drugs years ago, and only do heroin," said Patrick Trainor, a spokesperson for the Drug Enforcement Agency. "But they have to take something to avoid getting sick [with painful withdrawal symptoms], and then it's so much more risky  because with the drug [samples] we see, we barely see heroin anymore. It's all fentanyl."

At Prevention Point, the needle exchange near McPherson Square, staffers hand out fentanyl testing strips along with the overdose reversal medication naloxone, said Jose Benitez, the exchange's director.

"We're telling people to assume that everything is contaminated," he said.

Freeman, who has used heroin on and off for about 25 years, and other older heroin users said the rise of fentanyl is frightening.

"You're just taking a chance," said a woman named Gabby in the Emerald Street heroin camp. "The fentanyl is getting out of hand. They're playing with people's lives."

Gabby said she had overdosed twice in one day on a bag of fentanyl a month ago, and has since entered a medication-assisted treatment program. She, too, used to seek out Santa Muerte for its relative purity. But she tried to take precautions when using: watching to see how others reacted to heroin bearing the same stamp that she had just bought, or trying to inject slowly.

By Tuesday, the situation was mostly back to normal in Kensington  which, health officials said, means 35 overdoses in city emergency rooms a day. On Monday, a group of people lined up a few blocks off Kensington Avenue as a dealer handed out free samples of heroin. In McPherson Square, a woman overdosed next to a park bench outside the library.

After an Inquirer columnist, a library staffer, and paramedics revived her, she walked away. A woman named Tricia ran after her to find out what she had been using. Sometimes drug users flock to products linked to more overdoses, figuring they have the built-up tolerance to handle them. Not this time. Tricia said she wanted to avoid the product  and an overdose.

Reporter Aubrey Whelan and columnist Mike Newall saw the woman who was overdosing outside the library collapse. While Newall administered naloxone (which both journalists regularly carry), Whelan called 911 and ran to the library for assistance. A library staffer brought a second dose, helping the woman to breathe, and then paramedics administered oxygen, reviving her.
Opioid prescribing for minor injuries  for which such powerful pain medications may not even be necessary  remains high and varies widely by state, despite an overall downward trend, according to new research by the University of Pennsylvania.

Many states have responded to the national opioid epidemic by limiting how many pain pills doctors can prescribe, contributing to the decline in opioid prescriptions filled at pharmacies across the country. But a Penn study, published Tuesday in Annals of Emergency Medicine, suggests that to truly tackle the opioid epidemic that has strained communities like Philadelphia, states may need a more granular approach.

"Previous studies were sort of the 30,000-foot view. It's very hard to figure out what's the underlying problem," said M. Kit Delgado, an assistant professor of emergency medicine and epidemiology at Penn and the study's lead author. "Now, when you limit it to specific conditions, such as a minor injury or all patients that got opioids after a specific type of surgery, we can better understand if there's still variation or a lot of prescribing."

Researchers at Penn analyzed commercial insurance data from Optum Clinformatics Data Mart for 30,832 adults ages 18 to 64 who had been treated in an emergency department for a sprained ankle and had not filled an opioid prescription in the six months prior to their injury.

The study looked narrowly at ankle sprains in the emergency departments to zero in on trends researchers suspected may be lost in broader opioid prescribing data.

Overall prescribing trends don't discern whether the initial script was for a major medical incident that could lead to chronic pain, such as back surgery, or a lesser injury that should not require ongoing management. An ankle sprain is a minor injury that should heal in about two weeks, meaning that for those patients there usually is no need for ongoing pain management, Delgado said.

"If we saw all of a sudden someone who got opioids for an ankle sprain started filling more down the line, we could be more confident that it probably wasn't related to the development of chronic ankle pain," he said.

Among the study's findings:

About 20 percent of people treated in the emergency department for a sprained ankle left with an opioid prescription in 2015. That's a decline from 28 percent in 2011.

Prescribing varied widely among states, from a low of 2.8 percent of ankle sprain patients in North Dakota to 40 percent in Arkansas in 2014 and 2015. In Pennsylvania 13.2 percent of ankle sprain patients were prescribed an opioid, as were 10.9 percent of patients in New Jersey.

Ankle sprain patients who received prescriptions for larger amounts of opioids, at least 30 tablets of oxycodone of 5 mg or an equivalent intensity of another medication, were five times more likely to transition to prolonged opioid use compared with patients prescribed no more than 10 pills. The study defined prolonged use as filling at least four opioid prescriptions within six months of the ankle sprain.

What's more, researchers were shocked by the volume of opioid prescribing for such a minor injury that is typically treated with anti-inflammatory medicine, ice packs, and elevation. Opioids are not part of the standard treatment protocol for most patients, though they may be prescribed at the doctor's discretion, Delgado said.

"Given that we cannot explain this variation after adjusting for differences in patient characteristics, this study highlights opportunities to reduce the number of people exposed to prescription opioids for the first time and also to reduce the exposure to riskier high-intensity prescriptions," he said.

In response to the steady increase in opioid deaths, at least 22 states  including Pennsylvania and New Jersey  have enacted legislation to limit patient access to prescription opioids.

Between 2013 and 2017, opioid prescribing declined 29 percent nationwide among patients insured by a Blue Cross Blue Shield plan, according to a July report by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Prescribing declined 41 percent in New Jersey and 35 percent in Pennsylvania during that period, according to the report.

The Penn study's 2011-15 data set predates many of the state-level changes that have helped reduce opioid prescribing. Another limitation: Patients covered by Medicare and Medicaid, and uninsured individuals, were not represented in the study.

Prescribing habits could vary among primary-care practices or ambulatory care centers, both of which commonly treat ankle sprains and are not represented in the study.

Still, the findings point to the potential benefit of better tailoring prescribing guidelines, the authors said.

"There is a clear need for further impactful guidelines similar to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines that outline more specific opioid and non-opioid prescribing by diagnosis," Jeanmarie Perrone, a professor of emergency medicine and the study's senior author, said in a statement.

Delgado agreed.

"It raises more questions than answers, and we need to have a better understanding of why there's so much variation," he said.
There's much to know about tequila. Read more

In less than a decade, worldwide sales of tequila have doubled, while sales of premium and ultra-premium brands have shot up by 292 percent and 706 percent, respectively.

In recent years, you may have heard of tequila tastings and walked by a new mezcal bar  and wondered about the difference between the two. Or you've seen a headline proclaiming that a shot of tequila a day will keep the doctor away.

As a food historian, I hope to debunk some myths and explore some little-known aspects of the Mexican spirit that's become a global phenomenon.

Whats the deal with the worm?

Walking through the tequila section of your local liquor store, you may see a bottle with a worm floating in it. But if you see one, you're looking at a bottle of mezcal  not tequila.

While all tequila is mezcal, all mezcal is not tequila: To be labeled as tequila the spirit must be distilled from at least 51 percent blue agave (Agave weberii) and made within a region around the Mexican town of Tequila.

Mezcals, on the other hand, can be made from any of 30 aloe-like succulents and can be made in a number of Mexican states.

As for the worm, it's the larva of the maguey moth, an animal that lives and feeds on agave plants.

It was originally inserted into bottles of Gusano Rojo mezcal as a marketing gimmick. The worm isn't a psychedelic as fraternity lore would have it, but it is edible and is sold as a delicacy in food markets across central Mexico.

Can tequila actually be good for you?

Tequila has long been thought of as a cure for various ailments.

During the influenza pandemic of 1918, Mexican doctors would prescribe tequila with lemon and salt to treat flu symptoms. To this day, Mexicans stir it into hot tea with honey to assuage sore throats.

In recent years, you may have come across articles giddily announcing that a shot of tequila a day can lower bad cholesterol and blood sugar.

But the study showing lower cholesterol levels was conducted on mice, and there's been no evidence showing the same effect on humans. (In fact, the findings for mice couldn't be replicated in a similar study.) Meanwhile, agave has been shown to have a higher fructose content than sugar  and even high-fructose corn syrup.

In the end, there's not likely to be any inadvertent health benefits to your tequila benders.

Is the margarita named after a woman?

Tequila is mixed with lime juice, salt and liquor to make the margarita, one of the more popular summer cocktails.

Most of the margarita's origin stories claim it was named after a girl named Margarita. One version of the legend says that the drink was named after dancer Marjorie King: On a trip to Mexico, she asked a bartender near Tijuana to make her a drink with tequila since she was allergic to grain-based spirits. Another version traces the drink to Ensenada, Mexico, where, in the early 1940s, a bartender concocted the drink to honor Margarita Henkel, the daughter of the German Ambassador to Mexico.

Neither story is probably true. Before Prohibition, a very popular cocktail in California was the Brandy Daisy, a mix of brandy, Curacao liqueur and lemon juice. As people drifted over the border into Mexico to evade Prohibition's restrictions, it's likely that bartenders began making the drink with Mexico's national spirit, which would have been more available and cheaper.

"Margarita" is Spanish for daisy, so when Americans ordered a daisy, it would have been natural for the bartender to reply, "One margarita, coming up."

Jeffrey Miller, Associate Professor and Program Coordinator, Hospitality Management, Colorado State University. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
Shanghai moves quickly to ease fears

From:Shine | 2018-07-24 00:29

The Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention has moved quickly to ease fears in the city following the latest vaccine scandal to haunt the nation.

The center said the batch of substandard vaccine against whooping cough, diphtheria and tetanus for children made by Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences and Wuhan Institute of Biological Products Co Ltd are not being used in the city. Shanghai has not procured and used the vaccines from the two producers, the center said in a statement.

Changchun Changsheng, Chinas second-biggest rabies vaccine producer, was found fabricating production and product inspection records and arbitrarily changing process parameters and equipment. Chinas Food and Drug Administration said Changchun Changsheng had seriously violated the law.

All vaccines in Shanghai go through centralized bidding and procurement on a single unified platform. They are delivered by qualified distribution enterprises in a centralized system, the center said.

Distribution enterprises and inoculation units in the city strictly check and inspect documents such as vaccine approval and temperature records when they receive the vaccines. Any vaccines with doubts or issues are quickly rejected, according to the center.

During the distribution, storage and use of vaccines, the cold chain temperature is closely monitored. An alert goes out immediately in case of temperature abnormality, the center said.

The center said only three patients in the city used the anti-rabies vaccines made by Changchun Changsheng this year, but they were not from the faulty batch identified by Chinas Food and Drug Administration.

Shanghai had stopped using rabies vaccines made by the troubled company from July 16, and has sealed all the previous vaccines bought from the company, the center said.

The city is working with other vaccine makers to ensure a stable supply of rabies vaccines.

Patients who have been inoculated with Changchun Changsheng vaccines are using vaccines from other manufacturers now, the center said.
Bill Cosby leaves the Montgomery County Courthouse after being found guilty on all three counts of aggravated indecent asault. Read more

A Pennsylvania board has recommended that Bill Cosby be declared a "sexually violent predator"  a classification that would require him to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life and undergo treatment.

In a request filed in court Tuesday, District Attorney Kevin R. Steele cited the state sexual offender assessment board's recommendations and asked Judge Steven T. O'Neill to schedule a hearing to determine whether Cosby will get the designation.

A Montgomery County jury found Cosby guilty in April of sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, after a weeks-long trial that included testimony from five other women who had accused Cosby of sexual misconduct. The 81-year-old entertainer is scheduled to be sentenced in September.

Under Pennsylvania law, a sexually violent predator is a person who has "a mental abnormality or personality disorder the makes the person likely to engage in predatory sexually violent offenses."

Details about the board's findings on Cosby have not been made public. In Pennsylvania, the assessment board issues a recommendation on whether someone should be designated a sexually violent predator, but a judge can accept or reject that recommendation.

The judge must hold a hearing before sentencing, at which prosecutors call an expert witness who is of the sexual offender assessment board to testify about their evaluation. Defense lawyers also have a chance to present their own expert evaluation.

O'Neill will make the final ruling on whether Cosby should be considered a sexually violent predator.

If Cosby is designated as such, he will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life and participate in counseling or treatment at least once a month.

"We will see them in court," Andrew Wyatt, Cosby's publicist, said Tuesday in response to Steele's request.

Cosby has been on house arrest at his home in Cheltenham since April when he was found guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault. Wyatt said Tuesday that Cosby was doing "great."

His sentencing hearing, for which the judge has reserved two days, is scheduled to begin Sept. 24.
Namar Plummer, 28, of Plaza Street in Marcus Hook, PA, was convicted after a 2-day trial of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl who attended the school he worked at as a security guard. Read more

After a two-day trial, a former security guard for Chester High School was convicted of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl at his home last July, filming the encounter, and threatening her with a gun, the Delaware County District Attorney's Office said Monday.

Namar Ikeam Plummer, 28, of Marcus Hook, was found guilty by a jury of sexual assault and sexual abuse of a child for creating child pornography, authorities said. Plummer, who will have to register for life as a sex offender, faces up to 30 years in prison.

After Plummer recorded the sexual assault, it was shared last August by others  authorities say they don't know who  on Facebook and Snapchat.

The girl, who knew Plummer as "Mar" through his security guard job, complied with the sexual assault because she feared for her safety and her family's safety, authorities said.

"The victim demonstrated incredible courage by coming forward and providing detailed testimony, ensuring that the defendant will be held accountable for his actions," District Attorney Katayoun M. Copeland said in a statement.

Prosecutors did not say whether Plummer was a public employee or the employee of a private security company contracted with the Chester Upland School District at the time of the assault. Emily Harris, a spokeswoman for the District Attorney's Office, said the agency "was not able to confirm the defendant's employment details."

An administrator for the district was not immediately available for comment.

Until he is sent to state prison, Plummer is being held at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility. He is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 23.

Authorities ask that anyone who may have been victimized by Plummer or has information about the case call the District Attorney's Criminal Investigation Division's Child Abuse Unit at 610-891-4700.
Samantha Jones was led into her district court arraignment in Warwick Township, Pa. on July 13. She was charged with killing her 11-week-old son with drug-laced breast milk. Read more

Even when new mothers are battling addiction, the women and their infants "stand to benefit significantly from breast-feeding," the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine has said.

But that international expert organization also says many complicated factors make nursing "a difficult choice" for such women.

A chilling new factor has emerged in the opioid epidemic: A woman may be accused of murder by breast-feeding.

Earlier this month, a 30-year-old Bucks County woman was charged with criminal homicide in the April 2 death of her 11-week-old son. The Bucks County District Attorney's Office said an autopsy found the infant died from "a lethal combination" of methadone, amphetamine, and methamphetamine, allegedly transferred through Samantha Whitney Jones' breast milk.

While unusual, similar prosecutions of nursing mothers whose babies died have occurred in recent years in South Carolina, California, and Washington.

These cases fit within the larger debate over whether women in addiction should be given help, as medical groups and women's advocates believe, or punished, as many lawmakers and law enforcement officials argue.

"It becomes another way to criminalize women for their reproductive choices," said Margaret Zhang, a lawyer with the Women's Law Project. The Philadelphia nonprofit is representing a woman charged with child abuse because her newborn baby had to be treated for drug withdrawal symptoms.

>> READ MORE: Pa. law aims to protect newborns of moms in opioid addiction

An estimated 5 percent of pregnant women use one or more addictive substances, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Many wind up taking prescribed opioids  methadone or buprenorphine  in a medication-assisted treatment program to manage their cravings, prevent withdrawal, and avoid the miscarriage risk of quitting opioids cold turkey.

However, newborns exposed even to legally prescribed and medically monitored opioids still can suffer withdrawal symptoms. They may spend days or weeks in the hospital getting oral morphine or methadone to gradually break their drug dependence.

>> READ MORE: Babies addicted to opioids: A crisis crying for a count

The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine and other groups agree that a woman who is on methadone maintenance therapy should be encouraged to breast-feed.

"There is very low transfer of methadone in breast milk," said Diane L. Spatz, a nurse researcher and lactation program director at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "And there are true benefits to breast-feeding. Their babies have less withdrawal symptoms, and they're easier to soothe."

Unlike formula, breast milk also reduces severe diaper rash on the baby's skin, Spatz said.

Amphetamines and methamphetamines are a different story. Research shows these stimulants persist in breast milk for up to 30 hours after drug use, are transferred in high concentrations to the baby, are not cleared by the baby for many hours, and overstimulate the infant's nervous system.

"It can affect breathing, heart regulation  every single thing in the body," Spatz said. "There is one published [medical journal] case of an infant death after methamphetamine" exposure.

Spatz said Jones' case raises many questions, including whether health-care providers missed opportunities to intervene. Jones told prosecutors she had been prescribed methadone to help her overcome a painkiller addiction.

Methadone therapy typically requires clinic visits several times a week.

"To me, we need to help moms get treatment," Spatz said. "Where were they in terms of working with her? Where was her followup? It's really sad."
Authorities work to extinguish a stubborn junkyard fire in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, Wednesday, July 11, 2018. The fire was reported around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday and spewed thick smoke and flames that could be seen for miles. Authorities say the burning materials consisted mainly of metal, wood and paper. Read more

The junkyard in Kensington that was the site of a spectacular four-alarm fire two weeks ago has reopened for business and begun accepting new materials, its owner said.

The junkyard, which has been cited multiple times for violations by the Department of Licenses and Inspections in the last 10 years, opened last week and was operating at 50 percent capacity as of Monday, said owner David Feinberg.

Despite numerous violations, a pending Common Pleas Court case prevents the city from closing the facility at Somerset and Tulip Streets, said L&I spokesperson Karen Guss.

"It is disturbing but not illegal for Philadelphia Metal to be accepting new materials," she said.

The July 10 blaze, which created billows of dark smoke that could be seen for miles, gave off the stench of burning chemicals. It also fouled the air, according to the Clean Air Council.

"The fire looked a lot worse than it really was," Feinberg said, adding that Philadelphia firefighters "did a terrific job."

Jamie Moffett, who lives in the neighborhood, said he was stunned that the business, run by Philadelphia Metal & Resource Recovery, was able to operate again.

"It's like nothing ever happened," he said. "It's unreasonable to allow that to happen."

The violations over the last decade include "mislabeled storage containers" and "excessive collection of tires," according to public records.

Two hearings have been held since the city filed the action in Common Pleas Court in February, and a third hearing is scheduled for Aug. 30.

The city is concerned about the further deterioration of the junkyard as a result of the fire and the thousands of gallons of water used to extinguish it, Guss said. It is looking at what additional enforcement measures can and should be taken against the continuously code-violating business, she said.

"It's pretty troubling and brings into question how the city deals with these things," said Russell Zerbo of the Clean Air Council, who attended the May hearing.

Philadelphia Metal & Resource Recovery hasn't been the only problematic junkyard in Philly, according to Zerbo. He said that the city needs junkyards but that some of them present hazards.

"We're aware of the situation," Zerbo said. "But it's up to L&I and a judge to do these things," like shut it down.
Julie Klim , CEO of PSPCA, poses in front of the dog adoption kennels in the shelter. Read more

A little more than a year after Bill Smith, the celebrated founder of Chester Springs' highly regarded Main Line Animal Rescue  and friend of dog lover Oprah Winfrey  was thrown overboard by its board of directors, the group is about to affiliate with the Philadelphia-based Pennsylvania SPCA. An announcement is expected Thursday.

Although such a relationship with another group is a first for the PSPCA, its CEO, Julie Klim, and Main Line interim executive director Susan Chew don't anticipate major changes for either organization. The names won't change, nor will funding. The affiliation will simply enable both groups to save more animals and reduce duplication of efforts, they say. And saving animals is their mission.

Chew came aboard in January. That was a few months after Smith's ouster, which shocked many in the animal advocacy community.

Chew said Smith's departure had no adverse impact on the refuge, which typically houses 115 dogs on its 58-acre facility. "Being part of a bigger organization," she said, would benefit Main Line.

After leaving Main Line last year, Smith founded 1 Love 4 Animals, a nonprofit based in East Pikeland Township, Chester County, dedicated to rescuing at-risk animals and fighting puppy mills. His campaign against puppy mills had obtained Oprah's support  and TV time  in 2008.

In the past year, Smith has been on The View three times, he told me, continuing his campaign against puppy mills  many of which, to our shame, are located in Pennsylvania.

PSPCA also fights puppy mills and is active in enforcing humane law from its headquarters at 350 E. Erie Ave., where it has 2.8 acres, kennels for 179 dogs, and 175 cat cages, plus two small barns for non-domesticated cats and another small barn that houses chickens.

"At our core we are two organizations that go to the Nth degree for animals," said Klim. "Our shelter hospitals are unique, we both have that focus. Our lane is animal cruelty."

Melissa Levy, executive director of PAWS, the large, Philly-based animal-rescue nonprofit, said the partnership would be "very positive, creating life-saving options for animals and more services for people who want to adopt or rescue animals."

Main Line's spacious facilities would benefit larger dogs, especially those being held by PSPCA in connection with criminal cases. Both Main Line and PSPCA draw animals from ACCT Philly, the city's animal shelter.

In a separate development, ACCT Philly had some good news in June. For the third time in eight months, the city animal shelter reached a 90 percent lifesaving rate for dogs, matching rates set in October and November 2017 that were achieved for the first time.

"A 90 percent live release rate for dogs in the summer months is a historic milestone for ACCT Philly," said Jon Gray, senior manager of lifesaving. Traditionally more dogs are surrendered during the summer months than at any other time.

That level of lifesaving is the threshold of "no-kill" status, which means that all healthy, adoptable dogs exit the shelter alive.

That goal had been a long time coming. It was more than a decade ago that ACCT Philly was created to replace PACCA  the unspeakable Philadelphia Animal Care and Control Association, a.k.a. the House of Horrors, the monster that my reporting helped to blow up.

The seed was planted even earlier, when the Alliance for Philadelphia's Animals was launched at the Academy of Natural Sciences in September 2004 on a night when it rained cats and dogs. Its goal was to create a "no-kill" city.

Fourteen years later, in the dog days of summer, the city shelter is approaching that goal.

The mission is not yet achieved, but "no-kill" looks like it is within our grasp.
Marijuana plants in the vegetative phase grow at the Compassionate Care Foundation medical marijuana dispensary and cutivation center in Egg Harbor Township, N.J., Read more

New Jersey's attorney general immediately halted all municipal prosecutions of marijuana offenses Tuesday, effectively placing on hold thousands of cases across the state that involve possession of the drug while lawmakers continue to debate its legalization.

In a memo sent to county and municipal prosecutors, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced that he will issue a directive by the end of next month on whether to decriminalize marijuana, ending criminal penalties for simple possession of small amounts.

In Philadelphia and more than 50 other cities and towns across the country, possession of marijuana leads to small civil fines or community service. In New Jersey, an estimated 25,000 people are arrested each year on minor marijuana charges, which can carry a maximum six-month jail term and up to $1,000 in fines.

Grewal's decision was prompted by a memo that Jacob Hudnut, Jersey City's chief municipal prosecutor, sent to his municipal prosecutors on Thursday ordering the decriminalization of all marijuana-related cases in the city. Hudnut, who was recently sworn into office, said he did this in the interest of social justice, noting that three times as many minorities are prosecuted for marijuana possession than whites.

On Friday, Grewal reprimanded Hudnut, saying Hudnut had no legal authority to call on prosecutors to refrain from pursuing criminal action in marijuana cases. Grewal's reaction came as a surprise, because Gov. Murphy has said he would support legalization and has frequently cited the social injustice of marijuana enforcement.

But on Tuesday, Grewal ordered prosecutors to delay all municipal marijuana cases until at least Sept. 4 so that he could take a closer look at decriminalization. He said that he will include Hudnut and representatives of law enforcement and civil rights groups in discussions to potentially revise guidelines.

Hudnut said adjourning the cases was a bold decision. "I am excited to work with him in the weeks ahead on this issue," he said.

State Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D., Union), who has advocated for marijuana legalization for a decade, was buoyed by Grewal's action.

"This will give us added momentum," he said, adding that he plans to reintroduce a legalization bill, weeks after he was unable to win support for a bill that would allow recreational marijuana for adults and also make improvements to the medical marijuana program.

"We're all of the mindset we should get this done before the summer ends, and I appreciate the Murphy administration and the attorney general's efforts to back our efforts. Sometimes legislators need a kick to get this done," said Scutari, a municipal prosecutor in Linden.

Murphy campaigned last year on a pledge to support legalization, but so far no bills that would allow recreational marijuana for adults have made it to the floor. Some lawmakers favor outright legalization, while others say they would prefer decriminalization or making marijuana possession a civil offense subject to fines and community service.

Amol Sinha, executive director of the ACLU of New Jersey, said he is pleased that the attorney general is "saying, 'Let's hit the pause button,' on marijuana enforcement" because the racial justice issue must be addressed. "It makes sense that prosecutors across the state should do whatever they can to undo the harms of marijuana enforcement," he said.

Evan Nison, executive director of the pro-legalization group NORML NJ, said Grewal's decision will "at least delay and may completely prevent thousands of unfair prosecutions. These offenses can follow people around for their entire lives and make it more difficult to get a job or college education."

One year ago, Camden City Council also considered taking up a decriminalization policy similar to Jersey City's. At the time, Councilman Angel Fuentes said that he would call for an ad hoc study and that he hoped the change could be made in the fall. But without explanation, the matter was dropped a few weeks later and never came up for a vote.

In Philadelphia, a decriminalization bill was adopted in 2014. It calls for a $25 fine for possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana, or just over an ounce. In some circumstances, the law allows police officers to use discretion and to impose criminal citations that could lead to up to 30 days in jail and $500 in fines.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner now declines charges for anyone arrested with a small amount, 30 grams or less, intended for personal use, according to a statement provided Tuesday by his office. His office still prosecutes cases of marijuana possession with intent to distribute.

Staff writer Sam Wood contributed to this article.
A former South Jersey mailman was sentenced to eight months' home confinement and ordered to pay back nearly $100,000 in losses caused by his part in an operation that cashed money orders stolen from the U.S. Postal Service, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Tuesday.

Marc Saunders, 40, of Sicklerville, appeared in court Tuesday morning before U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez, who imposed the home-confinement sentence and ordered him to make restitution for money he received from more than 100 stolen money orders.

In December, Saunders pleaded guilty to one count of transmitting and presenting money orders with the intent to defraud the government.

According to court records, Saunders was a letter carrier in the New Lisbon branch in Burlington County, where he stole an imprinting machine and blank money orders. For 15 months in 2015 and 2016, Saunders printed and handed out the phony money orders to others, who recruited people to cash them in exchange for small fees. Saunders and his associates kept the rest of the money.
A Camden woman who twice obtained money meant for storm victims by forging application documents was told she has to spend a day in jail and pay back $52,390 she pilfered from the government, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Camden announced Tuesday.

Shanyra Bennett, 40, appeared before U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Simandle in Camden, where she previously pleaded guilty to one count of fraud related to disaster benefits.

According to court records, Bennett applied for federal assistance in November 2012 after the money was designated for victims of Hurricane Sandy. She sought money for rent and to replace personal property, including her Dodge Durango, which she said was no longer operable because of storm damage. She reported that she needed the vehicle for her job as a senior health aide.

In December 2012, federal authorities electronically transferred $5,162 into Bennett's bank account to replace her SUV. She received $22,190 over a two-year period.

Authorities later learned that Bennett was unemployed when Sandy hit New Jersey. The employment documents and invoices she submitted for her SUV's damage were fake, authorities said. Also fake were the lease and rent receipts submitted for an apartment she never rented.

After investigators learned that Bennett had scammed the government out of hurricane disaster money, they discovered that she had done the same in 2011, when the government provided assistance for Hurricane Irene victims. Bennett admitted in court that between September 2011 and November 2012, she received an additional $30,200 from the government based on fraudulent claims from that storm.

In addition to a day in jail and paying back money, Simandle ordered five years of supervised release.
Still images of a vehicle involved in a fatal hit-and-run on Sunday, July 22, 2018, obtained from surveillance videos on Lancaster Avenue near Aspen Street in West Philadelphia. Read more

Police are seeking help in identifying a driver and vehicle involved in a hit-and-run crash that killed a 61-year-old man Sunday in West Philadelphia.

The vehicle was westbound at high speed on Lancaster Avenue near Aspen Street when it struck the man about 3:15 a.m., police said. He was taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later.

Police on Tuesday identified the victim as Kenneth Whiters of the 5800 block of Montrose Street in West Philadelphia.

Investigators have a video that shows the man being struck and landing on the hood of the vehicle, said Capt. Sekou Kinebrew, a police spokesperson. The vehicle "never stopped," he said.

Kinebrew said the vehicle's make and model were not known, but were "consistent with" a late-model Mazda3 hatchback. Police are unable to describe it precisely because of its speed and the darkness, he said. Police later Tuesday said the vehicle is believed to be silver and has a sunroof and fog lights.

The car likely has significant windshield and hood damage, Kinebrew said.

A surveillance video released by police showed the vehicle heading west on Lancaster before the crash. It also showed the victim, who was hunched over, walking in the middle of the street and heading east on Lancaster near Aspen.

Kinebrew pleaded for anyone who knows the driver or has information on the vehicle to call police. "These are human beings," he said of the victim. "This is a human being with a family that this happened to. We will not get justice or closure if we don't find who was traveling in that car."

Tipsters, who can remain anonymous, should contact Officer Lackman at the Accident Investigation Division at 215-685-3180, or can submit a tip online.
All major Nepali and English newspapers published from Kathmandu Valley on Monday have given the top priority to the health condition of medical education reform activist Dr Govinda KC as his fast-unto-death completed 24 full days by Sunday evening. On the other hand, two top leaders of the ruling Nepal Communist Party have made remarks against Dr KC and the main opposition Nepali Congress for blocking the government from implementing a new medical education law; and their statements have also received top priority.

Few other issues from political, sociocultural and financial spheres have been featured on the front pages of major Nepali and English dailies published from the capital today.

Important

Dr KCs health checkup at mothers request

Kantipur, Annapurna Post, Nepal Samacharpatra, Rajdhani, The Kathmandu Post and Republica have reported in their lead stories that fasting activist Dr Govinda KC agreed to undergo blood checkups at the request of his 80-year-old mother as his health has deteriorated further.

Rajdhani reports that the octogenarian woman had visited her son for 45 minutes yesterday, asking doctors if there was anything wrong in his health. Then, she told Dr KC to undergo the examination as the country needs him.

Doctors attending to him have claimed that anything can happen to him anytime, reports Kantipur, adding levels of blood pressure, potassium, white blood cells and sugar and oxygen in blood have significantly decreased in his body.

Murder accused recommended for provincial state minister

Kantipur and Republica report on their front pages that the Rastriya Janata Party Nepal has recommended a murder accused leader for the position of state minister in Province 2 government.

Abhiram Sharma, who was accused of killing police head constable Thaman BK in Mahottari during a clash in September 2015, has been recommended for the position, according to reports.

The Supreme Court has already ordered police to arrest Sharma on the charge of killing BK, Republica reports, adding police have also already issued an arrest warrant in compliance with the court order.

Meanwhile, the recommendation has fuelled dissatisfaction within the party, the report adds.

Ignored

Joshee accused of spending Rs 9 million in sons wedding

Of five complaints filed against Acting Chief Justice Deepak Raj Joshee as he is going to face a parliamentary hearing for the position of Chief Justice this week, a complainant has accused him of spending as much as Rs 9 million in his sons wedding, reports Nepal Samacharpatra in a three-column story.

The complainant has further argued that he spent Rs 2 million in the sons engagement.

Teachers torture kills Dolakha kid

The lead story in Rajdhani says a six-year-old child from Charikot of Dolakha district died after his teacher beat him up. Sudeep Basnet breathed his last while undergoing treatment at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu on Sunday, the report adds, he was beaten by his teacher Dawa K Sherpa at the classroom around one month ago.

Modi visit cost Nepal Rs 63 million

Karobar reports in a two-column story that Nepal spent Rs 63 million and 373,277 during the Nepal visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May.

The money was spent through the Province 2 Chief Ministers Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, district administration offices, units of Nepal Police, Armed Police and Nepal Police Force, according to the report.

Meanwhile, some current and former officials have commented that the expense is quite high.

Interesting

Govt to provide jobs for at least four months for unemployed

The government is preparing to launch a new anti-unemployment prgoramme from this fiscal year, under which all unemployed persons of the financially active population (16-60 years) of the country will be given jobs for at least four months, according to Naya Patrika.

The government has promised that it will provide an allowance equal to their pay for 60 days if they cannot get the job.
When his father goes off to work, 4-year-old Carter Diaz cries inconsolably. So Carter's older sister, Isabella, 16, isn't sure how she'll be able to comfort him if immigration authorities deport her father, a Mexican immigrant who has lived, worked, and raised a family in this country with permission of the U.S. government for more than a decade, under an order of supervision renewed every two years.

"I feel like this will be the same [as when he leaves for work], but this time there's no way that he could come back," she said.

Isabella has been crying nearly nonstop herself since she learned that U.S. immigration authorities, under Trump administration policies, had decided not to renew the authorization for her father, Carlos Diaz, 44. Instead, on Wednesday, they slapped an ankle monitor on him and told him he could be deported by the end of the month.

"Everybody is telling me to cut the GPS tracker off my leg and run," said Diaz, whose quiet life in Quakertown has suddenly become untenable. "I'm not going to run. This is how much I love this country. I don't want to do anything wrong. I wanted to do the right thing, and this is what's happening to me."

If he does have to leave, Diaz said, he's not sure what will happen to his family, all U.S. citizens who do not speak Spanish. He's separated from his wife, who is struggling with alcoholism, and has primary custody of their two kids. On his wages as a mover for Raymour & Flanigan, he also supports his 18-year-old stepson. Diaz can't imagine leaving them behind, but he has nothing to offer them in Mexico  no home or family there.

Diaz first entered the country in 1995, according to his immigration lawyer, Christine Flowers, who also writes a column for the Inquirer and Daily News. He was deported after an arrest for drunk driving around 2000. His girlfriend, a U.S. citizen, married him anyway on a visit to Mexico, and had his daughter, Isabella, in Texas in 2002.

Isabella was born with three holes in her heart, requiring medical care in the United States. As his daughter's health deteriorated, Diaz made a rash choice.

"She was getting open-heart surgery. I decided to cross again, because they wouldn't let me see her," he said. That was in 2006. He was caught but released with the order of supervision  which functions like parole, allowing an immigrant to live in the community while delaying deportation, often on humanitarian grounds.

Every two years, Flowers would help Diaz renew the order of supervision. "Isabella is better now, but Carlos has become the main support for these three U.S. citizens," she said.

Not this year. Diaz isn't sure why the order was rejected, though he assumes it has something to do with the larger policy shift in the region and nationwide. Arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) increased 40 percent in the first eight months of the Trump administration. The Philadelphia ICE office has been particularly aggressive, a Pro Publica/Philadelphia Inquirer investigation found; it has been arresting immigrants without criminal convictions in higher numbers than any other in the nation.

Flowers said she had not received any explanation from ICE officials. "It was the first time requesting renewal under the Trump administration," she said. "He has been paying taxes and has work authorization. He's here with knowledge and permission from immigration, and I'm not sure what it was that triggered this decision to cancel. There's basically a zero-tolerance policy not just at the border, but here."

An ICE spokesman confirmed the order of removal, but did not respond to a request to explain the decision. Diaz, known to ICE as Carlos Erasno-Diaz, "was previously granted a stay of removal, but that stay has expired and his subsequent request for an additional stay has been denied. Mr. Erasno-Diaz has been ordered removed from the United States," the official said in an email.

Diaz's situation isn't uncommon. He's one of close to a million immigrants who were ordered deported years or even decades ago, but did not leave. About 90,000 people were living in the country under orders of supervision at the end of the Obama administration.

But as President Trump has shifted immigration-enforcement priorities through a series of executive orders prioritizing removal of even people without criminal histories, those individuals are no longer off-limits. Neither are immigrants who, like Diaz, are married to American citizens, though such ties were once a reliable pathway to legal residency.

Those who report regularly to renew their orders of supervision are particularly vulnerable to official action  and are increasingly facing detention and deportation.

"There isn't a lot of data on this," said Sarah Pierce, a policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington-based think tank. "But there have been a lot of reports, increasingly, under the Trump administration of those individuals going to check-ins and being apprehended and deported from the country. There have been enough anecdotal reports that we think this is a new trend."

Francisco Javier Gonzalez, a Palm Beach, Fla., restaurant manager with three kids and a 12-year-old supervision order, received an electronic monitoring anklet and removal order from ICE officials, who reportedly told him, "This is Trump time now."

A Haitian woman, Nirna Pierre-Paul, who had been reporting on an order of supervision for nine years, was abruptly detained this year, and faced deportation before a pathway to citizenship was found.

And Alejandra Juarez, the wife of a Marine veteran and mother of two daughters in Davenport, Fla., learned this year that an order of supervision in place since 2013 would be revoked and she could be deported by August.

Diaz said he understands that his permission to remain in the country is a revocable privilege. It's his kids he worries about.

"Basically, I'm all they have," he said.

In letters pleading with immigration authorities, his wife and her mother seconded that. "I need him to be there for [the children] while I am in treatment," his wife wrote. She added: "It would devastate them if he had to leave." His wife's mother affirmed that her daughter is "incapable of taking care of her children.  Since she is in my home, I don't feel my home is a stable environment for the children."

Isabella, who is going into the 11th grade, recently got her learner's permit. She was counting on Diaz to teach her how to drive.

"He's like the best guy I know, and he's a really hard worker and he always tries to do the right thing, and he's not a bad person at all," she said. "It sucks that people who work at immigration don't see that."
President Donald Trump speaks to the national convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in Kansas City, Mo. Read more

At a Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention in Kansas City, Mo., on Tuesday, President Trump told veterans and guests that they shouldn't believe what they're reading about his administration or seeing on the news.

>> READ MORE: Melania Trump's spokeswoman fires back after report the president 'raged' over TV airing CNN

"Just remember, what you are seeing and what you are reading is not what's happening," Trump said. "Just stick with us, don't believe the crap you see from these people, the fake news."

After delivering his remarks, Trump pointed out reporters covering his speech, leading to boos and hisses from scores of veterans in attendance.

Attacking the media isn't new for a president who constantly uses the phrase "fake news" in an attempt to delegitimize certain media outlets and their stories. But as critics pointed out following the speech, Trump's comments closely echoed a quote from George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984, about a future society oppressed by a powerful government led by a cult-like figure only known as "Big Brother."

Ben Kesling, a Marine Corps veteran who covers veterans issues for the Wall Street Journal, was among the many critical of Trump's attempt to paint journalists covering his speech in a negative light.

"This morning I attended a House VA Committee hearing in order to make sure VA officials answered my questions abut the claims appeals process and complaints that it isn't serving vets properly," Kesling wrote.

Philip Rucker, the Washington Post's White House bureau chief who was also in attendance, said not all the veterans joined in with Trump's attack on the media.

In the speech, Trump was attempting to defend his aggressive policy of adding tariffs on foreign imports in retaliation for what his administration calls unfair trade practices from China, the European Union, Mexico and Canada. These trade disputes have ended up hurting many industries, including Midwest farmers impacted after China retaliated with its own tariffs on soybeans and pork.

The aggressive policies have also hurt newspaper companies, including the Philadelphia Media Network, which publishes the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Daily News and Philly.com. The Trump administration's tariff on Canadian newsprint, which benefits a New York private equity firm that owns a single paper mill in Longview, Wash., has pushed up prices in the United States by about 30 percent.

Tuesday morning, Trump's administration announced a new $12 billion plan to provide direct assistance to farmers impact by the trade disputes. Officials told the Associated Press the plan wouldn't need congressional approval and would come through a wing of the Agriculture Department that managed agricultural prices.

Among the critics of the plan were several Republicans, including Sen. Bob Corker (R., Tenn.), who called the policy "incoherent" while pushing for Congress to block the president's tariffs on U.S. allies.

"I am glad that the administration finally seems to understand that the Trump-Pence tariffs are hurting the American people," Corker said in a statement. "These tariffs are a massive tax increase on American consumers and businesses, and instead of offering welfare to farmers to solve a problem they themselves created, the administration should reverse course and end this incoherent policy."
St. Katharine Drexel's Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament's "Motherhouse," where the saint's remains have been enshrined. The Archdiocese is announcing plans today to move the remains to the Cathedral. Read more

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced Tuesday its plans for moving the remains of St. Katharine Drexel from a shrine in Bensalem to a newly constructed tomb in Philadelphia's Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul.

Archdiocese spokesperson Ken Gavin said the move to Logan Square is expected to occur this summer with the tomb opening to the public sometime in September.

"It is a very involved process, and it is a rare occurrence for something like this to take place," Gavin said.

The remains have been housed at the 44-acre Bensalem estate at 1663 Bristol Pike, which has also been the base of St. Katharine's Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for nearly 130 years.

The order entered into a contract to sell the estate to Bucks County-based Aquinas Realty Partners this year, saying the property had become too large and expensive to maintain. Sheila King, a spokesperson for the order, said the sale and a final price were still pending. Aquinas hopes to turn the property, which dates to the 1890s, into a senior housing complex.

"The process is moving forward. They've been working over the summer to figure out what's going on with the property and what it would take to realize their vision," King said.

>> READ MORE: St. Katharine Drexel shrine estate under contract to developer Aquinas with senior housing plan

The archdiocese announced Tuesday several programs, funded by the Connelly Foundation, to coincide with the transfer of St. Katharine's remains, including school-based lesson plans, a Thanksgiving Mass, and an online and television documentary about her life.

St. Katharine, only the second American-born person to be canonized, will now have a more prominent and public shrine, King said. "It will be right there in the cathedral, so a lot more people will know about her and the order and her work."

St. Katharine died in 1955 and was canonized in 2000. An heiress to a banking family, she gave up a life of privilege to found the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in 1891. The order has historically helped disadvantaged African Americans and American Indians.

"She's this young socialite flying around Philadelphia, and she decides to do this work  just 25 years after the Emancipation Proclamation," King said.

As of this year, the order had 87 sisters, raging in age from 52 to 97, with a median age of 79. Proceeds from the estate sale will fund charitable work in the United States, Haiti, and Jamaica, and the care of the older sisters.
A multifamily residential development isn't just a collection of structures; it's a community of neighbors. It's a home. After more than 50 years building homes in Pennsylvania and throughout the United States, we've learned that it's very critical to look beyond land development plans and to consider how new homes will integrate into a vibrant, existing community.

With southeast Pennsylvania's rich American history, developing communities often requires more than just creating opportunities for families to grow and be part of the local community. When a municipality has been shaped by historic events and structures, preserving that history  and with it, the fabric of the life there  is crucial.

Often, those goals can vary among interested parties. But, community growth and historic preservation can coexist, with responsible development.

So, how do you design a modern development in a historic neighborhood? First, you listen.

In 2015, K. Hovnanian Homes proposed a townhome community in Whitemarsh Township, in Montgomery County, on what is now the Corson Estate. Woven between the historic structures of Abolition Hall and Hovenden House, this land is marked for high-volume residential development in the Whitemarsh Township Comprehensive Plan. It's also important to the community for its historic value.

>> READ MORE: Once an Underground Railroad stop, Montgomery County property may soon be filled with townhouses

At every stage of the development process, we have met with and listened to neighbors and community leaders. Those conversations  and the invaluable insights of preservationists and local officials  have helped shape our plans.

In May, we issued a "Commitment to Montco's Preservation," which will maintain the surrounding land's historical value and maximize open space. Much of that commitment is based on feedback from neighbors. The plans were adjusted to add distance between the townhomes and the historic structures, to incorporate a walking trail that will be a part of Montgomery County's "Cross County Trail" system, and to include open space that could function as a welcome park adjacent to the historic neighboring Abolition Hall. This open space will be owned by members of the Whitemarsh community, as part of The Villages at Whitemarsh Homeowners Association. Our current plans use just 70 percent of the allowed density on the site and will have a minimal impact on traffic at the intersection.

Perhaps most important to some local residents, we are committed to supporting efforts to ensure these sites remain on the National Register of Historic Places. We understand the needs by many community members to fully preserve the property as part of the development.

>>READ MORE: Commentary: Save Abolition Hall in Montco

After the construction of the community is underway, the proposed plans include subdividing the land around these sites, and to sell the properties to a buyer who values this historic setting. Township ordinances ensure that Abolition Hall and the Corson Estate will continue to be preserved, and we have taken great care to ensure that the views and land around these sites is maintained in the proposed plans.

Striking a balance between preservation and growth is essential to building a vibrant community and a vital historic district. In Whitemarsh Township, we look forward to being part of that critical balance and providing a place for families to grow and call home.

Barry McCarron is Division President at K. Hovnanian Homes BMcCarron@KHOV.COM
Houston Police Department(HOUSTON) -- Police have released images from the moment right before a onetime doctor for former President George H.W. Bush was gunned down as he rode his bicycle in Houston.



Cardiologist Mark Hausknecht, 65, was shot and killed as he rode his bike Friday, according to Houston Methodist Hospital. In a statement, his wife Dr. Georgia Hsieh called her husband's death "devastating."



In still photos released Sunday, police used the color green to indicate Hausknecht and red for the suspect.

"The Dr. is headed north at 6700 Main & crossing into the W Holcombe Blvd intersect," police said.

Houston Police Department

"[In the] 2nd & 3rd photos are suspect behind the Dr. The shooting happened moments later, one block away," the police said in a post on Twitter.

Houston Police Department

Houston Police Department

"This 4th (and last) photo is moments after the shooting as the suspect heads west on Southgate Blvd toward Travis St. These are the only images available for release at this time," police said.

Houston Police Department

Former president George H.W. Bush released a statement about Hausknecht's death through his spokesman.



"Mark was a fantastic cardiologist and a good man," Bush said in his statement. "I will always be grateful for his exceptional, compassionate care. His family is in our hearts."



Houston police also released a composite sketch of the suspect on Saturday.



Police said they are searching for a white or Hispanic male suspect about 30 years old who was wearing a dark jacket and fled the scene.



The suspect was riding a bike when he rode past the doctor and, "turned and fired two shots," police said at a news conference Friday.

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Kuala Lumpur, July 24

The Malaysian government says it has launched efforts to remove obstructions seen in the recruitment of Nepali migrant workers for Malaysian jobs.

After the Nepal government took action against some businesses which were allegedly deceiving workers in the home country, the movement of Nepali workers to the country has been temporarily halted and the Nepal government wants to resume it only after the signing of a labour agreement between the two countries.

Following the obstruction, an official of Kuala Lumpur governments Ministry of Human Resources held a meeting with Nepals Acting Ambassador here, Kumar Raj Kharel, recently to solve the issue.

The chief at the Ministrys Policy and Planning Division, during the meeting, informed that the Malaysian government was aware of the issues raised by Nepal, according to Kharel.

He further informs that officials of the Ministry of Human Resources and the Ministry of Home Affairs in Kuala Lumpur will hold another meeting to find an agreeable solution.

Reaching the solution, however, will take some more time, according to him.
A global team of astronomers has found a rare type of asteroid, where two equal-mass objects circle each other in a never-ending dance as they hurtle through the solar system.

Many asteroids have moons, or even multiple moons. But this asteroid, known as 2017 YE5, is just the fourth "equal mass" double near-Earth asteroid ever detected, in which both objects have roughly the same mass and size. Each is about 900 meters wide.

The discovery was the combined result from three giant radio telescopes and observations by advanced amateur astronomers at observatories around the world. Two of those observatories have received past or current funding from the Planetary Societys Shoemaker NEO Grant program, which funds observers who track and characterize near-Earth asteroids.

The story of asteroid 2017 YE5 starts on Dec. 21, 2017, when French astronomer Claudine Rinner discovered the object using the Morocco Oukaimeden Sky Survey, or MOSS. MOSS was a 2018 Planetary Society Shoemaker grant winner. Heres an animation of the asteroid from MOSS observations:
KAMPALA  Police has declared Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Jonathan Baroza, a deserter and is in the process of freezing payments to his bank account.

Baroza, a former aide to Gen Kale Kayihura was given an ultimatum of five days to report to Kampala or be declared a deserter after he abandoned his duty station in Algeria on June 17, under unclear circumstances.

Mr Baroza was posted to Algeria as Uganda Police Force attache by detained Gen Kale Kayihura, after some sections of the society linked him to the murder of police spokesperson Andrew Felix Kaweesi.

He was recalled to Police Headquarters in Kampala for redeployment but he allegedly disappeared in Turkey while in transit to Kampala, prompting police to issue a five-day ultimatum on July 17 for him to report without fail.

Several of Kayihuras associates have also been arrested and according to Police sources, Baroza was to be arrested at Entebbe airport on arrival.

The Police Policy and Advisory committee on which the Inspector General of Police, his deputy, the Undersecretary and all directors sit, resolved on Wednesday last week, to halt all payments to Barozas accounts including allowances and salary.

There are also claims that Baroza is wanted by CMI for investigations into various crimes including illegal repatriation of Rwandan refugees.

He was summoned to Police headquarters early this year where he recorded a statement and was asked to return to his duty station in Algeria.

Baroza is also under investigation by the Inspectorate General of Government on how he was promoted from the rank of Superintendent of Police to Assistant Commissioner of Police while working as Kayihuras personal assistant.

Police spokesperson Emilian Kayima says, after the five days ultimatum action against Baroza will be taken.

Appropriate action will be taken now that he has not been seen. You can refer to the communication before, Kayima said.

The IGP Okoth Ochola said the Police would search for Baroza everywhere in and outside Uganda.

You see, Baroza was posted to Algeria as a liaison officer in Afripol. Now, where an officer abandons his duty station, as his supervisors we are supposed to know where he is. Its our duty to look for him. What is the problem? We want to know what has gone berserk with him. That is why weve got to look for him, said Ochola.

Desertion is criminal and an arrest warrant is usually issued to all investigating officers to arrest such an officer on sight. Article 59(1) of the Police Act states: A person who deserts the service in the force commits an offence and is liable to conviction by a criminal court to imprisonment for one year.

It also says that an officer is declared a deserter when he or she is absent from duty without authority for a continuous period of 21 days.

Related
KAMPALA In bid to prepare Ugandans for radioactive waste handling and equip them with skills while using atomic energy, the Atomic Energy Council (AEC) of the Ministry of Energy has started training their staff and key players.

According to the training programme accessed by PML Daily, the atomic energy staff in the five days be trained on aspects involved in the management of radioactive waste and equipped with skills required to transport radioactive substances within the country.

Mr Noah Luwalira, the Atomic Energy Council [AEC] Chief Executive Officer said the course modules will handle operational radioactive waste management during collection, characterization, conditioning, transport and storage.

We shall also handle topics on international best practices and regulations, national and international state-of-the-art, and benefits from expertise from the point of view of waste producers and waste management organisation, said Mr Luwalira.

This comes at the time the government is in the final stages of plans to generate some 2,000mw of electricity by 2032 from nuclear plants to be constructed in five districts of Buyende, Mubende, Kiruhura, Lamwo and Nakasongola.

Mr Luwalira, explained that the radioactive substances as those materials that emit ionising radiation and that the examples include uranium, thorium and potassium, among others.

He said the training is aimed at boosting capacity of the people who are supposed to ensure nuclear security of radioactive materials in transportation, waste handling, and waste Transportation, waste types, disposal Methods, cleanup Standards and waste Characterization Criteria.

We want our people to know the basics because they will have to transport these radioactive materials from one place to another, added Mr Luwalira while addressing staff at Hotel Africana at the ongoing training 23 July.

He said the energy council regulates the peaceful applications of ionising radiation to provide for the protection and safety of individuals, society and the environment from the dangers resulting from these materials.

Mr Joshua Birungi, a radioactive protection officer at AEC said this training is being done in accordance with the Atomic energy bill 2008.

The Atomic energy Bill

The Ugandas Atomic Energy Bill came into effect in 2008, to regulate the use of ionising radiation and provide a framework to develop nuclear power generation.

And in October of 2008, Uganda signed up to the IAEAs Country Programme Framework, which provides a frame of reference for planning medium-term technical cooperation between an IAEA member state and the Agency, and identifies priority areas where the transfer of nuclear technology and technical cooperation resources will be directed to support national development goals.

Dangers of exposure to radioactive waste

Mr Birungi said exposure to high doses of radiation from generators predisposes individuals to skin burn, tissue reactions/organ damages and higher cancer incidence rates, especially at high dose exposure and even sudden death in rare cases of extreme exposure.

He explained that small amounts of radiation can cause diseases that are not so serious but develop over the course of time and that other adverse effects include damage of the central nervous system and cataracts.

And to avoid such consequences, we observe what we call Alara [As Low as Reasonably Achievable. Principles which is based on the minimisation of radiation doses and limiting the release of radioactive materials into the environment by employing all reasonable methods, said Mr Luwalira.

The training has attracted government officials from security agencies such as the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces, traffic police and AEC to boost their capacity in responding to emergency scenes.

Mr Birungi said radioactive materials have a potential of being targeted by unscrupulous individuals who might use the nuclear material for explosive devices.

He described nuclear security as a measure relating to the prevention and detection of, and response to theft, sabotage, and un-authorised access and illegal transfer of nuclear material and other radioactive substances. Ends

Related
Superintendent-in-Chief William Grosssecond-in-command to retiring Boston Police Commissioner William Evanswill become the next commissioner, the first person of color ever to hold the position. Image courtesy of Boston PD.

Superintendent-in-Chief William Grosssecond-in-command to retiring Boston Police Commissioner William Evanswill become the next commissioner, the first person of color ever to hold the position, according to WBUR-TV.

Gross was widely believed to be a leading candidate for the post but "some were surprised Walsh picked him to be the permanent commissioner so quickly," the report said.

Gross has been with the BPD since 1985, serving the last four years as the agency's second-in-command.

Gross says his greatest mentor was Willis D. Sanders, a Tuskegee airman who became a Boston police officer, according to MassLive.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh described Gross as "a proven leader who is trusted and respected in the community."
The Boston (MA) Police Department  as well as agencies throughout Massachusetts  is seeing a massive decline in the number of people seeking entry-level law enforcement jobs.

Boston Police Commissioner William Evans told the Boston Herald, "I think its the lowest weve ever had for people taking the exam."

According to the Herald, the current civil service list for entry-level police jobs has 2,536 names on it.

Thirty years ago, there were between 15,000 and 20,000 people vying for a career with the Boston Police Department, former Boston Police Superintendent in chief Dan Linskey told the Herald.

Many police leaders say the falloff in the number of applicants is the result of violent attacks on police, as well as boisterous criticism of police, often from hostile crowds gathered around crime scenes.

"Violence has always gone on, but it seems more intense now," Linskey said. "Any use of force by a police officer is under a lot more scrutiny  its balancing act and the crux for law enforcement is trying to find out what that balance is."
Kathmandu, July 24

Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Sher Bahadur Tamang has resigned from his position on Tuesday.

Minister Tamang organised a press conference at the Ministry today and announced that he decided to quit on moral ground.

The Nepal Communist Party leader claimed that he was committed to protecting and promoting womens rights throughout his life; and the recent statement about girl students studying in Bangladesh also did not have any mala fide intent.

However, the statement gave opponents a chance to draw the government into controversy; therefore he decided to resign so as to support the governments Prosperous Nepal: Happy Nepali campaign, he said.

Minister Tamangs wife, Province 1 lawmaker Ushakala Rai, was also present with the Minister during the press conference.

(Updated at 3:15 pm)

NCP directs Minister Sher Bahadur Tamang to quit

The ruling Nepal Communist Party has directed its lawmaker Sher Bahadur Tamang to resign from the position of Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs of the federal government.

The directive follows his controversial statement that many Nepali girl students studying medical courses in Bangladesh had to submit themselves to other people to acquire certificates, suggesting they were victims of sexual exploitation.

The statement had received a lot of criticisms for members of the public as they claimed that the leader offended the dignity of women. He had apologised for the statement, clarifying his intention was to show problems faced by Nepali students, but to no avail.

Top leaders of the party including Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had discussed how to solve the issue during a meeting at the PMs residence in Baluwatar last night. During the meeting, the leaders agreed to direct Tamang to quit.

Attempts were made to vilify the entire government and party. Therefore, we have told him to resign, a top leader of the party says.

Therefore, Minister Tamang will announce his resignation amidst a press conference today, according to a party source.

The press meeting has been scheduled for 2 pm at the Ministry today.
Image courtesy of Tallahassee PD / Facebook.

Officer Tony Carlson of the Tallahassee (FL) Police Department took some time over the weekend to shave a homeless man's beard so the man could apply for a job at a local McDonald's restaurant.

The moment was captured on cell phone video, and posted to Facebook. The video has gone viral, with the post garnering nearly a hundred comments  all of them positive and supportive of TPD.

"Just wanted to say Thank You to Officer Tony Carlson on being a great police officer and even better human being," said one comment.

"One of the many reasons I love living in Tallahassee," said another.

According to WKRG-TV, the woman who recorded the video approached the officer when he was done and learned that Officer Carlson had been present in the McDonald's when an employee told the man that he wouldn't be hired unless he shaved his beard.

Carlson retrieved some clippers, and performed the sidewalk barber-shop shave job.
The Dallas Police Association is irate that the man accused of being under the influence of alcohol when he allegedly struck and killed Senior Corporal Earl "Jamie" Givens was able to get out of jail in less than 24 hours.

DPA President Mike Mata wrote in a statement, "It is reprehensible that Adrrian Breedlove, the man arrested and charged with the intoxication murder of a Dallas police officer was given a $76,000 bail, allowing him to spend less than one day in jail. This was a violent death caused by a man whose blood alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit at 6AM. The officer he is charged with killing was a 55-year-old father of two who was only months away from retirement."

Givens was conducting a funeral escort for another Dallas police officer when he was struck and killed on Saturday morning.

In addition to the intoxication manslaughter charge, Breedlove was charged with unlawful carrying of a weapon.
LAPD SWAT and other officers helped customers escape Saturday during a tense, three-hour hostage situation in a Trader Joes grocery store in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles during which one woman was killed, reports the Los Angeles Daily News.

The incident began with a car chase and gun battle, and ended with a wounded suspect handcuffing himself and surrendering to police, authorities said.

The 28-year-old suspect opened fire on police during a pursuit before 4 p.m. that began when they found him in a stolen Toyota Camry in Hollywood, police said. He crashed the vehicle into a pole outside a Trader Joes on Hyperion Avenue and engaged in another gun battle before running into the store.

Hours earlier, the man shot his grandmother as many as seven times in South Los Angeles and dragged an injured woman into his grandmothers Camry before fleeing, Police Chief Michel Moore said at a 7 p.m. news conference. The suspects name was not immediately released.

The suspect had been on a cellphone with crisis negotiators throughout the ordeal, Moore said, adding about 40 people were believed to be in the store when the suspect entered.

Over the course of the standoff, police and SWAT officers helped some customers escape down ladders from windows and could be seen carrying children to safety.

"The heroism that was shown today was second to none and the teams that were able to respond, secure the perimeter, and engage in conversation with the suspect no doubt saved lives today," Mayor Eric Garcetti said.
Corporal Breanna Herrera was honored with a Certificate of Recognition for rescuing two young children locked inside a hot car. Image courtesy of Redlands PD / Facebook.

The Redlands (CA) Police Department recently awarded an officer with a Certificate of Recognition for her actions in rescuing two young children  a three-week-old infant and a 2-year-old boy  locked inside a car where the temperature had climbed to 138 degrees.

Responding to several 911 calls about the children in the car, Corporal Breanna Herrera spoke with the children's mother, a 26-year-old Loma Linda woman.

The woman said she had locked the keys in the car and that someone was on the way with a spare key. She said the children were only locked inside for a few minutes, but Corporal Herrera observed that the children were not moving.

Herrera broke a window and entered the vehicle. She found the 2-year-old boy seemed lethargic and in distress, while the infant was not moving.

The mother of the children was arrested for child endangerment, according to ABC7.
BENGALURU, India, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Infosys has been recognized as a Leader in the IDC MarketScape report, 'Worldwide Life Science R&D ITO Services 2018 Vendor Assessment'. IDC rated Infosys highly for the value it delivers to its customers relative to cost, quality of its ITO work, and willingness to contribute strategically to operational efforts.

(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/633365/Infosys_Logo.jpg )



The IDC study is the second document of a three-part series (BPO, ITO, and strategic consulting) that examines IT outsourcing in the life science R&D space. With a specific focus on life science R&D ITO, this report compares 11 major IT service providers based on operational, business, and market-centric criteria that should be important to life science companies when considering the selection of an external service provider to take over non-core IT activities.

Infosys has been serving the life science industry for more than 13 years and has over 5,000 workforce dedicated to its life science practice. Within the life science and R&D ITO space, Infosys is strong in delivering data and applications development and management, technology infrastructure and cloud implementation and support, and testing services to its clients. The extensive network of delivery centers also enables Infosys to offer its customers flexibility for project engagements. According to IDC, while growing its efforts with eminent pharmaceutical companies, Infosys has created a significant industry footprint that appeals to companies of all sizes.

For more information contact [email protected]

SOURCE Infosys
First three Indian citizens who invested in NYCRC's EB-5 offerings receive full repayment of their $500,000 investment

NEW YORK, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The New York City Regional Center ("NYCRC") is pleased to announce repayment to its first group of Indian EB-5 investors. The first three Indian citizens who invested in NYCRC offerings have received full repayment of their $500,000 EB-5 investment. The Indian citizens were part of the 130 EB-5 investors in the NYCRC's Steiner Studios Expansion Project (Phase I) that received full repayment of the offering's $65 million loan. A total of $125 million has now been repaid to 250 EB-5 investors in NYCRC's initial two project offerings.

The offering's $65 million EB-5 investment and resulting job creation enabled 339 individuals (EB-5 investors and family members) to receive permanent residency in the United States under the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. They are among the more than 4,600 individuals who have achieved permanent residency in the United States through NYCRC offerings to date. Approximately 1,600 I-829 petition approvals in NYCRC offerings have enabled 4,643 individuals to secure permanent green cards. I-829 petition approvals have now been issued in the NYCRC's first nine project offerings.

Permanent residency permits EB-5 investors to live and work anywhere in the United States and be protected by the laws of the United States. An EB-5 investor's spouse and children under age 21 are also authorized to live, work, and attend school anywhere in the United States.

"We are very pleased that the first three Indian citizens who invested in NYCRC offerings have received full repayment of their $500,000 EB-5 investment," said Paul Levinsohn, Managing Principal of the NYCRC. "The NYCRC takes seriously our role in spurring job creation and economic development as well as our responsibility to assist our EB-5 investors and their families achieve their immigration goals. This is an exciting achievement for the NYCRC and, of course, for our first Indian investors. We look forward to assisting many more Indian citizens in the future."

The Indian citizens who received full repayment of their EB-5 investment helped finance the expansion of Steiner Studios, the largest film and television studio complex in New York City. Steiner Studios is located in the New York City-government owned Brooklyn Navy Yard. The EB-5 capital was used to increase production capacity at Steiner Studios and further reinforce the Brooklyn Navy Yard as a central location for media production in New York City. In a city where space is at a premium, the construction of studio facilities is necessary for the film and television industry to continue to create new jobs. The NYCRC was selected to provide capital to assist with the continuation of this effort.

About New York City Regional Center

The NYCRC was approved by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services in 2008 to secure foreign investment for real estate and infrastructure projects under the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. The company was the first EB-5 regional center approved in New York City. To date, the NYCRC has secured approximately $1.5 billion of capital for 21 economic development projects in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx. Examples of projects utilizing loans provided by NYCRC-managed funds include the following:

redevelopment of the George Washington Bridge Bus Station in Washington Heights ;

; construction of a wireless infrastructure network in New York City's subway stations;

subway stations; redevelopment of a new cargo facility at JFK International Airport;

redevelopment of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York City's largest industrial park;

largest industrial park; construction of Fresh Direct's new food processing and distribution facility in the South Bronx ;

; expansion of Steiner Studios, New York City's largest film and television studio;

largest film and television studio; construction of the City Point development in Downtown Brooklyn ;

; construction of a hotel and medical office complex in Washington Heights;

construction of key components of the Atlantic Yards redevelopment in Brooklyn ;

; expansion of the Hutchinson Metro Center in the Bronx ;

; construction of LinkNYC, the public-private initiative that is bringing the nation's largest and fastest public Wi-Fi infrastructure network to the streets of New York City.

In addition to fueling economic development, NYCRC offerings have enabled over 4,600 individuals to become permanent residents of the United States through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program.

For more information about the NYCRC, please visit www.nycrc.com.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/452136/New_York_City_Regional_Center_Logo.jpg

Related Links

http://www.nycrc.com



SOURCE NYCRC
NEW YORK, July 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- KPS Capital Partners, LP ("KPS") announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement, through an affiliate, to sell Expera Specialty Solutions, LLC ("Expera" or the "Company") to Ahlstrom-Munksjo Oyj ("Ahlstrom-Munksjo"), of Finland, a global leader in fiber-based materials, for $615 million.

Expera is a leading North American manufacturer of specialty paper products for the industrial & technical, food and pressure-sensitive release liner segments. Headquartered in Wisconsin, Expera employs approximately 1,800 people. KPS created Expera in June 2013 by completing two discrete and highly synergistic acquisitions: the technical and specialty paper businesses of Wausau Paper Corp. and Packaging Dynamics Corporation, respectively.

Raquel Palmer, a Partner of KPS, said, "The success of our investment in Expera demonstrates KPS' ability to see value where others do not, to buy right and to make businesses better. KPS, in partnership with management, created one of the largest specialty paper companies in the world by successfully integrating the acquisition of two distinct businesses, achieving meaningful post-merger synergies, investing in new manufacturing capabilities, funding innovation, new product development and technology, and implementing a culture of continuous improvement. Expera is another example of KPS' investment strategy achieving success across economic cycles, geographies and industries, and we take immense pride in the Company's accomplishments."

Ms. Palmer added, "We congratulate and thank Expera's management team. Under KPS' ownership, Expera has more than doubled the profitability of the assets the Company acquired through manufacturing excellence, operational improvements, increased productivity and profitable growth. We are proud that during our ownership, Expera invested a significant amount of capital in a new manufacturing facility and a state-of-the-art silicone coater to support its unique and proprietary aerospace products."

Russ Wanke, Chief Executive Officer of Expera, added, "KPS was the only investor with the vision to recognize that two challenged businesses could have a stronger future together, creating one of the leading specialty paper businesses in North America. Working in partnership with KPS, we invested significantly in our people and operations, focusing on employee engagement, manufacturing excellence and providing best-in-class product quality and support to our customers. We are grateful to KPS for providing our team with the expertise, capital and resources needed to grow our business and to further our culture of continuous improvement. As part of Ahlstrom-Munksjo, Expera will remain committed to our core strategic imperatives and we look forward to a great future. We thank our customers, suppliers and employees for their contributions to our success."

KPS thanks the United Steelworkers of America for its support in the creation and ultimate success of Expera.

Completion of the transaction, which is expected in the second half of 2018, is subject to customary closing conditions and approvals.

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison LLP served as legal counsel and Deutsche Bank and Barclays served as financial advisors to KPS and Expera with respect to the transaction.

About Expera Specialty Solutions

Expera is a leading North American manufacturer of specialty paper products for the industrial & technical, food, and pressure-sensitive release liner segments. Headquartered in Wisconsin, Expera employs approximately 1,800 people across four Wisconsin-based manufacturing facilities located in Rhinelander, Mosinee, Kaukauna and De Pere. Additional information regarding Expera, its manufacturing facilities, and its product offerings can be found at www.expera.com.

About KPS Capital Partners, LP

KPS is the manager of the KPS Special Situations Funds, a family of investment funds with approximately $5.4 billion of assets under management. For over two decades, the Partners of KPS have worked exclusively to realize significant capital appreciation by making controlling equity investments in manufacturing and industrial companies across a diverse array of industries, including basic materials, branded consumer, healthcare and luxury products, automotive parts, capital equipment and general manufacturing. KPS creates value for its investors by working constructively with talented management teams to make businesses better, and generates investment returns by structurally improving the strategic position, competitiveness and profitability of its portfolio companies, rather than primarily relying on financial leverage. The KPS Funds' portfolio companies have aggregate annual revenues of approximately $6.4 billion, operate 120 manufacturing facilities in 25 countries, and employ over 25,000 associates, directly and through joint ventures worldwide. The KPS investment strategy and portfolio companies are described in detail at www.kpsfund.com.

Related Links

https://www.kpsfund.com



SOURCE KPS Capital Partners, LP
Kathmandu, July 24

The Metropolitan Traffic Police Division says it has launched a crackdown on taxis and private light vehicles providing rental services, after it received complaints galore that they cheated customers.

The Division has mobilised police in civvies and total 57 vehicles have been booked for overcharging passengers in past one week.

Each of the vehicles providing services to passengers going to and from Tribhuvan International Airport have been fined Rs 3,000.

The Divisions spokesperson, SP Surendra Prasad Mainali, says the Division decided to mobilise plainclothes cops after the number of complaints about them charging more significantly rose of late.

Meanwhile, taxi entrepreneurs have also extended support to the crackdown. Every taxi driver should agree to provide service on the fair calculated by the metre, a leader of the entrepreneurs association, Arjun Gautam says, But, the fair has to be increased.

There are 10,600 taxis are in operation in Kathmandu Valley.
RICHMOND, British Columbia, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

bioLytical's INSTI HIV Self Test Perfect Fit for New Campaign to Reach Men

bioLytical Laboratories, a world leader in rapid infectious disease tests and developer of the 1 minute INSTI HIV Self Test, commends Sir Elton John and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex for the launch of the MenStar Coalition to engage men in new and innovative ways to break the cycle of HIV transmission.

"New, energetic and innovative solutions are needed more than ever before - and that is exactly what you are about to see from Sir Elton John and the MenStar Coalition partners," said the Duke of Sussex.

"Young people are the only age group where HIV infections are rising, not falling," warned rock star and veteran AIDS campaigner Sir Elton John as he announced the launch of the MenStar Coalition focused on testing and treating HIV infections in men at the 2018 International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam today. "We have to do much, much more to bring men, especially younger men more fully into the fold," he insisted.

Much work has been done to protect women and girls but, "We can't solve the whole problem if we are only addressing half the situation," he said. "If we want to win this fight, if we want to end AIDS once and for all, we must make men part of the solution" and teach them to protect themselves, "not only their wives and girlfriends, their sisters, and daughters, but also critically their brothers and their sons."

The MenStar Coalition brings together seven founding partners to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030 including PEPFAR, UNITAID, The Global Fund, Elton John AIDS Foundation, Children's Investment Fund Foundation, Johnson & Johnson and Gilead.

The MenStar Coalition will invest $1.2 billion in the fight against HIV/AIDS and the group's first project is to launch a new HIV self-testing campaign aimed at young men in Kenya. "It makes sense to start the HIV self-testing campaign in Kenya as the INSTI HIV Self Test is already widely available and is the only test to hold all local regulatory approvals due to its superior performance and 1 minute time to result," said Ryan Bennett, Senior Director of International Sales. "The test is on the ground, pharmacies are stocked but demand generation has been lacking in the drive to reach young men to get tested. That's the single greatest reason why this initiative is so important - to drive awareness and eventually testing."

According to an UNAIDS report , in sub-Saharan Africa, men and boys living with HIV are 20% less likely than women and girls living with HIV to know their HIV status, and 27% less likely to be accessing treatment. Despite their many social and economic advantages, men are less likely than women to seek out health care, to take an HIV test, or to initiate and adhere to HIV treatment.

Prince Harry has long campaigned for HIV awareness and is no stranger to INSTI. In 2016, the Prince made headlines by taking an INSTI HIV test in a Facebook Live video, in an appeal for more people to get tested. "It's amazing how quick it is," said Harry about the test; his results were negative. And then in 2017, Terrence Higgins Trust welcomed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to Nottingham Contemporary, on World AIDS Day to remember the lives lost to HIV and mark the incredible medical progress made in the fight against the virus.

The Duke of Sussex was at the Amsterdam conference as the Patron of Sentebale , a charity he founded in 2006 to assist vulnerable children in Lesotho and Botswana affected by extreme poverty and HIV/AIDS. His Royal Highness and the #LetYouthLead advocates discussed challenges and experiences for young people living with HIV/AIDS.

About bioLytical Laboratories Inc.

bioLytical Laboratories is a privately owned company engaged in the research, development and commercialization of rapid, point-of-care in vitro medical diagnostics using its proprietary INSTI technology platform. Today, the company markets and sells its INSTI HIV test and INSTI HIV/Syphilis Multiplex Test with a world-wide footprint of regulatory approvals including WHO Prequalification, US FDA, Health Canada and CE mark from European regulators. INSTI tests provide highly accurate test results in as little as 60 seconds translating into a compelling value proposition for patients, healthcare professionals and public health organizations. For more information, please visit http://www.biolytical.com and http://www.insti.com.

Eva Siu, Phone: 1-604-204-6784, Email: info@biolytical.com

SOURCE bioLytical Laboratories
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Moscow court refuses to return case of Yukos ex-lawyer to prosecutors

 

11:59 24/07/2018

MOSCOW, July 24 (RAPSI)  The Khamovnichesky District Court of Moscow has refused to return the criminal case against Yukos oil companys former lawyer Pavel Ivlev, who is charged with embezzlement, to prosecutors, RAPSI correspondent reports from the courtroom.

Attorneys representing Ivlev asked the court to return the case because the alleged crime was related to his activity as a lawyer, also saying that the charges themselves were incorrect. The judge, in turn, said that there were no grounds to this request. Prosecutors also objected to the motion in question.

Earlier, the court dismissed other motions of the defense, asking the court to bring politician Alexey Navalny into the trial as Ivlevs lawyer and to organize a video conference with Ivlev, a U.S. citizen currently residing in the United States.

According to investigators, ex-lawyer was a member of an organized crime group led by ex-Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovsky, which could embezzle more than 195 million metric tons of oil belonging to Yuganskneftegaz, Samaraneftegaz and Tomskneft companies.

Investigators believe that the amount of embezzled funds reaches about one trillion rubles ($15.9 billion).
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'A heavy tanker takes time to move, but when it starts rolling, it's difficult to stop it,' Indian Hotels CEO Puneet Chhatwal tells Shyamal Majumdar.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

Puneet Chhatwal says he was and remains a "naughty boy".

That has extended to his management style, which includes frequent teasing and pulling his colleagues' legs.

"If you have any doubts about my naughtiness, ask my mother who is 82 now. She, a retired principal, retains the commanding tone in her voice. But I didn't listen to her earlier and I don't listen to her even now, though she hasn't stopped trying," the 54-year-old Chhatwal says with a smile, as we settle down at the Grill Room of the Chambers at Taj Mahal Hotel, Mansingh Road, Delhi.

He was a late starter and spent most of his time in school in the company of a group called Orange Bar, which consisted of three girls and two boys, including himself.

The boy in the group took the responsibility of brushing up Chhatwal's maths skills so that he could pass somehow. And his inspiration for taking up hotel management as a career was simple: He wanted to study something that can be finished fast.

Like any middle-class household, his parents wanted him to pursue medicine or engineering, but their "world fell apart" when he defied them.

That discomfort with his choice of profession took a long time to go, and it certainly didn't help that he was cleaning the lobby floor when his parents visited his workplace for the first time. That was at an ITDC hotel, which he joined after passing out from IHM, Pusa Road.

The corner table gives us a breathtaking view of Lutyens Delhi, and Chhatwal, a Delhi boy, looks wistfully at the greenery outside.

The steward and a couple of his aides are in attendance with an elaborate menu, and Chhatwal jokes they want to impress me, as they know the MD does not care too much about elaborate lunches.

"I have stayed too long in Europe and am used to pick up a bite on the go. I even iron my own shirt," he says. The steward refuses to give up and explains everything in detail before serving.

The first serving is called Chilled Masala Pot, which is a typical old Delhi signature chaat served with yoghurt, and the second is called Fresh Morel Mirch Malai. Chhatwal quizzes the steward about the "smoke" coming out from one of the dishes.

As the steward explains, it's nothing but Dahi Bhalla and the "smoke" has taken inspiration from the California mist. It's difficult to figure out the link between Californian mist and Dahi Bhalla, but the dishes look good and the taste is superb.

Chhatwal says people talk about the 4Ps of marketing, but the formula that played a pivotal role in his career is the 3Ps -- Patna, Paris and Pune.

His first posting was in Patna where he learnt how to run a coffee shop and how to escape unhurt after getting kidnapped.

He was once riding his Royal Enfield on his way to office and made the "mistake" of overtaking a Maruti car.

Within seconds, he was pushed into the car and taken to a place he had never been before.

Chhatwal doesn't get into details, but says everything ended well as he was allowed to leave after a few hours of captivity.

The "naughty boy" perhaps became a fearless man after that incident.

He was called back to Delhi's Ashoka hotel after an 11-month stint in Patna, and launched ITDC's first Japanese restaurant.

Chhatwal says the exposure he got in ITDC was "priceless" and proceeds to explain why.

The employees at the Samrat hotel once went on strike and the management trainees had to run the hotel all by themselves for close to two weeks.

Then the Kanishk hotel staff went on strike and he had to run the Palm Court coffee shop for 30 days.

It's a different matter that he was kidnapped again -- this time by the Kanishk staff.

Once again, he escaped, and once again, Chhatwal doesn't give the details.

The second P in his life is Pune.

During a break in his college days, he was in that city and learnt German at the Max Mueller Bhavan there. It was a life-changing move as his expertise in the language took him places later in life.

The third P was, of course, Paris.

He did his master's in hospitality administration from the Essec Business School and then spent a majority of his working career in the French capital.

Chhatwal says he went to study at Essec on a scholarship and wanted to come back to India, which he did. But the way ITDC was handled didn't excite him any longer.

Meanwhile, the hotelier family of one of his German classmates had applied for a working visa for him. After it was approved, he just packed his bags and left.

Two visiting professors at Essec changed his life forever. He was till then good in sales and marketing and had language skills, but shied away from anything remotely to do with numbers.

One of the professors taught him why numbers were important to justify business strategy; the other taught him the importance of cost and profit analysis.

It is because of them, Chhatwal says, he is now a totally numbers-driven person.

The steward has perhaps figured out by now that the boss is scarcely interested in the food and makes himself invisible. We are served Pepper Prawn with Black Rice Pulao. Chhatwal returns to the third P.

After running a few dorms-turned-hotels, his first break came from his German friend's family, who wanted to restart their hotel.

Chhatwal rebuilt the group, known as the Feuring chain of hotels, and then moved to The Rezidor Hotel Group-Carlson Hotels Worldwide. Carlson exposed him to the American way of doing things: German discipline and quality coupled with American packaging and marketing is a great combination to learn from.

He then shifted to Steigenberger Hotels AG-Deutsche Hospitality, where he was CEO and board member till he got the Indian Hotels offer.

His phone rings and Chhatwal says he has to leave immediately for a meeting with the tourism minister.

I ask him about his less than a year's experience at the Taj group.

Within about 100 days of joining the Taj, Chhatwal went back to a multi-brand approach that was overturned by his immediate predecessor who wanted to have all the hotels under a single brand -- Taj.

That's because India is too diverse a country and it didn't make much sense to spread the Taj brand too thin.

"We had a Taj in places like Chikmagalur and Ranchi. These properties will never make money. It wasn't a practical approach," he says.

Big plans are on the anvil for Ginger, which will be the group's fastest growing property.

His aide reminds him once again about the next meeting, but Chhatwal is in a mood to speak more.

One of his pet peeve is the Indian hotel industry's obsession with occupancy at the cost of profitability.

The other problem typical of India is everyone is looking for discounts.

Even before he joined the Taj group, requests came pouring in from so-called celebrities, including well-known CEOs asking for steep discounts for weddings or long holidays abroad.

Chhatwal says one possible reason for the hotel chain's problems in the past was spending too much money on properties all over the world.

It would have perhaps been better to consolidate and then move to other geographies.

But such analysis is easy in hindsight, he adds, as one should not forget that his predecessors also established a great platform in two of the largest lodging markets of the world -- the US and the UK.

"A heavy tanker takes time to move, but when it starts rolling, it's difficult to stop it," he says.

Just before he rushes out, Chhatwal says he has had a blessed life so far, except that his marriage didn't last beyond 22 years.

He got divorced from his wife, a former air hostess with Air India, in 2014.

"It was a classic case where one partner gets ahead and the other gets left behind. I tried really hard. But I suppose everything doesn't work in everybody's life."

One could almost feel and touch the disappointment in his voice.
'What is required is to make Pakistan less war-like and more modest in its ambitions. To normalise with India and to reduce the State's fondness for religion.'

'It is pragmatism and not charisma that it required and it is by being boring and not heroic that this can be achieved.'

'This is the moment of realisation which brings the Pakistani leader into conflict with the army.'

'Imran Khan will learn the lesson in time,' says Aakar Patel.

IMAGE: A supporter of Imran Khan wears a mask of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader and dances to party songs during a campaign rally July 22, 2018. Photograph: Akhtar Soomro/Reuters

Pakistan awaits its latest saviour, the fast bowler Imran Khan, who will most likely become prime minister after Wednesday's election.

He is the candidate preferred by the army and the pliant bureaucracy that services it, jointly referred to by Pakistan's media as the 'establishment'.

The final step in this direction came with the arrest and jailing of Nawaz Sharif, the popular Punjabi leader (of Kashmiri origin).

The strength of Khan's party, the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf, is in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region and in some parts of Punjab, where Sharif's party is also strong.

It would not have been possible for Khan to succeed democratically unless Sharif had been laid low, as has been done with his conviction (thought by many to be unfair) in a case of corruption and disproportionate assets triggered by the Panama Papers revelations.

With Sharif out of the way, the road for Khan is open.

Why is Khan seen as the preferred candidate? That is simple to tell.

In his narrative of what is wrong with Pakistan, the army does not figure.

It is the corruption of Pakistan's political parties and past leaders, and it is the is the United States and its wars that to his mind have held back his nation.

The other thing about Khan is his embrace of religion and his comfort with the role of Islam in the modern State.

This aligns him with the worldview of the 'establishment', and if he should win the election, Pakistan will finally have the ideal government.

Unfortunately, this is a myth.

Khan, if he wins, will go the way of the other Pakistani leaders because he is part of a pattern that remains unrecognised.

It may be strange now, but Sharif was once exactly in the same position as Khan.

In the 1980s, he had been handpicked by then president General Zia-ul Haq as the next political leader.

After Zia's death, and Benazir Bhutto's return from exile, Sharif was used by the army to counter her 'liberal' instincts, resulting in a hung parliament.

Benazir recognised that she could not rule without the army's goodwill and succumbed to their policy of jihad in Kashmir, bringing grief to both sides of the Line of Control.

But she was independent of mind and in time came to see that for Pakistan to normalise, it would have to move away from the core beliefs held by the army.

Unfortunately for Pakistan, she paid for this independence with her life.

Sharif also came to the same realisation in time.

He began as a leader who was willing to go along with the army, but for the last decade or more he has been attempting to normalise with India.

This is the one thing that would defang the army, and therefore it has been the one thing that the army has resisted.

But without normalising with India (meaning putting an end to the mischief of armed groups like the Laskhar-e-Taiyaba and putting an end to the various conflicts) there is no route for Pakistan to become a modern and functional State.

This realisation usually comes to tough-talking Pakistanis after they come to power and the reality of the world dawns on them.

Even General Pervez Musharraf, who made his name through the adventure at Kargil (which the scholar of South Asia Stephen Cohen called a tactical victory but a strategic blunder) in the end wanted peace with India.

Before the 1980s, the saviour was Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who became a national hero for his recklessness. Bhutto as a young minister encouraged then president General Ayub Khan to begin a war with India.

And then he stabbed his benefactor in the back by saying, after the world forced the nations into peace at Tashkent, that Ayub had betrayed Pakistan.

This made him popular with the establishment and he came to power. His failure to change anything came at great personal cost to him and he was hanged by the military a few years later.

The same cycle keeps repeating itself, and leaders come to power in alignment with the military's anti-India position.

The saviour then realises that the tools he has at hand are not only insufficient and inadequate but totally wrong for the job at hand.

More conflict and more aggressive posturing cannot help a nation whose fundamental problems are poverty and an inability to solve basic governance issues.

What is required is to make the nation less war-like and more modest in its ambitions. To normalise with India and to reduce the State's fondness for religion.

It is pragmatism and not charisma that it required and it is by being boring and not heroic that this can be achieved.

This is the moment of realisation which brings the Pakistani leader into conflict with the army.

Military rulers like Ayub and Musharraf found this out, as did political leaders like Benazir, her father Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif.

Imran Khan will also learn the lesson in time.

Aakar Patel is Executive Director, Amnesty International India. The views expressed here are his own.
'Tension is being created in society because of this green flag, which is not even an Islamic flag.'

'There is no history of such a green flag being used in the Muslim world.'

Photograph: Fayaz Kabli/Reuters

The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to respond to a petition by Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Board Chairman Waseem Rizvi seeking a ban on green flags with a crescent moon and star.

Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan asked Rizvi's counsel to serve a copy of the petition to Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to enable him TO file a reply on the Centre's behalf.

Rizvi had filed the petition stating that the green flag must be banned in India because it is 'un-Islamic'.

"If Muslims improve their own mistakes, then we will make a better India," Rizvi tells Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf.

What led to your PIL (public interest litigation) regarding green flags with the crescent and star?

The green flags that are put up as Islamic flags are not Islamic.

Common people have no idea about the history of this flag.

When the Muslim League was formed in 1906, this green flag with crescent moon and star came into existence.

Before that, Turkey, ruled by the Ottoman empire, had a red flag with crescent moon and star as their flag.

There is no history of such a green flag being used in the Muslim world prior to that.

Before Islam came into existence, the crescent moon and stars were worshipped like God.

The Holy Quran suggests otherwise.

Ayat 37 of Sura 41 says Muslims must not worship the moon and stars.

But...

(Interrupts) After the Partition of India, the Pakistan government made this green flag with moon and crescent as their national flag, with an added white strip.

Till date, the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-E-Azam) party has the same flag as their party flag.

What about the Indian Union Muslim League, the faction of the League that stayed in India after Partition?

Their flag is different. On top of the green flag there is A small crescent moon and star. It is a different flag.

Moreover, it is a political flag and not an Islamic one. Those who call it AN Islamic flag are wrong.

Therefore, I have appealed to the court. I want a ban on the flag in India.

The PML-Q flag has been kept on purpose to keep the ideology of Pakistan alive in India. I feel this is wrong.

The political flag of THE Muslim League which existed before 1947 in India has become a religious flag in Independent India.

Nobody has noticed it for 70 years. So why are you objecting now?

You see, hatred is growing in society. I saw a report on social media that a bus came under attack because it was carrying the green flag.

In one way, there is tension being created in society because of this green flag, which is not even an Islamic flag.

We have to rectify our mistake by changing this flag.

So which is an Islamic flag?

Prophet Mohammed made the first Islamic flag which was plain black in colour. It was called Rayat-al-uqab (banner of the eagle).

And when he entered Mecca, he was holding a white flag which signifies peace.

So you are okay with a flag of any colour except the green one?

Yes, I have no problem (with any other flag). You cannot make a political flag belonging to the Muslim League of 1906 (a religious flag).

The flag might be blue or any other colour, but not the green one with a crescent moon and star as it was the Muslim League's flag.

Green also signifies greenery.

Then take out the star and crescent moon. Why are you using the same symbols as used by the Muslim League in 1906?

Take the flags of other Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran or Iraq; you don't see the crescent moon and star. Pakistan is the only country which has a green colour flag with a crescent and star on its flag.

What will you gain if you win your case?

A Pakistani political party must not be promoted in India.

You are being called a 'BJP agent' by your critics.

If I speak on issues, my opponents level such charges on me. I feel it is better to change this flag rather than dying for such stupid things.

I don't want future generations to suffer because of this Muslim League flag.

Do you feel if we remove green flags with a crescent and star in India, then things will change and brotherhood will prevail in society?

There are other issues too, but (let's) begin with this flag. Why keep love for Pakistan in your heart by putting up such flags?

The people who put up such flags may not know its history.

Those poor people who are putting up these flags may not know, but those who conspired to put up this flag know about it.

Flag or no flag, Muslim areas are termed 'mini-Pakistan' in many parts of India.

Pakistani Muslims will never be friends with Indian Muslims.

Sadly, it is a reality that some Muslims in India have love for Pakistan in their hearts.

I repeat, only some of them.

Before going to court did you request anyone to remove the flag?

I wrote letters to various Muslim organisations on this issue. I sent letters to the Muslim Personal Law Board as they have got the maximum number of clerics under them. They did not even bother to reply.

Some years ago when actress Simi Garewal said on television that she saw so many Pakistani flags in Mumbai, she was made a laughing stock because of her 'ignorance'.

People who laughed at her must know that if someone is objecting to it, then this will create tension in future. One cannot take everything as a joke.

One gets the feeling that the Muslim community is being systematically targeted today: Be it the azaan issue, triple talaq or the beef ban?

So why is the community getting entrapped in it at all?

If there is some problem with our community, then we must have to solve it.

If my child is fighting with a neighbour's child, then I have to improve the behaviour of my child and not my neighbour's child.

If I start pointing out mistakes of my neighbour's child, then the trouble will never end.

And if both parents make their children learn how to live peacefully, then the trouble will end permanently.

If Muslims improve their own mistakes, then we will make a better India.

Every 15 days some fundamentalist Hindu organisation finds new problems with Muslims in India. What do you have to say about it?

Yes, now the situation is changing. Nowhere was a Muslim was taken into a jungle and killed in the name of 'love jihad' earlier, as happened now in Rajasthan.

Such things never happened and we need to understand why this hatred is growing. And the answer is that we should first improve our own mistakes.

This hatred is growing because of Hindu fundamentalists and not because of Muslims.

No. I gave you the example of children fighting. You accept first that you are doing something wrong and improve on that.
Large-scale violence marred a state-wide protest on Tuesday by Maratha outfits demanding reservation for the community in Maharashtra, where a constable died and nine other policemen were injured amid suicide attempt by three agitators.

IMAGE: Pro-reservation outfits of Maratha community burn a vehicle after a clash with the police personnel during the funeral of Kakasaheb Shinde, who died on Monday during a protest march in favour of reservations, in Kaygaon village at Aurangabad. Photograph: PTI Photo

Stone-pelting and arson were reported from several parts of the state, which remained on edge on Tuesday and braced for a Mumbai bandh on Wednesday.

Agitators clashed with the police and torched vehicles at several places, while internet services were suspended in rural areas of Aurangabad district to prevent any untoward incident. In Jalna, the police fired in the air to scatter protesters.

As the stir for reservation in jobs and education intensified, the Maratha Kranti Morcha, which is spearheading the agitation, is taking its battle to Mumbai where it has called for the shutdown. Another outfit, the Sakal Maratha Samaj, called for a bandh on Wednesday in Navi Mumbai and Panvel as well.

The impact of Tuesdays bandh was more visible in Aurangabad and adjoining districts in the central region of the state, a day after the death of a protester.

Quotas for Marathas, a politically influential community that constitutes around 30 per cent of the states population, has been a hugely contentious issue.

IMAGE: A truck after protesters vandalised it during a protest rally demanding reservation for Marathis, in Nanded. Photograph: PTI Photo

A constable deployed near the funeral venue of the protester who jumped to death on Monday, died. Police said the cause of death is yet to be ascertained.

The post-mortem report is awaited. Some injury marks were seen on his hands and legs, a police official said, adding another constable there got injured in stone-pelting.

Protester Kakasaheb Shinde, 27, had jumped to death from a bridge over the Godavari in Aurangabad on Monday.

Shiv Sena MP Chandrakant Khaire faced the ire of the protesters when he went to attend his last rites at his Kaygaon village on Tuesday.

Khaire was manhandled by the crowd and had to beat a hasty retreat, police said, adding there was stone pelting on his car too.

The police at the venue caned protesters and lobbed tear gas shells, Aurangabad Superintendent of Police Arti Singh said. The situation in Aurangabad is under control. Police are alert to avert any unwanted incident.

IMAGE: Smoke billows from a burning tyre during a protest rally demanding reservation for Marathis, at Neknoor village in Beed district. Photograph: PTI Photo

Eight policemen, including two officers, were hurt after protesters threw stones at the Ghansangvi police station, police said. A fire brigade van was also set ablaze at Kaygaon.

Jalna SP Ramnath Pokale said agitators pelted stones at a tehsil office. To disperse the violent mob, we fired in the air and lobbed tear gas shells, he said, adding the police were trying to arrest those involved in the violence.

The situation is now under control and additional State RPF personnel have been sent, Pokale said.

Protesters also threw stones on a Hyderabad-Latur bus in Nilanga tehsil in Latur.

The Aurangabad Municipal Corporation general body meeting on Tuesday decided to give a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to Shindes kin. A resolution seeking 16 per cent quota for the Marathas in jobs and education was also approved there.

In Sangli, Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil said the government has done whatever was within its ambit and now it was up to the courts to take a call on the issue. Some paid people have infiltrated the stir, he said.

IMAGE: A protester is carried away after being injured during a protest rally demanding reservation for Marathis, in Nanded. Photograph: PTI Photo

Protester Jagannath Sonawane, 31, from Aurangabad, sought to emulate Shindes example by jumping onto a dry river bed, while another, Guddu Sonawane, also from the district, consumed poison. They have been admitted to a hospital, police said.

In Thane, activist Mangesh Suryavanshi, 38, jumped into a creek near the Ganesh Ghat, but was saved by police and others, Thane Police PRO Sukhada Narkar said. He received minor injuries and was admitted to a hospital.

In Nanded, police cane-charged protesters to disperse them, an official said.

At Kaygaon, Aurangabad, protesters shouted slogans hailing Shinde as a martyr, police said.

Pune saw sporadic incidents of stone pelting. Some people threw stones at an administrative building in Baramati and a state transport bus was attacked, ASP Sandip Pakhale said.

Maratha Kranti Morcha members took out a rally in Pune.

Our members took out a rally in Pune and traders kept their shops closed in Deccan, Laxmi Road and Bajirao Road areas of the city, said Shantaram Kunjir, a convener of the morcha.

IMAGE: Relatives mourn the death of Kakasaheb Shinde during his funeral, who died on Monday during a protest march in favour of reservations, in Kaygaon village at Aurangabad. Photograph: PTI Photo

The bandh received lukewarm response in Yavatmal and Amravati. In Yavatmal, the bandh call was given by the Maratha Mahasangh.

In Amravati, activists paid homage to Shinde at Rajkamal Square. They later marched to the Kotwali Police Station and submitted a memorandum addressed to the CM.

The bandh received a mixed response in Ahmednagar and Nashik districts.

In Nashik district, activists staged a rasta roko on the Mumbai-Agra National Highway. The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation suspended its services to Aurangabad from Nashik, an official said.

Protesters burnt tyres at Sakora in Nandgaon taluka of Nashik, affecting traffic, the Rural Police Control said.

IMAGE: Protestors from the Maratha community take part in a rally demanding reservation, in Karad, Maharashtra. Photograph: PTI Photo

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil blamed CM Devendra Fadnavis for the stir taking a violent turn and demanded his resignation.

Fadnavis had cancelled his visit to a temple in Pandharpur protesters threatened to disrupt the event.

Despite assurances from Fadnavis, nothing concrete has been done till now, community leaders have claimed.

We will continue our agitation until the CM apologises to the Maratha community (for alleging that some members from the community were planning violence at Pandharpur), Morcha coordinator Ravindra Patil said.
North Korea has begun dismantling key facilities at a site used to develop engines for ballistic missiles, according to an analysis of satellite imagery, the first significant step towards denuclearisation following the last month's historic summit between Kim Jong-un and United States President Donald Trump.

The Sohae Satellite Launching Station has been the main site for North Korean satellite launches since 2012.

The testing facilities at the site are thought to play a role in the development of liquid-fuel engines that can also be used in North Korea's ballistic missile programme.

The images published by 38 North, a US-based website focused on North Korea that is affiliated with the Stimson Center in Washington, were taken on July 20 and July 22, respectively.

New commercial satellite imagery of the Sohae station indicates that the North has begun dismantling key facilities, the 38 North said in a report.

If the analysis of the satellite imagery is accurate, North Korea may be taking a small but significant step toward the disarmament that was agreed upon by the North Korean leader and President Trump during a landmark meeting in Singapore on June 12, it said.

Most notably, these include the rail-mounted processing building -- where space launch vehicles are assembled before moving them to the launch pad -- and the nearby rocket engine test stand used to develop liquid-fuel engines for ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles, the 38 North said.

Since these facilities are believed to have played an important role in the development of technologies for the North's intercontinental ballistic missile programme, these efforts represent a significant confidence building measure on the part of North Korea, the North Korea-focused website said.

According to 38 North, commercial satellite imagery of the launch pad from July 20 shows that the rail-mounted processing/transfer structure has been moved to the middle of the pad, exposing the underground rail transfer point -- one of the few times it has been seen in this location.

The roof and supporting structure have been partially removed and numerous vehicles are present, including a large construction crane, it said, adding that an image from two days later shows the continued presence of the crane and vehicles.

Noting that considerable progress has been made in dismantling the rail-mounted processing/transfer structure, it said one corner has been completely dismantled and the parts can be seen lying on the ground.

In both images the two fuel/oxidizer bunkers, main processing building and gantry tower remain untouched.

38 North said that the imagery of the vertical engine test stand from July 20 shows the presence of a crane and a number of vehicles.

"The rail-mounted environmental shelter -- which had not been moved since December 2017 -- has been razed and removed, the older fuel/oxidizer bunkers are in the process of being razed, and portions of the test stand's upper steel framework have been dismantled and its panelling removed," it said.

Two days later fewer vehicles are present and the test stand superstructure has been completely dismantled, leaving only the base, which is also in the process of being removed, it added.

"No additional progress is noted on the demolition of the older fuel/oxidizer bunkers. In both images, the two newer fuel/oxidizer bunkers and vehicle garage remain untouched, as does the concrete foundation of the test stand. Given the state of activity, work is likely to have begun sometime within the past two weeks," 38 North said.

Meanwhile, President Trump in a tweet rejected the "Fake News" that he was angry because progress was not happening fast enough with North Korea.

"Wrong, very happy!" he said in the Tweet.

"A Rocket has not been launched by North Korea in 9 months. Likewise, no Nuclear Tests. Japan is happy, all of Asia is happy," he said.

The US, however, has been fretting over a lack of North Korean actions toward dismantling its nuclear and missile programmes and in spite of positive assessments Trump has given on progress with North Korea, he has vented anger at aides over a lack of immediate progress, the Washington Post reported.

Last week, Trump said there was "no rush" and "no time limit" on denuclearisation negotiations.
In a bid to curb the spread of fake news, the US-based company is testing a feature, which enables users to detect harmful links sent and received.

Mayank Jain & Kiran Rathee report.

In yet another move to stem the spread of fake news and misinformation through its instant messaging app, Facebook-owned WhatsApp is testing a label, which marks unusual links sent on chats as suspicious.

The company is testing this feature in a beta version of its Android app, in a bid to crack down on fake news. The way it works is by identifying the characters in the link shared and noticing unusual patterns in the web address.

For instance, sometimes, characters are camouflaged to make suspicious sites seem real. Recently, a fake e-mail involving a United Kingdom company Global Sign was sent out to people with a link globalsign.uk, which is not a real company website, as the official website is hosted at globalsign.com. However, a lot of people apparently fell for the scam because the domain seemed realistic enough.

WhatsApps move comes at a time when the Indian government has been putting pressure on the company to act on the spread of fake news through its platform. The government asked WhatsApp to limit spam on its platform and find ways through technology to stop false messages from circulating far and wide. This came on the heels of dozens of lynchings reported around the country, allegedly after rumours spread on the instant messaging app.

In this regard, the company wrote back to the government and reassured it of its commitment to tackling the problem of fake news in India. WhatsApp has launched a slew of features since then as a way of displaying its commitment to stop the menace of fake news.

Recently, the company introduced a forwarded label for messages which are directly forwarded by people from one chat to another. This allows the user to think twice before believing what the text on the screen reads and forwarding it further, the company stated.

Reports suggest that the company is also looking to limit forwarding of messages for its users in India. The company is set to be mulling an update that will allow a message to be forwarded only five times by a user even though those five people receiving it can forward it to five people each further. The company hopes this will put brakes on the spread of rumours in the country.

Now, the feature of checking suspicious links is being tested in the beta version as insiders said that they expect it to be rolled out on full scale soon. The company said on its website that the label will automatically appear when the link has unusual characters.

Spammers may use these character combinations to trick you into tapping on links that appear to go to a legitimate website, but actually take you to a malicious site, it stated.

WhatsApp further added that these checks on links happen only on the user device because of end-to-end encryption which doesnt allow the company to see the content of messages. This also implies that WhatsApp wont be able to stop a malicious link from being forwarded as it can only label it as suspicious once it has landed in someones chat.

The company illustrated this with an example of a site https://?hatsapp.com/free-tickets which it said is a suspicious link as what looks like the letter w in the link is actually two v. Another such vulnerability was found by Russian security firm Kaspersky, which said in a report released in May that there are fake websites which look like social media giant Facebook but have manipulative web addresses which make people believe that they are logging into the real site but their details get stolen. These websites use addresses such as services-facebook.com which seem realistic enough for a lay person to not verify twice. The company refused to comment further on the feature as it is still in beta.

On July 19, the government had issued a second notice to WhatsApp demanding more stringent solution to check fake news. The government had warned WhatsApp of legal action if it fails to curb viral circulation of fake news but the company is yet to respond.

Although the instant messaging app has put in more features to check fake news, WhatsApp has not yet replied to governments second notice, an official from ministry of electronics and information technology said.

Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images
As the country readies to go to polls on July 25, one cant deny the role of the military, but there are other factors too, reports Aditi Phadnis.

IMAGE: Most analysts agree this election is chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Imran Khan's last chance at making a bid for Pakistans top job. Photograph: Naseer Ahmed/Reuters

Whats at stake

The country on July 25 will hold elections to the National Assembly, comprising 342 members. Among them, 272 members are directly elected; 60 seats are reserved for women and 10 for religious minorities. A party or a coalition that reaches 172 can form the government. Women are elected from reserved seats as candidates of political parties but via a proportional representation system -- that is, the number of reserved seats are allotted to a party in proportion to the general seats won by the party.

Alongside the general election, members will also be elected for the provincial assemblies: For 297 general seats in Punjab, 130 in Sindh, 99 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and 65 in Balochistan.

The parties

IMAGE: Siraj ul Haq (left) leader of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, a coalition between religious-political parties, listens to Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, as they are attend a campaign rally, ahead of general elections in Karachi. Photograph: Akhtar Soomro/Reuters

Nawaz Sharifs Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz enjoys considerable support in his native Punjab province, the wealthiest and most populous of Pakistans four states. However, Nawaz, debarred from contesting elections, has been sentenced to 10 years jail for corruption and could be arrested the minute he returns from London. The party and its campaign are being managed by his family -- daughter Maryam, brother Shahbaz (who might become PM, should PML-N get the numbers) and nephew Hamza.



Given strained ties between the army and the Nawaz administration, the army would prefer PML-N to lose. Many PML-N leaders have joined the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf led by Imran Khan.



In the overall absence of religious parties (they were not given the permission to register and contest elections by the Election Commission of Pakistan), the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan, a religious outfit, led by a preacher, Khadim Hussain Rizvi, stands out.

The party has fielded over 150 candidates for the National Assembly. The Muttahida MajliseAmal, an alliance of religious groupings including the Jamaat-e-Islami, has won significant numbers in provinces in the past when it piggybacked other national parties. The presence of religious parties is restricted to pockets and because they are unrecognised, some leaders are contesting as independents.

The Pakistan Peoples Party, which has given such leaders as Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto and has now fielded Bilawal Bhutto and Asif Zardari, is a setting sun. Even the Sind region, which it once dominated, has been taken over by other actors.

The actors

Most analysts agree this election is Imrans last chance at making a bid for Pakistans top job. The PTI has made impressive inroads into Punjab, as seen in numerous recent by-elections.

However, the consensus is that on its own, the PTI does not have the wherewithal to form a government -- it will have to enter a coalition with other parties. This will suit the Inter Services Intelligence and the army because they will have a greater leverage in influencing policy with a weak and inexperienced politician as prime minister.

The PML-N, on the other hand, is beset with confusion and crossed wires in the chain of command. There are reports of differences between Nawaz and Shahbaz. A family struggle, in the absence of paterfamilias Nawaz is taking a toll. Nawaz would have liked to see daughter Maryam holding the reins of the party, but that is now not possible, given the seven-year jail term to which she has been sentenced for corruption. This means the field is free for Shahbaz and his supporters.

The promises

IMAGE: Cronyism, corruption, and civil-military relations dominate the discourse arounf the polls. Photograph: Akhtar Soomro/Reuters

The PML-N, for instance, has promised to raise the gross domestic product rate, reduce the budget deficit, develop socio-economic zones to boost industrial production and use the China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects to enhance access to domestic and international markets, besides creating 2 million jobs every year.



The PTI (whose spokesman Asad Umar will be a key figure in framing the economic policy if the party comes to power) has promised a digital policy for transforming Pakistan into a knowledge economy and adopting the Information Technology route to increase exports and job creation. Its main plank is eradicating corruption. The PPP has promised equity.



Investment bankers believe the victory of the PTI-led coalition may prompt capital flight by resident Pakistanis. Yet this same coalition could undertake extensive structural reform of the undocumented economy by raising tax collection and reforming loss-making state enterprises, says Dubai-based investment banker Hasnain Malik of Exotix Research.

The India factor

India is hardly present in election speeches but it remains a factor in the election. Bilawal has described Nawaz as Modi ka yaar (a friend of Modi) in one of his speeches, making it clear who the enemy is. Shireen Mazari of the PTI has promised if voted to power, her party will be ready to go to any extent to respond to Indian aggression.

Other worries

Pakistan has other things on its mind as it heads into elections. Cronyism, corruption, and civil-military relations dominate the discourse. The economic meltdown and the CPEC have given rise to a heated debate on the implications of skewed economic development. But most commentators agree that when it comes to politics, nationalism trumps economic crisis every time.
Throughout, Mekhail spoke calmly, with hardly an inflection making even the barest attempt to hijack his tone.

His tone was so empty it made his narrative all the more touching.

And ugly and grey, as the monsoon sky beyond the window.

Vaihayasi Pande Daniel reports from the Sheena Bora murder trial.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

When Indrani Mukerjea's 28-year-old son Mekhail Bora took the stand on Monday, July 23, and swore to tell the truth and nothing but the truth in the Sheena Bora murder trial in CBI Special Courtroom 51 at the Mumbai city civil and sessions court, south Mumbai, the gasps emitted around the room were loud.

Firstly, because he could not be recognised.

Secondly, because he had not been expected.

Thirdly, because he looked not in the least similar to his mother or his slain sister. It was difficult to believe they even shared the same DNA.

The trim, dusky, Assamese young man, wearing a crisp white shirt, dark blue-black pants and polished black shoes and sporting a neatly manicured beard, long pencil-thin sideburns and moustache, was nothing like the pictures that have appeared, on and off, of him on television, since the murder investigation began in 2015.

Gone was the 10 stone of extra flab he once carried around on him.

Gone too were the grubby black T-shirts with beer glass and liquor motifs and the scruffy, dishevelled appearance of three years ago.

In its place was neat, well-mannered, brand new Mekhail Bora.

Mekhail, who now works as a steward (he pronounced it "styuward") in a Guwahati restaurant, told the room later that he shed 60 kilos (10 stone) apparently over the last four months eating mainly boiled vegetables.

Indrani's second-born was in the witness box, Monday, giving the first part of his testimony or examination in chief, as Prosecution Witness No 15, for about 90 minutes, articulately recounting the story of his life before CBI Special Judge Jayendra Chandrasen Jagdale.

His voice was level, emotionless, his eyes guarded, darting back and forth, as he put forth, mainly in Hindi, the bald details of a tale that was both incredible and gloomy.

A tale of two unwanted kids.

Of a motherless and fatherless duo of brother and sister.

Of longing and loss.

Fear. Contrasts. Lack of privilege. But surprisingly not much overt hate.

As you looked at Mekhail and heard him speak, his English at times halting, you could not help remembering Indrani's third child Vidhie, who was in this building quite some months ago.

She did not seem to be rooted in the family background that Mekhail came from, though they were cut from the same cloth.

Mekhail was the small-town, marginally-educated, brother of a doted-upon, international jet-setting sister, she at this moment living either in the UK or Spain.

No one seemed to have doted much on Mekhail.

He and Sheena were born a year apart in Guwahati, Assam -- she on February 11, 1988 and he on September 9, 1989.

"Mera biological mother Indrani Bora hai. Mera biological father Siddhartha Das hai. Sheena Bora meri badi behen...thi," he said with special emphasis on the last word.

"Mera biological mother aur Siddhartha Das ka separation mere bachpan mein hua tha, ye sab knowledge meri nani bachpan mein batayi thi (My biological mother was Indrani Bora and my biological father was Siddhartha Das. Sheena Bora was my elder sister. In my childhood they separated. These facts I got from my grandmother)."

His parents, he said, ran a bakery at the Six Mile locality in Guwahati and his grandparents owned a guesthouse named Chanakya Inn, located in the ground floor of their home in the Sundarpur neighbourhood that provided a modest rent.

Just three months into Mekhail's little life: "Ek din dono ka jhagda hua tha aur hum log ko idhar chod ke chala gaya. Hamare saath mein naukrani thi. Nani ke ghar mein aake chod diya (One day they had a fight and they left us and went away. A lady who was the help brought us to our nani's house)."

The sad, stark, picture Mekhail drew, with these sparse few words, of two young children, born probably when Indrani was in her teens, as per records available online, being abandoned, he hardly months after his birth, was moving.

It simultaneously silently and grimly reminded the room, without needing the words to do so, of how it ended, for Sheena, as miserably as the manner in which it all began -- sadness heaped upon sadness, a tragedy of unending proportions.

And with Sheena's death Mekhail was left without a single relative in the world, given that his 'biological' mother was now in jail and alienated from each other and he had lost touch with his father.

His grandparents, he told the court, had died in 2015-2016; he initially got the date of his grandfather's death wrong and corrected himself.

Repeatedly Mekhail clarified, at CBI Special Prosecutor Kavita Patil's prodding, that he knew of these facts because that was what his nani told him.

Indrani, wearing white on Monday, did not show much surprise to see Mekhail in the courtroom.

She gave one of her enigmatic splashy smiles when she spied him, her eloquent eyes widening. But they did not really exchange a glance.

In 1992, a few years after Siddhartha and Indrani left their children behind in Assam and vanished virtually forever as parents, an affidavit was filed in a Guwahati court by Indrani's parents Upen and Durga Rani Bora legally adopting Sheena and Mekhail.

"Affidavit banaya tha aur usme banaya ki Durga Rani aur Upen Bora hamara legal parents hai (An affidavit was drawn up making Indrani's parents their legal parents)."

Mekhail said Indrani did this so there would be no difficulties when the children were admitted to school.

That was that. For some years Indrani disappeared totally from their lives and was untraceable, the way Mekhail told it.

Das, who had also totally abdicated all his fatherly obligations, according to his nani, tried to make contact with the brother-sister, but was denied access by Indrani's dad.

"Jab hum Class I mein the Siddhartha Das milne ke liye aaya. Nana mana kiya ki aapne unka responsibility nahin le sakte toh (When I was in Class I Siddhartha Das came to meet us. But nana did not allow it because Das had never taken charge of his children)..." Mekhail said in a sentence that petered off abruptly.

Through the account Mekhail referred to his mother awkwardly as Indrani. This was how she had agreed to have him address her.

More odd and poignant, if not revealing, was the way he stiffly referred to his father, speaking of him formally always as Siddhartha Das.

Throughout, Mekhail spoke calmly, with hardly an inflection making even the barest attempt to hijack his tone.

His tone was so empty it made his narrative all the more touching. And ugly and grey, as the monsoon sky beyond the window.

When Mekhail was up for his Class 10 board exams -- according to newspaper reports from 2015 he had dropped out of school and did his exams privately -- their grandparents began facing financial difficulties as they contemplated how they would be able to educate Sheena and her brother further.

Indrani was clearly not around at that point. Her elderly parents did not know where to contact her and they were raising her by then teenage children by themselves.

Upen Bora one day -- luck by chance -- read a report in The Telegraph newspaper that Indrani had married Peter Mukerjea. It was apparent that Indrani had carved out a new life for herself in Mumbai and was doing well.

"Nana ko mila photograph ke saath. Star India ka address jo tha Net se nikala. Newspaper mein likha tha ki woh Star ka CEO tha. A letter was sent to Star India addressed to the CEO. Us me mention kiya ki Indrani meri daughter hai. Hame urgently us se baat karna hai (Nana found the report with a photograph. The address of Star India was taken from the Internet. It had said in the newspaper that Peter was the CEO of Star. A letter addressed to the CEO saying Indrani was his daughter and he needed to speak to her urgently was sent)."

The letter did not mention her having children who needed her.

Mekhail said he did not exactly remember the contents of the letter but: "Letter bheja gaya yaad hai (The letter was sent I remember)."

Beyond doubt sending a letter to a long-lost, mysterious, mother, about whom an article appeared in a newspaper, was not something a teenager could have forgotten easily.

Of a mother perhaps he had only seen younger pictures of, in maybe a family album.

At the back of the court, as Mekhail related this strange part of his unusual life, Peter, in the accused box, listening hard, screwing up his face in bewilderment, indicating perhaps that he had no recollection of such correspondence coming to him.

The letter evidently reached and Indrani got in touch on "landline par phone aaya (a phone call came on the landline)" -- and sent two tickets by courier asking her two eldest children to meet her in Kolkata in what was to be an important moment in their lives.

Patil methodically and precisely asked question after question of Mekhail to get the exact picture fleshed out, not that the picture didn't grab you from the beginning: "Ticket kahan se kahan tak? (A ticket from where to where?)"

Mekhail: "Guwahati se Kolkata (From Guwahati to Kolkata, airline not mentioned or asked)."

Patil: "Kis kis ke liye tickets? (Tickets for whom?)"

Mekhail: "Sheena aur mere ko (For Sheena and me)."

Patil: "Kaise bheja ticket? (How was the ticket sent?)"

Mekhail: "Courier."

Patil: "Aap gaye the? (Did you go to Kolkata?)"

Mekhail said matter-factly, without any emotion in his voice of the first meeting with his birth mother as a teenager or providing further details: "Ha gaye the (We went)."

Patil: "Aap ko receive karne ke liye kaun aaye? (Who came to receive you at the airport?)"

Mekhail: "Aiport mein Indrani aayi receive karne ke liye (Indrani came to the airport to receive us)."

Patil: "Airport se kahan gaye? (From the airport where did you go?)"

Mekhail: "Five star hotel Oberoi mein ruki thi (She was staying at a five star hotel, the Oberoi). She took us there."

"When we were reaching the hotel she said kuch discussion karna hai. Uske baad bolee ki financial help kar sakti hai. Aur bolee ki abhi mera status society mein bahut high ho gaya hai (Before reaching the hotel she said she had something to discuss. She said she could help them. But she said her status in society had become high)."

Indrani told Sheena and Mekhail that she had married Peter Mukerjea and had another daughter named Vidhie who had come with her on that trip to Kolkata.

The way Mekhail said it there was no mention of Sanjeev Khanna being once a husband or a father to Vidhie.

Indrani further added that her offer of help was forthcoming if "Peter ko maloom nahin hona hai ki yeh unka beta-beti hai. Isi condition mein help karenge. Sab ke saamne mujhe Badi Didi address karna padega (Peter cannot know that you are my daughter and son. On this condition I can help you. In front of everyone you must call me Big Sister)."

Mekhail said they could not agree -- "inkar kiya" -- because she was their mother and it would have felt odd.

But since they desperately needed her financial help for their higher education they agreed to call her Indrani.

Sheena and Mekhail stayed on with Indrani in Kolkata for two days and then returned to Guwahati by air.

Mekhail finished his Class 10 exams while Sheena was studying at the Faculty High School, Guwahati, when Indrani called him to Mumbai: "Bombay aa jaana. Vacation hai. Ghoom phirne ke liye (Come to Mumbai. You are on vacation. You can wander about)."

Mekhail said Indrani sent him a ticket and he came to Bombay and stayed at their home in Marlow, Worli, south central Mumbai.

He was, it seems, warmly welcomed and stayed there for 2-3 days. She took him to her INX Media office and introduced him around.

Always, of course, as her "Chota bhai" or younger brother.

On this trip, on the third day, Indrani abruptly informed Mekhail that she would be admitting him to Bangalore International School (where fees at that time would have been a couple of lakh rupees a year as per online information available) and that they would be taking a flight that evening.

Mekhail explained to the court that he was not prepared for this sudden plan and was uneasy with it, but he had no choice but to go along with it.

They flew to Bangalore and stayed with a friend of Indrani's in the Koramangalam area (Mekhail stumbled over this word, unsure) and met the principal the next day.

Mekhail was immediately admitted. He was also found hostel space on the school campus.

Indrani went back to Mumbai.

Mekhail spent about five minutes describing to the court why he was unable to continue studying at Bangalore International. He said he came from a very different background from the children at the school, the majority of whom were foreigners.

His pocket money, that he got from Indrani, he said was "One percent" of what the other children got.

Patil: "Kya mahaul tha udhar? (What kind of atmosphere existed there?)"

Mekhail: "High funda wallah. Bahut high standard. Unka jo rahan sahan, pocket money aur hamara mein vast difference tha (It was a fancy school. There was a vast difference between my fellow students both in terms of pocket money and life style)."

Indrani, sitting at the back, looked amused at Mekhail's description.

Mekhail said after a few months he called Indrani and said he was not happy. "Badak gayee (She got angry)," he recalled because she was upset that he didn't like the arrangements she had generously made.

"I told her style ke liya humko school mein nahin jaana hai... Phir mein Indrani ko bola ki hum situation ko nahin manage kar sakte hai. Guwahati wapas bhej deejiye. Chota school mein manage karenge (I told her I could not manage. I asked her to send me back to Guwahati where I could manage in a small school)."

She told him to come to Mumbai to "relax for some time, mind fresh karne ke liye (And put your mind at ease)."

The reception Mekhail received in Mumbai was quite different on his second trip.

Indrani told him a driver would come to meet him at the airport. It was Shyamvar Rai, the Mukerjeas' then driver and Accused No 3 turned approver in this case.

Rai told him some work was going on at Indrani's home and he would need to stay in a hotel.

After checking into the hotel Mekhail didn't hear from anyone.

He finally called Indrani. She told him to come to her office the next day.

At her office he was once again introduced to her colleagues and clients including a man named Sanjeev Khanna.

This time it was Sanjeev, on hearing his name, in perhaps strange circumstances, perked up at the back of the room and offered up a puzzled expression.

That day mother and son had a probably rare lunch together at Bombay Blues, Lower Parel, given that was where INX was first located.

The lunch was memorable too because it was the first time a Guwahati boy was sampling Chole Bhatura.

He told the court with a grin, "Bombay Blues naam yaad hai because first time in my life mein Chole Bhatura khaya. Guwahati mein nahin milta tha (I remember the restaurant's name because it was the first time that I ate Chole Bhatura. You didn't get it in Guwahati)."

Indrani smiled from the accused box, perhaps remembering the first time she ate the dish.

After that lunch Indrani gave him Rs 1,500 and told him that in the evening her client Sanjeev Khanna would take him out to the disco "mind refresh karne ke liye."

At that bit of the testimony both Sanjeev and Indrani looked startled, their eyes widening with amazement.

Indrani turned to Sanjeev, waggling her finger at him, perhaps so much to say as "I told you."

That evening Sanjeev never showed up and when Mekhail called Indrani she said he was probably busy and he would take him the next day.

"Next day 8-9 baje Sanjeev Khanna mere ko disco le gaye (At 8 or 9 pm Sanjeev Khanna took me to the disco)."

He did not name either the hotel he was staying at (and was not asked to) or the area or the disco, but that he could only recall it was on the ground floor of a hotel and not its name.

"Unhone poocha tequila try karenge. Sanjeev Khanna khud ke liye whiskey order kiya (He asked will you try a tequila. Sanjeev Khanna ordered a whiskey for himself)." Sanjeev made another surprised face hearing that.

Mekhail told Sanjeev he had not tried tequilas before: "Phir do shot liya aur unconscious jaise ho gaya (I had two shots and became as if unconscious)."

Mekhail's account got darker as it twisted and wound its way onto an eerie, disquieting, too-preposterous-to-believe path, where life was certainly substantially stranger and more shocking than a horror film or a noir novel.

The details were enough to feel your toes curl.

"Jab consciousness regain hua locked room ke andar tha. Bed par tha. Haath-per bandha hua tha. Hair was shaved. Brown colour ke kuch kapda pehna hua tha. Mein phir chilaya. Do-teen saphed kapde pahne hue ward boys aaye. Ek do baar hit karke injection de ke chala gaya. Aur behosh ho gaye (When I regained consciousness I was in a locked room on a bed and my hands and legs were tied. I was wearing brown clothes. I screamed. Two or three ward boys wearing white uniforms came. They hit me and gave me an injection and left and I became unconscious again)."

When he regained consciousness again the ward boys untied his hand and legs and there was a group of doctors in front of him.

They told him his sister had admitted him there -- the psychiatric ward at the Masina Hospital, Byculla, south central Mumbai.

"Bole ki Indrani 1-1 mahine ke baad aayegi. Indrani bolee thi ki hum drugs lete hai. Phir ek mahina bahut torture kiya. Room mein bandh karke rakhte the. Baki mental patients ke saath zameen mein baith ke khana khate the. Electric shocks. Injections. Uss situation ke baarein mein aur nahin bolna hai (They said Indrani would be back after 1-1  months. She told them I took drugs. For one month they tortured me. They kept me tied up in a room. I had to sit on the floor and have meals with the mental patients. Electric shocks. Injections. I don't want to say more about that situation.)" he concluded, his eyes perhaps glistening, indicating it was too traumatic to speak any more about that horrific chapter of his life.

Judge Jagdale looked at him and indicated he could sit if he wanted to.

"Relax," the judge gently reassured him.

Mekhail said he was okay and continued, "Kabhi aaj tak zindagi mein drugs nahin khaya. Baad mein feel kiya, agar ek do bandhe ko bola ki Indrani meri ma hai. Believe nahin kiya. Aur pagal samjhenge (I have never had drugs, till date, in my life. Later I felt she did this to prove I was mentally unstable in case I told one or two people that Indrani was my mother)."

Mekhail's testimony of Monday ended there, on this tragic and dramatic point in his life and was to be continued on Tuesday.

His entire 90 minute evidence mentioned no dates except his and Sheena's birth dates, apart from also adding very unusually that Indrani had later had his birthdate changed to January 10, 1990, causing Indrani's head to jerk up in surprise and look at him bemused, when he said that.

Nor did Patil, who is usually very particular to ask dates, query him about a year or a time or a further fact.

His, till now, hair-raising account, while casting the whole situation into a new light, imbuing even more pathos into a murder case that had already grabbed the nation, was missing many details and was at best sketchy. Tuesday will perhaps bring more substantial facts.

Mekhail was the second witness to give evidence on Monday.

Before him a clerk at Sri Maruti Couriers, a resident of Kalwa, Thane, named Kanji Ramji Dhumliya took the stand.

Dhumliya testified in Hindi that he had received a letter at his Mulund courier office that was despatched to Colonel Shubodoy Mukherjee at Mumbai Metro One (currently senior vice-president Reliance ADAG) on the basis of the bar code sticker which he insisted also indicated it had been received.

After Mekhail's Monday testimony ended, the defence lawyers complained bitterly to the judge that they had not received enough notice that Mekhail was giving his evidence on Monday or given sufficient time to prepare.

Gunjan Mangla said Mekhail was a "Huuuuge witness" and they ought to have been told much earlier. It was not clear when they got to know.

Indrani's defence lawyer, Sudeep Ratnamberdutt Pasbola, who had been present earlier when Dhumliya testified, was also missing when Mekhail began to speak, probably buusy with another case

Mekhail, who told the judge that he had started a new job and could only be in Mumbai till Saturday, sat in the courtroom for a further half an hour after the hearing.

As he waited to speak to Patil his eyes went about the room curiously examining those present. But he did not look at Indrani sitting with her lawyers.

Later he sat down with Patil -- the prosecutor was probably giving him advice on how to handle his evidence on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, after about ten minutes had lapsed, his mother exited the courtroom, to go back to jail.

From the furthest corner of her eye, the tiniest of glances went to Mekhail. You wondered what her thoughts about her son could have been at that moment.

Close to 5.15-5.30 pm Mekhail, who has high security after he appealed to the court about fears to his life, was bundled out of the building, a black mask on his face, to a waiting Tata Sumo CBI jeep, even as press photographers sprang towards him, bringing to a close his first day in court in his real Badi Didi's murder trial.
KAZAKHSTAN: 76 known administrative prosecutions in six months

Publisher Forum 18 Author Felix Corley Publication Date 4 July 2018 Cite as Forum 18, KAZAKHSTAN: 76 known administrative prosecutions in six months, 4 July 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b573fe24.html [accessed 26 October 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

4 July 2018

KAZAKHSTAN: 76 known administrative prosecutions in six months

Of 76 known administrative prosecutions in the first half of 2018 for exercising freedom of religion or belief, 65 ended with fines of up to four months' average wages. A quarter of those punished also received three-month bans on activity. Meeting for worship, offering religious literature and sharing faith without state permission triggered such punishments.
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Whether you are selling cakes, burritos, or fresh farm produce, a license, permit or registration may be required.

There are several types of licenses available for food producers. A person interested in selling fresh, raw farm products at a farmers market venue is required to register with the Richland County Sanitarian. In general, allowable food products at a farmers market include baked goods, fruit jams and jellies, and raw agricultural products, such as fresh fruits and vegetables.

A person interested in selling baked goods from home may be approved to obtain a cottage food license. The cottage food license is a one-time, low-cost license which allows a producer to prepare certain products, such as cakes, cookies, candies, and other low-risk foods, at home, and sell them directly to the consumer.

A full retail food license is issued to establishments like restaurants and concession trailers. The preparation or sale of high-risk products, such as meat- or dairy-containing products, outside of a licensed kitchen is prohibited. There are a number of important requirements for a kitchen to be licensed, including that the kitchen cannot be used as a home kitchen.

The requirements for licensing are set by the state of Montana, and are based on food safety science. If you would like more information on obtaining a license, permit or registration for the sale of food products, contact Stephanie Ler, Registered Sanitarian, at the Richland County Health Department at 406-433-2207.
C-SPAN invites 58 middle and high school teachers to their headquarters for a professional development program

Sidney High School teacher, Brad Faulhaber, will attend one of two C-SPAN Educators' Conferences for an immersive experience with C-SPAN's educational resources. Faulhaber, a social studies teacher, is one of 30 educators from across the nation selected to attend the high school conference July 26-27.

The conference provides educators with the opportunity to hear from guest speakers and explore C-SPAN Classroom's free teaching resources. Attendees discover how to incorporate these resources into their curriculums and create engaged learning experiences for students.

Faulhaber competed with high school teachers from across the country to secure a place at the conference. C-SPAN provides roundtrip airfare, hotel accommodations and meals for the two days.

Participants were selected by a panel of C-SPAN representatives and evaluated based on their commitment to learning new educational resources, applying them in the classroom environment and sharing their professional development experiences in their academic communities.

"We're excited to introduce educators to C-SPAN's Video Library, an online archive containing more than 240,000 hours of searchable, sharable content that teachers and students can use as a primary source in the classroom," said Craig McAndrew, C-SPAN Manager of Education Relations. "For nearly 20 years, C-SPAN has hosted Educators' Conferences, and we look forward to meeting and working with this year's participants."

Conference attendees will hear from Founder and Executive Chairman Brian Lamb about the public affairs network. In addition, C-SPAN's Senior Executive Producer and Political Editor Steve Scully will speak at the conference dinner.

The Educators' Conferences are sponsored by C-SPAN's Education Foundation, a charitable organization created by C-SPAN. C-SPAN Classroom is an entity of C-SPAN, which is funded by America's cable and satellite television companies. In Sidney, C-SPAN is available locally through Mid-Rivers Cable.
Federal district court judge Brian Morris issued his summary judgment ruling in the lawsuit that threatened to end irrigation in the lower Yellowstone valley. The ruling is cause for joy and celebration with caution.

The ruling is a solid win for our community. In addition, some of its points, besides contributing to this win, can be beneficial in future cases. There are, however, several reasons for caution about further litigation.

Lets look at points that can help us in future cases.

At last, due consideration was given to the fact that Congress specifically authorized irrigation dams on the Yellowstone River. The Intake dam was authorized by Congress. The Endangered Species Act was passed afterwards. This lawsuit attempts to apply the ESA retroactively or as if the passage of ESA repealed the earlier authorization of the dam. In this new order, Judge Morris puts the kibosh on that. He recognized that a second act of Congress must show a clear intention to repeal a prior act, or else the authorization continues.

Also at last, due consideration was given to irrigation as part of the overall purpose of the project. Well duh!

In the challenge to the project under the Clean Water Act, Defenders of Wildlife separated the irrigation purpose from two environmental purposes. With irrigation left out of the equation, it then condemned the Army Corps of Engineers decision that the multiple pumps alternative to the fish bypass channel was not practical for the overall purpose of the project. In the appeal of the second preliminary injunction, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals keyed in strongly on Judge Morris failure to consider the impracticality of multiple pumps for irrigation. The overall purpose should include all three, not just two, of the purposes. In this new order, he now includes irrigation in the equation, recognizes the impracticality of multiple pumps for the irrigation purpose, and recognizes even some environmental doubts about multiple pumps.

Also at last, due consideration was given to the viability of hatchery pallid sturgeon. There are precious few wild pallid sturgeons in the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers. Defenders of Wildlife tried to treat wild fish and hatchery fish almost as if they were different species. That would disqualify the thousands of hatchery fish from being considered for recovery of the species following construction of the new project, and hence stop the project. Those from our community who attended the oral arguments will recall how surprised Judge Morris said he was about the hatchery fish. He acted as if they never had been mentioned before, though our side had brought them up multiple times both orally and in written briefs. In this new order, Judge Morris recognizes prior 9th Circuit decisions that hatchery fish can be considered and we have a good supply of hatchery pallid sturgeon.

The 9th Circuit said Judge Morris had flipped the burden of proof about a major issue under the ESA from the Defenders of Wildlife to our side. This new order recognizes where the burden of proof is, and that should help in the future.

There are some reasons for caution.

Defenders of Wildlife can appeal. The 9th Circuit could reverse. It probably wont, but it could.

This ruling applies only to some of the 14 claims of Defenders of Wildlifes complaint. It only disposes of claims 1, 2, 4, 5, and 11 to 14. We should look at the remaining claims.

A major part of this new order depends on the Corps and the Bureau of Reclamation following through with their plan to develop the Project with its new bypass channel. So we need to be an active part of encouraging them to follow through.

The dismissal is without prejudice. This means the claims could be filed again. The order discusses scenarios in which refiling could be viable both as to Intake and Fort Peck. Regarding Fort Peck, Judge Morris issued an ominous warning to the Corps. After we have enjoyed this victory for a time, we need to delve more into the scenarios that could allow refiling of claims.

Even with these cautions, the ruling is worthy of jubilant and public celebration as a great victory. Many human hands were in this work, and one mighty Divine hand.
Most regular attendees at the Richland County Fair are well aware of the longstanding Co-op Day tradition. On this day, local co-ops sponsor a free treat for fairgoers, which includes root beer floats and frozen orange push-ups.

Horizon Resources is one of the corporate Co-op participants who sponsor the treats at the Richland County Fair. Other corporate sponsors include Richland Federal Credit Union, Mid-Rivers Communications, CHS Farmer's Elevator, Nortana Grain Co. and Lower Yellowstone Rural Electric Cooperative.

Jami Propp, who helps to organize the Co-op days for Lower Yellowstone Rural Electric Cooperative, told the Roundup that the 2018 fair would continue the tradition.

Propp said, "We're doing the root beer floats starting at 4 p.m. It is all the same Co-ops cooperating as previous years, we're going to give away free push-ups starting at noon, and everything else should be the same."

The Roundup also spoke with Horizon Resources employee, Bruce Prevost, who is volunteering for the fair Co-op Day and helping to head up their volunteer efforts. Prevost, who works at the Horizon Resources' Fairview location, explained the mission and history of the co-op.

Prevost told the Roundup, "Horizon Resources is an agriculture co-op. We have at least ten different locations in Montana and North Dakota. We started off as a fertilizer and ag-chemicals business, selling fuel and other resources. We merged with Prairie States Co-op and acquired some grain elevators along with that."

Horizon Resources is located at 605 Ellery Ave, Fairview.

Horizon Resources is a company whose origins go back to 1929 when the Farmer's Union Oil Company in Williston began business and quickly grew from about a hundred members to more than five hundred in a short few years. Its first service station was built in 1936, its Anhydrous Ammonia Fertilizer Plant was built in 1973 and its Soil Service was developed in 1991. It later purchased numerous area fertilizer plants, expanded its petroleum division, and continued to grow until it eventually merged with other cooperatives to form Horizon Resources in 2006.

Prevost, who started working for Horizon Resources about thirteen years ago and who grew up in Savage, continued, "We usually have six to seven folks that will show up and volunteer. We've been a part of Co-op Days since the beginning."

It's an important sign of support for the community, to know that local co-ops are community-focused, community-served, and community-operated. Thursday, August 2, fairgoers can enjoy the free frozen treats from noon until about 3:30PM, and root beer floats will be available at 4PM.
U.K. stocks followed Asian peers higher on Tuesday after the State Council, China's cabinet, said the country would adopt a more 'vigorous' fiscal policy to support the .

Banks and mining stocks were at the forefront as bond yields inched higher on speculation of a shift in BoJ policy and copper prices rebounded on concerns over possible disruptions to supply.

The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 48 points or 0.62 percent at 7,703 in late opening deals after closing 0.3 percent lower the previous day.

Barclays climbed 1.6 percent and Lloyds Banking advanced 1.3 percent while Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glenore jumped 2-3 percent.

Energy stocks traded mixed as oil extended losses for a second straight session on concerns about oversupply.

Drug major AstraZeneca edged up slightly. The company said it would sell the commercial rights for heart failure treatment.

Real estate firm Hammerson rose 1.4 percent after launching a share buyback program.

BT Group gained 1.2 percent. The telecom firm said that the creation of a more independent Openreach Limited is nearing completion.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Shares of UBS Group AG (UBS) were gaining around 4 percent in the morning trading after the Swiss banking giant reported Tuesday higher profit in its second quarter with increased operating income. Net operating income, meanwhile, declined.

Looking ahead, the company noted that in addition to typical seasonality factors in the third quarter, market volatility remains muted overall which is usually less conducive to client activity.

As in the first half of the year, the company expects the diversified model to help make continued progress towards achieving strategic and financial targets.

For the second quarter, net profit attributable to shareholders increased 9 percent to 1.28 billion Swiss francs from last year's 1.17 billion francs. Earnings per share were 0.33 franc, higher than 0.31 franc last year.

Profit before tax grew 12 percent year-over-year to 1.68 billion francs. Adjusted profit before tax went up 8 percent to 1.81 billion francs. The profit was driven by 18 percent rise in Global Wealth Management segment with double-digit growth in the Americas, and 26 percent jump in Investment Bank segment.

Total operating income increased 4 percent to 7.55 billion francs from last year's 7.27 billion francs. Net interest income, meanwhile, fell 30 percent from last year to 985 million francs.

Net fee and commission income for the quarter grew 2 percent from last year to 4.38 billion francs.

Sergio Ermotti, Group Chief Executive Officer, said, "I'm pleased with the second quarter, which contributed to a strong first half, with particularly good capital generation. We'll keep our focus on growth and efficiency, and continue to build on the strengths of our global franchise."

In Switzerland, UBS shares were trading at 15.88 francs, up 3.86 percent.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Oil prices were slightly higher on Tuesday morning as the threat of military conflict between the United States and Iran outweighed worries over supply and global demand.

Brent crude futures were up 0.23 percent at $73.23 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures for September delivery were up half a percent at $68.25 a barrel.

After U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Iran with dire consequences, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif asked him to be cautious.

Investors also remain concerned on the effects of rising production and weaker global demand as the U.S. and China battle it out in a trade war.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) crude inventories data will be released later today, with traders looking for indications of U.S. inventories.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Market Analysis
The Australian and New Zealand dollars climbed against their major counterparts in the European session on Tuesday amid risk appetite, as the State Council, China's cabinet, said the country would adopt a more 'vigorous' fiscal policy to support the .

Proactive fiscal measures will cover deeper tax cuts, additional deductions to companies on research and development expenditure and issuing special bonds to local government to fund infrastructure projects.

The announcement came after the central bank injected a record CNY 502 billion into the banking system via medium-term lending facility on Monday.

In another development, Beijing said it has no intention to devalue the yuan to help exports.

The aussie advanced to 0.7407 against the greenback and 1.5803 against the euro, from its early 4-day lows of 0.7360 and 1.5870, respectively. If the aussie extends its rise, 0.75 and 1.57 are possibly seen as its next resistance levels against the greenback and the euro, respectively.

The aussie rose to 0.9741 against the loonie and 1.0889 against the kiwi, reversing from its early low of 0.9707 and a weekly low of 1.0862, respectively. The aussie is seen finding resistance around 0.99 against the loonie and 1.11 versus the kiwi.

The aussie bounced off to 82.29 against the yen, from near a 3-week low of 81.81 hit at 9:15 pm ET. The next possible resistance for the aussie is seen around the 84.00 level.

The kiwi recovered to 1.7195 against the euro and 75.62 against the yen, from its early low of 1.7250 and near a 3-week low of 75.27, respectively. On the upside, 1.70 and 77.00 are likely seen as the next resistance levels for the kiwi against the euro and the yen, respectively.

The kiwi climbed to 0.6804 against the greenback, from a 4-day low of 0.6769 seen at 2:45 am ET. Next key resistance for the kiwi is seen around the 0.69 mark.

Looking ahead, U.S. house price index for May and Markit's U.S. manufacturing PMI for July are set for release in the New York session.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Eurozone private sector activity growth lost momentum at the start of the third quarter as the improvement in Germany contrasted with a slowdown in France, flash survey results from IHS Markit revealed Tuesday.

The composite output index dropped to 54.3 in July from 54.9 in June. The score was expected to fall slightly to 54.8.

The latest reading was the second weakest since November 2016, only narrowly beating May's recent low.

Chris Williamson, chief economist at IHS Markit, said the July reading is consistent with the quarterly GDP growth of 0.4 percent, down from a 0.5 percent expansion indicated by the surveys for the second quarter.

Although the fall in PMI comes as something of a disappointment, the index is still consistent with a decent pace of GDP growth at the start of the third quarter, Jessica Hinds, an economist at Capital Economics, said.

Accordingly, the European Central Bank is likely to push ahead with its plans to normalize policy very gradually, the economist added.

The IHS Markit survey showed that the manufacturing output increased at the same pace as in June, which was a 19-month low.

Meanwhile business activity growth in the service sector pulled back from June's four-month high.

The factory Purchasing Managers' Index rose unexpectedly to 55.1 from 54.9 in June. The expected reading was 54.7.

Meanwhile, the services PMI slid to 54.4 from 55.2 in June. Economists had forecast the index to fall to 55.1.

Amid trade disputes, July saw the smallest increase in new orders since October 2016. The slowdown in order book growth in manufacturing was partly due to weakened export gains.

The survey showed a moderation in employment growth in July. Price pressures remained elevated, albeit cooling slightly compared to June.

By country, Germany reported a faster growth, while France saw a slowdown. Driven by manufacturing output, Germany's private sector activity expanded at the fastest pace in five months in July.

Germany's composite output index climbed to 55.2 from 54.8 in June. The score was expected to remain at 54.8.

The services PMI dropped slightly to 54.4 from 54.5 a month ago. The services PMI was also forecast to remain stable in July, at 54.5.

On the other hand, the factory PMI rose unexpectedly to 57.3 from 55.9 in June. The reading was forecast to drop to 55.5.

Elsewhere, France saw the second weakest expansion in 18 months, stymied in particular by near-stagnant manufacturing.

France's composite output index dropped to 54.5 from 55.0 in June. The score was forecast to fall slightly to 54.9, but it remained above the neutral 50.0 mark for a twenty-fifth month in a row.

The manufacturing PMI advanced to 53.1 from 52.5 in June, while it was expected to remain unchanged at 52.5. Meanwhile, the services PMI dropped to 55.3 from 55.9 a month ago. The reading was expected to fall to 55.7.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Iran's Foreign Minister has joined the tit-for-tat rhetorics between the Iranian, US leaders by warning President Donald Trump to "be cautious!"

Responding to Trump's tweet that Iran would suffer "consequences" if it continued with its threats against the U.S., Mohammad Javad Zarif said his country is unimpressed by the US President's words.

"COLOR US UNIMPRESSED," Zarif wrote on Twitter Monday. "The world heard even harsher bluster a few months ago. And Iranians have heard them albeit more civilized onesfor 40 yrs. We've been around for millennia & seen fall of empires, incl our own, which lasted more than the life of some countries," he added.

Zarif ended his tweet with a warning to Trump to "be cautious!"

The Iranian Foreign Minister was provoked by Trump's tough statement Sunday, aimed at his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani.

Trump said if Iran threatened the United States again, it would face severe consequences.

At a White House news conference Monday, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders was asked what prompted Trump to use such strong language on Iran.

Sanders replied that the President has been pretty strong, since day one, in his language towards Iran. "He was responding to comments made from them, and he's going to continue to focus on the safety and security of American people," she told reporters.

Sanders made it clear that "the ultimate goal and the focus of the President is making sure that we keep nuclear weapons out of their hands and that we focus on the protection of Americans".

It was Rouhani who triggered the fresh round of rhetorics between the leaders of the two countries that are hostile to each other.

Addressing a meeting of Iranian diplomats in capital Tehran on Sunday, he told Trump not to "play with the lion's tail," and warned that confrontation with Iran would be the "mother of all wars."

Iran faces the risk of stage-by-stage US sanctions that Trump announced in May while withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Political News
Dear Editor,

Re: Think of the Jubilee Church

A letter was published on the Sunday Observer titled Think of the Jubilee Church addressing Rev. Vavatau and C.C.C.S. for giving advice on government to control spending.

I dont see any wrong with giving such an advice because any reasonable person with an average common sense would agree. Based on government financial reports, budgets etc from the prior years until now, we can say that the government do need to control some spending.

Because the letter referred the Secretary, especially the E.F.K.S. as a whole to the new Jubilee Church Building and said it was supposed to be $2 million and by saying it end up to get $15 million loan from the people of Samoa, and even question why the Church need to rebuild it in the first place.

I think it is best for the writer to think first and make sure what you are saying is truthful and factual, as a member of the E.F.K.S. including all others we understand from beginning to end regarding the operation and church projects that includes the Jubilee Building and John Williams Building.

Look around you; can you even build a major church building with just a lousy $2 million?

If in every Fono Tele the number of participants increase each year, what would you do if the current church building is not sufficient to cater for that increase in participant? Can you even imagine how many services are conducted in that major church building?

Do you even know how old the previous Jubilee to date?

What would you do if you are a reasonable person?

You talk as if you know the affairs of the church inside out and decide to open up the pie hole thinking that you know so much but only so little.

Stating that $15 million loan from the people of Samoa, really!

E.F.K.S. member is also the people of Samoa, based on their financials during the last General Assembly the church have more than enough to settle such a loan in a very short period of time but they decided not to, due to very important reasons, so whose benefiting more from the loan interest?, oh right! the people of Samoa.

Not long ago, headline on the Samoa Observer, the church received a dividend from its investment with U.T.O.S., its just a very small return compared to how much millions invested?

And a few weeks ago on the media, our very own Samoa Airways is about to borrow from U.T.O.S. to fund its operation, what will you say about that?

So now the General Secretary said just a little bit of an advice for our Government, like I said any reasonable person would give that advice as well.

Since you talked about financial matter, the E.F.K.S. is a champion when it comes to Transparency and Accountability, everything is presented at the General Assembly unlike our own government, isnt that why one of our Courageous M.P., kept on asking the government where about in the financial statement are those US Dollar funds went?

So who should be giving advice now?

Manuia le vaiaso.

S. Matautia
Work has begun to redevelop the Apia waterfront to enable it to host government-sanctioned events.

The redevelopment work will start in front of the Government building towards the Clock Tower Boulevard

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony in front of the government building yesterday, New Zealand High Commissioner David Nicholson acknowledged the major milestone achieved in the partnership between New Zealand and Samoa.

New Zealand has been involved in supporting the development of the Apia waterfront since 2015. New Zealand is pleased that through this investment, we are a part of the waterfront initiative co-financed by the Green Climate fund with whom I would like to commend for its ongoing commitment and contribution in ensuring that climate resilience infrastructure in Samoa proceeds, he said.

We began with the establishment of the programme unit, the development of the Apia Waterfront Plan, the implementation of the plan through immediate and early development activities, and today (yesterday) we mark the start of this event space.

Nicholson praised the level of consultation from the planning stages  which started during his time as director of Pacific Development in the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs  and congratulated Samoa on developing the plan with New Zealand and other partners.

Im delighted to be here at the groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate a package of upgrade works that will start with the construction and the redevelopment of this event space. We have shared so many happy occasions here at Independence Day and other festivals here in Samoa.

The $10.5 million project would cover the outdoor performance area in front of the F.M.F.M.I.I. Government Building, changing it into a government events facility and a pedestrian walkway from the Clock Tower to the waterfront edge.

Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi thanked the New Zealand Government for their assistance to the Samoa Waterfront Plan 2017-2026.

This groundbreaking ceremony provides evidences of the commitment to activate and to carry out plans already in place for the beautification of our city of Apia. In 2016, we launched the Apia Waterfront Plan for the decade to 2026, he said.

The primary focus of this plan is to layout a vision by the Government for the development and use of the Apia Waterfront by our people in the long term. I would like to convey our very sincere appreciation to the Government of New Zealand and the New Zealand Aid programme for the grant financing that not only supported the development of the Apia Waterfront Plan, but also committing right through to the grant financing of the infrastructure, which is about to begin.

The project is funded by New Zealand Aid Programme and the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The project manager is the Ministry of Works Transport and Infrastructure and project engineers BECA International Consultants and O.S.M. Consultants. Zheng Construction Co Ltd is the contractor for the project.

The project has identified four areas along the waterfront for redevelopment: Mulinuu Waterfront  from Mulinuu to Sogi, Apia Waterfront Central  from the Savalalo market to the Mulivai bridge, Apia Waterfront Harbour  the beach road towards the Matautu Wharf, and Vaiala Waterfront from Palolo Deep Reserve to part of the Taumeasina area.
Jessica McGowan/Getty Images(ATLANTA) -- An ugly gubernatorial nomination battle between two Republican candidates in Georgia has kept the spotlight on a state that hasn't been considered swing territory for over a decade.



Republican voters heading to the polls for a run-off on Tuesday to select their nominee for a potentially historic governors race.



The weight of the White House is behind Georgia's Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who aims to make up some ground after he fell behind by 13 points, but managed to force a run-off in May's primary.



The head-to-head vote comes two weeks after secretly recorded audio tapes began to leak to the media, rocking the campaign of his opponent, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle.



In one, Cagle is heard explaining his political motivations for backing "bad public policy." Soon after, his opponent released audio of Cagle candidly saying the primary had become "who had the biggest gun, who had the biggest truck and who could be the craziest."



The Kemp campaign followed the release by accusing Cagle of being out of touch with Georgia voters.



Cagle says the tapes were taken out of context. And as for losing the endorsement of the president, "the fact is the President doesnt know my opponent at all," Cagle wrote on his website on Monday.



"The President decided to do this because some Washington insiders who have weaseled their way into his ear convinced him to make a power play. Why? So theyll have a Governor who answers to them instead of to Georgians."



Cagle entered the runoff as a frontrunner after winning 39 percent of the vote in May's primary to Kemp's 26 percent but is now within the margin of error in the latest Atlanta Journal-Constitution/Channel 2 poll.



The splash of the GOP nomination fight has possibly created wakes of similar size to that of Democrat Stacey Abrams' bid to become the first African-American woman elected governor in the United States. The former Democratic leader in the Georgia House of Representatives won the party's gubernatorial nod in May's primary.



Abrams faces a significant hurdle in attempting to flip a state generally seen as deeply conservative outside of its metropolitan areas. But she's drawn the outspoken support of Democratic heavyweights such as Sen. Cory Booker, Sen. Kamala Harris and Sen. Bernie Sanders.



No matter who is selected to represent the Republican party for Georgia's governorship, they will likely be seen as the favorite in a general election Democrats hope will propel the Peach State into a swing state for 2020. The president defeated Hillary Clinton by more than 5 percent of the vote in the state during the 2016 elections.



Elsewhere in Georgia on Tuesday, two Democrats are running for their party's nomination in the 6th Congressional District, the site of a near-upset in a 2017 special election to replace former congressman and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.



The upstart Democrat in that election, Jon Ossoff, chose not to run again in 2018 after finishing fewer than two percentage points shy of capturing the seat in an 18-candidate race last April. He was later defeated by Republican Karen Handel by a 3.6 point margin in a head-to-head runoff in June 2017. The Republican Price had won his 2016 election by over 23 points.



This year, Democrats Lucy McBath and Kevin Abel advanced to a runoff for the opportunity to face Handel.



McBath, a former Delta Airlines employee whose son was killed in 2012 in an act of gun violence, received the influential endorsements of several prominent Democrats, including Sens. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. Abel, a businessman, finished second to McBath by less than 3,000 votes in the first round of voting in May.



An additional primary runoff will take place in the safer-Republican 7th district between Democrats Carolyn Bourdeaux and David Kim, each vying for a spot on the ballot against incumbent GOP Rep. Rob Woodall.



Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
The Ministry of Health is still awaiting the results of a post-mortem that was done on the two toddlers from Savaii who died after they were vaccinated early this month.

Minister of Health, Tuitama Dr. Talalelei Tuitama, said this in an interview with the Samoa Observer and added that an overseas specialist did the post-mortem.

At the moment investigations are still continuing and reports in connection to the post-mortem examination that was conducted two weeks ago have already been sent overseas, so we are still waiting for the results of that, Tuitama said.

Just like what the C.E.O. of Health, Leausa Dr. Take Naseri said, the Ministry is still trying to find out what went wrong that resulted in the deaths of the two toddlers. So its very hard for us to say anything else at this stage because we havent got any results of what and where did it go wrong.

The death of the toddlers at Savaii led to parents refusing to take their children for vaccination, which the Minister acknowledged as a major challenge facing his Ministry.

However, we also have to look at how important these vaccinations are especially towards the children. All these vaccinations including the M.M.R. are very important because they protect children from all kinds of diseases, he added.

And that is why we have vaccinations to protect children from all kinds of diseases. So if parents refuse to take their children to get vaccinated, then its hard for the Ministry to solve this problem. And we cannot hide the fact that there will be parents who will forever refuse to take their children to see a doctor or get vaccinated, because of what happened and we do not blame them for making such decisions. This is why the Ministry is eager to find out what really happened to these toddlers.

The Ministry has lost the trust of the ordinary people with Tuitama indicating that they were working hard to ensure that similar incidents do not happen again.

If we can gain back the trust of the people and be able to tell them that this happened because of this and we are working very hard to ensure that this will not happen again in the future and be able to prove that this will not happened again in the future then surely we will be able to gain back the trust from the parents.

He warned that refusal by parents to get their children vaccinate made them vulnerable and could affect their health.

So at this stage we can only encourage parents to get your children immunized despite what happened. We are doing all that we can so that we can to provide answers to all your questions and instill that confidence in the health system again. But with these vaccinations, Samoa is not the only country who uses these vaccinations its the whole of the Pacific including New Zealand and Australia. M.M.R. is a vaccination that is supplied from the World Health Organization as well as the U.N.I.C.E.F. because they are ones who are funding these vaccination because they are expensive.
A new political party has officially been registered for the 2021 General Election.

The registration of the party called Samoas First Political Party was confirmed by the Electoral Commissioner, Faimalo Matthew Lemisio.

During an interview with the Samoa Observer, the Electoral Commissioner also confirmed that the Partys Secretary is Feagaimaalii Bruce Toomalatai.

Repeated attempts to get a comment from Feagaimaalii were unsuccessful.

But prominent Lawyer, Unasa Iuni Sapolu, is a member of the new Party.

Yes there is a new political party called Samoa First Political Party or Muamua Samoa, Vaega Faaupufai, she said in an email to the Samoa Observer last night.

This is a new political party that has been formed, prompted by our beloved people in the villages as they become informed of the law and their rights, they force the move which is now the new party. "

I understand the members are working on its manifesto at the moment. One hopes the new party discourages electoral bribing and hopefully voters will vote on issues and not how much Vailima or money one gets.

According to Faimalo, the Electoral Act requires eight financial members for a political party to be registered.

The documents weve received to support the application shows close to a hundred members, Faimalo said.

The Electoral Commissioner added that part of their work is to raise awareness about what is required for any Political party to be registered.

We encourage people who may have interest in setting up a party to take note and if they are interested, there is nothing under the law that bars any group of people in setting up a party, Faimalo said.

For the 2021 Election, Faimalo said this is the first political party that has registered. But it might not be the last.

We have had a lot of new people who have showed interest in registering. They came in and we explained to them what was happening, what the law requires of them and we gave them the form but once they left they have not returned.

This is the first Party in a long time to register. There were no new parties that registered during the last General Election.

He also told the Samoa Observer there are a lot of old parties that have remained registered with their Office.
The Minister of Samoa Shipping Corporation, Papalii Niko Lee Hang yesterday said the Corporation (S.S.C.) should focus on its core services and abandon plans to build a hotel.

He said he did not agree with plans by the Corporation to build a bed-breakfast accommodation facility, saying government agencies have a poor track record when it came to managing publicly-funded hotels.

Earlier this month the S.S.C. General Manager, Papalii Willie Nansen, told Samoa Observer of their plans to invest in an accommodation facility.

But the Minister said he disapproved of the project and will ensure that no public funds are spent on such a project.

So long as I am the Minister I will not allow the Shipping Corporation to invest in an accommodation or hotel, it doesnt matter what it is but the fact remains that we will not compete with the private sector, he said.

I have already told Papalii that will not happen because history tends to repeat itself. At the time I was chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance, I was against the hotel that was built by the Samoa Land Corporation (S.L.C.) and in the end they failed  yet the Shipping Corporation wants to invest into the same project.

The S.L.C. project that the Minister was referring to is the Malifa Lodge, which was built prior to the S.I.D.S. conference in 2014. Three years after its construction, its owners have put it up for lease.

Turning to the S.S.C., the Minister the corporation should focus on improving ferry services between the main islands of Samoa and other Pacific Island nations.

They are Shipping Corporation and they should invest in improving the services for the ferries between the two Samoas and between Upolu and Savaii and of course with other Pacific Islands. That is their main role.

He said the decision to invest in hotels and accommodation facilities is matter for the business community and is not for government entities such as the S.S.C.
Local alcohol manufacturers and retail outlets of liquor have been warned that the grace period allowed before they are charged new rates under the Excise Tax Rates Amendment Act (No.2) 2018 is finished.

This ended on 1 July 2018.

During an interview with the Samoa Observer, the Minister of Revenue, Tialavea Tionisio Hunt, fielded questions following concerns that local stores were still selling locally made vodkas at low prices.

According to the Minister, since the beginning of the month, manufacturers should have ceased making liquor with alcohol content over 40 per cent and also comply with the ban of any liquor sold in bottles less than 500ml.

Part of the reason why we banned bottles of liquor under 500ml is because to prevent the incidences of people especially the youth smuggling them into nightclubs, he said.

Since the increase of the alcohol excise tax, the rate for alcohol of 30 per cent strength or less, the excise tax of $12.48 Tala applies. Any alcohol of 40 per cent or less now has a rate of $38.60 Tala.

Asked to comment on how some of the 1-litre bottle of vodkas, with new labels of 40 per cent alcohol content, are sold at the local village shop for less than the new excise tax  the Minister asked what the average price was.

And upon being told that it between $26-$28, he replied:

So they are losing money and paying us the excise tax of $38.60?

But when Samoa Observer advised the Minister that 500ml bottles of vodka are still selling for $12 to $13 Tala at local shops, the Minister was in disbelief.

It cant be. The excise tax is about $18 Tala or $19 Tala. It cant be, he said.

The Acting C.E.O. Solia Tanuvasa Kalolo, who was with the Minister, said the alcohol could be old stock and consequently were using the old tax rate.

It could be that what they have is old stock on the shelf with old excise tax rates. Those under 30 per cent have the old tax rate on there and those with 40 per cent or more alcohol had the old tax rate of $19.90 so thats probably why. The store has put the old stock there.

Pictures of alcohol taken at four different shops in Vaitele showed that most being sold had labels clearly showing approved 40 per cent alcohol content.

When the Samoa Observer asked the Minister to comment on the findings, he said: I have no idea how they do that. They might be adding the price on the other goods in the store but its not the shops that we collect excise tax from, its the manufacturers.

Tialavea acknowledged that there were problems with the application of the new excise tax targeting alcohol.

Yes to me there is something gone wrong with the process, its probably the manufacturer not declaring the amount of liter of what they produce thats one way. And that would reduce the excise tax we collect because we base our collection of taxes on the amount of litre they produce.

Ministry of Revenue has staff who carry out checks on a case by case basis, he added.

If they dont tell us the right amount they produce then we have people who now and then go to the manufacturer and check their warehouse. If theres something suspicious going on then we need to find out and check how they are selling this for under $7? Theres something wrong with it. But remember, we dont go to the retail shops to check, we go to the manufacturers.

Tanuvasa added that he recalled getting a complaint from a member of the public, who said bottles of 1 litre vodka were being sold for less than the excise tax at $12 tala. Upon further inspection, he said it was far from the truth.

We went to investigate and what we found was that was not accurate and the bottles of Boom vodka were being sold for the right amount of around $40. Thats why I never follow up with people who ring up and complain about the price of Boom vodka.

Due to the inconsistency in the application of the new excise tax targeting alcohol manufacturers, Tanuvasa said they will now follow up with the manufacturers.

The makers of Boom Vodka refused to comment when approached by Samoa Observer yesterday, saying they will release a statement at a later date.
The Police have moved to charge drivers of vehicles who were caught on camera doing burn outs on Vaea Street last Saturday.

The vehicles were part of a funeral procession for a teenage boy killed in a car crash on Vaea Street more than two weeks ago.

The move to file charges was confirmed in a media statement issued by the Police yesterday.

The Traffic Section is pursuing to file appropriate traffic charges against the drivers of vehicles posted on social media by concerned members of the public for driving recklessly on Saleufi road on Saturday 21st July 2018, the statement said.

The Police also addressed questions about reports of boy racers on the streets of Apia.

In light of the requests and queries regarding the issue of boy racers, the Samoa Police Service confirms the following:

 Police operation has commenced on Friday 13th July 2018 to address the issue relating to these boy racers around Apia. It includes police patrols and static posts in targeted areas of Apia at specific times of the night.

 Drivers stopped by police in connection with this operation have either been charged with traffic related offences or issued with written warnings. Details of driver and vehicle has been recorded and will be referred to the Lands and Transport Authority.
Australia and New Zealand have agreed on an A$25million (T$48.09m) implementation assistance once the Pacific Agreement on Closer Relations (P.A.C.E.R.) Plus agreement is enforced.

During the recent Regional Trade Officials meetings held in Apia, Australias Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Director (Economic Growth Section Pacific Regional Branch), Matthew Harding, said the assistance package will benefit the signatories of P.A.C.E.R. Plus.

Mr. Harding told the Samoa Observer he cannot determine when the assistance will be rolled out and they hope that they can utilise the assistance by next year once all the countries ratify the agreement.

During one of the discussions focusing on P.A.C.E.R. Plus, signatories got to meet and discuss the agreement and the status of each countrys ratification process.

There are two things that we are basically trying to get out, one is getting an update on how the signatories are progressing in terms of ratifying P.A.C.E.R. Plus and the second thing is to update the member countries on what we are doing to support the Pacific Island Countries in ratifying the agreement under the readiness package, Mr. Harding said.

The readiness package is a development assistance provided by Australia and New Zealand to help countries prepare to ratify P.A.C.E.R. Plus.

Under the package, Australia and New Zealand agreed to provide A$7.7 million (T$14.7m), which has been rolled out, to help countries in five areas: communication and awareness, Customs, modernization and harmonization, transparency provisions in the agreement, revenue and legislation.

Mr. Harding was asked how Australia would benefit from P.A.C.E.R. Plus, and he responded: Trade is mutually beneficial for those exporting and the country that is importing. We think there are a lot of opportunities for Pacific countries to benefit through increased exports and increased investments. I think that our motivation for P.A.C.E.R. Plus is not a commercial gain for Australian exports. Our exports to the countries of the P.A.C.E.R. Plus are relatively small.

We have significant development assistance programmes in the Pacific, I think this financial year, our development package in the Pacific is around $1.2 billion, so this to us is part of our development assistance in the region."

So we think P.A.C.E.R. Plus offers potential benefits for the Pacific around increasing the opportunities to develop through trade, to increase regional integration. But we acknowledge the fact that Pacific countries have needs, so we see the P.A.C.E.R. Plus as a development assistance that actually helps Pacific countries benefit from the agreement.

Mr. Harding said the agreement will provide opportunities for businesses in Australia and the Pacific region.

According to Mr. Harding, like all other Pacific Islands Forum member countries, Australia would love to see Fiji and Papua New Guinea join P.A.C.E.R. Plus as well.

Its been encouraging to see the progress countries have made around ratification and all the work thats been put into it and also the fact that the assistance were providing is helping the move towards ratification. I think once we have the eight countries sign, the island countries in the Pacific will benefit from the agreement and thats what we are looking forward to.

Australia expects to ratify the agreement by the end of this year, Mr. Harding said.

Under the P.A.C.E.R. Plus agreement, Australia and New Zealand will reduce their duty to zero on eligible products from P.A.C.E.R. Plus countries on the first day the agreement comes into force.

P.A.C.E.R. Plus is a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (F.T.A.) covering goods, services and investment that was signed in Nukualofa, Tonga last year. Australia, New Zealand and eight Pacific island countries  Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu signed the agreement.
TORONTO (AP)  Of all the things people in Toronto are horrified by in the aftermath of the shooting that killed two people and injured 13, this stands out: The man responsible had a handgun.

To mass shooting-weary America  where there are about 300 million guns of all kinds  possession of a handgun might seem commonplace.

But in Toronto, the very idea that someone would have a handgun, much less take it out in public and fire it, is nearly incomprehensible. Now, the City Council is considering a motion urging the federal and provincial government to ban the sale of handguns and handgun ammunition in Canada's largest city.

"If anything, what's happened in the United States is what not to do," said City Councilman Joe Cressy, who was expected to propose the idea of banning handguns and ammunition on Tuesday.

Agreed Toronto Mayor John Tory: "Why does anyone in this city need to have a gun at all?"

It's unclear how the shooter in Sunday's tragedy obtained his gun. And officials haven't discovered a motive for why 29-year-old Faisal Hussain targeted diners enjoying a warm summer night at restaurants and cafes in Toronto's popular Greektown neighborhood, killing a 10-year-old girl and 18-year-old woman. His parents said he had suffered from severe mental illness his entire life.

Cressy acknowledged that banning handguns isn't the only thing Toronto should do to combat gun violence, which is on the rise in the city. Crime prevention programs, helping those released from prison find jobs, mentoring kids and diversion programs are all initiatives that should be beefed up, along with meeting people's mental health needs, he said.

Even before Sunday's shooting, city leaders were concerned about an uptick in gun violence that had prompted the Toronto police to deploy dozens of additional officers over the weekend. The city has seen 23 gun homicides so far this year, compared to 16 fatal shootings in the first half of 2017.

Canada overhauled its laws after the country's worst mass shooting in 1989, when gunman Marc Lepine killed 14 women and himself at Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique college. It's now illegal to possess an unregistered handgun or any kind of rapid-fire weapon. Canada also requires training, a personal risk assessment, two references, spousal notification and criminal record checks to obtain a permit.

Canadians have long taken comfort in the peacefulness of their communities and are nervous about anything that might indicate they are moving closer to their American counterparts.

"There isn't a handgun culture here," said Toronto resident Alison MacLean, shaking her head and wearing a T-shirt with symbols of a peace sign, a heart and a moose. "Handguns aren't part of the common discourse."

Before 2012, about 75 percent of illegal firearms in Canada were trafficked from the United States. By 2017, however, about half originated from domestic sources, putting an end to the idea that most of Canada's illegal guns come from across the border, said Det. Rob Di Danieli of the Toronto police guns and gangs unit.

Legal Canadian gun owners are selling their weapons illegally, he said.

The allure of a quick sell at a high profit margin is one reason legal owners might sell their guns. One man sold 47 guns and made over $100,000 in a five-month period, Di Danieli said.

"They go get their license for the purpose of becoming a firearms trafficker," he said. "A lot of people are so ready to blame the big bad Americans, but we had our own little problem here."

A big difference between Canada and the U.S. is the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which grants Americans the right to bear arms. In Canada, gun ownership is not enshrined in the constitution.

"Canadians, unlike Americans, do not have a constitutional right to bear arms," Canada's high court said in a 1993 decision that upheld a ban on convertible semi-automatic weapons.

"Indeed, most Canadians prefer the peace of mind and sense of security derived from the knowledge that the possession of automatic weapons is prohibited," the court said.

Another difference is that Canadian politicians are not beholden to groups like the National Rifle Association, which donates millions of dollars to U.S. campaigns. Canada's federal elections laws put limits on contributions to political parties so that only individuals, not corporations or lobby groups, may donate.

In the wake of Sunday's shooting, many here said they were reminded of another mass shooting, one that happened 1,500 miles (2,414 km) away in Florida in February, when a former student walked into a school with an assault rifle and killed 17 students and staff members and injured 17 others.

"I was thinking about the victims in Parkland, and their strength," said 24-year-old Laila Hawrylyshyn. "And I hope the victims here in Toronto have the strength to recover from this."

She and a several dozen of her classmates in a government relations class at York University attended the City Council session on Tuesday where council members discussed gun violence with the city's police chief.

Said Cressy: "A 10-year-old and an 18-year-old dying is heartbreaking enough. I can't fathom what it's like as a parent to wake up and send your child off to school and wonder if they'll be killed. That's not a city you want to live in."
Gossamer Bio has raised $230 million from investors, the San Diego startup said Monday. The developer of immune system-based therapies had announced its formation in January, with $100 million in Series A funding.

These amounts, unusually large for such a new biotech company, in part reflect the companys drug pipeline, with three medications in clinical trials and one in research. They also reflect the success of Gossamer co-founders Faheem Hasnain and Sheila Gujrathi, who the industry regards as a proven team.

They led San Diegos Receptos to a $7.2 billion sale to Celgene in 2015. Much of that value came from ozanimod, its drug for relapsing multiple sclerosis.

Privately held Gossamer also said Hasnain turned over his job as CEO to Gujrathi, who is also president and chief operating officer. Hasnain has taken a new role as executive chairman.

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Gossamer describes itself as a biopharmaceutical company, developing immune system-based drugs for illnesses, such as autoimmune diseases, allergy and inflammation, cancer and fibrosis.

The company has big plans for its medicines and for its long-term presence in San Diego, Gujrathi said Monday. The company will probably hold an initial public stock offering within a year.

Were here to stay and to grow. Gujrathi said. Were trying to build a sustainable enterprise  Were really interested in contributing to the ecosystem in the San Diego area.

Gossamer has about 50 employees now, and looks to add more as it expands.

We are building an integrated biotech organization, which would include research, translational, clinical, commercial and general administrative functions, she said.

Along with experience, Gossamer seeks employees who will mesh with the companys values, Gujrathi said.

We really have a culture based on respect, humility and transparent, honest communication, along with high-quality work, she said. These are the same values as practiced at Receptos, said Gujrathi, who was the companys chief medical officer.

Gossamer is running clinical trials for two drugs. One drug, GB001, will soon begin a late-stage clinical trial, and additional mid-stage trials for other diseases. The second, GB002, is in an early-stage clinical trial. Gossamer hasnt yet disclosed the disease targets for these drugs.

A third drug, GB004, treats inflammatory bowel diseases. Its in Phase 1 trials. A fourth is in preclinical development.

The deal was led by Hillhouse Capital. Hillhouse praised both Gossamers management and its drug pipeline in the companys statement.

New investors included a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Invus, The Baupost Group and Polaris Partners. Existing investors ARCH Venture Partners and Omega Funds, also participated.

Targeting the immune system with ozanimod proved a winning strategy for Receptos.

Celgene is preparing to ask the Food and Drug Administration for marketing approval of ozanimod, after the FDA rejected an application earlier this year.

Science Playlist  On Now In a first, scientists rid human embryos of a potentially fatal gene mutation by editing their DNA On Now Space station flyovers visible from San Diego this week 0:55 On Now UCSD's 'ghost drivers' begin testing people's reaction seemingly empty cars 1:29 On Now 10 interesting facts about Mars On Now Kids can add years to your life On Now LA 90: SpaceX launches recycled rocket On Now Big passions, big giving: Malin Burnham 2:30 On Now Big passions, big giving: Darlene Shiley 2:40 On Now Big passions, big giving: Joan and Irwin Jacobs 2:45 On Now Ocean temperatures warming at rapid rate, study finds

bradley.fikes@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1020
The Mission Trails Regional Park entrance off Mast Boulevard in Santee is going to have a $6 million ranger station by early winter 2019.

On July 19, San Diego City Councilman Scott Sherman and San Diego County Supervisor Kristin Gaspar helped break ground on the nearly 5,000-square-foot station.

The $6 million investment will give rangers improved resources and facilities to protect the park and engage with park visitors.

The Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation contributed $1.5 million toward the project, its third construction project in partnership with the city of San Diego.

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The new development will allow all of Mission Trails rangers to be under one roof and offer more amenities for visitors to enjoy when visiting the park.

Along with the ranger station will be new public artwork by Encanto-based artist Roman de Salvo.

DeSalvos artwork will be a large boulder with trail-like channels carved into its surface. A functioning drinking fountain fixture will rise out of the highest point of the boulder. Water will flow through an array of tiny trails of serpentine paths going down the slopes of the boulder.

DeSalvo, a Nevada native, said he was inspired by the many trails found at the park that Sherman still lives near.

Renderings of deSalvos public artwork can be found at sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/mtfs_groundbreaking_poster_for_web.pdf

Mission Trails has more than 60 miles of hiking, mountain bike areas and equestrian trails, a rock climbing area, a 14,000-square-foot Visitor and Interpretive Center, and the Kumeyaay Lake Campground.

karen.pearlman@sduniontribune.com
Backers of a ballot initiative that would require public votes before most large housing developments could be built in the unincorporated parts of the county turned in petitions containing more than 107,000 signatures Monday afternoon  but it may be too late for the measure to appear on the November ballot.

The Safeguard Our San Diego Countryside petitions must be verified and then placed on the ballot by a vote of the county Board of Supervisors by August 10.

The Registrar of Voters has said repeatedly it is highly unlikely the signatures can be verified by that date and that the backers should have submitted the petitions far sooner.

There is a small window of opportunity because they are being turned in really later than any countywide petitions we have ever seen, said Registrar Michael Vu. He added his limited staff is still verifying a half-dozen other petitions for other measures and that it likely will take his office until September to finish the Safeguard Our Countryside process.

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Even the political consultant hired by the measures proponents on Monday said realistically the petitions needed to be filed more than a month ago to have a shot at November.

The fact is the Registrar moves slow and the board (of supervisors) doesnt want it on the ballot so theres not a lot in the cards for us, said Bob Glaser.

Instead, if the signatures are eventually verified, the initiative will likely appear during the 2020 election cycle.

I think there is a certain irony that we are standing in front of the county seal that says The noblest motive is the public good, yet we are here because the board of supervisors has failed to act for the public good, said Diane Coombs, the president of San Diegans for Managed Growth referring to what her group perceives to be a pro-development county government.

We fully expect that the board will direct the Registrar to do everything possible to not put it on the ballot, she said during a brief news conference in front of the Registrars office.

But it was the groups lack of funds that made it impossible for them to meet the deadlines.

About one-third of the signatures were obtained by more than 100 volunteers over the past six months but the rest were obtained by paid signature gatherers.

Because the group was operating on a small budget, it couldnt afford to pay the gatherers nearly as much money per signature as other initiatives were offering this election year. The result was that for many months the paid gatherers spent their time in front of stores and at public gatherings pushing other, better-paying petitions.

The Countryside initiative requires 67,837 valid signatures of registered voters. Far more are needed, however, because a certain percentage of signatures are always thrown out for various reasons such as duplication or lack of voter standing. The Countryside backers had hoped to turn in 110,000 signatures by the beginning of June but were far from that number at the time.

Even if somehow the Registrar did verify the signatures before Aug. 10, the measure still would need to be placed on the ballot by a vote of the Board of Supervisors, whose last meeting before the deadline would be Aug. 8.

The supervisors also have the right to ask for a study to be done by its staff about the fiscal impact such a measure might have. Such a study could take up to 30 additional days.

The majority of the supervisors have already gone on record saying they disagree with the measure. It should be their job, with input from county planning staff and the planning commission, to decide what projects should be granted amendments to the General Plan, they have said.

The president of the Building Industry Association of San Diego County on Monday said he was pleased it appears the initiative will not appear on the ballot this year.

Because we think its a completely uncalled for action, said Borre Winckel. This was an ill-timed initiative at a time when we have record-high housing costs and record-low housing production.

He said the BIA is against ballot-box planning. Thats why we elect people into office, Winckel said. If they dont do a good job, you unelect them.

jharry.jones@sduniontribune.com; 760/529-4931; Twitter: @jharryjones
As founder and owner (along with his wife Dande) of Bagby Beer Company in Oceanside, Jeff Bagbys business mind is always on  but thats where he thrives.

Jeff has been a part of the San Diego beer scene for more than 20 years. His career started with Stone Brewing (working alongside Kiss My Glass guest Lee Chase), which then took him to White Labs, before he went to Pizza Port Solana Beach. His time with the Pizza Port name saw him take on the head brewer role at Pizza Port Carlsbad as well as head of all brewpub operations for the company.

With an eye toward running his own brewery, the Oceanside location became a reality when it opened its doors in September of 2014.

Jeff and Dande Bagby, the co-owners of Bagby Beer Company in Oceanside. (Lauren di Matteo)

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Bagby Beer now brews about 1,200 barrels a year, which is just shy of  of its max yearly capacity. At the moment, with no outside distributor actively working to push Bagby Beer into the market, 90% of the brewerys suds are distributed on site.

On this episode of Kiss My Glass, Jeff sat down with host Edwin Real of the Facebook group Eating and Drinking In San Diego where they touched upon a host of topics including:

Started at Stone Brewing with Steve Wagner & Lee Chase

Why open in Oceanside and North County?

Supporting local businesses in Oceanside

Will Bagby Beer expand outside of Oceanside?

Brewing 1,200 barrels a year, room to brew up to 3,500 barrels a year

Finding a reason to bring breweries together for special collabs

Unleashing his creativity at Port Brewing

The growth of the San Diego craft beer industry

Maintaining the level of high quality that San Diego is known for

Achieving rock star status

What it means to win medals

Ask people for honest feedback and the importance of peer review

Basing beers on classic styles

Readying Oktoberfest beers

Overseas collaborations

Kiss My Glass is a collaboration between PACIFIC and Facebook group Eating and Drinking In San Diego.

Listen and subscribe to Kiss My Glass and sister podcast Dish It Up wherever you listen to podcasts, including iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Soundcloud.

Keep up

610 South Coast Highway, Oceanside, 760.512.3372, bagbybeer.com

Instagram: @bagbybeer

Facebook: facebook.com/bagbybeerco/

Twitter: @bagbybeer

More...

Oceanside brewery gets nod in TNTs Animal Kingdom

Bagby brewery, restaurant nearly ready to open

Bagby Beer embraces vegan menu items

Undistributed beer of the week: Weissenhopper
Jon Faddis is best known as a leading jazz trumpeter, but its likely that many fans of rock, funk, disco, pop, reggae and Latin music have heard his playing countless times over the years.

Thats Faddis playing trumpet on Paul Simons You Can Call Me Al, James Browns Get On the Good Foot and Sister Sledges We Are Family.

Ditto on Lou Reeds Sally Cant Dance, Chics Everybody Dance and Grover Washingtons Mr. Magic.

Thats in addition to the albums this New Jersey-based trumpet great has performed on by Tina Turner, Bo Diddley, Peter Tosh, Eric Clapton, Aretha Franklin, Mick Jagger, Mongo Santamaria, Diana Ross, Billy Joel, Luther Vandross, Bananarama and many more.

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Dont forget YMCA by the Village People! Faddis said with a laugh.

He headlines Thursdays Godfathers of Latin Jazz: A Tribute to Dizzy Gillespie & Chano Pozo concert at the San Diego Symphonys Bayside Summer Nights. It will be Faddis first San Diego area performance since his 1999 Escondido show with his Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra .

I was pretty much doing pop and jazz (recording) sessions simultaneously in the 1970s and early 80s, which is when I really got my own thing going, Faddis continued.

When I moved to New York in 1971, I started hanging out with (fellow trumpeter) Lew Soloff, who was doing a lot of studio work. Next thing I knew, people were calling me to do studio gigs, so I just fell into it. I did a lot of studio dates until the early 1980s.

Even if had he never branched out from jazz, Faddis would still boast a heady musical resume.

The Oakland native was just 15 when he sat in with his idol, bebop trumpet king Dizzy Gillespie, for whom he later served as musical director. Faddis was not yet 18 when he joined famed vibraphonist Lionel Hamptons big band, a position that prompted his move to New York.

Soon after arriving in the Big Apple, Faddis was hired by the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, with which he performed across the country and around the world. By the end of 1974, he had released his first solo album and played trumpet on at least 45 other albums, including by such modern jazz pioneers as McCoy Tyner and Charles Mingus, whose band at the time also featured saxophonist Charles McPherson (who is now a San Diego resident).

Gillespie was so impressed by Faddis command of the trumpet that he once declared: Hes the best ever, including me!

Faddis was especially close to Gillespie and former San Diego saxophonist James Moody. He worked regularly with both until Gillespies death in 1993 and Moodys death here in 2010 at the age of 85.

An enduring lesson I learned from them was when Moody was in his 60s and said to Dizzy: Man, I wish I played the piano and could understand everything youve been telling me about music all these years, Faddis recalled..

 And Dizzy said: Youre not dead! So Moody found somebody in San Diego to start teaching him piano. That, to me, sums up the philosophy I learned from Moody and Dizzy  to always keep trying to get better.

A walking encyclopedia on Gillespies music and singular legacy, Faddis led last years all-star Gillespie tribute concert at the nearly 18,000-capacity Hollywood Bowl. In San Diego, hell be teaming with the Gilbert Castellanos-led KSDS Jazz Orchestra and guest soloists Justo Almario on saxophone and Charlie Chavez on percussion.

Together, theyll pay tribute to the propulsive Cu-bop style that launched the Latin jazz movement after Gillespie and Cuban percussion master Chano Pozo teamed up in 1947. Their repertoire will include Manteca, Groovin High, Tanga and other classics.

When Dizzy played Cu-bop, it was  to me  the greatest Dizzy of all time, said Faddis, who teaches jazz at New York State Universitys Purchase College and lives in New Jersey with his attorney wife and their son.

I cant wait to get to San Diego. The concert will be really fun and I hear theres a great new place to eat mole!

Godfathers of Latin Jazz: A Tribute to Dizzy Gillespie and Chano Pozo, featuring Jon Faddis, with the KSDS Jazz Orchestra, directed by Gilbert Castellanos

When: 7:30 Thursday, July 26

Where: San Diego Symphony Bayside Summer Pops, Embarcadero Marina Park South, 200 Marina Park Way, downtown

Tickets: $18-$69, plus service charges

Phone: (619) 235-0804

Online: sandiegosymphony.org

george.varga@sduniontribune.com

Twitter @georgevarga
The La Jolla Music Societys board of directors announced Monday that it had selected Susan T. Danis as the organizations new president and chief executive officer. She has spent the past six years as the CEO and executive director of Florida Grand Opera, following her 13-year tenure as Sarasota Operas executive director.

Danis, a Connecticut native, will assume her new position in La Jolla on Oct. 1. She replaces Kristin Lancino, who abruptly resigned in January from her position as the La Jolla Music Societys president and artistic director after serving for barely two years. Danis was one of three finalists the board considered from a field of 40 applicants from across the nation.

We were looking for someone who has experience, is a strong and passionate leader, and  most importantly  who aligns with our core vision and strategic values, said La Jolla Music Society board chair Katherine Chapin. We feel that we found someone with all those qualities in Susan.  It was kind of love at first sight.

Her selection comes just eight months before next Aprils opening of the nonprofit arts organizations new La Jolla home, the $78.5 million Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center. The state-of-the-art center  informally known as The Conrad  was a key factor in Danis decision to leave Florida Grand Opera, whose 2017-18 season featured 28 performances in both Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

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I truly believe that when you own your own arts facility, you control your artistic destiny, Danis said Monday afternoon from her Miami home.

So the fact that the La Jolla Music Board and the artistic community in San Diego coalesced and built this facility is incredibly important to me. I want to make it the best facility it can be, and for us, as an organization, to fulfill its greatest potential.

Danis has a Bachelor of Science degree from Indiana University and a Master of Business Administration degree, with a focus on international marketing, from the University of Hartfords program in Paris. She brings a wealth of experience to her new job, including having extensively worked in New York with people with physical and mental disabilities, and working with Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts in San Francisco, where she was executive director of the dance company Voice The Movement.

After moving to New York, she became managing director of the Lake George Opera (now Opera Saratoga), where she erased a $450,000 debt and built a $3 million endowment. During her 13 years at Floridas Sarasota Opera, she doubled its annual budget to more than $8 million and spearheaded a $47 million capital campaign and a $20 million renovation of the historic Sarasota Opera House.

More recently, during her time leading Florida Grand Opera, she secured the largest gift  $6.8 million  in the organizations history. She also developed award-winning education and outreach programs, including programs for kids who are victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. She expanded the size of the companys Studio Artist Program by 30 percent.

Susans experience in running arts organizations and renovating a venue really captured our attention, said Chapin. What really drew us is her incredible passion and how her experience up until now dovetailed so precisely with the qualifications we needed. When she commits to something, she really commits.

Danis will spend time here in August at the La Jolla Music Societys annual SummerFest.

The most challenging part for me will be wrapping my hands as quickly as I can around everything, so I can become a resource to the board and staff, Danis said.

The most rewarding part will be being part of this incredible 50th anniversary season and bringing high-quality art to the area in this great new arts center. From the artistic end to fundraising and marketing, I have a feeling the list of things to do will be long and evolving, since the organization is evolving and The Conrad is coming online. My goal is to be there for as long as they will have me.

george.varga@sduniontribune.com

Twitter @georgevarga
Naval Special Warfare Command says it will evaluate its training procedures after a group of Navy SEALs and trainees were shot at by a man with a pellet gun late Monday evening.

Around 10:30 p.m., Navy SEAL instructors and trainees were conducting a nighttime qualification dive when Scott Douglass Weaver, 47, confronted them near the Halsey Road bridge at Liberty Station, authorities said.

At one point, the man began firing a pellet gun at the divers. A Navy spokesman said thats when the SEALs called the police.

San Diego Police arrested Weaver for assault with a deadly weapon, threats, brandishing a replica firearm and obstruction, a police spokesman said.

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The Navy said no military personnel were injured.

Police did not say whether Weaver had a motive for targeting the SEALs or if he was even aware of who he was firing upon.

That will be determined after the investigation is completed, San Diego Police Officer Billy Hernandez said in an email.

Navy SEALs are a clandestine special-warfare component of the Navy. As such, much of what they do  including training  is treated as sensitive information.

We dont want to highlight our training, said Lt. Trevor Davids, public information officer at Naval Special Warfare Training Center. (But) we do train in San Diego Bay.

The notoriously arduous SEAL training school  Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S)  is located at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado. Prospective SEALs train in the Silver Strand surf as well as other locations in and around the bay.

Davids said the Navy takes the safety of its students and the public into consideration when planning its training.

We recognize we are training in a densely-populated area, Davids said, We have procedures in place to protect our students.

Davids said the Navy will examine the incident in an after-action report, and that it could affect how future training is conducted.

Its something we (will) plan for and evaluate for the safety of our students and the public, he said.
July 24, 1946 The San Diego Union

The San Diego Union-Tribune will mark its 150th anniversary in 2018 by presenting a significant front page from the archives each day throughout the year.

Wednesday, July 24, 1946

Before Operation Crossroads atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in July, 1946, Navy scientists conducted "baby crossroads" bomb tests at San Diego to study wave effects of an underwater atomic explosion.

The largest of the experimental blasts, which took place on the ocean side of the Silver Strand using more than 2,000 pounds of T.N.T., reverberated throughout downtown San Diego and rattled windows in Coronado homes.

The U.S. atomic tests in Bikini Atoll were the first atomic explosions since the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, during World War II.

Here are the first few paragraphs of the story:

Atom Explosions in S.D. Harbor Studied for Wave Effect

BABY CROSSROADS TESTS HERE LAST MONTH DISCLOSED

Dont worry about a tidal wave being created by todays underwater atomic bomb blast at Bikini atoll. For the 11th Naval District yesterday disclosed that a series of Baby Crossroads experiments were conducted in San Diego harbor last month to record wave effects. From data compiled, scientist at the Naval Electronic laboratory are convinced that the atomic test will not set up a tidal wave.

Although small by atomic standards, the concussions from the charge rattled windows throughout the area and brought a flurry of inquiries from puzzled San Diego and Coronado residents.

MODEL BLASTS CREATED

Scale models of the atomic explosion were produced by detonating T.N.T. charge ranging from one-half pound to 2040 pounds, as technicians under the direction of Dr. A. B. Focke, senior technical consultant at the laboratory, witnessed the Baby Crossroads.

Sending a dirty plume of mud and water mushrooming nearly 1000 feet in the air, the last and most violent of the explosions set off in the sheltered waters only a few miles from the beaches of Hotel del Coronado was photographed by batteries of cameras a half-mile from the blast.

AID IN BIKINI TESTS

Results from the tests were relayed immediately to scientists of Operation Crossroads, who used the information in placing their delicate measuring devices for the determination of wave intensity.

The month of experimentation began with the detonation of half pound charges in five inches of water setting up small small waves, which were photographed at close range. Size of the charge and depth of the water gradually was increased until the climax explosion of the 2040 pound charge in seven feet of water.

View anniversary front pages online at sandiegouniontribune.com/150-years. For more from the Union-Tribune digital archives, go to newslibrary.com/sites/sdub. Searching is free, with registration. A fee is required to view full stories.
Big news for more than 20,000 people who cross on foot from Tijuana to San Ysidro on an average day: A new eastern pedestrian border entrance is scheduled to begin operations next month.

Known as PedEast, the entrance has 22 lanes, and will significantly increase the pedestrian inspection capacity at San Ysidro, the busiest land port in the Western Hemisphere. The facility will replace a provisional eight-lane structure on the ports eastern side that has been in place during the construction phase.

The new eastern entrance is scheduled to open on Aug. 15, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, CBP, the agency that operates the port. Initially, we envision opening 10 lanes at the new PedEast facility and based on the volume of travelers entering we will adjust resources, according to a statement from the agency.

PedEast is the latest piece of infrastructure in the multi-phase $741-million expansion and reconstruction of the massive San Ysidro Port of Entry overseen by the U.S. General Service Administration. This has included building additional vehicle inspection lanes and re-aligning the I-5, a project set for completion in 2019.

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The opening of the new eastern entrance has been a priority for shops on San Ysidro Boulevard that are heavily dependent on foot traffic from Mexico. The boulevard is the backbone of San Ysidro, the corridor for our small businesses, said Jason Wells, executive director of the San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce.

The eastern lanes also feed directly to the San Ysidro trolley station, an important means of transport in San Diego for thousands of border crossers.

PedEasts scheduled opening comes more than two years after the opening of the PedWest entrance, a a 14-lane pedestrian inspection facility that began operating in July 2016 west of the ports vehicle lanes.

With both PedEast and PedWest open, we will have approximately 20 lanes for travelers to utilize, the CBP statement said. That is five more pedestrian lanes than those available at the port before the expansion project began.

CBP anticipates the new infrastructure will improve circulation and throughput for pedestrian travelers, according to the agencys statement.

sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com

@sandradibble
Parts of Yosemite National Park have been closed as the raging Ferguson fire moves closer, authorities said Tuesday.

The fire, which has claimed the life of one firefighter and injured several others, has burned more than 36,000 acres southwest of Yosemite and is now 25% contained, officials said. The fire was sending huge amounts of smoke into the Yosemite Valley.

Smoke may be heavy at times, the park said in a statement, advising visitors to limit activity during the periods of poor air quality. Some facilities and services are closed or diminished.

A video camera inside the park Tuesday showed dark skies and black clouds pushing through trees and open spaces.

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Officials announced the closure during a community meeting Tuesday.

Park officials said Highway 140, El Portal Road, Glacier Point Road and Arch Rock Entrance are all closed.

More than 3,000 fire personnel are battling the blaze, aided by dozens of water-dropping helicopters, water trucks and bulldozers.

Fire crews are encountering steep, rugged terrain that has made it a challenge to navigate. One particularly precarious area where the fire is burning was named the Devils Gulch many years ago by the areas first explorers, fire information officer Rob Deyerberg said.

The terrain is only a place where the devil would live, Deyerberg said. We will not put firefighters down in the worst places. Thats where they build their lines, develop their plans of where can we catch this fire on our terms.

One firefighter operating a bulldozer died when his vehicle rolled down a hillside, and six others have been hurt  their injuries ranging from back strains to broken bones and heat exhaustion, said U.S. Forest Service spokesman Jim Mackensen.

The fire, which is moving east toward Yosemite, is fueled in part by large trees that have been killed by bark beetle infestation, Deyerberg said. Years of drought and recent drought-like conditions have allowed the invasive insects population to explode.

Dead trees are drier,  Deyerberg said. Dry fuel burns hotter and faster.

These frail trees send embers and burning pieces of material flying all over the forest, helping the fire to spread, he added.

But Deyerberg said that firefighters are making progress.

They are feeling very confident and that has added to our containment percentage of now being 25%, he said.

UPDATES:

2:05 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from Deyerberg

This article was originally published at 12:50 p.m.
Holding signs that read Stop the ticketing, Housing not handcuffs, Disability is not a crime and other slogans, about 20 people participated in a demonstration in Mission Bay on Monday to call attention to a class-action lawsuit seeking an end to the citys ban on people living in recreational vehicles.

We were woken at 6 oclock in the morning and told we didnt have a choice, said Anna Stark, one of 11 plaintiffs named in the suit, as she recalled the morning her RV was impounded.

They said a tow truck had already been called and we had to get what we could take, and they set us out on the street, she said.

The couple were told they had seven tickets against them for violating city laws about RVs, and the city can impound vehicles after five tickets. Stark said she thought she and her husband Gerald, also a plaintiff, had only four tickets.

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The class action suit alleges city policies violate civil rights and was filed in federal court in November by Disability Rights California, the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, Dreher Law Firm and other legal groups.

A Freedom of Information Act request filed from the attorneys revealed there had been 5,039 citations against people violating the citys restriction on parking large vehicles and RVs on the street between September 2014 and August 2017. Average fines were $112.50 and amounted to $832,754 in fines and fees. Of that, $365,822 had been collected.

An additional 1,212 tickets had been issued for violating the citys ban on living in vehicles between January 2014 and August 2017. Most fines were $52, and tickets amounted to $104,837 in fines. Of that, $40,633 had been collected.

Ann Menasche, senior attorney with Disability Rights California, said the suit argues that the citys law prohibiting people from living in vehicles is unconstitutional because its definition of whether somebody is living inside is vague.

In 2014, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a Los Angeles ordinance prohibiting people from living in vehicles as unconstitutionally vague. Menasche said the case was similar to the one filed in San Diego.

Another part of the suit that challenges the citys ban on parking RVs on city streets between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. is unique to San Diego, she said. Menasche said the 2014 city rule is being challenged as discriminatory against disabled people who have no other place to live.

The law allows RV owners to park near their homes with permits. Menasche said that while the city has claimed the law is neutral, she said it has a greater effect on the elderly and disabled, and there should be accommodations for them.

At the time, the city enacted the RV parking restriction as a way to increase safety, aesthetics and parking availability, especially near the beach, by preventing tourists with large campers from sleeping inside their vehicles to avoid paying for hotels or other accommodations.

But Menasche said the law had unintended consequences, resulting in some people who cant afford rent to lose the only home they had when their RVs were impounded.

The mayors office did not respond for a request to comment on the pending lawsuit following the Monday demonstration.

Another demonstration is planned Thursday before Menasche appears before a federal judge to ask for an injunction on RV citations until the case is decided.

We are here today to demand that the city immediately instruct its police to stop issuing these tickets, stop the impounding of RVs, stop throwing people onto the sidewalk, and that the city end this callous injustice now, she said at the Monday press conference held at the South Shore boat launching area near Sea World, where many RVs park. Let me make clear that the citys policies created this housing and homeless crisis we are facing, and its affecting more and more San Diego residents each and every day.

Recalling the morning their RV was impounded, Stark said she and her 77-year-old husband Gerald, also a plaintiff, had no place to go and rode their bicycles to look for a place to rest.

Wed sleep in an alley, she said. An alley isnt a place for a 77-year-old man who has worked his whole life.

Plaintiff David Wilson, an actor who said his credits includes a part in Taxi Driver, said he has been living on about $900 a month in disability payments following a 1990 accident.

Holding a cardboard box loaded with legal payments during the demonstration, Wilson said he has about 880 citations from living in an RV. Hes avoided having his vehicle impounded about 10 times by selling each one as tickets piled up, then buying another.

Plaintiff Valerie Grischy also lives in an RV and said she is a licensed chiropractor but has been unable to work since being injured in a 2009 accident.

Living on about $900 a month, she said she had to make a choice between paying rent and surviving, so she decided to live in an RV.

Its an awful sinking feeling to wake up to a ticket on my windshield in the morning, she said. Paying it takes away what little I have to survive.

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gary.warth@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @GaryWarthUT

760-529-4939
San Diego County resettled 30 refugees in June, the second most it has received in one month in fiscal 2018.

The new arrivals hailed from five countries  the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Pakistan, Burundi and the Central African Republic. Twenty of them, the largest group, came from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Junes 30 arrivals to San Diego County are behind Februarys 68 for the most newcomers in one month in fiscal 2018 for the county, according to data from the State Department.

While its encouraging that these refugee cases are being processed, it is hard to predict what is to come in August and September, said Etleva Bejko of Jewish Family Service.

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Seven refugees resettled in San Diego County in May, and 13 came in April.

Iraqis used to be the largest arriving group to the county until a series of executive orders from President Donald Trump first blocked arrivals from Iraq and then added more vetting requirements.

More than 900 Iraqi refugees came to San Diego County in fiscal 2016.

So far in fiscal 2018, nine have come.

The largest resettled groups across the U.S. in fiscal 2018 are from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Bhutan, Ukraine and Eritrea.

Nationally, the number of arrivals between May and June dropped about 13 percent, from 2,142 to 1,899. Arrivals also decreased about 21 percent California-wide, from 146 to 116.

Many who work in refugee resettlement are worried that the U.S. is not on track to take in the 45,000 refugees that Trump set as the annual cap for fiscal 2018. With three months left to go in the fiscal year, 16,230  less than half  have resettled.

Bejko noted that the cap for fiscal 2019 has not yet been set.

A bipartisan group of 63 members of Congress, including Juan Vargas, D-San Diego, and Scott Peters, D-San Diego, wrote to the Department of Homeland Security and Department of State last week pushing the administration to bring in more refugees for the remainder of the year.

Our country has a long bipartisan history of welcoming refugees, which both reflects American values and serves as a strong diplomatic tool, the letter says.

The letter includes questions about staffing level and program efficiency for government agencies that participate in refugee resettlement. It also asks what the administration has done to provide humanitarian assistance internationally in lieu of taking in more people.

Immigration Videos On Now New developments in family separation case 9:53 On Now A San Diego woman volunteered as a medic in Texas helping migrant families 2:35 On Now Immigration policy protests in Carlsbad nearly cancelled after permit issue 1:38 On Now When children are separated from their parents at the border, here is where they go next On Now Prospects of a deal for 'Dreamers' may hinge on separating Trump from hard-liners on his staff On Now What is DACA? On Now Border wall prototype contractors selected On Now Video: Ukrainian boxer wins asylum in U.S. On Now 30 apprehended after Border Patrol agents discover tunnel On Now Video: Kurdish diaspora prepare to vote on independence

Follow me on Facebook for live updates about immigration news

kate.morrissey@sduniontribune.com, @bgirledukate on Twitter
As Tesla ramps up its Fremont, Calif., factory to escape what Elon Musk called production hell with its new Model 3 electric sedan, some customers are enduring their own state of suffering trying to get Teslas serviced.

Parts shortages, long repair delays and problems getting through on customer help lines have led to scenes of strife at Teslas service centers.

At the entrance to the companys Dublin, Calif., center recently, an agitated Model X owner was trying to drop his SUV off for repair. A Tesla service agent said he couldnt leave the car there because the facility was too busy. He could make an appointment to bring it in another time, maybe in a couple of weeks.

But I dont want to drive it! said Kaushal Bhaskar, a software engineer from nearby San Ramon who complained he sometimes couldnt get the passenger door to open, while other times the door would open up all by itself  including once on the Interstate at highway speeds. This is a safety concern for me!

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Another service rep was assisting Mike, the owner of a red Model 3 with door-lock problems who declined to give his last name. Hed lock the car, walk away, and it would electronically unlock itself. That caused him to alter his vacation plans. I couldnt take it to Yosemite like that, he said.

The agent said Mike would have to leave the car there awhile: The amount of cases Ive got right now is unbelievable.

Service complaints are common at traditional automobile dealers, of course, even for new cars. But weeks-long waits for basic auto repair are rare, and months-long waits for body parts are practically unheard of for all but the most exotic vehicles, because spare parts from automakers and after-market manufacturers are stocked in inventory.

Spare body parts for repair almost always are made by the original manufacturer, said Bill Hampton, editor of the industry trade publication Auto Beat Daily.

But, he said, its not surprising that such parts arent a top priority right now at Tesla.

When youre making dramatic efforts to manufacture 5,000 [Model 3s] in one week, you sure cant say, Hey, some guy in Topeka needs a new hood. Too bad, Hampton said.

The parts shortage goes well beyond California. In Norway, the third largest market for Tesla cars after the U.S. and China, some customers told Norwegian media they have been waiting months on body parts for their damaged Teslas. Musk addressed the Norway problem on Twitter on July 5, saying Norwegians are right to be upset with Tesla. We are having trouble expanding our service facilities in Oslo especially. Can solve quickly with Tesla mobile service vans, but awaiting govt permission to do so.

He has not addressed problems in the U.S. or elsewhere. The Times asked Tesla to make a service executive available to talk about what the company is doing to improve customer service, but it declined.

Only Tesla knows the full extent of its quality problems. J.D. Power, which ranks initial vehicle quality, measures all mass-market automakers except Tesla, which declines to provide quality data requested by the market research firm.

A Tesla spokesman said in a prepared statement that the companys own global satisfaction scores for service are above 90%. A new parts distribution service was opened this spring in California, the statement said, and while call volumes have increased dramatically due to the overwhelming excitement around the Model 3, this hasnt impacted our ability to respond to emergency roadside events.

Tesla has plans in place to hire more staff in customer support in the event they are unable to find their answers at Teslas support site or in their Tesla account, the company said. And it plans to open a large new service center in Oslo later this year. Tesla cars have topped Consumer Reports owner satisfaction survey for the last two years, the company noted.

110 days and counting for me. Ridiculous. https://t.co/CF1UeLhFlA  Jeff Klein (@JeffreySKlein) July 11, 2018

Jeff Klein, a publishing executive in Northridge, said the hood and front quarter panel on his wifes Model S were damaged in a March accident. Four months later, the car is still parked at a Tesla certified repair shop, waiting for parts, while Klein makes monthly payments on the lease. Klein didnt need a loaner vehicle.

The general manager said it could take several months, that Tesla didnt seem to realize that their cars might get in accidents and they had no parts inventory, Klein said. Their parts are made to order, just like their cars.

On Tesla online forums, customers complain about long hold times on Teslas customer service phone line and waits of sometimes hours to check the status on a car delivery or repair, or to ask for a refund on a car deposit. Some report Tesla doesnt get back to them at all.

Mathijs Kok of Bueren, Germany, said the company promised by phone someone would return his call to correct a windshield problem on his new Model S. No one called him back.

The next time he had a problem  this one with unresponsive roadside assistance  Kok emailed the company. He never heard back, despite some followup reminders.

Kok, who said he runs a customer support department at Aerosoft GmbH, a flight simulator software maker, called the email snub nasty.

The lack of callbacks was sloppy, almost certainly caused by too much work, he said. In a nutshell, its damned hard to get in contact and they have lacking procedures to make it possible for issues to be missed and not followed up in time.

Service problems are not new at Tesla. In August, the companys president for sales, marketing, delivery and service, Jon McNeill, said on the Tesla Motors Club forum the company had streamlined customer service to make contacting the right person at Tesla easier. Six months later, McNeill quit Tesla to become chief operating officer at Lyft.

In June, Karim Bousta, Tesla vice president of worldwide service and customer experience, left, as did David Erhart, senior director for reliability and testing.

Teslas sales and service approach differs greatly from most automakers, which sell their cars to franchised dealers. Tesla owns and runs retail sales and service operations on its own.

The companys 74 service centers in the U.S. are complemented by Tesla Rangers, a mobile service program that dispatches service workers to fix some cars on site.

The company also has pioneered over the air updates, where software updates can be beamed to the car without having to bring it to the dealer.

A tent outside the Tesla factory in Fremont, Calif., was pressed into service to ramp up Model 3 production. (Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Tesla executives have said this approach lowers Teslas capital costs. But accelerating production  to 53,339 cars of three different models in the second quarter, up 55% from a year earlier and almost a five-fold increase from the same period in 2015  may be overwhelming Teslas service resources.

Add to that the wide variety of Model 3 quality problems reported on Tesla customer forums, including broken glass, bad paint jobs, body panel gaps, dead batteries, wind noise, dents, scratches and software problems including door locks and weirdly behaving touch screens.

Tesla has one of the most rabidly loyal customer bases of any automaker, of course. The same forums are peppered with praise for the cars and with Tesla service. And auto reviewers are near unanimous in their praise for the way the Model 3 drives.

Consumer Reports relies on customer surveys for its own quality assessments. Mike Quincy, an automotive specialist at the research organization, called Teslas quality record mixed.

The good news is that the Model S has a new-car predicted reliability better than average, Quincy said, referring to the mainstay Tesla sedan. The bad news is that the Model X has proved far worse than average. Too few surveys have been collected yet to evaluate the Model 3.

If Model 3 quality proves subpar and service issues arent fixed, it could mean deeper trouble for Tesla as the company tries to go mainstream, according to Karl Brauer at Kelley Blue Book.

Early Tesla buyers are so in love with the car, theyd ignore things most buyers wouldnt put up with, like delays for repairs, or batteries that fail multiple times, Brauer said.

He suggested that Musk spend more time straightening out issues at Tesla and less time on cave rescue operations or offering to fix water contamination problems in Flint, Mich., Musks latest social cause.

As the Model 3 broadens Teslas customer base, it may test the companys over the air service model.

At the Dublin service center, Bhaskars service rep said a review of his vehicles operational data, captured on Teslas cloud storage system, showed the door never opened by itself. But I have seen it with my own eyes, Bhaskar insisted. (The Times called the Dublin center three times to ask the service manager for comment. No calls were returned.)

Bhaskar told the rep hed take the car home and make an appointment, but wanted a written statement acknowledging the door safety problem. Were not putting this on paper, he was told. Here, thats not the way business is done.

The issue was escalated, and after 45 minutes Bhaskar was allowed to leave his car. He departed in a Mercedes-Benz SUV loaner.

russ.mitchell@latimes.com

Twitter: @russ1mitchell

UPDATES:

5:20 p.m.: This article was updated to include mention of Teslas Consumer Reports owner satisfaction rating.

This article was originally published at 1:25 p.m.
Two new fire stations, one in Point Loma and another in Little Italy, are part of a San Diego campaign to build new stations and significantly upgrade older facilities.

Since 2014, the city has opened two brand new stations, remodeled six others and is replacing one more with a new, larger structure.

Were building our better future when we make major investments to improve our public safety infrastructure, Mayor Kevin Faulconer said during Tuesdays unveiling of the remodeled Point Loma station.

Originally built in 1942, Fire Station No. 22 is on Catalina Boulevard at the western edge of Point Loma Community Park. The 6,180-square-foot facility has two vehicle bays and a redesigned driveway to reduce traffic disruptions on Catalina.

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This new fire station has been a long time coming, said Councilwoman Lorie Zapf of Bay Ho, whose district includes Point Loma. I know this new station will help improve emergency response times and protect our residents.

Earlier this month, the city unveiled a brand new station on the western edge of Little Italy.

Well now have three fire stations serving a thriving downtown community that has seen an influx of residents, businesses and visitors over the past few decades, Faulconer said at the grand opening for that station, which is on Pacific Highway across from Waterfront Park.

The Fire-Rescue Department has long considered a station on the western waterfront a top priority because of emergency response delays resulting from rail activity.

Bayside Fire Station will provide critical public safety resources and personnel to downtown, said Councilman Chris Ward of University Heights, whose district includes Little Italy.

The second brand new station the city has built recently is in eastern Mission Valley. A new station was also built in City Heights to replace an older version.

The other remodeled stations are in Mira Mesa, North Park, Southcrest and La Jolla, and a new station under construction in Hillcrest will replace a much smaller version.

In other Fire-Rescue Department news, the City Council confirmed Colin Stowell as the departments new chief on Monday.

A native San Diegan, Stowell began his firefighting career with the city in 1988 and rose through the ranks to assistant chief before leaving in 2016 to lead Heartland Fire & Rescue in El Cajon, La Mesa and Lemon Grove.

david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick
A man found dead last week inside an El Cajon house that caught fire was a 72-year-old, bed-ridden resident of the home, authorities said Monday.

Mike Earl Loveless died of fourth-degree thermal burns suffered in the fire that broke out around 5:20 a.m. Thursday at his home on South Magnolia north of Chase Avenue, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiners Office.

A caregiver staying at the house awoke to smoke in her room and noticed flames in Loveless bedroom, according to the office. She awoke others in the home who were able to evacuate safely.

Attempts were made to enter (Loveless) bedroom but were unsuccessful due to the fire, the Medical Examiners Office said in a statement.

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Heartland Fire crews received an initial report indicating one person was trapped inside the home, and the first unit was on the scene in four minutes, spokesman Mark Casey said. Firefighters simultaneously went into emergency rescue and firefighting modes.

Firefighters had doused the flames by 5:37 a.m., Casey said, but they were unable to save Loveless. His body was found in his bed with obvious fatal thermal injuries, the Medical Examiners Office said.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and tobacco use were listed as contributing conditions in Loveless death, which was ruled an accident, according to the Medical Examiners Office.

Fire officials did not immediately release the suspected cause of the blaze, which caused roughly $100,000 worth of damage to the home and its contents, Casey said.

Twitter: @Alex_Riggins

(619) 293-1710

alex.riggins@sduniontribune.com
Authorities on Monday identified a 48-year-old National City man who died Friday when he was thrown from his motorcycle in a solo crash in Lemon Grove.

Juan Antonio Quiroz was speeding west on Jamacha Road approaching Osage Drive, just east of where Lemon Grove becomes San Diego, when he lost control around a sweeping left turn about 2:55 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol and San Diego County Medical Examiners Office.

Riding a 2018 Harley Davidson Sportster, Quiroz drifted right, struck a curb and a tree and was thrown from his motorcycle, authorities said.

Several motorists stopped to help the victim and call 911. Sheriffs deputies, CHP officers and San Miguel firefighters all responded to the crash, and emergency crews performed CPR as they rushed Quiroz to Scripps Mercy Hospital in Hillcrest.

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Despite aggressive attempts at resuscitation, (Quiroz) failed to respond and his death was pronounced by doctors at the hospital just before 3:30 p.m., the Medical Examiners Office said in a statement.

Investigations are under way into the cause of the crash and the cause and manner of Quirozs death.

Twitter: @Alex_Riggins

(619) 293-1710

alex.riggins@sduniontribune.com
Homicide detectives have identified a man found stabbed to death early Saturday in Old Town.

San Diego resident Steven Barnes, 65, was discovered a little after 2 a.m. by police officers responding to a call of an injured person on Pacific Highway near the Interstate 5 overpass, San Diego police homicide Lt. Anthony Dupree said.

Barnes was found with lacerations and trauma to his upper torso, Dupree said. Paramedics treated his wounds, but he died at the scene.

Homicide detectives interviewed several people Saturday in hopes of developing leads and closed Pacific Highway north of the Old Town San Diego State Historic Park until late Saturday morning.

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No arrests have been announced.

Anyone with information regarding the slaying is urged to call the San Diego Police Departments homicide unit at (619) 531-2293. Anonymous tipsters can also contact San Diego County Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477, or online at sdcrimestoppers.org.

Twitter: @Alex_Riggins

(619) 293-1710

alex.riggins@sduniontribune.com
A 78-year-old wrong-way driver was killed Tuesday afternoon when his car was struck by two semi-trucks while driving north in the southbound lanes of Interstate 15 in Escondido, authorities said.

The driver, a San Diego man whose name was not immediately released, reportedly got onto the freeway about 12:30 p.m. driving a 1997 Lincoln Town Car the wrong way at Pomerado Road and West Bernardo Drive, according to the California Highway Patrol.

While driving in the slow lanes of the freeway between West Bernardo Drive and Via Rancho Parkway, the wrong-way drive was on a collision course with a semitrailer, then hit the trailer of the commercial truck when the trucker swerved to avoid the car, CHP spokesman Jake Sanchez said. The car spun out before it was struck by a second semitrailer.

Medics took the gravely injured victim to Palomar Medical Center in Escondido, where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival, Sanchez said.

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The truckers involved in the crash  a 37-year-old San Bernardino man and 52-year-old Chula Vista man  were uninjured.

Debris from the crash also struck a 2002 Mercedes-Benz, but the 49-year-old Imperial Beach man driving that vehicles was also uninjured.

Traffic in the area was snarled for miles as authorities shut down all lanes of southbound I-15 for a time. By 2:30 p.m., all but the two right lanes had reopened, and all lanes were back open just after 3:20 p.m.

Twitter: @Alex_Riggins

(619) 293-1710

alex.riggins@sduniontribune.com

UPDATES:

4:45 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details.

This article was originally published at 2:35 p.m.
Candidates for the San Diego County Board of Supervisors called for investigation of the countys foster care system following an in-depth article that The San Diego Union-Tribune published on Sunday.

The newspaper described allegations in a ongoing lawsuit that two former foster children filed against San Diego County for allegedly ignoring or failing to properly investigate more than a dozen reports of suspected child abuse, choosing again and again to leave the twins at the mercy of their foster father, Michael Jarome Hayes, who sexually abused them for years.

Hayes pleaded guilty in 2014 to felony charges of molesting the two boys and another little boy the county placed in his care as a foster child. Hayes is now serving a 20-year, 8-month prison sentence.

One of governments most critical responsibilities is to protect the weakest among us  and the county appears to have failed miserably in this case, former District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said Monday.

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If true, these allegations highlight a shocking breakdown of the system and there must be accountability and reform to the system. As the Union-Tribune article rightly points out, when the county takes a child, it assumes responsibility for protecting them from harm.

County service providers ignored repeated red flags and we need to know exactly where the breakdowns in the system occurred and fix them immediately. I have reached out to Supervisor Ron Roberts and have spoken to a representative of the Child Abuse Prevention Coordinating Council. I am asking them to conduct an investigation into these allegations, as well as, help identify areas for reform.

Nathan Fletcher, who is running against Dumanis to replace Roberts representing District 4, released a statement Sunday condemning the county governments handling of the plaintiffs foster care cases.

In the statement, Fletcher said county officials owe the public answers as to how their system allowed a sexual predator to serve as a foster parent for seven years and missed repeated reports of his abuse. It is time for a full and transparent investigation into the failures that led to this tragedy followed by concrete actions to ensure accountability and structural changes moving forward.

Omar Passons, a former foster child who lost in the primary election for the District 4 seat, also commented Monday on the Union-Tribunes investigation. Passons has recently endorsed Fletchers candidacy.

Passons told the Union-Tribune by phone Monday that lawmakers should figure out what is needed to properly assess placement of foster children, respond to allegations of abuse and to give social workers time to breathe and focus  and then convince voters to provide necessary funding to make it happen, Passons said.

We should figure out what is going to address the issue at hand, and do that thing, he said.

Michelle Gomez, who is running for District 5 on the board, said during an interview over the telephone Monday that Sundays article was heartbreaking, and the boys case is probably not an isolated failure.

I believe were looking at the tip of a horrifying iceberg, and as much as I dont want to believe that, I think it is the case, Gomez said. I would like to think this is an isolated incident, but I dont.

Gomez said launching an in-depth investigation into the county foster care system policies and practices would be among her top priorities if elected, because solving any problem has to start with a clear understanding of its root causes.

San Marcos Mayor Jim Desmond, who is running against Gomez for the District 5 seat, said his first step would be to investigate the allegations in the lawsuit, and, if they are substantiated, to look at the larger system and try to find and fix root problems to better protect children in the future.

The Union-Tribunes investigation was based on a 2016 lawsuit by the twin boys, now young adults, identified in court records as A.G. and M.G. They are suing the county and 14 of its social workers for leaving them at Hayes mercy despite reports of suspected abuse from an educator, a lawyer, a psychologist and others.

The county received its first report of abuse in January 2006, when A.G. told his social worker Hayes was hurting him, according to the lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, the abuse only stopped in 2013  more than seven years after the boys first complaint  when San Diego police officers responded to Hayes own report that A.G. ran away.

Hayes was later arrested and faced 28 felony charges of sexual molestation and other crimes against A.G., M.G., another foster son the county had placed in Hayes care and two of Hayes young cousins.

Hayes pleaded guilty to eight of the charges, admitting to specific lewd acts including putting his hands and mouth on three of the boys feet for sexual arousal and touching A.G.s genitals.

The Union-Tribune asked each sitting member of the County Board of Supervisors for comment on the lawsuit during the reporting process ahead of Sundays article.

In response to a series of questions about repeated alleged failures by the county  and what was being done to prevent similar events  Board of Supervisors Chairman Kristin Gaspar released a statement.

As you know, this case is in litigation so we cannot comment on case details, she said. The county takes the safety and welfare of all children placed in foster care extremely seriously. We remain committed to ensuring every child is placed in a stable and healthy environment.

The twins $5 million-plus lawsuit against the county is moving toward a trial next year.

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morgan.cook@sduniontribune.com
A shocking Sunday article by The San Diego Union-Tribunes Morgan Cook laid out in heartbreaking detail how a boy identified only as A.G. in court records first complained in 2006 of abusive behavior by his foster father, Michael Jarome Hayes. The documents show that Hayes was accused more than a dozen times  by an educator, a lawyer, a psychologist and others  of alleged abuse against A.G. and his twin brother, M.G., but that San Diego County authorities did not take the children from Hayes home until 2013.

It was only then  after Hayes notified the San Diego police that A.G. had run away  that Hayes depravity was exposed. He was eventually charged with 28 felonies involving sexual molestation and related crimes against A.G. and M.G. and three other children  and found guilty on eight counts. He is now serving a 20-year, eight-month sentence.

Citing a lawsuit by the twins, who have sued the county and 14 of its social workers over the handling of their cases, county Board of Supervisors Chair Kristin Gaspar offered inadequate generalities in response to questions from Cook. But Cooks reporting showed that county authorities not only seemed to fail to take the abuse complaints seriously, they sent Hayes another foster child  putting that boy in harms way.

In federal court filings, these same authorities now blame the twins for the appalling treatment they faced, saying they acted unreasonably, carelessly, and/or negligently in and about the matters alleged in the complaint in that they did not exercise ordinary care, caution, or prudence for their own safety and protection. But as Cook reported, based on the date ranges specified in the criminal charges to which Hayes pleaded guilty, A.G. was 6 or 7 when Hayes first molested him, and M.G. was 10 or 11.

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Yes, of course, this is a strategy meant to minimize county taxpayers legal exposure. But even if there is a legal motive for blaming the victims, the larger context of San Diego Countys all-too-recent history of foster care scandals only makes adopting that position all the more repugnant. A 2008 special report by the Union-Tribunes Greg Moran detailed how 33 children had died in foster care in the county from 2000 to 2007. Three deaths involved physical abuse by caretakers. Other deaths stemmed from accidents, neglect and medical issues.

It is awful enough that it took authorities seven years to take seriously a foster childs complaints of abuse. But when the refusal to review such serious allegations played out as county authorities already stood accused of gigantic shortcomings in their foster care oversight, it borders on unconscionable.

Whats even sadder is that the stories of A.G. and M.G. wont feel all that surprising to longtime county observers. For years, supervisors and executives have patted themselves on the back for the countys fiscal health while problems piled up at their feet. San Diego CityBeat detailed dozens of deaths in county jails, and officials challenged its methodology. Twenty people died and 600 fell ill countywide when county officials were slow to respond to a hepatitis A outbreak, and officials declared they handled it well. Supervisors repeatedly installed allies in vacant elected positions, and officials shrugged off public complaints about it. And four termed-out supervisors voted themselves big raises that dramatically increased their pensions.

This history shows the absolute need for an independent investigation of the county foster-care system to ensure better accountability and case management. Former Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, a candidate for the 4th district county supervisor seat, was quick to call for a county grand jury probe. Whatever the inquiry, it should have no limits.

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County has ignored this problem for far too long

Re What went wrong? (July 22): Morgan Cooks story on the foster dad pedophile describes a system with backwards priorities. Thirty years ago, after the county let a pedophile adopt two young brothers, I was the deputy district attorney who prosecuted him for child molestation. The pedophile went to prison; the boys returned to the system that had victimized them.

In 2008, the California Supreme Court issued a blue ribbon report documenting the desperate need for funds to fix our broken foster system. Maybe now that the taxpayers will pay for the victims lawsuits, we will decide to invest in children, if only as an economic matter. And lawsuits are hardly the only cost. Damaged children become damaged adults. Foster care is often a pipeline to prison, where we spend billions.

Until we invest in our children, well be spending our money on imprisoning them and on lawsuits. Hold our politicians accountable for this moral and financial catastrophe.

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Ruth Hargrove

Ocean Beach

Thank you to the U-T for highlighting the immense lack in the foster care system. Year after year, I read about the death or maltreatment of young innocent lives affected by the incompetence of this department. There is much more abuse than is reported due to exactly the reasons stated in your article.

Mainly, no one believes the children or, if they do, they are complicit in doing nothing. I was raised in the foster care system and know too well how children are carelessly placed with people who should never have been authorized as foster care parents. Reasons range from overload of cases on the workers end to families or people who need the income. Both are horribly inhuman reasons.

I have tried for years to contact politicians, celebrities and organizations with a safe plan for placing children but have only received the stock thank-you letter. Please keep this very critical issue in the public view.

Rose Osvold

Escondido

Letters and commentary policy

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The split-state measure would have been telling

Re Court derails measure to divide state (July 19): Notwithstanding all the legal issues, both state and federal, it would have been interesting to have the measure on the ballot, if for no other reason as a measure of voters satisfaction or displeasure of the present status and course of our state.

James Babcock

Escondido

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Voters robbed of right to choose future

This past week, the Supreme Court of the State of California unanimously ruled that an initiative that was properly executed and obtained the required signatures of registered voters was not going to be allowed on the November ballot.

Every single voter in the State of California should be very angry about this ruling. The initiative is a unique California process that was put in place many years ago while Gov. Johnson was in office. The specific initiative in this case was requesting a vote on breaking California into many different states.

Now, ones position on this issue is not the point. What should disturb every voter is that your legal right to petition the government through the initiative process has been taken away by an appointed bureaucracy  the California Supreme Court.

Cork Uri

Spring Valley

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.
Good news for the inland valleys: It wont be 117 degrees this week.

The bad news: It might be 107 or 108.

The lone saving grace to the extended heat wave scorching San Diego County this week is that its not as bad as the last one. Several spots around Southern California hit all-time highs on July 6, including Ramona, which maxed out at 117.

This time, a tiny bit of onshore flow should keep the coast cooler, and though it wont keep the valleys from getting hot, it will prevent them from being extremely hot.

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But hot is hot.

Its kind of like saying, would you rather get an electric shock that lasts 10 seconds or an electric shock that lasts 20 seconds, National Weather Service forecaster Brandt Maxwell said. The last heat wave was unprecedented in some places.

A large dome of high pressure responsible for the current heat was centered over Arizona on Tuesday, and it is expanding westward. Temperatures should peak on Wednesday, when Ramona is expected to hit 108, Valley Center 107, Alpine 105, and El Cajon and Escondido 104.

The Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center hit 116 degrees before 1 p.m. on Tuesday. Nearby Ocotillo Wells reached 120 degrees shortly after 2 p.m.

Its hotter than hell. I think thats the official statement, said Andrea Taylor, the office manager at the Anza-Borrego Natural History Association in Borrego Springs.

The coast should be much cooler  with highs mainly in the upper 80s. The cooler weather, combined with warm ocean water, strong surf and rip currents, should keep lifeguards busy. Waves could reach 8 feet on south-facing beaches in Carlsbad and Oceanside, Maxwell said. Waves should be 3 to 6 feet along the countys southern coast.

The weather service has not issued any fire-weather watches or warnings for San Diego County, despite the heat. Maxwell said the humidity levels are higher than they were earlier in the month, and the winds are expected to be light.

But the length of the current heat wave is a concern. Temperatures should remain well above normal in the inland valleys through Thursday, and because the nighttime lows may not drop below 70 degrees in many areas, there will be little escape from the heat.

The desert could see lows in the 90s.

What tends to happen when it gets like this, youll open the door at 10 oclock (at night), and a wall of hot air hits you, said Borrego Springs resident Taylor. She said it will still be 100 degrees at 10 p.m.

An excessive heat warning is in effect for the entire county, except the coastal strip, through 8 p.m. Thursday. The weather service recommends rescheduling strenuous activities to early morning or evening, wearing lightweight and loose-fitting clothing when possible, and drinking plenty of water.

Matt Clark, president of El Cajon Roofing and ECR Logistics, a spin-off company that does related work, said the companies approximately 35 roofers know to take electrolyte tablets and drink extra water. Crews are getting an hour for lunch instead of the usual half hour. If it gets too hot, he said, crews are pulled from the roofs in the afternoon and return in the cooler evening.

We tell them to take it easy but still get the job done, Clark said.

The weekend should bring some relief from the heat, with highs at the coast around 80 while the inland valleys reach the low 90s and the desert drops below 110. Thunderstorms are possible in the mountains on Sunday as another wave of monsoonal moisture arrives.

rob.krier@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-2241

Twitter: @sdutKrier
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This article and other stories of the Civil War can be found in the Posts Special Collectors Edition, The Saturday Evening Post: Untold Stories of the Civil War.

This account appeared in the April 6, 1940 issue of The Saturday Evening Post.

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When Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House 75 years ago on the 9th of April, I was there. As far as I know, I am the last survivor. Running away from home, I had enlisted in Company H, 5th U.S. Cavalry, in June 1862. I gave my name as Charles M. Seaver, and my age as 18, knowing that the Army shared my familys opinion that a 15-year-old was too young for war. Sixteen months of stiff campaigning incapacitated me as a fighting private, so I transferred to Company F as a bugler, a change that ultimately brought me to Appomattox.

In the spring of 64, my company, was assigned as escort to Lt. Gen. Grant. We found that the es- cort was for work, not show; we carried dispatches, guarded headquarters, had charge of the staff officers supply wagons and commissary, erected and struck tents, and performed any miscellaneous tasks assigned. Fanfare was not Gen. Grants idea of soldiering; he was a matter-of-fact soldier who never worried how he looked or what others thought of it.

Under his direction, the forward movement of the Army of the Potomac, begun on May 4, 1864, ended a little more than 11 months later. The battles of The Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor were behind us; the siege of Petersburg was over, ended by the battle of Five Forks, when Lees thin, stubborn lines were finally broken. Evacuating Richmond and Petersburg, Lee tried desperately to lead his hungry, decimated columns west, but we pressed him too hard. We caught up with them at Appomattox and the end was in sight. On that day there was an exchange of messages between the Federal and Confederate commanders.

On the morning of the 9th, the major part of the escort was left behind to guard the headquarters wagon train, and the rest of us started out with the general and his staff along the rear of the main army. We had gone several miles when a horseman at top speed was seen coming from our frontlines; as he drew near, I recognized him as a young lieutenant of Gen. Meades staff. We knew that a decision from Lee was expected on a proposed conference with Grant, and we jumped to the natural conclusion that it had finally come.

We crowded about the general in an effort to learn the answer; all of us, without doubt, believing that Grant held in his hand the decision whether it was to be peace or continued warfare. He read the message, then handed the paper to a staff officer, who hurriedly scanned the words, and, in a voice surcharged with excitement, read aloud to his associates the fateful response of Gen. Lee.

I got just the drift of the reading, which indicated that the Confederate leader had agreed to meet Gen. Grant, but evidently the staff officers construed this to be assurance of surrender, for every last man of them burst into cheers, which we joined heartily. The only one who took no part in the impromptu celebration was Gen. Grant, who merely looked on with bland amusement.

Grant wrote a reply and handed it to Lt. Col. Orville E. Babcock, with orders to take a few members of the escort, headed by Capt. Mason, and ride on in advance of the rest of the party to locate the Confederate commander. It happened that I was the only bugler present, and so I went along, much to my satisfaction, for I was eager to see the great leader of the Southern cause.

Babcock, carrying a white flag, took his place beside Mason and me, and off we went toward the enemys lines. Whether Lee was sparring for time was a matter of conjecture. We were, therefore, prepared for any eventuality; and, at a word from Captain Mason, I carried my bugle in one hand to sound the call to arms if we found that the Johnnies were trying to escape. That call would have been echoed all along our lines, and it would have been suicidal for them if they had attempted a getaway, for the Federal troops had them bottled up and outnumbered five to one.

Eventually, we saw a little party of gray-clad figures, and several horses by the roadside. One of the men was sitting under a small tree. A companion stood nearby, while a third man  evidently an orderly  was holding the bridle reins of two of the three horses. At a gesture from Col. Babcock, Mason ordered a halt, and the staff officer, his white flag conspicuously displayed, rode on toward the gray-clad horsemen, accompanied by a trooper of the escort.

Ill wager thats Gen. Lee, said the captain, with a glance at me. Let us hope things turn out all right.

I took a firmer grip on my bugle, to be ready for any possible emergency, my eyes glued to the scene before me. As the two Federals neared the spot, the man beneath the tree arose and Babcock and he exchanged salutes. The latter was tall, erect, and of fine physique. For a few moments they carried on what appeared to be a friendly conversation; and then the entire group started down the road toward us.

It was not difficult to recognize the famous commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. I had seen his picture, and I could make no mistake as to his identity. He measured up fully to my expectations  and those expectations were rather elaborate, I assure you. Though I was a lad of only 18, I had been in 15 or 16 battles during three years, and had come to have a wholesome esteem for the Johnny Rebs and their leader. In my active imagination, he had become a sort of legendary figure. It had been his remarkable generalship that had prolonged the war far beyond its expected limits, and he loomed big and menacing as an opponent.

There he was in person, he and Traveler; he was riding to meet his conqueror to negotiate terms of surrender. His companion, needless to add, was Col. Marshall, of his staff.

And what a brave pair of thoroughbreds Lee and Traveler were! That horse would have attracted attention anywhere. He was a sturdy gelding, deep of chest, with small head and feet, and his color was appropriately Confederate gray, with the exception of mane and tail, which were black; a combination that made him a very striking and hand- some animal. And when his master was in the saddle, take it from an old Federal trooper, it was a picture that was worth seeing.

Gen. Lees uniform was immaculate and he presented a superb martial figure. But it was the face beneath the gray felt hat and hair that made the deepest impression on me. I have been trying to find a single word that describes it, and I have concluded that benign is the adjective I am after; because that means kindly, gracious; and despite its sternness on that day of long ago, I would still call his expression benign. And yet, I remember well that there was something else about him that aroused my deep pity that so great a warrior should be acknowledging defeat.

We joined the little party and rode back to the settlement. Appomattox Court House was a pretentious name for what then was a row of six or seven houses, and now is less. As we passed the first house, we overtook a man, a Mr. McLean, who was walking along the street, and Col. Marshall reined up beside him and told him that Gen. Lee desired a room where he could hold a conference with Grant. Mr. McLean stared at the Confederate commander for a moment, and looked over the Union contingent, as if in search of his famous adversary. Then he pointed to the nearest house, went to the door and knocked.

A woman answered the summons, and, after a brief talk with her neighbor, she invited the two Southerners to enter; but evidently the interior was unsatisfactory, for Lee and his companion quickly came out, and Marshall requested McLean to direct them elsewhere. We rode slowly on until our guide stopped before a substantial brick house and informed us that he lived there and would be happy to offer its use.

It was an old-fashioned structure with chimneys at the gable ends; and, running along the front, a piazza painted white, with six wooden pillars supporting it. Broad steps, about 8 yards wide and seven or eight in number, led up to the platform; and there was a generous yard, partly enclosed by a picket fence, with several large trees standing sentinel-like about it.

Gen. Lee and the colonel dismounted and, preceded by McLean, went into the house, leaving their horses in charge of the orderly; and we Yanks returned to the roadway to await the coming of Grant and his party.

It was perhaps 10 minutes later  it may have been only 5  when the Federal commander rode up with a few staff officers, the other members of the escort and several Union generals, among whom were Phil Sheridan, George Custer, Wesley Merritt, and Edward Ord.

There were three members of that little group who would probably attract attention anywhere; two of them for their noteworthy personal appearance and the third both for his appearance and reputation. The first of these was Custer, the dandy cavalier of the Federal cavalry. A low-cut, generous collar, a red necktie that begged for notice, buckskin breeches and a velvet jacket were usually his dress-up uniform; and topping this elaborate array was a patrician face with mustache and small goatee, and a head of luxuriant yellow hair that fell halfway to his shoulders. Effeminate, you might say, but there was nothing feminine about Custer. He was a daredevil on horseback, who feared nothing, dared anything, and defied death with reckless abandon. It was this utter disdain of caution that lured him and his command to tragic massacre in 1876.

And there was Ely S. Parker, of the staff, an aide and military secretary to Grant, a man of superb physique and titan strength, a full-blooded Seneca Indian, a descendant of Red Jacket, famous Indian chieftain. He had the copper hue of his race, their long black hair and dark brown eyes. Grant had no one in his official household more devoted to him than the stoical Parker. He was a man of education and culture, a willing worker, and always courteous to the lads of the escort. It was he who, in his excellent handwriting, copied the terms of surrender from the rough draft prepared by the Federal commander.

Phil Sheridan  Little Phil  the dynamic leader of the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac, was the third of the trio; and he was a general who always had my respect and enthusiastic admiration. He was a pint-sized little fellow out of the saddle, a youngster of 34 years, about 5-feet-4 in height and 130 pounds in weight, but he had a strong Irish face. Put him on his horse, the splendid black charger, Rienzi, and he at once became a warrior of heroic proportions. And how that horse could travel, and how that lad could ride!

Grant looked an old and battered campaigner as he rode into the yard. His single-breasted blouse of blue flannel was unbuttoned at the throat and underneath it could be seen his shirt or undershirt; his top boots were spattered with mud, and splotches of mud were on his trousers. Unlike Lee, he wore neither sword nor sash, and the only marks of his rank were his shoulder straps.

Col. Babcock informed his superior that Gen. Lee was awaiting him in the house, and without more ado Grant climbed the steps, Babcock alone accompanying him.

A few minutes later, however, the staff officer came to the doorway and beckoned to the other officers, inviting them inside.

It was now about two oclock, and we fellows who were on the outside were in for a long and anxious session of waiting. They say that the watched pot never boils, and it is certainly true that anxious waiting for the verdict seemed to prolong the outcome indefinitely. The day was very warm for early April, and the sun, which of late had been blotted out by heavy rain clouds, was brightly shining in a very clear sky. Spring was with us at last, and the trees were putting on a tinge of green, the buds showing plentifully on the branches. It was good to be alive on April 9, 1865, and it would be better still if this was the end of four years war. It was Sunday and the Sabbath stillness brooded over the land, a welcome relief from the din and hustle and carnage of recent fighting.

There we were, a group of eager troopers in blue, and a lone orderly in gray. When three oclock came and went, I began to wonder if our enthusiasm had exploded too quickly. It did not seem necessary to take all that time in deciding whether Lee should surrender or not. With the thoughtless- ness of youth, I assumed that such a decision would be the matter of but a half hour at the most.

Four oclock  and the door opened. Out came Gen. Lee and Col. Marshall, with somber faces. The conference was ended, but with what results?

Gen. Lees uniform was immaculate, and he presented a superb martial figure. But it was the face beneath the gray felt hat and hair that made the deepest impression on me.

Before the war began, and for some time before, Lee had been lieutenant colonel of the Second Cavalry, stationed in Texas. Several members of our escort, Lt. Churchill, Sgt. Brown, and Cpl. Sam Howe, had served in the Second under Lt. Col. Lee, and none had lost any of his high regard for his former commander.

Now, as Gen. Lee came from the house, his soldierly fig- ure erect, even in defeat, these three chaps stiffened up and gave him a salute, and the man in gray courteously returned it. I thought at the time that it was a fine thing for them and him to do. At the moment his soul must have been heavy with sorrow  the years of desperate struggle fruitless  and yet he could return the salute of Yankee troopers.

I heard Sgt. Brown say, after the departure of Lee and Marshall, that the former had called him by name as he recognized him; and several of the old boys remarked that it was a noteworthy circumstance that members of his former Texas command should be the first to meet him after the surrender of his army.

We quickly learned the happy news, and it spread like wildfire. Cheers could be heard all along our lines.

That night was one of the happiest I have ever known, and I will wager that the same statement goes for every man on the Union side. A gun salute in celebration had been started by enthusiasts in the late afternoon, but Grant had put a stop to it, presumably out of consideration for the feelings of the other fellows. But, before darkness fell and afterward, there was music  patriotic selections played by the regimental bands  and a general jubilation. When I sounded taps, that sweetest of all bugle calls, the notes had scarcely died away when from the distance  it must have been from Gen. Lees headquarters  came, silvery clear, the same call; and, despite the sadness of the hour to the boys on the other side, I have a notion that they, like the Yanks, welcomed the end of hostilities and the coming of peace.

Perhaps I should end my story right here, but I want to add my bit to what has been published concerning the powwow of Union and Confederate generals at the McLean house on the day following the surrender. The reader may recall that Gen. Grant, several of the Federal generals, and members of his staff and escort rode out to the Confederate lines for a further conference; after which Grant went back to headquarters, while some of our officers and men remained behind to chat with acquaintances in Lees army. Lt. Churchill, Brown, and Howe were among these fortunates, they having received permission to enter the camp of the Confederates. Later on, Sam told me that he had enjoyed a brief talk with Gen. Lee, and was he proud of it!

I was one of the group that returned with Gen. Grant, and I was a most interested observer of everything that occurred on and about that friendly piazza. Grant sat down and lighted a cigar. Three or four of his staff brought out chairs and the little party relaxed into lively conversation. Grant was the picture of contentment as he puffed away, listening to the comment of his subordinates, and occasionally offering a remark of his own in his matter-of-fact way. Things had turned out as he had wished and planned.

We were soon to witness a remarkable get-together party on that old front porch and in that spacious yard. I doubt that anywhere in history can we find a similar gathering. The absentees had returned, and they had brought with them several of their late antagonists, riders in gray, but a few hours before foes of the Union; not as prisoners, not even as enemies, but as old friends and comrades. I remember how amazed I was as I saw that strange company; and when I learned that among them were Longstreet, Pickett, and Gordon  well, it certainly seemed impossible.

Perhaps you can imagine my reaction to the spectacle, after three years of desperate fighting, to see three of the most famous Southern leaders, within 24 hours of Lees surrender, shaking hands with Grant and chatting like long- absent neighbors with him and other Federal generals.

Naturally, I made a careful inspection of that formidable trio: Longstreet, rightly called Lees war horse, a stockily built, well-bearded fellow, who looked as if he could handle himself anywhere and make it decidedly interesting for any opponent, in either argument or fight; Pickett, the leader of that heroic charge at Gettysburg, whose handsome face made him a composite of soldier and poet; and Gordon, the hard- hitting John B., who, when he was wearing civilian clothes, would be taken for a judge or a doctor  a thinker, at any rate  and who had every earmark of a man who would go through hell and high water, if ordered to do so by his superior, and never ask the reason why.

And how Abe Lincoln would have enjoyed that con- fab! Like Grant, he would have grasped the hands of those soldiers in Confederate gray and welcomed them home. Had he been spared, there would have been no Reconstruction.

Soldiers dont carry hatred; they leave that to the stay-at-homes. We learned that in the next 20 years.

I Saw Lee Surrender, April 6, 1940
New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 07/24/2018 -- Persistence Market Research delivers key insights on the Australia ammonia market in its latest report titled, "Australia Market Study on Ammonia: Increasing Consumption in Nitric Acid Production to Drive Growth by 2024". The ammonia market in Australia is estimated to register 5.8% Y-o-Y growth in 2016 over 2015 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 6.3% over the forecast period (2016-2024).



By product type, anhydrous ammonia segment is expected to continue to dominate the market in terms of value and volume share throughout the forecast period (20162024). Production of ammonium nitrate by explosives manufacturers to cater to demand for industrial explosives from the mining sector is anticipated to drive growth of the Australia ammonia market over the forecast period. Also, increasing demand for nitrogen-rich fertilizers such as DAP and MAP is expected to drive volume sales of ammonia during the forecast period. However, volatility in natural gas prices and increasing dependency on fertilizer imports are factors expected to restraint growth of the ammonia market in Australia.



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On the basis of end use, nitric acid segment is expected to exhibit relatively strong projections by 2024 end, owing to pivotal use of nitric acid both directly and as precursor to other downstream products. The segment is expected to continue to account for major value and volume shares in the Australia ammonia market throughout the forecast period, to account for 46.2% by 2024 in terms of value and expand at a CAGR of 7.9% in terms of volume during the forecast period. Ammonium nitrate segment in the Australia ammonia market is expected to be valued at US$ 172.0 Mn by 2016 end, registering 7.3% Y-o-Y growth over 2015.



On the basis of application, industrial chemicals segment is expected to maintain its dominance throughout the forecast period. Explosives segment is expected to register the second-highest CAGR of 7.5% over the forecast period, to reach value of US$ 298.2 Mn by 2024 end.



Western Australia is the largest market for ammonia. The market in the region is estimated to be valued at US$ 230.7 Bn by 2016 end. The ammonia market in New South Wales is anticipated to expand at a significant CAGR of 7.2% in terms of value over the forecast period.



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Key players in the Australia ammonia market include Yara International ASA, Orica Limited, Incitec Pivot Limited, and CSBP Limited (Wesfarmers Limited). The Australia ammonia market is highly consolidated, with limited number of ammonia manufacturers and suppliers. However, major players in the market are focusing on expanding their production of ammonium nitrate to cater to demand for industrial explosives from the mining industry. Increase in ammonium nitrate production is anticipated to significantly increase demand for ammonia and nitric acid.
South El Monte, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 07/24/2018 -- Durapak Supplies is offering quality and affordable retail shipping and packaging products in the US. The company has set up a secure online shop where individuals can shop for products such as janitorial & safety, shipping supplies, sealers, cable ties, twist ties, boxes, cases, shopping bags, film, and shrink products. The local and regional authorities have approved the products and services offered by the company to meet the industrial quality and safety standards. Therefore, one can rely on the quality of their products.



While commenting on the nature of their products and services, the company's sales executive said, "At Durapak Supplies, we are committed to offering quality and affordable packaging products for all small and large retailers in the region. Our retail shipping supplies and gift packaging products are the most sought in the region. We stock a wide variety of products for our customers to choose. Over the years, we have been able to form a network with some of the largest shipping and packaging products distributors to stay at par with the dynamics of the market. We work round the clock to provide our customers quality and affordability in every product and services we provide."



The company employs a cost-effective mode of input acquisition, which enables them to charge a reasonable price for all their products and services. Unlike their competitors, they revise their prices regularly to make their products affordable to all customers. With a clear warranty and return policy at their disposal, the company seeks to ensure they give their customers a peace of mind whenever they order for their products. Their online shop is secured allowing individuals to shop privately and more conveniently.



On nature of their products, the sales executive added, "Durapak Supplies is committed to 100% satisfaction of their customers. We update our stock often to meet the changing tastes and preferences of our customers. With the increasing demand for our products, we have collaborated with some of the leading shipping companies to provide subsidized delivery services to all our distant customers. We work round the clock to ensure all our customers ordering for Vinyl Zipper Bags for sale, and complete collection of shipping supplies gets their merchandise on time."



The company has employed committed customer care who attends to all customers in a timely and friendly way. Their customer care team is always available to answer all customer inquiries in real-time.



About Durapak Supplies

Durapak Supplies is a company based in the US. For many years, the company has specialized in the provision of quality and affordable shipping and packaging products to both small and large-scale retailers. Those intending to purchase Hand Held Bag Sealer and equipment can visit the company's website or contact their customer care team.



Contact page

Company name: Durapak Supplies

Address: 1900 Tyler Ave, Unit N, South El Monte, Ca 91733, USA

Tel: 877-DURAPAK (3872725) or 626-350-0868

Fax: 626-737-1726

Email: zhenyal@sbcglobal.net OR info@durapak.net

Website: http://www.durapak.net/
Clearwater, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 07/24/2018 -- FAST of Florida, the air conditioning service specialists of Clearwater, FL, is offering manufacturer rebates to homeowners who purchase brand new Daikin AC systems. For decades, residents have turned to FAST of Florida for all of their air conditioning, plumbing and electrical needs. The company's motto, "Growing by Giving Great Service" has been proven time and time again through expert AC installation, AC repairs, and more.



Air conditioning systems are not meant to last forever. In fact, their general life expectancy is between 10 and 15 years. But that isn't the only reason why air conditioning systems need to be replaced. Whatever the reason may be, homeowners are in luck because they can earn up to $1,200 cash back when they purchase qualifying new Daikin AC systems from FAST of Florida.



Daikin indoor comfort systems are one of the highest-rated HVAC systems across the globe. Not only are they energy-efficient, but they are budget-friendly as well. The Daikin DX line, in particular, provides SEER ratings from 13 to 24.5 and also comes with Daikin's industry-leading 12-year warranty. Deals like this do not come around often, so Florida residents are encouraged to contact FAST of Florida today at 727-545-8731 to set up an AC installation appointment while these rebates are still available.



For more information on the company's AC installations and AC repairs in St. Petersburg, FL, please head on over to FastofFlorida.com.



About FAST of Florida

FAST of Florida has been providing quality and excellence in HVAC services to their customers in Florida since 1972. Their dedication to affordable and dependable service is what makes them one of the area's most trusted provider of HVAC installations, repair, and maintenance.



Visit them online at FastofFlorida.com to learn more.
New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 07/23/2018 -- Future Market Insights (FMI) announced the release of a latest report titled, "POU Water Purifiers Market: MENA Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2014 - 2020". FMI estimates that the Point of Use (POU) water purifier market in Middle East and North Africa is expected to reach US$ 471 Mn at a CAGR of 7.6% from 2014 to 2020.



Residential water purification system includes point of use water purifiers (POU), point of entry (POE) water purifiers, portable water purifiers. Moreover, the demand for POU water purifiers is high among consumers in MENA region as compared to POE and portable water purifiers.



In the POU water purifiers market, products with high purification capabilities such as combination of reverse osmosis (RO) and Ultraviolet (UV) technologies are more preferred. It has also been observed that a majority of the demand is coming from urban centres in GCC when compared to the entire MENA region.



Browse Full: "POU Water Purifiers Market: MENA Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2014 - 2020" Report at https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/details/mena-pou-water-purifiers-market



Market Segments



The POU water purifiers market is segmented on the basis of technology which includes RO, UV and media-based. RO technology based water purifiers segment is estimated to account for slightly over 40% of the total POU water purifiers market in MENA region in 2014. Media-based water purification, which is a conventional water purification technology has also witnessed technological advancements, and is estimated to display a CAGR of 9.3% during the forecast period, in terms of volume. The third technology, UV based water purifiers, is estimated to exhibit a sluggish growth rate during the forecast period due to its limitation in removing only organic contaminants from water. Additionally, UV-based water purifiers are also priced higher in comparison to media-based water purifiers and hence the product preference for UV based water purifiers is comparatively low.



Region-wise, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey, Israel, Egypt and Algeria are the promising markets for POU water purifiers. In addition, a cumulative scenario has been highlighted for rest of MENA (includes smaller countries like Kuwait, Jordan etc.). Among the aforementioned regions, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is estimated to be the prominent market for POU water purifiers, followed by Turkey, due to its growing population and rapid urbanization, and increasing awareness for safe drinking water forecast period.



In addition, penetration of bottled water is a challenge for the POU water purifiers market in Anatolia. As a result, Anatolia is estimated to demonstrate a sluggish growth rate in the near future. Furthermore, POU water purifiers market in UAE is anticipated to reach 149.2 thousand units by 2020, exhibiting a CAGR of 10% between 2014 and 2020.



Request for sample : https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-ma-30



Drivers and Restraints



Deteriorating water quality, rising cost of bottled water, increasing population coupled with increasing per capita income are some of the prominent factors which will catalyse the point of use water purifiers in the region. Though the MENA market is attractive in terms of absolute dollar opportunity, low awareness about safe drinking water and product unavailability are major challenges for the MENA POU water purifier market.



Competitive Landscape



Key players operating in the MENA water purifier market are LG, Eureka Forbes, Strauss Water, Panasonic, WaterLife and Coolplex. The report sheds light on their key growth strategies and recent developments. In addition, the report also discusses the value chain followed by multinational companies in MENA for POU water purifiers.
The Andromeda galaxy, also known as Messier 31, collided and merged with a large galaxy approximately 2 billion years ago, according to new research. Even though it was mostly shredded, this large galaxy (with stellar mass about 2.5*1010 solar masses, the third-largest member of the Local Group, after the Milky Way and the Andromeda) left behind a rich trail of evidence: an almost invisible halo of stars, a giant stellar stream and the compact galaxy Messier 32.

Astronomers have long known that this nearly invisible large halo of stars surrounding galaxies contains the remnants of smaller cannibalized galaxies.

A galaxy like the Andromeda was expected to have consumed hundreds of its smaller companions. Scientists thought this would make it difficult to learn about any single one of them.

Using new computer simulations, University of Michigan astronomers Richard DSouza and Eric Bell were able to understand that even though many companion galaxies were consumed by the Andromeda galaxy, most of the stars in the Andromedas outer faint halo were mostly contributed by shredding a single large galaxy.

We realized we could use this information of Andromedas outer stellar halo to infer the properties of the largest of these shredded galaxies, Dr. DSouza said.

Astronomers have been studying the Local Group for so long. It was shocking to realize that the Milky Way had a large sibling, and we never knew about it, Professor Bell added.

This galaxy, called Messier 32p, which was shredded by the Andromeda galaxy, was at least 20 times larger than any galaxy which merged with the Milky Way over the course of its lifetime.

Messier 32p would have been massive, making it the third largest galaxy in the Local Group after the Andromeda and the Milky Way galaxies.

This work might also solve a long-standing mystery: the formation of Andromedas enigmatic satellite galaxy, the astronomers said.

The compact and dense Messier 32 is the surviving center of the Milky Ways long-lost sibling, like the indestructible pit of a plum.

Messier 32 is a weirdo, Professor Bell said. While it looks like a compact example of an old, elliptical galaxy, it actually has lots of young stars. Its one of the most compact galaxies in the Universe. There isnt another galaxy like it.

Our study may alter the traditional understanding of how galaxies evolve, the researchers noted.

The Andromedas disk survived an impact with a massive galaxy, which would question the common wisdom that such large interactions would destroy disks and form an elliptical galaxy.

The timing of the merger may also explain the thickening of the disk of the Andromeda galaxy as well as a burst of star formation 2 billion years ago, a finding which was independently reached by another team earlier this year.

The Andromeda galaxy, with a spectacular burst of star formation, would have looked so different 2 billion years ago, Professor Bell said.

The study appears in the journal Nature Astronomy.

_____

Richard DSouza & Eric F. Bell. The Andromeda galaxys most important merger about 2 billion years ago as M32s likely progenitor. Nature Astronomy, published online July 23, 2018; doi: 10.1038/s41550-018-0533-x
Asked about fitting scrubbers during Scorpio Bulkers half year earnings call coo Cameron Mackey said that the company was still evaluating scrubbers and noted most of the interest had come for large vessels regardless of sector.

I think the early adoption of larger ship types -- the big container ships, the larger bulk carriers, the large tankers obviously give us a good feeling about availability in some key global ports, Mackey said, according to a transcript of the call from SeekingAlpha.

However, once you move away from capesizes in dry bulk, ultra-large containerships and very large crude carriers (VLCC), to mid-sized vessels such as ultramaxes, the mainstay of Scorpio Bulkers fleet that trade a much wider range of ports high sulphur fuel availability becomes more of a question mark.

But when you get into smaller ships that have to bunker in areas way off that those main trade routes, it's still very, very unknown and uncertain whether the benefit of a scrubber can be realized because you won't be able to find any fuel. That is in doubt, the environment is changing rapidly and we're watching it, he said.

Recent months have seen many owners of large tonnage including DHT Holdings, Frontline, Star Bulk Carriers, Maran Tankers and Songa Shipmanagement opting to fit scrubbers to at least part of their fleet to meet the demands of the sulphur cap.

Read more: Frontline opts for scrubbers, buying stake in manufacturer

Mackey also questioned whether the expected spread between high sulphur and low sulphur fuels post 2020 would be as high as some are forecasting  the region of $300 per tonne  which would provide for a very rapid payback on a scrubber of under 12 months in terms of the cost savings accrued from buying cheaper high sulphur fuel.

I would caution, however, that there are a number of blended products coming to market, which in certain circumstances could be quite useful substitute for distillate, post 2020 -- post regulatory rollout.

However, while Scorpio Bulkers is not opting for scrubbers at the moment it does not rule out the possibility down the line. There may be a point where it becomes compelling but it isn't to us today. But as and when we get closer to 2020 we'll see how the facts on the ground change, Mackey said.

The IMOs 0.5% sulphur cap for marine fuel comes into force globally on 1 January 2020, and the UN body has made it clear on multiple occasions there will be no delay in implementation.

Read more: 'No turning back!' on 0.5% sulphur cap states IMO sec-gen
While throughput at its Yantian International Container Terminals (YICT) was 2% higher at 5.9m teu, volumes at HPH Trusts Hong Kong-based terminals fell 3% to 5.3m teu. YICTs throughput growth was mainly attributed to growth in the US and transshipment cargoes, but was partially offset by the decrease in empty containers handled.

Not only was throughput hit at HIT, COSCO-HIT and ACT, collectively known as HPHT Kwai Tsing hit by a reduction in transhipment cargoes but average revenue per teu was also lower than the previous corresponding period after certain revisions to tariffs after the liner realignments last year, HPH Trust said in a stock market announcement.

Naturally, the trusts net profit plunged by more than a quarter to HKD315.4m ($40.2m) from HKD436.0m previously. Distributions also fell 10.3% to HKD742.2m and distribution per unit fell to 8.52 HK cents from 9.50 HK cents previously.

On the whole, although outbound cargoes to the US continued to grow in the second quarter of 2018 by 3%, exports to the EU declined 3% from the previous corresponding period.

Looking ahead, HPH Trust warned: The prospects for global trade for 2018 face an almost unprecedented level of uncertainty, particularly in consequence of increasing trade tensions and disputes between the United States and both China and the European Union.

It added: The level of uncertainty in political and economic relations as it pertains to trade has increased significantly over the course of the year to date and shows little sign of abating.

Read More: US-China trade war to hit containers hardest

More worryingly still, HPH Trust went as far as to say it could not quantify the potential impact of trade disputes for the rest of the because of the level of uncertainty that currently prevails as to both the specific nature; extent; and timing of such measures and the consequent precise impact they may have on local and global trade flows and, as such, HPH Trusts business.

Against this background, HPH Trust said it remains both vigilant and cautious about expected cargo volume for 2018, particularly in the light of the trade and geopolitical tensions referred to above and will continue to adhere to strict financial discipline.
POSH Kerry will provide anchor handling, supply and standby support to an international geotechnical services operator during the site survey, installation and construction of an offshore wind farm. The scope of work will begin off the coast of Guanyin and potentially include other sites in Yunlin and Taoyuan-HsinChu. Work is scheduled to commence in the third quarter of 2018. Neither scale of work in terms of number of vessels to be deployed nor financial details were disclosed.

The Taiwan-based integrated solutions provider which is a joint venture between offshore marine services provider PACC Offshore Services Holdings (POSH) and Taiwan-based logistics firm Kerry TJ Logistics (Kerry TJ), also recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with local marine and towage company Seagreen Enterprise (Seagreen).

Read More: POSH enters Taiwan offshore renewables market through jv with Kerry TJ Logistics

This strategic partnership not only further broadens POSH Kerrys service portfolio, but also supports the Taiwan governments goal of building up local offshore marine capabilities through the exchange of knowledge and best practices. POSH operates a young and diverse fleet of over 100 offshore vessels.

Under the partnership, Seagreen will be able to leverage POSHs extensive track record in executing complex offshore marine projects to enhance its operational know-how. Both POSH Kerry and Seagreen will also embark on joint initiatives to recruit, train and build up a pipeline of Taiwanese crew.
Press Release

July 23, 2018 Sen. Joel Villanueva's statement on Pres. Rodrigo Duterte's SONA We agree with the President that while the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) had some successes in regularizing some workers, there are issues that can only be addressed through tax reforms. We appreciate the emphasis he gave on the government's commitment to end abuses against our overseas Filipino workers. It is indeed important to cooperate with host nations to implement policies that will protect the well-being of our OFWs. We also appreciate the value President Rodrigo Duterte has given to the passage of our End Endo Bill. I am confident that the passage of this bill will contribute to the end of labor abuses and promote workers' right to security of tenure. With regard to TRAIN 2, we are in favor of reducing the fiscal leakages from wasteful incentives and lowering of corporate tax rates to make the country more competitive. At the minimum, we will need a clear framework in identifying industries that will be incentivized for generating quality jobs and for contributing significant growth to our economy. The other tax packages are also most welcomed particularly the tax on mining and tobacco and of course the passage of Enhanced Universal Health Care Act. A comprehensive health system will greatly improve the welfare of the public. Overall, we will work hand in hand with the government in ensuring that more jobs will be created and more policies will be crafted and implemented that will uplift the lives of every Filipino.
Press Release

July 24, 2018 Dispatch from Crame No. 347:

Sen. Leila M. de Lima's Statement on Duterte's 3rd SONA (24 July 2018) 7/24/18 Duterte's third SONA was characterized by a nagging dissonance between the story he was telling and the reality as Filipinos saw it in the past two years. He talked about human life being more important than human rights. But 23,000 human beings are dead because of his drug war. Those are human lives. He has not ended the drug menace in six months as he promised to. But he promises to be more "relentless and chilling," without saying towards whom. So far, he has not been relentless and chilling to drug lords. They smuggle drugs through Customs by paying the Davao Group. He shudders at the thought of captured drugs reaching communities, but he forgets to mention the 6.4 billion pesos worth of shabu allegedly smuggled by his son. This did not raise a single goose pimple on him. He shudders at drugs, yet he is eternally silent on the single biggest drug shipment this country has ever seen. Again, 23,000 are dead, but the smugglers of the 6.4 billion pesos of shabu and other bigtime drug lords are still roaming free. He says he cannot deal with contractualization and ENDO because his powers can only reach so far. He says that is a problem for Congress. Apparently, ending contractualization is the limit of Duterte's political will. So much arrogance of power, yet so little effort for social justice. He warns the mining industry again that they will be called to account for environmental destruction. But we all know he already lost the battle on destructive mining when, under pressure, he dropped his former Environment Secretary Gina Lopez like a hot potato. He says he continues to confront China on the issue of the West Philippine Sea. This is the biggest joke ever. But no one was laughing, especially not the fishermen forced to "barter" their fish for instant noodles. He responds to the installation of Chinese missiles in the Spratlys by letting the Chinese land military planes in Davao City. This is not confronting China. This is capitulating to China. He says his proposed federal constitution will fulfill the aspiration of the Filipino people, even when their aspiration is neither for federalism nor charter change. His federal constitution will have as many congresses or regional assemblies as there are federated regions, when he cannot even stop one House of one Congress from making a spectacle out of a power struggle that welcomed his SONA. The only good thing about the SONA was that Duterte stuck to his script. His acting was almost impeccable, as if his words were describing reality, even when reality was obscure in his speech. The script and the acting would have been good for a movie. But running the country is not like making a movie. The country is still in shambles. Not even Director Joyce Bernal can fix that.
Press Release

July 24, 2018 Take Cue from President's SONA Message, Fast Track Telco Improvement - Pimentel "Now that the President has declared very adamantly in his SONA that improvement of telecoms services is a top government priority, the lead agencies should take their cue and fast track the rules on the entry of a third telco player." Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, who chairs the Senate's Trade, Commerce, and Entrepreneurship Committee, made the statement after President Rodrigo Duterte mentioned in his State of the Nation Address last July 23 that the administration remained firm in its resolve to ensure that the country's telecommunication services are "reliable, inexpensive, and secure." Just last June, Pimentel criticized the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the multi-agency Oversight Committee for the Entry of a New Major Player in the Public Telecommunications Market over the languid pace with which the long-delayed rules on the assignment of radio frequencies were being formulated. These frequencies would be needed by a new entrant to the domestic telco market. The Senator noted that no concrete and positive steps had been taken by the concerned government agencies since he called their attention last month. "The President's SONA message is a strong wake-up call. Or should the agencies just treat it like one of those dropped calls or lost text messages that telco consumers experience every day? Would the DICT and the oversight committee say Message Not Sent Mr. President?" the lawmaker remarked. "Telecommunications is just as potent an economic driver as physical infrastructure. It's as important as sound economic policy. The President knows this, that's why he reiterated the need for a robust telecom industry, with emphasis on efficiency and low cost," the senator noted. Government statistics show an estimated 73 million cellphone users in the country today, with the figure ballooning by another 3 million by 2020. Furthermore, Filipinos spend an average per day of 3.2 hours online using cellphones and 5.2 hours on other mobile devices and desktop PCs. Despite widespread mobile usage, the Philippines lags behind major ASEAN neighbors Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Cambodia in terms of Internet and 4G LTE speeds while charging one of the highest usage rates in the region. Consumers and experts alike attribute the slow and expensive mobile service to the country's telco duopoly. "We need quicker and cheaper telco service, and we need it now. If no less than the President says so, that's the time to act fast," Pimentel said.
Press Release

July 24, 2018 Senate adopts resolution establishing Philippines-Israel Parliamentary Friendship Association The Senate today adopted a resolution expressing the sense of the Senate to promote relations between the Philippines and Israel through the establishment of a Philippines-Israel Parliamentary Friendship Association. Senator Richard Gordon, who introduced the Senate Resolution 757, said the formation of the Philippines-Israel Parliamentary Friendship Association would pave the way for regular discussions on matters of mutual interest and areas of mutual cooperation between the two nations. The resolution states that Republic Act 7157, otherwise known as the "Philippine Foreign Service Act of 9991", mandates the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to implement the three pillars of the Philippine Foreign Policy: 1) Preservation and enhancement of national security; 2) Promotion and attainment of economic security; and 3) Protection of the rights and promotion of the welfare and interest of Filipinos overseas. The resolution said that former Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III, in a letter dated January 5, 2017, invited the Knesset Parliament to send a delegation to visit the Philippines to promote closer relations between the two countries. On April 24, 2018 Israel's Knesset Deputy Speaker Nava Boker, by mutual agreement with Gordon, agreed to establish the Philippines-Israel Parliamentary Friendship Association, the resolution added. As of May 28, 2018, a number of senators have agreed to become members of the Philippines-Israel Parliamentary Friendship Association. Philippine-Israel relations predate the establishment of the State of Israel. Under the Commonwealth Government by Pres. Manuel L. Quezon, the Philippines established an "open door policy" offering refuge to fleeing Jews from the Holocaust in Europe. Around 1,300 European Jews relocated to Manila and stayed until the Japanese occupation. The Philippines was one of 33 countries in 1947 to vote in favor of the United Nations Resolution 181 that outlined the partition of Palestine and created the state of Israel. On August 9, 1957, the Philippines and Israel formally established diplomatic relations. The two nations have over 60 years of diplomatic relations, and forged 17 bilateral agreements in several fields, such as air services, agriculture, tourism, double taxation, posts and telecommunications, customs and logistics, and defense. "Israel is a developed country known for its high-technology designs and manufactures, and is considered as the start-up nation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even announced that it aspires to be the world's 15th largest economy by 2015," Gordon said. "Israel's diverse market economy which includes agricultural, service, tourism, high-technology, textiles, and diamond sectors will support the Philippines' fast-growing economy," he added. According to Gordon, an increasing number of Filipino agriculture students under the Granot Agrostudies, an apprenticeship program that focuses on agriculture capacity building, are now learning new techniques in farming, in Israel. As of December 2017, a total of 3,315 Filipino student-trainees had graduated from the program. "Strengthened relations between the two nations will promote closer relations between Filipino and Israeli parliamentarians and, at the same time, help sustain the robust bilateral ties and strategic relationship between the two nations," Gordon said. (Yvonne Almiranez)
Press Release

July 24, 2018 Senate ratifies bicam report on Bangsamoro Organic Law The Senate on Monday ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the historic Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) which is seen to spur lasting peace and long-term development in Mindanao. Voting unanimously, the Senate adopted and ratified the bicameral report on the disagreeing provisions between the Senate (SBN 1717) and House versions (HBN 6475) of the 'Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao' during the first day of the 3rd Regular Session of the 17th Congress. The consolidated version of the bill was earlier approved in June 18 by the panels from both the Senate and the House of Representatives after six days of intensive discussions and debates. The Senate panel was composed of Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon and Senators Francis Escudero, Juan Edgardo Angara, Joel Villanueva, Risa Hontiveros, Francis Pangilinan, Loren Legarda and Sherwin Gatchalian. "I believe that it is the dawn of a new beginning in Mindanao, a dawn of peace followed by unhampered prosperity for our region - that I am sure would catapult our region to double digit growth rates and the effects felt all throughout the country," Zubiri said. "This measure would not have reached this stage without the important contributions of House Majority Leader Rodolfo Farinas and our Senate Minority Leader Frank Drilon; my seatmates Senator JV Ejercito stressed housing and the Marawi rehabilitation, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on energy, Senator Sonny Angara on economic and judiciary provisions, and Senator Joel Villanueva on religious freedom and labor; likewise, Senator Gregorio Honasan II and Senator Panfilo Lacson on the police force, defense and security; the son of the author of the Local Government Code, Senator Aquilino Pimentel III; Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, who almost changed every part of the measure with his transparency and accountability provisions; Senator Risa Hontiveros who helped us reach agreement on many issues and Senator Legarda who gave airtight provisions on patrimony and the environment," Zubiri said. Zubiri said that the bill aimed to foster peace and development not only in the Bangsamoro region but in the whole country. "What the people should know is that this law may have local application in the Bangsamoro region, but the peace and prosperity we hope to achieve there would be felt from Batanes to Tawi-tawi," he said. The bill would create the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the political entity which would replace the existing Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) first created through RA 6734 in 1989. As proposed by the Senate panel in the bicameral meeting, the bill delineated the expanded powers to be exercised by the new Bangsamoro Autonomous Region within its territorial jurisdiction, ranging from administration of justice, civil service, creation of sources of revenues, education, housing, Islamic banking and finance, power sector investments, public works, urban land reform and land use, among others. The new Bangsamoro Parliament would serve as the highest organ of the Bangsamoro government, and would be composed of 80 members, unless increased by Congress. Reserved seats in the parliament are allocated for non-Muslim indigenous people, settler communities, women, youth and traditional leaders. In relation, the executive functions for the regional government would be exercised by a Cabinet headed by a Chief Minister. However, a ceremonial head of government, a Wali, would also be nominated. Among the key reforms under the bill is the elevation of Shari'ah courts in the Bangsamoro region, as part of the Philippine judicial system under the Supreme Court's supervision. As a result, judges in Shari'ah courts are required to be regular members of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines. The bill explicitly said that Shari'ah law may only apply to cases involving Muslims, or if the non-Muslim party voluntarily submits to the Shari'ah court's jurisdiction. Another highlight is the admission of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters to the Philippine National Police. Educational, age or height requirements may be waived for the MILF/MNLF recruits within a limited period. To provide ample funding for development projects, wide latitude in taxation power is provided to the Bangsamoro government, with the region getting a share of 75% of national taxes collected in the Bangsamoro territorial jurisdiction. The region would also get a block grant of 5 percent of the "net national internal revenue tax collections of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs" from the third fiscal year immediately preceding the current fiscal year. While the block grant "shall be appropriated and released immediately," the formula and amount of the block grant would be subject to review by the Intergovernmental Fiscal Policy Board every five years. The various reforms under the proposed bill would hopefully pave the way for tourism and investments in Mindanao, Zubiri said. "Finally we can achieve a just and dignified peace for our brothers and sisters in Mindanao," he said. "After three administrations, we have finally reached this far," Zubiri added. (JDC)
Press Release

July 24, 2018 Senate approves bills creating, upgrading hospitals The Senate has approved on third and final reading several bills seeking to create, rename and upgrade hospital facilities to improve the delivery of basic health services in the country. Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito, chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, said the passage of Senate Bill No. 1586 would establish a new hospital in Region XII. "The bill seeks to establish the SOCCSKSARGEN General Hospital in the municipality of Surallah, South Cotabato to improve access to medical services and a modem health facility for the 4.11 million Filipinos in Region XII," Ejercito said. Ejercito noted that SOCCSKSARGEN (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City) or Region XII "currently has no regional health facility of its own." He added that while the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center is present in Cotabato City, it mostly services patients from the city and the province of Maguindanao. Many patients from other parts of Region XII have to go to Davao City for special medical attention "due to distance and security concerns." Ejercito then cited a feasibility study conducted by the Region XII-Department of Health-Center for Health Development (CHD) which recommended the establishment of a separate regional health facility in the area. According to the study, the establishment of the Soccsksargen General Hospital would result in reduced morbidity, lower mortality and savings in terms of medical expenses in the region. Meanwhile, the Senate also approved the passage of Senate Bill No. 1649, which seeks to upgrade the Bataan Provincial Hospital into a level III teaching and training hospital and Senate Bill No. 1654, which would convert the Bicol Sanitarium in Camarines Sur into a Geriatric and General Medical Center. Ejercito, who also introduced SBN 1649, said the growing population of Bataan necessitates an upgrade of the Bataan Provincial Hospital to better serve its constituents. The bill would also rename the said facility to Bataan General Hospital. Senator Francis Escudero, who introduced SBN 1654, said the conversion of the Bicol Sanitarium in Cabusao, Camarines Sur into a geriatric and general medical center would be the first of its kind in the country's public health service. He said the health department had ordered the expansion of all existing sanitaria, including the Bicol Sanitarium, because of the decline in leprosy cases in the country. "The conversion of the Bicol Sanitarium into a geriatric and general medical center to be known as the Bicol Regional Geriatrict medical Center aims to provide quality, affordable, accessible, comprehensive and exceptional geriatrict healthcare, including other health care services to the other members of the population, particularly in the Bicol Region," according to the bill. The bill also called for the upgrading of the hospital's existing facilities and professional health care services by increasing its bed capacity to 450 beds and the number of its medical personnel. The Senate also approved on third and final reading were House Bill 639, which seeks to establish a district hospital in Santa Elena, Camarines Norte; House Bill 1955, which seeks to increase the bed capacity of the Rizal Medical Center in Pasig City from 300 to 500 beds; House Bill No. 2849, which seeks to increase the bed capacity of the Veterans Regional Hospital in Bayombong, Nueva Ecija from 200 to 500 beds as well as upgrade its services, facilities, professional health care, increase its medical personnel and change its name to Region II Trauma and Medical Center; House Bill No. 4274, which seeks to upgrade the Southern Isabela General Hospital in Santiago City, Isabel into a tertiary general hospital to be known as the Southern Isabela Medical Center; House Bill 5880, which seeks to upgrade the Amai Pakpak Medical Center in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur; House Bill 6389, which seeks to upgrade the services and facilities of the La Union Medical Center in Agoo, La Union by increasing its bed capacity to 300 beds and establishing a trauma center; House Bill 6619, which seeks to increase the bed capacity of the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center from 500 to 800 beds; House Bill 6711, which seeks to upgrade the Dr. Paulino J. Garcia Memorial Research and Medical Center Extension Hospital in Talavera, Nueva Ecija to a level II hospital and increasing its bed capacity from 50 to 100 beds to be known as the Talavera General Hospital; House Bill No. 6294, which seeks to increase the bed capacity of the Biliran Provincial Hospital in its proposed relocation site in Barangay Larrazabal, Naval, Biliran from 75 to 200 beds; House Bill 6311, which seeks to increase the bed capacity of the Narra Municipal Hospital in Narra, Palawan from 10 to 100 beds and naming it as the Governor Alfredo Mendoza Abueg, Sr. Memorial Hospital; House Bill No. 6618, which seeks to establish a 100-bed capacity hospital in Barangay Habay 2 in Bacoor, Cavite to be known as the Bacoor District Hospital; House Bill No. 6620, which seeks to increase the bed capacity of St. Anthony Mother and Child Hospital in Cebu City from 25 to 100 and House Bill 6740, which seeks to upgrade the Labuan Public Hospital in Zamboanga City into a level II hospital to be known as the Labuan General Hospital, increasing its bed capacity for general care services to 100 beds. (PM)
The Crown will appeal last month's High Court's decision that the government was negligent in allowing Psa, the virus which devastated the kiwifruit industry, into the country.

Psa infected 80 percent of kiwifruit orchards nationwide and is estimated to have cost the industry up to $1 billion in lost exports. The growers' group, called Kiwifruit Claim, sought more than $376 million in compensation. The group of 212 growers, led by Strathboss Kiwifruit and Seeka, claimed the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry - which was merged into the Ministry for Primary Industries in 2012 - was negligent under the Biosecurity Act.

Last month, the court backed Kiwifruit Claim in the first stage of the trial, finding the Crown breached its duty of care to growers. It was the first of two stages, with the initial trial for the plaintiffs to prove the Crown breached its duty of care and establish a loss, and the second stage to determine the level of costs incurred and compensation.

Today, MPI said the appeal "seeks to clarify the scope for government regulators to be sued in negligence".

"The ministry considers the High Court finding has the potential to significantly impact on the ministry's biosecurity operations," MPI said. "MPI takes its biosecurity responsibilities seriously, and while the decision is being appealed, it must still be applied in the interim. The impact of this for importers and others will be delays in decision-making.

"As the matter will go before the Court of Appeal, we will be making no further comment," MPI said.

Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters earlier this month said the government's liability for Psa could be "between $500-to-$800 million", an assessment Kiwifruit Claim chair John Cameron agreed with.

(BusinessDesk)

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Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters welcomed a green light from the US Congress making it easier for New Zealanders seeking to trade or invest in the world's biggest economy.

The passage of this legislation through the US Congress is a major step and very much welcomed by the New Zealand government, he said in a statement.

According to Peters, the proposed Knowledgeable Innovators and Worthy Investors Act - or Kiwi Act - would allow New Zealanders to apply for E-1 and E-2 trade and investment visas.

The E-1 and E-2 visas would allow New Zealand nationals who qualify to enter the US multiple times over two years without having to apply for a new visa each time they enter the US (with an option to renew on a rolling basis). The visas cover individuals seeking to engage in substantial trade and investment activities in the US. Spouses and dependents of visa holders are also permitted to travel on derivative E visas.

The Kiwi Act passed through the Senate with unanimous consent in late June and Peters said the House of Representatives approved the legislation under "suspension of the rules," a mechanism used to pass non-controversial pieces of legislation in the House that requires that at least two-thirds of the House vote in favour of passing the legislation. The usual debate requirements and amendment rules are suspended in order to pass legislation more quickly.

"The next step is for the President to sign the bill into law. The New Zealand government is working closely with the US Administration to encourage a positive outcome," Peters said.

(BusinessDesk)

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: India has extended USD 200 million lines of credit to Rwanda for its economic development, signed a defence cooperation agreement and will soon open a High Commission here as part of New Delhi's efforts to bolster the strategic partnership with the fast-developing East African country.

The announcements came during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Rwanda, the first by an Indian prime minister to the country. After his one-on-one talks with Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, Modi announced that India will soon open its mission in Rwanda.

"We are going to open a High Commission in Rwanda. This will not only establish communication between our respective governments but also enable facilities for consular, passport, visa," Modi said at a joint press statement.

He noted that India and Rwanda relationships have stood the test of time. "It is a matter of honour for us that India has stood with Rwanda in their economic development journey," Modi said, adding that India will continue to back Rwanda's development.
Kigali : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday arrived in Rwanda on the first leg of his three-nation Africa tour, becoming the first Indian premier to visit the East African country.

The prime ministers aircraft landed at the Kigali International Airport where he was given a red carpet welcome on Monday evening.

His two-day state visit to Rwanda -- one of Africas fastest growing economies -- assumes significance as this is the first by an Indian premier.

Prime Minister Modi will hold bilateral meetings with President Paul Kagame, delegation-level talks and meetings with the business and the Indian communities, a statement from the Prime Ministers Office said.

He will also visit the Genocide Memorial and participate in an event on Girinka (one cow per family), a national social protection scheme of Rwanda initiated by Kagame.

A defence cooperation agreement is also expected to be signed between India and Rwanda during the visit, T S Tirumurti, secretary (Economic Relations) in the ministry of external affairs, said in New Delhi last week.

India will also be opening a mission in Rwanda very soon, Tirumurti said.

During this visit, we expect to conclude two lines of credit -- one of $100 million for development of industrial parks and Kigali special economic zone, and another one for $100 million for agriculture and irrigation, he said.

An important element of the programme would be the prime ministers visit to Rweru Model Village where he will gift 200 cows as a contribution from India to the Girinka scheme of Rwanda, Tirumurti said.

Under Girinka, a social protection scheme of the Rwandan government personally overseen by President Kagame, poorest families are gifted dairy cows by the government and the first female calf born to the cow is gifted to the neighbour, thus promoting brotherhood and solidarity.

The cows to be gifted by India would be sourced from Rwanda.

We expect agreements to be concluded in the areas of defence, dairy cooperation, leather, agriculture, and culture, he said.

Modis visit comes days after Chinese President Xi Jinpings trip to Rwanda.

Modi would proceed to Uganda on Tuesday for a two-day visit, the first bilateral visit by an Indian prime minister since 1997.

The prime ministers visit to Rwanda is a historic one since it will be the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the East African country, a senior external affairs ministry official said in New Delhi.

Rwanda is an important gateway to Eastern Africa and we have elevated our bilateral relations with Rwanda to the level of a strategic partnership in January 2017, he said.

The President of Rwanda is the current Chair of the African Union.

Modi will attend the 10th edition of the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa during which the groupings leaders are expected to deliberate on global hot-spot issues, international peace and security, global governance and trade issues among others.
Raising the issue during the Zero Houri, RJD member Manoj Kumar Jha said "a chilling incident" occurred in Muzaffarpur where more than 40 'Nirbhayas' (victims named after the girl who was brutally raped and murdered in Delhi in December 2012) have been abused.

: The alleged rape and murder of a girl at a government-funded shelter home in Bihar figured in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday with the RJD demanding an investigation in the matter.

Expressing anguish over the incident, he alleged that the shelter home was being run by a person, while the contract was in the name of another person.

The RJD member also expressed concern over reports of sexual assaults against women being reported from different parts of the country. As Jha demanded probe into the Muzaffarpur case, a JD(U) member said the Bihar government has already started an investigation.

Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu termed the incident as "very serious". Medical reports have suggested that more than half of the 40 girls, lodged at the shelter home, may have had sexual intercourse at some point of time, police had said earlier.

The inmates of the shelter home have also alleged that one of the girls was beaten to death and buried at the premises of the facility, while several others were raped. Following the allegations, the Bihar Police has launched a probe and dug up the ground of the shelter home in search of the body.
This was the first no-confidence vote in Parliament in 15 years and 39 MPs spoke. The BJP didn't have too much to worry about as the numbers were on their side. This, despite some hiccups (the BJD walked out and the Shiv Sena decided to abstain even after BJP chief Amit Shah met them the day before the vote).

A 12-hour debate in Parliament culminated in a victory for the NDA in the no-confidence motion by a 325-126 margin. The highlight of the debate was undoubtedly that hug Congress chief Rahul Gandhi gave Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

It does seem like the BJP-Shiv Sena relationship has hit a rough patch. In the wake of the no-confidence vote victory, Amit Shah has told party workers that they are prepared to move forward without the Shiv Sena.

Rahul Gandhi and Modi's speeches were the ones to watch as the former went after the government on the Rafale Deal with France and questioned the secrecy agreement surrounding the deal. The deal inked in September 2016 with the French government is for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets. The Congress has accused the Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman of lying in parliament when it comes to this deal. Rahuls speech also touched on the plight of farmers, Modis version of crony capitalism, the incidents of lynchings and the Doklam stand-off. He received positive reviews from his allies.

What an astonishing performance by @RahulGandhi. It was a game-changing speech, tearing apart the Govt s claims & ending with that unscripted hug that has literally taken the BJPs breath away #BhukampAaGaya  Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 20, 2018

Oh that wink my friend! Hit them hard where it hurts..Congratulations for unearthing their mines of lies & a fantastic speech @RahulGandhi pic.twitter.com/lMlBFoYGwv  Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) July 20, 2018

As for the headline-stealing hug, some termed it awkward, uncomfortable, risky and condemnable, while others wondered what the fuss was about.

What's the big fuss, hue & cry over a "Pyar ki Jhappi", an affectionate hug? Dynamic young leader of the youth & generation next, @RahulGandhi spontaneously gave a warm hug to our Hon'ble PM after his speech in Parliament. What a splendid gesture?...1>2 July 24, 2018

The acts of Rahul Gandhi, the hug that the entire nation saw, has disrespected the Parliament. And the winking incident, I and the youth know that such winks are made by 'loafers' outside colleges or maybe at some girls. We condemn such acts: Goa BJP Spokesperson Dattaprasad Naik pic.twitter.com/m2MxVOJFYW  ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2018

Ultimately, the no-confidence motion wasn't about the numbers. It was a platform for the country to see where each party stood on the national stage. The debate itself was on familiar lines and territory. As Indrajit Hazra, Editor Views, Economic Times, points out in his column, the trust vote was all about optics and the debate was fairly standard 

"Rahul's trotting off of jumla strikes (in Hindi), accusing the stentorian and visibly disturbed defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman of peddling lies. Rahul was still on familiar ground, both in substance and style."

"The PM's response - itself having the disadvantage of being a response in a no-confidence debate  was, unlike his prime opponents, on familiar lines: Congress arrogance, family ownership, the way the party treated anyone who tried to match the Nehru-Gandhi gaze."

Hazra does state that it didn't matter as to who won or lost the debate, as much as the result of the no-confidence motion mattered stating that it wont have an effect on the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The NDA alliance in a way overachieved in its target.

As for the Shiv Sena situation, it could resolve itself in the days and weeks to come if their praise for Rahul Gandhi's speech is any indication. The Hindu editorial points out the proceedings from last week was only the beginning of the 'political churn' 

"Far from drawing the battle lines for 2019 clearly, the motion brought to light differences within both camps. How the BJP will deal with the Sena's defiance remains to be seen, but they need each other in Maharashtra."

Their abstention was made up for by strong support from the AIADMK whose 37 MPs voted for the government. There is still some dispute as to whether senior leadership of the BJP reached out AIADMK leaders. Given that the state has reasons to be annoyed with the centre on issues such as the Cauvery dispute and NEET, the AIADMK nevertheless went all in for the NDA. This is certainly interesting considering its almost certain the former chief minister, the late Jayalalithaa, might not have gone along with the BJP.

The entire aim of the Congress was to attack the government. This would also give people a clearer picture of the Prime Ministerial candidate of the opposition in action. The challenge as always for the Congress remains to turn this performance into electoral wins.

The editorial in The Hindu underscores that for the Congress, there still lay hard work ahead in building alliances 

"Even the TDP does not appear to be on the side of the Congress... the Congress is not in a position to dictate the terms of alliance in many States. The Trinamool Congress voted with the Opposition, but Mamata Banerjee still talks of a Federal Front of regional parties as the alternative to the BJP."

The alliance and coalition government in Karnataka came under scrutiny in recent days. Other regional parties across the country, the TRS, DMK, RJD and the BJD, will all play a pivotal role in how the Congress builds a national coalition to take on the NDA in 2019.
China's persistent food and drug safety problem



Beijing, July 24 (AFP) Jul 24, 2018



Chinese authorities are scrambling to defuse public outrage over a safety scandal involving rabies vaccines, just one of a string of food and drug scares to hit the country in recent years.

Despite the country's stunning growth over the past four decades, many consumers in the world's second-largest economy still live in fear of consuming toxic food or dangerous or ineffective medicines.

Following are some of the biggest scandals to emerge over the past decade:



July 2018: The Chinese manufacturer of the blood pressure medication Valsartan, which is widely used in the United States and Europe, launches a global recall after the active ingredient is found to have been tainted by a cancer-causing substance.



March 2016: Authorities detain 130 people over the improper storage and transport of millions of dollars worth of mostly expired vaccines, including shots for polio, rabies, hepatitis B and flu. More than 350 government officials are eventually fired or demoted.



April 2012: Police in the eastern province of Zhejiang detain 22 people for making medicine containing chromium, a toxic raw material produced from scrap leather.



July 2012: High levels of a cancer-causing toxin which comes from mould are detected in infant formula from Ava Dairy. The company's production is halted and its formula recalled.



September 2011: Thirty-two people are arrested over the sale of cooking oil made from discarded oil taken from gutters, which was found to contain carcinogens.



November 2011: Authorities break up a ring that made and sold fake medicines -- some using animal feed. More than 65 million medicine tablets are seized and 114 people arrested.



March 2011: Cancer-causing chemicals -- fed to pigs to produce leaner meat -- are found in live pigs. More than 113 people, including 77 government employees, are eventually jailed in relation to the scandal.



December 2010: Fruit vendors in Shanghai complain of burning skin after touching oranges later found to have been dyed with a toxic orange wax.



December 2010: Six people are detained after wineries in northern Hebei province are found to have added sugar, food colouring and artificial flavouring to create knockoffs of famous wines. Several wineries are shut and bottles pulled from shelves.



September 2008: In China's most explosive recent incident, around 300,000 children fall ill, many with renal failure, and six are killed by milk powder laced with the chemical melamine to give the appearance of higher protein levels. Melamine is usually used to make plastic.

Several top executives with Chinese dairy giant Sanlu receive long prison terms and two get the death sentence. The affair also spurs China to pass a new law on additives, strengthen regulatory coordination on food safety, and restructure the agency in charge of food and drug supervision.



July 2008: Four children die and dozens of others fall ill after receiving damaged vaccines in the northern province of Shanxi, but reports only emerge two years later. Local officials at the time had denied a link between the sick children and the vaccines.



June 2007: Several countries recall Chinese-made toothpaste found to contain a chemical used in automobile antifreeze for vehicles. Also that month, US importers of Chinese toys issue recalls after some are found to be coated with toxic lead paint. Similar products are later banned in several other countries.



March 2007: Pet food in North America and around the world is recalled after animals start dying in large numbers. The problem is eventually traced to wheat and rice derivatives from China that were used as ingredients and to which melamine was added.
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Israel says shoots down Syrian warplane



Jerusalem, July 24 (AFP) Jul 24, 2018



Israel shot down a Syrian fighter jet with surface-to-air missiles on Tuesday after the plane infiltrated its airspace, the military said, in a rare incident that could provoke tensions.

Israel signalled that the plane's infiltration may have been the result of internal fighting in Syria's civil war, but stressed it will enforce the ceasefire lines between the two countries.

"A short while ago, two Patriot missiles were launched at a Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet that infiltrated into Israeli airspace," the Israeli Defence Forces said in a statement.

"The IDF monitored the advance of the fighter jet, which infiltrated about two kilometres (1.25 miles) into Israeli airspace. It was then intercepted by the Patriot missiles."

A Syrian military source confirmed that Israel had fired at one of its warplanes but said the fighter jet had been carrying out operations against jihadists over Syrian territory.

Israel "targeted one of our warplanes... in Syrian airspace," the source said, cited by state news agency SANA. The source did not say whether the warplane had been hit.

It was the first time Israel shot down a manned Syrian fighter jet since 2014.

An AFP correspondent said flames and smoke could be seen rising from the area of the fence between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

The army said there had been an increase in "internal fighting in Syria," including involving the air force, since the morning hours.

It said it was on "high alert and will continue to operate against the breach" of a 1974 ceasefire agreement between the two countries.

Israel has been stressing for weeks that it would enforce the ceasefire between it and Syria amid a Russian-backed government offensive in the country's south.

Tuesday's incident comes a day after Israel's air defences fired at Syrian rockets it feared could hit its territory.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Jerusalem on Monday to discuss the Syrian conflict.



- 'All forces must leave' -



Israel has been on high alert since June 19, when Syrian government forces launched the Russia-backed offensive to retake Quneitra and Daraa and provinces, adjacent respectively to the Israeli-held section of the Golan and to Jordan.

Israel has sought to avoid direct involvement in Syria's seven-year civil war, but it has acknowledged carrying out dozens of air strikes there to stop what it says are advanced weapons deliveries to Hezbollah, one of its enemies.

It has also pledged to prevent its arch-enemy Iran from entrenching itself militarily in the neighbouring country.

A series of air strikes that have killed Iranians in Syria have been attributed to Israel in recent weeks.

The strikes have led to condemnation from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, but Israel has maintained good relations with Russia and has coordinated its actions in Syria with Moscow.

Both Russia and Iran are backing Assad in the civil war.

In Monday's meeting between Lavrov and Netanyahu, Russia offered to keep Iranian forces 100 kilometres (62 miles) away from the Israeli-occupied Golan, but Israel said the proposal did not go far enough.

"We won't accept Iranian military entrenchment in Syria, not near the border, not beyond the 100-kilometre stretch, which by the way the Russians talk about and agree to," a senior Israeli official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"We said there are also long-range weapons beyond that distance, and all the forces must leave Syria."

Israel seized 1,200 square kilometres (460 square miles) of the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Six Day war, in a move never recognised internationally.
Damascus says Israel targeted warplane in Syrian airspace



Damascus, July 24 (AFP) Jul 24, 2018



A Syrian military source accused Israel on Tuesday of firing at one of its warplanes as it carried out operations against jihadists in southern Syria.

Israel's army earlier said it had shot down a Syrian fighter jet that had infiltrated Israeli airspace, risking another escalation in the sensitive border zone.

Syrian troops have ousted rebels from a majority of the country's south, part of which borders the Israeli-occupied Golan, and are now closing in on a patch held by the Islamic State group.

The Damascus regime has long accused Israel of backing IS and other opposition factions.

"The Israeli enemy has confirmed its adoption of armed terrorist groups, and targeted one of our warplanes which was hitting them in the Saida region on the edge of the Yarmuk basin in Syrian airspace," the military source said.

The source, cited by state news agency SANA, did not specify if the plane had been hit or downed.

The town of Saida sits just inside Syrian territory, about one kilometre (less than a mile) east of the buffer zone with the Israeli-annexed Golan, and is held by IS.

Clashes were raging between regime troops and IS jihadists on the northern edges of the town on Tuesday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor.

Israel has been on high alert for weeks as Syrian troops, backed by Russia, have drawn closer to the Golan.
US defenders 'hopeful' pizza delivery man will be freed



New York, July 24 (AFP) Jul 24, 2018



Lawyers representing an Ecuadoran father of two said Tuesday they were "hopeful" he would soon be reunited with his family, 54 days after he was arrested delivering pizza to a New York military base.

The case has sparked outrage among pro-immigration groups and Democrats, widening the gulf between the city and the federal government's determination to crack down on illegal immigration.

Pablo Villavicencio, 35, an undocumented migrant, was detained on June 1 at the Fort Hamilton Army Base in Brooklyn, after a military policeman was not satisfied with his New York identity card and a background check confirmed that he was not a legal resident.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were called and moved to deport him, until a federal judge temporarily blocked his deportation order. Villavicencio has remained in detention ever since.

His wife and daughters, aged two and four, are US citizens. His youngest daughter reportedly suffers from a heart defect.

"We're hopeful that Pablo and his family will be reunited shortly," Gregory Copeland from the Legal Aid Society told reporters Tuesday after a federal court hearing in Manhattan.

"This case is about a family that was torn apart and I think having that family reunited as soon as possible is what matters," he added.

At the hearing, Judge Paul Crotty questioned the rationale for deportation, given that Villavicencio has a pending application for permanent residency.

"Is there any concept of justice here or are we just doing it because we want to?" Crotty asked. "Where's the harm to the country?" he added. It was not clear when he would make a decision.

The US government wants the case transferred to New Jersey, where Villavicencio is being held. His lawyers want the case to remain in New York, where ICE is based, and his immediate release.

His wife, Sandra Chica, who was visibly emotional, and two daughters attended Tuesday's hearing. Villavicencio did not.

"Our lives have been completely upended," Chica said Monday. A small group of activists rallied outside court, calling for his release.

The Trump administration has sought to get tough on undocumented migrants, moving to deport even those without criminal records and with deep family ties to the United States.

Villavicencio entered the United States in 2008 and in 2010 ignored an order to leave. He married in 2013 and has no criminal record, always working and paying his taxes.
Qatar, US plan 'expansion' of Al-Udeid airbase



Doha, July 24 (AFP) Jul 24, 2018



The US and Qatar plan to expand Al-Udeid airbase, the biggest military facility used by Washington in the Gulf as it battles jihadists, Qatari state media said Tuesday.

The two countries have also discussed making Al-Udeid a "permanent" base, the official QNA news agency said, as Doha seeks to bolster ties with Washington at a time of tensions with its Gulf neighbours.

QNA said representatives from both countries on Tuesday "laid the foundation stone for expanding" Al-Udeid.

But the Pentagon played down the development, pointing out nothing concrete had been decided.

"It is premature to discuss aspects of a potential base expansion at Al-Udeid air base in Qatar," Lieutenant Commander Rebecca Rebarich said in a statement.

"The US military is working with the Qatari ministry of defence on further details of the proposal to help us to plan appropriately and ensure we will use any new facilities effectively," she said.

According to QNA, the project includes "the construction of barracks and service buildings to support joint security efforts, as well as improving the quality of life of the troops stationed at the airbase".

Around 10,000 US troops are deployed in Al-Udeid, the largest US base in the Gulf where Washington stocks munitions and equipment and deploys warplanes used in the battle against the Islamic State group.

Other members of the US-led coalition fighting IS in Syria and Iraq are also deployed at Al-Udeid, located 35 kilometres (20 miles) southwest of Doha.

QNA said the expansion project "underscores Qatar's commitment to deepening its strategic military relations with the United States".

"The State of Qatar, along with its strategic US ally, is working on drawing up a roadmap for the future of bilateral relations, including the addition of Al-Udeid Air Base to the list of US permanent military bases," it said.

Ryan Gliha, the US charge d'affaires in Doha, echoed this in remarks at a news conference after the ceremony to lay the foundation stone for the expansion of Al-Udeid.

"We saw today the opening of a new construction project... what we hope to see in the coming years and months is (the) strengthening" of bilateral ties, he said.

"Billions of dollars have been spent already at Al-Udeid over the last 15 years to support our operations... These are essential to the fight against Daesh and our ability to lead the coalition," he said, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

Gliha described Qatar as an "indispensable partner for the United States".

In April, US President Donald Trump welcomed to the White House the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, for talks on improving bilateral ties that had been strained by Qatar's row with Gulf states.

The year-long crisis has seen regional kingpin Saudi Arabia and a number of its Arab allies impose a diplomatic and trade embargo on Qatar.

Trump had initially supported an economic blockade on Qatar, but aides -- mindful of the pivotal role of Al-Udeid in US Middle East operations -- convinced him to take a more moderate approach.
Israel says shoots down Syrian warplane



Jerusalem, July 24 (AFP) Jul 24, 2018



Israel shot down a Syrian fighter jet with surface-to-air missiles Tuesday after the plane infiltrated airspace it controls, the military said, in a rare incident that could provoke tensions.

Israel signalled that the plane's infiltration may have been the result of internal fighting in Syria's civil war, but stressed it would enforce the ceasefire lines between the two countries.

"This is a blatant violation of the 1974 separation agreements between Israel and Syria," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

"We will not accept any intrusion or spillage into our territory, either from the ground or from the air."

The plane, either a Sukhoi 22 or 24, crashed on the Syrian side of the fence in the Golan Heights and it was unclear what happened to the pilot or pilots, Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus told journalists.

It was hit after it penetrated some two kilometres (1.25 miles) into Israeli-controlled airspace in the southern Golan Heights, said Conricus.

A Syrian military source confirmed Israel had fired at one of its warplanes but said the fighter had been carrying out operations against jihadists over Syrian territory.

Israel "targeted one of our warplanes... in Syrian airspace", the source said, cited by state news agency SANA.

State media in Damascus gave no account of the fate of the plane or the pilots.

According to Conricus, the plane left from the T4 airbase in central Syria before heading towards the Israeli-occupied Golan.

Israel's military monitored the plane throughout and shot it down with two Patriot missiles, Conricus said.

It was the first time Israel shot down a manned Syrian fighter jet since 2014.

- 'High alert' -



"From our perspective, the event is behind us," Conricus said. "However we of course remain on high alert."

Israel's army said there had been an increase in "internal fighting in Syria" from early Tuesday.

"We issued warnings and messages through different channels in various languages, numerous times over the day, in order to avoid any miscalculations, misunderstandings or any violations of Israeli airspace," Conricus said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that bombing operations in the border area by both Syrian and Russian aircraft had dramatically decreased after the incident.

The Britain-based war monitor said there had been heavy bombing earlier on the Yarmuk river basin in the south but that had all but stopped by the evening, dropping to just one strike per hour.

The Syrian military source said the targeting of the warplane was proof of Damascus's repeated accusation that Israel supports "terrorists" in Syria.

"The Israeli enemy has confirmed its adoption of armed terrorist groups, and targeted one of our warplanes which was hitting them," the source said.

Israel has been stressing for weeks that it would enforce the ceasefire line between it and Syria amid a Russian-backed government offensive in the country's south.

Tuesday's incident comes a day after Israel's air defences fired at Syrian rockets it feared could hit its territory.

Netanyahu also met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Jerusalem on Monday to discuss the Syrian conflict.

Israel has been on high alert since June 19, when Syrian government forces launched the offensive to retake Quneitra and Daraa provinces, adjacent respectively to the Israeli-held section of the Golan and to Jordan.

It has sought to avoid direct involvement in Syria's seven-year civil war, but it has acknowledged carrying out dozens of air strikes there to stop what it says are advanced weapons deliveries to the Shiite Lebanese militia Hezbollah, one of its top enemies.



- 'All forces must leave' -



It has also pledged to prevent its arch-enemy Iran from entrenching itself militarily in the neighbouring country.

A series of air strikes that have killed Iranians in Syria have been attributed to Israel in recent weeks.

The strikes have led to condemnation from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, but Israel has maintained good relations with Russia and has coordinated its actions in Syria with Moscow.

Both Russia and Iran are backing Assad in the civil war.

Conricus declined to say whether Israel informed Russia before shooting down the fighter jet, but said there had been conversations on a hotline between the two countries to avoid accidental clashes in Syria throughout the day.

In Monday's meeting between Lavrov and Netanyahu, Russia offered to keep Iranian forces 100 kilometres (62 miles) away from the Israeli-occupied Golan, but Israel said the proposal did not go far enough.

"We won't accept Iranian military entrenchment in Syria, not near the border, not beyond the 100-kilometre stretch, which by the way the Russians talk about and agree to," a senior Israeli official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"We said there are also long-range weapons beyond that distance, and all the forces must leave Syria."

Israel seized 1,200 square kilometres (460 square miles) of the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War, in a move never recognised internationally.

burs-mjs/hc
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English23/07/2018

SRNA News Roundup /I/ - July 23, 2018

REPUBLIKA SRPSKA



BANJALUKA - The Tax Administration of Republika Srpska has hired 32 new officers in a recent recruitment procedure and ten of them with university degrees are children of fallen veterans, TA Director Zora Vidovic said on Monday.



BANJALUKA - With his latest media appearances and dirty attacks on the Srpska Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Bosnia and Herzegovina Minister of Security Dragan Mektic, who was appointed to the position by the will of Bakir Izetbegovic, not the will of the Serbs, only proves he is the biggest disgrace in todays politics, said security expert Dzevad Galijasevic.





FEDERATION OF BiH



GLAMOC - A pan-Serbian assembly took place in Glamoc on Sunday where around 500 natives living in the town and those scattered around the world gathered in front of the local Orthodox church, Mayor Nebojsa Radivojsa told Srna.





SERBIA



BELGRADE - Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic thanked the State of Chile for its persistent and firm stance rejecting to recognise the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo.



BELGRADE - The United States of America does not favour a division of Kosovo but does not rule it out any more, while Serbia should introduce the aspect of economic sovereignty in its negotiations with Pristina, international expert on conflicts Dragan Simeunovic believes.



LIPLJAN - Fourteen Serbian farmers were killed 19 years ago today in Staro Gracko outside Lipljan yet no one has been prosecuted for one of the gravest crimes against Serbs in Kosovo after the arrival of UNMIK and KFOR.



BELGRADE/MOSCOW - Renowned Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica is not certain what will happen with Europe but does believe that Eurasia is the future and a new concept of European life.



BELGRADE - Russias Gazprom Neft in Serbia has focused on the projects of common historical heritage and culture of the two countries and the classical music festival Bolshoi at Drvengrad in Serbia is the most grandiose yet not the only project in the area of culture in Serbia, the companys vice-president Alexander Dibal.





REGION



PODGORICA - His Holiness Irinej, Serbian Patriarch says it is absurd that the state of Montenegro could seize the Serbian Orthodox Church /SOC/ property in the 21st century and adds that if that happened, the Church would alarm the whole world. /end/ds
English23/07/2018

RADANOVIC: WE WILL PROTECT PROPERTY OF FBiH SERBS IN EUROPE AND BEYOND

ISTOCNO SARAJEVO, July 23 /SRNA/ - The Committee to preserve the Serb property in the Federation of BiH will extend its activities to protect property rights of Serbs in Europe who had lived in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, committee representative Djordje Radanovic told Srna.



"We will extend our activities to the Serb associations in Germany, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, France, and other countries in Europe and beyond, said Radanovic.



It was recently agreed in a meeting with the Government of Republika Srpska to inform all Serbs through representative offices in Europe and around the world about the procedure for setting up new land registries in the FBiH, noted Radanovic.



The committee carries out different activities with legal aid officers formed with the help of the Ministry of Refugees and Displaced Persons and the Srpska Geodetic and Property Affairs Authority /RUGIP/.



"According to our findings, a lot of cadastral municipalities have been presented to the public so far, in the Sarajevo region the Ilijas municipality, as well as Kadarici, Podgora, Nisici, and the Sarajevo municipalities Novo Sarajevo, Sarajevo Centre, and the cadastral municipalities in Vogosca. We are certain to have covered between 20,000 and 30,000 people with our activities and projects and they are seeking help to preserve their property, emphasised Radanovic.



He stated that a joint Serb list had been agreed for all municipalities and cantons in the FBiH, apart from Canton 10 - the Livno Canton - where the local politicians will be on two Serb lists, one entitled Serb List, which has been registered as a coalition, and the other Serb Progressive Party list.



"The Serbs jointly running in elections in the FBiH has been agreed and reported to the BiH Central Election Commission. Serbs will be able to vote for a Serb list which does not list the names of parties and we insisted on that, said Radanovic.



Srpska Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic, after a recent meeting with members of the Committee which has more than 30 associations of refugees and DPs, stated that the offices formed by a Government decision on the provision of free legal and other aid to Serb refugees and DPs in order to be able to protect their property was just the first step in tackling the problem.



The RUGIP has provided six offices to provide free legal aid to refugees and DPs in the procedure of setting up or replacing land registries in the FBiH, which are currently kept in accordance with the FBiH Law on Land Registries.



Offices which opened on May 28 are located in the RUGIP branches in Bijeljina, Zvornik, Nevesinje, Istocno Novo Sarajevo, Mrkonjic Grad and Banjaluka. /end/ds
If you are a licensed caretaker working in Canada, or know someone who is and would like to attend the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on August 8, the Hall of Fame wants to hear from you!

In honour of National Caretaker Appreciation Day, the Hall of Fame is pleased to announce that Induction Gala Platinum Sponsor Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) has offered five pairs of tickets to this event to be given away to licensed caretakers. ($350 value per package.) Transportation and accommodation, if required, is the responsibility of the winners.

The Gala event will feature a cocktail reception, a fantastic line up of silent and live auction items, and a four course gourmet dinner.

To enter the contest, email in 200 words or less, what it might feel like to have a horse you care for be inducted into the Hall of Fame, or tell us why you would like to attend the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

Email your entry to Linda Rainey at [email protected].

Please include your full name, where you work, your address and phone number in the email. Only caretakers who reside in Canada and are licensed by their provincial racing commission will be eligible for the contest.

Deadline to enter is 5:00 p.m. Eastern, Wednesday, July 25.

The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame Class of 2018 includes Standardbred inductees:

Bill Andrew, a breeder with ties to Alberta and PEI, who continues to generously give back to the racing industry.

Ontario-based photographer Dave Landry whose work has been recognized in Canada and internationally.

The late Jim Doherty, a gentlemanly trainer-driver from New Brunswick with a career spanning six-decades, much of which took place on US tracks.

Blissfull Hall, Quebec-owned winner of North Americas Pacing Triple Crown.

Chancey Lady, Ontario-sired, BC-owned pacing mare who earned over $2-million.

Held at the Mississauga Convention Centre, the reception and silent auction will commence at 5:30 p.m., followed by a four course dinner, live auction and induction ceremonies at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $175 per person, and may be purchased by visiting the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame Online Store or by contacting Linda Rainey 416-417-9404 or [email protected].

(CHRHF)
Shares is the leading weekly publication for retail investors. It is packed with investment ideas, news and educational material to help build and run portfolios and get more from your money.

Shares puts on free Investor Events throughout the year across the country. They provide an opportunity for investors to learn more about companies on the stock market and hear from a range of investment experts including fund managers and Shares journalists.
One thing that hasnt changed about combat since 2001 is that most of the American casualties, even in places like Iraq and Afghanistan have been non-combat. Actually, in that time less than 30 percent of deaths in the military were from combat and most of them did not take place in a combat zone but back in the United States. During the period of most intense combat (2001-2009) accidents, disease and stress (physical and mental) problems accounted for 81 percent of those troops flown out so they could get more advanced care. There are about ten of these evacuations for every soldier killed (combat or non-combat). Only 19 percent of those "medical evacuations" were for combat injuries. Thus, in the military hospitals (both in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as back in the United States), the vast majority of combat zone casualties are not there because of combat injuries.

By 2009 American troops in Iraq had more to fear from accidents, disease and stress than enemy action. Less than half the troops who died were combat casualties. This is a trend that had been growing for several years. Actually, while not caused by combat, a lot of the "non-combat" injuries were the result of combat operations. For example, ten percent of those evacuated had musculoskeletal system problems. Since the 1990s American infantry has had to carry more weight (sometimes a 45 kg/a hundred pounds or more), more often and for longer periods. No one else in the combat zone had to deal with that. Back and muscle problems are still common.

The combat troops are also out and about more, and more likely to catch exotic local diseases. Thus it's not surprising that in places like Iraq and Afghanistan for a long time at least ten percent of the medical evacuations were for "ill-defined conditions." This was first discovered when thousands of American troops were stationed in the Persian Gulf during World War II. Before that, the British warned, from their World War I experience, that Iraq was a nasty place (from a disease standpoint) to hang out in. Afghanistan has proved to have its own extensive collection of exotic, and often unrecognized (by Western medicine) afflictions.

While most of the deaths (as opposed to casualties) in Iraq and Afghanistan were from combat, many were not. Of the 7,000 or so U.S. troops that died in Iraq and Afghanistan through 2018), nearly twenty percent of those fatalities were from non-combat causes. Most of the non-combat deaths were from accidents and disease. One of the major categories of non-combat death is vehicle accidents. In 2007, over fifteen percent of the non-combat deaths were from vehicle accidents. But in 2008, overall deaths declined by two thirds (from 904 in 2007 to 312 in 2008), and vehicle accident deaths went from 37 to 19. Over time better driver training, improved vehicle design and experience, in general, made driving less lethal.

The U.S. Army expected vehicle accidents to decline even more in 2008 because the number of terrorist incidents went down by 80 percent. Many vehicle accidents were the result of the fast driving tactics troops were encouraged to use to get away from roadside bombs and ambushes. Ask the NCOs, and they will often complain that the sharp reduction in combat has removed the incentive to stay sharp and pay attention. Not a unique situation in a combat zone, and despite the energetic exhortations of the NCOs, too many troops did not stay alert enough to avoid accidents. Ask the troops, and they will (correctly) complain about the heavier traffic. With peace breaking out all over central Iraq, and the economy continuing to boom, more Iraqis have cars. Iraqis drive like they're from Boston, with abandon and indifference. Not much different in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, military experts around the world are still trying to make sense of how the United States has kept its casualties so low in Iraq and Afghanistan. To put it in simple terms, you were three times more likely to be killed or wounded in Vietnam (or World War II), compared to U.S. troops serving in Iraq. And then there is the mystery of higher non-combat deaths in Afghanistan. In Vietnam and Iraq, 19 percent of the deaths were from non-combat causes (accidents, disease, for the most part.) During World War II, 25 percent of the dead were non-combat. In Afghanistan, 29 percent of the deaths were non-combat, although that is rapidly changing as combat deaths increase. Afghanistan does have a greater variety of diseases, and nasty terrain (including the atrocious roads, many of them roads in name only).

What the U.S. did was put in well trained, led, armed and motivated troops and then supported them lavishly. Civilians were hired to do a lot of the menial jobs. Much effort was put into getting to know the local culture, and avoiding civilian casualties. That eventually won over enough Iraqis to undercut support for Islamic radicals (mostly Sunni Arabs angry at no longer being in charge, and minority Shia groups keen on setting up a Shia religious dictatorship).

But while the diseases and safety situation in the Middle East improved enormously since 2003, improvements came more slowly in Afghanistan. The many diseases, bad roads, hills and mountains remain a major hazard. Afghanistan will remain a dangerous place, even if no one is shooting at you.

Another item that is still a concern is bad data. No, not official deception but simply inept record keeping. Bad numbers are nothing new. For example, the Department of Defense used to report that the number of combat deaths in the Korean War was higher (by over 10,000 dead) than there actually were. This was because, early on, someone mistakenly added all the accidental deaths, world-wide, for the United States military, during the period of the war (1950-53), to the total combat dead. It wasn't until the 1980s that this got cleared up.

And then there are some bad numbers that will never be cleaned up. Friendly fire incidents in past wars were routinely misreported, usually at the lowest levels (friends of those who got shot or did the shooting.) Any attempts to get to the bottom of friendly fire statistics from old wars would open too may psychological wounds. Same with the misreporting of dead soldiers as "missing in action" during World War II. This was often done by the dead soldiers family, so the widow could collect the soldiers pay (which was higher than widow's benefits) for a while longer. There are a lot of bad numbers out there, and an interesting story behind many of them.
Although there is agreement on national presidential and parliamentary elections being held in December so that the new officials can form a unified national government that might be soon enough. The GNA (Government of National Accord), one of the two existing national governments, is falling apart. The GNA is based in Tripoli and recognized by the UN has proved much less capable than its eastern (Tobruk) rival the HoR (House of Representatives). It was agreements between these two existing governments in Libya that made the December election plan possible. The governments agreed to increase their cooperation (already functional enough) to improve the operation of the National Oil Company and the Central Bank of Libya. Neighboring countries (especially Egypt, Tunisia and Italy) are cooperating with the two Libyan governments to identify key Libyan gangsters (often former government officials) and Islamic terrorists based in Libya and impose international (via the UN and Interpol) sanctions on them. These outlaws are key movers of illegal money and goods (people, weapons, oil and so on). Italy has been particularly effective here because many of the European criminals (working with Libyan outlaws) are Italian.

But in Tripoli, the traditional capital, the GNA never had complete control of the city because of so many powerful and uncooperative militias that had been there since the 2011 revolution. The HoR thrived because it had more competent military commanders who literally took over and rebuilt the pre-2011 Libyan armed forces. This was done by replacing all the officers and troops loyal to the deposed 2011 government with tribal militias and former Libyan officers returning from exile and training a new generation of Libyan military leaders. The UN and the West opposed this but it worked and with the cooperation of most Arab countries the HoR was finally accepted by the UN. This made possible the December elections that will merge the GNA and HoR. But the GNA might not last until December and that is a problem that has to be fixed if the elections are to take place.

Risky Business

The LNA (Libyan National Army) has become the most effective organized and disciplined armed force in Libya. The LNA continues to defeat or absorb defiant militias, especially ones that are religion based or outright Islamic terrorists. While many Western nations consider the LNA, or at least some of its commanders, to be war criminals the fact is that pro-GNA faction leaders are no better and often a lot worse. The Arab nations that have long supported the LNA and its creator Khalifa Hiftar and understand this and the fact that Hiftar is simply a more effective military leader. After living in the U.S. for over a decade, Hiftar knows first-hand what works. Hiftar always worked for the rival Libyan HoR government in Tobruk and has remained loyal to the HoR for as long as the LNA existed. Most Libyans, having little or no personal experience of a much less corrupt and more productive Western economy, just want someone to make all the chaos and pain go away. There is no easy way to make that happen. A first step would be to form a united government. That is still a work in progress but at least progress is being made. Hiftar is also popular in Libya (and with other Moslem governments in the region) for his steadfast and effective opposition to Islamic terrorists and Islamic radicalism in general.

Now Hiftar is accusing someone in the NOC (National Oil Company) and/or CBL (Central Bank of Libya) of financing some of the recent attacks on oil facilities. Hiftar believes that a southern militia coalition (led by Ibrahim Jadran) that recently, and suddenly came out of the south to gain very brief control over the three oil export ports was provided with a lot of cash to organize this operation. Jadran was once the leader of the local PDG (Petroleum Defense Guards) militia that provided security for the oil export operations at Sidra, Ras Lanuf and Zueitina. Until 2017 Jardan and his fellow PDG leaders frequently shut down exports in an attempt to get paid more for their efforts. Worse the unreliable PDG groups were also stealing oil and exporting it on outlaw ships that would sell the oil in the black market. By late 2017 LNA forces had replaced the outlaw PDG groups with more reliable ones. But many of the outlaw PDG men fled south and planned their revenge. The latest plan seemed good but didnt work.

Jardan organized a coalition of ousted PDG militias who agreed to move north and regain control over the ports and resume their extortion and smuggling. After a week of fighting the LNA the Jardan forces were finally driven away from the ports by June 22nd and are now fleeing south with LNA forces in pursuit, seeking to destroy the Jardan coalition for good. The Jardan forces included over a thousand mercenaries from Chad and over 200 armed (and some armored) vehicles. Jardan made a lot of promises to his followers that he could not keep. As a result, his coalition is falling apart as it flees south. Thats why the LNA believes they can put Jardan and is larcenous PDG groups out of business for good. Hiftar learned from interrogations of captured Jardan followers that were was talk of where Jardan got the money to organize his latest attack. The cash apparently came from Tripoli. That meant the GNA and the branch of the NOC based in Tripoli. To deal with this problem Hiftar announced earlier in the month that he would send oil sales proceeds to the eastern branch of the NOC and CBL in Benghazi and work out the details with the UN (which tries to make sure most of this oil income is spent on what Libya needs and not stolen).

Despite the defeat of Jardan the fighting has done more damage to the oil export facilities and further reduced the amount of oil that can be shipped each day. Making repairs to the export facilities requires time and security to assure the foreign tech personnel brought in to do the work can do so safely. This will delay the resumption of oil shipments returning to pre-war (2011) levels.

Gangster Games

The EU (European Union) is anything but united on how to deal with the people smuggling gangs in Libya. A growing number of European nations are withdrawing from EU agreements to cooperate with the smuggling gangs and assist the smugglers to get boats of illegal migrants across the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy. A new Italian government has refused to accept any more of these illegals, even if they were now on EU warships or some of the rescue ships operated by EU civilians belonging to NGOs (non-governmental organizations). Libya (plus Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia) turned down the latest EU proposal; to set up EU migrant processing centers in a North African country where illegals would be screened by EU personnel to determine who are eligible for asylum (very few) and who is not (who would have to pay smugglers to try and get them across the Mediterranean to Malta or Spain, the only two EU nations willing to cooperate with the people smugglers. As a result of this opposition the number of illegal migrants is down by half so far this year compared to 2017. But that means the number of illegal migrants stuck in Libya is increasing and is over half a million and rising. About 50,000 illegals made it to Europe so far this year, but about two percent of those attempting to reach Europe died getting across the Mediterranean.

The people smuggling business is too lucrative to shut down as long as it is possible to land illegals in an EU nation bordering the Mediterranean. As soon as one Libyan people smuggler gang is shut down in a particular coast town, another shows up elsewhere, often run by the same people smuggler organizers that fled when the militia or Islamic terror group they were allied with (and paid a lot of money to for protection) got defeated. As long as there is a good chance of getting into Europe people in Africa and the Middle East will find the cash to pay people smugglers to get them into Libya (relatively easy) and across the Mediterranean (getting more difficult). All that money in a nation facing an economic crisis (Libya can only survive via food and other imports paid for by oil income) means many Libyans are willing to participate. For example, a Libyan Bedouin tribe (Awlad Ali) which actually straddles most of the Libyan border with Egypt. While most Awlad Ali tribesmen oppose Islamic terror groups they see smuggling as an ancient and legitimate enterprise. So Awlad Ali members will work for people smuggling gangs based on the Libyan coast and, for a fee, bring illegal migrants across the Egyptian border to the coastal town the people smugglers use to get illegals on a boat and on their way to Europe. Other Libyan tribes in the south also provide guides to get illegals across the southern border and to the coast. If confronted by armed opposition these tribal smugglers tend to flee rather than fight. Because these tribesmen are in it just for the money they do not show up in reports of who the people smugglers are. Nor do the many tribal and militia leaders who accept gifts (bribes) to allow the people smugglers to move through with their illegal migrants. What annoys Libyans most about the people smuggling is that the cash from this business keeps a lot of Islamic terror groups and troublesome militias in business, which makes it difficult to get the Libyan economy (mainly the oil industry) revived.

Until 2018 the attitude among smugglers was that yes, business is sometimes more difficult (and less profitable) because of EU countermeasures and the shrinking number of outlaw ports but in the long run they will continue to thrive because the smugglers have partners in Europe (mostly Italy based gangsters) who know how to manipulate the European media and politicians to apply pressure on Libya to halt its inhuman treatment of illegals and the NGOs seeking to help the smugglers get the illegals into Europe. The smugglers may have overestimated continued European support. Then there is the culture of corruption in Libya which will often enable people smugglers to operate more freely. The bribery is still a factor but there are fewer powerful (heavily armed and willing to fight) groups willing to take a bribe. A unified government for Libya is increasingly likely and although it will likely not be a police state similar to what Kaddafi ran it will have security forces that are able to shut down the smugglers as thoroughly as Kadaffi did.

July 17, 2018: Most of the disrupted (by fighting) oil production and export facilities were working again, for a few days, until there was another incident. Oil exports from the Zawiya export facility were halted because of an attack on the Sahara oil fields, which supplies Zawiya. Four workers were kidnapped by local tribesmen. Two hostages were soon released but the other two (one of them a European engineer) were being held for ransom. During a recent (until early July) month of violence the mayhem turned out to be somewhat organized in that some of the attackers were paid to get join together and try to seize control of facilities and then demand high pay and permanent status as PDG ((Petroleum Defense Guards). This scam is usually (but not always) attempted by local tribes or militias that see nearby oil facilities (pumping, pipelines, export terminals) as an economic opportunity that potentially worth a lot of money if you are willing to fight for it. The problem is there are often competing groups willing to fight for the right to be the highly paid (and not very reliable) PDG. The only solution to this problem is a national government that can provide law and order.

The most recent attack was on part of the Sahara facility, which is largest oil field in Libya and before the revolution in 2011 accounted for 17 percent of national production. Currently it can, when undisturbed, still produce the same amount, 270,000 BPD (barrels per day), as it did in 2011. The Sahara field was developed and managed by a multinational (Spain, France, Austria and Norway) effort and that means there are a lot of foreign workers there, mainly to deal with the high tech stuff.

Normally the main source of interruption is extortionate oil facility guards or other local militia problems. Despite these constant interruption the NOC has continued to increase production in exports. By the end of 2017 production was about a million BPD. The current goal is to reach 1.5 million BPD by the end of 2018 and 2.1 million BPD by the early 2020s. This is far in excess of pre-2011 levels (1.6 million BPD) but is necessary because of the need to finance reconstruction and adapt to the fact that the world price for oil keeps falling, despite OPEC (the Arab dominated oil cartel) efforts to reduce overall production and drive up the price. The problem is that the United States and Canada are producing a lot more due to new technologies (like fracking) that open up huge new sources that were long known but not reachable. The problem with increasing production is that it attracts more greedy militias seeking to get paid.

July 11, 2018: In south central Libya (Jufra, 650 kilometers southeast of Tripoli) LNA forces have cornered an ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) faction believed responsible for some recent attacks on southern oil facilities (like the one near Jufra). Most of the remaining ISIL fighters are operating in the largely desert south, surviving as bandits most of the time. The LNA is tracking them down and destroying them, something no other organization in Libya can do.

July 10, 2018: The LNA is trying to confirm where a Bulgarian freighter carrying weapons came from. The ships was caught at a port (al Khums) east of Tripoli. It is suspected that the weapons came from, or were financed by, Qatar. The weapons were apparently intended for some local Islamic militias that oppose the unified government effort and the December elections. The UN has imposed sanctions on exporting weapons to Libya but there have been numerous violations. .

July 7, 2018: During the first six months of 2018 Libyan oil income was $11.4 billion. This continues a positive trend. Libya tripled its oil income (to $14 billion) in 2017 but that achievement has attracted a lot of corrupt officials. This threatens the ability of the oil industry to function. Despite the chaos since 2012 the National Oil Corporation (NOC) and Libyan Central Bank (LCB) were generally left alone to deal with essential matters like importing food and other necessities that Libya does not produce itself. Yet there is so much more cash available that more of it is mysteriously disappearing.

June 28, 2018: The LNA declared it had complete control of the coastal city of Derna, long a lawless place occupied by dozens of rival militias and Islamic terror groups.
Initial reactions of F-35 pilots and air force commanders has been positive, especially now that some F-35s have been in combat (over Syria) and gone up against world class (Russian) radar and electronic warfare equipment. What the pilots who have flown the F-35 agree on is that the software and the degree of automation built in is spectacular. The F-35 has a large number of sensors (receivers for electronic signals, six cameras and a very capable radar) and the fusion of all that sensor data and presentation to the pilot based on the current situation is impressive and makes the F-35 much easier to fly, despite all the additional capabilities it has. This was not some miraculous breakthrough but the culmination of decades of adding most of this computer, communications and sensor tech to warplanes.

One of the most useful functions the F-35 has is its ability to collect data on who is within weapons range passively (without emitting any electronic signals, as with radar) and use a threat library to quickly (in real time) compare what visual and electronic data its sensors are receiving and compare it to data in the threat library and present the pilot with the most likely match. This is not a new technique and was pioneered by the U.S. Navy for their nuclear submarines, which also sought to remain invisible (stealthy) to the enemy by using passive acoustic sensors and a library of water conditions (which impact how sound travels underwater) and local geography (how far down the seabed is) to compare what the sub is hearing to a threat library. The navy spent a lot of time and effort collecting sounds (whales, schools of fish, surface vessels and enemy and friendly submarines). The very sensitive passive (just listen, not transmit) sonar systems, and increasingly powerful computers on the subs enabled them to track ships long distances, in any weather and without letting the subject know it was being tracked. This was because American subs have long had passive sonar system and computers that used libraries of unique sounds made by individual ships. During the Cold War, the library was full of sound signatures for Russian warships and since the Cold War ended it has been updated to contain a lot more Chinese, North Korean and Iranian subs and ships. From the 1980s on, as computers and hard drives became smaller and more capable, these threat libraries became a key technique in submarine warfare. Naval aviators and the U.S. Air Force noted this capability and saw its eventual use in aerial warfare.

By the 1990s it was recognized that another new technology; data fusion, would be a key capability for combat aircraft (as well as ships and ground forces). Put simply, it's all about taking real-time vidcam, radar and other sensor data (sensor fusion) and other information about the battlefield situation (all sorts of databases and reports), and combining it to provide commanders with a better understanding of current operations, preferably in real time if you are a fighter pilot. The F-35 is apparently the best working example of this so far and what is learned from the F-35 software will be the basis for updated software for older aircraft.

But beyond the data fusion (and automatic sharing with other aircraft or systems on the surface) the pilots were impressed about how effective the pilot assistant software was. This is another concept that has been around for decades and more frequently installed in new aircraft. These minor advances get reported but never make headlines. But given the F-35s stealth, maneuverability and sensor/data fusion, most pilots quickly become enthusiastic proponents of the aircraft.

Data fusion was pioneered by those developing the threat libraries for American submarines but in the air, there was a lot more data to deal with and the pace of operations was a lot faster. To use this passive sensor/threat library technique in air combat there was a need for speed in processing incoming data and presenting it to the pilot. It had to be nearly instantaneous to be useful and the F-35 was designed around a sensor/threat library system that could actually do that and do it reliably and consistently.

For this data fusion to work in the air the threat libraries have to be updated quickly and the speed of those updates is still a work in progress. Like the navy (which adopted commercial hardware and software for its subs to speed the update and upgrade process) the air force is currently updating the "mission data files" too slowly to prevent an enemy, especially in wartime, from developing and using deception techniques to degrade the accuracy of the current "mission data files". The air force and navy can quickly collect examples of new data for the "mission data files" but that is useless unless the aircraft can get their version of the "mission data files" updated.

One reason for delivering combat ready F-35s to Israel so quickly was because Israel is one of the countries that has pioneered new technology (hardware and software) to address problems like this. Thus Israel is the only foreign user that was given access to so much of the F-35 source code and permission to modify that software to work with new Israeli developed tech to speed up the "mission data files" process. Israel demonstrated the need for this as soon as they received enough F-35s in 2017 to form a combat squadron and put it into airspace where new model Russian warplanes and electronic equipment was being used. While Russia and Israel are on good terms with each other, Russia does sell their new warplanes and tech to whoever can pay that includes China and Iran.

For this reason, when these early positive pilot reactions to the F-35 were dismissed by critics as PR the professionals knew it was anything but positive PR. With the Israelis, it is different because they are most likely to use those new capabilities in combat first and Israeli pilots have a reputation for delivering very blunt assessments (both public and otherwise) of aircraft performance. That bluntness has always been encouraged in Israel. For decades the U.S. has been building new combat aircraft and upgrades based on input from Israeli experience and that input has generally been very useful.

Israel has 50 F-35Is on order with the first 33 F-35Is to arrive by 2021. The option to buy another 17 was exercised at the end of 2016, based on initial experience. The first 15-20 F-35s were delivered as F-35As and Israel converts them to the F-35I standard. All remaining F-35Is will be equipped as F-35Is at the American factory and delivered ready for action.

By April 2017 235 F-35s had been delivered, mostly to the U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps. By mid-2018 over 300 had been delivered. Over 4,000 F-35s are expected to be delivered by the mid-2030s with more than 70 percent going to the United States.

The 31 ton F-35 is armed with an internal 25mm cannon and, before the SDB (Small Diameter Bomb) arrived, four internal air-to-air missiles (or two missiles and two smart bombs) plus four external smart bombs and two missiles. A new bomb rack allows the F-35 to carry eight SDBs internally. All sensors are carried internally and max weapon load is 6.8 tons. The aircraft is very stealthy when just carrying internal weapons.

Potential foes are concerned and are beginning to show it. In April 2017 it was confirmed that Russia had brought in one of its four new A-50U AWACs aircraft, in part to get a better look at the F-35I and test its capabilities. That works both ways. Similar Russian and Chinese fighter designs are behind schedule and none are in service yet.

In April 2017 one of four new Russian A-50U AWACs (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft was spotted in Syria. This U version entered service in 2011 but foreign ELINT (electronic intelligence) experts had not yet had a good opportunity to see how effective it was. To do that you have to get your ELINT aircraft close to an A-50U in a combat zone. In this case, the most effective ELINT aircraft turned out to be several American F-22s stealth fighters quietly (and apparently undetected) operating over Syria. Officially the F-22s were there to perform missions where effective stealth was a requirement. That meant reconnaissance missions during periods when the Russians or Syrians were angry at the U.S. Russia had some of its most modern electronic warfare systems operational and vulnerable to close examination by American and Israeli ELINT.

The other American ELINT aircraft was several new F-35Is. These have been seen flying near the Syrian border but no one is sure if an F-35I or two slipped across the border to join the hide and seek action the F-22s had monopolized until recently. The F-22 and F-35 have more than stealth in common. Both have impressive software that automatically operates the many passive (they dont broadcast and reveal their position) sensors on board both aircraft.

The U.S. Air Force subsequently admitted that the F-22 was, as was always suspected, carrying out ELINT missions (early sales efforts pointed that out). The F-35 uses a similar but different array of sensors and apparently more powerful software to control the collection and analysis of what is out there and do it in real time. The Israelis have installed a lot of their own hardware and software in the F-35I (which is why it isnt called F-35A) and both Israelis and Americans want to see what the Israeli version of ELINT do, compared to the F-22 and, one suspects, an F-35A pretending to be Israeli for the purpose of playing with the hostile electronics found in Syria.
Fulke Greville.

ALCESTER is to host a new cultural festival to celebrate the life of one of its forefathers  Fulke Greville.

The Fulke Greville Festival, which runs from 28th to 30th September, will celebrate the life and achievements of one of its most famous, yet largely forgotten, sons, Sir Fulke Greville. Sir Fulke, who died 390 years ago this year, was Lord of the Manor of Alcester during the late 16th and early 17th centuries and owner of Warwick Castle.

He was a talented poet, dramatist and statesman, who was a significant individual at the courts of Elizabeth I and James I where he was Treasurer of the Navy and Chancellor of the Exchequer.

A contemporary of William Shakespeare, Greville is also regarded as a generous patron of many of the leading writers of the day including Christopher Marlowe and Ben Johnson. To mark the occasion, an historic festival of talks, lectures and tours have been organised to include presentations by leading researchers on his poetry and plays, many of which have been compared in quality to Shakespeares own celebrated sonnets.

The programme will include visits to the site of his former residence Beauchamp Court, Alcester, Warwick Castle and his ghostly tomb in the Chapter House of St Marys Collegiate Church, Warwick.

Adam Busiakiewicz, an art historian and festival co-organiser, said: Not many people in Alcester know that such a fascinating figure in British history was born on their doorstep. Fulke Greville was a true Renaissance man, and was a poet, soldier, jouster, courtier and politician.

Amongst his good deeds for the townsfolk of Alcester was the giving of 300 of his own money to build a market hall. Alcester Town Hall, as it is now known, celebrates its 400th anniversary year in 2018 and will be the main festival venue. Sir Fulke, a long-serving statesman of the English Court, was granted ownership of Warwick Castle in 1604 and was raised to the peerage by James I with the title of Lord Brooke.

He went on to transform the castle from a ruin into the lavish residence we are familiar with today. Tragically, he died aged 74, after being murdered in his London home when he was stabbed in 1628 by a greedy manservant called Ralph Haywood.

The servant believed that he had been cheated in his master's will. After the act of savagery, Haywood then turned the knife on himself. Grevilles physicians treated his wounds by filling them with pig fat rather than disinfecting them, the pig fat turned rancid and infected the wounds, and he died in agony four weeks after the attack.

His body was brought back to Warwick and buried in the Collegiate Church of St Mary. The patron of this landmark festival is the Rt Hon. Lord Brooke, ancestor of Sir Fulke and eldest son and heir to the present Earl of Warwick.

Anyone interested in finding out more about the festival can attend a free launch event tomorrow, Wednesday, at Alcester Town Hall from 7pm, for the unveiling of the full programme of events. To book a place or for more information e-mail info@fulkefest.org.uk
Sri Lankas foreign policy and the power struggle in the Indian Ocean PM outlines multi-pronged approach to cope with the demands of the emerging regional order View(s): View(s):

The 22nd convocation of the Bandaranaike International Diplomatic Training Institute (BIDTI) was held on July 13 at the BMICH.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe graced the event as chief guest, in the presence of Foreign Affairs Minister Tilak Marapana, National Policies and Economic Affairs State Minister Harsha de Silva, Attorney General Jayantha Jayasuriya, Foreign Affairs Ministry Secretary Prasad Kariyawasam, members of the diplomatic corps and former public officials, academics, professionals and distinguished guests.

At the convocation 65 postgraduate participants and more than 300 participants of the Diploma in Diplomacy & World Affairs programme (academic years 2016/17 and 2017/18) were presented with awards and certificates. The training programmes of the BIDTI are highly focused on providing professional skills and encouraging discussion on global economic and political issues. Other than regular courses, the BIDTI conducts special programmes for junior diplomats invited from developing countries under the Technical Cooperation Programme of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Training courses conducted at the BIDTI have been sought after by people from all walks of life. Those who have successfully followed the one year Diplomacy & World Affairs programme could join the research component of it viz the Post Graduate Diploma course conduct in collaboration with the Department of International Relations of the University of Colombo.

In his keynote speech, the Prime Minister delved into power politics of the Indian Ocean region.

Here are some salient points of the keynote speech delivered by the Prime Minister:

Four Centuries of Western domination in the Indian Ocean has come to an end. Asian nations are re-emerging as economic and military powers. This has brought a new focus on Asia and the long neglected Indian Ocean region. It also gives Sri Lankas foreign policy a new impetus to play a significant role in the region.

The foreign policy of newly independent Sri Lanka under Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake focussed on Asia and:

Supported the independence struggle in Indonesia

Recognised the Peoples Republic of China

Called for a formal peace treaty with Japan

Sri Lanka and Australia proposed the Colombo Plan at the Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Conference held in Colombo in 1950

Entered into the Rubber-Rice Pact with China in 1952

Thereafter Sir John Kotelawela took the initiative to summon India, Myanmar, Pakistan and Indonesia the other Asian powers to meet in Colombo, in April 1954. The phrase non-alignment was used for the first time at this meeting. The Asian powers in turn summoned in Bandung the 1955 Afro-Asian Conference which was also attended by China and Japan.

The next step was a large gathering which included non-Afro Asian nations.

In 1956, Jawaharlal Nehru, Gamal Abdel Nasser and Josip Tito signed a declaration in Yugoslavia calling for a Non-Aligned Movement. Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka, one of the initial conveners of the first meeting of the Non Aligned Movement, played an important role during her tenure in office including holding the 1976 summit in Colombo. Sri Lankas foreign policy adjusted its focus accordingly. It was necessary during the height of cold war period.

The Colombo Summit was also during the peak of the NAM. However, subsequent to Soviet-American detente, NAM declined in importance. Thereafter, the Movement was left to re-define its relevance after the collapse of the Soviet Union brought the cold war to an end. This collapse, followed by the global financial crisis of 2008, has seen the major transformation of the global order. Following the end of the conflict in Sri Lanka, and related Human Rights issues that arose, Sri Lanka since January 2015, has introduced a new multi-pronged approach to re-position itself in the regional order.

New developments in the region and beyond have re-established the strategic importance of the Indian Ocean. The rapid growth of the East Asian, ASEAN and the Indian economies  all dependent on international trade  has resulted in the Indian Ocean becoming the lifeline of Asian Economies. The oil and gas from the Persian Gulf have to pass through this largely enclosed water body controlled by choke points. As a result the Indian Ocean sea-lanes of communication, one of the busiest in the world, are vital for the smooth functioning of the emerging geo-energy era. The most important Sea Lines of Communication (SLOC) run past Sri Lanka making it a strategic location for the control and safety of the sea lanes and communication lines. It gives Sri Lanka the opportunity of becoming the Hub of the Indian Ocean as well.

The control of the strategic foothold of the SLOC and the choke points in the Indian Ocean enables the control of energy. This has resulted in a number of geopolitical issues coming to the fore. China recognising its strategic vulnerability in the Indian Ocean and has sought to reduce its vulnerability.

As a result of Chinas challenge to the US in the Pacific, the US is obviously concerned about a possible Chinese expansion in the Indian Ocean. India, the strongest power among the Indian Ocean littoral states, and several other states are concerned about a possible change in the status quo.

Japan, Australia and several other countries in the region and beyond are committed to a free maritime order in the Indian Ocean.

As a result of this political interplay in the Indian Ocean, the region is in danger of becoming a major centre of tension. A power struggle in the Indian Ocean will no doubt also adversely affect Sri Lankas objective of becoming the hub of the Indian Ocean. Sri Lankas future prosperity depends on the stability of the Indian Ocean. A power struggle in the Indian Ocean also risks making the littoral states into spectators in the Indian Ocean.

The Indo-Pacific Strategy is a concept recently articulated by the United States. China appears concerned that this strategy could contain China in the Pacific and Indian Oceans and thereby increase its strategic vulnerability. Speaking at the Shangri-la Summit in Singapore, Prime Minister Modi reassured, India does not see the Indo-Pacific Region as a strategy or as a club of limited members. Nor as a grouping that seeks to dominate. And by no means do we consider it as directed against any country. Let this be the starting point.

Since a stable maritime order is a pre-requisite for Sri Lankas development, we have an opportunity to leverage our strategic location and our friendly relations with the key maritime nations to take the initiative to lessen tension in the Indian Ocean region. Keeping the Sea Lanes of Communication open by ensuring freedom of navigation in the Indian Ocean is a strategy to achieve this objective. Our good relations with all stakeholders make us most suitable to take initiatives to talk on the freedom of navigation in the Indian Ocean.

Sri Lanka accepts the concept of a free and open Indo-Pacific. The term Indo-Pacific is of recent origin. The issues of the Indian Ocean are not the same as that of Pacific. We in the Indian Ocean must seek to contain tensions while maintaining present tranquillity.

The freedom of navigation in the Indian Ocean must be based on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). There is no need for a new code of conduct. The immediate objective is to arrive at a consensus among all stakeholders, which includes the littoral states, on the manner of upholding UNCLOS in the Indian Ocean. We need to identify specific issues of concern and clarify the relevant provisions with a view to strengthening cooperation to ensure open sea-lanes. There will also have to be a consensus on new areas that needs cooperative action such as terrorism, human smuggling and piracy, which are not fully covered by UNCLOS. We must seek to accommodate the interest of all parties within the agreed principles. This initiative can be taken together with the Indian Ocean Region Association (IORA) and become complementary to initiatives to promote maritime economy, environment and Indian Ocean Region blue economy.

Sri Lanka has an important role to play in providing the space for discussions and consensus building on the freedom of navigation in the Indian Ocean and related issues such as maritime economy and environment. All stakeholders must participate in such an initiative.

Regional initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative, Indo-Pacific Strategy, Act East, Neighbourhood First, Free and Open Pacific and Indian Ocean, can all be treated as complementary. They can provide space for further integration of regional economies as well.

Sri Lankas participates in Chinas Belt and Road initiative since it complements Sri Lankas own initiatives. The maritime Silk Road further strengthens our role as the Hub of the Indian Ocean.

Japans Two Ocean Initiative strengthens emphasis on peace and stability in the two oceans and the concept of freedom of navigation in the Indian Ocean. Its emphasis on economic prosperity helps in improving connectivity.

Indias Act East and Neighbourhood first policy also complement our initiatives and in particular, the Sri Lanka as a hub concept.
And while the array of stunning yachts lining the harbour will inevitably dominate proceedings, this has always been far more than a mere boat show, celebrating as well the lifestyle that encapsulates the world of luxury yachting.

Each year the Monaco Yacht Show places an increasingly strong emphasis on this very lifestyle in an effort to attract the next generation of yacht owners and charterers, using the event to showcase a huge assortment of luxury goods, products and services, many of which have been specifically designed to complement the luxury yachting experience.

And this year is certainly no different. But what will be most interesting is observing whether broader trends in the luxury industry  which is worth approximately 915 billion today and is expected to reach about 1,260 billion in 2024  are reflected at the show. For example, millennials and Chinese consumers are currently being heavily targeted by luxury brands keen to make inroads into these two burgeoning markets  will we see this in evidence in Monaco? Indeed, MYS organisers have already developed public relations events, partnerships with Asian media, and social media strategies in an effort to reach such demographics,

Or will so-called green luxury be making an appearance, driven by rising concerns about climate change and environmental sustainability that is often taken on as a cause celebre by affluent, socially aware consumers? How about the growth of AI, with the digital realm increasingly fusing itself into our daily lives, and millions of high-end consumers already deeply immersed in digital behaviours?

One certainty is that visitors will once again discover an exhibition fully dedicated to the superyacht lifestyle, with luxury manufacturers and service suppliers positioned in the Parvis Piscine tent. Meanwhile in the Darse Sud tent and on Quai Albert Ier, a host of nautical suppliers will display a vast range of high-tech marine-related accessories designed to seduce yacht owners, such as cutting-edge IoT products or James Bond tech-gadgets made specifically for yachts.

Meanwhile Quai Antoine Ier will be the site of a luxury tender exhibition in the Tenders & Toys zone. First launched at last years Monaco Yacht Show, so successful was the inaugural edition that it is returning even bigger and better with an impressive exhibition of luxury tenders, accessories and nautical leisure goods.

Then theres the Car Deck, the Monaco Yacht Shows ultra-prestigious car exhibition featuring a total of 12 special cars rebuilt from classic models, along with the Starboard lounge and art exhibition - named the Art Pavilion - which will both add to the lifestyle focus on the Quai Antoine Ier.

But thats not all. The renewed participation of Swiss watch brand Ulysse Nardin as official sponsor of the show marks a decade-long collaboration. This year the brand will display its luxury timepiece collections, including a limited edition series made especially for MYS 2018, in the Upper Deck Lounge, the exhibition-lounge area reserved for the shows luxury partners and participants.

Whatever the luxury trends youll encounter at MYS 2018, they are certain to be evolving in perfect harmony with trends in the world of luxury yachting, such is the perpetual synergy between the two.

MYS 2018 will take place from 26  29 September.
The largest ever Pagani gathering in the UK, valued at well over 35 million, the exceptional convoy was led by the Italian hypercar makers founder, Horacio Pagani, driving currently the worlds most expensive new car, the exclusive Zonda HP Barchetta.

With an estimated value of 15million, it is the first of just three such open-topped models planned to be made, with this unique example being Horacio Paganis personal car, and the other two examples already pre-sold.

Watched by thousands of onlookers during the run down from London to Goodwood, the jaw-dropping convoy turned heads where ever it went.

After an overnight stop, the procesion continued on to Goodwood, with the cars all descending on the 2018 Festival of Speed in unison and being parked-up in a specially reserved row.

Away from this special display, Festival of Speed spectators were also treated to the ultra-rare chance to get up close to yet more Paganis, with both the Zonda HP Barchetta and production version of the Huayra Roadster on display in the Goodwood Supercar Paddock.

The hypercar pair also made their world debuts at Goodwood, both tackling the legendary 1.16-mile Festival of Speed Hillclimb.

Commenting on its notable presence at the 25th Anniversary Goodwood Festival of Speed, Christine Clarkin, Pagani UKs Dealer Principal said, We were really delighted to be involved with the Goodwood Festival of Speed once again in such a high-profile way, and to be one of the many amazing attractions at this world-leading, must-attend event.

It was very rewarding to meet with so many keen, appreciative and knowledgeable enthusiasts at Goodwood, especially given their appreciation of art and design meeting engineering excellence.

Founded in 1992 by Argentinian-born Horacio Pagani, his inaugural model, the now-iconic Zonda, was first revealed to instant acclaim at the 1999 Geneva Motor Show, with the subsequent Huayra debuting in 2011.
Sony Pictures Televisions (SPT) International Production and Worldwide Distribution divisions have jointly greenlit an eight-part drama based on Anthony Horowitzs Alex Rider novels, from Eleventh Hour Films.

The deal marks the first pickup of an original spec series by the SPT groups.

Eleventh Hour optioned the screen rights to Horowitzs novels last year, which chart the adventures of a reluctant teen superspy on his missions to save the world. The series of novels have sold over 19 million copies worldwide, with the books translated into 28 languages.

The adaptation, penned by BAFTA- winning screenwriter Guy Burt (Bletchley Circle, The Borgias, The Hole), begins with the second book in the series, Point Blanc, published in 2001 in the UK and 2002 in North America. EHFs Eve Gutierrez and Jill Green will executive produce the TV series alongside Horowitz and Burt.

We identified Alex Rider some time ago as we were looking for the right project to take this leap, and were thrilled it has come together as our very first spec series, said SPTs Wayne Garvie, President, International Production, and Keith Le Goy, President, Worldwide Distribution and Networks. This is a big-brand property with a passionate following, and with Guys fantastic writing and the talented team at EHF, we are pleased to be bringing these gripping stories to life and making a unique show that will appeal to young-adult audiences around the world.

Eve Gutierrez, Exec Producer and Head of Talent at EHF said: With the television landscape evolving so rapidly it feels like the perfect moment to be partnering with SPT on Alex Rider and even more exciting that it will be their first original commission. The combination of Guy Burts brilliant character-driven scripts and the legacy of Anthony Horowitzs books gives us all the ingredients for a truly distinctive spy drama.

Anthony Horowitz comments: So many Alex Rider fans have been asking me when he would be returning to the screen  and I couldnt be more excited that its finally happening. Guy Burt has perfectly captured the danger and excitement of the books and Im sure the series will have universal appeal.



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Monday 05 September, 2016 Reliable information reaching Biafra writers desk has it that the life of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indi...
In February of this year, the Trump administration unveiled new policies that, if implemented, would effectively bar people living with HIV from serving in the military. The policy was outlined in a Department of Defense memo and described by Under Secretary of Defense for Personal Readiness Robert Wilkie as a "deploy or be removed policy," which the administration claims is meant to improve military readiness for deployment. The policy instructs the Pentagon to discharge any service member who is unable to be deployed outside of the country for more than 12 months. Unfortunately, because of archaic and discriminatory regulations that were put in place before the advent of antiretroviral therapies, all HIV-positive soldiers are seen as "undeployable." This would mean that, under the Trump administration, all current service members living with HIV would be discharged as early as October 1st. Moreover, civilians living with HIV who wish to join the military are currently barred from doing so and unfortunately this rule would reinforce this unreasonable bar to military service.

An estimated 1,200 people living with HIV currently serve in our military with honor and distinction, and AIDS United opposes this and any policy that tries to use military readiness as an excuse to promote an ideology of discrimination and stigma. Just as was the case with recent attempts to bar transgender individuals from military service, this latest discriminatory decision is rooted in prejudice and the politics of division. We are heartened that a court challenge has already been filed by Lambda Legal representing Sergeant Nick Harrison and hope that the courts will prevent this rule from taking effect. This nation is built on the principles of freedom and justice, and we stand on their side in this fight. We urge this administration to reconsider its decision and to allow people living with HIV to serve without limitation or qualification.

[Note from TheBody: This article was originally published by AIDS United on July 23, 2018. We have cross-posted it with their permission.]
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Linkedin Ary Hermawan (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, July 24, 2018 09:34 1190 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9ef6096b 1 Opinion #commentary,rape,rape-culture,rape-victim,gender-based-violence,sexual-abuse,violence-against-children Free

On Oct. 12, 2016, Indonesia introduced one of the worlds toughest antirape laws. Initiated by President Joko Jokowi Widodo in response to national outrage over the gang rape and killing of a 14-year-old girl in Bengkulu, the revised Child Protection Law was a warning to potential offenders that the punishment for child rape would be unforgiving: forced chemical castration.



A tough law, seen as cruel and inhumane by human rights activists, is now in place. Yet, Indonesia is still failing its children.



In an ironic and tragic twist, the very same law was used to punish a child for simply being a victim to the failures of the state and society to protect her, as in the case of a 15-year-old girl in Batanghari, Jambi, who was sentenced to six months in jail for aborting her 8-month-old fetus.



The girl, who was known to be quiet and rarely left her house, lived with her 18-year-old brother and 38-year-old mother. Her brother allegedly raped her repeatedly. Her mother, who was abandoned by her father, helped her terminate the pregnancy.



Abortion is illegal here, except for health reasons or for rape victims. The Jambi girl was still charged with a crime, however, as abortion is legal only if it is done within the first 40 days of pregnancy and carried out by medical professionals.



That being said, her being sent to jail still reeks of injustice. Shes only 15. She was carrying her brothers baby. And her mother might have encouraged her to abort the baby for fear of being shamed by neighbors.



Her case sums up how the new law has miserably failed to serve its purpose. It reflects everything that is wrong with how the country deals with sexual abuse: that rape is the by-product of a permissive, immoral society and that stricter laws or harsher punishments would be the silver bullet to end it.



The Jambi familys tragedy barely made headlines in national media. Local media reported extensively on the case, but it was largely framed as an incest and murder story in which the girl was both victim and perpetrator.



It was no surprise that some local media mistakenly reported that the girl and the brother were found guilty of incest that led to an abortion, when the two were not charged with incest between siblings  which nevertheless is not clearly regulated in the countrys criminal justice system.



The girl was charged with abortion in Article 77 of the Child Protection Law, while her brother was charged with abortion as well as child sexual abuse as stipulated under Article 81 of the same law.



By framing it as a story of incest, the local media implied that the sexual relationship between the brother and sister was consensual.



The local press ignored their own reporting of the brothers admission that he had threatened to physically harm his sister if she refused to have sex with him, and that prosecutors had charged him with statutory rape.



The brother, who was sentenced to two years in jail for his crime, claimed to have forced his sister to have sex with him eight times since September 2017.



With the local media portraying the alleged sexual abuse as a consensual incestuous relationship, the case has been widely presented as another example of the current generations moral degradation, wherein the abused is often regarded as culpable as the abuser.



But perhaps the media are not entirely at fault, for they may only reflect what the public wants to see. The grim fact is that victim blaming remains largely the norm in Indonesia, with many religious leaders and public officials pointing their fingers to female victims attire in cases of sexual violence.



Recently, a local media outlet shocked netizens after reporting that a 16-year-old student in Bogor, West Java, struggled with depression and then died after having sexual intercourse with her boyfriend in an empty house.



She was actually gang-raped by eight people, including her boyfriend. The police have arrested the perpetrators, which include underage boys.



Unlike the 2016 Bengkulu rape case, neither the Jambi or Bogor cases have triggered public outrage, possibly because of a belief that the victims were somehow partly to blame for what happened to them. Was it rape? Was it consensual? Why did she go with her boyfriend to an empty house?



From the moral standpoint, everyone involved seems complicit, even the victim.



A strict law on sexual abuse and sexual assault is certainly needed to combat sexual violence. But it takes more than a piece of legislation to win the fight.



The girl in Jambi was not only a victim of her brothers sexual aggression; she was also a victim of rape culture and of societys blind obsession with morality, which led to a public failure to differentiate between a victim of sexual abuse and her abuser.



As long as we refuse to confront these problems, we will continue to fail our children  no matter how merciless our antirape law.
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Linkedin Okky Madasari (The Jakarta Post) Singapore  Tue, July 24, 2018 11:33 1189 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9ef66892 3 Opinion hijab,Muslim,National-Children-Day,children,Islam,religious-beliefs,students,school,uniform Free

The most visible way of celebrating National Childrens Day, which falls on July 23, has been through ceremonies after ceremonies.



And then? Thats it  until the same is repeated next year.



We will once again deliberately avoid discussing or even mentioning some sensitive but crucial and very real problems faced by our children, and how to find solution to the problems.



Therefore, I would like to discuss one real problem faced by our children: how teachers, parents and the government impose uniformity and forced conformity on children in many of the countrys state schools in the name of a certain interpretation of religious teachings, without considering the feeling and opinions of the children themselves.



By allowing this, coupled by a growing penetration of a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam, state schools have been suppressing creative thinking and creativity. They have become a breeding ground for intolerance and exclusivism, and even leading to fanaticism, possibly creating a generation of young people who resort to violence just to make a point and maintain their exclusivism.



This is true even after reports emerged that the head of a family of suicide bombers had received his extreme religious instructions in extracurricular classes of his state high school in Surabaya, East Java.



While such extremist ideas taught in extracurricular religious classes became prevalent in state high schools in the late 1980s, the recent penetration of fundamentalism has become even stronger, occurring right before the eyes of parents, teachers and the government.



Just take a look at the virtually forced use of hijab for female students in numerous state schools, from elementary to high schools. The hijab is not part of the school uniform, but the sea of covered heads at state schools suggests otherwise.



In fact, when asked by parents if it is part of the school uniform, the school managements will say it is not. But then, the administrators and teachers quickly add that they merely advise students on what they should wear.



But for parents and students, such advice from a school is like an order that is even stronger than a government regulation.



The distribution of uniforms occurred just last week at the start of the new academic year. As usual, the schools advise female Muslims students to wear their uniform with a hijab. How could new students and parents resist such advice from teachers as the school representatives? What would happen to our daughters if they ignored such advice? Would she become the only Muslim girl without her head covered? What would her teachers say? What would her friends say?



Uncovered girls in state schools from diverse areas, even nonMuslims, have reported about being bullied by friends and questioned by teachers.



The use of hijab in state schools has become a fundamental yet sensitive issue we have avoided for so long. While the schools hide under the word of advice, parents choose to comply and tell themselves the hijab is a noble thing, a good way to teach Islam and to protect their children by dressing them modestly. Or if they really cant accept it, they can move their children to a private school with barely a whimper.



Meanwhile, the Education and Culture Ministry and local governments have stayed silent because it is too politically damaging to even touch on the issue while unwittingly encouraging the practice.



I support people wearing the hijab if it is what they want. But conditioning our children to be exclusive, by virtually singling out females who resist teachers preferences for good clothes, exposes them to the example that suppressing freedom of choice is good and being different is bad during their formative years.



It is about creating generation after generation of youths who wont respect creativity, freedom of expression and being different.



What can we expect from our children growing up in this environment? We should protect our children from the suppression of creativity and the ideology of intolerance and exclusivism by freeing state schools from this hidden systemic suppression of freedom.



The government must make the bold move of ordering schools to allow students and parents to choose not to wear the hijab. School must discard hidden and psychological situations leading to hijab enforcement.



This is not a suggestion to ban the hijab in schools. In fact, this is a suggestion that students must be fully supported to wear a hijab in schools if they and their parents wish so.



But this is also a strong suggestion that students and parents, from elementary to high school, must be fully supported if they choose not to wear the hijab.



But dealing with mere clothing wont be enough.



Overhauling the material covered in religion classes is also crucial. The subject should aim at forming good character, morals and integrity and how to forge good relations with others, regardless of their faith  not merely discussing heaven and hell or memorizing prayers.



The careful curating of books to be used in schools is also vital, particularly in the face of studies revealing extreme content in textbooks that potentially condone violence.



But such fundamental revisions will require educating teachers to become open-minded. This is the toughest job and a long-term project, but it is essential as teachers are at the center of all school reforms.



Last but not least is the introduction of more liberal arts in schools. Reading literary works should be mandatory for all students and must be included in the curriculum, while critical discussions should be a way of life for students.



Lets encourage our children to dare question, dare to disagree and dare to be different.



As issue after issue piles up in our daily reality, we dont talk anymore about the follow-up of crucial problems like the Surabaya church bombing just over two months ago. We have no more space, memory or energy to further discuss children being used by their parents as bombers to murder others.



As the incident faded away from our memory, we neither seem to have the interest in finding out how President Joko Jokowi Widodos order to fight radicalism and terrorism in schools has been implemented. We largely respond to anything that is viral.



Lets hope that the President doesnt forget his own instruction, because as he is now busy seeking reelection, he doesnt want to discuss such sensitive issue any longer.



***

The writer is a novelist and visiting fellow at the National University of Singapore.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
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Linkedin Editorial Board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, July 24, 2018 08:14 1190 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9ef52652 4 Editorial #Editorial,rape-culture,rape-victim,rape,violence-against-children,gender-based-violence,abortion Free

A 15-year-old girl in Jambi is going to prison for terminating her eight-month pregnancy, a result of sexual assaults by her own brother who is 18. She was sentenced to six months in prison plus three months of work training at the Muarabulian Children Training Center.



After she serves her sentence, she will face a verdict agreed to by her neighbors, the village apparatus and the customary council in Pulau village in Batanghari regency. She and her brother, who was convicted of rape, must leave the village because of incest.



The village head, Damanhuri, called the siblings the perpetrators and editors of some media outlets called the girl an incest perpetrator or the lover in a forbidden relationship.



It is baffling to find that the media, the police, prosecutors, judges, the village apparatus and customary leaders all have failed to see her for what she really is: a victim.



Human rights activists have called on the government to review the case and release the girl because she is a minor and by her own brothers admission, a rape victim.



First, it was not incest, it was rape. Second, the girls mother, 38, admitted she was the one who massaged the baby out of the womb, with her own hands. What could a 15-year-old girl, who had been sexually assaulted at least seven times by someone who should have protected her and had borne the consequences all alone for months, say to her mother? Her mother, who is still on trial, said she was ashamed of her daughters pregnancy.



The Jambi case is not the only one where the state and society treat a rape victim not as a victim, but as a perpetrator. And for the record, most incest cases in Indonesia are actually sexual assaults, not consensual relationships. Father and daughter, older brother and sister, uncle and niece, mother and son: the hierarchy in the relationship says it all.



A recent report in this paper explained why many rape survivors have to bear it alone despite some regulations designed to help them. An exception for abortion in the 2009 Health Law is one regulation helping rape survivors who bear a child as a result of the crime. But the public is not informed enough while the victim has to undergo considerable red tape to access legal, supervised abortion if her pregnancy is below six weeks.



The Legal Aid Foundation of the Indonesian Womens Association for Justice (LBH APIK) said sexual and reproductive health services for rape victims in Indonesia, including access to emergency contraception that could prevent an unwanted pregnancy after the rape, were not always available in every region.



However, emergency contraception should be part of a full range of services, said Wulan Danoekoesomo, the founder of the rape survivor support group Lentera Indonesia. Victims needed sexually transmitted disease prevention and physical and psychological help, she added.



Certainly, a jail sentence is the last thing a rape victim needs. Release the girl.
The Gorontalo Cultural Heritage Preservation Agency (BPCB), which covers Central Sulawesi, North Sulawesi and Gorontalo, is conducting a delineation of the Lore Lindu Megalithic area in Central Sulawesi as part its proposal for UNESCO's world heritage committee.

Agency head Zakaria Kasimin told The Jakarta Post on Monday that the process was important because the megalithic sites, which are around 2,500 years old, are the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia.

"We need to delineate these megalithic sites, so we can identify its borders, as well as the status of the areas in which they are located  whether they are owned by the government or the locals," Zakaria said.

As part of the project will be carried out in several phases, including briefing a team of researchers, visiting the sites, conducting a focus group discussion and releasing a conclusion.

"We are targeting to submit the proposal of naming these megalithic sites in Central Sulawesi a world heritage to UNESCO by 2021," Zakaria said.

The existence of these sites was reportedly discovered at least two centuries ago. (JP/Ruslan Sangadji)

The megalithic sites are said to be located within the protected Lore Lindu National Park.

However, some of these areas have turned into the paddy fields and plantations owned by local residents.

"If those megalithic sites are indeed found within the locals' lands, we will have to discuss compensation, or we have to find a win-to-win solution for all," said Bunga Elim Somba from the Central Sulawesi administration.

Central Sulawesi is home to thousands of megalithic cultural sites spread across Poso, Sigi and Morowali regencies, giving it the nickname "Country of a Thousand Megaliths".

Read also: Strolling through megalithic village of Bena

The existence of these sites was reportedly discovered at least two centuries ago.

One of them, Bada Valley, also known as Napu Valley, is home to huge ancient stones that are said to offer mysteries of the Nalu, Besoa and Bada tribes' golden era. According to the agency, around 1,451 statue-like stone structures can be found in this site, which serve as pre-historic remnants said to be older than Borobudur temple.

The stone statues found in the valley have thin bodies, big heads, round eyes and lines depicting eyebrows, cheeks and chins. (JP/Ruslan Sangadji)

The stone figures found in the valley have thin bodies, big heads, round eyes and lines to depict eyebrows, cheeks and chins. Some are standing with half their bodies buried in the vast meadow. Until today, more than 400 stone carvings have been found in Bada Valley, however only 30 depict human forms. The biggest statue reaches 4 meters in diameter and is around 4 m tall.

Other than statues, Bada Valley is also famous for its kalamba, a drum made of stone. Around 50 kalamba can be found across valley in various shapes and sizes.

"All the megalithic sites have granite stones with the highest quality that dont exist in the mountains of Central Sulawesi," said Bunga. "It remains a mystery where these stones came from, since Central Sulawesi mountains do not have such granite stones."

According to a study by Germany researchers, the type of granite stones found in the megalithic sites are similar to those found in North America and the United Kingdom. (kes)
Kreativitat Dance Indonesia presents four contemporary dance numbers, each conveying a different meaning, as part of its biannual show.

Long transparent sheets of plastic hung above the stage, illuminated by blue lights. In front, an audience watched the slow motions of four dancers. Then the stage turned dark.

When the sheets were lifted slightly, one dancer walked slowly to the stage, with a long sheet in her hand. Other dancers appeared one by one, interacting with her and the transparent sheet, dancing under violet lights.

The four dancers, clad in black outfits, were Winda Batangtaris, Ida Ayu Rasthiti, Cherubine Gabriela and Nudiandra Sarasvati. With fluid motions, they interacted with each other, performing contemporary ballet numbers for a show at Teater Kecil hall at the Taman Ismail Marzuki arts center in Central Jakarta.

The dance, titled Transparent, portrayed honesty, sincerity and straightforwardness. Transparent was one of four performances staged during the show put on by Kreativitat Dance Indonesia and Ballet Sumber Cipta dancers.

The four dances were created by different choreographers, and conveyed different meanings and intentions.

Kreativitat Dance Indonesia holds dance performances every two years. This year, the event was called Dekat (Near), which, according to the events producer Aksan Sjuman, represented the ballet troupes motto  not to create something, but to discover something.

Ballet Sumber Cipta was first established by the late Bolshoi-trained ballerina Farida Oetoyo in 1959, and after her passing in 2014, it was continued by Arya Yudistira Syuman.

At the event, Arya also performed a solo dance titled Near and choreographed a dance titled Upik Abu.

He said he was inspired by his personal experiences. Near could mean that it is something that is close to me or someone that is dear to my heart, Arya explained.

His performance was also inspired by everyday movements, from drinking coffee to fixing his shirt. I got help from many people to create this dance piece. My schoolmates challenged me to combine everyday movements with contemporary dance, Arya said.

He expressed hope the audience would appreciate their creations and enjoy the performances. As this is something that is meaningful to us, we hope people can relate to these performances, Arya said.

As producer, Aksan explained that through the event, they aimed to present a form of contemporary dance that was rooted in ballet and incorporated theater.

He said he was also considering the possibility of incorporating contemporary ballet with traditional pieces. I think it is unnecessary to give an Indonesian flavor to contemporary ballet because they are different and people have their own preferences and taste, Aksan said.

 The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post.
With the presidential election just around the corner, it is worth noting that until about a decade ago, world leaders who visited Indonesia were always greeted with huge handmade portrait posters that were displayed across Jakarta.

The painter of the posters was IB Said, an artist who specialized in creating portraits of official state guests.

Said, who was born in Malang, East Java, in 1934 and died in Blitar, East Java, in 2016, created over 220 paintings of world leaders from 1962 to 2008. His works include portraits of legendary Indian leader Jawaharal Nehru, Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk, United Kingdom Queen Elizabeth II, former South African president and human rights icon Nelson Mandela, former German chancellor Helmut Kohl, Pope John Paul II and former United States presidents Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Saids posters  measuring four by three meters  often graced the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, the Halim Perdana Kusuma Airport, the State Palace and Merdeka Palace. He was also required to paint two 90 by 75-cm images for the meeting hall, where state guests were officially welcomed at the Presidential Palace.

Based on official protocol, state guest portraits were placed side by side with those of the Indonesian president and first lady. So, Said was required to produce numerous paintings of Indonesian presidents from Sukarno to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, as each portrait was only to be used once.

I painted Pak Harto (Suharto) and Ibu Tien (first lady) for 32 years, Said, who painted the couple 500 times, once said.

When Suharto stepped down following the political and economic turmoil of 1998, Saids achievements were highlighted by media outlets worldwide, such as Reuters, AFP, NHK in Japan, ABC Television in Australia and CBC in Canada.

Lee Kuan Yew, Prime Minister of Singapore, by IB Said, 1982. (JP/Agus Dermawan T.)

The tradition of welcoming statespersons with large portraits has only been practiced in Indonesia and a handful of other countries, making Saids work unique and rare.

Said was a very dedicated painter who worked hard for his country while leading a modest life, residing in a house he leased for decades in Haji Ung, Kemayoran, Jakarta.

He later moved to Depok, West Java, before finally settling in Slumbung village, Blitar, East Java, to live with his son.

Said later retired from his career as a state guest portrait artist because of his old age and because of developments in digital photo technology that allowed portrait posters to be created faster and easier.

Said had said the first part of his name, IB, derived from the word Ibe, the Madurese word for brother.

After studying painting at the Malang Fine Art School under the guidance of painter Widagdo, he furthered his studies in Yogyakarta under Trubus and Fadjar Sidik. He once lived in Bandung, West Java, to learn from painter Hendra Gunawan.

In the early 1960s, Said moved to Jakarta to join a state committee headed by Henk Ngantung and was tasked with enhancing the beauty of the capital.

During this time, he was assigned to paint portraits of President Sukarno on thick canvases, which were displayed in remote parts of West Irian (now Papua).

For 50 days I was in West Irian, where half of the people were Indonesians and the other half were Dutchmen, he said.

After the attempted coup detat on September 30, 1965, Henk Ngantungs committee was disbanded. Said was then appointed in 1967 by the State Secretariat to continue painting portraits of visiting statespersons.

Although he was proud of his job, he often found it difficult.

Photo samples were often the size of a match box but I had to paint them very precisely, he recalled.

Bob Hawke, Prime Minister of Australia, by IB Said, 1983. (JP/Agus Dermawan T.)

After the New Order collapsed and the Reform Era began, he was summoned by the Presidential Palace to return to his main occupation.

Since 2000, numerous artists have called on the government to officially honor Said for his loyal services.

As the State Secretariat was his greatest patron, many art circles believe this institution should bestow the honor. However, the State Secretariat turned the obligation over to the Presidential Palace.

The authority for bestowing Said with his much deserved award was again transferred in 2014, this time to the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry because officials believed his work was closely related to tourism promotion.

The ministry discussed the proposal at forums in Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta and Bali, however developments stalled, with officials arguing the responsibility should lie with the Education and Culture Ministry.

This ministry pledged to consider the proposal. However, in 2015 its leadership changed with the transfer of power from president Yudhoyono to President Joko Jokowi Widodo. Saids name has not been mentioned since.

During this years Independence Day celebrations on Aug. 17, the Indonesian government will once again award its regular Bintang Budaya Paradharma cultural medals of merit to figures who have given outstanding service to the nation and the state. Hopefully, one of those medals will finally be given to Said, who truly deserves the honor.
Will Jennifer Connelly take Tom Cruise's breath away?

The Oscar-winning actress is reportedly in talks to star in the sequel to Top Gun (1986), which propelled Cruise to stardom.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Connelly will play the movie's female lead - a single mother who runs a local bar near the Navy base - if the deal is made.

She won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as physicist Alicia Nash in 2001's A Beautiful Mind, which also starred actor Russell Crowe.

Cruise is returning to his role as fighter pilot Pete "Maverick" Mitchell in Top Gun: Maverick.

In the first movie, Maverick was involved with astrophysicist and civilian Top Gun instructor Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood, played by actress Kelly McGillis.

The sequel will be directed by Joseph Kosinski, who worked with Cruise in the movie Oblivion (2013).

Read also: Miles Teller joins Tom Cruise in Top Gun sequel

The actor has already filmed scenes in San Diego, but the main filming will resume in September, USA Today reported.

Actor Miles Teller of The Divergent Series fame has been cast as the pilot son of Maverick's wingman, Nick "Goose" Bradshaw, who died in Top Gun after ejecting from his plane. Actor Anthony Edwards played the role in the first movie.

Cruise's main adversary in the first movie, Tom "Iceman" Kazansky, played by Val Kilmer, will also make a return.

Kilmer, who is suffering from throat cancer, confirmed on Facebook earlier this month that he is "officially in the sequel".

Top Gun: Maverick is slated to land in theaters next July.
English heavy metal band Judas Priest are scheduled to perform in Jakarta on Dec. 7 at Ecopark Ancol in North Jakarta.

The live concert is slated to kick off at 8 p.m. and is organized by Rajawali Indonesia Communication, the promoter of the JogjaROCKarta Festival.

Pre-sale tickets are available online from 12 p.m. on Aug. 4 with a starting price of Rp 450,000 (US$30). Concertgoers can purchase regular tickets on Aug. 5 from Rp 650,000.

Read also: Judas Priest guitarist ends touring due to Parkinson's

The Indonesia concert is part of Judas Priest's worldwide tour, which includes performances in Argentina, Brazil, Japan and France.

The band released its latest studio album, Firepower, in March.

Judas Priest has been one of President Joko Widodos favorite metal bands, aside from Metallica. Jokowi attend the bands concert in Singapore back in 2012, reported tempo.co. (wir/kes)
The half-sister of Meghan Markle, who married Britain's Prince Harry in May, hinted on Monday she might go on the British celebrity version of the Big Brother reality show.

When asked on ITV's Good Morning Britain show whether it was true she was going on the reality show, Samantha Markle said: "I've worked in media most of my life, why would I not? Why would I stop living because I have a family issue going on?"

Samantha Markle urges half-sister Duchess of Sussex to get in touch with her father https://t.co/1QAXZpCpJ3 pic.twitter.com/JibsDNV9Lq  Good Morning Britain (@GMB) July 23, 2018

Asked again about whether she would appear on the show, she said: "Urm well, I would tell you, but then I would have to kill you, so... I don't want to find myself in locks and stocks quite frankly. It wouldn't be becoming."

Meghan's half sister also made a public plea for the new British royal to reunite with her father, Thomas Markle, who missed Meghan's wedding and made a series of contradictory public statements about whether he would attend.

Read also: Half-brother accuses 'phoney' Meghan Markle of 'forgetting' family

"I think it's really important for both of them that they reunite, for everyone, for our family, for the world," she said.

"He's very worried about her given the distance and the inability to have live communication, so he just needs to know that she's well, she's happy, she's OK and to touch bases, so I hope they get to do that soon," she told ITV's Good Morning Britain show.

Celebrity Big Brother, which is shown on Britain's Channel 5, is expected to be televised in August.

Meghan and Harry, sixth in line to the British throne, are known as The Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Their official residence is at Kensington Palace.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, July 24, 2018 07:02 1190 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9ef5100f 1 City protest,City-Hall,anies-baswedan,presidential-bid Free

Members of the Network of Urban Poor (JRMK) and Jakarta Pedicab Driver Union (Sebaja) staged a protest in front of City Hall in Central Jakarta on Monday.

They demanded that Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan remain in his current position and not participate as a candidate in the 2019 presidential election.

The crowd brought banners emphasizing their collective hope to see Anies complete his five-year term as governor.

Most of the protesters consisted of women who brought their children along.

The protest channeled the people's aspirations to have Anies stay on as governor, JRMK coordinator Eny said.

"The first eight months of his administration went without a hitch. However, we didn't elect Pak Anies as governor for only eight months, but for five years," she added as quoted by kompas.com.

Some of the governor's programs, such as the village planning project and official permits for pedicab drivers, have been supportive of the poverty-stricken demographic in the capital, Eny added.

"We don't want Pak Anies to make the same move that Jokowi made [in the 2014 presidential election]," she said, referring to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. (rfa)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, July 24, 2018 15:35 1189 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9ef73bbc 1 Business bri-agro,PTPN-III,financing,MoU Free

Agriculture specialist lender Bank Rakyat Indonesia Agroniaga (BRI Agro) seeks to double its financing in state-owned plantation holding company PT Perkebunan Nusantara III (PTPN III), specifically in supply-chain financing.

BRI Agro president director Agus Noorsanto said on Monday that the two parties had agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to boost financing for the holding company.

BRI Agro financing to PTPN III, including financing for employees and partners, amounts to Rp 750 billion (US$51.56 million) currently.

Agus explained that the lender had disbursed Rp 250 billion for 9,000 employees and retirees, Rp 50 billion for plasma farmers and Rp 140 for vendors.

We want to double the amount of funding for the financing schemes," Agus said after signing the MoU in Jakarta.

Meanwhile, PTPN III president director Dolly Parlagutan Pulungan said supply-chain financing was a solution to the absence of a government microcredit program.

Dolly said he was still waiting for a decision by State-Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno on whether she would continue the microcredit program. (bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, July 24, 2018 07:41 1190 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9ef52407 1 City Bukit-Duri,eviction,ruling,Jakarta-High-Court Free

The Jakarta High Court has ruled in favor of Bukit Duri evictees' class action lawsuit opposing their eviction from their houses in South Jakarta, carried out by the Jakarta administration on Sept. 28, 2016.

The high court judges rejected an appeal filed by one of the defendants, the Ciliwung-Cisadane Flood Control Office (BWSCC), said Ciliwung Merdeka community leader Sandyawan Sumardi on Monday.

The evictees were informed of the verdict by the bailiffs of the Central Jakarta District Court since neither the residents nor their lawyers had been given a copy of the appeal's verdict, Sandyawan said.

"We will obtain a copy of the verdict tomorrow," Sandyawan said as quoted by kompas.com.

The high court's verdict followed the evictees' class action victory at the Central Jakarta District Court on Oct. 25, 2017.

The Jakarta administration, under former governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama, evicted Bukit Duri residents on Jan. 12, 2016, as part of the administrations efforts to restore Ciliwung River to further decrease flooding in the city.

Opposing the policy, 93 of the residents filed a class action with the Central Jakarta District Court on May 10, 2016 and demanded compensation amounting to Rp 1.07 trillion (US$73.8 million) in material losses and Rp 104 billion in immaterial losses. (rfa)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, July 24, 2018 14:58 1189 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9ef724e6 1 City Asian-Games-2018,food,restaurant,certification,Jakarta-administration Free

The Jakarta administration is set to inspect restaurants to ensure their safety ahead of the Asian Games. Jakarta Deputy Governor Sandiaga Uno said the city would work with the Indonesian Asian Games Organizing Committee (Inasgoc) and the Jakarta Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (Jakarta BPOM) to implement the measure across the city.

Were committed to ensuring food quality. We aim to introduce Indonesian cuisine to the world, hence were attempting to give the best food experience to foreigners [visiting for the Asian Games], he said on Tuesday.

The inspections are aimed at ensuring food sold throughout the city is healthy and processed hygienically. The food should be free from contaminants that might cause poisoning, he added.

Under the program, the city, along with Inasgoc and the Jakarta BPOM, will inspect restaurants and food vendors and give stickers to those that pass the inspection. (vla)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, July 24, 2018 16:38 1189 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9ef7700e 1 City kali-item,river,anies-baswedan,pollution,Asian-Games-2018 Free

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan has said the Sentiong River, popularly called Kali Item (black river), which passes through the area near the athletes village in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, has been polluted and smelly for years.

Anies has been under fire for instructing that the river be covered with a giant black nylon net prior to the 18th Asian Games next month.

The governor blamed the previous administration for not cleaning up the river, arguing that if significant measures had been taken long ago the river would not be as smelly.

The problem didnt emerge overnight. Its been severely polluted for ages. We [the current city administration] only inherited the problem, Anies said as quoted by wartakota.tribunnews.com on Tuesday.

The city administration recently covered the river with the black net, which according to Anies was aimed at hiding the awful view and reducing the water evaporation that causes such an unpleasant smell.

The citys decision has sparked public debate and attracted attention from foreign media.

Anies, however, said the international media outlets only followed local medias news coverage.

Of course [the international media] put their attention on Kali Item too. Theyre taking the news from our media, he said.

He suggested that local media report less negative news about the citys preparations to greet the Asian Games. Lets work together and agree on which side [of the news] we want to show to the world, he said. (vla)
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Linkedin Rita Widiadana (The Jakarta Post) Denpasar  Tue, July 24, 2018 17:17 1189 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9ef78a31 1 National Yohana-Yembise,Women-Empowerment-and-Child-Protection,EarlyMarriage,child-marriage,child-bride,early-marriage,child-protection Free

Womens Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Yohana Susana Yembise said it was difficult to combat early marriage in Indonesia because cultural and religious values and norms had been used as a basis for the practice.

Child marriage has been such an ongoing, controversial issue. It has been practiced on the grounds of cultural and religious values and norms here in Indonesia, Yembise said during an interview with The Jakarta Post recently.

Minister Yembise highlighted the problem during the commemoration of National Childrens Day on July 23. I wish to extend a happy Childrens Day to the future of Indonesia. Save the children, save the future of our nation. Protecting them from early marriage is one of our efforts, she said.

In a village in Boyolali, Central Java, for example, getting married before 18 is the norm. Parents there encourage their daughters to marry quickly to avoid zina (adultery and premarital sex). They also believe that when a girl is 17 but not yet married, she is an old virgin.

Read also: Child marriage norm on slopes of Merbabu-Merapi

UNICEF and the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) published a report in 2016, which showed that the prevalence of early marriage stood at 22.82 percent in 2015, slightly down from 24.17 percent in 2013.

The number shows that one in five women aged between 20 and 24 said they had been married at least once before they reached 18 years old. The report showed that many of them had married when they were 16 or 17.

In 2015, the prevalence of women marrying before 16 was 3.54 percent, and the prevalence decreased to 1.12 percent when it comes to marrying before 15.

The prevalence is also higher in rural areas, with 27.11 percent, compared to 17.09 percent in urban areas, according to data in 2015.

In ASEAN, Indonesia ranks fifth in terms of child marriage prevalence, after Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and the Philippines. However, due to its large population, Indonesia has the highest burden of child marriage in the region.

The government, together, with civil society groups, international agencies, local and international NGOs [non-governmental agencies] have been struggling for years to fight to end child marriage as it strongly links to the Indonesian governments strong commitment to protect childrens rights, the minister said.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) state that child marriage is a violation of childrens rights. Goal five, point three of SDGs requires nations to eliminate all harmful practices of early and forced marriage.

Research has shown that early marriage contributes to maternal mortality rates.

Emilie Minnick, child protection and gender specialist at UNICEF Indonesia, said there were many interrelated factors that underlie the practice of child marriage in Indonesia. Analysis of data conducted by the BPS indicated that poverty, poor education and social norms are three key factors behind the high numbers of girls marrying before 18.

However, the causes may vary from place to place as social norms, poverty levels and access to education differ, Minnick said.

Child marriage not only harms the girls, their families and the community, but also has a significant cost on the economy and the development potential of Indonesia, with 1.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) being lost due to child marriage, she added.

Ending child marriage, she said, would help the nation achieve at least eight other development goals, including education, poverty and health goals.

Minister Yembise said the government had launched a campaign last year called Stop Child Marriage. The aim of the program was to demonstrate Indonesias commitment toward the Convention on the Rights of the Child, she said.
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Linkedin News Desk (Reuters) Ankara, Turkey  Tue, July 24, 2018 18:34 1189 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9ef7a67e 2 World #Israel,#Turkey,#Erdogan Free

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday an Israeli law declaring that only Jews have the right of self-determination legitimises oppression and shows that Israel is a fascist and racist country where the spirit of Adolf Hitler has re-emerged.

Last week, the Israeli Knesset passed a "nation-state" law, angering members of the country's Arab minority and prompting Turkey to accuse Israel of trying to form "an apartheid state".

Speaking to members of his ruling AK Party in parliament, Erdogan said the law showed Israel was "the most Zionist, fascist and racist country in the world", and called on the international community to mobilise against Israel.

"The Jewish nation-state law passed in the Israeli parliament shows this country's real intentions. It legitimises all unlawful actions and oppression," Erdogan said.

"There is no difference between Hitler's Aryan race obsession and Israel's mentality. Hitler's spirit has re-emerged among administrators in Israel," he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by saying that under Erdogan, Turkey was turning into a "dark dictatorship", accusing the Turkish president of "massacring Syrians and Kurds".

Erdogan said Israel had shown itself to be a "terror state" by attacking Palestinians with tanks and artillery, adding that the move would "drown the region and world in blood and suffering".

The law, backed by Israel's right-wing government, passed through parliament after months of political argument.

"This is a defining moment in the annals of Zionism and the history of the state of Israel," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had told the Knesset.

The European Union's foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini also expressed her concern last week, saying the law would complicate a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Turkey and Israel, former allies, expelled each other's top diplomats in May during a row over clashes in which dozens of Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces on the Gaza border. However, the two sides continue to trade with one another.

The two countries have long been at loggerheads over Israel's policy towards the Palestinians and Jerusalem's status. Erdogan has called for a summit of Muslim leaders twice in the past six months after U.S. President Donald Trump decided to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, July 24, 2018 13:40 1189 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9ef6f51c 1 Business government,World-Bank,loan,agrarian-reform,criticism Free

The Agrarian Reform Consortium (KPA) has called on the government to cancel US$200 million loan from World Bank because the activities that will be funded by loan is "nothing to do with agrarian reform".

Agrarian reform is not a land registration program, land certification or the creation of maps, KPA secretary-general Dewi Kartika pointed out in a press release obtained by The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

She explained that agrarian reform was an effort to resolve a country or regions disparity in land ownership, with small farmers and indigenous people controlling very small plots of land to use as a source of income.

Previously, Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister and National Land Agency (BPN) head Sofyan Djalil announced that World Bank had agreed to disburse a $200 million loan for an agrarian reform program.

World Bank said in a statement that the fund would be used to finance One Map Program which will help land users obtain clarity and security of tenure and access to land and natural resources.

"The program will accelerate the governments agrarian efforts through participatory mapping, electronic land information services, and systematic and complete land registration," World Bank said in a statement.

However, Dewi said the government and World Bank could not claim that the fund would be used to fund the acceleration of land reform when the activity contradicted the very definition of agrarian reform itself.

She said agrarian reform should be able to resolve prolonged agrarian conflicts by introducing a policy that could recover peoples control of the land.

With such objectives, land reform will give these people the opportunity to own land, Dewi said, adding that meanwhile, land certification is only a government service for existing landowners.

It is not fair that generations of people have to shoulder the loan. (bbn).
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Linkedin Dian Septiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, July 24, 2018 08:18 1190 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9ef533e7 1 World #Netherlands,#Indonesia,#rape,#students Free

Indonesian students in Rotterdam, Netherlands have been urged to be more cautious while out at night and in the early morning hours following the reported rape of an Indonesian exchange student on Saturday.

Zaid Ramadhan Hanan, a university student in Rotterdam, said school campuses were quiet during school breaks.

This is the first such incident involving an Indonesian student, he told The Jakarta Post on Monday, but six months ago I heard the same case happened to another international student.

He said Indonesian students should be more cautious following the reported incident, even though it was common for students to leave campus at night or in the early hours of the day.

We have a quick-response group in case something happens and share emergency contacts, he said.

A local news report said Rotterdam Police were investigating the case. A police report said the victim was riding a bicycle from Rotterdam Station to her residence at around 5:30 a.m. on Saturday and, shortly after she locked up her bike, she was allegedly attacked by the assailant.

Rotterdam Police have questioned 20 witnesses and identified the route taken by the Indonesian student. Furthermore, images from CCTVs were obtained to identify the alleged offender, who police suspect was a dark-skinned man wearing a hooded jacket and riding a black bicycle.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, July 24, 2018 14:26 1189 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9ef70111 1 Politics #Indonesia,#politics,#PoliticalParties,#coalition Free

The six political parties standing behind President Joko Jokowi Widodos reelection bid have agreed on a vice-presidential candidate after party leaders met with the President at Bogor Palace on Monday evening.

The meeting was attended by Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, Nasdem Party chairman Surya Paloh, Golkar Party chairman Airlangga Hartarto, United Development Party (PPP) chairman Muhammad Romahurmuziy, National Awakening Party (PKB) chairman Muhaimin Iskandar and Hanura Party chairman Oesman Sapta Odang.

It was the first time all the coalition party leaders have sat together since they declared their support for Jokowi.

The coalition is unanimous, [the vice-presidential candidate] is in the presidents hands. There is only one name left, Oesman said after the meeting as quoted by kompas.com. It will probably [be announced] in one or two weeks to avoid speculation.

Airlangga said the President would decide when to announce the candidates name.

It is unlikely to happen in the near future because this is connected to political strategy, and of course, we have different ways of communicating to the public, he said.

[The vice-presidential candidate] will most likely be announced on the last day of [presidential] candidate registration, not on the first day, Romahurmuziy said as quoted by tempo.co, adding that there would be a follow-up meeting soon.

There will definitely be another meeting after this one. God willing, at the beginning of August we will be together again, he said.

A photo of the meeting was posted on Jokowis official Instagram account with a caption reading: The nations problems cannot be solved by just one or two people. Togetherness and unity is an important asset for the nation at this time. (kmt)
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Linkedin Margareth S. Aritonang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, July 24, 2018 10:10 1190 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9ef634cc 1 Politics kalla,presidential-election,Jokowi,vice-president,JusufKalla Free

The Vice Presidential Palace said Vice President Jusuf Kallas involvement in the legal debate over his right to run for reelection in 2019 was to find legal certainty and not for his personal interests.

Kalla has been in the spotlight following his decision to request that the Constitutional Court give him a say in a hearing on a judicial review petition filed by the United Indonesia Party (Perindo) to pave the way for Kalla to run for vice president for a third time.

Pak JK is aware of the ongoing discussion [about his nomination as a vice presidential candidate]. But he has to face the situation. He is seeking legal certainty, so that it will not cause polemic in the future, since the Constitutional Court ruling is final and binding, Vice Presidential Palace spokesperson Husain Abdullah told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

So this is not for his personal interests, but for the sake of the nations future, Husain emphasized.

The court is handling a judicial review of Article 169 of the 2017 Election Law, which prohibits a president or vice president from seeking a third term in office, regardless of whether they held office for two consecutive terms. Perindo, as the petitioner, claimed that the Constitution banned candidates from seeking a third term only if they held the position for two consecutive terms.

Kalla served as vice president from 2002 to 2009. He was elected to the position for a second time in 2014.

The former Golkar Party leader has been touted as one of the most viable figures to be paired with President Joko Jokowi Widodo in the upcoming race due to his enormous experience as a politician and government official, his well-established network with key figures in the countrys political and business sectors and influence over Islamic groups that many believe would benefit Jokowi.

Political expert Asrinaldi from Andalas University in Padang, West Sumatra, said it would be easy for Jokowi to win the election if he ran again with Kalla. [Jokowi-Kalla] has successfully developed the infrastructure sector. People will find it difficult to find their weakness, Asrinaldi said. (ahw)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, July 24, 2018 15:52 1189 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9ef74e72 1 City traffic,motorcycle,Depok,traffic-violation Free

A motorcyclist fainted and fell off his motorbike after being pulled over by a police officer on Jl. Margonda Raya in Depok, West Java, on Monday.

At first, we thought he was pretending to faint to avoid being ticketed. It turns out he was truly unconscious, head of the Depok Polices traffic jam task force, First Insp. Fitri, said as quoted by kompas.com on Tuesday.

The motorcyclist, identified as Yudhi Candra, 37, a Depok resident, was immediately rushed to the nearby Bunda Hospital.

According to doctors, Yudhi had fainted because of a chronic ulcer, Fitri said.

Yudhi has regained consciousness and is improving under doctors supervision.

Depok Police traffic unit head Comr. Sutomo said Yudhi had been pulled over by police for using the fast lane designated for cars.

However, Yudhi stopped at the separator line between the slow lane and fast lane. As the officer approached him, Yudhi fainted and fell off his motorbike. (gis)
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Linkedin Stefanno Reinard Sulaiman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, July 24, 2018 09:30 1190 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9ef60543 1 Business FreeportIndonesia,Papua,Mimika,shares Free

The regional administrations of Papua province and the Mimika regency must purchase their 10 percent shares in gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI), which operates the Grasberg mine in Papua, state mining holding company PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum) has said.

But Inalum president director Budi Gunadi Sadikin has said Inalum would help the local administrations in obtaining loans and that they could pay the installment with dividends from PTFI.

We will pay for all initial transactions and the installments will be from the dividends. However, if [the administrations] have the funds, there is no need for a loan, Budi said on Monday.

The shares would be distributed to the Papua and Mimika administrations after the divestment process was completed and Inalum took control of 51 percent shares in PTFI.

In January, the central government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Papua and Mimika administrations on distributing 10 percent shares of PTFI to the two local administrations.

The Finance Ministry has said that the funds to finance the 10 percent stake would use neither the state budget nor the regional budgets.

Meanwhile, during a meeting with the House of Representatives on Monday, it was revealed that Inalum and the Papua and Mimika administrations planned to establish a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to hold 25 percent shares of PTFI.

Inalum would hold 60 percent of the SPV, while the Papua and Mimika administrations would hold the other 40 percent. (bbn)
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Linkedin Karina M. Tehusijarana (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, July 24, 2018 11:47 1189 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9ef678f7 1 National trastuzumab,cancer,cancer-patient,BPJS-Kesehatan Free

A cancer patient is set to go forward with her lawsuit against the Healthcare and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan) after it withdrew its coverage of cancer drug trastuzumab.

East Jakarta resident Yuniarti Tanjung, who was diagnosed with stage three HER2 breast cancer, and her husband Edy Haryadi decided to proceed with the lawsuit after their legal team met with representatives from BPJS Kesehatan on Monday. The meeting aimed to look for an out-of-court solution, but discussions were not fruitful.

BPJS still adamantly refuses to cover trastuzumab for HER2 breast cancer patients from April 1, 2018, even though we have reminded them that would be the same as taking our clients life, Edys attorney, Rusdianto Matulatuwa, said in a statement on Monday.

Yuniarti was diagnosed on May 10 and was prescribed with trastuzumab and three other chemotherapy drugs on June 24. However, because the drug had been removed from the agencys coverage list, the family would have to pay Rp 25 million (US$1,700) to obtain the medication.

Edy Haryadi and Juniarti have agreed to try and find justice before the law, Rusidanto said adding that the legal team planned to file the lawsuit at the Central Jakarta District Court next week.

They also plan to name President Joko Jokowi Widodo as one of the defendants as according to the BPJS Law, the agencys board of directors answers to the President, Rusdianto said.

The couple believes that trastuzumab is critical to her survival, but the BPJS claimed that its decision was based on scientific research.

BPJS spokesman Nopie Hidayat told The Jakarta Post recently that the Clinical Consideration Council (DPK) had concluded that providing trastuzumab to breast cancer patients was not justifiable. (rin)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, July 24, 2018 20:20 1189 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9ef7e3c8 1 Politics jusuf-kalla,PDI-P,vice-president,Constitutional-Court,Hasto-Kristiyanto,PPP,megawati-soekarnoputri,NasDem-Party,Golkar,Hanura,PKB Free

Vice President Jusuf Kalla is a suitable candidate for vice president, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said in a written statement on Tuesday.

The party says they agree that Kalla will make a good vice president judging from his past performance. The PDI-P considers Jusuf Kalla a national figure who continuously inspires others to unite the nation. Our highest respect goes to him, the statement, signed by the partys secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto, said.

The PDI-P believes that its chairwoman, Megawati Soekarnoputri, and President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo will place Kalla in an important position, considering his broad experience and reputation after serving twice as vice president. As to who will accompany Jokowi, Kalla, who has a reputation for building dialogue and seeking a peaceful solution to the Aceh conflict, has, of course, proven himself as a vice president who can cooperate with Jokowi, the statement went on.

Read also: Kalla seeks legal certainty amid calls for reelection

As to how much chance there is for Kalla to run again, the PDI-P would wait for the Constitutional Court's decision, the party said.

The court is handling a judicial review of Article 169 of the 2017 Election Law, which prohibits a president or vice president from seeking a third term in office, regardless of whether they held office for two consecutive terms. Perindo, as the petitioner, claimed that the Constitution banned candidates from seeking a third term only if they held the position for two consecutive terms.

Kalla served as vice president from 2002 to 2009. He was elected to the position for a second time in 2014.

Read also: Jokowi coalition agrees on VP candidate

The statement said all the leaders of the parties supporting Jokowi had agreed that the name of the vice presidential candidate for Jokowi would be announced "at the right moment".

On Monday evening, six party leaders dined with Jokowi at Bogor Palace.

The meeting was attended by Megawati, NasDem Party chairman Surya Paloh, Golkar Party chairman Airlangga Hartarto, United Development Party (PPP) chairman Muhammad Romahurmuziy, National Awakening Party (PKB) chairman Muhaimin Iskandar and Hanura Party chairman Oesman Sapta Odang. (dpk/evi)

Editor's note: This article has been updated on July 24 at 10:40 p.m. to reflect a more accurate translation of PDI-P's statement.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, July 24, 2018 17:56 1189 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9ef78ea6 1 City shooting,Asian-Games-2018,police,security,criminals Free

The Jakarta Police said shootings during their special operation to secure the Asian Games were conducted according to their standard operational procedure. During the operation, which took place from July 3 to 12, the police had shot 52 suspected criminals in their legs and shot dead 11 others.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono argued that the suspected criminals were shot because they allegedly had resisted and attacked the officers during arrests.

When one resists and retaliates against us during an arrest, we obviously should take firm action, though not by shooting [the suspect] immediately, he said as quoted by kompas.com on Tuesday.

The measure, Argo added, was conducted based on articles 48 and 49 of the Criminal Code. The shooting was necessary, because they potentially put others lives in danger otherwise, he added.

Argos statement was made following demands from a coalition comprising several civil society groups to investigate the shootings, as they suspected false arrests and premature shootings in the security operation. (vla)
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Linkedin Kharishar Kahfi, Apriadi Gunawan and Arya Dipa (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta/Medan/Bandung  Tue, July 24 2018

Evidence: Refrigerators and other electronic equipment are displayed on Sunday evening at Sukamiskin Penitentiary in Bandung, West Java, after they were confiscated from several cells by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). The commission, which is investigating alleged bribery in exchange for special facilities for inmates, has arrested prison warden Wahid Husen, a prison guard and two inmates on suspicion of graft. (JP/Arya Dipa)

Calls have gone out to the authorities to address fraudulent practices within correctional institutions across the country after the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) arrested Wahid Husein, the warden of Sukamiskin Penitentiary in Bandung, West Java, over the weekend.

The graft busters apprehended Wahid for allegedly accepting bribes from graft convict Fahmi Darmawansywah in exchange for lavish facilities inside the latters prison cell.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, July 24, 2018 11:39 1189 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9ef675b8 1 Politics #Indonesia,#politics,#TGB Free

West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Governor Muhammad Zainul Majdi, also known as Tuan Guru Bajang (TGB), has resigned from the Democratic Party a few weeks after declaring his support for President Joko Jokowi Widodo.

Its true, I resigned a few days ago, TGB confirmed on Monday as quoted by kompas.com.

He said he submitted his resignation letter to Democrat high council secretary Amir Syamsuddin, but declined to provide the reasons for his resignation, saying only that they were "personal.

Meanwhile, Democrat deputy secretary-general Rachland Nashidik released a separate statement on Monday, wishing TGB well in his future endeavors.

TGB will end his term as NTB governor in September and has been widely touted as a potential running mate for Jokowi.

We pray that his new status as a nonpartisan Muslim cleric will lead him on a path to a better political career as one of Pak Jokowis [potential] vice presidential candidates, Rachland said.

The defection is seen as a coup for Jokowi, with analysts saying that TGBs reputation as a respected Muslim scholar could help boost Jokowis electability among conservative Muslim voters.

TGB supported Gerindra chairman Prabowo Subianto in the 2014 presidential election. His support for Jokowi came as a surprise, especially as it was at odds with the Democrats' policy.

The Democrats have yet to declare support for either the President or his main contender Prabowo, but appear to have drawn closer to Gerindra, with a meeting between Democrat chairman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Prabowo scheduled for Tuesday night. (kmt)
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Linkedin Jerome Cartillier (Agence France-Presse) Washington  Tue, July 24, 2018 09:58 1190 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9ef62d2f 2 World Donald-Trump,Iran,Twitter,war,threat Free

Tensions are mounting between Donald Trump and Iran -- the US president's raw tweet threatening Tehran was met Monday with a similarly bilious reply, upping the ante in the high-stakes game of diplomatic chicken.

Trump's tweeted warning late Sunday to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani -- all in capital letters, the digital equivalent of shouting -- sparked questions about Washington's strategy towards the Islamic republic.

The US is regularly suspected of backing the idea of regime change, but analysts say its current stance may simply be an attempt to pivot after a week of dire headlines over Trump's much-maligned summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin and a relative lack of progress on North Korea.

The saber-rattling began when Iranian President Hassan Rouhani cautioned Trump not to "play with the lion's tail," saying that conflict with Iran would trigger the "mother of all wars" -- prompting the furious salvo from the US leader.

The Republican leader's response was reminiscent of the belligerent tone he took with North Korea last year.

"NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE," Trump warned Rouhani on Twitter.

"WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!"

A few hours later, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif fired back.

"COLOR US UNIMPRESSED," Zarif wrote in English, mimicking Trump's caps-lock message.

"We've been around for millennia & seen fall of empires, incl our own, which lasted more than the life of some countries. BE CAUTIOUS!"

While Trump's "tough stand" was hailed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it also provoked an avalanche of questions about its exact meaning and impact.

When asked about the president's motivations, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said he was focused on "the safety and security of the American people" and ensuring Tehran did not acquire nuclear weapons.

But she seemed to downplay concerns about his aggressive posturing, saying Trump has been "pretty strong since day one in his language toward Iran."

- Concerns? 'None at all' -

In May, Trump -- who has made Iran his public enemy number one -- announced the US withdrawal from what he called a "defective" multinational nuclear deal with Tehran, and moved to reinstate punishing sanctions.

For some analysts in Washington, Trump's harsh words were a political smoke screen.

"Frustrated by no progress w/NK; angered by negative push back post Helsinki, Trump is looking to vent, act tough, and change channel," said Aaron David Miller, a former US diplomat and Middle East negotiator for several administrations.

"If nothing else, Trump's ALL CAPS tirade reflect(s) reality that US has no Iran policy. Empty/ridiculous US rhetoric in response to same from Iran."

After speaking with European officials about Trump's warnings, International Crisis Group president Rob Malley said diplomats on the continent were not "really taking it seriously."

In Europe, Trump's tirade is seen as a way to distract from controversy over his summit with Putin and special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and a Russian effort to sway the 2016 election.

But the president stood by his remarks. Asked by reporters at the White House whether he had concerns about provoking tensions with Iran, Trump said "None at all."

- Saber-rattling -

While US ties with Iran and North Korea are different on several fronts, the words used by Trump to denigrate Tehran are similar in tone to those he directed last August at North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Several observers noted the similarities between the threats on Iran, and Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign towards Pyongyang.

In September 2017, in his first speech to the United National General Assembly, Trump threatened to "totally destroy" North Korea.

Nearly a year on, Trump has met Kim -- who he once called "Rocket Man" on a "suicide mission" -- for a landmark summit, and follow-up talks are underway between the two sides.

However, concrete progress has been scant so far on denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

Democrats have expressed alarm about Trump's Iran bluster.

"Reckless Iran rhetoric creates risks -- especially if words are unbacked by actionable strategy," Senator Richard Blumenthal said.
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Linkedin Shannon Pettypiece (Bloomberg) New York, United States  Tue, July 24, 2018 12:50 1189 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9ef69502 2 World Robert-Mueller,Russia-meddling,trump,lawyers Free

President Donald Trumps legal team has submitted a proposal to Special Counsel Robert Mueller that would allow questions only related to whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia in 2016, the presidents lawyer Rudy Giuliani said on Monday night.

The legal team, Giuliani said in an interview, would not agree to questions about obstruction of justice in the investigation out of concern that Mueller and his staff might believe someone who contradicted Trumps account, like former FBI Director James Comey. That, according to Giuliani, could leave the president vulnerable to a perjury charge.

For months, the question of whether Trump would testify in some fashion in Muellers investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election has been the subject of intense speculation.

Earlier this month, Giuliani said Trump was willing to answer "narrow" questions from Mueller, but with the assurance that the inquiry was in its final stages.

Giuliani, a former mayor of New York, said on Monday that he had not received a response to the proposal from Muellers staff.
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Linkedin Sri Wahyuni (The Jakarta Post) Yogyakarta, Indonesia  Tue, July 24, 2018 10:32 1190 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9ef64413 1 National #Indonesia,#students,#London,#SmartCar,#UGM Free

Gadjah Mada Universitys (UGM) Smart Car MCS team took home wins at the Shell Ideas 360 Awards in London earlier this month, beating four other finalists in a global competition organized for students to develop game-changing ideas to tackle energy, food and water issues.

The team, comprising four students from the universitys chemical engineering department, won the competitions judges choice and audience choice awards for their idea of developing a smart car capable of turning plastic waste into fuel that emits low levels of carbon dioxide.

Alhamdulillah [All praises to Allah], we were able to win both categories, the teams manager, Herman Amrullah, told journalists at the campus on Monday.

Other members of the team are Sholahuddin Alayyubi, Thya Laurencia Benedita Araujo, and Naufal Muflih.

Thya said to get to the top, the team had to compete in stages with over 1,000 teams from 140 participating countries. Five finalists, including the UGM Smart Car MCS team, were selected to further pitch their ideas to the judges.

The other four finalists were from the American University of Sharjah, University of Texas at Austin (United States) University of Bordeaux (France) and University of Melbourne (Australia).

UGMs winning idea involved the use of the heat from car exhaust fumes to break down plastic waste and turn it into liquid fuel, thus helping turning a waste product into clean energy.

With the idea and supervision of their supervising lecturers Hanifrahmawan Sudibyo and Yano Surya Pradana, the team engineered a car capable of processing plastic waste into raw liquid fuel that could be further processed into fuel ready to be used as alternative energy.

The idea also involves the use of microalgae cultivation support [MCS] technology to reduce CO2 emissions of the respective car, Herman said.

Secretary of UGMs chemical engineering department, Aswati Mindaryani, said more work needed to be done for the idea to be applied on the field.

But the idea really makes us proud, she said.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, July 24, 2018 17:26 1189 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9ef78abe 1 City job-seekers,crowd,chaos,Tangerang Free

Numerous women were reportedly trampled on at a job fair that was held by the Tangerang Manpower Agency at the Metropolis Town Square shopping mall in Tangerang, Banten, on Monday.

The fair, which will run until Thursday, attracted thousands of jobseekers who scrambled to hand in job applications at dozens of booths at the venue.

A jobseeker, Renny, received medical treatment after being trampled on by the crowd.

"Please. Please help, they are stepping on me," she reportedly shouted to nearby officers who were guarding the area, wartakota.tribunnews.com reported.

"My legs were injured," said the 23-year-old after receiving treatment.

Another jobseeker, Tomi, criticized the agency for failing to anticipate such a huge crowd.

"It was very crowded. I pity the women who had to jostle with the men for positions," the 27-year-old said.

Tangerang Deputy Mayor Arief R Wismansyah said he had instructed his team to address the problem, for example, by launching online job applications.

"We will create an app, which jobseekers can use to download their job applications. They won't have to stand in long lines and jostle for positions with other jobseekers anymore," he added. (vla)
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Linkedin Dian Septiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, July 25 2018

Bahrain has become the first Gulf country to be recognized for being compliant with United States standards for the protection of trafficking victims, its envoy to Indonesia has said.

The US State Departments 2018 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, published late last month, upgraded Bahrain to Tier 1 status in recognition of the kingdoms long-standing commitment to combating human trafficking and reinforcing expatriate worker protections.

According to Bahrain Ambassador to Indonesia Mohamed Ghassan Shaikho, this assessment was achieved thanks to the Bahrain governments commitment to the rule of law.
The portside city of Busan, South Korea, has been named the best destination in Asia 2018 by the travel experts at Lonely Planet, who describe the bustling city as a confluence of culture and cuisine.

For the third edition of LPs Best In Asia list, editors rounded up 10 destinations worth visiting over the next 12 months, which span East, South and Western Asia.

In May, Busan hosted an opening ceremony celebrating its title as East Asias Culture City 2018, as part of a joint agreement among Japan, China and Korea. Every year, three cities are selected to promote artistic and cultural development in the region. Busan shares the title this year with Harbin, China and Kanazawa in Japan.

The city also tops the Best In Asia list for offering travellers an eclectic offering of activities, from hikes up to Buddhist temples and hot springs to seafood feasts at the largest fish market in the country, editors say.

Busan is the second-biggest city in South Korea after Seoul.

Read also: Is it safe to wear a bikini in Korea?

In second spot is Uzbekistan, with its dreamy mosaic-clad mosques and Silk Road lore. Last year, the country announced new visa-free schemes, and introduced new air routes and extensions to its high-speed rail line in an effort to boost international tourism and attract tourists to its jewelled sites and ancient ruins.

And rounding out the podium is Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, where vintage boutiques, independent coffee shops and innovative breweries are transforming the city into a buzzing Asian megalopolis, editors say.
A hiking trail to Mt. Gede Pangrango via the Selabintana route in Sukabumi, West Java, has been temporarily closed until the end of the year.

According to kompas.com the closure is due to construction of the Selabintana Resort Office in Perbawati Village, Sukabumi.

The construction may be an inconvenience for hikers, and in emergency cases, evacuation could not be done properly.

Head of Mt. Gede Pangrango National Park Wahju Rudianto said the project should not hamper the opportunity for hikers to climb the mountain as there were two other trails.

Hikers can still reach the mountain using two other routes, namely Gunung Putri and Cibodas, he wrote in a message to kompas.com.

However, the park has a quote for the number of hikers that are allowed to go up the mountain. Only a maximum of 200 hikers may pass the Gunung Putri route, and 300 hikers for the Cibodas route. The now-closed Selabintana route was open to a maximum of 100 hikers. Since the closure, the latters quota would be distributed among the available routes.

Read also: Cable cars to connect Jakarta tourist spots

Meanwhile, Mt. Gede Pangrango National Park will partner with provincial agencies, police stations and local residents to anticipate hikers who illegally enter the restricted area.

Illegal hikes will be stopped and those who are involved will be sent downtown and given mentoring sessions as a sanction, Wahju said.

He went on to say that information on responsible mountaineering would still be available. (anm/mut)
With the busy summer season in full swing, Ryanair's cabin crew are all set to go on strike Wednesday and Thursday in Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Italy, forcing the airline to cancel 600 flights.

Five unions are behind a stoppage affecting 100,000 passengers, forcing the no-frills airline either to reimburse their trips or offer them alternative flights.

According to the company, "90 percent of affected passengers have been transferred" to another flight.

Spain, the world's second tourist destination after France, is the worst affected country.

The airline predicts the strike could affect "up to 200 of over 830 daily Ryanair flights" to and from there.

In Portugal and Belgium, Ryanair says the stoppage will affect up to 50 daily flights.

In Italy, unions have also called for a stoppage but the airline says its flights schedule there will not be affected.

Founded 33 years ago in Dublin, the Irish low-cost carrier has grown quickly and boasts lower costs per passenger than its competitors.

But employees have long slammed their working conditions and the airline has been hit by several strikes this year.

For Ryanair's chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs, these "are entirely unjustified."

Read also: Italy fines Ryanair for mass flight cancellations

"Ryanair cabin crew enjoy great pay - up to 40,000 euros ($47,000) p.a. (in countries with high youth unemployment) - industry leading rosters (14 days off each month), great sales commissions, uniform allowances and sick pay," he said in a statement.

But Spain's Antonio Escobar of the Sitcpla cabin crew union retorted: "In Italy, some 100 Ryanair cabin crew sent Ryanair a letter to claim the difference between the 17,000 euros they've earned and these 40,000 euros.

"The large majority of cabin crew don't have a base salary, which means if you don't fly, you don't get paid," he added.

Unequal pay

Unions want the airline to give contractors the same work conditions as its own employees.

"On board the same plane, for instance a Madrid to Charleroi flight, you will find four cabin crew members doing the same job but none will be earning the same," Escobar said.

One will be employed directly by Ryanair and the others by temporary work agencies, he added.

Unions are also asking that Ryanair staff be employed according to the national legislation of the country they operate in, rather than that of Ireland as is currently the case.

Earlier this month, a Dutch appeals court ruled Ryanair employees based in the Netherlands must be covered by Dutch law.

Ryanair argues that since its planes fly under the Irish flag and most of its employees work on board planes, its staff are covered by Irish law.

The Spanish government has called for Ryanair to provide a minimum service during the strike, as it is "the company that transports the most passengers in the Spanish market."

Read also: Tired of waiting, Ryanair passenger gets out and sits on wing

It wants Ryanair to guarantee "100 percent of flights" from mainland Spain to the Balearic or Canary Islands, as well as 59 percent of international flights.

It is unclear whether that will happen.

Profit falls, jobs warning

Ryanair on Monday reported first-quarter profit down more than a fifth on higher fuel costs and pilot salaries.

April to June profit after tax slid 22 percent to 309.2 million euros compared with a year earlier.

The airline expects more strikes over the summer "as we are not prepared to concede to unreasonable demands that will compromise either our low fares or our highly efficient model."

It warned that if they do continue, however, "we will have to review our winter schedule, which may lead to fleet reductions at disrupted bases and job losses".

In Lisbon, the SNPVAC cabin crew union is anticipating "strong participation" in the strike, spokesman Bruno Fialho said.

He said the mobilisation of cabin crew in other countries would "stop Ryanair from using other crew to replace those striking, as was the case during the last strike in Portugal," which lasted three days earlier this year.

In Belgium, "48 daily flights will be cancelled" at Charleroi airport, an airport spokesman told the Belga news agency.

On Friday, pilots in Ireland unhappy over pay and other conditions went on strike, resulting in the cancellation of 24 flights with the UK.

They had stopped work earlier this month and have called for a third day of strikes Tuesday.
Sunbathing in Tel Aviv or hitting Dubais fabulous malls will set you back a bit more lately.

A combination of high hotel and apartment costs and strong tourism has Airbnb rates in some Middle Eastern cities among the worlds priciest.

Middle East climbs

In the latest Bloomberg index, Miami and Boston took the top two spots in the average daily cost of lodging in private dwellings for the second straight year. Airbnb owners asked for $205 a night and $195 a night, respectively, in the two cities. However, the Middle East has been climbing in the annual index and this year has five destinations among the top 15 priciest global cities: Tel Aviv and Dubai at Nos. 4 and 5, and Jerusalem, Riyadh and Kuwait City also near the top.

City of Gold

Dubais expensive short-term rentals, averaging $185 a night in Bloombergs index, probably are a function of high hotel rates in the Emirati city, where more than 70 percent of hotel rooms are four-star or above, said Ivana Gazivoda Vucinic of the international real estate firm Chestertons. Dubais supply of Airbnb units more than doubled to 3,249 units in the two years ended August 2017, following a relaxing of government regulations, according to Vucinics research on Dubais short-term rental market.

Read also: Singapore men convicted over Airbnb rentals

Dubai has spent billions to pump up its tourism sector and hopes to attract 20 million visitors to the city by 2020, up from 15.8 million visitors last year, according to figures from Dubais Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing. Two U.A.E.-sponsored airlines, Emirates and Etihad Airways PJSC, have been among the worlds fastest-growing carriers in recent years. Should Dubai reach the 20 million visitor goal, it will be among the top five most visited cities globally, according to market research firm Euromonitor.

High costs

Pricey Airbnb listings in Israel may have more to do with the high cost of housing in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, said Yoav Kerner, a lecturer of statistics at Ben-Gurion University in Israel. Apartments in Tel Aviv typically eat up at least three-quarters of the average persons gross income, said Kerner, who studied the Airbnb market in Tel Aviv on behalf of a hoteliers group.

Since Airbnb owners want a premium over what they could earn renting out their units for a full year, that drives up short-term rental costs, he said. Kerner estimated Airbnb has helped push up overall Tel Aviv rents by about 10 percent, he said.

Several cities around the globe, including New York, have put various restrictions on the short-term rental market out of fear that the practice drives up housing costs. Airbnb spokesman Nick Papas challenged this idea, saying its being perpetuated in part by hoteliers.

Its no surprise to see the hotel industry paying for misleading reports about our community, Papas said by email. The data shows that these claims simply dont hold water.

Airbnb figures show that the average daily rate in Tel Aviv is $87 and the average rate in Jerusalem is $82, far lower than the $188 per night and $173 per night costs that Bloomberg found. Airbnb uses a different methodology than Bloomberg, including looking at rates of units that were actually booked, while Bloomberg looked at advertised rates.

While the Bloomberg index considered Airbnb listings in more than 120 global cities, the highest worldwide prices for short-term rentals can be found in smaller resort destinations, according to short-term rental information provider AirDNA. The Caribbean island St. Barthelemy had the highest average daily rate over the past year, at $1,127, followed by the ski resort city of Vail, Colorado, at $668, according to AirDNA figures for units rented out for at least 30 days a year in cities with at least 1,000 listings.
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The gang has reached the end of their quest but the story's not done with them just yet.

Welcome back to Super Reads, dear readers. Since I'm covering Transformers: Unicron, I figured I should Super Read the epic conclusion to... pretty much my favorite comic series ever.

And when you read "Super Reads," you just know that:

There are SPOILERS ahead.

This series has been dense so let's get to the unenviable task of summing things up before we get to the new stuff. Yay!

Transformers: Lost Light started its life as the Transformers series lovingly known as MTMTE.

That's "Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye" if you don't read acronyms.

MTMTE was a fifty-seven issues series (plus an Annual, a few Spotlight issues, and a few other odd stories) that detailed the adventures of Rodimus and the crew of the Lost Light. Their mission? To find Cyberutopia, the mythical home of the Knights of Cybertron, themselves the original Cybertronians who had created the first Golden Age before leaving Cybertron to spread their version of peace throughout the universe.

They went about looking for Cyberutopia by checking a map hidden inside one half of the shattered Matrix of Leadership... but they were never really THAT dedicated to completing their quest. Instead, the tales of the the Lost Light crew were filled with random adventures, tons of details on Cybertronian life, and a massive cast of mostly likeable characters who were trying to figure out what a post-war universe meant.

Eventually, the Matrix and its map were destroyed, leaving the Lost Light crew chasing minor clues until Rodimus absent mindedly carved a new map into his desk out of boredom. Since Rodimus was a previous Matrix bearer, it was believed that this map was genuine and it DID eventually lead some of the crew to Cyberutopia.

But we'll get there in a bit. First, let's talk about the main cast of the Lost Light book. Team Rodimus is comprised of Rodimus (the leader who you might know better as Hot Rod), Ultra Magnus (an uncompromising former war cop who is actually a really tiny bot wearing a big suit of legacy power armor), Drift (a former Decepticon who hasn't met a myth he hasn't believed in), Ratchet (former Autobot Chief Medical Officer- a born skeptic and likely most recognizable Transformer in the comic), Cyclonus (a gaunt and serious warrior who missed out on the war entirely and just wants to see a return to the Cybertron he remembers), Tailgate (a tiny little dreamer who also missed out on the war and is romantically involved with Cyclonus), Rewind (an archivist who was the only survivor of another version of the Lost Light), Chromedome (romantic partner of Rewind who is quick to love but devastated by loss), Brainstorm (a mad scientist whose traitorous turn as a half-hearted Decepticon helped him source materials necessary to build a time machine), Roller (a pre-war friend of Optimus Prime whose whereabouts were unknown for millions of years), Nautica (a Camien colonist, genius, and boat), Velocity (a Camien medic and best friends with Nautica), Swerve (a comedic bartender who doesn't know when to shut up), Anode (a treasure hunter trying to escape a tragic past), Lug (Anode's romantic partner and also her backpack), Rung (a disgraced former psychiatrist with a name no one remembers and an alt-mode no one knows what to do with), and Whirl (a sociopathic ex-Wrecker who just wants to build clocks).

So, yeah, it's a huge cast of characters and we aren't even CLOSE to done yet!

In the last storyline, Team Rodimus ended up finding Cyberutopia. It turns out it was a planet called Mederi, a place where the terminally ill come to be eased off this mortal plane with the help of telepathic illusions showing you exactly what you want to see. Whether you like it or not. It turns out the ancient Knights of Cybertron ended up here after contracting a terminal illness and were given a vision of the perfect, utopian version of Cybertron. Believing this to be real, the Knights carved a map to Mederi on the inside of the Matrix and sent it back to Cybertron so that anyone who wanted to join them in paradise could do so. Y'know. As long as they cracked open the Matrix of Leadership.

After escaping their own illusory reality, Team Rodimus and their new allies (we'll get to them) looked to the sky in surprise as their next adventure came a' calling...

While Team Rodimus is comprised mostly of Autobots, the Scavengers is made up mostly of Decepticons. The WORST Decepticons.

I don't mean "worst" as in "these are the monsters that will haunt your nightmares." I mean they are legitimately not great at the whole "Decepticon" thing. From a certain point of view, of course. These aren't the best soldiers or the best commanders. They are flawed individuals. They're also amazing. Like everyone else in this book, the Scavengers are just trying to make their way in a post-war universe and they do that by having wacky adventures and challenging your belief that all Decepticons are bad guys.

They also survived the Decepticon kill squad known as the Decepticon Justice Division. And nursed the mentally injured former Dinobot leader, Grimlock, back to a state of well-being! It's been a fun ride.

The Scavengers of comprised of the aforementioned Grimlock, Krok (a monoformer leader who wants to help other Decepticons navigate the new post-war reality), Misfire (the guy who cared for Grimlock but also has trouble aiming), Crankcase (a perpetually grumpy pilot looking for love), Spinister (a killing machine with low intelligence but high medical skills), and Fulcrum (a deserter with a disarmed bomb alt-mode).

The Scavengers made their way throughout the universe, looking for the next big score. This led them to the planet Frayus just as it was made into the staging ground for a three-way battle between three different galactic factions. Separated from their spaceship, the Decepticons found salvation through a space portal and ran. On their way out, they were joined by an accidental stowaway, Nickel. Nickel was the sole survivor of the Cybertronian colony of Prion and had found herself allied with one of those three galactic factions (hint: it was the one made up of Decepticons). Her joining the Scavengers was an accident but she rolled with things and joined the Scavengers on their next adventure.

That adventure? Seeking out the Magnificence. Not to go into too much more detail, but the Magnificence was a MacGuffin introduced fairly early on in IDW's Tranformers stories. It is a device that can answer any question posed to it and it had ended up in the... claws... of one particularly awful Decepticon. Scorponok.

The results of this escapade split the team up, with Grimlock staying behind on Scorponok's ship with a being called the "Firstborn" (an artificially created organic Cybertronian who would be used to harvest new Sparks to repopulate the Decepticon army) and the rest of the Scavengers (and Nickel) teleported away with the Magnificence and eventually join up with our main cast of characters.

On Mederi.

Finally, we have the Mutineers. Because all the people we've mentioned up until now have not ACTUALLY been on the Lost Light. You know. The NAME of the comic.

At the end of the More Than Meets the Eye series, Team Rodimus was led away from the Lost Light by the rest of the crew who had decided to take control of the ship and make their way to Cyberutopia without the command crew.

Why, you ask?

Because one of the command crew was Megatron. Yep! Megatron. The founder of the Decepticons who had a slight change of heart after four million years of war and had joined up with the Autobots. Don't worry, they had a trial for him but because of where the trial was located, Megatron was able to appeal for the judgement of the Knights of Cybertron. Since those guys had been gone for even LONGER than four million years, Megatron was assigned as co-captain of the Lost Light (along with Rodimus) as the ship searched for the Knights. You can imagine how well that went over with the crew.

Mostly because I just told you. They mutinied.

In the interim, Megatron got stuck in an alternate dimension (like you do in comics) and the rest of Team Rodimus has been chasing the Lost Light ever since.

The crew of the Lost Light, over two hundred strong, made great time on their path to Cyberutopia. Led by Getaway, the leader of the mutiny, they found a path between space and time that they were able to follow to make a year long journey in only a matter of weeks.

And in that time? Everything fell apart. Hell, it fell apart immediately. Rodimus and crew ended up stranded on an alien planet and attacked by the Decepticon Justice Division and an army of Decepticons who didn't take kindly to Megatron switching sides. Faced with overwhelming odds, they sent out a message detailing their funeral arrangements. When that message made it to the Lost Light, Getaway's tenuous hold on his crew began to slip.

So, naturally, he mind wiped the crew so they thought that Rodimus and friends had abandoned THEM. And the guy doing the mind wiping was paid for with the lives of twenty-five crew members. Things just proceeded to get worse from there. When the Protectobots (and Mirage) rejoined the crew after a long absence, they ended up figuring out that things had gone terribly wrong and, while trying to escape the ship, most of them were killed. Only the Autobot Chief Medical Officer, First Aid, and two Mutineers, Riptide & Thunderclash, escaped the ship alive. And even then, only with the help of Getaway's first officer, Atomizer. Getaway brutally murdered Atomizer for the betrayal.

Just when Getaway was about to make another deal for yet another crew mind wipe, the Lost Light arrived on Cyberutopia...

Transformers: Lost Light #19

Crucible (Part 1): A Dance Before Dying

Writer: James Roberts

Artist: E.J. Su

Colors: Joana LaFuente

Letterer: Tom B. Long

Editor: David Mariotte

This issue in a nutshell: Team Rodimus and the Scavengers confront Getaway and the crew of the Lost Light... who have been turned into Sparkeaters.

Bullet Points:

 The crew of the Lost Light, all turned into Sparkeaters, descend on Team Rodimus and the Scavengers.

 Brainstorm tries to reason things out with the Sparkeater Perceptor and gets acid vomitted on him.

 Everyone runs away.

 Grimlock drops out of a space ship and starts taking out Sparkeaters, only stopped when Ultra Magnus shoots him (with Crankcase) and reminds him that the Sparkeaters are Autobots.

 The space ship shoots at the Sparkeaters, scattering them so it can make landfall, allowing First Aid and his team to disembark and fill in Rodimus on recent events.

 The Lost Light appears, damaging the earlier space ship.

 Aboard the Lost Light, Captain Getaway has a conversation with Chief Justice Tyrest, appearing via hologram communication.

 The Lost Light flies off as the sky darkens and clouds roll in.

 The Sparkeaters attack again in full force, some of them exploding when our protagonists fire at them.

 Rodimus calms down and comes up with a plan worthy of Megatron.

 That's a compliment.

 While most of Team Rodimus and the Scavengers hole up in Ward Zero, looking for a cure for the Sparkeater condition, Rodimus and a crack team of warriors repair their only space ship and chase after the Lost Light.

 Upon boarding the Lost Light, the team runs right into a trap and only Rodimus and Cyclonus make it out of the shuttle bay.

 The trapped bots are engulfed in Red Scraplet infested oil from the Oil Reservoir directly above them.

 Rodimus and Cyclonus make their way to the bridge where they are confronted by Getaway, Star Saber, and SCORPONOK!

Last issue, Team Rodimus and the Scavengers looked up in the sky in horror! Now, it's time to figure out what they were looking at.

It's the crew of the Lost Light! The Mutineers!

But our heroes aren't looking up in horror just because the crew of the Lost Light is floating in the sky above them. That look of horror is because the Mutineers have all become SPARKEATERS!

Without going into TOO much detail, a Sparkeater is basically a mythical predator/ monster that hunts the sparks of Cybertronians. A spark is a Cybertronian's life core. Cybertronians are the inhabitants of Cybertron. Cybertron is a Saturn-sized mechanical planet. I've gone into too much detail.

The Mutineers land and start shambling towards Team Rodimus and the Scavengers, like zombies. In fact, these guys act very differently from the first Sparkeater we saw in the More Than Meets the Eye series. That one was much more predatory. And terrifying. These guys... no one knows how to feel about them. Except they LOOK scary and don't appear to be showing signs of intelligence.

Brainstorm decides to try and talk it out with one of them and chooses Perceptor, the scientist that Brainstorm both idolized and tried to prove himself better than. This.... doesn't work. Perceptor just vomits acid at the poor bot.

NOW everyone knows how to react: terror!

Nautica dives in to rescue the injured Brainstorm and Ultra Magnus calls for a hasty retreat. As our heroes bravely run away, Rodimus notes that Getaway wasn't among the Sparkeaters that were once his crew.

An unidentified spacecraft flies in right in front of our cast of characters. When something falls from the ship, Roller thinks it's another attack. A bomb. The Scavenger, Fulcrum, who turns INTO a bomb, assures everyone that what just fell from the ship was NOT a bomb.

It's a GRIMLOCK.

Sparkeaters are totally not zombies.

The former Dinobot leader starts cutting his way through the Sparkeaters until Ultra Magnus gets his attention by lifting up the Scavenger, Crankcase, and using the Decepticon's backpack cannons on Grimlock. Magnus wants Big Grim to stop all the killing. After all, the Sparkeaters are former crew members.

Grimlock isn't given time to respond. The ship he dropped from starts shooting beams of light that scatter the Sparkeaters, giving it time to land. On board are a couple missing cast members: First Aid, Riptide, Thunderclash (all previously seen escaping the Lost Light) and Wipe-Out (A blacksmith friend of Anode).

When the Scavenger Misfire approaches Grimlock, Ultra Magnus thinks the Dinobot is going to attack the Decepticon and is surprised when the two hug. They're friends. Magnus recovers quickly, surmising that the Scavengers must have found Grimlock in a weakened state and nursed the Dinobot back to health, thus earning his friendship. When Misfire asks Grimlock about "the baby," Ultra Magnus gives up on the plot.

But "the baby" is the Firstborn that I referenced earlier. Grim left him with a Cybertronian collector of antiquities known as "the Curator."

From this point, the newcomers detail what brought them all together which makes sense to long time readers but is a confusing bit of dialogue to both new readers (poor, poor new readers) and the rest of our cast of characters. Misfire and Swerve bond as they make fun of the summation of events. They would get a kick out of me. XD

As fast as I can: Grimlock was set adrift after fighting through wave after wave of Scorponok's forces and his distress call was picked up by First Aid, Riptide, and Thunderclash who had just escaped from Getaway and the Lost Light. The quartet made their way to the planet Troja Major to buy the parts needed to fix Thunderclash (who was wounded during the escape from the Lost Light). Once there, Grimlock dropped off the baby with the Curator and decided to join First Aid in taking down Getaway. They hired Wipe-Out because he had a ship with quantum engines (a must when hunting down ANOTHER ship with quantum engines) and they began chasing the Lost Light, using a tracking device hidden on board by First Aid.

Rodimus pulls First Aid aside to get the 411 on Getaway, making sure that both Riptide and Thunderclash know that he doesn't want to listen to them because of their previous mutiny. First Aid fills Rodimus in on all the dirty deals that Getaway has been up to since he took over the Lost Light, which we've mostly already covered. That done, Rodimus asks Wipe-Out about using his ship to find the Lost Light... which HAS to be nearby.

Nearer than you think. Before anyone can use Wipe-Out's ship, it is blasted by a proton missile from... the Lost Light! Rodimus' lost ship is found!

The FOUND Light? Not the same ring...

As the Lost Light pulls up, Rodimus notices a familiar symbol gracing it's underside. It looks like this:



Damn taggers leave our ship alone!

This symbol is one of the Knights of Cybertron emblems. In previous issues, we've seen that the followers of the "Grand Architect" use it. We don't really know that much about the Grand Architect except that they employ a bunch of unsavory types to do their work and fulfill their grand vision. We also know that they employed a number of blacksmiths, Cybertronians who help new sparks find their form, but having no more use for them, the Grand Architect had as many blacksmiths as possible assassinated. Finally, the Grand Architect has underlings that aren't recognizable as known Cybertronians, either from the home planet OR the colony worlds.

And now that symbol graces the Lost Light.

From within the Lost Light, in the Oil Reservoir, Captain Getaway orders his Chief of Security, Star Saber, to fire again. But they can't. The last shot was their last proton missile, the rest having been spent defending the ship from "the Phantom Fleet." Well, since the ship can't kill them, Getaway sends the remainder of his Sparkeaters after Team Rodimus.

From off panel, someone doubts Getaway's conviction, believing that the head Mutineer doesn't REALLY want Rodimus and company killed. At least not EASILY. That unseen voice thinks Getaway WANTS Rodimus to come aboard. As a giant hand rises from the pool of oil, Getaway muses "Whatever gave you that idea?"

Back planetside, our assembled Cybertronians watch as the Lost Light flies away. They also notice that the weather has taken an odd turn, as the skies darken and fill with ominous clouds. First Aid remarks that this same weather effect was happening on Troja Major.

While they're all distracted, the Sparkeaters renew their attack, this time in full force. When one (Joyride) nearly gets the jump on Rodimus, the Scavenger leader, Krok, blows the Sparkeater away. Rewind tries to recriminate Krok on this but the Scavenger isn't apologizing. He just saved Rodimus' life. Krok suggests Rewind redirect that anger at the real villain: whoever turned the crew of the Lost Light into living nightmares.

Our heroes take cover behind Wipe-Out's damaged spacecraft. Riptide hands out some weapons but Ultra Magnus instructs everyone to avoid killshots.

It would be a weirder war if everyone used blanks.

This proves... difficult and not just because Whirl is a killing machine. As Ratchet explains, Sparkeaters have so many vulnerable spots all out in the open and ready to explode. To accidentally provide an example, Ratchet hits the Sparkeater, Bluestreak, with what looks like a lethal shot.

As their position is overrun, more Sparkeaters seem to be exploding. This is hard on the Autobots, especially, because they're shooting their own comrades. Sure, these guys mutinied but they did that only to be rid of Megatron and even THEN they tried to do it as peacefully as possible. They FAILED, of course, but still.

Rodimus comes to the conclusion that this is all part of Getaway's plan. Rodimus is used to leading from his GUT. All instinct. He recalls something Whirl told him (antagonistically) just the other day: "What would Megatron do?"

Well, Megatron would already have three or four plans in place just in case his first idea failed. But he'd ALSO look at the big picture, calculate the odds, and come up with a cold, logical plan that had the best chance of success. Rodimus does a deep think...

And comes up with a plan.

Back on board the Lost Light, Getaway has returned to the bridge. It's an empty place but at least the mutinous captain has an unseen voice to talk to. That voice tells Getaway to stop messing around and kill Team Rodimus (and friends). To hurry this along, that voice is sending someone to speed things up. After all, there's another plan going on and this is all distraction to that.

"Benzene has been CLEARED. The pathway has been STERILIZED. Soon, the DRILLING will begin and all of this will come to an end."

That's a bold statement and, no, I do NOT know what it means. The Benzene Cluster has been mentioned a number of times in the Lost Light series. In particular, it was where three intergalactic armies waged a battle for supremacy of the region. It is currently in the hands of the Black Block Consortia. I'm certain I'll be talking more about this as this storyline moves on. Just make a note of it, here.

After a little more chit chat, it's revealed that the voice Getaway has been talking to belongs to a holographic... CHIEF JUSTICE TYREST!

OMG!

You don't know who that is? That's because this comic series is SUPER DENSE with material. Chief Justice Tyrest was one of those rare Cybertronians who tried to mediate an end to the conflict between the Autobots and Decepticons. He failed but he DID establish some rules that both sides agreed to follow, called the Tyrest Accords which mostly amounted to not sharing Cybertronian tech with other cultures. Sounds like a pretty decent guy, right? Right. In fact, he had a one man army to enforce these accords: Ultra Magnus. Tyrest served as a grand judge on the occasions where someone defied the Tyrest Accords and would have also been the guy to judge Megatron at the end of the war. If Tyrest hadn't already disappeared.

You see, Tyrest had a secret dark past. Earlier in his life, he was the bot who found out how to make the Matrix of Leadership create new sparks. When it comes to sparks, there are two types of bots: those "born" from hot spots found naturally around Cybertron and its moons (and colonies) and those "born" from the powers of the Matrix (Constructed Cold). In time, Tyrest would see his hand in creating the second generation of Transformers as a great sin as he became convinced that the Matrix spawned Transformers were a perversion of the natural order and predisposed to evil. That's why he's got all those drill holes. He drills into himself as a form of penance.

And it's probably that drilling that led to his own further madness. Because he decided to kill off the entire second generation of Transformers by using the Matrix and a Universal Kill Switch that he had created. Tyrest almost got away with it, too, but those crazy kids on the Lost Light shut him down.

However, before that happened, Getaway ended up getting captured by Tyrest and his Legislator army. He was both monologued at AND tortured during his time in captivity. So it's... interesting to see Getaway and Tyrest working together. I mean, they're both morally corrupt and they're certainly not friends. But still. They're working together. Strange bedfellows, man.

Granted, Getaway is also working with Star Saber. That's the guy who PERFORMED the torture.

Back on the surface of Mederi, most of Team Rodimus and the Scavengers have holed up in Ward Zero, the location of the telepaths that create the realistic visions that help the dying die in peace. It also makes for a nice bunker. The bots block up the doors but keep the medical equipment located within functional so that they can come up with a hot fix for... Sparkeater... itis. They're trying to cure the Sparkeaters. Which is good because the Sparkeaters are still trying to break inside.

It's also good because with the Sparkeaters focused on THIS group, Rodimus and a number of others were able to effect repairs on Wipe-Out's space craft and fly it up to intercept the Lost Light.

First Aid is quite interested in the Mederi telepaths. These guys aren't conscious but their lips are voicelessly moving. None of this interests Ratchet who shows a lack of concern for organic physiology. Which is funny if you're a long term reader because Ratchet was our introductory Autobot when the IDW Transformers series launched. He collected a rag tag group of human misfits on Earth which he really did care for... even though his lack of knowledge on their biology almost got them killed in a transporter accident.

Elsewhere in Ward Zero, Tailgate places a call to Cyclonus. Cyclonus is a member of Rodimus' infiltration team that's currently on it's way to the Lost Light. Tailgate really wants to be with Cyclonus but the ancient warrior is accepting of their temporary separation. The fight against Getaway is NOT going to be pretty and Cyclonus is planning to get vindictive. After all, Getaway's initial plan for removing Megatron from the Lost Light involved sacrificing Tailgate. Whatever happens now, Tailgate makes Cyclonus promise that they'll be together again.

Let's join Cyclonus and the rest of Rodimus' boarding party as their ship makes its way towards the Lost Light, nearly getting struck by lightning on the way. Rodimus chose the best pilot they had, Crankcase, but he's not very happy that the Scavenger isn't able to dodge lightning.

Man, I've BEEN on that road trip. Except it wasn't in space.

As you can see above, the boarding party is comprised of Rodimus, Ultra Magnus, Roller, Thunderclash, Whirl, Crankcase, Anode, Lug, Cyclonus, Drift, and Grimlock. So it's the heavy hitters. And Anode. And Lug. For some reason.

ANYWAY, their ship makes it into the Lost Light without incident, landing in Shuttle Bay Four. You might be expecting a trap at this point.

That's because this is a trap.

Once everyone is off the ship, the emergency shields go up and the blast doors start closing. Only Rodimus and Cyclonus are able to make it out before the shuttle bay is sealed off. Those remaining inside prepare for the worst. What they get are charged explosives going off on the ceiling.

This might seem anticlimactic but... wait for it.

Oil starts streaming into the room. It takes a little time for the boarding party to realize what's going on. Directly above Shuttle Bay Four is the Lost Light's Oil Reservoir. First Aid's recounting of recent events noted that Getaway loaded the Reservoir up with Scraplets, nasty little buggers who basically infect Cybertronians and eat away at their armored skin. This version (Red Scraplets) acts more like robo-piranhas. They can also act in concert, like earlier when we saw that fist rising out of the Oil Reservoir? That was a whole mess of Scraplets taking on a shape together.

Suddenly, the ceiling gives away altogether and the Shuttle Bay is flooded with Scraplet infected oil. When pressed on why the hell anyone would have Scraplets on board, Drift recalls that Brainstorm brought them with, hoping to get them to eat temporal energy in order to hide his time travel experiments.

With this all properly explained, the Red Scraplets emerge from the oil, combined into one giant, tentacled atrocity.

Meanwhile, Rodimus and Cyclonus have wasted no time thinking about the fate of their comrades. Actually, that's not true. Cyclonus brings up the fact that they just abandoned the rest of their team to a trap. Rodimus tells Cyclonus that the whole team is comprised of heavy hitters that don't need any baby-sitting. Right now, these two are focused on getting to the bridge. This isn't difficult since the entire ship is empty. Rodimus claims to know how Getaway thinks and is pretty confident on how things are going to go down.

But he's REALLY surprised when the duo gets to the Bridge and they're brought face-to-face with Getaway and Star Saber... and also Scorponok. That's the ringer Tyrest called in.

And that's our issue! Thanks for reading! See you soon!
Shares in Tesla dropped sharply after the electric car maker reportedly begged suppliers for refunds to help it turn a profit.

Suppliers claim to have been sent letters asking them to repay substantial amounts.

Worry: Shares fell as much as 5 per cent amid growing concern over profitability and flamboyant billionaire owner Elon Musk (pictured)

Tesla is burning through 760m every three months as it battles to produce the first mass-market electric car. Shares fell as much as 5 per cent in New York after the report in the Wall Street Journal, amid growing concern over profitability and flamboyant billionaire owner Elon Musk.

The firm managed to hit its target of building 5,000 Model 3 cars a week at the start of this month  but only after building a giant plastic tent in the car park of its California factory to house an extra production line.

Meanwhile Musk said earlier this year that he was sleeping on the factory floor because he was so busy trying to ramp up production.

The 47-year-old has recently caused alarm with his Twitter rants. He apologised for one in which he called a British diver who rescued the 12 boys trapped in a Thai cave a 'pedo'.
Thousands of expats with Barclaycard will see their accounts closed after a change in terms and conditions at the credit card giant, we can reveal.

This is Money reader Mike contacted us after receiving a letter at his home in Florida, US. He has held a Visa card with the firm for 40 years.

In the letter seen by This is Money, it says in bold font at the top: 'we need to confirm your UK residential address by 6 August 2018'.

Cut up your card: The Barclaycard letter says that if no UK address can be provided, cards will stop working on 6 August - after that point, the card should be cut up

It goes on to state: 'We realise you've had a Barclaycard for some time at your current (non-UK) address.

'As it's part of our terms and conditions that customers must have a current UK residential address, we're sorry to tell you that your account will have to close on 19 September 2018.'

Mike was a Spanish resident between 2004 and 2014 when the changed the address on the account, and notified it again in 2015 when moving to the States.

Mike told This is Money: 'At first I thought this might be part money laundering requirements to provide proof of address  however, it is nothing to do with that and just an internal change of T&Cs by Barclaycard.

'Many expats like myself use a sterling credit card when they have moved off-shore to purchase goods from the UK or go for a visit there, in August my card will be cancelled and I'll have to use my US dollar credit card.

'There are many expats in the EU who similarly use a UK credit card on visits who will also be prevented from using their card in future and I'm certain they are unaware this is happening.

'Even worse is that Barclaycard sent an unsolicited email requesting personal details  it's not clear the email actually came from them and it could be a scam.

'It isn't but I'd advise anyone in the same boat to call them.'

Life's a beach: Mike, who resides in Florida, has been a Barclaycard customer for 40 years

Mike has lodged a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman about the changes. Barclaycard has 10million customers  it is not clear how many will see their accounts closed overseas.

Barclaycard says it has been in touch with all affected customers to explain the changes and options open to them.

It adds that expats in a number of countries, including Australia, France and Spain, will be able to keep their accounts open.

The US is not on the list, along with the majority of EU countries. Barclaycard says the list is based on countries that can be serviced by a UK-based financial organisation.

A spokesman said: 'We regularly review our policies and have made changes to the list of "supported countries" in which customers can reside and hold an open personal credit card account.

The full list of supported countries is now as follows: UK (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, BFPO), Australia, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Spain, and Jersey, the Isle of Man, Guernsey, Bermuda, Cayman Islands and Falklands Islands.

'We value all of our customers, but cardholders must now reside in either the UK or one of the supported countries where they can be serviced by a UK-based financial organisation.'

Expats cannot simply change the address to a family member or friend in the UK.

This is because Barclaycard T&Cs state that the customer should be living at the address associated with the account.

In 2014, thousands of expat customers who hadn't used their cards for at least six months were contacted by Barclaycard with a view of closing accounts.

Barclaycard is a division of Barclays. In 2015, This is Money revealed how expat accounts in some countries, such as Cyprus, Greece and Malta, were being closed to focus on a 'core set' of countries.
MADLANGEMPISI  A birth certificate is no longer just a piece of paper but a necessity which is very important in accessing a range of government services, including health.



However, an 80-year-old woman, who spends the whole day making E10 grass mats has no means of acquiring birth certificates for two of her eight grandchildren.



Tesulelo Simelane lives with the grandchildren in a house, thanks to World Vision for funding the construction of the house.

The two grandchildren without the birth certificates are doing Grade II at one of the nearby schools.



Though the children are allowed to be in school, authorities there are losing patience as this means the children do not have personal identification numbers (PINs).



Essential



PINs are essential for the Free Primary Education (FPE) as it is through these that government is able to determine how many children are being assisted.

Simelane said she did not have the money to travel to Manzini for the purpose of ensuring that her grandchildren acquire the birth certificates.



She is also living with a disability as she uses a wheelchair to move around.

Simelane said she feared that soon, her grandchildren may be forced to drop out of school because of lack of birth certificates.



Sickly



When asked about the whereabouts of the childrens parents, the elderly woman said the childrens mother was sickly and not able to travel, while she did not know where their father was.

In the past, Home Affairs had an initiative to register births at Tinkhundla centres but this was discontinued sometime ago as there were concerns that there was need for more training.
MBABANE  Police officers are handed guns to protect the nation but an officer turned it on himself and ended his life.



The police officer who shot himself was a driver of one of the police officers, whose promotion was announced during last weeks pass-out parade. He cannot be named for now since his relatives had not been informed of his death, when this article was written.

This officer, who was not in uniform, shot himself once in the head using a service pistol.



Information gathered is that the officer was based at the Royal Eswatini Police Headquarters, in the Traffic Department.

According to some of his colleagues this officer was driving a police car, along Nkoseluhlaza Street, where he had an accident.

The vehicle he was driving damaged the sump during the accident.



He then got out of the vehicle and left it in the middle of the road and walked to where he ended his life. He shot himself near some buildings, which are in the centre of Manzini town, a few metres away from the city council building.



Another police vehicle stopped at the accident scene to assess what had happened, since they could tell that it was a police vehicle.

While these police officers were inspecting the car, they heard the sound of a gunshot in the dark and they heard that it was close to where they were standing.



The officers then went towards where they heard the gunshot and found their colleague dead with the gun next to him. It could not be gathered where the police officer was coming from at around 3am when he had the accident and why he was carrying the service pistol.

The news of his death by after lunch yesterday, spread like a wild fire, as all the police officers from all over the country were talking about it.



Some of them described him to have been a nice person, who did not show signs of going through tough times.

Police Deputy Information and Communications Officer Assistant Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed that a police officer had shot himself.



We have not informed all his relatives about his passing, so there is nothing much I can say about the death for now. His relatives are not only the people he was related to by blood but even those who were very close friends, she said.

Vilakati went on to explain that they were still investigating the shooting as they did not have all the facts, also, since there were no witnesses to narrate what had happened.
Online travel penetration still low

Only 4 million of Vietnams 44 million digital population visit online travel sites, according to the MMX Multi-Platform report released on July 24 by comScore MMX-Platform.

















The figure is highest in Australia, with 58 per cent, followed by Malaysia with 44 per cent, Japan 41 per cent, Indonesia 40 per cent, China 36 per cent, and India 33 per cent.

The report summarizes the behavioral patterns of consumers who visit online travel sites in the Asia-Pacific region. Its goal is to help travel professionals understand their audience by answering questions such as: How frequently do consumers visit travel sites? How long do the visits last? and Where do heavy users of travel services go online? The report limited its analysis to individuals aged 18 and above in Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Consumers in Asia are leapfrogging the traditional technology curve by accessing travel services and information through mobile devices rather than desktops. The report noted that in countries such as India and Indonesia, the mobile-only segment, which consists of individuals who access travel information and services exclusively through mobile, is among the highest in the listed countries.









Consumers in different countries also display different information-gathering behavior. In Vietnam, the number of visits per person per month was 2.4; the same as in China and higher than in Indonesia. In Australia, they visit travel information sites often and spend a longer time on them. In Malaysia, however, consumers do not visit travel sites often but when they do they spend a lot of time on them.

In India, heavy users represent 20 per cent of the online travel audience and 79 per cent of the total time spent on such sites. This group is the most likely to purchase travel services and be turned into brand ambassadors if they have a positive travel experience.









They also tend to cluster in different categories of sites. For example, the proportion of heavy travel users is 4.5-times higher on ticketing sites than normal websites, 4.0-times higher on toy sites, 3.8-times higher on weather information sites, and 3.3-times higher on movie sites.

The MMX Multi-Platform report offers comprehensive reporting on more than 300,000 digital media entities, including their unduplicated audience size, demographic composition, engagement, performance within key user segments, and behavior.

VIR
Ryanair, easyJet and British Airways confirmed their flights are running as usual to Athens

Regarding wildfires in Greece, a spokesperson for ABTA, the leading association of travel agents and tour operators, said: This area isnt a main destination for UK tourists. People on holiday in the region are advised to monitor news reports and follow any advice or instructions issued by the local authorities, their travel company or their accommodation providers.

Anyone due to travel imminently to the areas affected should speak to their travel company or accommodation provider.

ABTA is in contact with the authorities in Greece and we are monitoring the situation.

The Foreign Office have updated their travel advice to Greece, saying the wildfires have been confined to limited areas, but within those the impact has been high, with significant loss of life.

Most visits to Greece, including to Athens, are unaffected. You should keep up to date with local media reports and follow the advice of the Greek authorities in affected areas.

Ryanair, easyJet and British Airways confirmed their flights are running as usual to Athens.

A spokesperson for easyJet said: Flights to and from Athens are currently operating as normal, however, we continue to closely monitor the situation and the advice provided by the relevant authorities.

Athens Airport confirmed on Twitter that, although there had been some cancellations, diversions and delays on Monday, flights are now running as normal.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons Copyright: Leonid Mamchenkov License: CC-BY-SA
The system will generate and store enough power to supply about three-quarters of the islands annual demand with any excess power passed to other islands in the area

TILOS - When the power fails on the tiny Greek island of Tilos in the Aegean  a regular problem, particularly in the summer when tourists flood in  hotel owner Andreas Lardopoulos struggles with failed appliances, rotting food and inconvenienced guests.

But an effort is underway to turn the remote Dodecanese island, 78 km (48 miles) from Rhodes, from an importer of dirty diesel power into a largely self-sufficient energy hub capable of exporting clean electricity to nearby small islands.

Using a grant of 11 million euros ($12.9 million) from the European Commission, as part of the EUs Horizon 2020 research and innovation push, the plan is to transform Tilos into one of the Mediterraneans first green energy islands.

The effort will utilize solar and wind power to generate enough electricity for the 550 residents who live on Tilos year-round and thousands of tourists who visit every summer to enjoy the islands tranquil beaches and laid-back vibe.

In the coming weeks, a hybrid power plant consisting of a single wind turbine, a photovoltaic solar panel station and battery storage system is expected to begin meeting the daily electricity needs of between 250 and 300 households.

The system will generate and store enough power to supply about three-quarters of the islands annual demand, backers argue, with any excess power passed to other islands in the area.

Read more at ekathimerini.com

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons Copyright: freddie boy License: CC-BY-SA
The two lakes of Prespa are a source of life and of natural and cultural wealth of immeasurable value, which attract visitors who combine their holidays with unique authentic experiences of the countryside

The Greek government's decision to open up the water and land borders in and around the Great Prespa Lake and the village of Lemos, establishing border crossings between the Greek side of the lakes and that of FYROM, puts an end to problems that are a legacy of the past and which have hindered tourist development of the Prespa Lakes region and its local communities for decades, ANA reports.

The signing of the agreement on the FYROM name issue by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his FYROM counterpart Zoran Zaev is expected to create a new dynamic in the region. Tsipras and Zaev inaugurated the new regime by crossing the lake in a boat from the waterfront in Greece to the shores on the FYROM side, traversing a water border that only the lake's fish and bird life had previously been allowed to cross.

There are more than 300,000 tourists from the UK and the Netherlands in FYROM at present, who might want to visit the Greek side of the Prespa Lakes and are currently unable to do so.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons Copyright: Nikos Laskaridis License: CC-BY-SA
Oman's Ministry of Housing has handed over more than 22,000 plots for various purposes across the sultanate during the first half of 2018, said a report.



The lion's share of 19,000 plots went to the Dakhliyah governorate, of which more than 4,000 were residential plots, reported Muscat Daily.



This comes as part of the ministry's ambitious plan to distribute lands for various purposes, preservation and registration of property in accordance with the system through the Secretariat of the Land Registry, it stated.



The ministry provides three types of social housing programmes for low-income and social security families. These are free housing units; housing assistance (maintenance of old homes) and housing loans (to build a new home).



Last year, it had distributed more than 66,000 plots in different governorates, of which the total number of residential plots were 52,079.



Once again the largest number of plots (14,166) went to Dakhliyah governorate, said the Muscat Daily report.



A total of 414 commercial plots were distributed during the same period across the country with most of them (around 169) in the South Batinah governorate, it added.




The Ajman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) will participate in the sixth edition of the International Franchise Exhibition to be held later this year in Abu Dhabi, UAE.



The event, organised by Abu Dhabi Chamber, will take place at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec) on October 16 and 17.



The sixth edition of the exhibition is will feature numerous major international brands including, Michelin Tires, the world's leading manufacturer of tires, and the Seven Eleven chain of convenience stores, which recently launched branches in the UAE under a concession agreement between Seven Emirates Investment and Seven Eleven International, said a statement from the organisers.



Mohammad Helal Al Muhairi, director general of ADCCI, said: Ajman Chambers participation underscores the exhibitions support for the UAE vision and strategy to enhance the contribution of the private sector and achieve economic diversification objectives.



Additionally, it provides further opportunities in the investment and business fields and encourages a diverse range of companies to exchange experiences and strengthen cooperation, he said.



Al Muhairi emphasised that the exhibition is designed to provide opportunities for the development of successful partnerships between foreign companies, entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the UAE.



Local and regional investors will also be provided with insights on international best practices within the franchising sector, supporting the sectors development within the UAE and enhancing its contribution to the nations gross domestic product (GDP).



Al Muhairi added: In line with our strategy of encouraging Emirati entrepreneurs to engage in business and participate in the private sector, ADCCI is keen to organise the International Franchise Exhibition and contribute to the sustainable economic development of the UAE.



Moreover, the exhibition is recognised for supporting and developing SMEs by highlighting investment and partnership opportunities with leading brands across a variety of industries, he added.



Hilal Mohammed Al Qubaisi, acting executive director of innovation and business development at ADCCI, said: The chambers organisation of the event is indicative of the exhibition's position as a leading global business event in the field of franchising.



The event contributes to the expansion of the franchise base, supporting local brands and enabling companies to improve their performance and encouraging them to increase their investments in the sector - contributing to sustainable economic development within the UAE, he added.



Al Qubaisi highlighted that more than 100 international and local exhibitors, representing 12 diverse sectors from 15 countries, are committed to participating in the exhibition. The event will host exhibitors from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Italy, Jordan, India, Pakistan, Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, Portugal, the US, Kuwait, France and the US.



A series of exclusive workshops for attendees will be held on the sidelines of the exhibition, with the aim of familiarising participants with the experiences of some of the most influential pioneers of the franchising sector. The knowledge-sharing workshops will provide attendees with the skills and information to better benefit from opportunities in the world of franchising.



The exhibition will showcase innovative concepts and strategies to entrepreneurs and SMEs alike, while providing them with the opportunity to connect with international franchises to establish partnerships and highlight how brands can be developed regionally and internationally.



The exhibition will also provide an appropriate working environment, by allocating suitable spaces that allow exhibitors, visitors and delegates to communicate and hold business meetings, and transactions, it stated.  TradeArabia News Service
France-based Nexans, a leader in cables and cabling systems, has been awarded a major contract by Rexel to supply lead-free Hypron cables for Omans Liwa Plastics Industries Complex (LPIC) project.



Nexans is playing a vital role in the LPIC project by providing a variety of instrumentation and fibre-optic telecommunication cables that will be supplied via Rexel, a leading global cable distributor.



LPIC will be equipped with Nexans instrumentation, fibre-optic telecommunication cables and fieldbus cables, supplied through the groups established partnership with Rexel. These cables feature Nexans innovative Hypron design developed and tested to provide an alternative to lead-sheath cables for onshore oil and gas installations, especially within refineries and petrochemical installations in moist areas where corrosive aromatic hydrocarbons are present.



The $4.5-billion LPIC project by Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic) is aiming to meet the increasing worldwide demand for high and low density polyethylene, especially within Asia.



The project is an example of the transformation journey undertaken by Orpic to diversify its business. The cutting-edge complex will include a refinery, aromatics plant, steam cracker and downstream polypropylene and polyethylene plants, making it one of the best integrated refinery and petrochemical facility combinations in the world, it said.



Due to the new facility, Orpic's plastics production will increase by 1 million tonnes, allowing it produce a total of 1.4 million tonnes of polyethylene and polypropylene by 2020. It is anticipated that 150 technicians and 350 operators will be required to manage the new facilities, which are also expected to create more than 1,200 jobs in the local area, it added.



Nexans Hypron cables contribute to cleaner environment by avoiding lead exposure and emissions thanks to three concentric, co-extruded sheaths which provide water tightness as well as resistance to inorganic and organic chemicals (such as chlorine and synthetic oils as well as aromatics, benzene, petrol).



Orlando Vaquero, O&G downstream ISP global market director, Nexans, said: It is a big honour for us to contribute to the development of Oman by bringing our global expertise to the sultanates large-scale and forward-looking projects, such as the LPIC.



The scope of our technical capability, together with the complete one stop shop we offer in cooperation with Rexel, made the difference in persuading Orpic that we can deliver the quality, performance and fast response they require, he added.



The LPIC project will enter the commissioning phase at the end of 2018 and be ready for commercial operation from 2020, said the statement.



The Hypron cables for the LPIC project are manufactured and delivered by Nexans South Koreas facility in Cheongwon, it stated.  TradeArabia News Service
Batelco, Bahrain's leading telecom operator, has reminded its customers with mobile lines to register their lines before specified deadlines.

Customers with Postpaid lines must register before September 2, 2018 and Prepaid mobile line customers need to register their lines by March 2, 2019, the company said.

The Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA) SIM-card Enabled Telecommunications Services Registration Regulation came into effect on July 12, 2017. The regulation governs the registration of both Prepaid and Postpaid mobile SIM cards for all of Bahrains mobile operators, including Batelco.

The regulation, which applies to consumer, commercial and government entities, states that all mobile customers are required to complete the registration and verification process for their mobile lines, it said.

Registration is simple and can be completed at any of Batelcos Retail Shops by providing the following documents: * For Bahraini nationals - valid Bahraini ID (CPR/Smartcard);

* GCC nationals - valid GCC national ID or valid Bahraini ID (CPR/Smartcard);

* Non-Bahraini or non-GCC nationals - valid passport or valid Bahraini ID (CPR/Smartcard).

* Commercial/ Governement entites - copy of valid Commercial Registration (CR), authorisation letter and valid ID (CPR/Smartcard) for the authorised signatory of the entity.

"Batelco continues to support the efforts of the TRA and works closely with the authority to ensure the delivery of world-class communications services to residents of the Kingdom of Bahrain," said the company. - TradeArabia News Service
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) yesterday (July 23) refused to grant Qatars request for provisional measures under the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, a media report said.



The ICJ refused to grant any of the Provisional Measures specifically requested by Qatar, reported Emirates news agency Wam. By a very narrow margin, the Court indicated certain measures with which the UAE is already in compliance.



In a statement, the UAE reiterated its position that its actions are directed at the Qatari government and not towards the Qatari people. Contrary to Qatars false allegations, thousands of Qataris continue to reside in and visit the UAE. Qatari visitors may enter the UAE with prior entry permission issued through the telephone hotline announced on June 11, 2017.



"We urge Qatar to constructively engage on the requests made by the UAE and other countries for Qatar to comply with its international obligations. The UAE reiterates that it will continue to welcome Qatari citizens into its territory, as affirmed in the statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation on July 5, 2018," the statement added.


Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Justice has announced that its plans to launch labour courts early next year are all on track.

Judges are being trained, staff are getting a proper induction and court buildings are being prepared and connected digitally, the ministry said.

Saudi Arabia has been working hard to push through initiatives that will organise the labour market, utilise this market and help it reach its highest potential, which will eventually boost investment in Saudi Arabia and drive the economy towards development and the achievement of Saudi Vision 2030 objectives.

According to the latest statistics revealed in Q1 2018; there are around 13 million workers in Saudi Arabia (10 million foreign and 3 million locals). These numbers are expected to increase with the ongoing mega projects across the kingdom and the increasing demand for the labour force. Labour court's role will be a major drive towards creating ease and efficiency in conducting projects and ensuring those workers are working within a well-defined system that protects them.

"Labour courts will be connected to all government entities that deal with labour, we have already started studying labour dispute cases from the past few years and building our operational plan," says the Ministry of Justice.

"We are looking into achieving four objectives: boosting investment opportunities, achieving excellence, the swiftness of labour judiciary, and benefitting from the rich databases of courts," concluded the ministry. - TradeArabia News Service
Oman Air has increased its frequency of flights to Salalah to cater to the increase in demand from holidaymakers looking to experience the Khareef season which brings in its wake lovely weather conditions and natural beauty.



From July 1 to September 15, the airline has increased uplift for its summer/autumn schedule, offering an additional 92,874 seats on the Muscat- Salalah route; an increase of 28 frequencies offering 4,222 extra seats per week in each direction.



Oman Air is also offering 154 flights, providing 13,106 seats on its Salalah-Dubai route. Over the years Oman Air has facilitated demand to Salalah during the Khareef season with extra flights to Salalah and this year, in response to demand, the airline has upped capacity by an additional six per cent from 2017.



The increase in flights highlights Oman Airs commitment to those living in and visiting the Dhofar region during the monsoon season. Known for its lush greenery and tropical showers, the Khareef season is considered to be one of the most important tourist seasons in the Gulf. The Khareef attracts locals and visitors from far and wide, as the weather is much cooler than the rest of the region.



During the Khareef season, visitors to the region can enjoy Salalah Tourism Festival. Running until August 25, the festival offers a range of religious, economic, cultural, social, sports, arts and recreational events. Events of importance include fine arts and photography competitions and the Holy Quran Memorisation Contest.



Recently quoted figures from Omans National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) show that the total number of visitors to Dhofar for Khareef this year stands at 235,113 as of July 21. This shows a phenomenal growth of 66.4 per cent, against an arrival of 141,259 tourists for the same period of 2017. - TradeArabia News Service
US Listed ETFs Post Outflows in June

The summer got off to a slow and dreary start in exchange-traded funds.

For a third month in 2018, US-listed ETFs posted net monthly outflows in June, according to the latest tally from State Street Global Advisors. The firm noted that this is the highest number of months with outflows in a single year for ETFs since 2008.

Yikes.

Matthew Bartolini, Head of SPDR Americas Research at SSGA, spoke with Traders Magazine about the data from the firms latest ETF Flash Flow report and how the month played out. Before throwing the baby out with the bathwater, Bartolini noted that while equity and commodity ETFs posted net outflows of $5.8 billion and $2.1 billion respectively in June, fixed income ETFs attracted a whopping $7.4 billion of inflows during the month.

This marks the 35th consecutive month of inflows for bond ETFs, he said. Fixed income flows were positive, led by government and short duration corporates, however, high yield posted outflows for the 4th month this year.

In looking at the entire month, Bartolini noted flows were muted as trade tensions rattled investor sentiment, pushing global equities negative for the year and prompting investors to rotate out of stocks. With the yield curve flattening to nearly 30 basis points, financial stocks witnessed the most sector outflows, followed by trade-impacted industrials. Yet, while growth is lower, it is still positive, he added, and, given equities dour performance so far, valuations are near long-term averages.

So, investors shouldnt turtle or call it a day, Bartolini said. Rather, its time to be more selective within equities in order to not get stuffed. Consider focusing on more fundamentally driven segments with persistent growth, such as technology. You might also rotate into areas that could benefit from the uptick in producer prices, such as materials or energy.

As for fixed income, he said investors ought to consider bolstering their portfolios by targeting short-duration exposures, such as floating rate notes which may be able to balance equity risk and limit duration, while receiving a yield 40% above what stocks offer.

Internationally speaking, for the second consecutive month, equities saw outflows, totaling $3.3 and $9.9 billion in May and June, respectively. As in May, June flows were again concentrated in emerging markets, accounting for 69% of this months negative international total.

The last time non-US-focused ETFs had back-to-back month outflows was at the start of 2016. Back then, global equity markets were mired in an energy crisis that derailed earnings growth and concerns over a Chinese economic growth hard landing, Bartolini noted. Now, deteriorating trade rhetoric and the US dollars corresponding appreciation since mid-April by over 6% are the culprits weighing on performance.

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Domestic resources are the largest and most important source of finance for sustainable development. In the developing world as a whole, domestic revenues exceeded US$7 trillion in 2014, compared to $2.1 trillion in international capital inflows. Domestic resource mobilization remains a key challenge however for the worlds poorest countries. The 42 countries classified by the UN as Least Developed (most of which are in Africa) mobilized just 14.7 percent of GDP in tax revenues in 2014, compared to over 26 percent for advanced economies, on average. Supporting developing countries to mobilize more domestic revenues is critically important for development.

Ensuring that African nations benefit from oil and mineral exploitation, and secure adequate revenues from their precious natural resources, has been a major focus for governments, donors and civil society organizations over recent years. Diamonds are a particularly important commodity export for several sub-Saharan African countries. In 2017, Botswana exported $4.4 billion in diamonds, and was the worlds 8th largest exporter. In Namibia, diamonds account for more than 45 percent of the countrys export revenue. In Lesotho, diamonds are 15 percent of exports. Combined, Africa represents about 60 percent of world diamond markets.

Diamonds are supporting economic transformation in many African countries. President Mogae of Botswana has said, for our people, every diamond purchased represents food on the table; better living conditions; better healthcare; safe drinking water; more roads to connect our remote communities and much more. But the industry is also ripe for tax abuses. While Africas so-called blood diamonds mobilized significant international attention and action (culminating in the Kimberley Process (KP) Certification Scheme to stem the flow of conflict diamonds), issues around diamond taxation have not captured our collective imagination in the same way. For countries dependent on these precious stones for much-needed revenue, millions of dollars are at stake when assessing their value for tax purposes.

Enter Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB) and the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF). The revenue authorities in Botswana and Lesotho have called on both entities to support them to tackle suspected tax abuses in the diamond sector and to build the skills and capacities they need to tax it more effectively and predictably in accordance with international standards and principles.

What are the major problems? First, diamonds in Africa are often found in fragile states where institutional capacities are weakest and technical expertise is limited. Weak institutions are more vulnerable to corruption, and there are fewer highly trained personnel. Casual, highly-mobile labour and cash societies also make it difficult to detect smuggling and track diamond sales and transactions.

Second, there is no international benchmark as regards a diamonds value. For example, diamonds are used in heavy industry, and products such as drill bits can be valued at as little as $5 per carat or they can be hundreds of thousands of dollars a carat. The value of rough diamonds (those that are unpolished and uncut) is determined by several factors, such as clarity, cut, colour and carat. Industry experts are needed to advise governments on correct valuation before export.

Third, the diamond supply chain is dominated by a few international companies that are able to control supply and prices, and shift profits around through undervaluation on the one hand and high marketing and royalty fees on the other. These practices are largely responsible for suppressing tax revenues from the industry for diamond producing countries in Africa.

The complexity of diamond valuation can be formidable, notes William Nkitseng, Director of the large taxpayer unit at Botswanas United Revenue Service. The cases that Botswana is currently dealing with forced the tax authority to realize how much it needed both international tax audit and diamond industry expertise, which is why it turned to ATAF, the OECD and UNDP for support under TIWB.

There are serious skills deficiencies within local tax administrations. Local tax auditors need to have not only tax expertise in areas such as transfer pricing, but understand the diamond industry, otherwise they will lose revenue. TIWB and ATAF are providing support to Botswana and Lesotho to build their tax audit capabilities, matching highly qualified tax audit experts with diamond industry specialists, and working side-by-side with local tax auditors on real cases. TIWBs objectives are to equip officials with the tools and skills needed to tax local economic activity and value creation in accordance with international standards and principles, which in turn will help create a predictable environment for taxpayers.

TIWB and ATAF support is just one component of a broader suite of interventions that aim to ensure the diamond industry is better managed and is more transparent. Other ways to tackle challenges in the industry include South-South support and, in particular, learning from the experiences of other African countries such as Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone (all diamond producers). In Sierra Leone, the authorities are implementing revenue sharing schemes with communities so that local people receive direct benefits from the precious stones. In Liberia, the government is attempting to formalize informal labour in the artisanal mining sector by setting up cooperatives. Regional harmonization of laws and rules could also help to combat smuggling and a race to the bottom tax-wise. Finally, companies also have a duty to act responsibly.

Looking forward, Africa is rich in resources, and there are probably many undiscovered deposits. But diamonds are also a non-renewable resource; when they are gone, they are gone forever. This means it is even more important to capture their value and ensure that they benefit the local economy. Governments need to be equipped to use current and future opportunities well and convert their mineral wealth into meaningful development revenue for their citizens. Tax Inspectors Without Borders is proud to be a partner in this effort.

About the authors

Gail Hurley is a policy specialist on development finance and project manager for Tax Inspectors Without Borders at UNDP. Follow her on Twitter: @gailmlhurley

James Karanja is head of the Secretariat for Tax Inspectors Without Borders. Follow him on Twitter: @kairukaranja


London  Saying a world free from discrimination was possible, the head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Achim Steiner urged nations to work together to ensure equal rights for people with disabilities.

A world free from discrimination and marginalization of persons with disabilities is within reach. We are here to discuss how we  as individuals and societies - can ensure that they are given equal access and voice in society so they can realize their fullest possible potential.

He was speaking on behalf of the UN Secretary-General at the Global Disability Summit in London hosted by the Governments of Kenya and the United Kingdom, and the International Disability Alliance. It is the first summit ever to be held on disability.

People with disabilities are the largest minority in the world, comprising fifteen percent of the worlds population, or one billion people. Many of them are consistently left out of development progress, and during crises or natural disasters they are disproportionately affected. In addition, discriminatory attitudes limit their full participation in society, and contribute to rising inequalities.

The UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2006, and it has since become the fastest ratified treaty in the world.

This convention demonstrates how countries can come together on an issue and move the needle quickly for change, said Steiner. Now, to ensure we realize the promise of the 2030 Agenda  and its core pledge to leave no one behind - it is essential that people with disabilities can participate equally in every aspect of life.

Steiner also announced a comprehensive review, launched by the UN Secretary-General, to assess how the UN system supports people with disabilities in the areas of accessibility, employment, and all aspects of its development and humanitarian work.

At the UN we have long been committed to supporting and advancing the rights of persons with disabilities around the world," said Steiner. "In our humanitarian work, we strive to ensure that persons with disability receive relief and protection. In our development work, we work to keep the needs and rights of the disabled a focus of our work on the Sustainable Development Goals.

But we are committed to do so much more and to do it better.

UN Partnerships:

The United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities brings together UN entities, governments, organizations of persons with disabilities and broader civil society.

Since its launch in 2012 the UNPRPD has successfully promoted joint UN action in close to forty countries.

In Mexico, UNDP, WHO and UNICEF support efforts to ensure full inclusion of children with disabilities:

In Moldova, this partnership helped ensure that persons with mental and intellectual disabilities can live independent lives.

In Vietnam this work supported persons with disabilities to get access to justice.

In Uganda, children with disabilities received assistive technology to enable them to receive an education.

UNDP Work:

In Syria, UNDP works with UN agencies to support Syrians with disabilities through physical therapy, prosthetics & counseling at health centers & job skills trainings.

Unemployment among people with disabilities is as high as 80% in some countries. UNDP supports policy makers + civil society groups who work on inclusive employment rights in countries like FYR Macedonia.

Fiji's govt wanted to widen access to justice & public service to leave no one behind. With UNDP and the Government of Japan support, these sign language inclusive REACH buses travel to remote rural regions to deliver service to the people.

At Sierra Leones last election UNDP introduced tactile Ballot Guides w/ Braille ballot papers for blind & visually impaired voters to ensure inclusive elections, w/ support from the UK/DFID, Canada, the EU, and Ireland.

UNDP helps to bring the voice of people with disabilities to the table as key stakeholders, like at the African Disability Forum.

###

Contact Information: Christina LoNigro, UNDP, +1 212 906 5301, christina.lonigro@undp.org.


Abou Ahmed, a resident of Al-Mashatiyeh neighborhood in east Aleppo, talks to UNHCR Representative in Syria, Sajjad Malik. Abou, who is disabled, fled his home when the battle to for the eastern neighborhoods erupted. Today he has returned home and hopes for a better future.  UNHCR/Bassam Diab

LONDON - UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, on Tuesday committed itself to take new measures to involve people living with disabilities more closely in its work, both within its global operations and as part of the organizations protection work with refugees.

The pledges were made by Volker Turk, UNHCRs assistant high commissioner for protection, at a Global Disability Summit in London, hosted by the United Kingdoms Department for International Development (DFID) and supported by the International Disability Alliance and Kenya.

Ensuring the protection and wellbeing of those with disabilities in an inclusive and comprehensive way is timely and of critical importance, Turk told the conference.

UNHCR is committed to working with donors, asylum countries, international and national partners and all communities to find more effective ways to address their concerns in displacement settings in the Syria situation, and elsewhere.

The disabled can be among the most marginalized, and their vulnerability is often exacerbated in forced displacement. Stigmatisation, isolation and perceptions that they are a burden can compromise their dignity, safety, security and access to services, Turk said.

For the disabled, there are challenges accessing civil documentation, including birth and marriage registration  the absence of which can hinder access to support. The lack of access to proper medical and psychological care prolongs or worsens disabling conditions among children, the elderly and other members in the community.

UNHCR High Commissioner Filippo Grandi meets residents, including Vlada, at a home for 200 displaced people with disabilities in Svyatogorsk, eastern Ukraine.  UNHCR/John Wendle

Scaling up cash-based interventions and social support to address vulnerabilities based on disability is an important intervention for the most vulnerable families, including households with disabilities, to help meet their needs, he said.

The protection chief committed UNHCR to specific steps to tackle stigma and discrimination and better involve and consult with people living with disabilities when planning operations and activities.

For example, there will be a push on education, he said, to improve equitable access for refugee children with disabilities.

UNHCR will invest in improving access to jobs for people living with disabilities.

The situation for disabled refugees who have fled Syria is particularly alarming, Turk said.

Over 5.6 million Syrians are registered as refugees in neighbouring countries. UNHCR data in four of those (Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon) show that 3.09 per cent of refugees live with disabilities. Inside Syria, there are an estimated 2.9 million people with disabilities in need of humanitarian assistance.

Spend a day with Alya, Syrian refugee and disability rights campaigner.

In addition, 2 per cent of the refugee population are children with disabilities. These children are often marginalized and excluded from opportunities, living isolated lives and struggling against stigma, discrimination and an environment that does not accommodate their needs or aspirations.

Across the region, rehabilitation services for people living with disabilities are limited. Taking just one example, in Syria, needs for specialized services for people with disabilities have been reported in 72 per cent of assessed communities.

As the majority of Syrian refugees  some 84 per cent - live in urban and rural settings across the region, there is also a need to support and reinforce community-based protection.

In Syria, UNHCR has a network of more than 96 community centres and aims to expand this to 110, reaching 2.6 million individuals.

In terms of concrete actions, this year and next, UNHCR will develop a checklist for the inclusion of the disabled in participatory assessments; address the issue of participation in planning, design and implementation with new guidance on working and e-learning programmes; and develop guidance on identification of the disabled in registration and other data collection, while documenting good practice.
Kampala, July 24 (UNI) India and Uganda will discuss ways of bridging the current trade imbalance which is in Indias favour and ink a set of memorandum of understanding in areas such as energy, defence and film production during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the east African country, the first by an Indian premier in 21 years.

Modi flew in from neighbouring Rwanda for a two-day visit en route to South Africa for the 10th BRICS Summit. He was received by Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa.

It is an important visit in the Uganda-India relations at the highest level, Patrick Mugoya, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said.

Uganda and India established diplomatic ties in 1965, although there existed a long-standing relationship as early as the 1900s when the British colonial administration brought in thousands of Indians to work as labourers on construction of the Mombasa-Kampala railway line.

Ties between the two countries, however, encountered headwinds in the 1970s when then President Idi Amin embarked on nationalising the economy and expelled some 60,000 Indians.

The ties were later normalised in the 1980s after President Museveni assumed power and a number of Indians returned.

In April this year, President Museveni and Mr Modi met briefly on the sidelies of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London.

As part of cementing ties, India will extend two credit lines to Uganda, $141m for extension of electricity lines and construction of substations, and $64m for agriculture and diary production.

After bilateral talks with President Museveni at State House Entebbe, Mr Modi will later in the evening address and engage the Indian community in Uganda at Kololo Independence Grounds.

On Wednesday, Mr Modi will address the India-Uganda business forum at Kampala Serena Hotel and afterwards address Parliament.

UNI SRJ
Malaysia: Former Dy PM ready to face probe over Nepali workers scam

Kuala Lumpur, July (UNI) Malaysias former Deputy Prime Minister Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has said he was ready to face Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigation over allegations his family members profited from trafficking Nepali migrant workers.

Kuala Lumpur-based newspaper The Star quoted Dr Hamidi in a report published Monday. Speaking to reporters in the Parliament lobby, he said, I am ready to be investigated and show evidence that I was not involved or had abused my power or that any of my family members were involved.

Kuala Lumpur reporters sought Dr Hamidis comments after a Kathmandu-based newspaper published a report alleging high-ranking Nepali politicians, bureaucrats, businesspersons and former Malaysian officials along with their family members were involved in looting more than RM185 million (Rs 5 billion), over the past five years, from vulnerable Nepali migrant workers seeking work in Malaysia.
New Delhi, July 24 (UNI) Alleging that the political opponents are targeting the Left party leaders and cadres, the prominent Left parties on Tuesday held a massive protest march in the capital and said that West Bengal and Tripura are witnessing the murder of democracy.

Pointing out at the attacks Bengal and Tripura in recent months, the leaders of the Left parties said that democracy is in great danger and civil liberties are under attack.

Among the leaders, who addressed the protest march were CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI general secretary Sudhakar Reddy, Kerala Chief Minister and CPI(M) polit bureau member Pinarayi Vijayan, former Tripura Chief Minister and CPI(M) polit bureau member Manik Sarkar, Forward Block general secretary Debabrata Biswas, CPI(ML) general secretay Dipankar Bhattacharya, RSP central committee member Ajoy Gosh, CPI(M) polit bureau member Prakash Karat and CPI national secretary D Raja.

In a series of tweet with a hashtag #LeftWillResist, the CPI(M) said that attacks on the Left are occurring at a time when the Left is taking an uncompromising position in resisting the all-out assault by the Narendra Modi Govovernment on the livelihood of the people, kisans, workers, small traders.

All dissent and opposition to the Modi regime is sought to be suppressed through the use of the police and draconian laws. Minorities, Dalits, adivasis, women are particular targets of the practice and ideology of Hindutva by the ruling regime, the CPI(M) tweeted.

The Left party said that the achievements of the Left governments is the aftermath of unity of the people through mass movements that is posing a threat to the BJP-RSS and added that, they are seeking to implement the colonial slogan of devide and rule.

So the Left bases in these three States are the direct target, the CPI(M) said.

UNI KNA SHK 1757
#Son Jun-sung Court questions prosecutor linked to opposition's political meddling scandal A Seoul court questioned a prosecutor Tuesday to determine whether to issue an arrest warrant for him over allegations he conspired with the main opposition party to investigate pr...

#LPGA Ko Jin-young back on top of women's golf rankings after latest LPGA win Fresh off her fourth LPGA win of the year, Ko Jin-young is once again the top-ranked female golfer in the world. The South Korean star climbed one spot to reach No. 1 in the new...
Mah: Marathwada registers 29 new COVID-19 cases and a single death 26 Oct 2021 | 8:04 AM Aurangabad, Oct 26 (UNI)Ratio of COVID positive cases has dropped significantly across in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra which reported only 29 new cases and a single death during the past 24 hours, health authorities informed on Tuesday. see more..

Chhattisgarh CM downplays power struggle 26 Oct 2021 | 12:20 AM Raipur, Oct 25 (UNI) Amid a political tug of war underway in Chhattisgarh for the past couple of months, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said on Monday that there should be no attempt to vitiate the atmosphere by repeatedly raising the two-and-a-half-years-each issue after Congress state In-charge PL Punia made the position clear.

For the past two months, the Chief Minister  who usually participated in government programmes through video-conferencing from his residence  has suddenly become rather active. He is meeting social organisations and sections besides visiting districts. Last week, Mr Baghel chaired a conference of collectors and police superintendents. He has been made the Congress Chief Observer for Uttar Pradesh. see more..

Choudhary advocates 'One person, one post' 26 Oct 2021 | 12:16 AM Jaipur, Oct 25 (UNI) After taking charge of Punjab Congress, Revenue Minister of Rajasthan Harish Chaudhary will meet the high command and offer to quit the ministerial post. see more..

Lalu' s comment on Bhakt charan Das, humiliation of dalit: Meira 26 Oct 2021 | 12:13 AM Patna, Oct 25 (UNI) Terming the comments of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav about incharge of political affairs of Congress in Bihar Bhakta Charan Das as unparliamentary and undemocratic, senior Congress leader and former speaker of Lok Sabha Meira Kumar on Monday said that Mr Yadav has humiliated the dalits with his comments. see more..
United Nations, July 24 (UNI) In the light of recent border violence between the Gaza Strip and Israel, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein has expressed "acute concerns" over human rights situation in Palestine.

Expressing concern over the situation, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein, while briefing Committee on the Exercise of Inalienable Rights of Palestinian People via video from Geneva, called for addressing the root causes of the recent demonstrations in Gaza, a report published in Radio Pakistan said.

Meanwhile, Palestine Liberation Organization says recently approved Israeli nation-state law violates all bases for peace in the Middle East.Interacting with reporters in Ramallah, PLO secretary general Saeb Erekat said the law aims at destroying two-state solution.

UNI XC SB 1059/1135
Remarks:

Registration information for April 2018 and data on space objects that ceased to exist in Earth orbit during that period.
Ample room for M&A activity

The outlook

According to Vietnam M&A Forum (MAF), the value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in Vietnam in 2018 is forecast to weaken, to settle at around 58.8 per cent of the $10.2 billion achieved last year.

This is in part because the country does not anticipate any multi-billion-dollar deals like 2017s Sabeco stake sale. The local M&A market this year could anticipate a growth rate of 15.3 per cent on-year.

As MAF suggested, the sectors of consumer goods, retail, and real estate will continue to be magnets for M&A activities. Telecommunications, energy, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, and education are the other areas that could also contribute significantly towards the total M&A value for Vietnam in 2018 and subsequent years.

In the first half of 2018, the value of M&A transactions has been reported at $4.1 billion, up 82.4 per cent on-year.

In 2017, Vietnam achieved a record-high M&A volume, posting a growth of 175 per cent on-year. The sudden surge was attributed to the $5 billion deal between ThaiBev and state-owned Sabeco, in which ThaiBev acquired over 53 per cent of stakes in the Vietnamese brewer.

Many observers, however, said that the success of the Sabeco deal would not necessarily carry optimism to the entire market. By leaving Sabeco out of the big picture, the scale of the local M&A market would be deemed relatively modest, with the lingering constraints and drawbacks identified in recent years, said the MAFs report.

Ample room for M&A activity, illustration photo - source: internet

To-do list

Accounting for only 0.1 per cent of global M&A transactions, Vietnam has room for more M&A activities to take place in future, should the country and local enterprises make efforts to overcome the current obstacles, which include the quality of business, the foreign ownership limit, financial transparency, and value appraisal.

The scale of local enterprises, which often sits in the range of $5-10 million in chartered capital, is a disadvantage, with many investors instead looking for mid- to large-scale businesses to merge with or take over.

Although Vietnam is pushing for the equitisation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), the percentage of divestment is said to be not sufficiently appealing to foreign investors, who are looking to acquire controlling stakes in those SOEs. This same scenario has also occurred at numerous private companies, where the owners still want to retain veto powers in the business.

Transparency in financial reporting and information disclosure is another area that local enterprises should pay attention to. With dual book-keeping schemes seen at various Vietnamese businesses, foreign investors are reluctant to trust the accounting information given.

The appraisal practice is another key feature that may deter foreign investors from considering M&As with local firms. Many Vietnamese enterprises tend to overvalue their business in a bid to sell it for a high price, resulting in parties not being able to agree on a fair price.

Despite such limitations, the trend of M&A activities in 2018, according to Michael Piro, chief operating officer of Indochina Capital, is quite promising, with the market becoming more professional and transparent - a welcome transformation.

As a foreign investor ourselves, Indochina Capital always makes its investments via capital contributions or share acquisitions for transparency and ease of execution, Piro said. Unfortunately, not that many sellers are able to accommodate this type of structure, since setting this up for an acquisition requires strong legal support, which is lacking with local vendors in most cases .

He added that more and more transactions are being carried out under these methods, showing that Vietnamese businesses are making the conscious decision to streamline and facilitate the transaction.

Attractiveness

Baker McKenzie, in its Global Transactions Forecast 2018 report, gave Vietnam an overall Transaction Attractiveness Indicator score of 3 out of 10 in 2017. This indicator reflects the attractiveness of a countrys current environment for M&A and initial public offering (IPO) activities.

The score is based on a weighted average of 10 key economic, financial, and regulatory factors associated with M&A and IPO activities.

Vietnam is highly appreciated for its openness to trade, which scored at over 8, as well as government effectiveness, money supply, and ease of doing business, which each received scores of just under 5.

The size of the stock market, freedom to trade, business regulation, legal structure, and sovereign credit risk are, however, the limitations that drag down Vietnams overall score.

The global law firm projects a total volume of M&A transactions at 331 deals for Vietnam in 2018, with 263 domestic and 68 cross-border inbound deals. In the following years, Vietnam could expect slightly more deals, at 338 in 2019, but in 2020, the figure is expected to drop to 204 transactions.

Dealmaking in Vietnam has suffered from a number of knocks to confidence in its economy, including weaker oil prices and the new US administrations rejection of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. But domestic drivers are solid, and the programme of economic liberalisation, equitisation of state enterprises, and new investment in the energy sector should support a recovery in M&A activity to $2 billion in 2018, and slightly higher in 2019, noted the Baker McKenzie report.

Vietnam, according to Indochina Capitals Piro, has always been a hotspot for attracting foreign investment. By World Bank figures, the country ranked third in 2016 in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction in Southeast Asia, behind Singapore and Malaysia. Looking at recent trends in FDI, Vietnam continues to perform extremely well, with 2017 being the most successful year since 2009 in terms of both registered FDI ($35.88 billion) and disbursed FDI ($17.5 billion). The majority of this investment has been directed towards the manufacturing industry (44.2 per cent), and the real estate sector ranked third (8.5 per cent).

To us at Indochina Capital, this is an extremely encouraging sign and it speaks to the opportunities that exist here in the country, Piro said.
Our research shows that some international companies, especially from Japan and South Korea, now want to go the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) route in various fields of the Vietnamese market such as manufacturing, retail, fast-moving consumer products, professional services, and more. In the pre-M&A process, they already plan to recruit talent or relocate high-level overseas staff instead of modifying the whole human resources system.

However, M&As harbour two great risks: personnel management and cultural integration. So, before officially starting M&A transactions, at least three years of conversion are needed.

Although the M&A deal between Navigos Group and en-Japan Corporation in 2013 was assessed to be a complete success, we also learned valuable lessons about culture and staff. Fortunately, our founder had created a culturally diverse environment right from the start, so when our parent corporation en-Japan visited Vietnam, they showed great interest in cultural characteristics here at Navigos Group. We still uphold our cultural heritage and construct a working environment focused on cultural diversity and the motto People are at the centre of development.

I think the key that led to this successful M&A deal is that the philosophy of Navigos Group was similar to en-Japans. As is the case for a successful marriage, we need to choose a partner that matches our characteristics, mindset, culture, and philosophy.

Another issue we had to face at the time was a feeling of resignation as the M&A deal was being processed. Some staff members were unable to get on with the new way of management and chose to quit. I want to emphasise that capabilities and specialised skills are not the focus in an M&A deal; being open-minded and thinking positive should be the most important things. For this, it is necessary to deliver consistent internal communications to each employee.

In all companies, the staff plays a key role in generating values. Every M&A transaction has to seriously consider the quality and quantity of the available human resources. I do not share the opinion that you should completely change the staff with an M&A deal; it is extremely time-consuming and a waste of money.

Vietnam boasts an advantageous population structure with a young, strong workforce, so the supply of employees will not bother international enterprises. In terms of quality, Vietnamese employees have less experience and less of a global mindset compared to workers in other countries. On the other hand, they have the cultural understanding and knowledge of the domestic market we really need when growing a business.

It has just been five years since M&As became a trend here. To many people, including employees and employers in Vietnam, M&As are a strange new thing. As a consequence, there are some internal shortcomings concerning a lack of understanding about M&As, which are barriers for both sides in such a deal.

In my opinion, enterprises should organise internal communications throughout M&A deals  before, during, and after. Along with this, the company leaders need to co-operate in managing the transfer period. They then need to regularly share their targets, long-term vision, and short-term goals in order to make employees understand their career paths as well as the companys orientation and feel more secure in their jobs. In addition, internal education is advisable if enterprises want their staff to meet the skill and knowledge requirements after M&A transactions.

The M&A wave took developed countries 20-30 years ago and it is said that M&A deals are essential for one enterprise to gain a market monopoly, expand its market share or scale up all over the world, or buy some joint companies and use investor money to buy and enlarge business segments.

As I have said, M&As must be communicated clearly inside the company to ensure that each person understands the meaning of this transaction. Moreover, in HR management, in lieu of a top-down style which makes employees uncomfortable, it is much more effective to use a bottom-up approach to build attachment. After the M&A, a bottom-up management model helps to understand the corporate culture and employee behaviours more easily. Once we understand our people, we can change to a top-down management approach.

Furthermore, department structures will be affected more or less depending on their functions and the nature of the work after the M&A deal. This directly impacts personnel objectives, so the management needs to take the following steps to retain human resources: Firstly, precisely know the restructuring process and offer suitable positions; secondly, ensure personnel career paths; and lastly, support training courses if needed.

I think Vietnam is opening up to and gradually familiarising itself with M&As, since developed countries dont have much space to invest anymore, but Vietnam is still a developing country with great potential. In my opinion, M&A deals in Vietnam involving international companies are win-win deals. The combination of products that suit consumers culture and trends with well-known global brands creates a resonance which helps sellers in the market achieve their long-term goals.

Nowadays, more and more companies are following the HRBP Model (Human Resource Business Partner), not only building a personnel strategy for growing the business, but also offering appropriate orientation for human resources in M&A deals. This includes hiring and training in anticipation of the post-M&A phase plan for HR management. If your company tends to M&As, then building an HRBP department is necessary. This model is also a part of bottom-up management, which helps to better understand and get more information from each department and business.

By Gaku Echizenya CEO, Navigos Group
Juncker follows a long list of European leaders who have tried to lure Trump away from a protectionist onslaught. (Photo: AFP/John Thys)

Juncker, a grizzled veteran of EU politics, follows a long list of European leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who have tried to lure Trump him away from a protectionist onslaught that has spooked financial markets and the world.

The former Luxembourg prime minister is going to Washington without a negotiating mandate, but with the intention of thinking "outside the box" to "find a solution" with Trump, said EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom, who will join Juncker on the trip.

Juncker leaves for Washington on Tuesday and his meeting with Trump is scheduled for 1330 (1730 GMT) on Wednesday, to be followed by a speech on EU-US ties at a think-tank.

"It is an opportunity to dedramatise any potential tensions on trade and to engage into an open, constructive dialogue with our American partners," Juncker's chief spokesman Margaritis Schinas told a news briefing.

At stake is a White House threat to slap a daunting wave of tariffs on European auto exports to the US, an action that the Europeans say would trigger a global economic earthquake and earn a withering riposte from Brussels.

If confirmed, Trump's auto tariffs would add to the steel and aluminium tariffs imposed in June that seriously damaged transatlantic relations already frayed by Trump's pullout of the Paris Climate accord and the Iran nuclear deal.

In response, the European Union on Jun 22 imposed a raft of retaliatory tariffs that targeted the most emblematic of American exports, from blue jeans to Harley Davidson motorbikes and whiskey.

Fearing car tariffs, Brussels is already drawing up a list of more US products that could be hit with retaliatory duties if Juncker's trip fails.

"We will continue to respond toe-to-toe to provocations," Juncker warned in a speech on Wednesday.

"All efforts to divide Europeans are in vain," he added.

'GUN TO THE HEAD'

Juncker's commission handles trade matters for the EU 28 and he goes to the White House with the firm backing of Merkel, the leader of export powerhouse Germany, a country that Trump has angrily singled out for punishing the US on trade.

Merkel expressed hope on Friday that Juncker could negotiate a solution with Trump and stop the trade war.

Tit-for-tat feuding between the allies would be "by far the worst-possible solution", Merkel warned, describing the current trade tensions as "very serious".

The potential car tariffs would not just violate the rules of the World Trade Organization, she added, but could also "endanger the prosperity of many people around the world".

But the prospects for trade peace seemed slim at G20 talks on Saturday after US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, a close Trump ally, said Washington would demand a wide-ranging trade deal with Europe in order to stand back on its tariff threat.

"If Europe believes in free trade, we're ready to sign a free trade agreement with no tariffs, no non-tariff barriers and no subsidies. It has to be all three," said Mnuchin at the talks in Argentina.

But French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire shot back firmly: "We refuse to negotiate with a gun to the head", insisting that Trump must first withdraw the steel and aluminium tariffs and stand down on his car tariff threat.

'NOT FOR LONG'

Not to be daunted by Trump's protectionism, Juncker last week toured Asia, signing the EU's biggest ever trade deal with Japan while also backing multilateralism alongside the Chinese government during a stop in Beijing.

The EU - the world's biggest single market with 28 countries and 500 million people - has also secured similar trade deals with US neighbours Canada and Mexico.

Also looming over the Juncker visit is last week's decision by the commission to slap US tech giant Google with a record fine over its Android mobile phone operating system.

Trump lashed out at the 4.34 billion (US$5 billion) penalty and warned: "They truly have taken advantage of the US, but not for long!" Trump said.
First LEED-certified office tower topped out of Tower 1 at OneHub Saigon

Tower 1, which has a total net lettable area of 10,199sq.m, has received strong leasing interest from companies in the information technology, business process outsourcing, and finance back office sectors.

Targeting companies from these sectors, Tower 1 offers space solutions for companies seeking expansion, relocation or consolidation; companies looking for big floor plates to improve productivity and working environment; as well as companies supporting tenants in Saigon Hi-Tech Park.

The handover of Tower 1 is scheduled to take place in November 2018, with operations expected to commence in the first quarter of 2019.

Tan Yew Chin, Ascendas-Singbridge CEO for Singapore and Southeast Asia, said, The topping out ceremony of Tower 1 marks an important milestone for OneHub Saigon. We are encouraged by the strong interest garnered to date. We are confident in the progress of OneHub Saigon, and are committed to delivering quality, collaborative space to drive the growth of enterprises in Vietnam.

Vo Sy Nhan, chairman of Ascendas Saigon Bund Company Limited, added, We have seen a decentralisation trend in the local office market, where companies relocate some parts of their operations to outside the CBD for cost savings purposes. For OneHub Saigon, the leasing progress remains strong. We expect to announce some pre-commitments in the near future.

Perspective of the project

Tower 1 will offer tenants quality office space built in accordance with international standards and industry specifications. The building is developed in consultation with Sydney-based PTW Architects (architecture), CPG Consultants (civil, structural, and MEP), and constructed by main contractor Coteccons. It is also the first LEED Silver Certified Office Building in District 9, Ho Chi Minh City.

OneHub Saigon, a joint venture between Ascendas-Singbridge and Saigon Bund Capital Partners, aims to provide a seamless and vibrant work-live-play-learn environment for its tenants and the surrounding community. The 12-hectare development will comprise of seven office towers, a mixed-use commercial block, work-office home-offices, an education centre, as well as recreational amenities built with sustainable features.

Phase 1 will feature lush and curated spaces for outdoor events and social gatherings. To promote a greener environment and encourage collaboration, the community spaces will be traffic-free and pedestrian-friendly, allowing tenants within the business park and surrounding developments to enjoy the lush greenery that OneHub Saigon has to offer.

Ascendas-Singbridge Group is Asias leading sustainable urban development and business space solutions provider with assets under management exceeding S$20 billion.

Jointly owned by Temasek Holdings and JTC Corporation in a 51:49 partnership, the group undertakes urbanisation projects spanning townships, mixed-use developments, and industrial parks. Headquartered in Singapore, Ascendas-Singbridge has projects in 28 cities across nine countries in Asia, including Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Singapore, and South Korea.

Besides, Ascendas-Singbridge holds commercial, hospitality, and industrial assets across the Asia-Pacific. It manages three Singapore-listed funds under its subsidiary Ascendas, namely Ascendas Reit (a Straits Times Index component stock), Ascendas India Trust, and Ascendas Hospitality Trust.

Saigon Bund Capital Partners is an investment company which is a joint venture between local fund NP Capital Partners and Gaw Capital Partners, a global real estate private equity fund management company. The firms investments span the entire spectrum of real estate sectors, including residential developments, offices, retail malls, hospitality, and logistics.
The deputy director of education of Son La Province was involved in wrongdoing in the high school graduation test in which 12 students had their scores in literature illegally increased, an official told the press on Monday.-Photo phapluatpluss.vn

The education and training ministrys Department of Quality Management director Mai Van Trinh also confirmed that there were signs of modification to some answer sheets in multiple-choice tests in eight other subjects.

Mondays announcement made the mountainous province of Son La the second locality after its fellow northern province of Ha Giang to have severe cheating in the 2018 national high school exit-cum-university entrance examination exposed.

At the press briefing, Trinh said 12 of 110 highly suspicious literature tests had been marked higher than they should have been by at least one point. One test was a full 4.5 points higher than it should have been.

The special inspection team deployed by education minister Phung Xuan Nha to Son La also detected a problem in the scores of 17 literature test papers in which the initial marks and those inserted into the computers as the final marks had gaps ranging between 0.25 and two points.

Six wrongdoings

According to Trinh, the team found six violations by the Son La Department of Education and Trainings Examination Board.

Firstly, the board wrongly saved the scanned images of multiple-choice answer sheets to CDs and brought them out of the no-entry storage area. Where the CDs were taken and who allowed it is still unknown.

Secondly, the board did not properly seal off the test storage rooms and the boxes containing the answer sheets.

The scoring of the multiple-choice tests was not conducted properly while the computer involved in the process was not sealed off either.

The team also found that the answers of some students in multiple-choice tests were erased and modified before the answer sheets were scanned and sent to the Ministry of Education and Training. The number of tests that were interfered with has yet to be determined.

Lastly, the handover of the answer sheets from the test places to the examination board and the storage of the answer sheets did not follow regulations.

Officials involved

Trinh said that preliminary investigation indicated that Tran Xuan Yen, deputy director of Son La Department of Education and Training who also acted as the deputy chairman of the local examination board and head of the multiple-choice test scoring team was responsible for the wrongdoings.

The names of another four education officials were also released, including the local education departments Division of Examination and Quality Management deputy director Lo Van Huynh, a member of the examination board, and three members of the multiple-choice test scoring team.

They were Nguyen Thi Hong Nga from the municipal education departments Division of Examination and Quality Management;,Cam Thi Bun Son, deputy director of the Division of Political Ideology and Dang Huu Thuy, vice principal of the To Hieu High School.

Proposed solutions

As police are expanding investigations into the case while the deadline for the students to apply to the colleges nears, the inspection team proposed prompt solutions for the sake of the students.

The team would replace the initial scores in literature of 110 students earlier announced on July 11 with newly-appraised results. They will be used to consider the students qualification for a high school diploma and university entry.

Regarding the multiple-choice tests, the team said that it would temporarily recognise the initial results until police reach a final conclusion. Any new scores would be the final and official results of the students in the test.

Universities who want to re-examine students from Son La would get support from the education ministry, Trinh said.

The municipal Peoples Committee deputy chairman Pham Van Thuy said the province respected the inspection results.

Son Las leaders are determined to strictly handle the case and wont grant any exemptions, he said.

Son La had more than 10,300 students participating in the national high school graduation exam this year with the average score of 4.21, the lowest in the country. The rate of students in Son La achieving nine points and beyond in maths and physics, however, outnumbered that of other localities that traditionally perform better.

Public pressure had forced the education ministry to dispatch an inspection team to the province on July 18, especially after Ha Giang was concluded to have 330 test results of 114 students modified upwards.

The police detained Nguyen Thanh Hoai, director of Ha Giangs Department of Examination and Quality Management and the deputy director Vu Trong Luong, for alleged power abuse to change the students test results.
At least 107 others were wounded in Sunday's powerful explosion, which happened as scores of people were leaving the airport after welcoming home Afghan Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum from exile AFP/NOORULLAH SHIRZADA

The death toll from a suicide attack near Kabul international airport has risen to 23, the health ministry said Monday (Jul 23), with an AFP driver among the dead.

At least 107 others were wounded in Sunday's powerful explosion, which happened as scores of people were leaving the airport after welcoming home Afghan Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum from exile.

The health ministry warned the latest toll, which initially had been 14 dead and 60 wounded, could change.

AFP driver Mohammad Akhtar, 31, was among those killed when the suicide bomber blew himself up.

The father of four had been on his way to work the night shift.

The attack was claimed by the Islamic State group through its official Amaq news agency, according to the SITE intelligence monitoring group.

Senior Afghan government officials, political leaders and supporters had gone to the airport to greet Dostum, a powerful ethnic Uzbek leader and former warlord.

Despite being linked to a catalogue of human rights abuses in Afghanistan, Dostum was mobbed like a celebrity as he arrived in Afghanistan after more than a year in exile.

He was travelling in an armoured vehicle and narrowly escaped the attack.

Dostum fled to Turkey in May 2017 after being accused of organising the rape and torture of a political rival.

He had denied the allegations and said his departure was for medical check-ups and family reasons.

Seven of Dostum's bodyguards have been convicted of the sexual assault and illegal imprisonment of Ahmad Ishchi, a former governor of the northern province of Jowzjan, in 2016.
Today's press conference announcing Vietnam M&A Forum 2018

Three sectors, namely customer goods, retail, and real estate, are expected to be targeted sectors for M&A deals.

According to the report released at the press conference organised by VIR and AVM Vietnam this morning to officially announce Vietnam M&A Forum 2018, during the past ten years, 4,000 M&A deals were completed with the total value of approximately $48.8 billion.

In 2017 alone, M&A activities reported numerous record deals, including ThaiBevs purchase of 53.59 per cent of Sabecos stake for $5 billion, pushing the total value of deals to $10.2 billion, up 175 per cent on-year.

For the whole year of 2018, the total value of M&A deals is expected to reach $6.5-6.9 billion, up 15.3 per cent compared to the figure of last year, excluding the value of ThaiBevs purchase of Sabeco and equaling 58.8 per cent compared to the figure of last year, including the value of ThaiBevs deal.

The breakthrough in M&A deals in the second half of 2017 and first half of this year was thanks to the governments policy reforms as well as the governments efforts to accelerate the equitisation process of the authorities as well as state-owned firms.

According to Le Trong Minh, editor-in-chief of Vietnam Investment Review and head of the Organising Board of Vietnam M&A Forum 2018, there are still ample opportunities for M&A deals.

On the side of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), only 8 per cent of the total state-owned stake in local firms was sold through a number of large-scale deals, like those involving Sabeco and Vinamilk. In the near future, if the government and local firms continue to accelerate the equitisation, there will not only be a thrust but also a breakthrough in M&A activities.

The breakthrough in M&A deals in the second half of 2017 and first half of this year was thanks to the governments policy reforms as well as the governments efforts to accelerate the equitisation process of the authorities as well as state-owned firms.

Regarding private firms, more and more foreign investors are paying attention to local firms in real estate, banking, retail, food processing, and fast-moving consumer goods, as proved by numerous recent deals, such as those of Vinhomes and Techcombank.

In order to reach the most benefits from acquisitions, Vietnam should have smart sale plans with specific strategies. The holders of the state-owned stake should refrain from offering massive stakes in a single sale, but should also not schedule too small sales, said Phan Duc Hieu, deputy director of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM).

Along with the opportunities, M&A activities will also have to face challenges, including the withdrawal of the US from the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the trade war between the US and China, obstacles in SOE equitisation, the low quality of Vietnamese firms, as well as the scale of the economy.

"In order to create a breakthrough for the M&A market in the backdrop of opportunities and challenges, the Organising Board of Vietnam M&A Forum 2018 chose the theme New Thrust, New Era. Through the theme, industrial experts and business leaders will focus on discussing challenges as well as solutions to stimulate investment capital via M&A deals. Besides, this years forum will also review the forums 10-year journey accompanying the M&A market in Vietnam," Minh said at the press conference.
Source: Real Capital Analytics

Foreign direct investment (FDI) disbursement rose by 8.4 per cent on-year to reach $8.37 billion in the first six months of 2018, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investments Foreign Investment Agency statistics.

In the first half of 2018, the Vietnamese real estate market continued to show irresistible appeal to foreign investors and continued to witness high-value merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions in a variety of sectors such as residential, commercial, and industrial.

Foreign investors come from many different countries such as Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with an increasing number of groups coming from mainland China.

JLL observes that there are an increasing number of local investors who are actively seeking real estate deals alongside foreign investors.

2018 started off with the acquisition of the Sun Wah office tower project by Nomura Real Estate Development. In this case, Nomura acquired a 24-per-cent stake in the Grade A office building located in a prime location of District 1 in Ho Chi Minh City. This transaction has shown Nomuras strong interest in the Vietnamese market and its long-term commitment to the country.

The residential sector continued to be upbeat, with five major M&A transactions occurring within the first six months of the year. A range of foreign investors joined in M&A deals of residential projects. Among them are CapitaLand, Frasers Property, and Keppel Land.

Malaysias Berjaya Land Bhd divested its entire 32.5 per cent of capital contribution in Berjaya Vietnam Financial Centre Ltd. to Vinhomes JSC and Can Gio Tourist City Corporation for a cash consideration of VND884.9 billion ($38.4 million).

In addition, Vingroup and its affiliates acquired Berjaya Vietnam International University Town One Member LLC and injected a cash sum of VND11.9 trillion ($518 million) as capital contributions into this project in December 2017.

Investment deals in the first half of 2018 were diversified with a good variety of asset and property types transacted. When looking at the market as a whole, we expect continued growth throughout most asset types.

Hospitality has been interesting over the past year, with new funds with foreign capital now specifically targeting this sector.

We expect that this trend will continue in this sector as well as in other growing sectors such as industrial and alternatives like education.

The affordable housing market is another key growth sector, now drawing specialist capital sources which identify value in the underlying fundamentals, including the growing middle class.

We expect foreign investors to continue showing their keen interest and strong commitment to the Vietnamese real estate market, and the market itself to keep growing.

Both current and incoming foreign investors are actively hunting for clean and clear projects that can meet their required returns and conditions.

Due to the strong focus on Vietnam by regional investors, we expect M&A activities to reach new record levels in 2018.

By Khanh Nguyen Associate director of Capital Markets, JLL Vietnam
Toronto police officers at Danforth Avenue at the scene of a shooting in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Cole BURSTON/AFP)

The suspect, identified as Faisal Hussain of Toronto, was found dead in a nearby alley after an exchange of gunfire with police.

Video footage posted by Canadian media showed a man clad in black walking on the sidewalk in Toronto's Greektown neighbourhood and suddenly pulling out a handgun and shooting into a restaurant.

Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders said an 18-year-old woman and a 10-year-old girl were killed and 13 people - aged 10 to 59 - wounded, some seriously.

"At this stage of the investigation we do not know why this has happened yet," Saunders said.

"It's way too early to rule out anything," the police chief said at a press conference. "Absolutely everything is open right now."

Detective Sergeant Terry Browne said police were seeking a warrant to carry out a search of the residence of the suspected gunman.

Witnesses said the shooting rampage lasted just a few minutes and sparked panic in the popular neighbourhood of bars and restaurants.

"It was a very rapid and fluid incident that unfolded very quickly," Browne said.

Andrew Mantzios told The Globe and Mail newspaper that he was having coffee with friends when shots rang out around 10:00 pm.

Mantzios said he saw a man with a "horrible expression on his face" shooting at a crowd of people waiting to cross the street.

"And then a lady tried to run and she fell down," he said. "He turned around and shot her point blank, two or three times."

"Believe me, I've never seen anything like that," he said. "I am still in shock."

'COWARDLY ACT OF VIOLENCE'

"Our entire city has been shocked by this cowardly act of violence," Toronto Mayor John Tory said. "Gun violence in any part of our city is horrible and completely unacceptable."

"I promise all of the people of Toronto, but most importantly those directly affected by this tragedy, that we will all be relentless in getting answers about why this senseless attack happened," Tory said.

Witnesses reported hearing at least 20 shots during the rampage on Danforth Avenue, Greektown's main drag.

Police officers located the man on a cross street "and an exchange of gunfire took place," police said.

"The man fled the area and was located deceased on Danforth Avenue," police said.

"There was a lot of shots," John Tulloch, a resident who was out for a walk at the time, told the Globe and Mail. "There'd be a pause, we heard more shooting, and then a pause and then more shooting.

"There must've been 20, 30 shots, altogether. It was a lot. We just ran," he said.

PEOPLE SCREAMED, FLED

Jody Steinhauer told CBC News she was at a restaurant with her family when she heard what sounded like 10 to 15 blasts of firecrackers.

She said she was told to run to the back of the restaurant.

"We started to hear people scream out front," Steinhauer told the broadcaster.

Ontario's new Premier Doug Ford called it a "horrific act of gun violence" and said his heart went out to the victims.

The shooting rampage comes amid concern over a surge of shootings in Canada's largest metropolis.

Canada traditionally has relatively low levels of gun violence, particularly compared with the neighboUring United States.

Tory, the mayor, said the shooting is "evidence of a gun problem" in Toronto. "That leads to another discussion, 'Why does anyone in this city need to have gun at all?'" he said.

According to police figures, as of July 14 there were 220 shootings in Toronto this year with 27 fatalities. There were 196 shootings with 17 deaths in 2017.

Last week, Toronto police began implementing a "gun violence reduction plan." That includes having 200 extra officers on shifts in specific neighboUrhoods between the hours of 7.00pm and 3.00am - when most shootings occur.

The Greektown shooting comes three months after the city was shaken by the deaths of 10 people killed by a man with an apparent grudge against women who drove into pedestrians on a street in Toronto's north end.
Top 10 of outstanding M&A deals in 2009-2018 period were announced at the press conference this morning in Hanoi

In general, in the last ten years, Vietnam saw an increase in both the scale as well as the volume of deals. Notably, in 2009-2010, the largest deal was valued at $100 million, while in 2015-2016 there were numerous billion-dollar deals. However, 2017 saw a new record in deal valuation in the M&A sector as ThaiBev purchased Sabecos stakes for $4.8 billion.

Foreign investors were involved in almost all of the largest M&A deals in Vietnam.

Here is the list of Vietnams 10 largest M&A deals in 2009-2018 (from The List 100) announced at this mornings press conference organised by VIR and AVM Vietnam.

ThaiBev and Sabeco

On December 18, Vietnam Beverage (49 per cent owned by ThaiBev), won an auction to acquire 343.6 million shares, equivalent to 53.59 per cent of Sabeco at VND320,000 ($14.09) per share. This brought the deal value to $4.8 billion.

This was the largest share sale in Vietnam so far and possibly the largest in Asia last year.

ThaiBev proceeded with the record deal due to Sabecos long history, dominance in the Vietnamese beer market, and high potential. Meanwhile, industry experts ascribed the high price to the control premium factor.

After the transaction, Vietnam Beverage officially became Sabecos parent company and holds a controlling stake in the company.

GIC Private Limited and Vinhomes

This April, Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC announced that it will invest about $1.3 billion in leading Vietnamese property developer Vingroup and related entities for its real estate arm ahead of its market debut, which is slated for the second quarter of this year.

Notably, GIC will purchase ordinary shares and extend a debt-like instrument to the subsidiary of Vingroup, namely Vinhomes, subject to the satisfaction of mandatory regulatory and other conditions. The combined value of the investment and debt instrument is approximately VND29.5 trillion ($1.3 billion).

GIC is a sovereign wealth fund of the Singaporean government. It is one of the largest investment funds in Vietnam. It currently holds a 5 per cent stake in Masan Group, 5 per cent in VietJet, 0.7 per cent in Vinamilk, and 3.5 per cent in FPT. Its total holdings reach a total value of VND15 trillion ($658.6 million).

Central Group and Big C

In April 2016, Thai company Central Group became the new owner of Groupe Casinos Big C Vietnam after paying $1.14 billion to take over a network of 43 stores and 30 shopping centres of the Big C brand.

According to the press release on the deal, Central Group, in partnership with the Vietnamese Nguyen Kim Group, will continue Big C Vietnams strategy, particularly concerning the supply of goods produced in Vietnam for Big C stores.

Central Group is one of the largest family-owned conglomerates in Thailand, with interests in real estate, department stores, retail, hospitality, and restaurants.

Singha, Masan Consumer and Masan Brewery

In late December 2015 Masan Group Corporation (Masan) and Singha Asia Holding Pte., Ltd. (Singha) signed agreements to form a strategic partnership. Upon investing $1.1 billion, Singha will own 25 per cent of Masan Consumer Holdings and 33.3 per cent of Masan Brewery. Masan Consumer Holdings will own the remaining 66.7 per cent of Masan Brewery.

The balance of the $450 million investment package will be transferred to raise the ownership rate of Singha at Masan Consumer Holdings to 25 per cent from the aforementioned 14.3 per cent.

In January 2016, Masan announced the receipt of its first investment, worth $650 million from Singha.

Of the amount, $50 million went to hold 33.3 per cent of the stakes at Masan Brewery. The remaining $600 million is to retain 14.3 per cent of the stakes at Masan Consumer Holdings, which used the investment to lift its holding rate at Masan Consumer from 77.8 to 96.7 per cent.

Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and VietinBank

In December 2012, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU), the core retail and commercial bank arm of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., agreed to buy a 20 per cent stake in VietinBank, one of the leading state-owned commercial banks in Vietnam, for VND15.5 trillion ($743 million), at the unit price of VND24,000.

This transaction was the largest-ever M&A transaction in the Vietnamese banking industry to date and a milestone for VietinBank after its equitisation in 2008, enhancing the banks financial capabilities and securing stable long-term funding for the banks development plan, and raising VietinBanks corporate profile with expected benefits from BTMUs global expertise.

The transaction was executed efficiently on a tight timetable and has shown both parties willingness to form a strategic alliance and capitalise on the growth potential of Vietnam.

TCC Holding and Metro Cash & Carry Vietnam

In early 2016, Thai company TCC Group, the largest investor in Berli Jucker PCL (BJC), completed the purchase of Metro Cash & Carry Vietnam from the German Metro Group.

Notably, on January 7, Metro Group and TCC reported that they have obtained all approvals required to complete the sale of Metro Cash & Carry Vietnam to TCC. TCC thereby acquired Metro Groups complete wholesale operations in Vietnam, including all 19 wholesale markets and the related real estate portfolio for an enterprise value of 655 million ($711 million).

One year later, in January 2017, TCC Group officially announced rebranding Metro Cash & Carry Vietnam to MM Mega Market Vietnam.

The new logo is a symbol of MM Mega Markets mission to provide the newest experiences for customers and this is achieved through the following 5M ideologyMeet, More, Magnificent, Meaningful, Mannerwhich represents the five dots above MM.

Mizuho and Vietcombank

Vietcombank, the nations largest listed bank by market value, completed its four-year search for a strategic foreign investor by clinching a deal to sell a 15 per cent stake for $567.3 million to Japans Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd. Accordingly, Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd. bought 347.6 million new shares in Vietcombank for VND34,000 ($1.63) piece.

As part of the deal, Mizuho was Vietcombanks only strategic foreign partner and provided the local institution with technical services to improve its business performance, including sending Japanese experts to Vietnam, training Vietcombank staff, and offering business opportunities.

Siam City Cement and LafargeHolcim

Last year, SCC, which is the second largest cement group in Thailand, spent $524 million buying 65 per cent of LafargeHolcim Vietnam, showcasing its strong interest in the Vietnamese cement market. After the transaction, Holcim Vietnam was re-branded as Insee Cement.

This deal was recognised as the Best Acquisition Deal at Vietnam M&A Forum 2017.

Fraser & Neave Ltd. and Vinamilk and SCIC

In the middle of December 2016, F&N spent $500 million on purchasing nearly 80 million Vinamilk shares, equivalent to 5.4 per cent of the dairy firms stakes.

After the auction, F&N increased its holdings in Vinamilk to 16.35 per cent and became the second largest stakeholder, following SCIC with 39.33 per cent.

It was recognised as the Investment and Private Equity Deal of the Year at Vietnam M&A Forum 2017.
Vietnam remains an M&A magnet, illustration photo, source: internet

Unfazed by stock market falls

After a period of intense growth, the Vietnamese stock market is going through a corrective period, with the VN-Index tumbling from its 10-year high of 1,204 points on April 9 down to 899 points on July 5. For the past two weeks, the market has been on the path to recovery, but it remains susceptible to external forces, such as rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve and the escalating trade war among China, the US, and Europe.

There are concerns that this dip in listed stocks will affect Vietnams mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market, which reached $5 billion in 2017. The majority of blue chips in the stock market have lost 10 to 20 per cent of their value since April, and daily liquidity remains under VND5 trillion ($216.7 million). Such a bearish market could be seen as a roadblock to major state divestments, as well as hindering the upcoming share sales of various firms. However, experts believe that the self-correcting stock market will not have a big impact on Vietnams long-term appeal as an M&A haven in Asia.

Nirukt Sapru, CEO of Vietnam, ASEAN, and South Asia cluster markets at Standard Chartered Bank, told VIR that Vietnam has a number of crucial advantages which M&A investors will not pass over.

Geographically, Vietnam is located in a strategic location in ASEAN, next to China, said Sapru. The country also offers strong GDP growth, political stability, low costs, and an emerging affluent population.

Sapru expected Vietnam to see deals worth $4 billion in the near future. He also admitted that the external trade war could negatively affect M&A investors who want to take advantage of Vietnams export power. But the effect will be more muted for investors who focus on Vietnams burgeoning domestic market.

In the first half of 2018, the market has witnessed a number of high-value M&A deals in Vietnam, notably $1.3 billion from Singapores sovereign wealth fund GIC to real estate developer Vinhomes, and $922 million from various investors to commercial bank Techcombank. Smaller deals include $100 million of equity raised by Yeah1 Group prior to its listing, $160 million of international bonds by Novaland, and $260 million worth of three-year bonds by HDBank.

For the first four months of 2018, inbound capital via M&As in Vietnam reached $2.26 billion, up 67 per cent year-on-year, according to reports by Saigon Securities Incorporation (SSI).

This capital injection via M&As in early 2018 has positively contributed to Vietnams stable macro-economy, but has little effect on the stock market, concluded the SSI analysts.

It is notable that Asian investors are the most enthusiastic bidders, explained Oliver Massmann, general director of Duane Morris Vietnam LLC. Most Asian investors come from nearby markets such as Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, and China.

Right timing

Despite generally positive remarks, market participants agree that the bearish stock market could cause a slowdown of high-profile deals, at least in the short term. Viet Capital Securities (VCSC), the advisor in various cross-border transactions such as VPBank, Techcombank and Big C Vietnam, noted that a number of M&As are being delayed due to the market decline. VCSC is advising about 10 firms in various sectors, from finance and manufacturing to real estate. If these deals come into reality and the stock market recovers, they can bring several billion US dollars into Vietnam.

The sluggish stock market also hampers the state divestment process, especially in the case of big firms such as Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical JSC, PV Oil, and PV Power. These firms have chosen to offload shares, intended for strategic partners, via the stock market instead.

Share sales via the stock exchange are more ideal from a political perspective, but the process will take a long time, said Ketut Ariadi Kusuma, senior financial expert from the World Bank.

Experts agree that in the list of challenges faced by M&A investors, short-term ups and downs in the stock market are ranked lower than Vietnams under-developed legal framework. As the country is still new to cross-border M&A transactions, a number of problems could be seen in previous deals. The problems include foreign exchange, timelines, and registration requirements.
On 16 November 2009, tax specialist lawyer Sergey Magnitsky died in Matrosskaya Tishina prison (Moscow). Immediately, the US Press claimed that he had been in possession of information concerning a State scandal, and had been tortured by the  regime .

The Magnitsky Act

The death of Magnitsky shut down the legal procedures that had been launched against him by the Russian Minister of Justice. Billionaire William (Bill) Browder declared in Washington that the tax expert possessed proof that Russian Power had stolen 3 billion dollars from him. Despite lobbying by Goldman Sachs, the US Congress believed it had clarified the affair, and in 2012 adopted a law sanctioning the Russian personalities suspected of having murdered the lawyer. Goldman Sachs, which did not believe the information forwarded by the parliamentarians, hired the lobbying firm Duberstein Group in an attempt to block the vote on the law [1].

On this model, in 2016, the Congress extended the  Magnitsky Act  to the whole world, requesting the President to implement sanctions against all people and all states which violate individual property. Presidents Obama and Trump obeyed, placing about twenty personalities on the list, including the President of the Republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov.

These two laws were aimed at giving back to the United States the role it had assumed during the Cold War as defender of individual property, even though they had no communist rival.

The two versions of the  Magnitsky affair 

As for the Russian State Duma, it responded to its US counterpart by forbidding the adoption of Russian children by US families, and by denouncing the responsibility of US personalities in the legalisation of torture (the Dima Yakovlev Law, from the name of the Russian child adopted in the USA who died as a result of negligence by the parents). President Putin applied this text in 2013, also forbidding ex-US Vice President Dick Cheney access to Russian territory.

The  Magnitsky affair  could have ended there. It seems to be independent of the  Khodorkovsky affair , exploited by NATO in order to accuse Russia of interference in Western democracies by way of disinformation or  fake news  [2]. However, the Russian Prosecutor General contests the narrative presented by Wiliam Browder to the US Congress.

According to William Browder, his company Hermitage Capital invested in Russia, particularly in Gazprom. He allegedly discovered signs of irregular practices and attempted to warn the Kremlin. However, his residents visa was then cancelled. Then his Russian companies were allegedly robbed by Lieutenant-Colonel Artem Kuznetsov, a civil servant from the Financial Brigade of the Russian Ministry of the Interior. Kuznetsov apparently seized the property documents during a search, then used them to register a new owner. Lawyer Sergey Magnitsky, who apparently blew the whistle on the embezzlement, was arrested, tortured and finally died in prison. In the end, Lieutenant-Colonel Artem Kuznetsov and  godfather  Dmitry Klyuev were allegedly able to deposit the 3 billion stolen dollars in a Cypriot bank. This is a classic case of theft by the Russian mafia with the help of the Kremlin [3]. This narrative inspired the seventh season of the Showtime TV series, Homeland.

On the contrary, according to Russian Prosecutor General Yury Chaika, William Browder illegally acquired 133 million shares in Gazprom on behalf of the Ziff brothers, via various straw men. Not only did Browder avoid paying 150 million dollars in taxes, but the acquisition of part of this crown jewel of the Russian economy is in itself illegal. Furthermore, his financial advisor, Sergey Magnitsky, who had developed another scam for the same Browder, was arrested and died of a heart attack in prison [4].

It is obviously impossible to tell the truth from the lies in these two versions. However, it is now recognised that Sergey Magnitsky was not a lawyer working freelance, but was employed by William Browders companies. He was not investigating embezzlement, but was tasked by Browder

with the creation of financial structures which would avoid him having to pay taxes in Russia. For example, the two men imagined remunerating mentally handicapped people as front men in order to benefit from their tax exempt status. Browder had much experience with tax evasion  which is why he lived for ten years in Russia with a simple tourist visa, then abandoned his US citizenship and became a British citizen.

These last elements prove William Browder wrong, and are compatible with Prosecutor Chaikas accusations. In these conditions, it seems at the least imprudent for the US Congress to have adopted the Magnitsky Act, unless of course the operation was aimed not at defending individual property, but at hurting Russia [5].

A leader of the Russian opposition paid by Browder

Alongside the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), Browder abundantly finances the work of a young lawyer, Alexei Navalny. Thanks to the help of US ambassador Michael McFaul, the young man pursued his studies in the USA at Yale in 2010. He created an Anti-Corruption Foundation in order to promote Browdens version and accuse Putins administration.

Having become a leader of the political opposition, Navalny and his Foundation directed a first documentary accusing the family of Prosecutor Chaika of corruption. But although the video is convincing at first look, it presents no proof of the facts it relates.

Simultaneously, Navalny ordered a second documentary from a Russian film director and member of the opposition about the  Magnitsky affair . But this journalist turned against his employer during the investigation, which was finally broadcast by Russian public television.

A spook and an ambassador paid by Browder

Thereafter, William Browder engaged an ex-agent of MI6 in Moscow (1990-93), Christopher Steele, and the ex-US ambassador to Moscow (2012-14), Michael McFaul.

It so happens that it was Christopher Steele who, in 2006  while he was with MI6  accused President Vladimir Putin of having ordered the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko with Polonium. In 2016, he also worked  freelance this time  for the US Democratic Party. That was when he wrote the famous dossier accusing candidate Donald Trump of being under the threat of blackmail by the Russian secret services [6] ; an unwarranted charge which has just resurfaced after the bilateral Summit in Helsinki. We find Steele once again, in 2018, involved in the Novitchok poisoning of Serguei Skripal  as a  consultant  for MI6, he of course accused the inevitable Vladimir Putin.

The Russian riposte

During the US Presidential campaign of 2016, Russian Prosecutor General Yury Chaika attempted to influence a member of Congress who was open to Russian thinking, Dana Rohrabacher (Republican, California). He sent her a note concerning his version of the Browder-Magnitsky affair. Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya met the son and son-in-law of candidate Donald Trump at Trump Tower, in order to inform them that a part of Browders dirty money was being used to finance the candidacy of Hillary Clinton [7].

Thereafter, William Browder became the main source of the enquiry run by Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller about possible Russian interference in  US Democracy . A long time before he became the Director the FBI, Mueller  who officially has no link to the CIA  had been responsible for the enquiry on the Lockerbie attack, which he attributed to Mouammar Kadhafi. Lets remember that Libya never recognised that it was implicated in this affair, although it accepted to pay a compensation to the victims. Above all, Scottish Justice established the fact that fragments of the detonator found on site were placed there by the CIA in order to accuse Libya. Mueller used the meeting of Trumps team with Natalia Veselnitskaya as  proof  of the subordination of Donald Trump to the Russian Intelligence services.

In the USA, Natalia Veselnitskaya represents the interests of several of Browders Russian victims. She also acted in 2014 on behalf of one of the companies that Browder accused of being connected to  godfather  Dmitry Klyuev. She also raised the question about the manner in which an agent of Homeland Security, Todd Hyman, had transmitted a trial document without proceeding with the usual verifications.

There will be no moment of truth

During the US-Russia summit in Helsinki, President Vladimir Putin proposed that his US counterpart allow US investigators to question those Russian civil servants suspected of interference in the US Presidential campaign, on the condition that Russian investigators would also be allowed to question suspects in the USA. Donald Trump is reserving his answer.

However, when the office of Prosecutor Yury Chaika transmitted the list of witnesses to be questioned, Washington panicked. Not only did Chaika ask to question British subjects William Browder and Christopher Steele if they should travel in the United States, but also ambassador Michael McFaul, lawyer Jonathan Winer, researcher David J. Kramer, and finally, agent Todd Hyman.

Jonathan Winer was in charge of the Lockerbie dossier at the State Department during the 1990s. He is a personal friend of Christopher Steele, and transmitted his reports to the neo-conservatives for a decade [8].

During Bush Jr.s first term, David J. Kramer played an important role in the management of the propaganda system for the State Department as well as looking after the stay-behind agents in Eastern Europe and in Russia. After having worked in various think tanks, he became the president of Freedom House, and campaigned on the  Magnitsky affair . He is today a researcher at the McCain Institute.

Although, so far, nothing enables us to tell which of the Browder and Chaika versions is accurate, the truth will soon emerge. It is possible that Russian interference may be no more than fake news, but US interference (by introduction into the crown piece of the Russian economy as well as via Alexei Navalny) may in fact be a reality.

In the context of Washingtons unanimous anti-Russian stand, President Trump declines Vladimir Putins proposition.
Ernst Lubitschs Design for Living. Photo: Paramount Pictures

If youre a lover of rom-coms, youll want to know the work of early Hollywood director Ernst Lubitsch. Though Lubitsch is no longer a widely recognized name the way, say, Charlie Chaplin may be, his influence on film extends into the present. Hes revered by film buffs and comedy nerds alike for a certain je ne sais quoi thats referred to as the Lubitsch Touch. That imprimatur is best described as the way he followed the oft-repeated storytelling rule of show, dont tell.

Lubitschs story and character details came in through the side door and, to mix metaphors, never came within striking distance of being on the nose. For instance, rather than use a wide shot of Venices Grand Canal to establish the setting in Trouble in Paradise, he showed a garbage collector on a gondola. In Design for Living, he revealed two characters infidelity by having Gary Coopers George note that Fredric Marchs Tommy had worn a tuxedo to breakfast. And that sartorial choice can only signify one thing: Tommys wearing his best walk-of-shame clothes.

Lubitsch was born in Germany in 1892 and began as an actor in the German film industry but soon moved into directing during the silent era. He came to the U.S. in 1922 and quickly became a sought-after director of stylish, sophisticated high comedies starring unflappably amused heroes and heroines. While his films are often delineated by whether theyre silents or talkies, theyre better separated into the categories of pre- and post-Motion Picture Production Code. Popularly known as the Hays Code, the MPPC was early Hollywoods attempt to self-censor its raunchy, highly sexualized, and often cynical material due to the threat of outside regulation of its immoral content.

Adopted in 1930 but barely enforced until 1934, the Hays Code called for the elimination of anything seen as base or scandalous in film. Men and women couldnt be depicted living together outside marriage, and even married couples were shown sleeping in separate beds. Criminal acts could appear onscreen, but only if the culprits were caught and punished by the films end, and that was just the tip of a prudish (and racist) iceberg. While older films are often thought of with a certain innocence and formality, Lubitschs oeuvre is testament that 1930s comedies could be forward-thinking, especially in giving women an agency that feels almost startling to see in black-and-white.

Director Billy Wilder (Some Like It Hot, The Apartment) reportedly kept a sign on his office wall reading, How would Lubitsch do it? So, in deference to that question, heres a primer on Lubitschs most iconic films that fans of high comedy should watch. This is how Lubistch did it.

Pre-Code Lubitsch:

The Marriage Circle (1924): Stuck in an unhappy marriage in tony Vienna, Mizzi Stock (silent-film star Marie Prevost) falls for her friend Charlottes (Florence Vidor) new husband, Dr. Franz Braun (Monte Blue), and brazenly goes after him. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Franz, his best friend and business partner harbors feelings for Charlotte. One of Lubitschs first silents in the U.S., The Marriage Circle certainly has the broad acting characteristic of the time, but Lubitsch used the silent-era comedy-of-errors style to power his love triangle using subtlety without the broader slapstick jokes silents were known for. Instead, there are mistaken identities of people seen only in silhouette and an extended bit of switching seating arrangements at a dinner to fuel the misunderstandings.

The Smiling Lieutenant (1931): An early collaboration with star Miriam Hopkins, whom hed come to make two more films with, The Smiling Lieutenant stars Maurice Chevalier, Claudette Colbert, and Hopkins in Lubitschs movie-musical period piece. In early 20th-century Vienna, Lieutenant Nikolaus Niki von Preyn (Chevalier), falls in love with Franzi (Colbert), the leader of an all-female orchestra. When he winks at Franzi during a parade, frumpy Princess Anna (Hopkins) assumes hes winking at her, which naturally leads to their marriage (hey, its set in 1905) and an unhappy Niki. Despite the rather chaste setup, the movies not afraid to skip innuendo in favor of being direct. It even includes the advice song Jazz Up Your Lingerie when Franzi gives Princess Anna a makeover.

Trouble in Paradise (1932): One of Lubitschs best-known films, Trouble in Paradise is also one of the earliest screwball comedies and a cornerstone of the genre. It follows Gaston (Herbert Marshall) and Lily (Miriam Hopkins), a couple of high-class con artists who fall in love with each others dishonest wiles. The titular trouble comes in when the duo decides to fleece the charming Madame Colet (Kay Francis), a beautiful and generous executive and heiress to a perfume fortune. When Gaston falls for Colet even as hes hoping to rob her blind, it threatens his and Lilys plans and their relationship. In each bit of witty, fast-paced banter between Gaston and Lily or Gaston and Madam Colet, Trouble in Paradise is full of a gliding delightfulness that somehow never turns saccharine in the way we might expect of romantic comedies today.

Thanks to the Hays Code, Trouble in Paradises slyly sexual dialogue and the crooked con artistry of its main characters kept the film from being shown for years. (Though by todays standards, its easy to miss the sex in Trouble, as it never rises past winking suggestion and is swathed in such charming elegance youd forget theyre alluding to the act at all.)

Design for Living (1933): Based on Noel Cowards play by the same name, so much of Design for Livings dialogue was rewritten that Coward famously quipped only three lines of his original text remained, including such original lines as Pass the mustard. Starring Miriam Hopkins with Fredric March and Gary Cooper, Design for Living is  as youll notice many of Lubitschs films are  about a love triangle. When Gilda Ferrell (Hopkins) falls in love with two men (Tommy and George) who are not only artists but best friends and roommates, she refuses to choose between the two. They instead live together with a gentlemens agreement that Gildas relationship with both men will remain strictly platonic, which, of course, it doesnt. Some aspects of Design feel very much of their time  theres the decision that Gilda will abandon her own art career in favor of midwifing her male friends talents (she literally calls herself mother of the arts), but the outright acknowledgement of sex at all makes Design feel shockingly modern.

Design for Living was also one of the last comedies Lubitsch made before the Hays Code was fully enforced, which explains its openly ribald humor, not to mention its depiction of two straight men and a straight woman living together outside marriage. And while theres the guise that theyre friends and colleagues only, theres more than a winking acknowledgement that Tommy and George are firmly outside Gildas friend zone.

Post-Code Lubitsch:

Ninotchka (1939): Greta Garbo stars here as Ninotchka, a Soviet inspector whose mind never strays from the Bolshevist cause. When she is sent to Paris to retrieve three comrades sent on a jewelry-selling mission, Ninotchka is slowly won over by the glitter of capitalism and, of course, the romantic shenanigans of Count Leon dAlgout (Melvyn Douglas), who warms her icy socialist heart. While Ninotchka is another of Lubistchs most beloved films, it now reads a bit like a propaganda piece for capitalism. Here Lubitsch sets up the Wests romance, art, and excitement as luxuries no Russian dares think about, especially not someone so sternly devout to the cause as Ninotchka. Nonetheless, the movie is still smart enough to occasionally knock its arrogant Westerners down a couple of pegs, and no one walks away without some humility.

The Shop Around the Corner (1940): Jimmy Stewart stars as Alfred Kralik opposite Margaret Sullavan as Kiara Novak in this classic rom-com thats considered one of the best screwball comedies ever made. Kralik and Novak are retail co-workers who cannot bear each others presence but are unknowingly corresponding anonymously. If the plotline sounds reminiscent of Youve Got Mail, thats because Mail borrowed heavily from the play Shop was based on, trading, of course, snail mail for the early digital eras AOL. (In a nod to Lubitsch, Meg Ryans character even owns a bookstore named Shop Around the Corner.)

Lubitschs original is every bit as charming as Nora Ephrons essential remake, as he utilized the Hays Codes constrictions to his benefit, using disdain between the lovers as an excuse to keep them apart until the bitter end. After all, if they fall in love too soon, theres no movie. But thanks to the Hays Code, Lubitschs fun sexual innuendos are gone. He kept the wit and romanticism of his earlier films, but Shops prudery is significantly less fun than Design for Livings shocking frankness. While Shop Around the Corner is universally beloved by critics  it even has a 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes  it feels a tad maudlin in comparison to Lubistchs pre-Code films. But what it loses there, it makes up for in charm, and thus, is still very much worth watching.

To Be or Not to Be (1942): Released in 1942, To Be or Not to Be went after Hitler when much of Hollywood was still afraid to touch him at all, even calling out Nazi concentration camps. The boldness earned Lubitsch credit for having principles in addition to his impressive artistry. The film stars Jack Benny and Carole Lombard as Albert and Maria Tura, two thespians on the Warsaw stage just before Germanys WWII occupation of Poland. To Be or Not to Be follows the pair and their theater company as they perform Hamlet at night while rehearsing a play about the Nazis by day. But before the show can even open, they get shut down by the actual Nazi occupation. By a crazy turn of events involving a love triangle with a young Polish pilot (which also gives us Carole Lombards perfect double entendre, Ive never met a man who can drop three tons of dynamite in two minutes), the couple get pulled into fighting alongside the resistance. Using their theater magic, they put their scrapped plays Nazi costumes and their hair and makeup expertise to work in a comedy of errors that nonetheless has a deeper message underneath  using, in fact, a speech not from Hamlet, but The Merchant of Venice.

Heaven Can Wait (1944): Lubitschs first film in Technicolor, Heaven Can Wait begins when Henry Van Cleve (Don Ameche) enters the stylish and opulent office lobby of Hell to meet the Lord of Darkness himself (played by Laird Cregar in probably the most elegantly courteous depiction of Lucifer ever seen). Having spent a lifetime being told he was a scoundrel, Henry assumes Hell is the place he naturally belongs and tells the Devil his life story of dishonesty and philandering to prove it.

Heaven Can Wait features Lubitschs beautiful details and sly dialogue, but this one never quite rose to the level of dizzying dreaminess of his earlier films. Maybe its that the gender dynamic actually feels more retro here than in Lubitschs previous work; Henrys antics with women, seen through todays lens, read more as low-key creepy and emotionally abusive than romantic, but its worth a watch for the way Lubitsch flaunted the Code while staying within it. Henry may have lived a life as, in his words, a miscreant, but Lucifer sees him only as a man full of the joy of life (again, debatable!) and wont allow him entrance to Hells fiery gates.
Photo: Mark Makela/Getty Images

Bill Cosby, who was found guilty of three counts of felony sexual assault, could be classified as a sexually violent predator, at least according to the advice of the Pennsylvanias Sexual Offenders Assessment Board. The new assessment of Cosby, who currently awaits sentencing under house arrest in his suburban Philadelphia home, reveals that the disgraced entertainer is considered a public risk. He may need to register as a sex offender and seek monthly treatment sessions if the judge in the case ultimately agrees with the assessment.

This morning, the Montgomery County District Attorneys Office requested a special hearing on the official assessment to determine whether the comedian will be officially classified as sexually violent, something that could impact his sentencing in September depending on how the judge rules.

This official assessment of Cosby was completed after his April conviction on the drugging and sexual assault of former Temple University employee Andrea Constand. Theres no word on when the judge may make his decision on this matter.

Under Pennsylvania state law, not everyone convicted of sex crimes is classified as being sexually violent  it depends on the details of the conviction. Factors the board likely considered in making its assessment of Cosby: whether there were multiple victims or a prior history of sexual assault, Cosbys relationship with Constand, the nature of their sexual contact, and whether Cosby went to great lengths to commit the offense (like using drugs or alcohol to impair his victim).

If Judge Steven ONeill approves of the assessment and Cosby is registered as a sex offender, under Megans Law he will need to follow a strict process of reporting for the duration of his life. In Pennsylvania, the former TV Dad will need to notify the 25 closest homes and businesses of his status and establish his ongoing compliance during quarterly check-ins with the state police.

Cosby, who fired his legal team this summer and replaced famed lead attorney Tom Mesereau with Joseph Green Jr., a Philadelphia-based defense attorney who specializes in sex crimes, is expected to be formally sentenced in September. Green could ask for a delay in the case after the recent change in Cosbys legal representation.

Theres a minimum-sentencing requirement for charges of felony sexual assault in the state. Cosby could face up to ten years on each charge.
Nico Walker wrote Cherry, his first novel, on a typewriter in a federal prison in Kentucky where hes serving 11 years for bank robbery. Its the tormented confession of a doomed romantic. After returning to Cleveland from a tour as an army medic in Iraq, Walker developed a heroin addiction that turned him into a criminal. His narrator undergoes a similar descent. The narrator isnt named, and I had a hard time not thinking of him as Fuckhead Jr., because the voice Walker has fashioned has a lot in common with the one Denis Johnson conjured for his masterpiece Jesus Son. There isnt the shadow element of spiritual questing in Cherry that you find in Johnsons stories, and since half the novel takes place in a war zone theres significantly more gore as well as the nightmares that accompany a witness of carnage. And unlike most narratives of addiction and derangement, theres no coda of conversion and sobriety. In its place we have the knowledge of Walkers imprisonment and the novel itself  the rare work of literary fiction by a young American that carries with it nothing of the scent of an MFA program.

Instead, Walkers prose style has the sound of mid-20th-century American writing  so much so that you think youre reading a book from the 1970s until a reference to Modest Mouse or Oasis or internet porn arrives to remind you that youre in the presence of an author and alter ego who grew up during the 1990s. In the Acknowledgements, Walker writes that in 2013 he was contacted by Matthew Johnson, an editor for the independent press Tyrant Books, who sent him a collection of Barry Hannah stories after reading an article about him  there was a lengthy profile in BuzzFeed  and in the course of their correspondence suggested he write a book. Tyrants editors then passed on the manuscript thats become Cherry to Knopf.

In the manner of a classic noir, Cherry begins with the narrator and his ex-wife at the bottom, shooting up in a squalid apartment with dull used needles. He passes out and she puts ice in his underwear because shes afraid hes overdosed. Theyve already become a ghoulish parody of suburban domesticity, with a dog who urinates in the living room: I feel bad about the dog sometimes. We had said, Well get a dog and we wont be dope fiends anymore. So we got the dog. And we stayed dope fiends. And now we are dope fiends with a dog.

Cherry is entirely free of the sentimentality of the pet owner. Whereas the dead dogs in Phil Klays story Operation Scooby, from his overrated National Book Awardwinning collection Redeployment, serve as overwrought symbols of the horrors of war and post-traumatic stress disorder, the dog in Cherry is just an animal that hasnt been house-trained because shes in the care of drug addicts. Waking up high on the floor of your kitchen with ice packed around your genitals may not be the best sign that its a good day to commit a bank robbery, but the narrator sets off for the robbery that will get him arrested. Once inside the bank, Walker indulges in a bit of deadpan didacticism:

Usually the tellers are pretty cool: you give them a note or tell them youre there to commit a robbery, and they go in the cash drawers and lay the money on the counter, and you take it and you leave and thats all there is to it. Really its all very civilized. Its like a quiet joke that youve shared with them. I say joke because in my case I dont imagine there was ever one to believe Id do anything serious if push came to shove, though I do make a point to try and at least look a little deranged because I dont want anyone getting in trouble on account of me. I have a lot of sadness in the face to make up for, so I have to make faces like Im crazy or else people will think Im a pussy. The risk you run is that sometimes people think youre a crazy pussy. But I have to do what I can; otherwise her manager might say to her, Whyd you give that pussy the money? Youre fired! And she goes home and tells the kids there isnt going to be any Christmas.

That sadness in the face and the idea that an armed bank heist is a sort of joke  these are as close as Cherry gets to traditional psychologizing. As the novel flashes back to the narrators freshman year at a Jesuit University outside Cleveland, his betrayal by an ex-girlfriend, his falling in love with the woman he would marry, her departure from Ohio to transfer to a school in Montreal, his flunking out of college and subsequent enlistment in the Army, theres a chain of causality, but each link, right up to joining up, is undertaken as if thoughtlessly. The narrator wasnt fated by class to become a soldier, a junkie, or a bank robber. His parents are middle class, undivorced, and supportive if not strict. Similarly, the narrators heroin addiction isnt a state of being with one particular trigger. Knowing of his descent in advance, we hear with dread that during basic training hes punched in the groin as a prank by a fellow GI and prescribed morphine for his swelling testicles. We think, this exposure must be what did it. But it isnt.

Instead, Cherry provides a meticulous narrative of opioid addiction, one of the most detailed account Ive seen in American lit  alongside Jade Sharmas novel Problems and Michael W. Clunes memoir White Out  since we became aware that the country was experiencing an epidemic. Theres less an arc or a downward spiral than a very gradual sinking. In Iraq the narrator receives painkillers in the mail from friends and sniffs chemicals used to clean computers with other men in his regiment during downtime. Back in Ohio, he takes dead-end service jobs and moves among young people in a scene where heavy drinking and casual drug use is de rigueur. Hes let down by VA therapists and distances himself from his family. He writes poems and sends them off to The New Yorker to no response, a desperate echo of his romantic Salinger-reading teenage self. When he reunites with his ex-wife, she already has an opioid habit. When Percocet pills start to be sold in a way that makes them impossible to cook up and use intravenously, they become entirely dependent on heroin to get their fixes. More and more the only other people in their world are the dope boys who service their habits, sometimes to the tune of more than $1,000 a week, and occasionally rip them off by selling them a bag full of mashed potatoes. A cash shortage, a bad deal, or an absentee dealer can leave them sick for days. They go back to school so that they can use a combination of G.I. Bill money and surplus federal student loans to buy drugs. They take to growing marijuana in their basement. When the narrator starts robbing banks its out of total desperation for money and the heroin it buys.

The war passages in Cherry have a shape not unlike its tale of addiction: things get worse, though without discernible logic because the wider dynamics of the war are obscure to the grunts who only learn details about attacks theyve witnessed from Yahoo News. Because of a shortage of medics, the narrator has a grueling schedule of tours outside the wire in an unnamed Shia city. He tends to the casualties of his fellow soldiers and of civilians. He sees a lot of corpses, many of them burned up from IED explosions with the fleshy parts melted away. The body count accumulates without any noticeable shift in the dynamic of the war (these scenes are set in 2005 and 2006). The narrator is immune to patriotic cant, an attribute that alienates him from other soldiers. At army ceremonies, the narrator always mentions that they played the Toby Keith song (presumably Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue, which provides the book an ironic epigraph) and the ritual is always hollow. Inside the wire, the Americans play poker, watch pornography and Faces of Death, and chain-smoke. A pair of soldiers down the hall make videos of mice dying by various cruel methods. One of their wives informs him that shes started working as a stripper and cheating on him. She told him all this shit in more detail than youd have expected she would. It seemed a little overvindictive, but in her defense she was hot and Corporal Lockhart was the type of guy who went around crucifying mice.

The only humor in Cherry is black, and there are no silver linings, no false rays of hope. Its a bleak novel, and the bleakness only occasionally relents around the love story between the narrator and his ex-wife, a story that ends in mutually enabled self-destruction. Emily is sweet, smart, and sexually generous but also elusive and unfaithful. The narrator never really seems to see her in full, as if shes obscured both by his romantic feelings for her and his own emotional and mental damage. Similarly, his fellow GIs in Iraq are only ever fleetingly glimpsed, often just before they die, and the dope boys who take over his life are an all-but-interchangeable set of double-crossing parasites (who are also desperate themselves and the closest thing he has to friend by the end). But deficiencies of characterization dont mar this novel. Instead, theyre intrinsic to its dark vision of the warping effects of the Iraq War and the opioid epidemic. The word for it is dehumanization. It was probably inevitable that a book like this would emerge from these twin scourges on American life abroad and at home, but it wasnt necessary that it be a novel of such searing beauty as Cherry.
Michael Che performs during Clusterfest in San Francisco. Photo: FilmMagic

Since Netflix released Hannah Gadsbys stand-up special Nanette in June, it inspired all kinds of debates and conversations between comedy fans, critics, and performers alike. But heres an important question: Did Saturday Night Live co-head writer, Weekend Update co-anchor, and 2018 Emmy Awards co-host Michael Che watch it? Che is off all social media these days with the exception of Instagram, where he often posts Instagram Stories for his fans, so I headed there to investigate.

First, I came across this post yesterday, which was part of a series of posts where Che told his followers hes tired of all the anti-comedy comedy happening these days, which he referred to as standup tragedy. It was, as far as I could tell, his first Nanette mention of the day:

Maybe he has seen it but just hasnt fully absorbed it yet? Undeterred, I decided to keep looking.

Hmm, thats too similar to the first response. With all this talk about standup tragedy, surely Che has seen Nanette by now. I kept checking, and later in the evening, Nanette received another mention.

This was part of a longer series of posts where Che argued that telling straight stories, rather than punch lines, about rape or trauma isnt funny and doesnt belong in stand-up comedy specials. Which, fair enough  hes entitled to his opinion. But why does he feel so strongly about it? Perhaps he saw Nanette and it made him angry? I kept digging.

There is certainly a fascinating discussion to be had about what qualifies as a joke and what doesnt in stand-up, given that there are some comedians who are known for punch lines and other comedians who are known for stories. But has Che seen Nanette?

It just really seems like Che has seen Nanette. How can we be sure?

At this point, I was starting to get frustrated waiting around for Che to address whether or not he has seen Nanette. I decided to check his Instagram one more time earlier today just in case he had finally revealed the answer.

Unfortunately, it looks like whether or not Michael Che has seen Nanette remains a mystery. Well update this post if Che breaks his silence.

Update, July 24: Michael Che has responded to this investigation on Instagram, but he still hasnt given a clear answer regarding Nanette. Rest assured, we will continue monitoring this story until Che addresses this directly.

Update, September 5: Che has given Nanette another mention today, but whether or not he has seen the special remains unknown. As mentioned before, well continue to keep an eye on this story in case Che offers a direct answer.

Photo: Instagram/Michael Che

Update, December 7: Che gave Nanette another mention today while discussing the news that Kevin Hart has stepped down as Oscars host after his old homophobic tweets resurfaced. Unfortunately, he didnt address whether or not he has seen Nanette directly.

Che went on to mention Nanette a second time today, teasing fans with a mystery:

Is the story that Che has seen Nanette? We may never know for sure.
Photo: Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again has one of the more surreal plots to come out of a recent studio movie, in that it replays the events that were already described in the first movie, and then just adds Cher. In the first few minutes of Mamma Mia!, Amanda Seyfried reads Meryl Streeps diary and learns about how she hooked up with three different men in a short span of time, any of whom could be her father. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again reenacts that story with Lily James and a bevy sprightly British twinks, because back in the present, Meryl is dead, and everyone is sad and reflective about it.

According to writer and director Ol Parker, he and Mamma Mia! producer Richard Curtis arrived at the idea for the sequels plot when Curtiss daughter Scarlett suggested it should be Godfather 2. In theory, Scarlett probably meant this as a simple, low-key suggestion: The movie, like The Godfather: Part II, should be a sequel thats really a prequel, moving forward by looking backward. But in practice, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is actually a mirror of the second Godfather film.

Consider that Lily James is playing a young version of the head of the family from the first movie, which makes her the Robert De Niro to the originals Meryl Streep/Marlon Brando. Then consider these other, very real parallels between the two franchises:

1. Amanda Seyfried spends the movie shoring up her family business, a nice hotel on an island  just as Al Pacino pulls together the mob, his family business.

2. In The Godfather: Part II, Robert De Niro travels to an unknown country (America), after his old world (Italy) starts to feel unsafe. In Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, Lily James travels to an unknown country (Greece), leaving behind her old world (the U.K.) because she kissed her teacher, or something.

3. In Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, Amanda Seyfrieds plans to reopen her mothers hotel go wrong when an unexpected factor (a storm) intervenes. In The Godfather: Part II, Al Pacinos plans to take over as his familys Don go wrong when an unexpected factor (a storm) intervenes.

4. The Godfather: Part II introduces a new actor (Lee Strasberg) who works with Al Pacino, and then reveals that hes actually plotting against him. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again introduces a new actor (Andy Garcia) who works with Amanda Seyfried, and then reveals hes actually her grandmothers ex-lover Fernando, as evidenced by the song Fernando.

5. In Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, Amanda Seyfrieds relationship with her paramour from the first movie (Dominic Cooper) is going poorly because hes off in America taking classes about hotel management. (They get back together; its a comedy.) In The Godfather: Part II, Al Pacinos relationship with her paramour from the first movie (Diane Keaton) is going poorly because shes trying to escape his criminal life by faking a miscarriage and taking his children away. (They do not get back together; it is not a comedy.)

6. In The Godfather movies, complex interior drama is punctuated sudden bursts of violence. In the Mamma Mia! movies, complex interior drama is punctuated by sudden bursts of ABBA.

7. In Christian theology, God is represented as a holy trinity that exists together and yet separately. In Mamma Mia!, Sophies father is also a trinity of men that exist together and yet separately. She has a Godfather.

8. Both the Mamma Mia! franchise and The Godfather are obsessed with baptisms. During The Godfathers, nearly everyone in the movie dies. In the other, Meryl shows up, and nearly everyone in the audience dies.

9. The Godfather replays its biggest hits (that baptism scene) with another scene in the sequel (a first communion). Mamma Mia! literally replays its biggest hits (the ABBA songs Mamma Mia! and Dancing Queen) in its sequel.

Given all that conclusive evidence, we can all agree these two movies are exactly the same and no one will be mad at the very idea of this comparison.
Joshua Kushner and Karlie Kloss. Photo: Instagram/karliekloss

Its an even better day than usual to be a rich, beautiful, blonde New Yorker in love. As first announced on social media, supermodel and coding enthusiast Karlie Kloss is officially engaged to her longtime beau, Manhattan real-estate scion Joshua Kushner. The brides close friend and sometimes doppelganger is Taylor Swift, a musician who has had success on the pop charts; the grooms brother Jared is married to womens-rights advocate Ivanka Trump, and works as a senior adviser to her father, Donald, the president of the United States. It is currently unclear whether Swift, or any members of the extended Kushner-Trump family, will be in attendance at the wedding, but with any luck, the happy nuptials will provide us a wedding photo even weirder than this one.
Photo: ABC

From Park City, Utah, to Richmond, Virginia, its already been established that The Bachelorette date locations are pretty underwhelming this season. But finally, in Monday nights episode, Becca Kufrin got a trip to Thailand to wrap up the fantasy suites and winnow her bevy of similarly underwhelming men down to the final two. Things have turned around, right?

Not exactly. Even in Thailand, Bachelorette producers couldnt come up with all-new date ideas. Becca and sweet meathead Blake hike up a remote tropical path called The Monks Trail (Wat Pha Lat) to a temple, where Buddhist monks tell them all about how to have serenity and honesty in their lives. The Bachelorette-appropriate twist is that the rules of the temple are apparently strict: For the entire hike and temple visit, Becca and Blake cannot kiss each other, or even to touch. Sexy! (None of the TripAdvisor reviews of this temple mention those rules at all, but okay!)

Less sexy: In JoJo Fletchers fantasy suites episode a mere two Bachelorette seasons ago, she went on an extremely similar date. She and Jordan go to Thailand, and then hike through the jungle (much like Becca and Blake) before entering a cavern where a Buddhist temple is located. The premise and setup are identical. Heres JoJo: Temples are very sacred here  but there is no kissing inside the temple  I cant help myself when Im around Jordan, and we have this intense chemistry! Heres Becca: To not see Blake for so long, and then to come on these sacred grounds, and at this temple, and to not be able to touch him and kiss him and hug him, even, its a little tough! We get it. You all have the hots for each other, and its torture to not kiss one another while hiking in what looks like an incredibly humid tropical forest.

If the intent of repeating dates is to give Bachelorette contestants extra opportunities to exoticize other cultures, then fine. Mission accomplished. Beccas thoughts on their temple date: Theres something so old and cultural about interacting with a monk. Heres JoJo on a similar topic: I want to respect the temple and I know how sacred these temples are. But it kinda sucks! Surely, though, theres more than one way to get Bachelorette contestants to say awkward things about non-Christian religions! Or at least go a different country to visit a temple where youre not allowed to kiss.

Its enough to make you wonder if The Bachelorette producers are phoning in this entire season. Poor Becca. The guy she seems likely to pick liked jokes about Parkland students being crisis actors, one of her other suitors was convicted of indecent assault, and this whole season exists because her fiance broke up with her while a camera crew filmed the whole thing. Getting a recycled date pales in comparison to those problems. But it certainly doesnt create the impression that anyone cares about making Beccas Bachelorette season into good TV, much less into a real opportunity for romance.
The Bachelorette Week 9 Season 14 Episode 9 Editors Rating 3 stars * * *  Previous Next  Photo: ABC

The Bachelorette kept teasing shots of this episode to make us clutch our pearls and worry about the fate of our dearest Bachelorette and her contesticles, but I have to ask: Who was surprised by this? Who didnt see this outcome from miles away? Even though we were all hoping it would turn out differently, we all knew exactly how this episode would go. As I was driving home from work with my boyfriend, I told him I bet on this episode theyre going to go to a temple, a street market, and some kind of boat. I bet shes going to take Garrett on the boat date. I wish I had taped myself saying that while holding a newspaper because I have never been more right about anything and had less proof.

But the most depressing thing about this episode isnt the complete lack of originality and the exoticizing of Asian culture. Its that we all know how this is going to end at this point and the ending doesnt look good. Becca is clearly way into Garrett and without any redemptive arc on the show, we have no reason to like him. His internet activity leads us to believe that hes a bigot or at the very least, thinks bigotry is funny. I dont care how many bamboo rafts he deftly guides down a river in Thailand, I just dont like him, ABC. Stop trying to make Garrett happen especially when we all can see Jason and Blake.

Can you imagine a Jason versus Blake final two? Tall Tom Cruise vs. Wide-necked Andy Samberg? Im very into it.

Also, one more thing. Why go through with the rose ceremony if Jason had already been sent home? Why not rearrange the episode to put Jasons fantasy suite last? Going into Garretts fantasy-suite date knowing that Becca had already sent Jason away stripped the episode of any and all dramatic tension. We dont have much but we need the dramatic tension.

The episode marched along without many surprises and twists and turns. Every guy basically played their part and gave Becca what she needed to make her decision. Lets get to it

The episode opens with Becca reading the copy provided to her by the Chiang Mai Board of Tourism. She says shes in love with two men and falling in love with one man (read: already made up her mind) but the first date of the week is with Blake. She meets Blake at a trail where they cant touch or kiss each other once they cross the threshold. Becca jumps into Blakes arms and kisses him for 13 straight minutes before crossing the threshold as an act of respect for this sacred space.

The couple walk up a hillside and sit down with monks in a temple. This whole thing was certainly very special and will make a great memory for Becca and Blake but she says, Theres something so old and cultural about interacting with a monk. Wait what? How does something give you the feeling of cultural? The monk gives them marriage advice because this is the best use of this monks time, Im sure. His advice is, Honesty, adaptation, patience, and giving. He gave a little explanation for each virtue and his explanation for patience was amazing: When you get mad, when you dont have a good time, please calm down and have mindfulness. The next time my boyfriend and I are not having a good time, Im going to tell him to please calm down and have mindfulness. Blake says something generic about the wisdom of the monks and they head outside and race down the mountain so they can touch each other again.

Storm clouds roll in during the evening as they head to the evening portion of the date. Blakes emotional turmoil is that hes worried that Becca has feelings for someone else. Well, not just feelings for someone else, because that would make him completely unaware of whats happening around him. Hes nervous that she feels the same feelings for him and the other guys. No one can possibly love her like he does and yknow what? I believe him. Becca tries to defuse Blakes anxieties by talking about Arie, which is what every guy wants to hear before having sex with a woman for the first time. They head to the fantasy suite and wake up the next morning after being arranged by the art department and Becca applies a full face of makeup. They also show her dress on the ground. ABC, we get it.

Blake poses without his shirt against the window as Becca lives and the sunlight really highlights his nips.

Up next is Jasons date. For this date, they head to a marketplace! Of course they do. Maybe Jasons flaw is that he doesnt have any apparent emotional turmoil. He sees her as a friend and a partner and says that he loves how strong she is and how they communicate. Hes one of the few guys who doesnt immediately talk about how Becca makes him feel. Becca and Jason visit another temple in the middle of the market. Becca makes a pretty innocent joke about decorating Jasons apartment with some of the decorations at the temple and Jason makes a little joke back and Becca FLIPS OUT. She cannot handle it. She has to go lie down in the shade.

Listen, weve all been there. Weve all suggested plans for New Years Eve on a second date in March. Weve all mentioned a summer wedding in February. And weve all been embarrassed and had to explain that you arent adding your dates extended family members on LinkedIn.

But Becca takes this as a sign from the lord above that Jason is not the man for her.

Shes a fool.

Jason is a DELIGHT. Hes cute. His hair is stupid, yes, but he seems to have his shit together. What more can you ask for?

When the evening portion of the date rolls around, the storm clouds are closing in. Jason is completely oblivious to whats going on in Beccas head and delivers a three-minute monologue about his feelings for her. Becca, hoping that his vision is based on sight, stops moving entirely and waits until its over. She gets up from the table and paces in the darkness. Becca comes back to the table and tells him that she cant have him go through an overnight date if shes not 100 percent confident.

Jason keeps asking her if theres any sliver of a chance that they could work and that the point of the whole experience is to push past your comfort zone to find out if the relationship can work. Jason might be too astute for this show. She tells him that she isnt confident one way or the other but she can see a future more clearly with Garrett and Blake.

She walks Jason out and she flops onto the bed and dabs her eyes with her maxi dress. She says she feels like Arie. Becca has gone too far down the rabbit hole.

Then its time for her date with Garrett. UGH WHO CARES? They go bamboo rafting and they meet baby elephants when their romantic date turns into a national festival day. The clip of Garrett saying Im scared to get engaged again is just him saying Sure, Im scared to get engaged again but I love you. Why are we watching this? This is all just filler until Jason shows up at Beccas hotel room.

I was thoroughly prepared for Jason to have his heel turn and become a creepy dude and squander all his goodwill. But he had a mature conversation and clearly and calmly expressed his emotions and needs! It was the sexiest thing Ive ever seen on a Bachelor franchise. He gives Becca a scrapbook he made and she reads it and sobs and laughs.

BECCA IS A FOOL.

On his way out, Jason says that hes rooting for Becca and her happiness and he always will. #JusticeforJason

Becca holds a completely perfunctory rose ceremony. Two roses. Two contesticles. Theyre heading to the Maldives to meet Beccas family! Lets start this joyless march to the finale!
Fear Street. Photo: Netflix

This article is updated frequently as movies leave and enter Netflix. *New additions are indicated with an asterisk.

As the horror genre continues through one of its most creatively robust periods, you might be asking yourself what you need to see and what you can skip. Lets be honest, horror fans: A lot of the genre we love is garbage. But we patiently weed through the trash to find the hidden gems. What if you dont have time for the trash? What if you just want the best horror movies on Netflix? As we have with comedies and movies in general, let us guide the way.

This Stephen King adaptation is one of those that seeps into your blood and poisons it. Thomas Jane stars as Wilfred James, a provincial man who manipulates his teenage son (Dylan Schmid) into helping kill his mother (Molly Parker) so she cant take her share of the familys money and ship off to the big city  effectively leaving their farm to die. Wilfred and his boy struggle to cope with what theyve done, and must try to survive their now-cursed life as killers.

#Alive (2020)

Released at the height of the pandemic, this Korean zombie flick became a surprise hit on Netflix, but the truth is that it could have worked even without the timeliness of the tale of a man stuck in his apartment during the apocalypse. Smart and fast-paced, this is an excellent modern zombie movie that alternates building tension with clever action scenes.

Look, another Netflix Original! The Raid director Gareth Edwards moves from action to horror in this slow-burn period piece about a man who goes to rescue his sister from a remote cult. It starts as something dreamy and scary a la The Wicker Man but ends up being something much grosser and darker as it reaches its unforgettable climax.

The divisive Zack Snyder returns to the world of zombie action years after his breakthrough with a remake of George A. Romeros Dawn of the Dead, and the result is a bit of mindless undead fun. Dave Bautista stars as the leader of a ragtag group of former soldiers who are tasked with breaking into the zombie-overrun city of Las Vegas to retrieve millions in a safe under the city.

McGs surprise horror-comedy hit was so popular for Netflix that it produced a sequel in 2020s The Babysitter: Killer Queen. Stay far away from that garbage, but do check out the original, a film that instantly made clear how much Samara Weaving was going to be a star. Weaving plays a babysitter who just happens to be a sociopathic cult member. Good times.

Ana Lily Amirpour wrote and directed this controversial 2017 film starring Suki Waterhouse, Jason Momoa, Giovanni Ribisi, Keanu Reeves, and Jim Carrey. Its more post-apocalyptic drama than direct horror, but theres enough grim, gruesome material here for it to qualify. Waterhouse plays a young lady exiled into a group of cannibals, whom she flees only to arguably be in more trouble under the sway of a cult leader, played by Reeves. Its a tough, brutal movie.

Teresa Palmer is great in this tense thriller about an Australian photographer who goes to Germany and meets an attractive young man. They have a night of passion and she wakes up to discover that shes unable to leave his apartment, kidnapped by her one-night stand. Tense and unforgettable, its the kind of hidden gem that Netflix is great at bringing to a bigger audience.

Cadaver (2020)

Looking for a little foreign flavor in your horror? Check out a unique Norwegian film take on the post-apocalyptic genre as it envisions a future in which resources are so scarce that people will do anything for them, bringing a family of three to an event at a hotel that has truly sinister undertones.

This may be more of a thriller than a horror film, but we have to get this list to 50 somehow and it ends in a brutal enough way to qualify. And we swear they wont all be Netflix Originals (there just happens to be a lot at the top of the alphabet). Two Scotsmen go hunting and a horrible accident ensues that results in the shooting of a young boy. Instead of owning the horror, they try to cover things up. If movies have taught us anything its that covering up a childs death never works.

Did you like Us? Check out this other variation on the concept of the doppelganger, which stars Madeline Brewer as a cam girl who wakes up one day to find out that shes still online. Well, someone who looks exactly like her is still online. How is this possible? Watch the movie and find out. Its a fantastic horror movie with one of the best performances youll find on this entire list from Brewer.

Cargo is the best of what were calling the emo zombie wave in horror. It stars Martin Freeman as a man who has just lost his wife to infection, and who is also staring down his own rabid turn. Hes got just 48 hours until he becomes one of the walking dead roaming the Australian landscape, and in that time he must find a suitable safe haven for his baby daughter. Its well-acted, and adds a few wrinkles to the standard zombie mythology.

Is this the biggest horror movie of the 2010s? Not only did it make James Wan into a major director, but it spawned its own multiple title franchise with spin-offs like The Nun and Annabelle. Go back to the beginning and watch the first and arguably still best film in the series, a fantastic haunted house movie that revitalized the genre.

James Wan followed up his hit franchise-launcher with a sequel that was arguably even more confident and accomplished. Critics of The Conjuring 2 point to its overcrowding when compared to the tighter original but miss the incredible sound design and use of space in this smash hit, a movie that made over $320 million worldwide on positive reviews. A third film was released in Summer 2021 to mixed reviews.

Creep is as simple as it is effective. Mark Duplass co-stars in and produced this lean horror movie from writer, director, and fellow star Patrick Brice. Duplass plays Josef, and man with terminal cancer who recruits a videographer (Brice) to film him at a remote cabin so that he may leave behind a video diary for his young son. Well, thats who Josef says he is, but of course Josef is lying, and over the course of a day and night, Brice becomes the unwilling plaything of a devious killer who likes to toy with his victims before he kills them. Filmed on a hand cam, Creep is tense and claustrophobic, with Duplass embodying a terrifyingly believable maniac whom you could meet in line at a coffee shop.

Guillermo Del Toros gothic horror film seemed to start building a cult following the instant it was released. Sure, mainstream audiences who came to the multiplex in October looking for a scary movie didnt quite respond to it, but a reappreciation started quickly. After all, this is a gorgeous, unforgettable piece of craft, a reminder that Del Toros vision is unlike anyone else working together.

Deep Blue Sea (1999)

Giant sharks + charismatic actors = something worth watching on streaming. Its been fun to watch this B-movie guilty pleasure build a following in the two decades since its release. Its so popular still that there was a cheap sequel released just this year. Its the story of genetically engineered sharks who attack people played by Saffron Burrows, Thomas Jane, LL Cool J, and Samuel L. Jackson, who has (spoiler!) one of the best death scenes in the history of action movies.

Leigh Janiak co-wrote and directed a trilogy of adaptations loosely based on the books by R.L. Stine. These great horror films tell the story of Shadyside, a small town cursed by a witch generations ago in a way that has led to waves of murders ever since. Smart, funny, and truly bloody, they first seem like mere homages to classic horror (and there are a ton of fun references for genre fans) but they also stand firmly on their own two feet.

The Forest of Love (2019)

Its impossible to describe the work of Sion Sono in a capsule format. Hes one of our craziest filmmakers, and his 2019 effort is one of his craziest films. Seriously, theres no plot description that can explain what one would find in this alternately gory and darkly humorous experience. Sono is a truly singular voice and this is one of his most unforgettable efforts.

Send up that Mike Flanagan signal, because weve got another one  and perhaps his best. Geralds Game stars Carla Gugino giving a career-best performance as Jessie, the docile housewife of handsome, successful Gerald, who whisks her away for a weekend to their country home so the couple can put the spice back in their marriage with a little kink. Gerald proves himself to be a total bastard, however, when he springs a surprise rape fantasy on his wife and then dies of a heart attack on top of her  before he can unlock her handcuffs. Jessie must then confront both her inner demons and a looming bogeyman, that may or may not be real, as she struggles to get free before wasting away on the bed. The scene with the hand was one of the most shocking screen moments of 2017.

Travis Stevens co-wrote and directed this grisly, clever 2019 horror film about a man, played by wrestler C.M. Punk, who remodels an old home in the suburbs of Chicago, where he finds, well, bad things. With great practical effects and a pitch-black sense of humor, its a movie that recalls great horror films of the 70s and 80s in ways we dont see from the genre that often nowadays. Its crunchy and brutal. Dont miss it.

Dan Stevens is phenomenal in Adam Wingards ode to 80s thrillers, in which the star of Downton Abbey plays a vet who returns to the family of a fellow fallen soldier and works his way into their lives. Smart and vicious, its the kind of indie hit that will surely now find a bigger, appreciative audience on Netflix.

Henry Rollins should act more. The iconic lead singer of Black Flag is great here as an immortal loner who has completely become a hermit to protect himself and others. He makes the classic mistake of getting close to someone, and the rest is better left unspoiled. Suffice to say that Rollins is a captivating lead. There were rumors a few years ago that this was to be spun off into a mini-series continuation. Were in.

One of the best horror movies on Netflix, this Sundance darling is the tale of a pair of Sudanese refugees who flee to London only to discover ghosts have fled with them. Its a harrowing, terrifying piece of work, elevated even further by its impressive commentary about how much people bring with them when they leave. Houses arent haunted; people are.

Jeremy Saulniers Blue Ruin and Green Room are more widely beloved, but appreciation for his 2018 Netflix original has really started to grow over the last couple years. Its a tense film thats really more of a thriller than a horror movie, but Saulnier imbues this tale of a writer (Jeffrey Wright) who is asked to hunt wolves in the Alaskan tundra, an intense atmosphere that will linger in viewers minds.

Mike Flanagan strikes again! Before A Quiet Place turned silence into a blockbuster monster movie plot device, Flanagan was using sensory deprivation to make Hush one of the best horror movies of 2016. Co-written with star Kate Siegel, the movie takes place over one night when a deaf woman has to evade dying at the hands of a killer whos stalking her around her house and trying to break in. Siegel gives an outstanding lead performance in this tight, distressing came of cat and mouse.

Hopefully, this list contains an array of horror styles from the more direct impact of a slasher pic to something more akin to a thriller to everyones favorite subgenre, the ghost story. Thats what Oz Perkins (son of Norman Bates himself, Anthony) delivers with this divisive Netflix Original. Ruth Wilson stars as a caretaker named Lily, who is tending to an old horror writer who suffers from dementia. It turns out the old ladys house may be haunted. Moodier and more deliberate than probably any other film on this list, Perkins plays with atmosphere in a way thats creepy and unforgettable.

Trey Edward Shults is quickly becoming one of the most important directors of his generation with his personal debut Krisha and one of the darlings of the 2019 festival season, Waves. In between is this daring film that A24 kind of sold too much as a horror film, turning off viewers expecting something more traditional. Its a mood piece about trust and survival starring Joel Edgerton, Christopher Abbott, Carmen Ejogo, Riley Keough, and a kid whos about to blow up into a huge star, Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Luce).

The movie that ushered in the blockbuster era is often viewed more in terms of how it changed the industry than the fact that its, well, perfect. Seriously, you dont need to change a single frame, line reading, or edit in Jaws, a film that works to raise tension from its very first scene. (The first two sequels are also on Netflix. Go elsewhere for the fourth movie, if you dare.)

A man who likes to play God meets a boy who likes to play Satan in this twisted horror film from Yorgos Lanthimos, the daring director of The Lobster and The Favourite. Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman head the cast of a film that owes more to 70s psychological horror than slasher pics.

Even people who have never seen the movie know the story of how Christian Bale nearly killed himself with weight loss to make it all the more harrowing. Bale stars as Trevor Reznik, an insomniac who spirals into complete madness. Brad Anderson is the best director you probably dont know by name, and The Machinist is one of his best films, anchored by the complete commitment of its leading man.

Alexandre Aja returns to the art of the confined space with his follow-up to Crawl in this French-language thriller about a woman (Melanie Laurent) who wakes up in a cryogenic chamber with no memory of how she got there or really even who she is. As she runs out of oxygen, she has to piece together the fragments of her memory. Laurent is fantastic in one of the best recent Netflix originals.

Arguably more fantasy than horror, Guillermo Del Toros masterpiece has just enough nightmare fuel to qualify, and thats not even including the incredibly dark real-world themes with which GDT is playing here. Del Toros first Oscar winner blends the fantasy world of a girl named Ofelia and the abject cruelty of her stepfather, a Captain during the Spanish Civil War. Even in a movie that features a child-eating creature called the Pale Man, the real monster may be human.

Nicolas Pesce followed up his twisted debut in Eyes of My Mother with this 2018 adaptation of the novel of the same name by Ryu Murakami. Christopher Abbott is phenomenal as a serial killer who gets more than he bargained for with an expected victim, played by Mia Wasikowska.

This Spanish hit has been one of the most watched new films on Netflix for all of March 2020. As the world deals with a pandemic, theres something about watching a futuristic society that falls apart because of greed and selfishness. The concept is a great hook  a futuristic prison sends a platform of food down floor by floor, and theres not much left by the time it gets to the bottom. Grisly and smart, this is a movie people will be talking about long after the pandemic.

More from the emo zombie movement. This Canadian import (original title: Les Affames) is another exploration of who we are and what we do after the fall. Its an undead thriller for the discerning drama fan.

Julia Ducournau made headlines this summer when she became only the second woman to win the Palme dOr for the upcoming, unforgettable Titane. To prep for that, go back and watch her breakthrough debut in this story of a young vegetarian who tastes meat for the first time and, well, changes. Ducournau is clearly going to be a vital voice in the horror genre, and this was just the beginning.

David Bruckner directed this story of a man (Rafe Spall) dealing with trauma after the death of a friend in a robbery. To heal himself and his other friends, he has the plans a hiking trip in northern Sweden in memory of their lost ally. Things do not go as planned.

In 2010, Martin Scorsese released his adaptation of Dennis Lehanes best novel, the story of a U.S. Marshal who investigates a missing patient at a legendary mental hospital. Scorsese is in full command of his skill as a craftsman in this riveting thriller that also co-stars Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, and Michelle Williams. Its one of the most underrated films of the last decade.

Its odd how often Netflix has sequels on their service but not the original. Take, for instance, this 2015 follow-up to 2012 Blumhouse hit starring Ethan Hawke. It hits a few of the same beats as the original, but its still worth a watch; James Ransone is strong in the lead role, directed this time by Ciaran Foy, who would go on to helm the Netflix Original horror film Eli.

Loosely based on a true story, The Strangers is one of the best home invasion flicks of the modern era. Its the terrifyingly relatable story of a couple, played by Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman, who are attacked in their vacation home in the middle of the night. Made for almost nothing, The Strangers was a huge smash, tapping into something we all fear could happen when we hear a strange sound outside in the middle of the night.

J.D. Dillard directs this Sundance Blumhouse flick that sadly never got a theatrical release but should find loyal viewers on Netflix. The great Kiersey Clemons plays a survivor of a boat crash who washes up on a deserted island. At night, she learns theyre not alone. Thats really all you need to know about a visually striking and thematically fascinating piece of survival horror.

If you want a break from your typical American ghost story, go for Under the Shadow, an Iranian horror film about a woman whose apartment is being haunted by a djinni. Set against the backdrop of the IranIraq War in the 1980s, the tension is heightened by the fact that the world outside the home is as dangerous as the one within. Ratcheting up the anxiety even further is the fact that our protagonist, Shideh (Narges Rashidi), is dealing with the fear of losing her husband in the war, the resentment of being a stay-at-home mom who is forbidden by the state from working, and a demon infestation all at once. An excellent movie by director-to-watch Babak Anvari.

Underworld (2003)

The first three films in Len Wiseman and Kate Beckinsales goofy action series about vampires and werewolves have returned to Netflix, including the 2003 original, 2006 Evolution, and 2009 Rise of the Lycans. If you watch them enough then maybe theyll add part four and five next month.

Films that take place entirely on a laptop or through social media are more common than they were in 2014 when this film felt entirely new. Its a smart horror film told through the screen of a MacBook, and it tells the story of high school students who discover that their Skype conversation is quite haunted.

Oz Rodriguez co-wrote and directed this fun family/comedy/horror hybrid thats reminiscent of genre films from the 80s in its blend of the spooky and the playful. Three kids in the Bronx discover that the gentrification in their neighborhood includes some literal bloodsuckers. The kids steal the show, but Shea Whigham, Method Man, and Sarah Gadon are great in the supporting cast too. Everyone nails the tone here.

As much satire as horror, Dan Gilroys Sundance hit stars Jake Gyllenhaal as an art critic who gets involved in the sale of terrifying paintings from an unknown artist that may have some sort of horrific curse associated with them. How far will the art world go to embrace a new talent, especially one that sells? The film a bit inconsistent, but contains some fantastic imagery, and a great ensemble cast.

Paco Plaza (REC) directed this Spanish film that premiered at TIFF and is loosely based on the story of a woman who died mysteriously after using a Ouija board in 1991. The story goes that the teenager tried to contact her friends deceased boyfriend and, well, things went weird. Its an effective horror flick with some memorable imagery.

Another indie horror movie making a quick turnaround to Netflix, this 2020 genre flick stars Alexandra Daddario as one of three women who meet a bunch of guys at a metal show and end up taking them back to the house theyre sharing. Against a backdrop of Satanic murders, Marc Meyers flips the expected script in this tight, clever little thriller.

Colin Minihans indie thriller is a stylish reminder that everyone has secrets, even the person you love. Jules (Brittany Allen) and Jackie (Hannah Emily Anderson) are taking a trip to an old family home of Jackies to celebrate their anniversary when things go very very wrong. With a shocking mid-movie twist that best remains unspoiled, this is a tense, clever movie with a pair of strong performances and tight screenplay.
From Young Jean Lees Straight White Men, at the Hayes. Photo: Joan Marcus

A few days ago, the Times published an extensive profile of Young Jean Lee in anticipation of Second Stages revival of her 2014 play Straight White Men, which marks  in that equally exciting and depressing way of a lot of current milestones  the first play on Broadway by an Asian-American woman. The article digs into Lees reputation as a provocative experimental playwright (the queen of unease once wrote the Village Voice), a writer whose work riffs on all manner of stereotypes, putting its audiences in purposefully unsafe spaces where thorny issues of gender and race are dissected with a sense of merciless mischief. But hiding in there with the descriptions of some of the most brazen episodes in Lees plays, and with intentionally intimidating tidbits like the motto of Lees production company (Destroy the Audience), are these words, spoken by Lee in regard to the way our conversations about identity politics have taken on a flat, frightening rigidity: Its like youre good or youre evil, says the playwright, youre a queer woman of color or youre some version of entitled privileged person. I feel like compassion is very out right now. Curiosity is out. Whats in is condemnation and punishment. Now is not the moment for nuance; people do not want it.

I felt something open up in my chest when I read those words, and perhaps, with them in mind, it shouldnt be surprising to discover that Straight White Men is a more kindhearted play than the provocateur aura crackling around its author might lead you to expect. In fact, the 90-minute examination of the ingrained dynamics at work amongst an aging father and his three adult sons is, in large part, exactly those things Lee points to as so currently unfashionable: Its nuanced, curious, and compassionate. Thats not to say its comfortable  Lees sense of mischief and her expert control of tension are still at play  but it is, in its bones, gentle. Those buying tickets hoping for a gleeful evisceration of straight white male privilege, a parodic fuck-you of a play, may be disappointed. Good. Lee is doing something much harder and much more humane.

Most of Straight White Men plays out in a deliberately conventional form: the three-act domestic, naturalistic drama, which Lee cheekily calls the straight white man of theater forms (shes not wrong). But the play exists within several frames, starting with its title. No matter what happens in the realistic living room well eventually stare into for an hour and a half  where, were informed, the characters will dutifully stay in character and pretend not to see you  those three little words, Straight White Men, put the whole event in an anthropological box. Its almost like a visit to the zoo, where every big cat is a unique creature, perhaps thinking its own eccentric, nonreplicable thoughts, but the sign says Bengal Tigers, and so we view them as a group, a species whose shared behavior we observe through the glass. So it is with Lees characters, who even have their own sign: The second frame the play exists within is literal, weighty, and wooden. It surrounds Todd Rosenthals living room box set and bears a large plaque at the bottom, emblazoned with the plays title. Its another lens for our observer-ship: Now weve moved on from the zoo to an art gallery, and unlike at the zoo, the things we go to look at in a gallery are frozen in time, often archaic  one might even say, already dead.

That strikes me as enough external commentary to get me in an alert, inquisitive headspace, but theres more. Straight White Mens third frame is the presence of two performers who dont share the description of the title. Lee calls for her play to be introduced and for its transitions to be orchestrated by a pair of People in Charge, here played by two nonbinary performance artists, the gender theorist and self-described Jew from the Jersey shore Kate Bornstein, and the activist and member of the Oneida and the Ojibwe nations, Ty Defoe. According to Lee, the plays pre-show music, curtain speech, and transitions  should create a sense that the show is under the control of people who are not straight white men. This means that when you enter the theater, explicit rap by women vocalists is blaring over the sound system, a silver tinsel curtain obscures the set, and Bornstein and Defoe, decked out in fun variations on turquoise tie-dye by costume designer Suttirat Larlarb, are patrolling the aisles of the Helen Hayes, cheerfully shouting over the music to greet audience members. Later on, theyll appear in the half-light between acts to maneuver the plays straight white male characters into position like a bunch of life-size, un-wound-up dolls.

I admit to feeling divided about Lees insistence on all three frames (and it is Lees: Director Anna Shapiro and her designers are following the playwrights explicit stage directions to the letter, from the tinsel curtain to the preshow music to the literal scenic frame). I wondered how my experience might have differed with one layer of commentary removed, or perhaps woven into the productions fabric in a different way. What if I hadnt read in the script that there should be a sense that the show was created by people who are not straight white men, but instead had looked down at the program to see a design and production team entirely made up of such people? But perhaps thats not visually demonstrative enough (though it would in fact mark something massive), and perhaps Lee means to draw several lines underneath her most important point: that, while not a send-up or an act of censure, the play were about to see needs to be viewed at some distance, as a study of certain deep-rooted behaviors by a certain long-unexamined group of people. It needs  to quote Siddhartha Mukherjees superlative essay on Chekhov, compassion, and the numbing cruelty of our contemporary moment  our clinical humanity.

And once the frames open up, thats what Lee demonstrates. After the tinsel curtain reveals the suburban living room, we meet affable, 70-something Ed (Stephen Payne) and his three grown-up sons, Matt (Paul Schneider), Jake (Josh Charles), and Drew (Armie Hammer), who are all, for various reasons, home for Christmas. Jake is recently divorced, Drew (in all ways the baby) is a writer without serious attachments, and Matt, the oldest, has moved home. Hes living quietly, working a temp job at a community-service organization and helping his dad around the house, and its this very quietness in Matt, this seeming lack of ambition, that eventually drives his brothers into paroxysms of anxiety.

Matt, what the hell happened last night? bursts out Drew in the plays second act. Why did you cry? Its the big question in the air: In Act 1, on Christmas Eve, Matt breaks down briefly while the men sit smooshed together on the sofa, wearing matching flannel PJs and eating Chinese food out of takeout cartons. Like everything Matt does, the crying jag is unobtrusive. Im fine, he tells his brothers repeatedly afterwards, answering their questions about his well-being in as few words as possible. Jake and Drew, by contrast, more than make up for Matts reticence. Theyre happy to speak over, around, about, and for him, piling up theories as to whats eating their big brother and recruiting the easily led Edwho, up till now, hasnt questioned Matts choices and has found it really wonderful to have his son at homein their crusade to Fix Matts Loser Life.

Because thats what Matt is to Jake and Drew: a loser. Its the most basic, damning of terms in the straight white male lexicon, and it takes a long time for Matts little brothers to say it aloud. First, they work themselves into a lather trying to explain their brothers mysterious modesty. Listen man, I think [hes] clinically depressed, insists Drew, and Hammer is hilariously on-point in his depiction of a smart, self-centered manboy who probably owns a PUNCH MORE NAZIS T-shirt and sincerely scans Tinder for hot, woke girls. Drew  whos been to therapy himself and loudly credits it with changing my whole fucking life  is quick to diagnose his brother with emotional issues, while the more cynical Jake has a different view of the picture. [Matts] penalizing himself, Jake argues ever more heatedly, Our success is a problem, not a solution!  Guys like us are being told to get out of the way so that other people can have a chance. Matts actually doing that! Its noble!

Charles is doing sharp, funny-scary work as the surly middle brother, the alpha-male banker whos got a black ex-wife and mixed-race children, and whos entirely aware of the ways in which he holds up an unjust system every day. Listen to me, he snaps, Every single VP at my company is white. No one else climbs the ladder, at all. There are so many talented women and people of color in the office that Id love to bring to client meetings, but I only bring white guys because thats how the clients want it. Jake is the kind of guy who breaks the Nintendo controller when he loses and wrestles Drew into a painful titty-twister when hes pissed at him. Hes smart and ruthless and he knows how to control a room  one of the plays funniest (and creepiest) scenes involves him role-playing a mock job interview with Ed, in which he models for Matt how to be a successful straight white man: Take charge, take up space, take credit for everything, and dont take no for an answer.

Despite his intelligence, Jakes got a deep bully streak in him, and his reaction when he finally discovers that Matt isnt acting out of a sense of woke self-abnegation is pure, brutal nastiness: So you dont even have your principles? he snarls in disgust, Youre a loser for no reason? Drew is touchy-feelier, and in him, Lee creates an incisive sketch of the kind of oblivious cruelty reserved for people who pride themselves on their empathy. Perhaps worse than Jakes disgust is Drews pitying, therapy-speak-riddled self-preservation: Im not gonna watch you destroy your life, he whines to his brother, Ive been enabling you for too long. Cant you see what its doing to us to see you like this?

Like what, though? Its Matts question, and its the plays too. Jake and Drew  and, eventually and shamefully, Ed too  ultimately arent reacting to a single teary episode. Their anxiety and argument and rationalizing bluster all boil down to something simpler and more disturbing than theyre able to define: their sheer horror at watching their brother behave unlike one of the species. What they mean when they lament Matts waste of talent is that its unthinkable, unnatural, for someone like us to find contentment simply in, as Matt puts it, trying to be useful. Helping in an office, keeping a house tidy, taking care of a parent  these things are small, unremarkable, the work of, in Drews explosive words, a tragic, fucking  non-entity! In other words, a woman. A person of color. Not a straight white man.

Ha ha! Undervalued domestic labor bonus! shouts Jake at the top of the play as he grabs a game piece from a doctored Monopoly box. He and Drew have unearthed Privilege, a homemade reworking of the real estate board game from their childhood. One of your mothers craftiest inventions, says Ed fondly, How else were you gonna learn not to be assholes? Play with the iron or the thimble, and you get that coveted bonus. Pass Go while white and immediately pay $200.

This is Lee at her most playful, but shes also craftily hiding the tragedy of her characters inside a joke. Because a joke, or at most an intellectual stance, is all Privilege was to Jake and Drew. And while Matt took it more seriously, it still didnt save him from a younger life full of misguided, naively self-important save-the-world gestures. Lees message is clear: Regardless of upbringing, regardless of intelligence, certain kinds of assholery are hard to avoid and take ages to unlearn. No board game could actually teach Drew, Jake, and Ed to take domestic labor seriously, or to imagine a way of being in the world outside of their entrenched notions of ambition, merit, and success.

Listen my darlings, says Bornstein to all of us before weve met any of Lees straight white men, Theres only one rule I care about: Dont be mean  Its hard enough not being mean to people you love. Its much harder not being mean to people you think youve got a good reason to hate. For all its clear-eyed examination of certain kinds of meanness  the most insidious of which look a lot like caring  Straight White Men isnt a mean play, and that feels like one of the most important things about it right now. Its final notes arent of anger or righteous resentment, but rather of a kind of pondering, humane sadness. Schneider, who keeps his performance admirably understated throughout, hurts the heart when he tries to imagine the advice his mother would give him: She would say, he hesitates, theres nothing you can do to erase the problem of your own existence. She would tell me not to despair, and to keep trying to find my way  in other words, like Lee herself, to keep trusting those two unfashionable lights in the darkness: curiosity and compassion.

Straight White Men is at the Helen Hayes Theater.

*A version of this article appears in the August 6, 2018, issue of New York Magazine. Subscribe Now!
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that new images indicate North Korea has begun dismantling "a key missile site" -- a step he says was promised by dictator Kim Jong Un after the two leaders met in Singapore last month.

"New images just today show that North Korea has begun the process of dismantling a key missile site, and we appreciate that," Trump said, an apparent reference to images of the Sohae Satellite Launching Station published Monday by the prominent monitoring group 38 North.

Those images, captured between July 20 and July 22, show North Korea has indeed started to dismantle key facilities at the satellite launch station, a move analysts said represents "an important first step towards fulfilling a commitment" made by Kim during his summit with Trump.

"Since these facilities are believed to have played an important role in the development of technologies for the North's intercontinental ballistic missile program, these efforts represent a significant confidence-building measure on the part of North Korea," according to 38 North's Joseph Bermudez Jr.

"Most notably, these include the rail-mounted processing building -- where space launch vehicles are assembled before moving them to the launchpad -- and the nearby rocket engine test stand used to develop liquid-fuel engines for ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles."

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also said Tuesday that reports of missile engine test facility dismantlement in North Korea are "entirely consistent" with the commitment Kim made to Trump in Singapore, and the US has pushed for inspectors to be present.

Asked about furthers steps North Korea should take, Pompeo said, "They need to completely, fully de-nuclearize. That's the steps that Chairman Kim committed to and that the world has demanded through UN Security Council resolutions. It's that straightforward."

Both Trump and Pompeo, have been urging patience since the President held a historic summit with Kim in Singapore last month but the President has privately expressed frustration over the perceived lack of progress in talks, a US official told CNN.

Trump pushed back against that suggestion Monday, tweeting that he is "very happy" with the progress with North Korea, noting a lack of rocket launches and nuclear tests in recent months.

Adam Mount, a senior fellow and director at the Federation of American Scientists, agreed that these steps "are encouraging and helpful for extending talks" but noted they "are not themselves a major material step toward disarmament or militarily significant restrictions."

"This is consistent with North Korea's public line, which is that its successful test program is now transitioning to mass production of nuclear and missile systems," he said.

"Dismantling test infrastructure, especially for space launch vehicles, does not change this calculation. It's also troubling that North Korea has apparently been allowed to dodge verification at both Punggye-ri and Sohae. That will have to be fixed for subsequent agreements," Mount added.

And while Monday's images may amount to a "confidence building measure" by the North Koreans, it appears that they expect the US to reciprocate if talks are to continue.

CNN reported on Monday that continued negotiations between the two sides hinge on Washington's willingness to make a "bold move" and agree to a peace treaty with Pyongyang, according to an official with close knowledge of North Korea's position on the matter.

If the US is unwilling to replace the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War with a permanent peace that would ensure the survival of Kim's regime, Pyongyang will likely not proceed further with denuclearization talks, the source said.

Meanwhile, US Democrats in Congress remain largely in the dark on the administration's plans with regards to a path forward with North Korea and skepticism over Kim's intentions.

Ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Menendez told CNN on Monday he hopes Pompeo can provide answers when he testifies on Capitol Hill this week.

"We all want diplomacy to succeed, so I am interested to hear more from Secretary Pompeo this Wednesday on his views on this development -- and if he considers this to be significant," the New Jersey Democrat said in reference to the images published Monday.

"The fact of the matter is that last year, on President Trump's watch, North Korea made significant advances in its ballistic missile technology, achieving what many experts agree is a nuclear-capable operational ICBM," Menendez added.

"I want to hear from the secretary how and if this action by North Korea is integrated into a cogent and coherent diplomatic framework that gets us to complete and verifiable dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear and missile programs," he told CNN.
For the first time Florence police officers are carrying Narcan, a drug that can reverse the affects of an opioid overdose.

Every Florence police officer has the Narcan nasal spray and were recently trained on how to use it. Florence police chief, Ron Tyler, said his officers are usually the first ones on the scene of overdose calls.

"You have to weigh the options. If we don't administer it a person could die. You let a police officer administer the drug and they wake up combative, but were still saving someones life," said Tyler.

Lauderdale County Drug Task Force Director, Tim Glover, said in 2014 agents were buying heroin undercover. During that time in the matter of one week five people died of heroin overdoses within Florence city limits.

"Almost 50% of the time when we made those purchases we had drug task force agents who were handling fentanyl and fentanyl was killing people. That was an eye opening thing for us, what if one of our guys had been exposed to it and had a medical condition?," said Glover.

Tyler said that's why their officers having the Narcan is another plus, they can use it on fellow officers who come in contact with a dangerous opioid while on the job.

"It's a protection for ourselves as well," said Tyler.

Tyler said they worked with the Alabama Departments of Public and Mental Health who have supplied the department with the Narcan. For two shots of the Narcan nasal spray it costs about $75.

"They provided the Narcan doses for us. Even to the point where they say hey when you use this and you need us to refill these doses they will provide that for us," said Tyler.

Tyler said he hopes more police departments across the state will see the benefit of officers having Narcan.
In Greenbrier, a community well known for a fish best served up fried -- catfish -- people are happy to know the Spring Pygmy Fish, not much bigger than a Goldfish snack cracker, wont stand in the way of the Mazda Toyota plant.

"The food is wonderful," Janet Boseck told WAAY 31.

The golden-fried fish served up on a platter is what brings Boseck to Greenbrier Restaurant.

"Very good Southern food!" she told us about the catfish and barbeque.

For two weeks, the view from the restaurant has shown heavy construction equipment sitting idle.

Mazda Toyota stopped prepping the construction site after the Center for Biological Diversity expressed concern about the Spring Pygmy Sunfish. Its only known habitat is at the edge of the plant site.

"It's a lot of hoopla over a little fish," Boseck said.

She was glad to see crews go back to work, Tuesday, laying the groundwork for the massive auto plant.

Mazda Toyota told WAAY 31 the joint venture worked with the city of Huntsville to make sure the Spring Pygmy Sunfish habit is protected.

It even brought people with the environmental group to the site to see how Mazda Toyota will work to protect the one-inch fish.

Mazda Toyota now says it's "... confident work can resume on the site in a manner that helps protect the Spring Pygmy Sunfish and its habitat..."

WAAY 31 also reached out to the city of Huntsville. It fully stands by Mazda Toyota's decision to move forward.

And we contacted the Center for Biological Diversity.

Its statement is about as short as the Spring Pygmy Fish: "We're disappointed and assessing our options."

Two weeks ago, the group said it will do everything in its power to protect the tiny fish.

Back at Greenbrier Restaurant, Janet Boseck said, "That leaves it open doesn't it."

Shes just focusing on all the jobs headed to Greenbrier. "Absolutely, we have to concentrate on that."

The pause in construction of the Mazda Toyota plant was relatively short -- just about two weeks. So, the joint venture says work remains on schedule.
School in Huntsville starts in exactly two weeks.

We wanted to know if the district and the new bus company is ready.

Blair McCombs is a parent of two Huntsville City School bus riders, and she's worried Apple Bus Company isn't ready.

"I am a little concerned about the routes. Last year at the beginning of the year my children were on the bus for about 2 hours at the beginning of the year and it moved by the end of the year it was about an hour and 15 minutes," McCombs said.

WAAY 31 reached out to the school district and Apple Bus Company on Monday.

Monday afternoon, School Board President Elisa Ferrell answered some of our questions.

Ferrell told us 100 of 160 busses are in Huntsville. The remaining 60 are expected to be in Huntsville and ready for the start of the school year.

Ferrell also told us driver's started practicing bus routes last week. However, it's unclear if enough bus drivers have been hired.

McCombs told us she's waiting for an update from the company and the district.

"We just awarded it to a new company and the premise is they are going to do a better job so they have to live up to it," she said.
A national WCO Revenue Package Workshop on the development of an advance ruling system for classification, funded by the UKs HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and Finland, was held in Blantyre, Malawi, from 16 to 20 July 2018. The Workshop focused on the improvement of the current classification work model and the implementation of an advance ruling system for classification, as set out in the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation. Eighteen Customs officials worked intensively during the Workshop, which was co-facilitated by three experts (one expert from the WCO Secretariat, one external expert and a pre- accredited expert from Kenya Revenue Authority).

In his opening remarks, the Commissioner of Customs, Mr. Fatch Valeta, thanked the WCO and the donors, HMRC and the Finland, for the support received and re-affirmed the strong commitment of the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) to the Malawi Mercator Implementation Plan 2017. The MRA is working towards the development of the legal framework for effective implementation of an Advance Ruling System, including amendments of the Customs Law, and has arrangements underway for its implementation of the HS 2017 version starting in September 2018.

During the Workshop, the experts gave presentations on advance rulings and the tools and instruments developed under the Revenue Package, while the participants presented on the current tariff classification infrastructure within MRA and potential paths towards advance rulings. This was followed by the practical application of the Diagnostic Tool on Tariff Classification, Valuation and Origin Work and Related Infrastructure to examine the situation in Malawi.

At the end of the Workshop, the participants presented an action plan with proposals and solutions for the modernization of classification work and the implementation of an advance ruling system for classification.

In his closing remarks, the Deputy Commissioner, Mr. Edwin Starch, also thanked the WCO, HMRC and Finland for the continued support and reiterated that MRA is committed to pursuing the action plan, in addition to the other WCO tools being implemented. The funding and technical assistance has allowed MRA to modernize, build capacity and promote trade facilitation.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Jul. 23, 2018 | PADUCAH

By West Kentucky Star Staff Jul. 23, 2018 | 10:06 PM | PADUCAH

The Paducah Board of Commissioners and McCracken County Fiscal Court held a workshop at to hear a presentation from the Paducah-McCracken County Convention Center Corporation about efforts to hire a third-party company to manage operations of the Julian Carroll Convention Center, the Schroeder Expo Center, and the Dome Pavilion.



The board has reviewed several management proposals and has selected two finalists: Spectra of Philadelphia, PA, and VenuWorks of Ames, IA.



CCC board member Drew Hulette said, We are stretched to the end of our ability without third-party insight and expertise. The Convention Center complex currently has two full-time employees who are assisted by part-time staff.



However, the board wanted the City Commission and Fiscal Court to be aware that there could be up to a two-year lag before a third-party management company could generate a profit. The lag could open up the government bodies to financial exposure, and a need to temporarily assist the Convention Center.



Hulette also reported that during the last fiscal year, the Convention Center had 105 events, and used local caterers to offer food and beverage services. Since offering food and beverage service is extremely important to attract conventions, the CCC is working toward the construction of a full-service kitchen at the Julian Carroll facility. The project is expected to be placed out to bid in September, with completion by early 2019.



CCC member Scott Taylor said, Food and beverage is key for event planners, it is also the cost, the wildcard.



Several of the elected officials asked questions and voiced support of the kitchen and a third-party management company. Mayor Brandi Harless encouraged that written questions be submitted, so that the two third-party management companies can offer their opinions of the situation.



Mayor Harless also encouraged the CCC Board to include items such as performance indicators and performance targets in the contract.
Three teens cited for "egging" vehicles near Lone Oak
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By Mike Cooper

Jul. 23, 2018 | PADUCAH

By Mike Cooper Jul. 23, 2018 | 09:09 PM | PADUCAH

The McCracken County Fiscal Court was addressed by McCracken County Jailer Tonya Ray at their meeting Monday evening.



Jailer Ray gave the presentation at the request of the court from their July 9th meeting. The commissioners were concerned about the high turnover rate of the jail employees.



Ray explained that, while the recent pay increase was much appreciated, the $12.00 per hour rate is just not competitive with other jobs in the area, most of which are much less stressful. She went on to explain that when considering that benefit costs and retirement must be taken out of this pay, the net result is many times not what can be received from positions in a different line of work.



Ray said that 60% of the jail employees are known as "seasoned", which means they have at least one year on the job. Commissioner Jerry Beyer commented that he had concerns about the 60% figure, based on the number of orders brought before the court over the last few months.



In other business, the court approved 33 orders, approved the vouchers claims register from July 9th to July 23rd to show county bills in the amount of $1,043,208.03, and ordered to make cash transfers to pay county bills approved July 23rd in the amount of $339,395.43.



One of the orders was the first reading of Ordinance 2018-05, which will amend Ordinance 2007-16. This is to alleviate confusion on the part of businesses regarding the details of the applicability and administration of the City of Paducah occupational license tax credit. This is to clarify the specific parameters so that all taxpayers are properly informed of their responsibilities and of the fact that the credit applies only to the present taxable year upon which a timely return is being filed.



The court also approved the appointment of Jim Rodgers to the Concord Fire Department Board of Trustees, to expire on June 30, 2020.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Jul. 24, 2018 | 12:12 PM | CALVERT CITY

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited five contractors for safety and health violations after three employees were fatally injured and two others critically injured following an explosion on board a towboat in Calvert City on January 19.The five companies collectively received 55 of violations with proposed penalties totaling $795,254.

OSHA cited ship repair contractor First Marine LLC; insulation contractor Thermal Control and Fabrication Inc.; temporary staffing companies Hutco Inc. and Day Help LLC (doing business as Wise Staffing Group); and blasting and painting contractor Joe Rupcke. First Marine LLC has been placed in the agency's Severe Violator Enforcement Program.

OSHA's investigation determined that the explosion occurred when employees were cutting and welding in an atmosphere containing flammable gases. OSHA issued citations for failing to test confined spaces before entry; train workers on confined space entry operations; label chemical containers; exposing employees to asphyxiation, fire, explosion, chemical, trip, and drowning hazards; and allowing hot work/welding to be performed without testing for an explosive atmosphere.

"This tragedy could have been prevented if the employers had followed proper confined space procedures and implemented appropriate safety measures," said OSHA Regional Administrator Kurt A. Petermeyer.

The companies have 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

First Marine Representative Jason Strait issued the following statement Tuesday afternoon:

"We have fully cooperated with the OSHA investigation, which is standard procedure after this type of incident. At the same time OSHA was performing its investigation, we have been looking at all our safety procedures and practices. In the coming weeks we will continue working with OSHA. We understand that everyone wants answers, and we intend to be transparent in all things, as we have been during the OSHA investigation.

Workplace safety is the first priority in all our operations. We already have implemented safety enhancements as the result of what we have learned from our own investigation. As a company and as individuals, we take our safety responsibilities very seriously, and we have re-dedicated ourselves to maintaining a safe workplace. Other than the January 19, 2018 incident, First Marine only had one lost time incident in the prior 36 months, which shows our safety culture. We will continue to place an emphasis on safety as we always have in the past.

We remain saddened over the loss of lives and injuries that occurred as a result of this incident and we sympathize with all of the families. We are a family-owned business and the men and women who work for our company are more than just employees, they are our family."
By West Kentucky Star Staff Jul. 23, 2018 | 09:21 PM | MURRAY

The Murray Police Department is asking for the public's help locating a missing man.

Police say 63-year-old Michael Eaves was reported missing by his family after they last saw him on Sunday at approximately 7:30 am. Eaves was seen leaving from Murray State University driving a white 1995 Chevrolet Beretta with KY license plate 715-GPD.

Eaves is white, approximately 6' 0", and weighs 160 lbs. Anyone with information on Eaves' whereabouts should contact the Murray Police Department at 270-753-1621, or contact your local authorities.
HENDERSONVILLE GETS TO KEEP ITS POLICE CHIEF

HAD APPLIED FOR THE CHIEF'S POSITION IN BLUFFTON, SC

The Hendersonville Times-News Blue Ridge Now reports on Tuesday thatHendersonville's Police Chief Herbert Blake will remain at his post after seeking the top job of a South Carolina towns police department.

The town of Bluffton, S.C. announced Blakes fellow finalist, Christopher Chapmond, assistant police chief for Hot Springs, Ark. will be its new police chief. Both men were selected as the top two finalists for the job out a pool of 60 applicants.

Blake said Tuesday he was glad he pursued the job. It just didnt work out, he said.

A South Carolina native, Blake has been chief of the Hendersonville Police Department since 2008, previously serving as chief for seven years in Loris, S.C.

Blake grew up in Johns Island, S.C., which is about a two-hour drive from Bluffton, located near Hilton Head Island. His wife, Linda, was raised about 10 miles from Bluffton.

The proximity to where both he and his wife grew up was why Blake sought the job. The Bluffton application was something he felt he needed to do to see what would happen, Blake said.
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Michael McFaul, the US ambassador to Russia under President Barack Obama, plans to press the Trump administration for its help with Moscow's "harassing" of former US officials like himself, he said Monday.

"I am coming to DC today to try to meet with several US government officials to urge them to communicate with their Russian counterparts about the negative consequences of further harassing former US officials like me," McFaul tweeted Monday.

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The discussion comes after White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said last week that President Donald Trump was entertaining a proposal raised by Russian President Vladimir Putin in their summit talks that would allow Russians to interrogate US officials in exchange for allowing special counsel Robert Mueller to interrogate suspected Russian hackers accused of interfering in the 2016 American election.

McFaul, a fierce critic of Putin, as well as American-born financier Bill Browder, who pushed for the passage of legislation known as the Magnitsky Act to sanction Russian officials over human rights abuses, are among the individuals wanted by Russia for questioning.

The former ambassador, who did not respond to CNN's request for comment, will be meeting with Fiona Hill, Trump's top Russia adviser at the White House, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.

A White House official confirmed to CNN that McFaul "requested a meeting with the National Security Council and it was accepted out of courtesy."

The Washington Post first reported the meeting with Hill, citing two people familiar with the matter, saying it would happen Tuesday. Hill, a senior director on the National Security Council, is seen within the administration as one of Trump's most hawkish advisers on Russia and accompanied the President during his meeting with Putin in Helsinki, Finland, last week, the Post reported.

Sanders initially indicated that no final decision on Putin's proposal had been made, but State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert offered a more forceful denunciation of the Russian allegations against the Americans, calling them "absolutely absurd."

A day later, following outcry from diplomats and lawmakers, Sanders said Trump disagreed with the proposal.

"It is a proposal that was made in sincerity by President Putin, but President Trump disagrees with it," Sanders said in a statement.

After his tweet Monday, McFaul followed up with a second post saying the meetings were an effort to send a message to Russia: that American officials should not be indicted through Interpol.

"I think it is a low probability event that the Russian government would indict me and other USG officials, and then seek our detention through Interpol, regarding some crazy scheme that Putin spun to Trump in Helsinki. I want it to be a zero probability event," McFaul wrote.
There is a gold rush underway in Alaska.

A rush to tap the black gold of oil beneath the pristine coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the north.

A rush to blast free the yellow gold, silver and copper hidden in the hills above Bristol Bay in the south.

But while the great Klondike Gold Rush of 1896 was touched off by a few lucky prospectors and the glint of creek-bed precious metal, this one began on election night, 2016.

Donald Trump set out to deregulate the environment on a scale unseen in generations, much to the delight of oil, gas and mining companies eager to tap Alaska's natural wealth.

But as he appointed climate change deniers and anti-EPA warriors to his Cabinet, his win also brought dismay to fishermen and wildlife guides, conservationists and native tribes who believe that the true wealth of the Last Frontier is unspoiled wilderness and unrivaled biodiversity.

This tension pits neighbor against neighbor, tribe against tribe, Republican against Republican in a battle over the future. And like any great debate or heavyweight bout, this fight has a clock.

Both sides are counting the days until election night 2020.

The beauty and politics of ANWR

As the little plane descends into the heart of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, I notice our "runway" is nothing more than a grassy meadow, marked by a pair of antlers. The pilot makes a low pass to check for the random caribou or grizzly bear that might complicate our landing, but finds it clear.

The wheels bounce down, the engine goes quiet and we step out onto one of the wildest -- and most controversial -- bits of real estate in America.

This refuge (commonly pronounced as "An-wahr") is the size of South Carolina, made of mountains and sweeping coastal plains that serve as calving grounds for one of the last great migrations left on Earth. Hundreds of thousands of caribou wander down from the Brooks Range each summer to give birth and find relief from the relentless bugs in the coastal breeze.

With bears, both brown and polar, musk oxen, Arctic foxes and the nests of birds from all 50 states, this place is a North American Serengeti, which is why it was first set aside in 1960 and protected by an act of Congress in 1980.

The nation was facing its second oil crisis in a decade at the time, so Congress decided to defer the fate of a plot along the coast the size of Rhode Island. Known as the "ten-oh-two," this has been an ideological battleground, pitting Republican "sourdoughs" -- the nickname for hardy, long-time Alaskans -- like former senators Frank Murkowski and Ted Stevens against their more conservation-minded rivals on the other side of the aisle.

For "drill, baby, drill" Republicans, opening ANWR became a mission, and if successful, "we feel very, very confident we will be able to crack the backs of radical environmentalists," former House Leader Tom DeLay said in 2001. But they never had the votes.

But then, in December of 2017, Sen. Lisa Murkowski saw her chance to do something her father could not. By slipping a provision into the Tax Cut Bill, they could open ANWR with 51 votes instead of 60.

And the President was soon on board.

"One day a friend who's in the oil business called and said 'Is it true that you have ANWR in the bill?'" President Trump said after signing the bill into law. "I said 'I don't know, who cares?' What is that? What does that mean? He said, you know, 'Reagan tried, every single president tried and not one was successful.' I said 'you've got to be kidding. I love it now.' And we fought like hell to get ANWR. He talked me into it!"

Threat to life

"He just scribbled his name over our culture," says Louie John, a Gwich'in elder in Arctic Village. "I don't think that Trump cares about any human issue in this world."

As the northernmost tribe of Native Americans, the Gwich'in live in a necklace of mountain villages bordering the Arctic Refuge where they have survived on caribou for 25,000 years.

In their native language, the coastal plain is "the sacred place where life begins," and scarring it with roads, wells and pipelines would be both a cultural abomination and a legitimate threat to the caribou herd.

While the animals have legal "right of way" on the oil fields of the North Slope, some worry that disturbing the 1002 area will alter migration patterns that have held for millennia.

"Look what happened to the plains Indians and the buffalo," says Faith Gemmill. "That's not going to happen to my people. We're not going to allow that to happen again."

The Gwich'in are the main local allies of environmental groups vowing to use every legal weapon they can to stop the rush to lease two plots of 400,000 acres each to the highest bidder as early as next year.

"We are going to continue to fight at every stage," says Nicole Whittington-Evans of the Wilderness Society. "We won't give up and we will stand by the Gwich'in. We will take the administration to court, we will fight legal battles. We will continue to try to convince members of Congress that this is not the right way to go. We're hopeful for the midterm elections, and then we'll see how the next presidential election turns out."

But in this fight, the greens and the Gwich'in are David against a Goliath of energy companies and the lawmakers that support them. And within this alliance is another tribe of indigenous people, equally defiant and determined.

Pushing back on outsiders

"Now that the US is saying we can finally do this, we have the other side, the environmentalists saying we can't do this! What's wrong with this picture?"

The anger and passion is evident in the voice of Edward Rexford Sr. as he addresses the small crowd gathered in the one school building in Kaktovik. The Department of Interior is gathering public comments, and as the midnight sun blazes outside, they've come to this hamlet of native Alaskans on the edge of the sea, the only community inside ANWR.

"Human rights violations, genocide," Rexford barks. "Lot of folks don't know our history. All the minerals in the mountains, all the gold, all the oil, and they give us only 92,000 acres. Are we gonna stand up for our people?"

Unlike the Gwich'in in the mountains, the Inupiaq lost much of their land in 1971 after oil was discovered in nearby Prudhoe Bay. In exchange, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act gave indigenous people with no concept of profit motive shares in 13 regional corporations, which now reap billions in oil company royalties.

But a stroll through this hardscrabble town provides plenty of proof that those riches do not trickle down. Most folks here cheered the act of Congress and the Donald Trump signature that might finally bring the jobs, wealth and sovereign dignity they crave.

"Without the oil industry, we wouldn't have this police station. We wouldn't have this community school or the roads and we're walking on," Charles Lampe tells me. "We are the best stewards of our land."

I point out that nature lovers from Florida to Iowa feel a protective sense of ownership over ANWR, as they do for Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon.

"They will never set foot here," he says, eyes blazing. "I don't think it's right for them to be able to tell us what we can and cannot do with our own land."

As we speak, a woman on a four-wheeler rides by and calls out "Watch out for the nanook!" A skinny polar bear has wandered into town, an event that has become much more common since the Arctic began melting at a staggering rate.

As the bears' seal-hunting grounds disappear, they are forced to spend more and more time on land foraging for whale scraps or whatever nourishment they can find. The people of Kaktovik are seeing more freakish rain storms in winter, blizzards in summer and even had to move the airport away from the coast due to sea level rise.

But profit motive is a powerful force, and many remain eager to tap into the one product that is changing their land in alarming ways. Even as other villages retreat from rising seas (and Sen. Murkowski suggests using oil money to move them) the man in the White House is eager to wave away any fear.

"There's a cooling and there's a heating," President Trump said in January, when asked if he believes the climate is changing. "The ice caps were going to be gone by now, but now they are setting records."

NASA satellites show that they are indeed setting records, but in the exact opposite direction. The polar caps are smaller than they've been since data gathering began and, by some estimates, most populations of polar bears will be extinct by 2050.

Iceland is melting: See climate change in 360-

Pebble causes new ripples of worry

At the other end of the state, our little plane lands on a beach covered in driftwood, flotsam and the paw prints of creatures great and small: bears, wolves, foxes and a handful of humans hoping to protect it from invasion.

Amakdedori Beach on the Alaska Peninsula is the newest battleground in the war between development and conservation, but instead of oil and gas, this fight is over gold and copper.

"I mean they're basically talking about putting a 175-mile gash across this pristine habitat," says Drew Hamilton, a former Alaska state biologist, guide for World Wildlife Fund and founder of Friends of McNeil River.

He casts a wary eye on the three strangers walking toward us down the beach. We exchange greetings, eyeing their equipment as they eye ours. "Are you guys working for Pebble Mine?" I ask.

They refuse to answer, admitting only they are a survey crew out of Anchorage studying the tides. I later confirm that they are scouting a possible port for the mine, but their reticence is understandable.

Pebble Mine is one of the most controversial projects in Alaska history.

It all began over a decade ago when a helicopter survey team noticed a strange red spot and Canadian mining company Northern Dynasty discovered a mother lode near Iliamna, the largest lake in Alaska.

They estimate that red spot marks 100 million ounces of gold and 80 billion pounds of copper, silver and molybdenum spread deep and wide in a windswept stretch of land north of Bristol Bay.

It could be worth over half a trillion dollars.

But to get it all, Northern Dynasty would need massive amounts of explosives and machinery to turn this pristine wetland into the biggest man-made hole in the world.

Current plans call for a 100-mile natural gas pipeline running alongside an active volcano, across Amakdedori Beach, through 35 miles of wilderness and around or under lake Iliamna. Ore would be trucked and ferried for over 80 miles through pristine habitat. But that is not what worries opponents most.

Blasting and digging an open pit of this size also creates lakes of toxic waste water, tainted with sulfuric acid, and they would be held back by earthen dams -- known as tailings dams -- in a wetland prone to earthquakes.

"If pollution gets into that water supply," Dan Schindler, head of the Alaskan Salmon Project says, "it's going to be nearly impossible to contain."

An ecologist based at of the University of Washington, he's spent his life studying how tens of millions of king and sockeye salmon surge through Bristol Bay each summer, on their way to spawn in the exact lake or stream of their birth.

As these squirming schools defy gravity and current by surging upstream, they inject ocean nutrients into the land, feeding every form of life, from bears to eagles to humans. With a constitutional mandate to protect the run, Alaska limits the catch but still manages to net half of the world's supply of sockeye each July.

Over two billion salmon have been caught in Bristol Bay since records began and fish are the lifeblood of local industry.

In 2014, after three years of peer-reviewed study, the Obama-era EPA determined that the fishery was too valuable to risk and too complex to mine. With a damning report, it invoked a rarely-used provision of the Clean Water Act to protect Bristol Bay.

As mining partners bailed out and Northern Dynasty stock dropped from $20 to 20 cents a share, the company spent millions suing the EPA. The "Stop Pebble Mine" stickers faded around Dillingham and Naknek, and it appeared that the fishermen and environmentalists had won.

But then Donald Trump became President.

In May of 2017, hours after meeting with Tom Collier, the CEO of Pebble Partnership, new EPA chief Scott Pruitt withdrew his agency's plan to protect Bristol Bay.

When CNN revealed details of that meeting, the public outcry was so fierce, Pruitt decided to retain the Obama-era watershed science. But after settling Northern Dynasty's lawsuits, he encouraged the permit process to proceed without a costly legal fight from the EPA.

In July, Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, an Independent, urged the Army Corps of Engineers to stop the permitting process altogether. While she wants the process to proceed, Sen. Murkowski said she "would never trade salmon for gold."

But Northern Dynasty refuses to give up.

Since Pruitt resigned amid scandal, the new man in charge of the EPA is Andrew Wheeler, a former lobbyist at one of Pebble Mine's law firms.

But Collier tells me he would have fought for a permit even if Hillary Clinton had won.

"Nobody can guarantee there won't be an accident," he says in his boardroom in Anchorage. On the table sits one of the many core samples from the mine site, mounted over a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson. "But we've done a hell of a lot to minimize the possibility of there being an accident on the site."

Collier says that Pebble has close to $850 million already invested in the project. While four major partners, including Mitsubishi, Anglo American and Rio Tinto have pulled out, he is hopeful a fresh wave of investment will pour in with an approved permit. The Army Corps of Engineers is targeting a decision by the fall of 2020, just weeks before President Trump's next election. "I'm going to get a permit, I believe, that will withstand any judicial attack under any administration," Collier said.

His office wall holds a picture of his days as a lawyer in Bill Clinton and Al Gore's Interior Department. The self-described Blue Dog Democrat-turned-Independent admits that Amakdedori "won't look great" if they decide to dredge the bay and turn the beach into a massive port. But he argues that some native tribes would appreciate the roads and jobs, and expresses frustration that no one on the other side will consider the possibility that his mine would never harm more than a handful of fish.

"If there is an accident, we've looked at modeling which relies upon the Obama administration's Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment," he says. "If tailings come out, it will kill fish for about 20 miles down the north fork of the Koktuli. And that's it. And in 10 years, they'll come back naturally."

That is cold comfort for even the most pragmatic of fishermen.

"The minerals that they're talking about are the kinds of minerals that people use every day, in your cameras, in your cell phones, in Fort Knox," Gaylord Lee Clark tells me as he pilots his salmon boat through Bristol Bay. "You are already exacerbating the situation by demanding the minerals that ... you positively must have for your life, at the same time as you're trying to maintain a salmon run so that you can eat well. What do we do?"

Interactive: See the places, the people and the issues as Alaska stands at a crossroads

But Drew the bear guide knows what to do: Leave well enough alone.

"I say there are already jobs here. You look at the town of Homer in the bear viewing industry, there are millions of dollars being made here already in its current wilderness state," he says. "You look at the other side of the mountain. There are tens of millions of dollars already being generated in a fashion that can be sustained for decades and decades and decades. Salmon fishing. Why can't we just keep that going? Because when it's gone, it's gone."
Donald Trump is a master media manipulator.

Whatever else you think of him, it's hard to dispute that fact. Drawing on his decades of experience navigating New York City's media maelstrom -- the roughest in the country --Trump has spent the last three and a half years implementing the lessons he learned. At the top of that list? If you don't like a story or narrative out there about yourself, give the media something else to chew on -- something that works better for you.

It's the Shiny Object Strategy. The media, like a cat, is often easily distracted. So put something in front of them that they can't resist and they will follow it, forgetting all about that other thing that was super important to them five minutes before.

The last 36 hours illustrate Trump's approach.

Since last Monday's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Trump has been crushed with negative headlines about his statements in that meeting. He repeatedly refused to condemn Russia for its meddling in the 2016 election and instead said that both Russia and the US bore blame for the situation. Attempts to clean up that performance led to further problems -- with Trump still unable to say directly that Russia sought to interfere in the 2016 election and seemingly suggesting later in the week that Russia was no longer targeting the United States for future election meddling.

The media coverage worsened. Many outlets -- and me -- declared it the worst week of Trump's presidency to date. Behind the scenes the President, an absolutely avid consumer of cable TV and headlines, fumed. And planned a way to change the story, to turn the page.

As he has done so many times before, that page-turning came via Twitter -- at 11:24 p.m. ET Sunday night. Tweeted Trump:

"To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!"

Threatening Iran with "consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered" is a hell of a way to change the story from Russia. Iran is an aspiring nuclear nation with a long history of enmity toward the United States. A tweet like Trump's seems certain to further destabilize the already fraught relationship and the chances at moving Iran away from their nuclear path. (Already the Iranians are responding; "COLOR US UNIMPRESSED," tweeted Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif Monday night.)

But Trump wasn't done with his distraction campaign. At Monday's daily briefing, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders was asked about a tweet from Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul in which he proposed stripping John Brennan of his security clearance due to critical comments the former CIA chief made in the wake of the Trump-Putin summit.

Clearly ready for the question -- and wanting to make news -- Sanders read off a list of six names, including Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former FBI Director James Comey, that she said Trump was considering for the revocation of their security clearances.

The practical effect of the security clearance gambit would be minor: Comey and his former deputy, Andrew McCabe, no longer even have security clearances while Clapper and former NSA chief Michael Hayden no longer even attend classified briefings.

That, of course, is beside the point. Like the Iran tweet, the floating of security clearance revocation is meant to change the subject, to allow Trump to fight on what he believes to be more favorable ground.

In the case of Iran, Trump can come off as tough and unintimidated by threats from Iran, a rogue nation that has plagued American presidents for decades. He can draw on comparisons to how his tough talk turned into a historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The security clearance fight, while almost entirely symbolic, allows Trump to poke at the idea -- beloved by his supporters -- that the so-called "deep state" is out there and working to undercut him because he poses such a threat to their permanent rule of government. The idea of a cabal of intelligence and national security officials who worked under President Barack Obama getting rich off of their access to secret information is a powerful one that Trump knows, intuitively, his base will respond to.

Trump isn't wrong. Coverage of the Iran tweet was everywhere on Monday and, so far today, his security clearance idea is leading most websites and cable channels.

But there is danger for the country when the President is willing to float the idea of a war with Iran or the creation of an enemies list in order to keep us from talking about his odd behavior with the Russians and the ongoing special counsel investigation into Russia's attempts to interfere in the 2016 election.

Why danger? Because Iran, judging from their initial reaction, doesn't take Trump's threat lightly -- or see it solely as a way to change the subject domestically from Russia. And because suggesting that people who disagree with you but have done nothing else wrong should be punished solely because they are willing to speak out about their issues with your decisions sends a chilling message to the country (and the world) about how the world's greatest democracy handles dissent.

It's not clear whether Trump understands -- or cares -- how dangerous a game he is playing here. His needs seem more basic: He hates the Russia story and knows he is losing on it. So he finds better ground to fight. He seems entirely unconcerned how those new fights reverberate around the world so long as the cable TV chyrons aren't all Russia, all the time.

Mission accomplished -- at least in the near term -- for Trump. But at what cost?
A crackdown against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in Indonesia is leading to a rise in HIV infections and causing a public health crisis, according to a new report from Human Rights Watch.

The report documents how attacks, raids and an attitude of open hostility towards LGBT groups by Indonesian authorities and Islamist militant groups has derailed public health efforts to prevent and curb HIV.

"LGBT people's access to condoms, to counseling and to HIV education is disappearing. It's becoming more and more difficult for HIV education groups to access these communities. The situation is alarming and rates of HIV infections are increasing in Indonesia," said Andreas Harsono, a researcher at Human Rights Watch and one of the authors of the report.

Beginning in 2016, Indonesian authorities -- including politicians and other governmental officials -- began publicly attacking LGBT groups, creating a "moral panic" which then spilled into the wider Indonesian society, according to the report, which was published on Sunday.

"It began with a moral panic: that homosexuality was contagious, that it might affect children, that it is more dangerous than nuclear war," said Harsono.

The Indonesian media also helped fuel the hysteria, according to Harsono, which then encouraged both the authorities as well as militant Islamist groups to raid and attack clubs, spas and public spaces that were previously safe for LGBT people. In 2017, Indonesian police arrested at least 300 LGBT individuals, 40 of whom were later charged and jailed because of their sexual orientation, according to Harsono.

Crackdowns are especially troublesome in the prevention of HIV, according to Liz Grant, director of the Global Health Academy at the University of Edinburgh, because they "will only push people who need HIV treatment behind or away from front line services, and for anyone with HIV it's particularly important that they can access services quickly."

The HIV epidemic has gotten worse in Indonesia recently, with almost 48,000 new infections each year, the report said.

Most HIV infections in Indonesia still occur among heterosexuals. But one-third of new HIV transmissions occur among men who have sex with men, the report states. Rates of HIV infection have increased five-fold for this group since 2007. The crackdown against LGBT groups has particularly affected organizations working with men who have sex with men, according to Harsono.

The discriminatory targeting of organizations offering condoms and HIV education has been particularly problematic for the prevention of HIV.

"It's necessary to have an inclusive approach to HIV prevention," said Grant. "Civil society needs a place at the policy table. Diversity is important. Equal rights is about inclusive access to treatment."

Organizations that previously saw 700 people a month for HIV counseling and education are now only seeing 250, Harsono said.

Part of this can be attributed to the disappearance of hotspots -- areas where health workers could easily find gay men -- caused by the crackdown. But the intimidation and "criminalization of HIV outreach workers" by militant groups and authorities has also reduced the capacity of organizations working in HIV prevention, according to Harsono.

"The suspicion of any neighbor that we are gay can put us in real danger," said Panuta, an HIV outreach worker in Jakarta who was interviewed by Human Rights Watch for the report. "Whenever a group of my friends gets together now, we're afraid of neighbors snooping and calling the religious groups or the police and saying we are having a sex party -- even if we are not."

And to further complicate matters, condoms are now used as evidence of purported crimes, such as prostitution, which hamstring HIV prevention initiatives, according to the report. Many organizations fearing police reprisal no longer store condoms, according to Harsono.

The report is based in part on 48 in-depth interviews conducted in 2017 with victims, witnesses, activists, and health workers. The interviews were in Java, Kalimantan and Sumatra

While Indonesia is a Muslim country, only a few small areas of the country follow strict Muslim law. Not that long ago, being LGBT in Indonesia was widely tolerated.

However, the recent political changes have undermined fundamental human rights and increased the risk of a public health crisis, according to the report.

"Groups cannot track or see who has HIV. Facilities [for prevention and treatment] are disappearing. We going back to the 1990s in terms of HIV prevention programs, back to square one," said Harsono.
President Donald Trump, a week after downplaying Russian interference in US elections, said Tuesday he is "very concerned" that Russia will look to impact the 2018 midterm elections and said he believes Moscow will look to boost Democrats this time.

Trump offered no evidence for his claim that Russia would look to help Democrats win in 2018 beyond claiming he has been tougher on Russia than his predecessors.

"I'm very concerned that Russia will be fighting very hard to have an impact on the upcoming Election. Based on the fact that no President has been tougher on Russia than me, they will be pushing very hard for the Democrats," Trump tweeted Tuesday. "They definitely don't want Trump!"

Trump's tweet comes a week after he faced blistering criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike for touting Putin's denial of Russian interference in the 2016 election and challenging the US intelligence community's assessment of that interference. Trump partially walked back his comments after returning to the US by saying he misspoke when he said he didn't see why "it would be Russia."

But the next day, Trump replied "no" when asked if he believes Russia is still targeting the US -- with the White House press secretary later claiming he was not responding to that question.

The US intelligence community concluded after the 2016 election that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to hurt Hillary Clinton's campaign and help Trump win. While Putin denied any Russian interference last week, he confirmed that he did want Trump to win the presidency "because he talked about bringing the US-Russia relationship back to normal."

Still, Trump's tweet Tuesday is the US President's firmest confirmation to date of ongoing Russian attempts to interfere in the US democratic process.

Asked last week whether he agreed with Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats' assessment that the Russian threat is ongoing, Trump offered only tepid support.

"Well, I'd accept, I mean he's an expert. This is what he does," Trump said. "He's been doing a very good job. I have tremendous faith in Dan Coats. And if he says that, I would accept that. I will tell you though, it better not be. It better not be."

The Trump administration has leveled sanctions against Russia and expelled alleged spies working in the US on diplomatic cover, but Trump has faced criticism for offering little public criticism of Russian actions. Whereas Trump has fiercely criticized close US allies in recent months, he has offered little to no criticism of Russian actions around the world.

Instead, ahead of his summit with Putin, he blamed souring US-Russia relations on previous US administrations and the special counsel's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Pressed on the point during the news conference in Helsinki, Trump said both the US and Russia were to blame for the nadir in relations.
A candidate for the 118th Assembly District in New York State has been arrested, according to New York State Police.

Robert Smullen, 49, of Gloversville, is charged with felony first-degree offering a false instrument for filing.

Police say Smullen allegedly filed false veteran tax exemption paperwork with the Town of Niskayuna to receive a reduction in property taxes on his residence there, but he was already receiving that exemption on his primary residence in Fulton County.

Smullen, a Republican, is one of three candidates vying for the 118th Assembly District seat being vacated by Assemblyman Marc Butler of Newport. The other two candidates include Republican Patrick Vincent of Cold Brook and Democrat Keith Rubino of Herkimer. The district encompasses Fulton and Hamilton counties, along with parts of Herkimer, Oneida and St. Lawrence counties.

Smullen was processed and released on an appearance ticket, and hes scheduled to appear in the Town of Niskayuna Court on Aug. 6.
Three young siblings died when fire tore through their Pine Haven Circle home in Rome's outer district just before midnight on Monday.

Rome's fire chief says the fire, believed to have started in the middle of the mobile home, separated the parents and their one-year-old son from the three older siblings. Chief Ron Brement says parents Gabrielle and Patrick Croad left the home through a door near their bedroom, and tried to re-enter through a door closer to the older children's rooms, but were pushed back and burned by the flames.

Two-year-old Temprince, three-year-old Patrick III and four-year-old Eliesse Croad died in the fire.

"Right now, it appears that two of them were in their beds. The third one, we can't quite tell, based on how much damage there is to the area," said Fire Chief Ron Brement.

Chief Brement says the fire got quite the jump on firefighters, because mobile homes tend to be built of more lightweight materials, consumed more quickly by fire.

"The average time on a mobile home is probably six to ten minutes for total consumption," said Brement. "I want to say I think it was about a nine minute response from where we come, because city of Rome is a very large area."

Park residents on Tuesday stared at the home, remembering the last time they saw their young neighbors, not realizing at the time that it would be the very last time.

"Just seen them yesterday, just seen the little girl yesterday with the mother on my way out. Just seen little Temprince. And next thing you know, you hear them screaming, and this," said neighbor, Lorenzo Williams, recalling a later, more frantic encounter with the child's parents less than 24 hours later. "I seen Patrick when I first came over. patrick was running around. I said, can we get in? Any way we can get in? He says, no, I tried. He's all burnt up."

State and local fire investigators were on the scene throughout the day on Tuesday. The chief says parents, Patrick Croad and Gabrielle Croad and one-year-old Kaydence are recovering well at Upstate Medical Center, in Syracuse, from their injuries. No official determination on the fire's cause. Twenty eight Rome firefighters fought the fire, 12 of whom were called in from off duty.

A family member has created a GoFundMe page to help raise money for the Croad family. To make a donation, click here.
ROME  If youre interested in a career in law enforcement, youve got a week and a half left to sign up for the chance to serve and protect the city of Rome.

The deadline to apply for the City of Rome Police Officer Exam is Aug. 3, and the test will be given on Sept. 15. The cost to take the exam is $25.

To qualify for the test, you must be a high school graduate of possess a GED, and you must have two years of verifiable employment history. You must also be at least 19 years old on the date of the exam, and you will be eligible for appointment once youve turned 20 years old.

The starting salary for the position is $32,723 while in the police academy, which increases to $43,631 after successful completion of the academy.

For more information about the test and how to apply, click here. You can also call the Rome Civil Service Department at 315-339-7609 for more information.
FRANKFORT, Ind. (WLFI)  Plans are in the works for a major expansion at Frito-Lay in Frankfort, according to Mayor Chris McBarnes.

The $159 million investment will lead to 50 new jobs. The company plans to expand warehouse space by another 210,000 square feet and will add two new production lines.

Due to the positive impact on the economy, city leaders have proposed a tax abatement for the project. The Indiana Economic Development Corporation has also offered Frito-Lay up to $550,000 dollars in conditional tax credits.
LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI)  Schools in the Lafayette School Corporation will share 30 hand-held metal detectors as a way of ensuring school safety.

This is thanks to a new state program allowing schools one hand-held metal detector for every 250 students, free of cost.

The district's two high schools, two junior high schools and eight elementary schools will share the hand-held metal detectors.

There are questions surrounding the devices. How will someone be trained? How soon will schools use them?

Superintendent Les Huddle said he will have more answers in two to three months, after the Safety Committee comes up with plan.

He said not to expect the hand-held devices to be on hand when school starts this fall.

"But the goal will be to try to come up with a common sense approach. We're not sure what that is yet," said Huddle. "We have been able to identify some schools that are already using wands and we'll be touching base with them to see how it's going, to see what works and what doesn't work."

Other school districts in our viewing area receiving hand-held detectors include:

Attica, Frankfort, Crawfordsville, Faith Christian, Lafayette Christian, Brookston, Lebanon, Logansport, Williamsport, Peru and Rossville.
LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) -- Indiana Secretary of State candidate Jim Harper was in West Lafayette today to talk about his concerns about election safety.

The Democratic candidate said one of the biggest threats to Indiana voters comes from foreign hackers. Harper also wants to see a larger voter turnout.

A paper trail is a paper vote or a reciept of an electronic vote that auditors can compare to the electronic vote results. Indiana is one of 13 states that do not require a paper trail.

Harper hopes it would help mitigate the tampering of votes. "We have to make sure that for every ballot that a Hoosier voter casts, that there is a voter verified paper trail. Either a paper ballot that you fill out, or if you want to use a computer system that's fine, but it should have something the voter can see that confirms who he or she voted for," said Harper.

"Indiana recently got an F from national organization when it comes to election security. It's a big concern this year and it's absolutely critical that voters are confident that their votes are going to be properly tabulated," added Harper.

Harper believes revamping voting security in Indiana could be accomplished before this November's election.




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SNC-Lavalin to decommission research reactor

24 July 2018

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SNC-Lavalin's Candu Energy Inc is to provide decommissioning services for the Saskatchewan Research Council's (SRC) Slowpoke-2 research reactor, the company announced yesterday.

SRC Slowpoke 2 (Image: SRC)

The Slowpoke-2 reactor has operated at the SRC's Environmental Analytical Laboratories in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan for 37 years. The low-power reactor, which is mainly used as an analytical tool for neutron activation analysis to determine uranium and other elemental concentrations, was commissioned in 1981. In January, it surpassed 20,000 hours of operation for its lifetime.

The reactor is currently licensed to operate until June 2023, but the SRC started the process to initiate decommissioning with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) in December last year. Decommissioning is expected to take about two to three years.

"Decommissioning is the end of the nuclear lifecycle that SNC-Lavalin supports with the latest technology, modern tools and training - all with a focus on safety," Sandy Taylor, president for nuclear at SNC-Lavalin, said. "We have successfully decommissioned similar reactors at Dalhousie University and the University of Alberta in recent years, and our track record speaks to our commitment to the Saskatchewan Research Council that its Slowpoke-2 reactor will be safely retired in the most environmentally responsible manner," he added.

The first Slowpoke (Safe Low-Power Kritical Experiment) reactors were developed by Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd in the 1960s, to provide a source of neutrons for research and teaching institutions. The reactor's core, which is sealed in an aluminium container vessel, sits at the bottom of a pool of light water to provide cooling and shielding. Generating up to 20 kWt of power, Slowpoke reactors are seen as having a high degree of passive safety.

SNC-Lavalin was in 2016 awarded a contract to decommission the University of Alberta's Slowpoke 2. Decommissioning was formally completed last month, following the cessation of operations in July last year. Slowpoke-2 reactors remain in operation at the Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal, Quebec, and the Royal Military College (RMC) of Canada in Kingston, Ontario. The RMC in 2017 received approval to refuel its Slowpoke 2, which will enable the facility to operate for a further 30 years.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

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Police attend as travellers take over field in Llay during eventful few hours

This article is old - Published: Monday, Jul 23rd, 2018

Police have been in attendance for several hours as travellers moved between Gresford and Llay this evening.

Late this afternoon travellers gained access to a field in Llay, with several caravans then moving from Gresford up the road, with reports some returned later to Gresford as police blocked access to the field.

Llay Councillor Rob Walsh tonight said: Unfortunately, travellers have taken over a field in Llay on the Gresford Road/Gegin Lane junction. It has been an eventful last few hours.

Gypsy travellers tried to set up on a field on Chapel Lane. As soon as those plans were scuppered, a handful of caravans managed to get on to Priestley`s field off Gresford Road/Gegin Lane. Despite a large police presence, blocking the entrance and attempts to talk them into leaving, this proved in vain.

As soon as the police left the scene, another 4-5 caravans turned up and entered the field. I have informed the police to let them know of the new arrivals, and they said they will keep a close eye but are powerless to remove them.

I will speak to the Council Liaison Officer first thing in the morning to see what can be done to get them as quickly as possible.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

There are further unconfirmed reports locally of a broken gate, a landowner laying concrete blocks to block an entrance, plus police blocking access to another field, then leaving the area as they said there was nothing more they could do.

@wrexham whats happening in #Llay on Gresford Road? Loads of police and onlookers.  Peter Smith (@bigearsnoddy) July 23, 2018

Earlier this month travellers arrived in the locality, with local Councillor Andrew Atkinson creating some controversy by monitoring them closely
Warning after young men steal cars for fun in Ruabon

This article is old - Published: Tuesday, Jul 24th, 2018

Police have issued a warning for residents in Ruabon to keep car keys safe.

Wrexham Rural Police issued the stark warning asking people specifically in Ruabon to keep doors and windows locked & car keys out of sight.

The reason for the warning was given as a group of young men walking around trying doors at night.

The men are stealing cars for fun before abandoning them & sometimes setting them alight.

Any relevant CCTV, or reports of suspicious activity should be brought to the attention of police via the 101 number.
On June 22, Cuban state media reported that the government had approved the draft for a new constitution, replacing the current one put in place in 1976. Preliminary reports described the blueprint for the constitution as a total reform, with the process presided over by former president Raul Castro with the involvement of a hand-picked group of high level officials, including current president Miguel Diaz-Canel. It is expected that final approval will occur via a referendum to be completed by November 15.

Altogether, the announced changes herald a new stage in the Cuban governments dismantling of the radical reforms enacted in an earlier period by the petty-bourgeois nationalist regime of Fidel Castro.

Among the most significant of the announced changes are a recognition of the role of the market and new forms of property, including private, and a recognition of the importance of foreign investment for the economic development of the country, with the appropriate guarantees. While written in the oblique style of the Cuban bureaucracy, the decision to strike references to communism from the document makes the meaning clear enough. Not only will there be an expansion of the operation of the market to further sectors of the economy, but also a legal reintroduction of private property in the means of production and protections for foreign investments and property.

These constitutional changes are meant to enshrine and deepen many of the changes already enacted by the Cuban regime under Raul Castro in recent years. One of these is the creation of the cuentapropistas, or self-employed. This group, which numbers at least 600,000, or more than 10 percent of the total labor force, was created largely through the elimination of jobs in the state sector. Some reports estimate that as many as four in 10 Cubans of working age are involved in the private sector in some way, as it is the only way to get access to the currency increasingly needed to make ends meet as austerity initiatives have led to dwindling state subsidies.

Many of the small businesses created by the cuentapropistas, including the more successful restaurants, salons and construction companies, have long complained about the unclear legal status of their businesses. By recognizing private property, which already exists in fact, the door is opened for the future sale and purchase of these businesses, as well as a vast expansion of their number and a further shrinking of vast sections of the stagnant and largely unprofitable state sector.

More importantly, the Cuban government is desperate to integrate the Cuban economy more directly into the world market, primarily by attracting foreign investment and offering up Cuban workers to direct exploitation by foreign capital in exchange for a cut of the proceeds, along the model of China. Indeed, the wealth of the Chinese Stalinists, and their ability to pass along property to friends and relatives, has no doubt fueled the Cuban ruling elites desire for a legal regime in which that is possible.

In 2014, changes to laws on foreign investment made possible firms with 100 percent foreign ownership, and in the past year Foreign Trade and Investment Minister Rodrigo Malmierca has announced that at least 11 such ventures have been initiated. The recognition of their private property and the addition of protections for foreign investment to the constitution is no doubt intended to allay fears that the government might back out of a partnership, demand a renegotiation of the terms or even expropriate a business were it to become successful.

The Cuban regime is basing itself on the recognition that it may no longer be able to count on Venezuela to supply the island with enormous oil subsidies. As Cuba only produces enough energy to meet 30 to 40 percent of its domestic needs, any change to this arrangement would necessitate devastating cuts in energy consumption or devastating cuts of other crucial imports, like food, in order to come up with the US dollars necessary to purchase energy on the world market.

The government hopes to avoid at all costs a return to the Special Period of the 1990s, when the dissolution of the USSR ended its support of Cubas economy. The result was widespread economic collapse and hunger, as well as protests against the government, like the Maleconazo of August 1994.

Back in 2016, a deputy editor of Granma warned that announced cuts to energy consumption could lead to protests, and this time there is no Fidel to go to the Malecon, that is, to personally defuse social tensions. Unlike in 1994, there is also now no safety valve of relatively easy entry into the United States for the Cubans most unhappy with the regime since Barack Obama ended the wet-foot, dry-foot policy just before leaving office.

This concern has no doubt accelerated as a result of the seemingly abrupt halt to the rapprochement with Washington following the election of Donald Trump, which resulted in the reimposition of travel restrictions as well as a drastic curtailment of consular services and diplomatic personnel at the US embassy in Cuba following extremely murky claims of brain damage and other neurological symptoms among embassy staff.

It is on this basis that the Cuban regime is willing to risk allowing private property, which would create a basis for long-term wealth and power outside of the petty-bourgeois nationalist bureaucracy, and, through the foreign investment guarantees, a more strongly defendable beachhead for international capital.

The government hopes to shore up its support among these growing petty-bourgeois layers through the creation of a new post of prime minister, thereby diluting the power of the presidency, and also through the legalization of same-sex marriage. No doubt it aims to use the latter to burnish its progressive credentials internationally, after decades of harassment and persecution of LGBT individuals.

Despite the claims of the Cuban regime that the changes must be incorporated into the constitutional text, by virtue of our experiences constructing socialism, and that the irrevocability of socialism and the political system will remain a clause in the constitution, the truth is that what exists in Cuba is not socialism and never was.

While the petty-bourgeois nationalist Castro regime was able to take the power that fell into its hands, in the absence of a revolutionary workers party, and impose radical measures, even to the point of nationalizing the means of production, the result was never socialism, which can only be established on the basis of a revolution carried out by the working class internationally.

For Cuban workers to defend themselves against the assault by the Cuban government and prepare for such a revolution, it is above all necessary to establish a section of the International Committee of the Fourth International in Cuba.
Hunger strikes at two US immigrant detention facilities, as well as lawsuits and press reports, are exposing the appalling conditions in which immigrants and refugees are being held under the Trump administration.

These exposures come as the July 26 deadline approaches for the Department of Homeland Security to reunite 3,000 children and their parents, as ordered by a federal judge in California. Fewer than 500 children have so far been returned to their parents, and it is widely expected that the Trump administration will fail to meet the deadline for most of those who remain.

At least 60 detainees went on hunger strike last week at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, near the city of Bristol. They began refusing food on Tuesday, July 17, protesting conditions that included nearly nonexistent medical care, inedible food, abuse from facility employees, and exorbitant commissary prices, according to a posting on social media by Families for Freedom, a support group.

Families for Freedom claimed that the hunger strike continued into the weekend and spread to a second unit of the jail, expanding to 130 detainees. The Bristol County Sheriffs office, which runs the detention center for the federal immigration agency, claimed it ended Thursday after staff members met with prisoners to discuss their concerns.

Families for Freedom said it did not organize the hunger strike, only learning of it through detainees phone calls to relatives and friends. This was something that they informed us about, a spokeswoman said. Were just supporting them in making their strike visible to the outside world.

The Massachusetts action came on the heels of a similar protest on the opposite side of the country, as nearly 200 detainees at the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) in Tacoma, Washington staged a three-day hunger strike beginning Saturday, July 14 and ending Monday, July 17.

The protest was carried out in support of immigrant parents and children who have been separated under the Trump administrations infamous zero tolerance policy, instituted in early May, under which some 3,000 children have been taken from their parents, most of whom are imprisoned.

According to a statement by NWDC Resistance, a support group for the detainees, The people detained in the NWDC are appalled by what has been done to parents and their children at the border. They want those families released immediately from detention and reunited, and then all the parents detained at the NWDC released.

GEO Group, a private for-profit corporation, operates the detention center for ICE. The agency has a policy requiring medical evaluation of hunger strikers after three days, which explains why the protests have been set by the detainees as three-day events. The prisoners clearly wish to avoid such medical intervention, which could lead to force-feeding or other punitive measures.

The 1,500 prisoners at NWDC, one of the largest detention centers operated for ICE around the country, have engaged in numerous hunger strikes in past years to protest food and other conditions of life, lack of contact visits, delays in hearings and low wages for the labor they are compelled to perform.

Press reports and lawsuits charge that detainees have been placed in solitary confinement or beaten by guards in retaliation for their participating in hunger strikes or filing complaints against poor conditions and mistreatment. Last year, Washington state sued GEO Group for violating the states minimum wage law by paying detainees as little as $1 a day, or even giving them only snacks in return for labor.

The conditions at the Dartmouth, Massachusetts detention center may be even more brutal. According to a report last week in The Intercept, guards at the center tried to pit prisoners against each other in fights, on which they would bet. When one detainee refused to fight for the pleasure of the guards and tried to file a complaint, he was told, No one will believe baboon complaints. From then on, the prisoner was systematically brutalized and denied access to hygiene and food.

A report by the group Freedom for Immigrants found at least 800 complaints of abuse by guards at 34 immigration detention facilities since Trump entered the White House. Such attacks took place regularly under the Obama administration as well, but Trumps demonization of immigrants has encouraged the most fascistic elements in ICE, the border patrol and their contracting companies.

Reports of these conditions have triggered lawsuits and official investigations in several states. In Oregon, for example, federal public defenders filed a report July 20 describing conditions for 120 asylum seekers at a prison in the rural town of Sheridan. The report listed poor food and overcrowded cells with open toilets, as well as strip searches and other forms of routinized brutality. The detainees arrived at the prison in late May with only a days notice given to officials, as part of the Trump administrations crackdown on asylum seekers.

We are dying day by day inside here, one detainee told investigators, according to the suit filed in federal court in Portland. The immigrant asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation. Another detainee said, Here we have come to save our lives, but I think we will die here in jail.

Federal Public Defender Lisa Hay said in a letter to Warden Josaias Salazar and Acting ICE Field Office Director Elizabeth Godfrey that there was at least one suicide attempt and many other detainees said they had considered killing themselves. Hays office sought federal court hearings for five detainees, whose names were redacted for their own safety.

In a second letter, Hay wrote that some conditions have improved, but continue to fall below the minimum standards set by our government for immigration detention and, in my view, violate the Constitution by imposing punitive detention on civil detainees.

Lawsuits on behalf of immigrants held in private prisons run by GEO Group and CoreCivic have brought to light the regular practice of $1-a-day work programs, in what amounts to thinly disguised slave labor in the United States. According to a report July 21 in the Wall Street Journal, Geo Group and CoreCivic are accused of violating federal laws prohibiting forced labor, state minimum-wage laws or unjust-enrichment laws.

The defense mounted by the companies, the two biggest private prison operators in the US, is that migrants work voluntarily, that the $1-a-day rate is set by Congress, and that the companies meet our contractual obligations. ICE documents declare that the decreased idleness of prisoners eases the negative impact of confinement.

GEO Group is now appealing to the US Supreme Court a ruling by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver that allows nine detainees at the companys huge detention center in Aurora, Colorado to represent 60,00 other detainees who have passed through the facility over the years. The company has threatened that if it has to pay detainees the minimum wage it will have to charge the government more to run the facility.

An exposure of conditions at a shelter for detainee children in Illinois by the Washington Post has now triggered investigations by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and the inspector general of the US Department of Health and Human Services. The Post reported July 15 that at Casa Guadalupe, in the Chicago suburbs, children between 9 and 11 years old had been roughed up and then denied medical attention for injuries, and injections had been given to children when they were unruly.
Autoworkers at Fiat Chryslers (FCA) transmission plants in the Kokomo, Indiana, area overwhelmingly approved strike action in votes Thursday and Friday last week. Workers are seeking to fight back against the deterioration of working conditions, in particular the atrocious treatment of temporary part-time (TPT) workers, which has been enabled by decades of betrayals by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union.

Fiat Chrysler employs nearly 7,000 at four transmission plants in the Kokomo area, which is the largest producer of transmissions in the world. Although UAW Local 685 has not officially released vote totals, Jimmy Shaw, a member of the locals executive board, commented on Facebook that 99.9 percent voted yes.

A worker at the Kokomo Transmission Plant told the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter about the grievances motivating the strike vote: Weve been through a lot. We have hundreds of health and safety issues. We also have a plant thats all but closed, Indiana Transmission Plant II. I dont know if theres anyone thats working there now.

Referring to the extreme exploitation of TPTs, which has provoked immense opposition among young and older autoworkers throughout the industry alike, she said, I was not really aware of it, because its happening at a different plant, but theyre forcing TPTs to work 13-14 hours.

The whole TPT thing is outrageous in my book, that you would have temporary part-time workers paying union dues, and yet they have language in the contract saying that they dont have the same protections that a full-time worker does. Its insulting.

Todd, a worker at the Tipton Transmission Plant near Kokomo, posted on Facebook, Pretty much management has over 700 problems they have not taken care of like the agreement says they have to. Also, we were supposed to get a new transmission in at ITP 2 in a year but they cancelled it and sent to China so all 1900 jobs from ITP they distributed to the other plants. Plus KTP is [phasing] out the 4 and 6 speeds so management wants to get rid of 1,900 jobs in the next 24 months. Which means anybody within their 5 years at FCA in the Kokomo/Tipton plants potentially will lose their jobs.

While workers are looking for a way to fight back against increasingly unsafe working conditions and the erosion of wages and benefits, the UAW is seeking to prevent a genuine struggle from being conducted, and instead maintain FCAs dictatorial control over the workplace. As the UAW corruption scandal has revealed, key union officials accepted over a million dollars in bribes from FCA executives in order to secure company-friendly agreements.

In calling the strike authorization vote, the union hopes to head off the development of a movement of workers outside their control. Rather, they are looking to conclude yet another rotten pro-corporate settlement behind closed doors, which inevitably will resolve none of the workers concerns. Chryslers manager of corporate communications announced last week that a meeting with the local union leadership had already been arranged.

In another comment on Facebook, Local 685 executive board member Shaw cited local president Rick Wards comments about the vote. While saying nothing about the grievances of workers, which the unions have allowed to pile up, Ward made the absurd statement that the near unanimous strike vote would benefit the company, stating, 99.9% voted yes  not only will [we] be a stronger UNION, we will make FCA a better company.

This only underscores why workers must take the conduct of this struggle out of the hands of the UAW by organizing rank-and-file factory committees that are answerable to workers, not the UAW and the company. This committee should outline a list of demands and mobilize workers in Kokomo and throughout the auto industry to fight for them. The demands should include immediate elimination of the tier system, the conversion of all temporary workers to full-time, workers control over health and safety issues, and the abolition of the Alternative Work Schedule (AWS) and restoration of overtime after eight hours.

Kokomo workers should establish lines of communication and organize a common fight with GM, Ford and auto parts workers who all face the same conditions. A powerful movement should be built to fight in advance of the 2019 contract, where the union and companies plan to impose more concessions.

A recently retired worker from Kokomo described the attacks on working conditions sanctioned by the UAW. The union and FCA, he said, stuck the AWS up our ass without even a vote. There was a poll taken about two years before I retired, and it was 10 to 1 against it. But nothing was done about it. I was 10 hours on my feet and wound up having foot problems till this day. So good riddance, FCA!

He noted his opposition to the overall growth of social inequality, adding, The rich get richer, and they are always screwing the little guy.

The worker from Kokomo Transmission Plant denounced the claims by the UAW that the bribery scheme was limited to a few bad actors and that the top union officials were unaware of what was happening. She said that all of the deals that were signed between 2009 and 2015 by UAW officials implicated in the scandal should be invalidated. Legally, theyre not worth the paper theyre written on.

I came to the belief two or three months ago that there is no way that the UAW can be reformed. Theyre a pretty big corporation themselves. It is very difficult to find anyone who has any confidence in the UAW, she said.
For the past two months, an appeal for the formation of a new political movement has been circulating on the Internet. The name tentatively proposed for the new movement is #fairLand and its initiators are two longstanding leaders of Germanys Left Party, Oskar Lafontaine and Sahra Wagenknecht.

Wagenknecht told Der Spiegel magazine that the new project was still incomplete and the name would be changed. The new coalition of diverse political forces is to be launched this autumn as a digital network.

The five-page appeal is entitled For a just and peaceful country. The appeal quickly reveals that far from being an ostensibly left-wing initiative, this new project is instead another political turn to the right by Lafontaine and Wagenknecht, the founder and the current parliamentary leader of the Left Party.

The text begins by arguing that the reformist conception of achieving social equality and prosperity has failed. The promise of improvement bound up with the social market economy, i.e., that anyone who works hard can also become prosperous, is no longer valid in an epoch of temporary work and low-wage jobs. There then follow a number of facts about a deeply divided country.

Already in the third paragraph, Lafontaine and Wagenknecht blame refugees and asylum seekers for the growth of social tensions. For many, they write, free movement and immigration inside Europe meant more competition for low-paid jobs.

In a passage that could be taken from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), the appeal continues: The refugee crisis has led to great insecurity in Germany. Public administration, cities and communities have been overwhelmed by the many refugees and social problems aggravated. The lack of social housing, overburdened schools and inadequate kindergarten places have all been exacerbated by the uncontrolled influx of refugeesto the chagrin of the already disadvantaged.

This is followed by the sentence: When those with political responsibility continue to look on as radicalised Islams preachers of hate convey their view of the world to children barely five years old, then integration is almost impossible, the social climate is poisoned.

This racist tirade does not prevent Lafontaine and Wagenknecht from writing in the same paragraph: We reject racism and xenophobia. This also parallels the style of the AfD, which always claims it is not xenophobic, but merely reflects the alleged concerns and fears of the population.

Lafontaine and Wagenknecht stress that they do not intend to found a new party, but rather to establish a coalition of forces from across the party spectrum and among non-voters. #fairLand is a non-partisan movement to which anyone who supports its goals can contribute, the text reads, i.e., all those who are no longer prepared to sit back and accept that radicalised Islams preachers of hate propagandise among children should work together.

The call defends capitalism and is thoroughly nationalist. The terms socialism and socialist do not appear. While Lafontaine and Wagenknecht criticise global finance capitalism, they do not advocate the expropriation of the banks and corporations, but rather the promotion of national-based capitalism. The appeal calls for the strengthening of the German domestic market and the repressive apparatus of the state. The police and judiciary are to be better staffed and equipped.

The appeal calls for a European Germany in a united Europe of sovereign democracies, respecting cultural autonomy, tradition and identity. This is reminiscent of the hackneyed demand for a Europe of Fatherlands proposed in the 1960s by French president Charles de Gaulle, which was then taken up by numerous right-wing, nationalist parties. The call for the preservation of cultural autonomy comes directly from the odious political program of the AfD.

The right-wing slogans of Lafontaine and Wagenknecht are not new. Already in the 1990s, Lafontaine (at that time chairman of the Social Democratic Party, SPD) resorted to the jargon of the far right and warned of the danger of foreign workers.

Wagenknecht has also threatened refugees, asserting that those who abuse our hospitality have forfeited the right to our hospitality. AfD leader Alexander Gauland praised Lafontaine and Wagenknecht for their xenophobia and uses the same language to vilify all those of non-German origin. In her book Wealth without Greed, Wagenknecht calls for more national autonomy and a strong nation-state to protect the domestic economy against the superior power of the multinationals.

What is new is that these right-wing slogans are now being used to provide the basis for a new political movement, which also aims to attract members of the AfD. Lafontaine and Wagenknecht are responding to the resurgence of class struggle and the growing militancy of workers increasingly freeing themselves from the grip of the unions, the SPD and the Left Party.

The return of class struggle is an international phenomenon. Workers are increasingly disgusted by the right-wing policies of social democracy, fake lefts and the unions, who, in the name of defending individual factories and competitiveness, impose wage and job cuts, support German militarism and sabotage every labor dispute.

The US has witnessed a powerful strike movement of teachers, who have come into growing conflict with the unions. In France, rail workers are opposing President Emmanuel Macrons reform of the SNCF state railway and the slashing of 120,000 jobs. The workers overwhelmingly repudiated the sell-out prepared by the rail unions. In Romania, Ford workers rejected their contract and took spontaneous strike action in opposition to the union officialdom. Workers in other Eastern European countries are also rebelling against extreme forms of exploitation, while public sector and engineering workers have also taken strike action in Germany, with considerable public support.

The Lafontaine-Wagenknecht initiative is meant to head off this growing militancy and divert it into a nationalist dead-end. They aim to mobilise right-wing forces to oppose militant workers politically and, if necessary, physically, and strengthen the bureaucratic apparatus of the unions. This is the inevitable logic of their xenophobic and chauvinist program.

Lafontaine and Wagenknecht have each long championed the defence of the bourgeois order and a strong state.

The 74-year-old Lafontaine, who joined the SPD at the age of 23, has devoted his political career to the suppression of the class struggle. While students and many members of the SPD youth organisation (Jusos) took to the streets in the late 1960s, Lafontaine was busy forging his career in Saarland in municipal and state politics.

As mayor of Saarbrucken, the capital of the state of Saarland, he was the pioneer of compulsory labour for the unemployed in the mid-1970s, while imposing austerity measures at a municipal level. Later, as premier of Saarland, he organised the rationalisation of the states coal mining and steel industry, in close cooperation with the unions, with the loss of thousands of jobs.

As SPD chairman, Lafontaine helped Gerhard Schroder take power as federal chancellor in the late 1990s. Lafontaine served as finance minister in Schroders new cabinet. Following pressure from the international financial markets and press, Lafontaine resigned his government posts without putting up any fight, allowing Schroder to go ahead with austerity measures in the shape of his Agenda 2010.

Lafontaine returned to politics after the SPD was voted out of office and rapidly lost influence. He played the key role in forming a coalition between the WASG (Election Alternative for Work and Social Justice) and the PDS (Party of Democratic Socialism) to form the Left Party. The WASG was a collection of spent SPD and union bureaucrats based in West Germany who quit the sinking ship of the SPD. The PDS was the successor party to the ruling East German Stalinist Socialist Unity Party (SED), which collapsed in 1990.

Wagenknecht joined the Stalinist SED shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall and began her political career as figurehead of the Communist Platform, a faction in the PDS, which vehemently defended the crimes of Stalinism while supporting capitalist restoration. After receiving her doctorate in economics, Wagenknecht rapidly replaced Marxs Capital on her bookshelf with volumes praising ordo liberalism, the specific German form of neoliberalism that served as a guide for the reactionary Christian Democratic Union (CDU) chancellors Konrad Adenauer and Ludwig Erhard.

Sahra Wagenknecht, who married Lafontaine in 2014, is the living embodiment of the transformation of Stalinist bureaucrats into right-wing defenders of capitalism. Her own nationalism draws directly from the conceptions of Stalinism.

The # fairLand appeal is addressed to representatives of the SPD, the Left Party, the so-called workers wing of Germanys ruling conservative parties, the AfD and the trade unions, along with privileged layers of the petty bourgeoisie, who are moving sharply to the right following the collapse of social reformism. Such forces are terrified by the inability of the reformist apparatuses to head off class struggle amidst signs of a radicalisation of the working class and great social upheavals. They realise their privileged position is under threat and are demanding police-state measures while seeking to channel growing social opposition in a right-wing direction.

These layers react to the growing tensions between the imperialist powers, especially between Europe and the United States, by demanding that Germany functions as a superpower based on military strength. Wagenknecht repeatedly calls on the government not to subordinate itself to the US, but develop an independent policy.

Similar developments are taking place in other countries. In France, Jean-Luc Melenchon, a friend and colleague of Lafontaine, is seeking to build a right-wing populist movement that combines social demagogy with nationalist slogans that bring them into the orbit of Marie Le Pens fascist National Front. In Greece, Syriza formed a government with the far-right ANEL that has imposed the European Unions harsh austerity program.

Lafontaine and Wagenknechts effort to build a right-wing movement vindicates the position of the Socialist Equality Party (SGP) that the fight against social inequality, war and dictatorship requires the building of an international socialist workers party irreconcilably opposed to the Left Party and its pseudo-left supporters.
On Saturday, Unsubmissive France (LFI) leader Jean-Luc Melenchon sharply attacked French President Emmanuel Macron in an interview with Le Monde. Discussing the illegal attack on peaceful protesters by a top Macron aide, Alexandre Benalla, who was captured on video beating an anti-austerity protestor while wearing a riot police uniform. In his comments, Melenchon made no appeal to mass anger among workers against austerity and police repression. Instead, he advanced the demands of the police forces against Macron.

Melenchon told Le Monde that the main issue behind the public outcry which has erupted over the publication of the video is that the police hierarchy has lost confidence in the president after Macron approved disciplinary action against police officials. A political crisis has erupted, Melenchon said. The National Assembly is paralyzed. The police hierarchy is also, because three dismissals have upended a rule that is as old as the high public service itself: officials serve and obey, but it is politicians that take the blame.

Melenchon added more specifically that Interior Minister Gerard Collomb, the civilian official charged with overseeing the police, had lost the confidence of the security forces: The Interior Minister is already disqualified. He has lied, a lot! No policeman can believe him anymore. Of course he will resign, and many more, as well.

Workers must be warned: a class gulf separates Melenchon from masses of workers hostile to Macrons austerity and militarist policies. The Benalla Affair has exposed the illegal and gratuitous character of the police forces repression of peaceful protests, but Melenchon is not trying to mobilize working class opposition to the rising police state machine. He is making himself the spokesman for anti-democratic police agencies that are increasingly trying to overcome all limits placed on their vast repressive powers.

For a number of years, and above all since the imposition in 2015 of a state of emergency suspending basic democratic rights, the ruling class has cultivated the security forces as a chief base of political support. Melenchon postures as the defender of the legitimate interests of the police hierarchy but there is nothing progressive in the anger and complaints of police commissaries and Interior Ministry functionaries. This social layer, largely won to neo-fascism, is comprised of professionals of repression and the most aggressive defenders of the financial aristocracy.

Now, politicians who are trampling workers social demands underfoot are all rushing to defer to the security forces. The prosecutors office and the General Inspectorate of the National Police have all launched investigations and the National Assembly has launched a parliamentary commission of inquiry into the matter. They are not opposed to Benallas brutality, which is commonplace in the riot police, but his decision to illegally take over the polices role, which he usurped, according to Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet.

All the official opposition parties are rallying to defend the police. On Twitter, neo-fascist deputy Sebastien Chenu complained that the video of Benalla harms the image of the security forces while conservative deputy Eric Ciotti said: The courts must urgently investigate this affair, which harms the rule of law. Socialist Party (PS) secretary Olivier Faure complained that the scandal is undermining the image of an exemplary Republic that he wanted Macron to defend.

On Friday, the opposition in the National Assembly demanded that Collomb and Prime Minister Edouard Philippe testify in person. Philippe came, referred to the judicial proceedings that have been launched, and said he was pleased that the affair is now in the hands of the judiciary.

Melenchon is swimming in this stream of political forces demanding that people understand the legitimate anger of the police. Asked by Le Monde whether he would now take back his occasional criticisms of the press corps, Melenchon laughed and replied that the press is a system that is usually hostile to us, except now, but this is an exception (laughter).

In fact, LFI and Melenchon are closely enmeshed in the army, intelligence and police machine. Their defense of the police is of a piece with the petty bourgeois, anti-Marxist populism promoted by Melenchon. In the decades that have elapsed since he arrived in a bourgeois government as a member of the PS under Francois Mitterrand in 1981, and since the Stalinist bureaucracy dissolved the USSR in 1991, LFIs different political components have all become parties of the capitalist state.

Melenchons security and foreign policy advisorsretired officer Djordje Kuzmanovic and Alexandre Langlois, an official of the General Intelligence (RG) domestic spy agency and leader of the Stalinist General Confederation of Labors (CGT) police unionare integral parts of the repressive apparatus the state aims at the working class.

LFI is intervening in a deepening crisis of the police machine itself. The state of emergency was first imposed in 2015 and the vast repression of social protests like the 2016 movement against the PS labor law and the 2018 strikes against rail privatization have stretched Frances vast police apparatus to the breaking point. One sign of the crisis is the suicide rate among policemen, which is three times the national average.

The mock indignation, disarray or outright panic in the political establishment in this affair reflects their fear that the police agencies directed against the workers could collapse amid growing social struggles and amid deep conflicts between the Elysee and the police.

When asked by Le Monde about the potential existence of a secret illicit security cabinet at the top levels of the state, Melenchon signaled that powerful factions of the ruling class would use this crisis to exert enormous pressure on or even get rid of Macron. He insisted that the crisis is at Watergate levels. The entire world is now aware of this.  Mr. Macron thought the affair would stop by itself. He committed a grave error. Now no one will let this go.

Developing the parallel between the Benalla affair and the crisis that led to the resignation of US President Richard Nixon, and posturing as a democratic opponent of Macron, Melenchon provocatively insisted that Macron is organizing a personal militia.  We live in a Republic! We should remember it.

He continued, A crisis is a crisis, its outcome is unpredictable. We will have done what we should do as a democratic opposition. You have seen no provocations or exaggerations from us. We are working in the limits of parliamentarism. These are institutions that we disapprove of, but that we respect. But if they destroy them, they will have done our work.

These musings of Melenchon are reactionary. A destruction of parliamentary institutions by one or another faction of the ruling elite and its allies in the police establishment, whether or not they are tied to LFI, would not represent the opposite of a revolutionary struggle to free the working class from capitalist exploitation. All the factions of the policethose tied to Melenchon, to Macron, or to the neo-fascistsare hostile to the working class and the youth, and the fact that Melenchon speaks for the riot police exposes the anti-working class politics of his party.
In another sign of preparations for war, the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) has requested sweeping new powers over research, publication and the export of all technology in Australia, whether directly related to military purposes or not.

Universities, in particular, would be placed under wartime-style scrutiny, prohibited from undertaking collaborative research with countries regarded as US enemies, especially China, while being drawn more tightly into research jointly funded by the Pentagon.

According to a DoD submission, research and export controls first imposed on universities and companies by the last Labor government in 2012 must now be drastically tightened because of an altered national security environment.

No explanation of that declaration was provided. Instead the submission asked: How has the national security environment changed? It answered: See classified Annex A.

In other words, the calculations involved in the shift are being hidden from the Australian population, in order not to further fuel anti-war sentiment.

Annex A undoubtedly relates to preparations for involvement in US-led wars, particularly against China and Russia, which were identified in the 2018 Pentagon National Defense Strategy as threats to American global military and economic hegemony.

The request for new controls over all research was unveiled last month, in a definite context. The Liberal-National government and the Labor Party were jointly ramming through parliament foreign interference laws designed to crack down, above all, on anti-war dissent and anyone linked to China.

For two years there has been a relentless drumbeat of anti-China propaganda in the Australian corporate media, fuelled by unsubstantiated claims by US-linked intelligence agencies of pervasive Chinese meddling in the country, including via university research projects.

New allegations continue to surface, ranging from the supposed threat of Huawei, the worlds largest telecommunications equipment supplier, subverting Australias proposed 5G network to Chinese students posting supposed misinformation on WeChat and other Chinese-language social media platforms.

One of the key reasons the DoD gave for demanding expanded powers under the 2012 Defence Trade Controls (DTC) Act was that allied nations could restrict Australian government, industry and university access to critical technologies unless appropriate safeguards and protections were introduced. This could have significant consequences for ADF [Australian Defence Force] capability, inter-operability with partner forces and collaboration opportunities.

The inter-operability and other demands are primarily those of the US ruling class and its military apparatus. Over the past decade, Washington has intensified its pressure for a greater Australian commitment to US preparations for war against China.

For all the propaganda about Chinese interference in Australia, Washington is politically intervening to ensure support for these military preparations.

The Defence submission calls for unlimited discretion to prohibit the publication of research, even for scientific purposes, and for warrantless entry, search, questioning and seizure powers to monitor compliance.

These are extraordinary powers, unprecedented since World War II. Under the 2012 Act, people currently face up to 10 years imprisonment for selling or otherwise supplying items on the Defence and Strategic Goods List (DSGL) or items covered by the Defense Trade Cooperation Treaty (DTCT) between Australia and the US.

Other offences cover engaging in dealings (such as research) relating to these items without a permit, and publishing or otherwise disseminating DSGL or DTCT technology to the public.

Until now, the listed items have consisted of either military or alleged dual-use technologies. Defence wants to extend these provisions to cover what is currently uncontrolled technologythat is, all technology.

Defence wants the power to issue bans simply by asserting reason to believe the technology is significant to developing or maintaining national defence capability or international relations of Australia.

At present, authorised officerswho can be military officers or senior departmental officialscan enter any premises, including a university, question anyone and require the production of items or documents that allegedly relate to technology covered by the US-Australia DTCT. Only 24 hours notice must be given, and no judicial warrant or any other kind of warrant is required.

Defence wants those powers extended to cover all technology, raising the prospect of military raids on universities and companies even though their research is not included on any prohibited list in advance.

Defence Minister Marise Payne launched the DTC Act review in April, and entrusted it to a long-time intelligence insider, Vivienne Thom, who previously supervised the operation of the counter-terrorism legislation as Inspector General of Intelligence and Security.

At least 14 technology and IT institutions have objected to aspects of the Department of Defence (DoD) submission.

Group of Eight (G8) chief executive Vicki Thomson, representing eight elite universities, stated: The extension of controls to uncontrolled, unspecified technology would create significant uncertainty for researchers and those with whom they work, given the possibility that the DoD may declare at any point in time that a technology is emerging sensitive and subject to controls on transfers.

Thomson alluded to likely bans on overseas researchers, and requirements for universities to check the citizenship status of all staff. A wide range of people would be in questionincluding foreign born Australian researchers, international PhD students in Australian universities, visiting Fellows or other research colleagues from overseas, multi-national companies.

Universities Australia, the peak body of the countrys 39 public universities, objected to the proposed banning of publication of technology at the sole discretion of Defence, on the basis of information that is not open to public scrutiny.

However, as the Defence submission revealed, the universities have already embraced, and helped enforce, military controls since the 2012 Act came into full effect two years ago. Defence believes it has formed very productive relationships with key stakeholders over the past two years which have led to a high level of compliance with the DTC Act, it said.

Defence promised to consult affected groups over its new demands in the spirit of working together. The university submissions welcomed this offer, pointing to the likelihood of closer collaboration with the military, despite their current objections.

Starved of government funding, the universities have become dependent on war-related research, as well as attracting full fee-paying international students.

The Australian government is striving to meet the Trump administrations demands for higher military spending. The Liberal-National government has allocated $200 billion for military projects over the next decade and adopted a defence industry plan to make the country one of the top ten world exporters of weaponry.

A University of New South Wales (UNSW) submission warned the proposed restrictions could seriously endanger participation in an industry that contributes hugely to Australias GDP, estimated at $15 billion per annum for UNSWs research and technology impact alone.

University managements are also tying their institutions into joint research with US universities on priority projects under the US Department of Defense Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI), which the government joined in 2017.

In May, Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne congratulated four universities for winning funding in this years round of applications for Pentagon partnerships to develop game-changing military capabilities.

Griffith University, UNSW and University of Technology Sydney will work with Duke University, the University of Oregon and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on integrated quantum sensing and control for high fidelity qubit operations.

Sydney University and UNSW will partner with the University of Tennessee, Ohio State University and Virginia Polytechnic Institute on a project in material sciences.

This program is part of a wider picture. Universities in Australia, as in the US and internationally, are becoming integral components of military networks preparing for high-tech warfare. This is taking place via a string of research initiatives and expanding ties with military contractors, such as the new Lockheed Martin research centre at the University of Melbourne.

The creeping militarisation of universities is taking place behind the backs of students and staff, most of whom have no idea of its scale and implications.

The author also recommends:

Australian universities integrated into military build-up

[10 April 2018]
In a development that illustrates the tactical divisions within the Democratic Party and the role of the pseudo-left within it, Cynthia Nixon, the challenger to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the states upcoming September primary, recently announced that she considers herself a democratic socialist.

If being a democratic socialist means that you believe health care, housing, education and the things we need to thrive should be a basic right, not a privilege, then count me in, Nixon told the Politico website. The candidates sudden embrace of the socialist label came shortly after the June 26 primary victory of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez against veteran US Congressman Joseph Crowley in New Yorks 14th Congressional District. Crowley is the fourth-highest-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives.

Nixon, who announced her campaign in March, is best known for her former role in the Sex and the City television series. A longtime Democrat who is associated with the nominally progressive wing of the party, she is close to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Her campaign up to now has been similar to that of Fordham University law professor and liberal activist Zephyr Teachout, who ran against the right-wing Democratic governor in 2014 and won an unexpectedly high 34 percent of the primary vote.

Nixon has been endorsed by the Working Families Party, the organization that has functioned for the 20 years of its existence as a lobby, seekingwith virtually no successto push the Democrats to adopt more liberal rhetoric and party platforms.

Along with promises about health care and other social and economic issues, Nixons campaign has focused on such issues as corruption in the state capital and money in politics. Known for her own same-sex marriage, the candidate has raised such issues as abortion rights and opposition to mass incarceration, but presented them within the framework of identity politics, not as democratic rights that must be fought for by the working class as a whole.

Despite Cuomos right-wing record and the lack of any enthusiasm for the incumbent, Nixon has so far attracted little support in the working class for her warmed-over liberalism. Recent poll numbers have suggested that she might not win as large a vote as Teachout did four years ago. This is part of the reason for her new socialist label, as she and her advisers note the growing interest in socialism reflected in Ocasio-Cortezs success.

Nixons brand of socialism is no more genuine than that of Ocasio-Cortez. She talks about increasing taxes on the rich to fund improved health care, housing and education. Her campaign website includes sections entitled Rent Justice for All, Schools Not Jails and Fixing the Subways, but the program amounts at best to modest reform demands such as the extension of the citys rent stabilization program and spending for desperately needed modernization of the subway signal system. Nixon promises huge improvements in the educational system, but says absolutely nothing about a political struggle against the oligarchs and their stolen wealth in the capital of American capitalism, without which nothing can be achieved.

She is silent about the role of the working class. Nixons few references to the working class and the poor portray them as victims, not as a powerful social force whose independent political mobilization is required in order to win even the most modest reforms amid the crisis and decay of 21st century capitalism.

Ocasio-Cortez has welcomed Nixons recent declaration and endorsed her in the upcoming gubernatorial primary. The recent exchange of compliments demonstrates the role of both of these candidates, the recent primary victor as well as the primary opponent of Cuomo. They are safety valves, seeking to tap into the growing disgust with the Democratic Party of Wall Street and the CIA, only to direct it back into the same swamp of capitalist politics, based on the fraudulent proposition that this party of the ruling class can be utilized for progressive purposes.

While the DSA itself has not yet officially endorsed Nixons campaign, its politically linked Jacobin magazine has published both an interview with the candidate and an admiring commentary.

Nixon called Ocasio-Cortezs victory an enormous red-letter day for us all. She declared her disagreement with House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosis refusal to embrace the importance of the appeal of socialism. Most significantly, she combined her praise for Ocasio-Cortez with her proud assertion that she, not Cuomo, is the real Democrat in the race.

[D]espite calling himself a Democrat, [Cuomo] has governed like a Republican, according to Nixon. [H]is policies are purely Republican He is a Republican politician who has always been about consolidating his own power. The lack of progressive change in New York, Nixon declares, can be laid directly at the doorstep of Andrew Cuomo.

The idea that Cuomo, for all his corruption and right-wing policies, is almost single-handedly responsible for holding back the progressive Democrats is laughable. The purpose of Nixons demagogic attack is to provide a cover for her unabashed affirmation of loyalty to the party that rescued the banks at the expense of the working class, presided for the two terms of Barack Obama over record growth in inequality along with continuous war all over the world, and for the past four decades, both in opposition and in power, has enacted or agreed to the shredding of the social safety net, the destruction of welfare, the privatization of education and health care, and a second Gilded Age characterized by a gulf between haves and have-nots like no other in US history.

It is obvious that, for both Ms. Nixon and the editors of Jacobin, democratic socialism means re-costuming this discredited party of US imperialism in socialist disguise.

Jacobin followed the interview with a commentary titled What Nixons Left Turn Means. It calls the minimal reforms proposed by Nixon firmly in line with those of other democratic-socialist candidates, including Ocasio-Cortez. That says more about the DSA candidates than it does about the liberal Nixon, who is to a large extent repeating the kind of radical-sounding proposals advanced by New York City Mayor de Blasio when he ran for office in 2013 on the slogan, A Tale of Two Cities. Once in office, de Blasio dropped every single proposal that would have required a fight against the forces on Wall Street whom he represented and continues to represent in City Hall.

Flaunting its own cynicism, Jacobin continues: Theres no way to know whether [democratic socialism] is what shea millionaire celebrityactually believes to be her true political identity. But what she believes in her heart of hearts isnt that important.

What is important is that if Nixon were to upset Cuomo... her independence suggests that the progressive groups which support her would likely have a seat at the table under her administration.

Jacobin continues: And she has brought into her campaign a number of staffers with established left politics, which bodes well for how she would governand for who she may appoint to key policy rolesonce in office.

Here we get to the proverbial bottom line. A seat at the table! A chance to secure posts and privileges as part of a government of big business, either openly or as advisers! The author blurts out the common aspiration of the fake socialists and hypocrites who produce publications such as Jacobin and the comfortable middle-class opportunists who run the DSA to land key policy rolesalong with the pay and perks of office.

The anti-working class character of the DSAits role, jointly carried out with Bernie Sanders and Sanders-type candidates, including Nixoncould not be any clearer. It utters a few perfunctory words about the importance of mass movements, but what drives the DSA is the need, on behalf of American capitalism, to prop up the Democratic Party.

Candidates like Nixon running openly as democratic socialists can introduce a vision beyond the free-market fundamentalism that has defined our economic and political system for decades, Jacobin declares. In its view, the social counterrevolution of the past 40-50 years is not the outcome of the decline of American capitalism, enacted by both of its political parties, but rather the result of a false vision, that of free-market fundamentalism. The tactical divisions within these circles, and between them and the Democrats, are over how best to deal with the emerging movement of the working class and the specter of socialist revolution.

Liberalism cannot be revived. The crisis-ridden capitalist system can no longer draw upon the resources it did in the period between the New Deal and the Great Society. American capitalism today is preparing for war and dictatorship, and those like the DSA, who suggest that the Democrats lurch to the right can be reversed by electoral pressure, are working to block the path to the political independence of the working class.
The following is a comment on the May 23, 2018 World Socialist Web Site obituary of Sri Lankan filmmaker Lester James Peries. A reply by the authors of the obituary, Pani Wijesiriwardane and Gamini Karunatileka, is posted below.

Letter from Pandula Godawatta

There are several significant limitations and misrepresentations in this article.

Lester James Peiris had a highly uneven film career. He made truly remarkable and significant films like Delowak Athara (1966), Nidhanaya (1972) and Ahasin Polowata (1978) where he deeply probed the social, cultural and moral decomposition of the Sri Lankan urban and landowning bourgeoisie in the colonial and post war neo colonial eras. But, in between, Lester also produced quite shallow, mediocre and conformist films like Sandesaya (1960), Ran Salu (1967), Akkara Paha (1969) and Desa Nisa (1972) wherein he endorsed and in some cases celebrated feudalistic and religious backwardness, political reaction and various middle class conservatisms prevailing in a backward country undergoing a belated capitalist development. Why?

Nidhanaya

The main task of a Marxist art critic is to deal with this question historically and Materialistically. The writers of this article have failed miserably in this regard.

In Rekhawa (1956) Lester Peiris portrayed the rural Ceylon (Sri Lanka) as an idyllic, politically isolated arena inhabited by fundamentally foolish and unconscious villagers who could suddenly turn violent when their myths are challenged. The reality was somewhat different. By the mid 1950s, the wet zone rural Ceylon had gone through decades of recurring food shortages, famines, epidemics and other social disasters created by the 1930s economic depression, the constraints caused by the second world war, the post war depression and the economic dilemmas arose at the end of the Korean war in 1953. In large areas of rural Ceylon the influence of socialist politics of the LSSP (Lanka Equal Society Party) and the Trotskyist BSP (Bolshevik Equal Society Party), and later the Stalinist reformism of the CP was gradually growing since the early 1930s. In the late 1940s the capitalist government initiated huge farmer relocation programs from the wet zone to the hostile dry zone in order to diffuse and breakup rural social discontent and LSSP leaning radicalization. The LSSP lead 1953 country wide Hartal mass agitation ignited determined, rebellious protests among farmers and workers in rural and plantation areas.

All this social history and current conditions were alien to Lester James Peries when he made Rekhawa in 1956. Chiefly because Lester, since his return to Ceylon in 1952, was heavily involved in the ultra right capitalist government propaganda of the Government Film Unit (GFU). The so called GFU documentaries  Ralph Keenes Nelungama (1953) and Lester James Peiriss Conquest in the Dry Zone (1954) reeks with political reaction and social ignorance. The films were produced as blunt propaganda tools for the reactionary and oppressive government rural social schemes.

Unlike Satyajith Ray of India Lester James Peiris was not influenced by Italian Neo Realism. He never stated either. Lester was chiefly inspired by the British Documentary Movement, British New Cinema and by the classical symbolist cinema of Jean Renoir, Carl Dreyer etc.

Funny these writers talk about Neo Realism, because in 1952 the Sri Lankan right wing prime minister D.S. Senanayake expelled Gulio Petroni and Federico Serrathe two Neo Realist leaning Italian documentary filmmakers who instigated the work of the GFU in 1949due to their connections with the Italian Communist Party.

Lester Peiris might have gained crucial inspiration and energy from the cultural ideas, social insights and artistic work of painters like Ivan Pieris and Harry Pieris and from the pioneering photographic work of Lionel Wendt. I think the most important event in Lesters formative years was the teaming up of all these Ceylonese modern artists in to the 43 Group led by Lionel Wendt in 1943.

Nidhanaya

Lester was at his best when he portrayed the cultural hypocrisy, social turmoil and moral dilemma of the unwittingly transforming urban - suburban Sinhala higher middle class. But he did not trace the trajectory of this class through the whole course of contemporary Sri Lankas socioeconomic development. He sort of stopped himself at the stage when neo liberalism was introduced to Sri Lanka in the late 1970s after the breakdown of the post war capitalist settlement. Perhaps the subsequent eventsthe prolonged communal civil war, rapidly rising living costs, ever increasing inequality, crushing of the working class mass movement, the diminishing socialist popular consciousness, mass rural killings, the growing consumerist-racial chauvinist-pragmatist trend within the relatively backward Sinhala middle class cultural milieu and the unrelenting state repressionall this harshness and trauma might have dissuaded this acutely sensitive, lone, free-thinking higher middle class artist from probing and analyzing further. The arrested development in the Sri Lankan Realist Descriptive Novel and the severely impeded progress in historical and sociological academic research in Sri Lanka might have also played their part.

Finally, I like to specially point out one early paragraph in the article.

In 1947, and during the first decade of Sri Lanka cinema, most films screened in the island-nation were produced in South India and heavily influenced by that culture. Many of the directors, in fact, were from India. These films were partially stylized stage plays or dramas and often included singing and dancing, which tended to overshadow or constrain the cinematic potential of the art form.

The third sentence of this paragraph is absolutely true. But the first and second sentences, I must say with a heavy heart, sharply departs from the political standpoint and cultural perspective of Socialist Internationalism and ventures close to nationalism and racial chauvinism.

Sinhala cinema was born out of the South Indian Tamil studio based commercial filmmaking system due to the enormous and inexorable cultural similarities and connections between South India and its neighbouring small island, which the British colonials later reorganized in to a separate nation state. Sri Lankan film artistsactors, writers, directors, cameramen, editors, designers, musicians were trained by their more technically and artistically advanced South Indian counterparts. Especially the technically masterful South Indian directors, cameraman, editors and designers played the most crucial role in developing a highly skilled Sri Lankan filmmaking artistic and technical cohort. Lester Peiris and the two others who courageously resigned from the GFU to make independent films couldnt have done so for a long time if the above artistic and cultural developments had not taken place. Lester made an artistic breakthrough. At the same time, commercial film industry and the film studios constantly supported and supplemented his efforts. The studio money and its key technical/artistic talent made possible his masterpiece Nidhanaya and notable films like Golu Hadawatha (1968).

Sri Lankan screening of Gamperaliya in 1963

Instead of analyzing this complex cultural dialectic, WSWS writers comrade Pani Wijesiriwardane and Gamini Karunatileka quite ignorantly utilizes the age old, worn out Sinhala chauvinist denunciations used by rival Sinhala film producers and small studio owners to drive their bigger Tamil competitors out of the business in the 1970s. This process culminated with the violent burning down of Vijaya film studios, one of the biggest and most technically advanced in South Asia, in the anti Tamil pogrom of 1983. The studio belonged to the Cinemas film company who produced Lesters Nidhanaya.

As a long term reader of the WSWS and a supporter of the ICFI, I think WSWS Arts Editor comrade David Walsh should closely scrutinize this article and guide the necessary revisions.

Pandula Godawatta

BA (Hons) and MA in Screen Arts, UK

* * *

Dear Pandula Godawatta,

Thank you for your comment on our article Sri Lankan filmmaker Lester James Peries dies at 99, published on the World Socialist Web Site on May 23, 2018. Your letter provides an opportunity to discuss several important artistic and political issues.

Lester James Peries, photo courtesy of Sarath Perera

You argue that Peries created shallow, mediocre and conformist films and that his creative life was uneven. You then claim that we have failed miserably to examine his cinematic work historically and materialistically.

If you carefully re-read the obituary you would realise that our basic objective was to examine Periess general contribution to Sri Lankan cinemaor how he came to be known as its fathernot to present a detailed assessment of his entire cinematic output.

This, however, does not mean that a full examination of Periess cinematic work should not be a subject of study. Such an undertaking would be very important, but could not, of course, be adequately explored in a single article.

We stated in our obituary that the films made in the first decade of Ceylonese cinema, which began in 1947, retained techniques and conventions of stage drama. This approach tended to overshadow or constrain the cinematic potential of the art form. We also observed that Peries first feature Rekava (1956) marked a significant break from these limiting stylistic conventions.

Without referring to the significant aesthetic change made by Peries, you write at length about his supposed alienation from Ceylons rural life that formed the background to Rekava. To prove your alienation argument, you assert that the rural masses actively participated in the 1953 hartal [mass strike] called by Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) against the United National Party (UNP) governments economic austerity measures and, contrary to Rekavas plot, such people do not become violent when their religious-mythical beliefs are challenged. Your argument is mechanical and false.

Rekava

It is true that the attacks on the masses by the UNP government, in response to the economic crisis that developed following the end of the Korean War, provoked a semi-rebellious movement of the working class. The LSSP provided leadership to this movement and in August 1953 called a one-day general strike of the working class that attracted support from the rural masses. Contrary to the original plans of the LSSP leadership, the hartal continued for three days.

While the LSSP hoped to use the hartal as a pressure tactic in its parliamentary calculations, the ruling class drew more far-reaching conclusions. It responded by promoting the alternative bourgeois party of S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike and its Sinhala-Buddhist program in order to divide the working class and the rural masses along religious and ethnic lines.

In 1956, one wing of the hartal leadership, headed by Philip Gunawardena of the Viplavakari Lanka Sama Samaja Party, joined forces with Bandaranaike to help establish the chauvinist Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) and contest the general election. The LSSP entered into a no-contest pact with the MEP and Bandaranaike won the election and became the prime minister.

You ignore these basic historical and political facts and their impact on the social, political and cultural development of the masses, both rural and urban. This leads to your false and rather formal assumption that because the rural masses participated in a short-lived rebellion, they must have shed all their archaic notions overnight.

The ideologically oppressed character of the rural peasantry, however, cannot be overcome without replacing the old forms of social life, which include production relations, by new ones. In Russia, as Leon Trotsky explained, rural conservative habits prevailed for years even after the revolution of 1917. Meaningless ritual, which lies on the consciousness like an inert burden, cannot be destroyed by criticism alone; it can be supplanted by new forms of life, new amusements, new and more cultured theaters (Leon Trotsky, Vodka, the Church and the Cinema [1923], in Problems of Everyday Life).

You are correct to say that the Government Film Unit, where Peries was initially employed, played a reactionary role in producing propaganda for the then governments colonisation program. What else could one expect from a government film unit in class society?

Peries may well have contributed to some of these films as part of his work, but his resignation from the Government Film Unit within four years in order to develop his own independent cinematic work is to his credit. As we pointed out in the obituary, his decision opened the way for the development of his career and benefitted Sri Lankan cinema as a whole. In any event, if the criteria according to which you would apparently find a given artist acceptable, including an entirely spotless and uncontradictory political record, were applied to bourgeois artists as a body, how many would escape unscathed? Again, this is formalism.

You then go on to say that Peries was not influenced by Italian neo-realismas the great Indian director Satyajit Ray had been. But your claim is false from two standpoints.

Lester James Peries

First, Peries openly declared that he was influenced by Italian neo-realism: I would say that the two greatest influences on my work could be traced back to British documentary and Italian neo-realism (A. J. Gunawardene, Lester James Peries: Life and Work, Asian Film Centre Publishers, 2005, p. 79).

Second, serious critics base their assessment of the influences on artists and art work through an objective analysis of the subject matter itself and not just on the opinions or intentions of the artist. Contrary to your assertion, many of the characteristics of Italian neo-realist cinema, i.e., stories based on the economic and moral difficulties facing workers and the poor in the aftermath of World War II, on-location shooting and the use of non-professional actors, are clearly present in Rekava. In any case, these characteristics and features of international cinema were prevalent at the time and did not appear in Periess films from out of the blue.

Finally, you single out a particular paragraph in our article for harsh criticism. That paragraph reads: In 1947, and during the first decade of Sri Lanka cinema, most films screened in the island-nation were produced in South India and heavily influenced by that culture. Many of the directors, in fact, were from India. These films were partially stylised stage plays or dramas and often included singing and dancing, which tended to overshadow or constrain the cinematic potential of the art form.

You state: The third sentence of this paragraph is absolutely true. But the first and second sentences, I must say with a heavy heart, sharply depart from the political standpoint and cultural perspective of Socialist Internationalism and venture close to nationalism and racial chauvinism.

You declare that the third sentence of that paragraph is absolutely true, but where did these characteristics that limited the artistic quality of Sri Lankan films come from and why?

Do you reject the idea that it was a result of the influence of South Indian cinema? You dont appear to reject this assessment. How can you therefore claim that we have turned away from internationalism and veered toward nationalism and chauvinism when all we have done is state an obvious truth?

The task of Marxist critics is to tell the working class the truth under all conditions. We do not hesitate to explain that the cultural and economic backwardness in countries like Sri Lanka and India has political and historical causes, colonial oppression and the inability of the national bourgeoisie to complete the bourgeois-democratic revolution in the epoch of imperialism.

Contrary to your allegations, what we pointed out is that Peries raised the level of Sri Lankan cinema and was able to do so because he had the advantage of being exposed to international cinema. In that respect, our axis was completely internationalist.

Your claim that Sri Lankas Vijaya Studio, one of South Asias most technologically developed studios, was burnt down in 1983 because of the chauvinist attitude of Sinhalese people toward South Indian cinema is false.

It is well-established that the Vijaya Studio was set on fire as part of the communalist carnage unleashed by the anti-Tamil racists, organised under the patronage of Cyril Mathew, a cabinet minister in the UNP government of President J. R. Jayewardene, during Black July 1983.

That you omit this truth, and then accuse us without any proof of Sinhala chauvinism, is a wrongheaded smear and one that contributes nothing to a serious examination of Lester James Periess work and his important contribution to Sri Lankan cinema.

Yours sincerely,

Pani Wijesiriwardane and Gamini Karunatileka
Pilots and cabin crew at European budget airline Ryanair are taking part in strike action today. The strikes, which will impact hundreds of flights, involve workers in Ireland, Portugal, Belgium and Spain, and reflect sharply deepening class tensions in the airline industry and across the continent. Ryanair pilots in Germany are also being balloted for industrial action.

As with last weeks strikes by Amazon warehouse workers in Germany, Spain and Poland, the actions by Ryanair employees show the potential and necessity for a coordinated continent-wide movement of the working class in defence of jobs and living standards.

Pilots based in Ireland are holding a third 24-hour strike today, following similar actions on July 12 and 20. The one-day actions follow ballots in which 99 percent of pilots based in Ireland and directly employed by the airline voted to strike. More than 250 Ireland-based pilots are self-employed agency staff and not involved in the dispute. Sixteen flights on July 24 to and from the Republic of Ireland have been cancelled with around 2,500 passengers affected. The July 12 strike resulted in 30 flights being cancelled, while last week, pilots picketed Ryanairs headquarters in North Dublin.

The pilots, members of the Irish Airline Pilots Association (IALPA), are seeking a fair and transparent mechanism based on seniority to allocate pilots to a particular Ryanair base, to arrange transfers between bases and for annual leave. The one-day strikes are the first ever of Irish-based Ryanair pilots, and only the second ever of Ryanair pilots anywhere.

The actions have taken place despite the best efforts of the IALPA to stop them. The IALPA is part of the Forsa trade union, which emerged last year out of a merger of a number of smaller public service unions. Forsa officials made their priorities clear to the Irish Mirror, before the July 12 strike. We regret the fact that its come to this. Pilots dont want to be on strike. They know its bad for passengers, for the airline, for Irelands economy and tourism sector and for pilots themselves.

The strike follows a sustained push last year by Ryanair pilots across the European continent for better conditions and a means of overcoming the fragmentation imposed upon them by the company. A series of open letters sent from 60 local Employee Representative Councils, bodies with which Ryanair hitherto preferred to negotiate, culminated in a short-lived European Employee Representative Council that claimed to speak for over 4,000 Ryanair pilots across 80 bases and 30 countries.

Led by a group of senior pilots, they used a major rostering calamity at Ryanair, which resulted in the loss of as many as 700,000 passenger flights, to force the company into recognising trade unionssomething opposed by Ryanair over its previous 32-year history.

Ryanair, in the end, only agreed to the recognition as it sought the assistance of the trade union bureaucracy in maintaining control of the workforce.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Ryanair cabin crew in Belgium, Portugal and Spain are also due to strike in a coordinated actionimpacting some 600 flights and up to 75,000 passengersagainst the brutal levels of exploitation in the industry.

Up to 400 cabin crew in Portugal held three one-day strikes this year, prompting a number of flight cancellations. Strikes took place at Lisbon, Porto and Faro airports.

Workers are striking in pursuit of demands for leave, sick pay, an end to cabin sales targets, minimum legally defined rest periods, an end to agency working, predictable working hours and a seniority system. They also want an end to the current system in which they are all forced to open an Irish bank account.

A recent Ryanair Crew Summit, organised by the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) of trade unions and its European wing, the European Transport Workers Federation, listed 34 demands, one of which is for workers employment contracts to explicitly recognise the national law and jurisdiction of the country in which the particular worker is based.

Currently all Ryanair cabin crew are employed under Irish law.

As result, Spanish cabin crews, for example, are forced to rely on the European Unions health insurance, rather than the Spanish system, to receive medical treatment in Spain, despite living there. Staff also report being unable to get a mortgage in Spain because their pay was delivered in Ireland.

Workers also have complained about disciplinary measures being imposed for calling in sick more than twice a year, and of being threatened with transfers to the Lithuanian branch of Ryanair if they fail to meet the companys notorious requirements for onboard sales of snacks, perfume and scratch cards.

Representatives of cabin crew from 80 percent of Ryanair bases attended the summit, and ground crew from 100 percent.

Under pressure of the growing militant mood, the ITF was forced to warn in early July, If the company does not begin to negotiate with unions in good faith and deliver real improvements for workers across its network, it risks a summer of industrial action.

However, as with the pilots action, the long warning period ahead of this weeks industrial action offered by the trade unions has given the company ample time to co-ordinate its response. Ryanair claimed that as many as 85 percent of the passenger journeys affected by the cabin crew action had already been rescheduled or the passengers offered refunds.

In effect, the trade unions are seeking to prove their credentials in controlling a highly concentrated, highly mobile, and internationalised workforce in a crucial sector of the transport industry.

Underscoring the point, immediately after announcing the impact of the July 25 and 26 strikes, Ryanair recognised the FIT CISL union in Italy. It has also recently recognised Verdi in Germany and Unite in the UK.

Ryanair hailed its new allies and sought to use these to pressure striking workers. Ryanair hopes that the cabin crew unions in Spain, Portugal and Belgium [where agreements have not yet been concluded] will soon follow this example by engaging in negotiations with Ryanair rather than disrupting Ryanair customers by going on unnecessary strikes.

The companys leading personnel officer, Eddie Wilson, also hailed the union recognition agreements as a further sign of the progress Ryanair is making with trade unions since our December 2017 decision to recognise unions, with over 66% of our cabin crew now covered by recognition agreements.

Since its foundation, Ryanair has championed a particularly brash and sneering tone towards its millions of passengers and its workforce staff. The companys business model relies on low pay and using large numbers of a single aircraft, the Boeing 737, to keep maintenance costs lower than its rivals. As a result, the company is now the largest airline in Europe and one of the largest in the world. It flies to 33 countries and has over 80 bases.

On a daily basis, the efforts of its European-wide workforce provide an example of coordination and advanced organisation that could be of an enormous benefit to society.

Instead, under capitalism and the division of workers along national lines, the benefits accrue only to the CEOs and their financiers. Ryanair boss Michael OLeary recently purchased a 10 million Baroque palace in Majorca in Palmas Old Town. OLearys net worth is estimated at around 850 million. Last year, the company reported that its 37.6 million passengers pushed revenue up to 2.1 billion, although fuel and labour costs forced a 20 percent slump in pre-tax profits over the first three months of this year to 319 million.
A horrific shooting on Sunday night on Danforth Avenue in Toronto has left three dead and 13 injured. The victims range from ages 10 to 59.

Video footage shows a man firing full rounds of a semi-automatic handgun into patron-filled restaurants. The fatal victims of the shooting include a 10-year-old girl, an 18-year-old nursing student, and the alleged perpetrator, who succumbed to gunshot wounds shortly after engaging in a firefight with police. Whether the suspect took his own life or received fatal gunshot wounds from police is still under investigation.

The Toronto police have identified the shooter as 29-year-old Faisal Hussain. His family has since released a statement that expresses their horror and devastation at the events and offers their condolences to those suffering from the tragedy. They also stressed that their son had been suffering from severe mental health issues including psychosis and depression.

Despite the familys statement, the media has sought to whip up fears revolving around gang violence and terrorism with Torontos chief of police stating, Its way too early to rule out anything.

The duplicitous response of conservative Mayor John Tory couched the shooting, which he called an act of cowardly violence, purely in terms of issues of gun control, saying there are far too many people carrying around guns who should not have them.

The newly elected Conservative Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, issued a statement calling for Ontario residents to step forward [and] let the appropriate authorities know about their suspicions of gun violence.

Whatever the immediate cause and motivation behind the social tragedy, it will be seized upon by a political establishment that is moving ever further to the right to ramp up the law-and-order measures at the federal, provincial and municipal levels.

Tory has responded to a recent wave of gun violence earlier by ordering the hiring of 200 new police officers and calling for harsher sentencing and additional funding from a $328 million federal government fund allocated to fighting gang violence.

For its part, Fords Conservative provincial government has been seeking to develop a reactionary base for its plans to intensify class war by gutting social spending and labour standards through the scapegoating of refugees, law-and-order rhetoric, and the courting of the police.

In a measure first announced by Ford in a letter to police associations, the provincial government suspended legislation, passed under the previous Liberal government, that would enhance the powers of the police oversight body which investigates police misconduct. A second consequence of the law's suspension will likely be a return to systematic police racial profiling or carding.

In their response to the recent spate of shootings in Toronto, both Premier Ford and Mayor Tory have focused exclusively on calls to increase the coercive powers of the state, while dismissing all suggestions that gun violence has social roots; particularly in the growth of poverty and the bleak job and education prospects for minority and immigrant youth.

The city of Toronto has seen a steady increase in gun violence over the past five years with 308 victims of gun shootings, including 29 fatalities since the beginning of the year as compared to only 11 deaths and 35 injuries in all of 2014.
The chaos surrounding the governments Universal Credit (UC) welfare benefit system reveals starkly its punitive character.

Last month, the National Audit Office (NAO) issued a damning report of UC, now eight years into rollout, saying its larger claimsare unlikely to be demonstrable at any point in the future. Nor for that matter will value for money.

Work and Pensions Secretary Minister Esther McVey, who lied to Parliament about the content of the NAO report, is still in her post. In Parliament, McVey flatly misrepresented the NAOs report. Falsely claiming the NAO had agreed the UC was working, she said the report had called for rollout to be speeded up. The NAOs head, Sir Amyas Morse, issued an open letter correcting her distortions.

UC is a regressive benefit payment system for working-age people that combines all entitlements into one payment. It replaces income support, income-based jobseekers allowance, income-related employment and support allowance, housing benefit, child tax credit and working tax credit.

Figures this month from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) show claimants going up to two months without income in February. An estimated 4,500 people were not paid in full within 10 weeks of their initial claim, and 2,300 were not paid in full within 14 weeks. The target period is five weeks. One in six claimants do not get payment in full and on time. A quarter of new claims last year were paid late.

A recent survey of housing association tenants has revealed that UC tenants are more than twice as likely to be in debt as are other tenants. Tenants on UC across 118 housing associations are in 24 million of rent arrears. Nearly three-quarters of UC tenants are in debt, compared with less than a third of other tenants.

Ostensibly intended to simplify the payment of benefits and get claimants back into work, UC is a vehicle for imposing austerity measures and cuts against the working class. It has been estimated that UC will cost 2 million in-work families 1,600 a year and more than 1 million out-of-work families 2,300 a year.

Proposed by then DWP Secretary Iain Duncan Smith in 2010, UC was due for implementation by 2013. The scheme has been vastly more expensive than originally suggested. The NAO now suggests it could cost more than the system it was designed to replace. Its report notes that government claims UC would save 8 billion annually were based on unproven assumptions. It expressed significant doubts about the achievability of the governments stated aims, pointing out those ministerial claims about UC leading 200,000 into work and saving 2.1 billion in fraud and error could not be measured or proved.

By May of this year, 920,000 claimants were on UC, 37 percent of them in work. By 2022, more than 7 million households are due to move onto UC, which has a built-in delay period and is paid in arrears after assessment of income. Any further delays are thus catastrophic for recipients, who are already financially vulnerable. The NAO said the fact that the DWP does not accept UC has caused hardship.

Measures exist for claimants to receive cash advances to cover shortfalls, but claimants are not made aware of this. The advances are loans, however, and must be repaid.

Following the NAO report, several charities called for a delay in rolling out UC. Paul Farmer, of mental health charity Mind, said, [E]ven those who are severely unwell and at crisis point are still being required to look for work or risking losing their benefits. He pointed to a real lack of support for those who cannot manage an online claim or monthly payments, leading to a cycle of debt, housing problems, and deteriorating health.

Emma Revie of the Trussell Trust anti-poverty charity called for a truly universal support system of benefits that is funded, that people are aware of, and that includes debt support and advice for everyone moving onto the new system. The Trusts food banks have seen the impact of delays and reductions in benefits: People living with physical or mental health conditions skipping meals for days at a time, young families facing eviction, and single men with insecure work struggling to afford the bus fare to work.

For the ruling class, the entire benefits system is an expensive concession that must be undone gain by gain. The NAO said the DWP gives the unhelpful impression of a department that is unsympathetic to claimants. The DWPs disclaimer for late payments confirms this: the department says these are mostly a result of unresolved verification issues, implying they are largely the fault of claimants.

The reactions of Duncan Smith and McVey offer a truer picture of the contempt of the ruling class for their critics. Duncan Smith simply dismissed the NAO report as shoddy.

McVey went somewhat further and lied to MPs. She claimed the NAO had called for UC to be rolled out more quickly. In fact, as Morses letter explained again, the NAO recognised some regrettable early delays but now recommended ensuring UC was fit for purpose before proceeding further.

McVey falsely told MPs the NAO had agreed UC was workingan extraordinary claim given the NAOs statement that many of the DWPs assertions could not be measured or proved. McVey insisted claims UC would help 200,000 into work were robust and had been signed off by the Treasury. The NAO said this was unmeasurable and that the DWP had accepted this.

Morse said McVeys statement UC was working has not been proven and that the DWP has not measured how many [UC] claimants are having difficulties and hardship. McVey repeatedly cited a survey of claimants suggesting 83 percent are satisfied with the departments service. Yet, the survey revealed 40 percent of respondents experiencing financial difficulties and 25 percent saying they were unable to make an online claim.

McVeys statement was criticised, and in response she claimed the NAO report was unreliable and outdated, because it had not considered recent changes to UC. In fact, the NAO acknowledged the specific policy changes she mentioned, discussing DWP data up to May 2018. Morses letter also explained that the DWP had agreed and signed off the NAO report shortly before publication, indicating its acknowledgement of up-to-date content.

With publication of Morses open letter, criticism turned on McVeys falsehoods. She was recalled to Parliament to answer on misleading MPs but apologised only for claiming the NAO had demanded speeding up rollout, saying she had inadvertently misled MPs.

Her barely coherent apology was tempered by the claim that [w]hat I meant to say was that the NAO had said that there was no practical alternative to continuing with UC. In fact, the NAO had noted that, despite its failure to deliver, the government had committed so much to UC that [t]here is really no practical choice but to keep on with the rollout. In other words, the government has already pushed the policy through.

McVey is determined to brazen it out, and the episode demonstrates that no criticism or comment will be considered until the UC offensive against the working class is complete.

Labour Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Margaret Greenwood initially said McVey had broken the ministerial code and should resign. But within a week, this had been translated into an attempt just to dock McVey a months pay, similar to the sanctions imposed on benefit claimants deemed not to have complied with imposed commitments. This was duly defeated in a vote by 305 to 268.

Two months ago, Labour diverted criticism of Transport Secretary Chris Grayling into a similar silly stunt, attempting to fine him the cost of a railway season ticket. That vote was also lost. Even as safety valves for the ruling class go, these are threadbare.
The United States

Strike vote by Detroit janitors

Some 1,700 janitors employed by private companies in the city of Detroit have voted to give strike authorization. The workers, who clean the Detroit Renaissance Center and other downtown buildings, earn as little as $9.45 an hour topping out at $12.45.

The workers, members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1, have a July 31 strike deadline. The result of the strike vote was announced at a prayer vigil in front of the Compuware building in Campus Martius in which local clergy offered prayers for a positive outcome to bargaining.

Testifying to the bankrupt role of the SEIU in suppressing wages, many of the workers rely on public assistance to survive. The SEIU has linked the janitors contract negotiations to the phony Fight for $15 campaign aimed at pressuring the Democrats to grant union recognition, and dues collection, to the SEIU and other service unions.

At the prayer vigil, local Democrats including Detroit Councilwoman Janee Ayers and State Representative Stephanie Chang, postured as allies of the janitors. The SEIU for its part has launched a one Detroit campaign seeking to raise janitors wages to the poverty level $15 an hour in order to share in the supposed revitalization of Detroit, in reality the pouring of funds into upscale development.

Iowa sheet metal workers strike over wages and benefits

Members of the Sheet Metal Workers Local 45 stopped work July 9 on the massive new Kum & Go headquarters in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. Workers have been without a contract since May 31 and are opposed to current wage and benefit proposals being proposed by the Sheet Metal Contractors of Iowa who represent some 13 companies that hire workers from Local 45.

Latin America

Strike by Mexican municipal water workers continues

Workers for the Potable Water, Sewage and Sanitation Operating Organism (OOAPAS) in Morelia, Mexico have continued their strike that they began June 18. About 740 out of 840 workers, who belong to the STAOOAPAS union, walked out over wage demands, which the municipal administration claims would cost 100 million pesos (US$5.25 million).

The OOAPAS administration has hired replacement workers and has accused the union of harassing and threatening the scabs, which STAOOAPAS denies. The union accused OOAPAS of vilifying it and trying to pit workers and citizens against it.

Honduran public transport workers strike again to protest fuel price hikes

The Honduran transport workers union in Tegucigalpa, Honduras decided to renew industrial action carried out recently against hikes in fuel prices. The decision followed a meeting last week with the public transport minister, who refused to reduce the price of gasoline by 20 lempiras (US$0.84), instead offering a subsidy.

Claiming that there had been vandalism on July 19, the government issued a communique calling for a day of rest for public workers on July 20.

Canada

Quebec liquor workers launch job action

Workers at 404 outlets of the Quebec Liquor Corporation or Societe des alcools du Quebec (SAQ) held a one-day strike across the province last week as the first of six such strike days to be carried out in the coming weeks.

The 5,500 workers, members of the Syndicat des employe(e)s de magasins et de bureaux de la SAQ (SEMB SAQ), have been without a contract since March of 2017. Although union negotiators say that there has been some movement from the employer over 16 months of negotiations, the two sides are still at odds over the central issues of schedules and work hours. Though over 70 percent of workers are part-time, SAQ wants more experienced employees to work evenings and weekends, which is opposed by the union.

Workers voted weeks ago to give their union a strike mandate, but job action was only taken after the most recent bargaining session ended without a deal. Over 60 SAQ outlets remained open during the strike with the use of management as replacement labor.

Toronto stage workers locked out

Technical and stage workers employed at Exhibition Place in downtown Toronto were locked out last week after their union, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), refused to suspend picketing until after the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in August.

The dispute will affect at least six venues on the CNE grounds, but management has said that they have contingency plans in place to remain open for business should there be no resolution before August 17, when the CNE opens. According to the union, the company is trying to eliminate union jobs that have existed for decades to try and cut costs.

Negotiations have been ongoing for months, but the lockout was only instituted after the latest round of negotiations that involved a provincially appointed mediator failed.
The Trump administration has set its crosshairs on new targets: Endangered species.

In a giveaway to big commercial interests who want the immediate satisfaction of a massive executive payday, Ryan Zinke's Interior Department is planning to ravage irreplaceable American lands and throw open the door to the decimation of rare wildlife.

The Endangered Species Act, which in 1973 enjoyed strong bipartisan support, is now on the government chopping block. That means the financial interests of mining, gas, ranching and logging executives may soon outweigh the necessity of protecting the land we all share and the wild creatures that live on it.

If you think this is a bad idea, now would be a good time to let Republican lawmakers and their corporate enablers know about it.

Republicans have indeed been building to this for a long time. They've spent decades on campaigns intended to undermine a basic belief in science among their voters, and they've largely succeeded.

Among our economic peers around the globe, even most social conservatives agree that climate change is real and we have to protect the environment for future generations. Not so in America, where half the country seems to operate under the delusion that we can do whatever we want to our land, our plants and our animals and it will magically have no ill effects on us, our children or our grandchildren.

The proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act fall in line with this anti-science sentiment: They drastically reduce the role scientists will have in identifying endangered and threatened species in the first place.

The changes would let the views of lawmakers take precedence over the in-depth research and on-the-ground observation of scientific experts. They would also let politicians weigh financial interests against whether plants and animals ought to be allowed to survive -- and also against the rights of the rest of us to enjoy the many benefits of balanced and diverse ecosystems.

Rare plant species and gray wolves don't have lobbyists; big oil does, and companies pay significant money to get politicians on their side so that they can plunder habitats to make more money. If it's elected officials -- whose coffers are filled by corporations -- making decisions previously left to scientists and researchers, who do you think will benefit: animals and their environs, or the people holding out cash?

What scientists know -- and many politicians want to ignore -- is that ecosystems are fragile, and they survive in precarious balance. Conservationists don't do their work because they have a particular fetish for Oahu tree snails or Florida bristle ferns; they seek to conserve endangered species because those species are part of a broad biome whose inhabitants are interdependent -- and which we as humans also depend on. We are part of it.

When this system gets out of whack, or certain species disappear, that can have a domino effect that goes far down the line, wiping out or endangering other species as well, and even affecting our own food supply and security. That impact isn't always immediately foreseeable.

The kind of short-term thinking reflected in the administration's proposals to gut the Endangered Species Act is fueled by insatiable avarice that doesn't just affect Northern sea otters and prairie gophers. It sells out the future of our country -- the very land you and I, people without a ton of money to throw at politicians, rely on. And it does this for the benefit of a very few.

Short-sighted, heartbreaking -- and exactly what we've come to expect from this administration. Speak up, and don't let this happen.
GREENE COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) - A Springville, Indiana man was arrested for a Greene County crash that left one person dead.

The crash happened in May on North State Road 45 in Bloomfield.

According to court documents, Raul Ramirez crashed a stolen car into another car being driven by Jeremiah Murphy.

Also in the car with Murphy was a female passenger and their four-year-old daughter.

Murphy was killed in the crash.

According to an area bartender, Ramirez stopped in earlier that evening for a couple of beers.

Ramirez has a prior conviction for Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated Endangering a Person.

On Monday, police arrested Ramirez.

According to the court documents he is facing charges of operating a vehicle causing serious bodily injury, operating a vehicle causing death, and auto theft.

Police say Ramirez is a potential flight risk.
VIGO COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) - Students in Indiana now have new graduation requirements. The program is called Graduation Pathways.

The state approved the final version on July 11. Vigo County Schools are working to implement it now.

State Superintendent Jennifer McCormick says the department has been working on it for a year. According to IDOE, seniors can graduate by meeting other requirements other than passing ISTEP.

There are three requirements:

1. High School Diploma: meet the statutorily defined diploma credit and curricular requirements.

2. Learn and Demonstrate Employability Skills, demonstrated by one of the following:

a. Project-based learning experience

b. Service-based learning experience

OR

c. Work-based learning experience

3. Postsecondary-Ready Competencies, demonstrated by one of the following:

a. Honors diploma

b. ACT: college-ready benchmarks

c. SAT: college-ready benchmarks

d. ASVAB

e. State- and Industry-recognized Credential or Certification

f. State-, Federal-, or Industry-recognized Apprenticeship

g. Career-Technical Education Concentrator: must earn a C average or higher in at least 6 high school credits in a career sequence

h. AP/IB/Dual Credit/Cambridge International courses or CLEP Exam: must earn a C average or higher in at least three courses;

OR

i. Locally created pathway, that earns approved of the State Board of Education

All schools must switch to these guidelines by 2023. Schools like Vigo County are already offering it to their soon to be seniors.

The school will help the students figure this out. But for parents, knowing this isn't just a test anymore, but there are multiple ways now to graduate, I think that's the big story," said Karen Goeller, Deputy Superintendent of VCSC.

Goeller says there will be two counselors dedicated to making sure students fulfill the correct expectations. They will work with the three high schools and the two alternative schools.
Big US airlines could soon hit political turbulence in China.

Major carriers including United, American and Delta are among those that were given a Wednesday deadline by Beijing to change how their global websites refer to Taiwan.

The showdown has been looming for months. The Chinese government wrote to more than 40 international airlines earlier this year demanding they remove from their websites any information that suggests Taiwan is not part of China.

Many airlines, such as Australia's Qantas, Air Canada and Air India, have already changed their websites. Others, including the big American airlines, have not.

China and Taiwan have been governed separately since 1949 following the Communist victory on the mainland after a civil war, although a shared cultural and linguistic heritage mostly endures.

But China considers Taiwan to be an integral part of its territory, and comes down hard on any suggestions to the contrary.

Taiwan has called out companies that have changed their websites. In May, it berated Air Canada on Twitter, accusing the airline of buckling under pressure.

In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, the island's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu urged global airlines to deal with the issue in a way that means not folding in the face of Chinese pressure.

Airlines can "list Taiwan cities as cities, without listing whether it belongs to one country or another," said Wu. "That's a flexible way of getting out of the Chinese pressure."

Related: Why US companies are changing their websites to please China

The instructions from China also provoked a strong reaction from the United States earlier in the year. The White House slammed the demands as "Orwellian nonsense," describing them as "part of a growing trend by the Chinese Communist Party to impose its political views on American citizens and private companies."

But international airlines, and other global brands, are caught in a bind. It's vital for their business that they stay in China's good books. The International Air Transport Association forecast last year that China would surpass the United States as the world's top aviation market by 2020.

Other airlines that currently refer to Taiwan in a way that indicates it is in China include Germany's Lufthansa and British Airways.

China's Civil Aviation Administration told state-run media on July 13 that the vast majority of airlines it had spoken to agreed to make the changes months ago. The handful that still had not cited "technical issues," according to the industry regulator.

As of Tuesday - a day before the deadline - the websites of United, American Airlines and Delta all appear to describe destinations in Taiwan as a separate political entity, rather than as part of China.

Spokespeople for all three US airlines did not immediately respond to requests for comment on whether they planned to change their websites before the deadline.

What happens if companies don't comply?

China hasn't spelled out what the punishments might be for airlines that fail to comply with its demands.

Earlier this year, it blocked Marriott websites and apps for a week in the country after the company listed Tibet, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan as separate countries in emails and apps.

Marriott issued a profuse public apology over the matter and conducted a full review of its Chinese website and apps.

Related: How China gets what it wants from American companies

Hong Kong and Macau are former European colonies that were returned to China in the late 1990s, becoming regions with a large degree of administrative autonomy. Tibet has been under Beijing's control since 1951.

An article in state-owned Chinese tabloid Global Times earlier this month quoted anonymous experts as saying the business of airlines which do not comply with Beijing's demands "will be affected as Chinese passengers will choose other airlines." It gave no further details.

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment Tuesday on what kind of sanctions the government may impose if the American airlines do not fall into line.

"We hope that the US administration could urge the relevant airlines to follow the 'one China' principle and change the relevant names as soon as possible," ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang told reporters.

"It is true that the deadline is drawing near, so let's wait and see," he added.

China has orchestrated boycotts of foreign companies in the past. Last year, it squeezed the economy of South Korea, which had angered the Chinese government with the deployment of a US missile defense system.

The measures included an unofficial order to Chinese travel agencies to halt tour groups to South Korea. Within months, the number of Chinese tourists visiting the country had fallen by almost 50%, hurting South Korean operators of hotels, duty free stores and other travel businesses.

-- Steven Jiang, Tim Schwarz and Matt Rivers contributed to this report.
High pressure will dominate our weather forecast for our Tuesday. This means we will see some good weather for our Tuesday. However, some rain and thunderstorms will be in our weather forecast down the line with some more low pressure in our area.

Radar Temperatures Severe Weather
LEE COUNTY, Miss. (WTVA) - Lee County officers and narcotics agents arrested a man after executing a search warrant in Verona.

On Friday, July 20, the Lee County Sheriff's Department and the North Mississippi Narcotics Unit executed the warrant at a residence on Chip Drive in Verona.

As a result, Haskle Craig Justice, 43, of Verona, was arrested for possession of meth.

Deputies seized a felony amount of meth at his residence, the sheriff's department confirmed.
LARAMIE  Wyoming officials are seeking a court ruling that would make Republican candidate for governor Taylor Haynes ineligible for the office.

Wyoming Secretary of State Ed Buchanan and Attorney General Peter Michael determined Haynes is not eligible to run for governor and the Republican candidates ranch home lies in Colorado.

Michael said in a court filing he can prove by a preponderance of the evidence that Dr. Haynes has not resided in Wyoming for the constitutionally required period necessary to become governor.

Haynes filed to run for governor as a Laramie resident and has dismissed accusations he lives in Colorado.

Michael and three other attorneys in his office signed off on a Friday court filing saying Haynes has lived in Colorado for at least some portion of the last five years and should be removed from the ballots. Michael wants a court ruling ordering Dr. Taylor Haynes to withdraw from the race or otherwise cease his campaign.

In a Saturday press release, Buchanan said the request for court intervention is not a decision weve taken lightly, but it is undoubtedly a necessary step which will allow for this issue to be resolved for the protection of the election process, the voters, and for all candidates for governor in 2018 and in future elections.

The states primary election is scheduled for Aug. 21, and Michael has asked for an expedited court hearing.

Buchanan said the review of this issue by the Attorney General, in cooperation with my office, has been thorough, timely, and included communication with Dr. Haynes.

The Wyoming Constitution requires gubernatorial candidates to have resided five years preceding the next election within the state.

In 2014, Haynes registered to vote while identifying himself as living at 795 Bull Mountain Road in southern Albany County.

That address is the location of Hayness ranch, Thunderbasin Land Livestock & Investment, which straddles the Wyoming-Colorado border.

However, the ranchs residential buildings are located on the Colorado parcel and Haynes changed his voter registration after Albany County Clerk Jackie Gonzales informed him March 6, 2015, that the Bull Mountain Road residence was in Colorado, not Wyoming.

Based on two sworn statements from Haynes, Michael has determined the candidate must have lived in Colorado from at least Nov. 4, 2014, to July 6, 2015.

That means Haynes is ineligible to run for governor, regardless of whether he still lives on his ranch bordering Wyoming and Colorado.

A Friday press release from Haynes suggests he still does live at that ranch, which he argued should still qualify as a Wyoming residence.

The contract for deed and the title for the ranch, including the residence, have a Wyoming address, Haynes said in the Friday press release. All licenses, including drivers licenses and license plates, taxes, utilities, registrations, fees, etc., are paid to Wyoming. There is no Colorado address in existence for the ranch and no road access to Colorado.

In her 2015 letter disqualifying Haynes as a Wyoming voter, Gonzales said the Haynes ranch is considered a Wyoming address by the U.S. Post Office only due to the proximity of Laramie.

You are eligible to have mail delivered to you as a courtesy despite the fact that your property is in Colorado, Gonzales told Haynes.

With only a month to go before the primary election on Aug. 21 and early voting already underway, it was unclear Saturday what will happen with ballots. Secretary of State spokesman Will Dinneen said the office will be waiting on the courts ruling before proceeding with any changes to the ballot.

Given this pending litigation, I dont have any elaboration for you on your ballot questions at this time, but our office will be prepared to swiftly comply with any decision as it relates to the administration of the election, Dinneen said in an email.

Because no statute authorizes Buchanan to remove candidates names from ballots after theyve been printed, Michael has asked for a court ruling to give Buchanan the authority to do so.

The Secretary of State is also seeking Laramie Countys district court to issue a judgment agreeing Haynes is not eligible to be governor.

If the state judge determines Buchanan does not have the power to remove Hayness name but the candidate is also not eligible to serve as governor, Michael is hoping the court will at least issue an injunction preventing Dr. Haynes from running for the office as a remedy for the harm stemming from Dr. Hayness candidacy.

Allowing candidates to appear on a ballot even though they are ineligible for the office they seek is likely to cause significant and irreparable harm, Michael said in the Friday complaint. The candidate may receive donations, volunteer support, and the votes that could go to other candidates, potentially affecting the result. In addition, if the ineligible candidate ultimately gains office, the election will undoubtedly be contested, a costly and time-consuming process that throws the certainty and uniformity of the electoral process in disarray.

Fridays press release from the Haynes campaign claimed every previous owner of the ranch throughout its long history in Wyoming has been a Wyoming resident, has voted in Wyoming, sent their children to Wyoming schools, paid taxes in Wyoming and been considered residents of Wyoming.

Haynes suggested political interference in the residency dispute and noted Buchanan was involved in the campaign of Republican gubernatorial candidate Harriet Hageman before he was appointed to become Secretary of State.

Why the rules would change for me, now that Im a Republican candidate of the office of governor, is quite suspect, Haynes said.

Buchanan served as Hagemans candidate campaign committee chairman and resigned from that position before his was sworn in March 5. Dinneen said Buchanan resigned his position with the Hageman campaign to avoid any conflicts of interest in his new role as Secretary of State.

Dinneen said in a Saturday email Buchanans referral of the complaint to the Attorney Generals Office was based entirely on the laws of the State of Wyoming and had no bearing in Edward Buchanans brief role with Ms. Hagemans candidate campaign committee.

Haynes did not explicitly blame the Hageman campaign in his press release.

We have a very reliable source telling us where this came from, but our campaign is not joining in the mudslinging thats happening between other candidates, even though Ive now been targeted, he said.

Hageman did not comment on Haynes implications when she was contacted by the Boomerang on Friday.

State Election Director Kai Schon said that when the Haynes residency complaint was received June 25, the report was handled over to Michaels office in compliance with a recent law the Wyoming Legislature passed in 2018.

As this review was conducted, we also reached out to Dr. Haynes and asked him to provide clarification of his residency, Schon said. The materials submitted by Dr. Haynes were reviewed by our office and passed along to the Attorney Generals Office in cooperation with their review of this issue.

In addition to the ranch property, Haynes said hes also owned or leases homes in Laramie for years. He said he currently holds a lease on an apartment in northeast Laramie.

However, when he filed to run for governor, Haynes listed a commercial property on Laramies Third Street as his residence.

Haynes served on the University of Wyoming Board of Trustees for 12 years and has been involved in the states Republican Party for years. He currently serves as precinct chair for Albany County 45-2 and was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 2016.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-23 21:40:33|Editor: ZD

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A house is seen burning amid wildfire in the town of Kineta near Athens, Greece, July 23, 2018. Western and Eastern Attica were declared in state of emergency by local authorities on Monday as three major wildfires were raging in suburbs and seaside resorts near the Greek capital, forcing hundreds of residents to abandon their homes and seek refuge by the sea, Greek national news agency AMNA reported. (Xinhua/Lefteris Partsalis)

ATHENS, July 23 (Xinhua) -- A large wildfire was ragging on Monday at Gerania mountain, some 50 km west of Athens, with residents of the beach town of Kineta evacuating their homes amid heavy smoke, Greek national news agency AMNA reported.

At least 70 firefighters assisted by 30 fire tracks, five water dropping aircrafts and two helicopters were battling the flames, according to the local Fire Service.

Their efforts to contain the blaze have been hampered by the strong winds blowing in the area.

The flames extended to a 5 km long front, Deputy Mayor of the nearby town of Megara Constantinos Fylaktos told local SKAI TV.

The cause of the fire which broke out afternoon in a pine forest was still unknown, but local authorities were on alert due to the heat wave which swept Greece since Saturday.

Greece suffers from many wildfires in particular during the summer due to high temperatures and arsonists.

A suspect was arrested this weekend in western Greece, the Fire Brigade announced earlier on Monday.

In the summer of 2007, more than 80 people lost their lives due to wildfires in Greece.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 00:36:23|Editor: Yurou

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Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa (Front) addresses a groundbreaking ceremony of the upgrading and expansion project of the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare, Zimbabwe, on July 23, 2018. Zimbabwe's main airport is set to undergo a major facelift to be funded by China as part of the government's efforts to transform the facility into a regional aviation hub. (Xinhua/Shaun Jusa)

by Zhang Yuliang, Gretinah Machingura

HARARE, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe's main airport is set to undergo a major facelift to be funded by China as part of the government's efforts to transform the facility into a regional aviation hub.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Monday commissioned the construction at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport by China Jiangsu International at a cost of 153 million U.S. dollars.

The upgrading and expansion work will be carried out in three years to modernize the airport and boost its annual passenger handling capacity to 6 million from the current 2.5 million.

The airport expansion is China Jiangsu's second airport development project in Zimbabwe in two years after it completed the upgrading of Victoria Falls International Airport in 2016, which trebled the airport's annual passenger handling capacity to 1.5 million.

Mnangagwa thanked the Chinese government for expediting release of the 153-million-dollar loan facility by China's Exim Bank for the airport expansion.

He stressed his government's commitment to the development of modern infrastructure to enable the economy to industrialize.

"The commencement of this project soon after the commitment by China in April to avail funding is clear testimony of the nature and potential of rapid development and pragmatic cooperation between our two countries under the all encompassing, comprehensive, strategic partnership and cooperation status which we promoted in April when I visited China," Mnangagwa said.

"We are indeed most grateful for the support we continue to receive from China in our quest to leapfrog our economic development."

Chinese ambassador Huang Ping said the airport upgrading will include expansion of the international terminal building and aprons, installation of four new air bridges, a secondary radar system, the airfield ground lighting system, the communication systems and construction of a VVIP pavilion and new satellite fire station.

The upgrade is expected to see more international airlines opening routes into Harare and a corresponding increase in tourist arrivals.

The airport, which has one of the longest runways in Africa, was last upgraded in 2001.

"Once completed, Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport will have an additional capacity, connectivity and increased resilience to handle another 3.5 million passengers with much improved service, making the airport a promising contender in the competition for the much-coveted regional aviation hub status in southern Africa and better serve as a huge impetus to its social-economic development," Huang said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 03:01:56|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WASHINGTON, July 23 (Xinhua) -- American and British scientists suggested that there may have been two early windows of habitability for the Moon, though it is uninhabitable today.

A new study published on Monday in the journal Astrobiology showed that conditions on the lunar surface were sufficient to support simple lifeforms shortly after the Moon formed from a debris disk four billion years ago and again during a peak in lunar volcanic activity around 3.5 billion years ago.

Schulze-Makuch, an astrobiologist at Washington State University and Ian Crawford, a professor of planetary science and astrobiology at the University of London said during both periods, the Moon was spewing out large quantities of superheated volatile gases, including water vapor, from its interior.

The outgassing could have formed pools of liquid water on the lunar surface and an atmosphere dense enough to keep it there for millions of years, according to the study.

"If liquid water and a significant atmosphere were present on the early Moon for long periods of time, we think the lunar surface would have been at least transiently habitable," Schulze-Makuch said.

In 2009 and 2010, an international team of scientists discovered hundreds of millions of metric tons of water ice on the Moon. Additionally, there is strong evidence of a large amount of water in the lunar mantle that is thought to have been deposited very early on in the Moon's formation.

The early Moon is also likely to have been protected by a magnetic field that could have shielded lifeforms on the surface from deadly solar winds, according to the researchers.

Life on the Moon, if any, could have originated much as it did on Earth but the more likely scenario is that it would have been brought in by a meteorite, Schulze-Makuch said.

The earliest evidence for life on Earth comes from fossilized cyanobacteria that are between 3.5 and 3.8 billion years old. During this time, the solar system was dominated by frequent and giant meteorite impacts. .

It is possible that meteorites containing simple organisms like cyanobacteria could have been blasted off the surface of the Earth and landed on the Moon, according to the researchers.

"There could have actually been microbes thriving in water pools on the Moon until the surface became dry and dead," Schulze-Makuch said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 03:22:00|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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MOGADISHU, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Somali National Army (SNA) said Monday its soldiers killed 87 al-Shabab militants during heavy fighting at a military base in Bar-Sanguni, about 50 km north of Kismayo in southern region.

Adam Isak, Deputy Information Minister of Somalia, said the militants launched an attack at the military base with suicide car bomb but were repulsed.

"Somali National Army killed 87 al-Shabab militants at Bar-Sanguni location this morning after the terrorists failed to ambush our army. The government forces are in full control of the base now," Isak said.

SNA commander in the area Mukhtar Abdi Mohamed confirmed four government soldiers were killed and five others injured during the heavy fighting with al-Shabab fighters, while denying militants' claims that they captured the base and killed 27 soldiers.

Independent sources say that some Jubaland and SNA soldiers who were wounded in the attack were hospitalized in hospitals in Kismayo town.

The militant group, which said it was behind the blast, frequently stages bomb and gun attacks in the capital and others in southern region in its bid to topple Somalia's government, which is trying to rebuild the nation after two decades of conflict and chaos.

The latest deadly attack comes as African Union forces have started a conditions-based draw-down from the Horn of Africa nation.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 03:32:01|Editor: Liangyu

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LONDON, July 23 (Xinhua) -- The British government and the European Union (EU) have made their negotiating stances over the latest stage of Brexit clear, leaving the summer open for a period of behind-the-scenes negotiations, according to a leading Brexit expert.

"There will be a lot of posturing over the summer, and also a lot of backroom negotiating. Away from the headlines and the newspapers the two sides will be talking," Professor Anand Menon of the independent Brexit think-tank UK in a Changing Europe told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"I expect the two sides will talk, and there will be remarkably little of that leaked to the press," he said.

The incentives are there for both sides to reach an agreement and one of two things can happen, said Menon, who is professor of European politics and foreign affairs at King's College, London.

"One side or the other gives or there is no deal and neither side wants no deal."

Menon said that the talks were likely to center around achieving a Brexit deal that could be described as similar to the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (Ceta), or the EU-Norway trade arrangement.

Ceta allows both sides to enter into separate deals with other partners. It also puts Canada outside the EU's customs union and single market, within which there is tariff-free trade and free movement of people across national borders.

Norway is a member of the European Free Trade Area (EEA) and as such has full access to the single market but is not in the EU. It pays a contribution to the EU budget to gain that access and must follow EU trade rules.

People from across the EU are free to live and work in Norway, but it is exempt from EU rules on agriculture, fisheries, justice and home affairs.

"What the British government is counting on is that when both sides get closer to the deadline and EU member states are forced to give this issue a bit more attention than now, because most have other things on their minds right now, they will start to say that they need to be a bit more flexible," said Menon.

"What the EU will assume is that as both sides get nearer to that time the British government will start to say 'we will need to choose from the options on the table'."

"For Prime Minister May that is a dilemma, because the options on the table are either a slightly watered down version of the Canada Deal, watered down because there is not enough time to negotiate even the services provision of the Canada Deal, or an even more advanced version of the Norway Deal, and that is more Advanced because to accommodate Northern Ireland you need the customs union and elements of agriculture."

Menon says he believes the EU is offering something around those two options, but the British government will be focused on seeking some kind of third option.

"The British government thinks that if it can involve the member states it may be able to get a third option somewhere in the middle. We do not know with any certainty yet which way it will go."

DOMESTIC TENSION

While Prime Minister May and her team are handling their EU counterparts in the Brexit negotiations, May must handle her own Conservative Party, which is deeply split on the Brexit approach.

In the run-up to the White Paper and after a summit meeting of her Cabinet at May's country residence Chequers to agree the details of the paper, two key Cabinet ministers resigned in protest, along with several other junior ministers and senior party officials.

The resignations earlier this month of the Brexit Secretary David Davis, the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and other ministers and officials were a criticism of the softer Brexit stance that May took in the White Paper.

The British government's Department for Exiting the EU said the White Paper proposes a free trade area for goods that ensures continued frictionless access at the border, protects jobs and livelihoods and ensures Britain and EU meet their shared commitments to Northern Ireland and Ireland.

The 98-page document spells out that workers from the other 27 EU member states will be able to travel to Britain visa-free to take up temporary employment, and also that businesses that provide services will be able to move their talented people to and from Europe and Britain.

Davis and Johnson said they believed this was an unacceptable softer stance.

Johnson articulated the opposition at May's White Paper in his resignation speech in the House of Commons when he said it would lead to "a botched Brexit" and put Britain in "a permanent limbo".

Principal opposition to May's softer Brexit approach, which would see Britain agree to adopt EU rules in some areas of trade, is centered in the Conservative Party's European Research Group (ERG), which has a vocal presence among MPs.

But Menon believes May's White Paper could have called the bluff of the ERG, and of Johnson and Davis.

May's opponents have chosen, so far, not to challenge her premiership, said Menon, which he believes is a sign of weakness on their part.

"I think they do not wish to remove her is a charitable way of saying they don't think they can. If the rebellion comes from the ERG, they simply do not have the numbers to remove her."

May's Conservative Party has clear rules about a challenge to the leadership, which can be triggered by 48 MPs calling for it, but there needs to b 158 MPs to vote against May to topple her.

It is not clear if there is enough opposition to May's plans to trigger a challenge or for her opponents to succeed.

And another problem looms for May's opponents. "The problem for the ERG are that the rules of the Conservative Party state that if you have a leadership bid which the prime minister wins then you can't have another one for a year," said Menon.

"So, if they have one and lose it then they have lost all leverage over the process. That is what is giving them pause, rather than wanting to keep the prime minister where she is."

While this summer will not be one of a traditional holiday for negotiators on both sides, crunch moments are likely to come in the late summer.

"The key moments will be at the end of September when the British political party conferences are held and the October Britain-EU summit," said Menon.

Until then, May must be hoping for a summer where she can more fully concentrate on Brexit without worrying that members of her party are trying to oust her.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 04:02:08|Editor: Yurou

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MOSCOW, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Russia's Republic of Kalmykia looks forward to developing cooperation with China in all spheres under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative and is ready to make preferential offers to the Chinese business community, the leader of the republic said on Monday.

"We would very much like to take a concrete part in economic cooperation, which is and will continue to develop along the Great Silk Road," the head of Kalmykia Alexey Orlov said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

Located in the southwest of Russia, Kalmykia is an agricultural republic with the agricultural sector, in particular the livestock farming, accounting for over a third of its gross regional product (GRP), according to Orlov.

The region also has significant fuel and energy resources and is now making the best of its capacities in other sectors so as to diversify its economy, he said.

This makes Kalmykia speed up looking for opportunities to cooperate with other countries including China.

"We would, of course, welcome if our friends and partners from China take advantage of the offers that we are now ready to make to the Chinese business community," he said.

Noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin supports China's Belt and Road Initiative most actively, Orlov said Kalmykia is more than willing to "take a most direct and concrete part in this project."

"We would like to participate in all spheres of Eurasian cooperation between Russia and China, and we are ready to create all the necessary conditions and provide opportunities for the implementation of this concept in Kalmykia," he said.

He noted that China is becoming an increasingly important partner to Kalmykia, saying, for instance, there is a significant amount of Chinese capital in its fledging power generation sector.

The republic is also looking forward to the participation of the Chinese business in the processing industry with its "vast experience", Orlov said.

In order to attract foreign investment, Kalmykia is now providing various preferences, such as a grace period for all types of taxes, free infrastructure services including electricity, power supply networks and land plots, as well as simplified procedures to reduce the time of granting permits.

"We are very patient and considerate to any investor. It does not matter if he comes with 1,000 dollars or with a million. This is our strategy, and I'm sure it will bring results in the future," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 04:57:21|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, July 23 (Xinhua) -- UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein expressed "acute concerns" on Monday over the human rights situation of the Palestinians in light of the recent border violence between the Gaza Strip and Israel.

Briefing the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People via video from Geneva, Zeid said the Palestinians in Gaza face "skyrocketing unemployment and poverty, crumbling infrastructure, record food-dependency and a bleak political horizon," which are "entirely man-made and entirely preventable."

Regarding the killings near the Isreal-Gaza border during the Great March of Return demonstrations, he said the Human Rights Council resolved in May to dispatch an independent, international Commission of Inquiry on the matter. "It is essential that the authorities cooperate with the future commission to advance accountability for these killings."

He added it would be "vital to address the root causes of the recent demonstrations," namely the "grossly inadequate living conditions" in Gaza.

In his statement, he mentioned the adoption by Israel of the Nation-State Basic Law, saying it "anchors inherent discrimination against non-Jewish communities, most notably the Arab citizens of Israel and residents of occupied East Jerusalem."

He went on to underscore that the planning and construction of Israeli settlements continues "unabated" across the occupied West Bank. "Since the beginning of 2018, settler attacks on Palestinians have spiked to the highest monthly average of the past three years."

As for demolitions and forced displacement of Palestinian families in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, despite having slowed down after peaking in 2017, they continue to take place monthly, said Zeid, with 366 structures demolished in the West Bank alone, including 11 school structures, in the past year.

Other violations in breach of international law cited by the high commissioner include increasing restrictions on movement, daily intimidation by soldiers at checkpoints, settler violence and harassment, forced transfer, and the continued existence of the separation wall.

The human rights chief highlighted also the plight of hundreds of Palestinian children detained by Israel, including some without charge, under the so-called "administrative detention" system. An estimated 440 Palestinians are being held currently.

"These assaults on fundamental rights dismantle trust in institutions, strip away the social structures which enable peaceful resolution of disputes, and create a tinderbox in which any flash of conflict may ignite severe and unpredictable consequences," he concluded.

On Friday, four Palestinians were killed and some 210 Palestinians wounded during fierce fighting between Israel and Hamas, the most serious one in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip since the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict that killed thousands.

The attack began after an Israeli soldier was killed during operational activity near the southern Gaza Strip on Friday. The soldier was the first one to be shot dead by Palestinian fighters since 2014, the Israel Defense Forces said.

Later Friday, Hamas announced it had reached a ceasefire agreement with Israel after efforts led by Egypt and the UN.

Since late March when the Great March of Return protests started, the death toll of Palestinians has exceeded 140. The protests, which peak every Friday, demand the return of Palestinian refugees and the lift of the blockade Israel has imposed on Gaza.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 05:02:24|Editor: Yurou

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LONDON, July 23 (Xinhua) -- British manufacturing has enjoyed good performances over the past 12 months with strong growth driven by devalued sterling and a buoyant global economy, but uncertainties over Brexit and the U.S. trade war are danger points for the coming year, an analysis from EEF, the manufacturers' organization published on Monday showed.

The next year sees the continuation of buoyant growth threatened by the risk of a disorderly Brexit, the emergence of global trade tensions and the relatively weak investment picture caused by Brexit uncertainty.

"We have had a good year of growth reflected in all the regions," EEF chief economist Lee Hopley told Xinhua in an interview.

"The drivers of that growth are the pick-up in the global economy, improvement in commodity prices and an increase in investment around the world -- that means all sectors have had improved output and improved order books."

But Hopley said the strong pick-up in orders and exports had not been matched by a corresponding increase in investment.

"Caution has been the watchword over the past year as we continue to operate with a real lack of clarity about the Brexit end game," she said.

Hopley said that the devaluation of sterling immediately after the Brexit referendum vote in June 2016 had been a boon to some exporters but its effect had waned towards the end of the current 12-month period.

"The devaluation after Brexit has been a benefit for many exporters, not all, but towards the end of the year that benefit has been fading," said Hopley.

By destination, a number of regions have strong exposure to the EU, making them potentially vulnerable to a hard Brexit.

These include Wales, where two thirds of all manufacturing exports go to Europe (60 percent to the EU), the North East (59 percent to the EU), East Midlands (54.9 percent to the EU) and East of England (52.5 percent to the EU).

Hopley said: "Brexit is a key uncertainty. There is varying exposure to EU markets depending where you are in Britain. The impact, from a trade point of view, depends on where you are in the country but Brexit uniformly weighing on investment intentions, and that is a weak point in our survey across all parts of the country in the past year."

Other regions have greater exposure elsewhere, with the North West being the biggest exporter to the Middle East and North Africa, and the West Midlands being the biggest exporter to Asia, Oceania and the U.S..

The uncertainty at the post-2019 trading relationship with the EU is being compounded by rising global trade tensions, with particular concerns for metal manufacturers in the West Midlands and Yorkshire and Humber, as a result of U.S. tariff war.

"There are risks of escalating trade tensions prompted by U.S. actions. The metals industry, especially in Yorkshire and Wales, might be affected. And if the U.S. tariffs hit automotive industries across Europe that will hit the Midlands and the North West of England," said Hopley.
The head of Russia's Republic of Kalmykia Alexey Orlov (R) meets with Chinese Ambassador to Russia Li Hui in Kalmykia's capital Elista on July 24, 2018. (Xinhua/Hu Xiaoguang)

MOSCOW, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Russia's Republic of Kalmykia looks forward to developing cooperation with China in all spheres under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative and is ready to make preferential offers to the Chinese business community, the leader of the republic said on Monday.

"We would very much like to take a concrete part in economic cooperation, which is and will continue to develop along the Great Silk Road," the head of Kalmykia Alexey Orlov said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

Located in the southwest of Russia, Kalmykia is an agricultural republic with the agricultural sector, in particular the livestock farming, accounting for over a third of its gross regional product (GRP), according to Orlov.

The region also has significant fuel and energy resources and is now making the best of its capacities in other sectors so as to diversify its economy, he said.

This makes Kalmykia speed up looking for opportunities to cooperate with other countries including China.

"We would, of course, welcome if our friends and partners from China take advantage of the offers that we are now ready to make to the Chinese business community," he said.

Noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin supports China's Belt and Road Initiative most actively, Orlov said Kalmykia is more than willing to "take a most direct and concrete part in this project."

"We would like to participate in all spheres of Eurasian cooperation between Russia and China, and we are ready to create all the necessary conditions and provide opportunities for the implementation of this concept in Kalmykia," he said.

He noted that China is becoming an increasingly important partner to Kalmykia, saying, for instance, there is a significant amount of Chinese capital in its fledging power generation sector.

The republic is also looking forward to the participation of the Chinese business in the processing industry with its "vast experience", Orlov said.

In order to attract foreign investment, Kalmykia is now providing various preferences, such as a grace period for all types of taxes, free infrastructure services including electricity, power supply networks and land plots, as well as simplified procedures to reduce the time of granting permits.

"We are very patient and considerate to any investor. It does not matter if he comes with 1,000 dollars or with a million. This is our strategy, and I'm sure it will bring results in the future," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 06:42:38|Editor: Liangyu

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Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, accompanied by Jeannette Kagame, wife of Rwandan President Paul Kagame, visits the FAWE Girls' School in north Kigali, Rwanda, July 23, 2018. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

KIGALI, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, on Monday visited a girls' school in north Kigali and called for more educational exchanges between China and Rwanda.

Accompanied by Jeannette Kagame, wife of Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Peng arrived at the FAWE Girls' School and was warmly welcomed by Rwanda's education minister, the school's principal and other officials. Two students presented the two first ladies with flowers.

In a physics laboratory, Peng watched the students doing series and parallel circuit experiments. Then at a geography class, she was impressed by the students' good knowledge of China's geography and national conditions, and encouraged them to increase their understanding of China.

When entering the school's auditorium, the Chinese guest of honor received a standing ovation from all the hundreds of students present. With a keen interest, she watched students present a chorus of the school song, sing the household Chinese folk song of Jasmine Flower in Chinese, and perform traditional dances. The two first ladies also had a group photo with the performers.

Student representatives presented Peng with a handicraft as a gift, and she donated a batch of education supplies to the school.

Education is the basis for a country's development and the people's happiness, Peng said, adding that as both a wife and a mother, she sincerely hopes that all the children, especially girls, can get good education and enjoy equal rights.

She expressed her hope that China and Rwanda will strengthen exchanges and cooperation in education and nurture more contributors to consolidating their friendship.

The FAWE Girls' School is named after the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE). The boarding school enrolls its students mainly from middle- and low-income families, and stands as one of the best girls' schools in Rwanda in terms of teaching standard and student performance.

Peng is in Rwanda accompanying Xi for a state visit, the first to the African country by a Chinese head of state.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 06:57:40|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CAPE TOWN, July 23 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) on Monday pledged to guard and strengthen the country's role in BRICS.

"We are particularly proud that, in BRICS, we are in partnership with nations that share both our progressive perspective and our commitment to rebuilding and transforming institutions of global governance," the party said in a statement emailed to Xinhua.

The ANC issued the statement just before the 10th Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) hold their 10th summit in Johannesburg on July 25 to July 27. This year's summit will be a crucial milestone for the group, as it marks a decade of BRICS cooperation.

As the governing party, the ANC has used its progressive internationalism as a prism through which it shapes its foreign policy, the party said.

The ANC must utilize BRICS to promote a progressive international agenda, ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe said.

The strategic importance of South Africa's BRICS membership as part of its overall international relations strategy and that cooperation through forums such as BRICS "is of primary importance to our movement," said Mabe.

The ANC, he said, is confident that BRICS holds the key to unlock some of the answers to South Africa's current socio-economic challenges such as poverty, unemployment and inequality.

In this regard, the ANC has made a call to its cadres in the government to ensure that its BRICS membership is leveraged to advance the country's developmental goals and to ensure that the chairing of BRICS in 2018 is beneficial to South Africa and the entire continent, Mabe said.

"The ANC takes this opportunity to wish all delegates and participants a fruitful three days that will continue to deepen transformation in our respective countries," he added.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 07:38:10|Editor: Liangyu

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Staff members work on an engine production line of Geely Auto in Baoji, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Oct. 26, 2016. This year marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up policy. (Xinhua)
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 07:47:46|Editor: ZD

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JOHANNESBURG,July 23 (Xinhua) -- The strategic partnership between the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and the Standard bank over the past 10 years has accelerated and deepened economic trade relations between China and Africa, heads of two financial institutions said on Monday.

Johannesburg based Standard bank Chief Executive, Sim Tshabalala, said that the cooperation has resulted in billions of dollars being invested in building infrastructure in a number of African countries.

"This has also seen African entrepreneurs being assisted. The movement of goods has also improved. Being in this partnership has been an unique position to occupy and to facilitate trade and investment in Africa. We've been able to serve African clients who want to contribute to the development of the continent," Tshabalala said.

Tshabalala was speaking here at an event marking the 10th anniversary of partnership between the two financial giants. The two institutions have been working together since 2008 when the ICBC acquired 20 percent stake in the Standard bank.

Yi Huiman, Chairman of ICBC, described the partnership over the decade as an opportunity that enabled the bank to work in emerging markets.

"The past ten years has proved to be very successful. African markets are huge and growing rapidly and the population is young. There are numerous milestones that we can count through this partnership. There's also been staff exchange program between the two," Yi said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 08:07:48|Editor: Liangyu

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Chinese ambassador to Brunei Yang Jian (2nd R, front) and Brunei's Second Minister of Defense Haji Awang Halbi (2nd L, front) attend a reception celebrating the 91st anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China in Bandar Seri Begawan, capital of Brunei, July 23, 2018. The Chinese Embassy in Brunei hosted a reception on Monday evening to celebrate the 91st anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China. (Xinhua/Jeffrey Wong)

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese embassy in Brunei hosted a reception here on Monday evening to celebrate the 91st anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China, which falls on Aug. 1.

About 300 guests including Brunei's Second Minister of Defense, Major General (Retired) Haji Awang Halbi, Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF), Major General Dato Aminan, other high-level military officers and foreign delegates in Brunei attended the reception.

During the past 91 years, the Chinese PeopIe's Liberation Army has made great achievements in capacity building, safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as maintaining world peace and stability.

"As a contributor to world peace, the Chinese People's Liberation Army facilitates global development and supports international order," Wu Geng, Defense Attache of the Chinese embassy in Brunei said in his speech on the reception.

"It is ready to further strengthen exchanges and cooperation with foreign armed forces and jointly made greater contributions to world peace and common development," he added.

As for bilateral military relations between China and Brunei, Wu Geng said that the two armies enjoy friendly and strong ties underpinned by mutual trust and respect.

"I am confident that the longstanding friendship between our two armed forces will continue to be strengthened," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 08:27:50|Editor: ZX

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Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Pretoria for a state visit to South Africa, July 23, 2018. Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, were greeted by high-ranking South African government officials at the airport. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

PRETORIA, July 23 (Xinhua) -- South Africa rolled out the red carpet for Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday as he started his third state visit to the "rainbow nation" with the aim of boosting bilateral friendly relations and cooperation.

Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, were greeted by high-ranking South African government officials at the airport.

This state visit is the first of its kind South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has hosted since he took office in February this year.

The two leaders will hold talks in Pretoria to draw a new blueprint for further developing bilateral relations, and attend celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of their countries' diplomatic relations.

Upon arrival, Xi said that in the past 20 years, China-South Africa relations have developed in an all-round and in-depth way, leaping from a partnership to a strategic partnership and then to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

The two countries have witnessed increasing political mutual trust, practical cooperation, people-to-people exchanges and strategic coordination, Xi said.

At present, China is South Africa's largest trading partner and South Africa is China's largest trading partner in Africa, according to Chinese official statistics.

"I look forward to having an in-depth exchange of views with President Ramaphosa on bilateral relations, the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, as well as international and regional issues of common concern, so as to jointly elevate China-South Africa relations to a new high in the new era and bring greater benefits to our two peoples," he said.

Xi is also scheduled to attend the 10th BRICS summit in Johannesburg on July 25-27. It will be the sixth consecutive time for the Chinese president to attend such meetings.

BRICS gathers the world's five major emerging economies -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

"I hope to discuss cooperation and development with the leaders of other BRICS members, African countries, and other emerging-market countries and developing countries, in order to lift the solidarity and cooperation between developing countries to a new level and make greater contributions to promoting world peace and development," Xi said.

Xi will attend the BRICS Business Forum, leaders' meetings, and an informal meeting to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the BRICS summit mechanism. He will also hold bilateral meetings with leaders of other countries on the sidelines of the summit.

South Africa is the fourth stop of Xi's five-nation Middle East and Africa tour, which has taken him to the United Arab Emirates, Senegal and Rwanda. He will also visit Mauritius during a stopover.

When Xi left Rwanda for South Africa earlier in the day, Rwandan President Paul Kagame held a grand ceremony to see him off at the airport, with colorfully dressed Rwandans putting on traditional drumming and dancing performances and a military band playing national anthems.

Speaking highly of the important achievements Rwanda has made in national reconciliation and reconstruction, Xi wished the African country greater development.

"I am grateful for your hospitality and my visit to Rwanda is a great success," Xi told Kagame, adding that both the Chinese and Rwandan people value peace and China stands ready to work with Rwanda to create a better life for their people.

Kagame said he feels honored to host Xi for the state visit, whose fruitful outcomes have further consolidated the foundation of bilateral ties.

Rwanda is willing to strengthen high-level exchanges with China to further boost bilateral friendly and cooperative ties, he added.
ISLAMABAD, July 24 (Xinhua) -- At least six people were killed and 10 others injured on Monday evening in a firing at a political gathering in Chakwal district of Pakistan's eastern Punjab province, police said.

The incident took place when a person opened fire with his automatic gun at the participants of a political rally in Torote area of Talagang region of Chakwal district.

Police and rescue teams rushed to the site and shifted the bodies and injured to the hospital.

The assailant committed suicide with his gun soon after spraying bullets at the crowd.

Police said that the attacker was an insane person who opened fire after getting infuriated by the rally of a party he did not support.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 09:12:58|Editor: zh

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Randy Hudson shows a bunch of pecan on his farm in the State of Georgia, the United States, on July 10, 2018. (Xinhua/Yang Chenglin)

by Xinhua writers Gao Pan, Liu Yang, Liu Chen

WASHINGTON, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Farmers and businesses across the United States have begun to feel the pain, as its major trading partners, including China, Canada, Mexico and the European Union (EU), retaliate against a wide range of American products, in response to Washington's ill-advised tariffs.

Under the "America First" protectionist policies, the Trump administration has slapped high tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, as well as 34 billion U.S. dollars of Chinese products, escalating trade tensions with its major trading partners.

For the United States, "that's not a good strategy. There'll be enough pushback from U.S. manufacturers, who will actually be harmed by these strategies," said Dennis Chookaszian, an adjunct professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

It's not clear how these trade disputes will end, but American farmers and businesses are going to pay a very high price. Here are several American products being affected by retaliatory measures from those trading partners.

DAIRY

The U.S. dairy industry, which has been increasingly dependent on foreign markets after years of shrinking domestic consumption, has been stung by the trade disputes provoked by Washington.

The Trump administration's new tariffs on many countries, including Mexico, Canada and China, which are major destinations for U.S. milk products, have prompted retaliatory actions.

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Mexican tariffs could affect as much as 578 million dollars' U.S. dairy goods and China's tariffs could influence 408 million dollars' cheese, whey and other products.

"We are calculating that farmers may be losing between 1-2 billion dollars just in the next few months," Jaime Castaneda, senior vice president of the U.S. Dairy Export Council, told Xinhua.

"At this very moment, I don't think we're going to lose a lot of exports, but what we are going to lose are a lot of farmers," he said.

SOYBEANS

Don Lutz is getting more and more nervous after spraying soybean at his farm in Scandinavia, Wisconsin, as U.S. soybean futures have already fallen by nearly 20 percent since April.

"Things have escalated into different and broader areas ... It doesn't look like we're going to get these tariff issues resolved by the time you go to harvest," Lutz told Xinhua during a recent trip to Washington to voice his concern before lawmakers.

"To make things worse, most farms are heavily in debt," said Brad Kremer, a soybean farmer in Pittville, Wisconsin with about 3 million dollars worth of idle equipment. "I'm already looking at a loss this year."

"If somebody were to lose 20 percent of their income, that hurts," said Ryan Findlay, chief executive officer of the American Soybean Association (ASA).

"Farmers see that pain right now. They see that in the prices. That is the immediate impact," he said.

China is the top importer for U.S. soybeans, accounting for almost 14 billion dollars in sales, or nearly a third of total U.S. soybean production and two thirds of total U.S. exports, according to the ASA.

John Heisdorffer, president of the ASA and a soybean farmer in the state of Iowa, said last week that the U.S. threat to impose additional tariffs on China was "a move in the opposite direction."

"Our message to the administration and lawmakers remains the same: these tariffs needlessly hurt soy growers and rural communities," he said.

"I don't favor protectionism or tariffs as a way to negotiate a 'better trade deal'," Lutz echoed.

"From my perspective, tariffs on steel and aluminum and counter tariffs on agricultural commodities, is a lose-lose relationship for not only American agriculture, but both countries' overall economies," he said.

PECANS

On average, a third of all pecans grown in the United States are sold in China. For Randy Hudson, a farmer in the leading pecan producing state of Georgia, the amount is much more: practically all of his crop goes across the Pacific.

"I can tell you this, 99 percent of our production goes to China," said Hudson, who has gradually expanded his pecan farm acreage from a few hundred to 2,500 to meet the growing demand of pecans in China.

"I've just begun a project to expand my storage room and pecan processing power three-fold last year," Hudson told Xinhua.

However, China's retaliatory tariffs on U.S. pecans make Hudson's business vulnerable, as the 10-million-dollar project was financed by loans and is dependent on stable sales revenues.

Hudson estimated that 30-40 percent of his sales will evaporate, registering a loss of 6-8 million dollars, significantly higher than his profit margin. In addition, imported parts that are crucial to farming may also become more costly, further squeezing Hudson's margin.

"We're the collateral damage of a much bigger fight," Hudson said. "Mr. Trump understands the art of deal in North America... but I'm not sure he understands the art of deal in Asia and our good friends in China."

LOBSTERS

Tom Adams, owner of Maine Coast Company, sees a huge market potential for Maine lobsters in China, especially when its second-tier cities started to show a great appetite for seafood.

He is expanding the company's facilities and hoping to ship more to the world's fastest expanding lobster market. But the Trump administration's tariff scheme against China may well ruin his plan.

With China's retaliatory tariffs, the U.S. lobster industry will further lose its edge over its archrivals, such as Canada, Annie Tselikis, executive director of the Maine Lobster Dealers' Association, told Xinhua.

"That's frustrating for us because competing in a disadvantaged market will be challenging," she said.

China's tariff on Canadian lobsters dropped to 7 percent at the beginning of this month, while the tariff on U.S. lobsters has risen to 40 percent.

"The tariffs will impact almost everybody in Maine as people in the state are more or less involved in the industry," Tselikis said, noting that China accounts for 15-20 percent of the export value of U.S. lobsters.

The congressional delegation in Maine has warned that the trade conflict with China would jeopardize the state's lobster industry.

"To save our state's economy from further hardship and uncertainty, I urge the administration to pursue a more coherent and methodical trade strategy and to weigh the potential repercussions carefully before taking further action," said Congresswoman Chellie Pingree.

WHISKEY

To meet the booming demand for American whiskey, particularly from Europe and Asia, distilleries that make Bourbon have mushroomed in recent years.

Amir Peay is one of those distillers lured into the industry, investing several millions of dollars to refurbish an evolutionary war-era whiskey brand in Lexington, the state of Kentucky.

However, retaliatory tariffs from the EU and China on American whiskey have pushed up the prices of the signature U.S. liquor and cast a shadow over Peay's promising business.

While the uniqueness of U.S. whiskey has won loyal consumers who are willing to pay the extra money, higher prices could very well "put the brakes" on a promising growth momentum the industry is seeing, Peay told Xinhua.

"Basically the whole world put a 25 percent tariff on our industry, where we are collateral damage in this, it's very disappointing," he said.

Peay said bigger names in the industry can store their inventory for a possibly better time in the future, but his small distillery is more vulnerable in any disruptive trade environment.

Eric Gregory, president of Kentucky Distiller's Association, told Xinhua that he hoped Washington and Beijing would solve their disputes through negotiations, as there are no winners in a trade war.

"We would just like to see everybody sit down. If they need to sit down over a glass of Bourbon and work this out, we'll provide the whiskey," he said.

(Xinhua reporters Wang Wen, Yang Shilong, Zhang Mocheng, Hu Yousong, Guo Yina contributed to this report.)

(Video editors: Luo Hui, Cao Ying)
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 11:13:17|Editor: Liangyu

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BEIJING, July 24 (Xinhua) -- A breast cancer patient surnamed Zhou in a hospital in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, said she is grateful for the reduced costs of cancer drugs.

Zhou said she used to pay over 30,000 yuan (4,500 U.S. dollars) each month for the drug Herceptin. "Since the price dropped and my insurance now reimburses the cost, I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders."

The cost and short supply of cancer drugs have been a longstanding public concern in China.

To alleviate these concerns, the government has introduced policies to address the issue while experts have called on domestic pharmaceutical enterprises to invest more in research and innovation and make more cancer drugs available for the patients.

PRICE REDUCED

From May 1, import tariffs have been lifted on all common drugs including cancer drugs and cancer alkaloid-based drugs.

This is one of the government's latest efforts to make medical care more affordable and accessible to citizens.

In July 2017, the country included 15 tumor-targeting medicines into its list of medically insured drugs and reduced their prices. The list covers a majority of the most frequently used cancer drugs.

Prices of some medicines have dropped remarkably. In Hunan Province, the price of each vial of Herceptin decreased from 17,600 yuan to 7,600 yuan, and the price of each vial of Fulvestrant, also used to treat breast cancer, dropped from 11,500 yuan to 4,800 yuan.

The newly-formed State Medical Insurance Administration said it would further cut the price of cancer drugs on the list via public bidding and procurement.

And medical insurance institutions and pharmaceutical enterprises should negotiate before more cancer medicines, currently not on the list, are included and covered by the insurance.

Meanwhile, the State Drug Administration (SDA) is expediting the approval of cancer drugs. For example, the approval of the marketing of human papillomavirus (HPV) 9-valent vaccine was shortened to just eight days.

According to Jiao Hong, head of the SDA, the administration will fast-track more imported cancer medicines for approval so these medicines can enter China one to two years earlier.

INNOVATION NEEDED

With the prices of cancer drugs substantially declining, demands are exploding nationwide, resulting in a shortage of some drugs in a few areas.

"The key to minimizing cost and reliance on imported cancer drugs is to raise our capability in research and development," said Zeng Yixin, vice director of the National Health Commission.

Data published by the National Cancer Center (NCC) showed that China saw 3.8 million new cases of malignant tumors and 2.3 million cancer-related deaths in 2014.

"Such a large population of cancer patients cannot rely solely on imported cancer medicines," said Shi Yuankai, deputy director of NCC. "China must advance the innovation capacity of its own pharmaceutical enterprises to meet the demand."

China has more than 4,000 pharmaceutical producers, of which over 90 percent produce generic drugs.

With policies to encourage drug research and innovation in recent years, China is forging ahead to make innovative drugs.

Independently developed domestic drugs, such as lung cancer-targeting drug Conmana and gastric cancer-targeting drug Apatinib, now offer a cheaper alternative to the more expensive imported drugs

In June, HYML-122, a drug targeting acute myeloid leukemia, was approved by the SDA for a clinical trial. It was developed by a research team from Hefei Institute of Physical Science. If the trial is successful, the drug will be put into clinical use in five years.

Liu Qingsong, the team leader, said they are striving to make cancer as controllable as chronic diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes. "Our goal is to enable cancer patients to live a normal and fulfilling life."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 11:13:17|Editor: ZD

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By Zhou Mi and Wu Zhonghao

NANCHANG, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Equestrianism had never been heard of in Yihuang, an agricultural county in east China's Jiangxi Province, until Sunshine Riding School began recruiting rural teenagers in 2015.

So far, most of the 90 students are working or aspiring to work in horse riding clubs in China's largest cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou.

Huang Wanpeng, 19, in black riding suit and velvet helmet, whispers intently to a bloodhorse named Gold. Receiving the order, the horse begins pacing elegantly.

Huang is a typical "left-behind child", whose parents live and work hundreds of miles away, leaving him at home with his grandparents. "I have no talent for studying, and I've never achieved anything before. If I had missed this chance, I might be working in a factory, or even be unemployed, living off my parents," said Huang.

Huang is fortunate, as such riding schools are rarely seen in China's countryside. Looking to provide equestrian training, Xin Chenghua founded this school in 2015 at the age of 46 after acquiring over 50 horses, including some retired racehorses and two expensive Ferghana bloodhorses.

All students are able to study here for free thanks to government subsidies and a financial support from employer's clubs. The local government provides the school with 3,000 yuan (452 U.S. dollars) for each student every year. The school also receives 10,000 yuan (1,503 U.S. dollars) from the employer for each graduate hired by clubs. Moreover, the students can get paid whilst studying thanks to the availability of part-time guide jobs for tourists.

According to Beijing Turf & Equestrian Association, China had 1,452 equestrian clubs in July 2017, soaring from 906 in October 2016. The total number of equestrian club members in China is over 970,000.

"The market requires personnel with both riding and communication skills, so the students here have a good chance of employment. Most of them have been hired by famous horse-riding clubs in Beijing and Shanghai," said Xin.

Nevertheless, the students have many obstacles to clear.

"I was too scared to command the horse at first," said 19-year-old Zhou Jian. "The horses can bully rookie riders."

In order to build a connection with the horses, the students' daily routine includes mucking out, horseshoeing and washing. Zhou stayed with a sick horse for days until its condition improved.

"Horses are proud, you can't ride them until they accept your care and respect," added Zhou.

By the end of the first semester, Sunshine Riding School held a contest among the students, and Huang won the first prize. "My father saw the video of the contest on a coworker's mobile phone, and he showed off to everyone saying 'that's my son!'," said Huang, "It was the first time he felt proud of me. I never dedicated myself to anything before equestrianism. It makes me happy."

Last year, a club in Shanghai offered Huang a job with a monthly salary of 10,000 yuan (1504 U.S. dollars), but he turned it down. "This is a crucial time for studying. Although working in a club would be profitable, I am not yet ready for it."

Huang plans to become a professional rider. He aspires to take care of club members' horses, while concurrently taking part in contests with the horses.

Involvement with horses has even helped cure a girl's psychogenic disorder. Tang Siqi, 21, had serious communication problems due to dysphonia. But after spending one year with horses, Tang is not only now a good rider but also a receptionist to clients.

"I love the horses, they make me feel confident," said Tang, who enjoys feeding her favorite horse with apples.

"Equestrianism is changing the students' lives. It improves self-discipline, confidence and willpower," said Wu Qingde, counselor of the Sunshine Riding School. "They can make a difference for themselves and their family."

Sunshine Riding School will host its first equestrian event as part of the Jiangxi Provincial Games. The local government is now helping the school build an equestrian village to a professional standard with a new dorm for the students.

"I will do my best to win a prize!" vowed Huang.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 11:23:20|Editor: Liangyu

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SHENZHEN, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists are developing a helmet to enhance brain function through monitoring and regulating brain waves and combining artificial intelligence technology.

Wei Pengfei, of the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said his team is developing a brain function enhancement system with the goal of improving the brain's ability to perform complex tasks and regulate abnormal emotions.

The helmet could be applied in the training of special personnel to speed up an increase in memory and skills and to alleviate anxiety caused by tension.

The technology is also expected to help treat children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and people suffering depression, Alzheimer's disease, aphasia and Parkinson's disease, said Wei.

Surgically-implanted deep-brain stimulation technology first emerged in the 1960s. At the beginning of this century, scientists developed electroencephalogram feedback technology and brain-computer interface technology.

In recent years, non-invasive stimulation and regulation technology has been able to intervene in and regulate brain activities more quickly, becoming a new focus in the brain research and neuroscience field.

The helmet is based on non-invasive brain stimulation and regulation technology, said Wei. It uses flexible electrode sensors to identify brain waves when the brain is performing different tasks. Electrodes then release weak current pulses that can reach specific areas of the brain, altering brain waves, and regulating the active state of its neurons.

"Since brain tissue is very complex, we need to build a computer model first, and then determine the target area and parameters for stimulation," said Wei.

An artificial intelligence algorithm reads brain activity in real time and calculates stimulation parameters to achieve precise and personalized regulation.

The research team, based at the Institute of Brain Cognition and Brain Disease of SIAT, has a research platform for rodents, nonhuman primates and humans.

"Through animal experiments, we have analyzed specific brain areas related to attention cognition, emotional regulation, anxiety, drug addiction, stress and epilepsy. We hope we can intervene in these areas effectively," Wei said.

The team has also developed tests for cognitive ability.

For example, trial participants wore the helmet for about 15 minutes, and then were required to quickly memorize a string of numbers, English letters or words. The test found the average accuracy rate of their memories improved within two hours.

But the data is still insufficient, said Wei. Large-scale double-blind experiments among people of different ages and groups are needed to accumulate convincing data.

"We have only tested the short-term memory of those wearing the helmet, and we're planning to test their week-long memory," Wei said.

So far, researchers have developed the prototype of the first-generation helmet, which can implement feedback control on the brain waves of the cerebral cortex. The team is developing the second generation of the helmet, aiming to achieve deep-brain non-invasive stimulation.

They also intend to cooperate with hospitals in clinical tests on patients with autism, schizophrenia and children with ADHD.

The research was recently selected as one of 30 winning projects at a contest of innovative future technologies in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province. The contest encouraged young Chinese scientists to conceive groundbreaking technologies and trigger innovation.

The United States, Europe and other countries and regions have launched programs to unravel the secrets of the human brain. The brain research will also help the development of artificial intelligence.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 11:28:21|Editor: Yurou

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ATHENS, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Greek authorities on Tuesday confirmed at least 20 deaths and over 100 other casualties from wildfires that broke out in a small seaside resort near Athens on Monday, amid fears for more victims as the flames raged on uncontrolled.

The dead included a six-month-old baby, who died of smoke inhalation.

Government spokesperson Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said in a televised statement that 88 adults and 16 children were injured as the blaze swept through Mati, a village about 29 km east of Athens in the Rafina region, a popular tourist destination.

Greek Navy ships, along with Coast Guard vessels and fishing boats, rushed to the area braving strong winds to help evacuate hundreds of people stranded on beaches.

Survivors who fled to the sea and were rescued told media as they reached the Rafina Port that they had seen charred bodies next to burned homes and cars.

Volunteers carried children in swimsuits and the elderly suffering respiratory problems caused by the smoke on their shoulders. The evacuees burst into tears of relief as they were embraced by relatives waiting anxiously at the port.

Ten Danish tourists who had gone missing were located by the Coast Guard during a search and rescue operation.

The affected areas have been left in the dark due to power cuts after the power lines were damaged. The national highway connecting Attica to the Peloponnese Peninsula and train services have been suspended to prevent motorists getting trapped in the flames that were rapidly changing direction when fanned by strong winds.

At least 100 houses and 200 cars have been damaged by the fires which started at the Penteli Mountain and stretched for nearly 5 kilometers, according to the Mayor of Rafina-Pikermi, Vangelis Bournous.

"The situation is very difficult," Andreas Vassilopoulos, a member of the municipal council of Rafina-Pikermi, told Xinhua. "It is most likely one of the most destructive fires [affecting] this area."

A large number of children had been in the area, attending summer camps. "We are cooperating with the Coast Guard to see how we can transfer the children in summer camps to safety. It can be done only by vessels," Vassilopoulos said before over 600 children were evacuated.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras urged for calmness and unity to face the "difficult moments for Greece" after a meeting with his ministers and emergency services officials.

He thanked the nearly 600 firemen battling against the flames and implied the nightmare was caused by arsonists, as fires had broken out in various areas within hours.

The Civil Aviation Authority said though flights at the Eleftherios Venizelos Airport in Athens were not disrupted by the thick smoke from the fires, a few pilots opted to divert flights to other Greek airports due to the strong winds.

The wildfires revived the pain Greece had suffered in the summer of 2007 when more than 80 people lost their lives in dozens of blazes across the country.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 11:33:23|Editor: mmm

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UNITED NATIONS, July 23 (Xinhua) -- The Special UN Envoy on Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, said Monday that the return to Myanmar of the 900,000-plus Rohingya refugees stranded in Bangladesh will take time.

There is no "quick fix," Burgener told reporters after briefing the 15 United Nations Security Council members on the Rohingya refugee situation.

The special envoy of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said she has "visited many, many people to have an overall picture of the complex situation in Myanmar" since she took office about two months ago.

According to UN refugee agency UNHCR, more than 1 million ethnic minority Rohingyas have fled their homes in Myanmar's northern Rakhine State since August 2017.

The refugees fled as far as Malaysia and Indonesia, but mainly to neighboring countries, with the overwhelming number going to adjacent Bangladesh.

During her two trips to Myanmar, Burgener said she worked with Myanmar's State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi on the Rohingya refugee issue, attended a peace conference, and visited refugee camps, particularly in Cox's Bazar in southern Bangladesh.

Getting the refugees to return home willingly in a safe and dignified manner is a big problem, she said. While Myanmar's government wants them back, some members of local communities in northern Rakhine State do not.

"I will continue to have this dialogue with everybody," Burgener said.

She said she is grateful to the government of Bangladesh for hosting around 900,000 Rohingya refugees, which is "really an enormous work."

Swedish Ambassador Olof Skoog, this month's rotating president of the Security Council, said council members "stressed the importance of undertaking transparent and independent investigations into allegations of human rights abuses and violations" and noted Myanmar's decision to establish an independent inquiry commission.

He also said members stressed the need to step up efforts, including providing assistance to Myanmar's social and economic development to create conditions conducive to the safe, voluntary and dignified return of the refugees and internally displaced persons to their homes in Rakhine State.
WASHINGTON, July 23 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate on Monday voted to confirm Robert Wilkie as Veteran Affairs (VA) secretary, despite unprecedented opposition from some Democrat lawmakers.

The 86-9 vote was the first time since the position was lifted to cabinet level in 1989 that saw "no" votes against a VA secretary nomination. The nine lawmakers who rejected Wilkie's nomination were all Democratic Party members, including heavyweights such as Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Dianne Feinstein.

Wilkie is now set to fill a four-month void created after David Shulkin was fired by President Donald Trump in a tweet after coming under fire for misusing public funds.

Trump sought to nominate White House physician Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson as Shulkin's replacement, but Jackson withdrew his bid for the position after accusations of misconduct against him surfaced.

Wilkie, a 55-year-old seasoned politician, has had an extensive career in Washington spanning from Capitol Hill to the Pentagon. Prior to arriving at the VA post, he served as undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.

Trump welcomed the appointment, saying he had no doubt that under Wilkie's leadership, the Department of Veterans Affairs will "continue to make strides in honoring and protecting the heroic men and women who have served our Nation with distinction."
CANBERRA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Australia's highest-ranking infrastructure official has warned that the nation's cities are on the verge of being ground to a halt by population growth.

Philip Davies, chief executive of Infrastructure Australia, on Tuesday said that the country's biggest cities were consigned to a future of gridlock unless governments worked together on major infrastructure projects.

Davies, who will stand down as head of the government's peak infrastructure body at the end of July, criticized governments for failing to be accountable to taxpayers on the cost of infrastructure projects.

"An additional 11.8 million people will call Australia home in the next 30 years, with the bulk of this growth occurring in our largest cities, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth," he told News Corp Australia on Tuesday.

"The reality is, if we don't improve the way we plan and deliver our infrastructure, we won't cope with this growth and our cities will be characterised by congestion and constraint.

"We need to have the right long-term planning and supporting infrastructure in place, and that begins with ensuring that decisions on public infrastructure projects are robust, transparent and accountable."

His comments came as the federal government, led by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, considers how best to counter population growth in major cities, half of which can be attributed to Australia's annual migration intake.

One approach being considered by Turnbull is to direct a greater percentage of migrants to rural towns, addressing the stagnating population growth in those areas and easing the pressure on major cities.

Even if population growth can be eased, Davies warned that politicians needed to be more responsible in announcing infrastructure projects before a proper analysis of the costs and benefits could be completed.

"There are few more dangerous places to stand than between a politician and an infrastructure announcement," he said.

"Across the nation, governments at all levels need to be more disciplined in doing their homework on proper infrastructure planning."
CANBERRA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- One of Australia's top universities declared on Tuesday that it will stop increasing the number of students it admits each year.

Brian Schmidt, vice-chancellor of Australian National University (ANU), announced the change in policy on Tuesday, saying that if allowed to continue, the enrolment growth would impact the quality of education being offered by the university.

The growth of the university's student body has largely been driven by the number of international students admitted in recent years.

The number of international student commencements at ANU grew from 5,590 to 7,425 between 2013 and 2016 while the number of domestic students being admitted each year rose by only 813 in the same period.

"If we get any bigger, we will not be better," Schmidt told reporters on Tuesday.

"The university is at a size of roughly 20,000 full-time students and so we're not intending to grow, both international or domestic."

According to the QS World University rankings for 2018, ANU is the top university in Australia and among the top 20 in the world.

ANU is not the only Australian university to admit an influx of international students in recent years. The number of international student commencements at all Australian universities has grown from 187,000 in 2013 to 319,000 in 2018.

Brendan O'Connor, an employment spokesperson for the opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP), on Sunday called for a national cap on international students to be introduced.

"What's happened is we've seen a 200,000 increase in applications since the election of this government federally," he told Sky News on Sunday.

"And therefore I think we need to see whether we could either cap the scheme or make sure it's being used properly for the purpose it was intended."
SANTA FE, the United States, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Colorado hopes to deepen cooperation with China while appreciating the valuable relations developed by both sides, the state's Governor, John Hickenlooper, said.

"Almost all the governors are trying to work very hard to make sure we maintain our good economic relationships with our trading partners in China. We are very focused on maintaining momentum," Hickenlooper told Xinhua on the sidelines of the National Governors Association (NGA) Summer Meeting in Santa Fe, capital of New Mexico State.

Hickenlooper said the U.S.-China relations cultivated in the past decades "are valuable" and "have the potential to help the economy both in China and in the United States."

"We don't want to diminish the relationships we've created," he added. "We can go a long way in terms of continuing building relationships we have with individual trading partners in each ... state. I think that's very important."

At the NGA meeting, Hickenlooper shared the experience of his first trip to China four years ago, when he was accompanied by about 60 business representatives from his state seeking to expand trade.

"It was a remarkable eye-opening experience for me," the governor said, adding that he was impressed by the rapid development in China and hoped for future collaboration.

China is Colorado's third largest export destination. In 2017, exports from Colorado to China amounted to 647 million U.S. dollars. In 2016, Colorado's exports to China supported 10,900 American jobs, according to data from the U.S.-China Business Council.

Hickenlooper said roughly 10 percent of the exports would be at risk if the tariffs the Trump administration has announced go into effect. Besides imposing tariff on steel and aluminum imports, the administration has slapped additional Chinese goods with taxes and threatened to target more goods, provoking retaliatory tariffs by China on some U.S. goods.

Hickenlooper expressed concern at the trade frictions. "That's a significant number for us," he said, referring to the chance of 10 percent of exports being affected.

The NGA Summer Meeting was held from July 19 to 21. Over 20 U.S. governors attended the event and all 50 states sent representatives. Delegations from China, Canada, Kenya, Japan and Mexico also participated in the event.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 12:38:35|Editor: mmm

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TAIPEI, July 24 (Xinhua) -- A child welfare organization in Taiwan has called for tighter supervision of dating apps to avoid potential harm to young people.

The Child Welfare League Foundation (CWLF) published a report Monday, showing that of the children it surveyed, 37.7 percent have used mobile dating applications to get to know strangers.

"There are three major potential dangers for children using dating apps: leaking of personal information, dangerous requests from strangers, and children leaving home to meet strangers in person," said Huang Yun-Hsuan, with the CWLF.

Huang said if children do not have a good relationship with their family, they might resort to meeting strangers online to seek connection.

"We have noticed a rise in the number of children leaving home in such cases," Huang said.

According to the report, dating apps have the loopholes in areas such as age limits, reporting mechanisms, and leaking locations due to the app's GPS function.

The organization called on the Taiwan administration to tighten supervision. It also asked dating app operators to strengthen self-discipline, while children should be taught to better protect themselves.

"Parents should communicate with their children more to avoid potential harm," Huang said.

The report was conducted among children aged between 12 and 17. It received 1,889 responses, 49.1 percent were junior high school students and the remainder senior high school students.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 12:43:35|Editor: mmm

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JOHANNESBURG, July 24 (Xinhua) -- As South Africa prepares to host the 10th BRICS summit that opens Wednesday, South Africans are expecting the event will change their country and their own lives in a positive way.

The summit will be held under the theme "BRICS in Africa: collaboration for inclusive growth and shared prosperity in the 4th Industrial Revolution."

With the host nation grappling with serious economic challenges ranging from unemployment and widening inequality to stagnant economic growth and poverty, some residents told Xinhua that the summit should deal with these problems.

Lerato Tumang, 22, a fourth-year student at the University of Johannesburg, thinks that the summit should focus on domestic issues, especially those affecting young people.

"We understand that it should also focus on what's happening within the BRICS countries and the world ... (but) this would be irrelevant if it does not touch on what affects us as the youth," she said. "While education is accessible, we need jobs and other opportunities after graduating. For me, it's all about jobs and growing the economy and reducing the number of people who live in poverty."

Mlungisi Mbanjwa, 55, a security guard based in the Central Business District of Johannesburg, said the event should come up with ways to attract more investors.

"They must deliberate on how we are going to bring in more investors into South Africa. Investors would enable us to create jobs for our young children. We are also going to talk about reducing crime, because some will not want to come here if (the) crime (rate) is high," Mbanjwa said.

"It is good for our country to join hands with friendly countries to ... develop," Nsiki Nyoni, a 30-year-old, said.

Nqobile Mahlangu from Siyabuswa, Mpumalanga Province, echoed them. "We are waiting to see the results of BRICS also reaching our communities who are poor with no jobs. We understand BRICS will help South Africa with some opportunities to get loans, (it will) do business with our country. We want our youths to get jobs and more opportunities," Mahlangu said.

South Africa has received two loans from BRICS to address its electricity shortage, improve the Port of Durban, the busiest port in sub-Saharan Africa, and create more jobs.

According to some researchers, since joining BRICS, South Africa has seen an increase in foreign direct investment as well as in trade with other BRICS countries, and its status on the global stage has risen.

Thandi Mangoloti, 30, working at a restaurant in Rosebank, said the summit should deliberate on economic issues.

"We cannot do much as a nation. We can't improve our economy. Other BRICS countries must assist us (with) what we need to do to grow this economy and create jobs for young people. If other countries are performing well economically, we can also do the same thing. Let's focus on that," she said.

The summit, to be held in Johannesburg, will end on July 27.
by Duncan Murray

SYDNEY, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The brain connections which make human beings different and unique could be what is causing some people to develop schizophrenia, according to a paper released on Tuesday by Australian scientists.

"When we look at schizophrenia, there's been a search for decades to find underlying pathways, and it's remained a bit of a mystery," one of the papers authors and senior scientist at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Prof. Michael Breakspear told Xinhua.

Now, researchers from QIMR, the University of Melbourne and Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, believe they have uncovered what it is in the brain's function which leads to schizophrenia.

"Human populations require diversity, genetic and phenotypic, to respond to similar situations in different ways," Breakspear said, "as you pass through fetal development and then early childhood, your brain forms all these complex connections which give rise to your personality."

"In a lot of those connections that process is under genetic control and some of it is also influenced by what's going on in the environment and that gives you your human fingerprint, that's who you are, and it continues to slowly change."

According to the article, schizophrenia is an accumulation, in any direction, of too much genetic diversity and the impact that has on the brain.

"It doesn't really matter what direction you go from perfectly healthy human being, you head outwards in any direction, so you can become more extroverted, you can go in another direction and become more introverted, you can get more anxious, schizophrenia is just accumulating too much of this diversity."

The team arrived at this conclusion by taking data from the brains of 75 healthy young Australians and applying mathematical techniques of randomization which they compared to data from patients with schizophrenia, with the results being remarkably similar.

While their findings may not lead to new cures for the disease, Breakspear believes it could assist in early diagnosis using brain imaging technology, as well as being an important insight generally.

"What it mainly does is telling us why we have schizophrenia; it's nothing other than too much genetic diversity which impacts on brain development," Breakspear said.

"It's an unfortunate byproduct of having a diverse human population."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 13:43:45|Editor: Yurou

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PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico, July 23 (Xinhua) -- A return to trade protectionism led by the United States could cause serious risks for the global economy, Latin American trade ministers attending the fifth Business Meeting of the Pacific Alliance in Mexico on Monday said.

Mexico's Minister of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo said the "profound change" coming from Washington obliges other countries to assume new responsibilities for ensuring free trade. "We always expect that these swings in strategy are temporary, but we would be fooling ourselves," he added.

Otherwise, there could be serious consequences for the most vulnerable populations. "No one suffers more from closed economies than the poor," Guajardo said.

Colombian Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism Maria Lorena Gutierrez said the world is facing "the most complicated moment in its trade history."

"There is a clear protectionist trend mixed with a certain populism," she added.

The consequences, if this trend continued, would be more conflict, not only in trade but also in economic and social matters, including vital aspects like security, she said.

Gutierrez also expressed concern that the efforts made to create multilateral organizations like the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development could be lost.

However, Peru's Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Roger Valencia, suggested the current trade conflict begun by the United States could be temporary. He underlined the importance of the bloc to make joint efforts under such circumstances.

"The Pacific Alliance was born out of necessity and the discovery that the power we have is in working together and integrating ourselves," he said.

Chile's Director General of International Economic Relations, Rodrigo Yanez, said it is important for the Pacific Alliance nations to look toward other zones, including the Asia-Pacific region, an obligatory step in consolidating trade with this region.

The Pacific Alliance, created in April 2011, is made up of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, and has more than 50 observer states.

The Latin American trade bloc represents the fifth most populated subregion in the world with approximately 223 million people, and contributes 38 percent of the Latin American and Caribbean gross domestic product.
KABUL, July 24 (Xinhua) -- A total of 57 drug-related cases were exposed in Afghanistan within the past one month, authorities said on Tuesday.

"The Counter-Narcotics Police of Afghanistan (CNPA) together with detective Afghan security organization have cracked 57 drug cases, involving 77 people, including one woman and a foreign national, during the Afghan month of Saratan (June 22 to July 22) elsewhere in the country," Counter-Narcotics Criminal Justice Task Force of Afghanistan (CJTF) said in a statement.

The cases were handed over to the Central Narcotics Tribunal (CNT), a special Afghan court for jurisdiction of major drug cases, the statement noted.

Among the drugs and materials found from the suspects were 133 kg heroin, 378 kg opium, 305 kg hashish and 25 kg crystal methamphetamine, the statement added.

The materials confiscating from the suspects were eight different-type vehicles, 58 mobile phones and currencies totaling about 5,750 U.S. dollars.

In addition, the primary and appellant courts of CNT have sentenced 62 suspects from one year and one month up to 16 years imprisonment over the period, the statement said.
by Misbah Saba Malik

ISLAMABAD, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Karishna Kumari Kohli, a female senator from Pakistan's Sindh province, became a focus of local media and people a few months back for her being the first woman lawmaker from a low-cast non-Muslim tribe into the upper house of the Muslim majority country.

Kohli, in an interview with Xinhua, predicted that her entry into the senate will open new doors for women as they will see her as a role model and a beacon of hope to achieve their dreams.

"I am daughter of a poor tenant and spent a part of my childhood as a bonded laborer, but my hard work and honesty to my cause of changing my life and life of people around me has landed me in the country's senate, if I can do it, other women who are more educated and privileged than me can do it even better than me," she said.

A few months on, a woman from the same Thar district where Kohli belonged, is all set to contest elections for the provincial assembly of Sindh scheduled to be held on July 25 across the country.

A tailor by profession, the provincial assembly candidate Sunita Parmar said in a viral video on social media that she is keen to protect interests of women and work to release them from the shackles of poverty and ignorance.

" I don't have anything against anyone or any political party. My focus is clear, I want to change the condition of women in my area. I want to work for girls' education and play my role in providing basic health facilities to them. Political parties should accept women's existence and capabilities, as it is the need of the hour," she said in the video.

The country's election commission said that this year, political parties have fielded women candidates in conservative areas.

Hameeda Shahid is one of such candidates from Dir district of the country's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Women were previously not allowed to leave the house to poll their vote in elections, but Shahid is determined that she will change it by motivating women to stand up for their rights and choose the suitable candidate for the future.

In a recent interview with local media, Shahid said that women should join politics so that their fellows could detail their problems to them, which they cannot tell male lawmakers.

The mother of six added that she doesn't have any experience in politics, however, if she wins the election, she will work for women's rights in her area.

According to the country's law, it is mandatory for all political parties to allocate at least 5 percent of its seats to women candidates. The recently released figures of the election commission shows that 11,885 candidates will contest elections of July 25 out of which there are 305 women candidates which makes about 5.2 percent of the total ticket holders contesting from political parties.

Apart from this, there are 60 reserved seats for women in the country's national assembly for which women from different political parties are selected according to the number of seats they won.

Tanzeela Mazhar, a journalist from Islamabad, told Xinhua that despite the fact that women are contesting, the chances of victory for most of the candidates are slim.

"Political parties were sure about their defeat in certain constituencies and to fulfill the 5 percent mandatory quota for women representatives, they fielded women from those constituencies while keeping the strong constituencies for the male candidates."

Despite that, the election commission said that the forthcoming elections will see the highest number of women candidates contesting for the national assembly seats in Pakistan's electoral history.

This year as many as 171 women candidates will be in the run against 272 seats of the National Assembly across the country.

In last general elections in 2013, 135 women contested the poll.

Khalida Bano, a woman campaigner of a male candidate from the country's Rawalpindi city, told Xinhua that the role of women in Pakistani politics has remained very important as two-time late Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto is the role model for young women who want to join politics.

Bano, 68, who is active in politics for the past 28 years, said that in Pakistani society, women can spread more awareness in people as compared to their male counterparts.

Men are not allowed to enter people's houses. "They can only campaign in offices or commercial areas whereas we visit homes and tell men, women and kids about the importance of elections and the positive changes our candidates can bring in the area after being elected."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 14:03:49|Editor: zh

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An American buyer looks at exhibits of a Chinese home textile producer at the Chinese Textile and Apparel Trade Show in New York, the United States, July 23, 2018. The 19th China Textile and Apparel Trade Show, an initiative to help Chinese textile and apparel makers and factories explore the U.S. market, opened at the Javits Convention Center in Manhattan, New York, on Monday. The three-day show has exhibitors from 17 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

NEW YORK, July 23 (Xinhua) -- The 19th China Textile and Apparel Trade Show, an initiative to help Chinese textile and apparel makers and factories explore the U.S. market, opened at the Javits Convention Center in Manhattan, New York, on Monday.

Over 600 Chinese garment, fabric and textile enterprises are attending this year's trade show, Xu Yingxin, vice-president of the China National Textile and Apparel Council, said at the opening of the annual event.

The three-day show has exhibitors from 17 countries and regions.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening up. Over the past 40 years, the Chinese textile industry has established a highly efficient and leading industrial chain, enabling China to become the biggest textile manufacturer, exporter and consumer, Xu said.

"As a highly market-oriented industry, (the) Chinese textile industry has deeply integrated into the global textile and apparel supply chain and value chain. Our cooperation with (our) American counterparts in trade and investment keeps upgrading," he said.

China, for a long time, has been the biggest exporter of textiles and apparel to the United States, which is the largest market for the Chinese textile industry, he said.

Since 2010, the China Textile and Apparel Trade Show is held in parallel with Texworld USA, Apparel Sourcing USA, and the Home Textiles Sourcing Expo in order to better cater to American customers.
GHAZNI, Afghanistan, July 24 (Xinhua) -- At least two security forces and 22 Taliban militants have been killed in a clash in Ghazni province, eastern Afghanistan, overnight, local police said on Tuesday.

"The clash erupted in Jaghatu and Gelan districts of Ghazni province Monday night and two Taliban divisional commanders named Mubaraz Kochi and Khalid were among the killed," provincial police chief Farid Ahmad Mashal told Xinhua.

Up to 17 militants were also wounded in the clash in the mountainous province.

The Taliban-led insurgency has been on the rampage since the beginning of 2015 when the Afghan security forces took over full responsibilities of security from the United States and NATO troops.

Militants also intensified attacks against security forces and staged several coordinated large-scale attacks in Afghan cities and districts after they launched a yearly rebel offensive in April.

The militant group has yet to respond to the report.
ISLAMABAD, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan on Tuesday closed two major border points with Afghanistan for its efforts to maintain security during the July 25 elections, officials said.

The Embassy of Pakistan in the Afghan capital Kabul has announced that the Chaman border in southwestern Balochistan and Kharlachi in the Kurram district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will remain closed on July 24 and July 25 due to parliamentary elections in Pakistan.

However, the major border crossing at Torkham in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will remain open as usual, said a statement posted online.

Meanwhile the Afghan consulate in Peshawar has advised all Afghans to avoid unnecessary movement in view of the elections in Pakistan.

Pakistan still hosts around 2.4 million Afghan refugees, according to the UN refugee agency.

Last week Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had assured Pakistani caretaker Prime Minister Nasir-ul-Mulk and Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa that his government will take measures on the Afghan side of the border for security during the elections.

Pakistan has deployed 800,000 security personnel for the security of elections of the National Assembly, lower house of the parliament, and provincial assemblies.
HANOI, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam approved plans on equitizing eight state-owned enterprises (SOE) with a total value of 29,378 billion Vietnamese dong (nearly 1.3 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of this year, according to the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday.

According to a plan earlier approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, at least 85 SOEs must be equitized in 2018. According to his another decision, 181 SOEs must make divestment this year.

To speed up SOE equitization and divestment processes, relevant ministries and sectors should review laws on enterprises, on management and use of state capital in production and business, on bankruptcy and on public servants, the ministry said.

They should also draft governmental decrees on SOE operations, on the rights and responsibilities of state capital owner representatives, and on production and supply of public services and products.

Slow progress in restructuring SOEs and the banking sector could adversely impact Vietnam's macro-financial situation, undermine growth prospects, and create large public-sector liabilities, according to a World Bank report on Vietnam.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 15:49:09|Editor: ZX

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HAIKOU, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Wang Fuhe's collection of over 1,000 antique lamps have finally found a home in a newly built museum in south China's Hainan Province.

His collection ranges from jade lamps created during the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD) and the only known fishing lamp dating back to the Song Dynasty (960-1276) to the first electric lamp in Hainan.

Wang, 61, has put together the collection over the past 50 years.

As the grandson of a fisherman and son of one of China's first generation of electricians, a profession he also followed, Wang's life has been full of stories about lights and lamps.

In the 1910s, an electric power company in the city of Haikou imported a diesel generator from Britain. An electric lamp installed in the generator room is believed to have been the first electric light in Hainan.

When the company moved away in 1939, Wang's father was one of the staff who took down the lamp so that it could be preserved. His father frequently talked about the lamp and it lingered in Wang's mind.

"I always wondered what the first lamp looked like. Would I ever be able to find it?" Wang said. After numerous trips across the province searching for the lamp, an elderly collector gave it to him as a gift.

Some of the Wang's collection was found amongst discarded trash, while other pieces were bought from antique markets at high prices. He knows the story of every lamp in his collection by heart.

"This was passed on by my grandmother. She purchased it from Southeast Asia," said Wang, pointing at a silver lamp with a combination of Chinese and Western elements -- an Aladdin oil lamp with the head of a crane which signifies longevity in China.

"Thanks to the affluence of the maritime silk road, fishermen or business people brought these lamps to Hainan, one of the major ports along the route," Wang said.

The most common lamps in the museum are begonia lamps which have historical and cultural value for Hainan. The seed of the begonia is flammable, and people would extract its oil or burn it directly to produce light.

Both the flowers and oil of begonia plants give out a light fragrance when lit, which helps prevent moss from growing on walls and repel insects.

"This begonia lamp is very unique with a frog standing on a leaf. In Chinese, the phrase 'frog on a leaf' sounds similar to 'having a baby.' The phrase symbolizes fertility," Wang said.

"Small lamps once lit up people's lives and represent the culture of different times. Being able to understand a time in history and its culture through a lamp brings me immense joy," Wang explained about his obsession with lamps.

After retiring from his job at China Southern Power Grid, Wang is not rich but he rejects any request to sell his lamps.

The item which Wang treasures most is a ceramic fishing lamp from the Song Dynasty.

"This lamp is the most special to me and the only one left in China," Wang said. "It was hung on top of a boat by fishermen in the past, and is waterproof and fire-resistant."

Once a buyer wanted to exchange it for a luxury car, but Wang rejected the offer without hesitation.

"My father and I spent our lives collecting lights, so they cannot be given a monetary value," he said. "They tell the stories of people from the past and record the development of society."

Wang's house was full of lamps, he even stored some in his relatives' houses. Many people could not understand why he liked collecting what they saw as trash.

He wanted to donate his collection to a museum because his children didn't share his passion for the lamps. This wish became stronger after he was diagnosed with cancer five years ago.

Wang has visited numerous museums over the years but none of them would take all the lights. "Only by keeping the whole collection together can we tell the complete story of lamps and lights of Hainan," he said.

Early this year, the Haikou branch of the China Southern Power Grid decided to build a lamp museum for Wang's collection to preserve the stories behind modern electricity and the history of Chinese lights.

The second phase of the construction was completed in July and Wang has now moved his entire collection there.

Walking into the exhibition hall, he emphasized the social value of the lights. "They should not be owned by one person alone, only by displaying them for the public can we pass on Hainan's history and culture."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 15:49:10|Editor: ZX

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NANJING, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Every day, Tian Qianchun drives his speedboat shuttling between Mudun Island and the mainland 10 km away to transport goods.

The 27-year-old islander is an online shopping agent, serving around 2,000 residents on the island, located in a lake in east China's Jiangsu Province.

In the past, it took residents four hours to buy commodities from the nearest town as they had to travel first by boat and then 75 km by road.

In 2015, Alibaba recruited villagers as partners for its "Rural Taobao" program, which enables rural residents to buy things online without leaving their homes.

Tian, then a fresh graduate, joined the program as a representative for his island.

His duties include helping villagers buy daily necessities and sell their own products on the Taobao e-commerce platform.

To facilitate the process, Tian bought a speedboat and named it "cuntao," which means "village Taobao".

He makes at least five trips every day, each time carrying a full load of products ranging from toothbrushes and toothpaste to furniture and home appliances.

In the service center, Tian receives all kinds of shopping requests and sometimes even helps villagers pay their phone bills online.

The small island has a daily transaction record of 500,000 yuan (about 74,000 U.S. dollars) and annual average transactions amount to over 5 million yuan.

Wang Jianxun, vice president of Alibaba Group, said the rural Taobao is now available in 29 provincial-level regions and over 30,000 villages across China.

Some 4,000 online stores have been set up in Sihong County where Mudun Island is located, providing 30,000 jobs. In 2017, the county's total online shopping transactions reached 16 billion yuan.

Across China, online trading reached 1.24 trillion yuan in 2017, up 39.1 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Commerce. Statistics also show there are 9.86 million rural online stores, creating job opportunities for 28 million people.

"I don't know how to use the internet, but I've bought food and drinks online," said Sun Yiming, 62, a resident of Mudun Island. "The service center helps us order online, so we can have food from different parts of the world delivered to our doorsteps."

"Online shopping has made this remote island more lively and prosperous," said Tian, "I am delighted to be able to help my fellow villagers and improve our lives."

Tian said he is thinking of ways to sell the island's aquatic products through e-commerce platforms.

"Almost everyone on the island is involved in fisheries," Tian said, "I hope I can carry more of these products on my speedboat one day."
WASHINGTON, July 23 (Xinhua) -- The White House said Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump is considering scrapping the security clearance of six former U.S. intelligence officials, a move seen by his critics as retaliation against political opponents.

"They've politicized and in some cases monetized their public service and security clearances," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a press briefing, referring to the intelligence officials.

"Making baseless accusations of improper contact with Russia, or being influenced by Russia, against the president is extremely inappropriate and the fact that people with security clearances are making these baseless charges provides inappropriate legitimacy to accusations with zero evidence," she said.

According to Sanders, those among Trump's targets are former Central Intelligence Agency Directors John Brennan and Michael Hayden, former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former National Security Adviser Susan Rice and former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe.

After his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Trump received widespread criticism from the intelligence community as he appeared to side with Putin rather than the U.S. intelligence community on whether Russia meddled with the U.S. elections in 2016.

Trump later clarified that he "stood with" U.S. intelligence agencies and that his remarks at a joint press conference with Putin were misquoted.

One of the vocal critics of Trump's position was Brennan, who commented publicly what Trump said was "nothing short of treasonous."

Sanders denied that revoking the officials' clearance was a way of retaliation against criticism, but to prevent them from "politicizing" and "monetizing" their privileges.

"The president doesn't like the fact that people are politicizing agencies and departments that are specifically meant to not be political," Sanders said, also battling off assertions that Trump himself was "politicizing" the issue.

Sanders said there's no specific timeline for carrying out these measures.

The incident is the latest scuffle between Trump and his critics in a larger battle of whether Trump's campaign had colluded with Russia during the 2016 elections. The Trump administration has acknowledged that Russia meddling took place but insisted there was no collusion.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 16:19:16|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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JOHANNESBURG, July 24 (Xinhua) -- South African industrial leaders, government officials and scholars have said China's special economic zone (SEZ) model could be adopted in their country to drive future economic growth.

"China's SEZ model is the most appropriate for South Africa to learn from," Andrew Ndoro, a lecturer at Africa University, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

South Africa can learn from China's experience while developing its SEZs because China has dealt with similar challenges that South Africa is currently facing in economic development, such as unemployment and poverty, Ndoro said.

"As happened in China, there is a complementary policy that the government must adopt in order to give export-processing zones the best chances of succeeding," he said.

Companies that invest in an SEZ in South Africa are eligible for a preferential 15-percent corporate tax rate, employment incentives and relief from value-added tax and customs and excise duties, said Andre de Rutter, chairperson of Manufacturing Circle, a manufacturing sector advocacy group in South Africa.

Currently, South Africa has designated eight SEZs in six provinces to promote economic growth and address unemployment and poverty.

The South African government also hopes that the SEZs will attract local and foreign investors who will bring in new technology and innovation to advance industrialization.

Tumelo Chipfupa, founding partner of Cova Advisory, an energy consultancy, said in an article for the Business Day newspaper that the SEZ roll-out was a key factor in China's phenomenal economic miracle, its move towards a more mixed-economy model, and its emergence as a giant among the emerging economies.

"These special zones in China have proved themselves," Chipfupa said.

In 2017, a delegation from South Africa's SEZ Advisory Board went to China to learn from the Chinese experience in the planning, development and management of SEZs.

At a conference on China-Africa industrial cooperation in Pretoria in June, Obed Bapela, deputy minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs, said the SEZ program has become an important tool to foster inclusive growth through advancing the spatial transformation agenda of the government, which could lead to the creation of new and modern cities.

"SEZs could also assist to reduce the stubborn levels of unemployment, more especially (among the) youth. Given the scale of the country's crisis of unemployment, South Africa views SEZs as a platform for experimenting with reforms that might induce the emergence and growth of industries that employ large numbers of low-skilled workers," Bapela said.
LOS ANGELES, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Fifty-one former and current female students have filed lawsuits against the University of Southern California (USC), alleging the university failed to protect patients from sexual misconduct by a longtime campus gynecologist.

More than 225 students and alumnae are now suing the USC for failing to protect them from Dr. George Tyndall, including 51 women who filed suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Monday morning, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Tyndall worked as the only full-time gynecologist at the USC for nearly 30 years. Complaints of Tyndall's misconduct towards young female patients include improperly photographing students' genitals, touching women inappropriately during pelvic exams and making sexually suggestive remarks about their bodies.

Rick Caruso, the chair of the USC's board of trustees, was quoted as saying by the Los Angeles Times that he wanted to see the litigation resolved "as quickly as possible."

The new suits of the 51 women were filed by a U.S. law firm called D. Miller and Associates.

"If you, or a loved one, were treated by Dr. Tyndall at any point from 1989 to 2016, you may be one of many victims and entitled to a compensation," wrote the firm on its Facebook page.

"Hundreds of women have already taken a stand against USC and Dr. George Tyndall. You are not alone. We are listening and want to give you a voice," added the firm.

"He wouldn't have gotten away with it if USC had stepped up," Andy Rubenstein, the attorney of D. Miller and Associates law firm representing the 51 women, told ABC News.

"They were protecting a predator," Rubenstein said.

According to the Los Angeles Times, some colleagues of Tyndall feared that the gynecologist was targeting the university's growing population of Chinese students in recent years. Those Chinese students often had a limited knowledge of the English language and American medical norms.

The Consulate General of China in Los Angeles expressed its serious concern in the wake of the scandal, requesting the university take serious action to investigate the issue and protect Chinese students from illegal acts.

The Chinese Students and Scholars Association, a major Chinese student organization at USC, issued a statement in May, calling on Chinese students to bravely speak up against any violations of their rights. Three former Chinese students have reportedly joined lawsuits against the university.
File photo: Iran flexes muscles with large-scale aerial drills to defend airspace on Oct. 17, 2016. (Xinhua)

ANKARA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Turkish authorities told a U.S. Treasury Department delegation that Ankara will not implement new sanctions imposed by Washington on Iran, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Tuesday.

"A U.S. delegation visited Ankara. We told them that we will not join these sanctions," Cavusoglu was quoted as saying by Daily Cumhuriyet.

"We buy oil from Iran and we purchase it in proper conditions. What is the other choice?" Turkish officials told the delegation led by Marshall Billingslea, the U.S. assistant secretary of the Treasury for Terrorist Financing, last week.

The minister also said Ankara not only told the U.S. officials that Turkey will not join the sanctions on Iran, but also warned Washington that this move is a wrongdoing.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced in May to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was put into effect in 2016, and that sanctions on Iran would be reimposed.
VIENTIANE, July 24 (Xinhua) -- An under-construction hydropower dam collapsed on Monday in Sanamxay district of Laos' southeastern Attapeu Province, the provincial administration office announced in a statement on Tuesday.

The Xepian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower dam collapsed at 20:00 p.m. local time on Monday, releasing 5 billion cubic meters of waters, sweeping away several houses, claiming several human lives and leaving hundreds of people missing, said the statement.

The Attapeu Provincial Administration Office has announced relief aid for flood victims. Authorities of Attapeu Province also called on Party, government organizations, business community, officials, police and military forces and the Lao people to provide emergency aid for the victims.

Being constructed by Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy Power Company (PNPC), a joint venture of South Korean, Thai and Lao companies, the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy hydroelectric power project is estimated to coast 1.02 billion U.S. dollars, and is estimated to have an annual electricity generation of approximately 1,860 GWh.

Feasibility study for the hydroelectric project was completed in November 2008. Construction of the project began in February 2013 and commercial operations are expected to begin in 2018.
COLOMBO, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Tourism Promotion Bureau will soon launch mega campaigns in China, India and the Middle East to promote the island among tourists during the off season, local media reported Tuesday.

The first campaign is to be launched from September to November before winter season starts, Tourism Minister John Amaratunga said.

The main activity of this campaign is to promote special tour packages on offer during Sept. 1 to Nov. 30 to attract tourists from China, India and Middle East, media reports, quoting a bid document said.

The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau has called for bids from advertising agencies for an international campaign for digital, social and print media, which is expected to be carried for three months, Amaratunga added.

Amaratunga said last week, the tourism promotions office was negotiating with airlines, hotels and travel agencies to create value for money deals to attract foreign visitors during the off season.

If the campaign is successful, it will be repeated annually, and a similar campaign will be also launched from March to July, Amaratunga added.

Sri Lanka's tourism industry, which was once heavily scarred by a 30-year civil conflict, has become one of the leading industries after it was dubbed as one of the world's greatest tourist hot spots by several international publications.

Tourist arrivals has recorded a growth of 15.3 percent during the first half of 2018 compared to the same period last year, recent statistics from the Tourism Ministry showed.

Amaratunga said recently the government was targeting a revenue of 4.4 billion U.S. dollars through its tourism sector this year.
NEW DELHI, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Post-mortem report of 28-year Akbar Khan, who was lynched by cow vigilantes in India's western state of Rajasthan, said that he died of shock and injuries from a "blunt weapon or object," officials said Tuesday.

Khan was attacked on Friday by a group of cow vigilantes near Lalawandi village of Ramgarh in Alwar district, about 175 km east of Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan.

Khan was beaten with sticks and stones and later died from his injuries early Saturday.

Reports said it took three hours for the police to take Khan to hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.

"There were injuries on the body. Internal bleeding leads to the death," local media quoted Dr. Rajeev Gupta, one of the doctors who performed the autopsy, as saying.

"The injuries were caused by a blunt weapon or object. There were seven to eight fractures on his body," the report says.

Authorities have ordered a probe into the delay by the police in taking him to hospital.

The killing of the man in the fresh mob violence and cow vigilantism has evoked a country wide outrage.

The fresh lynching comes four days after India's Supreme Court terms mob lynchings as "horrendous acts of mobocracy" and said in a democracy, mobocracy can't be allowed.

The top court urged the Indian parliament to consider enacting a new penal provision to deal with mob violence and provide deterrent punishment to offenders.

There has been an increase in the cases of mob lynching in India either in the name of cow protection or on the rumours of child lifting.

According to the official data between 2014 and March 2018, in 40 cases of mob lynching across the country, 45 persons were killed. The ministry says 217 persons had been arrested in these cases.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 18:04:42|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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Journalists work at a damaged house after a rocket attack in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, on July 24, 2018. At least three Afghan civilians were injured after five rockets struck west Kabul on Tuesday, causing panic among the war-weary people, police and witnesses said.(Xinhua/Rahmat Alizadah)

KABUL, July 24 (Xinhua) -- At least three Afghan civilians were injured after five rockets struck into the western side of capital city Kabul on Tuesday, causing panic among its war-weary residents, police and witnesses said.

"The incident occurred at midday after five rockets fired by insurgents from an unknown location landed in Afshar-i-Selo neighborhood," witness Ahmad Fahim told Xinhua.

One rocket hit a house, injuring three people. The injured were shifted by police and rescue team to a hospital, he added.

Four rockets passed over the residential area and landed on the side of a mountain, he said.

Hashmat Stanikzai, a Kabul police spokesman, tweeted and confirmed that three civilians were affected by the attack.

Afghan Red Crescent, Kabul Police Academy and several other military and civilian government offices are located in the area.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.

Over the past few months, Afghanistan, especially Kabul, has witnessed waves of terror attacks by the Islamic State (IS) outfit and Taliban insurgents.

On Sunday, 23 civilians and police officers were killed and 107 others wounded after an IS terrorist detonated his suicide jacket at a crowded traffic circle near the capital's airport.

More than 1,690 civilians were killed and over 3,430 others injured in conflict-related incidents in the first half of the year in the war-torn country, according to figures released by the United Nations mission in the country.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 18:19:45|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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SHANGHAI, July 24 (Xinhua) -- A new Israeli visa application center opened Tuesday in Shanghai, following the opening of a center in Beijing last week.

Another visa application center is expected to open soon in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province.

Zvi Heifetz, the Israeli Ambassador to China, said in a speech at the opening ceremony Tuesday in Shanghai that the opening of visa application centers in three Chinese cities would bring convenience to Chinese tourists.

These centers would play an important role in strengthening the relationship between China and Israel, he added.

The new center in Shanghai will provide services including online and telephone consultations, as well as a fast-track visa service, which allows applicants to get a visa just one day after they submit their application.

In 2016, China and Israel signed an agreement to issue each other's applicants multiple-entry visas valid for 10 years.

Shanghai opened a direct air route to Israel last year. More direct air routes are scheduled to open, connecting Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, Guangzhou City with Israel in August.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 18:24:48|Editor: zh

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ADDIS ABABA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from weekend clashes in Ethiopia's central Oromia regional state has risen to 10, an Ethiopian official said on Tuesday.

In a press statement, Negeri Lencho, Head of Oromia regional government communications office, said clashes in Goba city, 416 km east of Ethiopia's capital city AddisAbaba, has so far left 10 people dead and more than 100 people injured.

Lencho further said regional and federal security forces have been deployed in the unrest-hit city to prevent a recurrence of the violence.

He also said discussions are currently being conducted with local community members to pacify the tense aftermath of the weekend clashes.

On Monday, Oromia Police Commission Commissioner Alemayehu Ejigu said clashes in the weekend over ownership of a park in Goba city had left at least six people dead, but said the number could rise because several people sustained critical injuries.

Witnesses who spoke to Xinhua said the park had been used as a spot for Ethiopian Timket (Epiphany) celebrations by a mostly migrant Christian population but locals who are mostly Muslims wanted to build a statue to a local hero on the same spot.

The dispute turned into bloody clashes over the weekends with the two sides using rocks, sticks and knives to fight each other.

Ethiopia is a heavily religious country with about 98 percent of the East African country's estimated 100 million population professing to follow a religion.

Muslims make up about 33 percent of the population and are generally well integrated into the wider Ethiopian society, although in recent years the Ethiopian government has warned of a danger of rise in extremism among a section of the Muslim community.

Christians of various denominations make up more than 60 percent of Ethiopia's population and generally live in harmony with their Muslim peers.

However, disputes over land rights and resource sharing have at times taken on a religious character leading occasionally into deadly clashes.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 18:24:48|Editor: ZX

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XINING, July 24 (Xinhua) -- A robot developed for public legal services was unveiled Tuesday in the plateau province of Qinghai in northwest China.

Equipped with cloud storage, the robot covers more than 50,000 questions and answers on subjects in a range of disputes in areas such as marriage, labor, transport, consumer rights, social security, house demolitions, tourism and private loans.

Information on law firms, notary organizations and forensic appraisal, legal aid and mediation are also available from the robot, according to Sha Chongfan with the China Democracy and Legal System Publishing House.

The publishing house and Qinghai provincial department of justice jointly developed the robot over 10 months. Legal service centers in prefectures and cities will be equipped with the robots from Tuesday.

Sha said the robots would be improved in recognition of dialects and Tibetan services, considering many minority groups, including Tibetan ethnic group living in Qinghai.

Liu Bolin, deputy chief of Qinghai provincial department of justice, said legal resources were extremely limited in the prairie area, and there were 11 counties with no lawyers at all in Qinghai.

"Development and application of high-tech products are significant in innovating and improving public legal services," he said.
PHNOM PENH, July 24 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday donated electronic and information technology (IT) equipment worth 75,500 U.S. dollars to the newly-established National Institute of Diplomacy and International Relations (NIDIR) of the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Xiong Bo delivered the equipment to Foreign Ministry under-secretary of state and NIDIR's president Chhiv Yiseang here under the presence of Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn.

Xiong said China is very delighted to see that Cambodia is playing a greater role in regional and international affairs and is carrying out its diplomacy very well.

"It is our firm belief that with the establishment of NIDIR, it will nurture more competent and excellent diplomats for Cambodia and will make a positive and greater contribution to the development of Cambodia's diplomatic course," he said.

The ambassador said China is ready to enhance exchanges and cooperation between the two foreign ministries and the two foreign affairs institutes of the two countries.

As 2018 marked the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Xiong said the two countries had organized a number of celebratory events in both Phnom Penh and Beijing and those events had been attended by respective leaders of the two countries and had drawn attention worldwide.

"I think in the next 60 years, the mutual political trust between our two leaders, the mutual beneficial cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative between our two countries, and the friendship between our two peoples will be further consolidated and deepened," he said.

"It is our firm belief that Cambodia will maintain its peace, stability, and development, and it will surely embrace a brighter future," the ambassador said.

Launched in Feb. 2018, the NIDIR is the first diplomatic training institute in Cambodia, Yiseang said, adding that China's support was vital to further strengthen NIDIR's startup operation capacity.

"This support responds timely to the NIDIR's needs," he said. "It will allow NIDIR to keep up with the increasingly digitalized knowledge database, in particular to further strengthen NIDIR's operation capacity to accomplish its noble mission of building professionalism of the 21st century Cambodian diplomats in the era of ICT, digital economy, or diplomacy."

He said the donation is a testimony to prove that China has always provided unwavering support to Cambodia in the socio-economic development, especially in human resource training and infrastructure development.
Photo taken on July 23, 2018 shows the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare, Zimbabwe. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuliang)

by Zhang Yuliang, Gretinah Machingura

HARARE, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe's main airport is set to undergo a major facelift to be funded by China as part of the government's efforts to transform the facility into a regional aviation hub.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Monday commissioned the construction at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport by China Jiangsu International at a cost of 153 million U.S. dollars.

The upgrading and expansion work will be carried out in three years to modernize the airport and boost its annual passenger handling capacity to 6 million from the current 2.5 million.

The airport expansion is China Jiangsu's second airport development project in Zimbabwe in two years after it completed the upgrading of Victoria Falls International Airport in 2016, which trebled the airport's annual passenger handling capacity to 1.5 million.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa (2nd R, Front) and Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Huang Ping (3rd L, Front) lay the foundation of the upgrading and expansion project of the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare, Zimbabwe, on July 23, 2018.(Xinhua/Zhang Yuliang)

Mnangagwa thanked the Chinese government for expediting release of the 153-million-dollar loan facility by China's Exim Bank for the airport expansion.

He stressed his government's commitment to the development of modern infrastructure to enable the economy to industrialize.

"The commencement of this project soon after the commitment by China in April to avail funding is clear testimony of the nature and potential of rapid development and pragmatic cooperation between our two countries under the all encompassing, comprehensive, strategic partnership and cooperation status which we promoted in April when I visited China," Mnangagwa said.

"We are indeed most grateful for the support we continue to receive from China in our quest to leapfrog our economic development."

Photo taken on July 23, 2018 shows the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare, Zimbabwe. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuliang)

Chinese ambassador Huang Ping said the airport upgrading will include expansion of the international terminal building and aprons, installation of four new air bridges, a secondary radar system, the airfield ground lighting system, the communication systems and construction of a VVIP pavilion and new satellite fire station.

The upgrade is expected to see more international airlines opening routes into Harare and a corresponding increase in tourist arrivals.

The airport, which has one of the longest runways in Africa, was last upgraded in 2001.

"Once completed, Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport will have an additional capacity, connectivity and increased resilience to handle another 3.5 million passengers with much improved service, making the airport a promising contender in the competition for the much-coveted regional aviation hub status in southern Africa and better serve as a huge impetus to its social-economic development," Huang said.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa (Front) addresses a groundbreaking ceremony of the upgrading and expansion project of the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare, Zimbabwe, on July 23, 2018. (Xinhua/Shaun Jusa)
DHAKA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Bangladesh capital Dhaka resumed flight operations on Tuesday after about two-hour shutdown caused by an accident involving an Thai Airways plane.

GM Alamgir, an information official of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), told Xinhua that the airport resumes operations for departure and arrival flights at about 2:00 p.m. local time.

All flight operations were suspended at the airport after the Thai Airways flight from Bangkok suffered "multiple tyre bursts" while landing on the runway at about 12:20 p.m. local time.

The plane, with 145 people on board, was stuck on the runway.

"At least four of its tyres burst as the Thai Airways Flight TG321 had made an emergency landing,"an airport official said.

No casualties were reported due to the mishap.

TV footage showed passengers were gripped by panic.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 19:10:00|Editor: zh

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NICOSIA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus sent a team of 60 forest firefighters to Greece to help battle killer fires that claimed the lives of over 60 people, the Ministry of Justice and Public Order said on Tuesday.

It added that the team was joined by two rescuers and two paramedics, who flew to Athens aboard a transport plane of the Greek Air Force.

The director of the Cypriot Forestry Department said he had been in touch with Greek officials overnight, who told him that the high number of casualties was due to the fact that the flames were driven by the winds towards the coasts east of Athens where many families had been holidaying.

He said that in one instance paramedics came upon 26 dead people huddled in a small opening in the forest where they took refuge with their vehicles but were trapped by the raging flames.

The dispatch of the firefighters was part of a program of cooperation between Cyprus and Greece for fighting forest fires which are frequent during summer months.

Israel is also part of the arrangement within the framework of a tripartite cooperation agreement.

The Cypriot airports authority said the fire disrupted flights to Athens as several incoming and outgoing flights were delayed because thick smoke covered the region of Athens airport.

So far, it is not clear what ignited the fires.
WELLINGTON, July 24 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Justice Minister Andrew Little on Tuesday launched a public information campaign to raise awareness about the problem of money laundering by domestic and foreign criminals here in New Zealand.

"The Keep Our Money Clean campaign is about keeping our international corruption-free reputation and making sure Kiwi businesses are informed and prepared," Little said in a statement.

The campaign uses print and digital advertising and will run in four phases as new business sectors come under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act, which affects lawyers from July, accountants from October, real estate agents from January next year and high value goods dealers and the New Zealand Racing Board from August 2019.

"New Zealanders are rightly proud that our country is free from corruption. To keep it that way we need all Kiwi businesses to be vigilant so criminals with dirty money won't do us any harm," Little said.

Money launderers undermine the country's financial and justice systems and leave the country vulnerable to trans-national crime, he said.

The government has prepared "Keep our Money Clean" information packs for law practices, accounting business agents and real estate agents so that customers can understand the anti-money laundering requirements, according to the minister.
PHNOM PENH, July 24 (Xinhua) -- About 788,387 Chinese tourists had visited Cambodia in the first five months of 2018, up 78.7 percent compared to the same period last year, the Tourism Ministry's latest report showed on Tuesday.

Chinese holidaymakers accounted for 30.4 percent of the 2.59 million international tourists visiting Cambodia during the January-May period this year, the report said, adding that China topped the chart among the top 10 international arrivals to the kingdom.

Cambodian Tourism Minister Thong Khon had attributed the remarkable rise in Chinese tourists to Cambodia to excellent bilateral ties, Cambodia's attractive tourism sites and increasing direct flights between the two countries.

He said the Southeast Asian country is projected to receive around 1.7 million Chinese tourists in 2018 and up to 2.5 million in 2020.

"There has been a rise in the middle class in China," he told Xinhua on the sidelines of a recent tourism conference. "Chinese people are now rich, and they are keen to spend their holidays overseas."

Cambodia has three world heritage sites, namely the Angkor archeological park, the Preah Vihear Temple, and the Sambor Prei Kuk archeological site.

Besides, it has a pristine coastline stretching in the length of 450 km in four southwestern provinces of Koh Kong, Preah Sihanouk, Kampot and Kep.

Tourism is one of the four sectors supporting the country's economy. Last year, the country received 5.6 million foreign tourists including 1.21 million Chinese, earning gross revenue of 3.6 billion U.S. dollars.
MANILA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The House of Representatives of the Philippines ratified on Tuesday the bicameral version of the bill creating a larger autonomous region for minority Muslims in Mindanao in the southern Philippines.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte can now sign the proposed Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), also known as the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), a step forward to ending nearly 50 years of armed conflict in Mindanao.

The passage of the BOL aims to resolve the decades-old conflict in the southern Philippines by giving more powers to the local Filipino-Muslims and organizing a Bangsamoro government.

Jesus Dureza, the Philippine Presidential Peace Adviser, said:" The bill is now ready for the signature of President Duterte who will sign it anytime now...When President Duterte approves and signs it into law, it will be a new beginning for all Bangsamoro and all citizens to work for a better and peaceful Mindanao and country. It will not be easy. But let's all stay in the course," he said.

The Philippine Senate has ratified the bill on Monday. However, the House of Representatives failed to ratify the bill on the same day because of its leadership changing, derailing Duterte's initial plan to sign it into law during his third annual state of the nation address (SONA) at the joint session of Congress.

Duterte told a joint session of Congress on Monday that he will sign the approved version of the proposed law in 48 hours after the document is transmitted to his office.

"Despite all that has been said for or against the Bangsamoro Organic Law by all sectoral groups, I make this solemn commitment that this administration will never deny our Muslim brothers and sisters the basic legal tools to chart their own destiny within the constitutional framework of our country," Duterte said.

Official statistics show that some 150,000 people have been killed since early l970s between government troops and Muslim rebel groups. Those killed included not just combatants of both sides but also innocent civilians.

The Philippine government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a major Muslim rebel group in the Philippines, signed a peace agreement in 2012 and ended the insurgency. In 2014 both sides agreed to pass a law, which is BBL, to maintain the lasting peace in the southern Philippines at the legislative level.
File photo shows Nigeria's Governor of Central Bank Godwin Emefiele displays the new N100 Naira note commemorative centenary banknote after the unveiling in Abuja, capital of Nigeria, Nov. 12, 2014. (Xinhua/NAN)

LAGOS, July 24 (Xinhua) -- First Bank of Nigeria will make better use of the Nigeria-China currency swap agreement to promote the relationship of the two countries and increase business opportunities, an official said on Monday.

In an interview with Xinhua in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial hub, Andy Wang, First Bank's Chief Representative Officer (CRO), said the bank aims to be the bridge between the Nigerian and Chinese businesses by taking the partnership forward.

This, according to Wang, would help improve efficiency in trade transactions between the two countries, without being exposed to the challenge of seeking another foreign currency.

He spoke on the sideline of the bank's Chinese Customer Forum organized to discuss how to improve business by leveraging the recently executed Bilateral Currency Swap Agreement.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on April 27 signed a 2.5-bilion-U.S.-dollar currency swap agreement with the People's Bank of China, China's central bank.

The primary aim is to provide adequate local currency liquidity to Nigerian and Chinese industrialists and also assist in both countries' foreign exchange reserves management.

Wang said First Bank as one of the authorized dealers is experienced and competent to handle the Chinese yuan and the Nigerian naira deal, after opening of a representative office in China's Beijing 10 years ago.

Photo taken on Nov. 12, 2015 shows newly-released 100-yuan bank notes in Beijing, capital of China. China's central bank released a new 100-yuan banknote on Thursday. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

"We have discussed with our customers, both Nigerian and Chinese on the basis of the bilateral currency swap deal and its implications on trade between both countries," he said.

"Before now, we have been providing several services to our Chinese and Nigerian customers through our representative Beijing office and the new agreement will help us improve on that business relationship," he told Xinhua.

Wang said the bank, which has registered its presence in South Africa in 2004 and opened a branch in Paris in 2008, is engaging other financial institutions from China to open up the Chinese market for Nigerian business.

"We are not limiting our scope of cooperation with either the Chinese customers or companies, we are partnering with several Chinese financial institutions to make sure we serve them well," he added.

With the swap deal, Wang told Xinhua that the bank will increase it use of technology to enable businesses to make faster, easier and cheaper worldwide payments.

According to him, the deal would also help the Nigeria position itself as a trading hub with China in the West African sub-region, noting that the agreement would provide naira liquidity to Chinese firms looking to do business with Nigeria and provide the RMB liquidity to Nigerian firms looking to do business with China.

The commercial bank established a Representative Office in Beijing in 2010 to cater to the growing needs of Sino-Nigeria businesses and to provide support in channeling trade flows between Nigeria and China.

With this, the First Bank became the first Nigerian bank to establish a presence in China and has over the years developed strategic relationship with major Chinese players in Nigeria.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 19:25:03|Editor: ZX

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BEIJING, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua on Tuesday called for increased attention on flood control and drought relief to ensure the safety of people's lives and property.

Attending a work conference of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, Hu noted that China is facing a critical stage for fighting floods and droughts and demanded intensified efforts and a people-centered approach in disaster relief work.

Hu stressed the importance of closely monitoring weather conditions, improving alert systems and fully utilizing water conservation projects in flood prevention.

More focus should be placed on high-risk areas, with strengthened checks and emergency responses to effectively cope with typhoons, landslides, and mudslides, according to Hu.

He also called for more support from central government organs in providing disaster relief funds, material support, and post-disaster reconstruction assistance.

Since July, rainstorms have hit many regions across the country, triggering landslides and floods.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 19:25:03|Editor: zh

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BERLIN, July 24 (Xinhua) -- German graduates remain highly risk averse in their career choices in spite of the country's booming economy, a study published on Tuesday by the accountancy firm Ernst & Young (EY) finds.

Most respondents (41 percent) surveyed by EY in the 2018 "Student Study" indicated that they were keen to pursue a career in the public sector, up from 32 percent in 2016. As a consequence, the government was the by far most popular employer among graduates, followed by cultural institutions (22 percent) and scholarship (20 percent).

At the same time, the attractiveness of German carmakers to potential new recruits declined dramatically. Only eight percent of respondents said that they wanted to work in the scandal-ridden automotive industry in 2018, compared to 22 percent in 2016.

More than half of respondents (57 percent) pointed to jobs security as the decisive factor in choosing an employer, while 44 percent said that they were mainly guided by financial considerations.

The findings confirmed a longer-standing trend already observed in several other studies which has sparked fears that Germany is raising a generation of civil servants with little entrepreneurial ambition. The experience of the 2007/08 financial crisis is hereby seen to have eroded faith among young citizens in the capitalist system as a whole.

"On the one hand it is obviously a positive development if many of the best students wanted to enter public service. However, it also raises questions as to why the free market is not attractive to many young people in spite of offering better pay", EY human resources director Oliver Simon commented on the study.

Simon expressed surprise that the lure of the government to graduates had not weakened throughout recent years of strong growth in Germany. It was "confusing", in his view, that respondents still placed such an emphasis on security and shied away risks given that they had experienced a sustained economic expansion throughout their studies.

According to the EY human resources director, one potential explanation for the phenomenon was that many industries were currently undergoing a process of far-reaching structural change. "The public sector can then look like a haven of stability in the midst of chaos and change", Simon opined.

Simon argued, however, that Germany owed largely its international success to innovations which had occurred in the private sector. It was therefore in the interest of the country as well as these employers to enhance the attraction of these jobs again.

"Companies should think about how they can continue to appeal to entry-level professionals. Money alone will not suffice", Simon said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 19:35:04|Editor: zh

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ATHENS, July 24 (Xinhua) -- At least 50 people lost their lives during the raging wildfires which broke out on Monday near Athens, according to the latest official statistics on Tuesday.

All victims were found at seaside resorts in eastern Attica, government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos announced in a statement broadcast on Greek national broadcaster ERT.

The charred bodies of 25 persons, including parents embracing their children, were discovered earlier at Argira Akti (Silver coast) at Mati resort town near a beach-side tavern just a few meters from the water.

Among the victims were many minors, including a 6-month-old who succumbed to smoke inhalation, according to Greek Health Ministry officials.

Meanwhile, at least 156 people were hospitalized with burns, including 11 in critical condition, the Health Ministry said.

The death toll may further rise in the coming hours as an unclear number of persons was reported missing, according to local media.

Some 1,000 houses and 300 cars have been scorched by the blaze in the settlements of Mati, Neos Voutzas and Kokkino Limanaki, 35 kilometers east of the Greek capital, which were most affected, local officials said.

Many victims were believed to have been trapped in flames inside their homes and cars or attempted to escape swimming at the sea, but drowned.

A total of 715 persons who had been stranded on the shores were transferred to safety to Rafina port by dozens of Greek Coast Guard vessels and private boats, Tzanakopoulos said.

Two persons were still missing at sea, according to the Shipping Ministry.

"The 44th anniversary of the restoration of democracy in Greece is overshadowed by this tragedy," Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos said, according to Greek national news agency AMNA.

"Attica in ashes," read the title on the front page of Ethnos (Nation) daily.

Monday's tragedy is the worst Greece suffers linked to fires since the summer of 2007 when the country mourned over 80 casualties in dozens of fires nationwide.

The most affected area this time, where all casualties were reported, was eastern Attica.

The area was declared in state of emergency by authorities, along western Attica, where a large fire also burnt a pine forest and dozens of homes near the resort town of Kineta, 50 kilometers west of Athens.

Another blaze at Kalamos resort town to the north which broke seven hours after the first fire at Kineta, forcing also hundreds of people to flee their homes, was partially put under control by early Tuesday, according to the Fire Service.

At least 47 fires broke out across Greece on Monday and Tuesday, the Fire Service said.

The Greek government has raised questions about arson, as fires started in many sites in parallel when winds reached up to 9 on the Beaufort scale.

Greece has requested European support to extinguish the fires, and personnel, fire engines and water dropping planes from Cyprus and Spain were expected to reach the area later Tuesday, Tzanakopoulos said.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had a telephone conversation with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Tuesday, during which Juncker expressed EU's solidarity with Greece and willingness to provide any means to assist in addressing the crisis, Tzanakopoulos added.

Tsipras also spoke over phone with leaders of Cyprus and Bulgaria, and was scheduled to hold contacts with leaders of Turkey and France.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 19:40:05|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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DAMASCUS, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 1,000 Syrian refugees have returned homes from Lebanon within 24 hours in parallel to the evacuation of rebels from southern Syria.

Over the past 24 hours, around 1,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon kept coming back homes to the towns of the Qalamoun region in the northern countryside of Damascus.

It was the third batch to return since June amid ongoing efforts to encourage the refugees to come back home after the security situation has largely improved in Syria.

The arrivals were via the Zemrani border crossing on Monday by the use of cars carrying luggage, furniture and home appliances.

On June 28, the first round of 400 refugees returned to their homeland from the Lebanese town of Arsal to Qalamoun via Wadi Hmayyed.

Around 400 refugees returned to their homeland on July 7 from camps in Arsal to the towns of Qara, Jarajir and Ras Al-Maara in the mountainous Qalamoun region on the Syrian side of the border.

The Syrian refugees' crisis has been a hot topic in Lebanon lately.

More than one million Syrian refugees are registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Lebanon. The government estimated the true number of Syrians in the country to stand at 1.5 million.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry has recently urged Syrian refugees abroad to return home as the Syrian army has liberated large swathes of terrain across the country.

Russia has also been backing the mechanism of the return of the refugees to Syria.

A day earlier, Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian National Defense Management Center, said the first two checkpoints for Syrian refugees from Jordan and Lebanon have opened, adding that another three will open soon, according to the Russian Interfax news agency.

"The first two checkpoints for refugees (returning) to Syria from Jordan and Lebanon have been deployed and have begun active operation," he said. Those checkpoints are at the Zemrani crossing between Lebanon in Qalamoun and the Nasib crossing with Jordan.

Another three centers for receiving the refugees will be set up in other areas by the end of July.

Amid the efforts to return refugees, rebels and their families continued to leave areas in the southern province of Daraa.

As many as 900 rebels and their family members have evacuated the Daraa province over the past 24 hours, as part of a Russia-backed agreement, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Altogether 24 buses evacuated the rebels and their families from the Busra al-Sham town, the gathering point for those who want to evacuate Daraa toward rebel-held areas in northern Syria.

The Britain-based watchdog group said the evacuees are from areas in southeastern Daraa.

On Sunday, 3,400 militants and their families left Daraa and the nearby province of Quneitra, according to the Observatory.

The evacuations are part of a Russia-backed agreement to allow the rebels and civilians who do not want to reconcile with the government.

The Syrian army has already captured 90 percent of Daraa either through military action or reconciliations since June 19.

Both Daraa and Quneitra are key provinces for the Syrian army due to their proximity to Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

The Syrian army launched the offensive against the rebels in southern Syria late last month, following the major victory of the army in the capital Damascus.

With the Russian support, reconciliation deals are being reached in several areas, enabling the army to recapture many areas without battles.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 19:45:06|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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ADEN, Yemen, July 24 (Xinhua) -- A suicide bomb blast ripped through a police checkpoint and targeted a high-ranking security commander in Yemen's southern port city of Aden on Tuesday, a security official told Xinhua.

The security source, who asked to remain anonymous, said that a motorcycle-riding suicide bomber blew himself up and targeted a vehicle carrying a high-ranking military commander near a police checkpoint in Enma area of Aden province.

Colonel Abu Muhtam, the anti-terror commander of Aden's Fourth Security Battalion, was inside his armored vehicle near the police checkpoint and has escaped unharmed, the security source said.

Medical sources confirmed to Xinhua that the explosion killed three and injured seven others.

"Our rescuers rushed with ambulances to the bombing site in Enma," a medical official said, adding that "some passers-by including a woman and two children were injured and shifted immediately to receive treatment."

No organizations have immediately claimed responsibility for the suicide attack.

However, police sources in Aden blamed militants of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch (AQAP) and the Islamic State (IS) group for being behind such suicide attack.

Considered as Yemen's temporary capital, Aden is where the Saudi-backed government has been based since 2015.

For the past two years, the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, and other terrorist groups, including the IS, have been active in southern Yemen.

The impoverished Arab country has been locked into a civil war since late 2014, when the Iranian-backed Shiite Houthi rebels overran much of the country and seized all northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa.

Saudi Arabia is leading an Arab military coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after Houthi rebels forced him into exile.

The United Nations has listed Yemen as the country of the world's most serious humanitarian crisis, where seven million Yemenis on the brink of famine and cholera have caused more than 2,300 deaths.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 19:45:07|Editor: ZX

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by Xinhua writers Chen Chen and Wei Donghua

HANGZHOU, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Claudio Desideri, a 59-year-old Italian, has plans to expand his ice cream business to China after a pep talk given by his younger brother's wife, Xu Xuefen.

"The equipment, freezer, and ingredients are all ready. We will be ready to go once the engineers from Italy finish commissioning the machine," Xu told Desideri.

Xu is from Qingtian County, Zhejiang Province. The hilly country in China's east was once called "the closest place to globalization" as it has over 300 years' history of migration. With a population of 550,000, the county is also home to another 330,000 people who live in 128 countries and regions around the globe.

In 1986, Xu, at the age of 19, was admitted to a university in the Italian city of Perugia. Like many others, she chose Europe with hopes to one day earn a high living. Two months after she arrived, however, she spent all her money and had no choice but to drop out of school and find work.

In Rome, Xu worked as a waitress, a bartender, and a lighter salesperson, sharing a house with a dozen other Chinese people.

Recalling that period, she said, "it's poverty that gives rise to the desire for change."

"It was a golden time for foreign trade," Xu said. "The made-in-China lighters had a price advantage in Italy." At the time, she could sell "a container of lighters" each day.

In eight months, Xu earned about 500,000 to 600,000 yuan (73,000 to 88,000 U.S. dollars) and opened a Chinese restaurant.

She later married a local policeman, whose family has been in the ice cream business for over 60 years, now operating seven stores, a favorite among locals.

In 2015, Xu received visiting officials from Qingtian to Italy, who told her that an import commodities mall was about to open in her hometown. Favorable policies were developed to attract overseas Chinese to return home to start businesses.

After a lengthy discussion, she and her husband decided to bring their ice cream to China. Desideri was very supportive, believing in the market potential of one of the most populous countries in the world.

"We all know she wanted to bring her business back to China someday," Desideri said. "I have been to China several times and found the business environment satisfactory. Local governments are ready to offer help whenever we have a problem."

"In Italy, ice cream is a part of people's daily life. Sometimes we even have ice cream and bread for dinner," said Desideri.

Xu said ice cream in Italy has dozens of flavors like pistachio and lavender that are not seen in China. She believes her ice cream will be a hit.

With Desideri's ice cream factory set to open soon, he and his son will be in charge of production, with Xu doing the marketing.

"We all love this Chinese lady. She's smart, kind, and has good business insights," Desideri said. "My son loves China very much. He wants to stay in China for a long time and one day, marry a Chinese woman."

"When the ice cream factory is on the right track, I plan to invite my Italian relatives and friends to China. My Italian parents-in-law have never been here before," Xu said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 20:00:09|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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DUBAI, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) supports global peace and security efforts, said Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and UAE's deputy supreme commander of the Armed Forces, on Tuesday.

He made the remarks when hosting Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopia's President Mulatu Teshome at a tripartite summit in the capital Abu Dhabi, UAE state news agency WAM reported.

Peace efforts "are vital to achieving comprehensive and sustainable development for all peoples globally," said Zayed.

He said "the bold and historic step by the leaders of the two neighboring countries to end the conflict and open new horizons for cooperation and joint coordination is a model that can be followed in resolving conflicts around the world."

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on July 8 paid an official visit to the Eritrean capital Asmara, the first visit by an Ethiopian leader to Eritrea in 20 years.

The visit came after the two countries started tentative steps to end a two-decade-long bitter border dispute that led to a bloody two-year war from 1998 to 2000, leaving an estimated deaths of 70,000 people.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 20:10:12|Editor: ZX

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KIGALI, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Rwandans from all walks of life spoke highly of Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to the African country.

Rwanda and China enjoy a good relationship which has been strengthened, said Olivier Nduhungirehe, Rwandan minister of state for foreign affairs, cooperation and East African Community.

Rwanda and China have important cooperation in infrastructure, mining, tourism and investment, and have the potential to expand ties especially in roads and mining, the minister said.

This is a monumental visit with multiple benefits to Rwanda and Africa, said Herman Musahara, professor at School of Economics, University of Rwanda.

Xi's visit marks the highest level of bilateral cooperation, said Musahara.

China, a major global economy, offers good lessons for other economies, particularly like Rwanda, a country planning a leap from poverty to prosperity, he said.

He also said the visit is important to Africa, as Rwandan President Paul Kagame is now the chair of the African Union and is leading important reforms of the organization, adding that China is an important partner of Africa with its new agenda.

The visit of a Chinese president to Africa, particularly to Rwanda, speaks volumes, said Anastase Shyaka, CEO of the Rwanda Governance Board.

Xi's visit to Rwanda follows Kagame's China trip in March last year, showcasing that the Rwanda-China relations are entering a new phase of cooperation both in scope and quality, he added.

The Chinese president's visit to Rwanda is historic since it is the first time that a Chinese head of state has visited the country, said Nobert Haguma, secretary of Rwanda-China Alumni Organization, a non-governmental organization founded by former Rwandan graduates from China.

Many Chinese investors have invested in Rwanda, which is a good sign for Rwanda's economy, said Haguma. "This historic visit will further deepen the existing cordial relationship between Rwanda and China," he added.

"Xi's visit to Rwanda is a milestone in deepening Rwanda-China bilateral relations," said Edissa Butera, a student at the University of Rwanda. "As Rwandans, we are honored to receive the Chinese president in our country."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 20:15:13|Editor: ZX

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SHIJIAZHUANG, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Wang Xiaolin, former deputy director of the National Energy Administration, has been arrested, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Further investigation is underway as he is suspected of taking bribes, according to a statement issued by the people's procuratorate of Hebei Province.

Born in October 1963, Wang was appointed to the position at the administration in 2015 after working at Shenhua Group, China's largest coal producer, for about 20 years.

He was expelled from the Communist Party of China and public office in April.
ULAN BATOR, July 24 (Xinhua) -- More than 10 percent of Mongolia's territory is suffering from a severe drought, said the country's weather monitoring agency on Tuesday.

"Currently, about 90 percent of the total area of the country is in good summer condition," Danzan Sumiya, meteorologist from the National Agency for Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring, said at a press conference.

But over 10 percent of the territory, including large parts of Bayankhongor province in the south-west, and some soums of provinces in the east, are suffering from drought, she said.

It has been raining heavily across large parts of Mongolia since the beginning of this month, causing flooding in some areas.

Until the recent pouring rain, nearly half of the country's territory had experienced one of the worst droughts in its history, especially the provinces covered by the gobi desert.

Mongolia has a large nomad population of which 40 percent are dependent on rain-fed agriculture and animal husbandry for their livelihoods.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 20:40:19|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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BUDAPEST, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The Hungarian government here on Tuesday called the legal action of the EU over its controversial "Stop Soros" law package as "inacceptable" and an "attack" against Hungary, according to Gergely Gulyas, the minister of prime minister's Office.

"In Brussels behavior, we see that those who defend Europe get infraction procedures while those who invite the migrants are appraised," Gulyas told journalists.

"This attack clearly shows that the European Commission is devoted to continuing a migration-friendly policy," he added.

Gulyas also noted that the Commission's views were not representative of the governments of the EU member states.

"It is evident that the recent political changes within the EU have not reached Brussels yet," he said, hinting at the results of the recent elections in Italy and Austria, where anti-migration governments have been elected, joining the already existing front of the Visegrad countries (Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia).

The European Commission launched legal action against Hungary by sending a "letter of formal notice" to Budapest on July 19, the first step of a procedure that the Hungarian government could go before the European Court of Justice, EU's top court, in an effort to make it comply with EU asylum rules, pointing at a package of Hungarian laws to punish activists who support asylum seekers.

"The Hungarian authorities have two months to respond to the Commission's concerns," the commission said.

The Commission qualified as illegal the so-called "Stop Soros" laws passed last month, which include a punishment of up to a year in prison for anyone assisting any other person who entered Hungary illegally.

The legislation was called the "Stop Soros" laws after Hungarian-born U.S. billionaire George Soros, accused by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government as orchestrating migration to Europe.

Following U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, Hungary said it was also withdrawing from a UN pact on migration, saying that the global deal encourages movements of people which are "dangerous for the world."

Hungary will quit the United Nations migration pact before its final approval, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto told journalists on July 18.

"This document goes entirely against Hungary's security interests," Szijjarto told a news conference, "and for us the safety of Hungarians is an absolute priority," he added.

On June 21, the UN also criticized the Hungarian legislation.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein condemned the decision by the Hungarian parliament to pass legislation that criminalizes individuals and groups deemed to be supporting asylum-seekers, refugees and undocumented migrants.

He said in a statement that the Hungarian parliament's decision attacked fundamental human rights and freedoms in Hungary.

"The constant stoking of hatred by the current government for political gain has led to this latest shameful development, which is blatantly xenophobic and runs counter to European and international human rights standards and values," said the UN official.

The UN rights chief said he wanted to stress again the responsibility of the Hungarian state to govern its borders, but he said the legislation adopted threatened the safety and human rights of migrants and refugees.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 20:50:22|Editor: Yurou

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A policeman checks a vehicle at a security checkpoint in Jawzjan province, Afghanistan, July 24, 2018. Up to 17 militants loyal to the Taliban outfit and Islamic State (IS) group have been killed in airstrikes against the armed groups in Afghanistan's northern Jawzjan province since Monday, officials said Tuesday. (Xinhua/Mohammad Jan Aria)

SHIBERGHAN, Afghanistan, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Up to 17 militants loyal to the Taliban outfit and Islamic State (IS) group have been killed in airstrikes against the armed groups in Afghanistan's northern Jawzjan province since Monday, officials said Tuesday.

According to police spokesman in the northern region Sayed Sarwar Hussaini, the strikes were conducted against both Taliban and IS militants in Darzab district late Monday and Tuesday morning, killing 14 Taliban insurgents including two commanders.

Three more IS militants were killed in the strikes, the official added.

Ten more militants from both the Taliban and IS group were injured, the official added.

Meanwhile, Jawzjan provincial police chief Faqir Mohammad Jawzjani said that the first airstrikes were conducted on Monday when both the Taliban and IS fighters were engaged in fierce fighting in Darzab district, killing five from both sides including a Taliban commander.

Provincial government spokesman Reza Ghafori has also confirmed the strikes, saying both the Taliban and IS militants have suffered casualties in the sorties on Monday and Tuesday.

Neither Taliban and nor IS has made comment.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 20:55:25|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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TRIPOLI, July 24 (Xinhua) -- An unidentified armed group on Tuesday released a judge, a prosecutor and two policemen after kidnapping them two days ago in the Libyan city of Jufra, some 650 km southeast of the capital Tripoli.

"The judge of Weddan court, Abdussalam Mohamed Sunusi Ismail, prosecutor Ali Ismail Abdurrahman, policemen Al-Tahel Hammu and Ahmad Younis, were released after being kidnapped by an armed group and taken to Sirte city," a parliament member posted on his Facebook page.

"They were unconditionally handed over to the commander of 128 Infantry Battalion, Hassan Zadma," said Ismail Al-Sharif, member of the eastern-based House of Representatives.

Al-Sharif thanked the people and officials of Jufra and the security forces of Sirte city for their "direct and practical dealing with this crisis."

On Sunday, the judicial police of the Ministry of Justice condemned the kidnapping of the four officials, saying that the kidnapping "aimed at freeing detainees accused of smuggling fuel."

Libya has been suffering insecurity and chaos since the 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Gaddafi's regime. The North African nation has been plagued with political division and unrest.
JAKARTA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian volcanology agency said on Tuesday that folks living in the flanks of Mount Agung volcano of Bali Island in central Indonesia must exercise caution over flows of lava during rains.

The warning came as the volcano spewed a column of thick ash three times on Tuesday with the highest one being 1,500 meters, the agency said in a statement.

The agency noted that the volcanic materials exited during the eruptions remain at the areas near the crater of the mountain, which will be swept downward the slope during rains.

"The people living along sides the rivers whose upstream are close to the Mount Agung must be cautious of the potential threats in the forms of lava flows during rains," the agency said, adding that the lava will flow into rivers.

The exclusion zone has been declared at the radius of 4 km from the crater.

Tuesday's eruption did not disturb aviation nor trigger evacuation.

Mount Agung volcano situated about 70 km from tourist hub of Kuta has experienced a series of eruptions since September 2017, shooting a column of volcanic ash into the air with chucks of lava tumbling down its slopes.

The eruption has harmed aviation and forced over 144,000 people to flee homes, according to disaster management agency.

Over 1 million foreign holiday makers visit Bali Island every year in average, according to the national statistics bureau.

In the last eruption in 1963, over 1,100 people were killed.

Mount Agung is among the 129's active volcanoes in Indonesia, a vast archipelagic country home to over 17,500 islands.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 21:05:26|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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TRIPOLI, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Islamic State (IS) terrorists on Tuesday attacked a police station in the town of Agila near the eastern Libyan city of Ajdabiya, some 120 km west of Benghazi, killing two army soldiers and injuring four others.

"Clashed took place with terrorists in a valley south of the city. Two people were killed and four others were wounded. All of them are army soldiers," a source of Ajdabiya security directorate said in a statement.

"The military operations chamber of Ajdabiya is searching the west and south of the city, after receiving information about the movements of terrorists," it said, adding that communications are still missing with some army soldiers who were in the station during the attack.

IS terrorists have repeatedly attacked Ajdabiya with car bombs and suicide attacks on military and security checkpoints.

Two soldiers of the eastern-based army were killed in May in a suicide attack on a military checkpoint near Ajdabiya.

Since the beginning of the year, IS attacks on security checkpoints and government buildings have increased.
ENTEBBE, Uganda, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday started a two-day state visit here in which the two countries are expected to further their trade and economic ties.

Modi was welcomed by President Yoweri Museveni at State House Entebbe, 40 km south of the capital Kampala, after which they went into bilateral talks.

Modi, who is also accompanied by a business delegation, will also address the Ugandan Parliament and also the Indian-Uganda Business Forum. He will also address the Indian community in Uganda.

India is one of Uganda's main trading partners, according to government figures here.

According to Bank of Uganda July 2018 data, India's exports to Uganda for 2017 were worth 599.04 million U.S. dollars, up from 293.87 million in 2007.

India's exports to Uganda were highest in 2013, 1.26 billion dollars before they started to drop, first to 1.24 billion dollars in 2014, 994.93 million dollars in 2015 and 705.37 million dollars in 2016.

Uganda's exports to India increased from 3.21 million dollars in 2007 to 43.69 million dollars in 2017.

India exports to Uganda pharmaceutical products, vehicles, plastic, and organic chemicals among others while Uganda exports to India edible vegetables, coffee, tea, cotton among others.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 21:20:30|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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ATHENS, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras Tuesday called for three days of national mourning for wildfires victims which currently stood at at least 50 and hundreds more were injured, according to the latest official count by local authorities.

"There are no words to describe the feelings we are all feeling at these hours. The country is living through an unspeakable tragedy," the Greek leader said in a statement broadcast on state broadcaster ERT.

"Nothing and nobody will be forgotten. Nothing and nobody will be left without help and the assistance of the state. But also, nothing will left unanswered," he said, thanking foreign leaders who have been expressing solidarity and offering help.

Greece is going through one of its toughest moments, but will stand upright again, the Greek prime minister stressed.

Greece faces since Monday one of the deadliest blazes to hit the country in more than a decade. In 2007 over 80 people were killed in dozens of fires nationwide in Greece.

On Tuesday fears were expressed that the final death toll would rise further, as at least 10 of the 156 injured were fighting for their lives, according to information from the health ministry and a still unclear number of people remained missing, according to the Fire Brigade.

Speaking to local media, Evangelos Bournous Mayor of Rafina-Pikermi, the municipality in eastern Attica which has been most affected by the blazes, appeared concerned that the number of casualties has already hit 60. More charred bodies had been recovered in residential areas by the seaside and miles from the shores in the past few hours, he said, citing police sources.

Most casualties were reported at the settlements of Neos Voutzas and Mati, some 35 kilometers east of the Greek capital, as people got trapped in the flames or drowned while trying to escape swimming at the sea.

At least 715 persons were transferred to safety to the nearby port of Rafina by dozens of Greek Coast Guard vessels and private boats, authorities said.

Some 1,000 houses and 300 cars have been destroyed, according to initial estimates by the municipality.

Eastern Attica has been declared in state of emergency as well as western Attica, where a large fire also burnt a pine forest and dozens of homes near the resort town of Kineta, 50 kilometers west of Athens.

A third blaze at Kalamos resort town to the north which broke seven hours after the first fire at Kineta, also forced hundreds of people to flee their homes.

All blazes were partially put under control by Tuesday, but firefighters were still battling flare ups, according to the Fire Service.

At least 47 fires broke out across Greece on Monday and Tuesday, the Fire Service said.

The Greek government has raised questions about arson, as fires started in many sites in parallel as winds reaching up to 9 on the Beaufort scale were blowing.

Supreme Court Chief Prosecutor Xeni Dimitriou ordered an investigation into the causes of the devastating fires.

Greece has requested European support to extinguish the fire fronts and personnel, fire engines and water dropping aircraft from Cyprus and Spain were expected to be deployed in Attica later Tuesday, government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos announced.

In a press statement the Greek Foreign Ministry thanked also Turkey, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Israel and the European Commission for offering support.

Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and Premier Tsipras have received calls of support from the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and many foreign leaders, the government said.

Meanwhile Greek citizens were en masse responding to the calls of authorities to donate blood for the injured and collect emergency supplies, such as medicines, baby milk, packaged food products and bottled water. Local hotels and private schools offered shelter to people left homeless, while restaurants and supermarkets provided free meals.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 21:45:38|Editor: ZX

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KAMPALA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni will attended the forthcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit scheduled to be held in September in Beijing, China, a top official said on Tuesday.

Henry Oryem Okello, minister of state for international affairs, told Xinhua in an interview that preparations are being made to arrange the visit.

"Yes, it is finalized. I can confirm that he (Museveni) will be in China for FOCAC. We are now going into preparations," Okello said.

Museveni will join other African leaders as they forge new ways of strengthening the China-Africa cooperation.

Zheng Zhuqiang, Chinese ambassador to Uganda, last month told reporters that during the summit, new cooperation measures will be announced bringing an era of historic opportunities.

"I hope both our governments seize the historical opportunity and create a new era for China-Uganda cooperation," Zheng said.

Uganda says it is already benefiting from the 10 cooperation plans announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping during the FOCAC Johannesburg Summit in December 2015.

The plans cover the areas of industrialization, agricultural modernization, infrastructure, financial services, green development, trade and investment facilitation, poverty reduction and public welfare, public health, people-to-people exchanges, and peace and security.

China is financing among other projects the construction of Uganda's 600MW Karuma Hydro Power Plant and the 183MW Isimba Hydro Power Plant.

The Asian country is also financing the expansion of Uganda's Entebbe International Airport, the country's gateway to the rest of the world.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 21:50:39|Editor: Yurou

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Paramilitary troopers of India's Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) patrol after a militant attack in Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, July 24, 2018. A paramilitary trooper of India's CRPF was killed and another wounded on Tuesday in a militant attack in Srinagar city, police said. (Xinhua/Javed Dar)

SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, July 24 (Xinhua) -- A paramilitary trooper was killed and another wounded Tuesday after militants attacked them in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said.

The paramilitary troopers belonging to India's Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were attacked in Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"Today militants fired upon a CRPF party near Batmaloo here, during which two CRPF personnel were wounded," a senior police official posted in Srinagar told Xinhua. "Though the wounded were immediately removed to hospital, one of them succumbed to his wounds there."

According to police, the area was immediately cordoned off following the attack, however reports said militants managed to flee from the spot.

The region's indigenous militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for the attack.

A guerilla war is going on between militants and Indian troopers stationed in the region since 1989.

Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan, is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir.
VIENTIANE, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith on Tuesday suspended the planned government meeting and rushed to Sanamxay to monitor rescue and relief efforts for victims of a flash flood triggered by a dam collapse.

Several people were killed and hundreds are missing, while 6,600 remain homeless, according to Lao News Agency.

The collapse of the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower dam on Monday caused flash flooding in six villages of Sanamxay district, including Yai Thae, Hinlad, Mai, Thasengchan, Tha Hin, and Samong. Hinlad and Mai villages were hard-hit, according to Lao News Agency.

The under-construction dam collapsed at 8:00 p.m. local time (1300 GMT) on Monday, releasing 5 billion cubic meters of water in hours.

The Attapeu Provincial Administration Office has announced relief aid, such as clothing, food and drinking water, for flood victims.

Being constructed by Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy Power Company, a joint venture of South Korean, Thai and Lao companies, the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy hydroelectric power project is estimated to cost 1.02 billion U.S. dollars, and have an annual electricity generation of approximately 1,860 GWh.

Feasibility study for the hydroelectric project was completed in November 2008. Construction of the project began in February 2013 and commercial operations are expected to begin in 2018.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 22:30:54|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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GENEVA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) declared on Tuesday that the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) officially ends, but urged to extend this success to combatting other diseases in the country.

WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Regional Director for Africa Dr. Matshidiso Moeti joined DRC Minister of Health Dr. Oly Ilunga for the announcement in the capital Kinshasa.

"The outbreak was contained due to the tireless efforts of local teams, the support of partners, the generosity of donors, and the effective leadership of the Ministry of Health. That kind of leadership, allied with strong collaboration between partners, saves lives," Dr. Tedros said.

The WHO chief also urged the DRC government and the international community to build on the positive momentum generated by the quick containment of the Ebola outbreak.

"This effective response to Ebola should make the Government and partners confident that other major outbreaks affecting the country such as cholera and polio can also be tackled," he said. "We must continue to work together, investing in strengthened preparedness and access to healthcare for the most vulnerable."

According to Dr, Moeti, in addition the quick response from the WHO and DRC authorities, the success was also attributed to the "tremendous capacity of the African region." He revealed that more than three-quarters of the 360 people deployed to respond came from within the region, including dozens of experts from Guinea who spent weeks leading Ebola vaccination efforts there, transferring expertise which will enable the DRC to mount an effective response both within its borders and beyond.

The latest Ebola outbreak, which was initially reported on May 8, was the ninth outbreak in the country's history and the largest since the West African epidemic of 2013 to 2016. Unlike previous ones, this outbreak involved four separate locations, including an urban center with river connections to the capital and to neighboring countries, as well as remote rainforest villages. There were initial concerns that the disease could spread to other parts of the DRC and to neighboring countries.

From April 1 through July 3, a total of 53 Ebola virus disease cases, including 29 deaths, were reported from Equateur province, northwest of the DRC. On June 12, the last confirmed Ebola virus disease patient was discharged from a treatment center in the province.

During the outbreak, the WHO's operations in the DRC was funded by a total of 4 million U.S. dollars from its own Contingency Fund for Emergencies (CFE), while also appealing for 57 million dollars and receiving in total 63 million dollars from partners.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 22:35:55|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ADDIS ABABA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Tuesday launched an appeal for 22.2 million U.S. dollars to respond to the internal displacement crisis in Ethiopia's Gedeo and West Guji zones.

The UN migration agency revealed that since April this year some 970,000 people have fled their homes due to fighting between communities along the border of Ethiopia's Gedeo Zone in the Southern region and West Guji Zone in Ethiopia's largest Oromia region.

"The displaced communities in Gedeo and West Guji are in great need of humanitarian support to help them get through Ethiopia's cold and rainy season," said IOM's Director General William Lacy Swing.

Noting the vast majority were displaced in June alone, IOM also called on the international community to support the displaced people as well as the Ethiopian government's efforts in addressing the humanitarian needs of people affected by the latest inter-communal violence.

"The current funding levels for a sudden onset crisis of this scale - nearly 1 million people displaced in such a short period of time - are nowhere near acceptable," said Swing.

IOM, which has been scaling up its response in Gedeo and West Guji zones recently, also stressed that "urgent funding is required to continue to provide life-saving assistance."

According to IOM, many of the displaced people are staying with local communities, while others are sheltering at collective sites mainly schools, government properties and disused or unfinished buildings, while those staying in the local community also demand humanitarian assistance.

"The collective sites are overcrowded with thousands of people sheltering in buildings not fit for habitation and thousands more are sleeping outside on the muddy ground with only a sheet of tarpaulin to protect them from the cold and wet weather," the statement read.

"Both situations raise major concerns from protection and health perspectives," it added.

On Monday, eight international aid agencies revealed in a joint statement that at least 1 million people, the majority of whom being women and children, are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance following the recent inter-communal conflict in the two regions.

"They are in need of food, shelter, water and psycho-social support. Aid agencies warn that without a scale up of assistance, the situation of the IDPs is likely to further deteriorate," the joint statement indicated.

The UN's Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) earlier this month released 15 million U.S. dollars to urgently scale up humanitarian assistance to people affected by escalating inter-communal violence in Ethiopia.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 22:40:58|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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GAZA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau of the Islamic Hamas Movement, met on Tuesday with Nickolay Mladenov, UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, to discuss the ways to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

The meeting also touched upon Israel's newly approved nation-state law, and the repeated storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, according to a statement by Haniyeh's office.

Haniyeh called on the UN to intervene immediately to end these dangerous policies.

They reviewed the recent fund cuts and other serious measures against the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, as well as their humanitarian and political impact on the refugee issue.

It is the second meeting between Haniyeh and Mladenov this month.

Over the past few weeks, Israel carried out multiple airstrikes and artillery attacks on the Gaza Strip, killing and injuring dozens of Palestinians, while Palestinian factions fired barrages of rockets into southern Israel.

Meanwhile, at least 146 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since March 30, the first day of the ongoing Palestinian "Great March of Return" rally.

The anti-Israel rally demands the return of Palestinian refugees, who were forced to leave their homes during the Arab-Israeli war in 1948, and the lift of the blockade Israel has imposed on Gaza since 2007.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 22:45:59|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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NAIROBI, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Kenyans have become cautious as they transact cash on mobile phones following increase in fraud.

The fraudsters are threatening the fast-growing industry by devising new schemes through which they are defrauding the public millions of U.S. dollars.

The latest scheme involves Sim card swapping, through which the criminals call a subscriber pretending they are an employee of one of the leading telecoms.

They would then ask details that include Simcard password, nation identification number and name.

Using these details, they then replace the Simcard of the victims and use the new one to wipe money from the mobile and bank accounts.

Some subscribers have lost millions in the latest fraud that has rocked the sector and shows how the crime is morphing.

One person lost 20,000 dollars in a matter of hours after his SIM card was swapped by the fraudsters and the new ones used to commit the crime.

The money was wiped out from his two bank accounts, with police currently investigating the matter. For others, the fraudsters have taken loans from mobile credit firms in the victims' names, leaving a trail of agony.

The cases have sent a chill in the spine of the close to the 30 million mobile money subscribers across the East African nation.

"I had linked mobile money account to my bank account but I went to my bank last week and withdrew from the service to protect my money following increased fraud," Amos Muindi, a businessman in Nairobi, said Tuesday.

Muindi noted that some of victims are having their Sim cards replaced without even receiving any call from the fraudsters.

"The crime is complex. A friend woke up in the morning and found his SIM card blocked. After checking with the service provider, he found it had been replaced. The fraudsters then withdrew 1,500 dollars from his bank account and took a loan in his name which he is now repaying," he said.

But this is not the only form of fraud targeting the East African nation's residents.

In another schemes, the fraudsters are randomly 'flashing' people using international phone numbers.

Flashing is a term used in Kenya to mean someone calling a number and disconnecting before the person picks. Once one finds the missed call, when they call back, all their airtime is whipped out.

"I found a missed call from an international number and thought it was my sister studying in India who had called. I called back and all my 5 dollars airtime was wiped out in a second," said journalist Ahmed Mohammed.

Mobile phone fraud is taking root in the East African nation because of three things, according to Bernard Mwaso, a consultant with Edell IT Solutions in Nairobi.

First it is the huge volumes of cash moved through mobile phones. Last year, Kenyans transacted 36 million dollars on mobile phone, according to the Communication Authority.

Second is the low awareness on fraud among the people using the service, with the number of subscribers standing at 30 million.

And lastly, the linking of mobile money tobank accounts for convenience has made fraudsters devices new schemes to target subscribers knowing they can steal more.

Linked to the fraud as employees of the telecoms offering the service, with police arresting one last week.

Mwaso noted the fact that telecom employees are involved makes the crimes harder to fight. Last week police arrested an employee of leading telecom Safaricom over the fraud.

The Communication Authority last week issued an alert on SIM card swapping and warned against disclosing sensitive personal identification information to third parties.

Francis Wangusi, the Director General, noted disclosing information that can be used to distinguish or trace identity, such as mobile money PIN, national ID number, bank account PIN, password and date of birth exposed subscribers to fraud.

"Fraudsters want you to act first and think later. If the request conveys a sense of urgency, or uses high-pressure tactics be skeptical; never let their urgency influence your careful review," he added.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 22:46:01|Editor: Yurou

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BERLIN, July 24 (Xinhua) -- German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) has warned U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday to expect a firm response from the European Union (EU) to new protectionist measures.

Speaking during an appearance on the public broadcaster ARD, Maas said that he was still hopeful that the trade conflict could be resolved consensually. Nevertheless, Europe would not "allow itself to be threatened and would not simply surrender" if Trump chose to escalate the dispute further.

The German foreign minister argued that Washington would leave Brussels with no other choice than to retaliate against a raft of new U.S. tariffs. Otherwise, the credibility of the bloc and the wider system of rules-based free trade would suffer lasting damage.

Maas emphasized that it was crucial for Europe as a whole, but Germany and France in particular, to speak with one voice on trade in order to be heard on a global level. Member states which became divided on the issue would be at the mercy of greater non-European powers without having any effective say over their own future.

According to the German Social Democrat (SPD), no one could be seriously interested in the imposition of new and higher import tariffs as threatened again recently by the U.S. "At the end of the day, all sides will lose, including the American side", he said. He consequently hoped that Washington would ultimately renege and depart from the protectionist path which it had embarked upon.

The Federation of German Industries (BDI) recently argued that the key to resolving the U.S.-EU trade dispute lay in creating a "shared understanding of the facts." Amongst others, the bloc needed to highlight that the German automotive industry employed over 118,000 staff in the U.S. and exported 60 percent of its local production to different countries.

Maas is scheduled to make visits to South Korea and Japan in the coming days where he will also discuss the possibility of a joint response from the EU and other countries affected by new U.S. tariffs. On Wednesday, EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem are also scheduled to hold widely-anticipated direct talks with Trump in Washington.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 22:51:02|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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RIGA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The Latvian government on Tuesday endorsed draft legislation that would allow donating food past the "best before" date to charity, the association Civic Alliance-Latvia informed.

The association's director Kristine Zonberga said that the current regulation has been impeding the development of the donation culture in Latvia as businesses willing to donate food to charity are faced with various legal obstacles and burdened by additional tax expenses, which discourages them from participation in such charitable initiatives and increases the amount of food that is wastefully discarded.

The draft amendments to the law regulating the supervision of food distribution are welcome and extremely necessary for the development of the donation tradition in Latvia, Zonberga said.

Based on said amendments, government regulations will be drawn up to cover specific situations, product groups and rules for the distribution of food products that are past their "best before" date.

Civic Alliance-Latvia has urged government authorities to involve nongovernmental organizations in drafting these rules, arguing that their expertise is essential for preparing a high-quality, effective regulation that would allow retailers to donate food products to the poor in the best possible way.

Civic Alliance-Latvia is an umbrella organization uniting 127 nongovernmental groups in the Baltic country.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 23:01:05|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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NAIROBI, July 24 (Xinhua) -- A global maritime body on Tuesday urged foreign vessels to remain vigilant as they transit Gulf of Guinea amid persistent piracy risk in West Africa in the first six months.

The latest report by the International Chamber of Commerce's International Maritime Bureau (IMB) shows that all 2018 crew kidnappings have so far occurred in the Gulf of Guinea in six separate incidents.

According to the report, all 25 crew kidnappings reported this year have occurred over six incidents in the Gulf of Guinea, highlighting the higher risks in this area.

"The 2018 figures aptly demonstrate the value of timely and transparent reporting. The reports help to focus on risk areas, and to accurately inform vessels of evolving dangers and allow authorities to deliver an effective response," said Pottengal Mukundan, Director of IMB.

The report says a total of 107 incidents were reported to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) worldwide in the first six months of 2018.

In total, 69 vessels were boarded, with 23 attempted attacks, 11 vessels fired upon and four vessels hijacked, the IMB said, noting that no vessels were reported as hijacked in the second quarter of 2018.

"The number of crewmembers taken hostage increased from 63 to 102 compared to the same time period in 2017," said it said.

According to IMB, the number of crew kidnappings decreased from 41 by the second quarter in 2017 to 25 so far in 2018 and all occurred in the Gulf of Guinea.

The report says the true number of incidents in the Gulf of Guinea is believed to be "significantly higher" than what is reported to the IMB PRC.

The report says the number of 2018 incidents decreased in other piracy hotspots as there were no reported incidents recorded off the coast of Somalia in the second quarter of 2018.

"Masters are however again urged to continue to maintain high levels of vigilance when transiting the high-risk area and to follow the latest version of the best management practices," IMB said.

The African maritime industry, along the Indian Ocean, had been greatly affected by piracy that often raise the costs of shipping as insurance companies and private ship security companies increased their premiums to mitigate the risks.

According to IMB, piracy started declining from 2009. The shores of Africa remain attractive to pirates, with an estimated 90 percent of all its exports and imports moving across the high seas.

The piracy incident had also affected the shipping sector by rise of cost of insurance as shippers took extra covers for war risk, kidnap and ransom in addition to conventional underwriting of cargo and hull.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 23:01:05|Editor: Liangyu

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BEIJING, July 24 (Xinhua) -- As part of its fight against pornography and illegal publications, China confiscated more than 9.8 million illegal publications and dealt with 5,500 cases in the first half of this year.

According to an Office of the Fight Against Pornography and Illegal Publications statement on Tuesday, the relevant authorities also deleted more than 27 million harmful and pornographic online posts, and shut down over 62,000 websites and applications for publishing vulgar content.

A total of 565 of the cases were criminal ones, according to the statement.

"Notable progress was made in cleaning up the cultural market, protecting juveniles from harmful information and establishing a long-term supervisory mechanism," the statement said.

One of the highlights was a joint operation by authorities, including the agencies of culture, public security, and industry and information technology, to clean up online services such as live streaming, short video clips, microblogs, WeChat accounts, e-commerce platforms, online games and digital literature.

In two major cases in central China's Hunan Province and east China's Zhejiang Province, 163 and 200 suspects were respectively detained for distributing pornography through webcasting software.

Efforts were also made to crack down on child pornography. In a joint operation in January, the authorities deleted more than 370,000 posts containing child pornography and required major websites to conduct internal inspections, leading to the removal of more than 1.3 million suspicious links.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 23:06:06|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BRATISLAVA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Slovak city of Banska Bystrica and German city of Augsburg will cooperate in a joint international project marking the mining tradition of the two cities. Banska Bystrica spokesperson Zdenka Marhefkova informed on Tuesday.

The European Fuggerian Road project, which should include various mining towns and cities in Europe, is set to be launched in early 2019.

"Banska Bystrica supports its medieval industrial traditions from the Fuggerian period. We are glad that our working trip to Augsburg has launched the process within which we have been invited to cooperate on this unique cross-border project. It's an application that will map and promote the mining and copper history of all partner cities and offer further activities," stressed Marhefkova.

The project is named after Jakob Fugger (1459-1525), a major German merchant, mining entrepreneur and banker who was among the richest people in the world at the end of the Middle Ages partly thanks to his silver and copper mines, some of which were located in the Central Slovakia, in Banska Bystrica, Kremnica and Banska Stiavnica.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 23:11:07|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIJING, July 24 (Xinhua) -- China's foreign exchange regulator dealt with 1,354 forex-related violation cases in the first half of this year, up 19.7 percent year on year, an official statement said Tuesday.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange said in an online statement that it fined and confiscated a total of 345 million yuan (50.8 million U.S. dollars), nearly 60 percent higher than the same period last year.

Among those cases, 559 were committed by individuals, 455 by financial institutions, while the rest were by enterprises.

The regulator has stepped up inspections of financial institutions to ensure a healthy and orderly forex market.

The administration said it would continue to crack down on market irregularities such as fraud and underground bank cases to safeguard economic and financial security.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 23:11:07|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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GAZA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of Palestinian children demonstrated on Tuesday in the northern Gaza Strip, demanding an end to the 11-year Israeli blockade on the Hamas-ruled territory.

The demonstration, called by the National Commission for the Great March of Return, was held near the Israel-controlled Beit Hanoun checkpoint.

Gaza has been placed under a tight Israeli blockade since Islamic Hamas movement seized the territory by force in 2007 after routing forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas.

The blockade has pushed Gaza's two million people deeper into poverty with growing unemployment rates.

Demonstrators, including bed-ridden sick children, raised Palestinian flags and pictures of their peers who were shot dead by the Israeli army during the previous protests.

The children also raised banners denouncing Israeli crimes, and released balloons bearing messages to the world in several languages demanding an end to the Israeli blockade.

"We are here to demand the lift of the siege and the right of treatment as well as a decent life for people in Gaza," Ibrahim al-Masri, a child lying on his sickbed, told Xinhua.

"The children participation is a continuation of the March of Return to demand the international community to assume its responsibilities and lift the unjust siege imposed on Gaza," said Raed Ghabayin, one of the organizers of the protest.

The children came here to send a message to the international community to demand a decent life and the simplest basic rights such as food, medicine, clean water and free movement, he added.

At least 146 Palestinians, including 20 children, have been killed by Israeli fire since March 30, the first day of the ongoing Palestinian "Great March of Return" rally against Israel's 11-year crippling blockade and the U.S. embassy move to the disputed holy city of Jerusalem.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 23:11:07|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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LJUBLJANA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Four Syrian families with 21 members arrived in Maribor, the second largest city of Slovenia to settle down on Tuesday as the first group of refugees to be resettled from Turkey.

According to the Slovenian Press Agency STA, one of the families will be settled at the Maribor integration house, and the other three in apartments operated by the the Government Office for the Support and Integration of Migrants.

They all enjoy international protection and over the next few months they will need to get prepared for independent life in Slovenia, the STA report said quoting the office.

They will be assisted by means of a program helping them to acquire basic Slovenian language skills, obtain the required documents and learn practically about everyday life in Slovenia.

Once they have undergone this orientation programme, they will be involved in programmes helping them to get included in Slovenian society, said the STA.

The children will be enrolled in schools or kindergartens, while the adults, who are educated, have expressed a wish to find a job as soon as possible, so they will get an employment counsellor.

Persons enjoying international protection have a right to live in Slovenia and are eligible for a private accommodation allowance, health and social care, a job, education, integration assistance and for being told about their rights and duties, according to the country's law.

The group who arrived in Slovenia on Tuesday is the first to come under an EU resettlement scheme under the sponsorship of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, where refugees are transferred from third countries.

The Slovenian government adopted a plan for Slovenia to accept 20 persons from third countries in March 2016, following up in August 2016 with a decision to accept 40 Syrians from Turkey.

With 10,000 euros (11,639 U.S. dollars) for each resettled refugee from EU funds, Slovenia has pledged not only to resettle the refugees but also to help them integrate into Slovenian society, according to an earlier report by the Slovenian daily Delo (labor).
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 23:21:09|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic (R) meets with visiting Israeli President Reuven Rivlin in Zagreb, capital of Croatia, on July 24, 2018. (Xinhua/Patrik Macek)

ZAGREB, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic and visiting Israeli President Reuven Rivlin vowed to strengthen bilateral ties here on Tuesday.

Grabar-Kitarovic, after official talks with Rivlin, said she expects that the contract on the Croatian purchase of 12 Israeli F-16 Barak fighter jets will be signed in the fall.

"Procurement of Israeli airplanes is the start of more intensive military cooperation between the two countries, and we expect a significant increase in trade, which now amounts to only 50 million U.S. dollars a year," said Grabar-Kitarovic.

The Croatian president stressed that Israel has a friendly and trusted partner in Croatia.

"Today we have to face the threat of hatred and terror and we have to work together to make sure our people are safe. We will defend our nations and values, and we will do it together", said the Israeli president.

Reuven Rivlin was also received by Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Tuesday when they discussed the improvement of economic cooperation, above all in agriculture.

Presidents Rivlin and Grabar-Kitarovic will on Wednesday visit the site of Jasenovac concentration camp, where tens of thousands of Jews and Serbs were killed during the Second World War.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 23:36:11|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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VILNIUS, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The European Union does not want to punish the United Kingdom, however it will be difficult to restore harmonious bilateral relations as Brexit negotiations with the current UK government are complicated, Linas Linkevicius, Lithuania's minister of foreign affairs, said on Tuesday.

"It is a very complicated process, the UK government is really divided. Key Brexit ministers, the secretary of foreign affairs Boris Johnson and Brexit secretary David Davis have resigned. Even if other members of the cabinet look united, it is obvious that there is a lot of discontent among Brexit ideologists," Linkevicius said in an interview with local radio broadcaster Ziniu Radijas.

In his words, "the gap between so called hard and soft Brexit is not abating."

"In such a situation it is difficult for the UK to speak with Brussels. Obviously, the outcome without agreement would have grave consequences," the minister underlined.

There will be no winners after the Brexit process is finished, Linkevicius added.

"The goal is to find a rational decision. We are seeking for rational and bilaterally beneficious future relationship between the EU and the UK. However, without any doubts, they will be never as close as during the UK's membership in the EU," Linkevicius said.

Earlier in July, Brexit secretary David Davis and UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson resigned from the UK government amid growing political crisis over the UK's Brexit strategy.

The EU and UK expect to finish Brexit negotiations in fall 2018. The UK is to leave the EU on March 29, 2019.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 23:36:11|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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A house is seen burning amid wildfire in the town of Kineta near Athens, Greece, July 23, 2018. Western and Eastern Attica were declared in state of emergency by local authorities on Monday as three major wildfires were raging in suburbs and seaside resorts near the Greek capital, forcing hundreds of residents to abandon their homes and seek refuge by the sea, Greek national news agency AMNA reported. (Xinhua/Lefteris Partsalis)

ATHENS, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The number of killed in the devastating fires near Athens was revised upward to 74 on Tuesday afternoon, while the search for more victims continued in Attica's eastern coast, Greek national news agency AMNA reported.

The number of injured stood at 187, according to the latest official announcement by the fire brigade press spokesperson Stavroula Mallidi.

A still unclear number of persons was missing.

Earlier Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called for three days of national mourning, pledging that the victims will not be forgotten and fire-stricken survivors will not be left without help.

The country faces since Monday one of the deadliest blazes in more than a decade.

Most casualties were reported at the seaside resorts of Neos Voutzas and Mati, some 35 kilometers east of the Greek capital, as people got trapped in the flames or drowned while trying to escape by swimming at the sea.

At least 715 persons were transferred to safety to the nearby port of Rafina by dozens of Greek Coast Guard vessels and private boats, authorities said.

Some 1,000 houses and 300 cars have been destroyed, according to initial estimates by local authorities.

Eastern Attica has been declared in state of emergency as well as western Attica, where a large fire also burnt a pine forest and dozens of homes near the resort town of Kineta, 50 kilometers west of Athens.

A third blaze at Kalamos resort town to the north which broke seven hours after the first fire at Kineta, also forced hundreds of people to flee their homes.

All blazes were partially put under control by Tuesday, but firefighters were still battling flare ups, according to the Fire Service.

At least 47 fires broke out across Greece on Monday and Tuesday, the Fire Service said.

The Greek government has raised questions about arson, as fires started in many sites in parallel as winds reaching up to 9 on the Beaufort scale were blowing in the area.

Greece has received messages of condolences and offers of support to address the crisis from across the globe, the government said.

Meanwhile Greek citizens were responding to the pleas of authorities to donate blood for the injured and collect emergency supplies, such as medicines, baby milk, packaged food products and bottled water.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 23:46:13|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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MOSCOW, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump may meet on the sidelines of international events, and no preparations are underway for a proposed summit between them in Washington, the Kremlin said Tuesday.

The two leaders will possibly meet at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires later this year and there are other options as well, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.

Ushakov said that a few days after the Putin-Trump meeting on July 16 in Helsinki, U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton proposed a next meeting between the two presidents in Washington by the end of the year.

But no practical preparations for this meeting have begun, he said, adding that Putin has no plans yet to participate in the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly scheduled to open on Sept. 18.
JAKARTA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian Military Commander Marshall Hadi Tjahjanto said on Tuesday that more troops will be deployed to ensure forest fires don't become a problem in South Sumatra province during the Asiad held in the province's capital of Palembang.

"Now the personnel deployed by the provincial military command is enough to anticipate the forest fires," Hadi said during his visit to the province to inspect the handling of current forest fires in the province.

Besides engaging troops, police and volunteers to carry out surveillance, Hadi said a joint operation carried out by the provincial police and military personnel will be conducted to arrest those inciting fires in the forest.

As of Tuesday, some 240 hectares of land was affected by forest fires in the last few days, according to data released by the monitoring center.

Should the forest fire continue to take place in those areas, it is feared that the haze from the forest fire could harm athletes.

Palembang and Indonesia's capital of Jakarta will jointly host the 18th Asian Games from August 18 to September 2.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-24 23:51:15|Editor: Liangyu

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) meets with Tadamori Oshima, speaker of the House of Representatives of the Japanese parliament in Beijing, capital of China, July 24, 2018. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

BEIJING, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday met with Tadamori Oshima, speaker of the House of Representatives of the Japanese parliament, calling for a healthy and stable bilateral relationship.

"Healthy and stable China-Japan ties are beneficial to the two countries and their peoples, as well as regional and global peace, stability and prosperity," Li said.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the signing of China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship. Li said both sides should follow the four political documents signed between the two countries and implement their consensus to promote bilateral ties along the right track.

As major economies in the world, China and Japan are also the beneficiaries of free trade. The two countries should safeguard multilateralism, and advocate rules-based international order and free trade system, he said.

"China will continue its opening-up, relax market access and welcome foreign companies, including Japanese companies to expand their cooperation with China," Li said, adding that China is willing to work with Japan to strengthen cooperation in innovation-driven development and third-party markets.

He also called for more parliamentary exchanges to enhance understanding and mutual trust.

Oshima said Japan is willing to promote bilateral ties by "following the four political documents signed between the two countries and in the spirit of taking history as a mirror to guide the future."

"The Japanese side is willing to work with China to strengthen exchanges between legislative bodies to promote a steady development of bilateral ties," Oshima said.

Wang Chen, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), also met with Oshima on Tuesday.

Wang said the legislative organs of the two countries could deepen cooperation to facilitate culture, youth and people-to-people exchanges in order to consolidate public support for bilateral ties.

Oshima said the House of Representatives of the Japanese parliament is ready to work with the NPC to play a role in developing Japan-China relations.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-25 00:01:18|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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LISBON, 24 July (Xinhua) -- The Portuguese Government deeply regrets on Tuesday the loss of dozens of lives in the deadly forest fires near Greek capital Athens, which have killed at least 74 people.

The Portuguese government expresses its deepest condolences to the families of the victims in the fires, the government said in a statement.

Portuguese government, through the Embassy in Athens, has been in contact with the Greek authorities, in order to follow the situation and expresses its full solidarity with the Greek people and government, the statement concluded.

The Greek authorities confirmed that at least 74 people have been killed in the huge forest fires near Athens, and 187 others injured, including 23 children.
Palestinian children hold pictures of their peers shot dead by Israeli army, in a protest against Israel's blockade on the Gaza Strip, in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, on July 24, 2018. (Xinhua/Stringer)

GAZA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of Palestinian children demonstrated on Tuesday in the northern Gaza Strip, demanding an end to the 11-year Israeli blockade on the Hamas-ruled territory.

The demonstration, called by the National Commission for the Great March of Return, was held near the Israel-controlled Beit Hanoun checkpoint.

Gaza has been placed under a tight Israeli blockade since Islamic Hamas movement seized the territory by force in 2007 after routing forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas.

The blockade has pushed Gaza's two million people deeper into poverty with growing unemployment rates.

Demonstrators, including bed-ridden sick children, raised Palestinian flags and pictures of their peers who were shot dead by the Israeli army during the previous protests.

The children also raised banners denouncing Israeli crimes, and released balloons bearing messages to the world in several languages demanding an end to the Israeli blockade.

Palestinian children hold banners denouncing Israel, in a protest against Israel's blockade on the Gaza Strip, in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, on July 24, 2018. (Xinhua/Stringer)

"We are here to demand the lift of the siege and the right of treatment as well as a decent life for people in Gaza," Ibrahim al-Masri, a child lying on his sickbed, told Xinhua.

"The children participation is a continuation of the March of Return to demand the international community to assume its responsibilities and lift the unjust siege imposed on Gaza," said Raed Ghabayin, one of the organizers of the protest.

The children came here to send a message to the international community to demand a decent life and the simplest basic rights such as food, medicine, clean water and free movement, he added.

At least 146 Palestinians, including 20 children, have been killed by Israeli fire since March 30, the first day of the ongoing Palestinian "Great March of Return" rally against Israel's 11-year crippling blockade and the U.S. embassy move to the disputed holy city of Jerusalem.
KATHMANDU, July 24 (Xinhua) -- A Nepalese cabinet minister on Tuesday stepped down from the post following his controversial statement on Nepali female students.

Minister for Law and Justice Sher Bahadur Tamang resigned following his remarks that Nepali female students studying medical courses in Bangladesh were forced to become victims of sexual exploitation to acquire their academic degrees.

Major opposition Nepali Congress party and women rights activists had lashed out at the minister, arguing that the minister's remarks had offended the dignity of the entire Nepali women.

The minister announced his resignation at a press conference in the capital Tuesday afternoon.

Minister Tamang told reporters that he stepped down from the post on moral ground following controversies regarding his statement.

He said he did not have any mala-fide intention to give such statement.

"I have been committed to protect women's rights throughout my life and believe that women should not be victim of any kind of violence... I am deeply disappointed that my statement was unnecessarily exaggerated in social media in the past few days," the minister said.

The minister burst into tears during the press conference and offered apology, saying "please forgive me if I have hurt your sentiments."

Earlier on Tuesday, the Nepal Communist Party, in which Tamang belongs to, asked him to resign from the post.

Tamang has been the cabinet minister since the formation of the new government under the leadership of K.P. Sharma Oli in February this year.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-25 00:21:21|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ROME, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Italy has offered two firefighting planes to battle deadly wildfires in Greece, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Tuesday.

The devastating blazes have been raging since Monday in the Attica region near Athens, reportedly claiming scores of lives.

"Deeply shaken by the deaths of so many people due to wildfires in Greece," Conte tweeted. "Italy stands with the Greek people and has taken action by making two Canadair (planes) available."

Italy's foreign ministry has activated an emergency number and said on Twitter that it is working with its embassy in Athens" for verifications with local authorities and assistance to fellow Italians."

Speaking to RAI News24 public broadcaster over the phone, Italian Ambassador to Greece Efisio Luigi Marras said it is too soon to tell whether any Italians have been hurt but that "we can't rule anything out."
CHICAGO, July 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson reported on Tuesday a 6.4 percent profit drop in the second quarter, and warned further damage from trade war.

Harley-Davidson said its second quarter net income fell to 242.3 million U.S. dollars, from 258.9 million a year earlier.

Its U.S. retail sales in the second quarter of 2018 were down 6.4 percent to 46,490 vehicles, while international retail sales were slightly up 0.7 percent, compared to the same period of 2017. Overall, the second quarter retail motorcycle sales deceased 3.6 percent year on year to 78,428 vehicles.

The motorcycle maker also adjusted its outlook for 2018, saying the motorcycle segment operating margin will drop to between 9 percent and 10 percent, given the expected impact of tariffs.

The European Union has slapped an additional 25 percent tariff on Harley-Davidson motorcycles made in the United States, in retaliation against President Donald Trump's protectionist measures.

To minimize the impact of trade war, Harley-Davidson has decided to move the production of motorcycles destined for Europe, its second largest market, from U.S. factories to Thailand and other countries.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-25 01:06:28|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TIRANA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Albanian leaders expressed on Tuesday the solidarity and their condolences for the bereaved families of the victims of wildfires in Greece, local media reported.

Albanian President Ilir Meta addressed a letter to his Greek counterpart Prokopis Pavlopoulos, expressing his sincere condolences.

"I pray that there will be no other casualties in humans and that the wildfires will soon be under control by the Greek fire authorities. I assure you that in these difficult moments, I and the Albanian people are with you and the citizens of Athens and all of Greece," Meta wrote in the letter.

Meanwhile, the Albanian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Europe Ditmir Bushati wrote that he wishes the quick recovery of those affected by the tragedy.

"At this difficult moment, we stand by our neighbor, Greece, and express our condolences to the families of the victims. We wish quick recovery to the affected people," stated Bushati.

Bushati declared that there is one Albanian citizen injured by the fires in Greece, who is in hospital and out of risk for life.

The Albanian Assembly Speaker Gramoz Ruci also sent a letter to his Greek counterpart, Nikos Voutsis.

"We wish you to pass this difficult situation as soon as possible. All Albanians with the Greek people in these severe moments; pain, solidarity and love for the Greek families," said Ruci.

Currently, the situation of fires on the outskirts of Athens is quieter, and more than 70 casualties have been reported.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-25 01:21:33|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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JUBA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- International medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said Tuesday it has suspended majority of its activities in South Sudan's Maban area after a violent attack on aid workers and facilities on Monday.

MSF head of mission in South Sudan Samuel Theodore also condemned the brutal attack and called for the respect and protection of humanitarian workers and health facilities.

"Despite the attack to our facilities, our team on the ground will keep ensuring life-saving treatment to patients suffering from the most critical medical conditions," said Theodore in a statement issued in Juba.

"However, as the safety of healthcare personnel and facilities cannot be guaranteed, we have no other choice but to suspend the rest of our activities, which will leave 88,000 people with limited access to much-needed medical services," he added.

A group of unidentified armed men on Monday broke into MSF office and compound, looting the organization and staff's properties, burning down a tent full of equipment and destroying most of the vehicles and communication devices.

Theodore confirmed that no MSF staff were injured during the attack, which happened after a peaceful protest by local youth in Maban county turned violent.

According to the medical charity, the MSF team is now safe and the organization is currently monitoring the situation.

Theodore said the attack has forced MSF to suspend the majority of its medical support to the host communities and the refugee population in Maban area, where the organization operates a primary and secondary healthcare hospital in Doro refugee camp and ensures primary healthcare consultations in Bunj State Hospital.

According to the UN, thousands of humanitarians are providing aid to millions of people in South Sudan affected by war, hunger and disease in one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-25 01:26:35|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The UN General Assembly on Tuesday paid tribute to two of its previous presidents who died recently.

The General Assembly, which is currently in its 72nd session, mourned the death of Dante Maria Caputo of Argentina, president of the 43rd session of the assembly (1988), and Theo-Ben Gurirab of Namibia, president of the 54th session (1999).

Miroslav Lajcak, the current General Assembly president, noted the great contributions of the two to a global endeavor to maintain peace, uphold human rights and promote justice and social progress.

"While we mourn their passing, we can preserve their legacy through our actions and commitment to the course of multilateralism and the Untied Nations," said Lajcak in a speech read on his behalf by a vice president of the General Assembly at a plenary meeting.

The UN General Assembly is a major organ of the United Nations, and the only one in which all member states have equal representation. It approves the budget of the United Nations, elects the nonpermanent members of the Security Council, members of the UN Human Rights Council, judges of the International Court of Justice, and makes recommendations in the form of General Assembly resolutions.

The General Assembly president is elected annually by UN member states.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-25 01:26:35|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ADDIS ABABA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Police in Ethiopia's northern Amhara regional state on Tuesday announced the arrest of 50 people for their suspected involvement in a mosque violence that injured six people.

Getachew Muye, chief inspector of Dessie city police department, said the violence happened on Monday evening when rival groups armed with sticks clashed over the ownership of a local mosque, reported state media Ethiopia News Agency.

He further said police is conducting discussions with the local Muslim community to prevent the recurrence of the violence in the city.

A witness told Xinhua the mosque violence involved members of an Al-Ahbash Islamic sect and members of a mainstream Islamic sect.

The Al-Ahbash sect portrays itself as a moderate bulwark against a rise in ultra-conservative Salafi interpretation of Islam among Ethiopia's Muslim population.

Muslims make up about 33 percent of Ethiopia's population of around 100 million and are generally well integrated into the wider Ethiopian society, although in recent years the Ethiopian government has warned of a danger of rise in extremism among a section of the Muslim community.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-25 01:31:36|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ADDIS ABABA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki on Tuesday reiterated their strong commitment towards sustaining the historic peace agreement that ended two decades of armed standoff among the two East African countries.

In a joint statement issued after a tripartite meeting held in Abu Dhabi, the UAE, on Tuesday between Ahmed and Afwerki hosted by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, the three leaders hailed the peace agreement as a "historic peace deal."

After 20 years of hostility, Ethiopia and Eritrea resumed diplomatic relations this month. On July 8, Ethiopia's Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, made a landmark visit to the Red Sea nation and a week after, Eritrea's President, Isaias Afwerki, paid a visit to Ethiopia.

Leaders of the two countries have agreed to end the situation and forge closer political, economic and social connections.

Amid the easing tensions, telecom services between the two countries have resumed, and Eritrea has reopened its embassy in Addis Ababa. Ethiopian Airlines also started regular flights to Asmara last week.

The three leaders noted that the peace accord among East Africa's long-time rivals has paved the way for improved bilateral relations and contributes to the security and stability of the two countries, the Horn of Africa and the wider region, according to the joint statement.

The three countries further called upon the international community to support this historic and constructive agreement to promote peace, stability and development.

Zayed "praised the wisdom of President Afwerki and Prime Minister Ahmed, and commended the bold historic step that led to the signing of a peace agreement between the two countries, which reflects their astute statesmanship and paves the way for years of stability, development and prosperity for the neighboring countries," the joint statement read.

The UAE further affirmed its support for the peace agreement between the two countries.

Following Eritrea's separation from Ethiopia in 1991, a border dispute had contributed to two years of armed conflict starting in 1998, which killed more than 70,000 people from both sides.

The UN Development Program (UNDP) Resident Representative and UN Humanitarian Coordinator to Ethiopia, Ahunna Eziakonwa-Onochie, recently dubbed Ethiopian and Eritrean leaders decision as a role model to the international community.

"We are facing a world where many leaders are not promoting this kind of reconciliation and bridge building," Eziakonwa-Onochie said.

"The two countries, in agreeing to this peace deal, have demonstrated leadership that we need to tell the world not to build walls between the hearts of families, communities and nations," she added.

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS), an African non-profit organization, in its latest publication has also indicated that the "entire Horn of Africa region will benefit" from the restart of good relations among the two East African nations.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-25 01:41:39|Editor: Yurou

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Photo taken on July 24, 2018 from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights shows explosions on the Syrian side near the ceasefire line between Syria and Israel. Israel targeted a Syrian warplane on Tuesday, leaving a pilot killed and another missing, a monitor group reported. The Israeli air defenses fired two missiles toward the warplane, which was striking rebel positions in southern Syria, and destroyed it, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. (Xinhua/JINI/Gil Eliyahu)

DAMASCUS, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Israel targeted a Syrian warplane on Tuesday, leaving a pilot killed and another missing, a monitor group reported.

The Israeli air defenses fired two missiles toward the warplane, which was striking rebel positions in southern Syria, and destroyed it, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The search for the second pilot is underway, the London-based watchdog added.

Earlier in the day, the Israeli army said its air defenses intercepted a Syrian Sukhoi plane penetrating into the Golan Heights.

Two Patriot missiles were later fired at the fighter jet after it penetrated 2 km into northern Israel, it added.

State news agency SANA also reported the Israeli attack, saying the warplane was flying inside the Syrian airspace when it was hit.

The warplane was targeting positions of ultra-radical groups in southern Syria near the Israel-occupied Golan Heights, SANA said.

The incident comes two days after Israeli warplanes targeted a Syrian military position in the city of Mesyaf in the central province of Hama, the latest in a spate of attacks Israel has carried out against military positions inside Syria on the pretext of wiping out Iranian fighters and weapons.

The Syrian airstrikes have been targeting the Islamic State (IS) positions in southwestern Daraa near the Golan Heights.

The pro-government Al-Ekhbariah TV said the Syrian army captured all areas between Daraa and the Israel-occupied Golan Heights except an estimated 50-square-km IS-controlled area.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-25 01:56:43|Editor: Liangyu

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SHENZHEN, July 24 (Xinhua) -- A senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has called for advances in judicial system reform.

Guo Shengkun, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee, made the call at a meeting on pushing judicial reform, held in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province.

Guo spoke of the need to make progress in rule of law and building a socialist judicial system with Chinese characteristics.

He stressed the absolute leadership of the Party and a people-centered approach to reform. He also emphasized that the system needed to be well-organized, effective and professional.

Meanwhile, at the meeting, courts and procuratorates are ordered to further streamline structures to let more judicial personnel work at the forefront of case-handling.

The Internet court should expand its pilot areas and a state-level system can be explored to hear appeals of intellectual property cases, according to the meeting. The public interest litigation system should be reformed while the establishment of a prosecutor assistant system can be tested.

Police departments need to be restructured. Areas of deepening reform also include government legislation, administrative review, prisons, community correction, and compulsory isolated drug rehabilitation.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-25 01:56:44|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, July 24 (Xinhua) -- UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov on Tuesday reiterated his "call to all in Gaza to step back from the brink," saying "those who seek to provoke Israelis and Palestinians to war must not succeed."

In his briefing to the UN Security Council, Mladenov said it has taken an intense effort at preventive diplomacy by the UN and Egypt to make sure that both Israel and Hamas step back from the brink and from potentially a fourth military confrontation in Gaza over past decade.

On Friday, four Palestinians were killed and some 210 Palestinians wounded during fierce fighting between Israel and Hamas, the Islamic movement that rules Gaza. The fighting, triggered by the killing of an Israeli soldier, was the most serious one in the Gaza Strip since the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict that killed thousands.

Also, since late March when the Palestinians staged the Great March of Return protests, the death toll of protesters has exceeded 140. The movement, which peak every Friday, demands the return of Palestinian refugees and the lift of the blockade Israel has imposed on Gaza.

In Tuesday's briefing, Mladenov identified the root causes of "this man-made catastrophe" -- intractable conflict, over 50 years of occupation, and over a decade of Hamas control of Gaza, Palestinian division and a crippling Israeli closure regime.

He said for four years, the UN has urged concerted action to address these causes but little has been achieved. "The underlying dynamics have not improved. The humanitarian crisis has deepened, political stalemate between Hamas and Fatah has worsened, and the prospect of another deadly round of violence is growing by the day."

The UN envoy said he has been in engagement with Israel and the Palestinians as well as regional and international partners to reduce tensions, to address humanitarian challenges and to support the Egyptian-led intra-Palestineian reconciliation process.

After Friday's fierce fighting, Hamas announced it had reached a ceasefire agreement with Israel as a result of efforts led by Egypt and the UN.

In closing, Mladenov reaffirmed the goal of reaching a broader Israeli-Palestinian peace on basis of two-state solution, in which Gaza is an integral part of future Palestinian state.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-25 02:11:47|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CAIRO, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi witnessed on Tuesday the inauguration of several power stations across the country, including one in the New Administrative Capital City near the capital of Cairo.

The Egyptian president attended the televised inauguration ceremony of the new capital's power station, and inaugurated two other stations in Beni Suef and Kafr el-Sheikh provinces via video conferences.

The three power plants, built by Germany's giant Siemens corporation, will add 14.4 gigawatts of power generation capacity to Egypt's national grid, which is enough to supply 40 million people with reliable electricity.

Sisi also inaugurated through video conference the second phase of the wind power plant of Jebel al-Zayt in the Red Sea province as well as four substations in Cairo, Beheira, Minya and Aswan provinces.

Egyptian Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker said at the ceremony that the total cost of power projects in Egypt since mid-2014 has reached about 515 billion pounds (about 28.8 billion U.S. dollars).

Egyptians used to complain about recurrent power outages before the recent upgrade of the country's national grid in the past four years.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-25 02:21:49|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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KIGALI, July 24 (Xinhua) -- China remains a sincere partner for most of African countries, Rwandan experts told Xinhua in recent interviews.

China and Rwanda enjoy a long history of friendship and fruitful cooperation in various sectors such as business, health, education, tourism, infrastructure, said Ismael Buchanan, Dean of the School of Economics and Governance at the University of Rwanda.

"China is a sincere partner for most of African countries," said Buchanan, who recognized China's long-time support of Rwanda and Africa.

He observed that the relations between China and Rwanda, China and Africa are based on principles of mutual respect, improving people's livelihood and promoting development.

Eric Ndushabandi, director of Kigali-based Institute of Research and Dialogue for Peace, said China is becoming a more major source of investment in Africa.

The past 40 years has seen Chinese investment in Africa grow from scratch to a cumulative stock of 110 billion U.S. dollars, Assistant Foreign Minister of China Chen Xiaodong said earlier this month at the opening ceremony of the Seventh China-Africa Think Tank Forum in Beijing.

"China is offering more credible alternative to the more traditional investments by Western countries," said Ndushabandi.

Ndushabandi suggested Africa can be a destination of China to export practical knowledge in various sectors such as mining and agriculture.

According to Ndushabandi, African countries weary of harsh conditions attached to loans from the IMF, the World Bank and Western donors can take advantage of China's support to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

China has participated in infrastructure construction in East Africa in key projects such as standard gauge railways, highways and power plants, which Ndushabandi believes can be a powerful tool in deepening regional integration.

On Rwanda, Ndushabandi said China offers a good opportunity for the country to benefit in various aspects, noting agriculture as one of major sectors that have greater potential for exporting to China.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-25 02:31:51|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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PRAGUE, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The Czech government approved to provide a donation of 25 million crowns (about 1.13 million U.S. dollars) to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) for fighting illegal migration, said Prime Minister Andrej Babis at a press conference on Tuesday after a government meeting.

Czech Interior Ministry will provide the money through its "on-site assistance" program.

The ministry said that the money will be used by BiH's Security Ministry to buy the necessary border protection equipment such as thermal imaging cameras, telescopes, drones, torches, heartbeat detectors, and so on.

Interior Minister Jan Hamacek said it is clear that there is a new migration route to the EU leads through BiH. One of the long-term priority of Czech Interior Ministry is to keep the Western Balkan route closed. That is why the ministry decided to provide the donation.

According to information from the International Organization for Migration, more than 7,000 migrants arrived in BiH from the beginning of the year to June 21, with around 2,500 of them remaining in the country. (1 U.S. dollar = 22.06 crowns)
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-25 02:31:51|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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RABAT, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Morocco and the United States vowed on Tuesday to further strengthen security cooperation, said a statement by the Moroccan defence ministry.

The Moroccan minister in charge of national defence, Abdeltif Loudyi, met with the visiting U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Robert Karem, in Moroccan capital Rabat, lauding the "solidity, excellence and sustainability of the strategic partnership" between the two countries, the statement said.

During the meeting, the two sides voiced willingness to develop their long-standing relations, especially in modernizing defense systems, capacity building and interoperability.

They also exchanged views on the regional security situation, particularly in the Mediterranean region and the Sahel-Saharan strip, the source said.

Meanwhile, the two officials reviewed the bilateral cooperation in training personnel, exchanging expertise and organizing joint exercises.

The U.S. official is leading a large delegation on a two-day visit to Morocco.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-25 02:36:51|Editor: Yurou

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TEHRAN, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Armed Forces are highly prepared to give response to any threat at any level against the Islamic republic, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Mohammad Baqeri vowed on Tuesday.

The Iranian nation has maintained its unity over the past four decades in dealing with the enemies, particularly the "criminal United States" and the Zionist regime of Israel, Baqeri was quoted as saying by Press TV.

The Iranians have succeeded in thwarting all the enemy's plots and achieved a decisive victory against them, he said.

Following U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to quit the historic Iran nuclear pact on May 8, the U.S. vowed to re-impose sanctions lifted under the accord against Iran and punish countries that have business links with the Islamic country.

The U.S. has also demanded all countries stop oil imports from Iran starting from Nov. 4, in an attempt to suffocate its economy. In response, Iran has threatened to block the Hormuz Strait, the main transporting route for oil exports of the Gulf countries.

Iran has never waged a war against any country and wants peace and stability in the region, Baqeri said, adding that the Islamic republic has maintained cordial relations with its neighboring states and helped to promote regional peace.

"As the dominant power in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, (Iran) has always been the guarantor of the security of shipping and the global economy in this vital waterway and has the power to take actions against any scheme in this region," Baqeri said.

Baqeri's remarks came amid a war of words between the leaders of the U.S. and Iran.

Trump on Sunday warned Iran in a tweet against threatening the U.S. again, or will "suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before."

Trump's capitalized tweet came after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned Washington not to "play with the lion's tail" because a war with Iran will be "the mother of all wars."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-25 02:56:55|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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LJUBLJANA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Two separate attempts in four days to smuggle illegal immigrants by vans have been stopped by Slovenian police, according to the Slovenian Press Agency on Tuesday.

A van with 31 illegal migrants onboard was stopped by Slovenian police after it crossed its southern border with Croatia near Crnomelj on Monday evening.

The attempted smuggling of what are citizens of Pakistan, Afghanistan and India was conducted by two men from Croatia and Serbia, according to the police.

On Friday last week, a pair of smugglers were apprehended by Slovenian police in the border area of Krsko with Croatia after it turned out that one of them transported 34 migrants in a van in inhumane conditions.

The Bela Krajina region in the southeast has been a key point of entry into Slovenia on the Balkan migration route, while the coastal area around Koper and near Italy has also seen a lot of migrant smuggling.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-25 03:01:57|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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DAMASCUS, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The bodies of 16 soldiers, who had been killed in battles against the rebels, were uncovered on Tuesday in the southern province of Daraa, a monitor group reported.

The soldiers were killed in the battles in 2013 in the Sahweh area in the southeastern countryside of Daraa near the Busra al-Sham area, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The mass graves were found after the Syrian army captured over 90 percent of Daraa amid an ongoing military campaign that has dragged on since June 19.

The watchdog group said the Syrian army has unearthed nearly 1,100 bodies of slain soldiers across the country since April.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-25 03:17:04|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ANKARA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Turkey is gearing up for seeking reconciliation with the European Union (EU) following President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's victory in the June 24 elections.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Tuesday vowed to restore ties with its European partners, which have been strained by tension in the past few years.

"In the new term, we will make further efforts to resolve current problems," Cavusoglu was quoted by local media as saying.

"Normalization with the Netherlands has already started. We have good dialogue with France. In the upcoming period we will realize tripartite and quartet meetings in Europe," he said.

In the past few years, especially after the 2016 failed coup, Turkey's ties with its European partners, including Germany, Netherlands and Austria, have deteriorated due to the campaign tours by Turkish officials targeting Turkish diaspora in the European countries and the EU criticism of Turkish massive crackdown on dissidents.

The tensions in the Turkey-EU ties have adversely affected Ankara's EU membership bid.

Cavusoglu was pessimistic about resuming EU membership talks, but adding that his government should continue reforms whether Turkey's EU process gains momentum or not.

"Maybe, we cannot take many steps on the process of membership, but we can enhance our cooperation on other issues," he said, underlining the mutual interests of Turkey and the EU for upgrading existing Customs Union agreement.

Experts said that the Turkish minister's remarks signalled Ankara's wiliness to reconcile with EU countries, which could pave the way for restarting the membership talks.

"Normalization of the relations between Turkey and the West does seem to be appearing on the horizon," said Beril Dedeoglu, a professor of international relations at Galatasaray University, who served as the minister of EU affairs in the interim government in 2015.

The Europeans are recently taking a "relatively milder position" towards Turkey, Dedeoglu noted.

But if the EU proposes once again a "privileged partnership" to Turkey instead of full membership, this will only provoke new crises, he said.

Turkey apparently has started to realize that the climate of permanent crisis with Europe has reached its limits, according to Dedeoglu.

Mesut Hakki Casin, of the University of Istinye, suggested that neither Turkey nor EU can give up each other.

"Relations with the EU will continue based on mutual and pragmatic interests," he stated.

Casin pointed at the fact that Turkey has a huge number of tourists visiting from Europe and 52 percent of its export go to the EU.
LOS ANGELES, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The Los Angeles Police Department announced Tuesday that one of its officers fired the bullet that killed a Silver Lake Trader Joe's employee during a police gun battle with a man who took dozens of people hostage inside the store.

Melyda Corado, 27, was killed around 3:30 pm Saturday when the officers engaged suspect Gene Atkins with shooting. Atkins fired repeatedly at officers, chasing him through Hollywood and Silver Lake, after he had allegedly shot and wounded his 76-year-old grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Madison, and his 17-year-old girlfriend in South Los Angeles.

Atkins, 28, is being held in lieu of 9 million U.S. dollars bail and faces a slew of felony charges, according to the City News Service, a local news outlet.

"As chief of police, I am sorry for the loss, this tragic loss, not just to the Corado family, to her father, brother, (but) to her friends, to her work colleagues at Trader Joe's," Los Angeles police Chief Michel Moore said in a morning news conference. "This has been a devastating ordeal. On behalf of myself and the men and women of the Department, I want to express my deepest condolences and sympathy to her family and to everyone who knew her."

When Atkins fired at police as he ran into the store, Moore said, the two officers in closest pursuit got out of their car and fired a total of eight shots in return. One of those bullets struck Corado, Moore said.

"I know that it's every officer's worst nightmare to hurt an innocent bystander during a violent engagement. I spoke with the officers this morning - they're devastated. They were devastated in the immediate aftermath of this event -- that a person died in their efforts to stop Atkins," said Moore.

Moore, dealing with the first high-profile officer-involved shooting since becoming chief at the beginning of July, stood behind his officers' actions, urging people to put themselves in these two officers' shoes.

"I believe it's what they needed to do in order to defend the people of Los Angeles, defend the people in that store and to defend themselves," Moore said. "I ask that you place yourself in these two officers' positions and ask yourself 'What would you have done?"

The chief said he would wait until the investigation was completed before determining what consequences, if any, the officers involved in the gun battle would face internally.

Moore also released dash-camera and officer-body-camera footage of the chase that led up to the shooting in what he called an attempt to frame the circumstances of the shooting.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-25 03:37:10|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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by Jethro Soutar

LISBON, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Portugal offered understanding and sympathy to the victims of Greece's wildfires on Tuesday and pledged support in helping to combat the fires.

Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa spoke to his Greek counterpart, Prokopios Pavlopoulos, via telephone.

"I expressed my condolences to the family's of the dead and wished a speedy recovery to all those injured," said Rebelo de Sousa, via the President of the Republic's website.

Portugal's Prime Minister Antonio Costa also contacted his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras.

"I would like to send a message of solidarity to the Greek people, who are suffering from the tragedy and scourge of wildfires," Costa announced via Twitter. "Portugal is available, within the European framework and bilaterally, to offer its support to Greece."

The Minister of Internal Administration, Eduardo Cabrita, later announced that Portugal was sending 50 members of its Firefighting Special Forces (FEB) to Greece.

The Greek authorities has confirmed that at least 74 people have been killed in the huge forest fires near capital Athens, and 187 others injured, including 23 children.

Portugal has a better understanding of the Greek tragedy than most. In June 2017, 64 people died in wildfires in the town of Pedrogao Grande in the center of Portugal. Another outbreak of fires in October resulted in 50 deaths.

The Pedrogao Grande Fire Victims Association (AVIPG) expressed its deep sympathy for the victims of the Greek fires through Greece's Ambassador to Portugal.

Rui Rio, leader of the main opposition party, the Social Democratic Party (PSD), added his support. "We must show our solidarity to Greece as well as to Sweden, which is experiencing precisely the same problems, in the same way that we would like others to show solidarity to us," Rio told the Portuguese Lusa News Agency.

But he also sounded a note of caution, saying Portugal could at any moment suffer a "serious wildfire and we must have the means here to deal with it."

He was referring to the fact that Portugal had sent two fire fighting amphibious aircraft to Sweden, which is also experiencing a spate of forest fires.

But Jose Artur Neves, the secretary of state for civil protection, said the risks had been properly calculated. "The weather forecast we have until the 31st has allowed us to offer this support to Sweden, but we are constantly evaluating the situation and will quickly call for their return if needed," he told journalist at the Vila Real airbase, where the planes departed from on Tuesday morning.

Elsewhere, parallels were drawn between the Greek fires and Portugal's fate last year. "There are a lot of similarities because Greece's vulnerabilities are similar to other countries in southern Europe," said Duarte Caldeira, former president of the League of Portuguese Fireman.

"It's not humanly possible to control such fires," he added, emphasizing the need to educate the public on what to do in the case of a wildfire emergency.

He was addressing similarities between what happened in Greece and what happened in Pedrogao Grande last year, when panicked people died trying to flee the flames.

Portugal has not suffered from a major wildfire so far in 2018, in part as a consequence of an unusually cool summer.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-25 03:57:13|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CAIRO, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian police on Tuesday killed at least 13 terrorists during a shootout in Arish city of restive North Sinai province northeast of the capital Cairo, a security source told Xinhua.

The source explained that the police raided an under-construction house in a village in Arish where the 13 militants hid and the fire exchange took place.

"The violent clashes killed 13 terrorists from the so-called Wilayat Sinai (Sinai state or province) group, the Egyptian arm of the Islamic State (IS) regional terrorist group," he added.

The police found four machine guns, two shotguns, three explosive devices and ammunition in their possession.

Bordering Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip, North Sinai province has been the center of terrorist attacks that killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers, as well as civilians, following the military ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 in response to mass protests.

Most of the terror operations were carried out by Wilayat Sinai, the IS affiliate in Egypt.

In February, Egypt started the comprehensive "Sinai 2018" anti-terror campaign that killed over 330 militants and more than 30 soldiers so far.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-25 03:57:13|Editor: Liangyu

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Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) and his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa hold talks in Pretoria, South Africa, July 24, 2018. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

PRETORIA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- China and South Africa on Tuesday pledged to carry forward their traditional friendly relations and advance their comprehensive strategic partnership in the new era.

During the talks between visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa, the two leaders agreed to strengthen high-level exchanges, deepen political mutual trust, align their development strategies, promote practical cooperation and increase people-to-people exchanges, thus enabling the two peoples to enjoy more fruits of the bilateral cooperation.

Xi expressed appreciation to Ramaphosa for his important contributions to the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries and to the development of bilateral relations.

Noting that China and South Africa are both major developing countries and emerging-market countries with important influence, Xi said that since the forging of diplomatic relations 20 years ago, the two sides have been committed to mutually-beneficial cooperation and common development, stood together through thick and thin, shared weal and woe, and established a "comrade plus brother" relationship featuring sincere friendship, mutual trust and close bond.

He said that China-South Africa relations have leapt from a partnership to a strategic partnership and then to a comprehensive strategic partnership over the past years, bringing tangible benefits to the two peoples.

"Taking the opportunity of the 20th anniversary of diplomatic ties, China stands ready to work with South Africa on supporting each other in hosting this year's BRICS summit in Johannesburg and the Beijing summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), inheriting the past and ushering in the future, and pushing for more outcomes from the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership, so as to bring greater benefits to our two peoples," Xi said.

Noting that China-South Africa relations are now standing at a new historical point, the Chinese president proposed the two sides to focus on the following areas to advance the bilateral relations:

-- The two sides should strengthen high-level exchanges, deepen political mutual trust, support each other in independently choosing the development path that suits their own national conditions, continue to understand and support each other on issues involving respective core interests and major concerns, increase exchanges between the governments, legislative bodies and various other areas, and deepen the inter-party exchanges and cooperation.

-- The two sides should enhance cooperation within the frameworks of the Belt and Road Initiative and the FOCAC, align their development strategies, deepen exchanges and cooperation in new economy sectors and sunrise industries, and share the development opportunities brought by the fourth industrial revolution. The Chinese side is willing to focus on promoting cooperation in such areas as infrastructure construction, trade and investment, scientific and technological innovation, and finance, and supports the endeavors made by the South African government to develop the economy, create jobs, improve people's livelihood and promote social transformation.

-- The two sides should deepen people-to-people bonds, implement the consensus the two sides have reached on facilitating personnel exchanges and strengthening cultural and educational exchanges, and consolidate cooperation in human resources development and tourism.

-- The two sides should promote security and law-enforcement cooperation. The Chinese side is willing to strengthen cooperation with South Africa on law-enforcement capacity building.

-- The two sides should increase coordination within multilateral frameworks including the UN, G20, BRICS and BASIC (Brazil, India, South Africa and China), jointly safeguard multilateralism, oppose unilateralism and protectionism, and promote a more just and equitable international order.

For his part, Ramaphosa said that South African and Chinese peoples enjoy traditional friendship, and the two countries have constantly consolidated and developed their relations since the establishment of diplomatic ties 20 years ago.

The relations have gone beyond the bilateral scope with important strategic significance, and the two countries have carried out fruitful cooperation on regional and multilateral levels, he said, noting that the special friendly ties have brought substantial benefits to the two peoples.

Ramaphosa said that it is in the fundamental and long-term interests of South Africa to continue to strengthen political mutual trust, expand practical cooperation, enhance scientific, technological and people-to-people exchanges with China, and promote their comprehensive strategic partnership.

He pledged that South Africa will continue to firmly adhere to the one-China policy, push for positive progress in cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, increase communication and coordination with China on major international and regional issues, oppose unilateralism, strengthen multilateralism, and safeguard the common interests of developing countries.

On the 10th BRICS summit in Johannesburg on July 25-27, Xi said that it is the first one to be held in the second "golden decade" of BRICS cooperation and has a special significance.

BRICS gathers the world's five major emerging economies -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

"We should bear in mind the big picture of BRICS cooperation, constantly cement our strategic partnerships, make a loud and clear voice on upholding multilateralism, and jointly build an open world economy," Xi said, while pledging to coordinate with and support South Africa for a successful BRICS summit.

Xi and Ramaphosa will co-chair the FOCAC Beijing summit in September. Hailing the contributions that South Africa has made for the institutionalization of the FOCAC and friendly cooperation between China and Africa as co-chair of the forum, Xi said that China looks forward to discussing with African countries on plans to promote China-Africa friendly cooperation in the new era and jointly build a closer China-Africa community with a shared future.

"It is China's long-term and firm strategic choice to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with African countries," he said.

Ramaphosa expressed gratitude for China's support in the 10th BRICS summit in Johannesburg. He told Xi that he looks forward to attending the FOCAC Beijing summit and will coordinate with China to ensure the success of the two major events.

After the talks, the two heads of state witnessed the signing of a series of bilateral cooperation documents and met with the press.

Ramaphosa held a grand welcome ceremony for Xi prior to the talks.

Xi arrived in Pretoria on Monday to pay his third state visit to the "rainbow nation."

South Africa is the fourth stop of Xi's five-nation Middle East and Africa tour, which has taken him to the United Arab Emirates, Senegal and Rwanda. He will also visit Mauritius during a stopover.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-25 04:02:14|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TRIPOLI, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Libya's UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez Serraj on Tuesday met with the Italian Defense Minister Elisabetta Trenta, and discussed economic cooperation and illegal immigration.

According to the statement issued by the Prime Minister's information office, Trenta stressed Italy's support for the national reconciliation in Libya and Serraj's efforts to achieve security and stability in the country.

"The Italian Minister of Defense said that the Mediterranean ... has brought (the two countries) together against illegal immigration that both Italy and Libya suffer from," the statement said.

Libya is a preferred point of departure for illegal immigrants wanting to cross the Mediterranean towards Italian shores, due to the insecurity and chaos in the country.

Serraj stressed the need to secure Libya's southern border, calling for assistance to the immigrants' source countries, "so that they do not have to leave in a risky adventure."

The Libyan prime minister also called for partial lifting of the international weapons ban on Libya in order to arms the Libyan security services.

The two officials also discussed the return of Italian companies to Libya to resume projects suspended for years due to poor security conditions in the country.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-25 04:07:14|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday deplored attack on vital water systems in Yemen, saying that access to water continued to be jeopardized for millions of children in the country.

UNICEF "deplores in the strongest terms yet another attack on the vital and lifesaving water systems" in war-torn Yemen, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters here during a daily briefing.

A large water facility in Sa'ada, in the northwest of the Arab country, came under attack earlier in the week, Dujarric said, citing a UNICEF statement. "This is the third such attack on the same facility. More than half of the project is now damaged, cutting off 10,500 people from safe drinking water."

"UNICEF says that continuous attacks on water systems in Yemen are cutting off children and civilians from water, increasing the likelihood of water-borne diseases" spreading in Yemen, the spokesman said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-25 04:27:17|Editor: Yurou

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Photo taken on July 24, 2018 shows a general view of a United Nations Security Council meeting at the UN headquarters in New York, July 24, 2018. UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov on Tuesday reiterated his "call to all in Gaza to step back from the brink," saying "those who seek to provoke Israelis and Palestinians to war must not succeed." (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, July 24 (Xinhua) -- UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov on Tuesday reiterated his "call to all in Gaza to step back from the brink," saying "those who seek to provoke Israelis and Palestinians to war must not succeed."

In his briefing to the UN Security Council, Mladenov said it has taken an intense effort at preventive diplomacy by the UN and Egypt to make sure that both Israel and Hamas step back from the brink and from potentially a fourth military confrontation in Gaza over past decade.

On Friday, four Palestinians were killed and some 210 Palestinians wounded during fierce fighting between Israel and Hamas, the Islamic movement that rules Gaza. The fighting, triggered by the killing of an Israeli soldier, was the most serious one in the Gaza Strip since the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict that killed thousands.

Also, since late March when the Palestinians staged the Great March of Return protests, the death toll of protesters has exceeded 140. The movement, which peaks every Friday, demands the return of Palestinian refugees and the lift of the blockade Israel has imposed on Gaza.

In Tuesday's briefing, Mladenov identified the root causes of "this man-made catastrophe" as intractable conflict, over 50 years of occupation, and over a decade of Hamas control of Gaza, Palestinian division and a crippling Israeli closure regime.

He said that for four years, the UN has urged concerted action to address these causes but little has been achieved. "The underlying dynamics have not improved. The humanitarian crisis has deepened, political stalemate between Hamas and Fatah has worsened, and the prospect of another deadly round of violence is growing by the day."

The UN envoy said he has been in engagement with Israel and the Palestinians as well as regional and international partners to reduce tensions, to address humanitarian challenges and to support the Egyptian-led intra-Palestinian reconciliation process.

After Friday's fierce fighting, Hamas announced it had reached a ceasefire agreement with Israel as a result of efforts led by Egypt and the UN.

In the meantime, Mladenov addressed the crippled infrastructure and dire living conditions in Gaza. He urged advancing infrastructure projects to improve water, electricity and health systems, creating employment, and improving Gaza people's cross-border movement as means to de-escalate the situation.

"To this end, the UN is enhancing its presence on the ground to work with donors and international partners to facilitate the smooth implementation of these projects," he said.

Particularly, the UN envoy mentioned a week before, UNDP announced the implementation of some economic initiatives that will create more than 2,500 immediate and short-term job opportunities in Gaza.

However, Mladenov reiterated there is no point in asking donors to continue funding initiatives without a political horizon for the future, warning against a "futile exercise in conflict management and recurring humanitarian support."

In closing, Mladenov reaffirmed the goal of reaching a broader Israeli-Palestinian peace on the basis of two-state solution, in which Gaza is an integral part of future Palestinian state.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-25 05:32:31|Editor: Liangyu

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LONDON, July 24 (Xinhua) -- President of Imperial College London Alice Gast has spoken highly of the college's link to China, and urged more cooperation and collaboration between the Chinese and British institutions.

CHINA CONNECT

With less than 17,000 students on its books, just under half of them undergraduates the rest postgrads, Imperial has proved to be a magnet for Chinese students and researchers.

Imperial more than punches its weight when it comes to attracting students from China. It helps that Imperial is number one when it comes to collaborations with Chinese universities.

Gast told Xinhua in a recent interview: "We really greatly benefit from a tremendous number of Chinese students, currently 2,600, coming to study here at Imperial. They're exceedingly bright and clever, and there's a great opportunity here for them, especially as the world is becoming much more interconnected. We have opportunities to really drive innovation and entrepreneurship."

Having such an international community at Imperial is a great asset, added Gast, explaining: "I think that our students who come from abroad really benefit from that mixture not only of all the UK and European students, but students from all over the world. You see that in the things that they do and programs they follow."

Imperial has a large number of entrepreneurs among its alumni, though Gast said what has now changed is the fast pace of technology development and opportunity.

"Our biggest mechanism of technology transfer are the brilliant students that come out of our universities, some of them going to start up and some going to companies, taking up what they've learned and their new ideas, to help shape industries and other sectors," said Gast.

Imperial is able to offer more and more opportunities for students to pursue entrepreneurship, through initiatives such as its innovation program for women entrepreneurs and we a major catalyst challenge with a place for students to come and learn from one another and also from mentors.

"What is so exciting is that if you look at our most successful entrepreneurial ventures, they're mostly international there'll be a Chinese student and a British student and another European student working together. That mixture of cultures and backgrounds and perspectives gives you much more fruitful innovations," Gast said.

With 7,000 Imperial alumni in China, there are three very active alumni associations and a very strong growing network growing, with many entrepreneurial alumni in China pursuing their own companies.

Gast said that the alumni in China can give back is connecting with today's students both as role models and mentors themselves, as well as being connections when Imperial students want to go to China. And it's not only Imperial's Chinese students who benefit from that network, but all students attracted to China, including those thinking China might be the place where they'd like to launch their start-up or expand into the Chinese market, and so our alumni network is very beneficial for that.

Gast has visited the lab at Tsinghua University in China, saying some of Imperial's entrepreneurial students will go over there, and some of theirs will come to Imperial. It is a prime example of academic collaboration that Gast encourages.

"We learn from one another, what the best practices are, and sometimes some good ideas come out that we want to do together," said Gast.

REFORMS AND OPENING UP

China has seen a huge transformation since its opening up to the world 40 years ago, said Gast, adding the world has benefited from Chinese students coming into outside communities and cultures.

"At the same time we've also benefited from it being open and being able to explore and understand the rich heritage and the culture of China," added Gast.

It's grown, she says, from being one where it would have been driven by alumni of an individual university as an expatriate Chinese in the West making connects back into China, to now seeing Chinese universities as being attractors to all kinds of collaborators, even those who don't speak Mandarin.

As for the next 40 years, Gast believes China will continue to thrive, especially if the openness and collaboration is maintained.

"I do think that the entrepreneurial efforts and the opportunities to bring people together to pursue new technologies, to solve Grand Challenge problems, and continuing collaboration is so important in the future," said Gast.

SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL

Gast is President of the college which traces its lineage back to the 19th century. Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, envisaged the creation of a cultural area in London composed of the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Royal Albert Hall, and the Imperial Institute.

It was in 1888, more than a quarter of a century after her husband's death, that Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone for the Imperial Institute.

Today it is ranked among the top universities around the globe, the only high-ranking university in Britain to focus exclusively on science, medicine, engineering and business.

If any top-ranking higher academic institute proves the old saying "small is beautiful" it is Imperial, punching its weight in numerous external rankings against much bigger world universities.

As universities across the world strive to become bigger, Imperial is way down the list, especially when compared with the more than 160,000 enrolled at the University of London, the biggest higher education combine in Britain.

So if big might be good and small is beautiful, can a university maintain its own characteristics by becoming bigger or is it better to remain individually independent, but smaller?

Gast replies that whatever the size, universities need to maintain their own characteristics.

"I think one of the great benefits is to have a diversity of opportunities, and a diversity of types of institutions where different students will thrive in different ways," said Gast.

Larger universities, with their benefits of scale and their broader sets of opportunities, while there are smaller more focused universities.

"I think that no matter how large or small you are, there are natural sizes for thriving research groups," said Gast, adding she sees a lot of multidisciplinary challenges where academics collaborate across disciplines, and still end up then with a group that's kind of a natural set of colleagues that they affiliate with.

Gast agrees that the pursuance of excellence has nothing to do with the size of a university, saying it's important to measure excellence on all of its measures, not just by quantity.

POST-BREXIT

As for Brexit and Britain's future outside the EU, Gast said after Brexit if EU citizen are considered as international foreigners, Britain needs good immigration policies.

"I've been a strong supporter of international student visas, but also entrepreneur graduate entrepreneur visas," said Gast.

She wants opportunities for collaborators and top research programs to have free movement or access through other mechanisms and immigration policies.

"I still believe that needs to happen so London and Britain, and Imperial, can remain a magnet for talent."

Gast wants to be able to bring in people from all over the world, including China, not because of a new agreement, but because Britain has had immigration policies that allowed universities to bring in international students and scholars.

Uncertainties surrounding Brexit are the most damaging thing because people are wondering and worried about what's going to happen.

"We definitely study all the possible scenarios, and we have worked very hard to make sure we're building and maintaining our ties to Europe," said Gast, "we're talking to many others in other countries to make sure we can still collaborate across the borders, no matter how the borders have set up."

As for the age of robots, will Imperial, famed for its scientific research, ever see AI replacing its lecturers and tutors?

Gast said she does not see machines taking over the lecture halls in the future.

When does she expect the first AI teacher to appear at the university?

"I think we will have AI partners for teachers, and we will have teachers who will make great use of AI, and that will be wonderful because they can allow the human teacher to focus on what they're really good at, and augment their understanding of the group," said Gast.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-25 05:42:33|Editor: Yurou

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by Alessandra Cardone

ROME, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Italy was ready to boost its support to the Libyan authorities to help curbing further the migration flows headed to Europe, the Italian defence minister said on Tuesday, after paying a visit to Libya.

"Italy and Libya share the same house, the Mediterranean, and the same resources, but also the same problems, and one of them is definitely migration," Elisabetta Trenta told a press conference held late at Rome Ciampino airport.

The minister declared uncontrolled immigration and terrorism were like "the two sides of the same coin."

"We know there is a risk, although minimal, that terrorists could reach (Italy) through the uncontrolled migration flows," Trenta said.

"For this reason, Italy is going to provide Libya all the support necessary to boost its operational capacity," she added.

The minister held talks in Tripoli with her Libyan counterpart Najim Owida and the head of the UN-backed unity government, Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj.

She confirmed to the Libyan PM "Italy's willingness to start activities -- according to the needs and requirements of the Libyan people -- aimed at stabilizing the internal security of the country, and, as such, strengthening its sovereignty," according to a statement by the Defence Ministry.

During the press conference in Rome, however, the minister did not specify further what Italy's additional support to authorities in Tripoli would consist.

Trenta paid a similar short visit to Tunisia on Monday, talking migration with President Beji Caid Essebsi and Defence Minister Abdelkarim Zbidi in Tunis.

According to Italian media citing ministerial sources, both trips were part of "a coordinated action."

"My visit is part of a systematic approach of the government," Trenta confirmed during the press conference, recalling that her trip to Tripoli had been preceded by two visits paid by Interior Minister Matteo Salvini and Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi in June and early July, respectively.

Italy has begun supporting systematically Libya's coast guard with funds and naval means since mid-2017, after the previous center-left government signed a deal with Libyan authorities and factions in an effort to prevent migrants and asylum seekers cross the Mediterranean.

From January to July 24 this year, the country has registered 18,048 sea arrivals -- some 12,088 of which from Libya -- marking a 79.52 percent and 80.68 percent drop compared to the same period of 2016 and 2017, respectively, according to Interior Ministry data.

Overall, it had received 181,436 migrants and refugees in 2016, and 119,369 in 2017.

Soon after being formed in early June, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte's new right-wing government -- which took a harder line on migration -- pledged to donate another 12 rescue ships to Tripoli, which would allow Libya's coast guard to more than double its current size.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-25 06:37:41|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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KHARTOUM, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Heavy rains and floods have killed 10 people in different areas in Sudan, Sudan Tribune reported.

"At least seven people were killed and three others were missing when heavy rains and floods hit the northern and northeastern parts of al-Nuhood town in Sudan's West Kordofan State," the report said.

It cited eyewitnesses as saying that the heavy rains and floods led to collapse of around 1,500 to 2,000 houses in the town.

According to the report, three of the victims were inmates in the town's prison, parts of which collapsed due the heavy rains.

However, Sudan's Ashorooq net quoted director of civil defence of West Kordofan State, Zahir Al-Sharif Abu Kalam, as saying that the heavy rains in the state resulted in the death of three people with three others missing.

He added that the rains and flood also caused damage to 2,500 houses, while parts of some institutions and schools collapsed.

According to the report, West Kordofan State Governor Ahmed Ajab Al-Fiya directed all authorities concerned with rainy season emergency to work together and adopt all the necessary health and precautions to face the consequences of the rains and floods.

In North Kordofan State, the floods reportedly cut the main road linking the state with the Sudanese capital Khartoum.

In the meantime, in Eastern Sudan, according to Sudan Tribune, Osama Saeed of the opposition Beja Congress urged for launching an appeal of relief for Kassala town after floods hit several neighbourhoods in the town on Monday.

Saeed, according to the report, said three people were killed on Monday and 500 houses collapsed, noting that the affected people are now without shelter.

Meanwhile, Khartoum State on Tuesday witnessed heavy rains that crippled the traffic and prevented many students from going to their schools.

The early warning unit of Sudan's Meteorological Authority has warned of medium to heavy rains with strong winds that may hit, as of Wednesday, Kassala, Geddarif, Khartoum, Nahral-Neel, Sinnar, Gezira, White Nile, Kordofan and Darfur states.
Hungarian excise officers have seized 14 kilos of heroin hidden in the luggage of two Portuguese citizens at Budapests Liszt Ferenc International Airport, the tax and customs office (NAV) said.

NAV put the street value of the drugs at more than 211 million forints (EUR 648,000).

The smugglers had flown from Kenya through Zurich and sought to enter through the green corridor. The excise officers cleared their carry-on luggage, but opened up their three checked bags after detecting suspicious contents in them as they were being screened.

The NAV agents discovered white powdery substances stashed in hidden compartments of the suitcases, which a drug test confirmed to be heroin.

The heroin was seized by NAVs Airport Directorate and the authority filed a criminal complaint for drug possession with the airports police directorate.
The opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) is set to initiate the tightening of consumer protection rules for airlines both at a national and EU level after repeated incidents of airlines mishandling luggage and poor communication with passengers, a DK lawmaker Lajos Olah said.

He noted two recent incidents where Irish low-cost airline Ryanair had deliberately left some passengers bags off their Canary Islands-bound flights.

Meanwhile, other airlines often fail to inform their passengers about delays, he said. These kinds of practices are unacceptable in the long run, Olah said, adding that they could not be rectified by paying passengers a couple hundred euros in compensation.

When they sell their tickets, the airlines enter into a contract with their customers which they then deliberately violate, Olah said.

DK will look into the current consumer protection laws, and if they do not guarantee enough protections for passengers, the party will propose one that mandates that suitcases that are left off a certain flight have to be sent to their owners as soon as possible, even if it means using a different airline, Olah said.

He said DK has asked the national consumer protection authority to investigate the recent incidents.
Foreign nationals accounted for 23% of adoptions in Hungary last year, a summary of data from the Central Statistics Office (KSH) shows.

KSH said 234 adoptions were approved for foreigners from a total of 1,025. In the previous three years, the proportion of adoptions in Hungary by foreigners averaged about 18%.

There were 1,972 Hungarian children up for adoption at the end of last year.
Several online news portals reported last week about the outrageous late luggage incident of the Budapest  Las Palmas flight.

It seems that the airline could not overcome difficulties as the problem occurred today as well, as Nlcafe.hu reports.

Last week, Ryanair had to inform passengers at Las Palmas that unfortunately, the plane failed to carry their luggage to the destination: while they were travelling to the Canary Islands, their luggage was left in Hungary.

Although the low-cost airline has recently introduced new itineraries from Budapest to Marseille, France and even to Marrakesh, Morocco, this appalling behaviour is not something that passengers can tolerate.

The pilot of todays flight to the Islands notified travellers before the plane took off that their luggage will not be carried with them and would only arrive afterwards, in a few days time.

Outraged passengers got off the plane and started to single out the most necessary things from their suitcases, while some left the plane and stayed in Budapest.

The situation could have gotten out of control as passengers had only 15 minutes to re-pack in the light of the events and some even tried to restrain the plane from taking off.

According to the pilot, the plane did not leave with all the luggage in its belly because they caused an overweight in the structure. It seems that there are problems with the management of the Budapest  Las Palmas flight, as well as the number and weight of luggage.

As claimed by Ryanair, luggage would be taken to London, from where they would be sent to the Canary Islands the next day by earliest. Ryanairs new cabin bag policy, firstly implemented in January 2018 has caused similar adversary sentiments towards the company.

Source: Daily News Hungary, nlcafe.hu
Viktor Orban met Vodafones CEO to discuss Hungarys digital developments and a new generation of mobile services for industry and the consumer alongside the introduction of 5G.

The digital economy has produced almost a quarter of Hungarian economic growth in the past few years and government investments in the sector between 2014 and 2021 will have amounted to 130 billion forints (EUR 398.3m), Orbans press chief Bertalan Havasi said, briefing on the talks between the Hungarian prime minister and Vittorio Colao.

Colao noted that Vodafone is a major UK investor in Hungary which employs 3,200 people in the country and has spent hundreds of billions of forints on developing Hungarian mobile services.

Vodafone Hungary is active in implementing Hungarys Digital Welfare Programme and the Vodafone Foundation supports the development of digital education in Hungary, he added.

Vodafones acquisition of US telecommunications and television company Liberty Globals businesses in Hungary, Germany, the Czech Republic and Romania was one of the main topics discussed at the talks with Orban.

Vodafone will take over the 1.8 million retail cable and broadband internet subscribers of UPC Magyarorszag as a result of the transaction, he added.
Gogebic Community College convened an advocacy group comprised of representatives from local municipalities along with area business leaders on Monday regarding the possible closure of the Ojibwa Correctional facility. Pictured from left are David Sim, Manager of Marketing and Public Relations at Aspirus Ironwood, Senator Tom Casperson and Marty Fittante/Casperson's Legislative Aide and Erik Guenard, Dean of Business Services/Interim President at Gogebic Community College.

By JEAN NORDINE

[email protected]

Ironwood - Michigan State Sen. Tom Casperson, R-Escanaba, met with 25 representatives from local municipalities and area businesses at Gogebic Community College Monday evening to discuss what can be done to sway the Department of Corrections from closing the Ojibway Correctional Facility in Marenisco.

Thirty prisons remain open in the state after the closure of the West Shoreline Correctional Facility in Muskegon earlier this year, but there is a 1,000 prison bed surplus and one more facility will be shut down by 2019.

According to the House and Senate conference committee, the closure of another facility would result in an estimated $19.2 million in savings for the state.

Besides Ojibway, three other prisons are being considered for closure - including a facility in Newberry.

The MDOC isn't the only party to make decisions about prisons. It's a joint decision that includes input from the Gov. Rick Snyder and the legislature.

Casperson said yesterday's meeting was a, "Good meeting, participation was great and we got some new ideas."

When the senate's August session begins, Casperson will take the information and ideas gathered from the meeting to show state officials the impact losing Ojibway would have on the community. A small number from the advocacy group will also travel to Lansing to attend those meetings.

"We need to make the best pitch we can," Casperson said.

It's one thing to say that the closure could have a $55 million impact on area, but Casperson needs to know what the breakdown of that impact is.

"Local officials have the best numbers," he said.

Area municipalities are now fine tuning figures for the senator to present; such as an accurate number for the potential loss of students in area schools, as well as specific impacts on areas such as for health care, government and public services.

The advocacy group also discussed ways to save on operating costs at Ojibway.

Money could be saved by buying locally, therefore saving the prison money and putting money into the local economy. The prison gets their supplies from Michigan State Industries, a program with the MDOC that only sells its products and services to government entities and non-profit organizations. The problem is MSI offers those goods and services at a much higher price.

As Ojibway is a non-cluster prison - meaning the nearest prison is over 100 miles away - it would be harder for the prison's roughly 200 employees to find other jobs in their chosen field, or in the area at all.

Downstate someone losing their prison job may not be anywhere near the hardship that it is in the western U.P.

Casperson encouraged the public to get involved.

"Don't take it for granted that it won't happen. Get the community invested in the effort," he said.

A final decision is not expected until October, but the community can get involved now by contacting their state representatives Gov. Rick Snyder at 517-373-3400, State Rep. Scott Dianda (D-Calumet) at 517-373-0850 and/or Heidi E. Washington, Director of the Michigan Department of Corrections at 517-373-0720.
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...
CHENNAI: Four passengers died and at least 10 were injured after hitting a hard surface while travelling in a local train at Chennai's St Thomas Mount station on Monday morning.

The passengers were on the foot-board of the crowded train when they fell off.

Among the 10 injured, five are reportedly in a critical condition.

According to eyewitness reports, the passengers were hanging out of the door, when in a freak accident, they hit a hard surface  likely a wall or pole  and fell.

The incident took place at 8.25 am on Monday.

According to a release by the Indian Railways, "At St.Thomas Mount station the shoulders bags of male commuters travelling on footboard hit against the Railway cement fence and 10 passengers have fallen down at 8.25 hrs from the running train (T.No.40701  Chennai Beach  Tirumalpur Passenger) between Km17/2  17/4. Immediately Govt Railway Police Personnel, Mambalam and Railway Protection Force Personnel, St Thomas Mount, attended the spot."

The injured passengers were rushed to Government Hospitals at Royapettah and GH Chennai. One of the injured died expired on the way to the hospital, added the release.
The Delhi Police is likely to recommend capping the duration of protest at the Jantar Mantar at maximum one day and limit the number of protestors at 5,000, after the Supreme Court revoked the ban on holding rallies and dharnas at the iconic site.

A senior police officer said that with the Jantar Mantar being redesignated as a site for holding protests, their job of containing protests will become easier.

"After the National Green Tribunal order banning all protests and dharnas around Jantar Mantar last year, protesters wanting to get their plea would gather anywhere, thereby affecting law and order. But with the top court lifting the ban on rallies at the Jantar Mantar, our job of monitoring the situation would become easier," he added.

Before the NGT ban, the Jantar Mantar was like a home to many protesters.

After the NGT order in October last year, police and civic body officials demolished tents and makeshift structures set up by ex-servicemen protesting at the Jantar Mantar, demanding implementation of the One-Rank-One-Pension scheme.

The former servicemen had been protesting there for more than two years.

"We will recommend that the duration of the protests should be restricted to a few hours or maximum to a day. They should not stay on for years as was in the case of the OROP protesters. We used to receive a lot of complaints from the residents of the area citing inconvenience," he added.

With protests happening for a stipulated time, the police will be able to manage them better.

"One cannot predict the actions of protesters who are staying for a long duration, like in the case of Tamil Nadu farmers who were protesting at the Jantar Mantar for loan-waiver. They would come up with unique means of getting their voices heard, thereby affecting the law and order in the area," he added.

If the duration is fixed, the police will find it easier to monitor their actions and also prepare themselves accordingly.

The Jantar Mantar can accommodate a maximum crowd of 5,000, and if the number exceeds it, traffic comes to a standstill in Lutyens' Delhi.

"The recommendations will also include putting a cap on the number of protesters to 5,000 so that traffic is not affected in the area," the officer added.
New Delhi: Rejecting the accusations made by the Congress party relating to the Rafale fighter jet deal between India and France, Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday slammed the main opposition party for creating a fake controversy over the issue.

In a new Facebook post, Jaitley hit out at the Congress president Rahul Gandhi for "manufacturing fake Rafale controversy", which he claimed has failed to cut ice as the fighter jet deal was a government-to-government agreement.

Jaitley also claimed that there was no involvement of any private player in the Rafale fighter jet deal.

The Congress Party and the Fake Issue of Rafale https://t.co/M4vMxDFCTI  Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) July 24, 2018

The veteran BJP leader maintained that in the absence of no real issue, the grand old party is redefining secularism as a euphemism for majority bashing and in the process antagonising the majority against itself.

The Congress party, he said, realises that there is a danger of the next election becoming a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's performance, in his explosive Facebook blog.

"The popularity gap between the Prime Minister and his competitors is very wide," he wrote, adding that the Congress is either non-existent or a poor third or fourth in states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, which account for 50 percent of the Lok Sabha seats.

The Congress is, therefore, faced with the prospect of effectively contesting only about 225 seats where it will face a direct clash with the BJP, Jaitley said in the Facebook post.

"What does the party do if its leader has inherent and inbuilt limitations? It had been stigmatised by corruption and in contra-distinction Prime Minister Modi has led a scam free Government. Its strategy, therefore, is one of distortion. If you have no issue, manufacture one. Hence the Rafale's fake controversy," the senior BJP leader said in the blog titled 'The Congress Party and the fake issue of Rafale'.

Here is what Arun Jaitley wrote on Facebook over the Rafale deal.

The explosive blog from Jaitley comes days after Rahul Gandhi made serious allegations against the Narendra Modi government and even accused Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman of lying on the issue.

Rahul made this remark during a debate on the no-confidence motion moved by the Opposition against the NDA government, which was badly defeated in the Lok Sabha.

In the wake of a controversy over the Rafale deal, France issued a statement saying that there was indeed a secrecy clause in the deal which restricted the two sides from revealing crucial information.

Despite the clarification from the Government of France, Rahul Gandhi said that he stood by his remarks.
NEW DELHI: Amid uproar over the lynching of 28-year-old Akbar Khan Alwar, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the government will enact a law if needed to curb incidents of lynching.

While stating the government is taking adequate measures, he invoked the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case to attack the Congress. "We are thoughtful about this. This didn't start only recently, the incidents of lynching have been going on for years. I have said this earlier too, the biggest mob lynching is what happened in 1984," Rajnath said.

Reacting to the Alwar case, Rajnath added that a high-level probe has been ordered into the case and assured that action will be taken against those found guilty. He added that the high-level committee chaired by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gaub will look into cases of mob violence and lynching and suggest steps to be taken to tackle the situation. The committee, he said, has been asked to submit its report in four weeks.

He added that a Group of Ministers headed by himself will consider the recommendations of the panel. The GoM will submit its recommendation to the Prime Minister. Both the committees were set up a week after the Supreme Court asked the central government to enact a law to deal with incidents of lynching and take action on mob violence.

Opposition parties, mainly the Congress and the Trinamool Congress, raised the issue in the Lok Sabha during Zero Hour and demanded that the Centre take action to curb lynching incidents.

A 28-year-old man was lynched on suspicion of being a cow smuggler in Lalawandi village in Rajasthan's Alwar district on Saturday. Sources say that Akbar died because of delay by police in taking him to a hospital. The police personnel allegedly took the cows to a shelter at a distance of 10 km first before taking Akbar to the hospital. Akbar was declared brought dead at the hospital.

The Rajasthan Police also admitted "error of judgement" in handling the case and suspended one and transferred three policemen. It has set up a high-level committee to probe the allegations of delay against the Alwar Police in taking Akbar to the hospital. However, it refuted allegations of "custodial death" and said that as per the primary investigation, the policemen have not been found involved in beating the victim.
The Government of India recognised Combined Counselling Board has extended financial assistance to students in monetary distress. The scholarship will be offered to students of Class 10 to postgraduation, irrespective of caste and background, across India.

This scholarship is aiming at covering 20% seats in colleges and universities recognised by UGC, AICTE, state and central government, and other government associated bodies, which not only helps a student pursue his higher education but also gives a good leverage to his career.

This admission-cum-scholarship intends to provide quality education to deserving and meritorious students, whose families otherwise undergo financial hardships to make ends meet. Under this, a student may opt for polytechnic course of three years post class 10 or can go for two-year programme, post class 12. This also covers engineering programmes of B.Tech, B.E, and five-year programme of B.Arch. Applications are also invited from the students aspiring for MBA, MCA or any other post-graduation degree.

The call offers the following benefits:

* 70% scholarship is offered which can be from INR 60,000 to INR 70,000.

* Up to INR 1,00,000 will be given by the state governments.

* The benefit of total INR 1,00,000 to INR 4,00,000 is offered to an eligible candidate.

Below mentioned details are required to be considered eligible for this scholarship call:

* The applicant must hold the highest degree required for the programme or degree year applied for.

* Must secure 33%-55% in the qualifying examination.

* The applicant must attend the counselling programme, to select college location, course, and hostel of preference.

Following are the required documentation for admission in the college as well as to appear for the counselling:

* Mark sheet of the last examination

* Bank details (a/c number, bank name, and IFSC)

* 8 passport sized photographs

* Original copy of migration certificate

* Domicile ID

* Character certificate from the last institution.

* Birth certificate

* Allotment letter from Combined Counselling Board.

The application call is open for all; SC, OBC, General, ST, Minority. Desirous students finding themselves fulfilling the mandated requirements may apply on the website of Combined Counselling Board (India).

Applications will be accepted till July 30, 2018.

Courtesy: www.buddy4study.com
New Delhi: The Congress will move a privilege motion in Lok Sabha against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for making 'misleading statements' over the Rafale fighter jet during debate on the no-confidence motion. The development was announced on Tuesday by Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge.

During the no-confidence debate in Parliament last week, the issue of Rafale fighter jets deal between India and France were raised on the floor of the House, primarily by Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

The Gandhi scion rejected government's claims of a secrecy pact with France over the high-profile deal and went on to allege that Sitharaman had lied to the country under pressure from Pm Modi. The allegations were, however, swiftly rejected by the governments of both India and France.

Designed by Dassault, Rafale is a fighter aircraft with a French twin-engine and canard-delta wing. The fighter jet is equipped with a wide range of weapons and is designed by its manufacturers to perform some crucial aviation roles, which include air supremacy, interdiction, aerial reconnaissance and ground support. Besides, the Rafale fighter jets can also be helpful for the armed forces during in-depth strikes, anti-ship strikes and nuclear deterrence missions.

According to the Modi government, the deal signed between India and France for the same is bound by a secrecy pact, and hence no information about its cost can be made available on a public platform.
Jaipur: At a time when the Alwar lynching case has triggered a nationwide outrage, a 22-year-old Dalit man was on Tuesday beaten to death by a group of men in Rajasthan's Barmer allegedly over an affair with a Muslim woman.

DSP Barmer, Surinder Kumar said that the man succumbed to severe injuries. An investigation has been initiated and two people have been arrested in connection with the incident.

Rajasthan: A 22-year old Dalit man beaten to death by a group men in Barmer allegedly over an affair with a Muslim woman. Surinder Kumar, DSP Barmer says, "The man succumbed to severe injuries. Two people have been arrested so far, further investigation is underway." pic.twitter.com/t51QRQ1asM  ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2018

There has been a spate in mob lynching incidents across the country in the recent past. Last Saturday, 28-year-old Akbar Khan was beaten up by a mob to death in Rajasthan's Alwar on the suspicion of cow smuggling. the police personnel first took the cows to a shelter at a distance of 10 km, and then took the victim to the hospital.

In another incident, a 25-year-old Muslim man was allegedly beaten up by a violent mob inside the premises of the Ghaziabad court where he had gone to register his marriage with a Hindu woman. Sahil, who works at a firm in Noida, had gone to the Ghaziabad court to get his marriage with Preeti Singh registered on Monday afternoon when he was attacked by the crowd.
Unconfirmed reports have said that 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind David Coleman Headley has died after being attacked in a jail in the US. According to reports, the information about the Lashkar-e-Taiba operative being dead emerged on July 9, days after he was allegedly attacked in prison.

Earlier reports had said that David Coleman Headley was attacked in the prison on May 19 by two other inmates. The attackers were serving 10-year imprisonment in connection with a case concerning attack on policemen.

Following the attack in the jail, Headley was reportedly airlifted and shifted to a hospital. He was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of the hospital as he had suffered critical injuries.

While the doctors declared Headley dead on July 8, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was assigned the investigate the case.

Zee News has reached out to the agencies to get the reports of Headleys death confirmed. An official statement has been sought from the public information officer, Bureau of Prison, Chicago. However, the official said that they were not able to locate the information about the inmate (Headley).

The North Shore University Evanston hospital, where Headley was reportedly shifted, had also failed to confirm the same, saying, Currently we do not have any patients with this (David Headley/Daood Gilaani) name.

Though reports about an inmates death were published in American media, there was no confirmation on whether the man was Headley. However, authorities in India suspect that the reported incident is about none other than the 2008 Mumbai attacks mastermind.
New Delhi: Although there are no established statistics to show that people of any one community are guilty of cow smuggling, a Rajasthan minister on Tuesday specifically appealed to the Muslim community to stop the illegal act. That his appeal came just days after the unfortunate Alwar lynching has sparked a massive outburst.

Speaking to members of the press, Jaswant Yadav said that people of the Muslim community must respect feelings of Hindus. "I appeal to Muslims to understand the sentiments of Hindus and stop smuggling cows. They must stop this business," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Yadav did express condolences over the death of Rakbar who was attacked by a mob on the suspicion of smuggling cows. "As far as his death is concerned, I express condolence and I stand against those who take law in their hands," he said.

Appeal to Muslims to understand the sentiments of Hindus and stop smuggling cows. They must stop this business. As far as his death is concerned, I express condolence and I stand against those who take law in their hands: Jaswant Yadav, Rajasthan Minister on Alwar Lynching Case pic.twitter.com/9iaJZxlI7D  ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2018

The damage though was already done.

Rajasthan home minister Gulab Chand Kataria took a grim view of Yadav's statement. "Jaswant Yadav should answer for himself. The law does not give anyone the right to kill. Whosoever is responsible will be punished," he said.

While mob lynching has become a major problem in the country, controversial statements too are increasing in the aftermath of such incidents. In the case of the Alwar lynching in particular, the role of local cops too is under the scanner because of allegations that the police saw it fit to first take Rakbar's cows to an animal shelter before taking him to the hospital.
(Reported by Jitendra Sharma)

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police on Tuesday issued an order banning the use of drones and para-gliders in the national capital as a preventive measure ahead of the upcoming Independence Day celebrations.

The notification issued by Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik said, ''Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) have been banned completely in the city with effect from July 25,2018 till August 15, 2018.''

The Delhi Police also prohibited flying of sub-conventional aerial platforms like para-gliders, para-motors, hang-gliders, UAVs, UASs, microlight aircraft, remotely piloted aircraft, hot air balloons and many more for a period of 22 days.

''It has been reported that certain criminal, anti-social elements or terrorists, inimical to India may pose a threat to the safety of the general public, dignitaries and vital installations by the use of sub-conventional aerial platforms like para-gliders, para-motors, hang-gliders, UAVs, UASs, microlight aircrafts, remotely piloted aircrafts, hot air balloons, small size powered aircrafts, quadcopters or even by para-jumping from aircraft and others," the Delhi Police said in a statement.

The notification is believed to have been taken amid fears that drones and para-gliders could be used to stage a terrorist attack or create law and order problem in the national capital, especially during the Independence Day celebrations.

Delhi Police will also keep an eye on the unauthorised movement of drones and para-gliders in the city and anyone violating it will be strictly dealt with under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code.

Delhi Police have been directed to step up vigil and has acquired hundreds of digital cameras to be installed at strategic locations in and around Rajpath for greater surveillance.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle is commonly known as a drone, which is a remote-controlled aircraft without a human pilot aboard. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which include a UAV, a ground-based controller and a system of communications between the two.
Indian Air Force (IAF) will start getting the Dasault Rafale fighters in a fly-way condition from September 2019. All the 36 Rafale fighters will be inducted into the IAF by April 2022.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Monday that the Rafale will come equoppped with "associated equipment and weapons. "As per the Inter-Governmental Agreement, signed between the Government of India and the Government of French Republic, delivery of 36 Rafale aircraft in a fly-away condition along with associated equipment and weapons will commence from September 2019 and will be completed by April 2022. The project is progressing as per schedule, she said in a written reply to Amma Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh.

India had announced that it was buying 36 Rafale fighters from France for Rs 58,000 crore after signing a government-to-government deal in 2016 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Paris.

However, the deal has sparked off a controversy with Congress accusing the Modi government of not explaining the rationale behind the pricing of the jets.

France, on the other hand, wants India to buy more jets. According to the Press Trust of India, France is keen to sell 36 more Rafales to India after the first lot of 36 jets is delivered.

The IAF must have 42 squadrons to ensure it is prepared for a simultaneous war with China and Pakistan. But at present, the IAF has only 31 squadrons of fighter aircraft. There are 11 squadrons of the frontline Su-30MKI, three each of the MiG-29 and Mirage 2000, six Jaguar and six MiG-21Bison squadrons apart from two upgraded MiG-27 squadrons. The force has already ordered three more Su-30MKI and two Dassault Rafale squadrons along with two squadrons of the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Tejas MK 1.
MUMBAI: Amid ongoing protests in Maharashtra over Maratha Reservation, Maratha Kranti Samaj called for a 'peaceful' bandh on Wednesday. The bandh will be observed in Thane, Navi Mumbai and Raigad, however, no schools and colleges will be included in it.

"We will observe a peaceful bandh tomorrow. Thane, Navi Mumbai, Raigad to be bandh tomorrow. Schools and colleges will not be included in this bandh as we do not intend to trouble anyone," Maratha Kranti Samaj told news agency ANI.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra minister and Shiv Sena leader Subhash Desai said, "Maratha reservation has been delayed. How the court will react to it must be kept mind. Shiv Sena supports Maratha reservation. People who promised reservation to solve the issue should come forward."

Maratha outfits have called for a bandh in the state on Tuesday, a day after a man demanding reservation for the community jumped to his death in a river in Aurangabad district.

A pro-reservation Maratha leader said they have called the bandh across the state on Tuesday and that they would continue their agitation until Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis apologises to the community.

On Monday, a 27-year-old protester, Kakasaheb Shinde, jumped off a bridge over Godavari River in Aurangabad. He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead, police said.

The Maratha Kranti Morcha had on Monday demanded an apology from Fadnavis for alleging that some members from the community were planning violence at Pandharpur town in Solapur district, where the chief minister was earlier scheduled to perform puja at a temple on 'Ashadhi Ekadashi'.

The outfit, which led the 'jal samadhi' protest in which Shinde died, is leading the agitation seeking reservation for the community in government jobs and education.

Shinde's death had triggered a fresh set of protests in several parts of Maharashtra, with opposition leaders seeking to put the onus on the BJP-led government in the state.

(With inputs from agencies)
No religion allows slaughtering of cow, said senior RSS leader Indresh Kumar on Tuesday while responding to the recent incident of mob lynching in Rajasthan's Alwar. He added that incidents of mob lynching will stop once killing of the bovine stops.

Kisi bhi mob ki hinsa, wo aapke ghar ki, mohalle ki, jaati ki, party ki ho, wo kabhi bhi ahinandaniya nahin ho sakti. Parantu, duniya ke jitne bhi dharm hain, unke kisi ek dharam sthal par bata do ki gaye ka vadh hota hai (Violence by mob, whether that be your own home, neighbourhood, party, is not praiseworthy. But, tell me one religion which permits the killing of cows), said Kumar, an executive committee member of the RSS.

Kumar was speaking at the inauguration of Jagran Hindu Manch in Ranchi.

Isha dharti par gaushala mein aaye, isliye waha mother cow bolte hain. Mecca Madina mein gaye ka vadh apradh maante hain. Kya hum sankalp nahi kar sakte ki dhara ko,manavta ko is paap se muqt karaein. Agar muqt ho jaayegi to aapki samasya (mob lynching) ka hal ho jaayega (It is called 'mother cow' in Christianity because Jesus was born in a cowshed. It is a sin to kill cows is banned in Mecca-Madina. Can't we commit that we will free the world and humanity from this sin? If it is free, then the problem (mob lynching) will be solved), he added.

Condemning the recent assault on social activist Swami Agnivesh, Kumar said nobody has the right to hurt sentiments of others.

"It is wrong and condemnable. But nobody has the right to hurt others' sentiments in the name of freedom of expression," Kumar, an executive committee member of the RSS, told a press conference here.

Agnivesh was beaten up at Pakur in Jharkhand on July 17 allegedly by members of BJP-affiliated youth groups who accused him of speaking against Hindus.

He said there is a need for a strong action against those who hurt religious faith.

Following Supreme Court's rap over increasing incidents of mob lynching, Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government is currently exploring the possibility of making amendments in the Indian Penal Code, defining mob lynching as a penal offence.

Besides, the government is considering another option of drafting a model law, which can be adopted by states to prevent incidents of mob lynching. The official said that the discussions for the same are in preliminary state, in the wake of the Supreme Courts order directing Centre to formulate a new law.

With agency inputs
NEW DELHI: Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday released a letter to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and demanded an inquiry into the massive breach of candidate data in National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) exam.

In a letter to CBSE chairman Anita Karwal, Rahul urged an enquiry into the data breach and insisted on putting in place effective safeguards to prevent safeguards to prevent future breaches.

Congress President @RahulGandhi writes to the Chairperson CBSE to order an enquiry into the data breach and to put in place effective safeguards to prevent safeguards to prevent future breaches. pic.twitter.com/R7WWbsHb7D  Congress (@INCIndia) July 24, 2018

It's alleged that data of candidates who appeared for NEET this year, is available on certain websites for a price & has leaked data of over 2,00,000 students. I strongly urge you to order an inquiry, wrote Rahul.

In a massive breach of data, the phone numbers, email IDs and addresses of thousands of applicants who appeared for NEET in 2018 was reportedly available online for a payment of up to Rs 2 lakh.
New Delhi: The Congress may have pitched for Rahul Gandhi as its prime ministerial candidate for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls but on Tuesday gave indications it is not averse to accepting a nominee for the top post from any Opposition alliance who does not have the backing of the RSS.

Top Congress sources while giving this indication also said that to prevent the BJP from coming back to power in 2019, the Congress will look to cobble up alliances with various parties in states.

On whether Congress President Rahul Gandhi will step aside for a woman candidate from a possible Opposition alliance, the sources said he "is comfortable seeing any prime minister other than an RSS-backed one".

"Let's see how the dice rolls," the sources said.

There is speculation in the Opposition camp that a woman prime ministerial candidate may be projected in the next elections and names of BSP leader Mayawati and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee are doing the rounds.

After the meeting of the Congress Working committee(CWC) on Sunday, the Congress said Rahul Gandhi will be its prime ministerial face for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. It also authorised Rahul Gandhi to forge alliances with "like-minded" political parties to take on the ruling BJP.

Stating that it's going to be an "ideological fight", the sources said the Congress has to bring all the opposition parties together to defeat the BJP.

"India in 2004 is different from 2014. This is beyond our regular political battle. It is for the first time all institutions are attacked," the sources said and added, " the more the RSS attacks Congress, it will help the party to build."

The sources further said that the Congress does not believe in "right or left" views but for a liberal and pragmatic space.

According to the sources, the Congress leadership is of the view that the BJP will be decimated without any "anger and disrespect".

The BJP will not get enough seats to win the next general polls as parties like the TDP and the Shiv Sena are not happy with the saffron party, the sources added.

For Narendra Modi to be the prime minister again, he has to get seats in the range of 280 and that is not going to happen, they said.

The sources said if grand anti-BJP alliances in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar work out fine, then it will be difficult for Modi to retain power.

While Uttar Pradesh has 80 Lok Sabha seats, Bihar has 40 and the two together comprise over 22 per cent of the total strength of Lok Sabha members of 543.

Noting that the Congress is focussing on increasing women's representation in the party, the sources said women leaders will be appointed in general secretary level posts after they gain experience at different levels of party functioning.

On women's reservation bill, they said it will be a "tactical win" if the legislation gets through Parliament. However, the party has to work a lot to ensure more women in politics and that it would work towards creating a positive atmosphere.

The sources further said India needs to be built with new ideas to address the challenges of farm crisis, unemployment among others but the prime minister is "running out of ideas" as he is working on the political architecture of the 1990s and the saffron party is allegedly working for few corporates.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday gifted 200 cows to villagers in Rwanda who do not yet own a cow. The cows have been gifted under the Rwandan Government's Girinka Programme. The event to mark the handing over of cows was held at Rweru Model Village, in the presence of Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

Appreciating the Girinka Programme and President Paul Kagame's initiative, Prime Minister Modi said that people in India would also be pleasantly surprised to see that cows are being given importance as a means of economic empowerment in villages in faraway Rwanda. PM Modi also spoke about the similarity in the rural life of the two countries and hoped that the Girinka Programme will help transform villages in Rwanda.



The word Girinka means may you have a cow and describes a centuries-old cultural practice in Rwanda where cows were given to each other as a sign of respect and gratitude.



Girinka was initiated by President Paul Kagame in response to the alarmingly high rate of childhood malnutrition and as a way to accelerate poverty reduction and integrate livestock and crop farming. The program is based on the premise that providing a dairy cow to poor Girinka Programme transforms livelihoods, reconciles communities improving agricultural productivity through the use of manure as fertilisers which would lead to improving soil quality and reducing erosion through the planting of grasses and trees.



Since its introduction in 2006, many people have received cows through the Girinka program. By June 2016, a total of 248,566 cows had been distributed to poor households.



The program has contributed to an increase in agricultural production in Rwanda - especially milk production and products, reduced malnutrition and increased incomes.

The program is also aimed at promoting unity and reconciliation among Rwandans based on the cultural principle that if a cow is given from one person to another, it establishes trust and respect between the giver and beneficiary.

The program also follows a certain criteria in choosing who the beneficiaries should be. Very poor vulnerable families that dont own a cow but do have land that can be used to grow grass for feeding the cows are among those who get the animal. The beneficiary should be in position to construct an animal shed or willing to join others in community to construct a communal cow shed to be jointly used with the rest.
Jaipur: In the wake of Alwar lynching, Rajasthan Home Minister on Tuesday blamed the police for wasting time who first send the cows to cow-shed and then took the lynching victim to the hospital.

Rajasthan Home Minister GC Kataria further said that the life of the victim - Akbar Khan - could have been saved, had the police acted in a responsive way.

It was not the duty of police to send cows to cow-shed first, they should have taken the injured to hospital first. They wasted time in sending the cows to cow-shed. He could have been saved, efforts could have been made: Rajasthan Home Minister GC Kataria #AlwarLynching pic.twitter.com/6x7obK2JRW  ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2018

"It was not the duty of the police to send cows to cow-shed first, they should have taken the injured to the hospital first. They wasted time in sending the cows to cow-shed. He could have been saved, efforts could have been made," GC Kataria told news agency ANI.

On Monday, NRK Reddy, Special DG heading a four-member probe team, admitted that there was indeed an 'error in judgement' on the part of local police officials.

Sources told Zee News that the police personnel first took the cows to a shelter at a distance of 10 km, and then took the victim to the hospital. He had been beaten by a mob on Saturday on suspicions of being a cow smuggler but his life could have been, possible, saved had he received timely medical care.

Instead, he was declared brought dead when police finally reached the hospital. 28-year-old Akbar was mercilessly lynched at Lalawandi village in Alwar district.
Kolkata: In a major breakthrough, Uttar Pradesh ATS, Noida Police and Kolkata Police STF arrested two Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) operatives on Tuesday.

The two JMB operatives were arrested by the joint team from the Surajpur police station area in Greater Noida. The two operatives have been identified as Musharraf alias Musa and Rubel Ahmed, both Bangladeshi nationals.

Both of them are being brought to Kolkata on transit remand for further examination by the Kolkata Police STF. On arrival in Kolkata, they will be produced before a court.

Sources in the Kolkata Police STF reveal that the two had been living in India for the past six months. They entered India following a massive crackdown on JMB operatives by the Bangladeshi government.

Both Musa and Rubel belonged to the non-operational wing of the old-JMB. However, the single most important task of Musa and his associate Rebel was to procure arms and explosives, which in return was to be used in carrying out attack.

Sources also reveal that Musa used to run a huge network of bike stealing racket back home in Bangladesh. The sale proceeds after selling off the bikes would go into buying arms and explosives. The duo's involvement could not be ruled out in the recent attacks carried out by the JMB in Bangladesh, said a senior officer of Uttar Pradesh ATS.

Later, Uttar Pradesh ATS is likely to question the duo to examine whether they were planning any such attacks during their stay in Noida.
New Delhi: Union Textiles Minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani is in news for not paying the car parking fee in Delhi's Rajiv Chowk locality on Tuesday.

According to reports, Irani had gone to the E Block area in Rajiv Chowk and parked her vehicle in the parking lot.

When she returned, those managing the parking demanded the parking fee from the minister.

Soon, a war of words began between the officials accompanying the Union Minister and the parking staff.

Irani, however, left without paying the parking fee.

The Delhi Police officials later claimed that no complaint has been made by the Union Minister in this regard.

It is also not clear if Irani had gone to the area in her official vehicle.

Media reports quoted DCP, Delhi Police, as saying that a row erupted over a trivial issue which was sorted.

He added that the minister, too, had not lodged any complaint in this regard.
The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday filed a draft vision document in the Supreme Court for the protection and preservation of Taj Mahal. In its vision document, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in UP proposed that the whole area in the vicinity of the iconic monument should be made plastic-free.

The document also calls for ban on factories and establishments that spread pollution in the area, and a riverfront alongside river Yamuna will also be developed for pedestrians. It points that the same would reduce vehicular pollution in the area.

A Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Madan B Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta scheduled the next date of hearing in the case on July 31.

The draft vision document was submitted by the state government after the Supreme Court pulled it up over lack of maintenance of Taj Mahal. The Bench had also pulled up the central government in this regard.

In a strong statement, the Supreme Court had said that Taj Mahal should either be preserved or demolished. The top court had also questioned the government over no vision document for the preservation of the iconic monument.

Central government was questioned by the apex court over why it let commercial establishments and industries come up in the vicinity of Taj Mahal. Responding to it, the government had said that it would not allow any industry to come up in future.

The court had asked the government to take lessons from how the government in France took care of Eiffel Tower and preserved it despite lakhs of tourists visited the monument. The government had pointed that IIT-Kanpur and Environment Ministry were studying the causes of pollution affecting Taj Mahal and that necessary actions would be taken at the earliest.
SRINAGAR: A CRPF patrol party was attacked by a group of heavily armed terrorists at a checkpost in Batmaloo in Srinagar on Tuesday during which a jawan was killed.

According to initial reports, the terrorists opened indiscriminate fire upon the CRPF patrol party at it reached near the checkpost in Batamaloo.

One CRPF jawan, who was seriously injured in the incident, was immediately rushed to the hospital for treatment. However, he later succumbed to injuries.

Jammu & Kashmir: One security personnel succumbs to injuries, two security personnel sustain bullet injuries in terrorist attack on CRPF party at Batmaloo in Srinagar. Security forces cordon off a shop where terrorists are suspected to be hiding. pic.twitter.com/Idwm1btD71  ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2018

Two more security personnel who sustained bullet injuries during the attack on the CRPF party are undergoing treatment at a hospital in Srinagar.

The terrorists, however, managed to flee from the spot and hid themselves in a nearby shop.

The security forces have cordoned off the shop where terrorists are suspected to be hiding.

A massive search and combing operation has also been launched in the area to nab the remaining terrorists.

#SpotVisuals: Terrorists attack CRPF party at Batmaloo in Srinagar. (Visuals deferred by unspecified time) #JammuAndKashmir pic.twitter.com/RmmH61IeGK  ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2018

In another incident, an unidentified terrorist active in the Kashmir Valley on Tuesday surrendered before security forces and returned to his family.

"With the help of the community, one more joins his family and shuns the path of violence," Kashmir Zone Police said on Twitter.

However, the details of the surrendered terrorist have been kept a secret in order to ensure the security of the youth.

More than a dozen terrorists have laid down their arms in Kashmir since last year when police announced that they will accept the offer to surrender of local militants even during ongoing encounters.
New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir Police on Monday released a still from a CCTV footage which shows the suspected terrorists who were involved in the attack on a CRPF party in Srinagar's Batmaloo.

In the photograph, a person wearing a helmet is seen riding a bike while his pillion is sitting without a helmet.

Earlier on Tuesday, a CRPF patrol party was attacked by a group of heavily armed terrorists at a checkpost in Batmaloo in Srinagar during which a jawan was killed.

According to initial reports, the terrorists opened indiscriminate fire upon the CRPF patrol party. One CRPF jawan, who was seriously injured in the incident, was immediately rushed to the hospital for treatment. However, he later succumbed to injuries.

Two more security personnel who sustained bullet injuries during the attack on the CRPF party are undergoing treatment at a hospital in Srinagar. The terrorists, however, managed to flee from the spot and hid in a nearby shop.

The security forces cordoned off the shop where the terrorists were suspected to be hiding. A massive search operation was launched in the area to nab the remaining terrorists.
Srinagar: An unidentified militant in Kashmir Valley today surrendered before security forces and returned to his family, the police said. "With the help of community one more joins his family and shuns the path of violence," Kashmir Zone Police said on Twitter.

However, the details of the surrendered terrorist have been kept a secret in order to ensure the security of the youth.

More than a dozen terrorists have laid down their arms in Kashmir since last year when police announced that they will accept the offer to surrender of local militants even during ongoing encounters.

Most of these terrorists have surrendered after appeals by their families to shun the path of violence and return home.
BENGALURU: Amid reports of discontent brewing in the ruling coalition government in Karnataka, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Tuesday hinted that he was open to a pre-poll alliance with Congress for 2019 Lok Sabha elections but it depended on the latter.

''Agenda is there. Let us see how Congress is going to treat JD(S),'' Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy said on being asked about chances of a pre-poll alliance with Congress in 2019 General Elections.

Agenda is there. Let us see how Congress is going to treat JD(S): Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on being asked about chances of a pre-poll alliance with Congress in 2019 General Elections pic.twitter.com/XntZGaVo6L  ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2018

The remarks from the JDS leader comes days after he fuelled speculations of growing dissent in the Congress camp by making ''the pain of a coalition government' remark.

It is to be noted the ruling JDS is running a coalition government with Congress in Karnataka.

The Chief Minister later clarified that he did not mean anything about the Congress party or its leaders and he was misinterpreted by the media.

"I didn't speak about Congress or any Congress leader. I didn't mention anything about Congress in my speech. That was a party program and I got emotional, Media misinterpreted my speech," Kumaraswamy told ANI.

Speaking at a public event on July 17, an emotional Kumaraswamy broke down as he highlighted pains of leading a coalition government. He said that he could not accept bouquets and garlands for becoming the CM of the state because he is unhappy.

"While you may be happy thinking that your Anna or Thamma has become the chief minister, let me tell you that Im not. I know the pain of coalition govt. I became 'Neelkanth' and swallowed pain of this govt," he had said, wiping tears from his face.

Attempting to console him a day later, the Congress asked him to have the courage to face the problems in running a coalition government.

After days of mudslinging and political drama, Kumaraswamy was finally sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Karnataka on May 23, 2018.

His party had emerged third - behind BJP and Congress - but when BS Yeddyurappa quit right before a show of strength on the floor of the assembly, Kumaraswamy took the mantle with support from Congress.
BHOPAL: Medical services were hit in several cities of Madhya Pradesh as nearly 500 junior doctors in Rewa, Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior and Jabalpur resigned on Tuesday over their demands for stipend and equipment.

According to ANI, these doctors are linked to five government colleges, including Rewa's Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital and Bhopal's Gandhi Memorial Hospital.

#MadhyaPradesh: At least 500 junior doctors of Rewa's Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital and Bhopal's Gandhi Memorial Hospital have submitted their resignation over their demands for stipend and equipment.  ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2018

Giving more details, state president of Junior Doctors Association (JUDA) Sachet Saxena said that they would not be attending any classes.

The junior would also vacate their hostel rooms, he added. It was earlier reported that at least 500 junior doctors will go on strike from Monday.

The junior doctors took the decision after their talks with the administration failed.

Their resignation is likely to impact the medical services in several cities including Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior, Rewa and Jabalpur.

The junior doctors have been demanding an increase in their stipend.

Among other demands, JUDA is also demanding a rollback in exam fee as laid down by the MP Medical Science University for PG students. They have also pressed for better hostels and hospitals and a provision of senior residentship for diploma candidates.

JUDA is demanding a stipend of Rs 69,000 per month for third-year PG residents, Rs 67,000 for second-year PG residents and Rs 65,000 for first-year PG residents, Rs 50,000 per month for junior residents and Rs 20,000 for interns.
BALWADI: A langoor died in Balwadi village near Khargone in Madhya Pradesh died due to electrocution after he came in contact with a live wire. A video of the langoor has gone viral in which another langoor can be seen tending to the dead. For nearly an hour, the langoor tried to bring back the dead to life. The 'friend' continued to shake the dead langoor, rolled him over from one side to the other and even attempted at what looked like giving chest compressions to bring him back to life.

The video also shows villagers mourning the death of the animal and holding a funeral for the langoor. They covered the body of the langoor in a red and white cloth. Even his funeral procession was carried out where a few men from the village held the langoor on a bier. The dead simian was covered in flowers and was garlanded by those present at the funeral.

They dug a grave for the langoor outside the village where the simian was buried. Several people present there joined hands in prayer. Some can even be seen in the video taking pictures of the funeral.

The langoor was clambering on an electricity poll when he was electrocuted. The tragic incident was caught on camera by some locals in the area.

Villagers said over a dozen monkeys gathered at the spot after his death and refused to leave the simian for over an hour.
New Delhi: Huawei sub-brand Honor launched one of its most affordable Notch phones in the company's price segment - Honor 9N  in India on Tuesday.

The Honor 9N with 3+32GB storage has been priced at Rs 11,999; 4+64GB model has been priced at Rs 13,999 and the 4+128GB model has been priced at 17,999.

The phone will be available exclusively on Flipkart on July 31 from 12 noon.

Honor 9N, comes with a narrow Notch Display design offering users a bezel-less experience. The unique 19:9 Full View Notch display design provides more screen size which is used for displaying additional information like date, time, battery statics and other apps notifications. It is inspired by water droplet design, Honor said.

Honor 9N houses 2.5D Curved glass design with 12 layers of premium glass with a Nano coating finish. It houses 13MP+2MP rear camera and a 16MP front camera , multifunctional fingerprint unlock, 3D face contouring, smart beautification and gender beautification features.

The Honor 9N will be available in four colours- Lavender Purple, Robin Egg Blue, Sapphire Blue and Midnight Black.
New Delhi: Huawei sub-brand Honor is all set to launch one of its most affordable Notch phones in the company's price segment - Honor 9N  in India on Tuesday. The phone will be available exclusively on Flipkart.

Honor will launch the phone at an event in Delhi at 11.30 am. You can watch the live streaming of the event here.

Honor has tweeted:

The #Honor9N launch is all set to begin from 11.30 am!

Tune in to Facebook, Twitter & Youtube and catch all the action LIVE! #BeautyAllAround

Facebook: https://t.co/MU8oITcyRe

Youtube: https://t.co/wGBMPRHAt3  Honor India (@HiHonorIndia) July 24, 2018

The company has also roped in bollywood celebrities like Bhumi Pednekar, Kalki Koechlin and Rajkumar Rao with the latest #NoOrdinaryBeauty campaign for its upcoming Honor 9N.

The phone will be available exclusively on Flipkart. Honor 9N, will come with a narrow Notch Display design offering users a bezel-less experience.

The unique Notch FullView display design provides more screen size which is used for displaying additional information like date, time, battery statics and other apps notifications. Inspired by water droplet design.

Honor 9N will also come with a 2.5D Curved glass design with 12 layers of premium glass with a Nano coating finish.
NOIDA: Two terrorists allegedly from Bangladesh were on Tuesday arrested from Noida in Uttar Pradesh. The two have been identified as Musharraf Hussain and Rubel Ahmed.

The two terrorists hiding in Noida were arrested by a joint team of Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad and West Bengal Police.

Police officers involved in the operation to arrest the two terrorists said that they were planning to carry out a major terror strike in the national capital.

Security has been tightened in and around the national capital ahead of Independence Day on August 15. Intelligence agencies have warned of a possible terror attack planned by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) ahead of the Independence Day.

The information was revealed by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists Syed Muneer-ul-Hassan Qadri, Ashiq Baba and Tariq Ahmad Dar, who were recently arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for their role in the Nagrota Army camp attack in 2016 that killed seven Indian soldiers.

During interrogation, the counter-terror probe agency found out that JeM has been sending its trained agents, which mostly include misguided Kashmiri youth, under various garbs such as plumber etc.

The authorities are also keeping an eye on all sewer lines, manholes leading up to the Red Fort and trees, door and windows and pillars facing the monument.
Mumbai: After Pakistani actress Mahira Khan, Saba Qamar has been slammed for smoking and dressing 'inappropriately'. Haters trolled the actress after a few behind-the-scenes images of hers from a photo-shoot were leaked, reports suggest.

In one of the photos, Saba can be seen holding a cigarette in her hand. It is evident that she was probably changing when the photo was clicked.

Trolls criticised her for smoking and wearing revealing clothes.

Saba became popular in India after she made her Bollywood debut with Irrfan Khan starrer Hindi Medium in May last year.

Check out one of the images shared by a social media user here:

A post shared by Nida Khan (@nida_janam) on Jul 19, 2018 at 1:14am PDT

Many of her friends and colleagues slammed her haters for slut-shaming her.

Here's Adnan Siddiqui's reaction.

Sometime last year, images of Saba's colleague Mahira Khan (who made her Bollywood debut with Shah Rukh Khan starrer Raees in 2017) taking a smoke-break with Bollywood superstar Ranbir Kapoor in New York City had surfaced online. The images were all over the internet and Mahira felt "violated".

Mahira was apparently affected by the controversy that followed thereafter. She was slut-shamed for smoking and wearing a backless short dress in public.

Actors from Bollywood as well as the Pakistani film industry came out in support of Mahira by giving fitting responses to her haters.
Mumbai: Kangana Ranaut is not just the Queen of Bollywood but a fashionista too. The curly-haired beauty, who makes sarees(both traditional and contemporary) look cool and stylish, posed in front of the Adiyogi statue in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.

Her team took to Instagram to share a stunning photograph of the lady in white with the majestic statue of Adiyogi at Isha Foundation headed by spiritual guru Jaggi Vasudev in the city.

"And time stood still!

#KanganaRanaut soaking in the divinity and seeking the blessings of the almighty at #Adiyogi @isha.foundation

@sadhguru (sic)."

The 112-feet tall Adiyogi's statue made of steel represents Lord Shiva. It has been declared the largest bust by the Guinness Books of World Records. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had unveiled the statue on February 24, 2017, on the occasion of Maha Shivratri.

Kangana's visit to Coimbatore showcases her spiritual side. The beauty fro Himachal will be seen in Prakash Kovelamudi's psychological thriller Mental Hai Kya opposite her Queen co-star Rajkummar Rao. The film will release on 22 February 2019.

She will also make a splash on the silver screen as Rani Lakshmibai in Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, a magnum opus slated to release on 25 January 2019.

Here's wishing Kangana, all the very best for her films.
Mumbai: Deepika Padukone flew to London a couple of days ago for a sitting with the Madame Tussauds wax artistes to give measurements for her statue at the famous museum in the English capital.

The Bollywood diva took to Instagram to share images from the sitting where she can be seen posing with an eyeball and false hair etc.

Her rumoured beau Ranveer Singh, who is known for making quirky remarks and expressions reacted to her post which shows her holding an eyeball.

Check out his funny reaction below:

Here's Deepika's post:

Its all about the details A post shared by Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) on Jul 23, 2018 at 5:27am PDT

Speculations are rife that Ranveer and Deepika may fly to Italy a la Virat Kohli - Anushka Sharma to tie the nuptial knot in a hush-hush ceremony attended by family and close friends. The couple in question is tight-lipped, but rumours suggest that the two actors may get married in November this year.

DeepVeer had flown to the Maldives to celebrate New Year. Reports suggest that Ranveer got engaged to Deepika on her birthday in the island country and it was then that he proposed to her for marriage.

The two were seen walking hand-in-hand at the airport after returning from their vacation.

Deepika and Ranveer have been together for over five years now. They became Bollywood's 'it' couple soon after the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram Leela. They set the screen on fire with their sizzling hot chemistry. They recreated the same magic when they made a splash as Bajirao and Mastani in Bhansali's Bajirao Mastani a couple of years later.

Interestingly, they played man and wife in Homi Adajania's Finding Fanny. But Ranveer's cameo lasted just for a few seconds in the film which had Arjun Kapoor as the main lead.
New Delhi: Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor's relationship has been the talk of the town for a long time now. 'Raila', as fans call them, have been rumoured to be dating ever since they started shooting for Ayan Mukerji's 'Brahmastra'. Ranbir almost confirmed the relationship in an interview with GQ magazine by calling it 'too new to talk about'. While Alia has maintained her silence on her relationship status, looks like the cat is out of the bag, with all courtesy to Ranbir's father, Rishi Kapoor.

In an interview with Mid-day, Kapoor senior said that it is high time that Ranbir got married. He told Mid-day, "It is high time he got married. I settled down when I was 27, Ranbir is 35. So he should think about marriage. He can marry anyone of his choice; we don't have any objection to it. I want to spend time with my grandchildren before I am gone."

The actor was also asked about his son's rumoured love affair with Alia, to which he said Jo hai woh hai, sabko pata hai. I don't need to say anything more.", reports Mid-Day.

Well, this sure does mean something! While there is still no official announcement from neither Ranbir nor Alia, senior Kapoor's statement conveys a lot!

Alia and Ranbir are in Bulgaria to shoot for 'Brahmastra'. The movie also stars legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan and is slated to release in August next year.
Mumbai: Monalisa is busy promoting her debut Hindi daily soap Nazar, a supernatural show that will narrate the tale of a daayan. The Bhojpuri star who made a million hearts skip a beat with her sensuous Jhuma Boudi avatar in Bengali web-series Dupur Thakurpo season 2, will essay Mohono, the lead role.

After visiting Lucknow, Monalisa headed to Bhopal to attend Nazar promotional events. She took to her Instagram page to share her latest photographs.

She shared images of hers in a Navy blue saree with beige coloured embroidery on the border and teamed it up with a matching blouse.

Her daayan look bears striking resemblance to Konkana Sen Sharma's in Ek Thi Dayan co-starring Emraan Hashmi, Kalki Koechlin and Huma Qureshi.

Check out Monalisa's latest pics here:

The show which will go on air from July 30 will be telecast at 11 pm on Monday - Friday.

Monalisa aka Antara Biswas became a household name after participating in the tenth season of super-hit reality show Bigg Boss hosted by Bollywood superstar Salman Khan.

She married her Bhojpuri co-star Vikrant Singh Rajpoot while she was still inside the house of Bigg Boss, and her marriage was aired on national TV.

She is one of the highest paid actresses in the Bhojpuri film industry.

Here's wishing Monalisa hearty congratulations for her new show.
New Delhi: The popular actor on television Kavi Kumar Azad, better known as Dr Hansraj Hathi on the hit sitcom 'Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah' breathed his last on July 9, 2018. His sudden demise sent a shock wave across his the television and film fraternity.

An ocean of fans gathered to pay their last respects and were left teary-eyed. Several television and film actors mourned his death and paid their last respects. One of the co-actors Mun Mun Dutta, better known as Babita Ji from 'Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah' got emotional and even shared a glimpse of the last shot of Kavi Kumar Azad from the show on the Instagram story.

According to a report in Telly Chakkar, the team of 'Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah' has cancelled the celebrations marking their successful run for 10 long years. Neela Telefilms will be completing a decade on July 28, 2018, but as a mark of tribute and respect to late Kavi Kumar Azad, the team has decided to cancel all celebrations.

There will be a puja organised on the sets that day but no other celebration will take place, reportedly.

Earlier, after learning about the famous actor's death, 'Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah' team had cancelled the shoot that day at Film City, Mumbai.

Kavi had been associated with the show for the longest time and his character of Dr Hansraj Hathi was loved by the audiences across all age groups. Besides, he also did a few cameos in movies as well. He was a part of Aamir Khan's 'Mela' and 'Funtoosh'.

May his soul rest in peace!
GHAZIABAD: A 25-year-old Muslim man was allegedly beaten up by a violent mob inside the premises of the Ghaziabad court where he had gone to register his marriage with a Hindu woman.

Sahil, who works at a firm in Noida, had gone to the Ghaziabad court to get his marriage with Preeti Singh registered on Monday afternoon when he was attacked by the crowd.

The police personnel deployed on duty at the court rushed to save the man from the attackers.

Ghaziabad: Muslim man from Madhya Pradesh beaten at Marriage registrar office allegedly because he went there to marry a Hindu girl from Bijnor. The couple works at a company in Noida. Police took suo-motu cognisance& registered case against 2 known & several unidentified persons pic.twitter.com/wx2W9FNUT0  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) July 24, 2018

The police took suo-motu cognisance of the incident and registered a case against two identified and several unidentified persons in this connection.

Sanjay Panday, the Station House Officer (SHO) of Sihani Gate police station, informed that a case has been registered and the investigation into the matter is on.

''We have registered an FIR against two men - Vinod and Navneet - and several unknown persons,'' Pandey said.

However, no arrest has been made so far in connection with the case.

Sahil, who hails from Bhopal, sustained minor injuries during the attack while the woman, who is from Bijnore in Uttar Pradesh, escaped unhurt.

The couple has refused to file any case against the attackers out of fear.
Mumbai: Gina Stewart from Gold Coast Australia is dubbed as world's hottest Grandmother. The 47-year-old model made headlines after finishing 12th in Miss Maxim modelling contest that had over 10,000 participants in April this year.

The hottie has over 86.2k followers on Instagram and she keeps posting pictures of hers on the photo-sharing site.

She is a mother of 4. According to dailymail.co.uk, she has two sons and two daughters aged 27, 25, 23 and 4 respectively. Gina became a grandmother at the age of 46.

Take a look at some of her Instagram posts here:

Become who you are. #comment#like#share#tag#inspire#love#kindness#compassion#beautyfromtheinsideout#beautyfromwithin#innerbeauty A post shared by Gina Stewart (@strawberriesandcream1) on Jun 8, 2018 at 11:02am PDT

Gina recently expressed her concerns over her health and wants to get rid of her breast implants. She fears that her implants may cause more health issues. She reportedly underwent the knife ten years ago and spent about $10,000 to get her breasts augmented.

She wasn't happy with her B-cup breasts in her youth but now doesn't want to continue with double-E cup implants. Gina wants to age gracefully and is taking good care of her health. She reportedly appeared on a television show to discuss her augmented breasts. And after watching her on TV, many of her fans felt that she looked different.

Speculations are rife that her Instagram photos are airbrushed.

"Some of my pics are smoothed and some arent. You definitely cant airbrush a video so thats why I put them up frequently," Daily Mail Australia quoted Gina as saying.
Jalpaiguri: Even as the Centre mulls bringing in amendments in the Indian Penal Code to check mob lynching, another such incident was reported from West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district on Monday.

Four women were allegedly assaulted by a mob on suspicion of being child-lifters at Dawkimari village in Dhupguri block, police said. Out of the four, two were also disrobed by the crowd.

The women, aged between 20 and 50 years, were not locals.

This is the fourth incident of mob attack in the district, and the second one in the same Dhupguri block.

Last week, a mentally deranged woman was beaten up in the same block of the district on suspicion of being a child-lifter.

One woman was reportedly looking for a relative, another visiting a relative, while the third woman is a door-to-door clothes seller and the fourth one came to visit a neighbourhood bank, the police told PTI.

Suspecting them to be child-lifters, the mob then allegedly assaulted the four women and even disrobed the two of them, said Amitabha Maity, Jalpaiguri Superintendent of Police.

The women were later rescued by cops and taken to a nearby primary health centre, where their condition was stated to be stable, he added.

Earlier this month, several people were injured at the Kranti area of Mal block in the district in stone-pelting following rumours that child-lifters were roaming in the area.

A few days later a young man was allegedly assaulted at Balapara in Sadar block on suspicion of being a child-lifter, police added.

Maity said that though no arrests were made so far in connection with today's incident, several persons were booked in the earlier incidents.

"We are creating awareness on this through the social media and public media like announcements over mikes. People should contact the police on the helpline if they find someone suspicious, but not take law into their own hands," he said.

With increasing incidents of lynching and mob violence from across the country in the recent past, the Supreme Court had last week asked Parliament to consider bringing in a law to prevent these.

Following this, the Centre has decided to set up a high-level committee headed by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba to look into new laws to check lynching and mob violence incidents.
Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif has declined to be shifted to a hospital despite his health condition deteriorating in Adiala jail in Rawalpindi. Pakistan-based Dawn News quoted a jail official on condition of anonymity as saying that the former prime minister wants treatment to be provided to him inside the prison itself.

This comes after Pakistan media reported that Nawaz Sharif is in need of urgent medical attention and his kidney is on the verge of collapse. The same was confirmed by a medical board that examined him on Sunday.

Pakistan's Express News had quoted sources as saying that Sharif has kidney-related complications and that a medical board examining him has recommended that he be transferred to a hospital as soon as possible. The doctors reportedly also said that the medical centre within the jail did not have facilities to provide IV fluid to patients.

The same report also quoted sources in the government as contradicting the report on Sharif's medical condition and said that regular medical tests had shown no such complication.

Sharif, daughter Maryam and son-in-law Muhammad Safdar were taken to Adiala jail in Rawalpindi last week soon after they landed in Lahore from London via UAE, as they were convicted in Avenfield properties case.

Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz had alleged that Sharif was being treated as a terrorist and deprived of even basic facilities in the jail. The party alleged that the former prime minister was not being provided newspaper and made to use a washroom which was not in proper condition.

Meanwhile, a judge of the Islamabad High Court, Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, alleged that Pakistan's ISI did not want Sharif out of jail before the general elections in the country, scheduled for Wednesday. According to the judge, the ISI had asked Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Anwar Kasi to ensure that Sharif and Maryam did not walk out of the jail before the elections.
A day before crucial elections across Pakistan, many voters on Tuesday took to social media to complain that the polling stations allotted to them are in cities other than where they permanently reside in.

Pakistan's Dawn reported that there were several instances of people finding out that they had to go to another city to cast their votes. There were also instances of voters finding out that their constituencies were incorrect.

Although many have been venting their frustration on social media, it may well be too late for remedial measures. Local media reports outline that the country's election commission had already set a deadline of April 30 for voter registration and modification.

People now have the option of travelling to other cities or to other parts of their own city, or not to exercise their democratic rights at all.

Wednesday's elections are being seen as crucial for the political future of a volatile Pakistan. Shehbaz Sharif - brother of jailed former PM Nawaz Sharif, and Imran Khan are considered as two of the biggest candidates and both have made a plethora of promises in order to come to power.
Peshawar: Election authorities in Pakistan have ordered an inquiry into reports that women are being barred from voting in parts of conservative northwest Pakistan in the general elections on Wednesday.

The Provincial Election Commissioner (PEC) has directed the District Returning Officers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Malakand Region to conduct an inquiry into the reports.

Some NGOs had submitted a written complaint with election commissioner about signing of agreements between the candidates of the political parties for barring women from voting, a spokesman for KP Election Commission said.

The Provincial Election Commissioner has also taken notice of reports appeared in a section of media about the expectation of less female voting in Swabi and Batagram areas of the province.

In this connection, directives were also issued to concerned DROs and Deputy Commissioner to ensure freedom of vote casting to every citizen in the mentioned areas.

Malakand Division is consisted of Swat, Lower Dir, Upper Dir, Shangla, Buner, Chitral, Malakand and Bajaur districts.

The provincial election commissioner has setup a special women desk in the provincial election office which will entertain complaints relating to women voting in the province.

Pakistanis will go to the polls tomorrow to elect a new prime minister in the second democratic transition of power in the nation's 70-year chequered history amid accusations of manipulation by the powerful army. And concerns over the participation of Islamic hardliners in large numbers.
Open source

U.S. Special Envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker claimed that the US does not support the idea of the holding of any kind of the referendums in occupied Donbas as it will not be legitimate as he claimed to 112 Ukraine.

The White House has already commented this: it rejected the offer. In the terms, when the Ukrainian authority has no control over these territories, people live in danger, has no freedom of movement, there are people who left itThere can be no referendum, it will not be legitimate. That is why the US and all others reject the offers of any referendum, the diplomat said.

As we reported the Kremlin offers the White House to consider a possibility of the referendum in the occupied Donbas. The idea is that local residents, who live in could the militant-controlled areas could vote for the status of this region

According to one of them, Trump asked Putin not to discuss the idea at a press conference after the summit in Helsinki, so that Trump would have enough time to consider it.

The interlocutor added that, according to Putin, the said 'referendum' should take place under the supervision of the international community.
Read the original text at 112.ua.

What are the peculiarities of the Odesa region and how does this affect the work of the police?

First of all, we should talk about the geographical location: the length of the borders, water space, and the border with unrecognized Transnistria. Secondly, it is the tourist season. A lot of people come here to rest and to work. And, of course, the criminal world also takes advantage of this.

We have 7.5-8 thousand criminal proceedings per week during the "quiet period". A week before the tourist season, they were already 10.5 thousand. And in June-July we have 15-16 thousand registered cases per week. Unfortunately, we do not have any additional forces for the tourist season to perform certain specific tasks. This is not a complaint, just a statement of fact.

What kinds of crimes are the most typical?

If we talk about the tourist season, it is primarily street crime. The main emphasis we make on fighting the street crime: street robbery, theft, hijacking, and, of course, burglary. Last year there were up to 30 robberies, last year we managed to decrease it by 10-12, this year, there are 4-5 robberies a day (or up to 7 during the weekend).

The number of burglary in May 2017 reached 553, in May this year it was 370. The number of robberies last year for 29 days of May was 989, this year it reached 507. We witness more than 30% decrease. Robberies are usually paralleled with impudence and the use of weapons. Last year there were 96 cases of robbery, while this year, only 104 cases were registered. These are real figures.

This year we see the growth of serious bodily injuries. The growth is very rapid, more than 50%. This is due to the fact that no one wants to hide it; so we register a crime and investigate it. Probably, our society is not ready for some civilized norms of behavior, a high level of aggression could be seen in the society.

What is usual for the Odesa region is a tourniquet property. Last year, 107 facts were fixed, and 74 in 2018. Not because there are fewer crimes but rather we manage to prevent them. First, all of them are registered, and secondly, they are aimed at a full-fledged investigation. And prevention. Patrol police, video recording, enhanced night patrolling, including in rural areas. And the introduction of the National Guard is very useful in this situation.

And how about gang activity?

You know, Odesa is just incomprehensible without gang activity? (Laughs) Last year, we have identified 6 organized criminal groups (OCG), and this year, there will be 5 OCGs. We have gathered some materials about a certain criminal group, associated with the gambling business. They are engaged mainly in armed robbery, apartment theft, kidnapping, extortion, and theft.

Are there many code-bound criminals? Where do they come from?

We call them criminal tourists, they come from near abroad. They come from the Caucasian region. They come here, try to take control over the cash flows, including from the street robberies, pick-pockets, etc. And, of course, we should not forget about the sale of drugs. They are code-bound criminals, as well as persons who equate themselves with criminal authorities, the so-called mafia enforcers or underbosses.

Odesa has a vivid criminal past, so there are areas in which the activities of the small thieves flourish.

Tell us about the situation with street drug abusers.

The problem has deep historical roots. There are such areas as Palermo, Nerubayske, Usatovo, where certain nationalities reside. This is just like their business, of course, they are struggling with this, but they were not defeated in the Soviet era, it is difficult to do this now when the criminal code is more liberal.

Of course, there is a problem of addiction. The drugs are hidden in special places, sold through via social media, the addresses are written right on the facades of houses. We interact with the cyberpolice, but this is not always successful, so a patrol officer is forced to paint all these inscriptions himself. This is like one of the methods of preventive struggle.

We do not focus on sick people, I mean, drug addicts who need the drug, we focus on combating drug dealers, those involved in criminal activities, sellers, brothel keepers, drug laboratories. We harass them hard. And sick drug addicts are just bringing grief to the family, and if we put a drug addict behind the bars, where we now have rest homes and advanced training for the criminals, it cannot be called correction therapy.

Last year, 54 traffickers were detained, and in 2018  93. And this is for 5 months. Last year, 532 drug addicts were detained, and only 390 in 2018.

And how about the traffic situation? Are there a lot of the car accidents?

Accidents are a huge problem, I should admit. When there were no roads, there were few accidents. Now the roads are repaired, the number of road accidents, injuries, and corpses increases. The traffic police serve the roads only around Odesa and the Kyiv route, but this is not enough. So good roads have their advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage is the number of accidents.

You mean the speeding, right?

Yes, they began to drive faster. In some places, there were no roads for some 20 years, now there are European highways there. Those cars with European license car plates take 200 km / h, and have car accidents. In addition, they drink alcoholic drinks during the ride. Previously, we had a certain system, road patrol police, stationary posts, and now they have just begun to restore the stationary posts. Now there are 5 of them in the Odesa region, we need at least 10 of them. There are only 8 patrol cars that serve the routes. Of course, this is not enough for Odesa region, as we have 836 km of roads. Plus the traffic police have an obligation to register the accidents.

How does the situation in Donbas affect the type and number of crimes in the region?

There are a lot of weapons, and not only in the Odesa region. We witness shootings and blowing up. The anti-terrorist operation (ATO) zone is the ATO zone, but military counterintelligence, military prosecutor's office work here. By the way, there is a positive experience: we are in very good working relations with the military prosecutor's office. Again, one should not forget about the large segment of the Transnistrian border. Border guards keep detaining someone; a few weeks ago, they have even prevented the operation of explosive devices, the timer was on. But nevertheless, the weapons come not only from the ATO zone but also from our neighbors. Weapons smuggling; cheap Turkish weapons are illegally imported, then it is redesigned, and thus it becomes a gunshot.

And how about smuggling?

First of all, these are items and goods that are banned from circulation or have limited access: cigarettes and elite alcohol. One more position should be mentioned here  fish, including species from the Red Book. Poachers harvest sturgeon, flounder  the fishes, which are registered in the Red Book and protected by the law. This fish goes abroad, to Romania, to Moldavia, and to the domestic market as well. That's why we have opened a special water police department. It has its own boats and stuff. Together with border guards and environmentalists, we are fighting against the poachers. We have already detained some poachers, took their boats and nets, they catch tons of fish, you know. And the fines reach millions. Every week, we manage to detain someone, and this is despite the fact that we have only one patrol. We have the largest water area in Ukraine, I guess. I mean, including the sea coast, the inland water bodies, and rivers (Dniester, Danube).

You said, only one boat?!

We will get some more. There are specific features of the water bodies. Need a boat, which could be navigated by sea and through the inland reservoirs. And we need some, which would move around the estuaries. The boat is not only a fight against poachers, people grow a lot of marijuana in the floodplains, there are whole plantations of this plant. The other boats will work there and our so-called water special forces. These are trained certified fighters who have undergone water training, diving and so on. These are not fighters of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, they will perform the police functions on the water, including when detaining particularly dangerous criminals. When entering the land, when detaining criminals who are on ships, yachts, other water transport. And, naturally, they will fight with drunks on the water.

There is one more unit that works in the catacombs. Odesa region is specific, it has 2,5 thousand km of underground catacombs. About 500-800 km of them are investigated, the rest are just black places. Therefore, it was decided (with the support of the leadership of the National Police and the Ministry of Internal Affairs) to create a unit (apart from other security structures), performing police functions and specific tasks: filtration, search functions, and mapping.

We also work in the catacombs area together with the SBU. There are some reasons to suspect that the catacombs are used for hiding some separatists stuff like weapons. This is a matter of national security.

Probably, the criminals are also hiding in those catacombs?

The criminals have been hiding there since 1726! And seriously, not only criminals come here, but diggers and smugglers. Therefore, the new combat unit is not a tribute to fashion or a beautiful picture, it is just our routine. Previously, there were no trained experts that could enter the catacombs and conduct qualified search operations there. Now they undergo special training, including a psychological one. It is extremely difficult to spend a day without light, and after three days they just go crazy. They have special equipment, there are places where it is difficult to survive without an oxygen mask, without waterproof clothing. And, of course, they have special weapons and equipment, including thermal imagers and night vision devices.

We have launched the tourist police, a European analog. These are special guys who support tourists during the tourist season. They perform an information and consulting function. These are bike patrols, foot patrols, police service; they are improving the citys tourist image.

Tell us more about the staff.

The staff is very small. Now we have 6 thousand, and previously, there were 12 thousand officers. But we manage to cover the area. Of course, we are often criticized; people have to wait for 20 minutes or more. Yes, we do not always have enough time. First of all, the state should expand the patrol police staff during Odesas tourist season.

And we must not forget that the level of the terrorist threat is constantly "yellow," that is, at any time it can explode. Not so long ago, the guests from Transnistria have blown up a hotel. This must be taken into account. Plus, traditionally on April 10, May 2, the situation is not quite calm in terms of ensuring public order.

You have problems with Romani people, right?

There are some problems, but no more than in Lviv or the Dnipro. There was almost a pogrom against Romani people in Loshchynivka, and it might have ended with casualties. Odesa is the city of the resorts, people come here, and we carry out prevention and raids. The dialogue police are involved, juvenile prevention as well. There was a case when three 13-14-year-old girls of Roma nationality were detained for three times. But these were not Ukrainian Romani people, they did not understand Russian or Ukrainian; they committed the theft. And, of course, our armchair (pejorative term, - ed.) human rights activists claimed that we have violated the constitutional rights, various conventions for the protection of human rights, etc.

Are acts of vandalism usual?

Our city is multinational. Yes, it is partly Jewish, but it not only about anti-Semitism. There are also Bulgarian, Moldovan diasporas. The main blows of scoundrels are applied to loosen the situation. For example, with Bulgaria, the monuments of Bulgarian culture are desecrated with paint. The same things take place at the cemeteries. We have more than 100 nationalities here.

The problem of separatism is acute?

People say that Odesa is a Ukrainian hero city. You should not say that vatniks a (pejorative term, a slang word for blindly patriotic and not very smart Russian - ed.) and fans of Putin live here. No! Go out to the beach or to Privoz and talk to people, I do not think that someone wants to have a war here. No. We have normal Ukrainian cities and villages that are "for" Ukraine. Of course, there are a certain percentage of those dissatisfied; however, one should not confuse protest moods and discontent with manifestations of separatism.

Is this percentage greater than everywhere?

In this issue, we see many speculations, individual politicians or entire political forces use social tension to achieve their own ambitions and cultivate such an opinion. But in fact there are practically no "Russian world" admirers, the true face of this world has already become evident to everyone in the fourth year of the war.

In addition, work is being carried out with the locals, with local self-government bodies, especially in the south-west of the region. There were no Ukrainian TV channels here before. The situation has radically changed in recent years, but stereotypes and labels have not disappeared.
Ukraine's Defense Ministry intends to conduct an early check of the military property, stored at Kharkiv tank factory. The authority reported this, responding to the request from Hromadske news agency.

'The Defense Ministry organized the work on an early stock control of the military property, which is stored on the premises of the state enterprise of Kharkiv tank factory; it will be embedded to units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the respective safekeeping contract will be signed', the authority said in the commentary on the issue.

The Ministry explained that the factory's administration refused to sign the security contract with the Cabinet, which explains the recent incident; as is known, two bloggers infiltrated the factory's premises, putting the unguarded military vehicles on the video record.

'The property, held on the premises of the enterprise, is kept safe within the requirements of the company's statute, or the respective contract. In 2013, the agreement was signed. But since 2014, the state-run enterprise of Kharkiv tank factory has repeatedly refused to sign it', the Ministry concluded.

Earlier, two bloggers from Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, infiltrated the premises of a local tank factory where hundreds of old tanks are stored. They recorded the video which they put on their YouTube account; however, as of the evening of July 17, the actual video has been already deleted. The video clearly showed that there's no security on the infrastructure object, with the watchtower partially destroyed, and the gates between the parts of the storage left opened.

The bloggers confirmed that they found some 300 old Soviet tanks and about a dozen new ones - 'plus the vehicle, which brought them there'. 'It looked like tanks show! The new tanks had seals on them, - apparently, they were never used', reads the description of the video. The police of Kharkiv region opened a criminal case on the fact of illegal infiltration onto the premises of a state-run facility.
Open source

The Black Sea waters will host a joint exercise of the NATO combat vessels and Ukrainian Navy ships. On July 23, six Alliance vessels, including frigates and minesweepers reached the seaport of Odesa, southern Ukraine. They will be available for open door visits until Thursday. The maneuvers will begin on July 26. Boudewijn Boots, the Commander of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 said that this visit  the third one since the annexation of Crimea by Russia  clearly shows the Alliances support of Ukraine.

Earlier, we reported that a group of NATO vessels entered Odesa port. It was specified that the ships are the part of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) and Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2 (SNMCMG2). In particular, a frigate "De Ruyter" of the Netherlands Royal Navy, a frigate "Fatih" and mine-hunter "namur" of the Turkish Navy, Germanys support ship "Rhein", a frigate "Regele Ferdinand" and mine-hunter "Lupu Dinescu" from Romania docked in the port.

Sea Breeze 2018 drills kicked off in Odesa on July 9. This year's exercises involve 30 vessels from naval forces of 19 countries, including a Turkish submarine. An important feature of the exercise is that the multinational staff will be coordinating the actions of naval, air and ground forces from USS Mount Whitney, the flagship of the 6th U.S. Navy Fleet.
According to him, Poland accepted two million of the Ukrainians during two years

Speaker of the Senate of Poland Stanislaw Karczewski claimed that his country welcomes the Ukrainian migrants as it is more likely that they will respect the Polish values as Deutsche Welle reported.

The journalist reminded Karczewski that Poland does not fulfill its commitments on the reception of the refugees from the Northern Africa and the Middle East according to the demands of the EU and he answered:

Those who criticize us, do they know that more than two millions of the Ukrainians have arrived in Poland during the last two years? A lot of the EU politicians do not know this.

According to him, the things that happen in Germany and France show that the migrants of the different cultures do not want to integrate and it is more likely that the Ukrainians will respect the Polish values.

Karczewski said that Poland has lived under the iron curtain for decades and he does not want anything to be imposed on his country, including the migration policy.

The improvement of the defense of the external border and support of the people in their countries of origin should be in the interest of all EU countries, he said.

Earlier we reported that Ukraine is losing not only the workforce but also a part of an active population due to a labor migration. In just a few months since its creation, the online platform UkrainianPeopleLeaks.com recorded 350,000 people who left the country.

As it was reported earlier, the population of Ukraine shrinks because of the labor migration, which often turns into the de facto migration, which means people choose to stay abroad rather than to return to their motherland. The research says that highly-educated Ukrainians go to Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and settle for the work in factories and fields. '39.2 percent of them carry out the most primitive work; 24.7 are involved in the handicraft, and another 16.5 work in the sales area. They earn less than the locals', reads the survey.
Ukraine's ministry of culture stands for the creation of regional authorities for Roma affairs in the areas with considerable Roma communities residing there. Andriy Yurash, the Director for Department for Religions and Nationalities said that at a roundtable meeting in Kyiv.

According to Interfax news agency, the official specified that the small divisions are supposed to 'handle the matters systematically' within the respective regional state administrations.

Yurash marked that the approximate number of the Roma in Ukraine makes from 47,000 to 400,000 people - by various estimates. The Ministry's representative added that there are several areas, in which the stakeholders, officials and experts should be working - such as living, education, social protection, healthcare, culture and information policy.

Earlier, the building of a kindergarten in a Roma settlement was burnt down in the village of Velyka Dobron of Zakarpattia region, westernmost Ukraine.

According to the information of the rescuers, no one was injured as a result of the fire.



The portal notes that the local Roma said that they do not rule out deliberate arson taking into account recent events.



In turn, the police found no traces that would indicate intentional arson, but that was nevertheless possible.
Volodymyr Groysman expressed condolences to the Greek people over the tragic consequences of the natural disaster

Open source

The government of Ukraine is ready to help Greece, as the local search and rescue crews oppose the forest fires. Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman posted this on Twitter.

'My sincere condolences to the Greek people due to the tragic consequences of forest fires. The Ukrainian government is ready to render the necessary aid to Greece. I already sent the respective letter to PM Alexis Tsipras', Groysman wrote.

The fire broke out not far from Athens. It killed at least 60 people and destroyed about a thousand residential buldings; many people fled the endangered areas.

'Evangelos Bournous, mayor of the town of Rafina, said at least 60 people had perished, with the seaside village of Mati at the centre of the disaster', Express wrote, referring to the tragedy. 'Regional Greek authorities declared a state of emergency in the eastern and western parts of greater Athens as fires fanned by winds raged through pine forests and seaside towns. Buses, water trucks and machinery are being provided to help battle the fires'.
It was impossible to rescue him due to the severe weather conditions

Open source

A Ukrainian tourist found dead in Georgia at the Tetnuldi peak in the Svaneti region as the Georgian Emergency Service reported on Facebook.

Due to the severe weather conditions, the rescuers at the helicopters could not reach the place where Ukrainian citizen was, the message said.

It is mentioned that the Emergency Service is mobilized around the clock since July 18 but due to the snowfall, fog and strong wind it was impossible to reach the site.

Earlier we reported that two Ukrainian tourists lost in the mountains of Georgia.

As we reported three Ukrainians appeared under debris in Prague as a result of a house collapse. It was noted that there are two Khust and one Vynogradiv residents among the injured.

Adriana Krnacova, the Mayor of Prague reported that it is necessary to check not only the work of the designers but also the workers of the National Institute on Preservation of Architectural Monuments who could present non-standard demands to the builders.
About 100,000 people, parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of both Kyiv and Moscow Patriarchates, will participate in the sacred procession that will take place on July 27 and July 28 due to the Kievan Rus Christianization. The security measures will be the same as the previous year. Andry Kryshchenko, the Head of the Kyiv National Police claimed this as Interfax-Ukraine reported.

The participation of up to 100, 000 people is indicated in the application. The application of the Moscow Patriarchate for the participation of up to 100,000 people in the sacred procession on Friday and the application of the Kyiv Patriarchate for the participation of up to 100,000 people in the sacred procession on Saturday, he said.

About 5,000 law enforcers will provide the order at the streets.

Moreover, Deputy Interior Minister Serhy Yarove claimed that 5,000 officers of the National Guard will be attracted to the support of the Kyiv police these days.

As it was reported earlier, sacred processions and solemn prayers will be held in the capital dedicated to the celebration of 1030 th anniversary of Kievan Rus Christianization. This is why the traffic will be restricted in downtown.

Last years religious procession started in Ternopil and Donetsk regions, brought the two groups of believers to enter Kyiv on July 26, meet on July 27 in Kiev at St. Vladimir's Hill, and together with the Orthodox Kyiv citizens and pilgrims proceed to Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. The expected number was 30 000 participants, however, there were more than 4,500 pilgrims at Volodymyrska Hirka a year ago and around 6 000 people took part in celebration of Baptism of Rus last year. Law enforcers expected a high number of provocations by pro-Russian activists or Kremlin-backed militants, tightening preventive measures, however, there were no serious violations reported.
Ukraine celebrates the Christianization of Kievan Rus on July 24. The traffic will be restricted on July 24, 27 and 28 because of the events timed to the 1030th anniversary of the Baptism of Kievan Rus-Ukraine. Solemn prayer services and processions will take place in the capital.

The celebration will continue in accordance with the decree of the President of Ukraine from August 8, 2017 "On Measures for the Preparation and Celebration of the 1030th Anniversary of the Baptism of Kyiv Rus-Ukraine." In addition to the solemn prayers, festivities will be held in all districts of the capital. In particular, in the educational and cultural institutions of Kyiv, by the end of the year, thematic educational events will take place: educational hours, conversations, book and photo-exhibitions, conferences, round tables, information halls, thematic shelves, literature reviews, etc.

The role of Prince Vladimir The Great in Kievan Rus Christianization

July 28 is considered the day of Vladimir's death (980-1015), and most baptism most likely took place on August 14 (new style) in 988. This process was long, because the prince had to change religion for the unification of lands and the gaining power.

According to the Tale of Bygone Years, Vladimir had to choose from several variants. The Volga Bulgars offered him to choose Islam, the messengers from Rome - Catholicism, and the Khazar Jews - Judaism.

However, Prince Vladimir chose Orthodoxy. His journey to Constantinople was decisive. In addition, his grandmother - Olga of Kiev - was an Orthodox Christian. She was christened in the capital of Byzantium in 955.

The baptism of Prince Vladimir was held in Chersonesus. Returning to Kyiv, the prince baptized his sons and subjects.

By his order, altars and statues of the ancient gods were destroyed. Mass baptism of the population was held in the Dnieper.

As it was reported earlier, sacred processions and solemn prayers will be held in the capital dedicated to the celebration of 1030 th anniversary of Kievan Rus Christianization. This is why the traffic will be restricted in downtown.

Last years religious procession started in Ternopil and Donetsk regions, brought the two groups of believers to enter Kyiv on July 26, meet on July 27 in Kiev at St. Vladimir's Hill, and together with the Orthodox Kyiv citizens and pilgrims proceed to Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. The expected number was 30 000 participants, however, there were more than 4,500 pilgrims at Volodymyrska Hirka a year ago and around 6 000 people took part in celebration of Baptism of Rus last year. Law enforcers expected a high number of provocations by pro-Russian activists or Kremlin-backed militants, tightening preventive measures, however, there were no serious violations reported.
The premiere of the cartoon will take place in September at Film Festival in Kyiv

Ukrainian animator Sashko Danylenko posted a half-minute trailer for his new film "Monk." A song of the same name by the band Dakha Brakha is at the base of the story. The video appeared on Youtube channel of the film director.

"To whom does the monk raise his glass and to whom he prays? When the sun sets over the river, everything becomes gray and it's harder to distinguish black from white, draw a line between them. The monk crosses this border in search of an answer, "Danylenko said about the plot of his future short films.

The director adds that he got the idea of creating this film two years ago at the concert of Dakha Brakha band in New York.

"Images in my head began to build up and the story fogged out. The concept became more detailed, details and ideas of technical and artistic solutions appeared until the moment came when I realized that the only way to see this film was to make it. It was not in my plans and schedule, but the pressure from within and the desire to see the finished story pushed me to action," Danylenko wrote on Facebook.

The premiere of the cartoon will take place at the Linoleum Animation Festival, which will be held in Kyiv on September 6 - 9.

Earlier, in 2012, Danylenko released a video for the song of Dakha Brakha band "Carpathian Rap." When creating that video, he also used black and white drawings.

In addition, this director has produced music videos for the songs of TNMK bands, Ocheretyany KIT, Morj and others.

As it was reported earlier, more than thirty Ukrainian starts participated in the creation of Starry alphabet of sign language.
It was also noted that the Ukrainian political prisoner did not intend to stop the hunger strike

Ukrainian political prisoner Volodymyr Balukh was moved out of Simferopol remand facility to consult the case file, as deputy leader of Mejlis of Crimean Tatars Akhtem Chyigoz told KrymRelii.

Balukh was removed to consult the case file about four days ago. He is in Rozdolne temporary confinement ward. He has this right and he was given a chance to use it. The investigator brings him the materials and he read it. Probably, hell return today, Chyigoz said.

According to him, Balukh is being kept in a mass cell in Simferopol remand facility, regardless of his health condition. He does not intend to stop the hunger strike.

As is known, Volodymyr Balukh was sentenced to three years and seven months in a settlement colony. He was charged and judged for the alleged illegal storage of ammunition. Human right defenders say Balukh was judged for his pro-Ukrainian position - specifically, for the Ukrainian flag in his yard.

In March, protesting against his illegal detention, Balukh announced a hunger strike. which he lives up to by now.

Earlier, Natalia Balukh, the mother of Ukrainian political prisoner Volodymyr Balukh said she would not ask Russian leader Vladimir Putin to pardon her son Volodymyr Balukh, who currently serves time as the Kremlin's political prisoner.

Krym.Realii news agency quoted her, as she said she would not turn to Putin. 'Vova (Volodymyr Balukh, - 112 International) would not understand me, he would get the wrong idea. He would not ask for forgiveness. Asking means pleading guilty, and he can't do that because he is innocent', she said.
The organizers of the Koktebel Jazz Festival-2018, which will be held on August 16 - 19 in Chornomorsk, have announced a program of all four stages: Nu Jazz, Jazz & Blues Cafe, Open Stage and Special Stage.

Nu Jazz Stage will open on August 16 at 19:30 with the Day of Ukrainian music, which has already become traditional. This time, Dakh Daughters, Onuka, Oleg Skrypka and NAONI will perform on the first day of the festival. The first band to perform on the stage will be the Heart Beat Brass Band from Kharkiv.

On August 17, the program "Workshop and Friends at the Sea" will be presented at the Nu Jazz Stage. It will bring together the newest Ukrainian musical projects.

On Saturday, August 18, Nu Jazz will open with the premiere of the project of Laura Marti SHINE. Then KOOP OSCAR ORCHESTRA will appear on the stage. Next, an ex-vocalist of Massive Attack Martina Toplie-Bird will perform on stage for the first time in Ukraine. In addition, Morcheeba will present their new long-awaited album Blaze Away.

On August 19, Nu Jazz will start working from 17:00. It will feature Drum&Tuba Band, Odesa folk music by Felix Shinder and Money Forward, the finalist of Eurovision Song Contest 2018 national selection - Laud, DZ'OB, Beissoul&Einius and Inner Circle. The Koktebel Jazz will be closed with a special project from Hamerman Destroys Viruses band (Ukrainian:   )  Cabaret for adults:  All Star".

Open Stage opens on August 16 at 10:20. On this day, Yuriy Samovilov. Hurtom, Royalcat () and adm:t will perform. On August 17 - Jungleman, Aliens Love the Ocean and Verry The Jerry. On August 18 - The Muss, Love&Joy and Le Cur and on August 19 - Tatis.

The stage of Jazz&Blues Cafe will open on August 16 at 18:00 with the performance of Cherkasy Jazz Quintet and will continue with the duet of Denys Kinchev and Norwegian Frode Barth, and the show will end with the Naked. On August 17, Kiev Tango Project, German Tingvall Trio will perform. On August 18, Jazz&Blues Cafe Stage will be opened with Aleksej Revenko. Pavel Ignatyev and Katiko Purtseladze will present the project Katikooo, and Mark Eliyahu and Marinita will be the headliners of the evening. On August 18 on the jazz scene will perform Coco Melange, Max Tavrichesky, All Star Blues Band and Bullet Blues Band.

On the Special Stage at night, 0:30, August 17, OY Sound System, Amadance, TeepaDeepa and TAAX will perform. On August 18 there will be a party from Dj FM. On August 19, Votuma and Special Guest will play, and on the final night of August 20 - Funk Trio , TAAX and Ta'TiS.

Also during the Koktebel Jazz Festival there will be the premiere of Jazz&More concert-film about the festival and people who create it. The show will be held on August 15 at 19:00 in the Palace of Culture and Arts. The entrance will be free.

Throughout the entire Koktebel Jazz Festival, the public will be able to get acquainted with all the most interesting spheres of contemporary art within the programs of the art festival Artishok. IT-conference Jazz Do It will acquaint you with the latest trends in digital technologies.

As it was previously reported, the sale of tickets for Koktebel Jazz Festival opened.
Open source

Ukraines MP Nadiya Savchenko, accused of preparing a terrorist attack and overthrowing the State authority, did not undergo polygraph test scheduled for today, July 24, as Ukrainska Pravda reports referring to Oleksandr Shadryn, one of Savchenkos lawyers.

The expertise did not take place. Nadiya was taken back (to the detention facility, - ed.), he said.

According to the lawyer, there are two reasons for that  Savchenkos lawyer was not allowed to visit Savchenko and they wanted to ask questions which the MP applied for.

The lawyer Oleksandr Tanankin was not allowed to visit the defendant. It was explained that allegedly the investigator did not give the permission. In a phone conversation the investigator said he did not object, yet, he was not allowed, Shadryn said.

In his turn, Oleksandr Tanankin in the commentary for 112 Ukraine earlier today stated that the polygraph test was not an objective way to find the answers.

It is not objectively. It is a psychoemotional examination of a person. If a person is worried or he/she is not ready or whatever. Many factors can affect that. Therefore, the information will be reflected wrong. Something happened, a person got nervous or thinks about something Many indicators are taken into account. That is why a person, without even knowing it, can answer sincerely, but the computer will show some concern and doubt the sincerity of the answers, Tanankin concluded.

Shadryn added that a relevant claim on the obstruction of lawyers legal activity was submitted to the police.

Besides, the investigator wanted to ask his own questions  not the ones Nadiya asked for in her application. They have conducted one test with their questions. She filed an application asking to conduct another one with her questions. We got adversary proceedings, the lawyer said.

He stressed that Savchenko wanted the same questions to be asked though in a different form.

The investigator asked the questions wrong. For instance, she, as a military individual, was dealing with the weapon. Therefore, she will have some reaction to the word weapon. And they interpret such reaction as if the person was involved in some crimes. Nadiya made up the questions in a more proper form, Shadryn explained.

The lawyer also added that Savchenko continued her hunger strike.

As we reported earlier, The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) claimed that the psychological forensic examination with the use of the polygraph of MP Nadia Savchenko has confirmed her intentions of the coup d'etat, particularly the commitment of the terrorist act in the governmental quarter and the Ukrainian Parliament. The SBU noted that she worked out the clear plan of the murder of the states' leaders; she agreed with the accomplices on who and what should do during the attempted murder of Ukraine's leaders. She informed Oleksandr Tymofeev and Volodymyr Ruban.

On May 14 during the court session, Savchenko claimed that Paruby issued her a weapon commenting the statement of Prosecutor General Yury Lutsenko that the Russian officers issued her the weapons.

As we reported, Shevchenkivsky Court of Kyiv decided on the preventive measures for Savchenko, which is custody for two months until May 20, 2018, without a right for a bail. Besides, the Court decided that the detention on March 22 was illegal. On March 29, the Appeal Court of Kyiv kept Savchenkos arrest effective.

The same day the MP went on the hunger strike. She also emphasized that she is not going to escape from Ukraine. On April 12, Savchenko was transferred from the remand center to the hospital for the examination.

On April 16, it was reported that Savchenko continued her hunger strike and polygraph was postponed until April 17.

On March 15, Lutsenko claimed during his speech at the parliament that Savchenko personally planned, recruited and ordered how to hold the terrorist attack in the Verkhovna Rada , destroying two lodges, governmental and post, by the combat grenades, bringing down the dome of the Verkhovna Rada by the mortar launchers and killing the survived with the assault rifles.

Also, it was reported that non-affiliated MP Nadia Savchenko and Volodymyr Ruban, the Head of 'Officer Corps' planned to attack the cortege of the President of Ukraine with the large caliber sniper rifle.

Earlier, Nadiya Savchenko underwent a polygraph test:
Nataliya Kaplan, Sentsovs cousin, denied her statement about her brothers terminal state, as she wrote on Facebook.

I never said anything about his terminal state. It was misunderstood again, or someone has made it up for a witty remark. Alarmists, go to bed, no funeral, keep dreaming, she wrote.

As it was reported earlier, Ukrainian movie director Oleg Sentsov and Crimean activist Oleksandr Kolchenko were detained by the Russian FSB in the annexed Crimea. Both were taken to Russia. Sentsov was charged with preparing a terrorist act in Crimea and sentenced to 20 years in the high-security penal colony. Kolchenko was sentenced to ten-years-long imprisonment.

Oleg Sentsov has announced a hunger strike on May 14. This way, he demands that all Ukrainians detained in Russia and annexed Crimea be released. Sentsov said he was ready to die if the requirements were not fulfilled.

Ukraine news on 112.international
Earlier, Sergiy Hayduk, the former commander of the Naval forces and the vice-admiral, suggested setting a mine barrier in the Sea of Azov to secure Ukraine against Russias possible attack

The Ukrainian military air forces are ready to give an adequate response to any threat from the sea, as the JFO HQ reported on Facebook.

Another inspection of the Joint Forces aviation, which is provided for the action towards the maritime direction demonstrated that the reaction time and excellent grades show the readiness to give an adequate response to the threat from the sea, the message says.

Reportedly, Sergiy Hayduk, the former commander of the Naval forces and the vice-admiral, suggested setting a mine barrier in the Sea of Azov to secure Ukraine against Russias possible attack

Earlier, Petro Poroshenko, the President of Ukraine, during one of his speeches said that he did not exclude the fact that Russia is preparing an attack at Mariupol. Besides, as of July 15, Russian had detained 148 vessels in the Sea of Azov for inspection.

Due to this, Poroshenko entrusted the Defence Minister, the Head of the General Staff and Ukraines Navy command to take relevant measures to stop the Russian provocations concerning the blockage of the vessels entering to the Ukrainian ports in the Sea of Azov.
Earlier, it was reported that according to Nataliya Kaplan, Sentsov's cousin, he was in a terminal state. Though later, Kaplan herself denied this statement

Open source

Lyudmyla Denisova, Ukraines Ombudsman, commented on Sentsovs health condition on air of 112 Ukraine.

I am waiting for the information from Fedotov  Putins Advisor on Human Rights. But Dmytro Dinze said that indeed, he doesnt feel well, Denisova said.

She informed that Sentsov was in the intensive care and he was removed from the prison. They wanted to feed him forcefully, but he denied and now he might receive this mixture.

Ombudsman confirmed that earlier Sentsov was fed with this mixture, but it is not certain as she is not allowed to visit him.

I addressed UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the High Commissioner of the European Council and asked them to send the representatives there, Denisova stated.

Earlier, it was reported that according to Nataliya Kaplan, Sentsov's cousin, he was in a terminal state. Though later, Kaplan herself denied this statement.

As it was reported earlier, Ukrainian movie director Oleg Sentsov and Crimean activist Oleksandr Kolchenko were detained by the Russian FSB in the annexed Crimea. Both were taken to Russia. Sentsov was charged with preparing a terrorist act in Crimea and sentenced to 20 years in the high-security penal colony. Kolchenko was sentenced to ten-years-long imprisonment.

Oleg Sentsov announced a hunger strike on May 14. This way, he demands that all Ukrainians detained in Russia and annexed Crimea be released. Sentsov said he was ready to die if the requirements were not fulfilled.
Ukrainian movie Woman at war directed by Icelandic movie maker Benedikt Erlingsson is nominated for an award of the European Parliament. It was shot in Iceland, Ukraine and France as the website of the award reported.

Also, Styx made by Wolfgang Fischer (Germany, Austria) and documentary The Other Side of Everything by Mila Turajilic (Serbia, France, Qatar) are among the nominees of the LUX Prize.

The members of the European Parliament will vote the best film. The winner will be awarded on November 14. All three pictures will be shown in 28 European countries.

The three films  all of which coincidentally put female characters in the spotlight  and the topical themes that they address are a call to action in these difficult times. Styx is an odyssey of a solitary woman into the blue of the ocean, tackling the vital challenge of immigration and refugees. The Other Side of Everything marks the second time in LUX Prize history that a documentary features among the three finalists and is a tender portrayal of a woman, whose story tells the history of her country and Europe as a whole, from a tumultuous political past to the dangers of nationalism. While Woman at War is an energetic, environmental and feminist saga, a call for civil resistance to fight for and save nature from industrial greed and hegemony.

The film raises the painful issue of the environmental degradation that is depicted through the fight of a woman who decided to undertake a mission of the nature defense and preservation of Icelands Highlands.

Halla is a conductor of a choir and holds the secret life of an environment defender. When she plans her most ambitious operation she receives a letter that an orphan from Ukraine is waiting for her. Halla is going to leave her subversive activity and the role of the Highlands defender to make a dream true and become a mother. However, before this, she decides to launch the devastating attack at the local aluminum industry.
I ve wandered so far off the island, at this point, for those of you who are still stopping by, here goes nothing. Im fixated on this rel...
Participants practice using the Grantsmanship Centers approach to planning programs, writing grant proposals and receive useful, up-to-date, practical information.

Santa Fe Community Colleges Continuing Education Department will host a Grantsmanship Training Program July 23-27 on campus at 6401 Richards Ave. in Santa Fe. The intensive, five-day, hands-on workshop for nonprofit and government grantseekers will guide participants step by step through all stages of planning programs, researching funding sources and writing proposals.

The Grantsmanship Center will conduct the course. Participants will practice using the Grantsmanship Centers approach to planning programs and writing grant proposals and receive useful, up-to-date, practical information. The textbook Program Planning & Proposal Writing is highly recommended and will be referenced during class. It can be purchased at the time of registration.

To ensure personal attention, registration is limited to 30 participants. Tuition is $995 until June 11 with early bird discount. After June 11, tuition is $1,095. There are a limited number of partial scholarships available for qualified organizations. Alumni may qualify for special discounts.

To register for the Grantsmanship Training Program, for more information or to apply for a partial scholarship, contact the Grantsmanship Center at 213-482-9862, www.tgci.com or registrar@tgci.com.

The Grantsmanship Center helps private and public nonprofits make better communities by offering training and publications to help organizations plan programs and write compelling grant proposals. For more information, call 800-421-9512 or go to www.tgci.com.

SFCCs Continuing Education Department provides credit and noncredit courses for all ages. The Continuing Education Summer Schedule 2018 outlines classes and workshops that can provide a valuable means of personal enrichment and professional development. Call 505-428-1676 or go to www.sfcc.edu.
A hybrid form of yoga that combines traditional yoga postures with modern yoga moves and a silk hammock. Pre-registration required.

Please note: Aerial Yoga at the Yoga Art Space studio requires pre-registration through our website at www.YogaArtSpace.com/calendar. If no one registers for a class, the class may be cancelled between 6-12 hours prior to the class start time. Though this event is shown as a regular, weekly class each week on the Alabi calendar, there are occasionally times when the class will be cancelled in advance such as for certain holidays. All updates and cancellations are on the studio calendar at www.YogaArtSpace.com/calendar.

What is Aerial yoga?

Aerial Yoga is a hybrid form of yoga that combines traditional yoga postures infused with modern yoga moves and an silk fabric hammock.

Do I need Previous Yoga Experience?

No previous yoga experience is not necessary to enjoy an Aerial yoga class. In fact it can be easier than normal yoga! The silk hammock acts like a support whenever you require it, almost like having your own personal yoga teacher giving you assistance throughout the entire yoga class! Another advantage of having the support of the hammock is that 90% of students are able to complete more challenging poses, such as handstands!

Can Everybody do Aerial Yoga?

Yes and no. Students who have had a previous injury can find Aerial yoga much easier to participate in then normal yoga. This is due to the the weight being evenly distributed between your body, the hammock and the earth.

People who suffer any of following contraindications are advised NOT to participate in an Aerial yoga class: if you have had recent surgery of any sort, if you suffer glaucoma, if you are pregnant, if you suffer a heart condition (including very high or low blow pressure), if you get vertigo, if you have had a recent stroke or a hernia, if you have osteoporosis or any bone weakness, if you have carpal tunnel syndrome, or if you have had botox in the last six hours.

What Should I Wear?

All jewellery items must be removed before participating, a t-shirt must be worn to cover the armpit area and leggings are advised to avoid the silk rubbing on the skin and creating irritation. Please have clean feet or, alternatively, bring a pair of socks with you.
English French

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, July 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canada Foundation for Innovation



The Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science and Sport, will be at Red River College s Paterson GlobalFoods Institute to announce funding for research infrastructure projects at colleges and polytechnics across Canada. This support will help colleges work with local industry to innovate and give students hands-on learning and skills to prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow.

The Minister will be joined by college researchers, students and industry partners who will be available to speak to the media. Canada Foundation for Innovation Board Director, Mr. Ian Seymour, and Member of Parliament for Charleswood-St. James-Assiniboia-Headingley, Doug Eyolfson, will also attend the announcement.

Prior to the announcement, the Minister will deliver a keynote at the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce about the value of investing in research to strengthen the economy, create jobs and grow the middle class.

Media are asked to sign in at the reception desk at least 15 minutes before either event.

Date: Wednesday July 25, 2018

Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce

Time: 7:50 a.m. (CDT)

Location: Alt Hotel Winnipeg 310 Donald St Winnipeg, MB

Canada Foundation for Innovation funding announcement

Time: 10:15 a.m. (CDT)

Location: Red River Colleges Paterson GlobalFoods Institute Janes Restaurant 504 Main Street Winnipeg, MB




VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Western Resources Corp. (TSX:WRX) (FSE:WR0) (the Company) is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary Western Potash Corp. (Western) has successfully developed a groundwater supply source for the Companys proposed Milestone Phase I Potash Project (Phase I Project) located 35 km southeast of Regina, Saskatchewan. Water pump test results show that the groundwater source can fully support the water requirements for the Phase I Project.



The Milestone Phase I Project requires approximately 40 cubic meters of water per hour (m3/hour) as determined by Westerns mining engineering consultant AGAPITO Associates Ltd. Western utilized existing geophysical data from the project exploration phase and established a well location 8km southeast of the plant site as the optimal place for the groundwater source. The selection of a groundwater source was based on a detailed examination of all possible water source options, with full consideration of minimizing the impact on the community and environment.

The target aquifers are the Viking Formation and Mannville Formation, located at depths of approximately 680 and 745 meters below surface, respectively. The target aquifers contain non-potable water, not suitable for agriculture and are isolated and far below local domestic or agriculture use aquifers and will therefore not interfere with local water supplies.

Drilling work began in early June, and water well was completed on July 18th with all site facilities decommissioned and removed. According to the Water Supply Well Report completed by the Regina-based WaterMark Consulting Ltd., the established water source is able to fully support the required water usage of the Phase I Project over the life of the project.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f1e14a65-7fdd-41a3-b868-cfcc09a9939c

The next steps will be to submit to the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency Westerns water usage application, and to start the engineering and design for the water pumping and pipeline facilities from the well to the Phase I project site.

Mr. Bill Xue, President and CEO of Western Resources, commented, the Management and Board of Directors are very excited with the positive results from the water well program. The success of the groundwater source further clears the hurdle for the Phase I project to move forward to the next step. We will now focus on the next steps of the Phase I project including early site work in preparation for project construction to start in early 2019.

Bill Xue

President & CEO

Western Resources Corp.

Qualified Persons

The content of this news release has been read and approved by Gregory F. Vogelsang, P.Eng., P. Geo., FGC, FEC Project Manager of the Company. Mr. Vogelsang is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101.

Cautions Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Except for statements of historical fact relating to the Company, certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking information under Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the filing and results of the Technical Report. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information that is set out herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.



For more information on the contents of this release please contact Jerry Zhang, Corporate Secretary, at 604-689-9378.




IQE plc

IQEs Wireless Business Unit renews major contract with Tier 1 Customer

Cardiff, UK. 24th July 2018: IQE plc (AIM: IQE; "IQE", the "Group"), the leading global supplier of advanced wafer products and wafer services to the semiconductor industry, announces that it has successfully renegotiated its long-term supply contract with a premier tier one customer for the supply of wafer products used in wireless applications, and in doing so extended the range of products covered and increased the overall IQE share of the customers epiwafer requirements . The contract is estimated to be worth in the order of USD60 million through to September 2019.

The supply contract guarantees IQE ~80% of the customer's demand for epiwafers and underlines the strength of the long-term customer relationship that IQE has developed over many years, having consistently been recognised as one of the customers best performing suppliers.

IQE's Wireless segment continues to leverage its global manufacturing facilities to fulfill the supply contract from its North American facilities in Massachusetts, and North Carolina, as well as its main wireless manufacturing site in Taiwan.

The contract covers epiwafer products for radio frequency (RF) applications including power amplifiers (PAs), low noise amplifiers (LNAs) and switches used in a wide range of connected devices such smartphones, tablets, PCs, routers and other Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Demand for compound semiconductor enabled devices is expected to underpin the roll-out of 5G over the coming years.

Daily Hill, Head of IQEs Wireless Business Unit said:

This contract revewal confirms our position as a clear technology leader and the number one choice for advanced semiconductor products for wireless applications.

IQEs epiwafer products have been behind the global adoption of 4G/LTE and WiFi systems and this major supply contract underlines the world-leading performance which IQE products provide for current and next-generation wireless applications including the global roll-out of 5G.





Contacts:

IQE plc

Drew Nelson

Chris Meadows



+44 (0) 29 2083 9400 Canaccord Genuity

Simon Bridges

Richard Andrews



+ 44 (0) 20 7523 8000 Peel Hunt

Edward Knight

Nick Prowting



+44 (0) 20 7418 8900

NOTE TO EDITORS





About IQE

http://iqep.com

IQE is the leading global supplier of advanced semiconductor wafers with products that cover a diverse range of applications, supported by an innovative outsourced foundry services portfolio that allows the Group to provide a 'one stop shop' for the wafer needs of the world's leading semiconductor manufacturers.

IQE uses advanced crystal growth technology (epitaxy) to manufacture and supply bespoke semiconductor wafers 'epi-wafers' to the major chip manufacturing companies, who then use these wafers to make the chips which form the key components of virtually all high technology systems. IQE is unique in being able to supply wafers using all of the leading crystal growth technology platforms.

IQE's products are found in many leading-edge consumer, communication, computing and industrial applications, including a complete range of wafer products for the wireless industry, such as smartphones and wireless infrastructure, Wi-Fi, base stations, GPS, and satellite communications; optical communications, optical storage, printing, thermal imagers, leading-edge medical products, barcode, ultra high brightness LEDs, a variety of advanced silicon based systems and high efficiency concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) solar cells.

The manufacturers of these chips are increasingly seeking to outsource wafer production to specialist foundries such as IQE in order to reduce overall wafer costs and accelerate time to market.

IQE also provides bespoke R&D services to deliver customised materials for specific applications and offers specialist technical staff to manufacture to specification either at its own facilities or on the customer's own sites. The Group is also able to leverage its global purchasing volumes to reduce the cost of raw materials. In this way IQE's outsourced services, provide compelling benefits in terms of flexibility and predictability of cost, thereby significantly reducing operating risk.

IQE operates multiple manufacturing and R&D facilities worldwide.
THUNDER BAY, Ontario, July 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mexican Gold Corp. ("Mexican Gold" or the "Company") (TSX-V:MEX) (OTCQB:MEXGF) (FRA:4QW1) announces that continued sampling of historical mines and new discoveries at the Changarro zone has yielded significant assay results including:



5.11 g/t gold, 7.15% zinc over 2.0 metres from outcrop 7.0 metres southwest of the Guadalupe 3 mine.

5.0 g/t gold over 2.0 metres at Guadalupe 3 mine.

11.14 g/t gold over 1.4 metres at Las Escondida mine.

4.06 g/t gold, 32.00 g/t silver, 0.72 % copper over 1.0 metres at Changarro mine.

4.85 g/t gold, 12.70 g/t silver over 0.80 metres at small mine below Changarro.

See Table 1 below for selected sample results.

The 2018 fieldwork has focussed on two extensive mineralized zones of historical mining importance: gold-bearing quartz vein deposits at Pueblo Nuevo and the gold skarns of Changarro. The Changarro  La Perdida area is an historical skarn mining zone extending more than 400 metres by 850 metres on surface. The zone is exposed on the canyon walls between 280 and 600 metres above and to the east of the Las Minas 43-101 resource skarn deposits see Figure 1 Plan View of Las Minas Area. Gold occurs in both high-temperature, proximal skarn (garnetmagnetite-sulphides) related to dike contacts and structurally-controlled, low-temperature distal skarn (jasperoid-magnetite-tremolite-wollastonite +/- sulphides).

Figure - 1 Plan of the Las Minas Area Showing 2018 Surface Exploration Zones

To view Figure 1, please click on the following link: http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f47bad83-0468-44b5-af11-77f147b4d306

Changarro  La Perdida Area Exploration

The Changarro  La Perdida area has caught the attention of several previous operators due to the high density and the scale of historical mining activity. Previous work was limited to sampling surface showings and underground in mines, along with localized drilling from 2 drill set-ups. The complex structural picture which controls the widespread mineralization in the area is only now being investigated through stripping and trenching of the extensive, thin overburden cover.

As detailed in an earlier press release (May 1, 2018) multiple lost historical mines and workings have been discovered along with many new mineralized showings during the ongoing fieldwork.



Figure 2 - 2018 Sampling in the Changarro  La Perdida Area

To view Figure 2, please click on the following link: http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8665f2a5-bf34-4e6b-8b15-0632f4e644c1

Recent stripping undertaken since the latest assay results has exposed diorite dikes related to the contact-proximal type skarn mineralization at two historical mines: Llanillo 1 and La Lola  see Figure 3 - Overburden Stripping at La Lola Mine. The dikes, clearly co-magmatic to the main Las Minas sill, show a strike direction of 140, which is the same strike as the virtually identical diorite dike which hosts the high-grade El Dorado Dike Contact Zone 300 metres to the SW and 250 to 400 metres lower in elevation. This is also the orientation of several major regional structures. The high-grade El Dorado Dike Contact zone extends for over 330 metres along strike with drill intercepts grading up to 10.19 g/t Au Eq (4.15 g/t Au, 16.17 g/t Ag and 3.33 % Cu) over 38.0 metres  see press release March 1, 2018.

Additionally, work at the La Perdida Mine area located 850 metres to the ENE of Llanillo 1 has outlined a dominant structural direction of 120 degrees controlling the mostly distal type skarn mineralization over a width of more than 200 metres. This aligns with a significant observed local structure and may represent a flexure in the main structural direction.

Figure 3 - Overburden Stripping at La Lola Mine

To view Figure 3, please click on the following link: http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3007fa19-a942-4553-bf02-56ffc0464f46

Brian Robertson, President & CEO, stated, Our ongoing field exploration work continues to deliver high-grade assays from historical mines and well as new discoveries within the Changarro  La Perdida area. These results from several widely-spaced localities clearly demonstrate that the highgrade mineralization is extensive and appears to be structurally controlled similar to the El Dorado Dike Contact zone.

Table 1- Selected 2018 Surface and Underground Sample Results in the Changarro  La Perdida Area

Area East North Elev Width

(m) Sample

# Au

g/t Ag

g/t Guadalupe II 695396 2178501 1722 grab 12389 7.39 14. 20 Guadelupe 3 area 695513 2178483 1909 2 11631 5.11 1.70 Inside mina Guadalupe III 695520 2178489 1924 2 11628 5.01 2.40 Inside mina Guadalupe III 695520 2178491 1918 2 11630 2.97 10.50 Inside mina Guadalupe III 695519 2178491 1922 2 11629 1.16 1.40 Inside mina La Escondida 695549 2178435 1.4 11627 11.14 1.10 Inside mina La Escondida 695555 2178432 1.3 11626 3.22 <0.3 Inside mina La Escondida 695557 2178430 1.3 11625 2.05 <0.3 Interior de mina El Callejon 695086 2178287 0.8 11650 3.84 8.60 Interior de mina El Callejon 695083 2178287 1780 0.5 11648 1.04 3.20 La Perdida 695585 2178439 1949 2 12384 27.30 11.70 La Perdida 695583 2178439 1949 2 12383 16.70 12.20 La Perdida 695579 2178439 1949 2 12381 7.85 2.80 Llanillo 4 694987 2178224 2 11610 2.44 0.40 Mina

Changarro 695064 2178293 0.15 11602 24.75 16.20 Mina Changarro 695063 2178295 0.1 11605 4.87 73.60 Mina Changarro 695063 2178295 1 11606 4.06 32.00 Mina Gaby II 695190 2178257 2 11656 4.03 13.30 Small mine below Changarro 695071 2178317 1816 0.8 11660 4.85 12.70 Trench above La Perdida 695585 2178434 1963 grab 11658 1.45 3.00 Trench west of La Perdida 695561 2178429 grab 11665 2.60 1.90 Trenching below Llanillo 4 694956 2178203 1825 2 11619 3.76 1.20

Assays are uncut, length  weighted average values.

Gold equivalent (Au Eq) calculations use metal prices of US $1250/oz. for gold, US $18.00/oz. for silver and US $3.00 /lb. for copper. No adjustments have been made for potential relative differences in metal recoveries.

Au Eq g/t = Au g/t + [(Ag g/t x 0.014) + (Cu% x1.64)]

About Las Minas

The Las Minas Project hosts near-surface gold, silver and copper skarn mineralization and high-grade gold - silver mesothermal vein deposits. The project is comprised of six mineral concessions covering approximately 1,616 hectares (3,995 acres), with several small scale, past-producing mines and a number of untested targets.

The district is host to a large gold, silver and copper skarn system that has a production history that extends back to the Aztec era. The Las Minas diorite intrusive measures approximately 10 kilometres in diameter and underlies the Las Minas concessions. The mineralization controls and association with magnetite appear to be similar to the Guerrero Gold belt, which is the site of the Los Filos and Morelos gold deposits.

Quality Assurance/Quality Control

The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Sonny Bernales, P. Geo., a registered Professional Geoscientist in the Province of British Columbia and a qualified person as defined by NI 43101. Mr. Bernales is responsible for logistics and supervision of all exploration activity conducted by Mexican Gold on the property.

Where possible, veins and exposed mineralization are sampled as composite channel samples. The channel samples are cut right-angled to the strike of the veins and average 5 to 6 kilograms in weight. Channel samples are most representative of the sample types followed by grab and select samples. Assays are uncut.

The Company has implemented and adheres to a strict Quality Assurance/Quality Control program which includes inserting mineralized standards and blanks into the sample stream, about 1 for every 10 samples. The standards and blanks were obtained from CDN Resource Laboratories Ltd. of Langley, BC, Canada. Each sample bag is properly sealed and kept in a secured, restricted storage place prior to shipping to the lab. Samples are shipped directly by Mexican Gold or picked-up by the lab vehicle with chain of custody/sample submittal signed and dated. The Company sends its samples to SGS Mineral Services (ISO/IEC 17025) at Durango, Mexico, an accredited and independent laboratory.

About Mexican Gold Corp.

Mexican Gold Corp. is a Canadian based mineral exploration company committed to building long-term value through ongoing discoveries and strategic acquisitions of prospective precious metals and copper deposits in Mexico. Mexican Gold is exploring the Las Minas Project, which is located in the core of the Las Minas mining district in the Veracruz State, Mexico, and is host to one of the largest under-explored skarn systems known in Mexico. For more information, please contact.

Brian E. Robertson, P. Eng., President & CEO

Phone: 807-474-4270 or 807-251-1816

Fax: 807-474-4272

E-mail: info@mexicangold.ca

Website at www.mexicangold.ca

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release includes certain information that may constitute "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements about the magnitude or quality of mineral deposits, anticipated advancement of mineral properties or programs, future operations, results of exploration, prospects, commodity and precious metals prices, future work programs, anticipated financial and operational results, capital expenditures and objectives and the completion and timing of mineral resource estimates. Forward-looking information is necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including the risks identified in the Company's disclosure documents available at www.sedar.com. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. All forward-looking information contained in this press release is given as of the date hereof and is based upon the opinions and estimates of management and information available to management as at the date hereof. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Atlanta, July 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With more than 10,000 domestic and international customers, and twelve renowned distribution brands, Highline Aftermarket has a significant investment in making sure it always has the right amount of inventory. As such, the company has turned to Blue Ridge to better align its inventory of packaged automotive chemicals, lubricants, filters, parts, tools and accessories with the demand of its customers, which include independent distributors, quick lube shops, wholesalers and multiple retail channels.

Blue Ridges Supply Chain Planning technology will be implemented in Highlines 15 strategically placed distribution centers across the US and Canada.

We are pleased to have selected the Blue Ridge Supply Chain Planning solution. Highline has an aggressive objective of providing our customers with a 98 percent service level while balancing the total inventory investment across our distribution network. Blue Ride is a complex, yet very simple program to implement and use, said Mike Wiegand, Vice President, Purchasing at Highline.

A big part of Highline Aftermarkets brand promise for its customers is to deliver what you need, when you need it, at a fair price, said Jim Byrnes, Chief Executive Officer, Blue Ridge. Blue Ridges supply chain planning technology will help them meet that promise by anticipating each customers demand triggers and then aligning with the inventory process.

The Blue Ridge supply chain platform is the most accurate way for a company like Highline Aftermarket to spot and plan for changes in customer demand before they happen. This insight helps Blue Ridges cloud-native technology generate a precise, day-by-day view of the supply chain to ensure product availability, prevent stock-outs, and eliminate excess inventory.

About Highline Aftermarket

Highline Aftermarket offers leading national brands its manufacturing capabilities and experience to provide a wide range of house brand products to meet the needs of an equally wide range of customers. Visit www.highlineaftermarket.com for more information.
CALGARY, Alberta, July 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Investors are losing confidence in the mineral exploration permit process in many Canadian provinces, with applications taking longer to be approved and a lack of transparency, according to a new study released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian policy think-tank.



An increasingly opaque and confusing application process for companies to explore for mineral deposits deters investment and ultimately hinders Canadas ability to realize its considerable resource potential, said Kenneth Green, Fraser Institute resident scholar and co-author of Permit Times for Mining Exploration in 2017.

Based on the Fraser Institutes Mining Survey results, the study finds that in many Canadian jurisdictions, the exploration permit process has grown longer over the past 10 years and less transparent.

In fact, 50 per cent of respondents indicated a lack of transparency in Ontario deters investment, followed by 48 per cent of respondents in B.C. and 40 per cent in Quebec.

Crucially, the permit process is more transparent in other jurisdictions around the worldonly 17 per cent of respondents indicated a lack of transparency deterred investment in Finland and just nine per cent in Sweden and Western Australia.

Attracting scarce investment dollars requires sound, clear policies and predictable timelines, and investors have said loud and clear that Canada is lagging on this front, said Ashley Stedman, a senior policy analyst with the Fraser Institute and study co-author.

Ultimately, uncompetitive mining policies send valuable investment dollarsand the jobs and prosperity they createelsewhere, Green said.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Kenneth Green, Resident Scholar

Fraser Institute

Ashley Stedman, Senior Policy Analyst

Fraser Institute



To arrange media interviews or for more information, please contact:

Bryn Weese, Media Relations Specialist, Fraser Institute

604-688-0221 ext. 589

bryn.weese@fraserinstitute.org

Follow the Fraser Institute on Twitter | Become a fan on Facebook

The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal and ties to a global network of think-tanks in 87 countries. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for Canadians, their families and future generations by studying, measuring and broadly communicating the effects of government policies, entrepreneurship and choice on their well-being. To protect the Institutes independence, it does not accept grants from governments or contracts for research. Visit www.fraserinstitute.org
IRVINE, CA, July 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cannabis Science, Inc. (OTC: CBIS), a U.S. company specializing in the development of cannabinoid-based medicines, is pleased to announce the signing of another substantial land deal for 100 acres in Minden, Nevada. This newest 100-acre project falls directly in line with the rest of the certified industrial hemp research and development projects across the United States and internationally.



With its multiple worldwide partners, the main research the of CBIS Consortium will focus on Cancer, PTSD, Chronic Pain, Arthritis, Parkinsons Disease, Epilepsy, Autism, and HIV/AIDS. The research data collected will primarily be used for FDA and other clinical studies by creating a pharmaceutical drug development plan for key critical ailments. Other objectives for research and development include wholesale distribution to physicians and licensed wholesale manufacturers coupled with extraction research and development for green energy/fuel, construction materials, clothing fabric, paper manufacturing, food products, and vehicle production parts.

Again, the primary purpose of the research initiative is to provide hands-on University professional training in agricultural industrial hemp research and development focused on creating pharmaceutical drugs targeting critical ailments while furthering the Groups other industrial targets, such as Alternate Biofuels, Construction, Clothing and Automobile Materials, and other industries. The University programs aim to provide affordable quality education to its students so as to achieve their career goals and excel in their chosen professions.

The best part of what we do is watching it all grow! Weve pretty much completed our full circle operational targets. Now, its all about hiring the staff in each of our many areas of development, so we tighten the screws, and get ready to really fly higher; this is what we consider a happy problem, stated Mr. Raymond C. Dabney, Cannabis Science President & CEO, Co-Founder.

Once again, another key area of the CBIS Industrial Hemp Research & Economic Development Plan is job creation, and CBIS has provided many jobs across the country, and through its University partners is anticipating creating a whole lot more through its unique and robust Industrial hemp Research Program. The vertical integration that allows for jobs to be provided through the development of local industrial hemp industry, healthcare infrastructure, water management, waste management, technology, communications, and housing is profound anywhere.

The CBIS Industrial Hemp Research & Economic Development Programs are growing stronger due to the many collaborations created within the recently launched Cannabis Science Global Consortium. The CBIS Global Consortium works as a framework and platform to cooperate and collaborate with stakeholders worldwide. Linking universities, foundations, corporations, and individuals to share research, ideas, and other relevant information, the CBIS Global Consortium implements a cutting-edge research program to develop medicines and delivery mechanisms from bench-to-bedside. The Global Consortium also enables the Company to more strategically coordinate its initiatives, including those focused on education, job creation, and skills training.

Last year in the San Joaquin County, Cannabis Science initiated their first Industrial Hemp Research Project with the Group. Its pilot research commenced on approximately 26 acres as part of the larger Economic Development Plan inclusive of education, job creation, and drug development. Equivalent to the San Joaquin County Project, the Minden County Project will provide industrial hemp research opportunities, education opportunities, and skills training for community residents that will help create jobs and improve the overall economic conditions.

Cannabis Science will leverage and build on our experiences in San Joaquin County, stated Mr. Dabney. We have a roadmap for what we want to do, in California, in Nevada, as well as every other state right across the Country.

While the San Joaquin County Industrial Hemp Research & Economic Development project remains in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento, the Company is looking forward settling the case outside of court.

CBIS Group vs San Joaquin County et al.

On October 27, 2017, Cannabis Science, Inc. (the "Company"), along with its partners Winnemucca Shosoni MBS, American States University, Free Spirit Organics NAC and HRM Farms filed a Complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California against ten San Joaquin County defendants including the Board of Supervisors, County Counsel; District Attorney and the Sheriff and against the federal Drug Enforcement Agency.

Shortly after the initial filing the Plaintiffs learned the DEA was not involved and dismissed it. Accordingly, Plaintiffs were pleased to learn that the DEA was not involved with the subject seizure and was apparently unconcerned with the industrial hemp research project.

The Complaint stems from a search warrant and subsequent seizure executed by the Defendants on the Plaintiff's 26.19-acre plot of land where it was growing industrial hemp. On November 17, 2017, CSI and the rest of the plaintiffs filed seven documents including 45 pages of pleadings, seven declarations, and 150 pages of exhibits asking the Court to issue a temporary restraining order.

First Amended Complaint that contains more detail and alleges that every part of the disputed San Joaquin County Ordinance 4497 is defective or inaccurate in some fashion, attaching an unanswered letter from the Administrative Dean of America States University requesting a hearing days before the unannounced raid and seizure. The action was filed in the United States District Court in and for the Eastern District of California against San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors; San Joaquin County Counsel; Erin Hiroko Sakata; Miguel Villapudua; Katherine Miller; Tom Patti; Bob Elliott; Chuck Winn; San Joaquin County District Attorney; San Joaquin County Sheriff; Drug Enforcement Administration and Does 1-50 (collectively the "Defendants").

The original Complaint was filed in response to the Defendants entering onto the Plaintiffs' property and seizing their industrial hemp harvest and alleges: (1) Violation of Supremacy Clause/Preemption [U.S. Const. art. VI, cl. 2]; (2) Unconstitutional Vagueness [U.S. Const. am. 5, 14]; (3) Unlawful Bill of Attainder/Ex Post Facto [U.S. Const. art. I,  9, cl. 3]; (4) Violation of Fifth Amendment - Procedural Due Process; and, (5) Violation of Fourth Amendment - Unlawful Seizure [42 U.S.C. 1983]. The Complaint requests for the following:

Temporary Restraining Order/Immediate Stay of Enforcement;

Return of Property Seized;

Preliminary Injunction;

Permanent Injunction;

Declaration re: Ordinance Is Void;

Declaration re: Search Warrant Is Void;

Declaration re: Seizure Was Unlawful;

Compensatory Damages; and

Punitive Damages.

The Complaint alleges that the Defendants: (a) drafted San Joaquin County Ordinance 4497 (the "Ordinance") specifically to criminalize the Plaintiffs' existing industrial hemp harvest; (b) determined the Plaintiffs violated the Ordinance; and, (c) enforced it by seizing the Plaintiffs' grow, with an estimated value of US $77 Million, without affording them an opportunity to meaningfully present their arguments to a judge or other neutral fact finder. The Plaintiffs further contend that the Defendants committed this violation of the separation of powers in the form of an emergency ordinance so the Plaintiffs would not have enough notice or opportunity to become compliant and based on a multitude of inaccurate facts. The Plaintiffs contend that they have all of the required permits, exemptions, approvals and authorizations necessary, but, regardless, these actions are unconstitutional.

Those interested in following the case may sign up for a PACER account here: https://www.pacer.gov/cmecf/ and once an account is created, may log in here: https://ecf.caed.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl and do a query for case 2:17-CV-02271.

The Company will provide further updates on the federal court action once available.

The Company is gaining confidence in a positive outcome for everyone as more Cities, Counties, States, and Countries seem to be realizing the legal and monetary advantages of the CBIS Industrial Hemp Research & Economic Development Program. CBIS is proud to be able to positively impact virtually any city with more than 50 educational programs within multiple Universities specializing in the Department of Agriculture, Medical & Health Care, Business, Law, Certified Professionals, Arts, Media, and Technology in a unique hybrid structure of online, in class, and in field education.

Staying in line with its other Industrial Hemp Research & Economic Development programs CBIS has also recently entered a partnership to implement a phytomedicines initiative on 1,000 acres in South Africa. In the same manner of the other initiatives, Cannabis Science and Elpasso Farms will establish the Pan-African Agriculture and Commerce University (PAACU), in collaboration with American States University. PAACU will specialize in agriculture, medicine, law, and business programs, and will offer a variety of certificate courses and conduct formal research programs using a variety of cannabinoids from associated indigenous plants. The Elpasso Economic Development Plan will utilize the University platform to provide PAACU scholarships for educating local and regional residents in several different industries applicable to their area with a heavy focus on agriculture, drug development, food security, and job creation.

Cannabis Science strongly advocates for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and believes that companies should have an obligation to positively impact the communities in which they operate. As part of its commitment to CSR, the Company has implemented its Economic Development Initiative (EDI) to provide general structure for how the Company operates in the communities where it has established business activities. Through its EDI, Cannabis Science develops and implements specific initiatives to meet the needs of each community, as identified through consultation with members of the community.

About Cannabis Science, Inc.



Cannabis Science, Inc. takes advantage of its unique understanding of metabolic processes to provide novel treatment approaches to a number of illnesses for which current treatments and understanding remain unsatisfactory. Cannabinoids have an extensive history dating back thousands of years, and currently, there are a growing number of peer-reviewed scientific publications that document the underlying biochemical pathways that cannabinoids modulate. The Company works with leading experts in drug development, medicinal characterization, and clinical research to develop, produce, and commercialize novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment for illnesses caused by infections as well as for age-related illness. Our initial focus is on cancers, HIV/AIDS, and neurological conditions. The Company is proceeding with the research and development of its proprietary drugs as a part of this initial focus: CS-S/BCC-1, CS-TATI-1, and CS-NEURO-1, respectively.

Forward-Looking Statements



This Press Release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934. A statement containing words such as "anticipate," "seek," intend," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "project," "plan," or similar phrases may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Some or all of the events or results anticipated by these forward-looking statements may not occur. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include the future U.S. and global economies, the impact of competition, and the Company's reliance on existing regulations regarding the use and development of cannabis-based drugs. Cannabis Science, Inc., does not undertake any duty nor does it intend to update the results of these forward-looking statements. Safe Harbor Statement. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a 'safe harbor' for forward looking statements. Certain of the statements contained herein, which are not historical facts are forward looking statements with respect to events, the occurrence of which involved risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements may be impacted, either positively or negatively, by various factors. Information concerning potential factors that could affect the company is detailed from time to time in the company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.




REGINA, Saskatchewan , July 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Information Services Corporation (TSX:ISV) (ISC or the Company) advises that it will release its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018, on Tuesday, August 7, 2018, after market close. ISCs Unaudited Consolidated Interim Financial Statements and Notes and Managements Discussion and Analysis for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018 will be available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on our website at www.company.isc.ca.

We will hold an investor conference call on Wednesday, August 8, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. ET (9 a.m. MT) to discuss the results. Participants may join the call by dialing toll-free 1-844 419-1765 or 1-216- 562-0470 for calls outside North America. Simultaneously, an audio webcast of the conference call will also be available at the following link www.company.isc.ca/investor-relations/events. The audio file with a replay of the webcast will be available about 24 hours after the event on our website at the link above. We invite media to attend on a listen-only basis.

About ISC

Headquartered in Canada, ISC is the leading provider of registry and information management services for public data and records. Throughout our history, we have delivered value to our clients by providing solutions to manage, secure and administer information through our Registry Operations, Services and Technology Solutions segments. ISC is focused on sustaining its core business while pursuing new growth opportunities. The Class A Shares of ISC trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ISV.

Investor Contact

Jonathan Hackshaw

Director, Investor Relations & Capital Markets

1-855-341-8363

investor.relations@isc.ca
BOCA RATON, Fla., July 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Boca West Childrens Foundation, which provides grants and volunteers to 25 local non-profit childrens organizations, has provided a $30,000 grant to Wayne Barton Study Center to assist with its Back to School Jam serving an estimated 6,000 underserved children.



The annual Back to School Jam ensures that underserved children are equipped for school. It will take place on Saturday, August 11 from 10am to 2pm at Wayne Barton Study Center located at 269 NE 14th Street in Boca Raton.

Through this partnership, we are able to help deserving children prepare for a successful academic year and give them a hand up to a brighter future, says Jennifer Bate, Executive Director of Boca West Childrens Foundation.

Children attending the event will receive a grade appropriate backpack that has been filled with required school supplies. Students will be offered the health screenings and immunizations needed to the start school year. The event will also feature food, games, and music for the whole family to enjoy.

Wayne Barton, CEO and Founder of Wayne Barton Study Center, said, We worry about what a child will become tomorrow yet we forget that he or she is someone today.

This is the seventh year that Boca West Childrens Foundation has contributed to the event. This years Back to School Jam is also being supported by Cox Media; Kleinman & Lessman; WellCare; Florida Community Bank; and Grossman, Roth, Yaffa, & Cohen.

About Boca West Childrens Foundation

For more information, visit www.bocawestfoundation.org, call 561-488-6980, or email foundation@bocawestcc.org.

About Wayne Barton Study Center

Bartons Boosters, Inc. is the vision behind Wayne Barton Study Center. The organization focuses on the health, welfare, and education of children and families in need. Founder Wayne Bartons mission is to alleviate hunger and improve the academic achievement for students. The organization does this through implementing educational and meal programs at Wayne Barton Study Center.

For more information, visit www.waynebartonstudycenter.org.
Presidente @MartinVizcarraC: La integracion es fundamental para el desarrollo de nuestros pueblos. Debemos crecer y fortalecer la institucionalidad en America Latina. No podemos tener sostenibilidad con buena economia y malas instituciones. #XIIICumbreAP pic.twitter.com/Db9W2N1pEK
The Plymouth Rd. Big Boy closes

An offer too good to refuse.

by Sabine Bickford

From the June, 2018 issue

The Big Boy at Plymouth Rd. and US-23 will close on June 17. Uncommonly for a national chain, it was a well-known and well-liked community establishment.



Owners Jonathan Marsh and Joe Diequez bought the franchise and property nineteen years ago. Diequez told us that they put the property on the market for "three times what it had been appraised for" and never expected to get an offer. But one came in, Marsh says, at a price too good to refuse.



"It's bittersweet," says Marsh, whose photography lines the walls. "A lot of staff have been there the whole time."



He'll be retiring to California to become a full-time photographer. "I thank everybody for the nineteen years we had here," he says. "It was great being in Ann Arbor ... The hardest thing is, I've known a lot of customers almost all nineteen years. It's family."



Diequez says he'll stick around the area, though he too mourns the loss of a community: "The only way I can describe this is like graduating high school," he says. "You've been here for so long with all these people, and then suddenly it all changes, and you'll never see them again."



There may be hope yet for those regulars. Diequez and Marsh both told us they think the new owners are planning a family-oriented restaurant in the same spot.



[Originally published in June, 2018.]








The Russian ambassador to Canada, Alexander Darchiyev, reports that the Canadians are interested in promoting cooperation in the Arctic. He has offered the acting governor of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area (YNAA) his help in establishing contact with Canada's provinces.

Last Sunday, Salekhard hosted a meeting between YNAA Acting Governor Dmitry Artyukhov and Russia's extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassadors. According to Darchiyev, Canadian companies are active in Chukotka and Altai.

"But there are serious political obstacles posed by Canada's previous and current governments. But even under these conditions, Canadians emphasize that the Arctic is an area where we should interact as it is not so much a question as a proposal. If you don't object, I will stress our interest in promoting direct ties at all levels in Canada. Moreover, it is much easier to establish contact at the provincial level than at the federal government level," he said.

In his words, the Canadians were proud to say that the Canadian Arctic had a population of 120,000. They were amazed to learn that there were 2.5 million people living beyond the Polar Circle in Russia. "There is neither industry, nor business activity in the Canadian Arctic. It was also a discovery for them to know that we study the indigenous languages," he said, confirming the intention to support the establishment of direct ties between the YNAA and Canadian regions.
YEREVAN, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. The ministry of Diaspora carries out open, transparent and equal competitive policy in its tenders for programs, deputy minister Davit Sargsyan told ARMENPRESS, adding that they want to give a chance to all organizations who are planning to participate in the ministrys bidding processes. The same policy goes for the Step Towards Home programs bidding process. According to the latest data three organizations have submitted bids and the winner will be announced July 24.

The lowest bidder will be declared the winner. Our goal is to ensure equal conditions in order for willing organizations to take part. Meaning to rule out arrangements, beforehand agreements.in order for the tender to be open, transparent, with equal conditions, the deputy minister said.

The winner of the bidding process will provide the food, transportation, clothing and other items for the participants of the program. Sargsyan said theyve calculated the spending with affordable prices, and the total value of the program is 46 million drams.

The Step Towards Home program has merged the previous two programs known as Ari Tun (Come Home) and Diaspora Summer School. Step Towards Home is an educational-introductory program designed for Armenians from the Diaspora aged 13-21. It will be held August 10-24. 500 Diaspora-Armenian children are expected to arrive for the program.

Participating children will be accommodated by hospitable families, one of them being Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyans family. Sargsyan said many families have already expressed willingness to host the children and they only need 150 families more.

The program includes Armenian language classes, tours in Yerevan and to the provinces, tours to museums and historic-cultural monuments and many more.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. The ministry of Culture of Armenia has reached agreements with a number of foreign embassies for carrying out joint projects, minister Lilit Makunts told ARMENPRESS.

Particularly, we made an agreement with the Ambassador of Georgia to carry out joint exchange programs relating to music and exhibitions. We are doing the JICA project with the Japanese Ambassador. This is very important for us. Theyve provided us with a grant in the form of equipment which will ensure the entire process of cultural value assessment and experimental works. Everything is mainly agreed upon, I believe we will signal the opening of the project within a month, she said.

Makunts said the Armenian-Italian Cultural Center will be opened in August, where lectures will be organized, as well as exchange of expert and professional skills. The facility will be the first of its kind in the region to have a serious role in protection of monuments.

We are cooperating with the French Ambassador within the framework of La Francophonie, with have consulted with the German Embassy about how to cooperate, for instance, in the literature area, Makunts said.

There are very different and interesting projects, which we will be able to gradually realize with time. A part of them has already been launched, she said.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Monday that Russia is never going to be our friend, but downplayed concerns over President Trumps meeting and press conference last week with Russian President Vladimir Putin, The Hill reported.

We dont trust Russia. We dont trust Putin. We never will. Theyre never going to be our friend. Thats just a fact, Haley told CBN.

But what I do think is, whether its the president sitting down with (North Korean leader) Kim, or whether the president sits down with Putin, those are things that have to happen, she added, calling Trumps summit in Finland last week a long time coming.

The US president has faced a week of criticism for his performance in his meeting with Putin, where he cast doubt on the U.S. intelligence communitys conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 election.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
JERMUK, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. Locals of a number of Armenian towns and villages who are employed by Lydian Armenia are concerned over losing their jobs as it has been more than a month since theyve been furloughed.

The workers are locals of Gndevaz, Gorayk, Saravan and Jermuk, who are engaged in research, construction, as well as social programs at Lydian Armenia.

The Amulsar mine, operated by Lydian Armenia, has been temporarily shut down due to ongoing protests by environmentalists who have blocked the road leading to the mine. The protesters demand the mine to be shut down to avoid environmental issues.

Since the works at the mine have been disrupted, Lydian Armenia has stopped the funding, including funding for communities for rented areas, while local workers have been furloughed until further notice.

Ive been working at the laboratory of Gorayk as a lab assistant for already ten years. There were no other jobs at the village. If the works dont re-start it will affect the social situation of not only us, but also other families of the village, because today nearly 1500 people are left without a job like me. I am thinking about finding another job, but there is no other option, Marine Hovhannisyan from Gorayk said.

As of April, 2018, Lydian Armenia and Amulsar contractors had 1460 employees, 464 of whom from nearby communities of the mine.

Local official of Saravan community Razmik Manukyan says everyone always had concerns over environmental issues, but Lydian Armenia experts had numerously organized meetings and discussions to present all works and processes.

We too want for a governmental task force to be created which will give an accurate answer as soon as possible. We too are concerned over the ecology and the health of our children. But it is wrong to just block it and not allow to work without facts, he said.

Karen Badalyan from Jermuk told ARMEPRESS that he is engaged in measurement works at Lydian Armenia for one and a half years. We work with foreign experts by using modern high technologies. I havent seen those technologies in Armenia. In addition to working, we also acquire experience and skills. The living standards of people has grown, high funding exists, they pay high salaries, he said.

The locals are waiting for the task force to be created, and the results of its studies.

Deputy PM Tigran Avinyan had earlier said that the government is setting up a working group over the issue.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. Lydian Armenia has expressed confusion and anger over the manipulation of its name in the official statement of the Investigative Committee on launching a criminal case on intentional concealing of environmental pollution, as well as the distortion of the information by certain media outlets.

We hereby announce that Lydian Armenia has nothing to do with the criminal case and the individuals involved in it and it will seek that the people who are defaming the companys name and business reputation are held accountable for under the law, Lydian Armenia said in a statement.

It said that it views the Investigative Committees mentioning of its name in the statement to be an intentional black PR campaign. It says that it views the reports of certain media outlets who presented the criminal case against officials of the nature protection ministry to be a criminal case against Lydian to be also intentional, black PR.

Lydian Armenia has never concealed any information from authorized bodies, and individuals involved in the management bodies of the company are certain that the company has adhered to all environmental requirements under Armenian legislation, the statement said.

Lydian Armenia demanded news media to refute the inaccurate reporting, since the Investigative Committee has not initiated any such case against them.

At the same time we expect investigative bodies to avoid unnecessary mentioning the name of the largest investor of the country in criminal cases which are initiated based upon the assumptions of private individuals, taking into account that such misleading reports are negatively impacting the rating of the company and the country in the international investment market, Lydian Armenia said.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. There are no Armenians  neither citizens nor ethnic  among the victims of the Greek wildfires, according to preliminary information reported by the Armenian embassy in Athens.

The embassy said in maintains constant contact with local authorties and Armenian organizations.

Earlier the embassy said it has set up an emergency hotline.

Hotline is open at the Embassy of Armenia to Greece regarding the information about Armenian citizens injured by the fire in Attica and other regions of Greece. In case of having any information related to the Armenian citizens please contact the Embassy by following hotline numbers: (+30) 2106831130 (+30) 6989479827, the embassy said on Facebook.

At least 50 people have died and 156 have been injured in forest fires raging near Athens, the Greek Civil Protection Agency said on Tuesday.

Earlier the Greek government put the death toll at 20.

According to ERT, many of the injured are in critical condition.

More than 700 have been rescued from beaches, where people had fled from the wildfires. Firefighters were able to contain only a part of the raging fires in the morning of July 24. Strong winds, which caused the fire to spread rapidly, have calmed down. Firefighting aircraft have been deployed to the area.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
English French Italian Spanish German

Revenue, France: +55%

Revenue, International: +43%

Target of double-digit profitable growth confirmed for 2018

SOLUTIONS 30, Europe's leading provider of solutions for New Technologies, today announced its revenue for the first half of 2018.

In millions of euro

(Unaudited figures) H1 Q2 2018 2017 Chg % 2018 2017 Chg % Total 176.6 117.2 +50.6% 91.4 61.1 +49.5% O/w France 116.1 74.9 +55.0% 59.4 39.4 +50.8% O/w International 60.4 42.3 +42.8% 32.0 21.7 +46.9%

Continued steady growth in Q2 2018

In a new and dynamic growth cycle since 2016, SOLUTIONS 30 has seen revenue more than double in two years. This excellent performance continues in 2018, with consolidated Group revenue up 51% year-on-year to 176.6 million in the first half of 2018 (up 37% at constant scope). In the second quarter alone, Group revenue rose 50% to 91.4 million (growth was 36% at constant scope).

Revenue growth in France fuelled by strong momentum across all businesses, especially Fibre and Energy

In France, SOLUTIONS 30 continues its upward trajectory with revenue growth of 51% in the second quarter (44% growth at constant scope) and 55% for the first half of the year (47% at constant scope). While all the Group's activities delivered positive contribution to this solid performance, growth was particularly high in the Energy field and Optical Fiber segment. In this last segment, the Group can rely on its good ability to recruit and train technicians, in order to meet a sustained roll-out plan and gain market share, in a positive context given the number of home already passed by fiber but not yet connected.

Internationally, the Group is reaping the benefits of its efforts to win new market share and continues to roll-out its successful French business model

International revenue in Q2 2018 came out at 32.0 million, up 47% (+22% at constant scope). Revenue for the first half of 2018 outside France was up 43% to 60.4 million (up 20% at constant scope).

In Germany, business was driven by contracts signed in 2017 and by the acquisition of VKDFS in June 2017.

In the Benelux region, the Group acquired the entire minority shareholding of Janssens Field Services (JFS) on 21 June. The Belgian subsidiary is now fully consolidated, effective retroactively to 1 June 2018. At the same time, as announced last April, the Group formed Uni-T, a new company owned 70% by Solutions 30 and 30% by the Belgian cable operator, Telenet. Uni-T will make a contribution to earnings as of the second half of 2018.

Continuing the performance of the first quarter, Italy posted double-digit growth in sales, boosted by the acquisition of DXC Technology's service business and the signature of new contracts in the previous year.

In Spain, which accounts for 7% of international revenue, the Group set about rationalising its businesses and adapting its approach to a market that is more mature but keeps potential. Growth is temporarily affected by this strategy, but sales remain strong and SOLUTIONS 30 expect growth in the second half.

2018 outlook confirmed

The Group continues to roll out its profitable business model across Europe, while broadening its offer in all regions and consolidating a highly fragmented sector.

The Smartfix30 digital assistance platform continues to expand through its B-to-B brand, SmartfixPartner. Although it currently only makes a marginal contribution to Group revenue, the platform has proven its ability to deploy a very innovative solution on a large scale and is now recognised by the biggest telecommunications and distribution players in Europe.

In 2018, SOLUTIONS 30 will maintain its strong growth strategy and confirms its forecast for another year of profitable growth.

Next key dates:

24 September 2018(*) First-half 2018 results

25 September 2018 10:00: investor conference call (in English)

14:30: investor meeting (in French)

6 November 2018(*) Q3 2018 revenue

(*) Results will be announced after the close of the Euronext Growth and XETRA markets at 20:00 CET.

About SOLUTIONS 30

The SOLUTIONS 30 Group is Europe's leading provider of Solutions for New Technologies. Its mission is to grant individuals and businesses alike access to technological changes that transform our daily lives: computers and the Internet in the past, today's digital changes, and future technology that will make the world ever more connected in real time. Since its founding, the Group has handled more than 10 million service calls by drawing on a network of 6,000 regional technicians. SOLUTIONS 30 currently covers the whole of France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Spain. SOLUTIONS 30 S.E.'s capital comprises 24,179,812 shares, with an identical number of theoretical and exercisable voting rights.

Solutions 30 S.E. is listed on the Alternext market (ISIN FR0013188844 - code ALS30), eligible for the PEA-PME share savings plan, and on the Frankfurt stock exchange on the Xetra electronic system (ISIN FR0013188844 - code 30L2)

Indexes: MSCI Europe Small Cap | Tech40 | CAC PME

For more information, go to: www.solutions30.com

SOLUTIONS 30 CONTACTS:
YEREVAN, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. The leaders of the US Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues are collecting the signatures of their U.S. House colleagues on a bipartisan letter encouraging President Donald Trump to meet with Armenias new Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during the United Nations summit in New York this September, as part of a broader expansion of U.S.-Armenian dialogue aimed at further integrating Armenia into the international economic system and increasing U.S.-Armenia bilateral trade and investment, the ANCA reported.

In a Dear Colleague letter to their Congressional colleagues, the Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Dave Trott (R-MI), and David Valadao (R-CA) and Vice-Chairs Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Adam Schiff (D-CA), wrote, since being elected into office by Parliament, Prime Minister Pashinyan has committed himself to advancing Armenian issues both domestically and internationally and has stated his intent to deepen ties with the United States. Without question, a conversation between President Trump and Prime Minister Pashinyan emphasizing economic development, security and democracy is critical for a strong pivot towards a strategic partnership between our countries.

We are encouraged by all the new opportunities for more robust U.S. cooperation with Armenias new government, and join with our Congressional friends in encouraging the Administration to pro-actively strengthen our bilateral ties  with a special focus on the sustainable growth of mutually-beneficial economic relations, said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. Former President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan (in office 1998-2008) isnt in Armenia at the moment but he will arrive for the July 26 questioning at the Special Investigative Service over the March 1 case.

Viktor Soghomonyan, director of Kocharyans office, told ARMENPRESS that his previous statement is in force. As you know, he [Kocharyan] isnt in Armenia at this moment, but nothing has changed in what I had said. What I had stated previously is still in force. He [Kocharyan] will be in Armenia at the designated day, I had announced this, and he will participate in the questioning, Soghomonyan said.

March 1 refers to the 2008 post-election unrest in Yerevan, when mass protest erupted after Serzh Sargsyan was elected president. Subsequent clashes between security forces and protesters left several people dead on both sides.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. Armenian emergency services are ready to assist Greece in tackling the wildfires in case the latter requests assistance, colonel Hovhannes Khangeldyan  director of the National Center For Crisis Management of the Ministry of Emergency Situations  said at a press conference today.

Armenia hasnt yet received an official request. The Armenian ministry of emergency situations is a member of GDACS (Global Disaster Alerting and Coordination System), and within the framework of cooperation we are receiving assistance requests. Armenia is ready to assist within its powers in case of receiving a request, he said.

At least 50 people have died and 156 have been injured in forest fires raging near Athens, the Greek Civil Protection Agency said on Tuesday.

Earlier the Greek government put the death toll at 20.

According to ERT, many of the injured are in critical condition.

More than 700 have been rescued from beaches, where people had fled from the wildfires. Firefighters were able to contain only a part of the raging fires in the morning of July 24. Strong winds, which caused the fire to spread rapidly, have calmed down. Firefighting aircraft have been deployed to the area.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
STEPANAKERT, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. The military transport vehicles discovered in the mansion of MP Manvel Grigoryan, the retired general who is currently in pre-trial detention in Armenia on charges of embezzlement and theft, have nothing to do with the Artsakh military. All vehicles donated to the Artsakh Defense Army are under its management, defense minister of Artsakh Levon Mnatsakanyan said at a press conference on July 24.

Philantropists have emphasized that they are donating the vehicles to the Yerkrapah Volunteers Union, in order for them to use the cars when organizing their work, Mnatsakanyan said.

Manvel Grigoryan was the president of the Yerkrapah Union at the time of his arrest, and was soon ousted by the board. Grigoryan is accused in embezzling donations to the military, including food supplies.

Mnatsakanyan also emphasized that all doubts will disappear after court proceedings.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. Former security official Vachagan Ghazaryan, the head of ex-President Serzh Sargsyans security detail, has been released from pre-trial detention on a 1,000,000,000 dram (roughly 2,1 million dollars) bail, the Special Investigative Service told ARMENPRESS.

Ghazaryan was placed under pre-trial detention for two-months. But the former security official appealed the verdict to a higher court, which in turn granted bail.

The court had set the bail for his release earlier on July 20.

Authorities did not specify who posted the bail.

Ghazaryan served as first deputy director of the state protection service under the NSS until 2018 May 17. While in office, he was in charge of the security detail of then President Serzh Sargsyan.

Vachagan Ghazaryan was detained by National Security Service (NSS) agents on June 25 and placed under arrest the same day. Two days later he was charged for illicit enrichment and false asset declaration. He was remanded in custody pending trial on June 28.

Ghazaryan carried about half a million dollars in cash on him at the time of his arrest. He claimed that he withdrew the money from a bank with the purpose of returning it to the real owner of the money, without mentioning a name. Another 50,000 dollars was discovered in his car. The National Security Service said it had intelligence reports that Ghazaryan was planning to withdraw an additional 3,000,000 dollars from his and his wifes bank accounts.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. Armenias Minister of Diaspora Mkhitar Hayrapetyan will visit Los Angeles, USA at the end of July, the Consulate General of Armenia in LA reported.

The Minister's intensive program will include a number of meetings with religious, political, cultural, benevolent and other institutions as well as individuals of a large and vibrant Armenian community of Los Angeles. M.Hayrapetyan will be holding a press conference to conclude his visit, the Consulate General said.

The minister departed on his first foreign visit today, heading to Cyprus. During the visit the Armenian minister will meet with Photis Photiou, Presidential Commissioner for Humanitarian Issues and Overseas Cypriots. Hayrapetyan and Photiou will discuss issues concerning future Armenian-Cypriot cooperation over Diaspora affairs.

On July 26, Hayrapetyan will meet with President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades at the presidential palace, followed by the third trilateral Armenia-Cyprus-Greece Diaspora affairs meeting.

The working visit will be concluded July 27.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. His Holiness Garegin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, on July 24 sent a letter of condolences to His Beatitude Ieronymos II, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, on the occasion of wildfires in Attica region of Athens which claimed lives of several dozens of citizens, the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin told Armenpress.

His Holiness Garegin II extended condolences to the Greek people and families of the victims on behalf of the Supreme Spiritual Council and the Mother See.

May God help the Greek people to overcome these hardships and live in peace and safety, the letter said.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of the Parliament of Armenia Ara Babloyan sent a letter of condolences to Speaker of the Parliament of Greece Nikolaos Voutsis over the wildfires near Athens which claimed dozens of human lives, the Armenian Parliament told Armenpress.

The letter says: Your excellency,

We have learnt with a deep sorrow about the multiple human losses caused by the wildfires in Attika region. On behalf of the Armenian Parliament and personally myself, I extend deepest condolences to you and the relatives of the victims.

We extend our support to the brotherly people of Greece by sharing the grief of the relatives of the victims and wishing speedy recovery to the injured.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. Armenias minister of Diaspora Mkhitar Hayrapetyan, who is in Cyprus on an official visit, on July 24 met with Photis Photiou, Presidential Commissioner for Humanitarian Issues and Overseas Cypriots, the ministry told Armenpress.

The Diaspora minister thanked for the invitation and stated: The fact that I paid my first visit to Cyprus is already a signal that we really highly value our relations and are ready to further strengthen them.

In his turn Photis Photiou thanked for accepting the invitation. I see how active you are, I follow your meetings. Our peoples have many commonalities, and perhaps this is the reason that we always assist you and vice versa, he said.

During the meeting Photis Photiou also touched upon the Armenians living in Cyprus and their problems, stating that they always try to assist the Armenian community so that they can maintain their Armenian identity. We do this by assisting the Armenian schools and churches. We want that Armenians will not be away from their roots. We also have a Diaspora and are well aware what problems people face while living not in the homeland.

The officials also discussed the possible joint programs, highlighting the need to include youth in these programs as much as possible.

Diaspora minister Mkhitar Hayrapetyan arrived in Cyprus on an official visit. He is scheduled to meet with President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades. Thereafter, he will participate in the World Forum of Cypriots and the 3rd Armenia-Cyprus-Greece meeting on Diaspora affairs.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. First deputy prime minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan commented on the possible meeting of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and US President Donald Trump via a video on Facebook, reports Armenpress.

Within the frameworks of the upcoming visit PM Pashinyan will depart for the US in September to participate in the UN General Assembly, and therefore on the sidelines of the visit the Congressmen find it appropriate to organize Pashinyan-Trump meeting: they launched a petition in the Congress for this purpose and address letter to President Trump. The issue has been raised by the Congressmen, and we assured that it is being discussed, the meeting is possible, the first deputy PM said.

Mirzoyan also commented on the details of Armenias withdrawal from the Millennium Challenge program. Quite long time before our visit the World Bank changed Armenias rating from a country with low average income to high average income, but according to the criteria of the Millennium Challenge program, those states which meet several criteria, as well as didnt reach high average, can be considered as possible partners. As a result of the rating change, Armenia thus became a country not being in accordance with this program. And now some US officials also dont know how to deal with the current situation, he said, adding that its necessary to think about a new mechanism through which the US will be able to provide its support to Armenias democracy.

In the video the first deputy PM also talked about the goals of his recent visit to the US. The primary goal was to participate in the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development and introduce Armenias national voluntary report. Within the frames of this event two adjacent events were also scheduled which Armenia had undertaken to implement, he said.

The Armenian delegation met with the top US officials during which the relations of the two countries were discussed. We had meetings with the UNDP head, COAF founder and director Garo Armen, attended the event organized by the AGBU and also met with the AGBU representatives. Thereafter, several bilateral meetings with quite influential Congressmen and Senators were held in Washington D.C., meeting took place with the US Assistant Secretary of State Wess Mitchell, as well as other officials. During these meetings we have introduced Armenias new political priority, the recent developments, the revolution, its values, in other words, we have presented the new situation in Armenia to the American administration. We also had very serious discussions on deepening the ties between Armenia and the US, in particular, we discussed the US assistance provided to Armenia, the deepening of commercial ties, the possibility to increase direct investments and other issues beneficial for Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan said.

He said the US trip for the PMs staff comprised 4.5 million drams, but the delegation also included representatives of various ministries whose expenditures have been carried out from the budgets of their ministries. The delegation also included the representative of the Public TV of Armenia, whose travel costs have been covered by the TV.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
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NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

KEY TRANSACTION HIGHLIGHTS

Sale to occur through a bought public offering of 8,445,911 common shares and a concurrent private placement of an aggregate of 13,126,925 common shares with British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI), the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, the Fonds de solidarite FTQ, GPI Capital , OMERS and CEO Brian McManus for aggregate gross proceeds of $876.5 million

Founding partners Tom A. Bruce Jones and Gianni Chiarva to step down as Chairman and Vice-Chairman upon closing, and Stella-Jones to implement governance changes

Second quarter unaudited results to be released on August 8, 2018 with anticipated sales of $662.3 million, net income of $48.1 million and EBITDA1 of $79.6 million

MONTREAL, July 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stella-Jones Inc. (TSX:SJ) (Stella-Jones or the Company) announced today that Stella Jones International S.A. (the Selling Shareholder or SJ International), the Companys principal shareholder, and the Company have entered into an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters, led by TD Securities Inc., as sole bookrunner, relating to a secondary offering by the Selling Shareholder, on a bought deal basis, of 8,445,911 common shares of the Company at an offering price of $40.63 per common share for gross proceeds to the Selling Shareholder of $343,157,364 (the Public Offering).

Concurrent with the Public Offering, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI), the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (la Caisse), the Fonds de solidarite FTQ, GPI Capital, OMERS, the defined benefit pension plan for Ontarios municipal employees and the Companys President and Chief Executive Officer, Brian McManus (collectively, the Private Placement Purchasers), will purchase from the Selling Shareholder, on a private placement basis, an aggregate of 13,126,925 common shares, at the same price as the Public Offering for gross proceeds to the Selling Shareholder of $533,346,963 (the Concurrent Private Placement). TD Securities Inc. is acting as sole bookrunner and sole agent on the Concurrent Private Placement. The Private Placement Purchasers will also be entitled to a capital commitment fee payable on closing of the Concurrent Private Placement. Shares sold to the Private Placement Purchasers will be subject to a four month hold period from the closing of the Concurrent Private Placement in accordance with applicable securities legislation.

Immediately following the completion of the Public Offering and the Concurrent Private Placement, la Caisse, will beneficially own or exercise control or direction over approximately 10.9% of total outstanding common shares of the Company, and the Selling Shareholder will no longer hold any shares of Stella-Jones.

For the last 25 years, we have seen Stella-Jones grow from a four-plant wood-treating operation to a leading North American railway tie, utility pole and treated lumber supplier with 39 treating facilities. Under Brian McManuss leadership, Stella-Jones has become a world-class company and we are confident that the organization will benefit from the strategic support of best-in-class institutions and a more diverse shareholder base going forward, said Mr. Gianni Chiarva, Chairman of SJ International.

On behalf of Stella-Jones, I would like to thank our long-time partners, the Chiarva and the Jones families for their dedication and vision. At the same time, we are pleased to welcome new institutional investors who are keenly focused on supporting the Companys future growth plans. Stella-Jones continues to be very well positioned to take advantage of opportunities in its key markets, said Brian McManus, President and Chief Executive Officer of Stella-Jones.

GOVERNANCE CHANGES

Upon closing of the transaction, Tom A. Bruce Jones and Gianni Chiarva will step down as Chairman and Vice-Chairman, respectively, of the Board, and la Caisse will be proposing to the soon-to-be-formed Nominating and Governance Committee, an independent director to the Stella-Jones Board.

Pursuing a more robust governance initiative, in the coming months, Stella-Jones will be establishing a Nominating and Governance Committee, instituting a process of renewal of the Board while continuing to foster its diversity, and holding a shareholder advisory vote on executive compensation at its May 2019 shareholder meeting.

CEOS PARTICIPATION IN THE CONCURRENT PRIVATE PLACEMENT; SENIOR MANAGEMENT INCENTIVE

Brian McManus, Stella-Jones President and Chief Executive Officer, will be purchasing 50,000 common shares as part of the Concurrent Private Placement. Earlier in the year, an additional 3-year incentive was awarded to Mr. McManus and his senior management team under the Companys existing Long-Term Incentive Plan to solidify their committed service and promote continued long-term operational performance.

SECOND QUARTER PREVIEW

Stella-Jones is pleased to provide preliminary unaudited results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018. These preliminary results are based on information available to the Company as of the date of this release and are subject to revision upon finalizing fiscal year 2018 second quarter results. Financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018 will be reported on August 8, 2018.

For this period, the Company is currently anticipating sales of approximately $662.3 million, net income of approximately $48.1 million and EBITDA of approximately $79.6 million.

Stella-Jones generated solid operating results in the second quarter. This performance stems from strong sales in the utility pole, residential lumber and logs and lumber product categories driven by increased sales prices and market demand. This was partially offset by the continued temporary headwinds in the railway ties product category primarily related to the transitioning of a Class 1 railroad customer to a full-service program. We are also pleased to see our EBITDA margin improve in line with our expectations with a solid 1.1% quarter-over-quarter improvement from first to second quarter of fiscal 2018 said Brian McManus, President and Chief Executive Officer.

PROSPECTUS AND TIMING OF PUBLIC OFFERING AND CONCURRENT PRIVATE PLACEMENT

A preliminary short form prospectus of the Company relating to the Public Offering will be filed shortly with Canadian securities regulatory authorities in each of the provinces of Canada. Closing of the Public Offering and the Concurrent Private Placement is expected to occur on or about August 14, 2018 and is subject to conditions. Closing of the Public Offering is conditional on the closing of the Concurrent Private Placement and closing of the Concurrent Private Placement is conditional on the closing of the Public Offering. The Company will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of common shares by the Selling Shareholder.

This news release is not an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The securities being offered have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and accordingly are not being offered for sale and may not be offered, sold or delivered, directly or indirectly within the United States, its possessions and other areas subject to its jurisdiction, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of that Act.

ABOUT STELLA-JONES

Stella-Jones Inc. (TSX:SJ) is a leading producer and marketer of pressure treated wood products. The Company supplies North Americas railroad operators with railway ties and timbers, and the continents electrical utilities and telecommunication companies with utility poles. Stella-Jones also manufactures and distributes residential lumber and accessories to retailers for outdoor applications, as well as industrial products for construction and marine applications. The Companys common shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

NON-IFRS FINANCIAL MEASURES

EBITDA (defined as operating income before depreciation of property, plant and equipment and amortization of intangible assets, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) and EBITDA margin (defined as EBITDA divided by sales for the corresponding period) are financial measures not prescribed by IFRS and are not likely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. Management considers these non-IFRS measures to be useful information to assist knowledgeable investors regarding the Companys financial condition and results of operations as it provides an additional measure of its performance. The Company refers readers to the table below and the Non-IFRS Financial Measures section of the Companys MD&A for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 for the reconciliation of EBITDA to net income (being the most directly comparable IFRS measure) for the relevant periods.

Reconciliation of EBITDA to net income*

(millions of dollars) Three-month period ended

June 30, 2018 Net income for the period 48.1 Plus: Provision for income taxes 17.7 Financial expenses 5.2 Depreciation and amortization 8.6 EBITDA 79.6

* Preliminary results. Numbers may not add exactly due to rounding.

This press release may contain information and statements of a forward-looking nature. These statements are based on suppositions and uncertainties as well as on managements best possible evaluation of future events. Such factors may include, without excluding other considerations, fluctuations in quarterly results, evolution in customer demand for the Companys products and services, the impact of price pressures exerted by competitors, the ability of the Company to raise the capital required for acquisitions, and general market trends or economic changes. As a result, readers are advised that actual results may differ from expected results.

Source: Stella-Jones Inc. Contacts: Eric Vachon, CPA, CA Pierre Boucher, CPA, CMA Senior Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer Jennifer McCaughey, CFA Tel.: (514) 940-3903 MaisonBrison Communications evachon@stella-jones.com Tel.: (514) 731-0000 pierre@maisonbrison.com jennifer@maisonbrison.com

____________________

1 See Non-IFRS Financial Measures section.
YEREVAN, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. Armenias Investigative Committee conducts investigation to clarify the details of the death of soldier Jora Petrosyan, the Investigative Committee told Armenopress.

On July 24 the investigative department has been notified that soldier Jora Petrosyan has received a fatal gunshot wound in the military position.

According to the preliminary data, the soldier received a fatal gunshot wound as a result of violation of safety precautions of handling a firearm by the co-serviceman.

Criminal case has been launched into the incident.

Additional information on the investigation results will be provided.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. Within the frameworks of the criminal case, known as Zibileaks among the public, Heghine Pograryan has been arrested on July 24 on suspicion of committing a publicly dangerous act, the Special Investigative Service told Armenpress.

Based on the data received, Heghine Pograryan, before the May 14, 2017 Yerevan City Council elections, met with a couple and promised to give them 10.000 AMD bribe for voting in favor of City Council candidate Taron Margaryan.

Investigation continues.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. Defense minister Davit Tonoyan on July 24 received UK Ambassador to Armenia Judith Farnworth, the ministry told Armenpress.

During the meeting issues relating to the cooperation of Armenia and the UK in the defense field were discussed. The Armenian defense minister attached importance to the main spheres of bilateral cooperation. He also highlighted the importance of holding regular military-political dialogue between the respective officials for the defense policy and cooperation of the two countries.

In her turn the UK Ambassador said the UK ministry of defense will continue the cooperation and reaffirmed the readiness to provide consulting support on directions presented by the Armenian defense ministry, including in the field of public procurement legislation.

Issues relating to the regional security were also discussed during the meeting.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. The session of the board of the Civil Contract party has kicked off on July 24 led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, reports Armenpress.

Zaruhi Batoyan, member of the party, deputy minister of labor and social affairs, told reporters that the issue of the candidate for the Yerevan mayor will not be discussed during the session. We will discuss the nominated candidates, as it was announced that it is open, the candidates can be nominated and send their applications, she said, adding that she, MP Alen Simonyan, actor Hayk Marutyan and PMs advisor Srbuhi Ghazaryan are among the nominated candidates.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. On July 24, at 15:30, the body of soldier Jorik Petrosyan, born in 1999, was found in the military position located in Armenias south-western direction, with a fatal gunshot wound on his head, the defense ministry told Armenpress.

Investigation is underway to clarify the details of the incident.

The defense ministry extends condolences to the family, relatives and co-servicemen of the soldier.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian government will discuss the issue on approving the agreement on regulation of labor migration signed with Bulgaria on February 12, 2018, reports Armenpress. The issue is included in the governments July 26 session agenda.

The agreement aims to promote the comprehensive cooperation and friendship between the sides in the context of foreign and migration policies.

Armenias ministry of labor and social affairs considers appropriate the ratification of the agreement.

The justice ministry said the provisions of the agreement do no contradict to the laws of the Republic of Armenia or other normative legal acts.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, 24 JULY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 24 July, USD exchange rate down by 0.19 drams to 480.81 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.32 drams to 562.21 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.04 drams to 7.66 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 0.44 drams to 630.63 drams.

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

Gold price down by 66.24 drams to 18935.77 drams. Silver price up by 1.68 drams to 239.37 drams. Platinum price up by 72.26 drams to 12815.01 drams.
Karl Stefanovic may have been back on screens this morning, but his partner Jasmine Yarbrough seems to still be in holiday mode, sharing throwbacks from their recent European getaway.

Jasmine shared a fun snap of the pair recently enjoying a friends wedding in Italy.

The cheeky photo showed the 34-year-old shoe designer laughing away, while 43-year-old Karl held her hand and checked out the back of her stunning gown.

Jasmine Yarbrough has shared this cheeky snap of her and Karl Stefanovic at a friends wedding in Italy. Source: Instagram/jasyarby

Earlier this month the couple were spotted soaking up the Italian sun with James Packer and his girlfriend, Kylie Lim, on the billionaires luxury yacht.

Today host Karl started dating Jasmine in December 2016 after splitting from his ex-wife Cassandra Thorburn in September that same year.

The couple had an intimate commitment ceremony in March this year, surrounded by close family and friends.

Since then, theyve continued to keep up appearances looking happier than ever, with their most recent red carpet outing being the TV Week Logie Awards in early July.

Got a story tip? Send it to tips@yahoo7.com.au

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The wildfires raging near Athens, which have claimed at least 50 lives, are among the deadliest in Europe this century, with Portugal and Russia also suffering heavy losses. Here is a recap of the worst. - Portugal in 2017 - Sixty-four people were killed and 250 injured in the deadliest wildfires in Portugal's history in June 2017. The fires burned for five days in the central Leiria region, breaking out at the height of a summer heatwave. Many of the victims died trapped in their cars by the flames while trying to escape. Violent winds fanned the fires, ravaging some 460 square kilometres (around 180 square miles) of hillsides covered with pine and eucalyptus. In 2003 gigantic fires caused by a heatwave left 20 dead between July and September in central and southern Portugal. The summer of 2003 remains the most disastrous in terms of surface destroyed, with nearly 4,250 square kilometres going up in smoke. In 1966 a blaze in the forest of Sintra, west of Lisbon, killed 25 soldiers trying to battle the flames. - Russia in 2015, 2010 - In April 2015 huge fires that started in the Khakassia region of southeastern Siberia killed 34 people as well as hundreds of cattle and thousands of sheep. The blaze, which spread as far as Mongolia and practically up to the Chinese border, also destroyed 2,000 homes and 10,000 square kilometres of land. Five years earlier, vast swathes of western Russia were ravaged by fires for weeks during an unprecedented heatwave and drought. The blazes between July and August 2010 tore through 10,000 square kilometres of forest, bogs and brushwood, burning entire villages. Some of the fires came dangerously close to Russia's top nuclear research centre in Sarov. - Greece in 2007 - Forest fires killed 77 people at the end of August 2007 in Greece, ravaging 2,500 square kilometres in the southern Peloponnese and the island of Evia, northeast of Athens. The fires raged for around 12 days, but most of the victims were killed early on in the disaster when they became trapped in villages cut off by the flames, some ignoring orders to evacuate. - France, worst ever in 1949 - In the heaviest loss of life in wildfires in France, 82 people were killed battling flames in the southwest Landes region in August 1949. The victims -- firemen, volunteers and soldiers -- were caught in a ball of fire after the winds suddenly changed direction. The wildfires raging near Athens, which have claimed at least 50 lives, are among the deadliest in Europe this century
At least 74 people were killed by wildfires that swept through a resort in Greece, trapping people in cars and on the edge of cliffs as others were forced to jump off to survive.

The scale of Monday nights devastation in Mati became apparent at first light on Tuesday.

Scores of gutted cars lined streets in the coastal town, east of Athens, melted by the intensity of the heat.

Bodies lay on roadsides, and in one area, a group of 26 people were found dead  some locked in an embrace as the flames closed in.

The group, which included children, were found near the top of a cliff overlooking a beach. They had ended up there after apparently searching for an escape route.

Instinctively, seeing the end nearing, they embraced, the head of Greeces Red Cross, Nikos Economopoulos, told Skai TV.

Flames engulf a property east of Athens. Source: AFP

A woman reacts as she tries to find her dog, following a wildfire at the village of Mati. Source: Reuters

The lucky ones were able to leap off the cliffs to survive or rush into the sea from the beach.

We went into the sea because the flames were chasing us all the way to the water. It burned our backs and we dived into the water, Kostas Laganos, a middle-aged survivor, said.

He compared the ordeal to the destruction of the city of Pompeii, where thousands were incinerated by the volcano of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.

I said, My God, we must run to save ourselves and nothing else, Mr Laganos said.

At least 74 people were killed, a fire brigade spokeswoman said, and the death toll was expected to rise. Poland said two of its citizens, a mother and her son, were among the victims.

It was not clear how many people remained unaccounted for as boats combed beaches for any remaining survivors.

Residents, their faces blackened by smoke, wandered the streets  some searching for their burned-out cars, others for their pets.

The eerie silence was punctured by fire-fighting helicopters and the murmur of rescue crews. There were yellow body bags in several areas.

Fires across Greece have killed at least 74 people but the death toll is expected to rise

Burned-out cars destroyed in the wildfires line a road near the village of Neos Voutzas near Athens. Source: AP

Many in the area had been unable to escape the fast pace of the blaze even though they were a few metres from the Aegean Sea or in their homes, the fire service said.

Story continues

A Reuters photographer saw at least four dead people on a narrow road clogged with cars heading to a beach.

One of the youngest victims was believed to be a six-month-old baby who died of smoke inhalation. At least 187 people were injured, officials said, among those 23 children.

Greece is going through an unspeakable tragedy, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said as he appeared on television to declare three days of national mourning.

Greece is living one of its most difficult moments.

There are absolutely no words to describe how we feel right now.

People sort supplies for residents rescued from the wildfire in the village of Nea Makri near Athens. Source: AP

Flags atop the ancient Acropolis hill and parliament flew at half mast.

The inferno was thought to be Greeces deadliest, with the death toll higher than fires which ravaged the southern Peloponnese peninsula over several days in August 2007, killing dozens.

By Tuesday afternoon, the Mati fire was contained, but the risk remained of it reigniting in scrubland parched by Greeces searing summer heat.

Killer fire

Wildfires are not uncommon in Greece, and a relatively dry winter and hot summer helped create the current tinder-box conditions. The cause of the current blaze was not immediately clear and an Athens prosecutor ordered an investigation into it.

Mati is a popular spot for Greek holidaymakers, particularly pensioners and children at summer camps.

One of the missing included a woman with multiple sclerosis, dragged out of her wheelchair by her frantic husband as the flames closed in, but lost in the ensuing chaos.

A crane removes a burned car from the road in Mati, east of Athens, Tuesday, July 24, 2018. Wildfires raged through seaside resorts near the Greek capital, torching homes, cars and forests and killing at least 74 people, authorities said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

The fire service urged residents to report missing relatives and friends. Some took to Twitter and Facebook, posting photographs of young children and elderly couples they hoped to track down.

Greece issued an urgent appeal for help to tackle fires that raged out of control in several places across the country, destroying homes and disrupting major transport links.

Newspapers printed banner headlines including Killer Fire and Hell.

Cyprus, Spain, Italy, Croatia and Portugal offered assistance after Greece said it needed air and land assets from European Union partners.

A woman sprays water outside her house that was damaged in the wildfires near the village of Neos Voutzas. Source: AP

Our thoughts go to Greece and the victims of the terrible fires, French President Emmanuel Macron said in tweets published in French and Greek.

Pope Francis said in a telegram he was deeply saddened by the tragedy and prayed for the victims and their families

There have also been 27 fires across Sweden, which is experiencing an unprecedented drought and the highest temperatures in a century
St. Petersburg, Fla. , July 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- US Federal Contractor Registration will host a YouTube live event on Wednesday, July 25th at 2:00 PM EST. It will be a discussion between Executive Bid Trainer John Wayne II and former Contracting Officer Representative John Conway. The two will talk about the best practices towards writing bid proposals for federal government contracts. This will provide many business owners with insight on a process that is crucial for working with the federal government. Calling to ask questions for this session was available to paid subscribers, but the roster has been filled. Viewers can still ask questions on the live chat.

John Wayne II is an Executive Bid Trainer and Proposal Writer at US Federal Contractor Registration. He helps train government contractors on how to submit proper bids, as well as providing input on other facets of government contracting. This includes debriefing, bid protests, government communication and set-asides. Throughout his years at USFCR, he has assisted and mentored over 10,000 small business, nonprofits, and government agencies.

John Conway is a former U.S. government Contracting Officer Representative. He has a government career that spans across three decades. He has held multiple aviation positions in the U.S. Army, and he has even worked in the State Department as a Quality Assurance Evaluator. Recently, Conway has been providing his experience and insight to USFCR clients.

The session can be accessed on the US Federal Contractor Registration website, and one can get a notification about it by being subscribed to their YouTube channel.




Desperate parents are pleading for help, after their son was diagnosed with a rare condition where his skin turns to stone.

According to their Go Fund Me page, the parents have already exhausted over $677,000 (AUD) of their own retirement money and have mortgaged their home to finance his medical fees.

Jaiden Rogers, a 12-year-old boy from Alamosa, Colorado, suffers from Stiff Skin Syndrome and he is one of only 41 documented cases in the world. Stiff Skin Syndrome is a rare and rapidly progressing connective tissue disorder that turns skin hard like stone.

Faced with extreme medical costs his parents have started a fundraising campaign to fund a year of special stem cell treatment in Europe.

Jaiden was adopted in 2005, when his American parents took over guardianship from his birth mother.

Jaiden Rogers, 12, suffers from Stiff Skin Syndrome and he is one of only 41 documented cases in the world. Source: GoFundMe/Saving Jaiden

According to a Go Fund Me page, started by his mother Natalie Rogers, they first realised that something was wrong six years ago when father Tim Rogers noticed a small lump on Jaidens right thigh just underneath his skin.

After consulting a dermatologist, the parents were dismayed to realise that the lump kept growing.

In a matter of weeks, the growth had wrapped around Jaidens right thigh and behind his knee. Once the hard calcifications invaded the joint, Jaiden began to lose mobility, the Go Fund Me page said.

Only 41 cases of Stiff Skin Syndrome diagnosed

In 2013, the family took Jaiden to Texas Tech Medical Center for a biopsy and he was diagnosed with Stiff Skin Syndrome.

Stiff Skin Syndrome is a very rare condition discovered in the early 1970s. It is a connective tissue disorder where the skin begins to harden and thicken, and it can spread over the whole body.

His skin is basically like stone, his mother Natalie told People Magazine.

Its like tapping on a countertop, she said.

The condition can cause limited joint mobility, weak muscles and pain. Very little is known about the condition, including the cause or treatment and has only been recorded 41 times in the past.

Story continues

Jaiden is the 41st documented case ever in the world, and the only one in the world right now, as far as we know, the page said.

Nobody is really looking at it because theres just not a lot of people that have it in the world, Tim Rogers, Jaidens father told 4KMOV.

So, we reach out to doctors all over the place. Maybe theres a medication thats being used for something else that can be used for Jaiden to try, to at least try, he said.

Worst case scenario  it could be fatal. But it could also be total immobility, Tim said.

Spots appearing on the spine

Jaidens doctors acknowledged that, theyd never seen such aggressive spread of the syndrome. In a month, it spread to Jaidens left leg, both hips, buttocks, and his arms. Spots have recently appeared near his spine, the page said.

The once-hyperactive Jaiden is often confined to a wheelchair and no longer able to attend school with his friends, the page said.

According to People Magazine, Jaiden is undergoing chemotherapy to help slow the progression of his condition. He also takes strong pain medication which can cause him to sleep for up to 18 hours a day.

The couple aims to raise over $2 million to seek a year long course of special stem cell treatment for rare skin diseases in Europe.

According to their Go Fund Me page, the parents have exhausted over $677,000 of their own retirement money and have mortgaged their home. Presently, the Go Fund Me campaign has raised $150,000 of its $2 million goal.
A Brazilian university student was fatally shot in Nicaragua on Tuesday in violence attributed to deadly unrest and repression gripping the country for more than three months. Rayneia Lima, a 32-year-old student in her final year of medicine, was shot around midnight (0600 GMT) while driving to where she was staying in Managua, the rector of the American University in the capital, Ernesto Medina, said. Her boyfriend took her to the hospital where she was declared dead from her wounds. Some witnesses said she appeared to have been targeted by paramilitaries that have been acting with police to crack down on anti-government protests. Nicaraguan university students have been at the forefront of the protests, whose chief demand is the resignation of 72-year-old President Daniel Ortega. Nearly 300 people have been killed in crackdowns by police and pro-government paramilitaries on the demonstrations. Lima had been living in Nicaragua for six years. She was originally from Brazil's northeastern Pernambuco state and had been interning in a police hospital, said Medina, who was one of her professors. A non-governmental rights organization, the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights, said it was demanding an investigation. Brazil's government issued a statement expressing its "profound outrage" at the killing. It demanded Ortega's government provide more details of the circumstances and that the killers be identified and punished. Brazil also reiterated its condemnation of the repression in Nicaragua and the "disproportionate and lethal use of force, as well as the use of paramilitary groups in operations with security teams." Paramilitaries clean the floor in front of a grafitti reading "Ortega homeland seller" at Monimbo neighborhood in Masaya, Nicaragua, on July 18, 2018, following clashes with anti-government demonstrators
Chinese authorities are scrambling to defuse public outrage over a safety scandal involving rabies vaccines, just one of a string of food and drug scares to hit the country in recent years. Despite the country's stunning growth over the past four decades, many consumers in the world's second-largest economy still live in fear of consuming toxic food or dangerous or ineffective medicines. Following are some of the biggest scandals to emerge over the past decade: July 2018: The Chinese manufacturer of the blood pressure medication Valsartan, which is widely used in the United States and Europe, launches a global recall after the active ingredient is found to have been tainted by a cancer-causing substance. March 2016: Authorities detain 130 people over the improper storage and transport of millions of dollars worth of mostly expired vaccines, including shots for polio, rabies, hepatitis B and flu. More than 350 government officials are eventually fired or demoted. April 2012: Police in the eastern province of Zhejiang detain 22 people for making medicine containing chromium, a toxic raw material produced from scrap leather. July 2012: High levels of a cancer-causing toxin which comes from mould are detected in infant formula from Ava Dairy. The company's production is halted and its formula recalled. September 2011: Thirty-two people are arrested over the sale of cooking oil made from discarded oil taken from gutters, which was found to contain carcinogens. November 2011: Authorities break up a ring that made and sold fake medicines -- some using animal feed. More than 65 million medicine tablets are seized and 114 people arrested. March 2011: Cancer-causing chemicals -- fed to pigs to produce leaner meat -- are found in live pigs. More than 113 people, including 77 government employees, are eventually jailed in relation to the scandal. December 2010: Fruit vendors in Shanghai complain of burning skin after touching oranges later found to have been dyed with a toxic orange wax. December 2010: Six people are detained after wineries in northern Hebei province are found to have added sugar, food colouring and artificial flavouring to create knockoffs of famous wines. Several wineries are shut and bottles pulled from shelves. September 2008: In China's most explosive recent incident, around 300,000 children fall ill, many with renal failure, and six are killed by milk powder laced with the chemical melamine to give the appearance of higher protein levels. Melamine is usually used to make plastic. Several top executives with Chinese dairy giant Sanlu receive long prison terms and two get the death sentence. The affair also spurs China to pass a new law on additives, strengthen regulatory coordination on food safety, and restructure the agency in charge of food and drug supervision. July 2008: Four children die and dozens of others fall ill after receiving damaged vaccines in the northern province of Shanxi, but reports only emerge two years later. Local officials at the time had denied a link between the sick children and the vaccines. June 2007: Several countries recall Chinese-made toothpaste found to contain a chemical used in automobile antifreeze for vehicles. Also that month, US importers of Chinese toys issue recalls after some are found to be coated with toxic lead paint. Similar products are later banned in several other countries. March 2007: Pet food in North America and around the world is recalled after animals start dying in large numbers. The problem is eventually traced to wheat and rice derivatives from China that were used as ingredients and to which melamine was added. Food and Drug Administration officials check vaccines for rabies at the Disease Control and Prevention Center in Huaibei in China's eastern Anhui province after public outrage over a safety scandal involving the vaccines A supermarket worker, pictured in 2008, removes all brands of baby milk powders suspected to be contaminated from store shelves
Oksana Shachko, one of the founders of the Femen feminist protest movement, has been found dead in her Paris apartment, the group said on Monday. Activists from Femen, known for its bold topless protests, said the 31-year-old Ukrainian had been found on Monday with a suicide note next to her body. "It is with great regret and deep pain that I must confirm the death of Oksana," said Inna Shevchenko, one of Femen's leaders, who also lives in the French capital. Another Femen founder, Anna Gutsol, wrote on Facebook: "RIP. The most fearless and vulnerable Oksana Shachko has left us. "We mourn together with her relatives and friends," she said, adding that the group was awaiting "the official version from the police". Shachko was one of four feminist activists who founded Femen in Ukraine in 2008. Exiled in France since 2013, she had since left the group and was working as an artist. Operating under the slogan "I came, I stripped, I won," Femen quickly drew attention around the world with its bare-breasted protests against sexism. Their protests eventually started targeting authoritarianism and racism, with Russia's Vladimir Putin a particular target, alongside France's far-right National Front party. But in recent years the group has struggled with internal divisions as well as legal proceedings against its members. In 2011, Femen said Shachko was among three members "kidnapped" by security agents and forced to strip naked in a forest after staging a topless protest mocking Belarussian strongman Alexander Lukashenko. The agents had poured oil over the three women, threatened to set them on fire, and cut off their hair, Femen said. She was abducted again by unknown assailants during a visit by Putin to Ukraine, according to the group. Femen's lawyer said Shachko was beaten so badly that she was briefly hospitalised. burs-kjl/js/dcr Ukrainian women movement Femen activist Oksana Shachko was known for bold topless protests
A California groundskeeper dying of cancer said Monday he would "never" have used Monsanto weed killer Roundup, had he known it could lead to his terminal illness. The trial pitting 46-year-old Dewayne Johnson against the agrochemical colossus is expected to last into August, with the potential for a major impact on the company recently acquired by Germany-based Bayer. The case is the first to reach trial alleging a cancer link from Roundup, one of the world's most widely used herbicides. The legal clash involves dueling studies, along with allegations Monsanto connived behind the scenes to thwart potentially damning research. Diagnosed in 2014 with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer that affects white blood cells, Johnson told jurors he sprayed Roundup and especially its more powerful professional grade Ranger Pro product for two years at a school in Benicia, California. One of his lawyers, David Dickens, held a Ranger Pro dispenser in his hand as he asked Johnson whether he would have used the product if he had seen a cancer warning on the label. "I would never have sprayed RP in schools or anywhere else," replied Johnson, whose job as groundskeeper including ridding the area of pests and weeds with the help of up to 150 gallons (560 liters) of diluted solution per day. Twice, a lot of product got on his skin and clothes because of a vaporizer malfunction, and Johnson experienced an "uncontrollable situation on my skin." He called the Monsanto hotline, but received no follow-up calls from representatives despite promises they would do so. - 'Frightened' - Johnson, who sat in court with his lawyer and wife, watched as his dermatologist Ope Ofodile testified in California Superior Court. Ofodile testified that Johnson consulted her when he noticed a rash on his body starting in 2014. "He was frightened by the state of his skin," the physician told the trial. After seeing the rash, Ofodile said she sent a letter to the school district board saying "that he shouldn't be exposed to any airborne chemicals that could worsen his condition." Asked whether she was referring to Ranger Pro, she said, "Yes." But the physician said she did not investigate what caused the rash, and that she was focusing on treating the patient rather than establishing a link to Roundup. Johnson had little warning about the risks of Roundup, his lawyer said in opening statements earlier this month. "He was told you could drink it, it was completely non-toxic," lawyer Brent Wisner claimed in his opening remarks. The lawyer said Johnson, who is between rounds of chemotherapy, "is actually on borrowed time -- he is not supposed to be alive today." A key to Johnson's case will be convincing jurors that Monsanto's pesticide -- whose main ingredient is glyphosate -- is responsible for the illness. Wisner contended that glyphosate combined with an ingredient intended to help it spread over leaves in a cancer-causing "synergy." - Potential impact of case - Whether glyphosate causes cancer has been the source of long debate among government regulators, health experts and lawyers. If Monsanto loses, the case could open the door to hundreds of additional lawsuits against the company. Monsanto has denied any link with the disease and says studies have concluded the product is safe. "Mr Johnson's cancer is a terrible disease. We all do and we all should have great sympathy for what he is going through," Monsanto defense attorney George Lombardi said during his opening remarks. But the lawyer maintained that "the scientific evidence is overwhelming that glyphosate-based products do not cause cancer, and did not cause Mr Johnson's cancer." Monsanto's flagship herbicide Roundup was launched in 1976. Roundup has been approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency, according to Lombardi. In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer -- a World Health Organization body -- classified glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic," and as a result, the state of California listed it as carcinogenic. Founded in 1901 in St Louis, Missouri, Monsanto began producing agrochemicals in the 1940s. It was acquired by Bayer for more than $62 billion in June. Californian groundskeeper Dewayne Johnson -- seen in this file photo -- is to testify July 23, 2018 before the jury on whether a Monsanto weed killer is to blame for his terminal cancer Factfile on the controversial herbicide glyphosate, which is at the center of the Monsanto trial in California
The World Health Organization has a message for those trying to understand how the latest Ebola outbreak was contained so quickly: don't give the new vaccine all the credit. Compared to the 2013-2015 West African outbreak, which exploded into an epidemic that killed more than 11,300 people, the response to the latest flareup of the virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo was a clear success. In an interview with AFP, WHO's deputy chief for emergency response Mike Ryan conceded that the new vaccine deployed in DRC was "a fantastic tool", but "we can't say (it) made the difference." He instead highlighted factors like the fast local and international response as well as "painful lessons" learnt after WHO's severely criticised handling of the West African epidemic, which plunged the UN agency into an existential crisis, according to public health experts. Data analysis in the coming weeks will clarify the role played by the rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine in stemming the outbreak that stretched from May 8 to July 24 and claimed 33 lives, according to Kinshasa. "At this point I can only say that (the vaccine) probably played a part, but it was a small part in a very sophisticated and complex response," Ryan added. - What went right? - For Ryan, quick reaction was the key. "The main reason we were faster, quicker and more effective this time was that we launched a response very, very early. "We investigated early, we responded aggressively, we isolated cases quickly, we put in place excellent contact tracing and then in addition to that we were able to vaccinate contacts," he said. That swift reaction in a remote part of northeastern DRC marked a stark contrast to the West African epidemic, when WHO's former chief Margaret Chan was accused of failing to sound an early global alarm about an impending catastrophe. "WHO has learnt a lot from the last outbreak, a lot of painful lessons," Ryan said. - 'Hope not death' - More than 3,300 people in DRC's affected Bikoro region were vaccinated, but Ryan said that entering communities with a vaccine had advantages beyond prophylactic defences against Ebola. "The fact that we were bringing vaccines to communities meant we were bringing hope not death," he said. "So people were rushing forward saying 'can we be vaccinated' and that changes the dynamic because the communities now sense that the international community is bringing in salvation, not the end of the world." Health responders were at times attacked amid the height of the West African epidemic and a more cooperative population inevitably makes it easier to trace contacts and identify patients. "I certainly think the local communities in this Ebola response were highly receptive to the intervention, more so maybe than in West Africa," Ryan said. Overall, the successful DRC response served as another reminder for WHO that travel restrictions do not work. He called such measures "a highly expensive and a highly ineffective way of containing disease." He pointed to Congo River, which in the latest outbreak risked becoming a route through which sick patients might spread the virus throughout DRC and beyond. But WHO and the Congolese government opted for screening and sensitisation along the river, rather than movement restrictions. The river, he said, "is the lifeblood of the country. This is the economic highway... Are we going to block (this) the vital economic artery?" Nurses working with the World Health Organization prepare to administer vaccines at the town all of Mbandaka A health worker in the Central African Republic monitors the temperature of a young traveller from DRCongo
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday branded Israel the "most fascist, racist state" in the world after Israel's parliament passed a new law defining the country as the nation state of the Jewish people. "This measure has shown without leaving the slightest room for doubt that Israel is the world's most Zionist, fascist and racist state," Erdogan said in a speech to his ruling party. In one of his toughest recent onslaughts against Israel, Erdogan claimed there was "no difference between Hitler's obsession with the Aryan race and Israel's understanding that these ancient lands are meant only for Jews." "The spirit of Hitler, which led the world to a great catastrophe, has found its resurgence among some of Israel's leaders," he added. Around six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust by the Nazis during World War II. The legislation, adopted after a tumultuous Knesset session, makes Hebrew the national language and defines the establishment of Jewish communities as being in the national interest. Arabic, previously considered an official language, was granted only special status. The issue is the latest source of tension between Israel and Turkey, one of the Jewish state's few key Muslim partners. Ankara ordered out Israel's ambassador in May over the killing of protestors along the border with the Gaza Strip. The strains have threatened a 2016 deal on normalising ties after the crisis sparked by the May 2010 deadly storming of a Turkish ship by Israeli commandos. Erdogan regards himself as a champion of the Palestinians and has twice recently held summits of Muslim states to denounce the recognition by the United States of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. But analysts note that behind the rhetoric economic ties remain strong, with trade robust and both sides interested in the export of Israeli energy resources to Turkey. Arab citizens account for 17.5 percent of Israel's more than eight million population. They have long complained of discrimination. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has branded Israel the "most fascist, racist state" in the world
Hungary on Tuesday criticised legal action by the European Union to make the country comply with EU asylum rules as "unacceptable" and an attack against those who protect Europe. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, last week referred Budapest to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), the bloc's top tribunal, for "non-compliance" with EU legislation. It was after Hungary passed the so-called "Stop Soros" law last month, named after liberal US billionaire George Soros, who is accused by Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government of orchestrating migration to Europe. The law includes a punishment of up to a year in prison for anyone assisting someone who enters Hungary illegally. In the first public comments by the government since the EU action, minister Gergely Gulyas said it was "unacceptable" for Brussels to challenge the law. "We continue to see that those who protect Europe are persecuted, while those who invite migrants are celebrated," Gulyas told a press conference, criticising the commission for not reflecting EU members' views. The row is the latest clash between the commission and Orban's government, who won a third consecutive term in April on a fiercely anti-migration platform. Orban regularly accuses German Chancellor Angela Merkel of having encouraged the 2015 influx of migrants by declaring them welcome. Orban said in Montenegro on Tuesday during a state visit that Hungary was ready to help the small eastern European country "defend its territory" against migrants. "Europe continues to make serious mistakes. (It) does not want to understand and acknowledge that it needs to refrain from moves that may be interpreted as an invitation in Africa or the Middle East... That is why people drown in the sea and remain jammed on migration routes," he told reporters. Hungary has two months to respond to the European Commission's concerns. In other action, the commission has said it will take Hungary to the ECJ for failing to resolve complaints made in December 2015 that it held asylum seekers for too long in transit centres and did not treat them properly. The commission added that irregular migrants were escorted back across the border even if they wanted to apply for asylum -- a violation of EU rules. Hungary announced last week that it was withdrawing from a UN pact on migration, saying that the global deal encourages movements of people which are "dangerous for the world". The US is also not party to the pact. burs-mg-jz/dcr Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, pictured on July 5, 2018, says that Hungary is "defending" Europe against migrants and considers the EU asylum rules "unacceptable"
Israel shot down a Syrian fighter jet with surface-to-air missiles Tuesday after the plane infiltrated airspace it controls, the military said, in a rare incident that could provoke tensions. Israel signalled that the plane's infiltration may have been the result of internal fighting in Syria's civil war, but stressed it would enforce the ceasefire lines between the two countries. "This is a blatant violation of the 1974 separation agreements between Israel and Syria," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. "We will not accept any intrusion or spillage into our territory, either from the ground or from the air." The plane, either a Sukhoi 22 or 24, crashed on the Syrian side of the fence in the Golan Heights and it was unclear what happened to the pilot or pilots, Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus told journalists. It was hit after it penetrated some two kilometres (1.25 miles) into Israeli-controlled airspace in the southern Golan Heights, said Conricus. A Syrian military source confirmed Israel had fired at one of its warplanes but said the fighter had been carrying out operations against jihadists over Syrian territory. Israel "targeted one of our warplanes... in Syrian airspace", the source said, cited by state news agency SANA. State media in Damascus gave no account of the fate of the plane or the pilots. According to Conricus, the plane left from the T4 airbase in central Syria before heading towards the Israeli-occupied Golan. Israel's military monitored the plane throughout and shot it down with two Patriot missiles, Conricus said. It was the first time Israel shot down a manned Syrian fighter jet since 2014. - 'High alert' - "From our perspective, the event is behind us," Conricus said. "However we of course remain on high alert." Israel's army said there had been an increase in "internal fighting in Syria" from early Tuesday. "We issued warnings and messages through different channels in various languages, numerous times over the day, in order to avoid any miscalculations, misunderstandings or any violations of Israeli airspace," Conricus said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that bombing operations in the border area by both Syrian and Russian aircraft had dramatically decreased after the incident. The Britain-based war monitor said there had been heavy bombing earlier on the Yarmuk river basin in the south but that had all but stopped by the evening, dropping to just one strike per hour. The Syrian military source said the targeting of the warplane was proof of Damascus's repeated accusation that Israel supports "terrorists" in Syria. "The Israeli enemy has confirmed its adoption of armed terrorist groups, and targeted one of our warplanes which was hitting them," the source said. Israel has been stressing for weeks that it would enforce the ceasefire line between it and Syria amid a Russian-backed government offensive in the country's south. Tuesday's incident comes a day after Israel's air defences fired at Syrian rockets it feared could hit its territory. Netanyahu also met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Jerusalem on Monday to discuss the Syrian conflict. Israel has been on high alert since June 19, when Syrian government forces launched the offensive to retake Quneitra and Daraa provinces, adjacent respectively to the Israeli-held section of the Golan and to Jordan. It has sought to avoid direct involvement in Syria's seven-year civil war, but it has acknowledged carrying out dozens of air strikes there to stop what it says are advanced weapons deliveries to the Shiite Lebanese militia Hezbollah, one of its top enemies. - 'All forces must leave' - It has also pledged to prevent its arch-enemy Iran from entrenching itself militarily in the neighbouring country. A series of air strikes that have killed Iranians in Syria have been attributed to Israel in recent weeks. The strikes have led to condemnation from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, but Israel has maintained good relations with Russia and has coordinated its actions in Syria with Moscow. Both Russia and Iran are backing Assad in the civil war. Conricus declined to say whether Israel informed Russia before shooting down the fighter jet, but said there had been conversations on a hotline between the two countries to avoid accidental clashes in Syria throughout the day. In Monday's meeting between Lavrov and Netanyahu, Russia offered to keep Iranian forces 100 kilometres (62 miles) away from the Israeli-occupied Golan, but Israel said the proposal did not go far enough. "We won't accept Iranian military entrenchment in Syria, not near the border, not beyond the 100-kilometre stretch, which by the way the Russians talk about and agree to," a senior Israeli official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We said there are also long-range weapons beyond that distance, and all the forces must leave Syria." Israel seized 1,200 square kilometres (460 square miles) of the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War, in a move never recognised internationally. burs-mjs/hc A picture taken on July 23, 2018 from the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights shows a smoke plume rising during air strikes backing a Syrian-government-led offensive in the southwestern province of Daraa A picture taken on July 23, 2018 from the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights shows a warplane dropping a payload in the southwestern Syrian province of Daraa during a Syrian-government-led offensive in the area Patriot anti-missile missile is launched during joint US-Israeli military excercise in Israel's Negev desert
HOUSTON, July 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Superior Energy Services, Inc. (the Company) today announced a net loss from continuing operations for the second quarter of 2018 of $25.4 million, or $0.16 per share, on revenue of $535.5 million. This compares to a net loss from continuing operations of $59.9 million, or $0.39 per share, for the first quarter of 2018, on revenue of $482.3 million and a net loss from continuing operations of $62.0 million, or $0.41 per share for the second quarter of 2017, on revenue of $470.1 million.



Our results continued to improve during the second quarter, driven by increases in U.S. land utilization, commented David Dunlap, President and CEO. Sand supply chain issues, which impeded completions oriented utilization during the first quarter were resolved. We also activated additional hydraulic horsepower (HHP), bringing the active size of our pressure pumping fleet to 750,000 HHP. Higher levels of utilization and active horsepower resulted in an approximate 25% increase of sand volumes pumped sequentially.

Gulf of Mexico activity was relatively unchanged as higher drill pipe demand was offset by lower levels of workover activity and some expected completion tools work moving to the third quarter. Improved results internationally were driven by much stronger hydraulic workover activity and increased drill pipe demand.

Im proud of the way the men and women of Superior Energy have met the challenges weve faced during the recent industry downturn. As a result of their hard work, and our purpose driven culture, we approached breakeven operating income, and EBITDA grew by 35% over first quarter adjusted EBITDA. Our strategy of allocating capital towards pressure pumping and our cornerstone global franchises during the downturn has us on solid footing as we work to improve returns, increase our cash balances and reduce debt levels as the cycle progresses.

Second Quarter 2018 Geographic Breakdown

U.S. land revenue was $375.4 million in the second quarter of 2018, an increase of 13% as compared with revenue of $331.5 million in the first quarter of 2018, and an 18% increase compared to revenue of $317.9 million in the second quarter of 2017. Gulf of Mexico revenue was $72.2 million, a decrease of 5% as compared with revenue of $76.0 million in the first quarter of 2018, and a 14% decrease from revenue of $84.2 million in the second quarter of 2017. International revenue of $87.9 million increased 18% as compared with $74.8 million in the first quarter of 2018 and increased 29% as compared to revenue of $68.0 million in the second quarter of 2017.

Drilling Products and Services Segment

The Drilling Products and Services segment revenue in the second quarter of 2018 was $94.0 million, a 10% increase from first quarter 2018 revenue of $85.2 million and a 37% increase from second quarter 2017 revenue of $68.8 million.

U.S. land revenue increased 7% sequentially to $43.4 million, Gulf of Mexico revenue increased 11% sequentially to $23.3 million and international revenue increased 17% sequentially to $27.3 million.

Onshore Completion and Workover Services Segment

The Onshore Completion and Workover Services segment revenue in the second quarter of 2018 was $276.2 million, a 19% increase from first quarter 2018 revenue of $231.5 million, and an 11% increase from second quarter 2017 revenue of $249.1 million.

Production Services Segment

The Production Services segment revenue in the second quarter of 2018 was $102.0 million, a 1% increase from first quarter 2018 revenue of $100.8 million and a 15% increase from second quarter 2017 revenue of $88.6 million.

U.S. land revenue decreased 9% sequentially to $47.9 million as a result of decreased pressure control activity. Gulf of Mexico revenue decreased 22% sequentially to $13.6 million due primarily due to lower hydraulic workover and snubbing, and lower electric line activity. International revenue increased 31% sequentially to $40.5 million due to higher levels of hydraulic workover and snubbing, coiled tubing and cementing.

Technical Solutions Segment

The Technical Solutions segment revenue in the second quarter of 2018 was $63.3 million, a 2% decrease from first quarter 2018 revenue of $64.8 million and unchanged from second quarter 2017 revenue of $63.6 million.

U.S. land revenue increased 16% sequentially to $7.9 million. Gulf of Mexico revenue decreased 6% sequentially to $35.3 million as some completion tool activity shifted to the third quarter. International revenue decreased 2% to $20.1 million due to lower levels of well control activity.

Conference Call Information

The Company will host a conference call at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Wednesday, July 25, 2018. The call can be accessed from the Companys website at www.superiorenergy.com or by telephone at 888-254-3590. For those who cannot listen to the live call, a telephonic replay will be available through August 8, 2018 and may be accessed by calling 844-512-2921 and using the pin number 6646297.

About Superior Energy Services

Superior Energy Services (NYSE:SPN) serves the drilling, completion and production-related needs of oil and gas companies worldwide through a diversified portfolio of specialized oilfield services and equipment that are used throughout the economic life cycle of oil and gas wells. For more information, visit: www.superiorenergy.com.

The press release contains, and future oral or written statements or press releases by us and our management may contain, certain forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Generally, the words expects, anticipates, targets, goals, projects, intends, plans, believes, seeks and estimates, variations of such words and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. All statements other than statements of historical fact regarding the Companys financial position, financial performance, liquidity, strategic alternatives, market outlook, future capital needs, capital allocation plans, business strategies and other plans and objectives of our management for future operations and activities are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by our management in light of its experience and prevailing circumstances on the date such statements are made. Such forward-looking statements, and the assumptions on which they are based, are inherently speculative and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from such statements. Such uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the cyclicality and volatility of the oil and gas industry, including changes in prevailing levels of capital expenditures, exploration, production and development activity; changes in prevailing oil and gas prices or expectations about future prices; operating hazards, including the significant possibility of accidents resulting in personal injury or death, property damage or environmental damage for which we may have limited or no insurance coverage or indemnification rights; the effect of regulatory programs (including worker health and safety laws) and environmental matters on our operations or prospects, including the risk that future changes in the regulation of hydraulic fracturing could reduce or eliminate demand for our pressure pumping and fluid management services, or that future changes in climate change legislation could result in increased operating costs or reduced commodity demand globally; counter-party risks associated with reliance on key suppliers; risks associated with the uncertainty of macroeconomic and business conditions worldwide; changes in competitive and technological factors affecting our operations; credit risk associated with our customer base; the potential inability to retain key employees and skilled workers; challenges with estimating our oil and natural gas reserves and potential liabilities related to our oil and natural gas property; risk associated with potential changes of Bureau of Ocean Energy Management security and bonding requirements for offshore platforms; risks inherent in acquiring businesses; risks associated with cyber-attacks; risks associated with business growth during an industry recovery outpacing the capabilities of our infrastructure and workforce; political, legal, economic and other risks and uncertainties associated with our international operations; potential changes in tax laws, adverse positions taken by tax authorities or tax audits impacting our operating results; risks associated with our outstanding debt obligations and the potential effect of limiting our future growth and operations; our continued access to credit markets on favorable terms; the impact that unfavorable or unusual weather conditions could have on our operations; claims, litigation or other proceedings that require cash payments or could impair financial condition; not realizing the benefits of acquisitions or divestitures and price volatility of the Companys common stock. These risks and other uncertainties related to our business are described in our periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Investors are cautioned that many of the assumptions on which our forward-looking statements are based are likely to change after such statements are made, including for example the market prices of oil and gas and regulations affecting oil and gas operations, which we cannot control or anticipate. Further, we may make changes to our business strategies and plans (including our capital spending and capital allocation plans) at any time and without notice, based on any changes in the above-listed factors, our assumptions or otherwise, any of which could or will affect our results. For all these reasons, actual events and results may differ materially from those anticipated, estimated, projected or implied by us in our forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update any of our forward-looking statements for any reason and, notwithstanding any changes in our assumptions, changes in our business plans, our actual experience, or other changes. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.

SUPERIOR ENERGY SERVICES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (in thousands, except earnings per share amounts) (unaudited) Three Months Ended Six Months Ended June 30, March 31, June 30, 2018 2017 2018 2018 2017 Revenues $ 535,548 $ 470,068 $ 482,318 $ 1,017,866 $ 871,004 Cost of services and rentals (exclusive of depreciation, depletion, amortization and accretion) 369,810 351,802 343,460 713,270 673,788 Depreciation, depletion, amortization and accretion 97,973 108,119 105,719 203,692 222,400 General and administrative expenses 69,896 76,708 75,820 145,716 152,201 Loss from operations (2,131) (66,561) (42,681) (44,812) (177,385) Other income (expense): Interest expense, net (24,894) (23,333) (24,887) (49,781) (47,583) Other income (expense) (2,382) (2,156) (1,735) (4,117) (1,507) Loss from continuing operations before income taxes (29,407) (92,050) (69,303) (98,710) (226,475) Income taxes (3,970) (30,011) (9,355) (13,325) (74,775) Net income (loss) from continuing operations (25,437) (62,039) (59,948) (85,385) (151,700) Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of income tax (953) (1,767) 224 (729) (3,765) Net income (loss) $ (26,390) $ (63,806) $ (59,724) $ (86,114) $ (155,465) Basic and Diluted earnings (losses) per share: Net income (loss) from continuing operations $ (0.16) $ (0.41) $ (0.39) $ (0.56) $ (1.00) Loss from discontinued operations (0.01) (0.01) - - (0.02) Net income (loss) $ (0.17) $ (0.42) $ (0.39) $ (0.56) $ (1.02) Weighted average common shares: Basic and Diluted 154,278 152,857 154,121 153,728 152,317





SUPERIOR ENERGY SERVICES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (in thousands) (unaudited) 6/30/2018 12/31/2017 ASSETS Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 118,512 $ 172,000 Accounts receivable, net 441,983 398,056 Income taxes receivable - 959 Prepaid expenses 43,188 42,128 Inventory and other current assets 158,765 134,032 Assets held for sale - 13,644 Total current assets 762,448 760,819 Property, plant and equipment, net 1,240,703 1,316,944 Goodwill 806,813 807,860 Notes receivable 62,041 60,149 Restricted cash 11,631 20,483 Intangible and other long-term assets, net 137,349 143,970 Total assets $ 3,020,985 $ 3,110,225 LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY Current liabilities: Accounts payable $ 162,125 $ 119,716 Accrued expenses 201,665 221,757 Current portion of decommissioning liabilities 24,156 27,261 Liabilities held for sale - 6,463 Total current liabilities 387,946 375,197 Deferred income taxes 41,758 61,058 Decommissioning liabilities 103,088 103,136 Long-term debt, net 1,281,145 1,279,771 Other long-term liabilities 154,333 158,634 Total stockholders' equity 1,052,715 1,132,429 Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 3,020,985 $ 3,110,225





SUPERIOR ENERGY SERVICES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2018 AND 2017 (in thousands) (unaudited) 2018 2017 Cash flows from operating activities: Net loss $ (86,114) $ (155,465) Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities: Depreciation, depletion, amortization and accretion 203,692 222,400 Other noncash items (5,343) (42,898) Changes in working capital and other (72,820) (6,890) Net cash provided by operating activities 39,415 17,147 Cash flows from investing activities: Payments for capital expenditures (119,841) (56,649) Other 23,297 4,090 Net cash used in investing activities (96,544) (52,559) Cash flows from financing activities: Other (3,900) (6,974) Net cash used in financing activities (3,900) (6,974) Effect of exchange rate changes in cash (1,311) 2,093 Net decrease in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash (62,340) (40,293) Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period 192,483 246,092 Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of period $ 130,143 $ 205,799





SUPERIOR ENERGY SERVICES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES REVENUE BY GEOGRAPHIC REGION BY SEGMENT (in thousands) (unaudited) Three months ended, June 30, 2018 March 31, 2018 June 30, 2017 U.S. land Drilling Products and Services $ 43,394 $ 40,717 $ 27,770 Onshore Completion and Workover Services 276,242 231,489 249,079 Production Services 47,944 52,457 33,062 Technical Solutions 7,858 6,833 7,921 Total U.S. land $ 375,438 $ 331,496 $ 317,832 Gulf of Mexico Drilling Products and Services $ 23,261 $ 20,989 $ 22,266 Onshore Completion and Workover Services - - - Production Services 13,634 17,500 19,937 Technical Solutions 35,333 37,562 42,030 Total Gulf of Mexico $ 72,228 $ 76,051 $ 84,233 International Drilling Products and Services $ 27,378 $ 23,496 $ 18,791 Onshore Completion and Workover Services - - - Production Services 40,426 30,760 35,607 Technical Solutions 20,078 20,515 13,605 Total International $ 87,882 $ 74,771 $ 68,003 Total Revenues $ 535,548 $ 482,318 $ 470,068





SUPERIOR ENERGY SERVICES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES SEGMENT HIGHLIGHTS (in thousands) (unaudited) Three months ended, Revenues June 30, 2018 March 31, 2018 June 30, 2017 Drilling Products and Services $ 94,033 $ 85,202 $ 68,827 Onshore Completion and Workover Services 276,242 231,489 249,079 Production Services 102,004 100,717 88,606 Technical Solutions 63,269 64,910 63,556 Total Revenues $ 535,548 $ 482,318 $ 470,068 Adjusted Income (Loss) from Operations (1) Drilling Products and Services $ 15,001 $ 7,979 $ (10,533) Onshore Completion and Workover Services 7,511 (7,141) (14,367) Production Services (7,124) (11,180) (14,850) Technical Solutions 5,797 1,817 1,071 Corporate and other (23,316) (26,064) (27,882) Total Adjusted Income (Loss) from Operations $ (2,131) $ (34,589) $ (66,561) Adjusted EBITDA (1) Drilling Products and Services $ 43,591 $ 37,620 $ 23,086 Onshore Completion and Workover Services 54,934 40,514 30,254 Production Services 7,179 8,100 5,343 Technical Solutions 12,070 9,547 9,326 Corporate and other (21,932) (24,651) (26,451) Total Adjusted EBITDA $ 95,842 $ 71,130 $ 41,558 (1) Adjusted income (loss) from operations and adjusted EBITDA exclude the impact of restructuring costs and other items for the three months ended March 31, 2018. There were no adjustments for the three months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively. For Non-GAAP reconciliations, refer to Table 1 below.





Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The following table reconciles net income/loss from continuing operations by segment, which is the directly comparable financial results determined in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), to adjusted income/loss from operations and adjusted EBITDA by segment (non-GAAP financial measures). These financial measures are provided to enhance investors overall understanding of the Companys current financial performance.

Reconciliation of Adjusted Income (Loss) from Operations and Adjusted EBITDA by Segment (in thousands) (unaudited) Table 1 Three months ended, June 30, 2018 Drilling

Products and

Services Onshore

Completion

and Workover

Services Production

Services

Technical

Solutions Corporate and

Other Consolidated

Reported net income (loss) from continuing operations $ 15,001 $ 7,511 $ (7,124) $ 6,768 $ (47,593) $ (25,437) Interest expense, net - - - (971) 25,865 24,894 Other expense - - - - 2,382 2,382 Income taxes - - - - (3,970) (3,970) Income (loss) from operations $ 15,001 $ 7,511 $ (7,124) $ 5,797 $ (23,316) $ (2,131) Depreciation, depletion, amortization

and accretion 28,590 47,423 14,303 6,273 1,384 97,973 EBITDA $ 43,591 $ 54,934 $ 7,179 $ 12,070 $ (21,932) $ 95,842 Three months ended, March 31, 2018 Drilling

Products and

Services Onshore

Completion

and Workover

Services Production

Services

Technical

Solutions Corporate and

Other Consolidated

Reported net income (loss) from continuing operations $ 7,967 $ (10,043) $ (14,092) $ 2,273 $ (46,053) $ (59,948) Restructuring and other costs 12 2,902 2,912 500 1,766 8,092 Interest expense, net - - - (956) 25,843 24,887 Other expense - - - - 1,735 1,735 Income taxes - - - - (9,355) (9,355) Adjusted income (loss) from operations $ 7,979 $ (7,141) $ (11,180) $ 1,817 $ (26,064) $ (34,589) Depreciation, depletion, amortization

and accretion 29,641 47,655 19,280 7,730 1,413 105,719 Adjusted EBITDA $ 37,620 $ 40,514 $ 8,100 $ 9,547 $ (24,651) $ 71,130 Three months ended, June 30, 2017 Drilling

Products and

Services Onshore

Completion

and Workover

Services Production

Services

Technical

Solutions Corporate and

Other Consolidated

Reported net income (loss) from continuing operations $ (10,533) $ (14,367) $ (14,850) $ 1,982 $ (24,271) $ (62,039) Interest expense, net - - - (911) 24,244 23,333 Other expense - - - - 2,156 2,156 Income taxes - - - - (30,011) (30,011) Income (loss) from operations $ (10,533) $ (14,367) $ (14,850) $ 1,071 $ (27,882) $ (66,561) Depreciation, depletion, amortization

and accretion 33,619 44,621 20,193 8,255 1,431 108,119 EBITDA $ 23,086 $ 30,254 $ 5,343 $ 9,326 $ (26,451) $ 41,558



FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Paul Vincent, VP of Investor Relations, (713) 654-2200
A journalist was murdered Tuesday in southeast Mexico, not far from tourist hotspot Cancun, the government said -- the seventh such killing this year in one of the world's most dangerous countries for reporters. Ruben Pat, the editor-in-chief of the Playa News weekly, was shot dead outside a bar in Playa del Carmen in the early hours, the Quintana Roo state government and prosecutors said. He was the second journalist from Playa News based in Playa del Carmen, which is located south of Cancun on Mexico's Gulf coast, murdered in less than a month, after his colleague Jose Guadalupe Chan. The killing prompted outrage in Mexico, the second most dangerous place in the world for journalists last year, behind only civil war-wracked Syria, with 11 murdered, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF). "It is imperative that a prompt, exhaustive and effective investigation is carried out," said Jean Jarab, the representative of the United Nations rights agency to Mexico. That probe should focus on stories that Pat and Playa News had worked on, as well as "previous examples of threats and attacks against members of the press," he added. According to the UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Pat claimed in June he had been "arrested, threatened and tortured" by police in Playa del Carmen, which is also a tourist hub. The slain journalist said he had "published information that would link local officials to organized crime," according to the UN agency. Pat spoke to AFP in late June about threatening phone calls received by Chan, who worked as a correspondent in an indigenous Maya area. RSF said Pat had sought protection after receiving threats "but had been given just a GPS and a panic button," the latter being a direct communications line with authorities. "The Mexican authorities must draw the inevitable conclusion from this terrible event, namely that the Federal Mechanism for Protecting Journalists failed in its duty to protect Ruben Pat although his situation of vulnerability had been known for a long time," said RSF Latin America chief Emmanuel Colombie. The Quintana Roo Human Rights Committee demanded action by local authorities over the two murders, saying: "Enough attacks against freedom of expression," which it described as "a fundamental pillar of democracy." Prosecutors said the incident was meant to "intimidate" other journalists. On its Facebook page, Playa News demanded answers from the state government about Pat's murder. The European Union spoke of the "alarming recurrence of murders of journalists" in Mexico, and urged the "authorities to make use of all the means at their disposal to guarantee the protection of those who practice journalism." It also called for an evaluations of the protective mechanism so that it can be rendered more effective. - Danger zone for journalists - According to various freedom of speech organizations, more than 100 journalist have been killed in Mexico since 2000. The vast majority of those crimes have gone unpunished. The other five murders this year happened in several states: Tamaulipas in the northeast (two), Guerrero in the south, and Veracruz and Tabasco in the east. All of those areas are known for high levels of organized crime -- authorities are often accused of colluding with crime lords. Intimidation of journalists in those areas is common, but journalism isn't the only risky profession in Mexico. Between September and presidential elections on July 1, at least 145 politicians were killed. Five of the eight most violent cities in the world are located in Mexico, according to government statistics for 2017. Los Cabos in the country's northwest topped that list with 111 murders per 100,000 citizens. Also Tuesday, authorities said they found the bodies of six men in the western state of Michoacan near a known people-smuggling route to the US. In the same state, a former local council candidate was also shot and killed Tuesday, the state attorney general's office said. Mexico saw a total of 15,973 murders in the first semester of this year, up from 13,503 over the same period in 2017, until now the bloodiest year of record, according to official figures. Quintana Roo state has suffered its share of drug-related violent crime. Five people were killed in January 2017 in Playa del Carmen after a gunman opened fire in a crowded nightclub during a music festival. Some 279 people were killed in drug-trafficking related violence in the state in the first half of the year, according to Semaforo Delictivo, an organization that compiles crime statistics. Quintana Roo nonetheless is home to many of the most popular tourist destinations in Mexico, particularly among visitors from the United States and Europe. Mexican journalist Ruben Pat was the second from Playa News to be killed in less than a month after his colleague Jose Guadalupe Chan -- whose portrait is seen here as his colleagues protested his death
A little boy named Jose who braved the dangerous trek through Mexico to the United States with his mother is confused and upset. He has not seen his mom for months. She promised him a Spiderman pinata for his 4th birthday, but it came and went without her. She is supposed to come and get him. She said she would. But she hasn't. She's lying, says Jose. Unbeknownst to him the mother is actually in US custody. She is the adoptive mother of Jose, and did not have the right papers when they crossed over. Children who made the trip through Mexico, most of them Central Americans, do not suffer just the perils of people who are fleeing: crime, domestic violence, poverty, lack of education and health care. Rather, once their trip ends, they become vulnerable for more intangible reasons: lack of documents, disinformation and scarce legal representation, which makes it hard for them to navigate a bureaucracy that can seem byzantine. Such is the case of Jose, whose real name and those of his relatives have been withheld in this story at their request because they fear retaliation. Jose is the adoptive son of a 51-year-old Honduran woman who was detained when she asked for asylum in McAllen, Texas on December 29. "My mommy is lying. She is not coming. She is not coming," the boy says angrily into a phone, to a human rights lawyer helping them. Does he want to see his mom? "Yes. Very much," Jose says. Jose was held in a shelter for nearly a month until he was handed over to his 30-year-old sister -- named E. for the purposes of this article -- in Texas. "My mother came here because if she had remained in Honduras another month she would have been killed," E. said. "There was a man who beat her. If it were not for the neighbors he would have killed her with a machete." A federal court ordered last month that thousands of children separated from their parents or guardians at the border be reunited with them by July 26. The deadline for 103 of them aged five or under has already passed. But the government could only return 57. The rest were classified as ineligible -- either because their parents had been deported or had criminal records or other problems that the government cited as grounds to keep them from their parents. - A piece of paper - Jose turned four last month. No pinata. His sister said her mother met a girl in Honduras who was pregnant and did not want the baby. The day it was born, she gave it to E.'s mother. "All the neighbors signed as witnesses. They all know, because the girl always said she was going to give the baby away," said E. But that was not enough for the US government. The immigration lawyer who is handling Jose's case, Sara Ramey, has collected photos, witness accounts and medical records to show how the adoptive mother has taken care of the boy. "Many Central American societies, including Honduras, have an informal, community-based approach to arranging matters, like child custody," Ramey, who is executive director of the Migrant Center for Human Rights in San Antonio, Texas, told AFP. "We want our government to be verifying relationships," she said. "We want them to confirm what the relationship is, and that that is a healthy and safe relationship for the child." The authorities did that in this case and no one questions whether the mother is a good caregiver. "The only thing that's holding her case up is this piece of paper, this formal document," said Ramey, referring to an adoption certificate. Immigrants can lack papers for reasons that are out of their control, said Maureen Meyer, director for Mexico and Migrant Rights at the Washington Office on Latin America, an advocacy group. For instance, she said, "in mountainous areas of Guatemala, there are indigenous people who may never have registered the birth of their children." - Goodbye, mom - Another boy, Pedro, age 3, has not been reunited with his mother either. She is his biological mother but had already been deported once before when she asked for asylum in April. Now his 25-year-old mother, call her V., is detained in Texas and Pedro was sent to the home of a great-aunt. The boy spent a month in a shelter until the authorities turned him over to the older woman. "He was so sad," she said. Speaking to his mother on the phone, all he said was, "mommy" and then "bye." Some immigrants such as V. are unaware of the consequences of trying to enter the United States when they have already been deported once. In many other cases, kids cross the border on their own because of a bogus rumor in Central America that children who cross over without adults automatically get residency. People traffickers known as "coyotes" encourage such rumors so as to persuade families to send their kids on the trip, which can cost from 5,000 to 15,000 dollars. If they make it into the country, kids who speak no English can end up going before a judge all by themselves. Still, no matter what they go through in America, it's better than staying home in destitute, gang-ridden and ultra violent countries like Honduras, Guatemala or El Salvador, says Eric Olson, with the Latin American Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center. "Their margin for survival, for having a decent life, even a poor one, is almost zero," he said. Compared to what is going on back home, "the situation on the US border will never be worse." This US Customs and Border Protection photo dated June 17, 2018 shows intake of illegal border crossers by US Border Patrol agents at the Central Processing Center in McAllen, Texas People rally outside the El Paso County Detention Center in Texas, in June 2018 to protest the process of separating children from undocumented adults
North Korea has started dismantling some facilities at its main satellite launch station, seen as the testing ground for its intercontinental ballistic missiles, according to expert analysis of recent satellite images. If confirmed, the analysis by respected US-based website 38 North could signal a step forward after last month's landmark summit between Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump, although some experts questioned the significance of the gesture. After the summit, Trump had declared the North Korean nuclear threat was effectively over, and US media reports suggest he is privately furious at the lack of any subsequent progress on the denuclearisation issue. His public statements, however, remain upbeat and the 38 North analysis came as the president pronounced himself "very happy" with the way talks were progressing with Pyongyang. The website said imagery indicated the North had begun taking down a processing building and a rocket-engine test stand that had been used to test liquid-fuel engines at its Sohae Satellite Launching Station. Sohae, on the northwest coast of North Korea, is ostensibly a facility designed for putting satellites into orbit, but rocket engines are easily repurposed for use in missiles and the international community has labelled Pyongyang's space programme a fig leaf for weapons tests. 38 North analyst Joseph Bermudez called the move an "important first step" for Kim in fulfilling a promise that Trump said the North Korean leader made during their June summit in Singapore. Since Sohae is "believed to have played an important role in the development of technologies for the North's intercontinental ballistic missile program, these efforts represent a significant confidence-building measure on the part of North Korea," Bermudez said. Trump said in Singapore that Kim had committed to destroying a "major" missile engine test site, without specifying the site. - 'Bare minimum' - Sohae has been the North's main rocket launch site since 2012, and South Korea -- whose president brokered the landmark summit between Trump and Kim -- called it a step towards denuclearisation. "It's a better sign than doing nothing," Nam Gwan-pyo, deputy director of the presidential national security office, told reporters. "I believe they are moving step by step towards denuclearisation," Nam added. But some experts cautioned against reading too much into the work described in the 38 North analysis. Melissa Hanham, senior research associate with the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, said that while dismantling the engine test site was a "good move", it amounted to "the bare minimum" that could be done at Sohae. "Unless they dismantle the whole site, it will remain North Korea's premier location for space launches," Hanham said on Twitter. "North Korea does not need the Sohae engine test stand anymore if it is confident in the engine design. As (Kim Jong Un) said himself, North Korea is moving from testing to mass production," she said, adding that observers should look for signs of new sites where more missiles could be built. "We ignored North Korea too long, and now it's about managing how many nuclear weapons and delivery systems they have, not IF they have them," she said. A US defence official also played down the news, saying the Sohae site was not a priority in terms of monitoring the North's denuclearisation efforts. "It's not on the radar, so to speak," the official said. In a sign of Washington's impatience with what it sees as North Korean heel-dragging on the denuclearisation issue, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was in New York last week urging UN member-states to keep tough economic sanctions in place to pressure Kim into moving forward. China and Russia have argued that North Korea should be rewarded with the prospect of eased sanctions for opening up dialogue with the United States and halting missile tests. South Korea has also pushed ahead with its reconciliation with the North since a landmark inter-Korean summit in April. Seoul's defence ministry said Tuesday it was considering withdrawing some troops from the border Demilitarised Zone on a trial basis -- a move which could expand into a gradual pullout later. The 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty, leaving the two Koreas technically at war. The DMZ was designated as a buffer zone but the areas to the north and south of it are heavily fortified. At their April summit, Kim and the South's president Moon Jae-in agreed to cease all hostile acts and turn their border into a "peace zone". burs-sh/sm Satellite image courtesy of Airbus Defense and Space and 38 North shows the apparent dismantling of facilities at the Sohae satellite launching station in North Korea Map showing the Sohae rocket test site in North Korea. North Korean soldiers stand guard in front of an Unha-3 rocket at at the Sohae launch site in April 2012 North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un was pictured at the Sohae facility in March 2017 when a powerful new rocket engine was tested
A British man poisoned with Novichok said in interviews released Tuesday that he was lucky to be alive after giving a perfume bottle that contained the nerve agent to his girlfriend, who later died. Charlie Rowley, 45, said he was amazed he survived after handling the "oily" substance himself, but was still struggling with the death of his partner Dawn Sturgess, a 44-year-old mother of three. Both fell ill in Amesbury, near the southwestern English city of Salisbury where a former Russian spy and his daughter were poisoned with Novichok in March, but survived. In an interview with ITV News television, Rowley said he could not remember where he picked up the glass perfume bottle, but said it was still in its box and plastic packaging. When he offered it as a gift to Sturgess, "she recognised the bottle and product as a known brand" and sprayed it on her wrists. "Within 15 mins Dawn said she had a headache," and she went to lie down in the bath, fully clothed. Rowley also got some of it on his hands but washed it off. "It had an oily substance and I smelled it and it didn't smell of perfume," he said. Both of them fell ill and were hospitalised later that day, June 30. A few days later authorities confirmed their exposure to Novichok, a military-grade nerve agent developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Sturgess died on July 9, but after two weeks in an induced coma, Rowley was discharged from hospital on Friday. In a telephone interview with The Sun, he said: "It's awful and shocking. I was still on medication when they told me she passed away. I don't think I will ever be able to get over it. "My heart goes out to Dawn's family. It's amazing that I'm alive. In a way I feel lucky I survived but I've also lost so much." Police are treating Sturgess' death as murder and say a link with the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia on March 4 is a major line of inquiry. Britain and its allies blamed Russia for trying to kill Skripal, a former military intelligence colonel who was jailed for betraying Russian agents to Britain and moved here in a 2010 spy swap. Russia has strongly denied involvement, sparking a major diplomatic row. Rowley said he was "very angry at the whole incident". "It was very irresponsible for people to leave the poison for anybody to pick up. It could have been children," he told ITV. Rowley said he and Sturgess had been together for almost two years, and she was a "very caring, loving woman". His home remains guarded by police but The Sun said he was living nearby and was still occasionally being interviewed by detectives. The cordon around the hostel in Salisbury where Sturgess lived was to be lifted Tuesday. Charlie Rowley is conscious but seriously ill in hospital
"That's it? You're sure he's dead?" Seven years had passed with no news, but Salwa could hardly believe her nephew, a Syrian activist arrested in 2011, had been dead the last five. That's what the civil records employee in Salwa's native Hama, a central government-held city, declared last month after shuffling through papers at her desk. "She told me, 'Yes, we received the names of everyone who died inside'" prison, Salwa told AFP, using a pseudonym because she fears reprisals in regime territory. Tens of thousands of people are estimated to be held in government jails across Syria, with relatives and advocates saying they are often tortured, denied fair trial, and deprived contact with families. Their relatives are left in limbo, spending years and precious savings shuttling between security services to know where loved ones are held or if they're even alive. Now, activists and families of imprisoned Syrians say authorities have quietly updated civil records to mark detainees as "deceased", backdating deaths to as long ago as 2013. Hearing of this through word of mouth, families of detained Syrians are flooding registries to ask: "Are they alive?". For around 400 detainees in recent months, the answer has been "no", said Fadel Abdul Ghany, head of the Syrian Network for Human Rights. The SNHR estimates 80,000 Syrians remain forcibly disappeared by the government. "Before, the regime was giving no details on the detained. It wouldn't declare them dead," Abdul Ghany told AFP. "Now it is, but in a barbaric way." - 'Scorched our hearts' - Hama's records were updated first, followed by Homs, the capital Damascus, Latakia and Hasakeh, and new names are still arriving at registries, the SNHR said. In seven years of documenting Syria's uprising-turned-war, Abdul Ghany said he had never before seen families learn of the fate of the detainees in this way. "Usually, you take a death certificate to the registry and inform them your relative is dead, not the other way around," he said. On that June morning, Salwa and her sister-in-law worried they'd be the only people at the registry asking about imprisoned relatives. "But when we got there, we saw a line out the door," she said. "Most were women, mothers and sisters of detainees. Security forces stood among them, and every single woman was wiping her tears and covering her face with her scarf." Weeping, Salwa went home to hold a single day of hushed condolences for two nephews: Saad, arrested in 2011 and marked deceased in 2013, and Saeed, detained since 2012 and recorded to have died last year. The family had no bodies to bury and was afraid of grieving publicly in a regime-held city. "They scorched our hearts -- those two boys were like roses. Even in mourning, we're afraid and hide our grief," Salwa said. - 'No going back' - The last time Islam Dabbas's family saw him was late 2012, behind bars at a regime prison near Damascus. "He wore a sweater that read 'Just Freedom'. We stopped hearing anything a while after that," recalled his brother Abdulrahman, who has since moved to Egypt. This month, a relative still in Syria learned of the updated files and checked Islam's. "It said he died January 15, 2013 in Saydnaya," Abdulrahman said. Amnesty International has dubbed the infamous prison "the human slaughterhouse", after reports of mass executions there. "Honestly, it's a relief. My mother told me, 'He's lucky. He's at peace,'" Abdulrahman said. They held condolences for Islam last week in Egypt, hundreds of kilometres (miles) from home and without a body. Abdulrahman and his mother then broke the news by phone to his father, still in Syria serving out his own prison sentence. But confirming what many long suspected is not enough, said Noura Ghazi, a Syrian lawyer and member of the detainee advocacy group Families for Freedom. "OK, you've told us they're dead, but we want to know where the bodies are. We want to know the real way they died," Ghazi said. Others are hesitating. "People are so tired. Of course there's denial. Others are suspicious, saying 'Why would we believe this document is real? Or this date to be true?'" said Ghazi, who lives in Beirut. Her husband, activist Bassel Khartabil, vanished after his October 3, 2015 arrest. In 2017, through her networks, Ghazi confirmed he died in regime detention. "I held condolences for him, I wore black. I thought I had processed the truth," she said. That changed when a relative of Khartabil visited a Damascus registry in early July and saw the government's freshly-recorded date of death: October 5, 2015. "When we saw that, it's like he died all over again," said Ghazi. "There's no going back. For more than two years I fought to know his fate. Now I'll be fighting my whole life to get his body." An estimated 80,000 Syrians have disappeared into government run prisons Rights groups and survivors have documented mass executions at the regime-run Saydnaya prison
A Saudi-led coalition battling in Yemen on Tuesday said it forced a Red Cross plane to land in southern Saudi Arabia after it veered off course to fly over a military operation area in Yemen. The plane heading to Djibouti changed its course after taking off from Yemen's rebel-held capital Sanaa, the coalition said in a statement published by the official Saudi Press Agency. "Coalition forces communicated with the aircraft on the international distress frequency... but the crew did not respond," a coalition spokesman said. "Commands were given to redirect the aircraft away from the operations zone but to no avail. The aircraft was forced to land in Jizan" in the south of the kingdom. The coalition accused the crew of air space violation and jeopardising the safety of four passengers onboard. The International Committee of the Red Cross later said the plane headed from Sanaa to Djibouti had made "an unscheduled stop" in Jizan "due to technical issues". "The issue was resolved and the plane has landed in Djibouti this evening," it said in a statement, adding that the ICRC was "investigating". The humanitarian agency last month pulled 71 of its international staffers from Yemen over rising security threats, following the killing of a Lebanese employee in southern Taez city in April. Those withdrawn from Yemen represent more than half of the ICRC's international staff in the country. The ICRC said that the decision would lead to the "crippling" of its life-saving work in the war-ravaged country, which includes emergency medical work and food assistance. The ICRC is known for its unrelenting commitment to neutrality, seeking to engage all parties to armed conflicts including extremists like the Islamic State group while carrying out humanitarian work. The conflict between Iran-backed Huthi rebels and Yemen's government, allied with Saudi Arabia, has claimed nearly 10,000 lives since 2015. Yemen's multi-faceted conflict has pushed the impoverished country to the brink of famine, triggering what the United Nations says is the world's worst humanitarian crisis. A Red Cross plane, similar to this one pictured in June 2015, was forced to land by a Saudi-led coalition after leaving Yemen's rebel-held captial Sanaa
Leaders of the BRICS emerging economies -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- will meet in Johannesburg this week, with the threat of a worsening global trade war topping the agenda. US President Donald Trump's hardening stance has compounded fears of an all-out trade war after he slapped levies on goods from China worth tens of billions of dollars as well as tariffs on steel and aluminium from the EU, Canada and Mexico. Russian President Vladimir Putin, China's President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the annual three-day summit opening in Johannesburg on Wednesday. Earlier this month, China said that it would step up cooperation with other developing nations like the BRICS grouping to counter "trade protectionism". China on Monday rejected accusations by Trump that it was manipulating the yuan to give its exporters an edge, saying Washington appeared "bent on provoking a trade war". Trump has said he is ready to impose tariffs on all $500 billion of China imports, complaining that China's trade surplus with the US is due to unfair currency manipulation. "As to the US being bent on provoking a trade war, China does not want a trade war but is not afraid," China's foreign ministry spokesman said when asked about Trump's threat to impose the across-the-board tariffs on Chinese goods. Russian Economy Minister Maxim Oreshkin said last week ahead of the Johannesburg meeting that "this summit is about the context -- we are at a time when the US and China announce new measures almost every week". He said much of the discussions with China would likely focus on what is happening with the United States. "This is a trade war, so leaders' discussions are particularly important in coordinating our positions," said Oreshkin. - A unifying cause? - Sreeram Chaulia, of the Jindal School of International Affairs outside Delhi, said BRICS leaders would "concur that the US has unleashed punitive trade wars that are hurting all the BRICS members". "They have a collective interest in promoting intra-BRICS trade. The urgency this time is greater," he said. The BRICS group, comprising more than 40 percent of the global population, represents some of the biggest emerging economies, but has struggled to find a unified voice -- as well as achieving sharply different growth rates. Analysts say US trade policy could give the group some renewed momentum. "Trade agreements between associations of countries like BRICS have become increasingly important given the self-seeking, and ultimately short-sighted, barriers to trade that are being instigated by the US," Kenneth Creamer, an economist at Johannesburg's Wits University, told AFP. "South Africa, and Africa more broadly, can benefit from increasing exports to fast growing countries like India and China. BRICS has the strategic potential to re-shape world trade." The trade war risk also dominated a meeting of Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers at the weekend in Buenos Aires, while International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde again spoke out against the tit-for-tat tariffs. China's President Xi was due to hold bilateral talks with South African Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday after visiting Senegal and Rwanda as part of a whistlestop tour to cement relations with African allies. Signalling diplomatic rivalry over influence in Africa, India's Narendra Modi is visiting Rwanda and Uganda on his own five-day tour of the continent including the BRICS summit. Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan will also attend a summit as the current chair of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Erdogan will reportedly meet Putin on the summit's sidelines. European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker travels to Washington on Wednesday to meet Trump as part of the EU's effort to head off a trade war. burs-mgu-bgs/rl Trade wars with the United States are likely to top discussions at the three-day summit meeting of the BRICS emerging economies -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- that kicks off on Wednesday.
Frontline Ltd. (NYSE: FRO) ("Frontline" or the "Company") today announced the Company entered into an Equity Distribution Agreement dated July 24, 2018, with Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC ("Morgan Stanley") for the offer and sale of up to $100.0 million of common shares of Frontline.

In accordance with the terms of the Equity Distribution Agreement, the Company may offer and sell its common shares at any time and from time to time through Morgan Stanley as its sales agent. Sales of the common shares, if any, will be made by means of ordinary brokers' transactions on NYSE or otherwise at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to the prevailing market prices, or at negotiated prices.

The net proceeds of this offering will be used to opportunistically fund growth opportunities, for certain capital expenditures, including to purchase exhaust gas cleaning systems that reduce sulfur emissions to comply with upcoming implementation of new IMO standards, and for general corporate purposes.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale is unlawful. The offering is being made by means of a prospectus and related prospectus supplement. A prospectus supplement related to the offering has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of the prospectus and prospectus supplement relating to the offering may be obtained from the offices of Morgan Stanley at 180 Varick Street, Second Floor, New York, New York 10014, Attention: Prospectus Department.

July 24, 2018

The Board of Directors

Frontline Ltd.

Hamilton, Bermuda

Questions should be directed to:

Robert Hvide Macleod: Chief Executive Officer, Frontline Management AS

+47 23 11 40 84

Inger M. Klemp: Chief Financial Officer, Frontline Management AS

+47 23 11 40 76





CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Matters discussed in this document may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts.

Frontline desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words "believe," "anticipate," "intends," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "plan," "potential," "will," "may," "should," "expect" "pending" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements in this document are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in Frontline's records and other data available from third parties. Although Frontline believes that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond Frontline's control, you cannot be assured that Frontline will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections. Frontline undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in expectations.

Important factors that, in Frontline's view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include, without limitation: the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charterhire rates and vessel values, changes in demand in the tanker market, including but not limited to changes in OPEC's petroleum production levels and worldwide oil consumption and storage, changes in Frontline's operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the market for Frontline's vessels, availability of financing and refinancing, ability to comply with covenants in such financing arrangements, failure of counterparties to fully perform their contracts with us, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, vessel breakdowns, instances of off-hire and other important factors. For a more complete discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties associated with Frontline's business, please refer to Frontline's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, its annual report on Form 20-F.

This information is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
The United Arab Emirates hailed the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea on Tuesday for reaching a landmark peace deal as the two met in the UAE capital. The UAE has close ties with the East African neighbours and, along with Gulf powerhouse Saudi Arabia, helped broker the historic rapprochement that ended decades of enmity. Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan called the peace agreement a "bold and historic step" that opens "new horizons for cooperation and joint coordination". The move would help "enhance security and stability in the Horn of Africa and the wider region", Sheikh Mohammed wrote on Twitter, after awarding Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki the UAE's highest civil order. Recent rivals Ethiopia and Eritrea signed an agreement in Asmara on July 9 to restore ties, ending decades of conflict. Eritrea was once part of Ethiopia and comprised its entire coastline on the Red Sea until it voted for independence in 1993 after decades of bloody conflict. A row over the demarcation of the shared border triggered a brutal 1998-2000 conflict, which left 80,000 people dead before evolving into a bitter cold war. In a surprise move, Abiy last month announced he would finally accept a 2002 United Nations-backed border demarcation, paving the way for peace between the two nations. In recent years Eritrea has strengthened ties with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which has reportedly built a military base at the strategic southern port of Assab used in its operation in Yemen. The two Gulf countries also maintain close ties with Ethiopia and in June the UAE pledged $3 billion in aid to Addis Ababa. Just prior to the signing of the peace deal, Isaias made a foreign trip to the UAE in early July. The UAE has for years been pushing to boost its economic presence in Africa, seeking to outdo Gulf rival Qatar in its investment and influence. Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (C) receives Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (L) and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki (R) at the presidential palace in the UAE capital on July 24, 2018
China's newest product safety scare burst onto the public consciousness when an obscure essay alleging corruption in the pharmaceutical industry become an internet sensation, exposing widespread anger and distrust after a string of scandals. The furore over alleged shady dealings by a major vaccine producer has shattered already fragile trust in regulators and illustrated the rising frustrations of China's increasingly sophisticated consumers. News that pharmaceutical company Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology had fabricated records and been forced to stop manufacturing rabies vaccines was first reported more than a week ago. But it exploded on social media over the weekend, fuelled by a viral essay alleging decades of malfeasance by the company including the bribery of officials to allow low-quality products onto the market. The origin and veracity of the mysterious post remains unverified, but it touched off a cat-and-mouse game as China's aggressive censors scrambled to prevent its dissemination. However the damage was done. Millions of angry users shared the essay and other information on product-safety problems in a rare public airing of a touchy national issue. The China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) said last week the problematic rabies vaccine had not left Changsheng's factory, but the company admitted it had shipped a separate sub-standard vaccine. That vaccine for diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus (DPT) was found by regulators to fail quality standards -- but the company revealed that it sold 250,000 doses to Shandong province last year. As the pressure mounted, further revelations have emerged. Authorities in the northern province of Hebei announced Monday that nearly 150,000 people had received sub-standard DPT vaccines made by another firm, Wuhan Institute of Biological Products. The problems have rekindled already deep fears over domestically made medicines and driven worried parents online to swap information on obtaining imported vaccines. "I don?t trust the vaccines here anymore," a woman who gave only her surname Zhou told AFP as she waited with her young daughter at a pediatric clinic in Beijing on Tuesday. Zhou said she was willing to pay for imported products rather than accept those offered for free by the government. Hong Kong clinics said they have seen a surge in demand for children's vaccines. - Damage control - The government has gone into damage control, with the CFDA saying there was "absolutely no need" for foreign vaccines because China already has a "comprehensive" system for ensuring quality. Authorities have announced a series of investigations and vowed that heads would roll for any negligence. In a sign of the high-level unease, President Xi Jinping -- on a trip to Africa -- weighed in Monday, calling the vaccine company's actions "vile in nature and shocking", according to state media. One reason product safety is such an explosive issue is that children have been among the victims of the worst Chinese scandals of the last decade, including a massive 2008 scandal over milk and baby formula tainted by the chemical melamine, which gives the appearance of higher protein levels. The adulteration killed six infants and left tens of thousands hospitalised, rocking China's dairy sector and leading to a regulatory shake-up. "This time, it deals with babies, and the volume is a lot. That's why people are concerned with it," said Scarlett Pong, president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Hong Kong, where wealthier Chinese parents often travel to access foreign medicines. Experts say Chinese authorities are gradually improving supervision, but the country's vastness and lack of openness means it will remain a long-term battle. "I think whoever comes up to be the political leader in the future, they will have to fulfil the demands from the public. The world is much more open now, citizens know a lot of things," Pong said. - Deja vu - The CFDA announced late Sunday that it had ordered all production stopped at Changchun Changsheng and police have opened a criminal investigation, detaining its chairwoman and four subordinates for investigation. Jilin province, where the company is based, said Tuesday it also would open a corruption investigation into government officials involved. But many jaded consumers have heard it all before. "The problem is who is doing the investigation," said one angry commentator on the Twitter-like Weibo microblogging platform. "If you're just investigating yourself, what kind of results will come out?" Following a previous major vaccine scare in 2016, officials detained more than 200 people, promising to plug what Premier Li Keqiang described at the time as "many regulatory loopholes". But some social media users this week have pointed sardonically to Sun Xianze, the official in charge of food safety during the 2008 milk scandal. Sun was later promoted to deputy director of the CFDA, with responsibility for drug safety, where he worked until February. A child receives a vaccination shot at a hospital in Rongan in China's southern Guangxi region: government leaders have vowed stern action over the latest vaccine scare
Half as many female heart attack sufferers are receiving life-saving medications and treatment than males, leading to more deaths in women after leaving hospital, an alarming new study has revealed.

The University of Sydney-led study found female patients were less likely to receive coronary diagnostic tests and treatment, and on discharge significantly fewer were prescribed preventative medication and referred to cardiac rehabilitation.

Once the women were discharged from hospital they were almost three times more likely to die within six months, compared with the men, according to study published in the Medical Journal of Australia on Monday.

These life-saving steps help prevent reoccurring heart attacks and the decrease the likelihood of patients dying from subsequent health conditions, said the research papers senior author, cardiologist Professor Clara Chow, who was shocked by the findings.

I was surprised, I did not expect to find this to happen in this day and age.

Half as many female heart attack sufferers are receiving life-saving medications and treatment than males. Source: Getty

The 10-year study focused on patients with a specific type of serious heart attack STEMI or ST-elevation myocardial infarction, caused when one of the hearts major arteries is blocked.

The treatment protocols of STEMI patients were the same regardless of gender, Professor Chow said, however the processes were not followed in the same way in the 2183 men and 715 women studied across 41 Australian hospitals.

She said there shouldnt be a difference between the way men and women are assessed and treated, however the findings indicated otherwise.

We need to be aware of it and address a possible unconscious bias, the Westmead Hospital cardiologist told Yahoo7. This is an avoidable and preventable problem.

While the reason for the oversight remains unknown, Professor Chow suggested it could lie with women being perceived as less likely to suffer heart disease. She said the Heart Foundation found cardiovascular disease to be the leading cause of death in Australian men and women, however women dont perceive it as so, and this needed to change in order to save lives.

Story continues

Fewer women are receiving electrocardiogram tests than men after presenting with heart attack symptoms. Source: Getty

She said women are more likely to present with symptoms late, and tended to report as having less pain than men  just a feeling of breathlessness and discomfort.

Women need to expect heart disease is the leading cause of death of women.

Maybe women dont consent to treatment, maybe they dont think they need it. Women are less likely to report health issues. Ive had some women deny they are having a heart attack. Ive had them argue with me, saying their symptoms are not that bad, or the pain is not that bad.

The cardiologist believed the perceptions were somehow feeding into the behaviours and a possible complacency from the public and medical profession, but the danger was health care providers probably dont think they are treating female patients any differently to men.

While the rate of electrocardiogram (ECG) testing and treatment since the study began in 2010 has increased for both men and women, and mortality rates of heart disease is dropping in both genders, the gender gap was still obvious. Now 90 per cent of male heart attack patients are receiving tests, compared with 80 per cent of women.

We meed to be more proactive now we know there is a gap, Professor Chow advised.

She said the push needed to come from both sides  the medical profession and the general population  to be aware heart disease affects just as many women as it does men, and all Australians need equal screening, medication and treatment.

Professor Chow is also pushing Australians to become proactive about heart screening, treating testing just as important as other important health detection checks like pap smears, breast screens and prostate examinations.

A simple cardio assessment can be done by a GP, to determine any potential risk factors like cholesterol, blood pressure and weight management, she said. An imaging test was also recommended for anyone with a family history of heart disease, to be undertaken five years before the age the relative was when they first had the heart attack.

She also said there may now be a need to examine information about treatment of other diseases by gender, to identify if there were other patterns of disparity between men and women.
There might not be a Republican primary in the 50th Senate District after all.

A review conducted by a bipartisan team at the state Board of Elections found 602 of the signatures submitted by Republican candidate Rick Guy are invalid, according to documents provided to The Citizen.

Guy submitted 1,402 signatures, which means he only has 800 valid signatures remaining  200 shy of the required 1,000 to qualify for the Sept. 13 GOP primary.

Objections were filed against Guy's petitions by supporters of Onondaga County Comptroller Bob Antonacci, a Republican. Antonacci is supported by the Cayuga and Onondaga county GOP committees in his bid for the 50th Senate District seat.

A hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. Wednesday at the state Board of Elections in Albany.

In an email to The Citizen, Guy said he was notified of the hearing on Monday.

"We are confident about the validity of the vast and sufficient majority of the signatures so we will handle this in stride," he said. "Bob and (Onondaga County Republican Chairman Tom Dadey) can't beat us on the merits of our argument that the Republicans want a candidate who has fought consistently as a member of the GOP for decades and who has the legislative experience to succeed in the Senate as I do."

Antonacci and Dadey were among those who filed objections against Guy's petitions.

Guy's fate will be decided by an officer who will oversee Wednesday's hearing. The hearing officer will examine the bipartisan review and determine if any changes should be made. The officer's final report will be presented to the state election commissioners. The commissioners will adopt the report at the board's Aug. 8 meeting.

If Guy's petitions are ruled invalid by the state board, he could pursue legal action. He will have three business days after the board's vote to file a lawsuit.

Antonacci and Guy are seeking the Republican nomination in the 50th district, which is currently represented by state Sen. John DeFrancisco. DeFrancisco, a Republican, announced in the spring that he would not run for re-election this year.

The Democratic candidate in the race is John Mannion, a biology teacher at West Genesee High School in Camillus.

If a primary is necessary, it will be held Thursday, Sept. 13. The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 6.

Online producer Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.

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Big telecommunications companies that control access to the internet for hundreds of millions of Americans donated more than $101 million to politicians who oppose net neutrality rules, according to the advocacy group Battle for the Net, which has put together an interactive scorecard showing how much cash went to each opponent of net neutrality in the United States Congress.

After the Republican-controlled Federal Communications Commission voted in December to repeal net neutralitythe rules that guarantee equal treatment for all internet traffic and prohibit internet service providers from charging premium prices to avoid data blockagesthe Senate voted in May by a narrow 52-47 margin to override the FCCs move and keep the open internet rules in place.

Now, the House must also vote, but Republican Speaker Paul Ryan has shown no indication that he will allow that vote to take place. Democrats are now circulating a petition that, under House rules, would force a vote if 218 reps ink the document by January. So far, 177including but a single Republicanhave signed on.

"There's hardly a better example of classic corruption in Washington than members of Congress voting against net neutrality when polls show that constituents overwhelmingly support it," said Evan Greer, director of Fight for the Futureone of the groups behind Battle for the Nettold the site Mashable. "It's really important for voters to know where their representatives stand, but it's equally important to know why."

A poll taken by Morning Consult in May showed across-the-board support for net neutrality rules, with 60 percent of registered votersincluding 62 percent of Democrats, 63 percent of Republicans and 57 percent of independentssaying that they support the regulations.

So where do the reps stand, and why? The Battle for the Net scorecard may be accessed at this link. But some of the highlights include:

 Ryan himself, who according to the scorecard has received $722,646 in campaign cash from big ISP corporations.

 California Rep, Kevin McCarthy, the House majority leader likely to succeed the retiring Ryan as speaker if the GOP holds on to the House majority in the midterm elections. McCarthy has received $676,850 in donations from the telecommunications firms that control the internet, according to Battle for the Net.

 Tennesse Rep. Marsha Blackburn, also a Republican, whom the tech site Motherboard called congress's biggest opponent of net neutrality and an indisputable lackey for some of the least-liked and least-competitive companies in America. Blackburn has consumed $600,999 from telecom companies, the scorecard says.

What does the cash-fueled congressional opposition to net neutrality mean for consumers of online porn? As AVN.com reported in Junethe end of a free ride, most likely. With 37 percent of all online data reportedly consumed by porn, but only four percent of porn consumers actually paying to view porn on the net, porn fans represent a hugely significant source of untapped revenue that ISPs will be keen to exploit.

Photo by Maria Merkulova / Flicker Creative Commons
LOS ANGELESReigning AVN Female Performer of the Year Angela White shows off both her writing skills and her performing prowess with new Vixen scene "I Waited for You," available now at Vixen.com.

"I'm excited for fans to see my latest scene on Vixen.com," White said. "Greg [Lansky, director and Vixen CEO] and I have wanted to collaborate on something special for a long time, and I'm so happy that we finally made it happen. When it came to writing the script for the scene, I wanted to do something different while maintaining the beautiful aesthetic of the Vixen brand."

As preparation, White dug deep into the archives of Vixen. I noticed that most of the existing Vixen scenarios that involve couples focus on the sexual thrills," she reports. "I wanted to create a paradigm shift by writing a story about love. I believe there is a market for content that showcases love, affection and tenderness. My hope is that 'I Waited for You' will resonate with viewers who are searching for deep emotional connection and intimacy. After all, love is what we are universally seeking.

The scene, co-starring Manuel Ferrara, White's screen partner in 2018's AVN Best Boy/Girl Sex Scene, depicts "a woman in the throes of restless desire as she waits for her man to come home from an overseas trip," according to a company description.

White continues, It was important to me to also shoot an outro. I wanted to move away from the standard porn narrative that mandates a scene end with the male orgasm. Instead, the outro shows a continuation of love and passion between the characters. Manuel was the obvious choice to play my on-screen partner. My chemistry with Manuel is incredible and his performance perfectly captured the passion and emotion required to bring the story to life.

Commented Lansky, "I can tell you this scene is very special! Angela is a stunning artist with incredible talent and I am personally thrilled with this collaboration. We are extremely selective with whom we collaborate, but when Angela brought her vision to me I green lighted the project immediately. Not only did she write a fantastic script, but she also got involved in every single detail of this scene. Shes a real perfectionist and you can see it in her work. We are very excited for this incredible scene with the sublime, iconic and multi-talented Angela White.

Im proud of how this project came together and what we were able to achieve, White concluded. "Greg was supportive throughout the entire process and it was wonderful to work closely with his stylist Jenn to create a unique look for the scene. Collaborating with Gregs entire team was an amazing experience.
West London business The Artisan Bakery is to supply recipe kit delivery service Gousto with baked goods.

Gousto said it selected The Artisan Bakery as they shared a similar ethos, with an emphasis on high-quality ingredients and food waste reduction.

Recipes featuring Artisan Bakery products include a steak sandwich with balsamic braised onions and rosemary chips, lamb keema pav and gunpowder potatoes, aubergine parmigiana and pesto bruschetta and the 10-minute goats cheese and mushroom salad.

Gousto consistently comes top of its class with reviewers for the quality of their ingredients, the variety of recipes and simply the tastiness of their food, said The Artisan Bakery CEO Andrew Murray.

The fact that they are one of the countrys fastest-growing technology companies makes this deal even more exciting.

Gousto delivers more than a million meals a month.
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.
It's increasingly popular with people suffering from a wide variety of maladies, from insomnia and anxiety to Crohn's disease and fibromyalgia. Some swear by it for relief from migraines, while others have tried it to mitigate the side effects of chemotherapy.

Reporter Arun Venugopal suffered a herniated disc and could not find any relief. "There were so many nights when it was hard to sleep, due to the pain, and as the weeks wore on I felt desperate and willing to try anything," Venugopal said.

Despite the disparate diagnoses and needs, more people are seeking out the same drug in search of some sort of relief: CBD (cannabidiol). You may have heard of it because of an article in The New Yorker, because your local bodega has started stocking it, or because you have a friend who has started proselytizing about it. Can one product really treat so many ailments? Is CBD some sort of super medicine, or is it about as real as Simpson and Son's Revitalizing Tonic?

CBD is one of more than 80 naturally occurring active compounds found in cannabis plants. However, it is usually derived from hemp, as opposed to marijuanathe biggest difference is that CBD lacks the psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol, a.k.a. THC, a compound which gives weed its extra oomph (marijuana can contain up to 30% THC, hemp contains no more than 0.3% THC). In other words, CBD derived from hemp does not get you stoned, nor should it show up if you take a drug test. According to Herb, you would need to consume 1,000 to 2,000 mg of CBD a day for a drug test to pick it upmore than a bottle a dayand even then, it would be considered "a false positive." (For a more thorough explanation of how cannabidiol interacts within the body with the network of neurons called the endocannabinoid system, check out this informative High Times piece.)

As a recent industry study co-sponsored by HelloMD (a company that provides online consultations for medical cannabis patients) and market research firm Brightfield Group explained, CBD has anti-inflammatory, anti-anxiety, anti-psychotic, and anti-convulsant properties, but "is not felt to have any intoxicating or psychoactive" side effects. There are THC-infused CBD products as well, but those are not sold in states like New York where recreational marijuana is not yet legal.

To get technical for a momentbecause it is an important detailneurologist Ethan Russo, internationally renowned for his research on cannabis compounds and their roles in the body, cautioned in a research paper on cannabidiol misconceptions that "CBD should be preferably labeled as non-intoxicating [rather than non-psychotropic], and lacking associated reinforcement, craving, compulsive use, etc., that would indicate a significant drug abuse liability." He's also written papers positing cannabis as an "unconventional solution to the opioid crisis."



(Courtesy of Lord Jones)

As a result, CBD has become the ultimate nexus point between the wellness industry, the burgeoning legal marijuana industry, and the alternative medicine community. It's also climbed into the zeitgeist in 2018, especially within the beauty and wellness communitycelebrities such as Olivia Wilde, Busy Philips and Amy Schumer have raved about it, it has been the subject of NY Times trend pieces on beauty regimens, and Gwyneth Paltrow's lifestyle brand Goop offered up a guide to CBD-spiked cocktails.

Cindy Capobianco, co-founder of the trendy and much-loved CBD company Lord Jones, said that celebrity stylists such as Karla Welch and Erica Cloud use their CBD lotion on their clients' feet when they walk the red carpet, boosting awareness of the product across Hollywood. "They tried it and they realized it worked and they started carrying it in their styling kit and they started sharing it with all of their clients," she said.

"We have one woman who[we won't name] because she has not come out publicly and talked about itis one of the biggest musicians and female performers in the world," Capobianco added. "And she has debilitating stage fright. So she started taking one of our 5:1 gumdropsfive parts CBD to one part THCbefore every single performance, and it changed her life."

And of course, it is also becoming a big business: it's available in myriad forms, as lotion, gumdrops, gummies, liquid droppers, chocolates, bath bombs, skin creams, sex lubricants, tinctures, capsules, and even pet treats. You can buy it directly online (Bluebird Botanicals is another gold standard when it comes to CBD), or visit a local health store to try out products in person. While companies are still navigating the complex legalities around marketing and selling the product, it hasn't hurt the bottom line: industry analysts predict the market in the U.S. will reach $1 billion a year by 2020. (New Frontier Data is even more bullish, predicting that the overall U.S. CBD market will increase more than 422% over the next five years to nearly $2 billion.)

"The reason why people are attaching to it so aggressively is because it really, really does work for the things it says it's going to do," said Josh Kirby, CEO of California-based Kin Slips, purveyor of cannabis and CBD sublingual strips you put under your tongue. "It's a really great anti-inflammatory agent. It's really great for not only physical relaxation, but mental and emotional relaxation. There's a huge trend right now, across all the demographics, to move away from the traditional prescription or over-the-counter type medicines that are more synthetic, and moving towards a more holistic plant-based approach. That's really what CBD not only promises, but what it's been really great at delivering on as well."

According to NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws), CBD is legal in all 30 states that have legalized medical or recreational use of marijuana, and in 17 other states that have legalized some form of CBD (which includes New York). But it is not legal on the federal level, and it has not been approved by the DEA (which classifies most cannabis-related products, including CBD, as a Schedule 1 drug with a high potential for abuse) or, most importantly, the FDA, which has raised eyebrows among CBD skeptics. Last year, the FDA issued warning letters to four CBD companies who were "illegally selling products online that claim to prevent, diagnose, treat, or cure cancer without evidence to support these outcomes."

As The Ringer pointed out, the unregulated market of CBD has led to a lot of snake oil salesmen popping up onlinea 2017 University of Pennsylvania study found that nearly 70 percent of CBD products sold online are mislabeled and don't contain what they claim. This places a lot more onus on the user to thoroughly vet products on their own, which is often more difficult dealing in the online market.



Top medical reasons CBD users gave, via the HelloMD/Brightfield Study industry report

The dearth of research on CBD has led many experts to caution users not to go all-in on the hype just yet: "I think it has unique effects on the brain that offer potential across a number of potential indications, although proof of its efficacy is limited to epilepsy, schizophrenia, and spasms in multiple sclerosis (the latter is with THC)," said Dr. Orrin Devinsky, director of the NYU Comprehensive Epilepsy Center who has been closely studying CBD for the last five years. "The explosion in popularity likely reflects a social phenomenoncombining a strong attraction to a natural product and the power of social media and bias. The buzz far exceeds the data. Much of the buzz is religion.' As Max Planck said, 'I believe God, everyone else show me the data.' There is not much data now.

Nora D. Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, addressed Congress in 2015 about potential therapeutic benefits of the substance: "Rigorous clinical studies are still needed to evaluate the clinical potential of CBD for specific conditions. However, pre-clinical research (including both cell culture and animal models) has shown CBD to have a range of effects that may be therapeutically useful, including anti-seizure, antioxidant, neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-tumor, anti-psychotic, and anti-anxiety properties."

Devinsky noted that CBD does not appear to be habit forming or addictive ("We now have considerable evidence from human and animal studies to support this"), and like Volkow, stressed the importance of more testing: "I believe marijuana and THC do have potential medical benefits. The only path forward is to use consistent formulations (eg, pure THC at a set dose) for specific indications (eg, pain or anxiety or insomnia) and then to use a double blind placebo-controlled trial. To date, this has never been done."

"CBD may be too good to be true, or it may be true," Devinsky added. "Only science and time will tell."

I've met dozens of people in recent months who have started using CBD on a daily basis for common symptoms such as anxiety, headaches, and joint pain relief. According to that industry study, 80% of CBD users found it to be extremely effective treatment for anxiety and joint pain, in particular; 42% of users say they've stopped using traditional medications in favor of CBD to treat depression and insomnia.

"It appears to be much more effective longterm for many anxiety issues without the side effects of benzodiazepines," said Katie Gentile, a psychologist and professor in Gender Studies at John Jay College. She researched CBD online to combat anxiety, chronic back issues, and insomnia. "Having something to help me sleep, that is basically a natural oil that also is very likely to have many benefits to the body, is amazing. It is no wonder it is so controversialit threatens the pharmaceutical control over the population."

Even without longterm data about regular usage, people swear by the immediate effects of the stuff. It's become so popular, GQ had a piece about the phenomenon of people ingesting it at work. One writer declared: "When I take one, I feel slightly but markedly better. My chair feels like it is mangling my body less. Its harder to make a fist. Its easier to navigate an hour or two of bullshit, which means it's easier to do my job. It doesnt matter if anybody notices that I am 10% more pleasant, because I feel 10% more pleasant, anyway."

And for some people dealing with more serious ailments, science and time are taking too long to catch up. Krystal Hawes became aware of CBD after her father Darryle Hawes had exhausted treatment options for his stage four lung cancer. "I think there was certainly a placebo effect, but it also allowed him to relax and get rest," she said. "The side effects of chemo were intense and left him with symptoms that impeded his sleep, including hiccups and vomiting. The oil seemed to relax all of his symptoms. He took it regularly until he was no longer able to swallow. I'd recommend it for someone, even it is only provided peace of mind and respite."

This was a few years ago, before CBD was widely available or marketed in trendy health food stores. Looking back on the experience, she was most frustrated by the steps it took to procure it for her father: "For decades and decades, this medicine was not available to people who were dying," she said. "And maybe it wasn't going to heal them or cure them, but you're compounding the stress of illness with the stress of access. Just getting it makes you feel like, 'I can relax a little bit.'"

Capobianco said that she and her husband, fellow Lord Jones co-founder Rob Rosenheck, ran a collective and spent two and a half years researching the uses of CBD with patients with symptoms across the board, before they launched their business. "We don't pretend to be doctors," she said. "But I think if there's research that says it works, then it works. In my experience there's no test for being in love, do you know what I mean? When you're in love with someone you know you're in love, and if I were to say, 'we wanna do some research'I guess there could be serotonin in your brain, and there could be ways to determine itbut when people use our product, they say that the combination of lotion and tincture brings them more relief than their prescription medication."

She said that they have been in contact with UCLA and other universities about spearheading more research and studies into CBD. And she also stresses that it is no cure-all: "There are people who are like, 'I broke my leg and the CBD didn't make me feel any better.' I'm like, that's because you have a broken leg! This isn't a miracle. Believe me, if we had a miracle we would be in a different position."

"So yeah, I totally understand [the caution] from the research side. But we're dealing with human beings, and when a human being is in pain and they use the lotion on their back or their shoulder or for their headache, and two minutes later they say, 'I feel so much better than I felt ten minutes ago,' well like, awesome. It's working."

A major recent decision by the FDA does bode well for CBD's future: in June, the FDA officially approved CBD-based Epidiolex to treat severe forms of epilepsy called Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Although the use of that product is very narrow, "This is a very good development, and it basically underscores that there are medicinal properties to some of the cannabinoids, Dr. Igor Grant, director of the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at the University of California San Diego, told the Times. As New Cannabis Ventures wrote, this approval is likely to be a boon for the entire category, raising interest and acceptance of the cannabinoid as being safe and therapeutic.

And proponents like Kirby see this industry growing even beyond that of legal marijuana: "I think CBD is gonna be much more popular than THC for a long time, because it's not psychoactive," he said. "There's so many people out there who are switching from the traditional method of treating their ailments, to a more holistic, natural approach, and CBD is really, really perfect for that."

"A lot of people want to get high, and that's totally fine, but more people want to feel good and not be high than want to be high. The thing with CBD products is, you can use them all the time. You can wake up in the morning and take a CBD product. You can use it at lunch. You can use it at dinner. It's not going to affect your ability to perform your job. It's not gonna affect your ability to socialize or drive a car or anything like that."

Is CBD REALLY Legal In New York? Where Can I Get It? Will It Get Me High? These questions and more will be answered in Part 2, coming Wednesday.
If you havent seen it, I summarized the California Consumer Privacy Act in a 3,000 word primer. If you arent familiar with the law, read that first.

This post addresses the laws multitudinous errors and major ambiguities. The list in this post represents a mix of errors Ive found plus many crowdsourced suggestions (finding all of the laws issues is more than any one person could do in a lifetime). However, this post isnt a comprehensive inventory of the laws problems. Feel free to send additional suggestions my way.

A technical corrections bill, SB 1121, is pending in the California legislature. Also see the associated legislative history, which is more insightful than the online bill text. Ill be contacting the legislature to identify the needed changes enumerated in this post. If youre involved in the backroom conversations, Id be grateful for extra help getting this post in front of the legislators.

Errors

1798.100(e) has two subclauses (1) and (2) that are missing an introductory sentence. SB 1121 would delete the subclauses.

1798.110(c)(5) says that businesses must publish their consumers specific pieces of personal information in their privacy policies. Oops. Talk about a true lack-of-privacy policy!!! Section 110(c)(5) should be deleted.

1798.120(d): The language is inconsistent about 16 year olds (or, if you read the restriction as applying only to 14 and 15 year olds, then its inconsistent about 13 year olds): a business shall not sell the personal information of consumers if the business has actual knowledge that the consumer is less than 16 years of age, unless the consumer, in the case of consumers between 13 and 16 years of age, or the consumers parent or guardian, in the case of consumers who are less than 13 years of age, has affirmatively authorized the sale of the consumers personal information. SB 1121 proposes to renumber this section as 1798.120(c) but doesnt fix the drafting error.

1798.140(b): an individuals deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) isnt data, its material from which data can be obtained.

1798.140(o)(2): I think the language Publicly available does not include consumer information that is deidentified or aggregate consumer information meant personal information, not publicly available. After all, its in the definition of personal information and the exclusion of deidentified or aggregate consumer information from publicly available is too narrow an exclusion.

SCU Privacy Law Fellow, Lydia de la Torre, disagrees with me. She points out that 1798.145(a)(5) excludes deidentified and aggregate consumer information from most obligations in the CCPA, so an exclusion in 140(o)(2) is redundant/unnecessary. But this doesnt make any sense either, because if 145(a)(5) excludes deidentified and aggregate consumer information, then why would it matter if they are in or out of publicly available? Either way, 145(a)(5) would moot that characterization. So if my initial assessment isnt correct, I have no idea what the language is supposed to be.

Again, 1798.140(o)(2): Publicly available information is defined as information that is lawfully made available from federal, state, or local government records, if any conditions associated with such information. The bolded phrase is clearly missing words.

1798.180 says: This title is a matter of statewide concern and supersedes and preempts all rules, regulations, codes, ordinances, and other laws adopted by a city, county, city and county, municipality, or local agency regarding the collection and sale of consumers personal information by a business. I believe the bolded language is redundant?

SB 1121s legislative history has an extensive list of other typos.

Ambiguities

1798.105(d)(7) allows a business to reject a deletion request to enable solely internal uses that are reasonably aligned with the expectations of the consumer based on the consumers relationship with the business. Will any business risk relying on this exception, or will everything need to be based on consumer consent?

This one is from AB 375s legislative history: Section 1798.125, where these anti-discrimination and incentive provisions reside, is internally inconsistent to a certain extent. It specifically prohibits charging different prices or rates for goods or services. But, it also specifically authorizes in the following paragraph charging a consumer a different price or rate. The same tension exists for providing a different level or quality of goods or services.

1798.125(b)(1) includes the sentence: A business may also offer a different price, rate, level, or quality of goods or services to the consumer if that price or difference is directly related to the value provided to the consumer by the consumers data. Is the first consumer in the bolded language supposed to be business?

More generally, I am uncertain whether 1798.125 will apply to price discrimination in all contexts, not just a restriction on pay-for-privacy. Even charging different prices for different geographies bases the price distinction on personal information, i.e., location information. There are exclusions when such price discrimination is allowed, but if it nominally regulates every form of differential pricing, that will stun the entire business community.

1798.130(a)(2) is supposed to be the data portability provision. However, it only covers the prior 12 months, so anyone holding an account for more than 12 months will only get partial portability. Lydia thinks consumers can take advantage of 1798.100(d), which isnt limited to 12 months. Does 130(a)(2) qualify 100(d), or are each independent disclosure obligations?

1798.140(c)(1) establishes numerical thresholds for enforcement: $25M/yr revenue, 50%+ revenue from data brokerage, or personal information for 50k/yr consumers. Given that in most cases these numbers are not publicly reported, how will the California AGs office, the enforcement entity, know if a business has cleared these thresholds or not? If the AGs office has no idea, how will that affect its enforcement discretion?

Also on 1798.140(c)(1), the law doesnt specify if the $25M threshold or 50,000 consumers must all take place in California, or involve California consumers, or if they are enterprise-wide. If its the latter, a business with $25M revenue worldwide theoretically must comply with the law the moment it makes a single sale to California (there may still be personal jurisdiction limits).

Also on 1798.140(c)(1), once a business clears one of the thresholds, the law doesnt provide any further grace period for compliance and the business must instantly comply with the entire law. The law could say that compliance must be done at some future date (e.g., by the end of the next calendar year after a business clears a threshold), but thats not what it currently says. And if the business numbers spiked one year and it has good reasons to believe that the threshold will not be met again in the foreseeable future, then the business must still implement the law for the possibly-very-brief spike period. Im sure the AGs office will exercise some discretion in some of these circumstances, but this seems like an excellent place for the AGs office to provide some regulations.

1798.140(c)(2) defines business to include:

Any entity that controls or is controlled by a business, as defined in paragraph (1), and that shares common branding with the business. Control or controlled means ownership of, or the power to vote, more than 50 percent of the outstanding shares of any class of voting security of a business; control in any manner over the election of a majority of the directors, or of individuals exercising similar functions; or the power to exercise a controlling influence over the management of a company. Common branding means a shared name, servicemark, or trademark.

This definition seemingly means that parents and subsidiaries of a company must honor opt-in/opt-out/erasure/disclosure requests across the entire enterprise if they have a shared name, servicemark, or trademark. What does that mean? If a company has three different subsidiaries, named Brand California, Brand New York, and Brand Europe, must all of these entities honor opt-in/opt-out/erasure/disclosure requests as if they were a single integrated entity? If so, that will blindside the many companies that do not have an integrated data architecture across subsidiary lines. Or will the fact that the brand isnt identical (Brand California isnt an identical brand as Brand New York) avoid this issue?

Lydia raised the question of whether definition reaches non-profit subsidiaries of for-profit businesses. For example, if a for-profit company owns a non-profit company that acts as its charitable arm, it appears the non-profit company may qualify as an entity. Fixing this latter problem would be as simple as changing entity to business, but that wouldnt fix the underlying concerns about cross-enterprise obligations.

Lydia also raised the question of whether 140(c)(2) treats intra-enterprise data transfers as transfers to third parties, or if the definition of business includes the entire enterprise as an integrated unit. The statutory language on this point is inscrutable.

1798.140(e) defines collects, collected, or collection as buying, renting, gathering, obtaining, receiving, or accessing any personal information pertaining to a consumer by any means. This includes receiving information from the consumer, either actively or passively, or by observing the consumers behavior. Lets consider an example. 140(o)(1)(H) says personal information includes olfactory information. So, in theory, when an employee passively smells a customer in the ordinary course of business (if youve ever worked retail, you know exactly what Im talking about), this would constitute a collection that needs to be disclosed and would possibly trigger other obligations. Really? I think the definition was meant to say that its collected only when its stored in a tangible medium, such as paper or electronic records. Even then, applying the law to paper records would be miserable for the applicable business.

1798.140(o)(1) says personal information can refer to households, but the term households is never defined and could be located outside California or include non-California residents. This would be a good example of how the law could reach extra-territorially for Dormant Commerce Clause purposes. Lydia thinks all references to household should be deleted (or tie it better to California). The same concerns arise with 140(x)s references to family and the numerous references to devices.

1798.140(o)(2) says government data used for a purpose that is not compatible with the purpose for which the data is maintained and made available in the government records or for which it is publicly maintained drops out of the exclusion for publicly available data and just becomes personal information. How will third party transferees of this data recognize this?

1798.140(v) defines service providers to include only for-profit businesses. Does this give non-profit businesses an advantage, or put them at a disadvantage? For example, non-profit service providers are classified as third parties, with different rights and obligations.

1798.145(a) says The obligations imposed on businesses by this title shall not restrict a businesss ability to[numerous exclusions]. These exclusions should apply to everyone, not just businesses as defined by the statute. For example, the law imposes restrictions on service providers and other third parties who should equally qualify for the exclusions.

1798.150(a)(1) creates the private cause of action for data security breaches in the case of unauthorized access and exfiltration, theft, or disclosure as a result of the business violation of the duty to implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and practices. This grammar is hard to parse. Is unauthorized access a precondition for all elements, or only the exfiltration? Does the unauthorized modifier extend to disclosure, or could the cause of action apply to authorized disclosures?

Again in 1798.150(a)(1), who defines what constitutes a reasonable security procedure and practice? Will it be AG regulations? Will there be safe harbors based on industry standards or other published specs? Or will it be completely judge-made? Judge-made legal standards pose numerous problems. Plaintiffs can allege unreasonable security procedures/practices after every data security breach and, in theory, at least survive a motion to dismiss. Furthermore, precedent will take years to develop and even longer to change, so by the time a court declares a specific practice reasonable or unreasonable, there will be years of accumulated breaches that may become newly actionablegiving plaintiffs their choice of defendants to pursue.

Again with 1798.150(a)(1): does the statute create a cause of action in some circumstances where theres actually no obligation to notify consumers of the breach?

1798.150(a)(1)(A) imposes statutory damages of $750 per consumer per incident. What is a security incident? If a hacker is able to get into a network multiple times, does each intrusion count as an incident? If the exfiltrated data is sold to multiple different buyers, are those multiple incidents?

General: for consumer who never signed up with the business, how will the business provide them with opt out/disclosure/erasure rights?

General: in a related issue, its unclear when the law applies to adtech companies or how they would comply with it. This Digiday article explains more.

General: does the erasure obligation give students unhappy with a course grade the ability to erase it from edtech companies?

General: in several places, the law provides instructions for resolving conflicts with other laws. But when do laws conflict? This isnt a new legal question or specific to CCPA, but it will create plenty of uncertainty and countless potential edge cases.

For more issues, see CDTs annotated statute

Related Posts

* Ten Reasons Why Californias New Data Protection Law is Unworkable, Burdensome, and Possibly Unconstitutional (Guest Blog Post)

* A Privacy Bomb Is About to Be Dropped on the California Economy and the Global Internet

* An Introduction to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
Find out how you can get started with online marketing, and which GetResponse plan is right for you. This article features some of the digital tools that come standard within each plan!
Emma, one of the rescued dogs from Mississippi, gives an enthusiastic greeting to her new friend, HSUS Director of Animal Crimes Jessica Lauginiger, upon her arrival at Manassas Regional Airport in Virginia on Saturday. Photo by Kevin Wolf/AP Images for the HSUS

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It is a moving photograph, and one that shows just how strong an animal can be in the midst of immense suffering. A dog, missing most of her hair coat, stares into the camera with one blue eye and one brown. She is curious but not moving, her eyes hopeful as she looks at her rescuers.

Earlier this month, you saw Emmas photograph leading my post on a rescue that was taking place in Jones County, Mississippi. Our Animal Rescue Team, working with the Jones County Sheriffs Department, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks and Southern Cross Animal Rescue, removed Emma and 54 other dogs and 34 cats from the 161-acre property that day, beginning a new chapter in their storied lives. This past weekend, these animals continued on their journey to get the love and care they deserve, when we arranged for their transport via Wings of Rescue from a temporary shelter in Mississippi to an airfield in Virginia. The animals were then transferred into the care of shelter and rescue partners.

When we found the dogs and cats, many were in urgent need of veterinary care. They had been living in filthy surroundings, locked inside crates, and some were very sick. Many of the animals were emaciated and all were covered in fleas and suffering from skin, eye and ear conditions.

But as we often find during these rescues, the animals, despite the misery in which they lived, were eager to give and receive love. Our video team captured a happy and curious Emma guzzling treats and giving her new friend, HSUS Director of Animal Crimes Jessica Lauginiger, kisses a day after her rescue.

Time and time again we have been touched by the resiliency and spirit of rescued animals that once suffered from a life of trauma and neglect, Sara Varsa, vice president of animal rescue, told me. But their capacity for forgiveness and trust, and their fight to survive is astounding.

Even as we work with our partners to help the dogs recover, the wheels of justice are turning. The Jones County Sheriffs Department last week charged two suspects, David and Mary Ellen Senne, with one count each of aggravated animal cruelty. The charge is a misdemeanor and is the strongest possible charge under current law. The suspects are scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 9.

But the suffering of animals cannot end unless we have stronger laws to ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice. Mississippi is one of only two states in the nation without felony penalties for egregious animal cruelty, such as torture or starvation, on the first offense. No matter how depraved an act of animal cruelty is, law enforcement can only charge the offender with a misdemeanor if he or she doesnt have a previous conviction for animal cruelty. This recent rescue highlights why we need better laws to protect animals from cruelty, and we hope to make that case in the coming days to lawmakers as we work with them to strengthen laws. If you live in Mississippi, you can help by contacting your state representative and senator and asking him or her to support legislation that provides felony penalties for egregious acts of animal cruelty.

As always, we are grateful to our many partners who make these rescues and helping the animals with their recovery and adoption possible. These special dogs and cats from Mississippi will be available for adoption through Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation, Angels of Assisi and Homeward Trails. Eddies Wheels donated a cart for one of the dogs, whom we named Eddie and who is paralyzed in the hind legs. As always, we support our partners with a portion of expenses related to the animals ongoing care and offer more financial assistance for those with critical and chronic ailments, as they await their forever homes.

Emma and many of the other rescued animals still have a road to recovery ahead. But we can rest assured they are now in good hands. Instead of a life filled with deprivation, they have a future filled with hope, love and plenty of treats to look forward to.

Help rescue more animals in need
From Final Fantasy 7 to Ghost of Tsushima, PlayStation has been pumping out some of the best games for as long as you can remember. Needless to say, you understand the value of a reasonably priced PlayStation subscription when you see one. And these nine deals not only include one, two, and three-year subscriptions to this beloved gaming universe, but READ THE REST
The bottom is falling out on the right, which is to say that there is no bottom there. The weaponunsubstantiated accusations of pedophilia and fig-leaved fantasies of violenceis crude. But it works for their audience, and justifies whatever happens next.

Jones took on a particularly insidious tone during his Monday show, accusing Mueller of violent child sex acts before dramatizing a hypothetical "wild west" shootout with Mueller, a Republican appointed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to lead the Russia investigation in May 2017.  "It's going to happen, we're going to walk out in the square, politically, at high noon, and he's going to find out whether he makes a move, man make the move first, and then it's going to happen," Jones said as he pantomimed shooting at Mueller. "It's not a joke. It's not a game. It's the real world. Politically. You're going to get it, or I'm going to die trying, bitch. Get ready. We're going to bang heads," Jones continued, pretending to fire a gun at Mueller.

Zuckerberg's vacuous blather about the good faith of holocaust deniers, waffling from Facebook's executives about InfoWars itself, and the growing impression of ideological fellow travelers atop Twitter (or at least a paralyzing fear of the right there) has made conservative provocateurs think that the bar for survival on social media is lower than they thought. So they're stepping over it and going to town.
Margrethe Vestager (previously), the EU's fire-breathing antitrust regulator, has hit Asus, Denon & Marantz, Philips and Pioneer with $130,000,000 (111,000,000) in fines for fixing minimum prices at which their goods could be sold online.



The US has all but given up on antitrust enforcement, ever since the Chicago school economists convinced Ronald Reagan that the invisible hand would sort it all out. This has left an antitrust void that the EU has recently stepped into, thanks in large part to Vestager's ardor.

But this is a bit of a curious case. The one area of antitrust enforcement that the US government still bestirs itself for is price-fixing (specifically, maximum price-fixing). Back in 2013, the FTC went after book publishers for colluding with Apple to set the minimum price for ebooks at $9.99, achieving total victory over the publishers and Apple.

But while the FTC's price-cops were ready to go to war over $9.99 ebooks, they sat on the sidelines while the electronics companies price-gouged on goods costing hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of dollars.





It's an important refinement to the US theory of antitrust enforcement: they will not tolerate price fixing, except by very, very large corporations from extremely powerful industries.

It reminds me of when the US blocked the merger of two "super-premium ice-cream" companies because it would result in a single company controlling 90% of a "market" that was more marketing hype than market  right after they declined to take decisive action to curb Microsoft, who had 95% of the operating system market at the time.

"These well-known manufacturers of consumer electronics, they put pressure on online retailers to maintain higher prices. They did so during a period from 2011 and 2015," Margrethe Vestager, the European competition commissioner, said in a press conference Tuesday. "As a result of the actions taken by these four companies, millions of European consumers faced higher prices for kitchen appliances, hair dryers, notebook computers, headphones and many other products," Vestager said, adding that this behavior is "illegal under EU antitrust rules." All four companies saw the fine lowered between 40 and 50 percent because they cooperated with regulators. The final amounts resulted as follow: Asus to pay 63.5 million euros; Denon & Marantz fined with 7.7 million euros; Philips to pay 29.8 million euros and Pioneer owes 10.2 million euros.

EU slaps $130 million fine on four electronics firms for fixing online prices [Silvia Amaro/CNBC]





(via /.)

(Image: Friends of Europ, CC-BY)
Bruce Rauner is a millionaire hedge-fundie who currently serves as governor of Illinois, a position he attained by campaigning as an "anti-corruption" candidate.



Rauner is up for re-election, having spent his tenure bashing unions, reneging on his promises to raise the minimum wage and calling for a reduction in progressive income taxes on high earners and an increase in regressive sales taxes primarily targeting low earners (he's also had some progressive policies like funding education and infrastructure, ending deceptive anti-abortion practices, and championing marriage equality and LBGTQ rights).





Rauner appeared at a campaign rally at a South Side Chicago church, where the organizers literally handed out $300,000 in cash to prospective voters, saying he was "helping with their property taxes." $100,000 of the money came from Rauner's personal fortune, and the other $200,000 came from fellow Republican politician Willie Wilson.

Rauner says the money was handed out after he left and that he wasn't aware it was going to happen.

Vote buying is a Class 4 felony in Illinois.



"Governor Rauner has supported the Willie Wilson Foundation to help people hurt by the rigged property tax system in Cook County. He was not aware that any cash was going to be handed out at the event," campaign spokesman Alex Browning said Monday. "The governor respects Dr. Wilson's philanthropic pursuits, but believes distributing cash is inappropriate for any candidate seeking public office." On Sunday evening, Rauner's team would only issue a statement regarding the governor's attendance at the event.





'It looks kind of skeevy': Illinois governor shamed by cash giveaway

[Shia Kapos and Natasha Korecki/Politico]





(via Naked Capitalism)
Business is not back to normal in the Flatiron district following last week's a steam pipe explosion, which showered the surrounding buildings in asbestos. Although more side streets around the blast site have reopened, some local businesses continue to shoulder the cost. The immediate vicinity of the "hot zone" remains cordoned off, siphoning money out of neighborhood cash registers.

On Thursday morning, an old steam pipe dating back to 1932 ripped a sink hole at the intersection of 21st Street and 5th Avenue, filling the air with debris and "a dank odor not unlike a musty basement." 49 buildings were evacuated thereafter, and while 18th, 19th, and 22nd Street have all reopened since, the blast's immediate vicinity remains closed off. The NY Post reports that the resulting "ghost town" means many businesses have taken a financial hit.

"Theres no traffic, no one coming into the store," Tina Burk, bookkeeper for J&M Hardware at 19 E 21st Street, told the Post. "A lot of our customers are the people that live in the area," and local residents have only just begun to return to their apartments. "All of our friends on the block are hurting, too," Burk added. She estimates J&M's daily losses total between $500 and $1,000.

That adds up, and other businesses are feeling the pain. Beecher's Handmade Cheese at Broadway and W 20th Street had to cancel an event and ate $14,000 as a result. According to Eater, the Taj II lounge located at 48 W 21st Street may have lost over $100,000 this weekend alone, thanks to a thwarted bar mitzvah and two missed brunches that would've raked in revenue from roughly 400 patrons each. The Taj operations manager, Christopher Collins, told Eater that the restaurant had to throw away "six days' worth of food," and enlist a crew to get its air systems cleanedasbestos is a known carcinogen, after allwhile still paying its salaried employees. "It's been a rough weekend," Collins said, in a remarkable understatement.

Here is the latest information on buildings affected by the steam pipe explosion. 27 of the 45 buildings are cleared for re-occupancy. pic.twitter.com/88hkMfgccl  NYC Emergency Management (@nycoem) July 24, 2018

Cleanup crews did spend much of the weekend trying to make Flatiron habitable again, but it's a formidable undertaking. While Con Edison, which controls the New York City steam system, gave displaced households $500 each and invited those who needed more to file claims, some residents say they have little insight into when they'll be allowed to "fully return," according to CBS New York. The Office of Emergency Management, meanwhile, continues to test the air inside buildings for asbestos contamination.

We asked Mayor Bill de Blasio's office if businesses affected by the blast would be compensated for lost profits. We'll update if we hear back. In the meantime, though, many local entrepreneurs are struggling.

"Every day is a horror," Melissa Magal told the Post, explaining that the explosion slowed construction on her W 20th Street restaurant, Gotan. "Every day we are losing thousands of dollars."


Ecuador is to rescind Julian Assange's political asylum, reports Reuters, effectively dooming him to arrest by British authorities for jumping bail.

Assange has been living in Ecuador's London embassy since June 2012 when he successfully sought asylum to avoid extradition to Sweden to face questioning about allegations of sex crimes which he has always denied.

Those allegations have since been dropped but Assange would be arrested by British police should he leave the embassy for breaching bail conditions. He believes that would pave the way for extradition to the United States for the publication of a huge cache of U.S. diplomatic and military secrets on the WikiLeaks website.
At some Chinese universities, students have a fitness requirement, so that means fitness tracker cheating has become a lucrative business for a few enterprising entrepreneurs.

Via Xue Yujie:

Among the most enthusiastic buyers are die-hard celebrity fans. Li Tao, a 23-year-old student from eastern China's Shandong province, has been a fan of Chinese actress Dilraba Dilmurat since 2014. She bought a WeRun hack two weeks ago to support her idol. "If you support her, you try everything to make her more famous," Li told Sixth Tone. "Making her my WeRun cover for a day is one of the tiniest things a fan can do."

The gadgets have also found a following at universities, which often have fitness requirements for students. In April, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies in southern China announced that it would require students to reach at least 10,000 steps per day on WeRun. Some students found the target too high  fueling more demand for WeRun hacks.
Wondering why the Milwaukee county sheriff with one hat and countless badges vanished from electoral politics? Wonder no more. Fox News:

Butina's group, The Right to Bear Arms, covered $6,000 of Clarke's meal, hotel, and transportation expenses, according to the ex-sheriff's Milwaukee County financial disclosure form. Clarke did not respond to messages by phone or email. He now lives near Washington, D.C., where he has a political consulting business.

Maria Butina was charged this week with conspiracy as a foreign agent in connection with her activities with the National Rifle Association, which itself has a lot of questions to answer about Russian money.
I keep an Opinel No. 8 pocket knife in most of my jackets. This one has been with me for years.

I buy Opinel No. 8 pocket knives for a lot of reasons. They are elegant in their simplicity. The carbon steel blade is excellent, stays sharp and develops a lovely patina. The handle is a simple piece of wood that fits well in your hand. The locking neck ring is pretty ingenious, and down right fool-proof if you use it.

Best of all, they are cheap and I don't mind losing them when I've forgotten to remove one on its way to the airport. The "No.8" 3.35in blade, perfect for most of my camping needs, is not allowed to board a plane on my person. Frequently, like last weekend, the heroic defenders of democracy that are the TSA just let me pass thru, but on occasion they will confiscate it.

I've had this blade since 2012. The patina started out by stabbing a lemon, but over the years has taken on a life of its own. While the ink on the side of the handle has slightly worn off, this knife just keeps getting better.

I hope I don't lose this one, it has ranged from Baja to Canada.

You can decorate, carve or otherwise modify the handle to your liking.

Opinel Carbon Steel Folding Everyday Carry Locking Pocket Knife via Amazon
Ivanka Trump is closing her fashion brand. A spokesperson said the decision has nothing to do with sales. Ms. Trump simply wants to avoid a conflict of interest while serving her father in the White House.

In unrelated news, Ivanka Trump's products were dropped from Hudson's Bay, the largest department store in Canada. Via BBC:
Marc Zicree (writer on Star Trek:TNG, DS9 and more) and friends are kickstarting another volume in their enormously successful fan-funded, "retro and stylish" Space Command science fiction show.



They're looking to raise just $45,000 (they're $24,000+ of the way there) to fund postproduction on the next two half hours of Space Command: Redemption. The cast for these episodes is an impressive, all-star affair, including Doug Jones, Mira Furla, Faran Tahir, Robert Picardo, James Hong, Bill Mumy, Bruce Boxleitner, John Hennigan, Michael Harney, and more. Premiums include downloads, Blu-Rays, and inclusion in the end credits.



SPACE COMMAND is an original Epic Science Fiction Drama series that follows the adventures of the United Planet's Space Command, a dedicated group of scientists, soldiers and adventurers exploring the solar system. The series recalls the space operas of the golden age of science fiction that enthralled audiences with an optimistic view of future and a belief in the triumphant spirit of mankind. Seen through the eyes of three families, the KEMMERS, the ODARAS and the SEKANDERS spearhead a new wave of settlers who head out into the new frontier as the exploration, settlement and development of Mars, the asteroid belt and the outer moons and planets of our solar system begins  and you can be there with SPACE COMMAND!

Space Command: Redemption, Chapters 3 and 4! [Marc Zicree/Kickstarter]
Tom the Dancing Bug, IN WHICH we learn the top-secret, true story of Trump's mano a mano meeting with Putin in Helsinki!

FOR THE KIDS IN YOUR LIFE, AND THEIR SUMMER READING: Get Ruben Bolling's hit book series for kids, The EMU Club Adventures.

"The EMU Club inhabits exactly the world I always hoped to live in when I was 12, when the answer to questions like 'Where did I put my toy' led inevitably to alien conspiracies and secret underground tunnels. A book for the curious and adventurous!" -Cory Doctorow, author of "For the Win" and "Little Brother"

"The type of non-stop action and improbably hilarious fun that only a kid could dream up.  The EMU Club's adventures perfectly capture the intersection of imagination and wonder  the crossroad that's so often found in cardboard boxes, pillow forts and backyards everywhere." -GeekDad

Get Book the First, "Alien Invasion in My Backyard," here.

Get Book the Second, "Ghostly Thief of Time," here.



PLUS: Join the Inner Hive for more access to Tom the Dancing Bug comics here!

AND: See more Tom the Dancing Bug comics on Boing Boing here!
Back in 2015, California enacted legislation requiring cellphone makers to equip their products with over-the-air kill-switches that could be used to brick stolen phones; the idea was to reduce the incentive to steal phones (a crime that often involved a surprising amount of violence) because as soon as the phone was stolen, it would stop working forever.

Back then, I predicted that giving governments the power to remotely brick phones without any kind of regulatory framework or limitation would inevitably result in mission-creep. The assurance that this feature would only ever be used to brick stolen phones was not backed by any kind of statutory guarantee, so it was inevitable that it would find new uses.

It's found one. A judge just ordered a bunch of carriers to brick phones that are believed to be in the illicit possession of prisoners in prisons in South Carolina and California. The phones are said to have been used to organize deadly violence inside and outside of prison.





I assume that this is true (it's likewise also true that illicit cellphones are used to circumvent the profiteering prison phone monopolists who give kickbacks to prison authorities in exchange for allowing them to rob from prisoners' families by holding their imprisoned loves ones to ransom).

Hard cases make bad law. Now that we've decided that the remote killswitches can be used on phones that aren't stolen, expect a lot more of this sort of thing. Big demonstrations? Public meetings that don't go according to plan? Someone streaming video of a police shooting? Once small town cops and local judges can order any phone permanently bricked, well, it would be naive to expect them to use this power proportionately.

What about phone thefts? They did indeed dip, but they're climbing again. Expert sources tell me that phones are being chop-shopped for parts now. The street finds its own use for things, after all.

In California, a Kern County judge on Friday ordered all the major carriers to shut down 97 devices including cellphones and SIM cards at Kern Valley State Prison in Delano, north of Bakersfield. A South Carolina judge issued a similar warrant for about 100 cellphones at one prison there, also on Friday, California officials said. California plans to obtain similar warrants to regularly shut down phones in other prisons, Kernan said. Corrections department Special Agent James Rochester cited the "voluminous offenses committed by the use of cellular phones" and "the direct link these phones have to the commission of crimes" as reasons for the judge granting the warrant. He said hundreds of inmates have told him they can easily obtain the phones that he said in his sworn affidavit have been used to coordinate violent crimes including assaults and murders along with narcotics and firearms trafficking.



APNewsBreak: Judges crack down on illicit inmate cellphones [AP]





(via Beyond the Beyond)





(Image: Lowes, CC-BY-SA)
In 1938, a few years after it was built, photographer Berenice Abbott shot the facade of a home at 211 East 48th Street, one that was strikingly different from the old brownstone immediately next to it, as well as almost everything else in NYC. We've checked in on this house before, which was designed by Swiss-born architect William Lescaze and is considered to be the "first modernist home" in New York City.

E.B. White once wrote that the home sat "directly across the street from my grandmother's building," and was a "celebrated architectural landmark [from] William Lescaze, [who] must have been dreaming about South Miami Beach when he built his glass-brick and stucco Art Deco dream house." He went on to call Lescaze "a true modernist whose soon-to-be septuagenarian town house puts the much more recent buildings nearby to shame."

And now... it's on the market for $4.95 million.



The townhouse in 1938, as photographed by Berenice Abbott. (Courtesy of the NYPL)

When it was completed around 1934, it was not only considered the first modernist home in the city, but also one of the first structures in America to use glass bricks, and the first residence in NYC with central air conditioning. Lescaze (who died in 1969) used it as his personal home and studio, and it remained in his family until the 1970s, when the townhouse was landmarked in 1976.

In a 1936 profile on Lescaze, The New Yorker also declared he had "taken the lead in Modernist architecture in this country." On top of his own 48th Street home, he built the Raymond Kramer house at 32 East 74th  that one was put on the market in December with an asking price of $20 million. He was also the design lead for the Williamsburg Houses in Brooklyn in 1937, "a pioneering 20-building modernist housing project modeled on European examples."

However, "whatever lead Lescaze took in the 1930s fizzled," according to a piece in the NY Times, "and after the white-hot brilliance of the Kramer house and a 1940 successor at 124 East 70th Street, the Norman house, his portfolio is rather tame. That period includes buildings like his 1960 Civil Courthouse on Lafayette Street, and his 1969 office behemoth at 1 New York Plaza."



The Lescaze home in 1934. (Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York; X2010.7.2.5976X, 2010.7.2.6074)

In 1984, NY Times architectural critic Paul Goldberger wrote about Lescaze, calling him "a serious modernist" who was "convinced that the clean lines and simple geometric forms of the International Style could make for a better life." Or as Lescaze himself put it, "The visible results are beautiful, economical and efficient. The unseen results are greater happiness, better health for a greater number of human beings, the satisfaction of being honest and of being in tune with the life of our own times."

The home features "a glass-enclosed hydraulic elevator, a Boffi kitchen, central air conditioning, new structural steel inside and out, and a large north-facing courtyard with solid glass block skylights." A better life, indeed. (Just pull up all that carpeting.)
President Donald Trump of the United States of America has launched a stinging rebuke of the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Twitter, warning the latter not to threaten the US.

PAY ATTENTION: Click See First under the Following tab to see Briefly.co.za News on your News Feed!

According to CNN, the US presidents tweet on Sunday night, July 22, followed a warning from his Iranian counterpart who had stated that Americans "must understand that war with Iran is the mother of all wars and peace with Iran is the mother of all peace.

READ ALSO: Ramaphosa was almost removed in an attempted coup according to security bosses

Briefly.co.za gathers that Rouhani also sent a direct message to Trump, saying "do not play with the lion's tail, because you will regret it eternally."

In response, Trump tweeted:

It was reported that President Donald Trump announced the United States withdrawal from the Obama-era nuclear agreement with Iran. He called it "decaying and rotten", Trump said the deal was "an embarrassment" to him "as a citizen".

Going against advice from European allies, he said he would re-impose economic sanctions that were waived when the deal was signed in 2015.

Do you have a story to share with us? Inbox us on our Facebook page and we could feature your story.

African comedy 2018 - only hilarious jokes on the Briefly Cartoons YouTube channel! Three African pastors were having lunch together. They were discussing the trouble with mice in their churches. All they suffered from these rodents, but only one of them had found the solution to this problem.

To stay up to date with the latest news, download our news app on Google Play or iTunes today.

Source: Briefly.co.za
- US President Donald Trump has become infamous for waging so-called Twitter wars since taking office

- The most powerful man in the world has often turned to his favourite social media platform to launch attacks on countries, politicians and rivals

- In February, Trump said Africa has tremendous potential and that many of his friends were making millions thanks to Africa

PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see Briefly news on your News Feed!

US President Donald Trump has become infamous for speaking his mind and ignoring the usual rules of international diplomacy. Trump is known to engage in Twitter wars which by all accounts gives the world an insight into what he really thinks about a certain topic.

Since being elected Trump has actually softened his stance on South Africa and in February he told former president Jacob Zuma he would like work on strengthening trade and diplomatic ties between America and South Africa. The government estimates there are about 6,000 American companies operating in South Africa.

READ ALSO: e-Tolls must fall: ANC Gauteng resolves to scrap controversial tolling system

Zuma and Trump met once in February at a lunch Trump hosted for African leaders and previous to that meeting spoke on the phone about increasing trade between the countries. It was during this lunch meeting that Trump once again managed to inflame African hearts.

Trump told African leaders that the continent had tremendous potential and that he had many friends who were making millions thanks to Africa. Briefly.co.za takes a look at 5 Tweets which proves what Trump thinks of Africa.

1. South Africa  Before Trump became President he said he really liked Nelson Mandela but the Tweet went completely south from that point on.

2. Somalia  President Trump has taken a harsh stance on Somalia and labelled the country as a terrorist breeding ground. BBC.com reported that Trump enacted a travel ban on people travelling to the US from Somalia, Sudan and Libya.

3. Nigeria  When Trump was campaigning to become president of the United States he promised to expel Nigerians and Mexicans from America because they took all the jobs. Trump has since softened his stance and said only glowing things about the country.

4. Kenya  While US relations improved with Kenya under Barack Obama, Trump seems hell-bent on destroying everything Obama achieved. Trump has not even mentioned Kenya on Twitter but has tried to ignore the vibrant African country and even snubbed its leader at the luncheon.

5. S**thole countries and Nambia  While Trump did not take to Twitter to inflame Africans with this remark it is arguably his most inflammatory remark about the continent.

In a private meeting about the DACA policy, he labelled African countries as s**thole countries. The African Union (AU), Botswana, Ghana and Cameroon launched official protests and called on Trump to apologise.

Trump also seemed to invent a new country during the luncheon in New York. He praised the leaders of Nambia and said the country had a fantastic healthcare system.

The only certainty about the Donald Trump presidency is the uncertainty, one day he is your friend and the next day he will threaten atomic strikes.

READ ALSO: Mamelodi Sundowns host Kaizer Chiefs at Loftus in PSL season opener

For more amazing, funny and informative videos, please visit Briefly South Africa's YouTube Channel.

Do you have a story to share with Briefly? Visit our Facebook page where you can send us a message or leave us a comment. Your story could be shared online.

To stay up to date with the latest news, download our news app on iTunes or GooglePlay today.

Source: Briefly.co.za
- Amanda du-Pont is living her best life

- She has holidayed in the Maldives, bought a fancy new set of wheels, is wearing a new watch and is now loving it in Paris

- Amanda is enjoying the fruits of her work and believes by speaking positive things into her life, she is now able to reap the rewards

PAY ATTENTION: Click See First under the Following tab to see Briefly.co.za News on your News Feed!

Amanda du-Pont is living her best life and enjoying a break in Paris.

READ ALSO: Tweeps: How did Duduzane fly to Dubai when he handed in his passport?

As if this isnt enough, the holiday follows some of her latest acquisitions, those being a fancy purple Maclaren and a BellRoss watch. She also recently vacationed in the Maldives, where her manned popped the question, reports Times Live.

Fans commented on the car with appropriate car envy  and said what an inspiration she is.

nomfundo_sihleThis woman is an inspiration I love you sis keep slaying and showing more young women how its done

prototypebarbieOne of my fave cars in my fave colour

Amanda is known for believing that positive thoughts and vibes bring positive things into your life.

When she got her car she posted a picture of it, drinking champagne and commented:

amandadupontYour thoughts and declarations have the power to come to life

READ ALSO: King Zwelithini celebrates 70: Extravagant gifts the king received in his lifetime

It wasnt that long ago that the lovely lady celebrated her 30th birthday with a tropical vacay.

Briefly.co.za reported that she treated herself to a holiday on the gorgeous tropical island of Veligandu.

Do you have a story to share with us? Inbox us on our Facebook page and we could feature your story.

Ah, African proverbs. Such a vast selection of meanings. A wonderful cultural study. Many of us were taught proverbs before we could even talk properly. Which basically means our elders, parents, uncles and aunties are always finding ways to scold us with a suitable proverb. Some are hilarious and witty, some are more cryptic. All of them remain relevant today and teach us about our heritage. Today, well Explore the Meaning of Unique African Proverbs.

To stay up to date with the latest news, download our news app on Google Play or iTunes today.

Source: Briefly.co.za
Business / Companies

by Staff reporter

President Emmerson Mnangagwa says the re-opening and expansion of a steel plant in Masvingo will promote value addition and create employment.He said in Harare this evening during at a signing ceremony of a special grant for core mining in Masvingo by Steel Makers and the government.The special grant will allow Steel Makers company to mine core in Chiredzi and Masvingo.and also supply ore to Redcliffe for processing.President Mnangagwa commended the steel company for remaining in the country at a time when so many companies closed due to economic challenges.He said the project is expected to increase on exports, create employment and promote skills development.The Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Mr Winston Chitando said the Masvingo mine has the capacity to produce 40 000 metric tonnes of ore per year.Meanwhile, Steel Makers CEO, Mr Kalpesh Patel said they are driven by the enabling environment created by the new government.He said his company is looking at 180 percent value addition from iron ore to different steel products.Zimbabwe has large iron ore deposits and the opening and expansion of iron and steel companies is expected to significantly contribute to the revival of the economy.
News / National

by Stephen Jakes

MDC Alliance organiser Amos Chibaya has revealed that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has refused the opposition parties to sample the ballot paper to authenticate its transparency.MDC Alliance has been loud in calling for an open avenue for it to sample the ballot paper to confirm that it is safe from rigging."ZEC has refused to allow the sampling of the ballot paper. Dear Zimbabweans its now or never. Lets come out in our numbers and stop this shame election," Chibaya said.
News / National

by Staff reporter

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has conceded on the demands by political parties to revert back to the traditional polling booth system but could not accede to the other demands regarding ballot papers.With six days to go to the 2018 harmonised elections, the Multiparty Liaison Committee met to discuss pertinent issues regarding Monday's elections.Members of various political parties called on ZEC to revert back to the traditional polling booth system where the booth faces the wall in order to protect the secrecy of the ballot.ZEC Commissioner and Chairperson of the Multiparty Liaison Committee, Mr Qhubani Moyo said ZEC had no problems with that but indicated that after thorough scrutiny, the electoral mother body could not accede to some unconstitutional demands by some parties which include escorting the ballot papers from storage until the end of the process, and testing the ink, among others.Some political parties accused the electoral mother body of favouring the ruling party, accusations which were immediately rubbished by Zanu-PF representatives led by Paul Munyaradzi Mangwana.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Independent National Assembly candidate for Norton, Temba Mliswa has castigated some political parties saying their utterances about ZEC are as a result of their ill-preparedness for the elections.Mliswa, who was addressing members of the media in Harare today, said he is saddened by some political parties that are wasting time on issues to do with ballot papers and issues to do with ZEC instead of concentrating on campaigning.Mliswa added that this year's elections are the most free, fair and very democratic since independence in 1980.He reminded Nelson Chamisa and his MDC Alliance party that it is illogical for them to participate in elections, which they think are not credible.With a few days to go before elections, Zimbabwe has demonstrated that it is a peace-loving nation and is capable of holding free, fair and peaceful elections.
News / National

by Staff reporter

A Harare woman is accusing her best friend of snatching her husband while she was away.The matter was heard at the Harare Civil Court where Rosemary Kwanda accused Evernice Madhuveko of physical abuse."Your Worship, I stay in the same compound with this woman."She insults and assaults me whenever she feels like and she always comes to my place looking for her husband."Your Worship, I am seeking protection that she should not come to my place of residence to disturb my peace," said Kwanda.In response, Madhuveko denied the allegations accusing Kwanda of snatching her husband whilst she was in the rural areas."The applicant used to be my friend and she took my husband when I went to the rural areas."She denies that she is seeing my husband but I always see them together that is why I insult her and I will keep on insulting her as long as I see her with my husband," said Mdhuveko.Presiding magistrate Noah Gwatidzo granted the application in favour of Kwanda.
By Dave Graham

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The revamp of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the United States, Mexico and Canada ought to be concluded in the next few months, a top adviser in the incoming Mexican administration said on Tuesday.

Jesus Seade, the designated NAFTA negotiator of president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, said while some contentious issues still had to be resolved, he believed it was almost "inevitable" a deal would be reached.

"What I see ... to be a very feasible expectation is that we'll be concluding the negotiation in the next two months if possible, or in the next few months a bit further down the road," Seade told Mexican radio.

Seade and Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo will later this week travel to Washington to revive NAFTA talks with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

Negotiations to reshape the 1994 trade accord were launched last August at the behest of U.S. President Donald Trump, who blames NAFTA for the U.S. trade deficit with Mexico, and argues the deal has caused jobs to move south of the border.

The talks had moved slowly and stalled in the run-up to the July 1 presidential election in Mexico, which yielded a landslide victory for veteran leftist Lopez Obrador.

The three countries have been at odds over U.S. demands to impose tougher content rules for the auto industry, as well as other contentious U.S. proposals, including one that would kill NAFTA after five years if it is not renegotiated.

Seade, a former deputy director-general of the World Trade Organization, said he had a "very good relationship" with Lighthizer, referring to him as a "friend" he had known for years, which should help them find common ground.

The positive comments come after Trump spoke warmly of Lopez Obrador on Monday, saying he expected to get "something worked out" on NAFTA.

Seade said Mexico was paying close attention to Trump.

"President Trump has a very personal style. He likes to appear chaotic. But the last thing he is is chaotic," he said. "I think he's a very intelligent man."

Story continues

Trump has also talked about pursuing a bilateral trade deal with Mexico, but Seade said he believed this was a negotiating tactic and would not come to pass.

"It would cause a lot of legislative commotion, a horrific debate for a year, which would cost him a lot politically," Seade said. "I don't think it's going to happen."

(Reporting by Dave Graham; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
For the latest in News You Can Grind Your Teeth To, we turn to Florida, where a Trump-approved, right-wing congressman resorted to dismissive, sexist terms in belittling a woman running for office, possibly grabbing himself more national headlines than at any other moment in his political career.

A "manchild threatened by woman's success" narrative may help explain U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis's behavior at an Orange Park, Florida campaign event on Saturday. DeSantis offered up a pointedly dismissive characterization of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, an adult woman 11 years his junior whose stunning upset in New York's congressional primary recently captured the attention of progressives nationwide.

Here's what DeSantis had to say about it:

"Look at this girl, Ocasio-Cortez or whatever she is, I mean she's in a totally different universe, it's basically socialism wrapped in ignorance," DeSantis said, to the chortling crowd's apparent amusement.

Just look at this boy, DeSantis or whatever he is. Whatever is he? A Fox News mouthpiece with "few tangible accomplishments" to his political legacy? An occasional Airforce One passenger doing his damndest to keep the Russian investigation from moving forward? Just your average hyper-conservative, "know-it-all" gubernatorial candidate looking to bring more guns to his state? Whatever he is, this boy's in a totally different universe.



DeSantis with the president or whatever he is.(Courtesy website of Ron DeSantis)

For those who somehow missed it, 28-year-old Ocasio-Cortez bested longterm Democratic incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley in New York's June primary. Crowley represented the 14th Congressional District, which encompasses parts of Queens and the Bronx, Ocasio-Cortez's native borough. The young Democratic Socialist crowdfunded the bulk of her campaign and famously wore holes in her shoes knocking on doors and canvassing the district. Crowley, meanwhile, rested on his laurels.

After hearing these strange remarks by the bewildered Florida boy or whatever he is, Ocasio-Cortez sought to clear up any confusion.

Rep DeSantis, it seems youre confused as to whatever I am.



I am a Puerto Rican woman. Its strange you dont know what that is, given that ~75,000 Puerto Ricans have relocated to Florida in the 10 mos since Maria.



But Im sure these new FL voters appreciate your comments! https://t.co/xJlroSe5Hs  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) July 23, 2018

She has a point: The majority of Florida's formidable Puerto Rican population is expected to vote Democratic in the midterms, although DeSantis has described the state's Puerto Rican community en masse as "natural Republicans." Other Florida Republicans disagree, and perhaps for that reason, would bar Puerto Ricans from the polls.

In any case, the main thrust of DeSantis's comments had to do with Ocasio-Cortez's recent remarks on Palestine: In an interview with PBS, the candidate described Israelis as occupiers of Palestinian land. She later retracted the statement, explaining that she's no "expert on geopolitics." Still, DeSantis seized on the soundbite.

"Wait a minute, you're saying that one of our best allies is occupying a country? There's never been a Palestinian state," he told his supporters. "You're just repeating these canned, left-wing talking points, and you're somehow the savior of the Democratic party? She is, I think, a symptom of some of the problems that we have, of really laying that foundation. She has no clue what she's talking about, she doesn't understand the principles of the constitution, hers is just spout this talking point or that."

After Ocasio-Cortez tweeted her rebuke, DeSantis replied. "My problem is not with your identity but with your unhinged socialist views," he tweeted.

My problem is not with your identity but with your unhinged socialist views.



Socialism doesn't work, Israel isn't occupying Palestine, borders matter and the unemployment rate is down because of good policies, not because people are "working two jobs. https://t.co/QwkqCibLLR  Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantisFL) July 23, 2018

Meanwhile, a spokesman for DeSantiswho is running for governor of Florida with Trump's endorsementtold HuffPost that the candidate was simply suggesting that learning about the Constitution might prevent more socialists like Ocasio-Cortez calling for free everything. The spokesman would not say why DeSantis called Ocasio-Cortez this girl.

DeSantis, of course, is not the first man to underestimate the 28-year-old: Crowley dismissed Ocasio-Cortez, too. Look how well that turned out for him. DeSantis, whose most likely Democratic opponent is a woman named Gwen Graham, might want to keep that lesson in mind.


The Canadian women softball team captured gold at the Canada Cup for the first time in 22 years, defeating Triple Crown Colorado 3-0 on Sunday night in Surrey, B.C.

Holy Speers, who was a standout on both the offensive and defensive side, was named tournament MVP.

Kelsey Jenkins was the tournament's top hitter, while Janet Leung was chosen the best defensive player.

Canada Coach Mark Smith said the victory is a good step forward as the team now focuses on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where softball will make its long-awaited return.

"Our focus needs to be on simply playing better anytime we take to the field," he said."Of course, there will be bumps along the way, but we need to take it one step at a time."

The national team is now off to Japan to train for the women's world softball championship, in Chiba Japan from Aug. 2-12. The winner gains automatic entry into the 2020 Olympics.
A B.C. Coroners Service inquest into the death of former RCMP spokesman Sgt. Pierre Lemaitre has been scheduled to begin on Nov. 19 in Burnaby.

Lemaitre, 55, died of self-inflicted injuries in July 2013 while on leave from the RCMP.

The 28-year veteran of the force was the officer in charge of RCMP media relations when Robert Dziekanski was Tasered by RCMP officers during a fatal confrontation at the Vancouver airport in 2007.

Dziekanski, a Polish immigrant who did not speak English, had arrived in Canada to live with his mother but became disoriented and wandered the airport for 10 hours.

He eventually grew agitated and at one point brandished a stapler. Four RCMP officers used a Taser to subdue Dziekanski. He died at the airport.

Following the death, Lemaitre initially described Dziekanski as combative and threatening. He said Mounties only Tasered Dziekanski twice. Later, a video surfaced showing police using a Taser five times on Dziekanski.

Widow filed lawsuit against RCMP

Lemaitre was eventually taken off the Dziekanski file and transferred to the RCMP traffic division in Langley, B.C.

In 2015, Lemaitre's widow filed a lawsuit against the RCMP claiming the force had made her husband a scapegoat in the Dziekanski case.

The inquest has been ordered by chief coroner Lisa Lapointe after a review of the coroner's investigation into Lemaitre's suicide

According to the B.C. Coroners Service, results of the original investigation will not be released.

"The report would only be issued if we weren't going to inquest," said Andy Watson, manager of strategic communications.

"So, there were other processes that needed to play out before we could make the determination to take this to inquest or not."

A coroner's inquest is not a fault-finding exercise but can make recommendations aimed a preventing deaths due to similar circumstances.

Read more from CBC British Columbia
Environment Canada has issued a heat warning in Nova Scotia, thanks to high levels of humidity in the province.

The warning was issued on Monday, and humidex values are predicted to go as high as 36 C.

A humid airmass has settled over the province and the muggy weather is expected to last until at least Wednesday.

Temperatures are expected to reach between 27 C and 30 C on Tuesday and Wednesday, with humidex values still around 36.

Rain clouds are expected to move in on Thursday and provide some relief, but humidity levels will still remain high.

Heat warnings are issued when temperatures or humidity are high enough to pose risks for heat stroke or heat exhaustion.

Those at greater risk include young children, pregnant women, elderly people, people with chronic illnesses and people working outdoors.

The Nova Scotia Department of Health website encourages people to drink plenty of water, stay in the shade and wear lightweight clothing.

Read more articles at CBC Nova Scotia
Environment Canada has issued a heat warning for the Montreal area and its surroundings, advising people that humidex values are expected to reach at least 40.

The temperature will resemble what Montreal experienced during the week-long heat wave earlier this month that broke records in Quebec.

The weather agency said the heat is due to a "warm and humid air mass from the United States" which is tracking into southern Quebec for the day.

"Heat warnings are issued when very high temperature or humidity conditions are expected to pose an elevated risk of heat illnesses, such as heat stroke or heat exhaustion," the warning said.

It cautioned young children, pregnant women, older adults and people with chronic illnesses to try not to be out in the heat for long periods.

The heat and humidity levels also pose health risks to people working or exercising outdoors, the warning notes.

Dr. David Kaiser, who works for Montreal's public health department, said his agency is on alert to watch for any negative health effects the heat may have on the population, but further measures aren't necessary for now.

"We don't expect that, with a day or two at this temperature, that we'll really see significant impacts on the population," he told CBC News.

Kaiser said the agency would be looking at data from ambulance transports and hospital admissions "to make sure we're not missing something that may be going on."

For the moment, though, Kaiser said, health officials are encouraging people to check on their family members and neighbours, especially if they are elderly, have physical or mental health issues or face other problems that could put them at increased risk from the effects of the heat.
People have left messages on a chalkboard in a parkette in Torontos Greektown.

Ontarios Special Investigations Unit (SIU) have confirmed that 29-year-old Faisal Hussain from Toronto, Ont., went on a shooting rampage in the citys Danforth neighbourhood.

On Sunday night at approximately 10:00 p.m., Hussain shot sixteen people, killing 18-year-old Reese Fallon and a 10-year-old girl from the Greater Toronto Area. Fallon was identified by Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, who represents a nearby area, but officials have not formally revealed the identities of any victims in the attack.

In a statement following the release of Hussains identity by SIU, his family revealed that he had severe mental health challenges, and had attempted both medications and therapy as treatment.

We are utterly devastated by the incomprehensible news that our son was responsible for the senseless violence and loss of life that took place on the Danforth, Hussains family said. While we did our best to seek help for him throughout his life of struggle and pain, we could never imagine that this would be his devastating and destructive end.

Hussain died of a gunshot wound during a exchange with police. SIU is still investigating whether he shot himself or was shot by police during the incident. The investigation unit did retrieve the handgun Hussain used Sunday night.

In a public statement on Monday, Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders said officials have not determined a motive but they are prioritizing capturing all the necessary evidence for the investigation.

I can tell you that there is a newness to this in Toronto environmentI think that we have to figure out what we can do collectively, Saunders said. There is no magic pill to say all is well.

Det. Sgt. Terry Browne described the shooting as a quick, dynamic incident and very disturbing. He also said uniformed officers will be canvasing the area, both north and south of Danforth Ave., as part of the investigation process.

Kerri Lahey, a witness who was having dinner in the Greektown area when the attack occurred, described the scene for CBC News.

We were sitting out on the patio and we heard shots, so we went inside, and then he came in the restaurant and he shot the girl right in front of me, Lahey told the public broadcaster. It went right through her lungs. Thank God for the cops, because the paramedics showed up so late that the cops saved her life.

According to officials 13 people are in hospital, three of whom underwent surgeries, with injuries ranging from minor to serious and life-altering.

Residents of the city, celebrities and individuals abroad have taken to social media to express their condolences and support for the victims of the mass shooting, and the city of Toronto as a whole.
Not using your piece of P.E.I.? The province is looking for land donations

A lot of new work is underway to reach the province's goal of having seven per cent of Island land protected by 2020, P.E.I.'s environment minister says.

The province protects less land per capita than any other province, according to the latest Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society report card, with 3.6 per cent of P.E.I. land under protection.

The province is currently about halfway to that "top priority" target but Richard Brown said government hopes to use different methods to reach that 20,000 hectare (50,000 acre) goal over the next 18 months.

"Since I became minister this is one of my top priorities here is to see if we can make those targets and we are working extremely hard," he said.

Brown said the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission is currently tasked with a major review to determine how much land is owned by non-residents. The findings are expected to be presented in the legislature this fall.

He said the province plans to send letters to third- and fourth-generation non-resident landowners who aren't using or developing their land to see if they'll donate land to the province, Island Nature Trust, The Nature Conservancy of Canada or Ducks Unlimited.

"There is a tax receipt so hopefully we'll get a list of a number of people who own property that haven't been using it," he said.

'Manage the forest for them'

The province is also approaching the P.E.I. Woodlot Owners Association to see if some of its members would put their land under public trusteeship.

Landowners who decide to protect their land would not have to pay property taxes on it, he said.

"If a person that owns woodlots want to give the province the right to the wood on their property we would then forego property tax and we would manage the forest for them," Brown said.

"That would result in wood stock for the biomass plants we are putting in.  We're just trying to determine now how much land we need and how much forest do we need in order to meet the biomass targets we're looking at in the Climate Change Action Plan."

Story continues

Brown said discussions are also underway to bring more than 1,200 hecatres (3,000 acres) of private land managed by Ducks Unlimited into the calculation.

Large tracts of sensitive land and waterway buffer zones protected by P.E.I. farmers and watershed groups are also being looked at, he added.

"There are a lot of protections of P.E.I. land right now. It may not be in government's hands or it may not be protected under the Natural Areas Protection Act, but it is protected in other areas," Brown said.

More P.E.I. news
By Karen Lema and Neil Jerome Morales MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte vowed on Monday to sustain the momentum of his bloody war on drugs, telling the nation in an annual address that the fight would be as "relentless and chilling" as during his first two years in power. Duterte told a joint session of Congress the anti-narcotics campaign, which has killed thousands of people and attracted international condemnation, was "far from over", and took a swipe at activists demanding it be stopped. "The illegal drugs war will not be sidelined, instead it will be as relentless and chilling, if you will, as on the day it began," said Duterte, whose crackdown is now the subject of a preliminary examination by prosecutors of the International Criminal Court. "Your concern is human rights, mine is human lives," he said, adding that crackdown aimed to stop drugs destroying families. Since Duterte's war began, police have killed more than 4,500 people they say were suspected drug pushers who resisted arrest. Human rights groups are alarmed by the bloodshed and say thousands have been summarily executed in what amounts to systematic extermination of drug users in the poorest communities. Police vigorously reject that. Duterte read his prepared 50-minute speech in full, unlike his two previous addresses, when he abandoned his script to improvise, ramble and lambaste his critics. He asked Congress to pass a law to give proper labor contracts to millions of people in short-term employment and vowed to aggressively protect the environment. RE-ENERGIZED RELATIONS He said he would approve within two days a law allowing the country's Muslim minority to start a process toward self-rule, and prevent Islamic State from furthering its influence. Though he described ties with historic foe China as being "re-energized", he said that would not compromise Philippine territorial integrity and economic interests in the South China Sea. China has pledged loans, grants and investment to support Duterte's bumper $180 billion infrastructure program, his core economic policy. He said he hoped to sign before the end of the year a second tax reform bill needed to finance that to further expand one of Asia's fastest growing economies. His promise to break a telecoms duopoly criticized by businesses and consumers would soon be fulfilled, he said, with a third player to be picked from interested foreign and local bidders offering the best services. Duterte showed disdain for what he called irresponsible miners and their financial backers, accusing them of polluting rivers and destroying forests. He called that sickening, and warned firms to be prepared for some big changes ahead. "Expect reforms, radical ones," he said, without elaborating. "I cannot intend to quarrel with anybody, with the moneyed, but for as long as I am here ... you will just have to contend with me." He said he would seek to cool rising inflation by asking lawmakers to immediately pass a bill replacing quantitative restrictions on rice imports with tariffs, to bring prices down. Thousands of demonstrators, representing the church, women's groups and labor unions, rallied near Congress to denounce what they said were Duterte's abusive, anti-poor policies. Colorful effigies of the maverick leader were burned during a street march. Duterte's supporters held counter-rallies nearby. Duterte's opponents scoffed at his touted achievements and said his war on drugs had been a failure. Others said his speech was nothing new, including Senator Risa Hontiveros, who described it as "like watching and listening to a bad movie rerun". (Additional Reporting by Manuel Mogato and Enrico dela Cruz; Editing by Martin Petty, Clarence Fernandez and Alison Williams)
The upcoming legalization of marijuana in Canada is expected to create a lot of jobs for people, but it's putting one group of dogs out of work.

Fourteen RCMP interdiction dogs, which are used primarily to search for drugs, are being retired or sold to other forces because their training to sniff marijuana could cause problems for Crown prosecutors once pot is no longer illegal to possess.

"Our interdiction dogs are often used to form grounds to continue searching or to arrest people," said Staff Sgt. Gary Creed, a senior trainer with the RCMP's police dog service in Innisfail, Alta., where all of the national police force's dogs are trained.

If they are trained to sniff marijuana, some of their evidence would not be admissible in court, he said.

Some of the interdiction dogs were already close to the end of their working lives and will be retired as pets. Five or six others will likely be sold to other forces or agencies.

"It's definitely a strain. We didn't plan to replace these," Creed said. "There's 14 dogs that we have to replace."

The remainder of the RCMP's approximately 170 dogs are general service canines whose pot-sniffing skills are still useful.

"A general duty dog that's trained with narcotics, they're used in deployment for narcotic detection," Creed said.

"[They are used for] people have already been under arrest, or they're there to support some type of statutory thing such as a search warrant. So the dogs now are just used to search to find things."

The initial training process for a dog paired with an officer takes about six weeks, he said.

"All these experienced handlers are going to be coming in and getting new dogs. We're planning on taking about 20 days to do that, about half the time."

"It's way easier to train the dogs than it is the man."

- MORE ALBERTA NEWS | 2 women die in highway crash southeast of Calgary

Story continues

- MORE ALBERTA NEWS | Gluten-free foods for kids often have more sugar than regular products

- Read more articles by CBC Calgary, like us on Facebook for updates and subscribe to our CBC Calgary newsletter for the day's news at a glance

With files from Anis Heydari
Road rage: it's not just for idiots behind the wheel. An SUV passenger who allegedly flipped out after a traffic agent issued a summons to a double parked car is now wanted by the police for assault.

The incident took place in Astoria on Friday, July 20th, around 4:55 p.m. According to the NYPD, a 55-year-old female traffic agent gave a parking summons to a Nissan Rogue SL that was double parked in front of 30-90 Steinway Street. As she wrote the ticket, a man "approached the Traffic Agent and yelled profanities at her, before entering the front passenger side of the vehicle, being operated by an adult female."

The traffic agent left the ticket on the windshield and continued her tour on foot. About 25 minutes later, the SUV approached her and the passenger held a "plastic bottle out of the window, before throwing a clear liquid from the bottle at the Agent, hitting her in the back, as the vehicle passed her."

The traffic agent was treated at Astoria General Hospital and released. An NYPD spokesperson could not provide any information on the nature of her injuries, or say whether the victim merely received medical attention as a precaution.

Police say they are looking for one Haytham Salama, 35, who is described as being 5'6" and 180 pounds with black hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a blue T-shirt. Investigators say he was a passenger in a dark colored Nissan Rogue SL, with New York license plates #HMM-9542 (photograph taken by the traffic agent above).

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
It will cost a pretty penny for a retail licence to sell cannabis in Whitehorse.

Councillors at Monday's city council meeting passed a new regulation that stipulates a fee of at least $2,000 for a business licence to sell cannabis. Other yearly business licences start at $160.

According to the city council agenda, administration says the money will offset a number of costs the city anticipates will come with granting businesses licences to sell cannabis. These include the costs of reviewing and processing applications, criminal records checks, security plans, zoning analyses and "periodic enforcement checks on the business operations for compliance with municipal legislation."

Coun. Betty Irwin was the only councillor on Monday to speak out against such a high charge.

"I do object to the $2,000 licensing for the cannabis retail stores when the stores become available," she said, pointing to a discrepancy between that licence fee and business licences to sell other restricted products.

"And perhaps I missed it, but I didn't see where the off-sale [liquor] stores and pawn shops are charged more than other retail establishments."

Regulations set limited business hours

City council unanimously passed two other cannabis related bylaws  one to include definitions of cannabis and grow operations, and another to set strict rules for cannabis retailers.

Stores will have to provide proof of security measures, won't be allowed to show any products or advertisements that show cannabis consumption outside their premises, and business hours will be limited to 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

In the city's agenda, notes from a previous meeting include mention that some on council questioned the rigid rules and suggested they are discriminatory toward those in the cannabis business.

-

FROM N.W.T. | A look at what 1 cannabis supplier could offer the N.W.T. this October

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FROM NUNAVUT | Nunavut scraps ban on homegrown cannabis in final version of its Cannabis Act

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City officials responded they want to dip their toes before they dive in.

"Administration advised that the amendments are proposed so that the city is prepared to deal with this new type of business," states the document.

"Once the Yukon regulations are in place and cannabis-related businesses have been established by the private sector, there may be reasons for future changes to the bylaw."

Cannabis becomes legal in Canada on Oct. 17.

With files from Alexandra Byers
Picking up rubbish. Sometimes it seems to take all my spare time.

When Im in the paddocks Im always picking-up bits and pieces lying around, you know the stuff, pieces of baling twine, old broken machinery parts, pieces of glass and broken bottles or plastic bottles, old fencing wire, a piece of tin or old oil bottles, whatever.

Just lately its become a bit of a chore.

No, its not only because Im getting older and cant bend down like I used to, its more because there seems to more visible now than ever. Why is that?

It probably has something to do with the lack of grass on our little prickle farm. Well, there is some dry, stalky grass which is inedible for sheep and cattle but nothing else.

The point being, theres nothing else growing and it makes the rubbish stand out, easier to see and I have to pick it up. Its a responsibility thing. I even keep a few old stock feed bags in the ute to put the rubbish in.

40 years and still going ...

Keep Australia beautiful they say but just walk along any country road or highway and youll soon see the message isnt getting through.

What happened to the grass? We normally have native grass cover, some clover and couch, plenty of blue couch among the weeds and other grasses like digitaria, paspalum and rhodes grass; but not at present  because were in a ferocious drought.

Weve lived in this part of Queensland for almost 40 years and droughts come and go  well, some are just dry spells longer than wed like them to be and others, like from 1991 to 94 are devastating for grain growers, dairy farmers and beef producers in our region.

My grandfather spoke at length about a terrible drought from 1898 to 2002 which almost bankrupted Australia.

Locals here talk about the 1950s drought which was apparently a really bad one.

In July 1956, when the long dry ended on a really cold and bleak winters night, the livestock couldnt handle it. They were in poor or very poor condition, living on anything their owners could find to feed them and when it came in with sleet, cattle and sheep died by the thousands right across the Darling Downs.

So much for owners trying to retain some breeding stock for when the drought was over and replacement breeders would be almost impossible to buy.

So much too, for their mental health.

This current dry spell - here you can read bad drought - has lasted for several years but up until this winter, stock feed wasnt in short supply as it was in 1956. As long as it wasnt too far away, graziers were able to transport it in, knowing full-well it would rain before winter  only it didnt.

Destocking into a buyers market

The drought has reached a zenith here, no feed in the paddock, no feed away from here to buy and bring in, no feed for animals anywhere. How bad must it be for those living further west in the drier country?

What it means is de-stocking only this past few years, there has been no agistment anywhere within a reasonable distance.

Theres no feed on the stock route either so droving is out too.

Owners have had to sell good quality stock in poor condition into a buyers market and hope they can buy breeders back when it eventually rains.

Theres a saying, every good drought has been broken by rain, but at what cost, both financially and mentally.

God created a perfect world

Three percent of Australians work in rural industry and yet 30 percent of deaths in Australia happen in the very same industry. Too many are suicide.

Do you think God meant to have his land as dry as it is now?

Do you think He meant for people to become so affected by these circumstances they should contemplate ending it all?

When He created the world, it was a perfect place, He said so. No drought, no floods (well, not then anyway), no heat waves, no cold snaps, no ice age, just a perfect environment  so what went wrong?

Sin entered the world via the lies of a sneaky lying snake and weve been paying for it ever since.

When sin entered the world, so did weeds, inedible grasses, poison, rocks, rubbish and eventually Gods perfect environment turned into something not so perfect.

The whole story is to be found in Genesis, the first book of the Bible.

John Skinner served as an infantry soldier in Vietnam then the Tasmanian Police before taking up the position of CEO of the Australian Rough Riders Association (professional rodeo based in Warwick Qld). Before retirement to his small farm, he was a photo-journalist for 25 years. He is married with 3 children and 7 grandchildren.
TUESDAY, July 24, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Employees struggling with depression take less time off from work if they receive support and help from their managers, a new study suggests.

Many people suffer depression at some point during their working lives. But they often don't disclose their condition or seek help because they're afraid of repercussions, according to the researchers.

The new findings -- based on surveys in 15 countries -- show the value of active mental health workplace policies, the study authors said.

"Manager reactions to employees with depression can reflect broad cultural and organizational features that directly relate to employee productivity," Sara Evans-Lacko and colleagues concluded.

Evans-Lacko is in the social services research unit at the London School of Economics and Political Science in England.

For the study, her team analyzed data from a survey of more than 16,000 employees and their managers in the United States, Canada, Brazil, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey.

Nearly 3,000 of the workers said they were or had been depressed.

In general, managers in Asian countries tended to avoid employees with depression and were less likely to offer active support than managers in other parts of the world.

Managers in Japan and South Korea were least likely to offer help to employees with depression, while those in Mexico and South Africa were most likely to do so, the investigators found.

Managers in South Korea and China were the most likely to avoid talking about depression with workers. Managers in Canada, Denmark and Great Britain were least likely to avoid the topic, the study authors said.

In countries where managers tended to avoid dealing with depression, employees with depression took more days off from work than those in countries where managers were more likely to offer help and support, the findings showed.

The study also found that workers with higher levels of education took more time off for depression than those with less education.

Also, males aged 45 to 64 with medium to low levels of education were more likely than younger men to go into work despite depression, according to the report published online July 23 in BMJ Open.

The study can't prove a direct cause-and-effect relationship. Still, the findings strengthen "the economic case for supporting the development and implementation of effective policies and practices for managers to be able to actively support an employee with depression," the researchers said in a journal news release.

"The business case for intervention through better managerial response is exemplified by the substantial costs associated with mental health problems and evidence from a number of studies that mental health can improve through workplace programs, with economic benefits to employers," the study authors wrote.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has more on depression.
The first meeting of the India-Bangladesh Joint Committee on Border Haats was held in Agartala, Tripura. The Joint Committee also visited Border Haat at Kamlasagar in Sipahijala District, Tripura and Tarapur in Brahmanbaria, Bangladesh.

Outcomes of meeting

Both sides noted positive impact of Border Haats on livelihoods of people living in areas adjoining Haats. They also held extensive discussions on issues related to review of operations of four functional Border Haats viz. Kalaichar (Meghalaya), Balat (Meghalaya), Kamlasagar (Tripura) and Srinagar (Tripura).

They also made suggestions for improvement, timeline for setting up six additional Border Haats that have been agreed to earlier by both sides and roadmap for further expansion of Border Haats. They also agreed that next meeting will be held in Bangladesh on mutually agreed dates.

Background

Border Haats (or rural market) aims at promoting the well-being of the people dwelling in remote areas across the borders of two countries. It seeks to establish traditional system of marketing local produce thorough local markets in local currency or according to barter basis. Though trade carried in this informal market is not significant in terms of percentage of bilateral trade, but these local measures help to improve economic well-being of marginalised sections of society. Border haats along India-Banlgadesh border are established under Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed for Border Trade and Border Haats between both countries in October 2010. India and Bangladesh had signed MoU on Border Haats in April 2017 for establishment of Joint Committee to review border haats operations, suggest modifications in operational modalities and propose new locations of Border Haats.
Meghalaya: Bans sale of fish imported from other states

July 24,2018 | Source: The Indian Express

Meghalaya government on Monday issued an order banning sale of fish imported from outside the state for a period of 15 days after some samples tested positive for presence of formalin, an official said. Storage, distribution or sale of fresh fish or crustaceans brought from outside the state is hereby prohibited for a period of 15 days in the interest of public health or till corrective measures are taken with effect from the date of issue of this notification, additional chief secretary and food safety commissioner P W Ingty said.



Non-compliance to this notification will attract imprisonment up to seven years and fine up to Rs 10 lakh as provided under Section 59 (iv) of the Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006, he said. The order was issued following the receipts of two fish samples which tested positive for presence of formalin. The samples were tested at the Assam-based Public Health Laboratory, Food Safety Deputy Commissioner S N Sangma told PTI.



Formalin is a colourless solution of formaldehyde in water, used chiefly as a preservative for biological specimens. The two samples tested positive for presence of formalin were taken from Jowai town of West Jaintia Hills district and Nongpoh, the district headquarter of Ri-Bhoi.



Out of the six samples received today, two tested positive and necessary recommendations were made to the government for immediate banning of fish imported from outside the state, Sangma said. Test results of another seven samples out of the 26 samples which were earlier this month sent to the laboratory for test for presence of formalin was awaited, he said. Meghalaya Fisheries Minister Comingone Ymbon said the state imports about 21,000 MT of fishes mostly from Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Assam. The state produced only about 12,330 MT during financial year 2016-17 while the total requirement is about 33,000 MT annually, he had said.
West Bengal: Flouting rules, fishermen flood markets with smaller hilsas

by Prithvijit Mitra

July 24,2018 | Source: The Times of India

The hilsa season is here, but something is amiss about the succulent, silvery delight, without which no monsoon platter is complete. The fish has shrunk in size. About 60%-70% of the catch that reached Kolkata over the last three days weighs less than 500g. The smaller hilsas dont quite taste like the adult ones, agree both buyers and sellers.



About 500 tonnes of hilsa reached Kolkata from Digha and Diamond Harbour between Thursday and Saturday. It has pushed down the price a tad. A 500g hilsa is now selling for Rs 550-600. While the supply has made fish lovers happy, the decrease in the size of the fish has come as a dampener. Wholesellers and fish experts believe indiscriminate fishing is responsible for the smaller hilsas flooding the market this time. Secretary of Fish Importers Association Anwar Maqsood said, This trend started a few years ago with smaller hilsas being caught in large numbers. Over the years, despite laws banning netting of small fish, nothing has changed.



Hilsa supply had been scarce till this week. With import from Bangladesh stopped six years ago, Myanmar is the lone source. But the hilsa season in Myanmar is from February to March. So the imported fish are stored for the local season which begins in July. The fish naturally loses freshness and taste. But this time, the Myanmar stock is exhausted, said a retailer.



It is illegal to catch hilsas weighing less than 500g . A net size has been specified to ensure that the smaller ones are not caught. But lax enforcement of the rules has failed to check indiscriminate fishing. Oceanographer Sugata Hajra, who has been part of several studies on the dwindling hilsa catch, said, Hilsas are caught randomly in Bengal. Fishermen often break the rules. As a result, the fish are not able to grow. Also rampant fishing at the mouth of the sea has not spared those that are on the way to lay eggs in the rivers. This routinely happens every year, he said. The average size of the hilsa will remain below 600g in Kolkata unless fishing rules are adhered to immediately, said a pisciculture (fish farming) expert. Adult hilsas swim into the rivers to lay eggs and swim back once the spawns attain a weight of around 300g. The only way out is to restrict the size of the fishing nets to ensure that smaller hilsas are not caught, Hajra said.
Bangladesh: National fisheries week 2018: Ilish production up by 150%

July 24,2018 | Source: Dhaka Tribune

The government has established six Ilish sanctuaries across the country. The countrys Ilish fish production has increased by around 150% in last 15 years  thanks to the governments different conservation initiatives which include a temporal ban on fishing and livelihood support for the fisher-folk. As a result, Ilish production increased from 199,032 tons in 2002-03 to 496,417 tons in 2016-17. Imposing a fishing ban during two specific periods yearly, ensured that the mother fish spawned and became juvenile Ilish; this increased Ilish production, said Jahid Habib, district fisheries officer and Ilish conservation initiatives leader.



According to the Fisheries Statistical Report of Bangladesh 2016-17, the countrys total Ilish production is 496,417 tons217,469 tons (43.81%) from inland and 278,948 tons (56.19%) from marine catches. Aiming to conserve the countrys national fish supply and increase its production, the government has declared 432 km , of Ilish habitat across six river zones, as sanctuaries.



The sanctuaries are: a 100 km strip of the Meghna Riverfrom Shatnol to Char Alexandar; a 90 km strip of the Shahbazpur Channel at the Meghna estuary in Bhola district; a 100 km strip of the Tentulia River in Bhola district; a 40 km stripe in Andharmanik River in Patuakhali district; a 20 km strip at the lower Padma (Padma Confluence) in Shariatpur district; and an 82 km strip of the Meghna River (from Hizla to Mehendiganj) in Barisal district.



Moratorium on fishing



The government has imposed ban on catching fishe from Ilish sanctuaries during two breeding seasons of the year. The fisher-folk are banned from fishing between March and April, in all Ilish sanctuaries, except the Andharmanik River. In the case of Andharmanik, the fishing ban occurs between November and January.



Meanwhile, the government has taken different measures to prevent the fishing community from fishingthese include support for food, finances, and alternative livelihoods for the duration of the ban. Since 2007, the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief has allocated 40 kgs of rice to each fisherman family during the ban.



According to the Department of Fisheries, Ilish alone contributes to around 12% of the countrys total fish production. The economic value of the contribution is around 1% of countrys GDP. Moreover on June 01, 2017, the government established a Ilish Geographical Indicator (GI) for Bangladesh. According to a World Fish report published in October 2015, Bangladesh is the global leader, producing 65% of the total Ilish in the worldfollowed by India with 10%-15% and Myanmar with 8%-10% of the worlds production.



The remaining amount of Ilish comes from other countries. Out of total inland Ilish catching: 171,713 tons are from the lower Meghna; 1,540 tons from upper Meghna; 3,160 tons from lower Padma; 351 tons from the upper Padma; 330 tons from the Jamuna; 412 tons from Brahmaputra; and 40,124 tons come from other rivers. Around half a million fishermen are directly involved in Ilish catching in Bangladesh. The livelihood of an additional; 2 million people is indirectly involved with this fish. The rise of Ilish production has been possible due to the governments protection measures, Dr Anisur Rahman, senior scientific officer at Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, said. Bangladesh has become a role model for Ilish conservation to other Ilish-producing countries like India and Myanmar, he added.
Bangladesh: Increase in catching fish threatens existence of many species

July 24,2018 | Source: Dhaka Tribune

According to the Fisheries Department, in 2000-01 the total number of fish caught from inland water bodies was 1,475,039 tons and in 2016-17 the figure rose to 3,496,958 tons.

Catching fish in the country has increased by 137% in the last 15 years. Over the last 15 years, quantities of 10 species of fishes have drastically decreased and are on the verge of extinction.



According to the Fisheries Department, in 2000-01 the total number of fish caught from inland water bodies was 1,475,039 tons and in 2016-17 the figure rose to 3,496,958 tons. Data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Bangladesh show the number of countrys threatened fish species in 2015 as 64, compared to 54 in 2000, showing about an 18.5% increase in threat to different species of fish. The globally recognized Red List 2015 made by the IUCN said 253 species were assessed, of which, 64 have been found close to extinction - 25.3% of the total.



The threatened fish comprise of nine species as critically endangered, 30 as endangered and 25 species as vulnerable. Twenty seven species were assessed as Near Threatened (NT), 122 species as Least Concern (LC) and the other 40 were considered Data Deficient (DD).

However, in IUCNs previous assessment in 2000, it was seen that266 species of fish were assessed, of which, 54 were considered as threatened. Among the assessed, 12 species were Critically Endangered (CR), 28 were Endangered (EN), 14 species were Vulnerable (VU), 66 species were Data Deficient (DD) and thebalance 146 species were considered as Not Threatened (NT).



Around 53% of the threatened fish belongs to carps, barbs and loaches (Order Cypriniformes), followed by catfish (Siluriformes) and perches (Perciformes). Fisheries experts have blamed over exploitation and excess use of pesticides for agriculture as major causes of depleting the variation of indigenous fish resources.



This situation is not only in Bangladesh, but across the world, said Dr Mokhlesur Rahman, executive director of Centre for Natural Resources Studies (CNRS). Regarding the increase in the amount of total inland fish catches, he said: This is a clear result of initiatives, taken to increase culture fishes.



Faruk, a fish wholesaler from Natore said: The fish I mostly trade comes from cultured fish like carps- Ruhi, Katla and others. Local fish like Tengra that come to the market are cultured, these days. Dhaka Tribunes local correspondents have reported the availability of indigenous fishes in the regional marketfrom different districts.



In most cases, the correspondents said the availability of indigenous or local fish species are now rare, and cultured fish have filled in their places. Local people expressed their dissatisfaction for not getting enough of indigenous fish in the market as these taste better. 76-year-old Asgar Ali from Nilphamari expressed his helplessness by saying: Even 30 years back, there was plenty of fish that we got from any wetland after the floods. People caught fish together. That was a spectacular scenario. We dried a large part of them to be used later. The current generation will not believe it.
Sri Lanka: Worms in imported canned fish: 190 containers detained

July 24,2018 | Source: Sunday Times

Health inspectors have intensified checks on canned fish in Sri Lanka following reports that some imported consignments contained worms, Health Services Director General Dr Anil Jasinghe said yesterday. According to the Customs Department more than 190 containers of canned fish have already been held back after the Health Ministry and the Sri Lanka Standards Institute declined to give approval for the clearance of the stocks. However, before the Health Ministry imposed the restrictions some of the stocks had been cleared by importers, the Sunday Times learns.



Dr Jasinghe said the Health Ministry had directed public health and food inspectors to closely check canned fish stocks in the market. He said the Health Ministry had told the Customs and importers to send back the consignments of canned fish to the country of origin, as the ministry feared that the canned fish could be smuggled into local markets if the containers were taken out of the Customs for the stocks to be destroyed in Sri Lanka.



He said canned fish production companies need to maintain quality standards to make sure there are no worms or impurities. Dr. Jasinghe said the importers might have bought the products at a lower price from companies that had poor quality standards. Public Health Inspectors Union Secretary B.M.M Balasooriya said they were advised to inspect 28 brands of canned fish which have the same manufacture dates, expiry dates and batch numbers of the stocks that were in the containers detained by the Customs.



The Sri Lanka Standards Institute Chairman, H.M.B.C. Herath, told the Sunday Times that they had detected dead worms in the canned fish samples imported from China and alerted the Health Ministry and the Customs. He said that internationally, if fewer than two worms were present in a sample, the products were accepted, but as Sri Lankas premier standards institution they were concerned about the worms and refused to certify the products.



The Customs Consumer Protection Unit is taking action against the importers who had got some containers released before the Health Ministry ordered the reshipment. Meanwhile, canned fish importer M.S.M. Zaneer said there was a shortage of canned fish in the market. He said that 12 of his containers of carrying 250,000 cans had been detained by the Customs. Lanka Sathoasa Chief Executive Officer S.H.M Faraaz said that despite the production of local canned fish, there was a shortage in the market in view of the worm issue in the imported stocks.
A Frenchman detained for 18 years after trying to smuggle drugs into Bali arrived in Geneva on Sunday and was on his way home after being deported in a case that sparked outrage in France over Indonesias tough narcotics laws.





Police arrested Michael Blanc on the day after Christmas in 1999 at the tropical islands airport with 3.8 kilogrammes (8.4 pounds) of hashish hidden inside scuba diving canisters.





Blanc, now 45, was given a life sentence  narrowly escaping the death penalty which has been handed to some other foreign drug traffickers, including two members of the notorious Bali Nine who were executed in 2015.





His prison term was later cut to 20 years, and in 2014 Blanc won something that few foreigners get in Indonesia  parole, though he was not allowed to leave the country immediately.





The three-year parole period ended in July 2017, and he then had to wait another year while on probation.





The former cook was escorted by immigration officials to Jakarta airport Saturday accompanied by his mother, Helene Le Touzey, who gave up her life in France to spend nearly two decades in Indonesia campaigning for his release.





He has indeed arrived in Geneva, Martial Saddier, a parliamentary lawmaker for Blancs native Haute-Savoie region in western France who is close to Blancs family, told AFP.





He was met by his father Jean-Claude Blanc and other relatives out of sight of the journalists gathered to cover his return, and they later left by a side door.





I may be almost as nervous as he is, Jean-Claude Blanc told AFP while waiting for his sons plane to land.





Saddier said Blanc was going to remain several days in an undisclosed location. Hes going to recover from these past nearly 20 years before making any public appearances, he said.





Years of efforts





The life sentence handed out by an Indonesian court, which rejected Blancs claim that he was carrying the drug-filled gear for a friend, was criticised in France as unduly harsh.





The country has some of the worlds toughest laws against drug use and trafficking, and several convicted suspects have been executed since President Joko Widodo took office in 2014.





Paris raised the issue at the highest levels, with the then-prime minister Francois Fillon bringing it up during a visit to Indonesia in 2011.





In 2008, Blancs sentence was cut to 20 years thanks in large part to his mothers efforts.





She later helped secure her sons parole in 2014, despite the fact that Indonesian law does not usually allow conditional release of foreigners after serving just two-thirds of their sentence.





More than 70 people, including 42 foreigners, are facing the firing squad for drug offences, according to the Coalition for the Abolition of Death Penalty in ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations).





Among them were foreign nationals, including two Bali Nine members arrested in 2005 for an attempt to smuggle heroin from Indonesia to Australia.





The executions of Australian ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran sparked diplomatic outrage and a call to abolish Indonesias death penalty.





Although Jakarta suspended executions last year, Widodo has said the country is facing a drug emergency and previously ordered police to shoot traffickers who resist arrest.





High-profile cases like that of Australian national Schapelle Corby, who spent more than nine years behind bars for smuggling marijuana into Bali, have stoked concern that Indonesia is becoming a drug destination.





Corby was deported in 2017 after several years of parole.

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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

Agence France-Presse, July 22, 2018
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24)  The Iranian government has executed three men from Iranian Kurdistan (Rojhilat), Hengaw Organization for Human Rights reported on Monday.





Hengaw, a Kurdish Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), identified the men who were hung in the Urmia Prison on Monday as Kamal Sultani from the city of Bukan, Faruq Dariyaii from Oshnavieh (Shno), and Mahmoud Hamzazada also from Shno.





The three imprisoned men were handed capital punishment for murder.





The NGO, relying on their statistics, said that in the past week alone, Iran executed 10 Kurds from the cities of Birjand, Urmia, and Kermanshah (Kermanshan).





The Iranian government hung the other six, also convicted of murder, on Friday. Among them was a 65-year-old man who was in prison for 10 years before his execution.





In recent years, Iran has proven to be one of the leading nations in carrying out the death penalty against its citizens. Of the 993 people executed globally in 2017, 507 of them were in Iran, according to Amnesty International.





According to the Iran Human Rights Monitor (IHRM), Iran has carried out 108 executions in 2018 as of July 10.





International pressure is currently mounting for Iran to halt the impending execution of Kurdish activist Ramin Hossein Panahi, accused of membership in an armed Kurdish opposition group.





And despite being a state party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which bans executing child offenders, Iran continues to sentence children to death.





From 2014 to 2017, Iran executed at least 25 people for crimes they committed while underage, according to Amnesty and Iran Human Rights.

 | 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
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will head a high level committee of group of ministers who will suggest laws against lynching and mob violence. (Photo: File | PTI)

New Delhi: Ripped open by the Opposition and schooled by the Supreme Court, the Centre on Monday set up a panel of four group of ministers and a committee of secretaries who will suggest laws against lynching and ways to put an end to incidents of mob violence that have sparked nationwide outrage.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will head the ministerial panel to Prime Minister Narendra Modi based on the recommendations of a high-level committee led by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba.

The four-member led by the Union Home Secretary will have - secretaries of justice, department of legal affairs, legislative department and social justice and empowerment. The committee will submit its recommendations to the government within four weeks.

The move comes amid growing incidents of lynching and mob violence across India. The latest one to provoke widespread outrage was in Rajasthan's Alwar where a 28-year-old man was lynched over suspicion of cattle smuggling. The incidents have also fuelled sharp attacks by the opposition on the government in parliament.

The Supreme Court last week had urged the government to enact laws separate to those against murder to act as a deterrent against lynchings, following a series of attacks in which mobs have beaten people to death.

"We think it appropriate to recommend ... to parliament to create a separate offence for lynching and provide adequate punishment for the same... A special law in this field would instil a sense of fear," the court said in its judgment.



Also Read: Supreme Court says no mobocracy, need anti-lynching law

The court was hearing a petition filed by an activist to stop violence by vigilante groups, who are against the slaughter of cows.

"The horrendous acts of 'mobocracy' cannot be permitted to inundate the law of the land," the judgment said.
Mangal Ram took off his turban and threw it towards the stuck man who latched on to it. (Photo: rajassembly.nic.in)

Jaipur: In a dramatic rescue, a quick-thinking Rajasthan lawmaker used his turban to pull out a man, stuck on a flooded bridge over a nullah, moments before he could have been swept away.

Riding a motorcyle, Kishori Lal Meena, 50, was crossing the submerged bridge over the Kartarpura nullah near Imli phatak when he got stuck midway.

Hearing his cries for help, BJP MLA Mangal Ram who lives near the nullah rushed to his aide along with his security personnel.

Mangal Ram took off his turban and threw it towards Meena who latched on to it. The legislator along with his security officers pulled out Meena just in time.

"The man was shouting for help and hearing this, I along with my gunmen and others rushed there and saw him trapped," the lawmaker who represents the Kathumar constituency of Alwar district told PTI.

"Without any delay, we reached near him in the flowing water and saved him in time," he added.

In August last year, a CA student was washed away in the same nullah. His body was found days later.
Con Cung has been investigated after a customer claimed the largest seller of childrens products sold him a shirt with a dodgy label.

Con Cung was investigated by the Market Surveillance Agency after a customer alleged it had sold him a shirt with labels changed. Photo by VnExpress/Phuong Dong

The customer said a shirt he bought at a Con Cung store seemed to have had its label changed. The label said made in Thailand but looked like it had been swapped with another label, the unidentified man was quoted as saying.

Con Cung, which has received funding from the Vietnamese-Japanese DAIWA-SSIAM Vietnam Growth Fund, has 318 stores nationwide comprising 288 Con Cung and 30 ToyCity stores.

Officials found the label had very small letters which faded away easily when rubbed.

They said another label too, on a massage cream product, had been replaced with the label of a different manufacturer.

There were signs of infringement, Tran Hung, deputy head of the Market Surveillance Agency, which conducted the checks, said, adding he would soon report to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

But Con Cung claimed the shirt had been imported from Thailand, where it was manufactured by a company called International Incorporated.

It said it got the Thai company to manufacture the shirt for the Con Cung Fashion label, and the product origin was certified by the Thai Ministry of Commerce, Luu Anh Tien, CEO of Con Cung, said.

The ministry certification clearly says these products were manufactured in Thailand using 100 percent material originating in Thailand and other ASEAN countries, Tien said in a statement.

Con Cung said after receiving the complaint it had performed a check on all the shirts in the batch and found that the products did not meet the required standard to be sold at its stores.

It said it had taken the shirt off the shelves and offered a coupon for the value of the shirt to almost 4,000 customers who had bought it.

Tien said: Con Cung did not thoroughly check the quality of the imports. We apologize for this mistake and will not repeat it.

Founded in 2011 the chain operates mostly in Ho Chi Minh City and southern provinces. It plans to have more than 1,000 stores by 2020.

Its pre-tax profits in 2016 had been VND8 billion ($350,000) on revenues of VND524 billion ($22.9 million), according to the Vietnam Industry Research and Consultancy.
An emergency warning has been issued about malicious files aimed at banks and critical IT infrastructure in Vietnam.

The National Computer Emergency Response Team (VNCERT) has released an emergency warning about malicious code attacks on banks and IT infrastructure firms. Photo by AFP

The National Computer Emergency Response Team (VNCERT) on Tuesday said Vietnam needs to urgently carry out the task of tracking, blocking and deleting malicious files aimed at stealing important information from banks and IT infrastructure in the country.

Hackers had recently attacked some banks and significant IT infrastructure entities in Vietnam, VNCERT said in an emergency announcement.

It said the hackers made sneaky probes into the attacked entities. They had used hi-tech measures to bypass cyber security systems, sought to seize control of users computers and get into other computer systems containing important information.

VNCERT urged local banks and IT infrastructure entities to take immediate measures to detect and prevent targeted attacks, which could disseminate malicious codes to steal data and destroy information systems.

It said banks and IT infrastructure entities need to track and block connections to Command-and-Control servers (C&C servers) with the following Internet Protocol (IP) addresses (38.132.124.250 and 89.249.65.220).

They should also scrutinize their IT systems and remove directories and files containing malicious codes, the agency said.
Vietnam has surpassed Thailand to become the top ASEAN member in attracting investment from Japanese businesses.

Vietnamese workers at a construction site in Hanoi. Photo by Reuters/Kham

Almost 1,800 Japanese businesses have invested in Vietnam in the first half of the year, the highest among ASEAN countries.

This number accounts for 24.6 percent of total number of Japanese firms investing in ASEAN countries, said Keiichi Kadowaki, chairman of Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in ASEAN (FJCCIA).

He was speaking at the 11th Dialogue between the Secretary General of ASEAN and the Federation of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in ASEAN (FJCCIA) in Ho Chi Minh City on Monday.

Japan and Vietnam also signed 36 memorandums of understanding worth $21 billion last month.

This shows that Vietnam is becoming more attractive to Japanese firms, Kadowaki said.

Vietnams open business environment and robust economic growth of 5-6 percent each year has increased its attractiveness in recent years, he added.

Up to 70 percent of Japanese firms in Vietnam plan to expand their business in the country, as most of them believe that revenue will continue to increase, according to a recent survey by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO).

Over 65 percent of surveyed firms said they have been profitable in Vietnam.

Japan was the fourth largest trading partner of Vietnam last year, with a total turnover of almost $34 billion, up 13.8 percent from 2016, according to Vietnam Customs.
Web mapping service Google Maps has released a motorcycle mode for Vietnam and other Asian countries, including Singapore and Thailand.

The new service allows users to see shortcuts unavailable to cars and posts travel times based on motorcycles average speeds.

Additionally, users will also be able to see toll roads and roads unavailable for motorcycles, helping them map out better routes.

Right now, the new mode is only available for devices with Android 4.4 or above. It is unclear when it will get to the web or iOS devices.

A motorcycle route between Saigon Central Post Office and Ben Thanh Market as suggested by Google Maps on a Samsung cell phone.

Google Maps motorcycle mode was first launched in India last December, one of the many world markets in which motorcycles are popularly used as vehicles.

It is currently operational in Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Hongkong and Myanmar.

Over 800,000 motorcycles were bought in Vietnam during the first three months of 2018, an equivalent of approximately 9,000 motorcycles sold per day, the Vietnam Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers reported in April.

As of last year, motorbikes remain the most popular means of transportation in Vietnam, which has a population of around 92 million people and 45 million registered motorbikes, according to the Ministry of Transport.
An area on Hanoi outskirts are submerged due to torrential rains triggered by a tropical storm over the weekend. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy

A tropical depression off Chinas Leizhou Peninsula, is set to cause heavy downpours in Vietnams northern highlands.

According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, the depression is expected to travel northwestward at 10 to 15 kilometers per hour on Tuesday night before weakening into a low pressure zone at the Vietnam-China border area.

This is expected to trigger strong winds and heavy downpours in the northeastern provinces of Quang Ninh, Lang Son and Bac Giang.

The northern mountainous provinces have been warned that torrential rains will continue battering the region with rainfall of 50 to 150 millimeters on Wednesday and Thursday.

Five provinces  Cao Bang, Ha Giang, Lai Chau, Lao Cai and Yen Bai  are projected to be the hardest hit and threatened by flash floods and landslides even as the area is yet to recover from similar phenomena triggered by a tropical storm.

Hanoi can also expect rainfall of up to 50 millimeters from Tuesday night until the end of Thursday, which could inundate some parts of the capital city, weather experts said.

They predicted that heavy downpours will continue to lash the northern part of the country until early August due to the influence of a tropical convergence zone.

Northern Vietnam told to brace for more torrential rain Flash floods ravage north and central Vietnam

Vietnam was struck by a record-breaking number of 16 tropical storms in 2017, leaving 389 people dead or missing and 668 others injured, mostly in northern and central regions. The General Statistics Office estimated damage at VND60 trillion ($2.64 billion), 1.5 times the previous years figure.
Pham Cong Danh, former chairman of Vietnam Construction Bank (VNCB), which is now Construction Bank, at the court in Ho Chi Minh City on July 24, 2018. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Nguyen

A high-profile trial involving senior bankers stealing millions of dollars resumed on Tuesday after it was suspended last February.

Forty-six banking executives and staff are defendants in the trial, which is expected to run through this weekend. They include Tram Be, 58, former deputy chairman of Sacombank, and Pham Cong Danh, 52, former chairman of Vietnam Construction Bank (VNCB), which is now Construction Bank.

They are accused of deliberately violating state regulations on economic management, causing serious consequences.

According to the indictment, Danh and other staff of VNCB secretly withdrew money from clients' savings accounts and used the cash to secure loans from other banks, pay off debts or deposit into their own accounts.

Of the money stolen from VNCB, Danh used VND6.1 trillion ($263 million) to secure loans from Sacombank, BIDV and TPBank for his ghost companies.

When these companies were unable to repay the loans, the three banks seized the deposits they'd held as collateral, and prosecutors say this must be considered losses suffered by the VNCB.

Tram Be, former deputy chairman of Sacombank, at the court in Ho Chi Minh City on July 24, 2018. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Nguyen

Prosecutors have proposed a 20-year sentence for Danh. As he is already serving a 30-year sentence (the maximum prison term allowed by Vietnam's Penal Code except for life imprisonment) for stealing over VND9 trillion from VNCB at a trial in September last year, the sentence at this trial would run concurrently.

The proposed sentence for Be is five-six years in prison. Be is charged with abusing his position to ignore banking regulations in order to help Danh borrow VND1.8 trillion from Sacombank.

Of this money, Danh spent VND1.7 trillion on paying debts at another local bank for six companies that he owned, and deposited the rest in a personal account.

Tran Bac Ha, former board chairman of BIDV, was also summoned to the court among 235 people who were witnesses to the case or had related interests and responsibilities. He did not show up as he is reportedly receiving cancer treatment in Singapore.

Ha was expelled from Vietnam's Communist Party last month as the Party's Central Inspection Committee found he had made "very serious" violations when he let Danh borrow VND4.7 trillion ($206 million) from his bank. While BIDV eventually managed to retrieve this money, the loans had helped Danh steal over VND9 trillion from VNCB.

The massive trial was first launched in January and lasted a month before it was put on hold by the judges, citing a lack of evidence or a strong enough argument to impose charges.
Ten people stand trial in Binh Thuan Province on Monday for inciting protests in June. Photo by VnExpress/Tu Huynh

Ten men who caused traffic obstruction on National Highway 1A for hours will be jailed for two to three and a half years.

A court in the central province of Binh Thuan sentenced Pham Sang, 26, to three years and six months in jail on Monday for disturbing public order during protests that broke out against the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) draft law on June 10 and 11.

Nine others also got jail terms of two to three years for the same charges.

According to the indictment, hundreds of protestors in Tuy Phong District gathered on the National Highway 1A across the province, blocking traffic across the province for several hours. Hundreds of traffic police were mobilized to prevent chaos but met with strong reactions from the protestors.

Sang and his accomplices instigated violent acts and egged on protestors to fight police officers by throwing rocks, damaging police cars and injuring many police.

Earlier, six Vietnamese defendants charged with disrupting the offices of the Peoples Committee of Binh Thuan were sentenced to up to three years in prison on July 12 for violations deemed as violent and "unacceptable" by local officials.

The protests in Binh Thuan were among a number that erupted in Vietnam on June 10 and 11. Thousands of people had also taken to the streets in Hanoi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City and several provinces, with banners and signs calling for the SEZ draft law to be scrapped.

They reportedly objected a provision that would allow foreign investors to lease land for 99 years, saying that such a law would allow foreign countries to undermine Vietnams sovereignty. The bill which was scheduled to be passed in June has been postponed for further discussions in October.

As Vietnam has delayed passing the Law on Demonstration several times, all acts to incite public protests are now deemed illegal.

Following the demonstrations, police detained hundreds of protesters and said they uncovered evidence that the protests were anti-state actions incited by organizations based in other countries using false, distorted information on the draft laws.
Villagers evacuate after the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower dam collapsed in Attapeu province, Laos, July 24, 2018. Photo by ABC Laos News/Handout via Reuters

Vietnamese leaders have offered assistance to Laos after a partly-constructed hydropower dam collapsed leaving at least 70 dead and hundreds missing.

The accident, which happened on Monday night at a hydropower dam in southeastern Attapeu Province's Sanamxay District, unleashed flash floods on nearby villages.

The floodings have reportedly killed at least 70 people, while over 200 are still listed as missing and over 6,600 people have lost their houses, according to the Office of Vietnam's National Committee for Incident, Disaster Response and Search and Rescue.

While there has been no report of Vietnamese casualties, 24 workers of Vietnam's Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group, a major investor in Attapeu Province, are currently trapped floods.

Vietnam's defense ministry has instructed Military Region 5, the Army's 3rd Corps, the Air Force and its 18th Corps to be prepared to assist Laos on request.

Doan Nguyen Duc, board chairman of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group, said he plans to dispatch a helicopter to rescue the trapped workers and offered to help Lao authorities in their rescue efforts.

Hoang Van Thang, vice minister of agriculture, said late on Tuesday that the incident "will not cause significant impact" to Vietnam.

The dam is 650 kilometers (404 miles) from Vietnam and the water can reach the border province of An Giang after five days, possibly raising its water level by five meters, Thang said.

Vietnam offers to help Laos after dam collapse disaster Hundreds missing in Laos after hydropower dam collapse

The collapsed dam is part of a hydropower project being carried by the Vientiane-based Xe Pian Xe Namnoy Power Company, or PNPC, a South Korea, Thailand and Laos joint venture formed in 2012. Work on the $1.02 billion dam started in February 2013 and was scheduled to be completed later this year.

The 410MW hydropower plant was to export 90 percent of its electricity output to Thailand, and send 10 percent to the national grid in Laos.
A photo taken in 2008 of a Hoan Kiem turtle in Hanoi. Photo courtesy of the Asian Turtle Program

Vietnamese officials say collaborating with China to breed the rarest turtle species in the world is a great conservation opportunity.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on Monday informed the Hanoi administration that China has suggested that both countries collaborate in breeding the Rafetus swinhoei, or Hoan Kiem (Sword Lake) turtle, an all but extinct soft-shell turtle species.

The turtle enjoys legendary status in Vietnam.

China had suggested the collaboration at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in May this year.

The agriculture ministry considers this a great and practical opportunity for breeding and protecting this species, and called on specialists from both sides to hold detailed discussions first.

The proposal has also been supported by scientists and non-governmental organizations.

Hoang Van Ha with the Asian Turtle Program (ATP) emphasized that Hoan Kiem turtle population is at a critically low point, so breeding was an absolute necessity.

"In order to breed the species, Vietnam first needs to determine the sexes of the turtles in Dong Mo and Xuan Khanh," said Ha.

"If there is a male, then it can be matched with the female one in China."

Rafetus swinhoei is a critically rare species with only four of the members alive at present. Two of these (one male, one female) are at the Suzhou zoo in China. The other two of undetermined sex are in the Dong Mo and Xuan Khanh lakes in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Conservation of this species has become extremely difficult due to uncontrolled seafood exploitation and water pollution.

The species is more commonly known in Vietnam as the Hoan Kiem turtle, named after the lake in the heart of the capital city, where, legend goes, a magical sword was returned to the Golden Turtle God after helping fight Chinese invasion in the 15th century.

It is listed in Appendix II of CITES as an endangered species in Vietnam. It is also on the list of rare and endangered animals requiring urgent conservation efforts under the Vietnamese government decree in 2013.
Nguyen Manh Hung is appointed as the new Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Communications' Party Unit. Photo courtesy of Viettel

The Politburo has appointed the CEO of military-run telecom giant Viettel as the new Party head of the Ministry of Information and Communication.

Nguyen Manh Hung, 56, took his new position as Secretary of the ministry's Party unit on Monday.

Hung, a major general, studied telecommunication electronics in Russia, and won his master degrees in telecommunication in Australia and business administration in Hanoi.

The native of Phu Tho Province, two hours northwest of Hanoi, has been with Viettel Corporation since 1989, when it was known as Sigelco. He rose quickly from a technical assistant to an investment manager in 1995. He has served as Viettel's CEO since 2014 and also as its chairman since last month.

He is said to play a key role in the development of Viettel, which is currently Vietnam's top telecommunications service provider with operation in 10 overseas markets. Last year, the firm had revenues of VND249.5 trillion ($11.1 billion) and it aimed to enter the global top 10 telecommunication enterprises in the next two years.

His appointment followed the dismissal of Truong Minh Tuan. Tuan was suspended as Information Minister by President Tran Dai Quang on Monday for signing a decision to approve the acquisition of private pay TV firm AVG by the state-owned telecom firm, MobiFone, without the Prime Ministers approval, while he was serving as the deputy information minister from 2011 to 2016.

It is the first time in many years that an active minister in Vietnam has been suspended.

MobiFone, the country's third largest telecommunications firm, had made headlines early in 2016 when it announced it was breaking into the pay TV market with the acquisition of a 95 percent stake in AVG.

But government inspectors concluded that the deal had violated investment laws and caused an estimated loss of about VND7 trillion ($307 million) to the state budget.
Vietnam is in the process of making tourism an economy spearhead, and its dependence on two Asian markets is worrying experts.

South Korean visitors at Da Nang International Airport in Da Nang. Photo by VnExpress/Nguyen Dong

More than 7.89 million foreign tourists came to Vietnam in the first half of this year, 27.2 percent higher than in the same period last year.

A massive 2.56 million of this number were Chinese, up 36.1 percent, and over 1.7 million were South Korean, up 60.7 percent.

In 2017, visitor numbers had risen sharply, by 29.1 percent, to reach an all-time high of 12.9 million, according to the General Statistics Office.

Again South Koreans and Chinese had accounted for the lions share.

In this scenario, the mission to diversify Vietnams tourism markets has a long way to go.

This year the numbers of tourists from the third and fourth largest markets, Japan and Europe, were 404,000 and 1.08 million, up 6.6 percent and 11 percent year-on-year.

Vietnams dependence on China and South Korea is causing a skew in the tourism industry.

For years Chinese and South Koreans have only been visiting Nha Trang and Da Nang on the central coast of Vietnam.

In the two cities demand for hotel rooms and occupancy rates have always been high while elsewhere in the country supply exceeds demand, Tran Trong Kien, chairman of Thien Minh Group, a leading integrated travel and hospitality group based in Southeast Asia, told Saigon Times newspaper.

South Korean tourists wear Vietnamese traditional dress ao dai in Da Nang. Photo by VnExpress/Nguyen Dong

There is now a clear imbalance in the industry. So many tourists flock to Nha Trang and Da Nang but other tourist destinations in the country are still looking for visitors since Chinese and South Koreans only want to go to beaches.

According to the tourism department of Khanh Hoa Province, home to Nha Trang, 1.17 million foreigners visited the province in the first five months this year, up 50.6 percent from the same period last year.

Among them were 747,000 Chinese, a staggering increase of 162 percent, followed by Russians with 207,500, up 2.7 percent, and South Koreans with 18,120, up 37 percent, the department said.

More than 1.6 million foreigners visited Da Nang in the first half of this year, an increase of almost 50 percent.

The number of South Koreans doubled to 800,000, while Chinese arrivals rose by 36 percent to 368,000, the citys tourism department said.

Chinese tourists in Nha Trang. Photo by VnExpress/Xuan Ngoc

High flight costs

Kien of Thien Minh Group said to make tourism steady and sustainable, Vietnam should diversify its markets and develop cultural tourism products to attract tourists to various parts rather than just the sea.

Many travel companies told the Saigon Times there are still many problems plaguing the tourism industry.

One of them is the high flight cost to Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh City-based tourist firm Vong Tron Viet said they have been offering services to Indian tourists for the past two years but have only managed to get small groups of Indians.

The main reason Vietnam is unattractive to Indians is the high cost of flight tickets since they have to transit in Singapore, Thailand or Malaysia, it said.

It sometimes costs them two times as much to reach Vietnam as Bali in Indonesia while the traveling time is almost the same, so it is not difficult to understand why Indians choose Bali over somewhere in Vietnam, the company's director, Phan Dinh Hue, said.

It is a common sight in Thailand to see large groups of Indian visitors, but not in Vietnam.

The Private Economic Development Research Board and Tourism Advisory Board recently proposed to the government that more players should be allowed to enter the aviation business to make the sector more competitive and lower costs.

They pointed out that tourists account for the major proportion of air passengers -- 70 percent -- and more than a few flight routes only serve tourists.

The aviation industry is now dominated by Vietnam Airlines, Jetstar Pacific and VietJet Air, but with Vietnam Airlines holding a 70 percent stake in Jetstar Pacific, the competition is obviously not intense.

Vietnam aims to make tourism a key driver of economic growth. Tourism is expected to contribute 10 percent to Vietnams gross domestic product by 2020 when the country hopes to welcome 20 million foreign visitors and earn $35 billion in revenues.

The country has a target of 15-17 million arrivals this year.

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue told the National Assembly last October that the country needs to stop relying on crude oil and focus on tourism to sustain economic growth.

Hue said since tourism has a direct impact on the services sector, more tourists mean higher economic growth.

It is better to get one million tourists than try to find one million tons of crude oil because tourism is more eco-friendly and safe for the economy.
People sit on the roofs of what used to be their houses after a partly-constructed hydropower dam in southeast Laos collapsed and sent flash floods surging through six villages. Photo from Facebook page of Attapeu Today.

Hundreds of people are missing and an unknown number believed dead after a partly-constructed hydropower dam in southeast Laos collapsed.

The incident has sent flash floods surging through six villages, state media reported Tuesday.

Laos is traversed by a vast network of rivers and there are several dams being built or are planned in the impoverished and landlocked country, which exports most of its hydropower energy to neighbouring countries like Thailand.

Laos News Agency said the accident happened at a hydropower dam in southeastern Attapeu province's Sanamxay district late Monday, releasing five billion cubic metres of water -- more than two million Olympic swimming pools -- which unleashed flash flooding coursing into nearby villages.

The report added that there were "several human lives claimed, and several hundreds of people missing."

Images published in the report showed scores of people, some clutching young children, crammed onto low-slung wooden boats and wading through muddy waters.

Several houses in the southern part of the district were swept away following the dam's collapse around 8 p.m. (1300 GMT) on Monday evening, the report said, as officials in the province put out a call for relief aid for flood victims.

Hundreds missing in Laos after hydropower dam collapse Hundreds missing in Laos after hydropower dam collapse

"We do not have any formal information yet about any casualties or how many are missing," an Attapeu official told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that was "no phone signal" in the flooded region.

"We sent rescue teams who will help them and provide basic assistance first," the official added.

The $1.2 billion dam is part of a project by Vientiane-based Xe Pian Xe Namnoy Power Company, or PNPC, a joint venture formed in 2012.

Among the companies involved in the project according to the Laos News Agency are Thailand's Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding, South Korea's Korea Western Power and the state-run Lao Holding State Enterprise.

The 410 megawatt capacity dam was supposed to start commercial operations by 2019, according to the venture's website.

The project consists of a series of dams over the Houay Makchanh, the Xe-Namnoy and the Xe-Pian rivers in neighbouring Champasak Province.

It planned to export 90 percent of its electricity to energy hungry Thailand and the remaining amount was to be offered up on the local grid.

Under the terms of construction, PNPC said it would operate and manage the power project for 27-years after commercial operations began.

When contacted by phone in Laos' capital Vientiane a company official told AFP: "We do not have any official reports about it yet. We are gathering information."

'Battery of Asia'

Dam projects in Laos, mainly providing power to neighbouring countries, have long been controversial with fears over environmental damage and the impact on communities who are often displaced to make way for the construction.

A massive hydroelectric project at Xayaburi, led by Thai group CH Karnchang, is at the heart of Laos' plan to become "the battery of Southeast Asia."

The 1,285 megawatt dam -- which will cost $3.5 billion according to state media -- has sharply divided downstream Mekong nations like Vietnam and Cambodia who worry it will disrupt vital ecosystems and their own river systems.

Authorities in Laos keep tight control information and is often opaque about business deals and development projects.

The country has around 10 dams in operation, 10 to 20 under construction, and dozens more in planning stages.

"Once they cast themselves as the battery of Asia, exporting electricity became one of the major revenue sources, so it's basically selling natural resources such as water," Toshiyuki Doi, Senior Advisor at Mekong Watch, told AFP, adding he was not aware of a dam collapse.

Occasionally reports of accidents do emerge.

Two Vietnamese were killed when a scaffold collapsed at the construction site of a hydropower project in Laos last January.

Six Vietnamese workers were killed when a gas cylinder exploded at the construction site of a hydropower plant in central Laos in July last year.
The 2018 budget envisages total borrowing of between $2 billion and $2.5 billion.

Ukraine is preparing to ramp up its borrowing, its new acting finance minister told Reuters on Monday, with plans to restart bond issuance in euros and look at issuing debt in currencies such as China's yuan for the first time.

Oksana Markarova said the country would borrow in dollars but also step up issuance in its domestic currency as it looks to manage hefty debts and reduce its sensitivity to exchange rates, which arises from much of its borrowing being dollar-denominated, Reuters said.

"We will be trying to intensify ... the issues internally, especially in Ukrainian currency," she said in an interview. "It's been a while since we issued in euros ... but we might even explore other markets as well."

Asked whether this could include the Chinese yuan, she said it was something the country was looking at. "It might," she said, adding that it wouldn't happen this year.

Read alsoUkraine's Finance Ministry borrows over UAH 1.3 bln, US$59.4 mln on domestic market

Bond issues would help Ukraine to manage $15 billion in foreign currency debt that needs to be repaid or refinanced by 2020  $8 billion of which is due by next year  with its program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) well off track.

A euro issuance could come this year, depending on market conditions, Markarova said, but issues in other currencies like the yuan are further into the future.

Ukraine's plan for servicing its debt would be made public in its upcoming mid-term debt strategy she said.

The 2018 budget envisages total borrowing of between $2 billion and $2.5 billion, with Markarova expecting about $1.5 billion of that to come from the market. The rest is expected to come from sources such as the IMF and the European Union.

Ukraine is still at odds with the IMF over a number of outstanding measures in its $17.5 billion aid program, of which it has received about $8.7 billion so far.

Recent tweaks to plans to establish a court to target corruption are believed to have received IMF approval but there is still a stalemate over demands for another rise in gas prices and measures to plug some other recent budget shortfalls.

There is no firm date yet for the IMF's team to visit Ukraine again, though the two sides are in regular contact, Markarova said.

"A 2.5 percent (budget deficit) is a target and we will definitely stay within that target," she said.

"I'm sure in discussions with our international colleague we will show them how we plan to do it. We will find a solution that is good for the budget."
Ukraine's Finance Ministry publishes list of "riskiest" state enterprises

Among other companies, the list includes NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine and JSC Ukrzaliznytsia railways operator.

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Ukraine in "constructive" talks with IMF on gas prices, budget - acting finance minister

The official noted the country's enhanced performance of state budget targets.

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Poroshenko vetoes law on combatting timber smuggling

The norms greenlighting the said schemes were introduced into the bill's text "between the first and second readings," the Administration says.

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Under the agreed Memorandum of Understanding, the unbundling process is to be finalized at the beginning of 2020.

Supervisory Boards of the National Joint-Stock Company Naftogaz of Ukraine and new operator of Ukraine's gas transmission system (GTS), namely PJSC Mahistralni Gazoprovody Ukrainy [Trunk Gas Pipelines of Ukraine], have reached an agreement on a roadmap of cooperation towards a full and transparent unbundling of Ukraine's gas transmission function in early 2020.

"Supervisory Board of Naftogaz of Ukraine is pleased to announce it has reached an agreement with the Supervisory Board of Mahistralni Gazoprovody Ukrainy (MGU) on a roadmap of cooperation towards a full and transparent unbundling of Ukraine's gas transmission function," the company's press service said in a statement.

"This is a critical milestone that will ensure Ukraine is in compliance with EU regulations while guaranteeing Ukraine's energy security and economic prosperity," Chairperson of Naftogaz Supervisory Board Clare Spottiswoode said.

Under the agreed Memorandum of Understanding, the unbundling process is to be finalized at the beginning of 2020, after the existing transit contract with Gazprom expires, the company's press service added.

Read alsoNaftogaz estimates Ukraine's GTS at US$12.5 bln

As UNIAN reported earlier, in early November 2016, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a decision on the creation of new operator of Ukraine's GTS, namely PJSC Mahistralni Gazoprovody Ukrainy. At the same time, Naftogaz management created a new subsidiary, the Operator of the Ukrainian GTS, within the structure of Ukrtransgaz.

Naftogaz also attracted the Polish division of PwC as a project manager of the unbundling.

Naftogaz believes that the establishment of a new legal entity and the involvement of a European partner in its management is necessary for European companies to be able to buy gas on the eastern border of Ukraine and transfer it to the European market, preserving transit volumes after the current contract with Gazprom expires.

Read alsoGas price for Ukraine industry to rise from August

On February 28, Naftogaz received the final award of the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce related to the lawsuit filed by the Ukrainian company against Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom, according to which the latter shall pay $4.63 billion to Naftogaz. In total, Gazprom owes the Ukrainian company $2.56 billion.

At the same time, the Stockholm Arbitration retained Naftogaz of Ukraine as a counterpart of Russia's Gazprom in the gas transit contract.

The transfer of the transit contract to the new operator was important for Naftogaz unbundling reform and creation of a new independent GTS operator.
Naftogaz hires the oldest international law firm for US$1.16 mln

Naftogaz is currently in litigation with Russia's Gazprom under gas supply and gas transit contracts.

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U.S. Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Energy Resources Francis Fannon is on a visit to Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and newly appointed U.S. Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Energy Resources Francis Fannon have coordinated approaches and practical measures of the Ukrainian and American sides in countering the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

"Our coordination is very important in preventing the construction of the Nord Stream 2, as a project that not only threatens the energy sphere of Ukraine and Europe, but also directly concerns geopolitical security," the presidential press service quoted Poroshenko as saying. " And I commend an absolutely clear and consistent position of U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Administration, U.S. Government. It is extremely important to us."

Read alsoUkraine, U.S. see Nord Stream 2 as threat to Europe's energy security

The two officials also discussed the enhancement of strategic partnership between Ukraine and United States, particularly in the sphere of energy cooperation.

"We have a very large list of topics for discussion. I can emphasize that today, the power unit of the Yuzhnoukrainsk Nuclear Power Plant has started working on the fuel of the American company Westinghouse," Poroshenko said.

He recalled that the respective arrangements had been reached during his meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Poroshenko expressed gratitude to the American side for a consistent support and practical assistance to Ukraine in its efforts to diversify energy supply sources, reduce dependence from Russia on this issue and reform the energy sector.

In turn, Fannon emphasized the importance of relations between the two countries, in particular in the field of energy security.

"I am here to underscore the unwavering support of the United States for Ukraine and our unqualified opposition to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, as well as the need to maintain the robust gas transit in Ukraine. We all speak with one voice for the United States in support of Ukraine," the presidential administration quoted Fannon as saying.

"I also want to applaud you for your leadership and the country for the reforms you are carrying out. These reforms catalyze even greater investment. I think these reforms are an important signal to the rest of the world to invest in Ukraine. Businessmen look for clear, transparent and predictable practices and you are establishing such an environment, Fannon said.
Imports of passenger cars into Ukraine in H1 estimated at almost US$1 bln

Cars from Japan were most popular.

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Georgia considers Armenia's position on return of refugees as negative (video)

Georgian political scientist Vasso Kapanadze does not consider it a surprise that Armenia again voted against the resolution on refugees' return to Abkhazia and South Ossetia last month at the UN General Assembly. "All of us know very well that Armenia is Russia's strategic partner, and this is the reason for Armenia's position on this issue," says Vasso Kapanadze. In 1992-93, more than 250,000 residents of Abkhazia and South Ossetia became refugees because of the Russian-Georgian conflict. 26 thousand Georgians received the same fate as a result of the five-day Russian-Georgian war in 2008. Georgia considers Armenia's position on the return of refugees as negative , but the political scientist does not rule out that in the near future this issue will become a subject of joint discussion between the two countries' leaders. According to Vasso Kapanadze, geopolitics is constantly changing and it is impossible to say what kind of developments are expected in Russian-Georgian relations, therefore it is impossible to predict Armenia's policy on this issue as well. "A lot will depend on how Mr. Pashinyan and his government will perceive the situation in our region," he says. Georgian government tries to give citizens of Abkhazia and South Ossetia an opportunity to travel EU countries without visa. The political scientist also does not exclude that if Georgia does not become a member of NATO in the coming years, the foreign policy of the state may be seriously changed.
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Defense Minister: The Armenian military forces will use aggression policy in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement. (video)

The Armenian military forces will use aggression policy in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement. Anti-aircraft defense will be replaced by the development of air-to-air capacities. According to political scientist Stepan Safaryan, this statement by Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan was aimed not to prepare for war but to restrain it. "I must say that it is also a warning. Not only to the peacekeepers who are trying to keep the two sides in such situations to keep them from further escalation. The Minister honestly understood what "feeds" Azerbaijan's military-political aggression,"t he political scientist told "A1 +." According to Safaryan, in case of provocative actions by Azerbaijan Armenia can only rely on its armed forces today, without waiting for the allies' assistance. "The Republic of Armenia, of course, has created a number of mechanisms at the bilateral level with Russia, which will allow to oppose the enemy in case of war, such as air defense systems, but that is not enough because it turned out in the previous conception that we would have to do nothing in order to punish and to frustrate the opponent, but sit down and wait when the danger approaches us." The Armenian side also officially warns that it can not stand and can use all the available resources in its arsenal to counteract the bulk of the enemy.
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Fitch Ratings has affirmed the ratings of JSC State Savings Bank of Ukraine (Oschadbank) and JSC The State Export-Import Bank of Ukraine (Ukreximbank), including their 'B-' Long-Term Foreign and Local Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) with Stable Outlook, Fitch has said in its press release.

"The affirmation of the ratings reflects limited changes to these banks' standalone credit profiles and Fitch's view of potential support to these institutions, if required, from the government of Ukraine (B-/Stable)," Fitch said.

The banks' Long-Term IDRs are underpinned by each of the banks' 'b-' Viability Ratings (VRs) and, simultaneously, continue to be aligned with their 'B-' Support Rating Floors (SRFs). Their National Long-Term Ratings of 'AA(ukr)' are mapped to their 'B-' Long-Term Local Currency IDRs.

Oschadbank was founded in 1991 and Ukreximbank in 1992. Its sole owner is the state.

Oschadbank ranked second among 84 operating banks as of January 1, 2018 in terms of total assets worth UAH 234.241 billion and Ukreximbank third with UAH 171.011 billion, according to the National Bank of Ukraine.
The State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPF) in two days introduced first 18 small companies that are subject to privatization to the electronic sales system, on particular, facilities in Lviv and Zhytomyr, First Deputy Economic Development and Trade Minister of Ukraine Maskym Nefyodov has said.

"These are the first lots that are put up for sale by cities, in this case - Zhytomyr and Lviv, but in a few days, at most, in a week, their number will reach hundreds," he said at a meeting with Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman at the ProZorro.Sales state-owned enterprise on Tuesday.

As SPF Head Vitaliy Trubarov said, the fund intends to complete the procedure for entering lots into the system until Thursday.

"The SPF has signed agreements with 18 authorized operators of the Prozorro.Sales electronic trading system for the sale of small enterprises subject to privatization. Now all 716 facilities a, which are planned for sale in 2018, re being added to the system and the first sales announcements will be made on July 27 through July 31," Trubarov wrote on his Facebook page.

According to him, there are 35 days for bids from potential buyers, and the first auction is planned for early September.

Groysman said that at the nearest meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers it is planned to consider a package of legal documents on electronic auctions to issue licenses by the State Service of Ukraine for Geology and Deposits.

"I think that the day after tomorrow, on Thursday, we will pass a package of seven resolutions on the free sale of licenses from the State Service of Ukraine for Geology and Deposits," he said.

In addition, the prime minister said that in August the Cabinet also intends to consider regulatory legal documents on mandatory electronic auctions for wood.

Small-scale privatization involves the sale of state-owned or municipal property, the value of which does not exceed UAH 250 million.
The international marketplace for finding private tutors Preply has pulled in $4 million in the seed round. Lead investor was Point Nine Capital, Berlin-based venture fund, investing in SaaS and marketplaces at early stages.

"Investors in Preply's seed round include Arthur Kosten (ex-CMO at Booking.com, 2003-2012), Polish VC RTAventures, founder & CEO of DocPlanner Mariusz Gralewski, Poland's Grupa Pracuj EO Przemyslaw Gacek, Diligent Capital Partners (Ukraine) and SMRK (Ukraine)," Preply reported on Tuesday.

"Next year we plan to become the leading marketplace for finding private tutors of foreign languages in the world," co-founder and CEO of Preply Kirill Bigai said.

Managing Partner of Point Nine Capital Pawel Chudzinski, in turn, said that the fund took this opportunity to enter the fragmented online tutoring market, evaluating the focus on consumer experience and global proof of the concept, and will contribute to the efforts of the Preply team to win leadership on it.

The new round of financing will support the long-term development of new products, including the Preply calendar, instant booking options, and the launch of a mobile application.

In addition, the funding allowed Preply to open a second office in Berlin and build up a team of senior professionals working on the product: managers, designers and developers. In the near future the startup plans to search and appoint VP of Marketing.

The company was founded in 2012 by Bigai, Sergey Lukyanov (Head of Product Design) and Dmytro Voloshyn (CTO) with offices in Kyiv and Berlin.
The Finance Ministry of Ukraine plans to expand the range of debt tools offered to international investors, expanding eurobonds pegged to U.S. dollars with bonds pegged to euros, hryvnias and maybe other currencies, acting Finance Minister of Ukraine Oksana Markarova has said.

"We will expand our borrowing. We will look not only at the U.S. dollar, but also the euro. We did not use it for a long time. We will add other, slightly exotic currencies," she told Interfax-Ukraine.

The minister said that the government plans to borrow more actively in the hryvnia, since today the share of foreign currency liabilities of the public debt is excessively high, reaching 70%.

"In fact, we have already completed all the procedures to go out with hryvnia tools to foreign markets, and I think this will also have a big effect on increasing the hryvnia portfolio of our bonds," she said.

Markarova said that the government plans to be more active in the domestic market.

"I hope that stability will help us convince all banks, because most banks with foreign capital do not even have limits on the purchase of Ukrainian securities," she said.

She recalled that Ukraine has the ninth quarter of constant growth.

"Our task is to convince them of macroeconomic stability with a properly accepted budget and convince them to be players in this market," Markarova said.

According to her, at present, work to update the strategy of public debt management is underway.

The finance minister also confirmed that Ukraine, as before, plans to enter the foreign loan markets this year. She recalled that the budget provides for borrowing in the amount of $2 billion, but the final amount also depends on two other sources of financing the deficit of the budget - $ 800 million from the World Bank and EUR 1 billion of macro-financial assistance from the European Union.
Within the framework of ongoing preventive measures, the so-called "Carrier," joint mobile groups began working on the territory of Ukraine to identify and document violations in the sphere of passenger traffic, where law enforcers have revealed more than 80 violators over past 24 hours, deputy head of the National Police - head of the patrol police Oleksandr Fatsevych has said.

"During the day, 33 such joint mobile groups were provided with tasks. More than 200 buses, carrying passengers, have been checked. As a result, 87 administrative materials have been compiled," the press service of the National Police of Ukraine quoted Fatsevych as saying on Monday.

The deputy chairman of the National Police said that the members of the road safety departments of the patrol police and territorial units of the Transport Inspection were included.

Driving without the necessary documents; driving of buses that have technical malfunctions and have not passed mandatory technical control; violation of the rules for the provision of services and security requirements in the provision of transportation services for passengers; travel to the prohibition signal of traffic regulation and violation of other traffic rules are among the violations carried out by carriers.
Arrested MP Nadiia Savchenko has refused to go through the polygraph on Tuesday because her lawyer was not admitted to the examination, her lawyer Oleksandr Tananakin has said.

Another reason for the refusal was non-inclusion in the examination of those issues on which Savchenko insisted, Tananakin told Interfax-Ukraine agency.

Tananakin stressed that the practice of conducting an examination on a polygraph within the framework of the investigation of the Savchenko case discredited this procedure in this case.

"As for the subsequent development of events, it will be necessary to discuss and consult, but, in my opinion, this expertise has already discredited itself," the lawyer said.

He also said that on August 8, the Court of Appeal of Kyiv will consider a complaint of the defense to the decision of the Shevchenkivsky district court dated July 14 on extending Savchenko's arrest for another two months, after which she went on a hunger strike.

As reported, on March 22, the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada granted the prosecutor general's recommendation and gave its consent to prosecute, detain, and arrest Savchenko. The same day, law enforcement officials notified Savchenko that she was being treated as a suspect at parliament, after which they escorted her to the offices of the SBU branch for Kyiv and Kyiv region.

The recommendation that Savchenko be deprived of parliamentary immunity from prosecution was made as part of criminal proceedings opened on counts of preparations for change or dismantling of the constitutional system or for the seizure of power by a group of individuals acting in concert, preparations for assassinating a statesperson or a public figure by a group of individuals acting in concert, preparations for a terrorist attack by a group of people acting in concert, the establishment of a terrorist group, and the illegal handling of weapons, ammunition, or explosives by a group of people acting in concert.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has sent a letter to Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras offering assistance in the fight against forest fires that led to numerous casualties.

"The Government of Ukraine is ready to provide all the necessary assistance to Greece. The corresponding letter has already been sent to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras," Groysman wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.

He also offered his condolences to the people of Greece due to the tragic consequences of forest fires.

Wildfire in Greece killed at least 60 people and injured about 150. According to the authorities, the village of Mati is the hardest hit by the blaze as the bodies of 26 adults and children were found here.

Hundreds of firefighters are involved in tacking wildfires around the Greek capital. In addition, many local residents had to leave their homes.

The country declared a three-day mourning for the victims of fires.
The Canadian defense sector is working on plans to develop defense cooperation with Ukraine, Conservative MP from Canada James Bezan has said in an interview with UATV.

Bezan said that soon supplies of Canadian small arms could be started to Ukraine.

"Canada and Ukraine have signed one contract to supply sniper rifles. We are waiting for the signing of the permit to export the arms by the Canadian government," he said.

Bezan did not specify the participants and details of the mentioned arms contract, saying only that the forthcoming delivery of Canadian small arms to Ukraine is planned to be provided on a commercial basis within the special export license issued by the Canadian government.

According to the Canadian politician, the prospects for working in the defense market of Ukraine are currently being studied by a number of Canadian defense companies.

"I know that there are other manufacturers who produce machine guns, light armored vehicles and other equipment, and study the potential of work with Ukrainian companies, Ukrainian Armed Forces," Bezan said, recalling that for the time being there are no legislative restrictions in Canada on the supply of certain types of weapons to Ukraine.

As reported, in December 2017, the government of Canada amended the rules of arms exports, allowing the sale of small arms to Ukraine.
U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker has said the United States does not recognize the annexation of Crimea and occupation of Donbas.

I think this was stated clearly during the press conference of the presidents of Russia and the United States during their press conference, that there are different positions on issues of Crimea and eastern Ukraine. You heard that there is no movement about possible recognition of the situation with Crimea and no movement on eastern Ukraine. This is the principle issue of the talks, Volker said in an interview to 112.ua on Tuesday, commenting on the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 16 in Helsinki, Finland.
A referendum cannot be held in the temporarily occupied area of Donbas, and the U.S. administration has already confirmed that, U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker has said.

"The White House issued a statement on Friday that rejects the version of holding a referendum in eastern Ukraine," he said in an interview with the 112 Ukraine television channel on Tuesday.

Volker stressed that without Ukraine's control over temporarily occupied territories people live in a dangerous situation, there is no freedom of movement, many people left the area so there can be no referendum there, and it cannot be legitimate.

Earlier, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert confirmed that the U.S. administration was not considering supporting a possible referendum on independence in eastern Ukraine.

"The Administration is not considering supporting a referendum in E Ukraine - A 'referendum' would have no legitimacy. We continue to support Minsk agreements for solving the conflict in Donbas," Nauert wrote on Twitter.
Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova has said that she signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine on Tuesday.

"Today, the memorandum of cooperation was signed with the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine. We discussed the necessity and importance of the participation of the Federation and its affiliated organizations in monitoring compliance with and protection of human rights and freedoms in Ukraine," Denisova wrote on her Facebook page.

According to her, an agreement has also been reached that the Federation will provide observers with whom joint monitoring of cases of violations of citizens' rights and their consequences will be conducted, and proposals will be prepared jointly by the government authorities to eliminate and prevent these violations.

"We expect representatives from the Federation to the Coordinating Council for the Protection of Social and Economic Rights of Humans under the Commissioner," Denisova said.
Russian side wants to visit 51 detainees in Ukraine, only 13 of them are Russians

The Russian side has submitted an application for visits to 51 people held in Ukrainian prisons, but only 13 of them have Russian citizenship, and some of them have already refused to meet with Russian ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova, Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova has said.

"Now we demand that Russia adjust its list. For her part, Tatyana Moskalkova has already visited seven sailors from her list," Denisova wrote on her Facebook page on Tuesday.

According to the Ukrainian ombudsman, now, in accordance with the agreements, "we want mirror visits to our citizens."

"We again offer them a 'roadmap for visits.' I have already publicly appealed to FSB, FSIN and the Russian Presidential Administration with the request to grant permission to visit Ukrainian political prisoners, but they do not respond to any of our requests. Earlier they proposed to start mirror visits in August- September," she said.

Denisova said that on July 25 she intends to meet with the Lithuanian ombudsman and jointly solve the issue of cooperation with the European Network of Ombudsmen (ENO) about visits to Ukrainian political prisoners.
Ukraine and Turkey are expanding defense cooperation in the sphere of creating new arms systems.

According to a posting on the website of the League of Defense Companies of Ukraine, referring to military expert Serhiy Zgurets, recently Ukraine successfully tested a new combat module for wheeled armored vehicles. It was designed as part of Ukrainian-Turkish cooperation with participation of Ukraine's PrJSC Practika R&D center and Luch design bureau, as well as Turkey's Aselsan.

According to the report, the new combat module installed on the Kozak-2M armored vehicle designed by Practika was exhibited to potential buyers, including foreign ones. Aselsan designed a remote control combat module, the control system for this module and battlefield surveillance systems (first of all, thermal scan).

According to the report, the new module could be equipped with different types of machine guns, and its main striking force is the Ukrainian-made Barrier anti-tank missile system with an increased number of RK-2S missiles designed and manufactured by Luch bureau.

"During the tests in the daylight a guided anti-tank missile RK-2S were launched at a distance of 1.8 km along a moving target, and also at night - 3 km along an armored target using the Aselsan thermal imager. The launches were successful," the league said in the report.

As the league said, earlier Luch and Aselsan also carried out combat launches from a combat vehicle presented by the Ukrainian Armor company, which indicates the possibility of using a new weapon system for various mobile platforms created in the framework of military-technical cooperation with Turkey in order to meet the requirements of foreign customers.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Francis Fannon has confirmed the U.S. position on the unacceptability of the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and emphasized the importance of relations between Ukraine and the United States in the field of energy security, reads a report posted on the website of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

"I am here to underscore the unwavering support of the United States for Ukraine and our unqualified opposition to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, as well as the need to maintain the robust gas transit in Ukraine. We all speak with one voice for the United States in support of Ukraine," Fannon said at a meeting with Poroshenko on Tuesday.

According to the report, the sides coordinated approaches and practical measures of the Ukrainian and American sides in countering the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

"Our coordination is very important in preventing the construction of the Nord Stream 2, as a project that not only threatens the energy sphere of Ukraine and Europe, but also directly concerns geopolitical security. And I commend an absolutely clear and consistent position of U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Administration, U.S. Government. It is extremely important for us," Poroshenko said.

The parties also discussed the enhancement of strategic partnership between Ukraine and USA, particularly in the sphere of energy cooperation.

"We have a very large list of topics for discussion. I can emphasize that today, the power unit of the Yuzhnoukrainsk Nuclear Power Plant has started working on the fuel of the American company Westinghouse," Poroshenko said, recalling that respective arrangements have been reached during his meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Poroshenko thanked the U.S. side for consistent support and practical assistance to Ukraine in its efforts to diversify energy supply sources, reduce dependence from Russia on this issue and reform the country's energy sector.
Eight Ukrainians ask consul to help them get from Kineta to Athens due to forest fires

Eight Ukrainian citizens have asked Ukraine's consul to help them move from the Greek city of Kineta to Athens because of wildfires, spokesperson for the consular service department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (MFA) Vasyl Kyrylych has said.

"The consul established contact with eight Ukrainian citizens (four adults, four children) who are not in danger and should leave for Ukraine on July 26," he said in a comment to Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.

According to him, they are helped to find another place of residence in Athens.

Kyrylych added that as of 15.40, there are no Ukrainian citizens among those killed or injured by wildfires.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin expressed his condolences due to numerous victims of fires in Greece.

"Deeply saddened by tragic loss of life caused by raging forest fires in areas around Athens. Our sincere condolences to the victims and their families," he wrote on Twitter.
Iran's ailing economy has been the most significant issue on Iranians' minds and the subject of fierce debates in the parliament while Iranian officials were at loggerheads with the U.S. President and Secretary of State at the start of the week.

In their criticism of Tehran's top politicians, both U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appeared to be mindful of the perils of widespread corruption and mismanagement across Iran's economic institutions. They talked of officials pocketing people's money and the state wasting national resources in Syria and the rest of the Middle East.

The indications of Iranian officials being in denial of economic problems were most visible in the Iranian Parliament.

Some 90 members of the parliament have called for the impeachment of Economy Minister Massoud Karbasian, Mehr news agency reported on July 23.

Mehr quoted Tabriz MP Ahmad Alirezabeigi as saying, "The president and the foreign minister are personally responsible for the current economic situation," adding, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had previously promised that problems in Iran's economy would be solved within six months."

Hosseinali Hajideligani, a member of the Planning and Budget Committee of the parliament, told Tasnim news agency that the Rouhani administration's economic team "is responsible for Iran's economic problems," apparently referring also to the impact of sanctions slated to be imposed on Iran in August and November.

In another move, members of the parliament tabled a motion on July 24 to launch an investigation into the allocation of foreign currencies to some companies at a lower rate. The rate was introduced by Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri in May as the "unique government rate."

Subsequently, Iranian media revealed that tens of profiteering companies linked to some officials spent the foreign currencies allocated for purchasing essential commodities on buying luxury cars. Others sold what they had imported at a higher rate up to three times as much, Iranian media reported.

Those who have called for the investigation want to know what happened to 12.5 billion dollars allocated in this way, reported the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA).

In a related development, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, spokesman for the Iranian judiciary, announced on July 23 that five Industry Ministry officials were arrested on charges of "coordinated corruption" and the mishandling of funds used to import thousands of luxury cars, Fars news agency reported.

He also said a number of suspects, mainly cell phone importers, were arrested for financial corruption and the mishandling of funds.

In the meantime, the foreign currency and gold markets responded to the war of words between the Iranian and U.S. presidents almost immediately.

The price of the standard gold coin rose to 34,810,000 rials for delivery in January 2019, although some older mints are being traded at more than 32 million rials.

At the same time, it appeared that something, probably state censorship, prevented the media from announcing the fluctuation in the rate of exchange of U.S. dollars. The rates chart on some sites such as Pishkhaan were left blank. Traders websites maintained outside Iran announced the rate on July 24 as 109,090 rials per euro and 122,360 rials for per British pound.
Tehran, July 23, 2018 (AFP) -

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif hit back on Monday at threats from US President Donald Trump on Twitter, warning him to "BE CAUTIOUS!"

Mimicking Trump's bellicose Twitter threat directed at Iran's leaders the previous day, Zarif wrote: "UNIMPRESSED ... We've been around for millennia & seen fall of empires, incl our own, which lasted more than the life of some countries. BE CAUTIOUS!

Zarif was responding to Trump's tweet on Sunday, in which he warned: "NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE."

That was assumed to be a response to a speech by President Hassan Rouhani earlier in the day warning Washington not to "play with the lion's tail" and that conflict with Iran would be the "mother of all wars".

"The world heard even harsher bluster a few months ago," Zarif said of Trump's tweet.

"And Iranians have heard them -- albeit more civilised ones -- for 40 yrs."
By RFE/RL

Russia has offered to keep pro-Iranian forces in Syria about 100 kilometers from the border with Israel as part of an agreement with the United States and Israel to help guarantee Israel's security, media are reporting.

A Russian delegation headed by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made the suggestion while meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on July 23, Israeli television and western media reported, citing Israeli officials.

As he has in the past, Netanyahu demanded during the meeting that all Iranian fighters and their allies be removed from Syrian soil in the long term, media said. He also insisted that Iran should remove all long-range missiles and its air defense system from the country, media said.

But Israeli media did not characterize Netanyahu's response as a rejection of the Russian plan to keep Iranian military advisers and pro-Iranian fighters, including Lebanon's Hizballah militia, at a substantial distance from Israel as Syrian troops reassert control in the border region.

However, Reuters cited an Israeli official as saying that while Russia was "committed" to its offer, Netanyahu rejected it and told Lavrov: "We will not allow the Iranians to establish themselves even 100 kilometers from the border" because Iran has long-range missiles that can reach Israel from Syria.

Reuters said Israel previously rejected a Russian proposal to keep Iranian forces about 80 kilometers from the frontier.

Russian officials did not immediately comment on Netanyahu's meeting with Lavrov and the chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces, General Valery Gerasimov.

Before the meeting, Netanyahu thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump for their agreement at their summit in Helsinki last week to work together to safeguard the security of Israel.

"I appreciated the words that were spoken by President Putin together with President Trump regarding the security of Israel during the recent summit," Netanyahu said.

But with regard to Iran, an avowed enemy of the Jewish state, Netanyahu said: "Israel will continue to act against any attempt by Iran and its proxies to entrench militarily in Syria."

Netanyahu said the Russia delegation came to Israel on short notice at Putin's request to discuss the situation in Syria, where the Syrian army has been rapidly reasserting control over rebel-held areas of the southwest near Israel's border under surrender agreements brokered by Russia.

As a condition of accepting the return of the Syrian army to the border region, Netanyahu said Israel is demanding strict adherence to a 1974 disengagement deal that created a buffer zone patrolled by UN forces between Syria and Israel.

Syria and Israel fought two wars over their shared border, in 1967 and 1973, leading to Israel's seizure of the Golan Heights in what was Syria's Quneitra province. The Israeli occupation has never been recognized internationally.

While Israel and the United States have been pressuring Russia to limit Iranian influence in Syria, Moscow contends that it has little influence on the tight relationship between Syria and Iran, and it would be unrealistic to expect Iran to fully withdraw from the country.

Russia and Iran have backed the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government throughout the war, which started with a crackdown on protests in 2011 and has killed more than 400,000 people and displaced 11 million others.

Russia stepped up its military support in 2015, starting a campiagn of air strikes and boosting its presence on the ground in a move that helped turn the tide of the conflict in Assad's favor.

Iranian leaders have dismissed U.S. and Israeli calls to leave country, saying that will happen only when Assad asks Iran to go.

With reporting by AP, AFP, dpa, and Reuters
Nearly 70 student associations have criticized the recent verdicts against students and warn that they will not allow the totalitarian forces to target freedom and liberty again.

The countrys science minister said five students are still behind bars for attending unprecedented rallies that broke out last December and shook the establishment for more than 10 days.

In a statement published on July 23, 68 student associations referred to the current situation in Iran and the myriad dissatisfaction among people, cautioning, Authoritarian rhetoric toward justification has directed the country to a precarious route.

Referring to an earlier protest statement issued by 63 associations, the new statement said, Totalitarian elements not only proved their reluctance to address students demands, but they stepped further and sentenced a students rights activist, Ms. Fereshteh Tousi.

Thirty-year-old Tousi was sentenced by a Tehran court to 18 months in prison on July 3 on charges of propaganda against the state for organizing a ceremony commemorating the national student day at Allameh Tababai University in December 2016.

She faces a two-year ban on leaving the country, taking part in social and mass media, including the press, and membership in political parties and associations.

Iranian authorities have increased their crackdown on student protesters with prison terms and restrictions on their peaceful activities, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement on July 21.

According to HRW, As of mid-July 2018, reliable sources reported that revolutionary courts had sentenced at least eight student protesters from universities in Tehran and Tabriz to prison sentences of up to eight years and banned some of them from membership in political parties or participating in media, including social media, for two years.

Instead of enabling a safe environment for peaceful activism, Iranian authorities have gone back to their favorite response: cracking down on peaceful dissent, said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. While encouraging students to participate in public discourse, the authorities in practice prosecute them for peaceful assembly.

On March 7, the Telegram channel of the Association of Unions for University Students reported that Branch 26 of Tehrans revolutionary court had sentenced Leila Hassandzadeh and Sina Rabiee, student activists from the University of Tehran who were arrested on January 1, to six years and one year in prison respectively, and a two-year travel ban on charges of conspiracy and collusion to act against national security and propaganda against the state.

The association also reported that, on March 5, a trial court had sentenced Mohsen Haghshenas, a student of set design at the University of Tehran, to two years in prison on charges of conspiracy and collusion to act against national security and disruption of public order by participating in illegal assemblies.

On June 12, the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), an independent human rights group, reported that Branch 15 of Tehrans revolutionary court had sentenced Sina Darvish Omran, a student of German language, and Ali Mozaffari, an anthropology student, both at the University of Tehran, to eight years in prison and two-year travel bans. The court also banned them from membership in political parties and participation in media, including social media, for two years.

On July 10, Roya Saghiri, a student at the University of Tabriz, posted on her Instagram account that a court of appeal had upheld her 23-month prison sentence for propaganda against the state and insulting its pillars. Several days earlier, a court had sentenced two University of Tabriz students, Ali Kamrani and Ali Ghadiri, to six months in prison.

The charges, vaguely defined, are usually used against political and human rights activists who have been recognized as anti-Islamic Revolution and anti-state dissidents by intelligence and judiciary officials.

Mahmoud Sadeghi, a parliament member from Tehran, tweeted on June 28 that courts reportedly based their verdicts and sentences against student activists on reports and interrogations by Intelligence Ministry officials.

Mansour Gholami, the science, research, and technology minister, told state-run Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) on July 18 that a committee in the ministry is negotiating with authorities for leniency in the sentencing of these students.

Since March, 125 university lecturers and dozens of student associations have called upon President Hassan Rouhani to intervene to protect student rights.

During his presidential campaigns (2013-2017), Rouhani repeatedly promised to create a safe environment for students to freely voice their concerns and criticism.

President Hassan Rouhani, who ran under the promise of citizens rights, should direct the ministries under his supervision to halt these abuses against university students, Whitson said. These are the young people who are so often extolled as essential to the countrys future economic success.

The uprising against corruption, poverty, and unemployment that broke out in December in the Shiite holiest city in Iran, Mashhad, soon turned into widespread demonstrations against the establishment and its highest authorities. The demonstrations continued for 11 days across the country, leaving at least 25 dead and more than 5,000 arrested.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 24

Trend:

Over the past 24 hours, Armenias armed forces have 87 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said July 24.

Armenias armed forces were using large-caliber machine guns.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 24

Trend:

The next monitoring is planned to be carried out in the direction of the Tovuz region on July 25 on the state border of Azerbaijan and Armenia in accordance with the mandate of the personal representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan said July 24.

The Field Assistants to the Personal Representative the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Gennady Petrik and Martin Schuster will conduct monitoring on the part of Azerbaijan. The monitoring on the part of Armenia will be conducted by Field Assistants to the Personal Representative Ognjen Jovic, Mihail Olaru and Simon Tiller.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 24

Trend:

There are objects in Armenia, after the destruction of which there will be no life in these territories for centuries, the press service of the Ministry of defense of Azerbaijan told Trend July 24.

The statement was made following the remarks of the head of the criminal military regime in the occupied Azerbaijani territories Levon Mnatsakanyan about "striking, if necessary, the Mingachevir hydroelectric power station."

The press service said that the analysis of the Armenian press shows that the delusional statements of the military-political leadership of this country and the representatives of the separatist regime in Nagorno-Karabakh prove that they are seriously concerned, are in fear and panic.

The Azerbaijani army is ready for any development of events on the frontline, the message said.

The most modern weapon systems that are in service with the army and have the crushing power, are capable of destroying all the important military facilities of the enemy and strategic communications in a short time, said the message.

As for the absurd statemtn of Mnatsakanyan, the air and missile defense systems of Azerbaijan ensure the full security of the air space, as well as the state and military facilities of special importance, said the defense ministry.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 24

Trend:

A working meeting between the experts of NATO and the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan is being held within the Defense Education Enhancement Program (DEEP) according to the NATO-Azerbaijan joint action plan for supporting the development of the military education system, the press service of the Ministry of Defense said in a statement July 24.

Discussions on the topic of "Electronic Education Module" are being held during the working meeting.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 24

Trend:

There are no Azerbaijani citizens among those killed and injured in forest fires in Greece, the Spokesperson of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Hikmet Hajiyev said July 24.

The Azerbaijani Embassy in Greece is in contact with the relevant agencies of this country, he added.

The number of deaths due to heavy fires that broke out near Athens, increased to 50 people, Sputnik Greece reported earlier.

The Red Cross employees and volunteers found 26 dead bodies near the beach of the resort area of Mati, to the east of the capital on July 24 morning. As noted, people tried to get to the sea to escape from the fire.

The fire spread to coastal settlements between Athens and Corinth. Dozens of firefighters, three aircraft and two helicopters are involved in extinguishing the fire, but a strong wind prevents them from taking control of the fire.

The Greek authorities have introduced a state of emergency in the areas located to the north-east and west of Athens.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 24

By Elchin Mehdiyev  Trend:

Unlike other countries, Azerbaijan took timely measures against the Gulen movement, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who is on a visit to Baku, said at a press conference July 24.

The Gulen movement is trying to penetrate into countries through the schools that it has financed, he said.

"Some countries were late in this issue and the Gulen movement managed to penetrate into those countries, Cavusoglu added. But Azerbaijan took timely measures. Turkey will continue to support Azerbaijan in the fight against the Gulen movement."

Azerbaijan is the first country that was close to Turkey in the fight against that terrorist organization, he said.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 24

By Elchin Mehdiyev  Trend:

Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has said he may meet with Armenian foreign minister in September.

"An agreement was reached to hold a meeting in September, Mammadyarov said at a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, who is on a visit in Baku July 24.

A proposal was made to hold the meeting at the UN General Assembly or earlier. I expressed my readiness for the meeting from the Azerbaijani side."

As for a high-level meeting, Mammadyarov said the Armenian side asked time for that.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 24

By Azad Hasanli  Trend:

Fraternal relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey are of great importance for stability, security and development in the region, Azerbaijani Prime Minister Novruz Mammadov said at a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Baku July 24.

The relations between the two countries are at the highest level, he added. There are very strong and close ties between Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Speaking about joint projects being implemented by Azerbaijan and Turkey, Mammadov stressed that the implementation of such projects as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars, Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline testifies to unbreakable fraternal relations between the countries.

These projects will contribute to the welfare of not only Azerbaijan and Turkey, but also the region as a whole, he said. The projects will also contribute to the strengthening of international cooperation.

Both countries successfully cooperate in all international organizations, Mammadov said. Turkey is always close to Azerbaijan and renders great support for the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

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.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @AzadHasanli
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 24

By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:

Azerbaijan and Colombia opened new opportunities for cooperation in such areas as tourism, trade and others, Azerbaijan's ambassador-at-large Azer Huseyn said at an event in Baku July 24 dedicated to Colombia's Independence Day.

"In recent years, relations between countries have developed dynamically both at the state level and between parliaments," he said.

Azer Huseyn noted that Azerbaijan highly appreciates the adoption of resolutions by the Congress of Colombia on the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"The activity on holding political consultations between the two countries continues, Azerbaijan attaches special importance to relations with the countries of Latin America," the diplomat said.

He expressed confidence that relations between Azerbaijan and Colombia will be further strengthened in the future.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, July 24

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

The delegation of Turkmenistan led by Deputy Foreign Minister Berdiniyaz Myatiev took part in the meeting of the leadership of the foreign ministries of Central Asian countries in the city of Cholpon-Ata (Kyrgyzstan), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan said in a statement.

The parties noted in a joint statement after the meeting that, the promotion of interregional investment cooperation between the countries of Central Asia is important for their business activity.

The sides exchanged views on current topics of the global agenda during the event.

The participants of the meeting confirmed their commitment to the reached agreements for further consolidation of the Central Asian states and stressed the need to develop the agenda of the upcoming summit of heads of state of the region to be held next year in Uzbekistan, the message says.

The issues of security provision, borders, transport and transit communications, the use of water and energy resources, trade and economic cooperation were considered during the meeting, the joint statement says.

The parties noted the need for development of cooperation in particular within the framework of international and regional organizations for combating international terrorism and extremism, drug trafficking, transnational organized crime and other challenges and threats to regional security, and called for integrated use of water and energy resources in Central Asia, stressing the importance of developing sustainable long-term mechanisms for mutually beneficial cooperation in this field taking into account the interests and needs of all states in the region.

In addition, the parties noted the cultural, historical and linguistic community of the peoples of Central Asian countries and confirmed their commitment to further cooperation in the field of education, culture, art, science, tourism.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 24

Trend:

Germany's Deutsche Bank AG will allocate a credit line of $500 million to the National Bank of Uzbekistan for financing investment projects, Podrobno.uz reports.

The credit line will be provided in order to finance investment projects in various sectors of the economy, such as the energy sector, transportation, agriculture, medicine, petrochemicals, infrastructure, metallurgy, aviation and others.

"The uniqueness of the agreement lies in the provision of long-term financing for the import of equipment and technologies from different countries, including the USA, China, Korea, Japan, Germany, France, Italy and Spain," the National Bank noted.

The National Bank has already signed the loan agreements with leading banks in Germany for a total amount of 950 million euros. The largest agreement for 500 million euros was signed with Deutsche Bank AG.

Also, agreements have been signed with Commerzbank AG for 350 million euros and AKA Bank for 100 million euros. They provide for financing of investment projects, as well as initiatives of small businesses and private enterprises.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, July 24

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

The regular meeting of the Turkmen-Romanian working group on cooperation in the field of transport was held in the Pre-Caspian city of Turkmenbashi, the Turkmen Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The parties considered the prospects of cooperation and outlined the prospects of partnership between the sea ports of Turkmenbashi and Constanta, the message says.

This refers to the diversification of transport routes in the European and the reverse direction using all transit and transport opportunities and transport infrastructure facilities of the two countries.

The parties have been studying the optimal routes for the Black Sea-Caspian Sea transit corridor using the advantages of Constanta and Turkmenbashi ports.

In particular, the State Service of Maritime and River Transport of Turkmenistan has been studying in recent years the possibility of transportation of goods, including liquefied gas to Constanta port. The supply route involves the use of special containers and runs through the Caspian Sea to Baku (Azerbaijan), and further to Batumi or Poti (Georgia, the Black Sea region) by rail and therefrom to Romania by sea.

The opening ceremony of the international seaport was held in the beginning of May in the Pre-Caspian Turkmenbashi City. The cost of the project implemented by Gap Insaat Company (Turkey) is more than $1.5 billion.

With the commissioning of the Turkmenbashi port, the great opportunities have emerged for sending goods arriving in Turkmenbashi port along the "Silk Road" route from Asia and the Pacific region, further to European countries through the ports of Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran. The port complex includes a common loading terminal, bulk cargo terminal, polypropylene terminal, as well as shipbuilding and ship repair docks. The road with flyover junctions has also been built, and the railway tracks have been laid.

The project is developed in accordance with the international Greenport standard. The annual intake capacity of the port will be 17-18 million tons. Together with the previously operating port, this figure makes up 25-26 million tons. The international ferry and passenger port can serve 300,000 passengers and 75,000 trailers per year. The container terminal has an average annual capacity of 400,000 TEU.

Multimodal Logistics Park provides a range of services for storage and the combined handling of containers and cargo delivered by air, road and rail transport, providing their transshipment onto water transport and vice versa.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 24

By Huseyn Veliyev - Trend:

Carlsberg Azerbaijan Brewery has arranged export of beer to Georgia and Kazakhstan, Head of Corporate Affairs function of Carlsberg Azerbaijan LLC Nadezhda Ovsyannikova told Trend.

The chain of supply of products in the region is arranged in such a way that exports come mainly from Russia, which is not very good for Azerbaijan, Ovsyannikova said.

"However, we agreed on the supplies of beer from Azerbaijan to Georgia this year, because the dispatch interval is much shorter this way. As for Kazakhstan, despite the fact that our factory is working at full capacity in this country, the products are in short supply, and we have reached an agreement that we will supply our products to the western regions of Kazakhstan from Azerbaijan," Ovsyannikova said.

Carlsberg Azerbaijan's production facilities allow for covering the demand for beer in the local market and for exporting it outside the country, Ovsyannikova noted.

"Carlsberg Azerbaijan was one of the six largest factories in the times of the former Union. This refers to a fairly large production capacity. In comparison with the volume of consumption, which exists in the domestic market, and it is quite modest, we have reserves to engage in export as well", Ovsyannikova said.

The peculiarity of the Azerbaijani market is that the brewing products have a very strong seasonality and the peak of sales falls on May to August, Ovsyannikova noted.

"Of course, all the work of our factory is built on this principle. The production facility is working at full capacity in the summer season, and we try to manufacture as much products as possible. As the saying goes, "summer day feeds the year." Autumn and winter are the time of modernization, technical work so that we could work more intensively and more effectively next year," Ovsyannikova said.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, July 24

By Fikret Dolukhanov  Trend:

General Motors Corporation (GM) offered the Uzbek automaker Uzavtosanoat JSC to buy out the factory in St. Petersburg, while the Uzbek side expected to have the enterprise on lease, or contract the assembly of cars, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation told Trend.

The ministry noted that earlier the Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov offered the Uzbek side to organize in Russia production of class A cars - Spark (R2), class MPV - Damas and class D - Malibu.

Later on, by mediation of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, negotiations were held between the Uzavtosanoat and GM companies concerning the possibility of signing a Special Investment Contract (SPIC) on organizing assembly of cars at the GM factory in St. Petersburg. The negotiations have not yielded any results.

Earlier, the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation refused to comment on the information on the plans of the Uzbek automobile holding to sign the SPIC with the Russian side, referring to the fact that the matter is in the competence of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia.

In turn, the Committee on Industrial Policy and Innovation of St. Petersburg told Trend that they do not have information on Uzavtosanoat's plans to sign a SPIC on assembly of cars at the GM factory in St. Petersburg.

The Committee, however, noted that such a possibility was discussed earlier at the level of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation.

On the other hand, the representative of the Committee confirmed interest to the GM plant in Petersburg from the German BMW and the Belarusian Unison automakers.

"The Committee on Industrial Policy and Innovations of St. Petersburg held negotiations with representatives of listed companies. The final decision has not yet been made," the source said.

The Belarusian company didn't provide Trend with comments on the course of the talks with the Russian side, referring to the existing confidentiality agreement. BMW, on their part, said that they consider Kaliningrad as a possible place for construction of a future factory in Russia.

Russian media agency Kommersant recently reported that the factory's capacities are now offered to the American motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, July 24

By Fikret Dolukhanov - Trend:

The German company Siemens may build in Tashkent a filling station for electric vehicles, within the framework of the initiatives being implemented in the territory of the Tashkent City business center, the company announced during the presentation held in the capital of Uzbekistan.

Siemens presented its solutions for modern business complexes, such as systems for power supply, complex automation and building safety, road and pedestrian traffic management, and smart parking.

The German company is also planning to build the first 100-megawatt wind power plant in the Zarafshan district of Navoi region on the terms of public-private partnership. The total cost of the project is $100 million.

In mid-May 2018, it was reported that Siemens considers Uzbekistan to be one of the promising markets in Central Asia and expects to begin implementing joint projects in the energy, industrial and other sectors soon.

Tashkent City international business center will be located on an area of 80 hectares in the center of the capital between Alisher Navoi avenue, Olmazor and Furkat streets and Islam Karimov avenue.

The project will build high-rise buildings for offices, hotels and apartments. In addition, conference halls and exhibition centers, a hypermarket, a large number of retail space, restaurants and cafes, as well as underground parking will be created.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, July 24

By Fikret Dolukhanov  Trend:

Uzbekistan and Vietnam have signed agreements on cooperation in development of fish, rice, tea and black pepper production, the Foreign Trade Ministry of Uzbekistan stated.

The corresponding agreements were reached upon the 7th meeting of the Uzbek-Vietnamese Intergovernmental Commission on trade, economic and scientific and technical cooperation, held in Tashkent on July 23.

From the Uzbek side, Foreign Trade Minister Jamshid Khodjayev and Uzbek Ambassador to Vietnam with residence in Jakarta Ulugbek Rozukulov took part in the meeting. The Vietnamese side was headed by Deputy Industry and Trade Minister of Vietnam Hoang Quoc Vuong and Vietnamese Ambassador to Uzbekistan Pham Van Phao.

The Foreign Trade Ministry of Uzbekistan noted that the trade turnover between the two countries increased by 16 percent in 2017 and exceeded $33.0 million. In the 1H2018, the volume of mutual trade increased over 2.5-fold and amounted to about $30.0 million.

The parties noted that there is a potential and real possibility for increasing the volume of bilateral trade turnover in 2018 to $100.0 million.

The priority direction of bilateral relations between the countries is further expansion of mutually beneficial foreign economic cooperation. Namely, increasing volumes and expanding range of trade, as well as deepening cooperation in such areas as fish farming and sericulture, cultivation of tea crops and black pepper.

It was earlier reported that Uzbekistan will also study experience of Russia's Tatarstan in fish production for implementation of projects aimed at developing fishing industry within the framework of a newly created free economic zone.

With this purpose, the delegation of Uzbekistan visited the Laishevsky district of Tatarstan, where they got acquainted with the project of the Biosphere-Fish farm.

The project provides for cultivation of 6 million sterlet fry and trout. The project will allow producing 50 tons of fish meat.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, July 24

By Fikret Dolukhanov  Trend:

Recently, science in Uzbekistan has moved away from the real needs of the economy, Uzbek news website Gazeta.uz quoted President Shavkat Mirziyoyev as saying at the Nuclear Physics Institute of the Academy of Sciences.

The head of state noted that interaction between theory and practice remains on paper, and dozens of scientific institutes were closed due to lack of funding. As a result, according to Mirziyoyev, the lack of incentives led to the outflow of talented, promising scientists abroad.

And what have we achieved by that?! There is not a single bright result of scientific research. We are proud to produce cars, although in fact we are assembling them. The first car factory was built over 20 years ago, but spare parts are still purchased abroad. The question is: where is the science, where are the enterprises that implement its results? Why are not young people going to science?" the president said.

The complete disconnection between science and production, as Mirziyoyev noted, led to the science itself and the entire economy falling behind.

The head of state reminded that although over 700 patents were registered as a result of scientific research carried out under state funding during the last five years, only 18 of them have been implemented in real production.

That is our result. We know that every scientific work should be considered as a product, which must have a certain customer. I repeat: there must be a customer for each and every product of scientific activity. But studies have shown that only 43 results of scientific research of our scientists are fit for implementation in practice, the president noted.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev said that now he will personally review scientific research works and approve them.

I gave the order to show the research results to me to approve them personally. Which one of the scientific works will reduce the import, change the quality, will be effective, will there be any development? And we have found only 43. I signed them. If scientific discoveries will not bring economic benefits to any of the industries, or if research is not carried out based on real needs, why do we need them? asked the president.

Mirziyoyev reminded that the country's imports amount to $14 billion each year, whereas the money could be spent on setting up production in Uzbekistan, rather than importing simple spare parts.

Addressing the ministers present at the meeting, the head of state instructed them to study the possibility of creating import substitution technologies given there are sufficient conditions for local scientists.

You, the intelligentsia, scientists, should know: patience is needed, we must unite, it is time to work for the result, the president underlined.

President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev also instructed to allocate a grant of $100 million to support introduction of scientific research results in practice.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, July 24

By Ilkin Shafiyev - Trend:

The Azerbaijani company based in Astara region, has supplied 450 kilograms of honey to Great Britain, the Chairman of Management Board of the Azerbaijan Beekeepers Association Badraddin Hasratov told Trend July 24.

He noted that the approximate cost of the order was about $10,000.

The companies from the UAE also show interest in the Azerbaijani honey, Hasratov said.

"A specific order for 50 kilograms of honey has already been received from the company from Dubai. Negotiations are underway with other importers from the UAE, as well as Chinese companies and companies from Saudi Arabia. We also intend to increase exports to Japan," the head of the association said.

He noted that, according to forecasts, Azerbaijani companies will export about 10 tons of honey this year. At the same time, it is necessary to increase domestic production and reduce the prime cost of the manufactured products in order to increase the export potential, Hasratov said.

The available capacities allow for increasing twice - up to 10,000 tons the volume of production of honey in the country for a few years, the head of the association said.

Azerbaijan exported honey, dairy products, eggs and other types of food products of animal origin in the amount of $4.71 million, imported goods in the amount of $66.45 million in January-June 2018. The exports grew by 23.6 percent, imports - by 11.54 percent compared to the same period in 2017.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, July 24

By Huseyn Veliyev  Trend:

Azerbaijan is preparing to export more modern solar panels to the international market, Deputy Director of the State Agency for Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources Jamil Melikov told Trend.

Taking into account the appearance of modern solar panels, it makes no sense to supply the old type panels to the international market, since no one will buy them, Melikov noted.

"Therefore, in order to move forward we must first apply new technologies, set up the production of modern and high-performance solar panels, and only thereafter enter the markets of neighboring and other countries," Melikov said.

The issue of modernization of the plant for the production of solar panels of Azguntex company is on the agenda, he said.

"It is not yet possible to specify the dates when the work in this direction will be completed, as the discussion of contracts and the definition of the amount of funds required for this work continue now. It is necessary to agree with the technology supplier, to determine commercial conditions and on this basis, to supply the necessary equipment," Melikov said.

As previously reported, the modernization of production will allow for increasing the power capacity of the panels from 250 to 330 watts. New solar panels will be able to accumulate more solar energy.

The work is estimated at 150,000-200,000 euros. The annual capacity of the plant after modernization will grow from 25 to 60-65 megawatts. The two production lines with a capacity of 100,000 panels per year will operate after completion of the modernization.

The Azguntex plant has been operating since April 2012. The service life of the produced solar panels is 30-40 years.

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Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, July 24

By Huseyn Hasanov - Trend:

A meeting with Mohammed Haji Al-Khouri, the Director General of the Charity Foundation of the UAE named after Khalifa Bin Zayed al-Nahyan has been held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, the Turkmen Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The UAE delegation expressed full support for international initiatives of Turkmenistan on sustainable energy, security, transit and transport, the message says.

The parties also discussed the prospects of interstate relations in such areas as political, trade and economic, education and science spheres.

The relations between Turkmenistan and the UAE are characterized by a high level of trust based on the principles of mutual respect and equal partnership, the participants of the meeting noted.

Turkmenistan is one of the key players in the energy market of the Caspian region and ranks fourth in the world in terms of gas reserves.

Turkmenistan supplies gas to China and to Iran at the present stage. Construction of the Turkmen section of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline is also under way. The Trans-Caspian gas pipeline project to be laid through Azerbaijan to Turkey and Europe is also being discussed.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 24

By Ilkin Shafiyev  Trend:

Ukrtransnafta PJSC has sold another 10,000 tons of the Azeri Light oil at electronic exchange trades, the Ukrainian media reported referring to the Ukrainian Energy Exchange.

The oil has been purchased by one of the companies of the Privat Group for the Kremenchug oil refinery, the media reported.

Ukrtransnafta has already sold 35,000 tons of Azeri Light from the Yuzhny offshore oil terminal taking into account today's trades. Some 30,000 tons were purchased by Privat Group, 5,000 tons  by Ukrgazdobycha PJSC.

Ukrtransnafta is the operator of the oil transportation system of Ukraine. Some 100 percent of its shares are managed by the national joint stock company Naftogaz Ukraine. The system of oil pipelines of Ukrtransnafta, with a total length of 4,700 kilometers, passes through the territory of 19 regions of Ukraine.

In 2H2017, Ukrtransnafta PJSC successfully sold at exchange trades 83,000 tons of Urals oil and 42,800 tons of Azeri Light. Ukrgazdobycha PJSC purchased 10,800 tons of Azeri Light and 2,000 tons of Urals from this volume.

Azerbaijan has been producing Azeri Light since 1997 and exports the oil of this grade via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Supsa pipelines, as well as by rail to the Georgian port of Batumi.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, July 24

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

Azerbaijan and Colombia are discussing the prospects for cooperation in the oil and gas sector, Charge d'Affaires of Colombia in Azerbaijan Marta Galindo said at an event in Baku July 24 dedicated to Colombia's Independence Day.

"We are pleased with the progress achieved in the relations between the two countries over the past two years, she said. Colombia has already started to cultivate pomegranates thanks to the mutual interest of Azerbaijan and Colombia to develop agriculture and as a result of the joint work of the private sectors from the two countries. Presently, such projects are being developed for the export of dried fruits and hazelnut from Azerbaijans Zagatala District.

The diplomat stressed that flowers and coffee are being supplied from Colombia to Azerbaijan.

"The implementation of projects for the supply of tropical fruits from Colombia to Azerbaijan will also yield results soon, Galindo said. Moreover, negotiations are being held with the Azerbaijani side to attract long-term investments in the oil, gas and transport sectors."

She also said that Chile's embassy will open in Azerbaijan in the second half of this year.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, July 24

Trend:

Foreign Ministers of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan Sirodjiddin Aslov and Erlan Abdyldaev have agreed to accelerate the process of determining the border between the states, Sputnik Tajikistan reported referring to the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry.

The agreement on delimitation was reached within the framework of the meeting of the foreign ministers of Central Asian countries in Cholpon-Ata city.

This issue is extremely relevant for both republics, on the border of which the disturbing incidents accompanied by shooting and military actions occur from time to time.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, July 24

By Huseyn Hasanov - Trend:

The official opening of the "Silk Road" visa service center of Turkmenistan has taken place in Beijing, the "Neutral Turkmenistan" newspaper reported.

The Embassy of Turkmenistan in China and the leading consulting company Beijing Sungxiong Foreign Service company have acted as the initiators of the establishment of the visa service center.

"Silk Road", which is situated in the prestigious "Sanlitun" district of the Chinese capital, will provide comprehensive advisory services to tourists and companies.

The range of services includes SMS-notifications, photocopying of documents, online documentation of insurance policy, mobile biometrics and courier delivery.

The Chinese companies are represented in the Turkmen market in oil and gas and telecommunications spheres, transport, agriculture, textile, chemical and food industries, health care and construction sectors.

China has implemented a number of major projects in the gas sector. In particular, CNPC company is taking part in the development of the contract territory of "Bagtyyarlyk" and construction of facilities on the giant gas field "Galkynysh". Since 2009, China imports Turkmen gas with the prospect of increasing the volume of gas imports to 65 billion cubic meters of fuel per year.

According to data for 2016, about forty enterprises with Chinese capital are functioning, and about 70 investment projects totaling more than $4 billion and 2.3 billion yuans have been registered in Turkmenistan.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, July 24

By Huseyn Hasanov - Trend:

President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov has signed an order according to which a number of ministries and organizations are ordered to donate humanitarian aid to the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Turkmen government said in a statement July 24.

The document was signed proceeding from the friendly, fraternal and good-neighborly relations between Turkmenistan and Iran, in order to provide humanitarian assistance to the victims of the earthquake in the Iranian province of Kermanshah.

The humanitarian cargo has already been handed over to the Red Crescent Society of Iran.

Turkmenistan was among the first to provide assistance to the people of Iran.

The number of victims of the magnitude 5.9 earthquake, which occurred July 22 in western Iran, reached 287 people. Some 43 villages were affected by the disaster, 101 buildings were completely destroyed.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 24

Trend:

President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev will visit Kyrgyzstan on an official visit in September this year, "Podrobno.uz" reported referring to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan.

The visit is reportedly due to the outcome of negotiations between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan Abdulaziz Kamilov and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan Erlan Abdyldaev held in Cholpon-Ata city of Issyk-Kul region on the sidelines of the consultative meeting of foreign ministers of Central Asian countries.

"The sides discussed the issues of implementation of agreements reached during the official visit of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sooronbay Jeenbekov in Uzbekistan (December 13-14 2017, Tashkent) and exchange of visits, particularly the visit of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoev in the Kyrgyz Republic in the framework of his participation in the summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (September 3, 2018, Cholpon-Ata city)", the Foreign Ministry of Kyrgyzstan said.

A constructive discussion of the prospects for increasing bilateral cooperation, as well as the topical issues of mutually beneficial Kyrgyz-Uzbek relations in political, water-energy, cultural, humanitarian and other spheres took place during the meeting.

In addition, the parties exchanged views on the entire range of Kyrgyz-Uzbek relations, discussed the current state and prospects of bilateral cooperation, as well as the implementation and organization of the main events scheduled for 2018.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 24

Trend:

Uzbekistan will allocate a loan of $100 million for the development of the business of three Tajik banks, Sputnik Uzbekistan reported, referring to Avesta news agency.

The funds will be distributed between his credit institution "Orienbank" and the "Eskhata" Bank, the Chairman of "Amonatbonk" Rukhullo Khakimzoda said.

They will receive the loan at 8% per annum if the loan is given for the period of one year, and at 9% per annum if the loan repayment period is from 1 to 3 years.

Entrepreneurs should use these funds for the import of goods from Uzbekistan to Tajikistan and their subsequent sale.

As of today, 12 Tajik companies have expressed interest in loans in the total amount of $19.9 million, their applications will be considered by credit organizations in the near future.

It was reported earlier that, the German bank Deutsche Bank AG intends to allocate 500 million euros to the National Bank of Uzbekistan.
Tehran, Iran, July 24

By A. Shirazi - Trend:

Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said no specific date has been set for concluding talks with Europe on ways to preserve the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

No single date has been set for conclusion of the talks, but the remaining parties to the deal, namely the Group 4+1 (Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany) are aware that there is not much time left as the first round of US sanctions goes into effect in August, Qassemi told ILNA news agency on July 24.

He further expressed hope that Europe would finalize the talks soon and offer its practical proposals.

We do not need statements and lip services. What we need today is a package that could provide guarantees, the senior diplomat said.

Earlier, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the European Union has a time limit of 14 days to offer its package of practical proposals to save the deal, also known as JCPOA.

There is a deadline for the EU to offer its practical proposals and the date is August 6, Araqchi said.

We are in talks with Europe to hammer out an executive mechanism for fulfilling EUs commitments, he said.

Last week, the bloc's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the 28 countries were doing all they could to save the deal, but conceded President Donald Trump's administration could still wreck it.

"Today, the [European] Council has endorsed the update of the blocking statute annex on the nuclear deal with Iran," Mogherini told reporters in Brussels at a meeting with EU foreign ministers.

She said the European Parliament gave its consent to the statute two weeks ago.

The blocking statute forbids EU firms from complying with US sanctions, allowing them to recover damages from such penalties and nullifying any foreign court rulings against them.

The EU vowed to fight to preserve the Iran nuclear deal after the US withdrawal, one of many points of US-European contention.

The blocking statute is due to enter force on August 6, when the first set of US sanctions are due. The second set is due November 4, just before US legislative elections.

The move came after the Trump administration rejected an EU call for an exemption from US sanctions on companies operating in Iran.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi late Tuesday deplored the deadly wildfire around Athens which killed dozens of people and sympathized with the Greek people and families of the victims, Irna reported.

Fast-moving wildfires near Athens have killed at least 74 people, officials said on Tuesday, forcing thousands of tourists and residents to flee in cars and buses, on foot, aboard boats and on makeshift rafts. In desperation, some people plunged into the Aegean waters and tried to swim to safety.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has declared three days of national mourning in memory of fire victims.
Tehran, Iran, July 24

By A. Shirazi - Trend:

Police in Irans capital said that they have imposed a citywide ban on toy guns that look like working handguns and rifles.

Tehran police chief Brigadier General Hossein Rahimi said stores are no longer allowed to sell replica guns, ISNA news agency reported.

He added that selling, owning, carrying or otherwise possessing a replica could result in prosecution.

We need to get them off the streets as they resemble real guns, the general said, adding, citizens may take them as real guns.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 24

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

It does not make sense for the other OPEC+ countries to join a new organization, Edward Chow, a senior fellow in the Energy and National Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told Trend.

He was commenting on the recent idea voiced by Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak on establishing a new organization with participation of the OPEC+ countries, including Russia.

Earlier, Novak said that new organization may start its work on 1 January 2019. The minister noted that it will retain the functions of regulating oil production and will be able to cut it again, if necessary.

"We plan to start this mechanism on January 1, 2019. We will discuss it at a ministerial meeting," TASS cited Novak as saying.

He added that the options for the new organizations name, as well as the location of the headquarters have yet to be chosen.

"The recent agreements were really determined by Saudi Arabia and Russia, and there was dissension even among OPEC members. The larger an organization becomes, the harder it is to come to a consensus," Chow believes.

Tom Pugh, the economist at British economic research and consulting company Capital Economics, for his part, told Trend that Russia clearly has an interest in being closely involved with OPEC.

"But Im not sure why they would need to create a new organization. If Russia wanted to create an OPEC like organization why not just join OPEC? As such, I dont expect much to come from this idea. If it did happen though I imagine other OPEC members would react poorly, they would be increasingly marginalized by Russia and Saudi, which produce as much as the rest of OPEC. I imagine in practice it would work something like, Saudi and Russia agree on a strategy which is then passed down to the rest of OPEC where Saudi and its allies force it through," he added.

In December 2016, at a meeting of oil producers in Vienna, 11 non-OPEC member countries, including Azerbaijan, agreed to cut oil production by a total of 558,000 barrels a day. The agreement was concluded for the first half of 2017 and was extended until the end of the first quarter of 2018 at a meeting on May 25, 2017.

At the last OPEC meeting in Vienna, the agreement was again extended until the end of 2018. Azerbaijan supported the decision.

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Three people have been arrested on charges of forming a criminal gang that exploited grape and cherry pickers in the southern Puglia region in the heel of Italy's boot, police said Tuesday, Xinhua reported.

The three suspects, all Italian nationals, are a female gangmaster and two men, one a manager and one an accountant, who ran a farm with 1,000 employees, the police statement said.

The woman headed up a network of gangmasters in the region, according to investigators. She recruited the day laborers, also Italian nationals, who were bused to the farm, where they were paid 2.50 euros an hour to work up to 13 hours in the fields, picking grapes and cherries.

"The workers were forced, under threat of being fired, to work backbreaking hours with day shifts of 10-13 consecutive hours, including at night, and for 28-30 consecutive days," the statement said.

Police have seized assets worth over one million euros, including real estate, land, cars, and bank accounts, as part of their "Operation Black Stain".

The arrests and asset seizures are the culmination of an investigation that began in 2016, in which police found evidence that the criminal gang engaged in "illegal intermediation and exploitation of labor, extortion against the laborers, defrauding the national pension fund (INPS), and self-money laundering."

The Italian government in October 2016 passed a law criminalizing the practice of exploiting labor in near-slavery conditions, known as gangmastering.

This offence is now punishable with up to six years in prison, according to the Official Gazette.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who met with visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday called the existing ties between the two countries extremely important, TASS reports.

"Relations between us [Israel and Russia] are extremely importance and we implement them through direct meetings between President [Vladimir Putin] and myself, as well as between our teams," the Prime Minister's Office quoted him in a press release.
Israels military sounded air defense sirens on the Syrian frontier on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

It did not immediately give a reason for the alert.

It was the second time in two days that sirens were activated on the Golan Heights, opposite Syrian areas where Damascuss forces have been routing rebels. Israel said two incoming Syrian rockets prompted Mondays alert, but fell short.
Israel said it shot down a Syrian warplane that crossed into the Israeli Golan Heights on Tuesday, but Damascus said the jet was fired on as it took part in operations against rebels on Syrian territory, Reuters reports.

The incident added new fuel to weeks of tensions over the Golan, a strategic plateau between the two old enemies and where Israel has been on high alert as Syrian government forces, supported by Russia, close in to regain rebel-held ground.

For the second time in as many days, Israeli sirens sounded on the Golan and witnesses saw the contrails of two missiles flying skyward. The military said it fired Patriot interceptor missiles at a Syrian Sukhoi jet that crossed 2 km (1 mile) into Israeli-controlled airspace, after first trying to warn it off.

It was shot down and it crashed...most likely in the southern part of the Syrian Golan Heights, Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus said.

We do not have any information so far about the pilots. I do not know of any reports of parachutes being spotted, and we do not know if any pilots have been retrieved.

Syrian state media said, however, that a Syrian warplane had been targeted by Israel and hit while conducting raids in Syrian airspace.

The Israeli enemy confirms its support for the armed terrorist groups and targets one of our warplanes, which was striking their groups in the area of Saida on the edge of the Yarmouk Basin in Syrian airspace, the official news agency SANA quoted a military source as saying.

An Israeli military statement appeared to acknowledge that its mission was related to the civil war next door.

Since morning hours, there has been an increase in the internal fighting in Syria, including an increase in the activity of the Syrian Air Force, the statement said.

It said Israel would continue to operate against any breach of a 1974 U.N. armistice deal that established buffer zones on the Golan.

Israel worries that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad might try to defy the demilitarization regime or allow his Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah reinforcements to deploy near the Golan.

The raised Israeli-Syrian tensions have prompted intercession by Moscow, which sent its foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, and top general on Monday for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israeli officials said Netanyahu rebuffed as insufficient a Russian offer to keep Iranian forces 100 km (62 miles) from the Golan lines.

Also on Monday, Reuters witnesses on the southern edge of the Israeli-occupied Golan saw numerous warplanes and helicopters in the skies over Syrian territory.

The aircraft were dropping bombs, apparently as part of a Russian-backed Syrian government push into areas previously held by anti-government forces.

Anti-aircraft fire could also be seen, targeting the warplanes.

In February, an Israeli F-16 jet was brought down by Syrian anti-aircraft fire.

That warplane crashed in northern Israel while returning from a bombing raid on what Israel said was an Iranian military installation in Syria. Both pilots ejected and were injured, one critically.
Climbing shipments of steel from China, the worlds top exporter of the material, are the biggest concern of rival producers in Japan, the head of a Japanese industry body said on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

Koji Kakigi, chairman of the Japan Iron and Steel Federation, said he fears the escalating Sino-U.S. trade war could crimp development of the Chinese economy, potentially sapping local demand for steel and pushing more of the commodity into export markets.

His comments come as Chinas steel exports rose 2 percent in June from a year earlier, marking an 11-month high and their first year-on-year increase in 23 months, buoyed by strong international prices and a weaker yuan.

We need to closely observe the rising exports from China, Kakigi told a news conference on Tuesday.

Our biggest worry is a scenario that the U.S.-China trade war would dent Chinas economy and steel demand, leading to a surge in Chinas steel exports, he said.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he was ready to impose tariffs on all $500 billion of imported goods from China, threatening to deepen a clash over trade policy that has unnerved financial markets.

The Japanese steel industry is also concerned over a demand-hit from the potential imposition of broad U.S. tariffs on the automotive sector as it would impact their auto and auto parts customers, Kakigi said.

In May, Trump also ordered a national security probe into imports of autos and said in late June that the investigation would wrap up in three to four weeks, Reuters reported. Similar national security probes have led to import tariffs on steel and aluminum.

We strongly hope that the U.S. tariffs would not spread to the auto sector, Kakigi said, calling for Japanese government to do all it can to prevent such a move.

Kakigi, who is also president of JFE Steel, a unit of JFE Holdings, said its U.S. customers have continued to buy its products even after the imposition of 25-percent import tariffs on steel in March.

Meanwhile, China began an anti-dumping investigation on Monday into stainless steel imports worth $1.3 billion, including from a privately owned Chinese mill with operations offshore and Japanese mills such as JFE Steel, after complaints of damage to the local industry.

Kakigi said that as president of JFE Steel he did not consider stainless steel exported to China by the company to be an appropriate target for an anti-dumping probe.
US president's decision to withdraw from the historic Iranian nuclear deal met with a barrage of criticism from other P5+1 members, including a string of US' Western allies, Sputnik reported.

US President Donald Trump stated that Washington was ready to make a "real deal" on the Iranian nuclear program.

"We'll see what happens, but we're ready to make a real deal, not the deal that was done by the previous administration, which was a disaster," the American head of state said during a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

US-Iranian relations have soured to a great extent since May 8, when President Donald Trump announced that the United States's pullout from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which oversaw the step-by-step lifting of the anti-Iran sanctions in exchange for Tehran maintaining the peaceful nature of its nuclear program. In addition, Trump decided to reinstate harsh sanctions against the country.

In late June, the US State Department said that Washington was seeking to persuade its allies to completely abandon their imports of Iranian oil by early November, while US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin stressed that the United States was ready to impose sanctions against any country which would continue importing oil from Iran. The US sanctions against Iran's oil exports are expected to come into effect on November 4.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 24

By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:

Turkey is ready to help Greece to extinguish forest fires, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, Turkish media reported July 24.

He said Greece is a neighbor of Turkey, and the people of Turkey express their condolences to the Greek people in connection with the victims of forest fires.

Several large fires broke out in Greece, mainly in the capital region of Attica July 23. The 40-degree hot weather has been observed in the country in recent days, and the situation aggravated on July 23 by a strong wind - up to 7 points by the Beaufort scale. The situation got out of control, and state of emergency was announced in Attica.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 25

By Rauf Guliyev - Trend:

Turkey approached Canada to investigate the fact of the use of weapons of Canadian production by the terrorists of PKK, Turkish media reports.

Earlier, number of Canadian local media spread the article "Canadian-made assault rifle turns up in hands of terrorists" by Canadian author that says PKK terrorists used Canadian NEA-15.

NEA-15 ("North Eastern Arms")

This fact was revealed during the special operation of the Armed Forces of Turkey in the province of Mardin, where during the search of the cave Canadian machine guns were found.

The article by the Canadian author states that weapons are manufactured in Ontario by North Eastern Arms. The author also quotes the representative of the company, who stated that the sale of weapons was carried out "with the consent of the Canadian government."

The article also notes the fact that in 2016, military formations in the north of Iraq were supplied with NEA-15. Along with this, according to the article, representatives of the company made a visit to the region. "In the same year, more than 1,000 weapons were delivered from Canada to Iraq," the author notes.
KYODO NEWS - Jul 24, 2018 - 21:45 | Feature, All

A high court on Tuesday rejected a damages lawsuit filed by the 72-year-old son of a leprosy sufferer who claims he faced discrimination as a result of the Japanese government's decades-long policy of isolating victims of the disease.

The case sought to challenge the scope of victims recognized as having suffered discrimination as a result of the leprosy prevention law, which was effective from 1907 to 1996. After a 2001 court ruling recognized it as unconstitutional, the state created a system of compensation for leprosy victims who were isolated in sanatoriums as well as their families.

But the Matsue branch of the Hiroshima High Court ruled that only leprosy victims faced discrimination and their relatives did not.

The plaintiff, whose mother did not enter a sanatorium, sought a combined 19.25 million yen ($173,000) in damages from the central and prefectural governments.

"We cannot recognize that the medical treatment of the plaintiff's mother restricted his work and impoverished him," said Presiding Judge Akiyoshi Tsugamura in handing down the ruling. The high court upheld a lower court's decision.

Related coverage:

Leprosy patients' relatives seek damages, apology for discrimination

The court's decision shows that in his case "there is no such thing as a human rights issue," the plaintiff said, adding the government and courts have long trampled on rights.

His lawyers are set to appeal the ruling, which they described as "flawed" and displaying a "lack of understanding regarding the leprosy issue."

In September 2015, the Tottori District Court ruled the state should have taken steps to eliminate social discrimination against children of leprosy victims by 1960 at the latest.

But the district court rejected the plaintiff's damages claim, saying he did not know about his mother's illness until she died and the statute of limitations for seeking damages had already expired, prompting the plaintiff to appeal to the high court.

The high court also denied that the state or prefecture was liable for compensation.

The man's mother was diagnosed with leprosy in 1959 in Tottori Prefecture, but she did not enter a sanatorium for fear of discrimination and moved with the man to Osaka, where she received outpatient treatment. She died in February 1994, according to court filings.

More than 500 other people, whose relatives suffered from leprosy, have similarly filed lawsuits seeking damages from the state at the Kumamoto District Court.
KYODO NEWS - Jul 24, 2018 - 21:58 | World, Feature, All

Several people were killed and several hundred are missing after a dam in southeastern Laos collapsed, causing flash flooding in several downstream villages, Lao state-run media reported Tuesday.

The accident occurred late Monday at one of two dams of the under-construction Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy Hydroelectric Power Project in the Sanamxay district of Attapeu Province, according to the Lao News Agency, or KPL.

(Lao News Agency/Kyodo)

It said an auxiliary dam's collapse at 8 p.m. Monday released 5 billion cubic meters of water that caused flash flooding in the six villages of Yai Thae, Hinlad, Mai, Thasengchan, Tha Hin, and Samong, leaving more than 6,600 people homeless.

Provincial authorities called for emergency aid for the victims, including clothing, food items, drinking water, medicine and other relief items.

The 410-megawatt hydroelectric power project, valued at $1.02 billion, was being constructed by Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy Power Co., a joint-venture formed in March 2012 by four companies: SK Engineering and Construction and Korea Western Power, of South Korea; Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding PCL, of Thailand, and Lao Holding State Enterprise, of Laos.

Construction on the build-operate-transfer project began in February 2013 and commercial operation had been expected to begin in 2018.

Video footage posted on the Facebook page of ABC Laos news site showed people sitting on the rooftops of houses in their submerged village.

South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported that SK E&C has formed a crisis management team to respond to the disaster, while the company's President Ahn Jae Hyun and senior company officials have left for Laos to assess the scope of flood damage and to support rescue operations there.

Although initial media reports said one of the dams under construction collapsed, the company said it is checking whether the dam actually failed or if water swept over it, according to Yonhap.

(Lao News Agency/Kyodo)

An SK E&C official was quoted as saying the area had been hit by heavy rainfall three times greater than normal. "The overflow of water went downstream, which had already been flooded, causing more damage," he said.

The report said helicopters were being brought in from Thailand by the company to help rescue stranded people. It noted that the affected area is surrounded by dense forest where communication is not easy, complicating rescue efforts.

According to the joint venture's website, the project foresees the construction of a series of dams, reservoirs and water transfer conduits to contain and divert waters of the Xe-Namnoy and Xe-Pian rivers in Attapeuto Province to a hydropower generating plant in Champasack Province.

Upon completion, the project is expected to generate 1,879 gigawatt hours per year, with 90 percent of the electric power it generates to be exported to Thailand and the remainder to be sold to the local grid.
Crime Branch had requested Lokanath Behera, ADGP Manoj Abraham and Traffic IG G Laxmana to give their statements in writing on Monday.
July 20, 2018 (Reno, NV) - For decades, researchers believed the Western Hemisphere was settled by humans roughly 13,500 years ago, a theory based largely upon the widespread distribution of Clovis artifacts dated to that time. Clovis artifacts are distinctive prehistoric stone tools so named because they were initially found near Clovis, New Mexico, in the 1920s but have since been identified throughout North and South America.

In recent years, though, archaeological evidence has increasingly called into question the idea of "Clovis First." Now, a study published by a team including DRI's Kathleen Rodrigues, Ph.D. student, and Amanda Keen-Zebert, Ph.D., associate research professor, has dated a significant assemblage of stone artifacts to 16-20,000 years of age, pushing back the timeline of the first human inhabitants of North America before Clovis by at least 2,500 years.

Significantly, this research identifies a previously unknown, early projectile point technology unrelated to Clovis, which suggests that Clovis technology spread across an already well-established, indigenous population.

"These projectile points are unique. We haven't found anything else like them," said Tom Williams, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Anthropology at Texas State University and lead author of the study. "Combine that with the ages and the fact that it underlies a Clovis component, and the Gault site provides a fantastic opportunity to study the earliest human occupants in the Americas."

The research team identified the artifacts at the Gault Site in Central Texas, an extensive archaeological site with evidence of continuous human occupation. The presence of Clovis technology at the site is well-documented, but excavations below the deposits containing Clovis artifacts revealed well-stratified sediments containing artifacts distinctly different from Clovis.

To determine the ages of these artifacts, Rodrigues, Keen-Zebert, and colleagues used a process called optically simulated luminescence (OSL) dating to the ages of the surrounding sedimentary material. In OSL, researchers expose minerals that have long been buried under sediment layers to light or heat, which causes the minerals to release trapped potassium, uranium, and thorium electrons that have accumulated over time due to ambient, naturally occurring radiation. When the trapped electrons are released, they emit light which can be measured to determine the amount of time that has elapsed since the materials were last exposed to heat or sunlight.

"The fluvial nature of the sediments deposited at the Gault Site have created a poor environment for preservation of organic materials, so radiocarbon dating has not been a useful technique to apply in this region," said Kathleen Rodrigues, graduate research assistant in DRI's Division of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences. "This made luminescence dating a natural choice for dating the archaeological materials here. We are really pleased with the quality of the results that we have achieved."

###

The study was published on July 11th in the journal Science Advances and is available here: http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/7/eaar5954.

For more information on DRI's optically stimulated luminescence dating capabilities, visit http://www.dri.edu/luminescence-lab.

Jayme Blaschke of the Texas State University Office of Media Relations contributed to this release.

The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a recognized world leader in investigating the effects of natural and human-induced environmental change and advancing technologies aimed at assessing a changing planet. For more than 50 years DRI research faculty, students, and staff have applied scientific understanding to support the effective management of natural resources while meeting Nevada's needs for economic diversification and science-based educational opportunities. With campuses in Reno and Las Vegas, DRI serves as the non-profit environmental research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education. For more information, please visit http://www.dri.edu. ?
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Mostly clear this evening then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 71F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mostly clear this evening then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 71F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.
A Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) research team has developed a new female mouse model for the neurodevelopmental disorder Rett syndrome and in the process found evidence that relieving symptoms of the genetic disorder may require only partial expression of the normal copy of the involved gene, MECP2. The strategy used in the study, reported in the journal PNAS, may be useful in developing models for other disorders caused by mutations on the X chromosome.

"Developing an improved, easier-to-work-with female model for Rett syndrome is important, since the male models that have been used cannot fully replicate a disease that primarily affects females," says lead author Lieselot Carrette, PhD, a research fellow in the laboratory of senior author Jeannie T. Lee, MD, PhD, MGH Department of Molecular Biology. "Besides many more subtle differences between males and females that we don't yet fully comprehend, males obviously do not have a second, inactive X chromosome that we can target for reactivation as a potential cure."

Rett syndrome is an X-linked disorder, caused by a mutation on the X chromosome. Females inherit two copies of the X chromosome, and in each cell one copy of the chromosome is activated - meaning the genes are available for transcription - and one is inactivated. Which copy is inactivated in a particular cell is totally random, so the effects of an X chromosome mutation depend on the cells in which a mutated chromosome is activated. Rett syndrome occurs rarely in males, as the MECP2 mutation typically emerges spontaneously in the reproductive cells of the father, whose X chromosome is passed on only to daughters. However, in those cases when a human male's single X chromosome does carry the mutation, the child is severely affected and rarely survives long.

The MECP2 protein is known to be essential for normal neuronal development, and females with the mutation appear to develop normally for the first year of life. Their physical and cognitive development then slows and regresses, leading to symptoms including loss of mobility, seizures, lack of speech and social withdrawal. Affected females also exhibit repetitive behaviors such as hand-wringing and self-biting that can lead to injury. Females with Rett syndrome eventually require round-the-clock care, and the disorder is second only to Down syndrome as the most common cause of severe intellectual disability in females.

Lee's team has been investigating methods of X chromosome reactivation to treat Rett syndrome and other X-linked disorders, and earlier this year they reported a first successful attempt at doing so by combining two methods - blocking both the expression of Xist, an RNA molecule that is key to silencing the inactive X chromosome, and the gene-silencing process of DNA methylation. While their approach produced some reactivation of the dormant X chromosome in cultured cells and a genetic animal model, the systems used in that study did not carry the Rett syndrome mutation.

Lee explains, "This previous work enabled us to achieve an unprecedented level of MECP2 upregulation from the inactive X chromosome. A major goal of our present study was to develop a female mouse model that would enable us to test this drug combination in a living animal."

The challenge with creating a useful female animal model of Rett syndrome stems from the random nature of X inactivation. Because the number of neuronal cells expressing the mutated MECP2 gene can vary widely, affected female mice often only develop some symptoms, which are usually mild and appear late in life. Such a model makes testing potential therapies more difficult, since whether or when symptoms develop could be the result of an animal's original MECP2 expression level and not the drug being tested. What would be needed is a female model in which the chromosome with the mutated gene was broadly and consistently activated.

To create such a model, the MGH team targeted another RNA molecule called Tsix, which regulates Xist expression early in development when the silencing of one X chromosome is being established. Targeting Tsix could essentially "un-randomize" X inactivation, inducing more cells to express the mutated version of MECP2. The team developed two strains of mice with different Tsix mutations - one of which resulted in females with lifespans between those of the traditional female and male mouse models, a difference that was traced in part to MECP2 levels in the brain ranging as high as 20 percent of that seen in normal mice. In the other strain, MECP2 expression was reduced to less than 5 percent of normal, and those animals had significantly reduced lifespans and neurologic symptoms mimicking those of the male mouse model relied upon in most Rett syndrome research.

"What was remarkable," Lee says, "was the therapeutic benefit observed in female mice in which MECP2 was expressed in only 5 to 10 percent of brain cells. The mice showed significantly extended life and reduced disease severity."

Carrette adds, "Even small amounts of MECP2 expression appear to have big effects, which is very promising for the development of Rett syndrome treatments. Full reactivation of the inactive X chromosome might be difficult to achieve and have toxic effects due to a dosage imbalance of other genes. Partial reactivation could yield therapeutic effect while reducing potential side effects. The X reactivation approach would also be an alternative to gene therapy, which is challenging because MECP2 expression needs to carefully controlled, since too much leads to neurologic disease. Finding that not every cell needs to express MECP2 for therapeutic benefit indicates that a very low, safe dose could be effective."

A professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, Lee says, "We are also excited that the new female mouse model appears to mimic the repetitive and self-injurious behaviors that characterize human Rett Syndrome. With this animal model, we will also be able to examine the efficacy of MECP2-reactivating drugs for symptoms that have been difficult to recapitulate in other disease models. We can now test our drug combinations using this model."

###

Additional co-authors of the PNAS paper are Roy Blum, PhD, MGH Molecular Biology; and Weiyuan Ma, PhD, and Raymond Kelleher III, MD, PhD, MGH Center for Genomic Medicine. Support for the study includes grants from the Rett Syndrome Research Trust, the International Rett Syndrome Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Belgian American Educational Foundation, and Research Foundation-Flanders.

Massachusetts General Hospital, founded in 1811, is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. The MGH Research Institute conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the nation, with an annual research budget of more than $900 million and major research centers in HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular research, cancer, computational and integrative biology, cutaneous biology, genomic medicine, medical imaging, neurodegenerative disorders, regenerative medicine, reproductive biology, systems biology, photomedicine and transplantation biology. The MGH topped the 2015 Nature Index list of health care organizations publishing in leading scientific journals and earned the prestigious 2015 Foster G. McGaw Prize for Excellence in Community Service. In August 2017 the MGH was once again named to the Honor Roll in the U.S. News & World Report list of "America's Best Hospitals."
An international team of scientists, with key contributions from researchers at the University of Maryland, has found the first evidence of a source of high-energy cosmic neutrinos, ghostly subatomic particles that travel to Earth unhindered for billions of light years from the most extreme environments in the universe.

The observations, initially made by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and confirmed by ground- and space-based telescopes around the globe, help resolve a century-old riddle about what sends subatomic particles such as neutrinos and protons speeding through the universe. The coordinated effort relied on an alert system that UMD researchers played a lead role in developing.

Two papers published July 13 in Science provide evidence that energetic particles may originate in jets spewing forth from supermassive black holes--astrophysical objects dubbed blazars because of the blazingly bright light they emit toward Earth. One blazar, designated TXS 0506+056 by astronomers, was singled out as a possible source following an automated alert sent around the world by IceCube on Sept. 22, 2017.

Equipped with a nearly real-time alert system--developed in part by researchers at UMD and triggered by a single very high-energy neutrino colliding with an atomic nucleus in the Antarctic ice in or near IceCube's detectors--the IceCube experiment broadcast the coordinates from which the Sept. 22 neutrino likely came. Two gamma-ray observatories, NASA's orbiting Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and the Major Atmospheric Gamma Imaging Cherenkov Telescope, or MAGIC, in the Canary Islands, detected a flare of high-energy gamma rays that also appeared to come from TXS 0506+056, a convergence of observations that convincingly implicated the blazar as the most likely source.

"This result really highlights the importance of taking a multimessenger approach to these searches, said Erik Blaufuss, a research scientist in the UMD Department of Physics who led the effort over the past several years to create and deploy IceCubes high-energy event alert system. Any one observation made alone would likely not have let us piece together what is actually going on inside this source."

Fermi was the first telescope to identify enhanced gamma-ray activity from TXS 0506+056 within 0.06 degrees of the IceCube neutrino direction. In a decade of Fermi observations of this source, this was the strongest flare in gamma rays, the highest-energy photons. A later follow-up by MAGIC detected gamma rays of even higher energies, and observations from other instruments--including optical, radio, and X-ray telescopes--bolstered the case for TXS 0506+056 as the source of the Sept. 22 neutrino.

The result demonstrates the advantage of combining the signals from different cosmic messengers, like neutrinos and photons. "The era of multimessenger astrophysics is here," says National Science Foundation Director France Cordova. "Each messenger--from electromagnetic radiation, gravitational waves and now neutrinos--gives us a more complete understanding of the universe, and important new insights into the most powerful objects and events in the sky. Such breakthroughs are only possible through a long-term commitment to fundamental research and investment in superb research facilities."

Since they were first detected more than a hundred years ago, cosmic rays--highly energetic particles that continuously rain down on Earth from space--have posed enduring questions: What creates and launches these particles across such vast distances? Where do they come from?

Because cosmic rays are charged particles, their paths are bent by the magnetic fields that fill space. But the powerful cosmic accelerators that produce them also produce neutrinos, which are uncharged and thus unaffected by even the most powerful magnetic fields. Because they rarely interact with matter and have almost no mass, neutrinos travel nearly undisturbed from their creation, giving scientists an almost direct pointer to their source.

Detecting the highest energy neutrinos requires a massive particle detector, and IceCube is by volume the world's largest. Encompassing a cubic kilometer of deep, pristine ice a mile beneath the surface at the South Pole, the detector is composed of more than 5,000 light sensors arranged in a grid. When a neutrino interacts with the nucleus of an atom, it creates a secondary charged particle, which, in turn, produces a characteristic cone of blue light that is detected by IceCube and mapped through the detector's grid of sensitive cameras. Because a charged particle and the light it creates stay essentially true to the neutrino's direction, they give scientists a path to follow back to the source.

Particles of particular interest to the IceCube team pack a more energetic punch. The neutrino that alerted telescopes around the world had an energy of approximately 300 TeV. (The energy of the protons circulating in the 26.7-kilometer ring of the Large Hadron Collider is 6.5 TeV.)

Following the Sept. 22 detection, the IceCube team quickly scoured the detector's archival data and discovered a flare of over a dozen astrophysical neutrinos detected in late 2014 and early 2015, coincident with the same blazar, TXS 0506+056. This independent observation greatly strengthens the initial detection of a single high-energy neutrino and adds to a growing body of data that indicates TXS 0506+056 is the first known accelerator of the highest energy neutrinos and cosmic rays.

###

The IceCube Collaboration, with over 300 scientists in 49 institutions from around the world, runs an extensive scientific program that has established the foundations of neutrino astronomy. Their research efforts, including critical contributions to the detector operation, are funded by funding agencies in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is funded primarily by the National Science Foundation and is operated by a team headquartered at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. IceCube construction was also funded with significant contributions from the National Fund for Scientific Research (FNRS & FWO) in Belgium; the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the German Research Foundation (DFG) in Germany; the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat, and the Swedish Research Council in Sweden; and the Department of Energy and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Research Fund in the U.S.

This news release was adapted from text provided by Silvia Bravo Gallart at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The research paper, "Multimessenger observations of a flaring blazar coincident with high-energy neutrino IceCube-170922A," The IceCube, Fermi-LAT, MAGIC, AGILE, ASAS-SN, HAWC, H.E.S.S, INTEGRAL, Kanata, Kiso, Kapteyn, Liverpool telescope, Subaru, Swift/NuSTAR, VERITAS, and VLA/17B-403 teams, was published July 13, 2018 in the journal Science.

The research paper, "Neutrino emission from the direction of the blazar TXS 0506+056 prior to the IceCube-170922A alert," IceCube Collaboration: M.G. Aartsen et al., was published July 13, 2018 in the journal of Science.

Scientific Contacts:

UMD: Erik Blaufuss, Research Scientist, Physics, +1 301-405-6077, blaufuss@umd.edu

UMD: Greg Sullivan, Professor of Physics and Fellow, Joint Space-Science Institute, +1 301-405-6035, gws@umd.edu

University of Alberta: Darren Grant, IceCube Spokesperson, dgr@ualberta.ca

Media Relations Contacts:

The University of Wisconsin-Madison: Silvia Bravo Gallart, +1 608-308-3003, silvia.bravo@icecube.wisc.edu

UMD: Chris Cesare, +1 301-405-0824, ccesare@umd.edu

NSF: Joshua Chamot, +1 703-292-4489, jchamot@nsf.gov

NSF: Peter West, +1 703-292-7530, pwest@nsf.gov

Press Conference Details:

Media are invited to attend a U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) press conference announcing the multimessenger astrophysics breakthrough led by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. The press conference will take place on Thursday, July 12, 2018, at 11:00 a.m. EDT and will be held at NSF headquarters (2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, Virginia 22314). Because space is limited and pre-registration is required for security access, please RSVP by close of business on July 11 to symposium@nsf.gov, including the tag MEDIA in the subject line of your RSVP. Event details, including building entry and how early to arrive, will follow your RSVP. The press conference will also stream live to https://www.youtube.com/c/VideosatNSF/live.

The following researchers will offer brief opening remarks with time for questions at the end of the panel:

MODERATOR:

France Cordova, Director, National Science Foundation

PANELISTS:

Francis Halzen, IceCube Principal Investigator, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Regina Caputo, Fermi-LAT Analysis Coordinator, University of Maryland/NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center

Razmik Mirzoyan, MAGIC Spokesperson , Max Planck Institute for Physics

Olga Botner, Former IceCube Spokesperson, Uppsala University

Representatives for about 20 observatories on Earth and in space that have participated in these results will be in the room July 12 and will be available to the media after the press conference. Reporters following the event remotely can send questions to symposium@nsf.gov.

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The College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences at the University of Maryland educates more than 9,000 future scientific leaders in its undergraduate and graduate programs each year. The college's 10 departments and more than a dozen interdisciplinary research centers foster scientific discovery with annual sponsored research funding exceeding $175 million.
* Luckin only launched in January, but already has 660 outlets

* Focuses on cheap delivery, online ordering and big discounts

* Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC is an investor

* Speed of attack is a warning to other brands - consultants

* Starbucks warned of flat or negative June qtr same-store sales

* U.S. coffee chain seen as very resilient in face of new rivals

By Pei Li and Adam Jourdan

BEIJING/SHANGHAI, July 24 (Reuters) - Qian Zhiya may be Starbucks worst nightmare.

The 42-year-old Chinese entrepreneur says she is betting that her fledgling Luckin Coffee brand will eventually have more cafes in China than Starbucks, and she has Singapores sovereign wealth fund and other investors bankrolling her plan.

Luckin, which only officially launched in January, has opened more than 660 outlets in 13 Chinese cities thanks to a supercharged growth plan based on cheap delivery, online ordering, big discounts and premium pay for its staff.

Its assault comes at a crucial time for Starbucks, which has 3,400 stores in China  its second biggest market after the U.S. - and plans to almost double that number by 2022.

And the speed of the attack is a warning to other established consumer brands in China that they too could be vulnerable to a start-ups attempt to reinvent a market, brand consultants say.

Starbucks shares were pummelled in June after it warned same store sales growth in China had plunged to zero or worse last quarter, against 7 percent growth a year earlier. Its fiscal third-quarter results are due out on Thursday.

Starbucks said some new cafe openings were cannibalising customer visits at nearby stores and it also blamed a drop-off in orders through delivery firms.

While it did not mention increased competition, investors and analysts said it is clear that Luckin does represent a threat.

However, they also point out that Starbucks brand has been very resilient to challenges from rivals around the world over the years, largely because of the ambience of its stores, its service and the consistent quality of the coffee served.

Story continues

There is also no sign that Chinese consumers have turned against such a very American brand as a protest over U.S. President Donald Trump's imposition of punitive tariffs on Chinese exports.

BIG PROMOTIONS

Reuters spoke to 30 consumers in Beijing Yintai Center, a shopping mall that has a Starbucks, Costa Coffee and Luckin outlet, among others. Half of those polled said they had tried Luckin; most said they liked it, though more than two-thirds said their top choice remained Starbucks.

The majority drank coffee in-store or bought to take away, with only a small number saying they had coffee delivered, a potential challenge for Luckin's delivery-focused strategy. Taste, convenience and environment were their top three priorities, more than price.

Luckins customers can order coffee via an app, watch a livestream of their coffee being made, and have it delivered to their door in an average of 18 minutes, the company says. A regular latte, roughly the size of a Starbucks grande, costs 24 yuan plus 6 yuan for delivery (free delivery for orders of more than 35 yuan), but can be half price after promotions. A grande latte at Starbucks costs 31 yuan.

More than half of Luckins stores are larger "relax" outlets or pick-up stores with some seating. The rest are delivery kitchens.

The speed of Luckins growth is extraordinary  it took Starbucks about 12 years to open as many stores. In many ways it echoes the way in which some major Chinese technology firms, such as ride hailing platform Didi Chuxing, have burned through cash to grab market share and been valued highly as a result.

Qian, who was previously chief operating officer at Chinese ride hailing firm Ucar, says Luckins focus now is all about increasing customers.

"I don't have a timeline for profit," Qian told Reuters at the firm's Beijing headquarters as she sipped her third Luckin coffee of the day. "For us, what we care about now is the number of users and if they are coming back to us, whether they recognise us, whether we can take market share."

The firm raised $200 million this month to help fund its expansion, including an undisclosed sum from Singapore government fund GIC, a funding round which Luckin said valued the firm at $1 billion.

In the future we will have more cafes than Starbucks, she declared.

One of the investors in the latest fundraising said it is the logical time for there to be a shake-up of the coffee world in China.

This model will appeal to young customers amid the country's consumption upgrade, said the investor, who asked not to be identified.

The use of online ordering and delivery should be enough to unnerve many established brands, said Bruno Lannes, Shanghai-based partner with consultancy Bain & Co.

"It's a big threat, that's why western brands need to pay attention," he said.

"FLASH MOB"

Still, not everyone agrees the internet model translates easily to the coffee business, given the need for costly stores and quality control.

"It remains to be seen if they can really hook consumers in and create a monopoly in the market, like those we see in sectors like cab-hailing," said Liu Xingliang, president of tech consultancy China Internet Data Center.

And some of the consumers Reuters spoke to in the Beijing mall saw hurdles ahead for Luckin.

Liu Xu, 23, an advertising professional, who compares Luckin to a flash mob that came out of nowhere, said he tried the firms coffee out of curiosity but prefers hand-drip single-origin coffee.

And Lian Yiheng, 22, a student, said she was attracted by Luckin's promotions and the convenience of delivery, but felt it needed to improve its selection of coffees and store decoration to lure people in the longer run.

Qian said the plan was to have more sit-in stores and reduce the proportion of delivery-only outlets, which would require higher spending on setting up in better locations and on decor. On the question of quality, she says that it uses select arabica beans from Ethiopia.

Luckin's expansion comes as Starbucks global rivals, like Canadian chain Tim Hortons, are also pushing hard in China. Tim Hortons plans to open 1,500 outlets in China over the next 10 years, while smaller local chains are also popping up fast.

As Chinas middle class continues to increase in size and the coffee chains move into many smaller towns and cities, the market is growing at 5-7 percent a year, according to research firm Mintel.

Li Yibei, owner of Double Win Cafe, which has a chain of eight coffee shops in Shanghai, said Luckin would have an impact on the market, but there was plenty of space left.

"Maybe they will hit Starbucks to some extent, but remember Starbucks has many die-hard fans. Maybe they can grab some followers from them, but I don't think that many," she said.

Starbucks may also soon be moving more formally into online delivery in China. Howard Schultz, Starbucks' departing executive chairman, said in Shanghai this month that he was close friends with Jack Ma, the head of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, which controls food delivery platform Ele.me. , and suggested the two could work together on Starbucks online delivery in China.

Schultz also said he isnt wasn't worried about the China slowdown.

"The more good coffee and competition that comes into the market, the more the Chinese people will be exposed to good coffee," he said. "Emerging new players that are coming into the market will actually benefit Starbucks." ($1 = 6.8142 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Pei Li in BEIJING and Adam Jourdan in SHANGHAI; Additional reporting by Julie Zhu in HONG KONG and BEIJING newsroom)
In this weeks Trump Watch, more on Maria Butina, the alleged Russian spy, and her lawyer. Plus, a quick look ahead at Paul Manaforts trial. And the Gavel Tracker returns, after the withdrawal of Ryan Bounds nomination to the Ninth Circuit. I always appreciate hearing your thoughts and feedback, so please email me at ekim@alm.com, or find me on Twitter @elliskkim. Thanks again for reading.

Who is Maria Butina? A Chat With Her Lawyer

The indictment of Maria Butina, a 29-year-old Russian woman accused of acting as a covert Russian agent, is among the more fascinating subplots in the Russia-related investigations. The news came after President Trump faced broad condemnation this week for questioning the U.S. intelligence communitys assessment that Russia interfered in the U.S. presidential election in 2016. (Hes since attempted to walk that back.) Either way, Butinas arraignment Wednesday offered two starkly different portraits: One of a woman who came to the U.S. to study at American University, graduating with a 4.0 GPA. The other, a budding Russian spy who developed rapports with and infiltrated U.S. political circles in service of Russian interests. Butina, who entered a not guilty plea Wednesday, did not speak in court. She was ordered jailed pending her trial. So who is representing Butina? Meet Robert N. Driscoll, a conservative Washington lawyer. If youre a regular Fox News viewer, you might know him better as the Former DOJ Official that regularly appears. (Indeed, he happened to appear on Fox days before Butinas arrest, discussing the other prominent Russian indictments, related to the hacking of the DNC in 2016.) Heres a quick look at the McGlinchey Stafford attorney: Hes mostly handled political scandal cases. As an Alston & Bird partner, he repped Mike Elston, the DAGs chief of staff during the U.S. attorney firing scandal, and the ATF whistleblower in the Fast and the Furious gunwalking scandal. He also counts as a client Diana Denman, a 2016 Republican National Convention delegate who proposed a platform change that would have backed the U.S. arming Ukraine to fend off pro-Russian rebels. Shes said the Trump campaign resisted that languageand that has been a question of interest to federal investigators. I asked Driscoll Thursday why he decided to represent Butina: I dont think shes a spy. I really dont. I think she is innocent, Driscoll said. Shes allegedly a foreign agent, and her job as a foreign agent was to establish lines of communication? So its illegal to talk to people? She didnt bribe anyone. She didn't ask about nuclear plant codes. She went to the National Prayer Breakfast. Thats illegal because she told someone in Russia about that? While Driscoll believes Russia attempted to influence the 2016 elections, he described his client as someone swept up in the frenzy of Russia-related probes. I think (the case) is a classic mixture of law and politics, like a lot of cases I handle. I think you have to be sensitive to that. I think that you cant overlook that role. Youre foolish if youre going to represent her in this case and not recognize were in the midst of a pseudo-Red Scare again, where its like being Russian is a suspect thing because of the trouble the two countries are having. So thats whats hard here: its how to separate those two things.

Story continues

Manafort Trial in Virginia Set to Start

A jury trial for the presidents former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, is about to begin. Barring any changes, his trial in Alexandria, Virginia, kicks off with jury selection Wednesday. Potential jurors could also arrive at court Tuesday. Manafort faces an array of tax and bank fraud charges hereand for almost a year, prosecutors have unspooled details in court docs of how the longtime political operative allegedly hid tens of millions of dollars he generated through lobbying work on behalf of Ukraine. That money, prosecutors say, has been used to finance an opulent and luxurious lifestyle. Manafort also faces separate charges, including for violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, in Washington, D.C.. That trial is set for September. So what can we expect in Alexandria? Two developments this week offer a clue. A prosecutor working on the special counsels case, Uzo Asonye of the U.S. attorneys office in the EDVA, submitted an exhibit list Wednesday that previews nearly 500 items of evidence that could be introduced: Photos of Manaforts homes and cars, bank records, and emails with associates. We could also learn more about Manaforts alleged lobbying schemes on behalf of Ukraines now ex-President Viktor Yanukovych. Wednesdays exhibit list makes note of memos Manafort wrote for Yanukovych going back as far as early 2010.  Rick GatesManaforts longtime associate who began cooperating with Muellers team in Februarycould testify, as some former federal prosecutors have suggested. Then theres the mystery of the five currently unknown, potential witnesses for whom Mueller asked the court this week to grant use immunity in exchange for their testimony. All this aside, lawyers for the special counsels office and Manafort will head to Judge T.S. Ellis IIIs courtroom Monday to square away various pre-trial matters.

Gavel Tracker

In an unexpected move Thursday, the White House yanked the nomination of Ryan Bounds, President Trumps first nominee to the Ninth Circuit. Bounds, currently an assistant U.S. attorney in Oregon, was felled by his writings as an undergraduate at Stanford University. In one article for a student publication, he railed against race-focused groups, accusing them of fostering what he described as race-think. (You can find our story here, plus my colleague Ross Todds three takeaways from the day.) Even with Bounds failed nomination, its worth noting Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley have continued to confirm Trumps circuit court picks at record pace. This week, the Senate voted, 50-49, to approve Andrew Oldham, general counsel to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, to the Fifth Circuit. As many have noted, Trump easily outpaces most of his predecessors on circuit court confirmations. Heres our Gavel Tracker to keep you up to date, but note that Kennedys retirement officially kicks in July 31, and is not included in the vacancy count:
MAKEEN, Pakistan  As millions of Pakistanis prepare to vote in the July 25 election, residents of one remote village in a restive northwestern corner of the country are boycotting the polls.

Residents of Nargosa Shabi Khel village in the mountainous South Waziristan tribal district on Afghanistans border say they will not vote until authorities arrest the alleged murderers of a local teenager.

The family and residents of Nargosa claim that heavily armed men killed Abdul Kalam, a 16-year-old, on July 21.

His father, Khandan Khan, says that surrendered Taliban and security forces surrounded their house around 6 a.m. on July 21. Surrendered Taliban locally refers to former members of Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant organizations that virtually controlled South Waziristan and six more districts in the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), which were merged into adjoining Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province this year.

They forced me and my two sons to go before them. Three of these surrendered Taliban then shot and killed my son Abdul Kalam in front of women and children [in our family], Khan told Radio Mashaal. We are now boycotting the election, and we will not vote until we see justice for my sons murder.

His neighbor, Malik Adam Khan, agrees. He says the entire Shabi Khel clan within the Pashtun Mehsud tribe is boycotting the polls.

He [Kalam] was innocent. It is beyond cruel what happened here, he said. All members of the Shabi Khel clan will not vote until we see the murderers of Kalam being brought to justice.

The incident appears to be related to renewed Taliban influence in Waziristan and other parts of former FATA, where tens of thousands of civilians, militants, and soldiers were killed during more than a decade of Taliban attacks and military counterinsurgency sweeps. Millions were displaced by the fighting.

Last month, scores of protesters were killed and injured in clashes between armed former Taliban and mostly unarmed members of the Pashtun Tahafuz (Protection) Movement in Wana, the administrative capital of South Waziristan. Officials, members, and supporters call these Taliban the Aman (Peace) Committee, which mostly operates as a government-backed militia.

Sher Amal, another Nargosa resident, blamed the government for bringing back hard-line members of militant organizations under amnesty deals that locals say require them to not attack the security forces but offer little protection to civilians.

We have endured displacement for more than 10 years. We still live in the tents [because our houses were ruined] and dont have any weapons to protect ourselves, he told Radio Mashaal. We were not interested in fighting these people [militants] even when we used to bear arms. Our complaint is that the government is bringing them back.

Sheraz, another local resident who goes by one name only, says that the surrendered Taliban were accompanied by the army when they came looking for Kalam.

He was killed in front of his parents and siblings and then the army took away his Watan Card (identity card), he said.

It was not possible to contact the surrendered Taliban. Radio Mashaal attempted to reach the Pakistani militarys media wing for comment. Repeated attempts to contact Colonel Shafiq of the Inter-Services Public Relations for comment were also not successful.

In the past, the Pakistani military has denied helping militants. But last month chief military spokesman Asif Ghafoor said the Wana Peace Committee comprising former Taliban had played a major role in stabilizing the region.

The peace committee has fought in the war against terrorism for years, he told journalists on June 4. They fought in the war against terrorism and are now doing their part in the [current] phase of stabilization.

The PTM, however, plans to protest the murder. Shah Faisal Ghazi, a leader of the movement, told Radio Mashaal that they will launch a protest campaign soon after this weeks election is over.

We still dont have any courts and justice in Waziristan and other regions of [former FATA], he said. These people [militants] are protected by the government and are still killing people.

Abubakar Siddique wrote this based on Radio Mashaal correspondent Sailab Mehsuds reporting from Makeen, South Waziristan.
Eladt wrote:

Hi guys,



Did anyone also received this message when trying to connect to the online practice exam: "Unable to load questions. Cannot read property Section Number of undefined"



In addition - when trying to open the practice exam via the Gmatprep tool, the "Next" button on the right just doesn't appear...



Any suggestions?



thanks!

Hii,I am also facing same issue. can anyone help??
One product to protect all your devices, without slowing them down.

A hacker attack on Singapores largest group of healthcare institutions has compromised 1.5 million patient records, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a press release.

Investigations by the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) and the Integrated Health Information System (IHiS) confirmed that the attack was deliberate, targeted, and overall very well planned.

It was not the work of casual hackers or criminal gangs, according to the press release.

The stolen data include name, NRIC (National Registration Identity Card) number, address, gender, race and date of birth. Investigators said the records were not tampered with or deleted.

Diagnosis, test results, doctors notes and other records were not touched and other public healthcare systems were not targeted, investigators said.

A notable finding was that the perps specifically and repeatedly targeted Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loongs personal records.

The attack was detected on July 4, when IT administrators noticed unusual activity on one of SingHealths IT databases. The attackers reportedly accessed the database by hacking a single front-end workstation.

They subsequently managed to obtain privileged account credentials to gain privileged access to the database. Upon discovery, the breach was immediately contained, preventing further illegal exfiltration, reads the report. All patient records in SingHealths IT system remain intact. There has been no disruption of healthcare services during the period of the cyberattack, and patient care has not been compromised.

SingHealth has started contacting all patients who visited its clinics from May 1, 2015 to July 4, 2018, to notify them if their data had been exfiltrated. Singapores MOH has directed the Integrated Health Information System (IHiS) to conduct a thorough review of the countrys public healthcare system to improve cyber threat prevention, detection and response.




IceViking strongly condemns physical attacks and harassment directed towards them.





They are also often victims of the Islamic idea. This is true when it comes to the cruel and tragic treatment of Muslim women and children when it is in accord with the Koran, the example of Mohammed and Islamic law, Sharia, which may be applied regardless of where a Muslim male may find himself in the world, whether in a Muslim or non-Muslim country.





However, in no way, shape or form should one judge all Muslim men because of what is in Islamic scripture and what constitutes the Islamic law, Sharia.





"Race", ethnicity or basically anything that you are "merely" born with should never be a basis for bigotry and discrimination.





Apostates from Islam have been executed for 1400 years in accord with the Koran and the words and actions of the Islamic prophet Mohammed and Islamic law, Sharia.





They should be lovingly helped.





Furthermore, approximately as many as 11,000,000 Muslims may have been killed by other Muslims since 1948.





To quote the website The Religion of Peace (TROP), edited by Glen Roberts:





While it may be safe to say that a true Muslim would not intentionally kill another true Muslim ( 4:92-93 ), the Quran places no such value on the life of a Muslim who is not true. Consider verse 9:73 :

Strive hard against the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and be harsh against them, their abode is Hell.

The Arabic for strive hard uses the same root as Jihad - and the context in this sura is holy war (see v. 86 and 91). Thus, there are two distinct classes of people that a true Muslim is to target with harshness: disbelievers and hypocrites.



A disbeliever obviously refers to a non-Muslim, so a "hypocrite" must be a Muslim of some sort. In fact, hypocrites are those who say they believe, but do not act as they should. In other words, they are "Muslims", but not true Muslims. They will go to hell just as unbelievers do, and so, according to the verse, their lives matter for naught.



The same sura says that a hypocrite can be recognized not just by lack of piety (reluctance to follow Sharia), but by fear of death ( 9:56 ), reluctance to fight ( 9:44-45 ) and even friendliness toward non-believers ( 9:67 ). A true Muslim would thus be a pious person who relishes martyrdom, is eager to fight, and shuns non-believers.



Even the Quranic passage that warns against killing "believers" ( 4:88-94 ) is more complicated than it first appears. It never says that a true Muslim is incapable of killing another Muslim, just that it should not be done. In fact, it makes exceptions for the unintentional killing of "believers" in war and mandates the killing of "hypocrites."



Verse 17:33 says, "Do not kill anyone which Allah has forbidden, except for a just cause" . The greatest cause of all is that Islam be superior ( 9:33 ), which is exactly what Islamic terrorists say is their goal. Thus believing Muslims are allowed to be collateral damage in the war on unbelievers.









There is sadly a phenomena that I`ve noticed in Sweden and elsewhere of people using true facts about Islamic doctrine and history as a cover for all sorts of irrational targeting of Muslims, ranging from xenophobia and racism to verbal abuse and physical attacks.





This is strongly condemned by this website and does not in any way serve serious criticism of orthodox Islam and other important work.





It`s also important that one tries to express oneself in a civilized way. Words matter.





In this bloggers humble opinion the root cause of the problem is the ancient doctrine of orthodox Islam.













In simple terms a non-Muslim is a Kafir.





" The Koran defines the kafir and kafir is not a neutral word. A kafir is not merely someone who does not agree with Islam, but a kafir is evil, disgusting, the lowest form of life."





An exact quote, as stated in the writings of Dr. Bill Warner in the article "Kafir" at http://www.politicalislam.com/kafir .





In the perfect Koran (Allah`s direct and literal word as revealed to Mohammed through the angel Jibril), Muslims are told 89 times to emulate Mohammed in all ways (see Koran 33:21 for instance).





Mohammed`s example, the Sunna, is found in the Hadith (stories of what Mohammed said and did) and the Sira (biographies of Mohammed).





Islamic law, Sharia , is directly derived from these unchanging scriptures. It is based on the Koran`s numerous commands to obey Allah and obey the Messenger, that is Mohammed (see Koran 4:59 for instance).









Islam is Sharia. Sharia is Islam.





It is a capital crime for Muslims to deny Sharia in any way.





A Muslim is someone who submits to Islam and submitting to Islam means obeying the Sharia of Allah.





Sharia law includes pronouncements for both Muslims and non-Muslims (Kafirs).









Islam is a "complete way of life", a "complete code of life", a "complete system of life".





Islam is not just a religion but also a comprehensive ideology.





Islam is a supremacist ideology.





Islam is a totalitarian and imperialistic ideology akin to Communism and Nazism.





Islam is a civilization.

Islamic law, Sharia, is a manual for a civilization.





Islamic law, Sharia, governs every aspect of life.

It has a say about every conceivable human act .





Non-Muslims are morally and legally inferior in Islam. Women are morally and legally inferior in Islam.

























The History of Jihad: From Muhammad to ISIS by Robert Spencer is the first one-volume history of jihad in the English language and a great book on the topic.





Allah guarantees Paradise to those who "kill and are killed" for him (Koran 9:111).





A hadith depicts a Muslim asking Muhammad: "Instruct me as to such a deed as equals Jihad (in reward)." Muhammad replied, "I do not find such a deed." (Bukhari 4.52.44)





Muhammad himself said:

I have been commanded to fight against people so long as they do not declare that there is no god but Allah, and he who professed it was guaranteed the protection of his property and life on my behalf except for the right affairs rest with Allah. (Sahih Muslim 30)









Freedom of speech, human rights, democracy, science and human lives are all at stake in the fight against the Islamic Jihad.




Imperial Valley News Center

Furniture from China contributes to deforestation in central Africa

Los Angeles, California - Is your new coffee table contributing to the deforestation of African rainforests?

If the furniture comes from China or other parts of Asia, theres a good chance it is.

While much attention has been devoted to Chinese demand for exotic animals as a driver of poaching in Africa, UCLA researchers revealed another way the continent is being exploited  the Chinese demand for wood. And this time, United States consumers are a driving force.

A study published in Area, a journal of the Royal Geographic Society, combined economics and conservation biology and discovered an increase in Chinese timber imports from Central Africa that coincides with loss of tree cover.

According to United Nations data, between 2001 and 2015 exports of wood to China doubled from countries in the Congo Basin  with half coming from two countries: Cameroon and the Central African Republic. Looking at satellite imagery, the UCLA researchers found that the exports correlated with a loss of tree canopy. Researchers also looked at other potential drivers of deforestation, such as palm oil production and population growth, but only exports to China showed a positive correlation.

Although people from other countries buy wood furniture made in China, their imports pale in comparison to U.S. imports of such furniture, the paper noted. Trevon Fuller, lead author of the study and assistant adjunct professor with UCLAs Center for Tropical Research, said shoppers can fight the problem by making eco-conscious choices.

Consumers in the U.S. are buying a lot of cheap furniture thats made in Asia, Fuller said. They could instead buy sustainable alternatives like bamboo furniture or sustainable wood such as products certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, which come from responsibly managed forests.

Another fix could be new regulations from African governments. The paper found Gabon was the top source of hardwoods until 2010, when the country enacted regulations prohibiting the export of uncut logs. The regulations forced companies to purchase wood that has already been cut at local mills, making it harder for illegally forested wood to be taken, Fuller said. Since then, the timber industry shifted to neighboring countries.

The Congo Basin is the second-biggest source of hardwoods used to make furniture in China, Fuller said. With more than 1 million Chinese-born people living in Africa, the country has had a huge presence on the continent for decades. However, stopping all logging isnt a viable solution. In parts of the basin, timber is the largest industry  eliminating it would destroy livelihoods.

But if harvested timber isnt sustainable, its very detrimental to the environment, Fuller said.

Fuller witnessed how the logging industry led to destruction in the African rainforest, which is home to numerous vulnerable species including gorillas, pangolins and forest elephants  along with multiple birds and reptiles.

In 2016 I was in southwest Cameroon, he said. Sometimes youre driving and you just see these massive parts of the country that have been deforested. Its shocking the contrast between mature forest and the deforested area.

For the past two years, teams of UCLA students have been working on another solution with Taylor Guitars  which uses ebony to produce musical instruments. Their goal is to develop ebony production methods that are sustainable for the environment and local economies. Ebony takes 80 years to mature, so one potential answer is co-cropping, which means growing another revenue-producing crop such as bush mango alongside the trees to provide an alternative stream of income.

The approach gives communities short-term benefits, allowing fruits to be sold and consumed, along with longer-term benefits for selective harvest of ebony, said Tom Smith, UCLA professor of evolutionary biology and a coauthor of the timber study.

Both the paper and the ebony project are products of UCLAs Congo Basin Institute, a regional base for scientific research and education that was created to address the regions environmental and social problems  and to give African scientists a place to conduct research without leaving the continent.

Reporting from Rwanda, Smith said hardwood exports to Asia are likely to increase further because of a new port in Kribi, Cameroon.

With the recent completion of the Kribi deep-water port, deforestation is likely to increase substantively. Smith said. In May of 2018, a single Vietnamese ship loaded an estimated 10,000 cubic meters of wood there  about 450 trucks worth of logs.
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When it comes to having natural gas to cook and to heat ones home with, residents of Armenias southern Syunik Province are in worst shape than the countrys other ten provinces.

Only 54% of the province gets the fuel, even though the Iran-Armenian gas pipeline runs through it.

Nation-wide, 30% of Armenias communities, totaling 139,764 residents, arent supplied with natural gas. All but two of the 300 that lack gas are rural communities. (Source-National Statistical Service)

Syunik Provincial Governor Karen Hambardzumyan says that during the Soviet era, when there was a major drive to supply Armenia with the blue fuel, communities in the north of the country first got the gas because the supply was piped from the north. The farthest south the main pipeline reached was the city of Kapan. After Armenian independence, the pipeline made its way to the town of Kajaran and the Meghri area, after the completion of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline in 2015.

Armenia: Communities Not Supplied with Natural Gas

Hambardzumyan says that as part of the Iran-Armenia gas agreement, Tehran spent $2 million to partially get gas to the towns of Meghri and Agarak. To complete construction to get gas to these towns and the village of Lehvaz would have cost $250 million. The Armenian government never allocated the money and to date Meghri residents have gone without natural gas. (It is supplied to the manufacturing sector in the town.)

Starting last year, the Syunik government has taken steps to introduce alternative energy systems in the province. Solar and photovoltaic units have been installed in some communities. The units are produced locally, according to Hambardzumyan, and thus increase the countrys overall energy independence level.

Government financial support to produce the units and install them stopped in 2018 for reasons unknown, Hambardzumyan says.

Armenia: Percentage of Each Provinces Communities Not Supplied with Natural Gas

Syunik  54%

Vayots Dzor  49%

Shirak  45%

Aragatzotn  43%

Gegharkounik  30%

Lori  27%

Ararat  12%

Armavir  9%

Kotayk  7%

Tavoush  5%

Due to a lack of funds, no gasification work is planned for Vayots Dzor, which follows Syunik in terms of lacking natural gas.

According to the information the provincial governments sent Hetq, almost all of the communities lacking gas dont plan to invest in the necessary infrastructure this year. The money just isnt there.

Lori Provincial Governor Hrant Margaryan points out that it would cost AMD 1.5 million ($3,120) to supply gas to each resident who now doesnt have any. Nevertheless, the province has submitted a 2019-2021 gasification plan to the central government, giving priority to border villages and larger communities. ( Lori is in the north of the country, bordering Georgia)

In Armavir, only nine of the provinces 97 communities lack gas. In the town of Armavir, the provincial capital, theres a neighborhood called Cheremoushka that isnt supplied with gas. Armavir Governor Gagik Mirijanyan says it will cost an estimated 100 million drams to get gas to the 47 households in that neighborhood.

Starting last year, the Syunik government has taken steps to introduce alternative energy systems in the province. Solar and photovoltaic units have been installed in some communities. The units are produced locally, according to Hambardzumyan, and thus increase the countrys overall energy independence level.

Government financial support to produce the units and install them stopped in 2018 for reasons unknown, Hambardzumyan says.

In Lernamerdz, an Armavir community of 400 founded in 1924 thats never had gas, residents started to use solar power in March 2017. In January 2017, then Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan visited the village and was bombarded with complaints on the problem. The government studied various alternative energy options and decided to install solar units since it would cost too much to bring in natural gas.

Armavirs Metzamor village also lacks gas. During the Soviet era a gas pipeline reaching the outskirts of the village was installed but a distribution system wasnt built.

People bathe by heating water using firewood and animal dung. Its embarrassing, given the year we live in. No one is leaving the village, but if this situation continues, they will. They bathe using pots and pans. Ive become a liar, telling people that the gas will soon come. Residents no longer trust me, says Metzamor Mayor Edward Mirzoyan.

The lack of gas has also negatively impacted the local economy. Most Metazmor residents grow greenhouse vegetables and have to heat the units in the winter somehow. They rely on electricity, an expensive luxury. Mirzoyan says the villages 1,400 residents consume 15 million drams worth of electricity per month.

Bagaran, an Armavir community on the border with Turkey, doesnt have the funds to invest in capital improvements. It will take donor organizations or the central government to allocate funds to get natural gas to the village.

The matter isnt even discussed. There are no resources. The municipality allocate 46 million drams in 2006 to get the gas. They ate part of the money and the work remained incomplete, says Mayor Gevorg Margaryan.

Years ago, four outlying villages in Armavir Province (Vanand, Koghbavan, Bagaran and Yervandashat) joined forces and started work on getting gas. In the end, the pipeline only made it to Vanand. They paid a company called ManShin LLC to do the work. A large diameter pipeline was installed to Vanand. From there, three feeder pipes to the other villages were to be built. Half of the money was paid to the company. The gas only got to Vanand.

Police investigators later revealed that the director of HayRusGazArds Armavir branch had learnt about the project to bring gas to the four villages and hatched a scheme to win the contract and pocket the money.

The director, V. Mkrtchyan, registered two companies (ManShin and Man-Nakh) in the names of his son. The mayors of the four villages, trusting Mkrtchyan at his word to do the work, handed over 259 million drams.

Mkrtchyan did work worth 170 million drams and pocketed the rest.

Map by Hrant Galstyan
Armenias government has started to draft the countrys 2019 state budget.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told officials at the budget meeting that attention must be paid on increasing the effectiveness of state expenditures.
NORRISTOWN, Pa.  Pennsylvanias Sexual Offenders Assessment Board is recommending Bill Cosby be classified as a sexually violent predator.

The Montgomery County District Attorney requested a hearing on the report Tuesday so a judge can decide if Cosby will be classified as a sexually violent predator. No date had been set for the hearing as of early Tuesday.

The 81-year-old was convicted April 26 on sexual assault charges related to accusations he had drugged and assaulted Andrea Constand in 2004.

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The report, which looks at 14 different areas to determine the status, is not public. State law requires Cosby to register as a sex offender. The classification would require increased treatment in prison and increased notification of neighbors upon release.

Cosby is scheduled for sentencing Sept 24.

A message was left with his lawyer.
Former US Attorney General Eric Holder Confirms Hes Considering Running For President

Former US Attorney General Eric Holder recently appeared on The Late Show with host Stephen Colbert and confirms hes considering a run for president. Holder currently is chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, an organization started by him and former president Barack Obama. The committee focuses on redistricting reform.

Watch Holder talk upcoming mid-terms and the 2020 presidential election:

On #LSSC tonight: @StephenAtHome asks @EricHolder if there's any truth to rumors of a presidential run in 2020. pic.twitter.com/yz2esF3lZg  The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) July 24, 2018

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Rural China is home to many small farms and traditional industries, but productivity is falling.

There are not enough new industries to provide economic growth. Young people continue to leave rural areas for big cities.

The situation is bad enough that Chinese President Xi Jinping has called on talented workers from the cities to move to the countryside.

That is an unusual idea for a country where the growth of cities has been an important step toward prosperity.

The ruling Communist Party appears to have several aims in calling for a return to rural areas.

The party wants to avoid social unrest in highly populated areas. It also wants to increase spending all over the country and to control the fast growth in big cities. Party leaders also want to increase the power of rural areas, where an estimated 577 million people live.

Ma Xiaohe is an advisor at the National Development and Reform Commission, Chinas top economic planning agency. He spoke to the Reuters news agency.

Ma noted that the Chinese president launched a program of rural rejuvenation last October. Xi promised projects to improve roads and other infrastructure in the countryside. He also promised to develop industries, such as farming and tourism, and bring investments to rural areas.

Since October, local governments have announced measures to bring business owners, skilled workers, college graduates and modern professional farmers to rural areas.

The central province of Henan, for example, plans to offer a total of $890 million dollars this year to Chinese who return to rural areas to start businesses. Henan wants 200,000 such rural entrepreneurs in 2018.

In Hunans Shuangfeng County, local leaders also are trying to get people to return. One sign reads, No need to go afar for work, the opportunities are right here at home.

That saying is the idea of Wang Xin. She is a representative of a local entrepreneur school which sells training services to the government.

Wang said the school hopes to get thousands of people to return to the local community to be trained in online business and other fields.

But when the school held a job fair seeking to fill 200 low-skill manufacturing jobs, few people showed up.

Young leaving rural areas

One of the issues preventing young people from returning is a generational difference.

He Sha works in a shoe factory operated by Stella International. He said, Most of the workers here at our factories are middle-aged or older. They earn an average of $400 a month.

Li Jinglong grew up in a small town in Hunan. The 27-year-old designer was educated in the United States. Li told Reuters he has no plans to return to his hometown.

Li moved to Changsha, Hunans capital, one year ago to launch his own company, which works with new businesses on issues like branding and design. If I choose to go back to the countryside one day, that would probably just be out of nostalgia, he said.

The problem is low earnings in rural areas.

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences reports that rural people have one third of the disposable income of urban people. It adds that only about 7 million people returned to Chinas countryside in the period from 2012 to 2017.

In a mountainous area of Hunan known for tea farming, 25-year-old Xiang Liping was called back by her father to supervise the familys organic tea business. The business is doing well, but she says there are not enough workers even after employing all the old people and children.

We dont have enough people here to pick the leaves, she said.

As the population in rural villages ages, economic productivity continues to decrease.

A 2016 report by Chinas State Information Center said that people aged 60 and older made up 15.6 percent of the population in rural China. That is almost 5 percentage points higher than in the cities.

That is unlikely to change soon. Young people continue to go to the cities seeking jobs and higher pay.

Zhao Fengling is 68-years-old and lives in a village. Her children, who live in the city, moved her out of her old farmhouse. They bought her a new home nearby.

But Zhao is lonely since her husband died. When he was alive, we could at least play cards, she said with tears in her eyes. My children are really good to me, but they are busy making money.

Im Mario Ritter. And Im Ashley Thompson.

Yawen Chen and Ryan Woo wrote this report for the Reuters news agency. Mario Ritter adapted the report for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

talented  adj. having a special ability to do something well

prosperity  n. a state of being successful

rejuvenation  n. to give new strength and energy

tourism  n. the industry that provides services like hotels and restaurants for people who travel

professional  adj. of or relating to a job

graduate  n. someone who has completed a study program at a school, college or university

entrepreneurs n. people who start businesses and take the risk of losing or gaining money

branding  n. the business of bringing attention to the kinds products a company produces

nostalgia  n. both the pleasure and sadness caused by remembering the past and wishing to experience it again

disposable income  n. money that is left over after important expenses are paid for

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A dam built to create electricity has collapsed in Laos. Reports say several people are dead and hundreds are missing.

State media reported the collapse Monday night caused a wall of water to flow through several villages in southeastern Laos.

The water destroyed homes and flooded villages, leaving more than 6,600 people homeless, the Lao News Agency reported. It said the disaster claimed several human lives and left hundreds of people missing, without providing details.

Rescue efforts were launched and the government sent officials to estimate the amount of damage. A call for emergency aid was issued for clothing, food, drinking water and medicine.

Many people climbed onto the tops of their homes to escape the floodwaters while awaiting help. Others floated in the water on small, wooden boats.

Much of Laos has recently been hit by floods from heavy seasonal rains.

The dam  which was still being built  was a project led by South Korean companies. Thai and Lao partners were also involved.

One of the South Korean companies, SK Engineering & Construction, said heavy rain and flooding caused the collapse. It said it is cooperating with the government to help rescue villagers.

The dam is one of several in Laos built to create electricity that is mainly sold to other countries. The collapsed dam had planned to begin operating by 2019. It was to export 90 percent of its electricity to neighboring Thailand, and keep the rest for local use.

Laos is seeking to become the battery of Asia, by building a series of hydroelectric dams. Environmental rights groups have long raised concerns about these plans. They say the projects threaten many parts of the environment and often force people out of their communities.

Maureen Harris is an expert on dam projects in Laos at the nonprofit International Rivers organization. She told the French press agency AFP the latest disaster raises major questions about dam standards and safety in Laos.

She said many of the victims had already been pushed from their communities and suffered economic harm from the dam project. Now they are experiencing further devastating impacts  loss of homes, property and family members," she said.

Im Bryan Lynn.

Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. Caty Weaver was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

battery  n. an object that provides electricity for things

standard  n. a level of quality, especially a level that is acceptable

devastating  adj. causing great damage of harm

impact  n. a powerful or major influence or effect
North Korea appears to have started dismantling important parts of its main satellite launch center.

The activity appears to fulfill a promise to United States officials by North Koreas leader, Kim Jong Un.

Some experts believe North Korea is trying to build trust with the U.S. The two sides continue diplomatic talks aimed at ending North Koreas nuclear weapons program.

Other experts say dismantling some parts of the launch area will not reduce North Koreas military ability. They also worry that the work is being done without verification.

Satellite pictures show activity

The website 38 North said satellite pictures from July 20 to 22 show efforts to dismantle parts of the Sohae launch area. The parts include a rocket engine test stand used to develop liquid-fuel engines. Such engines are used for long-distance missiles and space vehicles. A building where space launch vehicles were built before being prepared for launch also was taken apart, said 38 North.

These facilities are believed to have played an important role in the development of technologies for the Norths intercontinental ballistic missile program, Joseph Bermudez wrote. He reported the findings saying that the North Korean efforts were an important confidence building act.

An official from South Koreas presidential office said Tuesday that Seoul has also seen the activities at the Sohae launch site.

Other experts said North Korea is giving up little in dismantling the rocket engine test center.

Adam Mount is an expert at the Federation of American Scientists. He said he is worried about North Koreas decision to dismantle its facilities without verification. Such a step would require international inspectors.

In May, North Korean officials invited international reporters to watch the destruction of tunnels at its nuclear testing area. But, they did not invite international experts.

Mount said in an email that North Korea still has not dismantled centers that produce or store nuclear or missile systems or transportation for the missiles.

Lee Choon Geun is a missile expert at South Koreas Science and Technology Policy Institute. He said the Norths action was an important development and may lead to more activities at the area.

Lee said, if North Korea dismantles the entire Sohae launch area, it would reduce greatly the countrys missile threat. He said other centers in North Korea are not as well built.

But Mount disagrees. He said the threat reduction would be small. He added that North Korea has missiles that do not require a special launch center.

After his meeting with Kim in Singapore on June 12, Trump said he was told by Kim that the North was already destroying a major missile engine testing area.

The two men ended the meeting by saying they both wanted a Korean Peninsula free of nuclear weapons. But, some experts do not believe Kim will ever give up his nuclear weapons because he may see them as the best guarantee of his survival as leader.

Im Susan Shand.

Susan Shand adapted this story for Learning English based on the Associated Press news report. Mario Ritter was the editor.

_______________________________________________________________
People in Australia are leading efforts to save a critically endangered language.

At one time, an estimated 300 indigenous languages were spoken on the continent. Only about 90 are still spoken today.

Language is a central part of the culture of Australias indigenous peoples, called Aborigines. Language helps Aboriginal communities understand their tribal roots, history and customs. It also gives them a strong sense of identity.

European settlers arrived in Australia in the late 1700s. Experts say that colonization had a harmful effect on indigenous languages. Now, only about 60 of those languages are considered alive and in daily use. As older members of tribes die, other languages are likely to pass away.

In the central Australian desert near Alice Springs, only 20 people are fluent in Pertame, a language native to the area. But now, children are being taught its ancient words in hopes that it will not die out.

Kathleen Bradshaw and Christobel Swan are among the indigenous elders working to keep the Pertame language alive. Swan is one of the last remaining fluent speakers of Pertame. She is also founder of the Pertame School, which opened in Alice Springs two years ago. Bradshaw is a teacher at the school.

At Pertame School, children not only learn the language, but also cook traditional food, learn history and visit places that the community considers holy.

I want to teach my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren our language and show our country to them so they can think and talk in Pertame, she told the Alice Springs News.

Our old people, poor things, have all passed away now. There are only a few of us left to teach our kid how our old people used to live.

Swan, an expert on languages, has worked for many years at the Institute of Aboriginal Development. With the groups help, she has published language books on Pertame.

Forbidden to speak their language

Community leaders say that, for many years, white teachers refused to let them speak their native language. But they spoke Pertame in secret to help it survive.

Bradshaw recalls one of her experiences as a child.

This teacher walked past and said do not speak that lingo at school and we promised ourselves that we would talk it in secret and just keep it going and, you know, talk amongst ourselves in secret. I think a lot of non-Indigenous people they do not understand how important it is for Aboriginal people to have their language and to keep it strong.

In some schools in Australias Northern Territory, students learn in both English and an Aboriginal language. Many communities speak what is called Aboriginal English  a language that makes use of indigenous terms and culture. Its keeps some structures of standard English and includes words from Aboriginal languages.

Kriol is a north Australian creole language. A lot of children whose parents were fluent in different tribal languages speak Kriol.

Many non-indigenous Australians mistake indigenous languages for dialects of one larger language. However, the estimated 300 indigenous Australian languages were about as different from one another as, say, Russian and French.

Aboriginal Australians now make up about just 3 percent of Australias population. They suffer high rates of poverty, poor health and imprisonment.

Historical evidence has suggested that Aboriginal people have been living in Australia for at least 65,000 years. Im Phil Dierking. Phil Mercer reported this story for VOANews.com. Alice Bryant adapted his story for Learning English. Her report includes information from The Alice Spring News and other online sources. George Grow was the editor. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story

creole  adj. a language formed from the contact of two languages

critically  adj. relating to or involving a serious condition

dialect  n. a form of a language that is spoken in a area and that uses some of its own words, grammar, and pronunciations

elder  n. a person who is older or a leader

fluent  adj. able to speak a language easily and very well

indigenous  adj. produced or living in a given area

lingo  n. a language


Syria has criticized the evacuation from Syria of hundreds of Syrian White Helmet rescue workers to Jordan.

A Syrian foreign ministry official called the action a criminal process that showed the true nature of the White Helmets. The comments were reported by Syrias state-run SANA news service.

The official said the evacuation demonstrated the involvement of Israel, the United States and other western allies in supporting the White Helmets. The group has received support from the U.S. and other Western nations.

The volunteer group - officially known as Syria Civil Defense - was formed in 2013. It includes workers who enter attack areas before anyone else to rescue people in rebel-held territory.

The group says it is neutral in Syrias civil war. But the Syrian government has accused the White Helmets of working to help rebel fighters. Syrian officials have called the White Helmets a terrorist group.

The Jordanian government said in a statement Sunday that 422 White Helmet members were moved from Syria to Jordan. The statement said Jordan agreed to accept the workers after Britain, Germany and Canada promised to help resettle them in the coming months.

The Israeli military cooperated with U.S. and European allies to carry out the evacuation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about the action in a video message. He said U.S. President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and others sought help to move the rescue workers out of Syria.

The operation took place near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Officials say Syrian troops had surrounded the White Helmets there. Syrian government forces and Russian allies have been fighting an offensive against Syrian rebels in the area.

These are people who saved lives and whose lives are now in danger, Netanyahu said. I authorized bringing them through Israel to other countries as an important humanitarian gesture, he added.

Britains foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, praised the evacuation and thanked Israel and Jordan in a tweet. The White Helmets, Hunt said, are the bravest of the brave and in a desperate situation.

The U.S. State Department said in a statement it welcomed the operation. It called on the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russia to honor their promises to end the violence, and protect all Syrian civilians.

Im Bryan Lynn.

Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse and VOA News. Caty Weaver was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

evacuation  n. the action of leaving or removing someone from a dangerous place

authorize  v. give official permission for something

gesture  n. something a person does to show others how they feel about a person or situation

desperate  adj. very bad or difficult to deal with

abide by  phrasal verb. obey a rule
U.S. President Donald Trump says Iran risks serious consequences if it makes more threats against the United States.

Trumps words were written in large letters as part of a Twitter message. It appeared on Twitter Sunday night.

It came hours after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told the American leader that hostile policies toward his country could lead to the mother of all wars.

While tensions between the countries have increased, both sides have reasons to want to avoid starting a conflict that could easily intensify.

Trumps comments followed a series of speeches and communications meant to incite unrest in Iran. U.S. officials say the Trump administration wants to pressure Iran to end its nuclear program and its support of militant groups.

Iran has faced increased U.S. pressure and possible sanctions since May. That is when Trump announced his decision to withdraw the United States from a 2015 international agreement over Irans nuclear program.

In his message directed at Rouhani, Trump wrote: Never, ever threaten the United States again or you will suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before. We are no longer a country that will stand for your demented words of violence & death.

Earlier on Sunday, Rouhani had told Iranian diplomats: Mr. Trump, dont play with the lions tail, this would only lead to regret.

America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars, Rouhani said. The Iranian state news agency IRNA reported his comments.

Rouhani left open the possibility of peace between the countries. But Irans most powerful leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Saturday that negotiations with the United States would be a mistake.

Rouhani also made fun of Trumps threat to stop Iranian oil exports. He said Iran has a leading position in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, a major waterway for oil shipping.

A commander of Irans Revolutionary Guards reacted to Trumps threats by saying his country would continue to resist its enemies. Irans Students news Agency ISNA reported his comments.

War of Words

Trumps warning to Iran came hours after a speech by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Speaking in California, Pompeo described Irans religious leadership as a mafia. He also promised support for Iranians unhappy with their government.

Pompeo said that the government has become a nightmare for the Iranian people. He urged all U.S. allies to join in financially suppressing the government.

Iran reacted to Pompeos speech as interference in its affairs, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said, "Such policies will unite Iranians who will overcome plots against their country.

There is little interest among United States lawmakers for a conflict with Iran. U.S. officials note the difficulty the military faced in Iraq after its invasion in 2003. They also are concerned about the effect on the world economy of higher oil prices.

Many Iranians are worried that the war of words might lead to a conflict. But observers in Tehran told the Reuters news agency that the U.S. administration would not bring the country into another quagmire in the Middle East.

Im Ashley Thompson.

Warren Strobel and Parisa Hafezi reported this story for the Reuters news agency. Susan Shand adapted their story for VOA Learning English. The editor was George Grow.

Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

consequencen.something that happens as a result of an action or set of conditions

escalate  v.to become worse

sanctions  n.an action to force a country to obey international laws by limiting or stopping trade with that country

demented  adj. not able to think clearly or to understand what is real and what is not real

quagmire  n.a situation that is full of problems

currency n.the money used by a particular county

lion n.a large cat

tail  n.the rear end of an animal

mafia n.a secret criminal group

nightmare  n.a frightening dream
The memory of a beloved pet inspires one couple's fight against injustice.
Kanos first coding kits aimed at kids were basically some-assembly-required computers based on the Raspberry Pi line of devices. Then the company branched out into other product categories including speakers, displays, and cameras.

For Kanos next trick, youll need a magic wand. In fact, the company has one up for pre-order for $100.

The Harry Potter Kano Coding Kit is expected to ship in October.

Like Kanos other kits, the Harry Potter-themed offering is designed to help kids learn the basics of hardware assembly and software programming. In this case, you assemble a battery-powered, motion-sensing wand that can be paired with a Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, or Amazon Fire device via Bluetooth.

Once the hardware is set up, you can follow instructions for more than 70 different coding projects so that waving the wand can create music, float a feather, create fire, or perform other actions (which will be displayed on your phone, tablet, or computer screen).

The wand features a 9-axis motion sensor, RGB LED lighting, a rumble motor and a physical button. The kit comes with a poster showing motions for Harry Potter-style spells including Wingardium Leviosa, Lumos, and Incendio, and the wand runs on two AAA batteries (which provide up to 6 hours of battery life if you wave the wand non-stop).

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A man firing a handgun into restaurants and cafes as he walked along a Toronto street shot 14 people, killing one of them, before dying after an exchange of gunfire with police yesterday [Macau time], authorities said.

Police Chief Mark Saunders did not rule out terrorism as a motive in the shooting in the citys Greektown neighborhood.

Other than the shooter we have a young lady that is deceased, the police chief said.

Saunders also said a girl aged 8 or 9 was in critical condition.

A video from one witness shows a man dressed in black clothes and a black hat walking quickly and firing three shots from the sidewalk into at least one shop or restaurant. Torontos Greektown is a lively residential area with crowded Greek restaurants and cafes.

The condition of the other victims was not known yet, police spokesman Mark Pugash said.

Witnesses heard many shots and described the suspect walking past restaurants and cafes and patios on both sides of the street and firing into them.

John Tulloch said he and his brother had just gotten out of their car when he heard about 20 to 30 gunshots.

We just ran. We saw people starting to run so we just ran, he said.

An army of police, paramedics and other first responders soon descended on the scene, while area residents, some in their pajamas, emerged from their homes to see what was happening.

Toronto Councillor Paula Fletcher told CP24 she heard that the gunman was emotionally disturbed.

Its not gang related. It looks like someone who is very disturbed, Fletcher said.

Councillor Mary Fragedakis also said she heard the gunman was disturbed.

Fletcher said for this to happen in an area where families gather for dinner is a tragedy.

Mass shootings are rare in Canadas largest city.

We were so use to living in a city where these things didnt happen, Toronto Mayor John Tory said. But there are things that happen nowadays and they are just unspeakable.

This past weekend Toronto police deployed dozens of additional officers to deal with a recent spike in gun violence in the city. Tory said the city has a gun problem.

Guns are too readily available to too many people, Tory said.

Police urged people to come forward with video or witness testimony.

The mass shooting comes a few months after a driver of a van plowed into pedestrians on a Toronto sidewalk, killing 10 people and injuring 14. Authorities have not disclosed a motive. But they have said the arrested driver, Alek Minassian, posted a message on social media referencing a misogynistic online community before the attack. AP
A local resident has reported a loss of about HKD17 million in an investment scheme involving a VIP gambling room of a local casino, the Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesperson said yesterday during a press conference.

The woman, about 40 years old, was apparently lured into the business by a friend, a local man, 49, who was part of the rooms operations.

The case goes back to April 2015, when the suspect told the woman that she could invest with a high interest return (1.5 percent per month) in the VIP room that he was operating. The victim accepted the deal and invested a total of HKD20 million in the scheme.

According to her testimony, the scheme ran as expected for about one year but after that she stopped receiving interest and chased the friend for the returns, who then claimed to have had problems with the rooms operations. He said he could not return the money as he had used it for the operations of the room.

In total, the victim was said to have only been able to retrieve around HKD3 million, reporting a loss of around HKD17 million. Claiming breach of trust, the woman then presented a complaint to the PJ.

On July 19, the PJ finally managed to locate the suspect with the help of the immigration authorities, when he was preparing to enter Macau at the airport checkpoint.

The man confessed to the crime, saying that the money was in fact used for the operation of the room and that he had no means to return it to the owner.

He was presented to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) for breach of trust.

In a separate case involving the same type of crime, a manager from a seafood restaurant located in central Macau has also been accused of breach of trust by making use of his privileged position to establish a scheme in which he would replace the cash collected by employees from patrons in the cashier, with coupons from the company, usually offered to high-roller gamblers.

The case dates back to May 11, when the restaurant administration filed a complaint against the manager. According to the report, the manager, under close scrutiny by the administration, was seen collecting the cash from the settled bills of some clients from the cashier, replacing it with coupons, on May 7. According to an internal investigation by the company, he had also instructed the other employees from the restaurant that every time any patrons settled bills in cash, they should keep the cash and hand it to him, and then he would replace it with the coupons.

In total, the company claims to have lost at least MOP46,646. After the acknowledgement of the case, the manager was fired and fled to an unknown location.

On July 20, the suspect (47) and an employee of the restaurant since 2013, were caught while trying to enter Macau by the border gate checkpoint and were delivered to the PJ.

The suspect refused to cooperate with the police and was delivered to the MP under the charge of breach of trust.
Chinese leaders are scrambling to shore up public confidence and oversight of the pharmaceutical industry after a rabies vaccine maker was found faking records, the latest in a slew of public health and safety scandals that have outraged Chinese parents.

Premier Li Keqiang said in a statement that Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences Ltd., which is accused of fabricating production and inspection records, violated a moral bottom line. He pledged an immediate investigation of the company and to resolutely crack down on violations that endanger public safety.

President Xi Jinping echoed those remarks, while police in Changchun, a city in northeastern China, announced that the companys chief executive and four other executives had been placed under investigation.

Lis remarks were aimed at assuaging Chinese parents who complain about worrying over fake food, milk and medicine in a society that seems to lack a moral bottom line  and also competent, uncorrupt regulators.

Defective vaccines are like child abuse and trafficking  it touches on the most sensitive, vulnerable part of the publics hearts, wrote Xi Po, a columnist for The Paper, a popular online news outlet backed by the Shanghai government. But unlike in cases of child abuse, the vaccine scandals involve layers and layers of broken regulators and interest groups.

There were no reports of injuries due to the rabies vaccine, but the disclosure has ricocheted around social media, touching a raw nerve for Chinese parents. Two years ago, a similar scandal erupted after police broke up a criminal ring that had sold millions of faulty baby vaccines  but did not disclose the case for months.

Regulators announced last week that Changchun Changsheng, Chinas second-largest rabies vaccine manufacturer, was ordered to stop production and recall its rabies vaccine. Days later, provincial authorities in northeast China announced that batches of DPT, or diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus, vaccine were found to be defective. More than 250,000 doses of the DPT vaccine had been sold, Chinas state broadcaster reported.

Public anger ratcheted up swiftly over the weekend following a report by an anonymous author disclosing that regulators found production problems at Changchun Changsheng as early as November but did not publicize their findings or announce a recall until July. The post was widely shared and was censored by Sunday even as Chinese leaders launched a public relations response.

In his statement, Li acknowledged the governments lapse and pledged to punish offenders and regulators found in dereliction of duty. State media chimed in, with the China Daily urging the government to handle the matter in a transparent manner, while the Communist Party-owned Global Times called on authorities to follow up on peoples security demands, and supervise and regulate more effectively.

Government censors have employed a relatively light touch, allowing online news outlets like The Paper and Caixin to pursue the story while giving internet users some space to vent their frustration. By yesterday afternoon, the hashtag Changchun Changsheng makes fake vaccines had garnered more than 100 million views on Weibo.

The companys phone lines were busy for several hours and executives could not be reached for comment.

Yang Yuze, another writer at The Paper, bluntly questioned whether national policies to prop up pharmaceutical companies were opening the door to corruption.

The main problem is insufficient regulation, missing regulation, powerless regulation, Yang wrote. Its easy to see how [lax regulation of the vaccine industry] are fig leafs and excuses for the transaction of money and power. Gerry Shih, Beijing, AP
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NVs European chief has resigned after being passed over to replace ailing Sergio Marchionne as chief executive officer of the group.

The departure of Alfredo Altavilla, chief operating officer for the region, was confirmed yesterday by the company in a statement. His exit deprives new Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley of crucial management experience as he tries to steady the ship following the sudden loss of Marchionne, who was forced to relinquish his post of 14 years due to declining health.

Altavilla, 54, was a close aide to Marchionne, having overseen Fiat Chrysler operations across the globe. He was considered one of the three leading candidates for the top job, along with Manley and Chief Financial Officer Richard Palmer. Manley was selected Saturday as the new CEO, only days ahead of the companys July 25 results presentation.

Altavillas resignation raises the stakes for when Manley addresses investors for the first time tomorrow as CEO. He was already facing pressure to show he was capable of moving the Italian-American automaker forward without Marchionne. He now has the challenge of proving he can unify veteran managers around him and prevent further turmoil in the executive ranks.

Altavillas resignation was reported earlier by La Repubblica and by Bloomberg News. Hell stay on until the end of August, the company said. Manley will be interim Europe chief, after taking direct oversight of the North American operations from Marchionne over the weekend. CFO Palmer takes on added responsibility for business development.

Manley is set to meet with Fiat Chryslers top managers in Turin, Italy, today [Macau time] for a group executive council meeting, the people said. The gathering marks the beginning of his tenure following Marchionne, who is credited with saving both Fiat and Chrysler during his 14-year tenure and increasing shareholder value 10-fold.

Fiat Chrysler began trading yesterday for the first time since it became clear Marchionne would be unable to return to work following shoulder surgery the automaker announced on July 5. Italian news agency Ansa said his condition is irreversible, and he is in intensive care in a Zurich hospital following complications from shoulder surgery.

Manley faces a difficult baptism on tomorrows earnings call, Bernstein & Co. analyst Max Warburton said in a research note. CNH, the maker of Iveco trucks and Case and New Holland farm equipment, replaced Marchionne as chairman with Suzanne Heywood, managing director of Exor. It reports results on Thursday, while Ferrari, which appointed Philip Morris International Inc. veteran Louis Camilleri as its CEO, makes its quarterly presentation on Aug. 1.

Ferrari may be down more by year-end than Fiat Chrysler, Warburton said. Camilleri has an easy job operationally. But he inherits an absurd valuation, a product plan thats far from settled internally and 2021 financial targets that Sergio scribbled on a napkin and that may be difficult to deliver, the analyst said.

Manley has been head of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NVs Jeep brand since 2009, the linchpin in the companys plan to double profit in the next five years. Already, the Jeep and Ram vehicles he oversaw were responsible for 67 percent of total U.S. volume in 2017, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

Marchionne, 66, had been set to retire in April 2019. His unexpected illness accelerated the timeline for a decision on succession that was already seen as a crossroads for the company. Who would run the Italian- American automaker was just the first of a number of pivotal choices  like whether to remain independent  facing Chairman John Elkann, an Agnelli family heir.

Manleys do-list ranges from electrifying the lineup to boosting luxury brands Alfa Romeo and Maserati, to raising the profile of Jeep in China. He also faces the test of meeting rigorous fuel-economy standards in Europe and China, along with managing through political uncertainty in Italy, and trade fears in the Nafta zone and between the U.S. and European Union  both important areas for Fiat Chrysler.

People are going to wonder  the products are there, the decisions have been made, but whos going to be driving the strategic options? said Brian Johnson, an analyst at Barclays Plc. If there are deals to be made for Magneti Marelli, the parts unit set to be spun off to shareholders, for example, Whos on point for that?

Altavilla, 54, was a Fiat veteran who was head of business development and chief operating officer for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, operations he returned to profit after years of losses. The Taranto, Italy, born- executive was deeply involved with Marchionne in the acquisition of Chrysler, attending all the meetings and holding talks with the U.S. government. His father owned a Fiat dealership.

Altavilla is also a director at Telecom Italia SpA, Italys biggest phone company. He was part of the slate proposed by Elliott Management Corp. that defeated Vivendi SA to take control of the carriers board in May.

Manley, a Briton, is known for having a good rapport with dealers, which makes sense because he used to be one. He started working at Swan National Motors in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1986, and rose up through the U.K. system before joining DaimlerChrysler in 2000 to run its dealership network in the country.

He was named head of Jeep at the start of Fiats five-year acquisition, and led the transformation of the iconic American brand into a cash machine. Analysts estimate that Jeep alone could be worth the entire market value of Fiat Chrysler.

Colleagues describe Manley as serious and driven, a ferociously hard worker who inspires loyalty among his top lieutenants. Hes candid, true to his word, and a good listener, but he also does not suffer fools, said David Kelleher, a Philadelphia-area Jeep, Ram and Chrysler dealer who has worked with Manley during his decade-long stint on the companys U.S. dealer council.

When he sits in a room, if youre not a guy that works 80 hours a week, youre going to have a tough time keeping up with him, Kelleher said. He doesnt know what a weekend is; hes very much a protege of Mr. Marchionne. Tommaso Ebhardt, Bloomberg
THE Correctional Services Bureau (DSC) has announced its plan to install surveillance cameras in special jail rooms at Coloane Prison  an initiative which Macau-based lawyers believe raises serious privacy concerns.

The bureau, which has already made a case for surveillance cameras, said in a statement that some inmates are in need of strengthened supervision, particularly those who are incoming inmates, at risk of suicide, and those who are a risk to prison staff and other inmates.

The Office for Personal Data Protection (GDPD) had accepted the proposal to install special rooms, including an observation room, medical room or disciplinary room.

However, some lawyers disagree with the plan. Speaking to the Times, Jorge Menezes argued that the options open to inmates are already limited, as they already do not have freedom of movement or access to information.

Thus, the installation of surveillance cameras goes beyond what is acceptable within the constitutional right to privacy and also affects inmates dignity.

The notion of special rooms, newcomer observation room or those at risk of committing suicide are clearly under-defined. Who has access to the cameras? How, and for how long are the videos kept? How are inmates and cells chosen? the lawyer questioned.

All these are relevant questions that would need to be addressed. Who will [watch] the guard when they place and check these cameras? I find this plan rather disturbing in principle, he added.

Menezes argued that surveillance should be taken as a last resort and not the first measure to jump to when seeking to protect some interests.

It is in many cases like attempting to kill a mosquito with a grenade, the lawyer said.

And I would not tend to fully trust those in power to have the culture of moderation and tolerance necessary in dealing with these encroachments to prisoners private lives.

According to Menezes, from the governments rhetoric, it is difficult not to consider that of all the concerns expressed, the system will be primarily used against the inmates interests, rather than to protect their other interests.

Echoing the same sentiments, Lawyer Frederico Rato contended that this plan could not be proposed arbitrarily by civil servants, explaining that it should be justified by the application of the law and not just by a simple regulation.

He said that the measure should be legislated for, instead of proposed only in an administrative manner.

It must be the law that takes care of these kinds of restrictions and rights of local residents especially [] the right to human dignity and the right to a private life, he added.

How do we treat all the data that was subject to the vigilance? Is it destroyed within a week or a year? What could be the destination of that kind of data? Rato further questioned.

Recently, the SAR has been introducing measures in a bid to strengthen its security, including the body-mounted cameras used by on-duty police officers and the installation of the fourth phase of CCTV surveillance that is expected to be concluded in 2020.

According to another legal practitioner, Pedro Leal, there is currently a vigilance fever, which comprises other measures, such as the installation of hundreds of CCTV cameras on the streets.

Commenting on the bureaus plan, the lawyer told TDM that it could hardly prevent any suicide.

If you are asking me if I agree with a camera operating 24 hours in a prison cell, I dont. In fact, it violates the privacy of the inmates. Its already enough for them to be arrested, [but now] they will have to be subjected to these privacy breaches all the time, he said.

The DSC has preliminarily consulted GDPD, following which the office agreed and found no conflict with principles of data protection, according to its statement.
A leadership row erupted in the Philippine House of Representatives on live TV yesterday, delaying President Rodrigo Dutertes delivery of his annual state of the nation address and passage of a crucial Muslim rebel autonomy deal.

As Duterte arrived on a helicopter in the heavily secured congressional complex, Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, backed by dozens of allied legislators, took the main seat in the center stage of the Houses plenary hall in a sign that she was taking over the post of House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.

Arroyo, a former president, tried to speak from the stage during the dramatic standoff but her microphone was turned off. She tried to yell, apparently to explain what was happening, but later stepped away from the stage, waving at the crowd.

Alvarez, along with Senate President Vicente Sotto III, fetched Duterte and led the visibly confused leader to a holding room as the dispute over House leadership unfolded in the chamber, which was packed with diplomats, legislators and other dignitaries for Dutertes speech. Alvarez and Arroyo are both Duterte allies.

The leadership row earlier prevented the House from ratifying a Muslim autonomy deal that many hope will settle one of Asias longest-raging Muslim separatist rebellions.

Earlier yesterday, the Senate unanimously ratified the bill, which aims to establish a new Bangsamoro autonomous region in the countrys south, but House members adjourned early due to the leadership row. The government negotiated the pact for more than two decades with the countrys largest Muslim rebel group.

Duterte had been expected to sign the autonomy bill into law as early as yesterday and highlight it in his state of the nation speech as an early legacy of his presidency, which has come under heavy criticism over his human rights record and deadly anti-drug crackdown.

Thousands of protesters rallied outside the House, where Duterte was to speak.

We find it unfortunate that the Bangsamoro Organic Law was not ratified before the adjournment of todays session, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said. We consider this as a temporary setback.

There was no immediate reaction from the Muslim rebels over the latest difficulty in achieving the Malaysian-brokered peace deal, which seeks to replace an earlier poverty- and conflict-wracked autonomous region with a potentially larger, better-funded and more powerful region for minority Muslims in the south of the largely Roman Catholic nation.

In 2008, a planned signing of a preliminary pact was scuttled when opponents went to the Supreme Court, which declared the agreement unconstitutional. New fighting erupted when three rebel commanders attacked Christian communities, leaving more than 100 people dead and about 750,000 villagers displaced before a cease-fire ended the violence.

Presidential adviser Jesus Dureza said House legislators had no issue with the autonomy bill but that it was accidentally embroiled in the House leadership row, adding that he expected the legislation to be ratified at some point.

The proposed deal is the latest significant attempt by the government to negotiate an end to nearly half a century of on-and- off Muslim fighting that has left more than 120,000 people dead and displaced about 2 million others.

The two largest Muslim rebel groups in the south have dropped their demands for a separate Muslim state in exchange for autonomy and have renounced terrorism. Western governments, however, have worried about the presence of small numbers of Islamic State group-linked militants from the Middle East and Southeast Asia seeking combat training and collaboration with Filipino insurgents.

Last year, heavily armed Filipino insurgents who have sworn allegiance to the Islamic State group, along with dozens of foreign fighters, laid siege to the southern Islamic city of Marawi. Troops, backed by U.S. and Australian surveillance aircraft, routed the militants after five months of airstrikes and ground assaults that left more than 1,200 people, mostly Islamic fighters, dead and the mosque-studded city in ruins.

Aside from the Muslim autonomy pact, Duterte was expected to reaffirm his resolve to fight illegal drugs and introduce a draft constitution that would shift the country to a federal system of governance. The moves, including opening the countrys 1987 constitution to amendment, have been opposed by several groups and opposition politicians, who fear they are designed to prolong Dutertes rule and give him dictatorial powers.

Duterte, who took office in 2016, has played down such fears, saying he is ready to step down as early as next year and cut short his six-year term before a new federal government is put in place. Jim Gomez, Manila, AP
Labor strife is starting to weigh on Ryanair Holdings Plc. The discount airline posted a 20 percent drop in first-quarter profit, and warned that sporadic walkouts by trade unions, along with regional traffic-control strikes, are starting to make customers hesitant to book flights. Thats fed into a drop in prices, just as fuel costs rise and the Irish carrier shells out for 20 percent pay increases already granted to pilots. Fares fell 4 percent during the period ended June 30, and the pricing environment remains weak, Ryanair said. The company kept its profit full-year outlook, but said it was heavily dependent on fares this quarter, crew strikes, traffic-controller strikes and other wild cards such as Brexit.

HK property bears rear their heads (yet again)

Hong Kongs property market has a habit of humbling the bears, shattering predictions that the laws of gravity must eventually prevail. But now, a crosscurrent of headwinds  from a slowing Chinese economy to upcoming interest-rate hikes and a reinvigorated regulatory push to tame home prices  have emboldened some longstanding skeptics to renew calls that a correction could be imminent. Citigroup Inc. last week called time on the party, predicting a 7 percent second-half slide, and Bocom International Holdings Co.s Hao Hong sees the possibility of a decline of more than twice that. Property stocks are telling you that the correction is coming, Hong said, citing equity declines as a leading indicator, as the Hang Sang Property Index is down 14 percent from a Jan. 26 peak. I wont be surprised to see prices coming down 15 percent in the coming months.

Facebooks London office with space for 6,000 workers

Facebook Inc. will double the amount of space it occupies in London as technology firms continue to expand in the U.K. The new office buildings in the citys Kings Cross district will have room for more than 6,000 people, compared with a target of 2,300 workers by the end of this year. Facebooks statement on Monday did not say how many jobs will be created as part of part of the expansion. Workplace, Facebooks enterprise collaboration tool, is wholly built and run out of London, and the U.K. capital is also home to the engineering team responsible for the security of the social networks community. Its London teams also work on virtual reality products.
A prominent liberal South Korean politician embroiled in a corruption scandal was found dead yesterday, police said, in what appeared to be one of the countrys highest-profile suicides in recent years.

The body of three-term lawmaker Roh Hoe-chan of the small opposition Justice Party was found near a Seoul apartment building. Police said they believe Roh, 61, leapt to his death from the building after leaving a suicide note.

Dear fellow citizens, Im sorry. Its entirely my fault, so please punish me and Id like you to continue to support the Justice Party, Roh said in a note addressed to party members. He said he accepted 40 million won (USD36,260) in 2016, but without granting any political favors in return.

South Korean media reported that Roh wrote two other suicide notes to his family but their contents werent made public.

Roh faced an investigation over an allegation that he received money from an associate of an influential blogger jailed in an online opinion-rigging scandal. The allegation tarnished the clean and reform-minded image of Roh, a former labor activist who has been a symbol for progressives in South Korea.

Rohs death triggered an outpouring of sympathy from many South Koreans.

President Moon Jae-in said his heart really aches over the sad news of Rohs death. The independent counsel investigating the rigging scandal, Huh Ik-bum, told a televised briefing that he felt distressed by the tragic news of Rohs death. Huh said he respects Roh and will pray for his soul.

South Korea has one of the highest suicide rates among developed countries. A string of business executives, K-pop stars and other celebrities have killed themselves in recent years.

If Rohs death is officially determined a suicide, he would be the highest-profile politician to kill himself since former President Roh Moo-hyun jumped to his death in 2009 amid a corruption scandal involving his family. AP
Parafuturo de Macau Investment and Development Limited has pledged to put more effort into training and development this year for the sake of its growing number of members.

The public company, which has been managing the Macau Young Entrepreneur Incubation Center since October, signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with Alibaba Cloud for setting up the Alibaba Cloud Youth Entrepreneurship Training College in May.

This move aims to attract more resources from around the world and provide more professional training courses for local entrepreneurs in May.

Speaking to the Times, Wilson Lam, director of the Macau Young Entrepreneur Incubation Center, said that the center is expanding its local and international development opportunities for its members, mainly in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area and the Portuguese-speaking countries.

Just last month, at the China and Portuguese-Speaking Countries Enterprise Economic and Trade Cooperation Fair-Lisbon-2018, the center signed a cooperation agreement with the Portuguese incubator, Beta-i in Lisbon, agreeing to set up a Beta-i Macao Interactive Zone in Lisbon.

This is actually the first Macau Interactive Zone located overseas. From then on, Beta-i and our members can apply for the use of each others work space and enjoy each others entrepreneurial services, said Lam.

This intends to provide a platform for young entrepreneurs from Macau and mainland China to go to Portugal for innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as attracting Portuguese startups to come over here, the executive added.

The Macau Young Entrepreneur Incubation Center is working on partnering with Brazils incubator, Fabrica de Startups Rio, to extend the Macau Interactive Zone to Brazil and search for opportunities for local high-quality entrepreneurial projects to enter Macau and China.

A similar model to the Macao Interactive Zone has already been set up at the 760 Creative Industry Park in Zhongshan.

Since its takeover, Parafuturo de Macau has received 109 new applications as of May 31, and 70 of them have been already approved.

When we took over the whole project, it grew very quickly. This always happens and it will [settle] down a little bit, but its healthy. Its slowly growing in the right direction, said the executive.

We dont limit any startups. Basically, were helping young people to grow their business. As long as they have a business plan, we always welcome them, Lam added.

Lam explained that the application and approval rates are gradually increasing. The approved entrepreneurs are mostly from technology, cultural, exhibition and tourism, trading and medical industries.

The center, which has offered 169 membership cards, features 56 co-working spaces and four individual rooms for accelerators, which provide 36 working spaces.

Startups are required to pay MOP8,000 for an open area, and enter an evaluation period after six months.

If the business is doing well [] we are entitled to be part of their shareholders, with approximately five percent [share], said Lam.

We actually provide the space for them to start. However, more importantly, its the connection, because this is all it is.

Meanwhile, the executive noted that the local business market itself is restricted and traditional, contending that related laws and systems are not up to date, which leads to the problem that the new local startup business have to stick with the relatively traditional business area.

They should pay attention to their business models and see if they are too localized [] and focus more on thinking how to adjust and bring their business Macau Projects out to the Greater Bay Area or other Portuguese-speaking countries which own a much larger and diverse market, Lam suggested.

He then added that the Central Governments scheme  the Greater Bay Area  will open new opportunities for young entrepreneurs, noting that its partnership in the citys neighboring regions, particularly for incubation centers, would increase.

We suggest that Macau startups can explore and learn from the projects from mainland China and study and understand the entrepreneurial trends and the adaptability of the market for certain innovative ideas, the director proposed.

Meanwhile, Lam disclosed that the first Parafuturo de Macau Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition has introduced six projects to participate across three international competitions.

Two of them are Next Generation Protein Analytical Products and Services for Clinical and Research Markets and An Ambient Cell-Transportation System (ACTS) which have entered the Fosun Protechting  Startup Accelerator Program.

The participants went to their one-week boot camp in Lisbon, Portugal during mid-June.

After the pitch on the last day, the team became the only two representatives of the Chinese region to enter the final competition in November.

As for the Alibaba Cloud competition, the final instalment will be held in November.
A furor has erupted over leaked documents showing that British officials are not requiring their U.S. counterparts to provide assurances that two alleged British jihadis loyal to the Islamic State group will not be executed if they are eventually put on trial in the United States.

The Daily Telegraph said yesterday it had seen a letter from Home Secretary Sajid Javid to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions concerning two individuals who have been in custody since their capture in eastern Syria in January.

The two men, Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, were allegedly part of a notorious cell of British jihadis, nicknamed The Beatles known for their barbaric treatment of hostages.

In 2014 and 2015, the group beheaded seven American, British and Japanese journalists and aid workers and a group of Syrian soldiers, boasting of the butchery in grisly videos.
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In its latest report on global investment climates, the U.S. Department of State continues to view the Macau SAR as an investor-friendly environment.

Praising government-led efforts to maintain a transparent, free-market economy, the report said that local laws generally do not impede investment.

There are no restrictions placed on foreign investment in Macau as there are no special rules governing foreign investment. Both overseas and domestic firms register under the same set and are subject to the same regulations on business, the report noted.

It also said that Macau does not follow a forced localization policy in which foreign investors must use domestic content in goods or technology.

Intellectual property rights are well respected, and local laws are compatible with World Trade Organization standards.

The Department of State noted that foreign firms and individuals are free to establish companies, branches, and representative offices without discrimination or undue regulation in Macau and that there are no requirements for company directors to be local residents, except in the fields of education, newspapers and magazines, and legal services.

Moreover, foreign judgments in civil and commercial matters may be enforced in Macau by the local courts, the Department of State wrote, adding that such enforcement is outlined in Articles 1199 and 1200 of the Civil Procedure Code.

However, the report also raised several issues with the investment climate.

Most notably, it says that that Macau has no agency for reviewing transactions for competition-related concerns, nor does it possess a competition law.

Although the local government states that existing provisions are adequate and appropriate given the scale and scope of local economy, such a lack of provisions is not conducive to preventing the formation of monopolies.

Another potential problem concerned unemployment in Macau, which has remained almost non-existent for the past decade. This has resulted in a shortage of available manpower and acts as a top constraint for the expansion of foreign businesses.

The U.S. government entity says that, over the last decade, American investment in Macau has amounted to an estimated USD23.8 billion.
In normal times and places house prices are kept fairly close to construction costs by the ordinary processes of supply and demand. Average house prices didnt rise much over the entire 20th century, for example. Even today, house prices are kept close to construction costs in most of the United States. But extreme supply restrictions in a small number of important places (San Francisco, San Jose, LA, New York, Boston etc.), have driven average prices well above any seen in the entire 20th century.

Over the last several decades high productivity industries have become more geographically concentrated. As a result, a substantial share of the productivity gains from technology, bio-tech and finance have gone not to producers but to non-productive landowners. High returns to land have meant lower returns to other factors of production.

The return to education, for example, has increased in the United States but its less well appreciated that in order to earn high wages college educated workers must increasingly live in expensive cities. One consequence is that the net college wage premium is not as large as it appears and inequality has been over-estimated. Remarkably Enrico Moretti (2013) estimates that 25% of the increase in the college wage premium between 1980 and 2000 was absorbed by higher housing costs. Moreover, since the big increases in housing costs have come after 2000, its very likely that an even larger share of the college wage premium today is being eaten by housing. High housing costs dont simply redistribute wealth from workers to landowners. High housing costs reduce the return to education reducing the incentive to invest in education. Thus higher housing costs have reduced human capital and the number of skilled workers with potentially significant effects on growth.

Housing is eating the world.
(HealthDay)Alcohol consumption per capita is positively associated with overall cancer mortality among older men and women over a 20-year period, according to a study published online July 13 in JAMA Network Open.

Heng Jiang, Ph.D., from La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues examined temporal associations of alcohol and tobacco consumption with overall cancer mortality in the Australian population across different age and sex groups. Data on per capita alcohol consumption and tobacco consumption were collected between 1935 and 2014 among the Australian population aged 15 years and older.

The researchers found that there was an increase in cancer death rates per 100,000 persons from 199 in 1968 to 214 in 1989. After that, cancer death rates decreased steadily to 162 in 2014. Over a 20-year period, a 1-L reduction in alcohol intake per capita correlated with a 3.9 percent decrease in overall cancer mortality. Similarly, a 16 percent decrease was associated with a 1-kg reduction in tobacco consumption per capita. Among men aged 50 to 69 years and women aged 50 years and older, alcohol consumption per capita correlated significantly with overall cancer mortality. Tobacco consumption per capita was significantly associated with overall cancer mortality only among men aged 50 years and older.

"This study provides evidence that a decrease in population-level drinking and tobacco smoking could lead to a reduction in cancer mortality," the authors write.

Explore further Reducing Australia's cancer death rate

Copyright  2018 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Ebola virus may have re-emerged in a woman a year after she survived an acute Ebola virus infection, potentially leading to the infection of her husband and two of their sons, according to an outbreak report of the last known cluster of infections from a source within Liberia (occurring in November 2015), published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.

Ebola virus can persist in immunologically protected sites of the body after recovery from acute infection, and Ebola virus RNA has previously been detected in semen, breastmilk and cerebrospinal fluid of survivors. Previously there have only been two cases of the virus re-emerging, and this new cluster is the first indication of transmission from a persistently infected female survivor of Ebola virus disease.

"Despite no current active Ebola virus transmission chains in west Africa, Ebola virus persistence could pose a continued risk for resurgence of cases and may have the potential for a large-scale outbreak, if not detected rapidly and controlled," says lead author Emily Kainne Dokubo, M.D., MPH, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Further studies are needed to better understand viral persistence and transmission, and to reduce stigma against survivors. Additionally, countries and global health partners should continue to focus on strengthening health systems to prevent, rapidly detect, and respond to Ebola virus infections in the region."

Between 2014-2015, the Ebola virus disease outbreak in west Africa resulted in more than 28000 cases and 11000 deaths across Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. The first case in Liberia was reported in March 2014, and infection then spread rapidly across the country, killing more than 4800 people. In May 2015, Liberia was declared free of human-to-human Ebola virus transmission.

In June 2015, a month after Liberia had been declared Ebola-free, a flare-up of a cluster of cases highlighted the potential for retransmission, but the rapid and robust response was effective in limiting additional infections, and the country was again declared free of Ebola virus transmission in September 2015.

As part of the new cluster report published today, the authors conducted an investigation of a family of six (mother, father and four sons aged 2 months, 5 years, 8 years and 15 years), and analysed the genetics of the Ebola virus detected among some of the individuals.

Health services first identified the family when the 15 year-old son showed symptoms of Ebola virus disease and tested positive in Monrovia, Liberia, on 19 November 2015. Once Ebola virus infection was confirmed, he was moved into an Ebola treatment unit but died on 23 November.

At this point, both the father and 8 year-old brother also tested positive for Ebola virus RNA, and experienced some symptoms (tiredness, headache and fever) but both recovered. The mother tested negative for Ebola virus RNA, however, she had positive Ebola virus antibodies indicating prior infection, and epidemiological investigation suggested that she survived an acute Ebola virus infection in July 2014. The authors speculate that the mother's infection re-emerged after her pregnancy, making the infection flare-up in October 2015, then transmitting the virus to her family.

Genetic analysis suggests that the virus carried by the father, the 15 year-old son and the 8 year-old son were similar, and that it was a continuation of the 2014 west African Ebola virus outbreak, when the mother suffered an acute infection after having cared for her brother who died from Ebola virus disease. The 2 month-old also had a low level of antibodies to the virus, which is likely to be caused by the transfer of maternal antibodies through breastmilk.

By assessing the family's history, the researchers ruled out travel to areas with active Ebola virus transmission, association with people who had travelled from these areas, and contact with animals that could transmit Ebola virus as the possible source of infection. Exactly how the virus was passed from family member to family member remains unclear, but the authors suggest it could be close physical contact or contact with bodily fluids.

The authors note some limitations to their study, including that the genetic analysis of the father's virus in November 2015 was incomplete. In addition, there were no available samples from the mother and the mother's brother in 2014. During this time Ebola treatment units had limited capacity to fully investigate and diagnose cases.

Writing in a linked Comment, Dr. Lorenzo Subissi, Sciensano, Belgium, highlights the large cohort of survivors of the 2013-16 Ebola epidemic in west Africa, comprising more than 17000 people, and the stigma faced by Ebola survivors: "The potential persistence of Ebola virus in body fluids was first described during the 1995 Kikwit outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Evidence has grown rapidly during and after the 2013-16 west African outbreak, when different studies reported Ebola virus persistence in survivors' immunoprivileged sites... The findings of Dokubo and colleagues' study could lead to additional stigma around survivors of Ebola because of the potential persistence of Ebola virus in their body fluids. Vaccination might become an important strategy to control both the spread of Ebola and the stigma around it. Experts face the challenge of preparing specific communication plans adapted to the cultural context to minimise stigma around survivors of Ebola during the reintegration process in their communities. Ebola experts, under the coordination of WHO, are preparing updated recommendations on how to best structure and implement evidence-based follow-up programmes for survivors."].

Explore further New breakthrough paving the way for universal Ebola therapeutic
More than three decades ago, when Dr. Kiminobu Sugaya was a young scientist in Japan, he made a calculation: If he became a neurosurgeon, treated as many as 200 patients each year and practiced for 20 years, he would improve the lives of about 4,000 people. Only 4,000 people, he thought.

"I didn't like that. So I moved to research," he said recently in his office at the University of Central Florida's new Lake Nona Life Science Incubator.

Since then, Sugaya has been searching for a cure for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, and he said that today, more than ever, he's close to finding a cure and potentially helping millions of people.

His young company SynapCyte is working on developing a proprietary drug that targets the stem cells in the brain and triggers them to multiply and create new neurons, replacing the ones lost to disease.

"This drug is totally different from the previous ones," said Sugaya, a neurobiologist and professor of medicine at UCF. "We're re-creating your brain. That's the difference. We're not dealing with symptoms."

Sugaya's research is still in the pre-clinical stage, and all the results are based on animal studies, but he said so far the data are promising.

The idea that the nervous system can't regenerate was disproven in the late 1990s when researchers found that stem cells existed in the adult brain, although there's still debate as to exactly how many cells there are, where they are and their rate of regeneration, said Dr. Michael Valenzuela, professor of regenerative medicine at Brain and Mind Centre at the University of Sydney in Australia.

Sugaya is one of several researchers studying stem cells for neurodegenerative diseases. Some, like Sugaya, are trying to activate existing stem cells, while others are trying to make the right kind of stem cells in the lab and introduce them to parts of the brain that are under stress.

"Stem cells are relatively new technology and are believed to hold much promise," Dr. Kelly Shepard, a senior science officer at California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, said in an email. "It will take time to understand them, their capabilities and their limitationsbut there is much to look forward to."

Almost 6 million Americans live with Alzheimer's disease. Another million have Parkinson's. But researchers have yet to find an effective treatment for the diseases.

Five drugs have been approved to treat the symptoms of Alzheimer's, helping with memory and thinking problems, according to the Alzheimer's Association. But none reverses the effects of the disease.

Many drug trials aiming to slow down or treat the disease have failed, mainly because how the disease starts and progresses is poorly understood, Shepard said.

Some promising news came a few months later from preliminary data of another experimental drug developed by Biogen and Eisai, which slowed the progression of Alzheimer's disease. But it must be tested further.

Sugaya is banking on harnessing the power of stem cells already in the brain and goes as far as saying that his drug may one day cure Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Some experts are skeptical.

"It would be a grave mistake to get too excited by some isolated rodent experiments," Valenzuela said. "Recall that we have 'cured' Alzheimer's disease at least 50 times over in different mouse models, and each of those treatments has failed when tested in humans," he wrote in an email.

And there are some caveats.

Shepard pointed out that Parkinson's and Alzheimer's affect more cell types than just neurons.

"We don't know enough about (Alzheimer's disease) to say what would be a cure," Kelly wrote. "(Neural stem cells) might be a tool of study to discover new treatment options. And one day they might be used to regenerate lost neurons. But this is a long way off and there is much more that needs to be understood."

Sugaya arrived in the U.S. 31 years ago. After research stints at University of Illinois in Chicago and Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, he came to UCF 14 years ago. Along the way, he founded a biotech company, Progenicyte, licensing more than 60 patents and patents pending, including some for a drug that stimulates neural stem cells in the brain.

To develop the drug, he formed a UCF spin-off company called SynapCyte in late 2016. The company is one of the first startups to move to UCF's new Lake Nona Life Science Incubator, which opened in May.

SynapCyte expects to present the drug's pre-clinical results to FDA within the year and with an approval, start the Phase I human trials to test the safety of the therapy and potentially get a hint at the effectiveness of the drug. If successful, the drug will then move to Phase II clinical trials. All this could be done in the next three years, said company CEO Bob Hering.

SynapCyte could then license the drug to a major pharmaceutical company.

"I didn't want to go to big pharma with this drug," Sugaya said. "When they license it, they'll put in on the shelf because they have other drugs in the pipeline or want to treat the patients forever."

For now, SynapCyte's main objective is to raise money for the startup, and it's a challenge.

"When you approach someone and say, 'We have the cure for Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, while all the major (pharmaceutical companies) have failed,' they ask, 'Why should they fund us?'"

But Sugaya and Hering are confident they are developing a cure.

"It's a bold statement, isn't it?" Hering said. "We think we're onto something really special."

Explore further UCF patented on induced pluripotent stem cells, iPS cells

2018 The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.)

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The use of an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) approach for hip fracture operations allows patients to return home faster and get back to normal activities sooner, according to new findings presented today by researchers at the American College of Surgeons 2018 Quality and Safety Conference.

Upon reviewing a site report from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP), researchers at Langley Memorial Hospital, Langley, B.C., Canada, discovered that patients who underwent hip fracture operations had higher morbidity and mortality rates and a higher prevalence of delirium than the national average. ACS NSQIP is the leading nationally validated, risk-adjusted, outcomes-based program to measure and improve the quality of surgical care in hospitals.

The research was led by Lila Gottenbos, RN, BScN, a Surgical Clinical Reviewer at the hospital. "We knew we could do better, because we had already successfully applied the principles of ERAS to our colorectal patient population." ERAS is a patient-focused approach that uses evidence-based practices to improve outcomes from surgery.

To address these challenges, a multidisciplinary team of nurses, surgeons, and clinicians adapted an enhanced recovery approach to meet the specific needs of their patients with hip fractures. For example, this population is at greater risk for delirium, a condition which often prolongs hospital stays and results in higher complication rates. Thus, an intervention was implemented to assess these patients for delirium preoperatively and on a regular basis for five days after their operations.

"With enhanced recovery, mobility is one of the foundational process measures, but with our intervention, we were even more aggressive with mobility, specifically making sure that our patients were getting up within 24 hours of surgery and to a chair to eat at least two meals within two days after surgery," said Ms. Gottenbos.

These practices were applied to every patient who had hip fracture operations from January 2016 to the present. The hospital averages 110 of these procedures per year.

Study findings showed that this new care approach cut nearly two days off the average hospital stay, without increasing the readmission rate. "We are not just sending people home and then seeing them return because we sent them home too early. They are going home and staying home to recover," said Ms. Gottenbos. "Eighty-five percent of our fractured hip patients are mobilizing within 24 hours of surgery and we are sending 60 percent of these patients home within 30 days of surgery."

Additionally, over a two-year span the mortality rate dropped by more than 50 percentfrom 9.7 to 4.2 percent. The rate of pneumonia, a common complication in high risk patients after an operation, fell nearly 50 percent. Furthermore, the morbidity rate decreased by 33 percent.

Patients and families also received preoperative counseling about what they should expect as part of the operative and recovery experience. Study results also showed that patients were less likely to require a transfer to a nursing facility. "If you came to Langley Memorial before ERAS was implemented, you would return home from acute care about 20 percent of the time, and now we are discharging patients to their homes about 43 percent of the time, so that's a huge increase in getting patients back to their homes rather than sending them to convalescence care or residential care," said Ms.Gottenbos.

Overall, this new enhanced recovery approach has raised awareness about caring for a vulnerable adult population. "The processes we instituted for our fractured hip patients have had a huge positive ripple effect," said Ms. Gottenbos. "We have seen a great shift in the way staff think about patients, caring for them with a more holistic focus, and thinking about the path to discharge as soon as the patient walks in the front door. The focus is on getting patients home safely, quickly and in better condition than when they came to us."

Langley Memorial is now looking to expand this ERAS approach to other patient populations.

"It's very rewarding to see that these high-risk patients can be successfully treated and sent home earlier," said Ms. Gottenbos. "We are very confident that the work we are doing gives people a better chance to return to baseline functioning and get back to their normal lives."

Explore further Two quality improvement programs lead to fewer postoperative complications
(HealthDay)Few HIV tests in the southern United States are provided for black men who have sex with men (MSM) even though they account for a substantial percentage of new diagnoses, according to research published in the July 20 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Mariette Marano, M.P.H., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues analyzed CDC-funded HIV testing data for black MSM submitted by 20 health departments in the southern United States in 2016.

The researchers found that black MSM received 6 percent of the HIV tests provided but accounted for 36 percent of the new diagnoses in non-health care facilities. Overall, 67 percent of those who received new diagnoses were linked to HIV medical care within 90 days of diagnosis, which is less than the 2020 national goal of at least 85 percent of individuals with newly diagnosed HIV infection being linked to care within 30 days.

"Black MSM in the southern United States are the group most affected by HIV, but only a small percentage of CDC tests in the southern United States are provided to this group," the authors write. "Increasing awareness of HIV status through HIV testing, especially among black MSM in the southern United States, is essential for reducing the risk for transmission and addressing disparities."

Explore further High percentage of HIV-diagnosed women not in care

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A new study using functional resonance imaging shows differences in the emotion networks of the brain in people who dont meditate, people new to meditation, and people considered long-term meditators, who have thousands of lifetime experience with mindfulness meditation. Pictured is Matthieu Ricard, a buddhist monk, who has participated in similar studies at the UWMadison Center for Healthy Minds. Among those helping him into the MRI is Professor Richard Davidson, with jacket. Credit: Jeff Miller

Mental training such as mindfulness meditation  an accepting awareness of the present moment  has been shown to alter networks in the brain and improve emotional and physical well-being. But researchers are still discovering how such practices change the brain and what differences exist between people who meditate regularly and those who do not.

In one of the largest studies of its kind to date, published in the journal NeuroImage, a team of researchers at the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of WisconsinMadison examined brain activity in non-meditators, new meditators, and long-term meditators with thousands of hours of lifetime experience. The researchers discovered differences in emotion networks of the brain among these groups.

"Overall these findings are important because they show that alterations in key brain circuits associated with emotion regulation can be produced by mindfulness meditation," says Richard Davidson, William James and Vilas Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at UWMadison, who led the work. "Some changes can occur in a relatively short time while other changes require much more practice."

The study included more than 150 adults. The long-term meditators already practiced daily and had completed multi-day meditation retreats. New meditators were randomly assigned to an eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction course that included meditation. The control group, made up of people with no meditation experience, was randomly assigned to a "health enhancement program" over the same time period that included well-being practices, but not meditation specifically.

After an eight-week period, participants viewed and labeled photos as either emotionally positive, negative or neutral while undergoing a brain scan by functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Both long-term practitioners and new meditators  when compared to non-meditators  showed reduced activity in the amygdala when they viewed emotionally-positive images. The amygdala is an area of the brain critical for emotion and detecting important information from the environment.

The researchers also found that more experience with meditation practice on retreat among long-term meditators was associated with reduced activity in their amygdalae when viewing negative images. While reductions in reactivity to positive images were seen with across all levels of training, this indicates that modulating reactivity to negative emotional challenges requires more training.

"These findings are important in demonstrating functional changes in a key circuit underlying emotion regulation after just eight weeks of mindfulness practice," says Davidson. "They are also sobering in highlighting the fact that alterations in responsivity to challenging negative images occurs only after several thousand hours of practice."

Technician Michael Anderle monitors computer displays as Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard participates in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) test at the MRI facility in the Waisman Center in 2008. A new study using functional resonance imaging shows differences in the emotion networks of the brain in people who dont meditate, people new to meditation, and people considered long-term meditators, who have thousands of lifetime experience with mindfulness meditation. Credit: JEFF MILLER

Mindfulness practices decrease the extent to which emotional stimuli hijack us, the researchers say, and it may simply be that less meditation practice is required to change the brain's response to positive images than to negative ones.

"The amygdala is not so much about feeling good or positive experience; it's a salience detector and helps alert us that something important is happening in our environment," says lead study author Tammi Kral, a graduate student in psychology at UWMadison. "A heightened response in the amygdala is more linked to grasping or wanting something. So, it makes sense to not have as strong of a response, even in the face of positive stimuli, because equanimity is a goal."

She adds that lower activity in the amygdala in response to negative images was a general trend across meditators, but was strongest and most significant in long-term meditators with more intense retreat experience.

In addition, the team discovered that, following eight weeks of training, people new to meditation showed an increase in connectivity between the amygdala and an area of the brain that supports executive function (which includes self-regulation and goal tracking) and emotion, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex.

This was not seen in long-term meditators, perhaps because emotion regulation becomes more automatic with increased practice, the researchers surmise.

Though the team analyzed data from the whole brain to find other differences, the study did not focus on other ways positive emotion may be altered in the brain, including participants' ability to savor positive emotions, which is known to be among the benefits of these mental training practices.

Because researchers wanted to understand meditation's impact on a non-clinical population, the study did not include people who took medications for mental health disorders or had a diagnosed psychiatric disorder within the past year. But the team hopes to expand the research in the future to look at a mix of people with and without mental health disorders to see if the findings are similar.

Finding ways to link the brain activity results to how people regulate their emotions in real-life circumstances is another important step in understanding how meditation affects people's emotional well-being in their daily lives.

Explore further Response and recovery in the brain may predict well-being
(HealthDay)The active ingredient in pot that gets you high can calm agitation in people with advanced Alzheimer's disease, a small new study suggests.

Canadian researchers found that a form of synthetic THC significantly decreased agitation in a small group of Alzheimer's patients, working even better than the drugs now used.

"This is the first clinical trial to show that a cannabinoid can decrease agitation," said lead researcher Krista Lanctot, a senior scientist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center in Toronto.

However, many study patients suffered from sedation due to the drug, noted Keith Fargo, director of scientific programs and outreach at the Alzheimer's Association.

"We would love to see this study done in a larger group of people, to see if it continues to be effective in a larger group, and how worried we need to be about this sedation side effect," Fargo said.

Agitation is a frequent symptom of advanced Alzheimer's, Lanctot explained. Doctors struggle to control it through off-label use of drugs like antipsychotics and anticonvulsants.

Agitated patients yell, scream, pace and wander, she said. They also can become physically aggressive, striking out at people and hurting themselves or others.

"You're going to find one in five outpatients with it. But when you get to the long-term care facilities, about 50 percent of inpatients will have agitation," Lanctot said. "It's actually a big treatment challenge. The drugs we have now do not work very well and they're associated with an increase in mortality."

The off-label drugs used to treat Alzheimer's are indeed a bit dodgy. For example, only one person out of five to 14 treated with antipsychotics actually experiences a decrease in agitation, Lanctot said. And for every nine to 25 people helped, one will die.

But Lanctot and her colleagues suspected that cannabinoids might help control agitation, given that natural cannabinoids in the brain decrease as Alzheimer's enters its advanced stages.

"We know cannabis has several effects that might be good for people with agitation," Lanctot said. "It has a calming effect. It helps with weight loss because it helps with appetite. It's also used for pain."

The synthetic THC drug, nabilone, is approved in Canada for treating nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy. It comes in capsule form.

"It's a milder form of TCH" compared to whole-leaf marijuana, Lanctot said. "We hoped it wouldn't have the side effects associated with cannabis, but would have the calming effects."

During the clinical trial, 39 patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease received nabilone for six weeks to treat their clinically significant agitation, followed by six weeks with an inactive placebo.

"We had a significant decrease in agitation. The decrease we saw was larger than is seen with the currently used medications," Lanctot said.

Patients underwent significant overall improvement in their other behavioral symptoms, and had small benefits in their brain function and nutrition during the study. Their caregivers also reported reduced levels of stress, according to Lanctot.

These benefits came with a downside, though. About 45 percent of patients experienced sedation with nabilone, compared with 16 percent for placebo, the findings showed.

Lanctot and Fargo do not recommend that relatives or friends of those with agitated Alzheimer's provide them medical marijuana to ease their suffering.

"This trial tested a synthetic analog of THC. It's not THC, and it's certainly not whole-plant marijuana," Fargo said. "There's virtually no data on whole-plant marijuana, whether or not it's effective or safe in people with Alzheimer's disease."

A form of synthetic THC is available in the United States, called dronabinol and sold under the trade name Marinol, Lanctot said. It's used as an appetite stimulant for people with AIDS and an anti-nausea remedy for chemotherapy patients.

Marinol is now being tested for its usefulness in treating Alzheimer's symptoms, Lanctot said. People interested in trying it should reach out to one of the big clinical trials; Johns Hopkins is one of the centers testing Marinol.

"We wouldn't want to change clinical practice based on one study," Lanctot added.

The study was to be presented Tuesday at the Alzheimer's Association meeting in Chicago. Research presented at medical meetings is considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Explore further New research focuses on treating non-cognitive symptoms of people with dementia

More information: The Alzheimer's Society has more about The Alzheimer's Society has more about cannabis and Alzheimer's disease

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Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A new study shows that developing a standardized stroke protocol of having neurointerventional teams meet suspected emergent large vessel occlusion (ELVO) stroke patients upon their arrival at the hospital achieves a median door-to-recanalization time of less than 60 minutes. The study was presented at the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery's (SNIS) 15th Annual Meeting.

Door to Revascularization in Less than 60 Minutes: A Cost and Benefit Analysis mentions that while standardized protocols for imaging and transport to the angiography suite, as well as a standardization of the thrombectomy procedure, help save time, the most important time savings comes from having a neurointerventional team meet the patient when they arrive in the emergency room. The five-person team includes one registered nurse (RN), two technologists, one anesthesiologist, and one neurointerventionalist.

"Level 1 trauma centers require trauma surgeons and anesthesiologists to be in-house 24/7. By requiring Level 1 stroke centers to do the same, we could potentially help more ELVO patients make full recoveries," said Dr. Donald Frei, lead author of the study and a neurointerventionalist based in Colorado.

Rapid endovascular thrombectomy helps patients with ELVO achieve the best outcomes, but standardizing stroke protocols to ensure timely and safe care does come at a cost. The study considered 1,162 ELVO alerts met by the neurointerventional team. Of these, 314 patients (27 percent) received a thrombectomy. In cases in which a thrombectomy was not performed, the RN and technologists are paid two hours each of overtime pay, averaging to a total cost of more than $200,000 in overtime pay annually for the salaried staff. This does not include physician time spent.

"This study shows that stroke systems of care can and should be streamlined to ensure the best possible outcomes for patients," said Dr. Frei. "The associated costs also suggest that in-house neurointerventional teams at hospitals may be the most effective option for rapid and safe care. The additional annual cost in overtime pay for the team is far outweighed by the huge benefit in decreasing the costs of lifelong disability because many more patients can return to independence."

Explore further Hospitals should examine physician call coverage at stroke centers

Provided by Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery
(HealthDay)The Veterans Affairs Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks (VA MISSION) Act may increase costs and reduce quality of health care for veterans, according to an Ideas and Opinions piece published online July 24 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Joel Kupfer, M.D., from the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix, and colleagues discuss the VA MISSION Act, which is designed to offer greater choice based on networks of community providers. As services and facilities are eliminated, the VA's ability to operate as a health care provider could be diminished, resulting in de facto privatization.

The authors note that greater choice in health care is perceived as positive. However, the extent to which greater reliance on private sector care will improve veterans' health status will depend on the costs, access, and quality of care. A crude estimate suggests that VA costs of care averaged $7,974 per enrollee in 2017 versus $10,348 per capita in U.S. national health expenditures and $12,046 per beneficiary in Medicare expenditures in 2016. VA facilities often outperform non-VA facilities in parameters of good inpatient care and ambulatory measures. Greater reliance on private sector care will increase the number of VA and non-VA care users, a factor associated with worse health outcomes.

"Veterans and veteran organizations must therefore consider all the risks and benefits before assuming that private sector care will result in better outcomes and improved health status," the authors write.

Explore further Intensive management program benefits high-risk patients

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Bryant, AR - A daycare worker in central Arkansas was arrested Monday in a reported case of abuse involving two children she was responsible for, police said.

McKenzie Howell, 19, of Mabelvale surrendered to authorities around 8 a.m. on two counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, records show.

Howell, listed as a class instructor Kids Academy in Bryant, is no longer employed at the daycare, Bryant Police Department spokesman Sgt. Todd Crowson said.

After investigators spoke with witnesses and reviewed the daycare security cameras, there was clearly enough evidence to obtain a warrant for Howells arrest, a news release states.

A caller told police on Thursday that her 21-month-old son was abused by Howell at the child care center between 11 a.m. and 11:20 a.m. June 29, according to a police report.

The mother, who also works at Kids Academy, said that after being informed of possible abuse, she watching video surveillance and contacted the Child Abuse Hotline, which referred her to Bryant police.

While the child was waiting for lunch in class, Howell snatched him up aggressively off the ground and attempted to put him in his chair that was near the wall, the mother told police. Authorities said Howell dropped the boy, and his head and body appeared to have hit the wall before he fell to the floor.

The child was eventually picked up again by Howell and placed back in his chair, the report states. No markings were observed on the boys body.

According to the report, co-worker Bailey Phillips said she also noticed Howell pulling another childs arm and pushing her into the wall.

Howell then pulled [the girls] legs out from underneath her, causing [her] to hit her head on the floor, the report said.

Police said Phillips then walked out of the room and notified her boss, Kids Academy manager Paula Lee. Lee told an officer that after Phillips informed her of the acts, she reviewed the footage and contacted her supervisor.

Howell, who had been told by Lee in the past to not be verbally aggressive toward the children, was sent home and told to not return until further notice, police said.

Howell was transported to the Saline County jail, where she remained as of shortly before 2 p.m., according to an online inmate roster.

In January, the state Department of Human Services launched a licensing investigation based off a complaint about the daycares staff-to-child ratio, spokeswoman Marcy Manley said at the time.

An internal report detailed that the Kid's Academy location had fired a staff member for not being able to account for all of the children in her care. Two children reportedly ran out when a parent opened a door, and the assigned teacher did not realize a child was gone, officials said then.
Vodacom has released a trading update for the quarter ended 30 June 2018.

The update for the group showed positive results, with service revenue up 5.2%.

The company also added 2.5 million customers during the quarter  1.5 million in South Africa and 1 million in its international operations.

This puts Vodacom at 76.5 million customers across the group  up 10.3% year-on-year.

Data once again showed a healthy increase, with group data revenue up by 9.9%. M-Pesa also experienced revenue growth, and excluding currency translation effects, was up 23.8%.

South Africa

Looking at South Africa, Vodacom stated that revenue and customer numbers were up.

Service revenue increased by 4.9% to R13.8 billion in the country, supported by the improvement in customer revenue growth trends.

This was despite a subdued macroeconomic and consumer spending environment, said Vodacom.

Customer numbers increased by 9.5%, reaching 43.1 million.

This was thanks to 1.4 million prepaid customers joining and 75,000 net contract additions.

Contract customer revenue growth has recovered from declines in previous quarters, to grow at 0.8%. The growth was supported by improved performance in the enterprise segment, reflecting customer and ARPU gains from recent contract sign-ups and improved usage, said Vodacom.

Overall contract customers increased by 5.9%, while contract ARPU declined by 2.3%.

Voice and data

As has been the case in recent years, data revenue in South Africa continued to rise  while voice revenue dropped once again.

Voice revenue declined by 2.6%, said Vodacom. However, the company said the decline was low thanks to the success of our personalised voice bundle strategy.

Data revenue grew by 9.4% to R6.1 billion, contributing 44.1% of service revenue.

We continue to drive bundle engagement aggressively to ensure a worry-free experience for our customers. The success of this pricing strategy, making data more affordable for our customers, has resulted in a 32.2% increase in data bundle sales and an overall effective price per MB reduction of 17.1%, said Vodacom.

It added that Vodacoms 4G data user base grew by 739,000  reaching 8.1 million customers.

Fixed-line revenue also grew during the period, up 22%. Internet of Things connections increased by 25.2% to 3.9 million, it added.

Network capacity to handle the increase in usage was also factored in during the period, with R2 billion spent on capital expenditure.

Vodacom said it focused on new sites, upgrades, and capacity to improve network quality and performance.

This allowed us to expand our 4G coverage to 81.5%, up from 75.9% a year ago. We also expanded our rural coverage and made progress to improve backhaul performance and capacity by increasing the proportion of self-provided high-capacity sites from 90.1% a year ago to 92.4%.
Vodacom has released a trading update for the quarter ended 30 June 2018, detailing its subscriber growth in South Africa.

The mobile operator added just under 1.5 million customers in the past quarter, comprising 1.4 million prepaid customers and 75,000 contract subscribers.

Vodacom saw prepaid customer revenue growth of 5.5% and overall customer growth of 9.5%, it added.

The companys strong customer growth was slightly offset by lower ARPUs, as it attracted customers with lower average spend levels than its current subscriber base.

Listed companies like Vodacom, MTN, and Telkom are required to release their subscriber figures regularly, while Cell C previously released its user numbers voluntarily.

Mobile subscribers in SA

Vodacoms latest trading update showed it has 43.1 million mobile users in South Africa.

MTNs latest quarterly update showed it had 29.8 million mobile subscribers locally.

Cell Cs results for the year ended 31 December 2017 reflect 16.3 million South African customers.

Telkoms financial results for the year ended 31 March 2018 showed an active mobile subscriber base of 5.2 million.

Mobile network Active subscribers Vodacom 43.1 million MTN 29.8 million Cell C 16.3 million Telkom 5.2 million

Now read: More contract customers and data revenue for Vodacom in South Africa
For the first time after Doklam dispute, Thimphu and Beijing are trying to bring back ties on track with Chinese vice foreign minister Kong Xuanyou accompanied by officials visiting Bhutan from July 22-24.

Though the two countries do not have formal diplomatic relations yet they have held 24 rounds of talks on resolving the Doklam boundary issue.

Relations between the two countries were strained after the Doklam row. Indian and Chinese troops faced off for 72 days last year.

During the visit, the vice foreign minister called on Bhtanese King and Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and met foreign minister Damcho Dorji.

This is the vice foreign ministers first visit to Bhutan since assuming his post in January this year.
A senior Chinese diplomat, during a rare three-day visit to Bhutan, said on Tuesday at the end of the trip that China and Bhutan should work together to ensure peace along their border and keep pushing talks on the issue, following an ugly spat with India last year over the frontier.

A report in the International Business Times stated that China and India almost came to blows last year at the Doklam plateau near the borders of India, its ally Bhutan, and China, in the most serious and prolonged standoff in decades along the disputed Himalayan border.

While China and India subsequently withdrew their troops and have been working hard since then to mend fences including meetings between Chinese President Xi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the two still remain deeply suspicious of each other.

The report also quoted the Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou as saying that his country highly regarded its traditional friendship with Bhutan and would as before respect Bhutans independence and sovereignty, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement.

Both sides should continue to promote border talks, abide by the principles and consensus already reached and jointly protect peace and tranquility in the border region to create positive conditions for a final resolution, the statement cited Kong as saying.

China and Bhutan do not enjoy formal diplomatic relations, and Chinas Ambassador to India, Luo Zhaohui, accompanied Kong, the Ministry added. It said Kong met Bhutans king and Government officials.

Bhutan also shares a border and close culture with restive Tibet, one of Chinas most sensitive areas. China and India have been competing for influence in South Asian countries which have traditionally been close to New Delhi, including Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Xi and Modi are expected to meet this week in South Africa at a summit of the BRICS group of nations.
Nepal Law Minister Sher Bahadur Tamang, who came under criticism from several quarters for his controversial remarks, resigned on Tuesday, The Kathmandu Post reports.

Tamang announced his resignation at a press conference in Kathmandu on Tuesday. He had come under severe criticism following his insensitive remarks during a programme organised at Praxis International Academy on July 20.

Tamang had said Nepali girls who are studying or have studied MBBS in Bangladesh were bound to compromise their honour to claim their certificates.

He issued apology but was under pressure from within his party to step down from his post including KP Sharma Oli and Madhav Kumar Nepal.

On Sunday, Tamang issued a press statement apologizing for causing distress to female students who are currently pursuing or have completed their MBBS in Bangladesh through his remarks.

I want to apologise for the remarks that I made on that day which hurt the sentiments of girl students who are pursuing and have completed MBBS course in Bangladesh, read the statement.

In his apology statement, Minister Tamang, pointing out that there are over 2,000 Nepali girls pursuing medical education in Bangladesh, clarified that his remarks on July 20 was just to bring to the fore some of the issues that Nepali students have faced while studying abroad.
Iran, Armenia reach agreement on use of alternative routes for transport of goods

Erdogan renounces threats to expel ambassadors of 10 countries

Official: Armenia universities to hold classes online, schools to extend autumn break for a week

Commemorative fountain unveiled in memory of Armenia serviceman who fell in 44-day Karabakh war

Armenia army's General Staff deputy chief's attorney on client's case over missiles, demands that they are fired

Earthquake hits 8 km east from Armenia's Bavra, felt in Shirak and Lori Provinces

China FM to meet with the Taliban in Qatar

Armenia Parliament Speaker, Cyprus FM discuss issues on regional and bilateral agendas

Armenia Parliament Council holds session, 18 items on agenda for plenary session on Oct. 26

Armenia Deputy Prosecutor General discusses nature protection rights in basin of Araks River and cooperation with Iran

Armenia parliament sets up committee to lead probe into facts impeding fair trial

Armenia Deputy PM Suren Papikyan visits Zangezur Copper-Molbydenum Combine

Erdogan to leave for Azerbaijan to attend opening of airport in seized Varanda of Karabakh

Armenia Parliament Speaker-led delegation meets with Cyprus defense minister

Armenia Parliament Speaker holding meetings in Cyprus

NATO Secretary General: Too early to comment on Turkey's decision to declare 10 countries' envoys 'persona non grata'

Earthquake hits Armenia, felt in Gyumri, Spitak and Tashir

Dollar goes up in Armenia

Azerbaijan defense minister receives NATO delegation

EU is closely following situation created after Turkey decided to expel envoys

Turkey offers Russia to join NATO

Armenia National Security Service left several examinations incomplete in ex-defense minister case, says his lawyer

Armenia Finance Ministry: Construction and industry might become main engine of economic growth in 2022

Finance minister: Armenia government national debt payment spending will continue to increase in 2022

Opposition 'Armenia' faction MP: Rallies and marches might be held sooner than Nov. 9

Azerbaijans levying of tolls from Iranian trucks is against trilateral agreement, says Iran ambassador to Armenia

Direct passenger flights between Yerevan, Vilnius to kick off mid-December

Artsakh offers to return Azerbaijani paintings in exchange for Armenian ones remaining in now-occupied Shushi

Armenia ruling party, opposition ARF to run for post of Ijevan mayor

One more person dies of coronavirus in Karabakh

Artsakh state minister, US lawmaker discuss cooperation

Armenia opposition MP, ex-defense minister: 'Unblocking of transport roads' will lead to deeper blockade

Premier: Armenia has no intention to conquer territories

Pashinyan: Border delimitation start to create favorable conditions for Azerbaijan army withdrawal from Armenia

1,184 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

PM: Projects launched to turn Armenia from raw material exporting country to developed metallurgical nation

Garden of the Eternal: Parents of about 200 soldiers killed in Artsakh war partake in tree planting first phase

Premier: Absolute record number of paid jobs registered in Armenia in September

Russia peacekeepers, philanthropists deliver 1.25 tons of humanitarian aid to Karabakh kindergartens, schools

Sudan soldiers detain country's PM

Turkey, Azerbaijan presidents to meet in Istanbul

PM on Armenia 2022 state budget draft: We forecast 7% economic growth

World gold prices going up

World oil prices on the rise

Armenia village head: No compensation paid for 80 cows that came under Azerbaijan control since June 5

Armenia PM visits late statesman, writer Vano Siradeghyans family

Armenia President holds discussion with Yandex Deputy Director Tigran Khudaverdyan

Armenia Ombudsman meets with France Ambassador, presents urgency of Armenian POWs' return

Armenia village head: No news about conscript who has gone missing from Vardenis since May 18

Earthquake hits Armenia, felt in cities and villages of Shirak and Lori Provinces

Armenia opposition to hold rallies on Nov. 9 and 10

How Armenians of Cyprus greeted Armenia Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan

Opposition 'Shant Alliance' releases list of candidates for local self-government elections in Armenia's Kapan

Facebook accused of inciting religious hatred in India

Russia has refused collaboration with NATO, says presidential spokesman

China launches Shijian-21 satellite to test space debris mitigation technology

Shantnews.am: How are Gyumri municipal council seats distributed?

Peskov speaks on prospects of Putin's next meeting with Biden

Armenia ruling party releases list of candidates for local self-government elections in Kapan

Armenia health minister: Hospital bed stock is almost empty

Magnitude 6.5 earthquake hits Taiwan

47 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Artsakh, 14 patients are in critical condition

COVID-19 vaccination kicks off at Opera Square in Yerevan

Germany responds to Erdogan's assignment to declare Ambassadors 'persona non grata'

Armenia Health Ministry: Pregnant women in COVID-19 risk group can avoid difficult course through vaccination

Pakistan providing assistance to the Taliban in fight against ISIS in Afghanistan

2,354 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Uzbekistan holding presidential elections

Armenia defense minister, Red Cross delegation discuss missing persons as result of both Artsakh wars

Yerevan-Gyumri motorway passenger van accident death toll rises to 6

Aliyevs newfound pugnacity, provocation towards Iran risks undermining Azerbaijans long-term security

Armenian Legal Center files new cases before ECHR regarding Armenian captives disappearance

Azerbaijan kicks off military exercises in Artsakhs Kashatagh

MFA spokesman: No Armenia PM-Azerbaijan president meeting planned at this time

4 killed, 3 injured in China chemical plant explosion

Peskov comments on possible Russia-Armenia-Azerbaijan summit

Artsakh President visits capital Stepanakert district, Askeran region (VIDEO)

Armenia parliament foreign relations committee chair briefs Italy ambassador on post-war situation in region

Timeframe of next Putin- Pashinyan-Aliyev meeting in Moscow is known

Pope Francis is presented with PSG shirt signed by Messi

Passenger dies on board plane

Minister of State in Los Angeles, lauds Armenian diasporas assistance to Artsakh

Alec Baldwin did not know that prop gun was loaded with real bullets

46 new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Turkey announces beginning of procedure for purchasing F-16s from US

1,962 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Opposition Armenia Faction MP submits petition to give up his parliamentary seat

Armenia PM: Today most urgent issue that shall be discussed at Summit of Minds is modeling of geopolitics

Some US agencies begin investigating Biden's withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan

Secret online school for girls opens in Afghanistan

Newspaper: Former ones are Armenia PMs hope in upcoming local elections

Turkeys Halkbank can be prosecuted for violating sanctions on Iran, US appellate court rules

Armenia Ombudsman says MOD's disclosure of phone talks was unilateral and distorted

Pastinfo newspaper: Zurabov sues Armenia PM, claim is known

Biden, Macron discuss efforts to enable stronger European defense while ensuring complementarity with NATO

US concerned about China aspirations in artificial intelligence, several advanced technologies

Opposition MP: Ombudsman's statements are in Armenia's interest, but they might not be pleasant for authorities

Opposition "Armenia" faction MP: We will hold a big rally soon

Father of mayor of Armenia's Goris says son won't take parliamentary mandate

Alik Media: Armenia and Azerbaijan to sign two documents in Moscow on Nov. 9
Armenias minister of territorial administration and development Suren Papikyan toured Tavush province together with governor Vahe Ghalumyan on July 21-22, the ministry reported.

During the tour the minister visited a number of enlarged, as well as bordering communities of the province.

Minister Papikyan held a consultation in Dilijan municipality with the community leader, the representatives of the city council and administrative region. Talking about tourism development in Dilijan, the minister said the existing huge tourism potential of the community should be used properly, and while implementing different business projects he highlighted the need to involve broad public circles.

Thereafter, the minister visited Haghtanak and Debedavan rural communities, talked to locals about their needs and problems.

At the end of the day minister Suren Papikyan visited bordering Berkaber community, met with acting community leader Argam Arzumanyan. The firmness of the border depends on viable community. We should do everything so that the bordering community resident will not be away from his land and will be able to live and create there, the minister said, adding that the bordering communities will always be in the governments spotlight. During the meeting the minister discussed with the locals the community development opportunities, existing problems and ways to develop the community through possible investments.
Sevan Startup Summit has reached the international level. The event, which kicked off on July 22, gathered startups and specialists from 35 countries of the world in the tent camp on the shores of Lake Sevan. Last year the organizers rejoiced that Armenian startups and investors were interested in their event and expressed a desire to participate in it, the director of the Seaside Startup Summit, Vahagn Rapyan noted. (PHOTOS)

In a conversation with the Armenian News -NEWS.am correspondent Vahagn Rapyan said that about 800 participants of the summit live in the tent camp this year, but several hundreds of visitors, mentors, lecturers and investors come to them during the day, so there are at least 1500 people in the camp during the day.

"According to our calculations, more than 5,000 people will attend the summit this year," Rapyan said.

There are a lot of Armenian startups at the summit this year: there are also guys working on a project that should encourage people to read more paper books and young girls whose project can make life easier for parents of children with autism and teenagers who collect robots and many, many others. There are also a lot of participants not only from Iran, Georgia, Russia and Belarus, but also from far more distant countries such as India, Canada and Australia.

By the way, the next event within the framework of the Seaside Startup Summit will be held in Australia, in 2019, said producer, co-founder of the summit Arthur Janibekyan.

The summit has a great future, Arthur Janibekyan is sure: this year there are already more than 1000 IT specialists, and their number will grow from year to year, and the geography of the summit will expand.

This year, the overall prize fund of the summit has not changed: there have been allocated about $ 50,000 for 13 contests and big-betting. But there is an interesting innovation: the summit fund is ready to invest $ 100,000 in 2 or 3 promising start-ups that need financing.
President of the Austrian Union of translators UNIVERSITAS Austria Dagmar Jenner criticized the intention of US congressmen to call the State Department interpreter Marina Gross, who was present during Donald Trump and Vladimir Putins close meeting to appear at the committee, TASS reported.

According to her, this proposal causes extreme concern and harms professional ethics.

Confidentiality and impartiality is an integral part of our profession, she said adding: If we did not follow our honest professional obligation to preserve secrecy, then any confidential negotiations on business or diplomacy will make no sense.

According to the head of the Austrian Association of Translators, there has never been a precedent in Austrian practice for an interpreter to be summoned for questioning before special committees of the Austrian Parliament.

Earlier, members of the US Democratic Party demanded an interpreter, who was present at the negotiations between Trump and Putin in Helsinki, to disclose the details of the conversation between the two leaders.

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin had a 2-hours meeting on July 16 in Helsinki. During the talks, only the leaders interpreters were present.
We are discussing with our State Department associates the chances for holding [Armenian] Prime Minister [Nikol] Pashinyans and [US] President [Donald] Trumps meeting within a short time, and that matter is on the agenda.

Armenias Ambassador to the US Grigor Hovhannissian, on Monday told the aforesaid to the state-funded Public Television of Armenia. The ambassador added that the initiative for such talk had come from the US Congress members.

At least 60 people have died in the forest fires broke out east of Athens on Monday, Reuters reported. As reported earlier, 156 people were injured, including many children, while 11 are in a critical condition.

An anomalously hot weather has been recorded in Greece, while in some parts of the country the air temperature reaches +40  C.

The Center for Crisis Management of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Armenia on Tuesday contacted the hotline of Armenias embassy in Greece, in order to get information on whether there were any Armenians among those affected by the forest fires that are raging in Greece.

And the embassy said that there were no Armenians among the affected.

It was noted that in the case of a respective petition, Armenia is ready to helpwithin the limits of its capabilitiesGreece, in putting out the forest fires.

Just like in previous years, the bellicose statements by the Azerbaijani leadership have continued this year too, Republic of Artsakh Minister of Defense and Defense Army Commander, Levon Mnatsakanyan, noted at a press conference in capital city Stepanakert.

In his words, however, ceasefire violation has dropped sharply.

The [present-day] situation [at the Line of Contact with Azerbaijan] can be assessed [as] stable calm, but with trends of tension; there had not been such calm situation [before], the minister stressed. However, an increase in tension is possible in September, October.

Sevan Startup Summit has reached the international level. The event, which kicked off on July 22, gathered startups and specialists from 35 countries of the world in the tent camp on the shores of Lake Sevan.

In a conversation with the Armenian News -NEWS.am correspondent, the director of the Seaside Startup Summit, Vahagn Rapyan said that about 800 participants of the summit live in the tent camp this year, but several hundreds of visitors, mentors, lecturers and investors come to them during the day, so there are at least 1500 people in the camp during the day.

"According to our calculations, more than 5,000 people will attend the summit this year," Rapyan said.

The weapons which Azerbaijan has acquired from Israel are operative tactical missiles, whose range is 300 kilometers, Republic of Artsakh Minister of Defense and Defense Army Commander, Levon Mnatsakanyan stated at a press conference in capital city Stepanakert.

We too have a similar weapon, Mnatsakanyan highlighted. We also have a potentiality to hit [Azerbaijan].

And when asked about the chances of shelling the Mingachevir Reservoir in Azerbaijan, the Artsakh defense minister responded as follows: We have a chance to paralyze Azerbaijans economy; but I dont see its occasion yet.

National Assembly Republican Party of Armenia Faction MP and Yerkrapah (Defender of the Land) Volunteer Union Boards now ex-Chairman, General Manvel Grigoryan, has been stripped of the title of Honorary Citizen of Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin) town.

The Vagharshapat municipal council on Tuesday reached such a decision.

Vagharshapat Acting Mayor Diana Gasparyan reported on the matter of stripping Grigoryan from the aforementioned title.
Making her point  Madeleine Meyer, a senior in SIU Carbondales Automotive Technology program from St. Louis, Missouri, is giving her final presentation over crash safety as part of her six-week summer intensive program at Nagoya University in Japan. SIU is the only U.S. university automotive technology program partnered with Nagoya University. (Photo provided)

SIU automotive student learns about international auto industry

by Pete Rosenbery

CARBONDALE, Ill.  Taking advantage of an academic exchange agreement involving Southern Illinois University Carbondales nationally recognized automotive program, Madeleine Meyer spent the last six weeks in Japan, gaining insight into the international auto industry.

Meyer, a senior in automotive technology, participated in the Nagoya University Summer Intensive Program, which features lecturers from that and other universities, automotive manufacturers and trending topics within the industry. SIUs program has been involved since 2009 and one or two students participate each summer.

The ability to learn more about the automotive industry in a culture so different than Americas sounded awesome, said Meyer, who will graduate in May 2019. A 2015 graduate of Parkway North High School, Meyer is the daughter of Donna and Matt Meyer of St. Louis. She is a 2015 Parkway North High School graduate.

Learning about industry in a different culture

In addition to taking a Japanese language course and automotive classes, Meyer and other students from around the world toured facilities including Yokohama Rubber, Mitsubishi, Toyota Motors, Yamaha and the National Traffic Safety and Environmental Laboratory.

On weekends, she traveled with others to popular tracks and garages to see rare cars and watch motorcycle racing and drifting. The program also planned three cultural excursions to Nara, Kyoto and Tokyo, where students visited museums and other landmarks. This summer there were 36 students representing 11 countries, Meyer said.

The people in the program have been awesome, and I have made friends here that I know I will keep in touch with, she said.

Nagoya is like the Detroit of Japan

SIU is the only U.S. university automotive technology program partnered with Nagoya University, Michael Behrmann, department chair, said.

Major manufacturers such as Toyota, Mitsubishi and Nissan have operations in and around Nagoya, Behrmann said. Experts from some of these corporations present the industrys latest technological developments during this intensive summer program.

SIU automotive graduates are around the world helping lead some of the worlds largest corporations, with some receiving international assignments, including Nagoya, he said.

Madeleine is gaining an incredible wealth of knowledge that will help position her for the future global automotive industry, Behrmann said.

Automotive interests came at an early age

Meyer grew up going to NHRA races every year with her dad and loved the excitement of racing. As a high school senior, Meyer took a precision machining course at South Technical High School and she credits a counselor, Sally Difani, with helping her in college planning.

Difani recommended SIU Carbondales program and Meyer met with Behrmann. After completing an associate degree at State Technical College of Missouri, Meyer contacted Difani again for help in applying to SIU.

Not just a group of students  its a community

The obvious passion that SIU faculty and staff have and their interest in seeing students succeed, along with the many opportunities for students who are in the program, were big factors in Meyers decision to attend SIU. The automotive department staff go above and beyond making sure that students have everything they need in order to be successful once they enter the work force, she said.

Meyer said she worked as a part-time unpaid intern for the City of Carbondales garage last semester. She mentioned that student organizations, including the Women in Automotive Technology club, ATO and Automotive Ambassadors would not be available without dedicated faculty and staff.

These opportunities allow me and other automotive technology students to gain experience and skills we will use in the field, she said. The encouragement from the staff and friends that I have made in the program has helped me to try things I wouldnt have before and learn valuable skills.

Working to change what has been a male-dominated industry

Female enrollment in SIUs automotive program is typically between 12 and 24 students, Behrmann said. SIU and many of the programs corporate partners are working to change what has been a male-dominated field.

SIU has the only two women instructors teaching automotive technical courses at the university level in the country, and is the only university with a Women in Automotive Transportation Technology registered student organization, Behrmann said.
Dear Newsie Readers,

Newsie has now permanently ceased it's services as of Friday 20th December 2019.

Newsie has been an owner-funded operation since day one.

Coming up to three years old, while we still firmly believe Newsie has a place in the New Zealand media landscape, the cost in both time and money has become too burdensome for the owners to continue alongside other ventures.

With the current government looking to restructure public broadcasting, and seemingly supporting NZME buying a ring-fenced Stuff, the time seems right to call it a day.

Should it happen, the combination of NZME and Stuff will ensure New Zealands national media will die a death by a thousand opinion-based articles.

Newsie has always tried to stick to balanced news, to inform readers of the facts of a situation, amid being largely ignored by government. Hopefully, one day someone else will take up the challenge to fight the good fight.

The good news, however, is that there were no job losses as a result of Newsie closing. Thanks to careful structuring, everyone involved in Newsie will retain their current positions.

We hope you all have a happy Christmas and new year. Stay safe, and stay out of the news.

The team at Newsie
North Carolina State Bar targets vaccine rights attorney with unprecedented bullying lawsuit

Eager to take down the nations leading vaccine rights attorney whos helped countless families protect themselves against mandatory vaccination, the North Carolina State Bar has reportedly filed a major lawsuit against Alan Phillips, J.D., demanding that he procure private client data or else face possible jail time.

Seeing as how his entire practice is devoted to helping people utilize vaccine exemptions to avoid vaccinating their children, as well as engaging them in vaccine legislative activism, Phillips has become target number one for the vaccine lobby. And since North Carolina is Big Pharma and Vaccine Central, its hardly surprising that the Tar Heel State would be the first to go after him on baseless grounds.

According to Phillips, the N.C. State Bar is basically trying to disbar him using invented facts and law, when all hes actually doing is helping people exercise their right to legally avoid vaccines. He also says the N.C. State Bars witch hunt against him is inherently unlawful because it lacks a legally-required allegation of misconduct.

Since theres no accusation being made of wrongdoing, theres no legal basis for the N.C. State Bar to sue Phillips. Furthermore, its a blatant conflict of interest, as Phillips actually filed a good-faith complaint against State Bar attorneys for making up facts and law in a 2017 Letter of Warning that he received.

N.C. Bar attorneys cant lawfully investigate Phillips while Phillips has an unresolved complaint open against Bar attorneys; both matters must be addressed by outside, independent people to avoid the obvious conflicts of interest, explains a Vaccine Rights! alert.

But the N.C. Bar is ignoring that conflict; it is suppressing Phillips complaint against Bar attorneys, and aggressively pursuing Phillips.



At least two independent legal experts agree: the N.C. State Bar is illegally conducting a witch hunt against Phillips

A preliminary investigation by Phillips has revealed that this type of behavior is nothing new for the N.C. State Bar, which has gone after and disbarred others in the past on similar false grounds. It appears to be a major problem at the N.C. State Bar, which seems to have no problem politicizing the legal system to help out Big Vaccine.

At least two other independent legal experts are fully aware of the situation and have joined up with Phillips and his complaint against the N.C. State Bar. The hope is that its corruption will be fully exposed, ultimately leading to positive change.

By demanding that Phillips hand over private information about his clients, the N.C. State Bar is engaging in an unlawful fishing expedition, meaning its attempting to uncover some type of wrongdoing on Phillips part without having a legitimate reason to even initiate the process.

Its a lot like when a police officer pulls an innocent person over and searches his vehicle looking for anything that might incriminate him. Unless theres probable cause or reasonable suspicion to do so, such an act violates the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which protects against unreasonable search and seizure.

It violates Constitutional due process, the Vaccine Rights! alert adds. And this expedition would be particularly egregious, as it would violate hundreds of Phillips clients privacy rights based on the most sacred of legal tenets, the attorney-client privilege.

By putting a public spotlight on the situation, Phillips hopes that the theory of even a bad person will do the right thing when theres a spotlight on them will hold true. You can help support his efforts by signing the petitions found at this Vaccine Rights! alert link.

You can also donate at the same link either to Bar Watch, Inc., a non-profit group working to expose the misdeeds of the N.C. State Bar, or to the Vaccine Rights Attorney Legal Defense Fund. You can also send personal donations to Phillips through PayPay at [email protected]

Sources for this article include:

BarWatchOnline.org

NaturalNews.com
Nanjing China blockchain

Nanjing, Jiangsus capital, is committed to investing in public blockchain projects and overall token economy. The capital of this Chinese province put together a 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) fund in a blockchain investment fund.

A Beijing-based alliance, Zhongguancun Blockchain Industry Alliance, is teaming up with Nanjing City to launch this blockchain investment fund of $1.5 billion. The alliance, formed by government research institutes and blockchain companies, revealed the bold initiative at the first Industrial Public Chain Summit (IPCS). Among the high-level government official attendees, there was the Deputy Secretary of the Communist Party of China, Luo Qun.

Finally Ready to Embrace the Sector?

China has had a somewhat interesting approach to cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology over the years. Just less than a year ago, China banned all ICOs and recently reaffirmed its stance by pledging to go after the so-called foreign ICOs.

However, earlier this year the country ranked several existing cryptocurrencies  Bitcoin didnt even make it to the top 10,  and it has recently registered an increase of 454% in companies including blockchain in its name.

Now a Chinese official authority is working alongside a blockchain alliance to develop the local token economy and public blockchain projects. While the country might have been extremist at the beginning, it certainly is changing its approach to the cryptocurrency world.

Two Projects Have Been Selected For The Blockchain Fund

The UDAP Foundation and TokenX Community are reportedly the first recipients of the fund. UDAP is aiming to build a decentralized asset platform in which users can tokenize assets, and TokenX Communitys goal remains a mystery, at this point.

Not only is Nanjing City planning on fund blockchain projects, its also planning on having these companies moving their location to its territory. China is already the world leader in the number of blockchain-related patents filled  225 last year, followed by the U.S. with 91.

Story continues

The Convergence of Blockchain Technology With Industries

The Chairman of Zhongguancun Blockchain Industry Alliance, Yuandao, believes as industries adopt blockchain technology and more chains are created, more technological breakthroughs will come along, too.

At the event, the Deputy Chairman of Tsinghua Universitys Internet Industry Research Center, Wang Xiaohui, agreed that merging blockchain technology with industries, among consensus, global cooperation, and autonomy, will be the pillars of a healthy and successful token economy.

Nanjing city skyscape image from Shutterstock.



The post Chinese City Starts a $1.5 Billion Fund to Promote Public Blockchain Projects appeared first on CCN.


The founder and owner of a company, the Shanghai-based China Energy Fund Committee (CEFC), which allegedly offered bribes to African leaders, including Ugandas foreign minister Sam Kutesa, in return for business favours, has been questioned by authorities in China.

Ye Jianming was arrested about four months ago in March, reportedly on the orders of Chinese President Xi Jinping. He was brought in for questioning last week on Friday July 20. Kutesa, while still UN General Assembly president reportedly made Ye his official adviser.

Yes questioning follows the November 21, 2017 arrest in New York of Hong Kongs former Home Secretary Patrick Ho Chi-ping on charges of routing bribes for African government officials through US financial institutions.

Ye Jianming (R) with Sam Kutesa earlier

Ye, a little-known but wealthy entrepreneur, employed Ho. CEFC allegedly offered a $2 million bribe to Chads president Idriss Deby in exchange for valuable oil rights and $500,000 to Kutesa for an energy deal in Ugandas nascent oil sector.

Ho also provided the Ugandan foreign ministerwith gifts and promises of future benefits, including offering to share the profits of a potential joint venture in Uganda involving the energy company and businesses owned by the families of the Ugandan foreign minister and the president of Uganda, said a US Department of Justice statement on November 20, 2017.

Ho reportedly caused a $500,000 bribe to be paid, via wires transmitted through New York, New York, to an account designated by Kutesa. Kutesa has denied any wrongdoing.

Now, according to Inner City Press, the nosy media that covers the workings of the United Nations, last week on July 19, Hos lawyers led by Benjamin Rosenberg of Dechert LLP, argued before U.S. district judge Loretta Preska that count after count of the indicts against him be dismissed.

Inner City reports that Rosenberg argued that under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, if Ho is a "domestic concern" some counts of the indictment must be dropped. The prosecution however called this argument absurd, saying, Ho is a national of China and a resident of Hong Kong who acted for the "Energy NGO" China Energy Fund Committee in allegedly bribing Kutesa, as well as Chad's President Idriss Deby.

The judge agreed, Inner City reports. Hos lawyers, next, they argued that even a series of transfers from HSBC in Hong Kong to HSBC in New York to Mashreq Bank in NY to Mashreq Bank in Dubai did not fall under the money laundering statute.

Again, the judge disagreed citing earlier cases of Daccarett and Julius Baer. In November last year, CEFC was described in US Federal Court as a front for bribes paid allegedly to Kutesa and others.

Ho was denied bail on February 5, with prosecution convincing court that the evidence against him was substantial and that if let loose, he could easily travel to run to countries like Chad, Uganda, Russia or Iran.

Prosecution in the complaint claim Ho also provided Kutesa, as well as President Museveni with gifts and promises of future benefits, including offering to let both officials share in the profits of a potential joint venture in Uganda involving the Energy Company and the officials family businesses."
Uganda police leadership has declared assistant commissioner of police (ACP), Joseph Baroza, a deserter and is in the process of freezing payments to his bank account.



Police gave Baroza an ultimatum of five days to report back in Kampala or be declared a deserter after he abandoned his duty station in Algeria on June 17, 2018 under an unclear circumstances.

Baroza worked as police liaison officer at Ugandas mission there assigned with monitoring, informing and implementing exchange programmes on African Police Cooperation Mechanism (Afripol) such as trainings, visits and others.

Joseph Baroza

He was recalled back to the police headquarters in Kampala for redeployment but he allegedly disappeared while in transit to Kampala in Turkey, prompting police to issue a five-day ultimatum on July 17 for him to report back without fail.

Baroza was an aide to currently detained former police boss, Gen Kale Kayihura who was arrested last month on June 13 from his country home in Lyantonde.

Several of Kayihura's associates have also been arrested and according to some police sources, Baroza was to be arrested from Entebbe airport upon return. It is still unclear if he got wound of this plan or he'd long planned to run into exile.



Police officers led by the Mbarara district police commander searched the home of Baroza's father, Jovas Kabiguruka in Karora village, Mbarara over the weekend in vain.



The officers have since sent a report to the director human resource administration Moses Balimwoyo indicating that Baroza wasn't at his father's home.

The police policy and advisory committee on which the inspector general of police, his deputy, the undersecretary and all directors sit, resolved on Wednesday last week, to halt all payments to Baroza's accounts including allowances and salary.



Baroza has been receiving a salary of Shs 1.2 million and allowances for his stay in Algeria amounting to about Shs 100m per quarter of financial year since May 2017.

Baroza and other senior police officers are reportedly suspects in the aggravated robbery and murder of an Eritrean businessman. Deniel Weldo was killed in cold blood in December 2016.

His killers then tried to steal two million euros (Shs 8bn) from his account operated in Stanbic bank. The 32-year-old man had operated his business from South Sudan. He left that troubled country for Uganda after renewed armed conflict broke out between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and his former first Vice president Riek Machar.

There are also claims that Baroza was wanted by CMI for investigations into various crimes including illegal repatriation of Rwandan refugees.



Baroza was summoned to police headquarters early this year where he was questioned, recorded a statement and was asked to return back to his duty station in Algeria.



Baroza is also being investigated by the inspectorate of government on how he was promoted from the rank of superintendent of police to assistant commissioner of police while working as Kayihura's personal assistant.

Police spokesperson Emilian Kayima says, after the five days ultimatum action against Baroza will be taken.

"Appropriate action will be taken now that he has not been seen. You can refer to the communication before," Kayima told URN when contacted.

Last week, police boss, Martin Okoth Ochola said the force would search for Baroza everywhere in Uganda and out of Uganda. Ochola said as police, they are interested in Baroza's whereabouts because he'd been recalled for deployment but did not turn up.

"You see, Baroza was posted to Algeria as a liaison officer in Afripol. Now, where an officer abandons his duty station, as his supervisors were supposed to know where he is. Its our duty to look for him. What is the problem? We want to know what has gone berserk with him. That is why weve got to look for him." said Ochola.

Desertion is a crime according to the Police Act Section 59, punishable with one year imprisonment upon conviction.



Police Act Section 59. Penalty and definition of desertion.



(1) A person who deserts the service in the force commits an offence and is liable on conviction by a criminal court to imprisonment for one year.

(2) A police officer deserts if -

(a) he or she absents himself or herself without authority from his or her unit or formation or from the place where his or her duty requires him or her to be, with the intention of not returning to that unit, formation or place;

(b)while absent with authority from his or her unit or from the place where his or her duty requires him or her to be, during that absence forms the intention of not returning to that unit or place;

(c) while absent with authority from his or her unit or formation or the place where his or her duty requieres him or her to be with the intention of not returning to that unit or formation or place does an act or omits to do an act the natural and probable consequence of which act or omission is to preclude his or her return to that unit or formation or place at the time required.

(3) A person who has been absent without authority for a continuous period of twenty-one days or more shall unless the contrary is proved be presumed to have deserted for purposes of subsections (1) and (2).

(4) Any person who assists, procures, persuades or attempts to assist, procure or persuade another to desert the force commits an offence and is liable on conviction to the same punishment as the deserter.
Two people have been confirmed dead and 26 others sustained injuries in an accident that occurred in Mabira forest, along the Kampala-Jinja highway today.

One of the dead was identified as Sam Mawogole, while the other is yet to be identified. The accident occurred when a Kampala bound coaster registration number UAP 281U lost control and overturned.

According to eyewitnesses, the driver of the coaster was trying to overtake a chain of vehicles when he encountered a trailer heading his way. In the process, he swerved off the road and lost control.

What was left of the coaster truck

The injured have been rushed to Kawolo hospital and the deceased taken to the hospital's mortuary. Three of them, identified as Peninah Byemire, Yusuf Balaba and Jude Opio were referred to Mulago hospital as a result of severe injuries.



Kawolo hospital administrator Haruna Wamala said medics are working tirelessly to manage the situation. Meanwhile, relatives are equally flocking to the hospital looking for relatives who were travelling from Jinja, in the same vehicle.



In the last one week, the Jinja-Kampala highway has got three accidents.
UNCLE MO, real name Moses Kiboneka, is a youthful engineer, actor and comedian whose satirical take on trending issues has turned him into an online sensation.

It is quite easy to settle into bad sexual habits, especially as newlyweds, setting the pace for the rest of your marriage. Those are hard to break once the...
Some 80km from the Chinese border, the tiny Russian village of Yerkovtsy might provide the setting for a new Russo-Chinese megaproject. The 38 BCm/year Power of Siberia (and its potential follow-ups, currently under discussion) was the gas manifestation of the Moscow-Beijing energy axis, with Yamal LNG extending it to the sphere of liquefied gas, the 80 mtpa ESPO pipeline and Rosnefts 25-year $270 billion supply contract were the facets of oil cooperation, and it seems that coal will finally have a similarly massive project. The $10 billion coal-fuelled 4 GW Yerkovetskaya power plant, a joint project of Inter RAO and the State Grid Corporation of China, is back on the agenda, with high-profile state-owned financial institutions ready to back the project. Yet will it be enough?

The concept for the Yerkovetskaya power plant came up around 2010, when Chinas electricity consumption was growing by some 300-400 TWh per year, and the project for a joint venture built on Russian territory, yet primarily aimed at satisfying Chinese energy needs seemed to be a perfect fit. Even then smog and overall pollution was a pressing issue for Chinese lawmakers, doubly so now when air pollution directly causes the death of more than 1 million people and the fine particle concentration in air is above any reasonable standard, despite the governments robust drive to reduce pollution as soon as possible. Li Keqiangs government even went as far as to ban the construction of new coal-fired power plants in the countrys most polluted areas, most notably around Beijing.

The Chinese authorities have also shut down dozens of coal mines, most notably in the coal-rich province of Shanxi which leads the country in coal output. Shanxi has been suffering from widespread water pollution problems, too, following decades of groundwater contamination. From this perspective, it is understandable why the Chinese would want to outsource any sort of pollution, yet keep the electricity produced, as it fully fits the governments purification policy. Moreover, in contrast to already existing power transmission lines from Russia to China which are laid to the energy-superfluous Heilongjian province, the transmission lines from the Yerkovetskaya plant would go all the way down to Beijing, some 1500 km southwards. A sufficient distance to keep all burning-related contaminants far away from the Chinese capital. Related: Norway Oil Strike Ends Just As Another Is Set to Begin

If built, the Yerkovetskaya power plant will become Russias second-largest, only the monstrous 5.6 GW Surgut (which runs on the regions plentiful associated petroleum gas) is bigger. As for solid fuel thermal power plant, the Yerkovetskaya plant would become Russias leading one, overtaking the 3.8 GW Reftinskaya power plant. With an annual electricity generation of 20-30 TWh, the thermal power plant in and of itself would create more energy than some countries (Iceland, Slovenia or Croatia) in total. Interestingly enough, the current 4GW capacity Yerkovetskaya plant was downgraded from a previous 8 GW production capacity which would have made it the worlds largest generating entity, however, due to falling electricity demand in 2014-2015, plans for such a gigantic plant were scrapped.

Despite renewed Chinese interest in the project (Russian interest never really faded), several issues still remain unsettled. The Russian electricity giant Inter RAO, holding exclusive rights to the import and export of electricity to and from Russia, would want to conclude a long-term, preferably 25-year, contract similarly to those clinched in the oil and gas spheres. For this, the price formula needs to be agreed upon, an issue which led to several delays in projects implementation in 2015-2016. Chinese negotiators are notoriously unyielding negotiators  negotiating the price formula for the Power of Siberia gas pipeline took almost a decade  so this might take several months, if not years, to conclude.

Yet with the Russo-Chinese strategic energy partnership edging ever closer, the project could make use of a substantial political buttress. In contrast to previous negotiations with regard to its construction, this time leading state-owned banks expressed their interest in financing the construction of the Yerkovetskaya power plant ($8 billion on the power plant, more than $2 billion on the power transmission lines and coal extraction). According to Russian sources, the then-head of Russias main federal development bank Vneshekonombank (VEB) S. Gorkov suggested to B. Kovalchuk, CEO of Inter RAO, that VEB sign on the dotted line. Its Chinese counterpart would be the China Development Bank, with which VEB already has a hefty portfolio of joint projects.

Related: Rosneft Sees Oil At $80 By Christmas

From a Russian point of view, it is very troubling that there has been almost no discussion of the environmental consequences the construction of such a power plant entails. The reason for this is quite simple  unlike recent landfill gas blowouts in Volokolamsk and other satellite cities of Moscow, the Amur Oblast of Russia is one of the least densely populated in the country (2.21 people/km2) and even within the Far Eastern Federal District it remains one the most economically depressive. Evidently, economic growth at whatever cost has been given priority over the populations strivings, especially so that coal extraction will happen right next to the power plant. For the needs of the power plant, the shareholders plan to source the required amounts of coal from the adjacent Yerkovetsky coal mine (3P reserves amounting to 1.08 billion tons of coal with a current level of extraction barely reaching 3.5 million tons).

Graph 1. Coal Production in Russia in 2000-2017.





Source: Russian Ministry of Energy.

It was expected that the coal mines production would be increased tenfold to 35 million tons per year to satisfy the power plants needs. Similarly to the issues of establishing a mutually acceptable pricing formula and determining the capital structure of the proposed joint venture, connecting the manifold dots would require some time before the project is a robust and coherent one. Russia, always eager to find new coal export outlet against the background of a tightening domestic market which uses increasingly less of it in its power generation, sees the project as another way of bringing money and jobs to the Far East, whilst China would benefit greatly from the relatively low production costs and the outsourcing of all environmental risks. From now on it will all depend of the two sides dealmaking skills to see the project through.

By Viktor Katona for Oilprice.com

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The worlds largest gas importer is also home to the worlds largest reserves of shale gasgas that is just sitting there, at least for now. China has been struggling to repeat the U.S. shale revolution for a number of reasons, chief of them geology, but now it may have the chance to advance its shale gas agenda. Technology is what will make all the difference.

China has recoverable shale gas reserves of 1,115 trillion cu ft, the latest estimate of the Energy Information Administration from 2015 shows. This makes the country the biggest reservoir of shale gas, with Argentina a distant second with a little over 800 trillion cu ft. Yet most of these 1,115 trillion cu ft of gas are in geologically challenging formations.

U.S. shale reserves are like a plate, in relatively good shape and buried evenly close to the surface. For Chinas shale reserves, its more like a plate that was smashed on the ground, and then stomped on. Were trying to identify those scattered reserves and trying our best to get to the bigger ones. Thats what a Sinopec chief engineer told Bloomberg, explaining the challenges that the state energy giant has encountered in its attempts to tap the countrys enormous shale reserves.

In addition to the geological problems, there is also the issue of technology exchange. U.S. fracking tech developers are wary of exporting to China on intellectual property concerns so Chinese companies are having to develop their own technology and equipment. Which is actually fine, since U.S. equipment was made for the U.S. plate rather than the Chinese one.

Its this equipment and these technologies that could help Sinopec and CNPC boost their currently modest shale gas production. Last year, China produced a total 9 billion cubic meters and Sinopec and CNPC expect shale gas production to rise to 10 and 12 billion cubic meters by 2020, respectively. Related: Is The Oil World In Panic Mode?

This compares with plans for annual national shale gas production of 100 billion cu m made back in 2012. It also compares to estimated total annual gas demand of 325 billion cubic meters in 2020, according to Sanford C. Bernstein. Since 2012, the government has revised down its shale gas expectations substantially but still eyes 2020 shale gas production of 30 billion cubic meters. Compared with Sinopecs and CNPCs plans, Beijing is still being overoptimistic.

Meanwhile, drilling and production equipment is being adjusted to the peculiarities of the Chinese shale patch. And costs are being lowered. One example is the bridge plug, Bloomberg reports, which is used to plug wells during drilling to prevent loss of gas. Chinese drillers originally bought bridge plugs for US$30,000 (200,000 yuan) apiece. Now, they are producing them for US$2,680 (18,000 yuan) and exporting them to the company that supplied them with bridge plugs originally.

Pressure pumps are also being adjusted for Chinas much deeper wells since those manufactured for U.S. shale gas wells are not powerful enough. Sinopec, for one, has developed a pressure pump thats 40 percent more powerful than U.S. ones. It has also cut its exploration drilling costs by 40 percent over the last eight years by making all its drilling equipment in-house.

Some analysts believe that Chinese drillers also need regulatory changes to make the shale gas boom happen by encouraging more competition, but it looks like the state giants are managing even without a lot of competition. Uncomfortably high dependence on imports is a powerful motivator for innovation.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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Theres a good chance that a ballot initiative to significantly expand the buffer zones between oil and gas wells and homes and other buildings could be up for voting by Colorado residents in the November election.

In the politically mixed state of Colorado, residents still remember last years deadly explosion at a home in Firestone, and people in some towns have tried to ban fracking operationsand almost succeeded. Two years ago, Colorados Supreme Court overturned voter-approved bans on fracking in Fort Collins and Longmont because it found that they conflicted with the application of the states Oil and Gas Conservation Act.

If the ballot initiatives organizers to push the distance of oil and gas wells further away from homes manage to get the required 98,000 signatures by August 6, the November election could be the inflection point for Colorados oil and gas industry and have significant market-moving implications for Colorado-focused oil and gas companies, including Anadarko, Extraction Oil & Gas Inc, and Noble Energy, analysts say.

Colorados field production of crude oil reached a record high last yearat 352,000 bpd, according to figures by the EIA. In 2016, as a result of the slump in oil prices, production had dropped to 317,000 bpd from 336,000 bpd in 2015.



With the oil price rise in 2017 and so far this year, Colorados oil production in April 2018 increased by 4.3 percent over March to stand at 451,000 bpd. Thats a 43.2-percent jump from April last year, the EIA data shows.

Now Colorado Risinga leading campaign of the ballot initiativeproposes the so-called Initiative 97 that calls for establishing the buffer zone required between oil and gas wells and homes, schools, and other occupied structures to 2,500 feet, or nearly half a mile, up from 500 feet required today.

According to an analysis by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission from earlier this month, Initiative 97 would place 54 percent of Colorados land unavailable for new oil and gas development. Of the non-federal land in Colorado, 85 percent would be inaccessible using these same criteria, according to the commission. In Colorados top five oil and gas producing counties combined, 61 percent of the surface acreage would be unavailable. Related: Is The Oil World In Panic Mode?

The Colorado Alliance of Mineral and Royalty Owners (CAMRO) says that since 1980, the Colorado Land Boards education funds have received more than US$560 million in revenue from oil and gas leases in Colorados Wattenberg Field, and schools would face financial hardships if the ballot initiative passes.

Its not just mineral owners who have a lot at stake if something like Initiative 97, which would enact 2,500-foot setbacks and eliminate oil and gas development on 85 percent of non-federal land, passes. All of Colorado should be deeply concerned about the impact the initiative would have on our communities and future workforce, said Neil Ray, president of CAMRO. Colorados schools would face extreme financial hardship. Our schools already have experienced budget cuts. Can they withstand additional hits financially? Our students deserve better.



Even if the initiative makes it to the ballot and even if it wins approval, the slim Republican majority in the state senate could move to soften the blow to the oil and gas industry, according to Bloomberg. But the Republican majority could also change in the November election.

Then, the Democrat contender for governor, U.S. Representative Jared Polis, hasnt clearly stated his stance on fracking, but analysts say that he cant afford to undermine the oil and gas industry in Colorado. Related: Rosneft Sees Oil At $80 By Christmas

Is he going to shoot himself in the foot because he doesnt like oil and gas? I find that hard to believe, Welles Fitzpatrick, an analyst for SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, told Bloomberg.

The Colorado Democratic Party officially supports the Initiative 97. While candidates may take guidance, they are not bound by the partys positions on issues.

In the gubernatorial race in November, the Democrat Polis will face Republican Walker Stapleton who said on Twitter earlier this week that Colorado Democrats and Congressman Jared Polis want to destroy Colorados energy industry and its 230,000 jobs. We cannot let Congressman Polis and his fellow far-left extremists impose their radical agenda on hardworking Coloradans.

If the ballot initiative raises enough signatures to go to the polls, Colorados future oil and gas industry could be shaped by a crucial vote in the November election.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly offered Sri Lanka a new grant of 2 billion yuan ($295 million). According to media reports, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena made the announcement on Saturday at a ceremony marking the construction of a Chinese-funded hospital.

China offering cash loans and other incentives to Sri Lanka isnt anything new, but this grant comes with the provision that it can be used for whatever project Sri Lanka wants.

When the Chinese ambassador visited my house to fix the date for this ceremony, he said that Chinese President Xi Jinping sent me another gift, Sirisena said.

He has gifted 2 billion yuan to be utilized for any project of my wish. Im going to hand over a proposal to the Chinese ambassador to build houses in all the electorates in the country, he added.

Latest drop in the bucket

Chinas near-quarter of a billion dollar grant is the latest in a long line that Beijing has bestowed upon the 22 million person island nation.

In May, Sri Lanka approved a $500 million liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant by China Machinery Engineering Corp. near a Chinese-controlled port and industrial zone, the development strategies minister said at the time. The port deal, worth some $1.2 billion, in Hambantota comes with a 99-year lease. Its also near the main shipping route from Asia to Europe and will likely play a major role in Chinas push to gain more access for its navy and maritime fleet.

China has also invested in an international airport and a proposed economic zone in Sri Lanka. These investments are part of Chinas ambitious One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative, launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013. Related: Iranian President Threatens U.S. With Mother Of All Wars

Chinas OBOR began as a plan for infrastructure projects intended to boost trade along two already determined routes, the first one following the ancient Silk Road stretching from China to Central Asia and the Middle East and Europe. The second route links China to southeast Asia, Oceana and Africa by sea through several contiguous bodies of water - the South China Sea, South Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean.

With $900bn of planned investment ranging from ports in Pakistan and Sri Lanka to high-speed railways in east Africa to gas pipelines crossing central Asia, Chinas OBOR is arguably the largest overseas investment drive ever launched by a single country, the London-based Financial Times said last year.

While China still insists that its investments in Sri Lank have no ulterior motives, regional rivals India and Japan think otherwise and see Beijings moves as a power play to assert more influence in the increasingly competitive Indian Ocean.

A Brookings Institute report in April said that the primary driver of Indo-Japan ties is the shared concern about the implications of Chinas rise. Tokyo has become an indispensable partner in the regions security architecture as per New Delhis calculations. The confluence of these two strategies shows great promise, the report said.

Japan and India have already tried to counter China's moves within Sri Lanka by offering their own LNG import terminal plans, in essence setting up shop within mere kilometers of Chinas already established infrastructure projects. Related: Rosneft Sees Oil At $80 By Christmas

LNG as a geopolitical tool

In February, Petronet, Indias largest gas importer and Japanese investment partners announced it would invest $300 million for Sri Lankas first gas terminal near Colombo. The consortium will build a 2.6-2.7 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) floating LNG receipt facility off the island's western coast, bigger than the previously envisaged 1.5-2 million tonnes a year facility. Petronet will hold a 47.5 percent stake in the project, while Japan's Mitsubishi and Sojitz Corp. will hold a combined 37.5 percent stake. The remaining 15 percent share will be held by a Sri Lankan company.

Though Beijing continually claims that its massive initiative is purely economic, a growing number of critics, particularly within the U.S., Australia and others, argue that the country has less than stellar motives: to encroach on, and eventually supplant U.S. global hegemony, both economically and in time militarily as China develops its blue-water navy to protect its overseas assets and its trading routes.

At the least, the OBOR initiative is a text-book example of mercantilism at its finest and will give Chinese companies, particularly state-owned enterprises, a growing global market and a likely advantage for their products and services.

Sri Lanka for its part, is delighted to have three Asian power-houses jockey for position within its borders and seems to be playing these interests off against each other for its own economic and geopolitical advantage - a strategy, that could backfire, given Sri Lankas growing indebtedness to Beijing.

By Tim Daiss for Oilprice.com

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Russias Rosneft is suing five of its partners in the Sakhalin-1 oil project for US$1.4 billion (89 billion rubles), including Exxon, Indian ONGC Videsh, Japanese Itochu and Marubeni, and Japans economy ministry, Nikkei Asian Review reports, noting that the lawsuit could strain bilateral relations between Russia and Japan.

Rosneft has accused its partnerswhich also include two of its own subsidiariesof "unjust enrichment and interest gained by using other people's money," a statement submitted to an arbitration court in the Sakhalin region revealed.

According to Rosneft, the consortium operating Sakhalin-1 pumped oil from a Rosneft-operated deposit that is adjacent to the Sakhalin-1 development. This is the Northern Chaivo field, with reserves estimated at more than 15 million tons of crude and some 13 billion cu m of natural gas. The rest of the Chaivo field is part of the Sakhalin-1 project, Russian news outlet RBC reports.

The Russian state energy giant is seeking US$430 million (26.7 billion rubles) each from the local subsidiary of Exxon, which is the operator of the project, and Sodeco, the consortium of Japanese companies that owns a 30-percent stake in Sakhalin-1. Another US$280 million (US$17.82 billion rubles) each is being sought from the Indian company and its two subsidiaries. ONGC Videsh and the Rosneft subsidiaries hold 20 percent stakes in the project.



Related: Guyanas Oil Reserves Are Larger Than Expected

A source quoted by RBC said Rosneft had been in talks with the Sakhalin-1 partners regarding the issue, but had failed to reach an agreement. Exxon has denied any wrongdoing and will appeal the lawsuit. Rosneft, for its part, told media this was a technical issue that the company was unwilling to comment on.

Sakhalin-1 has been operating since 2005, and as of last year produced around 200,000 bpd of crude. Together with other Russian fields, it provides 6 percent of Japans crude oil imports.

Some industry analysts believe the lawsuit is an attempt by Rosneft to secure additional funding amid Western sanctions that have reduced its access to international lenders.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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A 24-hour strike at Totals oil and gas platforms in the UK North Sea-- Alwyn, Elgin, and Dunbarended as planned at 0500 GMT on Tuesday, but the platforms will need up to 24 hours to resume full production, a trade union spokesman told Reuters today.

On Monday, around 40 oil and gas rigs workers on the three platforms started the 24-hour strike after the UKs biggest trade union, Unite, and Total failed to agree on pay and work shifts.

Due to the strike, gas flows to the UK shores were disrupted, but stored crude oil was expected to offset any impacts on oil supply at a time when supply disruptions around the world abound, spare capacity is thinning, and another disruption is looming with the reduction of Irans oil exports with the return of the U.S. sanctions.

The fields hit by the 24-hour strike account for some 10 percent of the UKs gas production. Crude oil production at Alwyn, Elgin, and Dunbar pump up to 50,000 bpd to the Forties and Brent Blend crude streamsthe key components of the Dated Brent benchmark.

The dispute arose after Total wanted to place workers at the platforms on a three-week rotation system instead of two.

The dispute concerns the companys wage review and its plans to force workers to increase their offshore working time, Unite union said earlier this month, when it announced it would go on a strike.



Related: Is The Oil World In Panic Mode?

There will be a series of 24 hour and 12 hour stoppages on the three platforms affected (Alwyn, Dunbar and Elgin), all of which will be forced to cease production, said the Union that quoted a report by Robert Gordon University as identifying that workers on three-week, equal-time rotas were nearly twice as likely to experience ill health as those on two-on-two-off shifts.

The 24-hour stoppages were planned for July 23-24, which already ended, as well as for August 6 and August 12. The 12-hour stoppages will be starting at 12.00 hours on July 30 and August 13.

On Monday, the GMB union of the offshore industry said that members working for Aker Solutions on the Equinor Mariner platform off the northeast coast of Scotland had voted overwhelmingly for strike action, likely to take place in the autumn.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Kenyas oil industry is facing new challenges as Tullow Oil threatened over the weekend to shut down its oil wells in the Lokichar basin if the government does not act soon to remedy production, security, and transportation problems.

Tullow has endured many hardships since it found oil in 2012 after almost six decades of exploring, most recently overcoming what was a particularly difficult obstacle when the government and Tullow finally came to a revenue sharing agreement.

Yet other problems persist.

Tullow oil is now facing supply shortagessupplies that are necessary to run the Kapese Integrated Operation Base. Protesters also blocked trucks ferrying the crude oil late last month, forcing the trucks to turn around and return to the site. The protestors cited disgruntlement with what they perceive as growing insecurity in the region and even discrimination by Tullow.

The protests continued in the days that followed as protesters threatened to derail oil production should the government fail to ensure security in the bandit-prone area, according to the East African. Protestors were also demanding that Turkana be awarded supply tenders and jobs for Tullows future projects.

Meetings were scheduled between the local community, Tullow officials, and national government to find a resolution, but according to the East African, those meetings never happened.



Related: Rosneft Sees Oil At $80 By Christmas

Crude oil could be a boon for Kenyas economic growth, although resources as profitable as oil often breeds controversy, corruption, and instability. Kenyas President Uhuru Kenyatta said that Kenya would look to avoid this resource curse that other countries have fallen prey to, although all signs point to this end.

The current oil production and exports are part of Kenyas Early Oil Pilot Scheme which will move crude oil from Turkana County to Kenyas coast until a pipeline can be built. Commercial production is expected to begin when the pipeline is constructedthe completion of which is expected in 2021 provided Tullow can find a way forward through the in-country instability.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

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The latest news from Google on open source releases, major projects, events, and student outreach programs.
I dont want her to leave with regrets: Chinese husband carries sick wife as they travel around China

A husband has been filmed carrying his wife, who suffers from motor neurone disease, on his back up one of Chinas most famous mountains.

The world is so big and I want to take her to see it so that she will not leave with any regrets, he said in a clip published on Pear Video on Monday.

The footage filmed on Sunday showed Wang Xiaomin, 57, descending the stairway from the summit of Huangshan with his wife strapped to his back in a harness.

Huangshan in the southeastern province of Anhui is a Unesco World Heritage Site. It is known as one of Chinas 10 famous mountains and has been celebrated in art and literature over the centuries for its beautiful scenery and sunsets.

His wife, whose name was not given in the report, was diagnosed with motor neurone disease five years ago.

I want to give her a more meaningful life, Wang said in the video.

Because the couple do not have children, Wang is able to take his wife around the country, carrying her around scenic areas.

I know there isnt a big hope of her recovering from this kind of disease, so I brought her on a trip to see the world, he said.

He said they had previously explored sites like the Potala Palace in Lhasa and Hohxil on the Tibetan plateau.

Although the couple have yet to decide on their next destination, Wang said he would continue to carry his wife along the way.

The news of Wangs dedication follows a report earlier this month that Zhang Wei, who also suffers from motor neurone disease, had celebrated his 29th birthday by climbing Mount Hua in the northwestern province of Shaanxi with the help of a carer.

This article I dont want her to leave with regrets: Chinese husband carries sick wife as they travel around China first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018.
The United States is looking to "build some momentum" towards resolving the Gulf crisis ahead of a possible summit in the autumn, a US diplomat said Tuesday. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Doha in June last year, accusing Qatar of funding terrorism and cosying up to Iran, Riyadh's regional rival. "We want to build to a point where there will be a meeting of all of the heads of state ... it might be September or it might be October", Ryan Gliha, US charge d'affaires to Qatar, told journalists. The US will "try to build some momentum" ahead of the summit to make it a "big success" when President Donald Trump calls Gulf leaders together, the charge d'affaires added. Gliha did not specify a venue for the proposed initiative. In late May, Kuwait's deputy Foreign Minister Khaled al-Jarallah told AFP a summit between the US and Gulf nations would be "an opportunity to put an end to the crisis". Kuwait has attempted to mediate the spat between Doha and its Gulf peers.
In this Wednesday, July 18, 2018, photo, Tom VandeWater stands at the railing of the Coolwater Fire Lookout and looks through his binoculars in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests near Lowell, Idaho. VandeWater, from Canton, N.Y., has staffed the lookout each summer for many years for the U.S. Forest Service. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Fire-lookout towers perched atop remote, craggy peaks across the U.S. West may seem like quaint reminders of an era before satellites, smartphones and jet-propelled air tankers.

Indeed, some of the structures are more than 100 years old. But with their lofty views and good old-fashioned human observation, fire lookouts play a crucial role in the nation's front-line efforts to stop wildfires.

"The biggest piece of this puzzle is to keep fires small," said Kassidy Kern, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman based in Oregon's Deschutes National Forest. "And the way to do that is to have someone who is vigilant and scanning."

Fire lookouts start taking on more responsibility about now as wildfire season transitions from lower elevation grasslands to higher elevation forests. Some towers are just getting staffed as snow melts and they become accessible. This week, according to the National Interagency Fire Center, there are more than 50 large wildfires, mostly in the West, that have consumed about 1,500 square miles (3,900 square kilometers).

The Forest Service saw the need for early detection following wildfires in 1910 in Idaho and adjacent states that merged, killing 87 people and torching 4,700 square miles (12,100 square kilometers).

In this Wednesday, July 18, 2018, photo, Tom VandeWater stands at the railing of the Coolwater Fire Lookout and looks through his binoculars in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests near Lowell, Idaho. VandeWater, from Canton, N.Y., has staffed the lookout each summer for many years for the U.S. Forest Service. At left is the previous lookout structure, which dates to the 1930s. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

The solution was fire lookouts, with the number peaking somewhere around 5,000 in the 1940s, many constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps, a federal program that paid young, unemployed men during the Great Depression to plant trees, develop parks and build roads and other structures. Only about 400 lookouts remain, mostly in the West, after the Forest Service decided aircraft could replace them and destroyed many lookouts from the 1960s through 1980s rather than pay for needed repairs.

Using aircraft to spot wildfires, particularly after lightning storms, has become a significant part of the Forest Service's firefighting efforts. But officials have also found the remaining lookouts spot the majority of forest wildfires in the areas they cover, giving firefighters crucial extra time to put out wildfires before they spread.

In general, officials say, aircraft can remain aloft for only limited periods and can miss the faint or intermittent smoke from a nascent wildfire. A fire lookout can zero in on the area and spend more time observing it to get a better understanding of what might be happening.

"A trained lookout can be pretty darn accurate," said Rene Eustace, fire lookout coordinator for part of Montana's Bitterroot National Forest. "They learn the country. That's one of their jobs."

In this Wednesday, July 18, 2018, photo, Tom VandeWater explains how he uses a device called the Osborne Fire-Finder to pinpoint the location of any smoke or fires he spots from the U.S. Forest Service Coolwater Fire Lookout in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests near Lowell, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Fire-lookout towers are found mostly in national forests, which have autonomy on using them. Idaho's Salmon-Challis National Forest in 2010 opted to boost its staffed lookouts from four to six and cut back on flights over the rugged area.

Those who staff the lookouts usually live in the rustic, one-room towers or in nearby cabins during fire season. Each tower is unique, but many are outfitted with a bed, a table and chairs and an outhouse. Some contain small kitchens and wood stoves.

"Being a lookout is not a job for everybody," said Forest Service lookout Samsara Duffey, preparing to spend the next three months at about 8,000 feet (2,400 meters) at Patrol Mountain Lookout in Montana's Bob Marshall Wilderness with her dog, a blue heeler named Rye. "But it's a good job for a lot of folks who have patience and the ability to be alone."

Lookouts make about $14 an hour for an eight-hour day and time-and-a-half for overtime. In an average four- to five-month season, Eustace said, a busy fire lookout can expect to work 200 to 300 hours of overtime.

In this Wednesday, July 18, 2018, photo, Tom VandeWater stands at the railing of the Coolwater Fire Lookout and looks through his binoculars in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests near Lowell, Idaho. VandeWater, from Canton, N.Y., has staffed the lookout each summer for many years for the U.S. Forest Service. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Duffey said that like many lookouts, she's vigilant the entire day as opposed to just the eight hours she's being paid. This will be her 21st summer at the tower. The attraction: "Just the idea of being able to wake up on a mountaintop and spend the day watching the clouds move and the light change," said Duffey, 42. "It's really tough to walk away from that."

The walk into Patrol Mountain Lookout is not so easy eithera 6-mile (10-kilometer) uphill hike, a typical effort for many fire lookouts.

That's a selling point, the Forest Service discovered, for backcountry enthusiasts who don't mind spending money to hike in and rent a fire lookout that's no longer active and experience what Duffy gets paid to do.

Medicine Point Lookout in the Bitterroot National Forest is where Eustace started his firefighting career in 1976. "It was essentially saved from destruction because the Forest Service decided to restore it and put it into the rental program," he said.

In this Wednesday, July 18, 2018, photo, Tom VandeWater demonstrates how he uses a device called the Osborne Fire-Finder to pinpoint the location of any smoke or fires he spots from the Coolwater Fire Lookout in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests near Lowell, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Nearly 75 such lookouts are available for rent, the sales pitch combining great views with a sense of history. Medicine Point was built in 1940 and, like many other lookouts, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Efforts continue, meanwhile, to figure out a way to once and for all make fire lookouts obsolete with modern and potentially cheaper ways to spot fires. One plan replaces humans with remotely operated cameras.

"They've tried that, but so far it's not perfected," Eustace said. "It's still, in my opinion and the opinion of a lot of folks in the Forest Service, better to have a person on a mountaintop who can give you a description."

In this Wednesday, July 18, 2018, photo, the rear sight of a device called the Osborne Fire-Finder that is used to pinpoint the location of smoke or fires spotted from the Coolwater Fire Lookout, is shown at the lookout in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests near Lowell, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

In this Wednesday, July 18, 2018, photo, notes made by U.S. Forest Service fire lookout Tom VandeWater are shown on a pad at the Coolwater Fire Lookout in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests near Lowell, Idaho. Fire-lookout towers, perched atop remote, craggy peaks across the U.S. West, may seem like quaint reminders of an era before satellites, smartphones and jet-propelled air tankers, but the structures and the people who staff them play a crucial role in the nation's front-line efforts to stop wildfires. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

In this Wednesday, July 18, 2018, photo, the Coolwater Fire Lookout, upper left, sits high on a peak in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests near Lowell, Idaho. The lookout has been staffed each summer for more than 100 years. Other towers across the U.S. West may seem like quaint reminders of an era before satellites, smartphones and jet-propelled air tankers, but the structures and the people who staff them play a crucial role in the nation's front-line efforts to stop wildfires. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

In this Wednesday, July 18, 2018, photo, a radio, binoculars, and other tools used by Tom VandeWater, who staffs the Coolwater Fire Lookout each summer for the U.S. Forest Service, are displayed in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests near Lowell, Idaho. Fire-lookout towers, perched atop remote, craggy peaks across the U.S. West, may seem like quaint reminders of an era before satellites, smartphones and jet-propelled air tankers, but the structures and the people who staff them play a crucial role in the nation's front-line efforts to stop wildfires. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

In this Wednesday, July 18, 2018, photo, Tom VandeWater, left, explains how he uses a device called the Osborne Fire-Finder to pinpoint the location of any smoke or fires he spots from the Coolwater Fire Lookout to Cory Guffey, a U.S. Forest Service initial attack crew captain, at the Coolwater Fire Lookout in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests near Lowell, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

In this Wednesday, July 18, 2018, photo, Tom VandeWater, who staffs the Coolwater Fire Lookout in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests for the U.S. Forest Service near Lowell, Idaho, demonstrates how he uses the location and sight-lines of other fire lookouts to help pinpoint the location of any fires or smoke he spots from his lookout station. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

In this Wednesday, July 18, 2018, photo, a panoramic photo likely dating from the 1950s is shown at the Coolwater Fire Lookout in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests near Lowell, Idaho. Tom VandeWater, who staffs the station each summer for the U.S. Forest Service, uses the photos, which are precisely marked with directional measurements, to help him identify the names and areas of possible fire locations when he spots fires at night. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

In this Wednesday, July 18, 2018, photo, books and other reading material are shown on a table at the Coolwater Fire Lookout in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests near Lowell, Idaho. Tom VandeWater, of Canton, N.Y., has staffed the lookout each summer for many years for the U.S. Forest Service. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

In this Wednesday, July 18, 2018, photo, a trail sign and trees that were burned in a 2017 wildfire stand out from the blue sky a few miles from the Coolwater Fire Lookout in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests near Lowell, Idaho. Fire-lookout towers, perched atop remote, craggy peaks across the U.S. West, may seem like quaint reminders of an era before satellites, smartphones and jet-propelled air tankers, but the structures and the people who staff them play a crucial role in the nation's front-line efforts to stop wildfires. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

In this Wednesday, July 18, 2018, photo, Tom VandeWater walks up the stone steps to the Coolwater Fire Lookout in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests near Lowell, Idaho. VandeWater, from Canton, N.Y., has staffed the lookout each summer for many years for the U.S. Forest Service. Fire-lookout towers, perched atop remote, craggy peaks across the U.S. West, may seem like quaint reminders of an era before satellites, smartphones and jet-propelled air tankers, but the structures and the people who staff them play a crucial role in the nation's front-line efforts to stop wildfires. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

In this Wednesday, July 18, 2018, photo, Tom VandeWater stands at the railing of the Coolwater Fire Lookout and looks through his binoculars in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests near Lowell, Idaho. VandeWater, from Canton, N.Y., has staffed the lookout each summer for many years for the U.S. Forest Service. Fire-lookout towers, perched atop remote, craggy peaks across the U.S. West, may seem like quaint reminders of an era before satellites, smartphones and jet-propelled air tankers, but the structures and the people who staff them play a crucial role in the nation's front-line efforts to stop wildfires. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Explore further New cameras keep electronic eye on Western wildfires

 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The wildfires raging near Athens, which have claimed at least 50 lives, are among the deadliest in Europe this century

The wildfires raging near Athens, which have claimed at least 50 lives, are among the deadliest in Europe this century, with Portugal and Russia also suffering heavy losses.

Here is a recap of the worst.

Portugal in 2017

Sixty-four people were killed and 250 injured in the deadliest wildfires in Portugal's history in June 2017.

The fires burned for five days in the central Leiria region, breaking out at the height of a summer heatwave. Many of the victims died trapped in their cars by the flames while trying to escape.

Violent winds fanned the fires, ravaging some 460 square kilometres (around 180 square miles) of hillsides covered with pine and eucalyptus.

In 2003 gigantic fires caused by a heatwave left 20 dead between July and September in central and southern Portugal.

The summer of 2003 remains the most disastrous in terms of surface destroyed, with nearly 4,250 square kilometres going up in smoke.

In 1966 a blaze in the forest of Sintra, west of Lisbon, killed 25 soldiers trying to battle the flames.

Russia in 2015, 2010

In April 2015 huge fires that started in the Khakassia region of southeastern Siberia killed 34 people as well as hundreds of cattle and thousands of sheep.

The blaze, which spread as far as Mongolia and practically up to the Chinese border, also destroyed 2,000 homes and 10,000 square kilometres of land.

Five years earlier, vast swathes of western Russia were ravaged by fires for weeks during an unprecedented heatwave and drought.

The blazes between July and August 2010 tore through 10,000 square kilometres of forest, bogs and brushwood, burning entire villages.

Some of the fires came dangerously close to Russia's top nuclear research centre in Sarov.

Greece in 2007

Forest fires killed 77 people at the end of August 2007 in Greece, ravaging 2,500 square kilometres in the southern Peloponnese and the island of Evia, northeast of Athens.

The fires raged for around 12 days, but most of the victims were killed early on in the disaster when they became trapped in villages cut off by the flames, some ignoring orders to evacuate.

France, worst ever in 1949

In the heaviest loss of life in wildfires in France, 82 people were killed battling flames in the southwest Landes region in August 1949.

The victimsfiremen, volunteers and soldierswere caught in a ball of fire after the winds suddenly changed direction.

Explore further New life for Portugal's oldest forest ravaged by fires

 2018 AFP
Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria. Credit: Imperial College London

Scientists have designed a type of translator that allows different types of bacteria to 'talk' to each other.

The findings, from scientists at Imperial College London, allow bacteria that don't usually live together  such as those that normally live on the skin, and those that live in the sea, to communicate.

The research, published in Nature Communications, could pave the way for engineering new bacteria systems to aid a number of processes, such as producing green energy.

Dr. Guy-Bart Stan, co-lead author from the Department of Bioengineering, said: "In nature, bacteria happily communicate and cooperate with other bacteria they know and recognise  for instance brewing is sometimes only possible via different bacteria and yeasts working together."

Dr. Karen Polizzi, co-lead author from the Department of Life Sciences, added: "However bacteria only 'talk' with other bacteria they are used to working with. If you take bacteria that don't interact in nature  such as those from the soil and those from the sea, they don't communicate, as they are simply not speaking the same language."

She continued: "But by developing a new translation system, we have shown we can efficiently enable different bacteria communities to speak to each other. This creates the possibility of artificially engineering very complex systems, with multiple bacteria coordinating their actions to carry out complex tasks. We could use this to produce everything from biofuels to composite biomaterials."

Opening communication channels

The findings aid the field of synthetic biology, which involves engineering new biological systems to advance medicine, bioenergy, food production or manufacturing. Advances in synthetic biology to date have included cheaper production of anti-malarial agents, new biofuels, and even microbe-produced spider-silk.

At the heart of the new findings is the system bacteria normally use to communicate, called 'quorum sensing'. This involves bacteria 'speaking' to each other through the release and detection of small molecules. The system allows bacteria to share information about their environment, and the size of their population.

Dr. Nicholas Kylilis, postdoc and study author in the Department of Bioengineering added: "Synthetic bacterial communities can be used to carry out complex bio-computations in a parallel fashion and coordinate complex tasks."This helps them work with their neighbours to coordinate tasks, grow in size, and share food.

However, bacteria only work with microorganisms they know. In the latest research, the team re-engineered quorum sensing systems from various bacterial species found in soil, sea, pond water, and on skin, to create six new communication channels between bacteria.

Encouraging teamwork

The scientists, from the Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology, also developed a computer tool to help scientists select the best communication channels to use in their bacterial system.

Dr. Zoltan Tuza, postdoc and author in the the Department of Bioengineering explained: "The computer algorithm helps you chose the right communication channel from the start, rather than spending a lot of time finding out which bacteria understand each other.

The researchers will now focus on encouraging different types of bacteria to efficiently work together to complete tasks.

"We've managed to get them to talk to each other  the next step is encouraging them to work efficiently with each other," said Dr. Stan.

Explore further Link between bacteria metabolism and communication could pave way for new drugs

More information: Nicolas Kylilis et al. Tools for engineering coordinated system behaviour in synthetic microbial consortia, Nature Communications (2018). Journal information: Nature Communications Nicolas Kylilis et al. Tools for engineering coordinated system behaviour in synthetic microbial consortia,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-05046-2
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Scientists from Newcastle University and the UK's ISIS Neutron and Muon research facility have worked together on a new project that is increasing our understanding of how antibiotics treat bacteria.

With the number of antibiotic resistant bacteria increasing in recent years, the ability to develop a way to combat this resistance could be essential for our future health.

The team used a technique known as neutron reflectometry at STFC's ISIS facility in Oxfordshire to examine how Polymyxin B, a last resort antibiotic, interacts with the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. These hardy bacteria are responsible for life-threatening diseases like pneumonia and meningitis, making them key targets for clinical research.

The more scientists can learn about these bacterial membranes, and the interactions of drugs with them, the greater chance we have of targeting the threat of antibiotic resistance and the impact on our ability to treat disease.

Understanding the interactions of such antibiotics with the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria is of vital importance because four out of six organisms responsible for the majority of hospital acquired infections, are Gram-negatives.

Professor Jeremy Lakey, from the Institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences at Newcastle University, said: "Most antibiotics currently used to kill Gram-negatives enter the bacteria via protein pores which can mutate to resist the drug. Polymyxin B kills bacteria by directly disrupting the outer membrane structure. Exploiting such different types of drug molecules is one strategy we can use to overcome the antibiotic resistance that has built up over the years."

"Targeting the outer membrane offers alternative ways to kill pathogens and our new data shows us why bacteria are vulnerable to this type of attack. They need to keep their outer membrane flexible to grow but that provides the weakness exploited by the Polymyxin."

In a world-first, the team were able to use an artificial model of the outer membrane to not only explain the temperature dependence of Polymyxin B function but also support the notion that bacteria actively control the viscosity of their outer membrane as growth temperatures vary.

The model  created in 2013 using neutron technology at the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source  provides a realistic framework that accurately reproduces the essential asymmetric structure and impermeability of the Gram-negative outer membrane.

Using this model, the team were able to mimic both the initial insertion and subsequent process by which the antibiotic disrupts the structure of the outer membrane and increases membrane permeability, leading to cell death.

Dr. Luke Clifton, ISIS Neutron & Muon Source said: "The outer membrane of the Gram negative bacteria is the barrier between these microorganisms and their external environment. The models of this surface, which we have developed with our colleagues at Newcastle University, allow us to gain molecular level details on this barrier in conditions found in the living organism.

"Neutron science is key to these studies as neutrons are a highly adaptable, non-damaging probe of molecular structure which can differentiate between the different biomolecules found in these complex systems. This allows us to locate the individual components within the bio-membrane and examine how they change during the interaction of the antibiotic."

The INTER instrument at ISIS used by the team allowed for higher resolution and enhanced measurement speeds meaning the scientists could accurately investigate the dynamics of biological systems.

The team now plan to investigate how bacteria develop resistance mechanisms against Polymyxin which will help in the design of second generation molecules, to use when Polymyxin itself becomes less effective.

Explore further The importance of asymmetry in bacteria

More information: Nicolo Paracini et al. Liquid crystalline bacterial outer membranes are critical for antibiotic susceptibility, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2018). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Nicolo Paracini et al. Liquid crystalline bacterial outer membranes are critical for antibiotic susceptibility,(2018). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1803975115
Tragedies at schools have become far too common and schools, community leaders and parents all are focused on finding ways to ensure schools are safe. Aaron Thompson, associate professor of social work at the University of Missouri and a former school social worker and principal, says that school social workers play a key role in helping at-risk children. In a new study, he found that high-performing school social workers were more likely to have graduate degrees and work in a state with certification standards. The findings provide guidance to policy makers and school administrators hoping to improve outcomes for students and school safety.

"To improve school safety we need policies that support minimumif not lofty competencies and state or national certification standards for school social work professionals," Thompson said. "In 36 states, standards are in place for what is expected of school social workers, such as using data-based decision making; yet, 14 states have no set expectations. This means not all schools are equipped with social workers who have the necessary training and tools."

School social workers are trained professionals who provide key services related to a student's well-being across multiple systems. While counselors work one-on-one with students, social workers also work with teachers, family members and community groups to help at-risk students be more successful. They also know how to research interventions that can decrease problematic behaviors and can choose the best intervention for the student. Social workers often can help children with the most severe issues by acting as their advocate. In typical settings, school social workers can provide intensive support for 25-30 at-risk youth at a time.

Thompson looked at nearly 4,000 profiles of school social workers from all 50 states to determine the quality of their work in the schools. Three profiles emerged from the analysis high, medium and low levels of ecological practice, or engaging with all facets of a student's life. High- performing social workers were more likely to use school, family and community support practices. He also found that those with graduate degrees in social work were more likely to engage in these practices. However, timing of the education mattered, as social workers who had more recent education, within 10 years, were more likely to be trained in the best evidence-based practices.

"Without knowing what's behind behavior problems, we won't be able to reduce them," Thompson said. "In engaging with the student, the teacher, the family and various community agencies, school social workers can play a significant role in improving outcomes for at-risk youth, leading to healthier children and safer schools."

"Factors influencing school social work practice: a latent profile analysis," recently was published in School Mental Health.

Explore further Trauma patients can indirectly affect the physical health of social workers

More information: Aaron M. Thompson et al, Factors Influencing School Social Work Practice: A Latent Profile Analysis, School Mental Health (2018). Aaron M. Thompson et al, Factors Influencing School Social Work Practice: A Latent Profile Analysis,(2018). DOI: 10.1007/s12310-018-9279-y
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Climate change looks set to slow productivity only in the world's poorest nations, according to new research from University of Sussex and La Sapienza economists.

The research, published in Environmental and Resource Economics, warns that the world's 100 poorest countries will be 5% worse off by the end of the century than they would have been without climate change  wiping trillions of dollars from the global economy every year.

The study by Professor Richard Tol and Dr. Marco Letta reveals that climate change's impact on productivity would decelerate, but not reverse, economic growth.

Even this small change is likely to put the poorest countries, particularly those with the hottest climates, at a further disadvantage with the report's authors calling on global leaders to develop policies to tackle climate change and poverty reduction simultaneously.

Professor Tol, professor of economics at the University of Sussex, said: "The concern is that climate change will only widen the gulf of inequality between rich and poorer countries around the world in the upcoming decades. World leaders need to understand this risk and work towards minimising it before the full impact of climate change is felt by the world's poorest nations. For example, emission reduction policies that harm economic growth in poor countries, by restricting access to cheap sources of energy, should be avoided."

A number of previous studies have predicted that climate change might impact productivity growth, a major factor in long-run economic growth across the globe.

Using newly developed data on total productivity growth, Dr. Letta and Professor Tol examined the relationship between productivity growth rates and annual temperature shocks based on climate data from 60 countries between 1960 and 2006.

Poorer countries are likely to see their economic growth slowed by climate change because they have a much larger share of their GDP in the agricultural sector, have an industry featuring much more outdoor work and with lower capacity to adapt to rising temperatures.

The study also shows that countries with hot climates have to have considerably stronger economies, around three times larger, to be in a position to ride the impact of climate change with significant temperature rises than countries in a naturally colder climate.

While the data suggests the effect of temperature increase upon productivity is a relatively small one, this is based on the effects of short temperature 'shocks' in certain years, over the course of decades.

But climate change by definition would be a permanent overall increase in temperature in these countries, and so the actual effects of climate change on economic growth could be far more pronounced than the current data suggests.

The research modelling also cannot account for the impact of more severe climate change scenarios, such as a substantial sea level rise, a slowdown of the movement of seawater, or the release of methane from melting permafrost.

All of these factors could make the impact of climate change more pronounced then the research suggests and harm productivity growth more severely in poorer nations.

Professor Tol believes that the research shows that more work needs to be done to marry policies that aim to tackle climate change, and aim to alleviate poverty, to better combat the effect of one on the other.

He said: "Our analysis suggests that weather shocks affect economic growth through a reduction in productivity only when coupled with poverty; it doesn't show that climate change will harm all future economic growth by affecting technological progress, as hypothesized in some literature. Given the importance of total productivity growth for long-run development, our paper raises concerns over the inequality of future climate impacts, and calls for policy makers to consider poverty reduction as a crucial element of climate policy in future."

Explore further How China is taking on climate change

More information: Weather, climate and total factor productivity. Weather, climate and total factor productivity. www.sussex.ac.uk/webteam/gatew  102-2016.pdf&site=24
An Orion crew module, part of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), is on display on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington at the "Made in America", product showcase featuring items created in each of the U.S. 50 states, Monday, July 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

One of the star products of President Donald Trump's Made in America showcase this year, NASA's Orion crew capsule, will ride through space thanks to Europe.

With its four solar-array wings, the European Service Module supplies propulsion, power and the essentials of life for the capsule's space travels and marks a departure for NASA that Trump did not mention at Monday's event celebrating American manufacturing.

"For the first time," the agency says, "NASA will use a European-built system as a critical element to power an American spacecraft." Airbus, Boeing's prime competitor in commercial air travel, leads an array of European companies that made the service module.

The actual Orion crew capsule, made by Lockheed as the prime contractor with more than 1,000 companies across the U.S. contributing, sat on the South Lawn of the White House as one of most striking exhibits of products made in the U.S. The multinational nature of space industry and explorationand of the spacecraft itselfwent unacknowledged.

"On the South Lawn, you have the space capsule," Trump said. "And every part is made right here, in America."

His only reference to Europe was in the context of the trade war he is pursuing. "The European Union's been very tough on the United States," he said, adding "we'll have to do something" to curb imports of European cars if negotiations don't work out.

The globalization of manufacturing has made it difficult to isolate products entirely made in the U.S. Vehicles typically have some or many foreign parts, for example, and in a long-integrated auto manufacturing industry, Canadian-built vehicles may be counted as domestic by the U.S.

In his Made in America event last year, Trump posed by a Boeing jet that was 30 percent foreign-made.

For purposes of the showcase, the White House cites a standard of the Federal Trade Commission that defines a U.S.-made product as having no or negligible foreign content and as going through final assembly or processing in the country. Additionally, the White House says it only selects products from companies that are American owned and operated.

Under those criteria, it appears the Orion crew capsule that was on the display meets the made-in-U.S. standard. But the spacecraft, exhibited as a model at Monday's event, would not.

NASA counts the European module as one of three primary elements of the spacecraft. The crew module and launch abort system are the others.

"Orion's service module is the powerhouse of the spacecraft, supplying it with the electricity, propulsion, thermal control, air and water it needs in space," NASA says. "After the Space Launch System rocket gives Orion the push it needs to venture toward deep space and detaches from it, the service module will propel the uncrewed spacecraft on its mission 40,000 miles (64,000 kilometers) beyond the moon and help it return to Earth, detaching before the crew module re-enters Earth's atmosphere."

The Trump administration envisages a test launch without a crew in 2020 and Orion's first crewed mission three years later. Orion is designed to replace the space shuttle in time and take humans into deeper space.

Explore further Lockheed Martin powers up next Orion spacecraft for first time

 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Radiation from Jupiter can destroy molecules on Europa's surface. Material from Europa's ocean that ends up on the surface will be bombarded by radiation, possibly destroying any biosignatures, or chemical signs that could imply the presence of life. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

New comprehensive mapping of the radiation pummeling Jupiter's icy moon Europa reveals where scientists should lookand how deep they'll have to gowhen searching for signs of habitability and biosignatures.

Since NASA's Galileo mission yielded strong evidence of a global ocean underneath Europa's icy shell in the 1990s, scientists have considered that moon one of the most promising places in our solar system to look for ingredients to support life. There's even evidence that the salty water sloshing around the moon's interior makes its way to the surface.

By studying this material from the interior, scientists developing future missions hope to learn more about the possible habitability of Europa's ocean.However, Europa's surface is bombarded by a constant and intense blast of radiation from Jupiter. This radiation can destroy or alter material transported up to the surface, making it more difficult for scientists to know if it actually represents conditions in Europa's ocean.

As scientists plan for upcoming exploration of Europa, they have grappled with many unknowns: Where is the radiation most intense? How deep do the energetic particles go? How does radiation affect what's on the surface and beneathincluding potential chemical signs, or biosignatures, that could imply the presence of life.

A new scientific study, published today in Nature Astronomy, represents the most complete modeling and mapping of radiation at Europa and offers key pieces to the puzzle. The lead author is Tom Nordheim, research scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California.

"If we want to understand what's going on at the surface of Europa and how that links to the ocean underneath, we need to understand the radiation," Nordheim said. "When we examine materials that have come up from the subsurface, what are we looking at? Does this tell us what is in the ocean, or is this what happened to the materials after they have been radiated?"

Using data from Galileo's flybys of Europa two decades ago and electron measurements from NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft, Nordheim and his team looked closely at the electrons blasting the moon's surface. They found that the radiation doses vary by location. The harshest radiation is concentrated in zones around the equator, and the radiation lessens closer to the poles.

Mapped out, the harsh radiation zones appear as oval-shaped regions, connected at the narrow ends, that cover more than half of the moon.

"This is the first prediction of radiation levels at each point on Europa's surface and is important information for future Europa missions," said Chris Paranicas, a co-author from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.

Now scientists know where to find regions least altered by radiation, which could be crucial information for the JPL-led Europa Clipper, NASA's mission to orbit Jupiter and monitor Europa with about 45 close flybys. The spacecraft may launch as early as 2022 and will carry cameras, spectrometers, plasma and radar instruments to investigate the composition of the moon's surface, its ocean, and material that has been ejected from the surface.

In his new paper, Nordheim didn't stop with a two-dimensional map. He went deeper, gauging how far below the surface the radiation penetrates, and building 3-D models of the most intense radiation on Europa. The results tell us how deep scientists need to dig or drill, during a potential future Europa lander mission, to find any biosignatures that might be preserved.

The answer varies, from 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) in the highest-radiation zonesdown to less than 0.4 inches (1 centimeter) deep in regions of Europa at middle- and high-latitudes, toward the moon's poles.

To reach that conclusion, Nordheim tested the effect of radiation on amino acids, basic building blocks for proteins, to figure out how Europa's radiation would affect potential biosignatures. Amino acids are among the simplest molecules that qualify as a potential biosignature, the paper notes.

"The radiation that bombards Europa's surface leaves a fingerprint," said Kevin Hand, co-author of the new research and projectscientist for the potential Europa Lander mission. "If we know what that fingerprint looks like, we can better understand the nature of any organics and possible biosignatures that might be detected with future missions, be they spacecraft that fly by or land on Europa.

Europa Clipper's mission team is examining possible orbit paths, and proposed routes pass over many regions of Europa that experience lower levels of radiation, Hand said. "That's good news for looking at potentially fresh ocean material that has not been heavily modified by the fingerprint of radiation."

Explore further Europa's ocean ascending

More information: T. A. Nordheim et al. Preservation of potential biosignatures in the shallow subsurface of Europa, Nature Astronomy (2018). Journal information: Nature Astronomy T. A. Nordheim et al. Preservation of potential biosignatures in the shallow subsurface of Europa,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41550-018-0499-8
Lava flows from a volcanic rift on the Big Island of Hawaii on July 16, as photographed from a helicopter by Rice University Professor Julia Morgan. Rice researchers worked with a team to set seismic instruments on the sea floor that will help analyze earthquakes and aftershocks associated with the ongoing eruption of Kilauea. Credit: Julia Morgan

Rice University researchers joined a team of scientists placing seismometers under the ocean off the coast of Hawaii, where the ongoing eruption of Kilauea has already claimed more than 700 homes and added to the island's landmass. The researchers hope for new insight about the landscape under the ocean floor.

Julia Morgan, a professor of Earth, environmental and planetary sciences, and student David Blank were awarded a National Science Foundation RAPID grant to join a team of researchers and seed the seafloor with a dozen seismic detectors off the southeastern coast of the island in the wake of the 6.9 magnitude earthquake that occurred at the start of the eruption of Kilauea May 4.

The instruments will gather data until September, when they will be retrieved, and are expected to provide an extensive record of earthquakes and aftershocks associated with the eruption of the world's most active volcano over two months.

"They're still going on," said Morgan, who returned to Houston last week after seven days aboard a vessel deployed to place instruments and map the area. "In addition, a bunch of earthquakes occurred in other portions of the (island) flank. That's what really got my attention."

Her interest in geologic structures, particularly relating to volcano deformation and faulting, led her to study the ocean bed off the Big Island's coast for years. In a 2003 paper, Morgan and her colleagues used marine seismic reflection data to look inside Kilauea's underwater slope for the boundaries of an active landslide, the Hilina Slump, as well as signs of previous avalanches.

Video by Rice Professor Julia Morgan, taken from a helicopter on July 16, shows lava from the ongoing eruption of Kilauea on the Big Island of Hawaii as it moves from the volcano to the sea. Morgan and her colleagues spent a week placing ocean-bottom seismic instruments off the southeastern shore of the island. Credit: Rice University

The researchers determined that the Hilina Slump is restricted to the upper slopes of the volcano, and the lower slopes consist of a large pile of ancient avalanche debris that was pushed by Kilauea's sliding, gravity-driven flank into a massive, mile-high bench about 15 miles offshore. This outer bench currently buttresses the Hilina Slump, preventing it from breaking away from the volcano slopes.

"We mapped out the geometry and extent of the slump and tried to develop a history of how it came to be," she said of the paper.

"Essentially, Kilauea is a bulldozer sliding out on the ocean crust and scraping off packages of strata that have accumulated," Morgan said. The Hilina Slump rides on top of the sliding flank, she said.

"Remarkably, after this earthquake, all the boundaries of the slump also lit up with small earthquakes. These clearly occurred on a different fault than the main earthquake, suggesting that the slump crept downslope during or after that event," she said.

A cutaway view through Kilauea's south flank looking north showing subsurface structures, including the Hilina Slump (pink), ponding sediment (green) and the outer bench (blue) on the ocean bottom that holds the slump in place. Click on the image for a larger version. Credit: "Instability of Hawaiian Volcanoes" by Roger Denlinger and Julia Morgan/U.S. Geological Survey

Morgan said the bench appears to be stable, presumably supporting the slumpalthough if it collapsed, the slump would follow and the results could be catastrophic. "If the slump were to fail catastrophically, it would create an amazing tsunami that would hit the West Coast. We have not seen this in historic times," she said.

"The frequency of these failures is very low and the interval between them is very high," Morgan said. "We think this happened at Kilauea between 25,000 and 50,000 years ago, and we know it happened on (adjacent volcano) Mauna Loa about 100,000 years ago, and probably more than once before that."

While the risk of an imminent avalanche is slim, she said, the eruption, earthquake and aftershocks presented an irresistible opportunity to get a better look at the island's hidden terrain. Every new quake that occurs along Kilauea's rift zones and around the perimeter of the Hilina Slump and the bench helps the researchers understand the terrain.

Morgan said the United States Geological Survey, which operates the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, has a host of ground-based seismometers but none in the ocean. She said monitors at sea will reveal quakes under the bench that are too small for land seismometers to sense.

Blank poses with the last of 12 ocean-bottom seismometers to be placed off the southeastern shore of the Big Island of Hawaii in July. The seismic instruments are expected to capture information for the next two months about ongoing earthquakes and aftershocks associated with the eruption of Kilauea. Credit: David Blank

"The (initial) earthquake seems to have caused earthquakes beneath the outer bench," Morgan said. "If that outer bench is the buttress to the slump, and that bench is beginning to show seismicity, it's moving. At what point does it collapse?"

The seismometers are deployed around the Hilina Slump, close to shore where lava is entering the ocean and on the outer bench in line with the initial quake. "That way, aftershocks from the earthquake could be picked up and would record characteristics of the fault zone that slipped," she said.

"If this outer bench is experiencing earthquakes, we want to know what surfaces are experiencing them. Along the base? Within the bench? Some new fault that we didn't know about? This data will provide us the ability to determine what structures, or faults, are actually slipping."

While Blank worked days on the ship to help deploy the instruments, Morgan chose the night shift for mapping  and a better view of lava hitting the water. After their duty at sea, both took the unique opportunity to book a helicopter flight over the volcano, following the river of lava to the sea.

Lava enters the ocean in a photo by Rice graduate student David Blank, who helped place seismic instruments on the seafloor to analyze earthquakes and aftershocks associated with the ongoing eruption of Kilauea. Credit: David Blank

"If you're following the flows, you can look down and watch the lava tear across the countryside," she said. "Then you go out to the lava ocean entry. You see these littoral explosions as the lava is flowing into the ocean. You might get a big pulse of lava and suddenly it gets cooled and quenched so rapidly that it just explodes up into the air."

They also spent time talking with locals in Hilo, the largest city on the main island, about the eruption that has already claimed more than 700 homes. "People there know they live with Pele," Morgan said. "I found they were generally sanguine about it. Sad, but they knew that something like this could happen.

"It's a tragedy, for sure, but it's also nature doing what nature does."

Explore further Hawaii volcano unleashes more small blasts, snaking lava
Researchers collect samples from the surface of the Atacama Desert in Chile, going a few centimeters into the ground. Credit: NASA Ames Research Center

Life as we know it needs water to thrive. Even so, we see life persist in the driest environments on Earth. But how dry is too dry? At what point is an environment too extreme for even microorganisms, the smallest and often most resilient of lifeforms, to survive? These questions are important to scientists searching for life beyond Earth, including on the planet Mars. To help answer this question, a research team from NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley traveled to the driest place on Earth: the Atacama Desert in Chile, a 1000 kilometer strip of land on South America's west coast.

The Atacama Desert is one of the Earth's environments that comes closest to the parched Martian surface. But the Atacama isn't uniformly dry. When traveling from the relatively less dry southern end of the desert in central Chile to its extremely dry center in northern Chile, the annual precipitation shifts from a few millimeters of rain per year to only a few millimeters of rain per decade.

This non-uniformly dry environment provides an opportunity to search for life at decreasing levels of precipitation. By pinning down how much water an environment needs to be habitable, i.e. be able to support lifeforms, the research team was able to determine that a dry limit of habitability exists.

"On Earth, we find evidence of microbial life everywhere," said Mary Beth Wilhelm, an astrobiologist at Ames and lead author of the new study published in the journal Astrobiology this month. "However, in extreme environments, it's important to know whether a microbe is dormant and just barely surviving, or really alive and well."

Biologists define something as alive if it is capable of growth and reproduction. If microbes are simply surviving or performing a few basic functions, they'll die within one generation without passing on any genetic information. When looking for the potential of life on Mars, scientists need to see this reproduction take place, which leads to population growth and genetic change from one generation to the next.

"By learning if and how microbes stay alive in extremely dry regions on Earth, we hope to better understand if Mars once had microbial life and whether it could have survived until today," said Wilhelm.

A Sign of Stress is a Sign of Life

Scientists have a few tools to figure out whether a sample is growing or just surviving. One important sign is stress. Living long enough to grow and adapt in extreme deserts like the Atacama  or potentially on Mars  is no easy task. If life is really growing in this extremely dry environment, it's going to be stressed, while dormant life simply surviving will not. Because dormant life is not able to even try to grow or reproduce, there are no stress markers, like changes in the structure of certain cell molecules. Astrobiologists can look for some tell-tale signs of this stress to search for evidence of growth in the parched soils.

The science team collected soil samples from across the Atacama Desert and brought them back to their lab at Ames. There, they performed tests to identify stress markers in the samples by looking at features common to all known living organisms.

This map of the Atacama Desert shows the change in annual precipitation from one end of the desert to the other. The aridity index mentioned is a value based on annual rainfall and water loss. Credit: NASA Ames Research Center

One stress marker can be found in lipids, molecules that make up the outer surface of a living microbial cell, known as its membrane. When cells are exposed to stressful conditions, their lipids change structure, becoming more rigid.

Scientists found this marker in less dry parts of the Atacama, but it was mysteriously missing from the driest regions, where microbes should be more stressed. Based on these and other results, the team believes that a line of transition exists between where minute amounts of water are still enough for life to grow and where the environment is so dry that microorganisms merely survive without growth in surface soil in the Atacama.

Dating the Remnants of Life

Scientists can tell how long cells have been dead by studying a type of molecule called amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. The structures of these amino acids take two forms, each a mirror reflection of the other, like a pair of hands. In fact, this "handedness" is the term scientists use to describe these structures.

All life on Earth is built with "left-handed" amino acid molecules. However, when a cell dies, some of its amino acids change at a known rate into the reflecting "right-handed" structure, eventually balancing into a 50-50 ratio over many years.

By looking at this ratio in the driest Atacama soils, the scientists found microbes there that have been dead for at least 10,000 years. Finding even the remnants of life this old is extremely rare, and surprising for a sample sitting in the surface of Earth.

Getting Ready for Mars

Mars is 1,000 times drier than even the driest parts of the Atacama, which makes it less likely that microbial life as we know it exists on the planet's surface, even with some access to water. However, even in the driest areas of Chile's desert, remnants of past microbial life from wetter times in the Atacama's history were clearly present and well preserved over thousands of years. This means that because scientists know that Mars was a wetter, more vibrant planet in its past, traces of that ancient life might still be intact.

"Before we go to Mars, we can use the Atacama like a natural laboratory and, based on our results, adjust our expectations for what we might find when we get there," said Wilhelm. "Knowing the surface of Mars today might be too dry for life to grow, but that traces of microbes can last for thousands of years helps us design better instruments to not only search for life on and under the planet's surface, but to try and unlock the secrets of its distant past."

Explore further Life in world's driest desert seen as sign of potential life on Mars

More information: Mary Beth Wilhelm et al. Constraints on the Metabolic Activity of Microorganisms in Atacama Surface Soils Inferred from Refractory Biomarkers: Implications for Martian Habitability and Biomarker Detection, Astrobiology (2018). Journal information: Astrobiology Mary Beth Wilhelm et al. Constraints on the Metabolic Activity of Microorganisms in Atacama Surface Soils Inferred from Refractory Biomarkers: Implications for Martian Habitability and Biomarker Detection,(2018). DOI: 10.1089/ast.2017.1705
Materials scientists from Lomonosov Moscow State University explained the laws of dissolution and crystallization of hybrid perovskites and have proposed a novel approach for obtaining films for solar cells. They have explained the key mechanisms of interaction of hybrid perovskites with solvents and suggested new approaches to obtain perovskite light-absorbing layers for thin-film solar cells from weakly coordinating aprotic solvents.

The results of the study have been recently published in the high-rating journal Chemistry of Materials.

Thin-film solar cells based on hybrid perovskites have already reached an efficiency of 23.2 percent, surpassing traditional solar cells based on silicon. The light-absorbing layer of perovskite in such devices can be obtained by simpler and cheaper solution methods. The scientists studied the processes of perovskite crystallization from a solvent with unusual propertiesgamma-butyrolactone (GBL).

"In our laboratory we develop new innovative non-solvent methods for obtaining solar cells but also pay great attention to the fundamental aspects of perovskite chemistry. This is a traditional characteristic trait of the materials science school of Lomonosov Moscow State University, which distinguishes us from most of the world's groups," said contributing researcher Alexey Tarasov.

There are two solvents that are usually used to prepare perovskite thin films from solutions: dimethylsulfoxide and dimethylformamide. However, earlier work showed that crystallization from these solvents proceeds through formation of intermediate compoundscrystallosolvates, which can impair the morphology and functional properties of the perovskite layer.

As a solvent for perovskite, GBL exhibits so-called retrograde solubilitythe solubility of perovskite in GBL decreases with the increase of temperature. This feature was widely used by researchers to produce single crystals, whereas the attempts to obtain a thin film resulted in the formation of separated individual crystallites on a substrate. For a long time, this unusual behavior of perovskite solutions in GBL remained poorly understood. It was believed that the perovskite-GBL interaction is weak enough that it does not even form solvates with it. However, scientists discovered that there are at least three types of perovskite crystals with GBL, and some of them have a unique cluster structure. It became clear that the equilibrium in perovskite solutions in GBL is much more complicated than previously expected.

"We have established that perovskite dissolves at room temperature with the formation of such clusters, and upon heating, they decompose to small complexes. This leads to supersaturation and precipitation of perovskite from solution in the form of single crystals. We showed that it was the precipitation of a cluster adduct instead of perovskite that prevented the formation of thin films from this solvent. Based on the understanding of the processes that occur during the dissolution of perovskite in GBL, we proposed approaches that bypass the formation of clusters and results in perovskite crystallization. Consequently, we obtained high-quality films from GBL for the first time. This is an excellent example of the practical application of fundamental chemical knowledge for the solution of materials science problemsjust what is generally called fundamental material science throughout the world," concluded Alexey Tarasov.

Explore further Scientists propose method to increase the efficiency of solar batteries

More information: Sergey A. Fateev et al, Solution processing of methylammonium lead iodide perovskite from gamma-butyrolactone: crystallization mediated by solvation equilibrium, Chemistry of Materials (2018). Journal information: Chemistry of Materials Sergey A. Fateev et al, Solution processing of methylammonium lead iodide perovskite from gamma-butyrolactone: crystallization mediated by solvation equilibrium,(2018). DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.8b01906
This illustration shows the embedding of a cell lineage tree on a convex equilateral polygon with 16 vertices. Cell connections are shown in red. Credit: Norbert Stoop

A key challenge in the embryonic development of complex life forms is the correct specification of cell positions so that organs and limbs grow in the right places. To understand how cells arrange themselves at the earliest stages of development, an interdisciplinary team of applied mathematicians at MIT and experimentalists at Princeton University identified mathematical principles governing the packings of interconnected cell assemblies.

In a paper titled "Entropic effects in cell lineage tree packings," published this month in Nature Physics, the team reports direct experimental observations and mathematical modeling of cell packings in convex enclosures, a biological packing problem encountered in many complex organisms, including humans.

In their study, the authors investigated multi-cellular packings in the egg chambers of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, an important developmental model organism. Each egg chamber contains exactly 16 germline cells that are linked by cytoplasmic bridges, resulting from a series of incomplete cell divisions. The linkages form a branched cell-lineage tree which is enclosed by an approximately spherical hull. At some later stage, one of the 16 cells develops into the fertilizable egg, and the relative positioning of the cells is thought to be important for the biochemical signal exchange during the early stages of development.

The group run by Princeton's Stanislav Y. Shvartsman, a professor of chemical and biological engineering, and the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics at Princeton succeeded in measuring the spatial positions and connectivities between individual cells in more than 100 egg chambers. The experimentalists found it difficult to explain, however, why certain tree configurations occurred much more frequently than others, says Jorn Dunkel, an associate professor in the MIT Department of Mathematics.

So while Shvartsman's team were able to visualize the cell connections in complex biological systems, Dunkel and postdoc Norbert Stoop, a recent MIT math instructor, began to develop a mathematical framework to describe the statistics of the observed cell packings.

"This project has been a prime example of an extremely enjoyable interdisciplinary collaboration between cell biology and applied mathematics," Dunkel says. The experiments were performed by Shvartsman's Ph.D. student Jasmin Imran Alsous, who will begin a postdoctoral position at Adam Martin's lab in the MIT Department of Biology this fall. They were analyzed in collaboration with postdoc Paul Villoutreix, who is now at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.

Dunkel points out that while human biology is considerably more complex than a fruit fly's, the underlying tissue organization processes share many common aspects.

"The cell trees in the egg chamber store the history of the cell divisions, like an ancestry tree in a sense," he says. "What we were able to do was to map the problem of packing the cell tree into an egg chamber onto a nice and simple mathematical model that basically asks: If you take the fundamental convex polyhedrons with 16 vertices, how many different ways are there to embed 16 cells on them while keeping all the bridges intact?"

The presence of rigid physical connections between cells adds interesting new constraints that make the problem different from the most commonly considered packing problems, such as the question of how to arrange oranges efficiently so that they can be transported in as few containers as possible. The interdisciplinary study of Dunkel and his colleagues, which combined modern biochemical protein labelling techniques, 3-D confocal microscopy, computational image analysis, and mathematical modeling, shows that constrained tree packing problems arise naturally in biological systems.

Understanding the packing principles of cells in tissues at the various stages of development remains a major challenge. Depending on a variety of biological and physical factors, cells originating from a single founder cell can develop in vastly different ways to form muscles, bones, and organs such as the brain. While the developmental process "involves a huge number of degrees of freedom, the end result in many cases is highly complex yet also very reproducible and robust," Dunkel says.

"This raises the question, which many people asked before, whether such robust complexity can be understood in terms of a basic set of biochemical, physical, and mathematical rules," he says. "Our study shows that simple physical constraints, like cell-cell bridges arising from incomplete divisions, can significantly affect cell packings. In essence, what we are trying to do is to identify relatively simple tractable models that allow us to make predictions about these complex systems. Of course, to fully understand embryonic development, mathematical simplification must go hand-in-hand with experimental insight from biology."

Since incomplete cell-divisions have also been seen in amphibians, mollusks, birds, and mammals, Dunkel hopes the modeling approach developed in the paper might be applicable to those systems as well.

"Physical constraints could play a significant role in determining the preferences for certain types of multicellular organizations, and that may have secondary implications for larger-scale tissue dynamics which are not yet clear to us. A simple way you can think about it is that these cytoplasmic bridges, or other physical connections, can help the organism to localize cells into desired positions," he says. "This would appear to be a very robust strategy."

Explore further A complete cell atlas and lineage tree of the immortal flatworm

More information: Jasmin Imran Alsous et al. Entropic effects in cell lineage tree packings, Nature Physics (2018). Nature Physics (2018). Journal information: Nature Physics Jasmin Imran Alsous et al. Entropic effects in cell lineage tree packings,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41567-018-0202-0 Jasmin Imran Alsous et al. Entropic effects in cell lineage tree packings,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41567-018-0202-0

This story is republished courtesy of MIT News (web.mit.edu/newsoffice/), a popular site that covers news about MIT research, innovation and teaching.
ECOSTRESS acquired this image the night of July 9 over Egypt. Yellow and red indicate generally higher temperatures. The River Nile is visible as a thin blue line on the main image. The black-and-white inset shows the level of detail available from ECOSTRESS, with the relatively cool Nile River and surrounding vegetation appearing darker. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Just days after its successful installation on the International Space Station, NASA's newest Earth-observing mission, the ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS), has collected its first science data on Earth's surface temperature.

ECOSTRESS will measure the temperature of plants from space, enabling researchers to determine how much water plants use and to study how droughts affect plant health.

The instrument was launched June 29 from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on a SpaceX cargo resupply mission. It rode to orbit in the "trunk" of SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, which berthed at the station on July 2. On July 5, ground controllers at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston extracted ECOSTRESS from the trunk, robotically transferred it to the station's Japanese Experiment ModuleExposed Facility (JEM-EF) and installed it. After a few days of testing and start-up activities, ECOSTRESS acquired its first-light image on July 9.

"Often satellite missions require weeks or months to produce data of the quality that we are already getting from ECOSTRESS," said the mission's principal investigator, Simon Hook of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. ECOSTRESS is one of a new class of low-cost, rapid-development NASA science instruments. The ECOSTRESS instrument was launched less than four years after the project was started.

The ECOSTRESS team is now checking out the instrument and acquiring preliminary science data, a process expected to take about a month. They have completed an initial calibration of the science data and are now validating the data by comparing them with similar measurements made at ground control sites. When this process is complete, ECOSTRESS will be ready to begin its one-year science mission.

Explore further New NASA mission to detect plant water use from space

More information: For more information on ECOSTRESS, visit: For more information on ECOSTRESS, visit: ecostress.jpl.nasa.gov For more information on science activities aboard the space station, visit: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sta  arch_by_com_campaign
This image of supernova remnant Cassiopeia A, captured by NASAs Chandra X-ray Observatory, reveals the location of silicon (red), sulfur (yellow), calcium (green) and iron (purple) in the debris. The Micro-X mission will map a wider range of elements so astronomers can better understand the explosion. Cassiopeia A lies about 11,000 light-years from Earth. Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO

NASA launched a prototype telescope and instrument to observe the X-rays emitted by Cassiopeia A, the expanding debris of an exploded star. The High-Resolution Microcalorimeter X-ray Imaging Rocket (Micro-X) launched July 22 aboard a sub-orbital launch vehicle called a sounding rocket and successfully tested its detector technology.

"The flight time of a sounding rocket is short compared to orbiting satellites, so you have to get as much light as you can to do the science you want," said Principal Investigator Enectali Figueroa-Feliciano, an associate professor of physics at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. "There are only a couple of X-ray sources in the sky that are bright enough for the few minutes of observation time such flights give us, and Cassiopeia A is one of the brightest. Our study will build on the current knowledge of supernova remnants, how they exploded and evolve, and we will get new insights into the history of Cassiopeia A."

Launched from the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, Micro-X soared to an altitude of 100 miles (160 kilometers)required to detect X-rays that are absorbed by Earth's atmosphereand observed the remnant for the next five minutes. At its pinnacle Micro-X reached an altitude of 167 miles (270 kilometers).

The mission incorporates the first array of transition-edge sensor X-ray microcalorimeters to fly into space. These sensors act as highly sensitive thermometers and make ideal detectors for an X-ray telescope.

The microcalorimeter is comprised of three main parts: an absorber which takes in light and converts it to heat, a thermistor that alters its own resistance due to changing temperature and a heat sink that cools the microcalorimeter back down.

For Micro-X, a refrigerator cools the detector to about 459 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (0.075 degree Celsius above absolute zero), or nearly the minimum temperature possible. When the instrument detects X-rays, the light's energy is converted into heat. This causes a slight rise in temperature, prompting the refrigerator to cool the detector back to its original temperature. The energy of each X-ray can be determined from the change in temperature.

One of the many questions that scientists are interested in using the data to answer is whether or not the temperatures of the gases ejected from the star's explosion are the same for iron and silicon, two elements which were previously measured by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. Such an analysis was not possible with Chandra's spectrometers.

"With Chandra, different regions of the supernova remnant overlap in the spectrometer," said F. Scott Porter, an astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, who is participating in the mission. "Micro-X is different because it can take every single photon in its field of view, tell the exact energy and make a spectrum."

The information collected by Micro-X will also be used to help answer the question of how much oxygen resides in Cassiopeia A, create a survey of the various other elements in the remnant and measure the speed of the ring-like ejecta from the exploded star.

One aspect of research that was not possible before Micro-X was the measurement of weak spectral lines. These observations will now tell scientists which gases are present as well as their speed and direction. This is possible because light from sources moving toward or away from us causes a shift in wavelength depending on their speed, a phenomenon known as the Doppler shift.

Both the mission of Micro-X and the utilization of transition-edge sensors will continue in the future. The Micro-X team plans to direct their attention to other cosmic objects. "In future flights we can look at other sources like other supernova remnants or clusters of galaxies," said Figueroa-Feliciano. "We have even thought about using this type of rocket to look for dark matter."

Transition-edge sensors will also be incorporated in upcoming orbital missions. ESA's (European Space Agency) Advanced Telescope for High Energy Astrophysics (ATHENA), planned for launch in the early 2030s, will wield an array of about 5,000 pixels, nearly 40 times the size of Micro-X's 128-pixel detector. ATHENA will study hot gas structuressuch as groups of galaxiesand conduct a census of black holes.
Nano-resonator described in the research. Credit: ITMO University

An international research team has found a way to make frequency conversion of light at the nanoscale 100 times more efficient. The new method is based on isolated dielectric nanoparticles supporting so-called bound states in the continuum. Such states appear when radiating fields in the particle suppress each other, so that the electromagnetic energy inside the particle can be trapped. This prediction can be employed for a new generation of tiny frequency conversion devices called nanolasers. The research was published in Physical Review Letters on July 19, 2018.

One of the key problems of nonlinear nanophotonics is the frequency conversion of electromagnetic radiation at the nanoscale. By changing the frequency, the radiation can be converted from one spectral band to another: from terahertz to infrared, and from infrared to visible. This transformation can be carried out effectively by macroscopic devices, but it is a challenge to achieve the frequency conversion at the nanoscale.

The interaction of nanoparticles with light is quite special because of their very small size. Therefore, in order to increase efficiency of the frequency conversion of light at the nanoscale, it is necessary to reduce energy losses during the key processes occurring in the nanoparticle: radiation input, energy confinement, and nonlinear conversion.

To solve all these problems, an international team of physicists from the ITMO University, Nonlinear Physics Centre of the Australian National University, and the University of Brescia in Italy proposed to use new nanoscale resonators. They are, in essence, disk-shaped dielectric nanoparticles with a high refractive index that support the so-called bound states in the continuum. Such states can be created when several types of electromagnetic energy oscillations in the particle mutually suppress each other. In this way, the energy of light can be "locked" inside the particle.

Mathematically, the energy can be locked forever, provided that the resonators are absolutely ideal. In practice, it is possible to trap light for a finite, yet quite long time, even in a single nanoparticle. This requires an optimal ratio of the particle shape, size, and material.

"Although we described such peculiar dielectric nanoresonators previously, we have not yet analysed their practical perspectives. Now, together with our Italian colleagues Dr Luca Carletti and Prof Constantino De Angelis, we calculated how this resonator generates the light with a double frequency. The results show that this structure helps to increase the efficiency of the nonlinear processes by two orders of magnitude. However, this was not that easy, as we had to find the optimal way of pumping the energy into the resonator. We found out that in our case, the incident wave had to be polarized in a way that it oscillates along the tangent to the circle. This coincides with the structure of the electromagnetic field inside the particle," says Kirill Koshelev, a member of the International Metamaterial Laboratory of the ITMO University.

As a result, the research team managed to achieve a record-high efficiency of frequency doubling of light with dielectric nanoparticles. Now, instead of a 100th part of a percent, it is possible to save up to several percent of the light energy during the conversion. This result paves the way to experimental detection of radiation converted by a nanoparticle, which means that the proposed method can be used in practical applications.

"We have suggested a design of nanoscale converters of light that can be used for various applications. For example, they can be used in night vision flat-optics devices which convert infrared radiation into visible light. At the same time, the dielectric material we chose, aluminium-gallium arsenide, has mature fabrication technology. Since the material is widely available, we expect that our idea and predictions will push the further progress in nonlinear nanophotonics and meta-optics," says Professor Yuri Kivshar, co-Chair of the Department of Nanophotonics and Metamaterials of the ITMO University also Distinguished Professor of the Australian National University.

Explore further Scientists present metamaterial for solar cells and nano-optics

More information: Luca Carletti et al. Giant Nonlinear Response at the Nanoscale Driven by Bound States in the Continuum, Physical Review Letters (2018). Journal information: Physical Review Letters Luca Carletti et al. Giant Nonlinear Response at the Nanoscale Driven by Bound States in the Continuum,(2018). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.033903
Black-tailed godwit's are also one of the species in decline in Germany and Senegal 2. Credit: Aron Tanti

The rate at which our planet is warming has been found to be a critical factor in explaining the decline of bird and mammal species, reveals new research by UCL and ZSL (Zoological Society of London).

For the study, published today in Global Change Biology, 987 populations of 481 species across the globe were studied to investigate how the rate of climate change and land-use change (from natural to human-dominated landscapes) interact to affect the rate of decline on mammals and birds, as well as whether species located in protected areas and body size had an influence.

The rate at which our climate is warming was found to be the best explanation for the observed rate of population declines.

Birds were one of the worst affected by rapid climate warming, with effects being twice as strong in birds over mammals, as well as populations located outside of protected areas being more severely impacted.

Species such as the black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa) in Germany and Senegal, pink-footed Geese in Canada (Anser brachyrhynchus) and black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas) in Tanzania were just some of the species highlighted to be in population decline.

Lead-author, Fiona Spooner from UCL Centre of Biodiversity & Environment Research said and ZSL's Institute of Zoology: "The reason we think birds might be worse off in particular is due to birds breeding seasons being particularly sensitive to temperature changes. We think this could be leading to a desynchronisation of their reproduction cycle, leading to the negative impacts we're seeing. Mammal breeding seasons are a lot more flexible, and this is reflected in the data."

This finding is crucial, because if the rate at which the climate warms, exceeds the maximum possible rate of animals being able to adapt to the changes in their environment - local extinctions of animals will start to become more prominent. The research stresses the urgency of understanding the vulnerability of animals to temperature increases and provides a snapshot of what may come to pass if we don't slow down climate change.

Senior co-author, Dr Robin Freeman head of the Indicators and Assessment Unit at ZSL's Institute of Zoology said: "Our research shows that in areas where the rate of climate warming is worse, we see more rapid bird and mammal population declines. Unless we can find ways to reduce future warming, we can expect these declines to be much worse."

"Importantly, our finding does not suggest that human land-use changes, such as for agriculture, development or deforestation do not play a role in the decline of birds and mammals, or that because the decline is climate change related, it's somehow something for future generations to deal with. Rather, this finding suggests that additional data including higher resolution landscape data is needed to understand the mechanisms driving these declines."

Gareth Redmond-King, Head of Climate and Energy Policy at WWF said: "This report provides further evidence of the growing threat that climate change poses to our wildlife, not only around the world but also right here on our doorsteps such as bees and the much-loved puffin.

"That's why we urgently need the UK Government to take action to meet current targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions, but also to increase ambition to build a sustainable, climate-resilient future in which we restore nature, not destroy it."

More information: Fiona E. B. Spooner et al. Rapid warming is associated with population decline among terrestrial birds and mammals globally, Global Change Biology (2018). Journal information: Global Change Biology Fiona E. B. Spooner et al. Rapid warming is associated with population decline among terrestrial birds and mammals globally,(2018). DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14361
Researchers at the University of York are calling for a re-evaluation of the definition of 'small-scale' fishing vessels, following a study that shows the impact of these vessels are underestimated.

Legislators have recently committed to more support for small-scale fishing vessels using sustainable methods, alongside a government white paper that states reform of the management of English inshore fisheries is needed post-Brexit.

New research at the University, however, has shown that the impact of small-scale fishing vessels is currently skewed by a length-based definition of scale which doesn't account for fishing capacity.

Whilst some small boats catch small volumes of fish, others have the ability to catch significantly more, despite being grouped in the same 'small-scale' category, the report says.

UK law

Dr. Bryce Beukers-Stewart, from the University of York's Environment Department, said: "The UK government characterises small boats as less than 10 metres in length, which account for 76 percent of all fishing boats in England.

"Under current UK law this means that more than half of the boats in England are only permitted to catch less than 5 percent of the available fish quota in its surrounding waters. This means these smaller boats move to target non-quota species instead, such as lobsters and crabs and other species such as cuttlefish that are popular on the continent, or whelks which are a delicacy in South Korea and form the main target fishery for English inshore vessels.

"Fisheries for these types of species, largely shellfish, typically lack data or effective management, which mean there is a threat to the sustainability of fish stocks and the small boats themselves.

Going forward

Peter Davies, who led the study while doing his MSc in the Environment Department at York, said: "If only 24 percent of boats in Englandthose above 10 metreshold rights to over 95 percent of the fishing quota, then we clearly have an imbalance that needs resolving.

"By re-evaluating the capabilities  and therefore the definition of 'small-scale' vessels, it will help us point to the kind of support they need going forward."

The researchers showed that not only can some under 10 metre vessels carry a lot of fishing gear and catch fish in large volumes, but many are also fitted with the latest technologies to locate fish and catch them.

Post-Brexit

Despite this capability, the study showed that small boats generally have a low impact on the wider environment due to the static equipment they use to fish, such as nets and pots, that don't disturb the seabed, compared to the dredges and trawls commonly used by larger vessels.

Researchers hope that the new findings will prompt new thinking on 'small-scale' fishing and the kind of support needed post-Brexit in order to be sustainable and help enhance their local economies and coastal communities.

Explore further New study suggests overfishing in one of world's most productive fishing regions

More information: Peter Davies et al. Does size matter? Assessing the use of vessel length to manage fisheries in England, Marine Policy (2018). Journal information: Marine Policy Peter Davies et al. Does size matter? Assessing the use of vessel length to manage fisheries in England,(2018). DOI: 10.1016/j.marpol.2018.06.013
A tagged juvenile whale shark swims through the waters of Panaon Island, Southern Leyte. Credit: Gonzalo Araujo

A new scientific study published in PeerJthe Journal of Life and Environmental Sciences has tracked juvenile whale sharks across the Philippines emphasising the importance of the archipelago for the species. The study is the most complete tracking study of whale sharks in the country, with satellite tags deployed on different individuals in multiple sites.

The Philippines is an important hotspot for whale sharks and globally hosts the third largest known population of whale sharks (whaleshark.org). While the species has been protected in the Philippines since 1998, globally the species was uplisted in 2016 to 'endangered to extinction' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due to a population decline of more than 50%, largely caused by continued exploitation in the Indo-Pacific. Particularly in South East Asia, concerns remain due to continued fishing in regional waters; understanding the movements of whale sharks in the Philippines is vital if we are to identify conservation priorities for the species.

By attaching Wildlife Computers SPOT5 satellite tags to whale sharks, researchers from Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines (LAMAVE), Marine Megafauna Foundation (MMF) and Tubbataha Management Office (TMO) were able to follow the movements of juvenile whale sharks in near real-time to gain an insight into their behaviour. The tags work by communicating with passing ARGOS satellites, transmitting a location when the wet/dry sensor is triggered when a tagged whale shark breaks the surface. To aid transmission tags were tethered to a whale shark by a 1.8-meter line to ensure the tags broke the surface more frequently.

The team tag a whale shark, surrounded by barracuda in Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park. Credit: Steve De Neef

17 individual whale sharks were tagged in three different locations in the Philippines: Panaon Island (Southern Leyte), northern Mindanao (Misamis Oriental and Surigao del Norte) and Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (Palawan). Tagging took place between April 2015 and April 2016. All tagged whale sharks were juveniles, ranging in size between 4.57 meters and 73% of them were male.

In their paper, peer-reviewed and published in PeerJthe Journal of Life & Environmental Sciences, the researchers discovered that the tracks from the tags showed that all whale sharks stayed within the Philippines over the tracking period, emphasising the importance of the archipelago for the species. The longest track observed was from a whale shark originally tagged in Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, which appeared to swim through the Sulu and Bohol Seas and into the Pacific, a journey accumulating over 2,500 km in length. While whale sharks are not known for their speed, results revealed that one individual whale shark was averaging 47km a day, further emphasising the species' mobile tendencies.

Lead author of the study, Gonzalo Araujo stresses that "this research highlights the high mobility of whale sharks, even juveniles, and the need for broader scale management and conservation plans for this endangered species."

Dedicated research by LAMAVE and citizen science has identified over 600 individuals in the Sulu and Bohol Seas, yet the proximity of this population to fisheries in the broader region (South China Sea) means it is vital to monitor this population as a whole to understand if this population is in recovery or continuing to decline. Identifying threats and mitigation strategies is a conservation priority for the species. LAMAVE continues to study whale sharks in five key areas in the Philippines, working with local and national governments as well as collaborating organisations to develop conservation strategies for this iconic species.

Explore further To save whale sharks, first we track their young

More information: Gonzalo Araujo et al, Satellite tracking of juvenile whale sharks in the Sulu and Bohol Seas, Philippines, PeerJ (2018). Journal information: PeerJ Gonzalo Araujo et al, Satellite tracking of juvenile whale sharks in the Sulu and Bohol Seas, Philippines,(2018). DOI: 10.7717/peerj.5231
A border fence stretches into the distance. Credit: Matt Clark / Defenders of Wildlife

Borderlands are synonymous with desolation, but the Mexico-U.S. divide is something altogether different. The nearly 2,000-mile-long border traverses some of the continent's most biologically diverse regions, including forests, grasslands and salt marsheshome to more than 1,500 native animal and plant species, according to an analysis published in BioScience on July 24.

The paper, coauthored by Stanford biologists Paul Ehrlich and Rodolfo Dirzo, warns that some of these species face extinction within the U.S. if their movements are cut off by the continuous border wall President Trump has pledged to build.

Physical barriers prevent or discourage animals from accessing food, water, mates and other critical resources by disrupting annual or seasonal migration and dispersal routes. Work on border walls, fences and related infrastructure, such as roads, fragments habitat, erodes soil, changes fire regimes and alters hydrological processes by causing floods, for example.

The potential for ecosystem damage was highlighted more than a decade ago, when the U.S. Congress passed the Real ID Act. The 2005 law gives the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) authority to waive any lawsincluding the Endangered Species Act and National Environmental Policy Actthat slow the wall's construction.

The paper calls on scientists around the world to support solutions, such as requirements that DHS identify species, habitats and ecological resources at risk from barrier construction and security operations; design barriers for maximum wildlife permeability where possible; and purchase or restore replacement habitat when environmental harm is inevitable. Nearly 3,000 scientists have signed on to endorse the paper's message.

A family of javelinas encounters the wall on the U.S.-Mexico border near the San Pedro River in southeastern Arizona. Credit: Matt Clark / Defenders of Wildlife

Stanford Report spoke with Dirzo, a professor of biology and the Bing Professor in Environmental Science, and Ehrlich, a professor of biology (emeritus) and Bing Professor of Population Studies. Both are also senior fellows at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.

What makes these border regions special?

Dirzo: This area is an ecological theater where evolution has engendered a plethora of plays. A multitude of factorsclimatic conditions, topography, geological history, soil types -converge to create an amazing mosaic of ecosystems. A constellation of Northern temperate and Southern tropical lifeforms and lineages coincide with endemic species, as in few areas of the globe. This means these borderlands are a global responsibility.

What impacts have border wall construction had so far on biodiversity?

Ehrlich: Any substantial construction ordinarily forces populations to extinction directly by outright destruction of their habitat or by reducing population size or restricting access to critical areas required seasonally. Every time you see a strip mall, airport or housing development being constructed, you can be sure biodiversity is suffering. Many hundreds of miles of border wall and the accompanying construction and maintenance infrastructure would be a crime against biodiversity.

In this 2007 photo, bulldozers remove a vehicle barrier in Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge to make way for the 15-foot wall that will replace it. Credit: Matt Clark / Defenders of Wildlife

What are the ways in which border wall construction specifically threatens one species?

Dirzo: Many species, such as bighorn sheep, are composed of populations of relatively few individuals per unit area and have large home rangeshundreds of square miles in the bighorn's case. Shrinking that range will lead to local population loss or declines. Smaller population sizes suffer from reduced genetic variation, which reduces their capacity for adaptation. Barriers will impede the bighorn sheep's migrations and movements to track habitats that shift due to a changing climate. Cut off like this, the bighorn and other animals and plants will become zombie speciespopulations that are demographically and genetically doomed.

You estimate that 17 percent of the species you analyzed risk extirpation within the U.S. if cut off by a border wall. Why should the average person care about this potential loss?

Ehrlich: Aside from effects on water flows and other natural services, the wall could rob us of iconic creatures such as the endangered Peninsular Bighorn sheep and the Sonoran pronghorn antelope. The esthetic value of these magnificent animals, and their cultural meaning to nature lovers, hunters and native American groups, is attested to by great efforts already made to avoid their extinction. There's also an economic loss to considerthe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that hunting, fishing and wildlife-watching contributed nearly $26 billion to border state economies in 2011.

Explore further Proposed border wall will harm Texas plants and animals, scientists say

Provided by Stanford University
Sokli in Northern Finland. Credit: Karin Helmens

Major abrupt shifts occurred in the climate of ancient northern Europe, according to a new study from University of Helsinki, Finland. The research reports that sudden cold spells lasting hundreds of years took place in the middle of the warm Eemian climate period, about 120,000 years ago. These cold intervals saw a fall in temperature of a few degrees, and replacement of forests by tundra at the study site in northern Finland. The Eemian, which took place before the last Ice Age, had a climate generally warmer than present. This has made the Eemian important for climate scientists assessing the modern climate warming.

According to the researchers, the sudden shifts of Eemian climate are connected to disturbances in the North Atlantic circulation, which happened during that time. Today, the warm oceanic currents of the North Atlantic maintain a relatively temperate climate in Europe. The future development of this oceanic circulation has been hard to predict, however, and possible disturbances have not been ruled out.

"These results strongly suggest that the North Atlantic circulation is sensitive to disturbance, with major effects in Northern Europe," says University of Helsinki postdoctoral researcher Sakari Salonen, who headed the study.

"Our results show that the oceanic circulation was in fact perturbed the last time climate was warmer than today. This is where our study significantly adds to the prediction of future climate done based on numerical models," Salonen says.

The research was conducted by a multinational research group lead from the University of Helsinki. The team utilized intelligent computer algorithms based on machine learning.

"These new numerical methods significantly improve our understanding of abrupt changes of past climate," notes professor Miska Luoto, also a team member from University of Helsinki.

These results are based on a geological deposits studied in Sokli, Northern Finland. At this site, thick geological layers have been preserved in a deep depression, allowing them to survive through the following Ice Age.

"The Sokli site is unique in the northern parts of the world, which has made the site invaluable in the study of past, long-term climate change," says Karin Helmens, a researcher from Stockholm University and a long-time coordinator of the studies at Sokli.

Explore further Interruption of the Gulf Stream may lead to large cooling in Europe
Credit: Vienna University of Technology

A high-precision experiment led by TU Wien has set its sights on pinpointing the so-far hypothetical "symmetron fields" using the PF2 ultra-cold neutron source at the Institut Laue-Langevin in France. For the existence of symmetrons could provide an explanation for the mysterious dark energy.

One thing is certain: there's something out there we don't yet know. For years now scientists have been looking for "dark matter" or "dark energywith our current inventory of particles and forces in nature we just can't explain major cosmological phenomena, such as why the universe is expanding at an ever faster rate.

New theories for "dark energy" have been suggested. One of the candidates is the so-called "symmetron field," which is said to pervade space much like the Higgs field. At the TU Vienna researchers have developed an experiment capable of measuring extremely small forces with the help of neutrons. The measurements were taken during a 100-day campaign at the Institut Laue-Langevin, on its PF2 ultra-cold neutron source. They could have provided pointers to the mysterious symmetronsbut the particles didn't show up. Although this is not the end of the theory, it does at least exclude the possibility of symmetrons existing across a broad range of parametersand "dark energy" is going to have to be explained differently.

The symmetronthe Higgs boson's little brother?

According to Hartmut Abele, the project's lead scientist, the symmetron theory would be a particularly elegant explanation for dark matter. "We already have proof of the Higgs field, and the symmetron field is very closely related." However, as with the Higgs particle whose mass was not known until the existence of the particle was confirmed, the physical properties of symmetrons cannot be accurately predicted.

Abele explains, "Nobody can say what the mass of symmetrons is, nor how strongly they interact with normal matter. That's why it's so hard to prove their existence experimentallyor their non-existence." The existence of symmetrons can only be confirmed or refuted within a certain parameter rangesymmetrons, in other words, with mass or coupling constants in a specific value range.

Scientists are therefore progressing with caution, from one experiment to the other, testing different parameter ranges. It was already clear that a number of ranges could be excluded. Symmetrons for example with high mass and low coupling constants cannot exist, as they would already have shown up at atomic level. Investigations into the hydrogen atom would have given different results. Similarly, symmetrons in a certain range with very high coupling constants can also be excluded, as they would already have been detected in other experiments using massive pendula.

Using neutrons as force sensors at the Institut Laue-Langevin neutron source

That said, there was still plenty of scope for admitting the existence of symmetrons, and this is what the team has now investigated in the experiment. A stream of extremely slow neutrons was shot between two mirror surfaces. The neutrons can be found in two different quantum physical states. The energies of these states depend on the forces exerted on the neutron, and this is what makes the neutron such a sensitive force detector. If the force acting on the neutron just above the surface of the mirror is different from the force further up, this would be a strong pointer to the existence of a symmetron field. Mario Pitschmann from TU Vienna, Philippe Brax from the CEA near Paris and Guillaume Pignol from LPSC in Grenoble have calculated the influence of a symmetron field on the neutron. This effect, however, cannot be observed, despite the extreme accuracy of the measurement.

The precision of the energy difference measurement is about 2x10-15 electron-volts (a figure owes to Gunther Cronenberg's dissertation). That is the energy required to lift a single electron in the earth's gravitational field a distance of about 30 micrometres, which is an unimaginably small amount of energy.

The ultra-cold neutrons required for the experiment were generated and delivered by the Institut Laue-Langevin's PF2 instrument. "With its unrivalled flux of ultra-cold neutrons, PF2 is practically the only instrument out there for this type of high-precision measurement at extremely low count rates," says Tobias Jenke. Jenke played an important part in the development of the TU Vienna experiment. He is now, together with Peter Geltenbort, responsible for the Institut Laue-Langevin cold neutron source. Austria is a Scientific Member of the Institute and thus has access to its suite of instruments. The experiment is an excellent example of scientific collaboration between Austrian and French researchers.

For the moment things are not looking too bright for the symmetron theory, although it's too early to completely exclude their existence. "We have excluded a broad parameter domain: if there were any symmetrons with properties in this domain we would have found them." To close the remaining loopholes however, science needs even better measurementsor a major discovery providing a completely different solution to the mystery of dark energy.

Explore further With neutrons, scientists can now look for dark energy in the lab

More information: Gunther Cronenberg et al. Acoustic Rabi oscillations between gravitational quantum states and impact on symmetron dark energy, Nature Physics (2018). Journal information: Nature Physics Gunther Cronenberg et al. Acoustic Rabi oscillations between gravitational quantum states and impact on symmetron dark energy,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41567-018-0205-x
The amount of coastal land that has been built on in Spain has more than doubled since 1988

The amount of coastal land that has been built on in Spain has more than doubled since the introduction of a law in 1988 designed to limit development along its shores, Greenpeace said Tuesday.

A property boom in the 1990s led to an explosion in holiday homes, hotels and resorts, especially along Spain's sunny eastern and southern coast, until the market crashed in 2008.

During the boom, coastal laws were often flouted, with some local governments turning a blind eye as new buildings cropped up in the world's second tourist destination after France.

Building along Spain's coast has increased in recent years as the Spanish economy has rebounded, said Pilar Marcos, who is in charge of biodiversity issues at the Spanish branch of Greenpeace.

"Construction is returning. If it seemed that the Costa del Sol is saturated, real estate firms are already selling 11,000 new homes in 200 projects," she told a Barcelona news conference called to present a new report on the state of Spain's coastal areas.

As a result, the amount of Spain's coastal land which has been built upon has risen from 240,000 hectares (593,000 acres) in 1988 to 530,000 hectares currently, according to the report.

"The occupation of the coast has been massive and this leaves a legacy of a saturated coast," Paloma Nuche, a Greenpeace representative in charge of coastal issues, told the news conference held on a boat docked in Barcelona.

Spain's Supreme Court has ordered that a symbol of this building excessthe 21-story Azata del Sol complex on the Algarrobico beach in the Cabo de Gata park in Almeriashould be torn down.

The Greenpeace report shows that 26.2 percent of the coast of the southern province of Malaga on the Costa del Sol has already been built on.

In the glitzy resort of Marbella in the heart of the Costa del Sol, over 90 percent of the first 500 metres (1,650 feet) of coastline have already been urbanised, according to Greenpeace.

Spain's Mediterranean coastline is the worst affected area. In the northeastern region of Catalonia, 26.4 percent of the coast has been built on, while in Andalucia, which includes Malaga, the figure stands at 15.4 percent, the Greenpeace report said.

Explore further Greenpeace warns Spain about building on coast

 2018 AFP
Researchers at the University of Kent and Copenhagen University sought to understand why vehicle attacks, such as in Nice in July 2016, Finsbury Park in 2017 or Charlottesville also in 2017, have become so prominent in the last few years, having previously been a rarity. In their analysis, Dr. Vincent Miller from the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research at the University of Kent and Professor Keith Hayward from the University of Copenhagen document the emerging popularity and spread of VRAs in two waves: the first in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2015, and a second in Western Europe, North America and Australia.

While mainstream media has suggested terrorists are promoting this means of attack due to its simplicity, the timeline suggest that most propaganda promoting these kinds of attacks appears only after high-profile incidents. The researchers also challenge the idea that terrorists have been forced into more low-tech methods due to improved security measures around more traditional high-profile targets, as such measures have been in place for decades, but VRAs only began to rise notably since 2015.

As such, Dr. Miller and Professor Hayward examined a third explanation for the spike in VRAs: that they have spread as a form of 'social virus' irrespective of ideology. This does not mean that Dr. Miller and Professor Hayward are suggesting that ideology, propaganda or psychological issues play no role in these crimes. However, they do suggest the need to recognise the viral or mimetic quality of some forms of violence and that exposure to these actions through, for example, news media and social media can create a momentum that leads to people with different beliefs and motives to repeat the act. For example, they argue that similar to the outbreak of plane hijackings that took place in the 1960s and 1970s, the coverage of VRAs in the media and in online discussion forums on websites has encouraged others, often with wholly different political and religious motives, to engage in VRAs.

As such, the sudden 'wave' of vehicle ramming incidents over the last few years is akin to a virus spread by social contagion, whereby a single action leads to a wave of others, which would otherwise not take placeoften more akin to a 'crime of passion' than a well-planned terrorist act.

For example, they depict how the 2017 Finsbury Park Mosque ramming attack was conducted by a man who had been motivated to act by the ISIS-inspired London Bridge ramming attack 16 days earlier. Subsequently, within six days of the Finsbury Park attack, two other similar ramming attacks against Muslims had occurred: one in North London and another in front of a Mosque in France. This spate of very similar attacks in such a short time frame, from disparate individuals with vastly different political and religious beliefs and backgrounds, underlines the imitative appeal of the VRA and the impact that the coverage across the media can have in spreading these events, particularly in the highly-saturated mass-media landscape that now exists.

The researchers note that, like most viruses, the current spate of VRAs will likely become less prominent in time. Sadly, though, they will be likely be replaced by another form of horrific attack that will also spread through digital networks and spawn similar attacks.

However, by understanding how the potential for the appeal of certain types of attack to spread beyond ideological and even psychological categories to influence wider populations, security services could be bettered prepared and foil further loss of life.

The research has been published in the British Journal of Criminology, titled "'I did my bit': Terrorism, Tarde and the Vehicle-Ramming Attack as an Imitative Event."

Explore further Perceived race of victims, location determine concern in terrorist attack

More information: Vincent Miller et al. 'I did my bit': Terrorism, Tarde and the Vehicle Ramming Attack as an Imitative Event, The British Journal of Criminology (2018). Vincent Miller et al. 'I did my bit': Terrorism, Tarde and the Vehicle Ramming Attack as an Imitative Event,(2018). DOI: 10.1093/bjc/azy017
How social media and books about mythical creatures helped a WA researcher track the world's heaviest bony fish.

Marianne Nyegaard's Ph.D. research started out simply enough.

The Murdoch University student wanted to look at the impact of tourism on sunfish near Bali.

But when she started testing small skin samples to see which sunfish species they were from, she kept finding samples that didn't match any known species.

What followed was a 4-year treasure hunt that saw her search for sunfish in museums around the world, on social media, in books dating back to the 1500s, in New Zealand and on WA's south coast beaches to find a match.

Suitcases with wings

The apple of Marianne's eye is famous for being huge and, well, a bit weird looking.

They can grow to more than 3 metres long and weigh up to 2 tonnesroughly the weight of an average SUV.

Sunfish have flat bodies, no tail and almost symmetrical fins above and below their body.

They're so odd looking that they're sometimes likened to suitcases with wings.

"Everything about sunfish is kind of weird," Marianne says.

Marianne says we think sunfish evolved from reef fish that adapted to life in the open ocean.

"They've got no defence out there," she says.

"So what they've done to adapt is they grow really largethey grow so no one's mouth is big enough to eat them except for sharks and orcas."

Sunfish also move weirdly.

"They fly through the water like a bird," Marianne says.

"They don't move through the water like a normal fish that would gain thrust with the tail. Instead they gain both lift and speed with these wings."

The hoodwinker sunfish

To cover more ground, Marianne wanted to compare the sunfish she was studying in Indonesia to those in Australia and New Zealand.

Face-to-face with a giant sunfish. Credit: INSIDE EDITION

She started getting biopsy and skin samples of sunfish from the fishing industry and realised she had a new species on her hands.

"That was of course incredibly exciting, and all I had were these little skin samples," she says.

"So it was quite tantalising to go on the hunt for this unknown fish."

Marianne started looking at photographs of sunfish, especially on social media, to see if she could spot anything different.

She developed a network of people who could tell her if a sunfish was caught or washed up on a beach.

Finally, Marianne got her big break when fisheries observers hauled a tiny sunfish on board to free it from a fishing line and got a great photo of the undescribed fish, along with a genetic sample.

Shortly after, by a crazy coincidence, four of the undescribed sunfish were stranded on a beach in New Zealand.

Marianne had her new species. She named it the 'hoodwinker sunfish'.

Taxonomic can of worms

The discovery of the new species helped clarify a taxonomic can of worms among the Mola sunfishes.

Marianne and her collaborators re-examined a branch of the sunfish family tree, the genus Mola, to see if there were any other mix-ups.

One species, known as Mola ramsayi, was thought to live only in Australia.

But they found a long-dead Mola ramsayi in a museum in Italy.

"It was in an old stairwell and it had chewing gum in its mouth and its taxidermy was antique," Marianne says.

"But it was quite a big moment  when we found it."

The researchers went through the scientific literature dating back to the 1500s to see who had first described the species and what it should be called.

They found sunfish in books that included mermen and unicorns, with one of the first written mentions coming from Pliny the Elder.

The result is that our Australian sunfish Mola ramsayi already had another nameMola alexandrini.

Sometimes when you gain a species, you lose one too.

Explore further Giant sunfish species eludes discovery for centuries

This article first appeared on Particle, a science news website based at Scitech, Perth, Australia. Read the original article.
New research reveals that, contrary to current perceptions and forest management strategies, wildfires may be beneficial to populations of Spotted Owls, including those of the subspecies of California Spotted Owls pictured here. Credit: John S. Senser, US Forest Service

Forest fires are not a serious threat to populations of Spotted Owls, contrary to current perceptions and forest management strategies. According to a new study, mixed-severity fires actually are good for Spotted Owl populations, producing more benefits than costs to the species, which acts as an indicator of biological health to the old-growth forests where they live. The study, which analyzed all 21 published scientific studies about the effects of wildfires on Spotted Owls, appears July 24 in the journal Ecosphere and suggests that management strategies for this species are outdated.

"Current management strategies targeted at protecting Spotted Owls are prioritizing what is called fuel-reduction logging, which removes trees and other vegetation in a misguided and ineffectual attempt to reduce the severity of future fires," said Derek E. Lee, associate research professor of biology at Penn State and author of the paper. "But this tactic removes canopy cover and large trees that are important for Spotted Owls and does not generally reduce fire severity of big, hot fires. The idea behind these logging projects is that the risks from wildfire outweigh the harm caused by additional logging, but here we show that forest fires are not a serious threat to owl populations and in most instances are even beneficial. This reveals an urgent need to re-evaluate our forest management strategies."

Spotted Owls are found in old-growth forests in the western United States and act as an indicator species, a measure of the biological health of an area, for public-land management. This species is particularly sensitive to logging, and when the northern subspecies of Spotted Owl was listed in 1990 as threatenedlikely to become endangered in the foreseeable futureunder the federal Endangered Species Act, about 90% of America's old-growth forest had already been lost to unsustainable logging practices over the previous 50 years. The listing of the Northern and Mexican Spotted Owls as threatened drew national attention to the dramatic decline of old-growth forest ecosystems and forced policy changes in the management of national forests.

In spite of these protections, populations of Spotted Owls have continued to decline outside of national forests over the last 38 years. Although many believe that wildfire has significantly contributed to this decline, there is little scientific basis for this assumption.

"Much of what we knew about the Spotted Owl's habitat preferences was derived from studies in areas that had not recently experienced fire," said Lee. "I analyzed all available published studies investigating the effects of forest fires on Spotted Owls. I also considered the influence of fire severity. Forest fires in the western United States typically burn as mixed-severity fires that include substantial patches of low-, moderate-, and high-severity fire."

According to a new study, mixed-severity fires produce more benefits than costs to populations of Spotted Owls, a species that acts as an indicator of biological health to the old-growth forests where they live. Credit: Penn State

The new study shows that mixed-severity fires do not have any significantly negative effects on the owls' choice of foraging habitat, survival, occupancy, reproduction, or recruitment. Although mixed-severity fires may lead to reduced occupancythe probability that certain sites are occupied by owlsin burned areas, this reduction is less than is typically seen due to normal movement of the owls in unburned habitat, and is much less than what is observed in response to logging. Additionally, the risk of fire occurring in spotted owl breeding sites is very small: only 1 percent of breeding sites are affected by mixed-severity fires each year.

Mixed-severity fires have a positive impact on the owls' choice of foraging habitat, on the number of owls that are recruited to the area immediately after a fire, and on reproduction. High-severity fires, including those that burn 100 percent of an area, are also positively associated with reproduction. This indicates that even the most intense fires can have positive outcomes for Spotted Owls.

"These positive effects indicate that the mixed-severity fires of recent decades, including so-called megafires that have been receiving lots of media attention lately, are within the natural range of variability for these forests," said Lee. "The fact that Spotted Owls are adapted to these types of fires tells us that they have seen this before and learned to take advantage of it."

Together, these results suggest that, contrary to current perceptions, forest fires do not appear to be a serious threat to owl populations, and may impart more benefits than costs for Spotted Owls. Therefore, fuel-reduction logging treatments intended to mitigate fire severity in Spotted Owl habitat may in fact do more harm than good.

"Spotted Owls were once a symbol of the biodiversity found in old-growth forests," said Lee. "We need to reevaluate our management strategies to better protect these birds and the extraordinary biodiversity found in severely burned forests."

Explore further Researchers find post-fire logging harms spotted owls
A Pittsburghers first reaction upon completing the 24 essays in Voices from the Rust Belt is bound to be: Jeez-o-man, weve got it pretty good here.

The tales of city woe here are datelined Akron, Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Flint, Youngstown the usual suspects. But the value of Voices from the

Rust Belt is not in helping Pittsburghers gloat about our eds-and-meds economy. The wide range of pieces creates a mosaic of the region that youre unlikely to find in any other venue. The voices can be blunt, crabby or sappy; some are lyrical and evocative; others are wonky and earnest. All are honest and forthright. The publicity arms of tourism organizations may not embrace the book, but anyone who cares about this regionor America, for that matterwill.

The introduction by editor Anne Trubek indicates the integrity of whats to follow. Shes the founder and director of Belt Publishing, which produces excellent work about the region, and gives a quick tutorial on the meaning of Rust Belt. (I didnt know the term is derived from a line in a 1984 speech by Walter Mondale.) The geographic borders may be fuzzyfrom Milwaukee to Buffalo?but it encompasses anywhere an economy was previously based on manufacturing and has since been losing population.  The phrase is born of loss, but has acquired texture, depth and decades worth of meaning.

The two Pittsburgh writers in the collection, Dave Newman and Ben Gwin, turn in splendid and harrowing essays detached from the particulars of the cityhence, our lucky break in not being represented as a post-industrial basket case. Newmans A Middle-Aged Students Guide to Social Work will resonate with anyone forced into midlife career change. When the gigs teaching creative writing dry up, Newman pursues a graduate degree in social work, which puts him on the front lines with victims of the new economy. How he suffuses the saddest stories with buoyant humor is a feat of magic. Gwins Rust Belt Heroin Chic is a wrenching five-year chronicle of his wifes addiction and the constant battle to care for their young daughter. The locales are McKees Rocks, Avalon and Bloomfield, but this chilling story could take place in Anywhere, USA.

Gwins wife finally gets clean, concluding the story on a ray of hopea characteristic found throughout the collection. Bathtime by novelist Connor Coyne tells the story of the Flint, Mich., water crisis from an angle youve probably not observed. Coyne fled Chicago after 2008 for a better life in his Flint hometown, convincing his wife that they and their daughters would thrive. I had never banked on the water going bad, he says. Bathtime with 1-year-old Ruby is a danger-filled event in keeping her from sipping the water. Yet they are not giving up on the city, just waiting for when the last of the water has finally vanished down the drain.

Aaron Foleys Can Detroit Save White People? is one of several cantankerous pieces. The black Detroit native calls out the mini-movement of white folks leaving settled places like Brooklyn for adventure in Detroit, like its your personal safari. He admits that we could certainly use more (live) bodies here, but just wishes that newcomers could at least be up front with your intent, and not cover it up with this hippie malarkey about finding yourself. 

Meanwhile, in Pretty Things to Hang on the Wall, frustrated Cleveland artist Eric Anderson engages in open warfare with any artist who has moved to Cleveland to make art. I want to spit in their faces, he begins. I want to do them grievous bodily harm. Anderson had to make his living in the mills and practice art on the side. His screed builds toward a reasonable conclusionWhat bothers me is that I wasnt smart enough to exploit the situation for myselfand the bio indicates that he now owns a comic book store, so maybe he has found peace.

One of the collections best pieces hits closest to Pittsburgh: Moundsville, David Faulks reminiscence of his youth in the industrial West Virginia town on the Ohio River, just a short barge and tugboat ride downstream from Pittsburgh. In his mind, to be working-class in Moundsville was to be truly on the bottom of the slag heap of society, he writes. It was shunned by Pittsburghers and Clevelanders for its southernness, and by the rest of West Virginia for its sundry north-of-the-Mason-Dixon Catholicisms. In the 19th century, the ill-fated town passed over the chance to host the state university, and chose the state penitentiary instead. The towns other claim to fame is right across the street: the Grave Creek Mound, an archeological remnant of the Adena mound-building civilization.

Faulk spins an engaging tale of one night of drinking cheap regional beer on the peak of this venerable structure with his other honor-student friends, concocting wild theories about the meaning of life and staring over the prison walls. And now the civilization on this little speck of earth was falling apart. But the mound would remain.  Everything around us was changing except for the stars in the sky. Such a cosmic meditation is a fitting description of the multitude found in Voices from the Rust Belt. Once down, but never out.
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Community Stories Onetime Ardent Communists Now Buffeted by Capitalisms Cycles

In northwestern Cambodia, fluctuations in world cassava prices cause uncertainty, pain among former Khmer Rouge stalwarts.

Farmer Khoem Yeng squats down nimbly and plants several cassava cuttings into the red-brown soil of her farm plot, which sits at the foot of one of the many rocky hills that dot Phnom Proek Commune.

Like many farmers here, the 68-year-old woman is concerned that unreliable weather might affect her newly planted cassava, as it did last year when unusually heavy rains in dry season caused a poor harvest here in northwestern Cambodia.

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If it is warm weather, we are going to be fine. But if the weather is like this, we are worried, Khoem Yeng said, as rains began to fall during an interview on her 2-hectare farm in mid-March.

Her son Chan Tha, 37, said a sharp drop in cassava prices in recent years was another serious worry for the roughly 7,000 residents of the communes five villages, who rely almost entirely on large-volume export of cassava across the nearby border to Thailand.

Communists turned cassava farmers

Until recently, cassava had been a boon for the area, a former Khmer Rouge stronghold that was isolated and impoverished when local guerilla commander Chea Phuong Phearum decided to abandon Pol Pot in 1996 and took up an amnesty offer to join the Cambodian governments armed forces.

The former ultra-communist fighters and their families quickly turned enterprising and used their location on the border to their advantage, recalled Cheum Khom, a 60-year-old ex-cadre and former commune chief.

They cleared remaining patches of forest and began to grow cassava  a hardy, quick-growing tuber that requires little pesticide or fertilizer  and they used their connections with nearby Thailand to foster export.

In Thailand, cassava is processed for further export to China, where its starch is used in food processing and for animal feed.

These days, only some village names  such as Beng Sat village, named after the Cambodian Beng tree  serve as a reminder of the time before the cassava boom and before Khmer Rouge-facilitated logging by Thai companies, when the area was known for its dense forest and prized tropical hardwood species.

The booming cassava export business was mostly arranged through Thai traders who crossed into Phnom Proek with machinery to dry the raw harvest at local farms before transporting it to Thailand. In the neighboring Malai District, also a one-time Khmer Rouge stronghold, entrepreneurial ex-cadres set to cassava-processing and export companies to cash in on the boom.

I want reform of the legal system, and to be stronger on immigration, La said. I want the country to develop and genuinely implement the democracy in accordance with laws and the constitution. A landscape view of Phnom Proek commune of Battambang province, close to the Cambodia-Thai border. (Aun Chhengpor | VOA Khmer)

Falling prices fuel debt, migration

In the past three years, however, Phnom Proek exports began to suffer from new Cambodian customs requirements for Thai traders, Cheum Khom said. At the same time, a dip in global commodity prices also pushed down local cassava prices.

Last year, cassava prices in Cambodia dropped around 35 percent, from $0.17 per kilo in 2014 to $0.11 per kilo, while nationwide cassava exports, 90 percent of which goes to Thailand, shrunk 21 percent in the first nine months of 2017 alone, The Phnom Penh Post reported.

Suddenly, the regions success with cassava exports became a weakness, and the local economy faltered.

People are growing crops, but there is no market. The price of the crops has dropped. It is barely enough to live on, Cheum Khom said.

According to the Battambang Province agriculture department, the area of cassava cultivation was nearly halved from 2016 to 2017.

Roem Rattana, 28, whose family runs a small restaurant, said business had been difficult because of the faltering farm sector. Because struggling farmers dont eat out, We dont make good money when farmers are not doing well with their crops, she said.

A few years ago, Chan Tha said he and his mother used to profit each year by about $960 per hectare, enough to make a decent living. Now, they are scrambling to survive.

We get a low price for our crops, he said. Like many others, he makes up for lost cassava income by sneaking into Thailand to work as an unregistered day laborer in factories or on construction sites.

Cheum Khom estimated that at least 300 farmers from his commune slip across the border for work.

He questions Hun Sens government for deciding to limit Thai traders access to Cambodian farmers unless they pay a fee at the border. Although trade continues with Cambodian middlemen, theyve forced farmers into accepting lower prices.

I heard the Thai traders would be charged 7,000 Thai Baht ($224) per truck to get in. How can they profit? said Cheum Khom adding that he didnt know if the charges were official fees or bribes being solicited from the traders.

Commune Chief Choeun Sopheak, of the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP), acknowledged that Thai traders had offered better cassava prices before, but he denied that customs officials bore responsibility for the falling prices.

Cheum Kom, a locally-respected veteran who lost his eye in the 1975 battle for Phnom Penh, was elected CNRP commune chief in June 2017, only to be replaced by CPP-er Choeun Sopheak five months later. (Aun Chhengpor | VOA Khmer)

Political turmoil adds to economic woes

The recently increased political repression in Cambodia has added another wrinkle to Phnom Proeks economic woes as the CPP governments decision last November to dissolve the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) saw Phnom Proek lose its democratically elected local leaders.

Choeun Sopheak A young CPP commune council member, was chosen by CPP to replace Cheum Kom as commune chief.Cheum Khom, a locally respected veteran who lost his left eye in the 1975 battle for Phnom Penh, was elected CNRP commune chief in June 2017, only to be replaced by CPP member Choeun Sopheak five months later.

Cheum Khom is among a number of CNRP commune chiefs stripped of their posts in eastern Cambodias former Khmer Rouge areas, where the opposition party is fairly popular. The region will not have a choice to vote CNRP in the national elections in July.

Cheum Khom said there was discontent over the decision in Phnom Proek, but people dare not speak out or they will be faced with oppression. He held out hope for a return of the CNRP and another chance to contest in his commune, adding, I think there is a possibility.

The nationwide crackdown has also affected media and civil society, and this was noticeable even in this remote commune, as five military police officers followed and filmed VOA reporters during interviews.

Undeterred by the intimidation, Chan Tha, the farmer, publicly stressed that Phnom Proek needs the leaders it elected to pull the commune out of the current economic crisis.

I think it [dissolving the CNRP] affects us because it involves our community leadership, he said. We need those who can help us improve our livelihoods.
Community Stories In Prime Ministers Birthplace, Patronage and Myth Seal Support

Hun Sens interactions with his native Peam Kaoh Sna commune have brought solid support to his ruling Cambodian Peoples Party.

As Prime Minister Hun Sen prepares to extend his 33-year rule over Cambodia in the July 29 elections, his government has cracked down on political rivals and opposition voices, while his party has launched a grassroots drive to tie as many people as possible to the party.

Hun Sen Prime MinisterIn the strongmans native village of Peam Krav, a picturesque settlement of wooden houses on stilts on the red-soil banks of the Mekong River, his Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) will not have a hard time getting votes.

Here, deep in the heartland of northeastern Cambodia and in Kampong Cham Provincepreviously governed by his brother Hun Nengthe prime minister enjoys strong popularity and a mythical reputation as a survivor destined by fate to rule.

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The premiers interactions with his native Peam Kaoh Sna commune have brought solid support. The CPP has won all elections for years, though, like elsewhere, the now-banned opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) increased its votes in the 2017 commune elections, taking three out of nine seats.

One villager feeling personally grateful for Hun Sens apparent benevolence is Met Hat, 34. Since I was born, he has been here. I studied at his school, I commute on his road, and my mother received land from him, she said. If I vote for another (leader), I am afraid the country will not be peaceful.

Another supporter is Doung Yun, 37, who lives near a Mekong River bridge construction project that Hun Sen has promoted.

I am happy that Samdech [Hun Sen] is building the bridge here, said Doung Yun. I will vote for Samdech since he is the leader who  developed the country.

Perhaps wary of the land grabs that often affect farmers who live near development projects in Hun Sens Cambodia, Doung Yun added: I hope the government will compensate me if they take land for the bridge, so that I can buy land elsewhere and build a new house for my family.

I thought he had died. His fate is good. That is why he holds the position [of prime minister], says Chorn Nath, 78.

The right fortune to become king

Chorn Nath, 78, remembers Hun Sen as a neighborhood boy when his name was still Hun Bunal. We all played together during the Water Festival boat race, she said, referring to an annual holiday.

She recalled how Hun Sen disappeared in his late teens from the village to join the Khmer Rouge forces in the jungle in the early 1970s, reportedly because then-Prince Sihanouk called on youths to resist the coup detat against him by U.S.-backed Gen. Lon Nol.

Fleeing bloody internal purges among the Khmer Rouge units in the northeast region in 1977, he and a small group of defectors crossed into Vietnam. They were welcomed and Hun Sen was trained to become the 28-year-old foreign minister in the communist government that Vietnam installed in Phnom Penh after ousting Pol Pots murderous Khmer Rouge regime in January 1979.

Hun Sen enlisted with the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. (Facebook)

In 1985, he became prime minister with Hanois backing; he has since eliminated all his rivals through a mix of skilled leadership and brute force.

Chorn Nath said Hun Sens re-emergence after the violent turmoil of the 1970s had surprised those left in the village. I thought he had died. His fate is good. That is why he holds the position [of prime minister], she said.

Another former neighbor, Ek Teng, 69, also held this view, which is common in this superstitious country. He has the right fortune to become king, she said.

Hun Sen has fostered the traditional idea of being mandated by the heavens to rule as a Cambodian king of old. He has compared himself with the 16th-century Sdech (King) Kan, who was born a common man in northeast Cambodia. Recently, authorities have begun extolling the legend of Sdech Kan by building statues across the country that resemble the prime minister.

I was a soldier like him, but he has good fortune. I also helped liberate the country, but I have no government position, says Dy Bit, Hun Sens cousin.

To live by Hun Sens grace

Dy Bit, a cousin of Hun Sen and a farmer and petty trader, said his early life had mirrored that of his famous cousin. He joined the Khmer Rouge and later defected to join the Vietnamese-backed Peoples Republic of Kampuchea government army to fight Pol Pot.

I was a soldier like him, but he has good fortune. I also helped liberate the country, but I have no government position, he said, sitting below his simple wooden house.

Dy Bit, 66, said Hun Sen is a patriot and is strong, good at theory, has good knowledge and is a skilled speaker. He said he only used his family ties once to ask for support in a letter to Hun Sen when some 200 village families lost land due to a riverbank collapse in 2012.

Hun Sen arranged for them to receive 2 hectares of farmland and housing plot each in neighboring Kampong Thom province. The premier also ordered the construction of Buddhist pagodas and a new road to connect the area to the district capital Steung Trang, so villagers could more easily trade their soybean, sesame and tobacco crops.

Chhorn Nath, Hun Sens childhood neighbor, was among those who received land. The river bank has eroded so he gave us land, she said, adding that she stayed in Peam Krav and sold the land for some $3,000 as she could not work it.

The actions by Hun Sen are in keeping with his political style of personally intervening as a generous benefactor to selected calamity-hit communities, which is a powerful sign of patronage that fits with Cambodias political culture.

He has shied away, however, from reforms that address root causes of community grievances, such as rampant government corruption, widespread land grabbing and illegal logging by powerful companies across the country.

This bridge across the Mekong River in Steung Trang district is being funded by a $57 million loan from China. (Aun Chhengpor | VOA Khmer)

Real or divine?

While politicking in rural communities, Hun Sen commonly blurs the lines between his real and divine powers, and between public investment and his personal benevolence.

Throughout the country, countless roads, schools and bridges have been named after Hun Sen or his wife, despite often being funded by foreign donors. At the projects launch or inauguration, his speeches reinforce these perceptions or, alternatively, raise the specter of a return to civil war and destruction if he leaves power.

In February, at a groundbreaking ceremony for a bridge across the Mekong River in Steung Trang district, Hun Sen told local villagers he would personally ensure its completion. I will come to inaugurate the bridge in 2021 because I will be the prime minister for at least 10 more years, he said.

The project is funded by a $57 million loan from China, which has become the CPP governments main international backer in recent years.

Turning to the divine support for his rule, Hun Sen told the community: Human fate cannot be seen. I had no wish [to be a leader], I just wanted to become an ordinary teacher, but human fate is unpredictable.
Community Stories In Enclave With Complex History, the Ruling Party Rules

But in a village where Cambodians and ethnic Vietnamese live together peacefully, traditional distrust surfaces in polls.

Farmers here tend lush crops of mangoes, corn and chili peppers, just like anywhere else in Cambodia.

When they are not in their fields and orchards, they can usually be found buying groceries at the local general store, packing up their crops into bushels and boxes for export, drinking coffee and smoking at a favorite local cafe, and relaxing in hammocks strung beneath their stilted homes  again, just like anywhere else.

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But there is one key difference to this rural enclave. Here, the hammock-nappers fall asleep to the strains of Vietnamese pop songs. The farmers most often wear the conical bamboo hats favored in Vietnam. The snatches of conversation overheard at the coffee shop are frequently in Vietnamese. And many residents of Prek Chrey are not formally citizens of Cambodia, although some have lived here for decades.

These scenes reflect the complex history of this border region, which is separated from Vietnams An Giang province by nothing more than a narrow part of the Bassac River, muddy and cluttered with floating houses and fishing boats.

The issues of Vietnamese migration and alleged Vietnamese border encroachment have long been a potent political flashpoint in Cambodia. There are an estimated 500,000 Cambodians of Vietnamese descent, according to a paper published by the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, but many who would be eligible for citizenship continue to be denied documents due to poverty and prejudice.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy has for years accused the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen of turning a blind eye to Vietnamese migration and illegally issuing identity cards to these immigrants in order to garner more votes. Vietnamese migrants often favor the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP).

Because Hun Sens political career was born in 1979, when he was installed by the Vietnamese government as foreign minister of a caretaker regime after the fall of the Khmer Rouge, many Cambodians, fairly or not, suspect his government of being in thrall to Hanoi.

In turn, Hun Sens government and some human rights groups, including the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, have accused Sam Rainsy of spreading anti-Vietnamese bias and stoking racism in exchange for votes.

Sam Rainsy has been convicted of multiple crimes, including defamation, incitement and map defacement, for his efforts over the years to prove that the CPP has carelessly allowed swaths of land along the border to be swallowed up by Vietnam. One lawmaker and one senator from the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which Sam Rainsy co-founded, were jailed over similar claims.

There are not any problems between Cambodians and Vietnamese living here. Floating villages on a sanctuary of the Bassac River which separates Cambodias Kandal province from Vietnams An Giang province. (Aun Chhengpor | VOA News)

Here on the ground in Prek Chrey, the issues seems less fraught. When VOA journalists visited the commune, its many ethnic Vietnamese residents seemed to be living peacefully alongside Cambodians, despite a traditional mistrust born of long-ago battles. Farmers and fishermen do a bustling trade with their counterparts across the Bassac.

Chab Suy Prek Chrey CPP commune chief There are not any problems between Cambodians and Vietnamese living here, said Chab Suy, the longtime CPP commune chief. They do business together.

His own stilted wooden house is located in an almost entirely non-Khmer neighborhood near the Bassac River, with a jumble of makeshift shacks occupied by ethnic Vietnamese leading down to the water.

Still, voter data from recent commune elections tells a more complicated story  of discrimination on the one hand, and potentially illegal mass registration on the other.

Voter turnout in Prek Chrey dropped about 35 percent from 2012 to 2017, from 5,218 to 1,835, although the population of the commune has stayed relatively stable.

Although Chab Suy declined to discuss this discrepancy in detail, he said it was likely due to last years nationwide effort to purge the voter list of ineligible voters, including Vietnamese migrants without proper papers.

This would mean that the majority of those voting in Prek Chrey up until 2017 did not have legal documents to be in Cambodia.

Some voters were removed because there was a new reform, Chab Suy said.

Local women in Prek Chrey commune, who were speaking Vietnamese to one another, were washing clothes on in the Bassac River that separates Prey Chrey commune from Vietnams An Giang province. (Khan Sokummono | VOA Khmer)

Say Lork, a CNRP official in Koh Thom district until the opposition party was dissolved in November by a Supreme Court order, was more forceful, insisting that there was a serious problem with Vietnamese migration in Prek Chrey commune.

Less than 30 percent are Cambodians, he said of the communes population.

Villagers also complained that Vietnamese can cross to Cambodia to do business, but Cambodians cant do the same, he added. It is not balanced.

In addition to being purged from the voter list, ethnic Vietnamese have been targeted in a campaign that began late last year to identify improper citizens and revoke their documentation.

Although the Interior Ministry said in February that it would create a new program to provide official residency cards to these people, advocates said that many of those targeted by the program should already be entitled to formal citizenship.

One person affected by these changes is Som Sok, who identifies as a mixed-race Vietnamese-Cambodian and was born to a Cambodian father and a Vietnamese mother. He runs a bustling coffee shop where, one recent morning, men packed up goods for trading across the border, while women wheeled their bicycles back and forth selling snacks like mangoes and hard-boiled eggs.

Som Sok, a resident in Prek Chrey, says he is not able to vote in the July election, because his name is not on the list due to a lack of documentation. (Aun Chhengpor | VOA Khmer)

Sok, a father of three in his early 60s, was born in this area, but along with many Vietnamese-speaking Cambodians, managed to flee the Khmer Rouge soon after they came to power in 1975 by crossing the border into Vietnam.

When they returned to their home country after the fall of the Pol Pot regime in 1979, many were without identity documents due to the confusion of war, and they were considered foreign citizens.

Sok returned to this area in 1980, married a Vietnamese woman, and started his business. He said he had voted without any trouble since the first post-conflict elections in 1993, but last year his citizenship status was questioned and he was removed from the list.

I dont have my name in for this years election, he said in fluent Khmer.

In a paper published in January in the journal Political Geography, the researchers Laurie Parsons and Sabina Lawreniuk found that Cambodian officials often denied documentation to ethnic Vietnamese people based on their ethnicity alone and perceived foreignness, rather than an examination of whether they actually qualified for the papers.

The result is constitutionally embedded exclusion for many ethnic minorities, but in particular the Vietnamese, who continue to be viewed as the object of historical animosity, they wrote.

A gate of the Bak Nam Buddhist temple located less than 160 feet away from Cambodia-Vietnam border checkpoint, in Prek Chrey commune of Kandal province. (Aun Chhengpor | VOA Khmer)

This lack of documentation makes ethnic Vietnamese people in Cambodia effectively stateless, raising their risk of suffering from social and environmental problems  as well as making them more vulnerable to government pressure of all sorts. It also makes it increasingly difficult to differentiate between longtime residents of Cambodia, who are often entitled to formal citizenship, and recent migrants.

The ex-CNRP official, Say Lork, cited this as a problem.

We want them to live here legally, not just [as] immigrants who are not eligible to vote, he said, adding that the governments documentation drive did not seem to have improved the situation, although the voter list had been cleaned up.

When the results from the 2017 elections were in, all 11 communes in Koh Thom district except Prek Chrey were found to have swung to the opposition CNRP.

In places where there are a lot of Vietnamese, the CPP always wins, Say Lork said in frustration.

However, Prek Chrey commune chief Chab Suy is quick to proclaim his partys excellence, and attributes his win to the CPPs good governance over the years  not the ethnic makeup of his commune.

Citing one of the CPPs favorite maxims, he called it the party that saves lives, and said Cambodians owed the ruling party a debt of gratitude for joining with Vietnam to overthrow the Khmer Rouge in 1979, adding, the party liberated people.
" " Absurdly powerful storms like Irma, pictured here slamming into Fort Myers, Florida, on Sept. 10, 2018, have led some to wonder if the Saffir-Simpson scale is still an adequate measure of the destructive potential of hurricanes. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

When Hurricane Irma roared across the Atlantic in September 2017, it became the most powerful hurricane to form outside the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Irma was a monster Category 5 storm with sustained winds of 185 miles (298 kilometers) per hour. Irma cut a deadly path, devastating a small string of Caribbean islands and a chunk of the Southeastern United States.

As Irma pounded the region with ferocious wind, high surf and flooding rain, some scientists renewed their calls to change the Saffir-Simpson scale to account for the emergence of these so-called "super hurricanes." Scientists use the Saffir-Simpson scale as a yardstick to measure the destructive potential of hurricanes. The scale begins with Category 1, the least powerful and dangerous, and ends at Category 5  the most catastrophic. Nearly a year after Irma made landfall, the idea of changing the scale continues to rage. In February 2018, climate scientists met in New Zealand to discuss, among other things, adding a new classification to Saffir-Simpson: Category 6. (In Australia and the Indian Ocean, hurricanes are referred to as cyclones.)

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"Since the scale is now used as much in a scientific context as it is a damage assessment context, it makes sense to introduce a category six to describe the unprecedented strength 200 mile per hour storms we've seen over the past few years both globally [Cyclone Patricia] and here in the southern hemisphere [Cyclone Winston]," climatologist Michael Mann, director of Penn State University's Earth System Science Center, told the meeting as reported in The Guardian.

It was a sentiment echoed by James Shaw, New Zealand's climate change minister, who said Cyclone Winston, which in 2016 was the strongest cyclone on record in the Southern Hemisphere, could have easily been a Category 6. Here's Shaw, again as quoted in The Guardian: "The only reason it wasn't a category-six cyclone is because we don't have a category six, but we might need one in the future."

When Herbert S. Saffir and Robert H. Simpson developed the scale more than 40 years ago, people were not concerned about global warming and its role in fueling stronger hurricanes. Over time, however, climate change worsened, causing the temperatures of the oceans to rise. Hurricanes get their energy from warm water, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research says hurricanes will get wetter, have higher wind speeds and move more slowly as the planet's temperature continues to increase.

In the past three years, scientists witnessed the strongest wind speeds ever measured in a tropical cyclone when Patricia roared over the Pacific with wind speeds at 215 mph (346 kph) in 2015. The next year, Winston stomped across the Southern Hemisphere thrashing Fiji (185 mph/300 kph), and, of course, Irma thundered across the Atlantic in 2017 (185 mph/300 kph).

"We are seeing a qualitatively different type of hurricane now posing a threat to us and our infrastructure," Mann told NPR in June. Scientists, like Mann, are confident that as the oceans warm, we will see more storms with 200-plus mph (322-plus kph) sustained winds.

Chris Davis, senior scientist and lab director at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, begs to differ. He says a new category is not needed, because "it misses the point."

What is needed, perhaps, Davis says in an interview, is for the scientific community to rethink the Saffir-Simpson scale and reconfigure it to make it more holistic. While the scale factors in a hurricane's wind speed to communicate the level of risk to the public, it doesn't tell people anything about the scale of the destruction they could potentially face. A new classification system should be able to better communicate the destruction hurricanes pose.

For one thing, Davis says, it's not the wind that causes the most damage during a hurricane, but water, in the form of flooding and storm surge. "We have to think carefully about some of the other hazards and communicate them to the people, so they can understand," Davis says.

Here's a recap of the Saffir-Simpson scale:

Category 1 storms have sustained winds of 74-95 miles (119-153 kilometers) per hour. These are dangerous winds that could damage roofs, snap tree branches and uproot some trees. Power outages can occur.

Category 2 storms have sustained winds of 96-110 miles (154-177 kilometers). Such winds can cause extensive damage, including power loss, downed streets and major roof and siding damage to well-constructed frame houses.

Category 3 storms have sustained winds of 111-129 miles (178-208 kilometers) per hour. Damage to homes can be major.

Category 4 storms have sustained winds of 130-156 miles (209-251 kilometers) per hour. Property damage can be extensive. Most trees will snap or be uprooted. Power could be out for months, and most of the area devastated by the storm will be "uninhabitable for weeks or months."

Category 5 storms have sustained winds of 157 mph (252 kilometers) or higher. Category 5s are the most catastrophic hurricanes, with total roof failures, collapsing walls and the isolation of neighborhoods due to downed trees and power lines.

Frankly, Davis says, there's nothing more people can do during a potential Category 6 hurricane than they can do for a Category 5, which is already designated as catastrophic. People would not take any additional action to protect themselves.

"Even though there is some indication that the storms are getting more intense, I don't know if it necessitates a higher scale," Davis says, adding a new classification system needs to be clear on what it means, and "how does it help" people. Such a system would help people decide what to do and evaluate the hazard they faced.

Now That's Interesting A report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said the upper top of the world's oceans warmed by about 7 percent from 1971 to 2010.
" " In the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review, the Trump administration says it wants to increase the existing U.S. low-yield capability, which now consists of about 500 gravity bombs that could be dropped by U.S. aircraft, including about 200 positioned in western Europe. David Hills/Getty Images

During the 2016 presidential campaign, MSNBC host Joe Scarborough caused a stir by saying that then-candidate Donald Trump repeatedly had asked a foreign policy adviser why the U.S. couldn't use the nuclear weapons in its arsenal. A Trump spokesman later denied that Trump had posed this question.

Nevertheless, since Trump became president in 2017, his administration has moved not only to expand the U.S. nuclear arsenal, but to add more "low-yield options"  smaller-scale nuclear weapons that a president could resort to using in something short of an all-out nuclear war.

In the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review, a document issued earlier this year, the Trump administration says it would increase the existing U.S. low-yield capability  which now consists of about 500 gravity bombs that could be dropped by U.S. aircraft, including about 200 positioned in western Europe  by modifying existing submarine-launched ballistic missiles to carry low-yield warheads. It also would develop a new class of cruise missiles to deliver low-yield nukes.

The Trump administration insists that it's not actually looking to use low-yield nukes. "To be clear, this is not intended to, nor does it enable, 'nuclear war-fighting,'" the National Posture Review notes. "Expanding flexible U.S. nuclear options now to include low-yield options is important for the preservation of credible deterrence against regional aggression. It will raise the nuclear threshold and help ensure that potential adversaries perceive no possible advantage in limited nuclear escalation, making nuclear employment less likely."

Though Trump, at his recent summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, expressed a desire for a friendlier relationship with Russia, the National Posture Review portrays Russia, which is modernizing its stock of 2,000 low-yield nuclear weapons, as its expected adversary in such a limited nuclear confrontation. "Russia's belief that limited nuclear first use, potentially including low-yield weapons, can provide such an advantage is based, in part, on Moscow's perception that its greater number and variety of non-strategic nuclear systems provide a coercive advantage in crises and at lower levels of conflict," the report says. "Recent Russian statements on this evolving nuclear weapons doctrine appear to lower the threshold for Moscow's first-use of nuclear weapons."

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Not a Useful Deterrent

But nuclear arms-limitation advocates don't seem to be comforted by the Trump administration's assurances that it only wants low-yield nukes as a deterrent.

"Because the U.S. president might actually use these weapons, they argue that it better deters the use by another country," says Daryl G. Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, a Washington, D.C.-based nongovernmental research and policy organization that works to reduce the threat of nuclear war. "But the problem is that there's no such thing as a mini-nuke."

Kimball notes that the destructive potential of the low-yield, nonstrategic weapons is still enormous  only slightly less than the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima in 1945 and, by one estimate, killed between 90,000 and 166,000 people. Depending upon where a low-yield weapon lands, "it still has city-killing potential," Kimball says.

Beyond that, he notes, in the event that the U.S. and another country actually started tossing low-yield nukes at one another, there's no guarantee that the conflict wouldn't escalate into an all-out nuclear war. (Remember that it only took a few pistol shots fired by a lone assassin to trigger World War I.)

As Kimball points out, the U.S. already has low-yield nuclear weapons positioned in western Europe to deter Russian aggression. "In our view, it's overkill and unnecessary to add more low-yield weapons." The Russians' low-yield nukes only provide a "a cynical reason to plunge ahead," he says.

"What we really need is for the U.S. and Russia to refrain from developing and deploying new types of nuclear weapons," Kimball says. "Each side already has a diverse and deadly arsenal. The two sides need to sit down together and discuss how we can maintain existing treaties and reduce the arsenals."

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New START

In particular, according to Kimball, it's crucial for the U.S. and Russia to renew the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, an eight-year-old agreement that caps the deployed nuclear warheads for each side at 1,550, among other provisions. New START expires in 2021, and unless the two countries return to the bargaining table and come to a new agreement before then, "there will be no legally binding limits on the two nations' arsenals," Kimball warns.

In an interview with Fox News after the Helsinki summit, Putin said he had assured Trump that the Russians wanted to extend New START, but added the caveat that "we have to agree on the specifics at first because we have some questions to our American partners."

One potential sticking point in the negotiations is that the U.S. has for several years accused Russia of violating another nuclear arms limitation treaty, the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, by deploying nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. Russia has denied the allegation.

It's also unclear whether Trump will want to renew New START. He reportedly was unfamiliar with New START and denounced it as a bad deal negotiated by the Obama administration in a January 2017 phone conversation with Putin, according to Reuters, which cited two current and one former U.S. official with knowledge of the call. Since then, Trump hasn't shown any sign of interest in renewing the treaty, according to a February 2018 Foreign Policy article by John Wolfsthal, director of the Nuclear Crisis Group and a former National Security Council official in the Obama administration.

Now That's Disturbing During the Cold War, the U.S. arsenal contained as many as 7,000 low-yield tactical nuclear weapons, ranging from missiles to artillery shells to nuclear land mines. That's according to this 2017 Politico article by Philip E. Coyle, senior science fellow at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, and James McKeon, a policy analyst at the center.
[Still from The Old Woman Who Buried Her Fear Under the Stairs]

This year's Born of Woman program from Fantasia 2018 featured international short films from France, Czech Republic, USA, Norway, South Korea, United Kingdom, Finland, and Ireland. Every year, this program sells out, and that's an encouraging sign for the future of cinema. As usual, it's staggering to see the amount of film funds and film boards listed in the credits that support shorts --- from an envying American standpoint --- but I digress.

From Finland, Hanna Bergholm premiered Puppet Master, a experimental dance of ethereal puppets and a man and a woman. I'm not quite sure what it's about, but if I had to guess, it's a metaphor either into the mind of a serial killer or domestic abuser. I'm not the biggest fan of experimental film, but this one sure is pretty.

The Canadian premiere of NOSE NOSE NOSE EYES! from South Koreas Jiwon Moon feels like a piece of an epic horror film in the tradition of Audition with sumptious set design, great acting, and a terrifying, villainous mother. I want to see this feature immediately.

From Ireland, Kate Dolan's North American premiere of her terrific Catcalls gives the middle finger to disgusting men who think it's cool to harass women with a very satisfying comeuppance. This is another short film that should be made into a feature ASAP, because damnit, we need more women getting revenge on scumbags. Hell. Yes.

All the way from Norway, we were treated to the Quebec premiere of Kjersti Helen Rasmussen's Voyager, rich in atmosphere and sci-fi paranoia by way of John Carpenter's The Thing. The story is set in an arctic seed vault, a strange man is found eating the seeds. Is it the beginning of an alien invasion? This film feels like a snippet of a much larger epic.

The world premiere of Petite Avarie from France was co-directed by Manon Alirol & Leo Hardt, who also stars as an incredible jerk who leaves his partner after she finds out that she has breast cancer. Petite Avarie is a hilarious black comedy that keeps going with surprises long after you expect the short to be finished, but the film never overstays its welcome.

The Canadian premiere of the quirky Czech film Who's Who in Mycology from filmmaker Marie Dvorakova brought to mind the surreal playfulness of Jeunet's Delicatessen and Amelie and won a Student Academy Award.

From Britain, Faye Jackson's The Old Woman Who Buried Her Fear Under the Stairs follows an elderly woman living alone as she experiences all the ways that her vulnerability comes into play. She reads about terrible events in the newspaper or sees awful things on TV. Oh, and there's a hooded figure that stands on the corner and stares up into her window every night. Once she discovers how to get rid of her fear, everything changes. The film is an unexpected welcome and an exercise into how endangered we can become as we grow older.

From the U.S., we've got two excellent world premieres. The Gaze from Ida Joglar follows a scientist assaulted by her Nobel-prize winning, but sleazy boss who slips something into her tea and assaults her. She discovers that like Carrie, she possesses supernatural powers. The final shot will stick in your mind for a long, long time. I look forward to future work from Joglar and her lead, who's fantastic.

Lucy's Tale from Chelsea Lupkin follows a bullied high school girl with the burgeoning powers to hurt both her bulliers and the people who are much kinder to her (also like Carrie), but with the difference that she's grown a tail. Some pretty cool prosthetics are on display here, and Lupkin is another talent to watch.

Overall, the Born of Woman program continues to be a terrific showcase of female-directed (sometimes co-directed with a male) films that are the best of the best, the world over. I hope that more people have an opportunity to seek these films out, wherever they play.
Associated Press

The Democrats' idea for a new billionaires tax to help pay for President Joe Biden's social services and climate change plan quickly ran into criticism as too cumbersome with some lawmakers preferring the original plan of simply raising the top tax rates on corporations and the wealthy. Biden said Monday hes hopeful the talks with Congress can wrap up overall agreement on the package this week. Biden said it would be very, very positive to get it done before he departs for two overseas global summits.
Oil was higher on Tuesday.

Investing.com - U.S. crude oil prices were higher on Tuesday, as Iran threatened to retaliate against the U.S. if the government tries to block its oil exports.

West Texas Crude oil futures rose 1.24% to $68.73 a barrel as of 10:32 AM ET (14:32 GMT). Meanwhile Brent crude futures, the benchmark for oil prices outside the U.S., increased 0.79% to $73.64.

The U.S. has threatened to block oil trade with Iran after Trump withdrew from the nuclear agreement with Tehran. Theran responded on Tuesday, warning Washington against efforts to keep others from importing oil from Iran.

"If America wants to take a serious step in this direction it will definitely be met with a reaction and equal countermeasures from Iran," foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA.

On Monday U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday to never, ever threaten the U.S. again, or Iran would suffer the consequences.

The tweet was in response to comments from Rouhani who said that hostile policies would lead to the mother of all wars.

The news added to worry over production losses and lack of supply rising to meet demand. Last week the number of oil rigs in the U.S. fell by five, the biggest cut since March, bringing the count down to 858, Baker Hughes reported on Friday.

Investors are also looking ahead to inventories data for last week from the American Petroleum Institute, which comes out at 4:30 p.m. ET (20:30 GMT).

In other energy trading, Gasoline RBOB Futures increased 1.28% at $2.1185 a gallon, while heating oil rose 1.27% to $2.1444 a gallon. Natural gas futures were up 0.85% to $2.718 per million British thermal units.

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Law Firms in Singapore  How to Find A Lawyer & Much Does It Cost?

Every Singaporean parent wants a lawyer in the family, but strangely, few people are ever that happy when they have to consult one themselves.

You too might one day find yourself looking for law firms in Singapore. Hopefully, it has nothing to do with defending yourself in a terrible lawsuit or being accused of committing a heinous crime. You might simply be buying a home, looking for the best way to store your wealth or selling your start-up for a billion dollars (one can always dream).

Whatever the reason, heres how to find a lawyer in Singapore, and what to expect.

When and why would you need a lawyer?

Here are some reasons you might need to engage a lawyer.

Buying property  If you are buying private property, or are purchasing HDB property and are not using an HDB lawyer, you will need a lawyer to handle the transaction for you.

Getting a divorce  While it is possible to file for divorce without the help of a lawyer, it is not a good idea if you and your ex-to-be dont agree on certain things.

You own a business  As your business grows, you will probably need to seek legal advice at some point, whether youre drawing up contracts, growing the business, trying to protect your intellectual property rights, etc.

Youre changing your name  Sick of everyone making fun of you for that ill-chosen name your parents gave you? A lawyer can draft a deed poll so you can legally change your name.

Youre writing a will  While you dont need a lawyer to create a valid will, its safer to use one if you want to be absolutely sure youre doing things right.

Youre involved in a lawsuit or want to sue someone  Youll need lawyers to run the case for you so you get the compensation youre looking for, stop the other side from doing so or help you come to a settlement.

Youve committed an offence  Whether youve been caught drunk at a roadblock or youre involved in a City Harvest-type scandal, a good lawyer can defend you.

Which law firms in Singapore should you use?

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Before engaging a law firm, it is important to know that legal fees and the quality of work can vary wildly. As a general rule of thumb, the bigger the firm, the more they charge.

If you dont have much cash, youre better off looking for a community lawyer in a small firm.

On the other hand, if youre looking for representation for a huge corporation with a giant amount of paperwork, a larger firm will have the resources (and an unlimited supply of trainees and interns) to plough through all of it.

Whats more, except in huge matters, the individual lawyer youre working with can be more important that the firm youre picking. Some very good lawyers leave big firms to start smaller practices, while many teams in big firms run on the backs of neophytes who are fresh out of law school. For this reason, many people pick their lawyers through word of mouth.

You should also know that many lawyers, especially in bigger firms, specialise only in one or two areas of law. If you approach a corporate lawyer about that new divorce youre going through, hes going to refer your case to some other lawyer in the firm who does matrimonial law.

That being said, here are some well known law firms in Singapore.

PKWA Law Practice LLC  Theyre well-known for their big conveyancing department and relatively affordable prices, and so are worth checking out if youre buying property.

Eversheds Harry Elias  Have things gone south with your spouse? They have one of the most reputable matrimonial departments in Singapore.

Allen & Gledhill  One of the big 4 local firms, they have, well, a lot of lawyers and some of the biggest deals. So if youve got a huge or high-value matter and are wiling to pay, they should have the manpower and expertise you need.

Baker Mackenzie Wong & Leow  Theyre one of the bigger names in intellectual property law.

How much do law firms in Singapore charge?

While there is no standard fee structure, in general lawyers charge either a fixed fee or by the hour.

Fixed fee: This is when they charge you a lump sum for the entire matter. Matters that are charged in this manner tend to be non-contentious and predictable/routine, such as real estate purchases, drafting of wills and deed polls, and drafting of business/loan contracts. Make sure you ask the lawyer if the quotation includes disbursements (e.g. printing charges, lodgment of documents with government registries) or not.

Hourly: Matters in which you are in dispute with another party tend to be charged by the hour. The lawyers have to charge an hourly fee as they do not know how much work will be involved and to what extent the case might blow up. You will pay a higher hourly rate for a more senior/experienced lawyer. So if a fee quote is too high, try asking if there is a cheaper junior lawyer you could use instead. Your bill can also be capped at a maximum. So if you have a maximum sum that you can afford to spend, you can ask lawyer if it would be possible to cap his fees at that sum.

For larger or contentious matters, you might be asked to pay a deposit before the lawyer will commence work.

Always ask the lawyer for a fee quote before you agree to engage him. If you are visiting the lawyers office for the first time so he can assess your case, ask if the first consultation will be free.

And heres a final tip: if youre a regular customer or have some kind of personal connection with the lawyer, ask if you can get a discount on the fees. Lawyers are often happy to dish out discounts if it means that youll keep coming back.

While legal fees can vary wildly from firm to firm depending on how complicated a matter is, here are some sample prices for common types of matters:

Property purchase  $1,500 to $5,000, depending on whether youre buying HDB/private, completed/uncompleted property, and the value of your property.

Will  $100 to $500 for simple wills

Deed poll  $100 to $300

Uncontested divorce  $1,500 to $5,000

How do you find and engage a lawyer in Singapore?

Engaging a lawyer is as easy as picking up the phone, asking for a fee quote and making that first appointment.

For contentious matters, the lawyer may not be willing to provide a fee quote until you make a first appointment, so ask if that first meeting will be free.

Before you show up at the lawyers office for the first time, ask for a list of documents and information youll need to provide so that you can avoid wasting the lawyers time, which you might be paying for.

Also ask when youre expected to foot the bill and whether you will need to furnish a deposit before the lawyer starts work.

For matters in which your lawyer will need to collect multiple payments from you for various things (e.g. a property purchase in which you will need to pay stamp duty and downpayment through the lawyer), ask for a timeline so you can prepare your all payments in advance.

Can you get free legal advice in Singapore?

Yes! Here are some places to get free legal advice:

Community legal clinics by Law Society of Singapore  See a volunteer lawyer for 20 minutes at the Law Societys legal clinics run in four locations four days a week. You can only go for this once, so do your research and make sure you really cant find the answer before you show up.

SMU Pro Bono Centre  If you earn less than $3,500 per month or have a combined income of less than $5,550/$5,660 (without/with kids) as a couple, you can seek advice for personal matters on Friday evenings at the SMU Pro Bono Centre.

Family Court Legal Clinic  Free 20 minute consultations for family-related matters.

AWARE Legal Clinic  Ladies only! This bi-monthly, 20-30 minute legal clinic is for women with an income of under $3,000 a month who are not currently represented by a lawyer.

Criminal Legal Aid Scheme  Many lawyers take on criminal cases on a pro bono basis in their spare time, meaning they charge their customers nothing. In order to qualify for pro bono legal services, you need to go through means testing, as theyre meant only for the underprivileged.

Legal Help website  This website is a free legal forum where members of the public can ask questions and get answers from volunteer lawyers and other members of the community.

Know the Law booklet  This is a free booklet published by the Law Society and targeted at educating the general public on areas of the law theyre likely to encounter. It can be downloaded online.

Have you ever used a lawyers services in Singapore? Share your experiences in the comments.

Related article

Lemon Law in Singapore  What Are Your Legal Rights If You Buy Defective Goods?

When You Can Legally Start Making Money Out of Your HDB Flat and How

Is Your Property Lawyer Actually Doing Any Work When You Buy A House?

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Global stock markets mostly rallied on Tuesday, helped by Chinese stimulus plans and a batch of generally strong US earnings from Google parent Alphabet and others. In Europe, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index closed 0.7 percent higher, with Frankfurt's DAX 30 climbing 1.1 percent and the Paris CAC 40 up 1.0 percent. On Wall Street, both the Dow and S&P 500 finished solidly higher. But the Nasdaq ended marginally negative as an early-session rally fizzled at midday in a move analysts attributed to profit taking. "Stock markets are enjoying a decent move higher...receiving a dual boost in sentiment from a proposed Chinese fiscal stimulus and a better than expected set of results from Google-parent company Alphabet," said David Cheetham, chief market analyst at traders XTB. While Alphabet suffered a dip in second-quarter profits due to a fine from the European Union, it posted a bigger-than-expected 26 percent jump in revenues to $32.7 billion in an earnings report released after Wall Street closed on Monday. Its shares rose 3.5 percent. "With earnings season upon us, there is a growing feeling that markets will be able to focus on a positive corporate trajectory rather than the persistent fears over the potential damage of global trade arising from further tariffs," said IG market analyst Joshua Mahony. - 'Tariffs are the greatest!' - However, tensions persist over a global trade war. With European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker heading to Washington on Wednesday to meet US President Donald Trump and try to avert an escalation of tit-for-tat tariffs, the US leader tweeted: "Tariffs are the greatest!" In a separate tweet he claimed that "countries that have treated us unfairly on trade for years are all coming to Washington to negotiate." On Tuesday, the Trump administration announced $12 billion in aid for farmers who have been the primary targets of retaliation by trading partners following Trump's moves, the first acknowledgement that Trump's controversial approach on trade is having a downside for everyday Americans. Meanwhile, in a bid aimed at shielding China's economy -- the world's second-largest -- from a worsening trade row with Washington, Beijing on Tuesday signalled it would shift to a looser fiscal policy. Shanghai's main stocks index jumped 1.6 percent in response, while the yuan hit a 13-month low versus the dollar. The program also lent support to London-listed mining companies like BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, and Glencore, all of which gained around five percent and stand to benefit from higher Chinese demand for metals. In Europe meanwhile, shares in French car giant PSA surged 14.9 percent after the owner of Peugeot drove profits higher thanks in part to a major turnaround for its Opel-Vauxhall brand. - Key figures at 2100 GMT - New York - Dow: UP 0.7 percent at 25,241.94 (close) New York - S&P 500: UP 0.5 percent at 2,820.40 (close) New York - Nasdaq: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 7,840.77 (close) London - FTSE 100: UP 0.7 percent at 7,709.05 (close) Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 1.1 percent at 12,689.39 (close) Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.0 percent at 5,434.19 (close) EURO STOXX 50: UP 1.0 percent at 3,487.28 (close) Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.5 percent at 22,510.48 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 1.4 percent at 28,662.57 (close) Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.6 percent at 2,905.56 (close) Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1682 at $1.1692 Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3144 from $1.3101 at 2100 GMT Dollar/yen: DOWN at 111.20 yen from 111.35 yen Oil - Brent Crude: UP 38 cents at $73.44 per barrel Oil - West Texas Intermediate: UP 63 cents at $68.52 per barrel burs-jmb/dg
The wildfires raging near Athens, which have claimed at least 50 lives, are among the deadliest in Europe this century, with Portugal and Russia also suffering heavy losses. Here is a recap of the worst. - Portugal in 2017 - Sixty-four people were killed and 250 injured in the deadliest wildfires in Portugal's history in June 2017. The fires burned for five days in the central Leiria region, breaking out at the height of a summer heatwave. Many of the victims died trapped in their cars by the flames while trying to escape. Violent winds fanned the fires, ravaging some 460 square kilometres (around 180 square miles) of hillsides covered with pine and eucalyptus. In 2003 gigantic fires caused by a heatwave left 20 dead between July and September in central and southern Portugal. The summer of 2003 remains the most disastrous in terms of surface destroyed, with nearly 4,250 square kilometres going up in smoke. In 1966 a blaze in the forest of Sintra, west of Lisbon, killed 25 soldiers trying to battle the flames. - Russia in 2015, 2010 - In April 2015 huge fires that started in the Khakassia region of southeastern Siberia killed 34 people as well as hundreds of cattle and thousands of sheep. The blaze, which spread as far as Mongolia and practically up to the Chinese border, also destroyed 2,000 homes and 10,000 square kilometres of land. Five years earlier, vast swathes of western Russia were ravaged by fires for weeks during an unprecedented heatwave and drought. The blazes between July and August 2010 tore through 10,000 square kilometres of forest, bogs and brushwood, burning entire villages. Some of the fires came dangerously close to Russia's top nuclear research centre in Sarov. - Greece in 2007 - Forest fires killed 77 people at the end of August 2007 in Greece, ravaging 2,500 square kilometres in the southern Peloponnese and the island of Evia, northeast of Athens. The fires raged for around 12 days, but most of the victims were killed early on in the disaster when they became trapped in villages cut off by the flames, some ignoring orders to evacuate. - France, worst ever in 1949 - In the heaviest loss of life in wildfires in France, 82 people were killed battling flames in the southwest Landes region in August 1949. The victims -- firemen, volunteers and soldiers -- were caught in a ball of fire after the winds suddenly changed direction.
The Independent

Narendra Modi wants his nation to be a global leader on green energy, yet it gets 70% of its energy from coal and is still building more coal-fired power plants. Stuti Mishra explores why the country is still so dependent on the dirty fossil fuel
Reuters

Captain Babar Azam led by example as Pakistan beat India in a World Cup showdown for the first time ever with a 10-wicket romp in a Super 12 blockbuster at the Twenty20 World Cup on Sunday. Shaheen Afridi (3-31) headlined Pakistan's disciplined bowling effort to restrict arch-rivals India to a modest 151-7 in a rematch of the inaugural 2007 final. Babar and opening partner Mohammad Rizwan then returned to overwhelm the target with 13 balls to spare and register Pakistan's maiden win against India in a World Cup in their 13th attempt.
Kem Reat Viseth, head of the government committee in charge of election monitoring, looks on during a media briefing on the participation of observers, in Phnom Penh Kem Reat Viseth (2nd R), head of the government committee in charge of election monitoring, looks on during a media briefing on the participation of observers, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, July 24, 2018. Reuters/Samrang Pring

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A Cambodian government official on Thursday said as many as 220 observers from 52 countries would monitor Sunday's general elections, widely expected to deliver a landslide victory for Prime Minister Hun Sen after the main opposition was dissolved.

Members of the European Parliament, the International Conference of Asian Political Parties, the Asian Parliamentary Assembly, the ASEAN Inter Parliament Assembly, the Assemble Parliamentare de la Francophonie, and groups such as Centrist Asia Pacific Democrat International and Shanghai Cooperation are among the monitors, the panel chief said.

"They all have experience in monitoring elections in various countries," Kem Reat Viseth, the head of the government commission to coordinate election monitors, told a news briefing on Tuesday.

"They will speak the truth from what they see."

The monitors came from 52 countries, among them Austria, France, Germany and Italy, he added, and would fund themselves.

Sunday's election has been criticized by the United Nations and Western countries as fundamentally flawed after last year's dissolution of the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) and the imprisonment of its leader, Kem Sokha.

Some of the groups sending observers were described as "fake" by Lee Morgenbesser, a researcher on elections held by authoritarian regimes in Southeast Asia.

The International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) and Shanghai Cooperation Organization "are known fake election observation groups," said Morgenbesser, a lecturer at Australia's Griffith University.

"All of them have a documented history of certifying polls objectively judged to be lacking freedom, fairness and even competition," Morgenbesser said.

"The Cambodian government is attempting to use these "shadow" observation groups as a substitute for the withdrawal of professional observation groups, such as the European Union," he added.

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"This is a sign of how the election utterly lacks credibility."

Phay Siphan, a spokesman for the Cambodian government, dismissed the accusation, saying that political parties, in addition to monitors, would also have representatives at polling stations to ensure fair play.

"Foreign monitors are good friends who come to observe the elections, they evaluate and they don't have political motives, as raised by this professor."

The European Union will not send any observers, said its ambassador, George Edgar.

"The EU will not send a monitoring mission for Sunday's election," he told Reuters. "I am not aware of any plans by members of the European Parliament to monitor the election."

ICAPP did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

An individual who answered the telephone at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization told a Reuters reporter to call back on Wednesday.

Three other groups intending to monitor the elections are headed by Hun Sen's son and the other two led by a man who was appointed by him as a "goodwill ambassador," the National Election Committee said.

(Reporting by Prak Chan Thul; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
Cambodia's ruling party has thrown resources at a weak education system ahead of elections on Sunday as it tries to entice young voters and drain resentment over low-paying jobs. The school system was completely destroyed in the 1970s by the Khmer Rouge, who executed teachers as perceived enemies of the hardline Communist regime, and despite efforts to rebuild, standards still lag far behind Cambodia's Southeast Asian neighbours. Now strongman prime minister Hun Sen is promising schooling for all, hiking education spending to $850 million this year, a record quarter of the overall government budget. "I want every district to have a high school, every commune a junior school and every village a primary school," he said in a recent campaign speech. The premier is all but guaranteed to extend his 33-year grip on power in Sunday's poll after a crackdown on dissent in the run-up to the vote. That includes the dissolution of the only viable opposition party by the Supreme Court in November, while swipes at civil society and the media have snuffed out critical voices. But in a country where a third of the 15 million population is aged under 30, he has also carefully targeted his appeal. He speaks regularly at graduation ceremonies, promising jobs and opportunity to thousands of young people nervous about their futures in a country reliant on low-skilled labour. - New generation - Some 300,000 Cambodians enter the job market each year, often without qualifications, according to the UN. But major industries such as the garment sector, which employs nearly 750,000 people, are acutely vulnerable to automation and changing wage patterns. At the same time education does not always equate to a well paying job and secure future. "There are many students graduating... but few jobs," said So Van Veasna, who earns $200 a month in an administrator's position after graduating from law school. The gap between aspiration and reality encouraged students to line up in support of the now-defunct opposition in the last general election. Before then the government had been on a school-building frenzy. Many of those institutions were named after Hun Sen by officials keen to curry favour with the premier. But a marked drop in support for the ruling party during the 2013 polls has compelled it to take a more active role in the school system's future. Hun Sen has supported the founding of "new generation" schools across the country: state-of-the art institutions boasting science labs and tablet computers, with longer class hours and a broader curriculum. "They will have a job after they graduate because here we can train them in everything," insists Khmer literature teacher Men Solaneth at Sisowath High School in the capital. At nine and growing, the "new generation" schools have surged in popularity with hundreds enrolled, forcing administrators to move from an open admissions policy to a testing and lottery system akin to US charter academies. "The school has good facilities, so the students take pleasure in learning," says high school student Seng Sreyleak, who was accepted through the lottery. Critics caution the new admissions system will likely favour well-connected students, especially if -- as has been mooted -- tuition fees are introduced. But Sam Kamsann, deputy principal at Sisowath High, rejects these suggestions. "We allocate 30 percent of seats to children from poor families and we help all students fairly," he said. - Leaking roof, no chalk - Sam Rainsy, a leading opposition figure who lives in self-exile in France, dismissed the education spending burst as misleading, saying the total amount in relation to GDP remains one of the lowest in the region. And while the new-generation schools have lofty ambitions, the majority of institutions are rooted in a more prosaic reality. Rong Chhun, a member of the Cambodian Independent Teachers' Association, told AFP that most schools across the country don't have enough books, let alone fancy computer labs. About a hundred kilometres north of Phnom Penh, talk of a "high tech" school revolution feels impossibly remote. The metallic roof leaks at Tanei Primary School and teacher Yi Sareth often has to buy chalk out of his own pocket. "We have nothing, I'm sorry for my students who sometimes do not even have a book," he says.
HONG KONG, July 24 (Reuters) - China's food and drug regulator said on Tuesday it will conduct a full review of the production and sales process in a vaccine maker accused of falsifying data.

State Food and Drug Administration will review the entire process of Changsheng Bio-technology Co Ltd's vaccine production and sales, it said in a statement posted on its website.

The regulator will also conduct a production review of every vaccine maker in the country to contain potential risks, the statement said.

China's drug regulator has accused Changsheng of fabricating production and inspection records reagrding a rabies vaccine regularly given to infants. (Reporting by Meg Shen Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)
By Andrea Shalal and Thomas Escritt

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany is considering laws that would let it respond actively to foreign cyber-attacks, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer as he presented a domestic intelligence agency report showing Iran was the latest power to ramp up hack attacks on German systems.

The agency also reported that the volume of cyber-attacks from China had seemingly dwindled as the number of acquisitions of German high-tech companies by Chinese firms had risen.

The report, released on Tuesday by the domestic intelligence service (BfV), said numbers of cyber attacks with a likely origin in Iran had been rising since 2014, with a sharp increase last year.

In response to the report, which highlighted cyber-attacks by Iran, Russia and China, Seehofer said the agency needed to acquire the power not just to track and clean up cyber-attacks but also to launch counter-measures.

"We will maybe need changes to the law on the question of how to react actively, not just investigating, but also actively (responding)," Seehofer said.

BfV chief Hans-Georg Maassen said the agency was also looking at the implications of Chinese acquisitions surging even as cyber-attack volumes fell.

"Getting a footing on the German market is not something for us to look at, but on the other hand we do look if we have the impression that behind the possible buyers there's a foreign state that has political aims," he told the news conference.

Attacks from Iran come at a particularly sensitive time for Germany, which is battling to preserve the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran, from which the U.S. has withdrawn.

Germany is vocal with its concerns about Iran's missile development activities, its backing for militant groups in regional conflicts, and spying activities.

In January, the foreign ministry summoned Iran's ambassador to reprimand Tehran for spying on individuals and groups with close ties to Israel, calling such acts an unacceptable breach of German law.

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CYBER THREAT

The new intelligence report said cyber attacks believed to be backed by Iran were mainly aimed at the German government, dissidents, human rights organisations, research centres and the aerospace, defence and petrochemical industries.

"The observed cyber campaigns are developing such efficacy that the operations initiated and guided by intelligence agencies to gain information could pose a danger to German companies and research institutions," the report said.

Russia, China and Iran constituted the biggest cyber and espionage threats to Germany, but other countries such as India and Vietnam, and even some western states, were also active.

Moscow continued to expend significant organisational and financial resources to target German political, economic, academic and technical targets, as well the military, through espionage and cyber activities, the report said.

Russian intelligence agencies continued their efforts to affect public opinion in Germany through propaganda and other means, and those were likely to continue even after the 2017 German election.

"Such disinformation and propaganda campaigns are meant to destabilise the German government and weaken its position as a proponent of extending (European Union) sanctions against Russia," the report concluded.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Thomas Escritt; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday said he had spoken to Turkish-origin football star Mesut Ozil after his decision to quit the German team on the grounds of racism, offering his praise for the Arsenal player's move. "Last night I spoke to Mesut. His attitude in the statement is completely patriotic," Erdogan said, quoted by state TRT Haber broadcaster. "It is not possible to accept this kind of racist attitude towards a young man who poured so much sweat for the German national team's success. This cannot be tolerated." Ozil's decision to quit playing for Germany and his strongly-worded four-page statement caused uproar in Germany even as it was applauded by Turkish ministers. He had faced heavy criticism during the World Cup, especially over a controversial photograph with Erdogan in May ahead of presidential and parliamentary polls in Turkey. Ozil, a key member of the squad which won the 2014 World Cup, criticised the German Football Association (DFB) bosses, sponsors and the media. He lamented a lack of support from DFB president Reinhard Grindel. "In the eyes of Grindel and his supporters, I am German when we win, but I am an immigrant when we lose," Ozil, 29, wrote. But the association said in a statement on Monday that it rejected "the notion that the DFB is associated with racism". In his statement, Ozil addressed critics of the photo and said that he was not making a political statement when he appeared with the Turkish leader before the World Cup finals. "I have two hearts, one German and one Turkish," said Ozil. Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul on Monday congratulated Ozil, saying he had "scored the most beautiful goal against the virus of fascism."
Founders of the infamously failed Fyre music festival in the Bahamas last year have settled charges they defrauded investors out of nearly $30 million, US market regulators announced Tuesday. Billy McFarland, a New York entrepreneur, admitted to charges he used pilfered funds to bankroll a lavish lifestyle, including a Manhattan penthouse, parties with celebrities, a private plane and chauffeured luxury cars, the Securities and Exchange Commission said. He spear-headed last year's disastrous Fyre Festival, which had billed itself as the ultimate upscale getaway amid a fast-growing market for music events. Hundreds of partygoers headed to the Bahamas, some paying more than $100,000 each, but instead found tent encampments and cuisine that was just rudimentary sandwiches. "McFarland gained the trust of investors by falsely portraying himself as a skilled entrepreneur running a series of successful media companies," Melissa Hodgman, associate director of the SEC's enforcement division, said in a statement. "But this false picture of business success was built on fake brokerage statements and stolen investor funds." According to the SEC, in one case, McFarland gave investors a doctored brokerage account statement, claiming it held $2.5 million when in fact it held shares worth only $1,500. McFarland was arrested in June on charges of selling fraudulent tickets to major events such as the Coachella festival and was awaiting sentencing. In settling with the SEC this week, McFarland admitted to the charges, agreed to return $27.4 million in ill-gotten gains from 100 investors, and agreed to be barred for life from being a corporate officer or director. Chief Marketing Officer Grant Margolin and Daniel Simon, an independent contractor, and two companies also settled with the SEC but did not admit or deny the charges. Margolin and Simon will pay fines of $35,000 and $15,000, respectively. The settlements are subject to court approval. Earlier this month, a North Carolina judge awarded $5 million in compensation and punitive damages to two fans who had each paid $13,000 to attend the festival but ended up in tents where they said they felt unsafe.
Hong Kong rural leaders want Beijing to intervene to help maintain New Territories villagers right to be given land to build villas.

At a gathering of about 1,000 villagers on Monday, rural patriarchs vented their anger at the Hong Kong government, accusing it of failing to protect their traditional rights as protected by the Basic Law, Hong Kongs mini-constitution.

The gathering marked the annual New Territories Day, and coincided with a looming court case, expected to be heard in December, on whether the villagers right to build villas under the small-house policy should be regarded as part of their traditional rights.

Villagers waved placards as they shouted slogans, vowing to fight to the end to protect their traditional rights.

In his address, Kenneth Lau Ip-keung, chairman of the Heung Yee Kuk, a powerful advisory body representing New Territories villagers interests, said: We have reached the tipping point.

Lau, a legislator who also sits on Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngors cabinet, suggested it would be appropriate to seek Beijings interpretation of the Basic Law in this case.

Article 40 of the Basic Law states that the traditional rights of the New Territories indigenous residents shall be protected. It does not, however, list what the traditional rights are.

Article 158 of the Basic Law confers the power of interpreting the document itself upon the National Peoples Congress Standing Committee, the nations top legislative body. Its views will be final and binding. But interpretations often trigger controversy, as critics say they undermine Hong Kongs judicial independence.

The legal case was triggered by Cheung Chau resident Kwok Cheuk-kin, who filed for a judicial review in 2015 to scrap the small-house policy.

The power to interpret the Basic Law is vested in the National Peoples Congress Standing Committee. The Hong Kong governments role is to execute the Basic Law, Lau told the press after the gathering.

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Kingsley Sit Ho-yin, director of the Heung Yee Kuk Research Centre, said: When our traditional rights are challenged, we have not heard anything from the government, we have not heard anything from the Beijing liaison office.

The government has the responsibility to make a clear stance. If it doesnt know whether building a small house should be our traditional right protected by the Basic Law, it should ask Beijing, seek the National Peoples Congress Standing Committees interpretation of the Basic Law, rather than leaving it to the court to decide.

Kuk vice-chairman Cheung Hok-ming added: Some politicians like to twist the facts and claim its unfair for the New Territories villagers to have the privilege. Its not a privilege. Before the British came in the late 1890s, we owned our land and could build houses wherever and whenever we liked. But after the handover, we are still treated unfairly by the Hong Kong government, which imposes various restrictions to prevent us from using our land.

Under the small-house policy, a male indigenous villager is allowed free land once in his lifetime to build a three-storey village house, of about 700 sq ft for each floor, in the New Territories.

Rural leaders believe it is one of their traditional rights protected by the Basic Law. But critics argue the policy was only introduced in 1972 by the colonial government in a bid to gain support from villagers for development in the New Territories.

During the 3-hour gathering, villagers also voiced discontent with the long waiting time for the government to screen their applications for building small houses. Some said they had waited for 10 years and still had not got approval.

Some proposed building high-rise small houses.

Mondays gathering coincided with the first anniversary of the death of rural patriarch Lau Wong-fat, Kenneth Laus father. Villagers observed a minutes silence before the event started.

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Hundreds are missing and an unknown number feared dead after a partly built hydropower dam in southeast Laos collapsed after heavy rain and sent a wall of water surging through six villages, state media and contractors said Tuesday. Laos News Agency said the accident happened on Monday evening near the border with Cambodia, releasing five billion cubic metres of water -- more than two million Olympic swimming pools. The agency said there were "several human lives claimed, and several hundreds of people missing" while some 6,600 people had been made homeless as authorities scrambled to evacuate villagers. Communist Laos is traversed by a vast network of rivers and several dams are being built or planned in the impoverished and landlocked country, which exports most of its hydropower energy to neighbouring countries like Thailand. Aerial footage posted on the Facebook page of local news outlet ABC Laos showed a vast brown inundation swamping houses and jungle alike over a huge area. Another video showed families waiting for rescue on the rooftop of their house, with a nearby Buddhist temple partially submerged. Nearly 24 hours after the collapse local authorities said they were struggling to gauge the extent of the disaster. "We do not have any formal information yet about any casualties or how many are missing," an official in Attapeu province, where much of the flooding occurred, told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that was no phone signal in the flooded region. "We sent rescue teams who will help them and provide basic assistance first," the official added. The Thai government said it would also send rescue experts to its northern neighbour. - Heavy rainfall - The $1.2 billion dam is part of a project by Vientiane-based Xe Pian Xe Namnoy Power Company, or PNPC, a joint venture formed in 2012 between a Laotian, a Thai and two South Korean companies, according to the project's website. Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding, the Thai company, said it had been told by operators that a 770-metre-long auxiliary dam used to divert river water had failed after heavy rainfall. "The incident was caused by continuous rainstorm which caused high volume of water to flow into the project's reservoir," it said in a statement. One of the South Korean companies, SK Engineering and Construction, said it had sent a crisis team to Laos, according to Yonhap news agency, and was bringing in helicopters from Thailand. South Korea's foreign ministry said another Korean firm, Korea Western Power, was also involved. The companies and others had sent helicopters, boats and rescue workers. "All of our 53 nationals who were taking part in this construction evacuated in advance," the ministry said in a statement. Pope Francis said in a Vatican message he had learned with sadness of the loss of life, and expressed "hertfelt solidarity" with all those affected. The 410 megawatt capacity plant was supposed to start commercial operations by 2019, according to the venture's website. The project consists of a series of dams over the Houay Makchanh, the Xe-Namnoy and the Xe-Pian rivers in Champasak Province. It planned to export 90 percent of its electricity to energy-hungry Thailand and the remainder was to be offered up on the local grid. Under the terms of construction, PNPC said it would operate and manage the power project for 27 years after commercial operations began. - 'Battery of Asia' - Dam projects in Laos, mainly providing power to neighbouring countries, have long been controversial with fears over environmental damage and the impact on local communities who are often displaced. Maureen Harris, an expert on Laotian dams at the International Rivers NGO, said the flooding raised "major questions about dam standards and dam safety in Laos, including their appropriateness to deal with weather conditions and risks". "Many of these people have already been relocated or suffered impacts to livelihoods due to the dam construction and are now experiencing further devastating impacts - loss of homes, property and family members," she told AFP. Laos has been keen to turn itself into "the battery of Southeast Asia" with a series of massive hydropower projects that has sparked opposition in downstream Mekong nations like Vietnam and Cambodia, who fear it will disrupt vital ecosystems, fisheries and their own river systems. Communist authorities in Laos keep tight control on information and are often opaque about business deals and development projects. The media is state-controlled and and the government vigorously pursues dissent or protesters. The country has around 10 dams in operation, 10 to 20 under construction and dozens more in planning stages. "Once they cast themselves as the battery of Asia, exporting electricity became one of the major revenue sources, so it's basically selling natural resources such as water," Toshiyuki Doi, Senior Advisor at Mekong Watch, told AFP.
A journalist has been murdered in southeast Mexico, not far from tourist hotspot Cancun, the government said on Tuesday -- the seventh such killing this year in the country. "Ruben Pat, manager at the Playa News weekly, was shot dead this morning" in the Playa del Carmen area, the Quintana Roo state government announced. Pat was the second journalist from Playa News based in Playa del Carmen, which is located south of Cancun along the Caribbean Sea, murdered in less than a month, after his colleague Jose Guadalupe Chan. Prosecutors said Pat was shot at about 6:00 am outside a bar. Emergency services pronounced him dead upon arriving at the scene. Prosecutors said the incident was meant to "intimidate" other journalists. Playa News demanded answers from the state government about Pat's murder on its Facebook page. Mexico was the second most dangerous place in the world for journalists last year, behind only civil war-torn Syria, with 11 murdered, according to Reporters Without Borders. According to various freedom of speech organizations, more than 100 have been killed in the country since 2000. The vast majority of those crimes have gone unpunished. Journalism isn't the only risky profession in Mexico. Between September and presidential elections on July 1, at least 145 politicians were killed. Five of the eight most violent cities in the world are located in Mexico, according to government statistics for 2017. Los Cabos in the country's northwest topped that list with 111 murders per 100,000 citizens.
AFPTV

In Iraq's vast western desert, some 200 families live in a hamlet largely cut off from the rest of the world, their only neighbour one of the country's biggest military bases. Lost in rocky ochre hills and surrounded by humble palm groves, Al-Sahls only education facility is a primary school, and residents rely on livestock and farming to survive.
Police in China recently smashed another gambling ring that punted on virtual red packets on Tencent Holdings WeChat social media platform.

Since last year, Shenzhen authorities have arrested 71 people for gambling activities on Tencents WeChat and QQ platforms, with the largest sum involved at more than 60 million yuan, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. Similar cases were also reported in Jiangsu, Hunan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and Zhejiang provinces. Tencent declined to comment on the report.

True dominance of China's big three internet companies revealed

Handing out red packets, or hong bao, is a traditional way for celebration in China that has gone increasingly online in recent years. During the Lunar New Year period earlier this year, a total of 768 million WeChat users - or more than double the population of the US - sent or received hongbao via the platform, an increase of 10 percent from the year earlier, according to Tencent.

Sinas Weibo launched the first digital red packets in the Lunar New Year in 2011. Since then, the feature has become a staple for many social media and communication apps, including Alibaba Groups DingTalk. Alibaba is the parent company of the South China Morning Post.



There are numerous ways that one can gamble on red packets on WeChat, according to the Xinhua report. They range from the gambler having to pay out to everyone in the group if he or she snares the red packet with the smallest face value. One can also bet on the points. For example, a gambler who grabs a red packet of 12.07 yuan will receive 9 points by adding the last three digits of the red packet 2, 0 and 7. The person with the highest score wins the game and the points are converted into money when the game ends, according to Xinhua.



Tencents WeGame platform set to go global, heating up rivalry with Steam

Some gambling organisers have introduced robots for automatic calculation to improve the so-called efficiency, said Zhang Qian, deputy director of the Investigation and Supervision Department of Peoples Procuratorate of Shenzhens Nanshan district, according to Xinhua.



Compared with illegal casinos or gambling dens, WeChat betting has much lower costs and the closed social-media groups can be frequently changed to avoid detection. We have some difficulties to suspect and investigate these crimes, Zhang said.

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A cottage industry has sprang up over private social-media groups, with individual WeChat accounts going for 15 yuan to 20 yuan while dormant group accounts are going for 230 yuan. Gambling operators and punters buy and use different WeChat accounts to stay ahead of the operator. Tencent has adopted some technical measures to identify and block abnormal WeChat accounts and groups, such as those used in gambling rings.

Tencent co-founder goes after new fintech investments in Southeast Asia

In the second quarter of this year, WeChat closed won more than 8,000 gambling-related groups on the platform, according to data released by its security centre.

This article Police in China smash hi-tech WeChat gambling rings that use counting robots first appeared on South China Morning Post

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Posters of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) and FUNCINPEC Party are seen along a street in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, July 17, 2018. REUTERS/Samrang Pring/Files

By Amy Sawitta Lefevre

BANGKOK (Reuters) - The U.S.-funded National Democratic Institute (NDI) and rights groups say they are disappointed by the muted international action ahead of a general election in Cambodia on Sunday which long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen is expected to win easily.

Cambodians will go to the polls in an election that critics have called a one-horse race after the Supreme Court ruled to dissolve the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) last year.

A month after the CNRP was dissolved, the United States said it would deny visas to Cambodian officials involved in suppressing the opposition -- the toughest steps by any Western country since Hun Sen launched his crackdown on critics.

The European Union and the United States, however, have not removed preferential trade access for Cambodia's vital garments sector despite calls for more sanctions.

"The response of the international community has been disappointing," John Cavanaugh, Cambodia Country Director, National Democratic Institute (NDI), told a news conference in Bangkok on Tuesday.

"I think one of the reasons for the muted international response is the international community might be caught up in a feeling of complacency because of the Hun Sen's government pattern of applying pressure and then reverting back to normal," he added.

"What we're seeing is this is not going to revert back to the old normal, this is a new normal ... so we really are calling for a much more aggressive international response."

Hun Sen has ruled Cambodia for over 30 years.

The CNRP was narrowly defeated in a 2013 general election, but the country's once-thriving opposition has been silenced and pushed underground ahead of the general election.

Some have called for a boycott of the vote but authorities, including a spokesman for Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) have said boycotting the vote is illegal and that action will be taken against those who urge others not to vote.

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Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division, decried the lack of international pressure.

"There is no real excuse, frankly, for the failure of governments to speak out," he said.

(Additional reporting by Prak Chan Thul in PHNOM PENH; Editing by Michael Perry)
BUTTERWORTH: More than 100 Royal Malaysian Air Force officers and personnel left for Darwin, Australia, today to join the three-week Pitch Black warfare exercise scheduled to begin on Friday. Air Operation Commander Lieutenant General Datuk Seri Abdul Mutalib Ab Wahab said this was Malaysias second participation in the exercise since 2008 to undergo training for air combat, the largest exercise in the world. The exercise is a combined training with numerous countries, which will be held at Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Darwin and Tindal base Among the countries involved in this years Pitch Black exercise are Canada, France, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, United States of America, India, Indonesia and Germany. The exercise also covers a full training spectrum which showcases numerous realistic and simulated threats which can be found in modern air combat, he said during the RMAF send off ceremony held at its Butterworth base today. Abdul Mutalib said there would be over 138 planes from all around the world in the 2018 Pitch Black with RMAF to display five F/A-18D combat aircraft and one A400M plane. The exercise will be able to test and improve the integration of the air force personnel at the largest air exercise area in the world - Bradshaw Field Training Area and Delamere Air Weapons Range in Australia. The involvement of RMAF in this large scale exercise will indirectly help to gain new knowledge in terms of planning and implementation during challenging times, he said. Meanwhile, Pitch Black 2018 participant Major Kamal Jusri Kamalruzaman, 34, said that he was proud to be able to represent the country in the international stage. In 2008, I joined the Pitch Black exercise as Tanker Crew, but this time, it will be a more meaningful as I will go there as a Fighter Crew who will fly the F/A-18D combat aircraft. This will be the most valuable experience in my career after I joined the RMAF 16 years ago, he said. The Pitch Black exercise, hosted by RAAF, will assist its air force personnel to practice Offensive Counter Air (OCA) and Defensive Counter Air (DCA) combat in a simulated war environment.  New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
North Korea has sent another senior official to visit Beijing and started dismantling key missile facilities as it continues its push to ease UN sanctions and boost its economy.

Ryu Myong-son, a deputy director at the international affairs department of the Workers Party of Korea, arrived in Beijing on Monday, state media reported, amid Pyongyangs ongoing efforts to strengthen its economic ties with its one and only ally.

No details of Ryus itinerary were disclosed, but he was likely to discuss ways to enhance bilateral economic cooperation, a South Korean parliamentary source said, without further elaboration.

The Norths Korean Central Television reported on Monday that Ryu was visiting Beijing, on his way to Guinea, South Korean news agency Yonhap said.

The visit coincided with a US sanctions enforcement notice that highlighted Washingtons concerns about possible breaches of the UN embargo.

The advisory note issued on Monday night urged the international community to stay aligned with the current UN sanctions regime, with the State Department saying: The international community cannot let up on pressure until the DPRK denuclearises.

It highlighted evasion tactics used by North Korea that could expose businesses  including manufacturers, buyers and service providers  to sanctions compliance risks.

It added that goods, services and technologies manufactured in North Korea may be listed as being made in other countries.

Last week Beijing promised to uphold the sanctions after a report by a UN committee highlighted possible breaches by a number of countries.

Satellite images released by the North Korea monitoring group 38 North on Monday suggest that North Korea appears to have dismantled its key Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) facilities at Sohae, its main satellite launch facility.

The images taken on July 20 and 22 suggest that North Korea has begun dismantling the two major facilities at the site; the rail-mounted processing building where launch vehicles are assembled, and the rocket engine test stand where liquid-fuel engines are developed.

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The US has been pushing North Korea to unilaterally dismantle its nuclear arsenal, but many observers believe it is unlikely to do so in the short term.

However, analysts argued that dismantling its main satellite launch facility may be a well-planned strategy to draw Washington to accept its phased and synchronised approach to denuclearisation  the two sides have yet to agree on what the term means  and win support from Beijing for easing the UN sanctions regime.

Gu Gab-woo, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said the North was taking preliminary measures, aimed at inducing reciprocal measures from the US side  Easing the sanctions and declaring the official end of Korean war sits at the top of Pyongyangs list.

Gu noted that the primary US concern was the Norths ICBMs, which could strike targets on the American mainland.

It is also sending a message to Beijing to further strengthen economic ties by illustrating its goodwill on denuclearisation, Gu added.

As the North Korean economy is heavily dependant on China, Beijing must ease its sanctions first for Pyongyang to achieve its economic ambitions.

Pyongyangs drive to prioritise its economic development comes as a report by the Souths central bank last week estimated that the Norths gross domestic product contracted 3.5 per cent in 2017 compared with the previous year.

Zhao Tong, a fellow on the nuclear policy programme at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Centre for Global Policy in Beijing, said while North Korea was unlikely to fully denuclearise in short-term, its will to prioritise economic development seems sincere, and Pyongyang is using multiple tactics to achieve this goal.

North Korea could now demand reciprocal actions from the US to normalise its relations and to establish a peace treaty, Zhao said, adding it was cleverly implementing strategies to keep Washington at the negotiating table.

At the same time [Pyongyang] is sending a message to Beijing and Seoul. Its goal is to show that Pyongyang is committed to denuclearisation so as to induce economic support from the neighbouring countries, especially Beijing, he added.

This article Senior North Korean official visits China as Pyongyangs drive to get sanctions lifted continues first appeared on South China Morning Post

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(Yahoo News Singapore file photo)

The National Environment Agency (NEA) will regulate additional fuel quality parameters and additives in petrol and diesel in its bid to tackle air pollution.

All petrol and diesel sold at petrol stations and other authorised outlets will have to comply with the new limits come 1 July next year, said the agency in a press release on Tuesday (24 July).

These limits will be introduced on methanol, methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT), phosphorus and fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) additives, which have negative effects on the environment and public health.

Methanol produces toxic substances such as formaldehyde, which is a carcinogen, while manganese and phosphorous damage catalytic converters in petrol vehicles leading to higher emissions over time, said the NEA.

The authority added that FAME may increase the emission of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from diesel vehicles, which in turn increases the risk of respiratory infection in humans and reacts with other compounds to form ozone.

(SCREENCAP: NEA)

Related Singapore story:

NEA offers $3,500 incentive to de-register older motorcycles over next five years


Taiwan accused China of dragging sport into politics Tuesday after a multi-million-dollar international youth event due to be held on the island next year was suspended. It comes as Beijing ramps up military and diplomatic pressure on self-ruling democratic Taiwan, which it sees as part of its territory to be brought back into the fold. According to Taiwan sports officials, members of the East Asian Olympic Committee (EAOC) voted in a meeting in Beijing Tuesday to revoke Taichung city's right to host the first-ever East Asian Youth Games in 2019. Taiwan voted for the games to continue as planned, while Japan abstained. The other members of the committee -- China, South Korea, North Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, and Mongolia -- voted for the suspension, according to Taiwanese officials. Taiwan's presidential office said the EAOC had made the "wrong decision" and accused China of bullying. The Taichung city government expressed indignation, saying it had already invested Tw$670 million ($21.9 million) to build facilities for the games. The decision comes a day after gay rights activists in Taiwan accused China of pressuring organisers of the Gay Games to bar the island's national flag at next month's competition in Paris. China is particularly sensitive to Taiwan's use of names, emblems and flags at international events. These sensitivities -- backed up by Beijing's clout on the world stage -- mean Taiwan is forced to compete as "Chinese Taipei" at the Olympics and a host of other international sports competitions. Taiwan's Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee said Tuesday it believed the axing of the youth games was linked to Beijing's anger over a campaign by NGOs and some leading local athletes for a referendum on whether the island should join the 2020 Tokyo Olympics under the name "Taiwan", not "Chinese Taipei". The EAOC and the Olympic Council of Asia were not immediately reachable for comment. Relations between Taipei and Beijing have deteriorated since President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan's independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party took office two years ago, as her government refuses to recognise the island as a part of "one China". Beijing has cut off official communication with Tsai's government. Under pressure from Beijing, a growing number of international airlines and companies have recently changed their website classifications of Taiwan to "Taiwan, China" or "Chinese Taipei". China has also poached four of Taiwan's few remaining official diplomatic allies since Tsai came to power.
Leaders of the BRICS emerging economies -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- will meet in Johannesburg this week, with the threat of a worsening global trade war topping the agenda. US President Donald Trump's hardening stance has compounded fears of an all-out trade war after he slapped levies on goods from China worth tens of billions of dollars as well as tariffs on steel and aluminium from the EU, Canada and Mexico. Russian President Vladimir Putin, China's President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the annual three-day summit starting in Johannesburg on Wednesday. Xi held talks with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Pretoria on the eve of the gathering, saying that "the Johannesburg summit has special significance for BRICS cooperation in the new circumstances." China on Monday sharply rejected accusations by Trump that it was manipulating the yuan to give its exporters an edge, saying Washington appeared "bent on provoking a trade war". Trump has said he is ready to impose tariffs on all $500 billion of China imports, complaining that China's trade surplus with the US is due to unfair currency manipulation. Russian Economy Minister Maxim Oreshkin said last week the Johannesburg meeting is "about the context -- we are at a time when the US and China announce new measures almost every week". He said much of the discussions with China would likely focus on what is happening with the United States. "This is a trade war, so leaders' discussions are particularly important in coordinating our positions," said Oreshkin. - A unifying cause? - Sreeram Chaulia, of the Jindal School of International Affairs outside Delhi, said BRICS leaders would "concur that the US has unleashed punitive trade wars that are hurting all the BRICS members". "They have a collective interest in promoting intra-BRICS trade. The urgency this time is greater," he said. The BRICS group, comprising more than 40 percent of the global population, represents some of the biggest emerging economies, but it has struggled to find a unified voice -- as well as achieving sharply different growth rates. Analysts say US trade policy could give the group some renewed momentum. "Trade agreements between associations of countries like BRICS have become increasingly important given the self-seeking, and ultimately short-sighted, barriers to trade that are being instigated by the US," Kenneth Creamer, an economist at Johannesburg's Wits University, told AFP. "South Africa, and Africa more broadly, can benefit from increasing exports to fast growing countries like India and China. BRICS has the strategic potential to re-shape world trade." The trade war risk also dominated a meeting of Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers at the weekend in Buenos Aires, while International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde again spoke out against the tit-for-tat tariffs. Xi arrived in South Africa after visiting Senegal and Rwanda as part of a whistlestop tour to cement relations with African allies. Signalling diplomatic rivalry over influence in Africa, India's Narendra Modi is visiting Rwanda and Uganda on his own five-day tour of the continent including the BRICS summit. Several African leaders will attend a "BRICS outreach" programme on Friday, including Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Joao Lourenco of Angola, Macky Gall of Senegal and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda. Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan will also attend a summit as the current chair of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Erdogan will reportedly meet Putin on the summit's sidelines. burs-mgu-bgs/rl
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley addresses a United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York FILE PHOTO: U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley addresses a United Nations General Assembly meeting ahead of a vote on a draft resolution that would deplore the use of excessive force by Israeli troops against Palestinian civilians at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump came into office disparaging the United Nations and appointed politician Nikki Haley as the ambassador to carry out his disruptive agenda, but she has also shown Trump how the world body serves his purposes, specifically on North Korea.

The U.N. Security Council's unanimous adoption of tougher sanctions three times last year that put pressure on Pyongyang to enter talks on scrapping its nuclear weapons programme is the example Haley gave Trump in a phone call in June.

In an interview with Reuters, Haley recalled telling Trump: "We would not be in the situation we are with North Korea without the U.N. because that was the only way to get the international community on the same page."

The United States and other countries believe the sanctions helped to bring North Korean leader Kim Jong Un around to meeting with Trump at an historic summit in Singapore in June.

Haley said Trump asked her what she thought of the United Nations, then 17 months into her post and after the United States became the first country to quit the U.N. Human Rights Council. She said she rattled off a litany of complaints.

"Unbelievably bureaucratic, it wastes a lot of money, it has some real biases against Israel, against us at times, it ignores a lot that's going on that needs attention."

Haley's relay of their phone call illustrates how she guides the president who shuns the international forums and pacts the United States has helped build over decades. When Trump took office, he called the U.N. "just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time."

Some diplomats have said they see the former South Carolina governor as the stable face of U.S. foreign policy. When Trump leaves them confused, some say they look to her for interpretation.

"My job is to give clarity to everything the administration's doing so that no one wonders where we are. I always wanted to make sure there was no gray. That it was black and white," Haley said in the interview during a trip last month to India, the country from which her parents emigrated to the United States.

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Richard Gowan, a U.N. expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations, described Haley's job as selling the "administration's anti-U.N. positions to the public."

"That annoys other diplomats," Gowan added.

RUSSIA TENSIONS

Haley has long taken a tougher public stance on Russia than her boss. In May she described Russian expansionism in Ukraine as "outrageous" and said the U.S. position "will not waver."

Days later, however, Trump urged the Group of Seven countries to reinstate Russia, booted out for its 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

Two weeks before Trump's July 16 summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Haley told Reuters that "basically what the president is saying is it's better for us to have communication than not."

But then the summit turned into a nightmare for the White House when Trump, at the joint news conference, sided with Putin's denials of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election rather than the conclusions of his own intelligence agencies.

A political outcry in Washington drowned out Trump's message that the two nuclear powers should improve their relations, which are at a post-Cold War low.

Haley has not responded to Reuters' requests for comment on the summit.

Differences over Russia also caused rare public friction for Haley within the administration when she announced in April that Washington was going to sanction Moscow over its support of Syria's government. Trump then decided not to go ahead.

"The president has every right to change his mind, every right," Haley said. Trump never raised the incident with her, she said.

Her U.N. counterparts describe her as charming and yet very tough. She sees herself as a fighter.

"I don't see (my role) as pushing an 'America First' policy, I see it as defending America because every day I feel like I put body armour on. I just don't know who I'm fighting that day," Haley said.

Haley carved out a high-profile role within the Trump administration from the moment she was offered the job, telling the president she would only accept it if she was made a member of the Cabinet and the National Security Council.

"She's got an eye and ear for where the politics of an issue are," said a senior Western diplomat, who, like all those consulted at the United Nations, would only speak on condition of anonymity.

Those kinds of instincts have helped put the 46-year-old mother of two on the list of possible Republican presidential candidates. She dismisses the presidential chatter and said it has never come up with Trump, who intends to run again in 2020, "because he knows he doesn't need to raise it."

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Mary Milliken and Grant McCool)
Haitians migrants wait to make their way to the U.S. and seek asylum at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in Tijuana, Mexico, July 15, 2016. REUTERS/Jorge Duenes/File Photo

By Nate Raymond

BOSTON (Reuters) - A federal judge in Boston on Monday rejected a bid by the Trump administration to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that its decisions to end temporary protections for immigrants in the United States from Honduras, Haiti and El Salvador were racially motivated.

U.S. District Judge Denise Casper in Boston ruled that a group of immigrants and two organizations could move forward with a lawsuit challenging the administration's termination of the protective status enjoyed by thousands of people from those three countries.

She said the lawsuit's allegations about "statements of animus" by officials including President Donald Trump coupled with claims about a shift in policy "allege plausibly that a discriminatory purpose was a motivating factor in a decision."

The lawsuit cited statements it said showed Trump's "dislike and disregard for Latino and black immigrants," including reported remarks in January by Trump saying immigrants from Africa and Haiti come from "shithole countries."

"Plaintiffs have successfully made out their prima facie case," Casper wrote.

The U.S. Justice Department, which represented the administration in court, had no immediate comment. It had argued that the courts lack jurisdiction to review the decisions at issue.

Temporary protected status, or TPS, offers protection from deportation to immigrants already in the United States, including those who entered illegally, from countries affected by natural disasters, civil conflicts and other problems.

The Trump administration has shown a deep skepticism toward the temporary protected status program and has moved to revoke the special status afforded to thousands of immigrants from El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua and Sudan.

About 400,000 immigrants from countries designated for temporary protected status live in the United States, including 262,500 from El Salvador, 58,550 from Haiti and 86,000 from Honduras, according to the lawsuit.

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In May, the Department of Homeland Security said it would end temporary protections for Hondurans in January 2020. Haitians and Salvadorans are set to lose their special statuses in July 2019 and September 2019, respectively.

The lawsuit was filed by 14 immigrants from those three countries and two non-profit organizations, Haitian-Americans United and Centro Presente.

The complaint contends the administration's actions violate the U.S. Constitution's equal protection and due process provisions.

"The judge in this case made clear that TPS recipients have viable constitutional claims and that they deserve a day in court," said Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal, the executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice, which represented the plaintiffs.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond; Editing by Sandra Maler and Lisa Shumaker)
The United Arab Emirates hailed the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea on Tuesday for reaching a landmark peace deal as the two met in the UAE capital. The UAE has close ties with the East African neighbours and, along with Gulf powerhouse Saudi Arabia, helped broker the historic rapprochement that ended decades of enmity. Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan called the peace agreement a "bold and historic step" that opens "new horizons for cooperation and joint coordination". The move would help "enhance security and stability in the Horn of Africa and the wider region", Sheikh Mohammed wrote on Twitter, after awarding Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki the UAE's highest civil order. Recent rivals Ethiopia and Eritrea signed an agreement in Asmara on July 9 to restore ties, ending decades of conflict. Eritrea was once part of Ethiopia and comprised its entire coastline on the Red Sea until it voted for independence in 1993 after decades of bloody conflict. A row over the demarcation of the shared border triggered a brutal 1998-2000 conflict, which left 80,000 people dead before evolving into a bitter cold war. In a surprise move, Abiy last month announced he would finally accept a 2002 United Nations-backed border demarcation, paving the way for peace between the two nations. In recent years Eritrea has strengthened ties with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which has reportedly built a military base at the strategic southern port of Assab used in its operation in Yemen. The two Gulf countries also maintain close ties with Ethiopia and in June the UAE pledged $3 billion in aid to Addis Ababa. Just prior to the signing of the peace deal, Isaias made a foreign trip to the UAE in early July. The UAE has for years been pushing to boost its economic presence in Africa, seeking to outdo Gulf rival Qatar in its investment and influence.
Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee, who claimed he was kidnapped by Chinese agents in 2015 for selling books critical of the authorities, said a businessman pulled out of their plans to open a bookstore in Taiwan over fears that his mainland Chinese business would suffer.

Lam said the Hong Kong businessman, whom he declined to name, told him last month that he felt pressure over opening the bookstore with him.

He did not elaborate, and he did not even have to. He has business in the mainland, and I believe that he was concerned his business there would suffer, Lam said in a phone interview on Monday.

The businessman added he was being probed by some people on their plans to open the store in Taiwan, Lam said. But the businessman again declined to offer details.

Lam, formerly the store manager of Causeway Bay Books, was caught at the centre of a storm that gripped Hong Kong in 2015.

In that year, five associates of the bookstore and the Mighty Current publishing house started to disappear one after another.

Gui Minhai vanished from Thailand in October. Lam, Cheung Chi-ping and Lui Por went missing from the mainland in the same month, and Lee Po disappeared from Hong Kong in December.

Their disappearances sparked fears that they had been kidnapped by Chinese agents because their companies specialised in gossip about Chinas leadership.

All five later reappeared in custody on the mainland, claiming they had gone there voluntarily.

Lam returned to Hong Kong in June 2016 and claimed that he was kidnapped by Chinese agents at the border and put through eight months of mental torture.

The bookseller has said publicly since his return to Hong Kong that he wanted to open a bookstore in Taiwan as a symbol of resistance against the Chinese authorities.

Taiwan is a self-ruled island, but China considers it a breakaway Chinese province, to be reunified by force if necessary.

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Lam said on Monday that the Hong Kong businessman first approached him near the end of 2016 through mutual friends, saying that he was interested in opening a bookstore with him in Taiwan.

I have visited Taiwan many times to look for locations to open the bookstore, Lam said. But thats fine. I understand he is under pressure not to go ahead with the plan.

Lam said he could continue to look for partners to open the bookstore with him.

The businessman had not told Lam how much he could commit to the bookstore. Lam said he believed the man wanted to set up shop in Taiwan because he wanted to eventually emigrate there.

Since his return to Hong Kong, Lam has appeared at numerous pro-democracy protests in the city and has spoken about his encounters at overseas forums.

I have been very careful these days wherever I go. But nothing bad has happened to me so far, he said.

Of the five booksellers, Gui is the only one who remains on the mainland.

In February, the Ministry of Public Security confirmed that it had detained Gui. The ministry said Gui was detained on suspicion that he had leaked secrets abroad.

Human rights activists have challenged the authorities claims, questioning how he could have obtained such documents. They have called on the authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Gui.

This article Unnamed businessman pulls out of Taiwan shop deal with Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018.
The United States and Australia have signed an agreement that will enable the two allies to conduct research and development to advance their combined cyber capabilities, officials said Tuesday. Nowhere "is the need for innovation more critical than in cyber, which continues to be a pervasive threat to our militaries and to our businesses," Australian Defence Minister Marise Payne said at a US-Australian summit in California. US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the two countries had signed a memorandum of understanding "to deepen cybersecurity cooperation." The move comes amid ongoing hacking thefts of sensitive information from military networks, and Russia's continued attempts to subvert democracy in America and elsewhere. On a separate topic, an Australian reporter asked Mattis whether he thought the Australian navy should conduct a so-called "freedom of navigation" operation to challenge Chinese claims of sovereignty on militarized islets in the South China Sea. The longstanding issue poses a dilemma for Canberra, with Australian lawmakers debating how much the country should align itself with its longstanding ally America, or pay more heed to the desires of China, its biggest trade partner. "As far as freedom of navigation decisions by Australia, that's a sovereign decision by a sovereign state," Mattis said. "We'll just leave that decision with the people of Australia, which is exactly where it belongs." US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Australian counterpart Julie Bishop also attended the annual summit. Pompeo was asked about US views of holding Russia to account over its role in the 2014 shootdown of Malaysia Airlines flight MH-17 over Ukraine, when 298 people, including 38 Australian citizens and residents, were killed. "We need the Russians to continue to be held accountable for that," Pompeo said. "We take this matter seriously and we committed over these last two days, as we have for the last months, to continue to support every effort through the Joint Investigative Team to hold the perpetrators for this heinous activity accountable."
US Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday called on embattled Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega to put a stop to months of deadly unrest that has left nearly 300 people dead and call early elections. "State-sponsored violence in Nicaragua is undeniable. Ortega's propaganda fools no one and changes nothing," Pence said on Twitter, putting the death toll at "350+" and placing blame on the government. "The US calls on the Ortega government to end the violence NOW and hold early elections  the world is watching!" On Monday, the 72-year-old Ortega told Fox News that he planned to serve out his term until 2021 despite protester calls for him to step down after three months of violence in the central American country. "To move up the elections would create instability, insecurity and make things worse," Ortega said. The unrest began in April as a protest movement over a pension reform that has since been dropped. But that anger mushroomed into a broad campaign against Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, who are accused by critics of running a corrupt left-wing dictatorship.
HANOI (Reuters) - The death toll from floods and landslides triggered by tropical storm Son Tinh rose to 27 on Tuesday, and seven people are still missing, the government's Disaster Management Authority said.

With a long coastline, Vietnam is prone to destructive storms and flooding, with 389 people killed last year in natural disasters such as floods and landslides, according to government statistics.

Though tropical storm Son Tinh weakened to a tropical depression by the time it reached Vietnam last week, the torrential rains it brought caused heavy flooding and landslides in many parts of northern Vietnam. Some areas in the outskirts of the capital Hanoi remain submerged.

The remote mountainous province of Yen Bai has suffered the heaviest casualties in the latest floods and landslides, with 13 people reportedly killed, 18 injured and four missing, the disaster management agency said in a statement.

The floods and landslides have also damaged and submerged more than 12,000 houses, more than 90,000 hectares (222,395 acres) of crops, mostly paddy, and cut off traffic to several parts of northern Vietnam, the agency said.

Last month, heavy rains triggered flash floods and landslides which killed 24 people in the remote and mountainous northern provinces of Lai Chau and Ha Giang.

The agency urged the authorities and people to keep vigilant for more floods and landslides over the coming days.

According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, heavy rain is forecast to continue in the northern part of the country until early August.

(Reporting by Mai Nguyen and Khanh Vu; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
By Susana Vera

LA ESTRELLA, Spain (Reuters) - For more than 30 years, Juan Martin Colomer and his wife Sinforosa Sancho have lived alone in a village in Spain's eastern highlands that once had more than 200 inhabitants.

"Everyone has gone, we are the fools who have stayed," laughed Sinforosa, who turned 85 this month, sitting on the steps of a pink-fronted building that was once the local boys' school.

"We have always lived like this. When it's cold, we make a fire. We sleep under blankets. You are here, you have chickens, rabbits, the land, and you manage," she said.

Nestled in a valley in the northeastern Aragon region, where pollen drifts over pine trees that have gradually spread across the formerly arable land, the village is at the centre of a creeping population desert.

Residents began abandoning these rural towns and villages to seek work in cities when the civil war ended in 1939, leaving behind an area twice the size of Belgium that is set to become the least populated in the European Union.

There are fewer than eight inhabitants for every square kilometre, and those who remain are ageing, a drastic sample of a society where across Spain deaths outpaced births last year at the fastest rate since records began in 1941.

Juan Martin and Sinforosa's son Vicente was the last child to live there, and he had to go to school in a nearby village after the local teacher left and his school closed.

"If there are no children, there is no life," said Juan Martin, 84.

The pair live on a pension of around 1,200 euros ($1,400) a month between them. They keep rabbits and hens for meat and eggs, and drive to a nearby town to buy other food which they cook on a butane stove or their open fire.

Until 10 years ago they relied on oil lamps for the rare occasions they needed artificial light, but now they have solar panels to provide electricity.

"We have never had a telephone line, and there is only a mobile signal in the cemetery," Sinforosa said.

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Neither misses society, and despite owning a house in nearby Villafranca, they only go there to visit Vicente and his family.

"We have grown up in solitude and we like it," said Juan Martin, but he does not expect anyone will want to live as they do in the future. "La Estrella will die out with us."

For the Reuters Wider Image picture essay, click on: https://reut.rs/2LHNbqJ

($1 = 0.8523 euros)

(Writing by Isla Binnie; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
Australia has gone from being a country that once welcomed immigrants to a world leader in treating refugees with brazen cruelty.

The fifth anniversary of depositing people in misery and suffering on isolated Pacific islands at the cost of a billion dollars a year should be viewed with outrage, said Elaine Pearson, Australia director at Human Rights Watch.

Soon thereafter, Australia signed agreements to resettle people at Manus in PNG and on Nauru. Since then, Australia has forcibly transferred 3,172 people, most of them refugees, to camps on those islands at a cost of more than $5 billion. About 1,600 remain: 750 men in PNG, and 850 men, women, and children on Nauru.

SYDNEY On 19 July 2013, then Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd announced that any asylum seeker who arrives in Australia by boat would have no chance of being settled in Australia as refugees.

Australian officials have called the policy harsh but effective, and some European Union leaders have suggested following Australias lead and processing asylum seekers offshore.

But the cost to human lives of these policies demonstrates that Australia is no role model for Europe or anywhere else, Human Rights Watch said.

In a new video by Human Rights Watch, refugees and asylum seekers on Manus and Nauru describe the last five years as living in a hellish legal limbo marked by great uncertainty about their future.

The indeterminate and seemingly unending detention apart from loved ones has exacerbated depression, anxiety, and PTSD among people who have often fled atrocities and repression.

A man, a woman, and a 14-year-old girl set themselves on fire in separate instances on Nauru. Six people have killed themselves, and dozens more have tried.

Sudanese refugee Abdul Aziz Adam, held on Manus Island for nearly five years, tells Human Rights Watch: The current situation on Manus Island is just like hell. Since we have been forcibly removed from the former detention centre, until now nothing has changed.

Things are just getting worse and worse, day after day. We have lost so many guys due to negligence and lack of proper health care. We have multiple numbers of refugees who are suffering severely from mental health issues.

Since November 2017, when the authorities closed the main centre on Manus Island, officials forcibly relocated refugees and asylum seekers  all men  to three other centres in the vicinity of the main town of Lorengau.

This has heightened tensions with the local community. Local men have beaten and robbed the refugees. Since June 2018, a 12-hour curfew has been imposed on the refugees and asylum seekers in violation of their freedom of movement, following a car accident in which an allegedly drunk refugee killed a local woman.

This month, the United Nations refugee agency observed a high level of tension and further deterioration in the mental health of refugees and asylum seekers on Manus Island.

Australias only plan for ending this suffering has been a resettlement deal to send some refugees to the United States. But progress has been slow, with only a few hundred going to the US so far  and the US saying it will not take everyone. Australia has repeatedly rejected offers by New Zealand to take some of the refugees.

The Australian government should immediately transfer the men, women, and children on Manus and Nauru to Australia or to safe third countries and end this harmful practice of offshore processing once and for all, Human Rights Watch said.

Sending asylum seekers offshore doesnt free Australia of its obligations to these people, Pearson said. The past five years of this cruel policy should be fixed by transferring them and future arrivals to safe locations in Australia and abroad.
The Associated Press

LONDON, UK  Britains slow move away from the European Union took a new twist Sunday as the new Brexit chief suggested that Britain might not pay its 39 billion pound ($51 billion) divorce bill if no trade agreement with the European Union is reached.

Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab told the Sunday Telegraph that there must be conditionality between Britain making the hefty exit payment and its ability to create a new relationship with the EU.

May also interest you: Inspector warned duck boat company of design flaws last year

You cant have one side fulfilling its side of the bargain and the other side not, or going slow, or failing to commit on its side, he said, implying that the threat of withholding payment might get Brexit talks back on track.

Britain and the EU remain far apart on terms of a new trade setup. British Prime Minister Theresa Mays Conservative Party is also deeply split over what Brexit policy to support. Raab replaced David Davis, who resigned two weeks ago to protest Mays soft Brexit plan.

May has faced a substantial rebellion from party colleagues who favor a complete break with the EU  a so-called hard Brexit  rather than Mays proposal, which calls for a common rule book with European nations that would govern trade in goods.

EU negotiator Michel Barnier is also lukewarm on Mays latest proposal, asking many questions about its viability Friday. Raab, however, says he is still hopeful a deal can be concluded by October so the EU parliament and national parliaments of EU nations can ratify the deal before Britain leaves in March.

Actually the fact Michel Barnier is not blowing it out the water but asking questions is a good positive sign  thats what we negotiate on, Raab said, looking forward to more Brexit discussions Thursday in Brussels.
Sarah el Deeb | Aron heller

BEIRUT, LEBANON.- The Israeli military in coordination with its U.S. and European allies evacuated hundreds of Syrian rescue workers known as the White Helmets from near its volatile frontier with Syria, in a complex and first-of-a-kind operation.

The evacuees, who were hemmed in from one side by advancing hostile Syrian troops and from another by militants affiliated with the Islamic State group, were transported to Jordan, from where they are expected to be resettled in Europe and Canada in the coming weeks.

Tambien te puede interesar: New UK Brexit chief: We may not pay exit fee if no deal

Jordans Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said 422 White Helmets volunteers were evacuated, instead of the initial 800 cleared for the operation.

Israels military said the overnight operation was an exceptional humanitarian gesture at the request of the United States and European allies due to an immediate threat to the (Syrians) lives.

It posted a video online showing its soldiers handing out water bottles to the evacuees. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a separate video statement, said U.S. President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and others had asked him to help evacuate the groups members.

These are people who saved lives and whose lives are now in danger. I authorized bringing them through Israel to other countries as an important humanitarian gesture, Netanyahu said.

Britain said the operation was possible due to the joint diplomatic efforts, hailing the efforts of the White Helmets volunteers to save lives in opposition areas.

Jeremy Hunt, U.Ks foreign secretary, called the successful evacuation fantastic news, and thanked Israel and Jordan in a tweet for acting quickly following the request. The White Helmets, he said, are the bravest of the brave and in a desperate situation this is at least one ray of hope.
This is a re-post from Climate Denial Crock of the Week

I really enjoyed interviewing Wind Developer Marty Lagina. Marty came from an Oil and Gas background, hes an engineer  but he has seen the opportunity in wind, and lately, solar development, around Michigan.

I asked him to address a common bugaboo that windbaggers bring up about renewable energy  the existence of subsidies.

My take is that just about every thing that we identify as part of modern America, starting with the Erie Canal in 1821, got a boost from a public/private partnership.

And, Marty correctly notes that fossil fuels still receive enormous amounts of government funds.

Climate Change News:

The study found that the worlds seven major industrial democracies spent at least $100 billion (70 billion) a year to prop up oil, gas and coal consumption at home and abroad in 2015 and 2016 despite their pledge to end fossil fuel subsidies by 2025. While France topped the overall ranking, the UK scored the fourth lowest score out of seven and the US was last. The data analysed does not cover the Trump administration. Shelah Whitley, head of the climate and energy programme at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and lead author of the report, told DeSmog UK the research found that all G7 countries had increased their support for fossil fuel exploration since countries committed to limit global temperature rise well below two degrees under the Paris Agreement in 2015. Describing the finding as shocking, she added: Increased support for fossil fuel exploration is one of the most egregious activities that countries can be doing and directly counters their pledges under the Paris Agreement. Yet, they are still doing it. Scientists have previously warned that more than 80% of global coal reserves, half of all gas reserves and more than a third of the worlds oil reserves had to stay in the ground to prevent dangerous global warming of more than two degrees. Co-author Ivetta Gerasimchuk, from the International Institute for Sustainable Development, said: G7 governments committed to phase-out fossil fuel subsidies back in 2009, but since then have made very little progress.

Below, Marty points out Winds key advantage over Natural Gas.
What do soybean farmers have in common with Stormy Daniels? Theyre being paid to keep quiet after getting screwed by Donald Trump. The administration announced Tuesday that it will provide $12 billion in temporary aid to agricultural producers who have been swept up in the presidents widening trade war.

Trumps trade policies have faced especially harsh criticism from farmers, as countries like China and Mexico have retaliated against the administrations aggressive use of tariffs by placing their own taxes on U.S. agricultural exports, including soybeans, dairy, pork, and more. The new bailout package is presumably meant to hush some of those complaints by providing a lifeline to producers whose overseas sales are imperiled. The government is pursuing a three-part scheme in which it will pay farmers directly, buy excess food, and use trade promotion efforts to open up additional foreign markets. As the Washington Post reports, it is being pitched as a specifically short-term effort, intended to keep farmers afloat this harvest season until what officials predicted would be a successful conclusion to trade negotiations.

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The plan will not require any new money from Congress. Instead, the administration intends to tap the Department of Agricultures Commodity Credit Corporation, a program created during the Great Depression that can borrow up to $30 billion to keep farmers financially afloat. This idea has already drawn fire from farm-state Republicans, whove argued that Trump would be better off avoiding the tit-for-tat tariff battles in the first place. Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts told the Washington Post in April that he had seen the CCC misused in the past, and that while he wouldnt oppose Trumps plan, he was unsure how it would work. I dont know what kind of cockamamie scheme that we could come up with that would be fair, that would be at least somewhat responsible, Roberts said.

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Nebraskas Ben Sasse was a bit more colorful today. This trade war is cutting the legs out from under farmers and White Houses plan is to spend $12 billion on gold crutches, he said. This administrations tariffs and bailouts arent going to make America great again, theyre just going to make it 1929 again. Further condemnation came from Iowas Chuck Grassley, who reportedly dismissed the aid as a government handout. Alaskas Lisa Murkowski, meanwhile, reportedly thinks other industries set back by tariffs, including her states seafood industry, get the short end of the deal: What about the manufacturing sector? What about the energy sector? The oil and gas industries?

These complaints might be a bit more compelling if congressional Republicans were willing to take anything other than symbolic action to reduce Trumps authority on trade. But so far, that hasnt happened. Instead, Trump is free to stoke a trade war and throw money at farm interests in Wisconsin and Iowa to deal with the blowback. Tariffs. Theyre the greatest.
South Sudan wasnt always a war zone. When it achieved independence from Sudan in 2011, the new nation was lauded as a beacon of hope, a testament to a decadeslong struggle for freedom, midwifed with the blessing of the U.S. and other world leaders. But that idealism was dashed two years later, when the nation plunged into civil war. The war has since killed tens of thousands and caused millions more to flee the country. Now, five years into the conflict, the U.N. has done what many wanted at the outsetimpose an arms embargo. But questions remain about how effective the measure will be.

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South Sudans people have endured unimaginable suffering and unspeakable atrocities. Their leaders have failed them, said U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley at the U.N. Security Council meeting where the U.S.-drafted resolution narrowly passed on July 13.

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The war has pitted forces loyal to President Salva Kiir against those loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar, both former military commanders involved in the Second Sudanese Civil War. Although Kiir and Machar have used ethnic appeals to mobilize their forcesthey hail from the countrys Dinka and Nuer ethnic groups, respectivelythe conflict has more to do with political and economic disparities heightened by weak institutions and self-interested leaders. In five years, the war has turned the oil-rich nation into a battleground, marred by mass murder, rape, and the recruitment of child soldiers. It has produced Africas largest refugee crisis since the Rwandan genocide, with nearly 2.5 million South Sudanese fleeing to neighboring countries and hundreds of thousands internally displaced.

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Human rights groups have called the embargo long-overdue. We wish actually that it had come earlier, said Joan Nyanyuki, a regional director at Amnesty International, because of the extent and the protracted nature of the conflict and the effect that it has on human rights violations.

South Sudan is awash in guns. And its not just government and opposition forces in possession of weapons. Dozens of armed groups operate throughout the country, ranging from civilian militias to rogue factions of the national army. Nearly 600,000 small armssuch as rifles, pistols and AK-47swere in the hands of civilians in 2016, according to Khristopher Carlson of Small Arms Survey, who monitors weapons flows to Sudan and South Sudan. Many of the small arms are Chinese and Israeli weapons, said Carlson. But its often unclear how the guns reach the country, how long theyve been there, and who pockets the money. (The manufacturing country may not have sold directly to South Sudan.) One thing is clear: The weapons must pass through neighboring countries to reach the landlocked nation.

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So the embargo depends heavilyif not completelyon the cooperation and ability of neighboring countries to monitor their borders. That includes Uganda and Sudan, which have long used South Sudan as a battleground for a proxy war, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, whose border with South Sudan is porous.

The AU has got to play a critical role, said Scopas Poggo, a professor at Ohio State University. Because we know that internationally, when an arms embargo is imposed, people try to find loopholes. They try to find ways to go around it.

The African Union was involved in South Sudans independence, creating a panel to monitor the referendum vote and facilitate negotiations with Khartoum. But its response to the war has been less muscular than some South Sudanese had hoped. The AU has threatened sanctions but has yet to impose any.

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The embargo hurts Kiirs government, which has stockpiled sophisticated weapons, more than Machars opposition, which relies on the black market and is mostly limited to rifles. But high-tech weaponry isnt necessary to wreak havoc.

Raping women and burning villages and recruiting child soldiersthis is done by groups that are pretty weak and underfunded, said Noel Stringham, a professor at Wheaton College. So Im not so sure that an arms embargo will limit those kinds of atrocities.

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Why the U.S. didnt push for a U.N. arms embargo at the outset of the war, when it could have made a stronger statement, puzzles some experts. The idea was overruled by Obamas National Security Adviser Susan Rice, a longtime South Sudan advocate. And it was made improbable by another factor: Ugandas military intervention early in the war, when it sent troops to help the government push the opposition out of the capital city, Juba. The international community was secretly grateful to the Ugandans for coming to Kiirs aid and wasnt keen to impose an arms embargo that would prohibit Ugandan troops from continuing to provide military support to Juba, according to Alex de Waal, a professor at Tufts University who served on the AU High-Level Implementation Panel for Sudan.

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Even if the U.S. had called for an embargo, there was no guarantee of passage in the Security Council. When the U.S. did eventually push for a U.N. arms embargo in 2016, the resolution failed to garner the nine votes needed to pass.

Now, five years into the conflict, the embargo comes at a delicate political moment: Kiir and Machar have been in peace talks since June over a controversial power-sharing agreement. The talks are expected to produce little more than a cease-firefar from a guarantee of peace in a country that has seen multiple cease-fires fall apart, some within hours. South Sudans ambassador to the U.N. has argued that the embargo could derail the talks by emboldening the opposition to back away from a deal.

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Meanwhile, the violence continues. A U.N. report released in early July found that government forces and allies had went on a violent rampage in the northern part of the country, killing at least 232 people and raping as many as 120 women and girls. And Kiir is clinging to power.

South Sudans parliament recently voted to extend his term until 2021.

Its hard to feel optimistic about much in South Sudan, said Carlson. I think that its really incumbent upon the leadership in South Sudan to make some changes. The embargo by itself wont bring peace to South Sudan.
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, who is running for re-election, has come under fire for attending an event at a Chicago church where a political ally also running for office handed out more than $200,000 to attendees, according to Politico.

On Sunday, Rauner spoke to a church on Chicagos South Side, where he declared, Were honored to help you pay your property taxes.

After Rauner left the church, Willie Wilson, a Republican challenging Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, distributed stacks of cash and checks to people inside.

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Some of the money, Wilson told Politico, came from his foundation, and around $100,000 of it came from Rauner.

Rauners campaign manager told Politico that Rauners comments about paying property taxes were about his work with Wilsons foundation and not about the cash handout that followed his speech. On Monday, Rauner criticized Wilson for handing out the cash and insisted that he did not know of Wilsons plan. His campaign spokesman relayed the criticism to Politico:

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Governor Rauner has supported the Willie Wilson Foundation to help people hurt by the rigged property tax system in Cook County. He was not aware that any cash was going to be handed out at the event. The governor respects Dr. Wilsons philanthropic pursuits, but believes distributing cash is inappropriate for any candidate seeking public office.

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He told the Chicago Tribune that he had come to speak at Wilsons request and that he wouldnt approve of Wilson handing out the $100,000 he had given to his foundation at a campaign event. He told the Tribune that if any of his donations had been handed out, he would ask for his money back:

Doing assistance for property tax payments for people who got checked and went through a process and got their name vetted and they got checksthat was a proper process. Thats what I was told my money went for and Im fine with that. I did it last year. I did it this year. And Id do it again next year. It has nothing to do with electioneering.

The state elections board concluded afterward that Wilson had not violated election law, as the money had come from his foundation and not the campaign, according to the Tribune. A campaign spokesman for Wilson told the Tribune that Wilson had given the money to members of the congregation to help them cover the cost of their property taxes as part of his foundation work, and not to buy their votes.
On Sunday, Donald Trumps view of Russian election meddling was that it was a hoax. Today, its I know you are, but what am I:

Im very concerned that Russia will be fighting very hard to have an impact on the upcoming Election. Based on the fact that no President has been tougher on Russia than me, they will be pushing very hard for the Democrats. They definitely dont want Trump!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 24, 2018

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While the overall message is self-serving and misleading, some of what Trump says here is true. The Trump administration has been tough on Russia. It has passed new sanctions on numerous oligarchs and officials over human rights violations, election meddling, and Russias conflict with Ukraine. It expelled dozens of Russian diplomats over the poisoning of a former Russian spy in Britain. Administration officials, notably U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, have strongly criticized Russia for backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and helping North Korea evade sanctions. The Trump administration has, in contrast to the Obama administration, agreed to send lethal aid to the government of Ukraine, albeit with some restrictions.

And nearly all these moves, according to extensive reporting and sometimes the presidents own public statements, were undertaken despite Trumps extreme reluctance. To take just one example, after the expulsion of the diplomats in March, Trump was, according to the Washington Post, furious that his administration was being portrayed in the media as taking by far the toughest stance on Russia. Of course, hes more than happy to take credit for toughness when it suits his purposes.

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Well have to see if that extends to backing the latest round of sanctions legislation coming through the Senate in what seems like a direct response to his chummy summit with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki.

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As for whether Russian bots and trolls could back Democrats in the upcoming election, its quite possible! And plenty of experts have predicted it could happen. After all, Russias political project in the United States was probably never to promote long-term Republican dominance; it was to sow discord and paralysis. Just as it has in Russia for years, the Kremlin was allegedly often willing to back two sides of the same fight in the United States, promoting rallies by supporters and opponents of Trump, for example, or Black Lives Matter activists and white supremacists.

But we dont need these facts to determine whether Putin wanted Trump to win: Putin said he did.
Last week, four members of an advisory council to the Department of Homeland Security resigned over the Trump administrations policy of separating children and their parents at the U.S. border. In announcing their resignation, they called the policy morally repugnant, counter-productive and ill-considered. One of the people who left the council was Elizabeth Holtzman, a Democratic former congresswoman from New York City, who served in the 1970s and early 1980s. During her career in Congress, she worked on a number of issues that have once again become relevant: She was the co-author of the crucial Refugee Act of 1980, which ensured American laws met international standards on the admission and treatment of refugees; she helped pass legislation to denaturalize Nazi war criminals; and she served on the House Judiciary Committee during Watergate.

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I recently spoke by phone with Holtzman, who is currently a practicing lawyer in New York City. During the course of our conversation, which has been edited and condensed for clarity, we discussed her own career in immigration, where the Obama administration went wrong on the issue, and how cruelty toward immigrants is part of a conscious strategy.

Isaac Chotiner: What did this advisory council do, and why were you on it in the first place?

Elizabeth Holtzman: [Obama DHS] Secretary [Jeh] Johnson appointed me. I didnt ask for that. He asked me to be on it, I guess because of my experience as chair of the immigration subcommittee, my experience with refugees, my having been a member of Congress. But you would have to ask him why he wanted me on there. Anyway, it was a very interesting assignment, and the advisory council did, I think, some very important work. It was assigned issues to write reports on. That was one of the things it did. It met with the secretary from time to time on various issues. But it wrote some very important reports on cybersecurity, private prisons.

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Do you have some sense of why the people who have stayed havent left, and if more departures are imminent?

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I cant answer that.

How different are this administrations immigration policies, generally, from what we have seen over the past several decades?

I think their approach to immigration is to make war on refugees and to make war on immigrants. Thats what I think they are doing. They are cutting down refugee numbers, and picking up undocumented aliens who have lived here for a very long time. They say that undocumented immigrants who live here hurt Americans, but when you remove the breadwinner from a family, and there are American-citizen children, who is being hurt? Their program is not only inhumane and cruel, but is in entirely illogical. How does this make Americans better off? Its a level of cruelty that is unimaginable and despicable, with no recognition of the contribution that immigrants have and will make to this country. Somehow the idea that if we just got rid of all the undocumented aliens, and we stopped refugee admissions, and we didnt allow anyone to immigrate to this county anymore, then we would be great is such nonsense. Immigrants built this country, whether they were brought here voluntarily or involuntarily.

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Do you get a sense that the actual purpose of these policies is to be cruel and create a sense of fear? Or do you think

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Thats what [White House chief of staff] John Kelly said. I was at some briefings, and I think the briefings were supposed to be confidential, so I am not going to give what happened at these briefings, but the tone was horrific. And I countered them with these examples of how they were hurting American citizens by their behavior, and they would deny things that were obviously true. The approach was much more punitive, cruel, vicious, heartless, ruthless, and harmful to the United States of America than the preceding policy. I didnt agree with the vast number of deportations that were taking place under the Obama administration, so I cant say that they were a shining beacon of humanity and enlightenment, but they werent infected with this level of cruelty.

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Why did the Obama administration deport that many people? You obviously know Secretary Johnson. Was it simply to get a deal for comprehensive immigration reform, which of course never happened?

Toward the end they developed standards so that they were focusing on people who had committed felonies, and you cant really object to that. They could be felonies that were very old; thats a different story. But people who remained a threat to the communitythats what they began to focus on in the last few years, and thats when I was on the advisory council. But that doesnt mean that their initial focus was correct.

I think their approach to immigration is to make war on refugees and to make war on immigrants.  Elizabeth Holtzman

I didnt get a chance to interface very much on those policies, but I did express my opinion. I dont really know what was behind those policies, but I can give you one example of how they tried to ameliorate some of the problems. One of the things I suggested to a number of people in DHS was to use the example of the orderly departure program that we had from Vietnam [following the Vietnam War], that I helped to initiate, which is that people could leave without having to go into little boats, without having to face the perils of the open sea.

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Most of the exodus that took place was by boats and it very dangerous and perilous for people who fled that. I said that one of the things that could be done here is to develop an orderly departure program from some of the people from the Central American countries whereby people can request asylum in those countries. And they started a program. I was never able to ascertain how effectively it was implemented or seriously it was implemented, but that could avoided a lot of heartache.

What did the Refugee Act of 1980 aim to accomplish, and how much of what it did accomplish is now at risk?

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First of all, the irony is that it was not controversial when it was adopted. It was not. The point of the Refugee Act was to create a level playing field for refugees seeking admission to the United States. Before that act, we had various kinds of programs, but they were aimed primarily at people who were fleeing communist countries and there wasnt a regular program. Both Sen. [Ted] Kennedy and I wanted to establish the notion that a refugee could be someone fleeing a country that wasnt a communist country. You could have persecution or torture, even though it wasnt a communist country.

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And the second thing was that we wanted to regularize a program of admissions so that there would be numbers available for refugees to come to this country. So that we would be admitting refugees to this country every year. We wanted to do that. We understood that was a role we wanted to play, that the United States wanted to play, that we would be seen as a country that had a heart. The Statue of Liberty wasnt just some French gift that nobody paid attention to: It was something that spoke to us in a very deep way. And so thats what we did. Was it the worlds most perfect bill? I cant tell you, but that was the objective. Both of us understood what happened during World War II. The Holocaust was part of the background of this, and we were part of witnessing the boat people flight. And that was an impetus to say: Lets put this program on a proper footing.

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Now the administration is both cutting down the number of refugees and making border stations where people are supposed to be able to apply for asylum almost impossible to access, right?

Correct. Its a violation, I think, of our law, if not in words then in spirit, and the treaty obligations of the United States. This is the kind of thing we were berating countries about during the boat exodus. I know. I was there. I dealt with these foreign governments. I talked to some of the people running these countries in Southeast Asia begging them not to send the people back. To hold them. And they did because thats when the United States showed leadership in a problem. It wasnt to just force people back into the inferno. The U.S. basically organized the world to figure out a solution to this problem. And it did. It got all the countries right around Vietnam to agree not to throw those people back into the waters, and we agreed that we would work out with other countries permanent resettlement.

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But we are not there anymore. Not only do we want to turn our eyes from, but we want to throw refugees out. We dont care about the humanitarian crisis. We dont care about whats happening in Central America to force these people out. We dont want to acknowledge our role in making that happen. We overthrew the government in Guatemala. In Honduras and El Salvador, we were part of propping up dictatorships. And now we just want to turn our back.

Any Watergate thoughts before I let you go?

What about Watergate.

I dont know. What comes to mind?

Id like to see this president out of office is what comes to mind.
On June 27, self-identified Democratic Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defeated powerful Democratic incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley in a New York City primary. Soon after, Fox News host Sean Hannity posted an ostensibly horrifying graphic about Ocasio-Cortezs radical positions that became a viral phenomenon because it was, with some exceptions, a straightforward list of inoffensive general principles and economic policies:

Sean Hannity just presented this agenda as a negative pic.twitter.com/mYoByIRyr5  Andrew Lawrence (@ndrew_lawrence) June 28, 2018

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In the time since her primary win, Ocasio-Cortez has been using her newfound prominence to campaign for leftist Democratic candidates across the country. On Tuesday, Fox went inadvertently viral again with a clip of Ocasio-Cortez, taken at a Friday rally for a Kansas candidate named James Thompson, threatening ominously to engage in further activism on behalf of the idea that working people should live in decent conditions:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: "We will not rest until every person in this country is paid a living wage to lead a dignified life." pic.twitter.com/6u73x2kyVI  FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) July 23, 2018

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On Wednesday morning, it happened again, in a Fox interview of a conservative Daily Caller writer whod attended an Ocasio-Cortez event in Missouri for House candidate Cori Bush:

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Heres the germane part of Krutas answer:

They talk about things that everybody wants, especially if youre a parent. They talk about education for your kids, health care for your kidsthe things that you want. And if youre not really paying attention to how theyre going to pay for it  its easy to fall into that trap and say my kids deserve this and well maybe the government should be responsible for helping me with that. I was mostly uncomfortable because I was surrounded by a group of people who were talking about how they had gotten involved because they were tired of being angry all the time. It seems like so much effort to be angry about everything instead of to focus on what you can do to change it.

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Why does this keep happening? One reason might be that what Ocasio-Cortez and other Democratic socialists like Bernie Sanders are advocating is not actual socialism in the sense of the government taking over businesses on behalf of the worlds workers. Universal free college is an extension of existing public education principles, just as Medicare for All, under many definitions of the term, would expand an existing system of government payments to private health care providers. The $15 minimum wage movement involves a mechanism that has existed since 1938 to regulate Americas predominately private employers. Regulating or even breaking up too-big-to-fail banks are ideas that have more than a century of precedent in American government.

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As writers like Eric Levitz and Sean McElwee have been pointing out in exasperation for years, these kinds of ideaswhich involve supplementing, not replacing, a system of individually autonomous free enterprise to ensure that its participants can all live a dignified life are not just popular with communist revolutionaries but with the U.S. population as a whole. (As is the idea of financing those improvements by taxing the rich, an idea that does not seem especially impractical or unfair when the rich just got a trillion-dollar debt-financed tax cut.) One way to look at whats happening in the Democratic Party right now is that its not necessarily becoming something radically new as much as that its going through a course correction to once again become the party of the New Deal. (Even more overtly socialist concepts like jobs guarantees are resonant with FDR-era programs like the Works Progress Administration.)

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Heres a section of Krutas Daily Caller piece that also seems relevant:

I watched as both Ocasio-Cortez and Bush deftly chopped America up into demographics, pointed out how those demographics had been victimized under the current system, and then promised to be the voice for those demographics. The movement, Ocasio-Cortez shouted, knows no ZIP code. It knows no state. It knows no race. It knows no gender. It knows no documented status. Bush, after saying her piece, noted that she had been careful to allow speakers from across all demographics to make it clear that she was not running to represent just one particular group, but all.

Here you can see Kruta reaching for the familiar right-wing critique of Democrats as being divisively obsessed with identity, a talking point that has been unfortunately resonant with many voters who dont seem to realize that Trump-style shithole countries nationalism is its own form of identity politics. But Krutas own description of the rally undermines her point, making clear that Ocasio-Cortez (who faced unconvincing allegations that shed played cheaply to identity in her own primary) and Bush went out of their way to emphasize the ways in which their conception of a fair society has something to offer for people of differing racial and cultural backgrounds. Moreover, as Krutas comments in the Fox segment indicate, the ideas being promoted are constructive, rather than simply being expressions of elitist resentment or anger.

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The right-wing media seems to believe that Americans have been so conditioned by Soviet-era revulsion to the broad concept of socialism that theyll reject anything Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez say that can be labeled as such. But these Democrats arent proposing that every decision at a small business must be OKd by a committee of Marxist college professors who want to be paid $100,000 a year to work 10 hours a week. Theyre talking about the parts of socialism that Americans might like, and theyre doing it in a way that emphasizes work rather than entitlement and puts common interests ahead of cultural divisions. It doesnt seem like a bad strategy!
Ivanka Trump said Tuesday that she is closing her fashion brand because it has become too difficult to navigate the ethics rules in place to avoid a conflict of interest while working for the White House, according to the Wall Street Journal.

After 17 months in Washington, I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business, but I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington, Trump told the Journal. So making this decision now is the only fair outcome for my team and partners.

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The full picture of the brands financial state is not public, but it appears the apparel sales fell after a sizable boom during the 2016 presidential election.

Some part of that decline can likely be attributed to decisions by several retailers to stop selling her products. Nordstrom Inc. and Hudsons Bay both discontinued the brand, citing poor sales, possibly in part due to a boycott of Trump clothing by some shoppers. Neiman Marcus Group and T.J. Maxx also said they would scale back the products or change their display.

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Speaking to the Journal, a spokesman for Trump said the decline is primarily due to the unusually high sales right after her fathers election.

Trump stepped back from the running of the company after she joined the White House, but she continued to profit from the company, leaving her, like others in her family with complex business relationships, a White House role, and many potential conflict of interests.

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Financial disclosure forms filed in June showed that the trust that controls her clothing brand brought in more than $5 million in income for her in 2017.

Since Trump joined her fathers administration, the brand has twice raised questions of ethical violations. In February 2017, after Nordstrom dropped Trumps label, the president angrily tweeted that his daughter was being treated so unfairly. White House adviser Kellyanne Conway followed his ethically dubious complaint with her own White House ethics rule violation by going on Fox & Friends with a defense of the brand. Im going to just give it a free commercial here, she said. Go buy it today, everybody. You can find it online.
A Los Angeles police officer was responsible for shooting and killing a Trader Joes employee during Saturdays hostage crisis, the police department announced Tuesday.

On Saturday afternoon, an armed manidentified as 28-year-old Gene Atkinsburst into a Trader Joes in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles after crashing a car outside the store during a police pursuit. Police allege that earlier Atkins had shot his grandmother at her house and kidnapped and injured his girlfriend. Atkins grandmother, who was shot seven times, has had multiple surgeries since Saturday, and her condition is unknown. The unnamed young woman removed from Atkins crashed car is in fair condition.

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During the chaotic three-hour standoff, police surrounded the Trader Joes and exchanged gunfire with the suspect. Several people were able to flee the store immediately when Atkins entered, and other customers walked out with their hands up during the hostage situation. Some employees escaped by climbing out a back window on a chain ladder.

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The stores manager, identified as Melyda Corado, was shot and killed when she stepped into the parking lot as officers exchanged volleys of fire with Atkins.

Some have questioned the LAPDs decision to engage in a firefight with the gunman in the busy shopping center. According to Police Chief Michel Moore, approximately 40 people were in Trader Joes when Atkins entered it. In addition to the one death, six peopleranging in age from 12 to 81were hospitalized following the standoff, the spokeswoman for the L.A. Fire Department said; all of them were in fair condition. (Atkins was also wounded in the confrontation with police.)

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How are police deciding to open fire in a packed place, in the afternoon, on a Saturday? asked Jesse Palmer, a neighbor of Corados. Its not like its an empty lot. Its not like its an abandoned warehouse. What sort of protocol is required before you shoot into an area thats congested and booming with commerce?

Officers and experts have countered that firing on a suspect with innocent bystanders around is an extremely difficult but sometimes necessary decision. According to Sid Heal, a retired Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department commander and use-of-force expert, There is no easy answer. Heal noted that Atkins posed a clear danger to officers and bystanders. We try to have a clear field of fire, but obviously the suspect has a substantial, even a decisive, advantage if we dont return fire, he said.

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Geoff Alpert, a criminology professor at the University of Southern California and an expert on the polices use of force, told the Los Angeles Times that these situations are inherently fraught. Its one of those lose-lose situations, Alpert said. Unless you can walk away with no one else getting injured or killed, theres going to be someone criticizing something.

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LAPD chief Moore acknowledged that the officers decision to use force was controversial. Those officers actions to stop him, the split-second decisions they had to make, I recognize how they will forever go through their lives debating whether that was what they had to do, Moore said on Tuesday. I believe its what they needed to do in order to defend  the people in that store and to defend themselves. Moore also mourned Corados death, calling her familys pain unimaginable.

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L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, who has met with Corados family, called Saturday a dark day for the family of Melyda Corado. In his statement, Garcetti affirmed his commitment to shedding light on what transpired during the crisis. Melydas loved ones are entitled to answersand Angelenos deserve complete transparency in understanding the full circumstances of her death, he said.

Atkins has been arrested on murder, attempted murder, and kidnapping charges. Although he was not the one who fired the fatal shot, Atkins may still face homicide-related charges for Corados death under Californias provocative acts doctrine. This statute holds a defendant responsible if the victims death was the natural and probable consequence of the defendants provocative act, even if he was not the one to kill the person.
Earlier this month, the Internal Revenue Service took a major step to make the world of political dark money even darker. Now, the state of Montana is working to turn the lights back on, filing a lawsuit seeking to reinstate a rule that requires dark-money groups to report their largest donors to tax authorities.

Dark-money groups are entities that can receive unlimited contributions from corporations and individuals and that are not required to disclose their donors identities to the public. Among these are Section 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations such as the Koch brothers Americans for Prosperity and the Trump-connected America First Policies. Election-related expenditures by these groups exploded after a 2007 Supreme Court decision struck down a provision of the bipartisan McCainFeingold Act that had limited dark-money spending.

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Although dark-money groups are not required to disclose their donors to the public, a federal regulation dating back to 1971 requires all organizations that are exempt from taxes under Section 501including 501(c)(4) groupsto report the names and addresses of their substantial contributors to the IRS each year. A substantial contributor includes any individual or corporation that gives more than $5,000 to the organization. By law, this information is open to inspection by state tax authorities for the purpose of administering state tax laws.

But in a sharp break from past practice, the IRS announced on July 16 that 501(c)(4) groupsand most other tax-exempt organizations aside from 501(c)(3) charitieswill no longer be required to report the names and addresses of their substantial contributors to the service.

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Thats where the state of Montana has stepped in. Montana, perhaps more than any other state, has witnessed the pernicious effects of unregulated political spending. Gilded Age mining baron W.A. Clark won one of the states U.S. Senate seats by spending hundreds of thousands of dollars bribing state lawmakers. (In his own defense, Clark famously said, I never bought a man who wasnt for sale.) The Anaconda Copper Mining Company, a firm affiliated with the Rockefeller family, dominated the state Legislature throughout the first half of the 20th century. In light of its history, Montana has an especially strong interest in protecting the few remaining limits on money in politics.

Why did the IRS act so hastily to eviscerate a rule that had applied to 501(c)(4) groups for nearly a half-century?

On Tuesday, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat, announced that he and the states tax agency are suing the IRS in federal court to block the new policy (called a revenue procedure) from taking effect. (Full disclosure: I served as an informal adviser to Montana in its preparation of the lawsuit.) According to the complaint, the states tax agency relies on information collected by the IRS when making its own tax-exemption determinations, and the revenue procedure will therefore make it harder for the state to verify the representations of organizations seeking tax-exempt status. (Indeed, reporting by ProPublica indicates that a conservative 501(c)(4) group that is active in Montana politics may have misled tax authorities about the identity of its major donor when it sought tax-exempt status.) The lack of contributor information will also make it harder for Montana tax authorities to learn whether tax-exempt organizations are being used by major donors as piggy banks in order to avoid state income tax obligations.

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The revenue procedure of the IRS, moreover, is legally flawed in at least two ways. First, a 1946 federal law, the Administrative Procedure Act, requires agencies to give the public an opportunity to comment before promulgating, modifying, or repealing a substantive rulesuch as a rule that imposes binding legal obligations on private parties. The new IRS policy should qualify as a substantive rule under that provision of the APA.

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The 1971 regulation imposed a binding legal obligation on 501(c)(4) groups and other tax-exempt entities to furnish the IRS with a list of their substantial contributors names and addresses. That means that this months revenue procedurewhich effectively amends the 1971 regulation by exempting tens of thousands of organizations from the substantial-contributor-reporting requirementis a substantive rule subject to the Administrative Procedure Acts notice and comment provisions. The IRS did not follow that process when it issued the revenue procedure.

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Second, the Supreme Court has held that an agency must supply a reasoned analysis before it promulgates, modifies, or repeals a substantive rule. This requirementknown as the State Farm doctrinestems from the Administrative Procedure Acts prohibition on arbitrary and capricious agency action. The agencys reasoned analysis must demonstrate that its decision was based on a consideration of the relevant factors and that the agency has not entirely failed to consider an important aspect of the problem.

The IRS revenue procedure flunks that standard too. For starters, the IRS gave no consideration at all to the interests of state tax authorities who might need access to name and address information in order to administer their own state laws. It also gave no evident thought to the interests of other federal authoritiesincluding the Justice Department and the Federal Election Commissionthat are responsible for enforcing the ban on election-related contributions by foreign nationals.

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Perhaps the IRS will answer that it was justified in its laserlike focus on the enforcement of federal tax laws, to the exclusion of state tax laws and other federal laws. But that answer would be less than persuasive. For example, the IRS says in the revenue procedure that it does not need personally identifiable information of donors  in order to carry out its responsibilities. But one of the agencys statutory responsibilities is to ensure that the activities of 501(c)(4) organizations serve the interests of the community rather than the interests of the individuals who run and fund those groups. To that end, federal law imposes sanctions on so-called disqualified persons who derive an excess benefit from their transactions with 501(c)(4) organizations, and whether or not someone is a substantial contributor to a 501(c)(4) group is one of the factors that determines if she is a disqualified person. How can the IRS enforce the excess-benefit rule if it doesnt know whom the rule covers?

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So why did the IRS act so hastily to eviscerate a rule that had applied to 501(c)(4) groups for nearly a half-century? For one thing, it faced heavy pressure from conservative activists: The Koch brothers Americans for Prosperity group, among others, had urged President Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to make the change. And because the IRS moved quickly through a revenue procedure instead of waiting for public comments, its new policy can take effect for tax year 2018which means that millions of dollars can pour into midterm races without the names and addresses of donors being reported.

The federal district court in Great Falls, Montana, which now has the states lawsuit, should set aside the IRS revenue procedure and send the agency back to the drawing board. To be sure, a comprehensive solution to the dark-money phenomenon requires legislation, and the Senate so far has declined to take up a bipartisan proposal that would mandate that 501(c)(4) organizations disclose their significant donors if they intervene in electoral campaigns. In the meantime, Montanas lawsuit is one of the few efforts that can stop the world of dark money from going pitch-black.
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In November, North Carolina voters will have an opportunity to approve six constitutional amendments proposed by the states Republican-dominated Legislature. These amendments range from silly to atrocious, and a majority are designed to prevent the states Supreme Court and Democratic governor from protecting voting rights. But voters may have little idea what any of the amendments do, because Republicans have hatched a plan to give themselves the power to write the ballot language without any input from Democrats.

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The North Carolina GOP decided to alter the state constitution for a few reasons. First, they hoped to drive up Republican turnout by tossing some red meat to the base. Second, they want to stop Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper from expanding access to voting rights by stripping him of his constitutional authority to oversee state elections. Third, and relatedly, they want to prevent the left-leaning state Supreme Court, and the rest of the judiciary, from striking down GOP-sponsored voter suppression laws. (A federal appeals court struck down Republicans previous voter ID law, ruling that it appeared to target African Americans with almost surgical precision.)

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North Carolina Republicans machinations do not reflect any particular political or legal philosophy.

To achieve these goals, Republicans put forward two proposed amendments that target the franchise. The first compels voters to show ID before casting a ballot but does not explain what kinds of ID are necessary and what exceptions might apply. (Legislative Republicans will fill in those details if voters approve the amendment.) The second would prohibit the governor from appointing commissioners to the powerful state elections board, instead giving that task to legislative leaders. It would also require the board to be made up of four Democrats and four Republicans. Currently, the governor is constitutionally empowered to appoint a majority of commissioners from his own party. The amendment, then, would create a perpetually deadlocked election board with no power to expand suffrage under Democratic governors.

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A third amendment would give the Legislature authority to whittle down the list of nominees whom the governor could appoint when a judicial vacancy arises. (Republicans have already shrunk the size of the state Court of Appeals to prevent Cooper from filling several vacancies.) A fourth caps the state income tax at 7 percent. (Its already below 6 percent and scheduled to continue falling.) A fifth creates a constitutional right to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife. And a sixth provides rights to crime victims and their families.

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That last amendment, known as Marsys Law, is almost as dangerous a threat to civil liberties as the voter suppression proposals, though it draws more bipartisan support. Bankrolled by billionaire Henry Nicholas, the Marsys Law campaign attempts to enshrine victims rights in state constitutions. But as the American Civil Liberties Union has explained, these measures undermine due process, limiting the ability of the accused to obtain evidence proving their innocence and develop their defense at trial. If this amendment passesand it probably willthe legal presumption of innocence will be turned upside down.

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But Marsys Law, much like the hunting and income tax amendments, is not the centerpiece of the GOPs constitutional revisions. The amendments stripping Cooper of his power and implementing voter ID are the heart of this scheme, and Republicans are determined to pass them by any means necessary.

That includes lying to voters about what the new laws would do. In 2016, the GOP Legislature passed a bill governing the summaries of constitutional amendments that appear on the ballot. These summaries, known as captions or titles, are vitally important, because they introduce many voters to the proposals for the first time. That 2016 law tasked a three-member panelthe attorney general, the secretary of state, and the legislative services officerwith writing the captions. At the time, the composition of this panel wouldve skewed 21 Republican.

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Just months later, though, Democrat Josh Stein won the state attorney generals race. The secretary of state is still Elaine Marshall, a seemingly unbeatable Democrat who has served since 1996. Only the legislative services officer, Paul Coble, is a Republican. Now that Democrats have a 21 edge on the panel, Republican House Speaker Tim Moore has decided that they might misrepresent and politicize the captions. So Republican leadership took the highly unusual step of calling a special legislative session to change the 2016 law before ballots are printed and give themselves authority over the phrasing of the amendments. Its quite unusual for a Legislature as a whole to determine ballot titles, which do often tilt the outcome of elections. Many states rely on nonpartisan commissions or election officials to draft this language. Regardless, North Carolinas unorthodox new bill is sailing through the Legislature.

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Republicans have already proffered their preferred captionsand, unsurprisingly, they are highly misleading. The election board amendment, if passed, would seize an immense amount of power from the governor. But youd never guess that from the GOP caption, which speaks vaguely of clarify[ing] the appointment authority of the Legislative and Judicial Branches. The amendment shrinking the governors ability to fill judicial vacancies is framed as implement[ing] a nonpartisan merit-based system. A voter with little background knowledge of these measures might assume that they tinker with the administration of elections and the judiciary. She would never guess that they fundamentally overhaul the balance of power between the branches of government, aggrandizing the Legislatures authority at the expense of the governor, and at the expense of citizens right to vote.

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But thanks to a racial gerrymander that has been ruled illegal, Republicans hold a supermajority in both houses and will likely override Coopers inevitable veto. It will fall on voters to educate themselves about the amendments before they go to the polls, and to spread the word that, however benign they might seem, these proposals represent yet another effort to slash the governors power in pursuit of disenfranchisement.

Republicans may also have an ulterior motive for reconvening in a special session. The state GOP has engaged in extensive maneuvering to prevent Democrat Anita Earls from winning a seat on the state Supreme Court in this Novembers election. Republicans hoped that multiple Democratic candidates would challenge the Republican incumbent, potentially splitting the vote. While no liberal challenged Earls, a Democrat, Chris Anglin, switched his party registration at the last minute to run as a Republican. Now its looking like the GOP vote could get split, giving Earls a clear path to victory.

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On Tuesday, however, Republican Senate Leader Phil Berger announced that the Legislature might seize upon the special session to pass a law targeting judicial candidates who changed their party registration before filing. The obvious goal of this measure is to keep Anglin out of the race as a Republicanyet another transparent attempt to keep Earls off the bench. (Its unclear whether such a move would be legal, and Anglin could fight it in court.)

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The whole mess is giving civil liberties advocates flashbacks to the states last legislative coup, in which the GOP tried to commandeer the governors control over elections, only to be blocked by the state Supreme Courts Democratic majority. Sarah Gillooly, director of political strategy and advocacy for the North Carolina chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, told me on Tuesday that the states legislative leaders have an ugly and well-documented history of seeking to restrict voting rights for some of our states most marginalized voters. The new amendments, if passed, could disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of qualified voters who are disproportionately black, rural, working class, disabled, or elderly, Gillooly said. And in November, thanks to deceptive ballot captions, voters might not even understand that they are authorizing this electoral power grab.

North Carolina Republicans machinations do not reflect any particular political or legal philosophy. Rather, theyre the work of a party thats desperately trying to undermine equal access to the ballot in order to entrench itself in power. When raw power is all that matters, democracy becomes dispensable. And unless voters become invested in the battle over the state constitution, North Carolina will continue its descent into one-party rule.
The first responsibility of the president of the United States is to protect the country from foreign aggression. But Donald Trump cant fulfill that responsibility, because he believes that any acknowledgment of foreign interference in the 2016 election would threaten his legitimacy. That diagnosis of the presidents mental incapacity may sound harsh, but it isnt coming from the presidents critics. Its coming from his own party.

On Sunday, congressional Republicans fanned out on TV to deliver a common message. Ordinarily, such messages aim at a broad audience. This time, they targeted a single viewer: Trump. Sen. Lindsey Graham, Sen. Marco Rubio, and Rep. Trey Gowdy spoke directly to the president, often looking into the camera and occasionally pleading with him by name. They staged a collective intervention, begging him to understand that Russian interference could be true even if collusion by Trumps campaign wasnt.

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On Face the Nation, Graham expressed dismay over Trumps refusal, at a July 16 press conference in Helsinki, to affirm U.S. intelligence that Russia interfered in the election:

I think the president gets this confused. If you suggest that Russians meddled in 2016, he goes to the idea that, Well, I didnt collude with them. You didnt collude with the Russians, or at least I havent seen any evidence. But, Mr. President, they meddled in the elections. They stole [John] Podestas emails. They hacked into the DNC. It could be us next. It could some other power, not just Russia. Harden our electoral infrastructure for 2018. Mr. President, Dan Coats is right. The red lights are blinking.

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Graham offered this as a defense of Trumps kowtowing before Vladimir Putin. Its a less damning explanation than kompromat or treachery, but its still damning. A president who cant separate his innocence from Russias, even after a year and a half in officeand who has to be implored to listen to his national security team and prepare for the next attackis clearly unfit to protect the country. To get Trump to care about the attacks, Graham has to warn him that Russia could target us, the GOP, next time. Thats an implicit acknowledgment that Trump doesnt care about foreign attacks, as long as they favor him.

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Gowdy, speaking on Fox News Sunday, made the same case. He lamented Trumps equivocation about Russias role in the election:

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There is no way you can listen to the evidence and not conclude, not that the Democrats were the victims, but the United States of America were the victims. We were the victims of what Russia did in 2016, and it ought to be a source of unity and rallying around the fact that we are never going to allow this to happen again, and were going to punish those who try to do it.

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Gowdy went on to explain the roots of Trumps hostility toward the Russia investigation. He concluded with a plea to Trump: It is possible to conclude that Russia interfered with us and it still does not delegitimize your presidency. Thats where I would encourage the president to go.

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Gowdys main points were identical to Grahams. First, the president was having great difficulty separating his interests from Russias. Second, Russia had attacked not just Trumps domestic opponents, but the whole United States. Gowdys plea that the attack ought to be a source of unity in confronting and punishing Russia was an indirect affirmation of Trumps failure to respond to the attack as an American, rather than as a partisan.

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Rubio, appearing on State of the Union, offered a similar defense. Trump views any sort of admission of Russian interference as admission of collusion, the senator argued. This, he explained, clouds Trumps ability to acknowledge Russias indisputable interference. Likewise, Rubio lamented the presidents failure to separate FBI surveillance of Carter Page, Trumps former foreign policy adviser, from surveillance of Trump himself:

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This is not Trump-related. Even before the campaign, [Page] went around the world bragging about his connections in Russia. So they [the FBI] knew who he was before the campaign. Then you see the guy kind of gravitating around a leading campaign, and then other things came up on their screen. And they say, Weve got to look at this guy. And thats what the FISA application sort of lays out. By the Trump campaigns own admission, Carter Page was not a big player in their campaign. I dont believe that them looking into Carter Page means they were spying on the campaign.

Rubio seemed baffled by Trumps insistence on attacking the FBIs surveillance of Page.

Even after 18 months in office, Trump reflexively defends anyone who has been monitored, accused, or prosecuted as part of the Russia investigation. He cant distinguish his innocence from the innocence of the people around him, no matter how tenuous the connection. On Monday morning, despite Rubios best efforts, the president was at it again:

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So we now find out that it was indeed the unverified and Fake Dirty Dossier, that was paid for by Crooked Hillary Clinton and the DNC, that was knowingly & falsely submitted to FISA and which was responsible for starting the totally conflicted and discredited Mueller Witch Hunt!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018

Trumps enemies on the left have long speculated about his peculiar behavior around Putin and the Russia investigation. Some say Trump simply admires strongmen. Others think hes compromised by video recordings of sexual or excretory acts. Others suspect that hes indebted to, or has been involved in money laundering for, Russian oligarchs. But the alternative explanation, the one on which Republican lawmakers openly agree, is bad enough: Trump sees any accusation against Russia as an accusation against himself. No one who thinks that way can faithfully serve as president of the United States.
An astonishing number of tent fires have struck the homeless in Los Angeles Skid Row, a section of the citys downtown industrial district that for decades has been a symbol of Americas homelessness epidemic.

Skid Row has weathered 81 tent fires so far this year, up from 59 last year, according to the L.A. Downtown Industrial District Business Improvement District, a local nonprofit. More than 4,600 people live in Skid Row, an area that spans about 50 city blocks and is known for its tent cities.

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Some of the fires are intentional, while others are caused by cooking or drug-related accidents. Six people have been injured this year, although no deaths have been reported, according to the Washington Post.

Despite the rise in tent fires, it remains difficult to press charges. People dont want to cooperate as a witness, Los Angeles police captain Marc Reina told the Post.

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That may be because the recent uptick in fires has been linked to retaliation from gangs as well as to domestic violence, according to Estela Lopez, executive director of the Industrial District Business Improvement District. There are a number of drivers, but its all based on the fact that the sidewalks are not where people should live, Lopez told Slate. There is a lack of enforcement by the city, but theres no lack of enforcement by the gangs. Theyre the ones who are enforcing in this area. Theyre the ones who are extracting a price if you dont do what they say. And the fires are an outgrowth of that.

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Fires arent the only hazard that comes with life on Skid Row. The homeless have been harassed and exploited by gang members involved in drug and sex trafficking, according to police. Past crackdowns by police have also caused conflict in the neighborhood. A federal judges injunction in 2011, which was upheld in court, barred police from seizing property without reasonable belief it is abandoned, evidence of a crime, or an immediate threat to public safety.

Skid Row isnt the only site of tent encampments in Los Angeles. More than 53,000 people are homeless in the county. To tackle its homelessness problem, the city is constructing shelters and affordable housing with a $1.2 billion bond measure that voters approved in 2016. The mayors deputy chief of staff, Matt Szabo, told the Post that the city is waiting until more shelters are up and running before it enforces the municipal code that prohibits daytime tent encampments.

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Tent fires dont just hurt the areas residents; they can also harm nearby businesses. Last year, a seafood warehouse on Seventh Street was damaged in a fire.

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The city has been criticized in the past for being slow to respond to fires on Skid Row, in contrast to its quick response to a fire at a homeless encampment in the wealthy Bel-Air neighborhood.

Lopez called on the city to act before the fires lead to fatalities. There are people on the sidewalk who are frightened and intimidated because of these fires, she told Slate. There are business owners in the area who are having their fire insurance rates either increased or in some cases canceled because of this. This is no way to run a city.
We still dont know the full extent of the damage done to thousands of undocumented families by the Trump administrations separation policy, but we are getting a clearer picture of the absolute menace and sheer incompetence driving the White Houses immigration policy. The latest twist, revealed in a court filing Monday, is that the U.S. government believes that potentially hundreds of parents that were forcibly separated from their children have already been deported without their children.

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The Trump administration said [-] that 463 parents of migrant children are no longer present in the United States, indicating that the number of mothers and fathers potentially deported without their children during the zero tolerance border crackdown could be far larger than previously acknowledged, the Washington Post reports. The progress report to U.S. District Judge Dana M. Sabraw cautioned the 463 cases are under review, meaning the filing was not a definitive tally of all migrant parents who have been deported while their children remain in U.S. government shelters.

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The Trump administration is operating under a Thursday deadline, imposed by Judge Sabraw, to reunite families and give greater clarity about how many children have been left behind by deportations and how many families have yet to be reunified. According to Mondays filing, 879 parents have been reunited with their children so far, nearly double the reunifications that had occurred going into the weekend, and another 538 parents have been cleared and are waiting for transportation. Mondays filing included no additional explanation [about the potential deportations], but the government is scheduled to brief the court Tuesday afternoon about its progress in the reunification effort, and will probably provide more details about the whereabouts of the 463 parents, according to the Post. Their numbers amount to nearly one-fifth of the parents who were potentially separated from their children before Trumps June 20 executive order halting the practice.
Former U.S. intelligence officials James Clapper and John Brennan have criticized Donald Trump for relentlessly and petulantly insisting that the hackers who stole and leaked Democratic Party emails during the 2016 campaign may not have been Russian. On Monday, Republican Sen. Rand Paul (whos a frequent critic of the U.S. intelligence apparatus in general) scored some points with Trump by suggesting that Brennans continuing security clearance should be revoked because he is monetizing it by, I guess, appearing on cable news to criticize the president, as if no one would care what the former director of national intelligence said about the signature intelligence story of the decade if he didnt have the relatively mundane bureaucratic status that the clearance delineates. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders took this idea and ran with it, asserting that Trump is also thinking about revoking the clearances of essentially everyone else who has ever disagreed with him in a CNN appearance. Comey is former FBI director James Comey, Hayden is former National Security Agency director Michael Hayden, Rice is former national security adviser Susan Rice, and McCabe is infamous ex-FBI official Andrew McCabe:

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MS. SANDERS: Not only is the President looking to take away Brennans security clearance, hes also looking into the clearances of [James] Comey, Clapper, Hayden, Rice, and [Andrew] McCabe. The President is exploring the mechanisms to remove security clearance because theyve politicized and, in some cases, monetized their public service and security clearances.

National security expert/pundit Benjamin Wittes, a longtime friend of Comeys, checked in with the former FBI director on the subject, and .

I just texted @Comey asking whether he even has a security clearance to revoke.



Nope, he responded. Theres nothing for POTUS to revoke. Comey says he was read out when he left government as per normal practice. 1/2  Benjamin Wittes (@benjaminwittes) July 23, 2018

The New York Times confirms that neither Comey nor McCabe have a clearance. Top-notch White House research on an intelligence subject, here. Maybe they should have their clearances revoked?
Congressional Republicans were blindsided on Tuesday by the Trump administrations announcement that it would provide $12 billion in assistance to farmers hurt in the trade war being waged by Donald Trumpa move that looks an awful lot like bailing out an economic sector suffering under poorly conceived government policy. The decision cuts so squarely against GOP orthodoxy that some Republicans could only watch and admire it.

I wish I was a farmer, Utah Rep. Rob Bishop told me.

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He probably doesnt, though.

Republicans in the Senatea bloc of resolute free-traders before their political fortunes were tied to the popularity of Donald Trumpexpressed a range of reactions, from anger to convoluted tepid support, to I havent heard about it yet. (Theres a golden window for lawmakers of about three hours following a troubling announcement when they can get away with this excuse for not commenting.)

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The senators most willing to use pejoratives to describe the move were, predictably, the ones retiring in a few months. Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker said that farmers were being put on welfare, and both he and Arizona Sen. Jeff Flakewho called the move awfulargued that what farmers want are free markets, not handouts.

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The most irate reaction, though, came from Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson.

This is becoming more and more like a Soviet-type of economy here: Commissars deciding whos going to be granted waivers, commissars in the administration figuring out how theyre going to sprinkle around benefits, he said. (Johnson recently returned from a lovely trip to Russia, so maybe this was a compliment.)

Some senators were also concerned about the precedent being set: If farmers get relief, shouldnt others too?

I want to know what were going to say to the automobile manufacturers, and the petrochemical manufacturers, and to all the other people who are being hurt by tariffs, Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy said. Now youve got to treat everybody the same.  And if we do help them, how much is that going to cost?

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I asked him if he would call this a bailout.

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You can call it whatever you want to, he said. I call it $12 billion. And I call it a precedent.

Somehow, in the midst of this total rejection of the presidents trade policy, Kennedy found a way to praise the presidents trade acumen.

I dont think the president intends to start a trade war, he said. I think hes too smart for that. I think he understands that he only way to win a trade war is you dont fight the damn thing. That would seem to conflict with the presidents stated thinking on the matter: Tariffs are the greatest! he tweeted Tuesday morning.

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Senators representing agricultural states suffering from retaliatory tariffs were generally warmer to the administrations plan to hand money to their constituents a couple of months before the election. The defense they used was that if the administration feels it needs to temporarily pay off farmers in pursuit of a larger trade endgamewhatever that is, and however achievable it may or may not bethen the move is understandable.

If theres some way that farmers can be helped while were correcting a bad situation with China, Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe said, then it sounds good to me. He admitted that home-state interests, rather than any broad philosophical underpinning, were behind his support.

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I have a bias towards the farmers more than some of the other senators, Inhofe said.

The long-term fear for those representing agricultural exporters, even if theyre OK with a cash infusion for the moment, is that the trade war will linger, trading partners will seek new arrangements with other countries, markets will be lost forever, and the handouts will become permanent. Whatever endgame Trump has in mind, he needs to reach it. Soon.

All I can say is, it cant make up for the harm its done so far, on the drop in soybean prices, let alone everything else, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley said. We need results from the negotiations.
President Trumps Sunday night tweet threat to Iran was a head-scratcher. Was he signaling imminent warfare, pressuring Tehran to renegotiate the nuclear deal, seeking a distraction from his own domestic problems? Whatever he was up to, the tweet will do no good, and its premises are mistaken.

Here, in full, is the much-cited tweet:

To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018

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Its remarkable that, for all his hours in the Twittersphere, Trump hasnt yet learned that ALL CAPS denote a lack of seriousness. (Call it the Inverse Teddy Roosevelt Maxim: Tweet loudly and carry a small stick.)

Still, lets take this one seriously and parse what it might be serious about. A common observation is that its tone is reminiscent of the fire and fury threats, almost exactly a year ago, against Little Rocket Man Kim Jong-un. Those commentsor so Trump believesscared Kim into moderating his behavior and dashing to the negotiating table; therefore, maybe this one will have the same effect on Rouhani.

There are four reasons for casting a very cocked eyebrow on this notion. First, its not at all clear that the threat shook Kim to back down; in fact, it may have had the opposite effect. Trump made his fire and fury statement on Aug. 8. About three weeks later, on Aug. 29, Kim test-fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan. On Sept. 3, he detonated his most powerful nuclear device to date, one so powerful that it was believed to be a hydrogen bomb. On Nov. 29, he fired another missile, this one having sufficient range to strike U.S. territory.

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Escalation is quite possible even if Trump doesnt mean any of his fiery words and if he typed out that ALL - CAPS tweet strictly to distract attention.

In other words, far from quaking in fear, Kim pushed ahead steadily on his path to acquire a nuclear arsenalpossibly accelerating the effortafter Trumps most bellicose warnings. Only after declaring that he now had a nuclear deterrent did Kim pivot to his New Years Day charm campaign.

Second, Trumps stratagem, if thats what it was, hasnt paid off. Lets stipulate that his threats played some role in bringing Kim to the table; theyve had no effects since. Post-summit talks between U.S. and North Korean negotiators have gone nowhere; Secretary of State Mike Pompeos attempt to prod progress, during a third trip to Pyongyang, ended disastrously; Trump continues to insist that the summit was great and that theres no timetable, much less a deadline, for his great pal Kim to denuclearizewhich, of course, gives Kim permission to stall indefinitely.

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Third, the fire and fury fusillades of last summer did have a rattling effect on South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who, dreading the looming prospect of war on the peninsula, embraced Kims overtures with alacrity and enthusiasm. From that point on, Moonas an American ally and an advocate of engagement with the Northworked hard to maneuver Trump and Kim toward the summit.

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The point here is that no one is in a position to play middleman with Trump and Rouhani. The European Union might have been, given that it co-signed the Iran nuclear deal, but Trump has labeled the EU as a foe. In a bizarre twist, one might imagine Russian President Vladimir Putin playing the role of behind-the-scenes intermediary, but Putin has little influence over Iranian politics, despite their converging interests in Syria.

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Fourth, there is the larger matter of Iranian politics. Kim has enough power in Pyongyang to shift his rhetoric toward the United States and execute anyone who protests. By contrast, Rouhani faces constant pressure from hard-line factions, which have grown more hard-line since Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal and announced the reimposition of sanctions. At his point, Rouhani cannot buckle to any overtures, hostile or friendly, from Trump.

Rouhani already conceded an enormous amountand took a huge domestic gamblewhen he signed the nuclear deal with President Obama and the leaders of five other countries. Then Trump backed out of the deal, even though international inspectors and his own Cabinet secretaries attested that Iran was in full compliance with its terms. It is unclear why even Trump believes Rouhani would sit down for further talks, much less agree to a still more restrictive deal.

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In short, no Nobel Peace Prize seems in the offing here.

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What about the theory that Trump is ginning up for a war with Iran? Its unlikely that Trump wants a war; he seems to think that loud demonstrations, whether in the form of tweets or military parades, are enough to make foes tremble. But his rhetoric and actions are ratcheting up the tensions.

His national security adviser, John Bolton, has been advocating regime change for yearsand now that Trump has rejected his advice to attack North Korea and go hawkish on Russia, Iran stand as his last chance for redemption. Nor, in this theater of possible conflict, does Bolton stand alone. Pompeo all but called for the forcible ouster of the mullahs in a speech to Iranian Americans, delivered at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library just hours before Trumps Sunday tweet. Trump has also been egged on to confront Iran by some of his favorite foreign leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Saudi royal family.

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These pressures are not abstract. Under Trumps policy, sanctions will be renewed against Iran in August. The United States does no business with Iran, but the sanctions will also apply to other countries dealings with Iranand that could have crippling effect. (By contrast, with North Korea, Trump has maintained sanctions since the summit but is not punishing countries, such as China and South Korea, that continue trading.) Some EU countries have proclaimed that theyll ignore the sanctions, but they may change their tune when forced to choose between doing business with Iran and doing business with the United States, or even conducting basic transactions with U.S. banks.

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Trump seems to believe that the Iranian regime is fragilehe has claimed several times that the nuclear deal, with its promises of sanctions relief, saved the regime from crumblingbut few serious observers of Iran agree.

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Even if the regime fell, it is doubtful that pro-Western democrats would be the ones to storm the palace; they have no coherent organization to pull this off. (The mullahs have seen to that over the years.) A likelier successor would be the military, perhaps the Revolutionary Guard, which never liked the nuclear deal and may start spinning centrifuges upon taking power.

Meanwhile, if it comes to light that the United States had been involved in toppling the regime, even young democrats might rush to support their military, or at least not mind the Guards ascension. The ghost of Mohammad Mosaddegh, the democratically elected Iranian leader who was overthrown in a CIA-backed coup in 1953, still rides through the countrys streets and countryside.

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In 2006, President George W. Bushs secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, publicly asked the Senate for $75 million in emergency funding to aid opponents of Irans regime. The United States, Rice testified, in words similar to those of Pompeos speech this past Sunday, will actively confront the policies of this Iranian regime, and at the same time we are going to work to support the aspirations of the Iranian people for freedom in their own country.

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Many of these Iranian freedom fighters implored Rice, at the time, to retract her request and to lower her voice, and for good reason. The regime intensified its crackdown against opposition movements, citing Rices speech as proof that they were foreign agents. Especially with the current street protests against the regimes economic hardships, Pompeos speechcombined with Trumps more blatant threatmight have the same counterproductive effect.

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The one remaining grown-up in the room, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, has been keeping a low profile lately, probably to protect several NATO projects from political interference and to avoid embarrassing questions whose answers would put him at odds with Trump. Mattis, a retired Marine four-star general, is hawkish on Iran, as are most officers who saw their troops killed by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. But he also knows war, and what it involves, and probably isnt keen to send 100,000 troops to invade and occupy Irana country about three times the size of Iraq.

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Still, small incursions, fueled by belligerent talk, can escalate very quickly.

Escalation is quite possible even if Trump doesnt mean any of his fiery words and if he typed out that ALL-CAPS tweet strictly to distract attention from Helsinki, the Mueller probe, the Cohen tapes, and other political crises. Wag the Dog holds up unsettlingly well. So does this Trump tweet from November 2011: In order to get elected, @BarackObama will start a war with Iran.

As it turned out, Obama was easily re-elected without a war and followed up by making a sort of peace. But Trump seemed to think, back then, that starting a war with Iran was an effective way for a president to get re-elected. The question of the moment: Does he still think so now?
U.S. swimmings resident airhead Ryan Lochtewho also happens to be a 12-time Olympic medalistwas suspended for 14 months by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency Monday for receiving a prohibited intravenous infusion. Lochte, U.S. swimmings second-most decorated athlete behind Michael Phelps, ran into trouble with the anti-doping authority in the most Lochte possible way: He posted a picture of himself on Instagram receiving the IV, complete with the hashtag #ivdrip. Neither the picturesince deletednor the subsequent investigation showed that the 33-year-old swimmer used a ban substance; the violation is that he used the IV drip at all.

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This is the photo that got Ryan Lochte banned 14 months. pic.twitter.com/1CljxSFlzy  Nick Zaccardi (@nzaccardi) July 23, 2018

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Lochte received an intravenous infusion of permitted substances at an infusion clinic in a volume greater than 100 ml in a 12-hour period without a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE), USADA said in a release. Intravenous infusions or injections in a volume greater than 100 mL within a 12-hour period are prohibited at all timesexcept for those legitimately received in the course of hospital treatment, surgical procedures, or clinical diagnostic investigations under the USADA Protocol for Olympic and Paralympic Movement Testing, the United States Olympic Committee National Anti-Doping Policies, and the Federation Internationale de Natation Anti-Doping Rules, all of which have adopted the World Anti-Doping Code and the World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List.

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Lochte said he was taking B12 and other vitamins available over the counter intravenously in order to boost his immune system and avoid catching a bug from his family. I have never taken a prohibitive substance, Lochte said of the suspension. I have never attempted to gain any advantage by putting anything illegal in my body. I would never do that; this is very serious to me.  Unfortunately, while the rule is a newer rule and is not widely known as others, I should know better.

The 14-month ban, retroactive to May 24 [-] is his second in less than two years after his 10-month suspension for his behavior during a drunken incident that created widespread scorn at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, ESPN reports.
Alphabet was hit with a record $5.1 billion fine by European regulators this month, but thats kind of like saying a Hummer drove over the worlds least annoying speed bump. How do we know? Because in the second quarter of 2018, the company took in $26.2 billion in revenue, up 25 percent from the same time last year, according to the Wall Street Journal. Regulators are scrutinizing the search and internet giant more and more closely, and yet the Google parent keeps making more and more money.

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On a quarterly earnings calls with investors and analysts on Monday, the company said its profits would have been 9 percent higher had it not been for the EU fine, which the company was hit with as punishment for what regulators charged were anti-competitive practices by its Android division. Alphabet plans to appeal.

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That Alphabet has been able to maintain high profitability despite a raft of new regulations in the European Union this year speaks to the companys immovable dominance. Google holds 31 percent of the worlds online ad business. Android powers 80 percent of the worlds smartphones. YouTube is the worlds largest video sharing site. Chrome is the most popular browser on the planet, and if you want to search for something online, you Google it. Even if there was a better search engine out there (which there isnt), Google would probably play a role in helping you find it. And the more we continue to port every aspect of our personal and professional lives online, the more profitable Alphabet becomes. All of which is why even in the face of the most severe regulatory environment the company has ever navigated, a record-breaking multibillion-dollar fine and the introduction of the most comprehensive privacy laws in the world via the General Data Protection Regulations from the EU, Alphabet continues to flourish. And that means regulators will always face an uphill battle trying to curb what they see as its excesses.

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To better understand how Googles size cushions the company from new data regulations, consider one area of Googles ad business, the ads it sells on its own properties. That segment is up 26 percent, from $18.4 billion to $23.3 billion, a huge uptick that Bloomberg reports can be attributed to recent efforts by Google to sell across its various advertising products. But the increase in sales of ads on its own platform could also have to do with the new GDPR privacy rules, which require more consumer opt-in than many smaller companies may be equipped to handle. In response, advertisers may be relying more heavily on the larger companies with teams of lawyers and sophisticated advertising infrastructure, like Google and Facebook, that have ensured the GDPR rules are being followed. One of the unintentional consequences of GDPR is the strengthening of the duopoly, Gil Elbaz, a former Google executive and current CEO of the online marketing company Factual, told Bloomberg. If Google continues to go unchecked, their dominance will be extreme.

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Alphabet also saw growth in its cloud, app store sales, and hardware division. But the company lost $732 million this quarter in its Other Bets category, which includes the experimental division X, where projects like Alphabets drone program, Wing, and Googles self-driving car initiative, Waymo, were incubated.

Clearly, tremendous fines and sweeping data-privacy regulations arent enough to make a company like Alphabet a little less powerful. And there are myriad reasons for consumers and lawmakers to be weary of Googles dominance, including the inability for a new, innovative app developer to meaningfully compete with any of Googles successful products. And then theres the question as to whether Google truly has cleaned up its act with YouTube, which has struggled to surface reliable results for people looking for news, like in February shortly after the massacre at a high school in Parkland, Florida when YouTube elevated a video entitled DAVID HOGG THE ACTOR. to its No. 1 trending spot.

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YouTube has also been on the tail end of criticism over the past year for playing host to thousands of violent and obscene videos marketed to children, as well as hundreds of thousands of videos that were removed or demonetized for featuring young children in abusive and exploitative situations. Many of these issues appear to be resolved. Though Alex Jones, one of the key peddlers of the conspiracy theorieslike the allegation that Parkland shooting survivors were crisis actors, that Sandy Hook was a hoax, and Pizzagate, as well as more recent untruths about a second Civil War that he claimed was scheduled for July 4still has a verified channel. None of this has caused Alphabet to stop minting money and dominating the internet economy. Short of antitrust action that would break the company up, its hard to imagine what will.
Facebook has quietly filed paperwork to obtain a license to establish a subsidiary in Hangzhou, China, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

The social media giant has been trying to make inroads into China for years after the country censored the platform in 2009 when separatists used it during the Urumqi riots. The subsidiary has a registered capital of $30 million, and Facebook Hong Kong Ltd. is listed as its sole shareholder. Its paperwork was filed last Wednesday.

Facebook is setting up the subsidiary as a start-up incubator to advise small businesses and make minor investments, according to the Washington Post. We are interested in setting up an innovation hub in Zhejiang to support Chinese developers, innovators, and start-ups, a Facebook spokesperson told the Post. We have done this in several parts of the worldFrance, Brazil, India, Koreaand our efforts would be focused on training and workshops that help these developers and entrepreneurs to innovate and grow.

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If the company follows through on the license, this will be Facebook propers first subsidiary in mainland China. The social media giant has a sales office in Hong Kong, and its virtual reality company, Oculus, has a branch in Shanghai. Facebook had obtained a license to open an office in Beijing in 2015, and it was looking at possible locations in Shanghai in 2017, though those initiatives fell through.

Even though his platform is blocked in China, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has performed a number of high-profile stunts in an attempt to endear himself to the Chinese people over the years. Hes made a big show of teaching himself Mandarin and spoke exclusively in the language during a 30-minute Q&A session at Tsinghua University in 2014 and during a 20-minute speech at the same university in 2015. He managed to stir up an international media firestorm by posting a picture of himself jogging through Tiananmen Square on a particularly smoggy day in 2016.

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Zuckerberg has further tried to cozy up to Chinese president Xi Jinping. Beyond multiple personal meetings, Zuckerberg also reportedly asked the Xi to name his then-unborn child in 2015 and bought copies of the presidents 2014 book for Facebook employees.

Despite Zuckerbergs schmoozing, Facebook has had little success raising Chinas ban to access the more than 700 million netizens in the country. In the years since blocking the platform in 2009 to prevent information about deadly riots in Xinjiang from spreading, the government has also decided to block two additional apps owned by Facebook. China banned Instagram after the 2014 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, and it banned WhatsApp in an apparent attempt to step up surveillance efforts to prepare for a major Communist Party meeting in 2017.
You would think fitness apps would have learned from Stravas example, but that doesnt seem to be the case. Six months after discovering that Strava was inadvertently revealing sensitive military-base locations through its user activitysourced Global Heat Map, Polars fitness app came under fire for a similar inherent vulnerability. Between the apps privacy and activity-sharing settings, the Polar Flow app made it possible for researchers to pinpoint a users home location, including for military and intelligence personnel, through its map of user activities. The incident is another instance where mobile apps, particularly ones with a social dimension, either arent taking enough security precautions to protect location information from unwanted access, or users arent being educated on how to adequately use provided safeguardsor both.

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The issue with Polars app is slightly different from Stravas flaw. Researchers with De Correspondent, an Amsterdam-based news site, and Bellingcat, an online investigation house, discovered that between Polars privacy settings and search features, there were holes that allowed them to learn the location of military staff, intelligence operatives, and employees at nuclear weapons sites. Using information originally gleaned from the app, the investigators were able to find names and addresses of personnel at intelligence agencies such as the NSA and Secret Service, the U.K.s GCHQ and MI6, and the Netherlands MIVD.

We found this information not through hacking or some other technological wizardry, but through a little clever searching in the online map that Polar makes available to anyone with an account, the researchers wrote for De Correspondent. They tested other apps such as Strava, Runkeeper, and Endomondo as well, but while still possible, it was far more difficult to identify users home addresses with these apps (and not possible for users whose profiles were set to private).

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According to Polar, user accounts are set to private by default, and only 2 percent of its user base shares workouts to its activity map. However, some private users still shared workouts publicly, and these activities contained a user ID that could then be linked through multiple publicly uploaded activities. Using the apps search feature, the researchers were able to use this to learn the names and locations of individuals, and then pull up their entire activity historywhich then offered clues as to their home-address location, even if the user had set their profile to private. Conversely, the researchers could start their searching from a specific location, identify users whose activities typically started from that spot, and then deduce their identities.

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The fundamental utility and usability of these activity-sharing apps is tied to user data being open.

Once made aware of these revelations, Polar temporarily suspended its Explore API and the Flow Explore feature, the tools in its app that allowed the researchers to gain insight into users locations. Going forward, the company explained in a statement, it is evaluating the best options that will allow Polar customers to continue using the Explore feature while taking additional measures to remind customers to avoid publicly sharing GPS files of sensitive locations.

Strava too made changes to its app following its privacy debacle. The app removed an Activity Search function, which let users browse activities posted by others.* It had been a particularly useful tool for those visiting a new area, allowing you to see a potentially safe route others have run or ridden before. The app has also taken pains to ensure the public data that populates its Global Heat Maps is accurate, and updates its heat map monthly to account for changes users have made to their activity privacy settings.

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Both recent incidents point out some glaring issues with activity-sharing apps. The first is that their fundamental utility and usability is tied to user data being open. In order to learn from, comment on, or like others activities, you typically need to relinquish some level of privacy. If your workouts start from home, that can mean revealing your home addressor at least its general areato friends and strangers alike. And while that may seem innocuous, it has made some activity-sharing cyclists the target of bicycle theft. It also seems that despite numerous settings in place to give users better control over their privacy and data sharing, many dont take advantage of those tools. Whether thats due to a lack of digital literacy, a lack of instruction from the apps, or simply user apathy, its clear that there are inherent security problems with posting location-based activities to social networks.

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Users of these kinds of apps have a few options. They can keep sharing their activities publicly, knowing that home or work addresses may be vulnerable to anyone with basic internet-sleuthing skills. If they share details such as what equipment they use, they risk opening themselves up as a target of theft. If they choose to share activities privately, either to no one or to an approved group of contacts, their data could still inadvertently be shared through screen grabs or general mishandling of user data. Privacy-conscious users could choose to share their activities to an app without a social-sharing angle, such as TrainingPeaks, Google Fit, or Apple Health. But in nearly any case, uploading activities to a cloud-connected service makes the information vulnerable to a data breach.

Handling activity data in the context of a social app becomes a complex issue when apps decide to use that information to provide additional services such as user searching, activity searching, or activity heat maps. Minor-seeming oversights can turn into state-level security fiascos. If youre a top-secret intelligence operative, you simply shouldnt use one of these services. The rest of us should only use them with full knowledge of the privacy risks.
For all the hand-wringing about fake news, Russian trolls, Infowars, and Cambridge Analytica, the internet may not have helped elect Donald Trump after all. That, at least, is the strong suggestion of a new study from economists at Stanford and Brown universities.

Trump performed worse than previous Republican candidates among internet users and people who got campaign news online, the authors find in a paper published July 18 in the journal PLOS One. And he outperformed his predecessors among the demographic groups least likely to be online. In other words, Mitt Romney and John McCain got more support from internet users than Trump did.

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The paper, from Stanford economists Levi Boxell and Matthew Gentzkow and Brown economist Jesse Shapiro, adds to a growing body of research indicating that the internets effects on U.S. political opinion may be overstated. The same authors found in 2017 that the countrys polarization has been most intense among the oldest Americans, who also spend the least time online. Cable news has been a more significant driver of partisan divisions, research suggests. In November 2016, just weeks after Trumps election, media studies professors Keith Hampton and Eszter Hargittai made a persuasive case in the Hill that Trumps win wasnt Facebooks fault. Hampton and Hargittai pointed out that research shows Facebook users are more likely to be connected to different kinds of people, while disconnection from the internet is broadly associated with social isolation and intolerance. Trump voters were also far less likely to use Twitter or Reddit than Clinton voters, they noted.

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This doesnt mean the internet was irrelevant to the 2016 campaign, Shapiro told me. The question is not whether the internet is having any impact on politicsit surely isbut whether it deserves the top billing it often gets in discussions about the election, he said.

The finding that Trump performed worse than prior Republican candidates among internet users holds across three different ways of measuring internet use. The first two are based on survey questions from the American National Election Studies between 1996 and 2016. One asks whether the respondent has internet access, and the other asks whether they read news about the campaign online. The third measure, which they call predicted internet access, uses a model based on demographic traits that correlate with internet access.

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Still, the authors were careful to acknowledge that more research is needed. The conclusion that the internet was not a source of advantage to Trump, they explain, relies on a series of three assumptions, each of which could be called into question.

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For one, it assumes that the internet affects elections only by changing the partisan vote shares of people active on the internet. But Shapiro allows that its possible the internet could indirectly influence the votes of non-internet users. That is, their views could be shaped by internet-connected friends, colleagues, or mainstream media personalities. This seems especially likely given that internet use, and Twitter in particular, is pervasive among members of the media. Trump voters might get their views about him from Fox News, but Fox News personalities might in turn be drawing heavily on material from the internet. Indeed, the networks top-rated host, Sean Hannity, has been known to latch onto online conspiracy theories to counter news cycles that cast Trump in a negative light.

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Then theres the fact that Trump himself drives a lot of mainstream media coverage with his own internet usein particular, his volatile tweets.

Another caveat is that Trump was a very different candidate from McCain, Romney, or George W. Bush. It seems plausible that his message was always going to resonate better with non-internet users, but that his campaigns savvy use of social mediaor Russian trolling, for that matterled him to perform better with internet users than he would have otherwise. Shapiro agreed that seems likely, but pointed out that it still implies that internet users were not the driving force behind Trumps win.

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So if Facebook and filter bubbles and Russian misinformation didnt hand Trump the election, what did? This study cant answer that question, Shapiro said. But in a 2017 New York Times op-ed, he and his co-authors proposed the following:

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If any media platform is to blame, it is not the web. It is more likely television, which is a more important source of political information. Growing polarization may also result from structural economic changes, like rising inequality, that have occurred in recent decades.

A 2009 study by Shapiro and Daniel J. Benjamin, now an economics professor at the University of Southern California, showed that laboratory subjects were able to predict the outcome of gubernatorial elections with some reliability just by watching 10-second, silent video clips of the candidates. In fact, those predictions outperformed models that use economic conditions to forecast election outcomes. So the relative impressions that Trump and Clinton made on TV could have been more important to Trumps victory than the impressions created by Reddit memes or Twitter propagandaeven if TV looked a little more like Reddit and Twitter in 2016 than it ever had before.
Check out the featured product showcase to get a sneak peek at some of the newest solutions in the security industry, including some that are on display at GSX in September 2021.

In addition, the September/October 2021 edition of Security Management is widely available for a limited time. Access the full issue here.

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Petition urges public officials to take action against the Night Wolves

At the time of the 50th anniversary of the Warsaw Pact occupation of Czechoslovakia, the motorcycle club is becoming active as part of Russian hybrid war, the call reads.

More than two hundred public figures have urged President Andrej Kiska, Speaker of Parliament Andrej Danko (SNS) and Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini (Smer) to take action against the Russian Night Wolves motorcycle gang, which has set up a base in the village of Dolna Krupa (Trnava Region, western Slovakia).

The public figures who signed the document find the activities of the Night Wolves in Slovakia scandalous.

At the time of the 50th anniversary of the August occupation of Czechoslovakia by armies of the Warsaw Pact, the Russian motorcycle gang Night Wolves, which has been on the US sanctions list since 2014, is becoming active as part of a Russian hybrid war against the EU, NATO and Slovakia, the call sent to media July 24 reads, as quoted by the TASR newswire. Since the annexation of Crimea and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Night Wolves have been known in our country as [Russian President Vladimir] Putins paramilitary vanguard, with their leader Alexander Zaldostanov being banned from entering the EU as part of anti-Russian sanctions.

Why are these activities dangerous?

The text also adds that Night Wolves are banned from entering Poland, but they are welcome in Slovakia under the veneer of innocuous motorbike rides and museum-related events.

An arrangement emerged in Dolna Krupa that has no par among states of the Euro-Atlantic community, as (the plot owner) Jozef Hambalek allowed the Night Wolves to join his newly-founded civic association NV Europa and let others address him as the head of their 'European Headquarters'.

A military zone has come into existence, the call suggests, one in which paramilitary organisation Slovak Levies can train with military equipment acquired under dubious circumstances without legal status, wrote the signatories, warning that this is taking place in the near vicinity of the Jaslovske Bohunice nuclear power plant.

Read also:

Read also: Biker gang complex in Dolna Krupa raises questions Read more

The text also warns that Hambalek has ties to ex-interior minister Robert Kalinak (the ruling Smer party) and controversial entrepreneur Ladislav Basternak and demands to know why the Interior Ministry, headed by Kalinaks associate Denisa Sakova (Smer, former state secretary), has failed to adopt an appropriate stance on the issue.

Hambalek is the umbrella

The signatories deem the Slovak-based activities of Russian bikers and Slovak paramilitary fanatics connected through the personality of Jozef Hambalek a scandal. They called on the top three constitutional officials to take all necessary steps to terminate the activities of the Night Wolves in Slovakia and deal with the unregistered organisation, Slovak Levies, which shares the Dolna Krupa complex with the Night Wolves, and cancel Hambaleks base in Dolna Krupa, the signatories wrote in their statement. They also asked police and all prosecution bodies to investigate whether the law has not been violated in these groups activities.

Read also:

Read also: Defence Minister Gajdos files motion against paramilitary group Slovak Levies Read more

The signatories include political scientist Grigorij Meseznikov, security analyst Jaroslav Nad, journalists Stefan Hrib and Andrej Ban, activists Juraj Seliga and Karolina Farska, film directors Robert Kirchhoff and Juraj Nvota, actors Richard Stanke and Robert Roth, psychiatrist Jozef Hasto, civic activist Marcel D. Zajac, ex-politician and literary scientist Peter Zajac, as well as more than 200 others, including several politicians and ex-politicians, political and security analysts, civic activists, university lecturers, journalists, culture managers, artists, writers, filmmakers, actors, musicians, doctors, psychologists, theoreticians, scientists, and representatives of other professions connected with Slovakias political and social environment.

24. Jul 2018 at 22:52 | Compiled by Spectator staff
One person killed in Bratislava fire

The fire started in an older, partially deserted building.

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A fire in living quarters on Mierova Kolonia street in Bratislava, discovered after 7:00 on July 24, claimed one life.

23 firemen fought the fire, the Regional Headquarters of the Fire and Rescue Corps (HaZZ) informed, as quoted by the Sme daily.

After arriving at the site, the fire brigade found out the flames spread from a room which was heavily filled with smoke into the whole older building, which was partially abandoned, HaZZ stated.

After the fire, one person was retrieved from the construction, and later pronounced dead by a doctor. According to rescuers, the fire was localised to prevent it from spreading further around noon, the firemen summed up.

Despite the efforts of rescuers, the person  a man aged 61  could not be resuscitated and died of injuries caused by the fire, Bratislava regional police spokesman, Michal Szeiff, reported.

According to current information, the fire was probably caused by improper handling of open fire, Sme wrote, adding that more precise causes and circumstances of the fire are being investigated by police. They have launched criminal prosecution in this case, with includes a possible charge of homicide.

24. Jul 2018 at 23:04 | Compiled by Spectator staff
Charlotte has to be one of the low-key most exciting coffee city in the United States right now. Somehow, the city at the epicenter of Counter Cultures orbit has managed to fly under the radar, but make no mistake about it, the CLT has firmly put its name on the map. And this is due in large part to the small, independent companies that are really pushing the citys coffee scene forward. In the last year alone, shops like Comic Girl Coffee (profiled here on Sprudge) and Trade & Lore in the Salud Cerveceria are providing unique spaces and experiences for customers, and doing so on their own terms.

And theres a new name to add to this list: Undercurrent Coffee. With Onyx Coffee Lab as their primary roaster, Undercurrent is creating a community-forward cafe, but one that highlights the stories of the myriad craftspeople involved in all their goods. Fresh, seasonal, and delicious, everything coming from Undercurrent has a story, and its one they will gladly tell. So lets let them do just that, shall we?

As told to Sprudge by Diana Mnatsakanyan-Sapp.

For those who arent familiar, will you tell us about your company?

Undercurrent Coffee is a new business with its first cafe located in the Plaza Midwood neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was a company founded by the husband and wife duo Todd and Erin Huber, two Plaza Midwood residents and coffee enthusiasts who saw a need for a comfortable community gathering space in their neighborhood. Undercurrent is a coffee business highlighted by our love for our community, made unique by our ingredient-focused, seasonally-rotating food and beverage offerings, and brought to life by our enthusiastic, knowledgable, and approachable team.

Can you tell us a bit about the new space?

2012 Commonwealth is a 2,000-square-foot cafe situated in the heart of Plaza Midwood, a diverse and eclectic neighborhood one mile northeast of downtown Charlotte. The shop was designed with cool tones, an influx of natural light, and communal seating to yield a comfortable and calming spot for our guests to enjoy. The cafe is comprised of a large coffee bar with extensive tile work, eye-catching shelving, and 42 plush seats, ranging from chairs to couches, throughout the dining area.

Outdoor seating for 12 to 15 people is provided in front of the cafe, allowing Undercurrents guests to enjoy the shade provided by a large neighboring oak tree, and to blend into the bustling neighborhood of which it is a part.

Within the cafe is a coffee education lab, a 200-square-foot classroom in the back of the building where Undercurrents Director of Operations, Diana Mnatsakanyan-Sapp, will lead a variety of public coffee education classes, as well as professionally-focused SCA Barista and Brewing certification courses.

Whats your approach to coffee?

We really care about accessibility, with a back-to-basics approach in our beverage program that highlights the ingredients we use and the craftspeople we work with. We take pride in partnering with vendors who pursue excellenceour primary roaster is Onyx Coffee Lab (I doubt I have to tell you how extraordinary they are!), we have rotating monthly guest roasters featured from around the country, our milk comes from a stellar local dairy farm called Homeland Creamery, our syrups are made in-house using ingredients from regional Southeastern farms I could go on, but you get the picture. In everything we do, we strive to make the handiwork of the many creatives, farmers, producers, and businesses we work with the star of the show, while still letting folks enjoy the drinks they know and love.

Any machines, coffees, special equipment lined up?

In our main bar were using a custom Kees van der Westen Spirit Duette and two Nuova Simonelli Mythos Clima Pros for our espresso service. We utilize Kalita Waves for our pour-over menu, and grind coffee on a Mahlkonig EK-43 for those and for our batch brews in a Curtis G4 ThermoPro.

In our coffee education lab were working with a La Larzocco Linea EE, a Mythos Clima Pro, a Mahlkonig EK-43, and a Curtis G4 ThermoPro. Weve got at least a half dozen different manual brew options for folks to play around with in our classes and a lot of fun coffee tools to help educate our baristas, our community, and ourselves better on the science and craft of coffee.

Whats your hopeful target opening date/month?

We opened in late March 2018!

Are you working with craftspeople, architects, and/or creatives that youd like to mention?

Erin Huber, the brains behind the aesthetics of Undercurrent, aimed to work with as many local craftspeople as possible when we built out this cafe. The team behind Cluck helped us design the space and were our architects. Katie Schindler and her team at Fine Grit made all of the stunning custom tabletops and shelving units, and helped us with all of our cabinetry finishes. The folks of 26 Industries welded the large steel columns throughout the cafe. Frank Hyatt and the team behind Pacific Builders took on the construction project and lead us to a successful completion. Local designer Hollie Burgess of Beautiful Idiot Clothing sewed custom aprons for our staff. Plaid Penguin was instrumental in creating our branding, website design, and helping us pick out the unique finishes that created a cohesive look for us.

Thank you!

No, thank YOU!

The Build-Outs Of Summer is an annual series on Sprudge. Live the thrill of the build all summer long in our Build-Outs feature hub.

Photos by Jayme Marie Johnson.
Theres a mystery afoot in the city of Portland, Oregon.

A coffee mystery, you see, implying commercial grift most foul. It began in the most analog and innocent of ways: a letter in the post. An act laden with historical significance, today the daily mail is mostly the domain of bills and Super Shopper circulars, but the news we receive each day from the mail carrier still has the capacity to shock, delight, and even disturb.

So it was on an otherwise boring, sun-drenched summer Tuesday on the banks of the Willamette River, when local coffee roaster Zach Perkins went to check the mail at his place of employment, Roseline Coffee. He received a letter that day that would change his life forever.

It comes from a very real address in a non-descript apartment complex in Las Vegas, authored by one Daniel G. (last name withheld for legal reasons). The letter asserts the following:

1. That the letter writer had recently purchased a bag of coffee from Roseline. 2. That the letter writer attempted to brew said coffee. 3. Upon tasting said coffee, the writer found it to be stale. (No definition of the term stale is offered.) 4. A replacement bag of coffee and an explanation how this happened are summarily requested.

Here is a scan of the letterweve edited out the senders address and last name for privacy reasons:

We thought it was a scam off the bat because we had no record of him within our system, Perkins tells Sprudge. And so, in the chummy, familial vibe the Portland coffee scene somehow maintains despite the competition that undergirds all forms of late capitalism, Perkins reached out to a few fellow roasters directly, and posted copies of his letter to social media.

A maelstrom ensued.

It turns out that nigh-identical letters were received over the last calendar year by Heart Roasters, Nossa Familia, and Dapper & Wise Coffee Roasters. [Ed. note: this is a partial list of brands contacted and confirmed at press time.] A similar style of contact from the same name and address took place back in September of 2017, hitting Stumptown Coffee Roasters. Even more shocking, an in-person version of the stale coffee complaint was made by a guest at a company that shall remain nameless until we can attain formal verification.

Heres a copy of the nigh-identical letter received in 2017 by Heart:

We keep tight records on all of our orders, and we had nothing for this name or address, says Heart Roasters Director of Wholesale Ryan Cross. Its a scam.

A scam indeed! And so now lets throw open the flood gates to you, dear reader. Have you been contacted by a mysterious Daniel G. of Nevada, seeking recompense for allegedly stale coffee? Did he send you letters in the same oddly perfect, hand-written style? And WTF is stale coffee, anyway? Do they mean too far off roast (which is itself a point of significant disagreement)? Are they talking about the dreaded baggy term sometimes applied to green coffee that is imagined to be past crop, but is actually a set of flavor associations with broad possible diagnosis?

Moreover, did you send this person coffee in response to their query? Or did your scam senses tingle, like the above recipients? Did you take photos of these letters, and will you send them to us so that we may run more of them?

Perhaps most importantly: Are you Daniel G. reading this right now? Would you be willing to share your side of the story, and perhaps help define what stale means because we really arent sure?
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.
This week SBS screens the first of 2 part series, Simon Reeve in Burma.

Whilst Reeves travels always reflect cultural experiences this one adds a political tone, due to the ongoing crisis surrounding Rohingya Muslims.

Adventurer and broadcaster Simon Reeve heads to beautiful and troubled Burma for a two part series. Cut off for decades under military rule, Burma, also called Myanmar, now has a democratically elected government led by world-famous Nobel laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi. But in August 2017, the world was left stunned when a brutal military operation drove hundreds of thousands of ethnic Rohingya Muslims from their homes.

Episode One:

Simon travels to Burma to find out the roots of this crisis. He heads to Bangladesh to witness the drama of this still unfolding crisis. He begins his journey in the biggest city in the country, Yangon, and drives north into Burmas Buddhist heartlands and the stunning ancient capital of Bagan  a sight that rivals the great wonders of the world. He meets the monks who supported the people through the darkest days of dictatorship, and hes granted an audience with some of the most contentious figures in the country  ultranationalist monks preaching hate against the countrys Muslim Rohingya.

Wednesday, 25 July at 8.30pm on SBS.
New MTV reality series True Love or True Lies, which sees real and fake couples competing for a cash prize, will premiere in early August, in a first for the channel will air daily for two weeks.

Host Maya Jama said; Im so excited to be hosting my very own show on MTV this season. It was so fun to film! There were some amazing couples with incredible love stories in there, AND some seriously good liars so get involved and play along!

UK talent Danny Dyer will also be providing commentary as the voice-over.

Six mystery couples arrive at a mansion in Italy thinking theyre there to compete to be crowned the perfect couple and win 50,000 cash prize.

What they dont know, is that hidden amongst them are liars  fake couples, who have never been in a relationship before and are there to steal the money for themselves. Every night they vote out one couple from the competition. If they vote out Liars, the prize fund grows by 10,000. Who will go the distance and take home the cash  will they be lovers, or liars  and have You got what it take to spot the fakes?

The couples will compete in daily love games designed to test their relationship and prove that they have what it takes to be crowned the perfect couple. At the end of each day, the couples will take part in a Love Ceremony, giving them the opportunity to choose the pair they believe to be liars. The couple with the most votes will leave the competition immediately.

The couples dont know who the liars are, Maya and Danny dont know who the liars are and the liars dont know who the other liars are but do you? Theres only one way to find out.

9.30am and 6pm from Tuesday August 7 on MTV.
ABC and Seven staff have been pointing the finger at one another in a series of tweets about watermarks and lack of attribution.

As previously noted, things came to a head when Sunrise failed to attribute Four Corners for footage of the Thai Cave Rescue. ABC journos and staff let rip with tweets accusing it of theft. Sunrise maintains it was an error in one news break and it attributed thereafter.

Last night Media Watch questioned the brevity of that attribution and stumped up with several previous examples where Sunrise also failed to give credit.

How did this copycat story about Canberra woman Jessica Kelly losing her sense of smell sneak in three weeks ago? Paul Barry asked.

It was a story aired on ABC 4 days earlier, he explained.

The ABC also published its story about Jessica Kelly online, with those lines about bacon and popcorn, he added,

And come the weekend, Sunrise was helping itself. Taking all of the ABCs footage and getting Jessica to tell them about chocolate.

On the Thai Cave item, Craig McPherson, Sevens Director of News and Public Affairs told Media Watch, The production mistake was acknowledged and fixed immediately. The EP apologised.

Unlike the ABC which to this day continues to portray the telling vision of Peta Credlin and Stuart Robert, shot exclusively by 7 News, as its own. Repeated requests back in 2015 were continually

ignored. It remains today on its website.

But the real crime here is the attack on a young 7 News reporter thousands of kilometres away in

Thailand. The social media ferals, some who it appears have journalistic and television pedigree,

relentlessly targeted the reporter who would have no knowledge of what bugs and straps are or are

not placed on screen. Those with any understanding of TV production would be aware of that. Their

behaviour is reprehensible.

McPhersons response didnt make it into the Media Watch story but is posted online which some suggest was because it did not fit ABCs narrative.

Sevens Mark Riley also tweeted about ABC supposedly pinching Seven footage, retweeted by Sunrise EP Michael Pell.

For those seeking evidence of our exclusive vision ABC fraudulently passes off as its own. Been put to air at least a dozen times with ABC bug. Shot by #7News cameraman Dale Fletcher. The best TV image of 2013 campaign. https://t.co/wvd50f18aR  Mark Riley (@Riley7News) July 23, 2018

The ABC says its use of the 2013 Credlin / Robert vision was agreed to by the Channel 7 Melbourne News library as part of a vision swap.

For those looking for the lighter side to it all, the theft / error managed to make it into a question on Have You Been Paying Attention?
Subscribers to Popular Electronics were a sophisticated group. The magazines editor, Arthur Salsberg, felt compelled to point out as much in the editorial section of the December 1974 issue. The magazine had received letters complaining that a recent article, titled How to Set Up a Home TV Service Shop, would inspire a horde of amateur TV technicians to go out and undercut professional repairmen, doing great damage to everyones TVs in the process. Salsberg thought this concern was based on a misunderstanding about who read Popular Electronics. He explained that, according to the magazines own surveys, 52% of Popular Electronics subscribers were electronics professionals of some kind and 150,000 of them had repaired a TV in the last 60 days. Moreover, the average Popular Electronics subscriber had spent $470 on electronics equipment ($3578 in 2018) and possessed such necessities as VOMs, VTVMs, tube testers, transistor testers, r-f signal generators, and scopes. Popular Electronics readers are not largely neophytes, Salsberg concluded.

I am surprised that anyone familiar with Popular Electronics could ever have doubted its subscribers. I certainly havent repaired a TV in the last 60 days. My computer is a block of aluminum that I have never seen the inside of. Yet the December 1974 issue of Popular Electronics features articles such as Standing Wave Ratio: What It Is and How to Deal with It and Test Scene: Uses for Your Multimeter. Even the ads are intimidating. One of them, which seems to be for some kind of stereo system, boldly proclaims that no piece of audio equipment is as eagerly awaited as the one four-channel unit that does everythingi.e. the receiver with built-in circuitry for SQ, RM and CD-4 record decoding. The mere hobbyists subscribed to Popular Electronics, let alone the professionals, must have been very knowledgeable indeed.

But Popular Electronics readers were introduced to something in the January 1975 issue that they had never encountered before. Below a heading that read PROJECT BREAKTHROUGH, the magazines cover showed a large gray and black box whose front panel bore a complicated array of lights and toggles. This was the Altair 8800, the worlds first minicomputer kit to rival commercial models, available for under $400. Though advertised as a minicomputer, the Altair would actually be the first commercially successful member of a new class of computers, first known as microcomputers and then eventually as PCs. The Altair was small enough and cheap enough that the average family could have one at home. Its appearance in Popular Electronics magazine meant that, as Salsberg wrote in that issue, the home computer age is herefinally.

I have written briefly about the Altair before, but I think the Altair is worth revisiting. It was not an especially powerful computer compared to others available at the time (though it cost significantly less money). Nor was it the first general-purpose computer to incorporate a microprocessor chipat least three microprocessor-based computers preceded it. But the Altair was and is a kind of Ur-Computer for all of us. It was the first popular computer in a lineage that includes our own devices, whereas the mainframes and bulky minicomputers that predated the Altair were an entirely different kind of machine, programmed by punched card or else rarely interacted with directly. The Altair was also a radically simple computer, without any kind of operating system or even a bootloader. Unless you bought peripherals for it, the Altair was practically a bank of RAM with switches and lights on the front. The Altairs simplicity makes learning about it a great way to reacquaint yourself with the basic concepts of computing, exactly as they were encountered by the denizens of the old analog world as they first ventured into our digital one.

Roberts and Co.

The Altair was designed and manufactured by a company called Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS), based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. MITS was run by a man named H. Edward Roberts. The company had started off making telemetry systems for model rocket kits before moving into the calculator market, which in the early 1970s was booming. Integrated circuits were bringing the cost of a calculator down dramatically and suddenly every working American professional had to have one. But the calculator market was ruthlessly competitive and, by the beginning of 1974, MITS was deeply in debt.

The year 1974 would prove to be an annus mirabilis in computing. In January, Hewlett-Packard introduced the HP-65, the worlds first programmable handheld calculator. In April, Intel released the Intel 8080, its second 8-bit microprocessor and the first microprocessor to become widely popular. Then, in July, Radio Electronics magazine advertised a build-it-yourself minicomputer called the Mark-8, which employed the Intel 8008 microprocessor that Intel had released in 1972. The Mark-8 was only the third computer ever built using a microprocessor and it was the first to be appear on the cover of a magazine. The Mark-8s appearance in Radio Electronics pushed Popular Electronics to look for a minicomputer project of their own to feature.

Popular Electronics subscribers actually received their copies of the January 1975 issue in the mail in December of 1974. So the announcement of the Altair closed out the annus mirabilis that was that year. The Altairs introduction was so momentous because never before had such a fully capable computer been offered to the public at an affordable price. The PDP-8, one the most popular minicomputers at the time, could only be bought for several thousand dollars. Yet the Intel 8080 chip at the heart of the Altair made it almost as capable as the PDP-8, if not more so; the 8080 supported a wider instruction set and the Altair could be expanded to have up to 64kb of memory, while the stock PDP-8 typically only had 4kb. The Altair was also more powerful than the Mark-8, which, because it was based on the Intel 8008, could only address 16kb of memory. And whereas the Mark-8 had to be built from scratch by customers with only a booklet and printed circuit boards to guide them, the Altair could be purchased fully assembled, though MITS soon became so inundated with orders that the only real way to get an Altair was to order the construction kit.

For many Popular Electronics readers, the Altair was their first window into the world of digital computing. The article introducing the Altair in the January 1975 issue was written by Roberts and the Altairs co-designer, William Yates. Roberts and Yates took pains to explain, in terms familiar to the electricians and radio enthusiasts in their audience, the basic concepts underlying digital hardware and computer programming. A computer, they wrote, is basically a piece of variable hardware. By changing the bit pattern stored in the memory, the hardware can be altered from one type of device to another. Of programming, meanwhile, Roberts and Yates wrote that the basic concepts are simple enough to master in a relatively short time, but that becoming an efficient programmer requires a lot of experience and a large amount of creativity, which sounds about right to me. The article included a detailed diagram explaining all the constituent circuits of the Intel 8080 CPU, even though readers would receive at least that part fully assembled. It explained the difference between a CPU and a computers memory unit, the uses of a stack pointer, and the enormous advantages offered by assembly languages and higher-level languages like FORTRAN and BASIC over manual entry of machine code.

Popular Electronics had in fact been running a series written by Roberts for several issues before January 1975. The series was billed as a short course in digital logic. In the December 1974 issue, Roberts walked readers through building a very low cost computer terminal, which was basically an octal keypad that could input values into an 8-bit computer. In the course of describing the keypad, Roberts explained how transistor-to-transistor logic works and also how to construct a flip-flop, a kind of circuit capable of remembering digital values. The keypad, Roberts promised, could be used with the Altair computer, to be announced the following month.

Its unclear how many Popular Electronics readers actually built the keypad, but it would have been a very useful thing to have. Without a keypad or some other input mechanism, the only way to input values into the Altair was through the switches on the front panel. The front panel had a row of 16 switches that could be used to set an address and a lower row of eight switches that could be used to control the operation of the computer. The eight right-most switches in the row of 16 could also be used to specify a value to be stored in memory. This made sense because the Intel 8080 used 16-bit values to address 8-bit words. The 16 switches on the front panel each represented a bitthe up position represented a one, while the down position represented a zero. Interacting with a computer this way is a revelation (more on that in a minute), because the Altairs front panel is a true binary interface. Its as close as you can get to the bare metal.

As alien as the Altairs interface is to us today, it was not unusual for its time. The PDP-8, for example, had a similar binary input mechanism on its front panel, though the PDP-8s switches were nicer and colored in that attractive orange and yellow color scheme that really ought to make a comeback. The PDP-8, however, was often paired with a paper-tape reader or a teletype machine, which made program entry much easier. These I/O devices were expensive, meaning that most Altair users in the early days were stuck with the front panel. As you might imagine, entering long programs via the switches was a chore. Eventually the Altair could be hooked up to a cassette recorder and programs could be loaded that way. Bill Gates and Paul Allen, in what would become Microsofts first ever commercial venture, also wrote a version of BASIC for the Altair that MITS licensed and released in the middle of 1975. Users that could afford a teletype could then load BASIC into the Altair via paper tape and interact with their Altair through text. BASIC, which had become everyones favorite introductory programming language in schools, would go on to become the standard interface to the machines produced in the early microcomputer era.

z80pack

Thanks to the efforts of several internet people, in particular a person named Udo Munk, you can run a simulation of the Altair on your computer. The simulation is built on top of some software that emulates the Zilog Z80 CPU, a CPU designed to be software-compatible with the Intel 8080. The Altair simulation allows you to input programs entirely via the front panel switches like early users of the Altair had to do. Though clicking on switches does not offer the same tactile satisfaction as flipping real switches, playing with the Altair simulation is a great way to appreciate how a binary human/computer interface was both horribly inefficient and, at least in my opinion, charmingly straightforward.

z80pack, Udo Munks Z80 emulation package, can be downloaded from the z80pack website. There are instructions in my last Altair post explaining how to get it set up on Mac OS. If you are able to compile both the FrontPanel library and the altairsim executable, you should be able to run altairsim and see the following window:

By default, at least with the version of z80pack that I am using (1.36), the Altair is configured with something called Tarbell boot ROM, which I think is used to load disk images. In practice, what this means is that you cant write values into the first several words in RAM. If you edit the file /altairsim/conf/system.conf , you can instead set up a simple Altair that has 16 pages of RAM and no ROM or bootloader software at all. You can also use this configuration file to increase the size of the window the simulation runs in, which is handy.

The front panel of the Altair is intimidating, but in reality there isnt that much going on. The Altair manual does a good job of explaining the many switches and status lights, as does this YouTube video. To enter and run a simple program, you only really need to know a few things. The lights labeled D0 through D7 near the top right of the Altair indicate the contents of the currently addressed word. The lights labeled A0 through A15 indicate the current address. The 16 switches below the address lights can be used to set a new address; when the EXAMINE switch is pressed upward, the data lights update to show the contents of the newly addressed word. In this way, you can peek at all the words in memory. You can also press the EXAMINE switch down to the EXAMINE NEXT position, which automatically examines the next memory address, which makes peeking at sequential words significantly easier.

To save a bit pattern to a word, you have to set the bit pattern using the right-most eight switches labeled 0 through 7. You then press the DEPOSIT switch upward.

In the February 1975 issue of Popular Electronics, Roberts and Yates walked Altair owners through inputting a small sample program to ensure that their Altair was functioning. The program loads two integers from memory, adds them, and saves the sum back into memory. The program consists of only six instructions, but those six instructions involve 14 words of memory altogether, which takes some time to input correctly. The sample program also appears in the Altair manual in table form, which Ive reproduced here:

Address Mnemonic Bit Pattern Octal Equivalent 0 LDA 00 111 010 0 7 2 1 (address) 10 000 000 2 0 0 2 (address) 00 000 000 0 0 0 3 MOV B, A 01 000 111 1 0 7 4 LDA 00 111 010 0 7 2 5 (address) 10 000 001 2 0 1 6 (address) 00 000 000 0 0 0 7 ADD B 10 000 000 2 0 0 8 STA 00 110 010 0 6 2 9 (address) 10 000 010 2 0 2 10 (address) 00 000 000 0 0 0 11 JMP 11 000 011 3 0 3 12 (address) 00 000 000 0 0 0 13 (address) 00 000 000 0 0 0

If you input each word in the above table into the Altair via the switches, you end up with a program that loads the value in word 128, adds it to the value in the word 129, and finally saves it into word 130. The addresses that accompany each instruction taking an address are given with the least-significant bits first, which is why the second byte is always zeroed out (no addresses are higher than 255). Once youve input the program and entered some values into words 128 and 129, you can press the RUN switch into the down position briefly before pushing it into the STOP position. Since the program loops, it repeatedly adds those values and saves the sum thousands of times a second. The sum is always the same though, so if you peek at word 130 after stopping the program, you should find the correct answer.

I dont know whether any regular users of the Altair ever had access to an assembler, but z80pack includes one. The z80pack assembler, z80asm , is meant for Z80 assembly, so it uses a different set of mnemonics altogether. But since the Z80 was designed to be compatible with software written for the Intel 8080, the opcodes are all the same, even if the mnemonics are different. So just to illustrate what it might have been like to write the same program in assembly, here is a version that can be assembled by z80asm and loaded into the Altair:

ORG 0000H START: LD A,(80H) ;Load from address 128. LD B,A ;Move loaded value from accumulator (A) to reg B. LD A,(81H) ;Load from address 129. ADD A,B ;Add A and B. LD (82H),A ;Store A at address 130. JP START ;Jump to start.

You can turn this into something called an Intel HEX file by invoking the assembler like so (after you have compiled it):

$ ./z80asm -fh -oadd.hex add.asm

The -f flag, here taking h as an argument, specifies that a HEX file should be output. You can then load the program into the Altair by passing the HEX file in using the -x flag:

$ ./altairsim -x add.hex

This sets up the first 14 words in memory as if you had input the values manually via the switches. Instead of doing all that again, you can just run the program by using the RUN switch as before. Much easier!

As I said, I dont think many Altair users wrote software this way. Once Altair BASIC became available, writing BASIC programs was probably the easiest way to program the Altair. z80pack also includes several HEX files containing different versions of Altair BASIC; the one Ive been able to get working is version 4.0 of 4K BASIC, which you can load into the simulator like so:

$ ./altairsim -x basic4k40.hex

If you turn the simulated machine on and hit the RUN switch, you should see that BASIC has started talking to you in your terminal window. It first prompts you to enter the amount of memory you have available, which should be 4000 bytes. It then asks you a few more questions before presenting you with the OK prompt, which Gates and Allen used instead of the standard READY to save memory. From there, you can just use BASIC:

OK PRINT 3 + 4 7

Though running BASIC with only 4kb of memory didnt give you a lot of room, you can see how it would have been a significant step up from using the front panel.

The Altair, of course, was nowhere near as capable as the home desktops and laptops we have available to us today. Even something like the Macintosh, released less than a decade later, seems like a quantum leap forward over the spartan Altair. But to those first Popular Electronics readers that bought the kit and assembled it, the Altair was a real, fully capable computer that they could own for themselves, all for the low cost of $400 and half the surface space of the credenza. This would have been an amazing thing for people that had thus far only been able to interact with computers by handing a stack of cards or a roll of tape to another human being entrusted with the actual operation of the computer. Subsequent microcomputers would improve upon what the Altair offered and quickly become much easier to use, but they were all, in some sense, just more complicated Altairs. The Altairalmost Brutalist in its minimalismwas the bare-essentials blueprint for all that would follow.

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Previously on TwoBitHistory
Ivanka Trump is officially closing her fashion business, which has been struggling to survive since her father, US President Donald Trump, was elected and she moved to Washington DC to work with him.

When Ivanka moved last spring, Abigail Klem became president of the fashion brand. Klem on Tuesday told the companys 18 employees that the fashion company is closing. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, Ivanka was to address the employees later on today.

Trump unlikely to return to the retail world

Trump went on to tell The Wall Street Journal that she is currently uncertain if she would return to the fashion retail industry when she eventually leaves Washington DC.

She said after 17 months working in Washington her focus in the foreseeable future is to do the work she is currently doing for the White House administration. She said that making the decision to close the business was only fair to her employees and partners.

Ivanka Trumps fashion brand lasted about 256 scaramuccis.  Charlotte Clymer (@cmclymer) July 24, 2018

Ivanka Trump line surged during the 2016 elections

After Trump opened the company in 2011, she experienced a surge in business while the 2016 election campaign was running. By 31 January 31, 2017, sales of the Ivanka Trump line of clothing went up by 61 percent or $47.3 million from the previous year.

However, after Donald Trump won the election and became the US President, Ivanka started to work with him in the White House.

As soon as she stepped aside from the companys operations, sales began to fall. The volume of sales steadily decreased from then on.

Ivanka Trump company shuts down. Sales had fallen to the point where it didnt make good business sense to continue, dropped by stores Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Jetcom, DSW, Shoescom, Belk, ShopStyle, Gilt, Hudsons Bayhttps://t.co/tfSe8FpZ0W  Alfons Lopez Tena #FBPE (@alfonslopeztena) July 24, 2018

Nordstrom drops Ivanka Trump brand

As reported by the Financial Times, after Nordstrom, an American fashion retailer, dropped Ivankas line, her father lashed out against the company on Twitter, saying they had treated his daughter unfairly. Nordstrom said they hadnt dropped Ivankas fashion line over her fathers policies and said that sales of the line had deteriorated so much it only made good business sense to discontinue it.

Nordstrom wasnt alone, as T.J. Maxx and the Nieman Marcus Group have also scaled back their policies over the Ivanka Trump brand. However, Saks Off 5th, Bloomingdales and Lord & Taylor continue to offer her brand. There are also online sales through Amazon and Zappos.

Ivankas clothing line shutting down now can only mean that some nicer, more creative designer shut down last season  Jess Dweck (@TheDweck) July 24, 2018

A scandal then arose when Donald Trumps senior adviser, Kellyanne Conway, told people to buy Ivankas stuff during a televised interview in the White House briefing room.

Her actions were then widely criticized, as the White House shouldnt get involved in business activities.

Klem said that Ivanka had grown increasingly frustrated over various restrictions placed on the brand and has been mulling over whether to close the company in recent months. However, Klem did say that Trump was very proud of the brand.
Donald Trump may be thinking about a full state visit to the UK in spring next year. The US Ambassador spoke to Channel 4 on "When Trump Came To Town: Inside The American Embassy." He hinted that the UK could possibly expect a full state visit by Trump in 2019. According to The Herald Scotland, in fact, Thompson intimated that the US president may return before that.

Thomspon said the efforts by everyone involved in organising the visit by Trump to the UK where he met the Queen, was a success with "flying colours."

Donald Trump visit predicted for Spring 2019

If Trump is planning a state visit, there is no word that this is on the UK government's agenda.

Thompson said, when asked about a return visit by Trump, that a "state visit next spring would be, I think, kind of, the next step on his visits." However, he did qualify that with some uncertainty by adding, "but he might visit before that, who knows?"

The question of if and when Donald Trump might visit seems to be a little bit up in the air. Given Trump's unpredictability, it could well be a fact that Thomspon is not exactly sure of any specific dates.

Donald Trump could return to the UK next spring for a full state visit, the American ambassador to London has predictedhttps://t.co/Jd4Wt7ybWb  Press Association (@PA) July 23, 2018

President Trump was criticized after his last visit for making faux pas

President Trump was trolled seriously on Twitter after his visit to the country earlier this month.

Although he was not required to bow to the Queen, he was roundly trounced for not doing so. He also became a bit confused about allowing the Queen to walk ahead, and at one stage turned his back on her. These were all considered fuel to the anti-Trump flames. There were large protests in London against Trump visiting the country.

Notably, the giant "Trump Baby" balloon floated for everyone to see.

Trump Baby balloon is set to appear in New Jersey soon.

The Trump Baby balloon is now set to fly in New Jersey

No matter when Trump does decide to visit the UK again, there are sure to be more demonstrations.

The UK government will need to plan well ahead to deal with any such incidents. During his last visit, extra police were brought in from other areas to keep the peace. The USA warned Americans in the country to keep a low profile and avoid confrontation with demonstrators.

Given that the UK is divided over their own problems with Brexit, the current government may not want to create more furore by considering a Trump state visit at this time. Added to that, the Metro UK reminded readers that on his last visit, Trump annoyed a lot of people by "saying Mrs. May had not taken his advice on Brexit." They added that "Mr. Trump heaped praise on the Prime Ministers potential rival for Tory leader Boris Johnson."
Donald Trump took to his Twitter as news broke that North Korea began dismantling a rocket launch site. The Chicago Tribune noted that the site is said to be for launching satellites but is suspected of being part of North Korea's ballistic missile project. Donald Trump lashed out at "Fake News" who reported his impatience over how slow N.Korea is at undertaking the dismantling.

The US president once again justified himself on social media and took the opportunity to slam media who use "anonymous sources" to produce "Fake News." He noted that North Korea has not launched a rocket in nine months.

Donald Trump tweets that he is 'happy' with North Korea

US President Trump said in his tweet that there have been "no nuclear tests" in nine months either. His Twitter showed that as far as Trump is concerned, "Japan is happy all of Asia is happy." Nevertheless, he was certainly not happy with the media. He accused them of spreading false lies about his state of mind over the progress in North Korea. He noted that some (unnamed media) had said he was "angry because it is not going fast enough." He then ended by noting that the press reports were "wrong" and that he is "very happy."

A Rocket has not been launched by North Korea in 9 months. Likewise, no Nuclear Tests. Japan is happy, all of Asia is happy. But the Fake News is saying, without ever asking me (always anonymous sources), that I am angry because it is not going fast enough. Wrong, very happy!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018

N Korea rocket site dismantling

The BBC reported that 38 North had looked at photos of the Sohae station.

38 North is a site that often carries commercial satellite imagery. This image was under Air Defense and Space. The site does look like dismantling is in progress. According to the photo, the following progress had been made on the rocket launch site:

Two old fuel oxidizer bunker is partially demolished.

The test stand superstructure is completely dismantled and the base is being removed, and

A rail mounted environmental shelter is now gone.

Satellite images indicate North Korea has started dismantling rocket launch sitehttps://t.co/86Fwf3K8xr pic.twitter.com/fNUmLZDhon  The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) July 24, 2018

Trump-Kim summit discussed dismantling at Singapore summit

BBC noted that Trump discussed projects like this with North Korea during the June Trump-Kim summit in Singapore.

At the time, exact locations and projects were not released to the media. Despite the media hype around Trump's promises that the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsular would happen, neither country elaborated on any details.

Trump's claim that North Korea had not carried out launches and tests in the last nine months is correct.

Late last year, the last known nuclear test was carried out. In total, they carried out six tests. At the time, the Washington Post reported there was an extremely powerful explosion that took place in tunnels at the Punggye-ri site.
GYOR, Hungary (Reuters) - Audi has launched serial production of electric engines at its Hungarian plant, the luxury carmaker said in a statement on Tuesday.

Audi's Hungarian unit said the engines will be made for its all-electric e-tron models. Initial daily capacity will be about 400 electric engines at the Hungarian plant, which can be increased gradually, it said.

Audi, which also makes cars in Hungary, manufactured a total of more than 1.965 million various engines at its Hungarian plant in the city of Gyor last year, and is one of Hungary's most important exporters.

(Reporting by Krisztina Than and Krisztina Fenyo)
The global music business is experiencing demonstrable growth for the first time since the 1990s, and according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) sales of music reached US$17.3 billion in 2017 an increase of 8.1% on 2016. But this increase in the global marketplace is not representative of certain areas of the world. In particular, popular music in Africa has benefited from shrewd independent artists and self-promotion, largely through global social media channels such as Mdundo, which covers East Africa and allows artists to upload their music themselves.

Like Sony, which has made significant investment in Africa in recent years, the global giant Universal Music Group has turned its attention to African artists, evident in the signing of performers such as Locko from Cameroon, Togos Toofan and Kiff No Beat from Cote d'Ivoire. But Sony and Universals strategies for their own stakes in a pan-African music industry are not entirely new.

More than 50 years ago, British conglomerate EMI established EMI (Nigeria) Ltd, and many other Nigerian releases carried various imprints of Western labels such as His Masters Voice, Parlophone and Polydor through the latter half of the 20th century. Outside Africa, RCA, Columbia and Odeon Records manufactured records in Brazil, the Philippines and India, releasing music by national as well as Western artists.

In the early 1960s, the American ethnomusicologist Robert E Brown coined the term world music to describe the music of artists he was working with from Asia, Africa and Indonesia. But it was during the Western industry boom of the 1980s that the term took off as a way of cataloguing and marketing non-Western, traditional and vernacular music.

During the mid-1980s, thousands of youths across Britain would tune in to BBC Radio 1 to hear John Peel and Andy Kershaw  champions of world music  playing the Bhundu Boys, The Kilimambogo Brothers and Ali Farka Toure alongside Timbuk 3, Ivor Cutler and The Smiths. Then, the term world music may have been a useful way to signpost non-Western music to listeners who had previously only known performers from the UK and US.

Story continues

Kershaw, in particular, brought many of these sounds to a broader audience  and it was possible to track down some of the music he played in HMV and Tower Records world music sections the following week. Despite this, consumers were merely scratching the surface of an incredible range of different vernacular music produced in a multitude of locations across the globe.

I HATE world music

So how appropriate is the term world music in the contemporary post-global world of popular music? The answer surely is, not very  yet one can wander into a high street record shop and, next to blues or country, find a section of eclectic and diverse music neatly labelled world music. There have been extensive discussions in the field of ethnomusicology in recent times regarding this issue. As far back as 1995, James Porter stated that the definition of world music as non-Western music is problematic due to its exclusion of Western-made art music.

More publicly, David Byrnes piece in The New York Times in October 1999 opened with the statement I HATE world music  which continued by explaining the term as dismissive of exotic artists music as something foreign, somehow irrelevant to ones own life.

But the term also evades any connection with a sense of culture or place. Even rap music has a plethora of sub-categories including crunk, grime, trap, drill, and so on, all of which are regional but still exist in the Western world only. World music is also a vague, general term that excludes Western-made fusion and hybrid music.

Attempts have been made to align the work of these artists under the labels of worldbeat, ethnic, world and global fusion, but these terms also stigmatise by their generalist tone. Splitting music and lumping it together under the labels of Western and non-Western, which is essentially what the world music label does, misses the point and generates a perception of otherness  of places which exist exotically. Its worryingly parochial, and embodies an almost imperialist ideal.

Lets dance

So where do we go from here? Western interest in music from non-Western places is increasing dramatically, and record labels in Europe are producing many official reissues such as Xtasys E Je Ka Jo (Lets Dance) album. The sourcing of new music by listeners through social media platforms in recent years has resulted in a paradigm shift in how music is consumed as listeners discover an unprecedented range of music from across the globe.

As Universal fully launches its new infrastructure in Africa, the industry would do well to remember that at a time when, in the West, even sub-genres of music require further sub-genres, music from places other than the West deserve to be properly defined and marketed to fully and accurately represent the artists creating it.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

The Conversation

Adam de Paor-Evans does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Donald Trumps short-lived press secretary has finally admitted to being more than economical with the truth when it came to the size of the Presidents inauguration crowd.

Sean Spicer, who quit as the White House press secretary after just six months, said he made several missteps during his time in the role.

Sean Spicer has admitted to lying about the size of Donald Trumps inauguration crowd (Getty)

Mr Spicer was widely mocked after he insisted that Trump pulled the largest crowd ever on the National Mall in Washington DC  despite pictures telling a different story.

Speaking to BBCs Newsnight, Mr Spicer said he would love a do-over of that day.

The crowd for Trumps inauguration (bottom) compared to Obamas (top) (AP)

At the time, Spicer had insisted that Trump drew the largest audience ever to witness an inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe.

He told the BBC: I wanted to change the focus to the number of people who had watched it, not just on the National Mall, and I clearly didnt do a good job of that.

That goes down as one of the days Id like a do-over.

Nobody was happy with me that day.

Latest on Donald Trump at Yahoo News UK

Mr Spicer also spoke about when he said Adolf Hitler had not used chemical weapons on his people during the Second World War.

Admitting the misstep, he told ITV: Its painful sometimes to think of the missteps I may have made that made other people reflect poorly on the country that I love.

There was a level of intensity where you were always five reporters ahead, what was coming, and I had answered the other questions on message.

Spicer resigned as the Presidents press secretary after six months (Getty)

Mr Spicer often battled with journalists during briefings, and he admitted to feeling constantly under attack throughout the presidential campaign and at the start of Trumps time in office.

Story continues

He said: There were days in that job that were extremely lonely because no one was happy with me.

Despite his short time in the role and difficulties during his tenure, Mr Spicer said it was an honour and a privilege to have the job.

He added: When I was a child I didnt think I would get a tour of the White House, to work there was an honour.

I knew I was becoming the story too often.

Time after time, I became the focus, and a spokesman should be speaking for someone else.
CAIRO (AP)  Egypt inaugurated several power generation projects, including three electricity plants built by the German conglomerate Siemens, in a ceremony Tuesday attended by President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, government ministers and officials.

The three combined-cycle power plants were built by Siemens at a cost of 6 billion euros, or $7.2 billion. They are in Kafr al-Sheikh and Beni Suef provinces and in the new capital city that is under construction outside of Cairo and are expected to provide 14,400 megawatts to Egypt's national electricity grid.

Also among other projects inaugurated was a big wind farm in Gabal al-Zeit, on the Red Sea.

At the ceremony, Electricity Minister Mohammed Shaker said Egypt has invested in projects in the electricity sector costing some 515 billion Egyptian pounds since June 2014.

Egypt suffered a severe power crunch in the years following a 2011 popular uprising that toppled longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak. The nationwide power shortage largely blamed on poor maintenance and lack of funding caused rolling blackouts, particularly during summer, that affected tens of millions of people.

During the ceremony, el-Sissi said Egypt has come a long way and Egyptians should be proud of what has been accomplished.

The Electricity Ministry's spokesman, Ayman Hamza, told local media earlier that the projects are part of a wider plan to make Egypt a regional energy hub. He said the output will cover all domestic needs and will help boost electrical exchange with neighboring countries.

Recently, Egypt raised the price of electricity by an average of 26 percent as part of austerity measures designed to overhaul the country's economy. El-Sissi says the reforms, implemented shortly after he took office in 2014, have put Egypt on "the right track" and that they will spur economic growth by over seven percent in the coming years.
An entire family huddled together and waited to die as wildfires spread out of control in Greece (PA)

The devastating wildfires in Greece have claimed the lives of more than 60 people  including a family who huddled together as the flames engulfed them.

Rescuers in the village of Mati found 26 bodies, including those of small children, all huddled together at a holiday compound, some of them hugging.

They were found just 30 metres away from the sea, seemingly unable to find a route past the fires that ravaged the village.

A firefighter sprays water on the fire in the town of Mati, east of Athens (PA)

It is thought the group were huddled together in a desperate attempt to protect themselves from the fire, which was being fulled by winds gusting at 60mph.

Evangelos Bournous, mayor of nearby port town Rafina, said: Mati no longer exists.

The two major forest fires are raging out of control on either side of the Greek capital of Athens, burning up to 100 houses and prompting residents to flee.

MORE: Three children aged EIGHT prosecuted for speeding in last 18 months, figures reveal

MORE: One in four Brits would vote for a far-right, anti-Islam political party, poll finds

The first fire broke out in a pine forest near the seaside settlement of Kineta, 30 miles west of Athens.

At least 150 firefighters were on the scene while five water-dropping planes and seven helicopters helped to fight the blaze from the air. Reinforcements were sent from across Greece.

The second major fire broke out on Monday afternoon in the Penteli area north east of Athens.

A person looks across at burning houses destroyed in the wildfires (PA)

Local authorities said they were evacuating childrens summer camps, while dozens of homes and cars were reportedly destroyed.

At least three aircraft and a helicopter were battling the flames, along with at least 50 firefighters, the fire department said.

The coast guard was sending at least one patrol boat to rescue people who called to say the fire had trapped them on a beach.

A plane flies over the smoke and fire covering the town of (PA)

The fire was burning into Rafina, with the sky above the nearby port that serves ferries to some of the Cycladic islands, turning black from the smoke. The highway to the nearby town of Marathon was closed to traffic.

Story continues

Mayor Bournous said he believed about 100 houses in the area had been burned.

Gale force winds with strong, shifty gusts were hampering firefighting efforts at both blazes.

People cover their faces from the smoke that fills the sky near Kineta (PA)

Tourists and residents had fled towards the coastline to escape the flames and choking smoke, while authorities evacuated more than 700 people by sea overnight.

Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras has declared a three-day national mourning period.

Greeces government said it has requested drones from the US to observe and detect any suspicious activity.

It believes the fires may have been started by arsonists who wanted to loot abandoned homes.
Reuters

Germany, Denmark, Ireland and six other European countries said on Monday they would not support a reform of the EU electricity market, ahead of an emergency meeting of energy ministers to discuss the recent price spike. European gas and power prices soared to record high levels in autumn and have remained high, prompting countries including Spain and France to urge Brussels to redesign its electricity market rules. Nine countries on Monday poured cold water on those proposals, in a joint statement that said they "cannot support any measure that conflicts with the internal gas and electricity market" such as an overhaul of the wholesale power market.
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A Syrian warplane shot down by Israel over the Golan Heights on Tuesday was in "gross violation" of a 1974 U.N.-monitored demilitarisation deal on the strategic plateau, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday.

"Our forces took appropriate action," he said in a statement. "We insist that Syria stringently honour the separation of forces agreement between us and them."

(Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Israel has shot down a Syrian fighter jet it says breached its airspace in the Golan Heights.

The Israeli military said it monitored the advance of the Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet and took it down with a pair of Patriot missiles.

It said the jet had penetrated the Israeli airspace by about two kilometres (1.2 miles).

Damascus, however, said the jet was targeted over Syrian territory as it flew sorties against Islamic State militants.

Syrian forces have been battling IS militants at the frontier with Israel for weeks as they seek to restore Bashar al Assad's rule over southwestern Syria.

On Tuesday they reached the Golan Heights for the first time in seven years.

Israel occupied the Golan Heights during the Six-Day War in 1967, and the UN deployed a peacekeeping force between the two sides in 1974.

There had been an increase in internal fighting in Syria since the morning hours, Israel's military said, including intensified activity by the Syrian Air Force.

The Syrian jet was the first to be shot down by Israel in four years.

Syria's state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV was broadcasting footage from the fence of the UN buffer zone between Syrian and Israeli forces minutes before the plane was targeted.

The shootdown comes after more than 400 White Helmet rescue workers and their families were evacuated from Syria by Israel "due to an immediate threat to their lives" over the weekend.

The humanitarian operation came amid an offensive by the Russian-backed Damascus regime to retake rebel-held areas in the south of the country.

The group have been taken to Jordan where they have been given temporary asylum.
ATHENS, Greece (AP)  The latest on wildfires raging in Greece (all times local):

2:50 a.m.

A Greek father is appealing for help locating his missing twin daughters, who he says he spotted alive in TV news footage showing people getting off a fishing boat that had rescued them as they fled deadly wildfires near Athens.

Yiannis Philipopoulos said early Wednesday that he and his wife recognized the 9-year-old girls Sophia and Vasiliki in the TV news footage after they spent a fruitless day searching for them at area hospitals and law enforcement agencies. He said the girls went missing along with their grandparents amid the wildfires that engulfed popular resort spots near the Greek capital.

Philipopoulos' search highlights the plight of many families looking for relatives. Many people went into the sea to avoid approaching flames and where picked up by rescue boats. There is no definitive count on the missing.

Philipopoulos said in an appearance on the private television stations Skai and Alpha that the footage gave him hope that his children are alive. He urged anyone with information to contact him.

The captain of the rescue boat said authorities recorded the names of rescued people as they disembarked.

___

11 p.m.

Greece's public order minister says Italy is dispatching two Canadair firefighting planes and Romania is sending a third aircraft to help combat wildfires near the Greek capital that have claimed the lives of at least 74 people.

Minister Nikos Toskas said late Tuesday that the aircraft are expected to arrive Wednesday morning to bolster firefighting efforts. Toskas said that if necessary, Greece would ask other European Union member states for additional help.

Toskas said never before have there been so many offers to assist firefighting efforts, lauding the solidarity other countries have shown. He said climate change was responsible for the gale force winds that had fanned the flames, adding that Greece had never before experienced such strong winds.

Story continues

EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Christos Stylianides said the 28-member bloc will take steps to upgrade its response to natural disasters that have been exacerbated by climate change.

___

7:55 p.m.

Wildfires raging through seaside resorts near the Greek capital have torched homes, cars and forests, killing at least 74 people.

Authorities say 26 of the dead were found huddled together in a compound. Other bodies were recovered from the sea, where victims had fled to escape the flames and smoke.

The fires that broke out Monday were the deadliest to hit the country in decades. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has declared three days of national mourning. Officials fear the death toll could rise further.

___

6:10 p.m.

Macedonia has offered 6 million denars (about 100,000 euros) as urgent help for neighboring Greece to battle wildfires that killed dozens of people near Athens.

Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev posted Twitter on Tuesday that his government the funds will be available to Greek institutions responsible for dealing with fires.

Macedonia's government will also set up a body to monitor the situation and coordinate humanitarian assistance.

Zaev has offered condolences to the Greek people and families who have lost their members and friends.

Macedonia's Foreign Ministry has also issued a recommendation to its citizens to avoid traveling to the regions in the Attica area affected with wildfires.

___

6 p.m.

Pope Francis is praying for the dozens who died in Greece's wildfires and offering encouragement to firefighters and rescue crews.

The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, sent a telegram of condolences Tuesday to Greek public and church authorities after at least 74 were killed in the forest fires near Athens.

The note said the pope was "deeply saddened" to learn of the death and destruction "and extends his heartfelt solidarity to all those affected by this tragedy."

The wildfires tore through seaside resorts near the Greek capital, torching homes, cars and forests. More than 180 people are being treated for injuries.

___

5:45 p.m.

Greece's fire department says the death toll from forest fires that raged through seaside resorts near the Greek capital has increased to 74.

Fire Service spokeswoman Stavroula Malliri said Tuesday afternoon that the death toll had increased from 50 to 74, adding that a further 164 adults and 23 children were still being treated in hospitals for injuries.

Two main fires broke out Monday, one to the west of Athens near the town of Kineta and one to the northeast near the port of Rafina. Both were fanned by gale-force winds Monday that hampered firefighting efforts and sent hundreds of people fleeing to beaches, from where they were evacuated on boats late at night.

It was the Rafina fire which appears to have been the deadliest by far.

___

3:50 p.m.

Officials in Poland say a Polish woman and her son drowned when their boat capsized during evacuation from wildfires in Greece.

Janusz Smigielski, deputy head of the Poznan-based Grecos office, said Tuesday that the two were vacationing in the resort of Mati, east of Athens. He said they drowned during the evacuation of 10 people by boat on Wednesday night, and that he was still waiting for Greek authorities to give details about the accident.

Smigielski said that a further 435 Grecos clients in the Athens region have been moved to hotels in safe areas.

Poland's Foreign Ministry has appealed to Poles in Greece to be very cautious.

___

This version removes erroneous references to other victims in the capsized boat. The woman and her son drowned, but it is not yet known what happened to others in their boat.

___

3:30 p.m.

Croatia has offered two Canadair aircraft to help Greece battle wildfires that have killed dozens of people near Athens.

Defense Minister Damir Krsticevic said Tuesday Croatia is preparing the planes so they are ready to go to Greece if needed there.

At least 50 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in the wildfires. Croatia has said that none of its citizens are among the victims.

Wildfires also are common in Croatia in dry and windy weather during hot summers along the Adriatic Sea coast.

___

3 p.m.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is offering her country's help to fight the forest fires raging in Greece.

In a message of condolence sent to Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Tuesday, Merkel said that "in these difficult hours Germany stands firmly by the side of our Greek friends."

She added: "You can be sure of our willingness to provide support in coping with the fire disaster."

Wildfires raging through seaside resorts near Athens have killed at least 50 people.

___

2:30 p.m.

Italy is offering two Canadair aircraft to help Greece battle wildfires that have killed dozens of people near Athens.

Premier Giuseppe Conte on Tuesday tweeted Italy's support for Greece and condolences for those who have died. He announced Italy was making the two water-dropping aircraft available.

Italy routinely experiences summertime wildfires, particularly in the south. Late Monday firefighters in Sicily brought the latest one under control near Acireale, with the help of two Canadairs.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has declared three days of national mourning for the dozens killed in the wildfires that swept through seaside areas near Athens. Many people fled to beaches, with some swimming out to sea to escape the choking smoke.

___

2:10 p.m.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has declared three days of national mourning for dozens of people killed by wildfires that swept through seaside areas near Athens.

The official death toll Tuesday from the deadly fires that broke out Monday stood at 50. There were fears the toll could rise as rescue crews searched through the charred remains of houses, while the coast guard scoured the seas. Many people fled to beaches, with some swimming out to sea to escape the choking smoke. More than 700 people were evacuated from beaches.

"Today Greece is mourning, and in memory of those who were lost, we are declaring a three-day period of mourning," Tsipras said. "But we mustn't let mourning overwhelm us, because these hours are hours of battle, unity, courage and above all solidarity."

___

12:45 p.m.

Turkey has offered to send firefighting aircraft to neighboring Greece after twin wildfires tore through areas near Athens.

Speaking in Northern Cyprus Tuesday, Turkey's foreign minister said Turkish airplanes and helicopters are on standby to aid Greece. Mevlut Cavusoglu said his Greek counterpart Nikos Kotzias thanked him for the offer but said assistance was not currently needed.

Bekir Pakdemirli, Turkey's agriculture and forestry minister, in Ankara said the planes are "45 minutes away if there is a request and we are ready to intervene immediately."

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also expressed his condolences and said his country was ready to help.

At least 50 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in the fires.

___

10:35 a.m.

The Spanish government says it has sent two amphibious planes to help fight the twin forest fires in seaside areas of Greece that have killed nearly 50 people and injured more than 100.

Greece sought international help through the European Union as fires on either side of Athens left lines of cars torched, charred farms and forests, and sent hundreds of people racing to beaches to be evacuated by navy vessels, yachts and fishing boats.

Spain's Ministry of Agriculture says that each of the two Canadair-type planes dispatched early Tuesday can hoard 5.5 tons of water and they are piloted by members of the country's air force.

The ministry says in a statement that the decision to dispatch the planes was made only after an assessment of Spain's own need for them.

The country is also prone to destructive wildfires every year, when dry and hot summers can be met with strong winds that quickly spread the flames.

___

10:05 a.m.

Greece's fire department says 49 people are confirmed to have died in forest fires that have swept through popular seaside holiday areas near the Greek capital.

Fire department spokeswoman Stavroula Malliri added that 156 adults and 16 children have been hospitalized with injuries. Eleven of the adults are in serious condition.

Malliri said Tuesday that strong winds have fanned the flames, with the fires spreading rapidly into inhabited areas, preventing people who are in their homes or in their cars from managing to flee.

Greece has requested firefighting help from the European Union, and Malliri said a military transport plane is arriving with 60 firefighters from Cyprus, while two water-dropping planes are expected from Spain.

___

8:45 a.m.

Twin wildfires fanned by gale force winds tore through holiday resorts near Greece's capital, killing at least 24 people by early Tuesday and injuring more than 100, including 11 in serious condition, in the country's deadliest fire season in more than a decade.

There were fears the death toll would rise significantly. Rescue crews working through the charred areas of where the fire had passed through to the northeast of Athens told local media that at first light, they had found the bodies of more than 20 people gathered in one place near a beach.

Greek health authorities could not immediately confirm the increase in the death toll as the bodies had not yet reached hospitals.
Morgan Glendinning, 13, is known to wear a distinctive pink coat (Picture: SWNS)

A mother has made an appeal on Twitter for the return of her teenage daughter, who may have travelled hundreds of miles to see someone she met on Instagram.

Morgan Glendinning, 13, was last seen at her home in Rushton, Northamptonshire, at midday on Monday.

Her parents are concerned the diabetic teenager has left home with limited medical supplies.

They believe she may have travelled to London to meet someone she had been in contact with through Instagram.

This is my daughter she is believed to have travelled to London possibly Ealing area. She is type 1 diabetic. With limited insulin and test strips and no hypo treatment. Please share for me we are distraught. https://t.co/8Jsh8Q2RTI  Sharon Glendinning (@SharonGlendinni) July 24, 2018

Her mother, Sharon, 42, posted an appeal for her safe return on Twitter on Tuesday.

Retweeting an appeal from Northamptonshire police, Mrs Glendinning wrote: This is my daughter. She is believed to have travelled to London possibly Ealing area.

She is type 1 diabetic. With limited insulin and test strips and no hypo treatment. Please share for me we are distraught.

MORE: Heathrow introduces scanners that could mean you no longer need remove liquids from your bag

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Her father, Brian, 46, said: We dont exactly know why she has gone missing. She has been talking to different people on Instagram.

She is very secretive about who she talks to. We think she might have met up with them on there.

She is diabetic and has gone missing without taking her medication with her.

Police are increasingly concerned over the whereabouts of Morgan Glendinning aged 13. She has been missing since Monday morning.Morgan is 5'5, medium build, with long light brown hair.She wears this distinctive pink coat regardless of the weather. If seen police contact us on 101 pic.twitter.com/eCkOHiUQRi  Northants Police (@NorthantsPolice) July 24, 2018

Morgan is described as 5ft 5ins tall, of medium build, with long light brown hair. The 13-year-old is known for wearing a pink coat whatever the weather.

Story continues

A Northamptonshire Police spokesperson said: Police are increasingly concerned over the whereabouts of Morgan Glendinning, aged 13.

She has been missing since Monday morning.

Morgan is 5ft 5ins, medium build, with long light brown hair.

She wears this distinctive pink coat regardless of the weather.
Possible Okhotnik Russian drone

Screenshot/paralay.iboards.ru

Russia says that it will turn its new Okhotnik drone, which is about to make its maiden flight, into a sixth-generation aircraft.

Popular Mechanics also published a supposed picture above of the Okhotnik, which was posted on a Russian aviation forum called paralay.iboards.ru.

Still, it's unclear exactly what the Okhotnik's capabilities are now, and what they would be if turned into a sixth-generation fighter  a concept that is still not fully realized.

Russia says that it will turn its new drone, which is about to make its maiden flight, into a sixth-generation aircraft, according to TASS, a Russian state-owned media outlet.

"Okhotnik will become a prototype of the sixth generation fighter jet," a Russian defense industry official told TASS, adding that the sixth generation fighter "has not yet taken full shape, [but] it's main features are known."

The single-engine Okhotnik ("Hunter" in Russian) drone has a top speed of 621 mph, and might make its maiden flight in 2018, according to Popular Mechanics, citing TASS.

Popular Mechanics also published a supposed picture above of the Okhotnik, which was posted on a Russian aviation forum called paralay.iboards.ru.

Russia "may use [the Okhotnik] as a platform to develop technologies for an 'autonomous' or more likely pilotless drone," Michael Kaufman, a research scientist at CNA, told Business Insider.

But Kaufman added that the claims are rather questionable since TASS sourced a Russian defense industry official.

"Any technological advances from the Okhotnik development could be carried into future aircraft or drone design," Sim Tack, the chief military analyst at Force Analysis and a global fellow at Stratfor, told Business Insider, "and this [TASS] source may be a proponent of that route."

"As far as I see it, this is a large drone similar to X-47B, with sizable payload," Kaufman said. Popular Mechanic's Kyle Mizokami likened the Okhotnik to the American RQ-170 Sentinel drone.

Story continues

Still, it's unclear exactly what the Okhotnik's capabilities are now, and what they would be if turned into a sixth-generation fighter  a concept that is still not fully realized.

The Okhotnik drone in its current capacity has an anti-radar coating, and will store missiles and precision-guided bombs internally to avoid radar detection, Popular Mechanics reported.

In any event, Russia appears to be aiming for some sort of sixth-generation aircraft, recently testing sixth-generation onboard systems on the Su-57 and even researching a radio-photonic radar for the potential aircraft.

unmanned and capable of performing any combat task in an autonomous regime.



More:

http://tass.com/defense/1014154

Okhotnik will become the prototype of the sixth generation fighter jet



More:

http://tass.com/defense/1014154

Okhotnik will become the prototype of the sixth generation fighter jet



More:

http://tass.com/defense/1014154

Okhotnik will become the prototype of the sixth generation fighter jet,



More:

http://tass.com/defense/1014154

Okhotnik will become the prototype of the sixth generation fighter jet,



More:

http://tass.com/defense/1014154

Okhotnik will become the prototype of the sixth generation fighter jet,



More:

http://tass.com/defense/1014154

NOW WATCH: Here's what it takes to become a backup dancer for Beyonce

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ANKARA (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkey was ready to facilitate conditions for international investors in every way and that his office would start dealing with large potential investors directly.

Speaking to his ruling AK Party in parliament, Erdogan called on international financial circles to trust in Turkey's future and said exclusive units were being set up under the presidential office to handle potential investments.

(Reporting by Gulsen Solaker and Tuvan Gumrukcu; Writing by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Dominic Evans)
Two members of an Islamic State murder squad can face trial in the US after Britain chose not to seek assurances the pair won't face the death penalty if found guilty.

Captured jihadists Alexanda Kotey and Shafee El-Sheikh are members of the "Beatles" group of IS fighters, so-called because the quartet all possessed British accents.

The group was behind the brutal beheadings of British and US journalists and aid workers.

:: Who are 'The Beatles'?

On Monday, the government defended its decision not to seek assurances Kotey and El-Sheikh won't be executed if they face justice in America, despite a growing backlash - including from among Conservative MPs.

Ministers have been accused of breaching the UK's long-standing opposition to the death penalty, drawing anger from human rights groups.

The controversy has put Home Secretary Sajid Javid under scrutiny, after the decision was revealed in a letter, sent last month from Mr Javid to US attorney general Jeff Sessions, which was obtained by the Daily Telegraph.

However, answering an urgent question in the House of Commons, security minister Ben Wallace insisted government policy on the death penalty has not changed.

Mr Javid did not answer MPs' questions as he was visiting Durham Police as part of a cabinet awayday in the North East.

In his place, Mr Wallace revealed Prime Minister Theresa May was aware of, and agreed with, the joint Home Office and Foreign Office decision not to seek US assurances.

Mr Wallace, despite not commenting directly on the case, also effectively confirmed previous reports Kotey and El-Sheikh were stripped of their UK citizenship after joining IS.

Labour's shadow home secretary Diane Abbott called on the government to reverse its decision to "abandon our principled opposition to the death penalty", an act she branded "abhorrent and shameful".

She told Mr Wallace it was not possible to be "a little bit in favour of the death penalty", adding: "Either we offer consistent opposition or we don't."

Story continues

Ms Abbott also noted how Diane Foley - the mother of murdered US journalist James Foley - had voiced her opposition to the death penalty.

But, Mr Wallace highlighted how Ms Foley also "said she thought it was right they faced justice in US courts".

"Who are we to deny that to those victims in the US if the UK holds some of that evidence that may make it possible?," he asked.

He later told MPs: "I also am aware as an ex-soldier that all states including states that oppose the death penalty use lethal force when it has to do so to keep itself secure.

"We risk being seen as hypocrites if we say on the one hand we will not ever make an exception for assurances but on the other hand we will use lethal force in battlefields to kill people without due process."

Mr Wallace also insisted the government's opposition to Guantanamo Bay has not altered, despite the Daily Telegraph reporting other documents show the UK will not formally oppose Kotey and El-Sheikh being sent to the US detention facility without trial.

Among Tories expressing unhappiness at the government's decision, former attorney general Dominic Grieve told MPs it was a "major departure from normal policy".

Labour's Yvette Cooper, chair of the House of Commons' home affairs committee, accused Mr Javid of having "unilaterally ripped up" the UK's principle on the death penalty "on a Friday afternoon in summer".

However, Conservative backbencher Andrew Percy claimed Britonsc would be behind the government's decision as he urged ministers to ignore "unrepresentative grandstanding" from critics and continue "assisting the US in prosecuting these murderous terrorist scum".

In his letter to Mr Sessions, dated 22 June, Mr Javid said: "I am of the view that there are strong reasons for not requiring a death penalty assurance in this specific case, so no such assurances will be sought.

"I have instructed my officials to set out the terms of our assistance and to work with your officials to action the request.

"As you are aware, it is the long held position of the UK to seek death penalty assurances, and our decision in this case does not reflect a change in our policy on assistance in US death penalty cases generally, nor the UK government's stance on the global abolition of the death penalty."

Amnesty International branded the decision "a huge backward step" in efforts to abolish the death penalty around the world, with Mr Javid having now left the UK "open to charges of hypocrisy and double standards".

A third member of "the Beatles" death squad, Mohammed Emwazi - who became known as "Jihadi John" - was killed by a drone strike in Syria in 2015.

The fourth, Aine Lesley Davis, is in a Turkish jail.
arkady babchenko

Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters

Arkady Babchenko faked his own death in May, after he was told he was on the hit-list of a weapons manufacturer linked to pro-Russian forces in Ukraine.

The weapons manufacturer, Borys Herman, reportedly hired a former Orthodox priest to carry out the murder.

But the priest swapped allegiance, and confessed to Ukraine's security service, according to the BBC.

Babchenko told the flagship "Panorama" documentary the wild details of the ploy.

It appears that his wife, Olga, was also part of the plan, and lied to the world for the 20 hours that everyone thought he was dead.

Critics have condemned Ukraine for faking the murder, saying that nobody will ever trust them again.



Arkady Babchenko, the anti-Putin journalist who faked his death earlier this year, has described the incredible lengths to which he went to cover up his fake assassination.

Arkady Babchenko, who fled Russia last year due to threats made against him and his family, grabbed international attention in late May when Ukrainian police announced that he had been shot dead at his apartment in Kiev.

But in a wild turn of events, Babchenko turned up alive at a press conference the next day to say that he was alive.

He later described to the BBC's flagship "Panorama" documentary show being given a shirt prep-pared with bullet holes, being taught to fall like hed been shot, and having pigs blood poured on him so Ukrainian officials could fake photos of his assassination.

Arkady Babchenko

Reuters

According the investigation, published in part here on the BBC's site, a weapons manufacturer from eastern Ukraine had enlisted a former Orthodox priest to assassinate Babchenko because he was one of many people "working against Ukraine."

The weapons manufacturer, Borys Herman, had been known to Ukraine's security service, the SBU, as an alleged conduit of funds for pro-Russian military ventures in eastern Ukraine.

Story continues

Anti-government groups have been fighting pro-Russian forces in the country's eastern Donbass region since 2014.

Oleksiy Tsymbaliuk, the priest whom Herman hired to kill Babchenko, told the BBC: "He [Herman] told me that there was a hit list, and that there were people willing to finance this being carried out  and would I be interested in the job. I of course agreed. ...

"If you refuse a request like this  you probably end up dead."

borys herman arkady babchenko

Volodymyr Hontar/Reuters

Herman had agreed to Tsymbaliuk's price of $30,000 (22,600) and Herman said he would add an extra $10,000 (7,500) "to pay for his beers," Tsymbaliuk said.

But instead of carrying out Herman's wishes, Tsymbaliuk decided to alert the SBU, according to the BBC.

The SBU then told Babchenko they would help fake his assassination in order to catch Herman and his hit-list.

Babchenko then told his wife, Olga, of the plan. While Olga "wanted to escape, to hide, to grab my husband and child and just run far away," according to the BBC, Babchenko reportedly told her: "We will catch these reptiles."

It was previously believed that Olga, who found his body and called the ambulance, had no idea that the assassination was fake, as Babchenko apologized to his wife at the press conference where he revealed that he was actually still alive.

"The make-up people did a great job"

On May 29, Babchenko had a make-up artist do up his face to simulate an attack. He was also given a shirt with bullet holes, and shown how to fall as if he'd been shot.

Babchenko told the BBC:

"We had a make-up person who put shadows on my face, as if I'd lost lots of blood. My lips were smeared. Then they poured pigs blood into my mouth.

"Then, when I pretended to be shot, I fell to my knees and coughed a little to make the blood splatter. The make-up person put a blood clot in my nose with the words: 'Sorry, but we have to do this.'

"I said: 'Carry on  this is your work. This is your job, mine is to lie here.'"

Watch Babchenko and the BBC reconstruct the "murder" here:

Tweet Embed:

//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1021270910257516544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

The Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko was declared murdered in May.



But a day later, he appeared at a press conference alive.



Here's how he staged his death.



Watch the @BBCOurWorld investigation for @BBCPanorama, The Fake Murder That Fooled the World, on @BBCOne at 8:30pm. pic.twitter.com/6Vs59UaZYA

Tsymbaliuk, the "assassin," added:

"What did I see when I opened the door? I saw a man in a pool of blood. Everything looked very real. The make-up people did a great job.

"For a moment I thought: 'If this was real it would be awful.' I wished him good health."

In response, Babchenko said: "Don't make me laugh because I've been killed. It will crack the blood that has dried."

This is the photo the SBU released upon Babchenko's "death":

Tweet Embed:

//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1001851288987095042?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Next time you show me photos from Syria by ''White Helmets'' I will show photo of ''dead Arkady Babchenko killed by Putin''.

Ukraine just owned the whole journalism, from now on never trust emotional articles and photos. pic.twitter.com/77ch0XLesP

Meanwhile, Olga said she was concentrating on how she should act when she had to pretend to find the body and call the ambulance.

Paramedics, who were briefed on the matter, then pretended to treat Babchenko before taking him to the morgue. Officially, the story went at the time, medics tried and failed to resuscitate the journalist, and a doctor established his death,

Babchenko pretended to be dead until he was taken to the morgue, after which he sat up, smoked a cigarette, and watched rolling news coverage of his own death, which was reported as fact by major outlets around the world.

"It was the strangest two to three hours of my life," the journalist told the BBC. "I was sitting in the morgue wrapped in a sheet like Gandhi.

"I was smoking and watching TV news about what a wonderful guy I was. Next door, a pathologist was sawing a skull, performing an autopsy."

arkady babchenko building

Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters

The "hardest part" was not being able to tell their friend

The "hardest part" of the entire operation was not being able to tell his close friend, Aider Muzhdabaev, about the death, and hear him cry, Olga said.

Muzhdabaev, a former Russian exile like the Babchenkos, was an old friend of the couple and had offered Babchenko a job at his Crimean TV channel, ATR.

Olga said:

"Aider arrived [to the crime scene] first. It hurts to remember how he wept like a child whose mother had just been killed in front of them.

"I've never seen a man cry so much before. He just howled.

"I wanted to tell them everything. But I knew I couldn't. This was the hardest part of the whole operation."

Watch Babchenko's colleagues at ATR go wild when Babchenko revealed that he was alive at the press conference:

Tweet Embed:

//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1001845376549257217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

  ATR 



 - Kateryna Lisunova pic.twitter.com/GmkBcXc157

Why Babchenko came back to life a day later

A day after the "murder," Tsymbaliuk asked Herman for his money, but said Herman delayed their meeting until the next day because he was too hungover.

The SBU were going to wait at first, but because there was too much media attention on Babchenko's death, the security service arrested him immediately.

Herman's arrest led to the discovery of a hit-list of 47 people whom Russia wanted to kill abroad, the SBU claims. The full list of the names on the hit-list, allegedly taken from Herman's phone after the faked death, remains a secret.

Herman has since claimed that he, too, was working for the SBU to secure the hit-list, and that he chose Tsymbaliuk as the assassin because he was a priest, and therefore couldn't kill anyone.

There has been no public evidence so far which supports Herman's claim.

Arkady Babchenko journalist

Wikimedia Commons

Critics have slammed the SBU for faking the assassination, saying that it will undermine future news about threats facing journalists, and make people hesitate before trusting Ukraine again.

Christophe Deloire, the secretary-general of Reporters Without Borders said at the time: "It was distressing and regrettable that the Security Service of Ukraine played with the truth. Was such a scheme really necessary? There can be no grounds for faking a journalist's death."

Lindsey Hilsum, an editor at Channel 4, also tweeted: "So now every time a journalist is murdered, those responsible will unleash their bots and propagandists to say its fake news. Thanks, Ukrainian security services. Thats really helpful to all who care about journalists' safety."

Even Sonia Koshkin, a journalist whose name was among the 47 on the hit-list, has refused to believe the SBU and said the hit-list is fake.

Maria Zakharova

Maxim Shemetov/Reuters

Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, said: "Did they [SBU] realise what they did? Because nobody will trust the Ukrainians and Ukrainian government any more in any sort of future cases.

"What was the goal of the people who invented ... this story, I don't know. That was too silly, that was really stupid."

Zakharova also denied Russia's involvement in the hit-list.

Meanwhile Vasyl Hrytsak, the head of the SBU, told the BBC: "We were told that there were several units in Ukraine and that this assassination is just a test run for others. Only by staging this crime, could we get the list of targets.

"We had to know more about who was involved in preparing and commissioning this terrible crime."

NOW WATCH: An NYC car club houses more 40 classic cars that members can take for a ride

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Immersive virtual reality entertainment business Immotion Group has partnered with Merlin Entertainments at the Legoland Discovery Centre in Manchester, it announced on Tuesday.

The AIM-traded firm provided the multi-sensory virtual reality (VR) experience pod and the content for The Great Lego Race attraction.

It said the attraction was the second of its kind in the world, with Immotion first installing the experience at the Legoland Discovery Centre in Boston, Massachusetts.

The 360-degree attraction, designed for guests aged six and older, engaged all the senses, combining sight, sound and motion, Immotion explained.

It said racers would enter the virtual world for two and half minutes, venturing across the Rocky Mountains, rolling rivers and hot lava.

Legoland Discovery Centre in Manchester is part of a massively popular worldwide brand, and we are excited about delivering this specially created VR experience in the UK, after successfully launching it with them in the US, said Immotion executive chairman Martin Higginson.

It demonstrates the kind of high-quality bespoke VR experiences we can develop on behalf of our partners.

Higginson added: This is one of Immotion's highest-profile VR experiences so far and shows that out-of-home VR is increasingly becoming a major part of the worldwide attractions and experiences industry.
China has announced a fiscal boost intended to inject life back into the slowing economy and counteract jitters created by heated rhetoric on trade relations with the US.

The government announced measures to support the real economy, citing external uncertainties. Taxes and fees for small businesses will be cut by 65bn yuan in 2018 to encourage research and development.

The government said it would also step up plans to issue 1.35 trn yuan of special bonds for local government infrastructure projects. But it tried to emphasise that the stimulus would be measured after previous infrastructure programmes were criticised for building indiscriminately.

The government will give targeted and well-timed regulation in face of external uncertainties and maintain that economy performs within a reasonable range, adding that it will firmly refrain from resorting to a deluge of strong stimulus policies, the meeting announced, the state council said.

The stimulus effort, announced late on 23 July, followed a $74bn injection into the banking system by the Peoples Bank of China.

The measures reflect concerns in Beijing that the world's second biggest economy is slowing, partly due to uncertainty created by the Trump administrations threats to impose additional tariffs on goods made in China. Surveys of manufacturing activity in June have shown activity weakening.

Economists at Pantheon Macroeconomics said: The shift toward an easier stance will take place through different channels this time around, and likely will be muted compared with previous stimulus packages.

Chinese shares rose in response to the news and UK companies whose fortunes are entwined with China also benefited.

Miners Glencore, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, whose metals are used in Chinese construction, all gained nearly 4% in late morning trading in London. HSBC and Standard Chartered, banks with big businesses in China, rose 1.4% and 2.1% respectively.

Michael Every, senior Asia-Pacific strategist at Rabobank, said the market response was understandable in the short term but fundamentally mistaken.

"Just keep building and someone will come, Every said. "This is the real policy, as we cynics knew it would be as soon as the slightest wobble was felt by Beijing. I fail to understand how so many China commentators describe this is as some kind of technocratic brilliance.
London stocks are expected to pick themselves up on Tuesday morning as the summer reporting season gets into full swing.

The FTSE 100 was being called 32 points higher, having lost 23 points the previous session to close at 7,655.79.

Wall Street finished mixed overnight, as financials and tech stocks lifted the S&P into positive territory, whilst the Dow dipped a tad.

Asian markets have since charged higher, with analyst Jasper Lawler at London Capital Group suggesting the positive sentiment will transfer over to Europe, with tech shares likely to be in demand following an impressive set of results overnight from Google parent Alphabet.

He also warned that oil companies will also be in focus again, with Brent crude down 0.15% to $72.95.

"Oil surged up to 2% higher early on Monday, lifted by Trumps threats on Iran; however, over supply concerns quickly dominated market sentiment pulling oil 0.2% lower on the day. The big fear for oil traders is that Saudi Arabia and other large oil producers are ramping up production ahead of the November deadline to comply with US sanctions on Iranian oil, this comes at a time when concerns over demand are starting to rise owing to increased global trade tension; over supply and falling demand is not a good combination for the oil bulls," Lawler said.

Tuesday data includes the CBI Industrial Trends survey at 1100 BST, where the headline balance for July is expected to fall to 9 from 13. This will follow a swathe of preliminary purchasing managers' surveys for euro area countries for the manufacturing and services sectors. The eurozone PMI results will be published at 0900 BST, with both indices forecast to retreat modestly.

In company news, BT Group said it has offered discounts to encourage communication providers to upgrade customers to faster broadband over the next five years. The company said the offer, made by its Openreach infrastructure arm, should bring superfast and ultrafast broadband to most homes and businesses.

Fizzy drinks maker Britvic said it was held back from fully capitalising on the hot weather in the third quarter due to the UK shortage of carbon dioxide. Still, the FTSE 250 company saw revenues bubble up 3.4% to 366.9m in the period from 16 April to 8 July.

AstraZeneca has agreed to sell the commercial rights to Atacand and Atacand Plus in Europe to Cheplapharm Arzneimittel for $200m on completion of the agreement, plus a time-bound payment of $10m and sales-contingent milestones. The deal is expected to complete in the third quarter.
Despite protests by environmentalists and residents, Cuadrilla on Tuesday became the first operator in Britain to receive final government consent to frack an onshore horizontal exploration well.

The government has approved the companys application for fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, of underground shale reserves at Cuadrillas Preston New Road site in Lancashire, Northwest England.

Fracking, which is prevalent in the US but banned in some European countries such as Ireland, the Netherlands, and France, is the process by which oil and gas are harvested though the perforation of wells and fracturing of rocks through injections of liquids, chemicals and sands.

The practice is controversial as protestors and critics have expressed concerns that the process could contaminate underground water reservoirs and consequently harm the natural environment on the surface.

Energy and clean growth minister Claire Perry said: Shale gas has the potential to be a new domestic energy source, further enhancing our energy security and helping us with our continued transition to a lower-carbon economy. It also has the capacity to deliver substantial economic benefits, both nationally and locally, as well as through the creation of well paid, high-quality jobs.

Government consent for fracking became a mandatory requirement in 2015 and is intended to ensure that all necessary environmental and health and safety permits have been obtained.

Francis Egan, chief executive of Cuadrilla, said: We now look forward to submitting a fracture consent application to (the government) for our second exploration well and moving on to fracture the shale rock and flow the natural gas which we believe will make a major contribution to reducing the UKs gas imports and improving our environment and economy.

The company owns nine sites in England, including seven in Lancashire, and operates in Poland, Hungary and the Netherlands.
The Serious Fraud Office has applied to the High Court to restore charges against Barclays that were thrown out in May.

The Crown Court on 21 May dismissed charges brought by the SFO linked to Barclays emergency fundraising in 2008. When the case was rejected Barclays said it expected the SFO to try to have the charges reinstated.

In an announcement alerting investors to the SFO's move the bank said: On 23 July 2018 the SFO made an application to the High Court seeking to reinstate against Barclays plc and Barclays Bank plc all of the charges dismissed by the Crown Court. Barclays intends to defend the application brought by the SFO.

Barclays' core banking business, Barclays Bank Plc, was charged by the SFO in February, after parent holding company Barclays Plc and four former executives were hit with charges last June. The charges of conspiracy to commit fraud relate to the emergency cash injection secured from Qatar in 2008, including an offence of unlawful financial assistance in relation to the $3bn loan provided Qatar in November 2008.

Barclays raised money from Qatar and other investors to avoid the governments bail-out of the banking sector which gave taxpayers controlling stakes in Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group.

The SFO claimed Barclays loaned back funds to the state of Qatar just weeks after announcing the fundraising deal and that the loan was the same amount as the debt component of the Qatar Holdings investment. Under the Companies Act 1985, it is unlawful for a bank to lend itself money  the legal term for which is financial assistance. Barclays has consistently rejected the charges.

The anti-fraud agency also brought charges against John Varley, Barclays chief executive at the time of the fundraising, and three other former top managers from its investment bank and wealth management divisions.
Ebiquity shares tumbled on Tuesday as the media and marketing consultancy group warned that full-year profits will come in below market expectations.

In an update for the six months to 30 June, Ebiquity said that while revenues from the media segment and analysts & tech segment grew 7% on the previous year on a like-for-like basis, Intel sales are down 9% in the first half on the back of uncertainty from the CMA investigation into its planned disposal, announced in February.

Ebiquity said that uncertainty from the Competition and Markets Authority's phase 2 investigation into Intel, due to begin no later than December, is likely to keep impacting revenues and profit in the second half. Intel makes up 22% of the business.

The company said it has accelerated the phasing of investment in the media and analytics & tech segments - which make up around 78% of the business - in the first half on the back of strong new business pipelines. As a result, it already has visibility into faster double-digit revenue growth within these segments in the second half. Although this accelerated investment will impact first-half operating profit, performance in these segments for the full year is anticipated to meet existing expectations.

"Overall, the impact of the performance of the Intel segment will not be entirely offset by the strong performance from media and analytics & tech and consequently the board currently anticipates profits for the year to be less than full-year market expectations," it said.

Proteome Sciences trimmed losses in the first half as the protein biomarker specialist cut costs and revenues stalled.

Total revenues of 1.32m for the six-month period ended 30 June were down 2.4% on the period the previous year, as the company said the uptake in sales was slower than anticipated , but the firms loss before tax was still slashed by 22% to 1.41m.

Proteome managed to cut administrative costs by 18% to 2.02m after a laboratory consolidation in Frankfurt and office relocation to Central London pushed last years figures up.

As at 30 June the group had cash resources of 0.50m, down from 0.87m in 2017.

Chief executive Jeremy Haigh said: "Performance during the first six months of 2018 was behind expectations, with recognised revenues from our services business still lagging committed work orders as we continue to build our customer base; TMT revenues were ahead of the equivalent period in 2017."

Haigh added that interest in Europe and the US had grown after a marketing campaign and Proteomes attendance to a variety of international conferences and conventions.

In total, the company secured 16 service orders with a total value of 0.49m in the period, outstripping the comparative period in 2017.

"We continue to broaden the range of our proteomic services and are optimistic that these, combined with our commitment to reliability, cost and quality, will allow us to develop our presence in an important and expanding market. As in previous years, we expect a stronger second half with further progress," said Haigh.

Shares in Fevertree Drinks fizzed higher after the mixers maker reported that its full-year results will be better than expected as the company sinks its teeth into its US expansion.

The Chelsea-based company said full-year numbers will be comfortably ahead of previous forecasts, with reported results for the first six months of the year already showing revenues of 104.2m, a 45% increase over the same period last year.

Off the back of the boosted revenues, cash balance in excess of 62m and a launch in the US, Fevertree increased its interim dividend by 40% to 4.22p.

Chief executive Tim Warrillow said: "Our relationships with key customers and spirits partners mean we are increasingly well positioned as the growing move to premiumisation and long mixed drinks continues to develop across the globe."

The AIM-traded companys strong UK results, which showed a 73% increase in revenues to 58m, were driven by off-trade sales growth to major retailers.

The period also saw the launch of Refreshingly Light, the companys brand of low calorie mixers which have achieved a "strong" rate of sales performance in the first four months since its introduction.

"We have successfully launched our wholly owned US operations with a talented team recruited and now in place. The exclusive distribution agreement with SGWS, the largest North American wine and spirits distribution company, is a significant endorsement and provides a strong platform for Fever-Tree US in 2019 and beyond," said Warrillow.

US sales rose 15% to 15.1m in the first half of the year but, with a new management team in place and offices set up in New York, Fevertree will look to boost that number significantly in the two years.

Big steps have already been made, with the company recently signing an on-trade distribution deal with SGWS, the largest distributor of wines and spirits in North America.
Fizzy drinks maker Britvic was on the rise even as it said it was held back from fully capitalising on the hot weather in the third quarter due to the UK shortage of carbon dioxide, after it reported a 3.4% increase in revenues to 366.9m in the period from 16 April from 8 July.

On the downside, Superdry was under the cosh after ex chief executive officer and co-founder Julian Dunkerton sold a 6.7% stake in the company.

Dunkerton sold 5.5m shares in the group at 1,285p through a placing to institutional investors, which represents a discount of 6% to the closing price on Monday. He will pocket 71m from the sale, which takes his holding down to 18.5%. Still, Dunkerton will remain the biggest shareholder in the company.

Liberum said the sale is "not wholly a surprise" considering his departure from the board and a senior management role at Superdry earlier this year, but it also potentially raises the question of what the ex-CEO thinks about the value of the current share price.

The brokerage downgraded its stance on Superdry on Tuesday to 'hold' from 'buy' following the recent share price move and given no near-term visible catalyst.

Spectris was in the red after the precision instruments maker flagged up slowing sales growth and left investors guessing about the next phase of a delayed efficiency drive. Announcing half-year results, Spectris said its Project Uplift programme was on track for 3m of net gains in the current financial year. But it failed to publish hoped-for details of the plans next stage.

Just Group was on the back foot as its half-year results were overshadowed by a warning that proposed changes to rules around lifetime mortgages could hit its capital position.

"We, together with the industry, continue to work constructively with the PRA as part of the consultation and will update the market when appropriate," said chief executive Rodney Cook.

Power company Drax was on the slid after it reported a 16% in drop in first-half earnings, partly on the back of outages at its biomass plants.

FTSE 250 - Risers

Ferrexpo (FXPO) 181.80p 5.67%

Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 831.20p 4.99%

Centamin (DI) (CEY) 123.95p 4.56%

Sophos Group (SOPH) 523.00p 3.46%

Britvic (BVIC) 801.00p 2.95%

Close Brothers Group (CBG) 1,571.00p 2.81%

Convatec Group (CTEC) 210.60p 2.78%

Mediclinic International (MDC) 526.80p 2.77%

Investec (INVP) 554.80p 2.55%

Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 572.00p 2.44%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Superdry (SDRY) 1,252.00p -8.28%

Spectris (SXS) 2,402.00p -7.62%

Just Group (JUST) 115.50p -7.32%

Drax Group (DRX) 338.00p -5.64%

Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,332.00p -4.17%

Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 92.20p -1.81%

Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 1,225.69p -1.79%

PZ Cussons (PZC) 214.20p -1.65%

Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 1,852.00p -1.59%

Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,064.00p -1.48%
The historic Singapore summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un led to speculations that the hermit kingdom is willing to turn over a new leaf and become a part of the mainstream. However, the progress on various fronts didn't seem to be going as expected and things appeared to be moving at a snails pace. This was reported to be of concern to the president. At the end of the summit, he declared that there will no longer be any "nuclear threat" from North Korea but now the press reported he was getting angry at the slow progress.

The Chicago Tribune reported that US negotiators are facing stiff resistance from North Korea.

They noted that the country is indulging in delaying tactics, have canceled follow-up meetings, and are also reluctant to maintain the line of communication while improving relations with neighbors China and South Korea. It was intimated that Trump was angry about the slow progress.

Trump denies he is concerned about the slow pace despite media reports

Donald Trump took to his Twitter since the reports came out that he was angered and concerned by slow moves on the part of North Korea. This came after a newer report by the BBC, who reported that 38 North had looked at photos of the Sohae rocket launch station. They showed clear images that something was being dismantled by North Korea. These included partly demolished fuel oxidization bunkers and a rail mounted environmental shelter.

There were other things also being taken apart.

North Korea dismantles missile facilities https://t.co/xqkIXNyGed pic.twitter.com/bTZ8x4Yr5e  The Breaking News Headlines (@breakingnewshe1) July 24, 2018

In response to the media who said he was angered, Trump called them 'Fake News' for citing 'anonymous sources.' He denied he was angry and said he was actually "very happy."

A Rocket has not been launched by North Korea in 9 months. Likewise, no Nuclear Tests. Japan is happy, all of Asia is happy. But the Fake News is saying, without ever asking me (always anonymous sources), that I am angry because it is not going fast enough. Wrong, very happy!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018

Trump wanted some action on denuclearization

Last year, US President Donald Trump and North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un were engaged in verbal duels and Kim had threatened to nuke America. Pyongyang had also identified a number of probable targets and there was global tension about possible after effects, keeping in mind the devastation of Hiroshima.

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The anti-climax came in the form of the Singapore summit of June 12 between Trump and Kim, and the world heaved a sigh of relief. The two leaders discussed denuclearization and return of the remains of soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War but did not define any time frame.

There were questions being thrown around about the intentions of Kims regime.

Trump and Kim had decided to destroy a missile-engine testing facility. In the opinion of U.S. intelligence officials, Pyongyang is reluctant to reveal many aspects of its nuclear program. It was feared that this type of attitude would lead to a delay in the implementation of the summit decisions regarding denuclearization.

North Korea seems to have ramped things up

Army Gen. Vincent Brooks is the commander of US forces in South Korea. He conveyed to the Aspen Security Forum via teleconference that we haven't seen a complete shutdown of production yet. We have not seen a removal of fuel rods." The CNBC adds that according to the top US military commander on the Korean peninsula, there are no signs of Pyongyang having started work on denuclearization. However, these conflicting reports about the dismantled rocket launch site from the BBC and elsewhere seem to suggest that Donald Trump may not have been unhappy with progress, after all.
Gun violence has moved from the United States to Canada and on Sunday evening, it took two innocent lives in a busy avenue of Toronto. One of the dead was a 10-year-old girl and the other an 18-year-old woman. More than a dozen others suffered injuries in the Greektown district attack. This was confirmed by Toronto police chief Mark Saunders. The gunman had on dark clothes and a dark cap. He also had a shoulder bag from which he pulled out the weapon. It was a handgun.

BBC reports that the attack was in a place that is popular with the locals and is usually busy in the evenings.

The people in a nearby cafe and on the street were hurt when they came in the line of fire of the gunman.

Motive of the shooting is unknown

There was an exchange of gunfire between the suspect and the police and his body was discovered nearby but the motive of the attack is shrouded in mystery. The police identified the suspect as 29-year-old Faisal Hussain, Reuters reported today (July 24). There is some doubt about how he died. Did he fall to police gunfire or did he take his own life?

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) which is responsible to investigate deaths involving the police said that the gunman was tracked by officers to an area near the cafe. Subsequently, there was more firing, the man fled from the scene and his body was discovered some distance away.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has expressed his sympathies to victims of the gun violence as well as to the city. Toronto Mayor John Tory has, on his part, condemned the incident.

Terrorism has not been ruled out

The tragic incident happened at night in Torontos east end. From available information, it seems the gunman had targeted people inside a restaurant or a shop.

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Sky News adds that according to the police chief, terrorism could be a possible motive. "We are looking at all possible motives... and not closing any doors," is how he put it. Nevertheless, Reuters noted that Hussain's family said he had severe mental health challenges, struggling with psychosis and depression his entire life.

UPDATE: One of the slain victims of the Toronto shooting has been identified as 18-year-old Reese Fallon. https://t.co/qIAf260phW pic.twitter.com/ktZV1Sa7HL  CBC News (@CBCNews) July 23, 2018

In the opinion of Toronto councilor Paula Fletcher, the man who committed the crime was "disturbed." She has also added that it was not any gang violence.

Toronto police are alive to the problem of an increase in incidents of gun violence. This was summed up by the Mayor when he said, - "guns are too readily available to too many people."

Other countries have tight gun control and, for example, Japan has almost zero gun violence crimes.

THE LEFT WANTS YOU DEFENSELESS: After Deadly Attack by Islamic Terrorist, Toronto Mayor Asks, Why Does Anyone In This City Need To Have A Gun At All? https://t.co/zWmyUhnuev  Mike Cornwell (@mac2u) July 24, 2018

Incidentally, this is not the first time Toronto has faced a mass killing. A few months ago, a man drove a van into pedestrians on a pavement and left 10 people dead with another 14 injured.
Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted that our president asked his help in evacuating some 500 White Helmets from Syria. The Israeli leader got the group out by way of Israel to other countries - the UK, Germany, and Canada - and called the request an important humanitarian gesture. Odd that Trump didn't mention it. Does he only seek headlines when he does something odious?

Trump as humanitarian

There's nothing hateful about aiding people in need - in this case, the White Helmets, a civilian defense force of volunteers in rebel-controlled Syria to search and rescue civilians from Bashar al-Assad's bombing raids.

Founded by a former British MI5 officer, James Le Mesurier four years ago, the White Helmets have reported saving more than 114,000 civilians and losing 204 of their own, the Guardian reported. Syria and Russia are intent on destroying these rescuers with false claims that they are terrorists. Can that be why Trump made his humanitarian gesture so quietly - because Russia wouldn't like it?

The color of truth

The name White Helmets suits this group, the coloration being a traditional symbol of purity and truth. Likely that's why you see clergy and souls of the just and good in paintings of the Last Judgment in that cast. And the luminous white shirt of an unarmed civilian about to be gunned down in Goya's Third of May also speaks of innocence.

In that sense, the KKK's choice of hue for their hoods seems downright preposterous; although, in the history of symbols, white has been associated with death. Hans Biedermann's many books on symbolism in different cultures, like his Handbook of Magical Arts, has noted that if you dream about a white horse, you can expect death.

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Also in several cultures, white is the shade of mourning.

Man and beast

But given the courage and bravery of the White Helmets, another association can be made that has nothing to do with color. I'm thinking of Jack London's novel White Fang. The story is about an untamed hybrid - a wolf-dog - in the Yukon Territory of Canada in the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890's, told through the eyes of the animal witnessing how the violence of man and beast are alike.

London suggests that despite White Fang's animal nature, he possesses a great soul: He could know only things that were beyond knowing--but the wonder and awe that he had of these man-animals in ways resembled what would be the wonder and awe of man at sight of some celestial creature, on a mountaintop, hurling thunderbolts from either hand at an astonished world.

The wonder of White Helmets hazarding their lives as Syrian bombs rain down on them as they seek to save the innocent is tantamount to hurling thunderbolts at an astonished world.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Robert De Niro, an actor who has made headlines for his darkly humorous criticisms of Donald Trump, may join title star Joaquin Phoenix in Warner Bros.' film focusing on the genesis of a Batman super-villain: the Joker. This film could contribute significantly to the mythology of one of the darkest villains in the Batman comics. Phoenix himself joins a long line of famous actors who have played the role of the Joker, including Jack Nicholson and the late Heath Ledger. In the Warner Bros.' film, De Niro would play a talk show host somehow instrumental in the creation of the Joker as a criminal mastermind.

This would be the actor's first appearance in a comic book film.

The new comic book film will be called 'Joker'

Producer Todd Phillips ("The Hangover") and Warner Bros. are keeping it simple. This film about the origins of the Joker will simply be titled "Joker." The Hollywood Reporter indicates that the budget will also be simpler than the standard mega-budget for a comic book film, and the atmosphere of the film will likely resemble a crime drama, perhaps of the film noir variety rather than the blockbuster comic book extravaganza movies we have come to expect. If so, Robert De Niro, a veteran actor in crime dramas such as "Heat" and "Goodfellas," may be the perfect choice to join the cast.

This origin story may have unexpected elements

In Tim Burton's 1989 film "Batman," the Joker emerges as an insane villain who fell into and was disfigured by a vat of chemicals in a laboratory. The storyline in "Joker" is likely to be different and may surprise some audiences. The Wrap reports that this origin story will be based, at least loosely, on the one depicted in Alan Moore's "The Killing Joke," a 1988 DC Comics graphic novel.

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In this version, the Joker is actually a failed comedian who is working without success to support his pregnant wife. His wife is killed in an accident and the Joker's face is permanently disfigured during a robbery in which he is forced to participate, after which point his sanity fails and he becomes the famous Batman villain.

Actors other than Robert De Niro are also in talks to join the cast of "Joker." The Wrap reports that actress Frances Conroy may play the Joker's mother. Conroy has played numerous roles in the "American Horror Story" series, which recently announced an apocalyptic theme for its upcoming season. Surely an actress from this series would be well suited for the dark universe that "Joker" is sure to depict, as an unnamed comedian spirals into madness and becomes Batman's chief nihilistic nemesis in Gotham.
Florida law enforcement is asking the public for help in order to locate two suspects allegedly identified and tied to the shooting death of rapper XXXTentacion. The 20-year-old hip hop artist, born Jahseh Onfroy, was shot and killed on June 18, according to the Broward County Sheriffs Office. He was fatally shot during the day in Deerfield Beach, FL while he has leaving RIVA Motorsports. KIRO 7 reported that authorities want to find Trayvon Newsome, 20, and Robert Allen 22, in connection with the murder.

Grand jury indicted four men accused of robbing, killing rapper

Dedrick Williams, 22, and Michael Boatwright, also 22, were arrested in June and have remained in police custody. Complete Music Update (CMU) reported on Monday (July 23) that a grand jury in the state of Florida has since indicted Newsome, Allen, Williams, and Boatwright.

Law enforcement claims that Williams was the getaway driver while Boatwright was the triggerman, firing the shot that killed XXXTentacion. Authorities also believe that the shooting was the outcome of a robbery that went awry. When he was killed, the rapper had $50,000 in cash in a Louis Vuitton bag, CMU also noted. The suspects took the bag with the cash, according to court documents.

Suspected shooter wants witness list and evidence from prosecutors

Boatwright, who was initially taken into custody after XXXTentacions murder on unrelated drug charges, was served with a first-degree murder warrant on July 10. The Blast, as well as Hip Hop Overload, reported that the suspected shooter requested that prosecutors give his legal team all the evidence related to him regarding the case.

Discuss this news on Eunomia

Boatwright wants his attorneys to receive a complete list of the prosecutions witnesses.

In addition to knowing who could be lined up to testify against him, Boatwrights legal team wants to determine if there are also witnesses who provided statements that could point to his innocence, and/or whether there is evidence that rules him out as the alleged shooter.

Accused killer wants to know if a deal for testimony is involved

Court documents, too, indicate that Boatwright aims to learn if anyone is involved in a deal with Florida prosecutors that could lead to leniency in exchange for information or testimony against him. Along with the possibility of a lighter sentence for a deal, his team also wants to search for indications of compensation/other arrangements that benefit anyone potentially involved in unrelated legal proceedings.

The Broward County Sheriffs Office claims that Dedrick Williams played an active role in the rappers death, Robert Allen is a person of interest, and Boatwright and Newsome were armed when XXXTentacion was confronted and robbed.

At least one of the suspected killers (law enforcement asserts) opened fire on the artist, who was transported to a hospital -- where he was later pronounced dead.

Hip hop artist had stash of cash taken when he was murdered

A report by BET (published July 20) indicates the reason that XXXTentacion had cash stashed in a Louis Vuitton bag -- he went to a bank, withdrew the money, and went to the dealership to purchase a new motorcycle.

After the rapper and a friend arrived outside the dealership, an SUV showed up, as BET reported. Surveillance video shows XXXTentacion and his friend shopping inside. Two men got out of the SUV and casually passed by X and his friend. He was shot after he left the store and went back to his vehicle.
When the Grillfield food truck at Virginia Tech introduced buffalo cauliflower tacos, they were an instant hit. So much so that when they rotated the menu item out last spring, the protest was instantaneous and completely unexpected.

The calls and emails were constant, says Executive Chef Randy Van Dyke, who wears the top chef hat for D2 and the food trucks. We actually had to rotate it back into the menu mid-semester to quiet the uproar.

Guess what was on the menu when Dining Services Culinary Camp opened this summer?

Ten young culinary students  aged 9 to 14  spent a day learning how to make Virginia Techs buffalo sauce from scratch. Replete with their tiny chefs hats and chef coats monogrammed with their names, this new generation of future Tech students were acting out their part in the evolution of buffalo cauliflower tacos from a campus favorite to a campus tradition.

Culinary Camp 100 has itself become a rather beloved campus tradition.

Since 2013, when the first Culinary Camp 100 class opened its doors to area youngsters, Chef Van Dyke and his team have been shepherding an increasing number of would-be chefs into the world of haute  and sometimes just hot  cuisine.

Our sauce is Texas Pete hot sauce, mixed with butter and Chef de Cuisine Dell Peters calls out to the kids as they begin combining their ingredients. Mike Hundley, Dining Services shift leader at DX, joins the students and gives them the special knives they will use to chop the fresh cauliflower into perfectly-sized florets for frying.

The knives designed specifically for young chefs are brought in for the camp. Learning safe frying techniques and proper knife handling are key aspects of the food safety training students receive from day one. The room is filled with constant banter relaying tidbits of the trade. Hot things are kept at what temperature? Thats right, 140 degrees.

The kids appear to be eating it up. Literally.
Although Virginia Tech and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem are separated by more than 6,000 miles, the two institutions have a lot in common.

Both universities are leading the charge to grow safe and nutritious food for a growing global population. Both are working to address the challenge of securing safe and healthy water for people around the world. And both are preparing a new generation of leaders to tackle these and many other issues that lay ahead.

It is for these reasons that the two leading research institutions are establishing a partnership to collaborate on research and development. The partnership will not only benefit their home countries, but citizens around the globe.

Tom Thompson, the director of Global Programs and an associate dean in the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, recently returned from a trip to Israel, where he met with Benny Chefetz, his Israeli counterpart and dean of the Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment at Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

I am impressed by how well the faculty and staff of both institutions mesh, and I am excited by the many possibilities that exist for complementary research and development, Thompson said during his trip to Hebrew University in May. The Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment is the kind of partner that we at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences have always envisioned for ourselves.

While in Israel, Thompson met with several professors whose research has led to groundbreaking innovations in the countrys agriculture sector. These innovations have enabled Israel to develop successful technologies and products in an array of agricultural fields that have established it as one of the worlds leaders in todays agro-technology industry.

We are excited about our association with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and look forward to meaningful cooperation with them in areas from basic to applied research. We will also explore ways to jointly commercialize technology, said Chefetz.

An example of one of the points of joint interest is food innovation. The Virginia Tech Department of Food Science and Technology is a center of excellence for education and research in the fields of food quality and safety. This coincides with Israel as the start-up nation and the groundbreaking research carried out at the Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment in the field of food and nutrition. This presents a special opportunity for collaboration and synergy.

In addition to exploring opportunities for collaboration on research, another area in which Thompson foresees cooperation is student exchange. Students may be able to study at either university and learn from professors at both institutions to gain a broader perspective on how to research issues in food production and water safety. Professors will also have a free exchange of ideas and develop ways to collaborate on large projects. A virtual symposium between the two institutions is being planned.

Our partnership can also result in short- and long-term visits to Israel for CALS faculty and students, and vice-versa, Thompson said. My visit to Israel helped to actualize this potential by determining how best to complement each others strengths.


Chris Wallace was rude, crude and socially unacceptable. This is a normal and embarrassing behavior from our press if it concerns who they are told not to like. They never ask the questions to the chosen ones

Russian Media would never treat the head of state of any country like this

Putin laughed and showed patience that I could not have given to the situation

Putin is very tolerant and very much a statesman

WtR

Full transcript provided via Fox News:

CHRIS WALLACE:

President Putin, thank you for speaking with us. I am going to get to some specifics about the summit in a moment, but lets begin with the big picture. President Trump said in his news conference that our relationship has never been worse, but that changed a few hours ago. How has the relationship, big-picture, between the U.S. and Russia changed today?

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN:

Primarily, I think we should be grateful to our staff and our aides who spent several last months working with one another and not just in the preparations of this summit. Im referring to the effort of our agencies across the board who worked in even the very sensitive areas, sensitive both for Russia and the United States. Primarily, I refer to the counter-terrorism efforts today, with  talking with President Trump, we agreed that terrorism is a greater threat than it seems at first. Because, God forbid, if something happens, if there is a terrorist attack using the weapons of mass destruction, if they get their hands to weapons of mass destruction, it may have a devastating ramifications. And so, our military, our special agencies, do establish cooperation in this particularly important area.

A case in point would be our cooperation in Syria. Although there are some understandings  misunderstandings to some extent, especially in terms of a broader picture, but this cooperation is going on between the military, between the special services. That is our counterterrorism effort in the general sense of the word. But then, in 2021, the New START Treaty is about to expire, so what are we going to do next? I reassured President Trump that Russia stands ready to extend this treaty, to prolong it, but we have to agree on the specifics at first, because we have some questions to our American partners. We think that they are not fully compliant with the treaty, but this is for experts to decide.

We also discussed the Iranian nuclear program. We discussed what we can do to improve the situation with North Korea. Ive pointed out, and I will point out again, that I think that President Trump contributed a lot, that he did a lot to settle this issue. But in order to achieve complete denuclearization of the peninsula it will take international guarantees, and Russia stands ready to make its contribution to the extent that will be necessary. So, we can say that there are several issues of crucial importance for us  this and some others  we are starting to achieve some understanding which gives us sufficient ground to say that some things  a lot of things changed to the better during todays meeting.

WALLACE:

But do you see the summit as a turning point, an end by effort  of the effort by the West in recent years to isolate Russia?

PUTIN:

I think you see for yourself that these efforts failed, and they were never bound to succeed. I mean, take a look at the scale, the sheer size of it, the importance of it in terms of international security and the economy. Take the  its contribution into the global energy market. Its too big to be sanctioned and isolated. Speaking of the things that do unite us, though, and of the things that require our joint efforts, it brings us to the idea that such attempts to fight one another should be ended, and rather look for ways to address common differences, to address common issues and challenges, how to overcome this  how to address these common concerns. So, I think this is the beginning of the path. This is the start. We did make a good start today.

WALLACE:

Mr. President, one of the issues that is standing in the way of more progress, as you know, are the allegations of Russian interference in the U.S. election. You have repeatedly said, and you said again today, that this was not the action of the Russian state, that if it was anything it was patriotic Russian individuals. I have here the indictment that was presented on Friday from the special counsel, Robert Mueller, that says that 12 members of Russian military intelligence, the GRU  and they talk specifically about Units 26165 and 74455  they say  you smiled. Let me finish. They say that these units were specifically involved in hacking into Democratic Party computers, stealing information, and spreading it to the world to try to disrupt the American election. May I give this to you to look at, sir? Here.

PUTIN:

Well, let me start answering your question with something a little bit different. Lets look at it this way. People are talking about the purported interference of Russia with the election process in the United States. I mentioned this in 2016, and I want to say it now again  and I really wish for your American listeners to listen to what I say. First of all, Russia, as a state, has never interfered with the internal affairs of the United States, let alone its elections.

WALLACE:

But sir 

PUTIN:

Second point 

WALLACE:

 this is the indictment. It shows  I have 12 names here. It talks about specific units of the GRU  Russian military intelligence. Is the GRU not part of the Russian state?

PUTIN:

I will get to it. Just have a little bit of patience. Then you will get a full answer to your question. Interference with the domestic affairs of the United States  do you really believe that someone acting from the Russian territory could have influenced the United States and influenced the choice of millions of Americans?

WALLACE:

Im not asking 

PUTIN:

This is utterly ridiculous.

WALLACE:

 whether they influenced. Im asking whether they tried.

PUTIN:

Im about to answer. Well, this is the first point that Im trying to make.

WALLACE:

Right.

PUTIN:

If you will have some patience, you will hear the entire response. I said this in 2016, and I say it now. The idea was about hacking an email account of a Democratic candidate. Was it some rigging of facts? Was it some forgery of facts? Thats the important thing that I am trying to  point that Im trying to make. Was this  any false information planted? No. It wasnt. These hackers that are being discussed  and Ill get back to it; just bear with me for a moment  as were getting told, they hacked a certain email account and there was information about manipulations conducted within the Democratic Party to incline the process in favor of one candidate. And as far as I know, the entire party leadership resigned. They admitted the fact of their manipulations. So, thats one thing  that manipulation is where public opinion should stop, and an apology should be made to the public at large 

WALLACE:

But 

PUTIN:

 instead of looking for the responsible  the party at fault. And now, to the mentioned things. As I said in the press conference 

WALLACE:

But Mr. President, may I just say youre indicating that they stole real money not counterfeit money. So, are you saying its okay because the facts that they took from the DNC  from John Podesta  it was their real emails, so its okay to hack, and spread this information out, and interfere with the election?

PUTIN:

Well, listen to me, please. The information that I am aware of, theres nothing false about it. Every single grain of it is true. And the Democratic leadership admitted it  the first point. Now, the second point. If you dont like my answer, you can give it to me straightway and Ill just keep silent. And if you want Americans to listen to my opinion, could you please wait for a little bit?

And now, for the specific accusations. First of all, Special Counsel Mueller has accused a certain private company in Russia  that is not even a very big enterprise, its core area of competence is a restaurant business. And now, this company hired American lawyers and defending its integrity and reputation in an American court. So far, American court has not discovered any trace of interference whatsoever. Do you know it or not? But let the millions of Americans know about it. And now, to the individuals from the indictment act. We  with the United States  we have a treaty for assistance in criminal cases, an existing treaty that exists from 1999. Its still in force, and it works sufficiently. Today I referred an example of its sufficient work.

WALLACE:

No. I  and Im not trying to 

PUTIN:

Why would Mr. Mueller 

WALLACE:

Im not trying to interrupt or 

PUTIN:

Well, let me finish. Just let me finish. Well, youre trying to drive, but I will finish. Why wouldnt Special Counsel Mueller send us an official request within the framework of this agreement? Our investigators will be acting in accordance with this treaty. They will question each individual that the American partners are suspecting of something. Why not a single request was filed? Nobody sent us a single formal 

WALLACE:

The indictment 

PUTIN:

 letter, a formal request.

WALLACE:

I  let me just say. I dont want to interrupt, and I want to ask one question and move on to other subjects. Why do you think Robert Mueller issued this indictment three days before you and President Trump met here at the summit?

PUTIN:

Im not interested in this issue. It is single bit. Its the internal political games of the United States. Dont make the relationship between Russia and the United States  dont hold it hostage of this internal political struggle. And its quite clear to me that this is used in the internal political struggle, and its nothing to be proud of for American democracy, to use such dirty methods in the political rivalry.

WALLACE:

Do you think they would  do you think that Mr. Mueller is trying to sabotage the relationship?

PUTIN:

I dont want to make any assessments about his operation. It is for Congress that appointed him to do this, to assess his performance. And I think court actually had some doubts about the due procedure, about appointing Special Counsel Mueller to the post that he now held. I think that American court now believes that it was done with the infringement of the American legislation, but thats none of my business. Please address it yourself.

WALLACE:

Actually, it 

PUTIN:

There is a due 

WALLACE:

 Congress didnt appoint him.

WALLACE:

 procedure 

WALLACE:

The Justice Department did.

Vladimir Putin:

 within the treaty 

WALLACE:

But  may I move on, sir?

PUTIN:

 and you can use this procedure to address this.

WALLACE:

I saw the news conference today. My opinion was a bit curious, because President Trump spent more time criticizing the Democrats and asking about the Democratic server than he did in criticizing Russia and asking about the GRU. There are many theories in the United States about why President Trump is so reluctant to criticize you, and Id like to ask you about a couple of them. One is that you have something on him, kompromat. The other is that, as a skilled politician and a former KGB officer, you know how to play him. You use phrases like fake news and deep state. And my question is: do you find President Trump easy to deal with?

PUTIN:

Well, the first point Im about to make is  why did we take  talk about like this, polite people? Why should this come as a surprise? Was it worth going all the way to Helsinki, going through the Atlantic, to just insult one another and  well, its not exactly the diplomatic standard in the world. There is no need to go and meet a person if you just want to insult another person. We met to try to find a way for improving our relationship and not aggravating it or destroying it completely.

And the second part of the answer is whether we have something on them. We dont have anything on them, and there cant be anything on them. I dont want to insult President Trump when I say this  and I may come as rude  but before he announced that he will run for presidency, he was of no interest for us. He was a rich person, but, well, theres plenty of rich persons in the United States. He was in the construction business. He organized the beauty pageants. But no, it would never occur to anyone that he would think of running for president. He never mentioned his political ambitions. It sounds like its utter nonsense.

Just imagine this in the press conference  St. Petersburg Economic Forum was visited by 500 businessmen. Pretty much every one of them is a major industrial tycoon of greater scale than President Trump. Do you think that our Special Services actually organized surveillance on each and every of them? Well, unlike you, unlike the United States, we dont do this. We dont have enough resources. We dont have enough manpower to organize the total state of control. Thats not part of our plans. And its clear that we did nothing of that kind of against Mr. Trump.

WALLACE:

Id like to ask you a couple of specific questions about NATO. If NATO were to move to add either Ukraine or Georgia to the alliance, how will you respond?

PUTIN:

Well, negatively. The situation around NATO is going along those lines. Im pretty clear  I have a pretty clear understanding of how their decisions are made. I know that  about the consensus rule, but before the consensus-based decisions are made on the organization-wide basis, there is an opportunity for bilateral contacts with member states, which was done with Poland, with Romania, which now station and deploy elements of the strategic anti-missile defense of the United States. For us, well, its a direct and immediate threat for our national security. So, according to  moving this NATO infrastructure towards our borders would be a threat, and it would  the reaction would be extremely negative.

WALLACE:

Secondly, there are two major NATO exercises later this year, Anaconda and Trident Juncture. Did you and President Trump discuss those? And did he give any indication, as he did with Chairman Kim of North Korea when he agreed to stop participating in war games  did he give any indication that the U.S. might not participate in these two NATO operations?

PUTIN:

No, we havent brought this issue up, although it is a concern for us since the NATO is expanding its infrastructure and facilities. The number of servicemen is on the rise in the regions where they shouldnt be. They increased the manpower to the tune of 10,000 people. This is incompliant to the treaties between Russia and NATO, and this is a destabilizing factor which we have to factor in, but we havent mentioned this today with President Trump.

WALLACE:

I want to ask you about Russias involvement in Syria. According to independent monitors, since the civil war began in 2011, more than a half a million people have been killed, and Russia has bombed civilians in Aleppo and Ghouta. No qualm about killing innocents?

PUTIN:

You know, when there is a warfare going on  and this is the worst thing that can happen for the humankind  victim are inevitable, and there will always be a question of whos to blame. I think it is the terrorist groups who are to blame who destabilized the situation in the country. The ISIS, the Jabhat al-Nusra, and the like  those are the true culprits, and thats exactly the answer that American military gave us when they hit military  civilian objects in Afghanistan or other countries. And it might seem dubious to some people, but in fact, it is true. In terms of Syria, American aviation bombed the city of Raqqa, bombed quite heavily, and today we discussed the need for humanitarian operation to be put in place, and I hope well make progress in this area. We would really like for the plans that we discussed today to be carried into life.

WALLACE:

But the U.N. commission that is investigating Syria says, and I quote their words, There was deliberate targeting of civilians by Russian pilots flying SU-24 and -34 military aircraft.

PUTIN:

All of it can be verified and assessed, but I just want to get back to Raqqa. While aircraft bombed 

WALLACE:

We cant talk about Aleppo or Ghouta?

PUTIN:

Well, we can discuss both, but should we also throw in Raqqa for good measure? We shouldnt take things out of the context and completely forget about others, shall we?

WALLACE:

I dont think that there has been the bloodshed in Raqqa that there was the hundreds of thousands of people who were killed in Aleppo and in Ghouta and in the entire civil war. Half a million people  by some estimates, 20,000 children have been killed by the Assad regime and his supporters in Moscow. Are they terrorists?

PUTIN:

You are completely deceived, and I am very sorry that you do not know the real situation in  about Syria. A huge proportion of the civilian population of Raqqa died. It was erased from the face of the earth. It reminds Stalingrad from the World War II, and theres nothing good about it. And I reiterate that the blame is on those individuals who take guidance from the terrorists, believe, and use the civilian population as hostages.

WALLACE:

At the G7 summit, President Trump reportedly told the other leaders that Crimea might as well be Russian because everybody there speaks Russian. Did he give you any indication that at some point  not today, but at some point  he might recognize Russias annexation of Crimea or lift sanctions or move to bring Russia back into the G7, now the G8, all of which happened as a result of the annexation of Crimea?

PUTIN:

First of all, Id like to make a correction. The joining of Crimea to Russia is not an annexation. While the undemocratic governance, free manifestation of a persons will is a referendum, and people in Crimea went to a referendum and voted for joining Russia. Well, if this is annexation, what is democracy then? Secondly, we are aware of President Trumps posture that president  that the Crimea is part of Ukraine. He told me this today. I responded with the words pretty much similar to what I said to you, and I think we should leave our discussion at that.

WALLACE:

All right, were running out of time anyway. Lets move on. Last year, Defense Secretary Mattis said that Russia is the greatest threat  Russia is the greatest threat to the United States and, he has since made it clear, an even greater threat than terrorism. In March, you introduced a new generation of Russian missiles, including what you called an invincible missile you said  that could evade  defeat all of our missile defenses. And you even released a video that showed this super missile flying over the United States and hitting Florida very near where President Trumps estate is at Mar-A-Lago. Arent you escalating the arms race, and arent you being deliberately provocative?

PUTIN:

As far as the footage is concerned, well, they did not specify that it  the missile is about to hit the United States. You have to look at it more carefully. Secondly 

WALLACE:

It shows Florida 

PUTIN:

It  that was not signed Florida. There was not a caption saying Florida. They could  take a more careful look at it. There was never a caption, Florida.

WALLACE:

No, but you can see it on the map.

PUTIN:

It was flying over the eastern coast of  no, no, no, it couldnt be seen on the map. Just take a closer look, and dont try to scare your population with make-believe threats. And now  Im pretty sure I can give you as a present this footage.

And now to the offensive weapons. They were not born out of nowhere. They were born as a response to the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the ABM treaty. From the very beginning, weve been warning our American counterparts that we are not going to join the global anti-missile system. We see no purpose for it. But well do everything to make means to overcome it. Well, the response of our counterparts was that the United States designed this anti-missile defense system, because its not against  its not designed to be guided against you. In 2003 or 2004, I think I mentioned one of those systems, and there was no response from our American counterparts.

So, what we did now  we just demonstrated that we do have means to overcome this system. Its just a negotiating item.

I do hope that, in terms of strategic stability, we will be able to find a mutually acceptable solution for both sides, and that applies to the INF treaty and the intermediate and shorter-range missiles as well.

WALLACE:

I have limited time. Id like to ask you about the alleged INF violation, but I want to move on and ask you three final questions about Vladimir Putin. When you were first elected in the year 2000, you were portrayed as a democratic reformer. You talked about the value of European culture and you did not even rule out becoming a part of NATO. What happened?

PUTIN:

Well, nothing changed about me. I am the way I am  the way I was. I was elected as the president of the Russian Federation as an adult man. And in this age, your preferences, beliefs, and attitudes towards life does not change that much. But we have to react to whats going on around us. Well, take the NATO expansion to the East. When the Soviet Union was withdrawing troops from Germany, Russians should know  we were told that Russians should know one thing: that NATO would never extend beyond the German borders. Within two ways it happened, despite our principle posture. Nobody gives a damn about our posture. Well, we didnt want the United States to withdraw from the ABM Treaty, but they did. Despite our request not to do it, all the requests were denied. And the examples abound.

Take events in Yugoslavia. You know that President Yeltsin was completely against this conflict? And the only legal way to use the force is through the sanction of the Security Council of the United Nations. And the examples abound  the examples of events that deteriorated the status of our relationship. Or take the application of U.S. legislation extraterritorially, beyond its borders. Well, it was not us who made these steps. You asked me about Crimea. You asked me about Ukraine. It were not us who organized the military coup in the country that completely ignored the constitution. It was not us who was giving fires on the city squares. It is not the way to deal with such issues.

And where it happened, it happened exactly by our border. So, nothing happened to me. What happened to you is what I want to know. What happened to the West?

WALLACE:

You say nothing happened to you, but I need to ask you, domestically  not internationally, domestically, inside Russia  why is it that so many of the people that oppose Vladimir Putin end up dead or close to it? Former Russian spy and double-agent Sergei Skripal, the victim of a nerve agent attack in England. Boris Nemtsov, a political opponent, gunned down near the Kremlin. Investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, murdered in an apartment building. Why is it that so many people who were political enemies of Vladimir Putin are attacked?

PUTIN:

Well, first of all, all of us have plenty of political rivals. Im pretty sure President Trump has plenty of political rivals.

WALLACE:

But they dont end up dead.

PUTIN:

Well, not always  well, havent Presidents been killed in the United States? Have you forgotten about  well, has Kennedy been killed in Russia or in the United States? Or Mr. King? What  and what happens to the clashes between police and, well, civil society, and some  several ethnic groups? Well, thats something that happens on the U.S. soil. All of us have our own set of domestic problems.

But going back to what happened in Russia, yes. We do have crime and we unfortunately  there are some crimes. And to some extent, Russias statehood is maturing. And there are some side effects. And we persecute people responsible for these crimes. But since youve mentioned the Skripal case, we would like to get at least some sort of a document, evidence about it. But nobody gives it to us. Its the same thing as the accusations with meddling into the election process in America. We recently heard that two more people suffered from the same nerve agent that is called Novichok. I have never even heard the last names of these persons. Who are they? What 

WALLACE:

Supposedly they picked up the bottle that was used to attack Skripal. I  can  may I ask you one last question, sir?

PUTIN:

Well, no. Let us seal this issue first. What kind of package? What kind of bottle? Whats the chemical formula? Who got it? Or maybe there are other reasons  reasons of death. Well, maybe its the internal reasons within the United Kingdom, but nobody wants to look into the issue. No, we just see the ungrounded accusations. Why is it done this way? Why our relationship should be made worse by this pretense? We have to build them with the U.K. as well.

WALLACE:

Finally, I know one of the reasons that you wanted to do this interview was so that people in the United States, in the West, could get a better understanding of the real man. You are often portrayed as a strong man, an autocrat, a person who is a symbol of Russias strength. Are those fair characterizations of you, sir?

PUTIN:

Im not laying any claim to be this kind of a strongman that Im being portrayed. But from the point of view of legal symbols  the flag, the hymn, the  all of them symbolize the country. And its the same for any country. The anthem, the national flag, and the institute of the presidency. They portray Russian values and what its ready to go for  what its ready to stand for in order to build a relationship with such a great country as the United States.

Ive mentioned the economy before, and Ive mentioned these facts to President Trump. Lets look at our market, for instance. Europeans sell hundreds of billions of dollars worth, and about 50 hundred billion of services. The number for China stands at $57 billion. And what about the United States? $12 billion for the United States and $5 billion worth of services. So, thats the direct result of this policy, including the sanctions. In fact, the United States has driven off their companies from the Russian market.

So, they left and this vacuum was filled by their rivals, by their competitors. Some of them lost their investments. What was that for? We are interested in developing our relationship in the area of security, of strategic stability, economic challenges, strategic challenges, and any other challenges that we have. I think that today, with President Trump, weve made the first step in this direction.

WALLACE:

Mr. President, thank you. Thank you for talking with us.

PUTIN:

Thank you.
I dont care! He is better than Hillary and he is messing 50% of America up, in a good way. How can you care? As long as he does his job and pisses people off. He is on track. Things have to change.good and or bad

I have reached the point of, Who gives a crap! as long as I can enjoy the liberal meltdown as their lies and games collapse around them, all is wonderful

What people do not realize is that all parties in the political process has liberals in it. A liberal is not a Repub and or a Dem.it is a mindset and you will find just as many messed up minds in either party and narcissism is the main priority of said mindset

I voted Trump to stop Hillary and many of you did also. Does not mean that he was the best for the job, he was the best of the worst and that is the true issue

I also said

Oh it is official: Trump is a stupid puppet like the rest of the US presidents have been

Yes I am glad I voted for Trump. He is doing what I voted for him to do. He is a puppet, yet he is so far out in left field, that 50% of the populace of America cannot accept him. He is pissing me off at times with his allowing of Neocon influence, changing directions every minute and lying all the time, but he was not voted in to be correct for the job. He was voted in too change, good or bad, change the pattern that had been set in stone forever and a day

This job he has done well and the country will either get off its ass and wake up and or we will become farther and deeper into the hole of suppression and never see the sunlight again

Oh, the melt down over the Trump/Putin Summit

What a LOL Twitter, Facebook and MSM has been

WtR

PS: America, you need to get out of the house and plant tomatoes and cucumbers. Grow your own and while you are at it, start making your own crap again

Oh and this is the icing on the cake

Donald Trumps press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of high crimes & misdemeanors. It was nothing short of treasonous. Not only were Trumps comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you???  John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) July 16, 2018



He meant to say, Republican Liberals where are you???

Fixed it for you
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Ecuador is close to withdrawing asylum for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and evicting him from the Ecuadorian embassy in London where he has been living for six years, journalist Glenn Greenwald reported Saturday.

Source: Report: Ecuador close to evicting Julian Assange from London embassy | National | heraldmailmedia.com

I know right and wrong when I see it and Assange is being hung out to dry. But he has to have known that this is what ultimately would happen. He is not guilty of what he has been suppressed with, but after he is forced out, you will see what the truth is

Assange, why did you not come to Russia? (What the crap? UK??? and when did anyone benefit from running from America in the UK? You had a choice and I remember it well.you knew they were after you, way before they were officially after you)

In Russia: None of this would be happening right now and you would have been free to walk around

WtR
Tom Fletcher in Prospect:

The Hague, September 2016. The speech from the UN high commissioner for human rights was not expected to ruffle feathers. A mild appeal to our better angels and then back to the canapestraditionally, as one UN speechwriter puts it, we dont use adjectives, we dont name names.

But instead of platitudes, Zeid Raad Al Hussein called out a parade of xenophobes, populists and racists: Wilders, Farage, Orban, Le Pen, Trump andin the same breathIslamic State (IS). He shook with rage. The room was stunned into silence, then burst into a standing ovation. One ambassador present calls it a moment of pure authenticity, emotion and reason. A friend calls it Zeids quantum leap. But this was not simply a frustrated UN chief shooting from the hip. He knew exactly what he was doing, says his wife, Sarah.

There is an air of battered decency to the UNs top official on human rights. Partly jet lag and the debilitating wade through undrained swamps of bureaucratic treacle. Partly bearing witness to the worst of humanity. As a junior UN official in Bosnia, he was profoundly marked by the sight of the skull of a child as a trophy on a warlords car. In a recent statement on Myanmar, he asked: What kind of hatred could make a man stab a baby crying out for his mothers milk. And for the mother to witness this murder while she is being gang-raped by security forces who should be protecting her?

But the weariness is also something deeper. This is a man watching his worldview come under relentless assault. Zeid was a global citizen before the idea went in and then out of fashion.

More here.
Death is Smaller Than I Thought

My Mother and Father died some years ago

I loved them very much.

When they died my love for them

Did not vanish or fade away.

It stayed just about the same,

Only a sadder colour.

And I can feel their love for me,

Same as it ever was.

Nowadays, in good times or bad,

I sometimes ask my Mother and Father

To walk beside me or to sit with me

So we can talk together

Or be silent.

They always come to me.

I talk to them and listen to them

And think I hear them talk to me.

Its very simple 

Nothing to do with spiritualism

Or religion or mumbo jumbo.

It is imaginary.

It is real.

It is love.
Manor Renewable Energy (MRE) Ltd will provide the full temporary power package of generators, personnel and vessels for E.ON during the turbine installation of the

Arkona

offshore wind farm.



Working out of the base Port of Mukran, MRE will utilise their own multi-purpose vessel, the

Manor Venture

, to lead their project scope; delivered in April 2017, with an onboard capacity of 40 tonnes and accommodation for 12 personnel, she arrived in Sassnitz after a campaign on the

Galloper

project in the UK.



MRE Director Toby Mead commented: We have a strong track record of temporary power delivery on German offshore wind projects and with that, a huge amount of lessons learnt which we will implement into our offering with E.ON and the Arkona project; formed in 2013, we are still a relatively new company, but one that is growing at a controlled level and that control and experience we have gained allows us to add value, reduce project costs and get the job done with minimal impact to proximate scopes.



Located in the Baltic Sea, 20 nautical miles northeast of the island of Rugen, the

Arkona

wind farm, jointly owned by E.ON and Equinor ASA, is due for completion in 2019.



The first of 60 turbines for the

Arkona

offshore wind farm was installed earlier this month, this was achieved ahead of schedule.



The

Arkona

project is located 35km northeast of the island of Rugen. The wind farm will have an output of 385MW and, from 2019 onwards, can supply about 400,000 households with renewable energy. The investment volume is 1.2 billion euros.





Arkona

saves up to 1.2 million tonnes of CO2 annually compared to conventionally generated electricity. The array, jointly owned by E.ON and Equinor ASA, is due for completion in 2019.



Established in 2013, Portland based Manor Renewable Energy supplies temporary power solutions, vessels and engineering packages for the offshore wind industry.



For more information follow the links provided.
A moist frontal system that moved into and through New Mexico over the weekend is expected to increase storms starting today, along with a slight cooling trend, meteorologists from the National Weather Service office in Albuquerque said Monday.

Forecasters said residents can expect widespread showers and thunderstorms in central and northern New Mexico through the weekend.

Chuck Jones, a meteorologist with the weather service, said there is a small risk of severe weather in northeastern New Mexico and the east-central plains today as high pressure shifts into southeastern Arizona and an upper-level disturbance affects eastern New Mexico.

The cold front brought in a lot of low-level moisture, Jones said. High pressure aloft is going to go westward, and that will allow for the upper-level disturbance thats over Colorado to slip into the northeast, and that could trigger the severe weather, as well.

Strong to severe storms are possible Wednesday across the northeastern part of the state and the east-central plains, with any storms moving toward the east-southeast.

Another cold front arriving Wednesday night into Thursday will recharge low-level moisture, Jones said, with flash flooding possible in and around the central mountains.

High pressure will settle over New Mexico on Friday, resulting in erratic and slow storm motions. Flash flooding is possible from southwestern New Mexico to the northeastern plains.

The best chance for storms in metro Albuquerque is tonight and Thursday night, according to the weather service.

Meteorologist Daniel Porter said flash flooding will be a big concern each day, especially on recent burn scars, including the areas of the Ute Park, Cajete, Sardinas and Morris Creek fires.

The big story for this upcoming week is the increased chances of precipitation, the threat of heavy rainfall, and that in turn will lead to the risk of flash flooding, Porter said.

Heavy rainfall will create dangerous flows in arroyos and over low water crossings. Do not attempt to drive through these waters. Water in arroyos may travel many miles and take hours to reach your location from upstream rain areas.

High temperatures in Albuquerque will be in the low 90s each day through Sunday, according to the forecast, with lows in the upper 60s.
SOCORRO  Its been a week since a violent rainstorm sent torrents of water ripping through the community of San Antonio, N.M., and residents are still digging out, working to remove mud and debris from yards and homes.

But overall, conditions have improved and a precautionary boil water advisory issued by the New Mexico Environmental Department was rescinded Sunday.

Fred Hollis, the countys Emergency Coordinator, reported that several residences were damaged, including 18 that had severe damage.

One home was completely uninhabitable. It was a total loss, Hollis said. We had a total of 32 that saw damage.

Team Rubicon, a veterans service group, arrived to aid with cleanup and debris removal. The team does not provide contractor or repair services, but is available to remove damaged materials and prepare homes for repair work.

Socorro County Manager Delilah Walsh said the county is prohibited by the state Constitution from using taxpayer resources to improve private property  whats referred to as the anti-donation clause.

But we are coordinating efforts with volunteer groups to help with the cleanup, as they can be activated to assist private citizens, Walsh said.

Socorro County also coordinated dumpsters for property cleanup. Residents affected by flood damage were allowed to bring waste to a specified collection center and dumpsters through Sunday at no charge.

The Red Cross also stepped in last week to go over assessments of private property damage in the community and to meet with victims, providing some with debit cards for needed food and supplies.

New Mexico Tech offered emergency housing at one of the universitys dormitories, and two families and one individual accepted the offer and are currently lodged at Torres Hall.

Sarracino Middle School opened its doors from 4-7 p.m. last Wednesday and Thursday to San Antonio residents who may have been in need of restrooms and showers

Michael Stanley, director of the Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center at New Mexico Tech, said the university offered the use of a front-end loader to help with cleanup.

The City of Socorro also offered equipment and crews to help.

A section of railway tracks that was washed away has since been repaired, said Joe Sloan, spokesperson for the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad, on Monday. The track bed was washed out in several places north and south of the Highway 380 crossing.

Our crews were on it early Monday, Sloan said. He said the engineer of the first train to use the repaired sections would get out and walk the tracks to visually inspect the them before driving over.

Linda Wilson, pastor of Epiphany Episcopal Church, said details are being worked out for a relief fund to be set up through First State Bank.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.  Clear backpacks are out and metal detectors are in this fall at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High.

The Broward County School District has put the Parkland school, which was the site of the Feb. 14 massacre, at the forefront for new security initiatives, including what turned out to be a widely panned requirement that students use only clear backpacks.

The district is ending that requirement, so students are free to bring whichever backpack they want to school.

But another dramatic change is coming.

Starting this fall, Stoneman Douglas will become the first school in Broward  and possibly in South Florida  to require students to go through metal detectors.

The district hasnt spent any money on these. Since the tragedy, it has received a number of offers to donate metal detectors. The district is reviewing these offers to determine if they will meet the districts needs and requirements prior to purchasing any devices, district spokeswoman Nadine Drew said.

District officials havent provided specifics on how these metal detectors would work, including whether students will walk through them or be scanned with portable wands.

Its also unclear if and when they would be coming to other schools.

The district will pilot use of the metal detectors to better understand benefits and limitations when implemented, Drew said.

One concern has been how to get 3,200 students through the metal detectors in the morning without having long lines snake out the door.

The district will work to establish an appropriate number of entrance points and a protocol for screening that serves to minimize significant lines, while maintaining effective use of metal detectors, Drew said.

She said the district is still working on those plans.

Other security upgrades also are underway at the school:

 A buzzer system was installed in the front entrance to restrict access by visitors, Principal Ty Thompson said on Twitter.

 Four additional security personnel, as well as additional school resource officers, were hired.

 The school has a new intercom system and new locking hardware on classroom doors.

Also, the school will have more classroom space this fall.

New portables are being installed this summer to temporarily replace the rooms in the 1200 building, which has been closed since the shooting and eventually will be demolished.

The district has received state funds to construct a new building but those plans are still in the early stages.
One men was killed and another is in custody after a fight at a federal halfway house on Monday evening, according to an Albuquerque police spokesman.

Officer Simon Drobik, a police spokesman, said officers were called to the halfway house on the 2300 block of Menaul NE at around 6:30 p.m. and found a dead man upon arrival. Drobik said the call was reported as a stabbing but police are still investigating.

Drobik said both men were on federal probation and living at the halfway house.

He said multiple people witnesses the altercation and will be interviewed by police.

It is one of several significant incidents being investigated by police Monday evening, Drobik said.

Three people, including the suspect, were stabbed and in an altercation near Eastern and Palomas SE, Drobik said. One person is in critical condition.

Drobik said police are also investigating the death of a 2-year-old child in the Foothills area. He said police are calling the death a tragic incident and he didnt provide any additional details.
An Albuquerque refugee relief agency is playing a key role in the governments effort to reunite families who were separated at the border and helping them to move to new locations while awaiting future hearings.

Lutheran Family Services in Albuquerque was expecting up to 300 immigrants from families that have already been reunited to pass through its doors this week.

The first group of immigrants was expected to arrive at Lutheran Family Services on Monday, where they would stay for a day or two in most cases, before being provided transportation to the locations they were originally trying to get to when taken into custody.

Michelle Melendez, director of the Office of Equity and Inclusion for the city of Albuquerque, said the city was notified last Friday that several hundred people who had been separated from their families, might be coming through Albuquerque on their way to a final destination.

These are families that have been reunited after their separation, she said.

Our role was to contact the local organization (Lutheran Family Services) that coordinates with these families and helps them resettle, to see how we could be of assistance, Melendez said.

Local representatives of Lutheran Family Services had little information from the federal government, other than to expect the immigrants, perhaps as many as 300 in total, to arrive in groups between Monday and Friday.

They did not know whether the immigrants were adults being held by the federal Department of Homeland Security, or children in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, part of the federal Health and Human Services Department. Neither did they know if or how many of the refugees were coming from detention centers in Otero County or Cibola County in New Mexico, both of which housed adult immigrants detained at or near the border.

The LFS representatives asked for privacy for the families and declined to give any details.

In the meantime, word of the refugees passing through Albuquerque began spreading on Friday, and pleas went out through various religious organizations, neighborhood bulletins and political parties, to name a few, asking for donations of backpacks and other items for the refugees to take with them as they leave Albuquerque.

Danielle Bernard, director of communications for Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services, speaking by phone from Baltimore, said we have been asked by ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to help support families once theyve been reunified  and weve been doing this work for the past couple of weeks for both kids under age 5 and the over 5 reunifications that started last week.

A federal judge in San Diego, Dana Sabraw, on June 26 blasted the Trump administration for what he called a chaotic circumstance of the governments own making, and issued a preliminary injunction requiring that nearly all children younger than 5 be returned to their parents within 14 days and that older children be returned within 30 days. The deadline is Friday.

What we are doing in conjunction with our partners on the ground is making sure families have access to the support and services they need once theyve been released and reunified, said Bernard. Were making sure they have a place to stay, a hotel room for the night if they need one, food, clothing, cellphone access or a phone card.

The federal government is providing transportation of the refugees to Lutheran Family Services in Albuquerque, at which point LFS will use donor funds to pay for their transportation to the locations that they were intending to get to when they were detained, she said.

Bernard said she did not have information on the total number, gender or ages of the refugees being sent to Albuquerque, nor in which detention facilities they had been held.

The city made an Albuquerque Fire Department station on Gibson, just east of Interstate 25, available as a drop-off location for donated items. On Monday, a stream of people stopped by the fire station to drop off backpacks, travel size toiletries, snacking foods, clothing, teddy bears and gift cards to various stores where people can get items to help them resettle.

Volunteers then separated and placed the items into backpacks, which were ultimately to be delivered to the Albuquerque offices of LFS, Melendez said.

I got an email from the Democratic Party of Bernalillo County saying the refugees were in need of food, and personal items and things like that, said Susan Brake, a retired music department administrator at the University of New Mexico, who was dropping off items.

They said it was for families being reunited, and I have a lot of (stuffed) bears left over from people giving them to me and thought they need some love.

A woman who identified herself only as Nancy O. said she learned of the need for items from an email circulated by the North Valley neighborhood coalition. It said people would be coming through and we should come to this fire station with donations, so I brought some gift cards from Walmart.

Los Lunas firefighter Matt McKay learned about the collection drive from fellow firefighters. I brought in clothes for kids and adults, and some kids toys. These people (refugees) dont have anything and cant afford to buy things, so Id rather bring it here than go to Goodwill where they will sell it.

While every item donated is appreciated, not all of them are suitable for the refugees, particularly used clothing. We simply dont have the time or the resources to sort through it, wash it all and repair things that need to be fixed up, Melendez said. Items that are not given to the refugees will be donated to city clothing banks, she said.

This whole situation stinks and it was unnecessary, said short-order cook and sometime student Rob Ramirez. He and his wife purchased a few inexpensive backpacks and toiletries from a local store to donate to the refugees, he said.

Deporting them back to their own countries is one thing, if thats even necessary, but separating kids from parents  thats just mean. And most of them were seeking asylum, which as I understand it isnt even a crime, so why were they treated like criminals? I just dont get it, Ramirez said.
Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

EL PASO  When Concepcion crossed the border with her three children seeking asylum in early June, she immediately approached a U.S. Border Patrol agent parked under the international bridge.

 Get in,  the mother from El Salvador said the agent told her and the kids.

That was the start of their ordeal in the United States.

The woman is among dozens of mothers who spent time in the Otero County Prison Facility in Chaparral, N.M., during the zero-tolerance prosecutions of everyone who crossed the border. Her cellmate was an immigrant woman who was pregnant.

Concepcions children are more than 2,000 miles away in a shelter in New York City.

As the Trump administration scrambles to meet the second phase of a court-ordered deadline to reunite hundreds of immigrant children with their parents, she talked about the pain of separation in an interview with the Journal last week inside the El Paso Processing Center, where she was transferred earlier this month.

I just want the chance to be back with my kids, she said.

Since they were taken away at midnight on June 10, shes been able to talk to her children a few times on the phone.

I tell them to be patient, she said.

Concepcion has an 11-year-old son and two girls ages 8 and 10.

They say they miss me and then start to cry, she said, fighting back her own tears.

While she tries to be strong for her children, shes struggling to cope.

Concepcion said she has spent most of her time behind bars at the Otero County prison. She was an inmate from June 17 to July 11, when criminal charges were dismissed and she was transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.

At the New Mexico prison, she said, immigrant women banded together to support each other. Many were mothers. Several, such as the woman who shared her cell, were pregnant. Inmates were responsible for keeping their area clean, said Concepcion. She covered for her pregnant cellmate because the smell of Clorox when I was cleaning the toilet made her sick to her stomach.

She said she was so nervous when she arrived at the detention center, my hands were shaking.

When she asked for medical attention, she said, a doctor at the detention center told her,  All the mothers have those types of problems. 

Concepcion said she was advised to read the Bible and given two ibuprofen pills.

Rumors are rampant inside the detention center, where many mothers fear they may have signed documents giving their children up for adoption, Concepcion said.

Nobody explains the process to them, she said, noting many parents do not have attorneys.

Concepcion is on a preclearance list for reunification, according to Linda Corchado, her pro-bono immigration attorney.

The problem is that the process of reunification is still unknown, Corchado said Monday. We dont know how well these agencies are communicating with ICE officers.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which is caring for the separated children in shelters across the country, is working with the departments of Homeland Security and Justice in a five-step plan that involves a criminal background check of the parent, as well as DNA or other proof of parentage.

More than 11,000 children are in HHS custody, most of them detained after crossing the border without their parents. Just under 3,000 were separated from their parents, most during the zero-tolerance crackdown at the border.

HHS, DHS and DOJ are working rapidly to reunify children and their parents, according to a statement on the Health and Human Services website.

While she is detained, Concepcions children are experiencing unprecedented levels of post-traumatic stress, Corchado said.

As this deadline looms, Im very nervous for Concepcion and her children, she said. My greatest fear is that they will only be a ghost of who they used to be.

Concepcion said she was waiting in El Salvador to join her husband, who was already in the United States. Hes a former police officer who has an asylum claim filed in U.S. immigration court.

But she said she was forced to flee El Salvador with their children after a gang member told her at gunpoint,  You have 24 hours to disappear,  she said.

Now, the days drag on as she waits for word from the U.S. government about when she will see her children again and what her fate will be as she seeks asylum.

I cant go back to my homeland, she said.
MANITOU SPRINGS, Colo.  Residents in Manitou Springs are seeking higher ground as a severe storm pummels the area.

El Paso County officials warned residents of about 450 homes in the low-lying Ute Pass area to leave immediately Monday afternoon, and the Red Cross has opened a shelter for evacuees.

A funnel cloud was spotted in the area earlier in the day, and residents along Fountain Creek are being warned of the possibility of more flooding.

Dan Steever, the publisher of the Colorado Springs Gazette, drove down U.S. Highway 24 through Ute Pass and reported a debris field of rocks and trees about a quarter mile long. He says you cant even tell youre on a highway, and Fountain Creek is overflowing its banks.

Another round of rain and hail is expected Monday night.
WASHINGTON  The yawning gap between the world as it exists and the world as President Trump sees it was on vivid display Wednesday.

A few minutes after noon, reporters in the White House were being ushered out of a Cabinet meeting they had been allowed to witness. One called out a question: Is Russia still targeting the U.S., Mr. President?

Trump replied with a shake of the head: Thank you very much. No.

No? You dont believe that to be the case?

No, Trump repeated  though his spokeswoman would try her best later to undo it.

Just over an hour later, a striking young woman, with orange hair and a matching prison jumpsuit, was led, scowling, into Courtroom Four of the U.S. District Courthouse at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. According to the Justice Department  Trumps Justice Department  this woman, Maria Butina, is a Russian national who, until her arrest Sunday, engaged in a years-long conspiracy to work covertly in the United States as an undeclared agent of the Russian Federation. Her covert influence campaign, directed by a senior Russian government official to advance Russias interests, involved international coordination, planning and deceit.

How is it possible that Trump can assert that Russia is not targeting the United States  three days after he suggested it didnt interfere with the 2016 election  while just a few blocks away, his own administration is prosecuting a Russian for targeting the United States?

Butina did not speak but ran her hands through her long hair as her lawyer said she would be pleading not guilty. She sat, conferring quietly with lawyers, as prosecutors expanded on a written court filing packed with allegations right out of The Americans: a duplicitous romantic relationship, an offer of sex for employment, a wire transfer to Russia and a possible plan to flee the country or be exfiltrated by Russian intelligence.

Butina isnt part of special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs portfolio  regular Justice Department prosecutors are handling the case  and her alleged activities of trying to gain access to American leaders through the National Rifle Association, Conservative Political Action Conference and National Prayer Breakfast were relatively anodyne. But unlike the Russians indicted by Mueller for hacking the Democratic National Committee and for running a troll farm, Butina is in U.S. custody. Here is possible Russian political meddling in the flesh.

In court, DOJ prosecutor Erik Kenerson claimed Butina has ties to the Russian intelligence services and oligarchs and was considered a covert Russian agent by a senior Russian official, believed based on descriptions in the complaint to be Alexander Torshin, deputy director of Russias central bank.

The 29-year-old Russian, attending classes at American University, was in a relationship with U.S. Person 1  a person who matches the description of Paul Erickson, a 56-year-old Republican political operative  but prosecutors said Butina, in documents seized by the FBI, complained about living with him. They said she offered another person sex in exchange for a position within a special interest organization.

Kenerson described her as an extreme flight risk, painting a spy-novel scenario of a Russian diplomatic car driving her to the border. Butinas lawyer, Robert Driscoll, conceding this theoretical possibility, asked the judge if he could consult with Russian consular officials in the courtroom.

Kenerson displayed an FBI surveillance photo of her at a D.C. restaurant with a suspected Russian intelligence operative. He also displayed a photo of Butina at the Capitol on Trumps Inauguration Day, and described an exchange between the two: Youre a daredevil girl, Torshin said in response to the photo.

Replied Butina: Good teachers!

Whatever else Butina was, she was a savvy political actor. She believed in March 2015 that Republicans would win the White House, and that, to build constructive relations with Republicans, she would use the NRA, which she described as the central place and influence in the GOP and the largest sponsor of the elections to the U.S. Congress. She got to ask Trump about Russia during a 2015 town hall and meet Donald Trump Jr. at an NRA convention.

This is what makes Trumps utterances about Russia impossible to stomach. On Wednesday, even before he claimed Russia isnt targeting America, Trump tweeted that people who HATE the fact that I got along well with President Putin suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome.

No, what they hate is seeing Russia  still  infiltrating and undermining the American political process, and an American president who is willfully blind to it as he cozies up to the man responsible.

On Twitter, @Milbank. E-mail: danamilbank@washpost.com. Copyright, Washington Post Writers Group.
WASHINGTON  If President Trump wants to shut down the critics of his performance last week in Helsinki and strengthen U.S. national security, he can do so with one bold move: Announce he is moving out most U.S. forces currently stationed in Germany and sending them to Poland.

The Polish government recently presented Trump with a formal proposal to move U.S. troops from Stuttgart, Germany, to a new permanent U.S. military base in Poland. Trump should take up Warsaw on this offer.

Moving U.S. troops to Poland would be a bold, historic decision on par with Trumps decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. Not only would it better position American forces, it also would completely flummox Trumps critics in the U.S. foreign policy establishment. After spending the past week accusing him of being Putins puppet, they would look foolish if they turned around and criticized him for antagonizing Russia. And after attacking him for undermining NATO, they could hardly complain that he is taking unprecedented action to shore up the alliances eastern flank.

Such a move would reinforce the tough line the president took on defense spending at this months NATO summit, by punishing a deadbeat ally that does not meet its NATO commitments and rewarding a steadfast ally that does. Why should Germany  a country that spends just 1.24 percent of its gross domestic product on defense  continue to be rewarded with the economic benefit of U.S. bases? Better to station U.S. forces in a country such as Poland that is providing what Trump has called a truly magnificent example as one of the NATO countries that has actually achieved the benchmark for investment in our common defense.

Trump can further argue that Germanys actions beyond its inadequate defense spending have necessitated this move. At NATO, Trump blasted the Germany-to-Russia Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, declaring its a very bad thing for NATO. Hes right. The pipeline not only makes Germany more dependent on Moscow for energy, it also risks the security of Poland and other Eastern European allies. Right now, all Russian gas exports to Western Europe go through pipelines that cross Poland and Slovakia  which means Russia cannot cut off gas to NATO allies in the East without also cutting off its lucrative exports to the West. But once the new pipeline is built, sending gas directly to Germany under the Baltic Sea, Russia will be able to shut off energy supplies to Eastern Europe far more easily. Trump can correctly say that he needs to shore up the security of NATOs East European allies because of the German governments sign-off on the pipeline.

The move would also address a major U.S. strategic concern about its ability to deter Russia. The Post recently reported that U.S. military commanders are worried that if they had to quickly move U.S. troops east to head off a military conflict with Moscow, the most powerful military in the world could get stuck in a traffic jam as Humvees  snarl behind plodding semis on narrow roads and U.S. tanks  crush rusting bridges too weak to hold their weight. Stationing American forces in Poland would alleviate that problem. As the Polish government points out in its proposal, a U.S. permanent presence in Poland (offers) a more forward operating location than Stuttgart provides, would greatly alleviate well-founded fears that fellow Eastern European and Baltic governments have that Moscow would be able to overtake defending forces prior to the support of U.S. and NATO forces in Stuttgart could provide.

The move would also benefit U.S. taxpayers. The Polish government has offered up to $2 billion to cover most of the costs of building such a base and supporting U.S. troops in Poland, declaring it is committed to share the burden of defense spending (and) make the decision more cost-effective for the U.S. government. This should be attractive to Trump, who has criticized other allies for not paying enough for the cost of stationing U.S. forces on their territory.

And there is one last good reason to do it: Poland loves Trump. When Trump spoke in Warsaw last year, his speech was repeatedly interrupted by chants of Donald Trump! Donald Trump! Such a response would be unimaginable in Berlin.

The U.S. military presence in Germany is a legacy of the Cold War, when we positioned our forces to deter a Soviet invasion from East Germany. Today the need for deterrence is undiminished, but the potential line of contact has moved east. So should the U.S. military.
Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

A judges ruling that New Mexico has not been meeting its constitutional obligation to provide a sufficient education for all students  especially those characterized as at-risk  continued to reverberate Monday, with plaintiffs in the landmark lawsuit hailing it as a harbinger of a fairer K-12 system.

But the Public Education Department told the Journal the state plans to appeal.

Unfortunately the judge missed the boat with this ruling, PED Secretary-designate Christopher Ruszkowski wrote in a statement, citing increases in education spending that he said is now at an all-time high.

That spending was also highlighted by some lawmakers, who voiced concern about how the Legislature will comply with the judges ruling in a state that already spends 44 percent of its budget, or roughly $2.8 billion for the current fiscal year, on public schools.

We have no direction from the courts other than fix it,  said Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.

He also said lawmakers should consider accountability measures as part of any plan, and not just pump more money into a state funding formula that divvies up education dollars to the states 89 school districts based on enrollment, student demographics and other factors.

Public school districts that are applauding that theyre going to get more funding can expect to have their budgets scrutinized, Smith told the Journal.

District Judge Sarah Singletons decision says that the state must come up with a plan by April to meet certain deficiencies identified by the court.

PED has until mid-August to officially file an appeal.

At a news conference Monday at Washington Middle School Park in Albuquerque, plaintiffs in the case, in which two lawsuits were consolidated into one, praised the judges ruling.

Santa Fe Public Schools Superintendent Veronica Garcia, a former Cabinet secretary of the Public Education Department, said the case addresses basic classroom needs, such as textbooks and teacher salaries, adding that schools arent asking for bells and whistles.

I feel somewhat saddened by the generations lost, she said. Its about damn time we do whats right for our kids.

Lauren Winkler, an attorney for one of the plaintiffs in the case, the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty, said the state has nine months to do what it has been required to do all along.

The state has been starving its public schools, she said.

Meanwhile, Ernest Herrera, an attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the other organization involved in the case, stressed it was not just about money, but also about the necessity for a monitoring system to ensure the state is meeting its constitutional responsibility to students.

The judge has maintained jurisdiction over the case, meaning Singleton will determine whether the reformed system is up to standard. There could be fines or other penalties if the state doesnt meet requirements.

Teacher pay

Although Singleton did not stipulate how much money the state should spend to ensure all students get an adequate education, the rulings budgetary implications could be a major topic of debate during next years 60-day legislative session.

Sen. Gay Kernan, R-Hobbs, a retired schoolteacher, said Monday that it would be a mistake to scrap the states current funding formula.

But she said she would support paying more money to teachers and overhauling the states teacher evaluation system.

Weve lost some excellent teachers because of that, she said.

After several cash-lean years, lawmakers earlier this year increased K-12 spending by 4 percent  or about $107 million  for the budget year that started July 1.

As part of that increase, legislators appropriated enough money to boost teachers salaries by 2.5 percent and increase minimum starting teacher pay to $36,000 a year. They also increased the amount of money that goes toward programs for at-risk students by $22.5 million.

Smith, who was called to testify during last years trial on the funding lawsuit, said Monday that the judge did not appear to acknowledge the Legislatures recent efforts in those areas.

He also said the issue is likely to overshadow other topics during the 2019 legislative session, which will begin shortly after a new governor takes office in January.

Gun control and marijuana and all of those issues are going to have to take a back seat to education funding, Smith said.

Some lawmakers have applauded the ruling, which comes at a time when state revenue levels are surging due to skyrocketing oil production levels in southeastern New Mexico.

This lawsuit speaks volumes about how much we need to do for our children and particularly for children living in poverty, said Rep. Javier Martinez, an Albuquerque Democrat. Our children deserve the opportunity for a great education from early childhood through high school and beyond regardless of where they grow up.

At-risk students

In New Mexico, 71.6 percent of the states public school students come from low-income families, and 14.4 percent are English-language learners, according to the judges ruling.

In addition, 14.8 percent of students have disabilities, and 10.6 percent are Native American. Both groups have been characterized as at-risk.

The judge said in her decision that expert testimony showed the PED did not provide appropriate instructional materials for Native American students and that even high-performing districts could benefit from more resources.

Singleton also addressed proficiency rates for Native American students, saying that in the past three years, those students reading proficiency was at 17.6 percent and their math proficiency was at 10.4 percent.

When scores on the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers test were released this month, Gov. Susana Martinez and Ruszkowski specifically highlighted advancements made by Native American students.

We are seeing significant student achievement gains  with 13,000 more students on grade-level in reading and 11,000 more students on grade-level in math since 2015  including the biggest academic gains ever for Native American students, Ruszkowski wrote in Mondays statement.

Regis Pecos, co-director of the Leadership Institute at the Santa Fe Indian School, said the judges decision represents a momentous opportunity.

This is historic. This is monumental. This is a landmark decision, he said, adding that the decision marks a shift away from blaming students.

Kara Bobroff, executive director of Native American Community Academy, said she is excited and ready to see the ruling translated into the classroom.

Things are no longer going to be fragmented, she said.

Bobroff also said the decision and how the community collaborates to put it into practice could serve as a model for other Native American students nationwide.

Albuquerque Public Schools spokeswoman Monica Armenta told the Journal when the ruling was announced that the district is grateful to individuals who fought for our students.

This decision has the power to positively change the future for all New Mexico students who depend on public education, she told the Journal.

New Mexico was ranked next to last by the 2018 Quality Counts report, done by Education Week, but Winkler said New Mexicos students are just as capable as their counterparts across the country.

These are not achievement gaps, she said. These are opportunity gaps.
SANTA FE  Along with a Roundhouse office and a new temporary residence, whoever wins New Mexicos race for governor in November is going to inherit the burden of complying with a landmark ruling in a lawsuit over public education funding.

Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham and Republican Steve Pearce have both issued statements in response to Judge Sarah Singletons ruling, which stipulates that the state have a plan in place by mid-April to ensure all public school students are getting a sufficient education.

But the two candidates have avoided saying whether the state should appeal the judges ruling  and whether they would continue with a legal fight  and exactly how they would pay for an increase in state education funding.

A Pearce campaign spokesman said Monday that the Republican congressman opposes raising taxes to comply with the judges ruling, instead suggesting that state dollars can more efficiently be targeted at teachers and classrooms.

The old way is broken, Pearce said. Throwing more money at a broken system without reforming it wont get the job done.

I am confident that with pro-teacher reforms, better management and some additional funds that I will win for our schoolkids and teachers, we can meet the judges ruling, he also said.

Both Pearce and Lujan Grisham have called for overhauling the states teacher evaluation system, specifically the use of standardized test scores to determine teachers effectiveness.

Lujan Grisham has left the door open to new funding sources, including taking more money from the states largest permanent fund, which was valued at $17.4 billion as of May.

As governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham will be laser-focused on reforming New Mexicos broken education system to serve all students by responsibly utilizing the Land Grant Permanent Fund, giving raises to teachers and by appointing a qualified educator as the Public Education Department secretary, said Lujan Grisham campaign spokesman James Hallinan.

He also said Lujan Grisham, who is also forgoing a re-election bid to Congress in order to run for governor, would not tolerate the state failing any children.

In her 75-page ruling, District Judge Sarah Singleton did not stipulate a funding source to help pay for an improved education system, though she did identify 11 possible revenue sources.

The revenue options included using more money from the states permanent funds, restructuring the states gross receipts tax system, taxing online sales, increasing taxes on alcohol and cigarettes, and imposing a tax on hospitals and the health care industry.
SANTA FE  An agreement has been reached over the controversial performance of the Entrada thats held annually on Santa Fes downtown Plaza during the Fiestas de Santa Fe, but the parties involved in the reconciliation negotiations arent ready to talk about it.

Regis Pecos, a former governor of Cochiti Pueblo and now co-director of the Santa Fe Indian School Leadership Institute, confirmed Monday that the All Pueblo Council of Governors approved a resolution to proceed with final plans of a negotiated agreement between several parties involved in a meeting on July 11. But whether that means rewriting the Entradas script, moving the pageant to another location, or doing away with it altogether remains unclear.

The resolution refers to the July 11 meeting at which final negotiations were held. Attending that meeting were Pecos, who was appointed to facilitate the negotiations, Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber and representatives with the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, Santa Fe Fiesta Council and Caballeros de Vargas, the latter the group that stages the Entrada, which has been billed as an accurate reenactment of the resettlement of Santa Fe by Spaniards 12 years after the Pueblo Revolt of 1680.

The performance has been met with increasingly volatile protests by Native American groups the past three years. Protesters say the pageant misrepresents history, is a celebration of the Spanishs subjugation of indigenous peoples culture and religion, and shouldnt be held on public property during an event that receives city funding.

Last year, Santa Fe police were deployed in force and arrested eight demonstrators, though all the charges were later dropped.

The resolution approved by the council, posted on the website of the weekly newspaper Santa Fe Reporter, states that the council hopes the agreement will usher in a new era of relations for the sake of peace and co-existence and (a) gift to all people and all future generation(s) the spirit of our core values of love, respect and compassion for all.

A city spokesman referred questions to Pecos. The presidents of the Fiesta Council and Caballeros did not return phone messages from the Journal on Monday.

Allen Sanchez, who attended the July 11 meeting on behalf of Archbishop John Wester, also referred questions to Pecos while hinting the agreement includes new events.

Elena Ortiz, who has helped organize the protests, said she was glad tribal leaders had taken steps to address the matter, but she couldnt help but be skeptical until more details were revealed.

The groups involved in the protests did not take part in the negotiations.

The resolution approved by the council July 19 states that details would be disclosed at an appropriate time.
RUIDOSO, N.M.  A New Mexico man has pleaded guilty to assaulting a Bureau of Indian Affairs police officer following a traffic stop.

Federal prosecutors say 31-year-old Nathan Little punched a BIA officer in the face in November while being booked into the Lincoln County Detention Center in southern New Mexico. Authorities say a traffic stop had revealed he had outstanding warrants.

Little pleaded guilty Friday in federal court in Ruidoso.

He faces a maximum prison term of eight years. A date for his sentencing hearing has not been set.
FARMINGTON  School districts across San Juan County are continuing to work to enhance safety for students by participating in the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System.

Say Something is a free program that teaches middle and high school students how to look for warning signs, signals and threats  especially on social media  from individuals who may want to hurt themselves or others.

Students can help prevent violence by submitting information anonymously by using an app or a website, or by calling a 24/7 crisis line.

The prevention program was launched by Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit organization started by several family members who lost loved ones in the Dec. 14, 2012, shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

Aztec Municipal School District Superintendent Kirk Carpenter said the program increases the collaboration between school districts to keep students safe.

Carpenter said the decision by his district to join Say Something is not solely in response to the Dec. 7 shooting at Aztec High School, adding the district had been looking for resources to enhance safety before the incident occurred.

We may have been the lead on it, but were not doing more than the other districts, Carpenter said.

After reviewing the outreach and training offered by Say Something, the districts agreed to participate, and each one is moving toward signing a memorandum of understanding for the program, he said.

Members of the Central Consolidated School District Board of Education did that when they approved the MOU on Tuesday.

Its basically a program to roll out, to talk about violence before it happens, Shaka Rucker, the districts safety coordinator, said in a presentation to the school board.

As part of the program, each school will identify personnel to receive training by Say Something representatives in August, and the program will be in place by September, Rucker said.

Interim Superintendent Terri Benn said the programs focus is on students, but it also helps communities work together and coordinates with law enforcement officials.

Its just a resource on top of what we have, Benn said.

Cheryl George, health and wellness specialist for the district, also informed board members that each school has a safety plan and a crisis team comprised of principals, counselors, teachers and personnel trained in first aid, CPR and crisis training prevention.

Noel Lyn Smith covers the Navajo Nation for The Daily Times. She can be reached at 505-564-4636 or by email at nsmith@daily-times.com.



2018 The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.)

Visit The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.) at www.daily-times.com

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LAS CRUCES  A project to restore a Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopter after it was damaged by vandals will cost about $20,000.

The helicopter, better known as a Huey, towers above the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Veterans Memorial Park. The skid of the helicopter is 35 feet above the ground.

Las Cruces police have charged two teenagers  Bryce Richards, 16, and Marvin Reyes, 18  with one count each of criminal damage to property. The charges are fourth-degree felony counts.

Police said Richards and Reyes told investigators they threw rocks at the helicopter the night of May 16 before running into an undeveloped property nearby to evade authorities. They were arrested a month later.

More: Charges filed against teens suspected of vandalizing Vietnam memorial

Damage to the helicopter included a cracked windshield, a shattered downward vision window and a broken search light.

On Monday, a group of Las Cruces Parks and Recreation employees and community volunteers  many from the Vietnam War Memorial Committee  began the process of fixing the Huey. They started early, planning to finish by noon to avoid temperatures in the triple digits. The project is expected to take up to a week.

The group wants to do the repairs safely, not quickly, said Jay Lloyd, a US Coast Guard veteran who was volunteering his time Monday.

Lloyd said the project involved first finding out whether the helicopter windshield could be fixed by a vehicle windshield repair company. But officials determined the tempered glass couldnt be fixed with resin; it would have to replaced.

The left-side Plexiglass downward vision window, or chin bubble, was broken into pieces and was always in need of being replaced.

More: Crime Stoppers offers $1,000 reward for information on Vietnam memorial vandalism

The new windshield cost $4,900 and the new chin bubble cost $4,500. The committee overseeing the restoration found the items at Holloman Air Force Base, which has a helicopter storage facility. Other costs of the project include paint and labor. In all, officials estimate a final price tag of $18,000 to $25,000.

Who ultimately pays for the repairs is still being decided, said city parks administrator Franco Granillo.

Well have to see how this plays out in court, he said, noting restitution was a possibility.

Granillo said the city is also looking at enhancing security at the park. Possibilities include installing security cameras or adding routine patrols, he said.

The Huey at the memorial, which was installed March 1, 2016, is a mashup of different helicopters. The right-side chin bubble had to be replaced before it was mounted, said Hubert Gay, a US Air Force veteran and one of the key players in the years-long process to bring the Vietnam-era helicopter to the park.

On Monday, before the windows could be replaced, the crew had to disengage electronics. Those wires were hardwired in because the original committee didnt anticipate having to do work like this, Lloyd said. This week, the crew will replace the hard wiring with soft connectors, so future repairs can go more quickly.

There are 150 bolts that keep the windshield in place and 126 for the chin bubble. Removing and replacing the bolts is another time-consuming aspect of the restoration, Lloyd said.

Once you get in that bubble, its a bear, Lloyd said, describing how a volunteer must lay down inside the cockpit with his feet propped up while his head is inside the bubble.

Former city councilor Dolores Archuleta was among the volunteers watching the repairs take place Monday morning. Thinking about the damage to the helicopter brings tears to her eyes, she said.

My cousin was killed in Vietnam. It was the week he was supposed to come home, she said. And then my husband, he was at White Sands (Missile Range). And he had to go over to help with supplies.

Dolores daughter, Debbie Archuleta Postier, remembers growing up as a teenager in Las Cruces, while her father was stationed halfway across the world. It was tough, she said. Monday, she was volunteering with the restoration project and planned to climb into the helicopter to help with repairs, if needed.

Spending time at the memorial on Monday also brought back memories for Gay, who was stationed at Travis Air Force Base in California during the Vietnam War.

You couldnt even go off base with your uniform on, Gay said, noting civilians at the time looked down on the enlisted men and women. Gay, a Hatch native, said southern New Mexico has always treated him well.

This memorial, and its way of paying tribute to the men and women who served in Vietnam, is important to him. Thats why he wants to see the Huey restored.

Lloyd and Gay encouraged residents to stop by Veterans Memorial Park while the restoration process is happening, and talk to the veterans volunteering their time.

Were here to educate people, Lloyd said. Come and appreciate it. All we ask is that people stay out of the cordoned-off area.

Also, residents who want to help out with this project or become more involved with veterans issues are invited to the citys Veterans Advisory Board meeting, which starts at 9 a.m. Tuesday, July 24, at Las Cruces City Hall, Room 2007B.

Lucas Peerman can be reached at 575-541-5446, lpeerman@lcsun-news.com or @LittleGuyInATie on Twitter.
U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke made a quick stop in New Mexico on Tuesday to chat with attorneys general from around the West.

The former congressman from Montana did not take questions from the media during his visit to the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa on Santa Ana Pueblo, though news of his trip did prompt about 20 protesters to gather outside the hotel grounds.

Social media posts from Zinke and attorneys general indicated their talks touched on National Park Service funding and a possible reorganization of the U.S. Interior Department, which could lead to Albuquerque being the site of a national Bureau of Land Management headquarters.

Zinke last year moved forward a plan to provide public access to the rugged Sabinoso Wilderness  after a horseback tour with New Mexicos two U.S. senators  and he played a key role in suggesting changes to two national monuments in the state, which angered some New Mexicans.

During his most recent visit to the state, Zinke was not scheduled to attend any other events, an Interior Department spokeswoman said.

Cybersecurity: With questions swirling about Russian interference, New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver told members of a high-profile congressional panel Tuesday that states could benefit from more funding to safeguard elections from hacking attempts and other outside threats.

Toulouse Oliver, a Democrat, was invited to appear before the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee due to her role as treasurer of the nonpartisan National Association of Secretaries of State.

In her comments, she described New Mexico as a leader in safeguarding elections, citing the states paper ballot system and the fact vote-tabulating machines are never connected to the internet.

But she said more money could be helpful as state elections officials prepare for a high-stakes 2018 election cycle that could determine control of the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives.

She also said her office has received $3.6 million in federal Help America Vote Act funds that was included in an omnibus bill signed into law in March by President Donald Trump. The money will be used partly to purchase some new voting machines for counties, Toulouse Oliver said.

In addition, she said, the Secretary of States Office has created a new election security program  with a full-time staffer  within its Bureau of Elections to focus on helping county clerks with cybersecurity issues.

New Mexico was not one of the nearly two dozen states hit by Russian hackers during the 2016 election cycle, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Dan Boyd: dboyd@abqjournal.com
SANTA FE  Democratic gubernatorial nominee Michelle Lujan Grisham would halt a planned appeal of a judges ruling in a landmark education funding lawsuit, her campaign announced today.

Public Education Department officials told the Journal late Monday the state planned to appeal the decision by District Judge Sarah Singleton, which was released late last week.

However, Gov. Susana Martinez is barred from seeking a third consecutive term in office and will step down at years end.

Given that backdrop, Lujan Grishams announcement signals that  if she is elected in November  such a legal fight would be halted in January, when the new governor takes office.

For too long, our education system has failed our children, educators, families and communities, drastically undermining our economy and our public safety while straining our overburdened social services, Lujan Grisham said in a statement.

Her general election opponent, Republican Steve Pearce, has not yet said whether he would continue with an appeal if hes elected.

As the court battle goes forward, Steve Pearce remains committed to taking action as governor to fix New Mexicos broken education system and addressing the serious problems the judge points out in her decision, his campaign spokesman Kevin Sheridan said in a statement.

In her 75-page ruling, Singleton said New Mexico has not been meeting its constitutional obligation to provide a sufficient education for all students  especially those characterized as at-risk.

She left it up to the state to determine specifically how to comply with the ruling, but said a plan must be in place by April to meet certain deficiencies identified by the court.
ATLANTA  With a damning secret recording of his opponent and a late endorsement from President Donald Trumps White House, Secretary of State Brian Kemp won a decisive victory Tuesday in the Republican runoff for Georgia governor.

A self-described unapologetic conservative whose campaign ran an eyebrow-raising ad that said he could use his own pickup truck to round up criminal illegals, Kemp rode conservatives contempt for the establishment to capitalize on his bare-knuckled, outsider politics.

He now faces Democrat Stacey Abrams, who could become the countrys first black female governor, in a race that will test Democrats assertion that changing demographics are turning Georgia from a GOP stronghold into a swing state. Among the most closely watched of the November midterms, the race already has drawn significant financial investments from both national parties.

Kemp thanked supporters at a party in his hometown of Athens, Georgia, and he credited Trumps backing for sealing his win. They poured gasoline in the fire and fueled the Kemp surge to victory, Kemp said.

Kemp portrayed the race against Abrams as a battle with the radical left as Georgias future hangs in the balance. Do you want a governor who is going to answer to Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton? he asked.

Abrams tweeted her reaction to Kemps win Tuesday, saying Tonight, I have an opponent: Kemp. The race for #GAGov may change, but our values never will. Service, faith & family guide our vision for GA: Affordable health care. Excellent public schools for every child. An economy that works for all.

Stand with us, she wrote, followed by a link to a fundraising page.

Kemp beat once heavily favored Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, who outraised Kemp more than 2-to-1 and had a Rolodex of endorsements from establishment Republicans including outgoing Gov. Nathan Deal, who was blocked by term limits from seeking a third term.

In a tweeted endorsement last week, Trump pointed to Kemps tough stance on illegal immigration and support for gun rights. With days left in the race, Vice President Mike Pence also stumped for Kemp on the campaign trail. Both reiterated their support for Kemp in tweets Tuesday.

Kemps victory is another endorsement success for Trump. He backed South Carolina congressional candidate Katie Arrington ahead of her upset of Republican Rep. Mark Sanford, and he helped Rep. Martha Roby of Alabama withstand a GOP primary challenge. That run could embolden the president to get even more involved in looming Republican primaries, including gubernatorial contests in Kansas, Tennessee, and Florida.

Nichole Jacobs went to Sandy Springs Christian Church to vote Tuesday for Kemp, citing his stance on immigration. Jacobs sends both her children to private schools, and feels her affluent Atlanta suburb is overrun with illegal immigration.

People are moving out of Sandy Springs to get into a better school district or putting their kids in private schools, Jacobs said.

Cagle began to lose ground after the release of a secret recording in June in which he says he helped pass a bad public-policy bill for political gain. The recording was made without Cagles knowledge during a private conversation with former GOP gubernatorial rival Clay Tippins, who last week endorsed Kemp.

Trump is a very powerful man, Cagle told watch party attendees Tuesday night in Atlanta after conceding to Kemp. He pumped his fist in the air, saying he put his best foot forward in the race as he congratulated Kemp.

We have to rally behind him, so he can before the next governor of the state of Georgia, Cagle said of Kemp. He is a person who is undeniably ready to lead this state.

Kemp had received widespread criticism  and national headlines  with television ads in which he pretends to intimidate a young man interested in his daughter with a shotgun and says he has a big pickup truck just in case I need to round up criminal illegals and take em home myself.

Kemps opponents also hammered his record of securing voter data as secretary of state, in a line of attack likely to become a refrain for Abrams during the general election.

Cagle labeled Kemp inKempetent, pointing to a 2015 incident in which Kemps office inadvertently released Social Security numbers and other identifying information of millions of Georgia voters on disks sent to members of the media and political parties. Kemp said a member of his staff was responsible for the error, that person was fired, and procedures were changed.

Kemps office made headlines again last year after security experts disclosed a gaping security hole that wasnt fixed until six months after it was first reported to election authorities. Personal data was again exposed for Georgias 6.7 million voters, as were passwords used by county officials to access files.

Kemps office blamed Kennesaw State University, which managed the system.

The general election campaign opens with Kemp presumed as the favorite in a state where Republican nominees typically garner about 52-53 percent of the statewide vote. But Democrats look to the enthusiasm  and money  behind Abrams, while arguing that Kemps hard-line approach could turn off enough moderates and independents.

That strategy could turn on voters like Keenan Rogers, a 25-year-old Cagle supporter, who wasnt yet ready Tuesday night to heed his preferred candidates endorsement of Kemp.

My knee-jerk reaction is to vote for Stacey Abrams, Rogers said, but added that he wanted to do more research. She might be a step forward for millennials  But right now, Im a little apprehensive.

___

Associated Press writers Brinley Hineman in Sandy Springs, Georgia, Jeff Martin in Athens, Georgia, and Jonathan Landrum in Atlanta contributed to this report.
The U.S. Department of Defense wants to power drones in mid-flight by shooting laser beams at them, and two New Mexico companies are a big part of the effort.

Albuquerque-based Silent Falcon UAS Technologies and SolAero Technologies Corp. are two of four companies working to develop a laser-light-based electric recharging system under a two-year, $2.2 million contract with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Silent Falcon, which makes solar-powered drones for military and civilian applications, is modifying its aircraft as a test bed for the system. SolAero, which builds robust solar cells and panels for spacecraft, is developing a new type of photovoltaics to convert laser light into electricity.

Meanwhile, the Ohio-based laser-system fabricator Optonicus LLC is developing a ground-based beam transmitter to shoot laser light at drones overhead. And Colorado-based Ascent Solar Technologies is working on next-generation thin-film PV that could be used in the system.

Both SolAero and Ascent are making new, specialized panels that will be sensitive to the frequency of laser light beams coming from the ground laser system, said Silent Falcon CEO John Brown. Well try out each of their panel systems to see which one works best.

The PV panels will be mounted on the tail of the Silent Falcon, which is designed for long-duration flights. It will be tested at White Sands Missile Range in late fall or early January, Brown said.

Silent Falcon already did initial testing to explore aircraft modifications needed for the system. Were now designing and building the electric upgrades, which are substantial, Brown said.

SolAero is building a new transducer to convert laser light, rather than sunlight, into electricity, said SolAero Business Development Director Ken Steele.

Its a new technology for us, Steele said. These are different wavelengths of light and intensity spectrum. There are challenges in capturing a laser beam of power rather than sunlight and converting it to electricity for routing into the Silent Falcon power system.

Silent Falcon is receiving $1.4 million of the initial $2.2 million contract and is sub-contracting SolAero for its PV work. Assuming the tests are successful, the contract could be extended.

Optonicus is also building a tracking and acquisition system to pinpoint the laser beam onto the drone-mounted PV panels. Thats critical, because eventually the system is expected to shoot beams at drones up to 50 kilometers away, Brown said.

It could pave the way for indefinitely long flight times, said DARPA lead Joseph A. Abate in a prepared statement. He said the system could be delivered to the war fighter in the near future.

If successful, it also could have commercial applications.

It could boost PV systems that rely on solar power when the sun is not shining, Steele said. We could potentially use a transceiver with lasers in the civil and commercial fields.
Yuanyuan Lai and Anran Chen are not at all worried about a trade war between their country and the United States.

The Chinese business students, studying at the University of New Mexico this week as part of a new international program, say the escalating tariff battle is a temporary episode that wont slow the overall pace of global business development.

Im very confident, said Chen, an undergraduate student at Beijing Institute of Technology in Zhuhai. This is temporary. Developing is forever.

The 54 undergraduate students from the Beijing institute and The University of Technology in Dong Guan are at the Albuquerque campus for several weeks to take English language and business classes. They are among 139 mostly Chinese, Mexican and Argentinian students who are studying in non-degree programs this summer at UNM.

The business students exposure to Albuquerque aims to prepare them for a joint program under which they will return to UNMs Anderson School of Management to finish their senior year and pursue a masters in business degree.

For many, its their first visit to the United States, and they said they like what they see so far.

Chen, who is studying financial management, said he fell in love with this place and admires the way American professors are less formal than their Chinese counterparts.

With the U.S. teachers, he said, Its not just speech, its communication.

Lai, a freshman, is trying to soak up as much she can about the food, the language and the way companies do business.

I want to learn how Americans do things, she said.

The students are paying $4,600 for their UNM stay, not including travel expenses. Its a sign of the huge demand in China for a limited number of university slots, said Anderson dean Craig White.

At one student recruiting event in Dong Guan, north of Hong Kong, about 500,000 people showed up as a burgeoning middle class seeks an education for their kids, White said.

Yu Hin Cheung, student affairs director at the Beijing institute, said it is imperative for the Chinese students to gain a global perspective if theyre going to succeed in the business world.

In the long run, collaboration is the only way to make the world a success, he said.
A federal court jury took less than a day of deliberation before finding an alleged associate of the violent Syndicato de Nuevo Mexico prison gang guilty of the fatal shooting of a rival drug dealer in the South Valley more than 13 years ago  a murder described as payback for disrespecting a leading gang member.

The conviction of Anthony Antone Cordova on murder and racketeering charges caps a three-year federal investigation by an FBI-led team that relied chiefly on SNM members turned informers, secret recordings and wiretaps on cellphones, some covertly introduced into prison cells.

Cordova, 53, who was living in Albuquerque and taking community college welding classes at the time of his arrest in 2016, faces life in prison.

Nearly 90 people have been indicted in the federal case, about half prosecuted on federal racketeering charges stemming from SNMs criminal enterprise. Cordova was the last defendant to go to trial in the case, which began with SNMs foiled plot to kill top state corrections officials in 2015.

Cordova, a drug user whose family claimed he had turned his life around, didnt testify during the more than two-week trial in Albuquerque. His attorneys argued there was no physical evidence linking him to the crime and that SNM members who heard about Cordovas involvement in the murder were lying.

As an associate of the gang, Cordova was described as the triggerman who accompanied an SNM member to kill Shane Dix on Feb. 4, 2005. Dix a year earlier had shot the drug trafficker, Chris Garcia of Albuquerque, in the stomach, and was targeted for death.

Garcia recruited Cordova and SNM member Mario Montoya, both of whom relied on Garcia for drugs.

Montoya became a government cooperator and was a critical witness in the case, telling the jury Garcia supplied the guns and created an alibi by traveling to Las Vegas, Nev. Garcia pleaded guilty in January.

Montoya said both he and Cordova were high on crack cocaine when they took Cordovas car to confront Dix outside a drug suppliers house in the South Valley. With Montoya at the wheel, Cordova was in the passenger seat when he fired eight shots at Dix, who died in his van.

The two dumped their guns in the Rio Grande, and Cordova later got rid of his car, according to Montoya, who wasnt prosecuted for his role in the crime as long as he told the truth about what occurred.

The case had been among the Bernalillo County Sheriffs Offices unsolved homicides when the FBI began to investigate SNM crimes inside and outside prison.

Ive never killed anybody, Montoya testified. Though Cordova fired the fatal shots, Montoya told jurors, Im just as guilty. I think about that all the time.

Montoya was among more than a dozen former or current SNM members who testified at trial.
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CAIRO  After three train cars flipped over July 13 near Al-Badrashin train station in Cairos Giza governorate and injured more than 55 people, the efficiency of Egypt's railway system has been once again placed under the spotlight.

The Al-Badrashin incident is not the first of its kind this year in Egypt. On Feb. 28, two trains collided in Beheira governorate in northern Egypt, killing 12 people and wounding 39. On Aug. 11, 2017, two trains collided in Alexandria governorate, also in the north of Egypt, killing 49 people and injuring 179.

The Egyptian railway system is the oldest in Africa. It was established in the 1850s and includes 705 stations, 1,330 level crossings, 35,000 cars for the transport of passengers, 10,000 cars for the transport of goods and 800 locomotives.

While this system transports 500 million passengers and 6 million tons of goods per year, according to data from the State Information Service, it suffers from several problems as its infrastructure has been depleted and its locomotives worn out. Also, its signaling system, train tracks and level crossings need modernization, according to a report published by al-Watan website on Dec. 1.

Minister of Transport and Communications Hisham Arafat said in a press release April 9 that there is a comprehensive government plan to modernize the railway system infrastructure, cars, locomotives, level crossings and stations at a total cost of 55 billion Egyptian pounds ($3 billion).

The plan that Arafat referred to was approved on Aug. 25, 2017, and in order to implement it, the government has been taking out loans and establishing partnerships with the private sector.

On May 9, the Cabinet approved a loan of 8 million euros ($9.3 million) with a repayment period of 15 years for the rehabilitation of railroad tracks and the import of four machines from Austria to aid in the completion of the tracks modernization process.

On March 4, parliament approved a draft law submitted by the government to amend some provisions of Law No. 152 of 1980 establishing the National Railway Authority of Egypt. The amendments stipulated that the private sector is allowed to take part in the management, operation and maintenance of the railway networks across the nation in cooperation with the National Railway Authority of Egypt all the while modernizing and strengthening these networks across the republic.

Arafat said Egypt contracted with General Electric in June 2017 for the supply of 100 new locomotives and the rehabilitation of 81 existing ones. This, he added, will lead to a great improvement that will be felt in 2019.

Hisham Abdul Wahed, the head of parliaments Transport and Communications Committee, told Al-Monitor that Egypts railway system suffers from a number of intertwined problems, including dilapidated infrastructure, an old electronic signaling system and worn-out locomotives and cars. Also, he said, the railway system staff needs training.

Abdul Wahed added that funding is the most important factor in the modernization process. The March 4 draft law, he said, allows the private sector, be it Egyptian or foreign, to be involved in the operation, management and maintenance processes away from the privatization of the system. Consequently, he added, this sector is bound to witness new modernization measures.

The committee head said the panel met with the minister of transport July 10 and discussed the problems plaguing the railway system. In 2019, Abdul Wahed added, passengers will be witnessing progress as the government embarks on putting the final touches on the first stage of its railway modernization plan.

Abdel Fattah Fekri, the head of the Railway Workers Syndicate, told Al-Monitor that the railway system employs around 75,000 workers.

Emad Nabil, a professor of road engineering at Cairo University, told Al-Monitor over the phone that the government's plan to modernize the railway sector lacks funding, and this is a problem that will be solved through the involvement of the private sector in the modernization of this sector and rehabilitation of the railway infrastructure.

Nabil pointed out that priority must be given to areas where train accidents are recurrent, namely Al-Badrashin and Al-Ayat, and this requires specialized studies that go beyond examining accident causes at their time of occurrence. While the governments plan is to be completed by 2022, this plan, he said, must work on a first-things-first basis.

Assistant Minister of Transport and Communications Amr Shaat told the Ala Masouliyati program (On My Own Accord) aired on Sada Al Balad TV on July 14 that the railway network is very old and far from the progress that has been achieved in the field of railways across the world. He said the rail modernization system primarily relies on two axes, namely time and funding.

Shaat added, The signaling system needs to be modernized along the 5,000-kilometer [3,100-mile] railway network, and a consultant has already been hired to identify the areas that must be given priority. In 2014, several companies were contracted in order to automate the signaling system in 20% of the railway system covering a surface of 1,000 kilometers [621 miles]. This plan is scheduled to be completed in 2020 at a cost of 17 billion Egyptian pounds ($950 million) that have been secured by foreign loans.

While the prices of train tickets in Egypt vary according to the departure and arrival points, they also depend on the efficiency of the train cars and range from 5 ($0.28) to 195 Egyptian pounds ($10.90). The National Railway Authority announced Jan. 16 the completion of a study to increase these prices. These increases, however, have yet to be applied.
Several top managers at Iran's Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade have been put behind bars as the nation increasingly discovers that rampant corruption is a major cause behind the current economic turmoil.

Judiciary spokesman Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei announced that at least five top managers at the ministry were arrested  four of whom are now in custody. The arrests were apparently made in connection to vehicle import fraud and the abuse of the official rate currency offered at the lower level of 42,000 rials per US dollar.

Vehicle imports have long been seen as monopolized by well-connected, mafia-style corporations, which have benefited from the rial devaluation and enjoyed government privileges. Ejei went into further detail by publicly naming the director general of Iran's Trade Promotion Organization and one of his deputies as two of those arrested. "The prosecutors have been ordered to speed up the probe, show no leniency to the defendants and disregard their positions," he added.

According to Ejei, the crackdown was launched after the prosecutor general requested from the Central Bank of Iran a list of the vehicle importers given access to official rate hard currency. He also raised the question of whether the Central Bank's granting of currency to the private companies was a lawful decision amid the current market turbulence.

The controversy over fraudulent importers began more than a month ago when Iran's youngest Cabinet member, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, initiated a daring campaign by unveiling a list of cell phone importers that had enjoyed official rate currency but apparently fleeced customers by setting prices on the basis of black market rates, which are roughly twice as high. However, Azari Jahromi himself has come under fire from some quarters amid claims that his ministry emboldened a lot of the very same cell phone companies.

Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mohammad Shariatmadari was one of the very first within President Hassan Rouhanis administration who not only did not applaud the young minister's bold move but even stood against it. "What the minister did was not good and only caused market turbulence. I'm not going to follow suit," Shariatmadari said, suggesting that he would not release a similar list in his ministry. Shariatmadari insisted that it was the Central Bank's responsibility to offer the list of the recipients of official rate hard currency and that such a revelation would be tantamount to declaring war on the private sector. "We will make decisions based on our God-given reason  decisions that will best serve our economy," he said.

These remarks sparked a verbal exchange between the two officials. "I have to say with the faith in my heart that is based on the God-given reason that corruption is like a termite [that erodes] the country's economy and serves as a destabilizing factor.  We need to grip the bull of corruption by the horns," Azari Jahromi tweeted back, digging in his heels. This move, amid mounting public pressure and a directive issued by Rouhani, made the reluctant industry minister finally give in and join the campaign at last.

The way the two ministers addressed corruption has highlighted the differences between two generations of officials in the Islamic Republic. Shariatmadari, to many, represents the traditional official who runs the institution under his command with conservatism, while Jahromi is seen as a forerunner of outspoken officials who are ready to take risks and find popularity in their openness with the public.

In the face of Iran's multiple economic woes, one quick remedy is offering space to young managers who are trying to address corruption. This is also one reason that has led to calls for Rouhani to "mend" his Cabinet and his economic team in particular, including Shariatmadari.
In Iran, political infighting over foreign policy has once again been brought to the fore. This time, the clash is over a recent trip to Moscow by Ali Akbar Velayati, the foreign policy adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Those who support the removal of tensions in foreign policy have severely criticized Velayatis trip while their rivals have defended it. Meanwhile, the administration of President Hassan Rouhani has tried to play a more neutral role by sidestepping the infighting.

Those in favor of avoiding international tensions over foreign policy say the Foreign Ministry and the Iranian government are responsible for the countrys foreign policy. They have questioned the parallel role being played by Velayati and speculated about whether Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is now being pushed to the sidelines.

Velayati met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other top Russian officials during a four-day visit to Moscow from July 11-14. Of note, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was also in Russia for talks with Putin during the same period, which led up to the July 16 summit between Putin and US President Donald Trump in Finland. Velayatis trip comes as Iran and the European parties have failed to reach a decision on the fate of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) following the US exit from the deal in May. In early July, during a visit to Austria and Switzerland, Rouhani had warned that Tehran may block the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which a major portion of seaborne oil is exported, in retaliation for looming US sanctions on Iranian crude sales.

With the opportunities that had opened to Iran following the signing of the JCPOA starting to diminish and newfound trade partners being lost, Tehran has been left with no choice but to turn to its old options of Russia and China for economic cooperation. Those opposed to the Rouhani administration are in favor of strengthening cooperation with these nations, while those who want a foreign policy aimed at removing tensions are not too keen about the latter. In this context, Velayatis Moscow visit means that Russia will probably have a stronger foothold in Irans economy and politics than before.

The situation concerning Irans options was enough to raise serious criticisms of the way forward in Iran. However, things worsened when Velayati, after his meeting with Putin, said the Russians had agreed to invest $50 billion in Irans oil and gas industry. The announcement was quickly denied by Moscow, with a Kremlin spokesman saying he could not confirm the claims.

But this was just the beginning. Almost immediately after Velayatis announcement, Russias energy minister said Moscow was considering a plan to trade Iranian oil for Russian goods. This angered many Iranians  especially critics of Velayatis trip who took to social media to voice their disapproval. Various figures described Russias oil-for-goods suggestion as humiliating, with some even arguing that it is the start of a Russian endeavor to isolate and later betray Iran. Against this backdrop, one Iranian lawmakers assertion that we thank Russia for not letting us die of hunger was like fuel on fire.

Various figures described Russias oil-for-goods suggestion as humiliating, with some even arguing that it is the start of a Russian endeavor to isolate and later betray Iran.

Nonetheless, Velayatis trip has been less scrutinized by officials, including state media. Reformist parliament members Mohammad Reza Badamchi and Mahmoud Sadeghi were among the few exceptions, showing dissatisfaction with the Moscow visit through their personal Twitter accounts. This situation is perhaps because Velayatis position as an adviser to Khamenei has made it somewhat difficult to direct criticism at him. Regardless of this, most of the criticisms have been about why no explanation has been given for the Russians' contradiction of Velayatis announcement of a major deal. There have also been questions as to why there is no transparency about the details of his trip to Moscow and whether the claimed agreement is in Irans interest.

Shargh Daily is the only major outlet that has questioned whether the claimed agreement with Russia is actually beneficial to Iran. Meanwhile, the conservative Jomhouri Eslami newspaper wrote, Mr. Velayati spoke of a $50 billion agreement for Russian investment in Iran; an announcement that surprised political and economic observers [in Iran] and even the Russians who denied such a deal and instead suggested an oil for goods program! The daily went on to ask why Zarif had not made the trip instead of Velayati.

This same question was also addressed to government officials on several occasions, who have offered varied responses.

While Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghassemi has said that Velayati was delivering a message from Irans supreme leader and president, Rouhanis Chief of Staff Mahmoud Vaezi, who is considered to be one of the closest figures to the president, said, Velayatis trip to Moscow was the administrations decision. Meanwhile, a member of parliaments foreign policy and national security commission claimed Velayatis talks with Putin were upon Rouhanis request of such a mission from the supreme leader. The lack of transparency as to who or which entity decided to dispatch Velayati to Moscow has indeed raised speculations about the Rouhani administrations role in all this.

Meanwhile, opponents of the government have pursued a completely different discourse. They see Velayatis trip as a favor by the political establishment to the Rouhani administration, meaning that the government did not have a role in the initiative. According to hard-line Kayhan, Velayatis Moscow visit stemmed from the administrations failure and weakness in negotiating with the Europeans. Other outlets and figures opposed to the government have pursued this same line.

Velayati is a conservative politician who has long been close to the moderate camp; when late Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was still active in politics, he was a proponent of removing tensions in foreign policy. However, after Rafsanjani passed away in January 2017, Velayati quickly shifted toward anti-government hard-liners and even became a critic of the JCPOA. As such, it seems as if the factions opposed to the Rouhani administration do not mind if part of the countrys foreign policy initiatives are handed to Velayati, especially since he is leaning more toward the East. The US withdrawal from the JCPOA has also shifted Iran as a whole more toward China and Russia. The cementing of this state of affairs effectively means that the dreams of government proponents who seek to remove tensions from foreign policy will go out the window. This is especially the case when the foreign policy adviser to Khamenei is seen as the main player rather than the countrys foreign minister. For Rouhani supporters, the latter means taking the initiative away from a foreign minister who is in favor of expanding relations with the West by using an East-oriented politician. In other words, this could mean Irans return to the foreign policy pursued in the era of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Let's start with the glass half full. In a clandestine July 22 operation, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) evacuated several hundred activists from the White Helmets, the Syrian humanitarian civil defense group, and their family members, and removed them from the fighting in southern Syria, through Israel, to Jordan. From there, they will continue on, to be settled in the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Canada. Even the European Union, which does not often pamper Israel with compliments, issued a statement recognizing the efforts by Israel and others to bring the activists to safety. At the end of June, the IDF had provided tents, food, medical equipment, shoes and clothing for Syrians who had escaped to a tent encampment on the Golan.

As for the half-empty glass, after the rescue, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement stressing that he had approved the activists transit through Israeli territory to other countries. In other words, none were allowed to remain on its territory. Israel only served as a conduit. The day after getting the aid to the displaced Syrians on the Golan, the IDF made clear that Israel would not allow in Syrians. In other words, residents of Israels settlements on the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in 1967, will soon be watching the slaughter of Syrians across the border by Syrian government forces.

As the forces of President Bashar al-Assad and their allied militias advance toward the Golan, based on new understandings reached with Russia, they will be looking first for collaborators with Israel. According to a June 18 Wall Street Journal report, for years, Israel has been regularly funneling cash to anti-government rebels in the border area to create and maintain a buffer zone populated by friendly forces. Syrian fighters told the paper that the IDF funds their wages and the purchase of weapons and ammunition. While serving as defense minister (2015), Moshe Ya'alon confirmed that in return for Israeli humanitarian aid, the rebels kept radical anti-Israel militias like Hezbollah and Jabhat al-Nusra away from the border.

Also inside the half-empty glass are tens of thousands of Syrian refugees for whom Israel has been responsible for more than 50 years but continues to ignore. On the eve of the 1967 Six-Day War, some 501,000 people were living in the Golan, 15,000 of them Palestinian refugees who had fled there following Israels 1948 War of Independence. According to the accepted Israeli narrative, residents of the Golan fled or were ordered by the Syrian army to vacate their homes when the fighting broke out. In-depth reportage by Haaretz in July 2010, however, told a very different story. A few days after the fighting ended, Gen. (res.) Elad Peled, who commanded the IDF battalion that conquered the Golan, said, We received an order to start destroying villages. Indeed, 153 villages and 112 farms were wiped off the face of the earth.

Amnon Asaf, a resident of the northern Israeli kibbutz of Maayan Baruch, testified that in the initial days after the fighting, he and a friend who traveled to the Golan saw a large group of Syrians standing in front of tables behind which soldiers were sitting. We stopped and asked a soldier what they were doing. He answered they were doing pre-expulsion registration, Assaf recounted.

Emanuel Manu Shaked, appointed commander of the Golan Heights about a month and a half after the fighting, told the reporter Shai Fogelman that two months after the war, he and his friends rounded up a group of Syrian farmers tilling their land. We let them take belongings that they could carry in rucksacks, and sometimes we also helped them with trucks, Shaked said. In Quneitra we handed them over to the Red Cross and the UN, who took care of transferring them to the Syrian side of the border. Shaked recalled that one elderly farmer said he would remain in his village even at the cost to his life. I did not intervene, he remarked. Today it may not be so pleasant to hear all this, but thats what I remember.

Red Cross officials claim that all those transferred to the part of the Golan that remained under Syrian control after the war were required to sign a document stating that they were moving of their own volition. The minutes of an Oct. 3 meeting in the defense ministers office uses the word expulsion: The expulsion will be carried out on the basis of the directive to prevent infiltration. By the end of 1967, fewer than 7,000 Syrians were left on the Israeli-occupied side of the Golan. Israel used the lands of the razed villages and farms to build 33 settlements in which more than 20,000 Jewish settlers now live.

Over the years, Israel has sought to solidify its control of the Golan Heights and to indirectly legitimize the Syrians expulsion and settlement on their lands. In 1981, the Knesset adopted the Golan Heights Law, applying Israeli law, jurisdiction and administration on the area. The UN Security Council, however, determined that Israel's decision lacked any legal validity. To date, not a single state has recognized Israel's annexation of the Golan.

On July 17, a US congressional subcommittee discussed a proposal on recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Most experts present rejected the proposal. Still, it was mentioned during the discussion that President Donald Trump was encouraged by the enthusiasm expressed following his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital. (Of note, the decision does not recognize Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem.)

Russia President Vladimir Putin, after meeting with Trump in Helsinki on July 16, said, The situation on the Golan Heights must be restored to what it was after the 1974 agreement, which set the terms for the disengagement of forces between Israel and Syria. Netanyahu was quick to praise the clear position expressed by President Putin regarding the need to uphold the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement and even threatened that Israel would respond firmly to every attempt to violate its terms. The 1974 agreement left Israel in control of the Golan lands it captured in 1967 and Syria in control of the remainder, which is currently controlled by rebels.

On this issue, too, the prime minister prefers to ignore the half-empty glass. The agreement he holds so dear includes the following key words: This agreement is not a peace agreement. It is a step toward a just and durable peace on the basis of Security Council Resolution 338 dated October 22, 1973. The resolution was a reiteration of Resolution 242 (November 1967), which calls for the evacuation of Israeli armed forces from territories captured during the "recent conflict," that is, the 1967 war. To repeat, evacuation is called for, not rescuing activists and providing humanitarian aid, though admirable. Taking in refugees from Syria, including those who have stood by Israel's side in recent years, is the very least the nation-state of a persecuted people owes itself.
When Avi Gabbay defeated Isaac Herzog last year and was elected head of the Zionist Camp, he could not take over the position of Knesset opposition head, a post reserved for incumbent Knesset members. When the Jewish Agency approved Herzog as its chief in June, the issue of opposition head came up once again. A few weeks later, Gabbay decided that Tzipi Livni would replace Herzog in the post.

Yesh Atid chair Yair Lapid tweeted his congratulations to Livni, stating, Shes the right woman at the right time. But it was probably the last flattering thing he will say about her until the election.

On July 23, Gabbay and Livni called a press conference. They were all smiles as they announced the decision. Livni will start serving in her new position as of Aug. 1 and enjoy all the benefits that come by law with being a symbol of state. They include a security detail, a large office and personal briefings from the prime minister himself on security matters.

Lapid will be the person to suffer most from Livnis appointment. As of the start of the Knessets winter session, Livni will be the most important member of the opposition in the Knesset. Until now, Lapid has enjoyed the status of unofficial opposition leader. The polls showed him flourishing because of the Zionist Camp's weakness, despite it being the biggest party. Now Lapid will lose some of his glory, particularly when it comes to all his trips overseas as (self-appointed) shadow foreign minister. Livni, who actually served as foreign minister and accumulated real diplomatic and political experience, has a clear advantage over him.

What this means is that the Zionist Camp headed by Gabbay, and with Gabbays No. 2 Livni now serving as opposition chair, Lapid has to deal with a major headache. The situation is much more daunting than dealing with Netanyahu and his right-wing government they are all trying to bring down.

But it's also bad news for the center-left camp, which will be plunged once again into an internal battle over who is in charge. Both Gabbay and Lapid consider themselves to be Netanyahus natural replacement, but now they will be fighting each other to win the support of their own camps voter base. Over the last few weeks, Gabbay has led a vicious campaign against Lapid over his support of the governments conscription law.

But life wont be easy for Gabbay either with Livni in the key role of opposition chair. She is much more experienced not only when it comes to diplomatic and security issues, but also as a politician. She was a member of the Security Cabinet for years and seems not to have given up her goal of being prime minister one day.

Gabbay knows all this. He deliberated for quite a while before he made the complicated decision to promote the very person who could be his political executioner at some point. In their agreement, Livni made a commitment to maintaining the partnership between Hatnua and the Labor Party under the umbrella of the Zionist Camp. They also agreed that Gabbay would lead the Zionist Camp in the next election.

But political events, public sentiment and current exigencies often have more power than any formal agreement. There are some Knesset members in the party who are considering the possibility of deposing Gabbay before the election and replacing him with former Chief of Staff Benny Gantz or even with Livni, if the polls show that they would bring more seats than him, a senior party member told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity.

Back to Gabbays decision. Ever since the approval of Herzogs appointment as Jewish Agency chairman, the already tense relationship between Gabbay and Livni escalated into low-grade warfare. Then Herzog left his position as opposition chairman, presenting Gabbay, who is not a member of the Knesset, with a real dilemma: Who should he appoint to replace Herzog? As far as Gabbay is concerned, Herzog was the ideal partner ever since he defeated him in the race for party leader in July 2017. Herzog was loyal and coordinated with Gabbay down to the last detail. Most of all, Herzog was the kind of person who would not overshadow him.

Throughout the entire period Gabbay served as Zionist Camp head and Herzog as opposition chairman, Livni shut herself off in her own world. She may have been part of the partnership that created the Zionist Camp, but she was looking into other options for the next election. As head of a separate party, Hatnua, she could run independently or find new partners.

Once Herzog was selected as Jewish Agency head, she put it all on the line and issued a public ultimatum to Gabbay: Either she becomes leader of the opposition or she quits the Zionist Camp. Gabbay was trapped. If he gave up this partnership at a time when his standing in the polls wasnt very impressive, he could drag Labor to a new low. On the other hand, if he appointed her to the position, he would be putting his own political future at risk.

To make the dilemma even more complicated, Walla released a poll showing that with Livni as head of the Zionist Camp, it would win more seats than Lapid, while the results under Gabbay were less promising.

By appointing Livni, Gabbay proved his pragmatism, his understanding of risk management and his ability to choose between two less-than-perfect options. Outwardly at least, everyone in Labor congratulated Livni, including party members who no longer serve in the Knesset such as former Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Nevertheless, the choice left a sour taste in the party.

Neither Livni nor Gabbay are an organic part of Labor. In other words, the party is being run by power players from the outside. Frustration within the party is also growing because when she renewed her agreement with Gabbay, Livni ensured that she would have a specific number of seats on the Knesset list set aside for her. Meanwhile, Gabbay also has four seats set aside for him as part of an agreement he reached with the party committee. This means that the chances of getting elected to the Knesset in the next election on behalf of the Zionist Camp will be very difficult, if not impossible.

So far, Gabbay and Livni have started off this partnership willingly. At the press conference, they announced that they are going to proceed full force to replace the current government. Gabbay spoke about a moment that he thinks creates new energies and hope for an alternative government based on different policies, innovation and good people." Livni, who gambled well with her ultimatum for Gabbay, was glowing, and rightfully so. She spoke about how her phone has been ringing off the hook ever since her appointment as opposition chair was announced, and tweeted that it reminded her of a "long-lost sense of hope."

But the actual press conference looked like a rerun of another in December 2014, when Livni and Herzog announced that they were consolidating forces. It is the same hope by the same electorate with the same internal rivalry against Lapid and the same external rivalry against a powerful prime minister, one whose voters are in no rush to abandon.
During their recent meeting in Helsinki, the US and Russian presidents supposedly reached several agreements on Syria, which were taken into account in a list of suggestions later sent to the American side. Lt. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev, chief of the National Center for State Defense Control, said these suggestions involve returning refugees to their original homes, joint monitoring and rebuilding infrastructure. Yet the areas of Syria where the United States is supposed to do its part were never mentioned, and the United States has been mum on the subject. The general pointed out that, according to Moscows estimates, about 1.7 million Syrian refugees may return to their homes soon.

At the same time, Russia created an inter-institutional coordination group on refugee return that includes military officers and diplomats. Russia's Foreign Ministry, in turn, made inquiries to 45 embassies of the countries that, according to the UN, are currently hosting Syrian refugees, to understand how many of them are scattered around the world.

The United States has opposed keeping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in power. However, a mass return of refugees to Syria will demonstrate  first and foremost  the regimes stability.

At the same time, Russia and the West are already coordinating their efforts to return refugees home and even to start the reconstruction process. For instance, the Russian Orthodox Church and Roman Catholics are restoring Christian churches and monasteries across the country.

The restoration of the Maaloula convent is nearing completion with the hope that its displaced nuns will be able to return, according to Hilarion Alfeyev, metropolitan (head bishop) of Volokolamsk and chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Patriarchate of Moscow. During the recent visit of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to Russia, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia emphasized the significance of efforts to return Christians to Syria, Lebanon and Iraq.

Up to a point, Moscow has touted the idea of protecting Christians for domestic consumption. Christianity is the largest religion in the country; as much as 75% of the population identify as Christian, mainly Russian Orthodox.

Yet once it became clear that the course of the war had tilted toward the Assad regime, Russia began actively voicing the importance of protecting Christians in its foreign relations. In her June address to the Greek parliament, Irina Yarovaya, vice speaker of the Russian Duma, said Russia is fighting terrorists in Syria not to protect its own interests, but to defend Orthodox Christianity. Yarovaya is best known for proposing a package of anti-terrorist laws (which were later approved) that expanded the governments authority, tightened control over Russian citizens and limited their rights guaranteed by the constitution.

Sadly, it's not really surprising that those laws, broadly deemed repressive, appeal to Christians in Syria. Assads autocratic regime has managed to pose consistently as a shield for the Christian minority there for more than seven years, presenting the conflict as offering one of only two outcomes for Christians: Choose the secular government in Damascus or face Islamist terrorists.

Its still debated who exactly proposed popular sectarian slogans such as Christians to Beirut, Alawites to the grave during the anti-government protests in 2011. The regime sees the slogan as proof of a foreign conspiracy. The opposition insists these slogans were coined and promoted by Syrian security services as an effort to defame dissenters and expose a terrorist nature of the revolution. The governments propaganda has been proven right, in a way, in that the majority of Christians, trying to remain neutral and suffering violent attacks from the Islamic State and other radical groups that had infiltrated the opposition, supported the secular regime. Some Christians are also represented in secular factions of the opposition, such as George Sabra and Abdelahad Astepho of the Syrian National Council; others are members of the Syrian Democratic Forces; still others have had acceptable relations with militants in the southwest. However, by playing the Christian card for its own benefit, the regime managed to maintain the loyalty of the communities and its contact with Western representatives who, despite the policy of isolating Damascus, have been directly expressing their solidarity with Syrian people as a whole, including Christians.

In modern Russia, it's important to pursue an ideology as a critical factor in foreign policy decision-making and as a landmark to distinguish between the present and the Soviet past.

In describing his vision for the country, Putin once called Russia a multiethnic civilization assembled around a Russian cultural core. In this respect, since the start of the Syrian conflict, Moscow has consistently promoted the idea of protecting Christians and the vision of Syria as a cradle of Orthodox Christian doctrine and asceticism. Above all, however, Moscow protected Assads regime and has removed its responsibility for cease-fire violations so it can act from a position of force.

Russian internet resources centered on problems of religion, as well as other experts, have extensively pondered an alleged plan whereby enemies of Syria are trying to turn the situation into a religious conflict. They also predicted that should the governmental system collapse, Christians would be the first to fall prey to anarchy. As proof, experts provided the following numbers: Before the Syrian civil war started in 2011, some 1.75 million Syrians (about 10%) were Christian. However, according to Elena Agapova, deputy head of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, official sources say the Christian community of Syria was halved. Other estimates say Christians now amount to less than 1% of the countrys population.

The estimates ignore that Christians had left Syria in waves even before the conflict, due to numerous problems  not only the decline of secular movements caused by the regimes support of popular Islam for its own benefit in internal and foreign policy, but also due to the war in Iraq, the rise of fundamentalism in general, and failed attempts at social and economic development.

Damascus, which publicly guarantees the rights of Christians and other religious minorities, is likely to start relying on the refugee factor more intensively. As for the countries hosting Syrian refugees, Assad will probably push for their participation in the reconstruction. However, it's still not clear whether Syrian Christians actually want to return to their war-torn homeland. The radical factions have gone underground, but they will still try to use religion to their benefit in some way, and Iranian influence is increasing throughout the countrys system.
The recent refusal by a Turkish court to release Andrew Brunson, an American pastor imprisoned in Turkey since October 2016 on multiple terrorism charges, is casting yet another dark shadow over US-Turkish relations already marred by mutual resentment over a number of differences. The problem with the Brunson case involves its complicated political-legal backdrop and two radically different judicial systems. Also influencing thinking on the Brunson case are a number of additional US-Turkish legal entanglements concerning criminal cases with political overtones.

The indictment against Brunson accuses him of being a sympathizer of the Gulenist movement, headed by Fethullah Gulen, the self-exiled Turkish preacher living in Pennsylvania whom Ankara says masterminded the failed coup in July 2016. Turkeys ongoing demand for Gulens extradition has emerged as the main political issue complicating the Brunson case. Brunson is also accused of being a sympathizer of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

The prosecutor is seeking up to 35 years in prison for Brunson for espionage, under the guise of missionary work, aimed at overthrowing the elected government. Nevertheless, it was widely expected that Brunson, a Christian missionary from Black Mountain, North Carolina, who ran a small church in Izmir, on Turkey's Aegean coast, would be released after a July 18 hearing, pending a verdict against him.

The hearing followed a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Donald Trump during the recent NATO summit in Brussels, held July 11-12. This was followed up by a phone conversation between the two presidents that reportedly included discussion of Brunson's case.

Western diplomats in Ankara believed that Erdogans electoral victory in last months presidential elections had freed his hand to take an executive decision and resolve the Brunson case before it turned into a major problem in US-Turkish relations. It was assumed that the example of the journalist Deniz Yucel, a German citizen of Turkish origin unexpectedly released earlier this year after 12 months behind bars for allegedly supporting the PKK, would provide the template for the Brunson case.

Yucel's plight had become a major thorn in the side of Turkish-German relations, and many believe that this is why he was released. The court in Izmir, however, dashed such a scenario. Brunson will remain in prison until his next hearing, in October.

Washington insists Brunson is innocent and has demanded his immediate release. Trump, referring to the pastor on Twitter as a hostage who has been held far too long, labeled the courts recent decision a disgrace, and said Erdogan should do something to free this wonderful Christian husband and father. Such language only increases the sense of defiance in Ankara, making Brunsons situation even more intractable. Moves in Congress to punish Turkey with sanctions over a number of issues, including the Brunson case, havent helped either.

A bipartisan group of US senators introduced legislation last week aimed at restricting loans to Turkey by the World Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development until Ankara stops arbitrarily detaining or denying freedom of movement to United States citizens (including dual citizens) or locally employed staff members of the United States mission to Turkey. Turkey is holding a number of other US citizens in detention, as well as a Turkish employee from the US Consulate in Istanbul, who are accused of Gulenist links.

There is also a move in the Congress to withhold the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey until a new assessment by the Pentagon on Turkish-US relations in light of Ankaras desire to purchase Russian S-400 anti-ballistic defense systems. A provision in the National Defense Authorization Act calls on Turkey to release Brunson and other US citizens.

Given the gravity of the charges against Brunson, and Washingtons refusal to meet Ankaras demand on Gulen's extradition on the grounds of insufficient evidence, releasing Brunson under American pressure would represent a serious loss of face for Erdogan

Burhanettin Duran, general coordinator for the government-funded SETA think tank in Ankara, argues that the basic problem is the Americans' belief that the United States is disproportionately stronger than Turkey. In a column for the pro-government Sabah newspaper, Duran asserts that Washington demonstrates this in all of its negotiations with Turkey.

It does not escape the notice of Turkish officials that while Washington insists on evading the question of Gulen, it continually brings up the Brunson issue, Duran wrote. He added that Washington still fails to understand the Turkish publics feelings about the Gulenists after the failed coup attempt.

The feeling on the American side may be that Turkey is holding US citizens hostage, but the feeling in Turkey is that the US is feeding and protecting [Turkeys] worst enemy, according to Duran. A US delegation recently visited Ankara to discuss legal matters, including the Brunson and Gulen cases, but little headway was reported after the talks.

Western diplomats in Ankara, who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, see the Brunson case as an example of the kind of political decisions arrived at by a judiciary controlled by an executive branch, which in this case means Erdogan. Ankara counters by saying that the judiciary in Turkey is as independent as its US counterpart. It throws the ball back by citing the case of Mehmet Hakan Atilla, who headed the international banking division of the Turkish state-owned Halkbank, and was tried in New York for violating sanctions against Iran.

Atilla received a three-year sentence, while Halkbank is still waiting for the penalty against it to be announced by the US Treasury and the Department of Justice. Ankara insists that the case is a political one aimed at undermining Turkey and has referred to it as a legal scandal.

Turkish and US officials held talks July 19-20 in Ankara on the new round of US sanctions against Iran. Washington wants Ankara to comply with the sanctions, or face consequences, while Ankara says it is not bound by US sanctions that lack UN approval. The outcome of these talks, which remains in the balance, is expected to indirectly affect the Brunson case.

Meanwhile, the pressure from the United States on Turkey is agitating Erdogans grassroots supporters, who are calling on him not to cave in to Washington. Liberal commentators also oppose concessions in the face of US pressure.

What exactly does Trump want Erdogan to do when he tells him he should do something? Murat Yetkin, editor-in-chief of Hurriyet Daily News, wrote after Trumps Twitter message. Use his political influence over the court to get Brunson out? Would that be acceptable when millions of Turks want the courts to be free of any external influence? And, if so, does that mean Trump can do something regarding the Turkish demands on Gulen?

That said, Erdogan has already disappointed Turks who want the courts to be free of external meddling by proposing a pastor for a pastor deal with Washington last year, which remains his position today.

We have given you all the documents necessary [for the extradition of Gulen]. But they say, Give us the pastor. You have another pastor in your hands. Give us that pastor and we will do what we can in the judiciary to give you this one, Erdogan told a group of police officers at his presidential palace Sept. 28.

Another complication is the absence of political equivalence between Gulen and Brunson. The stakes surrounding Gulen are much higher politically, although Brunson has the potential to fuel already increasing anti-Turkish lobbying in the United States by influential evangelical Christian groups.

It remains to be seen whether over the next three months Brunson turns into such a huge liability that Ankara is forced to find a political solution, clothed in legal jargon, to release him. All bets are off at this time, after the widespread assumption that Brunson would be released days ago proved to be misplaced.
Top Emirati officials are talking up their diplomatic efforts in Yemen as the United Nations looks to cut a peace deal and Congress adds new restrictions on US support for the Gulf-led war.

In a letter sent to congressional leaders in June and reviewed by Al-Monitor, UAE Ambassador to the United States Yousef al-Otaiba wrote that the Saudi-led Arab force fighting in Yemen is giving the Iran-backed Houthi rebels the greatest possible opportunity for a peaceful withdrawal from the strategic port of Hodeidah.

Otaiba also emphasized that the Saudi-led coalition had stockpiled enough food to feed 6 million Yemenis for a month if the port, which is the thoroughfare for three-quarters of humanitarian aid entering the country, is disabled. The letter was sent to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and 15 other offices, including a handful of House Democrats who have criticized US refueling of Saudi and Emirati jets in the air war against the Houthis.

US lawmakers remain skeptical.

On July 23, the armed services panels in the House and Senate released joint defense legislation that draws attention to Emirati actions when reviewing US participation in the war in Yemen. The conference report specifically demands that the Pentagon tell Congress whether US or Arab coalition forces violated federal law or Pentagon policy, while another provision restricts US refueling for the Yemen campaign unless the UAE and Saudi Arabia demonstrate efforts to support UN-backed peace talks, resolve the growing humanitarian crisis and cut down on civilian deaths.

A Senate armed services committee staffer told Al-Monitor that lawmakers extended the certification requirement to the UAE based on an assessment that the Gulf country will play a major role in eventually resolving the Yemen conflict.

Publicly, Otaiba and Reem al-Hashimy, the UAEs minister for international cooperation, are getting behind UN Yemen envoy Martin Griffiths as he tries to get Saudi, Emirati and Houthi signatures on a 17-point plan to bring peace to the war-torn country.

They have wanted for two years to see a political process restarted, Barbara Leaf, a former US ambassador to the UAE, told Al-Monitor. Thats the way theyd see their goals truly achieved, not on the battlefield.

That process appeared to move forward July 23, when the Yemeni Embassy in Washington tweeted that exiled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi had accepted Griffiths' deal in principle. But despite giving the peace process a public boost, sources familiar with Otaibas talks with House and Senate leaders over the past week say the Emirati powerbroker is concealing an iron fist within his velvet glove.

After the Donald Trump administration gave the Emiratis a yellow light to proceed with the Hodeidah operation without US help last month, two sources told Al-Monitor that Otaiba voiced an expectation that the Pentagon would provide support if military operations resume.

The June letter to lawmakers reiterates the UAEs spurned request for minesweepers that would be needed to resume normal flows of goods to Hodeidah, or to launch an amphibious assault into the city. Otaiba also asked the United States to condemn Houthi use of improvised explosive devices, land and sea mines, and sniper nests in crowded civilian areas. Otaiba and Hashimy also met with Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Tim Lenderking, a top US policymaker on Gulf affairs, a State Department official told Al-Monitor.

One former US official with knowledge of Emirati lobbying on Capitol Hill described a PowerPoint presentation highlighting humanitarian efforts as a bumper crop of generic answers. UAE lobbying shop Hagir Elawad & Associates circulated an information pamphlet to Congress in June that breaks down a five-point Emirati plan to provide aid to Hodeidah, according to Justice Department records reviewed by Al-Monitor, including a strategy to strengthen three hospitals, provide shelter to endangered families and supply two mobile desalination units to provide clean water to the beleaguered port.

The former official said the UN has used dhows and small ships to send aid to Djibouti in recent weeks, as shippers have feared entering heavily mined Hodeidah.

Otaiba had harsh words for US policy last week at the Aspen Security Forum, a whos who gathering of policymakers and national security experts. The ambassador downplayed American influence on Emirati decision-making in the war-ravaged country.

We dont have a lot of support for what were doing in Yemen now, but were doing it anyway, Otaiba said at a panel hosted at the Colorado Rocky Mountain resort, adding that the United States is no longer [the] global guarantor it was after the Cold War, forcing Middle Eastern allies to take more independent military action.

But if Griffiths talks  the first successful effort to get the Houthis to the bargaining table since 2016  sputter, its not clear to experts that the Emirati plan to take back the port will succeed. Both Otaiba and Hashimy avoided questions about a timeline for the UN-brokered deal at an event at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington last week.

Two former US officials told Al-Monitor that the UAE is losing enthusiasm about launching a frontal assault against the city, which they say has been reinforced by Houthi defenders that are chipping away at coalition supply lines. Anti-Houthi forces that remain, sources say, are not equipped for urban warfare.

Every time you see photographs of these guys, theyre hardened, but theyre running around with Kalashnikovs and sandals, a former US official said of the Tehama brigades, a local force involved in the Hodeidah fight.

Michael Knights, a Boston-based analyst who embedded with Emirati troops earlier this year, disputed accounts that UAE supply lines into Hodeidah had attenuated in recent weeks. But, he acknowledged, the longer that goes on, the harder it gets to restart an offensive.

A UN assessment released in January also indicated that Saudi Arabia and the UAE favored an internationally sanctioned deal to broker an end to the conflict. The UN evaluated that the Houthis saw more advantage in continuing to fight.

Speaking in Aspen last week, Otaiba appeared to signal a central dilemma for the UAE in the conflict: an eagerness to end the fighting, while making sure Houthi fighters dont have a foothold to fire Iranian-provided ballistic missiles at Muslim holy sites in Saudi Arabia.

The goal for most of us in the coalition is to get out of Yemen, Otaiba said. We cannot allow an Iranian foothold on the border of Mecca and Medina.

Bryant Harris contributed to this report.
Alan Register has been named Regions Bank's Commercial Banking District Director for the Alabama, Mississippi and Florida panhandle markets.

Register, a 30-year veteran of corporate banking, will also serve as Birmingham Market Executive.

He succeeds Leroy Abrahams, who yesterday was named Head of Community Affairs for the company.

Register will have responsibility in the Alabama, Mississippi and Florida panhandle markets for commercial banking revenue growth, strategic planning, client retention and acquisition.

John Turner, Regions President and CEO, said Register's "expertise, combined with the experience of our entire Birmingham leadership team, will help Regions further strengthen its focus on this vibrant area. We are committed to the success of this community and to consistently developing new ways to serve."

Register joined Regions in 2016 as regional commercial banking support executive for the South Region and Florida. A graduate of Samford University, he previously worked with BBVA Compass, Fleet Bank and First Florida Bank.
As a black child in Birmingham in the 1940s, Joe Dickson was arrested by white police officers while playing with a toy gun. He was 10.

It was part of a pattern he saw all around him of black people being treated unfairly by white authorities who enforced strict segregation laws and customs in Alabama.

As a student at Miles College in the 1950s and afterwards, Dickson took part in civil rights demonstrations. In 1963, he lined up beside and behind movement leaders including the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Rev. Ralph Abernathy. He was arrested multiple times during demonstrations.

After black boycotts were banned in the wake of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, he helped lead a selective buying campaign in Birmingham which encouraged blacks not to spend money at retail stores that wouldn't hire them as clerks or let them try on clothes or use the restrooms.

As a child Dickson delivered The Birmingham World, a black newspaper founded in 1931. The Birmingham World Editor Emory O. Jackson took bold stands against segregation from 1941 until his death in 1975. In 1989, Dickson took out a $180,000 loan to buy the newspaper, according to Kimberly Mangun, assistant professor of communications at the University of Utah, who has researched the newspaper's history. In 1990, Dickson bought the financially troubled newspaper from C.A. Scott, owner of the Atlanta Daily World, and kept the Birmingham World going as publisher until it went defunct in 1998.

Dickson died on Saturday, July 21. He was 85.

"His thirst for justice and equality was the main catalyst for him," said his son, Jonathan C. Dickson. "That thirst and desire to make it right motivated him. He had this tenacity to deal with confrontational situations."

Joe Dickson often spoke to school groups about the civil rights movement. He spoke to students at Phillips Academy on Sept. 17, 2010. (The Birmingham News/Bernard Troncale).

Dickson bought the historic Birmingham World newspaper to carry on a legacy.

"When the opportunity came to buy the newspaper, he stepped out in faith," his son said. "He wanted to educate minorities and show positive things within the community, and he also wanted to be an advocate for justice."

Born in Montgomery on March 5, 1933, Dickson's father died when he was five and the family moved to Birmingham in 1939. He graduated from Fairfield Industrial School in 1952, where he was the class president.

After working as manager of Excel Grocery Store in Titusville, Dickson went to work for Birmingham's leading black businessman, A.G. Gaston, who had companies in the banking, insurance and real estate business. "He idolized Dr. Gaston," his son said.

Dickson sold insurance for Gaston's Washington Insurance Company and later was a real estate salesman and property developer for Gaston's Vulcan Realty and Investment Co.

"He grew up poor," Jonathan Dickson said. "He had to get up and go slop the hogs before he went to school."

Dickson graduated from Miles College with a bachelor's degree in sociology in 1960.

"He was charismatic," said his high school classmate, the Rev. Jonathan McPherson Sr. "Joe was very, very intelligent, with administrative ability, a people person."

Lucius Pitts, who was president of Miles College throughout the 1960s, pushed for a selective buying campaign targeted at downtown Birmingham businesses and enlisted Dickson and other students as leaders.

"They outlawed boycotts," said McPherson, pastor of St. John Baptist Church of Edgewater for more than 50 years. "Dr. Pitts said we don't have to call it a boycott, we'll call it selective buying. We put out leaflets asking why would you would buy a dress at a store that wouldn't hire blacks as clerks."

Dickson's son said he explained the campaign to him: "If we can spend our money here, why can't we try on clothes, why can't we work here, why can't we use the restroom? It's okay to take our money but we can't be treated as citizens? That's one of the things that pushed him to be involved in the movement."

Dickson was inspired by the pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps philosophies of Booker T. Washington and A.G. Gaston, his son said.

In the late 1960s, Dickson was one of the first black employees hired at Blue Cross Blue Shield, before returning to work for Gaston.

From 1970-73, Dickson earned his law degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C.

He then returned to business in Birmingham. "He got back here and went to work," his son said. "He wanted to be a lawyer, but he said I can do a lot more doing this."

Dickson in 1976 founded the Alabama Republican Council to represent black Republicans. "His political views were different," his son said. "At that time, Republicans were more advocates for issues of concern to blacks."

When Gov. Guy Hunt was elected in 1986 as the first Republican governor of Alabama since Reconstruction, he appointed Dickson as assistant for minority affairs. Dickson later served on the state personnel board for more than 25 years, including as chairman. He was also a member of the state insurance board.

He wanted to have a role in state government, his son said. "He said things have to be done right and for the benefit of all people, not just a few."

In 1977, Dickson was the first black real estate agent to have a Century 21 franchise in Birmingham, his son said. He did that for six years before returning to work for Gaston again.

Dickson was survived by his wife, Charlie Mae Dickson, who taught nursing at UAB for more than 20 years. They were married for 48 years. Dickson had eight children and was generous with his time as a father, Jonathan Dickson said.

But his impact was felt across the community. "So many people have said, 'Your dad sold me my first house, your dad gave me my first job,'" Jonathan Dickson said. "That's one thing that will be his legacy, his willingness to help so many people."

He inspired others to give back, his son said.

"He always said, 'You do your best, give your best, the results will show.' He did his best. He did all he could for the community."

Joe Dickson founded the Alabama Republican Council in 1977 to give black Republicans a voice in state government. He's shown here in 1984 with the Alabama Republican Executive Committee, from left, U.S. Sen. Jeremiah Denton, State Rep. George Seibels, Dickson, and state Rep. Billy Gray. (Photo by Charles Nesbitt/The Birmingham News)

A funeral will be held at noon on Saturday, July 28, at Mt. Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church in Fairfield. Family visitation will be Friday, July 27, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Smith and Gaston Southside Chapel.
One of the U.S. Senators from Alabama voiced his concerns about President Donald Trump's tariffs on Twitter Tuesday morning.

Sen. Doug Jones, a Democrat, has been a vocal critic of the president's new tariffs. Earlier this month, he wrote an opinion piece for AL.com saying it's "deeply troubling that recent proposals from the President to levy significant tariffs ... will threaten tens of thousands of Alabama jobs." He wrote that the most concerning tariff is the 25-percent tariffs on foreign car, truck and auto part makers is "simply ridiculous."

Jones again talked about his opposition on social media Tuesday, after Trump tweeted that the tariffs are great. Trump said, "Tariffs are the greatest! Either a country which has treated the United States unfairly on Trade negotiates a fair deal, or it gets hit with Tariffs. It's as simple as that - and everybody's talking! Remember, we are the "piggy bank" that's being robbed. All will be Great!"

Jones responded to the president, "Many of your tariffs are not the greatest--they're the worst. Your auto tariff/tax threatens 57k AL jobs & $11B in exports. Retaliatory tariffs/taxes threaten $170M in AL soybean exports 2 China annually. Your tariffs/taxes are great for 1 thing: killing US jobs."

.@realdonaldtrump Many of your tariffs are not the greatesttheyre the worst. Your auto tariff/tax threatens 57k AL jobs & $11B in exports. Retaliatory tariffs/taxes threaten $170M in AL soybean exports 2 China annually. Your tariffs/taxes are great for 1 thing: killing US jobs. https://t.co/Y8kETAKLHS  Doug Jones (@DougJones) July 24, 2018

Last week, Jones said he and and Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander are working to craft a "solution" to the proposed automobiles tariffs.

In May, Trump directed the Commerce Department to begin an investigation into whether imported vehicles and auto parts constitute a national security threat. Jones, Sen. Richard Shelby, and Gov. Kay Ivey have made comments opposing the tariffs. Ivey, in a letter to Commerce Sec. Wilbur Ross, said Alabama's auto segment could lose up to 4,000 jobs as a result.
A nearly two-week work stoppage caused by a rare one-inch fish that halted construction on Alabama's largest-ever economic development is over.

Mazda Toyota Manufacturing USA announced work has resumed Tuesday on its $1.6 billion plant in west Huntsville.

Protecting the habitat of the spring pygmy sunfish - a species of fish about 1-inch long listed as "threatened" by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - caused the brief delay.

Fish & Wildlife officials told AL.com earlier this month that Mazda Toyota was following federal law in protecting the fish habitat and was free to resume work whenever they wanted.

The statement from Mazda Toyota released Tuesday:

"Mazda Toyota Manufacturing US (MTMUS) recently suspended construction on the Huntsville site to work with the City of Huntsville to ensure robust practices are in place to protect the spring pygmy sunfish and its habitat. As part of this effort, MTMUS engaged with multiple stakeholders and environmental experts, including the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD). MTMUS also hosted a tour for CBD to demonstrate measures being taken to help achieve this, including site grading, construction Best Management Practices and related construction activities. Following this additional assessment and engagement, MTMUS has determined, and has informed the CBD, that it is confident work can resume on the site in a manner that helps protect the spring pygmy sunfish and its habitat. We will continue engaging the CBD, third party experts and other key stakeholders in developing and executing on a conservation strategy that works to preserve the spring pygmy sunfish and its habitat, and potentially enhance them."

Mazda Toyota stopped work at the Limestone County site on July 12, saying at the time it expected only a short delay before restarting.

A groundbreaking is expected later this year for the joint venture plant, which officials said will be producing automobiles in early 2021.
Universities are "coddling" students and not fostering an environment for developing capable adults, Attorney General Jeff Sessions told a group of high school students Tuesday.

"Rather than molding a generation of mature, well-informed adults, some schools are doing everything they can to create a generation of sanctimonious, sensitive, supercilious snowflakes," Sessions said.

Sessions made the statements during an address to the Turning Point USA's High School Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. The AG said universities are "actively preventing" students from "scrutinizing the validity of their beliefs."

"After the 2016 election, for example, they held a 'cry-in' at Cornell. I hope they had plenty of tissues for them to cry on," he said. "They had therapy dogs at the University of Kansas. Play-Doh and coloring books at the University of Michigan for heaven's sakes. You know, give me a break. Students at Tufts were encouraged to 'draw about their feelings.'

"Well I can tell this group isn't going to have to have Play-Doh when you get attacked in college and you get involved in a debate," Sessions told the crowd.

The students answered with chants of "Lock her up," a staple of President Trump's 2016 campaign in reference to prosecuting Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. The chants prompted a laugh from Sessions, who later referenced his time at Huntingdon College in Alabama in the 1960s.

"The hostility was not as great then as it is today on college campuses. Stand strong for what you believe in," he told the students.
Rep. Matt Fridy, R-Montevallo

Eighteen years ago, the Tennessee Supreme Court found that a woman's right to an abortion was rooted in the Tennessee state constitution.

An Alabama lawmaker says the case is one reason he proposed a constitutional amendment that is on the ballot for Alabama voters in November.

It seems unlikely that the nine Republican justices who make up the Alabama Supreme Court would make a ruling like the Tennessee decision.

But Rep. Matt Fridy, R-Montevallo, said his amendment, which declares that the Alabama constitution carries no right to an abortion, is important because courts and their ideological leanings can change.

"We don't know from generation to generation what the composition of the Alabama Supreme Court is going to be," Fridy said. "Things change quickly, and you can look at a lot of issues, even recently, to see significant change, judicial change, that's come about much faster than anybody had ever anticipated.

"So, to say that the Alabama Supreme Court as presently constituted is unlikely to interpret the Alabama Constitution to provide for a right to an abortion doesn't eliminate the need for placing in our organic law a manner in which to interpret the constitution as we go forward."

Fridy's amendment, if approved by voters in the Nov. 6 election, would add to the state constitution a provision that says Alabama recognizes the rights of the unborn, including the right to life, and that nothing in the Alabama constitution guarantees a right to an abortion or funding for an abortion.

Alabama voters will also have their say on an amendment that would authorize Ten Commandments displays on school campuses, courthouses and other public buildings.

The Republican-controlled Alabama Legislature voted to put both proposed amendments on the ballot. Voter approval is required for any change to the state constitution.

David Hughes, an assistant professor of political science at Auburn University at Montgomery, said he believes the two proposed amendments are more about politics than policy.

"I see it more as legislators signaling to their constituents that they should be reelected because they put this on the ballot," Hughes said. "Legislators are going to use this to win reelection."

Fridy said that was not his motivation on the abortion amendment. Sen. Gerald Dial, R-Lineville, had tried for more than a decade to pass the Ten Commandments amendment through the Legislature and finally succeeded this year.

Dial, who did not run for reelection but lost in a runoff for state agriculture commissioner last week, said his amendment would give legal backing to school principals, probate judges and other public officials who believe the Ten Commandments should be posted.

"Anybody in charge of a building, they're afraid to display the Ten Commandments because they're afraid they'll be sued personally," Dial said. "And so what we're doing is through a constitutional amendment, they'll now have the constitution to back them up. So if they sue anybody, they'll have to sue the state. That's a possibility that may go forward but if it does I've got a lot of confidence in the Supreme Court and the fact that it's beginning to change, become more conservative."

Dial's amendment says that no public funds will be spent to defend its constitutionality. He expects private law firms would defend it.

Hughes said he expects voters to approve the amendment but questions its significance.

"If you were to ask an average Alabamian whether they support the Ten Commandments, they're going to say yes. So, I suspect it'll pass," Hughes said.

"It's largely symbolic though. It doesn't really do a whole lot. Everything that Alabama does related to religion is obviously going to be superseded by the U.S. Constitution and its ban on establishment of religion. I would suspect that this thing is probably going to be challenged in court by a group like the ACLU. And the Legislature obviously expects that because they wrote in a clause to the amendment saying that no state funds can be used to defend the thing."

Fridy's amendment on abortion comes as advocates on both sides of the issue are gearing up for change on the U.S. Supreme Court and its possible implications for Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 abortion rights ruling.

Eric Johnston, a Birmingham attorney who is president of the Alabama Pro Life Coalition, said the expected addition of Brett Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy could tilt the court toward a more restrictive view of abortion rights.

"It (Roe v. Wade) was founded on a very tenuous, really non-existent right and then built on over the years, but that foundation is still faulty," Johnston said. "And I think if you get a fifth pro-life judge on the U.S. Supreme Court, they may reverse it."

Johnston said the Legislature would probably have to pass a bill specifically to outlaw abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned. Johnston said Alabama's anti-abortion law that predated Roe v. Wade is technically still on the books but probably would not suffice. He said the proposed amendment would help lawmakers build the case for an updated statute to outlaw abortion.

"If the U.S. Supreme Court every comes back and reverses Roe, then we've got a strong statement of public policy which we then will put into effect by enacting, if the Legislature will do it, a statute that criminalizes abortion," Johnston said.

Barbara Ann Luttrell, director of communications and marketing for Planned Parenthood Southeast, said Fridy's amendment would have negative consequences. Planned Parenthood operates clinics in Birmingham and Mobile that provide abortions.

"If this ballot initiative passes, it would pave the way to ban abortion in all cases, even in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the woman is at risk in the state of Alabama," Luttrell said. "So that has huge implications for women and families across the state."

Katie Glenn, Alabama state director for Planned Parenthood Southeast, said the Alabama amendment is part of a wave of legislation targeting access to abortion. Glenn said 37 states introduced 308 new abortion restrictions in the first quarter of 2018 and 12 abortion cases are moving through the system and could reach the Supreme Court.

"But regardless of what happens at the national level, Alabama politicians have proven time and time again that they will do everything within their power to eliminate women's access to safe, legal abortion, and this amendment is their latest attempt," Glenn said. "This constitutional amendment will serve as a mandate to pursue even more extreme restrictions and bans. This is just one more example of out-of-touch politicians trying to control women's decisions and shame them for their most personal reproductive care decisions."

Fridy said specifics such as exceptions to abortion restrictions would not be determined by his amendment.

"What it does is it states very clearly that the public policy of the state is to recognize the rights of children who are still in the womb," Fridy said. "And it calls for the passage of legislation that would protect preborn life. The legislation itself would drill into the specifics of that and that remains to be seen what shape and form the legislation would take."

In Tennessee, the landscape has changed since that 2000 court decision finding that the state's constitution guaranteed a woman's right to have an abortion.

Voters approved an amendment to the state constitution in 2014 that said, "Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion."

Opponents of that amendment have filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court. The appeal is based, in part, on a challenge to the way the votes were counted.
The counting of provisional ballots today did not change the outcome in two races for the Alabama House of Representatives with razor-thin margins.

In the Republican runoff in House District 102 in Mobile County, Shane Stringer defeated Willie Gray by a final margin of 28 votes, 2,580 to 2,552.

Stringer had held a 25-vote lead in the results announced last Tuesday, before provisional ballots were counted today.

Stringer wins the seat because there is no Democratic nominee. The seat is currently held by Rep. Jack W. Williams, R-Wilmer, who ran for the state Senate instead of re-election.

Gray congratulated Stringer on his victory and said he had no plans to seek a recount.

"I know God is leading me in a different direction so I'm just going to follow wherever he takes me," Gray said.

Gray said he and Stringer, both from Citronelle, are friends.

"Over 5,000 people voted and it comes down to less than 30 votes," Gray said. "That's a perfect example that every vote counts."

The race was even closer in District 38, which is in Chambers and Lee counties in east Alabama.

Today, Debbie Wood of Valley held on to the six-vote margin over Todd Rauch of Opelika that she held in the July 17 runoff for the Republican nomination.

Today's count added six provisional votes for Wood and five provisional votes and one absentee vote for Rauch, leaving the margin unchanged. Wood finished with 2,171 votes to 2,165 for Rauch.

Wood, who has served four terms on the Chambers County Commission, moves on to face Democratic nominee Brian McGee in the general election.

"I'm very humbled and very excited and I look forward to facing my opponent in November," Wood said.

Rauch, who is retired from the U.S. Army and was making his first run for office, congratulated Wood and called the final vote-counting process "incredibly professional and well done." He said he had no plans to seek a recount.

"I very much do believe in and trust the process," Rauch said.

Rauch said he expects to run for office again.

Rep. Isaac Whorton, R-Valley, has represented the district since 2014 but opted to run for circuit judge instead of reelection.

Updated at 3:31 p.m. to give the final numbers in House District 38. Updated at 4:02 p.m. to give results of House District 102 race.


Democratic gubernatorial candidate Walt Maddox on Tuesday invited Gov. Kay Ivey to a series of four, two-hour debates leading up to the November election.

The invitation, sent via certified mail and email, has yet to receive a response from the governor's campaign. Ivey was criticized during the Republican primary for being a no-show at debates.

"I am confident that with more than three months remaining, and with so much at stake, we will make this happen for the people of Alabama," Maddox wrote.

Ivey's campaign later issued a statement: "Walt Maddox refuses to say if he supports Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court, it's impossible to get a straight answer from him on gun rights, and he's all over the map on abortion. It seems the person Walt Maddox should be debating is himself."

At a news conference at his Birmingham campaign headquarters, Maddox said the Supreme Court was not a key campaign issue.

"In the end, the United States Senate is not interested in what the next governor or gubernatorial candidate thinks about the next chief justice [sic.] My focus is what are we going to do about health care? What are we going to do about infrastructure? What are we going to do about public education in our state? Those are the real issues facing the voters and I think we owe it to them to talk about" them, he said. "I know if I were in Jacksonville, Ala., today and my hospital just closed, I'm not worried about the Senate confirming Judge Kavanaugh or not. I'm worried about where's my medical care going to come from in the future..."

The Democratic candidate for governor proposed four debates: one on education and economic development; another focused on public safety, health care and infrastructure; and two town-hall styled debates "in a major Alabama city" and "a rural Alabama county."
Millennials overwhelmingly love Obama. Baby Boomers adore Ronald Reagan. Depending on what a person sees as the job of the president, the two presidents may not be as different as we believe.

In a recent Pew research poll, polarized numbers put 22 to 37-year-olds in Obama's corner and 54 to 72-year-olds in Reagan's as their choice for best president. Almost half of Millennials favored Obama and almost half of Baby Boomers favored Reagan.

The conversation is divisive and the opinions of those on either side appear immutable - just look at the AL.com comment section.

The adamant dedication to these past leaders can't be linked simply to policy. It wasn't Obama's healthcare reform or Reagan's foreign policy. It's far deeper than that, said Auburn communications professor Susan Fillippeli.

"They are both transformational presidents," she said. "You've got generations that identify with what these transformational presidents represented. It's more than policy. It's more than personality."

Fillippeli, a Baby Boomer, said her generation felt Reagan speaking to what they were feeling - he spoke to the same conversations they themselves were having around the dinner table.

She said support for presidents like Reagan and Obama comes from the public's ability to identify on a level far deeper than tax reform.

Weston Sims, senior at Auburn University and Chief of Staff for the College Democrats of America, said the avid support from Millennials for Obama can be linked to a change in values. Young Americans care about abstract values, such as deeper fulfillment in work, a sense of duty and vivid experiences rather than material wealth, he said.

"Obama's presidency focused on the idea of, 'I am my brother's keeper,' and we must take care of people. He focused on altruism," Sims said.

There was a shift of focus, Sims said, from an overly materialistic generation to a generation of go do'ers. He laughed and said, "It's no wonder why people think Millennials are lazy, we aren't as money crazy as they were."

Obama was a president America had never seen, Fillippeli said. For young, minority voters, Obama was something completely different that spoke to ears that had tuned out the world of politics.

It's about inspiration, said Stephen Borelli, political science expert at the University of Alabama. He said despite what is actually accomplished in a president's term, the support from voters originates with the inspirational rhetoric and vision for what could and usually doesn't get accomplished.

"In my lifetime, [Reagan] is without a doubt the best president we have ever had," said former Secretary of State Beth Chapman.

Chapman said Reagan's ability to communicate and connect with the American people was inspiring from the start. She said he was genuine and sincere.

She said seeing Reagan bounce back after the assassination attempt in 1981 was the greatest example of resistance to evil and dedication to state she had ever seen.

The expectations for presidents fluctuate, Borelli said. They are expected to be a beacon of hope or a strong fist, sometimes. And other times they must take action and make their promises come to fruition.

As Chapman pointed out, Reagan was the face for the World War II generation - patriotism, conservatism and the "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" mentality.

Calvin Wilborn, senior at Auburn University and vice president of the College Democrats of America, said that as a young, African American male, Obama emerged as a voice for people that looked like him - a voice not heard before from the White House.

"Obama transformed the way people viewed presidency into something that was approachable," Wilborn said. "He used the office for communication with people through informational videos and being goofy at times to connect."

Fillippeli said both presidents, although different in more ways than alike, knew how to speak to those who were almost ready to stop listening. Obama and Reagan openly pointed out issues and problems in the system, Fillippeli said, which allowed the public to find similarities and a base for trust.

Borelli said the only downside of a presidency decided by inspiration is that it rules out those who might be fantastic at the job, but who perform poorly in social situations or on the national stage -- for example, Hillary. In the end, he said, America must figure out what they value most in a leader.

Based on the research, voters place a lasting value on being inspired.
A bid to rename a Mobile street for the victim of a racially motivated Jim Crow-era murder was fast-tracked to approval Tuesday by the Mobile City Council.

The agenda item calling for Tennessee Street to be honorarily renamed Rayfield Davis Street initially was listed under resolutions being introduced on the council agenda. That meant that under normal procedure, it would have been held over for a week for consideration.

But in the council's preliminary organizational session, District 3 Councilman C.J. Small, the sponsor of the measure, asked that it be reclassified as a consent resolution, meaning it could be approved immediately. That was done, and at the council meeting later Tuesday morning the measure was approved unanimously by the six council members present.

"Whereas, the best way to ensure the darkest days of our history are not repeated is by an understanding of that history;" begins the resolution. It then adds that "one of those dark days in our own city's history is March 7, 1948."

In 2015, the Civil Rights & Restorative Justice Project at the Northeastern University School of Law began a re-examination of racially motivated killings in the South between 1930 and 1970. The History Museum of Mobile has worked as a partner with the group to develop exhibits about such killings in the Mobile area.

Rayfield Davis was a janitor at Mobile's Brookley Air Force Base. On March 7, 1948, Davis was involved in a confrontation with a mechanic who also worked at the base. Davis, then 53, purportedly told the man that equality was coming for whites and blacks; this enraged the man to the point that he beat Davis to death. Davis' body, according to the council resolution, was left in a ditch on Tennessee Street.

A March 1948 account published in The Chicago Defender suggests a substantially different interpretation. Headlined "Dixie Fantasy," it identifies the assailant as Horace Miller, 20 a white man from Durant, Miss., and says the confrontation occurred after the two got off a city bus at a nearby stop. The article highlights several circumstances suggesting that that Miller may have assaulted Davis during a robbery attempt and then fabricated the exchange about equality to cover up his criminal intent.

If the Defender account is accurate, the logic is that the white assailant believed he wouldn't be held accountable for killing a black man, if he said the black man had antagonized him with talk about equality. The outcome was that a grand jury in fact opted not to indict Miller.

The resolution looks ahead to Aug. 18, when "descendants of Mr. Davis and members of the Civil Rights & Restorative Justice Project will gather on Tennessee and Broad Streets, where he was killed, to honor his life and legacy followed by the opening of a special exhibition on these killings at the Mobile History Museum."

According to information provided by the Civil Rights & Restorative Justice Project, its work and the History Museum of Mobile's exhibits will honor Davis and five other racially motivated killings. The public is invited to attend the Aug. 18 ceremony and then to visit the museum to view the related exhibition.

In an honorary renaming, a street retains its green street signs and residents' addresses do not change. New brown streets signs are added, showing the honorary designation.
A man accused of robbing a northeast Alabama bank has been arrested in Tennessee, authorities said.

Archie Lee Williams was wanted in connection with a Friday-morning armed robbery at FNB Bank in Bridgeport, said Jackson County sheriff's Chief Deputy Rocky Harnen. Williams was in custody in Kimball, Tennessee on Monday evening.

Williams is a 41-year-old from Flint, Michigan, Harnen said.

A second suspect also was being sought in connection with the bank robbery, but authorities haven't yet been able to release a description.

The robbery was reported around 9:30 a.m. The bank is at 51616 Alabama 277.

The suspect vehicle, a charcoal grey Chevrolet Colorado extended cab truck, was found wrecked just a few miles away on Jackson County Road 206.

Williams will be held in Tennessee pending extradition back to Alabama.
This is an opinion column.

This is not about Christopher Ruffin.

Last week, Ruffin, a Birmingham native and the interim executive director of the Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority, confirmed his participation in a 1997 armed robbery of U.S. Postal Service employees in Tarrant. He pled guilty and served 75 months in a federal prison. "I made mistakes and it was a mistake," he told me. "I've learned from it. I got a second chance [at the BJCTA], and now I'm a better man, a better person."

Indeed, by almost any measure, Ruffin, 44, is a model to which any formerly incarcerated individual should aspire. He walked out of prison in 2003, joined the BJCTA as a bus driver in 2008 and rose to the position of director of operations, earning a six-figure salary. (The BJCTA, like all of Birmingham's public entities, is a "second-chance" agency; in 2003, applicants were only required to reveal criminal or arrest history in the previous seven years.)

Ruffin

In April, Ruffin was named interim executive director after Barbara Murdock was suspended for allegedly using her BJCTA credit card for personal expenses (she was terminated in June).

Then last week, following what can only best be described as a tumultuous four months for the BJCTA, the board of directors, at its meeting of the committee of the whole, suddenly introduced and passed a motion to elevate Ruffin to executive director, pending majority approval at Wednesday's board meeting.

It did this without conducting a search or agreeing upon a sound, transparent process for filling this vital position at this critical time, with the clock clicking towards the 2021 World Games.

It did so without even an approved job description--what appears to be an old description (it reads revised 4/17/15) was distributed to directors on Monday.

In the days since revelations surfaced about Ruffin's past, interaction among board members has been a runaway bus of chaos and division with the nine directors teetering in either direction towards tomorrow's vote.

Now, it appears the vote on Ruffin may not happen--at least for now.

In response to my inquiry about the job description, board chair Darryl Cunningham referred me to BJCTA attorney Courtney French, who said the resolution will not be on tomorrow's agenda because "some board members are out of town, and the board wants to ensure everyone has the opportunity to weigh in."

On the description, French added: "There are so many new board members, it was "to give them some idea of the duties and responsibilities of the position."

Whether by the happenstance of summer vacations or because one side or the other realized it may not have the votes it needs, delaying the resolution would be the most prudent decision this board has made in months.

Again, this is not about Ruffin.

It's about Birmingham. It's about our expectations for public agencies and the people who run them. It's about the experience and qualifications we demand in those in whom we trust to lead and drive--yes, pun intended--them.

The job description, a copy of which I obtained, contains the expected requirements and functions of the demanding position--as well as the quirky duty of being able the "read chemical labels".

Yet it's curiously lacking in one element: education.

For the task of leading an agency charged with overseeing public transportation throughout the region and being responsible for a projected $40.5 million fiscal 2019 budget, there is apparently no education requirement.

I searched and found five job descriptions and qualifications for CEO or executive director of transit authorities in other cities--many of which are smaller than Birmingham. Each required at least a bachelor's degree, typically in business administration.

Ruffin attended Miles College but does not possess a bachelor's degree. (He says he has 31 credits and is currently back at Miles attending classes towards a degree in business administration.)

By not including a minimum education provision it could be perceived that the board was simply shaping the description and qualifications for its preferred candidate, without executing a thorough and transparent hiring process.

Moreover, the board may be prudent to consider this: its largest funder is the Federal Transportation Authority, which is projected in the FY19 budget to provide the BJCTA with more than $14 million.

The executive director, according to the job description, "directs the preparation" for federal grants and "represents the authority" in negotiations with all entities, including federal.

"You're going to have someone asking for federal dollars who robbed the federal government," said one industry expert, who asked that their name not be used.

Hopefully, delaying the resolution forces the board to take a deep, collective breath and realize it made a mistake: it moved too fast, and now must execute a prudent hiring process that would--and must--inspire confidence throughout the industry.

"We need to set guidelines and expectations for the role of the executive director," said director Martin Weinberg. "There must be a clear process that is followed, and we must also establish a precedent. A search of some magnitude is simply the right way to proceed. I'm hopeful the board can come together and discuss how to proceed."

And how high to set the bar.

Revised at 3:18p to clarify that job description distributed to board members reads "revised 4/17/15".

Roy S. Johnson's column appears in The Birmingham News, the Huntsville Times, the Mobile Register and AL.com. Hit me up at rjohnson@al.com or/and follow me at twitter.com/roysj.
A toddler was airlifted to hospital after being shot in the back by another child in Geneva County Sunday.

The victim, who was taken to a hospital in Pensacola, was later reported to be in a stable condition by Alabama State Bureau of Investigation.

First responders from in the town of Samson, approximately an hour's drive west from Dothan, said that the bullet entered the child's body from the back and passed through the front. An initial investigation discovered that a boy aged between five or six found the .32 caliber pistol on a cabinet before shooting the two year-old

An adult was present at the location but was in a different room when the shot was fired.

It's not yet clear if charges will be filed against the adult.
Competing in a contested runoff campaign for Georgia's governor, Brian Kemp didn't see it coming: the single-most prized endorsement in Republican politics.

When President Donald Trump tweeted his support last week of Kemp over his Republican opponent, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, the Georgia secretary of state was holding a news conference announcing another endorsement from a former primary rival. It was only later that Kemp found out the president had unexpectedly delivered his "full and total endorsement" without any advance warning.

The endorsement ahead of Tuesday's runoff was the latest example of how Trump has become more emboldened in offering his imprimatur on a number of Republican contests -- despite being burned in a bitter Alabama Senate campaign last year.

Three Trump administration officials said Trump endorsed Kemp after conferring with Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, a former Georgia governor who officials said circumvented the internal process on endorsements to advocate on Kemp's behalf. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. A representative for Perdue didn't respond to a request for comment.

Trump has also been inclined to endorse Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach for governor ahead of the state's August 7 primary, two of the administration officials said. But aides have warned the president that it would alienate Republicans loyal to Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer, who succeeded Sam Brownback when Trump selected him for a diplomatic post.

Last spring, Trump was on the verge of tweeting out an endorsement of Kobach but his staff intervened, warning of the repercussions, the officials said. But they said Trump may still endorse Kobach anyway.

The political maneuvering puts the president at risk of being on the losing side of a Republican race, as he was in Alabama last year when he initially supported Sen. Luther Strange, who lost a Republican primary to Roy Moore. Trump then urged voters to support Moore in the general election, even after the former judge was stung by multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. Moore lost the race to Democrat Doug Jones.

"When he creates bad blood is when he splits with the establishment and makes the job holding the seat more difficult. Alabama is the best example of that," said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist. However, he said, "for the most part, when Trump has endorsed a candidate it's strategic and it helps the likelihood that we'll keep the seat."

Despite the potential downside, Trump has stitched together a winning streak in Republican races that could benefit him in the months ahead.

Trump's willingness to serve as a kingmaker in Republican contests has allowed him to demand more loyalty within a party that once openly considered abandoning him during the final weeks of the 2016 campaign. And it has also been another tool to strengthen his base of supporters, who have followed his lead when he decides to make clear his preferences.

The results of late have been to his liking.

During a contentious West Virginia Senate primary, Trump heeded the call of Republicans by using his Twitter feed to urge Republican voters not to support Don Blankenship, the ex-coal executive who spent a year in federal prison for violating safety regulations in a deadly 2010 mine explosion.

West Virginia's attorney general, Patrick Morrisey, won the primary, giving Republicans a shot at defeating Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in one of the top Senate battlegrounds.

In South Carolina, Trump used a last-minute endorsement of state Rep. Katie Arrington to help oust Mark Sanford, a Republican congressman who had criticized the president. Trump also staged a rally on behalf of South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, who was among the first elected officials to publicly embrace Trump during his 2016 campaign. McMaster fended off his Republican opponent.

And last week in Alabama, Trump tweeted out an endorsement of Rep. Martha Roby, a Republican who was facing a runoff against Bobby Bright, a one-time Democratic congressman. Roby easily dispatched Bright, who had tried to capitalize on Roby's decision to distance herself from Trump after the "Access Hollywood" tape during the 2016 fall campaign.

Roby has since sought to make amends with Trump, who triumphantly tweeted that his endorsement opened the "flood gates," adding, "and you had the kind of landslide victory that you deserve."

In Florida, Trump is expected to rally Republicans next week on behalf of Gov. Rick Scott, who is running for Senate, and Rep. Ron DeSantis, a candidate for governor who faces Adam Putnam, the state's agriculture commissioner, in the party primary.

"Die-hard Putnam supporters would wish the president wouldn't endorse. But at the end of the day whoever wins that primary will unite Florida Republicans," said Tom Reynolds, former New York congressman and head of the GOP's congressional fundraising arm.

In Georgia, Trump's endorsement of Kemp came on the heels of Cagle's endorsement by Republican Gov. Nathan Deal and the National Rifle Association, a key Trump constituency. But a White House official said officials raised concerns about Cagle's viability in the general election when they reviewed polling after the emergence of an audio recording in which Cagle is heard explaining he engaged in political maneuvering for a "bad public policy" bill for a tax credit scholarships program.

Vice President Mike Pence, who led a rally on Kemp's behalf Saturday, was among the White House officials who spoke to Trump about the Kemp endorsement, the White House official said. Pence's chief of staff, Nick Ayers, is a former Georgia political consultant who served as a top strategist to Perdue. The official said Ayers was among a group of aides who raised concerns about Cagle's viability but was not a deciding factor in Trump's endorsement.

"As you know, we had the momentum going into the final stretch," Kemp said during Saturday's rally with Pence. "But their support has created what we are now calling the 'Kemp surge.'"
It happens every Mardi Gras. You're standing in the street minding your own business when suddenly out of the corner of your eye you see a multicolored blur coming toward you. You've just been hit by a bundle of plastic beads. You look down and see that the beads are being held in place by a piece of cardboard that has "Made in China" displayed prominently.

Well, that mini concussion is about to get a little pricier.

As part of the so-called trade war with China, an attempt by the U.S government to reduce the near $400 billion trade deficit with Beijing, products made in the far-east country will likely be more expensive, according to business owners and trade experts. And that includes all that fun stuff we throw at each other during Mardi Gras.

"It has affected us," said Stephen Toomey, owner of Mobile's leading Mardi Gras supply store, Toomey's. "But I'll roll with it for the good of the country. It's our fiduciary responsibility to reduce the deficit."

Reducing the trade deficit with China has been one of President Donald Trump's key goals since taking office in January 2017. The deficit exists because China imported approximately $130 billion of U.S.-manufactured goods while the U.S. brought in $506 billion, according to U.S. government stats. President Trump sees this gap as unfair and earlier this month levied a 25 percent tax on $34 billion dollars worth of imported Chinese goods. Leaders in Beijing responded by applying exactly the same tax on certain goods going the other way. In economics, that's know as a trade war.

Since then, leading U.S. ports have reported an increase in goods to a from China that exceed the normal summer spike as businesses attempt to get ahead of the new taxes. In short, they want to get those products into the country before further tariffs start.

"When it comes to markets, be it physical trade or electronic stock, fear of what might happen has always been as great as what is actually happening," said Gary Hufbauer, a leading economist with the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a former international and trade official under the President Ford and Carter administrations. "I would guess there are many firms that are scrambling right now to get more orders in before the tariffs are imposed. I know this because of previous experience in similar trade issues. It has happened before."

Later this month both sides will pull the trigger on a further $16 billion worth of imports.

Trump also announced a $200 billion tariff with a 10 percent tax. However, this is not expected to go into effect until later this year, if no deal can be struck between leaders in Washington D.C. and China, according to Hufbauer.

Hufbauer said that a trade war of this magnitude hasn't happened since the 1930s, which at the time exacerbated the great depression. In the 1960s, the oddly named "Chicken War" broke out between the United States and Europe's common market. In an effort to wipe out U.S. chicken imports to Europe, a select group of EU states applied a 13 percent tariff on the imports. In retaliation, the U.S. applied the similar tariffs on West German trucks, French cognac and Dutch potatoes. U.S. chicken farmers saw exports drop 66 percent within a year, according to news reports from the time. The tariffs are still in place today, more than 50 years later.

Even though the current trade war is only weeks old, businesses are already feeling the pain.

Trent Walters of Walters Controls in Mobile, a company that specializes in automated energy management systems, said in an interview with AL.com that his company has already seen a hike in items it buys from suppliers. "We have seen some price increases," he said. "And one of our main control companies Schneider Electric has a decent amount manufactured in China and they typically do price increases in January but are raising prices in October now."

Similarly, Toomey did say that some of the raised costs associated with the tariffs would likely be passed on to the consumer.

But according to Hufbauer, the consumer may not have to take on the increased costs of every product. For example, consumer bought products like jeans don't have to be made in China. "Items like jeans or other clothes can easily be made in countries that don't have a huge tax on them," he said.



However, there are some businesses that can't find a new supplier as easily. For example, medical appliances or other technology-based products that have regulatory standards can't easily be made somewhere else.

"There are not many substitutes for those kind of products, if any," said Hufbauer. "Those could be high end piece of equipment that are used in hospitals, say. The consumer in this instance, which is generally an industrial purchaser, will have to absorb the price because they don't have the luxury of finding a substitute."

"But down the line that will be passed on to the average person on the street somehow."

U.S. ports are also seeing larger than normal imports from China that are above seasonal averages. The volume of loaded shipping containers from China to all U.S. ports was up 6.3 percent in June from a year earlier after falling 6.9 percent in May and 3.9 percent in April, according to import data published in Reuters.

Data on Mobile's port was not immediately available, but officials at the port said that they had not seen any increase on cargo from China.

"There are no upward spikes attributed to imports in our general cargo or bulk commodities," said Judith Adams, a spokesperson for the Alabama State Port Authority. "In fact, our bulk and general cargo imports are slack on the year compared to FY2017. Most of these products hail from Europe, [Mediterranean], and South American countries. Very little of these cargoes come from China."

Interestingly, Alabama's exports to China greatly exceed its imports. In 2016, the latest data available from the Alabama Commerce Department, Alabama exported $3.37 billion worth of goods to China, compared with $1.87 billion in imports. Of that, $2.07 billion is transportation equipment, while $333 million is forestry products.

Adams also noted that there was a 36 percent increase in overall volume in May ahead of the President's May 29 tariff announcement, but noted that the increase declined 22 percent in June. She said that the increase was because of delays in April cargo and because some carriers began using larger ships.

"The bottom line is we don't think the port is seeing a sudden influx of Chinese goods in advance of tariff implementation," added Adams. "The story for Alabama shippers and the Port will ultimately be from the retaliatory tariffs imposed by China on our exports."
"I feel that if South Alabama wants to buy them a stadium, South Alabama should fund it."

No one remark could sum up a community meeting held Monday night on the future of Mobile's Ladd-Peebles Stadium: It was a lively and at times raucous affair that kept Mayor Sandy Stimpson on the hot seat for nearly two hours. Plenty of people, including Stimpson himself, had plenty to say.

But if you had to strip it all down to one core message, that remark from senior citizen Frances Thomas seemed to capture the single sentiment shared by most of the people in the room. Voiced by someone else in slightly different words earlier in the evening, it received the biggest round of applause from the crowd all night, accompanied by a catcall of "Have you looked at their tuition lately?"

The University of South Alabama, which has been playing home games in the city's venerable midtown stadium, wants to build an on-campus facility. University leaders have asked the city and the county to chip in, and USA President Tony Waldrop has said that without their help, the university can't forge ahead as planned and have the stadium ready by 2020.

Stimpson has submitted a letter of intent to the Mobile City Council proposing an arrangement under which the city would pay USA $500,000 a year for 20 years, and USA would give the city a lump sum of $2.5 million to help redevelop the Ladd site.

The Mobile County Commission is waiting to see what the city does before it considers any contribution. The city is waiting on a city council vote. And for three weeks now, the council has waited on Monday's meeting, called by District 2 Councilman Levon Manzie.

It was one data point in a larger discussion, involving one interested community out of many. How it'll influence the timing or outcome of a council vote (currently docketed for July 31) remains to be seen. But the gathering clearly provided a lot of food for thought.

Some key takeaways:

Monday's meeting had been pitched as a forum for the Maysville community, which in Mobile shorthand meant a chance for the mostly black residents of the underprivileged neighborhoods around and south of the stadium to speak up. But the audience was racially diverse, reflecting makeup of the overall area around the stadium. Several people who spoke made a point of saying that while they didn't live in the area, they had grown up there or otherwise had ties to the stadium, or to nearby Williamson High School (where the meeting was held) or to the area in general. They seemed to be united in a hearty skepticism of public funding for a USA stadium.

Stimpson had to know going in that he'd face a tough crowd, and he did. The mayor faced that challenge squarely, listening diligently and maintaining a calm demeanor throughout. While rarely rude, the crowd was deeply skeptical and freely vocal when its outlook differed from his, which was often. Stimpson stated his case as he has argued it from the beginning: Buying into South's stadium could save the city millions, compared to keeping up 70-year-old Ladd, and a downsized Ladd could be more accessible to the community around it. In this room, that argument did not fly. Not an inch.

South was not represented; "The Monster" was. Waldrop had previously said that USA leaders would attend, not to make a presentation but to answer questions as needed. At the beginning of the meeting Stimpson said he'd advised USA representatives not to come. "To me, it really wasn't South Alabama's responsibility to be here tonight," he said. "It's really about Ladd-Peebles, not about USA."

In hindsight, that probably was a good call. However benevolent the intentions behind USA's promise of a $2.5 million gift for Ladd, it has been perceived in some quarters as part of a ploy by the Stimpson administration to tear down Ladd and replace it with something that has already been decided. Manzie has said the conflation of two separate issues -- the building of USA's new stadium and the future of Mobile's old one -- has created a "monster" in that it makes people think USA's stadium is a direct threat to Ladd and the community around it. At this gathering, that monster could have gone toe to toe with Godzilla.

Despite Stimpson's repeated assurances that the city has no predetermined plan for Ladd, and won't draft one without extensive community input, it was clear that deep distrust surrounds the issue. Those who turned out Monday want to see Ladd preserved and improved and continue as a home to the Senior Bowl and other major events. They'd prefer to see the city spend $10 million on Ladd, rather than give it to USA.

There's a Catch-22 at play. Based on comments and audience responses, there's clearly a widespread belief in some quarters that the administration has detailed plans for the destruction and redevelopment of Ladd-Peebles, though Stimpson and others have repeatedly vowed no such plans exist and no such decisions have been made. Yet several speakers also made the point that before the community can buy into a deal involving USA, the city and Ladd-Peebles, it needs to see a plan for Ladd-Peebles. In other words, if the city has a plan that's a problem and if doesn't have a plan that's also a problem.

How city leaders get past that conundrum is unclear. Stimpson has promised that if the city moves ahead with USA funding in the short term, it'll have a robust process with plenty of community involvement to determine what is best for the Ladd-Peebles site in the long term. He tried to make the case, with mixed results, that the very reason the city hasn't put out an artist's rendering of a possible future Ladd is that it's up to the community to decide what that picture should look like.

"We haven't promised anything, but to listen," he said.

At least three council members were listening as well -- Manzie shared the stage with Stimpson, while Bess Rich and C.J. Small sat in the audience. The ball now returns to their court. More discussions may or may not come at the council's regular meeting on Tuesday, but on July 31 the USA funding proposal is due to reappear on the council agenda.
Residents in Alabama's fastest growing city since the 2010 U.S. Census will get the chance on Oct. 2 to decide if the city's form of government should change.

But further details, such as how council members will be determined in future years, is undetermined. The wording of the Oct. 2 referendum is also still unknown.

But for Fairhope, an explosive growth city along the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay, the special election could be transformative: A binding referendum asks voters to scrap its council-mayor form of government for council-manager.

"What hasn't been decided yet is if the council will determine whether they should represent individual districts or be at-large," Baldwin County Probate Judge Tim Russell said. His office is administering the special election, which will be paid for by city taxpayers. The estimated cost is $15,000.

If a majority of Fairhope voters back the government change, it will take effect after the city's next municipal election scheduled for 2020.

The special election was made possible by a citizen-led group called Fresh Start Fairhope, which gathered 857 signatures and turned them into the Baldwin County Probate Office earlier this month. Of those, 803 were certified, which was more than 685 required by the state for a referendum to take place.

The petition simply asked for a ballot question requesting a change in government. The referendum will occur during a special election because state law mandates an election date be set "not later than 90 days," from the time the petition was submitted.

He also said he was concerned about voter fatigue since the special election will be the sixth election in 14 months for Fairhope voters, not counting the Nov. 6 general election.

"I think voter fatigue is speculation on the part of some elected officials," said Chuck Zunk, spokesman with Fresh Start Fairhope. "But if you talk to the 800 or so people who have supported our position, they are excited about this and cannot wait for October to come around. People are ready for change in Fairhope and are ready for something bigger."

Zunk said the special election, and the government change request, is the result of the city's rapid growth. The city has long operated under a mayor-council form of government, but the city has grown at an astonishing, state-leading 36.6 percent since the 2010 Census.

"I think it's the growth rate that is putting the stress on every part of our system here," said Zunk. "A lot of cities across the country have recognized that the way to relieve this stress is to get professional people in, who can manage the process and who have advance degrees to run city planning."

Zunk said he believes the current council-mayor form of government places stress on elected officials to operate the day-to-day business activities of the city instead of focusing on establishing policy goals and strategic plans.

"A good deal of the time between the mayor and council is in dealing with small day-to-day issues," he said. "A lot of stuff is done but no one has addressed the bigger issues on the table like stormwater management and the state of infrastructure and how we manage our 25 percent growth rate. Those issues are not addressed because our elected officials are spending time on small stuff so the big stuff doesn't get done."

Critics about the special election point to the frequent political disputes between Mayor Karin Wilson and the Fairhope City Council. They believe that the city shouldn't change its longtime form of government based on the current problems out of city hall.

Zunk said talks about changing the form of government long predate Wilson's tenure as mayor, which began in 2016. Wilson, herself, supports a council-manager form of government, and has publicly expressed support for having three council members representing districts.

But how the future council will be defined is unknown, and might not be determined by the time voters go to the polls.

An amendment, approved by the Alabama Legislature this spring and signed into law by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, modified the Council-Manager Act of 1982 to give cities like Fairhope more authority in deciding whether to purchase a council-manager form of government with a five or seven-member council.

The new law allows a city council to determine the form of government as either at-large or through single-member districts.

Previously, under state law, the council-manager form of government was only allowed in cities where councils were derived from three districts. A mayor and a council president were elected at-large.

Zunk and his organization support the status quo, in which Fairhope's five council members are elected at-large. The mayor, who would transition from an executive position to a voting member on the council, would also be elected at-large.

Council members, for the most part, have been silent on the issue.

"I've tried to stay out of that completely," said Fairhope City Council President Jack Burrell. "We have a right as individuals to have an opinion on that, but we're (approaching the special election) with an abundance of caution to not sway the vote one way or the other."

Attorney General Steve Marshall's Office could be consulted before the election to decide if the current City Council should decide, before or after the election, its future makeup as either district or at-large representation.

Joy Patterson, a spokeswoman for Marshall, said the Attorney General's Office has not received an opinion request.

"Our main issue all along is that we'd like to be a council-manager form of government," Zunk said.

If voters endorse the change, Fairhope will join a rare list in Alabama: Only 16, or a meager 3 percent of the state's 460 incorporated cities are operated by a professional manager.

Mississippi only has six. But most Southeast states and more and more cities nationwide are looking to hire professional managers to handle day-to-day operations at city halls.

An overwhelming majority of Alabama cities are operated by an elected mayor serving as the community's executive, and a city council operating as a legislative branch.
New Census Bureau research shows that when women make more than their husbands, the men report their earnings to be 2.9 percentage points higher than what they file on their tax reports to the IRS.

According to the report "When a wife earns more, both husbands and wives exaggerate the husband's earnings and diminish the wife's. But, husbands overstate their own earnings less than wives do, and wives devalue their own earnings less than husbands do."

The report suggests that societal gender responsibilities affect the way couples report information to the Census Bureau.

In Alabama 26.7 percent of white married women make more than their husbands, whereas 18 percent of Hispanic women and 17.7 percent of black women make more than their husbands, according to a 2016 report by the Institute for Women's Policy Research.

Alicia Revelle of Huntsville makes more than her husband as a communications associate at the Huntsville Museum of Art. She said her husband is proud of her role as the breadwinner of their household, but has experienced judgement for non-traditional gender roles. Revelle said her husband will most likely be the stay-at-home parent when they decide to have children.

"With certain family members it's sort of jarring. My parents want me to be independent, but they have the mentality that the husband provides. When we have kids it will be an interesting conversation."

Evan King, Revelle's husband, said he has never felt uncomfortable making less than his wife because they have always been open about their finances. King said he was never made to feel inadequate by the couples' friends. The majority of pressure to align with traditional gender norms comes from an older generation.

"I think it's just lost in a long ago generation. We're never ever going to be [in] a relationship where I go out to work everyday and she stays home and cooks and cleans. If anything it will be opposite," King said.

Alice Lowry has always made more than her husband of 22 years. She is the vice president of accounting at Protective Life in Birmingham. Lowry has lived in Indiana, Texas and Alabama, but says she has not experienced any comments demeaning her role as the breadwinner of the family.

"I think it's a great thing that times are changing, so that if you want to be the breadwinner there's nothing wrong with it, and there's employers out there that will allow flexible work schedules," Lowry said.

The Census report did not include any information on non-traditional marriages, including same sex couples.
Election campaign shows there are countless people trying to bring about change in Pakistan, indicating better days ahead for the country.

Lahore, Pakistan  Pakistans election on Wednesday has made headlines for pre-poll rigging, political engineering and turf wars between the military, the judiciary and the politicians.

But the catchy negativity has clouded the energy and political awareness which can be felt from the streets of Karachi through the bazaars of Lahore to the tea stalls of Peshawar and Quetta.

Ive covered Pakistans elections for nearly two decades and each time witnessed much room for improvement.

This time though, people seem a bit more aware, a bit more cognisant of the reality, regardless of who they support.

That awareness and maturity seem like a sign for better days ahead for the nuclear-powered, Muslim-majority state, home to more than 200 million people.

There are countless people who are trying to bring about change, so here are just a few glimpses Ive come across.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari waves to supporters in District Thatta [Akhtar Soomro/Reuters]

The Mature Young

Nawaz Sharif, Pakistans former prime minister, has been found guilty by an accountability court and Imran Khan, his main opponent, wants to claim credit for it.

The battle for narratives that ensued was vicious, personal and uncouth. But, when all the attention was focused on verbal attacks by point-scoring politicians, the youngest leader from the three main parties  Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, son of assassinated Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and controversial President Asif Zardari, appeared to keep his cool.

To the surprise of many political boffins, he managed to pull crowds at rallies in Punjab and Sindh. But the biggest difference was his focus on substance, turning his attention to policies and remaining detached from personal attacks.

Although his party has been in power in southern Pakistan for decades and has a dismal record of providing the basics, Bilawals message seems to be of a new man taking charge with the will to improve things.

Jibran Nasir is a human rights lawyer and independent candidate [Akhtar Soomro/Reuters]

Challenging narratives

Another young candidate in a political arena of seasoned politicians is Jibran Nasir, who has been courageous in challenging bigotry upfront.

His campaign has been attacked by religious zealots but he seems to have maintained his composure and stuck to his message of promises to improve things for his constituents.

He is a rare breed of young politicians who entered the arena without any financial muscle, family or political backing.

Standing up for what they believe in

Pakistan also saw a 12-year-old standing up to campaign after his father was implicated in corruption.

The young man and his sister became a symbol of resistance for the Nawaz league as they campaigned on behalf of their father. He was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for alleged corruption in relation to a drinking water contract. Their party, PML-N, accuses the NAB of being used as a tool to implicate politicians.

Qamar-Ul Islam Rajas father was arrested on corruption charges just one day after he became the challenger against the disgruntled former Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar  who left Nawazs party after the PML-N supremo insisted on challenging the judiciary and the military establishment.

In his speeches, the 12-year old dodged tricky questions and insisted on following the party line  not a small feat for someone his age.

Defying Threats

Pakistans Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) will vote for the first time as a governed area  after seven decades of independence, this is no longer just an administered tribal belt.

This region witnessed unprecedented political campaigning. People can now vote for provincial representatives and elect their own local bodies. The biggest change has been in the security situation.

Even before the so-called US war on terror, this area was considered home to Taliban, al-Qaeda and fighters from Uzbekistan to Chechnya.

But after years of military operations, people have a semblance of a normal life.

Why is this significant? Because now tribal elders, drug lords, smugglers and all those who used to exercise immense control know the people can challenge them with the power of the vote.

Being Pakistans most underdeveloped area, newly emerging politicians and leaders can prove their mettle by getting rid of deprivation and building industries, schools and health facilities.

More than 800,000 security personnel will be deployed for security on election day [Asad Hashim/Al Jazeera]

Changing stereotypes

If they lose to me, they feel it will be a bigger loss of losing to a woman. Thats why only my posters are being torn and my campaign being targeted, Raheela Hameed Khan Durrani told me from Quetta.

The speaker of the provincial assembly of Balochistan is contesting on a regular seat  instead of reserved seats for women  in her constituency.

Balochistan province, which saw the worse violence in the elections, was rarely given attention in the local media.

Political activists complain that due to the inability of Balochistans small political parties to afford expensive campaigns on TV and print media they were neglected.

At least 25 women are contesting for general seats; seven for National assembly and 18 for provincial assembly.

Durrani says the security threats made her take precautions in the conservative society. But she didnt leave her campaigning and says she went to far-flung mountainous areas to convince voters to come out and vote for her.
In memory of Hatidza Mehmedovic, who passed away at a hospital in Sarajevo on Monday.

Hatidza Mehmedovic  who headed the Mothers of Srebrenica, an association compromised of relatives of those killed in the Srebrenica genocide  passed away at a hospital in Sarajevo on Monday at the age of 65.

On July 11, 1995, Bosnian Serb forces systematically killed more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys in the UN-declared safe area. It was the worst atrocity on European soil since World War II.

Mehmedovics husband, two sons, and brother were among those killed.

The following is based on a visit to Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 2008. I was reporting on the Bosniaks who returned to their homes following the war in the early 1990s. I first met Mehmedovic in 2003.

Camil Durakovic, mayor of Srebrenica at the time, was waiting for us in the centre of Srebrenica so we could go together to Gladovici, a village nearby, to see Elvis and Izudina.

When we arrived, Izudina was alone in their house. Elvis was watching over their sheep in Sulice, a village several kilometres away. My phone rang, it was Hatidza. Shes was going to make maslenica  a Bosnian speciality baked with layers of pastry and butter  from wholegrain four.

She wanted to check when we would come to her place in Vidikovac, a nice settlement on the outskirts of Srebrenica. Hatidza didnt want the maslenica to get cold.

We spoke to Elvis and Izudina not just for the story, but for our own souls as well.





Then we set out for Vidikovac. Hatidza was waiting for us in the yard of the house where she lived alone.

She showed us pine trees planted by one of her sons. She had two sons, and lost them both.

His name is written there, in front of the door: Almir, and then Lalo. This is very important to me, said Hatidza in a low voice.

She went on to tell us that she lived in somebody elses yard and somebody elses house for seven and a half years.

All houses are nice, all yards are nice but theres no nicer house or nicer yard or even a nicer road than the one that leads to your home, she said.

But even in this house  I go to bed with sadness and I wake up with sadness because its hard. You know that a child is the biggest joy in the world and the biggest sadness and sorrow in the world.

And my children are no more and our children are no more. Thousands and thousands of  children are no more just because they had certain names. But it wasnt their fault that they had those names. Children dont choose their names, or their parents, or the place where theyre born.

She showed me a marble that belonged to her sons and their school books, which miraculously remained intact.

I never believed I could live this life as I live it now. But I do. And now, instead of expecting my children to come home from work, expecting my grandchildren to sit on my lap, expecting to have daughters-in-law, expecting wedding guests, now we have the eleventh day that we live for, said Hatidza, as she put the maslenica on a tablecloth as white as snow.

Eat it, children, before it gets cold.
Zimbabweans will go to the polls on July 30 to pick their next president in a closely-watched election.

Voters in Zimbabwe will head to the ballots on Monday, in what will be the first election since the resignation of former President Robert Mugabe following a military intervention in November 2017.

Overall, a total of 23 candidates are competing in the presidential race, with President Emmerson Mnangagwa, from the ruling ZANU-PF party, and Nelson Chamisa, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change Alliance (MDC), seen as the frontrunners.
The war in Yemen is now the worlds worst humanitarian crisis, with more than 22 million people  three-quarters of the population  in desperate need of aid and protection, we read in reports.

As the conflict enters its fourth year, millions are without access to clean drinking water and the country is at high risk of a cholera epidemic.

How did we come to this? By now, amid Donald Trumps antics constantly flooding the airways and the internet, you may have completely forgotten the causes of the war in Yemen. The answer is simple: counter-revolutionary mobilisation against the 2011 democratic uprising. This was and remains the main cause of this mayhem.

The counter-revolutionary effort transformed Yemen into a theatre for proxy wars. Outside interference by the Saudis and Iranians radically distorted the popular mobilisation into a sectarian conflict in which the Houthis turned from one of the voices of the uprising to puppets of Tehran. The counter-revolutionary commotion succeeded, the revolutionary momentum receded.

Foreign interference was detrimental to the Yemeni revolution and to the interests of both Saudis and Iranians. They are also victims of this counter-revolutionary mobilisation against a transnational uprising that endangered the Saudi and Iranian regimes alike. Needless to say, the US and British support and massive military sales to Saudi Arabia are a key factor in exacerbating this catastrophe.

From proxy war to regional conflict

Now, where are we three years into the Yemen conflict, as journalists in the US and Europe call the carnage?

The Houthis are entrenched more than ever, resisting the onslaught of an international coalition armed with the latest military technology and are still launching missiles at Saudi Arabia. The Saudi-Iranian rivalry is growing and spreading to include the rise of a regional Arab alliance (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, and Bahrain) against Qatar.





At the same time, Saudi Arabia has joined forces with Israel to push the US towards an all-out war against Iran. The Trump administration has happily obliged and increased economic pressure on the Islamic Republic, putting more strain on the US-European alliance. In Syria, Israel has sought support from Russia to open yet another front against Iran.

In short, the war in Yemen has become integral to an all-out regional conflict from which only arms manufactures in the US and the UK and the aggressive and militaristic government in Israel can benefit  all to the delight of reactionary Arab regimes.

The human casualties of the carnage

What has been the political result of so much brutality and bloodshed we have witnessed in Yemen? Nothing. There is no diplomatic, political or even military solution to this carnage in sight.

The state of war in Yemen is its purpose and objective: to kill the democratic aspirations of a nation, to force it to degenerate into sectarian hostilities, to turn Yemen into a proxy war between two sectarian hegemonies in the region  Iran and Saudi Arabia. That is the manifest condition in which Yemen and its future are now trapped.

But there is a far more evident, far more palpable consequence of the war in Yemen, to which all the factions have contributed. At least 10,000 people have been killed in the war in Yemen, this according to a conservative UN estimate reported in January 2017.

Other sources give much higher numbers. In November 2017, according to a report, Save the Children confirmed that 130 Yemeni children were dying every day, with 50,000 children already believed to have died in 2017.

These staggering numbers are getting worse with each report. An international charity says more than a million children in Yemen under the age of five are suffering from malnutrition while more than half of the countrys population of 28 million face food shortages, reports Al Jazeera. In another report we read, the war in Yemen has left nearly three million homeless and 22 million in need of humanitarian aid.

There is no scarcity of reliable reports that the entire population of Yemen, from one end of the country to another, faces a colossal humanitarian crisis. And this on a peninsula endowed with a monumental body of natural wealth, with Saudi and other Arab princes and princesses leading obscenely luxurious lives.

In one report we read, Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman buys [$593m] yacht. In another report, we read, $300m French chateau bought by Saudi prince.

What are all these weapons for?

All of these obscene numbers pale in comparison to the military budget of these rich Arab states. The Saudi Arabian leadership, a tiny little ruling tribe  to be more exact  with no claim to any democratic representation whatsoever, is now the most voracious buyer of military junk in the world after the US and China.

Global military spending rose last year, according to a report by Al Jazeera in May 2018, to its highest level since the Cold War, with the United States, China and Saudi Arabia topping the list, according to a Swedish-based research institute. The same report indicates that Saudi Arabia replaced Russia in third place, spending $69.4bn in 2017.





Imagine that: One ruling clan of a few dozen princes spends more on military machinery than a massive country like Russia. But why? What kind of obscenity is this?

Saudi Arabia is not alone in this tragi-comic picture. According to a report by military magazine Janes, the UAE spent almost $20bn on defence in 2017.

The entire population of this tiny little oil-dom is less than 10 million people, of which less than 1.5 million are actual Emiratis and the rest are foreign labourers. You divide $20bn by 1.5 million and figure out how much per capita the Emirates spends on buying US and Israeli military junk. Does that make any sense?

The fact is that the US and Israel have incorporated these little military garrisons in the Gulf into the map of their military conquest of the region  and they get the ruling families of these states to pay for the privilege of plundering their peoples wealth. These small states have all been effectively turned into mercenary armies and military stations tasked with protecting the strategic interests of the US and Israeli militarism.

Now, in the midst of all these vertiginous numbers, a very simple question arises: What in the world does the Arab world actually mean anymore? Are Yemenis Arabs, too  are they part of this Arab world? What does it mean when a gang of Arab nations bomb the poorest Arab nation in their midst? To what extent does this benefit Iran? What could possibly an Iranian intervention offer the Yemenis that they would sacrifice the future of their children for?

Finally, imagine if a fraction of the Saudi-Emirati military budgets was spent on reconstruction of Yemen from the ground up.

Then, place the mayhem in Yemen next to the GCC crisis in which four Arab states (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt) have ganged up and collectively imposed a blockade on their fellow Arab state of Qatar accusing it of sponsoring terrorism.

Then consider these two facts when you look at the Palestinian scene, when in broad daylight of history, day after day, a European colonial settlement is using Palestinians (men, women, and children) as target practice and turning Gaza into a killing field, as Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Arab world stand by and just watch.

Are Palestinians not Arabs? What exactly does the Arab World mean? What exactly holds this abstraction together?

An existential crisis of meaning

What do masses of millions of Arab people have in common with their corrupt leaders? How much more in common Arab people have with their counterparts in Iran, in Turkey, in Pakistan, in India, and by extension in the rest of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and than with the myriad of immigrant communities in Europe and the US?

Does a common language (spoken with widely differing dialects) from Morocco to Syria really define the Arab World?

The ludicrous, state-sponsored, ideologies of pan-Arabism, or its counterparts pan-Turkism and pan-Iranism, are all without an exception colonial delusions  racialised ideologies pacifying the inner dynamics of class struggles, gender segregations, racialised exclusions, sectarian hostilities within nations, compromising their democratic aspirations.

Only on one recent occasion did the Arab world mean something  and that is when the world was witness to a widespread revolutionary uprising from one end of the Arab world to another, when Arab tyrants were shaking in their boots, as ordinary people were out in the streets dreaming of their democratic prospects and ordering them to leave. That is the only time when the Arab world meant something  and meant something glorious.

The idea of the Arab world is a living organism. It comes to life in the streets and squares of revolutionary uprisings against tyranny and imperialism, in the art and literature of revolt, and it dies and withers away in the halls of power when the Saudis and the Israelis and the Emiratis conspire to mobilise their counter-revolutionary designs and get the US on board.

Today, the Arab world dies with every bomb that the Saudis and Emiratis drop on Yemenis, with every bullet the Israelis fire at Palestinians protesting their cruel fate. And the self-same Arab world comes to life when, against all odds, it still dreams of a revolution, of people pouring into their streets and squares singing People demand the overthrow of the regime!

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
At least 207 activists were killed, with Brazil, the Philippines and Colombia named as the most dangerous countries.

Nearly four land and environmental activists were killed each week in 2017, making it the deadliest year on record, according to a new report by Global Witness.

In the report, published on Tuesday, the UK-based watchdog said 207 people lost their lives last year in their fight against companies and governments that seize land and harm the environment.

Latin America was once again the most dangerous region for environmental activism, accounting for nearly 60 percent of the total killings.

Brazil remained the country with most registered deaths, the report said.

At least 57 people were killed in 2017, marking the most deaths of land and environmental defenders ever registered in one year in any country.

President Michel Temer and his predecessor Dilma Rousseff weakened laws and institutions designed to protect environmental defenders and made it easier for industries to proceed with projects without consent from affected communities.

Despite the countrys constitution recognising the rights of indigenous people to their ancestral land, there has been a drastic decrease in demarcations. Under Rousseff, the average number shrank from 13 to three per year. There have been none since she was removed from office in August 2016, the report found.

John Knox, the UN special rapporteur on human rights and the environment, said Latin Americas population and endemic corruption make it a particularly dangerous area for environmental activists.

You see indigenous peoples who are still directly dependent on natural resources in forests or sometimes fisheries who are already discriminated against or marginalised, he said.

When conflicts between the companies and governments that want to profit from natural resources and the people who depend upon them occur in countries or regions that have a weak rule of law, then they are much more likely to result in violence and killing, he told Al Jazeera.

Of the 10 most dangerous countries, seven are in Latin America [Thom Pierce/Guardian/Global Witness/UN Environment]

In Colombia, at least 24 environmental activists were killed in 2017, according to the report.

The 2016 peace agreement between the government and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has led to a worsening situation for environmental activists as rival actors vie to fill the power vacuum in the countryside, competing for land and natural resources once controlled by the FARC, the report said.

According to the countrys ombudsmans office, more than 300 rights defenders  including environmental, land and human rights activists  have been killed since the beginning of 2016.

Mexico saw the largest year on year increase in deaths, surging from three in 2016 to 15 in 2017. The attacks took place in a context of impunity, with increased violence against activists in areas where drug cartels operate, according to the report.

Situation clearly worsening in the Philippines

The Philippines recorded the highest number of killings ever seen in an Asian country, Global Witness said.

The combination of bountiful natural resources, a large indigenous population and high levels of corruption, as well as the residue of colonial-era land disputes, provide fertile ground for violence against activists in the island nation, the report said.

The Philippines has traditionally been the worst-hit country in Asia but theres a clear worsening of the situation under President [Rodrigo] Duterte, said Ben Leather, a senior campaigner at Global Witness and the author of the report.

His aggressively anti-human rights discourse and his use of martial law, which has put the army into areas which are resource-rich, have meant that a bad situation in the Philippines has got drastically worse under his rule, Leather told Al Jazeera.

In December 2017, more than 200 people were forced to flee a village near the southern town of Lake Sebu, after the military killed eight people and wounded five others in a dispute over the expansion of a coffee plantation, according to an investigation by human rights groups.

In his annual State of the Nation address on Monday, Rodrigo Duterte, who has come under heavy criticism over his human rights record and deadly anti-drug crackdown, hit back at critics, claiming his tactics were justified as they were saving lives.

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Your concern is human rights, mine is human lives, he said.

Culture of impunity

According to Global Witness, violence against activists is made possible due to impunity and corruption.

The report states that 92 percent of those responsible for these killings are never brought to justice.

Global Witness also found that that seven massacres  which it defines as any incident in which more than four people were killed at the same time  took place in 2017, more than ever before.

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The fact that very few of the cases of past killings of defenders have ever been prosecuted gives would-be perpetrators the green light to attack without consequence, leading to increasingly flagrant attacks and massacres, Leather said.

In many cases, governments and corrupt officials within them are colluding with big business to impose development projects and other business ventures onto communities without their consent.

So, when those communities take a stand, both the interests of the business and the corrupt officials are threatened, which means theres less of an incentive for those governments to bring the killers to justice, he told Al Jazeera.

At least 48 land killings took place in the Philippines in 2017, a 71 percent increase from 2016 [Thom Pierce/Guardian/Global Witness/UN Environment]

The report linked government security forces to around a quarter of the killings, with 30 linked to the army and 23 to the police.

A further 90 were linked to non-state actors, such as gangs, security guards and poachers.

While legislation designed to protect activists, such as the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, does exist, it has proven difficult to enforce.

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The law is quite clear that, for example, governments have obligations to protect the rights of freedom of expression and association, including in the environmental context, Knox told Al Jazeera.

The law is clear that indigenous peoples have a right to land title over the territories that they have occupied for generations, he said.

The problem is not a lack of law, its the lack of the political will to enforce it both at the domestic level, as well as the regional and international level.

Tip of the iceberg

According to Leather, the 207 recorded deaths represent only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the threats that land and environmental defenders face.

There are probably other killings out there that we arent able to verify, he said. In some parts of the world, its very difficult for local people to document these kinds of things because of limitations on free speech and the fear of reprisals, he added.

Consumer demand for products like fruit and palm oil are driving land grabs [Thom Pierce/Guardian/Global Witness/UN Environment]

The 22 countries in the report are the ones where we recorded killings last year, but that doesnt mean that activists in countries like Russia and China, where its harder for information to get out, arent also facing risks.

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Murder is just one of the threats that environmental and land activists face. Kidnapping, sexual assault and judicial harassment are among the other tactics used to silence activists.

People now realise this is a global problem, its not simply a matter of individual crimes committed here and there, its part of a broader pattern, said Knox.

In March, the Escazu Agreement was approved by 24 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The treaty includes a clause that guarantees the defence of environmentalists and promotes public access to environmental information, meaning that affected communities will be better informed about and able to engage with potential development.

Its not a silver bullet, there is no silver bullet, said Knox, but it does help to raise awareness of these issues and puts pressure on governments to effectively implement their laws.

Experts agree that the implementation of such agreements is essential in addressing the issue of violence against environmental and land activists, however, the 2017 figures suggest there is still a lot of progress to be made in this.

The fact is that more and more killings are happening every year is emblematic of the fact that states and businesses have not prioritised this issue and are still allowing the killings to happen, Leather said.

Today states and businesses have all the tools they need to be able to tackle this problem. The question really is whether they have the will to tackle it and the will to solve it.
At least three people wounded after five explosions hit Kabul, local media reports.

Multiple explosions have rocked the Afghan capital, Kabul, with three confirmed to have been caused by rockets that hit a residential area, officials have said.

At least three people were wounded in the attacks, with police deployed to the area to find the launch site, an official told the AFP news agency

Rockets were fired on Kabul city from an unknown direction and  hit residential areas near the mountains in PD5 (police district), police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai said.

The Afghan news website, Tolo News, reported five explosions in total, adding that the blasts took place near a police academy in the district of Afshar, in western Kabul.

Quoting police, Tolo added that the target appeared to be the police academy and that dozens of families had fled the area.

#Kabul  TOLOnews journalist at the scene reports dozens of families have fled from their homes in the area as the rocket attack continues. He says most families that have fled live on the slope of the mountain, where most of the rockets have landed #rocketattack #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/0wflyYc3zv  TOLOnews (@TOLOnews) July 24, 2018

Tuesdays rocket attacks came two days after a suicide bomber blew himself up near Kabul international airport, killing at least 23 people and wounding a further 107 people.





Sundays attack was claimed by the local chapter of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as group ISIS) group, which said it had targeted Afghan Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum, who returned to Kabul after more than a year in exile.

Scores of government officials, political leaders and supporters had gone to the airport to welcome Dostum, a powerful ethnic Uzbek leader and former strongman.

Dostum was unharmed in the attack, his armoured vehicle having already whisked him away when the bomber struck.

The Afghan capital has seen an increase in bombings and other attacks against security forces and civilians since the Taliban announced the beginning of their spring offensive on April 25.

Fighting traditionally picks up in Afghanistan as warmer weather melts snow in mountain passes, allowing fighters to move around more easily.

According to the UN, a total of 1,692 people have been killed in the first half of 2018, with another 3,430 people wounded  the highest figure since it began keeping records in 2009.
Beauty blogger Sondos al-Qattan doubles down on initial comments on Kuwaiti law granting Filipino workers more rights.

A Kuwaiti social media influencer and beauty blogger has doubled down on her comments about her countrys new laws aimed at improving conditions for Filipino domestic workers, despite a backlash on the internet.

Sondos al-Qattan, who has 2.3 million followers on Instagram, was heavily criticised on social media after she posted a video on July 10 in which she attacked measures introduced in May that grant Filipino domestic workers working in Kuwait one day off per week and prevent employers from keeping their passports.

How can you have a servant at home who keeps their own passport with them? Whats worse is they have one day off every week, al-Qattan said in the video, which has since been deleted.

On Tuesday, she posted on Instagram a clarification of her comments.

I have not, on any circumstances in the present or the past, mistreated, degraded or in any way mistreated an employee of mine, her post read.

She added that irrelevant of the employee/employers nationality, the passport of any expat employee should be in the possession of the employer to protect the employers interest.

She also thanked people who described her as beautiful from the outside but not necessarily the same from the inside.

[I] assure you that only when you meet me up close and personal that you can make a personal judgement about me as a human being or person, she said.

Yet the damage seems to have already made its mark, with several global beauty brands that al-Qattan is affiliated with severing ties with her, amid calls for a boycott of businesses linked to the influencer.

One of the brands, Max Factor, said it would suspend all work with al-Qattan, who is known for her make-up tutorials.

Max Factor Arabia was shocked by the comments made  regarding the new labour law in Kuwait, a spokesperson told Al Jazeera.

Max Factor Arabia is taking this incident very seriously and have immediately suspended all collaborations with Sondos.

On the same day, French perfume brand M. Micallef and London-based Chelsea Beautique have also fired the beauty and fashion influencer.

Al-Qattan told AFP by phone that the outcry was unjustified and did not require an apology.

All I said was that the employer was entitled to keep the servants passport and that many Kuwaitis and Gulf nationals agree with me, said al-Qattan.

I have the right as a kafil (sponsor) to keep my employees passport, and I am responsible for paying a deposit of up to 1,500 dinars ($4957), she said.

She insisted the practices are not an insult to the employee and do not concern humanity or human rights because I did not deprive the employee of her salary or beat her.

Unapologetic and unconscionable

Al-Qattans new comments have added to the outrage on social media.

To accept compliments on her looks but to show utter disregard for dignity & human rights is appalling, one Twitter user said.

There is not one ounce of regret in her speech. This sick woman is so unapologetic & unconscionable it should be illegal for her to promote anything.

Others called out al-Qattans ignorance.

So instead of a public apology for her disgraceful opinions on domestic wokers rights, Sondos Al Qattan decides to bask in ignorance and defend her wrongfulness?? This is messed up on so many levels pic.twitter.com/650O2wh1t2  sayruh  (@Saraa_Elamin) July 24, 2018

Lol at Sondos Al qattans statement. Just stop talking, youre digging your own grave here  Shamma AlFalasi (@Shammaeiou) July 24, 2018

Migrante International, an advocacy outfit for Filipinos working overseas, called on al-Qattan to apologise and likened her comments to those of a slave owner.

On May 11, Kuwait and Manila signed an agreement regulating domestic labour, following a diplomatic crisis that led to a ban on Filipino workers going to work in the Gulf country.

According to changes in the Kuwaiti law, a domestic worker will work 12 hours a day, with a one hour break. The worker must be provided with a personal mobile phone with internet connection and must have their passport with them at all times.

The law also requires one day off a week, and an annual holiday of 22 days paid for by the employer. The worker must also be given a ticket home after two years.

In February, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte imposed a partial ban on workers travelling to Kuwait after a Filipina maid was murdered and her body found in a freezer.

The crisis deepened after Kuwaiti authorities in April expelled Manilas ambassador over video footage of Philippine embassy staff helping workers escape employers accused of mistreatment.
Italy balks at commissions offer saying it doesnt want charity to accept migrants arriving from the Mediterranean.

The European Commission has offered to bear the cost of taking in migrants from boats in the Mediterranean, seeking to entice more governments to shoulder the burden after Italys new government closed its ports to rescue vessels.

In a proposal published on Tuesday, the commission said it would pay 6,000 euros ($7,010) for each migrant taken in by EU member states, as well as funding the cost of hundreds of personnel to process mostly African migrants seeking asylum in Europe.

Italys Interior Minister Matteo Salvini denounced the offer as far too little.

We arent asking for charity handouts. Every asylum seeker costs the Italian taxpayer between 40,000 and 50,000 euros ($46,700 and $58,400). Brussels, they can keep their charity for themselves, Salvini told reporters. We dont want money. We want dignity.

The commissions plan, which is aimed at EU governments that set up processing centres on their soil, follows a June leaders summit that claimed success in reaching a hard-fought agreement to control immigration but left many details unresolved.

Undocumented migration has fallen steeply since 2015 when more than one million people entered the EU, but polls show it is still a top concern for many of the unions 500 million citizens.

The governments of Italy and Germany are under heavy pressure at home to ensure fewer migrants come to their territory from across the Mediterranean Sea, while Eastern European leaders are bitterly opposed to taking them in.

Italy has shut its ports to humanitarian rescue ships, saying it is bearing an unfair burden of asylum seekers.

By publishing its proposals, Natasha Berthaud, a European Commission spokeswoman, said it was seeking a truly shared regional responsibility in responding to complex migration challenges, although governments have yet to come forward to host new processing centres.

EU envoys are expected to discuss the proposal on Wednesday, with another meeting planned in Geneva on July 30.

Now more than ever we need common, European solutions on #migrationEU. We are ready to support Member States and third countries in better cooperating on disembarkation of those rescued at sea. We need to be united  not just now, but also in the long run. https://t.co/t59kJ43Ppx pic.twitter.com/HAnwERhWab  Avramopoulos Dimitris (@Avramopoulos) July 24, 2018
Irans FM Javad Zarif tweets back at Trump: BE CAUTIOUS!

Iranian foreign minister fired back at US President Donald Trump on Monday, after he warned Iran to be cautious in an all-caps tweet the previous day.
Move comes after urgent warnings from UN officials that emergency fuel supplies running low in the besieged enclave.

Israel says it is partially reopening its only commercial crossing with the besieged Gaza Strip.

According to a statement issued by Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Liebermans office on Tuesday, the partial reopening was set to begin at 12:00pm (9:00 GMT), after which it will be possible to transfer gas and fuel into the Gaza Strip, in addition to food and medicine.

The Kerem Shalom crossing, known as Karem Abu Salem to Palestinians, was partially closed on July 9 with only goods regarded by Israel as humanitarian  such as fuel, medicine, and food  allowed to enter.

A week later, Israeli authorities, citing continued terror efforts of Hamas, tightened the blockade on the coastal enclave, suspending fuel and gas deliveries.

The authorities were referring to incendiary kites and balloons sent from the Palestinian side above the Israeli fence east of the strip, setting fire to agricultural lands owned by Israelis and reportedly causing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage.

Tuesdays statement also said the crossing could soon return to full activity conditioned on the full cessation of fire-balloon launches and friction on the fence.

The statement said that the number of kites and balloons carrying firebombs had been reduced but not totally eliminated.





Electricity cuts

The partial reopening follows urgent warnings from UN officials that said emergency fuel supplies are running low in the Gaza Strip and that the shortage is starting to affect hospitals and water sanitation.

The coastal enclave suffers from a severe lack of electricity and relies on fuel-powered generators during outages that last hours at a time.

On Monday, a spokesperson for the electric utility in Gaza said the strips two million population would go without power for 18 hours a day instead of 16.

We are trying to supply a minimal level of four hours a day of electricity to Gaza residents, said Mohammed Tabet, but that too is in doubt, so the duration of the cut will extend beyond 16 hours a day.

Electricity supply in Gaza is dependent on six power lines from Israel, as well as power supplied by Egypt.

Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire at the weekend following a major flare-up of violence on Friday.

Israel had carried out a wave of air attacks killing three members of Hamas armed wing after one of its soldiers was shot dead on the other side of the fence east of Gaza.

Palestinians have been protesting since March 30 east of the Gaza Strip, calling for their right of return. More than 140 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and 16,000 more wounded.
Israeli army says two Patriot missiles intercepted a Syrian Sukhoi jet after it allegedly entered occupied territory.

The Israeli army said it shot down a Syrian fighter jet that allegedly crossed into the occupied Golan Heights as heavy fighting continued between the Syrian military and the last rebel holdouts in the countrys southwest.

Spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus said the Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet flew towards Israel at relatively high speed before breaching the countrys airspace.

He said it was unknown if the plane deliberately crossed into Israel, and there was no immediate information about the fate of its pilots.

The military monitored the advance of the aircraft and shot it down with a pair of Patriot missiles after it entered Israeli airspace by about two kilometers. The plane crashed in the southern part of the Syrian Golan Heights, Conricus said.

Syrian airspace?

Syrian state media said the fighter jet was targeted in Syrian airspace while conducting raids against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and other fighters in southern Syria.





The Israeli enemy confirms its support for the armed terrorist groups and targets one of our warplanes, which was striking their groups in the area of Saida, on the edge of the Yarmouk Valley in Syrian airspace, Syrian news agency SANA quoted a military source as saying.

The incident comes during a Russia-backed Syrian offensive to retake parts of southern Syria the Bashar al-Assad government lost to rebels during the civil war that started in 2011.

Heavy fighting

Syrian state media said government forces reached the frontier with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights after capturing territory  the first time they took up positions there since the 2011 uprising.

Since the morning hours, there has been an increase in the internal fighting in Syria, including an increase in the activity of the Syrian Air Force, the Israeli army said in a statement.

Israel is concerned the Syrian military will enter a buffer zone established in 1974 that borders the Golan Heights. Israels military will continue to operate against any breach of the 1974 UN armistice deal that established buffer zones on the Golan, the statement said.

Nickolay Mladenov, the United Nations Middle East envoy, urged all sides to abide by the 1974 truce, highlighting a disturbing trajectory of increasingly frequent and dangerous confrontations between Israel and Syria.

I call on all parties to abide by all the provisions of the 1974 agreement and support the role of UNDOF in that regard, Mladenov told the UN Security Council, referring to the UN Disengagement and Observer Force that monitors a 1974 Israeli-Syrian accord.

Intensifying tensions

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Tuesdays incident is the first downing of a Syrian jet since a US Navy F-18 Super Hornet shot one down over Syria in June 2017 after the Syrian plane fired on US-backed Syrian forces.

The intensifying Israeli-Syrian tensions have prompted intercession by Russia, which sent its top diplomat and top general on Monday for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israeli officials said Netanyahu rebuffed as insufficient a Russian offer to keep Iranian forces fighting alongside Syrias military 100km away from Golan.

Israel occupied the Golan Heights in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and annexed the territory in a move that was never internationally recognised.
At least 63 Palestinian women are being held in Israeli prisons, including journalists and mothers.

Two-year-old Yahya followed his mother Lama Khater to the front door of their house in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, trying to leave with her as she was arrested by at least 25 Israeli soldiers.

Khater paused, then knelt down to hug and kiss her toddler, before she was forcefully pulled by the soldiers who put her in an Israeli army jeep waiting in the dark outside.

Yahya began to cry as his mother walked away without him, and was picked up by his older sister Beesan who tried to comfort him, before being passed to his other sister Yaman  all to no avail.

Around 1:30am on Tuesday, we heard a loud noise just outside our home, Beesan, 18, told Al Jazeera.

       .

   . pic.twitter.com/g7GcTJZDNI    (@besan_fak2000) July 23, 2018

Translation: Israeli occupation forces have arrested my mother  Beesan al-Fakhouri

Their home was then stormed by a large number of Israeli soldiers, who immediately informed the family of their intention to arrest Lama Khater. Most of the family was rounded up in a single room and only Yaman, 14, was allowed to help her mother pack her bag.

My mother kissed each one of us goodbye, and advised us to take care of each other, Beesan said. She told us she would be back soon.

Lama Khater, the 42-year-old mother of five, is a writer known for her articles published on the independent Noon Post website on crimes and violations committed by the Israeli occupation.

She was arrested two years ago, barely a month after giving birth to Yahya, and was subjected to long hours of interrogation regarding her writings before she was released on the same day.

Her husband, Hazem al-Fakhouri, told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that he was summoned by Israeli forces five days ago for interrogation, who warned him that Khater would be arrested unless he pressured his wife to stop writing.

I did not expect the occupation to follow through on their threats, he said. My children and I were surprised to see the Israelis raiding our house in the middle of the night to arrest Lama without giving a reason.

She is the very foundation of this household, our family, and we all rely on her, he added. We dont know how we will continue with our lives now.

Hazem said his wife suffers from anaemia and has to take an assortment of medicines and supplements.

We are very concerned about Lama; we do not know if the Israelis will permit her to keep her medicines and take them regularly, he said.

Beesan, who completed high school this year and had enrolled at Birzeit University near Ramallah, two hours north of Hebron, is now considering postponing her studies  where she had planned on majoring in nursing  and staying at home to take care of her siblings.

I will not be able to stay away from home as long as my mother is not there, she said. Ill have to stay at home and take care of my brothers and sisters. Its all my responsibility now.

Khater is not the only female journalist in Hebron to have been detained in recent weeks. Last month, freelance journalist Suzanne Oweiwi, 39, was taken from her home in Hebron after a raid by Israeli forces.

The case of freelance journalist Suzanne

The four Oweiwi children did not expect their mother, Suzanne, to be absent from their lives for this long, since she was arrested from her home on June 5.

Suzanne, a freelance journalist and member of the Hebron municipality, was subjected to intensive interrogation, sleep deprivation, and solitary confinement in an Israeli prison for an entire month.

She was eventually accused of charges related to her work, which mainly deals with documenting Israeli violations against Palestinians, such as settler attacks  which typically occur under the protection of the army  in Hebron.

Hossam al-Oweiwi, Suzannes husband, told Al Jazeera that the Israeli courts extended her detention again on July 4 until next month, when a new hearing is scheduled.

On that day, Suzanne, who suffers from kidney pains, was in a state of near-fainting in the courtroom. She told her lawyer Munther Abu Ahmed that she was subjected to considerable pressure and harsh interrogation in Ashkelon prison.

Because of her work as a journalist, Suzanne travelled regularly but has never been away from her family for more than a week. Her detention has been the longest period of time away from her children.

Hossam says he has not been allowed to visit his wife, which requires special permits for first-degree relatives of prisoners. Two of his sons attempted to visit their mother, but upon arrival at the prison, one of them was turned away by the Israeli Prison Service.

I could not visit my mother yet, and only saw her in court, where she looked exhausted, Wad, Suzannes 18-year-old daughter, told Al Jazeera.

All the responsibility is now on me; I sometimes prepare food for my brothers, but my father brings us takeaway food most of the time, said Wad. We miss the food my mother prepares for us.

63 female Palestinian prisoners

Since the beginning of June, Israeli forces have arrested four women from the Hebron governorate, bringing the number of Palestinian female prisoners in Israeli jails to 63, the Palestinian Prisoners Club said in a statement on Tuesday.

The club added that Israeli forces had arrested Safaa Abu Sneineh, 36-year-old mother of four on June 17, who remains under interrogation at the Ashkelon detention centre.

Dunya Said, 39, who was arrested on July 4, also remains jailed at the Ashkelon detention centre. She is the mother of one child.
Residents and activists say the government has gone back on promises to offer compensation and delay school demolitions.

Thousands of people in Kenyas largest slum are now homeless after two days of demolitions by a government body that human rights activists are calling a violation of the law.

The Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) demolished buildings in Kibera on Monday and Tuesday as part of a project designed to relieve traffic congestion in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, by building a highway through part of the slum.

The destroyed buildings included homes, schools, churches and clinics.

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) called the forced evictions not only a violation of the law and human rights, but also an unfortunate breach of trust and bad faith by the Kenya Urban Roads Authority and other concerned agencies.

In a statement released on Tuesday, KNCHR says it is particularly disappointed that the evictions are happening despite assurances from KURA that no evictions would be effected before completion and implementation of the ongoing enumeration and relocation of the Project Affected Persons.

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On July 10, KNCHR met KURA, the National Land Commission (NLC) and civil society groups to develop a resettlement framework for the Kibera residents being evicted.

They agreed that KURA would evaluate the properties being destroyed and provide the evicted residents with some form of compensation, with KNCHR and the NLC observing the enumerations to ensure fairness.

Press Release pic.twitter.com/CyN5ti8Mj4  Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) (@KURAroads) July 23, 2018

KURA released a statement on Friday saying it had completed enumerations for 2,000 households in Kibera and that residents should leave their homes over the weekend.

But residents say they have not received any form of compensation.

That means KURA did not keep their word, said Madina Mohamed, a spokeswoman from the Kibera member of parliaments office.

At the same meeting, we had also agreed that all affected schools will be spared until end of this term, which is at the end of July. When they started demolishing yesterday even the schools were not spared, she told Al Jazeera on Tuesday.

Al Jazeera contacted KURA for comment, but did not receive a response by time of publication.

Theyll never compensate us now

Seven schools were demolished this week for the impending road construction.

KURA said in a statement on July 10 that it has discussed the school issue with parents to sensitise them on how they can help relocate [students] to nearby schools.

But some community representatives say thats not enough.

I was in the meeting with KURA officials earlier this month and I feel betrayed, said Ben Ooko, the director of Amani Kibera, a community organisation that teaches young people conflict management and health awareness.

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I believe they did the enumerations just to fool people. I dont feel theyll ever compensate us now, he told Al Jazeera.

Amani Kiberas resource centre was among the buildings demolished on Monday. It included a daycare, a fashion school for girls and community library.

As the thousands of evicted residents  rights groups put the figure to at least 10,000 people  wait to see if theyll be compensated, theyre also struggling to find somewhere to live.

Some of the tenants spent their night in cold, those who were able to move upcountry last night. There are also others who are moving around looking for cheaper houses, said 25-year-old Vincent Omondi, who was born in the area that has now been flattened.

Apart from the houses, schools, churches and hospitals have also been demolished. Our church was also in the way.

The sad thing is that poor church members raised funds to buy the plot and it was even approved by the government authorities of that time, he told Al Jazeera.
Malians set to pick their president in a vote against a backdrop of fragile security and calls for economic improvement.

Voters in Mali are heading to the polls on Sunday to pick their president, in a crucial election many hope will quell years of political unrest and violence, as well as improve economic conditions in the country.

A total of 24 hopefuls are competing in the presidential race, with President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and opposition frontrunner Soumaila Cisse seen as the two main candidates.

The poll comes six years after the military staged a coup to remove then-President Amadou Toumani Toure, plunging Mali into chaos and paving the way for separatist rebels to seize control of its northern two-thirds.

French forces intervened the following year to push back the rebels who used the Sahel as a launchpad for attacks in the region.

A 2013 poll marked a return to democratic rule, with Keita, also known as IBK, winning a presidential runoff with 78 percent of the vote.

Peace agreements signed in 2015 by the government and rebel coalitions raised hopes of stability, but their meaningful implementation has been challenging.

As a result, the security situation remains fragile in the face of continued violent attacks, mainly in the countrys north and central regions. At least 17 civilians were killed this week in ethnic violence in central Mali.

As Malians prepare to vote, heres what you need to know.

People look for their names on the electoral list at a polling station in Bamako [Luc Gnago/Reuters]

Why is the vote important?

Sundays vote marks an important step forward for Mali, a landlocked country in western Africa that is home to almost 19 million people.

Polls will open at 08:00 GMT and close at 17:00 GMT. There are 23,041 polling stations across the country, while a recent audit showed that the number of registered voters stands at 8,461,000.

In advance of the election, fears about violence raised doubts about whether a credible polling process will be able to hold as the country seeks to achieve its first smooth political transition since 2007.





The vote will see a big part of the countrys young population  more than 60 percent of Malians are under the age of 25  voting for a president for the first time.

Baba Dakono, a researcher from the Institute of Security Studies, expects Sundays election to be very open.

For the first time since the advent of democracy in 1991, an election is organised while the incumbent president of the republic is a candidate and whose victory is not assured in advance, he told Al Jazeera from Malis capital, Bamako.

Main issues

The election campaign has revolved around the key issues of security, economy, job creation and poverty reduction.

Mali ranks 175th, out of 188 countries, on the United Nations Human Development Index for 2016. Last year, it recorded robust economic growth last year, at 5.5 percent, despite the challenging security situation.

Still, financial woes and food insecurity remain, with the country ranking among the poorest in the world despite its vast natural resources  Mali is Africas third-largest gold producer.

The next president will be confronted with the task of solving the countrys economic challenges, as well as dealing with the reoccurring security problems.

The government that was elected in 2013 has not been able to resolve the issue of violence and is still politically weakened, Yahaya Ibrahim Yahaya, a US-based Mali researcher, told Al Jazeera.

So, it would be up to the incoming government to deal with the issues, he added.

Ibrahim Boubacar Keita is seeking a second term [Luc Gnago/Reuters]

In the lead-up to the vote, presidential hopefuls targeted young voters, who are at the forefront of the push for a change in the style of governance.

Ibrahim also noted that the legitimacy of the elections will be at stake as the country hopes to have a free, transparent and peaceful vote where the results will be accepted by all.

There are places that are not under the control of the government and the question will be whether elections will be held in those places, Ibrahim said, asking,what would be the legitimacy of the government if they are not held?

Last week, Cisses party warned of a possible massive attempt at fraud, claiming that there were substantial anomalies in the electoral register.

Dakono said that authorities should guard against people feeling disenfranchised.

In a context of inaccessibility of some localities marked by security issues and inadequate road infrastructure, logistical issues remain at the heart of the concerns related to the presidential elections, he said.

In the 2013 polls, Cisse complained that the election had been marred by fraud before conceding defeat.

Presidential hopefuls

Twenty-four candidates have been validated by the countrys electoral commission to run in the elections.

A candidate needs to secure 50 percent-plus-one of the votes cast to secure an outright victory. Otherwise, a second round of voting will be contested by the top two candidates on August 12.

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Apart from Keita and Cisse, former minister Mohamed Ali Bathily and businesswoman Djeneba NDiaye are predicted to be among the top contenders.

Still, Keita and Cisse are widely expected to finish in the top two spots  like in 2013, when they squared off in a runoff.

Keita, 73, inherited a broken nation and still struggles to negotiate peace with northern rebels.

He faces growing political opposition in Bamako, especially among a disaffected youth, and has been under pressure in the wake of armed group attacks and retaliatory ethnic killings in the central-north areas.

Cisse, 68, who contested and lost two previous elections, has attracted a large support base with promises to fix the countrys security problems and end poverty.

Local polls show the vote is too close to call  further raising concerns about whether the outcome will be accepted by the losing sides.

Dakono said the risk of violence related to Malis presidential election is real.

This is mainly linked to the lack of a political agreement on the conditions for organising the elections and the feeling of some candidates that they should win this election, Dakono said.

Cisse is promising to fix the countrys security problems and end poverty [Luc Gnago/Reuters]

Security situation

The elections are being held amid a rise in deadly attacks, including against United Nations soldiers deployed to maintain peace.

The government has also admitted that Malian soldiers have been involved in killings in the countrys vast and troubled central region. The Malian army has in the past been accused by human rights organisations of carrying out extrajudicial killings, abductions and arbitrary arrests against people suspected of sympathising with armed groups.





Meanwhile, armed groups continue to pose a major security threat across Malis vast, porous desert borders in Niger, Burkina Faso and beyond.

Several hyper-localised conflicts with relatively high intensity are currently playing out in the regions of Mopti and Menaka, conflicts which have been accompanied by mass atrocities perpetrated by government forces, ethnic-based militias and militants, Heni Nsaibia, a researcher at Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, told Al Jazeera.

Meanwhile, the UN mission in the country  which has more than 11,000 troops and was established in 2013  is one of the worlds most dangerous peacekeeping operations, with troops and convoys regularly coming under attack from armed groups.

France sent thousands of troops in January 2013 to drive out the rebels from the northern cities of Timbuktu, Kidal and Gao.

But attacks have continued, with more than 140 UN peacekeepers killed since 2013.

Malis government has repeatedly said the polls will go ahead as planned, but analysts have raised concerns about the conduct of violence-free polls. This week, the local branch of al-Qaeda warned voters to stay away from the polls.

The overall security situation is not conducive for elections, Nsaibia said.

However, the government has been working with stakeholders to foster conditions favourable for peaceful elections. Indeed, there are concerns that militant groups may cause major disturbances.
Number of slain media workers rises to eight in Mexico in 2018 after killings of Ruben Pat Cauich and Luis Perez Garcia.

Two Mexican media workers were murdered in separate attacks, bringing the total number of journalists killed in Mexico so far in 2018 to at least eight.

Ruben Pat Cauich was shot dead on Tuesday in a southeastern resort town on Mexicos coast amid increasing violence in the area.

Pat Cauich was the chief of Playa News Aqui y Ahora, a Facebook-based online news site run from Playa del Carmen in the coastal state of Quintana Roo.

According to officials, he was shot at around 6am (11:00GMT) outside a bar. Emergency services pronounced him dead upon arriving at the scene.

Municipal police have made contact with staff from the attorney generals office in order to carry out relevant investigations, Solidaridad municipality said in a statement.

Pat Cauich was the second Playa News journalist killed in less than a month after his colleague, Jose Guadalupe Chan Dzib, was shot dead on June 29.

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According to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Pat Cauich had been beaten, detained overnight, and threatened by police in June.

He often reported on police activity and, prior to the detention, had written an article accusing local officers of colluding with a criminal gang.

Jan-Albert Hootson, CPJs representative for Mexico, said Pat Cauich had been enrolled in a government protection programme at the time of his death.

Playa News Aqui y Ahora said in a Facebook post that Tuesday was a black day for journalism, adding killing journalists will not silence the truth.

It called on the state government to investigate the killing. Now it is two from our team, Governor, when will the lack of public safety in our state end?

Killings on the rise

The first six months of 2018 saw a 132 percent rise in homicide rates in Quintana Roo, home to a number of popular tourist resorts, including Cancun and Tulum.

Pat Cauichs killing came as news emerged on Tuesday that Luis Perez Garcia, an 80-year-old journalist and presenter, had been killed last week.

According to the Federation of Associations of Mexican Journalists (Fapermex), firefighters discovered Perez Garcias body around 12:30am (05:30GMT) after putting out a blaze at his home in the Iztapalapa district.

National media reported he was beaten and asphyxiated before his home was set alight.

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Fapermex denounced the killing and called for governmental protection for Perez Garcias family.

At least eight journalists have now been killed in Mexico so far in 2018.

Dangerous profession

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Mexicos president-elect, pledged to care for and protect journalists at a freedom of the press event in May.

Under the presidency of his predecessor, Enrique Pena Nieto, which began in 2012, at least 42 journalists were murdered and there were about 2,000 attacks on reporters, according to Article 19, a freedom of expression NGO.

Mexico is considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a journalist. Eleven reporters were killed in 2017, according to Reporters Without Borders.

More than 100 media workers have been killed in the country since 2000. Most of the crimes remain unsolved.
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has reiterated he will serve out his term until 2021, despite more than three months of protests that have seen nearly 300 deaths.

Ortega told Fox News in an interview broadcast on Monday that moving up the elections  a demand of the protesters  would make things worse.

We were elected by the voters, said the 72-year-old leader, who has ruled Nicaragua for a total of 22 years since his Sandinista revolution toppled a US-backed dictator in 1979.

To move up the elections would create instability, insecurity and make things worse, he said.

Ortega and his government have been accused of using heavy-handed tactics to curb the anti-government demonstrations. Rights groups said authorities have arbitrarily arrested hundreds of people in its crackdown on the protests.

Ortega also said he is ready to continue a dialogue mediated by the Roman Catholic Church, despite his previous attacks on it.

We invite the Catholic Church to continue with the dialogue so the dialogue can grow and develop in an open manner, he said.

Ortega expressed readiness to continue a dialogue mediated by the church [Anadolu]

Last week, Ortega accused Catholic bishops of working with coup plotters, saying that disqualified them as mediators.

Pro-government paramilitaries

In Mondays recorded interview, Ortega rejected allegations that he controlled the pro-government paramilitaries seen acting in concert with the police.

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He instead accused Nicaraguan political groups of heading rival anti-government groups, which he said had sought financing from drug traffickers and the United States.

He accused those groups of killing tens of police officers in the unrest.

None of the peaceful demonstrations have been attacked by police, he said.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has said that during the so-called clean-up operations in and around the city of Masaya there had been a high degree of support and collaboration between police forces and hooded masked armed parapolice groups in deploying violence against the population.

Ortega also denied reports by protesters and police that his forces shot dead two young men holed up in a Managua church that came under sustained fire earlier this month.

No Nicaraguan has died in any church. Not a single Nicaraguan has died in any church. Thats false, Ortega said.

According to the university students who were holed up in a besieged church, however, 21-year-old Gerald Vazquez died inside the church after he was reportedly shot in the head. A second person reportedly died behind the university barricades.

Nearly 300 dead

The Nicaraguan Centre for Human Rights said on Monday that 292 people have been killed in three months of protests and repression by police and paramilitaries using firearms, raising a previous toll.

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The unrest began on April 18 as a protest against a pension reform plan that has since been dropped.

But that anger mushroomed into a broad campaign against Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, who are accused by critics of running a corrupt left-wing dictatorship.

Students staged dueling marches for and against the government [Jorge Cabrera/Reuters]

Thousands staged dueling marches for and against the government on Monday. Those opposed to Ortega carried crosses with backpacks hanging from them  symbols of students killed in the unrest. A pro-government student union voiced support for Ortega and referred to protesters as terrorists.

The political crisis has hurt the economy of Nicaragua, one of the poorest countries in the Americas.

Standard & Poors on Monday downgraded its debt rating for Nicaragua from B+ to B, with a negative outlook.
Critics deride governments move to deploy fake observers as opposition leaders call on voters to boycott.

Cambodias government announced about 220 observers from 52 countries will oversee elections set to take place on Sunday as the beleaguered opposition urged voters to boycott.

They all have experience in monitoring elections in various countries, Kem Reat Viseth, head of the government commission coordinating election monitors, told a news briefing on Tuesday. They will speak the truth from what they see.

However, some of the organisations have been criticised by analysts as being fake election observation groups.

The Cambodian government is attempting to use these shadow observation groups as a substitute for the withdrawal of professional observation groups, such as the European Union, Lee Morgenbesser, a researcher on elections held by authoritarian regimes in Southeast Asia.

This is a sign of how the election utterly lacks credibility.

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The criticism was dismissed by a government spokesperson who said the foreign monitors are good friends who come to observe the elections.

They evaluate and they dont have political motives, as raised by this professor, the spokesperson added.

Election boycott

Tuesdays announcement of the monitors deployment comes days after opposition parties accused the government of silencing voices critical of the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP).

Members of the opposition called on Cambodians not to vote to show their anger over the lack of challengers to Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has ruled the country for more than 30 years.

The Clean Finger boycott campaign  spearheaded by exiled members of the opposition  refers to the indelible ink used to stain voters fingers to prevent them from casting more than one ballot.

Authorities say calls to boycott the election are illegal, but rights groups argue the calls do not violate the law.

Dissolving the opposition

The largest opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), was dissolved in November after being accused of plotting to overthrow the government.

It performed well in the last general and in local elections, but candidates lost their seats when the party was banned. Hun Sens CPP narrowly defeated CNRP in the 2013 vote.

Opposition leader Kem Sokha was also jailed and charged with treason.

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Following the dissolution of CNRP, Hun Sen is virtually running unopposed in Sundays election.

The government says it does not jail critics.

We have never banned criticisms but we ban insults and incitements because, in an election situation, people need security physically and mentally, government spokesman Phay Siphan said earlier this week.

The silencing of political opposition has been condemned internationally with 45 countries signing a letter calling for challengers to be reinstated and for Kim Sokha to be freed.

The United States and the European Union have also withdrawn funding for the election.

The government said it is not concerned about the criticism, and will not intervene in the judicial process.

Silenced media

Besides stifling critical political voices, the government has also cracked down on the free press in Cambodia.

Several independent media outlets have been shut down in Cambodia during the past year.

In September, independent newspaper The Cambodia Daily announced it was closing its doors after being slapped with a $6.3m tax bill, which its publishers said was politically motivated.

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The closure came weeks after a government crackdown on 32 radio stations, including Radio Free Asias Phnom Penh bureau, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

RSF accused Hun Sens government of leading an all-out war on independent media outlets with the aim of ensuring victory in the general elections.
Many ask why oil-rich Iraq needed to make Kuwait energy deal

OPECs second-largest producer gets help from Kuwait after widespread unrest over power crisis.
Senegal pushes new laws to promote employment for disabled people

Senegalese government is pursuing measures to encourage private companies to employ people with disabilities in an effort to root out social stigma.
Bilateral relations soured again since Israels killing of Palestinian protesters along Gaza border.

The leaders of Turkey and Israel have exchanged angry remarks, further straining the countries already tense bilateral relations.

The latest war of words erupted after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticised a controversial law adopted by Israels parliament last week, which defines the country as the nation-state of the Jewish people.

The legislation has provoked fears it will lead to blatant discrimination against its Palestinian citizens, as it makes Hebrew the countrys national language and defines the establishment of Jewish communities as being in the national interest while stripping Arabic of its designation as an official language.





This measure has shown without leaving the slightest room for doubt that Israel is the worlds most Zionist, fascist and racist state, Erdogan said in a speech on Tuesday to members of his Justice and Development (AK) Party.

There is no difference between [Nazi Germany leader Adolf] Hitlers obsession with the Aryan race and Israels understanding that these ancient lands are meant only for Jews.

The spirit of Hitler, which led the world to a great catastrophe, has found its resurgence among some of Israels leaders, he added.

Responding on Twitter, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Erdogan of massacring Syrians and Kurds and imprisoning tens of thousands of his fellow citizens.

The fact that the great democrat Erdogan attacks [Israels] national law is the greatest compliment.

Turkey under Erdogan is becoming a dark dictatorship, while Israel is meticulously maintaining equal rights for all its citizens, before and after the [national] law, said Netanyahu.

Turkey broke off diplomatic ties with Israel in 2010 after 10 pro-Palestinian Turkish activists were killed by Israeli commandos who boarded a Turkish-owned flotilla trying to deliver aid and break Israels years-long maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip.

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Relations were restored in 2016, but they soured again recently when the two countries expelled each others top diplomats in May this year in a dispute over Israels killing of Palestinians amid mass protests in the Gaza Strip near Israels fence.

For nearly four months, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been protesting along the fence with Israel, demanding their right to return to the homes and land their families were expelled from 70 years ago.

Since the protests began on March 30, Israeli forces have killed at least 140 Palestinians in the besieged coastal enclave and wounded more than 16,000 people, according to health officials in Gaza.

In April, Erdogan sharply criticised Netanyahu over his comments targeting Turkeys ongoing military operation in the northwestern Syrian region of Afrin.
UK firm now says it wont be involved in such a project, referring to planned protest against Qatari emir in London.

A casting agency in the UK offered actors $25 to take part in an anti-Qatar event outside a meeting between the ruler of the Gulf peninsula country and British Prime Minister Theresa May.

According to several emails screenshotted and uploaded to Reddit, Twitter and Facebook; extras were offered $25 (20) to take part in the supposed protest from 11:00 until 12:30 GMT on Tuesday, as Qatars Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was due to meet May in central London.

This is NOT a film or TV production, casting agency Extra People said in an email to their actors.

The company are looking for a large group of people to fill space outside Downing Street during the visit of the president of Quatar (sic). This is an ANTI-Qatar event  You will not have to do or say anything, they just want to fill space. You will be finished at 12:30.

As soon as we as a company became aware that it was a political demonstration, we immediately withdrew wanting no further part in this Tom Walker, company director of Extra People

So this is absolutely bizarre  as spotted by @andywash, someone is hiring an anti-Qatar crowd for the Emirs visit to Downing Street tomorrow.https://t.co/VLshADFyiQ pic.twitter.com/BJIBc3NXJo  James O'Malley (@Psythor) July 23, 2018

However at 20:22 GMT on Monday, shortly after media reports first began to circulate about the job offer, Extra People sent another mass email saying on reflection it would not be involved in such a project.

Extra People has gotten cold feet and pulled out it seems. pic.twitter.com/17aXdSlVdu  jon.porter (@JonPorty) July 23, 2018

The British company later explained that it was contacted by a PR agency company called Neptune PR Ltd asking for 500 people to stand outside Downing Street.

It said a junior booker subsequently made the arrangement without consulting management and it had now withdrawn its involvement.

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As soon as we as a company became aware that it was a political demonstration, we immediately withdrew wanting no further part in this, Tom Walker, the company director of Extra People, told Al Jazeera.

We have never or will never supply artistes for any event that could be deemed racist or xenophobic and regret that we have even been caught up in this.

Tuesdays planned protest came just hours after a similar rally was held against the Qatari emir in London. However, Twitter user Sayed Alkadiri claimed that some of those participating in Mondays demonstration were also being paid.

Al Jazeera could not independently verify Alkadiris claims.

Today I came across possibly the most embarrassing protest  speaking to demonstrators I was informed that they had been bused-in from Birmingham and paid 50 for their day's service..#OpposeQatarVisit #ProtestQatarEmir pic.twitter.com/0zjID0DY9w  Sayed Alkadiri (@sayedalkadiri) July 23, 2018

The Qatari emirs visit to the UK comes more than a year after the UAE, along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, imposed a land, air and sea blockade against Qatar and severed ties with it, in one of the Gulfs worst diplomatic dispute in decades.

The quartet have expressed their displeasure over Qatars foreign policy, and urged the country to change its direction.

According to several media reports, the four countries want Qatar to normalise relations with Israel, and develop a regional alliance against Iran.

Qatars emir has denounced all attempts to infringe on the sovereignty of the Gulf nation and rejected all of their demands.
Four other members of the UN mission are injured in the attack that took place near the countrys border with Algeria.
Back in the early sixties, Sam Cooke sang about dull Saturday nights. "Another Saturday night and I ain't got nobody." This past Saturday night, Special Counsel Robert Mueller was singing the same song, having found nobody guilty of Trump-Russia collusion despite over a year and millions of dollars spent investigating.

Instead, on this past Saturday night, what we did get was a heavily redacted FISA Court application that allowed spying on Carter Page. The application asserts at the beginning that Carter Page is "[a]n agent of a foreign power," specifically the Russian Federation, and that Page "[k]nowingly engaged in clandestine intelligence activities for or on behalf of [Russia]."

Was Page really a real-life version of cartoon character Boris Badenov? Or was he appropriated as a tool of the Deep State, the Resistance, used to put a flimsy skirt of legality on a blatant attempt to spy on the Trump campaign?

Without dissecting the hundreds of pages, much of it redacted, in the FISA application, let me pose two potential answers to my question.

Suppose Carter Page was really a foreign agent. What happens to Americans who are discovered to be Russian spies? Ask Robert Hanssen, who is currently a guest at Supermax prison in Colorado. Hanssen is a former FBI agent who spied for the Soviet Union and then the Russian Federation, now currently serving a life sentence without parole.

Instead, Mr. Page was a guest of Jake Tapper on his CNN weekend State of the Union show. Page's Twitter account is active, and he seems to have as much freedom as anyone else making the rounds on cable news shows.

What if, instead, Carter Page was the camel's nose under the tent? Page was a low-level, short-term volunteer foreign policy adviser in the Trump campaign. How did he end up in the Trump campaign? He looked good on paper, but was his presence for more than simply advice?

Regardless of how he got there, due to his energy business ties to Russia and his peripheral role in the Trump campaign, why not label him a spy to justify a FISA warrant?

And not just any FISA warrant, but a Title 1 warrant. The bar is high for this type of warrant.

If the agent of a foreign power is a U.S. person, the government must show that the U.S. person is engaging in espionage, terrorism, or sabotage by or on behalf of a foreign power that involves a violation of a criminal statute. The FISC decides whether to approve or deny an application based on whether the government has demonstrated probable cause to believe the proposed target is a foreign power or agent of a foreign power, and that the facility or place where the electronic surveillance will be directed is being used by the foreign power or agent of a foreign power.

This type of warrant is reserved for agents of foreign governments knowingly engaging in clandestine intelligence activities, just as the FISA application spelled out. This means that Carter Page was a Russian spy, engaged "in espionage, terrorism, or sabotage." Yet he has not been indicted or charged with anything by the FBI or Team Mueller. Why not?

The FISA application was dated October 2016, after Page left the Trump campaign. If the FBI believed Page to be a foreign agent, at the least, agents should have warned the Trump campaign, which they did not, and he should have been arrested and prosecuted. He would be in a federal prison these days, not a guest on Jake Tapper's CNN show.

The beauty of a Title 1 FISA warrant is that a provision called Section 702 allows "incidental surveillance," including "calls, e-mails, chats, text messages, and other conversations." Anyone Page had contact with then becomes fair game, including those within the Trump campaign and organization, however brief his stint was in the campaign.

This gave the FBI-DOJ the justification to stick its nose into the Trump tent  full access. Or "wiretapping Trump Tower" as President Trump tweeted early last year.

These incidental contacts of Carter Page could be unmasked by Susan Rice, Samantha Power, and others in the Obama administration, placed in the Presidential Daily Brief, not only for President Obama, but also for many others in the White House. Many of these have the Washington Post and New York Times on speed dial, convenient for leaking classified information.

How else to explain the contents of an afternoon phone call between President Trump and a foreign leader surfacing on the evening news that same day? As well as other tidbits designed to fuel the collusion narrative?

Well played by the Obama administration, but quite illegal. It was a clever way to spy on a presidential campaign and new administration, all under the guise of "national security." They used Carter Page as the means to obtain their search warrants in the name of "Russian meddling" in the Trump campaign and election.

Yet in the FISA application itself, DNI James Clapper acknowledges that "Russia has tried to influence US elections since the 1960s during the Cold War and there's a tradition in Russia of interfering with elections, their own and others."

You won't hear this on the news, as it blows up the narrative that the 2016 election was the only one that the Russians meddled in. Instead, it's a convenient excuse to justify a seditious attempt to undermine an election and a constitutionally elected presidential administration.

Meddling doesn't equate to collusion or influence. Not a single vote was affected, said Deputy A.G. Rod Rosenstein. As of yet, there is no evidence of collusion.

Hopefully, the FISA application will be fully redacted in the near future so the motives and players can be fully revealed. President Trump could order the removal of all redactions and release all documents with a phone call or a stroke of his pen. The question is why he hasn't.

Is he waiting for the inspector general report? Or is this a matter of timing, releasing small amounts at a time, a drip-drip-drip on the heads of the Deep State, teasing them over coming attractions?

Either way, the Carter Page story is a distraction, just as it was to the FISA court  a sneaky and illegal way to spy on the Trump campaign. As the Arab proverb says, "if the camel gets his nose in the tent, his body will soon follow."

Brian C Joondeph, M.D., MPS, a Denver based physician and writer. Follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
The familiar and prevalent view of Italy and the Holocaust is a positive one of the "good," benevolent, and generous Italians, who sheltered Jews in their country from the "bad" German Nazis. This view is challenged in a brilliant and authoritative new book, The Italian Executioners: The Genocide of the Jews of Italy (Princeton University Press), written by Simon Levis Sullam, professor at the University of Venice. He regards the positive view as a myth and a misrepresentation of the reality. He contrasts the increasing attention paid to the Italian Righteous, of whom Yad Vashem in Israel names 671, with the neglect of the story of Italian executioners of Jews, which should be placed at the forefront of the narrative. His main aim is to direct attention to the role of Italians in the genocide of Jews in Italy.

Jews have had a long history, uneven with long periods of persecution and discrimination, of relations with Italy. Simon Maccabeus sent an embassy to Rome in 139 B.C. to help the Romans in the fight against the Hellenistic kingdoms. A Jewish contingent is said to have attended the funeral of Julius Caesar in 44 B.C. However, with the rise of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire, the position of Jews declined rapidly, especially during the papacies of Paul IV in 1554, Gregory XIII in 1577, and Urban VIII in 1625. Jews were segregated and obliged to bear a yellow badge of identification. The ghetto set up in 1556 was finally abolished only in 1870, after Napoleon's troops had opened it sixty years earlier.

Italy was the last Western European country to grant full civil rights to Jews. They became full citizens in 1861. Assimilated, they entered the professions and the military. In 1910, the Venetian Jew Luigi Luzzatti became prime minister. There were 50 Jewish generals in World War I, and a number of Jews were officials of the Fascist Party.

Sullam's revisionist history recounts both the general story and in detail the events in Rome, Venice, Florence, and Brescia, of the collaboration of Italians, from fascist ideologues to ordinary citizens, who played a role in the betrayal, arrest, and deportation of Jews to their death. The most common form of complicity was by informers.

The anti-Jewish campaign began on July 14, 1938 with a Racial Manifesto written and published by 42 well known Italian scientists and academics. It declared that Italians are descendants of the "Aryan race" and targeted other "inferior" races. It called for Jews to be banned from many professions and proposed that their property be confiscated. In October 1938, the Racial Law was passed, affecting the 47,000 Jews in Italy at the time, of whom 9,000 were foreigners.

Among other things, the 1938 law forbade marriage between Jewish and non-Jewish citizens. It forbade national offices and private firms operating in the public sector to have Jewish employees. It forbade Jewish children from attending Italian national schools. It reduced the number of Jews who could work in schools or in universities and did not allow Jews to serve in the military.

Sullam challenges the view that Italians were victims of occupation. On the contrary, they were not innocent, and Italian police, military police, customs officers, members of militia, National Republican Guard, Fascist Party members, and informers were part of the chain of responsibility in carrying out the arrests, imprisonment, seizure of goods, and transporting of Jews, along with control of concentration camps such as Fossoli near Modena, the main transit camp in Italy, plus segregation and elimination of Jews.

Benito Mussolini was not initially in favor of extermination, but rather the emigration and expulsion of Jews, a task not easy because of the existing mixed marriages and social and cultural assimilation. Mussolini proposed a plan to imprison Jews in four labor camps, but he was not able to do this because he fell from power on July 25, 1943. However, after the Republic of Salo with Mussolini as prime minister was created in September 1943, an agreement was made with the Nazis to deliver Jews arrested to the Germans, who would subsequently deport them.

Nazis occupied the country on September 10, 1943, and the first roundup of Jews in Rome took place on October 16, 1943, when 1,270 were arrested, most of whom were sent to Auschwitz. Further arrests were by Italian police and fascists as in the raid on February 3, 1944 on St. Paul's Basilica in Rome, a raid approved by Pietro Causo, chief of police in Rome.

Sullam illustrates the anti-Jewish theories and propaganda in Salo. Jews were regarded as an enemy race, and The Protocols of the Elders of Zion was widely read. Anti-Jewish polemics were frequent in the fascist press and organs of militants, functionaries, and senior bureaucrats, as well as in cultural reviews and especially in education in schools and officers' training.

Sullam argues that the majority of those Italians were not necessarily ideologically motivated, but he indicates three figures who were active in this regard: Giovanni Preziosi, ideologist and propagandist; Giovanni Martelloni, bureaucrat and head of the office of Jewish affairs in Florence; and Giocondo Protti, radiologist.

Preziosi called for total elimination of the Jews; Martelloni personally carried out arrests and confiscations in Florence; and Protti, as a doctor in Venice, called Jews the disease of humanity and combined anti-Judaism with biological racism.

Besides the ideological factor and a bureaucracy carrying out orders, other factors were present: pressure from superiors, profit, obedience, imitation, allegiance, and desire for satisfaction or reward.

Sullam make an interesting point in comparative analysis. The overwhelming majority of arrests made in Italy by the Germans got organizational support from Italians. But unlike the situation in Vichy France, where the French government initially tried to hand over only foreign Jews, the Italian fascists handed over Jews irrespective of whether they were nationals or foreign.

Sullam's book is short, but it is important for its impressive presentation of factual, largely unknown material and its damning conclusion that Italy failed to come to terms with its complex political and moral responsibilities. No one was ever put on trial for participating in fascist policies, nor for the policies and actions of the Salo Republic.

The general persecution of Jews was not considered a crime or specific offense. A 1944 decree punished those who had committed violent crimes in the name of fascism or who had collaborated with Nazis, but in 1946, an amnesty decree largely pardoned most of the 13,000 convicted or on trial. Some of those involved in racist legislation had distinguished postwar careers, including Gaetano Azzariti, head of the Tribunal of Race, 1938-1943, who ended his career as president of the Italian constitutional court in the 1950s. The decree of the communist leader and minister of justice Palmiro Togliatti in 1946, supposedly based on reconciliation of all Italians, not only annulled most of the fascist crimes, but also encouraged the myth of the good positive Italian and behavior. Sullam's impressive book is saying addio to that mistaken view.
Okay. So the fabled Carter Page FISA warrant was all about the Deep State wanting to keep tabs on the Trumpsters. And a pretty lame effort it was, too.

Now let us talk about something important. It's an article sent to me by a friend about the descent into Hell of a shy young Gen Z girl from Canada. When she got to high school, she became terrorized by the "sluts" and was ignored by the boys. So began a descent into depression and intervention by counselors and social workers that ended when they forced her to go to the high school prom. She plucked up her courage and asked  a girl. Go read the whole thing: it is heartbreaking.

The piece confirmed me in three notions. You may not agree.

First of all, we should Abolish High School. It has been obvious for decades that public high schools encourage the worst atavisms of the tribe. It is one reason why I demand that we repeal the prohibition against child labor. Every kid over 12 should have a job unless he has a note from his parents. Oh, so you think that kids would be terrorized by the Chick-fil-A manager? Read this report on child labor from 1913 by schools inspector Helen Todd. The kids preferred working to going to school because they were treated better at work.

This backs up my notion that the workplace is the best place to socialize people into becoming productive members of society. The whole point of social animals is that you help yourself by helping others, and that is what business is all about.

Secondly, we should Abolish the Sexual Revolution. The Sexual Revolution has been great for sexual predators, but not so much for everyone else. I don't know about you, but I have learned to appreciate all the fusty old rules about courting. It created a safe space for young people to venture into the sexual marketplace with various guardrails to keep the Mean Girls in check. There's a lot of talk these days about how hypergamy works: the beautiful women compete for the high-status man, and the men compete among themselves to determine who is top dog. Great. But what about the rest of us?

Thirdly, we now know what the gay thing is all about. It is a safe space thing, for it is really much safer to get it on with a member of your own sex than to hack your way through the sexual jungle with only a machete to protect you, especially if you are not that handy with a machete. When all the old cultural guardrails have been removed and thrown on the trash heap, then everyone is exposed to the full terror of the opposite sex  except, of course, that non-binary, non-hetero sex is a cure worse than the disease, a rabbit hole from which there is no escape, as The Other McCain blogs about almost daily.

Okay, you say. But if we Abolish High School, how do kids get educated? How about apprenticeships? Did you know that in the bad old days, the indenture for an apprenticeship usually included a commitment from the master to send the apprentice to classes? Evil Walmart already allows workers to take online courses . Of course, everyone who is anyone knows that apprenticeships are a terrible idea, because Trump supports them .

Okay, you say. So if we Abolish the Sexual Revolution, it means going back to the patriarchy and women as the helpless victims of their husbands. All I can say is, if you believe anything that a lefty tells you, ever, I gotta bridge to sell you.

Okay, you say. But Homophobia! I refer you to Winston Churchill, who wrote, "In war-time, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies."

Precisely. When you are conducting a cultural war to advance the Oriflamme of Anything but Marriage and Children, you necessarily have to protect your sacred cause with a bodyguard of lies. And I would say, nearly 50 years after Stonewall , that almost everything I read and hear about sex these days is a lie. Anyway, back when I was a kid in England, the big homophobes were the left. Why? Because the left's narrative  er, bodyguard of lies  back then was that the poofters were all upper-class toffs, as in Brideshead Revisited, and serve 'em right.

I am reading Steven Pinker's Enlightenment Now, and one of his arguments is that all the gloom and doom is way overdone (except about Trump). We are healthy, wealthy, and wise beyond the dreams of the ancients. So why are we terrifying shy young teenage girls and wrecking their lives? Just to teach them about Real Life?

Really? I think there must be a better way.

Christopher Chantrill (@chrischantrill) runs the go-to site on U.S. government finances, usgovernmentspending.com. Also get his American Manifesto and his Road to the Middle Class.
I've got to say this is pretty shameless, even for Chicago politics.

Democratic mayoral candidate Willie Wilson, a millionaire businessman and philanthropist, handed out a couple of hundred thousand dollars to about 2,000 of his fellow churchgoers on Sunday, giving a whole new meaning to the term "pay for play."

Billed as a "non-political" event, the gathering at the Covenant Missionary Baptist church on Chicago's South Side nevertheless also featured Governor Bruce Rauner as a speaker.

But it wasn't about politics.

The Hill:

A Wilson aide said the candidate gave out $300,000 to 2,000 people through his nonprofit charitable foundation. F. Scott Winslow, a spokesman for Wilson's mayoral campaign, told WGN News that there was no violation of campaign finance laws since the event was not connected to the campaign. He added that Wilson has donated about $500,000 since his campaign launch. "While he happens to be a candidate, he's been a philanthropist for 30 years," Winslow said. Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R), who is up for reelection in November, also spoke at the event, where he discussed his efforts to overhaul the state's criminal justice system and improve education funding. He briefly discussed property taxes. "You pay the highest property taxes in America here in Chicago, and the South Side and the south suburbs," Rauner said at the event. "This is wrong. The system is broken and I'm trying to fix it." State lawmakers from both parties questioned the nature of the event.

These handouts to voters are usually done on the sly in Chicago  envelopes stuffed with cash passed on to aldermen who make sure the "right" people get the money.

There is something almost refreshing about seeing the corruption take place in the open. Openly buying votes used to be commonplace in America. During the West Virginia Democratic primary in 1960, Hubert Humphrey complained bitterly about John Kennedy's campaign handing out $5 bills to thousands of voters. What Humphrey didn't understand is that West Virginia voters expected to be paid for their support.

Even today, the practice goes on. They call it "street money" in Philadelphia:

In Philadelphia, "street money" is cash given by prominent Democratic political candidates to the City Democratic Committee. The City Democratic Committee then gives that money to ward leaders who use it to pay their committee members. Those committee members knock on doors, give voters rides to the polls and participate in other grassroots activities on or slightly before Election Day. The cash pays those ward leaders for their work, plus expenses like lunch or coffee. There is one committee member for each of Philadelphia's 1,688 voting divisions.

That's a lot of loose cash floating around, greasing the rails for Democrats in big cities who use the money to maintain a stranglehold on power. In the end, it works out for everyone. Democratic politicians get elected, where they can enrich themselves even more; the local party machine benefits by cementing the loyalty of voters; and ordinary people get a nice little bonus to spend on anything they desire.

Wilson doesn't have a prayer against incumbent Mayor Rahm Emanuel, but Rahmbo won't be in office forever. Wilson is making sure he is part of the conversation to replace Emanuel when the time comes.

Playing the long game is part of the "Chicago Way" as well.
Israel is under attack, as always, this time for passing a law saying Israel is a Jewish state. As if it hadn't been already. Liberals (among them, shamefully, some Jews) worry for the Arab population of Israel, as if their lives in Israel weren't 1,000% better than the lives of Arabs in any other Arab nations, who are slaughtering each other by the hundreds of thousands.

Now Israel, which has been providing Syrian civilians with medical care for years during the civil war there, has helped several hundred civil defense workers escape from the Assad regime in an act of pure goodwill to its Arab neighbors.

In a predawn operation on Sunday, the Israeli military's 210th Bashan Division oversaw the transfer of 422 Syrians from the "White Helmets" rescue organization and their families from the Syrian Golan Heights through Israel to Jordan. "The families crossed [the fence], at first apprehensively, but once they reached the border, their eyes twinkled from happiness with the knowledge that they'd gotten their lives back. I am happy to be an officer in an army and in a country that is carrying out this mission and expressing the values of humaneness and compassion," [a] lieutenant colonel said. "This is the nature of our work and this is a significant moment like no other," he added. In recent years, Israel has been engaged in a massive multi-faceted humanitarian relief operation to keep thousands of Syrians along the border from starving or falling ill due to the lack of food and basic medical care. The Jewish state has treated some 5,000 people in field hospitals on the border and in public hospitals, mostly in northern Israel, since 2013. Since 2016, as part of Operation Good Neighbor, over 600 Syrian children, accompanied by their mothers, have come to Israel for treatment. Hundreds of tons of food, medical equipment and clothing have also been sent across the border to Syria.

There was a stunning photo of the rescue of the Syrians:



Photo courtesy Israeli Defense Force.

This picture says so much on so many levels:

1. It shows an Israeli showing compassion for Arabs. That's not in the liberal narrative. How can Israelis be the oppressor of Arabs when they are saving Arab lives?

2. It shows a young woman with an automatic "assault style" weapon. Liberals don't want images of that disseminated, either.

3. It shows that women can be strong without being strident, that women can be strong without having to say, "Women are strong." Where are the voices of the feminists to praise the only military in the Middle East that gives women such responsibility?

4. The photo shows a young woman on the front lines defending her country. This kind of patriotism is something never highlighted in the American media. Can you imagine if every 18-year-old American girl served a year in the military instead of spending four years being brainwashed by "women's studies" to hate men?

5. This photo shows a strong state of Israel, which not only can defend itself, but is a source of stability in the region. This is not a photo of helpless Jews on a bus seeking the help of other nations.

When you look at a photo like that, you have no doubt about Israel's future.

Ed Straker is the senior writer at Newsmachete.com.
The Cook County GOP is considering adopting an amendment to its bylaws that amounts to a permanent surrender to the notorious Democrat machine that has run the city of Chicago and Cook County throughout living memory. The key issue is control over the appointment of election judges  the people who ensure the legitimacy of ballots and their tabulation. Under the proposed amendment to the bylaws, virtually any Democrat who refrained from voting in the last election could become a ward committeeman of the GOP and thus pick the GOP's election judge, who is supposed to ensure ballot integrity, along with the Democrats' own election judge. In effect, Democrats pick both election judges. What could go wrong? It's Chicago, after all.

Writing in Chicago City Wire, W.J. Kennedy explains:

The proposed amendment to the GOP Cook County bylaws  in a shocking maneuver  would allow Democrats to serve as Republican ward committeemen. These committeemen, under a change to the election laws made in 2014 by the Democratically controlled legislature, pick election judges. Before the change, the county chairman picked the judges. "This sends us back to the old days of hack Democrats overseeing rigged elections," Chris Cleveland, chairman of the Chicago GOP, told Chicago City Wire. "You can say goodbye to (the) Republican Party in the city of Chicago."

Here is the type of mischief that would happen:

In all, 13 committeemen had to give up their seats after the adoption of the 2016 Cleveland amendment. Cleveland compiled a sampling of those who would get their seats back if the Morrison amendment goes through: "Maria Bailey, 20th Ward Maria is the mother of Kevin Bailey, the Democratic committeeman. Maria had never pulled a Republican ballot prior to running for office. She has a Pritzker sign in her front yard." "George McKinley, 37th Ward Magically, all of George's petition signatures are identical to the ones for Emma Mitts, the 37th Ward Democratic committeeman and Alderman. It seems that someone carried both a Democrat and a Republican petition down the streets of the 37th. Perhaps it isn't magic: George works in Emma's office." "Fran Sapone, 29th Ward She, too, had never pulled a Republican ballot in her life before she ran for office. She later filed suit before the Chicago Board of Elections, seeking to remove a slated Republican congressional candidate from the ballot, leaving the Democrat with no opponent. Her attorney was the treasurer of the 29th Ward Democrats." "Larry Nelson, 24th Ward You may have met Larry at previous meetings. Larry has pulled Democratic ballots because, as he said, 'you have to.' Most people who have met Larry would agree that he is not capable of recruiting and organizing elections judges, and yet year after year, he delivers a stack of perfectly filled-out election judge applications to the Board of Elections, all of whom are Democrats. Wherever could he have gotten them?"

If this goes through, attribute the surrender to lawfare: the use of litigation costs to intimidate opponents. Stalin purportedly observed, "It's not the people who vote that count; it's the people who count the votes."
Not too long ago, leftist and #NeverTrump critics were denouncing President Trump's summit with North Korea's President Kim as a big nothingburger.

Here were the kind of headlines going around, such as this one from Bloomberg:

Trump Gives Away the Store in Singapore

CNN weighed in the same way, calling it "analysis":

Kim had a great summit. And he didn't even need to give anything away

The Economist said:

Talks between America and North Korea might succeed  at a terrible price

The Washington Post, under its "Fact Checker" header, had this:

President Trump's exaggerated claims about the North Korea deal

There's just one little problem, though: It's come out now that Trump's reach-out to North Korea...is working. The Singapore summit was not just a success, but a huge success.

A North Korea-oriented think-tank, called 38 North, cited in this Reuters report, says the North Koreans really are dismantling their arsenal. Its Sohae satellite station, a key nuclear test site, is getting shut down.

In an important first step towards fulfilling a commitment made by Kim Jong Un at the June 12 Singapore Summit, new commercial satellite imagery of the Sohae Satellite Launching Station (North Korea's main satellite launch facility since 2012) indicates that the North has begun dismantling key facilities. Most notably, these include the rail-mounted processing building  where space launch vehicles are prepared before moving them to the launch pad  and the nearby rocket engine test stand used to develop liquid-fuel engines for ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles. Since these facilities are believed to have played an important role in the development of technologies for the North's intercontinental ballistic missile program, these efforts represent a significant confidence building measure on the part of North Korea.

The report has everything  how they're unbolting the goods and propping them up on trains, frame-by-frame overhead photos of the dismantlement, auxiliary buildings coming down. This doesn't look like something that can be argued about. Take a look.

Which goes to show that President Trump, contrary to the claims of the left, is getting some serious results.

This means one thing: the left will ignore them. The press will be silent. Creative new ways to decry the achievement will come out. And the news will vanish as a one-day story, taking advantage of the fact that it's hard to prove a negative, or tout dodging a bullet that was aimed but not fired yet, but that's what happened.

But it won't go un-noted in the global dictator community. The mullahs of Iran will notice the dismantlement and conclude that North Korea really must consider President Trump credible and quite possibly be getting something good if it would do this in the wake of the Singapore summit. After all, Kim was the baddest of the badass of rogue leaders, and...well, now he's disarming after shaking hands with Trump. It makes more sense to dismantle and sue for peace than to wave the rockets?

Maybe they won't wave the rockets, either. And it's not just Iran. Might it also be in other nations' best interest to make a deal with Trump? The current reports say the mullahs won't, but things have a way of springing surprises in the age of Trump. The rest of the world isn't going to let this go unnoticed  other nations will adjust their calibrations based on Trump's success accordingly, and the U.S. is going to benefit as peace breaks out all over.

Just call him super-statesman, peaceniks.
To hear Democrats tell it, Russians are bad guys because they meddled in our election to steal the presidency from Hillary Clinton. Bad, bad, thing, meddling in our politics.

There's another reality we don't hear that much about, highlighted in today's top story in the Wall Street Journal: they're in our utilities.

Here's the WSJ headline: "Russian Hackers Reach U.S. Utility Control Rooms, Homeland Security Officials Say."

This suggests some rather menacing preparations for a military conflict. The Journal reports:

Hackers working for Russia claimed "hundreds of victims" last year in a giant and long-running campaign that put them inside the control rooms of U.S. electric utilities where they could have caused blackouts, federal officials said. They said the campaign likely is continuing. The Russian hackers, who worked for a shadowy state-sponsored group previously identified as Dragonfly or Energetic Bear, broke into supposedly secure, "air-gapped" or isolated networks owned by utilities with relative ease by first penetrating the networks of key vendors who had trusted relationships with the power companies, said officials at the Department of Homeland Security. "They got to the point where they could have thrown switches" and disrupted power flows, said Jonathan Homer, chief of industrial-control-system analysis for DHS.

This should give us the creeps. Democrats, it seems, are exclusively focused on election meddling, which, as Trump-hating FBI counterintelligence chieftain Peter Strzok noted, has no "'there' there." That's all they care about as far as Russia goes.

What's really going on are the things we don't really know about. Not even the spies know as much as they want to know. They seem to be planning some kind of attack from our insides.

If you are wondering whether this is big or just another blip, as we have heard for years on this state-sponsored hacker front, well, it seems that a state-linked hacking collective called "Energetic Bear" has focused carefully on invading utilities, often through contractors who have access to utilities' software.

This has been an ongoing concern, actually.

Remember when President Trump shut down the Russian consulate last year? At the time, it seemed so extreme, given that the consulate got through the Cold War without a shutdown, and given that Trump had seemed so Russia-friendly and interested in a rapprochement. According to this report in Foreign Policy, it was because they were caught mapping all the fiber-optic networks in the Bay Area, steadily, steadily, one grain of sand at a time. This FP story is an absolute must-read for a sense of what went on.

So who's the big utility in San Francisco and the Bay Area? Pacific Gas & Electric. And what's their thing? Yep, fiber optics. See this stuff here. And it turns out a lot of them around the country are into fiber optics. See this report here.

Here's what Kaspersky Lab, a watcher of cyber-threats, has to say about these guys:

Energetic Bear/Crouching Yeti is a widely known APT group active since at least 2010. The group tends to attack different companies with a strong focus on the energy and industrial sectors. Companies attacked by Energetic Bear/Crouching Yeti are geographically distributed worldwide with a more obvious concentration in Europe and the US. In 2016-2017, the number of attacks on companies in Turkey increased significantly. The main tactics of the group include sending phishing emails with malicious documents and infecting various servers. The group uses some of the infected servers for auxiliary purposes  to host tools and logs. Others are deliberately infected to use them in waterhole attacks in order to reach the group's main targets. Recent activity of the group against US organizations was discussed in a US-CERT advisory, which linked the actor to the Russian government, as well as an advisory by the UK National Cyber Security Centre.

No wonder the Russians got their consulate shut down. They weren't just targeting secrets from fourth-rate losers on the periphery of military installations, such as Bradley Manning and Ed Snowden; they were getting right into the installations themselves, positioning themselves to control them and to control us. To heck with messing around with agents and secrets (though they do that, too).

President Trump knew what he was doing in the face of that kind of threat.

This once again points to the stupidity of the politicized investigations around the question of Russian election meddling. With this sort of scary utility-hacking going on, it makes sense to give the intelligence agencies as much berth as possible to meet the new kind of competition from Russia. That, I argued recently, is being narrowed due to the threat the Mueller investigation is spreading to national security as it sets new terms for the spy war, centered on Getting Trump, and making it all a strictly law enforcement matter.

Maybe a story like this can shock the Washington establishment into some seriousness. So long as the focus on Russia is centered on collusion to steal the election from Hillary Clinton, real intelligence capacities are being undermined.

This post has been updated -MS
Too many "scientists" have too much grant money and too much computer time on their hands, thanks to the tens of billions of dollars in grant money ($32.5 billion from 1989 to 2015, according to the Science and Public Policy Institute) that the federal government has been dispensing for "climate change research." Put together a proposal to find a new scary correlation, and odds are you'll be bringing in the federal cash, to the delight of your university (that gets to appropriate a third or so of the grant for "overhead"). That's why we have hundreds and hundreds of bad things that global warming (or climate change) supposedly will cause.

The San Francisco Chronicle has the latest claim, one that bears the imprimatur of Stanford University.

More people are likely to take their own lives as the planet warms, say researchers at Stanford University and UC Berkeley in a study published Monday that suggests yet another worrisome impact of climate change. The multidisciplinary research team looked at nearly 1 million suicides in North America and found that hotter temperatures correlate with higher suicide rates. The warming projected through 2050, the group figures, could increase suicide rates by 1.4 percent in the U.S. and 2.3 percent in Mexico over that time, resulting in 21,000 additional deaths in the two nations. The role of heat, the authors said, may be just as significant as other, more well-known drivers of suicide, like economic hardship, which also pushes rates up, and suicide prevention programs and gun control legislation, which tend to push rates down.

I certainly feel despair when it gets too hot. That's why I moved to coastal California, where it rarely gets into the nineties. But if this holds water, we ought to see that suicide rates pretty closely correlate with average temperatures. A look at suicide rates by country reveals no such relationship. Here are the top 20 countries:

And a map, with darker shades indicating a higher suicide rate, also offers no clustering around the equator.

Given the awkward pause in global warming that has been ongoing for the last two decades, and the uncertainty of correlation as causation claims, this sounds like a pretty far-fetched cause for worry.
The announcement by press secretary Sarah Sanders that President Trump wants to take away the security clearances of Brennan, Comey, Clapper, Hayden, Rice, and McCabe provoked the customary hysteria from Trump-hating media. CNN forecast "dire consequences" and warned that it "could also undermine the entire security system." MSNBC called it "Nixonian," which means it is very, very bad, in their parlance, and connotes that resignation to avoid impeachment is just around the corner. The New York Times warned that it signals "a willingness to use the powers of the presidency to retaliate against some of his most outspoken detractors."

"Detractor" is a rather mild term to describe someone like Brennan, who accused the president of treason on the basis of no factual information.

In fact, by limiting the access of former intelligence officials, President Trump is heeding a warning he received from Chuck Schumer when Trump was president-elect. Remember that Trump was a significant donor to Schumer's campaigns and enjoyed friendly relations until he embarked on a political career as a Republican, and there is every reason to believe that the warning he gave President-Elect Trump was sincere.

On January 3, 2017, Daniel Chaitin reported in the Washington Examiner:

"Let me tell you: You take on the intelligence community  they have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer Tuesday evening on MSNBC after host Rachel Maddow informed him that intelligence sources told NBC news that the briefing had not been delayed. "He's being really dumb to do this." -Senator Schumer on Trump taunting US intelligence agencies https://t.co/QbGSmx9Xvp  Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) January 4, 2017 "So, even for a practical supposedly hard-nosed businessman, he's being really dumb to do this," he added.



From MSNBC screen grab.

At the time Schumer issued this warning, all of the six officials facing possible termination of their security clearances were still in office and constituted the people with "six ways from Sunday at getting back at you."

There is no "right" to a security clearance. All of the hysteria over Trump studying this move will not resonate with voters who do not already hate Trump.
The 512GB variant of the Galaxy Note 9 will be Samsungs most expensive smartphone ever, German tech outlet WinFuture reports, citing no specific sources. The 256GB model thats presently also understood to be in the works wont be released in the West but the 512GB one will and is likely to be priced at between 1,250 and 1,300, i.e. as much as $1,500, as per the same source. The basic model will retail at roughly 1,050, which translates to more than $1,200 and is more expensive than the $960 starting price attached to last years Galaxy Note 8 in the United States, though the difference between the two figures may be explained by the fact that theres no value-added tax in the U.S. and sales tax differs depending on the state, meaning it isnt calculated into the listed price.

The same source also claims Samsung wont be ditching the 64GB memory base from its flagship portfolio with the Galaxy Note 9 lineup, contradicting some recent implications made by other industry insiders. Even if the South Korean tech giant doesnt make that move this year, its likely to move the base flash memory specification of its high-end smartphones to 128GB by this time next year. The 512GB variant of the Galaxy Note 9 will only be available in Midnight Black and Deep Sea Blue, at least in Europe, whereas other models sold on the Old Continent will also be offered in Midnight Purple, the same report indicates. The Teddy Brown color and a potential gray variant of the device will hence only be retailed in other parts of the world.

Samsung will be officially unveiling the Galaxy Note 9 on August 9 and is expected to release the Android phablet on August 24 following a brief pre-order period that may include a number of promotions involving the companys other gadgets, according to a recent set of product renders obtained by AndroidHeadlines. The international variant of the device should feature Samsungs Exynos 9810 chip, whereas the models sold in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and China are likely to have Qualcomms Snapdragon 845 silicon, as was the case with the Galaxy S9 family.
30-percent of Netflix subscribers in the US are signed up to the streaming services Premium plan, according to the latest research from Parks Associates. As per the report, this means the Premium plan has seen an increase of 9-percent (up from 21-percent) in the last year alone. In fact, the data is not exactly year-on-year-based, as the 30-percent marker refers to Q1, 2018, compared to the 21-percent which is associated with Q3, 2017. Highlighting that in a very small amount of time the service has seen significant growth specifically in its Premium tier. Even more so when taking into consideration the difference was much smaller when comparing the growth of the Premium tier in Q3, 2017 and Q3, 2016.

Based on the data, it would seem the Premium tier is not only doing well, but is the only tier that is now seeing growth. As both the Standard and Basic options saw a percentage decline between Q3, 2017 and Q1, 2018. This is slightly more noteworthy in the case of the Basic plan, as not only is this the entry-level and most affordable option, but unlike the Standard plan, the Basic plan had previously seen year-on-year growth between 2016 and 2017. With the suggestion being that in spite of the more affordable price, consumers are becoming more willing to pay a higher cost for an enriched service, including a greater number of simultaneous streams  one of the primary limitations with the Basic option.

Data like this is possibly why Netflix is reportedly toying with the idea of introducing a new fourth tier, Ultra, to its pricing lineup which will adopt the position as the most expensive Netflix option to date. In return, its expected Ultra will not only offer a higher number of simultaneous streams, but also an increase in the general Netflix experience through the inclusion of support for 4K and HDR. Netflix has yet to confirm whether or not it will make an Ultra plan available to all, although its understood to be currently in testing in select markets. Likewise, it remains to be seen how Ultra will actually differ from the current Premium option which already offers a similar number of streams and Ultra HD support.
Egypts fight against fake news is turning its focus to Internet celebrities and any other remotely influential user of social media in the Middle Eastern country. Earlier this month, Cairo enacted a law allowing for censorship and other sanctions to be imposed on any social media user with over 5,000 followers should authorities determine that their profiles are used for spreading misleading and factually inaccurate content for any purpose, intentionally or not.

The Supreme Council for the Administration of the Media will be in charge of overseeing the new legislation being enforced, having been tasked with both conducting compliance investigations and punishing violators. Besides fake news, the law is also targeting hate speech and any other kind of content encouraging illegal behavior. The move is likely to be a controversial in the West as it makes Egypts existing legislation regulating media even stricter. As of today, over 30 journalists have been incarcerated in the country for expressing anti-regime sentiments, having been found guilty of discrimination or speech that incites hatred and violence. The proof of burden is still on the state and must be fulfilled until any individual can be arrested based on the law, though human rights advocacy groups are likely to remain skeptical about how the legislation will be enforced in practice.

The Supreme Council is now also in charge of issuing mandatory licenses for news websites, as per the same bill, having hence been given an even larger role in Cairos censorship effort. The law was passed with an approval from two-thirds of the Egyptian parliament and will be ratified by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi later this year. Western nations are presently also exploring legal options meant to fight fake news, though their measures against those issues are unlikely to be comparable to those Cairo is now pushing for in terms of strictness and are likely to primarily target platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
Facebook has just announced that it will be opening up an Innovation Hub in China, in an effort to support local tech talent. Now its a bit surprising to see Facebook opening up a hub in China, considering the fact that Facebook and its apps (Instagram and WhatsApp) are all banned in China right now. This innovation hub is going to act as a subsidiary for Facebook, and according to the filing, it has a registered capital of around $30 million. The subsidiary is registered in Hangzhou, which is currently where Alibaba is located. Alibaba is Chinas biggest e-commerce player, even larger than Amazon.

According to a spokesperson at Facebook, that spoke with CNBC, Facebook is interested in setting up an innovation hub in Zhejiang to support Chinese developers, innovators and start ups. We have done this in several parts of the world  France, Brazil, India, Korea  and our efforts would be focused on training and workshops that help these developers and entrepreneurs to innovate and grow.

While Facebook is blocked in China, that doesnt mean that it cant do business in China and thats exactly what this filing is all about. Facebook, as well as other US tech firms that are also blocked in the country, are looking for ways to still do business in China and make money. China is such a lucrative country, because it is the largest country on earth, with 1.4 billion people living in the country. And for most US companies, its an untapped market, which means expanding there can really boost its revenue and profit. Facebook may not be able to get its service unblocked in the country  especially since the censorship has gotten tougher since President Xi Jinping took over in 2013, but it can at least get a foot in the door and help build the future of technology. And thats exactly what this subsidiary will be doing in Hangzhou.
A leaked firmware for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 revealed a number of features supposedly belonging to the S Pen of the soon-to-be-announced Galaxy Note 9. The stylus for the next-generation Galaxy Note phablet was previously spotted on the Federal Communications Commissions website with a range of Bluetooth capabilities that will allow users to control the Galaxy Note 9 remotely. According to the FCC filing, the S Pen will connect to the Galaxy Note 9 over a 2.4GHz Bluetooth LE connection and allow users to control music or adjust the timer on the phablet.

According to a teardown of the AirCommand app (version 3.0) from the leaked Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 firmware performed by XDA Developers, the S Pen will include a battery of its own and have a set of remote features, including the ability to remotely control the camera shutter, unlock the Galaxy Note 9 when the S Pen is detached from the device, control apps by pressing the S Pen button, and a range of other functions. In other words, the new S Pen will be capable of functioning as a fully standalone Bluetooth controller. It is worth pointing out that the S Pen AirCommand app contained in the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 firmware is also expected to launch with the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, so its likely that the upcoming Galaxy tablet will also be bundled with the same Bluetooth-enabled S Pen.

In addition to the S Pens remote functionalities, the stylus is also expected to come with a number of gaming features, as Samsungs mobile chief DJ Koh implied earlier this month. The South Korean tech giant recently confirmed that its next flagship device will see the light of day on August 9 at an Unpacked event in New York City, and the phablet is supposed to offer at least 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, with Samsung rumored to be working on a configuration with as much as 512GB of flash memory and 8GB of RAM.
Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai acknowledged that the companys cloud division is facing intense competition from Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services but is still convinced that this particular market is far from a zero-sum game and remains largely unconcerned about the growth of its two larger rivals. While speaking to analysts following the publication of Alphabets consolidated financial report for the second quarter of the year on Monday, Mr. Pichai once again touted the companys Google Cloud Platform but presented a more amicable perspective on the cloud market in the United States and abroad than what the firms executives have been saying in recent years, often with the goal of downplaying the quality of their rivals. Despite boasting about Googles growth in the field, the CEO hence conceded that both Azure and AWS have been growing as well.

The development raises concerns about Googles long-term prospects in the industry thats already generating tens of billions of dollars in annual revenues; while the company has been committing significant resources to innovation and security, particularly solutions powered by artificial intelligence technologies, its still unclear whether its cloud growth is attributable to those efforts or is simply a side effect of wider industry trends and will be challenged once the market reaches a point of saturation and cloud service providers start competing with one another in a more direct manner. Mr. Pichai still asserted there are wrong platforms for businesses to choose from and predicted that multi-cloud strategies will become a more prominent trend in the industry moving forward.

Googles latest move in the segment came in the form of a partnership with an American blockchain startup Digital Asset thats meant to facilitate the process of building applications powered by online ledgers on the Google Cloud Platform. Along with AI, the cloud sector is presently one of Googles most promising growth avenues, even as the segment still isnt generating massive profits relative to the size of the firm. That division is still tracked as part of Alphabets Other Bets which made $4.425 in revenue over the second quarter of the year, whereas the conglomerate as a whole had a record $32.7 billion turnover during the same period.
Huawei is nowhere close to having its own mobile GPU ready to power consumer-grade devices, known industry insider from China known only by their social media handle Ice Universe said earlier today. The remarks were made in response to recent reports originating from the Far Eastern country that suggested the Shenzhen, Guangdong-based technology giant is intensifying its efforts in the GPU space and may already be prepared to implement a proprietary chip into the upcoming Kirin 980 SoC from its subsidiary HiSilicon. Those rumors have no foothold in reality, the source claims, adding that Huawei will continue using ARMs Mali GPUs for the time being, much like Samsung does. The Chinese media is keen to make up various rumors, the insider concluded.

The reports about Huawei working on its own GPU emerged around the same time that similar claims were made in regards to Samsung, with the South Korean original equipment manufacturer supposedly coming up with an entirely new architecture that would allow it to match or exceed Apples technologies in terms of rendering performance. While Samsungs mobile GPU ambitions have been the subject of various reports for about half a decade now, the company still isnt prepared to mass-produce its chips and even when flow production becomes a realistic near-term goal, it likely wont target a high-end product for its first implementation and will instead test its first GPU in one or more entry-level devices, most likely Android smartphones, sources claimed earlier this year.

While it will almost certainly lack an in-house GPU, Huaweis Kirin 980 is still expected to be capable of competing with both Qualcomms Snapdragon 855 and Samsungs Exynos 9820 set to power 2019 devices. The silicon is likely to be announced at IFA 2018 which runs in Berlin, Germany, from August 31 through September 5, with the first devices equipped with the chip being expected to be announced in the final quarter of the year in the form of the Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro. The Kirin 980 should also be found inside the P30 lineup, or however Huawei decides to call its follow-up to this years P20 series of Android flagships.
LG Electronics may be working on an Android smartphone it intends to advertise as the LG V90, according to a new trademark won by the company earlier this month. The Mexican branch of the South Korean tech giant secured the rights to use the term LG V90 for commercial purposes on July 13, having been awarded the IP by the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI). The trademarks filing is relatively narrow and explicitly relates the term to smartphones and telecommunications equipment, thus being a clear indication that the LG V90 moniker is meant to be attached to a handset, provided that the company ends up commercializing it.

LGs plans to introduce another addition to its high-end V series of Android devices have already been widely reported in recent months and while most industry insiders and watchers assumed the smartphone in question will be called the LG V40 ThinQ, no credible leaks lending credence to that possibility have yet emerged. While the Mexican arm of the Seoul-based original equipment manufacturer has now trademarked the term LG V90, no other division of the conglomerate has yet even filed the necessary paperwork for securing any name involving the V40 moniker.

Its still unclear whether the upcoming member of the companys most premium mobile lineup will be announced at IFA 2018 which is starting on August 31 or if LG pushes its launch to a later date. While the series is traditionally refreshed at the Berlin, Germany-based trade show, LGs G7 ThinQ was also announced later than expected, having missed Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, where the company typically announced new G-series models. The device is likely to be powered by Qualcomms Snapdragon 845 and feature an OLED panel made by LG Display, with one recent rumor also pointing to the existence of a triple-camera setup akin to the one found on the Huawei P20 Pro, as well as a two-sensor imaging system on the front of the device.
Dr. Chien-Ping Lu, an NVIDIA veteran who played a crucial role in the development of the RSX graphics chip that powered Sonys PlayStation 3 console and contributed to a wide variety of other popular solutions in the segment, including those from MediaTek, is leading Samsungs in-house efforts aimed at creating an entirely new GPU for Android smartphones and tablets, GraphicSpeak reports. Mr. Lu joined Samsungs GPU unit last September in the role of its Vice President, according to his LinkedIn profile.

The upcoming GPU whose first prototype is said to have already been manufactured in late 2017 reportedly uses an entirely new architecture focused at striking the perfect balance between computational prowess and energy efficiency, with the design supposedly being so promising that it could even be an attractive options for applications beyond mobile devices, according to one analyst briefed on the technology. Its still unclear when Samsung may be ready to move into flow production, though its new GPU architecture is first likely to be tested with low-end devices before the company considers bringing it to its more expensive product portfolio, according to one report from June.

For the time being, Samsungs 2015 deal with ARM still stands and should continue resulting in mid-range and high-end Exynos-series chips equipped with the semiconductor firms Mali GPUs. The upcoming Galaxy S10 lineup thats set to launch in early 2019 is widely expected to feature the new Mali-G76 GPU built on the 7nm process node from TSMC, or at least its international models will, whereas the U.S. ones should continue using Qualcomm-made chips with Adreno GPUs. Once Samsung is ready to mass-produce its own graphics silicon, the company is most likely to implement it into its own SoCs but it still hasnt decided whether it will license the technology to third parties, industry sources claim. In theory, a high-end implementation of the new GPU architecture could put Samsung on par with Apple in terms of graphics rendering performance, according to the latest report.
Verizon and Ericsson are strengthening their 4G LTE partnership as their preparations for the deployment of the fifth generation of mobile networks continue, the two companies announced this week. The move comes in the form of a stateside market expansion for Ericsson as the Swedish technology giant struck a deal with Verizon to extend their collaboration to more territories in the United States. As a result, Ericsson will be bringing its latest 4G LTE solutions to more cities across the country, in addition to providing Verizon with a new telecommunications platform meant to allow for swift deployment of 5G connectivity in the future.

The hardware part of the package Ericsson will be providing to Verizon will already be 5G-enabled, capable of switching to a non-standalone specification of the new wireless standard with a conventional software upgrade. In terms of exact technologies, Ericssons platform includes dual-band radios designed for highly scalable 4G LTE deployment thats also suitable for NB-IoT and CAT-M applications intended to support new Internet of Things solutions through improved latencies and capacities. The two companies are describing the extension of their partnership as yet another major step toward 5G commercialization which will see them continue their close collaboration for the foreseeable future.

Ericsson already launched its premier 5G RAN software designed for commercial purposes earlier this year and remains one of the largest investors in the next generation of wireless communications. Verizon is also presently the leading wireless carrier in the U.S. in terms of 5G R&D along with AT&T, having already detailed some of its plans meant to result in a launch of a commercial 5G fixed wireless access network by the end of the year. Earlier today, the company named Houston as the third city to receive its 5G service in the final quarter of the year, with Los Angeles and Sacramento also being part of its initial testbed.
Verizon on Tuesday named Texan metropolis Houston as the third city set to benefit from the companys experimental 5G network later this year, having done so several months after already confirming Sacramento and Los Angeles will be receiving the same treatment in the coming months. The project came to life following negotiations with Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and a number of other officials from the city administration, with both parties presenting the development as yet another step in their years-long mutually beneficial relationship.

Verizons 5G network will initially be deployed in Houston as part of Mayor Turners Complete Communities program meant to address the lack of resources in certain areas of the city and fairly distribute investments across its urban area. Verizon will hence first focus on serving under-resourced neighborhoods before looking to deploy 5G connectivity on a citywide basis. The New York City-based telecom giant said the project will ensure its the first wireless carrier in the United States to offer 5G connectivity in Houston, with its new Chief Executive Officer Hans Vestberg recently pointing to the fifth generation of mobile networks as the backbone of the companys long-term strategy.

The 5G network thats set to debut in Houston in the final quarter of the year will be of the fixed wireless access variety, meaning it will be meant to serve as an alternative to broadband Internet solutions. Verizon is planning to start deploying a truly wireless 5G network across the country in the first half of 2019, targeting national coverage by 2020. AT&T is the only stateside carrier thats set to introduce a mobile 5G service before the end of this year but with no 5G-enabled smartphones being set to launch until 2019, the companys customers will have to rely on 5G pucks to take advantage of the new connectivity technologies in a hotspot-like manner. Verizons 5G FWA network will rely on equipment provided by Ericsson and Samsung, among other suppliers.
Update: An earlier version of this article stated that the Mi A2 (4GB/64GB) model would be priced at 299, instead it is going to cost 279.

Following months of anticipation, Xiaomi officially announced its latest Android One devices in the form of the Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite, having unveiled them at noon even in Madrid, Spain. As expected, the former is essentially an international variant of the Mi 6X the company launched in late April, whereas the latter is a slightly more affordable version of the main model, with both being designed to offer an extremely high value-to-price ratio and retail as the ultimate Android mid-rangers of 2018.

Xiaomi Mi A2 Specifications

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Xiaomis Mi A2 boasts a 5.99-inch FHD+ (2,160 x 1,080) display panel with an 18:9 (2:1) aspect ratio covered by curved 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 5. Its fueled by Qualcomms Snapdragon 660 running at up to 2.2GHz and features between 4GB and 6GB of RAM, as well as between 32GB and 128GB of storage space. The dual-camera setup of the device uses a 12-megapixel (1.25m) IMX486 sensor from Sony mounted behind an f/1.75 lens, as well as a 20-megapixel IMX376 module (2m) using an identical lens. The front camera of the Xiaomi Mi A2 is a 20-megapixel affair reliant on another Sony-made IMX376 sensor and an f/2.2 lens, boasting support for AI-enhanced selfies, HDR, and semantic segmentation which makes AI image analysis faster. Bluetooth 5.0 and dual-SIM capabilities are also part of the package, together with a stock version of Android 8.1 Oreo.

Xiaomi Mi A2 Design

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The Mi A2 boasts a metal unibody design and an edge-to-edge display with small but observable top and bottom bezels. Unlike many other smartphones launched over the last year or so (including the Mi A2 Lite), Xiaomis new Android mid-ranger doesnt feature a display notch, thus having a relatively conventional-looking front panel, though its rear plate is somewhat reminiscent of Apples iPhone X, primarily due to the vertical arrangement of the two cameras which are separated by a dual-LED flash unit. Despite offering a display panel with an almost 6-inch diagonal, Xiaomi managed to ensure the Mi A2 is a rather compact device, being only 158.7 x 75.4 x 7.3mm in size and weighing just 166g.

Xiaomi Mi A2 Cameras

The 12-megapixel unit found on the back of the device is its main sensor, whereas the supporting one can switch to a 4-in-1 2m Super Pixel, which is how Xiaomi refers to its shooting mode thats ideal for low-light scenarios as it allows more light to enter the sensor over any given period of time. The Super Pixel capabilities can only be activated manually, i.e. through the Pro shooting mode of the Mi A2, though the smartphones automatic settings should already be more than suitable for the vast majority of lighting conditions you encounter. The Super Pixel mode is also supported by the front camera of the Mi A2 given how it uses the same sensor, with Xiaomi also offering AI-powered beautification options and a 4500K selfie-light. In overall, the Mi A2 actually surpasses the Mi 6X in terms of imaging capabilities, offering slightly wider apertures and larger two larger sensors, both of which should deliver improved low-light performance or facilitate the process of freezing motion.

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Xiaomi Mi A2 Battery Life

The Mi A2s battery has a capacity of 3,080mAh, which is 80mAh less than what the cell inside last years Mi A1 offered, though the inclusion of a more efficient processor should make that difference irrelevant in everyday use. The battery isnt removable and will typically provide you with a day of use on a single charge, as is the case with most other products in this price segment. The Mi A2 charges over a USB Type-C (2.0) port and uses a 5V/2A charger.

Xiaomi Mi A2 Software

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Since both devices are launching as part of Googles Android One initiative, they come with stock versions of Android 8.1 Oreo and Project Treble support that should allow them to get regular updates with less effort on Xiaomis part than whats been the case so far. Future owners of the Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite will also receive unlimited high-quality Google Photos storage applicable to any image taken with either device. Between Google Play Protect and native Google Assistant integration, as well as a vanilla operating system, this is the closest you can get to experiencing Android in the way Google intended you to without paying hundreds of dollars for a Pixel smartphone.

Xiaomi Mi A2 Security

Besides a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, theres not much in the way of security thats on offer with Xiaomis Mi A2, but its Project Treble support should guarantee that the handset is updated with monthly security patches on a regular basis for at least the following two years. Thats more than what can be said for virtually any other Android smartphone whose price is in the ballpark of $200, save for the ones made by HMD Global, i.e. Nokia.

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Xiaomi Mi A2 Variants

Xiaomi will be offering the Mi A2 in three memory configurations and five colors  Black, Gold, Rose Gold, Blue, and Red. The two more affordable models will ship with 4GB of RAM and either 32GB or 64GB of storage space, whereas the most capable one will have 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal flash memory. All units have two slots for Nano SIM cards but microSD support isnt part of the package, and neither is NFC. Connectivity shouldnt be an issue either, with all models supporting GSM (B2/3/5/8), WCDMA (B1/2/4/5/8), TDD-LTE (B38/40), and FDD-LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B20) networks.

Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite

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Much like its name implies, the Mi A2 Lite is essentially a slightly downgraded version of the Mi A2 in almost every department, with Xiaomi apparently pushing it as its attempt to win the title of this years best smartphone under $200. The device features a notched 5.84-inch FHD+ (2,280 x 1,080) display panel with a 432ppi density and a maximum brightness of 500 nits, thus being the first Android One product with a 19:9 screen. Its powered by Qualcomms Snapdragon 625 chip clocked at up to 2.0GHz (the same one that powered the Mi A1) and is offered in two configurations  one with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage space and another one with double the flash memory and 4GB of RAM. Much like the Mi A2, Xiaomis Mi A2 Lite is an Android One device running a stock version of Googles Android Oreo.

The handsets 4,000mAh battery is said to be rated for two days of operation on a single charge with limited use, whereas its dual rear camera setup uses a 12-megapixel main sensor (1.25m pixel size) supported by a 5-megapixel one. Xiaomis AI Beautify 4.0 technology is also part of the package here, together with a 5500K LED flash and a 5megapixel front camera mounted behind an f/2.0 lens.

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Xiaomi Mi A2 Availability

Xiaomi will be bringing the Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite to 40 markets starting late July, which most likely means next week. The 4GB/32GB model of the Mi A2 will be priced at 249, whereas the 4GB/64GB one will retail for 279 and the 6GB/128GB variant will set you back 349. The base model of the Mi A2 Lite with a 3GB/32GB memory configuration will have a 179 price tag and the 4GB/64GB version will be offered at 229.

Xiaomi Mi A2 Gallery

Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite Gallery
Crowd-sourced review provider Yelp is expanding its LIVES program to include further Health Department scores after first launching the initiative back in 2013. The program is a direct collaboration with the Health Department that effectively pulls information from the agencys database and displays it for restaurants on Yelps site. More directly, it allows users to easily access publicly available up-to-date information drawn from health inspections of businesses without the hassles associated with navigating government-run websites. Since launch, Yelp has been able to provide that for around 200,000 restaurants thanks to cooperation from local officials and a centralized database operated by HDScores. Now, Yelp plans to more than triple that number through a deeper partnership with the latter company beginning with restaurants in New York, California, Texas, Illinois and DC. More locations will be added over the coming months on a state-by-state basis with the ultimate goal of incorporating all of HDScores database.

In short, more users than ever before will have ready access to pertinent information about the eateries in their local areas or in locations they plan to visit. However, the company hasnt provided any exact details with regard to what areas will be added next or whether the entire database will be included by the time this rollout finishes. Its not unlikely that several waves will be required and thats not necessarily going to be accomplished without any bugs or issues. In the meantime, as mentioned above, the goal is to eventually include the entirety of HDScores data. That encompasses locations serving around two-thirds of the total population of the U.S. across 41 states. The changes themselves are presumably happening at the server level, so they should be available to all users on mobile or the web. For those using the dedicated Yelp app, changes should appear without any need to update the application.

Yelp says that the goal is to promote a better standard of living and alleviate health concerns for consumers as well as having a positive impact on the industry itself. The company cites a seven-year Los Angeles restaurant study that was published in the National Environmental Health Associations Journal of Environmental Health in 2000, to back its decision. That study showed a correlation between buyers having easy access to hygiene scores and reductions in hospitalizations related to foodborne pathogens. Meanwhile, as a consequence of the knowledge being made more readily available, best practices among restaurants tend to improve.
AuthorPablo Casado, the newly-elected PP leader, has stated that reconquering Catalonia is his main political objective. I find the word disturbing. Reconquering is such an unequivocally belligerent word that you would need to go to great lengths to explain yourself, if you wished to give it a different meaning.

For instance, you could understand how a democratic Spanish nationalist leader, not unlike Azana in the 1930s, might say that he intends to reconquer Catalonia emotionally: to win back the hearts and minds of Catalans, to entice them with the notion of a pluralistic Spain that is open-minded and sympathetic. If that were the case, I would ask myself whether hes not too late for that.

However, Casados reconquest is not a sentimental one. He does not intend to seduce the Catalan people. He intends to reconquer Catalonia physically. In other words, to have all the power and all the policy-making capabilities to impose on Catalonia a full adherence to his notion of Spain, regardless of the Catalan peoples opinions and feelings.

Casado has outlined the goals of his reconquest: to use the reins of power to de-catalanise Catalonia, to turn her into Tabarnia (1), the name which some have suggested for a de-catalanised Catalonia, once the tumour of Catalan-ness has been excised. It is a threat.

_________

Translators note:

(1) In recent months some unionists have (half-jokingly) advocated the creation of a separate political entity (Tabarnia) formed by the unionist-majority areas in Catalonia, not entirely unlike the Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Thomson Geer has strengthened its corporate and M&A team with the appointment of a new partner.

The firm has welcomed Matthew Reynolds to the partnership. He moved from HWL Ebsworth, where he was a partner for 13 years.

While Reynolds will be based in Brisbane, Thomson Geer confirmed that he will also work out of Sydney and will have a team in the New South Wales capital.


(FrameAngel/Shutterstock.com) (FrameAngel/Shutterstock.com)

People moving to live and work in Australia are almost always successful, often more so than those born in the country but the Government is still considering introducing some kind of 'values' test.Australia already requires newcomers to sign a values statement but Citizenship and Multicultural Minister Alan Tudge says in a speech at the Australia/UK leadership forum in London that may not be enough.'We place an emphasis on Australian values as the glue that holds the nation together. We do this through requiring people to sign a values statement before coming into Australia, satisfy a citizenship test and pledge allegiance before becoming a citizen. The weakness of this, however, is that we presently have few mechanisms to assess people against their signed statement.'While Tudge said Australia values multiculturalism over assimilation, there are times where this can create conflicts. 'In Australia, this is built into our multicultural policy and what has made our multiculturalism successful to date. Our model is integrated multiculturalism. It is not an assimilationist model, where people must leave their heritage behind. We don't want or expect that, but of course where there are conflicts in cultural behaviours, Australian law and values must prevail.'Tudge said that newcomers succeed on almost every level: in employment, education, business creation, and home ownership. On nearly every indicator, they are achieving at the same rate if not better than the home born.New figures published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics back up his claim, indicating that skilled immigration is indeed boosting the economy with many new arrivals being professionals working in growth sectors in middle management roles.The data on permanent migrants arriving in Australia between January 2000 and August 2016 reveals most of them are buying or own a home, more were born in India than anywhere else, and business, human resources or marketing professional was their most common job.According to Mary Patetsos, chair of the Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia, owning or buying a home shows their determination to be part of Australian society. 'It's an illustration of how migrants' hard work and ambition delivers economic growth, nation-building and social cohesion to our country,' she said.But Tudge believes that for Australia to keep this level of standards some kind of test is needed for those considering permanent residency.'For decades now, Australia has welcomed people from around the world and we have largely maintained social harmony in the process. People mix reasonably well and most Australians enjoy the cultural richness that comes from a diverse population,' Tudge said.He explained that there are challenges relating to ethnic segregation and liberal values. Along with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, he backs the idea of a test to make sure permanent residents have the right mind set to integrate into Australian society and culture.'We are the most successful multicultural societies in the world. One of the reasons we are is because we put an enormous amount of effort, in Australia, into integration, into ensuring that our form of multiculturalism is one where we can all benefit from the diversity of cultural and religious and ethnic backgrounds that Australians have,' Tudge pointed out.'This is a country where 28% of Australians were born outside of Australia, over half have a parent born outside of Australia and we live together in harmony because of the values we share and those Australian values, of democracy, freedom, the rule of law, respect for women, equality between men and women,' he explained.'Addressing small challenges now with modest incremental policy is far preferable to having to introduce dramatic initiatives down the track. If we want Australia to continue its multicultural success, we must take active steps now to ensure that social cohesion remains strong,' he added.
Hello, my partner and I want to spend New Year in Sydney and then we would like to book a 9 nights Cruise to South Pacific Islands (Royal Caribbean) departing from and arriving to Sydney. After this, we have plans to leave Australia, with exit ticket flying to New Zealand.



The thing is that my WHV expires in November. Do you think I would be able to extend my stay to January? I still don't want to make the bookings, I am afraid they refuse my visa extend
Witnesses at the business next door sharing these pictures of @DenverPolice taking the suspect away in an ambulance. @kdvr @channel2kwgn #denvertractor pic.twitter.com/pEj1tNcwfY  Alex Rose (@AlexRoseNews) July 21, 2018

The tractor was hauling farming equipment, no less, Fox News reports.The chase lasted about 30 minutes and began in the City Park area, where the Denver Zoo is located. It ended in the Lower Downtown neighborhood, but only after a police officer decided to ram his patrol car head-on into the tractor, thus stopping it in its tracks.Until he did, though, the tractor plowed (almost literally) through the city streets and pavements, causing considerable damage to parked cars and buildings. No pedestrians were hurt, police say.Though officers initially considered calling in an armored, tank-like vehicle to stop the tractor, they continued with the chase. The officer who rammed into it thought the damage and potential injury was worth saving lives: he wanted to stop the tractor before people were hurt.The impact was strong enough for the cruisers airbags to deploy.As soon as that collision happened, the officer that was in that driver's side was out that door, and was out with his Taser like instantly, witness Marcos Willman tells the media outlet. I feel like it was just adrenaline, just like up and we're getting this guy.The 2 cops in the cruiser were taken to the hospital for the injuries sustained in the crash. The tractor driver, a male whose identity hasnt been made public, was also rushed to the hospital by ambulance. Among other things, he also suffered multiple dog bites while resisting arrest.Police are yet to disclose more information on the strange incident, like the suspects motivation, whether he was under the influence, or the severity of injuries sustained.
Expected to launch in 2019, the mid-cycle refresh of the Mondeo from the fourth generation will be assembled in Almussafes, Valencia. The plant, as if it wasnt obvious enough, is located in Spain. To this effect, theres no coincidence whatsoever the pre-production mule was caught on camera in this part of the world.What were looking at is the Titanium trim level without the full-LED adaptive headlamps, complete with a chrome strip connecting the taillamps. For some reason or other, Germany and the United Kingdom offer the Mondeo with the full-width stip while the rest of Europe is still waiting on the refresh to go official.Even though the exterior changes are nothing to write home about, theres more happening under the skin of the 2019 Ford Mondeo. First and foremost, the engine lineup will welcome the 2.0-liter EcoBlue turbo diesel and the 1.5-liter EcoBoost three-cylinder turbo we tested on the Fiesta RS . The Focus is available with the 1.5 as well, but with lesser outputs than the engine in the subcompact hot hatchback.Speaking of the 1.5-liter EcoBoost codenamed L Dragon , this engine has been developed for an eight-speed automatic transmission of the torque-converter type. The transmission is similar in design to the ones in the Edge, Transit Connect, and Lincoln Nautilus, with Ford rejecting the General Motors-developed 9T50 nine-speed automatic from the Hydra-Matic family.A few Focus-derived upgrades can be expected inside the Mondeo, as well as the latest suite of driver-assist and safety systems. Ford calls the latter Co-Pilot 360 , and as you would expect from such a pompous name, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection is included.On that note, the Fusion will be replaced in the United States no later than 2021, with the sedan making room for a Fusion-based station wagon that will borrow a lot from the European model. Being developed as an all-road vehicle, expect the newcomer to be described as a crossover instead of a good ol station wagon.
ExxonMobil's mammoth discovery off Guyana's coast has grown even bigger  the deepwater Stabroek block is now estimated to contain 4 billion barrels of recoverable oil, the company announced Monday.

Why it matters: The new estimate (its prior estimate was 3.2 billion barrels) is a bright spot for Exxon, and a key part of Exxon's long-term recovery strategy. The last several years have been an atypically difficult stretch for the company, including a stock price plunge earlier this year with only partial recovery, and it has struggled to grow production even as crude prices have come back.

Context: In recent years, ExxonMobil has been dinged by some bad bets and low prices that undercut its large Canadian oil sands holdings, and has seen projects in Russia  long-planned as a key source of future supply  frozen by sanctions.

The intrigue: The expanded estimate comes amid a broader plan by Exxon to spend aggressively in coming years on finding and developing new oil-and-gas supplies from multiple regions, including U.S. shale.

Exxon is planning substantial investments in new supplies as part of a plan rolled out in March to double its earnings to $31 billion annually by 2025.

The details: Exxon said yesterday that it hopes to be producing  along with partners Hess and China's CNOOC  up to 750,000 bpd in Guyana by 2025.

That's two years sooner than previously announced to reach that level, and Exxon said it could grow even more.

"There is potential for additional production from significant undrilled targets and plans for rapid exploration and appraisal drilling," Exxon said Monday.

The company plans to start producing 120,000 barrels per day in early 2020.

What they're saying: Ruaraidh Montgomery, an analyst with the consultancy Wood Mackenzie, tells Axios that the higher resource estimate was expected but welcome news for Exxon, and he expects more resource additions. This will mean investors will be looking for a delivery on these promises, he added.

"The accelerated production outlook is the more interesting part of the announcement as its quite aggressive. Of course [Exxon] has has a good project execution track record, but the target is ambitious," he said.

The big picture: More broadly, oil experts say that amid all the focus on U.S. shale production in Texas and elsewhere, development of big fields in frontier areas will be needed to ensure sufficient global supplies during the next decade and beyond. And Exxon's Guyana finds are some of the world's largest in recent years.

What's next: Company officials could provide more details about the plan when Exxon announces its Q2 results and holds a call with analysts on Friday.

Go deeper: Over the weekend, the New York Times ran a deep dive on the project and what it means for Guyana, the South American country that's poised to become the world's newest petro-state.
The Israel Defense Forces took down a Syrian Sukhoi-model fighter jet that reportedly entered its airspace, the IDF said on Twitter.

Why it matters: The IDF said there has been a spike in the Syrian Air Force's activity along the Israeli border and that the military remains on "high alert." Per the LA Times, this is only the second incident of its kind along the Syria-Israel border in 30 years.
Polls have closed in Georgia, and voters have cast their choice for Republican nominee for governor in the heated contest between Lt. Governor Casey Cagle and Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp.

Expand chart Data: Associated Press; Chart: Axios Visuals

What to know: President Trump has endorsed Kemp, which should give him a boost. The state hasn't had a Democratic governor in 20 years.

The nominee will face Democrat Stacey Abrams in November, the first black woman to be a gubernatorial nominee of a major party.
Pakistan will go to the polls on Wednesday to elect a new prime minister in what will be the country's second ever civilian-to-civilian transfer of power.

Why it matters: Pakistan is a nuclear power with volatile relationships with the U.S. and its neighbors, India and Afghanistan. An election that could have been a democratic breakthrough has been fraught by violence and military meddling. Things could still get worse. We could be heading for a period of prolonged instability if you have a hung parliament, says Ashley Tellis, a former State Department official now at the Carnegie Endowment.

The key players and political parties...

Nawaz Sharif and PML-N: Sharif was removed as prime minister in 2017 over corruption charges, a move he claims was engineered by the military. He returned to Pakistan from London on July 13 to turn himself in, and his arrest has taken the electorate by storm.

Sharif was removed as prime minister in 2017 over corruption charges, a move he claims was engineered by the military. He returned to Pakistan from London on July 13 to turn himself in, and his arrest has taken the electorate by storm. Imran Khan and PTI: A former cricket star, Khan is a polarizing political outsider with some powerful behind-the-scenes allies. The military and intelligence services have really propped him up as their tool to destroy the two mainstream parties, Tellis says.

A former cricket star, Khan is a polarizing political outsider with some powerful behind-the-scenes allies. The military and intelligence services have really propped him up as their tool to destroy the two mainstream parties, Tellis says. Shehbaz Sharif, Nawazs brother, is now leading PML-N, which is running neck-and-neck with PTI.

Nawazs brother, is now leading PML-N, which is running neck-and-neck with PTI. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the 29-year-old scion of a political dynasty, leads the PPP party, which trails the other two.

Al Jazeeras Asad Hashim has been reporting from rural Pakistan on allegations the military is tipping the scales:

A local tribal chief and politician told Hashim the military has intimidated voters and offered incentives to switch loyalties, from installing electricity transformers to offering to release relatives allegedly disappeared by the intelligence services.

A PPP leader said at least three of the partys candidates had been threatened by people identifying themselves as military officers, while in impoverished Balochistan a new party popped up with unofficial military support and is suddenly fielding dozens of candidates.

What the military ultimately wants is a fragile government it can control by using its carrots and sticks to manipulate key votes. Its on course to get it, according to Javid Ahmad of the Atlantic Council: The relationship between the military and the elected civilian governments is like two scorpions in a bottle  contentious, territorial, and deadly. This election, however, is particularly significant because the military is actively engineering the outcome.

Politically-motivated attacks this month have left more than 150 dead, Sahar Khan of the Cato Institute writes for Axios Expert Voices: The increase in violence spells trouble for election day, and although the military has stepped in for security purposes, it is also involved in intimidation.

What to watch...

If PML-N (or PPP) ends up in the drivers seat, Tellis says, there will be some hope for Pakistani democracy, while a hung parliament with Khan at its center would all but guarantee the military calls the shots.

After a political whirlwind that lasts two weeks or so, Pakistan's next government will face a harsh economic reality as well, says the Stimson Center's Sameer Lalwani: "Pakistan is going to face a currency crisis soon," he says, "and it doesn't have any good options besides seeking another loan."

The bottom line: Pakistan is too dangerous to fail, says Ahmad. The new government will need to engage in some introspection and determine whether Pakistan can afford further regional and international isolation.

Go deeper: Read Asad Hashims reporting from the campaign trail in Pakistan.
1 big thing: Congress caves on ZTE

Congress has jettisoned language in the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act to restore harsh penalties against Chinese telecom manufacturer ZTE. The change, first reported last week, is part of the final text of the bill, released on Monday.

Why it matters: While the story was easily lost in a week of Russia news, the ZTE debacle will likely have effects that outlast Dan Coats' befuddled look (as he first learned President Trump has invited Vladimir Putin to the U.S.).

The background: ZTE has twice been caught selling banned technology to Iran and North Korea. After the first incident, ZTE agreed if it was ever caught again, it would accept a 7-year ban on the U.S. technology it needs to make its wares. When that ban took effect, ZTE shut down major operations. The Trump administration, against the wishes of Congress, then cut a new deal with ZTE allowing the firm to stay in business.

ZTE's trading with sanctioned nations wasn't the only national security issue. The U.S. suspects the company of sabotaging the equipment it sells to the U.S. to enable Chinese spying on domestic communications.

The Senate version of the defense funding bill included a provision to reverse the Trump ZTE deal. The House version did not. The ZTE-related amendment did not survive the merger of the two bills.

Why it matters: Trump's deal with ZTE sets an unusual precident for the White House: a president's willingness to treat national security concerns as a bargaining chip.

Giving the president that transactional freedom comes at a price. Senate lawmakers and outside experts had been concerned that beyond the hit to national security, tearing up in place agreements would harm:

The government's ability to deal...: "It makes it more difficult for lawyers like me to know if we enter into a settlement with the government, will it be blown up on Twitter," Brian Fleming, a lawyer for Miller & Chevalier specializing in trade-based regulatory issues and former counsel at the Department of Justice, told Codebook in June.

"It makes it more difficult for lawyers like me to know if we enter into a settlement with the government, will it be blown up on Twitter," Brian Fleming, a lawyer for Miller & Chevalier specializing in trade-based regulatory issues and former counsel at the Department of Justice, told Codebook in June. ...and regulator's ability to threaten companies: Why abide by rules if penalties are negotiable?

But House Republicans and other Trump defenders put aside penalizing ZTE to avoid sandbagging Trump amid his broader trade negotiations with China.

Sen. Marco Rubio described the resulting bill as a "cave."

All quid no quo: If ZTE could have been used as a bargaining chip with China, Trump appears to have squandered the chance. "It's all quid but no quo," said James Lewis, senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former Commerce Department lead for high-tech trade with China.
1  thing: I joined Dan Primack for today's debut of Axios' first podcast, Pro Rata, covering the collision of business, tech and politics. Subscribe here.

Situational awareness... Sneak peek at remarks Nikki Haley, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, will make this evening to the Christians United for Israel at its annual summit in Washington:
About 51% of American voters believe "that the Russian government has compromising information about President Trump," according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday.

Why it matters: Based on Trump's responses from the Helsinki press conference, lawmakers have expressed criticism as to whether Russian President Vladimir Putin holds damaging information over President Trump.

54% of voters say Trump was not acting in the best interest of the U.S. at the Helsinki summit.

say Trump was not acting in the best interest of the U.S. at the Helsinki summit. 73% say the summit was a success for Russia.

the summit was a success for Russia. 70% of Republicans don't believe there is compromising information against President Trump.

don't believe there is compromising information against President Trump. Trumps approval rating is at 38% compared to 43% after the summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to the poll.

compared to 43% after the summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to the poll. 63% of voters are "very concerned" or "somewhat concerned" that the Russian government may try to interfere in the 2018 elections, as 36% are "not so concerned" or "not concerned at all."

The other side: Several polls have been released based on the effects of the Helsinki summit. One consistency is a majority of Republicans still back Trump's judgement.

From July 18 - 23, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,177 voters nationwide, with a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percentage points, including design effect.
The U.S. military reported on Friday a 78% total increase in weapons used in Afghanistan from the first half of 2017 to the same period this year.

Expand chart Data: AFCENT Airpower Summary, June 30, 2018, page 3; Chart: Harry Stevens/Axios

The big picture: Michael Kugelman, deputy director for South Asia at the Wilson Center, told Axios that the uptick in weapons being used "makes perfect sense. ... Washington is likely trying to give the Taliban a better incentive to stop fighting  and that entails making the Taliban feel more vulnerable on the battlefield. Hence the upsurge in weaponry."

Our thought bubble: ISIS is losing territory in Iraq and Syria  something the president frequently touts  but the 17-year war in Afghanistan doesn't seem to be slowing down.

The details:

Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Kone Faulkner told Axios that a "weapons release may be a bomb, rocket, round, etc."

told Axios that a "weapons release may be a bomb, rocket, round, etc." Each month this year has been higher than the corresponding months in every year since 2013, when the data was first made available.

has been higher than the corresponding months in every year since 2013, when the data was first made available. In June 2018, the number of weapons released was 572, compared to 389 last year.

What they're saying:

Faulkner credited this year's "mild winter" for enabling "positive momentum heading into the 2018 fighting season."

for enabling "positive momentum heading into the 2018 fighting season." He said the number of weapons released "has risen because of expanded authorities to conduct airstrikes against hostile forces."

"has risen because of expanded authorities to conduct airstrikes against hostile forces." He told Axios: "The most significant concentration of fighters is in the southern districts of Nangarhar and Kunar province, where our military is going after them aggressively. Wherever ISIS-K [ISIS-Khorasan] materializes, they will be eliminated."

Go deeper:
By Rashid Shirinov

Azerbaijans continuation of negotiations on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for 25 years despite the Armenian occupation is the biggest concession, Spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Hikmat Hajiyev said at a press conference on July 23.

He was commenting on the recent statement of the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Hajiyev noted that first of all, the Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani lands must be eliminated.

During his recent press conference, Pashinyan said that Armenia will inform about the concessions on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement only after Azerbaijan does it, the spokesman reminded.

In order to achieve a political solution to the conflict, first of all, the occupation must be stopped and the status quo must be changed. If Armenia is interested in resolving the conflict, it must end the occupation and fulfill the UN Security Council resolutions, Hajiyev said.

The spokesman added that only on such grounds a favorable environment for the resolution of the conflict can be obtained.

Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions from Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly 1 million were displaced as a result of the war.

Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994 but Armenia continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal.

Unfortunately, peace talks mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. within the OSCE Minsk Group have produced no tangible results so far due to Armenia's unconstructive position on the issue.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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By Naila Huseynli

Azerbaijan will start exporting wine to Kazakhstan before the end of 2018, said the chairman of the Association of Wine Producers and Exporters Elchin Madatov.

Until the end of 2018, we expect the export of wine to Kazakhstan. We also expect export expansion to the Baltic countries, Ukraine, and Belarus, which is potentially large markets for the sale of Azerbaijani wine, added Madatov.

He also noted that the export of wine from Azerbaijan to the Baltic countries, Ukraine and Belarus is currently carried out in small volumes.

Companies that manufacture and export wine regularly purchase new technologies to improve and expand production, in the next two months, new wine production enterprises are planned to open in Azerbaijan, according to Madatov.

The country plans to increase wine exports fivefold by 2025, in accordance with the State Program for the Development of Winemaking for 2018-2025

The State Customs Committee reported exports of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, as well as wine vinegar in January-June of 2018 amounted to $7.1 million which is 36.44 percent less than the same period in 2017. Import amounted to $35 million, which is 17.92 percent more than the same period of the first half of last year.



About 45 percent of budgetary payments fell to the share of producers of wine and other alcoholic beverages.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan plans to open wine houses in Shanghai, Beijing and other cities of China with the purpose of development and encouragement of national winemaking.

The history of winemaking in Azerbaijan dates back to ancient times, while Azerbaijani wine trade has flourished since Soviet period. In accordance with the statistics, 210 wineries operated in Azerbaijan in the 1980, while over 151.000 specialists worked in the winemaking companies.

After the collapse of Soviet Union, the country has been slowly rebuilding and modernizing its wine industry. Today, the country has about 10 wineries spread out in its five main winegrowing regionsTovuz, Shamakhi, Ganja, Gabala, and Ismailli. The main export directions of the Azerbaijani wine are Russia and China.

Currently, Azerbaijan has over 20 grape varieties being used for winemaking and more than 12,000 hectares of primarily replanted vineyards, grape varietals include the classics; Chardonnay, Riesling, Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. As well as, the traditional varieties are Matrasa, Saperavi, Rkasiteli, and Muscat.

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By Arzu Abdullayeva

A solemn opening ceremony of Azerbaijans next trade house was held in Riga, the capital of Latvia on July 23.

The trade house aims to promote products under the Made in Azerbaijan brand in the Latvian market as well as support the export of the country goods, including wine products, cognacs, vodka, tea, juices, compotes as well as vegetable oils, rice, textile, cosmetic, industrial products, and their sale in Latvia.

A delegation, led by Deputy Minister of Economy Sahib Mammadov, attended the opening ceremony, where he stressed that the opening of the trade house demonstrates the two countries presidents will in the development of trade and economic ties.

He went on saying that the relations between Azerbaijan and Latvia are progressing prosperously in a manner that the investments to Latvia amounted to $164 million, whilst Latvias investments to the country were $84 million and the launch of the trade house will contribute greatly for further development.

Moreover, local companies, Kaslar and Bina Aqro signed bilateral memorandums of understanding regarding the export of products. Forty companies with Latvian share operate in the country.

Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Latvia amounted to $15.1 million in January-June 2018, according to the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee.

The trade house happens to be the countys first opened in the European Union market.

The countrys first ever trade house was opened in Minsk, Belarus in May 2017. The second appeared in Ukraine. Other trade houses are expected to open in Shanghai and Astrakhan soon.

The country also eyes such countries as China, the UAE, Netherlands, and Kazakhstan.

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By Sara Israfilbayova

The State Committee on Property Issues of Azerbaijan will hold next auction on privatization of state property on August 21, where 151 state objects will be put up for sale.

The auction will offer 23 joint-stock companies, 86 small state enterprises, 33 non-residential areas and 9 vehicles.

Joint-stock companies are located in the capital, Saatli, Beylagan, Goranboy and other cities and regions of the country.

Twenty-four non-residential areas are located in Baku, eight-in Sumgait, one-in Khizi.

Totally over 100 auctions were held in the first six months of the current year. About 500 state-owned properties, including land and vehicles, were privatized during this period.

The number of e-services rendered to citizens in simplified form has reached 38.

The portal for privatization  privatization.az, launched in July 2016, reflects all necessary information about the facilities, their addresses, location, and even initial cost and aims at facilitation of the process. The website is available in two languages - Azerbaijani and English. Why Azerbaijan is special section available on the website explains the reasons and advantages of investing in the country.

The privatization process is designed to attract both foreign and local investors, as well as develop the business environment of Azerbaijan.

Moreover, the State Committee on Property Issues held the first electronic auction on July 4.

The electronic auction service, which is available on the website privatization.az, combines the privatization procedure of vehicles and equipment. In the future, it will be possible to privatize small state enterprises and facilities, joint-stock companies through electronic auction. Now, the corresponding work in programming is being implemented.

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Sara Israfilbayova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Sara_999Is

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By Laman Ismayilova

An exhibition "Heritage and Modernity in Miniature Art" will open in the National Art Museum on July 26.

Miniature has a special role that takes it beyond the boundaries of simple visual arts. It is that "red thread" that weaves literature and art together.

Thanks to the art of miniature, many stories traditional for Azerbaijani literature are physically embodied not only on the margins of books . They move to the surface of objects of arts and crafts.

The tradition of combining literature and art has inspired more than one generation of artists and poets. For many centuries Azerbaijani miniature masters created unique art samples that had a great influence not only on the development of art in the Middle East region, but also far beyond its borders. Features of miniature art, its compositional solutions represent almost limitless possibilities for the embodiment of almost any classical plot in countless variations.

Unfortunately, today many traditions are forgotten, including the compositional achievements of the miniature masters of the Tabriz and Kajar art schools. At the same time, the rules of classical miniatures can be applied without limit to any kind of contemporary art associated with the image on the plane.

The Azerbaijan National Art Museum has not only a valuable collection of miniatures of different classical schools themselves, but also interesting examples of the embodiment of plots and miniature principles in objects of decorative and applied art.

These are unique works of art reflecting the totality of achievements and ideas of many generations of Azerbaijani masters from different regions in various artistic variations.

Inspired by this collection, photo artist Rustam Huseynov created a series of works based on the compositional achievements of Azerbaijani miniature schools, using modern photography and digital art techniques. Continuing the tradition of old masters, he offers viewers a modern example of the embodiment of a miniature on the plane. Using expressive compositional techniques characteristic of miniature artists, Rustam Huseynov creates a modern variation of the classic scenes of Azerbaijani miniatures with the help of modern art.

The task of the project is to show all the facets and all the variability of the embodiment of Azerbaijani miniature art and inspire contemporary artists to develop the ideas of the cultural heritage of Azerbaijan.

The exhibition will open at 19:00. Admission is free.

Art lovers can enjoy beautiful miniature art until July 30.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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In a modern world, a nations international clout and global reach are no longer exclusively determined by its territorial size or population, but by an array of complex circumstances, ranging from the advantages emanating from its geographic location to its representation in different international organisations and its ability to shape and influence the agenda of world affairs.
By Rashid Shirinov

There are facilities in Armenia after the destruction of which there will be no life in those territories for centuries, the press service of Azerbaijan Defense Ministry told Trend on July 24.

It was commenting on the recent absurd statement of Levon Mnatsakanyan, head of the criminal military regime established in the occupied Azerbaijani territories, about striking, if necessary, the Mingachevir Hydro Power Station.

Azerbaijan Defense Ministry noted that air and missile defense systems of Azerbaijan ensure the full security of the air space, as well as state and military facilities of special importance.

The press service also noted that the analysis of the Armenian media shows that the delusional statements of the military-political leadership of this country and the representatives of the separatist regime in Nagorno-Karabakh prove that they are seriously concerned, are in fear and panic.

The Azerbaijani army is ready for any development of events on the frontline. The most modern weapon systems of crushing power that are in the arsenal of the army are capable of destroying all the important military facilities of the enemy and strategic communications in a short time, the defense ministry said.

The skills and combat readiness of the Azerbaijani army are growing year by year, as the countrys Armed Forces regularly conduct military exercises. The Azerbaijani army is supplied with modern weapons and technical equipment for maintaining a high level of combat capability.

The army building process is of particular importance for Azerbaijan, as twenty percent of the country's territory is under Armenian occupation and the country is in a state of war with Armenia.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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By Trend

The Volgodonsk and Makhachkala corvettes, the SB-45 rescue tugboat of the Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy, and the Mangistau rocket and artillery ship of the Kazakh Navy arrived in Baku, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said in a message.

The ships will compete in the international competition Sea Cup 2018, to be held in the territorial waters of Azerbaijan in the Caspian Sea.

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By Trend

The visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to France, which took place on July 19-20, has raised relations with France to a new level, chairman of the parliamentary committee for science and education, Academician Isa Habibbeyli told Trend.

He noted that the agreements signed during the visit will make an important contribution to the economy of both France and Azerbaijan, as well as will deepen economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and the European Union.

"The bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and France promise us new projects," the Azerbaijani MP added.

Habibbeyli stressed that the visit of the president of Azerbaijan opens up new great prospects of economic cooperation between the two countries.

The Azerbaijani MP highly appreciated the importance of the Paris visit and noted that the relations between Azerbaijan and France are developing successfully in politics, economy, energy, environment, transport, security, culture and others. He told Trend that the visit will pave the way for further development of these relations.

President Ilham Aliyev visited Paris on July 19-20, during which productive negotiations were held with representatives of 11 French companies, and contracts worth more than $2 billion were signed.

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By Kamila Aliyeva

The clock is ticking and the signing of the long-awaited document on the legal status of the Caspian Sea is drawing closer, as the five parties agreed to meet in the Kazakh port of Aktau on August 12 to finally decide on how energy-rich basins resources will be divided.

The legal status of the Caspian Sea has remained unsolved during more than two decades, preventing development and exploitation of its disputable oil and gas fields and creating obstacles to the realization of major projects.

Caspian countries to assess environmental impacts of major energy projects

Earlier, Caspian countries have made a groundbreaking commitment to evaluate the likely impact that development projects will have on the environment in each others states. Impacts on human health, fauna, water and soil are among factors to be accounted for when installing oil refineries, building major power plants or undertaking major deforestation.

High-level representatives from Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan signed the Environment Impact Assessment Protocol under the Tehran Convention on July 20.

Russia, which wanted to maintain its role as the only gas supplier to Europe, and Iran, with its own regional and economical interests, have so far opposed the construction of underwater pipelines in the Caspian Sea, citing environmental issues and saying that construction projects need the consent of all five countries.

Both, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan have continuously voiced the view that pipeline construction under water should be regulated by only the countries through whose sea sectors it passes. According to Article 14 of the draft Caspian Sea Convention to be signed at the five-nation summit, this will become a reality after long years of negotiations.

Trans-Caspian dream has all chances to come true

The determination of the long-debated legal status will bring Turkmenistan one step closer to its gas reaching the old continent. Such energy export initiative as the proposed Trans-Caspian Pipeline from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan that would bring Turkmen gas to European markets now gains a clearer outline.

Turkmenistans recoverable reserves are estimated at 17.5 trillion cubic meters of gas or nine percent of total global reserves, which puts Turkmenistan fourth, after Iran, Russia and Qatar.

The European Union adopted a mandate in 2011 to negotiate a legally binding treaty between the EU, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan to build a Trans Caspian Pipeline System. This was the first time that the European Union proposed a treaty in support of an infrastructure project.

The Trans Caspian Pipeline agreement will set the basis for the construction of a submarine pipeline connecting Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan, and in turn link this pipeline to infrastructure that will bring gas from Central Asia to the EU.

Therefore, closer cooperation between Azerbaijan, who has already launched its gas supplies via Southern Gas Corridor, and Turkmenistan, set to bring financial benefits to both sides, is guaranteed.

Kazakhstan keen to export its oil through Azerbaijan

Kazakhstans section of the Caspian Sea contains most of the basins largest known oil fields, such as Tengiz, which produced 570,000 barrels of oil per day last year, and Kashagan with 13 billion barrels of estimated oil reserves.

The Central Asian nation is keen to diversify its export markets, which currently include only Russia and China. Azerbaijan will become a key transit hub for Kazakhstan as well.

Azerbaijani-Iranian cooperation on oil block development to become possible

The two nations which previously had serious disagreements over delimitation of the sea and energy cooperation will likely jointly make use of Caspian Seas resources.

The cooperation on the Araz-Alov-Sharg oil block has long been the main sticking point between the sides, as both Iran and Azerbaijan have differences over its ownership. The development of the block is frozen until the Caspian Sea status is agreed upon between Azerbaijan and Iran. Now, positive developments should be expected in this regard as well.

Thus, Azerbaijan will gain huge benefits as a transit country when oil is exported from Central Asian nations and get access to another oil block in the Caspian Sea, while strengthening relations with Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

Why it took so long?

The issue of determining the legal status of the Caspian Sea became relevant after the collapse of the USSR, when the emergence of new subjects of international law - Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan - raised the issue of delimitation of the sea between the five littoral countries.

For a long time, the principle of delimitation of the seas water area was the apple of discord among the littoral states.

The Caspian states were mulling two possible options to determine the legal status of the Caspian Sea: delimitation using a mid-line modified method or division into 5 equal parts given each nation a 20 percent share. If the Caspian is legally declared a sea, all five littoral countries would map out their territorial waters and exploit the resources as they see fit.

The leaders of the five countries met for the first time in 2002 in Ashgabat. The second Caspian summit was held in Tehran in 2007, the third one in Baku in 2010, and the fourth summit  in Astrakhan in 2014. The fifth one, set to take place on August 12, will change the future of the region and bring prosperity and peace to it.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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By Trend

A one-on-one meeting was held between Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Baku.

The relations between the two countries, as well as regional issues were discussed at the meeting.

Following the one-on-one meeting, an expanded meeting started with the participation of delegations.

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By Trend

Today, looking at the short term situation, one can see a very volatile and challenging period in oil markets, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA ) Dr Fatih Birol said in an interview with Trend.

He pointed out that geopolitical factors even more than pure fundamentals are important in determining oil price movements.

"For its part, the IEA is engaged in a close dialogue with major oil producers and consumers, both inside and outside the IEA Family, and we are monitoring market developments in order to be prepared to advise on any support that might be needed to ensure market stability. This is why the IEA was founded in 1974 and this role is as important today as it was then," said Birol.

Speaking about expectations for the oil prices, he said the IEA is not in the business of predicting oil prices  it is more concerned with ensuring that the market is well supplied.

" As such it is hard to know what circumstances could lead to an increase of that magnitude. That said, we can say with confidence that a sharp increase in the oil price is not in the interest of consumers around the world," noted Birol.

The IEA executive director said that indeed in the long run, high prices will mean that oil producers are more likely to lose out to alternative fuels as they capture increased market share.

The IEA works to ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy for its 30 member countries and beyond. Its mission is guided by four main areas of focus: energy security, economic development, environmental awareness and engagement worldwide.

IEA was established in November 1974. The original founding members were Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway (under a special Agreement), Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States. Joining in the following years were Greece (1976), New Zealand (1977), Australia (1979), Portugal (1981), Finland (1992), France (1992), Hungary (1997), Czech Republic (2001), Republic of Korea (2002), Slovak Republic (2007), Poland (2008), Estonia (2014), and more recently Mexico (2018).

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By Sara Israfilbayova

Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR is interested in gas distribution in Bulgaria.

Director of SOCAR Balkan company Murad Heydarov told Trend that back in 2015, the Bulgarian government presented a set of projects on energy cooperation to Azerbaijan.

In particular, the Azerbaijani side was invited to participate in the construction of gas filling stations, invest in the construction of oil and gas storage facilities, and oil refineries.

The sphere of SOCARs interests in Bulgaria includes several potential projects, however the distribution of gas is currently on the agenda, Heydarov said.

The company is exploring opportunities to invest in Bulgarias gas distribution network.

Earlier, SOCAR confirmed its intention to invest in the development of Bulgarias gas distribution network.

SOCARs interest in ensuring gas supply of Bulgarian cities was expressed during a meeting of Bulgarias Prime Minister Boyko Borissov with Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev in January.

SOCAR has already successfully invested in this sector in Georgia and can use this experience in Bulgaria as well.

SOCAR is a wholly state-owned national oil company headquartered in Baku, Azerbaijan. The company produces oil and natural gas from onshore and offshore fields in the Azerbaijani section of the Caspian Sea.

The company includes three production associations, one oil refining and gas processing enterprise, an oil flotilla, a deep-water base plant, two trusts, one institute, and 23 structures.

SOCAR established joint companies (including Georgia and Turkey), alliances, operating in various sectors of oil and gas spheres. It has representative offices in Georgia, the U.S., Turkey, Romania, Austria, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, Great Britain, Iran, Germany, Ukraine, Belgium and Canada.

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Sara Israfilbayova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Sara_999Is

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By Sara Israfilbayova

Oil prices of reference marks continue to decline on July 24, the day before, the market concentrated on the risks of increasing the supply of oil, pushing the disputes between the leaders of the U.S. and Iran to second place.

Brent crude oil was unchanged at $73.06 a barrel, U.S. light crude West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was 35 cents higher at $68.24, Reuters reported.

The growing trade conflict between the U.S. and China can weaken the demand for energy, while a number of countries continue to increase oil production.

U.S. President Donald Trumps statements made over the weekend definitely add a new layer of uncertainty and volatility, says John Driscoll, JTD Energys chief strategist.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia gave signals that it could refrain from raising oil production to the level of maximum capacity utilization.

Energy Minister Alexander Novak held a meeting in Moscow on July 23 with Iran Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh, discussing OPECs work and cooperation in the energy sector.

Investors are also waiting for data on commercial oil reserves in the U.S., which probably fell by 3.1 million barrels last week.

OPEC and non-OPEC producers reached an agreement in December 2016 to curtail oil output jointly and ease a global glut after more than two years of low prices. OPEC agreed to slash the output by 1.2 million barrels per day from January 1.

Non-OPEC oil producers such as Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, Sudan, and South Sudan agreed to reduce output by 558,000 barrels per day starting from January 1, 2017.

OPEC and its partners decided to extend its production cuts till the end of 2018 in Vienna on November 30, as the oil cartel and its allies step up their attempt to end a three-year supply glut that has savaged crude prices and the global energy industry.

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Sara Israfilbayova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Sara_999Is

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By Sara Israfilbayova

After the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, Tehran and Washington are set for more confrontation rather cooperation, fellow and the director of IranObserved Project at the Middle East Institute Ahmad Majidyar told Azernews.

The Trump Administration will continue to ramp up economic pressure to force Iranian leaders to agree to negotiate a new, more comprehensive deal that would further strict Irans nuclear program and also address Irans controversial ballistic missile program and destabilizing role in the Middle East, Majidyar said.

The expert went on to say that Tehran is unlikely to agree to Washingtons demands, but the Rouhani government will continue diplomacy with European powers to salvage the nuclear deal without the U.S, adding that however, once the U.S. sanctions are back next month, it will be difficult for Europeans  as well as Russia and China  to maintain the existing level of trade with Iran to incentivize the Iranian government to remain compliant to the deal.

Major European banks and companies are already suspending their activities in Iran and more will follow suit once U.S. sanctions are back. While European governments are encouraging their companies to continue to do business with Iran, the companies make their own decisions and are unlikely to risk their bigger investments in the American market for much smaller deals in Iran, he noted.

Earlier, it was reported that the uranium reserves in Iran, after reaching an agreement on the Iranian nuclear program, exceeded 900 tons. Touching this issue, Majidyar said that Iran announced last year that it planned to purchase 950 tons of concentrated uranium from Kazakhstan.

The purchase does not violate the terms of the nuclear agreement Tehran signed with world powers in 2015, but it has generated concerns in the U.S. and regional countries, particularly Israel. What adds to existing concerns is the fact that Iran also plans to build new centrifuges to process these concentrated uranium. But the latest statements by Iranian officials, including one about the increase of uranium reserves and new centrifuges, are also aimed at signaling to Europe that Tehran would resume and develop its nuclear program if European powers fail to respond to Iranian demands about saving the nuclear deal, according to him.

Commenting upon the effect of the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA on world oil market, the expert stressed that the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal and re-imposition of sanctions on the Islamic Republic will likely push up oil prices, noting but the overall impact will not be very significant.

While European import of Iranian crude oil is set to decline, other major importers, particularly China and India, are unlikely to stop or significantly reduce their oil imports from Iran. The reduction of Iranian oil in the market will also be partially offset by an increase in production by other OPEC members, particularly Saudi Arabia, the expert explained.

In November 2016, the OPEC summit was held in Vienna, where OPEC members reached an agreement on reducing oil output by 1.2 million barrels per day. In December 2016 was a meeting of oil producers outside the OPEC. The meeting ended with signing an agreement to reduce oil production by a total of 558,000 barrels per day starting from January 2017.

OPEC and its partners decided to extend its production cuts till the end of 2018 in Vienna on November 30, as the oil cartel and its allies step up their attempt to end a three-year supply glut that has savaged crude prices and the global energy industry.

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Sara Israfilbayova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Sara_999Is

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By Trend

Iran Air Show secretary Bijan Bonakdar said Russia is willing to cooperate with Iran in the aviation sector and help renovate and upgrade the countrys aged civil aviation fleet.

Irans civil aviation fleet needs to be upgraded, Bonakdar told Fars news agency.

Referring to new sanctions against Tehran, he added, "Despite the sanctions, countries like Russia are keen to cooperate with us and sign deals with the Tehran to renovate Irans aging fleet".

Bonakdar also said that next edition of Iran Air Show could be a great opportunity to present investment opportunities in Irans aviation sector to foreign firms and ink a number of agreements.

He noted that Iranian and Russian aviation officials could sit down on the sidelines of the show and sign key deal to promote their bilateral ties.

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By Naila Huseynli

Amid the recent corruption scandal in the Armenian army, Armenian Defense Ministry David Tonoyans stated that Russia allegedly completed the supply of arms to Armenia under a $200 million loan agreement, and it is nothing but an attempt to artificially inspire the Armenian people.

According to the Armenian side, serious problems occurred in the supply of Russian-made weapons, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported on July 23. However, in a short period contradicting his previous words, Tonoyan says without any remorse that Russia allegedly fully completed the supply of arms to Armenia. As for the statement that the weapons supplied to Armenia are not even on the balance of the Russian army, it is nothing but trickery on its own people.

Such statements made by the Armenian side, amid corruption scandals in the army, are an attempt to inspire people, designed for the internal audience, the ministry said.

As a defense minister, Tonoyan must know that Russia will not supply weapons to any other side without providing its own troops with them, the ministry said. Of course, the Russian army does not have the armaments; the Armenian defense minister proudly speaks about. The reason is simple: those weapons are already out of date and are not suitable for use.

Armenia occupied 20 percent territory of Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. Dozens were killed and nearly 700.000 were displaced as a result of the armed aggression by Armenia.

The ceasefire in 1994 froze the conflict. Unfortunately, Armenia continues to violate four UN Security council resolutions on immediate withdrawal of its armed forces from occupied territory including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions of Azerbaijan.

Negotiation and mediation efforts have failed to produce a permanent solution to the conflict due to Armenia's unconstructive position on the issue.

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By Kamila Aliyeva

The seventh meeting of the Uzbek-Vietnamese Intergovernmental Commission for Trade-Economic and Scientific-Technical Cooperation was held in Tashkent on July 23, the press service of the Uzbek Ministry of Foreign Trade reported.

The meeting was attended by Uzbek Minister of Foreign Trade, co-chairman of the commission Jamshid Khodjaev, Uzbek Ambassador to Vietnam Ulugbek Rozukulov, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Hoang Quoc Vuong and Ambassador of Vietnam to Uzbekistan Pham Van Fao.

Today, relations between Vietnam and Uzbekistan are consistently developing. A solid regulatory framework for the development of bilateral relations has been formed.

The parties noted that despite the broad prospects available, the state of trade, economic and investment cooperation between our countries does not correspond to the available potential.

The priority direction of bilateral relations between the countries is further expansion of mutually beneficial foreign economic cooperation. First of all, this is an increase in volumes and expansion of the range of trade, as well as deepening cooperation in the areas of fish farming and sericulture, cultivation of tea crops and black pepper.

As a result of 2017, trade turnover increased by 16 percent and exceeded $ 33 million. In the first half of 2018, the volume of mutual trade increased more than 2.5 times and amounted to about $ 30 million.

Analysis shows that today there are all the reserves and prerequisites for bringing the volume of bilateral trade to $ 100 million already this year.

This meeting gave a powerful impetus to the process of strengthening full-scale and comprehensive cooperation between our countries. Agreements were reached in attracting Vietnamese specialists for the development of fish farming, rice growing, tea cultivation and black pepper, Khodjaev said in his speech.

We propose to establish cooperation in the field of education, in particular through a student exchange program. This will allow exchanging experience on priority areas of trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation between the two countries, Hoang Quoc Vuong stressed.

As a result of the meeting, the final protocol of the Joint Commission was signed.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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By Sara Israfilbayova

The capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, topped the list of the most popular destinations for summer holidays among Russian citizens.

TurStat reported that the first three places also include Minsk and Almaty and that the cheapest summer tours are in Chisinau and Bishkek.

On average, Russian tourists spend on holidays in cities and resorts of CIS countries from $50 to $100 per day for accommodation and food, according to the agency.

Earlier, TurStat reported that Azerbaijan entered the top five countries in terms of the number of trips to Russia.

Azerbaijan is on the 15th place in the TOP-20 countries Russian tourists are eager to visit in 2018.

There are several reasons why Russian tourists are headed to Azerbaijan for their vacation. Tourists are attracted to the quality of the hotel basis, the richness of excursion programs and the development of sanitary and spa complex, such as Naftalan. Most tourists believe that the hotel base in Azerbaijan does not fall behind with Europe.

Azerbaijan is one of the main economic partners of Russia among the CIS countries. Interregional cooperation plays an important role in the development of trade and economic relations and the increase in trade turnover between the two countries.

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Sara Israfilbayova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Sara_999Is

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Check out the slideshow above to see the 25 events that shaped the state of Texas as we know it...

The history of Texas is a long, weird and winding one. There are varied milestones along our path that have led us to the state as we know it today, from major battles to major ballots.
Tampa (Fla.) Outpatient Surgical Facility and North Tampa Outpatient Surgical Facility's President and CEO Devanand Mangar, MD, helped create a think tank focused on preventing opioid abuse, the Tampa Bay Business Journal reports.

Here's what you should know:

1. Devanand Mangar, MD, who is also Tampa General Hospital's anesthesiology chief, collaborated with Pacira Pharmaceuticals and The South Florida Accelerator to create the Center for Analgesic Transformation in Tampa.

2. The center is a think tank focused on creating opioid minimization strategies through the use of non-opioid analgesics.

3. It is housed in a 3,000-square-foot space.

4. South Florida Accelerator Managing Partner Thomas Buchar told the Tampa Bay Business Journal he plans to open a coworking facility nearby.

"We've got to approach the opioid crisis as we attack the banking industry. You have to use the same discipline with all three parties coming together. Nobody else is doing this, everybody is approaching the epidemic from a reactive point of view where they are treating the addict, but there's no think tank in how to prevent it," Mr. Buchar said.
El Segundo, Calif.-based Verity Health System may get a bid for two of its six nonprofit hospitals from Santa Clara County, Calif., according to The Mercury News.

The county is interested in acquiring the pair of financially struggling California hospitals  San Jose-based O'Connor Hospital and Gilroy-based St. Louise Regional Hospital  as public institutions. County Executive Jeff Smith said the county views a potential acquisition as a way to relieve overcrowding at its San Jose-based Santa Clara Valley Medical Center.



The county's interest comes after Verity Health said July 9 it is exploring strategic options, including a potential sale, to minimize financial and operational pressures at its six hospitals. Verity posted an operating loss of $55.8 million in the nine months ended March 31, according to The Mercury News.



In 2015, Verity was sold to a New York City-based hedge fund for $260 million, a historic price tag for nonprofit hospital transactions in the state. In July 2017, billionaire entrepreneur Patrick Soon-Shiong's, MD, company NantWorks acquired a majority stake in the hedge fund's Integrity Healthcare, which manages Verity Health. Dr. Soon-Shiong also served as CEO of the health system from July 2017 until earlier this year.



Alyssa Rege contributed to this article.



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Chestatee Regional Hospital in Dahlonega, Ga., will close July 26, making it the seventh rural hospital in Georgia to close since 2010.

Chestatee Regional is among a group of rural hospitals across the nation allegedly involved in lab billing schemes. A CBS News investigation earlier this year included allegations that the hospital's owner was using the hospital to reap huge paydays from insurers. A spokesperson for the owner told Becker's the claims made in the CBS News report will be "vigorously defended in court."

In 2016, Sunrise, Fla.-based Durall Capital Holdings purchased Chestatee Regional from Atlanta-based SunLink Health Systems for $15 million. Aaron Durall, who owns a laboratory testing company in Florida, leads DCH.

After the sale, Mr. Durall allegedly moved part of Chestatee Regional's billing operation to Florida. Soon thereafter, the hospital allegedly began receiving big checks from health insurance companies  some up to $500,000. The money was for toxicology tests on urine samples collected from across the country, according to CBS. Some of the testing was allegedly done at Mr. Durall's lab in Florida, but everything was billed through Chestatee Regional Hospital, according to CBS.

Insurance companies reimburse some rural hospitals at higher rates to help keep healthcare in rural communities. Mr. Durall reportedly capitalized on this by buying Chestatee and a few other rural hospitals.

Mr. Durall has defended the billing practices. In an email to CBS earlier this year, he said the lab testing mentioned in CBS' investigative report was properly billed.

Although Chestatee Regional is shutting down this week, the facility may offer some type of healthcare services in the future.

On March 30, Gainesville-based Northeast Georgia Health System announced it had reached a conditional agreement to buy Chestatee Regional Hospital. If the sale goes through, NGHS intends to eventually sell the property to the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega, according to The Gainesville Times. UNG President Bonita Jacobs, PhD, said the facility could house nursing, physical therapy and counseling education programs, as well as two existing outreach clinics.

A spokesperson for Mr. Durall told Becker's "the sale of the hospital was underway before the CBS News report."

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A family was slapped with a $1,400 bill after visiting the emergency room at Las Vegas-based Centennial Hills Hospital when their 9-year-old daughter accidentally had gasoline splash in her eyes while learning to pump gas. They said the hospital's ER "overbilled and underserved" them because they were sent to a regular sink when the department's eye-washing station was too dirty, according to a WPTV news report.

Here are eight things to know:

1. Brianna Lee's mother flushed the eyes of her daughter at the gas station bathroom and headed to the ER with her, fearing a chemical burn. Brianna's medical records indicate the family was told to spend more time washing Brianna's eyes.

2. "The doctor really didn't do anything. He walked in the room, and he said that I need an eyewash station, and he walked out. And that's pretty much all he did, and I didn't see him after that," Brianna said.

3. Despite the physician emphasizing the need for the eye-wash station, the station was too dirty to use, Brianna's medical records confirm. As a result, Brianna was sent to a regular sink, where her mother rinsed the girl's eyes.

"For the emergency room not to be properly equipped, not to be ready to process any type of emergency that comes in, is scary," Brianna's father, Ronnie, told WPTV.

4. The physician's notes confirm that the family was sent to a regular sink because the eyewash station was dirty. The records say they became disappointed with their care and left.

5. The incident resulted in two bills: $600 from the hospital, and $800 from the ER physician.

6. According to the billing statement, the ER physician did a complete review of body systems and a full physical exam. In addition, he billed Brianna's care as a level three, typically reserved for moderately complex visit.

7. Beth Petschauer, a certified professional medical billing coder and auditor, told WPTV that Brianna's case raises red flags.

"There's documentation in the medical records that makes me question whether or not the provider actually performed the services that he's billing for," she said. "It would either be that the provider just automatically clicked on each of the things as if he did them, or he's padding the note in an attempt to get further additional funds. Level three and four are moderate, where there's more testing required."

8. The hospital released the following statement about the incident: "We are reviewing the circumstances surrounding this matter to ensure that proper procedures are followed. The eye-wash station referenced is located in a utility room and is for staff use in case a chemical/caustic substance splashes in their eye while they are working in the room. It's not in a patient care area and not intended for patient use. That eye-wash station is cleaned weekly."
Former Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove, MD, is joining the Google Cloud team as an executive adviser to its healthcare and life sciences divisions, the tech-giant confirmed July 23.

Dr. Gozgrove will assist Google's "quadruple aim" of lowering costs, improving the patient experience, advancing population health and reducing administrative burdens for providers and staff.

"Dr. Cosgrove is a widely respected thought leader in the healthcare space. Over the course of his career, he has seen firsthand how digitization has improved  and hampered  healthcare," said Gregory Moore, MD, PhD and vice president of healthcare at Google Cloud, in announcing Dr. Cosgrove's new role. "We're thrilled to have Dr. Cosgrove on board to help us tackle the quadruple aim, drawing on his several decades of experience at the forefront of American medicine."

Google Cloud's goal is to harness "the power of data to advance healthcare" in such a way that providers and patients don't become overwhelmed, Dr. Moore said.

The team has its sights set on artificial intelligence and machine learning to assist with streamlining and automating workflows in a way that it doesn't diminish the provider-patient relationship  and it will tap into Dr. Cosgrove's clinical expertise to ensure it, according to Google.

"Technology may have been the cause of some of these challenges, but we believe that it can also be the cure," Dr. Moore said.
North Conway, N.H.-based Memorial Hospital President and CEO Scott McKinnon is retiring Oct. 31.

Here are six notes:

1. Mr. McKinnon assumed the top post at the 25-bed critical access hospital in 2009.

2. During his tenure, the hospital became a member of Portland-based MaineHealth as well as increased its clinical offerings in several areas such as sleep medicine and oncology. Mr. McKinnon also oversaw the creation of a community health department.

3. Prior to joining Memorial Hospital, Mr. McKinnon served as a vice president at Lankenau Medical Center in Wynnewood, Pa.

4. He has served on the boards of The New Hampshire Hospital Association and Foundation for Healthy Communities.

5. He holds an MBA from the University of Central Florida in Orlando.



6. The Memorial Board of Trustees will soon form an executive search committee, and it hopes to identify a permanent leader by March 2019. The board is also discussing an interim leadership plan.
Orlando-based Florida Hospital President and CEO Daryl Tol said during a recent talk that the hospital has created a secret team called Project Fulcrum to "kill the old healthcare model," according to the Orlando Sentinel.

Here are three things to know:

1. Mr. Tol, who also serves as president and CEO of the central Florida division and executive vice president of Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based Adventist Health System, did not discuss many details of Project Fulcrum, but said the idea behind the team came from tech companies' concealed efforts to disrupt healthcare, like Amazon's secret health team 1492.

"The idea is internal disruption. The team is working on it full time. They're separated from the meetings, emails, everything," Mr. Tol said, according to the report. "Google and Amazon use a very sophisticated internal disruption model, where they encourage failure. Google has dozens of teams that are constantly pushing. Healthcare lacks that prodding and we wanted to start that."

2. Mr. Tol said the project began earlier this year with a core team of eight experts from both within and outside of the healthcare industry. Members include individuals from the banking, retail, engineering and healthcare fields.

3. The team, which is reportedly working with international advertising and consulting firm R/GA, will have tangible products and solutions, but it is unclear when those solutions will be shared with the public, Mr. Tol said. The team's ideas will initially be adopted at Florida Hospital, with the potential to be integrated across its parent company, Adventist Health System.

To access the full report, click here.
Mergers and acquisitions continue in healthcare as the industry sees more consolidation nationally and globally.

Six statistics reported by Becker's Hospital Review this year:

1. About $2.35 trillion in deals have occurred globally this year, up 57 percent compared to the same period last year. At this pace, the global M&A market could reach $4.8 trillion for all of 2018, which would top the prior record of $4.3 trillion in 2007, according to a report by Dealogic cited by The Wall Street Journal.

2. In January, senior executives from some of the largest drugmakers anticipated Republicans' tax overhaul would spur more deals by drugmakers this year. As of June, at least 20 pharma deals had been reported by Becker's Hospital Review.

3. A joint report by West Monroe Partners and Mergermarket, published in May, showed there were nearly 580 deals for U.S. healthcare targets in 2017. It also found 26 percent of market practitioners cited outdated IT infrastructure as the biggest oversight during due diligence in their most recent healthcare acquisition.

4. Thirty hospital and health system deals were made in the first quarter of 2018, up more than11 percent from the first quarter of 2017, according to an analysis by Kaufman Hall, & Associates released April 26.

5. Global corporate healthcare mergers and acquisitions activity reached $332 billion in 2017, up 27 percent from the year prior, according to a Bain & Co. report released April 18.

6. Greenberg Advisors, a revenue cycle management and health IT-focused investment bank, in March reported more than $19.5 billion in deal value in healthcare IT and RCM sectors in 2017, up 15 percent from 2016. Greenberg Advisors also reported healthcare IT and RCM deal volume reached 164 completed transactions in 2017, up from 130 the year prior.

Alyssa Rege and Alia Paavola contributed to this report.

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Illinois hospital workers protested in Chicago July 23 over wages and union rights.

The workers, represented by Service Employees International Union, protested at the Illinois Health and Hospital Association offices for a $15 minimum wage and "allowing workers to participate in labor unions, free from intimidation and retaliation," according to the union.

They claim hospitals in the Chicago area routinely pay frontline service workers minimum wage or slightly above it, and that this results in financial gain for the industry.

"We frontline hospital service workers deserve a much bigger share of the billions of dollars in revenue generated by Illinois hospitals," the union wrote in a July 23 letter to the IHA. "We should not live in poverty."

In a statement to Becker's Hospital Review, the IHA said Illinois hospitals employ about 266,000 people generating about 466,000 direct and indirect jobs and contributing more than $95 billion to the state's economy each year.

The association also said hospitals comply with Chicago's minimum wage ordinance. Minimum wage in the city climbed from $11 to $12 in June. The minimum wage in Cook County also climbed from $10 to $11 that month.

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Unionized healthcare workers at Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence began a three-day strike July 23, according to a Providence Journal report.

The nurses and other healthcare professionals, who are represented by United Nurses and Allied Professionals Local 5098, have been in negotiations with Lifespan, the hospitals' parent system. Workers began picketing about 3 p.m.

"This is a difficult day for all of us. Every member who walks the picket line understands whats at stake for themselves, their families and their patients," Frank Sims, RN, president of UNAP Local 5098, told the Providence Journal. "Lifespan is a broken system where wealthy executives make millions and frontline caregivers are ordered to do more with less, and until that changes, patient care will continue to be adversely impacted."

Wages have been a key sticking point in negotiations. When both sides returned to the bargaining table July 23 per an order from a federal mediator, "the union rejected a restructured proposal from the hospital that included generous wage increases ranging from 9 [percent] to 25 percent over four years," Lifespan spokesperson David Levesque told the Providence Journal.

"Instead, UNAP leadership submitted wage increases of up to 28 percent and added significant additional economic proposals that rendered their offer simply unrealistic," Mr. Levesque said.

Lifespan is paying $10 million to bring in temporary workers and will not allow unionized hospital workers to return to their jobs until July 27 due to its minimum commitment to the temporary staff.

Read more about the strike here.

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University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington and unionized nurses are scheduled to return to the bargaining table July 24, according to NBC5.

The negotiations come about two weeks after about 1,800 nurses, represented by the Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals Local 5221, ended a 48-hour walkout over wages and working conditions.

Nurses could strike again if an agreement is not reached with the hospital. The hospital spent $3 million to $4 million on the last strike and could potentially spend about the same in the event of another strike, according to the report.

"Let's hope that we're not having to go down that road again. Nobody wants a strike. Everyone just wants a fair contract that's going to speak to the needs of the nurses," Laurie Aunchman, RN, president of the VFNHP, told NBC5.

Laurie Gunn of UVM Medical Center told the TV station: "We're thinking a lot about how we help attract and retain nurses as we go forward, [not] just around wages but around what it's like to work here as a nurse. We are listening and are hopeful that we can get to a resolution that feels respectful and fair for everyone."

UVM Medical Center nurses have been without a new contract since July 9.

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The owner of a New York pharmacy was sentenced to six months in jail for participating in a $1.5 million Medicaid kickback scheme with a former hospital employee from East Meadow, N.Y.-based Nassau University Medical Center, according to the New York State Office of the Attorney General.

Arkady Goldin, owner of Lynbrook, N.Y.-based Value Pharmacy, pleaded guilty to healthcare fraud June 8. Authorities accused Mr. Goldin of defrauding the state's Medicaid program for $1.5 million as part of a kickback arrangement with a former NUMC employee. The former hospital employee pleaded guilty to unlawfully accepting Medicaid kickbacks earlier in the investigation.



From January 2012 to November 2013, Mr. Goldin paid the hospital employee a monthly cash referral fee and other incentives like sporting event tickets, an iPad and meals, to steer expensive cancer prescriptions from NUMC to Value Pharmacy, according to the investigation. Authorities found Value Pharmacy also submitted false claims to Medicaid for medications it never dispensed.



In addition to his prison sentence, Mr. Golin received five years' probation. He will be required to pay $1.5 million in restitution to the state and another $1.5 million in fines.



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Newark, N.J.-based University Hospital, the state's only public hospital, reversed plans to outsource pediatric inpatient services to another Newark facility, a hospital spokesperson told NJ.com.

The backpedal follows pushback from physicians and nurses who claimed moving pediatric inpatient care from the 519-bed hospital to Newark Beth Israel Medical Center would be a "death blow" for Newark's children. Newark Beth Israel Medical Center is 3 miles from University Hospital. Opponents also worried pulling back inpatient pediatric care would jeopardize the hospital's Level 1 trauma status.



John Kastanis, CEO of University Hospital, said reducing pediatric services was necessary given the low volumes of child patients at the hospital. Mr. Kastanis told NJ.com University Hospital often closed its pediatric intensive care unit, and only three to four children used inpatient services each day.



University Hospital has since withdrawn its application to reduce its pediatric services from the New Jersey Department of Health. A hospital spokesperson told the publication, "While our proposal was based on the clinical needs and volume of patients we see in the pediatric inpatient program, based on the feedback we have received and our ongoing assessment, we have decided to keep the unit operating at its current level."
Hospitals and health systems are increasingly implementing programs to identify and support human trafficking victims, reports Kaiser Health News.

Huntington (N.Y.) Hospital, part of New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell Health, has a human trafficking response program task force created by Santhosh Paulus, MD, site director of the hospital's family medicine residency program. The taskforce includes staff members trained by Restore NYC, an anti-trafficking organization. The taskforce has also trained the Huntington Hospital emergency department and Dolan Family Health Center staff to identify potential human trafficking victims and help them. . Dr. Paulus said he expects similar efforts across Northwell hospitals, the report said.

Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston launched its human trafficking initiative in 2008 "to frame human trafficking as a public health issue and advance anti-trafficking efforts in research, education, policy and clinical care within the health sector."

San Francisco-based Dignity Health started a human trafficking response program in hospital emergency departments and labor and delivery areas, according to KHN, which reported the system plans to expand those efforts to clinics and physicians' offices. And Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives has implemented various human trafficking prevention efforts in Kentucky and Houston.

Healthcare organizations' efforts come as ICD-10 codes to help providers document sex and labor exploitation are scheduled to take effect in October.

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Google's home automation business Nest has been in talks with senior living homes about developing new products to help seniors live independently for longer, sources tell CNBC.

Nest's ideas about revolutionizing senior living are only in the discussion stages. However, the company is considering using its motion sensors to automatically turn on lights to help seniors get to the bathroom at night, or tracking the movements of seniors during dangerously hot days to warn them about their risk of dehydration. Another idea involves predicting life-threatening falls by detecting changes in a senior's movement, along with other common occurrences before a fall.

Some Nest products are already well-suited for senior care. For example, its camera products and smart locks can be used by family members or caregivers to check in on their loved ones.

Sources told CNBC the employee in charge of Nest's projects for the elderly is Grant Wedner. He joined Google in October 2017 in a position described as "Something Interesting" on his LinkedIn.

Other technology companies, like Amazon, are also exploring the aging space. Since 2015, Amazon has been meeting with the AARP, a lobbying group that supports older Americans, to discuss various collaborations and share research. Although no specifics have been released, an April CNBC report suggested Amazon could be developing products and services to help seniors "age in place," a term that describes older Americans' desires to remain at home, as opposed to in nursing homes. Amazon's products might focus on aiding seniors with monitoring devices and other sensors.
The Arkansas Department of Health is urging residents to get vaccinated for hepatitis A amid an outbreak in the northeast part of the state, according to Arkansas Online.

The state has reported 60 hepatitis A cases since February and one death. All cases occurred in adults. Eighty percent of reported cases in Arkansas have been attributed to Greene County.The state Department of Health will offer the hepatitis A vaccine free of charge to Greene County residents at two locations in Paragould, Ark., on July 26 and 27. Residents between age 19 and 60 are strongly urged to get vaccinated.

Arkansas joins the ranks of several other states affected by A outbreaks, such as Tennessee and Kentucky.

"There are hep A outbreaks happening across the United States, and some of them currently include hundreds of people," said Dirk Haselow, MD, PhD, state epidemiologist and medical director of outbreak response. "We have the benefit of being able to look at what other states are doing to help us manage our own outbreak. We believe that taking this step will help curb this outbreak and keep people from getting sick."

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Although insurers and governments have tried to measure physicians' caliber using various metrics, what constitutes a success in medicine  and who's responsible for it  is often unclear, a physician writes in The Washington Post.

Here are seven insights from the op-ed by Dhruv Khullar, MD, who works at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City:

1. Despite efforts to measure and incentivize the quality of physicians' care, providers often have less control over outcomes than patients think, Dr. Khullar says.

"Patients want longer lives, but they also want healthier lives, care that is more compassionate and more convenient, and judicious use of tests and treatments," Dr. Khullar writes. "Doctors work in teams as just parts of an increasingly complex health system, and they are often less in control of outcomes than we think, especially when treating patients with challenging social circumstances and coexisting medical conditions."

2. "Measurement techniques may grow increasingly sophisticated, but doctors are not ballplayers, and healthcare statistics are not as simple as a batting average," Dr. Khullar writes. Despite this, payers use pay-for-performance incentives to improve how physicians care for patients.

3. One example of this effort is Medicare's Value-Based Payment Modifier, which measures the quality and cost of care while giving physicians bonuses or imposing penalties as necessary.

But a recent study suggests the VM program showed no benefit in improving care or cutting costs. "The program's failure adds to a body of evidence finding that financial incentives generally have not been shown to improve patient outcomes," Dr. Khullar writes.

4. Patients pay a price for these programs as well, Dr. Khullar says. "Financial incentives can encourage doctors to avoid sick or socially disadvantaged patients, who are harder to care for and who may negatively affect their quality ratings," he writes. Many payment programs, including the VM program, don't adjust for patients' illness severity or socioeconomic status, Dr. Khullar says. "So if I'm trying to pad my stats, it makes sense to gerrymander my patient panel into the richest, healthiest, most-educated panel possible."

5. But having some measurement in place is still critical to ensure physicians are honest and patients are informed, Dr. Khullar says. "One step may be to solicit more physician input into the measures they feel most accurately capture the value of their care," he writes. "Another is to ensure that all measures are carefully adjusted for patients' medical and social complexity."

6. Although physicians are skeptical of online reviews, these sources of feedback could be a big part of the solution, Dr. Khullar writes. "Already, more than three-quarters of patients use online reviews to find a new doctor, though concerns persist about their accuracy and representativeness," he says.

7. "Despite prolonged and costly attempts, insurers and governments have not been able to accurately measure a doctor's value and won't be able to anytime soon," Dr. Khullar concludes, recalling a "legendary" co-resident who made diagnoses others hadn't heard of and rushed patients to lifesaving procedures when they showed the smallest clinical change.

"No currently available measures, for example, would have captured my co-resident's worth as a physician," Dr. Khullar writes. "And yet, every doctor in our program knew of his worth, and every patient he cared for benefited."
U.S. Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., sent a letter to President Donald Trump asking him to push Congress to repeal the medical device tax.

1. Every day this tax remains, we continue to slow medical advancements and hinder patient care, job creation and investments, Mr. Young wrote in the letter. Patients depend on cutting edge, life-saving technologies in order to live longer, healthier lives.

2. The U.S. House of Representatives could vote on a medical device tax repeal bill early this week.

3. The 2.4 percent tax on medical devices was introduced as part of the ACAto help pay for the laws insurance expansion.

4. The tax applies to devices such as pacemakers, surgical gloves and hospital beds.

5. Politicians on both sides of the aisle support repealing the tax.

6. Mr. Young received the third most campaign contributions from medical device makers, according to OpenSecrets.org.
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council has appointed its first digital ambassador.

A spokesman said the borough's 'digital transformation' will now be looked after by 'NI tech leader' Aaron Taylor.

Mr Taylor is a founding member of Belfast's Ormeau Baths start-up hub and is managing partner at Frankly, a venture development company.

An adviser to several start-up tech and digital companies in London and Belfast, Mr Taylor was also a co-founder of the tech event ICONS Festival.

The council, which earlier this year pitched for and secured 2.4m of UK government funding to help increase broadband speeds and boost borough-wide connectivity, has developed a new a digital strategy.

ABC said its strategy will be delivered through working with firms in the sector including Catalyst Inc, formerly known as the Northern Ireland Science Park, as well as universities and colleges.

It will involve the development of a three-year delivery plan headed by Mr Taylor.
The former St Colmans Abbey is next to a proposed health hub

The site of a former Northern Ireland school has gone on the market for 450,000.

The 29,586 sq ft former home of St Colman's Abbey Primary School on Newry's Courtney Hill has been available since the school amalgamated with St Clare's Convent to become St Clare's Abbey PS in 2015.

Property agent Lambert Smyth Hampton (LSH) said the school building "is in need of refurbishment but represents an excellent redevelopment opportunity and lends itself to a variety of uses subject to planning".

The land neighbouring the school has already been earmarked for a 60m healthcare facility.

The Newry Community Treatment Care Centre has been in the planning process since 2016.

In its first application, O'Hare Developments proposed that land next to the school be used for the development of a community treatment care centre, parking, including an area of decked parking with access from Abbey Way and Courtney Hill.

New buildings will be part of the project.

Lambert Smith Hampton said: "We understand the proposed development involved GPG O'Hare, a Newry-based healthcare consortium, and the promoter is Southern Health and Social Care Trust.

"Facilities like the one proposed are already up and running in Portadown and Banbridge.

"It is understood the investment is proposed to be in the region of 60m.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Belfast Telegraph schoolday pictures: Gerry Anderson on a childhood family holiday Memories are made of this Gerry Anderson on a family holiday in Donegal Never forgotten: Gerry Anderson passed away in August after long illness Old School pictures: Saddle up - a very young Gerry Adams Gerry Adams says it is important that the historic handshake between the Queen and Martin McGuinness is seen as more than just a gesture PA Wire/Press Association Images Nadine Coyle of Girls Aloud fame during hers days at Thornhill College Nadine Coyle A bit grainy but there's no mistaking Nadine Coyle's smile at Thornhill College in 1996 Nadine Coyle/Girls Aloud. PACEMAKER BELFAST 15/04/98 IAN PAISLEY AS A 12 YEAR OLD BOY PACEMAKER BELFAST 15/04/98 Rev Ian Paisley pictured on his weding day to wife Eileen Date unknown 27/1/12 PACEMAKER BELFAST. The Rev. Ian Paisley poses with fellow clergy before the Special Farewell Service in his honour after 65 years of Ministry at the Martyrs Memorial Church, on the Ravenhill Road, Belfast. Picture CHARLES MCQUILLAN/PACEMAKER Kate Middleton is pictured aged five. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are now the owners of a cocker spaniel puppy Kate Middleton, before scaling to the heights of Baroness Carrickfergus and Duchess of Cambridge, pictured aged three on a family holiday in the Lake District. Seamus Heaney as a past pupil at Annahorish Primary School in Toome. Seamus Heaney...Irish poet Seamus Heaney, 1995. (Photo by Steve Pyke/Getty Images)...Ent Eamonn Holmes:Tv Presenter/celebrating his fourth birthday at the family home on New Lodge Road Eamonn Holmes:Tv Presenter/celebrating his fourth birthday at the family home on New Lodge Road On ITV's Telethon in 1988. Eamonn stepped in at the last minute when original anchor Gerry Kelly, fell ill. Eamonn Holmes has apologised for This Morning's gaffe PA Archive/Press Association Images Liam Neeson ... can you spot the Ulster schoolboy who was destined for great things? Next picture solves the mystery. Liam Neeson, pictured during his Ulster schooldays... centre of back row. Liam Neeson PA Jimmy Nesbitt and family during the Seventies Jimmy Nesbitt - the cheeky grin being perfected at a young age Jimmy Nesbitt Liam Neeson is said to be in talks to reprise his role as retired CIA agent Bryan Mills PA Lara and Zoe Salmon Zoe Salmon Zoe Salmon Lara and Zoe Salmon Van Morrison Van Morrison Van Morrison Belfast Telegraph BBC presenter Stephen Nolan. Pic by Ian Magill. 1/10/09.David O'Dornan interview. Ian Magill Down the years....Stephen Nolan - Belfast Telegraph's Old School pictures A young Stephen Nolan. A young Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins 73. Someone once threw a petrol bomb at Alex Higgins and he drank it! Paul Cousans Young Alex Higgins front left.jpg Old School Pictures - from Daniel ODonnell (above) to Nadine Coyle Old School pictures: Young Daniel O'Donnell - what's that on top of the gate post? Daniel O'Donnell: Irish Country Singer 1985 Daniel O'Donnell will crown the 2003 Mary of Dungloe on Sunday, August 3 Taking off: Paddy Ashdown doing the high jump at Garth House School, Bangor in 1950 An Audience with Paddy Ashdown George Best pictured with other prefects at Lisnasharragh High School, Belfast, 1961. George is pictured second left, centre row. George Best, centre, at Lisnasharragh High School in 1961. http://photosales.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/media/ljVDYEisysnph1buZfa8NA..a George Best Photopress Staff Darren Clarke back in 1985 as part of the Fred Daley Team Darren Clarke back in 1985 as part of the Fred Daley Team British Open Champion Darren Clarke at his local bar the Bayview Hotel with the Claret Jug Darren Clarke 1985 in his Junior Ireland Blazer SANDWICH, ENGLAND - JULY 17: Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland holds the Claret Jug following his victory at the end of the final round of The 140th Open Championship at Royal St George's on July 17, 2011 in Sandwich, England. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images) Ross Kinnaird / Facebook

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"The proposed centre would cover in excess of 13,000 sq m and would serve as a one stop shop health hub," added LSH.

Stuart Draffin, head of agency in Belfast, said the St Colman's site presents many opportunities: "The building may lend itself to a wide range of uses including office, leisure, complementary health care or residential."

The former school is internally finished with plastered and painted walls, wooden and vinyl flooring and fluorescent strip lighting with oil fired central heating.

The proposed centre is designed to be user-friendly and to become a hub for the community housing many different services.

The site is one of many planned around Northern Ireland.

Benmore Group is behind what would be Northern Ireland's biggest health park at the King's Hall in south Belfast, the former site of the Balmoral Show.

St Colman's Abbey Primary School made the headlines earlier this year when its former headmaster, Paul Dunleavey, appeared in court over 41 sexual offences against children during the 1960s and 1970s. The case is ongoing.
Top business body the Institute of Directors (IoD) has called on the Irish and UK governments to intensify their efforts to help restore the Northern Ireland Executive.

IoD Northern Ireland chairman Gordon Milligan told business leaders in Londonderry that recent violence in the city showed a "political vacuum" had developed due to the absence of a functioning Assembly.

Petrol bombs were thrown at police officers over six nights of disturbances in Derry earlier this month, while there was also violence in east Belfast.

Mr Milligan said events such as the Foyle Maritime Festival, which took place last week, were a more fitting reflection of the city's spirit.

Speaking during the festival, Mr Milligan said: "We have been without an Executive for the last 19 months in Northern Ireland.

"Worryingly we have seen what happens when a political vacuum emerges as witnessed in Derry and east Belfast recently.

"This small minority are determined to bring us back to the old days, but being here today and seeing the hustle and bustle of the Foyle Maritime Festival and Clipper race reflects the true spirit of this city."

The IoD said that around 1bn in investment is being held up due the absence of the Executive.

A judicial review decision by the High Court overturning the granting of planning permission by civil servants to a controversial 240m waste incinerator in Mallusk has meant that no big public spending decisions are being made.

Mr Milligan added: "As citizens we deserve better, our children deserve more.

"That's why today we are calling on British and Irish governments and all the political parties to leverage the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference this week to redouble their efforts and work together to achieve the earliest operation of the devolved institutions."

During her two-day visit last week, Prime Minister Theresa May said she regretted that Northern Ireland had been without an Executive for so long and she called for a fresh round of talks to restore power-sharing.
Co Tyrone company Mallaghan Engineering is set to double its staff by hiring 210 people in response to continued growth as pre-tax profits surge to 3.3m.

The Dungannon firm designs and makes ground support equipment for the aviation industry, with more than 70% of its sales outside the EU.

Among the products it has in production is a prototype airport bus.

Mallaghan plans to recruit 210 additional staff over the next five years, generating over 5m in annual salaries.

Economic development agency Invest NI is providing 3m to support the company's growth plans.

The expansion will increase the capacity of Mallaghan's factory, as well as adding new manufacturing equipment and introducing an extensive skills training programme.

The company's latest accounts released on Friday showed it had 207 staff on the books last year and its annual turnover rose 11.3% from 41.7m to 46.4m. Pre-tax profits increased by 18.7% from 2.7m in 2016 to 3.3m in 2017.

Mallaghan's managing director Martin O'Hanlon said that while the prospect of Brexit continues to "vex" the company, it had not deterred its growth plans.

He added there were no contingency plans being considered to set up company bases elsewhere in the EU. However, the firm has a number of international subsidiaries that support the sale end of its business, including premises in Singapore and in the United States.

"To say that Brexit doesn't vex us and doesn't give us some concerns, it absolutely does," said Mr O'Hanlon.

"We will cope, we will adapt and we will continue to grow."

Visiting the factory yesterday, Invest NI's chief executive Alastair Hamilton said growth in the aerospace sector in places like the Far East and Middle East was "phenomenal" despite other accounts suggesting a decline in manufacturing in Northern Ireland.

Company chief executive Ronan Mallaghan described the firm as "one of the fastest-growing airport ground support equipment manufacturers worldwide". Martin O'Hanlon said the company has been growing year-on-year.

"We see this as a growth sector globally. We can't influence what's going to happen in the medium term, we have to get on with what we do now to try and grow our business."

Among the customers touring the site yesterday were delegations from Japan and Egypt. "We encourage people to come and visit us," he said. "We like to show off our premises, we like to show off our products, indeed we like to show off Northern Ireland."

Its products include high lift trucks for catering, baggage conveyors and various forms of passenger stairs. And Mallaghan believes autonomous vehicles will be the way forward.

"We see autonomous technology as the future for this industry, so we're investing in that and there'll be R&D projects around autonomous vehicles for airport," said Mr O'Hanlon.

He said the company plan to work with schools, further education colleges and universities to help address the longer term need for skilled staff.

Describing the ongoing recruitment, he said: "It's a whole cross-section of jobs from on floor engineers, to design engineers, manufacturing engineers, sales finance and IT. There are various jobs and opportunities."
Belfast Zoo is celebrating the birth of a blesbok calf.

The latest arrival was born to mother, Ariel and father, Aurthur on May 28.

Zoo keepers were giving Ariel and her calf time to bond and have therefore only recently discovered that the arrival is a female who has now been named Betty Bantu, after the African Bantu tribe.

Most other antelope species would hide the young in the surrounding undergrowth to avoid predators but blesbok calves are able to walk and follow their mothers within an hour of being born.

Males in the group are therefore responsible for warning if a predator is close, by grunting or snorting an early warning to the herd.

Blesbok are a species of antelope and are indigenous to the open grasslands of South Africa.

They get their name from the word bles which in African means blaze. This refers to the very broad white striped marking on the face. Both males and females have horns which can be up to 38 centimetres long.

Zoo manager, Alyn Cairns, said: The blesbok was first discovered by settlers in the 17th century and their numbers were said to be so vast that they filled the horizon and as far as the eye could see.

"However, this antelope was hunted for its skin and meat and by the 19th century, they were facing the very real threat of extinction. Protective and conservation measures have were put in place and the population has since made an impressive recovery, sufficiently increasing to the point that the species has now been removed from the endangered list."

Alyn added: More species are facing extinction than ever before and it is our responsibility to play an active and vital conservation role to ensure the future survival of species under threat."
The day an emotional and happy Nina and Robert took Malvina from the baby home

It took Nina Noddings two gruelling years to adopt her beautiful daughter, Malvina, from Russia and just five months to capture the highs and lows of the painstaking journey in an inspirational new book. In what is a must read for anyone considering adopting a child from overseas, Malvina The Special Little Girl Who Stole Our Hearts is a touching, yet practical, story of one couple's determination to become new parents.

Nina (45), who lives in Lisburn, has worked for various local charities, but has now given up her job to look after her daughter full-time - and write her moving memoir.

She describes her new book as "an adoption story of highs and lows, tragedy and love, despair and perseverance".

Both Nina and her husband, Rob (57), who is a dog control manager in Belfast City Council, have come through an emotionally and financially fraught journey to get little Malvina - a beautiful, mischievous, brown-eyed six-year-old.

Little Malvina was abandoned as a baby by Ukrainian gypsies and spent the first two years of her life in a baby home in St Petersburg.

She was two years and nine months old when her parents adopted her and took her first to the Cayman Islands, where they lived at the time, and then to Northern Ireland, where Rob was born and the family has now settled.

The couple had to support their new little girl through emotional and physical issues as she adapted to her new life outside an institution.

Today, little Malvina is a confident and well-adjusted, happy child preparing to settle into her P2 year at Moira Primary School.

Nina, who has written her book under the pen name Nina Harper, wanted to share their story as a record for Malvina and also to highlight the issue of international adoption.

Many people are put off overseas adoption because they fear it might be too difficult or complex.

And while it was a difficult process, the couple saw first-hand the great need for adoptive parents in Russia and hope that the book will encourage more people to consider it.

Nina says: "International adoption has undergone many changes in recent years, many of which are positive.

"There are thousands of children in need of permanent families.

"If anyone is considering adopting, we hope this book will perhaps give them the confidence to consider adopting children from across the world.

"Bringing an adopted child into your home and providing love and support will help them to be the best they can be, and to reach their full potential.

"And that is the best reason of all."

Rob, who is from Banbridge, moved with his parents as a child to England, where he met Nina. The couple, who have been married 18 years, lived in England for a number of years before moving to the Cayman Islands.

Rob is a father to three grown-up children, Robbie (33), Hayley (32) and Micah (27).

Nina says she had no desire to have children of her own and instead was happy to devote her time to her step- children.

That all changed quite suddenly when she turned 36 and was surprised to find herself developing strong maternal feelings.

However, in a tragic twist, the couple discovered they couldn't conceive naturally and what followed was a tough three-year series of failed IVF treatments.

"I didn't want children at all and I fell in love with Rob's three children and that was enough for me," says Nina.

"I couldn't describe it, but when I turned 36, something clicked with me and it wouldn't go away. It was a slow burn, but it became all encompassing and I really wanted to have a child.

"Rob and I discovered we couldn't conceive naturally and we never did get to the bottom of why.

"We started IVF in 2007 and had seven rounds of it. I got pregnant on the sixth go and lost it six weeks in.

"After the seventh time, we both felt that financially and emotionally we were done with that. It was an exhausting and emotionally draining rollercoaster."

The couple decided on adoption, but because they lived in the Cayman Islands, found it was going to be very difficult, legally, to adopt a child from home, so they decided to look overseas.

It was a journey into an unknown world of complicated red tape, which saw them rule out a number of countries based solely on the many legal hurdles they would have to overcome.

Nina explains: "I do cover it in my book, but for example in Bulgaria, it takes seven years to adopt a child and as we were older parents, we felt we just didn't have that time.

"We had no idea how to go about it and just googled at the start for information.

"We tried to work with a few overseas adoption agencies, but that was a nightmare, too, and eventually we found a great agency, the Russia and Eastern European Adoption Association, and a wonderful woman, Larissa Mason, who was a great support to us."

Over the next two years, the couple sold their home and used credit cards to help fund the huge adoption costs, which totalled around 32,000.

Before they could be considered for adoption, they had to have a home study report prepared, which involved a detailed inspection over six months by social workers of their home life to establish if they would make good parents. Once accepted by the Cayman Adoption Board, they then had many more obstacles to overcome in the Russian legal system to get little Malvina.

Finding their daughter was also a tough part of the process, as Nina explains: "We had to fill in a form stating the colour of eyes we wanted, the colour of hair, whether we wanted a boy or girl, what age etc and it felt a bit like shopping and it didn't sit very comfortably with us.

"It just didn't feel natural, yet it was an essential part of the process to match you to the child you wanted.

"They then sent us videos of four kids, which included a set of twins, and we were to watch the videos and pick a child, which again felt very odd, but was an essential part of the process."

Naturally, Malvina was one of those children and the couple were surprised how they knew instantly watching that short video of what was a very frightened little two-year-old that they had found their daughter.

"This little thing popped up on our screens and took my breath away. She was beautiful and she looked so unsure and so wary at first," Nina says.

"Then a couple of minutes into the video, the camera zoomed in on her face and there was this little frown which said, 'Get out of my space'.

"I thought instantly she's got courage, she has guts. I just knew that little girl was going to be my daughter and, thankfully, Rob saw what I saw."

The couple were allowed to visit Malvina in her baby home for the first time in April 2014, when they got to spend three hours with her in two one-and-a-half hour sessions each day for three days, watched closely by staff from the home.

"I was worried that she wouldn't like us. She walked into the room in this pink dress with pink and yellow tights," she says.

"More than anything, I didn't want to scare her.

"We had a little bear with us and books and clothes for her and it was very intimate and personal.

"Most of the staff in the home were female, so she was a bit wary of men and Rob backed off and sat down to play with her.

"She was quite bossy and was soon telling him what to do and she has had him wrapped around her little finger ever since that moment."

Due to regulations, the couple had to wait until October 2014 before they could take their little girl home.

When that day finally arrived, they were handed Malvina and told she had to leave everything, including her clothes behind.

It was a jubilant and emotional experience taking their little girl from a government-run home - where she shared a room with 15 other children - into the world for the first time.

Even her car journey to the airport was a first for the two-year-old, as was her flight to London to meet family members and then on to her new home in the Cayman Islands.

The book covers the emotions the couple felt on getting their little girl home and also details the lengthy legal process and what was involved.

There were challenges, too, for little Malvina, as she struggled to settle into a new world and learn to trust and develop confidence.

Nina adds: "Malvina is a different person now and so am I. She has taught me a lot about myself.

"Rob and I have learnt a lot about each other, too, and for me to finally have a child who calls me mummy and reaches for my hand is something I never thought would happen to me.

"I just sit and watch her and when she says, 'Mummy, I love you', it is the best thing in the world.

"So many people give up, but we are living proof it can be done.

"It really has been a journey of blood, sweat and tears, but it was worth every bit of that.

"If I can help anyone who is thinking about adopting overseas, I will and I have set up a Nina Harper Facebook page and Instagram account to reach out to others."

Malvina The Special Little Girl Who Stole Our Hearts by Nina Harper is available on kindle and paperback from Amazon.co.uk
Calls have been made for a halt to development near a Neolithic site in Co Down after the hot weather unveiled what could be 'miracle markings' showing undiscovered archaeological finds.

The discovery has been made at Knock Iveagh in Banbridge, where a major wind turbine project has been underway since 2013.

Recent hot weather across Northern Ireland has dried the ground, and activists believe these show major archaeological discoveries hidden just beneath the surface at the site.

Aerial images of the area show distinctive markings on the sun-dried fields.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, spokeswoman for Save Knock Iveagh Arlene Copeland said: "We have always suspected there is a lot more to that surrounding area, weve always felt like there was more there.

"This recent spell of dry weather has given us the push to have a look. Almost like a miracle there were loads and loads of really fascinating crop marks. We are buzzing."

Mrs Copeland added her group was called on the Department of Communities' Historic Environment Division to carry out a Lidar survey of the area - a process which would use laser technology to carry out an advanced survey of the area.

Banbridge native and Trinity College Dublin research fellow Dr Gavin Hughes said the discovery was a "rare opportunity" to confirm "the immense scale and archaeological potential of the entire Knock Iveagh landscape".

"The emergence of so many potentially unrecorded or lost archaeological features is extremely exciting news. Given similar new discoveries from the UK and Ireland, it also ably shows us that areas supposedly considered not to be of any archaeological interest can actually be very valuable - but vulnerable - resources," he said.

Construction of wind turbines at the site has drawn controversy since planning permission was granted five years ago.

Permission was granted by the Department of the Environment, but since the reorganisation of local councils in Northern Ireland, the role of granting planning permission has passed to Armagh Banbridge and Craigavon Council.

Last year a temporary stop notice was issued last October, which prevented work at the site for 28 days after a Council meeting.

Calls for work to be halted at the site while further archaeological investigation takes place at the site has been made by local Sinn Fein MP Chris Hazzard.

Mr Hazzard said construction at the site should be halted immediately with crop marks having appeared as a result of the recent hot weather, seeming to identify a rath or ring fort "from the early medieval period surrounded by linear features radiating outwards".

Initial examinations of the images suggest that it was a very strongly defended large enclosure which would have also served as an important Royal centre or Assembly site.

In recent days the Department for Infrastructure have confirmed that they are to review the planning process which resulted in permission being granted for a turbine adjacent to this site."

The 5,000-year-old Knock Iveagh burial cairn is famed for its panoramic views, with visitors able to see Slieve Guillion, Slieve Donard, Lough Neagh and the Antrim plateau.

A spokesman for Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon District Council said it would be making no comment in response to Mr Hazzard's comments.

A Department for Communities spokeperson said: "The Department has been forwarded a number of images depicting crop marks and potential new archaeological sites around Knock Iveagh. Some images enhance our understanding of already recorded sites in the area, including a large enclosure to the north-west of the hill.

"As a result of the particularly dry weather, this has been revealed to contain a previously unrecognised central circular feature.

"We will be carrying out further work in the coming weeks to assess the crop marks and, where we can establish that there are new archaeological sites, we will add these as new entries to the Northern Ireland Sites and Monuments Record. Entries in the Record are a material consideration under planning policy.
Britain First leader Paul Golding(centre) arrives at Belfast Magistrates Court, along with the deputy leader Jayda Fransen(left), where he was appearing after being charged with making a hate speech at Belfast City Hall last summer. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Far-right group Britain First are set to hold their first official meeting in Northern Ireland this weekend.

Controversial Belfast City Councillor Jolene Bunting revealed details of the meeting on social media.

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It will take place on Saturday July 28 in Newtownards.

Councillor Bunting claimed that it was the "first official meeting of Britain First in Northern Ireland".

Britain First leader Paul Golding is expected to attend the event following his release from prison in May, his deputy Jayda Fransen remains in prison.

In March the pair were sentenced to 18 weeks and nine months respectively for religiously aggravated harassment at Folkestone Magistrates Court.

Their imprisonment meant that the pair could no longer attend a contest in Northern Ireland set for April.

Golding, 36, and Fransen, 32, were being prosecuted over speeches delivered in Belfast.

The pair were charged with using threatening, abusive or insulting words.

Ms Fransen also caused a stir in January when she gave a speech from the Lord Mayor's Chair at Belfast City Hall, while on a tour of the facility with Councillor Bunting.
Two brothers have avoided prison for subjecting female medical staff at a Belfast hospital to "appalling" verbal abuse.

Sean and Liam McAuley each received four-month suspended jail terms after being convicted of disorderly behaviour within the Royal Victoria Hospital.

The pair, aged 32 and 24, were arrested over an incident at the accident and emergency department in the early hours of February 12.

Belfast Magistrates' Court heard police called to the ward were told staff felt uncomfortable treating one of the brothers because of their behaviour.

A prosecution lawyer said: "A doctor informed police that the males were banging on the doors, demanding treatment and calling both herself and other female nurses f****** sluts."

Despite being asked by officers to seek treatment elsewhere, both allegedly refused to leave the hospital.

They were then detained after ignoring warnings about continued shouting and swearing, the court heard.

According to the prosecution Sean McAuley, of Farringdon Court in Belfast, then stated: "Yeah, I swore and slabbered at the doctor, but so what? She made snide remarks to me and my brother."

Together with Liam McAuley, from Regent Street in the city, he continues to deny the disorderly behaviour charge.

Defence solicitor Ciaran Toner confirmed both men plan to appeal their conviction.

But District Judge Fiona Bagnall told him: "On the basis of the finding of the court this is an appalling situation where staff were subjected to that type of verbal abuse and felt threatened."

Sentencing the brothers to four months in custody each, she suspended the terms for 18 months.
Northern Ireland's Victims Commissioner has warned of the danger of a poor response rate to the Government's public consultation on legacy issues.

Judith Thompson today expressed her fears that a low-key information campaign could result in thousands of victims missing out on the chance to have their say on the proposed new institutions to deal with the past.

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Describing it as "the most important public consultation since the Good Friday Agreement", Ms Thompson said it was vital victims came forward with their views in the next seven weeks before the consultation ends.

She called on the Government, local politicians, councils and other groups to support more events to reach out to the thousands of victims who have never told their story but have a "major contribution" to make.

She was speaking as details of a survey were released showing that just over a quarter of people (26%) here said they were affected by the conflict and 58% thought it either very important or important to deal with the past. Almost three-quarters of those surveyed (73%) said they supported a pension for the severely injured.

The survey was carried out by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)last autumn. It showed varying degrees of support for the legacy institutions contained in the Stormont House Agreement.

There was 55% support for the establishment of a Historical Investigations Unit; 37% for the Implementation and Reconciliation Group, and 33% for the Independent Commission for Information Retrieval.

The consultation on the proposed legacy institutions will end on September 10, Ms Thompson said. "This is probably the most important public consultation process since the Good Friday Agreement referendum. Yet the lack of a high-profile public information campaign could result in thousands of victims and survivors in Northern Ireland missing out on the opportunity to have a say on the institutions designed to give them access to justice, information and services."

The consultation was "our best opportunity to have a meaningful say in the design and delivery of the proposed institutions", she said.

Yet local politicians had been "virtually silent" on the need for individual victims who weren't involved in groups to be informed and encouraged to have their say on the future institutions, Ms Thompson stated.

"To date, the public debate has centred around an issue that is not in the proposed legislation. A statute of limitations or an amnesty for security services cannot be delivered in isolation from others who have caused harm.

"This is a distraction that is in danger of generating a disproportionate response to the consultation from Great Britain and will effectively turn off potential respondents in Northern Ireland," she said.

The Victims Commissioner announced the launch of a series of outreach events across Northern Ireland.

While various victims' organisations did tremendous work and represented up to 20,000 people, more than 200,000 individuals had been affected by the conflict, she noted. "These are the silent majority who need to be supported and we cannot expect them to be engaged with a single Government announcement and referral to a website," she added.

Kenny Donaldson of Innocent Victims United said: "The opening of the Government's consultation over the summer months always meant it would be challenging to mobilise victims and survivors."

He said his group had held eight consultation events in Northern Ireland, Dublin, and Britain so far, attended by 510 victims.

"Certainly no victims of terrorism are doing cartwheels about the institutions proposed in the consultation document. There is also anger among victims in the Republic that the document encourages a response from those in the UK but ignores them."

Victims and Survivors Forum member Emmett McConomy described the "very muted" launch of the Government's consultation period as disappointing.

"This is a great opportunity for victims to have their voices recorded - it's the first chance in 30 years," he said.

"We have nothing to lose and everything to gain by taking part. We're very good at complaining in this country but now we have a chance to do something about it. Nobody should sit on the fence.

"The low-key launch of the legacy consultation has caused it to go the radar of some. But I hope the uptake will be huge and there is an onus on victims and survivors to come forward."

Mr McConomy was seven-years-old when his 11-year-old brother Stephen was killed by a plastic bullet fired by a British soldier just yards from his home in the Bogside. He was shot in the head. No soldier has ever been charged in connection with his death.
A 41-year old who was "so stupefied with a cocktail of drink and prescription drugs" that he has no memory of glassing another man was handed a suspended sentence.

Sean Joseph McCloskey smashed a glass he was holding against the side of a van, then struck another man in the face with it during an early morning altercation on Dungiven's Main Street.

McCloskey - who suffers from mental health issues - was handed a 12-month prison sentence, which was suspended for three years, after he admitted wounding the other man in November 2016.

The injured man sustained a 2.5cm laceration to his cheek which was treated at Altnagelvin Hospital with stitches.

Antrim Crown Court, sitting in Belfast, heard the incident occurred following a "prank" when the injured party pretended he was going to urine in McCloskey's direction.

Branding the incident as "an isolated attack consisting of a single strike", Judge Brian Sherrard said he accepted there was a lack of pre-meditation. The Judge also accepted that due to McCloskey's mental state - coupled with him mixing five prescribed drugs with alcohol - there was an "inability" on his part to understand what was happening.

From Ard Na Smoll in Dungiven, McCloskey was warned to stay out of trouble for the next three years, or risk being sent to prison.

Prior to passing sentence, Judge Sherrard was told that the incident occurred outside a bar at around 1am on Saturday November 12, 2016.

Crown prosecutor Suzanne Gallagher said the injured party had been socialising with two friends in a pub, and was standing chatting outside in the street, when one of the party shouted over to McCloskey, who was also on Main Street.

As the men stood in the street, the injured party started to urinate and "pretended" to urinate in McCloskey's direction "in a joking manner."

Telling the court the injured party believed McCloskey "would have appreciated it was in a joking manner", Ms Gallagher said "the next thing he knew, a male struck him with his right hand to the side of his face, with glass smashing around him as he was struck."

The injured man was taken to the A&E department at Altnagelvin, where his injury was cleaned and he was treated, then discharged with anti-biotics.

Ms Gallagher said the two friends who were with the injured party and who witnessed the incident both recalled seeing McCloskey smash a glass he was holding against the side of a van, and in a continual movement strike their friend in the face with it.

The barrister also told the court the injured man has been left with a facial scar, which had affected his confidence.

Regarding McCloskey, Ms Gallagher noted the amount of prescription drugs he took, and said: "He should have been aware that to mix these with high levels of alcohol would have a very significant impact ... as it did in this instance."

Defence barrister Paul Kearney said that despite having no recollection of the incident, his client displayed remorse from the outset, and continues to do so.

Revealing McCloskey was "so stupefied with a cocktail of drink and prescription drugs" that he has no memory of what happened, Mr Kearney said the incident has left him feeling remorseful, shameful and embarrassed about the injury he inflicted.

The barrister also spoke of a "disturbing occurrence" in McCloskey's childhood which he said contributed to his client's poor mental health, social isolation and alcohol abuse.

Noting a lack of violence on McCloskey's limited criminal record, and branding the incident as a "very serious attack" Judge Sherrard said: "It's clear everyone concerned in this matter had drink taken."

After handing McCloskey a suspended sentence, he was told by Judge Sherrard: "It is essential that you keep yourself out of trouble. This is not an opportunity you will be given again."
Sinn Fein has said the DUP must ensure Ian Paisley resigns for lobbying in defence of a Sri Lankan regime the party claimed was responsible for "mass murder, war crimes and gross human rights abuses".

North Antrim MLA Philip McGuigan said the party's response to its MP's case was a "litmus test" for its leadership.

The House of Commons is today expected to ratify the recommendation of the House of Commons Committee on Standards that the North Antrim MP be suspended for 30 days.

Mr Paisley failed to declare two luxury holidays paid for by the Sri Lankan government.

If ratified, his suspension will be the joint longest of any MP in almost 70 years. A by-election could be held if more than 10% of constituents in North Antrim sign a petition of recall.

The DUP is expected to appoint a disciplinary panel to decide if he has broken party rules and, if so, what punishment he should face.

Mr McGuigan said: "Much of the focus of the Ian Paisley scandal has revolved around his failure to declare two lavish family holidays paid for by the Sri Lankan government.

"That is understandable, given the focus on integrity in government following the DUP's involvement in a number of scandals, including RHI, NAMA, Red Sky and dark money for Brexit.

"These have all severely damaged public confidence in the political institutions, but this latest scandal also calls into the question where the DUP stands on fundamental questions of human rights."

Mr McGuigan said Amnesty International had said that serious human rights abuses were committed by the Sri Lankan regime during the conflict there.

"Yet, after receiving his gifts from the Sri Lankan government, Ian Paisley actively lobbied the British Prime Minister to oppose a United Nations resolution to establish an international investigation into the human rights abuses in Sri Lanka," he said.

"Does the DUP leadership really believe that it is acceptable to dismiss the fact that one of its MPs lobbied in defence of a regime that carried out mass murder, war crimes and gross human rights abuses?

"This is a litmus test for the DUP leadership and, if Ian Paisley does not do the right thing and voluntarily resign, his party should compel him to do so."

The declined to comment on the Sinn Fein statement.

East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson has said Mr Paisley should not face any punishment from the DUP for breaching parliamentary rules. He told the BBC that his colleague would be punished "very severely" by the House of Commons and "that should be the end of the matter".

Mr Wilson said: "He has admitted that he did wrong and he has apologised to the party, to Parliament and to his constituents for that. I do not believe there should be any additional sanction imposed on him."

The DUP officer team discussed the North Antrim MP's behaviour at a meeting on Saturday, but has not yet commented on the matter.

It is expected to appoint a disciplinary panel, which could impose possible sanctions, including suspending Mr Paisley from the party, withdrawing the whip from him, or imposing a financial penalty. It is most unlikely that the DUP would expel him.
The settlement the UK has agreed in principle over Brexit is made up of obligations and commitments it has already settled on, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said.

He was speaking in Zagreb as part of a tour of three European capitals to discuss Brexit and other issues relating to Britain leaving the EU next year.

The Taoiseach also said a hard border could not be contemplated.

"I think there is a real understanding from every member state that we need to avoid that, first of all through the withdrawal treaty and then through the final relationship," Mr Varadkar said.

Mr Varadkar visited the Croatian capital for meetings with president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic and prime minister Andrej Plenkovic.

He will travel to Romania today and will meet president Klaus Iohannis and prime minister Viorica Dancila.

Tanaiste Simon Coveney said he was optimistic about negotiations.

"Nobody wants a no deal Brexit, it would be catastrophic for Britain, but also very bad news for Ireland.

"The responsibility is on all of us to find a way forward and I'm optimistic we will," he added.

Meanwhile, Jeremy Hunt said only Russian President Vladimir Putin would welcome a no deal Brexit.

The Foreign Secretary said Mr Putin would rejoice if the UK and its allies failed to reach an agreement.

His comments strike a different tone from predecessor Boris Johnson who said a Brexit on World Trade Organisation terms "doesn't hold terrors" - and came despite Theresa May's insistence that "no deal is better than a bad deal".

The Prime Minister, who took her Cabinet to north-east England for an away day, insisted that she was having "constructive" talks with EU counterparts about the blueprint agreed by her Government at Chequers.

Mr Hunt, who was on a visit to Germany, warned about the dangers of the UK and EU accidentally stumbling into a "no deal" scenario.

If that happened "the only person rejoicing would be Vladimir Putin", he said.

The last gathering of Cabinet ministers away from Downing Street was at the Prime Minister's Chequers retreat to thrash out a Brexit blueprint.

This eventually led to the resignations of Secretary of State for Exiting the EU David Davis and Mr Johnson.

Her top team of ministers met for a special session in Gateshead yesterday before Mrs May went to Newcastle to answer questions from workers at an engineering firm.

The Prime Minister told staff at Reece Group about her efforts to sell the Chequers plan to the EU.

"What I see is people focusing their minds now on the impact the future relationship will have on their economies as well as ours," she said.
Ian Paisley has been suspended by the Democratic Unionist Party.

The North Antrim MP will also be excluded from the House of Commons for 30 sitting days from September 4 following a major breach of parliamentary rules.

Electoral authorities in Northern Ireland are to begin drawing up measures which could see him face a by-election if enough constituents demand it.

He has vowed to fight for his seat if he faces the electorate over his failure to declare two luxury family holidays paid for by the Sri Lankan government.

If a petition leads to a by-election, make no mistake about it, I will seek re-election as I have never run away from an election in my life and don't intend to do so nowIan Paisley

In March 2014, the senior Democratic Unionist lobbied against a proposed United Nations resolution to investigate alleged human rights abuses during a civil war on the Indian Ocean island without citing his financial benefits.

If 10% of his constituents sign a petition, an election will be called.

Sir Kevin Barron MP, chairman of the Commons Committee on Standards, said: We concluded that Mr Paisley had committed serious misconduct and that his actions were of a nature to bring the House of Commons into disrepute, which is a further breach of the code of conduct.

Because we regard this as an especially serious case, we have recommended that Mr Paisley be suspended from the service of the House for a period of 30 sitting days, starting on the fourth of September.

A DUP statement said it took the matter very seriously.

The party officers have decided to suspend Mr Ian Paisley MP from membership of the party pending further investigation into his conduct.

Sinn Fein deputy leader Michelle ONeill said Mr Paisleys colleagues in Westminster have overwhelmingly voted to impose the most serious sanction handed to any MP since 1949.

Sinn Fein deputy leader @moneillsf has said if the scandal does lead to a by-election in North Antrim, the DUP need to be clear whether they will endorse Ian Paisley as a candidate pic.twitter.com/jMZmAvlBNL  Sinn Fein (@sinnfeinireland) July 24, 2018

When you consider some of the sleaze, corruption and criminal scandals that have engulfed the British Parliament during that time, that is quite extraordinary.

Patrick Corrigan, head of Amnesty International in Northern Ireland, said the victims were those killed in Sri Lanka.

Mr Paisley saw fit to lobby the Prime Minister against a UN investigation into gross human rights violations, including the mass killing of civilians at the end of the Sri Lankan war, for which no adequate investigation has ever been carried out.

Mr Paisley told his local paper, the Ballymena Guardian, he deeply regretted his actions.

He said: There are also some who would have me booted out of Parliament and a by-election called to fill that vacancy.

They are opportunists, some with questionable motives, and I can tell them that I have no intention of going quietly into the night.

If a petition leads to a by-election, make no mistake about it, I will seek re-election as I have never run away from an election in my life and dont intend to do so now.

He is one of 10 pro-Brexit Democratic Unionists helping to prop up Theresa Mays minority Government.

Mr Paisley has denied having any ulterior motive for the genuine mistake in 2013, adding that he accepted his total failure and offered an unreserved apology to the House of Commons.

The Commons Standards Committee report said the cost of the hospitality may have been significantly more than Mr Paisleys 50,000 estimate, with the holidays including business-class air travel, accommodation at first-class hotels and more for him and his wider family.

The trips included meeting Sri Lankan government figures.
Police must explain progress in a case against three alleged paedophile hunters accused of targeting suspected sex offenders and trying to menace an investigative journalist, a judge ordered today.

Officers were directed to attend Belfast Magistrates' Court amid concerns at the time being taken to gather all outstanding evidence.

George Keenan, 34, Richard Curtis, 33, and Tim Heron, 28, face a series of charges linked to alleged meetings with named individuals at a number of locations in Northern Ireland.

They included counts of false imprisonment, attempting to cause suspects to leave places of occupation and common assault.

Keenan, of Glenwood Court in the Dunmurry area of Belfast; Curtis from Albert Road in Carrickfergus, Co Antrm; and Heron, of Cloverhill Vale in Bangor, Co Down, are also jointly charged in connection with an incident involving BBC reporter Kevin Magee earlier this year.

Mr Magee was allegedly confronted by a group at a coffee shop on Botanic Avenue in south Belfast.

Footage of the encounter showed the journalist, who was making a news report on the activities of paedophile hunter groups operating in Northern Ireland, then being followed outside as he made his way to a car.

The defendants are all charged with disorderly behaviour and attempting by force, threat or menace to cause Mr Magee to refrain from broadcasting a television interview.

Keenan and Heron are accused of obstruction as part of the same incident on February 6.

All three men are currently on bail while they wait for a preliminary enquiry to establish if they should be committed for trial.

One of their lawyers has claimed police had supplied group members with a "paedophile hunting manual" which involved a 19-point plan on how to achieve best evidence.

Those alleged instructions are expected to form the basis of an attempt to have the case against the three accused thrown out.

Their legal teams plan to argue charges should be dismissed because guidance from police on how to carry out their activities amounted to an abuse of executive power.

At Belfast Magistrates' Court today defence counsel Mark Farrell, who represents two of the accused, pressed for an update on proceedings.

A Crown lawyer confirmed the files have been allocated to a senior prosecutor, but disclosed that CCTV, video footage and social media evidence remains outstanding.

Stressing the case is approaching the six-month point, District Judge Fiona Bagnall responded: "All of the things you're mentioning are within the control of the police."

She listed a further review in two weeks time for full information to be provided.

Judge Bagnall added: "I want the officers here, and I want an explanation what they are doing about all of this outstanding material."
A large plume of thick black smoke has been seen over Newtownabbey after a large quantity of rubbish was set on fire on a former school site in the town.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service said that two crews are currently dealing with the fire at the former site of Newtownabbey Community High School near Rathcoole Drive and confirmed a "large quantity of rubbish" was on fire.

Big looking fire near Shore Rd, Newtownabbey! pic.twitter.com/L5XMDbOMHZ  othernine (@othernine) July 24, 2018

Firefighters were called to the scene at around 8.27pm.

The disused school was extensively damaged after vandals set fire to the site and stole building equipment in June last year.

Expand Close Large plume of smoke over Newtownabbey. Credit: Chris Woodhouse / Facebook

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Newtownabbey Community High School was closed in 2015 when it merged with Monkstown Community School to form a new school on the Monkstown site, called Abbey Community College.
A man has been charged after throwing a bottle of Buckfast at a police car in Craigavon.

The incident happened in the town at Monday lunchtime.

Police were dealing with a report of anti-social behaviour when the incident happened.

Writing on the PSNI Craigavon Facebook page, a police spokesperson said: "Throwing a bottle of Bucky at a police car when we're responding to deal with a report of anti social behavior isn't a great idea. Some would argue it's also a waste...

"Managing to throw a bottle of Bucky and have it not even smash...that's a party piece!

"Trick shot or not, it's disorderly behaviour and attempted criminal damage."

One man was charted to court for disorderly behaviour and attempted criminal damage while others were moved on from the area.
The only Catholic seminary in Northern Ireland is set to close its doors later this year.

St Malachy's Diocesan Seminary on Belfast's Cliftonville Road will close later this year.

The seminary has been in operation for the past 185 and was staffed by the Diocese of Down and Connor.

It operated alongside Queen's University of Belfast and allowed attendees to study a range of degree pathways at the university.

The seminary is being closed following the closure of the Department of Scholastic Philosophy at Queen's and the discontinuation of modules in scholastic philsophy.

"The closure of the diocesan seminary is a sad moment for all, not least for all those who have worked closely alongside the formation team and who have contributed immensely to the formation of the seminarians," a Diocese of Down and Conor statement read.

"However, in arriving at this difficult decision, the diocese and the seminary formation team have focused on what is in the best interests of the seminarians who are currently in formation.

"The Diocese of Down and Connor is deeply indebted to all those who have contributed to St Malachys Seminary over the years. In particular, it thanks the current formation team under the direction of Fr Michael Spence, the Rector of the Seminary."

The seminary was previously based at St Malachy's College on the Antrim Road before moving to its current premises in February 2013.

The facilities will continue to be used for various diocesan purposes and services.
Bernard Herscovici has a great deal of expertise in the wireless arena. He founded BelAir Networks and served as its CEO until the company became part of Ericsson (News - Alert) in 2012. He was president at Breezecom, is a patent holder, and now he is CEO of KodaCloud, a company he also established.

KodaCloud provides AI-enabled WiFi (News - Alert) -as-a-cloud subscription services. These services rely on the company's patented technology and leverages artificial intelligence to monitor interactions with all devices attached to every WiFi access point. That information is then used to automatically optimize users WiFi experiences and to troubleshoot WiFi infrastructure issues.

Herscovici says he founded KodaCloud to address the complexity and scalability challenges introduced by the rise of the Internet of Things. That called for a solution that uses automation, the cloud, and software to control and optimize the network.

Extreme Networks (News - Alert) is KodaClouds largest customer. The company licenses KodaClouds solutions and provides them to its customers in the academic and business verticals. KodaCloud also sells its solutions direct to such customers as a staffing company, a supermarket chain, and others.

Herscovici explains the staffing company has hundreds of locations, but each location is small and doesnt have its own IT teams. KodaCloud provides WiFi management for those locations.

Meanwhile, the supermarket chain uses WiFi devices for inventory management and point of sale. KodaCloud provides the company with remote management of its WiFi networks using automation as well.

AI and related technologies are enabling network operators to automate and operate their networks in new and more efficient ways. To learn more about whats possible in networking using AI, join us Jan. 30-Feb. 1 in Fort Lauderdale for the AIOps event and the Adaptive & Intent-Based Networking expo.

Our Call for Speakers for these events is open through July 31 at this link.

Edited by Erik Linask
Police and ATO at the scene of a security alert on the Whitewell road in north Belfast on July 24th 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph)

Police and ATO at the scene of a security alert on the Whitewell road in north Belfast on July 24th 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph)

Police and ATO at the scene of a security alert on the Whitewell road in north Belfast on July 24th 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph)

Police and ATO at the scene of a security alert on the Whitewell road in north Belfast on July 24th 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph)

Army Technical Officers have declared a security alert in the Whitewell Road area of Newtownabbey a hoax.

A suspicious object was discovered and diversions were put in place at the junction of Arthur Bridge and Whitewell Road.

All roads in the area have now reopened to traffic and evacuated residents allowed to returned to their homes.

SDLP Councillor Noreen McClelland said the alert had caused significant disruption in the area.

Those responsible have disrupted residents, the local community and those travelling to work this morning," she said.

I would encourage anyone who may have seen or heard anything suspicious to contact the Police or Crimestoppers as soon as possible.
Police and paramedics at the scene of a serious incident in Trinity Drive Ballymoney. Picture Kevin McAuley/McAuley Multimedia

The PSNI is currently dealing with a "serious incident" in Ballymoney.

UUP councillor Darryl Wilson, posting on social media, said the incident had occurred in the Trinity Drive area of Ballymoney and told residents to avoid the area if possible. He added the PSNI were currently at the scene.

Officers from the Armed Response Unit were spotted at the scene.

A serious incident has occurred in the Trinity Drive area of Ballymoney, please avoid the area if possible, the PSNI are in attendance  Cllr Darryl Wilson (@DarrylUUP) July 24, 2018

The councillor later posted: "No update as yet regarding Trinity Drive situation, PSNI numbers have increased as the evening has went on. Road is still passable at present."

No update as yet regarding trinity Drive situation, psni numbers have increased as the evening has went on. Road is still passable at present  Cllr Darryl Wilson (@DarrylUUP) July 24, 2018

A spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service said that an ambulance was sent to the scene at around 8pm but had no further information.

It is understood the ambulance has since left the scene and that the situation is ongoing.
The Irish aviation watchdog has encouraged up to 11,500 Ryanair passengers whose flights have been grounded to seek 250 compensation - despite the airline's refusal to pay out.

If they are successful, the airline could face a bill of up to 2.8m (2.5m) bill just for Ireland.

And its costs could rise considerably this week as up to 100,000 passengers are hit by 600 flight cancellations due to strikes.

Holidaymakers are not guaranteed the compensation, but the Commission for Aviation Regulation said the onus is on the airline to prove it should not pay up.

The commission said passengers can look for compensation regardless of whether they have already received a refund or been re-accommodated on another flight.

Ryanair would have to prove that the strike was an "extraordinary circumstance" to avoid the payout.

Ryanair said it is not liable to pay compensation under the European air passengers rights rules, known as EU261.

"Ryanair fully complies with all EU261 legislation, however as these flight cancellations were caused by extraordinary circumstances, no compensation is due.

"Under EU261 legislation, no compensation is payable when the union is acting unreasonably and totally beyond the airline's control."
Shots were fired at a car which was later found burnt out in Londonderry's Waterside area.

Police confirmed they were attending an "incident" in the Sevenoaks area.

Cordons are in place and police are currently conducting enquiries.

A burned out car in the Lincoln Court area of #Derrys Waterside which police have placed several cordons around after this mornings shooting incident in Sevenoaks Estate. The car also set light to the vehicle beside it pic.twitter.com/7pOxFYSdU4  Leona O'Neill (@LeonaONeill1) July 24, 2018

Car rammed, gunmen shot at driver in incident in #Derry residential area this morning. The @duponline @Gary_Middleton spoke to me at the scene pic.twitter.com/YSx4PJOXh2  Leona O'Neill (@LeonaONeill1) July 24, 2018

Police have a section of Sevenoaks in the Waterside area of #Derry cordoned off this morning. It comes after reports of two loud bangs in the area this morning pic.twitter.com/3GSVTKga6R  Leona O'Neill (@LeonaONeill1) July 24, 2018

Police asked that members of the public avoid the area.

Foyle MLA Gary Middleton said it was lucky that nobody was killed in the incident.

"Speaking to police we are led to believe that was gunshots which is very disturbing," the DUP MLA said.

"We are led to believe a car was rammed by another and shots were fired at the car and the car was then burnt out in the nearby Lincoln Courts area.

"Parents were taken their children to various summer schemes, people were going to their work and the area is now closed off.

"People are thankful nobody was seriously injured or indeed killed, because that's the type of situation we could have been dealing with."

Detective Inspector Stephanie Finlay confirmed that shots were fired in the attack.

This was a completely reckless attack carried out in a residential area and we are very lucky today that no-one has been seriously hurt or killed. Our enquiries are at a very early stage and we are working to establish a motive for this incident," Inspector Finlay said.

"I would appeal to anyone who witnessed the incident or who has any information which could assist us with our enquiries to contact detectives at Strand Road on 101 quoting reference number 252 24/07/18. Alternatively, information can also be provided to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 which is 100% anonymous and gives people the power to speak up and stop crime.
Mary Lou McDonald at a republican commemoration in Castlewellan in January

The hunger strike commemoration in Belfast in 2016

Relatives of IRA victims have accused Sinn Fein of "insulting" their loved ones' memories by planning a major hunger strike commemoration in a Co Down town.

The march, which will be attended by Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald, is scheduled for Castlewellan on Sunday, August 5.

It will mark the anniversary of the deaths of 10 republican hunger strikers, including Bobby Sands and Raymond McCreesh, in 1981.

In previous years tens of thousands of republicans have attended the event, which changes location annually.

This year's march in south Down has been condemned by relatives of local victims, who say it is compounding their grief.

Sinn Fein, however, defended the parade, citing its "right" to commemorate the hunger strikers, who it said are "inspirational to those striving for freedom across the world".

But Sandra Harrison, chair of local victims' group Mourne Action for Survivors of Terrorism (MAST), criticised the event.

She said it had brought back the trauma of losing her brother Alan (23), who was killed in Kilkeel 30 years ago.

"It is an insult to my brother's memory. It's distasteful," she said.

"It's very saddening to see that they're glorifying hunger strikers and bringing it back to the fore again. It's gut-wrenching."

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Bobby Sands' son Robert Gerald holds his mother's hand at the funeral of his father Bobby in west Belfast flanked by Masked IRA men. Picture by Martin Wright Hunger striker Bobby Sands' coffin, flanked by an IRA colour party, leaving his mother's home in Twinbrook. Tomboy Loudon, Gerry Roche, Denis Donaldson and Bobby Sands pictured in the Long Kesh prison, Northern Ireland. Hunger strike protesters outside the Dail in Dublin 1981 Brian Farrell/Photocall Ireland! Hunger strike marchers blocked by gardai as they approach the British Embassy in Dublin Eamonn Farrell/Photocall Ireland PACEMAKER BELFAST Rioting in west Belfast on the day hunger striker Bobby Sands died in 1981 A man walks past the Bobby Sands mural, in the Falls road area of Belfast Masked gunmen fire a volley of shots beside hunger striker Bobby Sands coffin, at Milltown Cemetery. Deceased hunger striker Bobby Sands (seated fourth from left). The Star of the Sea football team. Hunger striker Bobby Sands funeral procession making its way down Stewartstown Road on Route to Milltown cemetery Several unionist politicians have called for Maze cells which housed hunger strikers to be flattened PA Archive/Press Association Images Bobby Sands funeral Jonathan Porter/Presseye.com - Press Eye Ltd -Northern Ireland - 1st March 2011. Launch of the Hunger Strike 30th Anniversary Exhibition in the Linen Hall Library, Belfast. Ten republican prisoners died during the 1981 protest inside the Maze Prison. A letter written by Bobby Sands on cigarette paper which was smuggled out of the prison pictured at the exhibition. Michael Fassbender stars in Hunger, the film about the last six weeks in the life of Bobby Sands Kieran Doherty died in the Maze prison in 1981 after being on a hunger strike Former taoiseach Garret FitzGerald pleaded with Ronald Reagan to pile pressure on Margaret Thatcher over the hunger strikes / Facebook

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Whatsapp Bobby Sands' son Robert Gerald holds his mother's hand at the funeral of his father Bobby in west Belfast flanked by Masked IRA men. Picture by Martin Wright

Mrs Harrison said the sight of posters erected locally promoting the parade had left her feeling "sickened".

"My heart sank when I saw them. The whole area is busy with tourists and this event just drags the area down," she added.

Mrs Harrison also accused Sinn Fein of "double standards" in its calls for equality and human rights.

Expand Close The Bobby Sands mural on the Falls Road / Facebook

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"None of our MAST members' loved ones had any rights. No value was placed on their relatives' lives. The victims had no rights," she added.

Her comments were echoed by Sammy Heenan, whose father William was murdered outside his home just five miles from Castlewellan in 1985.

"It's an insult to my father's memory and those who lost their lives in south Down for Castlewellan to be chosen for this," he said.

"This area bore the brunt of a sustained IRA campaign for 30 years. In this constituency almost 70 innocent people were murdered by IRA terrorists.

"It confronts the Sinn Fein mantra of truth, integrity and respect, something they demand themselves but cannot afford to the victims of the IRA in this area.

"This event should not be taking place as it reinforces the trauma of the victims."

He also accused South Down MP Chris Hazzard of displaying further "insensitivity" to victims' families by participating in the commemorations.

The Sinn Fein MP - who was criticised earlier this year for setting up his Castlewellan constituency office in a building named after two IRA men - is to chair a panel discussing a hunger striker documentary being screened on the eve of the march.

"I've challenged him on numerous occasions to condemn the murder of my father, and so far he's refused to acknowledge my requests," said Mr Heenan.

"It exposes the sheer hypocrisy of the republican movement in elevating their own narrative and disregarding the pain and hurt they inflicted on so many people throughout south Down."

Local UUP representative Alan Lewis claimed Sinn Fein was "glorifying" acts of terrorism by attending such events.

"Bobby Sands the bomber, Raymond McCreesh the gunman, Francis Hughes the murderer, the list goes on. The activities of all 10 men are far from heroic, certainly nothing that should be celebrated in a busy town on a Sunday afternoon," he said.

Urging the party to "scale back" on the event and to take down the posters, he denounced Sinn Fein's equality agenda as "hollow" and accused the party of being "tone deaf" to the feelings of victims' families. In response, Sinn Fein hit back at Mr Lewis, saying it would not be "lectured" by the UUP, which "ran a one-party, apartheid state for over 50 years".

"As Alan Lewis will know, under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, which his party supported, everyone has a right to remember their dead with dignity and respect," said the party.

It added: "The names of the hunger strikers are internationally recognised as an inspiration to all people struggling for freedom, rights, and human dignity."
Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald and vice president Michelle ONeill with the EUs Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier in Brussels yesterday

The EU must call time on UK Government stalling on Brexit, Sinn Fein's leader said as she urged Brussels to convene a special summit on the Irish border impasse.

Mary Lou McDonald called for Michel Barnier to push for the additional meeting of European leaders as she met the EU's chief Brexit negotiator.

After emerging from talks with Mr Barnier yesterday afternoon, Ms McDonald said she had received assurances that the EU was standing firm on its insistence that a so-called Irish border "backstop" agreed between Brussels and London must form part of the final withdrawal treaty.

Last December the EU and UK agreed that Northern Ireland would continue to adhere to a number of European customs regulations if a wider Brexit trade deal failed to materialise.

It was supposed to be a fallback position that would ensure a free-flowing border regardless of the terms of the UK's exit from the EU.

However, the two sides are at loggerheads on how to translate that agreement into a legally binding commitment in a potential withdrawal treaty.

Recent developments at Westminster have placed further question marks over the backstop, amid claims that Theresa May's Chequers deal and subsequent Brexiteer-driven amendments to Government legislation are incompatible with the December agreement.

Ms McDonald, who was accompanied in Brussels by Sinn Fein vice president Michelle O'Neill, said an extra EU meeting is required in September to try to forge a resolution ahead of October's crunch summit - the effective deadline to secure a Brexit deal.

The Sinn Fein leader also criticised Mrs May's speech in Belfast last week when the Prime Minister made clear she would not sign up to any backstop that treated Northern Ireland differently to the rest of the UK.

"Last week's visit by Theresa May to Belfast has raised very serious concerns over the British Government's approach to Brexit," Ms McDonald said.

"In December we were told a backstop was a cast-iron guarantee, the Good Friday Agreement would be protected in word and spirit, and there would be no diminution of rights for Irish and EU citizens in the North.

"The British Government is seeking to row back on these commitments and to bin the December agreement.

"Theresa May is placing her personal self-interest to stay in Downing Street ahead of the needs of Ireland, North and South.

"The British Government is now engaged in a game of brinkmanship which puts our all-island economy and our agreements at risk. There is no certainty and no clarity on Irish interests.

"The EU has made clear that without the backstop there will be no withdrawal agreement and that the interests of Ireland must be dealt with in line with the December agreement."

She added: "Michel Barnier assured us this remains the case and that Britain must agree workable solutions in line with the December agreement.

"We believe that this must be given affect and the EU should call time on British Government stalling. The EU should hold a special summit in advance of October to resolve Irish issues before closing on the withdrawal agreement."
The family of Patsy Kelly pictured outside 10 Downing Street. Also pictured are Mid Ulster MP Francie Molloy and Barry McElduff.

Sinn Fein MP Orfhlaith Begley has called for funds to be released to complete an investigation into the murder of an independent nationalist councillor in Co Tyrone during the Troubles.

The body of Patsy Kelly was found weighed down in a lake after he went missing when locking up a bar in Trillick, Co Tyrone on July 24 1974.

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No one has ever been convicted in relation to his death and his family have claimed that security forces were involved.

In November of last year his family travelled to Downing Street with then Sinn Fein MP Barry McElduff and MP Francie Molloy to ask Prime Minister Theresa May for her help with the case.

Ms Begley said it is deplorable that the family of Patsy Kelly are still being denied their right to truth and justice on the 44th anniversary of his murder.

The Police Ombudsman said in August 2017 that he expected the investigation to be finished this year however they have now pushed this back another 12 to 18 months," the West Tyrone MP said.

In June, the Police Ombudsmans office claimed they did not have the adequate resources to complete the investigation into the police conduct of Patsy Kellys murder investigation. This has highlighted the need once again for adequate funding and resources to be provided for legacy cases.

The necessary resources must be made available to complete this investigation and the delays that have added to the familys grief should stop. The family, at a minimum deserve, to know the truth.

Ms Begley said that she was working to raise the issue of Mr Kelly's murder in Dublin.

Following on from the Kelly familys visit to 10 Downing Street and Westminster last year, I believe it is important that this denial of truth and justice be raised in Dublin. I have requested that the Kelly family have the opportunity to raise their case in Leinster House, she said.
A whistleblower at a Co Antrim hospital has warned someone is going to get killed if serious issues at the facility are not dealt with by senior management.

Issues detailed by the well-placed insider include rampant violent assaults on staff by patients and a dangerous work environment at Muckamore Abbey Hospital.

Muckamore Abbey Hospital, just outside Antrim town, provides inpatient, assessment and treatment facilities for people with severe learning disabilities and mental health needs, forensic needs or challenging behaviour.

Over the past year, several staff have been suspended for a variety of safeguarding issues.

The source, who did not want to be named, has worked at Muckamore Abbey Hospital, which is run by the Belfast Trust, for several years as a nursing assistant.

Six other workers, who gave testimony under the condition they remain anonymous, corroborated the whistleblowers account.

Someone is going to get killed in that place, the whistleblower said.

Morale is worse than it has ever been in all the years Ive worked there, even if you witness an incident of any sort, regardless of your involvement - you will be suspended.

Everyone is walking around with that over their head, staff are being violently assaulted on a day to day basis and nothing is being done. It cant go on. Someone will end up being killed.

Another source, who works in one ward at the Co Antrim hospital, said it isnt small bites and cuts and bruises were talking about.

Its broken bones and severe trauma that I doubt some staff will ever really get over. When dealing with vulnerable people, those with severe learning difficulties and such, you expect the odd slap and things like that - but not this.

Massive chunks of hair pulled out, multiple cases of broken bones and severe bites requiring stitches - I do not see a future for Muckamore.

Another insider, who has retired in recent years but still works occasionally at the facility, said once a staff member reports an assault to the PSNI, the PPS are reluctant to prosecute due to the image of publicly prosecuting a patient.

While I agree with that sentiment, this process is leaving staff with the feeling that they have to go into work each day thinking they might get severely hurt and nothing will ever be done to prevent it happening again.

Muckamore is in a crisis - theres more agency staff now, following different protocols, than there has ever been. More support for staff is whats needed. Patients and staff are being failed on a massive scale.

Another senior official at Muckamore said they have witnessed horrifying and emotionally traumatic incidents on staff, including broken noses, legs, severe cuts and psychological trauma.

At the end of the day, at I am not exaggerating here, I could see someone - like a staff member - taking their own life due the current environment at Muckamore.

I mean, how can we, or anyone for that matter, be expected to work in these conditions - the stress and morale is off the scale in the worst way and its getting completely ridiculous and downright reckless, something needs to be done now.

We get the worst of the worst, that no one else can deal with, and get treated like this? Its not right and what happens when it gets so bad we no one can continue working there - because thats what going to happen.

When asked about the allegations detailed by the six sources at Muckamore, the Belfast Trust responded with a brief statement, acknowledging there are issues at the hospital.

Belfast Trust can confirm that a number of staff are currently placed on precautionary suspension; following a number of safeguarding investigations, they said.

The Trust has a number of mechanisms available to provide staff with support. These include Trust Occupational Health Services, Staffcare Services and an independent Counselling Support for Learning Disability Staff.
Tuesday, July 24, 2018 New Mexico's New Odd Couple: Steve And Maxine, Plus: Hold Your Horses On That Racino And The Passing Of A Prominent Tea Party Activist Rep. Maxine Waters Maybe she's trying to make up with the enviros



Should Ms. Lujan Grisham win the general election, she would end eight years of divided government under Gov. Martinez and deliver New Mexico wholly into Democratic hands  a prospect that Ms. Lujan Grisham said could clear the way for significant expansions on several fronts, clean energy chief among them. We intend to catch up and then advance beyond all the other states, she declared.



While Lujan Grisham's Journal interview was rocky, the



She is troubled by fellow Democrat Maxine Waters urging people to confront Trump administration officials in public places. Talk about a bridge too far. How can she in good conscience say the president is promoting violence and discrimination and then do the very same thing? Im not in. I wasnt raised like that.



Now here's hard right Pearce putting the political moves on hard left Maxine:



We would dust each other up pretty good on the Financial Services Committee, and one day I finally walked over and said, Maxine, this is pretty tough stuff  but this is not personal. You and me, were OK? She loosened up, and we both began to make it a practice. I happened to be behind her on the escalator going to the floor on Inauguration Day and she said all sorts of crazy stuff about Trump and he probably said it back about her and she turned and said to me, Its not personal. Its you and me. Were OK? And I said, Were OK. 



New Mexico's new odd couple: Steve and Maxine. Can the state film office do something with that.



STAFFING UP



With the Guv campaign about to enter its intense phase MLG has moved to beef up her communications staff. She has hired James Hallinan as her chief spokesman. He has been working with Attorney General Balderas in the same capacity.

Hallinan is a veteran of a number of Guv and other campaigns in and outside of New Mexico including Diane Denishs 2010 Guv run. David Carl, former reporter for KOAT TV, recently signed up as a PR spokesman for Balderas and remains in that position.

Lujan Grishams campaign communications have encountered a few bumps. That recent interview with the Albuquerque Journal where she threw the progressive wing of the party overboard raised questions as to how well prepared the campaign was in dealing with the media. In addition, she took a hit over her latest campaign commercial dealing with the opioid epidemic and that faltered somewhat under a fact check by the Associated Press.

HOLD YOUR HORSES



And we mean that



Four horse-racing tracks scored a victory in their bid to at least temporarily halt the licensing of a new track. The state Racing Commission ordered its staff to review the possibility of a study that would examine the feasibility of a new track. The commission also lifted the July 30 deadline for applications for the new racing license. Tracks in Albuquerque, Ruidoso, Farmington and Hobbs have requested the study, citing concerns about how a new track would affect the racing industry. . .



The suspense is over whether the new racino will be awarded in the final months of the Martinez administration which is politically connected to all the current applicants via campaign contributions or whether the commission will make the decision when a new Governor takes over next year.



JOB WATCH



How about a full-time job with health insurance, a pension and 13 vacation days and 13 sick leave days a year? Of course, in this economy that would have to be a government job. And it is:



 Today (Tuesday) the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) will hold a hiring event (to fill) dozens of vacant positions. It will be held at the South Valley Multipurpose Center, where applicants can take part in on-site interviews for a variety of positions, including corrections officers, corrections techs and social services and food services employees. . . Human Resources staff will also be on-site to start the candidate screening process immediately.



Starting pay for a corrections officer is about $32,000 but its the benefits package that is the draw. For more info



SYLVIA BOKOR







Bokor was a disciple of the free market philosopher



Bokor was an



I greatly hope that all the work that I and other grassroots supporters of Right to Work did will not have been in vain. I encourage all those who want a more prosperous state to continue their work! God Bless the United States of America! God Bless New Mexico! And God Bless each of you! And when I use the word God, I mean the best in man and the best man can be.



Sylvia Bokor was 85. She requested that no funeral services be held.



This is the home of New Mexico politics.







Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here.



( c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2018 And we mean that quite literally The suspense is over whether the new racino will be awarded in the final months of the Martinez administration which is politically connected to all the current applicants via campaign contributions or whether the commission will make the decision when a new Governor takes over next year.How about a full-time job with health insurance, a pension and 13 vacation days and 13 sick leave days a year? Of course, in this economy that would have to be a government job. And it is:Starting pay for a corrections officer is about $32,000 but its the benefits package that is the draw. For more info (505) 839-8999 Word arrives of the death of Sylvia Bokor, publisher of a popular Tea Party oriented New Mexico newsletter that was widely circulated and quoted, especially among Republicans.Bokor was a disciple of the free market philosopher Ayn Rand and to the delight of her conservative following she showed little patience for liberals, Democrats or anyone who wanted to raise taxes.Bokor was an accomplished artist from New York City who moved West later in life. She wrote her missives on her personal blog for a number of years but it was the 2010 Tea Party movement that brought her into the limelight and she began emailing her writings and updates on GOP events. In a message before her death from lung cancer, Bokor wrote:Sylvia Bokor was 85. She requested that no funeral services be held.This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. (jmonahan@ix.netcom.com) Maybe she's trying to make up with the enviros after saying those critical of the state's oil and gas industry have "lost their minds." From the NYT While Lujan Grisham's Journal interview was rocky, the one conducted with GOP Guv nominee Steve Pearce and that ran this past Sunday was subdued and serene. He even tried to score points with the left when he talked about his relationship with controversial Rep. Maxine Waters who MLG dissed in her interview. First, the MLG take:Now here's hard right Pearce putting the political moves on hard left Maxine:New Mexico's new odd couple: Steve and Maxine. Can the state film office do something with that.
William Dunlop's partner Janine Brolly has paid tribute to the road racing legend on his official website.

William (32), was killed after crashing in practice at the Skerries 100 in Co Dublin on July 7.

His partner Janine is pregnant with the couple's second child. They also have a two-year-old daughter Ella.

Read More

Posting on William's official website, Janine spoke of the last time she saw him before he attended the Skerries 100.

The full statement read: "On the Friday when Ella and I waved William off in his van for the weekend he had the biggest smile on his face, he was genuinely looking forward to heading away for a couple of days racing. No pressure, no worries, just go and enjoy himself  that is the precious last memory I have of Will leaving our home.

"We felt as if we had weathered the worst of the storm for this year. Our luck was changing and plans were being made for the coming exciting months as we prepared for life as a family of four.

"The anxiety that usually appeared when he left for a race weekend wasnt there this time, in fact, when I got news that there may be some kind of problem, the thought that this could be concern over William didnt even initially enter my head.

"The words that followed in the next few minutes didnt register, to be truthful, Im not sure if they do now. We were so happy; this isnt how it was supposed to go.

"Going off to race in his old van, which incidentally was his pride and joy no matter how many times it broke down on us, was just life to William  a life that he loved.

"I think I always knew that racing would always be part of our lives, he would never be able to let go of that pull. It is intrinsic to who he was, who he always will be.

"Although as past couple of years I could clearly see how something had shifted for him. The day that Ella was born I looked at him when they placed her in his arms and I watched him fall in love.

"That will always be my most treasured memory. I dont think he could believe that surge of love himself.

"The focus on planning a year out through the coming races was now filled with a countdown each time he went away until he was back at home. From my point of view, the past few months I had come to completely rely on him as I worried about our baby on the way.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close 1/11/2000: Robert Dunlop with his son, William (16). William rode his Dad's 125cc Honda for his first taste of racing at Aghadowey. PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 2014: The Friday evening practice session at the 2014 Tandragee 100 was drawing to a close and the light was disappearing. Only the winding road lay ahead as William sat alone on the line, lost in his thoughts as he waited for the flag to drop. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 3/7/2000: The Armoy Armada. Joey Dunlop (left) with the other members of the Armoy Armada Frank Kennedy, Jim Dunlop and Mervyn Robinson. Kennedy and Robinson were both killed at the North West 200 in 1976. Joey Dunlop 1983 MOTORCYCLING: JOEY DUNLOP. Joey Dunlop motorbike ace. MOTORCYCLING: JOEY DUNLOP. TREVOR DICKSON Legend on two wheels August 1991 - Legend on two wheelsMotorbike hero, the late Joey Dunlop makes his way through the Temple 100 paddock at Saintfield. 15/5/2008 .Joey Dunlop OBE, Northern Ireland motor cycle road racing superstar whose brother Robert died tonight in Coleraine Hospital following a high speed crash during final practice for this weekend's NW200 road races. Legendary TT record winner Joey also died in a bike race accident several years ago. MOTORCYCLING: JOEY DUNLOP. Joey Dunlop motorbike ace. 16/08/1980 Joey Dunlop Joey Dunlop funeral July 2000 Thousands of fans attended motorbike ace Joey Dunlop's funeral today at Garryduff, Ballymoney. PACEMAKER BELFAST 7/7/2000 Thousands of mourners follow the coffin of Racing legend Joey Dunlop at his funeral in Ballymoney this afternoon. Joey's hearse is at the bottom of the screen. PHOTO MARTY WRIGHT/PACEMAKER PACEMAKER BELFAST 7/7/2000 Thousands of mourners follow the coffin of Racing legend Joey Dunlop at his funeral in Ballymoney this afternoon. Joey's hearse is on the left of the screen. PHOTO MARTY WRIGHT/PACEMAKER PACEMAKER BELFAST.TT 2002 was the first TT since the death of its greatest rider, Joey Dunlop (No12) seen here with Adrian Archibald at Creg Ny Baa in 1999. Dunlop won 26 TTs before being killed in Estonia in 2000. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 29/4/2000: Joey Dunlop on his 250cc Honda at the Cookstown 100. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 29/4/2000: Joey Dunlop leads Gary Dynes on their 125s at the Cookstown 100. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 29/4/2000: Colin Edwards doesn't do this with his SP1! Joey Dunlop gets the Vimto Honda SP1 he will ride at the North West and TT in the air over the Cookstown bumps at the first Ulster road race of the season. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PRESS EYE  BELFAST  NORTHERN IRELAND 28 April 2007 - Cookstown 100 road races Hayes fuels lightweight 125/400cc Race. ROBERT DUNLOP. Picture Matt Mackey/Presseye.com TANDRAGEE 100 Robert Dunlop During the 125 Championship race STEPHEN WILSON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 19/2/2005: Top bike racer Robert Dunlop on the road to recovery after an operation this week to lengthen and straighten the leg that he broke in a horror crash at the Isle of Man TT in 1994. Robert has had 9 operations on the leg and he will have to wear the special cage for 3 months, ruling him out of racing for the 2005 season. But he plans to be back for 2006! PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON Robert Dunlop:Motorcycling/with wife Louise PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 27/5/2002: Little wonder he's smiling! Robert Dunlop topped the 125cc practice times during early morning practice at the Isle of Man TT this morning. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON Robert and Joey Dunlop Robert Dunlop gets a peck from wife Louise and mum May after been given the Freedom of the Borough in Ballymoney.MARK JAMIESON. Joey Dunlop PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 5/6/2000: 48 year old Joey Dunlop pays no heed to the signs as he blasts into Ballaugh village on his 250cc Honda on his way to winning the Lightweight TT this afternoon at the Isle of Man TT races. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 29/4/2000: Joey Dunlop leads the 250cc race at the Cookstown 100. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 23/8/2017: William Dunlop on the start line for practice at the Classic TT. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER BELFAST 23/03/2016 The launch of the 2016 Vauxhall International North West 200 at Titanic Belfast this evening. Front L/R William Dunlop, Jeremy McWilliams and Ryan Farquhar Back Row Alastair Seeley, Peter Hickman, Conor Cummins, Dan Kneen, Michael Rutter, Lee Johnston & John McGuinness Photo Stephen Davison/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER, BELFAST,24/4/2015: Mar-Train Yamaha team boss Tim Martin shares a joke with William Dunlop and Dean Harrison during a break in the Cookstown 100 practice on Friday evening. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 2008: This photograph of Robert Dunlop and his three sons, Daniel, Michael and William, will always be very special to me. Robert wanted it taken as Daniel was leaving that day for Afghanistan and he said he didnt have a recent picture of himself with his boys. It is heartbreaking that both Robert and William are now no longer with us, lost to the sport to which they had dedicated their lives. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON Pacemaker Press 09/07/2018 Flowers left at the Dunlop Memorial garden in Ballymoney on Monday for road racer William Dunlop, Who was killed during practice event on Saturday at Skerries. William's legendary uncle Joey Dunlop died in 2000 whilst racing in Tallinn, Estonia and just eight years later tragedy struck again when his father Robert was killed during a practice session at the North West 200. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 2014: I have been privileged to photograph both generations of the Dunlop road racing family in action. In the 80s and 90s Joey and Robert did battle on the Irish roads and at the TT. Over the last decade it has been Robert's sons, William and Michael, who have gone head to head in races like this at Armoy. The Armoy event began in 2009 and is run on the roads where Mervyn Robinson, Frank Kennedy, Joey and Jim Dunlop of the famous Armoy Armada would have tested their race bikes during unofficial practice sessions! PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 30/4/2016: William Dunlop celebrates his victory in the Supersport race at the Cookstown 100. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON Photographer Matt Mackey - Presseye.com 14th May 2015 North West 200 Thursday races around the International North West 200 circuit. First Minister Peter Robinson chats to Race Director Mervyn Whyte and Tyco racer William Dunlop on the grid. Matt Mackey - Presseye.com PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 20/6/2004: The legend lives on- 5-time TT winner Robert Dunlop gets some help from his son, William as he prepares his 125cc Honda for the Athea road races in Co Limerick. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON Northern Ireland- 17th May 2014 Mandatory Credit - Picture - Matt Mackey/Presseye.com Vauxhall International 2014 North West 200. Winner of the EventServ Superbike race William Dunlop Presseye.com - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 30th May 2011.Picture by Matt Mackey/presseye.com 2011 Isle of Man TT 1st practice night around the 37.7 mile course. Ballymoney man William Dunlop looks on at his brother Michael. Press Eye Ltd Northern Ireland - 10th August 2012 - Mandatory Credit - Picture by Matt Mackey/presseye.com Ulster Grand Prix 2012 race day. Aer Lingus Supersport race. Race winner William Dunlop along with 2nd place finisher Bruce Anstey and 3rd pace man Lee Johnston. Northern Ireland- 17th May 2014 Mandatory Credit - Picture - Matt Mackey/Presseye.com Vauxhall International 2014 North West 200. Eventserv Superbike winner William Dunlop Photographer Matt Mackey - Presseye.com 24th July 2015 Friday nights Supersport race at the Armoy road races, Co. Antrim. Race winner William Dunlop. Matt Mackey - Presseye.com Paying their respects in the Dunlop Memorial Garden in Ballymoney County Antrim after William Dunlop was killed in the Skerries 100 Road Race. Flowers at the Dunlop memorial garden after the death of William Dunlop in Skeries 100. Pic by Peter Morrison PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 10/8/2017: The 200mph man! William Dunlop broke through the 200mph speed barrier along the Flying Kilo's speed trap for the first time during practice at the Ulster Grand Prix today on his Temple Golf Club Yamaha. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST: Robert Dunlop with his three sons William, Daniel and Michael...PICTURE COURTESY OF LOUISE DUNLOP William Dunlop with his daughter in 2017 PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 23/1/2015: That's my boy! William Dunlop, winner of the Race of the Year category at the Adelaide Motorbike awards with his mother Louise. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON Presseye Ltd Belfast-10th August 2007-Photo by William Cherry/Presseye....Robert Dunlop with his sons William and Michael before the Ulster Grand Prix were they will all be competing... PressEye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 9th May 2017 Vauxhall International North West 200 practice sessions. Pictured: William Dunlop. Picture: Philip Magowan / PressEye Philip Magowan / PressEye Isle of Man TT 2/6/2012 Superbike Race 1 William Dunlop on a Honda (Wilson Craig Racing) Mandatory Credit INPHO/PRESSEYE/Mervyn McClelland INPHO/PRESSEYE/Mervyn McClella PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 18/5/2008: Robert Dunlop's sons William and Michael carry his coffin at Garryduff Presbyterian Church near Ballymoney today. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON Presseye.com - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 19th May 2011. Picture by Matt Mackey/presseye.com Relentless International North West 200. Practice day 2. William Dunlop. Presseye.com - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 7th April 2011. Picture by Matt Mackey/presseye.com Ballymoney man William Dunlop pictured at the launch of the Relentless International North West 200, in Coleraine Brough, Home of the North West 200. Northern Ireland- 19th May 2012 Mandatory Credit - Photo-Jonathan Porter/Presseye. Rentless International 2012 Northwest 200. Saturday first race - McKendry Fabrications Superstock Race. William Dunlop wins. Press Eye Ltd Northern Ireland -19th May 2012 - Mandatory Credit - Picture by Matt Mackey/presseye.com Relentless International North West 200. McKendry fabrications supersport race. Race winner William Dunlop. PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 2/12/2012: William Dunlop is all smiles at the Motorcycle Live Show at the NEC this weekend as he sits beside the R1 Yamaha superbike that he will race in 2013 as part of the Milwaukee Yamaha squad. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON William Dunlop and Janine William Dunlop passed away after a crash at the Skerries 100 in July. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 25/7/2015: William Dunlop (CD Racing Yamaha) celebrates winning the 600cc race ahead of Guy Martin (Tyco Suzuki) and Dean Harrison (Mar Train Yamaha) at the Armoy road races today. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON William Dunlop and Janine PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 24/8/2017: William Dunlop, Classic TT. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON A SOD OFF THE OUL BANK I think they call this corner on the Mid-Antrim course OHaras Bend. They are usually named after the farmer or some local landmark, often the original inspiration having long since been lost to memory. But Dunlop is a name synonymous with road racing and this youngster is carrying on a fine tradition that will never be forgotten. William Dunlop, son of Robert and nephew of Joey, is the latest road racer from the worlds most famous road racing stable. Roberts other son Michael has also entered the fray and Sam Dunlop, son of Jim, the fourth member of the infamous Armoy Armada, is a roads regular too. The younger generation have lost none of the older guys style, as William cuts a line so tight at OHaras even the grass has to get out of the way. Sam Dunlop won the Newcomers 125cc Manx Grand Prix in 2005. William will compete in the TT for the first time in 2006 to carry on the illustrious Dunlop tradition and keep Ballymoney at the centre of the pure road racing world. William Dunlop, Mid-Antrim, 2005. Photographer Matt Mackey - Presseye.com 24th July 2015 Friday nights Supersport race at the Armoy road races, Co. Antrim. Race winner William Dunlop. PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 11/7/2018: Motorcycle racer William Dunlop's is buried beside his father Robert and uncle, Joey Dunlop after his funeral at Garryduff Presbyterian church outside Ballymoney today. Dunlop was killed in a crash during practice for the Skerries 100 last Saturday. Robert Dunlop died after crashing at the 2008 North West 200 and Joey lost his life in a crash at a race in Estonia in 2000. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 11/7/2018: William Dunlop's grandmother May at the motorcycle racer's funeral at Garryduff Presbyterian church outside Ballymoney today. Dunlop was killed in a crash during practice for the Skerries 100 last Saturday. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 11/7/2018: William Dunlop's uncle, Jim and his cousin Gary, the son of Joey, carry his coffin at the funeral at Garryduff Presbyterian church outside Ballymoney today. Dunlop was killed in a crash during practice for the Skerries 100 last Saturday. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 11/7/2018: Motorcycle racer William Dunlop's partner Janine and his mother Louise, (centre) at his funeral at Garryduff Presbyterian church outside Ballymoney today. Dunlop was killed in a crash during practice for the Skerries 100 last Saturday. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON Alan Lewis - PhotopressBelfast.co.uk 11/7/2018 Mandatory Credit - Picture by Justin Kernoghan William Dunlops pregnant partner Janine and mother Louise arrive at church - Thousands of mourners have gathered in County Antrim for the funeral of road racer William Dunlop. The Ballymoney rider died after a crash during practice at a race meeting in the Republic of Ireland on Saturday. A service is being held at Garryduff Presbyterian Church near the 32-year-old's hometown of Ballymoney. William's death comes after his father Robert died at the North West 200 in 2008 and his uncle Joey Dunlop was killed in a crash in 2000. Photopress Belfast Alan Lewis - PhotopressBelfast.co.uk 11/7/2018 Mandatory Credit - Picture by Justin Kernoghan Thousands of mourners have gathered in County Antrim for the funeral of road racer William Dunlop. The Ballymoney rider died after a crash during practice at a race meeting in the Republic of Ireland on Saturday. A service is being held at Garryduff Presbyterian Church near the 32-year-old's hometown of Ballymoney. William's death comes after his father Robert died at the North West 200 in 2008 and his uncle Joey Dunlop was killed in a crash in 2000. Photopress Belfast PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 2014: This picture of William oDunlop n the Tyco Suzuki is from Walderstown in Co Westmeath. It is a typical Irish road racing scene and it was at those events William excelled. William won 108 races at the smaller National events plus four NW200s and seven Ulster Grands Prix which made him the fourth most successful rider on the Irish roads of all-time. Only Ryan Farquhar, his uncle Joey and his father Robert won more. Many of these races are run in small, out of the way places where very little else ever happens. The locals are delighted to see the road racing circus appear. They throw open their doors to photographers and are thrilled to have famous names like the Dunlop family in their midst for the weekend. By taking part in these small events the Dunlops help preserve the National road racing scene in Ireland. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER BELFAST 12/05/2015 William Dunlop (Tyco BMW Motorrad Racing) during Tuesday's practice for the North West 200 Road races. Photo Stephen Davison/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 12/5/2016: William Dunlop ,NW200. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON Front JOEY DUNLOP SPORTED A NEW ACCESSORY TO THE RACING ENSEMBLE FOR THE 2000 SEASON- A PAIR OF SPECTACLES! THEY WERE KEPT IN THE TOOL BOX WITH THE REST OF THE KIT. / Facebook

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Whatsapp 1/11/2000: Robert Dunlop with his son, William (16). William rode his Dad's 125cc Honda for his first taste of racing at Aghadowey.

"William never let me down, he stepped up and looked after us so incredibly well  I knew that he would always put his family first, and in turn, William knew how much we absolutely adored him.

"Our family was our complete universe  our own little bubble and I am struggling to let go of that. I think that is why for the days since I found out I have just wanted to hide. Speaking about it would make everything a reality and Im just not ready to allow that to fully happen yet.

"I just wanted you to know that I have read the messages of support and condolence and I am so, so grateful for them. Everyone who has sent cards, posted their memories and images and shared how they felt that they knew William have been such a comfort, please know how much I truly treasure them.

"Speaking to those who were the closest to him  his circle of friends and sponsors who stood by him when things were at their toughest, was a small but genuine group and having them around him was so important.

"It makes me realise how lucky we are to have them in our lives. I dont think William knew just how exceptionally special he was, for someone who preferred to say very little, he really could make a lasting impact.

"It was that indescribable quality that made me fall in love with him. It has been mentioned many times how uncomfortable he got with any form of praise, but I think Will would have been so proud to know how much he is thought of and somewhere he is smiling to himself.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close The funeral of William Dunlop takes place in Ballymoney on July 11th 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 11/7/2018: Motorcycle racer William Dunlop's brother Michael, carries his coffin at the funeral at Garryduff Presbyterian church outside Ballymoney today. Dunlop was killed in a crash during practice for the Skerries 100 last Saturday. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 11/7/2018: Motorcycle racer William Dunlop's partner Janine and his mother Louise, (centre) at his funeral at Garryduff Presbyterian church outside Ballymoney today. Dunlop was killed in a crash during practice for the Skerries 100 last Saturday. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 11/7/2018: A biker pays his respects at motorcycle racer William Dunlop's funeral at Garryduff Presbyterian church outside Ballymoney today. Dunlop was killed in a crash during practice for the Skerries 100 last Saturday. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 11/7/2018: Grief stricken. A young fan at motorcycle racer William Dunlop's funeral at Garryduff Presbyterian church outside Ballymoney today. Dunlop was killed in a crash during practice for the Skerries 100 last Saturday. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 11/7/2018: Racers Glenn Irwin and Derek Sheils and their partners Laura and Alicia pay their respects at motorcycle racer William Dunlop's funeral at Garryduff Presbyterian church outside Ballymoney today. Dunlop was killed in a crash during practice for the Skerries 100 last Saturday. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 11/7/2018: Bikers pay their respects at motorcycle racer William Dunlop's funeral at Garryduff Presbyterian church outside Ballymoney today. Dunlop was killed in a crash during practice for the Skerries 100 last Saturday. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 11/7/2018: A huge crowd of mourners brave the rain at motorcycle racer William Dunlop's funeral at Garryduff Presbyterian church outside Ballymoney today. Dunlop was killed in a crash during practice for the Skerries 100 last Saturday. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 11/7/2018: A huge crowd of mourners brave the rain at motorcycle racer William Dunlop's funeral at Garryduff Presbyterian church outside Ballymoney today. Dunlop was killed in a crash during practice for the Skerries 100 last Saturday. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 11/7/2018: Members of the Loughshinny Club (black and yellow shirts) organisers of the Skerries 100 races where motorcycle racer William Dunlop was killed in practice last Saturday, join the mourners at his funeral at Garryduff Presbyterian church outside Ballymoney today. Dunlop was killed in a crash during practice for the Skerries 100 last Saturday. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 11/7/2018: Hawk team bosses Steve and Stuart Hicken at motorcycle racer William Dunlop's funeral at Garryduff Presbyterian church outside Ballymoney today. Dunlop was killed in a crash during practice for the Skerries 100 last Saturday. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 11/7/2018: William Dunlop's grandmother May at the motorcycle racer's funeral at Garryduff Presbyterian church outside Ballymoney today. Dunlop was killed in a crash during practice for the Skerries 100 last Saturday. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 11/7/2018: Race marshals pay their respects at motorcycle racer William Dunlop's funeral at Garryduff Presbyterian church outside Ballymoney today. Dunlop was killed in a crash during practice for the Skerries 100 last Saturday. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 11/7/2018: Racers Glenn Irwin and Derek Sheils pay their respects at motorcycle racer William Dunlop's funeral at Garryduff Presbyterian church outside Ballymoney today. Dunlop was killed in a crash during practice for the Skerries 100 last Saturday. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 11/7/2018: A huge crowd of mourners brave the rain at motorcycle racer William Dunlop's funeral at Garryduff Presbyterian church outside Ballymoney today. Dunlop was killed in a crash during practice for the Skerries 100 last Saturday. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 11/7/2018: William Dunlop's former 125cc racing rivals Melissa Kennedy, William Cowden and Nigel Moore pictured at the motorcycle racer's funeral at Garryduff Presbyterian church outside Ballymoney today. Dunlop was killed in a crash during practice for the Skerries 100 last Saturday. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 11/7/2018: Former road racers Brian Reid, Steven Cull and sponsor Davy Glover at motorcycle racer William Dunlop's funeral at Garryduff Presbyterian church outside Ballymoney today. Dunlop was killed in a crash during practice for the Skerries 100 last Saturday. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 11/7/2018: Ryan Farquhar at motorcycle racer William Dunlop's funeral at Garryduff Presbyterian church outside Ballymoney today. Dunlop was killed in a crash during practice for the Skerries 100 last Saturday. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 11/7/2018: A huge crowd of mourners brave the rain at motorcycle racer William Dunlop's funeral at Garryduff Presbyterian church outside Ballymoney today. Dunlop was killed in a crash during practice for the Skerries 100 last Saturday. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 11/7/2018: Race marshals pay their respects at motorcycle racer William Dunlop's funeral at Garryduff Presbyterian church outside Ballymoney today. Dunlop was killed in a crash during practice for the Skerries 100 last Saturday. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 11/7/2018: A race marshal is overcome by emotion at motorcycle racer William Dunlop's funeral at Garryduff Presbyterian church outside Ballymoney today. Dunlop was killed in a crash during practice for the Skerries 100 last Saturday. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 11/7/2018: Roger Chen from Taiwan was a mourner at motorcycle racer William Dunlop's funeral at Garryduff Presbyterian church outside Ballymoney today. Dunlop was killed in a crash during practice for the Skerries 100 last Saturday. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 11th July 2018 Funeral for road racer William Dunlop at Garryduff Presbyterian Church outside Ballymoney in Co. Antrim. The 32-year-old was killed while participating in the practise session of the Skerries 100 in Co. Dublin lat Saturday. William's father Robert was also buried from Garryduff Presbyterian Church when he died at the North West 200 road race in 2008. Jackie Fullerton pictured the funeral service. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 11th July 2018 Funeral for road racer William Dunlop at Garryduff Presbyterian Church outside Ballymoney in Co. Antrim. The 32-year-old was killed while participating in the practise session of the Skerries 100 in Co. Dublin lat Saturday. William's father Robert was also buried from Garryduff Presbyterian Church when he died at the North West 200 road race in 2008. Mourners pictured the funeral service. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 11th July 2018 Funeral for road racer William Dunlop at Garryduff Presbyterian Church outside Ballymoney in Co. Antrim. The 32-year-old was killed while participating in the practise session of the Skerries 100 in Co. Dublin lat Saturday. William's father Robert was also buried from Garryduff Presbyterian Church when he died at the North West 200 road race in 2008. Family and friends pictured the funeral service. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 11th July 2018 Funeral for road racer William Dunlop at Garryduff Presbyterian Church outside Ballymoney in Co. Antrim. The 32-year-old was killed while participating in the practise session of the Skerries 100 in Co. Dublin lat Saturday. William's father Robert was also buried from Garryduff Presbyterian Church when he died at the North West 200 road race in 2008. Family friend and sports commentator Liam Beckett pictured the funeral service. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 11th July 2018 Funeral for road racer William Dunlop at Garryduff Presbyterian Church outside Ballymoney in Co. Antrim. The 32-year-old was killed while participating in the practise session of the Skerries 100 in Co. Dublin lat Saturday. William's father Robert was also buried from Garryduff Presbyterian Church when he died at the North West 200 road race in 2008. MP Ian Paisley Jnr pictured the funeral service. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 11th July 2018 Funeral for road racer William Dunlop at Garryduff Presbyterian Church outside Ballymoney in Co. Antrim. The 32-year-old was killed while participating in the practise session of the Skerries 100 in Co. Dublin lat Saturday. William's father Robert was also buried from Garryduff Presbyterian Church when he died at the North West 200 road race in 2008. Family and friends pictured the funeral service. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 11th July 2018 Funeral for road racer William Dunlop at Garryduff Presbyterian Church outside Ballymoney in Co. Antrim. The 32-year-old was killed while participating in the practise session of the Skerries 100 in Co. Dublin lat Saturday. William's father Robert was also buried from Garryduff Presbyterian Church when he died at the North West 200 road race in 2008. Road racer Glenn Irwin pictured the funeral service. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 11th July 2018 Funeral for road racer William Dunlop at Garryduff Presbyterian Church outside Ballymoney in Co. Antrim. The 32-year-old was killed while participating in the practise session of the Skerries 100 in Co. Dublin lat Saturday. William's father Robert was also buried from Garryduff Presbyterian Church when he died at the North West 200 road race in 2008. William Dunlop's brother Michael arrives for the funeral service. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 11th July 2018 Funeral for road racer William Dunlop at Garryduff Presbyterian Church outside Ballymoney in Co. Antrim. The 32-year-old was killed while participating in the practise session of the Skerries 100 in Co. Dublin lat Saturday. William's father Robert was also buried from Garryduff Presbyterian Church when he died at the North West 200 road race in 2008. Family and friends pictured the funeral service. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 11th July 2018 General view of the PSNI officers at the scene of the Cluan Place bonfire in east Belfast as contractors remove material from the 11th night bonfire. A large police operation was also put in place with over 100 PSNI officers in riot gear present at the scene. Councillor Jim Rodgers speaks to the police. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press E Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 11th July 2018 Funeral for road racer William Dunlop at Garryduff Presbyterian Church outside Ballymoney in Co. Antrim. The 32-year-old was killed while participating in the practise session of the Skerries 100 in Co. Dublin lat Saturday. William's father Robert was also buried from Garryduff Presbyterian Church when he died at the North West 200 road race in 2008. Mourners pictured the funeral service. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 11th July 2018 Funeral for road racer William Dunlop at Garryduff Presbyterian Church outside Ballymoney in Co. Antrim. The 32-year-old was killed while participating in the practise session of the Skerries 100 in Co. Dublin lat Saturday. William's father Robert was also buried from Garryduff Presbyterian Church when he died at the North West 200 road race in 2008. Mourners pictured the funeral service. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 11th July 2018 Funeral for road racer William Dunlop at Garryduff Presbyterian Church outside Ballymoney in Co. Antrim. The 32-year-old was killed while participating in the practise session of the Skerries 100 in Co. Dublin lat Saturday. William's father Robert was also buried from Garryduff Presbyterian Church when he died at the North West 200 road race in 2008. Family friend and sports commentator Liam Beckett pictured the funeral service. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye William's partner Janine as the funeral of William Dunlop takes place in Ballymoney on July 11th 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of William Dunlop takes place in Ballymoney on July 11th 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of William Dunlop takes place in Ballymoney on July 11th 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of William Dunlop takes place in Ballymoney on July 11th 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Michael Dunlop The funeral of William Dunlop takes place in Ballymoney on July 11th 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Daniel Dunlop The funeral of William Dunlop takes place in Ballymoney on July 11th 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph William's partner Janine as the funeral of William Dunlop takes place in Ballymoney on July 11th 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of William Dunlop takes place in Ballymoney on July 11th 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph William's partner Janine as the funeral of William Dunlop takes place in Ballymoney on July 11th 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph William's partner Janine as the funeral of William Dunlop takes place in Ballymoney on July 11th 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of William Dunlop takes place in Ballymoney on July 11th 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of William Dunlop takes place in Ballymoney on July 11th 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph The funeral of William Dunlop takes place in Ballymoney on July 11th 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Motorcycle racing fans attend the funeral of Road Racing champion William Dunlop at Garryduff Presbyterian Church, Ballymoney after he died in a crash during practice for the Skerries 100 in County Dublin. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Wednesday July 11, 2018. See PA story FUNERAL Dunlop. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA William Dunlop funeral The funeral of William Dunlop takes place in Ballymoney on July 11th 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph TV presenter Adrian Logan attends the funeral of Road Racing champion William Dunlop takes place at Garryduff Presbyterian Church, Ballymoney after he died in a crash during practice for the Skerries 100 in County Dublin. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Wednesday July 11, 2018. See PA story FUNERAL Dunlop. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 11th July 2018 Funeral for road racer William Dunlop at Garryduff Presbyterian Church outside Ballymoney in Co. Antrim. The 32-year-old was killed while participating in the practise session of the Skerries 100 in Co. Dublin lat Saturday. William's father Robert was also buried from Garryduff Presbyterian Church when he died at the North West 200 road race in 2008. William Dunlop's family, including his brother Michael(back right) carry his coffin from the church after the funeral service. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 11th July 2018 Funeral for road racer William Dunlop at Garryduff Presbyterian Church outside Ballymoney in Co. Antrim. The 32-year-old was killed while participating in the practise session of the Skerries 100 in Co. Dublin lat Saturday. William's father Robert was also buried from Garryduff Presbyterian Church when he died at the North West 200 road race in 2008. William Dunlop's family, including his brother Michael(back right) carry his coffin from the church after the funeral service. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 11th July 2018 Funeral for road racer William Dunlop at Garryduff Presbyterian Church outside Ballymoney in Co. Antrim. The 32-year-old was killed while participating in the practise session of the Skerries 100 in Co. Dublin lat Saturday. William's father Robert was also buried from Garryduff Presbyterian Church when he died at the North West 200 road race in 2008. William Dunlop's family, including his brother Michael(back right) carry his coffin from the church after the funeral service. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 11th July 2018 Funeral for road racer William Dunlop at Garryduff Presbyterian Church outside Ballymoney in Co. Antrim. The 32-year-old was killed while participating in the practise session of the Skerries 100 in Co. Dublin lat Saturday. William's father Robert was also buried from Garryduff Presbyterian Church when he died at the North West 200 road race in 2008. William Dunlop's family carry his coffin from the church after the funeral service as fellow road racer Glenn Irwin looks on. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 11th July 2018 Funeral for road racer William Dunlop at Garryduff Presbyterian Church outside Ballymoney in Co. Antrim. The 32-year-old was killed while participating in the practise session of the Skerries 100 in Co. Dublin lat Saturday. William's father Robert was also buried from Garryduff Presbyterian Church when he died at the North West 200 road race in 2008. William Dunlop's family, including his brother Michael(back right) carry his coffin from the church after the funeral service. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 11th July 2018 Funeral for road racer William Dunlop at Garryduff Presbyterian Church outside Ballymoney in Co. Antrim. The 32-year-old was killed while participating in the practise session of the Skerries 100 in Co. Dublin lat Saturday. William's father Robert was also buried from Garryduff Presbyterian Church when he died at the North West 200 road race in 2008. William Dunlop's family, including his brother Michael(back right) carry his coffin from the church after the funeral service as fellow road racer Glenn Irwin looks on. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye / Facebook

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Whatsapp The funeral of William Dunlop takes place in Ballymoney on July 11th 2018 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph)

"To those who visited Louises home and attended the funeral, please know that support is very much valued. Seeing the care and love given to Williams Mummy and Nana has been remarkable.

"His brothers have done him so proud. As a couple, we created a new family circle and combined they have taken such special care of Ella and I, organising everything and allowing me to concentrate on my main priority  my babies.

"My mum, granny and sister havent left my side and I dont know what I would have done without them. Road racers have hearts like lions, but I am surrounded by the strongest women you could ever hope to meet. I hope that I can do them proud too.

"William raced because it was his passion, woven deep within his DNA, but he was allowed to live his life doing that passion professionally thanks to his supporters. Thank you for that unfaltering support.

"Finally, to those who have been so outstandingly generous to Ella and I, well, thank you just isnt anywhere near enough, but please know how much I truly appreciate it. You have shown such incredible compassion.

"One day I will be able to share the incredible memories and achievements with both our children, I will also be able to share the little mundane private memories that made up our family life  all of them are equally as important. They will always know how special Daddy was and how much he loves them  William was a tremendous sportsman, but where he really shone brightest was as a father. I promise that they will always know that.

"I miss him more than words can possibly say, but am so thankful I will always have part of William with me, forever.

"I would give anything for one more day.

"Thank you with all my heart."
Dozens of Ryanairs Irish-based pilots are staging their third 24-hour strike in an ongoing dispute over working arrangements including annual leave and promotions.

The industrial action has led to the cancellation of 16 flights affecting some 2,500 customers.

The 24-hour stoppage began at 1am on Tuesday as pilots picketed the airlines headquarters in Swords, Co Dublin.

The budget airline criticised the strikes as unnecessary and warned that if they continue, there could be job losses.

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Whatsapp Ryanair pilots stage a protest (Niall Carson/PA)

Trade union Forsa, which represents the pilots, hit out at the airline company.

A spokesman for the union said: This kind of threatening statement is not conducive to building trust and reaching a resolution to the dispute, and Forsa doesnt accept that jobs or expansion in the airline need be put at risk by company management.

The union said that the pilots continue to seek a fair and transparent method to govern base transfers and related matters which they say is common practice in the industry.

The spokesman added: At present, company management has total discretion on transfers, which can see pilots moved to bases thousands of miles from their homes and families.

Expand Close A Ryanair plane comes in to land (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Most other airlines have a fair and transparent criteria, based on seniority, to govern pilot relocations.

Forsa and Ryanair management have met twice in the last two weeks, for some nine hours.

The union said that the discussions found common ground on the possibility of establishing a joint working group to thrash out the disputed issues, however the parties couldnt agree on terms of reference for such a group.

In a statement, Ryanair said that it is available to meet Forsa at any time.

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After three months and two meetings lasting over nine hours, Forsa still havent responded to our written proposals on seniority, base transfers and annual leave, which addresses their claimed requirements.

Sadly Forsa prefer to strike first rather than use strikes as a last resort.

When Ryanair has already agreed pilot recognition deals in bigger markets like Italy and the UK, clearly its for Forsa and 25% of the Irish pilots that are causing these problems in Ireland, not Ryanair.

Good news  all 28 first wave Dublin aircraft departed on schedule this morning with lots of families travelling on holidays  thanks to the efforts of the majority (75%) of our pilots who are working normally.  Ryanair (@Ryanair) July 24, 2018

Meanwhile, Ryanair cabin crew in Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Italy are going on strike on Wednesday and Thursday, leading to the cancellation of 600 flights over two days and affecting 100,00 passengers.

The airline will have to either refund the passengers or arrange alternative flights.

Unions in the countries say they want Ryanair staff to be employed according to the national legislation of the country they operate in, rather than that of Ireland.
A firefighter sprays water on the fire in the town of Mati (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Government officials are providing help to a number of Irish people caught up in wildfires sweeping through Greek towns which have killed more than 70 people.

The Department of Foreign Affairs declined to confirm whether Irish citizens have been injured in the fires outside Athens, but confirmed it was providing consular assistance to a number of Irish people.

The number of people who have died in the forest fires that raged through holiday resorts has increased to 74.

Our condolences with Greece at this difficult time. Irish citizens in region should keep up to date with local media + follow advice of Greek authorities in affected areas. Irish citizens affected can contact Irish Embassy in Athens +30 210 723 2771 or my Dept +353 1 408 2000.  Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) July 24, 2018

Fires started west of Athens near the town of Kineta, while further outbreaks started in Rafina.

Hundreds of people ran to beaches as gale-force winds exacerbated the fires.

Twenty-six of the deaths were groups of families or friends who were found huddled together as they tried to escape the raging fires.

Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney issued advice for Irish citizens.

He tweeted: Irish citizens in region should keep up to date with local media and follow advice of Greek authorities in affected areas. Irish citizens affected can contact Irish Embassy in Athens +30 210 723 2771 or my Department +353 1 408 2000.

President Higgins has written to the President of #Greece to offer, "on behalf of the people of Ireland, our deepest condolences and our solidarity."https://t.co/05PK7USV77  President of Ireland (@PresidentIRL) July 24, 2018

President Michael D Higgins said he has written to Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos to express his sympathies with the families of those who have lost their lives and livelihoods in the fires.

He said: Following my visit to Greece and my meeting with him and the president of Italy and Portugal, I am very conscious of the resilience of the Greek people, who should be assisted by all of us in these difficult times.

I offered, on behalf of the people of Ireland, our deepest condolences and our solidarity.
A row over a mooted amnesty for Troubles soldiers is discouraging victims from having their say on new mechanisms for dealing with the conflicts legacy, their official advocate has warned.

Victims Commissioner Judith Thompson said the political wrangle over a potential statute of limitations for security force members was proving a distraction from a public consultation on other proposals designed to help the injured and bereaved.

Accusing the regions politicians of near silence on the consultation, Ms Thompson also claimed a lack of a high-profile awareness campaign meant thousands of victims were potentially unaware it was happening.

This is a distraction that is in danger of generating a disproportionate response to the consultation from Great Britain and will effectively turn off potential respondents in Northern IrelandJudith Thompson

The Government angered some of its backbenchers when it did not include an amnesty among the proposals it put out for the four-month consultation in May.

Explaining the decision, Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley said such a measure would be unacceptable, because it would also have to cover terror suspects accused of historic crimes.

Ms Thompson suggested the controversy was having a negative effect on the number of victims coming forward to have their say.

Expand Close Northern Ireland Victims Commissioner Judith Thompson said the controversy was having a negative effect on the number of victims coming forward (Commission for Victims and Survivors/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Northern Ireland Victims Commissioner Judith Thompson said the controversy was having a negative effect on the number of victims coming forward (Commission for Victims and Survivors/PA)

To date the public debate has centred around an issue that is not in the proposed legislation, she said.

A statute of limitations or an amnesty for security services cannot be delivered in isolation from others who have caused harm.

This is a distraction that is in danger of generating a disproportionate response to the consultation from Great Britain and will effectively turn off potential respondents in Northern Ireland.

The consultation is canvassing views on a series of new mechanisms to investigate, document and uncover the truth around killings during the 30-year conflict.

It is based on a blueprint agreed by the Stormont parties and UK and Irish Governments in the 2014 Stormont House Agreement.

The implementation of the agreed mechanisms, which include a new independent investigation unit and a truth recovery body, has been delayed amid ongoing political discord in Northern Ireland.

The consultation is a bid to inject some momentum into efforts to making those new bodies a reality, but it has become embroiled in controversy over what is not included in the document, rather than what is.

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Late last year, the Government, which is to spend 150 million setting up the new institutions, indicated that a statute of limitations protecting security force members from historic prosecutions may be added to the consultation.

The prospect of such a move was met by a wave of opposition in Northern Ireland.

Both Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionists voiced concern, as did the Irish Government and representatives of the victims sector.

The DUP and some military veterans in Northern Ireland made the point that any such statute would, by law, have to be extended to also cover former paramilitaries  something they branded unacceptable.

Senior DUP figures favour protections for ex-service personnel as part of wider legislation that focuses on all conflicts, including Iraq and Afghanistan.

While the decision to remove the contentious proposal from the consultation was therefore widely expected in Northern Ireland when it was launched in May, it nonetheless generated opposition both within the Cabinet and on the Conservative backbenches.

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Whatsapp Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson was among ministers unhappy at the prospect of veteran servicemen being prosecuted (David Cheskin/PA)

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson was among ministers unhappy at the prospect of veteran servicemen being prosecuted.

Urging a major publicity drive over the last six weeks of the consultation, Ms Thompson called on the Government, local politicians, councils and civic groups to help.

This is probably the most important public consultation process since the Good Friday Agreement referendum, she said.

Yet the lack of a high-profile public information campaign could result in thousands of victims and survivors in Northern Ireland missing out on the opportunity to have a say on the institutions designed to give them access to justice, information and services.

This is our best opportunity to have a meaningful say in the design and delivery of the proposed institutionsJudith Thompson

The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency conducted a population survey for the Commission earlier this year and 26% of respondents said they were affected by the conflict in Northern Ireland. That is one in four of our total population.

Fifty-eight percent thought it was important or very important to deal with the legacy of the past and 73% supported the provision of a pension for the severely injured.

These statistics tell us that the legacy of the conflict is an issue for all of us and we all benefit if effective mechanisms are delivered to address these issues. This is our best opportunity to have a meaningful say in the design and delivery of the proposed institutions.

While this is Westminster legislation, our locally elected representatives have been virtually silent on the need for individual victims and survivors who are not involved in groups to be given the information and encouragement to have a say in how an Historical Investigations Unit, an Independent Commission for Information Retrieval, an Implementation and Reconciliation Group, and an Oral History Archive could be developed to benefit those who have suffered the most.

The commissioner is launching a series of public and private events across Northern Ireland to provide information about the consultation.
Robinsons squash firm Britvic has said Britains recent carbon dioxide crisis hit its fizzy drink sales and left it unable to make the most of surging demand amid the summer heatwave. (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

Robinsons squash firm Britvic has said Britains recent carbon dioxide crisis hit its fizzy drink sales and left it unable to make the most of surging demand amid the summer heatwave.

The company said UK sales of fizzy drinks, excluding the new soft drinks sugar tax, fell 2.9% in the three months to July 8 due to the CO2 woes.

It was forced to switch promotions to its still drinks ranges, which saw sales jump 11.7% stripping out the sugar tax impact.

This helped UK sales overall rise 8%, or 1.9% higher excluding the sugar tax, while underlying group sales fell 0.6% in the quarter.

Including the sugar tax, group revenues rose 3.4%.

The group  which also bottles Pepsi in the UK and Ireland  said CO2 supplies are now back to normal and it has started rebuilding its stock levels and launching further fizzy drink promotions.

Expand Close Britvic chief executive Simon Litherland (Handout/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook

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Simon Litherland, chief executive of Britvic, said: Whilst the industry-wide shortage of carbon dioxide held back our ability to fully capitalise on the exceptional weather in Great Britain and Ireland, we leveraged the breadth and strength of our portfolio to moderate the impact.

Consequently, we remain confident of achieving market expectations for the full year.

Britains fizzy drink shortage was caused by a raft of closures of factories producing the gas as a by-product of the fertiliser industry.

Factories normally close temporarily for maintenance in the summer, but this year too many plants across Europe shut at the same time, leaving CO2 supplies woefully short.

In its trading update, Britvic said it was unable to fully gauge the impact of the UK soft drinks sugar tax, which was introduced in April, given the CO2 shortage and the recent boost from warm weather.

It said it would have a clearer picture of the impact at the end of the year.

Early indications remain positive for the category and Britvic, with the shift from full sugar to low or no sugar products accelerating, it added.
Aggressive, over-excitable dogs are more likely to die young, a study has suggested.

Around one third of deaths in dogs in the UK are caused by undesirable behaviours, the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) said.

Researchers said such behaviours may be a sign of undiagnosed medical conditions or as a result of poor training.

More than three-quarters of all dogs to die from undesirable behaviours are put down, RVC said.

Those behind the study, who said it is the biggest ever undertaken into behavioural reasons for deaths in young dogs in the UK, suggested better training and socialising could help address the issue and potentially save the animals lives.

Pioneering work from Vet Compass into the impact of canine behaviour of their long term health and prospects https://t.co/uK7dN9Jw56 pic.twitter.com/H4SssRwr43  Royal Veterinary College (RVC) (@RoyalVetCollege) July 24, 2018

The study looked at data on a quarter of a million dogs in the UK and found 1,574 dogs that had died before the age of three, the RVC said.

Aggression was the most common undesirable behaviour that led to death, with road accidents coming next.

Researchers also found that crossbred dogs were more likely to die from such behaviours than pure breeds, and breeds with the highest risk were the Cocker Spaniel, West Highland White Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and Jack Russell Terrier.

Study supervisor Dan ONeill said some owners use severe punishments including beatings and electric shock collars if their pets misbehave, meaning the animals are at risk of compromised welfare.

Dr ONeill said: (The study) suggests the importance of good socialisation of puppies by breeders, of sensible breed selection by owners and of careful dog training after acquiring a dog, to ensure that the lives of dogs and owners are fulfilling for all parties involved.

He added: Greater awareness of the scale of this issue can be the first step towards reducing the problems and making the lives of thousands of our young dogs happier.

Steve Dean, chairman of the Kennel Club Charitable Trust, suggested better training of young dogs could cut the number of animals dying.

He said: We hope that this new research will create awareness of the significant numbers of dogs that lose their lives because they have never been properly socialised or trained.

The trust provides an annual grant to support the RVCs VetCompass programme which conducted the study.
Queen Elizabeth II and US President Donald Trump during his visit to the UK (Chris Jackson/PA)

Donald Trump could return to the UK next spring for a full state visit, the American ambassador to London has predicted.

Despite Mr Trump causing uproar on his recent visit by openly criticising Theresa Mays Brexit strategy while hundreds of thousands of people protested against the president on the streets across Britain, ambassador Woody Johnson hailed the trip a flying colours success.

He told Channel 4s When Trump Came To Town: Inside The American Embassy: Well, its hard to know, but well, yeah, I mean a state visit next spring would be, I think, kind of, the next step on his visits, but he might visit before that, who knows?

The president left accomplishing I think what he wanted to accomplish

Mr Johnson added: I think everybody in this embassy saw this as a great honour to actually be around and plan for the presidents first visit.

And, I think we did it, and with flying colours.

And the president left accomplishing I think what he wanted to accomplish.

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Mr Trumps visit was one of the most extraordinary by a foreign head of state in recent times.

As well as saying Mrs May had not taken his advice on Brexit, Mr Trump heaped praise on the Prime Ministers potential rival for Tory leader Boris Johnson.

At a joint press conference with Mrs May, the US president tried to row back on his criticism of the PM stating: I would give our relationship with the UK the highest level of special.

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Am I allowed to go higher than that? I am not sure. Its the highest level of special.

But one of the most enduring images of the visit, which became an international talking point, was a giant blimp that flew above Parliament Square depicting Mr Trump as an angry, orange baby in a nappy.
Sajid Javids position was set out in a letter to US attorney general Jeff Sessions (Victoria Jones/PA)

The Government has defended a decision not to seek assurances from Washington that two Britons suspected of fighting for Islamic State would not face execution if extradited to the US to face terror charges.

Downing Street said Theresa May backed the decision by Home Secretary Sajid Javid not to seek death penalty assurances as the case of two suspected members of ISs so-called Beatles cell sparked uproar in Westminster.

MPs on all sides accused Mr Javid of breaching the UKs long-standing opposition to the death penalty, while the Governments former reviewer of anti-terror legislation Lord Carlile branded the move extraordinary.

'While the alleged crimes of Alexanda Kotey and Shafee El-Sheikh are appalling, the UK's principled opposition to the cruelty of the #DeathPenalty isn't something it should compromise.' https://t.co/Hc0bEhS2J2 pic.twitter.com/1HZPWo7zgD  Amnesty UK (@AmnestyUK) July 23, 2018

It emerged on Monday night that Boris Johnson backed Mr Javids decision in the case of Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh while still foreign secretary despite some reservations.

The Daily Telegraph reported an internal document which said he thought it could damage future attempts to dissuade the use of the death penalty but agrees that the benefits outweigh the risks in this instance.

Amnesty International said Mr Javid was leaving the door wide open to charges of hypocrisy and double standards by failing to seek cast-iron assurances from the US that the two men will not be executed.

Home Office minister Ben Wallace was summoned to answer questions from alarmed MPs in the Commons, where he insisted that there had been no other cases of the requirement being waived since he took on the security brief in 2016.

Asked whether the Prime Minister approved of Mr Javids position, set out in a letter to US attorney general Jeff Sessions obtained by The Daily Telegraph, a Downing Street spokeswoman initially said only that Mrs May was made aware of it, adding that the Government opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle.

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But Number 10 later shifted its line, telling reporters that Mrs May supports the Home Secretarys handling of the case and hopes it will end with the two men remaining in prison for the rest of their lives.

The ultimate aim for all of us in our discussions with the US is to make sure that these men face the rest of their lives in prison. That is also what the victims families want, said the Downing Street spokeswoman.

In this instance, after careful and considered advice, the Government took the decision not to seek assurances. That was deemed by ministers to be appropriate.

The Prime Minister was aware of these plans and supports the way that these are being handled.

I am of the view that there are strong reasons for not requiring a death penalty assurance in this specific caseHome Secretary Sajid Javid

Kotey and Elsheikh are said to have been members of a brutal four-man cell of IS executioners in Syria and Iraq, responsible for killing a series of high-profile Western captives, including British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning and US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff.

Nicknamed after the 1960s band because of their British accents, the cell is also believed to have included Mohammed Emwazi  known as Jihadi John  who was killed in a US air strike in 2015, and Aine Davis, who has been jailed in Turkey.

Kotey and Elsheikh, who are understood to have been stripped of their British citizenship, were captured in January, sparking a row over whether they should be returned to the UK for trial or face justice in another jurisdiction.

The letter sparked alarm in Westminster, with shadow attorney general Baroness Chakrabarti saying that Mr Javid appeared to have secretly and unilaterally abandoned Britains opposition to the death penalty.

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She warned: By doing so he is not just playing with the lives of these particular terrorists but those of other Britons  including potentially innocent ones  all over the world.

Lord Carlile described the move as a dramatic change of policy by a minister, secretly, without any discussion in Parliament.

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Sir Ed Davey said: By refusing to stand up to Donald Trumps administration on this issue, Sajid Javid has abdicated his responsibility to uphold fundamental human rights.

"Opposing the death penalty is one of the fundamental principles that underpins our country's commitment to human rights." - @EHRCChair's response to today's news story. More: https://t.co/NWffP3epKh pic.twitter.com/9uacjzE4n5  EHRC (@EHRC) July 23, 2018

David Isaac, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said: Opposing the death penalty is one of the fundamental principles that underpins our countrys commitment to human rights. There is no conflict between these values and ensuring that justice is served.

Mr Wallace assured the Commons that ministers have complied with the European Convention on Human Rights and due process.

But he was heckled by opposition MPs as he said it would be bizarre and not justice to the victims if the authorities simply let them free to roam around the United Kingdom because of concerns about sharing evidence with the US.

Tory former attorney general Dominic Grieve said the decision represented a major departure from normal policy, adding: Those are the key questions and until theyre answered I have to say to him this issue is going to continue to haunt the Government.
It was summer, the Conservatives were in turmoil over Europe and a fellow called Rees-Mogg was proving to be a thorn in the side of the prime minister.

Not 2018, but 1993. Newly released official documents from the time reveal the glee of John Major when he scored a notable victory over his would-be nemesis.

That year, William Rees-Mogg, father of the current MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, former editor of The Times and a crossbench peer in the House of Lords, launched a legal bid to thwart Mr Major over the Maastricht Treaty.

He applied to the courts seeking leave to apply for judicial review of the governments intention to ratify the agreement which turned the European Community into the European Union and led to the creation of the euro.

The issue had already split the Conservative Party in Parliament, and government lawyers warned ministers could be in contempt of court if they went ahead before legal proceedings had been resolved.

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The files released by the National Archives show Mr Majors delight when he was told the judges had ruled against Lord Rees-Mogg.

The outcome was even better than our lawyers had expected, his private secretary Roderic Lyne informed him.

The Foreign Secretary (Douglas Hurd) is exercising restraint in public comment for the time being.

He does not wish to provoke the Rees-Mogg brigade into a further Quixotic action if there is a chance that they will abandon their expensive and ultimately pointless exercise.

Mr Major was having none of it. Good, he wrote. A full gloat is merited.

The files also show how, as the economy struggled, Mr Major sought inspiration from an unlikely source  the wartime British fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley.

The prime minister requested details of the policies for economic regeneration advocated in the 1920s and 1930s by Mosley and by Winston Churchill when he was chancellor of the exchequer.

William Chapman, the official instructed to assist, said Mosleys plans included an emergency pensions scheme to encourage people to retire early releasing jobs for others, and a programme of construction works including drainage and slum clearance.

Mosley also considered that an insulated economic system of the United Kingdom and the Empire was necessary (later this became the UK within Europe), he wrote.

Majors response to the paper is not recorded and there is no evidence it influenced his plans.
Fracking at a site in Lancashire has been given the final go-ahead by the Government.

Shale company Cuadrilla has been granted permission to undertake the controversial process at the site at Preston New Road, subject to certain conditions being met.

Energy and Clean Growth Minister Claire Perry said the company had met all the necessary environmental and health and safety measures in order to give it the go-ahead.

But certain conditions had to be met, including supplying the Business and Energy Department with the latest accounts for co-investor Spirit Energy, or a deposit in support of any potential liabilities for decommissioning costs.

Ms Perry said shale gas had the potential to be a new domestic energy source further enhancing our energy security and helping us with our continued transition to a lower-carbon economy.

She said: It also has the capacity to deliver substantial economic benefits, both nationally and locally, as well as through the creation of well-paid, high-quality jobs.

We already have an excellent, long-standing reputation for safe oil and gas exploration.

Our world-class regulations will ensure that shale exploration will maintain robust environmental standards and meet the expectations of local communities.

Francis Egan, chief executive of Cuadrilla, said: We are very pleased to be the first operator in the UK to have been awarded final consent to hydraulically fracture the UKs first onshore horizontal shale exploration well.

This is a testament to, and underpinned by, our strong track record of running a world-class shale gas exploration site at Preston New Road, in compliance with robust health, safety, environmental and planning regulations.

He said the move was a win for Lancashire which had already benefited from more than 10 million of investment as a result of exploration work at the site, and the company would be submitting a consent application for the second well at Preston New Road.

But the site has been the subject of ongoing protests from local people and campaigners who object to hydraulic fracturing  in which liquid is pumped at high pressure deep underground to fracture rock and release gas.

Opponents fear it can cause earthquakes, pollute water, lead to damaging development in the countryside and hit house prices, and is not compatible with targets to cut fossil fuel use to tackle climate change.

Early this month, MPs warned the Government against its plans to deal with planning applications for fracking at a national level, under the nationally significant infrastructure projects regime, saying it would be damaging to local democracy.

Liz Hutchins, Friends of the Earth director of campaigns, said it had taken seven years for the industry to get to this point, during which time renewables had gone from supplying a tenth of the UKs electricity to a third.

There is no need to force fracking on this community in Lancashire when the alternatives are so clear, she said.

The Government backed the wrong horse. Renewables have cleared the finishing line and have taken the cup while fracking is limping along on the first stretch.

She added: They have also had to really push the boundaries of planning law by trying to change regulations to go all-out for fracking, and theyve put everything into resuscitating this nearly dead-on-its-feet industry.

Shadow energy minister Alan Whitehead said the decision was riding roughshod over the opposition of local people and a previous ruling by the local council.

Overwhelmingly people dont want to take the unnecessary risk with fracking, to our natural environment and the purity of our water.

Labour will ban fracking, instead committing to building our renewables sector and sourcing 60% of our energy from clean, green sources by 2030, he said.
Dogs are feeling the heat in the hot weather (Ben Birchall/ PA)

Dog owners are being urged to avoid exercising their pets during the hottest parts of the day as the UK is gripped by sweltering weather.

Pets can burn their paws on scorching pavements and are also at an increased risk of heatstroke, the RSPCA said.

The charity warned that many animals do not realise when they are becoming too hot and called on owners to take steps to keep their pets cool.

  Last year, we received 7,199 calls about dogs suffering from heat exposure. It doesn't matter if the windows are open or you won't be long: #DogsDieInHotCars. Always call the police on 999 if you see a dog in distress in a hot car. https://t.co/UvI0FmlVrB pic.twitter.com/f9JUtCA8Vd  RSPCA (England & Wales) (@RSPCA_official) July 23, 2018

More than 1,800 calls regarding animals and heat exposure were handled by the RSPCA between July 1 and July 22.

Operational superintendent Lee Hopgood said: There is a very serious side to keeping pets cool over summer as animals can suffer from heatstroke which could be fatal, especially if left in a hot car, conservatory or caravan.

Pets may struggle to realise when they are too hot so make sure they have constant access to shade and dont over exercise them in the heat.

Remember if the pavement is too hot for your hand then it will be too hot for their paws.

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Signs of burned paw pads include limping or refusing to walk, licking or chewing at the feet, parts of the pad missing or blisters and redness.

The RSPCA advice during the hot weather also includes:

 Never leave pets unattended in hot environments.

 Freeze water bowls before filling them to keep the liquid cool.

 Give pets damp towels to lie on, or let dogs lie in a paddling pool.

 Use pet-safe sun cream to protect animal skin.

 Ensure animals always have access to shade and drinking water.

 Only transport pets and farm animals when absolutely necessary

 Keep fish tanks out of direct sunlight and top up water in ponds.
Red Arrows flying over Buckingham Palace, London in the Royal Air Force 100 flypast to mark the RAFs centenary (Kirsty OConnor/PA)

Downing Street has defended plans to sell off the home of the Red Arrows, insisting the move will save taxpayers 140 million.

RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, which is home to the much-admired aerobatics display team, will close in 2022 as part of wider move to provide more modern and efficient military bases, according to No 10.

Officials are now carrying out work to find a new home for the Red Arrows.

Saddened that @DefenceHQ want to sell RAF Scampton as part of cost-saving measures. Not the best way to mark the #RAF100: closing the home of the @rafredarrows and Dambuster squadron. I will work with @LincolnshireCC & @WestLindseyDC to ensure the base has a bright future.  Sir Edward Leigh MP (@EdwardLeighMP) July 24, 2018

The air force will also pull out of RAF Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire in 2020.

It has been the base of the Tucano training aircraft, which is being retired.

The Ministry of Defence said it will concentrate basic and advanced fast jet training at RAF Valley in north Wales from 2019.

Sir Edward Leigh, Conservative MP for Gainsborough, said he was saddened the base, which is in his constituency, was to be sold.

He tweeted: Saddened that the Ministry of Defence want to sell RAF Scampton as part of cost-saving measures. Not the best way to mark the #RAF100: closing the home of the RAF Red Arrows and Dambuster squadron.

I will work with Lincolnshire County Council & West Lindsey District Council to ensure the base has a bright future.

Opened in 1916, the base is famous for being the headquarters of 617 Squadron as they prepared for the Dambusters mission.

It now employs 600 people and has been home to the Red Arrows display team for over 20 years.

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The Lincolnshire Echo reported on Tuesday that this years Scampton airshow was cancelled although organisers said it was because its inaugural event last year had made a loss.

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The MoD is expected to make 1.7 billion in savings in the next 10 years, prompting concerns that the defence budget is under too much strain.

Last month, the Commons Defence Committee called on the Government to increase defence spending from 2% to 3% of GDP, a boost of around 20 billion a year.

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Committee chairman Julian Lewis said the hike was necessary to place our defence policy on a sustainable basis to meet new threats and fill existing financial black holes.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said: That closure is part of a plan to deliver modern and efficient military bases, which will save the taxpayer about 140 million by the end of the decade.

Work is under way to find the Red Arrows a new home that is fit for purpose.

Shadow defence secretary Nia Griffith said: In the centenary year of the RAF, its extremely disappointing that both RAF Linton-on-Ouse and RAF Scampton, with its long heritage, will be closed.

It is particularly important that the Heritage Centre at RAF Scampton is either moved elsewhere or maintained in some way.

There will be a number of civilians working at both RAF Scampton and Linton-on-Ouse who will be extremely concerned about their future and we will be pressing the Government on their plans for these employees.
Richard Lewis, Vineyard Manager at the Chapel Down Winery near Tenterden, Kent, uses a refractometer to measure the sugar levels of grapes before their harvest following the long hot summer this year which created good growing conditions and the prospect of a bountiful crop of quality grapes.

Vineyards are hopeful that the heatwave over the UK will lead to a vintage year as the high temperatures create quality fruit and yields matching Frances Champagne region.

The Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) said 2018 was set to be a vintage year thanks to a wet spring followed by the heatwave that led to early flowering vines and generous bunches which were shaping up to provide a bountiful harvest.

WSTA chief executive Miles Beale said: The last bumper year for English wine was back in 2014 when good weather created ideal growing conditions for our grapes, with vineyards across the UK producing the equivalent of 6.3 million bottles of English and Welsh wine that year.

We normally crop about one third of Champagne (region). This year I would guess we would match their level.Viticultural consultant Stephen Skelton

Vineyards were hoping that 2018 would be even better, he said.

Viticultural consultant Stephen Skelton said: Vines like the heat. Its been the best year Ive ever known.

Its going to be a very early vintage, which is always good for quality.

As for volume, we normally crop about one third of Champagne (region). This year I would guess we would match their level.

He added: This year is much more like a continental climate with low rain and solid sunshine since bud burst.

Most people havent seen rain for a couple of months but I havent seen any vines suffering drought stress.

Chapel Down vineyard in Kent, which is the UKs largest producer of English sparkling wine, told The Drinks Business publication earlier this month that it had seen better conditions this year than ever before.

Chief executive Frazer Thompson said: As an industry we rely very heavily on the good Lord, and we realise he is a pretty unreliable partner, but this is the best Ive ever seen in 18 years.

The flowering has been completely uninterrupted and early, and the bunches look regular and superb, and the forecast is also good.

Every single vineyard that could go right has gone right  and often we get the right weather, but not in the right order, but this year we have had the right weather in the right order  14 was the last vintage that was a bit like that and it produced staggering wines.
Fire crews attempting to rescue people from Grenfell Tower and control the blaze lost the battle against the building, a watch manager has said.

Once the cladding caught alight, crews would not have been able to keep up with its rapid spread no matter how many more boots were on the ground, Paul Watson, watch manager at Hammersmith fire station, said.

He also described being unable to activate an automatic fire alarm throughout the building, poor radio reception and being a bit confused by the system of passing on 999 call information.

I know we saved a lot of people but I know we lost a lot of peoplePaul Watson, firefighter

In a written statement to the public inquiry, Mr Watson said: Once the fire caught the cladding, and surrounded the building, we could have had a lot more firefighters on the ground but we wouldnt have put that job out. It moved so fast.

The building didnt do its job and the building beat us.

I came away thinking that we lost the battle and the building beat us.

I know we saved a lot of people but I know we lost a lot of people.

I came away from a low on that job as although we did the best we could, circumstances, particularly the building, beat us.

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Mr Watson was in charge of a staging post on the ground floor, where he was holding firefighters until the bridgehead, a coordination point tracking entry into the building, was ready for them.

While there, a firefighter radioed him to say it appeared no fire alarms were sounding in the building.

He attempted to find an automatic fire alarm panel, but was unsuccessful, agreeing it was unusual not to find an automatic fire alarm system in a high-rise building.

Mr Watson also recalled the radios were difficult to use as there was poor reception and too many people trying to communicate at the same time.

He later moved to the second floor and started passing on information from 999 calls made by trapped residents.

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He wrote floor and flat numbers on pieces of paper, and handed them to firefighters, who then gave them to people on the bridgehead who recorded which flat they were going to.

He said in the written statement: I was then, and I still am, a bit confused that we had this system in place.

Normally all of the FSG (fire survival guidance) information goes from the control unit straight to the bridgehead.

But on this occasion we had the information going to watch manager (Glynn) Williams at the door, then to me, then to the firefighters who took the slips up to the bridgehead.

The public inquiry is being held at Holborn Bars, in central London.

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Senior fire officer Gareth Cook gave evidence after Mr Watson, describing a catalogue of problems which hindered operations on the night.

Mr Cook, a station manager based in north-west London, said the smoke extraction system, which should have kept the stairwells clear, was not working.

He also recalled problems using the dry riser  a dry main which requires crews to pump water from their engine into a hollow pipe running through the building, allowing them to screw in hoses at points on each floor.

Teams were forced to heave hoses up flights of stairs because there was no safe place to set it up, he said.

He also had to fix several broken hoses, which were causing water to gush out, and a massive issue regarding water pressure.

Falling debris had caused the dry riser hose to be stabbed and punctured, he said, which heavily reduced the amount of water being delivered.

In addition, at a routine familiarisation visit made to the tower before the fire, he said he could not recall seeing a premises information plate, which gives crews key information about the building.
Hundreds are missing after a hydroelectric dam collapsed in Laos

A number of people are dead and hundreds are missing after a hydroelectric dam collapsed in south-eastern Laos, state media reported.

The Xepian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower dam in Attapeu province collapsed on Monday evening, releasing large amounts of water and sweeping away houses, according to official news agency KPL.

It said more than 6,600 people have been left homeless.

The dam was constructed by a joint venture led by South Korean companies, with Thai and Lao partners.

It was scheduled to open this year, but it was unclear if it had begun operating.

The portion that collapsed has been described as a saddle dam, which is an auxiliary dam used to hold water beyond what is held by the main dam.

Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith suspended the planned monthly meeting of the government for August and led his Cabinet members and other senior officials to Sanamxay (district) to monitor rescue and relief efforts being made for flood victims, KPL said.

Many areas of Laos have been hit recently by flooding from seasonal rains.

Electricity from several hydroelectric dams provides a large share of Laos export earnings, with Thailand being a major buyer.

KPL said the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy project cost an estimated 1.02 billion dollars (777 million).
The husband of porn film performer Stormy Daniels has filed for divorce in Texas.

Ms Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, says that she had sex with Donald Trump before he became president, something Mr Trump has denied.

My client Stormy Daniels and her husband Glen have decided to end their marriage. A petition for divorce was filed last week, the accuracy of which is vehemently disputed. Stormys daughter remains her number one priority. She kindly asks for privacy for the sake of her family.  Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) July 23, 2018

Glendon Crain filed the petition for divorce on July 18 in district court in Kaufman County, located just south east of Dallas.

In his 13-page divorce petition, Mr Crain alleged adultery as grounds for the divorce and seeks sole custody of the couples seven-year-old daughter and child support from Ms Clifford, as well as a disproportionate share of the couples community property.

Ms Daniels lawyer Michael Avenatti said in a tweet that Ms Daniels and Mr Crain decided mutually to end their marriage and that the accuracy of the divorce petition is vehemently disputed.
Syrian troops flash the victory sign next to the Syrian flag in Tell al-Haara, the highest hill in the southwestern Daraa province, Syria (AP)

The Israeli military said it has shot down a Syrian fighter jet that entered its airspace.

The advance of the Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet was monitored on Tuesday before the Israeli military shot it down with a pair of Patriot missiles after it entered Israeli airspace by about two miles.

It is only the second such incident along the border in 30 years.

The military said there had been an increase in the internal fighting in Syria since the morning hours, including an increase in the activity of the Syrian air force.

Israeli forces said they are on high alert and would continue to protect Israeli territory.

Syrian forces have been battling rebels and Islamic State militants at the frontier with Israel in recent weeks.

Tuesday marked the first time Syrian government forces reached the border fence with the UNs Disengagement Observer Force at the edge of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Two Patriot missiles were launched at a Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet that infiltrated about 1 mile into Israeli airspace. The IDF monitored the fighter jet, which was then intercepted by the Patriot missiles. pic.twitter.com/owL4Pm7zER  Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) July 24, 2018

An Israeli military spokesman said the plane departed from the Syrian T4 air base, which Israel is believed to have attacked earlier this year.

Lt Col Jonathan Conricus said that the plane flew toward Israel at relatively high speed before breaching the countrys airspace.

He said it is not known if the plane deliberately crossed into Israel, and the fate of the pilot is also unknown.

The plane crashed in the southern part of the Syrian Golan Heights, he said.

Lt Col Conricus said the increased activity near Israels frontier with Syria put the military on elevated alert and prompted Israel to issue a number of warnings through different channels to ensure a 1974 agreement which sets out a demilitarised zone along the shared Syria-Israel frontier would not be violated.

It is the first time Israel has shot down a Syrian jet in four years.

The military captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967, with the UN deploying a peacekeeping force between the two sides in 1974.

It is the first time government forces have taken up positions along the frontier since an uprising against Syrian president Bashar Assad swept through the country in 2011.

Islamic State militants later seized territory from rebels along the frontier region.
Acting Chief Justice faces 5 complaints

Five complaints have been filed at the Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee against Acting Chief Justice Deepak Raj Joshee claiming that he is unfit to lead the judiciary.
A six-month prison sentence given to a 15-year-old Indonesian girl who had an abortion after being raped by her brother has been strongly criticised

A six-month prison sentence given to a 15-year-old Indonesian girl who had an abortion after being raped by her brother has been strongly criticised.

A district court in Jambi province also sentenced the girl's 18-year-old brother to two years' imprisonment.

Easmus Napitupulu of the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform said the court did not take into account the reason for the abortion.

A spokeswoman for the Embun Pagi Women School in Jambi said the girl's sentence was unfair and violated child protection law.

Abortion is illegal in Indonesia, but is allowed in cases of rape. However, it must take place within one and a half months of becoming pregnant and must be performed by professionals.

The teenage girl had her abortion when she was six months' pregnant.
The death toll from forest fires that raged through seaside resorts near the Greek capital has increased to 74.

Fire service spokeswoman Stavroula Malliri said that a further 164 adults and 23 children are still being treated in hospitals for injuries after the fires broke out near Athens.

One of the fires began to the west of Athens near the town of Kineta, with another starting to the north-east near the port of Rafina  the latter seeing the worst of the casualties.

Both fires were fanned by gale-force winds that hampered firefighting efforts and sent hundreds of people fleeing to beaches, where they were evacuated by boat late at night.

Twenty-six of the dead were groups of families or friends found huddled together in Mati, near Rafina. Others swam out to sea to escape the inferno and some never came back.

Expand Close Burned-out cars destroyed in the wildfires line a road near the village of Neos Voutzas (AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

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Greece endures wildfires every year but the fires that broke out on Monday were the deadliest to hit the country in decades. Fuelled by gale-force winds, they trapped thousands of people on beaches, roads and in homes.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras declared three days of national mourning for those killed as officials feared the death toll could rise even further, as there is no definitive count of how many people are missing.

Coast guard boats patrolled the shores near fire-hit areas after more than 700 people trapped by quick-moving fires had to be rescued from beaches or the sea, where six of the dead were found.

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While Greek authorities urged the public to contact them if they were looking for loved ones, many people took to social media, posting pictures of those they were looking for and their last known location before the fires struck.

Of the injured adults, 71 remain in hospital on Tuesday afternoon, with 10 of them in serious condition, while 11 of the children also remain in hospital.

Twenty-six of the dead were found at first light on Tuesday huddled together in one holiday compound near the sea in the community of Mati, near the port of Rafina. Red Cross rescuers who found them said they appeared to be families or groups of friends, as they were found hugging in groups of three and four.

Red Cross teams in #Greece are supporting search & rescue efforts and providing first aid to those affected by the wildfires. https://t.co/GDpQ1ltJ8W



( Nick Paleologos/SOOC) pic.twitter.com/UKPHPWNQxx  British Red Cross  (@BritishRedCross) July 24, 2018

Although the fires had largely abated by Tuesday afternoon, they were far from out.

Firefighters, aided by water-dropping aircraft from the sky, are tackling the remaining areas in the two main blazes near the capital.

Fires continued to burn in other parts of the country too, with one on the island of Crete the most severe.

With the flames whipped up by gale-force winds that frequently changed direction, many tourists and residents fled toward the coastline. Some swam out to sea, braving rough water and strong currents to escape the ferocious flames and choking smoke.

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The speed of the fires advance took many by surprise.

A flotilla of coast guard and private boats evacuated more than 700 people from threatened beaches overnight, authorities said. Defence minister Panos Kammenos said 88 people had been picked up from the sea by a military vessel.

Evangelos Bournous, the mayor of Rafina, blamed the high winds for the tragedy.

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We were unlucky, he said. The wind changed and it came at us with such force that it razed the coastal area in minutes.

Rafinas dock became a makeshift hospital during the night as paramedics checked survivors, some clad in only their bathing suits, who emerged from coast guard vessels and private boats.

In all, 47 brush and forest fires broke out across Greece on Monday and early Tuesday, with most of them quickly extinguished, the fire department said.

Greece sought international help through the European Union. Spain is sending two firefighting aircraft while Cyprus sent in 60 firefighters. Israel, Turkey and Bulgaria have also offered assistance.

Heavy rain is forecast across southern Greece on Wednesday, which it is hoped will boost the firefighting effort.
Whether or not you agree with Brazier, he has hit upon a raw point of social etiquette. Many - and I'm one of them - still prefer all the obsequies of the traditional send-off

Sky newsman Colin Brazier has asked mourners attending the funeral of his wife Jo, who died after a five-year battle with breast cancer, to don traditional black.

Writing in The Spectator, Brazier said: "I have emailed friends and former colleagues with details of my wife's funeral, politely asking them to leave their Hawaiian shirts and pink helium balloons at home."

After expressing concerns that "celebrating" someone's life was perhaps emotionally damaging to children, he continued: "There's nothing funky about turning death into a fashion parade and a free-for-all of self-realisation. It is asinine and, if it inhibits the necessary catharsis of the grieving process, it may end up being a mental health time bomb. The old stuff - the black and the solemn - works because it distils the wisdom of ages."

Whether or not you agree with Brazier, he has hit upon a raw point of social etiquette. Many - and I'm one of them - still prefer all the obsequies of the traditional send-off.

There is a peculiar comfort to be had in the Ulster way of death. Like shipbuilding and ropemaking, it is something we have always done well. Regrettably, I've been around enough of such occasions to know how all of the rituals and routines can, in their own way, see you through the bleakest and most emotionally eviscerating occasions imaginable.

It can start with choosing the best suit for the deceased or, for some, simply picking the coffin, a trauma that is quickly subsumed by the keeping up of the constant supply of industrial quantities of tea, sandwiches and traybakes to the callers at the house - on the best occasions, a heady mix of city slicker colleagues from work, wily old farmers, a couple of spivs and perhaps a constable to check on possible traffic arrangements.

And then there is the unerring timetable set by the undertaker. You will have gone from a black dread of the coffin coming home to never wanting it to leave your house. But it will depart - almost to the minute they said it would. Just as some women (and a few men) will lose themselves in weeping throughout the typical three-day wake, some men (and this is always and only men) will lose themselves, first, in the location and opening of a family plot, then in the organisation of the lifts. They'll enjoy getting to know the gravedigger, who will undoubtedly have a dark tale or two to tell. And they will find the undertaker, and all his works, increasingly fascinating.

In some way, this brush with death is bringing them to the point of everything, making them feel more alive than they've done in years. Indeed, after their first such experience some men start regularly scanning the death notices, anxious to seek out funerals of perhaps not even that close an acquaintance, hopeful of getting another lift. In a modern life increasingly devoid of meaning or substance, they crave the black tie formality, the sense of occasion - and being one of the players in it.

Of course, as Brazier well knows, it's not that unusual nowadays to find people opting to do something a bit different. An edict will go out that everyone should wear pink or purple. The coffin may be painted in bright colours. There may be a release of balloons or lanterns and the playing of some pop music. They want the service - if there is one, it may be a non-religious farewell - to reflect the life of the departed one. The clergyman's address may not suffice, even though a good one will recap a life and bring out some of the personality, artfully masking the departed one's family fallings-out. But no, relatives and friends may be asked to reminisce too, with the real risk that what is meant to be a five-minute address turns into a 20-minute performance by someone who thinks they're Stephen Fry but is more Ulster Fry. And, particularly, if it is a child or younger person being mourned, there's an understandable need to want to reflect the vibrancy of the life that has been so cruelly lost. Such occasions are intended as a lively celebration, but in vividly illuminating all that has gone they can also be incredibly poignant.

The old certainties no longer hold for everyone. Some take comfort in the old supports, others stare into an abyss of pain - and nothing else. And that is the crux of Brazier's point, I suppose. He wants his late wife Jo's funeral to help their six children to realise what has been lost, that the scale of it is more vast than the Atlantic.

They will.

Because all the funerals I've been to - mostly rather formal affairs - have taught me not about death, but about life. And how to live it.

I don't just mean the gleanings you get from reflecting on the bookended life of a loved one - opportunities taken and squandered, the fate of being born when they were born, the personality quirks and how those played out - but from the finality of it all.

When we were kids, my brother and I would roll our eyes at many of my late father's sayings. But later you realise the old man often had a point. Like when he'd say: "If you can throw your legs out of bed in the morning and get your breakfast, you've a head start on a whole lot of people." Or: "Make the most of every day, you're only round this way once." Older generations were not stupid. They understood the purpose of mourning. It was about a community coming together to assist the bereaved, but also to acknowledge the life that had been lived - mostly, it has to be said, one lived anonymously and unrecognised by the 'big world'. It was also a way of teaching younger generations about death itself, bringing them close to this stern fact of life.

There is a strong sense nowadays that we really don't want to be reminded that the party does come to an end. No one wants to be around sadness, so they don't fancy the rituals of death. Some get quite aggressive. Many never attend a funeral at all, even those of friends, because it "upsets" them too much.

Which, apart from the amazing callousness of the neglect, the sheer emotional laziness, also misses the point entirely. It's precisely because it is upsetting that the deaths of loved ones deserve a little touch of ceremony. Even more so when the death is of someone who has no one to mourn them at all. Happily, even in our own day, the call of respect is greater than the fear of the grave.

A few years back, an advert appeared in an English paper saying that a man originally from the west of Ireland had been found dead, had no identifying papers and so had no known relatives. No one had claimed the body.

That melancholy small ad in the personal column of a regional paper seemed to sum up what so many of us might expect to be our own fate, in due course.

Needless to say, the funeral was attended by hundreds of people, none of whom knew him at all.
Is the Conservative Party coming apart at the seams to an extent that's beyond repair? Never before have the Tories been involved in so much internal blood-letting, turmoil and back-stabbing, brought about by the conflict over Brexit.

Hitherto, the Tories have always been renowned for their party loyalty and discretion, invariably managing to keep any problems they had under wraps.

But now, they're doing themselves immense damage by seeming to rejoice in washing their dirty linen in public, and with a catalogue of resignations. Do they not realise the electorate is fast losing patience?

Theresa May surely has enough on her hands in dealing with the recalcitrant Brussels negotiators, without leading a bad-tempered party more concerned with fighting each other than fighting Labour.

People always say that whatever happens, the Tory Party will always be there. But I am not so sure this time.

The snarling and internal hatred is now so deep-seated that the party could split down the middle to create two opposing factions.

The idea of a Parliament without a traditional Conservative Party may be unthinkable, but it may not be impossible. Party officials need to act fast before disaster strikes.

Is Sir Vince Cable in trouble over his leadership of the Liberal Democrats? He insists there is no such trouble in his tiny parliamentary army, but others think differently.

Cable did not impress his followers when he missed a vital Commons vote on Brexit last week - a vote that, if it had gone the other way (as it very nearly did), would have had a disastrous effect on Theresa May's political future.

Instead, he chose to attend a function with other political figures. But as some have pointed out, his priority is the House of Commons, especially when there is a vote taking place which could have hugely altered the course of political events.

Strangely, the name being put forward by those who would like to see this 76-year-old put out to grass, is that of 35-year-old Layla Moran, who has been an MP for barely a year. However, she had a majority of only 816 in Oxford West at the last election, so she has work to do to build up that fragile majority.

Present deputy leader, Jo Swinson, will no doubt not be amused that Moran's name, rather than her own, is being bandied about. But Moran has impressed her colleagues over her political acumen and ability to mix with voters.

Cable denies the existence of any kind of plot to usurp him - he would, wouldn't he? - and claims everything is running swimmingly in his party.

If Cable was engaged in secret talks to set up a new party, he should have had the sense of duty (and common sense) not to do it during a crucial Commons vote - the long holidays which stretch ahead, for instance. What a plonker.

We will no doubt find out fairly soon. But Cable should beware. The so-called 'nice' party has a long and gruesome history of back-stabbing and smear campaigns.

It is galling enough being lectured at by MPs about the virtues of equality and transparency - their fancy name for open government - but it is a total outrage when the politicians seek to exempt themselves from these 'ideals' and, in fact, set themselves up as superior beings.

What this means is that those MPs facing allegations of fraud over their expenses, or those being accused of sexual harassment, will be allowed to remain anonymous during these inquiries. How very convenient.

The brutal fact is, it is the British taxpayer who is funding MPs, not merely for their high salaries but for their expenses as well. In the private sector, the paymaster has to be kept informed of his employees' expenses and to approve them or otherwise.

So why should not the paymasters of MPs - the taxpayers - be allowed to see how their money is being spent? And given the scandalously cavalier manner in which taxpayers' money was being treated by many MPs, as shown in the 2009 revelations, it's hardly surprising they want to keep things tightly under wraps.

But that is all the more reason why it should all be out in the open, warts and all. Apart from anything else, openness might be a deterrent for those who might otherwise be tempted to fiddle their expenses.

I was about to say that we do not traipse to the polling stations every so often, and shell out vast sums of money, to create a secret society with blacked-out windows. But unfortunately we do.

MPs would do well to remind themselves occasionally that they are our servants and not Higher Beings which I suspect some of them plainly consider themselves to be.

The road to Brexit gets no smoother. It is littered with potholes, U-bends, and every other hazard and obstacle you could think of.

It is also in danger of destroying the party system at Westminster. The Brussels negotiators seem to be squeezing every drop of blood out of the UK and the whole drama has left numerous casualties along the way. None of it a pretty sight.

The irony is that when we first applied to join the Common Market, we were barred. Now we are having difficulty getting out!

The point was starkly made by a correspondent to a national newspaper last week. He wrote: "Are we the only ex-member of the British Empire not to have achieved independence?"

However the arrival of Dominic Raab as Brexit Secretary can be nothing but beneficial to the UK in the Government's struggle to achieve a fair settlement to the problem. Raab is a martial arts man as well as a no-nonsense politician of considerable verve, and should shock the Brussels negotiators out of their smugness, to realise that the UK really does mean business.

Raab won't let them off the hook. A bit of table-thumping wouldn't do any harm.
A government soldier stands guard next to a tattered Philippine flag near the dome of the damaged Grand Mosque in Marawi, a southern Philippine city that was seized for five months in 2017 by pro-Islamic State militants, April 7, 2018.

The Islamic States al-Naba news agency recently announced a major re-organization. Within Iraq and Syria, ISs 22 wilayat (provinces) were reorganized into just two, a reflection of the fact that they had lost more than 80 percent of the territory they claimed in those countries.

And they appear  though there is some conflicting information  to have added a new province in Southeast Asia: Wilayat Sharq Asiyya. This was a long time coming and something that Southeast Asian pro-IS militants had long clamored for.

The first Southeast Asian militants declared baiat (allegiance) to Islamic State (IS) in mid-2014. Among the first taking the oath were Isnilon Hapilon of the Philippine-based Abu Sayyaf Group, and Santoso of the Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen (MIT).

The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (who had quit the Moro Islamic Liberation Front), Ansar Khalifa Philippines (AKP; also known as Ansar al-Khilafah), and the Maute Group all followed suit.

In Indonesia, Abu Bakar Bashir, the former spiritual leader of pro-al Qaeda Jemaaah Islamiyah (JI), and Aman Abdurrahman, declared baiat from prison, causing another rift amongst Indonesian militants.

The rise of Islamic State, which swept across Iraq and Syria four years ago, played a fundamental role in revitalizing terrorist networks throughout Southeast Asia.

JI was largely leaderless and divided over strategy and tactics. In the late oughts, there was an intense debate over targeting: One faction wanted to emulate the radicalism of al-Qaeda in Iraq and intensify their targeting of the West. Others opposed that strategy, not as ethically wrong, but as counterproductive, leading to mass incarcerations. They advocated a return to sectarian bloodletting, but failed to deliver.

Neither side emerged the winner. An attempt was made in 2009-10 to bridge the divide, but Indonesian security forces disrupted it and killed or arrested more than 120 JI members, including Bashir.

Security forces gave JI space to exist, through its mosques and madrassas, as long as it remained focused on dawah activities. Any attempts to regroup or recruit a new generation of leaders were largely thwarted by the difficulty of operating in such a hostile environment: Indonesian security forces had effectively dismembered the group.

In the Philippines, the Abu Sayyaf, which tends to vacillate between ideologically motivated terrorism and abject criminality, was back to kidnapping for ransom, leaving little marks. Most of the Moro groups had failed to gain traction, as the peace process between the government and the MILF was in full swing.

Only after the peace process was suspended following the botched Mamasapano raid in January 2015, did these fringe groups increase their recruitment and make their mark.

So the emergence of Islamic State provided a new raison detre and, more important, a marketing tool. Militants could latch on to a seemingly unstoppable force. They focused more on sectarianism and the brutality of IS militants.

While the crackdowns continued at home, a new generation traveled to Iraq and Syria to join the caravan.

By late 2014, there was a sufficient number of Southeast Asians in Syria to form a Bahasa language company, Khatibah Nusantara. From cannon fodder, Khatibah Nusantara began to prove its worth in battle against the Kurdish Peshmerga.

And ISs slick social media was tailor-made for wired Southeast Asian youths. By the fall of 2014, IS was featuring Southeast Asians in their propaganda and increasing their Bahasa language publications and multi-media.

More recruitment videos emerged and a weekly e-zine, al-Fatihin, began production in July 2016. Pro-IS channels on Telegram proliferated. By late 2014, there were suggestions that IS would establish a province in Asia.

More than 1,000 Southeast Asians traveled to Iraq and Syria, though only a few hundred were militants; the rest were women, children and those who served as humanitarian workers. Many were promised good salaries and jobs in the caliphate. Most were duped, while women were often treated as chattel. Many more were deported by Turkish authorities.

Unsung militants

But Southeast Asian militants failed to get the recognition they had hoped for from the IS leadership.

Perhaps it was because pro-IS militants in Southeast Asia did not have a fantastic track record at first. The first major IS attack was an attack on a Jakarta Starbucks in January 2016. There are reports of the Southeast Asian leadership being reprimanded for being online jihadists, unable to orchestrate significant attacks.

In early 2016, IS finally recognized the pledge of baiat from several Southeast Asian militant organizations, declaring the Abu Sayyafs Hapilon to be the regional emir and other pro-IS groups to be brigades.

Flush with success and busy trying to build their caliphate project in the Middle East, Southeast Asia was too far away and less of a priority. But it is possible that IS was simply waiting to see which groups or leaders emerged on top.

The AKP, for example, was thought to have some of the best bona fides, but with the death of their leader, the group fell into a tailspin. The Mautes, by contrast, came out of nowhere.

IS propaganda did try to demonstrate the Philippine groups and foreign fighters coming together and conducting joint trainings. But, it is important to note, IS never declared Southeast Asia to be a wilayat.

Even with the Marawi siege, from May to October 2017, IS did not a wilayat in the region. Indeed, there is evidence to suggest that Hapilon and the Mautes saw the siege of a major population center as something that they could then take to the IS leadership to justify the declaration of a wilayat, which, of course, would help to consolidate their own authority.

The Marawi siege came as IS was losing much of its own territory in Iraq and Syria. This had two immediate effects: Southeast Asian supporters were encouraged to travel to fight in Mindanao, rather than Iraq or Syria.

This is significant because outside militants often were able to bridge the parochial divides and get groups in the Philippines to cooperate with one another. Individually many of these groups are fringe, but they can really challenge the government when they cooperate, as we saw in Marawi.

Second, Southeast Asia became more important in terms of the IS central media as the group began to shift its strategy to a global insurgency. An IS central media organ produced a slick documentary on Marawi, as part of its Inside the Caliphate series.

Toward global insurgency

As IS has shifted its strategy fully to a global insurgency, Southeast Asia takes on added significance. This is not to say that there will be more attacks in Southeast Asia, but there will be more pressure on the militants there to do so. They have been pushing for this for about four years.

It raises certain questions: will more resources flow to Southeast Asian groups? Will IS central media organs increase their coverage of them and local language media? Will IS leaders push for greater cooperation amongst the groups, or a more unified command and control?

But one also has to wonder if they have the capacity. The most important IS leaders, both in Syria and Southeast Asia, have been killed or are believed to be dead. These include Mohammed Lutfi Ariffin, Bahrun Naim, Bahrumsyah, Isnilon Hapilon, Salim Mubarak Attamimi (Abu Jandal), and the Maute brothers. Aman Abdurrahman was recently sentenced to death, and Abu Bakar Bashir remains in prison.

There are plenty of others in the wings, but Indonesian, Malaysian, and Singaporean security forces have all stepped up their CT operations, armed with no powers and resources.

The Philippines clearly remains a weak link, but hopefully with the implementation of the peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, they will need to prove themselves by cracking down on pro-IS militants, who after all, challenge the MILF for leadership.

IS has made clear that it will not be abandoning their Caliphate, despite their territorial losses. The caliphate has simply morphed, and will likely include new areas and battlegrounds, including Southeast Asia.

But to be clear, not all seem to be on board with this even within the IS leadership, with some IS Telegram channels still not using the wilayat label in reference to Asia. Still, as IS fully adopts the insurgency model, we are reminded just how effectively insurgency has been waged in the jungles of Southeast Asia.

Zachary Abuza is a professor at the National War College in Washington and the author of Forging Peace in Southeast Asia: Insurgencies, Peace Processes, and Reconciliation. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect the position of the U.S. Department of Defense, the National War College or BenarNews.
Bangladeshi police escort Mahmudur Rahman (left) after unidentified men assaulted the former newspaper editor as he was leaving a courthouse in Kushtia district, July 22, 2018.

Bangladeshi journalists took to the streets Monday to condemn a brutal attack on a former newspaper editor as he was being released on bail in a defamation case, in which he allegedly insulted the prime minister and her late father.

Mahmudur Rahman, 66, was getting into a car on Sunday when activists from the ruling partys student wing attacked him upon his release from jail in the western town of Kushtia, according to the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) and the Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ).

Rahmans photographs, which were widely distributed on social media, showed him with blood trickling down his face, and his long-sleeve shirt stained with blood while he was walking with police officers.

Obaidul Quader, the road transport minister, described the assault as undesirable and said the attackers should be brought to justice.

Dissents are usual in politics and journalism, Quader told reporters in Dhaka. We do not support an attack of this sort.

He said no ruling party leader backed the attackers.

Those who carried out the attack were miscreants using the name of Chhatra League, he said, using the name for the Awami League partys student wing.

Rahman was the editor of the pro-opposition daily Amar Desh, which was shut down by Hasinas government in 2013 for allegedly inciting religious tension.

Yasir Arafat, president of Kushtia unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League, denied in his Facebook post that his group was involved in the attack.

No activist of Chhatra League was present at the court premises at the time of the attack in the afternoon, he said.

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, secretary-general of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), joined the rally in front of the National Press Club and alleged that police officers turned a blind eye while Rahman was being attacked.

The officer-in-charge of police in Kushtia, Nasir Uddin, denied the allegations. But police confirmed the attack on Rahman was carried out by student activists with the ruling party, according to Agence France-Presse.

Witnesses and Rahmans colleagues said one of the attackers assaulted the newspaperman using a brick.

Troubles with the law



Rahman spent six months in jail in 2010 for contempt of court. He was arrested again on April 11, 2013 and later on the police padlocked his newspaper after accusing him of sedition. He was released in November 2016.

In December last year, a Chhatra League leader filed a defamation case against Rahman for allegedly defaming Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her late father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangladesh.



I think, the ruling party supporters, Chhatra League, staged a nasty show by attacking Mahmudur Rahman. Such type of attack is not possible without government blessing, Zafrullah Chowdhury, a pro BNP political commentator, told BenarNews.



The government is making mistakes, he said. This will be counter-productive for the government.



Prior to the attack, Alamgir, the BNP secretary-general, said he had telephoned the home minister, seeking protection for Rahman.

He (the minister) assured me of taking necessary measures, he said during the rally. This is an unprecedented incident in recent times.

The Awami League government continues to attack freedom of expression and thinking, he said.

In April 2016, Bangladesh police arrested an opposition-backed editor on charges of conspiring to kill Hasinas son.

Police arrested Shafik Rehman, 81, at his home in Dhaka based on evidence provided by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), according to Sajeeb Wazed Joy, who said he was the target of the plot.

Rehman was editor of Mouchake Dhil, a pro-opposition political magazine.

Three people were arrested in the United States in connection with that plot, according to a DOJ statement from September 2015.

At that time, police submitted a petition in court seeking permission to implicate Mahmudur Rahman in the conspiracy case.

Rahman, a former state minister of the BNP government, was then already in jail for a corruption case.

Shafik Rehman and Mahmudur Rahman met with conspirators in the United States to discuss the plot, Monirul Islam, who was then deputy inspector-general of police, told reporters in Dhaka.
Democracy in action

Taxing the people without giving any services has become the dharma of the state
Men pray for victims on the second anniversary of a terrorist attack that targeted the Holey Artisan Bakery, at the location in Dhaka where the overnight siege and massacre took place, July 1, 2018.

More than two years after machete-wielding militants massacred hostages at an upscale cafe in Dhaka, police filed the first charges in the case on Monday, accusing eight suspected Neo-JMB extremists of being involved in Bangladeshs deadliest terrorist attack.

But police did not press terrorism charges against a British man, Hasnat Karim, who has been in custody for the past 23 months in connection with the July 1-2, 2016, attack. He was dining with his family at the Holey Artisan Bakery cafe on the night when five gunmen invaded it and took hostages.

We have brought charges against eight terrorists. Six of them have been in custody and two others are fugitives, Monirul Islam, chief of the Bangladeshi polices counter-terrorist unit, told a press conference in Dhaka.

Police also said their two-year investigation had found no connection between the group that carried out the attack and foreign terrorist organizations including Islamic State (IS), which claimed responsibility for the cafe takeover.

Today, we have submitted the charge sheet regarding the terrorist attack before the court. We detected the involvement of 21 Neo-JMB militants, Islam said.

Not all of the suspects survived.

Five terrorists carrying out the attack were killed in the commando operation. And eight others were killed in our pre-emptive operations, Islam said, referring to a post-attack crackdown by police on militants nationwide.

In addition, police did not submit posthumous charges in the Dhaka court against two employees of the cafe who died of injuries suffered during the overnight siege and when police commandos stormed the bakery the next morning to rescue hostages.

On the night of July 1, 2016  a Friday  five militants armed with AK-22 submachine guns, pistols and machetes stormed the cafe in Dhakas diplomatic zone. In all, 29 people, including 20 diners taken hostage, two police officers, the two employees and the five militants died as a result of the attack.

Seventeen foreigners were among the slain hostages. They included nine Italians and seven Japanese.

On Thursday, the court was likely to hear the case and accept the polices flawless and impartial investigation, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told BenarNews.

Islam said Holey Artisan was a premeditated organized attack of Neo-JMB, an offshoot of Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) that has pledged its support to the Islamic State (IS). Khan and other government officials have repeatedly denied ISs existence in Bangladesh.

He heard the news on the radio

Police declined to release copies of the charge-sheet to reporters, but officials read out the names of the listed suspects.

Those facing terrorism charges under the nations anti-terrorism act are Jahangir Hossain (alias Rajib Gandhi), Aslam Islam (alias Rashed alias Rash), Sohel Mahfuz, Raqibul Islam Regan, Hadisur Rahman Sagor, Mizanur Rahman (alias Boro Mizan), Mamunur Rashid Ripon and Shariful Islam (alias Khalid). Ripon and Khalid are fugitives while the others are in jail.

Islam said he hoped the eight would get the maximum penalty under the countrys Anti-Terrorism Act  either capital punishment or a life sentence.

He cleared Karim, the diner who has been jailed since August 2016, along with the two deceased cafe workers.

We have not found any involvement of Hasnat Karim and two Holey Artisan employees, Saiful Islam Chowkider and Zakir Hossain Shaon, Islam said.

Karim and his wife, Sharmina Parveeen, went to the cafe to celebrate the birthday of one of their daughters. Before government commandos stormed the building on the morning of July 2, the five attackers released Karim and his family.

Chowkider was found dead inside the cafe while Shaon was rescued by commandos and died at a hospital. Police ordered Karims arrest on Aug. 2, 2016.

Parveen told BenarNews that she went to the Kashimpur prison in Gazipur, near Dhaka, on Monday to see her husband.

He heard the news on the radio that he was found innocent, she said. He asked me to go home and check media reports about it.

She said she expected the court to order her husbands releaser on Thursday when it hears the case against the eight suspects.

Alhamdulillah (Thanks to God), the investigation exonerated him, Parveen said.

13 dead suspects

The five attackers, Rohan Ibn Imtiaz, Nibras Islam, Mir Sameh Mobashwer, Khairul Islam Payel and Shafiqul Islam Ujjal were killed at the cafe.

Eight other suspected militants were killed in a counterterror crackdown that lasted for months after the attack. They were identified as Tamim Chowdhury, Nurul Islam Marjan, Sarwar Jahan (alias Manik), Tanvir Quadri, Bashruzzaman Chocolate, Mizanur Rahman (alias Chhoto Mizan), Zahidul Islam and Raihan Kabir. Islam described Chowdhury, a Canadian, as the attacks mastermind.

Investigators said they found no links between the attack and foreign terrorist groups. Islam said the attackers aimed to portray Bangladesh as a militant country and draw the attention of international terrorist groups for technology, weapons and funding.

If police could have caught the frontline leaders Tamim Chowdhury or Sarwar Jahan or Nurul Islam Marjan, they could have known for sure if Neo-JMB had any link with IS or al-Qaeda or Hizbut Tahrir, Islam said. Before his death, Tamim Chowdhury destroyed all electronic equipment and documents.

He said Neo-JMB had begun planning to massacre non-Muslim foreigners five to six months before the attack.

They checked different spots frequented by the foreigners, but they selected Holey Artisan two or three days prior to the attack as the place had no security system of its own. They thought they could escape from the scene easily, he said. Besides, the place was frequented by maximum number of foreigners, mainly on Fridays.
Malaysian police arrest a housewife who allegedly plotted to use a car bomb during the May 9 general election in Kuala Lumpur. Police blurred the face of the suspect and the officers in this undated handout photo.

The arrest of a female suspect who allegedly planned an attack near Kuala Lumpur on Election Day marks the first time a woman assumed a lone-wolf role in a terror plot in Malaysia linked to the Islamic State (IS), a senior police official said.

The case underscored a current trend by IS to use women as field operatives in the country, Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay, the chief of the Royal Malaysia Polices counter-terrorist special branch, told BenarNews.

Before, we had heard about the participation of women in IS, mainly carrying out simple tasks, either going to Syria and marrying a terror group member  or being used as a mediator to channel funds to other members abroad, Ayob said.

But this time around, for the first time, we arrested a female ground operative that took on a task to launch lone-wolf attacks in the country.

The woman arrested on May 9 on suspicion of plotting to bomb a polling site in Puchong with an explosives-rigged vehicle had also intended to target non-Muslim worship sites with car bombs, he said.

The 51-year-old woman, whose name has not been released to the media, is a mother of two and the first female leader of a pro-IS militant cell in the country, Ayob told BenarNews.

The suspects terror-related activities were unknown to her husband, but she had been communicating with more than 600 people through chat groups on her Facebook page and WhatsApp account, he said.

The police counter-terror chief declined to reveal how many people the woman may have recruited for the IS cause, citing the sensitivity and integrity of the investigation.

[T]he woman we arrested was in communication with IS cell members in Europe, gathering information on how to conduct a lone-wolf attack, Ayob added without giving details about the locations of those European operatives.

At a news conference in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, Ayob amplified his warning about the threat posed by a new trend of women taking on a frontline role in IS terrorist activities.

In the past, most of the women were arrested because they played a secondary role as supporters to their husbands  collecting money, propagating salafi ideology. Some managed to go to Syria, Ayob said, according to Channel NewsAsia.

Now they have moved to phase two. They are radicalized and have started to instigate others to conduct attacks in Malaysia, he added.

Harder to detect



Ahmad el-Muhammady, a terrorism analyst who advises the Malaysian police in efforts to rehabilitate radicalized people, suggested that authorities in Malaysia and neighboring Indonesia should be on guard for the threat of women playing a more active role in terrorism.

Its possible that more women have been recruited as front-line fighters but have yet to be detected, Ahmad told BenarNews, alluding to recent suicide bombings in Indonesia.

In mid-May, in the days following the foiled terror plot in Puchong during Malaysias general election, at least 27 people were killed  the perpetrators among them  in a series of suicide attacks carried out in and around Surabaya, Indonesia, by whole families that included mothers and their small children.

Stopping women from acting as field operatives in IS terror plots will be a challenge for the authorities, according to Ahmad, because female militants are harder to detect and are generally perceived as being less suspicious than men.

In Malaysia, about 400 people, including 43 women, have been arrested in recent years on suspicion of being involved with IS.
Drug traffickers arrested this month while smuggling crystal meth and heroin destined for Malaysia are linked to insurgents in Thailands Deep South, Thai authorities said this week.

Narcotics smugglers and separatist rebel groups in the far southern region that borders Malaysia have been involved in a long-term reciprocal relationship, Maj. Gen. Jatuporn Kalumpasut, commander of a task force in Pattani province, told BenarNews.

We found links between drugs gangs and insurgents. We can confirm that they are connected and have a symbiotic relationship, Jatuporn said.

On Monday, the Thai polices Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) announced that five drug busts nationwide had resulted in the arrests of 16 suspects during the past two weeks. Police also confiscated 9.8 million amphetamine pills, 450 kg (990 pounds) of crystal meth, 77 kg (170 pounds) of heroin, 1.654 kg (3.6 pounds) of cocaine and 706 kg (1550 pounds) of marijuana.

NSB officers said crystal meth and heroin were valued at 1 million baht (U.S. $30,000) per kilo, while methamphetamine is valued at 200 baht ($6) per pill.

Six suspects arrested with crystal meth and heroin allegedly were trying to smuggle the drugs into Malaysia through the border province of Narathiwat, according to police Maj. Gen. Kitti Sapaothong, the NSBs southern province commander.

Three of the suspects, who allegedly acted as forward observers, were arrested at a highway checkpoint in Chumphon province. They later confessed that a truck transporting drugs was following them. NSB officers stopped the truck at a gas station close to Malaysian border, he said.

Police found the drugs hidden inside fertilizer sacks that were placed under a pile of PVC pipes, Kitti said.

This syndicate uses GPS to monitor and communicate, Kitti told reporters.

In Malaysia, Kang Chez Chiang, the deputy director of the national polices narcotics department, said his officers were aware of the arrests on the Thai side of the border.

We cannot expose our investigation and the information that we have on the connection between the smugglers and the southern Thailand group because they are watching our movements, so I do not want to jeopardize our operations, he told BenarNews on Tuesday.

But for us, of course, we have always cooperated with our counterparts in Thailand and, yes, there is a joint cooperation that is going on.

Links go back years

Jatuporn, the head of the Pattani task force, said he had found evidence linking drug traffickers with insurgents as far back as five years ago.

In 2013 we arrested a suspect in Sungai Kolok. He admitted that he paid protection money to insurgents to pass through the Deep South several times, Jatuporn said, referring to a district of Narathiwat province that sits along Thailands border with Malaysia.

Drug dealers have hired militants to kill other drug dealers to make the deaths appear to be tied to the insurgency, he said.

It happened in a prison as a drug convict met up with an insurgent inmate, Jatuporn said. When they left prison, the drug convicts hired the insurgents to collect payments from other dealers or kill them if they refused to pay.

From Oct. 1, 2017, to July 23, 2018, Thailand arrested suspects in 1,705 cases, seizing assets valued at 134.53 million baht ($4 million), compared to 456 and 453 cases in the previous two years.

Meanwhile, Thailands predominantly Muslim and Malay-speaking southern border region known as the Deep South has been wracked for decades by a separatist insurgency. Nearly 7,000 people have been killed in violence throughout the region since the insurgency re-ignited in 2004.

Hadi Azmi in Kuala Lumpur contributed to this report.
Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, it's going to be a blue Christmas for the Biden administration.

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For Immediate Release, July 24, 2018 Contacts: Jeff Kuyper, Los Padres ForestWatch, (805) 617-4610 x 1, jeff@LPFW.org

Ileene Anderson, Center for Biological Diversity, (323) 490-0223, ianderson@biologicaldiversity.org

Kimberly Rivers, Citizens for Responsible Oil & Gas, (805) 727-1393, ed@cfrog.org

Amy Minteer, Chatten-Brown & Carstens, (310) 798-2400, acm@cbcearthlaw.com Appeal Challenges Dangerous Oil Drilling in Santa Paula Canyon VENTURA, Calif. Three conservation groups yesterday appealed a decision by a Ventura County Superior Court judge allowing 19 new oil wells and continued operation of 17 existing wells along the Santa Paula Canyon Trail, a popular hiking trail that serves as a gateway to waterfalls, swimming holes, backcountry campsites and endangered species habitat in the Los Padres National Forest. Despite objections from nearly 1,000 hikers and local residents, as well as overwhelming expert scientific testimony, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors approved the oil wells on a 3-2 vote in 2015, relying in large part on an outdated environmental impact report prepared in 1978. Los Padres ForestWatch, the Center for Biological Diversity and Citizens for Responsible Oil & Gas then filed suit in Ventura County Superior Court over the countys failure to conduct a new study of the environmental risks of the project. In April 2018 a Ventura County Superior Court ruled in favor of the oil company and Ventura County. The groups appeal, filed in the 2nd District Court of Appeals in Ventura, seeks review of that decision. In their original lawsuit, the groups asserted that the county failed to evaluate and reduce significant noise, visual and public-safety impacts that oil drilling expansion would cause to hikers on the trail. The county further neglected to fully consider the risks posed by oil spills from a pipeline directly above steelhead habitat in Santa Paula Creek, contaminants draining from the drill site into the creek and California condors that are nesting in the canyon for the first time in more than a half-century. The lawsuit also argues that the county failed to enforce mitigation measures and conditions of approval that had originally been placed on the project to lessen its potential environmental damage. It urges the court to place the drilling project on hold until an adequate review is conducted to fully disclose all of the risks and damages of drilling. In addition to Ventura County, the suit also names Carbon California, the operator of 17 existing wells in Santa Paula Canyon, as a real party in interest. The groups are represented by the law firm of Chatten-Brown & Carstens of Los Angeles. Statements From Appellants

Santa Paula Canyon is one of the crown jewels of Ventura County, with thousands of residents and visitors enjoying this wilderness destination each year, said Jeff Kuyper, executive director of Los Padres ForestWatch, a nonprofit conservation organization based in Santa Barbara that works to protect the Los Padres National Forest. More drilling here will ruin the outdoor recreation experience while reducing local tourism dollars and harming local businesses. With only outdated safeguards in place, Santa Paula Creek, the Santa Clara River and adjacent lands are at risk of dangerous oil spills, said Ileene Anderson, senior scientist with the Center for Biological Diversity. Failure to protect these beautiful places from oil-industry pollution and accidents will spell disaster for wildlife, including endangered California condors, as well as downstream farms and homes. Our appeal will ensure the correct standard of environmental review is applied to minimize the negative economic and environmental impacts of spills, leaks, emissions and other negative impacts of improperly processed and oil and gas permits, said Kimberly Rivers, CFROG executive director. The county failed to disclose the many significant impacts associated with drilling new oil wells adjacent to a popular hiking trail and endangered species habitat, said Amy Minteer, a partner at Chatten-Brown & Carstens, the firm representing the conservation groups. A subsequent environmental impact report is required to thoroughly analyze and mitigate those impacts before this project can move forward.
For Immediate Release, July 24, 2018 Contact: Collette Adkins, (651) 955-3821, cadkins@biologicaldiversity.org

Marjorie Fishman, (202) 446-2128, margie@awionline.org California County Suspends Contract With Federal Wildlife-killing Agency Shasta County to Seek Alternatives to Killing More Than 35,000 Animals a Year REDDING, Calif. Responding to legal pressure from a coalition of animal-protection and conservation groups, Shasta County officials today announced that the county has suspended its contract with the notorious federal wildlife-killing program known as Wildlife Services. The program has killed more than 35,000 animals a year in the county. The countys decision came after coalition members warned Shasta County in June that its contract with Wildlife Services violates the California Environmental Quality Act. Coalition members include the Animal Legal Defense Fund, Animal Welfare Institute, Center for Biological Diversity, Environmental Protection Information Center, Mountain Lion Foundation, Natural Resources Defense Council, Project Coyote and WildEarth Guardians. Wildlife Services is a rogue wildlife-killing agency, and California residents deserve better than to have their tax dollars spent on the trapping, poisoning and shooting of innocent animals, said Stephen Wells, executive director of the Animal Legal Defense Fund. We hope Shasta County will now stick to nonlethal options to address wildlife conflicts. Shasta Countys previous contract authorized Wildlife Services to kill hundreds of bears and coyotes, as well as thousands of birds and muskrats and other animals in the county, every year, without assessing the ecological damage or considering alternatives. Peer-reviewed research shows such indiscriminate killing of wild animals results in broad ecological destruction and loss of biodiversity. Over the past two years, Wildlife Services has killed 72,385 animals in Shasta County using traps, snares and firearms. The programs methods also killed non-target species  including domestic dogs  and may have harmed threatened and endangered species like tricolored blackbirds. This decision is a major victory for Shasta County's coyotes, bears and other wildlife, said Collette Adkins, a biologist and attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. All the latest science shows predator control is expensive, ineffective and inhumane. Were glad Shasta County recognizes theres no basis for continuing to shoot, trap and strangle thousands of animals every year. Shasta is the latest county in California to reexamine its contract with Wildlife Services amid pressure from animal advocates. In 2015, following a lawsuit, Mendocino County agreed to fully evaluate nonlethal predator-control alternatives. Two years later a California court ruled in favor of the wildlife coalition, finding that Monterey County had to conduct an environmental review process before renewing its contract with Wildlife Services. Shasta County is home to dozens of threatened and endangered species that are at risk of being maimed or killed by Wildlife Services use of archaic and indiscriminate methods. By discontinuing its contract, Shasta County is helping to ensure that these species, which are already struggling to survive, have a better chance at recovery, said Johanna Hamburger, wildlife attorney at the Animal Welfare Institute. Many nonlethal alternatives exist that effectively reduce, if not eliminate, conflicts between livestock and predators, said Camilla Fox, founder and executive director of Project Coyote. We are encouraged to see counties across California catch up to the best available science indicating the efficacy of nonlethal methods, said Michelle Lute, wildlife coexistence campaigner for WildEarth Guardians. As more and more counties like Shasta cancel their contract killing of wildlife, they will see that lives can be saved and livelihoods can be sustained with ethical, effective coexistence.
DoR says land acquisition a major hurdle

The Department of Railways (DoR) forecasts land acquisition for the proposed railway network connecting Nepal, India and China a major hurdle.
Dr KC may need CCU care: Medics

The health condition of Dr Govinda KC, whose fast-unto-death entered the 24th dayon Monday, is said to be critical. Doctors attending him said he needs to be transferred to the coronary care unit (CCU) if his health deteriorates further
PR Newswire

AUSTIN, Texas, July 23, 2018

AUSTIN, Texas, July 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ROKA athlete Magnus Cort Nielsen won Sunday's Stage 15 of the Tour de France, taking ROKA's Advanced Performance eyewear to the top step of this year's Tour podium for the second time. Riding in the ultralight SL-1x, the Team Astana rider rode hard in an early breakaway and found himself in the lead group, down to just three riders after summiting the Pic de Nore. Racing into the medieval city of Carcassone, the powerful Dane led into the final hundred meters and launched his attack, surging away to take the first Tour de France stage win of his young career.

Having previously won two stages of the Vuelta a Espana, Cort Nielsen was a marked man in the final kilometers of the race into Carcassone. His two rivals forced him to lead out the sprint. With just a hundred meters to go, Cort Nielsen unleashed a vicious kick that could not be matched. Known primarily as a puncheur and classics racer, Sunday's win is the biggest victory of the 25-year-old's career and bodes well for his future in the grand tours.

"We designed Advanced Performance optics to meet the demands of world-class athletes like Magnus and Dan," said ROKA CEO and Co-founder Rob Canales. "We're a newcomer, an underdog in the eyewear market. To come away with these two stage victories speaks volumes about the athletes who choose ROKA and the performance of our product. We couldn't be more proud of their performances."

Magnus Cort Nielsen joins Dan Martin, who also rode the SL-1x to a victory in Stage 6. The SL-1x features a patented GEKO fit and retention system, designed to handle an explosive effort like Cort's powerful sprint Sunday, while being the lightest, and largest unobstructed view in the peloton. With an adjustable titanium core wire allowing for a custom fit, the SL-1x is perfect in a high speed Tour de France finish, where a rider can't afford to stop to make any eyewear adjustments. Weighing just 21 - 29 grams, the Advanced Performance collection was painstakingly designed to shave every gram possible, a feature that was critical Sunday, where Cort Nielsen faced a sprint finish after a long ascent of the Pic de Nore.

About ROKA

ROKA started in a garage in Austin, Texas with humble beginnings and laser-beam focus. ROKA's mission is to unlock human potential. To equip, empower, inspire and ignite. ROKA serves those who seek to redefine the standard, to push themselves to the limit  whatever and wherever that may be. Where there is an opportunity to innovate, to challenge the status quo, to disrupt a complacent or monopolistic market, ROKA is all in.

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www.roka.com

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SOURCE ROKA
Factories may not buy sugarcane due to glut

Sugar mills said Monday that they might not be able to buy sugarcane during the upcoming season due to an excess supply of sugar as they have been left with unsold stocks due to cheaper imports.
Krishana Prasain is a business reporter for The Kathmandu Post covering markets. Before joining The Kathmandu Post in 2018, she spent 3 years in New Business Age magazine covering business.
Govt will not accept Dr KCs Satyagraha

Chief Minister of Gandaki Province Prithvi Subba Gurung has said that the ruling Nepali Communist Party (NCP) will never buckle under the pressure put by Dr Govinda KC.
Indian camp office in Biratnagar to close from August 1

India has announced to shut down its camp office in Biratnagar of Morang district, from August 1, Indian embassy in Kathmandu confirmed.
Law Minister Tamang calls it quits after controversial remarks

Law Minister Sher Bahadur Tamang, who came under criticism from several quarters for his controversial remarks, resigned on Tuesday.
Malaysian former minister ready to face probe over Nepali workers scam

Malaysias former Deputy Prime Minister Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on Monday said he is ready to face Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigation over allegations his family members profited from trafficking Nepali migrant workers.
A number of airlines have submitted complaints to the European Commission against France as its air traffic controllers' (ATC) strikes continue.

International Airlines Group (IAG), Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air say that while they do not question the right to strike they believe that the strikes restrict the fundamental principle of freedom of movement within the EU.

They said that passengers on overflights are being denied their fundamental freedom to travel between member states not affected by strike action as France does not enable flights over the country during strikes.

French ATC strikes have increased by 300% so far this year compared to 2017 and the French Senate confirmed last month that France alone is responsible for 33% of flight delays in Europe.

In the June 13 report, the Senate also stated that the right to strike has to be balanced against the obligation to provide public service.

Willie Walsh, IAG's chief executive, said that it is not just customers flying in and out of France who are affected during the strikes.

"Passengers on routes that overfly France, especially the large airspace that covers Marseille and the Mediterranean, are also subject to delays and massive disruptions," said Mr Walsh.

"This affects all airlines but has a significant negative impact on Spains tourism and economy."

Michael OLeary, Ryanairs chief executive, said: Europes ATC providers are reaching the point of meltdown with hundreds of flights being cancelled and delayed daily either because of ATC strikes or because Europes ATC dont have enough staff.

When Greece and Italy have ATC strikes, overflights continue as normal. Why wont France do the same? ATC providers (especially in Germany and the UK) are hiding behind adverse weather and euphemisms such as capacity restrictions when the truth is they are not rostering enough air traffic controllers to cater for the number of flights that are scheduled to operate.

"These disruptions are unacceptable, and we call on Europes Governments and the EU Commission to take urgent and decisive action to ensure that ATC providers are fully staffed and that overflights are not affected when national strikes take place, as they repeatedly do in France."

The complaints state that there is a legal precedent to the case.

In 1997, the Spanish complained to the European Commission after they suffered for many years when French farmers prevented their fruit and vegetable exports into the EU.

The European Court ruled against France as the French authorities did not address the farmers actions and failed to ensure the free movement of goods.

Digital Desk
By John Fahey

The release last week by the CSO of the Quarterly National Accounts for the first quarter provided the first official growth estimates of the economy for the opening months of the year.

The headline data showed that GDP declined by 0.6% on a quarterly basis.

The contraction in the first quarter was in a large part due to the fact that GDP was so strong and off such a high base in the last quarter of 2017.

However, Irish GDP is well known for its volatility on a quarterly basis.

There is also the issue that GDP does not provide an accurate read of activity in the economy.

This is due to distortions caused by multinational activity, movements in intellectual property rights and aircraft leasing.

Instead, a more useful measurement is modified final domestic demand.

This metric is more reflective of underlying economic activity in the domestic economy, as it excludes trade in airplanes by aircraft leasing companies and imports of research and development (R&D) related to intellectual property movements.

In the first quarter, modified final domestic demand registered yearly growth of 4.8%.

This followed a 3.2% average increase in 2017.

Consumer spending rose by 2.7% compared to the same quarter a year earlier and suggests an improved pace of growth in household expenditure after it averaged 1.6% growth last year.

The construction sector registered a very strong performance over the period.

New home building investment was up 27% on a yearly basis, while overall construction investment increased by 11%.

Meanwhile, underlying business spending on machinery and equipment (excluding aircraft leasing) also started off the year on a strong footing.

It rose by 16% on a year-on-year basis in quarter one, following two years of contraction in 2016 and 2017.

These figures, which show the on-going strong performance in the domestic economy, corroborate the data that were previously released for the labour market over the same period.

This included employment rising by 2.9% or 62,000 on year-earlier levels.

Crucially, more timely data on the Irish economy suggest that the strong performance from the first quarter continued into the second quarter.

In terms of survey data, the manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) averaged 55.8 in the second quarter, broadly unchanged from its level in the previous quarter.

The services PMI registered a stronger performance in the April to June period compared to the opening three months of the year, indicating a firmer pace of growth in the sector.

Similarly, the construction survey also recorded a very encouraging reading for quarter two.

On the consumer side, confidence remains at a strong level.

Confidence is being supported by the on-going strong performance in the labour market.

The unemployment rate fell further in June, moving down to a near 11-year low of 5.1%.

The robust sentiment levels among consumers, amid sustained falls in unemployment, are helping to provide a supportive backdrop for consumer spending.

Available data on core retail sales in the second quarter show that they have risen by 1.6% in April-May from levels in the first quarter.

In terms of the outlook, we are forecasting the economy to grow by around 4.5% this year, with growth moderating somewhat to 4% in 2019.

The main risks to the economy are external.

These include Brexit, a changing global tax environment and increasing trade protectionism.

However, there are also positive developments externally, including ongoing strong growth in the global economy.

John Fahey is senior economist at AIB.
Nepal proposes July 30-31 for protocol talks

China has yet to respond to Nepals proposal to hold another round of talks to conclude Protocol to Transit and Transportation by July-end in Kathmandu.
By Padraig Hoare

The economy of the South-East has run out of steam because of under-investment in critical infrastructures like Waterford Airport and Rosslare, a shrinking labour force and lower job quality.

Those were some of the conclusions of an economic report from Waterford Institute of Technology lecturers, which said the labour market of the region was now an area of great concern.

The third annual South East Economic Monitor by Ray Griffin, Cormac OKeeffe and John Casey, who are part of the South East Network Social and Economic Research, said that despite a bumper year for IDA-supported jobs in the region, it was falling behind in most other metrics.

They said the labour market in the region contracted in 2017 by 2,400 compared to a national increase of 62,000.

The unemployment rate in the South East has plateaued and any modest short-term decreases over the last 12 months are largely attributable to a shrinking labour force, the report said. Just 5,400 net new jobs have been added since the Governments action plan for jobs was launched in 2015, despite a target of 25,000 every year.

Mr Griffin said: A weak labour market, combined with lower levels of support from state agencies and the lack of a university in the region, all point to the end of the South-Easts recovery.

Enterprise Ireland was a good supporter of jobs in the region, but firms are not very successful at accessing the bodys competitive grants, according to Mr Casey.

The lower educational attainment in the region makes it very hard for the national enterprise agencies to properly support the South East as their scheme and marketing is focused on graduates, and we have less of these in the South East, he said.

Higher education remains one of the main reasons for the continued poor performance of the region, he added.

Despite the regions potential for tourism, it was being hamstrung by a lack of critical infrastructures such as commercial flights at Waterford Airport and ferry services reduced in favour of Dublin, the authors said.

Crisis-hit Waterford Airport has been without commercial flights since 2016, and EY is undertaking a review into its future.
Dozens of colonoscopies are to be reviewed at St Columcille's Hospital, at Loughlinstown in Dublin.

The Ireland East Hospital Group say colonoscopies performed between November 2017 and April 2018 were reviewed, as part of a quality assurance process.
The body of an Irish man missing since 2009 has been found in France.

Dubliner Paul Shine Dixon had disappeared while travelling around Europe.

Paul Shine Dixon from Finglas was making his way from Amsterdam to Barcelona when he disappeared in May 2009.

The 28-year-old had been travelling by train to meet his girlfriend in the Catalan city, but got off at Perpignan in the south of France.

He made a distressed call to his partner saying he had witnessed a shooting and would call her again.

The last known sighting of the dad-of-three was when he discharged himself from a local medical centre.

It has emerged that earlier this month his family was informed his body was discovered buried beside a canal in Perpignan.

The Department of Foreign Affairs says it is aware of the case and is offering consular assistance.

Digital Desk
The cabinet will this morning consider a bill to increase the penalties for repeat sex offenders.

The bill will introduce tougher minimum sentences and penalties for those convicted of multiple sex crimes.

The new law would give the courts discretion to apply tougher minimum sentences to repeat sex offenders.

If a person was convicted of a sexual offence and handed a sentence of five years or more, and then within a further period of 10 years convicted of another offence, the court would decide what the minimum sentence should be.

The bill proposes that be set at three-quarters of the maximum prison term possible.

If the highest penalty is life imprisonment, it proposes a jail term of at least 10 years be given.

It sets guidelines, however, the court would have the discretion not to give that minimum sentence if it felt it would be disproportionate to the circumstances of the case.

The bill would also make the penalty for incest equal at 10 years imprisonment for both men and women.

Under current laws, women receive a more lenient sentence than men in cases of incest.

Digital Desk
By Aoife Nic Ardghail

A former charity director stole over 1 million from that voluntary organisation and friends and family while acting as a bookkeeper, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has heard.

Greg Walsh (70) came to court on signed pleas of guilty to 119 thefts totalling 998,476 from various parties, including Carline Learning Centre in Dublin, between 2008 and 2016.

He signed further pleas of guilty to four thefts totalling 150,000 from Bank of Ireland on dates in February and March 2015.

The Carline Learning Centre thefts of over 280,000 came to light when a staff member noticed discrepancies on the accounts when signing off on them before retirement.

Detective Garda Padraig Jennings revealed that Walsh had been director and treasurer of Carline Learning Centre, a Clondalkin based charity for disadvantaged young people.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard he misappropriated funds to pay the charity's tax bills by lodging the cheques into his own account before making direct debit payments on Revenue's online system. The father-of-four, of Woodbrook Crescent, Castleknock, Dublin, has no previous convictions.

Det Gda Jennings told Diana Stuart BL, prosecuting, that Carline Learning Centre still had an outstanding bill to Revenue as a result of the misappropriated money. The detective said it had only managed to stay afloat through public support.

He agreed with Patrick McGrath SC, defending, that gardai thought they would be investigating the Carline matter only, when Walsh revealed details of the other injured parties.

Det Gda Jennings said these included friends who gave Walsh money to invest on their behalf while he acted as their bookkeeper. In each case, Walsh repaid the parties what they thought were dividends on their investments.

Det Gda Jennings said in other cases Walsh acted as tax agent to friends and his nephew, who would give him money for Revenue.

The detective revealed that in many cases the funds received from individuals were not forwarded to Revenue, but used to pay the tax bills of other injured parties. He said these injured parties had suffered Revenue implications as a result.

The court heard Walsh's nephew was at a 10,000 loss because tax owed on rental income was not forwarded to Revenue.

Another man, the only injured party to make a victim impact statement, lost 14,138 through Walsh acting as his tax agent.

This man described how his pregnant wife called him after she had opened their door to a sheriff, while he was working abroad. The man said he had to pay a goodwill gesture to hold off Revenue until he found out what was going on.

He said Walsh told him over the phone I'm very sorry, I'm in a bad place. The man said he couldn't pay his mortgage or feed his family as Revenue had frozen his bank accounts.

He revealed his heart was breaking because he was now in heavy debt just when he thought he was getting back on his feet with his business.

Detective Garda Tyrone Houlihan told Ms Stuart that two brothers had initiated civil proceedings against Walsh for the 150,000 business debt he owed them.

The detective said to discharge this debt, Walsh wrote cheques from an empty Ulsterbank business account to his Walsh and Co Bank of Ireland trading account. Walsh then transferred the amounts to the brothers.

Det Gda Houlihan explained to Judge Pauline Codd that as they were business accounts, Bank of Ireland allowed Walsh transfer the funds before the Ulsterbank cheques cleared. He said in a personal account this would not happen.

The detective agreed with Mr McGrath that the bank in this case was at a loss and that his client made full admissions to the crimes.

Both detectives agreed with Mr McGrath that Walsh's guilty pleas saved a lot of time and work in preparing the cases for court.

Det Gda Jennings agreed that 785,095 was the net loss to various parties after all repayments to date.

He further agreed that Walsh had paid a settlement and costs to Carline after civil proceedings, as well as transferring private pensions and life policies.

He agreed that Walsh, who began practising as a tax agent in 1976, had lost his family home and was now living off a State pension.

Det Gda Jennings accepted that robbing Peter to pay Paul was the best way of explaining all the allegations as things spiralled out of control for Walsh.

He said Walsh asked gardai to give him a few days before interviewing him, so he could ring and apologised to all people affected by his offending.

Mr McGrath asked Judge Codd to adjourn the sentencing and his plea in mitigation to allow Walsh attend clinical appointments over the summer for his serious heart condition.

Judge Codd granted the adjournment and put the matter back until October.
Government officials are providing help to a number of Irish people caught up in wildfires sweeping through Greek towns which have killed more than 70 people.

The Department of Foreign Affairs declined to confirm whether Irish citizens have been injured in the fires outside Athens, but confirmed it was providing consular assistance to a number of Irish people.

The Irish Times are reporting this evening that an Irish couple has been separated while trying to escape the deadly blaze.

The report states that the woman is being treated for serious burn injuries in a Greek hospital while the man remains missing.

When contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs said it was not in a position to comment on that particular report and referred all queries to their earlier statement.

Earlier today the Department did confirm that they are monitoring the situation and

Read More:

Irish holidaymakers caught up in the Greece wildfires have also been advised by the Irish Travel Agents Association to monitor news reports and follow instructions from local authorities.

Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney issued advice for Irish citizens.

Our condolences with Greece at this difficult time. Irish citizens in region should keep up to date with local media + follow advice of Greek authorities in affected areas. Irish citizens affected can contact Irish Embassy in Athens +30 210 723 2771 or my Dept +353 1 408 2000.  Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) July 24, 2018

He tweeted: Irish citizens in region should keep up to date with local media and follow advice of Greek authorities in affected areas. Irish citizens affected can contact Irish Embassy in Athens +30 210 723 2771 or my Department +353 1 408 2000.

President Higgins has written to the President of #Greece to offer, "on behalf of the people of Ireland, our deepest condolences and our solidarity."https://t.co/05PK7USV77  President of Ireland (@PresidentIRL) July 24, 2018

President Michael D Higgins said he has written to Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos to express his sympathies with the families of those who have lost their lives and livelihoods in the fires.

He said: Following my visit to Greece and my meeting with him and the president of Italy and Portugal, I am very conscious of the resilience of the Greek people, who should be assisted by all of us in these difficult times.

I offered, on behalf of the people of Ireland, our deepest condolences and our solidarity.

Greek fire service spokeswoman Stavroula Malliri said that a further 164 adults and 23 children were still being treated in hospitals for injuries - on top of the 74 who have died in the fires.

Two main fires broke out on Monday, one to the west of Athens near the town of Kineta and one to the north-east near the port of Rafina.

Both were fanned by gale-force winds that hampered firefighting efforts and sent hundreds of people fleeing to beaches, where they were evacuated by boat late at night.

The Rafina fire appears to have been the deadliest by far.

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- Digital Desk, with reporting from PA
The Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) has begun a national public consultation on offering the HPV vaccine to boys.

Currently, the national immunisation programme offers the HPV vaccine to girls in their first year of secondary school.

Hiqas health technology assessment is reviewing the clinical and cost-effectiveness of extending this programme to include vaccinating boys in their first year of secondary school as well.

"HPV infection presents a significant and increasing health burden in both males and females, but currently only girls are offered the vaccine," said Dr Mairin Ryan, Hiqas director of health technology assessment and deputy chief executive.

"On average, 539 cases of cancer associated with HPV infection are diagnosed every year in Ireland, including cervical, anal, penile and oropharyngeal cancers. HPV infection is also responsible for genital warts, with 90% of these caused by HPV types that are included in the vaccine.

No treatment exists for HPV infection, so the focus must be on preventing those at risk from acquiring the virus.

The draft findings of Hiqas report have been published for public consultation. The assessment found that vaccinating both boys and girls would have considerable health benefits.

"From reviewing the evidence, Hiqa has found that the HPV vaccine is safe and is effective at preventing infection with HPV," said Dr Ryan.

"Extending the current girls-only HPV immunisation programme to include boys would reduce HPV-related disease in males and females in Ireland, improving patient-related outcomes and reducing mortality from HPV-related cancers.

"Hiqa wants to hear the views of the Irish public on this draft report before it is finalised. Following this, a final report will be prepared for consideration by the Hiqa Board, before final recommendations are made to the Minister for Health."

Minister for Health Simon Harris has welcomed the public consultation process.

"I requested Hiqa to undertake this Health Technology Assessment, which will establish the clinical and cost-effectiveness of providing the vaccine to boys. This public consultation is an important part of the process and I encourage people to take this opportunity to give their views," said Minister Harris.

"This Government is supportive of the extension of the HPV programme to boys and it will be prioritised should the HTA make a positive recommendation.

I am encouraged to hear the Hiqa assessment has found that vaccinating both boys and girls would have considerable health benefits and that it reiterates that the vaccine is safe and effective at preventing infection with HPV.

"Cervical cancer impacts the lives of almost 7,000 women in Ireland every year. Vaccination teams will be returning to schools in September to administer the HPV vaccine to girls in first year and I encourage parents to ensure that their daughters receive this important life-saving vaccine."

Ensuring justice and non-discrimination must be at the centre of any decision to offer the HPV vaccine to boys, the Irish Cancer Society has said.

"When it comes to the health of our children, it is only right that we offer the same protections to both boys and girls," said Irish Cancer Society CEO, Averil Power.

"Each year in Ireland at least 420 men and women are diagnosed with a cancer caused by HPV. The HPV vaccine is approved for use in boys and girls, but currently only girls are offered it for free under the national vaccination programme.

"Only boys whose families can afford to and choose to pay as much as 300 for the vaccine currently receive it through their GP, leaving many more unprotected. This is clearly an injustice."

Some 20 countries have now introduced the vaccination for boys, including Australia where the uptake rate is up to 90%. Last week the body overseeing vaccination policy in the UK strongly recommended that the free schools vaccination programme be extended to boys.

In Ireland, the National Immunisation Advisory Committee has also recommended that boys receive this vaccine.

"The advent of the HPV vaccine means that one day we may be able to eliminate the cause of one in 40 cancer cases in Ireland, but this will only be possible if boys and girls are vaccinated," said Ms Power.

"According to Hiqas draft report, extending the free vaccine to boys would cost an additional 10.4 million over five years. The Irish Cancer Society believes that such a cost would be an extremely good use of public funds and would ultimately benefit Irish men and women for generations to come."

Hiqa invites members of the public to give feedback on the draft report until Friday, September 7.
The head of the Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) says it's a logical next step for it to turn into a university.

WIT wants to join forces with Carlow IT to boost their status, making the first ever university in the South-East.
Dublin's Lord Mayor has hit out at a local TD's criticism of a 'cost rental' housing estate in Inchicore in Dublin.

470 homes would be built under the project at St Michael's estate and feature a mixture of social units and properties for rent at low costs.
Revenue officers seized 3.5kg of herbal cannabis worth an estimated 70,000 when they carried out a search, under warrant, of a house in Castleblaney, Co Monaghan yesterday.

This was part of a joint intelligence-led operation targeting drug importations in the Castleblaney area, involving Revenue, the Garda National Drugs & Organised Crime Bureau, Regional Support Unit and Gardai from the Cavan Monaghan Drugs Unit.
Nepalese Doctors Association UK expresses solidarity with Dr KC

Nepalese Doctors Association UK has expressed solidarity with Dr Govinda KC, who has been staging hunger strike since June 30 demanding reforms in medical education sector.
By Alison O'Riordan

A Dublin man was arrested for having a Beretta handgun and silencer after a confrontation with armed gardai during which an officer opened fire on a jeep, the Special Criminal Court has heard.

Andrew OKeeffe (29), from Drumcliff Road, Cabra West, Dublin 7 pleaded guilty last month to possessing a 9mm Beretta handgun and silencer in suspicious circumstances at Kylemore Way in Inchicore on September 6, 2017.

At todays sentence hearing Detective Inspector David Gallagher, from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, summarized the facts of the case.

Det Insp Gallagher told prosecuting counsel, Caroline Cummings BL, that gardai were dispatched to Ballyfermot on September 6 last year on foot of information about a white Citroen Berlingo van and a firearm. The gardai were tasked with trying to locate this van and the initial strategy was to disrupt a threat, he said.

The court heard a garda patrol car drove into Raheen Park in Ballyfermot where a white Citroen Berlingo van was observed parked with one male occupant wearing black sunglasses in the drivers seat.

The van took off at speed, driving through a red light in the direction of Kylemore Way in Inchichore, after gardai showed interest in it by carrying out a registration check. OKeeffe was not the driver of the van and gardai were unaware at the time that there was a second person in the vehicle, the non-jury court heard.

A plastic bag was thrown from the passenger window of the van before it came to a sudden stop at a set of bollards. OKeeffe and the driver then exited the van and ran through the bollards in the direction of another vehicle, a Tucson jeep, which was parked a short distance away.

As both men were running in the direction of this jeep, gardai caught up with OKeeffe. The driver of the jeep drove straight at gardai who were in a "very vulnerable position" in a narrow roadway as O'Keeffe was being restrained on the ground.

Gardai called at the driver to stop before one of the officers drew his firearm and seven shots were fired.

Following this, OKeeffe was arrested and brought to Ballyfermot Garda Station but nothing of evidential value arose from his interviews.

Det Insp Gallagher said a Beretta handgun fitted with a silencer was retrieved from the plastic bag which had been thrown from the window of the van. There was one round in the breach of the gun and a further eight rounds in the magazine.

OKeeffes fingerprints were found on the plastic bag and his DNA was also found on a set of clothing retrieved from the Citroen Berlingo van.

The white Citroen Berlingo van and the Tuscon jeep were purchased before the incident and were falsely registered, added Det Insp Gallagher.

OKeeffe has 71 previous convictions which include assault causing harm, violent disorder, public order and theft.

Det Insp Gallagher agreed with Olan Callanan BL for OKeeffe that it was clear from the evidence that his client was not the driver of the van. It is presumed O'Keeffe was in the rear of the van at the time, the court heard.

The witness further agreed that OKeeffe was not involved in driving dangerously towards gardai, saying the defendant was more in danger than causing danger.

Mr Callanan said his client has a long history of offending which dates back to 2006. The detective agreed that OKeeffe has an addiction to cocaine and his previous convictions were not inconsistent with someone who had a difficulty with drugs.

In mitigating factors, Mr Callanan asked the court to consider that O'Keeffe grew up in an area associated with criminality and he started to use cocaine at 14 years of age.

Counsel handed into the court a psychological report which described his long-standing addiction to drugs.

Mr Callanan submitted to the court that his client was in the throes of addiction at the time of this offence and is now on a waiting list to see a drugs councillor in Mountjoy Prison.

The barrister said OKeeffe was asked "to bring the weapon from A to B" and he would be paid a certain sum of money.

Mr Callanan asked the court to lay considerable emphasis on his client's early guilty plea and said O'Keeffe has been in custody for the majority of the last decade. He wants to get out to be a purposeful member of society, he said.

Mr Justice Tony Hunt, presiding, sitting with Judge Patricia Ryan and Judge Michael Walsh, remanded O'Keeffe in custody until July 31, when he will be sentenced.
Barrister and former Fianna Fail advisor Noel Whelan has announced that he will not be contesting the position of President of Ireland.

Mr Whelan, who has a weekly column in the Irish Times had been linked with a run but ruled himself out of the race. I'm out, he said.

He said he did consider the matter over a number of weeks with a team but figured that given President Michael D Higgins' decision to stand meant it was unlikely to overcome him.

If Michael D was not running, we would not have waited until now to form a campaign, he said.

He said that he is very conscious that whoever does put themselves up for election will be met with 'who do they think they are?'.

Mr Whelan said in the case of President Higgins not running, those seeking election would be given an opportunity to put forward proposals in which to revision, re-purpose and to reimagine the presidency, which commands a salary of 250,000 a year. He was speaking to Miriam O'Callaghan on RTE Radio this morning.

He said presidential campaigns need not be a divisive and bitter as they have been in recent times and he said that a campaign doesn't have to be as expensive as it once was, citing social media as another way to reach out to the electorate, rather that spend on posters.

Mr Whelan also said it is most probable that President Higgins will be successful in being re-elected.
By Ann O'Loughlin

Five men who say they are "nomadic businessmen" have brought High Court proceedings arising out of income tax assessments issued on them by the Criminal Assets Bureau.

The actions have been brought by John Sheridan Senior, John Sheridan, Thomas Sheridan, Daniel Sheridan and Patrick Sheridan who are all related to each other and all say they carry out their business in various EU countries outside of Ireland.

The men who describe themselves as "nomadic businessmen" are members of the Irish Travelling Community and say when they are in Ireland they reside in Rathkeale, Co Limerick.

In 2016 CAB issued income tax assessments for the years 2004 to 2014 on John Sheridan Snr, John and Thomas Sheridan, assessment for 2006 to 2014 for Daniel Sheridan. The court heard the men are tarmac contractors.

An assessment for the years 2009 to 2014 was issued in respect of Patrick Sheridan, who says he is self-employed.

The Sheridans dispute the assessments on grounds including they were not resident in Ireland for tax purposes for each of the individual tax years.

Due to their nomadic lifestyles and that their tarmacking business is conducted outside of Ireland they say they have spent minimal periods of time in this country.

Their High Court action arises out of a decision made in April by the Tax Appeals Commissioner Mr Mark O'Mahony, following a hearing last year, to allow the Sheridans bring appeals against the majority, but not all, of the years for which income tax assessments have been issued.

The Commissioner said some of the assessments issued by CAB could not be appealed on grounds including that self-assessed tax liabilities had not been paid, and that income tax returns had not been filed.

CAB had objected to the admission of the appeals. The Sheridans opposed CAB objections, and argued before the Commissioner that they should be allowed appeal all of the assessments.

Represented by Tim Dixon Bl the five businessmen said the Commissioner's decision in respect of the assessments in which he refused to allow appeals should be set aside.

Counsel said this was because the Commissioner failed to give any adequate reasons for his decision.

Counsel added that the Commissioner failed to determine if any of the Sheridan were tax resident in the State during any of the material periods, and had failed to consider submissions made on the Sheridan's behalf.

It was further submitted that the Commissioner had failed to consider the unique and exceptional facts relating to the Sheridan regarding their lack of literacy and their nomadic lifestyle.

In their judicial review proceedings against the Commissioner, the Sheridans seek an order quashing Mr O'Mahony's decision of April 30th last refusing to allow the businessmen bring appeals against the assessments for certain income tax years.

Mr Justice Charles Meenan granted the Sheridans permission, on an ex parte basis, to bring their challenge against the Tax Appeals Commissioner's ruling.

CAB is a notice party to the action.

The Judge also granted the Sheridans a stay the further pursuit of the sums allegedly due to the revenue commissioners on foot of the assessments pending the outcome of the action.

The case will come back before the court in November.
The Samaritans are launching a new campaign to encourage more open discussion of mental health issues.

The focus of "The Big Listen" is on train stations across the country today.
Social Justice Ireland is calling on the Government to incentivise the kind of jobs that allow workers to achieve a decent standard of living.

In its Quarterly Employment Monitor published today, the organisation criticises the 500m subsidy the Government gives the accommodation sector, saying it mainly benefits international hotel chains that are making huge profits.
By Ann O'Loughlin

Public confidence in the country's maternity services could be undermined under a statutory inquiry into the National Maternity Hospital (NMH) ordered by the Minister for Health after the death of a woman during surgery for an ectopic pregnancy, the High Court has heard.

It would have a "significant de-motivating effect on staff working in the sector", the court was told on a first day of the challenge by the National Maternity Hospital (NMH) to the Minister's decision to order the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) to hold an inquiry under Section 9(2) of the 2007 Health Act.

The inquiry is into patient safety issues including the practice of surgery being carried on outside core hours and the readiness of hospitals to respond to major emergencies in such circumstances.

It follows the death in May 2016 of teacher Malak Thawley (34) at the NMH from exsanguination as a result of an accidental aortic injury on insertion of a trocar during surgical management of a live ectopic pregnancy.

The late Malak Thawley

The Minister denies the NMH claims he is acting irrationally, disproportionately and outside his powers. HIQA is a notice party.

Paul Gallagher SC, for the NMH, said the Minister, in promising a further external inquiry to Alan Thawley, widower of Malak Thawley, had fettered the discretion he enjoys under the legislation permitting him to set up the inquiry.

Reading an affidavit sworn by Dr Rhona Mahony, Master of the NMH, Mr Gallagher said the inquiry would be potentially counterproductive and lead to the undermining of public confidence in national maternity services.

Dr Mahony says the magnitude of the HIQA investigation and its "damaging impact" on the staff and services at the NMH cannot be overstated.

By invoking a statutory inquiry the Minister was implying there was some deficiency in the hospital's services giving rise to a serious risk of the health and welfare of patients.

There had already been three inquiries/reviews which made no such conclusions. In the first of those, the hospital's internal inquiry, 18 of the 19 recommendations in its report were implemented.

The second was the HSE/McKenna review of the NMH inquiry which acknowledged that the hospitals systems and analysis review not only complied with the requirement of national guidelines for such reviews but in a number of respects exceeded those requirements.

There was also a coroner's inquest which approved the recommendations of the NMH report.

The hospital had no objection to a fourth investigation and what it had proposed was an inquiry by an independent expert body such as the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in the UK.

Dr Mahony said the confidence in the three reports from the previous inquiries will be undermined and have "the potential to distort clinical decision making".

Clinician confidence will be impaired and lead to staff avoiding high risk situations with the potential of significantly increased risk for patients, she said.

There will be a significant impact on the "On Call" area and it raises "massive operational and safety issues" because there are insufficeint consultants to perform all procedures arising in a 24-hour period. This will not only affect the NMH but all maternity services who operate similar arrangements throughout the country.

Earlier, Mr Gallagher said the Minister had not taken into account these disproportionate impacts on the NMH services which he was required to do in deciding whether to set up an inquiry.

The NMH was also saying the procedures adopted by the Department of Health in deciding to set up the inquiry made for "somewhat disturbing analysis", Mr Gallagher said. The reasons given for the decision are wholly inconsistent with an internal document prepared for the Minister when he made a public statement announcing the inquiry, counsel said.

The reasons given did not meet the test for such an inquiry and the hospital had never been told why they met that test, he said.

Mr Gallagher also said the HIQA inquiry would take up to three years to complete and would be highly disruptive. An inquiry by UK Royal College, which has a special unit to conduct such inquries, would not be so disruptive, he said.

The case continues before Mr Justice Charles Meenan.
By Sonya McLean

A Wicklow teenager who stole two bags of cash while he was working with security company G4S has been given an 18 month suspended sentence.

Stephen O'Connor (19) stole a total of 12,480 in order to pay off a 6,000 drug debt. He stayed off from work sick after he took the second bag of cash because he said he knew he was going to be caught.

O'Connor, of Castle Manor, Newcastle, Co Wicklow, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to theft of 4,890 and 7,590 from G4S Cash Services Ltd on October 31 and November 2, 2017. He has no previous convictions.

Judge Karen O'Connor said there were certain terms used in evidence such as on-tick and taxed referring to the fact that the teenager's original cocaine debt had been 4,000, but had been taxed and increased to 6,000.

She said these terms were indicative of the despicable and reprehensible behaviour of those involved in drugs, giving young people cocaine on-tick to get them addicted to drugs and then increasing the drug debt.

Judge O'Connor said O'Connor's drug debt was no defence and no excuse for his criminality and described him as a hard working person who had made a huge mistake.

She acknowledged that his family was helping him take responsibility for his crime. She noted that G4S had been paid back with the help of his mother taking out a bank loan, which O'Connor has to pay back.

Judge O'Connor sentenced O'Connor to 18 months in prison which she suspended in full on strict conditions.

It is clear to me that you are making every effort to put this behind you with the help of a very loving and very supportive family. If you take their support you will never return to those days again, the judge said before she wished O'Connor well and advised him to put this behind you.

Garda Ian Ward told Diana Stuart BL, prosecuting, that G4S noticed the cash was missing and through analysis of the CCTV footage noticed that O'Connor had been processing the cash on the relevant days.

An internal investigation was launched and O'Connor was asked to come in as he had been on sick leave. He made immediate admissions and fully co-operated with the subsequent garda investigation.

Gda Ward said O'Connor revealed he was under pressure to get money to pay back a cocaine debt that he had run up and admitted he had hidden the bags of cash under his jumper. He said he didn't initially know how much money was in the bags.

O'Connor said he had been paying the debt back through his wages but told gardai that it seemed he was not paying them off quickly enough. A 4,000 debt was taxed and increased to 6,000.

Gda Ward agreed with Pieter Le Vert BL, defending, that as the theft itself was not covered on the CCTV cameras, O'Connor's plea was helpful to their investigation.

Mr Le Vert said his client had since got a new job and was working to pay back his mother who took out a bank loan to pay back G4S.

Counsel said that when his client's parents found out about the thefts, they effectively put him under quarantine, by taking his phone away and ensuring that he was with one of them at all times.

This is a hard working young man who is trying to rebuild his life after this terrible mistake, Mr Le Vert said.

It was a very serious breach of faith with his employers, his family and indeed his own self image, counsel added before he asked Judge O'Connor to take into account his client's lack of previous convictions and the fact that he had not come to garda attention since.
Achyut Wagle holds PhD in economics and is currently a professor at the Kathmandu University School of Management. He is an econo-political analyst, writing for The Kathmandu Post for many years.
A catamaran carrying day-tripping tourists along the coast of north-western Spain has caught fire after colliding with another vessel, injuring five people.

Authorities in the Galicia region said that two people sustained serious burns and were airlifted to hospital, with three others treated locally.
The Israeli military said it has shot down a Syrian fighter jet that entered its airspace.

The advance of the Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet was monitored on Tuesday before the Israeli military shot it down with a pair of Patriot missiles after it entered Israeli airspace by about two miles.
Probe team returns without visiting clash site

A Nepal Police team led by a deputy inspector general, which reached Jumla on Sunday to probe a violent clash that erupted while evicting fasting Dr Govinda KC on Thursday, has returned without visiting the incident site.
In this quiet Wellington police precinct, a group of kindly, earnest constables spend most of their time apprehending juvenile taggers and pursuing trouser thieves. Then, sometimes, they find themselves battling forces of unspeakable evil  in classic Kiwi style. Imagine Cops meets X Files, via Flight of the Conchords. Indeed, this entertaining mash-up is the brainchild of Conchords' Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi (Hunt for the Wilderpeople) and it shows in their unique facility with language, and the gloriously deadpan performances. (At one point a housewife in ugg boots says, with mild irritation, "Gary, can you get down from the ceiling? The cops are here.") They've certainly found a rich little seam of comedy gold in the placid and unimaginative townsfolk facing off against demonic possession in a manner that's perplexed, certainly, but not in any way alarmed. MH

Wellington Paranormal. Credit:SBS

MasterChef (finale)

Ten, 7.30pm

It's been a wonderful season of MasterChef, not so much because of the promised "surprises" (although there have been some nice tweaks to the format) but thanks to another superb job by the casting producers. People like Hoda, Brendan, Loki and Samira have made following the contestants' adventures a real pleasure.

The quality of the cooking has also been really satisfying, relying less on fancy technique and more on thoughtfulness and finesse. At the time of writing we don't actually know who the two finalists will be, but if Kahn and/or Sashi isn't there I'll be very disappointed. MH
Our pick of what to do in Canberra this weekend.

1. SPEEDO SHUFFLE

The Speedo Shuffle will take over the shores of Lake Burley Griffin this weekend.

Do you like raising money for charity? If YES, then you must love running around the lake in swimmer bottoms that leave little to the imagination. That's just how things are done now. Join Cystic Fibrosis ACT this Sunday for the Santa Speedo Shuffle. Hundreds of Canberrans will don their finest budgie smugglers and Santa hats for a fun run around Lake Burley Griffin to raise money for 100 Canberrans in need. Sunday July 29, 10am, Southern Cross Yacht Club. Visit santashuffle.org.au.

2. POP YUM CHA


When I found out about the Ipswich City Council arrangement I started to have a further look at some other statements that I could get access to from each councils website and I started to say to myself, this is all a bit strange because everybody reports their affairs differently, he said. You really have to search through each set of accounts to almost do a forensic accounting exercise just to find out whats happening. A spokesman said Ipswich City Council rejected the assertions and the process was undertaken in line with requirements of the Queensland Audit Office. "KPMG, as delegate for the QAO, in 2007 specifically noted that all assets not previously recognised were to be accounted for in the income statement,'' the spokesman said in a statement. "Footpath assets are not viewed by council as income producing.

"The fact that the change in estimate for the recognition of footpaths was correctly recorded in the income statement does not make footpath assets income producing.'' In a briefing note handed to Mr Pitt, Mr Bloomfield told him the tribunal had found a lot of inconsistency in the way councils record and report their data  this makes comparison between councils difficult. The tribunal recommends a six-way meeting between (the Local Government Department), Queensland Treasury Corporation, Grants Commission, Queensland Audit Office, Local Government Association of Queensland and itself to discuss development of a standardised reporting protocol. No such meeting ever took place.

Nothing came of it," Mr Bloomfield said. "...Everyone kept on saying that there are steps in place to get some standardisation and wed better let those steps take their course. A copy of the 2007 annual financial statement by Ipswich City Council, obtained by Fairfax Media, signed off by then-mayor Paul Pisasale and chief executive Carl Wulff, includes $12.39 million in other revenue attributed to revisions to infrastructure assets. A note in the accounts describes a special project carried out in 2006-07 because there was insufficient information  to recognise footpaths as individual records - the changes in estimates arising from this project have been quantified and have been reflected in 2006-07. There is no explanation of why this figure was considered to be revenue. Mr Hinchliffe did not address questions regarding the concerns Mr Bloomfield raised with the Bligh government.

Queensland councils are required to prepare annual general purpose financial statements that comply with Australian accounting standards, he said in a statement. The department regularly facilitates workshops to assist councils to comply with these requirements and the annual general purpose financial statements are audited by the Queensland Audit Office. The departments capacity building program for 2018-19 will have a greater focus on financial sustainability, including financial forecasting, asset management and community engagement. Most Queensland councils have been obliged to conform with Australian accounting standards since 1993. Mr Bloomfield also revealed that prior to the establishment of the tribunal in 2007, when councillors still set their own pay, Ipswich councillors were the highest or second-highest paid after Brisbane City Council.

They were streets ahead of everybody else, he said. The council had since been the most frequent applicant to the tribunal for pay rises, Mr Bloomfield said, describing such applications as pretty much an annual event. Seven of the 10 Ipswich councillors who ran the council in 2008 are still in office, but facing imminent dismissal by Mr Hinchliffe, who has described an unprecedented integrity crisis at the council. Fifteen people connected with the council including two mayors and two chief executives have been charged by the Crime and Corruption Commission with a total of 79 offences. They include Mr Pisasale and Mr Wulff, both of whom have been charged with official corruption and other offences. They are contesting the charges.

Bundamba Labor MP Jo-Ann Miller* has accused successive state governments of turning a blind eye to wrongdoing and allegations of corruption at the council. Former Member for Ipswich Rachel Nolan has claimed the council forced out or marginalised people who raised concerns about Ipswich City Council and that Mr Pisasale, who was in the role from 2004 until June last year, used his membership (of the ALP) to neutralise the party as a potential source of opposition and his popularity to co-opt key state MPs to his team. Local Government Minister Stirling Hinchliffe and long-serving Ipswich councillor Paul Tully. Credit:AAP Mr Hinchliffe this week tabled in Parliament three damning reports on Ipswich City Council-owned entities detailing evidence of potential fraud and breaches of the Corporations Act. At a press conference in the Ipswich Mall on Tuesday, he said taxpayers had been dudded by dodgy deals under a council culture of secrecy, entitlement and a lack of accountability.
Hundreds of business leaders are in Brisbane to hear more about the $944 Brisbane Metro before bidding to build the underground stations, tunnels and vehicles for the project.

On Wednesday, a special industry briefing will be held for the representatives of the local and international companies and, after this, the expression of interest will open.

Design image for the underground station at the Cultural Centre. Credit:Brisbane City Council

Acting mayor Adrian Schrinner will address the briefing along with Federal Urban Infrastructure and Cities Minister Paul Fletcher.

Cr Schrinner said the briefing would outline the Brisbane Metros key milestones and opportunities before the launch of the procurement for the project.
Borce Ristevski's lawyers are to call for his murder charge to be downgraded to manslaughter if he is committed to stand trial, as the hearing that determines whether he will face a jury over the death of wife Karen draws to a close.

Mr Ristevski's hearing in Melbourne Magistrates Court could finish as early as Wednesday, and his defence team is expected to submit there is insufficient evidence that the 54-year-old stand trial for murder.

Karen Ristevski

Prosecutors allege Mr Ristevski murdered his wife of 27 years on June 29, 2016 and then drove her body in her car from their Avondale Heights home to Mount Macedon Regional Park.

Her remains were found in the park in February last year, eight months after her disappearance.
Besieged Labor MP Emma Husar has taken personal leave amid an ongoing party investigation into allegations she bullied staff and had them undertake duties such as dishwashing and babysitting.

Fairfax Media also revealed on Tuesday the western Sydney MP had charged taxpayers for limousine travel, using the Comcar service, in her home city - which is contrary to the general travel guidelines.

Ms Husar released a statement Tuesday evening which said she had informed chief opposition whip Chris Hayes she would take personal leave, effective immediately. She did not specify the duration.

Under investigation: Labor MP Emma Husar in Parliament. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

"The past few days have been incredibly difficult for my family. Im a single mum and my first priority is the safety and wellbeing of my children," Ms Husar said.
Trevor Ruthenberg's incorrect defence medal information would have been sent back to him for approval, the clerk of the Queensland Parliament told an estimates hearing on Tuesday.

The LNP candidate for Longman, a former Queensland state MP, has come under fire for claiming in his state parliamentary biography that he had received the Australian service medal, rather than the Australian defence medal.

During the first day of hearings, clerk Neil Laurie confirmed biographical details for the Parliament's website were sent back to MPs for approval before they were published online.

Liberal Candidate for Longman Trevor Ruthenberg. Credit:Dave Hunt/AAP

Mr Laurie said MPs were asked to fill out a form to submit their biographical information.
Queensland will crackdown on "claim farming", with the government to introduce legislation to fight the "insidious" practice.

Claim farming involves cold calls to encourage people to make a compensation claim for a car crash, with personal information then sold to law firms.

Queensland Deputy Premier Jackie Trad says her 10-year-old son was aggressively questioned by a 'claim farmer' who called her home. Credit:AAP

Deputy Premier Jackie Trad said the state could not afford to let claim farming affect the community and compulsory third-party premiums.

Ms Trad announced during Tuesday's estimates hearings that she had asked the Motor Accident Insurance Commission to urgently advise on options to "stop this insidious practice", with legislation to come before Parliament in the next six to 12 months.
Bangkok: A hydroelectric dam collapsed in southeastern Laos, leaving an unknown number of people dead and hundreds missing, state media said Tuesday. Rescue efforts were underway as top government officials rushed to the site and public appeals were launched for aid.

The official Lao news agency KPL said the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower dam in Attapeu province collapsed Monday evening, releasing large amounts of water that swept away houses and made more than 6600 people homeless.

Lao villagers are stranded on a roof of a house due to floodwaters after the dam collapsed Credit:ABC Laos News via EPA

The dam was constructed by a joint venture led by South Korean companies, with Thai and Lao partners. The project was still under construction, KPL reported. It described the portion that collapsed as a "saddle dam," which is an auxiliary dam used to hold water beyond what is held by the main dam.

Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith "suspended the planned monthly meeting of the government for August and led his Cabinet members and other senior officials to Sanamxay (district) to monitor rescue and relief efforts being made for flood victims," KPL said. Many areas of Laos have recently been hit by floods from heavy seasonal rains.
Top leaders indifferent to activists demands

On the 24th day of Dr Govinda KCs indefinite hunger strike, top leaders of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) on Monday were indifferent to the demands of the agitating orthopaedic surgeon.
Greece is facing its worst fire crisis in more than 10 years as blazes rip through two coastal resorts, killing at least 74 people, including families with children found clasped in a last embrace as they tried to flee the flames.

The fires are the worst since 2007, when record-high temperatures led to a series of blazes across the country, killing at least 73 people.

The casualties from this week's wildfires were concentrated around Mati, a coastal settlement in north-east Attica, and were stoked by heavy winds, which spread the flames in the dry conditions.

Emergency crews found one group of 26 victims, some of them youngsters, lying close together near the top of a cliff overlooking a beach.
Washington: A Massachusetts state senator who opposes President Donald Trump's immigration policies was mistakenly booked on Fox News, and she used the airtime to criticise Trump's "illegal and inhumane" treatment of migrant families crossing the US-Mexico border.

Barbara L'Italien, a Democrat, appeared Monday on Fox & Friends First, instead of the intended guest, Democratic congressional candidate Ann Kirkpatrick, who has openly supported US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). A spokesman for Ms L'Italien said in a statement that "due to a Fox News error," Ms L'Italien was contacted and asked to share her views on ICE and decided to use the opportunity to "make a statement straight to Trump".

US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One last week. Credit:AP

"I'm actually here to speak directly to Donald Trump," she said during the broadcast. "I feel that what's happening at the border is wrong."

The senator said she has four children and believes that "separating kids from their parents is illegal and inhumane".
Palo Alto, California: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said America would continue to hold Russia accountable for the 298 people, including 38 Australians, killed when Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over Ukraine by a Russian missile four years ago.

There had been concerns in the Turnbull government that the US may ease the pressure on Russia over the deadly incident following President Donald Trump's friendly press conference beside Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Helsinki last week.

Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop made securing a commitment from the Trump administration to hold Russia publicly accountable for the attack a priority for the annual Australia-US Ministerial (AUSMIN) talks, held this year at Stanford University in California.
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The ABA is leading a campaign to tackle financial abuse of the elderly. Australian Broker examines the implications for those on the industrys frontline

Stories of elderly people being tricked, forced or emotionally blackmailed to hand over their money make headlines with alarming frequency.

In June, the Australian Banking Association (ABA) kicked off its latest campaign to raise awareness of the issue, in collaboration with National Seniors, the Council on the Ageing (COTA), the Older Persons Action Network and the Finance Sector Union.

Together, this coalition wants finance professionals to be empowered to properly detect and safely report elder financial abuse. Calling on the general public to write to their federal, state and territory governments, the campaign is pushing for key policy changes to be enacted by Christmas, including standardised power of attorney orders across states and territories; an online register of power of attorney orders; and a safe place to report suspected financial abuse to.

There are far too many heartbreaking stories of elderly, vulnerable Australians who have been financially exploited by family members or close friends. This is a really difficult, complex problem, but there are things that can be done about it, says ABA CEO Anna Bligh.

In Australia, there are eight million consumers aged 50 years or older. Referred to by COTA as the silver economy, it is estimated that as many as 10% have experienced financial, legal, emotional or physical abuse. Financial abuse can include a friend or family member pension skimming, spending an older persons money without permission, forging their signature, coercing them to sign paperwork, using their bank accounts and credit cards without consent, and denying them access to money or bank statements.

The broker has always been the first line of defence when it comes to detecting unusual behaviour - William Ngo, finance specialist, Finance Garage

COTA chief executive Ian Yates has referred to such behaviour as inheritance impatience, and there is the added challenge of close familial ties masking untoward intentions.

He says, Older Australians are among those most susceptible to financial abuse, and more often than not incidences go unnoticed. The situation as it stands is completely unacceptable, and we need to do much more.

It isnt the first time this year the ABA has called for reform, and momentum is starting to build. The latest federal budget allocated funds to a national online register and a dedicated national financial abuse body that suspected cases can be reported to.

Elsewhere, ASIC has issued its own guidance online and provides contact details for major national hotlines and charities that can offer advice to those worried about a client, customer or family member.

Major lenders are also taking action. At CBA the Safe and Savvy program, launched in early June, covers financial abuse, scams and fraud against the elderly. The bank has also issued a guide to help staff and customers identify suspicious transactions.

The program will improve the skills of our employees to identify elder financial abuse and provide practical advice on tips and traps to older customers and their families, says the banks customer advocate, Brendan French.

Training will soon be rolled out to our teams in nearly 1,000 branches nationwide so they can recognise and report the signs.

The role of a broker

Like branch staff, brokers also have a role to play. According to Heartland Seniors Finance CEO Andrew Ford, brokers are well positioned to spot financial abuse, particularly when it comes to dealing with reverse mortgages, or elderly customers trying to take out loans after falling for a scam.

He advises, Look out for those potential red flags. If a broker becomes aware of something, we recommend that they talk to an elder financial abuse hotline in each state.

As banks look to cut branch staff and move more services online, the role of brokers in identifying and reporting red-flag transactions will only become more important.

The broker has always been the first line of defence when it comes to detecting unusual behaviour, such as fraud and laundering, so it would be no different to ensure brokers are trained up to keep our elderly safe from abuse, says William Ngo, finance specialist at Finance Garage.

Brokers are expected to speak out and report suspicions, but why are we not given the same reporting lines, procedures and training to help real people that need it the most? Taking advantage of an elderly family member or friend is as bad as robbing them. It should be taken very seriously, and prevention is key.

Mojo Mortgages principal Betty Preshaw recently spoke to a number of major and non-major banks on behalf of a client who wanted to purchase a property with his grandmother. It would have been the first purchase for both borrowers and was intended to be partly funded with inheritance money that belonged to the grandmother.

Under our responsible lending obligations, it is incredibly important brokers meet the elderly applicant and have a detailed discussion - Betty Preshaw, principal, Mojo Mortgages

According to Preshaw, no bank was interested in lending money secured on an owner-occupied house that would be purchased with an elderly relative. While she says the client was coming from a genuine place, she praises the default protection the bank provided as a matter of due diligence.

Bank policy when it comes to senior owner-occupied properties is very tight, as no bank ever wants to have to foreclose on an elderly persons home in a worst-case scenario.

However, when it comes to investment properties, policies are less conservative. Provided there is a strong exit strategy, such as the sale of the investment property, banks can lend to applicants or guarantors over a 30-year term that takes the loan past the retirement age of 75, Preshaw says.

Although unofficial, brokers do have a role to play in tackling the issue of financial abuse. However, knowing how to approach difficult conversations requires knowledge as well as confidence.

Under our responsible lending obligations, it is incredibly important brokers meet the elderly applicant and have a detailed discussion to explain all of the implications, Preshaw says.

As brokers, we can explain the options available to all applicant parties and workshop other solutions that are not as imposing financially on the elderly party. Also, speak to other brokers and ask for advice, particularly if you feel uncomfortable about a particular scenario.

Ngo adds, I do not believe at this stage enough is being done to address this issue, but the ball is rolling and I believe changes are coming. I believe brokers can play a major role in helping with the monitoring and reporting of elderly financial abuse and, if given the tools to do so  appropriate training, awareness, reporting procedures  we can slowly chip away at this problem.
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A manager at a major lender has been appointed as CEO of one of Australia's mortgage broking franchise groups.

REA Group today announced the appointment of Sam Boer as CEO of Smartline.



Boer joins Smartline from Commonwealth Bank Australia, where he served as general manager, third party banking in the retail banking sector.



REA group acquired an 80.3% stake in Smartline in June 2017, strengthening its home loan offering, which also includes realestate.com.au Home Loans and realestate.com.au Home Loans broking.



Smartline is settling more than $6billion in loans annually with a total loan-book of approximately $25billion, which it says gives the REA Group Financial Services segment greater scale and capability for the long term.



Announcing Boers appointment, REA group executive general manager, financial services, Andrew Russell, said, Sam brings a wealth of experience to this role and has a long history of leading high performing teams to deliver value for customers. His recent experience at CBA and standing in the industry make him perfectly placed to lead Smartline into a new era of broking and finance.



The Smartline business is an integral part of the REA Group and I look forward to working closely with Sam to drive our Financial Services strategy."



Commenting on Boers appointment, Smartline executive director and co-founder, Chris Acret, commented, Were delighted that Sam will be joining Smartline to lead the business into our next chapter of growth with REA.



Weve known Sam a long time, he has strong industry experience and we are very comfortable that he will be a good fit for the business and our people."



Boer said, I have known and admired the Smartline team for many years and am delighted to have been selected to lead the business in its next exciting stage with REA Group.



I look forward to meeting up with the Franchisees, staff and all other stakeholders that support this quality business and working with them to achieve further success in the years ahead."



Boer joins Smartline on Monday 14 August and will be based at the North Ryde (Sydney) office.
Latest News GetCapital rebrands as Shift, pivots from lender to broker platform New proposition has fintech seeks to empower brokers through data

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A new report has shown that while more financial service businesses are using social media, they are behind the global average in not monitoring customer sentiment.

According to Hootsuites 2018 Social Business Report, eight out of ten Australian financial service businesses said social media has become more important in the last two years. Around 70% said they use social media primarily for customer service.

The global social media platforms report also looked at brand perception, particularly after the Royal Commission noted a lack of transparency and trust in the finance industry.

Roger Graham, senior director, growth & marketing, Hootsuite APAC, explains, Now more than ever, the industry is operating in an environment where they need to understand exactly what their customers are saying. Social is a constant source of direct feedback, and it is vital for businesses to act on this feedback.

While most businesses have recognised socials power to create positive customer service experiences, only 20% were found to be measuring customer sentiment, which is behind the global average of 40%.

Measuring sentiment on social can provide insights to understand customer pain points and address issues. It also allows businesses to make decisions based on the feedback it receives from customers.

Currently, Australian financial organisations focus more on so-called vanity metrics, such as the number of followers, likes, shares, comments.

The report found Australian financial service organisations are also lagging behind the rest of the world when it comes to leveraging brand advocates.

The report shows that in Australia, 39% of organisations currently leverage social media for employee advocacy purposes, compared to 53% globally.

With the industry perception suffering following the Royal Commission, employee advocates can offer a trusted voice.

Further research from Hootsuite reveals 81% of leaders in the financial services industry surveyed believe that brand perception and trust is positively impacted by social media.

Related stories:

Almost half of customers distrust big 4

Social Media: Friend or foe?
Tourism entrepreneur Pokharel no more

Tourism entrepreneur Tek Chandra Pokharel passed away on Monday. He was 84. He was suffering from lung cancer and died at 10am at Om Hospital.
Two media forums dismiss ministrys claim

Nepal Media Society and Radio Broadcasters Forum Nepal on Monday dismissed Ministry of Information and Communications statement on royalty collection as misleading.
German luxury automaker today said it has appointed its India head Vikram Pawah as CEO of Group Australia and New Zealand with effect from August 1.

Pawah (47) has additionally been promoted as the Chairman of Group India and will remain committed to the Indian market in his expanded role, India said in a statement.

Hans-Christian Baertels (56), currently Director, Finance and Administration, at India will take over responsibility as the acting President, it added.

"Pawah brings excellent preconditions to lead operations in India and Australia," BMW Group Senior Vice President Asia Pacific Hildegard Wortmann said.

Under his leadership, has successfully stood ground in a fiercely competitive environment and gained significant momentum in the Indian luxury car market, he added.

Pawah joined in January 2017 and has more than 25 years of experience in the automotive industry.

In the past, he has held multiple leadership positions at Honda Cars in Australia and India, and India.
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Digital Editor
For decades, Finacle, one of the earliest make-in-India products, proved its robustness at global and Indian financial institutions, but the core banking platform of Infosys was confined to an on-premise model being hosted at the data centre of clients.

While parent Infosys kept on building add-ons and newer versions to keep the software abreast of clients demands in the financial services space, the very fact that it was an on-premise software was alienating itself from the disruption that was taking shape at the market place brought in by cloud. In the next phase of its ...
Underground cable plan stalls due to hefty price

The Nepal Electricity Authoritys (NEA) plan to install underground power cables in the northern and central parts of Kathmandu has suffered a setback as potential contractors have quoted a far higher price than its estimate.
Country's largest carmaker India (MSI) is on track to meet BS VI emission norms, which will come into effect from April 2020, a top company executive said today.

MSI, which on Tuesday launched telematics solution 'Suzuki Connect' for its Nexa customers, said its engineers are 'working round the clock to make its models conform' to the new emission norms.

Also, the models are being upgraded to meet new safety regulations that will kick in from next year.

"On BS VI emission norms we are on track. We will definitely have vehicles as per the schedule of April 2020. Time is limited but we are making all efforts to meet BS VI emission norms. Our people are almost working round the clock," MSI Senior Executive Director (Engineering) CV Raman told PTI.

On company's strategy regarding the upcoming safety rules, he said already MSI's nine models conform to offset and side impact mandate as well as pedestrian protection, which are yet to be notified.

"So, we are already on course. We will meet all the norms for all the models before the deadline," Raman said.

New safety regulations for existing models will kick in from October 2019.

When asked about the company's investments on R&D centre at Rohtak, Haryana, Raman said out of the total outlay of Rs 40 billion, Rs 23 billion has been invested at the facility.



Commenting on Suzuki Connect, he said the service would be available as an option that can be installed by customers in their cars across Nexa premium retail network in the country.

The solution offers features like emergency alerts, vehicle tracking, driving behaviour analysis, among others.

"A nationwide extensive study was conducted to understand the challenges that Indian car owners face daily and their expectations from these solutions," MSI Senior Executive Director Marketing and Sales RS Kalsi said.

Raman said the telematics solution has been developed by Suzuki and Maruti specifically for Indian market and can be fitted in existing Nexa cars as well. By end of this year, the company would also start offering the solution to vehicles that are sold under Arena network.

Nexa customers would have to shell out an extra Rs 9,999 for three-year subscription to avail the service.

MSI sells models like S-Cross, Baleno, Ignis and Ciaz from Nexa retail channel while Dzire, Swift, Brezza and the rest from the Arena network.


India on Tuesday extended $200 million lines of credit to as Prime Minister held wide-ranging talks with President Paul Kagame and discussed measures to boost the bilateral strategic ties by strengthening cooperation in trade and agriculture sectors.

After the one-on-one talks with president Kagame, Modi, the first Indian prime minister to visit the East African country, announced that India will soon open its mission in

We are going to open a High Commission in This will not only establish communication between our respective governments but also enable facilities for consular, passport, visa, Modi said at a joint press statement.

He noted that India and Rwanda relationships have stood the test of time.

It is a matter of honour for us that India has stood with Rwanda in their economic development journey, Modi said, adding that India will continue to back Rwanda's development.

The two countries signed agreements on leather and allied areas and agricultural research.

India also extended two lines of credit -- one of $100 million for development of industrial parks and Kigali special economic zone (SEZ) in Rwanda and another one for $100 million for agriculture.

Besides one-to-one meeting, the two leaders also participated in delegation-level talks to strengthen partnership in trade and investment, capacity building, development partnership and people to people ties.

President Kagame in his remarks said Prime Minister Modi's visit represents a milestone between the long-standing friendship and cooperation between Rwanda and India.

Modi arrived in Rwanda tonight on the first leg of his three-nation Africa tour as part of India's outreach to the resource-rich continent, soon after Chinese President visited Kigali.

The prime minister's aircraft landed at the Kigali International Airport where he was received by President Kagame. He was accorded a red carpet welcome at the airport.

"A historic visit starts with a special gesture. President @PaulKagame personally welcomed PM @narendramodi to Rwanda," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted.

His two-day state visit to Rwanda -- one of Africa's fastest-growing economies -- assumes significance as it could boost India's strategic ties with this country.

"A special gesture by a close friend and a strategic partner! Prime Minister @narenderamodi personally received by Rwandan President @PaulKagame at #Kigali International Airport on the first leg of his three-nation tour. First-ever visit by an Indian PM to Rwanda," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had tweeted.

Modi will also meet the business leaders and the Indian communities here.

Tomorrow, Prime Minister Modi will visit the Genocide Memorial and participate in an event on "Girinka" (one cow per family), a social protection scheme of Rwanda initiated by Kagame.
The Indian diaspora is making a mark all over the world and they are the country's "rashtradoots" (ambassadors), Prime Minister told a gathering of Indian community members in Rwanda.

He said, "I am delighted to interact with the Indian community in Rwanda. President @PaulKagame said to me that the Indian community is contributing to Rwanda's progress and they are also doing (a) lot of community service. I was happy to hear this."



"All over the world, the Indian diaspora is making a mark. They are our 'Rashtradoots'," the prime minister added.

Modi is on a two-day visit to Rwanda -- one of Africa's fastest-growing economies. He is the first Indian prime minister to visit the country.

"For years the Indian community in Rwanda wanted a High Commission. This long-pending demand will be fulfilled and you will be connected even further with India," he told the gathering.

Earlier, Modi held wide-ranging talks with President Paul Kagame and discussed measures to boost the bilateral strategic ties by strengthening cooperation in defence, trade and agriculture sectors.
A high-level team, set up by the Rajasthan Police on Monday, to probe why policemen took three hours to reach a hospital only four kilometres away with a badly injured man accused of smuggling cows, admitted local personnel made an "error of judgement".

An Assistant Sub-Inspector was suspended for the undue delay and action taken against four constables.

The high-level police team formed on Monday morning on directions of state Director General of Police O P Galhotra visited the location where Rakbar, alias Akbar, was brutally bashed by a mob in Alwar on Saturday night.

The team met his relatives, spoke to local residents and policemen to thoroughly investigate the matter.

Special Director General N R K Reddy said police reached the location of the incident on time but failed to gauge the extent of injuries sustained by the victim. He also added that police first took the cows to a "gaushala" (cow shelter) and then took the victim to the hospital where he was declared brought dead. "Rakbar, alias Akbar, died due to serious internal injuries and further investigations are on in the case," he said.





The panel was to also investigate whether the policemen callously stopped on the way to the hospital to have tea while Rakbar lay bleeding in their vehicle and was eventually declared dead.

Galhotra had said the team will find out why so much time was wasted in transporting Rakbar after he was beaten up in Alwar district on Saturday.

The team also includes senior officers P K Singh, Hemant Priyadarshi and Mahendra Singh Chaudhary.

Later on Monday, police sources said ASI Mohan Singh had been suspended for negligence and delay, while action has also been taken against four constables.

The policemen apparently reached the site of the attack at 1 am but the victim reached the hospital only at 4 am, said a police official.

It has been alleged that the policemen stopped on the way to have tea.





Naval Sharma, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's Gau Raksha cell chief in Ramgarh, quoted the FIR to say that the police reached the site at 12.41 am and the victim was taken by them by 1 am.

However, surprisingly, the police reached the hospital at 4 am. The post-mortem report says the victim died at 3.40 am.

A social worker in the region, Vijay Kumar, told IANS that Akbar and Aslam were taking bovines from the fields at midnight. When the animals cried out, some villagers came out and thrashed Akbar.

As it was raining heavily, Akbar fell on the muddy field and his companion Aslam escaped. By then, police reached the spot after being alerted about the attack.

However, as the victim was covered in mud, the police refused to take him in their vehicle and asked the villagers to clean him.

The villagers poured water on him. Dharmendra, who was later taken as an accused by the police, brought clothes from his house.





Vijay Kumar says the policemen were drunk and they too might have beaten him as the victim had earlier records of cow smuggling.

According to him, when Akbar died, police came to the village to arrest the witnesses to save their skin.

The cows, meanwhile, were shifted to a 'gaushala' at 3.26 am in a three-wheeler -- just before the man died.

Alwar Superintendent of Police Rajendra Singh told the media: "We will investigate the matter thoroughly and take action against the accused."
A constable died and another was injured in stone pelting on Tuesday as a state-wide protest called by outfits seeking reservation for the Maratha community turned violent with agitators classing with police and torching vehicles in Aurangabad and adjoining districts of Maharashtra.

As the stir for reservation in jobs and education intensified, the Maratha Kranti Morcha, which is spearheading the agitation, also decided to call for a tomorrow.

The outfit had called for today's after the death of a protestor yesterday during a protest march in favour of reservations.

The 27-year-old Kakasaheb Shinde, had jumped off a bridge over Godavari river in Aurangabad. He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead.

Quotas for Marathas, a politically influential community that constitutes around 30 per cent of the state's population, has been a hugely contentious issue.



Another protestor, 31-year-old Jagannath Sonawane from Aurangabad district, today sought to emulate Shinde's example by jumping onto a dry river bed. He has been admitted to a government hospital in Aurangabad, police said.

Shiv Sena MP Chandrakant Khaire faced the ire of the protestors when he went to attend Shinde's last rites at his Kaygaon village in Aurangabad today.

Khaire was manhandled by the crowd present there and had to beat a hasty retreat, police said, adding that there was stone pelting as well on the MP's car.

Shinde's death has triggered a fresh set of protests in several parts of Maharashtra.

Internet services were suspended in rural areas of Aurangabad district to prevent any untoward incident.

At Kaygaon, protesters shouted slogans hailing Shinde as a 'martyr', police said.

Sham Atgaonkar, a police constable from Osmanabad who was deployed on duty at Kaygaon, died soon after a commotion, which followed stone pelting, police said. The cause of death is not ascertained yet, police said.

Another constable was injured in stone pelting, police said.

A fire brigade van was also set afire at Kaygaon by the protesters, police said.

"We will continue our agitation until Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis apologises to the Maratha community. We will observe bandh in Aurangabad and other parts of the state today," Morcha coordinator Ravindra Patil said.

Fadnavis had cancelled his visit to a temple in Pandharpur after protesting Maratha outfits threatened to disrupt the event.

The community leaders have earlier taken out several rallies in various districts to highlight their demands. Last year, a huge rally was organised by the in this connection in Mumbai.

Despite assurances from Fadnavis to fulfil the demands, nothing concrete has been done till now, community leaders have claimed.

At a meeting here in Dadar, the Morcha leaders today decided to call for a tomorrow.

At another meeting of the Sakal Maratha Samaj in adjoining Vashi, it was decided to call for a bandh tomorrow in Navi Mumbai and Panvel as well.
The is likely to recommend capping the duration of protest at the at maximum one day and limit the number of protestors at 5,000 after the revoked the ban on holding rallies and dharnas at the iconic site.

A senior police officer said that with the being redesignated as a site for holding protests, their job of containing protests will become easier.

"After the Green Tribunal order banning all protests and dharnas around last year, protesters wanting to get their plea would gather anywhere, thereby affecting law and order. But with the top court lifting the ban on rallies at the Jantar Mantar, our job of monitoring the situation would become easier," he added.

Before the ban, the Jantar Mantar was like a home to many protesters.

After the order in October last year, police and civic body officials demolished tents and makeshift structures set up by ex-servicemen protesting at the Jantar Mantar, demanding implementation of the One-Rank-One-Pension scheme.

The former servicemen had been protesting there for more than two years.

"We will recommend that the duration of the protests should be restricted to a few hours or maximum to a day. They should not stay on for years as was in the case of the protesters. We used to receive a lot of complaints from the residents of the area citing inconvenience," he added.

With protests happening for a stipulated time, the police will be able to manage them better.

"One cannot predict the actions of protesters who are staying for a long duration, like in the case of Tamil Nadu farmers who were protesting at the Jantar Mantar for loan-waiver. They would come up with unique means of getting their voices heard, thereby affecting the law and order in the area," he added.

If the duration is fixed, the police will find it easier to monitor their actions and also prepare themselves accordingly.

The Jantar Mantar can accommodate a maximum crowd of 5,000, and if the number exceeds it, traffic comes to a standstill in Lutyens' Delhi.

"The recommendations will also include putting a cap on the number of protesters to 5,000 so that traffic is not affected in the area," the officer added.
Prime Minister on Tuesday gifted 200 cows to villagers in Rwanda to support President Paul Kagame's ambitious initiative for poverty reduction and tackling childhood malnutrition.

Girinka Programme was initiated by Kagame in 2006 to provide one cow per poor family nutritional and financial security.

Modi, who is in Rwanda capital Kigali on a two-day state visit, gifted these cows to poor families during a function at Rweru Model Village.

Speaking on the occasion, Modi appreciated the government's 'Girinka Programme'.

He said people in India too would be pleasantly surprised to see the cow being given such importance as a means of economic empowerment in villages in faraway Rwanda.

He said that the Girinka Programme will help transform villages in Rwanda.

"Being part of a transformative project towards economic development of Rwanda! PM @narendramodi donates 200 cows under #Girinka - One Cow per Poor Family Programme at Rweru village. Girinka is an ambitious projects that provides both nutritional and financial security to the poor," spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs tweeted.

The word Girinka can be translated as 'may you have a cow' and describes a centuries-old cultural practice in Rwanda whereby a cow was given by one person to another, as a sign of respect and gratitude, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

Girinka Programme was initiated by Kagame in response to the alarmingly high rate of childhood malnutrition and as a way to accelerate poverty reduction and integrate livestock and crop farming, the statement said.

The programme is based on the premise that providing a dairy cow to the poor transforms livelihoods, reconciles communities improving agricultural productivity through the use of manure as fertilizers which would lead to improving soil quality and reducing erosion through the planting of grasses and trees, it said.

Since its introduction, hundreds of thousands have received cows through the Girinka programme.

The programme has contributed to an increase in agricultural production in Rwanda, especially milk production and products, reduced malnutrition and increased incomes.
Police on Monday widened its investigation to include the possible murder of a girl at a shelter home in eastern India, where 29 young girls were allegedly raped and tortured. Police in Bihar carried out a dig at the home, Seva Sankalp Samiti, which was run by a local non-profit organisation, after some of the girls who used to live there alleged that a girl had been murdered. "During the recording of their statements, 2-3 girls said that one girl was murdered and to verify that we did the digging today, but we did not find anything so far," Muzaffarpur district police ...
Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to for the 10th Brazil, Russia, India, China, (BRICS) summit on July 25 is expected to see the five nations hit out against US president Donald Trump's protectionist trade policies, while norms on greater financial integration and investment facilitation may be discussed.

A move in this direction was decided at the recently-concluded G20 finance ministers meet in Buenos Aires, a senior government official said. The joint declaration of the summit, to end on July 27, may include a condemnation of growing protectionism as well as a pitch for greater financial market integration, he added.

The 8th BRICS Trade Ministers meet, held earlier this month in South Africa, had also expressed concern at the growing global protectionism. Most of this originated in the United States, which is the largest trade partner of and the largest export destination for It had also committed to break the deadlock on certain issues at the (WTO) as well as commissioned the first study on increasing value-added trade among members.

Norms on financial integration, investment facilitation

Specific norms in the areas of swap, settlement and direct investment in local currencies, consistent with each central bank's mandate is also expected. Over the past year, greater communication among financial sector regulators have been achieved. We are looking to build on this. The previously created BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism will be playing an important role in this, a finance ministry official said.

The nations are also set to take forward discussions on the 'BRICS Investment Facilitation', a mechanism to facilitate investments among member nations. Interestingly, and are also on opposite ends of the investment facilitation debate with Beijing actively pushing for a trade facilitation agreement on investments at the WTO and New Delhi insisting that any such move must be the result of a consensus, a Delhi-based trade expert said. There may be high-decibel discussions on the services trade in which favours liberal norms to leverage its strengths in the field while other nations are wary about opening up their markets.

Recently, the nations set up the BRICS Focal Points on Trade in Services to exchange preliminary information on the services trade.

India- talks on agenda

Bilateral discussions between India and China on trade matters may also take place, senior sources said.

Both countries have been on the receiving end of US President Trump's trade rhetoric and have been hit by higher tariffs and trade restrictions by Washington DC. Subsequently, the two nations have moved closer at the WTO. While China has reduced import duties for a wide range of Indian products, India is yet to reciprocate fully. Instead, India is threatening to impose safeguard duties on solar cell imports from China.

Beginning July 1, both the nations have reduced import duties as part of their commitments to liberalise trade under the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA). While Beijing had reduced tariffs on 8,500 items, New Delhi had responded by slashing duties on 3,142 items.

However, despite the reduction in tariffs, barriers to trade remain high, especially those that are non-tariff in nature.

China is a state enterprise-driven economy and most imports are ordered by state companies. Issues of market access, primarily in agricultural commodities and pharma products, remain. These have to be addressed, said Ajay Sahai, director-general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).
Under fire for reports of a spurt in black money held by Indians in Swiss banks, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday such money decreased by around 35 per cent in 2017 year-on-year, and by 80 per cent since the Narendra Modi government took over in 2014. After the NDA came to power in 2014, deposits in Swiss banks have been reduced by 80 per cent till the end of 2017, Goyal said in the Rajya Sabha.

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

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N T Rama Rao was the original poster boy of populism, who made history by ousting an entrenched Congress from power on the back of the promise of cheap rice. The issue of Telugu pride, coupled with the promise of the subsidised staple, turned out to be a deadly electoral cocktail, and a lesson the grand old party learnt the hard way in Andhra Pradesh.

Now, over 35 years after the TDP founder's feat, his son-in-law and Andhra Chief Minister, N Chandrababu Naidu, is using NTRs name to the hilt by launching Anna canteens in the poll-bound state. The late leader was Anna ...

Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal. They do not reflect the view/s of Business Standard.
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About Darrel Riley

DARREL RILEY

Oh where to begin? After San Angelo Central High School, I attended Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas.

In 1967, I began my first career choice with Lone Star Gas Company. I achieved almost 28 years with Lone Star Gas. Carolyn and I later relocated to seven different areas. During this period, I had various supervisory and management positions after completing my management courses with Texas A&I University in Kingsville, Texas.

I started my second career choice with the Killeen Daily Herald in January 1994. Ive had several different positions with the Herald and established numerous long lasting relationships with the people here in Central Texas.

Ive always made an effort to support the cities in which we lived. I have been fortunate to serve with numerous organizations including Metroplex Foundation Board (Chairman), Armed Services YMCA (Chairman), Leadership Killeen (Chairman), Greater Killeen Chamber of Commerce (Vice President/Director/Ambassador), Local Heroes, Inc. (Vice President), Greater Killeen Free Clinic (Director), Killeen Rotary Club (Director/President Elect), Ft. Hood Area United Way (Director), Industrial Foundation (Director) as well as Heart O Texas Lions Club-Waco (President).

I suppose two of my proudest accomplishments are receiving the Sam Walton Business Leader Award (June 1997) and the Texas Newspapers Advertising Managers Association (TNAMA) Account Executive of the Year (May 1998). (Brag rights: Only employee to receive this award in the history of Frank Mayborn Enterprises.)

I really appreciate the opportunities afforded me by the Killeen Daily Herald. I continue to enjoy my friendships and relationships with my customers and I hope they will only increase in numbers.
As tensions mounted between the US and Iran, the said on Monday that President Donald Trump wanted to ensure that Iran did not acquire nuclear weapons.

The President has been, I think, pretty strong since day one in his language towards Iran. He was responding to comments made by them, and he's going to continue to focus on the safety and security of American people, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters when asked about the latest tweet from Trump in which he warned Iran of grave consequences for threatening the US.

I'm not going to get into specifics and certainly not negotiate with the press. That would be a determination that the President would make...but the ultimate goal and the focus of the President is making sure we keep nuclear weapons out of their hands and that we focus on the protection of America, she said.

Responding to questions, she said Trump's number one goal is to make sure Iran doesn't get a nuclear weapon.

We have similar and shared interests with our European allies, we're continuing to have discussions with them, and when we have specifics on that front, we'll let you know, she said.

President Donald Trump on Monday warned his Iranian counterpart that Tehran risked consequences the likes of which few throughout history have suffered before if he threatens the US again, hours after cautioned that America's hostile threats against his country may trigger "the mother of all wars."



The tirade at the highest level signalled an immediate escalation of tensions between Washington and Tehran, weeks after the US left a landmark deal signed in 2015 which curbed Iran's nuclear activities in return for the lifting of sanctions.

Rouhani had also warned Trump to stop "playing with the lion's tail" and threatening Iran, "or else you will regret it."



To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018

In the nearly all-caps tweet, Trump mentioned about the dangers to Iran of making hostile threats after Rouhani said, "America must understand well that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace and war with Iran is the mother of all wars.""To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE," Trump tweeted, adding that "WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!"Sanders refused to comment when asked that the language the president used in the tweet was very similar to the language he used last August in New Jersey when he spoke of fire and fury being rained down on North Korea. That finally led to a one-on-one meeting he had with Kim Jong Un last month.

Is the president open to diplomacy with Iran, meeting perhaps one-on-one with President Rouhani? she was asked.

I'm not going to negotiate with the specifics that the president or the administration will be looking at. Again, our goal was to stop Iran from nuclear weapons and we'll keep you posted as we move through that process, Sanders said.



Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has hit back at threats from on Twitter, warning him to "BE CAUTIOUS!".

Mimicking Trump's bellicose Twitter threat directed at Iran's leaders, Zarif wrote today: "UNIMPRESSED ... We've been around for millennia & seen fall of empires, incl our own, which lasted more than the life of some countries.
The benchmark indices ended at their record highs on Tuesday. The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 36,825, up 106 points. The index hit its intra-day high of 36,902.06 today. The broader Nifty50 index settled at 11,134, up 50 points. It had hit a fresh near six-month high of 11,143.40 in intra-day deals. CLICK HERE TO SEE WHICH STOCKS CONTRIBUTED TO SENSEX'S GAIN TODAY Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Metal index moved up 3%, led by a sharp rise in Hindalco Industries and Jindal Steel & Power. The Nifty Realty index ended 2.5% higher, led by Unitech and ...

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.



As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.



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Digital Editor
Naela Quadri Baloch, president of Baloch Women's Forum, urged people of Balochistan to boycott upcoming general elections in Pakistan.

In a video issued from Canada, the Baloch activist said that Pakistan is a free country, which has been forcefully occupied by Pakistan and accused the authorities of carrying out genocide in Balochistan.

"Pakistan is responsible for the genocide of Baloch and they show that Baloch people are part of their parliamentary process. They are forcefully abducting Baloch people. They are displacing Baloch villages, women, and children and they are taking them to army camps for forceful make them cast their votes," she claimed, adding, "Baloch people do not want to be part of this country."

Meanwhile, Munir Mengal, president of Baloch Voice Association, echoed a similar sentiment and said that tailoring of election in Pakistan is 'a normal issue.'

"Pakistan elections are tailored by the Pakistan Army through its organisations like ISI and MI (Military Intelligence). Unfortunately, ISI and MI are using other state institutions like judiciary and NAB and Election Commission of Pakistan to manipulate the elections in Pakistan," he said.

He further said that it is for the first time the real face of the Pakistani Army has been 'exposed'.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the plea filed by former finance minister P. Chidambaram's son Karti against the issuance of summons in the Aircel-Maxis case.

Karti's moved the plea after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on July 19 filed a fresh charge-sheet in the case in a Delhi Court against 18 accused, including Chidambaram, Karti, and select government officials (serving and retired).

Karti and his father have been under the scanner of investigating agencies, CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) for granting Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to firm M/S Global Communication Holding Services Ltd for investment in telecom company Aircel.

The FIPB approval was allegedly granted in the year 2006 when Chidambaram was the finance minister under UPA-I government.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Rajasthan Home Minister GC Kataria has blamed the police for the delay in providing medical attention to the victim of mob lynching in Alwar. By the time the police took the victim to the hospital, he was declared brought dead.

Kataria told ANI that the police prioritised the safety of cows over the injured man.

"It was not the duty of the police to send cows to cow-shed first, they should have taken the injured to the hospital first. They wasted time in sending the cows to cow-shed. He could have been saved, efforts could have been made," said GC Kataria

At a time when the Alwar police are facing flak for the delay in providing timely attention to the victim, the kin of the deceased on Monday said he did not doubt the police.

"We do not doubt the police at all. We want justice and severe punishment should be given to those who killed him (Rakbar)," Ilyas Khan, brother of Alwar lynching case victim told ANI.

28-year-old Rakbar Khan was allegedly beaten to death by an agitated mob on suspicion of cow smuggling in Alwar district in the intervening night of July 20-21.

According to media reports, the Alwar police took three hours to get the victim to a hospital which was only 6 km away.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Tuesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of deceit over the special category status to Andhra Pradesh.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, Azad said, "You (BJP) are deceiving the nation and you have deceived the Parliament decision. This government is deceiving the people of Andhra Pradesh. I take strong plea on behalf of the opposition that the promises made by the previous government and the promises made by the present government should be fulfilled forth with."

He said, "When UPA was in power, the then Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh had promised to give special status to Andhra Pradesh for a period of five years. However, leaders of the then opposition party, BJP, had opposed the same and asked them to give special status to the state for ten years.

"Now when BJP is in power, they have not fulfilled the promise. I don't blame the people of Andhra Pradesh. The present government (at the Centre) has to be blamed for the same," he said.

He also criticised the BJP over the special package issue to Andhra Pradesh.

"In lieu of the special status, this present government has said on a number of occasions that we have a special package for the state of Andhra Pradesh in place of special status. What is the status of that special package? The Centre had promised to give Rs 16,447 crore. However, only Rs 400 crore has been dispersed. BJP is about to complete its five-year term. Nothing has been implemented and this government (Centre) is going before the Supreme Court and saying that we have fulfilled all promises," Azad said.

The Andhra's ruling party and Centre have been at loggerheads for past few months over special status issue.

Equated Andhra Pradesh with a newborn baby, Azad said that the Centre needed to take extra care of the state for its development.

"Knowing the history of the people of Andhra region, Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra in particular, they deserve full sympathy - not only sympathy from Parliament or the present administration, but sympathy from the entire nation. This whole reorganization of the state has seen a number of changes since 1947 (the year of Independence). They have not been allowed time to resettle and make their own assets," the Congress leader said.

"The demand of the people of present Andhra Pradesh is as just as was the demand of the Telangana people for a separate state. So, having divided that state into two, we have to ensure that both the states progress and develop. Telangana have enough sources and assets being the capital for quite some time. It has some advantages, which the present Andhra region doesn't have. It is for the government - the Centre - to support the state government. It's a newborn state, which requires the same nourishment, same feeding just like a new born child requires," he added.

Earlier on Tuesday, members of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) staged a protest both inside and outside Parliament demanding special category status to Andhra Pradesh and implementation of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Finance Minister on Tuesday told that ever since government came to power in 2014, the black money deposited in has reduced by 80 per cent.

"Black money in Swiss Banks has gone down by 80 per cent between 2014 and 2017, Goyal said while adding that the figures published by are regularly mentioned in the Indian media without taking into account the way the figures are interpreted. This results in misleading headlines," the minister said while replying to the Oppositions accusations that government is going slow on graft and black money recovery.

While clarifying on certain media reports that quoted Swiss National Banks (SNB) annual statistics that showed an increase of 50 % in Swiss Banks total liabilities towards from 2016 to 2017, Goyal said that the data is usually misinterpreted as it includes non deposit liabilities, of Swiss branches located in India, inter bank transactions and fiduciary liability.

He added that in his letter to the Indian government, the Swiss Andreas Baum mentioned that in it is frequently assumed that any assets held by Indian residents in are undeclared (black money). The letter also said that the right data to identify Indian residents deposits in is through the records published by the Bank of International Settlement (BIS) which collects Locational Statistics (LBS) in collaboration with SNB.

"LBS measures international activity from a residence perspective, focusing on the location of banking office and captures 95% of all cross-border banking activity, the minister said.

He added that data from shows non-Bank loans and deposits (which really constitute the individual and corporate deposits used as Black money haven in the past and exclude inter-bank transactions) have fallen by 34.5% in 2017 compared to 2016 ($524 mn in 2017 vs $800 mn in 2016).

"Swiss Non-Bank loans and deposits have reduced by a significant 80.2% under NDA government between 2013-2017. This broadly corresponds SNB reports which show an 82% reduction in total Indian customer deposits in since 2013, though data is the right way to measure actual deposits from in Switzerland," he added.

The Indian government had on December 21, 2017 signed an agreement with Switzerland to curb the menace of black money. The minister said that both countries started collecting data in accordance with global standards from January 1, 2018 and would start the exchange of data from September 2019 on a yearly basis. This makes relevant information available in India which eliminates the threat of black money and action can be taken against any entity indulging in such activities, " Goyal said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The heads of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa are all set to meet in Johannesburg for the 10th BRICS summit, to be held from July 25 to July 27.

The theme of this year's summit is 'BRICS in Africa: Collaboration for inclusive growth and shared prosperity in the fourth industrial revolution'.

Here is the schedule of the three-day event:

July 25- BRICS Business Forum will be organised

July 26- BRICS Leaders' meeting and Retreat

July 27-BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS-Plus Initiative

The Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC), set up by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, in a statement said that the theme for the Summit is focused on strengthening the relationship between BRICS and Africa.

The BRICS leaders will also interact with African leaders on July 27 to discuss about the "inclusive growth" and "shared prosperity" in the region.

The African leaders, participating in the BRICS-Africa Outreach, are:

Dr. Hage G. Geingo, President of Namibia,

Ali Bongo Ondimba, President of Gabon

Joao Manuel Goncalves, President of Angola

Macky Sall, President of Senegal

Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda

Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe, President of Togo

Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda

The head of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has also been invited at the Summit.

Apart from this, the BRICS-Plus Initiative aims to reach out to fellow developing and emerging market economies. Following leaders will be attending the BRICS-Plus Initiative in Johannesburg.

Mauricio Macri, President Argentina

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkey

Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica

Stergomena Lawrence-Tax, SADC's Executive Secretary

Ibrahim Mayaki, CEO of the NEPAD Agency

Kundapur Vaman Kamath, President of New Development Bank

The BRICS Summit will culminate in the adoption of the 'Johannesburg Declaration', which will include the joint commitments for the year ahead.

South Africa has proposed for establishment of a Working Group on Peacekeeping, a Vaccine Research Centre for Collaboration with BRICS vaccine innovation and development partners, a BRICS Gender and Women's Forum, leveraging the Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership towards the pursuit of Inclusive Growth and Advancing the 4th Industrial Revolution and a BRICS Tourism Track of Cooperation for adoption in the upcoming Summit.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Our genome is made up of 20,000 genes, all of which may cause diseases.

Researchers from the University Of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, - working in collaboration with scientists from Pakistan and the USA - have investigated a recessive genetic disorder that destroys the eyes from developing and results in childhood blindness.

After analysing the genomes of each member of a consanguineous family with affected children, the geneticists pinpointed pathogenic mutations in a new gene, MARK3, as being the cause.

Professor Stylianos Antonarakis said, "In our attempts to uncover new recessive genetic disorders, we looked at families where there was consanguineous marriage and where both parents carried one copy the mutant gene and passed it on to the child."

The geneticists directed their interest at an unknown illness that prevents the eyes from developing properly and gradually destroys them.

"We found that the disorder was present in children from consanguineous parents. As a result, we hypothesised that it was a recessive genetic disorder," added professor Antonarakis.

The UNIGE researchers have collaborated with experts at Houston's Baylor College of Medicine, to genetically modify drosophilae by introducing the mutation of two copies in the MARK3 gene of the flies.

The results provided a validation of the research findings in human patients.

The full findings are present in the journal- Human Molecular Genetics.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Delhi court on Tuesday summoned former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and others in connection with the disproportionate assets case.

The accused have been asked to appear before the court on August 20.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday had filed a supplementary charge sheet against Virbhadra's son Vikramaditya in connection with the case.

Earlier in February, the ED had filed a supplementary charge sheet against Virbhadra, his wife and others under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The others named in the chargesheet were, Universal Apple Associate owner Chunni Lal Chauhan, Life Insurance Corporation agent Anand Chauhan and two other co-accused Prem Raj and Lawan Kumar Roach.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In the wake of the Maratha reservation uproar, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh held Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis responsible for the same.

"Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is himself responsible for facing the ire of the Maratha and Dhangar communities on the issue of reservation. He himself had promised to resolve the issue within a month," he said at a press conference here on Monday.

After the Maratha community called for a protest seeking reservations in government jobs, Fadnavis had cancelled his visit to a temple in Pandharpur town on Sunday.

The Chief Minister cancelled his 'mahapuja' of Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur temple, in the wake of the agitation.

In this regard, Digvijaya launched a veiled attack at Fadnavis, saying visiting the temple was a personal belief and not a political issue.

"CM Fadnavis should have visited Vittal Temple in Pandharpur on the occasion of Ashadhi Ekadashi puja. None of the ministers were there. Why are they scared? For me, visiting Pandharpur is not a political issue; it's a personal belief," he said.

The protest took a steep turn on Monday when a youth jumped into the Godavari River amidst the 'Jal samadhi' agitation.

As per the police, Kakasaheb Shinde, a resident of Kaygaon village in Aurangabad district, died due to drowning, after he jumped off a bridge.

Following the death of the youth, Maratha Kranti Morcha workers vandalised a bus on the Aurangabad-Pune highway.

They also blocked the Mumbai-Pune highway, demanding the declaration of Shinde as a "martyr", a compensation of Rs. 50 lakh for his family, and a government job for his brother.

"We won't collect his body or perform his last rites until and unless our demands are met," a protestor told ANI.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In the wake of mob lynching incidents triggered by rumours spread through social media, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Mishra on Tuesday urged people to not blatantly believe any news doing rounds on the web.

Asserting that it is important to verify news, the CJI while addressing an event here said, "The blatant reliance on social media needs to be checked by the citizens themselves; to ensure peace and order in the society."

"There is a recent surge in mob lynching, please don't misunderstand me because I have authored the judgement, there is a recent surge in mob lynching based on the viral text on the social media and this leads to mobocracy and loss of life, in certain cases," he added.

The apex court, last week directed the Parliament to frame a special law to put a check on crimes like lynching, saying "the horrendous acts of mobocracy cannot be permitted to inundate the law of the land". The "recurrent pattern of violence", it said, "cannot be allowed to become the new normal".

The Centre on Monday had said that it is committed to uphold the rule of law and adopt effective measures.

The Centre yesterday informed the Lok Sabha that it had constituted a high-level committee under Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba to deliberate and make recommendations for a separate penal provision on incidents of mob violence.

The committee helmed by Gauba will submit its report to a Group of Ministers (GoM) governed by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

The incidents of mob lynching have been on a rise in the country.

As per the Ministry of Home Affairs data, 45 people were killed in 40 different cases across nine states between 2014 and 3 March, 2018.

In a recent incident of lynching, a Muslim man, named Akbar Khan, was beaten to death by a mob in Rajasthan's Alwar district on July 20 on suspicion of cow smuggling.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Baloch national leader and head of Free Balochistan Movement (FBM) Hyrbyair Marri has urged the people of Balochistan to boycott the Pakistan general elections.

In a statement, Marri said, "The Balochs should boycott Pakistani elections like the previous one in Balochistan because through these polls, Pakistan will prolong its brutalities and slavery on Balochistan."

Marri further said that refusing to vote would be the voice of freedom of the Balochs before the world, and urged them to do their utmost to refrain from taking part in the polls.

"If anyone is forcibly dragged to the polling station by stooges of state, then instead of voting for so-called Baloch nationalists the vote should be destroyed. So that your vote, instead of strengthening the Baloch slavery, can weaken it," he added.

Marri claimed that the Pakistani military and intelligence agencies have been committing crimes against the Baloch people in the past seventy years and that the Pakistani media and judiciary have always protected their brutalities.

"The Pakistani media never reports about Pakistani army's atrocities against Baloch people nor does the judiciary ever asks the army general, who are involved in Baloch genocide, to appear before the court of law. Colonising Balochistan is Pakistani state policy and all Pakistani political parties, media and judiciary support this state policy [colonisation of Balochistan]. The media fully supports Pakistani Army's crimes in Balochistan and the judiciary gives legal protection to war criminals," he alleged.

He further said whether it is the discovery of mass graves from Khuzdar and Panjgur, the case of 20,000 enforced disappearances or the issue of kill and dump policy, the Pakistani judiciary has protected the Army and ISI.

"The so-called judicial commissions have decreased the number of thousands of missing Baloch to only few hundred to save Pakistan army from international pressure for their crimes in Balochistan," he asserted.

The Baloch leader recalled, "In 2012, Pakistan FC abducted three Baloch youth from Serena Hotel Quetta and their CCTV footage was given to the court by the police, but on the second day of the court order to produce the three Baloch youth, they were killed and their dead bodies dumped in Quetta. When the IG FC was summoned to the court to answer about this incident, he refused to appear before the court and the judiciary closed the case against FC."

He said that during the current tug of war between the Punjabi elite and military, Justice Shaukat Siddiqui, a Pakistan High Court judge, openly confessed that the ISI advised the judiciary to keep former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz in jail till the elections, and added that ISI is involved in the selection of judges for the judicial investigation benches.

"Justice Siddiqui's confession supports the stand of the Baloch freedom struggle that Pakistan's political, legal and other institutions are controlled by the Army and the media, judiciary and military are equally involved in Baloch genocide," Marri continued.

He further said that the people of Baloch have faith in international courts and hoped that they will bring the Pakistani military generals to justice.

Marri concluded saying the international military intervention is the only solution to stop Baloch genocide by the Pakistan Army.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that India will gift a cancer therapy machine to Uganda as a token of love.

"As a token of our love towards people of Uganda, Indian Government has decided to gift a cancer therapy machine to the Uganda Cancer Institute in Kampala, which will not only serve the people of Uganda but also the people of many East African countries," the Prime Minister said following the delegation-level talks between the two nation.

"We have agreed upon two Lines of Credit worth nearly $200 million and we will also give vehicles and ambulances for military and civilian use," he added.

Earlier, President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni said that the two leaders discussed "trade, investment and tourism" in their meeting.

"These are the three things that bring people together. We will work for mutual prosperity. Uganda now is importing less globally not just from India because we are a bit more self sufficient. In 2015, our imports from India were 1.2 billion dollars, but today the number is 736 million dollars. The exports are going up slowly from 24 million dollars in 2015 to 44 million dollars now. In order to improve trade, we need to get Indian tourists in Uganda," Museveni said.

"For the same, I have asked the Prime Minister to allow our airlines to land directly in Mumbai, from where our Indian tribes come. Then the Prime Minister said that there are some Indian groups that want invest in healthcare in Uganda," he added.

Besides the delegation level talks, Prime Minister Modi will also be addressing a community event later today. He is on a three-nation tour to the African countries including Rwanda, Uganda and South Africa.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday opined that India was transforming into a manufacturing hub, owing to flagship schemes like 'Make in India'.

"India is the fastest growing economy in the When you will go to the markets to buy smartphones, you will see the 'Made in India' label on it. India is exporting smartphones and cars to the countries from where we once imported all of these products," he said while addressing the Indian community in Kampala.

Prime Minister Modi also stated that 18 new embassies would be inaugurated across Africa, taking the total to 47.

"There has been a 32 per cent hike in trade between India and Africa. I assure you that India will be an active contributor to the economies of African countries," he added.

Lauding the centuries-old ties between the two countries, Prime Minister Modi recalled his visit to Africa as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, the memories of which, he said, were still fresh in his mind.

Ahead of his address at the Ugandan Parliament on Wednesday, the Prime Minister drew the attention of the audience to his recent address at the Indian Parliament.

Prime Minister Modi also extended an invitation for the upcoming Kumbh Mela.

"I have come here to invite you for Pravasi Bharatiya Divas to be held in Varanasi and Kumbh Mela to be held in Allahabad, in January 2019," he said.

Prior to the address, Prime Minister Modi and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni unveiled the bust of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

Prime Minister Modi is currently on a five-day tour to Africa.

In the last leg of his three-nation Africa tour, the Prime Minister will visit South Africa to attend the 10th edition of the BRICS Summit which is scheduled to take place Johannesburg.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday held delegation-level talks with President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni and said that India will continue to play a stable partner in the country's journey towards development.

"We have discussed various topics in the meeting today. I want to assure you that India will stand by Uganda as a stable partner in its journey towards development. I thank you for your warmth and affection. India and Uganda have been sharing a strong relationship since a long time," the Prime Minister said.

"Also, I want to thank you for taking care of the Indian community in Uganda. Earlier also I came to the country as Chief Minister of Gujarat. Then also I was welcomed with warmth," he added referring to his visit to Uganda in 2007.

The Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial reception in Uganda's Entebbe town. President Museveni was also present at the event.

Besides the delegation level talks, Prime Minister Modi will also be addressing a community event later today. He is on a three-nation tour to the African countries including Rwanda, Uganda and South Africa.

During his visit to Rwanda earlier, India and Rwanda signed eight agreements in an effort to bolster bilateral cooperation between the two nations.

Furthering ties of trade and commerce, Prime Minister Modi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame addressed leading CEOs from India and Rwanda.

Prime Minister Modi also gifted 200 cows to villagers as a part of Rwandan Government's Girinka Programme.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni on Tuesday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for bringing "many changes" in India by promoting efficiency and innovation instead of bureaucracy.

"You are most welcome to Uganda for your second visit. The only difference is that when you first came in 2007, you were the Chief Minister of one of the Indian states. But now you have become the Prime Minister of the whole country. And it seems you got blessings for that promotion from your visit to Uganda," Museveni said following the delegation-level talks between the two nation.

"You have brought many changes in India which has made the country to move very fast by bringing a business oriented approach to the management of public affairs in India. Instead of worshipping bureaucracy, he promotes efficiency and innovations, and that's what has helped India to be one of the fastest growing economies in the Therefore, we are very happy to receive you here as an old friend," he added.

The President said that the two leaders discussed about "trade, investment and tourism" in their meeting.

"These are the three things that bring people together. We will work for mutual prosperity. Uganda now is importing less globally not just from India because we are a bit more self sufficient. In 2015, our imports from India were 1.2 billion dollars, but today the number is 736 million dollars. The exports are going up slowly from 24 million dollars in 2015 to 44 million dollars now. In order to improve trade, we need to get Indian tourists in Uganda," Museveni said.

"For the same, I have asked the Prime Minister to allow our airlines to land directly in Mumbai, from where our Indian tribes come. Then the Prime Minister said that there are some Indian groups that want invest in healthcare in Uganda," he added.

Later on, President Museveni said the two leaders have agreed upon opening a tourism centre in the name of Mahatma Gandhi in Jinja, Uganda.

"Mahatma Gandhi was a nationalist, a freedom fighter from India, but he started his fight for freedom in South Africa. He was a lawyer in the country. When he faced racism there, he opposed it. Later he went back to India and started the freedom movement there," the President said.

"The Prime Minister has offered a convention centre in the memory of Mahatma Gandhi. The original idea was that the convention centre could be in Kampala, but with more discussion, we have decided to convert it into a tourism centre near the source of the Nile in Jinja where a part of Mahatma Gandhi's mortal remains were immersed," Museveni added.

Besides the delegation level talks, Prime Minister Modi will also be addressing a community event later today. He is on a three-nation tour to the African countries including Rwanda, Uganda and South Africa.

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A jawan was killed and two others sustained bullet injuries after terrorists attacked the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) party at Batmaloo in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar on Monday.

The security forces have now cordoned off a shop where terrorists are suspected to be hiding.

More details in the incident are awaited.

In recent months, the state has witnessed a huge spurt in terror activities.

On Sunday, three Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists were gunned down in an ongoing encounter in Wani Mohalla area of Kulgam's Khudwani.

On July 13, one CRPF personnel was killed and another seriously injured in a terrorist attack in Anantnag's Sheer Pora.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Board chairman Waseem Rizvi said that Muslims should stop eating beef.

Speaking to ANI, Rizvi said that even in Islam cow meat is considered 'haram' (forbidden). He pitched for strict action against culprits who kill cows.

"Muslims should stop eating beef. Killing of cows should stop. You cannot stop mob lynching, security cannot be deployed everywhere. So a law should be made awarding strict punishment to those killing cows," Rizvi said.

Backing the statement of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Indresh Kumar on cow killing, Rizvi further said that someone with status of a mother should not be killed.

"I think Indresh Kumar's statement has a point. Religious sentiments should not be hurt. You can't kill someone who is given the status of a mother by a community," he added.

The RSS leader has drawn flak from various quarters including the Congress for his lynching remark.

On Monday, while addressing a conference in Delhi, the RSS leader said, "If cow-killing is stopped then mob lynchings will also automatically end. And the violence in any form practiced by any person belonging to any caste, sex, religion is a deplorable act. In India, there is no such belief which okays cow slaughtering for religious practices."

His remark comes on the backdrop of Rajasthan's Alwar lynching incident where a 28-year-old Akbar Khan was allegedly beaten to death by an agitated mob on suspicions of cow smuggling.

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Moru Ram was born in Pakistan and lived there until 2007 when he fled to India, fearing persecution of Hindu minorities.

He is one of the 10,000 Pakistani Hindu refugees living at Bhil Basti- a dustbowl in the courtyard of simmering Thar in Jaisalmer.

As Pakistan goes to polls on Wednesday, Moru Ram, wouldn't be able to cast vote in the country where he was born, raised and holds the passport of.

The catch, however, is- he can't vote in India either, even as his heart and soul belong to India now.

Moru Ram, like 20,000 other Pakistani refugees settled in Rajasthan, is no one's citizen, who struggles for an identity.

"I appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to grant us citizenship so that we can take part in voting," he told ANI.

And there is no going back for Moru Ram and thousands like him. Pakistan has been a haven of extremists, which bay for the blood of minorities, leave alone Hindus and Christians, even Shias, Ahmadiyas and Hazaras are not safe.

The very thought of living under the fangs of dreaded terror organisations like Tehreek-e-Taliban, Jamat-Ud-Dawa amog others, sends a shiver down the spine of these migrants.

Farhanaz Ispahani was a media advisor to Asif Ali Zardari, the president of Pakistan between 2008 and 2013. In in her book, Purifying the Land of the Pure: A History of Pakistan's Religious Minorities, Ispahani refers to diminishing minorities in her country as 'drip drip genocide.'

Little surprise then, going back is a forgone option for these Hindus.

In December 2016, the Narendra Modi government recognised the special nature of religious minorities, especially Hindus and Sikhs fleeing from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

Taking a further leap, the government authorised district collectors to issue citizenship certificates to such refugees fleeing religious persecution.

This meant, providing these refugees with basic rights of citizenship by issuing Aadhar cards and voter ID cards.

Nathu Ram Bhil is lucky. He escaped the atrocities on Hindus in Pakistan in 1990 and fled to India. He has now a migrant-turned-citizen.

"If that (citizenship to other refugees) is granted soon and they are registered as voters, they will be able to choose their own leaders freely. Another problem is that they are asked for an Aadhar card during admission process of children," Bhil said.

The sun is setting and the shanties at Bhil Basti are abuzz with the cries of children. State assembly elections in Rajasthan are slated for later this year. Moru Ram and many like him, look at the sun touching down, hoping that, one day, they too will be able to be a part of what India is- world's largest democracy.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
English-Irish Pop band 'One Direction' is celebrating its eighth anniversary.

In a series of tweets using the hashtag #8yearsofOneDirection, the band's official Twitter account tweeted lyrics of their hit tracks.

Band members Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne and Niall Horan also took to Twitter to thank their fans.

However, Band member Harry Styles and former member Zayn Malik did not post about the anniversary.

The London-based band was formed in July 2010 after finishing third in the seventh series of the British televised singing competition The X Factor. The band has since dropped five successful albums.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With Pakistani passports and no Indian citizenship, Hindu refugees from Pakistan have been deprived of the opportunity to cast their votes and avail other conveniences that Indian citizens are afforded.

Being Hindus, the refugees were subjected to discrimination and oppression in Pakistan, because of which, they decided to make the journey across the border and be adopted as Indian citizens. However, the refugees, most of who are residing in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer, are unable to exercise basic rights such as casting their vote, sending their children to school, and others because of the lack of Indian citizenship.

Speaking to ANI, Nathu Ram Bhil, a citizenship councilor who had himself fled from Pakistan in 1990 and was granted Indian citizenship in 2005, said, "People, especially the Hindus, were subjected to discrimination, oppression and other injustices in Pakistan. Thus, we decided to come to India. Most of us came here (Jaisalmer)."

He said that there were almost 20,000 refugees from Pakistan residing in various parts of Rajasthan, mostly Jaisalmer.

"The Indian government has not granted them Indian citizenship and has stalled the process for a long time, if that is granted soon and they are registered as voters, they will be able to choose their own leaders freely. Another problem is that they are asked for an Aadhar card during admission process of children," Bhil said.

He also appealed to the government to empower the refugees.

"They do not want anything else, they can manage to earn their living, but the government should give them voice and empower them to vote; that will help them a great deal. So I appeal to the Indian government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take up this matter," Bhil added.

Moru Ram, a refugee who fled to India in 2007 said that despite complying with all legal proceedings, they weren't granted Indian citizenship. They were assured that they will be granted citizenship, but it has not happened yet.

"I appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to grant us citizenship so that we can take part in voting," he told ANI.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday arrived in Uganda to hold delegation level talks.

The Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial reception in Uganda's Entebbe town. President of Uganda Yoweri Museveni was also present at the ceremonial reception.

Besides the delegation level talks, Prime Minister Modi will also be addressing a community event later today. He is on a three-nation tour to the African countries including Rwanda, Uganda and South Africa.

During his visit to Rwanda earlier in the day, India and Rwanda signed eight agreements in an effort to bolster bilateral cooperation between the two nations.

While addressing a meet at the Business Forum in Kigali, Prime Minister Modi said "We want to boost economic ties between India and Rwanda. Our nations can do a lot together. There are several opportunities in rural development and small scale industries."

"India is growing exponentially but our mantra is 'Sabka saath sabka vikas'. We will grow but we will also help those grow, who are with us. We will walk together," he added.

Thanking Rwanda for the warm reception, Prime Minister Modi stated that this meeting would help to strengthen economic and cultural relations between the two countries.

Furthering ties of trade and commerce, Prime Minister Modi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame addressed leading CEOs from India and Rwanda.

Prime Minister Modi also gifted 200 cows to villagers as a part of Rwandan Government's Girinka Programme.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday announced to move privilege motion in the Lok Sabha against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman "for making misleading statements" during the raging debate on the No-Confidence Motion.

"The Prime Minister's claim on transparency in the agreement is factually incorrect, untrue and deliberately made with the intention to mislead the House," Kharge, in his letter to Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan, said.

During the No-Confidence Motion debate between the ruling Democratic Alliance and the Opposition in the Lok Sabha on July 20, Congress President Rahul Gandhi had accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of indulging in corruption in the Rafale deal and claimed that during the French President's visit to India, the latter had denied the presence of a secrecy pact.

However, in retaliation, Sitharaman had said that the government could not reveal the commercial cost of the jets because of a clause in the Rafale agreement which India and France had signed in 2008, when the UPA was in power.

A statement from France also had stated that an agreement had been inked to protect classified information in the light of security.

Talking about the same, Kharge in his letter wrote, "The Prime Minister had asserted that the demand for revealing the purchase price of Rafale jet fighters was against the interest of the nation and had to be contradicted by both the governments, India and France. He had further claimed the acquisition of Rafale jet fighters between India and France is fully transparent whereas the Defence Minister in his presence on the floor of the house had refused to reveal the price citing a Confidentiality Agreement between the two countries, India and France, in 2008.

He added, "The Government of France in its statement had nowhere contradicted what was demanded in the House by the Opposition, which is to disclose the price of Rafale jet fighters. It had merely referred to the 2008 Confidentiality Agreement."

The Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had earlier signed a deal with France based Dassault Aviation to purchase 36 Rafale jets, which is slated to be one of the world's biggest military procurements in recent history and could cost the Indian government USD 15 billion.

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Legendary American actor Robert De Niro, is in negotiations to join Warner Bros.' upcoming movie 'Joker'.

De Niro is likely to play a talk show host who is somehow instrumental in the Joker's origin, reported the Hollywood Reporter.

Apart from De Niro, 'Deadpool 2' actress Zazie Beetz is also in talks to join Joaquin Phoenix in the anticipated film.

De Niro was cast as the young Vito Corleone in the 1974 film The Godfather Part II, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

He received the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2003, the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2010, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2016.

He has directed and starred in films such as the crime drama A Bronx Tale (1993) and the spy film The Good Shepherd (2006) as well.

Set in the 'DC Cinematic Universe, the Joker is being described as a dark character study.

The project will be a stand-alone picture for the Batman nemesis 'Joker' with a budget of 55 million dollars and will be dark and experimental in the approach.

The Warner Bros. film is scheduled to release on October 4, 2019.

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Pentagon undersecretary Robert Wilkie was, on Monday, confirmed as the secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs by the United States Senate, ending months of uncertainty over the post.

The Senate voted in favour of Wilkie's appointment as the new Veterans Affairs secretary, with the final vote standing at 86-9.

In a statement, US President Donald Trump praised Wilkie as someone who has "dedicated his life to serving his country with honour and pride and displayed great patriotism and a commitment to supporting and empowering America's armed forces and veterans," CNN reported.

On a related note, the US President is scheduled to address the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention in Kansas City on Tuesday.

The nine lawmakers who voted against Wilkie's nomination were mostly Democrats - Bernie Sanders, Senators Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein of California, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Cory Booker of New Jersey, and Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey of Massachusetts, as per the report.

Later, Sanders said he voted against Wilkie's appointment as he felt that the Trump administration would privatise the health care of Veteran Affairs.

In March, David Shulkin was removed from the Veterans Affairs secretary post by Trump and was replaced by White House physician Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson as the agency's acting secretary.

However, he withdrew his nomination a month later after allegations of misconduct during his time at the White House Medical Unit cropped up.

Trump then nominated Wilkie as the new acting Veterans Affairs secretary.

Despite Trump saying that Wilkie would shortly take over the post permanently, he left in May, following which acting Secretary Peter O'Rourke took over.

Wilkie, during the Senate hearing, asserted that he would not privatise the veteran affair's healthcare, adding that if the Trump administration agreed to do so, then he would not shy away from expressing his disapproval to the US President.

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The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed displeasure over non-appointment of Lokpal by the central government.

A bench of top court, headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, referred the affidavit filed by the Central government in the case as unsatisfactory and asked to file a better one within four weeks.

The court's reaction came after the Centre on July 17 had informed the top court that a meeting of the Lokpal selection committee is called on July 19 for constituting a search panel.

A bench of the top court, headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi, was informed by the Centre that the search committee will recommend a panel of names of people for appointing a Lokpal.

The Supreme Court is hearing a contempt petition filed by senior advocate Shanti Bhushan on behalf of an NGO, Common Cause, which states that the Centre failed to appoint a Lokpal despite the apex court's direction in this regard, issued on April 27, 2017.

Last year, the apex court had said there was no justification to keep the enforcement of Lokpal Act suspended until the proposed amendments were cleared by Parliament.

The Lokpal and Lokayuktas are governing bodies at the central and state levels, respectively, appointed to check corruption by all public servants, including the Prime Minister.

Under the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act of 2013, the high-level selection committee for appointments to Lokpal comprises the Prime Minister, Lok Sabha Speaker, the Leader of Opposition (LoP), the Chief Justice of India and an eminent jurist chosen by them.

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Paying tribute to the martyrs of Kargil war, Select CITYWALK, the most popular shopping centre in Delhi NCR, hosted the sixth edition of its flagship two-day event - Kargil Vijay Diwas at its premises.

The two-day event included Indian Army Dog Show which took place from 5 to 6 pm on Saturday, 21st July and Kargil Vijay Diwas: No Man Left Behind that was hosted from 6 pm onwards on Sunday 22nd July 2018 in The Plaza Area of Select CITYWALK. The management of Select CITYWALK also announced the Inder Sharma Kargil Award for Academic Excellence for the toppers of Army Public School.

Arjun Sharma, Chairman, Select CITYWALK said, "This was the sixth year of Kargil Diwas celebrations at Select CITYWALK. Our Founder, Late Inder Sharma had great respect for the army for their courage and sacrifice to protect our motherland. This year, we have initiated Inder Sharma Kargil Award for Academic Excellence as a memorial to Late Inder Sharma to felicitate the four toppers of Army Public Schools every year."

Yograj Arora, Director, Select CITYWALK said, "We were privileged to honour the families of the martyrs who have served our nation selflessly and in doing so received highest gallantry awards. The Kargil Vijay Diwas is the manifestation of our continued gratitude to the war heroes."

Madhulika Rawat, W/O Army Chief Bipin Rawat and President of Army Women Welfare Association graced the occasion as the Chief Guest on Kargil Vijay Diwas. Also, the present was Major General GD Bakshi, a proud recipient of Sena Medal for distinguished service. The event was attended by the eminent dignitaries including Major General Dhruv C Katoch and Air Vice Marshal BK Bishnoi.

Neeraj Ghei, Director, Select CITYWALK said, "It is a pride-inducing moment for all of us at Select CITYWALK. The Kargil Diwas celebration is a complete reflection of the admiration that we have for the Indian army and the martyrs. Our patrons were completely overwhelmed with the feeling of patriotism and love for their country."

For the first time ever in a civilian area, Select CITYWALK hosted the Indian Army Dog show with 8 heroic military dogs. These four-legged unsung heroes demonstrated various stunts such as marching, obstacle jumping, salute and others. The heroic dogs won the hearts of the visitors and greeted the masses with flowers and lotus formation. These are the dogs who display exemplary heroism and help the army in various operations such as bomb detection, weapon detection, rescue operations, respond to military-specific hand gestures and even verbal orders from their handlers.

Honouring the families of 13 martyrs, the shopping centre paid tribute to the heroes of the Kargil war. The martyrs' families who honoured the event with their presence included the parents of the Param Vir Chakra awardees, Captain Vikram Batra and Captain Manoj Pandey, parents of Vir Chakra awardee - Captain Vijayant Thapar among many other such warriors' families.

Late in the evening, there was a Hand Shadow Performance by Prahlad Acharya, the Udupi-based magician-turned shadow player followed by the army band performance. The event concluded with Painting Miracle - A tribute by Vilas Nayak.

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The Sri Lankan Navy on Tuesday apprehended seven Indian fishermen near the shore of the northern Sri Lankan city of Jaffna.

The fishermen, who hailed from Kallivayal village in Tamil Nadu's Thanjavoor district were apprehended along with two boats.

They are being interrogated at the Kankesanthurai Naval camp in Sri Lanka.

Further information is awaited.

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US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster on Tuesday walked away when he was asked about an update on David Headley, who is reportedly in ICU after being attacked in a prison in the United States.

The Pakistani-American terrorist was jailed in the US for his role in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.

However, according to reports, Headley is now fighting for his life after being attacked by prisoners earlier this month.

Juster held a meeting with Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi here earlier in the day.

When a reporter asked him, "What is the update on David Coleman Headley, is he alive or struggling for life?" Juster did not respond and walked away instead.

Before leaving however Juster said he had an "excellent meeting" with Naqvi.

"We had an excellent meeting, a very enjoyable discussion of issues that relate to both United States and India. It was a very positive meeting," he said.

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Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who is currently lodged in Rawalpindi's Adiala jail, has urged the citizens of the country to vote for his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in the general elections on July 25.

In an audio message posted on Twitter by his daughter, Maryam Nawaz, he said, "July 25 is just around the corner. I am listening to your passionate chants of 'Vote ko Izzat Do' (respect the vote) from the prison."

Nawaz lamented that he and his daughter were imprisoned for leading a campaign of respecting the mandate.

The three-time prime minister stated, "The time has come to make this movement of respecting the vote a great success and deliver a grand verdict that will wash away the previous verdicts, which has made Pakistan a 'graveyard of justice.'"

Stressing that it was a golden opportunity for the voters, Nawaz urged voters to step out of their houses and vote for the 'lion' (PML-N's party symbol) on Wednesday to change the fate of Pakistan.

In a previous audio message reportedly recorded in London last week, Nawaz made an emotional appeal to the citizens of the country to exercise their franchise in large numbers and respect the vote. He urged voters to make July 25 a memorable day.

On July 6, Nawaz and Maryam were convicted in absentia in connection to the Avenfield reference case by the Accountability Court.

While Nawaz was given ten years of imprisonment and fined eight million pounds, Maryam was awarded eight years in jail and fined two million pounds.

Upon their arrival at Lahore on July 13, the father-daughter duo was taken to Islamabad by a chartered flight, from where they were taken to Adiala jail in Rawalpindi.

Nawaz and Maryam were in London to attend to the former's ailing wife, Kulsoom Nawaz, who is undergoing treatment for cancer.

Meanwhile, Nawaz's brother and PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif expressed confidence that his party would win the general elections despite all the "injustices", according to Geo TV.

While addressing a rally at Basti Talpur on the last day of campaigning on Monday, Shehbaz said that Nawaz eliminated darkness from Pakistan and took the country to great heights.

On a related note, the deadline for campaigning by all the parties has come to an end at 12 am (Tuesday local time).

Pakistan is slated to go to polls on Wednesday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called for boosting economic ties between India and Rwanda as he believes the two nations can do a lot together.

Prime Minister Modi's comments come during his maiden visit to Rwanda, where India and Rwanda also signed eight agreements in an effort to bolster bilateral cooperation between the two nations.

"We want to boost economic ties between India and Rwanda. Our nations can do a lot together. There are several opportunities in rural development and small scale industries," Prime Minister Modi said while addressing meet at the Business Forum in Kigali.

"India is growing exponentially but our mantra is 'Sabka saath sabka vikas'. We will grow but we will also help those grow, who are with us. We will walk together," he added.

Thanking Rwanda for the warm reception, Prime Minister Modi stated that this meeting would help to strengthen economic and cultural relations between the two countries.

"I thank the wonderful people of Rwanda for their warmth and affection. This visit adds tremendous strength to closer economic and cultural relations between India and Rwanda," he noted.

Furthering ties of trade and commerce, Prime Minister Modi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame addressed leading CEOs from India and Rwanda.

"The Girinka Programme is helping transform the lives of people across rural Rwanda. I also told President Paul Kagame about the initiatives we are taking in India for the development of our villages," Prime Minister Modi asserted.

Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister gifted 200 cows to villagers as a part of Rwandan Government's Girinka Programme.

Under this programme, the poorest residing in the region get cows from the government and gift the first female calf to a neighbor to promote brotherhood.

In the last leg of his three-nation Africa tour, the Prime Minister will visit South Africa to attend the 10th edition of the BRICS Summit, which is scheduled to take place in Johannesburg.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
October 24, 2021, Sunday

Anyone would be allowed to add, change, or remove a link, so long as they are a moderator of a room and regardless of the number ...
Headline indices of the Australia stock market closed higher on Tuesday, 24 July 2018, as most sectors recovered from a sluggish start to the week, thanks to Chinese government signal to shift to a loser fiscal policy to shield the world second largest economy from the worsening trade row with Washington. Almost all ASX sectors inclined, with shares of materials, financials, consumer staples, consumer discretionary, industrial and technology issues being notable gainers. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index inclined 38.24 points, or 0.61%, to 6,265.80. The broader All Ordinaries Index grew 35.11 points, or 0.56%, to 6,355.20.

China is looking to adopt more vigorous fiscal policy, and is looking at potential tax cuts for Chinese businesses, helping to drive Asia markets higher for Tuesday.

After more than a year of pushing a crackdown on dangerous debt levels in the financial system, Premier Li Keqiang said the government's "fiscal policy should be more active", according to an announcement late Monday by the State Council, or Cabinet. Li also stressed the government would accelerate plans to reduce taxes by more than 1.1 trillion yuan ($160 billion) and to issue 1.35 trillion yuan in local government special bonds for infrastructure.

Shares of materials and resources were key contributor to the index rally, with BHP Billiton, Fortescue Metals and Rio Tinto inclining in a range of 1% to 2%.

Shares of financial companies were also higher, with 'Big Four' banks ANZ Banking, National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac were up in a range of 0.5% to 1.5%.

In companies news, online retailer Kogan slumped to a seven-month low, after disappointing investors with a fourth-quarter cashflow and trading update.

Ansell shares closed at three-year highs after UBS increased their 12 month price target for the company to A$27.45 up from A$25, citing macro trends, such as higher manufacturing in the United States, which drives demand for industrial gloves and protective clothing. About half of Ansell's revenue comes from the United States, where the number of manufacturing employees has risen from about 12.4 million last June to nearly 12.7 million this year.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar was down against the U. S. dollar on Tuesday. The Australian dollar was at 73.88 US cents, down sharply from 74.16 US cents on Monday.

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Headline indices of the Mainland China equity market spurted on Tuesday, 24 July 2018, as investors chased for bargain hunting across the board, thanks to Chinese government signal to shift to a loser fiscal policy to shield the world second largest economy from the worsening trade row with Washington. Around late afternoon, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.7%, or 47.79 points, to 2,907.33, meanwhile the Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, added 1.5% or 24.18 points, to 1,625.88. The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 1.67%, or 58.36 points, to 3,584.11.

China is looking to adopt more vigorous fiscal policy, and is looking at potential tax cuts for Chinese businesses, helping to drive Asia markets higher for Tuesday. After more than a year of pushing a crackdown on dangerous debt levels in the financial system, Premier Li Keqiang said the government's "fiscal policy should be more active", according to an announcement late Monday by the State Council, or Cabinet. Li also stressed the government would accelerate plans to reduce taxes by more than 1.1 trillion yuan ($160 billion) and to issue 1.35 trillion yuan in local government special bonds for infrastructure.

China's central bank lent 502 billion yuan ($74.36 billion) to financial institutions via its one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF), stepping up efforts to support lending as growth slowed.

The shift in focus toward easing also comes after the central bank in July released 700 billion yuan in liquidity by cutting some banks' reserve requirements, prompted by concerns over tighter cash conditions and a potential economic drag from the U. S. trade dispute.

It was the third such cut this year.

CURRENCY NEWS: Chinese yuan depreciated against greenback on Tuesday after softer mid-point fixing by central bank. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) had set the midpoint rate at 6.7891 per dollar ahead of the market open, its weakest since July 11, 2017. The fixing was 298 pips or 0.44 percent weaker than Monday's midpoint of 6.7593. The spot market opened at 6.8145 per dollar and eased to a low of 6.8295 before changing hands at 6.8103 at 0408 GMT. The offshore yuan fell nearly 0.6 percent to a low of 6.8448 per dollar, its weakest level since June 2017. It was trading at 6.8285 as of 0416 GMT.

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Headline indices of the Hong Kong share market closed higher on Tuesday, 24 July 2018, following gains in Mainland China A-share market and other Asian bourses, after the China State Council's meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang yesterday said China will continue with stable macro policies and adopt a combination of fiscal and financial measures in an effort to boost domestic demand and bolster support for real economy and to shield the world's second-largest economy from the worsening trade row with Washington. Around late afternoon, the Hang Seng Index rose 424.20 points or 1.5% to 28,680.32. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index added 277.69 points or 2.6% to 11,009.

China is looking to adopt more vigorous fiscal policy, and is looking at potential tax cuts for Chinese businesses, helping to drive Asia markets higher for Tuesday. After more than a year of pushing a crackdown on dangerous debt levels in the financial system, Premier Li Keqiang said the government's "fiscal policy should be more active", according to an announcement late Monday by the State Council, or Cabinet. Li also stressed the government would accelerate plans to reduce taxes by more than 1.1 trillion yuan ($160 billion) and to issue 1.35 trillion yuan in local government special bonds for infrastructure.

China's central bank lent 502 billion yuan ($74.36 billion) to financial institutions via its one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF), stepping up efforts to support lending as growth slowed.

The shift in focus toward easing also comes after the central bank in July released 700 billion yuan in liquidity by cutting some banks' reserve requirements, prompted by concerns over tighter cash conditions and a potential economic drag from the U. S. trade dispute. It was the third such cut this year.

Shares of infrastructure linked sector climbed up on further signs of a shift by China toward monetary expansion. China Communications Construction (01800) soared 11.6% to HK$8.35. China Railway Group (00390) shot up 9.8% to HK$6.7. China Railway Construction Corporation (01186) surged 12.7% to HK$9.31.

CRRC Corporation (01766) gained 4.9% to HK$6.43.

Cement counters also benefited from potential recovery of infrastructure investment. Anhui Conch Cement (00914) jumped 7% to HK$48.45. CR Cement (01313) soared 8.7% to HK$9.01. CNBM (03323) added 8.4% to HK$8.36. BBMG (02009) put on 5% to HK$2.93. West China Cement (02233) added 6.4% to HK$1.34.

Resources plays also jumped on the bandwagon. Maanshan Iron & Steel (00323) rose 6.2% to HK$3.94. Angang Steel (00347) ascended 6.8% to HK$8.07. Jiangxi Copper (00358) gained 5.9% to HK$9.98. Chongqing Iron & Steel (01053) soared 17.8% to HK$1.39 after it issued positive profit alert.

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The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that the Insurance Industry must play a pivotal role in India's growth story by offering innovative risk covers, policies and schemes. Addressing the gathering after inaugurating the Centenary Celebrations of The New India Assurance Company Limited, here today, he asked them to make India fully insured at the earliest.

The Vice President said that the overall insurance penetration reached only 3.69 per cent in 2017. The Insurance Industry that is projected to grow to US $ 280 billion by 2020 must take the responsibility and make India fully insured, he added.

Saying that the true worth of an insurance company is gauged by its claims settling performance, the Vice President said that supporting country's various socio-economic classes and fulfill their aspirations for a bright and secure future is a great challenge and asked companies to supplement the efforts of the government to provide insurance to all.

The Vice President complimented New India for playing an important role in the Government-backed insurance schemes under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, namely Pradhan Mantri Surakhsha Bima Yojana, Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana and other mass health insurance schemes or the country-wide crop insurance scheme Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.

The fruits of development must reach poorest of the poor, he added.

The Vice President said that there is a vast scope for the insurance industry to grow and create employment in the country. He further said that the insurance companies need to come out with innovative schemes and products for more and more people to avail of their services. Insurers must develop products that are effective and efficient on both covers and the claims, he added.

The Vice President has also asked the insurance companies to leverage demographic dividend to impart employable skills to the youth. Long-term and constant skill development and enhancement is imperative for India so that it can keep up with the best in the world, he added.

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Forest fires raging across Greece have killed at least 20 people, the government said on Tuesday, as the authorities sought international assistance.

Government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos confirmed the death toll and said most of the victims were trapped in the seaside resort of Mati, 40km from here, and died either in their homes or their cars on Monday.

More than 104 were injured, 11 seriously, Tzanakopoulos said, with 16 children among the casualties, the BBC reported.

Hundreds of firefighters were battling the blazes as people left their homes behind near the capital. Authorities urged people in the path of the flames to get out while they can.

A spokesman for the EKAV emergency service told radio station 24/7 that the dead included a 15-year-old girl and at least 11 of the injured were listed in critical condition at hospitals in the Attica region.

Greece declared a state of emergency and appealed to its European Union partners for assistance in dealing with the fires, Efe news reported.

In eastern Attica, some people on a beach threatened by the flames dived into the water. The coast guards told EFE that while 15 people were rescued, eight Danish tourists were reported to be adrift on a boat.

A search and rescue operation is underway for them.

"We will do whatever is humanly possible to control it," Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told reporters.

He cut short an official trip to Bosnia in order to help coordinate the response to the situation, which firefighters have described as "extremely difficult".

Dramatic video posted on social media showed damaged buildings, orange smoke-filled skies, and people fleeing the fires by car.

Citing police, ERT television said that some 300 residents of several villages in east Attica were trapped in their homes by the fires.

Tsipras assured that "all emergency forces have been mobilised" and declared a state of emergency in the Attica region around Athens.

The government also asked other European countries for helicopters and additional firefighters to help tackle the fires, the BBC said.

Earlier on Monday, residents of a coastal region near Athens were told to abandon their homes as the uncontrolled fires spread. Hundreds of children were also evacuated from holiday camps.

Countries including Italy, Germany, Poland and France have all sent help in the form of additional planes, vehicles and firefighters.

But with temperatures set to soar again, they are in a race against time to get the fires under control.

--IANS

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Charges have finally been pressed against eight militants over Bangladesh's most horrific terror attack in 2016 that left 22 people, mostly foreigners, dead.

Monirul Islam, chief of Bangladesh's Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit, on Monday submitted the charge sheet against the accused in a case before a court in Dhaka, Xinhua news agency reported.

Of the accused, he said six Neo-JMB (an offshoot of banned militant outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh or JMB), operatives are now in jail while the two others are on the run.

Five gunmen stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery cafe in Dhaka's diplomatic area Gulshan on July 1, 2016.

They then brutally killed the hostages with guns and machetes, and used the victims' phones to publish images of the bodies on the social media.

Nine Italians, seven Japanese, two Bangladeshis, an Indian and a Bangladeshi-born US citizen were among the 20 people hacked to death by the attackers.

The gunmen also murdered two Bangladeshi police officers in the early hour of the attack.

Around 12 hours later, Bangladesh Army commandos stormed the restaurant. Five attackers were killed.

Islamic State (IS) had then claimed responsibility for the Dhaka cafe attack. But Bangladeshi authorities rejected the claim, saying operatives of a banned local militant outfit plotted the attack to boast about their existence.

Since the deadly cafe attack in Dhaka in 2016, Bangladeshi police have tightened anti-militant drive and conducted series of large-scale operations against militants, killing and arresting scores of militants.

Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi-Canadian, and Sarwar Jahan, identified as Neo JMB chief who was killed during a raid later, have been blamed as the mastermind of the brutal attack.

Chowdhury was also killed in a police raid.

--IANS

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Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday suggested a shorter tenure for Border Security Force (BSF) personnel at the border to break the alleged nexus between them and drug smugglers.

In order to check smuggling of narcotics from across the border, the Chief Minister also ordered setting up of Wi-Fi CCTVs at all 'nakas' (check posts) at the border.

Punjab shares a 553 km-long international border with Pakistan.

The entire border has electrified barbed wire fencing but smugglers from both countries take advantage of gaps along the border due to riverine areas and agricultural land. The drugs are also smuggled by throwing packets over the fence or pushing them through plastic pipes.

Amarinder, who reviewed the Punjab government's anti-drug campaign here on Tuesday with senior officers, underlined the need for effective exchange of information with neighbouring states, as well as the Central agencies, to coordinate the fight against drugs.

The Chief Minister, who is under fire from the opposition parties for diluting the powers of the Special Task Force (STF) set up to fight against the drug mafia, said the decision to bring the STF under the purview of the Punjab Police was necessary for better coordination among various agencies.

"The STF will now work directly under the control of DGP, Punjab Police, as in the case of the Intelligence and Vigilance departments. The STF had done excellent work under my office but, like the armed forces, the need was now felt to bring the agency under the leadership of the DGP for more cohesive functioning," the Chief Minister said.

--IANS

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Financial services multinational American Express (Amex) American Express on Tuesday unveiled its new global brand platform and marketing campaign named "Powerful Backing: Dont Live Life/Dont Do Business Without It" in India.

The Amex platform, launched at an event here, reinforces that American Express is a relationship brand that has its customers back, the company's Indian arm said in a statement.

"A recent global study commissioned by American Express showed that more than half of people today are living hybrid lives, with personal and work life deeply intertwined. The study, conducted in eight markets including India, also revealed that two in three people feel they can achieve more because of this work-life integration," it said.

"The campaign is designed to meet people in the places where life and business intersect, both online and offline. Whether travelling, going to work, heading out to have fun, engaging with digital content or connecting on social media, Indians will be continuously reminded - American Express has got their back."

American Express Banking Corp India CEO Manoj Adlakha said in a statement: "This is the first time we're introducing a campaign that speaks to all of the customer segments we serve."

--IANS

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South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) has pledged to guard and strengthen the country's role in BRICS.

"We are particularly proud that, in BRICS, we are in partnership with nations that share both our progressive perspective and our commitment to rebuilding and transforming institutions of global governance," the party told Xinhua in a statement on Monday.

The ANC issued the statement just before the 10th Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) hold their 10th summit in Johannesburg on July 25-27. This year's summit will be a crucial milestone for the group, as it marks a decade of BRICS cooperation.

As the governing party, the ANC has used its progressive internationalism as a prism through which it shapes its foreign policy, the party said.

The ANC must utilise BRICS to promote a progressive international agenda, ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe said.

The strategic importance of South Africa's BRICS membership as part of its overall international relations strategy and that cooperation through forums such as BRICS "is of primary importance to our movement," said Mabe.

The ANC, he said, is confident that BRICS holds the key to unlock some of the answers to South Africa's current socio-economic challenges such as poverty, unemployment and inequality.

In this regard, the ANC has made a call to its cadres in the government to ensure that its BRICS membership is leveraged to advance the country's developmental goals and to ensure that the chairing of BRICS in 2018 is beneficial to South Africa and the entire continent, Mabe said.

"The ANC takes this opportunity to wish all delegates and participants a fruitful three days that will continue to deepen transformation in our respective countries," he added.

--IANS

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Former Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan on Tuesday wrote to state police chief Loknath Behra demanding the arrest of Franco Mulakkal, the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jalandhar (Punjab), who is alleged to have sexually abused a nun.

In his statement issued to the media, Achuthanandan says that a detailed statement and supporting evidences from the father of a nun who has suffered at the hands of this bishop has been handed over to Behra.

"It's most unfortunate that this nun continues to be under the bishop and is living in fear. Now that the allegations raised by the nun is true, the police should immediately arrest the bishop," says Achuthanandan in his letter.

His statement comes two days after police have stepped up protection to the convent near Kottayam, which is home to the nun who had alleged that she was sexually abused by the Catholic bishop.

Trouble began for Mulakkal, in June when the nun alleged that she was sexually abused by him several times between 2014 and 2016.

An FIR was registered against the bishop and a 114-page detailed statement was taken from the nun and other inmates of the convent at Kuruvalangadu. She alleged that the abuse took place at the convent.

Mulakkal maintains that he has done no wrong.

--IANS

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The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) on Tuesday said there has been at least 10 per cent decline in bank to this sector, which will result in a 10 per cent drop in exports in the current fiscal.

According to the data released by apex body for the gem and jewellery trade in India, set up by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the exports of gem and jewellery from India declined by 8.84 per cent during April-June 2018 to $10.1 billion compared to $11.1 billion in the same period last year.

"There has been at least 10 per cent decline in bank to the gem and jewellery sector which is going to adversely impact exports out of the country. This also implies that gem and jewellery exports for the 2018-19 will see a drastic drop of 10 per cent as well," it said in a statement.

Post the recent incidents, and other financial institutions have become stringent and are insisting on a much higher collateral security against bank finance, the council said.

"The council is taking all efforts to self-regulate and instil confidence amongst key stakeholders through a slew of reforms. However, the industry is witnessing a crisis of sorts as the have curtailed lending to the traders and demanding collateral security and extensive documentation," said council's Chairman Pramod Agrawal.

In such a scenario, the $41 billion export industry will see a gradual decline in the current fiscal, he said.

"We are hoping that the government will intervene and bring some relief to the ailing industry that contributes 7 per cent to the It is time to bring back Interest subvention scheme to help in ease of doing business," Agrawal said.

The council's Vice Chairman Colin Shah said after all the efforts to make sure genuine players continue to get the finance, are "insisting for discounting that all customer invoices should be through the bank which is seriously hampering relationships with customers as well as cash flow on a daily basis".

"Banks have also taken away all benefits on assessment fees due to which cost of has gone up," he added.--IANS
By Benjamin Jumbe.

The Visiting Indian Prime Minister Modi Nahendra has pledged 200M$ to Uganda.

He made the pledge after bi lateral talks with his host president Yoweri Museveni at state house Entebbe.

The premier also expressed his countrys willingness to support Uganda in areas of security and health.

Meanwhile president Museveni invited indian business people to consider investment in tourism.

He also revealed that government is to establish Ghandi tourism centre at the source of the Nile in Jinja in honor of the late Indian leader Mahatma Gandi.

During the meeting the two delegations signed various MOUs including one on Defence Cooperation, Visa exemption for Diplomatic and official passport holders, Cultural Exchange Programme and on Material Testing Laboratory

President Museveni and his guest later proceeded to Kololo independence grounds where they spoke to the Indian community in Kampala.
Barcelona will loan Brazilian defender Douglas Pereira to the Turkish club Sivasspor for one season, the Spanish club said.

Douglas signed for Barca in the summer of 2014 from Sao Paulo for 5.5 million euros ($6.4 million), but played only eight games in the following two seasons, reports Efe.

"Barcelona and the Turkish club agree to a deal for the right back to play for the latter in the 2018/2019 season," the La Liga champions confirmed on their official website on Monday.

Douglas had been on loan for most of his time with Barcelona, spending a season at both Sporting Gijon and Benfica.

Both the defender and his ex-club wanted to resolve their situation before the team's exhibition-match tour in the United States, and he will not travel on Tuesday with the rest of the squad.

--IANS

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Organising a "victory" march in the city, the students of Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata on Tuesday said their fight has helped them to earn their democratic rights and foiled a "politically motivated agenda".

The students had withdrawn their indefinite hunger strike on Monday following a written assurance from the authorities that two floors of a new 11-storey hotel would be allotted to them.

On their 14-day 'hunger strike', a house staff of the hospital told media persons that they had "opposed the appointment of Partha Pratim Mondal as hostel superintendent".

"We felt his appointment was a politically motivated agenda. There are professors who, according to us, deserve the post."

He in the last two council meetings, it has been decided that some professor will be appointed as the superintendent of the new hostel but there was no official notice of the same.

Students also claimed that their teachers had supported their demands.

The students had started the protest demonstration on June 24 after authorities at the 183-year-old state-run medical college, one of the oldest of its kind in Asia, notified that the only freshers would be accommodated in the new hostel building. The senior had alleged their existing hostel was in a deplorable state.

"It was a fight for all independent students. We want the students of all the medical colleges in West Bengal should raise their voice for their democratic rights and not bend in front of the power-hungry people with vested political interests," said a statement from the students.

Meanwhile, the West Bengal government on Tuesday appointed Prof Pradip Kumar Mitra as the Director of the state Medical Department, removing Dr. Debasish Bhattacharyya from the post - a move that seemed to be triggered by the students' agitation.

--IANS

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The number of ceasefire violations increased during the month of Ramadan -- from May 17 to June 16 - this year by over double at 338 as against 139 in the previous month, Parliament was told on Tuesday.

"At least 586 incidents of ceasefire violations and cross border firings were reported from Pakistan along the LoC in Jammu and this year from April to June," Minister of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

He said that 14 security personnel were martyred in the one-month period from April to June and 39 were injured while there were 11 civilians who lost their lives in this period, and 77 got injured.

Ahir, in reply to another question, said that the cross-border infiltration has come down since 2015 when about 62 such cases were reported with 25 cases of infiltration in 2016 and 21 in 2017.

--IANS

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The Central government on Tuesday asked states to appoint nodal officers of the rank of Superintendent of Police in each district to monitor social media content and conduct publicity and awareness campaigns to check incidences of mob violence and lynching.

The advisory issued by the Union Home Ministry asks states to constitute a special task force to procure intelligence reports about the people likely to commit such crimes or involved in spreading hate speeches, fake news and provocative statements.

It also seeks identification of places, within in three weeks, where instances of mob violence and lynching have occurred in past five years.

The advisory has been sent to the states and Union territories following a Supreme Court directive issued in this regard on July 17.

One of the key directions in the advisory seeks nodal officers to hold regular meetings with local intelligence units in the districts to identify the existence of the tendencies of vigilantism, mob violence or lynching and take steps to prohibit it besides making efforts to eradicate a hostile environment against any community or caste.

This is second advisory on the issue within a month.

On Monday, the government had set up a high level committee chaired by Union Home Secretary to formulate appropriate measures to address the situation.

It also decided to constitute a Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to consider the recommendations of the high level committee. The GoM will submit their recommendations to the Prime Minister.

The advisory also says wide publicity and awareness campaigns should be done on radio and television and other media platforms.

All law enforcement and intelligence agencies shall monitor the social media platform and take action under Information Technology Act and other relevant laws, it says.

Police should register FIR against persons who disseminate irresponsible and explosive messages and videos having content which is likely to incite mob violence and lynching of any kind, as per the directives of the advisory.

It also asks state government to prepare compensation scheme for victims of lynching and mob violence.

--IANS

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China on Tuesday said it discussed the vexed boundary issue including the Doklam plateau with Bhutan during Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou's three-day visit to Thimpu.

India and China were locked in an over two-month long military stand-off near their boundary in the Doklam plateau, contested by both Beijing and Thimpu.

The stand-off began in June when Indian troops stalled a road building by the Chinese Army in the area, citing the disputed status of the region and its close proximity to India's artery in the northeast.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said Xuanyou was in Bhutan from July 22 to July 24 and was accompanied by China's envoy to India Luo Zhaohui.

"During his visit, he met the fourth and fifth kings (Jigme Singye Wangchuck and Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck) of Bhutan and its Prime Minister (Tshering Tobgay). He also held talks with Bhutan's Foreign Minister (Dmacho Dorji)," Geng said.

The two sides exchanged views on China-Bhutan ties, boundary issues and reached many agreements," he added.

China has no diplomatic ties with Bhutan with which it has a border dispute. The Doklam plateau is a part of the disputed border where the boundaries of India, China, and Bhutan meet.

China has offered 269 square kilometres of area in the western sector to Bhutan in lieu of 100 square kilometres in Doklam. Bhutan refuses to accept this.

"The two sides should continue to push forward the border negotiations, abide by the principled consensus reached, jointly safeguard peace and tranquillity in the border areas, and create positive conditions for the final settlement of the border issue," said the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

In June 2017, New Delhi objected to Chinese road building in Doklam because of the disputed status and its proximity to the Siliguri Corridor which links India's northeast to the rest of the country.

The stand-off ended in August after both sides retreated from the point of the face off.

--IANS

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Farmers have been paid claims of Rs 9,628 crore for kharif season 2017 under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), Parliament was told on Tuesday.

"During Kharif 2017, out of total estimated claims of Rs 15,895.85 crore, claims of Rs 9,628.61 crore have already been paid to the farmers," Minister of State for Agriculture Parshottan Rupala told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

He also said during Kharif 2016 and Rabi 2016-17 claims amounting to Rs 10,505.27 crore and Rs 5,991.74 crore were estimated respectively, out of which claims of Rs 10,283.91 crore and Rs 5,052.84 crore have been paid for these seasons.

--IANS

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The Supreme Court on July 13 took strong note of the Ministry of Information and Broadcastings decision to set up a social media hub for monitoring online data. It observed that such a move will be 'like creating a surveillance state' and issued a notice to the central government on a plea by Mahua Moitra of the Trinamool Congress (TMC).

Surveillance and data driven methods would lead to discrimination against people.

Social media giant Facebook stated in its biannual transparency report in May that the Indian government had requested the company to share data over 12,000 times in the second half of 2017. The Indian government is second in the global list -- right after the US -- of countries that sought the data of Facebook users from their respective countries.

Many dimensions of surveillance are exploited by both government and private agencies. From CCTV cameras capturing our images routinely, government-provided IDs, our smart phones, credit cards, biometric recorders, etc., are all used for various surveillance purposes.

A major problem with surveillance is that it reduces identity to data packages like 'where we live', 'what we consume', 'how we spend', 'where we surf', etc. They ignore the human core of our multifaceted existence and create categories of administrative, organisational and business convenience.

The need for such varied, sometimes insensitive, and intense surveillance is justified by these agencies citing safety of citizens, speedy processing, control of anti-social elements and better coordination for governance. However, ensuring the safety of the data, the merit of the agencies involved in processing the data is often unconvincing. Even Mark Zuckerberg had to admit and apologise to a Congressional committee after the massive data leak, affecting the privacy of millions of FB users worldwide.

Along with worries over breaches of privacy, surveillance often brings mechanisms to discriminatively categorise people. As a country with a history of multiple forms of discrimination, India is at greater risk. People in liminal spaces, those culturally, legally, or politically marked as the 'other', are more likely to fear negative labelling, since it could limit their life chances.

Four UN rapporteurs recently raised an alarm about whether the Bengali Muslim minorities in Assam might get discriminated against in the National Register of Citizens compilation process, raising anxiety over the data generated through surveillance mechanisms.

The coding and classifying mechanisms in many Big Data processes can consciously or unconsciously perpetuate such categories of socio-culturally prevalent existing prejudices and stereotypes. The post-September 2001 grip of Islamophobia is worth reflecting over. Narratives like 'My Name is Khan' typify the problems of marking members of a specific community as 'suspect'.

Surveillance came into the public sphere with colonisation. India is one of the earliest spaces were fingerprinting was used for pinning identities. The British employed it for two different purposes: To sign business contracts with the natives and to identify and notify criminals. Today, with Automatic Identification and Data Capture Technologies (AIDC) like Aadhar, the state could use data for various purposes and monitor us in newer ways. Those who approve are more likely to get a positive, law-abiding identity than those without it.

Automation, standardisation and instrumentality involved in the process reduce negotiable spaces of social interaction and convert them into binaries, viz. accept or reject, legitimate or illegitimate, etc. This decreases the chances of the oppressed and excluded -- who are more likely to be ignorant of the data-driven norms -- by depriving them of negotiable spaces for empowerment. If credit worthiness of someone seeking a loan has to be determined by CIBIL, or Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited, people with less access to banking are more likely to lose.

So, the use of data generated through surveillance becomes not merely a matter of safety and privacy, but also one for the denial of social justice. While the rich capitalise on data-driven modes of transaction by virtue of their technological competence and affordability, the poor become victims of surveillance. Thus, the digital divide furthers the gulf between the rich and poor.

Today, across the globe, debates on the use of data are largely a trade-off between national security, development and civil liberties, with the former two taking precedence. Production of searchable databases increases the exclusion of undesirable people. This varies according to changing circumstances and government policies. For example, the government's logic of finding eligible beneficiaries for welfare programmes has changed with the increase in population and its diversity. Databases make it possible to quickly identify and establish new categories of convenience.

Data is neither devoid of the government's policy goals nor a conspiracy in itself. Considering the challenges of governance and global shifts, data-driven approaches have come to stay. However, irrespective of the goals, the complex process of data assemblage leads to privacy concerns. The state's potential to assign identities aggravates with surveillance and may lead to the loss of the individual's agential power.

Data-based processing fosters superficial and surveillance-driven approaches. A healthy society must repose faith on the mutual trust between individuals and institutions. If a society leans heavily on such standardised Big Data processes, it is bound to compromise on the humane and democratic ethos.

It is the duty of civil society to educate and kindle the thought process of 'ordinary citizens' to understand and resist the uncritical acceptance of drowning in data.

(The authors are Assistant and Associate Professors respectively at Christ University, Bengaluru. The article is in special arrangement with South Asia Monitor)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Attacking Congress President Rahul Gandhi as a leader with "inherent and inbuilt limitations", Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday accused his party of manufacturing a controversy around Rafale deal by creating "fake issues".

He also accused the Congress of engaging in an implied battle with the Federal Front in order to reclaim the minority vote by comparing Hindus with 'Taliban' and using phrases such as 'Hindu Pakistan'.

Making a sharp attack on Gandhi, he said the opposition party was resorting to such strategies of creating "fake issues" because it had "an inadequate leader and no real issue".

"The Congress realises that there is a danger of the next election becoming a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's performance. The popularity gap between the Prime Minister and his competitors is very wide," he said.

He said the Congress with a leader who has "inherent and inbuilt limitations" was left with no choice and no issue.

"If you have no issue, manufacture one. Hence the Rafale's fake controversy. The Congress's strategy is, therefore, two-fold. It has manufactured the issue of the Rafale deal. The issue is failing to cut much ice.

"The second strategy of the Congress is directed against the federal front. By attacking the BJP on certain issues, it is engaged in an implied battle with the federal front in order to reclaim the minority vote. Comparison of Hindus with 'Taliban' and phrases such as 'Hindu Pakistan' are intended to help it against the federal front to reclaim the minority vote," he wrote.

The minister said that such a strategy to redefine secularism would backfire as in doing so the Congress was antagonising the majority against itself.

"As equal participants in the Indian electoral process, the minorities have a constitutional right of a vote. But so does the majority. By redefining secularism as a euphemism for majority bashing, the Congress Party is antagonising the majority against itself," Jaitley said in a Facebook post.

The senior BJP leader said the Congress had a history of creating fake issues and was resorting to the same strategy of concocting controversies as it did in 1989 when there was an outrage in the whole country against the Congress party and its leadership on the Bofors issue.

"The Congress party's strategists invented a counter strategy of diversion by creating a fake issue. A bank account in St. Kitts was created in the name of V.P. Singh's son so that the Congress could now have a face saving argument - if we are corrupt, so are you," Jaitley wrote.

He added that the opposition party used the same strategy in 1999 when the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, in the backdrop of the Kargil conflict, was likely to come back to power.

"The Congress was faced with a massive defeat, it manufactured an issue of sugar export to Pakistan. Some two dozen press conferences on the issue were organised to question the government's commitment to nationalism. The truth of the allegation was that a mid-level unknown Chandni Chowk trader had been exporting an OGL (open general licence) item, sugar, to Pakistan," he said.

Jaitley said just like the strategy fell flat then, so will it now as the Congress was either non-existent or a poor third or fourth in larger states which account for 50 per cent of the Lok Sabha seats.

"Of the balance seats, if it enters into some form of alliance, it may have to concede seats in several states to its allies. It is, therefore, faced with the prospect of effectively contesting only about 225 seats where it will face a direct clash with the BJP," Jaitley said.

"If the first part of the Congress-mukt Bharat was scripted by the BJP, the Federal Front is more than eager to script the part-2 of the same. Its message to the Congress is clear - 'you will have to support us; the other way is not possible'," he said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Congress on Tuesday submitted a notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to move a privilege motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for allegedly misleading the House by not revealing the price of the Rafale fighter jets bought from France.

"I give notice of my intention to move a privilege motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making a misleading statement in his speech on the debate of no-confidence motion in (the) Lok Sabha on July 20," Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said in a letter to the Speaker.

Noting that Modi had "asserted that the demand for revealing the purchase price of Rafale jet fighters was against the interest of the nation and had to be contradicted by both the governments, India and France", and further claimed the acquisition "is fully transparent", whereas "the Defence Minister in his presence on the floor of the House had refused to reveal the price citing a Confidentiality Agreement" between the two countries.

Kharge said that the French government, in its statement, had nowhere contradicted what was demanded in the House by the opposition, which is to disclose the purchase price of Rafale jet fighters and had "merely referred to the 2008 Confidentiality Agreement".

He also said that the Prime Minister was fully aware that the Confidentiality Agreement is regarding defence cooperation including acquisition, purchase and transfer of technology, and "does not state that 'Commercial Costs' of procurement of defence deals cannot be revealed," he said.

It is not specific to Rafale jet fighters and nowhere prohibits the disclosure of purchase price to the Parliament and thus the Prime Minister's claim on transparency in the agreement was "factually incorrect, untrue and deliberately made with the intention to mislead the House".

The Defence Minister's assertion on the floor of the House, Kharge alleged, was "absolutely false" and that she "has wilfully misled not only the members of the House, but also the entire nation".

He also noted that the Minister of State for Defence had on November 18, 2016 ,in a reply to a Parliamentary question, revealed the price of Rafale aircraft as approximately Rs 670 crore and this was again disclosed in Rajya Sabha on March 19, 2018.

"The PM and Defence Minister are contradicting the reply of this MoS," he said.

Kharge requested that the the notice be accepted and referred to the Privilege Committee of the House for further proceedings.

--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.)
A Bihar court on Tuesday convicted all the 15 accused in the 2012 Ara hooch tragedy in Bhojpur district of the state, which had claimed 21 lives, a government lawyer said.

Ordering judicial custody of all the 15 convicts, R.C. Diwedi, Additional District Judge in Ara civil court, slated the hearing on the quantum of punishment for July 26.

Four years before Bihar was declared a dry state following imposition of total prohibition, 21 people had died after consuming spurious liquor in Anaitha village of Ara. All the victims were Dalits.

The deaths had sparked widespread protests in Bhojpur, with hundreds of students blocking roads and the then opposition Bharatiya Janata Party leaders blaming the state government for the incident.

--IANS

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

The Ministry of Works and Transport has defended its choice of the Airbus 330neo which many have branded unwanted, unpopular and outdated.

Addressing journalists at the Uganda Media Center, works minister Monica Azuba Ntege said government chose that model over the much loved Boeing 787 because of its large operator and customer base.

Ntege adds that the Airbus 330 neo is cheap to maintain due to the 99% approved availability of its spare parts as compared to its competitor.

She says this is a major component for the running of any airline since it enables easy maintenance services thus reducing the operational cost of the airline.

She adds that neo is technologically advanced with a better engine as compared to the Boeing model.
A CRPF trooper was killed in a militant attack here on Tuesday, police said.

Police said militants attacked a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) patrol party outside the police control room in Batmaloo area here in the afternoon, injuring Shankar Lal of the paramilitary force's 23rd Battalion.

He was shifted to hospital where he later succumbed to critical injuries.

"The area is being searched now," a police officer said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A day after a Goa BJP leader called Congress President Rahul Gandhi a "loafer", Congress MLA Aleixo Reginaldo on Tuesday called the former a "bootlegger".

"The BJP has lost credentials and lost touch with human nature. (Goa BJP Spokesperson) Dattaprasad Naik is a bootlegger...," Reginaldo remarked.

"Rahul Gandhi is not involved in any illegal activities nor any crime, whatsoever. The Bharatiya Janata Party has called Rahul Gandhi a lot of names, but he has been decent enough. He is the best human being India has ever produced...

"It is high time the BJP understands the messages. The BJP is a party that is spreading hatred," Reginaldo told reporters on the sidelines of the ongoing Assembly monsoon session.

Naik on Monday called Rahul Gandhi a "loafer" for winking in Parliament on July 20.

On Sunday, the state Congress chief had called Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar a "kathputli" (puppet) for bowing to the unreasonable demands of the ruling allies in the coastal state.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Delhi Cabinet on Tuesday re-approved its plan of providing Rs 1 crore compensation to the kin of martyrs belonging to the national capital.

Under the scheme, a member from the family of the dead will also be given a job in the Delhi government if the Centre does not offer a job.

The offer covers Delhi-based security personnel from all the three services of the armed forces, Delhi Police, paramilitary forces, fire service, Home Guards and the district disaster force personnel.

The scheme will also cover war-disabled, war prisoners and those missing in war.

"As a token of respect to the forces, the Cabinet has approved Rs 1 crore compensation to the immediate kin of these personnel who die in the line of duty," Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said.

The scheme, launched in April 2015, was stalled by then Lt Governor Najeeb Jung.

"In the past three years, no such family of martyrs has been given the compensation. At least 10 cases are pending before us," Kejriwal said.

"We will give Rs 50,000 per month to the family of those who went missing in the wars," he said.

A three-member ministerial group will be formed, headed by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who will take a call on these matters.

Kejriwal also asked the Modi government to implement a similar scheme.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Delhi Cabinet on Tuesday approved a scheme under which farmers in the national capital can lease out part of their agricultural land for setting up solar panels for additional income.

Under the 'Mukhyanmantri Kissan Aaye Badhotri Solar Yojna,' approved at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, any farmer can rent out not more than one third of his land to a private firm to set up solar panels at a rate of Rs one lakh per annum per acre.

The scheme will start in nine months and at least five solar companies have evinced interest.

"The panels will be set up at a height of 3.5 metres, so that the land can also be used for agriculture," Kejriwal told the media here.

Kejriwal said that the annual income of beneficiary farmers estimated at present between Rs 30,000 and Rs 50,000 per acre per year will increase to between Rs 1.30 lakh and Rs 1.5 lakh following implementation of this scheme.

These farmers will also get 1,000 units of free solar power without any investment, Kejriwal said.

The Chief Minister said that the Delhi goverment departments will buy solar power from companies participating in the scheme.

"Our departments now buy electricity at Rs 9 per unit, but this will come down to Rs 5 per unit due to this scheme, saving us Rs 400 crore to Rs 500 crore annually," Kejriwal said.

The Delhi government plans to generate 2,000 MW in solar energy by 2025.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Delhi Police Commissioner on Tuesday banned flying of objects in the national capital from July 25 as a precautionary measure for the Independence Day.

The order by Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik will remain in force up to August 15.

It prohibits flying of "sub-conventional aerial platforms" like paragliders, para-motors, hang-gliders, UAVs, UASs, microlight aircraft, remotely piloted aircraft, hot air balloons, small sized powered aircraft, quadcopters, or para jumping from aircraft.

"It has been reported that certain criminal, antisocial elements or terrorists inimical to India may pose a threat to the safety of the general public, dignitaries and vital installations by using sub-conventional aerial platforms," Patnaik said in his order.

Hence, he said, flying of objects over the jurisdiction of National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi on the occasion of Independence Day celebrations 2018 is prohibited and shall be punishable as per the law.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Democratic Party of the US has introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives condemning the statements made by President Donald Trump during the Helsinki summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Trump was widely criticized by opponents and members of his own Republican Party for his remarks during a joint press conference on July 16 with Putin, in which he raised doubts over the US intelligence community's findings that Russia had meddled in the 2016 presidential elections.

"As the whole world knows, a week ago President Trump sold out our democracy in behaviour that was damaging, destructive and disgraceful," said Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Minority Leader in the House of Representatives, at a press conference on Monday.

She said that Trump betrayed American democracy and that many House Republicans were "complicit in the President's betrayal" for remaining silent on the issue, ABC News reported.

Adam Schiff, the highest-ranking Democrat in the House Intelligence Committee, said the resolution reiterates the US policy of standing up for democracies around the world and condemns Trump's "destructive direction" to diplomacy by which he makes "common cause with autocrats around the world".

Although Schiff said that the Republicans must wake up and protest in defence of democracy, Pelosi admitted that voting on the resolution would be very difficult due to the large conservative majority in the House.

Representative Eliot Engel, Ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, knocked Trump for a "failure to confront" Putin at the summit for Russia's election interference, while touting NATO as "the hallmark of American foreign policy".

"We have a President unfortunately who not only wants to destroy NATO, who insults our allies, who tries to rip NATO in half, but he then cozies up to Vladimir Putin," said Engel.

"It's like Alice in Wonderland."

The trio also called on State Secretary Mike Pompeo, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coates, Defence Secretary James Mattis, as well as CIA director Gina Haspel to testify on the subject before committees of jurisdiction in the House.

"We want to know what went on in the meeting when Putin and Trump were alone," Engel said. "No one's told us what went on in the meeting."

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President Donald Trump has emphasised that he did not make any concessions to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, a week after their controversial summit in Helsinki.

"When you hear the Fake News talking negatively about my meeting with President Putin, and all that I gave up, remember, I gave up NOTHING, we merely talked about future benefits for both countries," Trump tweeted on Monday, Efe news reported.

"Also, we got along very well, which is a good thing, except for the Corrupt Media!" the President added in the same tweet, referring to himself and Putin.

Trump received a landslide of criticism in the US - from Democrats and some Republicans -- after the Helsinki summit last week in which he stated that he believed Putin's denial of Kremlin interference in the 2016 US presidential vote.

Later, the President backtracked by affirming that he had "misspoken" and said he believed the reports of the US intelligence agencies, including the FBI and the CIA, that Moscow tried to interfere in the 2016 presidential election in which he defeated his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.

However, a few days later, US public opinion moved against Trump again when the news emerged that he had invited Putin to a second summit in Washington in the autumn.

That invitation opens up the possibility that the Russian leader may visit Washington just before or after the US mid-term elections, scheduled for November 6, despite fears that Russian intelligence agencies are trying -- or may try -- to interfere in those contests, as they presumably did in 2016.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India's ace drag-flicker Rupinder Pal Singh on Tuesday said the team is eager to defend their title at the upcoming 18th Asian Games in Jakarta-Palembang.

Rupinder said the team will further work on specific areas to ensure they have left no stone unturned in their preparations for the Asian Games.

"The one-week break will help us rejuvenate as some of us have been in the National Camp continuously since April 28. When we return to camp, the team will sit together, watch videos from our matches against New Zealand and try and find out ways to improve further. We are eager to defend the Gold Medal at Asian Games in Jakarta," Rupinder said.

"Personally for me, playing against a quality team like New Zealand who won the Silver Medal at the Commonwealth Games was very important.

"Since I had missed out all the action during the FIH Champions Trophy, I had to find my rhythm ahead of the Asiad," he added.

At the Asian Games, India are grouped in Pool A with Korea, Japan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Hong Kong China.

The Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in April was Rupinder Pal Singh's last appearance for the Indian Team at a major International event.

A hamstring injury during the quadrennial event meant that he had to be rested for the FIH Champions Trophy in Breda where the team won a Silver Medal.

While the team was vying against top teams in the world, Rupinder had to remain in the National Camp and work on his fitness.

"It is frustrating for any player to be watching the team play on TV but it was critical for me to undergo rehab in order to be match-fit and available for the Asian Games selections," Rupinder said.

In order to gain his momentum again, Rupinder appeared in four practice matches against Bangladesh early this month where he scored 10 goals through penalty corners and played two practice matches against South Korea where he scored one goal from penalty corners.

"I think having Bangladesh, South Korea and New Zealand visit us for matches ahead of major tournaments this season was a blessing in disguise. During these matches, the team tried out different combinations and tested different variations in converting PC," he said.

"We also tried new methods of creating PCs where I think the team did well. Our main criteria was to improve goal scoring," stated the six-footer from Punjab.

After the successful Series against New Zealand over the weekend in Bengaluru, the Asian Games-bound team have returned home for a week-long break and will re-join the national camp on August 1.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Four commuters were killed and seven injured on Tuesday when they fell off a moving suburban train after brushing against a concrete wall very close to the tracks, a Southern Railway official said.

The official said two persons had died at the same spot on Monday as well.

Tuesday's accident occurred at the St Thomas Mount station while the victims were travelling standing or sitting on the footboards of the bogeys of the train going from Chennai Beach to Thirumalpur.

According to the railway official, the dangling backpacks of these commuters had hit/brushed against the concrete wall, throwing them off balance and leading to their falling from the moving train.

Those injured were admitted to the Government Royapettah Hospital and Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital. The lower limbs of one of the injured were severed and he is undergoing treatment, the official said.

The three dead were identified as Shivakumar, Bharat and Naveen Kumar while the fourth deceased remained unidentified. The injured included Vignesh, Naresh, Vijay Kumar, Srivatsan and Yashar.

According to railway officials, an unidentified injured man admitted to the hospital left on his own.

"Naresh suffered injuries on his forehead while Vignesh has leg injuries," a doctor at the Royapettah Hospital told IANS.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami expressing grief over the deaths and announced Rs 100,000 each to the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the seriously injured.

Senior railway officials rushed to the spot even as other officials visited hospitals to render assistance to the injured.

Regular commuters said that ongoing cable repair work on the stretch had led to overcrowding on suburban trains due to reduced frequency and routing of these trains on to the tracks meant for express trains.

This led to the accident, they maintained and demanded that the wall be demolished to prevent frequent accidents on the spot. They also sought more trains during peak hours.

General Railway Police's Additional Director General C. Sylendra Babu said the wall would be demolished at the earliest and appealed to commuters not to travel on train footboards.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Heaping praise on female directors in Bollywood, Priti Rathi Gupta, one of the producers of the forthcoming film "Karwaan", says that gender diversity is healthy for the business of cinema.

"We can see so many successful film directors in recent times... whether it is Meghna Gulzar or Ashwini Iyer Tiwari, they are bringing some interesting stories in the world of cinema. It is the time that more women producers also come into the picture because gender diversity is healthy for business," Gupta told IANS.

"I think it is important to bring the female gaze in storytelling because it shows a different perspective of stories. The way the female director treats a film, a screenplay writer writes it, the kind of stories get commissioned by women are different and interesting," she added.

She took the example of "Waiting" -- her first film as a producer. It was directed by Anu Menon and featured Kalki Koechlin.

She said: "That was an all women crew...not by design, but by co-incidence. I believe the way the film came out on-screen and we tried to elaborate the emotional quotation of the story, happened because it is shown through a different lens. I am not talking about right or wrong, I am saying different."

Gupta has produced "Karwaan" along with Ronnie Screwvala. It features Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan and Mithila Palkar.

Sharing her future plans, she said she wants to go to a film school as she wishes to get into film direction.

"Such a study will help me to learn more about the art of storytelling in the form of cinema. In fact, I am planning my next project on an international platform. I am planning to take Indian stories to the international market, approaching Hollywood studios to transcend all boundaries.

"You know that is how we can actually work on the style of storytelling," she added.

"Karwaan" is releasing on August 3.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Spy shots of Hongqi model, codenamed N501 were exposed from Sina Weibo, China's twitter-like social media recently. The new model will be powered by a 4.0T V8 engine. Positioned as a large-size luxury sedan, the model will measure 5,500 mm in length.

The model adopts an ordinary design language, which strongly resembles the Hongqi L5, looking very dignified and graceful. It offers Hongqi's iconic waterfall-styled intake grille and Hongqi's vertically-positioned badge on its front end. The new model also features rectangular-shaped LED headlights on both sides, integrated with round LED light bulbs inside the headlights, making the overall styling in harmony.

Looking from the rear side, the model's carriage takes large proportion of the whole body. With lower waistlines on the doors, the model boasts larger windows. Additionally, it features tough C-pillars and also rectangular-designed tail lights.

According to the previously-released spy shots of the model, it also features a stably-designed interior with abundant high-tech amenities, such as two LCD screens.
By Moses Kyeyune.

Parliament has directed the Information and Communication ministry to explain the ban on airtime scratch-cards.

The directive by the Speaker Rebecca Kadaga was prompted by concerns raised by Busiki County MP Paul Akamba.

The lawmaker convinced the Speaker that with the deadline first approaching, many locals risk suffering in the darkness without communication given that many cannot buy airtime from Mobile Money.

Kadaga has now asked the ICT Minister Frank Tumwebaze to explain to the House next week.

The Uganda Communications commission announced that airtime scratch cards would be no more in the month of August after giving them a deadline of 31st July.
Criticising the BJP-led coalition government for not cracking down on a ketamine factory in north Goa, Congress leader Pratapsingh Rane on Tuesday said if drug trade is not curbed, the coastal state would soon become "Udta Goa".

"People from the Centre came and confiscated all the drugs. Are we protecting some people?... Is Goa also going to be 'Udta Goa'?" he said in the ongoing Monsoon Session of the Goa Assembly, referring to the Shahid Kapoor-starrer film 2016 'Udta Punjab', which highlighted the issue of drug addiction in Punjab.

"Are we going to make drugs available and allow people who are behind it go scot-free?" asked the former Chief Minister.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), a central agency, in a three-day operation codenamed 'Operation Vitamin' busted an international drug syndicate in June, seizing 308 kg ketamine, including two tons of raw material at various sites in Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat, arresting 10 persons including two from Britain and one from Vietnam.

Used as a tranquiliser for veterinary purposes, ketamine is a common party drug and is known for its hallucinatory effects and is also referred to as a "date-rape drug".

Nearly 100 kg ketamine and raw material used to manufacture the drug was also found at Goa BJP officer bearer Vasudev Parab's industrial unit, which was used by NRI Jimi Sandhu to manufacture ketamine.

While state BJP President Vinay Tendulkar has maintained that Parab had nothing to do with drug trade, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has refused to sanction a state police probe into the affair.

Rane slammed the state government for not taking a swift action against Parab.

"What action has been taken against the man in whose industry 100 kg of this drug was found? As per the NDPS act, the punishment (for this crime) is 10 years in jail. The man is moving around scot-free," he said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
After Goa's ruling BJP on Monday referred to Congress President Rahul Gandhi as a loafer, an office bearer of its coalition ally on Tuesday referred to Congress leader A. Chellakumar, who hails from Tamil Nadu, as a "lungi-wallah".

Addressing a press conference in Margao town, Goa Forward party's General Secretary Prashant Naik made the remark while criticising the Congress, which he alleged had "mortgaged itself" to non-Goans.

"On Sunday, Congress Working Committee had an important meeting in Delhi. At this meeting, it was expected that the leader of opposition (who is the) Congress legislative party leader and the Congress president Girish Chodankar were supposed to attend the meeting. But neither attended the meeting and they have given the power of attorney to that lungi-wallah Chellakumar or someone.

"Goans have thrown out topi-wallahs, now if they (Congress) give it to lungi-wallahs, they (Goans) will throw them out too," he said.

Chellakumar, the Congress General Secretary in-charge of Goa, is known to wear a white lungi in most public engagements and party meetings.

This is not the first time that Chellakumar's sartorial choice has triggered snide remarks from the party. Last year, Town and Country Planning Minister and Goa Forward President Vijai Sardesai had also taken a swipe at Chellakumar without naming him.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A wagon of a goods train derailed on the Varanasi-Lucknow route late on Monday night near Akbarganj railway station in Amethi, the police said on Tuesday, adding many trains have been diverted and some cancelled.

The rail track was repaired in the morning.

Railway officials said the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) reached the spot and directed the officials to ensure speedy removal of the wagon so that the track could be cleared.

LTT Express was stopped as the 51st wagon of the goods train carrying coal went off the tracks and dragged on for about a kilometre causing damage to a portion of the tracks. The train was bound for Lucknow from Varanasi, an official told IANS.

Varuna Express and Lucknow-Sultanpur LKM passenger train have been cancelled. The trains that have been diverted include 3414 Ganga-Jamuna Express, 12238 Begumpura Express, 13257 Jansadharan Express and 22419 Suhaildev Express.

Officials said that the derailment could have been due to "loose shunting". A probe has been initiated.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Taking the latest $5 billion fine by the European Commission into account, Google's parent company Alphabet reported $26.24 billion in revenue for the quarter that ended on June 30, making a profit of $3.2 billion while beating Wall Street expectations.

Excluding the fine, the tech giant would have had $32.6 billion in revenue and a profit of $8.2 billion.

"We are analysing the decision and I think it's too early to comment or speculate beyond what we've already said, but we will always take a constructive approach," Google CEO Sundar Pichai said during the company's earnings call with analysts late on Monday.

Riding on Search engine and YouTube growth, Google's revenue jumped 26 per cent to $23.3 billion.

"We delivered another quarter of very strong performance, with revenues of $32.7 billion, up 26 per cent versus the second quarter of 2017 and 23 per cent on a constant currency basis," Ruth Porat, CFO of Alphabet, said in a statement.

"Our investments are driving great experiences for users, strong results for advertisers, and new business opportunities for Google and Alphabet," Porat added.

Traffic acquisition costs, a key metric in Google's ad business, went up to 23 per cent of ad revenue in the second quarter.

Last week, US President Donald Trump attacked the European Union (EU)for the fine slapped, and said: "The European Union just slapped a $5 billion fine on one of our great companies, Google," Trump tweeted. "They truly have taken advantage of the US, but not for long!"

The European Commission fined Google for monopoly with its Android operating system, accusing it of violating the EU competition rules.

"I'm confident we find a way to make sure Android is available at scale to users everywhere," Pichai said during the call with analysts.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The government has no specific data on the number of journalists killed in the country because a repository of information on crime and criminals does not collate data in categories of professionals, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.

"While (the) National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) collects data pertaining to murders, it does not collect data in respect of separate categories of professionals, including journalists," Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Gangaram Ahir said in a written reply.

The reply came in response to a question, seeking state and union territory wise data on the number of journalists or persons attacked or killed during each of the last three years and the current year and the laws to curb such attacks.

The Minister said that existing laws were adequate for the protection of citizens including persons.

"The Press Council of India takes appropriate action on receipt of specific complaints from affected journalists. Representations on providing security are received from or on behalf of individuals, including journalists.

"All such representations are examined and based on inputs received regarding threat assessment, required action is taken. There is no mechanism (or) requirement to segregate the protectees according to the profession of the individuals."

According to a count, 14 journalists have been killed in the country since 2014.

--IANS

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Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said that the BJP-led Central government has fulfilled "around 90 per cent" of the commitments made under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, and was committed to fulfil the rest "at any cost".

"Our government will fulfil all the commitments made not only by our Prime Minister but also those made by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh," he said in Rajya Sabha while replying to a short duration discussion on the implementation of AP Reorganisation Act that carved out the state of Telangana out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a former NDA coalition partner, had asked for a discussion on the issue, alleging that "justice" was not being done with the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh in terms of granting it special category status.

In his reply, Rajnath Singh said that he could not understand why some members were stuck with the word "special category status" when the Centre was actually giving Andhra "even those incentives not mentioned in the Act".

"There was some conflict between the commitments made by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission, and hence it was decided in consultation with Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu that instead of granting special category status, Andhra Pradesh should be given special assistance.

"The Chief Minister had in September 2016 agreed to this arrangement and said in the state Assembly in a statement that special assistance was more useful than the special category status," he said.

"I would also like to clarify that special category status is different from special industrial incentive. The former does not necessarily include industrial incentive. But the promise of giving the Telugu states industrial incentive has already been fulfilled," he added.

The Home Minister underlined that Andhra was being given Rs 22,123 crore as revenue deficit spread over five years ending FY 2019-20.

He said that out of the 11 higher education institutions promised in the Act for Andhra, 10 have already been approved and many of them "have started functioning", and stressed that the railway zone as promised under the act "will be established".

He said that for the "lifeline" Pollavaram Irrigation Project, the Centre has already released over Rs 6,764 crore and it has also accepted the state's proposal about implementation of the project. He hoped that it will be completed in a "record time".

He said that the Centre even agreed to the state's demand of giving a loan through NABARD but since it could not be given directly for technical reasons, the Andhra government was asked to create a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the same to whom the loan would be disbursed.

"The state hasn't got back about the SPV so far," he said.

"We want development of all states whether we have our party government there or not. Because we realize that until all states progress, our dream of making India progress will not come true. I would also like to clarify that we don't do just to make governments but to build the nation," he said.

--IANS

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Designer Amit Aggarwal feels that future of Indian couture has moved from bridal and is opening a lot of doors especially in current time when youngsters are becoming more experimental with their fashion taste.

"The future of Indian couture is definitely not just bridal anymore. I feel that couture in the modern language is opening a lot of doors, especially with the younger generation today setting up different avenues and possibilities to wear something unique and special. Couture will be a wider terminology in the future," Aggarwal told IANS in an interview here when asked about his take on couture market in India.

"Today, modern brides are opting for modern versions of the traditional silhouettes. Couture gowns or other dress styles are more in demand today than ever. These contemporary silhouettes have definitely taken a strong stance in the Indian market.

"I believe in India, bridal and couture go hand in hand. However, I can say bridal couture is shifting from traditional to more contemporary aesthetics and is more open to experimental designs over the years," he added.

The designer is making his debut at the India Couture Week that is starting here from Wednesday.

Talking about his collection, he says that his "Crystalis" is inspired by its namesake.

"We have explored a range of hand done three-dimensional embroideries in various crystalline and bio mimicked forms and motifs. Our silhouettes are an amalgamation of different aspects of traditional Indian and western couture shapes infused with structure and form to enhance the female body.

"A special highlight is our collaboration with Tanira Sethi on a range of one-of-a-kind cashmere lace textiles woven in France, which makes this collection unique from our previous lines. We have also collaborated with Outhouse in designing jewellery inspired by various complex crystalline structures and intricate organic forms such as that of the metallic chrysalis cocoon.

"All the jewellery pieces have been crafted using materials and metallic colours that blend effortlessly with our collection's colour palette," he said.

Talking about his debut at the fashion gala, he said: "Though I've been showing my couture collections in Paris for almost a decade, the last two years have brought a radical change in the choices of the modern Indian bride."

"What was looked at avant grade or futuristic a few years ago is slowly becoming a present. It was only important that it was put out on an official calendar of the Indian couture week for people to see it in its full glory," he added.

As a designer with an international fan following and clients, how easy or difficult is it to make such luxury garments only for the Indian market?

"Our aesthetic and ethos remain the same internationally and nationally. However, the silhouettes and embellishments are made more elaborate for the Indian market whereas it is more refined for our western market," said Aggarwal.

Apart from the fashion week, what else is keeping him busy?

"There is a lot in the pipeline and will roll out this year. As a brand, we are growing rapidly and we hope to see our stores all around the world in the future," he said.

(Nivedita can be contacted at nivedita.s@ians.in)

--IANS

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday visited a village in Rwanda and donated 200 cows for an economic development project of the East African nation.

"Being part of a transformative project towards economic development of Rwanda!"External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

"PM @narendramodi donates 200 cows under #Girinka - One Cow Per Poor Family Programme at Rweru village," Kumar stated.

"Girinka is an ambitious project that provides both nutritional and financial security to the poor."

Girinka is a social protection scheme of the Rwandan government personally overseen by President Paul Kagame.

The poorest families are gifted dairy cows by the government and the first female calf born of the cow is gifted to the neighbour, thus promoting brotherhood and solidarity in the community.

Earlier in the day, Modi visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial that honours the memory of over one million Tutsis killed by the then Hutu majority government in 1994.

Modi reached Rwanda on Monday on the first leg of his five-day, three-nation tour of Africa that will also take him to Uganda and South Africa.

Following delegation-level talks with Rwandan President Paul Kagame, India and Rwanda signed eight agreements, including in the areas of defence, agriculture and dairy production, trade and leather and allied sectors.

Modi also announced that India will open a new High Commission in Rwanda in what can be seen as yet another manifestation of India's increasing engagements with Africa.

India's current High Commissioner to Rwanda has residence in Uganda.

Modi's visit is the first ever Prime Ministerial visit from India to Rwanda.

This is also his second visit to mainland Africa after he visited Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya in 2016.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India and Rwanda reviewed their entire gamut of bilateral ties and signed eight agreements across different sectors during the course of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to the East African nation, the External Affairs Ministry said on Tuesday.

"During the talks, both leaders reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation and expressed satisfaction at the excellent relations between Rwanda and India in the overall context of Strategic Partnership," the ministry said in a statement following delegation-level talks chaired by Modi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Kigali on Monday.

Ties between India and Rwanda were elevated to that of a Strategic Partnerhsip in January last year.

According to the statement, Modi highlighted the fact that Rwanda would house the first of the 18 new resident Indian missions to be opened in Africa in 2018 and this underlined the importance attached by India to its relations with Rwanda.

Stating that India and Rwanda were looking forward to further elevate their ties, Modi, while addressing the media with Kagame following Monday's talks, said: "This (opening the new mission) will not only facilitate close communication among our governments, it will also help in consular, passport, visa and other facilities."

Agreements in the area of trade, defence, dairy cooperation, agriculture, culture, leather and allied sectors and two lines of credit worth $200 million for expansion of the special economic zone and irrigation scheme were signed.

"Prime Minister appreciated the effective utilisation of $400 million lines of credit extended to Rwanda in the last few years," the ministry statement said.

In his address, Modi appreciated the steps for peace that have been adopted in Rwanda following the mass genocide in that country in 1994.

Around 500,000 to one million people were killed in the mass genocide against the Tutsi people by the majority Hutu government of that time.

"For us, it is a matter pride that India is a trusted development partner of Rwanda," Modi said.

"We have been helping Rwanda in capacity building, infrastructure development and ICT," he said.

According to the ministry statement, Modi complemented President Kagame for the important role played by him as African Union Chair in finalising the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement that has been signed by 44 countries as of March 21, 2018.

"He expressed hope that his leadership will guide the African Union in furthering economic integration of the continent," it stated.

"He indicated India's willingness to continue to strengthen relations with African Union."

Following the talks, Modi also interacted with the Indian community in Rwanda and invited them to visit India for the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas to be held in January 2019.

Members of the Indian community of neighbouring states had also travelled for this interaction with the Prime Minister.

On Tuesday, the second and concluding day of his visit, Modi visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial honouring the memory of the 1994 genocide victims and laid a wreath there.

Thereafter, he visited the Rwera model village and gifted 200 diary cows to the villagers as part of the Rwandan government's Girinka programme for economic development.

Girinka was initiated by President Kagame in response to the alarmingly high rate of childhood malnutrition and as a way to accelerate poverty reduction and integrate livestock and crop farming.

Speaking on the occasion, Modi appreciated the Girinka programme, and Kagame's initiative in this regard.

According to the External Affairs Ministry, he said people in India too would be pleasantly surprised to see the cow being given such importance as a means of economic empowerment in villages, in faraway Rwanda.

The Prime Minister also announced gifting of 100,000 books of the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) books, setting up of the Entrepreneurship Development Centre in Kigali which would provide training to youth of Rwanda for enhancing their skills in a variety of sectors, fully funded 25 slots for short-term training in the field of dairy production and processing, contribution of $10,000 each to the Kigali Genocide Memorial and the Imbuto Foundation run by the First Lady of Rwanda towards the education of the girl child.

Modi later addressed the India-Rwanda Business and called for boosting economic ties between the two countries.

"Our nations can do a lot together," he said. "There are several opportunities in rural development and small scale industries."

He said that though India is growing exponentially, "our mantra is 'sabka saath sabka vikas'".

"We will grow but we will also help those grow, who are with us," the Prime Minister said. "We will walk together."

Modi reached Rwanda on Monday in the first leg of his five-day, three-nation tour of Africa that will also take him to Uganda and South Africa.

This was the first ever Prime Ministrial visit from India to Rwanda.

This is also Modi's second visit to mainland Africa after he visited Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya in 2016.

--IANS

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India on Wednesday announced that it is closing its camp office in Nepal's Biratnagar from August 1.

"All services, including issuing of motor vehicle permits, registration certificates for Indian nationals, attestation of documents and miscellaneous services (birth/death registrations) being rendered by the camp office, Biratnagar, will cease with effect from August 1, 2018," the Indian Embassy here said in a statement.

The camp office was established in 2008 to assist Nepali vehicles enter India after deadly floods in Kosi River damaged huge portion of the East-West Highway of Nepal.

After Nepal repaired the damaged portion of the highway, it urged the Indian side to draw down the field office, said Nepali officials.

During the visit of Nepali Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli to India in August, Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured him that New Delhi will wind up the field office in Biratnagar with immediate effect.

The Indian Embassy urged the service seekers to contact its office in Kathmandu for any services that were provided by the Biratnagar office.

--IANS

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India and Uganda on Tuesday agreed to boost bilateral cooperation in the areas of economy and defence following delegation-level talks co-chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni here.

"India will always support Uganda's economic development and nation-building efforts," Modi said in a joint address to the media with Museveni following the talks.

Stating that bilateral trade and investment is growing stronger, he said that both he and Museveni will meet CEOs of both countries here on Wednesday.

The Prime Minister also announced two lines of credit worth nearly $200 million for energy infrastructure, agriculture and dairy sectors.

Modi said that it is a matter of great satisfaction that defence cooperation between the two countries is progressing well.

"We are ready to further strengthen our defence ties," he said.

On his part, Museveni said that the two sides emphasised on trade, investment and tourism during Tuesday's talks.

Inviting Indians to visit Uganda, he said that promoting tourism would go a long way in boosting bilateral trade.

In this connection, he sought permission for Ugandan Airlines to fly to Mumbai.

According to Museveni, one of Modi's suggestions during the talks was for Indian companies to invest in Uganda's healthcare sector.

Modi arrived here earlier on Tuesday from Rwanda on the second leg of his five-day, three-nation tour of Africa that will also take him to South Africa.

This is the first Prime Ministerial visit from India to Uganda in over 20 years.

For Modi, this is his second visit to this East African nation after his visit in 2007 as Gujarat Chief Minister.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India and Uganda on Tuesday agreed to boost bilateral cooperation in the areas of economy and defence as New Delhi extended two lines of credit to the East African nation following delegation-level talks co-chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni here.

"India will always support Uganda's economic development and nation-building efforts," Modi said in a joint address to the media with Museveni following the talks.

"Training, capacity building, technology and infrastructure are among the areas of of aid from our side.

"In the future too, we will keep aiding Uganda according to its priorities," he said.

The Prime Minister also announced two lines of credit worth nearly $200 million for energy infrastructure, agriculture and dairy sectors.

He also announced a gift of a cancer therapy machine for the Uganda Cancer Institute in Kampala as a sign of friendship between the people of India and Uganda.

Stating that bilateral trade and investment is growing stronger, Modi said that both he and Museveni will meet CEOs of both countries here on Wednesday.

He said that it is a matter of great satisfaction that defence cooperation between the two countries is progressing well.

"We are ready to further strengthen our defence ties," he said.

The two sides signed four MoUs, including in the areas of defence cooperation and cultural exchange.

The Prime Minister also said that India will continue to provide vehicles and ambulances for civilian and military use in Uganda.

Modi appreciated Museveni for the love he has shown to the Indian community in Uganda, where there are over 30,000 people of Indian origin.

On his part, Museveni said that the two sides emphasised on trade, investment and tourism during Tuesday's talks.

Inviting Indians to visit Uganda, he said that promoting tourism would go a long way in boosting bilateral trade.

In this connection, he sought permission for Ugandan Airlines to fly to Mumbai.

According to Museveni, one of Modi's suggestions during the talks was for Indian companies to invest in Uganda's healthcare sector.

Modi arrived here earlier on Tuesday from Rwanda on the second leg of his five-day, three-nation tour of Africa that will also take him to South Africa.

This is the first Prime Ministerial visit from India to Uganda in over 20 years.

For Modi, this is his second visit to this East African nation after his visit in 2007 as Gujarat Chief Minister.

--IANS

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Indian black money deposits in Swiss banks went down by 34 per cent between 2016 and 2017 and by over 80 per cent since the BJP government came to power in 2014, an official statement said on Tuesday.

Referring to Swiss National Bank (SNB) data last month which showed that after falling for three years in succession, money parked by Indians in Swiss banks rose 50 per cent to Swiss francs 1.02 billion in 2017 over the previous year, a Finance Ministry release here said that a more reliable source of Indian black money stashed in Swiss banks is available from the data which the SNB collects jointly with the Bank for International Settlements.

"More often than not, the media reports have not taken account of the way the (SNB) figures have to be interpreted, which has resulted in misleading headlines and analyses. Moreover, it is frequently assumed that any assets held by Indian residents in Switzerland are undeclared (so-called 'Black Money')," it said.

"However, the cited figures that show an increase of 50 per cent in Swiss banks' total liabilities towards India also include non-deposit liabilities as well as business of Swiss branches located in India. To analyze Indian residents' deposits held in Switzerland, another data source should be used.

"This is the so-called 'locational banking statistics', which the SNB collects in collaboration with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). This data source shows that the liabilities in the form of loans and deposits of Swiss-domiciled banks towards Indian non-banks decreased by 44 per cent between 2016 and 2017," it added.

The Finance Ministry noted that BIS data showed "non-bank loans and deposits (which really constitute the individual and corporate deposits used as black money haven in the past and exclude inter-bank transactions) have fallen by 34.5 per cent in 2017 compared to 2016 ($524 million in 2017 versus $800 million in 2016)".

It said Swiss non-bank loans and deposits have reduced by a significant 80.2 per cent under the NDA government between 2013 and 2017.

"This broadly corresponds SNB reports which show an 82 per cent reduction in total Indian customer deposits in Switzerland since 2013, though BIS data is the right way to measure actual deposits from India in Switzerland," it added.

Speaking to reporters outside Parliament earlier on Tuesday, acting Finance Minister Piyush Goyal refuted the allegations made by Congress President Rahul Gandhi and other opposition members in this regard.

"The Swiss government has informed us that the news being spread by Rahul Gandhi is baseless and that the figures quoted by some political leaders are completely irrelevant to this issue," he said.

--IANS

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Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday dismissed as "baseless" the allegations of a 50 per cent jump in deposits by Indians in Swiss banks and said the Congress was trying to tarnish India's image on the international stage by "spreading lies".

He said that contrary to Congress President Rahul Gandhi's assertion that deposits by Indian nationals in Swiss Banks had increased by 50 per cent, the actual Indian deposits had gone down by 34 per cent between 2016 and 2017 and by over 80 per cent since the BJP government came to power in 2014.

Goyal told reporters that the data referred to by Rahul Gandhi includes non-deposit liabilities, business of Swiss branches located in India, inter-bank transactions and fiduciary liabilities.

"The Swiss government has informed us that the news being spread by Rahul Gandhi is baseless and that the figures quoted by some political leaders are completely irrelevant to this issue," he said.

The minister said the Swiss government had told India in writing that the figures published by the Swiss National Bank are regularly mentioned in the Indian media as a reliable indicator of the amount of assets held with Swiss financial institutions in respect of Indian residents but more often the media reports do not take into account the way the figures have to be interpreted.

"This has resulted in misleading headlines and analyses. Moreover, it is frequently assumed that any assets held by Indian residents in Switzerland are undeclared-- so-called 'black money'," Goyal said quoting the Swiss government's response.

"To analyze Indian residents' deposits held in Switzerland, another data source should be used. This is the so-called 'locational banking statistics', which the Swiss National Bank collects in collaboration with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS)," he added.

Goyal said that Rahul Gandhi raked up the issue without understanding the seriousness of the matter.

"He's habitual of making allegations without knowing the reality as we saw in the no-confidence debate as well which led to a rebuttal by the French government the same day. And now we have the Swiss government dismissing his claims," he said.

Goyal said that since 2014, there has been an 80 per cent reduction in money held by Indians in Swiss banks from $2.2 billion in 2014 to just over half a billion dollars in 2017.

"In 2017, deposits have reduced by 34 per cent from $800 million to $524 million. And this has been reducing every year.

"This shows how attempts are being made to malign India's image in international stage through false allegations by the Congress and some other motivated elements," Goyal said.

--IANS

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The Travancore Devaswom Board on Tuesday cited the Islamic practice of barring women from entering mosques to justify the prohibition on women in the age group of 10 to 50 years from entering the famed Sabarimala temple in Kerala.

Calling it a "bonafide belief", senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi told the five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipaak Misra that women were not allowed to enter mosques and cited other places of worship where women were barred from entering during their menstruating period.

Singhvi, appearing for the Devaswom Board, described the Sabarimala temple as a denominational temple whose practices could not be called into question.

Asserting that the practice of barring women from entering the temple was not discriminatory, Singhvi said: "The maximum number of devotees are women."

"Maximum number of devotees at Sabarimala temple are women. It is not something that the male chauvinistic society has imposed on women," said Singhvi.

Apparently unimpressed by the argument, Justice D.Y. Chadrachuud, referring to the predominantly male chauvinistic patriarchal society, said that right from the birth, woman were made to go through social conditioning on how to behave, what to say, what to do.

Can a public temple practice prohibition, asked CJI Misra.

Once again making a comparison with the Muslim Shia practice of self-flagellation during Muharram mourning procession, Singhvi said: "My belief may be fickle, irrational. There is a practice of self-flagellation by the Shias. Many will call it barbaric, others will say it is religious."

Certainly it is not in consonance with the notion of 2018 but still it is my belief, Singhvi said, asserting the practice of prohibiting women in the age of 10 to 50 years can't be called in question.

As Justice Chadrachud said that the puberty age was not applied to men as it was done in the case of women, Singhvi said: "I can't prohibit men from entering the temple as they don't have this disability.

"You are in the realm of speculation that men who go to the temple do observe 41 days of celibacy," observed Chief Justice Misra. "You impose a condition which is impossible."

The day-long arguments by Singhvi saw the court telling him that prohibiting women from entering the temple in the age of 10 to 50 years was not a practice which was time immemorial and it had not been established that it was a denominational temple.

The Constitution bench is hearing an October 13, 2017 reference by a three-judge bench which had framed four questions to be addressed by it.

--IANS

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The Islamic State (IS) has made changes to the way it refers to its regional branches in Syria and Iraq, in a likely indication that the outfit has made internal structural changes after losing territory in 2017.

The Islamic State dropped the term "Wilayah", meaning official branch or "province", to refer to areas within Syria and Iraq which had previously held the status of separate "provinces" -- such as Damascus, Raqqa, Kirkuk and northern Baghdad, BBC citing SITI reported.

The term "Wilayah" is now being used to describe the larger territories of Syria and Iraq -- the "Wilayah of Sham (Syria)" and the "Wilayah of Iraq", regional designations that the IS had not used before.

The changes were first spotted in the latest edition of the group's weekly Arabic-language newspaper al-Naba on July 20. But there was no fanfare and the IS made no announcement of the changes.

Since then, claims of attacks within Syria and Iraq have been attributed to "Wilayah of Sham" or "Wilayah of Iraq".

In a video released by the IS in July 2016, the group set out the administrative structure of what it termed as caliphate. It said the Wilayat (plural of Wilayah) were established following the group's expansion in order to "create effective ways to administer and supervise its territory".

The report said that the latest changes to the official status of the regions reflected a restructuring following territorial setbacks in 2017, with each of the regions within Syria and Iraq no longer requiring its own governor or ministry offices.

It was not clear whether countries such as Libya, Yemen or Saudi Arabia underwent a similar restructuring process.

The group did, however, continue to refer to its Egypt branch as the "Wilayah of Sinai" and for the first time described its affiliate in Southeast Asia as a Wilayah -- effectively upgrading its status, possibly as compensation for the downgrading of regions in Syria and Iraq.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Israel said it shot down a Syrian warplane that entered its airspace and that the jet crashed on the Syrian-held side of the Golan Heights.

The Israeli military said in a statement that two Patriot missiles were launched at a Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet, which it said had flown about 2 kilometres into skies above Israel, the BBC reported.

"It was shot down and it crashed," Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus told reporters. "We do not have any information so far about the pilots. I do not know of any reports of parachutes being spotted and we do not know if any pilots have been retrieved."

Syrian news agency Sana said Israel had targeted one of its jets over Syrian airspace, but did not say it was hit.

The agency quoted a military source as saying the plane was conducting raids against "armed terrorist groups" near the southern Yarmouk Valley.

Israel's Haaretz news website said residents in northern Israel saw interceptor missiles fired and heard explosions.

The Israeli military spokesperson said that the plane was Syrian, not Russian. "The only thing we know about the aircraft is that it crashed, most likely in the southern part of the Syrian Golan Heights," he said.

The Israeli Defence Forces said they were on "high alert" following "an increase in the internal fighting in Syria" and greater activity by Syria's Air Force in the region.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 and still occupies the area. The UN deployed a peacekeeping force between the two sides in 1974.

Syrian forces have been battling rebels and Islamic State militants at the frontier with Israel in recent weeks. Tuesday marked the first time government forces reached the border fence with the UN's Disengagement Observer Force at the edge of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

--IANS

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Great authors are not those who continue to resonate far beyond their own time and space but who provide a special kinship, a solace in times of personal upheavals. As Jane Austen proved for this Pakistani author, who grew up with her, made her works the focus of her studies and found in them a haven from life's turbulence -- though sometimes resenting their endings.

While Laaleen Sukhera repaid her debt with "Austenistan", her curated anthology of six Pakistani (including her) and one Sri Lankan writers' takes on Austen's iconic works, mostly "Pride and Prejudice", she also believes that the celebrated novelist remains a relevant model for today's society through both her work and her life.

In a free-wheeling interview to IANS over social media on various aspects of Austen, Laaleen says she grew up identifying with a wide gamut of her characters -- Lizzie Bennet of "Pride and Prejudice" for her "joy in the ridiculous", Catherine Morland of "Northanger Abbey" for "naivete", Marianne Dashwood's ("Sense and Sensibility") "romanticism" -- and even based her Screen Studies thesis at Clark University on the author. But what cemented the bond was more personal.

"My relationship with Austen took a more intense turn in the last decade when my personal life -- my marriage -- became a living nightmare. At times, I sought refuge in Austen's world where I knew all would turn out for the best, turning to Jane as one would to an old, trusted friend.

"At other times, I couldn't bear to read about her characters' happy endings when I'd been denied one of my own," she says.

It was then the Lahore-based Laaleen founded The Jane Austen Society of Pakistan to create a "wonderfully eccentric little world to escape to with like-minded friends". "Austenistan" was the outcome.

"Curating, writing, and editing 'Austenistan' was the one thing that kept me going through one of the most harrowing ordeals of my life. The book was published (by Bloomsbury India) when I was separated and fighting for custody of my young daughters."

While the work was "challenging", especially in keeping "stories short enough for a commercial fiction format" by "ruthlessly guillotining so many intriguing scenes and gripping details", the "most heartbreaking" was that all stories received couldn't be published.

But Laaleen also notes that "relating Austen to Pakistan doesn't require much imagination".

Of the stories written by a mix of journalists, a lawyer, an economist and even a scientist, Mahlia S. Lone's "The Fabulous Banker Boys", Saniyya Gauhar's superlative "The Mughal Empire", Sonya Rehman's "Only the Deepest Love", Gayathri Warnasuriya's "The Autumn Ball" -- which even works in a ball scene -- and Laaleen's own "On the Verge" -- which transports the action back to an English manor -- are all inspired from "Pride and Prejudice".

However, Mishayl Naek's "Emaan Ever After" is based on "Emma" and Nida Elley's "Begum Saira Returns" on "Lady Susan".

Romance and (suitable) marriages apart, Laaleen, citing her own case, says Austen still remains relevant, for the situation she described nearly two centuries ago hasn't changed much. "Appearance is still everything, reputation is integral to making a good match, old money trumps new money, and life still revolves around marriages and weddings.

"Marital strife is meant to be stifled and couples' PDA on social media is the PR-savvy route to preserving the enviable veneer of the marriage 'brand'," she says.

With racism, misogyny, and social inequalities, which were the norm then, still around, Laaleen hopes her effort also replicates Austen, who was very sympathetic to women's plight, and adept in "covertly" working in social realities and feminist themes "between the layers of romance, humour, and cutting social commentary".

"Our anthology, I hope, somewhat does the same. Tongue-in-cheek is far more attractive to me than writing that appears dreadfully in earnest."

And then Laaleen notes, Austen herself "chose to remain single rather than marry for convenience, and helped support her family with her novels. I find that in our part of the world, women who lack financial emancipation will forever be at the mercy of their husbands and families, something that our Regency-era contemporaries can heartily agree with."

Her effort is also aimed at fixing Pakistan's perceived image. "Along the way, people have forgotten that we have a sense of humour here, have a strong sense of hospitality, and a fascinating heritage. I hope 'Austenistan' and my future work dispels some of the more outdated and one-dimensional stereotypes..."

"In Pakistan, there's a misconception that many people don't like to read. Well, if that's the case, why did our book get pirated here in its first month? That's both alarming as well as flattering!"

On future plans for "Austenistan", she says she would "love it to be translated into multiple languages, to be adapted for the screen, and to possibly inspire a merchandise collection".

And while Laaleen cherishes India, the "first publishing home of 'Austenistan'" and full of "many wonderful readers and well-wishers", she hopes "visas were a little easier so we could share so much more".

(Vikas Datta can be contacted at vikas.d@ians.in)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Even as Rajasthan home minister Gulabchand Kataria on Tuesday promised strict action in the Alwar lynching case, his colleague and state Labour Minister Jaswant Singh asked Muslims and the Mev community to "stop consuming beef' and "keep away from cow smugglers to respect the Hindus."

"We will ensure punishment to the guilty," home minister Kataria said while inspecting the site at Ramgarh (Alwar) where Rakbar alias Akabar was lynched by a mob over cow smuggling on Saturday night. Kataria was accompanied by Director General of Police OP Galhotra.

Earlier, Labour Minister Jaswant Singh, who was also in Alwar, said: "These incidents (of violence) are almost a daily occurrence," adding that since the "root cause" is cow smuggling, "the Muslims should avoid eating beef and not support cow smugglers."

Kataria met Chief Secretary DB Gupta, DGP Galhotra and special Director General (Law and Order) NRK Reddy to review the situation following the lynching incident. He said that a few lapses have come to the fore on police's part and an assistant sub-inspector has been suspended. "Action has also been taken against four constables. We will take right action," he said.

The post-mortem of Rakbar has confirmed that he died due to multiple internal injuries sustained from severe beating, sources said.

Amid a charged atmosphere in Alwar, district Shiv Sena chief Bhupendra Singh Naruka said his party supported the 'innocents' caught by the police and would fight their case in the court "on its expenses." He also questioned BJP on its delay to declare cow as a "national animal" of the country.

Meanwhile BJP legislator from Ramgarh (Alwar) Gyandev Ahuja on Tuesday said that Rakbar had died in police custody and not by a mob. He also said that action taken against four policemen on Monday was to "shield" senior police officers. He also demanded a judicial probe into this matter.

The Rajasthan police late on Monday accepted "error of judgement" by its personnel which delayed the victim's arrival to the hospital. Rakbar was declared brought dead in the hospital.

-- IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With alarming shortage of staff in the Health Department, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday set up a deadline of September 15 to fill up all vacancies on contract.

The decision came after Kejriwal chaired a review meeting on the matter along with Health Minister Satyendar Jain and other senior officials of the department.

"Health sector has been one of the top priorities of the Delhi government and the sector has got a major fillip since the present government came to power in 2015. However, the shortage of staff has been ailing the sector for long as hiring could not be done due to several reasons, " said an official statement.

During the meeting, Kejriwal went through the list of the vacancies which included the posts of pharmacists, nursing staff, radiographers, lab assistants, technicians, OT assistants, physiotherapists, sanitary inspectors in different hospitals and discussed it with the Health Minister and other officers.

The Chief Minister then ordered that all the posts must be filled on contract basis till the permanent hiring process is completed through several government agencies, stressing that "patients can't suffer because of shortage of staff" due to time being taken by agencies to hire on a permanent basis.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A blast hit in a school boiler room in the Kyzylorda region, the press service of the Department of Emergency Situations said.



"Today at 8.15 am, the Crisis Management Department of the Emergency Situations Department of the Kyzylorda region received a message saying that solid fuel heating boiler exploded without fire, followed by partial destruction of walls and floors of the building on an area of 64 square meters," the report says.



Nobody has suffered in the accident, educational process has not been disturbed.

Source: KazTAG



This information may not be reproduced without reference to Kazakhstan Today. Copyright of materials of News Agency Kazakhstan Today.


The One Stop Centres (OSC) project in Delhi is getting delayed because of lack of coordination between the Delhi government and the Union Women and Child Development (WCD), Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal said. The scheme is evsiaged under the Nirbhaya Fund.

"DCW is ready to work upon One Stop Centres but the bureaucrats are not keen on taking this ahead. Neither the ministry officials nor the state government bureaucrats are meeting each other and discussing fund sharing and setting up of the centres," Maliwal added.

Apart from West Bengal, Delhi is another state which did not use any fund under the initiative for setting up OSCs.

According to WCD sources, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had earlier refused to build or allocate space for OSCs. However, recently he agreed to the implementation of the scheme in the national capital.

"I will be meeting the WCD minister Maneka Gandhi and will see how early this issue can be sorted out," Maliwal said.

The OSCs are being established across the country to provide integrated support and assistance under one roof to women affected by violence, both in private and public spaces in a phased manner. The OSCs support all women including girls below 18 years of age affected by violence, irrespective of caste, class, religion, region, sexual orientation or marital status.

Currently, there are 170 OSCs across the country.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Left parties, as part of their nationwide protest against the "murder of democracy in West Bengal and Tripura", held protest rallies in Tripura on Tuesday.

Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Central Committee member Badal Choudhury said that goons of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party attacked their protest rally in Udaipur (in southern Tripura's Gomati district) injuring 20 Left party members, some of them hospitalised with serious conditions".

Gomati district police chief Avula Ramesh Reddy said that the Left parties organised the protest rally without permission and some unidentified men threw stones injuring two people including a policeman.

Addressing a protest rally here, another CPI-M Central Committee member Bijan Dhar said that a total lawlessness prevailing in Tripura after the BJP and IPFT (Indigenous People's Front of Tripura) alliance government came to power in March.

"Democracy entirely throttled under the BJP-led alliance government. Despite attacks on opposition parties every moment, police remained inactive, administration continued to be silent," said Dhar, who is also the state secretary of CPI-M.

The Left leader said attacks, clashes among BJP-IPFT workers in many parts of the state followed by road blockades, and agitations by the ruling party supporters disrupted normal life almost every day.

"Life and livelihood have been ruined due to the misgovernance of the BJP-IPFT government. People should be united against the violence, misrule and crisis of essentials," Dhar added.

"Four CPI-M members and leaders have been murdered in four months of BJP-IPFT governance. Thousands of party members and supporters were attacked."

According to Dhar, 1,000 Left activists, including 100 women, have suffered injuries.

"Around 750 offices of the CPI-M and Left parties have either been burnt, attacked or captured. Close to 200 offices of the Left mass organisations have been attacked and nearly 150 have been forcibly occupied.

"Pradhans, chairmen and elected members of various local bodies including the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council are being coerced either to resign or join the BJP," Dhar added.

The Left parties held 'dharna' outside Parliament on Tuesday where top Left leaders across the country took part in the demonstrations.

According to the CPI-M leaders here, protest rallies were held in different parts of the country including West Bengal on the issue.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A seven-point pledge to ensure women safety at night in London has been unveiled at a City Hall seminar in the British capital.

Night Czar Amy Lame and Deputy London Mayor for Policing Sophie Linden on Monday have called on organisations, businesses and councils to join London Mayor Sadiq Khan's Women's Night Safety Charter, Xinhua news agency reported.

The summit, called Reclaim the Night, brings together representatives from policing, transport, charities and the night-time economy to reaffirm their commitment to improving safety at night.

Khan's charter, the first of its kind covering the entire capital, sets out guidance for venues, operators, charities, councils and businesses to improve safety at night for women. This includes better training of staff, encouraging the reporting of harassment, and ensuring public spaces are safe.

A number of companies and organisations have already signed the pledge, including Transport for London, the Metropolitan Police and night venues, pledged to take action to help lower the risk of crime against women when they are working or enjoying a night out.

"The Women's Night Safety Charter is part of the Mayor's strategy to tackle violence against women and girls. It includes seven key pledges to improve women's safety and perception of safety at night," said a city hall spokesperson.

Mayor Khan has published a strategy to tackle violence, with a record investment of $58 million up to 2020 to make London the safest city in the world for women and girls.

Lame said: "Everyone has a role to play in ensuring the safety of women at night and through the Mayor's Women's Night Safety Charter we're helping to provide a supportive environment for those working, travelling or enjoying our capital at night."

Deputy Mayor Linden said: "London is one of the safest cities in the world but we know that more can be done to improve safety for women at night. We're helping venues and councils to take some simple, but important, steps to help women know that nowhere is off limits to them."

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
From a staggering 171 submissions -- the highest number of titles put forward in the Man Booker Prizes 50 year history -- 13 novels, which capture facets of a world on the brink, have been longlisted for the 2018 edition of the much-coveted 50,000 pound literary award.

"Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the times, there were many dystopian fictions on our bookshelf - and many novels we found inspirational as well as disturbing. Some of those we have chosen for this longlist feel urgent and topical, others might have been admired and enjoyed in any year," Kwame Anthony Appiah, Chair of the 2018 judges, said in a statement.

The British-born Ghanaian-American philosopher, cultural theorist, and novelist said that all of the longlisted books - which take in slavery, ecology, missing persons, inner-city violence, young love, prisons, trauma, race - capture something about a world on the brink.

The longlist features a graphic novel, Nick Drnaso's "Sabrina", for the first time, besides four debut novelists and four authors under the age of 30. The longlist consists of six writers from the UK, three from the US, two from Ireland and two from Canada.

This year's Golden Man Booker winner Michael Ondaatje -- a special one-off award that crowned the best work of fiction from the last five decades of the prize -- has once again made it to the list with his seventh novel "Warlight". Ondaatje's "The English Patient" shared the 1992 Booker Prize with "Sacred Hunger" by Barry Unsworth.

He is joined by three other authors previously nominated for the prize: Esi Edugyan (shortlisted in 2011 for "Half-Blood Blues"), Donal Ryan (longlisted in 2013 for "The Spinning Heart"), and Richard Powers (longlisted in 2014 for "Orfeo").

The four debutants recognised by the judges this year include eminent Scottish poet Robin Robertson's "The Long Take", a novel in verse; Sophie Mackintosh's "The Water Cure"; Guy Gunaratne's "In Our Mad And Furious City" and Daisy Johnson's "Everything Under".

"Among their many remarkable qualities is a willingness to take risks with form. And we were struck, overall, by their disruptive power: these novels disrupted the way we thought about things we knew about, and made us think about things we didn't know about.

"Still, despite what they have in common, every one of these books is wildly distinctive. It's been an exhilarating journey so far and we're looking forward to reading them again. But now we'll have thousands and thousands of people reading along with us," Appiah added.

Johnson, aged 27, is the joint youngest author on the list, alongside Sally Rooney (for "Normal People").

The shortlist of six books will be announced on September 20. The winner will be revealed on October 16.

As usual, the winner of the 2018 Man Booker Prize can expect international recognition.

In the week following the 2017 winner announcement, sales of "Lincoln in the Bardo" by George Saunders increased by 1,227 per cent.

Bloomsbury has till date sold over 230,000 copies of Lincoln across all formats -- 70 per cent of those sales coming after the win.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A policemen and two others were injured as the campaign for a Maratha quota turned violent here even as protests were held in different parts of Maharashtra by the Maratha Kranti on Tuesday.

A large number of protestors torched a fire brigade vehicle near Kaigaon in Aurangabad district where a 28-year-old, Kakasaheb Dattatreya Shinde, committed suicide by jumping in the Godavari river on Monday evening demanding reservations.

The repercussions of Shinde's death were felt in different parts of the state with spontanious shutdowns, road and rail blockades, processions and stray incidents of arson on Tuesday.

A fire brigade vehicle was torched in Aurangabad and a police jeep was set ablaze in Hingoli even as the issue was raised in the Lok Sabha by Shiv Sena MP Vinayak Raut.

All major political parties including Congress' Ashok Chavan and Sachin Sawant, Nationalist Congress Party's Jitendra Awhad and others have urged the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party government to resolve the issue of Maratha reservations expeditiously.

Various Maratha groups have announced a Maharashtra shutdown on August 9 - celebrated as August Kranti Day - to intensify the agitation going on since nearly two years.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Samantha Grant, the older sibling of the Duchess of Sussex, addressed mounting claims that she has financially benefited from her connection to the royal family in her interview on ITV's Good Morning Britain.

The sibling was appearing on the show in an effort to bridge the gap between Meghan Markle and her father, Thomas Markle, whom Samantha claims has not spoken to Meghan in months.

Grant spoke about being a part of the media and broadcasting industry, and how making money out of sharing memories isnt "cashing in", reports eonline.com

"I worked in media most of my life and in broadcasting, so because my sister is suddenly royal isn't grounds for me to stop doing all of that," said Grant.

"Let's face it -we all have to survive. Money makes the world go round, so if you want to call that cashing in, that's fine, but I think no one in media would refuse a paycheck for talking about the royal and, as a family, we're not subject to royal protocol," she added.

Samantha concluded, "For someone to say, 'Oh you shouldn't take any money. You should turn down a paycheck,' well go tell your boss you don't want a paycheck for interviewing me because that's cashing in."

Meghan, 36, got married to Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex on May 19.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Karnataka government has already diverted the flow of the Mhadei river at Kalsa-Bhandura and the Goa government will file a contempt petition before the central tribunal, appointed to resolve the inter-state dispute, as a counter-measure, Water Resources Minister Vinod Palienkar said on Tuesday.

"Digging work was carried out at the Kalsa-Bhanduri nullah and the flow of (Mhadei) water towards Goa has been stopped and diverted to the Malaphrabha (river) basin. Therefore, our team will be filing an application in court tomorrow, including contempt of court, before the Tribunal," Palienkar said.

Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra are in a dispute over the controversial Kalsa-Bhandura dam project across the waters of the Mhadei river at a central Tribunal.

Mhadei also known as the Mandovi river is the lifeline of the northern parts of the State. It originates in Karnataka and meets the Arabian Sea in Panaji in Goa, while briefly flowing through the territory of Maharashtra.

Karnataka also aims to build seven dams at various points along the river, including at Kalsa village, aimed at diverting the flow into what it claims is the water-starved Malaprabha basin in North Karnataka. The state has demanded that Goa should allow the transfer of over seven TMC of water to tide over its irrigation and drinking water needs.

Diversion of the water was one of key issues in the North Karnataka region during the recently concluded assembly election.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A 25-year-old Muslim man was beaten up by a group of people at a Ghaziabad court where he had gone to marry a Hindu woman, police said on Tuesday.

Sahil, who works at a Noida firm, went to the court to register his marriage with Preeti Singh, 23, on Monday afternoon when the crowd attacked them, police officer Sanjay Panday told IANS.

The police personnel at the court saved the man from getting lynched.

"We have registered an FIR against two men - Vinod and Navneet - and several unknown persons. No arrest has been made so far," Panday said.

Sahil, who hails from Bhopal, sustained minor injuries while the woman, from Bijnore in Uttar Pradesh, escaped unhurt.

The trouble began when the couple reached the sub-registrar office. When they were filling up a form, some men in the office noticed that the man was a Muslim and the bride a Hindu.

Some men reportedly began asking them embarrassing questions. When the couple protested, a dozen men started thrashing the man. Police personnel stationed at the compound took them in their shelter and eventually helped them to escape.

--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.)
A 25-year-old Muslim man was beaten up by a group of people in a Ghaziabad court in Uttar Pradesh where he had gone to marry a Hindu woman, police said on Tuesday.

Sahil, who works at a Noida firm, went to the court to register his marriage with Preeti Singh, 23, on Monday afternoon when the crowd attacked them, police officer Sanjay Panday told IANS.

The police personnel at the court saved the man from getting lynched.

"On the complaint of our constable Ravinder Singh Parihar, we have registered an FIR against two men - Vinod and Navneet - and several unknown persons. No arrest has been made so far," Panday said.

Sahil, who hails from Bhopal, sustained minor injuries while the woman, from Bijnore in Uttar Pradesh, escaped unhurt. Their car was also damaged by the mob and was later towed to the police station.

The trouble began when the couple reached the sub-registrar's office. When they were filling up a form, some men in the office noticed that the man was a Muslim and the bride a Hindu.

Some men reportedly began asking them embarrassing questions. When the couple protested, a dozen men started thrashing the man. Police personnel stationed at the compound saved them and eventually helped them to leave.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Posted Tuesday, July 24, 2018 6:31 am

DANCE Lansing

Wednesday, July 24, 7 p.m.

LCCs Dart Auditorium

500 N. Capitol Ave.

www.happendance.org

(517) 333-3528

See the breadth of the Lansings dancing community loosen up and bust a move for free.

In a string of performances, Lansing will come alive with a smorgasbord of local dancers at venues across the city.

Dance lansing is a really unique collaboration of community and nonprofits, said Lisa Whiting Dobson, DANCE Lansings artistic director. Our goal is to increase performance and choreography opportunities for area dancers.

Collaboration between dancers often dont get to work together makes this event an important resource, said Whiting Dobson. Youre working with people you don't tend to work with. You can utilize the strength of differences in groups.

Organizing and choreographing the many dance routines is challenging, said Whiting Dobson.

We have 42 pieces of new choreography created since the middle of June, said Whiting Dobson.

In its 13th year of operation, Whiting Dobson said todays event is quite the change. It was started by Matt Bebermeyer. They had eight dancers, four choreographers and performed in a gym. Now we have 80 different dancers performing this summer and 35 choreographers, Whiting Dobson said.

Featured dancer Nick Garreiss will bring his percussive dance with a backstory to this years event. Paying tribute to the 1935 Irish Public Dance Halls Act that banned dancing in Irelands homes for fear of inappropriate behavior, Garreiss will do an hourlong solo show. Hell perform Irish and other dances that are inspired from dance bans in Elmore City, Oklahoma, and Pound, Virginia.

Whiting Dobson said the Irish house dancing ban inspired the venue choice for Garreiss, That is why we are doing it in the Turner Dodge home now.

Happendances executive member Missy Lilje said, DANCE Lansing is a great model for enhancing the understanding and accessibility of modern and contemporary dance.

It encourages new choreographers to practice the creation of dance with mentorship from seasoned professionals.

Putting on this event is personal, Dobson said.

When I was a young person, I always thought would grow up to be a dancer. I danced at LCC in its heyday. For me, I want to create that same kind of community environment that I experienced for young dancers today. It is important to have those experiences for all of the arts.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called for boosting economic ties between India and Rwanda while describing the East African country as the gateway to the whole of Africa.

"We want to boost economic ties between India and Rwanda," Modi said while addressing the India-Rwanda Business Forum in Kigali.

"Our nations can do a lot together," he said. "There are several opportunities in rural development and small scale industries."

He said that though India is growing exponentially, "our mantra is 'sabka saath sabka vikas'".

"We will grow but we will also help those grow, who are with us," the Prime Minister said. "We will walk together."

He said that at a time when the world was not even looking at Africa, Indians went to the continent and became a part of its development.

"When you have come to Rwanda, don't think that you are confined within its boundaries," Modi said.

"You will find the gateway to the whole of Africa here."

Modi reached Rwanda on Monday on the first leg of his five-day, three-nation tour of Africa that will also take him to Uganda and South Africa.

Following delegation-level talks with Rwandan President Paul Kagame, India and Rwanda signed eight agreements, including in the areas of defence, agriculture and dairy production, trade and leather and allied sectors.

India extended two lines of credit (LoCs) worth $200 million to Rwanda.

Modi also announced that India will open a new High Commission in Rwanda in what can be seen as yet another manifestation of India's increasing engagements with Africa.

India's current High Commissioner to Rwanda has residence in Uganda.

Earlier on Tuesday, Modi visited a village in Rwanda and donated 200 cows for an economic development project of the East African nation.

He also visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial that honours the memory of over one million Tutsis killed by the then Hutu majority government in 1994.

Modi's visit is the first ever Prime Ministerial visit from India to Rwanda.

This is also his second visit to mainland Africa after he visited Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya in 2016.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his silence on Rafale deal, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday claimed that he had personally re-negotiated the deal with France and none of the four "revolving" Defence Ministers knew anything about it.

"Since 2014, India has had 4 revolving Raksha Mantris. Now we know why. It gave the PM space to personally re-negotiate RAFALE with the French.

"India has had 4 "RAFALE Mantris". But, none of them know what really transpired in France. Except the PM. But he won't speak!" he said in a series ot tweets.

Congress on Tuesday gave a notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to move a privilege motion against Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for allegedly misleading the House by not revealing the price of the Rafale fighter jets bought from France.

--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 has thanked the Ugandan people and government for providing home to the Indian-origin community after the troubles in the past in the East African country.

"There were troubled times in the past but the Ugandan government and people did not let you leave," Modi said while addressing an Indian community event here on Tuesday night.

He expressed his gratitude to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who was also present, in this context

In early August 1972, then President of Uganda Idi Amin ordered the expulsion of his country's Asian minority, giving them 90 days to leave the country.

At the time of the expulsion, there were approximately 80,000 individuals of South Asian descent, most of whom were Gujaratis.

Speaking at the event, Yoseveni addressed the Indian community as "my Indian tribe" and appreciated its contributions to Uganda's development.

"Many of my Indian tribe left Uganda in 1972," he said. "This time they would have been 200,000."

There are around 30,000 persons of Indian origin in Uganda today.

Yoseveni lauded the contributions of the Indian community in his country saying they have made their mark in its economic and business landscape.

"You have been able to create employment and expand the tax base of the government," he said.

Reminding the 10,000-strong gathering of their Indian roots, the Indian Prime Minister said: "You might not have remembered from where you must have come from India, but you have India in your hearts."

Modi arrived here earlier on Tuesday from Rwanda on the second leg of his five-day, three-nation tour of Africa that will also take him to South Africa.

This is the first Prime Ministerial visit from India to Uganda in over 20 years.

For Modi, this is his second visit to this East African nation after his visit in 2007 as Gujarat Chief Minister.

--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 on Tuesday visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Rwanda that is the final resting place of over 250,000 victims of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi people in the East African nation.

It honours the memory of over one million Tutsis killed by the then Hutu majority government in the course of 100 days.

"Beginning the day on a poignant note! PM @narendramodi visits the Genocide Memorial Centre in #Kigali," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted following Modi's visit.

"The Memorial honours the victims of the worst excesses of violence," Kumar said.

"It is also symbolic of the admirable and exemplary process of reconciliation Rwanda has embarked upon."

Modi reached Rwanda on Monday on the first leg of his five-day, three-nation tour of Africa that will also take him to Uganda and South Africa.

Following delegation-level talks with Rwandan President Paul Kagame, India and Rwanda signed eight agreements, including in the areas of defence, agriculture and dairy production, trade and leather and allied sectors.

Modi also announced that India will open a new High Commission in Rwanda in what can be seen as yet another manifestation of India's increasing engagements with Africa.

India's current High Commissioner to Rwanda has residence in Uganda.

Modi's visit is the first ever Prime Ministerial visit from India to Rwanda.

This is also his second visit to mainland Africa after he visited Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya in 2016.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Myanmar which will host the next Asean Education Ministers Meeting (ASED) in October seeks to boost its education sector by cooperating with India, China and the US among others.

Vice President U Myint Swe has said that the 10th meeting of ASED and Dialogue Partners would promote cooperation with Southeast Asian nations and partner countries, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) partner countries include India, China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Russia, the US and Australia.

The first ASED was held in Singapore in 2006, while the last in Malaysia.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Senior AIADMK minister and Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O. Pannerselvam was on Tuesday refused an appointment by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, a development that created flutters in political circles in the state.

Pannerselvam, who was appointed Coordinator in the AIADMK after the split in the party last year, wanted to meet the Defence Minister and thank her for her help in giving an air ambulance to rush his brother for treatment in Chennai.

After telling the media that it was a courtesy call, Panneerselvam left for Defence Ministry along with senior party MP V. Maitreyan. While he was made to wait, Maitreyan met the minister. Forty-five minutes later, Sitharaman's office tweeted: "Appointment was given to V. Maitreyan. Deputy Chief Minister of TN O. Panneerselvam has not met Nirmala Sitharaman."

A distraught Deputy Chief Minister left for the airport straight from the Defence Ministry to take a flight back to Chennai with his supporters.

In Chennai, Chief Minister K. Palaniswamy said his deputy had gone to Delhi to meet Sitharaman and thank her for her help in providing air lift facility for his ailing brother.

Speculation was rife that Panneerselvam sought an appointment with BJP President Amit Shah to prove to his detractors in the party that he had better equations with the BJP high command but failed to get an appointment with him.

Significantly, the AIADMK had supported the NDA government in the opposition no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha.

On reaching Chennai, Panneerselvam told the media: "One should have the heart to accept anything."

--IANS

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Amid growing demand for a CBI probe into the alleged rape of over 40 minor girls in a shelter home in Muzaffarpur of Bihar, state police chief K.S. Dwivedi on Tuesday said there is no need for a probe by the central agency as the on-going probe by the police is satisfactory.

"I don't think there is any need for a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) probe into the case. The state government has so far not taken any decision in this regard. The probe by state police is satisfactory," the Director General of Police (DGP) told the media here.

Dwivedi's statement assumes significance since after the opposition's demand for a CBI probe both in Lok Sabha as well as in Bihar Assembly, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said a CBI probe would be ordered once the Centre receives a request to this effect from the state.

Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) members raised the demand both inside and outside the state assembly here on Tuesday. Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav alleged that the state government was doing everything to save the accused.

Former state Chief Minister and RJD leader Rabri Devi has also reiterated the demand for a CBI investigation, alleging that the accused had links with the ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and government officials.

Meanwhile, Muzaffarpur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Harpreet Kaur said a special police team has been constituted to search half-a-dozen missing girls of the girls' home.

She said the police had been investigating the case ever since an inmate of the shelter home recorded her statement before a judicial magistrate recently, as required under the law.

The SSP said no buried body girl was found after police dug the ground at girls' home on Monday. Two girls, who had alleged that a girl was buried after she was raped and killed, were present during the digging of the said ground.

"It was they (the two girls) who had identified the site at 'Balika Grih' (girls' home), where a girl was allegedly buried," Kaur said.

She said the shelter home had been sealed after allegations of sexual abuse of the girls came to light during a social audit conducted by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

The report of the audit was submitted to the state Social Welfare Department, which directed local officials to lodge a complaint.

Last week, medical examination of 44 girls of the home had revealed that 21 of them were raped. The district police have arrested an official of the home but main accused are still out of the net.

--IANS

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The government on Tuesday rejected the opposition's demand to extend Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh even as former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that he had made this assurance on behalf of Parliament and had expected his successor to fulfil it.

Replying to over three-and-half-hours-long debate in Rajya Sabha over non-implementation of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, Union Home Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the BJP-led Central government has fulfilled "around 90 per cent" of the commitments under the Act and was committed to fulfil the rest "at any cost", including those made by Manmohan Singh.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a former NDA coalition partner, had asked for a discussion on the issue, alleging that "justice" was not being done with the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh.

Rajnath Singh said that he could not understand why some members were stuck with the word "Special Category Status" when the Centre was actually giving Andhra "even those incentives not mentioned in the Act".

Noting that due to "some conflict" between the commitments made by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the 14th Finance Commission's recommendations, "it was decided in consultation with Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu that instead of granting Special Category Status, Andhra Pradesh should be given special assistance".

"The Chief Minister had in September 2016 agreed to this arrangement and said in the state aassembly in a statement that special assistance was more useful than the Special Category status," he said.

The Home Minister underlined that Andhra was being given Rs 22,123 crore as revenue deficit spread over five years, out of the 11 higher education institutions promised, 10 have already been approved and many are functional, while the promised railway zone "will be established".

For the "lifeline" Pollavaram Irrigation Project, the Centre has already released over Rs 6,764 crore, he said.

Intervening during the Short Duration Discussion, Manmohan Singh said that Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh was an assurance made by him on behalf of the Parliament and had been discussed with then Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley and other senior BJP leaders.

"Government is a continuing entity. Commitments made on the floor of the house have to be honoured and fulfilled. They are in nature of assurance on behalf of the Parliament. I had expected that my distinguished successor to fulfil the commitments I had made after consultations with his own colleagues," he said.

Earlier, initiating the debate, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader and former Union Minister Y.S. Chowdary accused former ally BJP of "violating the principles of friendship and political morality".

"The BJP took a U-turn and violated the principles of friendship and political morality. Their sole aim is to destroy the TDP for their own expansion. That is why we parted ways with a heavy heart," he said.

Chowdary said there was a "disconnect" between the words and deeds of Modi who had "not once, but thrice during his election campaign in 2014 promised special status for 10 years for the residual state of Andhra Pradesh.

Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said the demand of a separate Telanagana was just and so was the demand of Andhra Pradesh for Special Category Status, while though the Centre, in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, claimed that all the commitments had been addressed, he said that nothing has been done.

"There will be a privilege against you. I don't know why a privilege has not been raised so far," he said, accusing the government of "deceiving the nation, the parliament and the people of Andhra Pradesh".

BJP's G.V.L Narsimha Rao claimed that the centre was allocating more funds to state while the state government was not performing its duties and only blaming the centre.

Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav supported the TDP's demand but opposed the idea of creating small states.

"We should learn lessons from history. We have seen the adverse results of the Partition of the country. We did not learn lessons from division of states..... Its not that after creation of states, small states get developed. We have seen there was no Maoism in undivided Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. Today Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand are facing this menace."

Trinamool Congress' Derek O'Brien said: "This issue is beyond Andhra Pradesh. Making promises the BJP is too good. In marketing, they are super good but implementation is the problem with them. They give only speeches but no action on ground."

BJD's Prasanna Acharya said that Odisha, which is "suffering", also meets the requirement for Special Category Status.

Janata Dal-United's R.C.P. Singh said the day any state is provided Special Category Status, Bihar should also get it.

--IANS

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North Korea has begun to dismantle a missile engine testing site in line with a promise made by its leader Kim Jong-un at his historic summit with US President Donald Trump, according to a US-based monitoring group.

According to 38 North, the images taken from July 20-22 and published by the North Korea-focused website, showed key facilities being dismantled at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station, located in the north Pyongan province, near the country's northwestern border with China.

The facilities included a rail-mounted processing building, used to assemble space launch vehicles before they are moved to the launch pad. Completed around 2011, Sohae is considered the main base for North Korea's space programme and has been used for three important launches.

Also being dismantled was a rocket engine test stand that had been used to build liquid-fuel engines for ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles, Yonhap news agency reported.

"Since these facilities are believed to have played an important role in the development of technologies for the North's intercontinental ballistic missile programme, these efforts represent a significant confidence building measure on the part of North Korea," 38 North said, adding that the work probably began sometime within the past two weeks.

The dismantling of Sohae could help in expediting US-North Korea dialogue after the two sides agreed to improve ties and work for the denuclearization of the peninsula in exchange for Washington guaranteeing the North Korean regime's survival during the June 12 summit in Singapore between the leaders of the two countries.

During his summit with Trump, Kim agreed to dismantle the rocket engine testing facility. The declaration signed by the two sides, however, was criticized for not laying down protocols or concrete steps.

A recent visit by the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had also highlighted the different priorities of the two governments and the complexities of a process which could stretch over a long time.

Pyongyang had also urged Seoul and Washington to sign a treaty formally ending the Korean War. The US Department of State responded on Monday by saying that the agreement would be signed after North Korea's denuclearization.

Meanwhile, South Korea reacted positively to reports of the dismantling of the missile site.

--IANS

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The Odisha government on Tuesday approved four investment proposals worth Rs 348.5 crore which will help create employment opportunities for close to 6,000 people.

The proposals approved belong to a variety of industries including pharmaceuticals, textiles, downstream industries in metals and minerals, said a statement.

The government's nod to the projects came during the 79th meeting of the State Level Single Window Clearance Authority (SLSWCA) held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi.

The SLSWCA accorded approval to a Kolkata-based pharmaceutical company to set up a unit for production of intravenous fluids at Ramdaspur in Cuttack at an investment of Rs 64.95 crore.

The plant's production capacity will be 6.36 crore bottles per annum and the project will create direct and indirect employment for 365 people, the statement said.

This will be the first such manufacturing unit in the pharmaceutical industry of Odisha.

The Angul Aluminium Park being developed as an exclusive state-of-the-art industrial park for ancillary and downstream industries for alumina and aluminium received a big boost with two investment proposals being approved by the SLSWCA.

The first one was from a leading Mumbai-based manufacturer of aluminium conductors to set up a greenfield manufacturing unit at the Angul Aluminium Park with a capacity of 40,000 metric tonnes per annum (MTPA).

The investment outlay was Rs 56.3 crore with employment potential for 200 persons.

The second proposal for the Angul Aluminium Park was from a Rajasthan-based cables company which proposed to establish a 30,000 metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) manufacturing plant to produce aluminium conductors at an investment outlay of Rs 50.30 crore with employment potential for 130 people.

The Angul Aluminium Park is the first-of-its-kind in the Indian subcontinent with facility for directly obtaining molten aluminium from the smelter.

The 300th proposal received by GO-SWIFT from a leading Kerala-based apparel manufacturer a few days ago was also approved by the SLSWCA. The leading exporter has committed to invest Rs 177 crore to set up a unit for knitting, fabric processing and garment manufacturing at Tata Steel's SEZ at Gopalpur in Ganjam district.

The project will create employment opportunities for over 5,000 people, with a majority of them being women.

--IANS

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Tuesday, July 24, 2018

July 22, 2018 (New York Times): Anti-Abortion Protesters at Queens Clinic Did Not Harass Patients, Judge Rules, by Jeffery C. Mays:

On Saturdays since 2012, protesters gather outside the Choices Womens Medical Center in Jamaica, Queens, starting at 7 a.m. to urge women arriving at the clinic not to have an abortion.

According to a lawsuit filed in June 2017 by former New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman, protesters "violated federal, state and city laws guaranteeing access to reproductive health care by crowding women as they entered the clinic and ignoring their requests to be left alone." Protesters routinely attempted to block the clinic entrance with large signs "with what they said were pictures of aborted fetuses," and made alleged death threats to people trying to escort women into the clinic.

The lawsuit against thirteen of the regular protesters asked a federal judge to issue a preliminary injunction against the protests and create a 16-foot buffer zone around the clinic.

In a ruling issued late this past Friday denying the request for the injunction, Judge Carol Bagley Amon of the Federal District Court for the Eastern District "said the attorney generals office 'failed to show' that any of the 13 defendants 'had the intent to harass, annoy, or alarm' patients, their companions or the people escorting women into the clinic."

Wrote Judge Amon: The interactions on the sidewalk outside Choices were generally quite short, and there is no credible evidence that any protester disregarded repeated requests to be left alone over an extended period or changed his or her tone or message in response to requests to be left alone in a way that suggested an intent to harass, annoy, or alarm.

The ruling has abortion rights advocates, already alarmed about the fate of Roe v. Wade following Anthony Kennedy's retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court, on high alert.

Whats happening now is crossing a line, said Jean Bucaria, deputy director of the National Organization for Women, New York City. You shouldnt have to be screamed at, yelled at or harassed to get to a doctor.

In NIFLA v. Becerra, issued this past June, the Supreme Court ruled that California crisis pregnancy centers do not have to provide women with information about how to terminate their pregnancies.

Amy Spitalnick, a spokeswoman for New York attorney general Barbara D. Underwood, said the office was considering an appeal. Under Mr. Schneiderman, the attorney general's office "set up a hidden camera, used female patient decoys who wore cameras to see what happened when they tried to enter the clinic, and put hidden microphones on people escorting women." After considering the evidence, which included testimony and written logs from clinic escorts, as well as questionnaires from patients, Judge Amon "relied mostly on video from the clinics security cameras, which she weighted heavily." Judge Amon said witness testimony exaggerated the impropriety of the defendants conduct and omitted mitigating circumstances. She called the patient questionnaires hearsay. Judge Amon was nominated by President George H.W. Bush and confirmed in 1990. Merle Hoffman, president and owner of the Choices Womens Medical Center, founded the health care facility in 1971. She said the judge dismissed the lived experiences of the patients, the staff and the escorts in her decision. Patients who make it through the gauntlet of protesters on Saturdays are often shaken once they get inside, Hoffman said. On Saturday, the clinic had about 100 gynecological patients and twenty-six who came in regarding an abortion. They dont make a distinction, Ms. Hoffman said of the protesters. Judge Amon affirmed that the attorney generals office has the purview to protect reproductive rights and did not rule that New York Citys clinic access law was too vague, as the defendants lawyers had argued. The judge also cautioned protesters against continuing to speak to patients who affirmatively ask to be left alone. In a warning about her ruling, Judge Amon wrote: "A word of caution  this decision should not embolden the defendants to engage in more aggressive conduct...in a few instances noted, several of the defendants actions came close to crossing the line from activity protected by the First Amendment to conduct prohibited by state law.

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/reproductive_rights/2018/07/anti-abortion-protesters-at-queens-clinic-did-not-harass-patients-judge-rules.html
Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to "take additional security measures and to closely coordinate their military ground operations in the border region to more effectively fight terrorist groups that pose security threats to the two countries", officials said.

A Pakistani official, who was part of high level talks in the Afghan capital Kabul on July 22, told Xinhua news agency on Monday that both sides while reviewing the existing security situation, reached an understanding that terrorism is the common enemy that has to be defeated through better coordination of ground operations and joint efforts.

Pakistani military, intelligence officials, diplomats and representatives of key ministries joined hands with their Afghan counterparts to formally inaugurate the Afghanistan and Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) that provided the needed thrust to meaningfully address all issues of mutual concern by enhancing regular institutional cooperation.

The Pakistani delegation, led by Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua, was comprised of representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of States and Frontier Regions, Commerce, Railways, Communications, interior and military and intelligence officials.

The two sides reiterated their commitment to work through mechanisms of APAPPS and to jointly explore possibilities to undertake connectivity and energy projects tough initiatives like China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, energy import project CASA-1000, a motorway between Kabul and the Pakistani city of Peshawar and railway lines connecting the Pakistani city of Chaman with Kandahar and Herat in Afghanistan.

The APAPPS was conceived during Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's meeting with Pakistan's Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on October 1, 2017. After several rounds of negotiations, both sides finalised the APAPPS in Islamabad on May 14, 2018.

--IANS

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Last week, after more than a year of intense negotiations, United Nation member states, except US and Hungary, agreed on the first-ever Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. The pact aims to address the challenges of international migration, strengthen migrant rights and provide a platform for cooperation.

In the current scenario, it is a significant achievement as the pact has the potential to change how the world approaches migration - one of the most politically debatable issues today. There is stark contrast between the academicians view on migration which is backed by economic evidence and the public discourse on migration that in most cases shapes the political agenda.

On one hand, migration is considered to pave way for growth and prosperity for both immigrants and the host country. For migrating individuals, it is the most effective way to reduce poverty. A World Bank study mentions that migrants' incomes increase three to six times when they move from lower- to higher-income countries. The average income gain for a young unskilled worker moving to the United States is estimated to be about $14,000 per year. Similarly, research suggests that if 100 million young people migrate from developing to developed countries, it will increase the host country's GDP by $1.4 trillion, thus bringing prosperity to the nations.

On the other hand, despite compelling economic evidence, there is strong political opposition to immigrants in many countries. This opposition comes from the view that immigrants scale down jobs for the citizens, drive down the wages by creating competition in the market. The labour market concentration of immigrants creates anxiety and insecurity in the mind of native born workers as immigrants are ready to accept low wages and can work in more demanding work conditions. Destination countries often blame immigrants for their economic woes and accuse them of the displacement of native-born citizens from their jobs. This is the reason that immigration was one of the top three concerns during the last round of elections in the United States and every Western European country.

It is important to acknowledge that studies do show a displacement effect among the citizens. The concentration of immigrants in certain destination countries, occupations, and regions driven by market forces i.e. to fulfil unmet demand is the main cause of the economic problems and cultural anxieties of local populations. However, this impact is limited to low skilled and less educated workers where substitution is easy. In fact, the group of native born citizens that do not compete directly with immigrants experience significant economic gains. Also, the displacement costs are outweighed by the economic benefits generated for the destination country by labour mobility.

The evidence sheds light on the fact that immigration has unequal effects. It benefits workers in high-skilled jobs that are characterised by knowledge spillover and skill complementarities and creates huge costs for low skilled workers who mainly belong to the low and lower middle-income groups. This section of the society is already vulnerable, and any economic shocks can drive them below poverty line. This is the reason for strong political opposition to immigration.

However, changemakers should realise that ceasing the incoming immigrants in the destination country won't serve as a justification to the economic growth. For instance, The Penn Wharton Budget Model, capturing the economic impact of RAISE (a policy aimed towards reducing immigration levels by half) on US GDP, projected that a 50 per cent reduction of legal migration will reduce the US economy by two per cent and 4.6 million jobs by 2040. Similarly, countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia that were predominantly labour scarce, have brought drastic transitions in the structure of their economies from primary to secondary and tertiary sector, through the adoption of friendly immigration policies.

It is critical to adhere to correct policies that are designed after addressing the legitimate economic concerns. The policymakers should work towards the twin goals of accruing maximum benefits from labour mobility and addressing the concerns of the displaced workers. Programs can be designed to aid the low skilled native-born workers to adjust with the changing scenario. Assistance mechanisms for displaced workers can involve skill development and training, transitory welfare benefits and unemployment insurance payments. The financing of such assistance programmes can be partially done by taxing the beneficiaries.

Policymakers should keep in mind that though rising immigration raises questions concerning displacement of native-born workers and economic constraints, the path to liberal migration with clearly designed immigration policies can facilitate economic integration and economic growth in the long run.

(Amit Kapoor is chair, Institue for Competitiveness, India. The views expresed are personal. He can be contacted at amit.kapoor@competitiveness and tweets @kautiliya. Manisha Kapoor, senior researcher, Institue for Competitiveness has contributed to the article)

--IANS

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Improving living condition of sex workers in red light areas like GB Road, providing them better rehabilitation facilities and putting an end to the sex racket and human trafficking in the area will be the prime focus of DCW for next three years, said re-appointed panel chief Swati Maliwal.

"DCW had started a major movement in abolishing the flesh trade in GB Road three years ago and this will continue to remain our focus. The circumstances under which the women are living in the brothels is extremely bad," she told media here on Tuesday.

Maliwal's role as the DCW chairperson was extended for another three years by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday. Maliwal, 33, whose tenure was to end on July 27, became the DCW chief in July 2015 and will now head the commission till 2021.

The DCW chief also said that there has been a sudden rampant rise in prostitution in the city beyond the red light area and they are talking with police to put a check on it.

About the Commission's other initiatives, Maliwal stated that putting an end on the easy access of acids, stopping child rapes and effective implementation of death penalty ordinance, and shutting the centres run by self-styled godmen will also be priority.

--IANS

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The Rajya Sabha was on Tuesday adjourned till 2 p.m. halfway through the Question Hour amid ruckus.

The adjournment came as opposition MPs objected to Finance Minister Piyush Goyal allegedly "casting aspersion" on them while replying to a question related to black money of Indians deposited in Swiss bank accounts.

Trinamool member Sukhendu Shekhar Roy demanded to know as to how much black money had been recovered under various agreements with Switzerland, and when would every Indian get Rs 15 lakh each in their bank accounts.

To this, Goyal said that the MP seemed to have information that even the government did not.

The opposition members loudly objected to Goyal's remarks. Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu then adjourned the House till 2 p.m. amid ruckus.

--IANS

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Radesh Singh Tony has claimed that he will become the first candidate from Pakistan's Sikh community to contest an election for a general seat on Wednesday.

"I am probably the first minority member in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa who is contesting the elections as an independent candidate," Dawn reported him as saying.

"Normally, members of our community are assigned tickets by political parties for reserved seats and not the general ones. Hence, I have decided to contest the elections as an independent candidate and try my luck," Radesh Singh Tony said.

The PK-75 candidate is a prominent member of the local Sikh community and the president of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's Pakistan Minorities Alliance.

--IANS

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Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday demanded a probe into the alleged massive breach of personal data of candidates who had appeared for NEET 2018 exams.

In a letter to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Chairperson Anita Karwal, Gandhi highlighted media reports about the breach of over 2,00,000 students' data who appeared for the National Eligibility and Entrance Test.

"It is alleged that this data is available on certain websites for a price," he said.

The media reports have claimed that details of the candidates, including their phone numbers, e-mail IDs and addresses, were put up online for a price of Rs two lakh.

The Congress leader said that he was shocked by this wide-scale theft of personal data that could compromise the privacy of candidates across the country.

"This highlights the serious lack of safeguards to prevent data breach, and calls into question the ability of the CBSE to ensure the sanctity of the examination process," he said.

Gandhi said: "I strongly urge you to order an inquiry against this shocking lapse and take action against the officials responsible for the same."

He also asked the CBSE to put in "additional safeguards" to prevent the recurrence of such data lapse in future.

--IANS

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RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Tuesday said that Congress President Rahul Gandhi is not the only leader from the opposition in the race for the Prime Minister's post.

"All the opposition parties will sit together to decide the name of the Prime Ministerial candidate. Rahul Gandhi is not the only leader in the race for it," the former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister said here.

"There are other opposition leaders like (West Bengal Chief Minister) Mamata Banerjee, (Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister) Chandrababu Naidu, (NCP chief) Sharad Pawar and (BSP leader) Mayawati," he said.

Tejashwi Yadav made it clear that he and his Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) would support anyone who is named the Prime Ministerial candidate by a united opposition.

"Our main concern is that opposition parties will name a leader who will save the Constitution. Rahul Gandhi may be that leader."

"Rahul Gandhi has to unite all non-BJP parties for a strong grand alliance," he added, adding that the Congress had a pan-India presence.

The RJD leader, who heads the opposition in the Bihar Assembly, said the Prime Ministerial post was not an issue and there were "several real issues that matter for the country".

The RJD is a major ally of the Congress and Lalu Prasad and Tejashwi Yadav have always strongly backed Rahul Gandhi.

--IANS

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Rapper G-Eazy has moved here specifically for the purpose of breaking into acting.

The rapper has signed with talent agency UTA and has been auditioning for roles, primarily in movies, reports TMZ.com.

The 29-year-old rapper said that he is supremely confident, saying "Will Smith, watch out!"

G-Eazy is also producing a few projects and using his connections.

He says he's been in touch with rappers Ludacris, Master P and others who know their way around Hollywood.

--IANS

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that Rwanda is the key to Africa.

Prime Minister Modi was addressing the India-Rwanda Business Forum jointly organised by Ficci and the Rwanda Development Board in Kigali.

Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda, in his address at the forum said that his administration is willing to address any bottleneck such as visa issues to further strengthen trade relations between the two countries.

At present, India is amongst the top trade, investment and development partner of Rwanda.

"Over the past decade, Rwanda has been hailed as a rising star of Africa and is one of the fastest growing economies," a Ficci statement said.

Rwanda ranks second in Africa in terms of competitiveness as per the Global competitiveness report of World Economic Forum 2017-18.

Ficci President Rashesh Shah said that India considers Rwanda a serious strategic partner in Africa.

"Rwanda is a rising star in the Africa growth story which resonates well with India. Trade between India and Rwanda has crossed $100 million. We expect that to cross $1 billion in the next few years," Shah was quoted as saying in the statement.

He added: "There are plenty of opportunities in both the countries. Ficci as the apex chamber and the Indian industry would support wholeheartedly in harnessing the potential."

Shah who is also Chairman and CEO, Edelweiss Group, led an over 100-member strong Indian business delegation to Rwanda.

Apart from the business forum and B2B meetings, several MoUs were signed on this occasion between RDB and Ficci, RDB and Avaada Power and others.

--IANS

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After losing grounds to Xiaomi for the last two consecutive quarters in India, South Korean giant Samsung bounced back in the second quarter of 2018 with 29 per cent market share, toppling its Chinese rival which garnered a close 28 per cent, Counterpoint Research said on Tuesday.

Significanly, Apple had a mere 1 per cent market share during the quarter -- its lowest in recent history -- owing to changes in its distribution strategy and domestic assembling not picking up pace.

Top five brands captured 82 per cent of the total smartphone market in India that returned to double digit growth (18 percent) year-on-year after a flat first quarter growth.

Vivo with 12 per cent, OPPO with 10 per cent and Honor (a Huawei sub-brand) with 3 per cent followed Samsung and Xiaomi.

"Samsung has regained the leading position back after receding it to Xiaomi two quarters ago. The success of Samsung can be attributed to its refreshed 'J' series as it launched the most number of models as compared to any brand across multiple price points during the quarter," said Karn Chauhan, Research Analyst.

"Additionally, the strong offline distribution and aggressive marketing campaign around its 'J' series helped the brand to gain not only market but also mind share during the quarter," he added.

Samsung regained its lead with strong performance of models such as Galaxy J6, Galaxy J2 2018 and Galaxy J4 focusing on the budget segment.

Xiaomi recorded its highest ever shipments in India during Q2 2018.

"The growth can be attributed to its strong product and supply chain strategy which has allowed it to launch products with a longer shelf life than its competitors, that too in the important sub-Rs 10,000," said Counterpoint's Market Monitor service.

India smartphone market returned to double-digit growth during the quarter and is likely to grow in double digits for the entire year.

"Growth during the quarter was driven by new launches and strong promotions across both online and offline channels during the quarter," said Anshika Jain, Research Analyst.

The feature phone market continues to outpace the smartphone market with a growth of 21 per cent (year-on-year).

Reliance Jio captured almost half of the total feature phone market driven by the success of its Jiophone.

"Reliance Jio is likely to maintain the growth momentum as it refreshed its Jiophone coupled with aggressive upgrade offer of Rs 501 and bringing popular apps including WhatsApp to Jiophone 2," said the report.

OnePlus (284 per cent), Honor (188 per cent) and Xiaomi (112 per cent) were the fastest growing smartphone brands during the quarter.

Honor continues to retain its share among top five brands while OnePlus lead the premium (above Rs 30,000) segment for the first time ever.

Lava is the only local brand which registered positive annual growth during the quarter driven by entry level models including its first Android Go device "Z50".

--IANS

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A septuagenarian and her grandson were killed on Tuesday when their car was crushed between two buses in north Delhi, police said.

Deceased Leelawati, 78, and her grandson Amit Garg were returning home after getting registry documents from a District Magistrate's office in Nand Nagri around 11.30 a.m. when their Hyundai i10 car was rammed from behind by a speeding cluster bus at the Nand Nagri roundabout. The car was crushed between the cluster bus and a Delhi Transport Corporation bus moving ahead.

"Some passersby tried to extricate both but the car doors got jammed. Police later used a gas cutter to pull them out. They were declared brought dead at a hospital," a senior police officer said. The accused bus driver fled the spot after the accident.

Leelawati stayed with her husband Basant Lal, 84, and other family members in Nand Nagri. The family was into the garments business and owns shops in Gandhi Nagar in east Delhi, he said.

--IANS

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Several people have been killed, hundreds remain missing and around 6,600 are homeless after a hydroelectric dam under construction collapsed in Laos, authorities said on Tuesday.

Officials did not specify the exact number of fatalities. The Xepian-Xe Namnoy dam, situated around 550 km southeast of the capital, collapsed on Monday, unleashing flash floods in six villages, Lao News Agency reported.

The administration of the province of Attapeu, where the dam was built, requested basic humanitarian assistance for the affected. Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith postponed government meetings and went to the affected area in Sanamxay district with senior officials to monitor relief efforts, the state media said.

Pictures showed villagers stranded on the roofs of submerged houses and boats carrying people to safety. "The disaster claimed several human lives (and) left hundreds of people missing," according to the agency.

The Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy Power Company (PNPC) began building the dam in 2013 and it was due to begin generating power this year.

Thai company Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding, a partner in the PNPC project, said that the collapse occurred due to continuous rain, which caused a high volume of water to flow into the project's reservoir.

"Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy Power Company Limited and related agencies had evacuated the people who reside around the area to temporary shelters (...). In addition, urgent assessment of the situation is being made in order to be able to immediately resolve the situation once the water level of the dam has decreased," the company said in a statement.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A "window of opportunity" to resolve complex issues in renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) has shown up, Mexican Minister of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo has said.

"Clearly there is a window of opportunity to be able to bed down a series of open issues," Guajardo said on Monday at Puerto Vallarta.

The minister is scheduled to meet with Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington on July 26.

Nafta renegotiations began in August 2017 after demands made by the Donald Trump administration, which denounced the deal and threatened to abandon it.

The negotiating teams hoped to reach an "agreement in principle" at the beginning of May, but talks were suspended after Mexico and Canada disputed over the demands made by the US.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Janata Dal-Secular MLA C.K. Nanu on Tuesday said that the LDF government in Kerala had cracked down on the misuse of formalin to preserve fish meant for human consumption, adding that the initiative was yielding results.

"A special team has been formed in Kerala and officers are cracking down on misuse of formalin for fish preservation. Trucks are being checked with the help of police and other officials. If it (formalin-laced fish) is found, the driver and owner are arrested," said Nanu, whose JD-S is an alliance partner in the ruling Left Democratic Front in the southern state.

Nanu, who is part of the five-member delegation from Kerala Assembly presently visiting Goa, also underlined the need to act against traders who used formalin, which is carcinogenic.

"It affects the people's health. Formalin affects our health. We must be very cautious as we have found out how these people (traders) are making more money. We have to safeguard public interest," the MLA from Payyannur told reporters at the Goa Assembly complex here.

The delegation of Kerala Assembly's Committee on the Welfare of Fishermen and Allied Workers is travelling across the country to study schemes related to fisherfolk along the Indian coastline.

The committee is led by C. Krishnan, a Communist Party of India-Marxist MLA from Payyannur.

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday tried to quell criticism of his government and Ministers' attempts to shield fish traders using formalin, claiming that fish inherently contained formalin, adding that tests had revealed that no additional formalin was used in fish consignments in question.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Taiwanese industrial major Wistron Technologies would invest Rs 3,000 crore in the Narasupra industrial sector in Karnataka's Kolar, an official statement said on Tuesday.

"Welcoming the huge investment, Chief Minister H.D.Kumarasway told an expert team from Wistron to submit its proposal for granting land for the company," said the statement from the Chief Minister's Office.

He advised the company to set up a mobile repair and technology facility in the Narsapura industrial sector, about 100 km from Bengaluru, it said.

"Wistron India head Gururaj said the company said would set up a i-phone making unit in the 43 acres of land allotted to it, with employment potential to 10,500 people," said the statement.

State Revenue Minister R. V Deshpande said an agreement would be signed in a week with the company to provide employment to locals.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Uttar Pradesh government, in its first draft report of its 'Vision Document' on protection and preservation of the Taj Mahal submitted on Tuesday before the Supreme Court, suggested that the entire Taj Mahal precinct should be declared a no-plastic zone and all polluting industries in the region closed.

The draft report was submitted before a bench of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta, which had earlier slammed the Uttar Pradesh government for not be able to come up with report to protect Taj Mahal that was built by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal.

For not being able to protect the iconic Taj Mahal, which is turning yellow, the bench has even asked the Centre and Uttar Pradesh governments to "shut it down" or "demolish or restore" the Mughal structure.

The entire Taj Mahal precinct should be declared a no-plastic zone, use of bottled water inside should be prohibited, all polluting industries in region should be closed, and more tourism hubs should be created, suggested the Uttar Pradesh government in its draft vision document.

The report further suggested that a comprehensive traffic management plan was needed to promote pedestrian movement in the Taj heritage precinct and roads along the Yamuna riverfront should be planned so traffic is limited and pedestrian movement encouraged.

There should be no construction on the Yamuna floodplain and the riverbank should only have natural plantations, it further stated.

The draft report was filed in a case filed by environmentalist M.C. Mehta seeking protection of the Taj from the ill-effects of polluting gases and deforestation in and around the area.

The Central government had earlier submitted that the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur was conducting an assessment of air pollution level in and around the Taj Mahal and Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) and the report would be given within four months.

TTZ is an area of about 10,400 sq km spread over the districts of Agra, Firozabad, Mathura, Hathras and Etah in Uttar Pradesh and Bharatpur district of Rajasthan.

The Uttar Pradesh government had also told the bench that it was also trying to take care of the around the structure so that the historic monument could be there for another 400 years and not just for a generation.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
It's an alcoholic drink made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila in wesern Mexico. Sugars found in the plant makes tequila could lower blood glucose levels for people with type 2 diabetes, and help obese people lose weight, researchers say.

On World Tequila Day on Tuesday, bartenders and mixolgists rustle up some exotic cocktails for you

Noting that there are four types of tequila:

* Silver/Blanco/Plata that is unaged or aged for less than two months

* Gold/Oro/Joven is blend of silver and aged tequila sometimes with a touch of caramel added for colouring

* Reposado is aged in oak containers for two months and eleven months and 30 days

* Extra aged or anejo in oak barrels for at least a year.

Shobhit Shetty, head bartender at Mumbai's Xico offers a Xico Paloma

Bacardi 30ml

Tequila 30ml

Lime juice 15ml

Grape fruit rosemary syrup 15ml

Top up with soda.

Shake well and serve

"Tequila is one drink you can't say no to, says bartender Romeo from Mumbai's The Bar Stock Exchange, as he serves up a Tequila Sunset:

1 1/2 ounce tequila

4 ounce orange or grapefruit juice

1/2 ounce grenadine

2 cube ice

For garnish use slices of orange

Directions

Fill serving glass with ice, tequila and juice.

Add grenadine, garnish with slices of orange and serve.

"Drinking tequila is more about the journey than the destination," says Binny Dhadwal, menu creator for Mumbai's Pranzi, adding: "I have been drinking tequila for a long time and it's not about getting drunk on it but about nourishing the moment after it."

His cocktail is inspired by the school life of the 1990s where in one rupee one could buy happiness of eating outside food and sour jambul with salt. Holding that tequila is best enjoyed with sourness and salt, he has created this recipe:

School Days

45 ml tequila

15 ml jambul syrup

10ml tamarind water

1 egg white

A pinch of salt

Shake all the ingredients with ice strain and serve ganrish with edible flowers.

"World Tequila Day celebrates one of the most exquisite drink in the world gifted by Mexico," said Sanjeev Ranjan, Executive Chef, Courtyard by Marriott, Chennai. "It is the inspiration for few chefs in food pairing it with Mexican delights".

Bartender Akash Aaku has two recepies to offer:

Tequila Surprise

Tequila - 45ml

Orange juice - 90ml

Grenadine -15ml

Orange slice (garnish)

Maraschino cherry (garnish)

Shake well and serve

Signature Rhapsody 5/5

Infused mango tequila: 60ml

Lime juice :90 ml

Angostura bitter : 10 drops

Green chilli : a pinch

Garnish: chilli, raw mango, salt rim

Gently stir and serve

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dehradun, July 24 (IANS/Mongabay) Once a haven for pilgrims, the quiet town of Kedarnath in the northern state of Uttarakhand is now abuzz with the sound of helicopters. Hundreds of tourists are ferried on these helicopters all through the day. On some occasions, as many as 300 sorties are made in one single day.

Uttarakhand, popular for its Hindu pilgrimage sites, attracts spiritual seekers from around the world. Known as Devbhoomi (land of Gods), the state, while recovering from the 2013 floods, is now also reeling under the pressure from unregulated tourism and the infrastructure to support it.

The hill state, specifically the Kedarnath Valley, witnessed horrifying destruction in the June 2013 floods. However, that hasn't kept tourists at bay. While there was a slight dip following the tragedy which killed nearly 6,000 people (as per official sources), the number of tourists have picked up again.

In 2018, an unprecedented 30 million tourist arrivals are expected in the state, many of them domestic tourists to the important Hindu pilgrimage circuit of Char Dham in Uttarakhand.

The largely unregulated influx of tourists into the highly disaster-prone state seems to be taking a toll on the fragile ecosystem.

Several reports on the the June 2013 floods stressed the need for regulating tourists coming to Uttarakhand to avoid repeated disasters. But the idea to regulate the high number of tourists and adopt sustainable tourism practices still remains on paper.

Huge tourist influx from India and around the world

According to the draft tourism policy 2017 of the Uttarakhand government, the number of tourists visiting Uttarakhand has consistently increased from around 11 million in 2000 to 28 million in 2012.

Following the 2013 disaster it saw a dip but by 2015 the number was near 25 million. In 2018, it is expected to break all previous records and cross 30 million tourist arrivals - almost three times the population of Uttarakhand itself. By 2026 the number of tourists is expected to touch a whopping figure of 67 million.

The analysis of tourists coming to the hill state also reveals that among the foreign tourists, nearly 58 percent of the visits were for holiday/sightseeing, 21.9 percent for health/yoga and about 19.4 percent for pilgrimage/religious functions.

But among domestic tourists, the main purpose remains pilgrimage as Uttarakhand is home to several pilgrimage sites like Char Dham - Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath - and Hemkund Sahib. The report noted that about 44 percent of the domestic tourist visits were for pilgrimage. Uttarakhand's Char Dham yatra starts in April of each year and ends in November when the temples close for the winter.

The Uttarakhand government also attaches huge importance to the tourism sector as it considers it to be one of the major drivers of economic growth and livelihood for its people. Earlier this year, the government had even given 'industry' status to the tourism sector, enabling the sector to avail concessions and benefits usually extended to micro, small and medium enterprises.

But environmentalists argue that "greed" has suppressed the "common sense" of the authorities in case of the tourism sector in Uttarakhand.

"Char Dham was considered to be a quiet place where pilgrims used to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere, respect sanctity of environment, maintain silence to meditate but that is no more the case. The government has turned into a highly commercial tourist spot which is unsustainable, loud and has no regard to environment whatsoever. This is no more a pilgrimage and the only focus is on increasing tourists and thus revenue. It is a ruthless exploitation of this area," said Hemant Dhyani, an Uttarakhand based environmentalist.

"The Badrinath temple is of Lord Vishnu and his prayers are considered incomplete until the conch is blown. But our ancestors understood the sanctity of the place and usage of conch was prohibited to maintain the quiet ambience of the area. However, today at Char Dham we see an indiscriminate use of loudspeakers, light and sound shows are being organised and even political programmes are being held. Even if you forget these cultural and traditional sensibilities, how can we forget that there are protected areas adjacent to the Char Dham," he questioned.

"Demonic development of Devbhoomi"

Last year, a "Strategy Paper on Science & Technology intervention for post-disaster reconstruction efforts in Uttarakhand" by the Planning Commission noted that the June 2013 disaster was aggravated due to the unplanned development in the region.

"Various developmental activities pursued over the years could not meet the requirements of the ecology and topology of the region. The huge deforestation, high intensity blasting across the hills, unregulated haphazard construction of houses even in the river terrace region, have led to the destruction of the natural ecosystem and distressed the ecosystem, endangering the local ecology and human life," it noted.

It also calls for a series of regulations on the construction activities and tourism.

The issue of carrying capacity of the hill state has been gaining momentum and also found a mention in the state's draft tourism policy last year. But concrete action is yet awaited. The draft tourism policy advocates for sustainable tourism development principles and adhering to carrying capacity of destinations. This is significant as prominent tourist attractions of Uttarakhand like Nainital and Mussoorie already see more tourists than their carrying capacity every year.

"After the 2013 disaster, the government decided to maintain a biometric database of pilgrims coming to Char Dham. At Kedarnath, they have established local internet facilities and have set up sector magistrate after every few kilometres of the trek. A live camera feed even goes till the Prime Minister's Office in Delhi," said Khushal Singh Rawat, who is with the Uttarakhand administration and currently manages pilgrim records at Sonprayag, the starting point of the Kedarnath trek.

Helicopters fly high in holy Kedarnath

"Before the 2013 tragedy, the average number of pilgrims using helicopter services everyday was around 200-250. But since 2015, the number of people using helicopter services has increased and on average 1,000 people are using helicopters everyday," said Devendra Semwal, who has been working with Heritage Aviation at Kedarnath for the past nine years.

A Wildlife Institute of India (WII) analysis found that helicopter sorties ranged from two to more than 300 per day in the Mandakini Valley and said the upper number should not be exceeded..

As tourists continue to throng Uttarakhand and the infrastructure development continues at a rapid rate, the toll on the natural landscape goes unchecked. Apart from causing environmental issues, this eventually could affect the overall experience of a pilgrim

or a tourist. Under human pressure, the land of Gods may never be the same again.

(In arrangement with Mongabay.com, a source for environmental news reporting and analysis. The views expressed in the article are those of Mongabay.com. Feedback: gopi@mongabay.com)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday praised the use of tariffs as a negotiating strategy, the day before European Commission (EC) President Jean-Claude Juncker was to visit the White House.

"Tariffs are the greatest! Either a country which has treated the United States unfairly on Trade negotiates a fair deal, or it gets hit with Tariffs. It's as simple as that," Trump said in a Twitter post.

In another tweet the US President said: "Countries that have treated us unfairly on trade for years are all coming to Washington to negotiate."

"This should have taken place many years ago but, as the saying goes, better late than never!" Trump added.

This praise of tariffs as a trade policy came this Monday after he repeated his threat, during a display of products at the Made in America event organized by the White House, to impose tariffs on automobiles imported from the European Union (EU), Efe reported.

At that expo, Trump seemed to associate his decision on the matter to the probable results of his meeting with Juncker, scheduled for Wednesday.

Trump has insisted in recent months that the EU agree with his demands and facilitate the access of American products to the European market, and has threatened to apply tariffs of up to 20 percent on European auto imports if no such trade concessions are forthcoming.

Washington has already imposed tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum from the EU as part of Trump's aggressive protectionist agenda, a measure to which Brussels has responded with an increase in tariffs on a number of US goods.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President Donald Trump is examining the possibility of revoking the security clearances for six former senior officials, including ex-CIA chief John Brennan and former director of FBI, James Comey.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders made the announcement on Monday, justifying the possible move as a response to the alleged "politicization" of the posts and agencies those officials held and headed in the past, Efe news reported.

"The President is exploring the mechanisms to remove security clearance because they've politicized and, in some cases, monetized their public service and security clearances," said Sanders at a press briefing.

"Making baseless accusations of improper contact with Russia or being influenced by Russia against the President is extremely inappropriate. And the fact that people with security clearances are making these baseless charges provides inappropriate legitimacy to accusations with zero evidence," she said.

Five of the six ex-officials Sanders mentioned worked for former President Barack Obama: Brennan; Comey; Director of National Intelligence James Clapper; National Security Adviser Susan Rice; and Andrew McCabe, who was deputy director of the FBI.

The sixth, Michael Hayden, led the National Security Agency prior to his 2006 appointment by President George Bush to run the CIA.

All of them have criticized Trump's actions or have defended the intelligence agencies against the President's attacks.

Sanders defended the possible move by saying that Trump "doesn't like the fact that people are politicizing agencies and departments that are specifically meant to not be political and not meant to be monetized off of security clearances".

She said that "when you're the person that holds the nation's deepest, most-sacred secrets at your hands, and you go out and you make false accusations against the President of the United States. (Trump) thinks that is something to be very concerned with, and we're exploring what those options are."

Sanders made her announcement after Republican Sen. Rand Paul met with Trump and tweeted that the president should revoke Brennan's security clearance because last week the former CIA chief used the word "treason" to refer to the president's actions during the Helsinki summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Turkey is gearing up for seeking reconciliation with the European Union (EU) following President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's victory in the June 24 elections.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Tuesday vowed to restore ties with its European partners, which have been strained by tension in the past few years, Xinhua news agency reported.

"In the new term, we will make further efforts to resolve current problems," Cavusoglu was quoted by the media as saying.

"Normalisation with the Netherlands has already started. We have good dialogue with France. In the upcoming period we will realize tripartite and quartet meetings in Europe," he said.

In the past few years, especially after the 2016 failed coup, Turkey's ties with its European partners, including Germany, Netherlands and Austria, have deteriorated due to the campaign tours by Turkish officials targeting Turkish diaspora in the European countries and the EU criticism of Turkish massive crackdown on dissidents.

The tensions in the Turkey-EU ties have adversely affected Ankara's EU membership bid.

Cavusoglu was pessimistic about resuming EU membership talks, but adding that his government should continue reforms whether Turkey's EU process gains momentum or not.

"Maybe, we cannot take many steps on the process of membership, but we can enhance our cooperation on other issues," he said, underlining the mutual interests of Turkey and the EU for upgrading existing Customs Union agreement.

Experts said that the Turkish minister's remarks signalled Ankara's wiliness to reconcile with EU countries, which could pave the way for restarting the membership talks.

"Normalisation of the relations between Turkey and the West does seem to be appearing on the horizon," said Beril Dedeoglu, a professor of international relations at Galatasaray University, who served as the minister of EU affairs in the interim government in 2015.

The Europeans are recently taking a "relatively milder position" towards Turkey, Dedeoglu noted.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two alleged Bangladeshi terror operatives were arrested from Uttar Pradesh's Noida on Tuesday in a joint operation by the Uttar Pradesh's Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) and the West Bengal Police, an official said.

"A team is interrogating the operatives," an Uttar Pradesh Police spokesman told IANS. Identified as Musharraf and Rubel, the two operatives of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, based in Bangladesh.

Inspector General of Police, ATS, Aseem Arun informed that the two were arrested from city's Surajpur, adding their presence came to be known after the ATS had intercepted a telephone call few days back following which police zeroed down on them.

Officials indicated that a deadly attack was being planned either on August 15 or during the 'Kanwar Yatra' beginning July 28.

The two are being brought to Lucknow for further interrogation about their associates and plans.

--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.)
The United Nations has urged African states to develop regulations in order to spur e-commerce growth.

Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General of UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), told journalists in Nairobi on Monday that the continent lags the rest of the world in the uptake of digital trade due to lack of a conducive ecosystem, Xinhua reported.

"Africa needs to develop laws to enhance on integrity of procurement on electronic platforms so that consumer can trust e-commerce platforms," Kituyi said during the African Union e-commerce conference in Nairobi.

The three-day event aims to provide a platform to enhance understanding of the current state of e-commerce in Africa, the challenges and opportunities, build on the experience of actors on the ground as well as other regions of the world, and to discuss key elements of a roadmap for the development of a African protocol on intellectual rights to facilitate emergency of African players.

Kituyi called for adequate regulations to protect consumers who order goods electronically and as well as delivery mechanism to ensure seamless connectivity of goods procured online.

He noted that some of the rules that need to be introduced should ensure that e-commerce firms are compelled to deliver goods paid for by consumers as they have promised.

According to UNCTAD senior official, states should also develop online dispute mechanism so that contracts can be honored by all parties involved including in the case of cross border trade.

He noted that e-commerce has numerous advantages over traditional platforms because it can provide visibility for small scale producers to global markets.

"However, for the small business community to benefit they need to develop products that are of global standards," he said.

Kituyi said that Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria lead the continent in the performance of e-commerce as they have all recorded approximately 6 percent of overall trade as being conducted in digital platforms as at the end of 2017.

He said that Kenya has one of the most advanced mobile money payments systems in the world with about 85 per cent of adults having a mobile bank accounts.

"However, high financial inclusion is not a sufficient condition to catalyze e-commerce especially in the rural areas that lack physical infrastructure to provide efficient delivery systems," said Kituyi.

Kiyuti who is also a former Kenyan trade minister decried the lack of domestic e-commerce platforms in the continent.

He said that local e-commerce platforms are likely to show more fidelity to local producers and boost domestic productivity as opposed to foreign players that have a bias towards selling more international goods locally.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and Dewan Housing Finance Corp Ltd (DHFL) on Tuesday signed a $10 million loan guarantee agreement which will benefit small and medium enterprises operating in the healthcare sector in Tier II and III cities in India, officials said.

Through this risk-sharing agreement, the DHFL will provide up to $10 million to such SMEs, besides prioritizing lending to women entrepreneurs.

The new partnership will deepen collaboration with various borrowers across the country, especially Rajasthan, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, especially for the undeserved communities.

"The USAID-DHFL partnership will boost women's empowerment by prioritizing them for lending, helping women access loans, and expand and improve the viability of their businesses," US Consul-General in Mumbai Edgard Kagan said on the occasion.

DHFL's Joint Managing Director Harshil Mehta said the company's partnership with USAID was a culmination of their combined efforts to improve healthcare facilities across India, especially the smaller cities.

The venture will get technical assistance from USAID's flagship 'Partnerships for Affordable Healthcare Access and Longevity (PAHAL)' programme.

PAHAL Project Director L.M. Singh said it was already reaching 10 million urban poor across seven high priority states in India.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The chairman of Chinese pharmaceutical company Changsheng Biotech, accused of falsifying data on its vaccines, has been arrested for questioning along with three other company executives, the firm said on Tuesday.

Gao Junfang, chairman of Changsheng Biotech, was taken into police custody while the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, China's anti-graft watchdog, launched a probe into the scandal, Efe news agency reported.

The authorities found that the company falsified production and inspection records of an anti-rabies vaccine administered to humans and ordered that its production be stopped.

It also imposed a $282,000 fine on the company for manufacturing substandard DTaP vaccines, that are given to children to protect them against pertussis, diphtheria and tetanus.

President Xi Jinping described the scandal as "shocking" and "terrible" and ordered an in-depth investigation into the case.

News about the scandal has already garnered over 600 million views on social media sites while the Global Times, linked to the Communist Party of China, warned that the case could lead the country "towards chaos and creating serious unpredictability".

The newspaper reported that similar cases of adulterated drugs in the past, in China, made many parents to take their children to get them inoculated, for example, in Hong Kong and Macao, causing supply problems in the pharmaceutical industry there.

The company's stock dropped by 10 per cent daily during the last seven days on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and the loss in investor confidence also affected other companies in the sector, including Shenzhen Kangtai Biological and Chongqing Zhifei Biological, which also registered double-digit declines.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A policemen and four others were injured, four persons attempted suicide, over a dozen vehicles damaged or torched, road and rail links blocked while a MP and MLC were roughed up, as the stir for the Maratha quota turned violent in parts of Maharashtra on Tuesday.

Several Maratha organisations have now called for a "Mumbai shutdown" on Wednesday, with the Maratha Sakal Samaj (the state-level body) appealing to all community members to observe it peacefully.

"Thousands of people are returning from the Pandharpur festival so Mumbai and Konkan region shall observe a shutdown on Wednesday. We appeal to all people to maintain peace and discipline," said Maratha Kranti Morcha Convenor for Mumbai, Virendra Pawar.

Starting with Aurangabad, a series of processions were taken out on Tuesday in various districts of northern, western Maharashtra and Marathwada with thousands taking to the streets demanding reservations in government jobs and education.

Roads were blocked in Aurangabad, Osmanabad, Pune, while a fire brigade van, a bus and a truck (in Aurangabad), a police van (in Hingoli), at least five state transport buses (in Kolhapur), were pelted with stones and other several vehicles also damaged by angry Marathas, while there was rail blockade for half an hour at Parbhani this afternoon.

The Mumbai-Agra National Highway in Nashik was blocked, while protests were carried out in Nanded, Jalgaon, Parbhani, Kolhapur, Osmanabad, Ahmednagar, Jalna, Nandurbar, Yavatmal and Akola districts, and roads were blocked by burning tyres in Nashik and Hingoli.

In view of the violence, state transport bus services were suspended in Aurangabad, Osmanabad and Nanded, stranding thousands of passengers in the moffusil areas, while a silent protest procession was taken out in Nagpur, though Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai and some other cities remained unaffected by the shutdown on Tuesday.

As a precautionary measure, the authorities suspended internet services in Aurangabad, some schools and colleges remained shut in Nanded, Osmanabad and certain other places, even as the protests subsided by evening.

Several districts observed a spontaneous shutdown on Tuesday, mourning for Kakasaheb Dattatreya Shinde, 28 who committed by jumping in the River Godavari in Aurangabad's Kaigaon on Tuesday.

At his funeral - which witnessed a huge turnout in his native Kaanad village - angry Marathas objected to the presence of Shiv Sena MP Chandrakant Khaire and roughed him up, forcing him to make a hasty exit in his vehicle. Similarly, Congress legislator Subhash Zambad was also manhandled and had to be whisked off to safety by police.

A policeman from Osmanabad, Shyam Katgaonkar, posted on duty in Kaigaon for the funeral security, suddenly collapsed and died of heart attack here this afternoon.

Earlier, the Maharashtra government announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for Shinde, but various parties including Congress, Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena have demanded Rs 50 lakhs as the issue figured in the Lok Sabha.

In Aurangabad, two persons Jayant Sonawane and Jagannath Sonawane, attempted suicide by jumping into a river and consuming poison respectively, but both were rushed to a hospital and are under treatment.

In Beed, two persons sought to commit suicide by jumping from the building terrace of the Tehsildar office, but police prevented them at the last minute.

Various prominent groups held meetings in different parts of the state for finalizing the main programme of a Maharashtra shutdown on August 9 - celebrated as August Kranti Divas - to intensify the ongoing two-year old agitation.

Meanwhile, speaking on behalf of the government an embattled Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil, who was in Sangli, urged the Marathas to remain calm and call off their agitation.

"Agitations, violence and protests will not ensure reservations. We are keen that the Maratha community should get reservations... we have to consider various aspects," he said.

Patil, and Education Minister Vinod Tawde added that since the matter is sub-judice before Bombay High Court and the Bharatiya Janata Party government was trying its best to resolve the issue.

Preparing for Wednesday's shutdown, the police have made deployed tight security in the country's commercial capital and are in touch with Maratha leaders to ensure a peaceful agitation, said Deputy Commissioner of Police Deepak Deoraj.

The Congress, Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena have urged the ruling BJP government to immediately resolve the long-pending Maratha reservations issue for which the community is agitating peacefully since over two years.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said he will do whatever is required to implement his schemes.

While talking to the media, he said he would fight wherever and whenever required for the welfare of the public.

"We have faced so many hurdles and have fought for it. We will now also ensure that all our schemes are implemented," Kejriwal said.

"It will take time, but I will try my best to expand the benefits of our schemes to each and every person in Delhi," the Chief Minister added.

His remarks came as the matter related to services is pending before the Supreme Court and the Delhi government is facing issues over officers not following its orders.

--IANS

nks/qd/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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North Korea Wants US To Make 'Bold Move' Towards Peace Before Denuclearization, S Isabella

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07-24-2018 01:34 AM



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Post: #1 North Korea Wants US To Make 'Bold Move' Towards Peace Before Denuclearization, S

Advertisement North Korea Wants US To Make 'Bold Move' Towards Peace Before Denuclearization, Source Says

Source: CNN





By Will Ripley, Kevin Liptak and Joshua Berlinger, CNN



Updated 1318 GMT (2118 HKT) July 23, 2018



"Washington (CNN)Continued negotiations between the United States and North Korea hinge on Washington's willingness to make a "bold move" and agree to a peace treaty with Pyongyang, according to an official with close knowledge of North Korea's position on the matter.



If the US is unwilling to replace the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War with a permanent peace that would ensure the survival of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's regime, Pyongyang will likely not proceed further with denuclearization talks, the source said



The establishment of a legally binding peace treaty would require the approval of two-thirds of the US Senate .



North Korea is putting pressure on the administration of US President Donald Trump to begin lifting sanctions, according to the official, believing they have done "so much" by freezing nuclear and missile testing, destroying one of their nuclear sites, and facilitating the upcoming repatriation of US service members' war remains."



Read more:







"Will lift sanctions on North Korea only after US is sure they dont have nukes: Trump"



"United States President Donald Trump on Friday said that he would lift sanctions on North Korea only after making sure Pyongyang no longer has nuclear weapons."

world Updated:



Jun 15, 2018 23:34 IST





https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-new...a3PwN.html Source: CNNBy Will Ripley, Kevin Liptak and Joshua Berlinger, CNNUpdated 1318 GMT (2118 HKT)"Washington (CNN)Continued negotiations between the United States and North Korea hinge on Washington's willingness to make a "bold move" and agree to a peace treaty with Pyongyang, according to an official with close knowledge of North Korea's position on the matter.North Korea is putting pressure on the administration of US President Donald Trump to begin lifting sanctions, according to the official, believing they have done "so much" by freezing nuclear and missile testing, destroying one of their nuclear sites, and facilitating the upcoming repatriation of US service members' war remains."Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2018/07/23/polit...index.html world Updated: (This post was last modified: 07-24-2018 01:35 AM by Isabella .) Isabella

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07-26-2018 02:37 AM



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Post: #2 RE: North Korea Wants US To Make 'Bold Move' Towards Peace Before Denuclearization, S

"North Korea still producing fissile material despite pledge, Pompeo says

Source: The Guardian



"North Korea is still producing fissile material for nuclear bombs in spite of its pledge to denuclearize, according to US secretary of state Mike Pompeo.



Asked at a Senate committee hearing whether this was the case, Pompeo responded ton Wednesday by saying: Yes, thats correct ... Yes, they continue to produce fissile material.



Pompeo declined to respond when asked whether North Korea was continuing to pursue submarine-launched ballistic missiles or whether North Koreas nuclear program was advancing generally.



Pompeo said he would be happy to answer the latter question if necessary in a classified setting but suggested public statements on the issue would not help a complex negotiation with a difficult adversary.



Read more:

2 Source: The Guardian"North Korea is still producing fissile material for nuclear bombs in spite of its pledge to denuclearize, according to US secretary of state Mike Pompeo.Asked at a Senate committee hearing whether this was the case, Pompeo responded ton Wednesday by saying: Yes, thats correct ... Yes, they continue to produce fissile material.Pompeo declined to respond when asked whether North Korea was continuing to pursue submarine-launched ballistic missiles or whether North Koreas nuclear program was advancing generally.Pompeo said he would be happy to answer the latter question if necessary in a classified setting but suggested public statements on the issue would not help a complex negotiation with a difficult adversary.Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/j...ons-pompeo
















At least 13 children and a staff member of an anganwadi centre in Dwarka's Uttam Nagar area were hospitalised after they complained of vomiting and lost consciousness after consuming mid-day meal today, police said.

They were being treated at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital.

Rice and boiled gram were served to the children and pregnant women at the anganwadi centre which was supplied by a group based in Uttam Nagar's Deepak Vihar, a police official said.

However, the pregnant women who consumed the same meal did not complain of any uneasiness, he said.

The children were in the age group of one-and-a half to seven. The sick staffer was identified as 45-year-old Rama, he added.

The anganwadi centre was being run for the last 11 years Anita (47), a resident of Hastal Vihar in Dwarka's Uttam Nagar, he said, adding the centre has 46 children and 13 pregnant women.

An FIR has been registered in the matter, the police said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Fourteen states have deployed tourist police in one form or the other, Union Tourism Minister K J Alphons said in the Rajya Sabha today.

These state were -- Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha -- he said in a written reply to a question in the Upper House of Parliament.

Listing out the measures taken by his ministry to ensure the safety of tourists, Alphons said it had launched the 24x7 Multi-Lingual Tourist Info-Helpline (toll-free number 1800111363, short code 1363) in 12 languages (Hindi, English and 10 international languages) in February, 2016.

It was launched to provide support to the tourists in terms of information relating to travelling in India and it also offered appropriate guidance to the tourists in distress, he added.

"The 'Athithidevo Bhava' social awareness campaigns have been introduced by the Ministry of Tourism with the objective of sensitising the stakeholders and the general public about various social awareness themes. An advisory has been posted on the Ministry of Tourism website, www.incredibleindia.org, indicating that India remains a safe destination for international tourists, including women," Alphons said.

The security of tourists was a state subject, the minister said, adding that however, the Ministry of Tourism, in consultation with the state governments and Union Territory administrations, had proposed to set up tourist police units at prominent tourist spots in the country.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Seventeen people died due to the Nipah virus in Kerala, out of which 16 were lab confirmed cases, and no patient tested positive for the infection from other states, Parliament was informed today.

Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel also informed the Rajya Sabha that the Health Ministry had taken necessary steps to ensure that the Nipah virus did not spread to other parts of the country.

The total number of deaths caused by the virus in Kerala was 17 out of which 16 were lab confirmed cases, she said.

One person, who had died on May 5, was not tested for the virus. "There has been no case or death due to the virus in the state since June 1," Patel stated.

The minister said no patient from any other state was found positive for the Nipah virus.

Multi-disciplinary central teams comprising members from the Health Ministry, animal husbandry department, National Centre for Disease Control, AIIMS, Safdarjung Hospital and Indian Council of Medical Research were sent to assist the Kerala government after the outbreak.

Patients were kept in isolated wards, hospitals were briefed about the infection and control practices, medical and para-medical staff were given protective equipment and public awareness programmes were conducted, Patel said.

Doctors were given training on ventilator management also. Samples of 337 patients were tested for the Nipah virus out of which only 18 tested positive, the minister said.

"Samples were collected from all patients with similar symptoms in other states/UTs (Union Territories), and tested for Nipah virus.

"No patient from other states was found positive for Nipah virus. The ministry was also in constant touch with all the states and UTs to review their preparedness and to provide guidance and assistance," she said.

Patel mentioned that fruit eating bats were identified as the primary source of the infection and people were advised not to consume fruits partly eaten by bats.

The minister said awareness programmes were conducted for the general public and training on infection control practices were given to health workers and medical and para-medical staff.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A total of 338 incidents of ceasefire violation and cross-border firings were reported in Jammu and Kashmir during the month of Ramzan, Union Minister Hansraj Gangaram Ahir said today.

At least 14 security personnel and 11 civilians were killed in the cross-border firing from Pakistan in April and June, he told the Lok Sabha.

"During the month of Ramzan - from May 17 to June 16 - altogether 338 incidents of ceasefire violation and cross-border firings were reported in Jammu and Kashmir as against 139 during April 16 to May 16," Ahir, the minister of state for home, said, replying to a written question.

Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju, responding to a separate question, said as many as 272 infiltrations were reported along the Indo-Myanmar border, 108 along the Indo-Pakistan border and just five along the Indo-Bangladesh border in 2015-17.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The government today said 4,387 large borrowers accounted for Rs 8.6 lakh crore or 90 per cent of total non-performing assets (NPAs) of the banking sector at the end of March 2018.

The NPAs of the banking sector were Rs 9.62 lakh crore at end-March 2018, up from Rs 2.51 lakh crore as on March 2014, said Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

"The RBI has apprised that as on March 31, 2018, there were 4,387 borrowers with aggregate funded outstanding of Rs 8,59,532 crore related to Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) of more than Rs 10 crore and above outstanding, in respect of scheduled commercial banks," he said while replying to another question.

He further said as regards details of companies/defaulting individuals against whom NPAs of more than Rs 10 crore and above are pending recovery, the RBI has informed it is prohibited from disclosing credit information.

Section 45E of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, provides that credit information submitted by a bank shall be treated as confidential and not to be published or otherwise disclosed.

Shukla also said that as per RBI's directions, cases have been filed under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in respect of 39 large defaulters, amounting to about Rs 2.69 lakh crore funded exposure (as of December 2017).

The Finance Ministry also informed the House that the gross advances of banks increased from Rs 25,03,431 crore as on March 31, 2008 to Rs 68,75,748 crore as on March 31, 2014, as per the global operations data of the RBI.

It further said public sector banks (PSBs) initiated cleaning up by recognising NPAs and provided for expected losses.

"As a result of transparent recognition of stressed assets as NPAs, gross Non-performing Assets (NPAs) of Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) (as per RBI's off-site returns global operations provisional data, as on March 31, 2018), increased to Rs 10,35,528 crore, of which Rs 8,95,601 crore (86.49 per cent) were gross NPAs of PSBs," it said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Four passengers travelling on the footboard of a crowded suburban train were killed after they hit a wall and fell off at the St Thomas Mount railway station here today.

Of the four, three were students aged between 16 and 25 years and the identity of the fourth person was yet to be established, police said, adding that six persons were also injured in the incident.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami condoled the deaths and announced a solatium of Rs 1 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each to those grievously injured.

The incident came in the wake of a similar one last night, in which two persons were killed at a distance of about 50 metres from the site of today's accident at the same station.

"Four men died in the incident and six others were injured," Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan told reporters.

One of the injured received treatment as an out-patient at a government hospital, he said.

Medical teams comprising specialists, including vascular surgeons, were formed to treat the injured, who were admitted as in-patients to the Government Royapettah Hospital and the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, the health secretary added.

Among the injured was a man whose legs were severed, he said.

The commuters were travelling on the footboard due to the peak-hour rush.

Senior officials, including Kanchipuram Collector P Ponniah and those from the railways and police, inspected the scene of the accident.

Health Minister C Vijayabaskar, Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar and senior government officials, including the health secretary, visited the injured at the hospitals and inquired about the treatment modalities.

On allegations from some commuters that the incident took place due to the diversion of the suburban train to the mainline track for fast trains, Chennai Divisional Railway Manager Naveen Gulati said it was done as there was no power supply in the suburban line.

Abutting the track for fast trains is a wall dividing the railway lines.

The victims died after they hit against this wall.

"Usually, the suburban train (40701) from Chennai Beach to Tirumalpur runs on a suburban track. Even in the morning, it was allotted the same track, but was later shifted to the fast suburban line as there was no power supply in an overhead wire on the other track," Gulati told PTI.

It was a usual practice to make such changes, he said.

The Electric Multiple Unit 40701 takes around three hours to complete the 109-km journey between Chennai Beach and Tirumalpur, with around 35 stops en route.

The Southern Railway said the habit of travelling on footboards led to the tragedy, adding that it would take steps to avoid such incidents, though there was no violation on its part.

"It was noticed that there was no infringement as per Railway rules. However, in view of the unfortunate incident, the matter is being studied by the Railway to identify the further steps to be taken to avoid such incidents," a railway release said.

The general manager, Southern Railway has advised to deploy additional RPF and GRP personnel to guide the passengers.

"Passengers are requested to avoid travelling on the footboard and avoid hanging outside the train, risking their own lives and that of the co-passengers," the release added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nearly 4,00,000 tonnes of sugar is in the process of being exported from India to countries in the Middle East as also Sri Lanka, a senior government official said today.

Mills are required to export 20 lakh tonnes of sugar in the current 2017-18 marketing year (October-September) to avail of a subsidy of Rs 55 per tonne offered by the government.

"Out of 20 lakh tonnes, 4,00,000 tonnes of sugar has been moved out of the factories for the export purpose," the official, who did asked not be identified, told PTI.

Much of the shipment is being undertaken from states like Maharasthra and Karnataka which are close to ports, the official added.

The government is in talks with southeast Asian countries for export of sugar, the official said.

Sugar production of India, the world's second largest producer, is estimated to touch a record 32.25 million tonnes in the current marketing year as against 20.3 million tonnes in the previous year, as per the industry data.

Domestic demand is pegged at 25 million tonnes annually.

To liquidate surplus sugar and help mills clear huge cane arrears, the government has announced a slew of measures to bailout the industry.

Export duty on sugar has been scrapped and import duty on it has been doubled to 100 per cent. Moreover, a package of Rs 8,500 crore has been announced which includes a soft loan of Rs 4,500 crore to boost ethanol production.

A buffer stock of 3 million tonnes has also been created to tide over the crisis.

According to Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), the country's sugar production is estimated to rise by 10 per cent to touch a new record of 35.5 million tonnes in the 2018-19 marketing year.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Seven Tamil Nadu fishermen were today arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly fishing in their territorial waters using banned fishing net, a fisheries department official said.

The incident occurred early this morning when the fishermen from Thanjavur district, who ventured into the sea last night in two country boats, were fishing off Neduntheevu, Assistant Director of Fisheries, Thanjavur district, M Chinnakuppan said.

The Sri Lankan Naval personnel rammed their vessel into their boat damaging it badly and arrested seven fishermen for intruding into their territory and poaching fish using banned fishing net, he alleged.

The naval personnel took two fishing boats including the heavily damaged boat to Kangesanthurai and anchored it there.

Four fishermen from Mandapam near here were arrested by the Lankan Navy on July 8 for allegedly poaching fish in their territorial waters using banned fishing net.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A 73-year-old man and his son were today arrested for allegedly stealing books worth Rs 3.24 crore from their godown here to recover the unpaid rent due for over one year from the tenant, police said.

P Narsimha Reddy, his son P Srinivas Reddy and the proprietor of a book store here, who had purchased the books, were arrested and the books, which were sold to a Mumbai-based proprietor, recovered, they said.

The books were stocked by N Devadiga, who had taken the godownon lease from Reddy, owner of the premises, in April 2016.

The tenant could not pay the Rs 50,000 monthly rent for about 14 months, amounting to Rs7 lakh, and the accused resorted to the 'theft' to make good the loss, Rachakonda Police CommissionerMaheshM Bhagwat said.

The stolen books were transported in 10 trucks to a book centre at Begumpet here and its proprietor Md Raziuddin, purchased the books for Rs 15lakh, police said.

He later sold the books to another Mumbai-based proprietor Dhamjee, they said.

Police said Devadiga had stocked 1.29 lakh books which were meant for distribution in Telangana and Chhattisgarh states.

Devadiga lodged a complaint on July 9 based on which a case was registered, police said, adding that efforts were on to nabDhamjee, who is absconding.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The AAP government today approved the proposal to give an ex gratia of Rs 1 crore to the kin of martyrs belonging to Delhi, with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal expressing the hope that the Centre will take a similar move for the entire country.

The decision was approved earlier on April 1, 2015 by the Delhi government, but it faced roadblock after office of the then Lt Governor raised objections.

"We announced the scheme a few months after coming to power. But unfortunately the Lt Governor created hurdles and no one was getting the compensation for the past 2-3 years," Kejriwal told reporters.

The Delhi government will also provide Group 'C' and 'D' jobs to the kin of the personnel dying during duty, if no other agency offers it, he said.

The duties and situations which would qualify for ex gratia -- such as international war and war-like situations among others -- were approved by the Delhi cabinet on February 24, 2016.

The scheme will cover personnel serving with armed forces, para military forces, Delhi Police, Delhi Fire Services, district disaster management staff, Home Guards and civil defence. The armed forces and paramilitary personnel will qualify for the scheme if they had Delhi as permanent residence at the time of joining, said a government statement.

In case of ex gratia to kin of martyrs, the Rs 1 crore will be divided among parents (Rs 40 lakh) and wife (60 lakh) or the whole amount will be given to either parents, spouse or a nominee depending on status of the personnel.

In case of over 60 per cent disability during during duty, a compensation of Rs 10 lakh will be provided to affected personnel. The amount will be Rs 6 lakh in case of below 60 per cent disability.

In case of prisoners of war or missing in action personnel, the compensation will involve Rs 50,000 per month to next of kin and one-time Rs 5,000 per dependent, it said.

"I hope the Centre will implement a similar scheme like Delhi, all over the country," Kejriwal said.

A group of ministers of the Delhi government headed by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia will process the claims of ex gratia and its decision will be final, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Page: 1 2 Will Open Carry Be Legal Again In California? RiskyRob

( Lop V.I.P.)

User ID: 446882

07-24-2018 11:03 PM



Posts: 8,137









Post: #1 Will Open Carry Be Legal Again In California?

Advertisement



In a ruling about gun rights in Hawaii, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Hawaii infringed on the rights of plaintiff George Young when it twice denied him a permit to carry a gun outside.



"We do not take lightly the problem of gun violence," Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain wrote in Tuesday's ruling. "But, for better or for worse, the Second Amendment does protect a right to carry a firearm in public for self-defense."



Laws on openly carrying firearms vary widely by state and type of gun. The most restrictive are California, which falls under the 9th Circuit's jurisdiction, Florida, Illinois and the District of Columbia, which generally prohibit people from openly carrying any sort of firearm, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a nonprofit policy organization that favors greater gun control.



https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/...src=usn_fb  Ascended Master I live in California, so this ruling could mean the California state open carry prohibition is unconstitutional. One of the guns I just inherited from my uncle is a Colt Python revolver which would be a great open carry handgun.In a ruling about gun rights in Hawaii, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Hawaii infringed on the rights of plaintiff George Young when it twice denied him a permit to carry a gun outside."We do not take lightly the problem of gun violence," Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain wrote in Tuesday's ruling. "But, for better or for worse,Laws on openly carrying firearms vary widely by state and type of gun.which falls under the 9th Circuit's jurisdiction, Florida, Illinois and the District of Columbia, which generally prohibit people from openly carrying any sort of firearm, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a nonprofit policy organization that favors greater gun control. Ascended Master (This post was last modified: 07-24-2018 11:05 PM by RiskyRob .) LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 452336

07-24-2018 11:09 PM











Post: #2 RE: Will Open Carry Be Legal Again In California?

California.....as in North Mexico?

Yeah give up yer guns.

Feinstein says you should and you will. Only she should have a firearm for protection. RiskyRob

( Lop V.I.P.)

User ID: 446882

07-24-2018 11:11 PM



Posts: 8,137









Post: #3 RE: Will Open Carry Be Legal Again In California?

LoP Guest Wrote: (07-24-2018 11:09 PM) California.....as in North Mexico?

Yeah give up yer guns.

Feinstein says you should and you will. Only she should have a firearm for protection.

Blah, blah, blah.....



I think this Federal court ruling will restore open carry in California. Blah, blah, blah.....I think this Federal court ruling will restore open carry in California.  Ascended Master Old Whatshisname

Idaho Chicken Farmer

User ID: 457834

08-25-2018 04:47 AM



Posts: 3,246









Post: #4 RE: Will Open Carry Be Legal Again In California?

RiskyRob Wrote: (07-24-2018 11:11 PM) I think this Federal court ruling will restore open carry in California.

Much as I 'd like to agree with you, I don't think California will change its rules.



When I moved to the United States in 1978, it was to Arizona: a state with very liberal (in the true sense of the word) gun laws. Open carry did not require a license, and, as of last year, concealed carry doesn't require a license either.



I moved to Idaho this year, which has the same gun laws. I would no more move to a state with restrictive gun laws than rub my eyes with jalapeno juice. Even here, Uncle Pig is constraining our liberties more and more each day. Much as I 'd like to agree with you, I don't think California will change its rules.When I moved to the United States in 1978, it was to Arizona: a state with very liberal (in the true sense of the word) gun laws. Open carry did not require a license, and, as of last year, concealed carry doesn't require a license either.I moved to Idaho this year, which has the same gun laws. I would no more move to a state with restrictive gun laws than rub my eyes with jalapeno juice. Even here, Uncle Pig is constraining our liberties more and more each day. Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose! LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 389028

08-25-2018 04:50 AM











Post: #5 RE: Will Open Carry Be Legal Again In California?

Why do you need open carry? The only reason for that is to bully and intimidate people. Old Whatshisname

Idaho Chicken Farmer

User ID: 457834

08-25-2018 04:57 AM



Posts: 3,246









Post: #6 RE: Will Open Carry Be Legal Again In California?

LoP Guest Wrote: (08-25-2018 04:50 AM) Why do you need open carry? The only reason for that is to bully and intimidate people.

Why do you "need" a Corvette, when a Honda Civic would work just as well? Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose! Corosive

Resident Time Wizard

User ID: 433154

08-25-2018 05:25 AM



Posts: 3,785









Post: #7 RE: Will Open Carry Be Legal Again In California?

A colt python isn't a good open carry weapon... in a real shootout you'll get killed. You'd better hope and pray you got a ton of speed loader mags with you! Get a semi automatic pistol, like what the cops use, Glocks... they're tried, tested, and true! \_(  )_/



If it can be destroyed by the truth, it deserves to be destroyed by the truth 1110.00)

lop guest

User ID: 198896

08-25-2018 06:09 AM











Post: #8 RE: Will Open Carry Be Legal Again In California?

LoP Guest Wrote: (08-25-2018 04:50 AM) Why do you need open carry? The only reason for that is to bully and intimidate people.

Open carry is for quick access in deploying the weapon. Bullying and intimidation require behavior along those lines. A person could carry a machine gun or a rocket launcher for all I care, as long as that person behaves like a generally normal and responsible person, and does not try to threaten anyone with gun or rocket violence. Concealed carry is safer for the carrying individual, because it does not draw attention that promotes behavior on the part of any particular observer, though the weapon takes longer to deploy. Open carry is for quick access in deploying the weapon. Bullying and intimidation require behavior along those lines. A person could carry a machine gun or a rocket launcher for all I care, as long as that person behaves like a generally normal and responsible person, and does not try to threaten anyone with gun or rocket violence. Concealed carry is safer for the carrying individual, because it does not draw attention that promotes behavior on the part of any particular observer, though the weapon takes longer to deploy. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 458629

08-25-2018 07:12 AM











Post: #9 RE: Will Open Carry Be Legal Again In California?

RiskyRob Wrote: (07-24-2018 11:03 PM) I live in California, so this ruling could mean the California state open carry prohibition is unconstitutional. One of the guns I just inherited from my uncle is a Colt Python revolver which would be a great open carry handgun.



In a ruling about gun rights in Hawaii, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Hawaii infringed on the rights of plaintiff George Young when it twice denied him a permit to carry a gun outside.



"We do not take lightly the problem of gun violence," Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain wrote in Tuesday's ruling. "But, for better or for worse, the Second Amendment does protect a right to carry a firearm in public for self-defense."



Laws on openly carrying firearms vary widely by state and type of gun. The most restrictive are California, which falls under the 9th Circuit's jurisdiction, Florida, Illinois and the District of Columbia, which generally prohibit people from openly carrying any sort of firearm, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a nonprofit policy organization that favors greater gun control.



https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/...src=usn_fb

You will soon be allowed to open carry a plastic bag once Gavin becomes the Gov. You will soon be allowed to open carry a plastic bag once Gavin becomes the Gov. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 458630

08-25-2018 07:15 AM











Post: #10 RE: Will Open Carry Be Legal Again In California?



here is the actress herself







Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violencehere is the actress herself LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 444658

08-25-2018 07:19 AM











Post: #11 RE: Will Open Carry Be Legal Again In California?





Seriously though I think the president is going to do a nationwide conceal and carry law just to f*#k off all the whine baby democucks.



That and get rid of the stupid suppressor and class 3 laws. Guns aren't the problem, mentally ill idiots is the problem. It will be next time I go to the shithole.Seriously though I think the president is going to do a nationwide conceal and carry law just to f*#k off all the whine baby democucks.That and get rid of the stupid suppressor and class 3 laws. Guns aren't the problem, mentally ill idiots is the problem. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 444658

08-25-2018 07:19 AM











Post: #12 RE: Will Open Carry Be Legal Again In California?

*are LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 458639

08-25-2018 07:47 AM











Post: #13 RE: Will Open Carry Be Legal Again In California?

LoP Guest Wrote: (08-25-2018 07:19 AM) *are

you a pirate? you a pirate? LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 444658

08-25-2018 07:47 AM











Post: #14 RE: Will Open Carry Be Legal Again In California?

LoP Guest Wrote: (08-25-2018 07:47 AM) LoP Guest Wrote: (08-25-2018 07:19 AM) *are

you a pirate?

Yes why? Yes why? LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 456923

08-25-2018 08:19 AM











Post: #15 RE: Will Open Carry Be Legal Again In California?

LoP Guest Wrote: (08-25-2018 04:50 AM) Why do you need open carry? The only reason for that is to bully and intimidate people.





Pack your bags and move your ass to China communist scumbag. Pack your bags and move your ass to China communist scumbag. Advertisement


















is likely to get its first Hindu temple by 2020 with a legal entity been registered with the local government for its construction, according to a media report.

The plan to build the temple in the UAE's capital was approved by the Government during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first visit to the country in 2015.

The temple construction committee will appoint consultants within a month as part of the legal requirements to start the construction, the Gulf News reported.

BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, a worldwide Hindu religious and civic organisation, will build and manage the temple.

A legal entity has been registered with the governemnt for this purpose. Once the consultants are selected, everything has to be done through them as they can take further steps as per the local rules and regulations, the report quoted Sadhu Brahma Viharidas, in-charge of the at BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, as saying.

He said the temple committee is hoping to complete the construction by 2020. "We will work towards that goal, he said.

The temple with seven towers representing the seven emirates in the will come up on a 14-acre piece of land at Abu Mureikhah in Al Rahba area on the Abu Dhabi-Sweihan-Al Ain Road, close to the Abu Dhabi-Dubai highway.

The stones for the temple will be carved by temple artisans in India and assembled in the

The registration of the temple committee as a legal entity (named Mandir Ltd) with the Abu Dhabi Global Market is a critical first step. The Ministry of Community Development has also approved the entity as a charity.

Now the committee can open its bank account and receive donations from people for the construction, the report quoted Navdeep Singh Suri, Indian ambassador to the UAE, as saying.




Women activists have requested the Vatican to advice Pope Francis to remove a bishop of the Jalandhar diocese, accused of sexually assaulting a nun, in order to ensure that an impartial enquiry is carried out into the matter.

A nun, in a complaint to the Kottayam district police chief last month, alleged that Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mulakkal raped her and had unnatural sex with her multiple times at a small town near Kottayam between 2014 and 2016.

Mulakkal has claimed that he is innocent and that the truth will come out in the police investigation.

Leaders of various national women's organisations and human rights activists submitted a memorandum to Italian archbishop and Vatican diplomat to India Rev Giambattista Diquattro.

Annie Raja, general secretary of the National Federation of Indian Women, said "We have only one demand that the Bishop be relieved of all pastoral duties. Till he holds a position of power we know there wouldn't be an impartial probe into the matter."



Activist Kavitha Krishnan said there should be a reliable enquiry into the matter and the church should look into the case very seriously.

"We very strongly feel that the church should be looking into the matter. Religious places tend to brush such incidents under the carpet but this should not be done," said Shabnam Hashmi, one of the authors of the letter.

Other activists who co-authored the letter included Gargi Chakravartty, Padmini Kumar, Virginia Saldanha and Aruna Gnanadason.

The activists asked Diquattro to advise Pope Francis to relieve the bishop of pastoral responsibilities till the matter is over.

The activists said it is unfortunate that a situation is created in such a way that lot of questions are raised on the "character" of the complainant nun.

"We are of the opinion that this will create huge pressure and mental agony to the nun," the activists said.

The nun had complained to the National Commission for Women (NCW) that the Kerala Police was "not working" in the case as the accused was a "highly linked" person.

NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma said the commission would extend all possible help to the nun in her fight.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
After performing to a packed house in Mumbai, renowned Ukrainian pianist Dinara Klinton is all set to mesmerize Delhiites on July 28.

The musician will perform live at the Kamani auditorium here, as part of her 'Cinema-in Concert' nation-wide tour.

A unique concept, 'Cinema-in Concert' involves the screening of a film with every scene being synced with live music on stage.

Klinton's performance, her first in Delhi, will recreate "Magic Piano & The Chopin Shorts", an animated film concert.

"I am thrilled to have the wonderful opportunity of performing in Delhi. This is my first visit to India and I am very ecstatic to showcase 'Cinema in Concert'.

"I felt elated to have received all the love and appreciation in Mumbai and look forward to expecting the same in Delhi," Klinton, a graduate from London-based Royal College of Music, said.

'Magic Piano', an internationally acclaimed animated film, tells the story of 10-year-old Anna's adventures aboard a magic, flying piano.

Produced by Showhouse, the act will be presented along with 'The Chopin Shorts', a collection of short films set to the compositions of legendary composer Frederic Chopin.

"We are glad to bring one of the greatest piano virtuosos, Dinara Klinton, to India. After a successful show in Mumbai, we now look forward to recreating the magic in Delhi," Omer Haidar, MD, Showhouse Events said.

Klinton will perform next in Kolkata and Bangalore.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Attorney General K K Venugopal has refused his consent to a lawyer seeking contempt action against senior advocate Kapil Sibal for alleged "professional misconduct" while arguing in the Supreme Court on a plea regarding the CJI impeachment issue.

The lawyer, in his petition, also said that Sibal had allegedly committed "willful and deliberate contempt of court" by threatening to boycott the court proceedings after his plea for adjourning the Ayodhya case hearing till July 2019 was declined.

The Attorney General, whose nod is pre-requisite for initiation of the contempt proceedings against an individual, in his opinion said, "The issues mentioned in your (lawyer Ashok Pande) request for consent for filing a criminal contempt against Kapil Sibal have been in public domain for a considerable period of time and had finally resulted in impeachment proceedings being rejected by the Chairman of Rajya Sabha."



Vengugopal said, "What is more, the filing of a motion for impeachment was pursuant to a constitutional provision that reached its logical conclusion in a manner known to law. I do not believe that these facts can be a subject matter of contempt."



He said, "I may also add that I do not think it would be in the interest of this institution that is the Supreme Court of India to file a criminal contempt on the facts stated by you. For all the above reason, I decline to give my consent to the filing of the contempt petition."Venugopal also rejected the request made by lawyer Pande, for oral hearing saying, "the Contempt of Courts Act does not provide for such a hearing to be given.""In any event, please be rest assured that I have considered all aspects of the matter and the public interest that is involved and I am of the view that this is not a fit case for granting consent for instituting the contempt petition," he said.

The Contempt of Courts Act requires for seeking the permission of the Attorney General before moving the application for prosecution of a person who has committed criminal contempt.

Pande in his petition had cited several incidents to buttress his claim that Sibal was allegedly involved in "professional misconduct" and had committed "willful and deliberate contempt of court" while arguing for two MPs in a plea challenging dismissal of the impeachment motion by the Rajya Sabha chairman.

On May 7, Congress MPs Partap Singh Bajwa (Punjab) and Amee Harshadray Yajnik (Gujarat) had moved the apex court challenging the rejection of the impeachment notice against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra by the Rajya Sabha chairman, claiming that the reasons given were "wholly extraneous" and not legally tenable.

Sibal, who was one of the signatories of the impeachment notice in Rajya Sabha, had appeared for the two petitioner MPs and had mentioned the matter for urgent listing before a bench headed by then Justice (retd) J Chelameswar.

On December 5, 2017, the apex court had rejected the vehement submissions of Sunni Waqf Board and others that hearing of appeals in the sensitive Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute be conducted in July 2019 after the general elections.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Social activist and Bandhua Mukti Morcha leader Swami Agnivesh today alleged that he was attacked in Jharkhand for his support to tribals protesting massive land acquisition by the state government for a corporate group.

He said there was a pattern in an assault on him at Pakur in Jharkhand and incidents of mob attacks by vigilante groups on dalits and minorities which appeared "state sponsored".

The 79-year-old activist, known for his work against bonded labour, was slapped, kicked around and verbally abused at Pakur on July 17, by a mob, which he said belonged to the BJP-affiliated youth groups who accused him of speaking against Hindus.

"I was going to support Pahariyas. The Raghubar Das government is handing over 2,5000 acre land to Adani in their area and the tribals are against it. The government has signed 210 MoUs to hand over 3.50 lakh acre land that belongs to tribals, on the basis of a hurriedly enacted law for land acquisition," Agnivesh said at an event organised here by the Bandhua Mukti Morcha.

Citing the recent lynching incident at Alwar and other parts of Rajasthan, he said Modi government was "mute" over it.

"Not just Alwar and Jharkhand, there is a pattern in such incidents in last two years. It appears, directly or indirectly state sponsored."



"The names of ruling party members have figured in report. The state BJP chief is saying no one from his party was involved," he said referring to attack on him in Jharkhand.

In Alwar, Gyandev Ahuja, five time local MLA, is "justifying" the lynching incident there. He also "justified" the incident with Pehlu Khan, Agnivesh said.

"The Centre is not doing anything. Modi is silent over it."



The minorities, dalits, tribals and social activists like me who are raising their voice are being targeted, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Syrian and Russian aircraft today pummelled a jihadist holdout in southern Syria bordering Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights after deadly strikes overnight, a Britain-based monitor said.

Russian air strikes yesterday killed four civilians in the pocket held by the Islamic State group in the southern province of Daraa, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.

The latest deaths bring to 41 the number of civilians killed in bombardment on that pocket in less than a week, it said, 11 of them children. Backed by Moscow's warplanes, Syrian regime forces are battling to clear out a final IS-held patch of the country's south after ousting other rebels.

On Tuesday, regime helicopters and Russian war planes carried out heavy bombardment of that area, causing widespread damage, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.

"Fierce fighting raged in the north and west of the region" controlled by a local IS branch known as Jaish Khaled bin Walid, he said.

Since Thursday, clashes between both sides have killed at least 43 regime fighters and 61 IS jihadists, the Observatory said.

IS and other jihadists are not included in the ceasefire deals that rebels have agreed with regime ally Russia across the south, which provide for an end to bombardment if rebels hand over heavy weapons and territory.

Opposition fighters who oppose a regime takeover can board buses with their families to be ferried to areas still under rebel control in the country's north. In the latest of these transfers, buses carrying 900 rebels and relatives from the town of Busra al-Sham in Daraa arrived in northwestern Syria on Tuesday, the Observatory said.

Daraa is considered to be the cradle of the 2011 uprising that spiralled into civil war.

The regime has retaken large parts of Syria from rebels and jihadists since Russia intervened military to back President Bashar al-Assad's fighters in 2015. More than 350,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since the conflict started in 2011 with a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Albanian authorities seized assets of a former chief prosecutor who is being probed for corruption and money laundering, an official said today.

The move comes as Tirana pushed forward with a rocky effort to clean-up its graft-riddled judiciary, a task that Brussels has made a top priority for the country to start accession talks with the European Union.

Adriatik Llalla, once one of Albania's most powerful and feared men, was accused in April of refusing to declare his assets, money laundering and other financial crimes.

The court seized "moveable and real estate assets" worth 98.7 million leks ($915,000)," Denion Ndrenika, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office, told AFP.

The property includes an apartment in the northwestern seaside city of Durres and more than two hectares (4.9 acres) of land, Ndrenika said. Llalla left his post last November after his term ended.

The former prosecutor and his family were barred from entering the United States in February due to his "involvement in significant corruption", the State Department said at the time.

Under EU pressure, Albania has ordered some 800 judges and prosecutors to declare their assets in effort to root out corruption.

According to a report this month by the rights group Albanian Helsinki Committee, some 200 judges and prosecutors examined "had links with the organised crime, corruption, under either direct or indirect form." Around 20 senior judges have stepped down from their posts to avoid the review.

Local media have recently voiced fears that some judicial bodies will soon struggle to function soon due to insufficient number of judges.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Drug firm Alkem Laboratories today said the US health regulator has issued an establishment inspection report (EIR) for its Daman facility.

Company's manufacturing facility at Daman was inspected from March 19 to March 27, 2018, by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), Alkem Laboratories said in a filing to BSE.

"In response to the Form 483 issued by the USFDA containing 13 observations, the company had submitted a detailed corrective and preventive action (CAPA) plan to the regulator within the stipulated timelines," it added.

The inspection has now been closed by the US health regulator, Alkem Laboratories said.

Shares of Alkem Laboratories today closed at Rs 2,026.35 per scrip on BSE, up 7.65 per cent from its previous close.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Assam government would provide security to all Indian citizens and no one should worry about the "after affects" of publication of the NRC next week, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said today.

The second and final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is scheduled to be published on July 30 when the fate of all 3.29 crore applicants will be decided.

The chief minister said the state government was duty bound to provide safety and security to all sections of the people.

"The state government will provide safety and security to all Indians living in Assam," Sonowal said in an official release.

"No one should be worried about the after affect of the NRC publication as adequate measures have already been taken to bring all Indian citizens within the ambit of security of the state," he said.

The part draft of the NRC was published on the intervening night of December 31 and January 1, wherein the names of 1.9 crore of the 3.29 crore applicants were incorporated.

The massive exercise, aimed at identifying the illegal immigrants in the north-eastern state bordering Bangladesh, is being carried out following a decision in 2005 after a series of meetings involving the central and state governments and the influential All Assam Students' Union (AASU).

The office of the State Coordinator of NRC today said all bona fide Indians will be given adequate opportunities to prove their citizenship.

It said, "applicants will be given ample opportunity to prove their eligibility for inclusion in the final NRC".

"Applicants who do not find their names in the Complete Draft NRC need not worry. All genuine Indian Citizens as per cut-off date March 24, 1971 (midnight) will be included in the final NRC", said press advertisements given by the office of the State Coordinator of NRC.

State NRC Coordinator Prateek Hazela has said that after publication of the complete draft, those who had submitted the NRC application form until August 31, 2015 can submit their claim in the prescribed form from August 30 to September 28 next at the NRC Seva Kendra (NSK) where the claimant had earlier submitted the application form.

Similarly, there is also a provision for any person to submit objections against any ineligible name included in the complete draft NRC, he said, adding the objection can be submitted at the NSK covering the residence of the person against whom the objection has been submitted.

The claims and objections correction forms will be made available at all NSKs. It could also be downloaded from www.nrcassam.nic,in from August 7 onwards.

Around 22 lakh hard copies of the final draft of the NRC will be available in all the 2,500 NSKs across Assam on July 30. Pre-registered and on demand SMS services would also be available for people to check their names in the draft, according to Hajela.

The state NRC coordinator had earlier said that the names of around 1.50 lakh people appearing in the first draft on December 31 last year would not be included in the final draft on July 30.

On the 'D' (doubtful) voters whose cases are going on in the Foreigners Tribunals, the NRC state coordinator said, "we have not deleted their names but only kept them on hold.

"If they win the case in the Foreigners Tribunals, their names will be included in the NRC later".

Around 40,000 state government officials and outsourced data entry operators have been engaged in this exercise that started in 2015.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Karnataka Chief Minister H DKumaraswamy today said whether JD(S) and Congress would contest the Lok Sabha polls together would depend on how they were treated by the ally.

Kumaraswamy, also the JD(S) state unit chief, however, said the pre-poll alliance with congress was still on the agenda.

"That is our agenda, it is there. Let us see..Congress, how they are going to treat JD(S)," Kumaraswamy told reporters in response to a question about pre-poll alliancewith the Congress with which it is running a coalition government in the state.

Asked about the "mahagathbandhan (grand alliance)," hesaid "it will continue."



The Congress and JD(S), which formed a coalition government after the May 12 assembly polls threw up a hung verdict, had announced during the power sharing pact that they would fight the Lok Sabha polls together.

Kumaraswamy's swearing-in as chief minister on May 23 was attended by a galaxy of top leaders and regional satraps in a rare public show of unity perceived as a possibleharbinger of a broad-based anti-BJP alliance ahead of the LokSabha polls.

Seat sharing between Congress and JD(S) for the Lok Sabha polls, especially in the old Mysuru region, is seen as atest for the coalition as both parties are considered arch rivals in the region, where they had bitterly foughtagainst each other during the assembly polls.

The chief minister's comments gain significance at a time when reports suggest that there is growing opposition within the congress to the pre-poll alliancewith JD(S) for Lok Sabha polls.

According to sources, several congress leaders have also warned against conceding constituencies considered stronghold of the party to JD(S), during seat sharing.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Kuwaiti Instagram star blasts new law allowing servants to keep passports LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 348173

07-25-2018 12:07 AM











Post: #1 Kuwaiti Instagram star blasts new law allowing servants to keep passports

Advertisement



A Kuwaiti Instagram star has been slammed for criticising new laws introduced to improve conditions for Filipino domestic workers.



Make-up artist Sondos Alqattan, who has 2.3million followers, was outraged that 'servants' would have a day off every week and be allowed to keep their passports.



She posted her furious rant online and it has since gone viral, attracting critical comments from social media users in the Middle East and Philippines.











'How can you have a servant at home who keeps their own passport with them?' she raged, adding: 'Whats worse is they have one day off every week.'



She continued: 'If they run away and go back to their country, who will refund me? Honestly I disagree with this law. I dont want a Filipino maid any more.'



Reforms were introduced in May to protect the rights of Filipino domestic workers in Kuwait, which lies between Iraq and Saudi Arabia.



The agreement followed months of strained diplomatic relations between the two countries over treatment of overseas employees.



http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...ights.html



https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/07...bemoaning/ [ ]'How can I have a servant who keeps their own passport?': Kuwaiti Instagram star is slammed after posting video criticising new laws that give domestic workers better rights[/size]A Kuwaiti Instagram star has been slammed for criticising new laws introduced to improve conditions for Filipino domestic workers.Make-up artist Sondos Alqattan, who has 2.3million followers, was outraged that 'servants' would have a day off every week and be allowed to keep their passports.She posted her furious rant online and it has since gone viral, attracting critical comments from social media users in the Middle East and Philippines.'How can you have a servant at home who keeps their own passport with them?' she raged, adding: 'Whats worse is they have one day off every week.'She continued: 'If they run away and go back to their country, who will refund me? Honestly I disagree with this law. I dont want a Filipino maid any more.'Reforms were introduced in May to protect the rights of Filipino domestic workers in Kuwait, which lies between Iraq and Saudi Arabia.The agreement followed months of strained diplomatic relations between the two countries over treatment of overseas employees. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 445976

07-25-2018 12:08 AM











Post: #2 RE: Kuwaiti Instagram star blasts new law allowing servants to keep passports

Slavery is real. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 348173

07-25-2018 12:10 AM











Post: #3 RE: Kuwaiti Instagram star blasts new law allowing servants to keep passports

LoP Guest Wrote: (07-25-2018 12:08 AM) Slavery is real.

Yep, now get back to work you.. Yep, now get back to work you.. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 292344

07-25-2018 12:12 AM











Post: #4 RE: Kuwaiti Instagram star blasts new law allowing servants to keep passports

I pay you

I own you GrimShaw

Asinus Asinum Fricat

User ID: 447734

07-25-2018 12:14 AM



Posts: 32,482









Post: #5 RE: Kuwaiti Instagram star blasts new law allowing servants to keep passports

Well. She's dumb. Now her pocketbook is going to feel that hit. The ghost of capn crunch

Registered User

User ID: 448885

07-25-2018 12:15 AM



Posts: 855









Post: #6 RE: Kuwaiti Instagram star blasts new law allowing servants to keep passports

she will burn in hell LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 452389

07-25-2018 12:16 AM











Post: #7 RE: Kuwaiti Instagram star blasts new law allowing servants to keep passports

tRumps best friend LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 451148

07-25-2018 12:17 AM











Post: #8 RE: Kuwaiti Instagram star blasts new law allowing servants to keep passports

S;avers and people traffickers here do that - and some seedy employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants - all take their passports from them.



It's standard slave operating procedure. Hans Ocelot

lop guest

User ID: 349891

07-25-2018 01:35 AM











Post: #9 RE: Kuwaiti Instagram star blasts new law allowing servants to keep passports

Reminds me of that rich lady in Australia, business mogul who wants to drop min wage to $4.00 hr level. She feels the common man has it too good. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 443285

07-25-2018 01:47 AM











Post: #10 RE: Kuwaiti Instagram star blasts new law allowing servants to keep passports

If the law does not adversely effect Israel, no one cares in America



Connect the dots LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 451148

07-25-2018 01:52 AM











Post: #11 RE: Kuwaiti Instagram star blasts new law allowing servants to keep passports

Hans Ocelot Wrote: (07-25-2018 01:35 AM) Reminds me of that rich lady in Australia, business mogul who wants to drop min wage to $4.00 hr level. She feels the common man has it too good.

that witch who owns mining companies over there? that witch who owns mining companies over there? LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 452389

07-25-2018 01:54 AM











Post: #12 RE: Kuwaiti Instagram star blasts new law allowing servants to keep passports

Hans Ocelot Wrote: (07-25-2018 01:35 AM) Reminds me of that rich lady in Australia, business mogul who wants to drop min wage to $4.00 hr level. She feels the common man has it too good.



another one of tRumps buddies another one of tRumps buddies LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 406166

07-25-2018 02:19 AM











Post: #13 RE: Kuwaiti Instagram star blasts new law allowing servants to keep passports

Make me a ham sandwich, bit*h.
















The lynching of a Muslim man on the suspicion of cow smuggling in Rajasthan's Alwar district was today raised in the Rajya Sabha, with the opposition TMC demanding an a law to prevent killings by vigilantes.

Raising the issue through a zero hour mention, Shanta Chhetri of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) cited media reports to say that "88 precious lives have been lost (in lynching incidents) since this government came to power."



Noting that the Supreme Court had last week asked for a law banning mob lynching, she asked what the government has done to check such incidents.

She wanted to know the steps initiated to check such attacks and the government action on framing the anti-lynching law.

She found support in several opposition parties, whose members rose their hands to 'associate' themselves with the issue raised.

A group of men on Saturday thrashed 28-year-old Akbar to death in Alwar district on suspicion of cow smuggling. In the same district in April last year, Pehlu Khan, a cattle farmer was lynched by a mob as he rode home from a market with two cows and two calves in the back of his truck.

Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu hoped the government will take note of the issue raised.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As a measure for checking narcotics smuggling from across the border, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today suggested shorter tenures for the Border Security Force personnel at border "to break their alleged nexus with drug smugglers".

The chief minister made the suggestion at a meeting with senior administrative and police officials to review the government's anti-drug campaign.

"The chief minister suggested shortening of the border tenures for the BSF to break the alleged nexus between their personnel and drug smugglers in order to check smuggling of narcotics from across the border," said an official release.

The chief minister also ordered setting up of Wi-Fi CCTVs at all 'nakas' (check-posts) at the borders to prevent smuggling of drugs into the state, said the release.

He underlined the need for effective exchange of information with neighbouring states, as well as the central agencies, to coordinate the fight against drugs.

Reviewing the government's anti-drug campaign, Singh called for a coordinated action against drugs, saying the decision to bring the Special Task Force (STF) under the purview of the Punjab police was also necessitated by the same.

The STF would now work directly under the control of Punjab director general of police akin to the Intelligence and Vigilance departments, the release quoted the chief minister as saying.

The STF has done excellent work under his office but, like the armed forces, the need was now felt to bring the agency under the leadership of the DGP for more cohesive functioning, he added.

Underlining the need for a more coordinated approach by all the state and central agencies, the chief minister said apart from drugs, which was a major problem, there was need for greater synchronisation to deal with other major crimes, such as trafficking of women, terrorism, arms smuggling and unauthorised travel agents duping innocent people.

The chief minister also called for a concerted fight by various agencies against the efforts of fringe elements, like the Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), which was seeking to "divide" the state with its motivated campaign of 'Referendum 2020', the release added.

"We have to counter this move aggressively," he added.

Addressing a meeting of all the DCs and SSPs/CPs of the state, the chief minister asked the police to formulate a robust system of reward and punishment to check drug abuse and suggested considering informers for government jobs as an incentive.

Singh directed the police to set up crack teams under SSPs and DSPs at the headquarters level to strengthen the anti-drug fight.

He also called for strengthening of the forensic labs to ensure proper and speedy testing of samples.

The SDMs, DSPs and SHOs concerned would be held responsible and accountable for ensuring that their respective areas are drug-free, he warned, adding that the de-addiction and prevention programmes are running effectively.

Drug-related achievements of medical, police and revenue officers should be reflected in their departmental service records and annual confidential reports, the chief minister suggested, as a step for motivating officials to give their best in the fight against drugs.

He warned that connivance of any kind with the drug mafia would not be tolerated and any officer/official found guilty of the same would face strict punishment.

Local officials should visit the houses from where drug abuse cases are reported and submit a comprehensive report for necessary follow-up action, the chief minister said.

He also accepted a proposal of the police for geo-tagging of drug-affected villages to ensure their regular and proper monitoring. Drug-free villages would be given additional grants for development works, as an incentive, the chief minister announced.

He said he would also be requesting the Punjab and Haryana High Court to set up fast-track courts to resolve cases under the NDPS Act in areas where more than 600 drug-related cases have been reported.

This, he stressed, would ensure speedy punishment for the culprits, thus sending an exemplary message to others. He also directed the concerned officials to ensure timely and systematic completion of investigation of NDPS cases and their proper follow-up in courts.

DGP Suresh Arora said the DCs, the SPs and the people of Punjab had successfully fought terrorism and it was time now for them to come together once again to build sustained pressure against drugs to fight the menace.

He appreciated the fact that no Congress government had ever interfered with the police work or put pressure on them in any drug related case.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The long-lost sibling of the Milky Way was shredded and devoured by the our closest large galactic neighbour - the Andromeda galaxy - about two billion years ago, scientists have found.

The massive galaxy, although mostly shredded, left behind a rich trail of evidence - an almost invisible halo of stars larger than the Andromeda galaxy itself, and a separate compact galaxy M32.

This disrupted galaxy was the third-largest member of the Local Group of galaxies, after the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies.

Using computer models, Richard D'Souza and Eric Bell of the University of Michigan in the US were able to piece together this evidence, revealing this long-lost sibling of the Milky Way.

Scientists have long known that this nearly invisible large halo of stars surrounding galaxies contains the remnants of smaller cannibalised galaxies.

A galaxy like Andromeda was expected to have consumed hundreds of its smaller companions. Researchers thought this would make it difficult to learn about any single one of them.

Scientists found that even though many companion galaxies were consumed by Andromeda, most of the stars in the Andromeda's outer faint halo were mostly contributed by shredding a single large galaxy.

"It was a 'eureka' moment. We realised we could use this information of Andromeda's outer stellar halo to infer the properties of the largest of these shredded galaxies," said D'Souza, lead author of the study published in the journal Nature Astronomy.

"Astronomers have been studying the Local Group - the Milky Way, Andromeda and their companions - for so long. It was shocking to realise that the Milky Way had a large sibling, and we never knew about it," said Bell.

This galaxy, called M32p, which was shredded by the Andromeda galaxy, was at least 20 times larger than any galaxy which merged with the Milky Way over the course of its lifetime.

M32p would have been massive, making it the third largest galaxy in the Local Group after the Andromeda and the Milky Way galaxies.

This work might also solve a long-standing mystery: the formation of Andromeda's enigmatic M32 satellite galaxy, the scientists say.

They suggest that the compact and dense M32 is the surviving centre of the Milky Way's long-lost sibling, like the indestructible pit of a plum.

"While it (M32) looks like a compact example of an old, elliptical galaxy, it actually has lots of young stars. It's one of the most compact galaxies in the universe. There isn't another galaxy like it," Bell said.

The study may alter the traditional understanding of how galaxies evolve, researchers said.

They realised that the Andromeda's disk survived an impact with a massive galaxy, which would question the common wisdom that such large interactions would destroy disks and form an elliptical galaxy.

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A seven-year-old girl was branded with a hot spatula at home by her step-mother, angry over the child wetting her bed, police said here today.

The incident, which took place last week, came to light today after the child revealed her ordeal to her teachers when she attended school, they said.

Seeing the child's discomfort in the class, teachers questioned her and she showed the burn marks on her stomach, thighs and private parts, a teacher of the school said.

School authorities immediately informed childline, an NGO, which contacted police.

The step-mother and father, a lorry driver, have been arrested and a case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons) and the Juvenile Justice Act was registered, police sources said.

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Virtually ruling out granting special category status to Andhra Pradesh, Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said the Centre was providing more assistance than what it would have got under that status.

Assuring the Rajya Sabha that all promises made to the people of the state would be fulfilled, Singh said 90 per cent of promises made under the Andhra Pradesh Re-organisation Act, which had led to the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in 2014, have already been fulfilled.

"The remaining promises will also be kept," he said while replying to a short-duration discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the non-implementation of provisions of the 2014 Act.

The Home Minister's statement came after former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he had expected his successor Narendra Modi to fulfil the UPA government's commitment on special category status to Andhra Pradesh as it was a promise made after consulting the BJP leaders at that time.

The TDP and other opposition parties also asked the Centre to honour its assurances in letter and spirit by granting special category status to Andhra Pradesh, even as the BJP accused the ruling party of the state of "misleading" its own people. Recently, the TDP quit the NDA coalition over this issue.

"Whatever commitments which have been given, not only by our Prime Minister but even the commitments made by former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, our government will fulfill those commitments," the Minister said, adding that commitments made in Parliament should be kept and the Centre is doing it.

After his reply, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad categorically asked whether the Centre would be giving special category status to AP and sought a reply in "Yes or No".

To this, the Minister wondered whether it was not clear from his reply.

"Why are you just stuck at special category status. Why don't you just move on? The idea behind special category status is that the state should get assistance. We are giving more assistance than that," Singh said.

He said the state was entitled to get over Rs 22,000 crore as revenue deficit grant in five years ending 2019-20 and the Centre is disbursing the amount.

The Home Minister said there was a "conflict" between the former Prime Minister's promise of special category status and the 14th Finance Commission report, which has not made any distinction between special category state and other States.

Highlighting the projects approved by the Centre in last four years, he said the permission for setting up 10 educational institutions have already been given, out of the 11 promised and there would be no funding constraint.

On infrastrucure projects, the Minister said expert panels have been asked to re-examine the feasibility of steel plants and railway zone. "We will set up railway zone in AP".

Singh also assured the House that he would personally take interest in the matter and appealed to the Chief Ministers of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to reach at consensus as nothing could be done unilaterally there.

"Both the states are big...Promises made in the Act will be fulfilled in letter and spirit," Singh said, while requesting that this issue should not be politicised.

The Home Minister assured the House that the interests of the Telugu-speaking people would be protected.

Earlier, the former PM and Congress leader Manmohan Singh said he had made a "solemn commitment" on the floor of the House as prime minister of India on February 20, 2014.

The assurance on special category status to the "successor state" of Andhra Pradesh was given after discussing the issue with Arun Jaitley, then Leader of Opposition in the Upper House, and other senior BJP leaders, Singh said.

"Commitments made on the floor of the House are to be honoured and fulfilled. They are in the nature of an assurance on behalf of Parliament.

"I had expected my distinguished successor to fulfil the commitment I had made after consultation with his own colleagues," the former Prime Minister said.

Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said the Centre "has an open mind. We are willing to consider in a rationale manner how these issues can be resolved so that the the letter and spirit is adhered to."



"The purpose is that the people of AP should get benefit and that the Modi government is fully commited to. ... Don't go by the letter, go by the spirit of the arrangement," he said, adding that the state would not have got any extra fund through the special category status.

Stating that the state has been provided with Rs 22,000 crore as revenue deficit grant, he said: "If we were to rework all the scehmes on 90:10 (ratio) as per special category status, then this revenue deficit grant would have come down by about Rs 17,500 crore".

During the debate, the TDP and other opposition parties also demanded that the BJP-led government should honour its assurances in letter and spirit by granting special category status to Andhra Pradesh.

Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said the Modi government should fulfill the promises made by it as well as the estwhile UPA dispensation. He also warned that there could be a privilege motion against the NDA government if this was not done.

However, BJP member G V L Narasimha Rao defended the government saying the Centre has fulfilled most of the promises made to Andhra Pradesh and accused the TDP of "misleading its own people."



Initiating the debate, TDP leader Y S Chowdary said the "hasty and unscientifically prepared and politically motivated decision of the undivided Andhra Pradesh" had caused agony to the people of the state.

"The frustration and helplessness of the people of AP has serious implication for the future of the country as it rightly aspires to find its due place," he said.

He claimed that the government has "blatantly" violated the provisions of the Constitution and neglected the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.

Chowdary also alleged that the NDA government has "carefully orchestrated a misinformation campaign against the state with regard to special category status and central assistance given under the so called special package."



He also accused the Modi government of "willfully burying" the Union Cabinet's decision in respect of special category status to the state and said there was a "huge dichotomy in the words and deeds" of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

"This demonstrates the failure on part of the government in implementing the Act passed by both the Houses, though four years have lapsed." he said.

Leaders of SP, Trinamool Congress, RJD, BJD, AIADMK and TRS also supported the demand.

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A Vijayawada-based civil contractor has been arrested for allegedly calling up Chhattisgarh Congress president Bhupesh Baghel by posing as Naxal leader Ganapathi and offering "support" of ultras for upcoming assembly elections, police said today.

The person, identified as Bhaskar Rao, was arrested yesterday from his native place in Andhra Pradesh with the support of the AP police, Raipur Additional Superintendent of Police Prafulla Thakur told PTI.

"As per preliminary investigation, Rao had no Maoist links and was a civil contractor. Prima facie he was also found to be a worker of the Congress party," Thakur said.

During interrogation, Rao disclosed that he had been making such calls to several persons for extorting money from them since he suffered loss in his business, he said.

The police officer said Rao has admitted to calling up Baghel for the same purpose.

Rao will be interrogated further after he is brought here, he added.

Meanwhile, Baghel questionned the police claim that Rao was a Congress worker.

"Police are making their own theory. Without investigating the matter, they are claiming that the arrested person was a Congress worker," Baghel alleged while speaking to PTI.

Baghel had earlier told reporters that a person, claiming to be top Maoist leader Ganpathi, had called himon July 17.

According to Baghel, the person had said that Maoists holds influence in 37 Assembly seats in Chhattisgarh and they wanted to support the Congress in the upcoming assembly elections, "the way they had supported the BJP in the last two elections.

Suspecting that it was a conspiracy to falsely implicate him, Baghel, an MLA from Patan constituency (in Drug district) had immediately reported the matter to Durg police.

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Global ratings agency Moody's today announced a positive outlook for UPL Corporation after the announcement of its USD 4.2 billion leveraged buyout of Florida-based agrochemicals player Arysta LifeScience.

Its peers, Fitch and S&P have both downgraded the Mauritius-based firm following the deal. While Fitch had revised the rating outlook of UPL Corporation to negative from stable, S&P downgraded the same to stable from positive, over the weekend.

The positive outlook reflects Moody's expectation that the company will successfully complete its acquisition of Arysta and seamlessly integrate the two operations without any significant delay.

Moody's said it has affirmed UPL Corp Baa3 issuer rating and the Baa3 rating on the company's senior unsecured notes maturing in 2021. The outlook on all ratings remain positive, a statement issued here said.

"The Baa3 positive ratings reflect UPL Group's enhanced business profile following its proposed acquisition of Arysta Lifescience for USD 4.2 billion to be paid in cash, financed with an appropriate mix of debt and equity," says Kaustubh Chaubal, a Moody's vice president and senior credit officer.

"UPL Group's business profile will further strengthen, and it will become the largest post-patent agrochemicals company globally with a further deepening in its offering, as illustrated by its presence across the entire spectrum of the agricultural value chain, from seeds, seed treatment, crop protection, storage to harvesting," Chaubal said.

In Moody's view, Arysta's asset-light and lean operations with a strong presence in Africa, Russia and Eastern Europe will complement UPL Group's leading position in India, the Americas and Western Europe, as well as its vertically integrated manufacturing capabilities.

Arysta's complementing product offering, with a strong presence in herbicides, bio solutions, seed treatment and other products, will help UPL Group in cementing its position by increasing market shares across these verticals, it said. UPL Group will fund 29 per cent or USD 1.2 billion of the USD 4.2 billion consideration through two separate fresh equity issuances of USD 600 million. Each will be raised from subsidiaries of the sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and the private equity firm TPG Capital (TPG).

Moody's expects UPL Corp to fund the remaining USD 3 billion of the purchase consideration by drawing on the five-year term loan obtained from MUFG Bank, Ltd. and Cooperative Rabobank UA.

However, its large cash balance of USD 440 million at March 2018 and expected free cash flows of USD 50 - 60 million in the fiscal year ending March 2019 may reduce the extent of the drawdown, it said.

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Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray



today claimed that had his party not supported the BJP to form the government in Maharashtra in 2014, the latter would have come to power by breaking the Opposition Congress and NCP.

In remarks laced with sarcasm, he said people did not make a mistake by voting for the BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, but alleged that they were "duped".

He needled the BJP over its allegations of corruption against the UPA dispensation, on the back of which it came to power, but could not prove any charges.

"Had we not participated in the government, the BJP, like it goes on winning states through all possible means...Like it broke the Congress and Trinamool Congress (TMC) in Tripura, the BJP would have broken the Congress and NCP to come to power in Maharashtra," Thackeray said.

"Instead of letting that happen, I let my people gain experience of working in the government," he said, in the second part of his interview to Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

The Shiv Sena leader sought to know what happened to the 2G scam, which, he said, was discussed not only in the country but across the world.

"During that time (when the scam broke out), the country's image stooped so low, as if there was no country as corrupt as India.

"The result was that the government changed, but nothing happened to the allegations of corruption. Even today, you (the BJP) talk about 60 years of corruption, but nothing has been proved yet," the Sena president said.

"If there really has been corruption, prove it. It is improper to run away after slinging mud at others while holding a lotus in your hand," he quipped.

Responding to another query, Thackeray said nowadays when somebody works, he is termed "corrupt" and if one does not, he is termed "inefficient".

Asked what did he gain from being in power for four years in Maharashtra, Thackeray, whose party is an ally of the ruling BJP in the state and at the Centre, said the Sena ministers in the government got an experience of the administrative work.

"This was in a way a rehearsal of running the government. What should be done, what should not be done. Also, how to implement schemes," he said.

Asked if Prime Minister Narendra Modi was only concerned about his home state Gujarat, the Shiv Sena leader took a dig at the former's frequent visits abroad, saying Modi's attention was only on foreign countries.

To another query, he said people of Maharashtra have experienced the governance of all parties, except the Sena.

"Power will come (in hands of the Sena) when people decide so. I am sure that people have experienced all other parties till now. But, they have not experienced Sena being the only party in power. That is why I got my people to experience being in power," he said.

In the first part of the interview yesterday, Thackeray had taken a jibe at the BJP-led government over incidents of mob lynching, saying cows were safer than women in the country.

"We are a part of the government, but if something is wrong, we will definitely talk about it. We are friends of the Bharatiya Janata, not of any party," he had said, taking a dig at Bhartiya Janata Party's (BJP) name.

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A bandh called by the main Opposition party YSR Congress against the Centre's denial of special category status to Andhra Pradesh evoked mixed response across the state today, as a YSRC worker collapsed and died in West Godavari district.

YSRC activist Durga Rao collapsed on the Buttayagudem police station premises when he came running along with fellow workers after former MLA T Balaraju was taken into custody.

A heart patient, he fell down on reaching the police station and died while being taken to hospital, police said.

YSRC president and Leader of Opposition Y S Jaganmohan Reddy expressed grief over Raos death. He alleged that it was a result of police high-handedness.

Former MP Y V Subba Reddy visited the bereaved family.

While the YSRC claimed the bandh was a 'success', the ruling Telugu Desam party dubbed it "total failure."



With the ruling Telugu Desam Party opposing the bandh this time, there was a virtual clampdown on the protesters with police detaining YSRC leaders at several places.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu sought to know what would the YSRC achieve by enforcing a bandh in the state.

"Why should the state be penalised for the follies of the Centre? What is the use for calling bandhs instead of fighting with the Centre?" he asked.

In Chittoor district, YSRC legislators R K Roja and Narayanaswamy were taken into custody at Puttur as they attempted to take out a rally with their supporters.

In Kurnool district, Public Accounts Committee chairman Buggana Rajendranath Reddy and other leaders were taken into custody.

In Visakhapatnam, former minister Botsa Satyanarayana was taken into custody, while in Tirupati party general secretary Bhumana Karunakara Reddy was detained.

MLA P Ramakrishna Reddy was placed under house arrest at Macherla in Guntur district, while several top leaders of YSRC were taken into custody in Guntur city, Repalle, Sattenapalli and Narsaraopet, police said.

In other districts as well, YSRC leaders were detained as they tried to enforce the bandh.

Educational institutes declared a holiday in view of the bandh call, while State Road Transport Corporation buses were operated in limited numbers.

In Vijayawada city, YSRC activists staged a protest outside the RTC bus station and tried to prevent their movement, but police rounded them up and took them to a nearby police station.

YSRC workers staged protests at various police stations against the detention of their leaders.

Meanwhile, TDP state president and power minister K Kala Venkata Rao said the YSRC bandh was a "total failure."



"Any agitation without peoples support will end in failure," he remarked.

The TDP had withdrawn its ministers from the central government and later walked out of the NDA, alleging that the Centre had failed to fulfil its promise of special category status to Andhra Pradesh.

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Police today released a CCTV grab of two bike-borne suspects who they believe carried out the attack at Batamaloo in which a CRPF jawan was killed and two others injured.

"Identify the suspects involved in today's terror attack at Batamaloo," the Kashmir Zone Police said as it released the photograph on Twitter.

The police sought cooperation of the people in tracking the attackers. A CRPF constable, Shankar Lal, was killed while two others injured as terrorists fired upon security forces at Batamaloo in the summer capital here.

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Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Xu Heyi, chairman of BAIC Group, disclosed the status quo as well as significant information about the state-owned automaker in recent days. Most strikingly, Xu Heyi added that BAIC Group will fully stop producing traditional fuel-powered vehicles in Beijing by July 31.

According to Xu Heyi, BAIC Group's advantage lies in new energy vehicle (NEV). During the first half of this year, BAIC's NEV sales topped 59,000 units, ranking first among all NEV makers across China. Therefore, BAIC's self-owned companies will stop the production of fuel-powered vehicles in Beijing by July 31 and stop selling the vehicles by the end of 2020 in Beijing. By 2025, BAIC Group will stop the sales of fuel-powered vehicles across whole China.

In fact, as Beijing lifts the threshold of manufacturing industry and BAIC adjusts its strategy, BAIC Group has been optimizing the structure of industrial chain and reducing the existing production capacity in Beijing. It is revealed that BAIC has switched the production of Shunyi manufacturing base, which was primarily to manufacture Sonova models, to Beijing Benz Automotive Co., Ltd., while transfered the production of Sonova models to Zhuzhou and Guangzhou manufacturing bases. Moreover, BAIC Foton's Huairou manufacturing base and engineering machinery plant also will move out from Beijing. It is said that the strategic reorganization project of Beijing Benz Automotive Co., Ltd. involving RMB 11.939 billion, will upgrade the original production capacity of BAIC Group Beijing Branch into Beijng Benz high-end NEV manufacturing base.

In addition, Xu Heyi also stressed several targets for the future. For example, BAIC BJEV will be listed on stock market in the third quarter. BAIC Group plans to enter into the Fortune Global 100 list in 2020, and it will manufacture the models of ARCFOX, BAIC BJEV's new energy high-end brand, after signing agreement with Magna.
The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), a key BJP ally in Bihar, asked the government today to dismiss National Green Tribunal (NGT) Chairman Adarsh Kumar Goel, who was part of a Supreme Court bench that "diluted" the provisions of a law on atrocities against Dalits and tribals.

LJP leader Chirag Paswan, whose father Ram Vilas Paswan is a cabinet minister in the Narendra Modi government, said Goel should immediately be sacked and the original provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act restored.

He warned that if this was not done, the nationwide protests announced by Dalit organisations on August 9 could turn out to be more intense than the April 2 agitation.

The protests during the April 2 "Bharat Bandh" had turned violent in various parts of the country, leaving several people dead and causing massive damage to properties.

Paswan said Goel's appointment as the NGT chairman after he retired from the apex court had sent out a wrong message and agitated the Dalit community.

Expressing its concern over the misuse of the SC/ST Act, the Supreme Court, in an order in March, had introduced several safeguards, which according to Dalit organisations and major political parties had rendered the law weak and ineffective.

Paswan said the government must take steps to restore the original provisions of the act by bringing a new bill in Parliament or through an ordinance before August 9 to pacify the Dalit organisations.

At a meeting of the Dalit MPs here yesterday, Ram Vilas Paswan, who is also the LJP president, had said Goel's appointment had sent out a wrong message.

A large chunk of the Dalits is a loyal vote-bank of the LJP in Bihar and the party has been strongly taking up issues related to the backward community.

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Days after a man was allegedly lynched by cow vigilantes in Alwar, a BJP legislator has accused people from the victim's Meo community of being involved in crime in the district and said he had already banned them from his office.

The killing of Akbar Khan has shocked the nation and it should be probed fairly, Alwar (Urban) MLA Banwari Lal Singhal told PTI.

The law will take its course. But at the same time it is also a fact that people from the Meo community are involved in crime and entire Alwar is suffering, and people should know about this, he added.

He alleged that the crimes included robberies.

"Many of them come to Alwar from Haryana and return to their villages after committing the crime, he claimed.

He said he has stopped people from Mewat - a Muslim dominated region that straddles Haryana and Rajasthan - from entering his office as most of them came only to seek favours for their relatives involved in crime.

But a local Meo leader today complained in a note submitted with the district authorities that the community was not safe in Rajasthan.

Rajasthan has become Lynchistan where so-called cow vigilantes lynched Akbar Khan. The cow vigilantes are without any fear and five people have so far lost their lives in Alwar, Sher Mohammad, head of the Alwar Meo panchayat, alleged in the memo addressed to Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.

He also alleged that Ramgarh MLA Gyan Dev Ahuja has been "openly saying" that those who beat up Rakbar Khan, also known as Akbar Khan, were his own men, a charge denied by that BJP MLA.

The police said Sher Mohammed is history-sheeter at a police station in Alwar district. But the Meo leader suggested that these were false cases.

"When the police do not find a culprit, they frame a Meo person and I am fighting for such people, he said.

Rakbar Khan was beaten up on Friday night by a group of people who suspected him of smuggling cows.

An assistant sub inspector of police was suspended and three constables sent to the police lines after reports that they had delayed taking him to hospital.

The Meo leader said Naval Kishore Sharma, who informed the police about the incident, was the main culprit. He also demanded that the role of Gyan Dev Ahuja should also be probed.

The Meo panchayat also demanded a government job for Rakbar Khan's widow and a compensation of Rs. 50 lakh.

Aslam Khan, who escaped from the mob attack, had told police that the vigilantes had boasted of backing from an MLA when they attacked his friend Rakbar Khan.

They were telling him that the MLA sahab' is with them and nobody can do anything against them, according to Aslam Khan's statement to the police.

He also told police that the attackers were also talking about setting Rakbar Khan on fire.

Aslam Khan heard the names of five people involved in the attack. There were two others in the group, but he was not aware of their names, he told police.

The police have arrested three of them so far.

Though Sher Mohammed has alleged that the MLA saheb mentioned in Aslam Khan's statement is Ahuja, no one has been named by the victim's friend.

Ahuja said the police got the 'MLA saheb' reference recorded deliberately to target him because he keeps raising his voice against their failure to stop crime.

He held the local police responsible for Rakbar Khan's death, saying the group of people who caught the man had handed him over them. But police delayed taking him to hospital, he said.

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The BJP has set a target of winning 15 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh, its state president Kanna Lakshminarayana said today, asserting that people will prefer Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "honest" to "corrupt" Telugu Desam Party and YSR Congress.

The saffron party had won only two seats in 2014 and has been facing attacks from the two regional parties after the Centre rejected the demand of granting the state special category status, but Lakshminarayana said his party will do much better in the next general election.

The BJP's campaign in the state, where the Assembly polls will be held with the Lok Sabha election, will pick up following August 16, a date it has tentatively fixed for laying foundation stone of its office.

BJP president Amit Shah has placed Andhra Pradesh among the states where he has been working to gain seats to offset any losses his party may suffer in vast swathes of north and west India, which it had swept in 2014.

Lakshminarayana, a veteran MLA with a long stint in the Congress before he joined the BJP in 2014, said the issue of special category status will not resonate with the masses as the Centre has done a lot for the state, including giving it a grant of Rs 1.55 lakh crore, allocating 25 central institutions and funding building of over 7.44 lakh houses for the poor.

"We will reach out to people with what all the Modi government has done for the state. We are aiming to win 15 seats and will certainly emerge as a strong force," he said.

He, however, acknowledged that the issues of railway zone for the state, besides the steel plant in Kadappa, should be resolved at the earliest.

Lashing out at Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, a BJP ally for four years before he severed ties over the special category status, Lakshminarayana said the state has been reeling under an "unprecedented level of corruption" in his rule.

"The state has never seen corruption at such a scale and so widespread," he said.

YSR Congress chief Jagan Reddy has also been facing corruption charges and only the BJP is in a position to offer the people an honest alternative, he claimed.

The TDP and the YSR Congress had won 15 and eight seats in the state in 2014, while the BJP, which fought in alliance with the Naidu's party, won two.

Lakshminarayana was appointed the BJP chief in May this year. The BJP has always been a marginal player in the state but has been eying gains under Shah's leadership.

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With an eye on the next Lok Sabha election the West Bengal BJP has decided to take out three major rathyatras in the state after Durga Puja this year, party sources said.

"The dates are yet to be decided. The raths will cover all the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies of the state, followed by a major rally at Brigade Parade ground in the city," state BJP president Dilip Ghosh said.

The decision to take out the rath yatra was taken during the BJP national president Amit Shah's visit to the state last month.

According to the BJP sources the three raths yatras would be taken out from Coochbehar, Birbhum and Gangasagar in South 24 Parganas district after October.

It was earlier decided that one rath yatra would be organised for every three parliamentary constituencies but as per the new decision there would be only three and they will cover greater number of constituencies, they said.

The BJP held a two-day brainstorming session in Asansol since yesterday to decide on its strategy for the Lok Sabha poll in the state, where it is aiming to increase its footprint and targets to win more than 22 seats.

At present the party has only two seats in the state.

During the meet it was decided that BJP would reach out to its old timers who for various reasons have either become inactive or have become aloof from the day to day party affairs, the sources said.

"We will try to bring back our old timers. They are our asset. Along with those who are joining the party now we also need the old timers," said a senior party leader.

State BJP general secretary Sayantan Basu said Amit Shah will visit West Bengal on August 11 to attend an agitation programme by BJP Yuva Morcha.

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The body of a stringer of a Malayalam channel, who had gone missing following a country boat tragedy in a canal near Vaikom, was found today, police said.

Body of Saji, stringer of Mathrubhumi channel, was found soon after the diving teams of fireforce and Navy resumed search operation this morning, they said.

His body will be handed over to his relatives after autopsy at the Government Medical College hospital, Kottayam, they added.

The rescue mission was still on to traceBipin, the missing car driver of the channel team.

Two members of the media team that had gone to cover the flood-hit areas near Vaikom were reported missing yesterday as the country boat carrying them capsized in the canal.

Mathrubhumi channel's Kottayam staff reporter K B Sreedharan and cameraman Abhilash, who were also in the boat, were rescued by local people in another boat.

The ferryman was also rescued by them.

Police, fire and rescue service personnel and locals had launched a search soon after the incident last afternoon but had to be called off by night fall.

Sreedharan and Abhilash have been admitted to a hospital.

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Bollywood celebrities, including lyricist Javed Akhtar and director Sudhir Mishra, today voiced their outrage over the increasing instances of lynching and pressed for justice for the victims.

Mob violence had not been justified with "such shameless audacity" even during the bleakest moments in history, said Akhtar.

"Even in the days of Ku Klux Klan and slavery in USA or at the peak of White supremacist rule in South Africa no one had justified lynching with such shameless audacity," the veteran writer-lyricist said on Twitter.

Director Sudhir Mishra added, "What do those who justify lynching say to their children?"



In the latest incident, a 28-year-old man, Rakbar Khan, was allegedly lynched to death on the suspicion of cow smuggling in Rajasthan's Alwar district. It is alleged that it took over two-and-a-half hours for the police to take the victim to a nearby hospital.

A high-level panel, set up by the state police, found four policemen guilty of dereliction in duty and suspended an assistant sub-inspector and shunted three constables to police lines.

"Cops who stand by and watch a lynching (and sometimes try to cover it up with false narratives) shouldn't they be severely punished too- instead of being just suspended or sent off to another posting. These guys are supposed to protect the innocent, not aid in their murder," filmmaker and former journalist Pritish Nandy said.

Actor-stand up comedian Vir Das tweeted, "Who does a guy have to hug to get some justice for lynching around here?"



Actor Gauahar Khan added that a dying person's statements are of no use and the accused are given a clean chit.

"The leaders of the state make loose statements about killings as if it's just a chain snatching incident, the leaders of the country stay quiet about it, but lynching is the new casual term for MURDER," she tweeted.

Actor-poet Danish Husain tagged a report about death of cows in a shelter and tweeted, "No, no - we must lynch #Muslims that's the only way to protect cows. A horrific death in a shelter is much better than being a Muslim's cattle."



Director Alankrita Srivastava said schools earlier taught students not to follow the herd and think for themselves.

" 'Mob mentality' was not a tenet to live by, but to guard ourselves against. The mob does not know reason, and is driven by anger, hatred and/or foolishness. Time to go back to school, perhaps.

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Prime Minister Theresa May announced today she will take personal control of Brexit negotiations with the EU, as time runs out to get a deal before Britain leaves the bloc in March.

"I will lead the negotiations with the European Union, with the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union (Dominic Raab) deputising on my behalf," she said in a statement to parliament.

Raab was appointed on July 9 after his predecessor, David Davis, quit in protest at May's plan for close economic ties with the EU.

Before he left, Davis had been increasingly sidelined and had spent little time with the EU's top negotiator Michel Barnier in recent months. Instead, May's Brexit adviser Olly Robbins, a senior civil servant, was increasingly been seen as the man in charge.

Giving evidence to a committee of MPs shortly after May's announcement, Robbins denied the prime minister would be directly negotiating with Barnier in Brussels.

"I doubt it," he said when asked the question, adding that the "key interlocutor" would be Raab.

Raab told the same committee that he and Robbins had been working "very closely together from day one to make sure there is one team".

Raab went to Brussels last week where he met Barnier and agreed the need to step up negotiations, which have become stalled in recent months in a row over the Irish border.

He said he still hoped to get a deal by October, to allow its ratification by the European and British parliaments before Brexit in March 2019.

Another meeting is planned with Barnier this week, Raab said, adding that he hoped to see him again throughout the coming months.

In her written statement to parliament, May said: "It is essential that in navigating the UK's exit from the European Union, the government is organised in the most effective way." She said Raab's Department for Exiting the EU (DExEU), which was set up after the 2016 referendum to lead the Brexit process, would be refocused on domestic preparations, including for no deal being struck with Brussels.

The Cabinet Office, the department which supports the prime minister, "will have overall responsibility for the preparation and conduct of the negotiations".

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A three-member Central team led by Surveyor General of India arrived in Manipur today to visit a border pillar in the Indo-Myanmar border to check whether it stands on the 'actual spot', officials said.

The team led by Surveyor General of India Lt Gen Girish Kumar comprises of joint secretary (Border Management) in the Ministry of Home Affairs, J A V Dharma Reddy and joint secretary (Bangladesh and Myanmar) Ministry of External Affairs, Sripriya Rangnathan.

The team left for Moreh town in Tengnoupal district and will visit the border pillar number 81 in the Indo-Myanmar border tomorrow, a senior police officer said.

After the visiting the border pillar the team would hold meeting with state government officials and representatives of different political parties.

Many social organisations in Manipur had alleged that border pillar 81 had been shifted 3 km inside the Indian territory.

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on July 12 said the India-Myanmar international boundary has remained "untouched and unaffected" since its construction in 1970.

The CM said the border, separating India from Myanmar, was constructed based on an agreement signed between the two countries in 1967.

"The government, in view of public apprehension, has written to the Centre to conduct a field visit to check if pillar no 81 at Kwatha Khunou in Tengnoupal district stands at the 'actual spot' as per the 1967 agreement in order to convince the stakeholders," he said.

Last month, Tengnoupal Deputy Commissioner Tombikanta, after visiting the border area, claimed that border pillar 81 had been shifted 3 km inside the Indian territory. His claim found favour with local people, several social bodies as well as political parties.

The Ministry of External Affairs, taking note of the allegations, had issued a press release on July 8, claiming that the allegation was "baseless and unsubstantiated".

During a recent visit to the site, Manipur Revenue Minister Karam Shyam also said some sections of "political rivals" were portraying a wrong picture.

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The Centre today said it would consider ordering a CBI probe if there is a recommendation from the state government into the alleged rape of inmates and murder of a girl at a government-funded shelter home at Muzaffarpur in Bihar.

Opposition parties raised the issue in the Lok Sabha, with Congress member Ranjeet Ranjan demanded a CBI probe into such cases.

In response, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said it was a serious issue.

"If there is a recommendation from the state government, then the Centre will consider ordering a CBI probe into the matter," Singh said during Zero Hour.

Medical reports have suggested that more than half of the 40 girls, lodged at the shelter home, may have had sexual intercourse at some point of time, police had said earlier.

The inmates of the shelter home have also alleged that one of their fellow inmates was beaten to death and buried at the premises of the facility, while several others were raped.

Following the allegations, the Bihar Police has launched a probe and dug up the ground at the shelter home.

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Female government employees in Maharashtra as well as their widower male colleagues with children below the age of 18 will be entitled to 180 days of special leave to look after them.

A decision to this effect was taken by the state cabinet earlier this month in Nagpur and the Government Resolution (GR) on the matter was issued today.

According to the GR, the eligible employee can avail a minimum leave of two months in a year. The two-month paid leave can be spread over three spells.

The special leave will be for looking after two children. The onus will be on the sanctioning officer to ensure the leave provision is not misused, it said.

Male employees who are widowers or whose wives are bed -ridden and not capable to look after their children are also eligible to avail the special 180-day leave till the children turn 18.

Besides state government employees, Zilla Parishad teaching and non-teaching staff, their counterparts in recognised and aided educational institutions, agriculture and non-agricultural universities and colleges affiliated to them will be entitled for the special leave, the GR said.

Leave Travel Concession (LTC) will not be granted during the leave period, the GR said.

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China today expressed confidence that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will be implemented by the new government in Pakistan after the country's general election.

Asked whether China was worried about CPEC's future after tomorrow's Pakistan polls, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said here that "the CPEC is a framework for strategic cooperation with eyes on long term development of the two countries.

It will help Pakistan develop and elevate cooperation between the two sides, he said.

Geng said "the corridor has played an important role in advancing the social and economic development of Pakistan. It enjoys the full support of Pakistani people and the government.

"We believe the construction of CPEC will move forward according to the consensus reached by the two sides and will not be affected by other factors," he said.

"At present, the China-Pakistan all weather strategic partnership is developing with sound momentum. We will work with the new administration to deepen our practical cooperation and strengthen comprehensive strategic partnership," he said.

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China and India -- the two largest developing countries and also emerging markets -- want to help and deepen cooperation with Africa and both the Asian giants are on the same page in their efforts to assist African countries, a top Chinese official said today.

China also mooted "India-China Plus One" approach to assist African countries, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Rwanda within a span of 24 hours, while on their way to BRICS summit in South Africa.

While Xi visited the East African country from Sunday to Monday, Modi arrived in Kigali, the Rwandan capital, on Monday.

Playing down any India-China competition to gain influence in Africa, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told the media here that both countries are on the same page to assist African countries.

During Xi's visit to Kigali, both China and Rwanda signed several bilateral cooperation documents including the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Geng said in response to a question about visits of Xi and Modi to the African country.

India has extended a USD 200 million lines of credit to Rwanda for development projects and Rwanda's Finance Minister Uzziel Ndagijimana has been quoted as saying in the media that an agreement has been signed with China to provide USD 126 million for two road projects.

"We noticed that on the same day, Prime Minister Modi also visited Rwanda and the two countries signed several bilateral cooperation agreements on investment and infrastructure. China and India are the two largest developing countries and also emerging markets. We both want to help and deepen cooperation with African nations. We are on the same page," Geng said.

Referring to Modi-Xi informal summit at Wuhan city in April followed by another one at Qingdao during Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, Geng said the two leaders were set to meet again at the BRICS summit in South Africa this week.

"The cooperation between both countries is developing with sound momentum. We hope that both countries could continue to implement the consensus between the two leaders, explore other cooperation models like 'China-India plus one' or 'China-India plus X' so as to realise win-win cooperation for China and India and for the peace and stability in the region," he said.

China had mooted the India-China Plus One cooperation with India's South Asian neighbours at the Wuhan summit, according to Chinese officials who spoke about the same today in the context of the forays being made by both the countries in Africa.

China has been stepping up its reach in Africa with billions of dollars of investments under the BRI initiative.

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Children in traditionally Buddhist Tibet have been banned from taking part in religious activities over the summer holidays, an official Chinese Communist Party newspaper has reported.

The Global Times quoted an education official in the regional capital of Lhasa as saying that students were required to sign an agreement to "not take part in any form of religious activity" during the break.

The policy appears to reflect increasingly harsh restrictions on the Himalayan region's traditional Buddhist culture, largely aimed at reducing the influence of the region's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in India.

"The students are following the regulation under the guidance of their parents and teachers," the paper said, quoting Choephel, the head of the political education department at Lhasa Middle School, who like many Tibetans uses just one name.

No phone number was available for the department and Chinese authorities severely limit foreign journalists' access to Tibet. The report was viewed on the paper's website today.

China claims Tibet has been part of its territory for more than seven centuries and regards the Dalai Lama as a dangerous separatist. Many Tibetans insist they were essentially independent before the Communist Party's People's Liberation Army's battled its way into the Himalayan region in 1950.

The presence of security forces was increased significantly after deadly anti-government rioting broke out in Lhasa in 2008 and spread quickly through Tibetan-inhabited areas in western China.

Buddhist religious institutions that form the backbone of the region's culture have become a particular target of the authorities.

The overseas-based International Campaign for Tibet reported earlier this month that young Tibetan monks were forced to leave one of the biggest monasteries in a Tibetan region of western China as part of a drive to replace monastic life with secular education.

That threatens to cut the transmission of religious knowledge and monastic tradition between monks of different generations, the organization said. Recent months have also seen sweeping crackdowns on traditional Muslim culture among the Uighur ethnic minority group in the northwestern region of Xinjiang and among Christians in eastern China.

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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa today announced that China would invest USD 14 billion in the country after he held talks with President Xi Jinping in Pretoria on the eve of a multilateral summit.

Ramaphosa came to power in February pledging to revive the economy and attract investors after Jacob Zuma was ousted from office at the end of a nine-year reign dominated by graft scandals, low economic growth and record unemployment.

"We have signed several agreements and memorandums of understanding that are intended to further deepen our relations, including investment commitments to the value of USD 14 billion," Ramaphosa said, standing beside Xi.

"Bilateral trade has not reached its potential," Ramaphosa adding, saying the investment would focus on infrastructure, agriculture and technology.

Xi arrived in South Africa ahead of a summit of BRICS emerging economies -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- starting tomorrow.

"China... and will take active measures to expand imports from South Africa so as to support the government," Xi said.

Among the deals signed today was a USD 2.5 billion loan to South Africa's state-run power company Eskom, which is burdened by massive debts and embroiled in graft allegations involving Zuma's government.

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A civil society outfit today sought the support of political parties for the passage of anti-trafficking bill in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament.

The Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018, was introduced by Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi last week.

Amod K Kanth, General Secretary, Prayas Juvenile Aid Centre (JAC) Society said he was also a part of the consultation process and the bill incorporates prevention, rescue and rehabilitation for various aggravated forms of trafficking like forced child labour, forced marriage, sexual exploitation, organ trade, forced surrogacy and forced begging.

"The provisions listed in the bill are important and the enforcement of this legislation will help curb the menace of trafficking in India," he said in a letter to the political parties, including the BJP and Congress.

Kanth urged the parties to support the bill and allow its passage in the current monsoon session.

The bill was approved by the Cabinet in February and while it was hailed by many as a 'path-breaking' legislation, it faced severe criticism from activists on the ground that it violated the rights of sex workers and threatened free speech and labour rights.

However, various groups have pointed out that the bill did not mention terms like "sexual exploitation" or "prostitution" and was unfavourable towards the transgender community, because they were not conclusively covered under the bill.

Currently, India uses different laws to deal with human trafficking cases depending on the nature of the incidents.

The police use the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act to raid brothels and rescue the women from there, while in other cases, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act is enforced to prosecute the traffickers. Yet, in some cases, labour laws are invoked.

The bill, when passed will be the only legislation dealing with all form of human trafficking.

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One peak, one month, 700 climbers. Touching the Himalayan skies, the Mount Everest has long called out to the brave of heart and will and this climbing season was no different with an average of more than 23 people summiting the world's tallest mountain each day.

But this rush to conquer has extracted a toll on the fragile Himalayan ecosystem with mountaineers leaving behind a garbage footprint and the microclimate of the region being impacted, say experts.

What is needed is a balance between the economics of the region and its ecology, they say, calling for a restriction in numbers.

Many thousands have climbed the 8,848 metre high mountain since Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay first reached the peak in 1953.

According to Alan Arnette, eminent mountaineer and speaker, over 640 people made it to the Everest last May and this year it was over 700.

While May is the spring climbing season, the autumn season, which is longer and stretches over two months in September and October, sees the same numbers.

In monetary terms, such expeditions add significantly to Nepal's economy. In a 2011 study, former Nepal Mountaineering Association president Ang Tshering Sherpa estimated that the total economic contribution from Mt. Everest expedition teams in one climbing season of Spring 2011 was over Nepali Rs 64 crore (approx USD 9 million).

However, the effect of the incessant stamping up the Everest has left its impression on the Himalayan ecosystem.

Large numbers of climbers not only leave huge footprints in the form of garbage, but also "physically assault" the land, said Anil Prakash Joshi, green activist and founder of the Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO).

"This causes deterioration in the microclimatic condition of the region and also adversely affects lower altitude areas. Repeated disturbances generate energy, leading to retreating processes in the glacier system," Joshi told PTI.

He added that many alpine zones, where temperature is usually between 1.5 and 3 degrees Celsius, have begin to show shrubby growth, an indicator of rising general temperature in the area.

Arjun Vajpai, 25, who recently summited the Kanchenjunga and climbed the Everest in 2010, feels the balance between economy and ecosystem can only be achieved when climbers take responsibility for their actions.

"It is ok if more and more people want to attempt Everest as long as they do it responsibly. By that I mean two things- They should undergo proper fitness and mountaineering training before attempting the Everest, and second they should be responsible towards the nature and the eco-system," he said.

"Humans come from nature and our ancestors have been living with nature since the beginning of time. Why can't we do it in today's age then?" Vajpai asked.

As concerns mount over the state of the environment, change has begun.

After tonnes of garbage, including used oxygen cylinders, broken equipment, food waste and human excrement, accumulated on the mountain, the Nepal government put in place some regulations in place two years ago.

For last some years, all climbers are required to bring back their waste. If not, they are charged a fine of $4,000 for their negligence towards the

Joshi suggested the Nepal government can limit the number of people going on Everest expeditions, as is done for the Mansarovar Yatra, a lake in China's Tibet region considered holy by Hindus.

Since there has already been a lot of damage in the system, laws relating to expeditions must be enforced, he said.

"Besides, some serious high eco-tax must be charged on such expeditions and the same tax be used to pay sherpas to collect garbage or any other material of hazardous nature," he added.

Vajpai, who was the youngest Indian to summit Everest in 2010 when he was just 18, said the situation is "not so bad" now after the climbing community realised the "big problem".

"This is a big misconception that there is a lot of garbage on Everest. Yes, it was true at some point in time but the mountain is a lot cleaner now. Everyone in the climbing community has realized this as a big problem and the expeditions bring back their own trash," he said.

Everest expeditions, that may appear to be an attempt to satiate the personal sense of achievement, can help raise awareness with respect to "over 200 peaks still untouched" in Himalayas, Vajpai said.

"It is my goal to raise awareness about outdoors and mountaineering in every household of India. I feel India as a nation has a very big potential to develop as a mountaineering nation...So much to explore and so much potential to grow as a mountaineering nation. I hope through each mountain I climb and through the attention which it gets, I am able to raise some awareness," he said.

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The US today said it is "closely" monitoring the situation in Pakistan which goes to polls tomorrow, emphasising that it supports free, fair, transparent and accountable elections in the country.

Pakistan will go to the polls tomorrow to elect a new prime minister in the second democratic transition of power in the nation's 70-year chequered history amid accusations of manipulation by the powerful army and concerns over the participation of Islamic hardliners in large numbers.

Ahead of the polls, a State Department spokesperson said, "The United States is monitoring developments closely as millions of Pakistanis prepare to cast their vote in Wednesday's national election."



We support free, fair, transparent and accountable elections in Pakistan, as we do around the world; and we encourage all Pakistanis to peacefully exercise their democratic right to vote, the spokesperson said.

The US remained non-committal on sending its election observers in Pakistan.

"US Mission Pakistan is evaluating whether the conditions exist that would enable the participation of its election observers on Wednesday, the official said in response to a question.

Asked about allegations that the Pakistan Army is meddling in the elections, the spokesperson said the US will not comment on Pakistan's internal

"It is vital that all of Pakistan's institutions support and respect the free will of the Pakistani people, expressed through these upcoming elections, the spokesperson said.

The State Department spokesperson noted that Pakistan's Election Commission rejected registration of the Milli Muslim League (MML) in June, citing its linkages to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), an internationally-sanctioned terrorist organisation.

The US State Department also amended its Foreign Terrorist Organisation designation of LeT in April to add MML as an alias of the group, the official said.

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An over 8-km stretch of Delhi Metro's Pink line, from Durgabai Deshmukh South Campus to Lajpat Nagar stations, was today inspected by the Commissioner for Metro Rail Safety (CMRS), paving way for its opening that is expected early next month.

The 8.10 km-long section has six stations, including two interchange facilities at INA (with Yellow Line) and Lajpat Nagar (Violet Line).

This stretch is part of the 59 km-long Majlis Park to Shiv Vihar corridor (Pink Line).

The inspection by the CMRS took place today. It was earlier scheduled to be held on July 23, but was postponed by a day, a senior DMRC official today said.

The new stations are -- Sir Vishveshariah Moti Bagh, Bhikhaji Cama Place, Sarojini Nagar, INA, South Extension and Lajpat Nagar.

With the opening of this section, the operational span of the Pink Line from Majlis Park to Lajpat Nagar will become 29.66 km and the entire operational span of the DMRC will reach 296 km with 214 stations.

The first corridor of the Pink Line, from Majlis Park to South Campus was opened on March 14, connecting north and south campuses of the Delhi University on the DMRC network for the first time.

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The Maharashtra government has issued a circular for the second time directing all the colleges to not charge full fees from the students of the Maratha community under the Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj scholarship.

The move is seen as a bid to calm down the protesters demanding reservation in government jobs and under OBC quota.

The protests for the quota turned violent today, a day after a member of the community jumped into the Godavari river in Aurangabad district.

"The government will reimburse 50 per cent fees of those students whose parents' annual income is less than Rs 8 lakh under the scholarship scheme," Tawde said.

He said the colleges charging full fees from the students could face a legal and disciplinary action if they failed to follow the directives of the government.

Tawde urged the students to lodge a complaint with Joint Director, Education, and nodal officers appointed for the purpose.

He further said the government has done more for the Maratha community than what the previous governments led by the Congress and NCP had done.

Tawde alleged that a handful of Maratha families from the Congress and the NCP have been controlling the levers of power for the past 40 to 45 years.

"The resentment in the Maratha community is against these families," the minister said.

To another query over the ongoing agitation, the minister said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his senior colleagues Girish Mahajan and Chandrakant Patil are talking to the protesters.

Senior Sena leader and Minister for Industries Subhash Desai said those who had assured reservation to the Maratha community before 2014 polls should come forward and clarify.

Meanwhile, conveners of Maratha Kranti Morcha (MKM) said tomorrow's bandh in Mumbai and surrounding areas will be peaceful.

The conveners said essential services like ambulances, schools colleges will be excluded from the ambit of the shutdown.

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Noted intellectual Dr Hiren Gohain today claimed that communal forces, both Hindus and Muslims, are trying to hijack and derail the update process of the NRC by making provocative statements.

Gohain, who is also the Chairperson of the Forum Against Citizenship Act Amendment Bill, requested the government to set up an independent commission to look into the future of the people not finding their names in the final NRC to avoid any humanitarian issue.

"The NRC is not a bad or communal thing. But certain section is trying to give a communal colour to it. Communal forces of both Hindus and Muslims are interested in hijacking and derailing the entire NRC process," he said without elaborating.

The Forum is concerned that certain international publications trying to project the update exercise of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) as the beginning of an ethnic cleansing of Bengali speaking Muslims, the political commentator told a press conference here.

"By making such provocative statements, they cannot stop the NRC. It is only creating a fear psychosis among the people. I do not know if it is being done intentionally or due to lack of knowledge," Gohain, an eminent educationist, said.

The former professor of the Gauhati University also requested the government to think about the future prospects of those people whose names will be excluded from the final version of the NRC.

"An Independent Commission should be formed to see the future of those people not finding their names in the final list. They should not be pushed back like animals. The Commission should think of how to deal with the situation to avoid any humanitarian crisis here," Gohain said.

On the chances of some genuine Indians getting excluded from the final list to be released on July 30, Gohain said there may be a few cases of denial of due rights, but those should not immediately construed as deliberate.

"In many cases, indigenous people do not have any documentary evidence of their citizenships. Notices from the Foreigners Tribunals have reached to scores of non-Muslim ethnic families also. These are due to mechanical and bureaucratic inhuman attitude," he explained.

Gohain also requested the authorities to extend the time limit beyond one month for raising objection by people not included in the final list.

The NRC is being updated with March 24, 1971 as the cut-off date for legitimate claim to Indian citizenship in Assam. The state which had faced influx of people from Bangladesh since the early 20th century, is the only state having an NRC, which was first prepared in 1951.

Gohain said Bangladesh is a poor country and may not readily agree to take back all the illegal immigrants from Assam after the NRC.

The first draft of the NRC was published during the intervening nights of December 31 and January 1 this year, containing 1.9 crore names out of a total applications of 3.29 crore people in Assam.

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The opposition Congress blamed today Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for the Maratha reservation agitation taking a violent turn and demanded his resignation.

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil of the Congress accused the state government of dilly-dallying on the demands of the community when it was taking out "silent" morchas cross the state to press for its demands, including reservation in jobs and education.

Nine policemen were injured in stone pelting, while two protesters attempted suicide during the Maharashtra bandh called by Maratha outfits to press for reservation.

"Fadnavis should have chalked out a time-bound programme to deliver on the promise of Maratha reservation when silent morchas (rallies) were being taken out.

"But, since the BJP government is anti-reservation, it has not given reservation not only to Marathas but also Muslims and Dhangars (shepherd community)," he said.

He said Fadnavis's "provocative" statements on the eve of "Ashadhi Ekadashi" were also responsible for the violence and he should take moral responsibility and quit.

During the just-concluded monsoon session of the legislature in Nagpur, the opposition demanded that the government take steps to provide reservation to Marathas. But, there was no satisfactory response from the government, Vikhe Patil said.

State Congress spokesman Sachin Sawant said Fadnavis' "irresponsible" statements levelling false allegations against the Maratha quota stir leaders were the main reason for the agitation taking a violent turn.

He alleged the BJP engaged in caste polarisation since the silent morchas were taken out by the community and the ruling party took benefit of the polarisation during the local body elections across the state.

"Now, there is a huge discontent against the BJP government and this is the reason it is pitting Dalits against Marathas by engineering the Bhima-Koregaon violence earlier this year (in Pune district)," Sawant said.

On Sunday, Fadnavis, while announcing his decision not to participate in the annual puja at the Lord Vitthal Temple Pandharpur on the occasion of Ashadhi Ekadashi, said "Police have intercepted some messages, like 'will release snakes among devotees', 'could create a situation that would lead to stampede', among others."



A pro-quota leader of the community had said in Pandharpur that if Fadnavis visited the temple town on July 23, "they will hold a massive protest there and disrupt the puja".

Fadnavis had hit hack at protesters, saying such a move was a shame for a "progressive" state like Maharashtra.

"The puja is beyond But some 10 lakh people (devotees) are there (in Pandharpur). Efforts are being made by some organisations and people to create a life- threatening situation in Pandharpur," the CM had said.

The Maratha Kranti Morcha, the organisation leading the agitation, has demanded an apology from Fadnavis for alleging that some members from the community were planning violence at Pandharpur.

Fadnavis has said only the courts can take a decision on granting reservation to the Marathas, a politically influential community.

"Some (pro-reservation) organisations are aware of it; still they are instigating the community. If throwing stones at me can get reservation for the Maratha community, then I am ready for it," he had said.

"Those who hold devotees to ransom cannot be called true followers of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj," the CM had said.

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The Congress on Tuesday gave notices for breach of privilege against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Lok Sabha for "misleading" the House on the deal issue.

The notices were moved by Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Veerappa Moily, K V Thomas, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Rajiv Satav, sources said.

The notices were given over the statements made by Modi and Sitharaman in Lok Sabha during the debate on the no-confidence motion on July 20.

"The prime minister has along with the defence minister deliberately mislead the House, it is, therefore, requested that this notice of breach of privilege be accepted and referred to the privilege committee for further proceedings," the notice against the prime minister says.

The prime minister in his speech endorsed the defence minister's claims, which contradicted the reply of his Minister of State for Defence in Lok Sabha on November 18, 2016 and in Rajya Sabha on March 19, 2018, the notice says.

ALSO READ: Rahul vs Modi: Congress and BJP fight over Rafale deal in Lok Sabha

The prime minister's claim of transparency in the 2008 confidentiality agreement with France is factually incorrect, untrue, and deliberately made with the intention to mislead the House, according to the notice.

The prime minister and his cabinet, as per the Constitution, are collectively accountable to Parliament and through it to the people of the country, it says.

ALSO READ: CWC 2018: Rahul Gandhi questions flip-flop on Rafale secrecy clause

The minister had knowingly and intentionally misled Parliament by withholding the information that the government is obliged to reveal to Parliament, the notice against Sitharaman says.
Senior Congress leader K V Thomas today demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe the Rafale fighter jet deal.

Participating in a debate on Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha, Thomas questioned the "secrecy" behind not revealing the cost.

"The prime minister promised clean and transparent governance. It (the deal) will come under the (scrutiny) of the Comptroller and Auditor General. The cost will also be revealed when it comes before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC)," Thomas said.

People have the right to know about the cost, Thomas said.

When asked later, Thomas said this was his personal demand.

The Congress also today submitted notices for breach of privilege in the Lok Sabha against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for "misleading" House on Rafale deal.

The party has been stepping up the attack on the government claiming that the Modi-led dispensation had bought the 36 aircraft at a higher cost than what was negotiated by the UPA.

The government has been mainitaining that the cost could not be revealed, citing the secrecy clause in the Rafale deal between India and France.

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The Congress is ready to accept any candidate from among the Opposition as the next prime minister who does not have the backing of the RSS, party sources said today.

To prevent the BJP from coming back to power in 2019, the Congress will look to cobble up alliances with various parties in states, they said.

On whether Congress President Rahul Gandhi will step aside for a woman candidate from a possible Opposition alliance, the sources said he "is comfortable seeing any prime minister other than an RSS-backed one".

Let's see how the dice rolls, the sources said.

There is speculation in the Opposition camp that a woman prime ministerial candidate may be projected in the next elections and names of BSP leader Mayawati and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee are doing the rounds.

According to the sources, the Congress leadership is of the view that the BJP will be decimated without any "anger and disrespect".

The BJP will not get enough seats to win the next general polls as parties like the TDP, the Shiv Sena are not happy with the saffron party, the sources added.

For Narendra Modi to be the prime minister again, he has to get seats in the range of 280 and that is not going to happen, they said.

The sources said if grand alliances in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar work out fine, then it will be difficult for Modi.

They claimed that Modi is desperate to win the 2019 polls as he fears that the RSS as also agencies like the CBI will be after him if he is out of power.

While Uttar Pradesh has 80 Lok Sabha seats, Bihar has 40 and the two together comprise over 22 per cent of the total strength of Lok Sabha members of 543.

Noting that the Congress is focussing on increasing women's representation in the party, the sources said women leaders will be appointed in general secretary level posts after they gain experience at different levels of party functioning.

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The Congress may have pitched for Rahul Gandhi as its prime ministerial candidate for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls but today gave indications it is not averse to accepting a nominee for the top post from any Opposition alliance who does not have the backing of the RSS.

Top Congress sources while giving this indication also said that to prevent the BJP from coming back to power in 2019, the Congress will look to cobble up alliances with various parties in states.

On whether Congress President Rahul Gandhi will step aside for a woman candidate from a possible Opposition alliance, the sources said he "is comfortable seeing any prime minister other than an RSS-backed one".

"Let's see how the dice rolls," the sources said.

There is speculation in the Opposition camp that a woman prime ministerial candidate may be projected in the next elections and names of BSP leader Mayawati and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee are doing the rounds.

After the meeting of the Congress Working committee(CWC) on Sunday, the Congress said Rahul Gandhi will be its prime ministerial face for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. It also authorised Rahul Gandhi to forge alliances with "like-minded" political parties to take on the ruling BJP.

Stating that it's going to be an "ideological fight", the sources said the Congress has to bring all the opposition parties together to defeat the BJP.

"India in 2004 is different from 2014. This is beyond our regular political battle. It is for the first time all institutions are attacked," the sources said and added, " the more the RSS attacks Congress, it will help the party to build."



The sources further said that the Congress does not believe in "right or left" views but for a liberal and pragmatic space.

According to the sources, the Congress leadership is of the view that the BJP will be decimated without any "anger and disrespect".

The BJP will not get enough seats to win the next general polls as parties like the TDP and the Shiv Sena are not happy with the saffron party, the sources added.

For Narendra Modi to be the prime minister again, he has to get seats in the range of 280 and that is not going to happen, they said.

The sources said if grand anti-BJP alliances in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar work out fine, then it will be difficult for Modi to retain power.

While Uttar Pradesh has 80 Lok Sabha seats, Bihar has 40 and the two together comprise over 22 per cent of the total strength of Lok Sabha members of 543.

Noting that the Congress is focussing on increasing women's representation in the party, the sources said women leaders will be appointed in general secretary level posts after they gain experience at different levels of party functioning.

On women's reservation bill, they said it will be a "tactical win" if the legislation gets through Parliament. However, the party has to work a lot to ensure more women in and that it would work towards creating a positive atmosphere.

The sources further said India needs to be built with new ideas to address the challenges of farm crisis, unemployment among others but the prime minister is "running out of ideas" as he is working on the political architecture of the 1990s and the saffron party is allegedly working for few corporates.

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Union Minister Arun Jaitley today slammed Congress President Rahul Gandhi for "manufacturing fake Rafale controversy", which he claimed has failed to cut ice as the fighter jet deal was a government-to-government agreement with no involvement of any private player.

Jaitley also said that in the absence of no real issue, the grand old party is redefining secularism as a euphemism for majority bashing and in the process antagonising the majority against itself.

The Congress Party, he said, realises that there is a danger of the next election becoming a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's performance.

"The popularity gap between the Prime Minister and his competitors is very wide," he said, adding that the Congress is either non-existent or a poor third or fourth in states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, which account for 50 per cent of the Lok Sabha seats.

The Congress is, therefore, faced with the prospect of effectively contesting only about 225 seats where it will face a direct clash with the BJP, Jaitley said in a Facebook post.

"What does the party do if its leader has inherent and inbuilt limitations? It had been stigmatised by corruption and in contra-distinction Prime Minister Modi has led a scam free Government.

"Its strategy, therefore, is one of distortion. If you have no issue, manufacture one. Hence the Rafale's fake controversy," said the senior BJP leader in the blog titled 'The Congress Party and the fake issue of Rafale'.

He said the Congress strategy is two-fold -- one, it has manufactured the issue of the Rafale deal, and the other pertains to redefining secularism to win"minority vote".

"The issue is failing to cut much ice. It's a Government to Government agreement with no private group involved. It involves national security and it is the armed forces which have preferred this aircraft for its improved combat ability," Jaitley said.

The UPA ministers, he added, also never disclosed the cost breakup of the weaponry because that is not in larger national interest.

The supplier/OEM manufacturers of defence equipment appoint their own offset manufacturers. The Government has nothing to do with it.

"The truth always holds together. It is falsehood that falls apart. So when Rahul Gandhi's statement (during no-confidence debate in Lok Sabha last Friday) that President Macron told him that there is no secrecy pact got smashed into pieces, the next day the Congress Party shifted the Rafale issue to other extraneous grounds," he said.

India had signed an inter-governmental pact with France in September 2016 for procurement of 36 Rafale jets. The delivery of the jets is scheduled to begin from September 2019.

After Gandhi raised the issue in Parliament, France said in a statement that a security agreement it concluded with India in 2008 legally binds the two countries to protect the classified information relating to operational capabilities of defence equipment.

Jaitley further said that the second strategy of the Congress Party is directed against the federal front.

By attacking the BJP on certain issues, he said it is engaged in an implied battle with the federal front in order to reclaim the minority vote.

"Comparison of Hindus with Taliban' and phrases such as Hindu Pakistan' are intended to help it against the federal front to reclaim the minority vote. This strategy also is likely to backfire," said Jaitley, who is recuperating after a kidney transplant operation.

He stressed that as equal participants in the Indian electoral process, the minorities have a constitutional right of a vote and so does the majority.

"By redefining secularism as a euphemism for majority bashing, the Congress Party is antagonising the majority against itself. This will always happen in an election where you have an inadequate leader and no real issue," he said.

Jaitley also recalled that while there was an outrage in the country over Congress and its leadership over the Bofors issue in 1989, the party strategists invented a counter strategy of diversion by creating a fake issue.

"A bank account in St. Kitts was created in the name of Shri V P Singh's son so that the Congress could now have a face saving argument if we are corrupt, so are you," Jaitley said.

The blog mentions that against the backdrop of the Kargil war, Congress manufactured an issue of sugar export to Pakistan and held two dozen press conferences to question Atal Bihari Vajpayee led NDA government's commitment to nationalism.

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The US Congress has asked the Trump Administration to come up with a forward-looking strategy that can reflect "measurable progress" in America's burgeoning military ties with New Delhi, nearly two years after the US designated India as a "Major Defence Partner".

A US Congressional Conference Report comprising bipartisan groups of members from House and Senate Armed Services committees today made a provision on these lines in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)-2019.

In 2016, India and United States signed the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement and India was declared a Major Defense Partner of the US, a boost for New Delhi, which has been seeking sophisticated technology from Washington to achieve self-sufficiency in defence manufacturing.

According to a summary of the conference report, NDAA-2019 requires the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State to submit a forward-looking strategy and specific benchmarks for measurable progress toward enhancing US defense cooperation with India and India's status as a major defense partner.

The NDAA-2019 now moves to the Senate and the House for a formal passage before it can be sent to the White House for President Donald Trump to sign into law.

Among other things, NDAA extends authority for the Maritime Security Initiative (MSI) for an additional five years, redesignates the Southeast Asia MSI as the Indo-Pacific MSI, includes Bangladesh and Sri Lanka as recipient countries of assistance and training, and adds India as a covered country eligible for payment of certain expenses.

It also requires the Secretary of Defense to submit a five-year plan for an Indo-Pacific Stability Initiative.

Noting that the National Defense Strategy identifies the reemergence of long-term, strategic competition as the central challenge facing the United States, the conference report classifies China and Russia as "strategic competitors" that seek to shape the world toward their authoritarian model through destabilising activities, threatening the security of the United States and its allies.

To help deter further Chinese and Russian aggression, the NDAA, as per the conference report, includes the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act and the Export Control Reform Act to give the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) the authority it needs to address national security concerns.

It also requires a public report on the military and coercive activities of China in the South China Sea and elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific region and limits Pentagon funds for Chinese language programmes at universities that host a Confucius Institute unless certain criteria are met.

The NDAA modifies the annual report on Chinese military and security developments to include malign influence, such as efforts to influence media, cultural institutions, business, and academic and policy communities in the United States.

It authorises an additional USD 235 million to procure deployable air base systems in the US Pacific Command area of responsibility to support NDS priorities and resiliency and agile logistics force posture initiatives as well as to enhance the credible combat power of US forces in the Indo-Pacific region.

Prohibiting Chinese participation in the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) subject to waivers by the Secretary of Defense, NDAA 2019 prohibits the federal government from procuring or obtaining, as well as entering into, extending, or renewing a contract with an entity that uses telecommunications equipment or services produced by Huawei Technologies Company or ZTE Corporation, which has reportedly has links to the Chinese military.

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A US congressional conference report today paved the way for waiver to countries such as India from the punitive Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act or CAATSA, which is primarily aimed at targeting Russian intelligence agencies and other entities engaged in cyberattacks.

The Senate and House Armed Services Committee in a joint conference report to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)-2019 provided a modified waiver to section 231 of

Unlike the existing version of the act, the proposed modified waiver requires presidential certifications designed to protect US alliances, military operations, and sensitive technology, said a media release issued by the Senate Armed Services Committee after the two committees announced details of the conference report.

The John McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, which authorizes funding for the Department of Defense and the national security programmes of the Department of Energy, encourages US allies and partners to reduce inventory of Russian-produced major defence equipment and advanced conventional weapons.

At the same time, it excludes the possibility of waivers for Russian intelligence agencies and other entities engaged in cyberattacks.

The move in this regard comes days after US Defense Secretary asked the to give the Secretary of State the waiver authority. Doing so allows nations to build a closer security relationship with the US as they continue to transition from reliance on Russian military equipment, he said.

The fundamental question we must ask ourselves is do we wish to strengthen our partners in key regions or leave them with no other option than to turn to Russia, thereby undermining a once-in-a-generation opportunity to more closely align nations with the US vision for global security and stability," Mattis said.

The Pentagon, the State Department and the here did not immediately respond to request for their comments on the latest development.

Before the NDAA 2019 is signed into law by President Donald Trump, the conference report, which aligns the different House and Senate versions of the defense budget, needs to be passed by the two chambers of the US

Traditionally, it is considered to be a done deal, as this has the support of leadership of both the ruling and the opposition Democratic party.

waiver though general in nature is intended at preventing US sanctions on India, which is planning to buy five S-400 Triumf air defense systems for around USD 4.5 billion from This US officials say that under the existing CAATSA, it could be considered as a significant military purchase.

The proposed legislative amendments would provide a valid ground to the to provide necessary waiver to India, even if it goes ahead with its decision to buy S-400. This is because, India's dependence on for its military hardware has experienced sustained reduction over the last one decade. At the same time, India's defense trade with the US has increased.

India is in the process of placing orders worth of billions of dollars to the US ranging from fighter jets to unmanned drones. Over the past few months, CAATSA had emerged as a major irritant to India-US relationship.

Early this month, influential US lawmakers had indicated that they were working to get this waiver for India. "I'm hopeful that we're gonna get there on something that will advance our country's interests and advance India's interest and build that trust, Senator Dan Sullivan told a audience during the Annual Leadership Summit of the US India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF).

The Indian Ambassador to the US, Navtej Singh Sarna, said India was not the target of the federal law and it should not become collateral damage of it. The administration has to find a way in which they can find a waiver for the partner on this particular thorny issue, he had then said.
Observing that the quality of investigation into cases related to animal protection has gone down, a Delhi court has asked the city police commissioner to conduct a training programme for officers to apprise them about amendments in laws.

Metropolitan Magistrate Abhilash Malhotra said police officers get less opportunity to familiarise themselves with various laws related to animal protection due to their busy routine.

The court was hearing a plea filed by a man whose buffaloes were seized by the police for alleged violation of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.

The court's observations came after holding that the police had not done a proper investigation into the bills submitted by the man, Bittu.

He has sought the release of two buffaloes and 31 buffalo calves, and filed an affidavit stating that he will not take the animals out of Delhi and will not sell them.

The court said the submitted bills, relating to the sale of animals to him, are handwritten and without any serial number or other details.

The animals were seized under Section 11 A (treating animals cruelly) of the Act.

"It cannot be ignored that police officers being busy in routine criminal investigation get very little opportunity to deal with and brush up their concepts under the Prevention of cruelty to Animals Act, the Delhi Agricultural Cattle Preservation Act...," the court said.

The magistrate said it has been observed that due to "lack of orientation to these special laws", the quality of investigation and reports is it "adversely" affected.

"The court is of the considered opinion that a training programme needs to be chalked out to hone the skills of police officers and to apprise them with basic fundamentals as well as the new rules which have been brought into force," he said.

The court said it cannot remain "oblivious" to the fact that in normal course of events, this kind of unauthenticated and 'kaccha' receipts can be easily created post-registration of a criminal case in order to escape liability.

It also directed the investigating officer to visit the place where animals are proposed to be kept and file a report on the hygiene, space, security and medical facilities available there.

The court has put up the matter for further hearing tomorrow.

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A Delhi court today issued a notice to AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan seeking his response on a plea challenging his discharge in a 2010 case in which he was accused of threatening and obstructing labour department officers from rescuing child labourers from zari units in south Delhi.

Special Judge Arvind Kumar issued notice to the Delhi government, Khan and another accused directing them to file their responses by August 21, the next date of hearing.

Senior advocate H S Phoolka, appearing for Rakesh Senger, a former National Secretary of NGO Bachpan Bachao Aandolan, told the court that the magisterial court, while discharging Khan and Saifiullah Siddiqui, "ignored the evidence and material on record which was contrary to the facts and also against the well settled law".

The case relates to the rescue of 15 child labourers by the police and and the NGO from Batla House, Jamia Nagar here.

"The trial court has erroneously held that the rescue team cannot be said to be the guardian of the rescued children.

"It is once again reiterated that the rescue team and the SDM were lawful guardian of the rescued children who were taken away forcibly from their custody by the accused persons...," the petition, filed through advocate Shilpa Dewan, said.

A magisterial court had on May 3 discharged both the accused and pulled up the police for its "lethargic" investigation.

An FIR was registered in Jamia Nagar police station on November 1, 2010 on the complaint of the then sub-division magistrate, who was leading a rescue team of child labourers in that area.

The court said that cognisance of the charge sheet should not have been taken as it was filed after six years of lodging of the FIR, much beyond the time period permissible under the law.

The FIR had said 15 child labourers were rescued by the authorities from different zari units in a joint raid launched in Batla House area by a task force on elimination of child labour, the sub-divisional magistrate, officials of the Labour Department, the Delhi Police and child rights NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan on November 1, 2010.

The children were taken to a vehicle of the NGO, but the accused (Khan) and others obstructed them from taking them away, shouted at the authorities and had an altercation with labour department officials, it was alleged.

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Two persons including a police constable were injured in a clash between participants of a rally taken out by the CPI(M) and a group of people, stated to be BJP supporters, at Udaipur town in Gomati district today, police said.

The CPI(M) and the ruling BJP accused each other of instigating violence.

"We didn't grant permission to the CPI(M) for taking out the rally in Udaipur today. We gave permission for holding rallies at Karbook and other places of the district," Gomati SP Avula Ramesh Reddy said.

The participants had some disagreement with some people near a pond leading to the clash in which two persons were injured, he said.

CPI(M) state secretary Bijan Dhar accused BJP supporters of attacking the rallyists with brickbats and sticks.

Former ministers Badal Choudhury and Ratan Bhowmik were injured in the clash among others, Dhar claimed.

BJP general secretary Pratima Bhowmik alleged that Badal Choudhury spread violence from the rally and CPI(M) cadres attacked BJP supporters.

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The Communist Party of India (Marxist) today came out in support of the Maratha community protesting for reservation in government jobs and education.

The party said tomorrow's Mumbai bandh, called by Maratha outfits to push for their reservation demand, should be observed peacefully.

"The government can omit Maratha families having high income from the ambit of reservation, but there is a sizeable population in the Maratha community that needs such an affirmative action," Ashok Dhawale, a Central Committee member of the CPI(M), told reporters here.

Calling for maintaining peace, he said, "Tomorrows bandh should be observed peacefully."



While giving reservation to the Marathas, the state government should not encroach upon the existing quotas for other communities, he added.

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RSS leader has said if the practice of eating cow meat was stopped, many crimes of the 'Satan' could be curtailed, in an apparent reference to the incidents of

Kumar was here to attend a programme of the Hindu Jagaran Manch Monday.

"If the practice of eating cow meat is stopped, many such crimes of the 'Satan' could be stopped," he said.

The RSS leader also pointed out that killing a cow was not approved by any religion.

Condemning the recent assault on social activist Swami Agnivesh, Kumar said nobody has the right to hurt the sentiments of others.

ALSO READ: RSS wants Citizenship Amendment Bill in backburner after protests in Assam

Agnivesh was beaten up at Pakur in Jharkhand on July 17 allegedly by members of BJP-affiliated youth groups who accused him of speaking against Hindus.

"It is wrong and condemnable. But nobody has the right to hurt others' sentiments in the name of freedom of expression," Kumar, an executive committee member of the RSS, said.

He said there was a need for strong action against those who hurt religious faith.

On the incidents in various parts of the country, Kumar said, "Any incident is condemnable."
A CRPF jawan was injured today when terrorists attacked a security forces' team here in the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

The terrorists fired upon the security forces' party at a checkpost near Batamaloo area of the city, a police official said.

He said a CRPF jawan was injured in the incident.

The injured jawan was shifted to a hospital, the official said, adding that further details were awaited.

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The Supreme Court today said that all the customary or religious practices, like banning entry of women in the age group of 10-50 years into the famous Sabarimala temple, will have to conform to constitutional principles.

A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra referred to articles 25 and 26 (Freedom to practice religion) of the Constitution and said that a person can only be restrained on the grounds of "public health, public order and morality".

"After 1950 (when the Constitution came into being) everything is subject to Constitution," said the bench, also comprising justices R F Nariman, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra.

The observation came when senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for Travancore Devaswom Board which runs the over 800-year-old Lord Ayyappa temple, said that the court has to test as to whether the practice is based on "bona fide belief" which is being practised for centuries by a community.

He then said that women are not allowed in mosques across the country and testing these practices based on belief would open "pandora's box".

The bench told Singhvi that it was the duty of the Devaswom Board to establish that the practice of banning women of a certain age group was the essential and integral part of the religious practice.

The bench also pointed out the contradictions in the submissions made by the Board before the Kerala High Court and said that it was the accepted position that women of all age group had been allowed to enter the Sabarimala temple during the first five days of the pilgrimage and after that there entry were barred only on the ground that the crowd used to swell.

In the earlier hearing of July 19, the apex court had questioned the rationale behind banning the entry of women in the 10-50 age group into the temple in Kerala, saying menstruation may begin before the age of 10 and menopause may hit women much earlier.

The court was was apparently not in agreement with the plea of the Devaswom Board that women of that age group were barred as they cannot observe purity and "penance" for a period of 41 days, a condition for undertaking the pilgrimage.

Senior advocate Raju Ramachandran, who is assisting the court as an amicus curiae, had said that the exclusion of women of that particular age group was akin to untouchability which was prohibited under Article 17 of the Constitution.

The bench, however, was not in agreement with the plea and said that Article 17 (abolition of untouchability) of the Constitution may not be applicable as the women, who are barred from entering, can also belong to upper castes and the provision relates to Scheduled Castes only.

The Kerala government had earlier told the court that it supported the entry of women of all age groups into the shrine.

The apex court had observed that the fundamental right of freedom to practice religion is provided to "all persons" by the Constitution and women have the right to enter and pray like men at the shrine.

The bench had also termed as "absurd" the notification of the board banning entry of women in the 10-50 age group.

The plea challenging the ban has been filed by petitioners Indian Young Lawyers Association and others.

The apex court had on October 13 last year referred the issue to a Constitution bench after framing five "significant" questions including whether the practice of banning entry of women of that particular age group into the temple amounted to discrimination and violated their fundamental rights under the Constitution.

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The Customs Department has invoked the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities (COFEPOSA) Act against an Afghan national, who was arrested with foreign currency from the international airport here last month, officials said here today.

The customs authorities on June 13 had seized undeclared foreign currency worth Rs 10.86 crore from Mohammad Seddiq Yousufi, who was going to Dubai from the airport.

Yousufi's arrest was recorded on June 14 under various provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, and was produced before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Economic Offence Court, Ernakulam.

The court had remanded the accused to 14-day judicial custody and later extended it.

Customs Commissioner Sumit Kumar said the investigation carried out by the officers of the Special Intelligence and Investigation Branch (SIIB), Custom House revealed that the Afghan national was part of a racket that had possibly taken out similar amounts in previous occasions through the Delhi Airport.

Considering the magnitude of the amounts smuggled out of the country and the serious threat to the national security, the commissioner moved an application for the preventive detention of the accused under the COFEPOSA Act, 1974.

Based on the evidence unearthed during the investigation, the joint secretary to the central government was pleased to place the accused Yousufi under preventive detention for one year under Section 3 of the COFEPOSA Act," he said.

The detention order along with Grounds of Detention and documents relied upon were served to Yousufi in Central Prison, Viyyur, Thrissur yesterday, Kumar added.

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Gold worth about Rs one crore has been seized by customs officials from four people who were allegedly trying to smuggle it into the country at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport here.

The seizures were effected in two separate instances reported in the last four days.

In the first case, a man was intercepted after his arrival from Dubai yesterday and his baggage search resulted in seizure of 20 gold bars, collectively weighing 2.3 kg and valued at Rs 69.73 lakh, a statement issued by the customs department today said, adding the passenger was arrested.

In another instance, three men were intercepted after their arrival from Muscat on Friday.

A personal search and an inspection of their baggage resulted in recovery of seven gold bars weighing 1.01 kg and valued at Rs 30.35 lakh. The three accused were arrested, the statement said.

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Dacoits broke into the house of a prominent businessman here and looted valuables, police said today.

Around half-a-dozen dacoits entered businessman Vinod Mittal's house located in front of District Magistrate's bungalow here last night.

Mittal and his his son Anurag Mittal were not in house at that time as they had gone to Gurugram for medical treatment, town Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Raj Kumar Shah said.

The dacoits tied the hands and legs of both the private security guards before decamping with the valuables from the house, he said.

There were no one in the house apart from the two security guards at the time of dacoity, the DSP said.

The details of looted articles and their value would be known only after the house owner's give a statement, Shah said.

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BJP MP Udit Raj today spoke against the appointment of retired Supreme Court judge Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel as the National Green Tribunal chairman, saying it had angered Dalits as he was part of an apex court bench, the decisions of which went against the community.

Raj, known for highlighting the issues concerning Dalits, raised the matter in the Lok Sabha and also demanded the release of the members of the backward community, who were arrested following a "Bharat Bandh" on April 2, which witnessed incidents of violence.

Other communities do not face such "injustice" when they agitate, he said.

The ruling party MP later tweeted, saying Goel's appointment as the NGT chief, soon after he retired from the apex court, amounted to a promotion for him and the decision had caused "anger and disappointment" among the Dalits.

BJP ally Lok Janshakti Party also raised the issue with its leader Chirag Paswan demanding that Goel be removed.

Raj also sought the release of the members of the backward community, who were arrested following the April 2 "Bharat Bandh" called by Dalit organisations.

Ten protestors were killed, of whom eight had fallen to bullets fired by "upper-caste" people who were angry at the Dalits for giving a call for "Bharat Bandh", he alleged.

Raj also demanded the release of Chandrashekhar, the leader of Dalit organisation Bhim Army, who has been jailed on the charge of inciting violence.

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Union Minister Jitendra Singh today blamed the Congress over the delay in appointing the Lokpal, saying it did not win the required number of seats in the Lok Sabha.

Replying to a debate on the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, the Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office said the Leader of Opposition was one of the four members of the panel that appoints the anti-graft ombudsman, Lokpal.

However, there was no Leader of Opposition due to the depleted numbers of the Congress in the Lower House, he said.

"The delay in the appointment of Lokpal is not due to the ruling party, but due to the Congress. The Congress party failed to get minimum seats. We have made an amendment to include the leader of largest party in the opposition to be a member of the panel that will select the Lokpal," Singh said.

In its worst-ever performance in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress bagged only 44 seats. To lead the opposition, a party requires at least 10 per cent of the total seats in the Lok Sabha, which is 545.

In 2016, the Lokpal Act was amended to enable the leader of single largest party in the opposition to be a member of the panel to select the Lokpal.

Besides the leader of the largest opposition party, the committee comprises the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India and the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

Incidentally, the Supreme Court today expressed dissatisfaction over the Centre's response on appointment of search committee members for a Lokpal.

A bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi, R Banumathi and Navin Sinha asked the Centre to file a fresh affidavit giving relevant details of the search committee, after Attorney General K K Venugopal submitted an affidavit and said a meeting of the selection committee was held but names for the search committee were not finalised.

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A Delhi court today summoned former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh's son Vikramaditya and others to appear before it on August 27 in a money laundering case.

Special Judge Arvind Kumar considered a charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on July 21 against Vikramaditya in the money laundering case, which also involves the former Himachal Pradesh chief minister.

The charge sheet, filed by special public prosecutors Nitesh Rana and N K Matta, also named Managing Director of Tarani Infrastructure, Vakamulla Chandrasekhar and one Ram Prakash Bhatia as accused.

Both Chandrasekhar and Bhatia are also accused in a CBI case related to the matter, along with Virbhadra Singh, his wife Pratibha Singh and others.

Besides 83-year-old Singh and his 62-year-old wife, the others named in the ED charge sheet, filed through advocate



A R Aditya, are Universal Apple Associate owner Chunni Lal Chauhan, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) agent Anand Chauhan and two other co-accused--Prem Raj and Lawan Kumar Roach.

Anand Chauhan, arrested on July 9, 2016 by the ED under relevant provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, was granted bail on January 2 in the case.

In a separate case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in relation to the matter, the former Himachal Pradesh chief minister, his wife and Chauhan were charge sheeted along with others.

The CBI had claimed that Virbhadra Singh had amassed assets worth around Rs 10 crore which were disproportionate to his total income during his tenure as a Union minister.

The matter was transferred by the Supreme Court to the Delhi High Court which, on April 6, 2016, asked the CBI not to arrest Singh and directed him to join the probe.

On November 5 last year, the apex court transferred Singh's plea from the Himachal Pradesh High Court to the Delhi High Court, saying it was not expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, but "simply" transferring the petition "in the interest of justice and to save the institution (judiciary) from any embarrassment".

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The Delhi Police is likely to recommend that Boat Club here should be used for "symbolic protests" and the agitations that require large gatherings should happen at the Jantar Mantar, after the Supreme Court lifted a blanket ban on rallies, dharnas or sit-ins at the Jantar Mantar and Boat Club areas.

According to a senior police officer, they are planning to recommend capping the number of participants at any Boat Club protest at 20.

"Since Boat Club is situated near Parliament, North and South Blocks, it is quite a sensitive area. We are planning to recommend that the number of participants should be restricted to 20 and if there is a larger crowd, the protest should happen at Jantar Mantar," said a senior police officer.

The police are also planning to recommend the nature of protests that can happen at Boat Club.

"We are planning to recommend that Boat Club should be a venue for candlelight vigils or sensitisation or awareness programmes. Protests of political nature or on issues that are currently being talked about in the public domain should happen at Jantar Mantar," he added.

Before protests and demonstrations were banned at Boat Club in early 90s, it was the destination for dissent a go-to spot for protesters of all ilk, from college students and little-known politicians to civil rights activists.

The Boat Club is a prime slice of real estate in the posh Lutyens' Delhi that stands out with its sylvan lawns around a recreational canal with boats for family pleasure rides.

One of the most famous protest at Boat Club ever hosted was led by Mahendra Singh Tikait, a Haryana farmer and leader of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, who had spearheaded a massive protest by peasants from Uttar Pradesh in 1988 in the sprawling lawns facing the Raisina Hill the seat of the government.

The crowd of protesting farmers with tractors and bullock-carts in tow, stretched nearly 3 km, between India Gate and Vijay Chowk that overlooks the North and South Blocks.

Former Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar, who held the post of a DCP here in 1988 when the farmers' rally was held, said the crowd was "unmanageable".

"The crowd filled the space between the National Stadium and Vijay Chowk. And, there were several floating crowd too who would join in. The size of the crowd was humongous, and Rajpath was filled with protesters. A number of police officials were also injured," he told PTI.

The court said there can be proper guidelines laying down the parameters under which permission can be granted for protest in the Boat Club area.

The bench said the proposed guidelines may include provisions for regulating numbers of persons, minimum distance from Parliament House, North and South Blocks, Supreme Court and residences of dignitaries.

These may also include imposing restrictions on certain routes used by the prime minister, central ministers and judges, and not permitting any demonstrations when foreign dignitaries are visiting a particular place or pass through a particular route.

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With heavy rains battering large parts of Saurashtra and south Gujarat, the opposition Congress today asked the state government to announce immediate relief measures for affected farmers.

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Paresh Dhanani of the Congress came down heavily on the BJP government for failing to make preparations in advance to minimise damage to crops due to heavy rains.

Dhanani said he has written a letter to Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, requesting him to expedite relief measures for affected farmers.

Dhahani said he recently visited some of the affected regions along with state Congress president Amit Chavda and was shocked to see the scale of destruction these areas have faced due to recent rains.

He criticised the government's pre-monsoon preparedness and wondered where crores of rupees spent for the purpose went.

"The government should ensure that in future Gujarat does not face so much destruction due to heavy rains," he said.

In his letter to the chief minister, Dhanani called for immediate steps to compensate the affected farmers for their loss of crops, cattle and properties.

Dhanani also suggested Rupani to take steps like providing power supply to affected villages, map areas using satellite imagery where freshly-sowed crops were washed away so that farmers get insurance money at the earliest.

He asked the government to make arrangement for items like life jackets, boats and mobile generators, among others, beforehand so that large-scale devastation could be minimised.

There should be a concrete back-up plan for power supply, drinking water, as well as mobile health care centres in affected areas for treatment of affected people, he said.

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CPI(M) member M B Rajesh today asked the Centre to scrap the plan to replace the UGC with a Higher Commission of India (HECI), saying the move will impact free thinking in the academia.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha, Rajesh said if the Central government goes ahead with the plan then it will increase political control in academia.

"This will impact free thinking. The academia is opposed to abolishing UGC. The move is not in sync with the federal principle of higher I appeal to the government to drop the move," he said.

The Human Resource Development Ministry has announced its decision to replace the University Grants Commission (UGC) with HECI by repealing the UGC Act, 1951.

According to a draft bill, the new commission will solely focus on academic matters and monetary grants would be under the purview of the ministry.

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Elections have been postponed in eight national and provincial assembly constituencies in Pakistan which goes to the polls tomorrow, according to a media report.

In one of the constituencies, a candidate had been disqualified while in the other seven, the contesting candidates had passed away, the Express Tribune reported.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hanif Abbasi was handed a life sentence in the Ephedrine quota case, rendering him unfit to contest the polls for NA-60, leading to the postponement.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced to defer polling in PK-78 Peshawar, PP-87 Mianwali, PS-87 Malir, PK-99 Dera Ismail Khan, PB-35 Mastung, PP-103 and NA-103 Faisalabad constituencies.

The polls shall be contested in 841 constituencies of the country tomorrow. Of these, votes shall be cast in 271 constituencies out of 272 National Assembly seats. While in the four provinces, candidates will battle it out in 500 of the 507 seats available.

The run up to the elections has been one of the bloodiest in the countries history which saw string of deadly attacks by terrorists targeting election candidates and their supporters.

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The West Bengal irrigation department has completed repairing around 1411 river embankments, riverbanks and different structures damaged during last year's heavy rainfall to cope with any flood-like situation in the state, Irrigation Minister Soumen Kumar Mahapatra told the Assembly today.

Starting on June 1 the state irrigation department has opened two separate flood control rooms in Kolkata and Jalpaiguri and 22 other centres in the districts to keep an eye on the water-level of various river bodies, total rainfall and condition of the drainage canals, Mahapatra said.

The department has also carried out repair works of 11 water pumping stations in and surrounding areas of the city besides, setting up 40 new pumping stations in the low lying areas in the state, Mahapatra said.

The minister said that around 940 km of drainage canals in the city and at around five districts North and South 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly, East Medinipore have been brought under the annual maintenance contract to keep them clean.

To ensure that the drainage systems function properly during this year's monsoon, proper dredging has also been carried out at various drainage canals, the minister said.

The department had earlier this month held a meeting with the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) authorities on releasing water during the monsoon this year.

Water released by DVC have in the past flooded low lying areas of several south Bengal districts.

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Former AgustaWestland and Finmeccanica directors Giuseppe Orsi and Bruno Spagnolini, ex-IAF chief S P Tyagi and others were today summoned as accused by a Delhi court in a money laundering case related to the VVIP chopper scam.

Special judge Arvind Kumar directed the accused persons to appear before the court on September 12, while issuing fresh non-bailable warrants against Italian middlemen Carlo Gerosa and Guido Haschke and Dubai-based businessman Rajeev Saxena in the case.

Besides six, the court also summoned as accused 28 Indian and foreign individuals and companies, including lawyer Gautam Khaitan, AgustaWestland and its parent company Finmeccanica SPA.

The court passed the directions after taking cognisance of the charge sheet, saying there was enough evidence against the accused in the matter relating to the alleged money laundering to the tune of around Euro 28 million.

The probe report, filed through special public prosecutors D P Singh and N K Matta under sections 3 and 4 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), also claimed that the kickbacks were paid by AgustaWestland through two different channels.

"One channel was handled by middleman Christian Michel James and the other channel was handled by Gerosa and Haschke. Gerosa and Haschke in collusion with Rajiv Tyagi and Sanjeev Tyagi, cousins of S P Tyagi, conspired with Gautam Khaitan of M/s OP Khaitan & Co, Auditors and Solicitors based at New Delhi," the charge sheet said.

The ED, in its charge sheet, has alleged that money was laundered through multiple foreign companies which were used as fronts to park alleged kickbacks.

The agency said that it may file more supplementary charge sheets in the matter.

On January 1, 2014, India had scrapped the contract with Finmeccanica's British subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP choppers to the IAF over alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of kickbacks of Rs 423 crore paid by it to secure the deal.

Those summoned by the court include Tyagi and his cousins, Khaitan and his wife Ritu, Rajeev Saxena and his wife Shivani, both directors of two Dubai-based accused firms UHY Saxena and Matrix Holdings, O P Khaitan and Co, International Mediterranean Consulting, Tunisia and Infotech Design Systems Gordian Services.

"Khaitan, the mastermind behind laundering the proceeds of crime in the present case, was known to Gerosa, Haschke and Tyagi brothers. He prepared a corporate structure of companies and got incorporated several legal entities across the globe.

"Thereafter, the proceeds of crime were laundered through various companies in Tunisia, Mauritius, India, Singapore, Switzerland, Dubai etc.," the charge sheet said.

It further claimed that Khaitan also received proceeds of crime in personal bank accounts opened in his name and the accounts of his companies in India and abroad, Windsor Holding Group Ltd, Ismax International Ltd and O P Khaitan & Co.

"Further, his associate Rajiv Saxena, an NRI based in Dubai, is the director and shareholder of M/s Interstellar Technologies Ltd, Mauritius, which is one of the main fronts used for laundering the proceeds of crime in the said case.

"Rajiv Saxena has also transferred proceeds of crime from M/s Interstellar to his Dubai based companies M/s UHY Saxena and M/s Matrix Holdings Ltd," it said.

The agency added that Rajeev Saxena, already declared a proclaimed offender by the court in the case, in collusion with Gautam Khaitan, was also instrumental in incorporating various companies which were used in laundering the proceeds of crime in Dubai.

"Gerosa and Haschke advanced huge amounts of tainted money to the Tyagi brothers in the guise of sham consultancy agreements in return of favours given to AgustaWestland in the procurement of the contract for VVIP Helicopters. The Tyagi brothers incorporated various entities for receiving kickbacks, namely Krishneel, Krishnayan, Tyagi Ishan, Krishnom, etc.," it said, adding that S P Tyagi was 50 per cent partner in one of these concerns, namely Krishnom.

The ED had earlier attached properties worth Rs 10 crore and freezed shares worth more than Rs 150 crore belonging to Tyagi Brothers, Gautam Khaitan, Gerosa, Haschke, Christian Michel James and Rajiv Saxena.

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Older adults who exercise above current recommended levels have a reduced risk of stroke, diabetes, and cancer, compared with those who do not, according to a study led by an Indian origin researcher.

Researchers from the University of Sydney in Australia interviewed over 1,500 Australian adults aged over 50 and followed them over a 10-year period.

People who engaged in the highest levels of total physical activity were twice as lively to avoid stroke, heart disease, angina, cancer and diabetes, and be in optimal physical and mental shape 10 years later, researchers said.

Adults who did more than 5,000 metabolic equivalent minutes (MET minutes) each week saw the greatest reduction in the risk of chronic disease, they said.

"Essentially we found that older adults who did the most exercise were twice as likely to be disease-free and fully functional," said Bamini Gopinath, an associate professor at University of Sydney.

"Our study showed that high levels of physical activity increase the likelihood of surviving an extra 10 years free from chronic diseases, mental impairment and disability," said Gopinath.

Currently, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends at least 600 MET minutes of physical activity each week. That is equivalent to 150 minutes of brisk walking or 75 minutes of running.

"With ageing demographics in most countries, a major challenge is how to increase the quality and years of healthy life," Gopinath said.

"Our findings suggest that physical activity levels need to be several times higher than what the World Health Organization currently recommends to significantly reduce the risk of chronic disease," she said.

"Some older adults may not be able to engage in vigorous activity or high levels of physical activity," she added.

"But we encourage older adults who are inactive to do some physical activity, and those who currently only engage in moderate exercise to incorporate more vigorous activity where possible," she said.

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Families covered by the national health insurance scheme will be eligible to avail benefits under the new Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM) even if they do not figure in the Socio Economic Caste Census database, Parliament was informed today.

The government, through the AB-NHPM, aims to provide a coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family annually to over 10 crore poor households. The National Health Agency (NHA) is the apex body for implementation of the insurance scheme.

The combined budgetary allocation for the AB-NHPM is Rs 2,000 crore and the contribution towards premium between the Centre and state is in the 60:40 ratio in all states except northeastern and three Himalayan states where it is 90:10, Minister of State for Health Ashwini Kumar Choubey informed the Rajya Sabha today.

The Centre's contribution of premium is proposed to be 100 per cent in Union Territories without legislature, while it is 60:40 for those with legislature.

The government has approved that beneficiary families under the AB-NHPM will be identified by applying the deprivation criteria and will automatically include households in rural areas and those under the defined 11 occupational categories for urban areas in the Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC) database.

"The Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) beneficiary families which are not in SECC data base will also be eligible for benefit under Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Mission," he said



Replying to a question, Choubey said 1,350 procedures covering speciality such as cardiology, ophthalmology, orthopaedic, urology, obstetrics, gynaecology, neurosurgery, general surgery, oncology, paediatric surgery, mental disorders packages have been listed in the benefit package for the AB-NHPM.

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Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today ordered that all vacant posts in the Delhi government's hospitals be filled up on contractual basis by September 15 until the process for permanent hiring is completed, officials said.

Kejriwal took the decision during a review meeting on shortage of staff in the health department, which was also attended by Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain and other senior officials.

"Chairing the meeting, the chief minister went through the list of vacancies in different hospitals and discussed it with the (health) minister and other officials," according to a statement issued by the government.

The vacant posts include those of pharmacists, nursing staff, radiographers, laboratory assistants, technicians, OT assistants, physiotherapists and sanitary inspectors, it said.

"After reviewing the vacancies, the chief minister ordered that all the posts must be filled on contract basis till the permanent hiring process is completed through several government agencies," the statement said.

He was of the view that patients cannot be made to suffer because of shortage of staff, officials said.

The major hospitals, under the Delhi government include the LNJP Hospital, GB Pant Hospital, DDU Hospital, Dr BSA Hospital, among other facilities.

The chief minister has set a "deadline of September 15" for filling up all the vacancies on contractual basis, the statement said.

"Health sector has been one of the top priorities of the government and the sector has got a major fillip since the present government came to power in 2015. However, the shortage of staff has been ailing the sector for long as hiring could not be done due to several reasons," the statement said.

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A special CBI court today held five policemen guilty in connection with the custodial death of a man in 2005.

The prosecution case was that Udayakumar (26), who was taken into custody for questioning in a theft case, died in custody after being tortured by police.

Two policemen, who took Udayakumar into custody, were found guilty of murder while three others were found guilty of conspiracy and destroying evidence.

The court would pronounce the sentence tomorrow.

A total of six policemen were accused in the case and one died during the course of trial.

The case triggered widespread protests across the state as it was alleged that police had used third degree methods on Udayakumar.

The CBI took over the investigation following a high court order on a plea filed by Udayakumar's mother Prabhavathi.

"No mother should suffer such a trauma like this," Prabhavathi said on hearing the verdict that came after 13 years.

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A day after four women were assaulted on suspicion of being child lifters in Dhupguri block of the district, four others were today detained after people of a village in the block handed them over to the police on the same suspicion.

The villagers of Paschim Salbari confined the four, including a woman, in her residence and informed the police, Jalpaiguri superintendent of police Amitabha Maity said here.

They were, however, not beaten up, he said.

The incident occurred a day after four women were assaulted and two of them disrobed by a mob at another village in the same Dhupguri block on suspicion of being child-lifters.

The SP said the four, of whom three were outsiders, were being interrogated in Dhupguri police station.

Police sources said one of the three outsiders came from Assam who had said he and the woman were in love.

However, the villagers found inconsistency in their statements following which they were handed over to the police, the sources said.

On yesterday's assault on four women, the SP said they hailed from New Jalpaiguri area and had committed petty crimes in the past.

Incidents of assault on people following rumours of child lifting has been taking place in the district for sometime.

Last week, a mentally deranged woman was beaten up in the same block on suspicion of being a child-lifter.

The SP said the rumour of child-lifting was spread by people who wished to disturb the law and order in the district.

The police have been asking the people through social media and public address system not to take law into their own hands and contact the police on the helpline if they found anything suspicious.

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A group of junior engineers of the Ghaziabad Development Authority today staged a protest against the GDA vice chairperson over suspension of their colleagues in connection with the collapse of a five-storey building here recently.

The engineers affiliated to the Uttar Pradesh Diploma Engineers Maha Sangh contend that only junior engineers (JEs) are not responsible for illegal construction and action should be taken against higher authorities as well.

The president of the city unit of the junior engineers' body, Gyan Praksh Diwedi, said junior engineers are supposed to inform higher authorities and they have certain role in checking illegal construction.

A memorandum was also handed over to vice chairperson Ritu Maheshwari.

The five-storey building had collapsed here on Sunday killing two persons and injuring eight others, officials said.

A special investigating team (SIT) was formed to probe the incident.

After the investigation report, the district magistrate and vice chairperson of GDA Ritu Maheshwari sent a recommendation to the government to initiate action against assistant engineer of GDA Nishant Kumar and junior engineers T N Singh, Rama Kant Tiwari, Rameshwer Sharma, Kamaldeep, Arun Kumar and Adarsh Bhatnagar for dereliction of duty.

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The Goa Forward Party (GFP) today claimed that none of the leaders from the state Congress unit participated in the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting held in Delhi on July 22.

He said state unit president Girish Chodankar seems to have given a "power of attorney" to Goa state desk incharge A Chellakumar.

GFP spokesman Prashant Naik told a press conference that none of the leaders from Goa participated in the CWC meeting.

"It was expected that state Leader of Opposition and Chodankar would attend the meeting but they gave a power of attorney to Chellakumar," Naik said.

"He was given right to represent Goa in Delhi. Never in the past Congress has never seen such a bad situation," he added.

The GFP response came days after Chodankar told reporters that it was a "blessing in disguise that Congress did not form the government in alliance with the Vijai Sardesai-led party".

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A 16-year-old girl was allegedly raped by four men in Madhya Pradesh's Morena district, the police said today.

All the four accused, identified as Sukha Tomar, Sonpal Tomar, Ankit Tomar and Dadua Tomar, were arrested last evening, Nagar police station in-charge Jiten Sharma said.

The accused, aged between 25 to 30 years, abducted the girl on Sunday evening when she had gone out of her house in Kuretha village to attend nature's call.

They took her to a field outside the village where they allegedly raped her before fleeing from the spot, Sharma said.

The girl managed to reach home and narrated her ordeal to her parents, who filed a police complaint yesterday, he said.

All the accused, residents of the same village, have been booked under sections 376(D) (gang-rape) and 363 (abduction) of the IPC and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he said.

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Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has said that concerns raised by state legislators over the Ministry's draft Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification 2018 are unwarranted.

Even if it is finalised, the draft CRZ notification cannot be implemented without consulting the public, Parrikar said in the state Assembly yesterday.

The ministry recently framed new rules governing the country's coastline in which it has proposed expanding the land area for development activities and tourism infrastructure.

The norms also simplify the procedure for CRZ clearances.

The state government had last month given its nod to the new guidelines.

The Goa Assembly members, including Deputy Speaker Michael Lobo, had earlier expressed fears that the new rules could allow uncontrolled commercial activities along the shoreline, thereby severely impacting the

Several NGOs had also opposed it for reducing the CRZ area, measured from High Tide Line (HTL), from the current 200 metres to just 50 metres.

Parrikar said the draft CRZ notification 2018 proposes a reduction in NDZ only for land along rivers and coastal areas where the population density is more than 2,161 (people) per sq km.

"Goa has no panchayat where the population density is so much and that is why the reduction of NDZ does not imply to us," he said.

He said no relaxation has been given to any hotel project for expansion in the coastal regulation zone.

"The draft CRZ notification 2018 does not give any special permission or exemption to any hotel," Parrikar said, responding to a cut motion moved by Leader of Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar in the House.

Goa has 105-km-long coastline which is the hub of tourism and fishing activity.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change had uploaded the draft CRZ Notification, 2018 on its website on April 18 and sought comments from the public.

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Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar today assured the mining industry stakeholders that he would take up the issue of proposed amendment to the Mining Act before the central Group of Ministers (GoM) in Delhi.

Parrikar, during a meeting with the mining industry dependents, told them that he would visit the national capital in the first week of August to discuss the issue.

The mining industry in Goa came to a standstill from March 16 this year, over a month after the Supreme Court quashed the second renewal of iron ore mining leases given to 88 companies in 2015.

A delegation of mining dependents met Parrikar at his office in Porvorim and urged him that the state should request the Parliament to amend the Goa, Daman and Diu Mining Concessions (Abolition and Declaration as Mining Leases) Act, 1987.

They demanded that the state Legislative Assembly passes a resolution during its ongoing monsoon session for amending the Act.

"The chief minister said the issue would be taken up before the GoM formed by the PM. Parrikar will travel to Delhi either on August 4 or 6, where he will meet the GoM and discuss the issue," Puti Gaonkar, President of Goa Mining People's Front (GMPF) told reporters after the meeting.

He said the mining crisis could be resolved only after amending the Mining Act, which will prolong the life of leases till 2037.

"The CM said the issue would be discussed during the ongoing assembly session either through a calling attention motion or a resolution," Gaonkar said.

Parrikar asked the mining dependents to approach Congress leaders in Delhi for their support in the parliament, when amendment to the act would be moved, he added.

"We told the CM that we have already met Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who has assured to support us," Gaonkar said.

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A woman today accused a priest of the Mangueshi Temple in Goa of molesting her, the second such complaint against him in a week, police said.

The woman, in her 20s, filed a complaint against the priest with the Ponda police, accusing him of molesting her, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Ponda) Mahesh Gaonkar said.

The priest has been booked under IPC section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), he said.

According to the complainant, the priest tried to kiss her near the sanctum sanctorum of the temple while she was on a visit to the famous shrine in Ponda taluka, about 20km from Panaji.

The alleged incident took place last month, but the complaint was filed today.

Last week, another woman had filed a similar complaint against the priest, police have said.

The first incident also allegedly took place last month. In this case, the complainant is a US-based woman of Goa origin, they said.

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The Goa government has decided to move the Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal against Karnataka's alleged act of diverting the Mahadayi river water to its Malaprabha basin, a minister said today.

A team of officials from Goa yesterday visited Karnataka's Kanakumbi village, located in the Malaprabha basin adjoining the state's border, and confirmed that the Mahadayi river water was being diverted, Goa's water resources minister Vinod Palyekar said.

The team found that Karnataka has constructed a five- km-long tunnel to divert the water to the Malaprabha basin, he claimed.

The Goa government would send its team to New Delhi to file an application before the Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal tomorrow against the illegal diversion of water, he said.

"The tribunal is expected to deliver its verdict next month in the dispute over sharing of Mahadayi river water. Without waiting for results, Karnataka has made this move which amounts to contempt of the tribunal," Palyekar alleged.

He said the Goa government came to know about the water diversion through some reports in a section of media.

Goa-based environmentalist Rajendra Kerkar also called the water resources department to complain about the diversion, the minister said.

Karnataka and Goa, the riparian states of the Mahadayi (known as Mandovi in Goa), have been locked in a bitter battle over the sharing of water of the river, which originates at Belagavi in Karnataka.

The matter is pending before the Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal.

Last year, the Supreme Court had ordered Karnataka to stop the work on construction of a canal, which was aimed at diverting water from the Mahadayi tributary.

Goa claimed that it had photographic evidence to support its claim that the work had begun.

However, Karnataka had rejected the claim saying there was no such activity.

In January this year, the Goa government had told the tribunal that the Mahadayi river water demand by neighbouring Karnataka is actually for irrigating its sugarcane crop areas.

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had earlier said that his state could share the river water with Karnataka for drinking purposes and expressed his willingness for bilateral talks.

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The government has asked the RBI to examine the possibility of merger among public sector banks to achieve synergy and scale operation, Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla said today.

The minister in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha said that there is no timeline has been fixed for merger of the public sector banks.

"Since various approaches involving varying processes are possible with regard to synergy/consolidation amongst PSBs, Government has requested the Reserve Bank of India for views as well as suggestions regarding specific possible combinations to achieve scale and synergy for appropriate consideration," he said.

With a view to facilitate consolidation among public sector banks to create strong and competitive entities, serving as catalysts for growth, with improved risk profile of the bank, the government has put in place an Alternative Mechanism (AM) comprised of three ministers, he said.

Giving details of the mandate for AM, he said, the proposals received from banks for in-principle approval to formulate schemes of amalgamation shall be placed before the institution although there is no proposal for consideration before it.

AM may also direct banks to examine proposals for amalgamation, he said, adding that it will receive inputs from the RBI before according in-principle approval.

Last year, the government decided to set up an Alternative Mechanism to fast track consolidation among public sector banks (PSBs) to create strong lenders.

The decision to set up the AM follows State Bank of India merging its five associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank with itself.

In reply to another question, Shukla said the government has sought comments of respective state governments and sponsor banks on a roadmap for amalgamation of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) within a state with a view to enable RRBs to minimize their overhead expenses, optimize the use of technology, enhance the capital base and area of operation and increase their exposure.

The roadmap has been prepared in consultation with NABARD and proposes to bring down the number of RRBs to 38 from the present 56, he said.

It is expected that the proposed amalgamation of RRBs will bring about better scale-efficiency, higher productivity, robust financial health, improved financial inclusion and greater credit flow to rural areas, he added.

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The government today avoided a direct reply on whether an inquiry was conducted into the recent trolling of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on social media, saying in such cases, an investigation is ordered on the receipt of a complaint.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Prasun Banerjee had submitted a written question in the Lok Sabha on whether the government had conducted any inquiry into the trolling of Swaraj and if it had, whether the standard protocol was followed.

In a written reply, Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir said, "On receipt of complaints from affected persons, law enforcement agencies require social media platforms to remove such content or block them from viewing and take up investigation and other action as per law against the culprits."



Swaraj was recently targeted by trolls on social media platforms, following the transfer of a Passport Seva Kendra official in Lucknow, Vikas Mishra, for allegedly humiliating an interfaith couple.

Mishra was transferred from Lucknow to Gorakhpur after the couple alleged that he humiliated them when they went to his office with their passport applications.

When the controversy broke out, Swaraj was on an official visit to France, Belgium and Luxembourg.

Subsequently, she had conducted a poll on Twitter, asking those on the microblogging website whether they "approve" of such trolling, to which 57 per cent respondents had said they opposed it, while 43 per cent had stood by the trolls.

"In a democracy, difference of opinion is but natural. Please do criticise but not in foul language. Criticism in decent language is always more effective," the minister had written on Twitter



While Home Minister Rajnath Singh had said the trolling of Swaraj was wrong, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari had described the way she was trolled and the kind of propaganda that was being spread against her as "very unfortunate".

Another ministerial colleague of Swaraj, Ram Vilas Paswan, had tweeted, "I strongly condemn the shameful trolling campaign against Smt Shushma Swaraj Ji. She is a very senior Parliamentarian and we must respect each other (sic)."



BJP general secretary Ram Madhav had also written an article in a newspaper in Swaraj's support.

However, the Congress had attacked the BJP for allegedly not coming out in support of the external affairs minister.

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Parliamentarians today expressed anguish over the alleged rape of girls and a murder in a state-run shelter home at Muzaffarpur in Bihar, with the Centre saying it could consider ordering a CBI probe if the state government makes a recommendation.

Members of opposition parties, including the Congress and the RJD, raised the issue during Zero Hour in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

Congress member Ranjeet Ranjan expressed concern over the alleged cases of young girls being forced into prostitution. While mentioning the Muzaffarpur matter, she also demanded a CBI probe into such cases.

In response, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said it was a serious issue.

"If there is a recommendation from the state government, then the Centre will consider ordering a CBI probe into the matter," Singh said in the Lok Sabha.

RJD member Jaiprakash Narayan Yadav also raised the issue in the Lower House and alleged that there was lawlessness in Bihar.

In the Rajya Sabha, RJD member Manoj Kumar Jha said "a chilling incident" had occured in Muzaffarpur where more than 40 'Nirbhayas' have been abused.

He was comparing the victims to Nirbhaya, the girl who was brutally raped and murdered in Delhi in December 2012.

The RJD member also expressed concern over reports of sexual assaults against women being reported from different parts of the country.

As Jha demanded CBI probe in the Muzaffarpur case, a JD (U) member said the Bihar government has already started an investigation.

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu termed the incident as "very serious".

Medical reports have suggested that more than half of the 40 girls, lodged at the shelter home, may have been subjected sexual intercourse at some point, police had said earlier.

The inmates of the shelter home have also alleged that one of their fellow inmates was beaten to death and buried at the premises of the facility, while several others were raped.

Following the allegations, the Bihar Police has launched a probe and dug up the ground at the shelter home.

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The government is planning to sell 5 per cent stake in Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) through offer for sale, which could fetch about Rs 1,300 crore to the exchequer.

The government currently holds 66.79 per cent in the defence PSU.

The government has invited bids from merchant bankers by August 14. Up to 3 bankers will be appointed for taking forward the 5 per cent stake sale plans in BEL, as per the Request for Proposal floated by the finance ministry.

Based on the current market price, a 5 per cent stake sale could fetch about Rs 1,300 crore to the exchequer.

The paid up equity capital as on March 31, 2018, is Rs 243.66 crore. The company's manpower strength stands at 9,703 employees.

The government had last sold 5 per cent stake in BEL in February 2017 to garner Rs 1,600 crore.

As against the target of Rs 80,000 crore in the current fiscal from PSU disinvestment, the government has raised over Rs 9,200 crore so far.

Shares of BEL closed at Rs 107.05, up 4.13 per cent on the BSE.

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The government will enact a law, if necessary, to curb the incidents of lynching, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said today amid Opposition outcry over the growing number of such cases.

Singh also said the government has taken the issue seriously and would look at taking stringent action against the culprits, as the ruling coalition faced a scathing attack from the Congress, the Trinamool Congress and the Left parties in the Lok Sabha over the rising cases of lynching.

Opposition members created a din during the Zero Hour and many of them rushed to the Well, as a visibily peeved Speaker Sumitra Mahajan allowed some of the leaders to raise the issue after papers were laid.

Responding to the concerns expressed by the members, Singh said the government would enact a law, if necessary, to curb the incidents of lynching.

On Monday, the Home Ministry announced setting up of two high-level committees to suggest ways and a legal framework to effectively deal with incidents of mob violence and lynching.

The committees were set up a week after the Supreme Court asked the central government to enact a law to deal with incidents of lynching and take action on mob violence.

Singh also said that lynching incidents have been happening for years and mentioned that the biggest lynchings happened in 1984 -- a remark that elicited strong protests from the Congress members.

In the latest incident, a 28-year-old man was lynched on suspicion of being a cow smuggler in Lalawandi village in Rajasthan's Alwar district on Saturday last.

As soon as the Zero Hour began, Opposition members, led by the Congress and the TMC, sought to raise certain issues and expressed unhappiness over not being given an opportunity.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge was heard saying it was "not a BJP house but the Lok Sabha."



Kharge along with some party members as well as those from the Trinamool Congress, the TDP and the RJD trooped into the Well. after a few minutes, they went back to their seats.

Kharge demanded that a sitting Supreme Court judge should carry out an enquiry into the lynching incidents and take action based on the report.

As he mentioned the lynching incident at Alwar, the Speaker said some of his remarks about it would not go on record.

Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandopadhyay said mob lynchings were creating an alarming situation in different parts of the country.

Observing that it is a heinous crime, he demanded exemplary punishment for the culprits. "The government should not keep mum... the government should take initiatives (to stop it)," he said.

Expressing expressed concern over so many incidents of lynching, Deputy Speaker and AIADMK leader M Thambidurai urged the Centre to come forward and stop such incidents.

There is a need to study the root cause of such incidents and asserted that the first priority should be "law and order", he said.

"Why is this (lynchings) happening? What is intelligence doing?... What is the role of the Centre," he asked.

CPI(M) member Mohammed Salim said a lot of hatred was being spread in the country through such incidents, as he took a swipe at the government by citing various instances, including the recent attack on Swami Agnivesh in Jharkhand.

Earlier when the listed papers were laid, Mahajan disapproved the protests by the agitating members before she allowed some of them to speak.

Noting that she had already said that opportunity would be given to raise the issues, Mahajan said they should have some sense. The Speaker also cautioned the members against "politicising" everything.

Left members were seen displaying placards with messages such as 'Stop murder of democracy in Tripura and West Bengal'.

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The Uttarakhand High Court has asked the central government if the famous temple of Badrinath can be declared a national heritage site.

A division bench of justices V K Bisht and Manoj Kumar Tiwari posed the query to the Centre yesterday while hearing a public interest lawsuit for shifting of a sewage treatment plant at Badrinath from its current location at the mouth of Alaknanda and Rishi Ganga rivers to prevent the sullying of rivers due to disposal of sewage into them.

The bench asked the Centre to spell out its stand on the issue of declaring Badrinath temple a national heritage site in an affidavit by August 27.

It also directed the Uttarakhand advocate general to discuss with the Urban Development secretary the prospect of developing the region in a special way.

The court also directed the Jal Nigam to inspect the region and present a report to it by August 27 when the matter will be heard next.

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The Orissa High Court today granted conditional bail to Ranjita Biswal, a suspended BJD corporator of Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC).

She was arrested by the Cuttack Commissionerate police in March this year for her alleged links with gangster siblings Sushant and Sushil Dhalasamanta.

Justice J P Dash allowed her to go on a bail bond of Rs 20,000 each by two sureties.

Biswal, a journalist-turned-corporator, was questioned several times by the police soon after the gangster brothers were arrested in 2016.

She was arrested in March this year by the Cuttack police on charges of supplying illegal weapon.

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The Delhi High Court has refused to allow a man's plea for keeping his alcoholic and drug addict son admitted in the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS) for at least 90 days and allowed the hospital to discharge the patient.

The court said the medical board of four doctors, which was formed to examine the patient, was of the view that he did not require further hospitalisation and he should be treated as an outpatient from now on.

Justice Vibhu Bakhru said it would also be necessary for the petitioner to have discussions with the doctors at the IHBAS in order to chalk out a rehabilitation plan for his son.

"In view of the medical opinion as submitted to this court, the relief as sought for by the petitioner cannot be granted. This court finds no ground to direct that the petitioner's son be continued to be kept in the hospital.

"Thus, IHBAS is permitted to discharge the petitioner's son. The treating doctors are also requested to interact with the father and try and evolve a feasible rehabilitation plan, keeping his limitations in mind," the court said and disposed of the petition.

The petitioner had sought a direction to the IHBAS for admitting his son, who was suffering from alcohol and drug dependence and psychiatric disorders, for a minimum duration of 90 days.

He had also sought a direction to the Delhi government to frame appropriate guidelines for patients suffering from alcohol and drug dependence and psychiatric disorders.

At the time of the passing of the order, the patient was admitted to the IHBAS. Earlier also, he was admitted to the hospital on several occasions and discharged after treatment.

The court had earlier directed the IHBAS not to discharge the patient until it passed an order.

The hospital had filed its response before the court, stating that a medical board was formed to examine the case of the petitioner's son, the patient did not require any further hospitalisation and he had expressed willingness to go home and continue with the treatment.

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Two-wheeler market leader Hero MotoCorp plans to launch new 125cc scooters and Xtreme 200R motorcycle in September-October with an eye on double-digit growth in festive season, company's Chairman and MD Pawan Munjal said.

The firm is also betting on good agricultural harvest on account of the normal monsoon across the country to drive market demand.

We are preparing for a pre-festive launch of our new 125cc scooters and the premium motorcycle Xtreme 200R. These products could come by September or October of this year," Munjal told shareholders at the company's annual general meeting here today.

He further said, "We will gradually build on our premium portfolio with a range of new products. One such differentiated product will be the Xpulse 200.

Commenting on the company performance, Munjal said, We have had a robust start to the year so far, with our all-time high quarterly sales coming in the first quarter."



Hero MotoCorp sold 20,60,342 bikes and scooters in the April-June period, its all-time high quarterly sales, as against 18,11,343 units in the year-ago period.

"We are confident of carrying the growth trajectory forward through the festive season as well, Munjal said while responding to a question from a shareholder on the company's expectations from the festive season.

On growth expectations, he said, "We expect to grow at double digit in the upcoming festive season to top off our strong growth of the previous years."



He further said, The normal monsoon in most parts of the country, and the consequent agricultural harvest will keep the sentiments buoyant and help maintain our momentum."Munjal said economic growth, rural investments and initiatives such as minimum support price (MSP), and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Act (MGNREGA) augur well for the future growth of the industry.

Replying to a question on the company's plans on electric vehicles (EVs), Munjal said we are currently working on a few projects including connected two-wheelers at our R&D facility, the Centre of Innovation and Technology (CIT) in Jaipur, and will be launching these products in the market at an appropriate time.

Hero MotoCorp has already introduced the Xtreme 200R in the North-Eastern markets of the country and will soon have a national roll-out. Another premium motorcycle that will be launched later this fiscal is the XPulse 200 adventure motorcycle.

Hero MotoCorp had showcased the XPulse motorcycle and the 125cc scooters at the Auto Expo - the Delhi Motor Show - in February this year.

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Former Supreme Court judge P P Naolekar said today rising instances of rape were a "blot on the country" and suggested that higher courts dispose of such cases on a priority basis.

Naolekar, however, disagreed with the view expressed in certain quarters that every convicted rapist should be hanged.

"The Supreme Court and High Courts should get hearing of rape cases quickened for fast delivery of justice as rape cases have become a blot on the country," the former Madhya Pradesh Lokayukta told PTI.

He said appeals in the HCs and the Supreme Court against the lower court judgements in rape cases should be listed on a priority basis to ensure fast delivery of justice.

On demand for hanging rapists raised in certain quarters after street protests over rising cases of sexual assaults, he said it was not proper to sentence every rape convict to death.

"The death sentence is awarded in 'the rarest of rare cases', according to Indian law. But it was up to the courts to decide punishment and its quantum on the basis of evidence and after going through the material on record," he added.

Asked about the growing demand for banning pornography to check the spurt in rape cases, the former MP High Court judge said in the wake of right to privacy and influence of Internet, it has become all the more important to ponder over ways to curb this trend.

He said efforts should be made to ensure pornographic material is not accessible to minors.

Terming rape as a social problem, the former SC judge said the heinous crime can't be checked with law alone and maintained the society should also raise its voice against the menace.

"It is being noticed that the society is united in protesting rape cases," Naolekar added.

The gang-rape of an eight-year-old girl in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh last month had caused an outrage.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan later wrote a letter to Chief Justice of India Dipak Mishra, seeking fast- tracking of rape cases by higher courts.

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The Himachal Pradesh Cabinet today decided that the Monsoon Session of the Assembly will be held between August 23 to August 31 here, according to an official release.

The Cabinet meeting, held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur also decided to fill up 218 posts of pharmacists, batch-wise, in health and family welfare department on contract basis, it said.

It okayed Mukhya Mantri Awas Yojna for providing assistance of Rs. 1.30 lakh to the houseless families belonging to BPL category for construction of house in rural areas of the state, the release stated.

The Cabinet also gave its approval to Mukhya Mantri Yuva Aajeevika Yojana, 2018, to promote self-employment and to provide livelihood to locals in the age group of 18 to 40 years by encouraging entrepreneurship.

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The Himachal Pradesh Cabinet under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur today decided to set up a Special task Force (STF) to curb drug menace in the hill-state, an official said.

Besides, necessary amendments will be made in the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act to make it more stringent, added the official.

As a large quantity of drugs enter Himachal from neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana, the Cabinet directed the Home Department to holdregular coordination meetings with the states and conduct joint police operations to check inter-state drug flow, the official said.

To spread awareness about the ill-effects of drug abuse, the Cabinet approved a campaign, which will involve education, health, police, social justice and empowerment departments besides ensuring active participation of panchayats, mahila mandals, parents, school children and teachers etc.

The Cabinet was apprised that during the last six months poppy was destroyed from 1366 bighas as compared to only six bighas in 2017.

Apart from this, 831 drug offenders were arrested and cases were registered against them during the period.

The Cabinet also decided to allot Dugar hydro electric project with capacity of 449 MW in favour of NPHC limited for a period of 70 years after completion of which the project will revert to the state government with specified generation capacity, free of cost and free from all encumbrances.

In order to provide assistance to the farming community, the Cabinet approved the implementation of Mukhya Mantri Khet Sarankshan Yojna and Mukhya Mantri Green House Renovation Scheme.

Under the first scheme, 85 percent grant will be provided to a group of three or more farmers and 80 percent grant to an individual farmer for erecting solar fencing in their fields to protect their crops from wild animals.

As part of the Mukhya Mantri Green House Renovation Scheme, 70 percent grant would be given to farmers for replacing damaged poly sheets of their poly-houses, instead of the current 50 percent.

The Cabinet also decided to implement Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Swasthya Suraksha Mission under which nearly five lakh families would get a health insurance cover of rupees five lakh per annum.

The Cabinet also approved to enhance the financial aid to the state's accredited journalists in case of a medical emergency from the existing Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 2.50 lakh.

It was also decided by the Cabinet to provide adequate manpower for the JICA assisted Himachal Pradesh Forest Ecosystems Management and Livelihoods Improvement Project to be implemented in six districts-- Bilaspur, Shimla, Mandi, Kullu, Kinnaur and Lahaul -Spiti.

A new policy for the collection and removal of pine needles from forest land so that they could be used for setting up of small scale industries was also cleared.

The government will provide investment subsidy of 50 percent of the capital cost for establishing such industries.

To address the long pending demand of Bhakra Dam oustees, the cabinet decided to give maximum relief to them and approved necessary amendments in the policy.

The Cabinet decided to fill up 45 posts of Class-IV employees and three posts of drivers on daily wage basis in the Cooperation department.

It also gave approval to fill up 18 posts of lab attendants in Chaudhary Sarvan Kumar Agriculture University Palampur on contract basis.

Approval was accorded to fill up 12 vacant posts of computer operators and one post of IT Programmer on contract basis in Scheduled Castes, Other Backward Classes, minorities and empowerment of Specially Abled Department through HP Staff Selection Commission, Hamirpur.

The Cabinet gave its consent to fill up 10 vacant posts of drivers in Agriculture department on daily wage basis. It also decided to fill up six posts of different categories in Planning department.

The proposal to upgrade Veterinary dispensary Ghuwandal in Bilaspur district to Veterinary hospital along with requisite staff was also cleared.

The Cabinet approved the procedure for implementation of GST for the running work contracts prior to July 1, 2017.

It also decided to introduce incentive clause in standard bidding document for the works having value of more than Rs 50 lakh for their early completion and to boost the morale of contractors.

The Cabinet decide to increase the honorarium of cook-cum-helpers engaged under mid-day meal scheme in education department from the existing Rs 1500 to Rs 1800 per month with effect from August 1, 2018.

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The 2018 edition of the Honda Gold Wing motorcycle will now be available here at a cost of Rs 26.85 lakh.

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India announced the delivery of the candy ardent red colour tourer today, a press release said.

The tourer was lighter, powerful and fast with the newly-developed horizontally-opposed six-cylinder engine, seven-speed dual clutch transmission and the first Honda to get a double wishbone front suspension, the release said.

The other features were cruise control via throttle by wire, electric windscreen adjustable for angle and height, the release said.

Senior vice-president (sales and marketing) of the company, Yadvinder Singh Guleria said in the release that the Gold Wing has been known for its quality riding and luxury.

The model made its debut in India during the Auto Expo in February.

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Hundreds of people are missing and an unknown number believed dead after a partly-constructed hydropower in southeast Laos collapsed, sending flash floods surging through six villages, state media reported on Tuesday.

Communist Laos is traversed by a vast network of rivers and there are several dams being built or are planned in the impoverished and landlocked country, which exports most of its hydropower energy to neighbouring countries like

Laos News Agency said the accident happened at a hydropower in southeastern Attapeu province's Sanamxay district late Monday, releasing five billion cubic metres of water  more than two million Olympic swimming pools  which unleashed flash flooding coursing into nearby villages.

The report added that there were "several human lives claimed, and several hundreds of people missing".

Images published in the report showed scores of people, some clutching young children, crammed onto low-slung wooden boats and wading through muddy waters.

Several houses in the southern part of the district were swept away following the dam's collapse around 8pm (1300 GMT) on Monday evening, the report said, as officials in the province put out a call for relief aid for flood victims.

"We do not have any formal information yet about any casualties or how many are missing," an Attapeu official told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that was "no phone signal" in the flooded region.

"We sent rescue teams who will help them and provide basic assistance first," the official added.

The $1.2 billion is part of a project by Vientiane-based Xe Pian Xe Namnoy Power Company, or PNPC, a joint venture formed in 2012.

Among the companies involved in the project according to the Laos News Agency are Thailand's Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding, South Korea's Korea Western Power and the state-run Lao Holding State Enterprise. The 410 megawatt capacity dam was supposed to start commercial operations by 2019, according to the venture's website.

The project consists of a series of dams over the Houay Makchanh, the Xe-Namnoy and the Xe-Pian rivers in neighbouring Champasak Province.

It planned to export 90 percent of its electricity to energy hungry and the remaining amount was to be offered up on the local grid.

Under the terms of construction, PNPC said it would operate and manage the power project for 27-years after commercial operations began.

When contacted by phone in Laos' capital Vientiane a company official told AFP: "We do not have any official reports about it yet. We are gathering information."



Dam projects in Laos, mainly providing power to neighbouring countries, have long been controversial with fears over environmental damage and the impact on communities who are often displaced to make way for the construction.

A massive hydroelectric project at Xayaburi, led by Thai group CH Karnchang, is at the heart of Laos' plan to become "the battery of Southeast Asia".

The 1,285 megawatt dam -- which will cost $3.5 billion according to state media -- has sharply divided downstream Mekong nations like Vietnam and Cambodia who worry it will disrupt vital ecosystems and their own river systems.

Communist authorities in Laos keep tight control information and is often opaque about business deals and development projects.

The country has around 10 dams in operation, 10 to 20 under construction, and dozens more in planning stages.


Hyundai Motor India Ltd today said it has entered into a partnership with Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC) to train unskilled manpower above 18 years of age, who will be absorbed in its system after completion.

Under the agreement, the training programme will be conducted at six HMIL dealerships associated with the company's technical training academy, the company said in a statement.

It will be for candidates above 18 years of age and having qualification of 8th grade and above. Trainees will be given an option to choose from different automotive training courses designed by ASDC, it added.

After successful completion of the programme, students would be offered an opportunity to work in Hyundai workshops for aftersales jobs such as service support technician and washer, the company said.

Commenting on the partnership ASDC, HMIL Director- Sales & Marketing S J Ha said, "This MoU will further boost our commitment towards skilling and employing the youth of India".

He further said the company is already working with ITIs and polytechnic institutes in different states and the company absorbs close to 99 per cent of the students in different entities in the Hyundai India ecosystem.

ASDC President Nikunj Sanghi said the association with HMIL aims at strengthening the India government's vision of Skill India in employment generation.

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Swedish actor Rebecca Ferguson, who has made her name in the "Mission: Impossible" films, says she has always ensured she is treated equally on movie sets, whether it's finding her own space in the action-driven blockbuster series fronted by Tom Cruise or doing jaw-dropping stunts.

A lot has changed in Hollywood's gender politics this year and Ferguson is confident that change is here to stay.

As Ilsa Faust, an MI6 agent, Ferguson has created a unique space for herself in the film series by bringing a certain emotional gravitas to the spy thriller while also matching steps with Cruise's Ethan Hunt when it comes to action sequences.

"I think it is incredible... it is about time isn't it?" Ferguson said when asked whether it was important for women to be an equal participant in action films.

"I'm incredibly lucky to be a part of this film, where I feel I'm one amongst everyone. It does not matter whether it is men or women on the set. I felt that in the last one ('Rogue Nation') too even though there were not many women. I felt like an equal and I have always been treated that way. And, I have also ensured that I am treated that way," the actor told PTI in an interview.

Ferguson, 34, who has acted in two MI films, including the latest "Mission: Impossible - Fallout", is hopeful about the changes taking place in Hollywood post the Harvey Weinstein scandal that launched a global revolution in gender politics.

"I think we are in time for change. I think it might be slow and there would be episodic ups and downs. (But) A lot of goodness should come from it. Otherwise, we should not stop," she said.

The latest Misson Impossible film features new cast additions in Henry Cavill, Vanessa Kirby and Angela Bassett but Ferguson was not worried about her space in the narrative.

"I never feel like I fight for space. I just take it," she laughed.

For her, it has always been about the way the story is told.

"I don't find it interesting to put elbows out to get screen time. That's not how it works. That's not what the filming is about. It is about creating an incredible arc for your story and to merge with other people.

"(And) It has been written by an incredible storyteller (director Christopher McQuarrie). When I go to work with a writer and director, I should be able to feel confident in their work. Sometimes we change things and sometimes they cut things out. But it is for the better of the film."



In "Fallout", Ferguson's character is trying to stay a step ahead of Hunt and his team to capture a villain. Their relationship may place them on opposite ends of the spectrum but they share an unspoken bond.

"The only thing that makes a character interesting is giving a certain depth to him or her. We can't be shallow and just have fighting sequences, look great in outfits, ride bikes. It is important to have a certain emotional depth to them and it is something that Tom has always had."



The film, which was shot around the globe in destinations such as Paris, London, New Zealand and Abu Dhabi, recently premiered in the French capital.

A Paramount Pictures movie, "Mission: Impossible - Fallout" will be exclusively distributed in India by Viacom18 Motion Pictures.

Also starring Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Sean Harris, Michelle Monaghan and Alec Baldwin, the film releases this Friday.

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Shares of Idea Cellular surged over 7 per cent today after the company made joint payment, along with Vodafone, to the Department of Telecom for merging their mobile business.

The stock rose 7.31 per cent to settle at Rs 56.50 on BSE. Intra-day, it jumped 17.75 per cent to Rs 62.

At NSE, shares of the company zoomed 7.32 per cent to close at Rs 56.40.

Led by the sharp gain in the stock, the company's market valuation rose by Rs 1,679.48 crore to Rs 24,633.48 crore.

On the equity volume front, 60.20 lakh shares of the company were traded on BSE and over 7.7 crore shares changed hands at NSE during the day.

Inching closer to formation of the country's biggest telecom operator, Idea Cellular and Vodafone have made joint payment of Rs 7,248.78 crore under protest to the Department of Telecom for merging their mobile business.

The merger is expected to give breather to both debt-ridden firms Idea and Vodafone, from cut-throat competition in the market where margins have hit rock bottom with free voice calls.

"Idea Cellular and Vodafone have made payment under protest as demanded by the DoT for the merger. Rs 3,926.34 crore have been paid in cash and bank guarantee of Rs 3,322.44 crore have been furnished," an Idea Cellular official confirmed the development.

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Imran Khan-led Tehreek-i-Insaf and the Muslim League-Nawaz of jailed former prime minister are running "neck and neck", with the ahead nationally and the PML-N ahead in the crucial province of Punjab, according to a poll of polls computed by Gallup on the eve of general elections in Pakistan.

The poll of polls constitutes the average of poll findings by five different polling organisations, Gallup Pakistan said in a report.

The " and PML-N are running neck and neck, with ahead in the national vote bank and PML-N ahead in the crucial province of Punjab," it said.

The poll of polls indicates that the dramatic rise of PTI at both national and provincial level is mostly on account of winning over voters of PML-N as well as other parties, it said.

Thus, while the vote bank of PML-N has declined nationally by, 3-6 per cent, depending on the polls considered, from its vote bank of General Elections in 2013, the PTI vote bank during the same time period has nearly doubled from its score of 17 per cent in 2013.

The rise of PTI is explained both by decline of PML-N as well as decline in votes of other parties (as well as share of Independents in the voting pattern), Gallup said.

In Pakistan's First Past the Post electoral system, the ascent of PTI to catch PML-N could cause a major upset for the parliamentary seat distribution in Punjab, it said.

This will, in turn, create two key competitors for forming the federal government. In 2013, PML-N was marked by a head by nearly 100 seats more than the runner up in the National Assembly, it said.

The national average of expected votes computed by Gallup Pakistan ranges between 30 to 32 per cent for PTI; 27 per cent to 30 per cent for PML-N; and 17 per cent to 20 per cent for Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) led by Bilawal Zardari Bhutto.

According to poll of polls computed by Gallup Pakistan, there are still nearly 12 per cent undecided voters who to make the forecast for elections murky and unpredictable.

In Gallup's own poll findings, the figure of the undecided voters dropped from 21 per cent two month ago to 13 per cent in the final week. Nearly 6 per cent of them switched to PTI, it said.

"Our analysis suggests that the profile of the undecided voters is close to the profile of PML-N voters. If these undecided PML-N voters decide to join PTI fold or go back to PML-N in large numbers the situation may change drastically.

"That is why we think that the undecided voters may tilt the balance of the forthcoming election in Punjab and thereby determine the fate of the Federal Government," Gallup Pakistan said.

The five polling organisations/publishers taken for the poll of polls are Gallup Pakistan Survey conducted for Geo/ Jang Group, IPOR Survey, Pulse Consultants Survey conducted for Geo/Jang Group, Roshan Pakistan Survey, SDPI/ Dawn Survey.

On the margin of error, Gallup Pakistan said, every individual poll also comes with a margin of error of its results, ranging from 1.5 to sometimes as high as 3 percentage points if the sample size is small.

The five survey works included in the poll of polls report were conducted between May 1 to July 11, 2018.
Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi today said India cannot afford to have generations of stunted children and underlined the need for states to prioritise regular monitoring with efficient distribution of supplementary nutrition.

Gandhi, while chairing the second meeting of national council on India's nutrition challenges, said the states also need to identify people who could be benefited by the 'Poshan Abhiyan'.

The 'Poshan Abhiyan' is a programme aimed to improve nutritional outcomes for children, pregnant women and lactating mothers and to reduce the level of stunting, under-nutrition, anemia and low birth weight in children.

"India can't afford to have generations of stunted children. States should prioritise identification of beneficiaries, regular monitoring & efficient distribution of supplementary nutrition," Gandhi said at the meeting.

Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan and Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar were also present in the meeting.

Paswan said the success of the mission to fight malnutrition depends on stakeholders taking ownership.

"Anganwadi workers at the frontline should be adequately compensated and parents should join food inspections," Paswan said at the meet.

"More needs to be done to ensure the 'Poshan Abhiyaan' reaches beneficiaries and nutrition becomes a 'Jan Andolan' with programme convergence, public buy-in and inter-ministerial cooperation," Kumar said.

Kumar launched guidelines for making the nutrition movement into a 'Jan Andolan', along with modules for yoga and a caller-tune ringtone for 'Poshan Abhiyaan'.

"We are taking the 'Poshan Abhiyaan' to the masses through block-level public events, social media campaigns, involvement of panchayats and recognising children as drivers of change," said NITI Aayog Member V K Paul, on how nutrition is becoming a public movement.

The 'Poshan Abhiyan' aims to bring down stunting of the children in the age group of 0-6 years from 38.4 per cent to 25 per cent by 2022.

The project will additionally ensure convergence of all nutrition-related schemes and provide performance-based incentives to states and community nutrition and health workers, facilitating a focus on results.

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India today extended two lines of credit worth nearly USD 200 million to Uganda in energy infrastructure, agriculture and dairy sectors as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held wide-ranging talks with President Yoweri Museveni and discussed ways to strengthen the bilateral ties.

Modi, who arrived here this evening on a two-day visit to Uganda - the first bilateral tour by an Indian prime minister since 1997, held one-on-one meeting with President Museveni followed by a delegation-level talks to comprehensively review all aspects of bilateral relations.

In a joint press statement, Prime Minister Modi announced two Lines of Credit worth nearly USD 200 million in energy infrastructure, agriculture and dairy sectors.

He lauded the time-tested relationship between the two countries and said India was ready to enhance the cooperation in the defence sector with Uganda.

Modi said India and Uganda should also strengthen cooperation in the field of military training. He announced to provide vehicles and ambulances to Ugandan force and for civilian use.

"India will assist Uganda in training, capacity building, infrastructure development, IT and development initiatives," Modi said.

Modi announced to give a cancer therapy machine to the cancer institute in Kampala. "This will help Uganda as well as other African countries," he said.

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India has extended USD 200 million line of credit to Rwanda for its economic development, signed a defence cooperation agreement and will soon open a High Commission here as part of India's efforts to bolster the strategic ties with the fast-developing East African country.

After his one-on-one talks with Rwandan President Paul Kagame yesterday evening, Modi announced that India will soon open its High Commission in Rwanda.

"We are going to open a High Commission in Rwanda. This will not only establish communication between our respective governments but also enable facilities for consular, passport, visa," Modi said at a joint press meet.

Modi, who is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Rwanda, noted that the relationship between the two countries have stood the test of time.

"It is a matter of honour for us that India has stood with Rwanda in their economic development journey," Modi said, adding that India will continue to back Rwanda's development.

Prime Minister Modi held one-on-one talks with President Kagame and chaired the bilateral delegation level talks. During the talks, both leaders reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation and expressed satisfaction at the excellent relations between Rwanda and India in the overall context of the strategic partnership.

The two countries signed eight MoUs and agreements on cooperation in the field of defence, trade, agriculture and animal resources.

They agreed on cooperation in defence capacity building, industry, science and technology.

Agreements in the area of Trade, Defence, dairy-cooperation, agriculture, culture, leather and allied sector and Line of Credit for USD 200 million for the expansion of Special Economic Zone and Irrigation Scheme was signed.

The Prime Minister appreciated the effective utilisation of USD 400 million Lines of Credit extended to Rwanda in the last few years, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a press release today.

The two sides signed MoUs on collaboration in the areas of leather and allied sectors, dairy cooperation, agricultural research and education collaborations between Rwanda Agricultural Board (RAB) and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

The two countries agreed to facilitate, diversify and promote trade and economic cooperation.

Prime Minister also announced the setting up of a Task Force in the field of digital education including the provision of e-library.

This was appreciated by President Kagame in view of the benefits it will bring in the education sector of Rwanda.

President Kagame said that Prime Minister Modi's visit represents a milestone between the long standing friendship and cooperation between Rwanda and India.

Modi arrived in Rwanda yesterday on the first leg of his three-nation Africa tour as part of India's outreach to the resource-rich continent, soon after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Kigali.

Prime Minister gifted two hundred cows, as a contribution from India to the Scheme under 'Girinka programme'. He addressed a business event jointly organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Rwanda Development Board.

Prime Minister announced gifting of 100,000 books of the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) books, setting up of the Entrepreneurship Development Centre in Kigali which would provide training to youth of Rwanda for enhancing their skills in a variety of sectors.

India would also provide fully funded 25 slots for short term-training in the field of dairy production and processing.

He also announced the contribution of USD 10000 each to the Gisozi Genocide Memorial in Kigali and the Imbuto Foundation run by the First Lady of Rwanda towards the education of the girl child.

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India has extended USD 200 million lines of credit to Rwanda for its economic development, signed a defence cooperation agreement and will soon open a High Commission here as part of New Delhi's efforts to bolster the strategic partnership with the fast-developing East African country.

The announcements came during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Rwanda, the first by an Indian prime minister to the country.

After his one-on-one talks with Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, Modi announced that India will soon open its mission in Rwanda.

"We are going to open a High Commission in Rwanda. This will not only establish communication between our respective governments but also enable facilities for consular, passport, visa," Modi said at a joint press statement.

He noted that India and Rwanda relationships have stood the test of time.

"It is a matter of honour for us that India has stood with Rwanda in their economic development journey," Modi said, adding that India will continue to back Rwanda's development.

Besides one-to-one meeting, the two leaders also participated in delegation level talks to strengthen partnership in trade and investment, capacity building, development partnership and people to people ties.

The two countries signed agreements on cooperation in the field of defence, trade, agriculture and animal resources.

They agreed on cooperation in defence capacity building, industry, science and technology.

India extended two lines of credit -- one of USD 100 million for development of industrial parks and Kigali special economic zone (SEZ) in Rwanda and another one for USD 100 million for agriculture.

The two sides signed MoUs on collaboration in the areas of leather and allied sectors, dairy cooperation, agricultural research and education collaborations between Rwanda Agricultural Board (RAB) and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

The two countries agreed to facilitate, diversify and promote trade and economic cooperation.

President Kagame in his remarks said that Prime Minister Modi's visit represents a milestone between the long standing friendship and cooperation between Rwanda and India.

Modi arrived in Rwanda yesterday on the first leg of his three-nation Africa tour as part of India's outreach to the resource-rich continent, soon after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Kigali.

His two-day state visit to Rwanda -- one of Africa's fastest growing economies -- assumes significance as it could boost India's strategic ties with this country.

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Congress President Rahul Gandhi today said India has had "four revolving" defence ministers since 2014 and alleged that it gave Prime Minister Narendra Modi "space to personally re-negotiate" the Rafale deal with France.

Gandhi's comments come amid a war of words between the BJP and the Congress on the Rafale jet deal, with the opposition party accusing Prime Minister Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman of "lying" in Parliament over the issue, while the saffron party rejecting the charges as "falsehood".

"Since 2014, India has had 4 revolving Raksha Mantris. Now we know why. It gave the PM space to personally re-negotiate RAFALE with the French," Gandhi said on Twitter.

"India has had 4 'RAFALE Mantris'. But, none of them know what really transpired in France. Except the PM. But he won't speak!" the Congress chief said and tagged an Amul advertisement that had a humorous take on the Rafale issue with a 'Pass or Rafail' tagline.

Four BJP MPs have submitted a privilege notice against Gandhi, accusing him of "misleading" Parliament by making "false" allegations against the prime minister and Sitharaman.

The Congress also gave notices for moving privilege motion against Modi and Sitharaman for misleading the House over the Rafale issue while making statements during the no-confidence motion last week.

Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley was twice defence minister, once after the government was formed in 2014 and then after Manohar Parrikar became the chief minister of Goa. Sitharaman became defence minister after Jaitley's second stint.

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India today said a camp office of its embassy in Nepal's Biratnagar will be officially closed from August 1 as per the request made by the Nepalese government.

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Nepal in May, the decision was conveyed to Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

"All services including issuing of motor vehicle permits, registration certificates for Indian nationals, attestation of documents and miscellaneous services (birth/death registrations) being rendered by Embassy of India Camp Office, Biratnagar will cease with effect from 1st August, 2018," the embassy said in a statement.

The embassy has also called concerned persons to contact Indian Embassy, Kathmandu effective from August 1, for these services which were earlier rendered by the camp office in Biratnagar.

India was permitted to set up the temporary field office to issue passes to vehicles for plying on Indian roads in the bordering regions after Koshi floods severely damaged a 17-km stretch of the east-west highway.

Initially set up in the eastern Sunsari district, the office was later shifted to Biratnagar, about 375 km from Kathmandu.

The office, which issued passes to vehicles for plying on Indian roads in the bordering region, outlived its utility after the Nepalese side repaired the damaged stretch of the highway.

After a repair of the damaged portion of the highway, Nepal had asked India to shut down the camp office but the Indian side did not comply, according to Nepalese officials.

On May 22, India's External Affairs Ministry had announced it is winding up the camp office of the Indian embassy as the purpose for which the facility was established has already been fulfilled.

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Indian deposits in Swiss banks fell by 34.5 per cent in 2017 and by 80 per cent since the Narendra Modi government came to power in 2014, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said today, citing data from the global body of central banks, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

He said this in Parliament rebutting last month's reports, which quoted the Swiss National Bank, the country's central bank, as saying in its annual report that Indian deposits had risen by 50 per cent in 2017.

He told Rajya Sabha during question hour that he discussed the issue with Swiss authorities, who told him in a written reply that media reports "have not taken account of the way the (SNB) figures have to be interpreted".

Last month, PTI had reported SNB data that the money parked by Indians in Swiss banks rose to CHF 1.01 billion (Rs. 7,000 crore) in 2017 after falling for three consecutive years.

"The Swiss Authorities say that the figures published by the Swiss National Bank are regularly mentioned by the Indian media as a reliable indicator of the amount of assets held with Swiss financial institutions in respect of Indian citizens. They clarify how this is wrong. They say more often than not, the media reports have not taken into account the way the figures have to be interpreted which has resulted in misleading headlines and analysis. This is (the Swiss) government response," he said.

However, his reply did not satisfy Trinamool Congress members who stormed into the Well of the House demanding that black money stashed in Swiss banks be brought back, forcing Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu to adjourn the proceedings for about 90 minutes.

Later, talking to reporters in Parliament House complex, Goyal attacked Congress president Rahul Gandhi for maligning the country's image by raising the issue of increase in black money deposits of Indians in Swiss banks based on baseless reports.

"I think Rahul Gandhi should reply to the nation why he is maligning the image of the country on the baseless report," he said. "Of course, he has a habit of saying things without knowing the facts. Even during the no-confidence motion, we have seen claims of Congress being demolished."



In Rajya Sabha, Goyal said according to Swiss authorities, the more reliable data source for deposits held in Switzerland is the Locational Banking Statistics (LBS) of Bank of International Settlements.

While LBS measures international banking activity from a residence perspective, focusing on the location of banking office and captures around 95 per cent of all cross-border banking activity, SNB data includes non-deposit liabilities, the business of Swiss branches located in India, inter-bank transactions and fiduciary liability.

BIS data show non-bank loans and deposits -- which constitute the individual and corporate deposits and exclude interbank transactions -- have fallen by 34.5 per cent in 2017 to USD 524 million compared to USD 800 million in 2016, Goyal said and vowed to continue the crackdown against black money.

"Further, there has been a significant reduction in Swiss non-bank loans and deposits of Indians by 80.2 per cent between 2013 and 2017," he said, adding that the figure in 2013 was USD 2.6 billion which came down to USD 2.3 billion in 2014 and USD 1.4 billion 2015.

"Moreover, it is frequently assumed that any assets held by Indians are undeclared," he said. "So if you want to know the deposits of Indian residents in Switzerland, the correct data source is called locational banking statistics."



The minister said the Automatic Exchange of Information based on Common Reporting Standard has commenced from 2017 with many countries enabling India to receive financial account information of Indian residents.

"This will also be useful in bringing the unaccounted income and assets to tax," he said.

Stating that there was a "misconception" about deposits in Swiss banks, he said: "Swiss Authorities themselves gave this is writing that the Swiss National Bank in collaboration with the Bank for International Settlements data shows that loans and deposits of Indians other than banks like RBI, State Bank, the deposits of individuals in Switzerland decreased by 34.5 per cent in the last year compared to the previous year and reduced 44 per cent in the last quarter."



He said while the India-Switzerland Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement was amended in 2011 to get information on bank deposits, but no information could be obtained on the HSBC account details till 2014.

"Then in October 2014, PM Modi sent Revenue Secretary and other officials there and after talking tough, a joint declaration was issued that they will cooperate in future on giving us information. After 2014, we have sought over 4,000 information from them and appropriate action is being taken on the basis of that data in the country.

"The new treaty we have negotiated with Switzerland entails that all the transactions by Indian citizens in Switzerland after January 1, 2018, we won't even have to seek that information, India will get automatic data on which we can take action. We will automatically get information regarding the data of December 2017 by way of opening balance," he said.

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A young Indian-origin senior economist working with the World Bank drowned after strong currents pulled her away while she was swimming in a restricted area at a beach in Bali, the Indonesian media reported.

The beach lifeguard tried to save the 37-year-old Aakansha Pande, who resided in Singapore, and took her to Siloam Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival, The Jakarta Post reported.

Pande, a US citizen, was Senior Health Economist at the World Bank where she focused on countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

She died after being swept away by strong waves while swimming in the evening at the beach in front of Double Six Hotel in Seminyak, Bali, on Saturday, the report said.

Quoting lifeguard officials, it said before the incident, Pande had been warned twice by the beach lifeguard as she was swimming in an area where swimming was banned due to strong currents.

"We have put (no swimming signs) in the area. But she kept swimming," the official was quoted as saying.

Earlier, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) had warned that high waves would hit Bali.

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The Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra (INPT), a tribal regional party of Tripura, today said it would launch a joint movement against the proposed Citizenship Amendment Bill, after tying up with other parties of the North Eastern region.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was introduced in the Lok Sabha to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955. A key amendment in the bill seeks to grant citizenship to persecuted minorities of Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan after six years of their residence in India.

"If this bill is passed, it would be disastrous for the indigenous people living in the North Eastern region. We are meeting leaders of various parties and are working to take the lead in forging a unified front against the Bill," INPT General Secretary Jagadish Debbarma told reporters.

Debbarma recently visited Assam and discussed the bill with Asom Gana Parishad founder and former chief minister Prafulla Mahanta and, AGP president Atul Bora and others.

INPT president Bijoy Kumar Hrangkhawl also visited several states of the region since July 16 and met Chief Executive Member of Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) in Meghalaya, he said.

Claiming that most members of the BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) are against the Citizenship Amendment Bill and demanding its immediate rollback, he said the Bill will endanger identity of tribal people in the NE.

"The Asom Gana Parishad and the Bodo Peoples Front in Assam have demanded withdrawal of the Bill. Major regional parties in Meghalaya and Nagaland also have done the same," the INPT general secretary said.

He also hinted that the INPT and several other regional parties could form a front and fight the 2019 Lok Sabha election unitedly to oppose the BJP.

"The idea has not been explored yet. But regional parties with NEDA have started to oppose the Citizenship Amendment Bill. We will work together with all parties which are opposing the Bill," he said.

Various parties of the NE region having a long border with Bangladesh are opposing the Citizenship Amendment Bill.

Student activists staged demonstrations against it on May 21 across three NE states - Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Nagaland.

A number of organisations of Assam took to the streets of Guwahati on June 29 urging the government to accord constitutional safeguards to the indigenous people.

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The number of women and children who travelled to war zones like Syria and Iraq to become Islamic State (ISIS) affiliates has been significantly under-estimated and under-analysed, new research warns.

According to the report 'From Daesh to "Diaspora": Tracing the Women and Minors of Islamic State' by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) at King's College London, these women and children could pose a significant international security risk moving forward unless efforts are made to fully comprehend the challenge.

"These findings are significant as considerations of foreign IS-affiliates in Syria and Iraq have largely focused on the status and activities of its male members," said Shiraz Maher, Director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation.

"Women and minors are poised to play a significant role in carrying on the ideology and organisation of IS now that the 'caliphate' has fallen, so it is essential that governments recognise these affiliates as two distinct groups who need their own unique responses," she said.

The report, which was presented to the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Council Executive Committee (UNCTED) last week, was released in the UK yesterday. Key statistics highlighted in the report indicate that between April 2013 and June 2018, 41,490 international citizens from 80 countries became affiliated with the ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Around 4,761 (13 per cent) of these were recorded to be women and 4,640 (12 per cent) were recorded to be minors.

At least 730 infants have been born inside the so-called ISIS "caliphate" to international parents and the researchers warn that it is estimated that this number is much higher and that many of these infants have a right to the citizenship of their foreign parents. Around 7,366 of this group are now believed to have returned to their home countries (20 per cent) or appear to be in repatriation processes to do so.

"There has never been a more pertinent time to recognise and integrate gender and minor considerations into all streams of effort to counter IS. We hope this report encourages similar future analysis so that we can understand and counter IS and its underlying ideology," said Dr Joana Cook, one of the researchers on the report.

Cook and Gina Vale, both from the Department of War Studies at King's College London, analysed over 90,500 individual items drawn from 283 sources in the largest mapping exercise of its kind. The majority of the data comes from official government sources and figures, however when these were not deemed reliable or available, figures were taken from academic or institutional publications and media reports deemed credible. In cases where only individual cases were found, these were compiled and highlighted as individual cases recorded (ICR).

The dataset is based on figures reported between April 2013 and June 2018 in line with the formal announcement of "ISIL" by Abu Bakr al Baghdadi on April 8, 2013.

Alongside the findings, the report also provides several recommendations specific to women and children, highlighting that these ISIS-linked women and children require "specific attention", including access to a fair trial, and that minors in particular require "nuanced consideration".

It notes: "Clear rehabilitative (rather than punitive) policies for returning minors may encourage more families to report missing children, reduce the burden on IDP [Internally Displaced People] camps and detention centres within Iraq and Syria, and reduce the risk of statelessness for IS orphans.

"All actions in theatre of engagement, including military efforts, should reflect gender and minor-conscious considerations."



The report warns that the considerations of ISIS in Syria and Iraq largely focus on the status and activities of its male members, which simultaneously appears to neglect the status and response to the females and minors that were affiliated with the organisation. In terms of the long-term physical and ideological survival of ISIS, and the globally shared potential security implications these hold, the findings indicate that women and children hold growing importance and therefore demand increased attention.

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Israel's top court has advised the national carrier to drop legal action against the state over its decision to allow Air India to fly over Saudi Arabia on the Delhi-Tel Aviv route, a move the El Al claims gives its Indian counterpart an unfair competitive edge over it, according to a media report.

The Air India flight between Delhi and Tel Aviv flies over Saudi and Omani airspace, reducing the cost and flight time significantly. Israel does not have diplomatic relations with the two Arab nations.

The High Court of Justice has urged El Al to drop the petition it filed in March this year, days after Air India's inaugural flight landed in Tel Aviv, the Calcalist reported.

El Al had filed an urgent petition to the High Court against the government, Transportation Ministry and the Civil Aviation Authority, claiming that granting the Indian airline permission to fly the route, which goes over Saudi Arabia, thus significantly reducing the cost and flight time on the NewDelhi-Tel Aviv route, gave a foreign company an unfair competitive advantage and violated the state's commitment to Israel's national carrier.

The permission by Saudi Arabia and Oman to allow Air India to fly through their airspace on the way to Tel Aviv was hailed as historic by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz.

It was also projected in the Israeli media as a sign of warming ties between Israel and the Gulf countries, something that Netanyahu keeps hinting at when he talks about his country's growing acceptance worldwide under his leadership.

El Al in its petition argued that allowing Air India to cross over airspace that is closed to Israeli-owned airlines violated the 1944 ?Convention on International Civil Aviation, as well as various Israeli government decisions.

The petition also noted that in a December 1994 decision to privatise El Al, the government had said that Israeli civil aviation policy must ensure equal opportunities between Israeli airlines and foreign airlines on a competitive basis and ensure sound and fair competition.

The airline also argued that the new route also violates a bilateral agreement Israel and India signed in 2016 that obliges Jerusalem to allow El Al an equal and fair opportunity to operate the flight route between the two countries.

Meanwhile, Air India has increased its frequency of weekly flights on the route to four times a week, starting with three, amid reports that it may soon become a daily flight given the "spectacular" response.

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The government is looking at entering into agreement with reputed hotel operators to run Hotel Kalinga Ashok in Bhubaneswar.

India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) currently has a network of 5 Ashok Group of Hotels. Kalinga Ashok, Bhubaneswar, a unit of ITDC, is the central government undertaking hotel.

"ITDC has decided to hire a reputed hotel operator for operating and maintaining the Hotel in the state of Odisha," as per the Request for Proposal.

According to the RFP, ITDC proposes to contract reputed hotel operators to manage the property on 'as-is, where-is' basis presently operative at leasehold land.

ITDC intends to do partnership with a reputed hotel chain to operate the property for the period of 30 years.

Interested buyers will have to submit their bids by August 20 and selection will be done through a competitive bidding or open tender process, the RFP said.

The selected entity will market the hotel property and provide all related services to the guests as per the standards of 3 stars or above.

Kalinga Ashok is located on two land parcels. One land parcel is on leasehold basis with Odisha government measuring 3.121 acres and the other land parcel is freehold measuring 1.89 acres. The hotel has 36 rooms, including 4 suites.

The RFP also said that the entity entering into partnership with ITDC has to use the brand name 'Ashok' under which the hotel is operated by ITDC or can operate the hotel during under its own brand name in conjugation with the name of 'Ashok'.

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A demand to investigate alleged indiscriminate lending by public sector banks during the previous UPA regime was made in the Rajya Sabha today by JD-U leader Harivansh.

Raising the issue through a zero hour mention, he said lending by public sector banks rose from Rs 18 lakh crore in 60 years till 2008 to Rs 52 lakh crore between 2009 and 2014.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during reply to the debate on no confidence motion last week, had termed the loans as "landmines".

The indiscriminate lending had led to a situation of unprecedented bad loans and stressed assets, he alleged.

"It should be investigated who violated rules to lead banks to this situation," he said.

He also called for investigation into appointments of chairmen and other senior functionaries of public sector banks who allegedly presided over the indiscriminate lending.

Raising other issues, Vandana Chavan (NCP) demanded a ban on use of pet coke in cement and power plants as it contains 20 times more sulphur than coal and has disastrous effect on health.

V Vijayasai Reddy (YSR Congress) raised the issue of Navy using the Vizag airport for sorties, hampering operations of civilian flights.

Airlines are curtailing flight operations due to Navy using Vizag airport, he said.

While Jet Airways has withdrawn a flight from the city, Spice Jet has withdrawn Vizag-Bangkok flight. Air India has rescheduled its flight from Vizag to Dubai while Sri Lankan Airline has threatened to reschedule its flight, he said



Kanimozmi (DMK) raised the issue of killing of 13 persons in police firing while they were demanding closure of the Sterlite Copper's smelter plant in Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu.

She said normalcy has not returned to the city and people continue to be harassed by midnight searches by the police.

She alleged that a committee of prominent citizens including retired judges and journalists who had gone to assess the situation had to change venue thrice as permission was denied.

Sambhati Chhatrapati (Nominated) raised the issue of reservation to Marathas, saying the government should hold consultations with all stakeholders to defuse a situation trying volatile.

Satyanarayan Jatiya (BJP) raised the issue of crops being damaged in absence of proper storage facilities while Manas Ranjan Bhunia (TMC) sought sanction for water projects in West Bengal.

Sanjay Singh (AAP) wanted the government to hold talks with 86-year old G D Agarwal, who has been on an indefinite fast demanding cleaning of the Ganga River.

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The Jinnah House, a sea facing bungalow in South Mumbai, is a property of the government of India and the question of disposing it does not arise, the Lok Sabha was informed today.

Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir said Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah's house does not come under the purview of the Enemy Property Act and the house stands under the category of 'Evacuee Property'.

The house is under the administration of the Evacuee Property Act, 1950, the minister said.

"Jinnah's house is a government of India property and the question of disposing the said property does not arise," Ahir said in a written reply.

Evacuee property means any property in which an evacuee has no right or interest, whether personally or as a trustee or as a beneficiary or in any other capacity.

Jinnah's house - South Court - is an unoccupied property in Malabar Hill, a premium neighbourhood of Mumbai.

It was built by Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, and remained his main residence till he left India following the partition.

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The mega development projects, including expansion of Jammu Airport and the ring road in the winter capital, came up for a detailed review with authorities cautioning the departments concerned against delay in meeting the deadlines, officials said today.

Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Sanjeev Verma reviewed the progress on the projects being executed here ahead of governor's visit to the winter capital yesterday, an official spokesman said.

He said Verma took a detailed review of status of work on expansion of Jammu Airport, the ring road project, four laning of Jammu-Akhnoor road, multi-tier parking at general bus stand, development of Tawi river front, Jammu ropeway project and the upcoming legislative complex.

The work on augmentation of Chenab water supply scheme and sewerage projects, restoration of Mubarak Mandi heritage complex, development of facilities at Suchetgarh under the border tourism, the AIIMS project, IIT and IIM Jammu campuses were also discussed, the spokesman said.

He said a detailed discussion was held on various issues, including forest clearance, land acquisition for these projects and payment of compensation to the landowners.

The divisional commissioner asked the executing agency to frame tentative activity calendar and take all stakeholders on board to remove bottlenecks, if any, the spokesman said.

Underlining the need for adopting professional approach for the execution of various developmental projects, he said Verma cautioned the departments concerned against delay in meeting the deadlines.

He called for close inter-department coordination for expediting the pace and regular monitoring of the projects besides adhering to quality norms, the spokesman said.

While taking a detailed review of the physical and financial progress registered on these projects so far, Verma laid stress on maintaining financial discipline by judicious utilisation of funds.

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Kolkata-based packaged spices major J K Spices is scouting for aggressive overseas opportunities including tie-up with US based e-tailers to expand its market, a top company official said today.

"We are looking to grow both in the domestic and overseas markets. We have tied up with Amazon.com and later propose to extend the same with Ebay for the US market. The US Amazon will be be unveiled tomorrow," JK Spices and Food director (sales & marketing) Vijay Jain said here.

He said along with it the company was also negotiating with a leading seller on Amazon India for the online space in India.

The company was optimistic about the US market to tap the huge Indian diaspora.

"We are even launching new products exclusively for the US markets," Jain said.

JK Spices has three manufacturing locations in India and all the three units are US FDA approved, he said.

The company would also explore Middle East and African markets beside exporting in Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

JK Spices claimed to enjoy about four per cent of the organised national spices market of about Rs 6,000 crore.

JK Spices is leader in the West Bengal market with at least 35-40 per cent market share and had posted Rs 245 crore in FY18'.

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The board running the Sabarimala temple in Kerala today told the Supreme Court that judicial scrutiny of old "uninterrupted" religious practices like the ban on entry of women of a particular age group into the famous shrine would open a "Pandora's box".

A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra was told by senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for the Travancore Devaswom Board, that test of constitutional morality cannot be applied to old religious practices.

"All mosques, except those of Dawoodi Bohra Muslim sect, do not allow women inside... It will open the pandora's box. There are several religions and several practices," Singhvi said, adding that there were "millions of faiths and beliefs" and they may not pass the constitutional morality test.

"My belief may be fickle, irrational. There are sects of Shias who believe in self-flagellation. Many will call it barbaric, others will say it is religious. It is certainly not in consonance with 2018 notions, but it is still my belief," he submitted before the bench which also comprised justices R F Nariman, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra.

The senior lawyer was responding to the observation of the bench that a person can be restrained from entering a religious place only on the grounds of "public health, public order and morality" under the Constitution and the ban of women will have to clear the test of "constitutional morality".

He said the practice be not seen through the prism of modern ethos and any revulsion at a practice was immaterial.

The temple board said that the veracity of the religious has to be tested in trial and the apex court cannot do it without analysing the evidence.

"If not, then it would disturb a part of Hindu faith," he said.

He also gave a list of temples and religious places of other faiths where entry was selectively granted and said that these matters pertained to religion which cannot be tested only on the grounds of the Constitution.

The court reacted sharply to the submission of the senior lawyer that women, on their own, do not visit temple during the days of menstruation.

"In a patriarchal society, women are made to go through a certain social conditioning from birth. How to behave, what to say, what to do," the bench said.

It also said men, due to their "overwhelming dominant position" framed such norms that women cannot maintain purity for 41 days.

"You say men go to the Sabarimala temple because their dominant status make them capable for austerity. But a woman, a chattel of man, cannot practice austerity. How can we accept this," the bench asked.

Women before puberty and after menopause are allowed into the Sabarimala and men regardless of the puberty or andropause can enter, the bench observed.

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The Haryana government today launched 'Swachh Sarvekshan Grameen' 2018, a survey of rural cleanliness programme, to ranks the villages on the basis of qualitative and quantitative evaluation.

The "swachhta" survey would be carried out next month and the top performing states and districts will be awarded on October 2, an official statement said.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar addressed senior police officials through video conferencing today and asked them to ensure active participation of the people.

The ranking would be based on the comprehensive set of "swachhata" parameters including survey of public places, citizens' perception of "swachhata" and their recommendation for the improvement of the programme.

The 'Swachh Sarvekshan Grameen' 2018 would be formally launched at district level by ministers and MLAs concerned. A committee under the chairmanship of the chief secretary would soon be constituted to review the progress of "swachhta" works from time to time, the statement said.

According to the campaign, 6,800 villages in 680 districts across the country will be covered and 34,000 public places in these villages will be surveyed.

Khattar appealed to involve zila parishads and zila samities besides gram panchayats in this campaign and allot some villages to them.

The disposal of waste, garbage and cow dung would be properly systemised and the potholes would be filled so as to avoid waterlogging during this rainy season, he added.

He also said that the school students should be involved in all such voluntary campaigns to instil in them the sense of cleanliness from the early age.

Recently, school students have been involved in the implementation of tree plantation programmes, he said, adding similarly, they need to be made aware about the "swachhta" campaign.

A nodal officer would be appointed for this purpose, he said.

On the occasion, a senior official of the Development and Panchayats Department said that the survey will be conducted in three phases.

First, a survey team would visit the schools, anganwadis, primary health centres, religious places and markets and a total of 30 per cent marks would be given under this direct observation of cleanliness in these places.

Thereafter, under citizens' feedback, group discussions would be held in village meetings which would be shared with the Government of India through mobile applications. Interviews of sarpanch and other dignitaries of the villages would be conducted. A total of 35 per cent marks depend on this.

Survey teams would also check the level of facilities available in the villages such as use and geo tagging of toilets and 35 per cent marks depend on this, he said.

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The Sri Lankan government has rehabilitated and integrated into society nearly 12,186 former LTTE members, including 594 child soldiers, according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had run a military campaign for a separate Tamil homeland in the northern and eastern provinces of the island nation for nearly 30 years before its collapse in 2009 after the Sri Lankan Army killed its supreme leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

Nearly 4,156 of the rehabilitated former LTTE members were between the age of 20-29 years and 1,084 of them were female cadres. The highest number of 5,586 rehabilitation took place in 2010, the figures revealed.

The RTI application was filed at the Commissioner General of Rehabilitation by a journalist, Tharindu Jayawardena. The application was initially rejected on the grounds of privacy of the rehabilitated LTTEs and that it might endanger national security.

However, arguing that the information only related to statistics and pose no danger for national security or privacy, he moved the RTI Commission, the legal body which is set up to hear cases where information requests are rejected or ignored, according to Daily

The Commission ordered that all the information which Jayawardena had sought, be released, it said.

There were 594 child soldiers among those rehabilitated during the period from 2008 to 2018, the RTI reply said.

Sri Lanka's RTI Act came into force in February 2017.

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Over 370,000 troops have been deployed across Pakistan for tomorrow's general election, the largest military deployment on a polling day in the nation's history, at the end of a campaign marred by a string of terror attacks.

The countrywide election campaign, marred by a string of terrorist attacks, came to an end at midnight last night, as political parties culminated their poll campaigns.

The Pakistan Army has said it would deploy 371,388 troops at 85,000 polling stations for the July 25 election. This would be the largest deployment for any election in the country's history.

Armed soldiers stood guard as election officials in the capital distributed ballot boxes and voting material at polling stations across the city.

"Deployment of troops completed across the country," the military said in a statement, adding that the troops along with local security agencies will provide "a safe and secure environment" for voting.

Security forces have also warned that leaders of mainstream parties and certain candidates face serious security threats. This has also affected the traditional election fervour.

In the run up to the election, the country was hit by a series of terror attacks on candidates and campaign rallies, including one that killed 151 people in Balochistan province on July 13.

Questions have also been raised about the role of the military after reports that it was given magisterial powers. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was also criticised for deploying the army both inside and outside polling stations.

Army chief General Qamar Bajwa has however assured that military personnel deployed for election duties would strictly comply with the code of conduct given by the ECP.

He also said the army will only perform a facilitative role in the election and that the polling process is to remain under the control and authority of the ECP.

The military has ruled Pakistan through various coups for nearly half of the country's history since independence in 1947.

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The last date for applying for benefits under the Prime Minister's Crop Insurance Scheme in Maharashtra has been extended till July 31 by the Centre on the state government's request, said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today.

The deadline for submitting online applications under the scheme for farmers was to end today.

"The (last) date for (applying) for Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima (crop insurance) scheme has been extended till July 31 on the state government's request," a statement from the Chief Minister's Office quoted Fadnavis as saying.

The chief minister was speaking at a review meeting on crop loan disbursement and other issues related to the agriculture department at secretariat here.

Fadnavis interacted with district collectors, Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil in Sangli and Minister of State for Agriculture Sadabhau Khot in Kolhapur through video conferencing.

He asked the district collectors to ensure maximum number of farmers get benefit by extension of the scheme's deadline.

The CM said local administration should assist farmers while submitting online applications for crop insurance.

The statement said preventive step on pink bollworm (a pest in cotton farming) was discussed at the meet and Fadnavis asked the collectors to look into the issue personally and inform the government immediately if any assistance was required.

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The Left parties today staged a protest at Parliament premises, accusing the BJP government in Tripura and the TMC dispensation in West Bengal of "murdering" democracy and violating human rights in the two states.

MPs of the Left parties alleged that there has been an increasing number of incidents in the two states where human rights and political freedom of people have come under severe threat.

"The change of regime in both states has been accompanied by an unprecedented, sustained violence and attacks in all spheres against the members and supporters of the Left parties. In Tripura, it is the BJP-RSS combine which is leading the attacks on the Left and in Bengal it is the TMC which is unleashing the violence," CPI(M) leader Mohammed Salim told reporters.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) also staged a dharna at the same time in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Parliament premises accusing the BJP of patronising the culprits behind the incidents of lynching across the country.

Both the protesters of the Left parties and the TMC were seen facing each other while shouting slogans just before the star of the Session today.

TMC leader Derek O'Brien alleged, "The BJP government is behind incidents of lynching all over the country.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi should tell us why these incidents are happening. They are trying to divide India. Stop lynching. Stop of hatred. We are for an united India," he said.

Interestingly, while the TDP joined the protest of TMC, RJD leaders were seen joining the protest by the Left parties.

Later, both the Left and TMC MPs took up their issues during the Zero hour in the Lok Sabha.

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Shanghai (Gasgoo)- DearCC, China's EV startup, announced that it has closed RMB 2 billion pre-A funding round in the first half of 2018, and started to raise Series A funding round. It is said that the pre-A funding round was led by guidance funds of auto industry, professional investment institutions and the capital from the upstream and downstream of auto industry. However, the specified leading investors were still disclosed yet. The pre-A funding round was raised mainly for new product R&D, construction of manufacturing bases, as well as introduction of high-end brands and talents in science and technology.

What's more, DearCC will release an all-new high-end brand on July 31, which will target high-end intelligent connected vehicles. It is said that the first B-class pure electric SUV model under this brand will be unveiled in the second half of this year and is very likely to hit the market in the first half of next year.

Currently, the all-new high-end brand has five optional English names, namely Expecta, Ainsight, Telent, Explor, and Azure. Particularly, Expecta is a highly-expected English name that will be released at the end of this month.

Founded in 2015, DearCC, an EV startup headquartered in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, launched its first self-developed NEV model, the DearCC EV10 in November, 2017 at Auto Guangzhou 2017. Positioned as A0 class model, the EV10 is priced between RMB 59,800 and RMB 67,800. As of now, the model's cumulative sales have topped 2,000 units. Notably, 70% sales of the model are attributed to private consumers, demonstrating a significant meaning that DearCC has realized the true mass delivery among EV startups in China.

Till the end of June, DearCC has set up brand experience spaces in key cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shaoxing and Changsha. Currently, DearCC owns 60 dealers with offline dealership network covering 15 provinces and over 30 major cities.

Moreover, in the second half of 2018, DearCC will launch an upgraded version of the DearCC EV10, dubbed the Pro 300, which will have a maximum range of 320km. It is known that the EV10 Pro 300 had started presale in Shanghai on July 7.
Incidents of lynching will not stop till the time cow gets the status of "Rashtra Mata", a BJP MLA from Telangana has said, amid the outrage over the killing of a Muslim man over suspicion of being a cow smuggler in Rajasthan's Alwar.

T Raja Singh Lodh, the BJP MLA from Goshamahal here, said in a video message on a social networking website on Sunday he does not want "khoon-kharaba" (bloodletting) on the issue, but if it has to stop, cow must be declared the Mother of the Nation.

In the 7-minute clip, the lawmmaker also urged MPs to make such a demand in Parliament.

"Till cow is not accorded the status of 'Rashtra Mata', I feel the war for 'gau raksha' (cow protection) will not stop even if 'gau rakshaks' (cow protectors) are put into jails or bullets are fired at them," Singh said.

He also sought Prime Mininister Narendra Modi's support for the demand.

"Till the time a ministry of cow protection is created in every state and stringent laws are enacted for cow protection, I feel such killings will not stop....this is my feeling and I am telling the fact," Singh, known for making controversial remarks, said.

Maintaining that he never supported the killing or beating up of people by "gau rakshaks", Singh, however, deplored "nobody discusses protection of cows and how to stop such violence".

"Recently, a man named Rakbar alias Akbar Khan, a cow smuggler was killed. The media reported some cases of cow smuggling were pending against him," he said, claiming many cow protection activists were killed by cattle smugglers but such incidents were ignored by media.

However, when a cow smuggler is killed the electronic media rakes up the issue, which is also raised in Parliament, he said.

Singh also took to Twitter where he claimed a Hindu man was lynched in Rajasthan the same day as Khan over his love affair with a Muslim girl.

"Same day When Rakbar Khan was allegedly Lynched Kheta Ram Bheel a Dalit was also Lynched in Rajasthan by the Muslim family of the girl he loved. BUT MEDIA & other secular parties are not interested as all the accused are from Peaceful community which doesn't suit their agenda," he wrote.

Rakbar and his friend Aslam were accosted by alleged cow vigilantes in Alwar's Ramgarh on Saturday. Aslam managed to flee, but Rakbar was brutally assaulted. He later died from injuries received during the attack.

The Ghoshamahal MLA has often found himself on the wrong side of the law because of his remarks.

He recently said the holy Quran was responsible for the spread of terrorism and those hosting Iftaar parties were begging for Muslim votes.

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Large-scale violence marred a state-wide protest today by Maratha outfits demanding reservation for the community in Maharashtra, where a constable died and nine other policemen were injured amid suicide attempt by three agitators.

Stone-pelting and arson were reported from several parts of the state, which remained on edge today and braced for a Mumbai bandh tomorrow.

Agitators clashed with the police and torched vehicles at several places, while Internet services were suspended in rural areas of Aurangabad district to prevent any untoward incident. In Jalna, the police fired in the air to scatter protesters.

As the stir for reservation in jobs and education intensified, the Maratha Kranti Morcha, which is spearheading the agitation, is taking its battle to Mumbai where it has called for the shutdown. Another outfit, the Sakal Maratha Samaj, called for a bandh tomorrow in Navi Mumbai and Panvel as well.

The impact of today's bandh was more visible in Aurangabad and adjoining districts in the central region of the state, a day after the death of a protester.

Quotas for Marathas, a politically influential community that constitutes around 30 per cent of the state's population, has been a hugely contentious issue.

A constable deployed near the funeral venue of the protester who jumped to death yesterday, died. Police said the cause of death is yet to be ascertained.

"The postmortem report is awaited. Some injury marks were seen on his hands and legs," a police official said, adding another constable there got injured in stone-pelting.

Protester Kakasaheb Shinde (27) had jumped to death from a bridge over the Godavari in Aurangabad yesterday.

Shiv Sena MP Chandrakant Khaire faced the ire of the protesters when he went to attend his last rites at his Kaygaon village today.

Khaire was manhandled by the crowd and had to beat a hasty retreat, police said, adding there was stone pelting on his car too.

The police at the venue caned protesters and lobbed tear gas shells, Aurangabad SP Arti Singh told PTI. "The situation in Aurangabad is under control. Police are alert to avert any unwanted incident."



Eight policemen, including two officer, were hurt after protesters threw stones at the Ghansangvi police station, police said. A fire brigade van was also set ablaze at Kaygaon.

Jalna SP Ramnath Pokale said agitators pelted stones at a tehsil office. "To disperse the violent mob, we fired in the air and lobbed tear gas shells," he said, adding the police were trying to arrest those involved in the violence.

The situation is now under control and additional State RPF personnel have been sent, Pokale said.

Protesters also threw stones on a Hyderabad-Latur bus in Nilanga tehsil in Latur.

The Aurangabad Municipal Corporation general body meeting today decided to give a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to Shinde's kin. A resolution seeking 16 per cent quota for the Marathas in jobs and education was also approved there.

In Sangli, Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil said the government has done whatever was within its ambit and now it was up to the courts to take a call on the issue. Some "paid" people have infiltrated the stir, he said.

Protester Jagannath Sonawane, 31, from Aurangabad, sought to emulate Shinde's example by jumping onto a dry river bed, while another, Guddu Sonawane, also from the district, consumed poison.They have been admitted to a hospital, police said.

In Thane, activist Mangesh Suryavanshi (38) jumped into a creek near the Ganesh Ghat, but was saved by police and others, Thane Police PRO Sukhada Narkar said. He received minor injuries and was admitted to a hospital.

In Nanded, police cane-charged protesters to disperse them, an official said.

At Kaygaon, Aurangabad, protesters shouted slogans hailing Shinde as a 'martyr', police said.

Pune saw sporadic incidents of stone pelting. Some people threw stones at an administrative building in Baramati and a state transport bus was attacked, ASP Sandip Pakhale said.

Maratha Kranti Morcha members took out a rally in Pune.

"Our members took out a rally in Pune and traders kept their shops closed in Deccan, Laxmi Road and Bajirao Road areas of the city," said Shantaram Kunjir, a convener of the morcha.

The bandh received lukewarm response in Yavatmal and Amravati. In Yavatmal, the bandh call was given by the Maratha Mahasangh.

In Amravati, activists paid homage to Shinde at Rajkamal Square. They later marched to the Kotwali Police Station and submitted a memorandum addressed to the CM.

The bandh received a mixed response in Ahmednagar and Nashik districts.

In Nashik district, activists staged a rasta roko on the Mumbai-Agra National Highway. The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation suspended its services to Aurangabad from Nashik, an official said.

Protesters burnt tyres at Sakora in Nandgaon taluka of Nashik, affecting traffic, the Rural Police Control said.

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil blamed CM Devendra Fadnavis for the stir taking a violent turn and demanded his resignation.

Fadnavis had cancelled his visit to a temple in Pandharpur protesters threatened to disrupt the event.

Despite assurances from Fadnavis, nothing concrete has been done till now, community leaders have claimed.

"We will continue our agitation until the CM apologises to the Maratha community (for alleging that some members from the community were planning violence at Pandharpur)," Morcha coordinator Ravindra Patil said.

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Nobel Laureate and education activist, Malala Yousafzai today urged the people of Pakistan, specially the women to vote in tomorrow's general elections.

In a tweet, Malala urged the Pakistanis to get up, and exercise their right to vote.

"The people of Pakistan - especially women - the power is in your hands," she said, adding that "Democracy shall win".

The 21-year-old Pakistani national, who lives in UK, did not say whether she voted.

In 2012, Malala was shot in the head, neck and shoulder by a Taliban militant while travelling home from school after writing an anonymous diary about life under the extremists.

After recovering from her near-fatal injuries, she and her family relocated to Birmingham, UK. She is studying politics, philosophy and economics at Lady Margaret Hall in Oxford.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has directed its polling staff to ensure proper guidance and assistance to voters, especially to elderly, transgenders and pregnant women on the polling day.

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Embattled liquor baron Vijay Mallya, the main accused in a Rs 9,000 crore alleged bank fraud case, is understood to have sounded out to Indian authorities that he was willing to come back home to face the law, official sources said on Tuesday.

Mallya, who is contesting in a court the Indian government's action for extradition, is said to have sent feelers to authorities that he would like to join the legal process in and contest the recent action against him under the Fugitive Economic Offender Ordinance.

Under this recently promulgated ordinance, the government can immediately confiscate all linked properties of in the country and abroad.

However, top sources in investigative agencies said the final contours of the move are still not clear as they refused to divulge more details.

A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court in Mumbai had last month issued summons to the beleaguered businessman to appear before it on August 27 on the Enforcement Directorate's plea seeking action against him under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance in the over Rs 9,000 crore bank fraud case.

The central probe agency, as part of this action, has also sought immediate confiscation of assets worth around Rs 12,500 crore of

If he does not appear before the court or respond to its summons on the designated date, risks being declared a fugitive economic offender, besides properties linked to him being confiscated.

Mallya, his now defunct venture Kingfisher Airlines Limited and others availed loans from various banks during the tenure of the UPA-I government and the outstanding amount, including interest, against him is Rs 9,990.07 crore at present, officials had said.

He had recently said he has become the "poster boy" of bank default and a lightning rod for public anger.

The liquor baron had said that he had written letters to both the prime minister and the minister on April 15, 2016, to explain his side of the story.

Both the (ED) and the (CBI) have filed separate criminal cases of alleged loan default against him.

A hearing in the extradition case is expected to be heard in this month end where a team of Indian investigators will remain present.
A 50-year-old man was electrocuted to death while wading through rain waters outside the Rewari civil hospital, police said today.

Banke Bihari, a farmer from Gangachay Jat village here, suffered electric shock yesterday as he came quite close to the power transformer while wading through rain waters that had accumulated outside the boundary wall of the civil hospital, Gokal Gate police post in-charge, Mahipal said.

According to the complaint lodged by the deceased's brother, Bihari was electrocuted while he was wading through the nearly 2.5-feet-deep water-logged premises on his way back after purchasing medicines, he said.

Bihari was rushed to hospital where doctors declared him brought dead, he added.

Many hospital visitors said they are forced to walk on the outer boundary wall to enter and leave the premises due to flood-like situation there after every downpour.

Deputy Commissioner, Rewari, A K Sharma has directed officials concerned to find out a permanent solution to the problem.

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A man was allegedly thrashed by a group of right-wing activists at a marriage registrar's office here, when he had gone there to register his marriage with a woman from another religion, police said today.

After a video of the incident went viral on social media, the Sihani Gate police booked 11 youths who were purportedly seen beating the man, in his mid 20s.

Senior Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Krishna said some youths opposed to the interfaith marriage arrived at the Tehsil compound and disrupted the registration process.

The video shows the youth being dragged and brutally thrashed by the mob.

The accused claimed that the man lured the woman into marriage by lying about his religion.

The woman is employed with a private company in Noida.

The police arrived at the scene after being informed about the incident and took the couple to the Sihani Gate police station.

Police said they identified those who thrashed the man and accordingly an FIR was registered yesterday.

The SSP said action will be taken against the guilty.

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A man, aged about 50, allegedly committed suicide in Churu district near here after making an abortive bid to rape his daughter-in-law, during which he also stabbed her repeatedly on meeting resistance, the police said today.

The man allegedly attempted to rape the 30-year-old wife of his son last night in absence of her husband and attacked the woman with a knife as she resisted his attempts, the police said.

The man's son and daughter-in-law used to live along with their two children separately from the assailant.

The victim's husband was in Jaipur for the last four days for some work and she was staying with her two children in their house in Churu. Last night, her father-in-law barged into their house and tried to rape her, said SHO Rajkumar of the woman police station.

When she resisted his attempts, he attacked the woman with a knife due to which she sustained multiple injuries on head, neck, hands and other parts of her body. She, however, managed to get out of the house and raise an alarm, following which the neighbours rushed her to a hospital in the wee hours today, he said.

The alleged assailant, meanwhile, consumed some poison and fell unconscious. He too was rushed to the hospital where he died during the treatment, said Assistant Sub Inspector Ummed Singh of Kotwali police station.

While the FIR for the attempt to rape under relevant sections of IPC was lodged with Mahila police station, the report for suicide under section 174 of CrPC was registered with the Kotwali police station of Churu.

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Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh today asked the Manipur University Students' Union (MUSU) and Manipur University Teacher's Association (MUTA) to call off their strike demanding the removal of the varsity Vice-Chancellor A P Pandey.

A delegation of the MUSU and MUTA today called on the chief minister and held talks with him regarding their demand.

The academic activities at the university have been under suspension for over 55-days as teachers, students and staff associations are agitating for Pandey's removal.

After the talks, Singh said "I have requested MUSU and MUTA to call off their strike."



The Union HRD Ministry has constituted a fact-finding committee on July 12 to inquire into the allegations of administrative negligence and mis-utilisation of funds by Pandey.

The committee was later reconstituted. The committee is now headed by T Nandakumar Singh, former acting Chief Justice of the High Court of Meghalaya and comprises J K Tripathi, joint secretary, University Grants Commission and Surat Singh, Deputy Secretary, Department of Higher Education, HRD Ministry as members.

The fact-finding committee shall submit its report within a month, the order said.

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All stranded pilgrims of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in Uttarakhand's Gunji have been evacuated and brought to Pithoragarh by Indian Air Force helicopters, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said today.

As many as 115 pilgrims were stranded in Uttarakhand due to inclement weather, Swaraj had tweeted yesterday.

"I am happy to inform that all Kailash Mansarovar Yatris stranded at Gunji (Uttarakhand) have been evacuated and brought to Pithoragarh by IAF helicopters. With this, normal movement of Yatris has recommenced," she said today.

Earlier this month, hundreds of Indian pilgrims were stranded in Nepal's mountainous region while returning from the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in Tibet.

They were airlifted to safety after a massive evacuation drive.

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Maratha outfits have called for a bandh in Maharashtra today, a day after a man demanding reservation for the community jumped to his death in a river in Aurangabad district.

A pro-reservation Maratha leader said they have called the bandh across the state today and that they would continue their agitation until Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis apologises to the community.

"We will continue our agitation until Chief Minister Fadnavis apologises to the Maratha community. We will observe bandh in Aurangabad and other parts of the state today," Ravindra Patil, the coordinator of a pro-reservation group of Marathas, said.

Some Maratha groups have also planned to protest in Mumbai in the near future.

Yesterday, a 27-year-old protester, Kakasaheb Shinde, jumped off a bridge over Godavari River in Aurangabad. He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead, police said.

The Maratha Kranti Morcha had yesterday demanded an apology from Fadnavis for alleging that some members from the community were planning violence at Pandharpur town in Solapur district, where the chief minister was earlier scheduled to perform puja at a temple on 'Ashadhi Ekadashi'.

The outfit, which led the 'jal samadhi' protest in which Shinde died, is leading the agitation seeking reservation for the community in government jobs and education.

Shinde's death had triggered a fresh set of protests in several parts of Maharashtra, with opposition leaders seeking to put the onus on the BJP-led government in the state.

In the last few days, protests have take place in Buldhana, Akola, Parali, Washim and even in Mumbai.

Fadnavis had said on Sunday that he was cancelling his visit, scheduled yesterday, to the temple in Pandharpur after protesting Maratha outfits threatened to disrupt the event.

Quotas for Marathas, a politically influential community that constitutes around 30 per cent of the state's population, has been a hugely contentious issue.

The community leaders had earlier taken out several rallies in various districts to highlight their demands. Last year, a huge rally was organised by the Maratha Kranti Morcha in this connection in Mumbai.

Despite assurances from Fadnavis to fulfil the demands, nothing concrete has been done till now, community leaders have claimed.

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One constable died and nine other policemen were injured in stone pelting today as a state-wide protest by Maratha outfits demanding reservation for the community turned violent with agitators clashing with the police and torching vehicles amid suicide attempt by two protesters.

As the stir for reservation in jobs and education intensified, the Maratha Kranti Morcha, which is spearheading the agitation, also called for a Mumbai bandh tomorrow.

The impact of today's Maharashtra bandh was more visible in Aurangabad and adjoining districts, a day after the death of a protestor yesterday during a protest march in favour of reservations.

Quotas for Marathas, a politically influential community that constitutes around 30 per cent of the state's population, has been a hugely contentious issue.

The community leaders have earlier taken out several rallies in various districts to highlight their demands. Last year, a huge rally was organised by the Maratha Kranti Morcha in this connection in Mumbai.

A police constable deployed near the funeral venue of the Maratha protester who jumped to death yesterday, died but police said the cause of death is yet to be ascertained.

"The post mortem report is awaited. Some injury marks were seen on his hands and legs," a police official said.

Another police constable at the venue got injured in stone pelting, police said.

The 27-year-old Kakasaheb Shinde, had jumped off a bridge over Godavari river in Aurangabad yesterday. He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead.

Shiv Sena MP Chandrakant Khaire faced the ire of the protesters when he went to attend Shinde's last rites at his Kaygaon village in Aurangabad today.

Khaire was manhandled by the crowd present there and had to beat a hasty retreat, police said, adding that there was stone pelting as well on the MP's car.

Police present at the venue caned protesters and lobbed tear gas, Superintendent of Police of Aurangabad Arti Singh told PTI.

Eight policemen were injured after protesters pelted stones at the Ghansangvi police station in Jalna, police said. They include two officers, an official said.

A fire brigade van was also set afire at Kaygaon by the protesters, police said.

Protesters also pelted stones on the Hyderabad-Latur bus in Nilanga tehsil of Latur district.

The Aurangabad Municipal Corporation general body meeting today decided to give Rs 10 lakh to the kin of Shinde.

A resolution to seek reservation of 16 per cent seats for Maratha community in jobs and education was also approved at the meeting.

In Sangli, revenue minister Chandrakant Patil of BJP said the state government has done whatever was within its ambit and now it was up to the courts to take a call on this contentious issue.

Some "paid" people have infiltrated in the Maratha stir, the minister said.

A protester, Jagannath Sonawane, 31, from Aurangabad district, sought to emulate Shinde's example by jumping onto a dry river bed, while another, Guddu Sonawane, also from the district, consumed poison. Both have been admitted to the government hospital, police said.

Shinde's death has triggered a fresh set of protests in several parts of Maharashtra.

Internet services were suspended in rural areas of Aurangabad district to prevent any untoward incident.

At Kaygaon, protesters shouted slogans hailing Shinde as a 'martyr', police said.

At a meeting here in Dadar, the Morcha leaders today decided to call for a Mumbai bandh tomorrow.

At another meeting of the Sakal Maratha Samaj in adjoining Vashi, it was decided to call for a bandh tomorrow in Navi Mumbai and Panvel as well.

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil blamed Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for the Maratha quota stir taking a violent turn and demanded his resignation.

Fadnavis had cancelled his visit to a temple in Pandharpur after protesting Maratha outfits threatened to disrupt the event.

Despite assurances from Fadnavis to fulfil the demands, nothing concrete has been done till now, community leaders have claimed.

"We will continue our agitation until Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis apologises to the Maratha community. We will observe bandh in Aurangabad and other parts of the state today," Morcha coordinator Ravindra Patil said.

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It is not a "cakewalk" and may not be easy for homebuyers to recover their money from defaulting real estate players, even after becoming financial creditors under the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, according to NCLT President Justice M M Kumar.

Unless the Supreme Court comes to their rescue, there are many risks for homebuyers under the IBC, said Justice Kumar, while speaking at a seminar on "Restructuring of Stressed Assets - Current Scenario" by industry chamber PHDCCI here.

"Homebuyers, after becoming financial creditors, under the IBC (after amendments) may no be a happy lot," Justice Kumar said.

He further said if the Supreme Court exercises its power under Article 142 of Indian Constitution, "that may come to their rescue, otherwise there are many risks, legally speaking".

"It may not be that easy for the home buyers. It is not a cakewalk," he added.

Explaining why homebuyers still faced uncertainties in recovering their money under the amended IBC, Justice Kumar said there is a question mark on how they would be treated vis-a-vis secured creditors.

"The home buyers, their fate even after they have become financial creditors, would still be suffixed in front of the secured creditors," he said.

As there are different types of financial creditors, how homebuyers would be categorised or if they must be treated as secured creditors is a debatable issue, Justice Kumar added.

Moreover, he said there is also a question mark over the ownership of the property, for which the buyers had made payment.

"Whether the payment given by them (homebuyers) would be considered as legal owned property or others' property?" he said.

On being asked that in case, if there is no tripartite agreement (between bank, buyer and builder), sales of future assets, which are being mortgaged and not come into existence, would that be a secured asset, Justice Kumar said that is a grey area.

"As I have said that this a grey area. The home buyers may not have a reason to celebrate as yet. I am frankly telling you. We do not know what type of... they would come before us and how we will decide," he said.

On May 24, the government amended the IBC allowing home buyers to be financial creditors of the company through an ordinance and yesterday Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal introduced The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill, 2018 to replace it.

The amendments to the IBC are intended to give relief to homebuyers by recognising their status as financial creditors, thus giving them due representation in the Committee of Creditors (CoC) and making them an integral part of the decision-making process.

Jaypee Infratech, which is a subsidiary of Jaypee group's flagship firm Jaiprakash Associatesis developing about 32,000 flats, of which it has delivered 9,500 apartments.

Debt-ridden Jaypee Infratech has an outstanding debt of nearly Rs 9,800 crore, of which Rs 4,334 crore pertains to IDBI. NCLT has already admitted insolvency plea against it.

Besides, home buyers from Amrapali group are also facing similar situation after NCLT admitted insolvency plea against the company.

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Freedom of press is the "mother of all liberties" in a democratic society and the media should have its own guidelines for self-regulation, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra said today.

The CJI was delivering the presidential address at a function organised by the International Law Association (ILA), where eminent jurist N R Madhava Menon delivered a lecture on "Courts, Media and Fair Trial Guarantee".

Justice Misra said freedom of speech played a pivotal role in generating public opinion in matters of national importance, adding that it created an "informed citizenry".

"Freedom of press in a democratic society is the mother of all liberties. There is no doubt it is one of the most cherished and valuable rights guaranteed under the Constitution. It includes the right to know and the right to inform.

"I am of the firm belief that there should be no guidelines (for the media). Let them frame their own guidelines and be guided by that. Nothing can serve better than individual or collective guidelines of the press. There should not be any imposition, but there should be some kind of self-restriction," he added.

The CJI said the media had the responsibility of maintaining objectivity while reporting on cases that could stir the emotions of the citizens.

Menon said media coverage at times posed a threat to a fair trial at three stages -- prior to the trial, during the trial and after the completion of the trial.

He pointed out that disclosing the identity of the witnesses and accused might affect a trial in many ways.

Menon said a parallel trial by the media might influence an investigating agency to make arrests and might even cause witnesses to turn hostile.

He added that post-trial, the independence of judiciary was threatened if the media questioned the integrity of the judge.

"The current CJI does not want any curbs on the media and has, in fact, said in court that he does not want any curbs on the media," Menon said.

He added that the recent development in the apex court regarding live-telecasting the proceedings will open up a new chapter in media-judiciary relations.

Supreme Court judge Justice A M Khanwilkar was also present at the event.

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An unidentified militant in Kashmir Valley today surrendered before security forces and returned to his family, the police said.

"With the help of community one more joins his family and shuns the path of violence," Kashmir Zone Police said on Twitter.

However, the details of the surrendered militant have been kept a secret in order to ensure the security of theyouth.

More than a dozen militants have laid down their arms in Kashmir since last year when police announced that they will accept offer to surrender of local militants even during ongoing encounters.

Most of these militants have surrendered afterappealsby their families toshunthe path ofviolenceand return home.

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A 10-year-old boy was today critically injured when an unexploded shell went off near the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

Ashiq Hussain was injured when he reportedly started fiddling with some unexploded ammunition in Shahpur sector, a defence spokesman said.

He was rushed to a civilian hospital where doctors referred him to Government Medical College Jammu for specialised treatment, a police official said.

He said small arms firing was also reported for over half-an-hour in the nearby Sawjian sector in the early hours today but further details were awaited.

The defence spokesman, however, said there was no ceasefire violation and the firing was resorted by Army to challenge suspicious movements noticed along the LoC.

There was no report of any casualty in the incident, he said.

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Praising the Indian community's "very positive" influence on the India-Rwanda friendship, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that in every part of the world, the Indian diaspora is distinguishing itself and making the countrymen proud of its accomplishments.

Addressing a gathering of the Indian community here, Modi yesterday said Rwanda's President Paul Kagame had told him about the Indian community's work in the East African country.

"Wonderful interaction with the Indian diaspora in Rwanda. In every part of the world, the Indian diaspora is distinguishing itself and making us proud of their accomplishments. Rwanda's Indian community is a very positive influence on the India-Rwanda friendship," Modi tweeted.

"I am delighted to interact with the Indian community in Rwanda. President @PaulKagame told me that the Indian community is contributing to Rwanda's progress and they are also doing lot of community service. I was happy to hear this.

"All over the world, the Indian diaspora is making a mark. They are our 'Rashtradoots'," the prime minister said.

Prime Minister Modi, who is on a two-day state visit to Rwanda, arrived here yesterday on the first leg of his three-nation Africa tour, becoming the first Indian premier to visit the East African country.

"For years the Indian community in Rwanda wanted a High Commission. This long pending demand will be fulfilled and you will be connected even further with India," he told the gathering.

Earlier, Modi held wide-ranging talks with President Kagame and discussed measures to boost the bilateral strategic ties by strengthening cooperation in defence, trade and agriculture sectors.

The Prime Minister today visited the Genocide Memorial Centre here which honours over 250,000 victims of Rwanda's mass killings in 1994.

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The alleged rape and murder of a girl at a government-funded shelter home in Bihar figured in Rajya Sabha today with the RJD demanding an investigation in the matter.

Raising the issue during the Zero Houri, RJD member Manoj Kumar Jha said "a bone-chilling incident" occured in Muzaffarpur where more than 40 'Nirbhayas' (victims named after the girl who was brutally raped and murdered in Delhi in December 2012) have been abused.

Expressing anguish over the incident, he alleged that the shelter home was being run by a person, while the contract was in the name of another person.

The RJD member also expressed concern over reports of sexual assaults against women being reported from different parts of the country.

As Jha demanded probe into the Muzaffarpur case, a JD(U) member said the Bihar government has already started an investigation.

Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu termed the incident as "very serious".

Medical reports have suggested that more than half of the 40 girls, lodged at the shelter home, may have had sexual intercourse at some point of time, police had said earlier.

The inmates of the shelter home have also alleged that one of the girls was beaten to death and buried at the premises of the facility, while several others were raped.

Following the allegations, the Bihar Police has launched a probe and dug up the ground of the shelter home in search of the body.

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Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba today visited northern headquarters of the Army at Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir, where he was briefed about the overall security situation in the state, a defence spokesman said.

Admiral Lanba, accompanied by Naval Wives Welfare Association president Reena Lanba, visited the Udhamur Garrison and was briefed on overall security situation, he said.

The Navy chief, who is also chairman of the chiefs of staff committee, was on a four-day visit to the state and earlier had visited troops deployed at forward posts in Siachen Glacier.

He also interacted with MARCOS team at Watlab Ghat in Bandipora district besides Governor N N Vohra on July 22.

The spokesman said president Naval Wives Welfare Association Reena Lanba, accompanied by regional president, Army Wives Welfare Association, Northern Command, Kalpana Singh, visited command hospital and also interacted with the patients.

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Nearly 5,700 properties have so far been sealed by three municipal corporations as part of a sealing drive for allegedly violating provisions of Delhi's Master Plan, following directions of a Supreme Court-appointed Monitoring Committee, the Lok Sabha was informed today.

In a written reply to a question, Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said North and South Delhi Municipal Corporations have sealed 2,655 and 1,995 properties, while 1,043 properties sealed by East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) after the December 2017 judgement of the apex court.

According to the minister, the three civic bodies have informed that they are taking demolition and sealing actions against the properties found in violation of the provisions of the Delhi Master Plant 2021 and Unified Building Bylaws-2016 on the instruction of monitoring committee.

The sealing drive was launched by the three municipal corporations in late December 2017. Traders called bandh several times to protest the action against their establishments.

To provide relief to traders, the ministry on June 21 notified amendments to MPD-2021 increasing the Floor Area Ration (FAR) for construction carried out beyond permissible limits.

Puri also informed the Lok Sabha that the Special Task Force (STF), formed under the chairmanship of DDA vice-chairman for removal of encroachments in Delhi, has also removed encroachments on a total area under permanent structures measuring around 1,99,382.3 sq m.

The STF has commissioners of all the three municipal corporations as its members.

Total areas, which were cleared under temporary structures, were around 6,52,308.3 sq m while roads, street and foothpath measuring 1,280.615 kms were cleared in the national capital.

In Delhi, 5,964 vehicles and 15,892 items were confiscated during the anti-encroachment drive in the national capital.

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The National Green Tribunal has refused to order stopping the construction of Rabindra Bhawan, proposed to be a cultural hub of Ranchi, in Jharkhand, noting that the structure was replacement of an already existing Town Hall building.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, however, asked Ranchi Municipal Corporation to look into contention that there were no open spaces and the project would result in public park being covered.

The green panel asked the municipal body to ensure that the construction is carried out in accordance with rules and regulations.

"These applications seek stopping of construction of Rabindra Bhawan project at Ranchi under the direction of Urban Development Department of the Jharkhand Government. The said building is proposed to be a cultural hub of the State.

"The foundation stone was laid down by the President of India in the place of existing Town Hall building which was in dilapidated condition as stated on behalf of the contesting respondent.

"We do not find any reason to interfere with the construction of the project, having regard to the objectives of the said project and the fact that it is an replacement of an already existing centre," the bench, also comprising Justice S P Wangdi and expert member Nagin Nanda said yesterday.

The tribunal was hearing pleas filed by Jharkhand Civil Society and Bikash Kumar Singh seeking stopping of construction of Rs 155 crore Rabindra Bhawan project.

The earlier building had been demolished as it was in a dilapidated condition.

The plea claimed that the building was being constructed on a public park which is used by the nearby residents of the locality, more so children, who are severely affected and aggrieved by the "arbitrary" decision of the municipal corporation.

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The Madras High Court has made it clear that there was no bar on enrolling law graduates who had passed their Class X or XII board examinations privately.

The court held that candidates who have obtained the three year LLB degree from approved institutions established after getting their basic degree from universities established by statute shall not be refused enrolment.

A Full Bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee, Justice R Subbaiah and Justice Abdhul Quddhose gave the order yesterday.

It allowed a batch of petitions challenging the decision of Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry to keep the petitioners' applications for enrolment pending on the ground they had cleared Class X or XII board examinations privately without attending regular classes in a recognised school.

In a 43-page detailed order, it, however, ruled that those who obtain basic degree through an Open University system without basic qualification of Class XII certificate or equivalent from a Board authorised to confer such certificates were not eligible for admission to the three year law course.

Quoting Legal Rules, the court said the language and tenor of Rules 5(a) and 5(b) read with the first proviso and the Explanation make it amply clear that pursuing a regular course was mandatory only for the immediately previous qualifying certificate and or the degree.

The Full Bench refused to accept an earlier decision of a division bench of the high court that a candidate who obtained the Class X and Class XII certificate without prosecuting a regular course would be ineligible for admission to the three year LLB course.

It noted there was a difference between open universities and other universities or boards in that some of these open universities enable candidates, who do not have the basic qualifications, to obtain higher qualifications straightaway.

In open universities, it may be possible for a candidate to obtain a post graduate degree or a three-year LLB degree without being a graduate or to obtain a graduate degree without having the Class XII certificate, the bench said.

It said the Bar Council of India, in its wisdom, framed the Legal Rules making a graduate degree through a regular course from a university, whose degree in law is recognised by it (Bar council) a mandatory eligibility criteria.

The bench further said had it been the intention of the BCI that for admission to LLB course a candidate would be required to obtain all the previous requisite degrees and certificates such as the Class X and XII certificates through a regular course, the rules would have specifically provided so.

The court said a recognised university or a recognised board issued a certificate, it was not for any other authority to question the certificate on the ground of ineligibility to obtain it until and unless the certificate was cancelled by an appropriate authority and/or by a Court of law.

To hold otherwise would be to open the Pandoras Box, for years later certificates might be questioned on grounds such as inadequate attendance, failure to clear internal test examinations.

"Once a degree is found to be authentic, it is not for the Bar Council to go behind the degree and enquire into the eligibility of the candidates to take admission...," the bench added.

The court directed that all applications for enrolment be dealt with expeditiously and not exceeding three months barring exceptional circumstances where the genuineness of a degree in itself was in doubt.

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North Korea has begun dismantling key facilities



at a site used to develop engines for ballistic missiles, according to an analysis of satellite imagery of the location, the first significant step towards denuclearisation following last month's historic summit between Kim Jong-un and US President Donald.

The Sohae Satellite Launching Station has been the main site for North Korean satellite launches since 2012. The testing facilities at the site are thought to play a role in the development of liquid-fuel engines that can also be used in North Korea's ballistic missile programme.

The images published by 38 North, a US-based website focused on North Korea that is affiliated with the Stimson Center in Washington, were taken on July 20 and July 22, respectively.

New commercial satellite imagery of the Sohae station indicates that the North has begun dismantling key facilities, the 38 North said in a report.

If the analysis of the satellite imagery is accurate, North Korea may be taking a small but significant step toward the disarmament that was agreed upon by the North Korean leader and President Trump during a landmark meeting in Singapore on June 12, it said.

Most notably, these include the rail-mounted processing buildingwhere space launch vehicles are assembled before moving them to the launch padand the nearby rocket engine test stand used to develop liquid-fuel engines for ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles, the 38 North said.

Since these facilities are believed to have played an important role in the development of technologies for the North's intercontinental ballistic missile programme, these efforts represent a significant confidence building measure on the part of North Korea, the North Korea-focused website said.

According to 38 North, commercial satellite imagery of the launch pad from July 20 shows that the rail-mounted processing/transfer structure has been moved to the middle of the pad, exposing the underground rail transfer pointone of the few times it has been seen in this location.

The roof and supporting structure have been partially removed and numerous vehicles are present, including a large construction crane, it said, adding that an image from two days later shows the continued presence of the crane and vehicles.

Noting that considerable progress has been made in dismantling the rail-mounted processing/transfer structure, it said one corner has been completely dismantled and the parts can be seen lying on the ground.

In both images the two fuel/oxidizer bunkers, main processing building and gantry tower remain untouched.

38 North said that the imagery of the vertical engine test stand from July 20 shows the presence of a crane and a number of vehicles.

"The rail-mounted environmental shelterwhich had not been moved since December 2017has been razed and removed, the older fuel/oxidizer bunkers are in the process of being razed, and portions of the test stand's upper steel framework have been dismantled and its panelling removed," it said.

Two days later fewer vehicles are present and the test stand superstructure has been completely dismantled, leaving only the base, which is also in the process of being removed, it added.

"No additional progress is noted on the demolition of the older fuel/oxidizer bunkers. In both images, the two newer fuel/oxidizer bunkers and vehicle garage remain untouched, as does the concrete foundation of the test stand. Given the state of activity, work is likely to have begun sometime within the past two weeks," 38 North said.

Meanwhile, President Trump in a tweet yesterday rejected the "Fake News" that he was angry because progress was not happening fast enough with North Korea.

"Wrong, very happy!" he said in the Tweet.

"A Rocket has not been launched by North Korea in 9 months. Likewise, no Nuclear Tests. Japan is happy, all of Asia is happy," he said.

The US, however, has been fretting over a lack of North Korean actions toward dismantling its nuclear and missile programmes and in spite of positive assessments Trump has given on progress with North Korea, he has vented anger at aides over a lack of immediate progress, the Washington Post reported.

Last week, Trump said there was "no rush" and "no time limit" on denuclearisation negotiations.

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Novichok victim Charlie Rowley said he felt lucky to be alive but could not get over the death of his partner Dawn Sturgess.

Rowley told The Sun newspaper he gave her a perfume bottle he found which contained the deadly nerve agent. Novichok was used in an attack on a former Russian double agent.

Rowley, 45, and 44-year-old Sturgess collapsed at his house in Amesbury, southwest England, on June 30. Sturgess died on July 8 and counter-terror detectives have launched a murder probe.

"I'm feeling very low about Dawn," said Rowley, speaking by telephone from an unspecified location.

"I remember finding a cosmetic bottle which I had picked up and gave it to Dawn as a present.

"I feel very sad about what happened to her, it's awful and shocking. I was still on medication when they told me she passed away. I don't think I will ever be able to get over it.

"My heart goes out to Dawn's family. It's amazing that I'm alive. In a way I feel lucky I survived but I've also lost so much." Rowley was discharged from hospital on Friday.

Ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia collapsed in Salisbury, southwest England, on March 4 after being exposed to Novichok. Both have since recovered.

Britain blamed Russia for the poisoning of Skripal, a former military intelligence colonel who was jailed for betraying Russian agents to Britain's MI6 foreign intelligence service. He left Russia for Britain in a 2010 spy swap.

Russia has strongly denied involvement in the Skripal attack, sparking a row that has led to tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions between Britain and its allies and Moscow.

Rowley slammed whoever had discarded the perfume bottle.

"It's very careless of them, the way they go about their business leaving things lying around," he said.

"There could have been children playing with it." Rowley said he did not know where he picked the bottle up.

"No, that is still a blur. I don't know where," he said. He recalled the bottle breaking apart in his hands.

Rowley said he and Sturgess had been together for the best part of two years.

He described feeling ill hours after Sturgess was rushed to hospital. "I felt completely confused. At the time, in my head, I just wanted to go visit Dawn. I knew she became ill that morning," he said.

"Hours after, I took a turn for the worse. Then all I remember is coming out of a two-week induced coma."



The Sun said Rowley was living near his home and was still occasionally being interviewed by detectives. His home remains cordoned off by the police.

"I'd really like to go out for a bottle of wine. I'm very glad to be out of hospital but I'm trapped in a room and on a lot of medication. I've been let out for a cigarette but I'm very bored," he said.

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As many as 26.38 lakh farmers in Telangana have enrolled themselves for the insurance scheme being implemented by the state government for agriculturists, Chief Secretary S K Joshi said here today.

The Chief Secretary held a video conference with district Collectors and other officials on the farmers' insurance scheme and other programmes of the state government, an official release said.

The release quoted Principal Secretary (Agriculture) C Parthasarathi as saying that 48.26 lakh farmers have received cheques under the government's investment support scheme for farmers and that 40.64 lakh among them have been contacted for the insurance scheme.

All other eligible persons should be contacted for the insurance scheme, he said.

Joshi, who also spoke about the state government's green drive 'Haritha Haram', said the the fourth phase of the campaign which began recently, is going on successfully.

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Maharashtra Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil today said some "paid" people have infiltrated the Maratha stir for quota.

He appealed to the members of the Maratha community to desist from violence.

"Violence will achieve nothing than creating turmoil in the society. The government has already taken various measures for the welfare of the community. The matter is sub-judice," the minister said.

Patil said the government did whatever was possible within its jurisdiction.

He said, "If reservation is to be got by smashing official cars of ministers then so be it. Some paid people have infiltrated the agitation and are trying to defame it".

Patil termed as tragic the death of Kakasaheb Shinde, a Maratha protester who had jumped into the Goadavari river in Aurangabad district yesterday.

Patil said nothing would be achieved by burning buses or stoning cars of ministers.

He said the state government has started various schemes for the welfare of the Maratha community.

"The government and the chief minister are ready to hold talks with the representatives of the Maratha community," Patil said.

Members of the Maratha community are demanding reservation under OBC category in government jobs and educational institutions.

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Pakistan's election commission's latest order that only women polling agents will be allowed at female polling stations across the country has been slammed by major political parties as an unnecessary move ahead of general elections tomorrow.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had issued an order that only women polling agents will be allowed at female polling stations across the country where 46.73 million registered female voters are present.

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The Palestinian UN ambassador says the Trump administration's long-awaited plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace is "dead upon arrival."



Riyad Mansour told reporters that after President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on Dec. 6, the United States "lost the qualification to be the only party to supervise the political process."



As for the U.S. peace plan, he said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and many other Palestinian officials "have indicated we will not engage in something that was dead upon arrival before even we received it."Mansour said the Palestinians want a "collective process" to try to end the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict involving many countries.

He said the United States can "play a role but they cannot be the only one to supervise this process.

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Parliament today passed a bill to amend the 1988 anti-graft law by seeking to punish bribe- givers for the first time along with the bribe takers, as the Lok Sabha gave its nod to it.

Moving the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill for passage in the Lower House, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh said its aim was to enhance transparency and accountability of the government and also to make the provisions under the law stringent.

The measure reflects the Narendra Modi government's zero tolerance towards corruption, he said.

Replying to the debate before the bill was passed by a voice vote, Singh said through this measure, it is also being ensured that honest officers are not harassed.

Not only taking bribe, but giving bribe would also be a crime, he said.

The Minister said that now prior approval for investigation will be required in cases of all government officers. Earlier, it was restricted to officials above the rank of a Joint Secretary.

The bill, which got the Rajya Sabha's nod last week with 43 amendments, seeks to set a timeframe within which a court would decide on corruption issues, he said, adding that verdicts in such cases has to be given "ordinarily" in two years.

He also said that immunity from arrest would be available to all levels of officers, as against the existing provision of joint secretary and above.

The Minister said the bill had many provisions to ensure speedy trial of corruption cases, besides providing protection to bureaucrats, even after their retirement, from malicious complaints.

For the bribe takers, the bill proposes to increase the punishment to a minimum of three years of imprisonment, which may extend to seven years, besides fine.

During the debate, K H Muniyappa (Cong) said electoral reforms were badly required to check corruption in the system.

Corruption can be tackled to some extent if money is not involved in polls right from the panchayat to Parliament.

Earlier, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the opposition will support the government if they fought corruption in reality rather than making claims.

"Under your rule, India, which was known as land of saints, has turned into land of scamsters....Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and many others fled the country after defaulting on banks' money," he said.

Chowdhury also raised the issue of Rafale deal and asked the government why it was unwilling to share the entire information about the deal with the House.

Countering his charges, the BJP MP Prahlad Joshi said it was during the rule of UPA government, the money was given to all these businessman who have now fled.

"The loans were sanctioned by banks after they were pressurised by the top people in the UPA government," Joshi alleged while speaking on the bill.

He said the NDA government has adopted a progressive approach by bringing this bill and was working to root out corruption from the system.

K Nimala (TDP) alleged that the central government was using the anti-corruption laws for their vested political interests. There is a need to effectively implement these laws, he said.

APJ Reddy (TRS) wondered whether graft can be prevented effectively. He said that corruption was involved from birth to death as, at every stage of life, one should have to pay bribe for any work.

He said there is a problem in the clause where it talks about punishing bribe givers. This would discourage whistleblowers to come forward, he said, adding "we need to hit the root cause of the menace".

B Khan (CPI-M) said nothing has happened so far in the Saradha scam in West Bengal. He also raised the issue of delay in the appointment of the anti-graft ombudsman Lokpal.

Idris Ali (TMC) refuted graft allegations against the TMC saying these were false and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was a "symbol of honesty".

K Geetha (YSRCP) said that excessive regulation, lack of transparency and lack of transparent laws led to corruption. Citing an example, the member of parliament said that she herself was a victim of corruption.

Expelled RJD MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav said corruption was worse than terrorism. He alleged that politicians only crib about corruption and they should resign.

Yadav said that people including officers and politicians need to be investigated by Enforcement Directorate and other agencies, it should be started "from Paapu Yadav".

He also said that funding of political parties should be made more transparent as it impacted the election process.

Shiromani Akali Dal's Prem Singh Chandumajra and AAP member Bhagwant Mann also spoke.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
NCP president Sharad Pawar today asked Maharashtra Chief Minister DevendraFadnavis to hold talks with representatives of the Maratha outfits to end the ongoing stand-off over the quota demand.

In a statement issued here tonight, Pawar lamented that instead of taking the grievances of the community seriously, the chief minister and certain ministers have given provocative statements.

Pawar's remarks came on a day the Maratha Kranti Morcha (MKM) observed a bandh in Maharashtra and called for a shutdown in Mumbai tomorrow.

The stir turned violent today with incidents of arson and stone-pelting being reported from various parts of the state.

"The situation should be brought under control at the earliest. The CM should invite prominent representatives from the community participating in the protest for talks and start the process of resolving the stand off," the NCP chief said, adding that Marathas have so far agitated peacefully to highlight their demands.

"There was never any law and order issue," he said.

Pawar also appealed to the protesters to ensure that public and private property is not damaged and the common man not made to suffer due to agitation.

He said that highly educated and well-off Marathas need not be considered for reservation.

"The deprived sections of the community need reservation but at the same time care should be taken to ensure that the reservation for scheduled caste and scheduled tribes as well as OBCsis not diluted," he stated.

Pawar said the government should highlight in court the fact about 70 per cent reservation in Tamil Nadu.

"The demand for reservation for the Muslim and Dhangarcommunities should also be considered sympathetically," he said.

Pawar also objected Fadnavis' remarks that snakes might be set loose in Pandharpur by the protestersto create a scare among warkaris on the day of Ashadhi Ekadashi yesterday.

The chief minister had cancelled his visit to the temple town for conducting annual puja yesterday claiming that certain elements were trying to create a stampede-like situation.

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Prime Minister on Tuesday arrived in Uganda on the second leg of his three-nation tour as part of India's outreach to the resource-rich continent.

The Prime Minister's aircraft landed at Entebbe International Airport, marking the start of his two-day Uganda visit - the first bilateral tour by an Indian prime minister since 1997.

He was accorded a red carpet welcome at the airport.

His programme in Uganda include, a call on President Yoweri Museveni, restricted and delegation-level talks, and participation at a India-Uganda joint business event.



Modi will also address the Ugandan Parliament, the first Indian prime minister to do so. He will also address an Indian community event here.

From Uganda, Modi will head to South on Wednesday to participate in the BRICS Summit, whose theme this year is 'BRICS in Africa'.


In an unusual gift, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today presented 200 cows to poor villagers in Rwanda to support President Paul Kagame's ambitious initiative for poverty reduction and tackling childhood malnutrition.

The Girinka Programme was initiated by President Kagame in 2006 to provide one cow per poor family for their nutritional and financial security.

Modi, who is here on a two-day state visit, gifted these cows to poor families during a function at Rweru Model Village.

Speaking on the occasion, Modi appreciated the Rwandan government's 'Girinka Programme'.

He said people in India too would be pleasantly surprised to see the cow being given such importance as a means of economic empowerment in villages, in faraway Rwanda.

He said that the Girinka Programme will help transform villages in Rwanda.

"Being part of a transformative project towards economic development of Rwanda! PM @narendramodi donates 200 cows under #Girinka - One Cow per Poor Family Programme at Rweru village. Girinka is an ambitious projects that provides both nutritional and financial security to the poor," Raveesh Kumar, the spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, tweeted.

Modi said that the Rwandan government can also work on honeybees on the lines of the Girinka programme.

"Honey can be produced along with milk and both businesses can be run together which would provide additional benefits," Modi said, adding that the Indian government is ready to provide every support to the Rwandan government for this.

The word Girinka can be translated as 'may you have a cow' and describes a centuries-old cultural practice in Rwanda whereby a cow was given by one person to another, as a sign of respect and gratitude, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

The Girinka Programme was initiated by Kagame in response to the alarmingly high rate of childhood malnutrition and as a way to accelerate poverty reduction and integrate livestock and crop farming, the statement said.

The programme is based on the premise that providing a dairy cow to the poor transforms livelihoods, reconciles communities improving agricultural productivity through the use of manure as fertilizers which would lead to improving soil quality and reducing erosion through the planting of grasses and trees, it said.

Since its introduction, hundreds of thousands have received cows through the Girinka programme.

The programme has contributed to an increase in agricultural production in Rwanda - especially milk production and products, reduced malnutrition and increased incomes.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today left for Uganda after concluding his two-day visit to Rwanda during which the two countries signed a defence cooperation agreement and India extended a USD 200 million lines of credit to the East African country for its economic development.

"I thank the wonderful people of Rwanda for their warmth and affection. This visit adds tremendous strength to closer economic and cultural relations between India and Rwanda," Modi tweeted just before his departure.

Prime Minister Modi arrived here yesterday on the first leg of his three-nation Africa tour, becoming the first Indian premier to visit the East African country.

During his stay here, Modi held wide-ranging talks with Rwanda's President Paul Kagame and discussed measures to boost the bilateral strategic ties by strengthening cooperation in defence, trade and agriculture sectors.

He also addressed a gathering of the Indian community here.

India will soon open a High Commission in Rwanda as part of New Delhi's efforts to bolster the strategic partnership with the fast-developing East African country.

Modi also visited the Genocide Memorial Centre which honours over 250,000 victims of Rwanda's mass killings in 1994.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni unveiled a bust of India's first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at the Indian community event they addressed in Kampala.

"Saluting the 'Loh Purush'! PM @narendramodi and Ugandan President Museveni unveil the bust of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at the Indian community reception," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet, which accompanied two photographs of the two leaders.

In one of the photographs, Modi was seen bowing before Patel's bust and folding his hands as Museveni looked on.

In another tweet, Kumar said Indian community members turned out in large numbers to listen to Modi's address.

"The Indian community represents strongest & most durable economic & cultural link between India and Uganda," he said.

The Ugandan president remained present throughout the nearly 30-minute address of Modi and also spoke at the event.

"Ugandan President Museveni was effusive in his praise for the Indian community in Uganda. In his address at the community reception, he praised them for their hard work and contribution in the economic development of Uganda," the MEA spokesperson said on Twitter.

In his address, Modi lauded the contribution of the Indian community in the growth of Uganda. He thanked Museveni for re-embracing the Indian community.

Modi arrived in Ugandan capital Kampala last evening on a two-day visit to the country - the first bilateral tour by an Indian prime minister since 1997.

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PNG Jewellers is planning to add over 23 new stores in the next two to three years to take its total store count to over 50 in the country and abroad.

The stores will be operated in both company-owned and franchise models, PNG Jewellers' chairman and managing director Saurabh Gadgil told reporters here today.

"We are looking at expanding in tier II and III cities in India and the international markets under franchise owned franchise operated (FOFO) and franchise owned company operated (FOCO) models. We are expecting to add over 23 stores though these two models and also with company owned stores in two to three years," he said.

"We have set a capex of Rs 75-80 crore for expansion, which will be raised through internal accruals," he added.

In the international markets, the firm is looking at expanding in the Middle East, the UK, the US and the far east.

PNG Jewellers currently has 27 stores, all of which are company owned, mainly in Maharashtra, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, the US and the Middle East.

It posted a revenue of Rs 2,500 crore in FY18, and Gadgil said the revenue is growing at 10-12 per cent annually.

"We are expecting to add Rs 1,000 crore revenue through the franchise model expansion," he added.

The company has 1,400 employees at present, and is looking to add 200-250 more people for expansion, Gadgil said.

According to him, the franchise expansion is aimed at entrepreneurs and small businesses who are looking at diversifying into other sectors.

"There are people with existing business and looking to diversify to other sectors. We want to tap them with this lucrative business model. We are also looking to tap entrepreneurs for our franchise models," he said.

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The mysterious death of a man who was detained by police on suspicion of being a cow smuggler in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district last week has prompted the administration to order a magisterial probe, officials said today.

Javid Ahmad Malik, a resident of Bharat village, was detained by officials of the Chatroo police station on Friday and died the same day. While police claimed Malik fell into a deep gorge when he tried to escape from custody, his family has alleged that he was beaten to death.

An FIR was registered against the police officials for negligence and a departmental inquiry has started, officials said.

The station house office of the Chatroo police has been transferred and two others placed under suspension, while the dismissal of the services of a Volunteer Home Guard (VHG) has been recommended, they said.

According to Malik's family, the victim had gone to the police station on his own to secure the release of two of his relatives who were arrested on charges of bovine smuggling.

Taking cognisance of protests in Doda and Chatroo over the death, District Development Commissioner, Kishtwar, Angrez Singh Rana ordered a magisterial probe into the incident.

"The inquiry will be conducted by Additional District Development Commissioner, Kishtwar, Imam Din who has been asked to submit his report in a specified time frame," a police spokesperson said in a statement here.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Kishtwar, Abrar Chowdhary has also ordered a thorough departmental probe by Deputy Superintendent of Police, headquarters, Nihar Ranjan in the case, he said.

Chatroo SHO Inspector Mohammad Bashir has been sent to district police lines. Sub-inspector Sanjeev Kumar will replace Bashir, the spokesperson said, quoting the SSP.

'Munshi' (record keeper of a police station) Jaffar Khan and another selection grade constable Mohammad Amin were also placed under suspension, he said.

Chowdhary also recommended the dismissal ofservices of Mohammad Shareef, Volunteer Home Guard.

On the directions of the SSP, an FIR has been registered against the police officials for negligence, the spokesperson added.

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Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump have agreed to continue their "useful contacts" and may meet by year's end, a Kremlin aide said today, as tensions rise in Washington over the direction of the US leader's Russia policy.

Last week's summit between Trump and Putin in the Finnish capital Helsinki unleashed political turmoil in the United States, with some critics accusing the US president of betraying America's interests.

Despite the furore, Trump said he was looking forward to hosting Putin in Washington and the White House said such a meeting may come this autumn.

Putin's top foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said that several days after the Helsinki meeting the Kremlin received a US proposal to organise a new summit in Washington "at the end of the year".

"During their meeting in Helsinki, the presidents reached an understanding that these useful contacts should be continued," Ushakov told reporters.

He said the proposal had been passed on to the Russians by Trump's national security advisor John Bolton.

Ushakov said the two sides had not yet started work on organising the Washington meeting.

"Practical aspects will be discussed later," he added. Bolton is set to meet with Russian officials in August but it was not clear so far where that meeting would take place, Ushakov said.

Putin and Trump may also meet on the sidelines of a G20 summit in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires in late November-early December, or at another international event, the advisor added.

Putin has slammed the US opposition to Trump as "pathetic, worthless people" who are willing to sacrifice Russian-US ties for their own ambitions.

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Special Task Force of the Uttar Pradesh Police today said it busted a racket involved in duping thousands of people of Rs 11 crore by offering them franchise under the Digital India programme.

In a statement issued here, the UP STF said some people were operating a fake website 'www.egramdigital.co.in' and clamied to provide utility services to support Centre's Digital Indian programme.

The mastermind of the gang and director of the company Sudhanshu Shukla has been arrested, it said, adding that a mobile phone and documents related to the fake website have been seized from him.

An STF spokesperson said a number of people had complained to the Prime Minister's Office alleging that some people were running a fake website were duping people in the name of various programmes under Digital India.

Acting on the complaint, the Union Electronics and Information Technology ministry had directed the UP STF to take necessary action.

"During the probe, it was revealed that some people had made a gang and also created a fake website, and they also uploaded the voice message of the prime minister and logo of Digital India without prior permission.

"The website was hosted on a web server in Switzerland, in which the owner's address was not provided, and a contact number of foreign country was given. A number of hyperlinks of various government departments were also made available on the website, so that the people may consider it as real," the spokesman said.

He said during the probe it was revealed that the gang had duped many people by offering them of franchise under the Digital India programme.

"The gang members used to keep their addresses and mobile numbers a secret, and the SIM cards which were being used by them were procured using fake identity documents. The mastermind of the gang Shukla, a resident of Pratapgarh district, was today arrested from Lucknow, and information about other gang members is being ascertained from him," the spokesman said.

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Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria today ordered a judicial inquiry into the killing of Rakbar Khan, saying the evidence suggested it was a custodial death.

The minister, who met the victim's family, said an initial compensation of Rs 1.25 lakh had been ordered.

"We have written to the additional chief judicial magistrate to initiate a probe," Kataria told reporters at a press conference here.

The minister, along with chief secretary D B Gupta and DGP O P Galhotra visited Ramgarh in Alwar district today to inspect the spot where Khan (28) was allegedly lynched on suspicion of cow smuggling and inquire about the lapses on part of the police.

In cases of custodial death, a committee constituted at the district level takes decisions regarding compensation to the family members of the deceased, Kataria said, adding that a sessions judge normally heads such a committee.

On the lines of the Pehlu Khan lynching case, the state government has ordered a compensation of Rs 1.25 lakh to Khan's family. Further compensation will be provided based on the recommendations of the district legal committee, he added.

The Human Rights Commission also looks into such matters to provide relief to family members and gives its recommendations to the state government, he said.

"I have met the family members of the victim. They have expressed satisfaction about the probe being carried out in the case. I have asked them to visit my office if they have any issues," Kataria said, assuring that strict action will be taken against those who took the law into their hands.

Kataria said the Ramgarh police made an error of judgment as they first took the cows to the shelter and then took the victim to the hospital.

Taking Khan to the hospital earlier could have saved his life, he added.

A four-member committee set up by the Rajasthan Police had ordered the suspension of the assistant sub-inspector posted at the Ramgarh police station, Mohan Singh, and transferred three others to police lines.

The action was taken after a video purportedly showing ASI Singh admitting to his "mistake" went viral.

The police have arrested three people suspected to be involved in the attack on Khan.

The committee will also probe whether Khan became a victim of police beating on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday.

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Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria will visit Ramgarh in Alwar district today to inspect the spot where Rakbar (28) was allegedly lynched on suspicion of cow smuggling and inquire about the lapses that occurred.

Days after the alleged lynching, the police arrested three people suspected to be involved in the attack on Rakbar, alias Akbar Khan, even as a video surfaced yesterday purportedly showing an assistant sub-inspector admitting to his mistake for alleged delay in taking the victim to hospital.

As the civil society and opposition parties mounted their pressure the Rajasthan Police set up a four-member committee to probe allegations against the policemen and within hours, the panel ordered suspension of the then officer in-charge and transferred three others to police lines.

Katarai today told reporters, I along with chief secretary and DGP will visit the spot to once again inquire about the lapses that occurred."



There were lapses on part of police as they first took the cow to shelter and then took the victim to hospital. They should have taken the victim to the hospital from police station, he said.

On the demand for judicial inquiry into the alleged lynching, Kataria said that he is personally going to inquire about the incident and necessary decisions will be taken.

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In a dramatic rescue, a quick-thinking Rajasthan MLA used his turban to pull out a man, stuck on a flooded bridge over a nullah, moments before being swept away.

Riding a motorcyle, Kishori Lal Meena (50) was crossing the submerged bridge over the Kartarpura nullah near Imli phatak when he got stuck midway.

Hearing his cries for help, BJP MLA Mangal Ram who lives near the nullah rushed to his aide along with his security personnel.

Ram took off his turban and threw it towards Meena who latched on to it. The legislator along with his security officers pulled out Meena just in time.

The man was shouting for help and hearing this, I along with my gunmen and others rushed there and saw him trapped," the MLA who represents the Kathumar constituency of Alwar district told PTI.

"Without any delay, we reached near him in the flowing water and saved him in time, he added.

Last year in August, a CA student was washed away in the same nullah. His body was found days later.

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: The Rajasthan government today ordered a judicial inquiry into the alleged lynching of Rakbar Khan on suspicion of cow smuggling, with the state's home minister saying that the evidence suggested custodial death.

Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria , who met the victim's family today, told reporters that Rakbar Khan (28) may have lived had the police taken him to hospital immediately, instead of taking the cows to a shelter first.

A post-mortem report has suggested that Khan died of died of shock caused by his injuries.

The minister, along with Chief Secretary D B Gupta and Director General of Police O P Galhotra, visited Ramgarh in Alwar district to inspect the spot where Khan was allegedly lynched.

He also enquired about the lapses on part of the police.

Kataria said he met Khan's family members, who are now in Alwar district, and assured them that they could come and see him anytime in connection with the case.

Whoever took the law in their hands, I will take the strictest possible action against them, he told reporters.

He said the evidence suggested that the death took place while in police custody, and announced a judicial inquiry.

"We have written to the additional chief judicial magistrate to initiate a probe," Kataria said.

The minister announced a compensation of Rs 1.25 lakh to the victim's family and said the amount could be increased on the basis of a recommendation by the district legal committee.

The state's human rights commission too can make a recommendation, he said.

A three-member medical board consisting of doctors from the general hospital in Alwar today submitted a post-mortem report.

"The cause of death in this case is shock as a result of injuries sustained over the body," the report said.

An assistant sub inspector has been suspended and three constables sent to police lines for negligence in the case.

Three men have been arrested for the murder. Rakbar Khan's friend Aslam Khan, who escaped the mob, said there were seven attackers.

Khan was allegedly beaten by cow vigilantes in Alwar district's Ramgarh area on Friday night when was leading two cows from Ladpura village to his home to Haryana.

Meanwhile, the police are also investigating if the cows that Rakbar Khan was transporting were legally purchased.

A case had been registered against Rakbar Khan in at Alwar Nauganwa police station on December 30, 2014 under the Rajasthan law that bans transport of cows for slaughter, a police official said.

Two cows were then seized from him, he added.

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Rajasthan Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajendra Rathore today accused the congress of politicising the Rakbar lynching case of Alwar.

Such incidents are unfortunate and should not be politicised as the Congress is doing, Rathore told reporters at the party office here.

A team of senior police officers had been sent to Alwar and the matter was being probed, he said, adding three accused in the case have already been arrested.

Suspected to be involved in cow smuggling, 28-year old Rakbar Khan alias Akbar Khan was lynched by a group of people in Ramgarh area of Alwar on Friday-Saturday night.

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The opposition Congress today claimed the rape case filed against former Gujarat BJP vice-president Jayanti Bhanushali is the "fallout" of "infighting" within the saffron party.

Bhanushali was booked on June 19 on the charge of raping a 21-year-old woman from Surat under the pretext of getting her admitted in a fashion designing college.

Leader of Opposition in the Gujarat Assembly Paresh Dhanani said the BJP government had failed to provide a sense of security to the women in the state.

"I demand strict action against anyone who commits such crimes against women by sitting at high positions. The BJP government has failed to give security to women despite the fact that such cases are surfacing at regular intervals," Dhanani told reporters in Gandhinagar.

He said, "I believe that this latest incident of rape has surfaced because of the ongoing infighting within the ruling BJP".

Bhanushali had represented Abdasa constituency in Kutch district between 2007 and 2012.

Meanwhile, BJP leader from Kutch district and former MLA Chhabil Patel today criticised Bhanushali for "indulging in such activity despite acquiring a high position in the party".

Earlier in the day, a man claiming to be the former husband of the rape victim claimed that she was part of a gang involved in extorting money from politicians by making their obscene video clips.

While addressing reporters, the man alleged that his former wife had "honey trapped" around 70 to 80 people so far.

He alleged that former BJP MLA from Abdasa Chhabil Patel had asked him to divorce the woman a few years back and also threatened him.

However, Patel claimed that he did not know the woman or her husband.

He said he was being targetted by Bhanushali for being his "arch rival".

"Why that person (husband of the rape victim) did not lodged a police complaint when I threatened him? I think that he was asked to come before the media as part of a political conspiracy against me. This can be an attempt to divert the main issue," Patel told reporters.

Patel had contested the 2012 polls from Abdasa seat as a Congress nominee and defeated Bhanushali (BJP).

In 2014, Patel switched sides and joined the BJP after resigning as the Congress MLA. In the subsequent bypoll, the BJP chose Patel over Bhanushali.

However, Patel lost to Congress heavyweight Shaktisinh Gohil.

In the 2017 Assembly polls, Patel was once again given a ticket by the BJP. However, he lost to a Congress candidate.

Patel today claimed that Bhanushali still sees him as his arch rival despite being in the same party.

"He still could not digest that the party chose me over him during the elections. For him, I am still his arch rival. Thus, I believe that Bhanushali might have conspired against me. People are now seeing his true character," Patel told reporters.

"When you are holding such a high post in party, you should not indulge in such activity, even if someone lures you to do so. It seems that he has set aside all the moral values," Patel said.

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More than 200 environmental activists were murdered last year as government-sponsored killings linked to lucrative projects by vast agriculture multinationals soared, a global rights watchdog warned today.

Global Witness said it had documented 207 cases where activists were killed while trying to protect land from development, often for the production of consumer staples such as coffee and palm oil, making 2017 the deadliest year on record for environmentalists.

"As global demand for these products increases, there's a scramble by business actors to get the massive amount of land they need to grow these products," Ben Leather, senior campaigner at Global Witness, told AFP.

"When people dare to stand up for their rights and demand that the be protected they are silenced in the most brutal way." The watchdog said it had found evidence that government actors -- soldiers or police -- were responsible for 53 of the deaths.

"That's only the triggermen so we can guess that in the cases where criminal gangs or other non-state actors carried out the attacks, the state may well have been involved," Leather said.

"While in a shocking number of cases state actors pulled the trigger, in other cases where the government allowed businesses to enter without protecting local rights, they're also complicit in the murders of these activists." Global Witness' report on environmentalist killings documents harrowing crimes around the world against communities daring to speak out against big businesses and government-led development.

These include murder, but also death threats, intimidation, arrests, cyber attacks, sexual assault and lawsuits.

It links the violence to what we put on our shelves: mass-scale agriculture, mining, logging and poaching all produce ingredients for everyday products such as palm oil for cosmetics, soy for beef and timber for furniture.

Brazil was the most dangerous country for land activists in 2017 with 57 killed, while the Philippines accounted for 48.

"Governments have a legal and ethical duty to protect human rights defenders but they're usually attacking them verbally and, as our statistics show, through their armed forces who are conducting some of the killings," Leather said.

Global Witness singled out the government of Brazilian President Michel Temer for special criticism, accusing his administration of seeking to reduce regulation on big agribusiness during what is an election year.

"Michel Temer and the Brazilian legislature are actively weakening the laws and institutions designed to protect land rights and indigenous peoples," the report said.

"At the same time, they have set about making it easier for big business -- apparently unperturbed by the devastating human and environmental cost of their activities -- to accelerate their exploitation of fragile ecosystems." In addition to being the deadliest single year for environmentalists since Global Witness began documenting their deaths, 2017 saw the most massacres of land activists on record.

The watchdog found seven cases in which more than four activists were killed at the same time, including the massacre of eight villagers protesting a coffee plantation by soldiers in the Philippines.

By far the most frequent victims of violence were indigenous peoples, who are often already maligned by governments and society.

"Of course, my life is at risk," said activist Mario do Socorro Costa da Silva, who campaigns with indigenous communities in Brazil against hydro aluminium factories.

"I receive death threats 24 hours a day because I'm not going to shut my mouth in the face of this atrocity." As well as calling for more accountability and greater protection for at-risk communities, Leather said agribusiness investors and even consumers could help reduce the violence by demanding better transparency.

"We should be asking questions of those producing the products on our shelves," he said.

"The palm oil sector absolutely needs to clean itself up and anyone investing needs to do proper due diligence to know that their money is not going to fund land grabs, human rights abuses and ultimately killings of those who denounce it.

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The Allahabad High Court today asked the Uttar Pradesh government to relax its dying-in-harness rules and reconsider a bunch of pleas for state jobs on compassionate grounds to the dependents of its employees, who died on duty more than five years ago.

A bench of Justice RSR Maurya asked the government to reconsider the pleas after relaxing the statutory five year limit for seeking jobs on compassionate grounds and after duly ascertaining if its late employees' families were facing undue hardships.

The bench said irrespective of the pleas for compassionate jobs having been made after the lapse of statutory five year limit, the government's decisions on them would be deemed "arbitrary" and "made on irrelevant considerations" if the same were not arrived at after due consideration of the due hardships faced by the dependents.

The court gave its ruling on a bunch of pleas challenging the government's decision to refuse compassionate jobs to the dependents of its employees, who died on duty, on the ground that the jobs had been sought after lapse of the five year limit.

The pleas to the court had been made by several state natives, including one Antariksha Singh.

The petitioners had moved the court for quashing the state government orders, which refused to condone the delay under proviso to rule 5 of the UP Recruitment of Dependents of Government Servants Dying In Harness Rules, 1974.

Allowing the petitions, the court observed that while examining the undue hardships faced by the dependents, the state should judge it from the yardstick of total income of family from all sources.

The government should keep in mind that if the total income of the family from all possible sources exceeds the salary of the deceased employees, it can be said that no undue hardship was caused to the family, the bench said.

Allowing the writ petitions, the court directed the government to reconsider the claim of compassionate appointments and relaxation of the time limit, after examining the "undue hardship" to the family within a period of two months.

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Religious monuments in the Konkan region on the western coastline of the country do not fall under the protection list of the Archaelogical Survey of India (ASI), Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma said today.

He was replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha on whether the government planned to include religious places like Ganapati temple in Konkan, Keshavraj temple and Vyagreshawar temples, among others in the central list of ASI, which conserves over 3,500 monuments across the country.

The Minister said that as per Maharashtra government, the temples date back to late medieval period, but due to frequent changes and repairs by trusts and religious organisations, they have lost relevance.

He said there was a process for bringing monuments under the ASI list, which includes notification of more than 100- year old monuments in the Gazette of India and objections are sought from people. These are notified after two months in the protected monuments category.

Sharma said currently, there were 22 such monuments which were ready to be brought under conserved list.

In reply to another query, he said the historic Pandharpur temple in Maharashtra was of much religious importance and if the state government forwarded any proposal, the Centre could take a call on it.

He also said that spiritual tourism was an important segment of tourism and Pandharpur was of much significance.

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A Reuters journalist charged with breaching a draconian secrecy law told a Myanmar court today he was entrapped by police while reporting with a colleague on a massacre of Rohingya, and had been abused in custody.

Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, and Wa Lone, 32, are charged with breaking the Official Secrets Act and face up to 14 years in jail for possessing classified documents relating to security operations in northern Rakhine state.

They were arrested last December after reporting on a military crackdown against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine which the UN has described as "textbook" ethnic cleansing.

The journalists had been investigating the extra-judicial killing of 10 Rohingya men in the village of Inn Din -- a massacre in which the military eventually admitted involvement.

Giving evidence after seven months of pre-trial hearings, Kyaw Soe Oo said he and Wa Lone were invited to dinner by two police officers and handed secret documents just before they were arrested.

"(Officer Naing Lin) gave us the documents. We didn't ask for any documents from him," he said today. "Five minutes later they went off, and as we left the restaurant we were arrested."



Naing Lin has previously denied handing anything to the journalists. Kyaw Soe Oo said he was badgered by police about why, as an ethnic Rakhine Buddhist, he was reporting on the killing of Rohingya Muslims, widely seen as illegal immigrants in the Buddhist-majority country.

"I told them that I wanted to be professional and I was writing the to help the rule of law," he said.

He added that police forced him "kneel for about four hours" after they discovered photos relating to the Inn Din killings on his mobile phone.

The testimony echoed Wa Lone's earlier account describing how the pair had been hooded and taken to a notorious interrogation centre where they were deprived of sleep for three days.

Northern Rakhine state has been in virtual lockdown since the military campaign which began last August forced some 700,000 Rohingya to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh.

Journalists and observers are only able to visit on short chaperoned trips. Hundreds of Rohingya villages were razed and refugees have recounted how Myanmar troops and mobs of Rakhine Buddhists committed widespread murder, rape and torture.

The military did concede its troops were guilty of murder in the Inn Din killings but insists it was an isolated incident. It says its campaign was justified in order to root out Rohingya militants who killed about a dozen border guard police on August 25.

Doctors Without Borders estimates that at least 6,700 Rohingya were killed in the first month of the bloody crackdown alone.

Civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been condemned globally for her refusal to stand up for the Rohingya, and the prosecution of the Reuters pair has further battered her reputation.

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Hollywood veteran Robert De Niro is in negotiations to star in The Joker origin movie with Joaquin Phoenix in the lead.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, if the deal goes through, the 74-year-old actor would play a talk show host who is somehow instrumental in The Joker's back story.

This would be De Niro's first comic book movie.

Phoenix stars as one of the most notorious DC supervillains, who is arch-nemesis of The Batman.

Todd Phillips is directing the film, which the studio describes as being an "exploration of a man disregarded by society (that) is not only a gritty character study, but also a broader cautionary tale".

Phillips co-wrote the script with Scott Silver.

The shooting is set to begin in September in New York.

Warner Bros has announced October 4, 2019 as the release date of the currently untitled film.

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The government today said among cooperative banks, maximum amount of Rs 745.58 crore was deposited or exchanged in Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank during five-days following demonetisation of high value currency notes in November 2016.

The banned notes (Rs 500 and Rs 1,000) amounting to Rs 732.76 crore were deposited in more than 1.26 lakh accounts, while Rs 12.82 crore were exchanged by 33,198 persons.

"During 05 days after demonetisation, SBNs (specified bank notes) worth Rs 745.5 crore were deposited/exchanged in Ahmedabad District Central Cooperative Bank," Minister of State for Finance P Radhakrishnan said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

He also informed that the highest amount of SBNs totalling Rs 3.09 lakh crore were deposited or exchanged in the State Bank of India between November 10, 2016 and December 30, 2016.

To a question if the government had probed the huge deposits, the minister further said that Income Tax Department has taken suitable action against persons found to be involved in making unaccounted deposits, post-demonetisation, in various banks, including co-operative banks.

Between November 2016 and March 2017, the tax department conducted searches in 900 groups, involved in various activities and business, leade to seizure of Rs 900 crore, including cash seizure of RS 636 crore.

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A 66-year-old gangster wanted for allegedly killing a builder in Nallasopara in Palghar district in 2003 has been arrested from suburban Borivli, police said today.

Chandrakant Anna Patil who goes by aliases Chandumama and Charan Palekar, was picked up by sleuths of crime branch last evening, a senior police official said.

Patil has been living in Borivli since the last few years by assuming a new identity.

He was allegedly involved in killing the builder Rajendra Patange over a land dispute in the neighbouring district, the official said.

While police had arrested nine accused in connection with the 2003 case, four persons, including underworld don Chhota Rajan and Patil, had been absconding.

Patil has been evading arrest by taking care not to stay at a particular place for longer, the official said.

He said Patil had stayed in different states under various identities.

"The officials of the Unit 11 received information about the whereabouts of the accused. He was nabbed by a police team led by senior inspector Chimaji Adhav," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Nisar Tamboli.

He said Patil had also worked for Subhash Singh Thakur gang in Delhi where he was caught with weapons and ammunitions.

Meanwhile, the official said Patil was involved in a case of looting the silver bricks that were smuggled by sea to Palghar coast in 1991.

He was also booked in a case under various sections of the IPC for murder and attempt to murder in 1992, he said.

Patil was handed over to Palghar Police for further investigation, the official said.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today reaffirmed India's commitment to Rwanda's quest for national development as he called for enhancing business ties with the fast developing East African country which he said holds the key of all the doors in Africa.

Addressing leading CEOs from India and Rwanda at a business event here, Modi said that though India is developing at a fast pace, "our motto is 'Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas'".

"India has 'Make in India' initiative which we can share with Rwanda and connect with them.

"We should grow and we should be able to help grow all those who want to go along with us," Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Rwanda, said.

"I would like to tell the Indian business delegation which has come here along with me that you have not only come to Rwanda. Today, coming to Rwanda means you get all the doors of Africa open as the key is here," Modi said.

Rwanda is setting up a new momentum and President Paul Kagame is leading this, he said, adding that in Africa, there are discussions about Rwanda's model, development and governance.

"Coming here in Rwanda does not mean you are tied to the borders but from here you will see more possibilities, challenges and opportunities and I believe that you won't let these opportunities go," Modi said.

Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet: "A strategic partnership is nourished by economic ties! PM @narendramodi and President @PaulKagame at the India Rwanda Business Forum interacted with the business community from both countries. PM reaffirmed India's commitment to Rwanda's quest for national development."



Modi said that earlier, when the world's attention was not towards Africa, no one thought of coming here, even at that time Indians preferred to come to this land.

"Even India has so many opportunities. India is ready to extend all the assistance to the business community in Rwanda who want to grow in India. I invite them," Modi said.

Indian businesses can collaborate in infrastructure, rural development and economic activities, building a network of small scale industries, corporate leadership network, seeking global market among others, the Prime Minister said.

"Through the International Solar Alliance, we are not only addressing the issue of climate change but also undertaking a big campaign on how that energy is useful for humans. I want the people of Rwanda to come forward," he said.

Modi said that India's expertise can be utilised in different sectors in the development of Rwanda which is a friend of India.

The Prime Minister then left for Uganda after concluding his two-day visit to Rwanda during which the two countries signed a defence cooperation agreement and India extended a USD 200 million lines of credit to the East African country for its economic development.

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A 56-year-old sadhu died due to illness even as a fresh batch of over 1,200 pilgrims left Jammu today for the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas, officials said.

The sadhu, Omeshanand from West Bengal, fell ill at Ram Mandir in Jammu yesterday and was shifted to Government Medical College where he died in the evening, they said.

Sadhus from across the country stay at the temple before and after paying obeisance at the 3,880-metre high shrine, housing the naturally formed ice-shivlingam.

It was not immediately clear whether Omeshanand had performed the yatra, the officials said.

Braving heavy rains which lashed many parts of Jammu last night, a fresh batch of 1,282 pilgrims, including 266 women and 87 sadhus, left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp here for Kashmir in the early hours today.

The pilgrims travelling in a convoy of 44 vehicle under tight security are expected to reach the twin base camps of Pahalgam in Anantnag district and Baltal in Ganderbal district later in the day, the officials said.

They said while 868 pilgrims including 129 women and 87 sadhus opted for the traditional 36-km Pahalgam track, 414 pilgrims including 137 women are performing the yatra through the shorter 12-km Baltal track.

The 60-day yatra commenced from the twin routes of Pahalgam and Baltal on June 28 and is scheduled to conclude on August 26, coinciding with "Raksha Bandhan".

Till last evening, a total of 2,40,536 yatris had visited the cave shrine.

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The today expressed dissatisfaction over the Centre's response on appointment of search committee members for a

A bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi, R Banumathi and Navin Sinha asked the Centre to file a fresh affidavit giving relevant details of the search committee.

During the hearing, Attorney General K K Venugopal submitted an affidavit and said a meeting of the selection committee was held but the names for the search committee were not finalised.

He said another meeting would be held soon for appointing members of the search committee, keeping in mind the provisions of law for such appointments.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for petitioner NGO Common Cause, said the Centre has not specified the date of the next meeting and they are actually delaying the appointment of a despite passage of a law nearly five years ago.

He said contempt action should be initiated against the concerned authorities or the court may proceed ahead for appointing the by exercising its power under Article 142 of the Constitution (enforcement of decrees and orders of Supreme Court).

The bench, in its order, said it's unsatisfied with the Centre's reply and sought a fresh



affidavit in four weeks giving all necessary details.

The Centre had earlier told the apex court the Lokpal selection committee, headed by the prime minister, was scheduled to meet to set up a search panel for recommending a panel of names for the appointment of the anti-graft ombudsman and its members.

The government had said the search panel would lay down its procedures, following which the selection committee would fix the time frame within which the names for selecting the chairman and members of the Lokpal would be recommended.

The committee comprises the prime minister, the chief justice of India, Lok Sabha speaker, the leader of the largest opposition party and an eminent jurist.

The court was hearing a contempt petition filed by the NGO which has raised the issue of non-appointment of Lokpal despite the apex court's judgement of April 27 last year.

The apex court, in its last year's verdict, had said there was no justification to keep the enforcement of Lokpal Act suspended till the proposed amendments, including on the issue of the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, were cleared by Parliament.
The probe into the suspicious death of Udupi-based Shiroor mutt chief Laxmivara Teertha last week due to suspected poisoning is gaining momentum with the police questioning several persons related to the mutt in the last three days.

Police said a close woman acquaintance of the late seer was questioned as part of the probe on July 21.

Udupi superintendent of police Laxman Nimbargi has dismissed reports that she has been taken into custody.

He said nobody has been detained or arrested, though the police team was making several enquiries.

Besides the woman, several others, including the auto driver who is believed to have introduced her to the seer, have been questioned by police.

The woman was frequently present in gatherings at the mutt, sources said.

The former manager of the mutt, Sunil Kumar, has alleged that the woman had been managing the routine affairs of the mutt for more than a year and he was thrown out overnight when he questioned her style of functioning.

Police are also probing reports that two businessmen from Mumbai, said to be the seer's disciples, had cheated him to the tune of Rs 26 crore.

In a video clip the seer is purportedly explaining his predicament to Daiva (demi-god) during an Aaradhane (prayer) that he had given money to the people in good faith, but they did not give it back, police said.

Nimbargi, who visited the Shiroor mutt yesterday, said the digital video recorder at the mutt was found missing.

It was not clear whether the DVR was not there for long or that it went missing after the seers death, he said, adding that the matter was being investigated.

The DVR had in February captured the visuals of the theft of cows from the mutt's cattle shed which was widely publicised.

The DVR box was stationed inside the room of the seer where entry was not allowed to staff members.

Police said the SP was accompanied by a medical practitioner yesterday to collect the details of medicines used by the seer.

Nimbargi told reporters that the investigation was progressing.

Being a high profile case, no action could be taken before getting the report from the forensic science laboratory, Nimbargi said.

"As investigation has to be conducted from all angles and everything needs to be examined minutely, it may take more days for the investigation to reach a conclusion," he said.

Police have been deployed around the mutt premises.

The priest performing puja at the base mutt at Shiroor and cleaning staff are allowed two hours in the morning and evening to complete their task, police said.

Sode mutt, the dwandva (parallel) mutt of Shiroor, has appointed Subramanya Bhat, who was earlier working for Shiroor mutt, to take care of the jewellery and other assets at the mutt.

As the investigation is on, the Sode mutt is yet to fully take over the administration of Shiroor mutt and its assets as is the custom during exigencies.

The 54-year old seer passed away at a private hospital in Manipal on July 19, with doctors voicing "suspicion of poisoning" and the kin alleging foul play.

KMC Hospital, where the seer was admitted and died, has said there was a "suspicion of poisoning", while his brother Lathavya Acharya filed a police complaint in Udupi, alleging that he had been poisoned to death and demanding a probe.

Shiroor mutt is one among the 'ashta' (eight) mutts around Udupi, established by 13th century philosopher Madhwacharya.

A case has been registered under section 174 (c) of CrPc (death under circumstances raising reasonable suspicion that some other person has committed an offence) based on Acharya's complaint.

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The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has received complaints against private sector lender and engineering firm Larsen and Toubro, Parliament was informed on Tuesday.

The probe agency comes under the corporate affairs ministry.

" receives various complaints against Complaints have been received against Mehul Choksi, ICICI and L&T," Minister of State for Corporate Affairs P P Chaudhary said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

However, the minister has not provided details of the complaints about ICICI and L&T.

Further, Chaudhary said that the ministry, in February, ordered a probe into the affairs of 114 entities directly or indirectly associated with Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi and their family members in the multi-crore Punjab National Bank scam.

"The matter is presently under investigation," he said.

In a separate reply, the minister said the government has assigned investigation to into the affairs of 29 listed in more than five years.

Out of this, investigation has been completed in respect of four Prosecutions in all the four companies have already been filed, he added.
Former Union minister Sharad Yadav hit out at the BJP today over incidents of mob lynching, saying Muslims were often the victims in these cases and this underscored the agenda of "Hindu-Muslim divide" of the organisations affiliated to the saffron party.

He demanded a judicial probe by a sitting Supreme Court judge into such incidents.

"No one is going to believe the government on mob lynching, because this has become the order of the day under it. Such incidents have been increasing in the BJP-ruled states, in spite of the assurances given by the government in and outside Parliament," Yadav said in a statement.

The people of the country were not even familiar with the word "lynching", but it had now become a household term, he added.

On a recent case of mob lynching in Alwar district of Rajasthan, Yadav alleged that those involved were the so-called "gau rakshaks" (cow protectors) affiliated to the ruling party.

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Shareholders are not happy when a company spends more money on activities under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR),NMDC chairman-cum-managing director, N Baijendra Kumar said today.

"Shareholders are slightly worried if we spend more money on CSR. They are worried about higher taxes. The CSR activities should have some kind of tax-free thing (tax concessions). I would like to mention it to policy-makers," the National Mineral Development Corporation CMD said.

The miner spends Rs 150 crore to Rs 200 croreper annumon CSR activities, Kumar said in his address at the 158thIncome Tax Day celebrations here.

He requested the Income Tax Department to think if there is a possibility of introducing some sort of incentives, not necessarily monetary benefits, for the honest tax payer, whether big or small.

A senior official of the I-T Department saidNMDC paid Rs 2,259 crore towards corporate tax during the last financial year.

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Governor ESL Narasimhan, in his address said the I-T Department should provide facilities to people who are not able to file e-returns.

"There has to be an alternative method for e-returns as some people like senior citizens may not be aware of computer operations. The I-T Department has to provide some assistance. You should have some trained officials to help them," he added.

Narasimhan also said companies should spend more on healthcare and rural development under CSR activities.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories chairman, K Satish Reddy, Amar Raja Batteries chairman, Ramachandra N Galla and Bharat Dynamics chairman and managing director V Uday Bhaskar also spoke.

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Nawaz Sharif is not suffering from any acute medical problem, a media report today quoted a medical board as saying, a day after doctors examined the jailed former Pakistan prime minister.

A five-member team of doctors from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) comprising cardiologist Dr Naeem Malik, Medical Specialist Dr Shaji Siddiqui, neurologist Dr Sohail Tanvir, Dr Mashood and Joint Executive Director Dr Ejaz Qadeer examined Sharif yesterday.

Sharif has multiple health issues like heart problems, hypertension and diabetes. He already underwent open heart surgery in London in 2016.

The medical board that examined Sharif in Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi, concluded there was no acute medical problem with some issues and that the patient was well-oriented in time and space, the Express Tribune reported.

Sharif, 68, and his daughter Maryam, 44, are serving jail terms of 10 years and 7 years respectively in Adiala jail, after a court convicted them on July 6 over the family's ownership of four luxury flats in London.

The board was constituted on request of jail authorities to examine the ousted premier for a second opinion after examination by two cardiologists of the Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology (RIC) found him dehydrated, it added.

The RIC team suggested hospitalisation to avoid cardiac and diabetic complications.

According to the medical team, his body's water levels are very low, which has made his heartbeat erratic now. The amount of urea in his blood has also become very high, which could even lead to kidney failure, the report said.

They had recommended to shift Sharif to hospital.

However, the PIMS medical board assessed that the blood tests and urine tests were normal except his urea level, which was 64, and creatinine was 1.3.

Some blood tests and echocardiography will be done today and the patient will be reexamined by the same medical board after the results are available.

The medical board maintained that the patient needed fluids, re-hydration and comfortable environment. It recommended that a follow-up check-up may be closely monitored by a personal physician, it added.

As the patient has already been on medication for cardiac, cholesterol, blood pressure, kidney and diabetic problems, he has been advised to continue previous medications until the fresh medical tests and investigation are complete.

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Sheena Bora murder case accused Indrani Mukerjea's son Mikhail Bora today requested the special court here for speedy recording of his testimony and said he might lose his job in Guwahati if he stayed here for too long.

Mikhail, a prosecution witness in the 2012 murder case, told special court judge J C Jagdale that he was unemployed for the last two years and landed a job at a restaurant in Guwahati only recently.

"If I stay here for too long, I might lose that job. I won't get a job just because I am the son of Indrani Mukerjea," he pleaded.

Before her arrest, Indrani was a promoter of INX Group along with her current husband Peter Mukerjea, also an accused in the murder case.

Sheena was the biological daughter of Indrani, born from a previous relationship.

Sheena's brother Mikhail recorded his statement on the second consecutive day today.

As the defence and prosecution counsels were arguing for the next date of hearing, Mikhail stood in the witness box and said, "Will you provide me a job?"



The judge then directed the prosecution to complete recording Mikhail's testimony tomorrow and said the date for his cross-examination by the defence will be decided.

During his deposition today, Mikhail told the court that Sheena had told him that Indrani used to discriminate between her and Vidhi (Indrani's daughter from her former husband Sanjeev Khana) and that Sheena would fight with Indrani over this.

He said Sheena wanted to address Indarni as mother, but the latter was against it.

Indrani had always maintained that Sheena and Mikhail were her siblings before her arrest in 2015.

Mikhail said Sheena was in a relationship with Peter's son Rahul and that Indrani was against it.

"Indrani often used to call me and say that she didn't like the relationship between Sheena and Rahul. She had told me to inform Sheena that the relationship was not good for her," he told the court.

Mikhail said Indrani had messaged him saying she would 'disinherit' Sheena if the latter continued her relationship with Rahul.

Sheena (24) was allegedly killed by Indrani with the help of others in a car in April 2012.

However, the incident came to light in August 2015 after Mukerjea's then driver Shyamvar Rai, who was arrested by police for possessing a firearm, disclosed it.

The Mumbai Police arrested Indrani, Khanna and Rai for allegedly killing Sheena. Later, Peter was also arrested for allegedly being part of the conspiracy to kill Sheena.

The CBI, which took over the case, claimed that a financial dispute was the reason for the murder.

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Six passengers travelling on the footboard of crowded suburban trains during rush hour died after crashing into a concrete track fence at St Thomas Mount railway station here in two accidents in little over 13 hours, police said today.

Those dead included three students aged between 16 and 25 years. Six people were also injured.

The first mishap took place around 7 p.m. yesterday when two commuters of Chennai Beach-Chengalpattu train hit against the wall and fell to their death.

A little over 13 hours later at 8.30 a.m, 10 people perched precariously on the footboard of another suburban train hit the wall, about 50 metres from the scene of the first tragedy, and fell in a heap on the rugged surface. Four of them died, Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said.

Medical teams including vascular surgeons were treating those injured at government hospitals. The legs of one of the injured were severed in the accident.

Kanchipuram District Collector P Ponniah and senior railway and police officials inspected the scene of the twin accidents.

Health Minister C Vijayabaskar, Health Secretary Radhakrishnan, and some other senior government officials visited the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital at Park Town and Government Hospital in Royapettah to inquire about the condition of the injured.

Chennai Divisional Railway Manager Naveen Gulati said there was a heavy rush of passengers today morning as trains were running late due to lack of power supply on the suburban line.

A large number of people had boarded the train involved in the second accident which was diverted to the main line used by fast trains. Many of them were travelling on the footboard, he said.

Abutting the line used by fast trains is a wall dividing the two railway lines.

"Usually the suburban train from Chennai Beach to Tirumalpur runs on a suburban track. Even in the morning, it was allotted the same track, but was later shifted to fast suburban line as there was no supply in an overhead wire on the other track," Gulati told PTI.

It was a common practice to make such changes, he said.

The suburban train from Chennai Beach to Chengalpattu was also running on the fast suburban line on platform number 3 when two people hit against the wall and died.

The Government Railway Police has now requested the railways to remove the wall.

"An inquiry is on. This wall exists for several years. However, in view of repeat accidents we have requested the railway authorities to remove it," Additional Director General of Police (GRP) C Sylendra Babu said.

He said railway authorities have been requested not to ply suburban trains on the fast track till the time the wall stood there.

Meanwhile, the Southern Railway has blamed footboard travel for the two incidents.

"It is noticed that there was no infringement as per railway rule. However, in view of the unfortunate incidents, the matter is being studied by the railways to identify further steps to be taken to avoid such incidents," a release from the public sector transporter said.

"Passengers are requested to avoid travelling on footboard and avoid hanging outside the train risking their own lives and those of the co-passengers," it said.

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An airline passenger was today detained at Srinagar airport here after he, at the time of landing of the aircraft, allegedly shouted that the flight had been hijacked, an official said.

Lakhvinder Singh, a resident of Punjab, was handed over to police by the airport authorities after the crew of the Indigo's Chandigarh-Srinagar flight complained about the passenger, an official of the airport said.

The crew complained that at the time of landing of the aircraft here, the passenger said the flight had been hijacked, the official said.

He said the passenger was handed over to the police at the airport for questioning.

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Stop eating beef and give cow the status of 'Rashtra Mata', say some leaders of the RSS and the BJP as a way out to end the mob lynching of cow smuggling suspects that has sparked outrage in the country.

As the latest incident of the killing of a Muslim man over suspicion of being a cow smuggler in Rajasthan's Alwar district raised political temperatures, BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi today dubbed those raising the issue of lynching as "hypocrites", saying they have forgotten the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and the alleged "lynching of karsevaks" in 2002 that triggered communal riots in Gujarat.

On the other hand, senior opposition leader and former Union minister Sharad Yadav hit out at the BJP, saying Muslims were often the victims of mob lynchings and this underscored the agenda of "Hindu-Muslim divide" of the organisations affiliated to the saffron party.

RSS leader Indresh Kumar said if the practice of eating cow meat was stopped, many crimes of the 'Satan' could be curtailed, in an apparent reference to the incidents of mob lynching.

"If the practice of eating cow meat is stopped, many such crimes of the 'Satan' could be stopped," he said in Ranchi where he was there to attend a programme of the Hindu Jagran Manch yesterday.

Noting that killing a cow was not approved by any religion, Kumar also said any mob lynching incident is condemnable.

Union minister Giriraj Singh appeared to endorse the views of Kumar on the need for stopping the practice of eating cow meat, noting that he is a "mature" man and that whatever he said must be "after a proper thought".

Escalating the row over the Alwar incident, Rajasthan minister Jaswant Yadav asked Muslims to stop the cow smuggling business, saying it it "boils the blood of the Hindus". He also asked the Muslims to understand the sentiments of the Hindus.

Offering condolences to the family of the victim, Yadav,a senior BJP leader, said he stood against those who take law into their hands.

A BJP MLA from Telangana said incidents of lynching will not stop until cow gets the status of 'Rashtra Mata'(mother of the nation).

T Raja Singh Lodh, who represents Goshamahal in Hyderabad, said in a video message on a social networking website on Sunday he does not want "khoon-kharaba" (bloodletting) on the issue, but if it has to stop, cow must be declared 'mother of the nation'.

In the 7-minute clip, the lawmmaker also urged MPs to make such a demand in Parliament.

"Till cow is not accorded the status of 'Rashtra Mata', I feel the war for 'gau raksha' (cow protection) will not stop even if 'gau rakshaks' (cow protectors) are put into jails or bullets are fired at them," Singh said.

He also sought Prime Mininister Narendra Modi's support for the demand.

"Till the time a ministry of cow protection is created in every state and stringent laws are enacted for cow protection, I feel such killings will not stop....this is my feeling and I am telling the fact," Singh, known for making controversial remarks, said.

Maintaining he never supported the killing or beating up of people by "gau rakshaks", Singh, however, deplored that "nobody discusses protection of cows and how to stop such violence".

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All 58 members of the 8thbatch of Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrims stranded here for many days due to bad weather were finally airlifted today by IAF helicopters from the Naini-Saini airstrip to Gunji as the weather en route to the base camp cleared after ten days.

Meanwhile, the 5thand 6thbatches of pilgrims who were stranded at Gunji for the last ten days on their way back were also flown to Pithoragarh, said officials of KMVN, the nodal agency for the yatra.

With three batches of pilgrims airlifted today, we have eased the burden on the Nigam workers as well as the pilgrims who were tired of waiting," Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) General Manager TS Martolia said.

The 9thbatch that had reached Pithoragarh from Chaukori TRC today would be ferried to Gunji tomorrow, he said.

Two more batches of pilgrims are waiting at Almora and Bhimtal. We have requested the ministry, not to send further batches till the backlog of pilgrims staying in the camps en route is cleared," he said.

The delay in the journeys of Mansarovar pilgrims due to bad weather may cause a revision of yatra schedule, the KMVN official said.

KMVN will have to seek new dates from the Chinese authorities to enter into their territory from Lipulekh pass as the visa is given to pilgrims for a fixed date.

We have already written to the External Affairs Ministry on delays in lifting of pilgrims, the ministry will talk to the Chinese government for issuing new entry datefor the delayed batches, Martolia said.

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Video streaming company, Streamcast Group, is investing Rs 2,200 crore over the next five years to set up its maiden data centre in Maharashtra.

The data centre is spread over a 12-acre land parcel at Sawantwadi in the Sindhudurg district of the coastal Konkan belt of the state, an official statement said.

The datacentre is being set up by Streamcloud, the group's cloud computing business, it added.

"Not only will we deliver the most powerful compute datacentre but also see its preservation as an 'area of outstanding beauty' as one of our core drivers to ensure we leave a positive lasting impression," Streamcloud's chief operating officer Mark Aldridge was quoted as saying.

The company had conducted a ground-breaking ceremony for the datacentre in Sawantwadi yesterday.

"We are welcoming non-polluting yet futuristic industries to Sindhudurg. Today, with Streamcloud, it is a beginning of this future," minister of state for Home (rural), planning, finance and guardian minister of Sindhudurg district, Deepak Kesarkar said.

The minister said a centre of IT excellence is also being launched as part of the project, which will help local youth to become technology experts.

The announcement of the datacentre in Singhudurg comes right after a similar move in Malta.

It can be noted that there has been a huge spurt in datacentres in the country, especially after the insistence by the government to store data within the confines of the sovereign.

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Hong Kong clinics said they have seen a surge in demand for children's vaccines today after a safety scandal rocked mainland China.

The crisis stemmed from falsified production data of a rabies inoculation by a major mainland manufacturer.

But vaccines against diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough, given to babies and infants, were also found to be sub-standard, with doses already sold and administered.

The mounting scandal has raised questions about the safety of China's entire vaccine industry and has led some parents to seek treatment in semi-autonomous Hong Kong.

The city already has a reputation for safer medication than mainland China and has seen a rush on its products in the past after health scandals over the border.

One private Hong Kong clinic in the commercial hub of Tsim Sha Tsui said it had received hundreds of calls and messages, around six times the normal rate of enquiries, since the scandal broke over the weekend.

Manager Jacky Ho described the demand as "explosive", saying it was mostly from mainland Chinese parents looking for vaccines imported from countries other than China.

"The closest place for them to get the vaccines is Hong Kong," said Ho, who added the clinic's inoculations come from England, France and the United States.

A woman who gave her name as Mrs Yin, from Shenzhen in southern mainland China, said she had brought her two-year-old son to the clinic for three different types of vaccinations.

"We are worried about the quality of domestic vaccines," said Yin, who said she had spent 5,000 Hong Kong dollars (USD 640) on the inoculations: PCV13 which protects against pneumococcal bacteria, Japanese encephalitis and the ACWY vaccination to protect against meningitis.

She said she had made an appointment for the PCV13 jab before the crisis broke, but had added the other inoculations for good measure after hearing of the scandal.

Another man from Guangdong in southern China, who gave his surname Chan said he had brought his one-year-old son to a private clinic in the same area for the PCV13 inoculation after making an appointment two months ago.

"Now I feel very lucky that we came here. We have more confidence in Hong Kong," he told AFP.

Private hospital Hong Kong Sanatorium said it had seen a rise in enquiries and had contacted suppliers to ensure "a stable supply of vaccines to meet the needs of patients in coming days" in a statement to AFP.

Hong Kong's health department said it would closely monitor the supply of vaccines to both public and private healthcare sectors but described it as "stable" for now.

Scarlett Pong, president of the city's Pharmaceutical Society, added that there was an established information network which connected Hong Kong clinics with mainland Chinese customers.

"There are agents helping them make appointments and who know where to get information like which doctor to use," she said.

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Finance Minister Piyush Goyal today attacked Congress President Rahul Gandhi for maligning the country's image by raising the issue of increase in black money deposits of Indians in Swiss banks based on baseless reports.

Indian deposits in Swiss banks have actually come down by 34 per cent to USD 524 million dollar in 2017, Goyal said.

According to reports published earlier, the money parked by Indians in Swiss banks rose over 50 per cent to Rs 7,000 crore in 2017.

"I think Rahul Gandhi should reply to nation why he is maligning the image of the country on baseless report," he told reporters outside Parliament.

He accused Gandhi of saying baseless things without knowing the issue.

"Of course, he has habit of saying things without knowing the facts. Even during the no-confidence motion, we have seen claims of Congress being demolished," he said.

As per the data provided by Swiss authorities there has been 34 per cent reduction in deposits in Swiss Bank in 2017 as against 2016, he said.

In the last quarter (October-December) of 2017, there was a reduction of 44 per cent, based on locational banking statistics, Goyal added.

"This clearly reflects that people are afraid of government of India and Modi government. The government will take strict against the hoarders of black money," he said.

He further said that this government has taken a series of steps to put a curb on generation and siphoning of black money while Congress during the UPA regime had done nothing.

"India also signed an agreement with Switzerland on December 21, 2017. Both countries started collecting data in accordance with global standards on January 1, 2018, and would start the exchange of data from September 2019 on a yearly basis," he said.

This makes relevant information available in India which eliminates the threat of black money and action can be taken against any entity indulging in such activities, he said.

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Any return of Syrian refugees from countries across the region must be conducted on a strictly voluntary basis, the United Nations stressed today, after Moscow unveiled plans to cooperate with Washington on the issue.

Russia's defense ministry said Friday that working together on the safe return of Syrian refugees was one of the points of agreement reached between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump at their inaugural summit in Helsinki.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed the issue had featured in the presidents' talks, with any return to be carried out "at the right time" through a "voluntary mechanism."



Asked about the prospect, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters he was "not aware that we have been involved in those direct talks." He went on to stress: "As a matter of principle, the return of people to their home should always be voluntary and done in dignity and in safety." "It is up to people to... no one should be forced to return."



Russian ministry official General Mikhail Mizintsev said Friday that "specific proposals" on Syrian refugee return had been sent to the American side following the July 16 summit.

Washington and Moscow back opposing sides in the Syrian war, with Russia's intervention in 2015 on the side of Bashar Al-Assad's regime widely seen as a turning point in the multi-front conflict.

Dujarric separately said the UN had not been involved in the transfer of more than 400 people -- opposition-linked White Helmet rescue workers and their families -- out of southwestern Syria, as government forces bore down on them.

He said the group is now under the protection of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Jordan, ahead of their resettlement in Western nations, including Britain, Canada, France and Germany.

"UNHCR appreciates the generosity of the Jordanian government and people for temporarily hosting them," Dujarric said.

Several hundred Syrian rescuers remain trapped in the country's south with no escape from approaching regime troops, two of them said yesterday, after the secret evacuation that saved many of their colleagues.

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The entire Taj Mahal precinct should be declared a no-plastic zone and all polluting industries in the region closed, the Uttar Pradesh government suggested in its first draft report of a vision document on protection and preservation of the 17th century monument filed in the Supreme Court today.

The Uttar Pradesh government mentioned the matter before a bench of Justices M B Lokur and Deepak Gupta.

The vision document was submitted after an angry apex court on July 11 lashed out the state government for its apathy towards the Mughal era monument, considered one of the seven wonders of the world and a major tourist draw.

Advocate Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the state government, told the bench that they be allowed to file the document.

The court allowed the counsel to file the draft.

The Uttar Pradesh government told the apex court that the entire Taj Mahal precinct should be declared a no-plastic zone and the use of bottled water inside should also be prohibited.

The state government said all polluting industries in region should be closed, while more tourism hubs should be created.

It said a comprehensive traffic management plan was needed to promote pedestrian movement in the Taj heritage precinct.

The draft vision document also said roads along the Yamuna riverfront should be planned so traffic is limited and pedestrian movement encouraged.

According to the government, there should be no construction on the Yamuna floodplain and the riverbank should only have natural plantations.

The apex court has been monitoring development in the area to protect the Taj Mahal, built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal at Agra in 1643.

The ivory white marble mausoleum is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

During the hearing earlier this month, the bench had drawn a parallel between the Taj Mahal and Paris' Eiffel Tower, saying the mausoleum was perhaps more beautiful, but India continued to lose tourists and foreign exchange due to the situation prevailing there.

The Centre told the apex court that the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, was conducting an assessment of air pollution level in and around the mausoleum and Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) and they would give their report within four months.

TTZ is an area of about 10,400 sq km spread over the districts of Agra, Firozabad, Mathura, Hathras and Etah in Uttar Pradesh and Bharatpur district of Rajasthan.

The court had also asked why only four ambient air quality monitoring stations were set up at Agra against the 22 required.

It directed the Centre to file an affidavit giving all details of what has already been done for protection of Taj and what the government intended to do further.

The court had said the affidavit filed by the Centre giving some details of steps taken was "absolutely of no consequence" and it should specify every step in detail, along with a time- frame and responsibility and accountability of the concerned departments.

It had said steps taken by the authorities appear to have a "negative effect" on Taj.

The bench had also said since the matter had been lingering for a long time and no concrete steps were taken to restore the glory of Taj, it would take up the matter on a day-to-day basis from July 31.

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: Tech Mahindra Ltd has been allotted 12,000 square feet space at Technopark here to set up a 200-seat office.

A letter in this regard was handed over by Kerala IT Parks CEO Hrishikesh Nair to Tech Mahindra, General Manager (Infrastructure-Corporate Services), Palani Velu, allotting 12,000 square feet space to the company.

The decision to set up operations in Technopark came after Tech Mahindra CEO C P Gurnani met the state Chief Secretary last month, a press release said.

The office is expected to be operational in the next three months will also be catering to a gamut of the companys global clientele.

With Tech Mahindra also deciding to set up operations in Technopark, Kerala can now boast of the 5 IT majors of the country having their presence in the state (TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant already have operations in Kerala).

"Our State is definitely getting noticed by IT companies globally, as one of the most preferred locations in India. This is because of the extensive support by the state government and extremely skilled talent base the State has to offer," according to Hrishikesh Nair.

Tech Mahindra, headquartered from Pune, part of the Mahindra group, offers innovative and customer-centric IT services and solutions to enterprises, associates and the society at large.

A USD 4.8 billion company, Tech Mahindra has around 1,15,000 professionals working across 90 countries reaching out to over 910 global customers including Fortune 500 companies.

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A 16-year-old girl died today after she was allegedly set ablaze by her jilted lover at Chaukhandi village under Safdarganj police station limits in Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh, the police said.

The girl was at a neighbour's house when the accused, identified as Amit (24), dragged her out, poured kerosene and set her on fire, they said.

The victim's father, in his complaint, also alleged the involvement of the accused's mother in the crime.

The girl suffered serious burn injuries and was rushed to the district hospital where she died.

The girl was allegedly in touch with another local youth and this might have led him to committing the crime, the police said, adding that a case was registered and efforts were on to nab the culprit.

Circle Officer Rajesh Yadav, who visited the spot, said the girl had some arguments with the accused after which he set her ablaze.

All angles will be probed in the case, Yadav said.

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Domestic telecom gear maker Tejas Networks reported over two-fold jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 45 crore for the quarter ended on June 30, 2018.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 20.44 crore in the same period a year.

"Consumers growth happening in broadband and they have been using more amount of data that is underpinning growth for us. India had larger portion of our revenue this quarter. India market has been under-penetrated in terms of fibre infrastructure and it is catching up with global standards. Domestic market is driving lots of growth," Tejas Networks Managing Director and CEO, Sanjay Nayak told PTI.

The company reported 9.6 per cent increase in total revenue at Rs 245.48 crore in the reported quarter from Rs 223.81 crore in the same period a year ago.

A major portion of the revenue came from government funded projects followed by scaling up of networks by private telecom operators, Nayak said.

The company gained seven new telecom customers overseas during the quarter.

"Around 80 per cent of our revenue came from India market and rest from overseas. By the end of this fiscal we expect domestic market to contribute around 70 per cent and international business to make 30 per cent contribution," Nayak said.

During the quarter, Tejas was granted two patents resulting in a cumulative grant of 78 patents, Nayak said.

The company has filed for 342 patents which include technology for 5G services.

Shares of Tejas Networks closed at Rs 273, up by 7.18 per cent compared to the previous close on BSE.

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Three alleged drug peddlers were arrested in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district and 44 kilograms of poppy straw was seized from their possession, the police said today.

Last evening, a private car was stopped for checking at Pushana village along the Mughal Road and a search of the vehicle led to the recovery of 44 kgs of poppy straw, a police officer said.

The arrested accused were transporting it from the Valley to their residence in Punjab, he added.

The trio has been booked under relevant sections of the law, he said.

Poppy straw is the source of opium, which is used as an analgesic and narcotic medicinal and recreational drug.

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A three-layered security cover has been put in place in the naxal-affected Dantewada and Bastar districts of Chhattisgarh where President Ram Nath Kovind will be on two-day visit from tomorrow, during which he will take part in several programmes.

The security cover, involving the personnel of the state's special forces, including Special Task Force (STF) and District Reserve Guard (DRG), along with Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and its elite unit CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action), has been put in place, a senior police official monitoring security arrangements told PTI.

Around 7,000 security personnel are part of the water-tight security measure for the president's visit to Dantewada and Bastar, he said.

"Area within the radius of the 10 kms of all venues has been sanitised. Personnel in uniform will be deployed at all the venues, the routes and the rest houses," the official said, adding Inspector General (IG) of Police-rank officers will be monitoring the security at each venues where the president will visit.

"Security forces have been conducting patrolling along with Bomb Disposal Squads (BDS) on a daily basis in the area," he said.

President Kovind will arrive at Jagdalpur airport in Bastar on Wednesday around 10.30 am, from where he will directly proceed to Jawanga in Dantewada on a helicopter, a government public relation official said.

From Jawanga, he will reach Heeranar village by road, where he will interact with farmers and Self Help Groups (SHGs) at the Integrated Farming System centre, he said.

In Heeranar, the president will also interact with students at Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram and have lunch with them. Later, he will interact with the students of Saksham School and Astha Vidya Mandir in Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Education City premises.

Kovind will inaugurate YUVA BPO centre in the education city campus and will interact with its employees, the official said.

After an overnight stay at the rest house in Chitrakote of Bastar, the president will dedicate Jagdalpur Medical College Hospital to the nation, and address a public gathering at around 11 am on Thursday, the official said.

Kovind will leave for Delhi from Jagdalpur airport at around 12.40 pm on Thursday, he added.

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Actor Tom Hardy has confirmed two more "Mad Max" movies are in the pipeline.

The 40-year-old British actor said he is ready to ''jump on it'' as soon as the films gets the green light.

''It was always the plan to do three of them, so I think we're still waiting on being given the opportunity and the green light to go ahead on the next one. But when I engaged on that there was a plethora of material on it.

"Obviously it belongs to Warner Brothers so it would be them who green-lit it. But a lot of projects are in radial, you know you wait for something to land when it's real, and as soon as it's real we'll jump on it," Hardy told Variety.

"Mad Max: Fury Road", directed by George Miller, released in 2015.

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The Toronto International Film Festival has cancelled its opening press conference in the wake of the mass shooting in Canada's Greektown neighbourhood which claimed two lives and left 13 wounded.

The gunman, identified as 29-year-old Faisal Hussain of Toronto by the police, opened fire on restaurant goers and pedestrians on busy Danforth Avenue overnight. He was found dead near the scene of the shooting after an exchange of gunfire with the cops.

The presser, planned for today, was to be led by festival director Piers Handling and artistic director Cameron Bailey.

"In light of the tragedy that occurred last night in Toronto and out of respect for those affected, TIFF is cancelling its scheduled press conference tomorrow, July 24th," the festival said in a statement shared on their official Twitter account.

The TIFF organisers will soon issue a press release indicating their first high-profile Hollywood titles for gala and Special Presentations slots for the day.

"The Toronto Danforth area is the gold standard of our city's vibrancy, and we stand with our fellow Torontonians in condemnation of this violence," the festival added in a statement.

In 2001, the TIFF saw saw its 26th edition interrupted by the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and elsewhere.

The 43rd edition of the movie extravaganza is set to run from September 6 to 16.

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The Tour de France 16th stage re-started on Tuesday after a brief halt when police used tear gas near the peloton to break up a protest by farmers.

Bales of hay blocked the road 26 kilometres (16 miles) into the day's ride from Carcassone as farmers demonstrated against a cut in state aid.

Among the riders affected by the tear gas was Team Sky's overall leader Geraint Thomas, who was pictured rubbing his nose following the incident.

Television images showed Tour de France medical officers handing out eye drops to riders including green jersey points leader Peter Sagan.

The 218km stage with a finish in Bagneres-de-Luchon and featuring two first category climbs in the Pyrenees restarted at 12:36 pm (1036 GMT) after an interruption lasting around 10 minutes.

This year's Tour de France has been marked by a series of incidents on the sidelines of the race including abuse directed at Team Sky and four-time champion Chris Froome.

Amid a general feeling of suspicion surrounding Sky and their sheer domination of the race, Froome has been spat at and manhandled, Thomas has been booed off the podium and some of Sky's staff have also faced abuse.

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Leaders of the BRICS emerging economies -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- will meet in Johannesburg this week, with the threat of a worsening global trade war topping the agenda.

US President Donald Trump's hardening stance has compounded fears of an all-out trade war after he slapped levies on goods from China worth tens of billions of dollars as well as tariffs on steel and aluminium from the EU, Canada and Mexico.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, China's President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the annual three-day summit starting in Johannesburg tomorrow.

Xi held talks with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Pretoria on the eve of the gathering, saying that "the Johannesburg summit has special significance for BRICS cooperation in the new circumstances."



China yesterday sharply rejected accusations by Trump that it was manipulating the yuan to give its exporters an edge, saying Washington appeared "bent on provoking a trade war".

Trump has said he is ready to impose tariffs on all USD 500 billion of China imports, complaining that China's trade surplus with the US is due to unfair currency manipulation.

Russian Economy Minister Maxim Oreshkin said last week the Johannesburg meeting is "about the context -- we are at a time when the US and China announce new measures almost every week". He said much of the discussions with China would likely focus on what is happening with the United States.

"This is a trade war, so leaders' discussions are particularly important in coordinating our positions," said Oreshkin.

Sreeram Chaulia, of the Jindal School of International Affairs outside Delhi, said BRICS leaders would "concur that the US has unleashed punitive trade wars that are hurting all the BRICS members".

"They have a collective interest in promoting intra-BRICS trade. The urgency this time is greater," he said.

The BRICS group, comprising more than 40 percent of the global population, represents some of the biggest emerging economies, but it has struggled to find a unified voice -- as well as achieving sharply different growth rates.

Analysts say US trade policy could give the group some renewed momentum.

"Trade agreements between associations of countries like BRICS have become increasingly important given the self-seeking, and ultimately short-sighted, barriers to trade that are being instigated by the US," Kenneth Creamer, an economist at Johannesburg's Wits University, told AFP.

"South Africa, and Africa more broadly, can benefit from increasing exports to fast growing countries like India and China. BRICS has the strategic potential to re-shape world trade." The trade war risk also dominated a meeting of Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers at the weekend in Buenos Aires, while International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde again spoke out against the tit-for-tat tariffs.

Xi arrived in South Africa after visiting Senegal and Rwanda as part of a whistlestop tour to cement relations with African allies.

Signalling diplomatic rivalry over influence in Africa, India's Narendra Modi is visiting Rwanda and Uganda on his own five-day tour of the continent including the BRICS summit.

Several African leaders will attend a "BRICS outreach" programme on Friday, including Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Joao Lourenco of Angola, Macky Gall of Senegal and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda.

Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan will also attend a summit as the current chair of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Erdogan will reportedly meet Putin on the summit's sidelines.

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In a major boost to power scenario in Kashmir, the Northern Region System Strengthening (NRSS) project, which would enable transfer of 1,000 MW electricity to the valley, is ready to be commissioned, a top official of developer Sterlite Power said.

"NRSS-29, which connects the northern grid to Jammu and Kashmir, is ready to be commissioned. The project would enable power transfer of 1,000 MW to the valley, thus increasing the grid capacity by 70 per cent," Sterlite Power CEO Ved Tiwari told reporters here.

The project has been completed except for a 600-metre minor section in the Khansahib area.

Tiwari said the project was conceived in 2012 and approved by the Centre in February 2013. The project - NRSS-29 -- was transferred to the company on August 4, 2014, and the firm had targetted to complete the transmission line by its fourth anniversary on August 4, 2018, Tiwari said.

Only about 600 metres of the nearly 850-km line remains to be completed, he added.

"We faced some difficulties in the Khansahib area, but we have overcome them now and in the next three-four days, that part of about 600 metres will also be completed and we will have the charge in the line on August 4," he said.

The CEO said after the charge, it would take the company about three months to actually commission the project.

By the winters of 2018, the company expect to stabilise the line so that people in the valley have some relief in the cold, he said.

The NRSS-29 project from Samba in the Jammu region to Amargarh in Baramulla in north Kashmir takes a different route than the three transmission lines (Kishenpore to Wagoora) from the northern grid to the valley. This project, Tiwari said, is better in many ways as there are fewer chances of disruption due to heavy snowfall or avalanches which often affects power supply Kashmir in winters.

Tiwari said many difficulties were faced by the company because of the terrain and harsh weather.

"The highest tower we erected is 3,200 metres high. We had to use a helicrane to erect towers and that has been done for the first time in Asia. One of the sub-stations at Amargarh has been made by GE Electric and the entire sub-station has been made in a factory and then erected at the spot," he said.

The NRSS-29 is one of the largest private sector transmission project awarded in the country, the Sterling Power CEO said, adding it is critical for meeting the power requirements of the state, especially Kashmir, which suffers massive load-shedding during winter when electricity demand rises sharply and generation from hydel-power plants dips.

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US President Donald Trump today defended his trade strategy, insisting that imposing tariffs forces other countries to negotiate with Washington.

"Tariffs are the greatest! Either a country which has treated the United States unfairly on Trade negotiates a fair deal, or it gets hit with tariffs," he said on Twitter, ahead of the European Commission chief's US visit to prevent an all-out trade war.

"It's as simple as that -- and everybody's talking! Remember, we are the 'piggy bank' that's being robbed. All will be Great!"



In a separate tweet he claimed that "countries that have treated us unfairly on trade for years are all coming to Washington to negotiate."



European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is scheduled to meet Trump tomorrow in Washington, a last-ditch effort to convince him to hold off imposing punitive tariffs on European auto exports to the United States, an action that the Europeans say would trigger a global economic earthquake and earn a withering riposte from Brussels.

The potential car tariffs, which would deal a blow to Germany's mighty automobile industry, come on top of high levies already slapped by Trump on aluminum and steel imports.

The European Commission has reacted with retaliatory tariffs to the metal taxes, but new levies on cars would prompt Europe to take further action. Other US allies including Canada and Mexico have also hit back against the steel and aluminum tariffs.

The foreign minister of Germany, Europe's biggest economy, said today that the continent "will not be threatened by President Trump. If we cede once, we will often have to deal with such behavior in the future," Heiko Maas wrote on Twitter.

"No one has an interest in having punitive tariffs, because everyone loses in the end," he said.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on the weekend that Europeans "refuse to negotiate with a gun to the head.

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In an unprecedented move, President Donald Trump is considering revoking the security clearance of some six former top national security officials in the previous Obama administration who have been highly critical of his policies, especially on Russia, the White House has said.

These officials are former CIA Director John Brennan, former FBI Director James Comey, former director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former director of the National Security Agency Michael Hayden, former National Security Adviser and UN Ambassador Susan Rice and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.

"The president is exploring the mechanisms to remove security clearance because they politicise and in some cases monetise their public service and security clearances," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters.

"Making baseless accusations of improper contact with Russia or being influenced by Russia against the president is extremely inappropriate, and the fact that people with security clearances are making these baseless charges provides inappropriate legitimacy to accusations with zero evidence," she said.

However, Sanders refused to give a time line for revoking the security clearance.

When we have further updates on that front, I'll certainly let you know, she said.

Every speech he doesn't like and he wants to punish them for it? she was asked. No, I think you are creating your own story there. The President doesn't like the fact that people are politicising agencies and departments that are specifically meant to not be political and not meant to be monetised off of security clearances, the presidential spokesperson said.

When you have the highest level of security clearance, when you're the person that holds the nation's deepest, most sacred secrets at your hands and you go out and you make false accusations against the President of the United States, he thinks that is something to be very concerned with and we're exploring what those options are and what that looks like, Sanders said.

The announcement came as Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating into US intelligence findings that Russians conspired to tilt the 2016 presidential election in Trump's favour by allegedly colluding with his campaign aides. Trump has labelled the investigation a "witch hunt".

Clapper described this as revengeful. This is kind of a petty way of retribution, I suppose for speaking out against the president, he told the CNN.

Hayden said that this would have no impact on what he says. I don't go back for classified briefings. Won't have any effect on what I say or write, he said on Twitter.

Following the president's summit last week with Russia's Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Brennan, who headed the CIA under President Barack Obama, described Trump's behaviour as "nothing short of treasonous." Comey was fired by Trump in May 2017.

Former Director of the National Security Agency, Michael Hayden, meanwhile, indicated being stripped of his clearance would be of little consequence to his commentary.

"I don't go back for classified briefings. Won't have any effect on what I say or write," he tweeted.

Trump has harshly criticised intelligence officials from the previous Obama administration, claiming they imbued the national security ranks with

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Praising his "good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, US President Donald Trump today welcomed reports that Pyongyang has started dismantling a facility seen as a testing ground for intercontinental ballistic missiles.

New satellite imagery shows "that North Korea has begun the process of dismantling a key missile site, and we appreciate that," Trump said at an event for military veterans in Kansas City, Missouri.

Hitting back at criticism that his June 12 summit with Kim in Singapore has so far yielded few concrete results, Trump suggested his newfound rapport with Kim was bearing fruit.

"We had a fantastic meeting with Chairman Kim and it seems to be going very well," Trump said.

After the summit, Trump had declared the North Korean nuclear threat was effectively over, but some US media reports suggest he has been privately furious at the pace of subsequent progress on the denuclearization issue.

US-based website 38 North published imagery Monday indicating Pyongyang has begun taking down a processing building and a rocket-engine test stand that had been used to test liquid-fuel engines at its Sohae Satellite Launching Station.

Sohae, on the northwest coast of North Korea, is ostensibly a facility designed for putting satellites into orbit, but rocket engines are easily repurposed for use in missiles and the international community has labelled Pyongyang's space programme a fig leaf for weapons tests.

38 North analyst Joseph Bermudez called the move an "important first step" for Kim in fulfilling a promise Trump said the North Korean leader had made.

But some experts urged caution and one US defence official played down the news, saying the Sohae site was not a priority in terms of monitoring the North's denuclearization efforts.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the imagery was "entirely consistent" with commitments Kim made to Trump during their summit in Singapore.

"We've been pressing for there to be inspectors on the ground when that engine test facility is dismantled, consistent with Chairman Kim's commitment," Pompeo said today at a conference in California.

"They need to completely, fully denuclearize. That's the steps that Chairman Kim committed to and that the world has demanded," Pompeo added.

Yesterday, Trump told the Veterans of Foreign Wars group that he was hopeful the question of repatriating the remains of US troops killed during the Korean War would be addressed shortly.

The long-simmering topic was highlighted in a joint statement signed by Trump and Kim, with the US and North Korea committing to recovering remains, "including the immediate repatriation of those already identified." "At the very end of our meeting, I said to Chairman Kim - good relationship, good feeling - I said, 'I would really appreciate if you could do that'," Trump said.

"He said, 'It will be done.'"



On June 20, Trump erroneously said 200 human remains had already "been sent back" from North Korea, but the issue is far from resolved and Pyongyang has already canceled at least one meeting to discuss the return of the remains.

We are "working to bring back the remains of your brothers-in-arms who gave their lives in Korea," Trump said today.

"I hope that very soon these fallen warriors will begin coming home to lay at rest in American soil." In a sign of Washington's impatience with what it sees as North Korean foot-dragging on the denuclearization issue, Pompeo was in New York last week urging UN member states to keep tough economic sanctions in place to pressure Kim into moving forward.

China and Russia have argued that North Korea should be rewarded with the prospect of eased sanctions for opening up dialogue with the United States and halting missile tests.

South Korea has also pushed ahead with its reconciliation with the North since a landmark inter-Korean summit in April.

Seoul's defense ministry said today it was considering withdrawing some troops from the border Demilitarized Zone on a trial basis - a move which could expand into a gradual pullout.

The 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty, leaving the two Koreas technically at war. The DMZ was designated as a buffer zone, but the areas to the north and south of it are heavily fortified.

More than 35,000 Americans were killed on the Korean peninsula during the war, with 7,700 of these US troops still listed as missing in action - most of them in North Korea.

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Two members of the terror outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) were arrested from Greater Noida following a joint operation by the Uttar Pradesh anti-terror squad (ATS) and the West Bengal police, officials said.

The two arrested JMB members were identified as Musharraf aka Musa, and Rubel Ahmed, both Bangladeshi nationals, SSP Ajay Pal Sharma said.

The duo was arrested from Surajpur police station are in Greater Noida on the outskirts of the national capital. They are being interrogated by officials of the UP ATS and intelligence department, Sharma said.

According to sources in the police department, the two JMB members were planning to carry out a major terror strike in the National Capital Region (NCR).

More revelations in this regard can be made only after interrogation, they said.

The intelligence department had received a tip-off that some JMB members were collecting funds in the NCR for their outfit, sources said.

The JMB, founded in 1998 by Shaikh Abdur Rahman, was banned in 2005 for setting off about 500 bombs simultaneously all around Bangladesh.

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A delegation of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders today met Punjab Assembly Speaker Rana K P Singh and complained that two of the party's legislators were denied entry into Canada and sent back from the Ottawa airport.

The Speaker assured the delegation that he would take up the issue with the Centre.

"An AAP delegation met me today. They expressed regret that two of the party's MLAs were sent back from Canada's Ottawa international airport. This is unfortunate," the Speaker told reporters here.

I will bring this incident to the notice of Government of India for appropriate action, he said.

Speaker Singh said India and Canada shared close ties and from time to time efforts were made to further strengthen them. If such incidents occur, they cause a setback, he said.

AAP legislator and Leader of Opposition Sukhpal Singh Khaira said, "We have raised this issue with the Speaker. It is a very unfortunate incident as nothing was against them".

He said the two legislators had completed all formalities, be it of visa, sponsorship or court permission. A letter by the Speaker, which is required, too was attached, he said.

"But we have to say with deep regret that Canada, which is a member of the Commonwealth nations, when our MLAs went there, they were ill-treated at the airport. They were denied entry into Canada and after having to face much humiliation, they were sent back," Khaira said.

The two are duly elected public representatives and sending them back in this manner is also an insult to the Vidhan Sabha, to which they have been elected, said Khaira.

The two Aam Aadmi Party legislators, Kultar Singh Sandhwan and Amarjeet Singh Sandhoa, yesterday had, however, denied they were deported by Canadian authorities from the Ottawa International Airport.

Both the legislators had returned to India yesterday.

Sandhwan had claimed that the concerned authorities had denied them entry "because of confusion" over purpose of the visit.

"We were not deported. Canadian Border Services told us that they could not make out whether our visit was personal or political. They told us that they could not allow us in and then we told them that we will return (to India)," Sandhwan had said.

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The UN human rights chief has sharply criticised Israel, calling recent killings by its soldiers during Palestinian demonstrations along the Gaza border fence "shocking" and saying living conditions inflicted by Israel's 11-year blockade of the territory are "grossly inadequate".

Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said in a video address to the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People that the situation in Gaza has escalated dramatically in recent months with "the potential to generate threats to peace across a far broader region."



Zeid, who heads the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said it is essential for all parties to cooperate with the independent, international commission of inquiry into the recent deadly events in Gaza that his office is helping to establish.

It was authorised by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council on May 18 "to advance accountability" for the killings and violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, he said.

Zeid said there are "serious concerns" that Israeli accountability mechanisms don't comply with international standards of "independence, impartiality, and effectiveness."



"Very few investigations ever occur," he said. "In the rare cases where an investigation has led to an indictment, the sentence has been extremely lenient in light of the gravity of the crime committed."Zeid said it is vital to address the root causes of the Gaza demonstrations, which have resulted in the deaths of over 100 Palestinians, including 17 children, and the wounding of more than 4,100 others with live ammunition since March 30.

In addition to "grossly inadequate living conditions" caused by Israel's blockade for the residents of Gaza, most of whom are refugees, restrictive measures have also been imposed by Egypt that have "exacerbated these conditions," Zeid said.

He added that the situation in Gaza may be "severely aggravated" in the coming months by the financial crisis facing the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, as a result of dramatic cuts to its budget by the Trump administration.

Zeid criticised last week's approval by Israel's parliament of a bill defining that country as the nation-state of the Jewish people.

He said that it "anchors inherent discrimination against non-Jewish communities," most notably the Arab citizens of Israel and residents of occupied East Jerusalem. He warned that it "could also further inflame tensions."



Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the bill's passage a "historic moment in the history of Zionism and the history of the state of Israel," saying: "Israel is the nation state of the Jewish people, which honors the individual rights of all its citizens."



Zeid also criticised Israel's approval, planning and construction of settlements across with West Bank and East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as the capital of their future state.

He called Israel's detention of hundreds of Palestinian children, some without charge, under a system of "administrative detention," a "fundamental human rights violation." "It should be absolutely clear that international law requires detention only be used for children as a last resort," he said.

And whether for children or adults, Zeid said, detention without trial "contravenes Israel's obligations under international law." "An estimated 440 Palestinians are being held in 'administrative detention,' according to the latest figures," he said. "Israel should immediately charge, or release, all of them.

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The controversial UN human rights report on Kashmir, released last month, was raised in the House of Lords by British peers who called on the UK government to take steps to help implement the recommendations.

Lord Qurban Hussain, whose origins are in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), raised the issue in the Upper House of Parliament yesterday, calling for the UK government to facilitate an independent international inquiry into alleged rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir.

According to this United Nations human rights report on Kashmir, serious human rights violations took place between July 2016 and April 2018 and the report denounces the lack of prosecutions of Indian forces in Jammu and Kashmir due to the 1990 law known as the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act which gives them virtual impunity, Hussain said.

He was joined by a fellow peer with origins in PoK, Lord Nazir Ahmed, who said that it was the UK's responsibility as a permanent member of the UN Security Council to "defend and protect humans rights around the world".

On behalf of the UK government, Lord Tariq Ahmad responded in his capacity as Minister of State for the Commonwealth and United Nations in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).

We continue to raise the importance of the issues in Kashmir with the Indian government. In one of my visits towards the end of last year, I raised the issue of Kashmir and the need for Pakistan and India to find a resolution to this long-standing issue, he said.

Equally, with reference to the report and the importance of some of its findings, we encourage all states, including India and Pakistan, to respond positively to the request by the UN in this case, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to a right to visit, he said.

Leading NRI industrialist and independent peer in the House of Lords, Swraj Paul spoke out against the issue being raised in the UK parliament.

My Lords, both India and Pakistan are very active members of the United Nations. Will the government say what purpose it will serve to discuss this point here, questioned Lord Paul.

The minister agreed that the UK government's position remains unchanged and that the Kashmir issue was primarily for India and Pakistan to resolve.

They are countries tied together by history, culture and families. Indeed, my parents herald from India and my wife's parents herald from Pakistan. Communities and families can come together. Perhaps I am living proof of that," Ahmad said.

The UN had released its first human rights report on Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on June 14, accusing security forces in the region of rights abuses.

India had rejected the findings of the UN rights chief as politically motivated.

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The UN Security Council has urged Myanmar's government to step up efforts to create conditions that will allow Rohingya Muslims who fled a violent crackdown to safely return to the country from neighbouring Bangladesh.

The council stressed in a statement following closed briefings yesterday that progress is also needed by Myanmar on implementing agreements on relations with the UN refugee and development agencies and with Bangladesh on returning Rohingya.

Rohingya face official and social discrimination in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar, which denies most of them citizenship and basic rights because they are looked on as immigrants from Bangladesh, even though the families of many settled in Myanmar generations ago.

Dire conditions led more than 2,00,000 to flee the country between 2012 and 2015.

The latest crisis began with attacks by Rohingya insurgents on Myanmar security personnel last August.

The military responded with counterinsurgency sweeps and was accused of widespread human rights violations, including rape, murder, torture and the burning of Rohingya homes. Thousands are believed to have died and about 700,000 fled to Bangladesh. The UN and US officials have called the government's military campaign ethnic cleansing.

Security Council members again stressed "the importance of undertaking transparent and independent investigations in allegations of human rights abuses and violations."



The new UN special envoy for Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, said Myanmar's leaders want to bring Rohingya back to Rakhine state, but there are not only divisions between the government and Rohingya, but divisions between that Muslim minority and the rest of Rakhine's mostly Buddhist population.

The council "stressed the need to step up efforts, including through providing assistance to the social and economic development, in order to create conditions conducive to the safe, voluntary and dignified return of Rohingya refugees and internally displaced persons to their homes in Rakhine state."



Burgener, who started the job two months ago, said she has travelled widely, met government officials including State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi three times and has gotten approval to open a small office in Myanmar's capital, Naypyitaw. She said she plans to return to Myanmar in September.

"I need dialogue, and for that I need open doors," she said, including to discuss "critical questions" and advise the government on "how they can also change the attitude of the communities on the ground."



Several Security Council members have called for the UN's most powerful body to impose sanctions to pressure the government on the Rohingya issue, but China, a close ally of Myanmar and a veto-wielding council member, is highly unlikely to ever agree.

Burgener told reporters, "I think Myanmar is not a country which is reacting quite on pressure, but it's up to the Security Council." Sweden's UN ambassador, Olof Skoog, the current council president, stressed the importance of council unity, though he said his country thinks progress has been "far too slow."



"I think there is a recognition among Security Council members that there have been positive steps taken lately. It's also fair to say that many of those steps are far from sufficient," Skoog said. "As long as the council is unified in terms of engagement, but also on putting pressure, I think we are making progress slowly.

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The government today filed the first draft report of its vision document on protection and preservation of the in the and said the entire precinct should be declared a no-plastic zone and all polluting industries in the region closed.

The government mentioned the matter before a bench of Justices M B Lokur and Deepak Gupta.

The vision document was submitted after an angry apex court on July 11 lashed out the state government for its apathy towards the 17th century Mughal era monument, considered one of the wonders of the world.

Advocate Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the government, told the bench that they be allowed to file the document. The court allowed the counsel to file the draft.

The government told the apex court that the entire precinct should be declared a no-plastic zone. The use of bottled water inside should also be prohibited, it said.

The state government said all polluting industries in region should be closed, while more tourism hubs should be created.

It said a comprehensive traffic management plan was needed to promote pedestrian movement in the Taj heritage precinct.

The draft vision document also said roads along Yamuna riverfront should be planned so traffic is limited and pedestrian movement encouraged.

According to the government, there should be no construction on the Yamuna floodplain and the riverbank should only have natural plantations.

The apex court has been monitoring development in the area to protect the Taj Mahal, built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal at Agra.

Its construction was completed in 1643 but work continued on other phases of the project for another 10 years. The ivory white marble mausoleum is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik said here today that the law and order situation in UP has improved significantly under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, but there was still scope for improvement.

"As compared to the previous government, there has been significant improvement in the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh. But there is still scope for improvement," he said.

Naik was talking to reporters here on the completion of four years in office.

Praising Yogi Adityanath for his efforts towards transforming Uttar Pradesh into 'Uttam Pradesh' (best state), Naik said, "Not only the law and order situation has improved, but investors across the country have shown faith in UP and decided to invest to the tune of Rs 4.28 lakh crore."



"This was possible as the Adityanath government has done a magnificent job, mainly on two fronts- ensuring availability of ample electricity and secondly improving law and order situation," he said.

The former Union minister also said that under the leadership of Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh was heading towards becoming not only 'uttam pradesh', but 'sarvottam' (best of all) pradesh.

Expressing anguish over the mob lynchings in the country, he said the state governments along with the Centre and the Supreme Court have taken serious cognisance of the incidents.

Naik, 84, who assumed the charge of UP governor of in July 2014, said, "During this four-year-period, I received 808 mercy petitions and so far granted pardon in 79 cases on the merit of the petitions."



Mumbai Hindi Patrakar Sangh (MHPS), the association of Hindi journalists in the city, which organised the interaction, hailed Naik's efforts to bridge the gap between Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

MHPS general secretary Vijay Singh Kaushik said, "During his days in active politics, Rambhau did a significant work to bridge the social, cultural gap between Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. He still continues to do the same while holding the office of UP governor.

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The Uttar Pradesh government today allocated nearly Rs 5.20 crore to four 'akaharas' for providing basic facilities to devotees visiting the 2019 Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, an official spokesperson said.

The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting presided over by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

"Four 'akaharas' in Allahabad have their own land. Around Rs 5.20 crore has been allocated to provide basic facilities to devotees visiting these akaharas, has been approved," the spokesperson said.

The UP cabinet allocated funds for establishment of a Sainik school in Mainpuri, he said.

The cabinet gave its nod for the construction of Centre of Hepato-biliary Diseases and Liver Transplant at Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow, the spokesperson said.

It also cleared the proposed budget for establishment of a medical college in Mirzapur.

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The US and Australia today welcomed the recent Quad consultations in Singapore on the Indo-Pacific region and emphasised on supporting an international rules-based order.

In the Indo-Pacific, the relationship between US and Australia has underpinned decades of stability, democracy, and prosperity, the two countries said in a joint statement at the conclusion of their ministerial consultations.

The two-day ministerial consultations was led by Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and Secretary of Defence James Mattis from the US side and Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop and Minister for Defence Marise Payne from Australia.

"The US and Australia highlighted the priority each places on supporting an international rules-based order, alongside allies and partners. In the Indo-Pacific, that order has underpinned decades of stability, democracy, and prosperity, the joint statement said.

The two nations reaffirmed their strong support for ASEAN centrality and the ASEAN-led regional architecture, and discussed ways to expand cooperation in connectivity, infrastructure and energy security, it said.

"They welcomed the recent US-Australia-India-Japan consultations on the Indo-Pacific in Singapore and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen trilateral dialogue with Japan. Both nations continue to place a high priority on constructive and beneficial engagement with China, said the joint statement.

Highlighting the importance of US-Australia defence cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, particularly through full implementation of Force Posture Initiatives between US and Australian forces in Australia, the four leaders emphasised the value of Marine Rotational Force-Darwin and Enhanced Air Cooperation for improving the interoperability of US and Australian defence forces.

The US and Australia highlighted their commitment to raising the number of Marines rotating to Darwin to the full complement of 2,500 as soon as practicable.

They committed to strengthening bilateral security partnerships with like-minded Indo-Pacific nations through joint training and exercise opportunities.

Emphasising that militarisation of disputed features in the South China Sea is contrary to the region's desire for peaceful development, they reiterated the obligation to respect freedom of navigation and overflight, and other lawful uses of the sea, in accordance with international law.

The US and Australia welcomed the face-to-face talks between the leaders of the United States and North Korea and pledged to maintain pressure and strengthen cooperation to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea.

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A US national has been apprehended at the IGI airport for allegedly carrying an unauthorised satellite phone in his luggage, a senior official today said.

M Christopher Taylor was apprehended by the Central Industrial Security Force personnel yesterday after the phone was detected in his baggage, he said.

Taylor, who was travelling to Newark, was apprehended and handed over to the Delhi Police as carrying a satellite phone is unauthorised and banned under law, the official said.

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US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley today criticised Middle Eastern countries for not doing enough to help Palestinians and move the peace process forward, saying that they need to "step up."



"It is time for the regional states in particular to step up and really help the Palestinian people, instead of just making speeches thousands of miles away," Haley said at a monthly meeting of the UN Security Council on the Middle East.

"Where are the Arab countries when it comes to encouraging reconciliation between Palestinian factions, which is essential to peace? Where are the Arab countries when it comes to denouncing Hamas terrorism? Where are the Arab countries when it comes to supporting compromises that are necessary for peace?" Haley highlighted American assistance to the Palestinians, saying that Washington provided USD 300 million in bilateral aid last year, and "over six billion - with a B - dollars in bilateral assistance to Palestinians" since 1993.

She also mentioned US aid to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) - but without saying that total has been significantly cut.

Since January, US financing for humanitarian programs serving Palestinians has been suspended.

"How much have the Arab countries - some of whom are wealthy countries - how much have they given to the Palestinians?" she asked.

"Last year, Iran's contribution to UNRWA was zero. Algeria's contribution to UNRWA was zero. Tunisia's contribution to UNRWA was zero," Haley said.

Her French counterpart Francois Delattre asked the US to reconsider its decision to cut aid to UNRWA, calling on Washington "to shoulder its responsibilities" to help fill the agency's estimated USD 200 million gap.

Saudi Arabia has over the past two decades provided "USD 6 billion to the Palestinians in humanitarian assistance, development aid and relief," its ambassador, Abdallah Al-Mouallimi, responded.

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The United States is looking to "build some momentum" towards resolving the Gulf crisis ahead of a possible summit in the autumn, a US diplomat said today.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Doha in June last year, accusing Qatar of funding terrorism and cosying up to Iran, Riyadh's regional rival.

"We want to build to a point where there will be a meeting of all of the heads of state ... it might be September or it might be October", Ryan Gliha, US charge d'affaires to Qatar, told journalists.

The US will "try to build some momentum" ahead of the summit to make it a "big success" when President Donald Trump calls Gulf leaders together, the charge d'affaires added.

Gliha did not specify a venue for the proposed initiative. In late May, Kuwait's deputy Foreign Minister Khaled al-Jarallah told AFP a summit between the US and Gulf nations would be "an opportunity to put an end to the crisis".

Kuwait has attempted to mediate the spat between Doha and its Gulf peers.

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The US will never trust Russia or its President Vladimir Putin, America's envoy to the UN Nikki Haley has said amidst an uproar over President Donald Trump's alleged bonhomie with his Russian counterpart.

Trump, who met with Putin in Helsinki last week, has been slammed by the US media and political opponents for failing to defend the American intelligence community during a much-talked about Press conference with Putin in Helsinki after their first summit.

The US Ambassador to the UN told Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) News: "We don't trust Russia, we don't trust Putin, we never will. They're never going to be our friend. That's just a fact."



At the same time, Haley supported the move to have talks with the Russians.

"What I do think is, whether it's the President sitting down with (North Korean leader) Kim Jong-un or whether the President sits down with Putin, those are things that have to happen. You can't get to the end of the other side if you don't have those conversations," Haley said in response to a question.

She came out in support of Trump's one-on-one meeting with the world leaders.

"He (Trump) did that with Kim. He's done it with other leaders. He did it with President Xi (Jinping) of China and that's just his way. He feels like he can get more out of them if he goes one-on-one like that. It's his style. It's the way he does it.

"You're going to see their next meetings are going to have people in them, the working groups are going to come together, all of those things. But he's always thought just to create that genuine reality of the two of them talking, he feels like he needs to do it face-to-face," said Haley, the first-ever Cabinet-ranking Indian-American official.

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Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury today launched an attack on the Mamata Banejree government in West Bengal, accusing it of winning panchayat elections through violence and making a mockery of democracy.

Speaking during the Zero Hour, the Lok Sabha MP from Berhampore constituency of West Bengal said the TMC government has won 20,000 seats without "any contest".

"A blood bath is being carried out across the state.... More than 60 people have been killed... 34 per cent of voters couldn't vote in panchayat elections. It is a mockery of democracy. The rights of people are being smothered," Chowdhury said, amid protests from Trinamool Congress members.

Separately, Jitendra Choudhary (CPIM) attacked the Tripura government, saying democracy was being "lynched" in the state.

The CPI(M) MP from East Tripura said institutions are being "captured" by some right wing activists and people there are facing starvation death.

CPI(M) members in the House were seen holding placards, saying 'stop murder of democracy in Tripura and West Bengal'.

Deepender Hooda (Congress) demanded government action to ensure that families of martyred jawans of paramilitary forces are given rights on par with those given to families of jawans of the armed forces.

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The Women and Child Development Ministry has invited people to share images of the logo of Childline 1098, the nationwide emergency helpline for children in distress, that they spot at unique locations and send it with a tagline to win a cash price, in a bid to spread awareness on trafficking.

The contest has been organised to mark 'World Day against Trafficking in Persons' on July 30.

The Childline has been operating at 450 locations, including 76 key railway stations, across the country.

Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said such online contests were a means to connect with citizens and engage them in spreading information towards curbing trafficking.

"Whether you are a concerned adult or a child, you can dial 1098, the toll free number to access our services. We not only respond to the emergency needs of children but also link them to services for their long-term care and rehabilitation," Gandhi said in a statement.

The contest carries a cash price of Rs 2,000. The details of #Childline1098 contest are available on the Facebook and Twitter accounts of the ministry.

Gandhi had earlier requested Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar to popularise it through the National Council Of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) publications and screening of educational films on child sexual abuse in schools.

The NCERT has published the information regarding Childline (1098) on the back side of the front cover of all course books from Class 6 to Class 12.

The outreach service is executed through a mother NGO of Childline India Foundation.

The Railway Ministry and Women and Child Development Ministry had signed an agreement to rescue and rehabilitate runaway, kidnapped and trafficked children through railways.

Gandhi, last week, introduced the Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018, in Parliament.

According to activists, there are about 17 million victims of human trafficking in India and 40.3 million globally.

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The vegetable market in nearby Mettupalayam, a major potato centre in India, was closed today, to condemn the stone pelting incident on a Tamil Nadu lorry, resulting in the death of a cleaner in Kanjikode in Kerala.

Mubarak Batcha, hailing from Annur near Mettupalayam in the district, who was going in the lorry driven by Noorulla, with vegetables to be supplied to Changanaserry in Kerala, died after a group pelted stones on the vehicle past midnight yesterday.

As a mark of respect to the deceased, nearly 200 vegetable wholesalers downed shutters and condemned the incident, reportedly linked to the nation-wide lorry strike.

Lorry owners are on strike, protesting the hike in diesel price and increase in vehicle insurance premium, besides demanding a reduction of toll charges on major routes.

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Alphabet Inc. on Monday reported that expenses from its Google search business grew more slowly in the second quarter while revenue rose more steeply than analysts had anticipated, boosting profit above Wall Street targets and pushing shares up 3.6 per cent after hours. Google's dominance in online advertising has been challenged this year by the antitrust battle over its Android mobile software, which led to a $5 billion fine for the quarter, and other regulatory actions, including new European privacy rules. Government pressure to improve moderation of user-created content ...
Poland has an overwhelmingly Roman Catholic population, a putatively pro-life government, and a popular initiative to protect the lives of children suffering from genetic conditions like Down syndrome  so, why has it gone nowhere? Politicians candidly admit allowing sick children to survive would cost the state-run health care system too much money.

At Actons Religion & Liberty Transatlantic website, Polish author Marcin Rzegocki writes:

A report from an official parliamentary body, the Bureau of Parliamentary Analysis, stated that adoption of this project will have negative social, legal, and even financial consequences. The pro-life project was even called inhuman by a PiS deputy, Joanna Lichocka. According to a Polish state institution, the state cannot allow the sick to live, because it will prove too costly to the taxpayer-funded health care system. Thus, eventually the proposal was sent into parliamentary limbo.

You can read his whole, articulate article here.

(Photo credit: PinkStock Photos, D. Sharon Pruitt. CC BY 2.0.)
ROME (Reuters) - Steel giant ArcelorMittal said on Tuesday it had accepted new conditions set by Italian authorities for the purchase of troubled steelmaker Ilva, in a move that could facilitate its acquisition of Europe's largest steel plant.ArcelorMittal has informed the Italian authorities that "it accepts all requests of further commitments" for its plan to purchase the plant in southern Italy, it said in a statement.It asked the Italian government to back its talks with unions to reach a final deal, it added. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; editing by Philip Pullella)(This story has ...
By Andrew MacAskill and Ben MartinLONDON (Reuters) - Britain is planning the biggest change to takeover rules in almost two decades, giving the government new powers to block deals in all sectors of the economy to prevent UK companies in sensitive industries from falling into foreign hands.The business minister, Greg Clark, wants to tighten the existing rules, which are limited to large transactions, to cover all British companies including small firms.The changes mark a new era of government oversight of business activity in the world's fifth-largest economy which has traditionally been one ...
By Adam JourdanSHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese vaccine maker Changsheng Biotechnology plunged by its daily limit of 10 percent in early Tuesday trade, after police launched a probe into illegal behavior by the firm and China's President Xi Jinping called for swift action.China's drug regulator has accused Changsheng of fabricating production and inspection records related to a rabies vaccine regularly given to infants, sparking public outrage.While there have been no known reports of people being harmed by the vaccine, Chinese regulators ordered Changsheng to halt production and recall the ...
By Hyonhee ShinSEOUL (Reuters) - Gasoline prices in North Korea have nearly halved since late March, market data analysed by Reuters shows, adding weight to suspicions that fuel is finding its way into the isolated economy from China and elsewhere despite U.N. sanctions.The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution in December to ban nearly 90 percent of refined petroleum exports to North Korea over its nuclear and missile programmes. But as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has moved to improve relations with the United States, China and South Korea, concerns have grown that the ...
By Julie Steenhuysen and Deena Beasley(Reuters) - Eisai Co Ltd and Biogen Inc will move forward with late-stage clinical trials of their Alzheimer's disease drug, BAN2401, and are working with regulators to design the next studies and gain expedited review as a breakthrough therapy.The companies announced this month that despite failing at an earlier stage, the drug slowed Alzheimer's progression at its highest dose, providing renewed hope in a field littered with failures.In interviews with Reuters, Japanese drugmaker Eisai said the treatment also worked at lower doses. Full results will be ...
By Aparajita Saxena(Reuters) - Shares of Idea Cellular Ltd surged 16.6 percent to their highest in over a month on Tuesday, after the operator paid the department of telecommunications (DoT) money it had demanded relating to its merger with Vodafone's India unit.The DoT, under conditional approval for the merger, had asked both the companies to clear the dues, a move that could have potentially delayed the deal.Idea paid 39.26 billion rupees ($569.4 million) and a bank guarantee of 33.22 billion rupees to the DoT, a company official told Reuters."The payment by Idea is a clear indication that ...
(Reuters) - Iran will react with equal countermeasures if Washington tries to block its oil exports, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday, while the Islamic Republic's armed forces chief said U.S. threats would draw an "unimaginable and regrettable" reaction.U.S. officials are stepping up diplomatic efforts to pressure countries to stop importing Iranian oil."If America wants to take a serious step in this direction it will definitely be met with a reaction and equal countermeasures from Iran," foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi was quoted as saying by the state news agency ...
By Mike Stone(Reuters) - Demand for Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 jet once again helped company profit beat Wall Street's expectations on Tuesday and the No. 1 U.S. defense contractor raised its forecast for the rest of the year.But Lockheed shares reversed a nearly 3 percent rise at the open and traded flat as investors took profits from the defense company for the second quarter in a row.Rising U.S. defense budgets and stronger foreign demand helped Lockheed raise its 2018 net sales forecast to a range of $51.60 billion to $53.10 billion from a range of $50.35 billion to $51.85 ...
By Anshuman Daga and Jamie FreedKUALA LUMPUR/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Malaysia Airlines Bhd is tapping banks to fund about nine Boeing 737 MAX planes in what will be the carrier's first jet financing with lenders since it was restructured more than three years ago, sources familiar with the situation said.The financing represents a key test for the airline, which was taken over by Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional in December 2014, months after MH370 disappeared and MH17 was shot down over Ukraine.Finance industry sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Malaysian, ...
By Laurence Frost and Gilles GuillaumePARIS (Reuters) - Peugeot maker PSA Group turned its recently acquired Opel-Vauxhall business sharply back into the black while achieving record first-half profitability at its French car brands, sending its shares to a 10-year high on Tuesday.PSA is benefiting from runaway sales of its Peugeot 3008 and 5008 SUVs enhanced by years of cost savings under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares, who pulled the group from near-bankruptcy in 2014.Tavares is now applying the same medicine at Opel, which was acquired from General Motors barely a year ago and last turned ...
By Vladimir Soldatkin and Oksana KobzevaMOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian oil major Rosneft's $1.4 billion lawsuit against the ExxonMobil-led Sakhalin-1 consortium relates to a row over how oil should be shared between the Sakhalin-1 concession and an adjacent Rosneft field, court papers show.By bringing the legal action, Rosneft is taking on one of its closest foreign partners: Rosneft and ExxonMobil have multiple joint projects. But Rosneft and its powerful boss Igor Sechin have a track record of assertively fighting their corner in commercial disputes. Rosneft filed the suit in the Sakhalin ...
KIGALI (Reuters) - Rwanda signed loan agreements worth more than $300 million with China and India to fund roads and irrigation, officials said, as leaders from the two Asian powers made their first visits to the East African nation. Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Rwanda from Sunday to Monday and granted a loan to build two roads. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived on Monday on the way to a summit in South Africa and agreed $200 million in loans. "With India we signed a loan of $100 million for irrigation in three separate areas in the country and $100 million for developing ...
US payment firms have successfully pushed India to consider diluting rules on data storage, but their lobbying campaign has sparked a bitter industry spat pitting them against local rival Paytm, according to sources and documents seen by Reuters. India's central bank in April directed payment firms to store data locally for "unfettered supervisory access" - a move companies such as Visa, Mastercard and American Express fear would cost millions of dollars and hamper global fraud detection. But the rules give a competitive advantage to Paytm, backed ...
By Kirstin RidleyLONDON (Reuters) - The UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said on Tuesday it was seeking to resurrect a high-profile prosecution of Barclays over undisclosed payments to Qatari investors during the credit crisis two months after a London court dismissed its case.The agency had been praised as "fearless" for taking on one of the world's largest banks when it first charged Barclays and four former senior executives - including a one-time chief executive - with criminal offences in June 2017.But the prosecution fell at the first hurdle after a London court in May threw out its ...
By Sheila Dang and Vibhuti Sharma(Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc on Tuesday reported quarterly profit and revenue that topped estimates but added fewer-than-expected monthly subscribers amid a dearth of special promotions.Verizon Chief Technology Officer Hans Vestberg will take over as chief executive officer on Aug. 1 as the largest U.S. wireless carrier by subscribers races to launch its next-generation 5G network amid increasing competition in the industry.Outgoing CEO Lowell McAdam said Verizon will have more opportunities for market growth as 5G brings new technologies that will ...
With the Justice BN Srikrishna Committee report on an overarching data protection and privacy law expected to be submitted soon, and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) releasing its own recommendations on the subject recently, the debate on data localisation has again picked up steam. Paytm, for one, remains a vocal proponent.

"On the data storage bit, obviously we believe that it should be stored locally," Kiran Vasireddy, chief operating officer at Paytm, told The Economic Times, adding, "The moment data leaves the country, it falls under various jurisdictions, which in many cases, are beyond our control. It is important to keep all the data here so that the laws of the land can be made applicable to them."

India's largest digital payments company further stated that it supports the move to identify the user as the ultimate owner of their data while every other player in the ecosystem is only a custodian. Trai in its recent recommendations on privacy, security and ownership of data had stated that entities processing or controlling such data have no primary rights over it.

To back the company's views on storing data locally and underscore the need for the Modi government to push the same, Vasireddy reportedly cited Google as an example, saying it had rejected 55 per cent of the government's requests for data.

Data localisation suddenly became a buzzword in the country after the RBI in its April 5 circular announced that payment companies operating in India - from fintech firms offering peer-to-peer money transfers and international transactions to gateway operators - would have to locate their servers in the country within six months.

While global companies like WhatsApp, which maintains servers outside India, would have been adversely impacted by this development, Indian fintech companies such as Paytm or PayU had little to worry about as their data is already mostly in servers within the country.

The payments sector got a breather two weeks ago, when the Ministry of Finance suggested payment firms could be allowed to store data in India as well as in the country where it is being stored currently. The decision was taken after a crucial meeting between the Finance Ministry's Department of Economic Affairs with payment companies like MasterCard, Visa, American Express, and other industry participants like Paytm, US India Business Council, and RBI last month.

"Mirroring of data in India along with the country where the data is being currently stored could be a possible solution. The RBI may consider the issues connected with the kind of data that needs to be within India and the timeline it has given to players while issuing a clarificatory circular," the finance ministry reportedly said in a note shared with participant companies.

According to experts this easing of the norms would not only save foreign companies mega bucks by allowing them to continue data analytics and processing outside India - hence saving money on setting up infrastructure -but also addressed their concerns about data safety. Stakeholders had previously pointed out that storing data at one place only could expose it to the risk of inaccessibility or destruction in the event of any disaster.

But not everyone is happy with this latest development. Paytm told the daily that mirroring of data is not an ideal solution and pointed out that many countries have disallowed companies from doing so. "The ideal thing is to see whether data can be stored in India itself," said Vasireddy. "It is not majorly a cost issue and for all these large players, the cost will be negligible. It is more to do with intent."

Paytm's concern is understandable since the easing of the norms might help its biggest potential rival, WhatsApp Payments, finally move towards a formal launch. The payments feature has been in Beta since February and is being tested by around a million users across the country. But the formal launch, which was expected to happen at the beginning of June, has been repeatedly pushed back due the current lack of clarity on India's data protection norms.

The ministry of electronics and information technology last month had asked the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to clarify whether the new WhatsApp UPI payment method is violating any RBI rules but a response is still awaited.

WhatsApp, in its defence, said that while it uses Facebook's infrastructure for the service, the parent firm does not use any payment information for commercial purposes. Moreover, sensitive user data such as the last 6 digits of a debit card and UPI PIN is not stored at all.

With agency inputs

Also read: Paytm, SoftBank to collaborate for mobile payments services in Japan by year-end
South Korean electronics giant Samsung has usurped the pole position in the Indian smartphone market overtaking Xiaomi in the process in the second quarter of this calendar year, as per data collated by Counterpoint Research.

The Chinese had ended Samsung's six year long leadership in the market in the last quarter of 2017 and had held firm in the beginning of this year. Samsung had a 29 per cent share against Xiaomi's 28 per cent in the smartphone segment that accounted for half of all handsets sold in the country in the April-June period.

"Samsung has regained the leading position back after receding it to Xiaomi two quarters ago. The success of Samsung during the quarter can be attributed to its refreshed J series as it launched the most number of models as compared to any brand across multiple price points during the quarter," says Karn Chauhan, Research analyst at Counterpoint.

"These new launches brought some of the most popular and sought after features like dual camera, infinity display, and facial unlock across different price segments for Samsung for the first time ever. Additionally, the strong offline distribution and aggressive marketing campaign around its J series helped the brand to gain not only market but also mind share during the quarter. Second half of 2018 is likely to be a close race between Samsung and Xiaomi especially during the important upcoming festive season."

In the first quarter of 2018, Xiaomi had a 31 per cent share in smartphones as compared to 26 per cent for Samsung. The rest of the players including Vivo, Oppo, Huawei, Lenovo and Micromax all had single digit market shares.

The second quarter also saw the smartphone market return to double digit growth (18 per cent) year on year after a flat first quarter growth even as the feature phone market continued to outpace with a 21 per cent year on year growth. In the feature phone market, Reliance Jio commanded a 47 per cent share followed by Samsung at 9 per cent Nokia, Itel and Lava at 8, 6 and 5 per cent each.

"India smartphone market returned to double digit growth during the quarter and is likely to grow in double digits for the entire year. Growth during the quarter was driven by new launches and strong promotions across both online and offline channels during the quarter," says Anshika Jain, research analyst at Counterpoint. "As volume share of the top five players grew more than 80 per cent, local and smaller players were forced to change their strategy which involved changing channels and product strategy along with cutting down on SKUs. Additionally, the increase in duties for handset components announced during the starting of the quarter, forced smaller players to delay their product launches as they don't have necessary operations to save on the increased tariffs for certain components like populated printed circuit boards, mechanics and others," she said.
How often have you seen bikers zip past you with their helmets being used as an arm accessory? This despite every third accident in 2016 involved a two-wheeler and about 28 riders died daily on Indian roads the same year for not wearing helmets.

IIT-Hyderabad (IITH) may have a path-breaking solution to this problem. Researchers at this premier engineering institute have developed a solution using Artificial Intelligence (AI) for automatic detection of motorcyclists driving without helmets in surveillance videos, and the institute has already filed a patent application for the technology, the Economic Times reported.

The technology is in the ready-to-be-deployed stage so IITH recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hyderabad City Police to gain access to video data from the city's CCTV network.

"We have done significant lab experiments on sparse traffic at the IITH campus as well as dense traffic from Hyderabad city CCTV network. The results are motivating us to develop the complete software to deploy the system for real-world use," C. Krishna Mohan, associate professor, IITH, told the daily. He worked on this potentially life-saving technology along with research scholars Dinesh Singh and C. Vishnu.

The report added that the solution leverages convolutional neural network (CNN) technology. This popular deep learning architecture, which primarily mimics the human brain using AI, is most commonly applied to analysing visual imagery. Here's how it works: The solution is partially installed in cameras and partially on the servers of the central police control room. A software is also installed on an embedded card attached to CCTV cameras, which helps detect motorcyclists without helmets by sending out an alert to the central alert database.

"It will be fully automatic along with a web interface to verify the alerts by the operators [traffic police, etc.]. From there, it will be connected to the existing RTO website to generate challans [fines] and send a notification to the riders through SMS," explained Singh.

The solution can be deployed at the entrances of cities like toll bridges or on the selected checkpoints, especially road intersections. The next step for the researchers is to get an industry partner on board for making the technology commercially available.

Significantly, the team believes that the proposed system can easily be extended to other kinds of traffic applications, including detection of tripling on a bike, zigzag bike driving and traffic violations by other kinds of vehicles.

"Recent studies show that human surveillance proves ineffective, as the duration of monitoring of videos increases, the errors made by humans also increases," said Mohan, adding that the team has also developed a novel framework for automatic detection of road accidents in the surveillance videos.

That's not all. The trio has further proposed a framework for 'Snatch Theft Detection' in city-wide surveillance.
The Centre told the Supreme Court on Monday that the sales and manufacturing of BS-VI non-compliant vehicles in India should not be allowed from April 1, 2020 as it would lessen environmental benefits which will accrue from using cleaner BS-VI fuel. In an affidavit filed in the apex court, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) also said that it would not be possible to segregate pricing of diesel or have a differential pricing mechanism for the fuel for private vehicles.

The Ministry told a bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta that sales and manufacturing of BS (Bharat stage)-VI non-compliant vehicles from April 1, 2020 would have an adverse affect since an investment of around Rs 28,000 crore has already been made for having cleaner BS-VI fuels.

Meanwhile, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) referred to a government notification of February 20 this year which said that registration of private vehicles manufactured up to April 1, 2020 should be done till June 30, 2020.

Advocate Aparajita Singh, who is assisting the court as an amicus curiae in the matter, raised the issue of Delhi reeling under air pollution and said that people were dying due to its ill-effects. Additional Solicitor General A N S Nadkarni, appearing for the Centre, said that time till June 2020 has been given for registration of BS-IV vehicles manufactured up to March 2020.

IF BS-VI fuel is used in BS-IV vehicles, the environmental benefit of having a cleaner fuel would become marginal. After March 31, 2020, sale of non-compliant BS-VI vehicles should not be allowed, Nadkarni said. When the counsel appearing for SIAM referred to the reduction of time given to the automobile manufacturers to jump to BS-VI from BS-IV, Justice Lokur observed, "When this issue had cropped up, there was strong opposition from you. I am not sure what you (SIAM) are up to. When it is convenient for you then you say no to electric vehicles and when its beneficial, then you are ready for electric vehicles."

SIAM's counsel said that situation has now changed and 10,000 electric vehicles would be supplied in Delhi. "All we are saying is that we have to be little cautious while dealing with your organisation," the bench said.

The amicus claimed that SIAM had earlier misled the court on electric vehicles and prototype of 23 such vehicles were shown during the auto show. Meanwhile, SIAM said that approval on prototypes of electric vehicles were pending with the government.

The bench said that MoPNG's affidavit be supplied to the SIAM so that they could respond to it and said that it would hear the issue. During the hearing, the bench was told that Mercedes-Benz was already manufacturing BS-VI compliant vehicles in India.

The amicus claimed the automobile manufacturers like Tata, Maruti and Mahindra were exporting BS-VI vehicles to Europe and for India, they say that they need time.

The amicus also suggested as to why the manufacturers cannot roll out BS-VI vehicles earlier in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) when BS-VI fuel would be made available by April 1, 2019 in 17 out of 23 districts in the NCR and Agra. "Some car-makers are determined not to come out with BS-VI vehicles till March 31, 2020," the amicus said.

During the hearing, the bench observed that taxi operators in Delhi could also be given incentives if they purchase BS-VI compliant vehicles.

The amicus said roughly 80,000 taxis were plying in Delhi and all taxis, auto rickshaws and public transport buses were running on CNG. The bench was also told that there were around 30 lakh private vehicles in Delhi and a minimum of 750 vehicles were registered every day here.

The amicus said since diesel-run vehicles were a major cause of concern, the Environment Pollution Control Authority has suggested levying an annual charge on diesel vehicles.
To witness the exponential demand of cow urine for religious purposes, to "kill negative energy" or for cow urine therapy, one only needs to go to the nearby grocery store, where you are sure to find bottles of cow urine tucked away in the shelves, along with juices and nutritional drinks. Keeping in tandem with the rising demand, cow urine is being sold for upto Rs 30 per litre in Rajasthan. As mentioned in a report in Times of India, cow urine is fetching dairy farmers more than what they get for milk. Urine of high-breed cows such as Gir and Tharparkar is being sold at Rs 15-Rs 30 per litre, while a litre of milk only gets them something between Rs 22 and Rs 25.

Kailash Gujjar from Jaipur told the daily that his earnings have grown by 30%. Cow urine is in high demand from people who indulge in organic farming. It is also used for rituals and medicinal purposes. Gujjar, however, has to stay awake at night to make sure that the cow urine does not fall on the ground. He is only one of the many people associated with the dairy industry who have taken to the cow urine business.

From households and farmers to large projects, cow urine is in varied scales of demand and fetches such farmers a fortune. For instance, the government-run Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology in Udaipur purchases cow urine worth Rs 15,000-Rs 20,000 every month for its organic farming project.

Rajasthan has around 2,562 state-run cow shelters. In 2016, 500 cows died in one such state-run shelter in Jaipur due to negligence. Following that, Justice Mahesh Chand Sharma of the Jaipur High Court urged the state and central governments to declare cow as the national animal. "It is believed that 33 crore gods and goddesses reside inside the cow... cow is the only living being which intakes oxygen and emits oxygen," he said.

Before barging into the lives of Indians, cow urine was a fairly unused product. Apart from a handful of purposes, cow urine was hardly sought by people. Now, however, it is not only widely used, it is also threatening to replace tried and tested medical procedures with myths. For example, biotech scientists from Junagadh Agriculture University in Gujarat claimed that cow urine could cure multiple types of cancer. That was, of course, later refuted by oncologists, who said that they are yet to come across cancer patients who were cured of their ailment after consuming cow urine.

While the faith in cow urine to cure cancer might have been curbed, there is a general faith on its healing and cleansing properties. To facilitate that, in May 2015, Rajasthan medical and health minister, Rajendra Rathore, inaugurated a cow urine refinery at Jalore. "There is a pressing need that we explore the scientific concepts behind traditional medical practices and undertake research for treatment of various diseases by combining them with the cow products," he had said then.

Pushing this move forward, Rathore also had said that a by-product of cow urine would be used for cleaning at the SMS Hospital in Jaipur. Moreover, Head of Pathmera Gaushala, Dinesh Giri Maharaj, had added that pesticides, that would prove to be a boon for organic farming, would be prepared using the cow-urine extract.
Iran was the second-biggest oil supplier to Indian state refiners between April and June, replacing Saudi Arabia as companies took advantage of steeper discounts offered by Tehran.

India, Iran's top oil client after China, shipped in 5.67 million tonnes or about 457,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil from the country in the first three months of this fiscal year, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told lawmakers in a written reply.

He did not provide comparable numbers from the year-ago period. Data compiled by Reuters shows that India imported about 3.46 million tonnes, or about 279,000 bpd, from Iran between April and June last year.

State refiners, accounting for about 60 per cent of India's 5 million bpd refining capacity, had curbed imports from Iran last year in protest against Tehran's move to grant development rights for the giant Farzad B gas field to other parties.

The refiners - Indian Oil Corp, Chennai Petroleum Corp, Bharat Petroleum and its unit Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd, Hindustan Petroleum and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals - shipped in 9.8 million tonnes of Iranian oil in 2017/18, about a quarter less than a year ago, Pradhan's reply showed.

For this fiscal year, the refiners had decided to almost double imports from Iran, which offered almost free shipping and extended credit period on oil sales.

Iraq continued to be the top oil supplier to India in the April-June period. New Delhi shipped in 7.27 million tonnes of oil from Iraq, while shipments from Saudi Arabia totalled 5.22 million tonnes, making it the third largest supplier, Pradhan's statement showed.

India and other major buyers of Iranian oil are under pressure to cut imports from the country after Washington in May withdrew from a nuclear deal with Tehran and decided to reimpose sanctions on the OPEC member.

Reuters reported last month that India had asked refiners to prepare for drastic reductions or even zero Iranian oil imports.

The first set of sanctions will take effect on August 6 and the rest, notably in the petroleum sector, following a 180-day "wind-down period" ending on November 4.

"Indian refineries import crude oil from diverse sources including Iran, depending on technical and commercial considerations," Pradhan said, without elaborating if the refiners would cut imports from Tehran.

India's overall oil imports from Iran in June declined by about 16 per cent from May as refiners started weaning their plants off crude from Iran to avoid US sanctions.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who became the first Indian PM to visit Rwanda, on Monday gifted 200 locally sourced cows to poor villagers at Rweru Model Village in the country. The event, also attended by Rwandan President Paul Kagame, was organised under the Rwandan government's 'Girinka Programme'.

Appreciating the initiative, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Indian people would be pleasantly surprised to see the cow being given such an importance as a means of economic empowerment in villages in faraway Rwanda. He also spoke about the similarity in rural life in the two countries, and hoped the 'Girinka Programme' would help transform villages in Rwanda.

Got a glimpse of rural life in Rwanda during the memorable visit to Rweru Model Village. I thank President @PaulKagame for accompanying me. Gifted 200 cows to villagers who do not yet own one, as a part of the Rwandan Government's Girinka Programme. pic.twitter.com/ZVxTCWnYJM - Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 24, 2018

The word 'Girinka' means 'may you have a cow' and describes a centuries-old cultural practice in Rwanda whereby a cow was given by one person to another as a sign of respect and gratitude.

The programme was initiated by President Kagame in response to an alarmingly high rate of childhood malnutrition in the country, and as a way to accelerate poverty reduction and integrate livestock and crop farming.

Since its introduction in 2006, hundreds of thousands have received cows through the initiative. And by June 2016, a total of 248,566 cows had been distributed to poor households, said a government statement. The initiative has contributed to an increase in agricultural production in Rwanda, especially milk production. It has also helped in reducing malnutrition and empowering people economically, added the statement.

The programme is also aimed at promoting unity and reconciliation among Rwandans based on the cultural principle that if a cow is given from one person to another, it establishes trust and respect between the giver and beneficiary. While this was not an original goal of Girinka, it has evolved to become a significant aspect of the programme, said the statement.

The government follows certain criteria in choosing beneficiaries, and people from vulnerable background or those who don't own land are given cows as a means to support themselves and their families. Under the programme, the beneficiary needs to construct an animal shed or a community cow shed.

Before visiting the village, the PM visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial and pay homage to 2,50,000 victims of the mass genocide in 1994. "The path of peace and brotherhood embraced by Rwanda after the unfortunate genocide of 1994 is commendable," tweeted the PM.
Low-cost carrier IndiGo has revised its number of technical glitches from 340 to 14,628 - 43 times more than what it had reported in 2017. This year in March, Aviation Minister Jayant Sinha told the Rajya Sabha that airlines in India had recorded 24,791 snags in 2017. IndiGo reported 340 incidents, a number which was contested by other airlines such as Jet Airways, Vistara and SpiceJet.

IndiGo's reported number was lower than those reported by Jet Airways, Spicejet, GoAir, Vistara and AirAsia. As per the data, Jet Airways had reported 9,689 snags, SpiceJet 4,903 snags, GoAir reported 1,888 snags, AirAsia reported 1,367 and Vistara reported 1,225 incidents.

Last year, IndiGo faced massive glitches in its Pratt & Whitney engines. In the 2017 June quarter, IndiGo had grounded nine A320 neo planes due to engine issues. The grounding had also resulted in IndiGo cancelling 84 flights on that particular day.

Then again between February and March this year, 11 IndiGo planes were taken out of operations due to the same engine issues on the directions of the aviation regulator after a series of mid air shut downs were reported by the carrier.

This year in March, IndiGo cancelled 47 of its 1,000-odd flights per day.

Technical snag means a condition existing in an aircraft or aircraft component arising from any cause other than damage, which would prevent it or another aircraft component from performing their intended functions or would reduce the expected service life of the aircraft or the aircraft component.

In last three years, the technical snags in airlines have gone up from 15,048 in 2014 to 24,791 in 2017. According to the Minister, the incidents of technical defects have increased due to increase in number of aircraft in the airline and increased number of flight sectors.

(With inputs from PTI)
Weeks after reports emerged that the money parked by Indians in Swiss banks rose over 50 per cent to Rs 7,000 crore in 2017, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) has clarified that the data was misinterpreted as it includes non-deposit liabilities, business of Swiss branches located in India, Inter-bank transactions and fiduciary liability.

The SNB, which is also the central bank of Switzerland, further said that non-Bank loans and deposits (which really constitute the individual and corporate deposits used as Black money haven in the past and exclude inter bank transactions) have fallen by 34.5 per cent in 2017 compared to 2016 ($524 million in 2017 vs $800 million in 2016).

Citing data from Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the global body of central banks, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said, "After the NDA came to power in 2014, deposits in Swiss banks have been reduced by 80 per cent till the end of 2017."

He told Rajya Sabha during question hour that he discussed the issue with Swiss authorities, who told him in a written reply that media reports "have not taken account of the way the (SNB) figures have to be interpreted."

Goyal said that their government had sought 4,000 pieces of information from Swiss banks and depending upon the data they receive the government will take action.

In a letter to Finance Minister Piyush Goyal, the Swiss Ambassador Andreas Baum said, "it is frequently assumed that any assets held by Indian residents in Switzerland are undeclared (black money)."

The letter also mentions that the right data to identify Indian residents' deposits in Switzerland is published by the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) which collects Locational Banking Statistics (LBS) in collaboration with SNB.

Goyal said according to Swiss authorities, the more reliable data source for deposits held in Switzerland is the Locational Banking Statistics (LBS) of Bank of International Settlements. LBS measures international banking activity from a residence perspective, focusing on the location of banking office and captures around 95 per cent of all cross-border banking activity.

The minister added that the Automatic Exchange of Information based on Common Reporting Standard has commenced from 2017 with many countries enabling India to receive financial account information of Indian residents.

The deposits in Swiss banks, which were earlier shrouded under the cloak of secrecy, are expected to be disclosed from next year as Switzerland has agreed to exchange data related to those accounts. It was the repeated push by United States which forced the Alpine country to give information on tax frauds who stash their wealth in tax havens. After mounting pressure from other countries, Swiss authorities had agreed to share data of foreign taxpayers in a 'timely manner'.

India had signed an agreement with Switzerland on December 21, 2017. Both countries started collecting data in accordance with global standards on January 1, 2018, and would start the exchange of data from September 2019 on a yearly basis.
Airtel has launched Rs 299 per month plan for its prepaid customers looking for benefits in terms of validity. Those choosing Rs 299 plan would get unlimited calls with roaming facilities and 100 SMS per day for 45 days. However, if data usage is one of your priorities, it may not be useful as the company does not offer any data facility with this plan.

Apart from that, Airtel's Rs 229 and Rs 249 plans also offer these facilities but with additional data features. In the Rs 229 plan in Delhi-NCR circle, the company offers unlimited calls and 100 SMS a day facility and 1.4GB per day data. The company's Rs 249 per month plan offers unlimited calls and 100 SMS per day and 2GB per day data. The plan is valid for one month.

If you are looking for plans with validity up to three months, you can go for Rs 495 and Rs 559 plans. While Rs 495 plan offers 84 days validity, along with features like unlimited calls, 100 SMS/day and 1.4 GB data per day, Rs 559 plan offers 90-day validity while the other features remain the same as the Rs 495 plan.

India's largest telecom company is battling stiff competition from Reliance Jio, Vodafone India and Idea. Recently, it also revamped its postpaid plans to offer added data benefits to users while its archrival company Reliance Jio announced its plans to launch GigaFiber broadband in the months to come.

Postpaid plans

On July 9, Airtel re-hauled its Rs 499 postpaid plan to offer 87.5 per cent more data to subscribers. The plan previously offered 40 GB data to subscribers; whereas, it now offers 75 GB of data. It also includes 100 SMS messages per day and unlimited voice calls throughout the country. Data can be rolled over up to 500GB, i.e. unused data from one month is added on to the next month.

Additionally, the plan includes other benefits, viz. a one-year subscription to Amazon Prime, Wynk TV subscription, and Handset Damage Protection. It will, however, be available only to select users in certain regions. A wider rollout can be expected in the near future.
news, latest-news

The ACT government will review the way it administers its visa program in the wake of a surge of potential migrants moving to the ACT in the hope of becoming a permanent resident in Australia. It also made a qualified commitment to help those who moved to the ACT hoping to gain a visa to stay in Australia. The government measures come after potential migrants have expressed their heartbreak after applications from people who don't have an in-demand occupation for the subclass 190 visa were suspended late in June, with no date set for applications to be re-opened. Like other state and territory governments, the ACT government can support the applications of potential migrants if they fulfil the criteria set by the territory. Until last month, the criteria in the ACT included people who didn't have an in-demand occupation, but could prove a commitment to the territory in other ways, including by living in Canberra for 12 months or more and studying at a local institution. In the past year colleges across Canberra have experienced a surge in demand for places, with hundreds of people moving to the ACT, studying and working locally in the hopes of qualifying. Since it was announced applications would no longer be accepted from people seeking to fulfil that criteria, students have dropped out in their hundreds, with others choosing not to begin courses as semester two started this week. A spokeswoman for Chief Minister Andrew Barr, who is also responsible for Economic Development and Tourism and Events, said the government would take action to help people who moved to the ACT "within the limitations imposed by the Department of Home Affairs". "No one receives any guarantee regarding the likelihood of permanent residency and the guidelines identify that changes may have to be made without notice," the spokeswoman said. "Given that demand for the program is expected to continue to increase, there will be need to find a more flexible way to manage the program within the limitations imposed by the Department of Home Affairs." While the ACT government has some say in how it will support people to apply for the visa, the cap on how many people can be supported by each state and territory is set by Home Affairs, with just 825 visas approved under the scheme for people wanting to settle in the ACT last year. The number of places allocated to the ACT by Home Affairs is not expected to rise this financial year. In the 2017-18 financial year about 1140 applications for visas were processed by the ACT government, a number that was set to rise with more people moving to the territory. About 300 applications from last year have been grand-fathered into this year's intake, placing further pressure on the program. It's believed crackdowns at a federal level surrounding eligibility for other visas through skilled migration has meant potential migrants to Australia have explored options such as state and territory nomination. There has been a 46 per cent increase in refusals across family and skilled migration visa applications at a federal level, with visa queues blowing out to tens of thousands of people, Fairfax Media reported this week. The chief minister's office responded to claims the controversy around the issue has damaged ACT's international reputation. "Canberra has an incredibly strong reputation and will continue to do so. Our city is proud to be the home to a number of world-class research and education institutions, and education forms an important part of our community and economy," the spokeswoman said.
news, act-politics

Chief Minister Andrew Barr has broken his pledge that stamp duty tax reform would be "revenue-neutral", a former senior ACT Treasury official contends. An analysis of the ACT budget pre- and post-reforms by former territory Treasury policy director Dr Khalid Ahmed has also found an almost $400 million boom in territory own-source tax revenue that is hitting Canberra's poorest households the hardest. Dr Ahmed and economist Adrian Makeham-Kirchner, have completed a detailed analysis of the state of the territory's coffers to be presented at a public forum later this week. The analysis asserts growth in the territory's own-source revenue base has outpaced economic growth since 2012-13, when the 20-year reforms began, and neither wages nor the territory's concessions system has kept pace. Dr Ahmed claims the Chief Minister has broken his pledge that the reforms would be "revenue-neutral", and despite claims of a budget surplus this year, questionable accounting of renewable energy certificates also seemed to mask what was actually a $95 million underlying budget deficit. The government did not publish an underlying budget operating position in the 2017-18 budget - a common measure used to determine whether a government forecasts a surplus or deficit in a given year. When asked about the growing revenue lines at budget time, Mr Barr said he believed the government had not increased beyond population or economic growth, claiming the pledge still held true, though last year he also qualified the claims, saying reforms were now "broadly revenue-neutral in aggregate". A Treasury spokeswoman disputed Dr Ahmed's claims on Tuesday, saying the government's figures estimated the percentage of own-source revenue to gross state product fell from 4 per cent to 3.8 per cent from 2008-09 to 2011-12, and rose only from 3.8 per cent to 4.4 per cent from 2012-13 to 2016-17. The government said that if that figure had held at 4 per cent for the 2012-13 to 2016-17 period, the government would have raised $41 million less a year than it actually did. Mr Barr did not respond to requests for comment, instead referring all Dr Ahmed's claims to Treasury. Dr Ahmed analysed the four years before reforms began and the four years after, showing the ACT government's own source tax revenue grew at 5.2 per cent a year from 2008-09 to 2011-12, but ramped up to an 8.2 per cent per annum growth rate from 2012-13 to 2016-17. It also shows the growth in territory own-source taxation was on par with growth in the ACT's state final demand in the first four-year period, but tax revenue growth outpaced growth in state final demand in the second four-year period, at 8.2 per cent compared to state final demand growth of only 1.1 per cent a year. Dr Ahmed said about one third of the territory's own-source tax revenue came from households, and the rising tax burden on Canberra households meant residents had less to spend on other essential needs. He also said the way the government was accounting for revenue from large scale renewable energy certificates had misleadingly boosted the government's coffers by $34 million in 2017-18, and more in the out years, through shifting when revenue was recorded in the budget. Dr Ahmed said the government's real underlying budget position was to be about $95 million in deficit in 2017-18, once the certificates were removed from the equation, as the certificates have no cash value and government policy was to surrender the certificates, not sell them on the market. Another measure boosting the government's bottom line, he said, was the almost four-fold increase in government land sales dividends, of which he has previously been critical. He said the government's total own-source tax revenue rose by almost $400 million in three years to 2017-18, and if the government had maintained the same revenue to gross state product as at 2011-12, it would have received about $332 million less in revenue. Mr Makeham-Kirchner's analysis further examined the tax revenue in relation to economic dynamics and the specific households that were facing the brunt of rising taxes. He said he found the vast majority of the increases were left to be met by households, rather than business, and the impact was disproportionately felt by the territory's 88,000-odd lowest income households. Mr Makeham-Kirchner said those households were the 57 per cent of Canberra households below the ACT's relatively high average income, including the 37,000-odd the ACT Council of Social Service calculates are living below the poverty line. "When we talk about the ACT having on average higher incomes, you could easily conclude they have the capacity, but if you look at the distribution of those incomes, it is not the reality for 57 per cent of Canberra households," he said. "With the fixed portion of these taxes, rates and levies increasing, it means at the lower end of the income distribution it's consuming a higher proportion of the household budget, and the concessions have essentially gone backwards in real terms." Mr Makeham-Kirchner said Canberra taxpayers were also feeling the stress from the rising taxes and fixed charges, shown through the latest ABS survey of household incomes, completed in 2015-16. He said the survey showed a reduction in the number of households feeling no financial stress, and an increase in households feeling four or more sources of financial stress, particularly on being able to have dinner with friends or pay for things in a family emergency - issues he said contributed to a sense of community. "Given what we saw in 2015-16, and the increased tax burden since then, you'd have to realistically conclude the stressors are only going to increase," Mr Makeham-Kirchner said. Dr Ahmed said examining the full effects of the reform were important, as many other jurisdictions were closely watching the ACT's stamp duty reforms, but he questioned what the territory had to show for the changes. He said that it now defied common sense to accept the government's claim the reforms had been revenue-neutral.

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Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here.

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You are our people. You Care. We Care2.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has released an employment notification calling out aspirants to apply for the post of General Duty Medical Officer (GDMO) on part-time basis. Those interested can check out the eligibility, salary scale, how to apply and the complete details of the government job here. Selected candidates can earn up to INR 1700 per visit. The last date to apply for the government job is Aug 3, 2018.

CSPHCL Recruitment 2018 For 117 Vacancies: Earn Up To INR 144300!

HAL Recruitment 2018 Vacancy Details

CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Posts General Duty Medical Officer (GDMO) Organisation Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Educational Qualification MBBS from a recognised university Experience One year Job Responsibilities Treat patients at HAL Skills Required Clinical judgement Job Location Hyderabad (Telangana) Salary Scale INR 1700 per visit Industry Medicine Application Start Date July 20, 2018 Application End Date August 3, 2018

Maximum Age Limit: 58 years

Also Read: Kolkata Police Recruitment 2018 For Medical Officers: Earn Up To INR 50000!

How To Apply For HAL Recruitment 2018

In order to apply for HAL Recruitment 2018, follow these steps:

Step 1: Log on to the HAL official website.

Step 2: Click on the CAREERS tab.

Step 3: The list of notifications will be displayed on the screen. Click on the link that reads, REQUIREMENT OF GENERAL DUTY MEDICAL OFFICERS (GDMOs) ON PART-TIME BASIS FOR HYDERABAD DIVISION.

Step 4: The job brief will appear. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click on the link to download the advertisement.

Step 5: The detailed advertisement will be displayed on the screen. Read the details carefully.

Step 6: Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find the application form.

Step 7: Save it to your computer and take a printout of it.

Step 8: Enter your details in the fields provided.

Step 9: Send the application to HAL.

HAL Recruitment 2018 Application Format And Mailing Address

Superscribe on the envelope, "Application for the post of General Duty Medical Officer (GDMO)" and send it by speed post to:

Chief Manager (HR),

Recruitment Cell,

HR Department, Avionics Division,

Post-HAL, Hyderabad - 500 042.

Click here to read the detailed official notification.
Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (VYAPAM) has released an employment notification calling out aspirants to apply for the post of Sub Engineer. The selection process is through a written exam. The questions will be phrased to test the general knowledge, reasoning, Hindi, English, maths, science and computer science knowledge of the candidates.

Those interested can check out the eligibility, salary scale, how to apply and the complete details of the government job here. Selected candidates can earn up to industry standards. The last date to apply for the government job is Aug 10, 2018.

MPPSC Recruitment 2018 For Associate Professors: Earn Up To INR 76000!

VYAPAM Recruitment 2018 Vacancy Details

CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Posts Sub Engineer Organisation VYAPAM Educational Qualification Degree or diploma in civil, electrical or mechanical engineering Experience Freshers can apply Skills Required Engineering skills Job Location Madhya Pradesh Salary Scale Industry standards Industry Engineering Application Start Date July 27, 2018 Application End Date August 10, 2018

Age Limit 18 to 25 years Application Fee INR 570 Selection Process Written exam Exam Pattern 100 objective-type questions for 100 marks



Also Read: WBPSC Recruitment 2018 For 598 Lecturers: Earn Up To INR 45500!

How To Apply For VYAPAM Recruitment 2018

In order to apply for VYAPAM Recruitment 2018, follow these steps:

Step 1: Log on to the VYAPAM official website.

Step 2: Under Latest Updates, click on the link that reads, Online Form - Group-3 Sub Engineer- Civil/Electrical/Mechanical/Draftsmen Combined Recruitment Test - 2018.

Step 3: The application link will be active from July 27, 2018. Click on it.

Step 4: The application form will appear. Enter your details in the fields provided.

Step 5: Submit the application form and complete the process.

Click here to read the detailed official notification.
The West Bengal Public Service Commission (WBPSC) has released an employment notification calling out aspirants to apply for the post of Lecturer. Those interested can check out the eligibility, salary scale, how to apply and the complete details of the government job here. Selected candidates can earn up to INR 45500. The last date to apply for the government job is Aug 13, 2018.

Kolkata Police Recruitment 2018 For Medical Officers: Earn Up To INR 50000!

WBPSC Recruitment 2018 Vacancy Details

CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Posts Lecturer Organisation West Bengal Public Service Commission (WBPSC) Educational Qualification First class bachelor's degree in engineering from a recognised university Experience Desirable Skills Required Communication skills (Ability to read and write Bengali is a mandatory requirement) Job Location West Bengal Salary Scale INR 15600 to INR 45500 Industry Civil services Application Start Date July 24, 2018 Application End Date August 13, 2018

Application Fee INR 210 Maximum Age Limit 37 years Disciplines Electrical engineering

Computer science and technology

Electronics and telecommunication engineering

Survey engineering

Chemistry

Humanities

3D animation and graphics

Metallurgical engineering

Architecture

Mining survey

Petrochemical engineering

Civil engineering

Mechanical engineering

Automobile engineering

Electronics and instrumentation engineering

Physics

Mathematics

Multimedia technology

Chemical engineering

Food processing technology

Mining engineering

Computer software technology

Medical laboratory technology

Also Read: WBPSC Recruitment 2018 For Audit and Accounts Services

How To Apply For WBPSC Recruitment 2018

In order to apply for WBPSC Recruitment 2018, follow these steps:

Step 1: Log on to the WBPSC official website.

Step 2: On the home page, click on the link for candidate login.

Step 3: The list of live applications will be displayed on the screen. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click on the button that reads, ENROL YOURSELF.

Step 4: The registration form will open on a new screen. Enter your details in the fields provided.

Step 5: Click Sign Up.

Step 6: Login again with your credentials and apply for the appropriate post.

Click here to read the detailed official notification.
The West Bengal Health Recruitment Board (WBHRB) has released an employment notification calling out aspirants to apply for the post of Staff Nurse Grade II. Those interested can check out the eligibility, salary scale, how to apply and the complete details of the government job here. Selected candidates can earn up to INR 43200. The last date to apply for the government job is July 30, 2018.

WBPSC Recruitment 2018 For 598 Lecturers: Earn Up To INR 45500!

West Bengal HRB Recruitment 2018 Vacancy Details

CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Posts Staff Nurse Grade II Organisation West Bengal Health Recruitment Board (WBHRB) Educational Qualification Graduate or postgraduate degree in nursing Experience Freshers can apply Skills Required Spoken and written knowledge of Bengali or Nepali Job Location Kolkata Salary Scale INR 7100 to INR 43200 Industry Medicine Application Start Date July 21, 2018 Application End Date July 30, 2018

Age Limit: 18 to 39 years

Also Read: Kolkata Police Recruitment 2018 For Medical Officers: Earn Up To INR 50000!

How To Apply For West Bengal HRB Recruitment 2018

In order to apply for West Bengal HRB Recruitment 2018, follow these steps:

Step 1: Log on to the West Bengal HRB official website.

Step 2: Select Online Application under Recruitment.

Step 3: The list of notifications will be displayed on the screen. Click on the link to apply for the post of Staff Nurse.

Step 4: The brief details of the post will appear. Read them carefully.

Step 5: On the left-hand side of the page, click on the button that reads, Apply Now!

Step 6: The application form will be displayed on the screen. Enter your details in the fields provided.

Step 7: Enter the security code.

Step 8: Click Submit and complete the application process.

Click here to read the detailed official notification.
As an individual, there will be innumerable points in your career where you will feel the need to make a choice between two things. Indeed, many of the times it will be very difficult for you to make a pick. In such cases, the best thing that you can do is evaluate the pros and cons of the given options and then arrive at a feasible result. The biggest career options that one encounter are the ones that come up right at the beginning of their career. That is because, at that juncture, the career choices you make will decide the course of your career for the next 3 decades.

These days, the biggest dilemma that fresher's face is choosing the type of organisation that they must join; whether it should be an MNC or a start-up. Indeed both have their own set of advantages and disadvantages and it is very difficult for us to pinpoint which is better over the other.

The answer to that is subjective of each individual situation. To help you make your pick, this article talks about the advantage of both start-ups and MNCs. Read through the lines and then make your career decision.

Advantages Of MNCs

 Discipline

As compared to a start-up, an MNC is more rigid about the rules and regulations and has a more disciplined take on work. There is a clear organisational hierarchy and every individual is accountable for their work and they are supposed to report the progress of the same to their boss.

This type of highly organised structure of job distribution inculcates a sense of discipline in a fresher. Once they take to this type of a disciplined lifestyle, succeeding in their respective careers becomes a child's play.

 Career Opportunities

Working in an MNC will take you places if you want it to. Most MNCs have offices in multiple locations and allow its employees the option of working from the location of their choice. Also, if, after a certain number of years of experience, a person wants to shift domains, they have the privilege of doing so within the multinational organisation.

Most MNCs allow their employees the option of both vertical as well as horizontal movement within the firm. Thus, if as a fresher you are unsure about where you see yourself ten years down the line, then the smartest thing to do would be to join an MNC as that would give you the opportunity to grow in the direction of your choice.

 Job Security

Most MNCs provide their employees with gratuity, provident fund, medical insurance and other employment benefits. Very rarely would you find the same in a start-up. In the world of private jobs, MNCs offer the maximum amount of social security.

Thus, as a fresher, if you are looking for long-term job security and a career that will pay you well to be able to take care of yourself and your family, then MNCs are where you should pursue your first job.

 Diverse Culture

Typically, multinational corporations have a diverse workforce with people from various ethnic and racial backgrounds participating in the same. As a fresher, this gives you a broader experience and you get to experience how people with different perspectives can work together as a team.

You also learn to collaborate with people who are not the same as you and, as a result, you grow both professionally and personally. Over the years, finding the middle ground becomes your forte and the company moulds you into becoming a leader yourself.

Advantages Of Start-ups

 Learning Opportunity

In an MNC, what you do is a part of the greater task at hand. More often than not, employees are not even aware of the application of the thing that they are working on. However, that is not the case in start-ups. Here an employee is involved in the entire process - right from making the initial plans to delivering the final product to the client.

This type of an all-inclusive work environment is an ideal learning opportunity for people who have no experience but are filled with an intense desire to learn.

 Better Work Recognition

Since there are a lesser number of people involved, there is practically no chance of your work being ignored by others. No one else can come and just steal the credit for all the hard work that you have put into something.

Bigger organisations often see their employees fall prey to intellectual property rights violation wherein a person in the organisation takes the credit for the hard work put in by someone else. Thus, working in a start-up will give you greater intellectual satisfaction and that forms the basis of mental satisfaction for many people.

 Multitasking

In a start-up, there will not be dedicated people for every small role. In such a situation, a person will have to take up a number of tasks and functions that are not restricted to that of their official functions.

In the process of doing things like these, a person may end up discovering their own hidden talents. This type of multitasking will also make them more flexible at the professional level and that will be a major accelerator in their career path.

 Responsibility

Working in a start-up means that you will have to build something from scratch and take complete ownership of your actions. You cannot really expect to have mentors here who will give you knowledge transfer sessions. This makes a person more responsible and brings out the best in them.
Greek firefighters say that at least 74 people were killed in wildfires in the countrys Attica region, which includes Athens, as a summer heatwave has increased the risk of blazes across Europe.

The fires struck two coastal resorts popular with vacationers from Greeces capital on Monday and also resulted in 187 injuries, including 23 children, a fire department spokeswoman said in televised comments. Eleven of the injured are in critical condition, and the death toll is expected to rise further.

The fires are worse than in 2007, when record-high temperatures led to a series of blazes across the country killing at least 73 people. The casualties from this weeks wildfires were concentrated around Mati, a coastal settlement in northeast Attica, and were stoked by heavy winds, which spread the flames in the dry conditions.

Greece is going through one of its hardest moments, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in a televised address on Tuesday, declaring a three-day period of national mourning. Today Greece is in mourning, but we cannot allow grief to overcome us.

The country is awaiting 60 firefighters from Cyprus and two water-bombing planes from Spain, the fire departments spokeswoman said. Europe will stand by our Greek friends in these difficult times. Help is on its way from several EU countries, European Council President Donald Tusk said in a tweet.

The government held an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss the situation and organize compensation for damages. Tsipras spoke by phone with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Tuesday, who said that he will provide whatever means and funds are needed to combat the tragedy, according to a statement from the Greek premiers office.

Elsewhere in Europe, Swedish authorities said the risk of fires spreading across the country will hit  extreme levels this week, as emergency services battled dozens of blazes that have already destroyed more than $100 million worth of forested land.

Our thoughts are in Greece and the victims of the terrible fires, French President Emmanuel Macron said in a tweet. In Sweden, and in Greece, France and Europe show their solidarity and bring help.
Alanna Kelly

UPDATE: 8:55 p.m.

The BC Wildfire Service reports "really good progress" on the Eneas fire near Peachland.

An evening assessment Monday found a lot of success, says fire information officer Noelle Kekula.

She says no fire has jumped containment, although the blaze is still out of control and not fully contained.

Kekula says residents may still see burning stumps and flames, "but everything around them is already burned," leaving nowhere for the fire to go.

There's no need to panic, she reassures.

Meanwhile, the blaze is still estimated to have burned 1,793 hectares.

UPDATE: 3:45 p.m.

Days of planning and very precise techniques were used to try and get the Mount Eneas wildfire under control.

BC Wildfire Service deputy officer George Campbell said yesterdays burn operation went as close to perfect as it could have.

The planned ignition, where two wildfires became one, was crucial to allow firefighters to safety attack the fire.

Currently, there are about 280 firefighters working on the fire today in Peachland and are almost in a "mop up stage."

The burn went very successful, 90 per cent coverage with out fire which is held within all of our control lines, he said.

Ground crews were in place yesterday as a helicopter used what the Wildfire Service calls a plastic spherical dispenser.

We used aerial ignition on top and used the plastically spherical dispenser, said Campbell.

Ping-pong size balls were dropped two at a time and Campbell carefully watched them roll down the hill side to exactly where he wanted them placed.

Once they made impact with the ground they burst into flames joining the 150 hectare space between the two fires.

Operation Chief Jeff Austin said the area they burnt yesterday was unsafe to go into because they had fire below, at the bottom of the slope.

We couldnt allow firefighters in there, with the wind gust it turns the whole thing into a flame front, he said.

It was unsafe to put crews in there until we made it black.

Campbell said they wanted to fight the fire on their terms and didnt want the fire to dictate how they fight it.

I am pretty confident we arent going to see any growth on this fire, he said.

UPDATE: 3 p.m.

BC Wildfire Service says firefighters are continuing to work on getting Mount Eneas wildfire under control.

A controlled burn conducted on Sunday allowed crews to get a handle on the wildfire by joining it with the Monroe Lake wildfire.

BC Wildfire Service staff previously reported that the fire was under control.

ORIGINAL: 11 a.m.

Castanet's Alanna Kelly and Madison Erhardt will be going up in the skies for a first-hand look at the wildfires in our region today.

Madison Erhardt

Specifically the Mount Eneas's wildfire, which has now increased in size to 1,793 hectares in size after being combined with the Munro Lake fire on Sunday. This fire was expected to increase in size.

We will have ongoing live and developing coverage as the day goes on.
Photo: Contributed

Peachlands Fitz Wine is back open for business after the Mount Eneas wildfire forced its closure for three days.

Both the winery and vineyard are remarkably unscathed despite our close proximity to the blaze. It is also remarkable how the community in the Okanagan Valley comes together during such emergencies, Fitzpatrick Family Vineyards president Gordon Fitzpatrick said in a press release.

Fitz Wine had to find new accommodations for a wedding it was scheduled to host over the weekend, and it also was forced to move its Crush Deck Concert, featuring Jim Cuddy, from last Wednesday to Tuesday, July 31.

Read more at okanaganedge.net
Photo: BC Hydro

A lawyer for First Nations aiming to stop work on the Site C dam says there's no remedy besides taking the project "out of the ground" in northeastern British Columbia.

Reidar Mogerman says the West Moberly First Nations' way of life has already been disrupted by a reservoir created by the W.A.C. Bennett Dam, the largest hydroelectric dam on the Peace River.

The First Nations are seeking an injunction in B.C. Supreme Court to stop Site C while BC Hydro and the provincial government claim the project has already cost billions of dollars.

Mogerman says the First Nations have put "a ton of resources" into getting displaced cariboo back after the animals dispersed following the completion of the W.A.C. Bennett dam in the late 1960s.

The First Nations say Site C would flood parts of the of the Peace River Valley, the traditional territory of the West Moberly and Prophet River First Nations, violating constitutionally protected treaty rights.

Mogerman says what used to be river a moose would cross is a reservoir an animal would die in and the project must be stopped because it has not gone past the point of no return.

Chief Roland Willson of the West Moberly First Nations says Site C would introduce mercury-laden fish into Moberly Lake and disrupt the longest fresh-water fish migration in North America.

"The river had a cultural significance to us because it was a gathering spot," he said of the Peace River.

"What we have said right from the beginning is that we're not opposed to the creation of energy," Willson said.

He said alternative forms of power, including geothermal, solar and wind, have not been adequately explored.

"We're fighting for the survival of who we are as a people and the Peace River Valley is a significant piece of that."

British Columbia's New Democrat government announced last December that it would back the completion of Site C though it would cost nearly $11 billion, up from an estimated $8.3 billion.

The NDP had been against the controversial project while in Opposition but said the province risked a credit downgrade and debt-servicing costs of up to $150 million annually if the project that started in 2015 was cancelled.

BC Hydro has said the Site C dam would flood 5,500 hectares of land, of which at least 3,800 hectares is agricultural. The project would also flood Indigenous heritage sites.
Madison Erhardt

UPDATE: 1:30 p.m.

A fire was sparked on Knox Mountain again early Tuesday morning, the second incident at the popular area in just three days.

This time, the fire was started at the bottom of the mountain off Trench Place.

The Kelowna Fire Department says they believe the fire was started by transient people in the area.

"We were alerted around 12:25 a.m. this morning. First on scene crews found a fast moving rank one grass fire heading up Knox Mountain," said Deputy Fire Chief Larry Hollier.

Hollier says no houses were put in danger from the fire, but extra crews were called to the scene because of the strong winds.

A resident in the area said he was worried for his property when he stepped outside to see the blaze.

"At about 1 a.m. someone honked their horn a bunch of times so I stepped outside and saw the fire about 100 meters away from my doorstep. I was ready to get a garden hose. Crews were there when I was outside," said resident Mat O'Flynn.

The fire ended up burning an area of about 200 feet by 300 feet before it was controlled and extinguished.

A fire guard is now in place and crews were on scene for most of the night checking for hot spots.

"We have closed the mountain from vehicle traffic starting from the first lookout so people can't go up to the first apex, but other than that, people are still allowed to be on the lower end," said Blair Stewart, Parks Services Manager

"We will be working with the Kelowna Fire Department if any other changes will happen, but we haven't decided anything at this time."

 with files from Madison Erhardt

ORIGINAL:6:29 a.m.

Emergency response crews and Kelowna firefighters had to act quickly on Monday night to snuff out a brush fire on Knox Mountain, the second time in a week.

This time the fire was at the base of the mountain close to the park. Unlike last Friday evening when a fire broke out at the top of the mountain just steps away from multi-million dollar homes.

Like last Friday's fire crews managed to snuff the flames before they could threaten any more homes or lives but clearly, some people are simply not getting the message that any type of spark under these tinder-dry conditions are extremely dangerous.

Early reports indicate the fire was human-caused. Castanet has reached out to RCMP for more details.
"Exceeding target temperatures will lead to global destabilization and endless suffering. We are nowhere near where science says we should...
African aspirations

ICR Research By

Published 24 July 2018

East Africas cement sector has remained resilient in recent years, despite oversupply and power shortages. ICR reviews the main east African markets as the battle to increase market shares intensifies and modernisation is further challenged by new entrants taking on the established players.

Growth in cement consumption continues to stimulate the east African markets. In 2017 Dyer & Blair Investment Bank (DBIB) forecast a three-year CAGR in cement consumption per capita of 8.1 per cent to 96.7kg in 2018, on the back of a CAGR of 8.7 per cent in cumulative regional cement consumption to 14.9Mt in 2018. However, some producers are feeling the cost of expanding capacities during a period of increased competition and regional grinding capacity had already risen to 21.1Mta in 2016, according to DBIB. Utilisation rates are expected to come under pressure along with price cuts in 2018 as producers tighten their belts.

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Vietnam's Ministry of Construction opposes transfer of Quang Son to Vicem

24 July 2018

Vietnams Ministry of Construction has opposed the Ministry of Industry and Trades proposal to transfer the 1.5Mta Quang Son facility from Vinaincon to Vicem, both state-owned corporations, partially due to the plants losses and mounting loans, according to Viet Nam News.

"Quang Son cement plant is located in an unfavorable position for transportation that leads to high production costs," said Luong Quang Khai, chairman of the board of members, Vicem.

"In addition, the plant is suffering from heavy losses while the loans have mounted to equal 95 per cent of the plants total investment. Therefore, it is difficult to restructure the plant, especially in the context of the oversupply of cement in the domestic market," added Mr Khai.

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"Since the year began, we've worked hard to transform the New York Daily News into a truly digitally-focused enterprise - one that creates meaningful journalism, delivers it more quickly and more frequently, and develops new approaches to engage our readers," an email sent to staff said. "We've gained a deeper understanding of our readership. We've redefined our structures. But we have not gone far enough."
Ecologic Material's Corp. creates stronger asphalt with waste plastic

With a high-volume use for recyclable plastic, Ecologic Materials' Pueblo business will help make a stronger and less costly asphalt.
Almost 70 Percent of Born-Again Christians Say Jesus Christ Isn't the Only Way to God, Study Shows
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.
WASHINGTON, D.C.  The first victim of religious persecution to share his story today at the US State Departments first-ever Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom couldnt share it in person.

Chinese pastor John Cao is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence, a punishment handed to him from the Chinese government after he helped build 16 schools for the Wa people, an impoverished minority group in Myanmar.

Caos wife, Jamie Powell, shared her husbands story to a room full of dozens of religious civil society leaders from around the world.

Spreading education wasnt just the side goal of my husband, said Powell. It was his call from God. Education was the vehicle with which to enable freedom from poverty and moral wrongs.

Her husband began to be harassed by the Chinese government when he built schools in Guizhou and Yunnan, two provinces in southwestern China. Surveillance and questioning by officials persisted, despite Cao eventually turning the schools over to the government.

While he is a US green-card holder who moved to the States to attend Alliance Seminary in Nyack, New York, Cao nevertheless kept his Chinese citizenship to continue missions work in his homeland, World reported last year.

Cao grew passionate about working with communities across the Chinese/Burmese border after visiting the Kachin people in 2012.

He was shocked by the poverty he saw, said Powell. Children without clothes, child mortality rates really high, a makeshift school with a pigpen adjacent to the classroom.

Cao worked with fellow Chinese Christians to open schools in the community, ones that served around 2,000 students in Wa state.

Cao was arrested last March.

It is clear to us now that John was set up for arrest because of his faith-driven work and accused of facilitating organized border crossing, said Powell. This charge is often used to prosecute human traffickers.

Cao was convicted this spring. His time detained has left him a shell of his former self. Cao has lost more than 50 pounds, said Powell. He has not been able to communicate with Powell or their two sons.

Last fall, Representatives Robert Pittenger and Chris Smith pled Caos case to then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. ChinaAid and World Watch Monitor have more details on Caos case.

Cao was not the only victim of Chinese religious persecution spotlighted at the ministerial. A representative from the predominantly Muslim Uyghur group followed Powell by sharing his own story.

Another religious persecution victim whose story was highlighted at the State Department was Shahbaz Bhatti, one of Pakistans few Christian politicians, who was assassinated in 2011. Peter Bhatti represented his brother and described him as not afraid of speaking out against the countrys blasphemy laws.

Peter said his brother expressed a deep conviction before he died in how he had decided to live out his faith.

I want to share that I believe in Jesus Christ, who has given his own life for us. I know the meaning of the cross, Shahbaz said, according to Peter.

Peter called the United States a champion of human rights and called for funds coming into his native country to be used for education and economic development with the consultation of local and international human rights organizations.

Shahbazs sacrifice will not go in vain no matter how much we will have to pay the price, he said.

Peters comments were followed by Razia Sultana, a Rohingya lawyer, who advocated for a bill placing sanctions on Myanmar because of its harsh treatment of the Muslim ethnic minority. She also said she would not advocate for repatriation unless the Rohingya were guaranteed full citizenship.

The middle of the day included a discussion between cable news personality Greta Van Susteren, Hollywood producer Mark Burnett, and religious freedom advocate Johnnie Moore.

Burnett, the producer of such hits as Survivor, The Voice, and The Bible said he confronted Vice President Mike Pence last year about the lack of aid to Iraqi Christians. Through a relationship with Nina Shea at the Hudson Institute, Burnett had been given a map of the Nineveh Plains that showed where aid from the United States had been promised but had not at all reached the right people.

Burnett wasnt sure if the map was accurate, but said: I felt an obligation [to say something] as a morally conscious person.

The conversation led to a realization that the aid, authorized by our tax dollars, hasnt actually reached the right people. One thing led to another. I am now directing USAID to make sure that this money is going to the right people, said Burnett.

I say all of this to all of you, that even when it feels uncomfortable and youre a bit embarrassed, its so worth [speaking up], said Burnett, who had initially felt uncomfortable about confronting the vice president.

Burnett also noted that International Religious Freedom ambassador Sam Brownback, former US representative Frank Wolf, and USAIDs Mark Green visited Iraq earlier this summer as part of ensuring that the funds were on their way to the communities that needed them most.

Burnett and Moore credited Jordans Muslim King Abdullah with initially bringing this issue to their consciousness. Through this relationship, Burnett and Moore began to spend time with the persecuted religious minorities in the Middle East, who told them over and over again that they felt forgotten.

Moore recalled meeting a nun in Mosulwhich until last year was an ISIS strongholdwho asked him, Why are you so quiet in the face of our genocide?

The faith and devotion of the religious leaders that Moore encountered in these intense situations left an impression on him.

Religious leaders are often the only leaders left in fragile societies that can make any difference whatsoever, he said. If they were Christian, they werent just serving Christians. They knew what could make the most difference with the least investment in the shortest period of time.

Over Easter 2017, Van Susteren traveled to Iraq with Franklin Graham of Samaritans Purse, which has a hospital based outside of Mosul.

Van Susteren also visited a church burned by ISIS. Incredibly, in the ashes and debris, we discovered one of our Samaritans Purse Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes that had been given to a child there at some point, she wrote on Facebook. I couldnt help but wonder where the child who received this box is today.

The ministerials first day ended with the story of Andrew Brunson.

During the nearly two years Turkey has imprisoned the American pastor, he has missed his daughters wedding and his sons years in college and high school. In his letters, hes said the hardest aspect of his time in prison has been that separation from his family.

Its the same for his daughter, Jaqueline Funari, who on Tuesday spoke emotionally about the confusion and pain that her fathers time in prison has elicited in her.

Every single thing in his life centers around his faith, which is why seeing these absurd charges brought against him has been extremely painful for my family to witness, she said.  Im still waiting for my father to walk me down my aisle. Im still waiting for my father-daughter dance.

Funari and her brothers lived most of their childhoods in Turkey. This year will be their fathers 25th year there.

I grew up in a mixture of Turkish and American culture, and I loved seeing the beauty in both, said Funari. My family loved and respected the Turkish people. My parents were dedicated to serving them as long as they could.

Yet her last trip to Turkey, in 2017, was painful. It included a visit to see her father in prisonthe only time she has seen him in the last two years.

I remember how broken and tired and desperate he sounded as he tried to fight with every fiber of his being to be in a room where he could at least hug us and hold us for the only hour he would have seen us for the entire year, she said.

Despite the visit coming during the summer, Brunson mentioned to Funari that he was already apprehensive about enduring the cold winter in the prison. But while depression and anxiety have plagued Brunson over the past few years, he has not walked away from his faith, said Funari. Instead, in court last week, he declared that he had forgiven those who have falsely accused him.

It is a privilege to suffer for the sake of Christ, Funari quoted her father. Blessed am I as I suffer for him. Blessed am I as I am slandered. Blessed am I as I am lied about. Blessed am I as I am imprisoned. Blessed am I as I share his suffering.

Even when this ordeal is over, hell never be the same person he was, she said. That said, I cannot tell you how proud I am of my father and what an example of Christs love he continues to be to the world as he is wrongly imprisoned for his faith.
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What do you do when the biblical text is against your position, explicitly so? What do you do when not one single verse supports your viewpoint? It's simple. You create new verses out of thin air. You rewrite the Bible to your liking. That's exactly what biblical scholar Idan Dershowitz has done.

In his New York Times op-ed piece, Dr. Dershowitz summarizes his 2017 academic article published in the journal Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel. (Is it any surprise that the Times decided to publish his piece?)

Dr. Dershowitz claims that, "Before Leviticus was composed, outright prohibitions against homosexual sex  whether between men or women  were practically unheard-of in the ancient world." And he believes that Leviticus was "created gradually over a long period and includes the words of more than one writer."

He then argues that "an earlier edition of Leviticus . . . may have been silent on the matter of sex between men." (Note carefully: He means a non-existent edition of Leviticus. A Leviticus that is the figment of his own imagination. A Leviticus without a shred of textual, manuscript support in any ancient language at any period of time.)

Not only so, but Dr. Dershowitz even claims that, "there is good evidence that an earlier version of the laws in Leviticus 18 permitted sex between men."

As someone trained in the same scholarly field as Dr. Dershowitz, I can say without equivocation that this is nothing more than scholarly fabrication and should be rejected as complete and utter nonsense.

Let's remember that: 1) there is not one positive word in the Bible about homosexual practice; 2) every reference to homosexual practice in the Bible is categorically negative; and 3) every scriptural example of marriage and family is heterosexual.

How then does Dr. Dershowitz come to such outrageous conclusions?

He first observes that in the ancient Near Eastern world, "outright prohibitions against homosexual sex  whether between men or women  were practically unheard-of . . . ."

While it is true that such prohibitions are largely lacking in the surrounding, ancient world, there are some laws that prescribe harsh punishment for certain acts of male sodomy. So, this is an overstatement.

More importantly, it appears that homosexual acts were part of ancient Near Eastern idolatrous culture  in other words, part and parcel of the pagan culture which the Bible condemns. No wonder, then, that more emphasis was not put on prohibiting these acts. In fact, Leviticus confirms this, stating that sinful acts like these were widely practiced in the surrounding, ancient world. Israel was not to follow their example! (See Leviticus 18:1-3, 24-30.)

But that is not the heart of Dr. Dershowitz's argument.

Using a "little detective work," he claims to have discovered that the alleged "original" text of Leviticus 18 only forbade homosexual incest. All other homosexual acts were permitted.

Not only is this argument entirely without textual support (something that needs to be repeated over and again), but it makes for the bizarre idea that, in ancient Israel, men could have sex with as many men as they desired, without penalty, so long as they were not close blood relatives. Yet they could only have sex with the woman (or, women) they were married to, and at that, with certain purity guidelines.

Being gay in ancient Israel made for quite the party life, and with God's alleged sanction, at that.

What, then, is the "discovery" that Dr. Dershowitz has made to support this claim?

He argues that in Leviticus 18:7 and 18:14, the specific wording of the Hebrew text masks the fact that, originally, the verses outlawed sex between a man and his father or mother (v. 7) and between a man and his uncle (v. 14). In the current version of Leviticus (again, the one and only version we have), he writes, "A law prohibiting sex with one's father fades away, and a law against sex with one's uncle is reinterpreted as a ban on sex with one's aunt."

As for Leviticus 18:22, which explicitly prohibits sex between two men (see also Leviticus 20:13), that was allegedly added at a later time in Israelite history. As, Dr. Dershowitz writes, "In addition to having the prohibition against same-sex relations added to it, the earlier text, I believe, was revised in an attempt to obscure any implication that same-sex relations had once been permissible."

Of course, same-sex relations had never been permissible in ancient Israel (to say it once more, there is zero evidence to support the opposite position), while the two verses cited by Dr. Dershowitz do not support his thesis.

To respond briefly:

1) Because all homosexual relations were forbidden, there was no reason to forbid specific homosexual acts.

2) In contrast, because many heterosexual relations were permissible, it was important to single out which ones were forbidden, which is what Leviticus 18 does.

3) Leviticus 18:7 and 14 forbid sleeping with the wife of your father or the wife of your father's brother, acts which would also directly shame one's father. As rendered in the New Jewish Publication Society Version, respectively, "Your father's nakedness, that is, the nakedness of your mother, you shall not uncover; she is your mother -- you shall not uncover her nakedness." And, "Do not uncover the nakedness of your father's brother: do not approach his wife; she is your aunt."

4) There is no textual evidence  not the slightest linguistic clue of any kind  that Leviticus 18:22 was added later to this chapter.

5) What we call "the Bible" today is based on the texts that we have  in other words, the Hebrew and Aramaic and Greek texts that have been passed down through the generations. It is not based on some reconstructed texts created out of thin air.

That means that for all those who hold these texts to be God's Word, the matter has long been settled: Homosexual practice is forbidden by God, but there is the possibility of forgiveness, redemption, and new life for all who put their trust in the Redeemer.

(Michael Brown earned his Ph.D. from New York University in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures, and has published Old Testament and Semitic articles in peer-reviewed journals as well as contributed to major academic works and authored scholarly monographs on Old Testament subjects.)
home World Christians in Nicaragua alarmed by violence as hundreds die amid protests

Nicaragua's Christians have urged the government to stop the 'appalling violence' that has seen hundreds of people killed in a vicious crackdown on protesters.

The government of President Daniel Ortega has been under pressure since Ortega proposed reducing pension benefits to cover a budget shortfall. Protests quickly spiralled to encompass a range of concerns including what demonstrators describe as the government's control of the media, electoral fraud, manipulation of the justice system and corruption, as well as Ortega's 'family dictatorship' running the country with his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo.

Almost 300 people have died at the hands of police and heavily armed supporters during the last three months and 1830 people have been injured.

The head of the World Council of Churches, Rev Dr Olav Fyske Tveit, said: 'We call on the government of president Daniel Ortega to cease the appalling violence and to protect the population.' He described the current state repression level as 'unacceptable'.

The Nicaraguan Evangelical Alliance released a statement on July 10 denouncing the lack of security for citizens, asking the government to comply with the law and demanding 'respect for the scourge of intolerance and injustice that they are living daily for denouncing with a prophetic voice the abuses that Nicaragua is experiencing today'. In the letter, signed by its president Mauricio Fonseca and reported by Evangelical Focus, the evangelical representatives asked the United Nations, the OAS and the European Community to act 'with greater belligerence so that the State of Nicaragua through its government, will respect human rights and stop the repression and death of the people'.

Evangelical Focus quotes a pastor threatened and beaten by police and paramilitaries who says: 'The situation here is very difficult. There is panic, there is terror. I do not know what to say, I do not know what to do. We are praying, asking the Lord to protect us because here life is absolutely worth nothing at this time.' According to him, the situation in Nicaragua 'cannot be solved in a peaceful way. The leaders will not solve it peacefully.'

The UN has raised concerns about the deterioration of human rights in Nicaragua, which is marking 39 years since the overthrow of the Somoza dictatorship.

On July 17, the office of the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights said Nicaragua's new anti-terrorism law could be used to criminalise protesters. 'The text is very vague and allows a broad interpretation that could lead to the inclusion of people who are simply exercising their right to protest,' spokesman Rupert Colville said.

Source: Christian Today
Tronson du Coudray desk top art 'Pale Green Images'

Every month for the Tweed Heads Chamber of Commerce business car-draw I have now for many years presented a desk top art work and they have been well received. Desk top art works are small in nature, that sit on an executive's or a corporate desk and has a significance to that person and highly appreciative.

Some years ago now, in 2014 I presented four 'desk top' art works to the New Zealand young writers from the 2013 Basil Sellers Young Writers winners from the year before.

This was in 2014 at the Wellington young writer's conference with Major Christina Tyson the Editor of War Cry New Zealand and one of the New Zealand Panellists for the young writers who did the honours in presenting these awards.

Winners from 2013 September conference in Melbourne at the annual Young Writers Awards Conference as determined by seven international Panellists were Daniel Jang (Wellington), Sam Burrows (Auckland  Theology Award) and equal second place, Casey Murray (Auckland) and Sophia Sinclair (Christchurch).

The 'desk top' art works by Tronson du Coudray fitted into luggage from Australia for the occasion and were specifically painted for the occasion.

Daniel Jang'spresented art work titled Trinity is a reflection of Daniel's article on that subject last year which scored one of the highest readerships in Christian Today for 2013. That article was titled The greatest mystery of Christianity.

http://au.christiantoday.com/article/the-greatest-mystery-of-christianity/15489.htm

photograph - Daniel Jang

Sam Burrows' presented art work titled Challenge of faith is a reflection of Sam's article titled Whakama  it's a bit of a shame where he works through a range of considerations within a theological framework.

http://au.christiantoday.com/article/whakama-its-a-bit-of-a-shame/15221.htm

photograph  Sam Burrows

Casey Murray'spresented art work work titled The Plan is a reflection of Casey's article 'So What's the Plan?' exploring God's Will and the manner in which we live our lives without a audible clear voice from God. This was one of the most read 2013 articles in Christian Today and republished in many publications including Encounter magazine.

http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/casey-murray.html

photograph - Casey Murray

Sophia Sinclair'spresented art work titled Boy Child is both a reflection on her article titled What does Google say about you, and that Sophia and husband Andrew celebrated the birth of their first only eight weeks ago, Guy Douglas.

http://au.christiantoday.com/article/what-does-google-say-about-you/15746.htm

photograph - Sophia Sinclair

Dr Mark Tronson is a Baptist minister (retired) who served as the Australian cricket team chaplain for 17 years (2000 ret) and established Life After Cricket in 2001. He was recognised by the Olympic Ministry Medal in 2009 presented by Carl Lewis Olympian of the Century. He mentors young writers and has written 24 books, and enjoys writing. He is married to Delma, with four adult children and grand-children. Dr Tronson writes a daily article for Christian Today Australia (since 2008) and in November 2016 established Christian Today New Zealand.

Mark Tronson's archive of articles can be viewed at

http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/mark-tronson.html
11-year-old genius who's already finished college says he wants to use science to prove God exists

An 11-year-old boy genius, who on Saturday graduated from St. Petersburg College in Florida just two years after finishing high school, said he wants to become an astrophysicist and prove that God exists.

"I want to prove that God does exist through science  so that the world can know," William Maillis, who received an associate in arts degree, told The Tampa Bay Times.

He argued that atheism and some parts of science rely on faith just as much as religion does. He suggested that it is more likely that a higher power created the universe than a random event.

"Science and religion are no different," William said. "Science is a tool for explaining the world. Science doesn't disprove God."

His father serves as the presiding priest at Saints Raphael, Nicholas & Irene Hellenic Orthodox Church in Palm Harbor.

William began speaking in complete sentences by seven months, learned addition and subtraction by age two, and was declared a genius at age five.

He told WTFS he believes his gifts are divinely inspired.

"Everybody has gifts from God. I was gifted with knowledge and science and history," William said.

Peter Maillis, the father, admitted that one issue the family has had is raising money for college, given that because of his son's age, he can't qualify for the federal student financial aid program.

"You would think, a kid like this, they would be throwing money at him," the priest said.

Tonjua Williams, president of St. Petersburg College, praised the boy in an interview with Bay News 9.

"I am totally fascinated by William and the work that he has done," Williams said.

"He's extremely brilliant, very open and collaborative."

William will be taking classes at the University of South Florida this fall. His goal is to get a Ph.D. by the time he's 18.

Joanne Ruthsatz, the former Ohio State University psychologist who studied William and declared him a genius, said that the family's history of autism could explain why he was born with so much ability.

"Prodigies have, like, this drive to do good," Ruthsatz said. "They're very much tuned in to the bigger picture of humanity."

The psychologist noted that children like William are about 1 in 10 million, and many of them have gone on to start foundations for the greater good.

This article was originally published in The Christian Post and is re-published here with permission
Bishop's House of Lords bill calls on government to add mothers to marriage certificates

The House of Lords has passed a bill from the bishop of St Albans to end the practice of excluding mothers' names from marriage certificates.

At present marriage certificates carry the names of the parties' fathers, but not their mothers.

The Registration of Marriage Bill, which would also introduce electronic marriage registers, passed its final stage in the House of Lords today and now moves to the House of Commons to be considered by MPs.

It is the first time a bishop's private member's bill has proceeded to the House of Commons in more than 20 years.

Speaking after the Lords passed the bill, Rt Rev Alan Smith, said: 'I am delighted that the House of Lords has backed this bill, which now gives the House of Commons an opportunity to correct a clear and historic injustice.

'As someone who has performed hundreds of marriages, it has always seemed shocking to me that mothers are systematically overlooked.

'This injustice dates to 1837 when children were viewed as a father's property and little consideration was given to women. In this centenary year of women's suffrage it is time to make this long overdue change.

'I am pleased to have had the backing not only of peers and many in the Church, but a huge number of others, including tens of thousands who have signed public petitions, campaigners for women's equality, and even genealogists.'

He urged the government to treat the bill as a 'legislative priority' when it comes to the Commons in the autumn.
Good news in the news: 3 stories with a gospel message

As Christians we are passionate about good news  or we should be. That's what the 'gospel' is, after all. Jesus Christ brings hope, joy and peace in a world that appears starved of it.

I have been encouraged to see that there are good news stories being reported amid the bleaker ones that often dominate the headlines. There are good things happening across the world and they should be talked about and celebrated. Here are three uplifting stories that caught my eye and inspired me to reflect on aspects of the gospel.

It freely gives

School teacher Kimberly Bermudez was sitting next to a fellow passenger on a flight and talked about the challenges of her job. Many of her students came from low-income families and some were homeless, arriving at school hungry. Her seatmate said that his company donated to schools like hers. She welcome this and revealed that the teachers at the school would give their own money to help meet the families' needs. A man sitting behind her with a baby on his lap tapped Kimberly on the shoulder and gave her more than $100. More and more people came forward on the plane to give. When one person shares their story, it can create a ripple effect.

We all love to receive gifts. However, when someone goes above and beyond to bless us, it can take us by surprise and we may not know how we could ever thank them or repay them enough. The beauty of the gospel is that we haven't deserved the free gift of unmerited grace and being welcomed into a right relationship with God. There's nothing we can do to earn our way into God's favour. Jesus giving himself freely for us at the great cost of his own life is central to understanding why the cross is good news for us.

It's life-changing

How often do we walk past the homeless person on the street, avoiding eye-contact or perhaps giving a few pence here and there? Every single person is made in the image of God. In response to the grace God has freely given us, we should do all that we can to help those in need and go the extra mile. Businessman James Minns did just that by offering a job on the spot to 25-year-old homeless man Ryan Davidson. Ryan said: 'It has opened my eyes to how generous and kind people can be. I've never met anyone like James  he has changed my life completely.'

Life-changing moments stick with us. Being diagnosed with cancer at 19, studying at university and becoming a parent have been big life changes for me. However, nothing compares to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This has been the biggest change in my life and like any life change, I want to share it with people. As Ryan's life was profoundly changed by the act of kindness shown to him, so our lives can be completely changed through an encounter with the risen Christ.

It's perseverance

After his car broke down, Walter Carr walked 20 miles in the night to make sure he arrived to his new job on time. A police officer en route who was impressed by Walter's determination took him to get some breakfast before taking him to start his shift.The chief executive of the company was so impressed he travelled from Tennessee to Alabama to meet his new employee and then gave him his own car. This is an inspiring story of dedication; Walter's values shaped his determination to make it to work, not to mention his grit and experience of rebuilding a life after his home in New Orleans was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Walter said: 'I want people to know this  no matter what the challenge is, you can break through the challenge. Nothing is impossible unless you make it impossible.'

A customer of the moving firm where Walter works said: 'I can't imagine how many times on that lonely walk... in the middle of the night did he want to turn back. How many times did he wonder if this was the best idea?'

How often on the journey of faith are we tempted to turn back when things get dark, difficult and draining? It's in these very moments that we need to look beyond ourselves. We need to run with perseverance in the faith and fix our eyes on Jesus who endured the cross and opposition from sinners so that we would not grow weary and lose heart (Hebrews 12:1-2). Nothing can separate us from God and with this confidence we can persevere, knowing that through whatever trials we face he is with us.

Ruth Clemence is a freelance writer and award-winning blogger based in Devon. She can also be found writing at www.ruthclemence.com and on Twitter @ruth_the_writer.
It's time for the church in India to embrace the #MeToo movement

When the #MeToo movement first started gaining steam in the United States in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse scandal last year, everybody was asking the same question: who would be next? It did not take long to get an answer.

American politicians, powerful media executives and famous news anchors came toppling down after brave women told their stories of abuse and, for once, people believed and heard them. Finally, the movement reached the church, and pastors, even seminary presidents, were held accountable for their actions and for failing to protect those under their care.

India, now living its own #MeToo moment, is seeing a similar pattern unfold. The wave of reckoning that started with Bollywood's notorious casting couch and swept over legislators has now reached the Indian church.

Authorities in Kerala are investigating three high-profile cases of sexual assault involving the clergy. In perhaps the most prominent of them, a woman has accused four priests of blackmailing her into sexual exploitation. The Kerala High Court has refused anticipatory bail to the accused; they could be arrested any day now.

That these cases have come to light as the world debates whether India is a safe place for women underscores the gravity of this national issue. India must become a nation that is known for empowering women, something we have historically failed to do even though we were among the first countries in the modern world to be led by an elected woman, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

If there is a silver lining to these incidents, it is the reassurance that Indian women are increasingly finding their voice and strength. Victims are rightly no longer afraid to expose religious leaders who have large followings and national influence. Such was the case with 'Rockstar Baba' Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, whose conviction for rape last year triggered riots that left over 20 people dead. In April, another religious leader, Asaram Bapu, was sentenced to life in prison for rape after his victim and her family spoke out.

While we will have to wait and see what happens with the cases against the church leaders in Kerala as they receive their due process, the sad truth is that Christians in India are not surprised by these revelations. They know there are cases of sexual abuse in the church and that, unfortunately, the tendency has been to sweep them under the rug. Yet, this is a moment the church must take to examine itself and to reform  that is, if it wants to be a moral voice on a severe problem that plagues Indian society. The church needs to find a way to deal decisively with abuse within and continue to work for the rights of women outside.

Here are four measures I would suggest churches across India consider adopting to prevent sexual abuse and to protect and care for its victims:

1. Educate women and children about their rights

India has some of the most stringent criminal laws against sexual abuse in the world. The church as a vehicle for social development  especially in communities where women and children are vulnerable or do not have access to a proper education  must teach them their rights under the law and how to report sexual abuse.

2. Be open and honest when sexual assault allegations surface

However good their intentions may be, church leaders need to be careful to not hide or deal with sexual crimes internally. Each case must be reported to the proper authorities and the law allowed to take its course. It is better to be vindicated by the law than risk destroying someone's life.

3. Do not react defensively when this sin is publicly exposed

We must worry less about our public image and more about justice to those who have been sexually exploited. The true Christian testimony rests not on public image but on how we treat the powerless and those who have suffered injustice. We have seen how the covering up of sexual abuse in other parts of the world has not only damaged a church's reputation, but also brought pain to innocent people and their families.

4. Make the clergy accountable

At a time when the safety of women in our country is being questioned, the church must insist that as true followers of Jesus Christ, pastors, priests and bishops be above reproach in how they relate to women. The church must always be a safe place for women and children. Church leaders need to practise Christ's teachings on gender equality and protect the sanctity of women and children. Some of Jesus' harshest judgments were against those who abuse and mistreat children and women.

The truth is that there is a larger societal problem in how Indian men, regardless of religion, view women. Gender discrimination and sexual objectification of women are a stain that India must strive to remove.

As both an advocate for justice and an agent of healing and mercy, the church must rise to the challenge and take these issues head on. That is the gospel Jesus has called us to follow.

This article was first published on Scroll.in.

Most Rev Joseph D'Souza is archbishop of the Good Shepherd Church and Associated Ministries of India, and president of the All India Christian Council.
Teenager who died in duck boat sinking had recently been baptized

A 14-year-old girl who survived by swimming to safety after a duck boat she was in capsized and sank in the Table Rock Lake last Thursday near Branson, Missouri, spoke out Monday about losing her church deacon father and 15-year-old brother in the tragedy that claimed the lives of 17 people.

"I saw someone struggling. I went up to push up their feet so they could get help. But the waves were too big, I couldn't go back to save that person. It could have been my brother. It could have been my dad," the teenager, Loren Smith, told CBS This Morning.

Her father Steve Smith, a 53-year-old deacon at Osceola Church of Christ at Semmes Ave. in Arkansas, and her 15-year-old brother Lance, were among the 17 people who drowned after a Ride the Ducks Branson amphibious vessel they were in overturned in a freak storm.

The teenager explained that when the trip on the lake started the sky was clear and the water was calm. Halfway through the excursion however, the storm erupted forcing her father to call her mother Pam Smith, who had skipped the trip so she could do some shopping.

"He says, 'It's not good, Pam,'" Pam told CBS of her final conversation with her husband shortly before the boat sank. "And I told him I loved him, he told me he loved me. And I asked him to take care of the kids. That was our last words."

Loren said she swam out of the boat before it sank but when asked how she made it out she said, "I don't know."

"It was just murky water. I know I swallowed a lot of it trying to breathe," she said.

Pam, who has been married to her husband for nearly 28 years, said when she found her daughter alive at the hospital after hearing about the tragedy: "I think I kissed her a thousand times because I love her so. But then my heart sunk too because Lance wasn't there."

Lance, explained his mother, recently committed his life to God.

"Lance, he was recently baptized. This past Sunday, he preached. And I was so proud. And his little mini-sermon was on being a good example. He had such a big heart," Pam said.

"Everybody was his friend," Loren told CBS.

Losing her brother, she said, "is like losing one of your best friends. One of the closest best friends you'll ever separate from."

Osceola Church of Christ lead pastor, Will Hester, who baptized Lance late last year, said he was like a son.

"This family in particular has been our best friends, and Lance is like a son to me," Hester told the Churches of Christ publication The Christian Chronicle. "In fact, my wife took Lance, Loren and Pam to Disney just this spring break."

In a statement Monday, Ride the Ducks Branson, the company that owns the amphibious vessel involved in the tragedy, said they were doing everything they could to help the affected families.

Another family that was on the vessel lost nine members.

"We remain deeply saddened by the tragic accident that occurred at Ride the Ducks Branson. Our focus from the start has been on the guests, families, and employees who were affected last Thursday. Today, we continue to focus our efforts on the families," the company said.

"We are offering to pay for all related medical bills and funeral expenses, return all personal items from the rescue scene, and assist with any related travel or accommodations that will help the families in their time of need. An event like this deeply touches everyone and we are also providing grief counseling to our employees who have been affected by this tragic accident," the company added.

Ride the Ducks Branson further explained that they were cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board and other agencies investigating the accident.

"We are fully cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Highway Patrol and all federal and state authorities involved in the investigation. The investigation is being managed by the NTSB. Because we are a party to the NTSB investigation, we are not allowed to comment on any aspect of it. However, our job is to cooperate and provide information to those officials and to comfort the families of those affected by this tragic event," the company said.

The U.S. Coast Guard said that the NTSB was expected to take custody of the capsized duck boat after it was raised from Table Rock Lake Monday.

Former NTSB Chairman James Hall also called for duck boats to be banned Saturday, saying the World War II-era vessel's design makes it prone to the kind of accidents that led to the Thursday's sinking, according to the Associated Press.

The Osceola Church of Christ announced Monday that they will host the visitation for Lance and Steve Smith on Tuesday from 5  8 p.m. and on Wednesday from 12  2 p.m. The funeral service for the father and son will take place at the church beginning at 2 p.m. Wednesday.

This article was originally published in The Christian Post and is re-published here with permission
BILOXI, Mississippi -- The Blue Angels had been here before, but never quite like this.

For four days -- two practice runs and two weekend shows -- the U.S. Navy's premier demonstration team roared above the Mississippi coastline, thrilling more than an estimated 150,000 who turned out to watch the shows.

"The airshow was a tremendous success," said Biloxi Mayor Andrew "FoFo" Gilich. "It was beyond our expectations and the public reaction was overwhelmingly positive.

"It was exciting for everyone -- all of the families that went down to the beach and Point Cadet, the tourism industry that saw an occupancy rate in the high 90s (percent), and for our City workers, who had a great plan and made it work."

Biloxi Police Chief John Miller estimated Saturday's crowd for the "Blues Over Biloxi" show at 85,000, with Sunday's crowd at around 65,000. In addition, another 700-1,000 watercraft watched Saturday's show in the designated areas around Deer Island, with another 500-700 on Sunday.

Incidents were minimal. The Biloxi Fire Department responded to 65 medical emergencies -- mostly heat-related with the weekend heat index well above 100 degrees.

Biloxi police issued eight parking tickets and there were only two arrests -- one for possession of marijuana and the other for disorderly conduct. Eighty-nine law enforcement personnel were on duty during peak times, with Biloxi providing 70 of those. Other agencies assisting included the Harrison County Sheriff's Department, Gulfport Police Department and the Marine Patrol division of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.

The Biloxi Fire Department had 22 firefighters on duty.

"The statistics -- the minimal number of arrests and traffic tickets for such a large crowd -- show that it was a hugely successful event," Gilich said. "Now, we'll reap the benefits of the good experience our visitors had.

"You have to remember, we had people from Texas, Tennessee, Louisiana and as far away as Vancleave. They're all going home with great memories of this exciting event."

The City of Biloxi, along with about 10 other local sponsors, ponied up the $20,000 to make the air show happen.

The overwhelming success of this event begs the question: When will the next airshow on the waterfront happen?

The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds performance team is set to appear at Keesler Air Force Base next April, but there are no set plans for a return by the Blue Angels at this point.

According to the Blue Angels public affairs office, the team's schedule is set two years in advance. Each year, during the International Council of Air Shows in Las Vegas, Nev., Blue Angels representatives announce the teams upcoming schedule and accept formal requests for future appearances.

The Blue Angels are in the midst of a 34-show schedule this year, which runs from March until early November, when they close out their scheduled with a "homecoming show" in Pensacola, Fla., where the Blue Angels are stationed.

The 2019 schedule is already set, and the process for setting the 2020 schedule is already underway. Getting the Blue Angels back to Biloxi on a biennial basis could be difficult, but not impossible, according to the public affairs office. Those decisions are made at the command level.

"Right now, we're just enjoying the success of last weekend's shows," Gilich said, "but (bringing them back) is certainly on our radar. Of course, the Thunderbirds are coming next year and they put on a great show as well, but we're certainly looking to get the Blue Angels back as soon as we can."
The tastemakers: Sarah Bray and Anne Spilman

Sarah Bray, interiors editor at Modern Luxury magazine, and interior designer Anne Spilman create a series of vignettes from luxurious objects offered in the August Interiors sale

Walking around this incredible space, I almost feel like were behind the scenes at the Met, says Sarah Bray, National Interiors editor at Modern Luxury magazine, as she takes a spin through Christies warehouse in Long Island City, New York. With interior decorator Anne Spilman, a friend since her college days in Texas, Bray visited the warehouse for a sneak peek of the objects offered in the Interiors sale on 22 August at Rockefeller Center. Together the pair prepared a series of vignettes that showcase their signature decorating philosophy.

Bird image: one of 10 plates, ten engravings, on wove paper, with margins. Estimate: $2,000-3,000. A Chinese jumu and nanmu armchair. Estimate: $2,000-3,000. One of four Indian polychrome-decorated candlesticks, mounted as lamps. Estimate: $1,000-1,500. One of a pair of Chinese export models of cockerels. Estimate: $1,000-1,200. A French leather-veneered chest-of-drawers. Estimate: $2,000-3,000. A pair of giltwood tabourets. Estimate: $1,000-1,500. A Moroccan flatweave rug. Estimate: $800-1,200. Offered in Interiors on 22 August at Christies in New York. Wallpaper kindly provided by Schumacher.

John Sennhauser, Curviangular No. 1. Estimate: $5,000-7,000. A pair of lucite table lamps with parchment shades. Estimate: $1,000-1,500. An assembled group of Chinese famille rose models of fruit. Estimate: $1,200-1,800. A Chinese large longquan celadon-glazed charger. Estimate: $1,500-2,000. A scarlet lacquer writing table. Estimate: 1,000-1,500. An Indian silvered hardwood and marble inset circular games table and four stools en suite. Estimate: $1,500-2,000. Offered in Interiors on 22 August at Christies in New York. Wallpaper kindly provided by Schumacher.

Both of us agreed immediately that we really want to do bold colour, says Bray, explaining their decision to set one vignette against a bright orange wall. Also key for the pair was hitting just the right balance of layers, which Spilman considers the most important quality for any interior. This also made the decision to incorporate antiques a no-brainer. Antiques add another dimension, as well as a timelessness, she explains.



One of a pair of plaster plafonnier ceiling fixtures. Estimate: $1,500-2,000. A pair of gilt-metal floor lamps. Estimate: $2,500-3,000. A giltwood and velour upholstered sofa. Estimate: $800-1,200. A pair of rock-crystal obelisks. Estimate: $2,000-3,000. A Chinese large enamel-on-copper turquoise-ground jardiniere. Estimate: $1,500-2,500. One of a pair of chrome and clear-glass pocket-form low tables. Estimate: $1,500-2,000. A pair of giltwood tabourets. Estimate: $1,000-1,500. One of a set of four blue satin upholstered slipper chairs. Estimate: $800-1,200. Offered in Interiors on 22 August at Christies in New York

The word antiques is often associated with maximalism, but that doesnt have to be the case, Bray adds. Of the vignettes the duo created at the warehouse, the interiors editor explains that theyre extremely layered but not cluttered. Its just the right mix. Bray admits she loves antiques because of the quality and the craftsmanship in every single piece and the idea of getting something that you cant find anywhere else. Above all, she says, antiques add personality and show that a home has character.

A large pair of Chinese pink-glazed vases. Estimate: $1,000-1,500. Two from a set of six giltwood wall brackets. Estimate: $700-900. An Italian etched and enamelled glass mirror. Estimate: $3,000-5,000. A blue satin upholstered sofa. Estimate: $1,000-1,500. One of a pair of Chinese coral-ground famille verte beaker vases. Estimate: $1,500-2,000. A pair of Chinese flambe-glazed Buddhist lions. Estimate: $1,000-1,500. A Chinese black and gilt lacquer panel, mounted as a low table. Estimate: $3,000-5,000. Two from a group of chrome low tables. Estimate: $1,000-1,500. Offered in Interiors on 22 August at Christies in New York. Wallpaper kindly provided by Schumacher.
The Trump administration pledged $12 billion in financial aid to U.S. farmers Tuesday as it reiterated attacks on the illegal trading practices it blames for a broadening trade war with China and other countries.

The programs were announcing today are a firm statement that other nations cannot bully our agricultural producers to force the United States to cave in, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said in announcing a relief program that aims to make up for retaliatory tariffs wiping out key markets for commodities including pork, soybeans, wheat and grain sorghum.

This is a short-term solution that will give President Trump and his administration time to work on long-term trade deals to benefit agriculture and all sectors of the American economy, Perdue said.

The three-fold program will include a market-facilitation program that will make incremental direct payments to soybean, cotton, sorghum, corn, wheat, dairy and hog farmers; a food purchase and distribution program to buy up surplus products such as fruit, nuts, rice and legumes for distribution by food banks and government food programs; and a trade promotion assistance program administered by the Foreign Agriculture Service that will work with the private sector to develop new export programs.

The plan, which has been brewing since at least April, drew sighs of relief from major commodity groups that have seen prices reach lows not seen in years.

U.S. pork, which began the year in expansion mode to capitalize on unprecedented global demand, now faces punitive tariffs on 40 percent of its exports, National Pork Producers Council President Jim Heimerl said in a news release. The restrictions we face in critical markets such as Mexico and China  our top two export markets by volume last year  have placed American pig farmers and their families in dire financial straits. We thank the president for taking immediate action.

Russell Boening, president of the Texas Farm Bureau, said the agricultural aid package will help farmers and ranchers who rely on export markets stay in business as the administration works to develop and obtain new markets.

But it also drew harsh criticism from both sides of the political aisle as an expensive bailout to help a significant part of Trumps voting base weather what could be a prolonged, multifront trade war.

This trade war is cutting the legs out from under farmers and White Houses plan is to spend $12 billion on gold crutches, said U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb. Americas farmers dont want to be paid to lose  they want to win by feeding the world. This administrations tariffs and bailouts arent going to make America great again, theyre just going to make it 1929 again.

U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., criticized President Donald Trump on his favorite medium.

OK @POTUS  you created this mess with your trade war and now you are going to spend $12 billion to placate the farmers that voted for you, she tweeted.

Exit polls from the 2016 election showed rural voters came out strong for Trump, whose appearances in heavily agricultural areas drew long lines of supporters. The Trump appeal was most dramatic among rural voters in tiny communities far from urban centers, where 71 percent went for Trump, compared with 40 percent of voters in cities with a million or more people.

Farm communities are caught up in international maneuvering. After the administration imposed tariffs on a wide range of imports, trading partners retaliated. China, a key buyer of U.S. agricultural exports, in turn slapped $34 billion in tariffs on goods including soybeans, sorghum and pork.

Perdue, flanked by senior U.S. Department of Agriculture officials, said the aid package announced Tuesday is directly in line with the estimated $11 billion impact of illegal tariffs already facing the nations agricultural producers.

As you know, President Trump has promised since Day 1 that he has the back of every American farmer and rancher, and todays announcement is a fulfillment of that promise, Perdue said.

All programs are authorized under the charter act of the Commodity Credit Corp. a government-owned entity incorporated in 1933 to help stabilize farm income and prices. Congressional approval is not required for the money to be used and producers are expected to be eligible to apply for the aid in September.

We certainly provided outreach to Congress and let them know the plan that were undertaking today, USDA chief economist Rob Johannson said. Its taking advantage of existing authority that we have.

Greg Ibach, USDA undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs, said other countries would see the bailout as a sign the administration was not backing down in its fight for more favorable trade deals.

We hope that it will allow time to conclude trade negotiations that will indeed open those markets and restart trade, he said. Were hoping other countries will see that were serious now about trade negotiations.

Luis Ribera, an agricultural economist at Texas A&M University, looked at the value of five top agricultural exports to China to get a sense of losses. In 2017, U.S. ranchers sent about $31 million to the just-reopened market for beef and veal (Texas share: $4 million), $349 million in wheat (Texas share: $11.5 million), $12.4 billion in soybeans (Texas share: $11.6 million), $976 million in cotton (Texas share: $449 million) and $836 million in sorghum (Texas share: $209 million).

We send $15.5 billion worth of these agricultural products, so if no alternative markets are found then that would be the amount needed, he said, adding, subsidies, in general they are just a patchwork and not sustainable. They usually disrupt markets and harm producers in the long run.

But Wayne Cleveland, executive director of the Texas Grain Sorghum Association, said the aid would keep a lot of growers from going under.

This is absolutely critical for our guys, he said. Theres no grain trading at all and its because of the tariffs. Its primarily the Chinese, but Mexicos even quit buying and you have to think that (North American Free Trade Agreement) negotiations are playing some part of this as well. This is across the board.

Sorghum is a cash crop and its used to pay for other crops, finish cattle, he added. So the money isnt there. These guys are having to go back to the to bank and nobodys going to loan them money in these markets.

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall agreed that the funding should help many of our farmers and ranchers weather the rough road ahead and assist in their dealings with their financial institutions.

lbrezosky@express-news.net
The Green Mountain Energy booth looked seemingly out of place at the Bridal Extravaganza this past weekend at the George R. Brown Convention Center, wedged among the vendors showcasing bridal dresses, bridal cakes and bridal china place settings. Two company representatives stood in front of the electricity display, trying to attract the brides-to-be, mothers-of-the-bride and bridesmaids walking by with catering and flower arrangements on their minds to think about something more mundane.

"Who is your electric provider?" they shouted. "Are you happy with them?"

The electricity market in Houston is deregulated and electric utility providers like NRG Energy-owned Green Mountain Energy are in a constant scramble for new customers and hanging on to their existing ones. Energy retailers spend as much as $250 to sign up new customers when the cost of marketing and enrollment are figured in. NRG Energy has the largest share of the retail electricity business in Texas and also owns Reliant Energy, Cirro Energy and Pennywise Power.

RELATED: It pays to switch power plans, but few Houstonians do

Many of the visitors sailed past the Green Mountain booth on their way to the cake samples up the aisle but a few lingered long enough to shout out their current provider or pick up a brochure. Others shrugged their shoulders because either they don't know their provider or they don't care. Only about 16 percent of customers in the CenterPoint service area - the utility that serves the Houston area - switched electricity providers last year. But enough must be stopping and signing up because the personal sales technique is still an important way electricity is sold in the deregulated parts of Texas.

RELATED: Bridal show flushed with off-beat vendors

For years, Green Mountain Energy and other retail electric providers have set up tents at grocery stores, big box stores and festivals to promote their electricity plans to shoppers and fun seekers. The bridal show is one of those events when shoppers might have electricity on their minds, said Green Mountain spokeswoman Alex Angelina.

RELATED: Cottage industry rises from complexity of choosing electricity plans

Many couples attending the show are planning new homes together, she said, and with any move, picking out an electricity plan is part of the process.
The average Houston family will spend $571 on back-to-school shopping, slightly less than last year but still more than the national average, according to a new study.

Local families said they plan to spend $343 on new clothing and shoes and $116 on school supplies, Deloitte's annual back-to-school survey found. The New York-based professional services firm polled 1,200 parents of school-aged children across the country, including 400 in the Houston area.

About a quarter of local families plan to purchase computers and electronic gadgets, spending between $232 and $265. Nearly half of families said they would purchase prepackaged school supply kits, which have become more popular in recent years.

RELATED: Walmart unveils digital tools to aid back-to-school shoppers

Houston families plan to spend less than the $623 average from last year's back-to-school shopping season. However, local families are expected to spend more than the national average of $510, Deloitte found.

Jeff Buhr, a partner in Deloitte's Houston retail division, said the drop in local back-to-school spending is not an indication of a weakening in consumer confidence. Rather, it's because families this year are spending less on electronics as prices have come down and schools provide more technology in the classroom.

"Families are spending more on school supplies, clothing and accessories, and less on computers and electronics," Buhr said. "Most people already own these types of things, so naturally, people will still use what they've already purchased."

Back-to-school shopping is the second biggest shopping season nationally behind only the holiday shopping season. Some 29 million American households are expected to participate, spending an estimated $27.6 billion.

Paul Takahashi writes about retail for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on twitter: @paultakahashi.
For nearly 65 years Spanish Village on Almeda Road has been a stalwart on the Tex-Mex scene in Houston. At an age when most humans are retiring, Spanish Village is making changes thanks to a new owner.

Armed with new management and a new chef the location just unveiled an ambitious brunch menu, the first in its history.

THINGS TO COME: A Killen's Tex-Mex restaurant in Houston?

New owner Abhi Sreerama, 26, purchased Spanish Village in February. The Medina family sold the restaurant to him, with the semi-retired John Medina sticking around as a consultant, as needed.

The energetic restaurant scene newbie grew up on Houston's northwest side and as a suburban kid remembers eating Tex-Mex sometimes once a week with his family. Coming from the tech world originally he got his first taste of Spanish Village when he moved to Midtown and ventured out of the neighborhood in search of something off the beaten path.

"Spanish Village's status as one of the original Tex-Mex restaurants is firmly cemented in history," Sreerama told Chron.com this week. "That's what attracted me to it in the first place."

What's been the biggest hurdle in taking over Spanish Village? Reassuring people that the changes will be positive.

"Every day I hear people say not to change anything, but the problem is that something did need to change. It needed a jump start," Sreerama said. "Part of that meant keeping the tried and true items, scrapping the items that weren't moving, making the old reliables even better."

HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Why it hurts when a classic Tex-Mex joint closes

At one point there were 90 items on the menu and Sreerama and Chef Ishita Chakravarty have set out to whittle that number down to 55. Assuming control over an established menu and a generational following isn't easy. The old Houston charm of 4720 Almeda Road isn't going anywhere.

"We're not trying to take anything away that is already popular," Sreerama said. "But some things were being prepped and not ordered ever."

Chakravarty, formerly of Sinfull Bakery, got into Sreerama's orbit through her private catering business and he said that the two have hit it off creatively. Chakravarty's dessert background has given birth to the Churro Blondie Banana Split.

So far the response in the neighborhood, right between the Museum District and the Third Ward, has been comforting. He credits positive word of mouth on neighborhood bulletin website NextDoor for the new influx of business.

"There were new people coming by to eat, along with people that stopped coming years ago," Sreerama said. "We see some people two or three times a week."

Some well-worn dining institutions, according to Sreerama, raise prices with no thought of maintaining a standard benchmark of quality. They coast on legacy and history without innovation.

LIKE A WARM BLANKET MADE OF QUESO: Tex-Mex is Texas' comfort food

"Prices have been adjusted since I took over," he said.

Sunday brunch, running from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., seemed like a good way to expand Spanish Village for a new, youthful audience."

The word is out on Sabbath busters like elotes kolaches (Shipley, take notes), breakfast enchiladas (a gateway to naptown), marranito pancakes, Eggs Benito (with a seared jalapeno cheddar masa cake), and Tres Leches French Toast. Pitchers of sangria and mimosas are a given.

"The brunch menu, the idea behind it, is that it can evolve and change as we tinker with it," Sreerama said. He thinks that in Tex-Mex cuisine there should be room for creativity and wiggle room, at least to a point.

"To attempt to change the style of cuisine at Spanish Village would be near sacrilege," he said. "But with all of the influences floating around Houston we can be innovative. We want to keep the comfort foods around while also adding new things to the mix and push the genre along."

Craig Hlavaty covers Houston history and pop-culture. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com. | craig.hlavaty@chron.com
National Tequila Day  today, July 24  gives you every right to drink some agave juice and savor a good margarita. And that's pretty much every day in Texas.

Still, today offers plenty of opportunity to try some tequila, whether it be straight or mixed in your favorite cocktail.
Visitors hungry for unique flavors north of Houston will find plenty to love at these restaurants in Spring, The Woodlands and other cities in Montgomery County.

If rodeo carnival season is just too far away, check out Buldogies, a Conroe spot with a menu of inventive hot dogs, funnel cakes and cotton candy.

HOT DEALS: Hit up these suburban favorites during Houston Restaurant Weeks

An unassuming blue and white shack serves up what some reviewers purport to be the best gyros ever, and a Cajun sub shop on Sawdust Road is lauded as a hidden gem.

In Spring, you can have sushi, or you can have barbecue. Or, you can have both at the same time at a fusion restaurant serving up kimchi fries and rolls filled with pulled pork.

Delicious tacos can be found at a neighborhood gas station, and one family restaurant hidden away in Magnolia has a zombie theme.

Check out some of the best-reviewed restaurants in the Montgomery County area, and tell us about your favorite in the comments.

Dana Burke is a digital reporter at Chron.com. You can read more of her stories here and follow her on Twitter at @danapburke.
The Precinct 4 Harris County Constables office often teams up with Houston-area school districts to implement and discuss safety strategies  and at Klein ISD, they even learn new ones.

Klein ISD Chief of Police David Kimberly has worked with the constables office to train deputies in active shooter situation protocol.

A unified command center is not the time to exchange business cards, Kimberly said. So we reach out and reach across, making plans and developing collaborative spirits that I pray we never need.

Kimberly said that out of his 48 officers, he has seven officers who are ALERRT instructors: which means they are certified in Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training.

Last summer, Kimberlys forces trained 125 Harris County Pct. 4 deputy constables, and this summer they trained 150 more.

In the last three years, weve provided over 8,000 contact hours of active shooter training, and not just to our officers, Kimberly said.

Kimberly said that the ALERRT classes also delve into the medical side of emergency situations.

In a mass casualty or active shooter event, well lock the building down. We may or may not be able to get paramedics or emergency medical technicians in there, so my guys are trained to evaluate in triage and evacuate to the doors where we can get medical care, Kimberly said.

Constable Mark Herman said that in training, the deputies run through scenarios about how to enter the school and take down an active shooter.

In addition, Herman plans to meet with other area school district police chiefs early next month to lay out resources and strategies that would be helpful in securing school district campuses.

Its about having a common-sense approach, teamwork philosophy and working together. By us working togetherwere strategizing; were putting things in motion, Herman said.

Were staying ahead of this thing, and thats the key. If you can stay ahead of the criminals, youre winning. At the end of the day, its about the safety of our kids.

Reporter Melanie Feuk contributed to this story.

jane.stueckemann@chron.com
A group of high school student activists recently gathered at the Sugar Land public library to write colorful letters of support to children of undocumented immigrants currently detained at federal facilities in Brownsville. The event was organized by Student Amend, a group of Fort Bend ISD students who first came together during a district-wide campus walk-off last April held after 17 students and school staff were killed when a gunman opened fire at a high school in Parkland, Florida in February.

We all connected really well because we were scared because of the school shootings going on across the county, Ridge Point High School student Betsy George said. Things went well so we decided to keep the ball rolling.

Since then, the students have organized two town hall meetings to voice their concerns to elected officials.

More than 25 student activists attended the card-writing event, which George described as the right thing to do.

Its all over the news and its such an inhuman thing that is going on, especially at the border, she said.

During May and June, thousnads of children and teenagers were separated from their parents as a result zero-tolerance immigration policies put in place by President Donald Trump. The policies have since been amended and federal officials have begun reuniting families.

Students who participated in the card-writing event say they werent interested in taking sides politically but simply hoped to offer support to children still being held in detention facilities.

Its not about politics, its about human rights, Sameeha Rizne said. At the end of the day, these children didnt choose this path; someone else made the choice for them.

Ada Marshall, a 16-year-old Ridge Point student, said media reports about the children inspired her to reach out.

These children deserve to know someone is here for them and someone cares. So much of this has been politicized. But its not about left or right, its about ethics. For too long, adults are talking too much and clashing when it is about human lives that are actually on the line. We want to focus on the humanity by showing our support for these children, she said.

The card-writing rally was held Friday, July 20, at the University Branch Library in Sugar Land.
The Fort Worth Police Department has put out a call on social media in an effort to catch a trio of robbery suspects that have been targeting bars that serve Hispanic customers.

According to a press release, the first robbery occurred on June 24, followed by three other robberies all across the Fort Worth area with the latest happening on July 14.
A wanted robbery suspect attempted to run down a Houston police officer Monday afternoon, forcing the officer to open fire on the suspect's vehicle in a southwest Houston neighborhood, authorities said.

Neither the suspect nor the officer were injured during the encounter.

The suspect, wanted in connection with a recent carjacking, was spotted by Houston Police Department officers Monday afternoon in the neighborhood near the 7800 block of West Bellfort Avenue, according to HPD Assistant Chief Wendy Baimbridge, who briefed media on scene.

The suspect -- driving a dark-colored Acura car -- allegedly attempted to hide from officers by parking in a cul-de-sac, although officers spotted him and approached the vehicle on foot, Baimbridge said.

The suspect then allegedly drove the vehicle toward the officers who were on foot, she said. One of the officers pulled out a firearm and shot at the vehicle, striking the windshield but missing the suspect.

The suspect then drove about a block through the neighborhood before crashing in front of a home and fleeing on foot, Baimbridge said.

Officers chased the suspect on foot and arrested him in a church parking lot less than a mile away.

He will likely face a felony aggravated assault of a public servant charge as well as a felony aggravated robbery charge for the alleged carjacking, Baimbridge said.

The officer who opened fire will be placed on administrative duty as an internal investigation continues.

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Jay R. Jordan covers breaking news in the Houston area. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com | Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan | Email him at jay.jordan@chron.com
As San Marcos authorities continue their investigation into a deadly apartment fire, Gina Ortiz of Pasadena waits for news of her son, who was declared missing after the catastrophe.

"I just pray that we find an answer soon," Ortiz said Tuesday. "We are devastated."

Her son, 21-year-old David Ortiz, was one of at least five people that authorities say are missing after a fire broke out around 4:30 a.m. Friday at the Iconic Village and Vintage Pad apartments.

Ortiz graduated from Pasadena Memorial High School, where his former assistant principal said he was the "kid in high school who did everything right" when he was there.

Ortiz also graduated from Teague Elementary, Lomax Middle School, Elmer G. Bondy Intermediate in the Pasadena School District and was a junior studying engineering at Texas State University.

According to David's former assistant principal, Tish Eubanks, he was "very responsible, quiet, and dependable."

INVESTIGATORS: Apartments lacked critical fire-safety equipment

"He did very well academically and played football at Pasadena Memorial High School," Eubanks said Tuesday.

She said Ortiz was never the kind of student to get in trouble.

"The only reason he'd be in the office is to raise fundraising money," Eubanks said.

His mother is a teacher at Pasadena Memorial High, where she teaches Spanish, according to the school's website.

Eubanks said she knew Ortiz for most of his life because of his mother.

She remembers when he would walk over from Teague Elementary to Memorial High School and that he had been a part of the school community for a long time.

"Before he became a Maverick, he was a Maverick," Eubanks said, referring to the school mascot.

By Monday, a GoFundMe set up for Gina Ortiz had already raised more than $4,000. Eubanks organized the page.

"Gina is in San Marcus [sic] waiting to hear something and she has a lot of unexpected expenses," wrote Eubanks, who is now the Education Liaison for the City of Pasadena. "Please give what you can."

Eubanks said she created the page to help Gina Ortiz, who didn't know how long she would have to be in San Marcos and would need to pay for gas, food, and a hotel.

"She's a dear friend of mine," Eubanks said. "When you have kids in college and are an educator, it's every dime you can scrape together."

The City of San Marcos confirmed the discovery of a fifth body in a news release Monday but have offered no new information on the identities of the victims.

The identities of five victims are pending autopsies by the Travis County Medical Examiner's Office, the city said. Still, the number of deceased victims now matches the number of missing persons.

Eubanks said that the Ortiz family is going through a difficult time and "need all in the community to support them."

"When your kid goes to college, you might expect something terrible like a wreck. You don't expect their apartment to burn down."

Gina Ortiz said that while she waits, she is filled with regret.

"There are so many 'I wishes'," she said. "I wish we hadn't allowed him to take summer school, so he would have been at home with us, or that we had chosen a different place for him to live, but we can't go back. The people of San Marcos and Austin have been so good to us. They are treating us like family and holding our hands, but we wish the situation were different. Please pray for us."

The City of San Marcos said in a news release it has created a "resource center" to "answer questions and provide information to residents impacted by the fire." That center, at the San Marcos Activity Center, is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Wednesday, July 25.
The Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce will be celebrating summer with its annual Tomball Night and parade.

The celebration will start at 5 p.m. until 10 p.m. on August 3 in downtown Tomball.

Since 1972, the chamber has hosted Tomball Night to promote local businesses and invite visitors.

Its just a tradition Tomball has to shop local, said Dawn Stone, who oversees member and community relations with the chamber.

Parts of downtown streets will be closed to traffic as vendors set up booths and activities.

The 100 block of Commerce St, N. Walnut St., S. Walnut St. and S. Elm St. will be closed.

The 100, 200 and 300 blocks of Market Street will also be closed.

Tomball Night will offer different activities for families, such as rock climbing and a petting zoo, among others, Stone said.

A health expo will also be set up in the Tomball Community Center at 221 Market St. from 5 p.m to 8 p.m.

More Information Want to go? The Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce will be hosting its annual Tomball Night, featuring activities for children, a parade and fireworks. Date: Aug. 3 Time: 5 p.m. - 10 p.m. Location: Downtown Tomball Cost: Free See More Collapse

The celebration will also include a parade featuring cars decorated in lights.

The parade will begin at 9:15 p.m., starting from Buvinghausen Road and head east on Main St. toward the railroad tracks and turn left on Peach St.

In 2017, the chamber obtained about 25 entries. This years deadline to enter into the parade will be Friday, July 27.

While this years Independence Day celebration was canceled due to severe thunderstorms, Tomball Night will offer visitors a second chance to see fireworks.

This is another opportunity for people to come see them. Were looking forward to welcoming everyone back, Stone said.

The event will be free to the public and parking will be available near city hall at 401 Market St. or along the downtown side streets.

For more information about Tomball Night, call 281-351-7222 or e-mail bbeyer@tomballchamber.org.
For 11 years, the city of Oak Ridge North did not see a single homicide  then came a chilly, overcast February day in 2002.

Local businessman Subir Chatterjee, 58, was found gunned down shortly after noon inside the business he owned in Oak Ridge North. More than 16 years later, Chatterjees murder remains unsolved.

DOCTOR SLAIN: Police release photos, video of suspect in shocking Medical Center murder

On Monday, lead investigator Lt. Kent Hubbard of the Oak Ridge North Police Department reported to the Oak Ridge North City Council that the department would be using money from a combination of seizure funds, funds from the Montgomery County District Attorneys office and the cases reward fund to purchase DNA testing of evidence found at the scene.

In the last 16-and-a-half years, there have been tremendous advancements for DNA testing, Hubbard said.

The new method of testing, which Hubbard told the council was developed within the last four to five years, will cost $5,830. The cost will be divided equally between funds acquired from the district attorneys office and the city - Oak Ridge Norths portion of $2,915 will be covered by the $1,880 reward fund and seized funds currently available in the citys general fund.

ALLEGED ARSON: New Caney man charged in connection with residential fire

Montgomery County Prosecutor Donna Berkey said the funding was a big part of the decision.

(District Attorney Brett Ligon) was very willing to provide assistance, Berkey said.

Chatterjee was found dead by a fellow employee. He was shot twice  in the head and neck at close range. The store, a Coastal service station, served as a convenience store and check cashing business where Chatterjee often had tens of thousands of dollars on hand.

When police arrived on the scene in 2002, investigators found that $160,000 was missing from the store. The money was kept inside a brown briefcase that customers said Chatterjee would often bring to the store on Fridays to cash checks.

The suspects in the crime, two males with one described as a white, possibly Middle Eastern male and a second man with reddish-brown hair, were seen leaving the store after spending around 40 minutes in the bulletproof acrylic security booth where Chatterjee would often sit during his shifts. According to police reports, officials believe the vehicle used in the crime was an unknown year and model Oldsmobile Alero with a red paper temporary license tag bearing "020802."

Oak Ridge North Mayor Jim Kuykendall said the case was,Just sad.

This would be a way of using (the reward money) for a very good purpose, Kuykendall added.

The case, Hubbard told a reporter from the Courier of Montgomery County in June 2002, was fascinating in its complexity, calling it at the time a true murder mystery.

Chatterjee would let people in the booth if he knew them and felt secure," Hubbard told the Courier at the time. "In that respect, we feel it was someone he knew and trusted."

Oak Ridge North Chief of Police Andrew Walters told the council that law enforcement officials interviewed more than 200 family members, friends and suspects, searched dozens of cars and consulted the Texas Department of Public Safety DNA database hundreds of times in the ensuing investigation into Chatterjees death.

They killed him because he knows who they are, Walters told the Courier in 2002. This is strictly one of those things where they exchanged a human life for money.

More than a decade and a half later, Hubbard told the council he would not give up finding the killer, or killers, of a man who friends and neighbors described as selfless and caring.

This case has taken us all the way to Virginia and Atlanta, Hubbard said. Ive been to restaurants, Ive been dumpster diving. Ive tried about everything.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Oak Ridge North Police Department at 281-292-4762 or the Montgomery County Crime Stoppers: 1-800-392-7867.
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte has launched Tapang at Malasakit Alliance in Quezon City, following the renewal of a sister city agreement with Mayor Herbert Bautista, along with Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte. Held at the Trinity University of Asia in Quezon City, the launch was attended by Quezon City councilors, city officials, and representatives of various groups of overseas Filipino workers, solo parents, women, youth, senior citizens and even tricycle operators. If you remember, we launched Tapang at Malasakit when President [Rodrigo] Duterte ran in 2016. Those were his core valuescourage and compassion, the younger Duterte said. She said when her father assumed the presidency, the various members of the alliance had overlooked the original reason why they supported his candidacy.All of his volunteers have already forgotten the reason why we supported his presidential candidacy. We want real change, she added. In introducing the movement to the citys constituents, Belmonte said, Ang Tapang at Malasakit movement is encouraging volunteerism to serve the people. On July 23 in the morning, Bautista and Belmonte welcomed Duterte and other dignitaries from Davao in a landmark renewal of sister city ties that was first signed by then Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and then Quezon City mayor Ismael Mathay in 1994.
Militant lawmakers led by Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to stop the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act (TRAIN Law) for being unconstitutional. In a 71-page reply, the petitioners sought the issuance of the temporary restraining order pending deliberation and resolution on the constitutionality of the controversial tax measure, contradicting President Rodrigo Dutertes State of the Nation Address where he vowed to continue implementing the TRAIN law or Republic Act 10963. The petitioners argued that the TRAIN should be voided because it was passed by the House of Representatives without a quorum as required in the Constitution. The TRAIN Law was not validly passed. It became law in violation of the Sections 16 (2) and 27 (1) of Article VI of the Constitution, among others, petitioners stressed. The petitioners debunked the argument of the Office of the Solicitor General that official journals of the House during deliberations on the TRAIN Law on Dec. 13 last year where 232 out of a total of 295 members were present proved that the law was validly passed. There is no evidence to prove the due enactment of RA 10963. On the other hand, there are several pieces of evidence proving that it was passed in violation of the quorum requirement in Section 16 (2), Article VI of the 1987 Constitution and the requirement of a bill passed by Congress in Section 27, Article VI, petitioners said. Section 16 (2), Article 6 of the 1987 Constitution and Section 75 of Rule XI of the House Rules both require the House to comply with the quorum requirement of majority of the House membership before they can do any legislative business. The lawmakers recalled that only around 10 lawmakers, including petitioners, were present during the ratification stage.According to them, without such quorum, the House leadership had no authority to ratify the bill and send it to the President for signature. The absence of a quorum and a vote are facts pointing to prima facie grave abuse of discretion which Respondents attempt to throw a veil over, petitioners argued. The party-list lawmakers also claimed that the tax reform law, which slashes personal income tax rates while raising additional revenues for infrastructure and social services, was actually not beneficial to the public. They said the new excise taxes on petroleum products and sugar-sweetened beverages, and its broader value-added tax would hit poor and low-income earners. Zarate was joined by ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio and Anakpawis Rep. Ariel Casilao in filing the petition. The petitioners were represented by former Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares. Solicitor General Jose Calida already sought the dismissal of the petition filed by the militant lawmakers and consumer group Laban Konsyumer Inc. in his comment last April.
Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio welcomed President Rodrigo Dutertes pronouncement that the Philippines would not waver in defending the countrys interests in the West Philippine Sea despite strengthened ties with China. Well, thats the correct position. We should never give up our rights there. That can be reconciled. We can continue to trade with China while we continue to defend our sovereign rights, Carpio said in a chance interview on Monday after the Presidents State of the Nation Address. Theres no incompatibility there because we have other relations with China. We have trade. We have cultural and all other matters. But we should not do anything that will waive our rights to the West Philippine Sea, he added. In a related development:  The Department of National Defense expressed support for Dutertes efforts to settle the West Philippine Sea issue with China through diplomatic means. The WPS issue represents just a portion of the sum total of our relations with China, thus, the DND supports the Presidents efforts to manage it through diplomatic means, DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said in a message to the PNA Monday. Having said that, however, the DND and Armed Forces of the Philippines will defend our countrys sovereignty with all the means and resources available to us, if and when the need arises, he added. Carpio said, however, it would be better if the President elaborated on how the country would protect its sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea. Duterte said the Philippines remained firm in its position on the WPS issue. Our improved relationship with China does not mean that we will waver in our commitment to defend our interest in the West Philippine Sea, Duterte said, adding this reflected in Manilas continued engagement with the Asian giant through multilateral and bilateral channels. In 2017, the government launched the first bilateral consultative mechanism on South China Sea with Beijing, where all issues concerning the contested area were discussed in a frank, in-depth, and friendly manner. The Philippines, with several Southeast Asian countries, also engaged China towards the drafting of the framework of the Code of Conduct on the South China Sea issue during its chairmanship in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2017.These efforts paved the way for an opportunity to manage the dispute without further escalating tensions in the strategic waters, Duterte said. Opening lines of communication and amicably managing differences have led to positive developments that include renewed access of Filipino fishermen in the areas of dispute in the Philippines West Philippine Sea. Despite the WPS issue, Duterte initially cited Manilas reenergized relations with Beijing that led to an unprecedented level of cooperation against transnational crimes. This, according to the President, led to the discovery and dismantling of shabu laboratories in the country and the arrest of Chinese chemists linked to a drug syndicate. Meanwhile, AFP spokesperson Col. Edgard Arevalo said the military has been consistently conducting regular maritime and aerial patrols in the WPS in line with its constitutional mandate. We pursue our mandate of protecting the people and securing our sovereignty in relation to the countrys foreign policy, he added. In his third SONA, Duterte said Manila stood firm in its commitment to protect its interest in the WPS while improving relations with Beijing. Our improved relationship with China does not mean that we will waver in our commitment to defend our interest in the West Philippine Sea, Duterte said, adding this was reflected in Manilas continued engagement with Beijing through multilateral and bilateral channels. In 2017, the government launched the first bilateral consultative mechanism in the South China Sea (BCM) with China, where all issues concerning the contested area were discussed in a frank, in-depth, and friendly manner. Opening lines of communication and amicably managing differences have led to positive developments that include renewed access of Filipino fishermen in the areas of dispute in the Philippines West Philippine Sea.
President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday said the Philippines will move toward the reality of an upper middle-income society as he submitted to Congress his first cash-based P3.757-trillion national budget for 2019. The next day, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said the Presidents budget message for 2019, Building a Bright Future for the Philippines and its People, contained his budget priorities. It includes intensifying infrastructure development, expanding programs on human development, building a more secure and peaceful nation, and other select major social programs, Roque told reporters. He praised the Budget department for its speedy delivery of the budget proposal after the Presidents third State of the Nation Address Monday night. In 2019, we will see sustained and more determined efforts to improve our agency spending performance, as we effect the shift to the annual cash-based appropriations system, Duterte said in his message. This 2019 budget, designed to be a modern and open budget for accountability and service delivery, will take us from dream to action, from possibility to reality, and from building to being. Under the proposed 2019 budget, the Education, Public Works, and Interior Departments will receive more funds. The Education department will receive the largest share of the funds at P659.3 billion, which is P72.2 billion higher than its cash-based equivalent in the 2018 budget of P587.1 billion. Public Works will receive the second highest fund allocation for next year of P555.7 billion, which is 68.29 percent higher than its P225.5 billion budget the previous year.Meanwhile, in terms of sectoral allocation, social services remained the biggest recipient at P1.377 trillion, equivalent to 36.7 percent of the proposed budget. It was followed by the general public services, which included allocations for general administration, public order and safety, other general public services, and subsidies to local government units at P709.1 billion. The defense sector will get P188.2 billion. The P3.757-trillion national budget for the succeeding year represents a 13.0 percent increase from this years cash-based appropriations of P3.324 trillion. According to Duterte, more programs and projects in the 2019 budget will be completed, delivered, inspected and accepted by the end of the year following the increase. Meanwhile, the total disbursement program for 2019 of P3.833 trillion represents an increase of 13.7 percent from 2018s P3.370-trillion disbursement level. The increase is equivalent to 19.7 percent, an improvement over this years 19.2 percent. The increased disbursements will be supported by a 12.7-percent improvement in revenues amounting to P3.208 trillion from the 2018 level of P2.846 trillion. Duterte also said his administration could now put more money in the peoples pockets as the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law would increase and expand the investments toward the countrys inclusive growth.
Lawmakers on Tuesday were urged to rally behind President Rodrigo Dutertes reinvigorated war against illicit drugs and official corruption, in keeping with his fresh commitment to protect Filipino lives and public resources. Reacting to the Presidents State of the Nation Address, Rep. LRay Villafuerte of Camarines Sur also said that with the Presidents support for the just-completed work of the Consultative Commission (Con-Com), there is more reason now for the executive and legislative departments to quickly launch a nationwide information campaign on the proposed switch to a federal system of government. At the same time, Villafuerte appealed to all concerned government agencies to heed the Presidents call for the speedier delivery of public services by strictly implementing in their respective offices the provisions of the Ease of Doing Business Law. The President has given his marching orders to all concerned into his third year in office, Villafuerte, vice chairman of the House committee on appropriations and local government, said. Opposition and Makati City Rep. Luis Campos Jr. welcomed the Presidents resolve to upgrade the countrys telecommunications services by bringing in a third market participant. We are counting on the third player to provide the effective market competition needed to improve public access to reliable, high-speed internet services, said Campos, author of a bill seeking to classify broadband as a basic telecommunications service. Minority Leader and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez said the Presidents Sona was worth waiting for, after it was delayed by more than an hour by a leadership change in the House. Surigao del Sur Rep. Prospero Pichay said the President delivered a fantastic Sona. Police on Tuesday announced that they had seized P7.4 million worth of methamphetamine hydrochloride, also known as shabu, following the arrest of a notorious drug trafficker operating in Manila and Pasay City.The operation came a day after Duterte promised that he governments campaign against drugs will not stop and would be relentless and chilling. NCRPO chief Guillermo Eleazar identified the suspect as Bryan Dudley, who uses an alias Bayan Taba, a 24-year-old and resident of 814 De Guzman Street, Malibay, Pasay City. Eleazar said his men in close coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and Anonas Police Station in Quezon City arrested Dudley during a buy-bust operation along University Street corner Commonwealth Avenue in Barangay San Vicente, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City around 3:30 am Tuesday. Dudley was arrested while in the act of selling 500 grams of shabu to an undercover agent subsequently, another six plastic packs of shabu weighing six hundred grams were also found in his possession, said Eleazar. Also found in Dudleys possession was the bundle of marked money equivalent to P400,000 used in the buy-bust operation. Eleazar said Dudley is responsible for drug trafficking activities operating in the areas of Pasay City, Manila and other areas in Metro Manila. The Department of Health, meanwhile, said a P878 million rehabilitation facility will rise on a five-hectare lot in Barangay Osorio, Trece Martires City, Cavite in line with the governments intensified campaign against illegal drugs. DoH Regional Director Eduardo C. Janairo noted that once the facility, which will be funded by Japan, is operational in 2020, it will improve the care and treatment of recovering drug addicts.
Only a handful of weeks remain until thousands of students in Harris County are back in school, attending one of the area's dozens of school districts.

Although these public school districts follow the same educational standards set in place by the state, the performance of each vary.
Former Houston ISD superintendent Richard Carranza did not mince words in an interview published this week about his disappointment in HISD's failure to pass major reforms he championed during his 18-month tenure, suggesting the district lacked the appetite for changes that would boost outcomes for lower-income and minority students.

"As soon as I left, it seemed like people just didn't have the stomach to take the fight," Carranza, who left to become chancellor of New York City public schools in April, said in an article published by The Atlantic.

In a couple of parting shots four months after leaving from Houston, Carranza told the news magazine that HISD leaders have resisted changes that would benefit historically underserved students, creating inequitable access to quality education among students from all backgrounds. His comments cut to key questions about the district's dedication to impoverished and minority students, while also raising the specter that Carranza's abrupt departure contributed to the proposals stalling.

In The Atlantic article, which largely focused on his immediate reform efforts in New York City, the 51-year-old lamented HISD's current campus funding model and the geographic layout of its magnet schools, which he said have favored students from more affluent and white backgrounds. In the months before his departure, Carranza proposed shifting toward a more centralized funding model that largely would benefit schools in lower-income and predominantly black and Hispanic neighborhoods.

Carranza also pitched adding more magnet programs in lower-income neighborhoods  particularly on the city's northeast and southeast sides  while eliminating significant funding to some magnet campuses that tended to attract students from wealthier backgrounds. Regarding HISD's magnet and school choice system, Carranza told The Atlantic: "You would think if you want to integrate schools and really provide a robust push for the entire system, you would place some really sexy magnet schools in those African-American neighborhoods. No! They were all concentrated in white, upper-middle-class neighborhoods, so that if you're an African-American student, you have to leave your neighborhood to go to those programs."

Ultimately, HISD trustees tweaked the district's current campus funding model and shelved the magnet proposals, to Carranza's dismay. However, it is arguable whether trustees resisted Carranza's proposal because they "didn't have the stomach to take the fight."

Some trustees embraced Carranza's proposal, but others thought the district administration was moving too hastily and did not provide enough details about the proposal's merits.

SCRATCHED: Houston ISD abandons plan for campus funding overhaul

"Carranza didn't leave any definite plans on the table. Only ideals," HISD Board President Rhonda Skillern-Jones said. "For me, there were conceptual changes that were never fully vetted or fleshed out by the administration."

The district also was dealing with a large budget deficit and contentious plans to surrender control over 10 chronically low-performing schools, prompting a few trustees to question whether HISD was tackling too much at one time.

Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan ultimately shelved the plan a month after Carranza announced his move to New York, pledging a committee to study the district's resource allocation methods. That committee is scheduled to meet in private for the first time on Aug. 7, with recommendations provided to HISD administrators by December. Forty members have been invited, though not all have committed to date, HISD officials said.

HISD trustees largely have agreed the district's magnet school system needs reform, but they have been unable to agree on the extent of needed changes. Various community factions also have been divided on whether to tweak the system, including a vocal grass-roots group that lobbied against Carranza's proposal this year.

DEPARTURE: Houston ISD's Carranza stuns city by taking NYC job

Carranza is correct that many of the district's sought-after campuses are located in more affluent and white neighborhoods relative to the rest of Houston. However, HISD intentionally placed many of those schools near downtown Houston, a central location accessible to all corners of the city. Most of those campuses are in more affluent or quickly gentrifying neighborhoods, while some are in less wealthy areas, including Eastwood Academy, Mickey College Preparatory Academy for Young Men and Energy Institute High School's new location.

Carolyn Evans-Shabazz, who chairs the NAACP Houston Branch's education committee, said she believes HISD has, in fact, taken positive steps in recent years to provide more opportunities to minority and lower-income students. She noted HISD administrators have invested more in quality staff and programming at the district's neighborhood schools, some of which have seen academic outcomes decline as students take advantage of school choice options at HISD magnet and charter campuses.

"I do see light at the end of the tunnel regarding HISD getting on the right path and being able to provide an equitable education," Evans-Shabazz said. "I really like Mr. Carranza and I liked his attitude regarding what he wanted for the school district, but I don't share his feeling."

SAVED: HISD magnet programs get reprieve amid budget deficit

In a statement Tuesday night, New York City Department of Education Press Secretary Toya Holness said Carranza "passionately advocated" for equity while in Houston, noting the district's Achieve 180 plan that allocated an additional $15 million to about 40 traditionally low-performing schools. Many of those campuses reported preliminary standardized test scores that exceeded district and state averages this year.

"While some initiatives and proposals he championed in Houston have not continued, others have  in particular the Achieve 180 plan  and are proving to be successful," Holness said. "He remains proud of the impact he had while leading the school district and looks forward to following its continued progress."

jacob.carpenter@chron.com

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Two more victims bodies were recovered from the rubble of an aging San Marcos apartment complex destroyed by a sweeping fire, bringing the death toll to five in a university town still reeling from the magnitude of the devastating loss.

Investigators are still trying to determine what sparked the lethal inferno, which erupted before dawn Friday, ripping through the Iconic Village Apartments at 222 Ramsay St. and ultimately spreading next door to two buildings at the Vintage Pads Apartments at 1000 N. LBJ Drive. Both apartment complexes are two blocks from the Texas State University campus.

All five victims were found in the ruins of the same building at Iconic Village Apartments. None of them had been officially identified as of Monday evening and their causes of death have not been released. Authorities said it could take more than a week to make positive identification.

But San Marcos city officials acknowledged five people have been missing since the fire: San Antonio resident Dru Estes, 20; Haley Frizzell, 19, of San Angelo; James Miranda, who hailed from Cove, Ark.; Belinda Moats, 21, of Big Wells; and David Ortiz, 21, of Pasadena.

Theres not anything we can do other than wait, unfortunately, and pray for the best, said Moats uncle, Ruben Nolasco, who was among the many loved ones and friends gathered at the site of the fire Monday.

At least six others were injured, including Zachary Sutterfield, who was taken to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio in critical condition.

Investigators with the San Marcos Fire Marshals Office, the State Fire Marshals Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives closely examined the burned-out shells of the destroyed buildings Monday. Some officers walked through the site with police dogs, looking for victims and accelerants. Others rode in a bucket lowered from above by a crane so they could get an aerial view of the fire scene.

The fire began at the Iconic Village Apartments shortly before 4:30 a.m. Friday  a time when most people are asleep. One of the residents living there, Matthew Smith, said he woke up around 4:25 a.m. to the smell of smoke. He opened his front door to see the courtyard and portions of one buildings second floor engulfed in flames.

It literally looked like I was staring into hell through that door, said Smith, who is about to start his senior year at Texas State. I immediately ran to my car and started hiding behind my car, and you could just see all the second-floor windows on fire. I was just in shock. I couldnt say anything.

The building where all five bodies were recovered wasnt equipped with a sprinkler system, authorities said. The structure met the required safety standards in place at the time it was built, but local officials cant require property managers to retrofit their buildings, San Marcos Fire Chief Les Stephens said.

San Marcos Fire Marshal Kelly Kistner didnt know when the building was last inspected by fire officials. He said the building was constructed in 1970, but a report from ApartmentTrends.com, operated by Austin Investor Interests, shows the Iconic Village complex was built in 1975. It contains 108 apartment units.

Kistner confirmed the complex wasnt outfitted with a fire suppression system, which can use a combination of dry chemicals and wet agents to stop the fire. He did not comment on whether smoke alarms or fire alarms were in place or if they were in working order.

Kayli Lord, an Iconic Village resident whose living space was not damaged by the fire, said that her apartment wasnt outfitted with a smoke detector until Monday, despite her emailing a request for one in June.

Lord didnt know if other apartment units there had working smoke detectors, but said she did not hear one alarm go off when she went outside during the fire.

Smith said the apartment where he stayed had a battery-powered smoke detector, but it did not go off during the blaze.

Three residents mentioned suspected acts of vandalism that occurred in the months leading up to the fire, with one of them reporting an incident to the authorities.

Both Iconic Village and the Vintage Pads complex next door  an older property built in 1963, which also sustained some damage from the fire  are owned by the same company, San Marcos Green Investors LLC, based in Chicago, according to the Hays County Appraisal Districts website. William Bill Bennett, who is listed in state documents as a manager for the company, confirmed that organization purchased both apartment properties in 2010.

Bennett otherwise declined to answer questions from the San Antonio Express-News, referring reporters to prepared statements posted on Iconic Villages Facebook page.

The ATFs National Response Team is deployed to assist local and state entities in large fire incidents, such as the San Marcos fatalities. The federal agency will try to issue a report on what caused the fire within 30 days, after numerous lab and field tests have been conducted, though that report could be completed sooner, said Paul Claflin, a certified explosives specialist and team leader with the ATF.

.

ahorn@express-news.net
In a sunlit patch of grass near the Menil Collection, all that remained Monday of a beloved oak tree were misshapen brown stumps. The intersection of Mulberry and Branard saw plenty of passers-by pausing to mourn the loss of their favorite tree in the city.

The once-sprawling live oak tree was a spot for friends, families and couples to hang out. The tentacle-like branches dipped down to the ground like a hand from Mother Nature, inviting visitors to sit in its cozy grooves. For many, the tree held a special place in their lives, a unique location where some of their most intimate memories took place.

It was the first day of spring and we were sitting under a hammock, when one of our friends asked us if we were boyfriend and girlfriend, Harley Graber said with a smile. She said yes and it was news to me, but thats when I knew for sure.

RETURN DATE: Houston's Menil Collection set to reopen in September

Graber, 24, said seeing the tree cut down Monday morning was heartbreaking and it was the first time he cried over a tree. Clutching one of the pieces of bark that was left on the ground, he said he was reluctant to tell his girlfriend that their favorite tree was gone.

Im sure shes going to be just as bummed as I am, he said. But I know shell be able to make something beautiful out of this, he said, gesturing to the bark in his hand. Shes an artist.

Although a representative from the Menil Collection sympathized with community members that the cutting of the tree is really devastating, he said it had to be done. The city forester told the Menil that the tree was a public safety hazard and advised them to cut it down, said Tommy Napier, assistant director of communications at the Menil.

The tree was struck by lightning 10 years ago, and the museums arborists had been monitoring it ever since because it experienced irreparable damage, Napier said. As much as community members loved to sit, climb and play on the tree limbs, it was prior damage that caused the tree to deteriorate over time, Napier said.

Sitting just a few feet from where the tree once stood, 18-year-old Kalyani Persaud enjoyed a picnic in the shade with her friend. For her, the space seemed empty without the tree, which held memories of a close friend who had recently died.

My friend Chip and I would hang out there, Persaud said, looking back at the large expanse where the tree boughs used to hang. The branches fell perfectly to the ground. It was always the most pretty place because it was where people used to hang out.

In mourning

Claudia Baba stopped her car in front of the tree stumps after her friend texted her that the tree had been chopped down. Pulling out her smartphone, she snapped a few pictures of the remnants. Baba has lived across the street for 20 years and said she has seen the tree change over time, so she was not surprised it was cut.

I know a lot of people are coming to express mourning, Baba said.

REPLACED: Meyerland 'Hero Tree' honoring pilot killed in 1961 crash is cut down

A steady stream of cars passed by Monday afternoon, drivers slowing to a crawl as they took in the spot where the tree once stood.

Pointing to another oak tree across the way diagonally, Baba said the museum is taking greater measures to protect its other trees, after what happened to this one. She said arborists are growing tall grass as a signal for people not to come too close.

It was a sacred tree, said Max Mazy Jr., 30. It was the perfect spot because of the long, comfortable branches that were ideal for reading and studying, he said.

It was an intimate spot to sit and connect with people, Mazy Jr. said. There were nice grooves and multiple parties could hang out without bothering each other.

Every Sunday, Mazy said, he would relax on the tree and enjoy the drum circle that congregated there.

Sharing in Mazys bewilderment, 24-year-old Sebastien Lutomski walked up to the remnants of the oak tree, his mouth agape in disbelief.

Everyone knows this tree, insisted Lutomski. I cant tell you how many times Ive been kicked off for walking up it. It was the most welcoming tree.

He attended Lamar High School and even back then, Lutomski and his friends would eat lunch at the tree and hang out there after school. More recently, the tree has been a place to relax before heading into the Rothko Chapel, where he practices Vipassana meditation.

Trees are a gift and this is a gift, teaching me not to be too attached to things, Lutomski said. I guess this is a lesson in letting go.

elizabeth.myong@chron.com

twitter.com/elizabeth_myong
The San Marcos apartment complex where a massive fire killed at least five people Friday was not equipped with a sprinkler system, officials said during a press conference on Monday.

A fifth body was recovered Monday afternoon in the gutted structure's remains, authorities announced. A fourth body was recovered late Sunday, officials said.

San Marcos Fire Marshal Kelly Kistner said the Iconic Village apartment complex was built in the 1970s and authorities do not know when it was last inspected. Les Stevens, the San Marcos Fire Chief, said the building met the required safety standards of the time it was built, but local officials can't require property managers to "retrofit" their buildings.

The fire ripped through the Iconic Village Apartments around 4:30 a.m. Friday, later spreading to two buildings at the Vintage Pad Apartments. More than 200 residents, many of whom were students, were displaced by the blaze.

RELATED: Three bodies recovered from San Marcos fire, two still unaccounted for

Hours after the fire, officials announced five people were unaccounted for: Haley Frizzell, James Miranda, Belinda Moats, David Ortiz and Dru Estes.

Officials announced Sunday they had found three people dead, all of whom were taken to the Travis County medical examiner's office for autopsies and identification.

The fourth discovery was made Sunday night, Kistner said. Investigators said they will continue the search until they're certain there are no additional victims.

"All search and recovery efforts will continue until we know all potential victims are covered," said Kistner. "We're not leaving until we know all the work on the ground is done."

None of the dead were identified and it's not clear whether those found dead were among those initially declared unaccounted for, or whether those unaccounted for were killed or just have not checked in with family.

Six people were injured in the blaze, including Zachary Sutterfield, who was taken to Brooke Army Medical Center in critical condition.

Investigators still don't know where in the complex the fire started, and thus have no information as to how the it started either, Kistner said. The investigation into the origin of the blaze could continue for weeks or months.

San Marcos city officials on Monday expressed their condolences to the victims' family, offering their thoughts, prayers and resources to all affected.

"As a community, our hearts are broken," said San Marcos Mayor John Thomaides.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' National Response Team is leading the investigation, with assistance from the state fire marshal's office and the San Marcos fire marshal.

RELATED: Man accused of setting Victoria mosque fire found guilty

Texas State University, in conjunction with the city, has announced several programs and funds available to students affected by the fire. Information on those programs is posted online at safety.txstate.edu/emergency-communications.html. City officials said donations may be made to the Blanco River Regional Recovery Team at br3t.org. Click "donate" and then enter the word "Iconic" in the comments.

The city will host a resource center for Iconic Village and Vintage Pads residents Tuesday and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the San Marcos Activity Center at 501 East Hopkins Street. Organizations will be on site to provide information on assistance programs available for residents.

Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com

Caleb Downs is a crime reporter for mySA.com. Read more of his stories here.| cdowns@mysa.com | Twitter: @calebjdowns
OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi -- The Historic Ocean Springs Saltwater Fly Fishing Club (HOSSFLY) will present a seminar on fly fishing this Saturday at the University of Southern Mississippi Marine Education Center in Ocean Springs.

Entitled "The Basics of Fly Fishing," the seminar will feature discussions on several areas of fly fishing by HOSSFLY veterans. Anyone with an interest in learning to fly fish will be taken through the basics of the sport and what is needed to get started.

Areas discussed will include:

Equipment needed for both saltwater and freshwater fly fishing, including fly rods, lines, flies and suggestions on the proper equipment needed in the different environments.

Demonstrations of the gear and accessories needed for a complete and safe day of fishing, as well as where to explore warm water/fresh water, and Coldwater and Tailwaters.

Where to fish along the Gulf of Mexico, what species are fished, from redfish to trout, and different techniques and files used.

A demonstration of fly tying, including the necessary tools and equipment needed to tie flies. The program will include a demonstration of how to tie some of the more popular flies, including those used for trout and redfish.

A demonstration of fly casting by a Master National Certified Casting Instructor.

Registration for the seminar opens at 8 a.m. Saturday and the cost to attend is $20 per adult (over 13). Cash and checks are accepted. Coffee, water and donuts will be served. The seminar is scheduled to end at 11:30 a.m.

The USM Marine Education Center is located at 101 Sweetbay Dr. in Ocean Springs. For additional information, call 228-818-8097.

HOSSFLY is a nonprofit club that promotes fly fishing and supports a variety of marine organizations. Monies raised through the seminar are donated to the Gulf Coast Research Lab in Ocean Springs and used to help fund educational scholarships.
China is Now Officially at War With the US and Japan

It is not a war of guns and soldiers, but a war of finance.

The Trump White House is aggressively going after China on trade. Every other month we are seeing a new round of tariffs announced on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Chinese exports.

China is retaliating by devaluing the Yuan against the US Dollar at a pace not seen since early 2016. In real terms, the 10% in tariffs the Trump administration will implement on Chinese goods has ALREADY been negated by Chinas 14% Yuan devaluation.

A 10% tariff wont add up to much when Chinas currency is nearly 15% cheap relative to the US Dollar.

There is a second component here China is well aware that President Trump takes GREAT pride in the fact US stocks have rallied since his election in 2016. With that in mind the Yuan devaluation can be seen as a direct attack on US stocks: the last two times the Yuan was devalued at this pace, the S&P 500 dropped 11% and 12% respectively.

So who does President Trump call to defend the S&P 500?

Japan.

One country has been noticeably absent from all the Trump speeches, tweets and tariffs this year that country is Japan. According to the Trump White Houses rhetoric, Mexico is a problem, Canada is a problem, China is a problem, the EU is a problem but Japan doesnt even get a mention.

This is not coincidence.

The Bank of Japan is now actively using the Yen carry trade to prop up US stocks. Every single day we are seeing interventions in the $USD: Yen pair trade to prop up the S&P 500. Its gotten to the point that the market is no longer even a market but just one giant rig.

You can see this in the chart below. The S&P 500 is tracking $USD: Yen pair almost tick for tick.





Put simply, the Bank of Japan is doing this to counter Chinas attempts to crash the S&P 500 by devaluing the Yuan. In return, the Trump White House refrains from attacking Japan on trade issues.



So weve got Japan working with the Trump White House to prop up President Trumps darling stock marketwhile he runs an aggressive trade negotiation strategy on China which is devaluing its Yuan to A) negate the tariffs and B) crash US stocks.



Put another way, the financial markets have become one gigantic battle in which the three largest economies are attacking one another via the currency markets.



Regardless of which side youre on, you have to accept that this wont end well. This kind of interventionist game never does. And its ordinary investors who will get hurt the most.

The time to prepare for this is NOW before the carnage hits.

Graham Summers

Phoenix Capital Research

http://www.phoenixcapitalmarketing.com

Graham also writes Private Wealth Advisory, a monthly investment advisory focusing on the most lucrative investment opportunities the financial markets have to offer. Graham understands the big picture from both a macro-economic and capital in/outflow perspective. He translates his understanding into finding trends and unde74rvalued investment opportunities months before the markets catch on: the Private Wealth Advisory portfolio has outperformed the S&P 500 three of the last five years, including a 7% return in 2008 vs. a 37% loss for the S&P 500.

Previously, Graham worked as a Senior Financial Analyst covering global markets for several investment firms in the Mid-Atlantic region. Hes lived and performed research in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the United States.

 2018 Copyright Graham Summers - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

Graham Summers Archive

 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.




School districts and other local governments are intentionally holding elections at odd times this summer to drive down turnout in hopes it will help them win voter approval for tax increases and bond issues, state lawmakers say.

Local government leaders say they dont set elections on odd days in hopes of a more favorable outcome at the ballot box, but the issue is fast becoming a new tension point in the sometimes adversarial relationship between local government agencies and the Republican-led Texas Legislature.

There will be a response from the Legislature, pledged state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican.

Just last month the Klein Independent School District in Harris County held a tax increase election on June 16  a Saturday. That was three weeks after Texas voters took to the polls for statewide runoff elections on May 22. And three weeks before that, Houston held a special election on May 5 to fill a City Council vacancy.

Next up: South San Antonio Independent School District is holding an election on Aug. 14 in an attempt to raise the districts property tax rate by 13 cents per $100 of taxable value, which would increase school taxes by $130 a year for the owner of a $100,000 home.

And on Aug. 25, Harris County will ask voters to approve a $2.5 billion bond issue to cover the cost of flood control projects. That same day, voters in Floresville ISD, just outside of San Antonio, are being asked to approve a tax increase.

It is preposterously bad public policy to spend taxpayer money to hold special elections in the dog days of summer that almost always have a low voter turnout, Bettencourt said.

Harris County Judge Ed Emmett shot back. People who live in Senator Bettencourts senate district were affected by the flooding. He should be doing more to help them instead of worrying about election dates, he said.

Assuming Bettencourt follows through with a bill, the clash over election dates promises to be yet another issue pitting state lawmakers against local government in Texas. Just last year, the state passed bills to restrict local government tree ordinances and annexation rules. And Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is moving to stop local governments from maintaining prohibitions against plastic shopping bags, armed with a June ruling from the Texas Supreme Court that struck down Laredos ban.

In the case of the Klein ISD, the June election cost taxpayers nearly $300,000  it would have been considerably less if the district had waited for the November general election.

District officials say they needed the vote on the tax in the summer so they could plan next years budget. Critics of the tax hike said the timing of the election was a school board ploy to reduce turnout.

And low turnout is what they got  about 9,000 of 151,000 registered voters cast ballots, a turnout of 6 percent. However, the summer vote did not help the district win approval for the tax, which would have cost the owner of a $200,000 home an additional $157 a year. Voters shot it down by a significant margin.

Elsewhere in Texas, trustees at Keller Independent School District in Fort Worth announced they would go to voters on Sept. 8  a Saturday  for a tax increase. Many other school districts around the state from McAllen to Copperas Cove are aiming for Sept. 8 elections, too.

School districts have blamed the states diminished funding for public education as a key reason they are having to turn to local voters for more help. Districts say the Legislature is not doing enough to keep funding up for local school districts, forcing locals to cut budgets or seek tax increases.

All of the elections should be on ballots at more traditional voting periods in Texas, said Bettencourt, a leader of the Republican Caucus in the Texas Senate, giving him a key role in setting the legislative agenda when the next regular session starts in early 2019.

State Rep. Mike Schofield, a Katy Republican, also voiced concerns about odd dates set for local elections, saying ideally they would all be in November when the public is used to voting and people are most engaged and likely to vote.

If you have elections that few people know about, its like youre trying to avoid the voters, Schofield said.

Klein ISD superintendent Bret Champion said the district wasnt playing games with the June election. The district was looking for the earliest possible date in order to have time to prepare for the next school year budget, whether the measure passed or failed.

If the district had waited until November, he said, the election would have been two months into the budget year and its failure would have forced adjustments with the school year already well underway.

It was a budgetary reason, not a political one, Champion said.

But for Dylan Glass, the timing of the election was a huge factor in making him rally his neighbors against the tax. The 20-year-old attended Klein schools and his mother is a former public school teacher.

But he said the timing of what he called a pop-up election felt like a trick.

It didnt seem right, Glass said, adding that many people had no idea an election was going on.

Bettencourt has also been critical of Harris County seeking approval for its flood control bond on Aug. 25  exactly one year after Hurricane Harvey first came on shore in Rockport. Although Gov. Greg Abbott approved the emergency election date, Bettencourt has been critical of the election, saying it should be on the November ballot when more voters will be able to weigh in.

He said that would give voters more time to weigh what the county is asking for.

Emmett, the Harris County judge, has defended the Aug. 25 date as the best time for the vote.

Its the one year anniversary of Harvey. I dont think we want to go a year and not be able to say were doing something, Emmett said in May. People who care about mitigation, resilience, flood control, theyll be energized and theyll want to go out. Will there be somebody who wants to stand in the face of what we went through during Harvey and say I want to be against it? I kind of dare them to do it.

Bettencourt said that when the Legislature meets in 2019, hell push legislation requiring all tax-related votes to be on November ballots.

Texas used to have four standard election dates, but in the mid-2000s that was trimmed to two  one in May and the other in November. Bettencourt said governments should stick to those dates unless there is a clear emergency, such as when a member of Congress or the Legislature resigns.

jeremy.wallace@chron.com

twitter.com/jeremyswallace
Bank Alkhair has pulled out of Alkhair capital 10 years after getting 75 per cent of the Turkish investment firm.

The Bahraini entity, according to Reuters, received approval to transfer its 95.79 per cent shareholding of Alkhair Capital to Ankara-based A1 Capital.

Bank Alkhair acquired Alkhair Capital in 2007 after it bought 75 per cent of the firm. Business constraints in the Turkish market forced the bank to review its operation plans and consider an exit.

The bank early this year announced cease of its Islamic banking activities in Bahrain and convert the loss-making business into a holding company, Reuters notes.

It also withdrew from Pakistan after selling its stakes in local Burj Bank.
Kuwaiti popular figure Sondo al-Qattan has refused to apologize to the public after she made comments castigating the countrys decision to provide better working conditions to Filipinas.

The woman who is reckoned as an influencer in the Gulf country Monday bolstered her July 10 comments posted on Instagram where she attacked Kuwaits new labor regulations signed with Philippines. The new regulations grant house workers a day off per week and ban employers from seizing their passports.

All I said was that the employer was entitled to keep the servants passport, and that many Kuwaitis and Gulf nationals agree with me, Qattan stressed in comments to AFP.

I have the right as a kafil (sponsor) to keep my employees passport, and I am responsible for paying a deposit of up to 1,500 dinars (around $4,900), she said.

Kuwait and the Asian country in May reached new deals on the recruitment of Filipinos employed as house workers in the Gulf country. The two states fell out in March after Manila accused Kuwaiti employers of inflicting abuses on the Filipino workers.

Qattan also told AFP that her comments do not account for an insult to the employee, and do not concern humanity or human rights because I did not deprive the employee of her salary or beat her.

The servant lives in the house just like the owners, eats the same food, sleeps, rests and goes out shopping this is a natural right. Hes not like a waiter who works fixed hours, so we give him a weekly leave, she added.

The woman with over 2 million followers on Instagram faced a storm of condemnations on social media over the comments with many asking her to apologize. Some users called on brands working with the make-up expert to part away with her, AFP reports.

Qattan is popular on internet for her make-up tutorials.
Mayor Sylvester Turners decision to support the older of two Martin Luther King Jr. Day parades that each year compete for an audience was understandable. After all, the 40-year-old Original MLK Day Parade sponsored by the Black Heritage Society is believed to be the first such event ever held in the country.

But Turners endorsement alone doesnt mean organizers of the younger MLK Grande Parade, which began in 1995, are going to accept it. This event is bigger than squabbling factions. Its about honoring the legacy of a man who stood for bridging divides. Turner has an opportunity here.

Its time for Houston to make the annual parade an official event produced by the citys more-than-capable special events staff, complete with corporate sponsors to help cover costs and hire consultants with experience from past parades. If San Antonio can figure out how to host the largest MLK march in the nation, drawing 300,000 people, with $100,00 and help from corporate and private sponsors, Houston can host a 12-block parade.

Turner deserves credit for trying to accomplish what past mayors tried; to forge a union between the founders of the parades. He ran into the same impasse of egos. No one has gotten Ovide Duncantell, the 80-year-old leader of the Black Heritage Society, and his former protege, Charles Stamps, to get over themselves and find the harmony epitomized by Dr. Kings life.

Both parades have value. The Black Heritage Society parade typically includes living legends like the Rev. F.N. Williams and the Rev. William A. Lawson, who marched with King and stood with the mayor when he backed the older parade. But the MLK Grande Parade, with its street dancers, cheerleaders, and marching bands like Booker T. Washington Highs Baby Ocean of Soul, has become part of the citys fabric.

Houston City Council in 2007 considered granting only one parade permit, but Duncantell sued alleging First Amendment violations. A federal court ruling left the two parades intact. Duncantell won a coin toss in 2008 to get the coveted morning slot.

No more coin tosses. No more confusion about which parade to attend. The city should take the lead. Given his entrepreneurial skill in enlisting corporate sponsors, hire Stamps as a consultant. Hire Duncantell to maintain the parades strong ties to Houstons civil rights history.

Any funds saved by reducing the police and sanitation costs of two parades could help pay consultant fees not covered by corporate sponsors. More importantly, Turners resolution could end a decades-long dispute that every year diminishes Houstons celebration of a man devoted to brotherly love.
Rules kick in today for Europe, the Middle East and Africa

Canadas new biometrics rules start July 31: Heres what you need to know

Canadas new biometrics rules start July 31: Heres what you need to know Rules kick in today for Europe, the Middle East and Africa

Canadas new biometrics rules start July 31: Heres what you need to know Rules kick in today for Europe, the Middle East and Africa

Canadas new biometrics rules start July 31: Heres what you need to know Rules kick in today for Europe, the Middle East and Africa Stephen Smith Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

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Starting July 31, fingerprints and a photo will become mandatory for many people from Europe, the Middle East and Africa applying for a Canadian visitor visa, work or study permit, permanent residence or asylum in Canada.

Known as biometrics, the fingerprints and photo will be required for identification purposes. This requirement will be extended to Asia, Asia-Pacific and the Americas on December 31, 2018.

Travellers from visa-exempt countries who are coming to Canada as tourists with a valid Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) will not be required to provide biometrics. For a full list of exemptions, please see the end of this article.

The Government of Canada says the collection of biometrics will facilitate application processing and simplify entry into Canada for low-risk travellers.

All travellers between the ages of 14 and 79 must provide biometric information, except in asylum cases, for which there is no upper age limit.

The process of providing your biometric information only takes a few minutes and costs CAD $85 for an individual or CAD $170 for a family that is applying together.

How it works

Biometrics are used at both the application and entry into Canada phases. Biometrics allow visa officers to screen applicants for prior criminal convictions or Canadian immigration infractions. A travellers biometrics are also used when they enter Canada to confirm his or her identity.

Eight major Canadian airports will have self-serve Primary Inspection Kiosks where fingerprints will be verified, photos confirmed and travellers can make an on-screen declaration.

Fingerprint verification will be on a discretionary basis by Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers at other Canadian airports and at land ports of entry.

Where to provide your biometrics

Outside Canada

If you are outside Canada and applying for the first time, you can provide your biometrics at a Government of Canada-authorized Visa Application Centre (VAC) when youre applying for a visa in person.

There are 137 VACs in 95 countries where an applicant can give their biometrics.

New VACs have also been announced and are scheduled to open as follows:

Kigali, Rwanda  Stockholm, Sweden  and Tel Aviv, Israel: mid-September 2018

Athens, Greece  Berlin, Germany  Lyon, France  and Vienna, Austria: early November 2018

Antananarivo, Madagascar and Cape Town, South Africa: early December 2018

The federal government says more VACs will open in 2019.

Transitional biometrics collection service points will also open to applicants at the following Canadian missions in Europe:

From July 31 to mid-September 2018: The Embassy of Canada in Stockholm, Sweden, for applicants from Sweden and neighbouring countries.

The Embassy of Canada in Stockholm, Sweden, for applicants from Sweden and neighbouring countries. From July 31 to early November 2018: The Canadian embassies in Athens, Greece; Berlin, Germany; and Vienna, Austria for applicants from Greece, Germany, Austria and neighbouring countries.

The Canadian embassies in Athens, Greece; Berlin, Germany; and Vienna, Austria for applicants from Greece, Germany, Austria and neighbouring countries. From July 31 to early November 2018: The I mmeuble Le Bonnel in Lyon, France for applicants from France and neighbouring countries.

Anyone applying online or by mail will need to obtain a Biometrics Instruction Letter from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and bring a printed copy of it to their nearest VAC.

In the United States, you can go to any of 135 Application Support Centers.

Inside Canada

If you are applying in person in Canada, you will be able to give your biometric information at specified Service Canada locations starting in 2019. Until then, IRCC says anyone applying for a visa, study or work permit or permanent residence in Canada is exempt from the biometrics requirement.

If youre eligible to apply at a Canadian Port of Entry (POE) as an international student or temporary worker, you can give your biometrics at these Canadian ports of entry.

To find out if you are eligible for Canadian immigration, fill out a free assessment form.

How long are biometrics valid?

If you are applying for a visitor visa or work / study permit, you only need to give your biometrics once every 10 years. However, if you have an application refused and you later reapply, you will need to renew your biometrics.

If you are applying for permanent residence, IRCC says you will need to give your biometrics and pay the fee regardless of whether you provided your biometrics in the past to support a visitor visa, study or work permit application or a different application for permanent residence.

Privacy

IRCC says fingerprints are encrypted and sent electronically to the Government of Canadas secure Canadian Immigration Biometrics Identification System. Personal information is deleted from the collection system once it has been successfully transmitted to this database.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) will check an applicants fingerprints against the fingerprint records of:

criminals,

refugee claimants,

deportees, and

temporary resident applicants.

Any matches to existing RCMP records will be analyzed by the visa officer treating the application, who will use the information to make a final decision.

Canada shares biometric information with the United States, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. IRCC says this is done in accordance with Canadas privacy laws and civil liberties and human rights commitments, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The Government of Canada keeps fingerprints on record for 15 years from the time you provide them. They are deleted after this time or if the applicant is granted Canadian citizenship.

Exemptions

IRCC says the following are exempt from having to provide biometrics:

Canadian citizens, citizenship applicants (including passport applicants), or existing permanent residents;

visa-exempt nationals coming to Canada as tourists who hold a valid Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA);

children under the age of 14;

applicants over the age of 79 (there is no upper age exemption for asylum claimants);

heads of state and heads of government;

cabinet ministers and accredited diplomats of other countries and the United Nations, coming to Canada on official business;

U.S. visa holders transiting through Canada;

refugee claimants or protected persons who have already provided biometrics and are applying for a study or work permit;

temporary resident applicants who have already provided biometrics in support of a permanent resident application that is still in progress.

To find out if you are eligible for Canadian immigration, fill out a free assessment form.

 2018 CICNews All rights Reserved
A new myth is making the rounds in Washington. It holds that the patent system is under assault and that the U.S. is losing its lead in global innovation thanks to aggressively overactive review procedures at the Patent and Trademark Office that are striking down valid, commercially important patents. The result, goes the story, is a patent drought in the United States, as discouraged inventors stay home rather than getting caught up in endless and unpredictable reviews of valid patents.

The trouble with this myth is that, like all myths, it relies on faith and ritualistic repetition, rather than evidence.

The object of the complaint is the operation of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) which conducts administrative reviews of patents already approved by patent examiners. These PTAB reviews were strengthened seven years ago by the America Invents Act, patent reform legislation that targeted patent trolls who used patents of low quality to extort companies to pay unjustified patent fees. Trolls took advantage of a defect in the patent litigation system, namely, that it was simply too expensive and cumbersome to demonstrate in infringement proceedings that the patents themselves were too broad, too vague or otherwise invalid and should never have been granted in the first place.

Patent trolls were not just a nuisance. They imposed astonishing costs on innovation. According to a 2014 summary of the evidence, patent trolls cost defendant firms $29 billion per year in direct out-of-pocket costs and destroyed over $60 billion in firm wealth each year.

PTAB reviews have been effective against patent trolls

While endorsing the importance of a strong robust patent system to encourage innovation, Congress chose to fight the troll problem by providing for expedited administrative review of patents in order to weed out the low-quality patents the trolls relied on. These reviews are a quicker, less burdensome and less costly way to determine patent validity. As the Electronic Frontier Foundation put it, The process helps prevent patent trolling by providing a target with a low-cost avenue for defense, so it is harder for trolls to extract a nuisance-value settlement simply because litigating is expensive.

PTAB reviews have been an unquestioned success in the struggle against trolls. As patent attorney Edward Kwok said earlier this year, PTAB litigation raises the stakes for NPEs (patent trolls) significantly. As a result, patent troll litigation has declined markedly since passage of patent reform legislation in 2011. This downward slide continued in 2017, when troll litigants added only around 2,000 defendants, a decrease of about 27 percent over 2016. Despite this progress, troll filings are still two to four times higher than in the early 2000s.

Some commentators worry that the ease of challenging patents at PTAB has led to a high volume of trials. But PTAB cases are not spiraling out of control; they have stabilized at the rate of around 1,700 new cases a year.

Of course, PTAB reviews were not intended to invalidate patents at a greater rate than the courts do. Rather they were designed to get questionable patents in front of a review board in an efficient manner so that examiner mistakes could be caught early without burdening the court system.

Theres no evidence of disproportionate rate of rejections

But last year a back-of-the-envelope review of PTAB data seemed to show what commentators began to call a disproportionate rate of rejections. According to this informal assessment, PTAB invalidated 200 out of 263 (76 percent) of the patents upheld by the federal courts on validity.

Without further review, this quick assessment, which did not purport to be authoritative or definitive, propagated itself through the Washington policymaking community. It was picked up in Congressional testimony, persuaded the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to downgrade the U.S. in its international ranking of patent system strength, and was the basis for proposed legislation neutering PTAB. Apparently, it even convinced PTO to propose changes in the patent claims construction standard used in PTAB reviews.

The problem is that the underlying evidence doesnt support a finding of disproportionate rejection rates. A technology trade association, the Computer and Communications Industry Association, conducted an in-depth review of the data maintained by PTAB, and discovered numerous technical errors in the casual assessment that has fueled the anti-PTAB movement. CCIA found that, as of the end of 2017, 3,000 of the 4,000 patents reviewed by PTAB had also been involved in lawsuits. PTAB and the courts differed in only 43 of those 3,000 cases. Only 12 of the 43 had the same art under review and in only one case had the courts overturned the PTABs decision. Thats 1 out of 3000. CCIA concluded, with remarkable understatement, that PTAB only rarely disagrees with federal courts when both review the validity of the same patent.

Patenting is thriving

The real damage of disproportionate rejection rates at PTAB, if they were to exist, would be a decline in patenting activity as inventors give up in disgust and go on to something else. But the evidence shows that there is no such patent drought. The PTO recently celebrated the granting of the 10 millionth patent, only three years after the granting of the 9 millionth patent, a record pace. From FY 2012 to 2016, filings increased 15 percent to more than 650,000 applications  the highest number ever. In FY 2016, the PTO issued 347,243 patents, also the highest number ever.

We dont believe mythical views of the origin of the world anymore because science has constructed an evidence-based alternative story. Patent policymakers should demand real evidence, not ritual repetition of myths, when faced with complaints that the current patent review system is broken. Now is the time for policymakers to stay the course so that still more progress can be made against the scourge of patent trolls.
Cisco is putting people, technology, and resources to work in service of an inclusive future where technology gives everyone the tools to thrive. Visit our Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Hub.
Conservative families have long been accustomed to funding a public education system that teaches values contrary to their own. Now, a Florida program that uses public tax credits to support private scholarships for low-income students at parochial schools is under fire because Christian schools are, well, Christian. Having failed to defeat school-choice programs on the merits, the Left is turning to anti-religious bigotry to attack Floridas Tax Credit Scholarship Program, which serves more than 100,000 children.

Floridas initiative, the nations largest school-choice program, has faced a sustained assault from the local press for the Christian curricula of some of its participating schools. The Huffington Post created a chart chronicling the offensive views that Christian schools teach, from creationism to Biblical distinctions between the sexes. The Orlando Sentinel called what students learn at private schools hillbilly science and a 12-year sentence to some anamorphic Sunday school class from hell. The Lefts anti-school-choice hysteria increasingly echoes Senator Dianne Feinsteins chiding of Judge Amy Coney Barrett last year: the dogma lives loudly within you.

Media attacks on the curricula and values in schools of choice rarely include an examination of the values on offer at taxpayer-funded public schools. In 2016, a Palm Beach high school teachers final exam included the question, If Donald Trump becomes President of the United States, we are: A. Screwed, B. Screwed, C. Screwed, or D. Screwed behind a really YUGE wall that Mexico pays for. Another school took its cheerleading squad and band to perform at a Hillary Clinton political rally as a field trip. A third Florida school required students to recite There is no god but God; Muhammad is the prophet of God. None of these incidents got much play in the Sentinel.

In Albuquerque, New Mexico, an elementary school instructed teachers not to refer to students as boys and girls, in order to make transgender students feel more welcome. In California, a teacher was placed on administrative leave for suggesting that if students were allowed to walk out of class without consequence to protest for gun control, they should also be permitted to cut school to oppose abortion. In Vermont, a high school flew a Black Lives Matter flag to celebrate Black History Month. And hundreds of public school districts across the country partner with Planned Parenthood to teach a sex-education curriculum that many parents find objectionable. In my own public high school, the debunked theory that Ronald Reagan was senile for the latter years of his administration was taught as fact in history class.

Disagreements among parental supporters and critics of the aggressively secular public school curriculum are unlikely to disappear soon. America is not only an ethnically, religiously, and culturally diverse nation, but also a place where families often disagree on what a good education should look like. Those who want to yank scholarships out of the hands of low-income kids because they object to public support for Christian education dont think twice about forcing deeply religious parents to pay taxes to teach progressive values, even as many of those parents pay double freight for their own childrens private educations.

Any potential solution should follow the model of higher education: fund the student, not the school. Public investment in education is vital in a republic, but theres no reason why taxpayers must bankroll a monolithic agenda. Its time to empower parents to take back their role as directors of their childrens educations. In Florida, the tax-credit scholarship program is doing just that.

Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images
In these contentious times, perhaps its heartening that Ivanka Trump and Silicon Valleys potentates have at least one thing in common: concern for the future of Americas workforce. As the White House point person on a new jobs initiative, Trump wrote in a recent op-ed that its high time to deliver better workforce training. Thats where Silicon Valley comes in. Were overdue for something revolutionary to ameliorate unfair outcomes from technological and economic disruptions to the workforce. For too long, weve met every cycle of technological dislocation with the same unimaginative policies: financial aid and PR for vocational schools and community colleges, retraining grants, corporate pledges and private-public partnerships, or just old-fashioned welfare.

The big problem is that there are far more openings for skilled employment than there are people with the requisite skills to fill them. Contrary to received opinion, technology is not eliminating work so much as it is changing the skills landscape. And there wont be enough robots to do those skilled jobs for yearsif ever. President Trumps new White House National Council for the American Worker proposes to facilitate the use of data to connect American businesses, workers and educational institutions. At the White House initiative last week, 15 major corporations pledged to hire and train workers. All this constitutes a necessary, but far from sufficient, step. The missing ingredient is a revolution in skills training.

Up until now, the best that the Internet could do was enable online learning for job functions like accounting or coding. But thats a cakewalk compared with mastering welding, plumbing, or machine repair/maintenance online. Fortunately, technology is opening a path to superior skills training via realistic virtual simulators that can be accessed remotely. Remarkably realistic virtual reality (VR) environments are now available in medical and military applications. Microsofts HoloLens may be the most sophisticated VR simulator so far, presenting realistic life-size simulacra of human organs for doctors to practice surgery and simulated rescue operations for soldiers. Its still too expensive for everyday use, and truly immersive verisimilitude remains over the horizon. But near-perfect visual, tactile, and other sensory inputs will soon emerge. AI, virtual and augmented reality, and high-speed network connectivity to supercomputing in the Cloud are merging with the budding revolution in sensors and materials to enable haptics that allow a sense of touch and the reality of a tactile Internet. The latter will be key to skills training.

Its time to emulate Edwin Link, who introduced the first aircraft simulator in 1929. Flight simulators revolutionized the skilled trade of flying. While hands-on training remains essential, the simulator accelerates the acquisition and refinement of the aviators skill set. Creating VR training systems is squarely in the Silicon Valley wheelhouse; skills-centric VR wont be easy or cheap, but Silicon Valleys disruptors can afford it, and they should volunteer to fund it. Developing sophisticated virtual training systems would be far less expensiveand more productivethan imposing new taxes to fund welfare programs like universal basic income. And retraining people is self-evidently more moral than assuming that they should be put out to pasture, with a stipend.

As both history and current trends show, advances in technology mean that fewer people end up working per unit of good produced or service created. But increasing productivity is the point of new technology and has been the engine of prosperity over millenniaand it has always meant more net new jobs. Technological innovation does tend to alter the nature of work and the kind of skills required, though, leading to job losses for an unlucky minority. Today, as in the past, most Republicans and Democrats believe that we should do something to smooth out the technological dislocations thrust on that minority. As always, the devil is in the details of what constitutes something. Nearly two centuries ago, we saw a revolution in the means of production. A half-century ago, the first commercial computers triggered a revolution in the means of management. Now were on the cusp of a revolution in the means of job training. Its time for Silicon Valley to step up.

Photo by Stephen Lam/Getty Images
The government has rejected a suggestion that the NCS Trust should become a broker and quality assurance body for full-time social action opportunities.

In the government response to the full-time social action review, published today, it said that this would be a significant departure from the current scope of the NCS Trust.

The government added: The NCS Trust was set up to deliver the National Citizen Service programme and to achieve positive outcomes for participants across its threefold mission of improved social mobility, social cohesion and civic engagement. Additional responsibility as a quality assurance body would detract from these core functions.

But it said body already encourages its graduates to continue volunteering and makes them aware of other opportunities through an online portal that enables them to search for opportunities.

Claiming benefits

In response to recommendations that the Office for Civil Society should work more closely with other departments to encourage full-time social action, the government said there were already opportunities for these discussions.

The review had specifically recommended that the Department for Work and Pensions do more to support people who are volunteering to claim appropriate benefits.

But the government response said that there was no restriction on claiming jobseekers allowance or universal credit as long as people met their requirements to spend enough time searching for work and the ability to reduce job seeking hours to accommodate volunteering is not a right, rather a discretionary flexibility that may not be appropriate for every claimant.

It said advisers determine on a case-by-case basis whether more flexibility is appropriate and act to promote volunteering accordingly.

New guidance

The review urged the government to support NCVO and others to produce more guidance. The government said that a working group of sector experts had been convened to discover what is needed.

The government also said that the Careers & Enterprise Company and Step Up to Serve are planning to work on a toolkit of interactive resources which will support careers leaders, enterprise coordinators and enterprise advisers to embed social action in their whole school careers plans.

Elsewhere, Steve Halliday, who led the review, is working with Business in the Community to work with business leaders.

Civil society strategy

The review had been conducted following lobbying for a new legal status for full-time volunteers, but it concluded that no new legal status was necessary and made a number of recommendations about raising awareness.

In the foreword to the report, Tracey Crouch, minister for civil society, said that the governments wider vision will be set out when it publishes its civil society strategy.

A government spokeswoman said the strategy would be published in due course.

'Lack of ambition'

City Year Uk, one of the charities that has been lobbying for a new legal status, said it was disappointed with the government's response.

Leo Watson, external and public affairs lead, said: "The lack of any obvious ambition to assess how the government can grow youth full-time social action in order to tackle some of the country's biggest challenges is hugely disappointing. Using evidence found at home and abroad, we know that this type of volunteering can play an enormous role in tackling some of our society's biggest challenges such as educational inequality, homelessness, lack of social care support, loneliness and climate change."




Dubai-based Emirates Airlines has not given a toss to rumors that it is planning to invest in South African Airways (SAA) after reports in South Africa said the two carriers had held talks through the United Arab Emirates (UAE) embassy in the African country.

Emirates continues to focus on its organic growth and strategic codeshare partnerships where it makes sense for our business and customers, the airlines told Dubai-based Arabian Business Monday.

We are committed to the South African market and have enjoyed close cooperation with South African Airways (SAA) since 1997, and we are working closely to further enhance our codeshare.

However, we have no plans to invest or take any equity share in SAA or any other airline.

Speculations of Emirates investment into South Africas ailing national carrier have risen recently after South African media reported ongoing partnership talks between the two companies with the UAE embassy playing a go-between.

Emirates sister airline Etihad has also been reported holding parallel talks with SAA. The Abu Dhabi-based carrier also in a statement sent to Arabian Business indicated that the rumors or the speculations are untrue.

Etihad Airways does not comment on rumor or speculation, Etihad said in the statement.

Meanwhile, SAA on Monday indicated it discussed with an array of airlines, including the two Emirati global competitors, ways to strengthen commercial relationship. Turkish Airways, Qatar Airways, Kenya Airways, Air Mauritius, United Airlines and Singapore Airlines have also been contacted for talks, SAA said.

SAA Chief Executive Officer Vuyani Jarana in an interview following his appointment at the head of the bailed out airline in November proposed authorities to seek an aviation investor partner in a bid to revive the national carrier, which has incurred losses since 2011, Arabian Business reports.

For Jarana, the future partner would enable SAA to share costs, improve customer service and receive a capital injection.
Early Monday morning, Todd Maisel, a photojournalist, stood out in the rain on South Street, near the Battery Tunnel. Watching the passersby, he spotted a woman walking her dog, her umbrella braced against the wind. Maisel lifted his camera. Just as a gust turned the umbrella inside out, the womans dog grabbed his leash in his mouth and yanked itsnap! The diagonal opposition was perfect, framed against the wet, grey concrete.

when life pulls you in all directions, stay focused. @NYDailyNews pic.twitter.com/wZZoXGMSF0  Todd Maisel (@ToddMaisel) July 23, 2018

Maisel filed the photo right away to his editor at the New York Daily News. It was a wonderful moment, he said. But there was no answer. A few days before, rumors had been reported that Tronc, the Chicago-based publisher that bought the Daily News last September for a dollar, was planning mass layoffs. When Maisel, a senior staff photographer who had been at the paper for 18 years, arrived in the newsroom for a mandatory 9 a.m. meeting, staffers were told to wait for email alerts. After about a half hour of angsty standing around, the emails started to come in, scheduling meetings with human resources; half the masthead lost their jobs, including Jim Rich, the editor-in-chief, and Kristen Lee, the managing editor.

For the rest of the day, Bavaria Bier Haus, a beer hall on South William Street in the Financial District, was Daily News headquarters. A veteran breaking news reporter, who had been on staff for almost two decades, poured himself a glass from a pitcher of Kolsch. That morning, he told CJR, he had been planning on chasing homicides. Beside him, an editor described a story that one of her best writers, also laid off, had been working on, about a woman who had been brutally beaten by a mugger; the attacker, sent to Rikers, was beaten by a prison guard. The attacker sued and won $3.8 million in damages, while the woman has permanent injuries, and has remained poor. Who will report these stories now? they wondered. Some 45 journalists remained on staff, but not everyone had been notified yet. Seeking to shield young innocents from the harsh reality of the day, interns had been sent off to a mid-morning screening of Jurassic Park.

RELATED: Cuts at the Daily News highlight a local news crisis

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Staffers passed around a send-off email from the publisher. This is the Daily Newss faultit should have been done long ago, an editor explained of Troncs reasoning. The rest of the note, he said, details a plan to focus more closely on breaking news. With a shrug, he pointed out several staffers on the breaking news team who had just lost their jobs. Many of them, promised severance packages that will kick in next month, asked to remain anonymous.

They told us numbers were showing that local readers want and are paying for digital, a former photo editor said. They had done the research. Now 10 members of the photo team have been laid off. New Yorks Picture Newspaper has no more pictures of our own, he added, referring to the Daily Newss slogan for its first 71 years of operation. Its pretty embarrassing.

Another editor chimed in. They want digital first, but our entire social media team was laid off today, she said. Tronc must have just looked at a spread sheet of who was making how much money. Two months ago, she pointed out, many in the newsroom were awarded raises.

Seeking to shield young innocents from the harsh reality of the day, interns had been sent off to a mid-morning screening of Jurassic Park.

Zach Haberman, until yesterday the head of breaking news, drank Bushmills whiskey on the rocks. I think all news is local, he said. Theres not a single story where there isnt a local effect. Not having the people to log those effects or dig deeper into the effectsthat is a loss. Nearby, an editor described a recent example: a story helped a woman in Washington Heights find her mentally ill son, who had been missing for three months since his release from Rikers. The reporter got a tip that led them to Elmhurst Psychiatric Hospital, in Queens. No one had shared his hospitalization with his mother until the Daily News tracked him down. Every day that Ive worked here Ive taken pride knowing that the New York Daily News is a voice for the working class, a former photo editor said. I dont know what this change means for the working class.

The last photo I picked was one by Andrew Savulich of a woman in her NYCHA apartment bathroom, another former photo editor said; it depicts a scene from the citys low-income housing. Its dilapidated and its falling apart, and shes like, Why is this happening to me? The photo accompanies an opinion piece by Harry Siegel: Why we need local journalism: Look around at how vulnerable we are right now. The editor added, I think it really spoke to what the Daily News is about.

Others reeled over the lack of planning for such a major transition. There was an LIRR train derailment, another booted editor said, of the Long Island Rail Road. There were no breaking news updates being posted on the home page, on our Twitter account, our Facebook account. But this is where New Yorkers come to get the breaking news that they seek.

A young breaking news reporter had another job lined up. Shes relieved that her notice went through in time to spare a colleagues job, she said. I saved that one personthat means the world to me.

Soon, some rescue supplies arrived at the bar: Newsweek, Vanity Fair, and the New York Post sent money via Venmo to help cover the tab. A Post staffer joined her Daily News friends at a table outside. This is a bad day for the New York Post as well, she says, because New York is one of the few cities in the country where there are competing newspapers. The competition drives each of us to be better, and when one is diminished, we both are diminished.

As the sky began to dim, an editor said that she wasnt surprised by the layoffs, but she was disappointed. Working in journalism kind of feels like building a house on a foundation that never seems to dry.

ICYMI: Who suffers when local news disappears

Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the number of people given raises two months ago.

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Amanda Darrach is a contributor to CJR and a visiting scholar at the University of St Andrews School of International Relations. Follow her on Twitter @thedarrach.
Javier Cabral was hunting for pan dulce when I finally got him on the phone. A longtime food journalist and an associate editor at LA Taco, Cabral was looking for something specific: conchas, Mexican sweet breads you can find all around Los Angeles. Specifically, Cabral was looking for vegan conchas, the kind that can only be found at Delicias Bakery in Highland Park. Delicias, a neighborhood staple, is rooted in an older city but is also symptomatic of a gentrifying LA; it began selling vegan pan dulce to stay economically viable in a city altered by new development, an influx of new residents, and an increasingly unaffordable housing market.

When talking about Highland Park, you cant beat around the bush with how much its changing, Cabral says.

The same should be said for LAs journalism. In a years time, The Los Angeles Times found a new owner and a new editor; its newsroom unionized, and moved 17 miles south of the city to El Segundo. Independent news website LAist vanished in an instant, only to resurface last month after being purchased by local NPR affiliate KPCC. The Los Angeles Daily News let go of a significant portion of its staff. And LA Weekly, the longstanding bulwark of progressive alt-weekly journalism and the creative birthplace of famed food critic Jonathan Gold (who died of pancreatic cancer on Saturday) fired most of its staff.

We all knew that this was our time to be there for LA to write about the kind of stories you wouldnt read about anywhere else, says Cabral.

ICYMI: The Colorado Sun pits Civil-backed startup against The Denver Post

LA Taco, originally founded as a website to cover food and street art in 2006, didnt start publishing news until late last year, when the news media ecosystem around LA looked like it might collapse. Alex Blazedale, the websites founder and publisher, decided to try and fill the growing news void in the most populated county in the US. While Blazedale has kept a low profile, his websites recent coverage has not. A quick search raises stories that werent prioritized by other local media, from outing white supremacists for meeting at the Highland Park Brewery in Chinatown to the last days touring the LA Times historic headquarters.

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The website itself runs on occasional sponsored content and events from companies such as Ramonas, Silencio, and Tecate. Its really the story of the little blog that could, Cabral told CJR shortly before LA Taco was covered by The New York Times. Slowly but surely, were getting more readership, but its definitely an uphill battle because of money.

What the site lacks in a traditional-sounding news name, it makes up for with credibility and the news chops of executive director Daniel Hernandez, who Blazedale approached after LA Weekly fired staff and LAist vanished. A former staffer for the Weekly as well as the LA Times, Hernandez also helped launch international coverage for VICE News, serving as their Mexico bureau chief.

Gustavo Arellano, the former OC Weekly editor and current LA Times columnist who authored Taco USA, gave an interview to LA Taco years ago but otherwise paid the site little thought until Hernandez became executive director. The bizarre thing about LA Taco is that the website has existed for like 12 years or whatever, he tells CJR.

Hernandez, who grew up in San Diego and worked as a reporter in Mexico City for eight years before he returned to Los Angeles, says he started missing California stories while he was away. LA desperately needs more hyperlocal coveragewhether that takes the form of hard-hitting investigations or food reporting that is conscious of the sociopolitical issues that surround the city. The same need has propelled LA Taco, and helped draw Hernandez back to cover an increasingly complicated city and region. I came here with the urgency, wanting to cover it again, Hernandez says. And I was just looking for a home to do that.

Theres a certain kind of person that, regardless of their race, or ethnicity, or identity, has a certain connection to the texture of the city and can engage in it in many different ways.

HERNANDEZ WORKS WITH a small group of staff reporters and freelancers who, taken together, completely buck national newsroom demographic trends. A majority of LA Taco contributors are Latinxsomething Jennifer Velez, a freelancer who previously worked for both KPCC and NPR, says is critical to how she sees her work with the site.

Its refreshing to work not just in a team of Latinx journalists, but with journalists that know and understand this city well, Velez says. Los Angeles is huge and its complex. You think you know one side of it, but once you really start looking you see theres been so much more going on.

Hernandez wants to ensure a rich and diverse range of experiences in the LA Taco newsroom. Theres a certain kind of person that, regardless of their race, or ethnicity, or identity, has a certain connection to the texture of the city and can engage in it in many different ways, Hernandez says. I think that includes older writers. I think that includes working-class writers. And I think that includes writers who didnt finish college.

Several LA Taco contributors came as former contributors from LA Weekly, and LA Taco appears to be competing with the Weeklys seriousness when it comes to food writingand diverging when it comes to how political food writing should be.. Earlier this year, newly-hired LA Weekly food critic Michele Stueven wrote that her beat isnt border walls, gang wars, hit-and-run drivers or rents in Los Angeles. I cover food culture and the restaurant scene in LA. (Stueven clarified her point for CJR: My point was I dont write about politics. Of course food is multicultural and that is reflected in my stories. She added, in reference to LA Taco: And be sure to make the distinction that we are a newspaper and they are a blog.)

Hours after Stueven posted her comment, Katherine Spiers, the Weeklys former food editor and now an occasional contributor to LA Taco, posted about her intersectional approach to food coverage, a rebuke to Stuevens post:

Memo to any aspiring food writers following me: if youre not writing about immigration, local and national politics, race, workers rights, gender issues, and every other sociopolitical topic, youre not doing a good job covering food.  Katherine Spiers (@katherinespiers) April 3, 2018

Spiers still has hope for the journalism and food writing that raised neighborhood profiles along with vibrant mosaic dishesthe conchas from Highland Park, strawberry whipped cream cake from Chinatown, or Cuban papas rellenas from Burbank. The market for food writing that focuses exclusively on the meal itself is ever-shrinking, says Spiers. She says such coverage has never been the focus of LA Weekly, but adds, I dont think the new owners know theres a distinction.

LA Taco is not anywhere near fully staffed, she told CJR in a direct message, but I know they understand the kind of coverage (food and otherwise) that LA wants right now.

ICYMI: LA journalisms Prince of Darkness

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Gabe Schneider writes about California politics and policy. He is a co-founder of UC San Diego's The Triton, where he served as news editor and editor-in-chief. Find him on Twitter @gabemschneider.
A year after Iowa began cracking down on texting while driving, advocates and lawmakers in Nebraska hope to implement a similar policy.

Nebraska and Iowa both banned texting while driving in 2010 but classified the infraction as a secondary offense, meaning drivers must commit another traffic violation to be pulled over. Iowa made texting a primary offense last year, joining the majority of other states and offering Nebraska a legislative roadmap should the state decide to follow suit.

The issue has created a clash between conservative principles of limited government and personal accountability with a desire to reduce roadway tragedies. Now its up to legislators to strike a balance between concerns about unintended consequences and the risk of lost lives through inaction.

If it was an important issue, it would be front and center, but its not viewed as such, said Rob Reynolds, who has advocated for tougher distracted driving laws since his 16-year-old daughter was killed in a 2007 crash in Omaha caused by a teen who was texting while driving.

Over the past several years, Nebraska legislators have considered bills to make texting a primary offense or ban the use of hand-held electronic devices while driving, but the efforts have failed. Only four states  Nebraska, Florida, Ohio and South Dakota  treat texting as a secondary offense, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. Two states, Arizona and Missouri, ban texting for young drivers but not adults. Montana doesnt have a statewide ban.

The Iowa State Patrol announced earlier this month that citations issued by state troopers for texting increased by over 620 percent since the state shifted to primary enforcement in July 2017. The Nebraska State Patrol saw about a 50 percent decrease over the same period.

Iowa legislators approved the change in 2017 by wide margins. The bipartisan legislation added social media, games and internet surfing to the ban on texting, but allowed phones to be used for navigation and safety alerts.

Iowa state Sen. Michael Breitbach, a Strawberry Point Republican, said the tipping point came from new lawmakers who brought an increased awareness of the effects of distracted driving.

It would take a similar change in the Nebraska Legislature, said state Sen. Bob Krist, an Omaha Democrat who has repeatedly introduced bills to make texting a primary offense. Krist blamed the Legislatures transportation committee for holding up past legislative efforts.

The complement of that committee over the years has not wanted to address primary offense, said Krist, whos running for governor against incumbent Republican Pete Ricketts.

Nebraska state Sen. Merv Riepe, an Omaha-area Republican, said Iowas success at enforcing a stricter texting ban could open the door for Nebraska.

Its always easier to do something when youve got a real model that seems to be working, Riepe said. Iowa could be that model.

Opponents to increased enforcement in Nebraska have focused on personal freedom, said Eric Koeppe, president and CEO of the National Safety Council of Nebraska. He said his organization, which lobbies for stricter enforcement of the texting ban, believes motorists have a shared responsibility for safety that demands attentiveness.

Our responsibilities are not only to ourselves but all of the other people we share the road with, Koeppe said.

But Spike Eickholt, a lobbyist for the Nebraska Criminal Defense Attorneys Association, said officers already can stop drivers who are texting for other traffic violations. He argued that broadening police powers would erode the freedom of motorists.

Nationally, the American Civil Liberties Union has opposed texting bans on similar grounds. The organization also raises concerns about racial profiling.

The ALCU of Nebraska opposes making texting a primary offense, spokeswoman Heidi Uhing said in an email. Last year, the ALCU of Iowa called Iowas action problematic and ineffective, in part based on its theory that some drivers try to conceal their phones to avoid detection  creating a worse safety hazard.

Veronica Fowler, a spokeswoman for the ACLU of Iowa, questioned how law enforcement officers identify potential violations.

It is almost impossible for them to know when people are using their phone, Fowler said.

Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Nathan Ludwig said troopers look for people scrolling and manipulating text on their phones. He said officers will pull up alongside cars or watch for signs of distracted driving.

Its pretty easy to tell when somebody is texting because theyre not looking around at you, theyre just in tune to their phone, Ludwig said.

While theres widespread agreement texting while driving is dangerous, its unclear whether taxing bans are effective in reducing crashes.

Collision insurance claim rates linked to distracted driving typically are flat, or even increase slightly, following the adoption of texting bans, said Jessica Cicchino, vice president of research for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. She called that a perplexing result for researchers.

We dont see that these laws are improving the bottom line of reducing crashes, Cicchino said.

Iowa is on track for a decline in crashes linked to electronic devices so far this year, with 486 reported between January and June compared to 575 in the first six months of 2017, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation. Current data for Nebraska isnt available.

Adam Lathrop, executive director of the Iowa-Illinois Safety Council, supports Iowas action but said it could take time to see results, noting it took decades before seat belt use was widely adopted.

It took time to get there, Lathrop said. Texting will get there as well, but until we make it something that is culturally frowned upon doing, I dont know that well have the widespread change that were looking for.

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The nations largest home-demolition program, which has torn down more than 14,000 vacant houses across Detroit, Mich., may have inadvertently created a new problem by spreading lead-contaminated dust through some of the citys many hollowed-out neighborhoods.

Health officials are concerned that crushing walls covered with lead paint generates dust that can settle on nearby homes or drift through open windows, endangering families who have stayed long after their neighbors fled during Detroits long decline.

Because the risk of lead exposure is especially worrisome for children, Detroit Health Department teams plan to go door-to-door next week in some neighborhoods to seek out potential hazards and do in-home testing of children.

Were kind of throwing the kitchen sink at it a little bit, said Health Director Dr. Joneigh S. Khaldun. Since the problem involves children, we have to do everything we can to ensure the demolition program is as safe as possible.

Health department data released last year showed elevated blood lead levels among children living in several areas where the dilapidated structures have been knocked down. The city has not determined if the demolitions caused the increase, but officials curtailed some of the work until the onset of colder weather, when windows are more likely to be closed and children less likely to be outdoors.

The at-risk neighborhoods include some of the poorest parts of Detroit, which has one of the highest poverty levels in the U.S.

Lead paint has long been the primary cause of lead poisoning in the city, where most homes were built well before 1978, when lead paint was outlawed. But the mass demolitions started only a few years ago.

A 2014 survey found more than 70,000 vacant houses, many of them relicts of the mass exodus from the city that began in the 1950s. Since then, Detroits population has plummeted from about 1.8 million to 670,000. As they decayed, the empty homes became havens for squatters, drug users and criminals.

Tamara Rollins lives on the east side in an area bordering one of the five most affected zip codes. When she moved into her rental home, demolition crews were rolling through the neighborhood.

Rollins is conflicted. She has a 3-year-old son who needs to be protected from lead, but being safe from crime trumps that concern.

A lot of stuff happens in vacant houses, Rollins said while holding her son. It also makes the property value go down, and it makes the neighborhoods look bad.

Detroit is not alone is trying to safely raze unoccupied homes. Baltimore has torn down about 2,700 vacant buildings since 2010. Detroits program is larger and has been awarded more than $250 million from the federal government for blight elimination.

Over the past 20 years, the number of Detroit children with elevated blood lead levels has dropped by nearly 90 percent, according to the city. But last year, state health officials released preliminary data suggesting that the percentage of children with elevated blood lead levels increased from 7.5 percent in 2015 to 8.8 percent the next year.

Even at low levels, lead exposure can cause reduced intelligence, impaired hearing and irritability in infants and young children. They are most often exposed by eating paint chips or coming in contact with contaminated dust or soil.

Living within 400 feet of a demolition site increased the odds of elevated lead in children 6 years old and younger by 20 percent during summer months, the health department study found. Demolitions may be to blame for about 2.4 percent of cases involving elevated lead in the blood, according to the study of about 50,000 children between 2014 and 2016.

The research did not establish the precise source of the lead.

Were not sure if dust is getting into the home next door or if children are playing in it, Khaldun said.

For families in affected areas, the city offers educational materials, home visits with a nurse and other services. If lead-based paint or other hazards are found in the homes, officials work with families to get them removed, Khaldun said.

Other cities and states are grappling with similar lead issues.

Ohios health department created a list last year of homes that have serious lead paint problems. The database included homes and apartments that were ordered vacated after their owners refused to clean up lead paint. Children who had lived in the homes tested positive for high lead levels.

Two years ago, Toledo approved requiring lead inspections of rental properties and repairs if problems are found.

Back in Detroit, whenever Dazelle Spires walks out his front door, he sees the beaten-down houses and is reminded of how much his neighborhood has deteriorated. The 43-year-old Home Depot employee says the empty homes accumulate problems and should be bulldozed.

The risk that lead-contaminated dust could hurt children is not a good thing, he said. But tearing down the old houses is more urgent because it ends the problem thats happening now.

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With the scope of the devastation still sinking in, business owners and residents of the central Iowa city of Marshalltown on Friday began picking up bricks from collapsed buildings, dragging away downed trees and trying to return to the lives they knew before a powerful tornado roared through their community.

Structures throughout Marshalltown were hit by the Thursday afternoon tornado but some of the worst damage was to the historic courthouse and brick buildings that line the citys quaint town square. For years, officials and property owners have slowly worked to spruce up the buildings, only to see them devastated in minutes.

Since 2002 weve spent $50 million in building renovations and now to see these, Im just sick, said Jenny Etter, executive director of the Marshalltown Central Business District, a nonprofit group. We were making giant strides in restoring the downtown so this is really devastating to us because we were on a roll. These buildings were beautiful.

At the 132-year-old courthouse, a blue tarp flapped over a gaping hole atop the clock tower after the cupola tumbled to the ground.

Local officials promised to rebuild, but some residents were too shocked to make plans.

Crystal Jensen, tears running down her face, said the storm passed in just three minutes, but it left her house in ruins and blew away photos and a bracelet from her father.

I just lost my dad two months ago and this happened, she said. Im kind of at a loss.

Terri Shetler, owner of an embroidery shop on the town square, was digging out her 2017 Toyota Sienna, missing a front quarter panel, windows blown out and filled with mud, shingles and wood slivers.

Im pretty shaken. I came out and saw the courthouse and all this, she said. But it can be replaced.

The tornado that hit Marshalltown was among a flurry of unexpected twisters that swept through central Iowa on Thursday, injuring at least 17 people and flattening buildings in three cities.

The National Weather Service said Friday that at least five tornadoes and likely more struck. Meteorologist Jeff Johnson said it will take days to determine their strength and total number.

Marshalltown, a city of 27,000, was hit hardest. Officials said 10 people were injured and at least 28 people were relocated to an emergency shelter.

About 200 workers from several states were scrambling to replace 500 utility poles and restore power to thousands of customers, said Alliant Energy spokesman Justin Foss. Natural gas service remains shut down in part of the city, he said.

The local hospital will be closed for an undetermined period after the building was damaged and 43 patients were taken to nearby communities. The hospital emergency and urgent care services were moved for now to another building in Marshalltown.

Tornadoes also ripped through the central Iowa cities of Pella and Bondurant, damaging homes and a factory.

Gov. Kim Reynolds toured the cities Friday and then said shed signed proclamations that would immediately provide help from state agencies, including providing dump trucks to remove debris and asbestos removal.

This is the widest area and the most destruction, she said in Marshalltown. Multiple buildings and facilities. Its just unbelievable when you take a look at the devastation and destruction that we see.

In Pella, seven people suffered minor injuries when a tornado hit the agricultural machinery maker Vermeer Manufacturing, scattering huge sheets of metal through a parking lot and leaving one building with a gaping hole.

The National Weather Service confirmed it was an EF3 tornado, with winds about 144 mph.

Several homes were destroyed in Bondurant.

(Associated Press writers Margery Beck and Nelson Lampe in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to this report.)

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Ten miles from Louisianas receding shore, on an island that was on the verge of sinking away, new land is growing at a rate of 200 feet per day.

A slurry of sand blasts from a 30-inch-wide pipe with the force of a firehose. In foaming sheets, it spreads across the beach of Whiskey Island, making it thicker and wider by the minute. Backhoes and bulldozers finish the job, sculpting the sand into something resembling the islands younger self, before storms, oil spills and erosion took a heavy toll.

The projects manager, John Huit, suppresses a prideful grin as he watches a landscape quite literally taking shape before his eyes.

Where were standing was nothing but water  12 feet deep  when we started this, he said, standing in rubber boots next to the gushing pipe.

The $118 million restoration of Whiskey Island on the edge of Terrebonne Bay is one of the worlds biggest land building projects. More than 15.8 million cubic yards of sand  enough to fill the Superdome three times  has been dredged and spread across the island, creating nearly 2,000 acres of new beach and marsh. More sand was moved than the states previous record, the Caminada Headland restoration, which spread 8.8 million cubic yards across 13 miles of coast, from Port Fourchon to Elmers Island.

Whiskey Islands restoration, which is set to wrap up in early fall, amounts to only a fraction of the money and sand Louisiana is pouring into the rescue of its chain of barrier islands. And for good reason. Growing smaller and fewer in number by the year, the more than two dozen barrier islands are Louisianas first line of defense against hurricanes and storm surges, Gov. John Bel Edwards said.

Louisianas barrier islands are some of the most important features of our coastal landscape  a true source of protection for our communities, he said.

The slim, sandy islands act as speed bumps, absorbing wind and wave power that would otherwise travel unimpeded through fragile wetlands and into towns and cities, including metro New Orleans.

Slide divider right and left to see islands before and after restoration.

Behind barrier islands, watery worlds meet and blend into something more complex. The sea, calmed by protected bays, mixes with river water rich in sediment and nutrients, giving rise to a third kind of ecosystem  one that teems with fish, shrimp and oysters. Suspended river sediment is slowed long enough to sink, eventually stacking into new land or building back what erosion had taken away.

Barrier islands themselves are much less dynamic, except during nesting season. The islands draw raucous crowds of gulls and terns every spring. Some bird species nest nowhere else, including the states icon, the brown pelican. Seven barrier islands host 90 percent of the states population of nesting pelicans.

Some of these islands have a tiny footprint of land, said Erik Johnson, Audubon Louisianas director of bird conservation. They might seem to have very little value, but from a bird perspective theyre irreplaceable.

Over the past 20 years, nearly $817 million has been spent restoring Louisianas barrier islands, bulking up 75 miles of beach and back-island marsh, according to a recent assessment by the state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA). The state plans to invest another $1.5 billion over the next 50 years as part of the Coastal Master Plan, an ambitious restoration and storm protection initiative estimated to cost $50 billion.

Despite the barrier islands importance, and the vast sums of public money going into their repair and upkeep, they are out of sight, out of mind for most Louisianans. Thats not the case in many coastal states, where barrier islands are prime real estate dominated by beach homes, hotels and crowded beaches. Louisianas islands are remote, low-lying and often bare. Only Grand Isle, population: 1,400, has a year-round human presence.

Not many people think about them, but the barrier islands are critical for our coast, said Windell Curole, manager of the South Lafourche Levee District. Restoring them offers us a better chance of survival.

On a warm August night in 1856, a raging hurricane made a direct hit on Isle Derniere, a 24-mile-long barrier island that guarded Terrebonne Parishs soft, marshy middle. French for last island, Isle Derniere boasted a sprawling resort popular with New Orleans wealthiest families. Gale winds and towering waves broke the island in two and tore away the hotel, casinos, summer homes and all the islands trees.

The wind blew a perfect hurricane; every building upon the island giving way, one after another, until nothing remained, an eyewitness told The Daily Picayune on Aug. 14, 1856. The sea waved over the whole island. Those who were fortunate to find some object to cling to were seen floating in all directions.

More than 200 people drowned or were crushed by wreckage. The island, cut through, began to splinter further, eventually giving shape to Whiskey and three other islands  East, Trinity and Raccoon.

Had Derniere not been in the hurricanes path, the destruction would have been far worse on the mainland, where several fishing communities dotted the bayous northward to Houma. The hurricane made abundantly clear that barrier islands were a treacherous place to live, but it wasnt understood for another century the protective role they play. By then, nearly all of the states barrier islands were in danger of slipping away.

Louisiana State University oceanographer Joe Suhayda sounded the alarm in the early 1990s. With the help of computer scientist Vibhas Aravamuthan, Suhayda produced models that altered or erased the barrier islands under several storm scenarios. Even small changes to the islands shapes and heights had big implications, they found. Shrink an island a bit and hypothetical storms strike the mainland harder, faster and with taller waves.

A Category 3 hurricane thrown at the more robust Louisiana coastline of 1930 would have left Houma high and dry, according to their model. The same hurricane let loose in 2020, when much of the barrier chain would have eroded away, put the city under three feet of water.

Remove Whiskey and its neighbors, and 1992s Hurricane Andrew swamps Cocodrie with an extra foot of water, the modeling showed. But bulk the islands up a bit, giving them a touch more height and width, and Andrews flooding would have been cut by as much as five feet.

Thinking about these islands as though they were gone  that put a lot of emphasis on them and the projects to save them, Suhayda, now retired, said in April.

Just as the islands importance was becoming clear, so was their rate of loss.

In 1992, the U.S. Geological Survey, undertaking the first comprehensive assessment of Louisianas barrier islands, estimated that the islands had decreased in area by an average of 40 percent over the past century.

A few islands are expected to disappear within the next three decades, the USGS study warned.

Disappear they did. Grand Gosier and Curlew  both part of the Chandeleur Islands on the states east edge  were a combined 600 acres in 1996. Less than a decade later, theyd been dwindled to just 75 acres. After Hurricane Katrina, they were gone.

In 2005, the coast-wide scope of loss became clear: since the 1880s, nearly 24,000 acres  about 76 percent of the total area of barrier islands  had disappeared, according to the CPRA. That averages out to 200 acres per year.

Change is a constant for barrier islands. They begin life not as islands but as the outer edges of river deltas, dynamic landscapes that naturally shift and retreat and build anew. Louisianas barrier islands took shape some 6,000 years ago as the Mississippi River altered course and abandoned parts of its much wider delta. The deltas sandy edges turned into islands as the marshes behind them eroded, becoming what are today Terrebonne and Barataria bays on the deltas west side and Breton and Chandeleur sounds to the east.

The Gulf of Mexico has never been gentle with barrier islands. Waves and wind are constantly scraping at their sides, and storms occasionally break them into bits. But what the gulf took away the river always restored. Silt and sand suspended in freshwater flowed into the gulf and eventually washed up on islands shores. That changed after humans began to alter the Mississippi, hardening its banks and damming up the sediment-rich rivers that flowed into it. What sediment remained was channeled by levees to flow straight off the continental shelf at the rivers mouth.

Meanwhile, climate change is fueling stronger and more frequent hurricanes that pummel the islands. Rising global temperatures have also contributed to the slow upward creep of sea levels  a problem expected to worsen in decades to come.

Subsidence, the gradual sinking of soft delta land, is also at play. Grand Isle, Whiskey and other large barrier islands are dropping by a half inch each year, according to the CPRA.

Then theres the oil industry, which has cut some barrier islands into pieces in the search for untapped reserves. Once torn apart, the islands tend to erode faster. Oil companies have tried quick fixes to shore up islands that support wells and pipelines, but their preferred solution  rock embankments  has only sped up erosion, said Darin Lee, a coastal resource scientist who manages CPRAs barrier island projects. Wave energy bounces off the rock and scours out sand under the water line, making the bank steeper.

Eventually the rocks collapse, and they sit there, preventing recovery because no new sand can get back to the island, Lee said.

Oil spills also take a toll. The BP Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010 saturated several barrier islands. Cat Island on the edge of Barataria Bay had been one of Louisianas four largest nesting sites, hosting dense concentrations of pelicans and other birds. The islands soil soaked up BP oil like a sponge, killing the roots of grasses and mangrove trees. As the plants died, the soil more easily washed away. Before the disaster, Cat Island was about six acres. Two years later, less than one lifeless acre remained. Now the island is a 10-foot-wide strip of sand that will likely wash away with the next big storm.

The effort to save the barrier islands began not with big-budget projects by the federal government or state but by Terrebonne Parish.

Look at us on a map  Terrebonnes sticking way out there, said Mart Black, the parishs coastal restoration director. Were more vulnerable. When theres a storm, we get hit before the others.

In the 1980s, the parish pushed for bigger and better structural protections, eventually getting federal support for Morganza to the Gulf, a network of levees, locks and floodgates under construction across nearly 100 miles of Terrebonne and Lafourche Parish. Terrebonnes leaders also lobbied for help rebuilding their crumbling barrier islands but got little traction with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the federal agency that issues permits for big coastal projects.

The Army Corps wanted to study it and study it, Black said. We said no, no, we need something now.

Terrebonne Parish engineer Robert Jones dove in, establishing Louisianas first barrier restoration project in March 1985. It was a low-budget, low-tech affair using dredged near-shore sediment to build protective dikes along the edges of East Island. Atop the island, Jones strung cheap plastic mesh from posts to catch drifting sand. He hired teenagers to plant the new dunes with beach grass. They dragged sticks to make furrows and plopped in seeds from a Coke bottle.

The project rebuilt more than 3,000 feet of 8-foot-high dune, all for about $750,000. The island withstood three hurricanes during its first year and a pounding from Hurricane Gilbert in 1989.

Terrebonne was the first to show it could be done, Lee said. The parish gave us our first big push.

The project inspired similar local efforts and served as a blueprint for some of the states earliest coastal restoration efforts. But Jones, who died in 2002, knew his shoestring approach needed to be scaled up.

If the U.S. was losing this kind of territory to a foreign aggressor, thered be no expense spared, Jones told The Times-Picayune in 1992.

But by the late `90s, CWPPRA was pouring millions of dollars into barrier island build-ups. Then came the multiple settlements from BP and its drilling partners over the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The billions of dollars in those settlements gave a huge boost to Louisianas coastal restoration efforts, paving the way for epic projects like the ones on Whiskey and Caminada. Before the 2010 disaster, barrier island projects averaged less than 3.3 million cubic yards. After 2010, projects had jumped to 5.2 million cubic yards on average, according to coastal engineering consultant Steve Dartez.

More than 20 state-managed barrier island restoration projects have been undertaken over the past two decades, re-creating 9,300 acres of sandy, sea-facing beach and back-island marsh on the Louisiana coast.

The projects have gotten a lot bigger than in Jones day. But were using the same principles, Lee said.

First step: find a sand source. Early restoration projects would use the dredge-and-barge method, which can be time consuming and expensive, depending on the distance between the island and the sand source. Sand is an abundant material but finding the right type in vast quantities isnt easy.

In 2012, the CPRA turned to the Mississippi for the first time. Sand was dredged from the river and sent through a pipeline from Buras to Scofield Island, a fast-dissolving barrier island near the rivers mouth. The 22-mile-long pipeline had to duck under and jump over several hurdles, including two hurricane levees, two highways and a busy shipping canal. A headache for engineers and builders, the projects total cost was nearly $57 million for 510 acres of restored beach and dune. The restoration of neighboring Pelican Island was, in contrast, accomplished with sand dredged from the Gulf. It ended up costing about $10 million less than Scofield and restored 76 more acres.

Offshore sand is now the primary source of material for rebuilding barrier islands, but it, too, has challenges. The first one is locating good Gulf sand under all that Mississippi mud.

Finding sand for our uses takes a lot of searching, Lee said. The CPRA reviews geologic data collected over the past century to find large sand deposits under heaps of mucky river sediment. They zero in on their quarry with a combination of sonar readings and sediment sampling.

The richest sand sources are ancient barrier islands  ones that sank under the waves after the river retreated or changed course. Ship Shoal, the main sand supplier for the Whiskey and Caminada restorations, was a barrier island 7,000 years ago, around the time humans invented the wheel.

Then comes the second challenge: getting through all of the oil and gas pipeline that lay in a tangle across the seafloor.

Theres a ton of oil and gas infrastructure on Ship Shoal, Lee said. Even if we wanted to, we couldnt dig up the whole shoal. We have to find blocks that are useable.

Pipeline maps arent always reliable, so avoid breaking through a pipe with a dredge, the CPRA and its contractors must use high-powered metal detectors to get the exact locations of undersea obstacles.

Once a sandy sweet spot is found, a dredge digs in, vacuums up the sand and pumps it through a pipe to the restoration site.

Oil and gas infrastructure can also make offloading the sand difficult. The restoration of East Timbalier Island in Lafourche Parish was mired by an extensive network of active and abandoned oil wells and pipelines, much of it buried and poorly mapped. Already expensive, the projects budget swelled by over $2 million dollars as workers navigated what project manager Kenneth Bahlinger called a spiderweb of lines.

At a dredging summit last year, Dartez classified the Whiskey Island project as Louisianas biggest, Scofield as the baddest and Caminada Headland as the bestest.

While not strictly a barrier island, Caminada serves the same protective role on the coast. Its restoration wasnt as big as Whiskey in the sheer volume of sand, but it was the first to tap into Ship Shoal, located nearly 35 miles from the headland. It tops Whiskey in money spent, totaling more than $216 million, and it covers more ground, some of which is easily visible to the public. Elmers Island, on the projects east edge, is a popular state wildlife refuge  even more popular now that its covered in a thick coating of fine sand. It shields not just 13 miles of marsh, but Port Fourchon, a hub of oil shipping in the northern Gulf, and Highway 1, the only hurricane evacuation route for Grand Isle and other communities.

The Caminada project had another surprise benefit  becoming one of the nations biggest nesting colonies for least terns, a shore bird threatened by habitat loss. The birds swarmed in just after the project was completed last year, dropping thousands of eggs across the new beach.

Build it and theyll come, said Johnson, the Audubon bird conservationist.

The big barrier island buildup has come to a close, at least for now. Only 3 percent of the states $50 billion Coastal Master Plan is earmarked for barrier islands. Four projects are on the docket  the restoration of Rabbit Island in Cameron Parish and West Grand Terre and Queen Bess islands in Jefferson Parish. The largest project, likely to cost $150 million, is a series of island upgrades in the Terrebonne Basin.

The states focus is now largely on upkeep. With the natural forces that built and restored barrier islands crippled by dams and levees, the state will need to keep the islands alive by artificial means. That will require regular dredging and sand pumping to replace material chewed away by waves and storms and swallowed by subsidence and rising seas.

Mississippi River sediment diversions  a major element of the master plan  could give barrier islands a boost. The Mid-Barataria and Mid-Breton diversions, totaling $2 billion in cost, would funnel some sediment toward the islands backsides, but theres concern the diversions could backfire, according to Suhayda. The complex water chemistry in protected bays makes them effective marsh builders. Their balanced mix of saltwater and freshwater has the effect of binding passing river sediment together. These larger sediment clumps sink rather than float away. Allow too much freshwater, Suhayda warns, and the saltwater is pushed out, and the sediment with it.

Another concern: maintaining the supply of sand. Ship Shoal cant keep giving forever, and many nearshore sand sources have been exhausted. The availability of beach-compatible sand has become increasingly scare, Dartez said. Coastal managers may have to seek out distant reserves or rely more heavily on sediment dredged from the Mississippi.

Money is also a constraint. The BP settlement was a one-time deal. Barring another big disaster-induced windfall, the state will need to find reliable sources of money for expensive repairs and rebuilds. This isnt a far-future concern. The lifespan of each of the multi-million-dollar restoration projects is a touch more than a house cats  20 years, maybe less. That means Caminada may need another 13-mile, 8.8 million cubic yard coating of sand by 2037.

In 20 years, well be back where we were, Lee said. But if we have a stormy decade, we might not get 20 years.

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The unprecedented move from MGM Resorts International to sue hundreds of victims of last years mass shooting in Las Vegas using an obscure U.S. law never tested in court has been framed by the casino-operator as an effort to avoid years of costly litigation  but the legal maneuver may not play out that way.

The company is not seeking money in the lawsuits filed in at least seven states over the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Instead, it wants federal courts to declare that it has no liability to survivors or families of slain victims under a federal law enacted after the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

MGM argues that the Oct. 1 shooting met two conditions of the law: it qualifies as an act of terrorism and federally certified security services were used at the venue where 22,000 concertgoers were gathered as gunfire rained down from the companys Mandalay Bay casino-resort.

But experts believe legal resolutions wont come quickly because appeals are practically guaranteed and a U.S. court may not be the appropriate entity to determine whether the shooting is considered terrorism. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Friday that the law authorizes its leader to make that declaration.

MGMs lawsuits target victims who have sued the company and voluntarily dismissed their claims or have threatened to sue after a gunman shattered the windows of his hotel suite and fired on a crowd of country music fans. Stephen Paddock killed 58 people and injured hundreds more before killing himself.

MGM is invoking the Support Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act of 2002, enacted to urge development and use of anti-terrorism technologies by providing companies a way to limit liability if their federally certified products or services fail to prevent a terrorist attack. After 9/11, manufacturers and others were concerned they could be sued out of business after an attack.

The law has never been used to avoid liability after mass violence, such as the shooting at a Colorado movie theater in 2012, because previous attacks havent involved services or products certified by Homeland Security. The department has only approved about 1,000 services and technologies, including airport screening equipment and stadium security.

MGM said in the lawsuits filed in Nevada, California, Utah and other states that its security vendor for the outdoor concert venue, Contemporary Services Corp., was federally certified.

The Department of Homeland Security said in response to MGMs lawsuits that its secretary possesses the authority to determine whether an act was an act of terrorism under the law in question, and it has not made any such determination regarding the Route 91 Harvest Festival mass shooting incident.

The agency says its reviewing the matter. The law broadly defines it as an unlawful act that harms a person in the U.S. and uses or attempts to use weapons or other methods that can cause mass destruction.

MGM says Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen is not the only one with authority to make the call and that her public statements make clear the attack meets the laws requirements.

The companys argument is far too broad of an interpretation of the statute. It should be fairly clear that what MGM did is not what was intended in the statute, said Brian Finch, a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman in Washington D.C. It is (the secretarys) responsibility, not that of a judge.

CSCs general counsel, James Service, said the company doesnt comment on litigation.

MGM faced immediate backlash over the lawsuits this week, and it insisted in tweets and statements that it is trying to expedite resolutions for the victims. It stressed that it is not asking for money or attorneys fees and directed the complaints only at people who have already sued us or have threatened to sue us.

We are seeking justice through the federal court system in order to reach a timely resolution. We want to resolve these cases quickly, fairly and efficiently, spokeswoman Debra DeShong said on MGMs Twitter account.

Victims attorneys and a legal scholar told The Associated Press that the companys strategy wont speed up anything.

Alfred Yen, associate faculty dean and professor at Boston College Law School, said the law is not perfectly clear, and unless the parties settle, the matter could reach the U.S. Supreme Court because whoever loses is likely to appeal.

This is a high-stakes, controversial case. A court would be very careful not to rush to a judgment on this, Yen said. It is going to take a long time for a court to decide the merits of this case.

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Renos City Council is moving to shore up the Nevada citys aging fleet of fire engines after its last functioning ladder truck went down twice in the last 10 days.

The Reno Gazette Journal reports the situation reached a critical level when the firefighters temporarily were left with no way to rescue victims above the third floor from outside the building in the event of an emergency.

The council approved grant money last week to buy a new ladder truck and the city manager is preparing an emergency provision to buy a used one from a volunteer department in Pennsylvania.

Four trucks currently are equipped with aerial ladders. But one can only be used for training because its no longer safe enough to drive on city streets.

One had a catastrophic failure a couple of weeks ago and was taken out of service. And another is in the shop awaiting parts for a repair job likely to take months.

Thats left the city with one functioning truck, which went down July 12.

Maintenance crews had it back up and running the next day. But it went down again and was out of service until last Monday afternoon. The truck also is expected to be out of service off and on over the next week for continued maintenance.

The risk is with the number of high-rise buildings in the city, anything over three stories could present a rescue challenge, Reno Fire Chief Dave Cochran said. We need an aerial ladder for that.

Without a ladder truck, firefighters would be forced to use stairwells inside the burning building to rescue victims, Cochran said. Thats neither the fastest nor the safest means to mount a rescue, he said.

Cochran added that Reno could also rely, if needed, on outside agencies such as the city of Sparks or East Fork Fire District, which have ladder trucks. Ladder trucks generally have a 15-year lifespan on the front line.

The situation concerns Reno Fire Fighters Local 731 as well.

Tom Dunn, the local unions vice president, remembers when 12 people died in the arson fire that leveled the Mizpah Hotel in 2006.

If we had another incident like the Mizpah fire happen on a day when (the ladder truck) is not in service, wed have no ladder to provide high flow water or ladder rescue, he said.

Given the critical state of Renos fire fleet, City Manager Sabra Newby is preparing to use an emergency provision in state law that allows the city to escape regular bidding requirements to buy the used truck in Pennsylvania. That truck was built in 2004, has 12,000 miles on it and would cost $200,000.

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AKRON, Ohio - Akron could remain one of the only cities left in the state to hold September primaries if legislation before Akron City Council fails.

Members of Akron City Council's Rules Committee volleyed around ideas for more than an hour Monday as to whether to let voters decide in November whether to move the September primary to May.

Of 88 counties in Ohio, only three have cities with September primaries -- Summit, Cuyahoga and Lucas. Local primary elections are held in May unless a city's charter provides otherwise, said Board of Elections Chairman Bill Rich

Council members arguing against moving the date spoke mostly about the effect the change would have on the candidates.

Those in favor leaned toward boosting voter turnout and saving money. Election costs are divided between the municipalities participating in the election, based on number of precincts. As more cites make the move to May, fewer cities are left to divide the costs in September. Akron could save about $83,000 each primary election year by making the change.

According to city spokeswoman Ellen Lander-Nischt, voter turnout has averaged 46 percent higher in May than September in the past few primaries.

Moving the election to May would also bring the Board of Elections into compliance with federal and state law, which mandates the BOE provide military and overseas voters with ballots 45 days before an election - for both primary and general elections.

The problem is that elections are about 56 days apart, but it takes 11 days to certify a race. That means that after a September primary complete ballots can't be sent to voters for the general election in time to meet the 45 day requirement, Rich said.

Overseas voters receive partial ballots. Once the close or contested races are certified, a compete ballot with every race is then mailed to overseas voters. A recount means it takes even longer to send the complete ballot, Rich said. And receiving two ballots sometimes confuses voters who often don't send back a complete ballot.

Opposing the change was Ward 2 Councilman Bruce Kilby, who questioned how many voters are affected by problem.

In 2015, 29 voters received incomplete ballots, Lander said.

"If it's not that many in the scheme of things, it probably wouldn't have affected the outcome of the election, would it?" he said.

In some elections, it could make a different, Rich said.

"To me it's not a matter of numbers," he said. " If we're out of compliance with the federal voting rights act, we're out of compliance, and that in itself is a problem."

The same issue is before legislators in five other Summit County cities -- Cuyahoga Falls, Tallmadge, New Franklin, Green, Norton and Barberton. If all the cities pass the measure, all Summit County cities will hold their primaries in May.

According to Ward 4 Councilman Russell Neal Jr., the move would not be good for those candidates who rely on going door-to-door all summer to drum up support.

Neal said he was "incensed" by the idea that moving the primary is about the city trying to save money.

Earlier this summer, Neal opposed the city paying a company $160,000 to paint 2,000 city fire hydrants rather than use city workers for the work. He said it would take 20 years of saving money on elections to make up what's being spent on painting hydrants

"This is not about saving money for the election, so let's get that straight," he said.

He also said money comes in from out of the area for election mailers and TV ads, skewing voters' opinions.

"For the benefit of the overall democratic process, it's best to allow those who may not have the money, but have the passion and vision, to go door to door," he said.

Ward 1 Councilman Rich Swirsky said if the issue is about the democratic process, whatever brings the most voters out is "decisive."

At-large Councilwomen Veronica Sims called the ability for candidates to go door to door their "currency" and said many organizations hold summer events for the purpose of letting candidates get to know constituents before the September primary.

She said part of the reason voter turnout is low is because people are discontent with the system and that situations like wanting to change the primary to May exacerbate that discontent.

Sims also was opposed to letting voters make the call in November. City Council's job is to vet what goes before voters, she said.

"This whole idea that we give it to the folks, the community, to vote on is just a ridiculous notion," she said.

At-large Councilman Jeff Fusco, who co-authored the legislation with Council President Margo Sommerville, recommended council take time for further discussion of the issue.

"It's got to be about the voters and they have got to make this decision," he said. "Shame on us if we don't give this opportunity to the voters."

The legislation will be back before City Council on Monday, July 30, which is the final session before council's August break.

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AKRON, Ohio - Developers are eyeing the finish line in compiling financing for the $40 million Bowery project, which aims to transform a stretch of long-empty buildings in downtown Akron.

Akron City Council is expected to approve bond financing for the project at its meeting on Monday, and the developers told cleveland.com on Tuesday they expect the other financing to be in place by fall.

The development is planned to be ready for occupancy in 2020.

The Bowery Development Group -- DeHoff Development Co. and the Welty Building Co. - plans to redevelop the historic 12-story Landmark building and five smaller retail buildings from 164 South Main St. to 184 South Main St.

The Bowery project includes apartments on upper floors and stores, restaurants, a microbrewery and a grocery store on the levels below, said Beth Borda, DeHoff's vice president of development.

A recent addition to the plan is an arcade in the C.E. Link building that the city plans to issue $2 million in bonds to fund. The Link building, renamed the Lock 4 Arcade, would be a handicap-accessible public entrance with elevators, said Akron Chief of Staff James Hardy.

"When the music stops, the Lock 4 Arcade is not a good candidate for conventional financing," Hardy said. And without it, people wishing to shop or dine would have to enter through Lock 3 to the south, or walk around the block to Lock 4 and enter off West Bowery Street. Both entryways involve stairs.

Hardy said the arcade also is expected to house micro-retailers, such as pop-up businesses and kiosks. The city would receive income from the tenant leases.

Most of the buildings have been neglected for so many years and major reconstruction is needed. With $5 million in Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credits, historic elements of the buildings must be preserved, she said.

One question Borda says she's been asked by potential tenants is where people will park. The Cascade Parking Deck with space for 2,000 vehicles is next door and runs under Bowery Street, she said. A few other decks are nearby.

Other nearby amenities include the canal directly behind the development, where the Bowery group plans to have a series of patios. The Towpath Trail also runs directly behind the development.

"There's a lot of activity that already exists here," Borda said. "Akron has a great scale because it's very walkable. This is a long block to be vacant, so once its energized it's going to be a kind of connector. We're looking forward to taking advantage of that."

In addition, more housing is planned in close proximity to the Bowery.

New Jersey developer Tom Rybak plans to redevelop the Law Building across Main Street into more than 100 apartments, and New York-based Capital Realty Group Inc. plans to turn the Mayflower Hotel, just to the south, into senior housing. To the north, Testa Companies is turning the former City Center Hotel into apartments.

"We're all going to supporting each other, which is kind of a unique circumstance," Borda said.

One interesting amenity for residents of the Bowery will be the "Woof Roof," a kind of green roof designed for dogs on the Lock 4 Arcade building. Out back, the developers are adding a dog washing station as well.

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Morocco will see returns from a fisheries deal with the EU rise to 52.2 as the two parties concluded negotiations for a new agreement Tuesday in Rabat.

The new deal kept unchanged at 128 the number of vessels allowed to fish in Moroccan waters. The amount of the catch was also kept un-changed, the agriculture and fisheries ministry said in a statement.

The two parties also agreed to make the local population benefit from the deal through increasing the number of Moroccan staff in EU vessels, improving infrastructure, basic social services and vocational training, inter alia.

The deal also provides for environmental protection and the preservation of bio-diversity, agriculture and fisheries minister Aziz Akhannouch said at the signing ceremony of the deal in Rabat.

Morocco welcomed the deal after the end of negotiations as a milestone in bilateral cooperation with the EU and voiced satisfaction that the new deal will cover all Moroccan waters including those adjacent to the Sahara provinces.

Morocco has defended its rights and interests through this agreement that will allow bilateral relations to break the impasse since the Moroccan Sahara provinces were included in this agreement, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita was quoted by the media as saying.

Minister of Agriculture and Maritime Fisheries Aziz Akhannounch, one of the main negotiators for the renewal of this agreement, confirmed that the 4-year agreement includes the Saharan provinces and offers the local populations the possibility to benefit from the advantages of this agreement.

EU ambassador to Morocco, Claudia Wiedey welcomed the deal, which she described as beneficial for Morocco and the EU.

The agreement includes fishing in the Saharan areas of Morocco, she confirmed during the signing ceremony. It is a win-win agreement, she said.

The deal will come into force upon approval by the European Council and the European Parliament.
AKRON, Ohio - Akron Public Schools has established its fifth college and career academy with the East Community Learning Center's Bridgestone Academy of Applied Engineering and Technology.

Bridgestone Americas will sponsor the academy, which will comprise four academic fields: automotive, electrical engineering, information technology and welding. It will also house the Firestone Complete Auto Care center.

Beginning this fall, students across the Akron school district will follow one of 16 different pathways in eight schools, learning through hands-on experiences and instruction from industry professionals, said Rachel Tecca, director of college and career academies.

"The benefit for the students in the academies is authentic learning," she said. "The opportunity to learn from experts and then apply that learning in an authentic experience. It's not just theoretical, not in a book. They'll be doing the work and learning from professionals that are actually doing the work in the field."

At East's new Firestone Complete Auto Care center, students will learn the business of running a retail store - from customer service to the business side of retail. The district will transform East's existing auto-technology lab into a retail center, complete with a customer waiting area. Bridgestone will build out the center, donating software, materials and fixtures.

Students, wearing uniforms, will provide basic auto maintenance services for the community. Revenue from the center will go back into the program.

"The Automotive Technology program at East CLC has a long history of teaching students auto repair skills," said automotive technology teacher Chadwick Groom in a news release. "This collaboration with Bridgestone Americas will strengthen our curriculum by providing students with more advanced training while learning about customer service and business fundamentals."

As the named sponsor of the new college and career academy, Bridgestone will dedicate a lead employee, while drawing on its relationships with industry professionals to work with students.

"The sponsorship isn't about money, it's about time and talent," Tecca said. "It's a really deep commitment to the academy."

"This collaboration marks another step forward in the transformation of APS high school education to College & Career Academies, providing all students with the opportunity to explore their world in greater depth and achieve success after graduation, " said Akron Superintendent David W. James in the release.

United Way of Summit County works to connect Akron schools with local businesses, and helped facilitate the district's partnership with Bridgestone.

"Akron Public Schools, through their College and Career Academies, are transforming their educational model," said United Way President and CEO Jim Mullen in the release. "Bridgestone's investment will help them create exciting new learning experiences that will prepare students with valuable skills for future success ."

Akron launched two pilot academies in 2016 at North High School: the Academy of Global Technology and Business, and the Akron Children's Hospital Academy of Health and Human Services.

Kent State University will sponsor the Academy of Advanced Technology and Engineering, the Academy of Design and the Academy of Performing Arts, all at Firestone Community Learning Center.

Akron students begin thinking about their futures in ninth grade, when they enter the Freshman Academy. During that year, they explore various career pathways and visit college campuses. They begin their career path as sophomores.

Akron Public Schools was named a Ford Next Generation Learning Community in 2017. The Ford Motor Company Fund works to transform public high schools into career academies, helping students get ready for college and prepare for professional success.

Teachers and officials trained for Akron's transformation to academies at the Academies of Nashville, which has 40 academies in 12 high schools.

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BEREA, Ohio -- Heather Losneck has been selected as one of only four PTA leaders from across the country to receive a National PTA fellowship from its Center for Family Engagement.

She will represent the Berea City School District, the state of Ohio, and also have a voice at the national level. Losneck serves as 2018-19 president of the Berea-Midpark Middle School PTA.

Her 15-month fellowship will focus on researching and developing methods, best practices and "equitable approaches to transformative family engagement," according to a National PTA press release.

"We know the administration and the teachers can't do it all by themselves," Losneck told cleveland.com. "It's time we have more of a grassroots effort to get families back involved in the schools."

Of the 10 national finalists for the fellowship, three of them were from the Berea district, Losneck emphasized.

"That shows that we already have some really good family partnerships, because people are willing to step up to do something like this," she said. "One of the outcomes may be to revise the National PTA standards for family/school partnerships ... so they are more relevant and showcase transformative family engagement."

Her efforts will involve district families, the schools and the community.

"We need to find ways that make sense -- we don't want to add to anybody's burden -- but we're going to need to find some innovative ways to be creative with what is already happening in the district," Losneck said. "It's going to be really exciting."

In order for the initiative to be transformational, she said, it must involve two-way interaction.

"It is relationship focused and has dual capacity," she explained. "Not only will the family be learning something, but the teacher will also be learning about the family in the exchange. It also has to tie back to the curriculum and the classroom."

Parents are encouraged to submit any ideas or feedback to her through their child's school PTA leadership or the PTA Council. A survey also will be forthcoming.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Less than two months in, Cleveland's civic leaders' "Blockland" brainstorm already is churning out big ideas.

A conference dedicated to highlighting business and government uses for blockchain technology has been set for December. Universities and businesses are developing plans to train 1,000 students to write blockchain-related code by next year. And under the Blockland banner, Jon Pinney, a prominent local attorney, is proposing building a massive campus in Cleveland -- maybe at Tower City -- where the city's tech workers, including the new coders, can live, work and collaborate.

"It's going to take a massive effort to build a facility like this," Pinney said Monday while presenting his idea for the tech campus.

"Blockland" is a term coined by Bernie Moreno, the local luxury-car dealer who wants to position Cleveland as a leader in blockchain research and business development. Blockchain is a type of software that allows for records to be recorded securely in a constantly growing electronic list. Moreno has assembled a group of some of Cleveland's most prominent business, education and government leaders -- and members of that group, each assigned different subjects to focus on, met Monday morning to discuss their progress.

The meeting, which drew more than 80 people, was hosted at the cleveland.com offices on Superior Avenue.

Here are the highlights:

A new vision for Tower City?

The biggest reveal from Monday's meeting was Pinney's tech-campus idea. Pinney, managing partner of the Kohrman Jackson & Krantz law firm, described a space that would eventually be 300,000 square feet -- built in several phases -- containing desks for 1,500 workers and 30 meeting rooms.

But notably, his idea also would contain housing and recreational opportunities for those workers. Pinney said the idea is modeled after Station F in Paris, France -- a start-up incubator replete with showers, kitchens, shared apartments and publicly accessible recreational areas -- and 1871 in Chicago, a similar concept which opened in 2013 and occupies a floor in Chicago's former Merchandise Mart. (Ironically, the Merchandise Mart inspired the Global Center for Health Innovation, a costly, 225,000-square foot public construction project in Cleveland that has struggled to find its footing since opening in 2013.)

Pinney said several sites are under consideration for the proposed tech-worker campus. But the one he favors is the struggling Tower City mall, in Cleveland's historic Terminal Tower. Since 2016, the building has been owned by Bedrock Real Estate Services, Cleveland Cavaliers' owner Dan Gilbert's real-estate company. Its strengths include its size, its central downtown location, its connectivity to RTA's light rail and its proximity to the recently upgraded Public Square, Pinney said.

Pinney said he'd participated in several "high-level" meetings, including a site tour, with Bedrock officials. He said Freddy Collier, Cleveland's planning director, participated in one of the meetings.

"We would basically have to transform Tower City as you know it," Pinney said. "That would include street closures, brand-new entrances, probably collapsing floors to create the kind of dynamic atmosphere" that is needed for the project to succeed.

Other potential sites include the former Huntington Building on Euclid Avenue, new construction somewhere in Cleveland's MidTown neighborhood, or at the Global Center for Health Innovation, Pinney said. The project, if designed correctly and quickly, could qualify for "enterprise zone" tax incentives created under the recent Republican tax overhaul, Pinney said.

Pinney said he'd like to get the ball on planning rolling soon -- in the coming days and weeks. The group already has picked an architectural firm to help with design, he said.

"We're either going to do this big or we're not going to do it," said Pinney, who recently launched a public campaign highlighting Cleveland's economic stagnation and its need to set new civic priorities. "We're not going to waste everybody's time and energy to just do a small facility. We need to really kickstart our innovation economy, and we think this is a great way to do it in a place that fits our strategy."

A Bedrock spokesperson said in a statement the company "does not comment on rumors or speculation," and doesn't comment on potential future projects "unless the company determines there is a definitive and substantive reason to do so."

Blockchain convention booked

A central component of Moreno's idea was to organize a blockchain convention in Cleveland. On Monday, Blockland officials said the convention has been booked for Dec. 1-4.

That gives blockchain proponents in Cleveland just over four months to find funding, arrange workshops, book keynote speakers and design a program that will attract thousands of coders, public officials and business leaders to the Huntington Convention Center. Not to mention logistics like setting up registration and reserving hotels.

David Gilbert, the leader of Destination Cleveland, the tourism bureau, said the tight timetable requires cooperation from the leaders of Cleveland's different business, government and philanthropic sectors. He said the planning that would go into it is not completely unlike the 2016 Republican National Convention, which Gilbert, Pinney and others worked together to attract and plan.

"This is a condensed timeframe of what people might think, OK, I could get this in six or nine months. Well, we're trying to do it in six or nine weeks," Gilbert said. "But with all the people in the room ... it's using a lot of our contacts, not to mention budget, to try and put it all together."

Moreno said the timetable might be difficult, but said a deadline is needed to spur people into action.

"What you saw today, I think of it as, 'These are the ingredients that you need to make it happen.' Now, put it in the oven, and December first is when the community can see that this is happening," Moreno said.

Investing in blockchain

JumpStart Inc. is a nonprofit venture development organization that invests millions of dollars into Cleveland start-ups each year.

Jump Start CEO Ray Leach said Monday that some of that money could support blockchain companies, including from a $10 million fund designated for women, black and Latino-owned businesses.

Jump Start has money, in partnership with the state, to invest in early-stage blockchain companies by the time the convention comes in early December, Leach said. The nonprofit will have to start looking at companies in the next couple weeks.

Jump Start also could award money through a competition mimicking ABC's "Shark Tank," where entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to a panel of investors, Leach said.

The conference could also be an opportunity to announce companies establishing their headquarters in Cleveland, he said.

Leach didn't indicate whether or not any company is planning to come to Cleveland.

Israel has hundreds of blockchain startups looking for a long-term home, said Elad Granot, dean of Ashland University's college of business and economics. Tel Aviv is an "export" economy for blockchain startups, meaning it has the conditions for them to start, but not for further investment or development.

The companies -- and their funding need to go somewhere else. Granot believes Cleveland could benefit.

1,000 coders... by next year

Blockchain is an emerging technology, which means there are few people who can code it and fewer that are experts.

Brenda Kirk, senior vice president of product and strategy for Hyland Software, and Amy Brady, chief information officer for KeyBank, say the Cleveland group wants to graduate a thousand coders by next year.

Think retraining people to do blockchain coding, offering blockchain certificates and creating curricula at public and private four-year institutions. And if blockchain ends up not being as technologically significant as people think, the program could be repurposed for a different type of coding application, she said.

"That's an aggressive goal, and it only works if we have the placement for those those 1,000 people," Brady said.

That means more internships, co-ops and jobs for these coders. Otherwise when they graduate, they'll move on to higher-paid jobs elsewhere.

Though job training is a key component of blockchain education, the group also wants to establish a leading blockchain research institute at Case Western Reserve University, with partnership from Cleveland State University and Cuyahoga County Community College.

All three presidents -- CWRU's Barbara Snyder, who is helming the effort, CSU's Harlan Sands and Tri-C's Alex Johnson -- are working together to make it happen. The three went to Toronto in June to learn more about blockchain.
LORAIN, Ohio -- A Lorain County man and woman were charged with 21 counts of cruelty to companion animals after city police and humane officers took 21 large dogs from an apartment on July 17.

Cornelius Charlton and Lauren Souris of Kevlar Kennels pleaded not guilty before Lorain Municipal Court Judge Thomas Elwell to the fifth degree felonies, each punishable by a maximum of six months to a year in jail and a fine.

Elwell also ruled that the 20 cane corsos and one Brazilian mastiff dogs remain in the care of the Friendship Animal Protective League in Elyria until the case could be resolved.

Lorain Ptl. Rich Broz testified that he and the county humane officer entered the apartment on East 28th St. after one of them crawled through the only window in the building which he said was very small.

"Inside it was extremely hot, it was 95 degrees outside," he said. "There was no ventilation at all. I would hate to think how hot it was in there during the recent heat wave. The stench of dog urine and feces was overpowering and there were flies everywhere."

Cornelius Charlton and Lauren Souris with their attorney, Lorraine Coyne, in Lorain Municipal Court Tuesday where Charlton and Souris were charged with 21 counts of animal abuse.

He said about half of the large dogs were in reasonably sized cages but some of the others were in cages "so small that they could not stand up."

He said while they were in the building, one of the cage doors fell open and a large dog bit him on the leg. He said he did not blame the dog, who was frightened.

Broz said he was met at the scene by Charlton and Souris who initially helped them remove the dogs but stopped after the first five were loaded into vans.

"Souris stopped and told us 'have fun loading the rest,' " said Broz. "They said that they had a nice place in the country that they lost and were forced to house the animals in Lorain as an emergency."

The building is a former dry cleaner and is not licensed to be a kennel, prosecutors said.

Defense attorney Lorraine Coyne asked the judge to release the animals back to the couple pending the completion of the case.

Elwell refused, and ordered the defendants to take out a bond to pay for the care and feeding of the 21 dogs staying at the Friendship APL.

Broz and APL Humane Officer Denise Willis testified that the dogs had skin problems caused by fleas that included fur loss. Other dogs had problems with their eyes or ears.

"I went in and found the conditions inside deplorable," Willis testified. "The stench was so strong it burned my eyes."

Broz noted that a dog's sense of smell is much stronger than a human and said the stench must have affected the dogs even more.

After the hearing Charlton and Souris left the courtroom and shouted "No comment" to reporters seeking an interview.

The Kevlar website says they are not a "puppy mill" and that they are committed to the "preservation of our rare and magnificent breed." Further, the website says, "All of our dogs have top pedigrees with excellent health, structure, type and correct temperament." The site says they were located in Olmsted Township at that time.

A pre-trial hearing in the case is scheduled at 1 p.m. Aug. 10 before Lorain Municipal Judge Mark Mihok.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cuyahoga County Council agreed Tuesday to let voters decide on three proposed charter amendments, including one that would give subpoena powers to the county inspector general.

The amendment relating to the inspector general is the most contentious of the three. County Executive Armond Budish had spoken against the amendment and current Inspector General Mark Griffin has supported it.

But council chose to accept only one of five changes that Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O'Malley recommended last week, that being to require that the inspector general hold a law degree.

If approved by voters in November, the amendment would cement the inspector general's authority in the charter. The inspector general's office now derives its authority from an ordinance approved by County Council.

A second proposed amendment going to the November ballot would grant county auditors the ability to bill departments as they audit them. The third would more clearly delineate the responsibilities of county agencies handling personnel matters.

The inspector general amendment was initially sponsored by all 11 county council members, a move that Council President Dan Brady has said was impressive given that the body includes both Democrats and Republicans. The final version was sponsored by six council members, Democrats Yvonne Conwell, Dale Miller, Sunny Simon and Scott Tuma, and Republicans Michael Gallagher and Jack Schron.

Miller, who proposed the initiative to the Charter Review Commission, said including the Office of the Inspector General in the charter would grant the office more permanence and stability, as well as make a statement about the county's commitment to maintaining high ethical standards.

The eight-member charter commission concluded that codifying the inspector general's office in the county charter would insulate it from future "political whims of the very officeholders that IG's office might find itself investigating" and make clear that the inspector general is the chief ethics officer of the county, according to a commission report.

Budish told the charter commission in May that the amendment is not needed, however. He argued that the inspector general works well under the powers granted by ordinance, and said council could grant subpoena power through ordinance if it saw fit to do so.

Budish on Tuesday said that he continues to support the work of the inspector general and will back the amendment on the ballot.

The discussion around the amendment coincides with an ongoing corruption investigation by O'Malley's office. The investigation, according to Budish, was triggered in part by the work of Griffin, who has said he supports adding subpoena power to his authority.

Among other things, investigators have sought emails and other records related to Emily McNeeley, general counsel of the county's IT department, and her boss, IT Director Scot Rourke.

O'Malley told council last week that he supported adding the inspector general authority to the county charter as opposed to keeping it under the powers granted to it by ordinance.

But he asked council to consider several changes, including a requirement that the inspector general hold a law degree. He also suggested that:

* a neutral party rather than the county executive appoint the inspector general and internal auditor to ensure both offices are are free of any undue influence.

* the inspector general not be allowed to issue ethical advisory opinions. Similar opinions issued by the Ohio Ethics Commission allow for immunity from criminal prosecution and civil suits and the inspector general's opinions do not, so employees could be confused about whether they could be prosecuted.

* the amendment include a directive contained in the current ordinance that requires the inspector general to suspend all investigative activities if they interfere with criminal, administrative, or civil investigations or prosecutions.

* the amendment include a directive contained in the current ordinance that requires appropriate law enforcement agencies to be notified if the inspector general believes a crime or policy violation has occurred.

O'Malley also noted that a court might take issue with allowing the inspector general the authority to issue subpoenas outside the county.

A fourth proposed charter amendment that would have allowed council to regulate campaign financing was not approved for the ballot on Tuesday. The measure seemed to garner little support from council members after they were told that they already had the authority to regulate campaign financing and did not need an amendment to do so.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- An 18-year-old male was taken to the hospital Monday after he was wounded in a shooting in the North Broadway neighborhood, police say.

It's the third shooting involving a teen victim in as many days in Cleveland.

Monday's shooting occurred near the intersection of Broadway and Union avenues, police say. The unidentified male was taken to MetroHealth Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the leg.

On Sunday, a 13-year-old boy was shot in the leg in an incident on the 3300 block of East 66th Street near Regent Park, which also is in the North Broadway neighborhood.

On Saturday, a 14-year-old girl was wounded in the hip on Dellenbaugh Avenue near East 72nd Street the Hough neighborhood.

Police have not announced any arrests in the shootings.

To comment on this story, visit Monday's crime and courts comments page.
CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio - The Cleveland Orchestra doesn't need a star soloist or hit symphony to have a blockbuster night. Just great music and a beloved conductor.

Witness, by way of proof, its program Saturday night at Blossom Music Center. With Jahja Ling at the helm, the orchestra scored a victory playing only Mahler's "Titan" and lesser-known works by Berlioz and Vaughan Williams.

The orchestra also got some welcome help from its friends. On the night's first half, the orchestra was joined by the Kent Blossom Chamber Orchestra and Blossom Festival Chorus, and both ensembles proved indispensable to the success of the evening.

Side-by-side performances can be hit-or-miss, but the one given Saturday was a clear hit. Augmented by the capable Kent Blossom players, the orchestra sounded only richer and more splendid than it would have otherwise in Berlioz's Overture to the opera "Benvenuto Cellini."

The orchestra's woodwind and brass principals made short, elegant work of the many solos but the expanded string forces under Ling gave the performance its depth. They gave the reading its dark, brooding quality, and steered it clear of the murk.

The majesty of "Serenade to Music," by contrast, was largely the work of the Blossom Festival Chorus. "Patines of bright gold" and the "concord of sweet sounds" were easy to imagine as the group, supported by the larger orchestra, sang Shakespeare with angelic purity and the stately, poetic manner of a great soliloquist. First associate concertmaster Peter Otto was no less evocative, winding a radiant line around and through the chorus.

Mahler's "Titan" Symphony No. 1 was the perfect centerpiece to such an evening. Familiar but far from overplayed, it served both as a powerful attraction in its own right and an interesting complement to Berlioz and Vaughan Williams.

Ling took a hybrid point of view of the piece, incorporating elements from several interpretive schools of thought. At times, he pushed the pace and demanded boldness. Elsewhere, and more effectively, he took a gradual, evolutionary approach.

The tactic worked, mostly. Restraint in the first movement led to an uncommonly forceful payoff, and Ling's tack on the second movement preserved the music's intensity as well as its sweetness and lilt. In the finale, too, there was no avoiding Ling's urgent but organic pacing or the sheer glory of the expanded horn section.

Only the third movement fell short of the ideal.

Principal bassist Maximilian Dimoff sounded magnificent drawing forth the main theme out of nothing, and assistant principal oboist Jeffrey Rathbun carried it poignantly from there. The middle section under Ling also was as dulcet and natural as could be.

All this listener wished for was a more relaxed tempo overall. Still, it was far preferable to the alternative. Between slightly rushed Mahler and a 100-percent flawless performance of a work played too often, there's no contest at all.
NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio -- City Council may ask voters in November to abolish term limits for council members and the mayor.

Councilman Dan Kasaris, who can't run for another term next year due to term limits, is sponsoring three ordinances that would place the issue before voters. He said term limits aren't needed in a suburban government such as North Royalton's.

"This isn't the swamp," Kasaris said during a July 17 meeting of council's Review and Oversight Committee. "We're not entrenched in a lifestyle of special benefits, who pass laws under pressure from lobbyists and who tend to benefit themselves.

"We're people who have other jobs, who are doing what we do (as council members) because we love it," Kasaris said.

Councilman Dan Langshaw countered that term limits are desirable because they provide a "check and balance" on local government. He said abolishing term limits would benefit no one but council members wanting to cling to their positions, and that not one resident has told him that term limits are a problem.

"The community does not support this," Langshaw said at the July 17 meeting. "I think I have a better chance of winning the Powerball than this passing."

Term limits are not the norm in municipal government, at least in Cuyahoga County. Among the four communities along Ohio 82 in Cuyahoga County -- including Brecksville, Broadview Heights and Strongsville -- only North Royalton has term limits.

It's questionable whether council has enough votes to place the term-limit issue on the Nov. 6 ballot. That's because scrapping term limits would require changing the city's charter, or constitution. According to the charter, at least five of seven council members must agree to place a charter amendment on the ballot.

So far, council is coming up short on votes. At the July 17 meeting, Kasaris and council members Cheryl Hannan, Gary Petrusky and Paul Marnecheck expressed support for placing the term-limit issue before voters in November. Langshaw, Councilman John Nickell and Council President Larry Antoskiewicz expressed opposition.

Council, which is on hiatus in August, will resume the discussion at its Sept. 4 meeting. According to Laura Haller, the city's director of legislative services, council must submit any charter amendment issue to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections by Sept. 7.

In the meantime, council members said they would solicit feedback from residents regarding term limits.

Who's where?

Under the city charter, council members cannot hold office for more than six two-year terms, or a total of 12 years. The mayor and council president are restricted to three four-year terms, or 12 years.

According to the council clerk's office, Kasaris, Petrusky and Nickell were first elected to council in November 2007, which means they can't run for re-election in 2019.

Nickell said he plans to run for mayor in 2019. Kasaris said he's weighing a run for council president, so even if term limits were abolished, he might not seek re-election to his council seat.

Langshaw, who was appointed to council in April 2013, was first elected by voters in November 2013. He can run for re-election three more times.

Marnecheck was first elected to council in November 2009 and was re-elected three times. He can run for re-election once more, in 2019.

Hannan was appointed to council in January 2017. She finished the term of Stephen Muller, who resigned because he left town. Her first term will end in 2019, so she can run five more times.

Antoskiewicz was first elected to council president in November 2011 and was re-elected in 2015. He can run for re-election once more in 2019. However, he said he plans to run for mayor next year.

Meanwhile, Mayor Robert Stefanik, first elected in 2007, will finish his third and final term in 2019. He said he plans to retire from public service at that time.

The debate

At the July 17 committee meeting, Kasaris said council started discussing term limits in 2017. He said some on council wanted to let a future charter review commission consider the issue.

Kasaris said the city's 2016 charter review commission didn't recommend ending term limits because it wanted to avoid placing more than four charter amendments on that year's ballot and because the commission didn't believe voters would support abolishing term limits.

Kasaris suggested that term limits have led to a lack of continuity on council, with council representatives changing every few years.

Hannan said term limits have grown in popularity, but at too high a cost. She said if residents don't like an officeholder, they can vote for another candidate.

"A fundamental principle of our system of government is that voters get to choose their representatives," Hannan said. "Voter choices are restricted when a candidate is barred from being on the ballot."

Hannan added that it takes time to learn how to run a city. Term limits stop that process.

"As in other professions, experience matters," Hannan said. "Shouldn't voters at least have the ability to decide whether that experience has value?"

Petrusky agreed with Hannan that elections are the best way to impose term limits.

"If somebody doesn't like what we're doing, they have every right every two years ... to fill out that petition and run and give us competition," Petrusky said. "That's what this county was founded on."

Stefanik said term limits are wrong. He said thanks to his experience as mayor, he has served on regional boards -- such as those for the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District and the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency -- which has allowed him to influence policy and bring funds back to the city.

"Don't think that all politicians are blood-sucking leeches, because we're not," Stefanik said. "Maybe they are in Washington, I agree with that, but they're not on the local level."

Stefanik introduced former North Royalton Councilwoman Catherine Shelko, who supported term limits when they were added to the city charter in the 1990s. Shelko, who Stefanik said was in town for a funeral, said she now regrets that position.

Shelko said she was caught up in the term-limit fervor of that decade. The idea was to bring term limits to Congress, with local governments leading the way.

"The biggest mistake I ever made was passing term limits because, quite frankly, you're insulting the American voter by saying, 'We don't trust you enough to make that decision.'"

Marnecheck said he favored letting voters settle the term-limit debate in November.

But Antoskiewicz said residents are not "clamoring for a change." He said although other cities don't impose term limits, residents would vote for them if given a chance.

"People are comfortable with (term limits)," Antoskiewicz said. "It's a safeguard."

Nickell said that in other cities, elected officials become so entrenched that new candidates don't have a chance.

Langshaw said council should not rush the abolishment of term limits onto the ballot, before residents have time to hear about the proposal.

"The charter shouldn't be changed on a whim," Langshaw said. "This is the governing document for our local government. It takes deliberation, it takes time."
Rotunda Rumblings



A new Issue 1: Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted's office announced Monday that a proposed drug treatment and rehabilitation constitutional amendment will be on the Nov. 6 ballot and be known as Issue 1, cleveland.com's Laura Hancock writes. Backers of a kidney dialysis amendment didn't meet necessary requirements yet to get on the ballot, but they have 10 days to fix that.



Summer session: On Tuesday, the Ohio House will likely vote for the last time - at least this year - on whether to restrict payday loans, Hancock reports. The House session begins at 11 a.m.



County courting: Last week, Ohio mayors called on the state's next governor to give cities more money and local control. On Monday, it was county officials' turn. In a white paper, the County Commissioners Association of Ohio "proposed the long-term restoration of more than $350 million in annual revenue to counties lost to tax changes and cuts in local government funds," according to the Columbus Dispatch's Randy Ludlow. County commissioners, who are 75-percent Republican, met with gubernatorial nominees Rich Cordray and Mike DeWine last Friday; the CCAO president said the candidates offered "good vibes."



More GOP OH-12 ads: The National Republican Congressional Committee is spending an additional $250,000 on TV ads to help Troy Balderson in the 12th Congressional District race against Democrat Danny O'Connor. As the Dispatch's Jack Torry writes, the extra spending "is a sign Republicans are worried O'Connor could win the race."



Balderson looks to join Leneghan lawsuit: The Zanesville Republican last week asked the Ohio Supreme Court last week to add his name as a respondent to primary rival Melanie Leneghan's request to hold a new primary election or declare her the winner because of ballot-counting violations. In a brief, Balderson's attorney argues he has a "unique and personal interest in this matter," because if the court sides with Leneghan, Balderson might no longer be the OH-12 GOP nominee.

Taxing issue: These days, there's only one party in the OH-12 race talking about the Republican tax plan - and it's not the Republicans. As the Washington Post's David Weigel reports, O'Connor and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee have been blasting the tax cut on the airwaves while a GOP ad about the new law has been taken down.



Another spotlight on OH-12: In the latest national profile of the 12th District race, Bloomberg News' Sahil Kapur writes that "Republicans are highlighting immigration and culture wars as Democrats focus on taxes and fortifying Social Security and Medicare."



Out of sight: Republican Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel has kept a low profile since dropping out of the U.S. Senate race in January, the Dispatch's Marty Schladen reports. His work schedule looks to be light, he is quiet on social media and he has rarely made public appearances, Schladen writes.



Ryan running? U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, who's been hyped as a possible presidential candidate, has told "political consultants and operatives" that he plans to run for the highest office in 2020, according to a report by the Intercept. But the Mahoning County Democrat "won't be running on a stereotypical working-class persona; instead, he believes his path to the White House runs through the 'yoga vote,'" the Intercept's Ryan Grim and Zaid Jilani write.



Dems in the middle: NBC News has a report on a convention in Columbus last week organized by moderate Democrats who "are warning that ignoring them will lead the party to disaster in the midterm elections and the 2020 presidential contest." Alex Seitz-Wald reports that the summit "gave middle-of-the-road party members a safe space to come together and voice their concerns."

Blockchain reaction: Luxury-car dealer Bernie Moreno and other Cleveland leaders are trying to position the city as a leader in blockchain technology. In a meeting at cleveland.com's offices on Monday, more than 80 business, education and government figures discussed their progress. Cleveland.com's Emily Bamforth and Andrew Tobias have the details, which include a proposed 300,000-square foot tech campus for 1,500 workers.





Full Disclosure



Five things we learned from the April 9 financial disclosure statement of Rep. Nick Celebrezze, a Parma Democrat:



1. Celebrezze earned $25,000 to $49,999 as an attorney for McCarthy, Lebit, Crystal & Liffman Co. LPA. As the House's assistant minority leader, he earned $82,194 last year, according to the Ohio Treasurer's office.



2. He owns FirstEnergy stock. He has a pension with the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System and a 457(b) retirement plan with Ohio Deferred Compensation.



3. He owns a house on Marda Drive in Parma. State rules don't require him to list his personal residence.



4. At some point in 2017 he owed at least $1,000 each to Ally Auto Financing, Great Lakes Student Loan Corp., PNC Bank, CitiBank Visa and Capital One Mastercard.



5. The Ohio Chamber of Commerce footed the $133.09 bill for his lodging during the Policy Conference at Salt Fork in September. The House reimbursed him $5,992.48 for mileage between home and Columbus.



Straight From The Source



"Troy Balderson of Ohio is running for Congress against a Nancy Pelosi Liberal who is WEAK on Crime & Borders. Troy is the total opposite, and loves our Military, Vets & 2nd Amendment. EARLY VOTING just started with Election Day on August 7th. Troy has my Full & Total Endorsement!"



- President Donald Trump, endorsing 12th Congressional District Republican nominee Troy Balderson on Twitter Saturday.

Capitol Letter is a daily briefing providing succinct, timely information for those who care deeply about the decisions made by state government. If you do not already subscribe, you can sign up here to get Capitol Letter in your email box each weekday for free.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A couple months after running unopposed in the May Democratic primary, State Rep. Nick Celebrezze has decided he will not run for re-election in November.

Celebrezze, a Democrat who's represented Ohio's 15th district since 2012, withdrew his candidacy earlier this month, according to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections. He plans to inform his constituents in a letter on Wednesday.

The 15th is a reliably Democratic district in Cuyahoga County, and includes Parma and Brooklyn Heights as well part of southwestern Cleveland. Celebrezze serves in a leadership position for minority House Democrats, and would have been term-limited in 2020.

In an interview, Celebrezze said he decided not to run for re-election for family reasons. Both he and his wife, who is a doctor in Fremont, have been commuting long distances to work. So, they plan to move out of the district to be closer to his wife's job, he said.

"With two little kids at home... it's been difficult for us to watch them grow from so far away," he said.

Democratic Party committee members representing precincts in Celebrezze's 15th House District will meet Thursday evening at Parma Memorial Hall into pick Celebrezze's replacement on the ballot.

Celebrezze said he is throwing his endorsement behind a preferred successor -- Parma Councilman Jeff Crossman, an attorney who works for Millenia Companies, a Cleveland real-estate company.

Mickey Vittardi, the Democratic ward club leader for Parma, also said he backs Crossman, who has served on Parma city council since 2013.

"He's a hard worker. He's very intelligent, and I think he'd be an excellent representative," Vittardi said.

Alan R.C. Raventree, a party precinct committeeman and clockmaker in Old Brooklyn, also has said that he plans to run for the seat.

Although Republicans did not field a candidate in the May primary for the heavily Democratic district, under Ohio law, Celebrezze's withdrawal gives them an opportunity to do so before an Aug. 12 deadline. Cuyahoga County GOP officials on Tuesday had not said what their plans are.

Celebrezze comes from a storied political family. His father, James Celebrezze, is a former Ohio Supreme Court justice, and his great-uncle, Anthony J. Celebrezze, was a former Cleveland mayor and former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare.

Nick Celebrezze said he plans to focus on his legal career, but didn't rule out running for office again in the future.

"I'm proud to come from a long line of politicians, and I'm proud of my family name, so obviously that door could always open again for me to come back in," he said.
The Rwandan government has signed seven bilateral pacts and loan agreements worth more than $300 million with China and India to further boost existing cooperation.

The Chinese loan, destined to build two roads and carry out irrigation projects, was extended during the Chinese President Xi Jinpings visit to Rwanda Sunday and Monday.

For the past 12 years, the Chinese have initiated more than 21 investment projects worth $420 million in the East African nation. They have investments in different areas like tourism, mining, and construction.

Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi who made a stopover in Rwanda Monday on his way to a summit in South Africa has also agreed $200 million in loans.

The two leaders termed the agreements as milestones in the long-standing friendship and cooperation between Rwanda and India.

The agreements signed cover cooperation in defense, trade and a culture exchange program.

Officials from the two countries also signed a Memorandum of Understanding outlining cooperation in agriculture and animal resources as well as in leather and related industries.

President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Chairperson of the African Union said the ongoing process to operationalize the African Continental Free Trade Area will offer more opportunities for investment and trade between the African continent and India.

The two Asian heads of state are on their way to take part in the BRICS summit hosted by South Africa this week. The BRICS group was established in 2006 by five major emerging national economies  Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
STRONGSVILLE, Ohio -- City Council will ask residents in November to vote on at least five proposed amendments to the city charter.

The amendments were recommended by the city's Charter Review Committee earlier this month. Council rejected some of the committee's recommended charter amendments, and may place its own amendments on the Nov. 6 ballot.

Click here to see which charter amendments council rejected.

Charter committee Chairman Gregory Gleine and committee member Kim Allen Veris, who presented the committee's recommendations to council July 2, could not be reached Monday and Tuesday to explain the proposed amendments.

Council approved the five proposed charter amendments for the ballot on July 16. Here are the amendments council has cleared for the ballot so far:

Education for chiefs. Future police and fire chiefs would be required to hold bachelor's degrees from accredited institutions. Existing Police Chief Mark Fender and existing Fire Chief Jack Draves would be exempted. The current charter has no educational requirements for the police and fire chiefs. Matt Schonhut was the only council member to vote against this amendment.

Council meeting time. Currently, the charter states that council must meet at 8 p.m. the first and third Mondays of every month. The proposed amendment would remove the 8 p.m. time requirement from the charter. Council would select the time of the council meeting by ordinance instead. Council approved this amendment unanimously for the ballot.

Ordinance postings. The charter now requires the city to post ordinances and resolutions in at least five public places at least 15 days before the ordinances and resolutions take effect. The proposed amendment would change the requirement to at least two public places. Council approved this amendment unanimously for the ballot.

Qualified electors. This amendment would create a new section 5, titled "Qualified Electors," under Article VII of the charter. It would state that anyone 18 or older can vote if they are registered and if they have been an Ohio resident at least 30 days before an election. If a Strongsville resident moves from one ward to another, they can vote in their new ward -- and sign nominating, initiative, referendum or recall petitions -- only if the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections corrects their registration to reflect their new address. Council approved this amendment unanimously for the ballot.

Officeholder qualifications. This amendment would create a new section 6, titled "General Qualifications of Elected Officials," under Article VII of the charter. It would state that the mayor and council members must live in the city for at least one year immediately prior to their election or appointment, and that they must be qualified electors, as defined in the proposed new section 5. In addition, ward council members must live in the ward they represent at least one year prior to their election or appointment and must remain living in the ward during their entire term. Council approved this amendment unanimously for the ballot.
NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio -- It was a bittersweet moment. North Olmsted High School alumni, family members, friends and residents had one last chance to walk down memory lane from noon to 3 p.m. July 21 at the high school at 5755 Burns Road. The building will be demolished in the fall after the new adjacent campus opens.

I hear that a huge crowd -- reportedly 1,000-plus people -- turned out to visit the venerable school. Even off-and-on rain didn't deter the visitors. School officials posted a short video of highlights from the event online.

Thousands of Eagles walked those halls and made memories over the decades. The building had a few bumps along the way, too, like when two juveniles broke into the school in September 1990, vandalized it and left a burning cigarette that started a fire causing more than $3 million in damage. Classes had to be relocated to the I-X Center temporarily while the school was repaired.

There also was a chance to snag memorabilia during an online auction of items from the high school. Other items are lined up inside, ready to transfer to the new building.

It will be a new beginning this fall, as the students in grades 6-12 shift to the recently completed structure. Watch for more details on the open house and dedication next month.

Architectural masterpiece: One of the most beautiful churches in the area, St. James Church, will be open for tours and a talk from 2 to 4 pm. Aug. 4. The church is at 17400 Detroit Ave., Lakewood, at the corner of Detroit and Granger avenues.

Photographer Lad Trepal will share the history and inspiration behind the church, including the tenaciousness of the pastor and parish members, the genius of the architect and artisans, and museum-quality metal, stained glass, wood sculptures, marbles and more.

St. James' architecture is based on the cathedral in Monreaele, Sicily, and has been called the cathedral of the west side.

Visitors can walk through the 100-plus-year-old building until 4 p.m. and are invited to stay for the 4:30 p.m. vigil Mass.

For more information, call 216-780-3572.

Theater al fresco: North Olmsted students will perform "Thoroughly Modern Millie" under the direction of Michael and Brenda Larochelle and in association with the Olmsted Historical Society at 7:30 p.m. July 26-28 and Aug. 2-4 at the Frostville Museum complex, 24101 Cedar Point Road, North Olmsted, in the Rocky River Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for senior citizens and students. Attendees should bring lawn chairs.

For more information or tickets, call 440-570-5367. Tickets also will be sold before performances.

The concession stand will be open during performances.

Yard sale: The West Boulevard neighbors' annual quarter-mile yard sale is set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 4 along West Boulevard between Madison and Lorain avenues and beyond in Cleveland. Some sales may start on Aug. 3.

Rain date will be Aug. 11.

Digital forensics: Richard Johnson of the Westlake Police Department will discuss "Digital Forensics" at the 7 p.m. Aug. 8 meeting of Northeast Ohio Personal Computers at Westlake Porter Public Library, 27333 Center Ridge Road, Westlake.

Johnson has been assigned to the library's digital forensics laboratory since 2003, and he has performed digital forensic examinations on more than 700 cases, including drug, overdose, organized crimes, financial crimes, arson, sex crimes, homicide and human trafficking. He also provided expert

witness testimony in multiple trials for cases at local, state and federal jurisdictions. He has several certifications in digital forensics and teaches courses in that area at Lorain County Community College.

The meeting begins with refreshments at 6:30 p.m., followed by the program at 7. The event is free, and all are welcome.

For more information on NEOPC, visit neopc.org.

Summer concert: Drumplay will be featured at the 7 to 9 p.m. July 27 LakewoodAlive Front Porch Concert on the front porch of Lakewood Public Library, 15425 Detroit Ave., Lakewood. This will be the sixth concert in the 12-week series sponsored by Bentley Wealth Management of Raymond James.

Drumplay, founded in 1992, is a Cleveland-based ensemble that fuses jazz and folk elements while using world rhythms with a percussive pulse. During its 25-year history, Drumplay has performed with numerous musicians, toured both regionally and within Europe, released multiple studio albums and been named winners of the Best World Music Act in the Cleveland Free Times Music Awards.

The band consists of J. Scott Franklin (trumpet, flugelhorn, lead vocals), George Lee (acoustic bass, whistling, vocals), James Onysko (djembe, bongos, bells, conch shells) and John Stebal (drum kit).

Concert attendees should bring a lawn chair or blanket.

Community meal: Clague Road United Church of Christ and Church of the Redeemer in Westlake will present their monthly community meal from 4:30 to 6 p.m. July 28 at Clague Road UCC, 3650 Clague Road, North Olmsted.

The church is accessible to those who have disabilities. There are no carry-out meals.

Mobile market: North Olmsted Senior Center hosts a Mobile Farmer Market from 10 a.m. to noon every Tuesday through August at the Senior Center, 28114 Lorain Road, North Olmsted.

Richardson Farms will sell locally grown fresh fruits, vegetables, honey, herbs, jams and salsas. Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging Senior Farmer Market Nutrition Program vouchers are accepted, as well as cash or checks.

Friends Church program: North Olmsted Friends Church will have a program at 9:15 and 11 a.m. July 29 featuring Mariya Snizhko. She was a recipient of an Operation Christmas Child shoebox when she was a child in Ukraine.

The church, which is active with Operation Christ Child, is at 5665 Great Northern Blvd., North Olmsted.

For more information, contact Chuck Palmer at 440-235-9460.

Information, please: Readers are invited to share information about themselves, their families and friends, organizations, church events, etc. in Fairview Park, Lakewood, North Olmsted and West Park for the A Place in the Sun column, which I write on a freelance basis. Awards, honors, milestone birthdays or anniversaries and other items are welcome. Submit information at least 10 days before the requested publication date to carolkovach@hotmail.com.
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio -- City Council approved Monday the creation of a citywide community reinvestment area, paving the way for a program that will allow for property tax abatement on home improvements.

Councilwoman Michele Weiss, who sponsored the legislation and who has been working on putting it together since January, said that the CRA must now be approved by the State of Ohio. The state has already approved a draft of the city's proposal.

Once the state makes the CRA official, Weiss said, "Any new construction, if its over $25,000, gets a 15-year abatement. If it's less than $25,000, it gets a 10-year abatement. This isn't for commercial (properties), it's for homes."

Homeowners will get 100 percent abatement on improvements made to their home on the value added by the improvement.

If, for example, a home has a taxable value of $150,000, then adds improvements that increase its value to $200,000, it would receive 100 percent abatement on the $50,000 difference.

To be eligible, any home improvements now taking place cannot be concluded before the state officially approves the CRA's formation.

"We're hoping that this will be incentive for people to stay in their homes," Weiss said after council approved the legislation Monday by a 6-0 vote (Councilman Phillip Ertel was not present).

Mayor Michael Dylan Brennan is also a supporter of the legislation.

"This is something that for the last year I've been discussing with residents," Brennan said. "I know there is interest in this. This is one of a few things we're doing in University Heights to improve the housing stock for the long term."

Brennan also spoke of the legislation when he was running for office last August.

"For people who feel they are outgrowing their homes, or are considering moving to gain upgraded living space," stated Brennan's 2017 campaign literature, "this is a way we can make it worth their while to stay. Meanwhile, our overall housing stock will improve, and we will benefit from that for decades to come.

"Our homes will be more valuable, more desirable. Even homes that aren't immediately improved will become more desirable, because buyers will know that they can invest in these homes and get a tax abatement."

Rental home inspections and fees

In another matter involving the city's homes, Councilman Mark Wiseman has scheduled a meeting of council's Building Affairs Committee for 7 p.m. Aug. 6 at City Hall.

Wiseman, who chairs the committee, had said he would schedule a meeting this summer to further discuss increased inspections and fees charged to those who own rental homes.

The changes council approved in June have permits for single-family rental homes increasing from $300 per year to $600. The frequency of rental home inspections, which had been conducted every two years, was changed to every year.

While Brennan is in agreement with council's action, a week after council passed the legislation, the mayor put a freeze on the fee changes and increased inspections until the matters were further discussed.

A notice for the Aug. 6 meeting, referring to the many comments council heard from upset rental home owners at its spring meetings, states, "Public comments will be limited to new ideas only."

Small cell facilities

Also on Monday, City Council passed two pieces of legislation pertaining to wireless small cell facilities.

The State of Ohio recently passed legislation that will allow wireless carriers to install small cell facilities in all Ohio municipalities. Wireless companies will utilize 5G technology for higher speed and connectivity of communications and other devices, which can include driverless automobiles.

The carriers must seek permits from municipalities to install small cell facilities, which often come in the form of metal boxes with an antenna protruding from them. Municipalities can charge up to $250 when granting a group of up to 30 small cell facilities.

Communities will have 90 to 120 days to review applications to make sure they adhere to community guidelines.

The state has allowed communities to institute a set of guidelines for the small cells, which the state declared must be "reasonable."

Municipalities must accept the facilities, except if they don't abide by a community's guidelines. On Monday, council approved guidelines before the state-set deadline of July 31, at which time carriers can begin seeking permits.

It is believed the carriers will install small cells first on main thoroughfares. As the technology grows, they may then spread to side streets.

Small cells must be placed 50 to 100 feet apart. City Engineer Joe Ciuni said that, like most Ohio communities, University Heights will first seek to have carriers install small cells on existing poles, although if those poles are owned by public utilities, those utilities must also give approval.

Several small cells can be attached to a single pole. In April, the state legislature approved amendments to its original legislation. One of those amendments reduced the maximum height of new poles from 50 feet to 40 feet.

Law Director Luke McConville spoke of the things a community can include in its guidelines.

"We reserve the right to ask for fencing, public art, landscaping or other screening device," McConville said of the area around the small cells. If possible, he said, small cells should be located underground.

Ciuni acknowledged that, although people may not want to see the small cell facilities, they will allow for the fastest possibles wireless speeds for devices.

Local communities such as South Euclid and Beachwood last week approved such guidelines.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - The (arguably) biggest concert of the year in Cleveland lands Wednesday night at FirstEnergy Stadium as famous couple Jay-Z and Beyonce hit the stage. And it looks like the slight chance of rain should clear just in time for the outdoor venue.

The "OTR II Tour," standing for On the Run, comes to Cleveland at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, when temperatures are expected to hover in the upper 70s -- likely around 77 degrees. Cloudiness will begin to clear, and rain chances are very low.

However, the clearing skies will lead to a quick cooldown. By 11 p.m., temperatures will dip to 73 degrees. But at least winds should be relatively light, and shouldn't create too much of a cool breeze off the lake.

This is the second time Jay-Z and Beyonce have appeared together in Cleveland. In 2016, they joined forces for a Hillary Clinton rally.

Keep checking cleveland.com/weather for daily weather updates for Northeast Ohio, and don't forget to submit any weather questions you may have!

Kelly Reardon is cleveland.com's meteorologist. Please follow me on Facebook, Twitter @KellyRWeather and Instagram.
Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC is turning to the blockchain as the company tries to breathe new life into its flagging business.

But some analysts are not convinced the plan to build a product around the technology underpinning cryptocurrencies could turn things around for HTC after years of losing market share.

HTC announced plans in May to develop a new smartphone called the Exodus with greater emphasis on security and data. The phone, which the company said is aiming to expand the blockchain ecosystem, is being developed under Phil Chen, HTC's chief crypto officer who previously ran the Vive virtual reality headset business.

The phone will reportedly run on Android software, have a universal wallet to store digital coins and support major cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether. It will run decentralized applications, which are digital programs that operate on the blockchain and fall outside the control of a single authority. Beyond that, details about the phone's hardware specifications have been sparse even though HTC said it would start shipping later this year.

The Exodus is not the first blockchain smartphone that's been announced. Sirin Labs unveiled a similar device called the Finney that has a price tag of $1,000 and uses component specifications found in many mainstream smartphones. While HTC did not disclose any price range for the Exodus, the company said it would be "comparable to the Sirin Labs device."

Some analysts said the Exodus may not appeal to a large number of smartphone users  at least not in the short run  and that HTC is simply jumping on a bandwagon.

"The target users are going to be very limited for this device as very few people understand this technology and the upcoming benefits associated with it," Anshika Jain, an analyst at Counterpoint Research, told CNBC, adding that the company was "trying to gain mindshare, which necessarily in this case won't translate into market share."

Jain explained that companies like BlackBerry, Blackphone and SIKUR have had little success with their privacy-focused devices when compared to the likes of Samsung, Apple and Huawei. The Exodus would "find it difficult to acquire shelf space alongside the iPhone X, Samsung S9 and other premium models due to the brand value and more meaningful feature sets associated with the competing devices," she said.
Russian hackers broke into the networks of key U.S. power companies last year, possibly causing blackouts, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

The attack was first detected in the spring of 2016 and continued throughout 2017, the Journal reported, citing officials at the Department of Homeland Security.

It was carried out by hackers who worked for a Russian state-sponsored group previously known as Dragonfly or Energetic Bear, the Journal reported. DHS officials said the hacking campaign is likely to continue.

DHS did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

Some companies that were compromised may not yet know they have become a victim in a Russian attack, according to the report. That's because the hackers used the identities of actual employees to enter the utility networks  complicating efforts to detect the intrusions.

Since 2014, DHS has been warning utility companies about the possibility of being targeted by Russian hackers, according to the report.

Russia has denied targeting "critical infrastructure" in the U.S., the Journal said.

Read the full report by The Wall Street Journal.
On a recent visit to the Southwest Airlines headquarters in Dallas, I got to fly a Boeing 737. Or, at least, I got as close as someone who is not a licensed commercial pilot can: I sat at the controls of a multimillion-dollar simulator and learned how to land at La Guardia Airport in New York City.

Honestly, it was easier than I expected.

My instructor at the airlines new Leadership Education and Aircrew Development Center dropped a see-through panel down between my face and the windshield, and explained how to read the indicators. Right in front of my eyes there was a small green circle and a slightly larger green circle. All I had to do to get on the ground safely, he said, was keep the smaller circle inside the larger one by adjusting the airplanes pitch.

More from The New York Times:

More jobs will be cleared for takeoff. Aspiring pilots are ready.

Southwest pilot of Flight 1380 is navy veteran hailed for her 'nerves of steel'

As the 747 begins its final approach, a pilot takes a flight down memory lane

Autopilot features vary by aircraft type and airline, with some planes even able to land themselves under certain conditions. Southwest uses an autopilot technology that assists pilots during every part of the flight, including descent, but I experienced firsthand how the airlines pilots are ultimately responsible for landing their planes safely.

I kept the plane as level as I could as computer-generated facsimiles of low-rise Queens buildings and the Grand Central Parkway slipped quickly beneath me. Controls around me adjusted themselves to keep us moving at the right speed, and with a big bump I made it onto the runway. The simulator, again by itself, came to a stop near Terminal B.

I stepped out of the simulation with a renewed appreciation for the sophistication of autopilot, but also for the human pilots who make sure planes operate safely.

With airline industry watchers in a seemingly perpetual state of worry about a pilot shortage, some think automation could obviate the need for those human pilots altogether. But, most experts say, the technology, the industry and the passengers are not quite ready for fully autonomous flying.

From what I see, could it happen in the distant future? I think it probably could. Will it happen in the near future? I dont think so, said Michael Wiggins, the chairman of the aeronautical science department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida. Right now, any progress toward that area should be done very slowly, very measured and only after a bunch of research with results that suggest we should do that.

For almost as long as planes have been in the sky, aviators and manufacturers have worked to make flying a simple experience for pilots and a smooth one for passengers.

Automated flight controls go back into the 1920s, and through World War II they had rudimentary autopilots, Dr. Wiggins said. The idea was that the automation would relieve the pilots of very routine flying and monitoring tasks and would allow them to focus on situational awareness and other monitoring duties they have to take care of.

As those autopilot features grew more sophisticated through the 20th century, Dr. Wiggins said, flying also grew safer because the systems were able to detect problems more quickly and effectively than human pilots could. A person in the cockpit might not see a single needle move on a single gauge, but a computer can detect that kind of warning sign and send out a more noticeable alert.

Sweeping technology improvements over the last 50 to 60 years have made flying safer than ever before. The large planes that once flew the longest flights in the world required three or even four people on duty in the cockpit simultaneously. Now, updated versions of those same aircraft or newer, more efficient airframes that replaced them can be managed by two pilots just as effectively.

Capt. Tim Canoll, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, said automation had largely been a boon to his unions members. At a very high level, it really has done a lot of amazing things for us and it has made us incredibly safe, and thats why we embrace it so much.

Self-piloting airplanes would have to do more than fly. They would also have to navigate crowded airports like La Guardia in New York City, shown here, and troubleshoot unexpected situations that arise at all stages of the trip.CreditMary Altaffer/Associated Press

But, he said, he thinks planes are more or less as automated as they are likely to get.

We will see advancements, further advancements in automation, but they will be on the margins instead of earthshaking, he said. And I say that because if you look at the most modern aircraft now, they have fully automated landing capability for very low visibility and other automated controls. The next most likely developments in automation, he said, will revolve more around predicting and detecting maintenance-related issues.

But John Schmidt, the global managing director for the aerospace and defense practice at Accenture, said there was more to automation in aviation than that.

Every time a 787 takes a flight it generates a terabyte of data, he said. We use a fraction of that data today. The engines alone track data on 5,000 parameters. Companies are starting to use artificial-intelligence software to better interpret that data, which leads to better maintenance practices and more efficient equipment usage.

Mr. Schmidt also said he was more bullish about the future of automated flight controls.

The technology to be able to do all the things that a pilot does on an unmanned aerial vehicle today exists, he said. Is that going to happen in the next year? No. Is that going to happen sooner than we think? Yes.

Regulators are already taking steps toward downsizing the role of humans on the flight deck. The bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration included language to provide funding to study single-pilot operations for cargo planes, a move that the Air Line Pilots Association opposed. Captain Canoll said that a single-pilot aircraft must be safe to fly without anyone at the controls in case the pilot takes a bathroom break or becomes incapacitated.

The security of a sole human in the cockpit is not something weve accepted, nor should we accept in the long term, he said, adding that the two-pilot system had made aviation extremely safe while keeping operations efficient.

Students at Lufthansa Aviation Training in Goodyear, Ariz., in May. As thousands of pilots near retirement, some industry watchers worry about a shortage.CreditConor E. Ralph for The New York Times

Meanwhile, major aircraft manufacturers like Airbus and Boeing are pushing the technological boundaries.

As technology continues to improve, automation becomes more reliable and can manage more tasks and more sophisticated ones. In parallel, the role of the pilot is evolving, Airbus said in an email statement. The pilotless aircraft is not only a matter of technical feasibility, but also social acceptability (not only the industry, but also the traveling public).

Boeing seems even more ready to embrace fully autonomous flight. In an email, Paul Bergman, a spokesman for the company, said it was more actively investigating the potential for unmanned commercial flight.

The safe integration of unmanned aerial systems into national airspace is vital to unlocking their full potential, he said. Boeings systematic, risk-based approach to integration  that incorporates lessons learned from more than a century of experience in manned flight  can protect the safety and security of our current airspace while opening up new opportunities for unmanned systems.

The company is also exploring ways to further enhance current autopilot features.

This year Boeing will explore the fundamentals of automating the manual airplane tasks that remain with the goal of enhancing safety and reducing pilot workload, Mr. Bergman said.

Both Boeing and Airbus will exhibit new technologies at the Farnborough Airshow in England, which takes place every other year. The show, which opens Monday and will run through Sunday, provides a chance for companies across the aerospace industry to show their latest wares to prospective clients, and exhibitors often use the opportunity to announce major developments or new products.

But it is unlikely that a fully autonomous commercial plane will make an appearance this year. Part of the challenge in bringing that kind of technology to fruition, said Dr. Wiggins, is that self-piloting airplanes would have to do more than just fly. They would also have to interact with all the complex parts of the air transportation network.

I think were farther away from it than some people would like, and I think were probably closer to it than some other people would like, he said. Should we continue researching this? I think so. Should we jump into it headlong without understanding the full ramifications of it? I think not.
A college degree is an investment that will last a lifetime and one of the most reliable ways to increase your lifetime earnings. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that Americans with a bachelor's degree have median weekly earnings of $1,173, compared to just $712 a week for those who have a high school diploma.

And some colleges are noted for providing an above average return on investment. Edward Fiske, former education editor of The New York Times and creator and author of The Fiske Guide to Colleges says defining what makes a school a good deal is no easy task.

What college costs for one person is going to be different for another person, Fiske tells CNBC Make It. It depends on who you are.

Factors such as financial need, financial aid, merit scholarships and ability to graduate on time can dramatically impact how much attending a school will cost a given student. For instance, a private college with an expensive sticker price is not always more expensive than a local public program. Students should work with schools directly in order to asses how much a given school will cost them and can ask for the "discount rate" in order to determine how much the average student actually pays to attend.

But that said, continues Fiske, there are reasons that some colleges tend to be better buys than others. What weve done is looked for great schools that for one way or another have tried systematically to keep their costs down.

For instance, Birmingham-Southern College (BSC) announced in 2017 that the school would be reducing tuition and fees by more than 50 percent starting in the fall of 2018.

"The marketplace spoke, and we listened," BSC President Linda Flaherty-Goldsmith tells AL.com. "Students and families are telling colleges all across the United States  and they're telling us  that encountering a high published price is a real barrier to a high-quality education."

Every year, the Fiske Guide to Colleges releases a ranking of the 10 "best-buy" public and the 10 "best-buy" private colleges.

Here are the 20 schools that came out on top for 2019:
The BRICS Development Bank has approved loans of $300 million for energy projects in South Africa and $300 million for a transportation project in China.

The BRICS group established in 2006 by five major emerging national economies  Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa  aims to enhance cooperation between member countries and also other developing countries.

South Africa, which will host a BRICS summit this week, is trying to diversify its energy mix to reduce its reliance on heavily polluting coal-fired power plants, according to Reuters.

In April, the government signed long-delayed renewable energy contracts worth $4.7 billion with independent power producers.

It is the first major investment deal under President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The BRICS development bank said in a statement that its $300 million loan to South Africa would focus on projects, which reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Its $300 million loan to China is for a new metro line in the city of Luoyang.

BRICS countries share of the global economy is over 20 percent, and they have around 17 percent of international trade.

BRICS countries manufacture one-third of industrial products and half of the agricultural products worldwide.
Veeva Systems Founder and CEO Peter Gassner rings the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange to celebrate the company's IPO on October 16, 2013 in New York City.

Small-cap stocks have been the place to be invested in this year relative to the large-cap names, and two investors seem to have cracked the code on them.

Amy Zhang of Alger and Sandy Villere of Villere & Co. are portfolio managers invested in small-cap stocks that have outperformed their peers. The Alger Small Cap Focus Fund Class A (AOFAX) has returned nearly 31 percent to investors and ranks in the first percentile of the small growth category, according to data from Morningstar. Meanwhile, the Villere Balanced Fund (VILLX) has posted a return of 12.9 percent this year and ranks in the first percentile among balanced funds with 70-to-85 percent equity allocation.

Their portfolios strong performances come as small caps have thoroughly outperformed the large-cap stocks. The Russell 2000 index is up about 11 percent this year and hit a record high on July 10 while the is up just under 5 percent in 2018.

However, not many people think of investing in the smaller stocks since they are not as popular and are not talked about nearly as much as the larger companies. Small caps also tend to be more volatile than large-cap stocks given their size. CNBC talked to Zhang and Villere about how they pick stocks and their investment process.

Zhang said she tries to find companies that have a competitive advantage over their peers, can disrupt industries but are also sustainable, and have strong financials.

One example of such a company is Guidewire Software, a company that makes software for insurance companies, Zhang said. Guidewire can benefit as the insurance industry is in the early phase of reducing costs and improving revenue by replacing antiquated [information technology] infrastructure. The addressable market is very large, close to $8 billion, with very low penetration today, she said.

Guidewire also generates lots of cash and invests heavily on research and development to stay at the cutting edge of innovation. Shares of Guidewire are up more than 25 percent this year.

Zhang also highlighted Veeva Systems, a cloud-computing company that caters to pharmaceuticals, noting it exemplifies what we look for in a company. She said the company has a wide moat, or competitive advantage, and 20 percent annual revenue growth.

Veeva shares are up more than 50 percent in 2018 and Zhang said the stock has more room to run. The addressable market is very large, close to $8 billion, with very low penetration today, she said.

Guidewire and Veeva are two of the largest holdings in Zhangs fund, with respective portfolio weights of 3.78 percent and 2.56 percent, Morningstar data shows.

Zhang has managed the AOFAX fund since February 2015. The four-star rated fund has $1.6 billion in assets under management and has returned nearly 19 percent over the past three years. The fund is also in the fourth percentile in its category over that time period.
Alphabet is still very much an advertising company and its CFO wants to make sure Wall Street knows that it's spending its money accordingly.

Though the stock surged after Alphabet beat expectations on its second quarter earnings, its capital expenditures were eye-catching: Capital spending nearly doubled year-over-year to $5.5 billion. Its operating expenses, meanwhile, hit $10.9 billion, up 24 percent year-over-year.

In the earnings call, CFO Ruth Porat attributed the capex increase to production equipment, data center construction, and office space. Although building out data centers is important as Google's Cloud business tries to catch up to Amazon and Microsoft, Porat also noted that these computers power the machine learning in its core products, like search and ads.

Later in the call, she used a question about how Google prioritizes investment across Cloud, hardware, and its app store, Play, to drill back down on Alphabet's focus on advertising.

"I think one of the most important points to underscore [on investment priorities] is that one of the biggest opportunities for investment continues to be in our ads business where we're continuing to invest meaningfully given the opportunity set that we see there," she said, adding that making user experience and advertising tools better "extend the growth" of that cash-cow.

"I don't want to leave you with the notion that the investment is just going to newer businesses," she said.

Right now, Alphabet's advertising business drives 86 percent of its total revenues, while its "other" businesses (Cloud, Play, and hardware) only contribute 13 percent of revenue. Many see Cloud as being one of Alphabet's big future growth drivers, but in Monday's earnings Porat seemed intent on making sure that investors knew that it was still spending money in the one area that it's making money.

The other area that Alphabet breaks out in its earnings are its flashy "Other Bets," like self-driving car unit Waymo and its health division Verily. Those efforts make up less than 1 percent of Alphabet's revenue, though capex is low, too, at $10 million.
If money turns out to be the deciding factor in this falls election, Democrats so far have positioned themselves well to take back control of the Senate.

With a little more than three months left in the race, Democrats in eight of nine key battleground states have generated a substantial fundraising advantage, raking in far more cash than their GOP opponents, a CNBC analysis of the latest campaign finance data shows.

To be sure, elections forecasters typically give Republicans a better chance to hold on to their majority in the chamber. Democratic incumbents are defending Senate seats in 10 states Trump won in 2016.

Most of the money fueling the battle for the Senate is coming from large contributions from wealthy individuals and national political action committees. Of the $358 million raised in these nine battlegrounds, less than 14 cents of every dollar came from individual donations of $200 or less.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., sat down with CNBC's John Harwood to discuss an array of issues, from President Donald Trump to the economy. Here, she talks about the European Union's fine of Alphabet's Google and how the U.S. pursues antitrust enforcement.

Q: The European Union just fined Google $5 billion. You like that?

A: Look, they made their case, and they make a pretty strong case. What's bothers me is 

Q: The president criticized it and said, "That shows that Europe is going after American companies."

A: No. What it shows is that Europe is serious about antitrust laws, Europe is serious about anti-competition laws, and the United States is lagging. We were once the leaders in the world on this, and no more.
Three years ago, Peter Petracca was working as a consultant in New York, itching for a change.

Petracca, originally from California, decided to move to Hanoi, Vietnam.

"I was living in Brooklyn next door to a Vietnamese restaurant and would eat there three times a week," he told CNBC while in Hanoi. "I heard amazing things about the people, the architecture and, of course, loved the food, so I figured why not?"

He launched Chameleon City  an app that connects tourists and expats to locals, who can answer questions such as "Where can I get the best local food?" or "How do I get a business license?"

The rationale for going beyond Google and guidebooks: Petracca said, in a developing country like Vietnam, many platforms simply aren't reliable and up to date. For instance, a good local street food vendor may not appear on any website.
A gas flare on an oil production platform in the Soroush oil fields is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Gulf. Raheb Homavandi | Reuters

Since President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Iran nuclear deal in May, Iran has been pleading with other nations to keep its oil-dependent economy alive. The need for economic ties to the rest of the world increased when the Trump administration announced planned sanctions on Iranian oil exports starting in November. For Iran one nation matters more than any other to its oil economy, and it is also Trump's largest global trade rival: China. European companies have been winding down their purchases of Iranian oil, and the threat of sanctions on Iranian business has pushed out banks, many of which had paid severe fines for sanction violations in the past. But China, already the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, is not expected to heed U.S. demands. In fact, the Iranian oil sanctions could give China leverage in stalled trade negotiations with the United States. Now that the trade relationship is in jeopardy, why would they do that? Derek Scissors, resident scholar of the American Enterprise Institute, said of China's pulling back on purchases of Iranian oil. If we tell the Chinese, Oh, well cancel our pending tariffs as long as you stick to the Iran sanctions, theyll do it in a second. On Monday a war of words between the United States and Iran erupted, with Trump and his top national security advisor John Bolton threatening Iran. The harsh White House words apparently came in response to recent suggestions from Iran that it could close the Strait of Hormuz, a critical seaway for global oil shipments. The U.S. Energy Information Administration states that by volume of oil transit, the strait is the busiest global choke point for oil. In 2016, data from the EIA showed total flows through the channel reached a record high of 18.5 million barrels a day. China, Japan, India, South Korea and Singapore are the largest destinations for oil moving through the strait. On Tuesday Irans foreign ministry reportedly said it would implement countermeasures against the United States if it tries to block its oil exports. "If America wants to take a serious step in this direction, it will definitely be met with a reaction and equal countermeasures from Iran," Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi was quoted as saying.

OPEC's largest oil producers Country Production Level (June 18, tb/d) Saudi Arabia 10,420 Iraq 4,533 Iran 3,799 UAE 2,897 Kuwait 2731

China, the worlds top crude-oil buyer, imported around 718,000 barrels a day on average from Iran between January and May of this year, according to official Chinese customs data  equivalent to more than a quarter of Irans oil exports. Chinas increased its imports of Iranian oil by 9.3 percent during the same time period from the year prior and is not expected to slow down purchases anytime soon. The United States expects that China will buy even more oil once the U.S. sanctions take place in early November, as reported recently by The Wall Street Journal.

How China historically has responded to US sanctions

In refusing to comply with U.S. sanctions, the worlds second-largest economy will dull the sanctions fiscal impact, but Chinas current position on Iranian oil sanctions is consistent with its historical approach. The Chinese position in general has been that they will honor U.N. sanctions and they are reluctant to recede to bilateral sanctions, said senior fellow David Dollar of The John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution. Dollar said the Chinese have been averse to U.S. sanctions  bilateral and unilateral  in the past, usually choosing their own business interests over cooperation. However, under the Obama administration, the United States successfully negotiated with China to reduce their investments in Iranian oil, following bilateral sanctions. Dollar suggests that during that time period, China valued mutual interests with the United States, including climate change, security concerns and the two nations' strong economic ties. Conversely, Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement and has strained economic ties between the two countries with the imposition of $34 billion tariffs on Chinese exports to the United States. More recently, Trump has threatened to impose sanctions on all of China's exports to the United States. Experts say these moves have weakened the U.S. position when it comes to any Chinese collaboration on Iranian oil sanctions. The evolving trade war has taken a toll on Chinas stock market this year. Among the 32 exchange-traded funds that track broad China equities indexes and specific sectors of the emerging economy, only three have generated positive performance this year, including an energy ETF, a health-care ETF and an ETF that tracks Chinese stocks listed in the United States.

Its a bit of an uphill fight to get China to abide by U.S. sanctions, but not impossible. In this current situation, its hard to see the U.S. getting China to cooperate. If I were the Chinese, I would bring in these trade issues. Its not in Chinas narrow economic interest to stop buying oil from Iran. David Dollar senior fellow, John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution

The nuclear deal had lifted economic restrictions on Iran, allowing its oil industry to rebound. Iran is the third-largest producer in the 15-member OPEC group. In June 2018 it produced 3.8 million barrels of oil a day, OPEC data shows. Under any circumstances, its a bit of an uphill fight to get China to abide by U.S. sanctions, but not impossible. In this current situation, its hard to see the U.S. getting China to cooperate, Dollar said. If I were the Chinese, I would bring in these trade issues, he added. Its not in Chinas narrow economic interest to stop buying oil from Iran.

Speaking to the House Financial Services Committee on July 12, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin claimed that the Trump administration has the intent to enforce sanctions on Iran-related oil against everybody, including China. At a press conference last Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that he has held personal discussions with top officials from many of those countries, including China, to ensure that the U.S. economic sanctions work. "They have a commitment; they understand where we're headed," Pompeo said of countries that the Trump administration has asked to cut off economic ties with Iran. "What they've asked us to do is review how we get there and the timeline for that."

Growing economic ties between China and Iran

But recent history shows that Beijing intends to intensify its trade relationship with Tehran, not lessen it. Shortly after the Trump administration announced that it would reinstate sanctions, Irans Foreign Minister Javad Zarif met with foreign leaders for support. His first visit was to Beijing. Following the visit, the Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua announced the launch of a new rail connection between Bayannur, in Chinas Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, and Iran. The new train line will expedite travel times by 20 days in comparison to cargo shipments, as a part of Beijings $124 billion Belt and Road initiative, according to the Xinhuas announcement. The broader initiative aims to build new infrastructure between China and Europe, financing billions of dollars' worth of Chinese-led projects in Iran to build railways, highways, ports and power plants, greatly expanding trade. Last week, when asked if China would cooperate with U.S. sanctions, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters, China is always opposed to unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction. Analysts predict that the oil market will become increasingly unpredictable over the next several months. In recent trading, oil prices have seesawed as the potential impact of a trade war on global demand, and Iranian sanctions on supply have created a short-term stalemate. The market will struggle for the next two months until the drop in Iranian exports materializes, analysts at Energy Aspects said in a research note published Monday. Last Wednesday, White House National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said that while talks to strike a deal with Chinese officials have been positive, President Xi refuses to compromise over Beijings trade policies. I dont think President Xi at the moment has any intention of following through on the discussion we made, and I think the president is so dissatisfied with China on these so-called talks that he is keeping the pressure on  and I support that, Kudlow said in an interview at CNBC's Delivering Alpha conference in New York. Chinas foreign ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying, hit back during a scheduled briefing in Beijing last Thursday, saying, "The relevant United States official unexpectedly distorted the facts and made bogus accusations [that are] shocking and beyond imagination. She added, The United States' flip-flopping and promise-breaking is recognized globally."

WATCH: Here's what drives the price of oil
An Iranian woman walks past a mural on the wall of the former US embassy in the Iranian capital Tehran on May 8, 2018.

After a weekend of threats, the rhetoric between the U.S. and Iran could ramp up even more in early August as a first round of sanctions on Iran is set to kick in  and that could create even more oil price volatility.

There's a risk too that Iran in the near future could use the introduction of sanctions as an excuse to restart ts nuclear program, which it agreed to end in 2015 when the U.S. and five other nations agreed to lift sanctions. President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from that agreement in May and said the U.S. would reinstate financial sanctions. The other countries  China, Russia, Germany, France and the U.K. so far remain in the deal with Iran, and they have been making efforts to limit the impact of sanctions.

"Aug. 6th is the date that we'll know whether the Europeans made any progress on workaround arrangements. The Iranians are having a currency collapse. I don't think their response is going to be mild or benign," said Helima Croft, global head of commodity strategy at RBC.

Many companies that have exposure have been preparing to exit Iran dealings and are wary of violating the sanctions for fear of hurting their access to the U.S. market and financial system.

"I think it's highly likely, if the Europeans cannot pull a rabbit out of their hat and find a way around sanctions then at a minimum, we're talking about a nuclear restart and they resume suspended activities," said Croft.

Cliff Kupchan, chairman of Eurasia Group said Iran will most certainly amp up its nuclear program, producing low-enriched uranium and installing advanced centrifuges, activities it ended under the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

"I think they'll pull out of the deal in August or September. The Iranian view is the nuclear deal is a business deal, and unless the Europeans find a way to continue buying their oil and to continue European [foreign direct investment] into Iran, it's not a good deal for them. Probably by September or by the end of the year, the JCPOA is part of the history books," said Kupchan.

But he said Iran will want to stop short and not try to significantly quicken the breakout time for acquisition of a nuclear weapon. "If they get close to the ability to acquire a nuclear war head, they would probably lose Russia's support. I think they will adopt a more threatening posture on the nuclear program, but it will be leavened by an unwillingness to lose Putin," he said.

There's no indication yet that Iran is planning to restart its nuclear program, and if it does, Kupchan said it is unlikely to go so far as to kick out United Nations inspectors. "It's self-regulating," he said. "What would really reduce breakout time is significant deployment of advanced centrifuges and acquisition of a significant or large stockpile of low-enriched uranium."

The energy market has been focused on the resumption of sanctions in November on Iran's oil sector, but there are financial sanctions that go into effect ahead of that on Aug. 6. Other sanctions that take effect then include sanctions on Iran's trade in gold and precious metals, graphite, aluminum, steel and imports of aircraft parts.

"August is never calm," said Michael Cohen, Barclays head of energy commodities research. "Summer in the Middle East, you just never know what could happen."

Iran's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said the country would implement countermeasures if the U.S. attempts to block Iranian oil exports. That followed a weekend war of words between between Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who started the back-and-forth by cautioning the U.S. about pursuing hostile policies against Tehran.

Oil prices have fluctuated recently as worries about oversupply continue to impact the market. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 1.2 percent Tuesday, at $68.67, hitting a session high above $69.

"America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars," Rouhani reportedly said. The Iranian president also criticized Washington, in an apparent reference to reports that Trump officials are seeking to destabilize Iran's government. "You are not in a position to incite the Iranian nation against Iran's security and interests," Rouhani said.

Trump fired back Sunday with a tweet, all in caps: "NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE." Administration officials Monday reinforced Washington's hard line on Iran and its commitment to follow through with sanctions.

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John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital, said the Aug. 6 deadline will help remind the market of how serious the Trump administration is about Iran sanctions. Administration officials have said they will try to get complete compliance by November on the ban on Iranian oil sales, estimated at about 2.4 million barrels a day, and analysts say there could be as much as 1 million barrels a day removed from the market by the end of the year. That could ultimately make the sting of these sanctions greater than before the JCPOA, when 1.2 million barrels a day were removed from the market.

"The Trump administration is not fooling around. [That date] crystallizes things. They're already moving toward it. To the extent that the workaround by Europeans and others is going to be shown to be a failure, it's only going to be a more pointed situation for the market," Kilduff said. He said while August could be volatile for oil prices because of Iran, high summer demand and tight supplies, crude prices could move even higher later in the year as the November oil sanctions take effect.

Analysts expect Iran to become more strident even after the August sanctions take affect, and in addition to restarting its nuclear program, it could accelerate local proxy wars, terrorist activity and even cyberattacks.

"At the very least, they'll do some symbolic thing. The hard-liners in Iran are going to be on the warpath over this," said Kilduff.

The Trump administration has taken a tough stand but has not released a lot of details about the oil sanctions, and whether any countries could be granted waivers from ending their purchases of crude. The administration has said it wants all purchases to go to zero, and it will work with individual countries.

The administration is trying to move as quickly as possible and severely as possible. Theres not a lot of patience within this administration. Theyre looking for as much bang for their buck as they can get. So far they havent expressed a lot of flexibility, said Suzanne Maloney, deputy director, foreign policy at the Brookings Institution.

Analysts say if the administration succeeds in removing a lot of oil from the market any surprise outage could cause a price spike, even if Saudi Arabia has promised to add production. They caution that oil could also become volatile based on conflicts that are already underway in the region, where Iran could instigate activity. That includes Yemen, where Iran backs the Houthi rebels who have been firing missiles and sending drones into Saudi Arabia.

I think [Iran] will look for ways to respond asymmetrically, blow something up, make the situation worse in Iraq ... especially if they can avoid being finger printed. They will have to respond at some point. They are trying not to be baited, said Maloney.

She said despite the tough talk Iran has shown discipline since the U.S. dropped out of the nuclear deal. There hasnt been the kind of spasmodic reaction weve seen in the past. ... Theyre being very careful, and I think they recognize this could get very difficult for them. The core priority is for the leadership to ensure the stability and the survival of the regime, Maloney said. [Rouhanis] under fire but this is a group project. He certainly was a prominent advocate but the deal was endorsed by the supreme leader."

Croft warns to keep an eye also on Iraq, where there are protests in the southern part of the country in proximity to oil facilities.

"You can end up blundering your way into a much bigger conflict ... the real risk is always unintended escalation through miscalculation," she said.

Cohen said when Iran does test its obligations under the nuclear agreement that could drive oil prices higher and the market could also react to any other activities Iran comes up with. One of those could be to block the Strait of Hormuz, through which a third of oil trade flows, he added.

"Both the U.S. and Iran are going to use all levers at their disposal to make clear what their desires are. From Iran's perspective, it has tools and the U.S. has its sanctions," said Cohen.

Blocking the Strait of Hormuz or messing with the shipping lanes would be a major act for Iran. Thats really the nuclear option in the sense of as much as it hurts all of their neighbors, and the U.S. could reopen it fairly quickly in any case, Maloney said. "The reality is anything that drives the price higher benefits them ... they have an incentive to be fairly bellicose."
It has been a little over a week since the two leaders of the world's nuclear club met behind closed doors in the Finnish capital of Helsinki.

Both U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who own the lion's share of the world's nukes, said ahead of their first formal discussion that they would address the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

"If we can do something to substantially reduce them, I mean, ideally get rid of them, maybe that's a dream, but certainly it's a subject that I'll be bringing up with him," Trump said before the meeting. "The proliferation is a tremendous, I mean, to me, it's the biggest problem in the world, nuclear weapons, biggest problem in the world."

Similarly, the Russian leader said the two countries had a "responsibility for maintaining international security," citing their respective nuclear weapons arsenals.
Sometimes, even Marcus Lemonis cant resist a good shopping spree.

Lemonis is known for his business savvy, as the Chairman and CEO of Camping World, a company with a market value of over $2.1 billion, and the host of CNBCs The Profit, the show where he helps struggling small business owners turn around their fortunes. But the self-made millionaire and entrepreneur tells CNBC Make It that his usual fiscal prudence doesnt always prevent him from the occasional big splurge.

Whats more, Lemonis says he has a specific weak spot: "I'm a bit of a shopaholic when it comes to fashion, he says.

I like to buy nice clothes  I don't buy a lot of them  but I will spend kind of an obscene amount of money on clothes, he tells CNBC Make It.

How much money is obscene? Ill go on a Saturday and spend [$3,000] on clothes, Lemonis says.

Lemonis especially loves spending money on shoes. I probably have 85 pairs of shoes in my closet plus or minus, Lemonis says.

I like sneakers; I like to wear fun gym shoes  even with the suit, he adds.

Still, even when Lemonis spends a lot of money on clothing, he says he at least tries to get his moneys worth by holding onto those expensive clothes for a long time.
Alphabet CEO Larry Page has long admired Warren Buffetts business acumen in creating the industrial and investment conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway.

And now analysts and investors are noticing Alphabets investments in emerging disparate businesses are starting to bear fruit  including YouTube, autonomous cars and cloud computing  drawing comparison to Berkshire Hathaways success.

The internet giant reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings Monday, driving Alphabet shares to a new all-time high the following day. It generated adjusted earnings per share of $11.75 versus the Wall Street consensus of $9.59 for the quarter. Alphabet also posted a $1.06 billion gain in its equity investments for the time period.

Our investments are driving great experiences for users, strong results for advertisers, and new business opportunities for Google and Alphabet," said Ruth Porat, CFO of Alphabet and Google in the earnings press release Monday.

As a result one well-known investor believes Alphabet has a shot of being the Berkshire Hathaway of tomorrow.

What I'm really talking about is the diversified nature of what [Alphabet is] building away from the ad platform, in much the same way as Berkshire reinvested the float from insurance premiums into other investments. I guess I am also talking in terms of longevity, not just size, Josh Brown said in an email Tuesday. This quarter witnessed a host of Google's other investments throwing off profits. Larry and Sergey were very open about their intention to create something Berkshire-like when they first announced the new structure and Alphabet.

Brown is CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management, a New York City-based investment advisory firm. He is also a CNBC contributor.

Warren Buffett spent the last five decades building Berkshire Hathaway into a massive holding company for various businesses ranging from insurance and railroads to machine tools and ice cream. Along with his dozens of operating subsidiaries, Buffett manages a stock portfolio of more than $170 billion.

In 2014 Larry Page told the FT if there is a person who has the qualities that he wanted to lead Google into the future, it was Warren Buffett. In the following year, Google restructured itself, moving the brand under the new Alphabet umbrella. Similar to Buffetts management structure, Page explained his role as capital allocator and executive manager.

Fundamentally, we believe this allows us more management scale, as we can run things independently that arent very related. Alphabet is about businesses prospering through strong leaders and independence, Page wrote about the changes. We will rigorously handle capital allocation and work to make sure each business is executing well. We'll also make sure we have a great CEO for each business, and well determine their compensation.

A few years later Alphabet is already the most active corporate venture capital investor out there. It invested in 103 deals last year, according Crunchbase data.

And Wall Street is enthusiastic over the large growth opportunities from Alphabets previous technology bets.

KeyBanc Capital Markets reiterated its overweight rating for the stock, predicting Alphabets investments will generate strong returns.

Alphabet currently has a unique combination of strong positioning and extremely large addressable markets in ad-supported video, hardware, cloud, self-driving cars, and healthcare, analyst Andy Hargreaves said in a note to clients Monday. Over time, we believe each of these categories can develop into very large businesses for the Company, which should help sustain a pace of overall revenue growth that exceeds current consensus expectations and drives meaningful incremental profits.

Hargreaves raised his price target to $1,430 from $1,230 for Alphabet shares, representing 18 percent upside from Monday's close.

Even the Oracle of Omaha himself is a fan of the company, which may signal Alphabet is an heir apparent to the Berkshire throne.

In May, Warren Buffett said he made a mistake by not investing in Google-parent Alphabet.

"I made the wrong decisions on Google and Amazon," he said at the Berkshire Hathaway 2018 annual shareholder meeting on May 5. "We've looked at it. I made the mistake in not being able to come to a conclusion where I really felt that at the present prices that the prospects were far better than the prices indicated."
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki have been awarded the Order of Zayed, the United Arab Emirates highest medal, in recognition of their efforts to establish peace between the two African nations.

The medals were handed to the two African leaders by the Crown Prince of the UAE, Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed, at a ceremony held Tuesday in Abu Dhabi.

Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed re-affirmed the commitment of the UAE to consolidate its partnership with Eritrea and Ethiopia and to support their peace and development efforts.

The Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki who arrived in Abu Dhabi Tuesday held a tripartite summit with their host.

Eritrean Information Minister said in a tweet that, The consultations underway underpin commitment of the parties for broader & robust regional cooperation and coordination.

Even though details of the talks at the summit have not been disclosed, PM Abiys Chief of Staff had said in a tweet, The leaders are expected to discuss concrete ways of strengthening investment & commercial ties.
Amazon said Tuesday that it's added the option for shoppers to have fresh groceries delivered from Whole Foods in the New York area and three cities in Florida.

The service is now available for Prime members via Prime Now in certain parts of New York City, starting with lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, along with parts of Long Island, Amazon said. In Florida, the delivery option is initially rolling out in Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Palm Beach.

Other New York City neighborhoods will eventually be added to the grocery delivery platform throughout 2018, according to Amazon, along with other parts of the U.S. The service was just launched in February. It's now available in two dozen cities.

New York and Florida in particular are two of the most competitive markets for grocers today. Walmart is beginning to promote its same-day delivery option for groceries through Jet in New York. And while Publix has long been the dominant grocer in Florida, specialty chains like Sprouts Farmers Market and Lucky's Market are starting to pop up in the state.

Shares of Amazon climbed more than 1 percent in premarket trading Tuesday to $1,826. The stock has rallied more than 70 percent from a year ago, having recently hit an all-time high of $1,858 on Wednesday.

WATCH: A look at the Amazon-Whole Foods deal, one year later
San Francisco-based asset manager Bitwise is joining the race to launch a regulated ETF for cryptocurrency, which if approved could help struggling bitcoin prices.

The company filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday for an exchange traded fund that would track an a basket of 10 cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin.

"The index's goal is to capture the most valuable assets that emerge," Hunter Horsley, co-founder and CEO of Bitwise Asset Management, told CNBC on "Fast Money" on Monday. "A lot of people think of it as an S&P 500 for crypto."

The U.S. financial watchdog has yet to approve a cryptocurrency-based ETF. Rumors that it could say yes to another application filed by money manager VanEck and SolidX as soon as August helped bitcoin break above the $8,000 mark this week.

Were joining the queue, Matt Hougan, Bitwise global head of research told CNBC. The market is professionalizing in a direction that the SEC would allow a crytpo ETF onto the market.

Horsley said he doesn't think the SEC will be in a rush to approve a digital coin-based ETF, but said he is excited to talk to regulators about what his firm has to offer.

"I think [the SEC is] being cautious. That's their job and that's what we would hope they would do," he said and added that the "SEC, over the last two years, has demonstrated a great understanding of the [digital coin] space."

Exchange-traded funds usually track an index or group of assets but trade like stocks. While other companies, including VanEck, SolidX and Gemini, have filed for bitcoin-only ETFs, Bitwise is the first and only to apply for one that would track multiple digital assets.

In 2017, the SEC rejected an application by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, founders of crypto exchange Gemini. After VanEck and SolidX had their applications rejected, the two companies joined forces to file another version in June for an ETF to be called VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Shares. That version is under review, and rumors of its approval have added to investor optimism and bitcoin's 20 percent rebound this week.

Bitwise launched the the first crypto index fund in November, which is not registered with the SEC. That index is technically a private placement vehicle, which excludes retail investors and is meant for accredited investors with at least $1 million in liquid assets.

"Our clients like the index strategy," Horsley said. "Many of them have an investment view that's not specific to one coin. They think something promising could come out of public blockchains. A cryptocurrency may emerge and be really valuable."

The SEC and other regulators have been hesitant to approve bitcoin ETFs, mostly for security concerns. The agency has cracked down on cryptocurrency-related fraud in the past year, with a series of investor bulletins, stock trading suspensions and initial coin offering halts.

 CNBC's Kellie Ell contributed to this report.

WATCH: Bitwise CEO is optimistic on ETF approval
Proponents of jihadi ideology are creeping into Pakistani politics at an unprecedented level, regional experts warn, throwing the south Asian nation's security and its tense relationship with the U.S. deeper into question.

Head of Pakistani banned organisation Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) Hafiz Saaed (3L) raises hands with members of his newly formed political party Allah-o-Akbar Tehreek at the election campaign meeting in Lahore ahead of the general election. ARIF ALI | AFP | Getty Images

Carnage flooded Pakistans front pages two weeks ago after an Islamic State-claimed bomb attack killed 151 people at an election rally in the countrys Balochistan province. As Pakistanis wonder what toll the threat of terrorism will take on their election on July 25, many activists decry another disturbing trend: the sharp rise in religious extremists running for office. One of the deadliest in Pakistans history, the Balochistan attack was a shock amid a security environment that had nonetheless been improving in recent years, thanks to major military operations on the Afghan border. The restive northwestern region has been the target of mounting extremism, but radical Islamism is rife across much of the country of 208 million, with practically no government control in many tribal areas and extremist groups that enjoy support from parts of the military and security forces. Just on Sunday, a candidate from the celebrity ex-cricket player Imran Khans Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI), the main opposition to the incumbent Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) party, was murdered in a suicide attack claimed by the Pakistani Taliban. The same day saw an assassination attempt on another candidate, his second brush with death in ten days. Religious parties overall are fielding more than 1,500 candidates for national and provincial government seats this year. Activists and international observers point out that several are affiliated with banned terrorist groups and violent attacks, using front parties to run for assembly. Meanwhile other parties and individuals with a record of religious extremism have been quietly removed from the countrys terrorist watch list, known as the fourth schedule, and thus allowed to run.

'Stealthy reappearance' of banned groups

This is cause for serious concern, says the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, which issued a statement last week calling attention to the stealthy reappearance of banned outfits under other names and the fact that the state has conferred political legitimacy on them by allowing them to contest the elections." It alleged the groups campaigns consistently misused religion to peddle a dangerous, divisive rhetoric. One example is the Milli Muslim League, a group banned in Pakistan for its affiliation with U.S. and UN-designated terror suspect Hafiz Saeed, who is connected with the 2008 Mumbai attacks . Saeed denies involvement in the attacks, which killed 166 people. He has a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head. Now, Saeeds image is plastered on posters for the party Allah-o-Akbar Tehreek, which is believed to be a front party for the radical group and is fielding 206 candidates for national and provincial assemblies. This goes way beyond anything I can recall in Pakistan, said Alyssa Ayres, a senior fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations. This is certainly an ongoing major threat to Pakistan's stability and to regional stability as well. Why members of designated terrorist groups are being allowed to stand for election without any sort of prior commitment to de-radicalization is beyond me, and cannot possibly lead to a good outcome. Tweet1 Another highly controversial group whose leader and candidates are now running is Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), the banned political wing of the deadly Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), a terrorist group responsible for killing hundreds of minority Shiites and for allying with al-Qaeda and ISIS. The group denies ties to LeJ. Its more than 150 candidates are running as independents or under a new party name, and its leader, Maulana Mohammad Ahmad Ludhianvi, was quietly taken off Pakistans internal terrorism watch list just in June. Activists fear that the mainstreaming of extremists into Pakistani politics will harm its democracy, and lament that members of the two leading parties are now courting some of these fringe players to gain an edge over one another. These groups have a history of their involvement in terror activities and spreading religious intolerance against minority sects and faiths, said Abubakkar Yousafzai, a member of the Karachi branch of Pakistans Human Rights Commission, speaking to CNBC. Their participation in the election puts a question mark on the states anti-terrorism efforts and law enforcement agencies. Tweet2 The party leaders, meanwhile, reject accusations of extremism, while some ASWJ candidates have told press they support the democratic process. While Yousafzai doesnt think the groups candidates will win, he sees their efforts as taking advantage of a legitimate platform to strengthen their support bases. I think all these groups are not good for the health of constructive democratic structure, he said.

Terrorist financing

The election comes shortly after Pakistan was downgraded on the Financial Action Task Force, a global body monitoring terrorist financing, to gray list status for not sufficiently fighting terrorist operations in Pakistan. The government subsequently agreed to improve its anti-terrorism efforts to avoid being blacklisted by the organization. Yousafzai and other activists say the military, often referred to in country as the establishment, is behind this so-called mainstreaming. It denies influence, and Pakistans electoral commission says it has only followed court orders, asking that the international community respect the sovereignty and laws of Pakistan. But the international community, and Pakistans previous government led by Nawaz Sharif of the PML-N, who is currently in jail on corruption charges, accuses the military of supporting this trend as part of its broader defense objectives. The country has long been seen as a safe haven for a range of jihadist groups, including al-Qaeda, the Haqqani Network, Lakshar e-Taiba, Jaish e-Mohammed and to a lesser extent ISIS, and the groups use their bases to plot attacks both inside and outside Pakistan.

US and India: Rocky relationships
Rick Gates, former deputy campaign manager for Donald Trump, exits Federal Court in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, Feb. 23, 2018.

Former Trump campaign official Rick Gates was paid tens of thousands of dollars in 2017 by a company headed by a leading Republican fundraiser and a firm headed by Donald Trump's inaugural committee chairman for help navigating the new administration, even as Gates was under criminal investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller, a new report says.

The New York Times article raises questions of why the two men, Elliott Broidy and Thomas Barrack, each of whom had close ties to the Republican Party and, in Barrack's case, to the president himself, were paying a lobbyist like Gates for guidance on how to deal with the new administration. Gates, who did not work in the administration, was a co-founder of pro-Trump group America First Policies.

The Times said Broidy, the California venture capitalist who had been a deputy finance chair for the Republican National Committee, paid Gates at least $125,000 before Gates was charged by Mueller last October, along with former Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort.

"For that money Mr. Gates advised Mr. Broidy on how to pursue both a contract for his business and appointments for his associates and provided insight into the new administrations foreign policy plans," the Times said. Broidy was seeking foreign clients for a defense contractor he bought in 2015, the article said.

A firm owned by Trump's longtime close friend Barrack, Colony NorthStar, started paying Gates $20,000 per month shortly after the inauguration, according to the Times. Barrack had been the inauguration's chairman. Gates was deputy chairman of the inaugural committee.

A source close to Barrack, and with direct knowledge of the matter, told CNBC that Barrack received no warning about Gates' indictment, and his contract was terminated the day of the indictment. Gates worked for Colony Northstar as an independent contractor, consulting on legislative and regulatory matters.

Gates, a former business associate of Manafort, pleaded guilty in February to financial fraud and lying to federal investigators. He has agreed to cooperate with Mueller against Manafort, who is due to go on trial next week in federal court in Virginia.

Representatives for Broidy did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment. A spokeswoman for Barrack declined to comment.

Read the entire Times story here
A pedestrian walks pass a branch of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) in Fuzhou, Fujian province of China.

China has announced a mix of tax cuts and infrastructure spending citing uncertainty, as it ramps up efforts to stimulate demand and counteract a weakening economy.

The move, announced late Monday, came the same day as an injection of $74bn into the banking system by the Peoples Bank of China through its Medium-term Lending Facility  the central banks largest ever, single-day cash injection using that tool.

The fiscal measures provide growing evidence that policymakers are concerned about how the trade war with the US will exacerbate a domestic slowdown and follow a recent series of monetary loosening actions.

The PBoC has already cut the required reserve ratio (RRR) for some banks three times this year in a bid to boost the money supply.

Unveiling the measures, the State Council cited external uncertainty  an apparent reference to the escalating trade war with the US  while also seeking to downplay market concerns that China is backsliding on structural reform and reverting to its traditional playbook of heavy-handed credit stimulus.

We must persist in not conducting big water overflowing-style strong stimulus while . . . responding to uncertainty in the external environment and preserving economic activity within a reasonable range, premier Li Keqiang told the State Council.

The cabinet also pledged to ensure appropriate credit growth. Data for June showed money supply and credit expanding at a record low pace for a fourth consecutive month.

Local governments are urged to speed up disbursal of unused fiscal revenue and called on financial institutions to ensure adequate lending to local governments off-budget financing vehicles so that projects are not delayed.

The latter measure marks a shift in emphasis after a period in which the finance ministry was focused on controlling disguised borrowing through off-budget channels.

Chinas GDP grew at its slowest pace since 2016 in the second quarter, and economists expect the deceleration to continue through the rest of this year. That is leading policymakers to pivot away from a previous emphasis on restraining debt and shift towards stimulus.

The cabinets announcement late Monday also authorised Rmb6.5bn ($953m) in tax cuts for corporate investment in research and development and accelerated issuance of special bonds to finance local government infrastructure projects.

The government will promote privately funded projects in transport, oil and gas, and telecommunications, the cabinet said.

Chinas blue-chip CSI 300 index was 1.6 per cent higher at midday, while an index of mainland stocks traded in Hong Kong was up 2.4 per cent.

We take the [State Council] statement as a confirmation of policy stance changing from tightening toward loosening, wrote Zhiwei Zhang, chief China economist at Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong.

The change of monetary stance has already happened in [the second quarter] with the RRR cut and injection of liquidity through MLF. The new message from the meeting today is that fiscal policy will become incrementally more expansionary.

The emphasis on fiscal measures comes after a central bank official this month issued an unusually blunt public criticism of the finance ministry, accusing it of failing to carry out the governments official proactive fiscal stance by allowing unspent revenue to accumulate.

Follow @gabewildau on Twitter
Chinese President Xi Jinping (C), accompanied by Rwandan President Paul Kagame (L), arrives at the Urugwiru State house in Kigali, Rwanda, on July 23, 2018.

The leaders of the worlds two largest emerging economies have both just visited the tiny, landlocked African country of Rwanda  separately  and showed themselves to be friends with deep pockets.

Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in Rwandas capital Kigali on Sunday, where he met with his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame.

China granted Rwanda a loan of $126 million for the building of two roads, the latter countrys Minister of Finance Uzziel Ndagijimana told Reuters.

On Monday evening, after Xis departure earlier in the day, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi touched down in Kigali. Meetings resulted in the signing of two loan agreements each worth $100 million, for investment in agriculture and the development of special economic zones.

The meetings signified the first time a Chinese or Indian leader has visited Rwanda.

China and India are the worlds two most populous nations, with 1.6 billion and 1.3 billion inhabitants respectively. India is likely to be the worlds fastest growing major economy in 2018, a mantle China once held. The latter is now the worlds second largest economy after the U.S.

Rwandas recent history has been marked by civil war and ethnic conflict. It was ravaged by the genocide of its Tutsi ethnic group in 1994, in which over half a million people were killed. Home to approximately 12 million people, it is now in the process of transitioning into a middle income economy and reducing its dependence on foreign aid. The East African country is also promoting itself as a technology hub.
In this image from video provided by the Aspen Security Forum, National Intelligence Director Dan Coats speaks at the Forum in Aspen, Colo., on Thursday, July 19, 2018. Aspen Security Forum via AP

Department of Homeland Security officials confirmed a story, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, that nation-state hackers were suspected of breaking into the computer systems that run hundreds of U.S. utilities. DHS spokesperson Lesley Fulop said the statements cited by the Journal were taken from an agency webinar hosted July 23. "As we say in the webinar, this activity took place last summer," she said in an email. Fulop said attackers were able to access a "very small" asset that "would not have had any impact on the larger grid if taken offline." She said government agencies investigated the activity, and worked closely with private sector companies to "learn additional information ... helpful to industry in defending against this threat." The revelations come on the heels of predictions by Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats of an impending cyberattack on par with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Coats, who oversees the National Security Agency and Central Intelligence Agency, among other departments, said Russia was more aggressive, but Iran had also poised on U.S. infrastructure, and China also posed a continued cyberthreat. U.S. officials have been raising alarms about nation-state interference and intrusions on U.S. infrastructure, especially from Russia, in recent weeks. But this is far from the first warning from government officials about a significant upcoming cyber-event, nor the first time nation-states have made robust, successful efforts to penetrate public sector computers.

'Digital Pearl Harbor'

In one early case, in 1986, hackers from Soviet-controlled East Germany penetrated computer networks at the University of California at Berkeley. They sought confidential materials from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which conducts defense industrial work including for the Department of Energy. A popular book about the attack decried the lack of cooperation between the government and university researchers, including the FBI, CIA and NSA  a familiar storyline that still plays out today, including during the 2016 attacks against the Democratic National Committee. In 1991, cybersecurity expert Winn Schwartau used the term Cyber Pearl Harbor in congressional testimony. Schwartau described a devastating attack that would wreak havoc on society at large. In 1999, the Department of Defense traced attacks against infrastructure at Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio to Russia, a strike aimed at capturing classified information. CNN quoted former Pennsylvania Rep. Curt Weldon at the time as saying: "There is an attack under way. You can basically say we are at war. In 2002, research company Gartner, the U.S. Naval War College and a collection of security experts authored a case study called Digital Pearl Harbor, in which they played out several possible attacks on U.S. infrastructure. Of those who participated, according to analysis from the event, 79 percent of them said that a strategic cyberattack is likely within the next two years. In 2008, the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing on cybersecurity threats to the electric grid. It heard experts testify that bulk power suppliers had not been the only targets of nation-states, but smaller suppliers and vendors as well. In 2012, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta gave a speech predicting a cyberattack that could be as destructive as 9/11: Such a destructive cyber terrorist attack could paralyze the nation, he said at the time. In 2013, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano also said she believed a cyber 9/11 could happen imminently.

What is different now, and what can be done
A major fight is brewing between Dunkin Brands and Starbucks , but only one is emerging victorious. Over the past two years, Dunkin shares have rocketed around 50 percent higher, while Starbucks has fallen more than 10 percent.

Matt Maley, equity strategist at Miller Tabak, says Dunkins massive rally could be circling the drain.

Its up 25 percent just since April, so its had this huge move, and its getting overbought, Maley told CNBCs Trading Nation on Monday. It looks like its upside here at least on a technical basis is somewhat limited.

Dunkins surge has pushed its relative strength index above the 70 threshold several times this year, a level that typically indicates overbought conditions. It currently trades 13 percent above its 200-day moving average.

Starbucks, on the other hand, its been stuck in a sideways range since 2015  between $52 and $63, $63.50. It dropped below that range last month, explained Maley. If it can rally back above $52, that should give it a lot of momentum to shoot it back up into the middle of the range.

Its shares broke below $52 just over a month ago. Before then, the stock had not traded beneath that level since November 2016.

Seattle-based Starbucks looks to be cooling off after a hot run in its early days, according to Gina Sanchez, CEO of Chantico Global.

They emerged really, really big, and theyre actually starting to look like a very, very mature company, Sanchez told Trading Nation on Monday. The last two years have really been a sign of just far too much market penetration and now youre talking about having to close a series of unproductive stores.

The coffee chain recently announced plans to close 150 underperforming locations in 2019. The company also saw two high-profile executive departures last month in CEO Howard Schultz and CFO Scott Maw.

The fundamentals here still dont add up in the Starbucks play, added Sanchez. Dunkin, even though it has run a long way, fundamentally still has the wind in its back.

Dunkin Brands is up 10 percent in the year to date, while Starbucks has fallen 10 percent.
When Facebook reports earnings after the bell on Wednesday, investors will be taking a closer look at monthly and daily active user numbers to see if the Cambridge Analytica data scandal and other negative stories have driven users and advertisers away from the platform, or have had little effect.

Here's what Wall Street is expecting:

Estimated earnings per share: $1.72, according to a Thompson Reuters consensus estimate

Estimated Revenue: $13.36 billion, according to a Thomson Reuters consensus estimate

Estimated global monthly active users (MAUs): 2.25 billion, per StreetAccount and FactSet

Estimated global daily active users (DAUs): 1.49 billion, per StreetAccount and FactSet

North American DAUs are of particular interest because Facebook saw a slight dip at the end of last year.

But the first quarter, which included the first two weeks of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, saw usage levels increase to 185 million DAUs.

The latest quarter will include the rest of the time since it was revealed the data analytics firm, among other companies, improperly used information from Facebook users and their friends to target political marketing. This quarter is also when Facebook saw significant political fallout from the scandal, which required CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify in front of U.S. Congress and before the E.U. about Facebook's ability to protect user data. Other noteworthy events, including the enactment of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union  a set of rules that give users more control over their online data  also will be reflected in this period.

As a result, eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson believes North American DAUs will be flat or slightly down, while European DAUs will be lower  though she cautions in the long run it may not matter.

"Even if MAU and DAU show some weakness, Facebook has done an excellent job of becoming an indispensable communications platform," Williamson said. "Simply put, its very hard to leave Facebook entirely. Perhaps people will share less often or become more careful about what they share, but we believe that it remains a very important platform for many people. And we also believe that engagement trends on Instagram as well as Messenger and WhatsApp will remain strong."

Forrester consumer research also showed while people know about Facebook's data concerns, most people did not modify their usage patterns because of it. Rather, if there were any changes it was because of other issues with Facebook. They also found brands still want to reach mass audiences with their advertising, and Facebook is one of the best vehicles to do so.

If there are lower DAUs, it may have a minimal effect on advertising revenue, said GBH Insights chief strategy officer and head of technology research Daniel Ives. GBH is predicting advertising revenue will decrease at the most around $1 billion, or around 2 percent of annual advertising revenues.

"In a nutshell, the bark has been a lot worse than the bite so far for Facebook among advertisers and users post Cambridge, although 2Q is a pivotal 'prove me' quarter for Zuckerberg & Co. in the eyes of the Street," Ives said.

Facebook stock was up a little more than 1 percent near the close of trading on Tuesday after hitting an all-time intraday high of $216.20.
Todays situation with Russia, however, is quite different from those in the past. First, the nature of the threat today is far more serious. Second, over the last 100 years the FBIs power has evolved to meet these threats, and it has reliably had White House support which, today, is sometimes absent.

Beyond their focus on Page, the campaign adviser, the FBI was concerned with what it described as Russian influence operations against the United States. Foreign government-led influence operations within the U.S. have happened before.

Meanwhile, the press pointed out that the application, made under provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, undermines Republican claims that it was rooted in biased information.

President Trump used the released documents to argue that the Justice Department and FBI misled the court in order to get permission to spy on his presidential campaign.

On July 21, the Trump administration released the FBIs application for a warrant to begin electronic surveillance of former Donald Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. This has renewed the debate on whether the FBI had sufficient grounds for conducting the surveillance.

The public has recently gained an opportunity for deeper insight into special counsel Robert Muellers investigation and the FBIs probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Prior to the U.S. entering the First World War in 1917, German agents operated in the country.

These German agents were trying both to stop U.S. weapons from reaching the Allies in Europe and attempting to keep the U.S. out of the war. At the same time, the British were trying to convince Americans to join it.

German agents sowed discord and encouraged dissent among Irish and Indian communities in the U.S. by suggesting the British were repressing their colonial home countries, and were thus unworthy of American help. They tried to do the same among African-American communities by pointing out how they were mistreated in the U.S.

Lacking legal avenues to halt this activity, the recently formed FBI responded by pressuring these various communities to remain loyal to the U.S. In the end, these intrigues as the FBI called them did not, in fact, keep the U.S. out of war and they could be characterized as minimal at best. But they happened and illustrate real-life methods foreign powers once used to influence American politics.

In World War II, Nazi Germany engaged in various influence operations. Again, its goal was to keep the U.S. out of the war, but this time it found help among American citizens.

One such agent was American aviator Laura Ingalls  the first woman to fly nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean. Ingalls later worked as an activist on behalf of the America First Committee, a political group that tried to keep the U.S. out of WWII. She traveled the country during 1941 speaking against U.S. involvement in the war.

Paying for these speaking engagements became a problem  America First did not adequately reimburse her travel expenses. Since Ingalls admired Nazi Germany and its alleged efficiency, she approached the German embassy in 1941 proposing a goodwill tour there. Nazi intelligence agents used the opportunity to woo her. It worked.

To supplement her scant funding, she accepted US$250 a month from the Nazis as well as pro-German propaganda pamphlets from German Embassy officials. Possibly unbeknownst to Ingalls, this exchange violated the 1938 Foreign Agents Registration Act, which required anyone working for a foreign power to register with the federal government.

Through its routine surveillance of the German Embassy, the FBI learned of this and investigated Ingalls as a threat to national defense.

At the time, wiretapping was illegal but President Franklin Roosevelt secretly authorized its use anyway. The FBI wiretapped Ingalls and searched her home without a warrant to determine the extent of her collaboration with the Nazis.

Information from both sources were not admissible in court, but there was sufficient evidence otherwise to successfully prosecute her in 1942. She served 20 months in prison.

Around the same time, Nazi Germany was running another influence operation in the U.S. through an agent named George Viereck. Born in Germany, Viereck was a naturalized U.S. citizen who was also registered as a German foreign agent.

After 1940, Viereck had taken a job working for New York Republican Congressman Hamilton Fish. Viereck manipulated the congressmans resources to widely  and secretly  distribute anti-interventionist, America First literature that advocated staying out of the war.

When the FBI eventually discovered the scheme, Viereck was prosecuted under FARA for not fully disclosing his activities. Congressman Fish was subpoenaed to testify, and he revealed his ignorance about all of it.

As influence operations go, both the Ingalls and Viereck cases were relatively low-key operations. They were not nearly extensive enough to keep the country out of war, as Nazi Germany had hoped. But they happened nevertheless and are early examples of foreign influence operations replayed on a significantly larger scale in 2016.
Posted on: July 24, 2018





Guru Poornima Program Schedule at Sai Kulwant Hall - July 2018





Date Program

July 24th Evening Program Graduation Ceremony of the Sathya Sai International Leadership Programme for Young Adults.



The evening programme will commence at 4:30 pm with vedam chanting. At 5:00 pm, 292 Young Adults from 31 countries of the Sathya Sai International Organisation will participate in the annual Graduation Ceremony of the Sathya Sai International leadership programme for young adults followed by a musical offering by the graduates. The evening programme will conclude with bhajans, mangala ararthi and Bhagawan's divya darshan. Total 268 Graduates: (118 Gents + 150 Ladies)

July 25th Morning Program Inauguration of the Sathya Sai International Organisation Go Green Conference Day 1



The morning programme will commence at 8:00 am with vedam chanting. At 8:20 am, the Theme song of the Sathya Sai International Organisation Go-Green Conference will be performed by 73 young adult musicians. This will be followed by the welcome address by Dr. Narendranath Reddy, Chairman of the Prasanthi Council and by keynote speaker Sri M. C Mehta, an attorney and an Internationally renowned environmentalist. The morning programme will conclude with Bhagawans Divine Discourse, bhajans, mangala ararthi and Bhagawan's divya darshan.

July 25th Evening Program Summary of Go Green - Day 1



Conference Day 1 Proceedings followed by a Musical programme by the Pilgrimage group from California, USA



The evening programme will commence at 4:30 pm with vedam chanting. At 4:40 pm, a summary of the Go Green Conferences Day 1 proceedings will be announced, followed by two distinguished speakers, Ms. Hrund Hafsteinsdotter, Counsellor for the Minister of Foreign affairs of the government of Icelandic and Ms Achenyo and Idachaba-Obaro, an environmental entrepreneur from Nigeria. This will be followed by a musical programme offered by the Balvikas children and the Sadhana Group from the Sathya Sai Centres of Arcadia and Glendale, California, USA. The evening darshan will conclude with bhajans, mangala ararthi and Bhagawan's divya darshan.



July 26th Morning Program Summary of Go Green - Day 2 Day 2 of the Sathya Sai International Organisation Go Green Conference will commence at 8:00 am with vedam chanting. At 8:20 am, the Go Green Conference morning session will start with talks by three distinguished speakers: Mr. Manfred K. Muller-Gransee from Germany, Sri Nimish Pandya, All India President, Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation of India and Ms Shruthi Vijaykumar, passionate youth environmentalist from New Zealand. The morning programme will conclude with Bhagawans Divine Discourse, bhajans, mangala ararthi and Bhagawan's divya darshan.

July 26th Evening Program Conclusion of Go Green Conference and LASA (Love All Serve All) Musical Drama by Young Adults



Concluding proceedings of the Go Green Conference. The evening programme will commence at 4:30 pm with vedam chanting. At 4:40 pm, the concluding proceedings with highlights of the Sathya Sai International Go Green Conference global environmental projects and the conference Resolutions will be presented.



At 5:10 pm, there will be a short talk by the International Young Adults Coordinator on the global Sai Young Adults initiatives, followed by the Love All Serve All (LASA) musical drama offering. The evening darshan will conclude with bhajans, mangala ararthi and Bhagawan's divya darshan.

27th Morning Program Guru Poornima Celebrations



Music Program by Sai Students at around 8 am
Wildfires sweeping through a Greek resort town killed at least 60 people, officials said, including families with children found clasped in a last embrace as they tried to flee the flames.

The inferno was by far Greeces worst since fires devastated the southern Peloponnese peninsula in August 2007, killing dozens. It broke out in Mati, east of Athens, late Monday afternoon and was still burning in some areas on Tuesday.

Greece is going through an unspeakable tragedy, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said as he appeared on television to declare three days of national mourning.

Emergency crews found one group of 26 victims, some of them youngsters, lying close together near the top of a cliff overlooking a beach.

They had tried to find an escape route but unfortunately these people and their kids didnt make it in time. Instinctively, seeing the end nearing, they embraced, Nikos Economopoulos, the head of Greeces Red Cross, told Skai TV.

The strong smell of charred buildings and trees lingered in the air in parts of Mati on Tuesday, where white smoke rose from smoldering fires.

Residents wandered the streets, some searching for their burned-out cars, others for their pets. The eerie silence was punctured by fire-fighting helicopters and the chatter of rescue crews.

A Reuters photographer saw at least four dead people on a narrow road clogged with cars heading to a beach.

Residents and visitors in the area did not escape in time even though they were a few meters from the sea or in their homes, fire brigade spokeswoman Stavroula Maliri said.

Coastguard vessels and other boats rescued almost 700 people who had managed to get to the shoreline and pulled another 19 survivors and six dead bodies from the sea, the coastguard said.

In total, at least 60 people were killed and the death toll was expected to rise, Evangelos Bournous, mayor of nearby Rafina-Pikermi, said.

It was unclear how many people remained unaccounted for as coastguard vessels combed beaches to find any remaining survivors, with military hospitals on full alert, the governments spokesman said.

One of the youngest victims was thought to be a six-month-old baby who died of smoke inhalation, officials said. Of the at least 94 people injured, 11 were in intensive care, and 23 were children, they added.
Alphabet (GOOGL) stock was 4 percent higher in premarket after it reported adjusted quarterly profit of $11.75 per share, compared to the consensus Wall Street estimate of $9.59. Revenue also came in above forecasts, rising 25 percent from a year earlier, helped by a 58 percent jump in paid clicks. (CNBC) * Cramer: Alphabet has broken this troubling trend (CNBC) * Alphabet CFO reassures spending is focused on core business (CNBC)

This mornings collection of earnings reports is highlighted by three Dow components: 3M (MMM), United Technologies (UTX), and Verizon (VZ). Todays after-the-bell reports include AT&T (T), Ameriprise Financial (AMP), Chubb (CB), Stryker (SYK), and Texas Instruments (TXN). (CNBC) * Eli Lilly plans initial public offering of its Elanco animal health unit (CNBC)

Futures were higher this morning as the floodgates open for the busiest week of earnings season. The Dow has a three-day losing streak, but the S&P 500 is coming off its first gain in three days and the Nasdaq saw its first gain in four sessions Monday. (CNBC)

North Korea appears to have started dismantling key facilities at its main satellite launch site in a step toward fulfilling a commitment made by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at his summit with President Donald Trump in June. (AP)

The Wall Street Journal reported Russian hackers broke into the networks of key U.S. power companies last year, possibly causing blackouts. The attack was first detected in the spring of 2016 and continued throughout 2017, the Journal reported.

CNBC has learned that a Trump-supporting super PAC is digging up dirt on billionaire executives and Wall Street titans, including Mark Cuban, who could be potential opponents for President Donald Trump in the 2020 race for the White House.



* Bad news for Trump: Rising GOP chance of losing House (Axios)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who emphasized that she is a capitalist, told CNBC's John Harwood in an interview that markets need to work for more than just the rich. The Democrat also spoke on Trump, the midterms and economic inequality.



* Warren isn't ready to talk about impeaching Trump (CNBC)

Ahead of the battle over Brett Kavanaughs nomination to the high court, a NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll found support for Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion in the United States, has hit a record high.

CNBC has learned Nike (NKE) will raise salaries for more than 7,000 employees and change how it awards annual bonuses to its global staff in an attempt to address concerns about pay equity and corporate culture.

At least 50 people are dead and several others are injured after a wildfire swept through a small resort town near Athens and trapped families behind walls of smoke and flames. The fire was by far Greeces worst since 2007. (Reuters)

A joint filing by the federal government said more than 450 immigrant parents who were separated from their children when they entered the U.S. illegally are no longer in the country though their children remain behind. (Reuters)

A new study suggested rising temperatures linked to human-caused climate change could lead to increasing suicide rates in the United States and Mexico. Comparing historical temperature and suicide data, researchers found a strong correlation. (USA Today)
With President Donald Trump threatening that hes "ready to go" with tariffs on more than $500 billion in goods from China, there's a possibility Beijing could inflict more pain on U.S. agriculture as part of retaliation, including another round of duties on soybeans.

If China were to add another round of duties on soybeans, it could add pressure on the Trump administration due to the economic importance of soy exports to China. However, the White House may have helped prepare for more pain in the American agriculture sector by rolling out a $12 billion emergency plan for U.S. farmers on Tuesday.

"Nobody is going to win in this trade war," said Bret Davis, an Ohio soybean farmer and a member of the American Soybean Association's governing committee. "We just hope instead of a tariff that we come to an agreement and make it better for our side and their side."

Still, there is precedent for China slapping "double whammy" tariffs months apart on the same U.S. agricultural products. For example, China imposed two rounds of tariffs on pork, nuts and fresh fruit. In the case of pork, after the additional tariff went into effect July 6, "the other white meat" is now subject to an import tax that exceeds 70 percent.

"You've already seen China express ways that they will probably get around soy," said Sam Funk, senior grain and oilseed analyst at Rabobank in St. Louis. The Chinese tariffs have already hit most lucrative sectors of agriculture, from grains and oilseeds to livestock and fresh produce. There have also been duties slapped on items such as dairy, nuts and wine.

If Beijing added a second wave of tariffs on U.S. soybeans, Funk said it could be done without Chinese buyers suffering the imported tax directly, such as by going through state-owned strategic reserves and then releasing some supplies internally. The Chinese government would presumably absorb the tariff, but if there were a double tariff the costs could increase sharply for Beijing.

A report earlier this month from Bloomberg suggested the Chinese government would reimburse buyers for costs of the new import duties, assuming the soybean cargoes are for state stockpiles. It cited unnamed sources for the information.
British Airways' parent company IAG and budget carriers Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air have jointly submitted a complaint to the EU against France over its ongoing air traffic controllers strikes.

The airlines claim the strikes restrict the principle of freedom of movement within the EU and that France is breaking the law by not enabling flights passing over the country during the walkouts.

Air traffic controllers in France have downed tools in protest at labor reforms and a reduction of staffing levels being pushed through by the government of President Emmanuel Macron.

Last month, the French Senate confirmed that France alone is responsible for 33 percent of flight delays in Europe, and according to traffic management organization Eurocontrol, more than 16,000 flights have been delayed in the first half of 2018 due to Air Traffic Control (ATC) strikes.

In the statement, Willie Walsh, IAGs chief executive, said: The right to strike needs to be balanced against freedom of movement, before adding that flights over France were having a significant negative impact on Spains tourism and economy.

The airlines claim there is legal precedence to the argument and cite a 1997 complaint by the Spanish to the EU Commission when French farmers prevented Spanish fruit and vegetable exports into the rest of the EU.

In that case European judges ruled that French authorities had failed to ensure the free movement of goods.
Qassemi didnt detail what Iran could do but the comment comes as the U.S. presses its allies to stop importing oil from Iran ahead of sanctions that are due to be reinstated on the country in August and November. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani suggested Sunday that Iran could close the Straits of Hormuz, a channel that leads out of the Persian Gulf and through which much of the Middle Easts oil is shipped and exported.

"If America wants to take a serious step in this direction it will definitely be met with a reaction and equal countermeasures from Iran," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi was quoted as saying on Tuesday morning by the state news agency IRNA, according to Reuters.

Irans foreign ministry reportedly said it would implement countermeasures against the U.S. if it tries to block its oil exports.

A support vessel flying an Iranian national flag sails alongside the oil tanker 'Devon' as it prepares to transport crude oil to export markets in Bandar Abbas, Iran, on Friday, March 23, 2018.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) identifies the Strait of Hormuz as one of seven major maritime chokepoints that are critical to global energy security.

By volume of oil transit, the strait is in fact the busiest chokepoint. In 2016, data from the EIA showed total flows through the channel reached a record high of 18.5 million barrels a day. China, Japan, India, South Korea, and Singapore are the largest destinations for oil moving through the strait, it added.

Thus, closing the channel would have dramatic consequences for Iran, oil-importing countries and the entire industry.

Disruptions to these routes could affect oil prices and add thousands of miles of transit in alternative routes, the EIA said in a report last year, warning about what would happen if these chokepoints were disrupted.

International energy markets depend on reliable transport routes. Blocking a chokepoint, even temporarily, can lead to substantial increases in total energy costs and world energy prices. Chokepoints also leave oil tankers vulnerable to theft from pirates, terrorist attacks, political unrest in the form of wars or hostilities, and shipping accidents that can lead to disastrous oil spills.

Only Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have pipelines that can ship crude oil outside of the Persian Gulf and have additional pipeline capacity to circumvent the Strait of Hormuz, the EIA added.

Sanctions coming

Sanctions on Iran are set to be re-instated after President Donald Trump said in May that he was pulling the U.S. out of the 2015 nuclear deal brokered by America, the U.K., France, Germany, China and Russia.

The nuclear deal had lifted economic restrictions on Iran, allowing its oil industry to bounce back. Iran is the third largest producer in the 15-member OPEC group. In June 2018, it produced 3.8 million barrels of oil a day, OPEC data shows.

Trump said the accord was terrible and that Iran was not abiding with its terms that aimed to restrict its ability to develop nuclear weapons.

With sanctions about to kick in again, the U.S. administration has been stepping up pressure on other countries to observe the restrictions to Irans auto, oil and financial sectors, among others. It has warned companies and individuals that dont observe the sanctions that they could be subject to secondary sanctions.

Relations between Iran and the U.S. hit a new low on Monday when Trump warned Iran in a tweet to not threaten the U.S., or else.

Tweet:

That was in response to Irans president saying Sunday that America must understand well that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars.

Iran appeared to brush off Trumps fury on Monday, with Foreign Minister Javad Zarif also taking to Twitter, echoing Trumps warning to Be cautious.

Tweet:
Israel shot down a Syrian fighter jet it said had breached its airspace on Tuesday, the Israeli military said in a statement.

The incident occurred as Russian-backed Syrian forces took part in operations against rebels on the edges of Golan Heights, a strategic plateau between Syria and Israel.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said it monitored the advance of the Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet and shot it down with a pair of Patriot missiles after it penetrated Israeli airspace by about 1.2 miles. It was not immediately clear where the plane crashed and no details were given as to the fate of the pilots.

"Since this morning, there has been an increase in the internal fighting in Syria and the Syrian Air Force's activity," the IDF said in a statement.

The Israeli military also said that it would "continue to operate against" any breach of a 1974 U.N. armistice deal that established buffer zones on the Golan. Russian-backed Syrian forces have been battling rebels and Islamic State militants at the frontier with Israel in recent weeks.

The incident comes hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Kremlin officials.

This is the second time Israel shot down a Russian-made Syrian jet. Four years ago, a Sukhoi-24 was shot down with Patriot missiles after entering Israeli airspace. The two Syrian pilots ejected from their aircraft and landed in Syrian territory.

Raytheon's Patriot missile system is designed to track and hunt fighter jets, helicopters, drones and low-flying cruise missiles. The U.S.-made surface-to-air defense system is used by 15 countries and has been deployed to war.
The spotlight fell back on Italy's banks Tuesday morning after prosecutors reportedly opened an investigation into alleged market manipulation by the Genoa-based Banca Carige.

The bank has been hit with a management crisis after its chairman, deputy chairman and two board members resigned in the last few weeks over disagreements with the banks chief executive. The crisis deepened after the European Central Bank (ECB) requested last Friday to see a specific plan for how the lender will meet additional capital requirements amid the differences within management.

Carige said Monday in a statement that the ECB had given it until no later than November to come up with its capital plan and that the process should assess all options" including a merger.

On Tuesday, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters that the bank is now under investigation for possible market manipulation. According to the news agency, Carige is fully cooperating with the authorities. It was also reported that Carige made available all the minutes from all board and shareholder meetings between 2017 and 2018, as well as letters exchanged with the ECB.

A spokesperson for Banca Carige told CNBC that the bank had no further comment about the investigation.

A key investor in the bank, asset manager Malacalza Investimenti, said Monday that the management team should be removed as it could not be trusted to proceed with the demands required by the ECB.

Shares of the bank dropped 9 percent Monday following reports of the ECB's request. The ongoing situation at Banca Carige adds another layer to the tumult that has affected Italian banks in the last year or so.

Veneto Banca, Banca Popolare di Vicenza and Monte dei Paschi have all made headlines for requiring help from the Italian government to avoid a potential collapse. Veneto Banca and Banca Popolare di Vicenza received a cash buffer of 4.8 billion euros ($5.63 billion) and state guarantees of 12 billion euros ($14.08 billion); whereas the latter received a cash injection of up to 6.6 billion euros ($7.4 billion).

Analysts argue that multiple attempts at rescuing Italian banks show that the mechanisms used to prop-up banking institutions, like those in Italy, are not sufficient  and could ultimately put the entire European system at risk.

That speaks to how robust the mechanism in the EU is, because you can only make so many exceptions before you start questioning the whole bail in-bail out system, Luca Raffellini, head of business and financial services at Frost & Sullivan, told CNBC Monday.
Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) speaks with reporters ahead of the weekly policy luncheons on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 24, 2018.

Republican senators Tuesday condemned the Trump administration's $12 billion bailout plan for farmers hit by crippling tariffs on their goods.

Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., came out swinging against the newly proposed aid package, describing it as a pair of "gold crutches" to support the farmers hobbled by President Donald Trump's own trade policy.

This trade war is cutting the legs out from under farmers and the White Houses plan is to spend $12 billion on gold crutches," Sasse, a frequent Trump critic, said in a statement.

"Americas farmers dont want to be paid to lose  they want to win by feeding the world. This administrations tariffs and bailouts arent going to make America great again, theyre just going to make it 1929 again, he added.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue unveiled the plan Tuesday, calling it a short-term fix intended to provide "time to work on long-term trade deals." The announcement came hours after Trump took to Twitter to proclaim: "Tariffs are the greatest!"

Trump tweet Tariffs are the greatest

The president, ahead of trade talks with European Union representatives, argued that the levies would force other countries to come to the table. But he bemoaned the criticism he had received in advance of the discussions, writing in a tweet Wednesday morning that any potential deal will be weakened "when you have people snipping at your heels during a negotiation."

Trump tweet snipping at your heels

There were plenty of Republicans ripping Trump ahead of the EU talks.

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., had called on the Trump administration to "reverse course and end this incoherent" tariff policy.

In a statement, he said the Trump administration was "offering welfare to farmers to solve a problem they themselves created" and suggested that the stimulus itself is evidence that the administration "finally seems to understand that the Trump-Pence tariffs are hurting the American people."

In other remarks on Tuesday, Corker said, "It's hard to believe there isn't an outright revolt right now in Congress," according to a Bloomberg reporter.

Sahil Kapur tweet

Corker, who is among the most vocal critics of Trump from within the president's own party, is not seeking re-election at the end of his term in 2018.

Other Republican senators criticized the bailout plan in remarks to reporters.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., lamented the Trump administration's increasing interference in the economy.

"This is becoming more and more like a Soviet-type of economy here," Johnson reportedly said, with "commissars" providing benefits.

Ron Johnson tweet

Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., accused the Agriculture Department of "trying to put a band-aid on a self-inflicted wound."

Toomey added: "The administration clobbers farmers with an unnecessary trade war then attempts to assuage them with taxpayer handouts. This bailout compounds bad policy with more bad policy.

Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., ripped Trump's plan as "a bad deal all around," adding that it will be "bad for the taxpayers, horrible for farmers."

Flake, another Republican critic of Trump with plans to retire in 2018, said the decision to flush farmers with taxpayer-funded cash is "patently unfair across the board" for other industries.

"These markets have been developed over years and because of trade agreements that we've had and whatnot," Flake said. "And then just to basically rip them away, it's just wrong."
It's been a week since President Donald Trumps widely panned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and a new poll shows that a majority of Americans believes the Kremlin has compromising information on the American leader.

By a 51-to-35 percent margin, U.S. voters are convinced the Russian government has dirt on Trump, according to a Quinnipiac University National Poll.

At a press conference in Helsinki on July 16, Trump stunned the world by accepting Putin's denial that Russia attacked the 2016 U.S. election, thus contradicting the findings of 17 U.S. intelligence agencies.

I dont see any reason why it would be Russia, Trump said. He tried to walk it back a day later by saying he had misspoken.

Trumps performance at the summit, widely criticized on Capitol Hill by both parties, has raised further suspicions that Moscow has collected compromising material on the president as part of a wider campaign to influence the American political system. Allegations of the existence of such material surfaced with the disclosure of a dossier compiled by a former British intelligence officer who was paid by Democrats to collect damaging information on Trump during the 2016 campaign.
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey is investigating leading e-cigarette manufacturer Juul Labs for failing to prevent minors from buying its products.

High schools around the country have reported a rapid increase in students "juuling," the verb some use to describe using the brand's e-cigarettes. Administrators are racing to stem Juuls popularity among students, while lawmakers have pressed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to take action.

The Massachusetts probe, which Healey claims is the first of its kind, wants to find out how many minors use the company's products. The state also wants to see what steps the company is taking to monitor how effective its age verification system is and whether and how Juul monitors other sites that sell its products, among other aims. Healey plans to investigate whether Juul violated Massachusetts' consumer protection statute and the state's e-cigarette regulations.

Healey's office also sent cease-and-desist letters to two online retailers, Direct Eliquid LLC and Eonsmoke LLC, ordering them to stop selling e-cigarettes to Massachusetts customers until they implement adequate age verification technology.

Direct Eliquid and Eonsmoke didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

"We welcome the opportunity to work with the Massachusetts Attorney General because, we too, are committed to preventing underage use of JUUL," said Juul spokesman Matt David in a statement. "We utilize stringent online tools to block attempts by those under the age of 21 from purchasing our products, including unique ID match and age verification technology."

"Furthermore, we have never marketed to anyone underage. In fact, we have done very little marketing relative to our growth," he said.

Sales of Juul have skyrocketed nearly 800 percent over the past year. The brand is the clear market leader, with 71 percent of share in the four weeks ended July 14, according to Nielsen figures compiled by Wells Fargo.

Like many Silicon Valley technology startups, our growth is not the result of marketfing but rather a superior product disrupting an archaic industry, David said. When adult smokers find an effective alternative to cigarettes, they tell other adult smokers."

But that opinion is not shared by Healey.

"I want to be clear with the public. This isn't about getting adults to stop smoking cigarettes," Healey said Tuesday. "This is about getting kids to start vaping. That's what these companies are up to. They're engaged in an effort to get kids addicted, get them hooked so they will have customers for the rest of their lives."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in April requested information from Juul about how it markets its e-cigarettes and what it knows about how they appeal to teens. In its response, Juul submitted tens of thousands of pages, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told CNBC in a phone interview last week.

Massachusetts recently joined other states to submit comments to the FDA on an advance notice of proposed rulemaking  the first step the agency takes in implementing a rule  about the role flavors play in attracting users to certain tobacco products.

Critics argue high schoolers and middle schoolers are attracted to flavors such as creme brulee and mango but are unaware that each pod contains as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes.

Healey ripped Juul for its plans to craft an anti-vaping curriculum for school districts to use, saying the company is borrowing Big Tobacco's playbook.

However, Juul Chief Administrative Officer Ashley Gould told CNBC last week the company decided to scrap its school curriculum plans after hearing from anti-tobacco advocates that its involvement could be more hurtful than helpful. Instead, it's working with Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, a proponent of the use of e-cigarettes as a way to reduce cigarette smoking, to identify the best strategies to curb youth use.

While Juul has backed off the school curriculum plan, the company has pledged to spend $30 million over the next three years on research, youth and parent education and community engagement.
PM Expects Economic Growth, Says Georgia will be Regional Hub

By Gvantsa Gabekhadze

The Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze says that Georgia will boost its economic growth from current annual 5 percent.Bakhtadze claimed that the figure was calculated by foreign monetary institutions. The prime minister added that Georgia would be leader in global economic growth.We are expecting higher than 5 per cent economic growth this year. The forecast of foreign monetary institutions is a signal that the country has the correct economic policy. We aim to further integrate the Georgian economy into the world economy, Bakhtadze stated during the Georgian-Italian business forum on Tuesday.The prime minister named the reason why Italian and other investors should start businesses in Georgia.We are carrying out projects which will boost Georgias transit role. Investing in Georgia will provide the possibility for investors to further expand and develop their business with regional, South Caucasian and Central Asian countries, Bakhtadze said.During the business forum Bakhtadze initiated consultations on an agreement, which concerns the protection and support of investments between Georgia and Italy.He said that Georgia has already signed such a document with 34 foreign countries.Georgia and Italy should start consultations over the agreement as such a deal will further enhance trade relations between the two countries, said Bakhtadze.The opposition believes the figures named by the prime minister means nothing when the 80 percent of the Georgian population lives in poverty.
Ever wondered what happens to the golden oil used to cook your fries and nuggets once its no longer needed? Well, in India its being used as fuel.



The master franchisee for McDonalds restaurants in west and south India, Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt Ltd (HRPL), is using biodiesel from used cooking oil to power its fleet of delivery trucks in Mumbai.



The biodiesel program began as a pilot last year. It has now been scaled up to cover all 85 McDonalds restaurants in Mumbai. More than 35,000 liters of used cooking oil are being converted into biodiesel every month, helping to save more than 420,000 liters of crude oil annually.



HRPL is a subsidiary of Westlife Development Limited, which is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange. As of September 2017 Westlife Development Limited operated, via HRPL, 265 McDonalds restaurants across 36 cities.



We strongly believe in protecting our environment and that makes sustainability and conservation an important part of our operations in India, Amit Jatia, vice chairman of Westlife Development, said in a press release Monday.

This is just the beginning and we will continue to champion the cause of environment protection in the years to come, Jatia added.



The move was also welcomed by the Biodiesel Association Of India. Its president, Sandeep Chaturvedi, said that the association was encouraging all food companies to learn from this initiative and apply it in their own business model.



McDonalds has ambitious plans when it comes to sustainability and the environment. In the U.K., for example, its delivery lorries have been powered by biodiesel for 10 years. This has helped the business save almost 7,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year compared to traditional fleets.



Globally, the fast food giant wants to cut greenhouse gas emissions related to its restaurants and offices by 36 percent by 2030, using 2015 as a base year. It has said it will partner with both franchisees and suppliers to work toward the goal.






Pinterest's head of engineering Li Fan is leaving the company to become head of engineering of scooter company Lime, a source with knowledge of the situation told CNBC.

"I joined Pinterest because I saw a rare opportunity to bring together my passions for engineering and art and build products to help hundreds of millions people discover and do what they love," Li said in a statement. "I remain impressed by Pinterest and the unique technical and business opportunities that lay ahead for it. Im proud of what weve achieved, and what the team will undoubtedly accomplish as it, the user base and product continue to grow."

Li, who was formerly the head of Google Image search, joined Pinterest in Sept. 2016. She was previously also a vice president of engineering at Baidu. The source said Li wanted to return to a smaller company.

Uber recently partnered Lime, which allows people to rent electric scooters. The rideshare company also has plans to invest in the scooter business during a fundraising round led by Alphabet's GV venture arm. Lime did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Pinterest is looking at internal candidates among others but no decision has been made for Li's replacement, the source said.

"As SVP of Engineering, Li made important contributions to Pinterest, including growing the engineering team and leading it through major launches in areas like computer vision and recommendations," a Pinterest spokesperson said in a statement. "We wish her well as she continues on her path and brings her skills to a startup. Were fortunate to have strong technical leaders to oversee the organization as we grow."

It's a critical time for Pinterest, as it gears up for its potential initial public offering (IPO). Sources with knowledge of the company's business plans said the company is trying to IPO by mid-2019, and has a current valuation of $13 to $15 billion. It also is nearing $1 billion in advertising revenue, doubling what it made last year.
U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un shake hands during their summit at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore June 12, 2018.

Satellite images indicate North Korea has begun dismantling key facilities at a site used to develop engines for ballistic missiles, a first step toward fulfilling a pledge made to U.S. President Donald Trump, a Washington-based think tank said on Monday.

The July 20 images showed work at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station to dismantle a building used to assemble space-launch vehicles and a nearby rocket engine test stand used to develop liquid-fuel engines for ballistic missiles and space-launch vehicles, the 38 North think tank said.

"Since these facilities are believed to have played an important role in the development of technologies for the North's intercontinental ballistic missile program, these efforts represent a significant confidence-building measure on the part of North Korea," it said in a report.

Trump said after his unprecedented June 12 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore Kim had promised that a major missile engine testing site would be destroyed very soon.

Trump did not identify the site, but a U.S. official subsequently told Reuters that it was Sohae.

An official said on Tuesday South Korea's presidential Blue House was briefed about the site's dismantlement based on government intelligence but did not elaborate.

According to Yonhap, Nam Gwan-pyo, deputy director of the South's national security office, said: "It's better than doing nothing."

"And it seems like they are going step by step toward denuclearization," Nam said.

The 38 North report comes amid growing questions about North Korea's willingness to live up to the commitments Kim made at the June summit, particularly to work towards denuclearization.

U.S. officials have repeatedly said North Korea has committed to giving up a nuclear weapons program that now threatens the United States, but Pyongyang has offered no details as to how it might go about this.

Shares of South Korean companies with exposure to North Korea rose after the news that the satellite site was being dismantled.
Southern California home sales hit the brakes in June, falling to the lowest reading for the month in four years. Sales of both new and existing houses and condominiums dropped 11.8 percent year over year, as prices shot up to a record high, according to CoreLogic. The report covers Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties.

Sales fell 1.1 percent compared with May, but the average change from May to June, going back to 1988, is a 6 percent gain.

The weakness was especially apparent in sales of newly built homes, which were 47 percent below the June average. Part of that is that builders are putting up fewer homes, so there is simply less to sell.

A portion of last months year-over-year sales decline reflects one less business day for deals to be recorded compared with June 2017, noted Andrew LePage, a CoreLogic analyst. But affordability and inventory constraints are likely the main culprits in last months sales slowdown, which applied to all six of the regions counties and across most of the major price categories.
Harley-Davidson has been in the vortex of President Donald Trump's trade war policies over the past quarter. But now its stock is up nearly 7%  on track for its best day since October 18, 2016. The company, though, isnt out of the woods. Its sales have been falling since 2016, it was hit with tariffs, and went from being praised by Trump to scorned. CFO John Olin said that tariffs will cost the company $45-55 million this year.

A large part of that comes from the recent EU tariffs that sparked its controversy with the president. But a few decades ago, tariffs actually helped Harley from going under.

In the late 1970s, Harley-Davidson was in deep trouble. Its bikes had dropped in quality and the motorcycle industry in America was being taken over by Japanese brands. Its share of the U.S. heavy bike market had dropped from 75 percent in the early 70s to just 25 percent in the early 80s.

The situation was so dire that a group of Harley executives, led by CEO Vaughn Beals, bought out the company from then-owner AMF in 1981. They launched an ambitious strategy to turn the company around. They shrunk the workforce, improved quality and then they reached out to the International Trade Commission for help with foreign competition.

In 1983, President Ronald Reagan raised tariffs by 45 percent on large motorcycles coming into America. It would help slow the progress of Japanese bike makers. Speaking at Harleys facility in York, Pennsylvania in 1987, Reagan stated, It was like giving a boxer a few extra weeks of training before a fight.

Harley-Davidson would go on to make a historic comeback. In 1987, it was on the NYSE and by 1989 it reclaimed nearly a 50 percent share of the heavy bike market.

While those older tariffs helped Harley to survive these newer ones are likely to harm it.

As of 2014, Harley-Davidson had a 35 percent share of the U.S. market, which is more than any other motorcycle manufacturer. Its sales, though, have slipped. Harleys worldwide sales dropped from more than 260,000 in 2016 to under 243,000 in 2017. In that same year, Honda sold more than 17.6 million  and that marked a rise from the year before.

Harley may have the biggest share at home, but abroad they're outsold by millions. The EU tariffs would have put more pressure on Harley. They would have either had to pass along the costs, making its already pricey motorcycles even more expensive compared with the competition, or the company would have to absorb the costs itself, hurting its profit margins.

To ward against that, Harley has talked about evading the tariffs by shifting more manufacturing outside the U.S.  a decision that angered Trump. He tweeted that his administration would now work with other motorcycle companies who want to move into the U.S.

In the 80s, Harley was once again an independent company and on the rise, with then-president on its side. Its rally cry to celebrate the move was The Eagle Soars Alone. Today, it may not be in celebration but it feels just as fitting.
The Trump administration plans to offer up to $12 billion in aid to farmers hit by tariffs on their goods, an emergency bailout intended to ease the pain caused by Trump's escalating trade war in key electoral states, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue told reporters Tuesday.

"President Trump has promised since day one that he had the back of every farmer and rancher," Perdue said. He said the assistance was a short-term solution, but that it would offer "Trump and his administration time to work on long-term trade deals."

The announcement came Tuesday afternoon, hours after the president proclaimed on Twitter that "Tariffs are the greatest!" The aid will be facilitated by the Commodity Credit Corp, an agency set up during the Great Depression, and will not require congressional approval.

Read more: Trump's tariffs take a toll on farmers in Pennsylvania ahead of midterms

The aid will come from a mix of programs overseen by the USDA, including direct payments to producers of some goods, including soybeans, as well as distribution assistance for producers of goods that can be easily provided to food banks, such as fruits, nuts, rice, legumes, and some meats. A third program, looking to build international markets, is open to producers of all commodities.

Shares of Deere & Company, the Illinois-based tractor maker that owns the brand John Deere, were up more than 3 percent after news of the bailout plan was reported earlier Tuesday.

President Donald Trump has hit several of America's major trading partners with tariffs on billions of dollars' worth of goods, and has shown few signs of slowing. Earlier this month, 25 percent tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese imports of machinery and electronics went into effect, prompting Beijing to respond with dollar-for-dollar tariffs on American exports of soybeans and other goods.

Trump has threatened to impose broader tariffs on as much as $500 billion of Chinese goods, which has alarmed economists as well as farming groups. The administration released a list of $200 billion in Chinese goods that would receive a 10 percent tariff on July 10.

Casey Guernsey, whose family has been farming in Missouri since the 1840s, said the Trump administration's plan was not sustainable. Guernsey, a spokesperson for Americans for Farmers and Families, told CNBC Tuesday that the plan could heighten uncertainty in what's already a down market.

"You only have so many calves that are born every year, and theres only one time to harvest a crop, so you really have to make the best decision you can on any given day for the upcoming year," Guernsey said. "We dont want to pin our hopes on a check from the government every month."

A group representing soybean farmers also came out against the administration's plan, and pushed for the elimination of tariffs.

"While soybean growers appreciate the Administrations recognition that tariffs have caused reduced exports and lower prices, the announced plan provides only short-term assistance," the American Soybean Association said in a statement. "ASA continues to call for a longer-term strategy to alleviate mounting soybean surpluses and continued low prices, including a plan to remove the harmful tariffs."
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he was "very concerned that Russia will be fighting very hard to have an impact on the upcoming Election."

But rather than benefit his own party, as Russia sought to do in 2016, Trump claimed without offering any evidence that Russia "will be pushing very hard for the Democrats" because, Trump said, "no President has been tougher on Russia than me."

TRUMP TWEET

The tweet represented a new type of rhetorical gymnastics for the president, one where America's greatest geopolitical adversary is not, in fact, interfering in the election to help Trump, as it did in 2016, but is instead launching attacks aimed at helping Trump's opponents.

The president's tweet followed a two-week period marked by intense scrutiny of Trump's relationship with the Kremlin and with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump has long insisted that the United States would benefit from a closer relationship with Russia, an opinion which is not universally shared by U.S. diplomats, intelligence officials or congressional leaders.

A summit between the two leaders in Helsinki this month backfired on Trump, however, after the president refused to hold Putin accountable for Russia's 2016 election attacks, its annexation of Crimea or its backing of the Assad regime in Syria.

During a joint news conference with Putin after the summit, Trump also appeared to put more faith in the Kremlin's denial that Russia had engaged in widespread election interference, than he did in the findings of his own intelligence services, who concluded that Russia did, in fact, attack the 2016 presidential election.

At the same news conference, when Putin was asked whether he had wanted Trump to win the 2016 election, he said, "Yes, I did. Because [Trump] talked about bringing the U.S.-Russia relationship back to normal."

After Trump's victory, the newly minted then-president elect tweeted out Putin's criticism of his opponent, Hillary Clinton.

TWEET

Trump's claim that "no president has been tougher on Russia" is a phrase that's become his standard response to critics who question why the president is so reluctant to publicly denounce Kremlin attacks on U.S. infrastructure, U.S. elections and U.S. allies.

As evidence of this toughness, the president often points to sanctions on Russian oligarchs that he signed into law in August 2017, and to the expulsion of 60 Russian diplomats from the United States in March 2018, in response to the nearly fatal nerve agent attack on a Russian former double agent in Britain.

What Trump does not say, however, is that he has personally opposed nearly all of these measures. He only agreed to sign new sanctions into law in 2017 when it was clear that Congress had a veto-proof majority. And he was reportedly furious in March when he realized the full scope of his administration's expulsion of Russian diplomats in response to the U.K. nerve agent attack.

Meanwhile, Trump has lavished praise on Putin for years, calling him "a strong leader" and predicting the two men would have a great relationship. In a memorable exchange with reporters in August 2017, Trump actually thanked Putin for expelling U.S. diplomats from Russia, a move seen by experts as an affront to the United States. But not to Trump, who argued that the Russian leader had actually helped the U.S. government to "cut our payroll" costs.

Even as Trump boarded his plane bound for NATO meetings and then the Helsinki summit, the president said he would likely have an easier time talking to Russia, which NATO considers its greatest threat --- than he would talking to leaders of America's NATO allies.
President Donald Trump holds up a 'Make Our Farmers Great Again' hat as he speaks during the 2018 Made in America Product Showcase event July 23, 2018 in the Cross Hall of the White House in Washington, DC.

The tweet comes as Trump has levied tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese imports and has targeted $16 billion more than will come on line soon. Also, the administration is looking into another $200 billion in targeted duties on a number of Chinese goods.

In a morning tweet, the president dug in on his position in the global trade war, declaring "Tariffs are the greatest!"

President Donald Trump cranked up the rhetoric on tariffs on Tuesday, saying they are a good bargaining tool in his quest to get better trade agreements.

China has retaliated with tariffs of its own, though the administration is banking on the idea that the U.S. will ultimately prevail in a tit-for-tat battle. The U.S. ran a $376 billion trade deficit with China in calendar year 2017 and that number was $152 billion for the first five months of 2018, according to Census Bureau data.

Trump's chief economic advisor, Larry Kudlow, said at the Delivering Alpha conference last week that he does not like tariffs but also believes they can be effective in trying to level the playing field in trade.

In an earlier tweet Tuesday, Trump insisted that the tariffs his administration has imposed are working to bring other countries to the bargaining table.

Tariff tweet 2

The remarks are similar to tweets in March when Trump said "trade wars are good, and easy to win."

Voters generally disagree with the president's positions on trade. In a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, 49 percent of respondents said the tariffs would raise the cost of goods and hurt the economy, while just 25 percent said they would preserve American jobs and help the economy.

Investors, though, have largely shrugged off the controversy.

The S&P 500 is up 5 percent for the year about 1.9 percent over the last month, despite the Trump saber-rattling on trade and other issues.

In an interview Thursday with CNBC, the president even threatened to impose tariffs on all $505 billion of goods the U.S. imports from China. Stocks mostly remained unchanged since the remarks.

Ed Mills, Washington policy analyst at Raymond James, said investors will need to closely watch developments.

"In recent months we have seen Trump increasingly operate on a go it alone strategy, relying more in his personal instincts and less on input from advisors. We expect these tendencies to continue and shape the direction of policy decisions in the near-term, leading to potentially binary outcomes," Mills said in a note.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in Rwanda, his first stop in a tour of Africa.

Modi was welcomed in Kigali, the capital, late Monday by President Paul Kagame as the first prime minister of India to visit the East African country.

The governments of Rwanda and India later signed bilateral agreements.

Modi will also visit Uganda and then go to South Africa to attend a summit there of the BRICS emerging economies.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, who will also attend the BRICS summit, was also in Rwanda on Monday.

Both China and India have emerged as key trade partners for Africa, with China leading the way.

Modi is traveling with a substantial business delegation. He will participate in a business summit in both Rwanda and Uganda.
Whether you are so new to Australia that the ink has barely dried on your passport stamp or have lived in Melbourne so long as t o know your Geelong Cats from your Richmond Tigers, I am sure you will have noticed just how multicultural this country is.

Many visitors think of Australia as being all about sun, surfing, kangaroos, koalas and enjoying outdoor barbeques. Many more still think it is more like a dusty, wild-west frontier as portraited in the classic Aussie movie, Crocodile Dundee.

Well, you will certainly find these attractions and many more if you look for them, but the reality is that crocodile hunters and wild animals are not very abundant on the busy streets of Melbourne! In between gourmet coffees, renowned art galleries and everchanging weather, you might have noticed that Melbourne is a truly diverse city, hosting many different people from all over the world, reflecting the incredibly diverse variety of cuisines one can enjoy from all over the globe.

ZOI is a well-respected Early Childhood Education Melbourne. At ZOI, we are aware our Certificate III and Diploma students will have to acclimatise to this diversity in their workplaces which is why we believe it is important for future early childhood educators to have a thorough understanding of different cultures, ethics and mannerisms.

As a value-added service to our students, we organized our first international student lunch, which was an amazing success!

Staff and students brought something to share with their fellow colleague that represents their cultural heritage and enabling the learning and acceptance of other cultures from all over the world. Delicious dishes ranging from iconic Spanish charcuterie through to delectable Malaysian desserts, tingled everybodys taste buds and most importantly their desire to learn a little bit more about other cultures, whilst savouring delightful foreign tastes from abroad! Yummy!

At ZOI Education we strive to provide our students with vital knowledge and experience enabling them to be job ready in the area of Child Care Courses. In this day and age, where the internet and ease of travel has brought the worlds cultures together, as it has in Melbourne, we recognise that to be a true professional, one must also be a true international.

We will run this event again in the future, especially as ZOI Educations student cohort is becoming more and more multicultural with every new application.

We would like to take the opportunity to say thank you to our students and staff for providing a most delicious and entertaining lunch!
Putin warns NATO not to accept Georgia as a member state

By Vladimer Napetvaridze

Last weeks events were important for international politics. On July 11-12 NATO summit was held in Brussels. The summit was crucial for Georgia since it was expected that success of the reforms carried out in the country were acknowledged. The Alliance assessed Georgia's progress and consequently defined our NATO integration chances. As it was expected, the Alliance underlined Georgia's progress and once again emphasized the fact that the country will join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.In fact, the summit ended without any practical results for Georgia. Main hindrance for Georgia on the way to NATO integration is the Russian Federation and its imperialist ambitions. Russia uses all mechanisms to influence NATO member states and prevent Georgia's integration into the alliance. Putin confirmed it in his interview with Fox News, which he made after the joint conference with the President Trump: "It's a direct and immediate threat for our national security moving NATO infrastructure towards our borders would be a threat, and the reaction would be extremely negative, it is a concern for us since the NATO is expanding its infrastructure and facilities, the number of servicemen is on the rise in the regions where they shouldnt be," Putin said, adding that the military contingent in those regions has been increased by 10,000 people. "This is incompliant to the treaties between Russia and NATO. And this is a destabilizing factor, which we have to face, but we havent mentioned this today with President Trump." According to the Russian leader, Russia has to "react to whats going on around it." "Take the NATO expansion to the east. When the Soviet Union was withdrawing troops from Germany, we were told that Russians should know one thing: that NATO would never extend [eastward] beyond the German borders. Within two waves, it happened, despite our principal posture. Nobody gave a damn about our posture," Putin said.The West understands that Georgia has the greatest strategic importance and its loss will be a big problem to Europe, on the other hand, Western leaders are trying to deal with Georgia and Ukraine with moderate policy, not to irritate Russia, which is the main supplier of energy resources to Europe. It is not a secret, that the main supporter of Georgia's NATO integration process is the United States. A few days ago, on the joint conference with Vladimer Putin, President Trump said that Russia's relations with the U.S. would be improved, and in a few days after this meeting, Putin still threatens the West not to accept Georgia as a member state of NATO. This means that the status quo is maintained. As expected, the alliance announced Georgia's NATO membership perspectives, which was followed by Russia's threatening tone, as it always happened. Georgias integration in NATO could be a threat to Russia- not for its territorial integrity, but for its imperial ambitions.
India's thermal coal imports rose by more than 14 percent in the second quarter of 2018 from a year earlier, putting the energy-hungry nation on track for a rise in annual imports after two straight years of decline.

Indian imports rose to 43.4 million tonnes during the three months ended June 30, up from 37.9 million a year ago, according to data from American Fuels & Natural Resources, a Dubai-based trader of coal from the United States which tracks shipments around the region.

That is India's highest quarterly import tally in two years, which along with higher consumption in China has been a major driver behind the strong recovery seen in benchmark Australian coal prices this year.

The strong purchases take India's first-half imports to 81.9 million tonnes, up 13 percent from the 72.3 million tonnes imported over the same period in 2017.

Domestic logistical bottlenecks due to a shortage of trains, regulatory changes targeting pollution cuts and surging power demand have all fuelled the higher imports, which are expected to stay firm through the rest of the year.

"Users of petcoke switching over to coal due to a ban in some regions, regulations being contemplated in others, and logistical bottlenecks are driving coal demand in India," Vasudev Pamnani, a senior coal trader from American Fuels, told Reuters.

"Any additional demand will be addressed by imports, and India will support pricing."

Indonesia accounted for over three-fifths of total supplies during the latest quarter, while South Africa accounted for over a fifth, according to vessel arrival data tracked by American Fuels.

US coal made up about 9 percent, the data showed.

Adani Enterprises, India's largest coal trader, accounted for over 14 percent of all imports, purchasing about 6.23 million tonnes during the period, the data showed.

The Tata Group imported 2.16 million tonnes of coal, while Swiss Singapore, part of the Aditya Birla Group, shipped in 2.21 million tonnes and JSW Group brought in 2.14 million tonnes.

The companies did not respond to requests for comment.

The Mundra port brought in the most coal shipments, and accounted for about 13.6 percent of all imports, according to American Fuels. Krishnapatnam took 11.5 percent, while Kandla handled about 9.3 percent of all imports.
Deposits in Swiss banks for long have been considered black money in popular Indian discourse. The finance minister said that media reports have not taken account of the way the figures have to be interpreted. The Swiss government also said that all assets held by Indian residents in Switzerland cannot be considered as black money.

The amount of money deposited in Swiss banks have been reduced by 80 percent till the end of 2017 after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) came to power in 2014, said Piyush Goyal, finance minister.

The government had sought 4,000 pieces of information from Swiss banks and depending upon the data they receive the government will take action, he said.

After the Swiss National Bank (SNB) issued its annual banking statistics for the 2017 banking year, the government refuted allegations saying that media reports have not taken account of the way the figures have to be interpreted, which has resulted in misleading headlines and analysis.

Swiss ambassador Andreas Baum in a letter to the government said that all assets held by Indian residents in Switzerland cannot be considered as black money.

The letter also said that the right data to identify Indian residents' deposits in Switzerland is through the records published by the Bank of International Settlement (BIS) which collects Locational Banking Statistics (LBS) in collaboration with SNB.

Automatic exchange of information in tax matters between Switzerland and India entered into an agreement on January 1, 2018, Baum said, adding that the detailed financial information on all Indian residents that have an account maintained by a Swiss financial institution in 2018 will be provided for the first time to the Indian tax authorities in September 2019.

"Switzerland applies the international transparency standards and therefore actively supports India in its fight against tax fraud and evasion," the letter said.
As Pakistan heads into parliamentary elections this week, the country's minorities are looking for better representation and a voice that will speak up for them in what rights groups warn is in an increasingly intolerant atmosphere in this Muslim-majority nation.

It's an uphill struggle for Pakistani Christians, Sikhs, Ahmadis and others. Minority religions make up just 4 percent of Pakistan's 200 million people; Shiites account for about 15 to 20 percent of the Muslim population.

The country's complicated electoral system allots minorities and women a small number of "reserved" seats, based on their parties' gains at the polls.

But for the rest of the seats  both in the 342-seat National Assembly, the law-making lower house of parliament, and the four provincial legislatures  members of minority groups are increasingly choosing to run as independent candidates, without affiliation to any political party.

The minorities' major concern ahead of Wednesday's vote has been the plethora of radical religious and sectarian groups that have resurrected themselves under new names and fielded candidates for the polls  including Sunni extremists who promise to rid Pakistan of Shiite Muslims.

Other radical parties have campaigned on promises to enforce Pakistan's controversial law on blasphemy, which carries the death penalty and which has allowed for the prosecution of anyone deemed to offend Islam. Frenzied mobs have killed at the mere suggestion that an act of blasphemy was committed.

Pakistan "is becoming more and more intolerant of minority rights," said rights activist I.A. Rehman, a founding member of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

He is urging the government to "make sufficient effort to ensure minorities can cast their votes."

The Christians

Garbage is piled by the roadside and cinderblock homes have flimsy curtains instead of doors in Rimshah, a squatters' settlement on the outskirts of Islamabad.

Years ago, scores of Christian families settled here when a mob of Muslim men, enraged over an alleged act of blasphemy by an 11-year-old Christian girl, tried to kill her and drove them out of their homes.

They named the slum Rimshah, for the 11-year-old girl with Down's syndrome who was eventually cleared of charges of tearing up pages of an Islamic religious book.

Michael Rose, an outspoken advocate of the Christian community, which numbers about 3 million in Pakistan, campaigns in Rimshah for Asif Shahzada, an independent Christian candidate.

Rose says that independent minority candidates are the best hope of getting Christian grievances heard. Minority representatives chosen on the "reserved" seat system tow the party line and rarely raise their community's legitimate concerns, he says.

"I jumped into this race only for my community," says Shahzada, looking around the slum. "We have so many problems, no education, no health care, no jobs. We don't even have enough water."

The Sikhs

Radesh Singh is one of about 200,000 Sikhs living in Pakistan, mostly in the conservative Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province along the border with Afghanistan. The Sikhs are easily identifiable because of their tightly wound and often colorful turbans, and because they share the surname Singh.

Singh said attacks by the Taliban and lately also the Islamic State group have forced thousands to leave the province, including his son. The radicals, Singh says, are killing both fellow Muslims and members of minority groups.

He is campaigning as an independent candidate in Peshawar, the provincial capital, and refuses to leave.

"I wanted to show that a poor man can fight, run his own campaign and compete against these rich candidates ... who take the poor people's votes but then give them nothing in return," said Singh.

On a street lined with small shops in his neighborhood, he stops at each store, run by his Muslim neighbors, and is greeted with a smile. An elderly neighbor, Allah Mir, gave Singh a gentle hug, shook his hand and promised him his vote.

"I don't care about his religion," Mir said. "I care only that he is a good man."

The Hindus

Hindus make up Pakistan's second-largest minority, with more than 2 million, living mainly in southern Sindh province where they are among the poorest.

Many live as indentured slaves on the estates of some of Pakistan's largest landowners, working on the farms.

The Hindus also suffer widespread discrimination because of the decades-old rivalry between Pakistan and neighboring India, a majority Hindu nation.

Whenever relations between the two countries deteriorate, the treatment of Pakistani Hindus gets worse. Rights activist also routinely raise concerns about forced conversions of Hindu girls to Islam.

Veeru Kohli was born a slave but fled bondage, walking for three days until she found offices of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan to help her. She then returned to the landowner to recover her children and free eight other families.

Kohli is now running as an independent candidate.

If she wins, she will become the second Hindu woman in parliament in Pakistan. In March, Krishna Kumari, a member of Pakistan People's Party, was elected to the 104-seat Senate, the upper house of parliament  becoming the first Hindu woman elected, albeit in a vote by parliament members and not a popular election.

The Shiites

Though Muslim, Pakistan's Shiites have suffered enormous losses, with hundreds slaughtered at the hands of radical Sunni Muslims who consider Shiites heretics and believe it is their religious duty to kill them.

However, unlike other minorities, Shiites in Pakistan are not allocated any special seats in parliament and can run either on their party's ticket or as independents.

The Ahmadis

Ahmadis revere the 19th century founder of their Muslim sect, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, as a messiah, challenging the basic tenet of Islam that Mohammad is the final prophet.

Since Pakistan declared them non-Muslims in 1974, their numbers are difficult to gauge; they are believed to number several hundred thousand. Hundreds have been killed by zealots and their places of worship have been targeted; thousands more have fled Pakistan.

Saleem Uddin, a spokesman for the community, says Ahmadis plan to boycott Wednesday's elections after being put on a separate list of registered voters.

"It means we are not the same as other Pakistanis," said Uddin. "Why?"
Inching closer to the formation of country's biggest telecom operator, Idea Cellular and Vodafone have made a joint payment of Rs 7,248.78 crore under protest to the Department of Telecom (DoT) for merging their mobile business.

Last week, CNBC-TV18 reported that after the DoT did not pay any heed to telecom company's requests to re-consider the dues amount for merger approval, the companies have decided to pay up under protest.

"Idea Cellular and Vodafone have made payment under protest as demanded by the DoT for the merger. Rs 3,926.34 crore have been paid in cash and bank guarantee of Rs 3,322.44 crore have been furnished," an Idea Cellular official confirmed the development.

The DoT gave a conditional nod for merger of these companies on July 9 and asked companies to meet the demand raised for taking merger on record.

The combined operations of Idea and Vodafone will create the country's largest telecom operator worth over $23 billion (or over Rs 1.5 lakh crore), with a 35 percent market share and a subscriber base of around 430 million.

The merger is expected to give a breather to both debt-ridden firms Idea and Vodafone, from cut-throat competition in the market where margins have hit rock bottom with free voice calls.

It will have the capacity to provide 4G spectrum in all telecom circles of the country. According to a presentation by Idea, the combined 4G spectrum of both the companies are capable of offering up to 450 megabit per second broadband speed on mobile phones in 12 Indian markets.

With the new entity coming in force, Bharti Airtel will lose the tag of India's biggest telecom service provider to the new entity.

The combined debt of both the companies is estimated to be around Rs 1.15 lakh crore.

Vodafone will own 45.1 stake in the combined entity, while Kumar Mangalam Birla-led Aditya Birla Group would have 26 percent and Idea shareholders 28.9 percent.

The Aditya Birla Group has the right to acquire up to a 9.5 percent additional stake from Vodafone under an agreed mechanism with a view to equalising the shareholdings over time

If Vodafone and the Aditya Birla Group's shareholdings in the combined company are not equal after four years, Vodafone will sell down shares in the combined company to equalise its shareholding to that of the Aditya Birla Group over the following five-year period.

Until equalisation is achieved, the voting rights of the additional shares held by Vodafone will be restricted and votes will be exercised jointly under the terms of the shareholders' agreement.
Gather 'round, kiddos: Granpappy Writerman has a story to share. And stick with me through this, 'cause I swear it's building up to something important  something that may just shift how you think about one of tech's most titillating topics.

Way back in 2009, you see, an upstart little company known as Google came out with a strange-seeming operating system called Chrome OS. In the beginning, it was a humble effort  with nary more to its name than a maximized browser window locked down onto unremarkable hardware.

But Google saw promise in this fledgling project  and despite the broad dismissals and echoes of laughter surrounding it, the company stayed focused and worked tirelessly to refine the formula. There had to be a balance of simplicity and function that'd make a cloud-centric computing platform compelling, Google thought, and now was the time to find it.

Even as Chrome OS progressed past its elementary beginnings, myths and misconceptions continued to plague the platform. Those of us who covered Chromebooks closely heard it all: "It's just a browser in a box!" "You can't actually do anything on those Chromebooks." "They don't even work offline!" "What's the point?"

Perhaps the most persistent Chrome OS narrative, however, emerged a few years into the Chromebook's life: the idea that, okay, maybe there is something to this notion of a cloud-centric computing platform. But it isn't enough to stand on its own, and it doesn't make sense for Google to maintain both Chrome OS and Android when it could have a single platform that addresses both sides of the mobile computing spectrum.

[Get fresh tips and insight in your inbox every Friday with JR's new Android Intelligence insider's newsletter. Exclusive extras await!]

For ages, then, we heard rumblings about the inevitable "merger" of Android and Chrome OS. It was treated as a foregone conclusion by some of tech's loudest and most prominent voices. What started out as a "practically guaranteed" prediction would morph into a "confirmed" reality when two major tech outlets reported that, yes, the long-standing rumors were true: Google was, in fact, set to combine Chrome OS and Android into a single all-purpose entity.

That was in October of 2015. Even after Google countered the report, questions remained  and the popular interpretation was that Google was simply playing word games and not really denying anything. A year later, fresh reports claimed that a combined Google operating system called "Andromeda" was set to show up and fulfill the prophecy by bringing Chrome-like features into Android and putting Chrome OS to its long overdue rest.

Of course, we all know what ended up happening  namely, none of that stuff. Rather than merging Android and Chrome OS in any binary way, Google stepped up its long-in-progress efforts to align the two platforms and make them more similar and symbiotic. That progression is still moving forward full-force today, and both platforms are thriving.

Why is crazy ol' Granpappy Writerman recounting all of this? I don't blame you for asking. (In all fairness, I am offering myself as Granpappy Writerman and pretending to be 95, so you aren't completely off-base.)

But, no: I'm bringing all this up because I've been feeling a serious sense of deja vu as the discussion around "Fuchsia"  Google's secretive new operating system most folks now say is destined to replace both Android and Chrome OS  grows louder and more confident in its conclusions.

Maybe things aren't as black and white as they appear

Fuchsia's been a source of mystery and speculation in the Android- and Chrome-watching community for a while now, but a report from Bloomberg last week turned the buzz into a roar. Fuchsia, Bloomberg revealed, was on its way to becoming the "single operating system" that'd run all of Google's own Pixel devices as well as products from the numerous manufacturers that currently rely on Android and Chrome OS. Unnamed insiders cited engineers as saying they hoped to have Fuchsia up and running on smart speakers within three years and then to "swap in their system" for Android within five.

On social media and in my weekly newsletter, I pointed out my recent musings on the subject  a column I wrote a couple months ago thinking through the whole Fuchsia thing and wondering if, in short, maybe things weren't necessarily as black and white as they appeared. Maybe there was a way that Fuchsia could play a role in Android and Chrome OS's future without outright replacing the two platforms. Maybe a more nuanced and sensible explanation could emerge  one that'd allow Google to reap the benefits of building a modern foundation for its platforms in a way that wouldn't upend two massively popular and profitable ecosystems and risk isolating countless companies, users, and organizations as a result.

"But practically everyone thinks Fuchsia is going to replace Android and Chrome OS," quite a few people pointed out to me. "Practically everyone is writing about it and talking about it as if it were a sure thing. Sources familiar with the effort say it's going to happen. If most of the internet is acting like it's a foregone conclusion, surely it must be  right?"

And that, dear Prudence, is exactly why I dragged you through that winding merger memoir a moment ago. For the longest time, it seemed so obvious that Android and Chrome OS were going to be combined. Practically everyone wrote about it and talked about it as if it were a sure thing. Sources familiar with the effort said it was going to happen. Most of the internet acted like it was a foregone conclusion.

And you know what? I don't doubt for a second that any of the reporting back then was accurate. Google probably was thinking about and working through a variety of different possibilities for its two main platforms at varying points over the course of that saga. But things can and frequently do change  and shades of gray that aren't immediately apparent based on an engineer's passing remarks can end up being surprisingly significant in the end.

Look, I'm no prophet. I'm just a guy who occasionally calls himself Granpappy and enjoys thinking through things with a healthy dose of logic, skepticism, and perspective. And I can't help but notice the parallels between the situation we're seeing now with Fuchsia and the situation we watched play out with Android and Chrome OS before.

In other words: I sure as hell can't say what Google is or isn't planning here. From the sounds of it, even Google itself doesn't entirely know at this point. Once again, anything's certainly possible.

But maybe, just maybe, jumping to conclusions too soon is ill-advised. Maybe, just maybe, treating unofficial and tentative info as fact can backfire. Maybe, just maybe, we'd be better off viewing Fuchsia for what it is: an under-development software project whose fate seems anything but certain and whose ultimate purpose and implementation could pivot in any number of ways.

Regardless of how this whole thing ends up playing out, such a cautious approach can only be a positive way to proceed. After all, jumping to conclusions can be exhilarating  but when you're leaping toward a moving target, it's anyone's guess if you'll land in the right place.

Sign up for JR's weekly newsletter to get more practical tips, personal recommendations, and plain-English perspective on the news that matters.

[Android Intelligence videos at Computerworld]
I dont know why Microsoft refuses to address legitimate, repeated, massively documented complaints about its Surface devices. We saw it happen with Flickergate  the profusely documented tendency of some Surface Pro 4 machines to flicker like fireflies in heat. It took more than a year of complaints and threatened lawsuits before Microsoft finally owned up to the problem and offered refurbished replacements.

Now were seeing the customer-neglect pattern once again, this time with Surface Book 2 machines that suddenly forget they have a fancy, extra-cost graphics processing unit.

The basic Surface Book 2 ships with a pedestrian Intel UHD Graphics 620 chip on the motherboard. For a leeetle bit extra (part of a $500 upgrade package, at current prices), you can toss in an independent NVIDIA GTX 1050 with 2GB GDDR5. As you might imagine, folks who have their GPU suddenly cut off  for unknown reasons  arent real happy with the decapitation.

Microsoft Answers forum poster RajeevBhattAmbati fired the initial official shot, two months after the SB 2 originally shipped:

I bought surface book 2, 256 GB, NVIDIA GeForce 1050, 2GB model in November, 2017 and it worked pretty well until recently. I don't know why it stopped detecting the GPU. It's not showing up in the display adapters. I tried detaching and attaching the screen it gets detected for a moment and goes off again. I tried one solution offered in the Microsoft page to uninstall the driver (checking the delete software ) and restart the PC but with no luck. Is it a hardware problem or a frequent software problem ? I will be really glad if you can provide me a solution to this.

That question appeared on Jan. 25. Two months later, Microsoft Agent Greg posted this Answer:

Thank you for your feedback and the great information youve shared about the NVIDIA driver missing experience. We understand the concern, and are currently investigating a possible root cause and solution. Please continue to check for Surface and Windows Updates to ensure your device has the most current firmware and software available. Marking as "Answered" to raise visibility for now. We will update this response once the fix has been published.

That was on March 19, and we havent heard a peep from Microsoft in the last four months.

Philip_Aaron posted an unofficial nine-step fix that doesnt work in all cases.

Poster lisaelston says this is the latest response shes received from Microsoft UK:

It is not a recognized flaw and past the first 30 days, I cannot process a refund. Beyond that the standard support options are available as previously discussed.

The official thread is now up to 37 pages, with more than one post about an attorney that may or may not be looking into the problem.

Frankly, I dont think Microsoft learned anything at all from the Flickergate fiasco. If history is any guide, we can hope for a Friday afternoon news dump a year from now that says, Oh golly shucks you folks can trade in your machines for refurbished SB 2s.

Surface folks are fuming over on the AskWoody Lounge.
ISIS terrorists 1) May supports Javids decision

She was told evidence against one of them was too weak to prosecute in the UK  The Times

Automatic prosecution for returnees under new law  Daily Telegraph

Security threat of women and children coming back from ISIS territory underestimated  The Guardian

Brexit will allow us to put terrorists like this to death, too  Richard Kemp, Daily Telegraph

GCHQ were illegally given snooping powers for 15 years  The Times

Editorials

Punish them, but oppose the death penalty always  The Times Leader

The barbarism of jihadists is no justification  The Guardian Leader

We couldnt care less  The Sun Says

Its a practical way to bring them to justice  Daily Telegraph Leader

Ministers today insisted the ISIS Beatles are not British any more amid a major row over the UK refusing to seek assurances they will not be executed in the US. And Prime Minister Theresa May now says she backed the decision not to get death penalty assurances from Washington rather than merely being made aware of it. When asked if Mrs May approved of the Home Secretary Sajid Javids decision, a Downing Street spokeswoman initially said she made aware of it and the Government opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle. Number 10 later moved, saying Mrs May supports the Home Secretarys handling of the case and hopes it will end with the two men remaining in prison for the rest of their lives.  Daily Mail

>Today: ToryDiary: The other reason why Ministers want ISIS terrorists on trial in America  not here

ISIS terrorists 2) while Johnson expressed doubts (before signing it off)

Boris Johnson warned that helping the US prosecute two alleged Isil executioners would prevent Britain demanding others are spared the death penalty in future, The Telegraph can reveal. The then foreign secretary expressed reservations as he and Home Secretary Sajid Javid discussed waiving death penalty assurances in order to help US prosecutors bring the two men, part of an alleged Isil terror cell nicknamed the Beatles to trial. He ultimately agreed that the benefits outweigh the risks of the two men potentially escaping justice and being free to return to the UK, but his concerns  detailed in a sensitive briefing document circulated to key civil servants and ministers  are likely to be jumped on by critics who believe the change of policy undermines the UKs opposition to the death penalty in the long-run.  Daily Telegraph

Will voters really care?  Quentin Letts, Daily Mail

The Trump administrations frustration at British doubts  Daily Telegraph

YouTube still missing deadlines to take down jihadi videos  Daily Mail

Google profits from fake review websites  The Times

Pay cap lifted for a million public sector workers

It will come from existing budgets  The Sun

When will austere millennials flex their muscles?  FT

Brexit 1) Hunt warns the EU not to cause No Deal by accident  and says only Putin would celebrate

A million public sector workers will get a pay rise as the Chancellor today announces bumper increases for the armed forces, teachers, doctors, dentists, prison officers and the police. Philip Hammond will confirm the 1 per cent pay cap  which has limited annual rises for six years  has been abandoned. The pay deals will vary across the workforce but a Government source last night told the Mail that the rises would be much better than the 1 per cent everyone is used to. It is believed the rise could be somewhere between 1.5 and 3.5 per cent for many roles such as teachers, police officers and doctors.  Daily Mail

Jeremy Hunt today insisted only Vladimir Putin would celebrate a no-deal Brexit  as he warned the EU that failing to compromise will poison relations for a generation. The new Foreign Secretary used a visit to Germany to urge a redoubling of efforts to break the deadlock in negotiations. While admitting crashing out of the bloc would be damaging, he cautioned European leaders not to rely on the UK blinking if they refused to offer an acceptable deal. He said the UK would learn how to thrive economically without a trade agreement  but suggested only the Russian president would be happy as the fallout would seriously weaken the Wests diplomatic tiesWithout a real change in approach from the EU negotiators we do now face a real risk of a no deal by accident, and that would be incredibly challenging economically, he said. Britain would find that challenging, but in the end we would find a way not just to survive but to thrive economically.  Daily Mail

Editorials

It would be dire  FT Leader

Remainer panic is pathetic  The Sun Says

>Today: Henry Newmans column: Unstopping the Northern Ireland backstop, which threatens to block a deal

>Yesterday: Lord Ashcroft on Comment: Voters test for any Brexit deal. Britain mustnt be out of Europebut still run by Europe.

Brexit 2) The Prime Minister is accused of signing blank cheque for Brussels

They want the money without any link to a free trade deal  Daily Telegraph

Gateshead discovered that May is Diazepam in speech form  Patrick Kidd, The Times

She relaxes using cookbooks  Daily Telegraph

Ministers caught in rail delays  Daily Mail

Brussels says they will only extend the Article 50 deadline in order to allow a second referendum  Daily Telegraph

City lobbyists work to gain support for Brexit plan across the EU  FT

EU citizens accuse Barnier and his colleagues of abandoning them  Daily Telegraph

Former BBC presenter claims the Corporation unfairly favours Brexit  Daily Mail

Theresa May has been accused of handing the EU a blank cheque after new laws suggested Brussels will be able to determine how much of the 39billion Brexit divorce bill the UK will pay each year. Ministers will on Tuesday publish the Withdrawal Agreement and Implementation Bill which will enshrine Brexit divorce arrangements and any future deal with Brussels in law. The Telegraph has learned that the document, which is more than 100 pages long, states: The EU will inform the UK of the required payment amounts during the transition process. David Jones, a Tory MP and former Brexit minister, said: It would appear that they are now prepared to write a blank cheque or a series of blank cheques that the EU can continue presenting at their own discretion.  Daily Telegraph

>Yesterday: Martin Howe on Comment: Misunderstandings, spin  or worse. Correcting errors arising from Downing Street briefings on the Brexit White Paper.

Clark to launch White Paper extending powers over foreign takeovers

Draft proposals will be announced today by Greg Clark, the business secretary, in a national security investment white paper that will extend the governments oversight of foreign mergers and takeovers to a wider range of industries. At present ministers can intercept takeovers across the economy only if there are concerns about competition. Powers to call in takeovers are contentious because the government wants to keep Britain open to foreign investment. But ministers are also anxious to prevent hostile powers from acquiring ownership or control of sensitive businesses and assets.  The Times

Dozens of twin babies die each year due to hospitals failure to follow NHS guidelines

Concern that obesity strategy might resurrect milk snatcher tag  The Times

A retirement levy would spread the burden of social care  Rachel Sylvester, The Times

New Labours spending was more effective than we thought in fighting child poverty  Torsten Bell, The Times

Whately: My Bill will make flights fairer for disabled people

Dozens of twin babies are dying each year because British hospitals are failing to follow NHS guidance on multiple births, a government-backed study has concluded. Women pregnant with twins face pot luck over whether they are looked after by a specialist team or offered planning for the risk of premature birth, the first study of its kind has concluded. Units following the guidance had significantly lower death rates and researchers estimate that if all hospitals did the same, about a fifth of the 270 twins who die before they are a month old could be saved, equivalent to 55 babies a year across Britain. Hospitals have been told they have no excuse for not improving care that could save the NHS millions of pounds by keeping newborns out of intensive care and avoiding negligence claims.  The Times

Along with many stories of travel nightmares, Ive heard from some disabled people who have had good experiences, where airports and airlines have gone the extra mile. But there is much more to do, so Im bringing forward changes to the law to make flying more accessible. My bill, which Im introducing in the House of Commons today, will make sure that airport and airline staff are properly trained to help disabled people get on and off a plane with dignity. It will place a duty on airlines to keep wheelchairs safe during the flight  with as many as possible stored in the cabin. If wheelchairs are damaged, there needs to be better compensation which reflects the actual cost of the damage and the trauma of being stranded without your wheelchair.  Helen Whately, The Times

Milne urged to withdraw attacks on Israel

News in Brief

The illiberal international  New Statesman

The summer of populism  Unherd

Were all Luddites at heart  Rory Sutherland, The Spectator

No wonder people are ignorant about communists crimes  the Left writes history  Madeleine Grant, 1828

Jeremy Corbyns closest aide has been urged to retract past comments about Israel in which he called it a racist state. Seumas Milne, the Labour leaders director of strategy and communications, was a strong critic of Israel during his years as a newspaper columnist. Some Labour insiders believe his previous statements may lie behind the partys decision not to sign up fully to the internationally accepted definition of anti-Semitism in its code of conduct. One of the parts it omitted states anti-Semitism may include claiming the existence of a state of Israel is a racist endeavour.  Daily Mail
Benedict Rogers is founder and Chair of Hong Kong Watch, and Deputy Chair of the UK Conservative Party Human Rights Commission.

When countries have divided into two separate states along conflicting ideological lines, the democratic West has generally stood with the forces of democracy and freedom against the dictatorship on the other side of the border. West Germany was our ally against communist East Germany; South Korea is, for the open societies of the world, a friend against the worlds most repressive regime in the North. Yet today the world is abandoning the equivalent partner in the China equation, siding with the increasingly brutal and aggressive Chinese Communist Party against the beacon of democracy and freedom in the region, Taiwan. This is morally wrong, and counter-productive.

Xi Jinpings regime is not only intensifying its repression of human rights defenders, religious minorities, bloggers and other dissidents in China, unveiling an Orwellian social credit system that will determine its citizens every move according to their political reliability, expanding its surveillance capabilities, and eroding Hong Kongs basic freedoms and autonomy, it is increasingly threatening Taiwan.

Tensions in the Taiwan Strait have risen considerably in recent months, as Chinas military moves closer to Taiwan and as Beijing seeks to diplomatically isolate Taipei. Chinese bombers and jet fighters are now regularly flying circumventing missions around Taiwan, with over 1200 missiles pointed at the island, and recently China pressured 44 commercial airlines, as well as the International Air Transport Association (IATA), not to refer to Taiwan as a country. Many, including British Airways and Air Canada, complied. Only the United States and Australian governments spoke out against this blackmail.

In January, China shut down the website of the Marriott Hotel chain for a week, forcing the corporation to apologise for listing Taiwan as a separate country. The Royal Bank of Canada has joined other international corporations in editing their public information to show Taiwan as part of China. The clothing chain Gap has apologised for selling T-shirts decorated with a map of China that did not show Taiwan, and Japanese retailer Muji was fined $31,000 for selling products labelled Made in Taiwan. Even the Vatican, one of the few states still to hold formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, is being wooed by Beijing, with a potential deal over the appointment of Catholic bishops in mainland China likely to come at a cost for Taiwan. A year ago, Panama cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan, as did the Dominican Republic and Burkina Faso last month. Only 18 countries now recognise Taiwan.

Perhaps even worse than the question of diplomatic recognition is Beijings efforts to have Taiwan excluded from international fora, particularly United Nations agencies. From 2009 until 2016 Taiwan, which has a quality public health system, sat as an observer at the World Health Organisation. Now, it has been pushed out completely.

There are signs that Taiwan is beginning to fight back. The Secretary-General of Taiwans National Security Council, David Lee, recently criticised Beijings excessive aggressiveness and suggested that Taiwanese citizens should boycott those international airlines that have given in to Beijings pressure. He also suggested Taiwan might take legal action against those airlines.

More recently, Taiwans President Tsai Ing-wen called on global democracies to stand together in the face of Chinese oppression. She detailed the pressure Taiwan faces from China in a speech marking the 15th anniversary of the founding of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, and she told AFP in an interview that it was in the interests of all democracies to stand together. This is not just Taiwans challenge, it is a challenge for the region and the world as a whole, because today its Taiwan, but tomorrow it may be any other country that will have to face the expansion of Chinas influence, she said. Their democracy, freedom and freedom to do business will one day be affected by China.

Taiwan deserves our support in defending itself and its way of life. If we cave in to the bullying tactics of Beijing, and abandon one of the regions few democracies, simply for the sake of profit, we will have sold our souls completely. That doesnt mean wrecking relations with Beijing, it doesnt mean switching diplomatic recognition from Beijing to Taipei  appealing in principle though that is. Neither of those steps are practical in a world where, like it or not, we need to engage with China as a global power. But engaging with China should not mean kowtowing to China, or surrendering our values and our friends.

At the height of the Cold War we engaged with the Soviet Union and its satellite states, while defending West Germany. Throughout the decades of tension on the Korean Peninsula we have sought ways to engage North Korea, including  for some Western countries such as Britain and Sweden  diplomatic recognition, while being clear that the democracy and economic liberalism in South Korea made Seoul, rather than Pyongyang, our natural friend. Circumstances are different with regard to China, because it is far more intertwined with the global economy than either the Soviet Union or North Korea, but the principles are the same. Taiwans Deputy Foreign Minister Dr Francois Wu said recently that Taiwan stands on the frontline of the battle for democracy against authoritarianism. If Taiwan stands, democracy prevails, but if it falls, democracy worldwide is in jeopardy. It is in our interests to ensure that Taiwan does not fall.
There seems to be a reason why Ministers decided to pass information about two suspected ISIS terrorists to the United States without seeking assurances that doing so would not contribute to death sentences  to which successive governments have been opposed. It is that the information concerned is not sufficient to contribute to the death penalty being used in the event of the men being extradited to America for trial. (They are currently being held in Syria by pro-western fighters.) For clarity, the two men concerned, Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheik, have been stripped of their British citizenship. They are believed to have murdered two British aid workers, David Haines and Alan Henning, as well as three Americans.

But it is possible, of course, that Theresa May, Sajid Javid and Boris Johnson  the Ministers concerned  are wrong, and that the two will, in due course, be first extradited, then tried, then executed. If so, it might be useful to reflect on the gulf between the reaction of MPs yesterday and that of most voters. Murderous terrorist scum will be view of the latter. That was the blunt take of only one backbencher yesterday  Andrew Percy from Brigg and Goole.

Most of the rest were worried that the Governments opposition to the death penalty is being torn up. Ben Wallace, responding at the dispatch box, said that it isnt. And he hinted that the alternative to eventual extradition to the United States would be releasing the men altogether, thus enabling them to commit more terrorist outrages. One point is clear, which the removal of their British citizenship reinforces: Ministers dont want either of them here.

Out of sight, out of mind. None the less, there is a strong case for putting the pair on trial in Britain. In the Commons yesterday, Tom Tugendhat came close to calling for the availability of treason charges. The answer that comes back from Whitehall is that obtaining convictions might not be possible here  despite, we read, the existence of intelligence implicating them in the murder of two British citizens, backed up by statements from 600 witnessess collected by the Metropolitan police and the FBI. Michael Fallon suggested in the Commons that the cause is the European Convention on Human Rights. Wallace referred obscurely to gaps in the statute book. These appear to close when those under scrutiny are not suspected ISIS murderers, but former British soliders who served in Northern Ireland.

We suspect there is another reason for the Ministers decision. A trial in Britain, in this case, would have an immediacy that an American prosecution would not. Asim Qureshi, the Research Director of CAGE, called Mohammed Emwazi, a.k.a Jihadi John, a beautiful young man. We could expect more of the same from Britains network of Islamist groups. The likes of Tommy Robinson would also grab their chance to cause a stir. Social media users would risk contempt of court. A small minority of Muslims would be reminded of the mens existence, and view them as heroes  perhaps to be emulated. Ministers would look on this prospect with alarm. Easier, in this case, to let the sleeping dogs of community relations lie, and let the American Government and legal system to take the strain.
TI Georgia Says Govt Bought 3mln worth Russian Nivas

By Gvantsa Gabekhadze

One of the most influential local NGOs-Transparency International Georgia (TI Georgia) says that over the course of past five years the Georgian government has bought 136 Russian-made cars-Nivas and paid 3 million GEL for the deal.The NGO speaks about non-competitive tenders, when other auto producers have not participated in procurement process since the procurer organizations had adjusted the tender documentation to Nivas specifications  very low price and quality standards.The NGO says that the Global Motors Georgia  GMG was founded in 2011 and it started participating in public procurement from the end of 2012. This company supplies public institutions with Russian Nivas.It is worth mentioning that Global Motors Georgia  GMG was the only bidder in all tenders (except one procurement of Shuakhevi Municipality) it won. Only this company could propose its cars to the procurer organizations, TI Georgia says.The NGO says that on one hand, it is good when a public institution buys cars cheaply, but, on the other hand, the quality of product should not be neglected.Six months or one year is quite short warranty period to request for new cars. In this case, there are grounded risks of high maintenance costs, TI Georgia says.Studio Monitor made reportage on political connections of Gocha Rostiashvili  a founder of Global Motors Georgia  GMG. Rostiashvili is a cousin of Shalva Obgaidze - a member of Tbilisi City Assembly.The NGO addressed the Public Procurement Agency to comprehensively study the tenders won by Global Motors Georgia  GMG in order to identify whether they were intentionally adjusted to the needs of this supplier.TI Georgia says that the State Audit Office should study effectiveness of spending of public money on purchasing Nivas and specific amendments should be made to Georgian public procurements legislation, which will introduce certain restrictions on purchasing of Russian (occupant countrys) products.
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Storage and IoT powerhouse Hitachi Vantara on Tuesday said it plans to acquire Rean Cloud, a global Amazon Web Services systems integrator and MSP with expertise in developing cloud-native applications.

Rean Cloud (pronounced "rain") is a premier consulting partner in the AWS Partner Network as well as an AWS managed services partner with expertise in industries where security and compliance are essential including financial services, healthcare and life sciences, education, and the public sector.

The Herndon, Va.-based cloud consultant works with clients in such areas as enterprise cloud transformation, cloud foundation, migration and deployment, operations, and big data services, and has competencies with a variety of vendors in migration, storage, security, big data, and Microsoft workloads.

[Related: Hitachi Combines Data Center Infrastructure, IoT, Big Data Capabilities In New Company: Hitachi Vantara]

Hitachi Vantara, based in Santa Clara, Calif., last year was formed by combining the Hitachi Data Systems storage and data center infrastructure business, its Hitachi Insight Group IoT business, and its Pentaho big data business into a new combined company aimed at delivering new collaborative data offerings for commercial and industrial enterprises.

Rean Cloud is a hyperscale public cloud migration and management company with two key activities that make it a good fit for Hitachi Vantara, said Bobby Soni, chief solutions and services officer for Hitachi.

The first is its expertise in helping very large-scale, complex enterprises migrate to the cloud, whether it is gradually or in a lift-and-shift motion, Soni told CRN.

While other cloud providers have that capability, Rean Cloud has a unique platform that provides a significant amount of automation, he said.

"Hitachi Vantara's clients are all going through a digital transformation," he said. "To do that, they need the agility and scalability of public clouds. But the reality is, they will live in a hybrid cloud world. Hitachi Vantara wants to use Rean Cloud's capabilities and skills in that digital transformation."

The second is expertise in big data analytics via Rean Cloud's 2017 acquisition of 47Lining which brought it significant expertise driving big data analytics via machine learning and artificial intelligence, Soni said.

"They've worked with AWS, and are specialists in IoT and big data," he said. "This fits with Hitachi Vantara's strategic direction."

Hitachi Vantara did not disclose the value of the acquisition. Soni said that the planned acquisition is an exclusive deal, so there will be no competing bids for the company. He said Rean Cloud is a profitable company.

The deal is expected to close in the next two to three months, he said.

Rean Cloud currently works with multiple hardware and software vendors to build multi-cloud solutions, including storage vendor NetApp.

Soni said the key vendor partner to watch is AWS. Rean Cloud is an AWS premier consulting partner, one of 26 such partners worldwide. Rean Cloud is also a silver-level Microsoft partner, he said.

Rean Cloud has been in the news this year after the systems integrator announced in February that it had been awarded a five-year contract, with a potential value of $950 million, to provide cloud migration services to the U.S. Department of Defense. The project involved implementing a custom solution for automating the procurement of cloud resources for the military.

But that contract was reduced in scope when Oracle and other vendors lodged a protest with the Government accountability Office, saying Rean's selection violated government competitive bidding procedures. The companies argued that given Rean's relationship with AWS, selecting the implementation partner before selecting the cloud provider that would host the project's workloads gave AWS a de facto lock on the deal.

Rean's contract was reduced to working on a project for the U.S. Transportation Command with a maximum price of $65 million.

The Pentagon is readying a request for proposal for a multi-billion-dollar cloud contract, which Department of Defense officials have argued is best granted to a single service provider while Oracle, IBM, Microsoft and other major IT vendors have argued that a multi-cloud approach would be better.

Hitachi Vantara will continue existing relationships with Rean Cloud, Soni said. "In the multi-cloud world, we'll have to deal with competitors," he said. "We have our Hitachi Enterprise Cloud for our on-premises solution, and with Rean Cloud we'll be able to clients with on-premises and cloud offerings. We will have to deal with heterogeneous infrastructures. But we will have preferred solutions for Hitachi Vantara in our portfolio."

Hitachi Vantara channel partners should not expect to see competition from the company's acquisition of Rean Cloud, but will instead find new services opportunities, Soni said.

"Global and regional systems integrators and service providers can leverage the Rean Cloud platform to create their own services above the platform," he said. "For example, cloud advisory services can be built above the platform to manage the cloud. Or partners can leverage the platform for automation to power their own managed services."

Hitachi Vantara's mission is clear, Soni said. "We're not in the business of providing consulting services," he said. "We may help with the first few projects as a start. But for us to scale, we need to partner. We believe there is so much opportunity for the ecosystem."

Hitachi Vantara has traditionally had an infrastructure focus, but has lately been making large moves to help clients on the cloud, said Chuck Strickland, strategy architect at Sirius Computer Solutions, a San Antonio, Texas-based solution provider and long-time Hitachi channel partner.

The vendor has software products like Hitachi Content Intelligence for unstructured data, which is a software-only offering, and things like Security Visualization Suite and Digital Evidence Management System which primarily run in the cloud, Strickland told CRN.

"If Hitachi adds to its cloud capabilities, it gives us an additional attachment to the cloud," he said. "This may become more important as Hitachi moves more into the software-defined world in the next couple years, and they know the need more expertise to do that. It's a strong move for them."
After Eran Gil helped pioneer the born-in-the-cloud solution provider model with Cloud Sherpas, he turned the experience gained as a co-founder of one of the first cloud resellers to building a new channel powerhouse in his native Israel.

Now AllCloud, based in Tel Aviv, is ready to storm Gil's old stomping grounds, using the acquisition of Figur8, a Platinum Salesforce partner, as a vehicle into the North American market, Gil told CRN.

As part of that expansion strategy, Gil has been tapped as AllCloud's new CEO on the heels of a recently closed $7 million funding round, which brings total funding to $15 million, the company said Tuesday.

[Related: CRN Exclusive: Accenture Ditches Midsize G Suite Customers, Driving Business To Regional VARs]

AllCloud's founders took inspiration from the model Gil and his partners were rapidly scaling earlier in the decade from their headquarters in Atlanta.

But unlike Cloud Sherpas, which Accenture acquired in 2015, the Israeli startup pursued a full-stack approach to the cloud. Through early acquisitions, it rapidly developed partnerships with Amazon Web Services and Salesforce, and began to deliver a broad range of services.

"The North American market was the obvious next step for us," Gil said. "We are finding the North American market actually has a pretty big void."

A trend of consolidation -- including Accenture's purchase of Cloud Sherpas, IBM's of BlueWolf and Wipro's of Appirio -- has created opportunities for solution providers focused on serving the SMB market, he said.

"The larger companies that acquired some of the boutique firms like Sherpas dont really focus on that segment, and with that comes also vertical focus. There are quite a bit of verticals and segments that are now quite open with no real dominant global player to serve them," Gil said.

Whereas Cloud Sherpas was founded as a Google Apps reseller, later adding Salesforce and ServiceNow practices, AllCloud looked to partner with AWS as its primary Infrastructure-as-a-Service provider, and Google Cloud Platform as a secondary IaaS provider, as well as Salesforce and Oracle NetSuite for delivering business apps.

Gil initially advised the company's founders. But after Cloud Sherpas was sold to Accenture, he invested in AllCloud and took a seat on the board.

A few months ago, AllCloud, which already had established a successful practice in Germany, turned its attention to the U.S., Gil told CRN, and the board wanted him to fill a more operational role.

Having closed its deal for Figur8, that company's offices in San Francisco and Toronto will become AllCloud's North American headquarters.

Because of Figur8's current practice, AllCloud initially will focus on Salesforce in those markets, he said, but the company plans to replicate all its businesses in the Americas.

AllCloud will remain based in Tel Aviv, where it has cultivated a roster of highly skilled and certified personnel that provide a knowledge base it can leverage to drive its global expansion, Gil told CRN.

The company is serious about growing fast and wants to complete another funding round over the next 12 months as well as do more acquisitions in North America, he said.
Looking to take another step out of its own data centers, Google unveiled on Tuesday a managed container service integrated with service mesh technology that can for the first time run on-premises to facilitate hybrid clouds.

At Google's NEXT Cloud conference in San Francisco, Urs Holzle, senior vice president for technical infrastructure, introduced Google Cloud Servicesa combination of Google Container Engine (GKE) managed Kubernetes orchestration with Istio, an emerging open source service mesh technology.

Istio extends container deployments by connecting, discovering, monitoring and authenticating communications between micro-services running across environments.

[Related: Google CEO Sundar Pichai: Partnering Efforts 'Paying Dividends']

Google Cloud Services will see an alpha release in the fall, Holzle said.

As part of that coming service, GKE will no longer be confined to Google infrastructure. One of the demo Kubernetes clusters showcased during the NEXT keynote was running the managed container service on a vSphere-virtualized server set up on the stage of the Moscone Center.

"Cloud computing is still missing a simple way to combine cloud with your existing infrastructure or other clouds," Holzle said.

GKE running in a customer environment "looks and feels like GKE in the cloud," Holzle said.

The shift to containers has helped speed up and simplify packaging of software, he said. But Kubernetes only solves some challenges faced by container users.

"A lot of the problem is at higher levels, particularly in service management," he said, which is increasingly important to companies shifting from monolithic apps to microservices.

Istio, as a service mesh, extends Kubernetes to facilitate more enterprise use cases.

"Just like Kubernetes greatly simplified containers and triggered an exploding ecosystem over the last year, Istio greatly simplifies services," Holzle said.

And like with Kubernetes, an ecosystem and tools will develop around Istio in the near future, he said.

"We're ending the false dichotomy between on-prem and cloud," Holzle told NEXT attendees.

Google has been working on Istio since last year with partners IBM, Cisco, Pivotal, Lyft and Red Hat.

Istio 1.0, the first production-ready version of the technology, will be released this week.

The new managed Istio service will add operational capabilities while staying close to the open source project, much like Google does with GKE, Holzle said.

With Istio and Kubernetes running side-by-side, "you manage not just implementation and deployment, but you manage the service itself as it is running," he said.

Cloud Services Platform also introduces integration with the Apigee API platform to make services available to developers inside and outside of an organizations IT environment.

The platform has also been designed to support serverless architectures, he said.

Cloud Services Platform can transform "the most critical element of your computing strategy, namely security," Holzle told NEXT attendees. "You can use a consistent set of services that are independent of the application logic."

To further ease use of that coming service, Google expanded Stackdriver, its hybrid cloud monitoring and management solution, to give visibility around Istio service management out of the box.

"It's only the start of building a stronger, more customer-friendly, fully hybrid and open way of using the cloud," Holzle said.

The coming product will be boosted by Google's recent upgrade of its Google Cloud Platform Marketplace that enables cloud customers to purchase container-based applications for rapid deployment in Google's cloud or in private data centers, with uniform management.

"A consistent hybrid platform across all environments is a natural choice for many businesses for many years to come," Holzle said.

Google's hybrid capabilities are benefitting from work started last year with Cisco.

David Goeckeler, executive vice president of Cisco's networking and security business, joined the keynote to tell the Google community the Cisco Certified Platform for Google Cloud will become generally available next month.
Google G Suite is already being used by 1.4 billion users today, but Google is applying AI and machine learning to its collaboration suite to give it the boost it needs to be even more ready for enterprise users.

Prabhakar Raghavan, vice president of engineering and G Suite, said he and his team had three design features in mind while reimaging and enhancing the Google G Suite: make it secure, smart, and simple.

"AI in the workplace is more than just talking to a plastic box  We are bringing simplicity to the workplace," Raghavan told the crowd at Google Cloud Next 2018 on Tuesday in San Francisco.

[Related: Partners Gain New Tools, Specializations As Google Seeks To 'Build A Better Cloud' With The Channel]

With more than 4 million businesses relying on G suite, the collaboration portfolio has to be secure. At Next, Google unveiled the G Suite Investigation Tool, a single console that lets administrators gather and identify security threats such as malicious email in real time. The investigation tool went into beta on Tuesday, Raghavan said.

Raghavan said that customers have asked to have select data reside in different areas, such as Europe or the U.S. With that in mind, the tech giant showcased Data Regions for G Suite, an offering for key G Suite apps that lets primary data move freely, without impact to performance. Data Regions is now generally available to all G Suite customers today.

Google wants to make collaboration smarter to help tackle the three things that employees do every day: reading, writing, and creating meetings.

To that end, the tech giant introduced Smart Reply for Hangouts Chat, an individual and group instant messaging platform. Google already rolled out Smart Reply, a technology that uses machine learning to automatically compose messages for Gmail, but now, the machine-learning feature that is filling in the blanks for about 10 percent of Gmail messages being sent today is being injected into Hangouts Chat.

"The responses are casual enough for chat, but professional enough for the enterprise," Raghavan said.

Similarly, Google is expanding its Smart Compose feature that can autofill emails using machine learning to predict responses. Google's CEO Sundar Pichai, who also made a surprise appearance during Google Next's day one keynotes, first showcased the capability at the I/O developer conference in May for consumer Gmail users. Now, Raghavan said that the feature will be available to business customers in the coming weeks.

Google Docs is also using AI to correct grammar. The new service will be able to recognize errors and suggest a fix, and is available for G Suite's Early Adopter Program for users to test updates. Grammar correction for Google Docs is now available in beta.

The last area Google tackled was making meetings easier, starting with calendar scheduling, which Raghavan called a "hellacious" experience. With Google Calendar, business users can simply include participants and the Calendar function will do the rest by identifying a time slot and an appropriate conference room based off of rooms that users typically book, or rooms close to their seat.

Raghavan said that Google is also deepening its commitment to high-definition meetings by introducing Voice Commands for Google Hangouts Meet hardware. Users will be able to start video meetings by saying; "Hey, Google, start the meeting," and there's more to come, he said. Voice Command features are available to select Meet customers today.
Hewlett-Packard Enterprise has started following through on a promise to extend the predictive analytics capabilities of its Nimble Storage acquisition across a wide range of its products with new enhancements to its HPE 3PAR storage arrays.

HPE on Tuesday said it has added new predictive support automation to its HPE InfoSight software, which came with the company's early 2017 acquisition of Nimble Storage, and extended that support to its HPE 3PAR.

HPE also introduced new automation tools aimed at helping DevOps teams more easily develop new applications for on-premises infrastructure featuring 3PAR.

[Related: HPE Updates OneView, OneSphere With Eye On Enhancing HPE Synergy For New Clouds, Workloads]

Customers are looking for the ability to scale their infrastructures up and down in a cloud-like fashion while being more thoughtful about where their data is located from the cloud to the data center to the edge, said Phil Davis, HPE's chief sales officer.

A business' storage system needs to be able to handle workloads which reside anywhere, Davis told CRN. "Having storage intelligent enough to handle all that is very important," he said.

HPE storage already offers predictive analytics with artificial intelligence and machine learning to not only predict outages but to also find storage bottlenecks, Davis said. It is also cloud-ready with the ability to move data depending on customer requirements, he said.

"Customers need to know their infrastructures are future-proof," he said.

HPE is doing so with the expansion of predictive analytics using its HPE InfoSight software from Nimble Storage, Davis said.

"We have predictive data from thousands and thousands of Nimble arrays in the field," he said. "Now we're extending that to 3PAR. Previously, we were focused on predictive analytics in the 3PAR box itself. Now we will be offering more broadly with 3PAR in our first expansion. There will be further expansions."

This is about using predictive support automation to learn as issues are reported, and then take advantage of what was learned, said Vish Mulchand, senior director of product management and marketing for HPE's storage division.

If InfoSight sees an issue, HPE engineers analyze, find, and fix it, Mulchand told CRN. Those fixes then go to the entire installed base where the software looks to see if there are similar issues, and fixes them automatically.

"For example, if InfoSight detects a signature that applies to your system, it fixes it, and tells you it was fixed," he said. "We can tell customers, 'Hey, we see some of the same fingerprints as other issues that should be fixed.' Those fixes can be manually or automatically fixed. This is currently what Nimble was doing effectively. And now we're expanding it to 3PAR."

The second major enhancement to 3PAR is the ability to work with modern DevOps tools to expand 3PARs applicability to new workloads.

While 3PAR has been integrated with Docker and Mesosphere DC/OS, it now also works with Kubernetes and Red Hat OpenShift, giving it a full range of automation and integration with the leading container platforms, Mulchand said.

HPE also introduced a new plug-in for VMware vRealize Orchestrator to improve self-service storage automation through pre-built workflows, and is offering new pre-built blueprints for configuration management tools including Chef, Puppet, and Ansible, along with software development kits for Ruby and Python software development, he said.

Going forward, HPE will continue to expand its performance analytics, including the ability to predict performance with certain workloads and automatically move workloads to storage arrays that are less utilized, Mulchand said.

HPE will also be improving the ability to move data to the cloud to be used by cloud-based applications without giving up control of that data to the public cloud providers, he said.

HPE's enhancement of 3PAR with the changes to InfoSight are a big deal to customers, said Dan Molina, chief technology officer at Nth Generation Computing, a San Diego-based solution provider and long-time HPE channel partner.

"We have a large customer base with 3PAR," Molina told CRN. "And the power of InfoSight is second to none. It leverages artificial intelligence to pinpoint problems without the need of a third-party tool. So it's a winning combination."

Molina said his understanding is that over half of all trouble tickets opened with Nimble Storage were not related to the storage, and that InfoSight pinpoints problems quickly. "It gets us answers," he said.

DevOps has become an important new part of Nth Generation's business, and tools like Docker will be a big part of the company's upcoming annual Nth Symposium conference to be held in October in Anaheim, Calif., Molina said.

"We like how HPE has continued to expand its ecosystem," he said. "The greater the integrations, the better the results for customers."
We are expanding in all our markets, deploying the new MSC Seaview in South America next winter, adding the Lirica alongside the Splendida in Dubai and moving from a smaller to a larger ship in South Africa, Gianni Onorato, CEO of MSC Cruises, told Cruise Industry News in an exclusive interview.

Obviously, we are also growing in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe, he added, and we will have four ships in the Caribbean for the 2019-2020 season, sailing from Miami, another ship in Cuba and one in the French West Indies.

While the 3,274-passenger (double occupancy) Splendida has replaced the 1,984-passenger Lirica in China, she is expected to come back to Europe, being replaced by the new and larger Bellissima, which has some 600 cabins more. To be launched next March, the 171,598-ton, 4,500-passenger Bellissima will spend her first year sailing in Europe before moving to Shanghai in spring 2020.

We are gearing up in markets we considered tactical before, Onorato added. Now we look upon them as strategic, like North America and the UK. They have become extremely important markets for us.

And we are showing commitment by investing in sales and marketing organizations and efforts in these markets, as well as infrastructure, like our Bahamian out-island Ocean Cay, and we are positioning ships to serve these markets. We have designed itineraries specifically for British passengers.

He said that MSC Cruises is positioned globally as an international brand with a strong European flavor compared to the domestic German or North American brands, for example. However, the onboard experience is customized as much as possible to be in the comfort zone of the different markets. As a result, he added, they are the largest international brand in terms of market share in Germany.

With 10 more large cruise ships on order, Onorato said: We obviously believe there is space for our brand, and we expect to continue to grow and improve our financial results. More modern ships give us the opportunity to improve both on ticket and onboard yields.

At the same time, Onorato said he is prioritizing the development of new ideas and innovation both in terms of the onboard product and technologies for more efficient operations and to be environmentally friendly.

The Bellissima will, for example, have a digital personal assistant in every cabin, which has been developed with Harman and Samsung and is unique to MSC Cruises. Onorato said it will help answer questions the guests may have in seven languages. They can ask about shore excursions and the digital assistant, which is connected to the TV, will turn on the TV and present the tours being inquired about.

This is just one example of how we are becoming more customer-centric, he added.

Excerpt from Cruise Industry News Quarterly Magazine: Summer 2018
Longyearbyen has became the first Arctic town to launch its own community specific guidelines, according to a press release.

The new guidelines instruct tourists on how to be considerate visitors and were developed using a template created by the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO) and partners.

When you visit Longyearbyen, you are encouraged to do as the locals: respect wildlife, nature and each other. The Arctic town has now launched new guidelines for tourists visiting their community.

Among other things, the guidelines encourage visitors to chat with locals, but to ask before taking photos and to respect peoples privacy. Visitors are invited to support the community by shopping locally but are reminded that there is no tradition for bargaining in Svalbard, for example.

The guidelines were created by Visit Svalbard, Port of Longyearbyen and Svalbard Cruise Network with funding from NORA (North Atlantic Cooperation).

Longyearbyen is a popular tourist destination and these guidelines will help visitors understand our town. Tourists often visit for a short period, and these community guidelines are a great way of communicating local knowledge directly to visitors, said Ronny Brunvoll, general manager of Visit Svalbard.

AECO has created general community guidelines that provide travelers with useful dos and donts when visiting Arctic communities. We also created a template allows communities create their own tailored guidelines, and we are happy to see Longyearbyen become the first town to make this a reality, added Frigg Jrgensen, executive director of AECO.
When the twin towers fell on 9/11, insurance carriers paid out claims of 44 billion dollars, and then decided they really didn't want to insure tall buildings in Manhattan against terrorism anymore, thank you very much.

Alarmed, the US government created TRIA, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, a government-funded backstop for private insurance carriers offering terrorism policies. In the event of another terrorist attack resulting in insured losses of more than $180 million (in 2018), TRIA will pay up to $100 billionwith a bin the event of a large-scale terrorist attack, as officially certified by the US government.

The US modeled TRIA on Pool Re (the "Re" is for reinsurer), a similar program pioneered by the UK following IRA bombings in the early 1990s, including the 1993 IRA bombing at Bishops Gate, then the costliest terrorist attack of all time with losses of more than a billion dollars. In the event of a terrorist attack in the UK, Pool Re pays out to the affected insurance carriers once losses exceed a certain threshold.

Today, governments and insurance carriers are struggling with how to insure against similar acts of terrorismdepending on your definition of the "t"-wordon the cyber domain. An attack on cyberphysical systems could cause significant property damage and even loss of life, but most cyber terrorism policies exclude physical damage. Destruction of a mission-critical database might be covered, for example, but if your chemical plant blows up, that's probably not covered under existing policies.

In a move that acknowledges this growing risk, Pool Re announced in April 2018 that it now covers acts of cyber terrorism that result in physical destruction. Just one catch: Pool Re only pays out if the UK government publicly labels a particular act "terrorism."

What exactly is terrorism, anyway?

Consider Stuxnet. As we all know now, Stuxnet was a targeted act of clandestine violence conducted by the US and Israeli secret police against Iran that resulted in damage to cyberphysical systems. The attack was explicitly intended to coerce that country's politics.

By any reasonable definition, Stuxnet was terrorism. But because nothing the US ever does can be considered "terrorism," even when it causes terror, destruction of property, loss of life, and so forth, we don't use the dreaded "t"-word.

The politically charged nature of terrorism, therefore, means that the biggest risk to insurers may be a government's willingness to label something terrorism in the first place.
Pitney Bowes Document Messaging Technologies is now BlueCrest; its as simple as that.

This is a name that stands alone, Grant Miller, president and CEO of BlueCrest, said during a name-change and logo-unveiling ceremony Tuesday at the companys headquarters in Danbury. We are the biggest and baddest kid on the block. Our name is singular, no modifiers are needed.

Stamford-based Pitney Bowes announced in April it sold its Document Messaging Technologies, or DMT, production-mail business and supporting software for $361 million to Los Angeles-based investment firm Platinum Equity.

We still have the rich heritage of Pitney Bowes and its 98 years, but we are fully carved out and stand alone from Pitney Bowes, Miller said.

BlueCrest offers mail, print and data management software to help clients boost productivity and improve communication. It counts high-volume mailers, postal organizations and parcel logistics companies as clients.

Miller said all employees from Pitney Bowes DMT were retained and the company has plans to expand in Danbury and globally. He said the company plans to hire about 130 new people in the near future and most will be in Connecticut.

Were looking to grow organically and through strategic acquisitions, said Miller, who was with Pitney Bowes DMT for eight years prior to the sale.

The ceremony Tuesday included the roughly 300 employees in Danbury as well as workers from Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan and India, who joined through a video conference program.

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton and state Rep. Steve Harding, R-Brookfield, attended the event. Boughton read a proclamation prior to the ribbon-cutting ceremony, which followed the initial announcement. He thanked the company for continuing to invest in Danbury.

The name change drives the brand, Harding said, but it is the people behind it that makes it work.

BlueCreast headquarters will remain in Danbury. The company employs about 1,500 people worldwide.

Miller said the Blue in BlueCrest comes from Pitney Bowes and honors the heritage of innovation of its founding company. Crest comes from ocean waves, which are unstoppable forces. Its all forward motion. Nothing stops a wave. We are the apex. We are above everyone else in the marketplace.

Pitney Bowes said in April it sold the DMT division after assessing its prospects and that of the company as a whole. It expected proceeds from the sale of about $270 million after closing costs, transaction fees and taxes. The proceeds would be used to pay down debt, the company said.

Platinum Equity has made more than 200 acquisitions since it was founded in 1995 and manages about $13 billion of assets. It has a regional office in Greenwich.

Paul Schott contributed to this article.

The writer may be reached at cbosak@hearstmediact.com; 203-731-3338
U.S. District Judge Mark Walker on Tuesday denied a request by Democrats to strike down a state law that favors Republicans in how candidates are listed on the ballot in Florida.

The law, written by Democrats, gives the top ballot position in all partisan elections to the candidate of the governor's political party. That has been the law in Florida since 1951, and Democrats sought a court injunction to replace the system with one that evenly rotates both parties' candidates from county to county.

READ MORE: 'Thumb on the scale': Democrats attack Florida voting law

After a three-hour hearing in Tallahassee, Walker denied the Democrats' request but did not rule on the merits of their lawsuit. He also said that he could likely not make a final decision in the next 30 days. The first general election ballots must be sent overseas by Sept. 22, which means they must be proofread and printed before then.

The judge ruled quickly from the bench on the same day that hundreds of thousands of mail ballots for the Aug. 28 primary are being sent to voters across the state.

Polls show that one of the closest races in Florida this cycle is a U.S. Senate battle between Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson and Republican Gov. Rick Scott. Under current law, Scott will be listed first on the Nov. 6 ballot.

Walker at one point made note of Scott's two "razor-close" victories as governor. Scott won by about 1 percentage point both times.

The judge chided Democrats for waiting so long to file a lawsuit in a state with a history of close elections and electoral irregularities through the years.

"One cannot recognize a problem and wait until the eve of the election," Walker said. "This is not a problem of timing of this court's making."

Walker ruled after a top state elections official testified that it would not be possible to change the way candidates are listed in time for the November general election.

Maria Matthews, director of the state Division of Elections, said necessary changes to software, testing and certification requirements under existing law would take about 90 days to complete.

"We do not see it as feasible," Matthews said.

Democratic lawyers challenged Matthews' testimony, noting that she did not make such a definitive declaration in a written statement she made on July 9 as part of the case.

The Democrats' challenge is based on a concept known as "position bias" that has long been hotly debated among experts. The party hired a Stanford University political scientist who has studied ballot order in Ohio and other states and who concluded that Republican candidates have an advantage of 2.7 percentage points when they are listed first above Democrats.

Florida is one of about a dozen states that uses a ballot order system based on control of the governor's office. Some states list incumbents first, some list candidates alphabetically and still others randomly switch the order of candidates between counties, precincts or voting districts.
Sikorsky Aircraft sales sank by $105 million in the second quarter, parent company Lockheed Martin reported Tuesday, driven by declining demand for Black Hawk helicopters even as the company ramps up production of a new chopper for the Marine Corps.

Stratford-based Sikorsky is the largest corporate employer in southwestern Connecticut, with Lockheed Martin based in Bethesda, Md.

Lockheed Martin raised its projections for revenue and profits for the second half of 2018, with the conglomerate reporting an effective income tax rate of 18.1 percent in the second quarter, down from 28.8 percent a year ago due largely to the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

While sales have declined of Black Hawk helicopters and variants, Sikorsky is starting to benefit from a higher volume of work on the CH-53K King Stallion helicopter designed to carry large loads in combat theaters, with the Marines eyeing as many as 200 or more helicopters in a contract that could top $30 billion.

On Tuesday, Congress released a draft of the National Defense Authorization Act for the 2019 fiscal year that includes $1.2 billion for eight King Stallions, with Sikorsky exploring as well Germanys interest in the new helicopter.

Lockheed Martin revenue rose 7 percent from a year earlier to $13.4 billion in the second quarter, with the companys earnings up 22 percent to $1.2 billion, with Sikorsky improving its own profitability by $10 million. Lockheed Martin earmarked $96 million during the quarter for restructuring and severance costs in the Rotary and Mission Systems division that includes Sikorsky, radar and electronic warfare systems.

Lockheed Martin does not break out Sikorskys total revenue and profitability totals on a quarter-to-quarter basis. The Rotary and Mission Systems division had a 26 percent increase in profits to $371 million, with revenue up 4 percent to $3.6 billion.

Earlier this month, Mexican publications reported that president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador plans to cancel the purchase of eight Sikorsky Seahawk maritime helicopters, in a deal worth $1.2 billion.

Sikorsky did not disclose any major new sales contracts at last weeks Farnborough International Airshow in the United Kingdom, as the case with other major helicopter manufacturers like Airbus, Bell, Boeing and Leonardo.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman
BRIDGEPORT  A weekend campout allowed some of the citys teen and pre-teen girls to feel like they were far away from the city while spending the weekend in Beardsley Park.

The girls make up a group created by YANA  You Are Not Alone. The group is called YANA Girl Talk. Most of its members are girls between the ages of 12 and 16.

YANA is a Bridgeport-based organization that provides emotional and spiritual support to families that have experienced tragedy in and around the city.

The weekend campout ran from July 13 to July 15.

It was the fourth year in a row the organization worked with the Bridgeport Police Departments Office of Community Services, a division led by Capt. Roderick Porter. The community service unit and YANA have had a partnership for years.

In the past some of the girls expressed that they felt far away from Bridgeport while theyre right in the heart of it, Porter said. This weekend is a great opportunity and experience for the young ladies to bond, learn life skills, explore the wonderful zoo and to experiencing sleeping outdoors.

The girls in the group are targeted for being at-risk youth, said Dawn Spearman, the founder and president of YANA and YANA Girl Talk.

Were trying to bring awareness to the youth, said Spearman, who said she was raised in Bridgeport. Ive been through a lot and it starts in your teen years.

Spearman said the group was created to bring information to girls in Bridgeport who might not get information elsewhere.

We teach them about chances, choices and consequences, she said. We make things as real as possible.

She said that was a big focus for the groups weekend campout, which also featured several outdoor activities, free time, movie night and more.

Roughly 25 to 30 girls participate in the yearly campout. This years turnout was expected to be a bit lower, Spearman said, because a lot of girls have aged out. She said once they reach 16, they can choose to continue their involvement with the group, but some will move on.

The girls slept at a campsite Friday night and had a two-hour discussion that covered various topics, Spearman said. Then the girls enjoyed some pizza, sponsored by Vazzys Restaurant, and had an outdoor movie night.

The group spent Saturday at Beardsley Zoo, where they learned about the animals. Porter said oftentimes the girls will get a behind-the-scenes look at how the animals are fed and cared for.

Saturday night, the girls slept in the log cabin at the park that can be rented out for events. And Sunday they cleaned up and left the park with lasting memories.

Its a great event, Porter said. It gives the girls a chance to really enjoy the outdoors.
STRATFORD  Stratfords mayor is asking residents to bring food pantry donations at the annual Blues on the Beach celebration this Saturday.

The yearly summer music festival will be on Saturday from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Stratfords Short Beach.

Mayor Laura Hoydick is calling for festival attendees to bring nonperishable food donations to the summer event, which is free to all residents.

Blues on the Beach is a terrific annual tradition here in Stratford, and as we come together for this summer celebration, wed like to remember those in our community we need a little help, Hoydick said in a prepared statement.

The nonperishable food donations will be collected at the entrance to the festival.

We have a real opportunity here to make a big push to help fill the stores of many of Stratfords food pantries and make a real difference for our neighbors who are in need, Hoydick said.

Saturdays festival is part of the Stratford Celebrate Festivals, run by volunteer Erin McLaughlin.

Leading up to Saturdays festival, beach access will be closed off at 7 p.m. Friday, and Public Safety Director Larry Ciccarelli said he knows this is inconvenient.

We ask of the patience and indulgence of residents, Ciccarelli said in a prepared statement. This will allow us to produce a first-rate event for everyone to attend and enjoy on Saturday.

There will also be no bicycles, dogs, gold carts, mopeds, scooters, dirk bikes or any other motorized equipment allowed on the beach during the event, according to a request by Stratford police. There

Parking will be made available at the Army Engine Plant in the south parking lot directly off Main Street.
Lawmakers tasked with negotiating the states health care budget agreed late Thursday night to a smaller shift in reimbursement funding for hospitals Medicaid cases, meaning hospitals with the largest fractions of those cases may not face nearly as severe a reduction as initially proposed.

Senate budget writers had previously raised a plan that would have redistributed a $318 million additional fund of automatic rate enhancements to those hospitals into general funding for all hospitals in the state. (The state currently reimburses all hospitals for Medicaid care at a certain base rate.) But negotiators agreed to shrink that redistribution to just $9.5 million, or 3 percent of the total fund, for the upcoming budget year.

The change means that potential cuts to the states largest safety net hospitals, like Jackson Health in Miami-Dade or Tampa General, are unlikely to reach into the tens of millions as had been first projected.

It means a slight reduction that hospitals can live with. Hospitals can plan. Its not a drastic reduction, said Sen. Aaron Bean, the joint panels health care budget chief. I think the industry can live with it. Floridians are going to be well taken care of at their local hospital.

The House had initially suggested trimming hospital Medicaid reimbursement spending by 3 percent in both inpatient and outpatient care, which would have been about $110 million. That would have meant slight cuts for every hospital across the board. But the Senates plan, to instead reshuffle the additional Medicaid enhancement payments into the base rates paid to all hospitals, would have given the majority of hospitals a small boost while dealing major cuts to the approximately two dozen hospitals that currently get the additional funds.

Proponents of the Senate plan had said bolstering the base rate funding would mean money more fairly follows the patient. Safety-net hospitals, which labeled the additional money a critical care fund, said that the money was necessary because those hospitals disproportionately handle more severe and complex cases.

Though its clear those hospitals will not lose as much, its not yet clear how much individual hospitals will gain or lose. Lawmakers are still negotiating other details related to hospitals Medicaid reimbursements, such as how the base rate funding is weighted to pay for more complicated, complex medical cases.

What House and Senate negotiators are also likely to agree to early is how the state will handle its policy of retroactive eligibility for Medicaid, which determines how long the program will cover past medical bills. Last year, the Legislature had approved shortening the period from three calendar months to just one calendar month, though advocates said the change could hurt seniors and those with disabilities.

Bean said the House is likely to agree to a plan to extend the policy for just one year, rather than permanently as initially suggested, and authorize a study to collect data on how the change affects patients before it is reconsidered in 2020.

Lawmakers also plan to bump up still unresolved differences in the budget to each chambers budget chief Friday, and those reimbursement details are just one of several health care issues left on the table. The chambers still have to reach agreement on some funding related to child welfare, how to fund a waitlist for caring for people with disabilities, and a proposal that would require the Agency for Persons with Disabilities to restructure its Medicaid waiver.

And though both chambers have now agreed to a mild cut to the enhancements fund, the fund may be trimmed further in future years, suggested Sen. Rob Bradley, who will soon take over budget negotiations with his House counterpart Rep. Travis Cummings.

What happens in future years we're still discussing, he said Thursday night. We want the system to wean off [those] payments over time but those are ongoing discussions.

The legislative session is scheduled to end by May 3. For that to happen, the chambers must reach agreement on all budget issues by Tuesday, so the budget can sit for a required 72 hours before the vote.
Illegal immigration sounds like a serious crime.

Were led to believe legions of black and brown people are rushing our southern border, straining our limited resources, and threatening our way of life.

President Trump has maintained that illegal immigration is at an all-time high and must be stopped by any means necessary to preserve our freedom.

Taking a longer, more historical view of this situation calls many of these images into question. As Tyler Anbinder points out in his book City of Dreams, the history of immigrants is the history of the U.S.

Through the 18th and 19th centuries, there was essentially unlimited immigration into the country. Typically, many of the natives of each generation deemed the newest group of immigrants to be of inferior stock, believing that they threatened our safety and harmony.

Anti-immigrant sentiment reached a tipping point in the early part of the 20th century. In 1913, Dr. Alfred Reed of the U.S. Public Health Service argued for an end to unrestricted immigration and the admission of only the best individuals, by which he meant Northern and Western Europeans. (Sound familiar?)

Convinced by Reed, many Americans came to view new immigrants as inferior to older ones, and thus supported restrictions. Congress passed the Emergency Quota Act in 1921, followed by the National Origins Act in 1924, severely limiting immigration.

The latter bill set quotas based on national origin, essentially banning immigrants from Asia and Africa, while significantly reducing the number from Southern Europe.

At this point, it may be instructive to describe my familys history of illegal immigration. In 1923, my grandfather came to New York from Portugal. He had grown disillusioned with his abusive, alcoholic father and the fact that his older brother controlled all his familys meager resources. He realized he could more easily make a life in the United States.

Meanwhile, my grandmother was fleeing persecution in her village after her father had been killed for supporting farmers rights. She, too, realized her odds were better in the United States. She married my grandfather after he briefly returned to Portugal, and the two made plans to move to the United States permanently.

They journeyed on foot to the city of Porto and found a ship to the U.S., only to discover that the quota for Portugal had been filled and they could not emigrate.

Feeling desperate, they boarded a ship for Brazil, a country whose citizens could enter the U.S. without restriction. From there, they obtained falsified passports and boarded a ship to New York. But had they attempted to emigrate just a few months earlier, they could have entered the United States legally.

After reaching America, my grandparents quickly became productive members of society, earning money by opening and running multiple boarding houses in the city of Bridgeport. They had seven children and 14 grandchildren, who would go on to become doctors, nurses, lawyers and business professionals.

It was not until the 1960s, when my grandfather tried to visit Portugal, that immigration authorities discovered they were here illegally. By then, the quota system had been abolished, so they were quickly naturalized.

When I discuss illegal immigration with friends and colleagues who are vehemently opposed to it, I always suggest they should consider their relationship with me. I am clearly a product of illegal immigration.

It seems clear that the difference between legal and illegal immigration is often a semantic one, or at most a matter of timing. For my grandparents, it was a difference of a few months.

Portuguese citizens could enter legally before 1924, but not between 1924 and 1965.

A poor Mexican or Guatemalan without American relatives does not have the same opportunity that a poor Portuguese or German immigrant once had. Americans need to acknowledge this, rather than continue to believe that their forebears followed the same rules that todays illegal immigrants supposedly disregard.

Except for Native Americans, all of us are the products of immigration. Throughout our history, every generation has asserted that the newest immigrants are inferior, incapable of assimilating, and harmful to our way of life. In every case, these stereotypes have proven wrong. Our greatness as a nation stems from our diversity and our ability to be a welcoming society.

When the news turns to discussions of illegal immigration, dont just picture a group of poor Mexicans climbing a wall in the desert. Picture my kind, caring, salt-of-the-earth grandparents.

Or yours.

Dr. Michael Soboeiro grew up in Bridgeport and is now a practicing physician in North Carolina.
BRIDGEPORT  The American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut is defending City Councilwoman Karen Jacksons right to publicly criticize police for allegedly using excessive force against her 15-year-old son.

Councilwoman Jackson is elected by the people of Bridgeport, Dan Barrett, the ACLUs legal director, wrote Tuesday on the organizations website. She not only has a right to question how public employees are treating her constituents  she has a responsibility to do so. And she absolutely has a right and responsibility to criticize police when they fail.

Barrett was responding to a report by Hearst Connecticut Media that Mark Anastasi, an attorney for the city of Bridgeport, had urged Jackson to give thoughtful consideration about the unintended consequences of speaking out about her sons case while it is under investigation by the internal affairs office.

No parent, like Councilwoman Jackson, should have to experience police hurting their child, wrote Barrett. And no parent who speaks out against police violence, including and especially an elected official with a responsibility to serve constituents, should be silenced by the government.

Jacksons son, Gabriyel Fraser, was among a group of youths gathered in the Nob Hill Circle neighborhood on June 27 who ran when a police officer approached. The cop was investigating a break-in into a nearby yard and the theft of a ball.

Police eventually found Fraser who, according to a civilian complaint he and his mother filed with internal affairs, complied with an order to stand hands up but was beaten by four officers, Tased in his legs, handcuffed and received several scratches on his leg, arm, face, lower back and wrist.

Fraser was also charged with interfering with a police officer.

Acting Police Chief Armando Perez, who is competing with other candidates for a five-year contract that would require City Council approval, said last week that the youths should not have run away. But Perez also said he was not comfortable that a Taser was used.

Anastasi in his Thursday evening letter to Fraser, wrote that he understands your instincts are to support your son. But, the attorney continued, It can prove particularly harmful when an elected official such as yourself prematurely calls into question the performance of officers sworn to protect our community.

As a council member, many of our citizens rightly look to you for guidance and leadership, Anastasi wrote. When your constituents hear you as their elected official criticizing our police officers, this may lead some of them to lose confidence in our public safety services.

Anastasi also said Jacksons criticism could be misinterpreted as an attempt to used your official position for personal gain.

He concluded with, Thanks for hearing me out; and I am available should you wish to consult further.

Barrett on Tuesday called Anastasis letter a form of intimidation, a veiled threat and an example of how city officials can be complicit in shielding police from the public scrutiny we expect of government servants in a democracy.

Activists from inside and outside of the city, including the ACLU, have been advocating for police reforms in Bridgeport since May 2017, when a rookie officer shot and killed 15-year-old Jayson Negron. That cop was subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing by an independent state investigation.

The police department has also been under scrutiny for using excessive force in other incidents. An internal investigation continues into the case of Officer Christina Arroyo, caught on video last November repeatedly punching a black teenager following a minor traffic accident.

And last month one teen died and three others were injured after their SUV flipped on Route 8 while being pursued by police for alleged armed robbery.
A former customer service representative and teller was sentenced last week to more than four years in federal prison for her role in the conspiracy to embezzle funds that led to the liquidation of a Hawaiian credit union and a loss of more than $2 million to NCUAs insurance fund.

U.S. District Court Judge Derrick K. Watson in Honolulu ordered Janell Purdy on July 19 to pay $949,736 in restitution and three years of supervised release following her prison term.

Purdy along with the former President/CEO Allennie Naeole conspired to siphon funds from the $3.1 million First Hawaiian Homes Federal Credit Union in Hoolehua from June 2008 to December 2015. Naeole was sentenced in June to seven years in federal prison. She was ordered to pay $1,055,188 in restitution.

Purdy and Naeole wrote checks from the credit unions financial accounts to pay for Naeole and her family members personal expenses, including and $8,854 check to pay for Naeoles Toyota Yaris.
NAFCU is focused on securing even more relief for credit unions  such as risk-based capital (RBC) standards and website accessibility requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)  that will improve the regulatory environment in which the industry operates. As the industrys Washington Watchdog, the association is in constant contact with key lawmakers, regulators and administration officials to do so.

Today, NAFCU is monitoring a House Financial Services Committee mark-up that includes two bills related to financial technology and mortgage loans. NAFCU has also seen progress made on a number of key issues since the enactment of the NAFCU-backed Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act (S. 2155):

NCUAs RBC rule

Following months of NAFCU advocacy and credit union grassroots efforts, a provision to delay the NCUAs RBC rule by two years has now passed the House three times. NAFCU is engaged with Senate leaders urging them to also approve the provision.

NAFCU supports an appropriate RBC system for credit unions, but has been opposed to NCUAs RBC rulemaking since its passage and has urged the rule be delayed, particularly because of increased regulatory burdens and costs.
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Many physicians say ivermectin is of no use against COVID
Almost immediately after the reconstituted Congress Working Committee (CWC) dropped hints that party president Rahul Gandhi could be projected as the face of any alliance formed with the aim to take on the might of the Narendra Modi-led BJP in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the plan faced its first challenge - from the mercurial Mamata Banerjee.

Why this Kolaveri, Didi? Mamata Banerjee is a regional leader, with hope if a coalition government is formed in 2019. (Source: India Today)

Banerjee, who is known to be nursing Prime Ministerial ambitions, is a regional leader but Indian political history tells us that when coalition governments take centrestage, just about any leader can find himself in the PM's chair.

Deve Gowda, whose party (then known as Janata Dal) won 46 Lok Sabha seats in the 1996 elections, occupied the chair for about a year. Aiming to win all 42 Lok Sabha seats from West Bengal, Banerjee's ambitions only find backing from examples such as those set by Gowda and IK Gujral. Both Gowda and Gujral became Prime Ministers through the Rajya Sabha route. Banerjee at least will be able to take the electoral route to the PM's chair.

But the problem with Banerjee's dream stems from the fact that the West Bengal chief minister has no alternative narrative to offer, even as she has dared to take the fight against the BJP straight to Modi's doors, forcing the PM to dedicate significant parts of his high-octane speeches to Banerjee on many occasions.

In a recent interview to India Today, Banerjee said the Opposition is trying to cobble up anti-Modi and anti-BJP votes. She accused the BJP of "committing atrocities, inflicting torture" alleging, "They (BJP members) are behaving like a hundred Hitlers".

While the 'Adolf Hitler' analogy stills seems too far-fetched in the Indian context, the violence and high-handedness that Banerjee seems to be alluding to, ironically, find reflection in her own politics in West Bengal.

The victory Trinamool Congress claimed in the state's recent Panchayat polls had blood spilled all over it. Such was the terror rained by TMC men that on over one-third of the 58,792 seats, the BJP and Left Front could not even field their candidates.

Candidates from rival parties were mercilessly beaten up, forcing the intervening court to allow nominations to be filed through WhatsApp. This was unprecedented, even in West Bengal's bloodied political past.

The party exercises almost complete control over its cadres now. As chief minister, Mamata Banerjee clearly allowed a free rein to cadres indulging in violence.

It is important to note here that Banerjee first became chief minister in 2011, ending 35 years of Left rule, giving hope for a new beginning. For change or 'poribortan'.

While Banerjee and her party alone cannot be blamed for continuing political violence, since 2015, the state has seen a consistent rise in bloodshed over communal issues.

West Bengal recorded 27 incidents of violence in 2015, in which five people died, while 84 others were injured. The numbers doubled over the next two years.

In 2016, four people died and 252 were injured in 32 incidents of communal violence. But the number of communal clashes increased to 58 in 2017 when nine people were killed and 230 injured.

Banerjee has been in politics long enough to know that law and order is a state subject and as chief minister, she cannot get away by pinning the blame on BJP alone, for the violence in a state she governs.

Violence is on the rise in Mamata Banerjee's West Bengal. (Source: Reuters)

She stands accused of indulging in 'competitive communalism' to take on the might of the BJP.

The chief minister has been trying to match the BJP with Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti celebrations in the state. While, to begin with, she ordered the police to act against those creating mischief, in 2018, she said old Ram Navami processions which have been carrying weapons for years will be exempt from police action.

Trinamool district units in Birbhum and West Midnapore also went on to organise a conference of Hindu priests.

Communal clashes in Raniganj and Asansol during Ram Navami festivities underlined the perils of this 'competitive communalism'.

It is only obvious that Banerjee went ahead to apparently appease Hindus with greater fervour in 2018, having earlier antagonised a section by pausing Durga idol immersions when the occasion clashed with Muharram.

None of this is a mark of a 'secular' leader, least of all, someone seeking votes in the name of secularism to counter 'communal forces'.

Worse, the chief minister is not known to take jokes or humour well  a trait similar to, well, Hitler?

Ambikesh Mahapatra, a Jadavpur University professor, faced sedition charges after he circulated a cartoon poking fun at Banerjee via email.

The chief minister, who is fairly well-known for her temper, also called a female student a Maoist sympathiser for questioning her over the safety and security of women in the state during a television show.

Banerjee's anxieity was so deep that a team of the state police actually descended at the TV channel's studio reportedly seeking details of the participants in the programme. Another student had a police complaint filed against him for sharing a cartoon on Banerjee on his Facebook account.

As Prime Minister, leaders have to face many more questions though. Could Banerjee handle that?

Smiling. But for how long? Mamata Banerjee's mercurial temper could prove disastrous for Opposition unity. (Source: PTI)

While Banerjee has been vocal against the BJP for not providing a safer country for women, her own responses to rapes don't have much to offer to the country's women, or its men who care for women's safety.

The chief minister went so far as to claim that 2012 Park Street rape was a concocted story.

When a woman alleged she had been raped on a train in Burdwan, Banerjee called it a lie, alleging the woman "happens to be the wife of a CPM supporter." It didn't take long for investigators to find the woman had been widowed 11 years before she was raped.

And, if that wasn't enough, the same Banerjee, at a rally in Minakhan, thundered, "Are all women in the state being raped?"

Seeking support in the name of 'secularism' against Modi could be Banerjee's nemesis.

The chief minister has called for an anti-BJP rally in Kolkata in January 2019. Two months before that rally is held, Banerjee will begin a country-wide tour to drum up support. She is expected to invite Congress president Sonia Gandhi, RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav and his son Tejashwi Yadav, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati and Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR).

Many of these leaders, ironically, all part of a 'secular front', also have ambitions of their own. While KCR and Banerjee have been holding talks to come together as part of a federal front, KCR didn't even heed Banerjee's call for a vote against the BJP during the recent no-confidence motion.

Banerjee's hunger for the PM's chair could disrupt Opposition unity  even before it is established.

Also read: Why Yogi Adityanath government is busy denying rapes in the face of all evidence
The run-up to general elections 2018 in Pakistan has been marked by controversies, violence and accusations by leading politicians of not being given a level playing field for their respective parties during the election campaign.

There are also allegations that the intervention of the military establishment in the election process has been quite apparent  something that has paved the way for Imran Khan, the leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), to become the next Prime Minister of Pakistan.

While all parties have their respective election manifestos, the election rallies have been more inclined towards counter-accusations and abuses, aimed at ridiculing the opposition parties for being "corrupt and dishonest" with the people of the country.

Imran Khan has deliberately ignored the Indian media during his campaign rallies. (Credit: Reuters file photo)

Khan, who so far has had an "extended" election campaign across the country, has also dedicated most part of his speeches to attacking the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Sharif family.

The same has been witnessed as a counter-response from PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif, who has been targeting Khan and what he calls the PTI's failed governance in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Even though Imran Khan is believed to be leading the race and is expected to be the next Prime Minister of the country, it's difficult to gauge the impact he will be able to make on Pakistans foreign policy, especially at a time when he has been accusing the Sharif family of being the face of an "international agenda" against Pakistan. Khan has persistently attacked Nawaz Sharif for "being the agent of international agenda", aimed at ridiculing Pakistan and defaming its image globally.

The PTI chief, however, has deliberately ignored the Indian media during his campaign rallies, not to mention how he slammed the international media for raising reservations over the credibility of the upcoming general elections. He has termed this a part of the same international conspiracy.

If opinion polls are to be believed, Imran Khan is, in all likelihood, going to be the next Prime Minister of Pakistan. Also, going by the popular notion that the country's all-powerful military establishment is backing Khan, it seems Pakistan's foreign policy and its strategic relations with neighbouring counties, especially India, will have a major impact.

The PTI has accused India of supporting Nawaz Sharif and called it the main conspirator of the 'international agenda against Pakistan'.

India-Pakistan ties

Political observers say relations with India are expected to get more strained if Imran Khan becomes the next PM. That is primarily because he has accused India of supporting Nawaz Sharif and of being a main conspirator against Pakistan. In future, Khan himself will have to walk the talk as per the directives of the military establishment, which would mean no improvement in India-Pakistan relations. Moreover, the PTI chief has already closed most doors and new options to explore better understanding with India with his accusations.

Pakistan-China-Afghanistan

Pakistan is expected to continue strengthening its ties with China even if Khan comes to power since most of the assurances that China has on its investments and returns have come through the power corridors of the military establishment. Its penetration into politics, society and economy has seen the military establishment securing an important position in the state apparatus over the years.

Not much is expected to change on PakistanAfghanistan relations as well, considering Islamabad's renewed push for peace with Kabul in recent times.

Like many in the past have said, Pakistan's ties with Afghanistan matter more than its India policy, to avoid getting caught amid adversarial powers on Kabul's flanks remains vital.

Also read: How rules were twisted to mainstream Hafiz Saeed's terror outfit in Pakistan politics
Les lunettes de marque ne sont pas ce qui manque dans les commerces. Il y en a de toutes les sortes dont les lunettes de []
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Duck Creek Technologies, Inc. provides software-as-a-service core systems to the property and casualty insurance industry in North America. It offers Duck Creek Policy, a full lifecycle solution for the development of products and quoting, binding, and servicing of policies across various channels from agents and brokers to end-users; Duck Creek Billing that provides payment and invoicing capabilities, such as billing and collections, commission processing, disbursement management, and general ledger capabilities for insurance lines and bill types; and Duck Creek Claims that supports the entire claims lifecycle from first notice of loss through investigation, payments, negotiations, reporting, and closure. The company also provides Duck Creek Rating that allows carriers to develop new rates and models and deliver accurate quotes in real-time based on the complex rating algorithms; Duck Creek Insights, an insurance analytics solution that allows carriers to gather and analyze data from internal and external sources and facilitate rapid analysis and reporting on a single system; Duck Creek Digital Engagement that offer digital interactions between property and casualty insurers and their agents, brokers, and policyholders; and Duck Creek Distribution Management that automates sales channel activities for agents and brokers, including producer onboarding, compliance, and compensation management. In addition, it offers Duck Creek Reinsurance Management that automates critical financial and administrative functions; and Duck Creek Industry Content that provides pre-built content, including base business rules, product designs, rating algorithms, data capture screens, and workflows for insurance lines of business. The company serves insurance carriers and leaders. Duck Creek Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

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Billionaire tax hits critics as Biden pushes for budget deal

WASHINGTON (AP)  The Democrats' idea for a new billionaires tax to help pay for President Joe Biden's social services and climate change plan quickly ran into criticism as too cumbersome with some lawmakers preferring the original plan of simply raising the top tax rates on corporations and the wealthy. Biden said Monday hes hopeful the talks with Congress can wrap up overall agreement on the package this week.

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Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. is an international offshore energy company. It focuses on subsea construction, maintenance and salvage services to the offshore natural gas and oil industry. The firm also provides specialty services to the offshore energy industry, with a focus on well intervention and robotics operations. The company operates through three segments: Well Intervention, Robotics and Production Facilities. The Well Intervention segment offers vessels and related equipment that are used to perform well intervention services primarily in the Gulf of Mexico and North Sea regions. The Robotics segment involves four chartered vessels and also includes ROVs, trenchers and ROVDrills designed to complement offshore construction and well intervention services. The Production Facilities segment includes its investment in the Helix Producer I and Kommandor LLC. Helix Energy Solutions Group was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.

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The following companies are subsidiares of The Sherwin-Williams: Acquire Sourcing LLC, CTS National Corporation, Comex North America Inc., Compania Sherwin-Williams S.A. de C.V., Contract Transportation Systems Co., Dongguan Lilly Paint Industries Ltd, Duron, EPS (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., EPS B.V., Geocel Holdings, Geocel Limited, Guangdong Valspar Paints Manufacturing Co Ltd., Inver East Med S.A., Inver France SAS, Inver GmbH, Inver Industrial Coating SRL, Inver Polska Spoka Z O.O, Inver Spa, Invercolor Bologna Srl, Invercolor Ltd, Invercolor Roma Srl, Invercolor Torino Srl, Invercolor Toscana Srl, Isocoat Tintas e Vernizes Ltda, Isva Vernici Srl, Leighs Paints, M.A. Bruder & Sons, Omega Specialty Products & Services LLC, Oy Sherwin-Williams Finland Ab, PT Sherwin-Williams Indonesia, PT Valspar Indonesia, Paint Sundry Brands, Pinturas Condor S.A., Pinturas Industriales S.A., Piton Paints Limited, Plasti-Kote Co. Inc., Plasti-kote Limited, Productos Quimicos y Pinturas S.A. de C.V., Quest Automotive Products UK Limited, Quetzal Pinturas S.A. de C.V., Ronseal (Ireland) Limited, SWIMC LLC, SWIPCO  Sherwin Williams do Brasil Propriedade Intelectual Ltda, Sherwin Williams Colombia S.A.S., Sherwin-Williams (Australia) Pty. Ltd., Sherwin-Williams (Belize) Limited, Sherwin-Williams (Caribbean) N.V., Sherwin-Williams (Ireland) Limited, Sherwin-Williams (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Sherwin-Williams (Nantong) Coatings Technology Co. Ltd., Sherwin-Williams (Nantong) Company Limited, Sherwin-Williams (S) Pte. Ltd., Sherwin-Williams (Shanghai) Limited, Sherwin-Williams (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Sherwin-Williams (Vietnam) Limited, Sherwin-Williams (West Indies) Limited, Sherwin-Williams Argentina I.y C.S.A., Sherwin-Williams Aruba VBA, Sherwin-Williams Automotive Mexico S.de R.L.de C.V., Sherwin-Williams Balkan S.R.L., Sherwin-Williams Bel Unitary Enterprise, Sherwin-Williams Benelux NV, Sherwin-Williams Canada Inc., Sherwin-Williams Cayman Islands Limited, Sherwin-Williams Chile S.A., Sherwin-Williams Coatings India Private Limited, Sherwin-Williams Coatings S.a r.l., Sherwin-Williams Czech Republic spol. s r.o, Sherwin-Williams Denmark A/S, Sherwin-Williams Deutschland GmbH, Sherwin-Williams Diversified Brands Limited, Sherwin-Williams France Finishes SAS, Sherwin-Williams Italy S.r.l., Sherwin-Williams Norway AS, Sherwin-Williams Paints Limited Liability Company, Sherwin-Williams Peru S.R.L., Sherwin-Williams Pinturas de Venezuela S.A., Sherwin-Williams Poland Sp. z o.o, Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine Coatings, Sherwin-Williams Realty Holdings Inc., Sherwin-Williams Services (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Sherwin-Williams Spain Coatings S.L., Sherwin-Williams Sweden AB, Sherwin-Williams UK Coatings Limited, Sherwin-Williams do Brasil Industria e Comercio Ltda., Spanyc Paints Joint Stock Company, Syntema I Vaggeryd AB, Taiwan Valspar Co. Ltd., The Sherwin-Williams Acceptance Corporation, The Sherwin-Williams Headquarters Company, The Sherwin-Williams Manufacturing Company, The Sherwin-Williams US Licensing Company, The Valspar (Asia) Corporation Limited, The Valspar (Australia) Corporation Pty. Ltd., The Valspar (Finland) Corporation Oy, The Valspar (France) Corporation S.A.S., The Valspar (France) Research Corporation SAS, The Valspar (Malaysia) Corporation Sdn Bhd, The Valspar (Nantes) Corporation S.A.S., The Valspar (Singapore) Corporation Pte. Ltd, The Valspar (South Africa) Corporation (Pty) Ltd, The Valspar (Spain) Corporation S.R.L., The Valspar (Switzerland) Corporation AG, The Valspar (Thailand) Corporation Ltd., The Valspar (UK) Corporation Limited, The Valspar (Vietnam) Corporation Ltd., The Valspar Corporation, The Valspar Corporation Limitada, UAB Sherwin-Williams Baltic, Valspar (India) Coatings Corporation Private Limited, Valspar (Shanghai) Management Co. Ltd., Valspar (Uruguay) Corporation S.A., Valspar (WPC) Pty Ltd, Valspar Aries Coatings S. de R.L. de C.V., Valspar Automotive (UK) Corporation Limited, Valspar Automotive Australia Pty Limited, Valspar B.V., Valspar Coatings (Guangdong) Co. Ltd., Valspar Coatings (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Valspar Coatings (Tianjin) Co. Ltd, Valspar D.o.o Beograd, Valspar Industries (Ireland) Ltd., Valspar Industries (Italy) S.r.l., Valspar Industries GmbH, Valspar LLC, Valspar Mexicana S.A. de C.V., Valspar Paint (Australia) Pty Ltd, Valspar Paint (NZ) Limited, Valspar Powder Coatings Limited, Valspar Rock Company Limited (Japan), Valspar Specialty Paints LLC, and ZAO Sherwin-Williams.
Trauma-informed care, which focuses on sensitivity to students experiences, and state support for mental health have paid off big in Wisconsin, state and local officials told U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and other members of the Federal School Safety Commission at its second field hearing, which took place in Adams, Wis., on Tuesday.

The Badger States system of supports for mental health took center stage at the hearing, which included a class tour and roundtable discussion at Adams-Friendship Middle School.

The commission, chaired by DeVos, was set up in the wake of the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. The commission also includes Alex Azar, the secretary of Health and Human Services; Kirstjen M. Nielsen, the secretary of Homeland Security; and Jeff Sessions, the attorney general. Only DeVos and Azar were on hand for the field visit.

Mental health has been a big theme for the safety commission. Its first field visit was focused on Marylands use of Positive Behavioral Supports and Interventions, or PBIS. So far, the commission hasnt visited a school that arms its teachers, even though Trump has held that up as a potential solution to combatting school shootings. DeVos has said that the panel wont be looking at the issue of firearms, except in limited circumstances, to the chagrin of many educators.

During a roughly hour-long round table, there was virtually no discussion of school shooters, or shootings. Instead Wisconsin state and district representatives talked about the need to collaborate among agencies and work with parents to get students the mental health supports they need. There was also no direct request for more federal resources for mental health.

The state has a school mental health framework, which helps about 100 districts address mental health. The state works to train educators to offer a range of mental health servicesfrom early identification to deep, sustained help. It also helps local communities partner with youth-service agencies, behavioral health providers, and others.

The state also provides resources for schools to help students navigate difficult transition points, get over the stigma that seeking mental health services can carry, and more.

The idea is to get students to say to themselves, I may be wise because of the challenges Ive faced, rather than less than [others], said Sue McKenzie, the co-director of the Wisconsin Initiative for Stigma Elimination.

The program seems to be having an impact at the local level, said Crystal Holmes, the student support grant coordinator for Adams Friendship Area Schools. While a number of students told the district anonymously that they had considered suicide, there have been no suicides since the programProject AWAREcame into existence.

When it comes to mental illness, our kids are further along than adults right now, she said. They will reach out and ask for help.



One focus of Adams approach: Training all sorts of school staffeven cafeteria workerson mental health first aid to recognize potential trouble signs in individual students.

Mental health first aid is much like medical first aid, said Sam Wollin, the sherriff of Adams County. When someone has a cut we apply pressure to the wound until we can provide further medical attention. With youth mental health first aid, were applying pressure to the emotional wounds until we can connect the youth with appropriate resources that within the community.

Tonette Walker, the wife of Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, was also on hand for the meeting. Not present: Wisconsins state schools chief, Tony Evers, who is seeking to challenge Walker for the governorship this fall.

Evers, one of eight Democrats running for governor, this month unsuccessfully asked Attorney General Brad Schimel and the state legislatures budget-writing committee for more money to expand mental health services in schools.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Crime scene tape runs outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 18. Authorities opened the streets around the school, which had been closed since a mass shooting on Feb. 14.

- Gerald Herbert/AP

Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 .
Wall Street analysts have given Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

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Wall Street analysts have given Invesco National AMT-Free Municipal Bond ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but Invesco National AMT-Free Municipal Bond ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

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KB Financial Group, Inc. engages in providing financial services through its subsidiaries. It operates through the following segments: Corporate Banking, Retail Banking, Other Banking Services, Credit Card, Life Insurance, Investment and Securities business. The Corporate Banking business segment provides services such as loans, overdrafts, deposits, credit facilities and other foreign currency activities. The Retail Banking business segment offers services such as private customer current accounts, savings, deposits, consumer loans and mortgage loans. The Other Banking business segment provides services relating to banking business besides corporate banking and retail banking services. The Credit Card business segment offers services such as domestic as well as overseas credit and debit card operations. The Investment and Securities business segment provides services such as investment banking and brokerage. The Life Insurance business segment provides products such as life insurance and wealth management. The company was founded on September 29, 2008 and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea.

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AVX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, supplies, and resells various electronic components, interconnect devices, sensing and control devices, and related products worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Electronic Components; Interconnect, Sensing and Control Devices; and Kyocera Electronic Devices Resale. The Electronic Components segment primarily offers surface mount and leaded ceramic capacitors, RF thick and thin film components, surface mount and leaded tantalum capacitors, surface mount and leaded film capacitors, ceramic and film power capacitors, super capacitors, EMI filters, thick and thin film packages of various electronic integrated components, varistors, thermistors, inductors, and resistive products. The Interconnect, Sensing and Control Devices segment provides automotive sensing and control devices and automotive, telecom, and memory connectors. The company serves various industries, such as telecommunications, information technology hardware, automotive electronics, medical devices and instrumentation, industrial instrumentation, transportation, energy harvesting, defense and aerospace electronic systems, and consumer electronics industries. It markets its products through its direct sales force and independent manufacturers' representatives to multi-national original equipment manufacturers, independent electronic component distributors, and electronic manufacturing service providers. The company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Fountain Inn, South Carolina. AVX Corporation is a subsidiary of Kyocera Corporation.

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Baker Hughes, a GE company provides integrated oilfield products, services, and digital solutions worldwide. Its Oilfield Services segment offers drilling, wireline, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention services; and drilling and completions fluids, completions tools and systems, wellbore intervention tools and services, artificial lift systems, pressure pumping systems, and oilfield and industrial chemicals for integrated oil and natural gas, and oilfield service companies. The company's Oilfield Equipment segment designs and manufactures products and services, including pressure control equipment and services, subsea production systems and services, drilling equipment, and flexible pipeline systems; and onshore and offshore drilling and production systems, and equipment for floating production platforms, as well as provides a range of services related to onshore and offshore drilling activities. Its Turbomachinery & Process Solutions segment provides equipment and related services for mechanical-drive, compression, and power-generation applications across the oil and gas industry, as well as products and services to serve the downstream segments of industry. Its product portfolio includes drivers, compressors, and turnkey solutions; and pumps, valves, and compressed natural gas and small-scale liquefied natural gas solutions. This segment serves upstream, midstream, onshore and offshore, industrial, engineering, procurement, and construction companies. The company's Digital Solutions segment provides sensor-based measurement, non-destructive testing and inspection, turbine, generator and plant controls, and condition monitoring, as well as pipeline integrity solutions for a range of industries, including oil and gas, power generation, aerospace, metals, and transportation. It serves through direct and indirect channels. The company is based in Houston, Texas. Baker Hughes, a GE company is a subsidiary of General Electric Company.

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Bank of America Corp. is a bank and financial holding company, which engages in the provision of banking and nonbank financial services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Banking, Global Wealth and Investment Management, Global Banking, Global Markets, and All Other. The Consumer Banking segment offers credit, banking, and investment products and services to consumers and small businesses. The Global Wealth and Investment Management provides client experience through a network of financial advisors focused on to meet their needs through a full set of investment management, brokerage, banking, and retirement products. The Global Banking segment deals with lending-related products and services, integrated working capital management and treasury solutions to clients, and underwriting and advisory services. The Global Markets segment includes sales and trading services, as well as research, to institutional clients across fixed-income, credit, currency, commodity, and equity businesses. The All Other segment consists of asset and liability management activities, equity investments, non-core mortgage loans and servicing activities, the net impact of periodic revisions

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The Bank of New York Mellon pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and currently has a dividend yield of 2.28%. The Bank of New York Mellon does not yet have a strong track record of dividend growth. The dividend payout ratio of The Bank of New York Mellon is 33.92%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%. Based on earnings estimates, The Bank of New York Mellon will have a dividend payout ratio of 29.44% next year. This indicates that The Bank of New York Mellon will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

View The Bank of New York Mellon's dividend history.
The Bank of Nova Scotia provides various banking products and services in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia, the Caribbean and Central America, and internationally. It operates through Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Banking and Markets, and Global Wealth Management segments. The company offers financial advice and solutions, and day-to-day banking products, including debit and credit cards, chequing and saving accounts, investments, mortgages, loans, and insurance to individuals; and business banking solutions comprising lending, deposit, cash management, and trade finance solutions to small businesses and commercial customers, including automotive financing solutions to dealers and their customers. It also provides wealth management advice and solutions, including online brokerage, mobile investment, full-service brokerage, trust, private banking, and private investment counsel services; and retail mutual funds, exchange traded funds, liquid alternative funds, and institutional funds. In addition, the company offers international banking services for retail, corporate, and commercial customers; and lending and transaction, investment banking advisory, and capital markets access services to corporate customers. Further, it provides Internet, mobile, and telephone banking services. The company operates a network of 952 branches and approximately 3,540 automated banking machines in Canada; and approximately 1,400 branches, 5,200 ATMs, and 22 contact centers internationally. The Bank of Nova Scotia was founded in 1832 and is headquartered in Halifax, Canada.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Becton, Dickinson and: (Bard Istanbul Healthcare Limited Company), Accuri Cytometers, Accuri Cytometers Inc., Adaptec, Alverix, Alverix Inc., Atto Bioscience, BD Holding S. de R.L. de C.V., BD Infection Prevention BV, BD Kiestra BV, BD Kiestra Total Lab Automation, BD Rapid Diagnostic (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., BD San Luis Potosi S.A. de C.V., BD Switzerland Sarl, BD Ventures LLC, BD West Africa Limited, BDX INO LLC, Bard (Thailand) Limited, Bard ASDI Inc., Bard Access Systems Inc., Bard Acquisition Sub Inc., Bard Australia Pty. Limited, Bard Benelux N.V., Bard Brachytherapy Inc., Bard Brasil Industria e Comercio de Produtos Para a Saude Ltda., Bard Canada Inc., Bard Chile S.p.A., Bard Colombia S.A.S., Bard Czech Republic s.r.o., Bard Devices Inc., Bard Dublin ITC Limited, Bard EMEA Finance Center Sp.z o.o., Bard European Distribution Center N.V., Bard Finance B.V. & Co. KG., Bard Financial Services Ltd., Bard Finland OY, Bard France S.A.S., Bard Global Holdings I LLC, Bard Global Holdings II LLC, Bard Global Holdings III LLC, Bard Healthcare Inc., Bard Healthcare Science (Shanghai) Limited, Bard Hellas S.A., Bard Holding SAS, Bard Holdings Limited, Bard Holdings Netherlands B.V., Bard Hong Kong Limited, Bard IP Holdings Inc., Bard India Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., Bard International Holdings B.V., Bard International Inc., Bard Korea Ltd., Bard Limited, Bard MRL Acquisition Corp., Bard Malaysia Healthcare Sdn. Bhd., Bard Medica SA, Bard Medical Devices (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Bard Medical R&D (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Bard Medical SA (Proprietary) Limited, Bard Mexico Realty S. de R.L. de C.V., Bard Norden AB, Bard Norway AS, Bard Pacific Health Care Company Ltd., Bard Peripheral Vascular Inc., Bard Poland Sp. z.o.o., Bard Productos Plasticos e Medicos Ltda., Bard Reynosa S.A. de C.V., Bard S.r.l., Bard Sdn. Bhd., Bard Shannon Limited, Bard Singapore Private Limited, Bard Sourcing Office Singapore Pte. Ltd., Bard Sweden AB, Bard UK Newco Limited, Bard de Espana S.A., Becton Dickinson (Gibraltar) Holdings Ltd., Becton Dickinson (Gibraltar) Limited, Becton Dickinson (Gibraltar) Management Limited, Becton Dickinson (Mauritius) Limited, Becton Dickinson (Pty) Ltd., Becton Dickinson (Thailand) Limited, Becton Dickinson A.G., Becton Dickinson A/S, Becton Dickinson Argentina S.R.L., Becton Dickinson Asia Holdings Ltd., Becton Dickinson Asia Limited, Becton Dickinson Austria GmbH, Becton Dickinson Austria Holdings GmbH, Becton Dickinson B.V., Becton Dickinson B.V. Saudi Limited Company, Becton Dickinson Benelux N.V., Becton Dickinson Biosciences Systems and Reagents Inc., Becton Dickinson Canada Inc., Becton Dickinson Caribe Ltd., Becton Dickinson Croatia d.o.o., Becton Dickinson Czechia s.r.o., Becton Dickinson Dispensing Belgium BVBA, Becton Dickinson Dispensing Denmark A/S, Becton Dickinson Dispensing France SAS, Becton Dickinson Dispensing Ireland Limited, Becton Dickinson Dispensing Norway, Becton Dickinson Dispensing Spain S.L.U., Becton Dickinson Dispensing UK Ltd., Becton Dickinson Distribution Center N.V., Becton Dickinson East Africa Ltd., Becton Dickinson Euro Finance Sarl, Becton Dickinson Europe Holdings S.A.S., Becton Dickinson France S.A.S., Becton Dickinson GSA Beteilgungs GmbH, Becton Dickinson Global Holdings I Inc., Becton Dickinson Global Holdings II LLC, Becton Dickinson Global Holdings IV LLC, Becton Dickinson Global Holdings V LLC, Becton Dickinson Global Holdings VI LLC, Becton Dickinson Global Holdings VII LLC, Becton Dickinson Global Services Centre Sdn. Bdn., Becton Dickinson GmbH, Becton Dickinson Guatemala S.A., Becton Dickinson Hellas S.A., Becton Dickinson Holdings Limited, Becton Dickinson Holdings Pte Ltd., Becton Dickinson Hungary Kft., Becton Dickinson India Private Limited, Becton Dickinson Industrias Cirurgicas Ltda., Becton Dickinson Infusion Therapy AB, Becton Dickinson Infusion Therapy Holdings UK Limited, Becton Dickinson Infusion Therapy Systems Inc., Becton Dickinson Infusion Therapy Systems Inc. S.A. de C.V., Becton Dickinson Infusion Therapy UK, Becton Dickinson Insulin Syringe Ltd., Becton Dickinson International Holdings II Pte Ltd., Becton Dickinson International Holdings III Pte Ltd., Becton Dickinson International Holdings Pte Ltd., Becton Dickinson Israel Ltd., Becton Dickinson Italia S.p.A., Becton Dickinson Ithalat Ihracat Limited Sirketi, Becton Dickinson Korea Holding Inc., Becton Dickinson Korea Ltd., Becton Dickinson Ltd., Becton Dickinson Luxembourg Finance S.a.r.L., Becton Dickinson Luxembourg Global Holdings Sarl, Becton Dickinson Luxembourg Holdings II S.a.r.L, Becton Dickinson Luxembourg Holdings III S.a.r.L, Becton Dickinson Malaysia Inc., Becton Dickinson Management GmbH & Co. KG, Becton Dickinson Matrex Holdings Inc., Becton Dickinson Medical (S) Pte Ltd., Becton Dickinson Medical Devices (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Becton Dickinson Medical Devices (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Becton Dickinson Medical Products Pte. Ltd., Becton Dickinson Medical Technology (Jiangsu) Co. Ltd., Becton Dickinson Netherlands Global Holdings II C.V., Becton Dickinson Netherlands Holdings B.V., Becton Dickinson Netherlands Holdings II B.V., Becton Dickinson Norway AS, Becton Dickinson O.Y., Becton Dickinson Overseas Services Ltd., Becton Dickinson Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd., Becton Dickinson Penel Limited, Becton Dickinson Philippines Inc., Becton Dickinson Polska Sp.z.o.o., Becton Dickinson Portugal Unipessoal Lda., Becton Dickinson Pty. Ltd., Becton Dickinson Research Centre Ireland Limited, Becton Dickinson Rowa Germany GmbH, Becton Dickinson Rowa Italy Srl, Becton Dickinson S.A., Becton Dickinson Sample Collection GmbH, Becton Dickinson Scot Financing L.L.P., Becton Dickinson Scot Financing L.P., Becton Dickinson Sdn. Bhd., Becton Dickinson Slovakia s.r.o., Becton Dickinson Sweden AB, Becton Dickinson Sweden Holdings AB, Becton Dickinson Switzerland Global Holdings SarL, Becton Dickinson Technology Campus India, Becton Dickinson U.K. Limited, Becton Dickinson UK Financing I Ltd., Becton Dickinson UK Financing II Ltd., Becton Dickinson Venezuela C.A., Becton Dickinson Venture LLC, Becton Dickinson Verwaltungs GmbH, Becton Dickinson Vostok LLC, Becton Dickinson Worldwide Investments Sa.r.L., Becton Dickinson Zambia Limited, Becton Dickinson and Company Ltd., Becton Dickinson de Colombia Ltda., Becton Dickinson de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Becton Dickinson del Uruguay S.A., Benex Ltd., Biometric Imaging, Bridger Biomed Inc., C. R. Bard, C. R. Bard (Portugal)-Produtos e Artigos Medicos e Farmaceuticos, C. R. Bard Do Brazil Productos Medicos Ltds., C. R. Bard GmbH, C. R. Bard Inc., C. R. Bard Netherlands Sales B.V., CME America LLC, CME Ltd., CME Medical (UK) Limited, CME UK (Holdings) Limited, CRISI Medical Systems, CRISI Medical Systems Inc., Caesarea Medical Electronics, Cardal II LLC, Care Fusion Development Private Limited, CareFusion, CareFusion (Barbados) SrL, CareFusion (Shanghai) Commercial and Trading Co. Limited, CareFusion 213 LLC, CareFusion 2200 Inc., CareFusion 2201 Inc., CareFusion 302 LLC, CareFusion 303 Inc., CareFusion Asia (HK) Limited, CareFusion BH 335 d.o.o. Cazin, CareFusion Corporation, CareFusion D.R. 203 Ltd., CareFusion France 309 S.A.S., CareFusion Germany 318 GmbH, CareFusion Iberia 308 S.L., CareFusion Israel 330 Ltd., CareFusion Italy 312 S.p.A., CareFusion Manufacturing LLC, CareFusion Mexico 215 S.A. de C.V., CareFusion Netherlands 328 B.V., CareFusion Netherlands 503 B.V., CareFusion Netherlands 504 B.V., CareFusion Netherlands Financing 283 C.V., CareFusion Resources LLC, CareFusion S.A. 319 (Proprietary) Limited, CareFusion Solutions LLC, CareFusion U.K. 244 Limited, CareFusion U.K. 305 Limited, CareFusion U.K. 306 Limited, Carmel Pharma AB, Carmel Pharma Inc, Cato Software Solutions, Cell Analysis Systems Inc, Cellular Research, Cellular Research Inc., Clearstream Technologies Group Limited, Clearstream Technologies Limited, Clontech Laboratories Inc, Corporativo BD de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Cubex, Cytopeia, DLD (Bermuda) Ltd., DVL Acquisition Sub Inc., Davol Inc., Davol International Limited, Davol Surgical Innovations S.A. de C.V., Difco Laboratories Incorporated, Distribuidora BD Mexico S.A. de C.V., Dutch American Manufacturers (D.A.M.) B.V., Dymax Corporation, Embo Medical Limited, Enturia de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Enturican Inc., FJ International Inc., FlowCardia Inc., FlowCardia LLC, FlowJo LLC, Franklin Lakes Enterprises L.L.C., GSL Solutions, Gamer Lasertechnik GmbH, GenCell Biosystems, GenCell Biosystems Ltd., GeneOhm Sciences, GeneOhm Sciences Canada Inc., Gentest Corporation, Gesco International Inc., Gesco International LLC, HandyLab Inc, HandyLab Inc., IBD Holdings LLC, Ionotophoretics Corporation, JoHome LLC, Kabushiki Kaisha Medicon (Medicon Inc.), Liberator Health and Education Services Inc., Liberator Health and Wellness Inc., Liberator Medical Holdings Inc., Liberator Medical Supply Inc., LifeBond, Limited Liability Company Bard Rus, Loma Vista Medical Inc., Loma Vista Medical LLC, Lutonix Inc., Med-Design Corporation, Med-Design Investment Holdings Inc., Med-Safe Systems Inc., MedChem Products Inc., Medafor Inc., Medegen LLC, Medinservice.com Inc., Medivance Inc., NAT Diagnostics, NAT Diagnostics Inc., NOW Medical Distribution Inc., NOW Medical Distribution LLC, Navarre Biomedical LLC, Navarre Biomedical Ltd., Neomend Inc., Nippon Becton Dickinson Company Ltd., Omega Biosystems Incorporated, P.R.C.(Isialys)Societe a responsabilitie limitee(Societe a associe unique), PT Becton Dickinson Indonesia, PharMingen, PreAnalytiX GmbH, Pristine Access Technologies Inc., ProSeed Inc., Procesos para Esterilizacion S.A. de C.V., Productos Bard de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Productos Para el Cuidado de la Salud S.A. de C.V., Puls Medical Devices AS LC, PureWick Corporation, Roberts Laboratories Inc., Rochester Medical Corporation, Rochester Medical Ltd., Saf-T-Med, Safety Syringes, Safety Syringes Inc., Sendal S.L.U., SenoRx Inc., SenoRx LLC, Shield Healthcare Centers Inc., Sirigen, Sirigen II Limited, Sirigen Inc., Sistemas Medicos ALARIS S.A. de C.V., Specialized Cooperative Corporation, Specialized Health Products Inc., Specialized Health Products International Inc., Specialized Health Products International LLC, Staged Diabetes Management LLC, Straub Medical, Straub Medical, Straub Medical (US) LLC, Straub Medical (United Kingdom) Ltd., Straub Medical France, Surgical Site Solutions Inc., TVA Medical, TVA Medical GmbH, TVA Medical Inc., Tepha, Touchstone Medical Limited, Tri-County Medical & Ostomy Supplies Inc., TriPath Imaging, TriPath Imaging Inc., Vas-Cath Incorporated, Vascular Pathways Inc., Velano Vascular, Venetec International Inc., Venetec International LLC, Y-Med Inc., and Y-Med LLC.
Domtar Corporation designs, manufactures, markets, and distributes communication papers, specialty and packaging papers, and absorbent hygiene products in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Pulp and Paper, and Personal Care. The company provides business papers, including copy and electronic imaging papers used in inkjet and laser printers, photocopiers, and plain-paper fax machines, as well as computer papers, preprinted forms, and digital papers for office and home use. It also offers commercial printing and publishing papers, such as offset papers and opaques used in sheet and roll fed offset presses; publishing papers, which include tradebook and lightweight uncoated papers for publishing textbooks, dictionaries, catalogs, magazines, hard cover novels, and financial documents; and converting papers for envelopes, tablets, business forms, and data processing/computer forms. In addition, the company provides papers for thermal printing, flexible packaging, food packaging, medical packaging, medical gowns and drapes, sandpaper backing, carbonless printing, labels and other coating, and laminating applications; and papers for industrial and specialty applications, such as carrier papers, treated papers, security papers, and specialized printing and converting applications. Further, it offers absorbent hygiene products, including absorbent briefs, protective underwear, underpads, pads, washcloths, and body patches under the Attends, Indasec, IndasSlip, and Reassure brands; and baby diapers, training and youth pants, and bed mats under the Comfees, Chelino, Nene, and Bambino brand names. The company serves merchants, retail outlets, stationers, printers, publishers, converters, and end-users. Domtar Corporation was founded in 1848 and is based in Fort Mill, South Carolina.

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Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho has dismissed Deputy President William Rutos perceived onslaught on his Coast region backyard.

Speaking during the opening of a High Dependency Unit at the maternity wing of the Coast General Hospital Monday, Joho said Rutos 2022 presidential ambition is doomed to fail.

The county boss further disclosed that although he cannot force some Coast leaders from decamping, he will work tirelessly with DP Rutos rivals as a strategy to scuttle his plans.

The thing is when one person leaves a team, many more are willing to join. If someone takes over your ally, go and start working with his enemy. It is a fair game, said the ODM Deputy Party Leader.

This comes in the wake of concerns that Joho was losing the regions hold following Rutos charm offensive to woo the regions leaders and the electorate to back his presidential bid.

Some ODM-allied MPs, notably Malindis Aisha Jumwa, have since stopped backing Johos 2022 ambitions in favor of Ruto.

Joho also took a swipe at those dragging Raila Odingas name into the ongoing Mau evictions.

They are clutching on straws for survival, said Joho, adding that the politicians have found a soft target in Raila and are capitalising on it for political survival.

He castigated leaders who think that since they are rich, they can trample upon anyone as long as their ideals are followed.

Mtu anaona opportunity ya TV na gazeti na kuanza kuchezea wakenya. This is the cadre ya uongozi ambayo tuko nayo mtu ambaye anajiona yeye ni mdosi sana na he believes akisema kitu, wakenya watafuata tu, ama akisema, ni ukweli. Siku hizi wakenya wako informed; watu wanaelewa.

He added: Unfortunately some of them wanatafuta soft target. Anaweza kuangalia kama ni Joho, wacha tumlime ndio tu aokoke.. hamuokoki, kama ni wa kufa, ni wa kufa tu. How do you drag Raila Odinga into the Mau politics?
The following companies are subsidiares of Sealed Air: AFP (Shanghai) Limited, AFP Inc. (Branch), AFPTOH LTD, Aconcagua Distribuciones SRL, Air Ride Pallets Hong Kong Limited, Austin Foam Plastics Inc., Auto-C LLC, Automated Packaging Systems, B+ Equipment, B+ Equipment SAS, Beacon Holdings LLC, Biosphere Industries, BluPack (New Zealand), Blue Dot Packaging Pty Ltd., CPI Packaging Inc., CPI Packaging Systems Inc., Cactus (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., Cactus Shanghai Trading Co. Ltd., Ciras C.V., Ciras C.V. - Luxembourg Branch, Ciras C.V.  Luxembourg Branch, Cleanwise Inc., Cryovac (Malaysia) SDN. BHD, Cryovac (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Cryovac Brasil Ltda., Cryovac Chile Holdings LLC, Cryovac Holdings II LLC, Cryovac Inc., Cryovac International Holdings Inc., Cryovac LLC, Cryovac Leasing Corporation, Cryovac Londrina Ltda., Cryovac Packaging Portugal - Embalagens Ltda., Cryovac Packaging Portugal Embalagens Ltda, Cryovac Sweden AB, Cryovac-Sealed Air de Costa Rica S.R.L., DELTAPLAM Embalagens Industria e Comercio, Deltaplam Embalagens Industria e Comercio Ltda, Diversey, Diversey Australia Pty. Ltd., Diversey Austria Trading GmbH, Diversey B.V., Diversey Belgium BVBA, Diversey Brasil Industria Quimica Ltda., Diversey Canada Inc., Diversey Centroamerica S.A., Diversey Danmark ApS, Diversey Hungary Acting Off-shore Capital Management Limited Liability Company, Diversey J Trustee Limited, Diversey Trustee Limited, Diversey Ceska republika s.r.o. clen koncernu Diversey, Entapack Pty. Ltd., Fagerdala (Chengdu) Packaging Co. Ltd., Fagerdala (Chengdu) Packing Co. Ltd. (Chongqing Branch), Fagerdala (Chongqing) Packaging Co. Ltd. (Branch), Fagerdala (Huiyang) Packaging Co. Ltd, Fagerdala (Huiyang) Packaging Co. Ltd. (Branch), Fagerdala (Shanghai) Foams Co. Ltd., Fagerdala (Shanghai) Polymer Co. Ltd., Fagerdala (Shenzhen) Packaging Co. Ltd., Fagerdala (Suzhou) Packaging Co. Ltd., Fagerdala (Suzhou) Packing Co. Ltd. (Hefei Branch), Fagerdala (Thailand) Limited, Fagerdala (Xiamen) Packaging Co. Ltd., Fagerdala Leamchabung Limited, Fagerdala Leamchabung Ltd., Fagerdala Malaysia Sdn Bhd., Fagerdala Mexico S.A. de C.V., Fagerdala Mexico S.A. de C.V. (Chihuahua Branch), Fagerdala Mexico Supply Chain S.A. de C.V., Fagerdala Packaging Inc. (Indiana), Fagerdala Shanghai Foams Co. Ltd., Fagerdala Singapore Pte Ltd, Fagerdala Singapore Pte Ltd (Branch), Fagerdala Singapore Pte. Limited, Fagerdala Singapore Pte. Limited (Taiwan Branch), Fagerdala Singapore Pte. Ltd., Fagerdala Suzhou Packaging Co. Ltd., Fagerdala Suzhou Packaging Co. Ltd. (Hefei Branch), Fagerdala Thailand Ltd., GEIE VES, Getpacking.com GmbH, Indonesian Rep Office of Sealed Air Hong Kong Limited, Invertol S. de R.L. de C.V., JCS Sealed Air Kaustik, JSC Sealed Air Kaustik, Kevothermal LLC, Kevothermal LLC, Kevothermal Limited, Nelipak Holdings, Pack-Tiger GmbH, Packaging C.V., ProAseptic Technologies S.L., Producembal - Producao de Embalagens Ltda., Proxy Biomedical Ltd., Reflectix Inc., SLD Air Packaging Paketleme Malzemeleri Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Saddle Brook Insurance Company, Sealed Air (Asia) Holdings B.V., Sealed Air (Barbados) S.R.L., Sealed Air (Canada) Co./CIE, Sealed Air (Canada) Holdings B.V., Sealed Air (China) Co. Ltd., Sealed Air (China) Co. Ltd., Sealed Air (China) Limited, Sealed Air (China) Ltd., Sealed Air (India) Limited, Sealed Air (Israel) Ltd., Sealed Air (Korea) Limited, Sealed Air (Latin America) Holdings II LLC, Sealed Air (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Sealed Air (New Zealand), Sealed Air (Philippines) Inc., Sealed Air (Singapore) Pte. Limited, Sealed Air (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Sealed Air (Thailand) Limited, Sealed Air (Ukraine) Limited, Sealed Air Africa (Proprietary) Limited, Sealed Air Africa (Pty.) Limited, Sealed Air Americas Manufacturing S. de R. L. de C. V., Sealed Air Argentina S.A., Sealed Air Australia (Holdings) Pty. Limited, Sealed Air Australia Pty Ltd., Sealed Air Australia Pty. Limited, Sealed Air B.V., Sealed Air Belgium N.V., Sealed Air Central America S.A., Sealed Air Chile S.P.A., Sealed Air Colombia Ltda., Sealed Air Corporation (US), Sealed Air Denmark A/S, Sealed Air Embalagens Ltda., Sealed Air Europe Holdings C.V., Sealed Air Europe Holdings LP, Sealed Air Finance B.V., Sealed Air Finance II LLC, Sealed Air Finance II LLC (Sucursal Mexico), Sealed Air Finance Ireland Unlimited Company, Sealed Air Finance Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Sealed Air Finance Luxembourg S.a.r.l. Luxembourg (L) Root Finance Branch, Sealed Air Finance Luxembourg S.a.r.l. US Finance Branch, Sealed Air Funding Corporation, Sealed Air Funding LLC, Sealed Air General Trading LLC, Sealed Air Global Holdings C.V., Sealed Air Global Holdings I C.V., Sealed Air Global Holdings I LLC, Sealed Air GmbH, Sealed Air Hellas S.A., Sealed Air Holding France S.A.S., Sealed Air Holding France SAS, Sealed Air HoldingS I LLC, Sealed Air Holdings (New Zealand) Pty. Ltd., Sealed Air Holdings I C.V., Sealed Air Holdings LLC, Sealed Air Holdings South Africa Proprietary Limited, Sealed Air Hong Kong (Jakarta Indonesia Branch), Sealed Air Hong Kong Limited, Sealed Air Hungary Ltd., Sealed Air International Holdings LLC, Sealed Air International Holdings LLC , Sealed Air Investment and Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Sealed Air Investment and Management Co. Ltd., Sealed Air Japan G.K., Sealed Air Korea Limited, Sealed Air LLC, Sealed Air Limited, Sealed Air Luxembourg (I) S.a.r.l., Sealed Air Luxembourg (II) S.a.r.l., Sealed Air Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Sealed Air Management Holding Verwaltungs GmbH, Sealed Air Multiflex GmbH, Sealed Air Netherlands (Holdings) I B.V., Sealed Air Netherlands (Holdings) II B.V., Sealed Air Netherlands (Holdings) II B.V. - Deutsche Zweigniederlassung, Sealed Air Netherlands (Holdings) II B.V. - Deutsche Zweigniederlassung, Sealed Air Netherlands (Holdings) III B.V., Sealed Air Netherlands (Holdings) III B.V., Sealed Air Netherlands Holdings V B.V., Sealed Air Nevada Holdings Limited, Sealed Air Norge AS, Sealed Air OY, Sealed Air Packaging (India) Private Limited, Sealed Air Packaging (Shanghai) Co. Limited, Sealed Air Packaging (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Sealed Air Packaging LLC, Sealed Air Packaging Materials (India) LLP, Sealed Air Packaging Materials (India) LLP, Sealed Air Packaging S.L.U., Sealed Air Paketleme Malzemeleri Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Sealed Air Peru S.A.C., Sealed Air Polska Sp. Zoo, Sealed Air Pty Limited, Sealed Air S.A S., Sealed Air S.A.S., Sealed Air S.r.l., Sealed Air South Africa (Pty.) Ltd., Sealed Air Svenska AB, Sealed Air Taiwan Limited, Sealed Air US Holdings (Thailand) LLC, Sealed Air Uruguay S.A., Sealed Air Venezuela Corporation, Sealed Air Verpackungen GmbH, Sealed Air de Mexico Operations S. de R.L. de C.V., Sealed Air de Venezuela S.A., Sealed Air s.r.o., Shanklin Corp, Shanklin Corporation, Soinpar Industrial Ltda., TART s.r.o., TART s.r.o. Joint Venture, TTS-Ciptec, TXAFP Asia Pacific Ltd., TXAFP GP LLC, TempTrip LLC, Trigon Industries, and Vietnamese Rep Office of Sealed Air Hong Kong Limited.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, a diversified financial institution, provides various financial products and services to personal, business, public sector, and institutional clients in Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through four strategic business units: Canadian Personal and Business Banking; Canadian Commercial Banking and Wealth Management; U.S. Commercial Banking and Wealth Management; and Capital Markets. The company offers chequing, savings, and business accounts; mortgages; loans, lines of credit, student lines of credit, and business and agriculture loans; investment and insurance services; and credit cards, as well as overdraft protection services. It also provides day-to-day banking, borrowing and credit, investing and wealth, specialty, and international services; correspondent banking and online foreign exchange services; and cash management services. The company serves its customers through its banking centers, as well as direct, mobile, and remote channels. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce was founded in 1867 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

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16 Wall Street analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Deutsche Wohnen in the last twelve months. There are currently 9 hold ratings and 7 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street analysts is that investors should "hold" Deutsche Wohnen stock. A hold rating indicates that analysts believe investors should maintain any existing positions they have in DWNI, but not buy additional shares or sell existing shares.

View analyst ratings for Deutsche Wohnen or view top-rated stocks.
Following the capital punishment meted out to Ruth Kamande for the cold-blooded homicide of her boyfriend in 2015, High Court Judge Jessie Lesiit has come under fire from some sections for the retrogressive ruling.

The Judge held that Kamande acted in malice and showed no remorse for the murder in the course of the trial, thereby deserving of a death sentence.

Human rights activists have since protested the sentencing and have been joined by vocal lawmaker Millie Odhiambo in calling for an end to the death penalty.

According to the Suba North MP, life in prison is enough punishment for Ruth Kamane.

When we were discussing it at Bomas, I was one amongst very few who were calling for the abolition of the death penalty.

I am the Chairperson of the Parliamentarians for Global Action in Kenya and we believe in the rule of law and human rights. And one of the things were working on this term is the abolition of the death penalty and were going to bring amendments to remove the death penalty in our books.

Speaking during a TV interview, Millie added: This girl is so beautiful shes so young she has lost her entire life; that is enough punishment.

The outspoken legislator further advised young people to walk away from toxic relationships.

I would want to encourage young people; if youre in a bad relationship if someone is cheating on you, hes not the only man on earth, walk away, other men will come; shes still too young and beautiful, she would have found many more men, remarked Millie.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International-Kenya last week issued a statement of Ruth Kamandes death sentence terming it as cruel and inhumane.

We are concerned that Kenya continues to use this cruel, inhumane and outdated mode of punishment. This sentence is a blow to Kenyas progressive record in commuting death sentences to terms of imprisonment, AIK Executive Director Irungu Houghton said.

Despite the lack of executions, death sentences are still passed in Kenya. No executions have been carried out in Kenya since 1987 when Hezekiah Ochuka and Pancras Oteyo Okumu were hanged for treason.
Exelon Corp. operates as a utility services holding company, which engages in the energy generation, power marketing, and energy delivery business. It operates through the following segments: Mid Atlantic, Midwest, New York, Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and other Power Regions. The Mid-Atlantic segment represents operations in the eastern half of PJM, which includes New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, the District of Columbia and parts of Pennsylvania and North Carolina. The Midwest segment operates in the western half of PJM, which includes portions of Illinois, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee, and the United States footprint of MISO, excluding MISO's Southern Region, which covers all or most of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, the remaining parts of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio not covered by PJM, and parts of Montana, Missouri and Kentucky. The New York (NY) segment provides operations within ISONY, which covers the state of New York in its entirety. The ERCOT segment includes operations within Electric Reliability Council of Texas, covering most of the state of Texas.

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Medtronic Plc is a medical technology company, which engages in the development, manufacture, distribution, and sale of device-based medical therapies and services. It operates through the following segments: Cardiac and Vascular Group; Minimally Invasive Technologies Group; Restorative Therapies Group; and Diabetes Group. The Cardiac and Vascular Group segment consists of products for the diagnosis, treatment, and management of cardiac rhythm disorders and cardiovascular disease. The Minimally Invasive Technologies Group segment focuses on respiratory system, gastrointestinal tract, renal system, lungs, pelvic region, kidneys, and obesity diseases. The Restorative Therapies Group segment comprises of neurostimulation therapies and drug delivery systems for the treatment of chronic pain, as well as areas of the spine and brain, along with pelvic health and conditions of the ear, nose, and throat. The Diabetes Group segment offers insulin pumps, coninuous glucose monitoring systems, and insulin pump consumables. The company was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

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The following companies are subsidiares of The Procter & Gamble: "Procter & Gamble Services" LLC, "Procter & Gamble" LLC, Agile Pursuits, Agile Pursuits Franchising, Arbora, Arbora & Ausonia, Arborinvest, Billie, Braun (Shanghai) Co., Braun GmbH, Braun-Gillette Immobilien GmbH & Co. KG, Celtic Insurance Company, Compania Procter & Gamble Mexico, Compania Quimica S.A., Corporativo Procter & Gamble, Cosmetic Products Pty. Ltd., Detergent Products B.V., Detergent Products SARL, Detergenti S.A., Eurocos Cosmetic GmbH, FPG Oleochemicals Sdn. Bhd., Fameccanica Data S.p.A., Fameccanica Industria e Comercio Do Brasil LTDA., Fameccanica Machinery (Shanghai) Co., Fater S.p.A., Fountain Square Music Publishing Co., Gillette (China) Ltd., Gillette (Shanghai) Ltd., Gillette Aesop Ltd., Gillette Australia Pty. Ltd., Gillette Canada Holdings, Gillette Commercial Operations North America, Gillette Diversified Operations Pvt. Ltd., Gillette Egypt S.A.E., Gillette Group UK Ltd, Gillette Gruppe Deutschland GmbH & Co. oHG, Gillette Holding Company LLC, Gillette Holding GmbH, Gillette India Limited, Gillette Industries Ltd., Gillette International B.V., Gillette Latin America Holding B.V., Gillette Management LLC, Gillette Nova Scotia Company, Gillette Pakistan Limited, Gillette Poland International Sp. z.o.o., Gillette Poland S.A., Gillette U.K. Limited, Gillette del Uruguay, Giorgio Beverly Hills Inc., Hyginett KFT, Industries Marocaines Modernes SA, LLC "Procter & Gamble Novomoskovsk", LLL "Procter & Gamble Distributorskaya Compania", Laboratorios Vicks, Liberty Street Music Publishing Company, Limited Liability Company 'Procter & Gamble Trading Ukraine', Limited Liability Company with foreign investments Procter & and Gamble Ukraine, MDVIP, MERCK KGAA NPV, Marcvenca Inversiones, Modern Industries Company - Dammam, Modern Products Company - Jeddah, New Chapter, New Chapter Canada Inc., Olay LLC, Oral-B Laboratories, P&G Distribution Morocco SAS, P&G Hair Care Holding, P&G Industrial Peru S.R.L., P&G Innovation Godo Kaisha, P&G Israel M.D.O. Ltd., P&G K.K., P&G Northeast Asia Pte. Ltd., P&G Prestige Godo Kaisha, P&G Prestige Service GmbH, P&G South African Trading (Pty.) Ltd., PGT Health Care (Zhejiang) Limited, PGT Healthcare LLP, PPI ZAO, PT Procter & Gamble Home Products Indonesia, PT Procter & Gamble Operations Indonesia, Phase II Holdings Corporation, Procter & Gamble (Chengdu) Ltd., Procter & Gamble (China) Ltd., Procter & Gamble (China) Sales Co. Ltd., Procter & Gamble (East Africa) Limited, Procter & Gamble (Egypt) Manufacturing Company, Procter & Gamble (Enterprise Fund) Limited, Procter & Gamble (Guangzhou) Consumer Products Co. Ltd., Procter & Gamble (Guangzhou) Enterprise Management Service Company Limited, Procter & Gamble (Guangzhou) Ltd., Procter & Gamble (Health & Beauty Care) Limited, Procter & Gamble (Jiangsu) Ltd. China, Procter & Gamble (L&CP) Limited, Procter & Gamble (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Procter & Gamble (Manufacturing) Ireland Limited, Procter & Gamble (Shanghai) International Trade Company Ltd., Procter & Gamble (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Procter & Gamble Acquisition GmbH, Procter & Gamble Administration GmbH, Procter & Gamble Algeria EURL, Procter & Gamble Amazon Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Amiens S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Argentina SRL, Procter & Gamble Asia Pte. Ltd., Procter & Gamble Australia Proprietary Limited, Procter & Gamble Azerbaijan Services LLC, Procter & Gamble Bangladesh Private Ltd., Procter & Gamble Blois S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Brazil Holdings B.V., Procter & Gamble Bulgaria EOOD, Procter & Gamble Business Services Canada Company, Procter & Gamble Canada Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Chile , Procter & Gamble Chile Limitada, Procter & Gamble Colombia Ltda., Procter & Gamble Commercial LLC, Procter & Gamble Commercial de Cuba S.A., Procter & Gamble Czech Republic s.r.o., Procter & Gamble DS Polska Sp. z o.o., Procter & Gamble Danmark ApS, Procter & Gamble Detergent (Beijing) Ltd., Procter & Gamble Deuttschland GmbH, Procter & Gamble Distributing (Philippines) Inc., Procter & Gamble Distributing New Zealand Limited, Procter & Gamble Distribution Company (Europe) BVBA, Procter & Gamble Distribution S.R.L., Procter & Gamble Eastern Europe, Procter & Gamble Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Procter & Gamble Egypt, Procter & Gamble Egypt Distribution, Procter & Gamble Egypt Holding, Procter & Gamble Egypt Supplies, Procter & Gamble Energy Company LLC, Procter & Gamble Espana, Procter & Gamble Europe SA, Procter & Gamble Export Operations SARL, Procter & Gamble Exportadora e Importadora Ltda., Procter & Gamble Exports, Procter & Gamble Fabricacao e Comercio Ltda., Procter & Gamble Far East, Procter & Gamble Finance (U.K.) Ltd., Procter & Gamble Finance Holding Ltd., Procter & Gamble Finance Management S.a.r.l., Procter & Gamble Financial Investments LLP, Procter & Gamble Financial Services Ltd., Procter & Gamble Financial Services S.a.r.l., Procter & Gamble Finland OY, Procter & Gamble France S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Germany GmbH, Procter & Gamble Germany GmbH & Co. Operations oHG, Procter & Gamble GmbH, Procter & Gamble Grundstucks-und Vermogensverwaltungs GmbH & Co. KG, Procter & Gamble Gulf FZE, Procter & Gamble Hair Care, Procter & Gamble Hellas Ltd., Procter & Gamble Holding (Thailand) Limited, Procter & Gamble Holding France S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Holding GmbH, Procter & Gamble Holding S.r.l., Procter & Gamble Holdings (UK) Ltd., Procter & Gamble Home Products Private Limited, Procter & Gamble Hong Kong Limited, Procter & Gamble Hungary Wholesale Trading Partnership (KKT), Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care Limited, Procter & Gamble Inc., Procter & Gamble India Holdings, Procter & Gamble Indochina Limited Company, Procter & Gamble Industrial - 2012 C.A., Procter & Gamble Industrial Colombia Ltda., Procter & Gamble Industrial S.C.A., Procter & Gamble Industrial e Comercial Ltda., Procter & Gamble Interamericas de Costa Rica, Procter & Gamble Interamericas de Guatemala, Procter & Gamble Interamericas de Panama, Procter & Gamble International Operations Pte. Ltd., Procter & Gamble International Operations SA, Procter & Gamble International Operations SA-ROHQ, Procter & Gamble International S.a.r.l., Procter & Gamble Investment Company (UK) Ltd., Procter & Gamble Investment GmbH, Procter & Gamble Italia, Procter & Gamble Japan K.K., Procter & Gamble Kazakhstan Distribution LLP, Procter & Gamble Kazakhstan LLP, Procter & Gamble Korea, Procter & Gamble Korea S&D Co., Procter & Gamble Lanka Private Ltd. Sri Lanka, Procter & Gamble Leasing LLC, Procter & Gamble Levant S.A.L., Procter & Gamble Limited, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing (Thailand) Limited, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Belgium N.V., Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Berlin GmbH, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing GmbH, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Procter & Gamble Manufacturing SA (Pty) Ltd, Procter & Gamble Marketing Romania SRL, Procter & Gamble Marketing and Services doo, Procter & Gamble Maroc SA, Procter & Gamble Mataro, Procter & Gamble Mexico Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Mexico Inc., Procter & Gamble Middle East FZE, Procter & Gamble Nederland B.V., Procter & Gamble Netherlands Investments B.V., Procter & Gamble Netherlands Services B.V., Procter & Gamble Nigeria Limited, Procter & Gamble Nordic, Procter & Gamble Norge AS, Procter & Gamble Operations Polska Sp. z o.o., Procter & Gamble Overseas India B.V., Procter & Gamble Overseas Ltd., Procter & Gamble Pakistan (Private) Limited, Procter & Gamble Partnership LLP, Procter & Gamble Peru S.R.L., Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals France SAS, Procter & Gamble Philippines, Procter & Gamble Polska Sp. z o.o, Procter & Gamble Portugal - Produtos De Consumo, Procter & Gamble Product Supply (U.K.) Limited U.K., Procter & Gamble Production GmbH, Procter & Gamble Productions, Procter & Gamble Productos de Consumo, Procter & Gamble RHD, Procter & Gamble RSC Regional Service Company Ltd., Procter & Gamble Retail Services BVBA, Procter & Gamble S.r.l., Procter & Gamble SA (Pty) Ltd, Procter & Gamble Satis ve Dagitim Ltd. Sti., Procter & Gamble Seine S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Service GmbH, Procter & Gamble Services (Switzerland) SA, Procter & Gamble Services Company N.V., Procter & Gamble Services Ltd., Procter & Gamble Share Incentive Plan Trustee Ltd., Procter & Gamble South America Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Spol. s.r.o. (Ltd.), Procter & Gamble Sports and Social Club Ltd., Procter & Gamble Sverige AB, Procter & Gamble Switzerland SARL, Procter & Gamble Taiwan Limited, Procter & Gamble Taiwan Sales Company Limited, Procter & Gamble Technical Centres Limited, Procter & Gamble Technology (Beijing) Co., Procter & Gamble Trading (Thailand) Limited, Procter & Gamble Tuketim Mallari Sanayii A.S., Procter & Gamble UK, Procter & Gamble UK Group Holdings Ltd, Procter & Gamble UK Parent Company Ltd., Procter & Gamble Universal Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Verwaltungs GmbH, Procter & Gamble Vietnam, Procter & Gamble d.o.o. za trgovinu, Procter & Gamble de Venezuela S.C.A., Procter & Gamble de Venezuela S.R.L., Procter & Gamble do Brasil S/A, Procter & Gamble do Brazil, Procter & Gamble do Nordeste S/A, Procter & Gamble-Rakona s.r.o., Progam Realty & Development Corporation, Redmond Products, Richardson-Vicks Real Estate Inc., Richardson-Vicks do Brasil Quimica e Farmaceutica Ltda, Riverfront Music Publishing Co., Rosemount LLC, SPD Development Company Limited, SPD Swiss Precision Diagnostics GmbH, Scannon S.A.S., Series Acquisition B.V., Shulton, Surfac S.R.L., Sycamore Productions, TAOS - FL, TAOS Retail, Tambrands Inc., Temple Trees Impex & Investment Private Limited, The Art of Shaving - FL, The Dover Wipes Company, The Gillette Company, The Gillette Company LLC, The Gillette co., The Procter & Gamble Distributing LLC, The Procter & Gamble GBS Company, The Procter & Gamble Global Finance Company, The Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Company, The Procter & Gamble Paper Products Company, The Procter & Gamble U.S. Business Services Company, This is L., US CD LLC, Vidal Sassoon (Shanghai) Academy, Vidal Sassoon Co., WEBA Betriebsrenten-Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, Walker & Company Brands, and iMFLUX Inc..
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation engages in the exploration, development, production, and marketing of oil and gas properties. It operates through three segments: Exploration and Production, WES Midstream, and Other Midstream. The company explores for and produces oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). It is also involved in gathering, processing, treating, and transporting oil, natural-gas, and NGLs production, as well as the gathering and disposal of produced water. The company's oil and natural gas properties are located in the United States onshore and deepwater Gulf of Mexico; and Algeria, Ghana, Mozambique, Colombia, Peru, and other countries. As of December 31, 2018, it had approximately 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent of proved reserves. The company was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.

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Wall Street analysts have given Invesco California AMT-Free Municipal Bond ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but Invesco California AMT-Free Municipal Bond ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

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Can you believe this sh*t?  Former Kenya Power Managing Director Ben Chumo, who is currently facing serious corruption charges, on Monday appeared before the Parliamentary Finance Committee looking to become the next chairman of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).

Chumo was last week charged over abuse of office, conspiracy to commit economic crimes and failure to comply with procurement laws in the purchase of faulty transformers worth Sh450 million during his tenure as Kenya Power boss.

During the vetting on Monday, Nyali MP Mohammed Ali locked horns with Chumo and the committee by extension, as he brought up the corruption allegations.

Mr. Chumo I can see that you are a presidential nominee to the position of SRC Chairmanship and you have been to Kenya Power Company, the Company that is said to have fleeced Kenyans a lot of money through corruption.

You are in court on corruption charges and you have the full guts to be in front of us to demand the SRC job and yet you have not settled your issues in court, said Ali before his microphone was shut off.

He was told: Mheshimiwa Ali, you see this is a House of order and we must be orderly and we must ask questions according to our Standing Orders.

Defending himself against the corruption charges, Chumo told the committee that the corruption matter facing him is complex and maintained that the transformers in question were procured in 2011/2012 when he was in human resource department and not Chief Executive Officer.

He observed that he is a man of integrity saying: I never had any incident that undermined my integrity and public trust.

I was not even a member of the procurement committee at the time, because I was in Human resource. However, I have been accused of procuring those transformers but I wasnt there, Chumo said.

During the vetting, Chumo also disclosed that his net-worth is around Sh212 Million.

Over the 32 years, I made investments across the country. I have some assets in NairobiI collect some rent. I have a home. We are raised as farmers so I do some dairy farming. I have some animals, in Eldoret. So I am not complaining as such. My estimate net worth as we speak stands at about two hundred and twelve million shillings, he said.

I cant say Im a rich man. In relative terms of course. Ive not yet reached there. I can support my family. My four children; two of them are already out of the house, two are still in college.

As expected, Chumos vetting angered a lot of Kenyans who took to various platforms to express their displeasure with the move.

While some will argue that Chumo has the right to be considered innocent unless proven guilty, the vetting is still absurd and should at least have been put on hold until he is cleared of all the charges.

Kenyans on Twitter had this to say:

That Ben Chumo facing a multi-million (billion) corruption case is being interviewed by Parliament to be the Chair of Salaries Review Commission (SRC) is taking absurdity to a new level. Our MPs would have set a new moral bar (if they still had a bar) by openly dismissing him.  Donald B Kipkorir (@DonaldBKipkorir) July 23, 2018

The ongoing vetting of Ben Chumo is an indication that we are not serious about the war on corruption.

President @UKenyatta should have withdrawn his nomination of Chumo once he was arraigned in court last week.  Oliver Mathenge (@OliverMathenge) July 23, 2018

Ben Chumo: I could not have waited for 32yrs to mess up, I think someone is looking to deny me this opportunity, I really deserve it. I dont think this challenge should deny me this opportunity. Haki Kenya.  Sam G ?? (@SamGakunyi) July 23, 2018

How could Ben Chumo find the audacity to walk himself to parliament for vetting for SRC job? After his arrest, President ought to jane revoked his appointment. We cant make two steps ahead and four backwards yet claiming to be progressing.  Kenya West (@KinyanBoy) July 23, 2018

Dr Ben Chumo has no conscience at all. Given he is facing corruption charges in court, he shud never have appeared today before the House vetting Committee for SRC chairmanship. He does not respect chapter 6 of our constitution!  Edward Kisiangani (@ekisiangani) July 23, 2018

It is completely irrational, deceit and dishonest for @UKenyatta to retain Ben Chumo as nominee for @srckenya Chairman. It makes his declarations on corruption appallingly farce. Building Bridges Initiative identified corruption and lack of national ethos that must be addressed  Ndungu Wainaina (@NdunguWainaina) July 23, 2018

From the police cells straight to a job interview and yes Ben Chumo has a certificate of good conduct in case you are wondering. As you were. pic.twitter.com/9aLCFmVORc  FormerNiceGuy (@mistatash) July 23, 2018

Only in Kenya will a bloke be in the dock for economic crimes charges one week & in parliament the next week to be vetted for an office that is meant help achieve transparency & fairness in remuneration setting & review! pic.twitter.com/w22ik0JGmX  Mohamed Wehliye (@WehliyeMohamed) July 23, 2018

Former Kenya Power MD Ben Chumo is at Parliament Buildings for his SRC Chairmanship Position vetting by MPs despite having a major corruption case in Court. We are truly a Banana Republic, arent we?  David Maina Ndungu (@ItsDavidMaina) July 23, 2018

Remember what John Mbadi said a while ago regarding committees and how once you bribe the Chairperson you are good to go? Todays vetting of Ben Chumo has all the hall-marks of a bribed Chairperson protecting a criminal!  David Maina Ndungu (@ItsDavidMaina) July 23, 2018

Why would Mpigs even consider vetting Ben Chumo when hes facing corruption charges? Or they must get those allowances by force?Our Kenyan Mps will even vet Satan himuselefu as long as theres an allowance to be drawn.Shame!  Yells (@Yells_O) July 23, 2018

Our views on Ben Chumo will not change anything. If he promises MPs hell not opposed their requests for pay in increases, hell become SRC chairman. Its a jungle out here.  Joshua K. Njenga (@JKNjenga) July 23, 2018

Dr Ben Chumo is brave man. He is facing corruption charges in court related to his tenure at KPLC. How can he ask the House vetting Committee to ratify his nomination for SRC chairmanship? This is horryfying!  Edward Kisiangani (@ekisiangani) July 23, 2018

@UKenyatta its an insult to our intelligence for Ben Chumo to undergo vetting with an ongoing corruption case Let him clear his name first!  Peggy Rugendo (@Rupeg11) July 23, 2018

Am surprised and shocked at we Kenyans for expecting a bunch of thieves, greedy and morally bankrupt parliamentarians NOT to vet Ben Chumo. Birds of a feather flock together.  SokoAnalyst (@SokoAnalyst) July 23, 2018

Ben Chumo: Am worth KSH 212 million shillings, i cant say am rich Who else feels insulted by this nigga???  Jim Newtron (@jimmuraguri) July 23, 2018
Wall Street analysts have given iShares S&P 500 ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but iShares S&P 500 ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

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Oasis Petroleum Inc., an independent exploration and production company, focuses on the acquisition and development of onshore unconventional oil and natural gas resources in the United States. It operates through Exploration and Production(E&P), and Midstream segments. The E&P segment engages in the acquisition and development of oil and gas properties. The Midstream segment offers midstream services, such as natural gas gathering, compression, processing and, gas lift supply; crude oil gathering, terminaling, and transportation; produced and flowback water gathering, and disposal; and water distribution. As of December 31, 2020, the company had 401,766 net leasehold acres in the Williston Basin; and 24,396 net leasehold acres in the Permian Basin, as well as approximately 152.2 million barrels of oil equivalent of estimated net proved reserves. The company sells its crude oil and natural gas to refiners, marketers, and other purchasers that have access to pipeline and rail facilities. Oasis Petroleum Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

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Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in Asia, Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; And Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment provides mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, group retirement and savings products, and institutional asset management services through agents and brokers affiliated with the company, securities brokerage firms, and financial advisors pension plan consultants and banks. The Insurance and Annuity Products segment offers deposit and credit products; individual life, and individual and group long-term care insurance; and guaranteed and partially guaranteed annuity products through insurance agents, brokers, banks, financial planners, and direct marketing. The Corporate and Other segment is involved in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance businesses; and run-off reinsurance operations, including variable annuities, and accident and health. It also manages timberland and agricultural portfolios; and engages in insurance agency, portfolio and mutual fund management, mutual fund dealer, life and financial reinsurance, and fund management businesses. Additionally, the company holds and manages oil and gas properties; holds oil and gas royalties, and foreign bonds and equities; and provides investment management, counseling, advisory, and dealer services. Manulife Financial Corporation was incorporated in 1887 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

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Wall Street analysts have given iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

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Maxar Technologies Inc. provides earth intelligence and space infrastructure solutions in the United States, Asia, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Australia, Canada, and internationally. It operates through Earth Intelligence and Space Infrastructure segments. The Earth Intelligence segment offers earth imagery products, including orthorectified imagery, imagery basemap, 3D and elevation, and information products; and SecureWatch, a subscription offering that provides online access to imagery and geospatial intelligence platform. This segment also offers geospatial information, application, and analytic services. It serves U.S. and other international government agencies, such as defense and intelligence agencies, as well as commercial customers in various markets. The Space Infrastructure segment provides space based infrastructure, robotics, sub-systems, and information solutions, including communication and imaging satellites and payloads; platforms for space exploration and hosting instruments for earth science; space subsystems for power, propulsion, and communication; satellite ground systems and support services; space-based remote sensory solutions; space robotics; and defense systems. This segment serves government agencies and satellite operators. Maxar Technologies Inc. was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Westminster, Colorado.

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The following companies are subsidiares of HEICO: 1260041 B.C. LTD., 16-1741 Property Inc., 3 McCrea Property Company LLC, 3D Acquisition Corp., 3D Plus SAS, 3D Plus U.S.A. Inc., 3D Plus U.S.A. Inc., 60 Sequin LLC, A2C Air Cost Control SAS, AD HEICO Acquisition Corp., ATK Acquisition Corp., Action Research Corporation, AeroAntenna Technology, AeroAntenna Technology Inc., AeroDesign Inc., AeroELT LLC, Aerospace & Commercial Technologies LLC, Aeroworks (Asia) Ltd., Aeroworks (Lao) Co. Ltd., Aeroworks Composites (Asia) Ltd., Aeroworks Composites B.V., Aeroworks Europe B.V., Aeroworks Inc., Aeroworks International Holding B.V., Aeroworks Lao II Co. Ltd., Aeroworks Manufacturing Services (Asia) Ltd., Aeroworks Special Products B.V., Air Cost Control Germany GmbH, Air Cost Control PTE Ltd., Air Cost Control US LLC, Aircraft Technology Inc., Analog Modules Inc., Apex Holding Corp., Apex Microtechnology Inc., Associated Composite Inc., Astro Property LLC, Astroseal Products Mfg. Corporation, Aviation Engineered Services Corp., Aviation Facilities Inc., Avisource Limited, BERNIER, Battery Shop L.L.C., Bay Equipment Corp., Bernier Connect SAS, Blue Aerospace LLC, CSI Aerospace Inc., Carbon by Design, Carbon by Design Corporation, Carbon by Design LLC, Connect Tech Inc., Connectronics Corp., Conxall Corporation, DEC Technologies Inc., DECAVO LLC, DIRI Co. Ltd., De-Icing Investment Holdings Corp., Dielectric Sciences Inc., Dukane Seacom Inc., Dynatech Acquisition Corp., EMD Acquisition Corp., EMD Technologies Incorporated, Engineering Design Team Inc., Engineering Design Team Inc., Essex X-Ray & Medical Equipment LTD, FerriShield Inc., Freebird Semiconductor Corporation, Future Aviation Inc., HB Fuel Systems LLC, HEICO Aerospace Corporation, HEICO Aerospace Holdings Corp., HEICO Aerospace Parts Corp., HEICO East Corporation, HEICO Electronic Technologies Corp., HEICO Flight Support Corp., HEICO International Holdings B.V., HEICO Parts Group Inc., HEICO Repair Group Aerostructures LLC, HEICO Repair LLC, HETC I LLC, HETC II Corp., HETC III LLC, HETC IV LLC, HETC V LLC, HFSC III Corp., HFSC IV Corp., HFSC V LLC, HFSC VI LLC, HFSC VII LLC, HNW Building Corp., HNW2 Building Corp., HVT Group Inc., Harter Aerospace LLC, Harter Aerospace LLC, High Voltage Technology Limited, IRCameras LLC, Inertial Airline Services Inc., Intelligent Devices LLC, Interface Displays & Controls Inc., JA Engineering I Corp., JA Engineering II Corp., Jet Avion Corporation, Jetavi Engineering Private Limited, Jetseal Inc., LLP Enterprises LLC, LPI Industries Corporation, Leader Tech Inc., Lucix Corporation, Lumina Power Inc., McClain International Inc., McClain Property Corp., Meridian Industrial Inc., Midwest Microwave Solutions Inc., Midwest Microwave Solutions Inc., Moulages Plastiques Industriels de L'essonne SARL, Niacc-Avitech Technologies Inc., Northwings Accessories Corp., Optical Display Engineering Inc., Parts Advantage LLC, Prime Air Europe Limited, Prime Air LLC, Quell Corporation, Radiant Power Corp., Radiant Power IDC LLC, Radiant-Seacom Repairs Corp., Ramona Research Inc., Reinhold Holdings Inc., Reinhold Industries Inc., Research Electronics International, Research Electronics International L.L.C., Robertson Fuel Systems, Robertson Fuel Systems L.L.C., Rocky Mountain Hydrostatics, Rocky Mountain Hydrostatics LLC, Rogers-Dierks Inc., SBIR, SI-REL Inc., SST Components Inc., Santa Barbara Infrared Inc., Seal Dynamics LLC, Seal Dynamics Limited, Seal Q Corp., Sensor Technology Engineering LLC, Sierra Microwave Technology LLC, Solid Sealing Technology Inc., Specialty Silicone Products Inc., Sunshine Avionics LLC, Switchcraft Far East Company Ltd., Switchcraft Holdco Inc., Switchcraft Inc., Switchcraft Inc., TSID Holdings LLC, TTT-Cubed Inc., Thermal Energy Products Inc., Thermal Structures Inc., Transformational Security LLC, Turbine Kinetics Inc., VPT GaN LLC, VPT Inc., and dB Control Corp..








Two French nationals have been arrested in Nepal on suspicion of sexually abusing children, police said Tuesday.Weak law enforcement appears to have made Nepal a favoured destination for paedophiles, with several arrests and convictions in recent years.Police arrested the two men, aged 42 and 38, in Kathmandu on Sunday following a tip-off that they were luring children with chocolates, money and food."They were arrested after we followed them for a few days. So far eight of their victims have come forward," police spokesman Krishna Hari Sharma told AFP.The alleged victims are aged between 10 to 14.Police said one of the suspects had been previously convicted in France for sexual assault on minors and possession of images of child abuse."They have both been remanded in police custody on paedophilia charges as we investigate further," Sharma said.Records showed that both were in Nepal on a second visit and had been staying in the capital for several months.Last week a Swiss man was arrested for allegedly abusing a 16-year-old boy.Former UN official Peter Dalglish is currently on trial in Nepal on charges of sexually abusing young boys.Sexual abuse of minors carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.In December 2010, French charity worker Jean-Jacques Haye was convicted of raping 10 children in a Kathmandu orphanage.AFP
Rowan Companies PLC (NYSE:RDC) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October, 31st. The oil and gas company reported ($1.13) EPS for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters' consensus estimate of ($1.15) by $0.02. The oil and gas company earned $192.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $179.39 million. Rowan Companies had a negative trailing twelve-month return on equity of 9.19% and a negative net margin of 42.12%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 33.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.16) EPS.

View Rowan Companies' earnings history.
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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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.
USG Corporation, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells building materials worldwide. The company's Gypsum division manufactures and markets gypsum and related products to construct walls and ceilings of residential, nonresidential, and institutional buildings; and agricultural and industrial customers. This segment offers gypsum wallboards and compound portfolios, as well as corner beads, joint tapes, and plasters under the USG Sheetrock brand; glass mat sheathing portfolios under the Securock brand; construction plaster products under the Red Top, Imperial, Diamond, and Supremo brands; and lightweight gypsum panels under the USG Sheetrock brand, as well as ultralight panels, USG Sheetrock brand ecosmart panels, and industrial gypsum. Its Performance Materials division manufactures and markets products for interior and exterior building applications of residential and nonresidential buildings, as well as industrial applications. This segment provides cement boards, backer boards, shower systems, performance floorings, air barrier systems, roof board portfolios, and structural panels under the USG Durock, Fiberock, Levelrock, Securock, ExoAir, Securock, and USG brands. The company's Ceilings division manufactures and markets ceiling tiles under the Radar, Eclipse, Mars, and Halcyon brands; ceiling grids under the Donn, DX, Fineline, Centricitee, and Identitee DXI brands; specialty ceilings under the Curvatura, Compasso, Radians, Illusions, Multiples, Runways, Barz, Planx, Mirra, Corniche, Wallforms, and Parti brands; and acoustical drywall ceilings under the Ensemble brand. Its USG Boral Building Products division manufactures, distributes, and sells building products, mines raw gypsum, and sells natural and synthetic gypsum under the USG Boral Sheetrock, USG Boral NextGen, Elephant, Jayaboard, Durock, and Donn DX brands. The company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

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Wall Street analysts have given iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

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A California lawsuit asserting that literacy is a fundamental right within the state constitution has been cleared to proceed.

A state Superior Court judge overruled a motion by the state education department, board of education, and superintendent to dismiss the lawsuit. Her decision means that the lawsuit is presumably cleared to go to trial, although the plaintiffs appear to be hoping that the state will settle long before that. If so, it would probably mean putting new funding into literacy programs and instruction in the Golden State.

The public interest law firm Public Counsel and a global law firm, Morrison Foerster, are representing the plaintiffs: students in three low-performing California schools that mostly serve black and Latino students.

In her July 18 ruling, Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos agreed that, as minorities, the students have a valid class claim. And, she wrote, since the state is ultimately responsible for the quality of education, the students claim that their education fell far below prevailing statewide standards is valid.

In essence, the lawsuit faults the state for not intervening in the low-performing schools to ensure that the students could read at grade level, despite evidence from state tests of chronic low performance and the existence of a statewide literacy plan. Read more about the case in this story I wrote when the lawsuit was filed back in December 2017.

The California lawsuit echoes a federal one brought in Michigan by current and former Detroit students, who are also being represented by Public Counsel. That federal lawsuit was dismissed by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, but the plaintiffs plan to appeal.

The core argument in both of them is that the inability to read and write precludes people from exercising other civic duties, like the right to vote.

Photo credit: Romanus_too. Licensed under Flickr/Creative Commons.

See also: Reading Is Fundamental. But Its Not a Fundamental Right, Court Rules

For news on standards, curriculum, and testing,

And sign up here to get alerts in your email inbox when stories are published on Curriculum Matters.
The 2018 edition of the Honda Gold Wing motorcycle will now be available here at a cost of Rs 26.85 lakh. Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India announced the delivery of the candy ardent red colour tourer on Tuesday, a press release said.

Bengaluru: The 2018 edition of the Honda Gold Wing motorcycle will now be available here at a cost of Rs 26.85 lakh. Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India announced the delivery of the candy ardent red colour tourer on Tuesday, a press release said.

The tourer was lighter, powerful and fast with the newly-developed horizontally-opposed six-cylinder engine, seven-speed dual clutch transmission and the first Honda to get a double wishbone front suspension, the release said.

The other features were cruise control via throttle by wire, electric windscreen adjustable for angle and height, the release said. Senior vice-president (sales and marketing) of the company, Yadvinder Singh Guleria said in the release that the Gold Wing has been known for its quality riding and luxury.

The model made its debut in India during the Auto Expo in February.
There has been at least 10 per cent decline in bank finance to the gems and jewellery sector which will adversely impact India's exports, GJEPC on Tuesday said.

New Delhi: There has been at least 10 per cent decline in bank finance to the gems and jewellery sector which will adversely impact India's exports, GJEPC on Tuesday said.

The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) said dip in financial support would impact the sector's exports by about 10 per cent in 2018-19. "Bank finance is the life line of the industry and any decrease would see a decline in gems and jewellery exports," it said in a statement.

The exports declined to 8.84 per cent during April - June 2018 to USD 10.1 billion compared to USD 11.1 billion in the same period last year. GJEPC Chairman Pramod Agrawal said they are taking all efforts to self-regulate and instil confidence amongst key stakeholders through a slew of reforms.

"The industry is witnessing a crisis of sorts as the banks have curtailed lending to the traders and demanding collateral security and extensive documentation," he said.
The objective is to use this inter-creditor agreement for faster facilitation of the stressed assets resolution.

Mumbai: More than 20 Indian lenders on Monday signed a pact aimed at faster resolution of bad loans, officials said, while more could join by the end of the week in what is the latest bid to cut record levels of soured assets in Asias third-biggest economy.

A government-appointed panel this month proposed the so-called inter-creditor agreement among other measures after criticism that at times smaller lenders in a lending consortium were creating roadblocks for speedier resolution.

The agreement gives a bigger say to the lead lender in a consortium and allows a resolution plan to be approved if 66 per cent of the banks in the group agree to it. Dissenting lenders have the option to sell their stressed loans to a company at a discount, or buy out loans to that entity from all other lenders at a premium.

The objective is to use this inter-creditor agreement for faster facilitation of the stressed assets resolution, said Sunil Mehta, the non-executive chairman of second-biggest state-run lender Punjab National Bank, who also headed the panel.

One of the major issues was consensus among lending banks on what should have been a common resolution plan.

Top lender State Bank of India was among banks which signed the agreement.

Indias banks had 12.5 per cent of their total loans categorised as non-performing or restructured at the end of March, according to central bank data.

The central bank in February this year withdrew half a dozen loan restructuring schemes and tightened rules to steer more companies to bankruptcy courts.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called for boosting economic ties between India and Rwanda as he believes the two nations can do a lot together. (Photo: AP)

Rwanda: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called for boosting economic ties between India and Rwanda as he believes the two nations can do a lot together.

Prime Minister Modi's comments come during his maiden visit to Rwanda, where India and Rwanda also signed eight agreements in an effort to bolster bilateral cooperation between the two nations.

"We want to boost economic ties between India and Rwanda. Our nations can do a lot together. There are several opportunities in rural development and small scale industries," Prime Minister Modi said while addressing meet at the Business Forum in Kigali.

"India is growing exponentially but our mantra is 'Sabka saath sabka vikas'. We will grow but we will also help those grow, who are with us. We will walk together," he added.

Thanking Rwanda for the warm reception, Prime Minister Modi stated that this meeting would help to strengthen economic and cultural relations between the two countries.

"I thank the wonderful people of Rwanda for their warmth and affection. This visit adds tremendous strength to closer economic and cultural relations between India and Rwanda," he noted.

Furthering ties of trade and commerce, Prime Minister Modi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame addressed leading CEOs from India and Rwanda.

"The Girinka Programme is helping transform the lives of people across rural Rwanda. I also told President Paul Kagame about the initiatives we are taking in India for the development of our villages," Prime Minister Modi asserted.

Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister gifted 200 cows to villagers as a part of Rwandan Government's Girinka Programme.

Under this programme, the poorest residing in the region get cows from the government and gift the first female calf to a neighbor to promote brotherhood.

In the last leg of his three-nation Africa tour, the Prime Minister will visit South Africa to attend the 10th edition of the BRICS Summit, which is scheduled to take place in Johannesburg.
New Delhi: The Union finance ministry on Tuesday claimed that deposits made by Indians in Swiss banks fell by 34.5 per cent in 2017 and by 80 per cent since the Narendra Modi government came to power in 2014 based on internationally accepted source, Bureau of International Settlements.

This had hurt the government politically as it has tried to build a public perception that it had been tough on the issue of black money and had taken various measure to curb it including the ill-advised demonetisation in November 2016.

The finance ministry on Tuesday maintained that this data by SNB is usually misinterpreted as it included: non-deposit liabilities, business of Swiss branches located in India, inter-bank transactions and fiduciary liability.

The figures published by the SNB are regularly mentioned in the Indian media as a reliable indicator of the amount of assets held with Swiss financial institutions in respect of Indian residents. More often than not, the media reports have not taken account of the way the figures have to be interpreted, which has resulted in misleading headlines and analyses, said the ministry.

Moreover, the statement said it is frequently assumed that any assets held by Indian residents in Switzerland are stash.

The finance ministry said that in his letter Swiss ambassador Andreas Baum pointed out that the right data to identify Indian residents deposits in Switzerland is published by the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) which collects Locational Banking Statistics (LBS) in collaboration with Swiss National Bank (SNB).

It said that LBS measures international banking activity from a residence perspective, focusing on the location of banking office and it captures around 95 per cent of all cross-border banking activity.

Data from BIS shows non-bank loans and deposits (which really constitute the individual and corporate deposits used as black money haven in the past and exclude inter bank transactions) have fallen by 34.5 per cent in 2017 compared to 2016 ($524 million in 2017 vs $800 million in 2016), said the finance ministry.

It said that Swiss non-bank loans and deposits have reduced by a significant 80.2 per cent under NDA government between 2013 and 2017.

This broadly corresponds SNB reports which show an 82 per cent reduction in total Indian customer deposits in Switzerland since 2013, though BIS data is the right way to measure actual deposits from India in Switzerland, it said.

Meanwhile, the ministry pointed out that India signed an agreement with Switzerland on December 21, 2017.

Both countries started collecting data in accordance with global standards on January 1st 2018, and would start the exchange of data from September 2019 on a yearly basis, it said. This makes relevant information available.

This, finance ministry said, was revealed in a letter it received from Swiss embassy on the issue of black money.

The government had been under political pressure after media reports in June had quoted Swiss National Bank, the countrys central bank that money parked by Indians in Swiss banks rose by over 50 per cent to CHF 1.01 billion (`7,000 crore) in 2017.

This had hurt the government politically as it has tried to build a public perception that it had been tough on the issue of black money.
Mumbai: In an exclusive chat with Lipika Varma, actor Pooja Kumar talks about her initial days when she was selected by ABCL through Amitabh Bachchan Pooja got her International World pageant show. Working with her favorite heroes in Bollywood and Tollywood, working with Kamal Hasaan and lastly intentions of joining Indian politics.

Pooja Kumar had started her global career as an American actress. She became one of the chosen one from the ABCL banner then, which did not take off. She tells, Yes! I have had a wonderful experience with the ABCL: Amitabh Bachchan production. Then I had not done anything at all. I was just 17 years old. I had travelled all the way from US to be able to give audition for ABCL: Amitabh Bachchan sir chose me out of a huge number of contestants - 60,000 contestants who were fighting for that recognition. It was a great concept. I got trained in dancing and Hindi and other spheres of film making. I got the opportunity to be groomed.

Through Amitabh sir I got the opportunity to host International Miss World Pagent pre show which was to be done without a tele-promter. It was a good 45 minutes show. I even asked him if I could manage to host this show, he simply said yes you will be able to do it This show was to be broadcast all over the globe approximately 50 Countries at least. This was my first ever professional assignment that I did.

Coming to being chosen for Vishvaroopam 1 as well 2 and working with Kamal Haasan she says, In the first Vishvaroopam mine was a pivotal role which thus continues in the Vishvaroopam 2 as well. Working with Kamal sir I was indeed intimidated. I get to do action is the film. I feel I will be the first female actor who has tried her hand at Scuba diving and some great action scenes in the film as well. Performing action scenes was indeed tough but he made it easy for me.

One Hindi film old Pooja is open to working more in Bollywood filmdom, I want do more films. Please tell all the directors.I am dying to work with all of them.

Pooja would love to be pitied with two heroes no prizes for guessing hear from the horses mouth, It would be amazing to work opposite Shri Amitabn Bachchan Sir and from the Telugu industry I would love to be pitied opposite Naragrjuna. However, I love all the heroes.

Not many know Pooja has completed her majors in Political Science and Finances. Since she knows Kamal Sir she can get into Politics through him, Oh! Yes in Washington I did work as an intern in Politics. Since, you just reminded me of Kamal sir, who has also joined Politics. I never thought about it. Yes, I may try to join Indian Politics so I can do something for India and Indians as well. There is a dire need of good politically inclined people who can bring about the necessary changes required for the Country. I would love to join Politics. Undenaibly, before joining Politics here in India, I will have to do a little more of studies. As, I am not aware about the Politics here. Learning my lessons here in Politics I would not mind trying my hand in Politics.

Kamal Haasan starrer Vishwaroopma 2 is all set to release on 10th of August. A sequel to Vishwaroopam, a political spy thriller film will release in Hindi ,Tamil and Telugu.
Karan Johar announced Student Of The Year 2 since long, and then unveiled a solo poster of Tiger Shroff on November 20th 2017.

2 days later Mid-Day had reported news that Ishaan Khatter was supposed to be part of the film with Tiger, especially since the young actor was a pro at dancing thanks to having gurus like Shiamak Davar and of course, half-brother Shahid Kapoor and was already in KJos good books since he landed himself in the recently released film Dhadak. It in fact even reported that Ishaan had started shooting for action sequences.

A day passed and Karan Johar then tweeted that Ishaan is a part of Dhadak while Tiger Shroff remains in Student Of The Year 2. The story was thus brushed off, but the reason why Ishaan was thrown out of the film might have been revealed today.

Mumbai Mirror has today gone on record to claim that Ishaan and one of the leading actresses of Student Of The Year 2 Tara Sutaria were once a couple, whose relationship ended on a bad note. Thus Karan probably thought it was wise to keep the two people away from each other.

On the personal front, Ishaan was claimed to be dating his Dhadak co-star Janhvi Kapoor (which appears to now be promotional strategy post Akshat Rajans reappearance in Janhvis life), while Tara Sutaria is dating Bazaar debutant and Vinod Mehras son Rohan Mehra (though they never accepted it on record).
Actress Pranitha Subhash always likes to do things that shes passionate about. The actress, who recently wrapped up the shooting of her forthcoming Telugu film, Hello Guru Premakosame, also shot for her maiden music video in Hindi opposite Ayushman Khurana.

The response to the video has been amazing and I am really thankful for the opportunity, she says, adding, It was my first music video, and I thought it would give me a chance to be versatile.

Pranitha will be seen as a techie in the Ram-starrer Hello Guru Premakosame, directed by Trinadha Rao. So far, I have done roles where I have been sporting sarees, but my role in this film comes like a breath of fresh air. Its like todays girl  modern, trendy and glamorous  and thats why it appealed to me, says Pranitha, adding, I believe the audience will appreciate my role. I like being versatile and perhaps thats what pushes me as an actor.

HT05
The disorder was present in children from consanguineous parents (Photo: AFP)

Washington: Our genome is made up of 20,000 genes, all of which may cause diseases.

Researchers from the University Of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, - working in collaboration with scientists from Pakistan and the USA - have investigated a recessive genetic disorder that destroys the eyes from developing and results in childhood blindness.

After analysing the genomes of each member of a consanguineous family with affected children, the geneticists pinpointed pathogenic mutations in a new gene, MARK3, as being the cause.

Professor Stylianos Antonarakis said, "In our attempts to uncover new recessive genetic disorders, we looked at families where there was consanguineous marriage and where both parents carried one copy the mutant gene and passed it on to the child."

The geneticists directed their interest at an unknown illness that prevents the eyes from developing properly and gradually destroys them.

"We found that the disorder was present in children from consanguineous parents. As a result, we hypothesised that it was a recessive genetic disorder," added professor Antonarakis.

The UNIGE researchers have collaborated with experts at Houston's Baylor College of Medicine, to genetically modify drosophilae by introducing the mutation of two copies in the MARK3 gene of the flies.

The results provided a validation of the research findings in human patients.

The full findings are present in the journal- Human Molecular Genetics.
Cases of gonorrhoea have also spiked, with nearly 50,000 cases recorded in 2016, from 15,000 in 2012. (Photo: Pixabay)

For people heading to France, health officials are urging them to pack condoms amid soaring rates of chlamydia and gonorrhoea.

Rates of the common STIs, which can both lead to infertility if left untreated, have more than tripled since 2012, according to official figures.

In a desperate attempt to stem the spread of chlamydia and gonorrhoea, French officials have launched a campaign to encourage the use of condoms.

Not only them, health officials in the Netherlands, which borders the country, have warned travellers to pack their own condoms and that holiday romances can be risky.

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and public health service GGD Amsterdam were behind the calls to holidaymakers.

They went as far as warning Dutch tourists heading to France to bring their own condoms from home in a special campaign.

Speaking about it, a GGD spokesman said that in lots of countries condoms are difficult to obtain and not always reliable. Therefore, people should preferably take them from home.

According to a report published in MailOnline, the spokesman added, Holiday romances might seem romantic but are not without danger. The circumstances are different, but the risks remain the same.

Public Health France figures show 267,097 people were infected with chlamydia in 2016, the last full year data is available for.

In contrast, just 76,918 cases were recorded in 2012 - meaning there has been a 247 per cent jump in the space of four years.

Cases of gonorrhoea have also spiked, with nearly 50,000 cases recorded in 2016, from 15,000 in 2012.

The figures, released earlier this week, prompted Public Health France to launch its own campaign to promote the use of condoms. Titled "'a condom can save your life', the body hopes it will make French youngsters aware of the importance of safe sex.
BENGALURU: E-commerce portals have become the favourite hunting ground for criminals. Be it the Colombian gang that broke into many houses in the city or the unidentified people who called techie Kumar Ajitabh to sell his car, the criminals are moving into the cyberspace to hoodwink the police. In one of the rare cases, a youngster from the city turned himself into a cyber-sleuth, caught the online cheat and unravelled a big scam, in which a reputed phone company was being targeted.

K.F. Mohammed Aqib, a resident of K.G. Halli, along with his friend Irfan, exposed the scam, after he was duped by a cyber criminal - identified as Dawood Shafi. When Aquib inserted the SIM card, the phone threw up a message that it was blocked. Aqib first went to the phone company's showroom in Kammanahalli. After talking to the staff, he realised that cheats were buying phones worth `5,000 to 60,000 on easy instalment schemes directly from the company, stopped paying EMIs and sold the phones on e-commerce sites.

Aqib said, "I was cheated on Saturday. The advertisement posted by Dawood Shafi on an e-commerce site stated that the phone was just 25 days old. I and my friend initiated the deal and decided to meet the seller on Sunday morning. He came to meet us, but said that he had lost the bill. When I insisted on the bill, he sought some time and called me after a few hours, saying he had got the bill."

Aqib checked the bill and handed over Rs 11,500 in cash.

"The phone worked properly for some time, but it got blocked soon after. I showed it at a mobile repair shop, but they could not do anything. I tried to call the seller, but he did not answer my calls. I then approached the K.G. Halli police." Aqib learnt that the youth had produced an Aadhar card of a woman from his family. When he checked, he found that the address was wrong. "I wanted to go after the cheat, and posted his photos on the Whatsapp group in the area. The K.G. Halli police too shared his photo on their group. We nailed him after searching for him for seven hours," Aqib said.

How the scam works

A reputed mobile company offers new mobile handsets on zero down payments. The buyer submits his/her Aadhar card and Pan card copies as proof, and pays a month's easy monthly instalment (EMI) to buy the phone. Soon after, he stops paying the EMIs and sells the phone on e-commerce websites. The new buyer cannot use the phone as it works only with the SIM given along with the device. In the scam, both the new buyer and the phone company are cheated, while the scamster goes untraced. The police said that the company should not sell phones on loan without physically enquiring the address given as proof.
Hyderabad: Nacharam police busted a brothel that was run under the cover of a real estate office and rescued a woman from Mumbai, who was pushed into the flesh trade. The police also arrested a realtor and his associate on Tuesday.

Nacharam inspector B. Vittal Reddy said that on a tip-off, they raided a brothel being run at Haripriya Complex, near Habsiguda cross roads. It was set up by Manchala Mallikarjun (30), as Sri Sudha Real Estate Office. They also arrested Kasoju Sudha. Mallikarjun and Sudha were running the brothel under the cover of a real estate office. When they were waiting for the customers, the team raided and nabbed them to rescue the victim. They have been remanded to judicial custody, said the inspector.
According to police, it is an easy target for crooks as the inmates leave the key near the door, for others to get in. (Representational Image)

Hyderabad: Having one of the biggest IT hubs, the city accommodates a large number of bachelors from different states of the country, who are cooped up in hostels and paying guest facilities, which has become a hotspot for thieves. According to police, it is an easy target for crooks as the inmates leave the key near the door, for others to get in.

Vijay Kumar, the ACP of Panjagutta, the area with most of such hostels and paying guests facilities, said that the officials will be conducting a check on the CC cameras, warn the watchmans and also get the geo tagging done.

Of all the places, the doormats, shoes and shoe racks are the favourite places for hiding the keys, making the theft easier. As the men sharing a flat have different shifts, the person leaving late night leaves the door ajar, allowing the next person to come in next day early morning, said the official.

The ACP further added that cameras were installed and the watchmen were asked to check ID card of visitors. We have warned the owners to keep a watch on the movements and also to keep well maintained CC cameras for easier crime detection. And as the offenders are mostly youngsters themselves who stay in touch with hostel mates, know exactly where to look for keys and walks away with stolen stash. Since they had stayed in the hostel, the guards do not suspect them. Others enter the hostel under the pretext of meeting a friend or getting admission in the hostel, the senior police official said.

Recalling one such incident, the SR Nagar police said that they have arrested a habitual offender, Syed Raouf Pasha, 28, last year who stole smartphones and laptops from hostel inmates. He was caught following CCTV analysis by the crime team. He targeted the hostel rooms during early morning hour by posing himself as purchaser of old beds and performed recce, Police said.

The Hyderabad Police is planning to increase community policing and also encourage such house owners to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity and inform about the same to the cops.
Pro-reservation outfits of Maratha community burn a vehicle after a clash with the police personnel. (Photo: PTI)

Mumbai: A constable died and another was injured in stone pelting on Tuesday as a state-wide protest called by outfits seeking reservation for the Maratha community turned violent with agitators clashing with police and torching vehicles in Aurangabad and adjoining districts of Maharashtra.

As the stir for reservation in jobs and education intensified, the Maratha Kranti Morcha, which is spearheading the agitation, also decided to call for a Mumbai bandh on Wednesday.

Initially, the outfit had called for a Maharashtra bandh on Tuesday after the death of a protestor on Monday during a protest march in favour of reservations.

The 27-year-old Kakasaheb Shinde, had jumped off a bridge over Godavari river in Aurangabad. He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead.

Quotas for Marathas, a politically influential community that constitutes around 30 per cent of the state's population, has been a hugely contentious issue.

Another protestor, 31-year-old Jagannath Sonawane from Aurangabad district, on Tuesday sought to emulate Shinde's example by jumping onto a dry river bed. He has been admitted to a government hospital in Aurangabad, police said.

Shiv Sena MP Chandrakant Khaire faced the ire of the protestors when he went to attend Shinde's last rites at his Kaygaon village in Aurangabad on Tuesday.

Khaire was manhandled by the crowd present there and had to beat a hasty retreat, police said, adding that there was stone pelting as well on the MP's car.

Shinde's death has triggered a fresh set of protests in several parts of Maharashtra. Internet services were suspended in rural areas of Aurangabad district to prevent any untoward incident.

Also Read: Protesters demand Maratha quota, burn vehicle, plan Mumbai agitation Wednesday

At Kaygaon, protesters shouted slogans hailing Shinde as a 'martyr', police said.

Sham Atgaonkar, a police constable from Osmanabad who was deployed on duty at Kaygaon, died soon after a commotion, which followed stone pelting, police said. The cause of death is not ascertained yet, police said.

Another constable was injured in stone pelting, police said. A fire brigade van was also set afire at Kaygaon by the protesters, police said.

A protester is carried away after being injured during a protest rally demanding reservation for Marathis, in Nanded on Tuesday. (Photo: PTI)

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had cancelled his visit to a temple in Pandharpur after protesting Maratha outfits threatened to disrupt the event. The community leaders have earlier taken out several rallies in various districts to highlight their demands.

Last year, a huge rally was organised by the Maratha Kranti Morcha in this connection in Mumbai. Despite assurances from Fadnavis to fulfil the demands, nothing concrete has been done till now, community leaders have claimed.

At a meeting here in Dadar, the Morcha leaders today decided to call for a Mumbai bandh on Wednesday. At another meeting of the Sakal Maratha Samaj in adjoining Vashi, it was decided to call for a bandh in Navi Mumbai and Panvel as well.
Dr Singhvi submitted that several Hindu women understand and respect the tradition of 41-day penance and it is not a practice imposed on women by patriarchal men. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: The Travancore Devaswom Board on Tuesday asserted that the practice of permitting women below age 10 and above 50 to Sabarimala temple has been in place since ages. It made clear that the Supreme Court should not venture to disturb that based on empty material or notions.

Senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the Board made this submission before a five-judge Constitution bench.

Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justices Rohinton Nariman, A M Kanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra have been hearing a batch of petitions challenging the ban on entry of women, between the age group of 10 to 50, inside Ayyappa temple.

The CJI reiterated that the Board could not impose the 41-day penance condition on women to visit the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple, as it is impossible to be followed.

However, Dr Singhvi justified the imposition of 41-day penance, for both men and women to visit the temple, on grounds of the traditions that have been followed since time immemorial.

Dr Singhvi told the court, Either you look at the entire issue freshly or accept the practice with all its variations."

"They cannot unsettle this practice in a writ petition and that too when no one has complained that they were prevented entry into the temple," Singhvi said.

He also argued that the SC couldnt decide what is essential religious practice. Can you unsettle the faith and practice of a core part of a Hindu religious sect? he asked.

After reading out the historical evidence through texts, Singhvi submitted that the documents suggest that there is a practice on the basis of belief. He added that if the court disagrees with it, a trial must be conducted before the court sets aside a long-standing essential religious practice.

Dr Singhvi, while defending the custom, said there are many peculiar aspects to rituals and practices followed by other Hindu sects as well as non-Hindu communities.

He added that there are several mosques which bar entry of women. In some Kali temple rituals, devotees hang with hooks pierced into their skins. Shias self-lash till they bleed.

He asked, "Will the SC ban these religious practices just because of its progressive thought?"

Dr Singhvi submitted that several Hindu women understand and respect the tradition of 41-day penance and it is not a practice imposed on women by patriarchal men.

Justice Chandrachud intervened and said it is because of male chauvinism. "You say, man by virtue of his dominant position is able to perform austerity and a woman is a chattel of a man... subject to the will of a man, so she can't perform austerity. How can we accept that?"

Dr Singhvi replied that such male chauvinism is prevalent in societies and religions all over the world, AM Singhvi. We will obliterate them wherever we can, retorted Justice Chandrachud.

Right from the day they are born women have to go through social conditioning - 'this is what you are supposed to follow, this is your role'", Justice Chandrachud added.

Dr Singhvi replied that the Court couldnt project notions of male chauvinism from other cases to Sabarimala case without examining the evidence. Then a six-month trial is required and evidence has to be adduced.

Justice Nariman told the counsel if women can visit other Ayyappa Temples on non-menstruating days, perhaps the restriction could be traced to patriarchy.

Dr Singhvi disagreed and says there is no evidence for this assumption. He said that if at all reform is called for, it has to come from within the community and not from the court, however, progressive ones views may be.

When Justice Chandrachud observed that after 1950 everything is subject to Constitutional ethos, Dr Singhvi submitted that Constitutional ethos requires the court to apply the essentiality test.

He said that the test is not whether the Court agrees with the practice or not; if it is established that Ayyappa devotees constitute a religious denomination and this practice is essential to the belief.

Justice Nariman said that Constitutional morality is the compass, which applies to all faiths. But he agreed with Dr Singhvi that the bar of entry of women into mosques too would fall within this enquiry.

The CJI told Dr Singhvi that Article 26 of the Constitution protects only the essential religious practices of religious denominations and the practice followed by this temple should come within this ambit.

Justice Chandrachud asked the counsel how can we start with the unconstitutional assumption that women with reproductive capabilities are not capable of observing the 41 day penance.

Dr Singhvi submitted that there is no basis for the assumption that the practice at Sabarimala is related to menstruation.

To some extent it is related to vritham and allowing women would change the character of the temple, where the deity is a brahamachari, he said the object is not to exclude women but due to physiological reasons they get excluded. Anybody with same physiological reasons will be excluded," Dr Singhvi said.

The CJI observes that the first thing that needs to be looked into is whether the restriction on entry of women with reproductive capabilities constitutes an essential part of the religious practice.

Dr Singhvi said Sabarimala temple clearly satisfied the test of religious denomination and is protected under Article 26 of the Constitution and court cannot interfere with such religious practice of a denomination. Arguments will continue on Wednesday.
Kigali/New Delhi: Praising the Indian diaspora's contributions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday described them the ambassadors of India who are making a mark all over the world.

Addressing a gathering of Indian community members here, Modi said Rwanda's President Kagame had told him about the Indian community's work in the country.

"I am delighted to interact with the Indian community in Rwanda. President @PaulKagame told me that the Indian community is contributing to Rwanda's progress and they are also doing a lot of community service. I was happy to hear this," he said.

"All over the world, the Indian diaspora is making a mark. They are our 'Rashtradoots'," the prime minister said. Modi is on a two-day visit to Rwanda -- one of Africa's fastest-growing economies.

Also Read: As PM Modi meets Prez Kagame, India extends USD 200 mn credit lines to Rwanda

He is the first Indian prime minister to visit the country. "For years the Indian community in Rwanda wanted a High Commission. This long-pending demand will be fulfilled and you will be connected even further with India," he told the gathering.

Earlier, Modi held wide-ranging talks with President Kagame and discussed measures to boost the bilateral strategic ties by strengthening cooperation in defence, trade and agriculture sectors.

Prime Minister Modi is set to visit the Genocide Memorial and participate in an event on "Girinka" (one cow per family), a national social protection scheme of Rwanda initiated by Kagame later on Tuesday.
Air India is deeply concerned with a few reports of bugs causing inconvenience, a statement said (Photo: File)

Mumbai: Air India said on Tuesday the incidents of bed bug bites in its flights from the US were isolated ones but it had taken a "serious" view of the complaints and carried out an extensive service of the aircraft, including fumigation, as the airline continued to face flak from passengers.

Several business class passengers last week took to social media to vent out their anger over being bitten by bed bugs on the Newark-Mumbai flights. The incidents were reported on different days.

Disturbing images were posed on Twitter about the bedbugs crawling on the seats and bite marks all over a woman's hand.

Also Read: Bed bugs infest Air India's Mumbai-bound flight from US

"Air India is deeply concerned with a few reports of bugs causing inconvenience to its esteemed passengers. The issue has been viewed seriously and every possible step is being taken to closely inspect and further strengthen our system at every level to ensure that such isolated incidents of passenger discomfiture do not affect our consistent performance," the airline said in a statement.

"Experienced experts have carried out extensive service on the aircraft from fumigation to overhaul of the upholstery/seat covers/carpets etc to ensure that passengers keep enjoying their in-flight experience with us as always without any complaint of inconvenience," it added.

The airline said every department related to maintenance and cabin upkeep had probed deep into the concerns raised by a few passengers.

The state-run carrier said it would weed out any deterrent that tarnishes or maligns its image due to its own inadvertent lapse or resulting from any external machination.

On July 17, one of the passengers of the Newark-Mumbai flight described his ordeal and the unpleasant experience his family had to go through in the 17-hour long journey.

"...just arrived from New York on Air India 144 business class with family. All our seats infested with bed bugs. Sir, have heard of bed bugs on trains but shocked to experience on our maharaja and that too business," Pravin Tonsekar tweeted and tagged the airline and Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu.

In a second tweet, he said that his "wife and daughters had to suffer half of the journey sitting in economy seats with broken tables and inoperative TV".

Incident of a toddler being bitten was also reported.

On July 20, Saumya Shetty, another passenger, posted a picture on Twitter of her hand covered in bite marks.

"Travelled business class thinking it would help with three kids. I'm covered with bed bugs bites and it's been a painful day so far. @airindiain Inspite of complaining I had to sleep in the same seat and only got moved the next day when we were landing," she tweeted.

She alleged that despite her repeated attempted to get in touch with Air India, the airline still had to get in touch.
A pro-reservation Maratha leader said they have called the bandh across the state today and that they would continue their agitation until Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis apologises to the community. (Photo: ANI)

Mumbai: Maratha outfits have called for a bandh in Maharashtra on Tuesday, a day after a man demanding reservation for the community jumped to his death in a river in Aurangabad district.

A pro-reservation Maratha leader said they have called the bandh across the state today and that they would continue their agitation until Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis apologises to the community.

"We will continue our agitation until Chief Minister Fadnavis apologises to the Maratha community. We will observe bandh in Aurangabad and other parts of the state today," Ravindra Patil, the coordinator of a pro-reservation group of Marathas, said.

Some Maratha groups have also planned to protest in Mumbai in the near future.

On Monday, a 27-year-old protester, Kakasaheb Shinde, jumped off a bridge over Godavari River in Aurangabad. He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead, police said.

The Maratha Kranti Morcha had on Monday demanded an apology from Fadnavis for alleging that some members from the community were planning violence at Pandharpur town in Solapur district, where the chief minister was earlier scheduled to perform puja at a temple on 'Ashadhi Ekadashi'.

The outfit, which led the 'jal samadhi' protest in which Shinde died, is leading the agitation seeking reservation for the community in government jobs and education. Shinde's death had triggered a fresh set of protests in several parts of Maharashtra, with opposition leaders seeking to put the onus on the BJP-led government in the state.

In the last few days, protests have take place in Buldhana, Akola, Parali, Washim and even in Mumbai. Fadnavis had said on Sunday that he was cancelling his visit, scheduled on Monday, to the temple in Pandharpur after protesting Maratha outfits threatened to disrupt the event.

Quotas for Marathas, a politically influential community that constitutes around 30 per cent of the state's population, has been a hugely contentious issue. The community leaders had earlier taken out several rallies in various districts to highlight their demands.

Last year, a huge rally was organised by the Maratha Kranti Morcha in this connection in Mumbai. Despite assurances from Fadnavis to fulfil the demands, nothing concrete has been done till now, community leaders have claimed.
It took three hours for the police to take the mob attack victim to a hospital which was just 20 minutes away. (Photo: ANI)

Alwar: "The MLA is with us, nobody can do anything to us. Set him (Akbar) on fire." These were the words by the gau rakshaks who lynched 28-year-old Akbar Khan, his friend Aslam, an eyewitness who survived, said in a written statement to police.

Gyandev Ahuja of BJP is the local MLA and he was the first to defend the cow vigilantes. Ahuja, however, rubbished the claim and said it was an attempt by the police to malign him.

Another Rajasthan Minister Jaswant Singh on Tuesday appealed to Muslims to understand the sentiments of Hindus and stop smuggling cows. "They must stop this business. As far as his death is concerned, I express condolence and I stand against those who take law in their hands," he added.

According to reports, Akbar Khan is the third Muslim who was beaten to death in Alwar in 15 months.

It took three hours for the police to take the mob attack victim to a hospital which was just 20 minutes away.

Akbar Khan alias Rakbar bled to death on Friday night as policemen, before taking him to hospital, arranged a shelter for his cows and paused for tea and snacks. They even gave the wounded man a wash, claiming he was "too muddy".

Read: Before taking Alwar victim to hospital, cows taken to shelter, cops had tea

Akbar and his friend Aslam were attacked at a village in Alwar by cow vigilantes who saw them walking with cows and suspected they were smuggling the animals.

Meanwhile, Aslam also named the attackers. He said, "They were calling each other Suresh, Vijay, Paramjeet, Naresh and Dharmendra". Three of them have been arrested.

"They tried to catch me and Rakbar. They started hitting Rakbar with sticks. I got away but I saw them and heard them hitting Rakbar," Aslam said in his written statement.

Aslam was pressured by the police to give false statement: MLA

Aslam had accompanied Akbar to Alwar from Haryana to buy cows. They saw a group of men following them on their way back.

According to Aslam's statement, he and Akbar were walking back with the two cows and two calves via village Lalwandi. On the way, a motorcycle crossed them. Its loud noise startled the cattle, which ran into cotton fields near the road. There were seven men in the fields, he said, of whom five called each other by their names.

The men threw Akbar to the ground and started hitting him with sticks, while the other two watched. Aslam hid in the fields and heard the attackers saying, "The MLA is with us, nobody can do anything..." Aslam later managed to escape.

What is more shocking is that, the police reached the spot where Akbar was lynched around 1 am and it was around 4 am on Saturday when they took him to hospital where he was declared dead. "Rakbar had severe injuries due to the beating. He died of internal bleeding," a doctor said.

Also Read: Alwar lynching: Akbar died of shock from injuries, bleeding, finds autopsy

The Congress targeted the state's ruling BJP. Congress president Rahul Gandhi commented that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "brutal new India".

Also Read: Brutal New India: Rahul Gandhi slams PM Modi over Alwar mob killing

For his tweet, the Congress chief received flak from BJP that called Rahul Gandhi the "merchant of hate".

Also Read: BJP hits back at Rahul over Alwar mob killing, calls him merchant of hate

Union minister Smriti Irani used the term "vulture politics" to target Rahul Gandhi.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh declined to comment on the mob violence and lynching. The Ministry of Home Affairs has sought a report from the Rajasthan government over the incident.

Also Read: After Oppn criticism, MHA seeks report from Rajasthan over Alwar lynching

Addressing the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Rajnath Singh said that the Centre will enact a law, if required, to look into the incidents of mob violence and lynching.

Also Read: Govt will enact law, if needed, to curb mob lynching: Rajnath Singh tells Lok Sabha
Former AIADMK minister and Mettur MLA Semmalai offers prayers along with PWD officials at Mettur as the dams water level touches 120-ft on Monday. (Photo: DC)

Salem: In its 85-year-old history, the historic Stanley reservoir at Mettur, at the head of the Cauvery delta irrigation system, crossed yet another milestone on Monday afternoon as the water touched its full reservoir level (FRL) of 120-feet and began to overflow for the 39th time, much to the cheer of the farmers. The last time the dam was full was in the first week of August 2013.

An exultant Chief Engineer, Water Resources Organisation arm of the PWD, mr. Senthil Kumar said while the inflow into the reservoir, thanks to surplus flows from the Cauvery's catchment areas, was a whopping 70,000 cusecs, all the excess water was being let out for delta irrigation purposes.

"Unable to store any fresh inflows now, the discharge from the reservoir has been substantially stepped up to 80,000 cusecs of water by 10 pm, which includes the quantity through the 16-eye sluices as well," he said, adding, Salem district collector, Ms Rohini Bhabjubhakare has directed all precautionary steps to be taken for people residing along the banks of the Cauvery in Salem and adjoining districts.

On Sunday, with inflows into the reservoir being at a sustained 60,000 cusecs level, the water level in the dam inched progressively to its FRL mark. At 8 pm on Sunday night, special 'poojas' were performed at the '16-eye sluices' bridge, after which the authorities gradually stepped up the discharge as well.

After sounding the alarm bugle, authorities released 7,500 cusecs initially through the '16-eye sluices', which are opened only when the dam is full, besides through the power house canal (22,000 cusecs), even as the East and West bank canals were each carried 1,000 cusecs last night.

Shortly before noon on Monday, as the water level inched towards the 120-feet mark, PWD engineers, other officials, joined in by the former AIADMK minister and Mettur MLA, Mr S. Semmalai, performed 'special poojas' when engineers officially announced that FRL mark has been reached.

After pouring the sanctified water into the dam, the discharge through the '16-eye-sluices' was increased to 40,000 cusecs since Monday afternoon.

Consequently, as all the surplus water is being let out of the reservoir, flood alert warnings have been issued and people living in low-lying areas have been asked to move to safer places, officials said. Mr. Senthilkumar said nobody was permitted to take the bridge over the '16-eye sluices' as part of the precautionary measures.

The water level was being continuously monitored and appropriate safety instructions sent out to all downstream districts, he added.

Meanwhile, the flash floods in the Cauvery near Mettur and in adjoining Erode district claimed the life of one more person on Monday, with a 55-year-old man Katharvarayan being washed away near Pallipalayam in Namakkal district.

Copious flows would help Chennai via Veeranam lake

With the Stanley reservoir brimming in Mettur and the government increasing the discharge to the delta region, it has also come as a blessing to the Chennai city, as officials from Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) are keen to receive drinking water from Veeranam lake.

Sources said that water supply from Veeranam lake was last stopped four months ago to Chennai city, as it became bone dry. Moreover, the level in the four main lakes  Poondi, Chembarambakkam,Cholavaram and RedHills in Chennai region - has gradually been declining.
'It is a matter of honour for us that India has stood with Rwanda in their economic development journey,' PM Modi said, adding that India will continue to back Rwanda's development. (Photo: @MEAIndia | Twitter)

Kigali/ New Delhi: India extended USD 200 million lines of credit to Rwanda as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held wide-ranging talks with President Paul Kagame and discussed measures to boost the bilateral strategic ties by strengthening cooperation in defence, trade and agriculture sectors.

After the one-on-one talks with President Kagame, PM Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the East African country, announced that India will soon open its mission in Rwanda.

"We are going to open a High Commission in Rwanda. This will not only establish communication between our respective governments but also enable facilities for consular, passport, visa," PM Modi said at a joint press statement.

He noted that India and Rwanda relationships have stood the test of time.

"It is a matter of honour for us that India has stood with Rwanda in their economic development journey," PM Modi said, adding that India will continue to back Rwanda's development.

Besides one-to-one meeting, the two leaders also participated in delegation-level talks to strengthen partnership in trade and investment, capacity building, development partnership and people to people ties.

The two countries signed agreements on cooperation in the field of defence, trade, agriculture and animal resources.

They agreed on cooperation in defence capacity building, industry, science and technology.

India extended two lines of credit -- one of USD 100 million for development of industrial parks and Kigali special economic zone (SEZ) in Rwanda and another one for USD 100 million for agriculture.

The two sides signed MoUs on collaboration in the areas of leather and allied sectors, dairy cooperation, agricultural research and education collaborations between Rwanda Agricultural Board (RAB) and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

The two countries agreed to facilitate, diversify and promote trade and economic cooperation.

President Kagame in his remarks said that Prime Minister Modi's visit represents a milestone between the long-standing friendship and cooperation between Rwanda and India.

PM Modi arrived in Rwanda on Monday night on the first leg of his three-nation Africa tour as part of India's outreach to the resource-rich continent, soon after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Kigali.

The Prime Minister's aircraft landed at the Kigali International Airport where he was received by President Kagame. He was accorded a red carpet welcome at the airport.

"A historic visit starts with a special gesture. President @PaulKagame personally welcomed PM @narendramodi to Rwanda," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted.

His two-day state visit to Rwanda -- one of Africa's fastest-growing economies -- assumes significance as it could boost India's strategic ties with this country.

"A special gesture by a close friend and a strategic partner! Prime Minister @narenderamodi personally received by Rwandan President @PaulKagame at #Kigali International Airport on the first leg of his three-nation tour. First-ever visit by an Indian PM to Rwanda," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had tweeted.

A special gesture by a close friend and a strategic partner! Prime Minister @narenderamodi personally received by Rwandan President @PaulKagame at #Kigali International Airport on the first leg of his three-nation tour. First-ever visit by an Indian PM to Rwanda. pic.twitter.com/sxskyIqx7T  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) July 23, 2018

PM Modi will also meet the business leaders and the Indian communities.

Today, Prime Minister Modi will visit the Genocide Memorial and participate in an event on "Girinka" (one cow per family), a national social protection scheme of Rwanda initiated by Kagame.
The protesters set a truck ablaze in Aurangabad's Gangapur during their protest. (Photo: Twitter | ANI)

Mumbai: Various parts of Maharashtra are witnessing upheavals after a protester jumped into the river in Aurangabad on Monday. Agitators have been demanding for quota for Maratha people in government jobs and education.

Two more people attempted suicide in today. Jayant Sonavne attempted suicide by jumping into river and Jagannath Sonavne alias Guddu consumed poison in Deogaon Rangari in Aurangabad. Both are in hospital, reports news agency ANI.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis called the death "unfortunate" and has appealed for calm and said the government is serious about a resolution.

The Maratha Kranti Morcha has given a statewide shutdown call to protest against the death of the 27-year-old farmer.

The protesters set a truck ablaze in Aurangabad's Gangapur during their protest. Tyres were burnt in front of the Osmanabad collector's office and trains were blocked in Parbhani district.

#WATCH: Maratha Kranti Morcha workers set ablaze a truck in Aurangabad's Gangapur as a mark of their protest demanding reservation for Maratha community in government jobs & education. #Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/OIdBJlSLpo  ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2018

Some Maratha Kranti Morcha workers tonsured their heads in Aurangabad's Gangapur during their protest.

(Photo: Twitter | ANI)

Reports of protests were also received from Sangli and Shirdi in Ahmednagar district.

Kakasaheb Shinde, who was participating in the protests, jumped off a bridge into the Godavari River. He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead, police said.

Also Read: Day after protestor kills self, Maratha outfits call for state bandh in Maharashtra

A pro-reservation Maratha leader said the protests would continue until the Chief Minister apologised to the community.

"We will continue our agitation until Chief Minister Fadnavis apologises to the Maratha community. We will observe bandh in Aurangabad and other parts of the state today," Ravindra Patil, the coordinator of a pro-reservation group of Marathas, said.

Some Maratha groups have also planned to protest in Mumbai on Wednesday.

The Maratha Kranti Morcha had on Monday demanded an apology from Fadnavis for alleging that some members from the community were planning violence at Pandharpur town in Solapur district, where the chief minister was earlier scheduled to visit a temple on 'Ashadhi Ekadashi'.

The Chief Minister had said on Sunday that he was cancelling his visit, scheduled on Monday, to the temple in Pandharpur after protesting Maratha outfits threatened to disrupt the event.

(With inputs from PTI and ANI)
'I am shocked by this wide-scale theft of personal data that has compromised the privacy of candidates across the country,' Rahul Gandhi said. (Photo: File | ANI)

Mumbai: Congress president Rahul Gandhi has urged CBSE chairperson Anita Karwal to direct an inquiry in the alleged NEET data leak issue, news agency ANI reported.

In a letter to Karwal, Rahul said that the alleged data breach calls into questions the ability of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to ensure the sanctity of the examination process. I am shocked by this wide-scale theft of personal data that has compromised the privacy of candidates across the country, he added.

(Photo: Twitter | ANI)

Several media reports have claimed that a website had access to records of 250,000 students along with their gender, roll numbers, rank in the exam as well as their mobile numbers, and the data was available for a payment of up to Rs 2 lakh.

A state-wise data of candidates was available on the website which included those from Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand.

The website also offered interested buyers a chance to verify whether the data was genuine or not, as well as a free sample, The Wire had reported.

NEET is administered by CBSE as the entrance exam for medical colleges across the country. More than 13 lakh candidates appeared for the exam this year out of which data for 250,000 students is available for anyone willing to shell out lakhs of rupees for access to this data.
The reports said David Headley suffered serious injuries and was rushed to North Evanston hospital, where he was admitted to the critical care unit. (Photo: File | AFP)

Washington/New Delhi: The US authorities refused to comment on media reports that Pakistani-American convict in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack case David Coleman Headley was battling for his life after being attacked by inmates at a detention centre on Monday.

"We are not able to locate information about this individual," the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago said in a brief email response to news agency PTI when asked about the incident.

According to some media reports, David Headley was attacked on July 8 by two other inmates.

The reports said he suffered serious injuries and was rushed to North Evanston hospital, where he was admitted to the critical care unit.

David Headley has been sentenced to 35 years in prison by a US court for the 2008 terrorist attack on Mumbai that killed more than 160 people.

David Headley - who recorded various Indian cities, including Mumbai before the 26/11 attacks - was arrested in 2009.
Karnataka received record rains this year resulting in the filling up of all dams in the Cauvery basin, and the release of huge amounts of water to TN where the Mettur dam has already filled up. This has made the CM push for completion of the Mekedatu project.

Bengaluru: Will the much awaited Mekedatu balancing reservoir project, which is expected to slake the thirst of Bengalureans and provide a permanent solution to the water crisis in the IT City and nearby districts, finally get going?

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy seems intent on making a fresh beginning by meeting his Tamil Nadu counterpart to seek his consent for the Mekedatu project which is seen as a 'good gesture'. The total cost of the project is estimated at Rs 5,912 crore with the storage capacity of the reservoir estimated at 66.50 TMC. The project will provide drinking water to Bengaluru and adjoining areas, and also be useful for power generation when completed.

The CM has initiated the process of a dialogue with the neighbouring state after releasing a huge quantity of Cauvery water to bury differences between the two states on the Cauvery issue. The Union government has already constituted the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal which after years of deliberation, had fixed the quota of water to be released to the lower riparian states from the Cauvery basin projects.

Karnataka received record rains this year resulting in the filling up of all dams in the Cauvery basin, and the release of huge amounts of water to TN where the Mettur dam has already filled up. This has made the CM push for completion of the Mekedatu project.

Water Resources Minister in the previous government, Mr M.B. Patil had got a Detailed Project Report (DPR) done for the project. However, the TN government took strong objection to the construction of the balancing reservoir then contending that it would cut into their quota of 177.25 tmc ft of water in a normal year. They had also brought this to the notice of the Supreme Court and sought a direction to Karnataka not to take up any such project. The TN government was then angry as it did not get its share of water owing to severe drought in Karnataka for four years.

A senior officer of the water resources department told Deccan Chronicle that the DPR of the proposed Mekedatu project had already been sent to the Central Water Commission and the Union government. As of now, the project is pending before the CWC.

Meanwhile, Mr Mohan Katarki, an advocate representing Karnataka on the Cauvery issue, said as per the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunals order, there is no restriction to stop Karnataka from taking up new projects, provided the state ensures the release of 177.25 TMC of water to TN in a normal year. In fact, Tamil Nadu does not have any right to object to the Mekedatu project as long it is ensured its quota of water every year.

Even if TN objects, Karnataka can go ahead with the project since it falls within the state. Tamil Nadus permission is however required in case Karnataka wants to build a dam at Hogenakkal as it flows on the border of both states.

The state also has to obtain clearances from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Ecology as nearly 4,716 hectares of forest land will be submerged after the building of the reservoir. Without them, Karnataka cannot go ahead with the project, Mr Katarki added.
New Delhi: The much-hyped Opposition unity hit a hurdle Tuesday as BSP supremo Mayawati made it clear that her partys alliance with the Congress in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh was nothing but mere speculation, and the Congress virtually extended an olive branch, indicating it was willing to play the role of a convenor and saying the post of Prime Minister was open.

RJD leader Tejwashi Yadav also said that Congress president Rahul Gandhi is not the only leader from the Opposition in the race for the Prime Ministers post. The Congress further signalled that it was open to any leader, including Trinamul chief Mamata Banerjee or BSP supremo Mayawati, to be in the PM race as long as it stopped the BJP from returning to power.

While Dalit powerhouse Mayawati huffed and puffed on Tuesday and mounted pressure on the Congress, saying her BSP was ready to go it alone in the poll-bound states and the same formula would be applied in Uttar Pradesh if the party didnt get a respectable number of seats, the Congress sounded somewhat hopeful and claimed the basic architecture of the Uttar Pradesh and Bihar alliance is in place.

The Congress, however, was not ready to discuss the specifics of the seat-sharing formula at this juncture. Mayawati said, Congress leaders are claiming an alliance has been sealed. (But) we intend to contest all seats in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. We will not be in an alliance if we are not offered a respectable number of seats.

The former UP CM also warned the BSP would follow a similar formula in Uttar Pradesh, making it clear her party and the Samajwadi Party would share the lions share of the states 80 seats. The Congress should know the same condition applies to them in other states, she added.

Congress sources said the party was confident of doing well in states like Gujarat, where it expected at least 12 seats, and in Maharashtra where it has firmed up an alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party. It said it was ready to work with all parties to defeat the BJP and was ready to back anyone for the post of PM. Ms Mayawatis statement, comes just two days after the Congress Working Committee decided to forge tactical alliances with like-minded parties.
Bengaluru: Bangera (30) (first name only) a teacher from Kodagu was on Tuesday arrested by the Special Investigation Team for his alleged complicity in the Gauri Lankesh murder case. He could reportedly be the man, who supplied the killer 7.65mm cartridges to the accused, Parashuram Waghmore, who allegedly pumped four bullets into the well known writer, said a top source on condition of anonymity.

According to sources, Bangera is a teacher from Kodagu. A couple of years ago he had reportedly applied for a licence for pistol from the police and had bought five live 7.65 mm cartridges. He had reportedly supplied the same to the accused in the Gauri murder case. The cartridges were allegedly used to kill Gauri. Further investigation and custodial interrogation will throw more light on his involvement, added the source.

The SIT had allegedly summoned Bangera for questioning. He was subsequently arrested and is the 10th accused in the sensational murder case. Bangera was produced before the Magistrate court in the City on Tuesday, a day after the SIT had produced the two accused - Ganesh Miskin (27) and Amit Baddi (28) from Hubbali in the Third ACMM court in the same case. He has been remanded in police custody till August 6. The accused, who have been arrested so far are from Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa and are said to have pro-Hindutva leanings.

"The SIT has got practically everyone in the net barring the chief conspirator, who had targeted Gauri; placed her on the hit list and the link in the chain - the logistics person in the 'operations team,' who had connected one to the other after drawing up the blueprint of her murder," said a source, who didn't wish to be named. The SIT investigation has thrown some very interesting facts about the modus operandi of the assassins in the Gauri murder case. Most importantly is the revelation that barring alleged involvement of some of the accused in communal violence in their region, none of them have any previous criminal records.

"Almost all the accused are first time offenders. This may have been part of the operational strategy of the conspirators to recruit people, who have never been under the police radar. Anonymity makes it so much more difficult for the enforcement agencies to track first time law offenders. It's like finding a needle in the haystack. Most of them were also strangers to each other till recently," said the source.

The accused who have been arrested so far for their alleged involvement and complicity in the Gauri murder case are K.T Naveen Kumar alias Hotte Manja, Amol Kale, Manohar Edve, Sujeeth Kumar alias Praveen, Amit Degvekar, Parashuram Waghmore, Mohan Nayak, Ganesh Miskin, Amit Baddi and Bangera. Naveen Kumar is from Maddur in Mandya district, Edve, Sujeeth Kumar, Waghmore, Nayak, Miskin, Baddi and Bangera are from Karnataka while Kale and Degvekar are from Maharashtra and Goa.
Hyderabad: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation officials have been turning a blind eye to municipal administration and urban development minister K.T. Rama Raos instruction to take up pothole filling on a priority basis.

The minister, during a review meeting before monsoon set in, had asked the corporation officials to focus on road repairs and finalise tenders immediately. Ignoring his instructions, the corporation has neither invited short tenders nor filled up the potholes scientifically. The pothole filling by unqualified outsourcing employees rather than providing relief has been giving back breaking experience.

During recent rainfall, 6,511 potholes have formed across the city. While corporation officials claimed that the pothole filling has been going on at a brisk pace, sources claimed that the field staff have been just dumping bituminous (BT) mix into the potholes. The unqualified 80 instant repairs teams have been filling up about 200 potholes on an average daily. Officials claimed that the corporation has only one B.T Hot Mix Plant at Chudi Bazaar. Supplying BT to different parts of the city was causing delay in taking up repair works.

A senior GHMC official said that it had been noticed that the ground level staff had been dumping BT mix in the potholes directly which is not sustainable. The civic body has now decided to motivate the ground level staff by conducting orientation classes regarding the scientific methods on how to fill potholes in order to improve the quality of city roads. He said rather than dumping BT mix into the pothole, GHMC has asked the workers to make it even by cutting the road around potholes in a square shape and then use BT, BT Emulsion and Shellmac cold mix depending on the requirement.

When asked about status of tenders, official said instructions were issued to engineering officials to set up temporary B.T Hot Mix plant at Yapral, Fathullaguda, Khaitlapur and other GHMC sites by calling short tenders in three days or to arrange temporary BT Hot Mix Plants in a week to ten days. He also said that heavily damaged roads, however, will be restored only when dry weather conditions prevail.

The GHMC official said that during the recent heavy downpour, the civic body had asked the officials to use Shellmac cold mix to fill the potholes as it can be strengthened within minutes. He said even though it is six times more expensive than normal BT mix, it is highly recommended during monsoon. He also said the GHMC had asked the officials to fill the potholes immediately after they are identified and in case of failure stringent action will be initiated.
While, thanking the SBI for its gesture, Dr Kukretty also appealed to all other banks to come forward and adopt animals in the zoo. (Representational Image)

Hyderabad: The State Bank of India's local head office, as a part of their Corporate Social Responsibility for the year 2018-2019, on Tuesday donated Rs 15 lakh and adopted 15 tigers at Nehru Zoological Park.

Deputy general manager Ravinder Gurav handed over the cheque to Dr Sidhanand Kukretty, director of zoological parks in the state.

While, thanking the SBI for its gesture, Dr Kukretty also appealed to all other banks to come forward and adopt animals in the zoo.
Rai and his neighbours have called up the BBMP call centre a number of times, left messages on the BBMP app and even posted pictures on Twitter, but to no avail.

Residents, commercial establishments and even garbage contractors have found new places to dump garbage, which are the service roads along Outer Ring Roads across Bengaluru. Residents living nearby complain of stench, mosquito and dog menace. But the BBMP has not responded to their complaints.

The city is on the verge of turning into one big dump yard with garbage being strewn everywhere. Isolated places like the service roads of Outer Ring Roads (ORRs) and the highways are the new favourite spots for people and business establishments to dump garbage.

Residents living near these dumps complain that the door-to-door garbage collection drive has failed and waste is now being thrown on roads across the city. Those who dump garbage do it at night and use these stretches as there is lesser movement of pedestrians and public.

Not just the residents and business establishments, even garbage collectors dump waste at these spots, instead of transporting it to BBMP-designated dump yards on the outskirts, to save time, money and fuel.

Ashok Rai, a resident of Kasturinagar, said, The ORR service road near Ramamurthy Nagar is one long dumping yard. People throw garbage here without thinking twice. There are huge piles on both sides of the roads. On one side is the railway track and the entire stretch is filled with garbage and construction debris. Even on the other side, where the residential Kasturi Nagar is , there are big piles of garbage. We have been constantly complaining to the BBMP, but there has been no solution. Palike workers come once in two weeks and clean it up. But the next day, it is back to square one.

Read http://cms.deccanchronicle.com/deccan/page=artDetail&aid=489344&adm=1

He said, The stench is unbearable and towards evening, mosquitoes swarm the entire area. It is time the government and civic agencies woke up to the problem and took action against those dumping garbage. The BBMP should first set its issues right, like paying the pourakarmikas and bringing in a new system to collect garbage from residential and commercial areas. Till an effective system is in place, this will continue.

Rai and his neighbours have called up the BBMP call centre a number of times, left messages on the BBMP app and even posted pictures on Twitter, but to no avail.

Thimappa Subedhar, a resident of Banasawadi, who uses the service road to reach his office in Whitefield, said, Just six years ago, we used to go for morning walks and jogs on the service roads. But now everywhere in the city, the service roads are being used to dump garbage. It is difficult to even ride our two-wheelers on these stretches as the garbage has spilled on to the roads, and the stench is unbearable. Not just Kasturinagar, even Nayandahalli, Nagarabhavi, Hebbal Ring Road and surrounding areas face the same problem.

He said, Recently, we saw a pourakarmika unloading garbage from a truck on the service road near Kasturi Nagar. When we confronted him, he said the local contractor asked him to dump garbage there and he was only following the orders. The contractor claimed that he was not getting money from the BBMP and could not afford to waste time and money transporting garbage to the outskirts. He said that as there was no traffic on the service road, it was an ideal spot to dump garbage.

Palike should stop outsourcing garbage collection

The Palike should manage pourakarmikas and the garbage collection system, instead of outsourcing it, as this is the main reason behind the garbage menace. The present system has also given rise to large-scale corruption. Once the BBMP takes direct control of garbage handling and pourakarmikas, the garbage disposal system will fall into place, said a senior officer from the Solid Waste Management Department in the BBMP.

He said, We want the daily, door-to-door garbage collection to become more effective and we want the process to be monitored by zonal officials. Now, many residents complain that the door-to-door collection is irregular. Palike officials should keep track of bulk waste generators, as they tend to dump garbage in vacant spots to avoid paying a fee to BBMP-assigned bulk garbage collectors.

Another official said that garbage collection outsourcing should stop or handed over to efficient private companies, as garbage contractors are fleecing the Palike now. There should be a separate government body to handle the garbage generated in the city. The decision to convert deserted quarries into dumping pits is still on hold, while many other viable options too have been delayed for reasons unknown. With issues concerning garbage, the government should take immediate decisions to stop the menace from growing, the officer said.

A corporator, who did not wish to be named, said, When residents complained that pourakarmikas were not collecting garbage regularly, we conducted a check and found out that some contractors had assigned one pourakaramika to collect garbage from 700 houses a day, which is humanly impossible. The entire garbage collection system should be made transparent for it to work.

Self-help groups, resident welfare associations and civic agencies should be actively involved in finding solutions to garbage-related problems.

The city generates 5,000 tonnes of solid waste every day from houses, hotels, hospitals, industries and companies. The pile is increasing as the citys population is growing at a rapid pace, and more households and business establishments are being added.
Students are not able to get their certificates as the colleges are not releasing their certificates due to the delay. (Representational Image)

Hyderabad: Telangana Degree colleges, PG colleges, Junior colleges and engineering colleges are still waiting for fee reimbursements, amounting to Rs 1,215 crore, for academic years 2016-2017 and 2017-2018. Thousands of students were suffering as the colleges were denying them their certificates until the dues were cleared by the state government, students and college management associations alleged.

Mr Vijay Bhaskar Reddy, General Secretary, Telangana Degree and PG College Management said Due to delay in fee reimbursements in degree and PG colleges, we are unable to pay salaries to our staff due to which they are showing less interest in teaching which is affecting the quality of education. Many teachers have already resigned. This is the reason why hundreds of degree colleges were closed and witnessed few or zero enrollments. We are also tired of running the colleges without fee reimbursements.

Mr Gouri Satish, KG to PG JAC Convenor, said The college managements are not in a position to run the colleges because our dues are high we are not in a position to pay salaries for staff members. Also we are unable to pay the building rent. That is why we are requesting the government to kindly release the amount to save the Degree, PG, Junior colleges and Engineering colleges in Telangana.

Mr Goutam Rao, president,Telangana engineering college management association, said About 900 crore fee reimbursements are pending with the government, affecting students and managements. The students have completed their degrees and we have kept their degrees on hold because we dont know when we will receive the funds from the government. We are unable to pay salaries to college staff as since the last three months the government has not released even a single rupee.

J. Dileep, Hyderabad City Secretary ABVP said, About Rs 2,000 crore is pending for all the colleges in the state. This is affecting the student community because a majority of the engineering and degree students depends on scholarships and fee reimbursements. Also students are not able to get their certificates as the colleges are not releasing their certificates due to the delay.
HYDERABAD: Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leaders on Tuesday came down heavily on Opposition parties  Congress and BJP  for ignoring Telangana peoples welfare and development of the state while finding fault with CWC resolution on Special Status to AP as it will allegedly jeopardise development in Telangana. Both the national parties, Congress and BJP, are keen to ruin Telangana, irrigation minister T. Harish Rao said.

Without bothering about Telangana and its development, the Congress party passed a resolution in the CWC meeting on Special Status to AP, if the party comes back to power. How can Congress promise Special Status to AP? Special status will bring to AP all the concessions, incentives and sops and this will attract industries from Telangana. Congress leaders from Telangana should open their mouths and reveal what will be its impact on Telangana. All incentives, tax sops to AP will hit Telangana industry really hard. How can Congress support such discrimination against Telangana? Cant it jeopardise development in Telangana? Prime Minister Narendra Modis statements are hurting the sentiments of Telangana people as he compared Telangana with Pakistan, the minister said.

Lamenting Rahul Gandhis comments that Galla Jayadevs speech caused distress to him, Harish Rao questioned as to what made him feel so bad. Whether it was Jayadevs criticism of Congress or talking against bifurcation of the state? he asked. Harish Rao questioned Congress as to why it didnt question Galla Jayadev for the undemocratic bifurcation statement. By supporting the No Confidence motion moved by the TDP, the Congress party insulted the Telangana people. Congress is supporting all forces which are against the formation of Telangana state and its people. Congress doesnt have a moral high to speak on Telangana. The Centre has given national status to Polavaram, but none in Telangana got such status. Is it not discrimination? Rao queried.

Telangana energy minister Jagadish Reddy further added that Congress leaders from Telangana have been slaves of the party right from the beginning as they didnt question Chandrababu Naidu for his anti-Telangana measures. Congress party always prefers AP and its interests only. For instance, Congress leaders Jana Reddy and Uttamkumar Reddy never questioned Chandrababu Naidu and Congress over the injustice done to Nalgonda district. Congress party has become a true Andhra party. Its leader Rahul Gandhi is immature and not talking with the stature of a national leader, Jagadish Reddy said.
TIRUPATI: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) temple administration has decided to enable sarva darshan to pilgrims in limited numbers from August 11 to 16, during Astabandhana Balalaya Maha Samprokshanam, within the available time space. TTD trust board chairman Putta Sudhakar Yadav, along with TTD executive officer Anil Kumar Singhal, on Tuesday, told mediapersons that the devotees will be allowed darshan through Vaikuntam Queue Complex.

In the next two or three days, we will discuss in detail about the possibility of allowing maximum number of pilgrims in the VQC compartments for darshan. Since we have very limited time space for darshan, we will work out this and come out with figures of the maximum number of pilgrims which we can allow during these six days. We will allow only that many number of pilgrims in to the compartments based on the possibility of day-wise darshan figures which we can provide, he said.
Lucknow: Perturbed by the increasing number of conversions, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) will now launch a campaign in which katha vachaks (story tellers) will inform people about the dignity, respect and nationalism that is an inherent part of the Hindu culture. The katha vachaks will start the campaign from October with West Bengal and the North East being the focus.

The idea is to remove the misconceptions that have been fed to people by vested interest and encourage them to return to their parent religion, said a senior VHP leader. He said that the conversions were being encouraged by Christian missionaries in West Bengal and the North East.

Things have changed after the BJP came to power in Assam and Tripura and we will be increasing our presence as well as our activities so that the Hindus there can feel reassured. VHP leader Shyamji Gupta will be in charge of the campaign and leaders like Tapan Kumar Mukherjee, Dr Surya Prakash Sharma and Uma Shankar Misra will tour the states to make an assessment of the ground realities, he said.
BENGALURU: Clad in police uniform and a gun hanging from the holster, 12-year-old Shashank, a thalassemia and diabetic patient, took 'charge' as a police inspector of V.V. Puram police station for a day on Tuesday. Shashank stepped out of the police jeep in style, holding the dummy gun in one hand, and received a salute before he entered his cabin in the police station and also a bouquet from V.V. Puram Inspector T.D. Raju. The inspector took the boy around the station and also to the rifle room where the boy spent some time touching and inquiring about the rifles.

A resident of Narayanahalli in Chintamani taluk, Shashank is suffering from thalassaemia and diabetes since he was five months old. He is undergoing treatment at Vani Vilas Hospital. Son of Muniraju and Sujatha, Shashank always dreamt of becoming a police officer and take strict action against criminals. Asked why he wanted to a become police officer, Shashank said that he was fed up with the nuisance created by those under the influence of alcohol. "These alcoholics creating nuisance in public should be dealt with iron hand. They are a threat to society," Shashank told DCP (South) S.D. Sharanappa when he met him in his office. Shashank went to the DCP's office in the police jeep along with Mr Raju.

Shashank's memorable day would not have been possible without a city-based NGO Make-A-Wish. The NGO's volunteers Netra and Sangeetha recently met Shashank in the hospital and asked him what he would like to become in future.

When Shashank told them that he wanted to be a police officer, the volunteers approached Mr Sharanappa and conveyed the boy's wish. Shashank was gifted with toy walkie-talkie and a toy gun and was dropped at the Vani Vilas Hospital later in the day. Thalassemia is a blood disorder involving lower-than-normal amounts of an oxygen-carrying protein. He is also suffering from diabetes which is worsening his health condition.
Nitish Kumar told the house that the charge that prohibition has failed is not true as illegal liquor is still being seized. (Photo: File | PTI)

Patna: The Bihar assembly passed a bill on Monday to amend some of the stringent provisions of the prohibition law in order to prevent its misuse and make the quantum of punishment proportionate to the nature of the offence.

The opposition, which had been asking the state government to declare Bihar as a "drought-hit" state, walked out of the house after lunch hour while the assembly took up the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2018 for consideration.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed surprise over the opposition walkout as all the parties had given unanimous support when prohibition was introduced in the state and participated in a massive human chain formed last year against the liquor menace.

Leader of opposition in the assembly Tejaswi Yadav later told reporters that no amount of law-making on prohibition would have any meaning unless the government was able to give a guarantee that liquor would not be available in the state.

The fact was that the illegal liquor trade, as in Gujarat, is thriving in Bihar under the patronage of some ruling coalition leaders, with the connivance of the police and administration, Yadav alleged.

Nitish Kumar told the house that the charge that prohibition has failed is not true as illegal liquor is still being seized.

"Murders are committed, despite a law against it. That does not mean the law has failed. What is needed is greater social awareness," the chief minister said.

Nitish Kumar denied the loss of revenue on account of prohibition, saying the money earlier spent on liquor was now being used for better purposes, which was beneficial to all.

The prohibition law earlier provided for a five-year prison term, in addition to a Rs 1 lakh fine, for those consuming liquor or caught in an inebriated state. Now, first-time offenders will have to pay a fine of Rs 50,000, failing which, they will have to undergo a prison term of three months.

Besides, the offence has now been made bailable. Repeat offenders will be punished with a prison term of not less than a year and a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh. However, those causing disturbance or violence in an inebriated state or facilitating consumption of liquor on their premises will continue to attract a prison term not shorter than five years and penalty of not less than Rs 1 lakh.
The details emerging from the Alwar lynching episode involving cow vigilantes point to a deeply worrying trend. A thorough probe into the latest instance of gau rakshaks striking in Rajasthan is needed if the country is to understand the background against which such crimes are popping up in a pattern involving as much of brazenness by dispensers of mob justice as contributions by police forces. Indeed, if it is determined after a probe that the police delayed taking the victim to hospital while its personnel sent the cows to a shed and enjoyed a tea break on the way, we have more than just mob violence to worry about. If the police is complicit in such crimes that are bringing a bad name to the country, the malaise is far deeper than anyone may have imagined.

Reports about vigilante groups keeping a close watch on cattle trading centres and fairs in and around the Delhi region and going on to persecute members of a certain religion who buy cows are also emerging. And as most of the incidents seem to be taking place in a state that is headed for Assembly elections in a few months, it would appear there is something far more sinister to this pattern of cow protection. Its only now that a sense of urgency seems to have overtaken the Centre, which has formed a panel of bureaucrats to suggest measures and a legal framework to a ministerial committee (GoM) headed by the home minister, which will then report to the Prime Minister. The government must handle such incidents very firmly lest the message go out that people can take the law into their own hands and expect to get away with it, taking advantage of the slowness of Indias criminal justice system. Alwar is not just the occasional sprouting of uncivilised behaviour in the region that is more in keeping with medieval times than in a modern democracy of 70 years standing.

Something is clearly rotten in the state of Denmark, to paraphrase Shakespeare. The sustained pattern of illiberal action against writers, including murder, mob lynching on mere rumours as in Madhya Pradesh on Sunday, political murders taking place in a couple of southern states like Kerala and Karnataka and several other instances of extreme intolerance leading to confrontational situations everywhere points to a trend that is reflective of a society that is finding ways to get more and more polarised. These events across the country show that the malaise goes way beyond politics and religion, although both are being freely used to drive the wedge deeper. With a general election not far away, every issue is being lent a deep political overtone.

Its an unhappy time to be an Indian. And far from showing the way, our leaders  across the political spectrum  seem to be leading people towards further divisiveness.

H10
240718HEALTH MINISTER WELCOMES YWAM MEDICAL SHIP

New Dawn FM News

The ABG Minister for Health, DENNIS LOKONAI today welcomed the Youth With a Mission Medical ship to the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.

The ship which arrived yesterday will be operating in Bougainville for the next five months.

At the launching ceremony in Buka, MR. LOKONAI welcomed the ship and its crew and medical volunteers and said that launching also includes the health outreach programs that the medical ship will conduct till the end of the year.

Minister Lokonai said that Health service remains an important sector of the MOMIS-MASONO government as demonstrated by its commitment with funding to bring the YWAM ship to the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.

The Minister also thanked President Chief DR. JOHN MOMIS for his unwavering support to the Health sector.

Minister LOKONAI also said that the ABG Government had signed a number of MOUs to deliver health programs and initiatives in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.

These include health infrastructure development and public health programs.

The Minister for Health also announced MOUs signed recently with Save the Children to deliver TB and HIV Programs and YWAM to deliver rural outreach programs to hard to reach coastal areas.

He said the TB and HIV programs are now being implemented in the region whilst the YWAM outreach program will start next week.



Ends






Rahul Gandhi had alleged, during last weeks doomed-from the-start no-confidence motion in Parliament, that corruption in the 2016 agreement signed by the Narendra Modi government to purchase 36 Rafale fighter jets from France had forced defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman to backtrack from her assurance to disclose details of the price of purchase.

The matter could have been ended by Ms Sitharaman admitting that being new, she had overlooked the confidentiality clause - a plausible explanation since military purchases are a tough, black box to unravel. Instead, the government chose to hit back by pinning the blame on a 2008 bilateral security agreement signed by the then UPA government with France. This needed both parties to protect classified information which could compromise the security and operational capability of the defence equipment of either.

It is quite a stretch to argue that keeping the price paid a secret meets the test of necessity or proportionality which guide how much a citizens right to know can be restricted. The Chinese or the Pakistanis couldnt care less what the Indian taxpayer shelled out for the fighter jets.

They likely already know the specifications of our purchases. Also, corruption cant be lightly presumed to be the reason why Ms Sithraman backtracked. Yet, this unresolved debate will hang like an ominous cloud as the counter to the BJPs allegations of corruption during the UPA government.

Privacy is to individuals what secrecy is to the State. The debate on privacy got a fillip by the recent arraignment of WhatsApp for being the conduit of fake news, which incited vigilante violence.

WhatsApp encrypts content in its pipes end-to-end like no one else. Complete secrecy attracts 1.5 billion active monthly users and 60 million messages per day. Its end-to-end encryption cannot even be decrypted by its own administrators. This rabid commitment to secure the privacy of its users doesnt align with the extant law and is as over-the-top as is our governments thirst for secrecy. The fundamental right to privacy is restricted by other fundamental rights, including those embedded in Article 21 of the Constitution of India, to which privacy was also mapped by the Supreme Court in 2017.

WhatsApp is a precursor of what could happen if the dark web becomes the norm. If crypto currencies are allowed to subvert a sovereigns power to issue currency and bury crime-related financial transactions underground, catastrophe beckons. WhatsApp managers initially expressed technological helplessness to regulate the unsavoury use of its technology. They are now making conciliatory noises with an eye to their bottomline. Non-compliance could jeopardise their application for adding-on a payments app in India.

Why has WhatsApp been allowed to linger on and not simply told to shut shop, as is China. The bottom-up view is that encrypted communication has wide appeal across political parties and individuals. We all have secrets.

WhatsApp democratises the power to have secrets, unlike the Official Secrets Act 1923, which locates this power only within the State. WhatsApp allows everyone to have secrets. This suits freewheeling democratic India.The last word on the privacy of digital data will be from the Justice B.N. Srikrishna Committee on data protection. This committee, appointed in August 2017, has worked in unprecedented grand isolation. Presumably, things have been decided behind closed doors and the collective wisdom will be revealed in due course.

But in chaotic India, surprises are routine. Days before the report was to be submitted, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) published, on July 16, 2018, its recommendations on privacy, security and ownership of data. The Trai recommendations are unlikely to make the committee pause and think again. It is already broadly agreed that the individuals ownership of data is paramount.

But both the right to privacy and the right to property over data are restricted. If the necessary safeguards exist to mask sensitive and personal information, the plea of privacy loses force for denying access to data, at least to the State.

Artificial intelligence requires masses of data to train machines to think and behave better than humans. Anonymised data aggregated across a large number of individuals is more valuable than oil, in order to understand and predict contextual human behaviour.

The right to deny or withdraw access to anonymised data, despite adequate masking safeguards, can be viewed as anti-development and also at a stretch anti-national. At the very least, denying or withdrawing access to anonymised data should attract a cost to be paid, since it amounts to free riding on the technological benefits gained by others providing their anonymised data.

Trai has ignored the need for a market to price data access. A market exists even today. But it is an informal and non-transparent market which hurts the commercial interests of the individual data owner and puts the controller or processor of data in the drivers seat.

This information asymmetry must be removed through appropriate institutional development to ensure that individuals are not shortchanged and have to sell their data cheap - much like innocent tribals selling their land for peanuts.

We have neglected the property rights aspect of data management. Civil society mostly focuses on safeguarding the privacy aspect of data management. There is a reason for this. Unlike privacy, the right to property stopped being a fundamental right in India in 1978. This makes it difficult to challenge laws infringing on property rights.

The higher judiciary has been indulgent in admitting public interest litigation challenging laws threatening fundamental rights like privacy. Privacy rights also align with the need to decriminalise gay sex. It is an emotive issue.

In comparison, a right to property seems almost crass, where 60 per cent of people own no land or electric/electronic consumer durables; 40 per cent of households have just one room and can fit their possessions into a gunny sack. But make no mistake. Socialism erred in hiving off the right to property from human rights. Property is intrinsic to the right to privacy. But we will keep arguing till we fix this error, eventually.

H11
The box-shaped grave was found untouched in the vault of the Episkopi monument. (Representational Photo: Pixabay)

Greek archaeologists have discovered a virtually intact grave of an ancient noblewoman buried with her golden jewellery at a Roman burial monument in the island of Sikinos.

Her name, according to a burial inscription, was Neko - or  using the Greek alphabet.

The box-shaped grave was found untouched in the vault of the Episkopi monument, a rare burial memorial of the Roman era, which was later turned into a Byzantine church and a monastery.

Golden wristbands, rings, a long golden necklace, a female figure carved cameo buckle, glass and metal vases and fragments of the dead womans clothes were found in the grave.

The well-preserved mausoleum on the tiny island, in the Cycladic group southeast of Athens, was likely to have been constructed to shelter the grave, archaeologists said.

We were unexpectedly lucky, Director of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Cyclades Dimitris Athanassoulis told Reuters on Monday. This is Nekos mausoleum.

Its very rare. A monument, one of the Aegeans most impressive, has got an identity. We now have the person for whom the building was built; we have her remains, her name.

Despite attacks by grave robbers in ancient times and the buildings various uses through the centuries, Nekos grave was found intact mainly because it was well hidden in a blind spot between two walls at the basement of the building, Athanassoulis said.

He said that experts thought Neko had links to the island but it was not clear whether she was actually from Sikinos.

We are now trying to find out more about her, he said. We are still at the beginning.

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Britains government is keen for the United Kingdom to remain a leading centre for blockchain. (Photo: Pixabay)

A revamped Bank of England payments system should be able to hook up with fintech firms using distributed ledger technology (DLT), the central bank said on Monday in a boost to the development of blockchain in Britain.

The BoE is aiming to revamp the system that underpins British banking and trading in the City of London by 2020 to strengthen defences against cyber-attacks and widen the number of businesses that can use it.

Its Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system handles transactions worth around 500 billion pounds - equivalent to almost a third of Britains annual economic output.

In March this year, the BoE announced a proof of concept with several firms to see what changes would be needed to the proposed revamp of RTGS to support settlement with firms that use blockchain, the technology used to record transactions in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.

Britains government is keen for the United Kingdom to remain a leading centre for fintech innovation like payments and blockchain.

Berlin, Paris and other EU cities are seeking to lure fintech firms from Britain, worried about access to the blocs single market after Brexit next year.

All participants confirmed that the functionality offered by the renewed RTGS service would enable their systems to connect and to achieve a settlement in central bank money, the BoE said in a statement on Monday.

A number of recommendations were received to ensure optimal access to central bank money.

One recommendation will be to investigate if the revamped RTGS system could provide and use cryptographic proofs that stop data being stolen or altered.

The BoE will continue to engage with fintech firms to keep up to date with innovation in payment technology.

RTGS suffered a major outage in October 2014, and BoE Governor Mark Carney wants to make it easier for smaller firms to use the system directly rather than via large incumbent banks to help boost competition and innovation.

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The hackers, who worked for a Russian state-sponsored group known as Dragonfly or Energetic Bear, claimed hundreds of victims in 2017. (Photo: Pixabay)

Russian hackers gained access to the networks of US electric utilities last year, which could have allowed them to cause blackouts, according to federal government officials, who said the campaign is likely continuing, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

The hackers, who worked for a Russian state-sponsored group known as Dragonfly or Energetic Bear, claimed hundreds of victims in 2017, according to officials at the Department of Homeland Security, the Journal reported.

Hackers used conventional tools such as spear-phishing emails and watering-hole attacks that trick victims into entering their passwords and then gained access to corporate networks of suppliers, which allowed the hackers to steal credentials and gain access to utility networks, the report.

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.

DHS plans to conduct four briefings and is searching for evidence on the Russians attempting to automate their attacks, the report said. Investigators cited by the WSJ said was it was not clear whether this was done by the hackers in preparation for a bigger future attack.

The report comes amid increasing cyber-tensions between Moscow and Washington. A federal grand jury in the US indicted 12 Russian intelligence officers earlier in July on charges of hacking the computer networks of 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating Russias role in the 2016 election and whether the campaign of Republican candidate Donald Trump colluded with Moscow. Russia denies meddling in the elections while President Trump has denied any collusion.

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The 'Caste in Great Britain and Equality Law - A Public Consultation' had been launched in March last year to gather the public's views on how best to ensure that there is "appropriate legal protection" against caste discrimination in Britain. (Photo: AP)

London: The UK government on Monday concluded that caste discrimination among the Indian community does not require separate legislation and said it can be covered as part of emerging case law in the country.

The 'Caste in Great Britain and Equality Law - A Public Consultation' had been launched in March last year to gather the public's views on how best to ensure that there is "appropriate legal protection" against caste discrimination in Britain.

"Having given careful and detailed consideration to the findings of the consultation, the government believes that the best way to provide the necessary protection against unlawful discrimination because of caste is by relying on emerging case law as developed by courts and tribunals," the UK government's Equalities Office said in its conclusion released.

"We were not persuaded by the argument that introducing explicit legislation into domestic law was the most appropriate and proportionate way to provide the necessary legal protection against discrimination because of caste," it adds.

The issue has deeply divided the Indian community in the UK, with Dalit rights groups campaigning for years for distinct legal protection against caste discrimination and other groups claiming that any move to legislate the issue would entrench divisions that are not relevant to the British Indian community.

"The government has sent a depressing message to the Dalits that their cause is not important as they continue to face discrimination with impunity," said Sat Pal Muman, Chair of Castewatch UK, a group campaigning in favour of anti-caste legislation over the years.

He said the government had "sold out" to the opposing side, claiming that it was a "political decision in the interest of votes".

"This clearly means the victims will not have any legal protection and have to go through expensive long-drawn legal battles to get justice," he added.

The groups that had campaigned against separate caste-based legislation welcomed the government's conclusion as a boost to "community cohesion".

Anil Bhanot, chair of the Ethnic Minority Foundation and Founding Member of Hindu Council UK, said, "We have worked hard to promote community cohesion for the last 20 years to unite all Hindu and Sikh communities, whatever caste, as one British Indian integrated community into the country's evolving and dynamic culture.

"Such a legislation would have further divided our communities when our youth here have grown up not even aware of such caste identities. We do not condone any type of discrimination and there already are laws to protect people being discriminated under ethnicity of the Race Relations Act 1976."

The UK government defines "caste" as a hereditary, endogamous (marrying within the group) community associated with a traditional occupation and ranked accordingly on a perceived scale of ritual purity.

"It is generally (but not exclusively) associated with South Asia, particularly India, and its diaspora. It can encompass the four classes (varnas) of Hindu tradition (the Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra communities), the thousands of regional Hindu, Sikh, Christian, Muslim or other religious groups known as 'jatis'; and groups amongst South Asian Muslims called 'biradaris'. Some 'jatis' regarded as below the varna hierarchy (once termed "untouchable") are known as Dalits," an explanatory note to the UK's Equality Act 2010 reads.

Following a long-drawn campaign by UK-based Dalit groups, the House of Lords had voted in March 2013 in favour of outlawing caste discrimination by including it as a category in anti-racism laws. The government responded with the public consultation process, which has now concluded after analysing over 16,000 responses.

The consultation's conclusion describes the issue as an "exceptionally controversial one", adding that not creating a separate legal category was "the more proportionate approach given the extremely low numbers of cases involved and the clearly controversial nature of introducing 'caste', as a self-standing element, into British domestic law".

The government noted that should there be any question that the established case law is under challenge, it would consider intervention in order to support the existing legal interpretation of the interaction between caste and ethnic origins.
The three-time prime minister said, 'The time has come to make this movement of respecting the vote a great success and deliver a grand verdict that will wash away the previous verdicts, which has made Pakistan a 'graveyard of justice.' (Photo: File | AP)

Islamabad: Pakistan's jailed former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who is currently in Rawalpindi's Adiala jail, has urged the citizens of the country to vote for his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in the general elections on July 25.

In an audio message posted on Twitter by his daughter, Maryam Nawaz, he said, "July 25 is just around the corner. I am listening to your passionate chants of 'Vote ko Izzat Do' (respect the vote) from the prison."

             

25                       #PMLN #VoteKoIzzatDo #___ pic.twitter.com/FREu2R6mFs  Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) July 23, 2018

Sharif showed unhappiness that he and his daughter were imprisoned for leading a campaign of respecting the mandate.

The three-time prime minister said, "The time has come to make this movement of respecting the vote a great success and deliver a grand verdict that will wash away the previous verdicts, which has made Pakistan a 'graveyard of justice."

Stressing that it was a golden opportunity for the voters, Sharif urged voters to step out of their houses and vote for the 'lion' (PML-N's party symbol) on Wednesday to change the fate of Pakistan.

In a previous audio message reportedly recorded in London last week, Sharif made an emotional appeal to the citizens of the country to vote in large numbers. He urged voters to make July 25 a memorable day.

On July 6, Sharif and his daughter were convicted while they were away in London, in connection to the Avenfield reference case by the Accountability Court.

While Sharif was given ten years of imprisonment and fined eight million pounds, Maryam was awarded eight years in jail and fined two million pounds.

When they arrived at Lahore on July 13, the two were taken to Islamabad by a chartered flight, from where they were taken to Adiala jail in Rawalpindi.

Sharif and Maryam were attending to the former's ailing wife, Kulsoom Nawaz, who is undergoing treatment for cancer.

Sharif's brother and PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif expressed confidence that his party would win the general elections despite all the "injustices", according to Geo TV.

While addressing a rally at Basti Talpur on the last day of campaigning on Monday, Shehbaz said that Sharif removed darkness from Pakistan and took the country to great heights.

The deadline for campaigning by all the parties has come to an end at 12 am (Tuesday local time).

Pakistan will go to polls on Wednesday.
The wildfires raging near Athens, which have claimed at least 50 lives, are among the deadliest in Europe this century, with Portugal and Russia also suffering heavy losses.

Here is a recap of the worst.

Sixty-four people were killed and 250 injured in the deadliest wildfires in Portugal's history in June 2017.

The fires burned for five days in the central Leiria region, breaking out at the height of a summer heatwave. Many of the victims died trapped in their cars by the flames while trying to escape.

Violent winds fanned the fires, ravaging some 460 square kilometres (around 180 square miles) of hillsides covered with pine and eucalyptus.

In 2003 gigantic fires caused by a heatwave left 20 dead between July and September in central and southern Portugal.

The summer of 2003 remains the most disastrous in terms of surface destroyed, with nearly 4,250 square kilometres going up in smoke.

In 1966 a blaze in the forest of Sintra, west of Lisbon, killed 25 soldiers trying to battle the flames.

In April 2015 huge fires that started in the Khakassia region of southeastern Siberia killed 34 people as well as hundreds of cattle and thousands of sheep.

The blaze, which spread as far as Mongolia and practically up to the Chinese border, also destroyed 2,000 homes and 10,000 square kilometres of land.

Five years earlier, vast swathes of western Russia were ravaged by fires for weeks during an unprecedented heatwave and drought.

The blazes between July and August 2010 tore through 10,000 square kilometres of forest, bogs and brushwood, burning entire villages.

Some of the fires came dangerously close to Russia's top nuclear research centre in Sarov.

Forest fires killed 77 people at the end of August 2007 in Greece, ravaging 2,500 square kilometres in the southern Peloponnese and the island of Evia, northeast of Athens.

The fires raged for around 12 days, but most of the victims were killed early on in the disaster when they became trapped in villages cut off by the flames, some ignoring orders to evacuate.

In the heaviest loss of life in wildfires in France, 82 people were killed battling flames in the southwest Landes region in August 1949.

The victims -- firemen, volunteers and soldiers -- were caught in a ball of fire after the winds suddenly changed direction.
Israel will partially reopen its only goods crossing with the blockaded Gaza Strip later Tuesday, a minister said, after closing it July 9 over border tensions and kites carrying firebombs to burn Israeli farmland.

"Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman decided that Kerem Shalom will partially reopen and as of today at 12:00 pm (0900 GMT) it will be possible to transfer gas and fuel into the Gaza Strip, in addition to food and medicine," Lieberman's office said.
In a big blow to the police department and the ruling BJP government in Rajasthan, state Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria said that Akbar Khan  who was attacked by a mob on Friday night on suspicion of smuggling cows  died in police custody. He also ordered a magisterial enquiry.

After inspecting the lynching spot in Alwar on Tuesday, Kataria told media, "Evidence collected by a high-level police team suggests it is a custodial death. Akbar Khan (31) died in police custody."

There were reports that the police took Akbar, alias Rakbar, to hospital after a three-hour delay.

"We have found out that the cows were first taken to the gaushala (shelter house). Police shouldn't have done that," the minister said. He ordered additional chief judicial magistrate Rajgarh to conduct an enquiry.

Kataria also met the victim's family and announced a compensation of Rs 1.25 lakh. "The family is satisfied with the investigation. I have assured them that the guilty will be caught and that there will be a fair trial," Kataria said.

Injuries all over body

The post-mortem report on Tuesday revealed that Akbar Khan died of shock after sustaining injuries all over the body from a "blunt weapon or object".

According to the report, he had fractured bones on one hand and leg. There were 12 injury marks on the body. His leg and wrist were fractured.

Akbar's companion Aslam, who escaped the attack, said in a written statement to police that around five men beat Akbar with sticks which led to severe injuries on his arms and legs.

On Monday, the Rajasthan Police suspended assistant sub inspector Mohan Singh and sent three constables to police lines for delay in taking Akbar to hospital.

The Ramgarh Police have so far arrested three men suspected to be involved in the attack. Naresh Singh (28), Dharmendra Yadav (24) and Paramjeet Singh (28) were sent to police custody for five days.

Four enquiries in four days

There have been four enquiries in four days in the case, raising questions about the functioning of the Rajasthan Police. On Sunday night, a day after Akbar's death, taking cognizance of reports about delayed police response, the case was shifted outside Alwar. Vandana Bhatti, additional SP, crime & vigilance, Jaipur range, was made the investigation officer.

On Monday, the Rajasthan Police formed high-level team of four senior officers led by special DG (law & order) N R K Reddy to probe the case. And on Tuesday, Home Minister Kataria ordered a magisterial enquiry after admitting that Akbar died in police custody.
A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) man was killed and another injured as militants attacked paramilitary forces near the Fire and Emergency Services department in Batamaloo area of Srinagar on Tuesday.

Ravideep Sahi, Inspector General CRPF, said that militants fired upon the CRPF party and ran away from the spot.

It was a hit and run case in which one CRPF man was killed and another injured, he told reporters at the encounter site.

The deceased trooper was identified as Shankar Lal of 23 CRPF Battalion.

Following the attack, security forces cordoned off the area and launched a manhunt to nab the attackers.

Indigenous Hizbul Mujahideen outfit in a tele-statement to local news gathering agency KNS claimed responsibility for the attack.

The place where the attack occurred is barely a hundred meter away from the office of Inspector General Police (IGP) Kashmir and SSP Srinagar.

Earlier on February 12, two fidayeen (suicide) militants and one CRPF personnel were killed after the militants made an abortive bid to attack a paramilitary forces camp in Karan Nagar area, barely half a kilometre away from Tuesdays attack location.

On June 15 militants had attacked a police party near SMHS hospital in Karan Nagar, killing one policeman and injuring another.

A senior police officer involved in counter-insurgency operations said, The militants appearing in the heart of Srinagar city and successfully managing to attack security forces is a cause of worry. While the focus of security agencies is on south Kashmir, by carrying out tactical attacks in Srinagar, the militants want to convey that they are capable of striking anywhere in the Valley," he said.

Sources said that in view of the latest attack, state police chief Shesh Pal Vaid asked all the security agencies to remain vigilant while performing their duties.

Security agencies have been asked to deploy additional forces in sensitive areas of Srinagar and remain extra-vigilant to thwart any such attacks in future, they said.
The iconic Jinnah House, a sea facing bungalow in south Mumbai, is a government property and there is a no question of disposing of it, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Tuesday.

Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir told Lok Sabha that Jinnah House does not come under the purview of Enemy Property Act and it cannot be considered as an enemy property.

"Mohammad Ali Jinnah's House stands under the category of 'evacuee property' under the Administration of Evacuee Property Act, 1950. Jinnah House is a Government of India property and the question of disposing of the said property does not arise," Ahir said in a written reply.

The question was raised by BJP MP Ashwini Kumar who asked whether the government considers Jinnah House in Mumbai as 'enemy property' and if not, under which category the property stands as on date. He also wanted to know in which manner the government proposes to dispose of the Jinnah House.

Jinnah House, which was initially known as South Court, is an unoccupied property in Malabar Hill, a posh area in Mumbai. The Pakistan founder had been residing here till he left India following partition. It was built in 1936 after he returned from England.

The Evacuee Property Act was passed in 1950 and it said that a person whose place of residence in pre-partition India, who departed on account of communal disturbances in 1947, may be declared to be an evacuee. Evacuee property means any property in which an evacuee has no right or interest, whether personally or as a trustee or as a beneficiary or in any other capacity.

However, the Enemy Property Act was passed after the 1965 Indo-Pak War. It defined that no heir of the owner of the property who left for Pakistan after the war does not have any claim on these properties.
The Telecom Regulatory Authoritys (Trai) recommendations on data ownership and security have not come a day too early, when there is concern, worldwide and in India, over data protection and information privacy. The regulator has proposed that telecom users be treated as owners of their data and the firms that have access to and deal with it be considered as just custodians of the data. The firms include social media firms, telecom operators, third-party app makers or any other controllers of personal data. As individuals have the absolute right to their digital data, operators and other service providers should collect such data only with their consent, and it can be used only for the limited purpose for which the data is sought. The consent can be withdrawn and the user has the right to be forgotten, which means the right to get all data erased without leaving a history.

These are principles that flow from the right to privacy and they are important for every citizen and consumer. The amount of data created and stored digitally is growing at an unprecedented rate. Organisations which have access to them have commercially misused them and even tried to influence elections. Facebook and Cambridge Analytica have found themselves in controversy over such misuse. There is concern over the possibility of data manipulation and misuse undermining the democratic process and citizens rights. The Trai proposal is therefore very relevant. The regulator has in the past also taken many steps to protect customers interests, like facilities to block unwanted commercial calls and communications. The data protection norms are more fundamental and far-reaching. There is low respect for protection of data in India. Aadhaar data has been made public many times. A telecom company opened bank accounts in the name of its customers without their knowledge and consent, using their Aadhaar consent, and the regulator had to stop it and impose penalties on the company.

The Trai proposals are not binding, and they are about data protection only in the telecom field. A committee headed by Justice BN Srikrishna is now working on a data protection law. Its report is awaited. The scope of the legislation will be much wider and the privacy of digital data will be a part of it. If the Trai recommendations are accepted and a privacy law on the basis of the commissions report comes into being, that will help to set up a strong and comprehensive data security regime. The world is today data-driven, and many emerging technologies are based on data. So, it should also be noted that the idea is not to stop the flow of data but to prevent its misuse.
The recent proposal of the Karnataka government to open English medium sections in 1,000 primary schools has attracted criticism. Primary Education Minister N Mahesh has highlighted the step as a response to declining enrolment in government schools. Parents prefer private schools because they offer instruction in the English medium. Several studies confirm that parents see English as the language of the Indian elite. Fluency in English offers more opportunities, including good higher education and white-collar jobs.

Though most schools, including government schools, offer English as a subject from Class 1, parents feel that for acquiring adequate competency, English needs to be the medium of instruction as well. But in most states, government primary schools provide instruction in the state language, and other Indian languages spoken in their geographies. The Right to Education Act (RTE), passed by Parliament in 2009, also requires primary education to be offered in the home language, as far as practicable.

Language learning

There is a fair degree of consensus among language experts that every child is capable of learning more than one language. In many parts of India, especially urban locations, people can converse in more than one language. However, language experts also assert that initial learning is best done using the home language as the medium, since the child being admitted to Class 1 is invariably competent in the home language.

Stephen Krashen, an expert in second language learning, suggests three important principles that are responsible for the success of learning the home language and which need to be followed for effective learning of other languages as well. Firstly, an input-rich environment is essential for language learning. The infant is constantly exposed to her parents and siblings speech. Secondly, for formal language learning, the focus should be on meaningful and comprehensible inputs. Young learners are interested in learning if it is a meaningful activity for them. Thirdly, language learning should happen in a stress-free environment. In the case of the home language, the child is not pressured to speak.

Once a strong foundation is laid in the home language, learning a second or third language later is easier as language skills are transferable. Just as every child is able to learn his or her home language before he or she goes to school, similarly, he or she should be able to learn second and third languages in school, including English. Though English is taught as a subject in most primary schools, this does not seem to be happening.

The reality is that in most (non-elite) Indian homes, there is little or no support for English. The school, too, is unable to provide an environment where the child has adequate opportunities to listen to English, as most teachers do not have proficiency in the language.

Secondly, there is pre-mature pressure on the learner to write, which is the most difficult of all the language skills, without adequate exposure to listening and reading. Examination pressures also affect learning the language.

Thirdly, the teaching of languages in many Indian schools follows the method of memorising content for reproducing in examinations. The learner has few opportunities to use the content meaningfully to build communication skills. All three principles of Krashen thus fail in the Indian school environment. Learning multiple languages is more often due to peer or mass media influences.

In such circumstances, making English the medium of instruction can create a further barrier to learning. Being weak in English would affect abilities to learn mathematics, science, social science etc., compounding failure in English.

Private schools have cashed in on the desire amongst parents for English medium, as it is lawful for an individual or institution to open a school and choose the medium of instruction. However, failure of Krashens principles is not limited to government schools. In addition, the pressure to do well in the examination can be higher in private schools, making language learning even more difficult.

Also, when we say private schools, we are masking a wide stratification. There is a very small minority of elite affluent schools, where it is possible that teachers are able and willing to teach English following Krashens principles, which are resource intensive. However, a large number of private schools are the so-called affordable schools, funded mostly from the meagre fees paid by students coming from lower middle class and poor families. These schools employ unqualified teachers, pay them poorly and cannot afford to invest on their professional development. Hence their teachers are unlikely to have capability to teach English. Thus, English medium of instruction in poor private schools is a tragic deception of parents.

By announcing English medium sections in primary schools without investing adequately in adequate curricular resources, in teacher education to strengthen teachers ability in English and changing their language teaching methods, the Karnataka government is unwittingly perpetrating a similar fraud on the children of the poor.

There are other steps that the government could take to reverse the trend of declining enrolment in government schools. The public education rejuvenation campaign of the Kerala government has reversed the decline in admissions to their primary schools. This campaign sought support from local communities to strengthen schools and focused on improving infrastructure and academic quality in government schools.

Karnataka needs to immediately invest significantly, to build teachers competencies in English language, reform language pedagogy and provide a resource-rich environment in the schools, complementing textbooks with audio and visual resources. This will, over time, enable students to learn English at the primary level.

(The writer is Director, IT for Change, Bengaluru)
The U.S. Senate passed a bill last November that would direct the Federal Communications Commission to set up a nationwide, easy-to-remember, three-digit emergency hotline for suicide prevention.

It is inexcusable that the House has dawdled this long in considering it and has yet to bring it to the floor.

In the intervening months, such a hotline may have helped untold numbers of people who have succumbed to dark thoughts and despair.

The current suicide hotline, 1-800-273-8255, is long and difficult to remember. It is reminiscent of the days, a half-century or so ago, when people could access local police departments only by calling similar long numbers. Many people kept those numbers posted somewhere handy. Others would rely on calling operators in times of emergency and asking to be connected to the police.

The advent of a nationwide 911 system ended all that, providing an easy-to-remember solution that now has become a part of the American culture.

Because suicide is so difficult to confront, we doubt many people have the current hotline number posted in a handy place. A universal three-digit number would be easy to remember, just as it would raise awareness of the problem, perhaps further saving lives.

In a stirring speech that caught the attention of LGBT advocates, Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, a co-sponsor, urged the House to fast-track the bill.

"No one should ever feel less because of their gender identity or sexual orientation," Hatch said, noting the prevalence of suicide among LGBT youths. He also decried a growing lack of civility in society. "Whether in person or online, we can be softer in our language, kinder in our actions and stronger in our love.

Thats sound advice, especially in Washington, where commonsense measures such as these can get mired in endless political maneuvers. This is one bill that deserves fast action for reasons of compassion.

Suicide is a growing problem nationwide. A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that suicide rates are up in every state but Nevada, and Nevadas rate already was higher than the national average.

In 25 states, rates were up 30 percent from 1999 to 2016, making suicide the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. Utahs rate was the fifth worst in the country, according to the report.

The establishment of a three-digit hotline should be neither controversial nor difficult. The House has no excuse for not moving faster.

The bill, whose House sponsor is Utah Rep. Chris Stewart, finally passed through the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Wednesday. It ought to be moved to the floor immediately and quickly sent to the presidents desk for his signature.

For those in crisis or those helping someone else, the suicide prevention lifeline is available at all hours by calling 1-800-273-TALK.
SALT LAKE CITY  The Bureau of Land Management on Monday announced it is planning a December lease of nearly 330,000 acres for potential oil and gas development across the state.

The online auction for industry will be the first statewide event due to a policy change, in contrast to the district-by-district approach the BLM used to take.

The public scoping period ends at 4:30 p.m. July 31, which is a shortened time frame due to changes enacted by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to "streamline" the leasing process.

The BLM welcomes and encourages public involvement early in the (review) process, as it is an integral part in our evaluation of the proposed lease parcels, said Kent Hoffman, the agency's deputy state director for lands and minerals. The most-effective comments will identify issues and concerns specific to the parcels being considered.

Critics are blasting the decision to put the 231 parcels on the table for potential development because they say many of them are in environmentally sensitive areas unsuitable for industry activity.

"This is what Trumps energy dominance agenda looks like in Utah, said Steve Bloch, legal director with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

Oil and gas operators win. Everyone else loses," Bloch said.

The alliance and other groups say many of the parcels are in the Book Cliffs, White River, Labyrinth Canyon and the Four Corners regions, and the impacts could be severe.

"These sensitive lands should be withdrawn from the lease sale, and the public is entitled to have a meaningful opportunity to weigh in on this bad idea," said Bobby McEnaney, senior director of the "Dirty Energy Project" at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The critics also emphasized the ozone pollution problem in the Uinta Basin, where 100 parcels are planned for lease in that area or nearby.
SALT LAKE CITY  When you turn on the tap, rinse out the sink or do a load of dishes, do you know where the water is coming from and if the provider will fix a water main if it breaks?

The answers may not be that simple.

Over the years, cities have bought up other water systems, extended delivery of water outside their boundaries and often charge higher rates to residents who don't live within the city.

Sen. Daniel Thatcher, a Republican legislator from West Valley City, told his colleagues the last thing he wants to do is get entangled in water law, but to him, this is a matter of fair play among cities.

"We don't want to go down the rabbit holes of water law, but I do believe we have a very specific interest in how the public is being treated by political subdivisions and how the political subdivisions are interfacing with each other," Thatcher said during a legislative meeting last week.

There is a level of discomfort for us because as water experts we are being asked to look at some political issues. There will obviously be political decisions within these recommendations that will affect political subdivisions.  Mike Styler, executive director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources

Thatcher is chair of the Political Subdivisions Interim Committee, which heard a presentation Wednesday on a water transparency issue that is among four water-related topics under intense scrutiny this summer. Multiple working groups are coming up with a list of recommendations for the Legislature by September.

The work has been complex but productive, said Mike Styler, executive director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources.

While the committees include a bevy of water law experts, Styler said the questions popping up have long-range political implications.

"There is a level of discomfort for us because as water experts we are being asked to look at some political issues," Styler said. "There will obviously be political decisions within these recommendations that will affect political subdivisions."

Rep. Kim Coleman, who ran a water transparency bill last session only to see it mired down with questions, said current practices don't protect ratepayers from cost and service abuses if they live outside a city's boundaries.

"People are at the mercy of that municipality," said Coleman, R-West Jordan, adding some residents are part of "surplus" water contracts that can be terminated at any time with little notice.

Evelyn Everton, Sandy City's deputy mayor who also spoke on behalf of the Utah League of Cities and Towns, said it is historic practice for cities to acquire water rights and have enough supply on hand to survive drought and plan for future growth.

My concern is residents who are being served water but don't know who is clearly responsible and who owns that infrastructure that is delivering that water to them.  Marie Owens, director of the Utah Division of Drinking Water

Everton added that Salt Lake City recently informed Sandy City that its supply will be curtailed in light of the Inland Port and new prison developments slated to come online. The city is now shopping for water elsewhere.

She rejected the notion that cities "hoard" water at the expense of others.

"These agreements among cities have been working."

Coleman, however, said she believes there is a water grab going on.

"There is a 100-year-old law on the books that allows cities of the first class to have near endless ability to grab water," she said. "We have seen fairly aggressive movements that way. The ability for emerging cities to acquire water appropriation outright is precluded and leaves them dependent on cities that have already gone out and grabbed water."

She said the law may have made sense for that period of time in Utah's history, but she wonders if it is good law now.

"We question if that still makes sense. We have a lot of cities emerging as cities of the first class."

Nancy Carlson-Gotts, president of the Association of Community Councils Together, urged support of Coleman's transparency bill in the coming session.

The group includes 16 community councils representing more than 140,000 residents.

A Millcreek resident, Carlson-Gotts, said she went to a Salt Lake City Council meeting to question a rate increase and was rebuffed and directed outside the chambers to look at a budget document.

"We want to know what we are being charged and where (those fees) are going," she said.

Marie Owens, director of the Utah Division of Drinking Water, said greater transparency is needed among water delivery systems.

"My concern is residents who are being served water but don't know who is clearly responsible and who owns that infrastructure that is delivering that water to them."
This week marks Utahs remarkable two-year run as the fastest growing economy in the nation. It also marks 171 years since the pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley and began to settle the Great Basin. The contrast between what those pioneers found when they arrived and what this state has become is astonishing. The sacrifice and hard work to make it so is unfathomable. Equally unfathomable are the grim circumstances and persecution that drove those pioneers from their homes on the fertile soil along the Mississippi River to the desolate ground on the shores of an inland salt sea.

Sadly, stories of refugees driven from homes and homelands are not relegated to history books. The harrowing scenes are repeated throughout the world today. An estimate of 68 million displaced people worldwide was released on World Refugee Day last month, more than any other time in history. The high number of refugees is staggering. So is the low number of refugees who have been resettled, at just over 100,000, or less than half of 1 percent.

As the debate around immigration and refugees swirls at the national level, business and community leaders in Utah came together to establish the Utah Compact, a set of principles to guide solutions in a practical and compassionate way. While the Utah Compact was established nearly a decade ago, those principles are more important than ever. Sadly, the federal government is not any closer and in many ways is further from identifying and implementing meaningful solutions.

As a state settled by refugees, Utah has a unique past that informs our present and hopefully our future. Utahs history makes immigration reform and refugee resettlement more than a policy debate and more than an economic issue. In Utah, we understand this is a moral imperative. This was evidenced when two years ago, Utah was the only state with a Republican governor that expressed its willingness to continue welcoming refugees from the Syrian civil war. Thirty other states closed their doors. Good for Utah and sad for our country.

Good for Utah because refugees make significant contributions in our communities every day that make Utah a better place. Just as the pioneers of 1847 made the desert blossom as a rose, modern-day pioneers come to Utah from places such Syria, Somalia, Nicaragua, Iran and India to rebuild lives out of desperate desolation.

Pioneer Day is a fitting time to remember the political and religious refugees who were driven from their homes and settled Utah. Those pioneers are worthy of the honor. But we must do more than simply remember. We must turn that remembrance into action by assisting refugees today. When modern-day refugees come to Utah, they come to a place of common experience that should make Utahns welcoming, understanding and compassionate.

Utahs pioneer heritage is about more than covered wagons and handcarts. It is about more than Ensign Peak and This is the Place Monument. Remembering the pioneers is about more than rodeos and cookouts. We honor the memory of the pioneers who arrived in the humblest of circumstances when that heritage is reflected in how we welcome others and provide the compassion and care so brutally absent from the circumstances they fled.
LEHI  One of the nation's most prolific venture capital firms announced Tuesday it's throwing its considerable resources  and a check for $35 million  behind a Utah tech startup that's disrupting the world of expense account management, and doing it at a breakneck pace.

The news comes just weeks after Lehi-based Divvy closed a Series A round worth $10.5 million and, with the new round, brings the company's fundraising total to $57 million since its inception, about seven months ago.

Insight Venture Partners has been around for over 20 years, has $23 billion in assets under management and just went public with an investment fund of $6.3 billion. A recent report by data analytics firm CB Insights lists Insight Venture as the fourth most active U.S. venture capital firm for the second quarter of 2018, with 18 completed deals.

Now, just days after sharing news about its latest fund, the New York City firm announced it's leading a Series B funding round for Divvy, lauding the company for its ability to effectively revamp, and improve, the way companies track and manage business expenses.

We are thrilled to partner with Divvy to transform corporate expense tracking from a reactive to proactive process, Insight Ventures Managing Director Jeff Lieberman said in a statement. Divvy offers a unified platform that enables real-time decision-making and budget management, ultimately creating operational efficiencies and savings.

Divvy Vice President of Marketing Sterling Snow told the Deseret News that, immediately after closing its Series A funding, the company was being power-courted by venture capital heavyweights from both coasts. The company ended up with Insight, Snow said, because of the firm's reputation for focusing on helping grow its investment companies and, in part, due to its excellent track record with other Utah tech efforts.

Those include Qualtrics, Pluralsight, Instructure and, most recently, a $20 million investment in another Lehi company, SimpleNexus.

"Insight Venture has been a big backer of top-performing Utah companies and has played a role in building the credibility of our tech scene," Snow said. "They have extensive domain expertise and know how to grow and scale innovation companies."

Divvy's product, which launched in January, features a software platform designed to manage the full breadth of business expense management and enables users to create unique identifiers for every vendor and discrete credit card numbers for each employee that needs one. Purchase limits and restrictions can be pre-set and dynamically altered when necessary and all expense data can be tracked in real time.

Also, the product is free. Divvy earns its money on the banking side of its transactional system.

Anthony Fox, Jane.com's director of finance, told the Deseret News his company, a Lehi-based online retailer of clothing for women and children as well as accessories and home decor, switched to Divvy expense management about five months ago. The change, Fox said, has led to both time savings and more thorough accountability.

"It was simple to set up and I can log in to the (Divvy) interface at any time to review all pending and completed transactions," Fox said. "If anybody is having any issues, I can see it and resolve them easily."

Fox noted the software allows Jane's department managers to oversee and track expenses their staff is accruing, monitor budgets and, if necessary, approve expenditures and adjust permissions for individual employees.

Divvy CEO Blake Murray said the company's platform not only modernizes expense tracking but does so in a way that eliminates expense reports and creates a single-stop solution for fiscal management.

"Every single day, businesses deal with the pain of outdated expense management tools and processes," Murray said in a statement. "Businesses want one place to see and control how their company spends money. Divvy is truly the solution the market has been waiting for.

Divvy is close to building its list of business customers to the 1,000-mark and is used daily by thousands of employees at client companies. Snow said along with its turbo-charged funding growth, Divvy is also expanding its Utah employee base. At the moment, Divvy employs about 70 but Snow said the company is close to moving to a new Lehi office space and expects that number will exceed 100 by the end of the year.
The internet's rapid exchange of information has led to numerous hoaxes of prominent people dying over the years. When it happened to Sen. Orrin Hatch, he was ready with proof to the contrary in a series of tweets.

A Google search result Monday night falsely indicated Hatch had died Sept. 11, 2017, according to Mashable. "We might need to talk," Hatch tweeted at Google, with a screenshot of the error.

And the seven-term Utah senator didn't stop poking fun at Google there  posting a string of tweets to prove he's had quite the time as of late for someone supposedly dead.

Tweets from the official Hatch Twitter account included photos of him reading the Deseret News and eating bacon, a video of Hatch at Josh Holt's Utah return, and even some boasts of what Hatch has accomplished by way of legislation since he "passed."

Here is Senator Hatch reading a newspaper earlier. pic.twitter.com/mRWyhfxece  Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) July 24, 2018

Here is a video just last week of Senator Hatch signing bills. pic.twitter.com/A2DtZ1No3z  Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) July 24, 2018

Here is Senator Hatch giving Chancellor Merkel a gift and telling her she is terrific earlier this month on 7/6.



More on that trip > https://t.co/rENjcEc0ar pic.twitter.com/Ba517tNAjr  Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) July 24, 2018

Here is Hatch last month at the World War II Memorial with Utah honor flight veterans. pic.twitter.com/tUy5a3IPGJ  Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) July 24, 2018

A reminder that Josh and Thamy Holts triumphant return to the US of A was just a few months ago. Senator Hatch was very much alive then. pic.twitter.com/8EAK3nOgaT  Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) July 24, 2018

Senator Hatch making an important state visit to Chuck A Rama in May. (With audio) pic.twitter.com/s8onBfGBJ0  Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) July 24, 2018

The Senators 84th birthday in March.



The theme was bacon. pic.twitter.com/qYpBJNNdgx  Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) July 24, 2018

On Twitter, Hatch wasn't the only one to get in on the fun.

Sen. Orrin Hatch to Google: Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated https://t.co/bqoP0wjVmW  John Hendel (@JohnHendel) July 24, 2018

We miss you more every day Senator  Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) July 24, 2018

Sen. Orrin Hatch is alive: a thread https://t.co/jEUojM3wff  Sonia Moghe (@soniamoghe) July 24, 2018

Google later responded as well.

You certainly are alive and sporting a great sense of humor. We apologize for the error. We'll have it fixed shortly.  Google Communications (@Google_Comms) July 24, 2018

According to HuffPost, the error stemmed from a change to Hatch's Wikipedia entry. The entry was later corrected with any reference to his death removed.

Google's "knowledge panel" is where the mistake was listed, and the company populates the section from a "variety of sources" like Wikipedia, according to the Washington Post.

Hatch, 84, is set to retire in January after 41 years in the Senate.
MTN Nigeria is using Nokias Customer Experience Management (CEM) solution to improve the overall experience of its 52 million customers.

Nokias CEM solutions help to improve operational efficiency, enabling service providers to find new business opportunities while ensuring subscribers receive the maximum benefit from their services.

Henrique Vale, MEA leader for Applications and Analytics Global Centre at Nokia, said: Using powerful machine learning algorithms, Nokia Cognitive Analytics for Customer Insight software gives the operator a complete view of customer satisfaction and revenue as well as device and network performance.

This, in turn, enables MTN Nigeria to quickly identify service issues, such as poor voice call and data session quality, and they can prioritise improvements based on customer and business impact. By implementing this CEM solution, MTN Nigeria will be able to identify challenges upfront and engage with individual customers to acknowledge the issue, determine a solution and provide personalised service to solve the issue, added Vale.

The major benefit of this is to reduce customer churn, thereby retaining revenue and avoiding the need to spend money on promotions to win lapsed customers back. The solution allows MTN to identify and address customer needs proactively.

Through the Nokia CEM solution, we will improve our customers experience, providing faster and smoother connectivity on voice and data services, as we create a more personalised experience for them based on their usage and service requirements, says Uche Osuji, General Manager of Network Performance at MTN Nigeria. The solution will also enable us to proactively identify and resolve service impairments, respond to complaints from our customers much faster.
Thailands CAT Telecom has selected Actilitys ThingPark Wireless LPWA connectivity platform to power a national IoT communication network rollout across the country.

The rollout will begin with a smart city solution for Phuket which will be followed by a deployment in Bangkok. Actility is partnered with local system integrator and communication network specialist Teo Hong Silom Group to support the deployment and scale-up of the network.

The operators president Colonel Sanpachai Huvanandana said: CAT Telecom is determined to develop a LoRaWAN network to support IoT services in line with the Governments Thailand 4.0 agenda. The key factors in developing true smart cities, such as we are pioneering with the city of Phuket, are infrastructure and services. These smart services will include Smart Metering, Smart Buildings, Smart Lighting, Smart Parking, Smart Farming, Smart Logistics and Smart Tourism. These services require a data communication infrastructure which covers a long distance, uses low energy and cuts the operating cost, all of which are major advantages of the LoRaWAN wireless network.

Wisut Kaewbangkapom, Deputy General Manager ICT Solutions Business of Teo Hong Silom Co., Ltd (THS), comments: We are confident and ready to deliver innovative solutions to CAT Telecom, to stimulate IoT activities and benefit everyone nationwide.

In the future, the information on the behaviours and activities of tourists will be aggregated by a Big Data Platform, adds Colonel Huvanandana. It will greatly benefit the business owners and city administration in. They will be able to perform deep analysis of consumer behaviour, and also improve the quality of life and the safety of the local citizens, improve all aspects of city management in all aspects and make Phuket a world class smart city.

CAT Telecom will use its findings from the Phuket project to create a transferrable business model and technical solutions to accelerate the deployment of Smart Cities in 18 provinces across Thailand, including the Bangkok region, Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, Nan, Saraburi, Nakhon Nayok, Prachinburi, Songkhla, Surat Thani, Nakhon Ratchasima, Maha Sarakham, Udon Thani, Ubon Ratchathani and Nakhon Pathom. and the three provinces in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), namely Chonburi, Rayong and Chachoengsao.
Google launched Android Oreo in August last year, and since then, over 12 percent phones have the OS installed on them, even as Nougat became the most installed Android OS version, revealed Google's Android distribution numbers for the month. Google collected this data in the week that ended on July 23. Any versions with less than 0.1 percent distribution, such as Android 3.0 Honeycomb and Android 2.2 Froyo, are not included. The company takes the help of the Google Play Console which provides detailed statistics about users devices.

This page provides information about the relative number of devices that share a certain characteristic, such as Android version or screen size. This information may help you prioritize efforts for supporting different devices by revealing which devices are active in the Android and Google Play ecosystem, Google said on its Distribution Dashboard Page. According to Google, Nougat is the top installed Android OS at 30.8 percent (Nougat 7.0 - 21.2 percent; Nougat 7.1 - 9.6 percent), followed by Marshmallow at 23.5 percent and Lollipop at 20.4 percent (Lollipop 5.0 - 4.2 percent; Lollipop 5.1- 16.2 percent). Android Oreo takes the fourth spot with 12.1 percent.

The company also provided data about the relative number of devices that have a particular screen configuration, defined by a combination of screen size and density. Since there are several phones with different screen sizes that run on Android, Google has also divided the range of actual screen sizes and densities into several buckets.

While Android Oreo has 12.1 percent adoption till July, its previous version Nougat had 11.5 percent installs after 10 months. Generally it takes a year for an Android OS to become the most used release, and Android Oreo should follow suit in its own sweet time. Earlier this year, Google announced several changes that Android P will bring when it launches later this year. The company has already released the beta version of the latest OS and you can read our in-depth hands on here.
Xiaomi expansion into South Korea heaping pressure on Samsung

China-based Xiaomi launched its latest smartphones including the flagship Hongmi Note 5, in Seoul, South Korea, priced KRW200,000-300,000 (US$190-285), in cooperation with local telecom carriers SK Telecom and Korea Telecom. Their competitive pricing of less than US$300, far below Korea-based vendors' smartphone ASP of over US$500 in 2017, has quickly caught much attention in the Korea market.

Xiaomi's operating profits have always been below 5%, but the slim-profit strategy is also the China-based smartphone vendor's strongest weapon in its foray into new territories. Xiaomi has already outraced Samsung Electronics in India's smartphone market and is now looking to challenge the Korea giant on its home turf.

Currently, Samsung is the largest smartphone vendor in South Korea with a 55% share, followed by Apple at 28.3% and LG Electronics at 15.7%. The three handset vendors together already account for 99% of the market, leaving almost no room for any other players.

To nudge its way through the barriers, Xiaomi has introduced Hongmi Note 5, featuring a 5.99-inch screen, 12-megapixel back-end and 5-megapixel front-end cameras, and artificial intelligence (AI) support, priced at KRW299,000; it has been a star in Xiaomi's winning lineup for the race in India. Although Xiaomi has not revealed the number of its smartphone pre-orders from South Korea, sources from local channels have reported positive feedbacks from consumers.

Xiaomi is also said to be considering establishing its own retail store in South Korea.

China-based brand vendors have often embraced a strategy of growing market share first before turning their focus to profitability - a strategy that major Korea business groups used to rely on in the past. These large businesses now face a strong challenge in defending their home market without the weapon that they have already given up. It should not surprise anyone if China-based vendors gains the upper hand in the smartphone competition in South Korea.
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Thinking about quitting Facebook? There's a demographic analysis for that

People are either Facebook users or they are not.

Facebook user data can be used to draw conclusions about general social phenomena.

According to Eric P.S. Baumer, who studies human-computer interaction, the simple statements above are, in fact, not so simple  nor are they true.

Baumer's new research takes a fine-grained look at Facebook use and non-use, using a more nuanced approach than has previously been undertaken. Rather than employing a simple binary of two categories  use and non-use  Baumer's study looks at demographic and socioeconomic factors that impact Facebook use and non-use using four categories:

current user: who currently has and uses a Facebook account;

deactivated: who has temporarily deactivated her / his account but could technically reactivate at any time;

considered deactivating: who has considered deactivating her/his account but never actually done so; and

never used: who has never had a Facebook account.

Baumer analysed data collected by Cornell's Survey Research Institute in 2015 for the Cornell National Social Survey. The data set includes responses from 1,000 US households gleaned from a phone survey of adults 18 years or older.

Through probabilistic modelling, Baumer sought to identify predictors for the four different types of Facebook use and non-use. He presented his findings at the 2018 ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems in Montreal Canada on April 25th.

The findings were also published in a paper called: Socioeconomic Inequalities in the Non/use of Facebook.

Of the factors he explored, eight emerged as predictors of use and non-use: age, gender, marital status, whether the respondent had looked for work in the past four weeks, household income, race, weight and social ideology (liberal to conservative). The strongest predictors, he found, were age, gender, whether the respondent had looked for work in the past four weeks and household income.

The research shows that current Facebook use is more common among respondents who are: middle aged (40 to 60), female, not seeking employment, of Asian descent, or currently married.

Deactivation, either actual or considered, is more common among respondents who are younger, seeking employment, or not married. Respondents most likely to have never had an account are older, male, from a lower income household, racially of Black or African-American descent, more socially conservative, or weigh less.

Baumer says his findings suggest how socioeconomic factors might work in concert.

"My analysis reveals that individuals from lower-income households are less likely ever to have had a Facebook account," says Baumer. "Yet, social networks have been shown to play an important role in fostering 'social capital,' which can be leveraged for accomplishing certain tasks, including securing employment. Also, respondents who had looked for work within the last four weeks were more likely to have deactivated their Facebook accounts  eliminating a potential resource in their job search."

"Facebook, rather than acting as a democratizer," writes Baumer, "may be perpetuating existing social inequalities."

Other demographic results from the study include:

Age: Older respondents were more likely to have never had a Facebook account. Older respondents who did have an account were less likely to have deactivated or to have considered deactivating. For example, Baumer's analysis reveals that every one-year increase in age increases the odds of having never had a Facebook account by 4.6 per cent.

Younger respondents are more likely to have either deactivated or considered deactivating their Facebook account, while they are simultaneously less likely to be a current user. The probability of deactivation, considered or actual, drops as age increases, while the probability of never having had an account goes up.

"Rather than try Facebook and leave, older respondents never had an account in the first place," writes Baumer in the paper.

Gender: Female respondents were 2.656 times more likely than male respondents to be a current user rather than never having used Facebook. However, gender did not significantly predict deactivation, either considered or actual. This result aligns with prior findings that social media use is more common among female respondents.

Employment: A respondent's current employment status did not emerge as a significant predictor. However, the model does include whether the respondent looked for work in the past four weeks. Respondents who had looked for work were 2.030 times more likely to have deactivated their account and 2.276 times more likely to have considered deactivating.

Household Income: A respondent's household income had no significant effect on deactivation, either considered or actual. However, respondents with lower household incomes were more likely to never have had a Facebook account.

Race: In the final model, only two racial categories have a significant impact, and each of those only significantly impacts a single type of use and/or non-use. First, respondents who identify as Asian are only 0.278 times as likely (i.e., 3.597 times less likely) to have considered deactivating their account. These respondents are also 0.238 times as likely (i.e., 4.202 times less likely) to have never had a Facebook account.

Second, respondents who identified as Black were more likely never to have had a Facebook account. This finding aligns with previous research suggesting Facebook use is relatively less common among African Americans.

Marital Status: Being married (as opposed to single, divorced, widowed, etc.) decreases the chance of considering deactivation and reduces the odds of actually deactivating almost by half.

Social Ideology: Self-identified conservative respondents were more likely never to have had a Facebook account. Each move toward the conservative end of the response scale corresponded to being 1.152 times more likely to have never had an account. Social ideology has only a slight impact on the probability of deactivation, either considered or actual.

Weight: Heavier respondents were less likely to have considered deactivating their account and to have never had an account. Lower-weight respondents are more likely only to consider deactivating, while higher-weight respondents are more likely to have actually deactivated.

His analysis, says Baumer, also provides specific details about the types of populations that researchers are, and are not, studying when analyzing data from social media.

"The analysis helps to explain the ways that Facebook, and likely all social media, are not representative of the broader population," says Baumer. "Facebook users are more likely older, female, higher income earners, married and ideologically liberal."
Bullet train project: Finmin wants Railways to tap market for funds

Prime Minister Narendra Modis pet project to set up a Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor with Japanese help may face another hurdle in finding the requisite finances, after the delay caused by land acquisition woes.

The finance ministry has now asked fund-starved Indian Railways to tap the market for funds for over and above the around Rs1,800 crore earmarked in the current years budget for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project.

The finance ministry is also reported to have told the Railways that the requisite budgetary support for the project is unlikely in view of the governments own financial crunch.

The National High-Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRCL) set up by the government has already invested around Rs10,000 crore for acquiring land and initiating survey and preliminary work on. The central government has committed Rs15,000 crore as its commitment towards the Rs1,08,000 crore mega project.

Reports said the Railways had sought around Rs18,000 crore from the finance ministry, for initiating work on the Japanese-backed project. However, several meetings between the two ministries have failed to arrive at a mutually-acceptable solution.

The finance ministry wants the Railways to look for ways to raise the amount from the market, which will be repaid by the finance ministry later.

However, the Railways has pointed to the interest cost and associated charges of such borrowings and that it will not be able to bear the additional yearly burden.

Market borrowings will also escalate the total cost of the Bullet train project and prove costly for the government despite the cheap Japanese loan that will meet most of expenses of the project.

As per the pattern of shareholding, Rs10,000 crore is to be paid to the NHSRCL by the Indian government, while Gujarat and Maharashtra, are to pay Rs5,000 crore each. The rest of the amount is to be paid through a loan at 0.1 per cent interest by Japan.

The finance ministrys argument is that while funds can be raised from the market, it will affects governments efforts to keep fiscal deficit under check.

The Railways will have to borrow money is through its financing arm, the Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) or tap sources like LIC in case government funds are not forthcoming, say reports.
Kalanithi Maran loses Rs1,323-cr arbitration against SpiceJet

An arbitration tribunal has rejected the claim of former Spicejet owner Kalanithi Maran and his company Kal Airways Ltd (KAL) for Rs1,323-crore damages from Spicejet for failure to issue warrants and preference shares. The court, however, directed SpiceJet and its current owners to refund the Rs579 crore to Maran, including interest.

An arbitration tribunal has rejected the Rs1,323-crore damages claim from SpiceJet by its previous owner Kalanithi Maran in a share transfer dispute, the airline said on Saturday.

Maran and his KAL Airways had sought compensation from SpiceJet and its chairman and managing director Ajay Singh for failing to transfer warrants in his name when the airline changed hands in 2015.

Maran had moved Delhi High Court against SpiceJet claiming that SpiceJet and its current owner failed to issue convertible warrants and preference shares as per the transfer agreement and also did not refund his money.

The tribunal, comprising retired Supreme Court Judges Arijit Pasayat, Hemant Laxman Gokhale and KSP Radhakrishnan ruled that there was no breach of a share sale and purchase agreement entered into between Maran and the current Spicejet promoter Ajay Singh in January 2015 and that non-issue of shares were due to regulatory glitches.

In a stock exchange filing on Saturday, Spicejet said that the tribunal constituted by the Delhi High Court in 2016 rejected Maran's claim to damages of Rs1,323 crore for not issuing warrants to him and KAL Airways, but awarded him a refund of Rs579 crore with interest.

SpiceJet defended the non-issue of convertible warrants and preference shares saying that regulatory obstacles had come in the way.

"The tribunal has held that there was no breach by the company (SpiceJet) in pursuing the approval from relevant authority and since the same was not received for reasons not attributable to the company, it cannot be held to be in breach or be made liable for damages," the filing said.

But, the tribunal said, Since the warrants / shares cannot be issued any longer, the amount of about Rs308 crore earlier received by the company as advance towards subscription of warrants is to be refunded to the claimants along with interest of 12 per cent per annum for a period of 30 months.

"Accordingly, no further warrants / shares are required to be issued by the company to the claimants," it added.

Maran and his KAL Airways transferred their 58.46 per cent share in SpiceJet for Rs2 to Singh, a co-founder of the low-cost carrier, who assumed its liabilities of the debt-laden airlines, in 2015.

As part of the agreement, Maran and KAL Airways said they paid SpiceJet Rs679 crore for issuing warrants and preference shares.

The warrants, if converted into equity, would have given Maran and KAL Airways ownership of 24 per cent stake in SpiceJet.

"The company will like to clarify that the aggregate principal amount payable, including the amount of Rs270 crore towards cumulative redeemable preference shares (if and when the same becomes payable) has already been deposited by the company with the Registrar General of the Delhi High Court in September 2017," SpiceJet said.

Singh and his family currently hold 60.25 per cent in SpiceJet.
China now wants Bhutan to join its Belt-And-Road initiative

After trying to ease India out of Nepal, China is now trying to deal directly with Bhutan, after last years stand-off with Indian forces on the Doklam plateau near the tri-junction of India, Bhutan and China.

China now wants to work with Bhutan to ensure peace along their border and keep talking on the issue, a senior Chinese diplomat said during the first high-level visit to that country.

It now transpires that China made a deliberate attempt to raise a non-existent border issue with Bhutan to circumvent Indias defence pact with Bhutan. The stand-off in the Doklam plateau, the most serious and prolonged in decades along the disputed Himalayan border, was specifically meant to extend Chinas influence to Bhutan.

While China and India subsequently withdrew their troops and have been working hard to mend ties, including with meetings between Chinese President Xi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the two remain deeply suspicious of each other.

Chinese vice foreign minister Kong Xuanyou who ended a three-day visit to land-locked Bhutan on Monday, said his country highly regarded its traditional friendship with Bhutan and would as before respect Bhutans independence and sovereignty, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement.

China has also invited Bhutan to join the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and share its development dividend, Beijing said on Tuesday, a day after a the Chinese minister visited Thimphu and held talks with the Bhutanese leadership on wide-ranging issues including the disputed border.

The ministry of foreign affairs (MFA) did not confirm it on Tuesday but it is understood that vice-foreign minister Kong Xuanyou discussed the situation along the China-Bhutan-India border in Doklam.

The two sides exchanged views on China-Bhutan ties, and also the boundary issue, and reached many agreements, Geng Shuang, MFA spokesperson, said at the regular briefing on Tuesday.

Both sides should continue to promote border talks, abide by the principles and consensus already reached, and jointly protect peace and tranquillity in the border region to create positive conditions for a final resolution, the statement cited Kong as saying.

China and Bhutan do not have formal diplomat relations, and Chinas ambassador to India, Luo Zhaohui, accompanied Kong, the ministry added.

It said Kong met Bhutans king and government officials.

Bhutan also shares a border and close culture with restive Tibet, one of Chinas most sensitive areas.

China has been using all means to wean away Indias influence in neighbouring countries through promises of huge investments in infrastructure projects and financial incentives, and has succeeded to some extent in exerting influence in South Asian countries that have traditionally been close to New Delhi, including Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
PM on a 5-day Africa tour; to sign defence, trade pacts with Rwanda

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has embarked on a five-day three-nation tour of Africa and is set to reach Rwanda, marking the first ever visit by an Indian prime minister to that country in 20 years.

A number of agreements and MoUs in the areas of defence, trade, culture, agriculture and dairy cooperation are scheduled to be signed during the visit.

India is also expected to open its first mission in Rwanda. In 1999, Rwanda established a High Commission in New Delhi and the first Rwandan High Commissioner to India was appointed in 2001.

Rwanda is seen as an important gateway to eastern Africa and India elevated its ties with Rwanda to that of a strategic partnership in January 2017. PM Modi will be in Rwanda on 23-24 before leaving for Uganda (24-25) and to South Africa (25-27).

During Modi's visit, two more lines of credit are expected to be signed  one worth $100 million for industrial parks and a similar amount for agriculture and irrigation. Rwanda is already a recipient of Indian lines of credit of nearly $400 million besides Indian training and scholarship programmes.

Briefing the media, TS Tirumurti, secretary (economic relations) in the MEA, said India will open its first mission in Rwanda very soon. "We expect agreements to be concluded in the areas of defence, dairy cooperation, leather, agriculture and culture," Tirumurti said.

The president of Rwanda's Senate Bernard Makuza has said that Modi's visit will be a "big boost" for bilateral ties and underlined that his country was seeking collaboration with India in sectors such as agriculture and energy.

In Rwanda, Tirumurthi said Modi will visit Rweru model village to gift 200 cows as part of a programme overseen by President Paul Kagame wherein the poorest families get dairy cows from the government and the first female calf born of the cow is gifted to a neighbour to promote brotherhood.

"The gifting of cows is not just an economic contribution, but also an expression of Indias gratitude to Rwanda for treating Indian community well," The Indian Express quoted an official as saying.

India's bilateral relations with Rwanda got a fillip with Kigali becoming a member of these African Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and Rwanda opting to become a member of the Commonwealth in 2009.

The two countries have signed an MoU for promoting inter-parliamentary dialogue. They have also agreed to collaborate in regional and international multilateral parliamentary bodies.

India and Rwanda also signed three MoUs on innovation, aviation and visa requirements last year during then vice-president Hamid Ansaris visit to the east African country. Both the countries also agreed to set up an entrepreneurship development centre in Kigali and to boost aviation, Rwanda's state airlines Rawanda Air will start services to India.

The development centre will be committed to nurture the spirit of entrepreneurship in the country through education, training and business advisory services.

Rwanda's prime minister Anastase Murekezi had said that the three MoUs will boost economic and business ties between the two nations. "We have 54 years of fruitful bilateral relationship. Rwanda and India share important ties and we are committed to make the relationship grow stronger," he had said.

In February 2017, India and Rwanda also signed an agreement for the exemption of visa for diplomatic and official passport holders. Under the pan Africa e-network project, tele-medicine and tele-education centres were established in Rwanda in 2009 with an aim to enable Rwandan doctors consult their Indian counterparts. The initiative was aimed at giving Rwanda access to medical care and education from India at a fraction of cost.

In terms of trade, Indian has consistently been one of the top import sources for Rwanda and the major items of Indias exports to Rwanda include pharmaceuticals, vehicles, textiles, electrical machinery, optical and other precision instruments and plastics among others.

Kagame had emphasised Rwandas readiness to discuss and engage in business with investors from India and all across the world at the opening ceremony of the eighth Vibrant Gujarat Summit. In the joint press conference during the visit of Kagame to India, the two sides agreed to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in culture, tourism, people-to-people links.

India also welcomed Rwanda as the 25th co-signatory country to Modi's initiative of International Solar Alliance and the two leaders also recalled the solar electrification of 35 schools in rural Rwanda under a grant from Government of India as an example of south-south cooperation.

The prime minister will visit the Genocide Memorial and participate in an event on "Girinka (one cow per family), a national social protection scheme of Rwanda personally initiated by President Paul Kagame.

The prime ministers official engagement in Rwanda and Uganda include bilateral meetings with the Presidents, delegation level talks and meetings with the business and the Indian communities.

Chinese president Xi Jinping is also visiting the east African country before leaving for South Africa to attend the BRICS summit. He is expected to visit a memorial for Rwanda's 1994 genocide and sign bilateral agreements on Monday.

In Uganda, Narendra Modi will deliver a keynote address at the Parliament of Uganda  the first Indian Prime Minister to address the Ugandan Parliament.

In South Africa, the prime minister will have bilateral meeting with the South African President and will attend the BRICS Summit and other BRICS related meetings. Bilateral meetings with participating countries on the sidelines of BRICS meetings are also planned.

India shares close, warm and friendly relations with African countries that are cemented by robust development partnership and a large presence of the Indian diaspora.

Over the last few years, there has been a significant increase in Indias engagement with African countries with as many as 23 visits to Africa at various levels, including by the President, Vice President and prime minister.

The visit of the prime minister to Rwanda, Uganda and South Africa will further strengthen Indias relations with the African continent.
CPEC: Bounced cheque stalls road projects in Pakistan

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the over $50-billion mega project being built with Chinese money, is reported to be stuck with several road projects in Pakistan finding no finances to proceed.

Pakistans National Highway Authority has no money to pay contractors engaged in road projects, which, once completed, would link Chinas Xinjiang with Pakistans Gwadar port in Balochistan, allowing Beijing access to the Arabian Sea.

A report in the Pakistani daily Dawn said contractors have stopped work on several CPEC projects after their cheques worth over Rs500 crore bounced a couple of days ago as the countrys National Highway Authority (NHA) is in a financial crisis.

The reports, however, said it was for the first time that CPEC projects faced such a financial crisis.

Reports said work on seven portions covering 400-km on the Hakla-Dera Ismail Khan on the CPEC, the Western Route of CPEC and all sections of the Karachi-Lahore Motorway (KLM) are hit by the financial crunch.

The delay in project work has affected local industries related to construction and a large workforce of engineers and labourers .

Reports quoting NHA spokesman Kashif Zaman said the authority issued cheques for Rs500 crore on 29 June to contractors after the government sanctioned payments. However, only cheques worth Rs1.5 million could be cleared on the same day, while the remaining cheques that were deposited the next day could not be cleared.

Zaman hopes the matter to be resolved soon.

On the project work Zaman said, The progress on the project had not been affected. Same is true for Hazara Motorway and other sections. He said most of the projects in question would be completed by December 2018. Despite the official denial, it was feared that the CPEC projects would be delayed further if the situation persists, the report said.

The CPEC passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. It connects Kashgar in western China with Gwadar port in Pakistan, spanning 3,000 km.
ADB to extend $631-mn financing facility for Vizag-Chennai industrial corridor

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $631 million multi-tranche financing facility, comprising loans and grants, for the Vizag-Chenni Industrial Corridor project, minister of state for commerce and industry C R Chaudhary informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Monday.

Of this $500 million will be given in two tranches to build key infrastructure while another $125 million will be two-tranche policy based loan (PBL) to support policy reforms and institutional development in the states. Another $5 million will come as grant from the multi-donor Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund (UCCRTF) to build climate change resilient infrastructure in Visakhapatnam.

The remaining $1 million will come as technical assistance fund to help the Andhra Pradesh government implement policy reforms.

The first phase of the master planning of two nodes of Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC) involving Visakhapatnam and Yerpedu-Srikalahasti is under way, the minister informed the House.

After completion of master planning and detailed preliminary engineering, it will have to be approved by the National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT) before government releases funds for the projects for development of industrial corridors.

Four nodes, namely, Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Kankipadu-Gannavaram and Yerpedu-Srikalahasti in Andhra Pradesh, have been identified for development in Vishakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC) on the basis of conceptual development plan (CDP) prepared by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Rise in vehicle ramming attacks a 'social virus' spread through media networks

Researchers at the University of Kent and Copenhagen University sought to understand why vehicle attacks, such as in Nice in July 2016, Finsbury Park in 2017 or Charlottesville also in 2017, have become so prominent in the last few years, having previously been a rarity.

In their analysis, Dr Vincent Miller from the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research at the University of Kent and Professor Keith Hayward from the University of Copenhagen document the emerging popularity and spread of vehicle related attacks (VRAs) in two waves, the first in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2015 and a second in Western Europe, North America, and Australia.

While mainstream media have suggested terrorists are promoting this means of attack due to its simplicity the timeline of when this type of attack method has been promoted, compared to when attacks took place does not match up, with most propaganda appearing after high-profile incidents.

They also challenge the idea that terrorists have been forced into more low-tech methods due to improved security measures around more traditional high-profile targets, as such measures have been in place for decades, but VRAs only began to rise notably since 2015.

As such, Dr Miller and Professor Hayward, examined a third explanation for the spike in VRAs  that they have spread as a form of 'social virus' irrespective of ideology. This does not mean that Dr Miller and Professor Hayward are suggesting that ideology, propaganda, or psychological issues play no role in these crimes. However, they do suggest the need to recognise the viral or mimetic quality of some forms of violence and that exposure to these actions through, for example, news media and social media can create a momentum that leads to people with different beliefs and motives repeating the act. For example, they argue that similar to the outbreak of plane hijackings that took place in the 1960s and 1970s, the coverage of VRAs in the media and in online discussion forums on websites has encouraged others, often with wholly different political and religious motives, to engage in VRAs.

As such the sudden 'wave' of vehicle ramming incidents over the last few years is akin to a virus spread by social contagion whereby a single action leads to a wave of others, which would otherwise not take place  often more akin to a 'crime of passion' than a well-planned terrorist act.

For example, they depict how the 2017 Finsbury Park Mosque ramming attack was conducted by a man who had been motivated to act by the ISIS-inspired London Bridge ramming attack 16 days earlier. Subsequently, within six days of the Finsbury Park attack, two other similar ramming attacks against Muslims had occurred: one in North London and another in front of a Mosque in France. This spate of very similar attacks in such a short time frame, from disparate individuals with vastly different political and religious beliefs and backgrounds, underlines the imitative appeal of the VRA and the impact that the coverage across the media can have in spreading these events, particularly in the highly-saturated mass-media landscape that now exists.

The researchers note that, like most viruses, the current spate of VRAs will likely become less prominent in time. Sadly, though, they will be likely be replaced by another form of horrific attack that will also spread through digital networks and spawn similar attacks.

However, by understanding how the potential for the appeal of certain types of attack to spread beyond ideological and even psychological categories to influence wider populations, security services could be bettered prepared and foil further loss of life.

The research has been published in the British Journal of Criminology entitled I did my bit: Terrorism, Tarde and the Vehicle-Ramming Attack as an Imitative Event.
India's oil imports from Iran spike ahead of US sanctions

Iran displaced Saudi Arabia as Indias second-largest oil supplier in the first quarter of the current fiscal, as state-run oil majors vied for Iranian oil as Tehran offered attractive terms for buyers ahead of the US sanctions coming into effect in November.

Iran is now Indias No 2 oil supplier after Iraq, regaining a position it lost seven years ago after the Gulf war, as state-run refiners imported more oil from Iran in the April-June period than from Saudi Arabia, which has now been relegated to the third position, minister for petroleum and natural gas Dharmendra Pradhan told Parliament on Monday.

India, the second-largest buyer of Iranian oil after China, bought 5.67 million tonnes, or about 457,000 barrels per day (bpd), of oil from the country in the first three months of the current fiscal (April-June 2018-19), according to Pradhan.

India is reported to have bought 3.46 million tonnes, or about 279,000 bpd, from Iran between April and June last year.

The increased dependence on Iranian oil could make it increasingly difficult for Indian importers to switch to other supply sources as the US measure demands and deepen New Delhis dilemma of choosing between the US and Iran, unless it gets a US waiver.

In any case, India will get enough time even after the US sanctions come into effect to wind down Iranian oil imports, should the need arise.

While finding supply sources will not be a problem, winding down Iranian oil imports would involve settling oil payments as well, which would also be hampered by the US embargo. The costs would also go up for Indian importers.

The real challenge for India will be balancing the countrys technology dependence and avoiding confrontation with the US vis-a-vis its age-old relations with Tehran and the financial/strategic stake in the Chabahar port project, which is a pillar of New Delhis Af-Pak policy.

State refiners, accounting for about 60 per cent of Indias 5 million bpd refining capacity, had curbed imports from Iran last year in protest against Tehrans move to grant development rights for the giant Farzad B gas field to other parties.

The refiners  Indian Oil Corp, Chennai Petroleum Corp, Bharat Petroleum and its unit Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd, Hindustan Petroleum and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals  shipped in 9.8 million tonnes of Iranian oil in 2017-18, about a quarter less than a year ago, Pradhan informed.

For this fiscal year, the refiners had decided to almost double imports from Iran, which offered almost free shipping and extended credit period on oil sales.

India and other major buyers of Iranian oil are under pressure to cut imports from the country after Washington in May withdrew from a 2005 nuclear deal with Tehran and decided to reimpose sanctions on the Opec member.

The first set of sanctions will take effect on 6 August and the rest, especially in the petroleum sector, on 4 November, after a 180-day wind-down period.

Indian refineries import crude oil from diverse sources including Iran, depending on technical and commercial considerations, Pradhan said.
Vodafone Idea pay up Rs7,268-cr dues to clear path for merger

Idea Cellular and Vodafone India have cleared the Rs7,268 crore dues to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) clearing the way for merger of Indias second and third largest telecom service providers.

Idea Cellular has submitted bank guarantee of Rs3,322 crore as demanded by DoT, while Vodafone India has cleared the dues of Rs3,926 crore in cash.

Reports quoting Idea sources said Idea and Vodafone have accepted DoTs terms for approval for the merger of the two companies Ltd, including payment of Rs3,926.34 crore by Vodafone and bank guarantee of Rs 3,322.44 crore from idea Cellular.

The two companies said they paid up the amounts under protest and are now awaiting DoTs final approval for the merger.

And, once the merger is cleared, the two companies plan to move court against DoT over the payment.

Idea has given a bank guarantee for one-time spectrum charges, while Vodafone India has paid the dues in the form of cash towards market price for non-auctioned airwaves.

Idea Cellular has earlier confirmed the merged entity will be named Vodafone Idea Limited. The next step for the department is transferring licences of Vodafone India and its subsidiary Vodafone Mobile Services Limited (VMSL) to Idea Cellular because it will be the listed entity.

The merged entity will have over 430 million subscribers, over 37 per cent revenue market share and will start the operations with Rs63,000 crore revenue.

It will have the capacity to provide 4G spectrum in all telecom circles of the country. According to a presentation by Idea, the combined 4G spectrum of both the companies are capable of offering up to 450 megabit per second broadband speed on mobile phones in 12 Indian markets.

With the new entity coming in force, Bharti Airtel will lose the tag of India's biggest telecom service provider to the new entity.

The combined debt of both the companies is estimated to be around Rs1,15,000 crore.

Vodafone will own 45.1 per cent stake in the combined entity, while Kumar Mangalam Birla-led Aditya Birla Group would have 26 per cent and Idea shareholders 28.9 per cent.
Jailed former Pak PM Nawaz Sharif faces kidney failure, may be shifted to hospital

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is likely to be shifted out of the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi to a hospital as he is 'on the verge of a kidney failure', and a medical board has urged his immediate transfer to a hospital, say reports.

The medical board that examined Nawaz Sharif inside the jail on Sunday has reportedly urged his immediate transfer to hospital from jail and the interim government in Pakistan is likely to take a decision on it soon.

The urea nitrogen in Nawaz Sharif's blood has climbed up to dangerous levels, his heartbeat is irregular and he is suffering from dehydration and excessive sweating, Pakistani media quoted sources as saying.

The Express Tribune said the hospital in the jail does not have a facility where Sharif could be given intravenous fluid. It is necessary to take him to the hospital, and failing to do so could create a situation of emergency at night.

Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz who were convicted in the Avenfield reference case by the Accountability Court on 6 July and have been confined to jail ever since the two returned to Pakistan since to challenge the verdict.

While Sharif was given a 10-year sentence and fined 8 million, Maryam was sentenced to eight years in jail and fined 2 million pounds.

Also, Maryam's husband, Captain (Retd) Muhammad Safdar was given a one-year sentence without any fine.

The father and daughter were taken to Islamabad by a special chartered flight soon after their arrival at Lahore on 13 July, from where they were taken to Adiala jail in Rawalpindi.

Meanwhile, media reports said the father and the daughter are kept in prison among dangerous criminal, which could endanger their lives.

Although earlier reports suggested there was a possible move that the two could be moved to a rest house, it now appears unlikely.

Instead the prison authorities are considering shifting some very dangerous prisoners to somewhere else in the province to ensure proper security for the former prime minister and his daughter, the Dawn reported.
A Belfast-based chef is looking for a "strong chef team" to work at Fitzpatrick's Bar & Restuarant.

Chef Carl Johannesson, who works for Belfast company JDM Management took to social media last night to say: "Looking for a strong chef team (9-10 chefs) in Carlingford, stunning bar and restaurant specialising in steaks and fresh shellfish. Pm me for details."

The Facebook post has already had 160 shares.

The hugely popular local restaurant will be taken over by JDM Management who run a number of food outlets including The Pizza Co, The Chip Co and Jack Harleys, The Devenish, Wolf and Whistle Bar and The Rock Bar.

They also run GymCo and Light Nightclub in Glasgow.

Speaking to The Dundalk Democrat Carl Johannesson said that there was no opening date in mind as of yet.

He said: "We have so many details to sort out before we kick off."

Mr. Johannesson added that the restaurant will "still be run by Danny Fitzpatrick."

Fitzpatrick's Bar & Restuarant was closed by Bank Of Ireland at the end of May.


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Small and mid-sized e-commerce businesses are likely to be hit hard by the United States Federal Communications Commission's repeal of Net neutrality earlier this month.

The move will let Internet service providers block and manipulate Internet usage and discriminate against users at will, according to critics.

"Net neutrality repeal helps mostly affiliated businesses and larger enterprises at the expense of smaller firms, startups, innovators and entrepreneurs, remarked Common Cause Special Advisor Michael Copps, a former FCC commissioner.

"In e-commerce, I look for the bigger guys like Amazon and Google to dominate the market, along with ISP-affiliated businesses," he told the E-Commerce Times. "Smaller guys will have to enter into pay-and-play agreements to make any headway."

There are basically three Net neutrality models, suggested Ray Wang, principal analyst at Constellation Research, who described them using a highway metaphor:

Regular freeway, no carpool/HOV lane or FasTrak congestion payment model. That's a common understanding of Net neutrality, he said. "Everyone can access the Internet at the same speed, which can be really slow or really fast."

HOV lanes model. "One day we realize we need to give emergency vehicles and car poolers special rights, so we grant them special status over others for the public good. This is where we're now making that argument," said Wang.

FasTrak congestion payment model. "We then create situations because we have HOV lanes that some people want to pay to bypass and others want to monetize," he continued. "Suddenly, we find inequities out there."

The U.S. is about to shift from first option toward the second and third options, Wang told the E-Commerce Times.

Net neutrality repeal "will make it harder for smaller players to afford faster access and compete with the big boys unless there are guardrails set by the government," he noted. "The question is, who determines who gets to be in the HOV lane? And that's fraught with political lobbying, special interests, folks with their narratives and agendas on who's disenfranchised."

This will mean "more money is required to lobby and pass a bill and deal with new regulations," said Wang, "and more paperwork and bigger government, which is anathema to small business."

The Once Bright Future of E-Commerce SMBs

SMBs have been betting big on e-commerce, suggests a nationwide U.S. survey DHL conducted this spring.

Twenty-five percent of the 14,000 respondents to the survey expected that Q1 e-commerce sales would increase by 7-100 percent over Q1 2017 figures.

The survey was conducted through a combination of direct outreach to DHL customers and a targeted Twitter poll, DHL spokesperson Stephanie Schiff told the E-Commerce Times.

The participating DHL customers reported having to ship more than 50 percent of orders as B2C orders received online. The non-customer participants were SMBs, but all did not have an e-commerce component. Public sector organizations and national or multinational companies were not included.

"SMBs tend to get a disproportionate amount of their sales through social media promotion," and Net neutrality repeal "is likely to hit SMBs particularly hard," said Rebecca Wettemann, VP of research at Nucleus Research.

"When ISPs decide what content gets priority, they decide which social channels get prioritized or blocked as well," she told the E-Commerce Times.

Service providers "could just decide to charge different retailers different prices to deliver their content," Wettemann said. "What's the going rate for having the highest speed of service on Black Friday? There's simply no way SMBs could compete in such a bidding war."

SMBs Speak

"The worst-case scenario for a small business like mine basically goes like this: Comcast starts a wine club, and, when people search for one to join, instead of being shown Google's results first, they're shown Comcast's option," said Mark Aseltine, founder of Uncorked Ventures.

"Or Google's results and sites like my own are slowed down so much that it's easier to join Comcast's wine club," he told the E-Commerce Times. "There's not much we can do in regard to [that], but we can work on speed and branding where people would find our site fast enough and ask for our site directly."

The consequences in terms of the stifling of innovation and the lack of upside of starting an e-commerce business "are going to be huge," Aseltine predicted.

On the other hand, "e-commerce stores have far more to worry about than the cost of their bandwidth slightly increasing," observed Allen Walton, founder of Spy Guy.

"How about they focus on doubling or tripling their annual revenue instead of being up in arms over something that might not even affect them?" he suggested.

"I pay (US)$79 a month for unlimited bandwidth on Shopify. They could increase that price 10 times and I wouldn't even care," he told the E-Commerce Times.

The Net Neutrality Battlefield

Various public interest groups, including Free Press and Common Ground, have challenged the FCC's repeal of Net neutrality in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which is expected to hear arguments in the case by the end of the year.

Thirty-six states have proposed or passed a resolution, bill or executive order supporting Net neutrality in one way or another, although some of those efforts have failed.

In California, Bill SB-822, the so-called "Net Neutrality Bill," was killed off last week.

Some state legislators, led by Miguel Santiago, chairman of the state's Communications and Conveyance Committee, eviscerated its text, leading to accusations of corruption.

"Net neutrality is a good thing," Aseltine said. "Until I hear a good argument for why it isn't, I'll support an overturn of the repeal."

Richard Adhikari has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2008. His areas of focus include cybersecurity, mobile technologies, CRM, databases, software development, mainframe and mid-range computing, and application development. He has written and edited for numerous publications, including Information Week and Computerworld. He is the author of two books on client/server technology. Email Richard.




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The Internet of Things may be in its infancy, but the U.S. government has been gearing up to determine what the proper federal role should be, both for encouraging and for regulating the use of IoT technology.

Two recent developments have underscored the government's interest in IoT.

On the regulatory front, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has launched an initiative to determine a framework for regulation related to IoT. The agency finished taking comments from IT providers, other affected businesses and the public last month. The comment period followed a public hearing this spring, during which major interested parties presented their views on potential IoT regulation.

The second action was the recent introduction of the SMART IoT Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill includes two major elements. First, it directs the U.S. Commerce Department to conduct a comprehensive study of virtually all aspects of the "Internet-connected devices industry" -- also referenced in the bill as the "Internet of Things."

The legislation further directs the Commerce Department to describe, in a comprehensive fashion, what various federal agencies have been doing with regard to the development and potential regulation of IoT.

Currently the CPSC, the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and the National Institute of Standards, among other federal entities, have embarked on some kind of IoT program.

The bill is designed to provide lawmakers with the appropriate background to shape federal policy regarding the IoT. A key sponsor of the bill, Rep. Bob Latta, R-Ohio, noted that "because IoT is increasingly becoming ubiquitous, it is very difficult to know who is doing what -- both in the federal government and in the private sector."

The bill, H.R. 6032, is pending a vote by the full House.

Actions Reflect Caution

However, the IT community should not be overly concerned that a robust federal regulatory regime is looming -- at least not at this point.

Take the actions by the CPSC, for example. In its invitation for public comment, the agency specifically sought information on how Internet-connected products might be hazardous to consumers, and what actions the commission could take to eliminate or mitigate those hazards.

In addition to discussing potential safety hazards resulting from connecting consumer products to the IoT, the hearing was meant to address the CPSC's role in addressing them.

With its latest actions, the CPSC appears more interested in exploring the impact of IoT than in contemplating any specific set of regulations.

"I think it's appropriate for CPSC to take a look at the IoT and how cyberthreats can lead to product safety issues and [consider the] agency's oversight function," said Ari Schwartz, executive director of the Cybersecurity Coalition, which includes AT&T, Cisco, Microsoft and Symantec.

"Of course, we would favor the use of industry standards in any regulatory regime," he told the E-Commerce Times.

"Right now, it's too early to tell what direction the CPSC will take. The agency has to determine how broad its scope will be," Schwartz said.

"I think CPSC is currently in the exploratory phases as to its role with IoT. The agency is genuinely interested in just learning more about IoT and its impacts," said Rachel Weintraub, general counsel for the Consumer Federation of America.

In its comments to the CPSC, the Cybersecurity Coalition stressed that safety and security standards for loT devices were inextricably linked and should be addressed in tandem, and that any standards should be set through a voluntary, consensus-based, and industry-led approach.

The wide array of IoT products and applications mitigate against any one-size-fits-all approach to standardization and regulation, the group contended.

A single standard "runs counter to where the industry is going," Schwartz said at the CPSC hearing.

"While best practices and voluntary standards are helpful, they may not be adequate to protect consumers from the potential safety risks of using connected devices," CFA's Weintraub said at the hearing.

"The IoT raises questions about whether current product safety and product liability laws need to be rethought," she noted, referencing a report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Mandatory vs. Voluntary

"Mandatory standards have an inherent enforceability and stronger compliance element," Weintraub told the E-Commerce Times.

Still, by statute the CPSC's regulatory approach generally centers on the use of voluntary standards, she acknowledged, although mandatory actions are permitted under certain circumstances.

That issue aside, CFA strongly recommends two actions designed to get ahead of any formal regulatory scheme, Weintraub said.

First is that producers should strive to incorporate safety into the original design of any connected device, product or application. Second is that all federal agencies with a stake in IoT regulation should cooperate in a working group to determine jurisdictional scope, adequate risk analysis, and a truly outcome-oriented approach, to ensure that nothing falls through the cracks in the federal effort to protect consumers from IoT related risks.

The focus of the SMART IoT Act appears to be striking a balance between regulation and connected technologies development -- with a tilt toward encouraging innovation. The act explicitly refrains from setting out a stringent national regulatory program.

At the federal level, the legislation "will help promote interagency discussions and help avoid conflicting or duplicative obligations or requirements that may slow innovation and progress," said sponsor Latta.

Private Sector Engaged

At the industry level, the SMART IoT Act "will help innovators and businesses know how entities are developing, using and promoting use of IoT solutions," Latta noted.

The bill also will "highlight industry-based efforts to self-regulate and provide industry with a one-stop-shop for a compilation of industry-based standards -- both ones already in effect and those currently being developed," he said.

While the SMART IoT Act can be helpful in describing federal efforts related to the technology, significant actions already are under way within and between agencies, and between agencies and the private sector, the Cybersecurity Coalition's Schwartz noted.

The Commerce Department itself has organized an internal Internet policy task force composed of NTIA, NIST, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and the International Trade Administration to keep tabs on Internet commerce, including IoT.

The NTIA, for example, last week conducted a multi-stakeholder public dialogue on software component transparency related to IoT. Representatives from Rapid 7, Microsoft, and the Atlantic Council assisted in coordinating the meeting.

NTIA also has initiated an effort to ensure the integrity of IoT software, including the establishment of adequate patching mechanisms and security functions, and in the process has engaged with the private sector.

Recent federal developments clearly indicate that IoT is firmly on the radar screen of federal agencies charged with electronic commerce policy, but the current posture is consistent with that of the previous administration.

Just days before the Obama administration left office, the Commerce Department released a green paper examining the benefits and challenges of the evolving IoT landscape, and suggesting that the federal government should continue to nurture innovative technology.

John K. Higgins has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2009. His main areas of focus are U.S. government technology issues such as IT contracting, cybersecurity, privacy, cloud technology, big data and e-commerce regulation. As a freelance journalist and career business writer, he has written for numerous publications, including The Corps Report and Business Week. Email John.




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Large corporations are not the only businesses governed by the European General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, which became effective last month.

Small and mid-sized businesses also are subject to its provisions.

The regulation applies to the processing of personal data of individuals in the EU by an individual, a company or an organization engaged in professional or commercial activities.

"The common misconception is that if you don't have an office in the EU, then the GDPR doesn't apply to you," said Cindy Zhou, principal analyst at Constellation Research.

However, shipping products to the European Economic Area (EEA) or sourcing them from the region are activities governed by the GDPR, she told the E-Commerce Times.

"The online marketplace has no borders," noted Wesley Young, VP for public affairs at the Local Search Association.

That may be changing, however.

"We have seen many small businesses ... exclude EU subjects from their clientele to avoid exposure to GDPR risks," observed Andrew Frank, distinguished analyst at Gartner.

"This could impact assumptions about the frictionless global nature of e-business," he told the E-Commerce Times.

GDPR Pitfalls for Unwary SMBs

The GDPR's definition of personal data is "very broad," LSA's Young told the E-Commerce Times. "That would include IP addresses, location information, demographic information, and other general data used for targeting ads."

The term "process" also is broadly defined, "and includes collecting and storing data, even if it isn't further used," he observed.

"The breadth of the GDPR's application lends itself to be easily but unintentionally violated," Young noted. For example, not following through on policy changes -- failing to abide by new privacy policies, or not training staff to adhere to them -- might be a violation.

Using data beyond the reason for which it was collected might be a violation, suggested Young, as consent has to be given for specific purposes.

The Ins and Outs of Consent

The GDPR "allows six different legal bases for collecting or processing personal data, of which consent is but one," said Robert Cattanach, partner at Dorsey & Whitney.

For most e-commerce situations, the transaction arguably constitutes a contract, and "additional consent may not be required" to collect personal data necessary to conclude the transaction, he told the E-Commerce Times. However, the question of consent will arise when a merchant engages third-party vendors to track or monitor customer behavior on its website.

Monitoring or aggregating customer behavior on a merchant's website to learn when a customer decides to place an order or abandon the search by using cookies is one option, Cattanach noted.

"The UK's Information Commissioner's Office has opined that implied consent may be sufficient for such site tracking," he pointed out. Therefore, a pop-up banner stating continued use of the site means consent to the use of cookies might suffice -- although some of the German data protection authorities might not agree.

For the collection of personal data, a pop-up requiring the customer to independently agree to it would be necessary.

Two major issues remain unresolved, according to Cattanach:

What constitutes informed consent is still "a matter of ongoing dispute"; and

Responses to data subject access requests -- such as the right to discover what data has been collected, correct errors, and request to be forgotten -- "are legally less problematic on their face but, as a practical matter, may be more difficult to execute."

Requests to be forgotten require merchants to establish process flows for the intake of such requests; set policies for when such requests will be granted or denied; and implement procedures for responding within 30 days.

That is "no small undertaking," Cattanach remarked, "which is why many SMBs have just decided to avoid triggering GDPR by expunging all existing data of EU residents and blocking EU IP addresses from accessing their websites going forward."

Records of processing were expected to be the most challenging of the data subject rights requirements by 48.5 percent of more than 1,300 U.S. business users and consumers who participated in an online survey CompliancePoint conducted this spring.

Only 29 percent of respondents to the CompliancePoint survey were fully aware of the GDPR; 44 percent were somewhat aware and 26 percent were unaware.

Other data subject rights problems they anticipated:

Accountability - 41 percent;

Consent and data portability - 39.7 percent each; and

Right to be forgotten - 35.3 percent.

GDPR Readiness

Twenty-four percent of business respondents to the CompliancePoint survey said their organizations were fully prepared for the GDPR, while 31 percent said they were somewhat prepared and 36 percent said their organizations were not prepared.

Following are some of the factors that kept the organizations of CompliancePoint respondents from being GDPR compliant:

Waiting to see what enforcement would be applied - 45.6 percent

Lack of understanding of the regulations - 39.7 percent;

No budget for compliance - 36.8 percent;

Low brand visibility - 33.8 percent; and

Unconcerned - 27.9 percent.

"SMBs are not immune to the risk of GDPR," said Greg Sparrow, general manager at CompliancePoint.

"The risk of fines and regulatory action are the same for businesses large and small," he told the E-Commerce Times.

The financial penalties -- 4 percent of annual revenue or 20 million euros -- are large, noted Constellation's Zhou.

However "the indirect costs in terms of impact on customer trust and brand reputation may be even greater," said Gartner's Frank.

CRM Software to the Rescue

CRM systems that make it relatively easy to execute functions like erasure and consent modification "can help considerably," Frank suggested.

"SugarCRM recently released a data privacy module that automates much of the processes for managing the required data governance," remarked Rebecca Wettemann, VP of research at Nucleus Research.

Zoho, Hubspot, Salesforce and other CRM vendors "are touting GDPR compliance," Zhou noted.

"SMBs running cloud CRM applications will likely find the easiest path to compliance, because data privacy capabilities have been or are being built into these applications," Wettemann told the E-Commerce Times.

That said, CRM companies are data processors by definition, Zhou pointed out, and under the guidance of the company that collected the customer data.

"Privacy policies, cookie notices and age consent forms all need to be managed by the SMBs themselves," she said, "and are often placed on a website or on the e-commerce site which isn't related to the CRM solution."

Richard Adhikari has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2008. His areas of focus include cybersecurity, mobile technologies, CRM, databases, software development, mainframe and mid-range computing, and application development. He has written and edited for numerous publications, including Information Week and Computerworld. He is the author of two books on client/server technology. Email Richard.


Monday the National Marine Fisheries Service designated 17,500 square miles of ocean as protected critical habitat for Hawaii's false killer whales, a dolphin species whose numbers have dwindled to around 150 in the wild.

The new rule, responding to legal action by the Natural Resources Defense Council, designates critical habitat from a depth of 45 meters to the 3,200-meter depth contour around the main Hawaiian Islands. Studies show that endangered species with critical habitat protections are twice as likely to be recovering than those lacking such habitat safeguards.

"False killer whales are in serious trouble, so we're glad to see some of their most important habitat finally be protected. They need every bit of help they can get," said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans program director at the Center for Biological Diversity.

The false killer whale is the world's third-largest dolphin. Its name comes from similarities in appearance to killer whales and with their predation on other marine mammals.

Habitat protections are an important component of the Endangered Species Act to address a variety of threats including water pollution, noise pollution and prey reduction. Fishing is another threat to false killer whales, which is currently being addressed by a "take reduction team" created in response to litigation by the Center for Biological Diversity and allies beginning almost a decade ago. The team includes representatives from the fishing industry, environmental groups, scientific and government institutions. The Center for Biological Diversity participates in this multi-stakeholder process.
Hot, dry and fiery conditions are being seen by many parts of the globe right now. This includes Japan, where the nation's meteorological agency just declared the extreme heat a "natural disaster."

An agency spokesman said that "unprecedented levels of heat" were being felt, as quoted by AFP.

The city of Kumagaya, located about 40 miles northwest of Tokyo, even broke the country's all-time record when it reached 106 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday. The previous record was 105.8 degrees, set on Aug. 12, 2013 in the town of Ekawasaki.

The ongoing heatwave "is fatal, and we recognize it as a natural disaster," the weather agency spokesman added.

Preliminary government data shows that the heatwave caused 65 deaths from July 16-22. Another 22,647 people were also sent to hospitals with heat stroke symptoms. Both of the figures are the highest for one week since record-keeping began in 2008, according to the Asahi Shimbun.

As of Tuesday, Fire and Disaster Management Agency said a total of 80 people have died from the heat since the beginning of July, and more than 35,000 have been hospitalized, AFP reported.



Japan's meteorological agency expects that temperatures will continue to be 95 degrees and higher into August, USA TODAY reported. Officials advised people to stay hydrated, stay indoors, use air conditioning and avoid direct sunlight.

The sweltering conditions come not long after historic flooding and mudslides killed more than 220 people in western and central Japan.

As EcoWatch previously mentioned, that weather disaster fell in line with government predictions for the impact of climate change on Japan. A 2012 report found that global warming could increase the risk of flooding and landslide disasters due to heavy rain.

"I've felt the seasons change about 20 days earlier than usual, and the rainy season also ended much earlier. It must be global warming," a Japanese woman commented to AFP's cameras.
By Jessica Pink

Editor's note: Shark Week 2018 has kicked off! Before you dive in, take a look at three shark stories from the past week that you should know about. For even more content, check out six of Human Nature's most popular shark stories, including our exploration of "demon whale biters."

1. Sharks vs. humans: At 100 million deaths against 6 each year, it's not a fair fight

The story: Contrary to popular belief, shark attacks aren't as prevalent as many believe them to be, reported Doyle Rice for USA Today July 14. According to research, only five humans died globally this past year from shark attackscompared to the 100 million sharks that humans kill each year.

The big picture: Due in large part to cultural juggernauts such as the 1975 thriller Jaws, which paint sharks as ruthless human hunters, sharks are often viewed only as attackers. The reality? Many shark species are endangered due to the practice of shark finning, wherein fishers cut off shark fins and throw the severely wounded animals back into the ocean. Prized in Chinese culture, the valuable fins are commonly used in traditional soup or medicine. Shark finning is just one piece of the billion-dollar illegal and unregulated fishing trade, but recent successes in the tracking and prosecuting of illegal fishers could spell hope for the ocean's most notorious predators.

Read more here.

Shark, pictured above, swimming alongside fish in Tuamotu. Rodolphe Holler

2. Exotic sharks could migrate to British waters in coming decades due to climate change

The story: Warmer oceans are triggering certain shark species to adapt their migratory patterns, reported Josh Gabbatiss for The Independent July 16. Large shark species including great whites, black tips and hammerheads could soon be moving to British waters.

The big picture: Although certain species of sharks can migrate, others are not as able to adapt. As climate change affects the temperature and acidity of oceans, species such as basking sharks are already suffering. As the ocean becomes more acidic, for example, sharks have a difficult time seeking their prey. Despite this potential increase in the number of different shark species swimming British waters, an expert explained that the actual number of British sharks could, in fact, go down. "We will increase from 40 species to maybe 60, but there will still be less of themand some of the existing ones will maybe go extinct in the meantime," said Dr. Ken Collins, a former administrator of the UK Shark Tagging Programme.

Read more here.

3. 7 reasons why we're lucky to have sharks

The story: Sharks serve a vital role in ocean ecosystems: They regulate food webs, protect coral reefs and help to mitigate climate change, reported Russel McLendon for Mother Nature Network July 22.

The big picture: As climate change, pollution and overfishing threaten healthy oceans, sharks offer hope for at least one marine ecosystem: coral reefs. Research shows that in reefs where robust shark populations were found, corals showed faster recovery from bleaching. And the positive impact of sharks stretches further: "Just the fear of sharks can be enough, in many cases, to keep a marine ecosystem healthy and able to respond to stresses," said Mike Heithaus, Florida International University scientist. The continued decline of already threatened shark populations could set off a negative chain of events that would prove devastating to entire marine ecosystemsand the humans that depend on the ocean for their food and livelihoods.

Read more here.

Jessica Pink is an editorial intern for Conservation International.
Just a few short years ago, there were real questions about whether Congress would ditch annual, standardized assessments as part of a makeover of the nations main K-12 education law . At the same time, parents were increasingly choosing to opt their children out of standardized tests.

But the Every Student Succeeds Act ultimately kept the tests in place. And since then, at least some of the steam has gone out of the opt-out movement in states such as New Jersey and New York, considered hotbeds of anti-testing fervor.

Some of the biggest skeptics of annual, standardized testing have taken a break from what was a big push to reduce the number of federally required tests. And they dont expect there will be another opportunity to roll back federal testing mandates for quite awhile.

Nobody is fighting on it now, said Monty Neill, the executive director of the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, or FairTest, who has spent decades engaged in the national fight to pare back assessments and has recently announced his retirement. Its too early for the next round. On the consequences of the tests, the lengths of the tests, the nature of the tests, [the debates] continuing. Its not on any state table now because theres nothing they can do about it.

Neill is grateful that some states took opportunities in ESSA to broaden accountability beyond test scores and shift teacher evaluation away from test results, although most state ESSA plans dont go as far as hed like.

On the other side of the coin, organizations that see annual standardized testing as a key equity principle are also taking note of a break in the anti-test action.

I think it is much quieter, whether thats because ESSA plans [are mostly approved] and [the] federal law is not going to be opened up for awhile, said Patricia Levesque, the chief executive officer of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, a think tank started by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. But, she said, she doesnt expect that the debate is dead forever. A lot of things are cyclical. Thats just the way that policy is.

ESSA, like its predecessor, the No Child Left Behind Act, requires states to test students in reading and math in grades 3 through 8 and once in high school. But the new law says states must use other factorssuch as chronic absenteeismin identifying schools for extra support. And it gives states wide latitude to figure out how to intervene in struggling schools and evaluate teachers.

NCLB required states to test all their students. Schools that assessed fewer than 95 percent of their students were considered automatic failures.

Under ESSA, states must somehow account for low test participation, but just how to do that is up to them. And states can continue to have laws affirming parents right to opt their students out of tests, as Oregon does. ESSA also requires states to mark non-test-takers as not proficient.

Lack of Flexibility

But some district leaders say they are still chafing under the annual testing regime, despite all the new flexibilities in ESSA.

I would love to get away from this obsession with standardized testing, said Chip McGee, the superintendent in Bedford, N.H., a 4,500-student school district south of Manchester. Its harder to try out new forms of instruction when districts have to prepare students for statewide tests. It keeps everything so locked in.

And other local leaders dont think their states did enough to capitalize on the testing leeway the law offers, including the chance to use a series of interim assessments in place of one, big summative test. So far, no state has decided to go that route.

I think Ohio is missing the mark on ESSA, said Kelly Spivey, the superintendent of the 3,100-student Tallawanda school district in Oxford, Ohio. End-of-year tests dont give us much meaningful information to adjust student learning, compared to formative assessments, which offer a real-time picture of student progress, she said. If the state assessments were timely in the return of that information, that might be a whole different conversation, but they are not.

Levesque is sympathetic to those concerns.

If you listen to the teachers, [theyll say,] I give up a day of teaching for these tests, and I dont even get the info back in time to help my students, she said. Most teachers said, If I dont have it within a week that doesnt help me.

Teachers have to cram too much into the early part of the school year in time for a testing window in early spring, making the remainder of the school year movie time in some classrooms. Levesques organization is urging states to push back the tests until later in the year, even if it means the results come out a bit later. So far, only a couple of states, such as Florida and Indiana, could go in that direction, but Levesque is hoping momentum will build.

Opt-Out Movement

Whats more, a few states considered hotbeds of the opt-out movement have seen test participation rates tick up in recent years, if only slightly. In New York State, for example, opt-out rates dipped from 21 percent in the 2015-16 school year, to 19 percent in the 2016-17 school year.

New Jerseys participation rate in the mathematics assessment increased from 86 percent in 2014-15, to 93 percent in 2015-16, and 95 percent last year. The state education agency has made the move to choose a new statewide assessment, and has done extensive listening sessions with parents.

I thought ESSA was an improvement. The punitive nature was not there to the same extent as under NCLB, said Julia Sass Rubin, a parent in central New Jersey who has been active in the opt-out movement. Shes not happy schools could still get penalized for having a high opt-out rate, but at least youre leaving it up to the state to decide what to do about it.

Thats not to say that test participation is no longer an issue across the country. In Utah, for example, in 2017, 5.9 percent of students opted-out of tests, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. And 1 in 5 students in the Park City school district chose not to participate in tests, the paper reported. Under ESSA, the state will ultimately have to count nonparticipating students as failing.

The state is mulling having two accountability systemsone for state accountability and one for federal accountability. Thats an option Colorado has taken.

States are all over the map in how they plan to deal with opt-outs.

For instance, in Mississippi, New Mexico, and Ohio, schools that dont reach the 95 percent participation target will see their school grades lowered by one level, going from an A to a B, for example. But at least six states do the bare minimum that ESSA requires, which is marking students who dont take the test as not proficient. Some, including Maryland, also note test participation rates on school report cards. Maryland, though, will also calculate school grades that only take into account those who took the test.

Colorado affirms that schools cannot coerce parents into having their children take the tests. But the state will provide information for parents explaining the reasons for administering tests and how results are used.

Looking Ahead

One looming question: Will test participationand test frequencysurface as an issue again anytime soon inside the Beltway?

Technically, ESSA is up for reauthorization next year. But it took Congress more than a half-dozen years to tackle the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind , the law ESSA replaced. And few advocates think its likely that lawmakers will want to revisit K-12 policy in a big way anytime soon.

Still, the idea of less frequent testing hasnt died completely on Capitol Hill, even though theres no obvious legislative vehicle to attach it to. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Rep. Krysten Sinema, D-Ariz., introduced legislation last year to replace annual assessments with grade-span tests.

The 2020 presidential race could provide the next forum for a testing debate. But Neill, of FairTest, isnt so sure that Democratic candidates running for president in 2020 will make backing off standardized testing a part of their platforms.

Many of the key civil rights groups still support testing every year, he said. Candidates will ask themselves, Is this a fight you want to wade into?

Whats more, groups that have traditionally advocated for scaling back standardized testingincluding educators and their unionshave been focused on other areas lately, such as opposition to the Trump administrations proposals to slash the budget of the U.S. Department of Education, and teacher pay.

The folks who were unhappy and leading the opt-out movement have other things on their plate, said Jeff Henig, a professor of political science and education at Teachers College, Columbia University. When it comes to testing, maybe everyone is just taking a breath.
Today, the majority of Americans agree that the Russians attempted to influence the outcome of our 2016 presidential election . Officials from across the U.S. intelligence community have publicly confirmed that this interference took place.

As a teacher, Im worried that Russia ever thought it could get away with interfering in the first place.

According to the information thats been released to the public (so far), foreign powers werent able to actually penetrate our voting systems and change votes. But Russia appears to have believed it could change the outcome of the election by influencing at least some American voters through a campaign of misinformation, propaganda, and media influence.

American democracy is predicated on the idea that voters will be able to make sound, rational decisions when they enter the voting booth. This requires an electorate capable of seeing through sophistry and cheap appeals to fear; in other words, citizens who have been taught to think critically.

I dont mean to suggest that voters should set aside their own ideologies when casting votes. Religious, spiritual, political, or other beliefs are legitimate bases for making electoral decisions. But it ought to give all Americans pause that a foreign government thought it could change the outcome of our presidential election through social-media manipulationand that, from all appearances, they turned out to be correct. How did we get here?

We, as educators, need to teach our students how to exercise their powers as citizens responsibly."

Are the beliefs and values of Americans so pliable that they can be shifted by a few fake news stories on Facebook, planted items in the press, and rogue Twitter bots?

As a teacher who has spent a good bit of his time outside of the classroom defending public education, I am the last person to heap all the blame for this on our schools or our educators. Throughout its history, America has seen fit to hold teachers accountable for a host of problems we never created and couldnt possibly fix on our own; I dont want to add mass gullibility to the list.

Still, its clear that our adversaries believe many Americans are susceptible to foreign manipulation. As educators, we should think carefully about whether our schools have played a role in this.

In the past decade, the goal of education has become making students college and career ready. In the interests of bipartisanship, its worth noting this goal was widely championed by a Democratic administration, with plenty of Republican support. College and career readiness is one of the few things policymakers on all parts of the political spectrum have agreed on.

All sorts of policy changesthe Common Core State Standards, expanded testing, school choice, test-based teacher evaluation, and so oncan be traced back to the goal of making students college and career ready. For now, Ill set aside the debate about whether these policies actually work and my qualms about conflating college and career readiness to ask instead:

Should workforce or college preparation be the most important goal of an education system in a representative democracy? Shouldnt citizenship ready be at least as important?

Some would have us believe that these goals are one and the same. But I contend being ready for work or higher education is only a part of being ready for citizenshipan important part, certainly, but still only a part.

We Americans contribute more to our society than through our work. We consume media, we debate, we influence each other, and we vote. And the skills we need to perform these tasks successfully are not necessarily the same ones that we need in the workplace.

Again, I know there are plenty of people who would challenge me on this. They are the same ones we often hear talking up soft skills in the workplace: collaboration, creativity, communication, and so on. They would have us believe that these skills, which workers use to achieve common goals, are the same skills students need to become engaged citizens.

Well, sorry to be contrary, but citizenship often requires us to be contrary. The American workplace, for better or worse, is mostly hierarchical. Yes, employees can create and debate inside the parameters given to them. But most American workers ultimately must submit to an authority: the boss, the customer, or the governing power. A democracy, however, requires its citizens to challenge authority. Democratic institutions should be where citizens act, not where they are acted upon. We, as educators, need to teach our students how to exercise their powers as citizens responsibly, which means teaching them to question those in authority and the arguments made on behalf of that authority.

Ill admit its a paradox. Inherently, schools are institutions where student power is curtailed. But, at their best, American schools should be where we train students to ethically push back at the authority we teachers wield.

As a music teacher, I deal with issues of student agency on a daily basis. I always listen to my students when its time to program a concert; however, as both the conductor and as the one responsible for turning them into literate artists, I have the final say on repertoire. But I also have to make sure my students understand that they are entitled to their opinions, and that they have the right to challenge me about what we playrespectfully, of course. I would hate to think I was teaching generations of students to unquestioningly accept my personal idea of good taste at the expense of developing their own.

Unfortunately, it appears that Russia, and likely many of our other rivals (and allies) in the world, believe that many Americans are incapable of the level of critical thought necessary to question what they are being told by authorities in the media, business, or government. As a matter of national security, we need to assess what we are doing in our schools to promote this type of thinking.

Decades ago, America changed its schooling in response to the Soviets launching of Sputnik. But the latest attack on our elections by the Russians is a much more serious menace than that orbiting ball of metal ever was.

Are we prepared to reassess how we educate our students to meet this new and greater threat?
DOI Climb-down as Rally IOM says it's to go ahead

Organisers of Rally Isle of Man say the event will be going ahead despite an attempt by the Manx Government to refuse road closing for the event.

It was revealed last week that Officers in the Department of Infrastructure had, what they described as, "many examples of safety failings" - an allegation the organisers refuted.

The allegations by the local DOI are at odds with the findings of the sport's governing bodies who carry out full safety checks before any rally stage is run. Both the MSA (The UK Governing body) and the FIA (World Governing body) send delegates to the Island to drive through each rally stage prior them starting. The organisers cannot over rule the safety delegates if the deem the stages not safe to run.

In 2017, no such stop was placed on a Rally IOM stage by the external safety delegates.

Crisis meetings have taken place between Senior Officials from Rally Isle of Man and a large number of Civil Servants and Politicians from the Department of Infrastructure and the Department of Home Affairs. A decision was released this afternoon where Government had asked for commitment from Rally Isle of Man's organising team.

Rally Isle of Man is the Island's biggest event outside the TT/MGP and does not receive any funding from the Isle of Man Government. It was first held in 1963 and attracts over 160 rally crews with competitors coming from as far afield as Japan. Past winners include, Roger Clark, Colin McRea, Malcolm Wilson, Tony Pond and local rally star Mark Higgins.

The event will take place from 13th to 15th September.
See our complete list of top UTM vendors

See user reviews for Fortinet UTM



Key Takeaways

Fortinet offers a range of UTM products as part of its FortiGate and FortiCloud lines, with prices starting as low as $400. The company is the clear leader in the UTM market, says Gartner, and a good shortlist candidate for all SMBs. Fortinet gets high marks for pricing, performance, and an impressive threat intelligence team, while the management console, cloud management, malware prevention and support have room for improvement.

Company Description

Publicly traded Fortinet was founded in 2000, launched its first FortiGate firewall in 2002 and completed its IPO in 2009. It provides network security appliances for carriers, data centers, enterprises and distributed offices with a mission to secure and simplify the IT infrastructure.

Product Description

Fortinet offers a range of UTM products underpinned by the Fortinet Security Fabric, an adaptive architecture providing integrated detection and automated responses to cybersecurity threats. Its FortiGate and FortiCloud range provide high-performance, multi-layered security and unified visibility with ease of management. The appliances leverage dedicated security processers and provide additional capabilities, such as a wireless access point controller, switch controller, and integration with other elements of the Fortinet Fabric (endpoint agents, sandbox appliances and fabric partner solutions).

Software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) capabilities are also included in the appliances, as well as next-generation firewall (NGFW), intrusion prevention system (IPS), anti-virus, Web filtering, content filtering, data loss prevention (DLP), virtual private network (VPN) tunnel endpoint (SSL & IPSec), SSL inspection, and advanced threat protection. Units for larger sites support multiple WAN interfaces with load-balancing and failover capabilities.

Fortinet has more than twice the UTM revenue of its closest competitors, and is also growing faster.

Fortinet is seeing increased consolidation of both security and networking capabilities into the UTM platform, said Peter Newton, senior director of product marketing at Fortinet. The latest features to be integrated into the UTM fold are SD-WAN capabilities.

Markets and Use Cases

These UTM products are used in main campus, branch, and distributed locations.?They are deployed as general-purpose edge firewalls, internal segmentation firewalls and security-specific applications. They are more suitable to the small and midsized market than the large enterprise space.

Metrics

According to IDC, Fortinet shipped more UTM devices than the next three competitors combined. FortiGate firewalls are consistently recommended in NSS Labs independent testing.

Intelligence

Fortinets FortiGuard Labs is a large cybersecurity research organization. It uses a variety of tools, including machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), to discover and defeat malware. FortiGuard threat intelligence is the foundation for the protections delivered by FortiGate Firewalls, along with additional security solutions integrated within the Fortinet Security Fabric.

Delivery

Fortinet offers UTMs in a variety of form factors, including physical and virtual appliances, and in the major public clouds (AWS, Google, Microsoft Azure, Oracle).

Agents

Fortinet UTM does not require agents, but Fortinet offers endpoint agents that provide more comprehensive security.

Pricing

A variety of UTM products are available. Prices start at $400.
Dyslexia, a reading disorder, is characterized by a difficulty in "decoding" -- navigating between the visual form and sounds of a written language. But a subset of dyslexic people, dubbed "resilient dyslexics," exhibit remarkably high levels of reading comprehension despite difficulties decoding. What is the precise mechanism that allows certain individuals with dyslexia to overcome their low decoding abilities and ultimately extract meaning from text?

A new joint Tel Aviv University and University of California San Francisco study identifies the brain mechanism that accounts for the discrepancy between low decoding skills and high reading comprehension.

The research was led jointly by Dr. Smadar Patael of TAU's Department of Communication Disorders and Prof. Fumiko Hoeft, who is currently at the University of California San Francisco and starts as director of the University of Connecticut's Brain Imaging Research Center this fall. The research was recently published in PLOS One.

Measuring gray matter

The research points to a larger volume of gray matter in resilient readers in the part of the brain responsible for executive functions and working memory. This specific region, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) of the left hemisphere, is known as the "air traffic controller" or "conductor" of the brain. Gray matter is the darker tissue of the brain and spinal cord, consisting mainly of nerve cell bodies and branching dendrites.

Researchers examined 55 English-speaking children aged 10-16 with a wide range of reading abilities. Half of these children had been diagnosed with dyslexia. The researchers created a simple formula to calculate the difference between the reading abilities and decoding skills of the participants. The participants were scanned with an MRI. The researchers then compared the mapped images of the participants' brains with their reading skill results.

"We wanted to find whether the brain regions related to language or other regions were responsible," says Dr. Patael. "We found that the region in the left frontal part of the brain known as left DLPFC was directly related to this discrepancy. DLPFC has been shown to be important for executive functions and cognitive controls."

The chicken or the egg?

"We then sought to understand answer a 'chicken or egg' question related to dyslexia and the slight enlargement of this brain region," Dr. Patael continues. "Do resilient dyslexics have distinct brain structures that allow for better resiliency, or is their success in reading a result of compensation strategies that actually altered the density of neurons in a specific region of the brain?"

To answer this question, Dr. Patael, Prof. Hoeft and their colleagues scanned 43 kindergarteners using MRI technology, and then three years later tested the children's reading abilities. The researchers found that the density of neurons in the DLPFC predated mature reading ability and predicted the discrepancy, regardless of their initial reading abilities.

"This helps us to understand the brain and cognitive mechanisms these children utilize to enable them to do well despite their relative weakness in decoding. It may help us think about incorporating relatively new strategies into reading interventions," says Prof. Hoeft.

"Much of the curriculum of kindergarten reading readiness is focused on learning sounds of letter and phonological awareness," concludes Dr. Patael. "Our research findings suggest new approaches that emphasize executive functions and working memory. If your child is entering first grade, practicing the alphabet may not be enough. Consider activities that require working memory, such as baking cakes and playing song and strategy games. These activities stimulate children's working memory and may in time foster their ability to comprehend texts well."

The researchers are currently further exploring the neural mechanisms of compensation and resilience.

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American Friends of Tel Aviv University supports Israel's most influential, comprehensive and sought-after center of higher learning, Tel Aviv University (TAU). TAU is recognized and celebrated internationally for creating an innovative, entrepreneurial culture on campus that generates inventions, startups and economic development in Israel. TAU is ranked ninth in the world, and first in Israel, for producing start-up founders of billion-dollar companies, an achievement that surpassed several Ivy League universities. To date, 2,500 US patents have been filed by Tel Aviv University researchers -- ranking TAU #1 in Israel, #10 outside of the US and #43 in the world.
Amidst increased tensions over the US-Mexico border, a multinational group of over 2500 scientists have endorsed an article cautioning that a hardened barrier may produce devastating ecological effects while hampering binational conservation efforts. In the BioScience Viewpoint , a group led by Robert Peters, William J. Ripple, and Jennifer R. B. Miller call attention to ecological disturbances that could affect hundreds of terrestrial and aquatic species, notably including the Mexican gray wolf and Sonoran pronghorn.

The authors argue that the border wall will harm wildlife populations by fragmenting, degrading, and eliminating existing habitat, as well as by blocking species migration. "Our analysis shows that the border bisects the geographic ranges of 1506 native terrestrial and freshwater animal (n = 1077) and plant (n = 429) species," say the authors, noting that the number includes 62 species already listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered, or Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Further, the authors express concern that as a result of the 2005 Real ID Act, construction could proceed "without the necessary depth of environmental impact analysis, development of less-damaging alternative strategies, postconstruction environmental monitoring, mitigation, public input, and pursuit of legal remedies." Compounding the issue of forgone legal protections, Peters and colleagues warn that a border wall could threaten ongoing research and conservation programs, including those in binational habitat corridors and the 18% of borderlands that contain environmentally protected lands.

To mitigate the effects of the proposed wall, the authors make several urgent recommendations to the United States Congress and Department of Homeland Security; these include following existing environmental laws, taking action to mitigate ecological harm, and forgoing physical barriers in particularly sensitive areas. The article` also calls for the government to encourage scientific research in the borderlands, to inform and assist environmental evaluation and mitigation efforts. The authors conclude that "national security can and must be pursued with an approach that preserves our natural heritage."

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Authors: Robert Peters, William J. Ripple, Christopher Wolf, Matthew Moskwik, Gerardo Carreon-Arroyo, Gerardo Ceballos, Ana Cordova, Rodolfo Dirzo, Paul R. Ehrlich, Aaron D. Flesch, Rurik List, Thomas E. Lovejoy, Reed F. Noss, Jesus Pacheco, Jose K. Sarukhan, Michael E. Soule, Edward O. Wilson, Jennifer R. B. Miller, and 2500+ signatory scientists.

BioScience, published monthly by Oxford Journals, is the journal of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS). BioScience is a forum for integrating the life sciences that publishes commentary and peer-reviewed articles. The journal has been published since 1964. AIBS is an organization for professional scientific societies and organizations, and individuals, involved with biology. AIBS provides decision-makers with high-quality, vetted information for the advancement of biology and society. Follow BioScience on Twitter @BioScienceAIBS.

Oxford Journals is a division of Oxford University Press. Oxford Journals publishes well over 300 academic and research journals covering a broad range of subject areas, two-thirds of which are published in collaboration with learned societies and other international organizations. The division been publishing journals for more than a century, and as part of the world's oldest and largest university press, has more than 500 years of publishing expertise behind it. Follow Oxford Journals on Twitter @OxfordJournals
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 24, 2018 -- Modern communication systems often employ optical fibers to carry signals across or between devices. The integrated optics in these devices combine more than one function into a single circuit. However, signal transmission requires long optical fibers, which makes it difficult to miniaturize the device. Instead of long optical fibers, scientists have started testing planar waveguides.

In the Journal of Applied Physics, from AIP Publishing, investigators from the University of Leeds report on a laser-assisted study of a type of glass that shows promise as a material for broadband planar waveguide amplifiers. This material is made by doping a type of glass made from zinc, sodium and tellurium with the rare earth element erbium. Erbium-doped waveguide amplifiers have garnered attention because electronic transition for erbium occurs at the same wavelength, 1.5 microns, that is a standard in telecommunications technologies.

While a planar waveguide guides light along a single geometric plane, the investigators used a technique known as ultrafast laser plasma doping that utilizes ultrafast lasers to incorporate erbium ions as thin films in a silica substrate. The researchers aimed a high-intensity laser at the surface of the erbium-doped glass, which blasted a tiny crater and produced a thin film from the plume of ejected material.

Their measurements during the film formation process focused on the ablation threshold of the glass. This quantity describes the minimum energy required to separate atoms or molecules by intense laser irradiation. The investigators determined how the ablation threshold in their system was affected by the radius of the laser beam, the number of laser pulses and the concentration of the erbium ion dopant.

They found that the ablation threshold does not depend on the low doping concentration of erbium ions needed to engineer any device. Although this study focused exclusively on erbium ions as the dopant, "This result could be applicable to other dielectric materials processed with ultrafast lasers," said Thomas Mann, an author on the paper.

The investigators also looked at the shape and characteristics of the tiny craters blasted into the glass. Understanding the morphology of craters produced during the fabrication process is important for controlling properties such as the porosity, the surface area, and the ability of the material to scatter or absorb light.

"These properties are important for engineering other dielectric materials for surface area-demanding applications in photocatalysis, sensing, fuel and solar cells, and light extraction in LEDs," Mann said. The next phase in their research will involve more precise engineering of thin films and waveguides for amplifiers, sensors and other devices.

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The article, "Femtosecond laser ablation properties of Er3+ ion doped zinc-sodium tellurite glass," is authored by Thomas Mann, Robert Mathieson, Matthew Murray, Billy Richards and Gin Jose. The article will appear in the Journal of Applied Physics July 24, 2018 (DOI: 10.1063/1.5040947). After that date, it can be accessed at http://aip.scitation.org/doi/full/10.1063/1.5040947.

ABOUT THE JOURNAL

Journal of Applied Physics is an influential international journal publishing significant new experimental and theoretical results of applied physics research. See http://jap.aip.org.
He has been called "Stanford's star of statistical inference," and he is responsible for creating a swathe of modern statistics, including the bootstrap. But when Brad Efron first heard about a project to tackle the horrific prevalence of rape in Nairobi's poorest schools, his first thought was that it required more than statistical help--it required "angelic" intervention. "I put it in the category of great ideas that couldn't be carried out," he says. "How do you actually execute a highly interactive interventional plan within a disparate public-school system--and then how do you show whether the interventions are working?"

Those were precisely the answers the founder of No Means No Worldwide was seeking. Leaders of the nongovernmental organization (NGO) based in San Francisco with a project to train girls approached Stanford for help after its founder, Lee Paiva, thought it just wasn't enough to tell funders how many children had been through the program. "What did those kids actually get?" she asked in a Stanford Medicine article. "What is that money really going to do? And in that moment, I knew--I'm not doing this anymore until I absolutely know what that child got out of this."

Figuring that out requires more than taking a few stats courses. It requires pushing the boundaries of statistical modeling, itself. "And then I did one smart thing," says Efron. "I involved Mike Baiocchi in the project."

Baiocchi's passion for causal inference had led him to occupy positions in both the statistics department and at the Stanford Research Prevention Center in the university's medical school; he quickly became absorbed by the technicality of the challenge and the impact of finding a solution. "If we can measure difficult concepts like empowerment and gender norms," he says, "then we can use statistical analyses to map out the causal pathways to assess what is essential, and what is not, in these interventions."

By developing an evidence base for what works, funders, policymakers and NGOs can put their limited resources to where they will have the largest impact--and all in highly quantifiable, defensible ways.

Initially, Baiocchi started looking at the observational data No Means No Worldwide had collected from their training in Nairobi's schools to see whether it could be used in a rigorous way to draw inferences about what was working. But, as he notes, observational data often tempt researchers into overstating the benefits of an intervention. At the same time, No Means No Worldwide wanted to expand their program. "So, we were like, 'Hey, this is a perfect opportunity to do a randomized study!'" By randomly assigning some schools to training and others to being delayed in receiving the training, they would have a much better sense of the overall impact of the program.

Baiocchi partnered with Clea Sarnquist, a senior research scholar in pediatrics who had done pioneering work in assessing interventions to prevent gender violence in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2014, they both went to Kenya.

The project's location--Nairobi's slums--presented a huge statistical challenge. "It's a dynamic environment," says Baiocchi. "Buildings are being erected and demolished; people are constantly moving in and trying to reach escape velocity. So, if you run a training program in a school and then the school disappears, you'll have to deal with student diffusion."

"We also heard anecdotally that the girls loved the training and were teaching their friends, sisters and moms," continues Baiocchi. "That's wonderful--and researchers are thinking about how to use that. But, from a statistical perspective, there was a risk that our intervention group would contaminate into our control group, and that would prevent us from seeing whether the intervention was working. It just wasn't clear that we could empirically establish that you could prevent sexual assaults in these kinds of environments."

The first trial involved 5,000 girls in 28 schools--and was put together with--as Baiocchi put it--the experimental equivalent of shoestring, chewing gum and duct tape. But the result was striking, and it mirrored what they had seen in the observational study--the training cut the rate of sexual assault in half.

At the same time, a group of Canadian researchers published the results of their multiyear randomized trial of a similar sexual assault intervention program for college-age women at Windsor University and found rates of rape had been cut in half. That similar intervention programs had similar outcomes in two very different populations and environments was a sign that the underlying theory behind the training was really working.

But the Stanford team was only getting started. "We wanted to unpack why things were happening, and not just focus on changing outcomes, says Baiocchi. "We wanted to make sure we really understand what's going on."

The theory behind the training posited four causal pathways to prevent assault. The first is situational awareness, which involves training girls to be aware of the common scenarios perpetrators use and to be aware of the physical and social resources available to them. The second is empowerment, which involves training the girls to understand that they are "worth it" and they have the right to have their will heard and registered in such situations. The third is training in the verbal skills--how to be heard, the words that are most effective and the tone and social constructs to use. And the fourth is physical defense, a mix of Krav Maga and Brazilian jujitsu.

"Our first randomized trial showed strong evidence that the empowerment pathway seems to work as the theory proposes," says Baiocchi. "But they needed bigger and more complex trial to drill down, and that would be expensive." To continue with Efron's angel metaphor--at least in terms of investment--enter the U.K.'s Department for International Development (DfID) and its global program focused on girls and women, What Works to Prevent Violence.

With DfID's support, they are now working with more than 100 schools and following the students over two years to assess their experience over time, tease out causal pathways and look at the durability of the training's effect. "If the girls are trained once, does that training last for years?" asks Baiocchi. "Or is a 'booster' program needed to keep the skills effective?" They will also measure academic outcomes to see whether the program has additional benefits outside of sexual assault--something that would help make the case for the Kenyan Ministry of Education to scale up the intervention.

Baiocchi is quick to note success has many authors--from the collaborating researchers in Kenya to those running the training to the Canadians doing their study. But as a statistician, he lingers on the contribution of one group whose impact is easy to miss: the Stanford PhD students in statistics who signed on to help with the project. They worked on the exhausting task of establishing the baseline demographic data from which to measure future results--everything from the girls' experience of gender-based violence to what materials their houses are made of. And they took it upon themselves to create tutorials with synthetic data sets so others could learn how to do similar studies.

"There isn't a ton of statistical expertise in the global gender-based violence field," says Rina Friedberg, a third-year PhD student in statistics. "So, we've been creating training programs for other groups who want to do similar studies. They can go through and read our software code and our explanations of what it does and why, and hopefully they will be able to go out and replicate our statistics."

It is difficult to overstate the importance of this, according to Baiocchi. "The academic discipline of sexual assault prevention is quite young, so its researchers were trained in many different disciplines," says Baiocchi. "This means when we get together to talk, it's a bit like the Tower of Babel in terms of statistics, because everybody has a different statistical language they use; it's hard to communicate. We're trying to provide a Rosetta stone for everybody working in sexual assault prevention, to make it easy to have a consistent and rigorous statistical methodology relatively quickly."

"Mike and his colleagues were able, with what seemed to me heroic persistence, to both carry out the intervention and to demonstrate its massively good effects," says Efron. "These guys are going to win major humanitarian awards."

Last year, Baiocchi won Stanford's Rosenkranz Prize for Health Care Research in Developing Countries. The team is using the financial support from this award to explore the impact of the fraught 2017 Kenyan elections on rates of violence on children in the slums. This year, Friedberg won the Marjorie Lozoff prize for scholarship that furthers women's development. In the spring of 2018, Baiocchi's team partnered with the researchers who developed the training program for college-age women in Canada to start a pilot program for Stanford undergraduates. "We're excited to be bringing this approach to combating sexual assault home," says Baiocchi. "And a little nervous about all the new complexities we'll encounter here on campus."

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Talk details:

IMP: Interference Manipulating Permutations

Thursday, August 2, 2018

10:30 a.m. - 12:20 p.m.

ww2.amstat.org/meetings/jsm/2018/onlineprogram/AbstractDetails.cfm?abstractid=326760

For details, contact Mike Baiocchi. Initial paper available here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27562036. A methodology paper is forthcoming.

Email: baiocchi@stanford.edu

Phone: (415) 517-3892

Webpage: https://web.stanford.edu/~baiocchi

About JSM 2018

JSM 2018 is the largest gathering of statisticians and data scientists in the world, taking place July 28-August 2, 2018, in Vancouver. Occurring annually since 1974, JSM is a joint effort of the American Statistical Association, International Biometric Society (ENAR and WNAR), Institute of Mathematical Statistics, Statistical Society of Canada, International Chinese Statistical Association, International Indian Statistical Association, Korean International Statistical Society, International Society for Bayesian Analysis, Royal Statistical Society and International Statistical Institute. JSM activities include oral presentations, panel sessions, poster presentations, professional development courses, an exhibit hall, a career service, society and section business meetings, committee meetings, social activities and networking opportunities. http://ww2.amstat.org/meetings/jsm/2018/index.cfm

About the American Statistical Association

The ASA is the world's largest community of statisticians and the oldest continuously operating professional science society in the United States. Its members serve in industry, government and academia in more than 90 countries, advancing research and promoting sound statistical practice to inform public policy and improve human welfare. For additional information, please visit the ASA website at http://www.amstat.org.
Today ten scholarship holders from around the globe presented their final papers at the Wissenschaftsforum conference centre in Berlin as part of the Centre of Excellence in Observational Oceanography. For the past ten months, all have been engaged in a training programme addressing all oceanographic disciplines at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). To close this important chapter of their lives with due pomp and splendour, there will be a festive graduation ceremony.

Representatives of the programme's supporting organisations - Japan's Nippon Foundation, which provides the funding; the Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans (POGO), which is responsible for qualification aspects; and the AWI, which actually provides the educational content - were in attendance.

For Marwa Baloza, 1 August will mark the beginning of a new life phase. Only a year ago, she came to Germany from Egypt on a POGO scholarship, where she was joined by fellow scholarship holders from Cameroon, Sudan, Chile, Brazil, the Philippines, Malaysia, India, Bangladesh and Indonesia. Now that she has completed her ten-month qualification programme at the Biological Institute on Helgoland and at the Wadden Sea Station on Sylt, she has mixed feelings: "I'll definitely miss my 'POGO brothers and sisters', but I'm also looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead." From August she'll begin writing her doctoral dissertation on biogeochemical material flows in coastal waters. Other graduates of the Centre of Excellence will return to their home countries, where they'll begin applying what they have learned.

"This wonderful programme, which offers so many unique experiences and opens so many opportunities, is only possible because of the cooperation between Japan's Nippon Foundation (NF), the Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans (POGO) and the Alfred Wegener Institute," says the Scientific Coordinator of the Centre of Excellence on Helgoland, Dr Eva-Maria Brodte. "The programme, which connects the scientific world at the highest level, opens new avenues for young researchers from newly industrialised and developing countries. High-calibre experts from Germany and abroad donate their time to carefully prepare the coursework. The result is a network that transcends the boundaries of disciplines and cultures, to the benefit of everyone involved."

For the past decade, every year ten young men and women have been invited as guest researchers by the POGO Centre of Excellence, since 2013 the scholars stay at the AWI's facilities on Helgoland, Sylt and in Bremerhaven, while their final projects may take them to e.g. Warnemunde or Hannover. The participants were selected from a long list of candidates; a range of partner institutes contribute resources and staff to the programme: the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research in Bremen, the Helmholtz Centre in Geesthacht, the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research in Warnemunde, the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel, and the TU Hannover's Ludwig Franzius Institute for Hydraulic, Estuarine and Coastal Engineering. Above all, these institutes serve as hosts for the scholarship holders' final projects, which they work on in groups for the final two and a half months of the programme.

This final phase tends to be emotionally charged, since, while preparing to say farewell to one group, it also means it's time to start preparing for the next. This year, two of the current participants will still be in Germany to welcome their successors and share their experiences with them. On 13 September 2018 the next phase for the NF-POGO Centre of Excellence at the AWI will begin in Berlin, offering ten new scholarship holders the chance to gain an unparalleled glimpse behind the scenes of oceanography, marine biology, statistics and a range of other marine disciplines. The new group includes participants from Brazil, Cameroon, Kenya, Morocco, Namibia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Russia and Tunisia.

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The provision of managerial support and help for employees with depression is linked to lower rates of workplace absenteeism, finds an international survey study of practice in 15 countries in different regions of the world, published in the online journal BMJ Open.

The findings bolster the case for active workplace policies on mental health, say the researchers.

Many people experience depression at some point during their working lives, but mental health issues are still stigmatised. As a result, those affected often don't disclose their problem or seek help for fear of repercussions, say the researchers.

To find out if the attitude of managers to mental health issues might be associated with workplace absenteeism rates and productivity, the researchers drew on an international audit (Global IDEA) of more than 16,000 employees and their managers in 15 countries with varying levels of income (GDP) and cultural norms.

These countries were: Brazil; Canada; China; Denmark; France, Germany; Great Britain; Italy; Japan; Mexico; Spain; South Africa; South Korea; Turkey; and the USA.

Background information was obtained from the employees, including age, gender, educational attainment, and size of the employing company. Each of them was asked whether they had ever been formally diagnosed with depression, and if so, how many working days they had taken off, as a result.

The managers were asked if they actively offered help and support to employees with depression or whether they avoided talking about the issue with the employee.

Response rates varied by country, ranging from around 5 per cent in China to 39 per cent in France. Completed questionnaires were returned by around 1000 respondents from each country, of which around 10 percent were from managers.

In all, nearly 3000 respondents said they were/had been depressed. Nearly three out of four (72.6%) of all the sample worked full time and nearly half (45%) worked in small sized companies (1-50 employees).

Analysis of the responses showed that in general, managers in Asian countries tended to avoid employees with depression and were less likely to offer active support than were managers in other regions of the world.

Managers in Japan and South Korea were the least likely to offer help to their employees, while those in Mexico and South Africa were the most likely to do so.

And managers in South Korea and China were the most likely to avoid talking about depression with employees, while managers in Denmark, Canada, and Great Britain were the least likely to do so.

Living in a country with a higher proportion of managers who deployed avoidance tactics was associated with taking more days off work for depression, as was residence in a country with a higher GDP.

Similarly, living in a country with a greater proportion of managers actively offering help and support to employees with depression was associated with more days at work (presenteeism).

Analysis of the individual factors associated with absenteeism and presenteeism revealed that people who were more highly educated took more time off for depression than their less well educated peers, while those working for larger companies took fewer days off work than those working for smaller ones.

Older (45-64 year old) men with medium to low levels of educational attainment were more likely to come into work than their younger peers, as were employees living in higher income countries.

This is an observational study so cannot establish cause, added to which response rates were relatively low, and it was impossible to glean information on workplace mental health policies or the severity of symptoms.

Nevertheless, the researchers conclude that their findings "suggest that manager reactions to employees with depression can reflect broad cultural and organisational features that directly relate to employee productivity."

They continue: "This strengthens the economic case for supporting the development and implementation of effective policies and practices for managers to be able to actively support an employee with depression."

They add: "The business case for intervention through better managerial response is exemplified by the substantial costs associated with mental health problems and evidence from a number of studies that mental health can improve through workplace programmes, with economic benefits to employers."

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Peer reviewed? Yes

Type of evidence: Observational

Subjects: People
The digital transformation, from robotics to artificial intelligence, is transforming our jobs.

It is opening up new working opportunities as our societies become more technologically advanced. At the same time, computers could soon be replacing humans and performing their tasks across a number of sectors.

As we start to see the effects of this transformation in the EU, migrant workers are in a more precarious position compared to others.

Around half who have come from outside the EU to make a living are performing tasks that automation could render obsolete, according to a new study carried out by the JRC and the University of Salamanca.

But of course automation poses challenges and opportunities - provided the right policies are in place to ensure we are prepared for the digital transformation - for all workers in the EU, not just migrants.

In this context, the European Pillar of Social Rights focuses on inclusive education and training policies, the importance of which has been confirmed through the EU's Skills Agenda for Europe and the European Education Area.

The results of the study show that migrants are particularly exposed to the effects of the digital transformation and are therefore more in need of specific interventions - from education and training to social protection.

These kinds of interventions can help them to take advantage of the new career opportunities the transformation could offer.

The Skills Agenda for Europe launched 10 actions to make the right training, skills and support available to people in the EU. It also includes specific actions to support early identification and profiling of skills and qualifications of third country nationals.

In addition, the Upskilling Pathways initiative, as part of the Agenda, helps low-skilled adults, including migrants, to strengthen their basic skills and align them with labour market needs.

The Commission also acknowledged the need to support third country nationals in the context of the proposals for the EU's long-term budget 2021-2027.

In line with the approach to invest in people, the new European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) will specifically support the socio-economic integration of non-EU nationals in the long term, with measures to reduce poverty, promote social inclusion and health, and combat discrimination and inequalities.

Education versus automation

Scientists considered 9 job categories and the extent to which they contain routine tasks that might readily be automated with advancements in technology.

From office cleaners to food prep assistants, 49.54% of workers who have come from outside the EU are doing jobs categorised as 'elementary' or 'sales and service'.

Elementary occupations are those at the highest risk of automation as jobs requiring the solution of complex problems or negotiating with people are harder to automate. This would be the case for managerial or professional occupations, where only 15.99% of non-EU workers are employed.

A person's job depends significantly on their educational attainment and, hence, the analysis takes that into account.

That being said, migrant workers are much more likely to be doing jobs with a high automation potential than people living and working in their home country.

Their odds of having such a job are between 2.3 and 3 times higher. This is true even for highly educated migrant workers:

34.3% of EU citizens living and working in their home country have a university degree. This group has the lowest chance of working in a job with a high automation potential;

Graduates make up 34.9% of EU citizens who have moved to work in another European country, and 27.6% of third country nationals. However for both groups, the odds of being employed in a job with a high automation potential are 3 times that of EU citizens with university degrees who are living and working in their home country.

The European Social Fund provides valuable support to migrants, helping to improve their skills and career prospects. The Fund reached 1.7 million migrants and persons with a foreign or minority background between 2014 and 2017.

In addition, Under the European Semester, the EU's key instrument to steer social reforms in the Member States, several countries received recommendations to improve access to quality education and training and to social protection.

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Background

The study forms part of the European Commission Knowledge Centre on Migration and Demography's work which provides EU policymakers with the knowledge and analysis needed to strengthen the response to the challenges of migration and to fully seize its opportunities.

The European Commission's 2018 Employment and Social Developments in Europe (ESDE) review gives a comprehensive analysis of the digital transformation, how it changes the relation between labour and machines, and how it the changes the nature of work.

The study 'Migrant workers and the digital transformation in the EU' provides insights on the possible implications of these changes on the labour market integration of migrants.

It is based on the most recent data from the EU Labour Force Survey and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC).

The sample data only covers the resident population so does not include information on the working activities of undocumented migrants.
For the first time, scientists reconstruct the rainfall distribution in Brazil during the climate changes that marked the Middle Ages using isotopic records from caves.

A new study published in Geophysical Research Journal shows that the so-called Little Ice Age - a period stretching from 1500 to 1850 in which mean temperatures in the northern hemisphere were considerably lower than at present - exerted effects on the climate of South America.

Based on an analysis of speleothems (cave formations) in the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso do Sul and Goias, the study revealed that in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the climate of southwestern Brazil was wetter than it is now, for example, while that of the country's Northeast region was drier.

The same Brazilian cave records showed that the climate was drier in Brazil between 900 and 1100, during a period known as the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA), when the northern hemisphere's climate was warmer than it is now.

The study's authors are physicist Valdir Felipe Novello and geologist Francisco William Cruz, researchers at the University of Sao Paulo's Geoscience Institute (IGC-USP), in collaboration with colleagues in Brazil, the United States and China. The study was part of the ongoing project "Climate research education in the Americas using tree-ring speleothem examples: PIRE-CREATE", which was supported by the Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) under an agreement with the US National Science Foundation (NSF) via NSF's Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE) Program.

The study detected dry and wet periods in the Brazilian paleoclimate by analyzing the oxygen isotopes in calcium carbonate molecules found in speleothems. "In Professor Cruz's group, we travel throughout Brazil collecting samples of cave rocks. The composition of oxygen isotopes in the calcium carbonate deposited over centuries and millennia to form speleothems [stalagmites and stalactites] shows whether the climate was drier or wetter in the past," said Novelo.

Dry and wet season isotopes

Isotopes are variants of a chemical element. While all isotopes of any element have the same number of protons in each atom, different isotopes have different numbers of neutrons. For example, oxygen 16 (16O) has eight protons and eight neutrons, while oxygen 18 (18O) has eight protons and ten neutrons.

"In nature there is approximately one atom of oxygen 18 for every 1,000 atoms of oxygen 16," Novello explained. 18O is heavier than 16O, so when it starts to rain, water molecules with 18O precipitate first.

As a result, the amount of 16O in the rain cloud rises relative to the amount of 18O, which necessarily decreases since most of the original 18O precipitates as rain. "When it rains heavily, the rain's isotope profile changes," Novello said.

To determine how changes in past rainfall regimes can be measured, Novello and Cruz analyzed records of the 16O/18O ratio preserved in speleothem calcium carbonate.

Caves form during long rainy periods in regions of karst, a type of landscape comprising carbonatic rocks such as limestone. Rainwater comes into contact with carbon gas (CO2) dissolved in the air and soil. The result of this chemical reaction is slightly acidic water, which penetrates the soil until it reaches underground calcareous rock.

Calcareous rock is insoluble in water with neutral pH but dissolves in the presence of acidic water (which has a moderately low pH), leading to the formation of the natural underground voids we call caves.

The researchers explained that speleothems form when calcium carbonate-loaded rainwater that has penetrated the soil reaches the cave's roof. Slow continuous dripping over thousands of years precipitates the calcium carbonate dissolved in each drop in the form of speleothems, as stalactites suspended from the roof of the cave and as stalagmites rising from the floor.

Any calcium carbonate precipitating from the roof is deposited on the floor in layers that build up to form stalagmites. Speleothems preserve the isotope signature of the oxygen in the rain that fell at the time when each layer of calcium carbonate was deposited.

"So, in a region with heavy rainfall, for example, you tend to find speleothems with sequences of layers containing less 18O. Conversely, in regions with a dry climate, the small amount of rainfall contains more 18O. When this water penetrates the soil and dissolves calcium carbonate, it ends up creating speleothems with a relatively high level of 18O."

Rock dating and isotope analysis

Novello collected rock samples from two stalagmites in Jaragua Cave, near Bonito, Mato Grosso do Sul, and from stalagmites in Sao Bernardo Cave and Sao Mateus Cave, located in Terra Ronca State Park, Goias.

Two samples from two different stalagmites were collected in Jaragua Cave. One of them grew continuously for 800 years according to uranium-thorium dating, between 1190 and 2000, a period that included the LIA. The other sample grew continuously in 442-1451, a period that included the MCA.

In Goias, Novello collected a rock sample from Sao Bernardo Cave which covered the period 1123-2010, which included the LIA. Sao Mateus Cave yielded sample dated to the period 264-1201, which included the MCA.

The FAPESP-supported study showed that the 18O profile of the samples from Jaragua Cave displayed declining levels of oxygen in the period 400-1400, suggesting a moderately wet climate in central Brazil during the period (which included the MCA in the northern hemisphere).

Levels of 18O in the samples from Jaragua Cave fell between 1400 and 1770, reflecting a rise in moisture during the period (which included the LIA in the northern hemisphere), but rose between 1770 and 1950, in line with falling moisture.

A similar analysis of the samples from Sao Bernardo Cave and Sao Mateus Cave in Goias did not show any clear trend, but there were a number of long wet periods, mainly 680-780 and 1290-1350, with spikes in 1050, 1175 and 1490.

On the other hand, the wet period documented by the record from the Jaragua Cave during the LIA in 1500-1850 is consistent with the wet conditions favored by passage of the South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ), a large cloud system with a northwest-southeast orientation that extends from southern Amazonia to the central South Atlantic in the summer.

"The SACZ is the cloud mass responsible for the long periods of rain that occur in Brazil's Southeast region. The isotopes tell the full story of this wet mass and its movement across the continent," Novello said.

In a previous study using isotope records from caves in Brazil's Northeast region (at Iraquara, Bahia), Novello had inferred that a drier climate prevailed during the LIA in that region, which is outside the SACZ.

"The data from speleothems in Bonito, associated with known paleoclimate data from Peru, show that during the LIA, the SACZ more frequently stalled further to the southwest over an area that extends from Peru to Sao Paulo via Mato Grosso do Sul," he said. "On the other hand, the data from the caves in Goias and Iraquara suggest the SACZ didn't reach Goias, Bahia and the Northeast during the LIA, but stayed put over the Southeast. As a result, the Northeast became drier."

Although the records from the two caves in Goias (and three other caves) showed no significant change in the average proportion of 18O during the periods that included the MCA and LIA, they did point to strong variability on a multidecadal to centennial timescale during the period of transition from the MCA to the LIA (1100-1500).

Convergence zones

"There's coherence between climate changes in South America and the climate data for the northern hemisphere," said Cruz, principal investigator for the FAPESP-funded project. "Earth's climate is entirely interconnected. If there are anomalies in high-latitude regions, this will be reflected in the tropics."

"When we look at the paleoclimate data for the period corresponding to the LIA, we see more cold in South America, but the rainfall patterns changed," Novello said. From this information, it can be concluded that if the climate grows colder in the northern hemisphere, it rains more in the southern hemisphere. The moisture convergence ends up moving south. Conversely, when the climate warms up in the northern hemisphere, it rains less in the southern hemisphere.

"In the equatorial regions, there's a belt of cloud called the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone. Its location corresponds to the area where the ocean surface is warmer. This warmer region creates a low-pressure zone to which all the moisture converges, and so more rain falls."

During the LIA, when the difference between the cooler climate in the northern hemisphere and the warmer climate in the southern hemisphere was greater, the winds that converged from the northern hemisphere to the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) carried more moisture than they do now. This greater moisture contributed to an increase in the volume of cloud in the ITCZ, which advanced east-west over the equator from the Atlantic to the Amazon, where it began raining torrentially. This was when all the 18O contained in the clouds precipitated.

"The cooling of the North Atlantic during the LIA intensified the northeast trade winds, which favored the transport of moisture to the Amazon. This is the opposite of what happens in years when the northeast trade winds are less intense: they tend to be drier years," Cruz said.

Once the cloud masses in the ITCZ reach the Amazon, they contribute moisture that is richer in 16O to the SACZ. The extra amount of this isotope is recorded by speleothems.

During the MCA, the northern hemisphere's warmer climate formed a low-pressure zone to which wet winds converged from the South Atlantic. "The ITCZ moved further north. All of South America became drier," Cruz said.

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About Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)

The Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) is a public institution with the mission of supporting scientific research in all fields of knowledge by awarding scholarships, fellowships and grants to investigators linked with higher education and research institutions in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. FAPESP is aware that the very best research can only be done by working with the best researchers internationally. Therefore, it has established partnerships with funding agencies, higher education, private companies, and research organizations in other countries known for the quality of their research and has been encouraging scientists funded by its grants to further develop their international collaboration. For more information: http://www.fapesp.br/en.
Bottom Line: Depression has been associated with poorer medical outcomes for patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), including heart attack and unstable angina. This randomized clinical trial of 300 patients in South Korea examined whether antidepressant treatment after ACS improved long-term cardiac outcomes. Patients received either the antidepressant escitalopram or placebo for 24 weeks. After about eight years of follow-up, the antidepressant escitalopram resulted in a lower occurrence of major adverse cardiac events than placebo (40.9 percent vs. 53.6 percent).

Authors: Jae-Min Kim, M.D., Ph.D., Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea, and co-authors

Visual Abstract: This is the link to the abstract when the embargo lifts.

To Learn More: The full study is available on the For The Media website.

(doi:10.1001/jama.2018.9422)

Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.

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Want to embed a link to this study in your story? Link will be live at the embargo time: http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/10.1001/jama.2018.9422
The lifespan of a transplant kidney has significantly improved over the last thirty years. Between 1986 and 1995, 75% of the transplanted kidneys still functioned five years after the transplant. Between 2006 and 2015, this number had already risen to 84%. However, an international study lead by kidney specialist Maarten Naesens of KU Leuven shows that the progress is stagnating.

A transplanted kidney's lifespan is 15-20 years on average. If this kidney stops working, the patient is back on the waiting list for a new one. However, a second or even a third transplant is more complex, as finding a new good match between donor and recipient becomes increasingly difficult. In practice, this often results in patients having to undergo dialysis treatment for a long time or even for the rest of their lives. To be able to avoid this, extending the lifespan of transplant kidneys should be given priority.

A lot has improved over the last thirty years, explains Professor Maarten Naesens of KU Leuven and University Hospitals Leuven. "The data of more than 100,000 recipients of transplant kidneys across Europe from 1986 until 2016 show that we have made considerable progress in the last thirty years. Between 1986 and 1995, 87% of the transplanted kidneys still functioned one year after the transplant. After five years, that was still 75%. Between 2006 and 2015, this number had risen to 92% one year after the transplantation and 84% five years after."

This is good news, but there is one important remark to be made, continues Naesens. "For the most part, this progress was made in the period 1986-2000. Unfortunately, we haven't seen much progress in the last 15 years. The data confirms what we already noticed in the hospital. This is especially striking compared to other fields in medicine."

"Against expectations, the stagnation has nothing to do with the changing profile of donors and recipients, at any rate. On average, they have become older with more concomitant diseases in past years. But even if we take this into account, it doesn't explain why the lifespan of a transplant kidney has stagnated." So, the question is: what is the cause?

The explanation can be found in the way we treat patients, concludes Naesens: "The medication currently used to prevent a kidney from being rejected by the recipient's immune system dates back to the nineties of the previous century. Our scientific knowledge has, of course, increased in the last 15 years, but this hasn't resulted in better medicines. This means that there is a clear need for innovation when it comes to kidney transplants."

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WASHINGTON - The science questions that could be answered by an electron ion collider (EIC) - a very large-scale particle accelerator - are significant to advancing our understanding of the atomic nuclei that make up all visible matter in the universe, says a new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Beyond its impact on nuclear science, the advances made possible by an EIC could have far-reaching benefits to the nation's science- and technology-driven economy as well as to maintaining U.S. leadership in nuclear physics and in collider and accelerator technologies.

The National Academies were asked by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to examine the scientific importance of an EIC, as well as the international implications of building domestic EIC facility. The committee that conducted the study and wrote the report concluded that the science that could be addressed by an EIC is compelling and would provide long-elusive answers on the nature of matter. An EIC would allow scientists to investigate where quarks and gluons, the tiny particles that make up neutrons and protons, are located inside protons and neutrons, how they move, and how they interact together. While the famous Higgs mechanism explains the masses of the quarks, the most significant portion of the mass of a proton or neutron comes from its gluons and their interactions. Crucial questions that an EIC would answer include the origin of the mass of atomic nuclei, the origin of spin of neutrons and protons - a fundamental property that makes magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) possible, how gluons hold nuclei together, and whether emergent forms of matter made of dense gluons exist.

The report says a new EIC accelerator facility would have capabilities beyond all previous electron scattering machines in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. High energies and luminosities - the measure of the rate at which particle collisions occur - are required to achieve the fine resolution needed, and to reach such intensities and energy levels requires a collider where beams of electrons smash into beams of protons or heavier ions. Comparing all existing and proposed accelerator facilities around the world, the committee concluded that an EIC with high energy and luminosity, and highly polarized electron and ion beams, would be unique and in a position to greatly further our understanding of visible matter.

"An EIC would be the most sophisticated and challenging accelerator currently proposed for construction in the U.S. and would significantly advance accelerator science, and more specifically collider science and technologies, here and around the world," said committee co-chair Gordon Baym, Center for Advanced Study Professor Emeritus, George and Ann Fisher Distinguished Professor of Engineering Emeritus, and Research Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "The realization of an EIC is absolutely crucial to maintaining the health of the field of nuclear physics in the U.S. and would open up new areas of scientific investigation."

Currently, the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in Long Island, New York, has a heavy ion collider, and the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Laboratory (JLab) in Newport News, Virginia, has very energetic electron beams. Both labs have proposed design concepts for an EIC that would use their already available infrastructure, expertise, and experience. The report, without favoring one over the other, says that taking advantage of the existing facilities would make development of an EIC cost-effective and reduce associated risks that come with building a large accelerator facility. While both labs have well-developed designs for an EIC, both would require considerable R&D to fully deliver on the compelling science questions. The report states DOE R&D investment has been and would continue to be crucial to minimizing design risks in a timely fashion and to addressing outstanding accelerator challenges.

The committee added that along with advancing nuclear science, an EIC would also benefit other areas such as astrophysics, particle physics, accelerator physics, and theoretical and computational modeling. It would also play a valuable role in sustaining the U.S. nuclear physics workforce in the coming decades. Moreover, it would have a significant role in advancing more broadly the technologies that would result from the research and development undertaken in the implementation and construction of an EIC in the U.S. The report emphasizes that an EIC is the only high-energy collider being planned for construction in the U.S. currently, and building such a facility would maintain U.S. leadership in accelerator collider science while benefiting the physical sciences.

"The science that an EIC would achieve is simply unique and would ensure U.S. leadership in nuclear science as well as the accelerator science and technology of colliders around the world," said committee co-chair Ani Aprahamian, Freimann Professor of Experimental Nuclear Physics at the University of Notre Dame.

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The study was sponsored by DOE. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, technology, and medicine. The National Academies operate under an 1863 congressional charter to the National Academy of Sciences, signed by President Lincoln. For more information, visit http://national-academies.org. Contacts:

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Copies of An Assessment of U.S.-Based Electron Ion Collider Science are available at http://www.nap.edu or by calling 202-334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242. Reporters may obtain a copy from the Office of News and Public Information (contacts listed above).
Zika virus (ZIKV) may be sexually transmissible for a shorter period than previously estimated, according to a systematic review published this week in PLOS Medicine by Michel Counotte and Nicola Low of the University of Bern in Switzerland, and colleagues. The review included analysis of data from both human and animal studies and was conducted to describe the epidemiology of sexual transmission of ZIKV.

Sexual transmission of ZIKV has been previously documented, but the risks of transmission are not well understood, and it is not known whether other flaviviruses can be transmitted this way. To address this gap in knowledge, the researchers conducted a systematic review of available, relevant evidence through 15 April 2018. Counotte and colleagues found that, where documented, sexual transmission of ZIKV is much more common from men to women than from women to men. For sexual transmission of ZIKV, the authors found the median serial interval--the time between onset of symptoms in 2 sexual partners--is 12 days, and the median duration of ZIKV RNA persistence in semen is longer (34 days) than in the female genital tract (12 days). They found no evidence of sexual transmission for any other arthropod-borne flaviviruses.

The study's conclusions are limited by the underlying evidence, which may have residual biases. However, the review is constructed as a living systematic review, such that newer evidence will be integrated upon availability. Of public health relevance, the authors state, "our findings suggest that the infectious period for sexual transmission of ZIKV is shorter than estimates from the earliest post-outbreak studies."

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Research Article

Funding:

MJC and JW received salary support from Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Forderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (CH) http://www.snf.ch/ Award Number: 320030_170069 & 320030_176233. MJC received salary support from World Health Organization contracts 2017/725385-0 and 2017/733494-0. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing Interests:

I have read the journal's policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: NL receives a stipend as a Specialty Consulting Editor for PLOS Medicine, and serves on the journal's editorial board.

Citation:

Counotte MJ, Kim CR, Wang J, Bernstein K, Deal C, Broutet NJN, et al. (2018) Sexual transmission of Zika virus and other flaviviruses: A living systematic review. PLoS Med 15(7): e1002611. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002611

Image Credit: NIAID, Flickr

Author Affiliations:

Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

Department of Reproductive Health and Research, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland

Division of Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Rockville, Maryland, United States of America

In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available paper: http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002611
A new scientific study published in PeerJ - the Journal of Life and Environmental Sciences has tracked juvenile whale sharks across the Philippines emphasising the importance of the archipelago for the species. The study is the most complete tracking study of whale sharks in the country, with satellite tags deployed on different individuals in multiple sites.

The Philippines is an important hotspot for whale sharks and globally hosts the third largest known population of whale sharks (whaleshark.org). While the species has been protected in the Philippines since 1998, globally the species was uplisted in 2016 to 'endangered to extinction' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due to a population decline of more than 50%, largely caused by continued exploitation in the Indo-Pacific. Particularly in South East Asia, concerns remain due to continued fishing in regional waters; understanding the movements of whale sharks in the Philippines is vital if we are to identify conservation priorities for the species.

By attaching Wildlife Computers SPOT5 satellite tags to whale sharks, researchers from Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines (LAMAVE), Marine Megafauna Foundation (MMF) and Tubbataha Management Office (TMO) were able to follow the movements of juvenile whale sharks in near real-time to gain an insight into their behaviour. The tags work by communicating with passing ARGOS satellites, transmitting a location when the wet/dry sensor is triggered when a tagged whale shark breaks the surface. To aid transmission tags were tethered to a whale shark by a 1.8-meter line to ensure the tags broke the surface more frequently.

17 individual whale sharks were tagged in three different locations in the Philippines: Panaon Island (Southern Leyte), northern Mindanao (Misamis Oriental and Surigao del Norte) and Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (Palawan). Tagging took place between April 2015 and April 2016. All tagged whale sharks were juveniles, ranging in size between 4.5 - 7 meters and 73% of them were male.

In their paper, peer-reviewed and published in PeerJ - the Journal of Life & Environmental Sciences, the researchers discovered that the tracks from the tags showed that all whale sharks stayed within the Philippines over the tracking period, emphasising the importance of the archipelago for the species. The longest track observed was from a whale shark originally tagged in Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, which appeared to swim through the Sulu and Bohol Seas and into the Pacific, a journey accumulating over 2,500 km in length. While whale sharks are not known for their speed, results revealed that one individual whale shark was averaging 47km a day, further emphasising the species' mobile tendencies.

Lead author of the study, Gonzalo Araujo stresses that "this research highlights the high mobility of whale sharks, even juveniles, and the need for broader scale management and conservation plans for this endangered species."

Dedicated research by LAMAVE and citizen science has identified over 600 individuals in the Sulu and Bohol Seas, yet the proximity of this population to fisheries in the broader region (South China Sea) means it is vital to monitor this population as a whole to understand if this population is in recovery or continuing to decline. Identifying threats and mitigation strategies is a conservation priority for the species. LAMAVE continues to study whale sharks in five key areas in the Philippines, working with local and national governments as well as collaborating organisations to develop conservation strategies for this iconic species.

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Contact:

Sally Snow - s.snow@lamave.org

Media pack (including embargoed article, video and images): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1sFyHTLvwOK1y_iejy3G4IkNGxMES0Zm0

Video 1: Behind the Science: Tagging Whale Sharks in the Phillipines (link)

Images:

Image credit: A tagged juvenile whale shark swims through the waters of Panaon Island, Southern Leyte (Gonzalo Araujo)

Image credit: The team tag a whale shark, surrounded by barracuda in Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (Steve De Neef)

Image credit: Tracks of whale sharks tagged in Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, with park boundaries in orange. Araujo G, Rohner CA, Labaja J, Conales SJ, Snow SJ, Murray R, Pierce SJ, Ponzo A. (2018) Satellite tracking of juvenile whale sharks in the Sulu and Bohol Seas, Philippines. PeerJ 6:e5231 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5231 (CC BY)

Link to the Published Version of the article (quote this link in your story - the link will ONLY work after the embargo lifts): https://peerj.com/articles/5231 your readers will be able to freely access this article at this URL.

Citation to the article: Araujo et al. (2018), Satellite tracking of juvenile whale sharks in the Sulu and Bohol Seas, Philippines. PeerJ 6:e5231; DOI 10.7717/peerj.5231

About:

PeerJ is an Open Access publisher of two peer-reviewed journals and a preprint server. PeerJ's mission is to help the world efficiently publish its knowledge. All works published by PeerJ are Open Access and published using a Creative Commons license (CC-BY 4.0). PeerJ is based in San Diego, CA and the UK and can be accessed at peerj.com

PeerJ is the peer-reviewed journal for Biology, Medicine and Environmental Sciences. PeerJ has recently added 15 areas in environmental science subject areas, including Natural Resource Management, Climate Change Biology, and Environmental Impacts. peerj.com/environmental-sciences

PeerJ has an Editorial Board of over 1,900 respected academics, including 5 Nobel Laureates. PeerJ was the recipient of the 2013 ALPSP Award for Publishing Innovation. PeerJ Media Resources (including logos) can be found at: peerj.com/about/press

Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines (LAMAVE) is the largest independent non-profit non-governmental organization solely dedicated to the conservation of marine megafauna and their habitats in the Philippines. LAMAVE strives for conservation through scientific research, policy and education. http://www.lamave.org

Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is the largest marine protected area in the Philippines. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993. The park is managed and protected by the Tubbataha Protected Area Management Board, the Tubbataha Management Office and the Marine Park Rangers. http://www.tubbatahareefs.org

The Marine Megafauna Foundation was created in 2009 to research, protect and conserve the populations of threatened marine megafauna around the world. 'Megafauna' are large marine species such as sharks, rays, marine mammals and sea turtles. http://www.marinemegafauna.org

Media Contacts

For the authors:

Sally Snow - s.snow@lamave.org

For PeerJ: email: press@peerj.com , https://peerj.com/about/press/

Note: If you would like to join the PeerJ Press Release list, please register at: http://bit.ly/PressList
HOUSTON - (July 24, 2018) - There's a hitch in the swing of a protein that delivers the flu virus. Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine researchers believe this mechanism may be a useful target to stop the virus from infecting cells.

In a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the Rice-Baylor team led by biophysicist Jose Onuchic and biochemists Jianpeng Ma and Qinghua Wang delves further into a glycoprotein complex it began to define in a 2014 paper.

That protein, hemagglutinin, sits on the surface of flu viruses and helps them attach to and transport through the protective membranes of target cells.

The paper begins to define the mechanism that allows the protein to unfold and refold in a snap, changing its form to expose a peptide that attaches the virus to a cell and begins infection. The researchers believe therapeutic drugs can use this mechanism to shut the virus down.

"This protein starts in a folded state and goes through a global transformation, refolding in a completely different state," said Onuchic, co-director of Rice's Center for Theoretical Biological Physics (CTBP). "But there's a small part in the center that evolution has conserved."

That single conserved amino acid residue is the hitch that makes the protein pause in the process of refolding. It allows a fusion peptide buried inside to bind to the target cell and begin infecting it. Without the pause, the refolding would be too quick for binding to take place.

Lead author and Rice postdoctoral researcher Xingcheng Lin modeled that part of the protein, the B-loop of the HA2 domain. HA2 sits beneath another domain, a cap known as HA1 that mutates to escape past defenses. Lin explained that HA1 is a common target for flu medications because the exposed cap domain is more accessible than the protected HA2 domain.

The problem is that HA1 mutates constantly to resist drugs, he said. That influences how effective flu vaccines are every year. Lin and Onuchic said HA2 presents a better target for drugs because the mechanism is highly conserved by evolution.

"If a drug targets HA2, the domain cannot escape by making mutations because the mutations themselves would make it nonfunctional," Lin said. "That kind of drug could become a universal vaccine."

HA2 is a trimeric structure that, when triggered by acidic conditions in the environment near a target cell, transforms itself from a random loop to a coiled coil. Even with the pause, it unfolds and refolds in a fraction of a second, far too fast for microscopes to see. But a computer simulation of the process can be slowed down.

That happens to be a specialty of the CTBP, which uses programs that analyze the energy landscape of proteins to predict how they will fold. Onuchic and his colleagues are pioneers in the theory that folding proteins follow an orderly, "funneled" process that depends on the intrinsic energy of every atom in the chain, each of which constantly seeks its lowest energy state. If all the atomic "beads" can be identified, it's possible to simulate the complex folding process.

The Rice researchers often use coarse-grained models of proteins, a subset of atoms that represent the whole, to predict how they will fold. The new study was much more ambitious and set out to predict the complex unfolding and refolding by using not only every atom in the chain but also every atom in its liquid environment, Onuchic said.

Lin modeled 40 microseconds (millionths of a second) of the HA2 domain transition that represents the entire process, which takes 1.4 milliseconds (thousandths of a second) to complete. Even that shortened process took two years of computer time to deliver results, he said.

"The simulated domain is about 3,000 atoms, but when the environment, including water, is accounted for, the total simulation incorporates around 100,000 atoms," Onuchic said. "It's still an enormous simulation that required state-of-the-art techniques."

Previous theories based on crystallographic images of the before-and-after proteins put forth the idea of a spring-loaded domain that appeared to attach to the target cell after the cap's removal. Onuchic said the complete model of HA2 supports a different mechanism.

"We figured out there's a bunch of energy that makes the final state of HA2 much more stable than the initial state," he said. "But with the spring-loaded mechanism, most of the energy would already be wasted by the time it forms the coiled coil and binds the cell and viral membranes. It wouldn't leave any energy to pull the membranes together.

"That's why we decided to do a full calculation of the system - all the atoms of the protein and all the water," Onuchic said. "It was a gigantic effort."

The conserved hydrophilic (water-attracting) residue, known as Thr59, is of particular interest to the researchers not only for the way it disrupts folding and allows the virus to attack, but also because it has a twin.

"In the full evolutionary tree, these viruses fall into two groups, and the difference appears to be this residue," Onuchic said. "They split 1,500 years ago and somehow, after this separation, they're fully conserved. They haven't been able to change that residue no matter what, and we believe that makes this residue important."

The current research focused on the group that incorporates Thr59 and causes the H3N2 strain responsible for the Hong Kong flu, Lin said. The other residue, Met59, appears in the H1N1 strain that caused the Spanish flu.

"We still have a long way to go to understand the entire protein," he said. "Here, we only studied one domain of one protein, and there are several others that are very important to its function."

"But what Xingcheng has already done is a computational tour de force," Onuchic added. "He showed how this particular residue breaks the helical symmetry of the domain and makes it unstable enough to give the peptide time to grab the membranes."

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Former Rice postdoctoral researcher Jeffrey Noel, now a Humboldt Fellow at the Max Delbruck Center, Berlin, is co-author of the paper. Onuchic is Rice's Harry C. and Olga K. Wiess Professor of Physics and Astronomy. Ma is a professor of bioengineering at Rice and the Lodwick T. Bolin Professor of Biochemistry at Baylor. Wang is an assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Baylor.

The research was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Welch Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. Rice computing resources were provided by the NSF-supported DAVinCI supercomputer, the BlueBioU supercomputer and the NOTS cluster administered by the Center for Research Computing and procured in partnership with Rice's Ken Kennedy Institute for Information Technology. The researchers also used the Anton supercomputer at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center made available by D.E. Shaw Research, as well as the NSF-supported Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment supercomputer.

Read the abstract at http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2018/07/11/1805442115.

This news release can be found online at http://news.rice.edu/2018/07/24/researchers-find-new-way-to-target-flu-virus.

Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews.

Video:

https://youtu.be/xIPjQBeGgWw

CAPTION: A Rice University simulation of one domain in the hemagglutinin glycoprotein that helps viruses invade cells shows part of its mechanism. This short segment illustrates the dynamic reconfiguration as the protein searches for the proper path to refold. The complete simulation that accounts for every atom in the HA2 domain and the surrounding water took two years of computer time to complete. (Credit: Xingcheng Lin/Rice University)

Images for download:

http://news.rice.edu/files/2018/07/0723_MEMBRANE-1-web-2el1mpd.jpg

Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine researchers used computer simulations to study the process by which hemagglutinin helps viruses invade and infect cells. The researchers believe the protein's stem domain unfolds and refolds into a different configuration when triggered, but pauses to release a hidden fusion peptide that binds the virus to the target cell. (Credit: Xingcheng Lin/Rice University)

http://news.rice.edu/files/2018/07/0723_MEMBRANE-2-web-2gxfrlk.jpg

An evolutionary conserved residue known as Thr59 disrupts the repeating pattern formed by a trimeric protein as it refolds while helping a flu virus infect a cell. Researchers at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine used a complex computer simulation to study the mechanism and look for new targets for drugs to stop the flu. (Credit: Xingcheng Lin/Rice University)

http://news.rice.edu/files/2018/07/0723_MEMBRANE-3-web-2kkccl4.jpg

A simulation by Rice University biophysicists detailed the free energy profile that dictates how a protein that helps the flu virus infect cells carries out its mission. The simulations predict how a protein will fold based on the intrinsic energies of each atom in the system. The proteins form loops and coils as they seek their lowest, most stable energy states (blue). In the domain the researchers studied, they found a hitch that slows the folding process that allows binding to the target cell to happen and also presents an opportunity for new vaccines to attack the flu. (Credit: Xingcheng Lin/Rice University)

http://news.rice.edu/files/2018/07/0723_MEMBRANE-4-WEB-1xqc57e.jpg

Rice University postdoctoral researcher Xingcheng Lin and Professor Jose Onuchic. (Credit: Rice University)

Related materials:

Researchers uncover clues to flu's mechanisms: http://news.rice.edu/2014/07/31/researchers-uncover-clues-to-flus-mechanisms-2/

Jianpeng Ma bio: http://bioengineering.rice.edu/faculty/Jianpeng_Ma.aspx

Qinghua Wang: https://www.bcm.edu/departments/biochemistry-and-molecular-biology/?PMID=8138

Rice University's Wiess School of Natural Sciences: https://naturalsciences.rice.edu Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,970 undergraduates and 2,934 graduate students, Rice's undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for quality of life and for lots of race/class interaction and No. 2 for happiest students by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger's Personal Finance. To read "What they're saying about Rice," go to http://tinyurl.com/RiceUniversityoverview.
SEATTLE - July 24, 2018 - After 42 years as the oldest and largest, independent non-profit organization in the United States solely focused on infectious disease research, The Center for Infectious Disease Research (CIDR) will join Seattle Children's Research Institute to create a world-class team of researchers working to find viable solutions to infectious diseases that can pose risks to our communities, and disproportionately impact children and those in poverty.

The collaboration will leverage the missions and strengths of each organization to advance global infectious disease research, leading to the development of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics that will mitigate the impact of infectious disease for children and adults. The transition is expected to be completed by October 2018, at which point CIDR will officially become part of Seattle Children's Research Institute.

Together, Seattle Children's Research Institute and CIDR will carry forward the significant contributions the two organizations have made to combatting global infectious diseases that include notable advances in HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, human papillomavirus and group B streptococcus. Bringing with it an annual $25 million National Institutes of Health-funded research portfolio, CIDR will add to the research institute's extramural funding, which totaled over $120 million in 2017, and boost its position among the nation's top five pediatric research centers.

"We welcome this incredible opportunity to work hand-in-hand with the renowned scientists and staff of CIDR to pursue our shared vision of better understanding, treating, preventing and curing infectious diseases," said Dr. Jim Hendricks, president of Seattle Children's Research Institute. "This collaboration assembles a critical mass of infectious disease scientists dedicated to making transformative scientific advances that will help children around the world live the healthiest and most fulfilling lives possible."

"This is a defining moment for CIDR that provides tremendous growth and collaboration to accelerate our work on defeating the most difficult and deadly infectious diseases plaguing our world," said Dr. John Aitchison, president of CIDR. "It illustrates a continuation of our mission rooted in collaboration, innovation and cross-disciplinary teams."

In the transition, the CIDR scientific team will join together with Seattle Children's Research Institute's Center for Global Infectious Disease Research. Aitchison and Dr. Lisa Frenkel, the current co-director of the center at Seattle Children's, will co-lead the combined research programs.

"The shared knowledge and resources brought together by this collaboration will make new avenues of scientific discovery possible," Frenkel said. "By joining Seattle Children's bench- to-bedside capabilities with CIDR's expertise in systems biology, there will be greater opportunities to study the complex interactions between infectious agents and their hosts, and translate our findings into clinical care."

The CIDR scientific team will continue to conduct research from their current location in South Lake Union. The new joint team will be co-located at that space for the foreseeable future.

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About Seattle Children's

Seattle Children's mission is to provide hope, care and cures to help every child live the healthiest and most fulfilling life possible. Together, Seattle Children's Hospital, Research Institute and Foundation deliver superior patient care, identify new discoveries and treatments through pediatric research, and raise funds to create better futures for patients.

Ranked as one of the top children's hospitals in the country by U.S. News & World Report, Seattle Children's serves as the pediatric and adolescent academic medical center for Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho - the largest region of any children's hospital in the country. As one of the nation's top five pediatric research centers, Seattle Children's Research Institute is internationally recognized for its work in neurosciences, immunology, cancer, infectious disease, injury prevention and much more. Seattle Children's Hospital and Research Foundation works with the Seattle Children's Guild Association, the largest all-volunteer fundraising network for any hospital in the country, to gather community support and raise funds for uncompensated care and research. Join Seattle Children's bold initiative - It Starts With Yes: The Campaign for Seattle Children's - to transform children's health for generations to come.

For more information, visit seattlechildrens.org or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or on our On the Pulse blog.

About the Center for Infectious Disease Research

The Center for Infectious Disease Research is the largest independent nonprofit in the United States solely focused on the treatment and prevention of infectious disease. Since 1976, it has performed groundbreaking research on diseases that kill more than 14 million people annually and cause widespread suffering, disability and catastrophic economic loss. With more than 250 scientists and team members from around the world in disciplines ranging from immunology, to mathematics, to biology, to computer science, we are unravelling the complexities of the most difficult and deadly infectious agents, like malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, and other emerging, sometimes neglected diseases, like Zika or dengue that continue to elude effective and long-lasting drugs and vaccines.

As a research institute, we combine cutting-edge systems biology approaches with technologies and computation that enable us to perform integrated analysis of molecules, single cells and whole systems. This generates new knowledge that enables us to accelerate development of new diagnostics, as well as vaccines and drugs with long-term efficacy. We are confident that our innovative, collaborative and nimble approach to research will make transformative advances in treatment and prevention of these diseases. For more information, visit http://www.cidresearch.org or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

Media Contacts:

Seattle Children's: Lindsay Kurs, Senior PR Specialist

lindsay.kurs@seattlechildrens.org or 206-987-5752

Center for Infectious Disease Research: Jacque Seaman, The Fearey Group

jseaman@feareygroup.com or 206-838-9203
A new special issue of SLAS Discovery reflects examples of the recent groundswell of creative new applications for high-throughput flow cytometry (HTFC) in drug discovery.

Led by guest editors Mei Ding, Ph.D. (AstraZeneca) and Bruce S. Edwards, Ph.D. (University of New Mexico), this special issue presents a range of research papers, application notes and technical notes that reflect recent advances in HTFC methods design, provide new expert insight and perspectives, and highlight areas for improvement to broaden the range of HTFC applications in drug discovery.

Examples include descriptions of different software and data analysis workflows; the relative merits of different platforms for assessing biological responses of interest; novel HTFC applications for the development of biologic drugs and novel antibodies; target-agnostic or mechanism-informed phenotypic drug discovery; use of HTFC for single cell analysis; engineering autologous patient T cells to express chimeric antigen receptors (CAR-T) for use in adoptive cellular therapy of malignancies; and more.

Flow cytometry has proven to be a powerful technology, enabling multi-parametric analysis of single cells or particles, and widely used in a broad range of clinical and basic research and applications, including quantification of cell surface and intracellular proteins, DNA analysis, cell proliferation, cell viability, cellular granularity, and cell size. HTFC was made possible by the introduction of novel sample handling and analysis technologies.

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Explore the August special issue of SLAS Discovery at http://journals.sagepub.com/toc/jbxb/23/7. For more information about SLAS and its journals, visit http://www.slas.org/journals.

A PDF of this article is available to credentialed media outlets upon request. Contact nhallock@slas.org.

About our Society and Journals

SLAS (Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening) is an international community of nearly 20,000 professionals and students dedicated to life sciences discovery and technology. The SLAS mission is to bring together researchers in academia, industry and government to advance life sciences discovery and technology via education, knowledge exchange and global community building.

SLAS DISCOVERY: 2016 Impact Factor 2.444. Editor-in-Chief Robert M. Campbell, Ph.D., Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN (USA). SLAS Discovery (Advancing Life Sciences R&D) was previously published (1996-2016) as the Journal of Biomolecular Screening (JBS).

SLAS TECHNOLOGY: 2016 Impact Factor 2.850. Editor-in-Chief Edward Kai-Hua Chow, Ph.D., National University of Singapore (Singapore). SLAS Technology (Translating Life Sciences Innovation) was previously published (1996-2016) as the Journal of Laboratory Automation (JALA).

Follow SLAS on Twitter at @SLAS_Org.

Follow SLAS on Facebook at SocietyforLaboratoryAutomationandScreening.

Follow SLAS on YouTube at SLASvideo.

Follow SLAS Americas on LinkedIn at Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS Americas).

Follow SLAS Europe on LinkedIn at Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening Europe (SLAS Europe).
Ebola virus may have re-emerged in a woman a year after she survived an acute Ebola virus infection, potentially leading to the infection of her husband and two of their sons, according to an outbreak report of the last known cluster of infections from a source within Liberia (occurring in November 2015), published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.

Ebola virus can persist in immunologically protected sites of the body after recovery from acute infection, and Ebola virus RNA has previously been detected in semen, breastmilk and cerebrospinal fluid of survivors. Previously there have only been two cases of the virus re-emerging, and this new cluster is the first indication of transmission from a persistently infected female survivor of Ebola virus disease.

"Despite no current active Ebola virus transmission chains in west Africa, Ebola virus persistence could pose a continued risk for resurgence of cases and may have the potential for a large-scale outbreak, if not detected rapidly and controlled," says lead author Emily Kainne Dokubo, M.D., MPH, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Further studies are needed to better understand viral persistence and transmission, and to reduce stigma against survivors. Additionally, countries and global health partners should continue to focus on strengthening health systems to prevent, rapidly detect, and respond to Ebola virus infections in the region." [1]

Between 2014-2015, the Ebola virus disease outbreak in west Africa resulted in more than 28000 cases and 11000 deaths across Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. The first case in Liberia was reported in March 2014, and infection then spread rapidly across the country, killing more than 4800 people. In May 2015, Liberia was declared free of human-to-human Ebola virus transmission.

In June 2015, a month after Liberia had been declared Ebola-free, a flare-up of a cluster of cases highlighted the potential for retransmission, but the rapid and robust response was effective in limiting additional infections, and the country was again declared free of Ebola virus transmission in September 2015.

As part of the new cluster report published today, the authors conducted an investigation of a family of six (mother, father and four sons aged 2 months, 5 years, 8 years and 15 years), and analysed the genetics of the Ebola virus detected among some of the individuals.

Health services first identified the family when the 15 year-old son showed symptoms of Ebola virus disease and tested positive in Monrovia, Liberia, on 19 November 2015. Once Ebola virus infection was confirmed, he was moved into an Ebola treatment unit but died on 23 November.

At this point, both the father and 8 year-old brother also tested positive for Ebola virus RNA, and experienced some symptoms (tiredness, headache and fever) but both recovered. The mother tested negative for Ebola virus RNA, however, she had positive Ebola virus antibodies indicating prior infection, and epidemiological investigation suggested that she survived an acute Ebola virus infection in July 2014. The authors speculate that the mother's infection re-emerged after her pregnancy, making the infection flare-up in October 2015, then transmitting the virus to her family.

Genetic analysis suggests that the virus carried by the father, the 15 year-old son and the 8 year-old son were similar, and that it was a continuation of the 2014 west African Ebola virus outbreak, when the mother suffered an acute infection after having cared for her brother who died from Ebola virus disease. The 2 month-old also had a low level of antibodies to the virus, which is likely to be caused by the transfer of maternal antibodies through breastmilk.

By assessing the family's history, the researchers ruled out travel to areas with active Ebola virus transmission, association with people who had travelled from these areas, and contact with animals that could transmit Ebola virus as the possible source of infection. Exactly how the virus was passed from family member to family member remains unclear, but the authors suggest it could be close physical contact or contact with bodily fluids.

The authors note some limitations to their study, including that the genetic analysis of the father's virus in November 2015 was incomplete. In addition, there were no available samples from the mother and the mother's brother in 2014. During this time Ebola treatment units had limited capacity to fully investigate and diagnose cases.

Writing in a linked Comment, Dr Lorenzo Subissi, Sciensano, Belgium, highlights the large cohort of survivors of the 2013-16 Ebola epidemic in west Africa, comprising more than 17000 people, and the stigma faced by Ebola survivors: "The potential persistence of Ebola virus in body fluids was first described during the 1995 Kikwit outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Evidence has grown rapidly during and after the 2013-16 west African outbreak, when different studies reported Ebola virus persistence in survivors' immunoprivileged sites... The findings of Dokubo and colleagues' study could lead to additional stigma around survivors of Ebola because of the potential persistence of Ebola virus in their body fluids. Vaccination might become an important strategy to control both the spread of Ebola and the stigma around it. Experts face the challenge of preparing specific communication plans adapted to the cultural context to minimise stigma around survivors of Ebola during the reintegration process in their communities. Ebola experts, under the coordination of WHO, are preparing updated recommendations on how to best structure and implement evidence-based follow-up programmes for survivors."].

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NOTES TO EDITORS

This study was funded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Defense Threat Reduction Agency and WHO. It was conducted by researchers from US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization, US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, US National Institutes of Health, National Public Health Institute of Liberia, International Rescue Committee, Ministry of Health, Monrovia, Liberia, Northern Arizona University.

The labels have been added to this press release as part of a project run by the Academy of Medical Sciences seeking to improve the communication of evidence. For more information, please see: http://www.sciencemediacentre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/AMS-press-release-labelling-system-GUIDANCE.pdf if you have any questions or feedback, please contact The Lancet press office pressoffice@lancet.com

[1] Quote direct from author and cannot be found in the text of the Article.

IF YOU WISH TO PROVIDE A LINK FOR YOUR READERS, PLEASE USE THE FOLLOWING, WHICH WILL GO LIVE AT THE TIME THE EMBARGO LIFTS: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(18)30417-1/fulltext
Experts have updated recommendations for the use of antiretroviral drugs in the treatment and prevention of HIV infection

The International Antiviral Society-USA Panel has released updated recommendations for the treatment and prevention of HIV infection in adults, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Michael Saag, M.D., director of the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Center for AIDS Research, served as the article's lead author.

The recommendations, developed by a volunteer panel of international experts in HIV research and patient care, outline new findings, drugs, approaches and data as updates to previous recommendations from 2016. They are intended to be used as guidelines by clinicians moving forward.

The recommendations indicate that continued advances in the development of antiretroviral drugs for HIV prevention and treatment are necessary and are contributing to improved clinical management and outcomes for individuals at risk for or living with HIV.

"The recommendations reflect the joint commitment of researchers working to collectively improve clinical outcomes and treatments available for all at-risk or infected HIV patients," said Saag, professor of medicine in UAB's Division of Infectious Diseases. "We know that antiretroviral therapy is the cornerstone of prevention and management of HIV infection; but it's critical to continually evaluate new data and treatments for initiating therapy, monitoring individuals starting therapy, changing regimens and preventing HIV infection for those at risk, reaffirming the standard of providing the utmost treatment and care possible."

In addition to reconfirming 2016 recommendations of antiretroviral therapy (ART) as a substantial means for HIV treatment and prevention, updated recommendations include but are not limited to:

Updating initial regimens, focusing primarily on unboosted integrase strand transfer inhibitor (InSTI) regimens

Encouraging rapid initiation of antiretroviral therapy, including same-day initiation, if feasible

Recommendations against routine use of mycobacterium avium complex prophylaxis for those with advanced disease on effective antiretroviral therapy

Recommendations for discontinuation of routine CD4 count lab testing once a patient has sustained undetectable HIV RNA levels for a year and has a CD4 count above 250 cells

An alternative for pre-exposure prophylaxis for those who are uninfected with HIV but remain at risk for infection to now include an episode-based approach where individuals can take preventive ART pills prior to exposure, and a follow-up pill once daily for two days post-exposure

"HIV care continues to evolve, and clinicians and their patients benefit from applying the latest knowledge to keep pace with the many ways this has changed," said Paul Volberding, M.D., professor at the University of California San Francisco and a study co-author. "The latest IAS-USA guidelines continue a tradition of providing a concise and current set of recommendations, and we are proud of how these have captured the directions in our field of medicine."

According to the article, all updated recommendations focus on adults 18 years or older with or at risk for HIV infection with availability to most antiretroviral drugs.

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In addition to Saag and Volberding, panel members included Constance A. Benson, M.D., University of California San Diego School of Medicine; Rajesh T. Gandhi, M.D., Massachusetts General Hospital; Jennifer F. Hoy MBBS, The Alfred Hospital and Monash University; Raphael J. Landovitz, M.D., University of California Los Angeles; Michael J. Mugavero, M.D., MHSc, University of Alabama at Birmingham; Paul E. Sax, M.D., Brigham and Women's Hospital; Davey M. Smith, M.D., University of California Los Angeles, La Jolla; Melanie A. Thompson, M.D., AIDS Research Consortium of Atlanta; Susan P. Buchbinder, M.D., San Francisco Department of Public Health and University of California San Francisco; Carlos del Rio, M.D., Emory University Rollins School of Public Health and School of Medicine; Joseph J. Eron Jr., M.D., University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Medicine; Gerd Fatkenheuer, M.D., University Hospital of Cologne; Huldrych F. Gunthard, M.D., University Hospital Zurich and Institute of Medical Virology; Jean-Michel Molina, M.D., University of Paris Diderot and Saint-Louis Hospital; and Donna M. Jacobsen, B.S., International Antiviral Society-USA.

For a complete look at the recommendations and further details, visit the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Quantum chemistry expected to be one of the first applications of full-scale quantum computers

An international group of researchers has achieved the world's first multi-qubit demonstration of a quantum chemistry calculation performed on a system of trapped ions, one of the leading hardware platforms in the race to develop a universal quantum computer.

The research, led by University of Sydney physicist Dr Cornelius Hempel, explores a promising pathway for developing effective ways to model chemical bonds and reactions using quantum computers. It is published today in the prestigious Physicial Review X of the American Physical Society.

"Even the largest supercomputers are struggling to model accurately anything but the most basic chemistry. Quantum computers simulating nature, however, unlock a whole new way of understanding matter. They will provide us with a new tool to solve problems in materials science, medicine and industrial chemistry using simulations."

With quantum computing still in its infancy, it remains unclear exactly what problems these devices will be most effective at solving, but most experts agree that quantum chemistry is going to be one of the first 'killer apps' of this emergent technology.

Quantum chemistry is the science of understanding the complicated bonds and reactions of molecules using quantum mechanics. The 'moving parts' of anything but the most-simple chemical processes are beyond the capacity of the biggest and fastest supercomputers.

By modelling and understanding these processes using quantum computers, scientists expect to unlock lower-energy pathways for chemical reactions, allowing the design of new catalysts. This will have huge implications for industries, such as the production of fertilisers.

Other possible applications include the development of organic solar cells and better batteries through improved materials and using new insights to design personalised medicines.

Working with colleagues at the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information in Innsbruck, Austria, Dr Hempel used just four qubits on a 20-qubit device to run algorithms to simulate the energy bonds of molecular hydrogen and lithium hydride.

These relatively simple molecules are chosen as they are well understood and can be simulated using classical computers. This allows scientists to check the results provided by the quantum computers under development.

Dr Hempel said: "This is an important stage of the development of this technology as it is allowing us to set benchmarks, look for errors and plan necessary improvements."

Instead of aiming for the most accurate or largest simulation to date, Dr Hempel's work focused on what can go wrong in a promising quantum-classical hybrid algorithm known as variational quantum eigensolver or VQE.

By looking at different ways to encode the chemistry problem, the researchers are after ways to suppress errors that arise in today's imperfect quantum computers and stand in the way of near-term usefulness of those machines.

Error suppression is at the core of research pursued in the University of Sydney's Quantum Control Laboratory, led by Professor Michael Biercuk, who recently launched Australia's first private quantum start-up, Q-CTRL. Dr Hempel, who did the experiments while at the University of Innsbruck, now hopes to leverage Sydney's expertise to improve what can be accomplished with these kinds of simulations.

The paper, published today in leading journal Physical Review X, was jointly written with Innsbruck Professor Rainer Blatt, a pioneer in quantum computing, and former Harvard professor Alan Aspuru-Guzik, who has since moved to the University of Toronto.

Professor Blatt, from IQOQI in Innsbruck, said: "Quantum chemistry is an example where the advantages of a quantum computer will very soon become apparent in practical applications."

Head of the University of Sydney Nano Institute's quantum science domain, Dr Ivan Kassal, said: "This work is a remarkable implementation of one of the most promising approaches to quantum chemistry, proving its mettle on a real quantum-information processor."

He said that Dr Hempel's decision to move to the University of Sydney in 2016 was an excellent addition to the strong quantum team on campus. "Theoretical chemistry and materials science are strengths at this university and they will be augmented by these latest techniques in quantum computation," he said.

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A high-precision experiment led by TU Wien has set its sights on pinpointing the so-far hypothetical "symmetron fields" using the PF2 ultra-cold neutron source at the Institut Laue-Langevin in France. For the existence of symmetrons could provide an expla

One thing is certain: there's something out there we don't yet know. For years now scientists have been looking for "dark matter" or "dark energy" - with our current inventory of particles and forces in nature we just can't explain major cosmological phenomena, such as why the universe is expanding at an ever faster rate.

New theories for "dark energy" have been suggested. One of the candidates is the so-called "symmetron field", which is said to pervade space much like the Higgs field. At the TU Vienna researchers have developed an experiment capable of measuring extremely small forces with the help of neutrons. The measurements were taken during a 100-day campaign at the Institut Laue-Langevin, on its PF2 ultra-cold neutron source. They could have provided pointers to the mysterious symmetrons - but the particles didn't show up. Although this is not the end of the theory, it does at least exclude the possibility of symmetrons existing across a broad range of parameters - and "dark energy" is going to have to be explained differently.

The Symmetron - the Higgs Boson's Little Brother?

According to Hartmut Abele, the project's lead scientist, the symmetron theory would be a particularly elegant explanation for dark matter. "We already have proof of the Higgs field, and the symmetron field is very closely related." However, as with the Higgs particle whose mass was not known until the existence of the particle was confirmed, the physical properties of symmetrons cannot be accurately predicted.

As Abele explains, "nobody can say what the mass of symmetrons is, nor how strongly they interact with normal matter. That's why it's so hard to prove their existence experimentally - or their non-existence." The existence of symmetrons can only be confirmed or refuted within a certain parameter range - symmetrons, in other words, with mass or coupling constants in a specific value range.

Scientists are therefore progressing with caution, from one experiment to the other, testing different parameter ranges. It was already clear that a number of ranges could be excluded. Symmetrons for example with high mass and low coupling constants cannot exist, as they would already have shown up at atomic level. Investigations into the hydrogen atom would have given different results. Similarly, symmetrons in a certain range with very high coupling constants can also be excluded, as they would already have been detected in other experiments using massive pendula.

Using Neutrons as Force Sensors at the Institut Laue-Langevin Neutron Source

That said, there was still plenty of scope for admitting the existence of symmetrons, and this is what the team has now investigated in the experiment. A stream of extremely slow neutrons was shot between two mirror surfaces. The neutrons can be found in two different quantum physical states. The energies of these states depend on the forces exerted on the neutron, and this is what makes the neutron such a sensitive force detector. If the force acting on the neutron just above the surface of the mirror is different from the force further up, this would be a strong pointer to the existence of a symmetron field. Mario Pitschmann from TU Vienna, Philippe Brax from the CEA near Paris and Guillaume Pignol from LPSC in Grenoble have calculated the influence of a symmetron field on the neutron. This effect, however, cannot be observed, despite the extreme accuracy of the measurement.

The precision of the energy difference measurement is about 2x10^-15 electron-volts (a figure owes to Gunther Cronenberg's dissertation). That is the energy required to lift a single electron in the earth's gravitational field a distance of about 30 micrometres, which is an unimaginably small amount of energy.

The ultra-cold neutrons required for the experiment were generated and delivered by the Institut Laue-Langevin's PF2 instrument. "With its unrivalled flux of ultra-cold neutrons, PF2 is practically the only instrument out there for this type of high-precision measurement at extremely low count rates", says Tobias Jenke. Jenke played an important part in the development of the TU Vienna experiment. He is now, together with Peter Geltenbort, responsible for the Institut Laue-Langevin cold neutron source. Austria is a Scientific Member of the Institute and thus has access to its suite of instruments. The experiment is an excellent example of scientific collaboration between Austrian and French researchers.

The Beginning of the End of the Symmetron Theory

For the moment things are not looking too bright for the symmetron theory, although it's too early to completely exclude their existence. "We have excluded a broad parameter domain: if there were any symmetrons with properties in this domain we would have found them". To close the remaining loopholes however, science needs even better measurements - or a major discovery providing a completely different solution to the mystery of dark energy.

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Maunakea, Hawaii - A team of astronomers has discovered a new way to unlock the mysteries of how the first galaxies formed and evolved.

In a study published today in Astrophysical Journal Letters, lead author Dawn Erb of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and her team - for the very first time - used new capabilities at W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaii to examine Q2343-BX418, a small, young galaxy located about 10 billion light years away from Earth.

This distant galaxy is an analog for younger galaxies that are too faint to study in detail, making it an ideal candidate for learning more about what galaxies looked like shortly after the birth of the universe.

BX418 is also attracting astronomers' attention because its gas halo is giving off a special type of light.

"In the last several years, we've learned that the gaseous halos surrounding galaxies glow with a particular ultraviolet wavelength called Lyman alpha emission. There are a lot of different theories about what produces this Lyman alpha emission in the halos of galaxies, but at least some of it is probably due to light that is originally produced by star formation in the galaxy being absorbed and re-emitted by gas in the halo," said Erb.

Erb's team, which includes Charles Steidel and Yuguang Chen of Caltech, used one of the observatory's newest instruments, the Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI), to perform a detailed spectral analysis of BX418's gas halo; its properties could offer clues about the stars forming within the galaxy.

"Most of the ordinary matter in the universe isn't in the form of a star or a planet, but gas. And most of that gas exists not in galaxies, but around and between them," said Erb.

The halo is where gas enters and exits the system. The gas surrounding galaxies can fuel them; gas from within a galaxy can also escape into the halo. This inflow and outflow of gas influences the fate of stars.

"The inflow of new gas accreting into a galaxy provides fuel for new star formation, while outflows of gas limit a galaxy's ability to form stars by removing gas," says Erb.

"So, understanding the complex interactions happening in this gaseous halo is key to finding out how galaxies form stars and evolve."

This study is part of a large ongoing survey that Steidel has been leading for many years. Previously, Steidel's team studied BX418 using other instruments at Keck Observatory.

This most recent study using KCWI adds detail and clarity to the image of the galaxy and its gas halo that was not possible before; the instrument is specifically engineered to study wispy currents of faint gas that connect galaxies, known as the cosmic web.

"Our study was really enabled by the design and sensitivity of this new instrument. It's not just an ordinary spectrograph--it's an integral field spectrograph, which means that it's a sort of combination camera and spectrograph, where you get a spectrum of every pixel in the image," said Erb.

The power of KCWI, combined with the Keck telescopes' location on Maunakea where viewing conditions are among the most pristine on Earth, provides some of the most detailed glimpses of the cosmos.

Erb's team used KCWI to take spectra of the Lyman alpha emission of BX418's halo. This allowed them to trace the gas, plot its velocity and spatial extent, then create a 3-D map showing the structure of the gas and its behavior.

The team's data suggests that the galaxy is surrounded by a roughly spherical outflow of gas and that there are significant variations in the density and velocity range of this gas.

Erb says this analysis is the first of its kind. Because it has only been tested on one galaxy, other galaxies need to be studied to see if these results are typical.

Now that the team has discovered a new way to learn about the properties of the gaseous halo, the hope is that further analysis of the data they collected and computer simulations modeling the processes will yield additional insights into the characteristics of the first galaxies in our universe.

"As we work to complete more detailed modeling, we will be able to test how the properties of Lyman alpha emission in the gas halo are related to the properties of the galaxies themselves, which will then tell us something about how the star formation in the galaxy influences the gas in the halo," Erb said.

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Erb is supported by the US National Science Foundation through the Faculty Early Career Development Program, grant AST-125591. Steidel and Chen acknowledge support from the Caltech/JPL President's and Director's Fund.

ABOUT KCWI

The Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI) is designed to provide visible band, integral field spectroscopy with moderate to high spectral resolution formats and excellent sky-subtraction. The astronomical seeing and large aperture of the telescope will enable studies of the connection between galaxies and the gas in their dark matter halos, stellar relics, star clusters, and lensed galaxies. Support for this project was provided by The Heising-Simons Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Mt. Cuba Astronomical Foundation, and other Friends of Keck Observatory.

ABOUT W. M. KECK OBSERVATORY

The W. M. Keck Observatory telescopes are among the most scientifically productive on Earth. The two, 10-meter optical/infrared telescopes on the summit of Maunakea on the Island of Hawaii feature a suite of advanced instruments including imagers, multi-object spectrographs, high-resolution spectrographs, integral-field spectrometers, and world-leading laser guide star adaptive optics systems. The data presented herein were obtained at Keck Observatory, which is a private 501(c) 3 non-profit organization operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation. The authors recognize and acknowledge the very significant cultural role and reverence that the summit of Maunakea has always had within the Native Hawaiian community. We are most fortunate to have the opportunity to conduct observations from this mountain. For more information, visit http://www.keckobservatory.org.


San Francisco in the United States is the most expensive city for overseas students in terms of living costs, amounting to $37,428 for tuition fees and living costs for the first semester, new research has found.The least expensive is Bangalore in India at $2,922, according to the index from furnished apartment search engine Nestpick which compares costs across 80 cities worldwide for the first semester (about six months). The fees alone are $23,775 in San Francisco but just $218 in Bangalore while food in the US city is over $1,000 but $255 in the Indian city.The research also contains useful information such as the fact that in Buenos Aires there is free undergraduate studies for both Argentines and international students, with a total first semester cost of $5,869.The second most expensive city overall is Dubai in the United Arab Emirates with visa fees of $1,613 contributing to the overall cost of $29,701 of which $12,220 is fees. In third place is Austin in the US at $29,654 of which $21,698 is tuition fees, followed by Toronto in Canada at $28,965.Indeed North America proves to be the most expensive continent for overseas students with Seattle in fifth place at $28,446, Vancouver in sixth at $26,694, and New York in seventh at $25,287. London is next at $24,536 and then Manchester at $22,712. Hong Kong comes in at tenth with costs of $19,409 but of this just $57 is for visa fees.Transport costs are high in Toronto, Seattle, New York, London, Los Angeles, Sydney, Amsterdam, Melbourne, Auckland, Dublin, Frankfurt and cologne, all over $100 compared with just $19 in Bangalore, $9,50 in Hanoi and $7 in Cairo.The second least expensive city is Cairo with overall first six months costs of $3,263, followed by Bucharest in Romania at $4,656, then Johannesburg at $4,808 and Bremen in Germany at $4,865.Germany is one of the cheapest countries with costs of $5,111 in Dresden, $5,329 in Leipzig, $5,445 in Hannover, $5,906 in Braunschweig, $6,028 in Cologne and $6,299 in Berlin. The cheaper overall costs in Germany are due to fees for international students being almost zero. France also has very low tuition fees for overseas students.According to Omer Kucukdere, managing director of Nestpick, the initial costs involved with relocation can vary widely depending on location and the index has been designed to be an indicator of the cost of relocating to some of the worlds most in-demand cities in order to study, and therefore a useful tool for the increasing numbers of students looking to move abroad.The data outlines the potential costs that prospective students would incur in their first semester whilst attending university abroad, focusing on international students. The first semester living costs have been calculated by determining the average living costs for six months in each respective city, in addition the university tuition fee for one semester, as well as each respective countrys student visa price.Studying abroad is an amazing opportunity for prospective students, and something that is increasingly considered an integral part of education. Relocating means not only experiencing a new city and culture, but also the chance to gain independence, connect with other international students and in many cases, even learn a new language, Kucukdere explained.However, students should be aware of all the financial implications of moving to a new city in terms of living costs and potential tuition fees, as these can vary enormously between different universities and cities. We hope that this data will not only help prospective students to budget and plan for their semester abroad, but also encourage and inspire them to consider new and exciting locations, he added.
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[July 24, 2018] Softvision Acquires Arrow Digital to Strengthen Robotic Process Automation and Financial Services Expertise AUSTIN, Texas, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Softvision LLC, a leader in enhancing the digital consumer experience for top brands, today announced it has acquired Arrow Digital, a West Palm Beach based digital consulting firm. Arrow Digital is an IP-driven, scalable custom software firm delivering business process automation, digital experience and RPA solutions - services poised to enhance Softvision's expertise in all aspects of customer experience and digital transformation. The acquisition also strengthens Softvision's Robotic Process Automation (RPA) expertise and capabilities for the Financial Services industry. RPA is a burgeoning business process automation technology, based on the idea of software robots and artificial intelligence workers automate well-defined business tasks for superior efficiency. RPA becomes Softvision's 14th guild, which are Softvision's Communities of Talent that collaborate globally and infuse technology and design innovation within each client relationship. In addition, Softvision will add West Palm Beach, Florida, Dallas, Texas, L'viv, Ukraine and Ahmedabad, India to Softvision's growing network of 23 Studios. "The acquisition of Arrow Digital enables Softvision to strengthen our Cloud and UX Guilds, as well as bring RP solutions to market faster and better service our North American customers," said Andres Angelani, CEO, Softvision. "Arrow has a tremendous reputation and an outstanding track record for delivering engaging digital experiences to key vertical markets, and we're excited to add Arrow and its talent and customers to our growing network." Founded in 2005, Arrow Digital has 160 creative technologists that build enterprise custom software, cloud and RPA solutions, and provides UX services for renowned brands such as PwC, Hilton Grand Vacations, Cracker Barrel and many others. "Business and digital transformation is a priority for brands and businesses looking to drive value throughout their organizations and their industries," said Ryan Morgan, Founder and Managing Director, Arrow Digital. "For over 12 years, Arrow Digital has worked diligently to provide clients with superior service and a trusted partner to help them achieve their objectives. We're thrilled to join Softvision, where we'll be able to leverage a deeper pool of talent and scale innovation across new industries while continuing to grow." About Arrow Digital

Arrow Digital is a boutique digital consulting firm that designs, develops and delivers high-end technology solutions for enterprises that want custom software, increased competitiveness and personal attention. The firm, comprised of 160 creative technologists, builds enterprise custom software, cloud and RPA solutions, and provides UX services for renowned brands such as PwC, Hilton Grand Vacations, Cracker Barrel and many others. Arrow Digital has strong partnerships with UiPath, Automation Anywhere, Blue Prism, Microsoft and Sitecore. A leading innovator in the field of business and digital transformation, Arrow Digital has presented thought leadership at Gartner ITXpo and Forrester's New Tech & Innovation Forum, among other industry events. For more information, visit https://www.arrowdigital.com/ About Softvision

Softvision creates impactful end to end digital products and solutions that connect brands with consumers that result in relevant, memorable and rewarding interactions. For more than 20 years, we have been transformational partners, working at the intersection of engineering, design and strategy for the world's leading brands, including Estee Lauder, Groupon, Goldman Sachs, Macy's, Mozilla, Neiman Marcus, among others. With over 2,500 product, design and engineering professionals, across a network of 23 studios in 10 countries and 5 continents, Softvision delivers sustainable innovation, agility and an emotional connection that inspires engagement and business transformation. For more information, visit www.softvision.com. Media Contact: Fausta Ballesteros, fausta.ballesteros@softvision.com View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/softvision-acquires-arrow-digital-to-strengthen-robotic-process-automation-and-financial-services-expertise-300685526.html SOURCE Softvision LLC

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The audience is going to have an unusual amount of control over Basement Complex Suite 102, a new show at Jump-Start Performance Co.  up to a point.

The show, conceived by company member Daniel Jackson, takes place almost entirely in the dark. There will be a brief moment of theatrical lighting near the end, but aside from that, the only illumination will come courtesy of audience members, each of whom will be handed a flashlight.

But theres a catch: We have control over their flashlights, said Jackson, who noted that the production team built the flashlights themselves. If theres a time when we want them to be able to see better, well just turn on all the flashlights on high, or maybe one person will have their flashlight on and the whole audience has to rely on that one person.

Were interested in this idea  if you give one person control of what they can see, what will they shine their light on?

The piece, which begins its brief run Thursday, is a sequel to something Jackson did a few years ago about the supernatural that he likened to a radio play.

I decided I wanted to do a piece that had minimal language in it and was about sort of mishearing things. So it really started from the audio place, he said. And then from there, we went to the visual place of things that you cant quite see. You misunderstand what youre seeing, you cant quite see whats going on  things that happen out of the corner of your eye. And so we sort of put those two things together.

Because the new show is intended as more of an experience than a straightforward play, Jackson and his collaborators have resisted the notion of plot.

But theres a sort of an idea of a story about ghosts and what they think of themselves, but nothing really happens, he said.

Some of the language in the piece comes across as garbled sound as the ghosts struggle to communicate.

I think were trying to move out of our lizard brains into some other part of the brain, said actor Chuck Squier.

Squier and Kim Corbin play the ghosts. In addition, Will Muniz will play the Groundskeeper, a figure in a ghillie suit  a black, fringed camouflage ensemble designed to make the wearer blend into the background  who is much more active than Corbin and Squier. The stage is marked off with glow tape, an important safety measure for Muniz.

Not only is it in the dark, but Will has that hood on, Jackson said. So he needs to be able to see where the edges of the stage are.

All three actors took part in a workshop of the piece last year, and they were pleased to get a chance to continue developing it. One luxury the company has had is the presence of Chris Castillo, who is composing the score and will play it live during performances.

Its good to be able to hear stuff as were rehearsing, Jackson said. Because that also means that as much as the performance is informing the music, the music can inform the performance.

Castillo, who is known more for his work as a visual artist, described his score as sparse and slow, like composing music for outer space on Earth.

Its organic and intuitive and experimental and its fun.

All of the instruments that he is working with  including a theremin, which he learned to play for this show  are analog electronic instruments. Thats a leftover idea from an old grant application for the show, Jackson said, but the idea applies to the ghost theme.

Analog instruments are more susceptible to haunting, he said. Its a little bit of a joke, but its also true. The circuitry is all exposed to whatever electronic fields are happening all around us, whereas, with digital, if you have a computer, it does one thing very well, but theres no variation.

After weeks of developing the work, the production team and the actors are eager to share it with an audience.

The way that were trying to shape the piece is, were thinking of it as a score more than as a plot, and I think its sitting somewhere between dance and theater, Jackson said. I think that sort of openness leaves it open to a lot of interpretation from the audience, as well. Itll be interesting to see how people might respond.

Basement Complex Suite 102 opens Thursday. It can be seen at 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday at Jump-Start Performance Co., 710 Fredericksburg Road. Tickets range from $10 to $12 at jump-start.org or by calling 210-227-5867. Thursdays opening performance and 8 p.m. performances Friday and Saturday are sold out.

Deborah Martin is a San Antonio Express-News arts writer. Read more of her stories here. | dlmartin@express-news.net | Twitter: @DeborahMartinEN
When you think of a gray sofa, you might think its the most common piece of furniture a person could buy  ordinary, ubiquitous. Combine that sofa with great design and beautiful art, and something extraordinary happens. You get a unique room with personality and style.

We asked four Houston interior design teams to tackle an unusual challenge: Select a gray sofa then combine it with anything else they wanted to create a room. Any room.

The theory is that art and design live a symbiotic relationship in any home. When one is done well, it can only elevate the other.

We chose Cheryl Baker of CDB Interiors Baker to complete a traditional-style room and Denny Lyons of Dennis Lyons Interiors for contemporary/modern. Beth Lindsey and Amanda Whatley of Beth Lindsey Interior Design decorated coastal style, and Kiley Jackson and Aileen Warren, who launched their new Jackson Warren Interiors firm in the fall, took on a casual/industrial vibe.

The vast difference in their choices shows how varied something as simple as a gray sofa can be, and the range of art showed how much a room can change with paintings, sculpture and other pieces.

Cheryl Baker, traditional style

Baker and artist Marthann Masterson sat side by side on a gray velvet sofa from Lam Bespoke, a piece that anchored the space that included two deep-blue velvet chairs, two saddle-tan highback chairs and an eye-catching navy brocade chair resting near a broad bamboo-framed bookshelf lined with books and accessories.

RELATED: Port O'Connor 'fish shack' a coastal dream home

One of Mastersons paintingshangs above a console on one side of the room.

This isnt the first project in which Baker has used a gray sofa.

I gravitate to velvet, and I went with this sofa with a notion that we would let the art pull the room together, Baker said.

Sometimes combining art and design means helping clients find new art, but other times its about helping them place pieces theyve collected over time as they move from home to home.

Denny Lyons, contemporary/modern

Lyons created a master-bedroom suite with rich brown curtains, a king-size canopy bed, plus chairs, tables and accessories around the warm gray tuxedo sofa he designed himself. He designed a pair of the sofas for the library in his own home and said the classic style and color with nailhead trim works in any style home and in just about any room.

Gray is easy, and, as a style, the tuxedo is a modern classic thats perfect for modern living and a contemporary lifestyle. The mohair fabric is forgiving and durable, Lyons said. Theyre low enough to not take over a space but deep enough to relax in with a good book or have cocktails in front of the fireplace.

On a console along one side of the room sits a ceramic bust, a collaboration by artists Tanna Bennett and Damon Thomas titled Lend Me Your Ear. The bald androgynous head is all white, except for a pink tongue sticking out of the mouth and holding an ear that looks like its been torn from another head; its intended to represent someone who doesnt want to listen.

A vessel and two paintings by Bennett are nearby, and works by Ellen H. Ray claim a good deal of wall space behind the sofa and above and alongside the bed.

Kiley Jackson and Aileen Warren, casual/industrial

Jackson and Warren went yet another direction in their very masculine room. Though they usually start projects by finding a rug, they started this one by visiting Nicola Parentes studio, where they fell in love with a painting inspired by a train ride in the Italian countryside.

We loved the colors, the rust, the black, the hint of cobalt blue and the orange. That started the color scheme for the room, Warren said, noting that although the painting is a vertical, they hung it horizontally. Parente said he didnt mind.

They chose a darker sofa with a handsome tan leather frame and gray wool cushions, and added two cane-and-wood chairs with upholstered cushions. More art came in smaller wooden sculptures by Paul Carola.

Its a great base because it allows you to change everything around it if you get tired of your accessories. Its also about longevity  it doesnt go out of style, Jackson said of their gray sofa.

RELATED: S.A.'s doors, windows, hardware from old homes finding new lives

A flatweave rug full of earth tones seemed made-to-order for the project, matching the paintings colors nearly identically. A rustic wooden coffee table, an antique Italian chest and tall antiqued mirrors propped up against a wall add some Old World style.

Beth Lindsey, coastal

A cool coastal vibe calls for inspiration from the sea, and Lindsey and Whatley found it in both furnishings and art. Their gray sectional sofa from James Craig Furnishings was a cool shade with bluish undertones, along with white upholstered swivel chairs and a pair of rattan chairs with cushions and pillows. On a coffee table was a large piece of blue coral.

Two large pieces by painter Katherine Houston hung over the sofa, a blue-white blend that could represent sky or water  elements that heavily influence the Galveston residents work.

We wanted it to feel not quite so beachy, but be very clean and have a nod to coastal, said Lindsey as she gushed over the pair of artsy fake palm trees she discovered at Found, a home decor boutique she shopped for many of the accessories in her room.

Along another wall was a collection of paintings by Angela Fabbri, small, colorful works that edged up the wall as if creating a trail for your eyes. And on a buffet was a glass art vessel by Deborah Ellington.

Art can bring a room alive in many different ways. We look at something and know if we like it or we dont  its the right color or size, its pretty, lets do it, Fabbri said of one type of art buyer. Then there are other people who say it speaks to me; theyre looking for a deeper connection than the aesthetic. Then there are other clients who take it even further: They want to know the artist and they look at it like theyre taking a piece of the artist home. They want to know your story, more about you so that when they see the art they love the remember the story and the conversation they had.

diane.cowen@chron.com
A federal jury on Tuesday convicted a leader of the Zetas cartel on all seven drug-trafficking related charges he faced.

Juan Francisco Trevino Chavez, 38, who is the nephew of the two previous bosses of the now-splintered cartel, now faces at least 10 years to life in prison when hes sentenced later this year.

Jurors, who began deliberations when closing arguments ended after lunch Tuesday, returned the verdict after 5 p.m. Tuesday. They found Juan Trevino, also known as Kiko and Comandante Kiko, guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana, conspiracy to import marijuana, unlawful distribution of controlled substances, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute large cocaine and conspiracy to import cocaine. Each count is punishable by between 10 years to life in prison.

Kiko Trevino also was convicted of conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and money laundering conspiracy, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

In February, he turned down a deal that would have capped his potential sentence at 30 years if he had pleaded guilty to some of the charges in two separate federal drug cases related to cartel drug smuggling operations.

A U.S. citizen, Kiko Trevino is considered the last leader of the Zetas before it fragmented into the Cartel del Noreste, or CDN  which Trevino reportedly led before his arrest in fall 2016  and a faction known as the Zetas Vieja Escuela (Old School Zetas).

The split came after his uncles, Miguel Angel Trevino Morales, known as Z-40, and Omar Trevino Morales, Z-42, were arrested by Mexican authorities in July 2013 and March 2015, respectively.

The heavily-guarded trial for Kiko Trevino began July 16. Federal prosecutors brought in a number of witnesses that included one of the Zetas founders, Jesus Enrique Rejon Aguilar, also known as Mamito. Rejon, who has been cooperating with the feds for at least four years, has testified at prior Zeta figure trials that he was a former corporal in the Mexican army special forces and deserted in 1999 to join the Zetas, a group of hit men for the Gulf Cartel. Rejon was the seventh member of the Zetas, which split from the Gulf Cartel in 2010, according to his testimony previously reported by the Express-News.

Kiko Trevino is the second of the Trevino family to be tried in the United States. Another of his uncles, Jose Trevino, was convicted in a trial in Austin for laundering the Zetas drug money through quarterhorse racing, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

He was arrested in Baytown, outside Houston, in September 2016 after slipping into the United States illegally some time after he was released by a judge in Mexico, where he had been arrested in 2012.

According to current and retired agents who investigated the Zetas, Kiko Trevino is a volatile drug user who helped the cartel control large swaths of the northern Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon and Coahuila, which border Texas, from its home base of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. The cartel used Interstate 35 as a corridor to points north, sometimes dropping drug shipments in San Antonio or other cities along the way, according to federal agents.

In 2010 alone, when the Zetas split from the Gulf Cartel, the gang brought in $300 million to $400 million a year from its drug trafficking, Rejon previously testified. Other witnesses have testified in other Zeta trials that cartel leaders ordered the dismemberment of rivals, debtors or innocent victims  while alive  who were then dissolved in vats of acid or burned in barrels.

Guillermo Contreras covers federal court and immigration news in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | gcontreras@express-news.net | Twitter: @gmaninfedland
Dwight Jurena is sitting by U.S. 83, just south of Uvalde, where the Hill Country meets the South Texas plains. Actually, its all plains here  aside from an old fence along the highway, a coil of rusty barbed wire hanging off it, theres not much to see except scrubland and mesquite trees.

This is as featureless as that one scene in Fargo when the guy comes off the highway to bury the briefcase and its snow in either direction, he remarks. Except we dont have snow; we have brush.

But Jurena, an adjunct instructor of geology at San Antonio College, isnt interested in whats above ground. Hes focused on whats below  the remains of a massive crater formed when a meteorite struck the earth tens of millions of years ago.

Maybe.

Hoping to prove the meteorite hypothesis, Jurena was spending a few mid-July days in the company of students researching a geological structure called Bee Bluff. In a neon orange safety vest and wide-brimmed hat, he talked about earth science as if unaware of how well he knows the topic. He can say so much, so fast, that students have sometimes resorted to recording everything he tells them.

SAC sophomores Emily Reyes, 28, from upstate New York, and Jonathan Garcia, 25, a Chicagoan, wore their own highlighter-yellow vests; Garcia sported a Cubs cap. As a nearby portable speaker played smooth jazz and pickups and heavy trucks whizzed by, the trio knelt around a sleek metal box, fiddling with knobs and dials.

The device was a gravity meter. Connected to a handheld digital data logger, it counted milligalileos, a unit of acceleration that measures variations in the Earths gravitational pull.

The mechanical configuration is similar to a seismograph, Jurena explained. Despite the complicated interface, the underlying mechanism is simple: a mass on the end of a spring, moving up and down in response to tiny changes in gravity.

Its sensitive enough, Jurena said, to detect if passing trucks are empty or have full loads.

The three were with the Summer Undergraduate Research Project (SURP) program, a SAC initiative that is also funding studies of dove defense mechanisms and hydrogen fuel cells. Jurenas team is after something a little more contentious.

For years, geologists have debated whether this area was  somewhere from 20 to 45 million years ago  hit by a meteorite. Several research papers (including one co-authored by Jurena) support the theory but vary in their estimates of the craters diameter. Some say its as little as one and a half miles wide. Jurenas work puts it at more than four.

Other scientists have alternative explanations for the areas geology. These include regional deformation, sedimentary slumping (or a) gas explosion, according to one paper published in 1979. For a time, Bee Bluff had a spot on the Earth Impact Database, which lists confirmed impact craters. But it was removed in 2003 due to inadequate proof.

The SURP team was looking for that proof. The roadside spot was their designated base, where the team zeroed out their equipment before every outing. By always returning to the same starting point  marked by a metal Texas Department of Transportation plate set into the ground  they could keep a consistent baseline against which to evaluate data gathered elsewhere.

After correcting for several factors that can affect gravity  latitude, tides and elevation  remaining variation can be attributed to differing densities of the rock underground. That means fracturing, and when its in a circle  a doughnut ring with a central peak, like the splash of a stone hitting water  its good evidence of an impact site.

Only a hypervelocity impact or a nuclear explosion could explain certain features of the formation, Jurena said, and the Eocene period had no atomic bombs.

We still have debris (and) sediment thats all fractured, and that would produce a gravity low, Jurena said. The central peak is actually a gravity high.

These micro-fluctuations are the only way youd ever know anything is amiss at Bee Bluff  due to erosion and fill-in, nothing about the landscape suggests a crater.

When I first came out here, I was like, Where is it?, Garcia said. Its down below.

But before the researchers can prove anything, they have to get the gravity meter working.

Its hanging out at perfect zero, Reyes eventually announces. Keep hanging!

Im logging that, Jurena replies.

Jurena started studying Bee Bluff as a graduate student in the mid-1990s. By 2002 hed finished a thesis on it and has been returning ever since. He started taking students along in 2014.

The going hasnt always been easy. During a 2015 expedition, the gravity meter picked up a massive spike where there was no reason to expect one. It wasnt until Jurena noticed an ant inside the device  a literal bug in the system  that he realized it was probably an anomaly. Follow-up testing in 2016 didnt detect the spike, but the team will check again this year to make sure.

When the gravity meters baseline was successfully set to zero, the SURP team drove a few miles south, past farmhouses and fields of spinach, to a dusty intersection: the starting point for the days work.

By taking gravity measurements at preset points along a survey line, marked by wooden stakes that another team stuck in the ground over the spring, a map of subterranean fracturing will emerge. But it is slow, repetitive work under a hot Texas sun.

We essentially have a grid along these county roads now, and weve about maxed it out as far as the (impact) structure is concerned, Jurena said. And so were gonna complete this east-west transect, so this is the third leg on there.

The days path followed one of the dirt roads radiating off the intersection, lined with wildflowers and crushed beer cans. Reyes and Garcia had to squat in tall grass to fiddle with the meter and record the data it spat out.

Is it going down? Jurena asked from the roadside at one point. Holding down at the lower limit of 1.12?

Yeah, 1.120 is the lowest, Garcia said. The highest is 1.127.

Oh boy, thats steady, Jurena replied, before reevaluation led to exasperation. Oh, it just dropped. Just when you thought it was see that? Who moved?

But even with finicky technology, the team said things were moving faster than expected. They hoped to measure six to eight of the roughly 20 staked-out spots by days end.

In the gaps between work, conversation ranged from Johnny Cash to San Antonio enchiladas to the hotel they were staying in for the night. At one point, the topic of undocumented immigrants moving through the research site came up.

You see the effects that theyve left behind: old bug spray cans, clothing, shoes sunscreen, if possible, Jurena says. And even scarier  which youre really concerned about their health  water they left behind. And (its) in old milk jugs, and its green. Its green.

But mostly, everyone was preoccupied by the research. Amid all the other demands of the job  the dueling theories, the complicated tools, the seemingly endless numbers  its the hands-on field work that will actually find a meteorite crater, if theres one to find.

You cant simulate this on a computer, Jurena told Reyes and Garcia. Youve got to get out and do it.

Brian Contreras is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. @_B_Contreras_
The Poweshiek County Emergency Management Agency said that Mollie Tibbetts went missing on July 19 and was last seen in Brookyln, Iowa.

Police in southern Utah are asking the public to be on the lookout for a missing Iowa woman who they say has family connections in southern Utah. "She's the sweetest, kindest most caring person that I've ever met in my life", he said. Dalton explained that Mollie always wears her fitness tracker (FitBit) and usually brings her cellphone when she goes for a run.

Dalton Jack said he's been dating Mollie Tibbetts for close to three years now.

The UI student was getting ready to move into her own apartment and was anticipating the upcoming school year.

"This is not like her at all", Tibbetts' aunt Kim Calderwood told WOI-TV.

She sent Jack a photo on Snapchat at 10pm that evening, and then was not heard from again - and did not turn up at work the following day. "As that date gets closer, it's like closing in on me, because I'm thinking about these two people that are getting married that were also really close to Mollie. (It's) supposed to be the happiest day of their life", she said. They don't know precisely where she was last seen other than Brooklyn, so they are looking everywhere.

Poweshiek County Sheriff Thomas Kriegel states that nothing is being ruled out at this point in the investigation according to a report from Sky News.

"We're a close-knit community and I couldn't even imagine this happening to one of my kids".

University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts was reported missing after going on Wednesday evening jog. On Friday authorities also conducted a large ground search of the areas around Brooklyn - and at least 250 people came out to help. However, with the extremely rural terrain, full of corn rows, it has not been easy.

Investigators are working with the University of Iowa to gain access to Tibbets laptop and online accounts.

Tibbetts is described as 5ft 2in tall, weighs about eight-and-a-half stone, and has brown hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information about Tibbetts or her whereabouts are asked to contact the Poweshiek County Sheriff's Office at 641-623-5679.
Elephants have 100 times as many cells as humans. But they seldom get cancer. This is surprising, because cancer is a result of cell division gone wrong, and the more cells an organism has, the higher the chances that some will mutate into tumors. Also, because elephants live so long - between 60 and 70 years - their cells have more opportunities to mutate.

The counterintuitive observation that cancer risk does not always correlate with a species' size or longevity is known as Peto's Paradox, named after British epidemiologist Richard Peto, who first noted the phenomenon in 1977. It turns out that cancer does not strike all species equally: Some animals have evolved powerful strategies to keep the disease at bay, while others are particularly vulnerable.

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Scientists are increasingly exploring this interspecies variation in cancer rates, hoping to learn more about how cancer works in humans and to identify better ways of treating or preventing it.

"Elephants should be getting cancer all the time," said University of Utah cancer researcher Joshua Schiffman, who has been studying the topic for the past decade. "But they don't. They've evolved some really effective anti-cancer strategies."

Schiffman - a pediatric oncologist who also treats humans with cancer - and colleagues have found that elephants have 40 copies of the TP53 gene, which suppresses tumor cells before they can grow and spread. By comparison, humans and most other animals have only two copies. Schiffman and research partner Carlo Maley of Arizona State University say they suspect that the extra copies may give elephants a powerful ability to keep mutant cells at bay. Scientists have long known that TP53 helps the body kill rogue cells before they can transform into tumors. But until Schiffman and Maley's work, no one realized that any animal had 40 copies of the gene. The elephants' approach appears to be a unique evolutionary strategy for fighting cancer.

Schiffman and colleagues found that elephants also have other anti-cancer mechanisms. Elephant cells respond differently when exposed to substances that damage DNA. Instead of trying to repair the damage, they tend to simply die. With cancer, this is a much safer approach: Cells that try to heal themselves are more likely to mutate and then transform into cancer cells. In a paper published in March, Schiffman and University of Utah scientist Christopher Gregg identified three genes that prevent mutations by fostering DNA repair.

Together, these genetic adjustments may give elephants multiple weapons against the disease.

Elephants are not the only animal with unusually low rates of cancer. Using data from zoos and veterinarians as well as anecdotal reports from the wild and lab research, scientists know or suspect that other creatures, including mole rats, gray squirrels, horses, whales and bats, rarely get cancer.

It is not entirely clear where humans fall on the spectrum of risk. For humans, the lifetime probability of having cancer is about 50 percent. While we do have some cancer-suppressing genes, we also tend to live for a relatively long time. For most animals, the lifetime cancer risk is probably between 20 and 40 percent, with outliers on each end - elephants on one side and dogs, mice and cheetahs on the other.

RELATED: Residents of Texas neighborhood have alarming cancer rates

Of course, cancer is tracked much more systematically in humans than in other species. "We just don't have that much data from nature," said University of California at Riverside biologist Leonard Nunney, who studies evolution, animals and cancer, and coined the term "Peto's Paradox." "So it's very hard to compare."

Perhaps the strangest animal being studied for its cancer-fighting abilities is the naked mole rat, a five-inch-long, hairless, pinkish rodent that lives in burrows in East Africa. These creatures survive far longer than most rodents - up to 32 years - and seldom get tumors.

Over decades, scientists have studied thousands of naked mole rats in labs and zoos around the world; in that time, they have documented only six cases of cancer. For the past 13 years, University of Rochester scientists Vera Gorbunova and her husband, Andrei Seluanov, have been trying to unravel how the animals accomplish this.

One key may be a viscous liquid known as hyaluronic acid. Gorbunova and Seluanov have found that the animals produce large amounts of this substance, which seems to prevent tumors from growing out of control. The mechanism may involve contact inhibition, the tendency of cells to stop dividing when squeezed tightly by other cells. Cancer starts when mutated cells grow uncontrollably; by increasing contact inhibition, hyaluronic acid, which Gorbunova describes as "basically a gooey sugar," probably keeps these tumor cells from replicating.

Naked mole rats also have other mechanisms to squelch cancer. The animals have an unusually powerful version of a gene called p16, which prevents runaway growth of tumor cells, and have also evolved a further strategy: If cancerous cells somehow get past hyaluronic acid and p16, mole rat cells have a fail-safe switch that causes tumors to essentially deactivate themselves, a state known as senescence.

Gorbunova and Seluanov also study blind mole rats, another rodent species with extremely low rates of cancer. Over decades of research on hundreds of these animals, scientists have never found a naturally occurring tumor. These creatures, which live underground and have no eyes, have evolved an anti-cancer strategy known as concerted cell death. Their cells are programmed to replicate far fewer times than those of most other species, a feature that greatly lowers the risk that mutations will run amok.

Other researchers examining certain bat species have located several tumor-suppressing genes. A recent study of the bowhead whale, which weighs up to 100 tons and can live for more than 200 years, identified several genes that probably improve the creature's ability to repair DNA mutations. The slower metabolism of large animals such as elephants and whales may also play a role in their lower cancer rates: More-intense energy production leads to more cell division, and thus a higher risk of mutations.

Just as some creatures are more adept at fending off tumors, others are particularly vulnerable. Certain breeds of dog fall into this category: More than half of all golden retrievers die of cancer; Scottish terriers are 18 times as likely as the average dog to get bladder cancer, and Irish wolfhounds are 100 times as likely to get bone cancer.

This predisposition is due largely to the narrow level of genetic variation within most breeds, a phenomenon known as the founder effect. As inbreeding has increased over many generations, genetic abnormalities in the original population have been magnified.

This predisposition makes the animals a valuable model. "With dogs, it's much easier to find genetic aberrations that lead to cancer," said North Carolina State University molecular biologist Matthew Breen, who has studied canine cancer for more than two decades. "We can accelerate the discovery process."

He has found that some kinds of cancer develop along very similar pathways in dogs and humans, and has identified several genetic mutations in dog cancers that also appear to exist in the human versions of this cancer. One of these mutations, which plays a role in 85 percent of canine bladder cancers, also exists in humans. Scientists had known about the human mutation, but Breen's research offers a key clue about its potential significance.

This work is especially useful for cancers that are rare in humans. Take bone cancer: In the United States, about 1,000 people a year, mostly children, get the disease. By comparison, more than 50,000 dogs are diagnosed annually. Breen and his colleagues have started to identify what drives the disease in dogs and have shown that the same mutations are present in the human version. "Working with dogs, we have access to 50 times the number of patients," he said. "This gives us a much better chance of figuring out the mechanisms of this."

Breen is overseeing a nationwide study that is monitoring several million dogs. He travels constantly, connecting with veterinarians, dog owners and breeders, asking them to share canine cancer data. The potential pool is enormous: Every year, more than 4 million dogs in the United States are diagnosed with cancer. Eventually, he said, the database will allow scientists to delve more deeply into how, why and where dogs get cancer.

The ultimate goal is to develop new ways to fight human cancer. Eventually, it may be possible to use gene therapy, genetic engineering or pharmacology to apply animals' cancer strategies to humans. This work has already begun: Gorbunova and Seluanov are now testing whether hyaluronic acid can prevent the disease in mice. Other anti-cancer strategies of animals have not reached the testing stage, but Schiffman said the potential is clearly there.

"This is a whole new field," he said. "We are at the tip of the iceberg. Nature has come up with these solutions over hundreds of millions of years of evolution. Now we need to analyze that and apply it to humans."
The two-story San Marcos apartment complex where at least five people died in a fire Friday was complying with fire code regulations despite lacking a sprinkler system, though fire safety experts say even low-rise buildings without sprinklers endanger lives.

The Iconic Village Apartments was built in the 1970s, when the city followed a building code that did not require new structures to install sprinklers, San Marcos Fire Marshal Kelly Kistner said. The city now follows the International Code Councils fire code, which does not require retrofitting existing buildings with sprinklers unless the structure undergoes significant renovations.

Theres been no major remodel that we are aware of that would require them to have brought sprinklers up to date or into the building, Kistner said.

Now Playing: A total of five bodies have been recovered from the Iconic Village apartment complex after a fire Friday, July 20, 2018. Video: Courtesy Chhabindra Gautam

The complexs management did not respond to an inquiry about whether the building had undergone recent renovations.

Those who support more widespread use of sprinklers typically say high-rise buildings should have them because smoke and flames move rapidly and uncontrollably in fires in such structures.

But cities and states should not make sprinkler requirements dependent on a buildings height, said National Fire Sprinkler Association outreach director Vickie Pritchett. Sprinklers also save lives in one- and two-story buildings, she said.

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From 2005 to 2016 in Texas, 144 people died in multifamily residential building fires without automatic extinguishing systems; just two died in buildings with the systems, according to a report by the state fire marshals office.

Tom Jenkins, president of the International Fire Chiefs Association, said the public largely ignores what is an alarmingly high rate of fire deaths in the U.S. He wondered what would happen if airline passengers died at the same rate.

One of the things we battle with fire in particular is the idea weve conquered the problem. If we were crashing and killing 3,000 people per year, there would be congressional inquiries and ground stop on all air travel, Jenkins said, referring to the U.S. Fire Administrations estimate that 3,280 people died in fires in 2015. The last fatal U.S. passenger airliner crash occurred in early 2009.

After a December 2014 fire killed five residents at the Wedgwood Senior Apartments in Castle Hills, Rep. Rick Galindo, R-San Antonio, authored a bill  signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in June 2015  requiring Bexar County residential high-rises to install sprinklers if most residents are seniors, disabled or mobility-impaired.

San Antonio amended its fire prevention code to require sprinklers in all existing high-rise buildings, defined as any structure with an occupied floor more than 75 feet above the lowest level that fire department vehicles can access.

Asked if San Marcos would do the same, Mayor John Thomaides referred the question to Kistner, who did not respond to a request for comment.

The high cost of installing sprinklers can be the biggest barrier, though a provision of the December 2017 Republican tax bill allows small businesses  but not residential structures  to deduct the cost of installing sprinklers, at a cap of $1 million a year.

Still, only California, Maryland and Washington, D.C., require sprinkler systems in new one- and two-family homes. Some states allow local entities to adopt sprinkler requirements, but in 2009, Gov. Rick Perry signed into law a bill that bars municipalities from enacting ordinances requiring a sprinkler system in a new or existing one- or two-family dwelling.

The bills supporters  mostly homebuilders  argued that fire sprinkler ordinances would make new homes too expensive.

In the aftermath of the San Marcos fire, Kistner said he could not say whether smoke detectors in the complex worked or when the building was last inspected.

Regardless, Jenkins said smoke detectors make little difference.

All a smoke detector is is an early warning device, he said. Automatic sprinklers are the only way to combat a fire before the intervention of firefighters.

Jasper Scherer is a staff writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | jscherer@express-news.net | Twitter: @jaspscherer
Having just returned from a sorely needed vacation at an undisclosed location in the mountains, I have no choice now but to face reality.

And reality in South Texas, at this particular tilt of the Earths axis, is a heat wave of unprecedented hellaciousness. On Monday, at the time of this writing, the mercury was creeping toward 107 degrees.

There are known ways of coping with this reality: going to one of 52 designated cooling centers, for instance. The heat, though, is already getting to me. The resulting delirium, in a silver lining to the unpleasantness, has revealed some less obvious alternatives for keeping cool.

Alternative #1: Get traded to Toronto.

As every Spurs fan knows, Kawhi Leonard has already figured this one out. The superstar forward, worshiped by fans as The Claw, has managed to claw his way out of South Texas  out of the country, in fact  to a faraway province in the northern wilds of Canada, where he will now dribble for the Toronto Raptors.

On Monday, the high in Toronto was 78.

The only thing that thermal reading has in common with the high in San Antonio is a 7.

Related: Amid record-breaking temperatures, S.A. struggles to stay cool

Much hand-wringing has taken place over why Leonard actually left. Was it that verbal jab by Tony Parker, who boasted his own injury was 100 times worse than the one that kept Leonard off the court? Was it the lure of a bigger market, a wider limelight? The nefarious influence of Leonards Uncle Dennis?

Occams razor tells us the simpler theory is more likely to be true. Therefore, I will offer an underreported explanation for Leonards untimely departure: Its too damn hot here.

(It should be noted that temperatures in Toronto can dip below zero in winter. No word on whether Canadians make thermal gloves large enough to fit The Claw.)

Alternative #2: Avoid meetings of the Bexar County Democratic Partys County Executive Committee.

Before my merciful escape to cooler climes, I filed a column about some gremlins mucking with local Democrats. These included a stubborn sect of so-called Manuelistas  forces who remain loyal to ousted chairman Manuel Medina  as well as difficulties in notifying precinct chairs about upcoming meetings.

By far, though, the most alarming problem facing the party was a malfunctioning air conditioning system at its headquarters.

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You would think that Lubys restaurant, with its array of cold and otherwordly-colored jellos, would prove a reliable refuge for sweltering liberals. However, in an exasperating turn of events, last week, in a Lubys conference room where local Dems had gathered for a meeting of their county executive committee, the air conditioning, unbelievably, was on the fritz.

Its enough to make you swear off politics completely.

Alternative #3: Feign confusion at the San Pedro Creek Culture Park.

This wont be hard to do.

Last month, a segment of the just-opened trail was shut down so workers could redesign a channel of the urban waterway. It seemed that visitors, particularly children, i.e. those most likely to fall ill from E. coli contamination, were swimming freely in the bounteous waters there.

On Monday, toiling in the unholy heat, workers were scraping slimy green algae from the problematic segment. Citing a serious-sounding section of city code, new signs read: No water contact area and no swimming.

And yet.

Authorities have assured the public that visitors still could wade in the water.

Related: Pets need protection from South Texas heat

Merriam Webster defines wade as to step in or through. It defines swim as to cross by propelling oneself. Note: neither definition specifies ones depth of immersion.

To avoid alerting the water police, then, simply immerse yourself in the cooling waters without making any sudden movements with your hands or feet. If busted, simply plead ignorance of the difference between wading and swimming.

An alternative to this alternative is to seek out a body of water that wont give you diarrhea.

Alternative #4: Travel by Bird.

Anyone who has survived a South Texas summer knows the worst part of any day is decidedly not when one first steps into the sun. By far, the most suffocating, soul-crushing and inhumane moment is when one climbs into a vehicle that has been baking in said sun for hours and hours.

Therefore, its advisable to ditch the car altogether. An alternative mode of transportation is the Bird electric scooter, a cache of which recently appeared in town. At 15 miles per hour, the app-powered e-scooters maximum speed is swift enough to produce cooling currents of wind on your skin and through your hair.

Aim for water.

bchasnoff@express-news.net
After federal agencies reunite immigrant families separated at the border, however long that takes past Thursdays court deadline, another set of complications await them  and us.

Some will lose their sponsors, endangering their ability to obtain a bond to free them pending a court appearance. Relatives are sponsors, but sometimes a sponsor offers only a tentative U.S. tie. Theyre a friend, a friend of a relative, a friend of a friend.

Some of the families might not get lawyers, a common situation for undocumented immigrants and a clear disadvantage for Central Americans caught up in the Trump administrations short-lived zero-tolerance policy.

After harrowing journeys north, some will face intense scrutiny over their asylum claims and wont be able to prove their fears are credible.

Their recollections, if marred with inconsistencies, wont fit into a neatly constructed narrative a lawyer can embrace. Authorities will examine every detail. A judges discretion will depend on it.

RELATED: Pricey lawyers aid distressed immigrant families at border

And some immigrants who endured separation from children will lie. It will unsettle those whose hearts have opened wide to assist them.

The lies sometimes arent designed to circumvent laws they are unlikely to understand  U.S. immigration law is complex and unwieldy. They might be lying to themselves, their children and families, or spouses.

Its going to get messier, even for advocates and lawyers.

J. Antonio Fernandez of Catholic Charities says at least some of their stories will be difficult to see clearly. Theyre not black or white, he says.

One Honduran mother in San Antonio with her two children, one of whom was separated from her, illustrates the dilemma. She wears an ankle monitor and has a lawyer from Caritas Legal Services. Her family had a sponsor when she was freed on bond, but lost the sponsor before her husband could be released. Hes still in detention.

It also turns out she isnt married to him, though she says theyve lived as man and wife for eight years, the age of her son, who views him as his father. But theirs is not a biological tie.

The accounts of the violence her family experienced have been largely consistent. Her son has the scars to prove it. He took one of the bullets that riddled their one-room house.

She has said, sometimes, that the attack was random. In other tellings, she has said something more believable  that it was the work of an ex-boyfriend, a member of the Mara 18, who raped her.

Within days, the family left Honduras through Guatemala and Mexico, almost 2,500 miles, on foot most of the time. It took months to get to the U.S. border, ultimately separately. Her geography is all off, though, and hasnt made sense.

RELATED: Under tight deadline, government ramps up efforts to reunify immigrant families

Her son has suffered mightily. A bullet was removed from his hip, but his arm was dislocated while boarding or disembarking a train, one in a network of Mexican freight lines used by migrants who hitch dangerous rides. Any such train is called La Bestia, or the beast. On board, they came face to face with members of Los Zetas.

Shes hardly alone. Another Central American immigrant detained at the South Texas Detention Center in Pearsall could face consequences for lying. She came to the United States with her son, but when authorities found she was not his biological mother, she corrected the narrative: She adopted him at birth. The boy was released to the womans oldest daughter, but she remains in detention.

Undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers, like many of us, have complicated family situations. Their lives are layered with violence, poverty and a desperation most of us will never know.

Trauma can warp memory and distort truth. On top of language and cultural obstacles, asylum seekers are asked to recount the worst things that ever happened to them to prove they have something to fear if sent back.

They might have been coping with past horror by blocking it. To qualify for asylum, we ask them to remove that coping mechanism.

The Honduran woman cried without ceasing on a recent call from her still-detained husband. She told him she loves him, that their children are OK but miss him and have nightmares. That she doesnt know what will happen to them without him.

Theyve never lived through what we have gone through, she told him in Spanish. Theyd understand, she added, if they knew our story.

Elaine Ayala covers religion and minority affairs in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | eayala@express-news.net | Twitter: @ElaineAyala
240718JULIE ON YWAM SERVICES

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The Director of the YWAM Medical team on board the medical ship, JULIE McLAUGHLIN says that the team will be providing EYE SURGERY, DENTISTRY PRIMARY HEALTH CARE, VACCINATION and BABY CHECK plus other health services to some of the most remote areas of Bougainville.

She was speaking at the launching of the program in Buka today.

MS McLAUGHLIN thanked President Momis for inviting her team to come for the first time to the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.

She said their first visit will be to Nissan island, Torokina, Kunua, South Bougainville and many remote locations on Buka island and the Atolls.

MS McLAUGHLIN said she believes that God has sent them here for such a time as this to help people who dont have access to life saving medical care.

She said that we cant cure or treat every disease but what we have we bring.

Yes we will have medicine and medical treatment and that is important but sometimes equally as important is the fact that the people of Bougainville are not forgotten.

Freely we receive donations and freely we give.

She said that on board the ship they have volunteers from Australia, New Zealand, America, Africa, Europe and Papua New Guinea.



Ends






The blast occurred when scores of people were leaving the airport after welcoming home Afghan Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum from exile.

The Health Ministry on Monday said, at least 107 people were wounded in the explosion.

Nicholson, who talked to reporters jointly with Gen. Joseph Votel, commander of the US Central Command, in Kabul, said the return of Dostum was an internal issue of Afghanistan, something he could not comment about.

However, the incident underlined the increasingly volatile and unstable political climate in Kabul ahead of parliamentary elections in October that are seen as a dry run for more important presidential elections early next year. Even the method of attack is not entirely certain - interior ministry spokesman, Najib Danish, said that, "The blast was probably caused by a suicide bomber".

General Abdul Rashid Dostum, a former Uzbek warlord, and his entourage were unharmed, said Danish.

Some call Gen. Dostum's political alignment with President Ashraf Ghani an alliance of convenience, not because they see eye to eye.

Dostum fled to Turkey previous year amid accusations of torture and abuse of political rival Ahmad Eshchi, but he returned to Afghanistan on Sunday.

He said Saturday that the charges against Dostum would be dealt with through independent legal means. He was reportedly barred by the government from returning to Afghanistan. There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the Taliban and Islamic State are active in the Afghan capital.

Dostum is a controversial figure who has been accused of serious human rights violations, including the deaths of hundreds of Taliban prisoners in 2001 in the custody of his militia forces.

Ghani, under pressure from worldwide donors to both restore stability and enforce his government's rule of law, arranged for Dostum to resume his role, regardless of the charges against him.

Presidential spokesman Haroon Chakhansuri said Saturday that Dostum had been "treated" and would resume his duties upon his return.

He denied Eshchi's accusations but, amid global demands that he be held accountable, he left the country in May a year ago, ostensibly to seek medical treatment in Turkey.
One problem-free year out of three is not good when it comes a vendors success rate in administering state mandated standardized tests to public school students.

New Jersey-based Education Testing Services rolled out a problem-riddled testing system in 2016, its inaugural year as the states standardized testing educational testing programs vendor.

It did much better last year but things did not go so well this school year. Problems with the online version of the test were reported across the state.

The company, which has a $327 million contract with the state, paid $5.7 million in damages after the 2016 fiasco and was ordered to make $15 million in improvements. The company also is facing $100,000 in fines from the state for the most recent testing woes.

Reports from school districts across the state and in our own community indicate many students taking the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness test in April and May had difficulty signing in to begin their tests and some were logged out of the the test midway through the exam.

A monetary fine is hardly adequate compensation for the problems that affected some 100,000 schoolchildren across the state, including several thousands in San Antonio this spring. Many of the students who take the online version of the test are students who require extra assistance with the exams.

Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath said he has taken action to ensure that most of the students and school districts affected by the computer glitches are not penalized by the states accountability system.

But fines and promises that the process will improve are insufficient to compensate for the headaches. When it comes to high stakes testing, all test day problems are worrisome, not just for the individual student affected by the computer glitches, but also for the proctors and the other students in the room.

ETS has one more year left on its contract with the state and TEA is getting ready to rebid the contract.

This time around the state education agency needs to spend more time drafting its specifications for the contract, vetting the capabilities of the bidders and establishing better safeguards to prevent more messes.

TEA itself has earned less than a passing score with the current contract.
As San Antonians and their elected leaders debate the future of Alamo Plaza, a Dallas developer is drawing up plans for a 14-story Hard Rock Hotel that will loom over the revered battleground.

The developer, JMJ Development, wants to build the hotel on top of the 131-year-old Joskes building at Shops at Rivercenter mall, spokeswoman Kimberly Rhodes said in an email. Thats the same site where a 2013 proposal for a 23-story hotel tower failed amid concerns that it would damage the ambiance around the Alamo.

The Hard Rock Hotels 14 stories will be atop the four-story Joskes building, so the structure will be a total of about 18 stories tall, according to design renderings provided by JMJ.

The 300-room hotel, which would be the only Hard Rock Hotel in Texas, will feature a rooftop bar, a ballroom, a spa and a pool deck, Rhodes said in an email. The project is still in concept stage and the details are not set in stone, she said.

Representatives of Hard Rock Hotels and New York-based Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp., which owns Shops at Rivercenter, did not immediately respond to calls and emails requesting comment.

The San Antonio Conservation Society, which fought against the 2013 proposal, would certainly oppose something of the Hard Rock Hotels size, said its executive director Vincent Michael. Hes concerned the tower would cast a shadow on the Alamo and diminish the Joskes building.

When an original structure is only four stories high, and youre adding something more than four times that, its usually going to be overwhelming, he said.

Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert, whose precinct would include the tower, said he would support the project in the interest of modernizing downtown. He believes that San Antonios small skyline relative to cities like Austin is hampering tourism.

My heart breaks that Austins downtown has so badly exceeded the aesthetic modernization that ours has. Its really sad, he said. Its just a difference of opinion about our citys future. Its the old versus the new... Its causing our tourism industry to become stale and boring.

District 1 City Councilman Roberto Trevino said that he wasnt sure whether he would support the hotel tower without more information. He and other city officials werent aware of the proposal, he said.

Well expect to know more about it as it goes through the normal process, he said.

JMJ Development also plans to build a 24-story apartment tower on the River Walk. The tower was originally expected to break ground in late 2016, but construction will now begin in January, Rhodes said. Construction was delayed when JMJ decided to put the projects parking across the street, rather than at the bottom of the building, which required it to redesign the project and buy another property.

The Joskes building is a city historic site, and is within the downtown and Alamo Plaza historic districts, so the proposed tower would have to be approved by the citys Historic and Design Review Commission.

In 2013, Dallas-based BC Realty Partners proposed building the 23-story hotel, with at least 500 rooms, in partnership with Ashkenazy. Its unclear what role Ashkenazy would take in the Hard Rock Hotel.

The 2013 tower proposal was staunchly opposed by conservation advocates who worried that it would cast a shadow over Alamo Plaza. The head of the U.S. National Park Service told San Antonio leaders that a new tower so close to the Alamo could threaten the citys application for World Heritage status for its missions.

BC Realty shrank part of the proposed tower to just 10 stories, but HDRC still recommended denying approval.

City Manager Sheryl Sculley then resuscitated the project, allowing it to go through HDRC again if the developers reduced its scale. Ashkenazy scrapped the project anyway in August 2013.

The Joskes was vacant for nearly eight years following the closure of the Dillards department store, until Ashkenazy renovated and reopened it in 2016 with an H&M, a Dave & Busters, a Starbucks and other stores.

The construction of a 300-room hotel in the San Antonio area would be a big deal, said Paul Vaughn, senior vice president of San Antonio-based hotel data firm Source Strategies Inc.

The San Antonio hotel market has lost ground in recent years to Houston, Austin and Dallas  which added, respectively, 6,200, 5,200 and 4,800 rooms to their hotel offerings during the first quarter this year, according to Source Strategies data. San Antonio added just 1,200 in that timeframe, a disparity Vaughn attributes in part to larger tourism promotion budgets in other cities.

If local leaders plans for redeveloping Alamo Plaza make the spot a more valuable tourist destination, the San Antonio hotel market will need more rooms to deal with increased demand, Vaughn said.

Somebodys making a bet on that and thats a lot of money to wager, Vaughn said of the Hard Rock Hotel project.

Justin Holley, chairman of the San Antonio Hotel and Lodging Association, said Monday he hadnt heard of the proposed Hard Rock Hotel project but that national hotel players are increasingly looking to San Antonios hotel market for acquisitions and expansion. Holley noted that Blackstone, one of the worlds largest private equity firms, is in talks to buy the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa.

San Antonio could absorb about three larger hotels like the 300-room Hard Rock Hotel in order to compete with Austin, Houston and Dallas, he said.

Cities cant just keep adding small box hotels, Holley said. We have a convention center that allows us the ability to have larger conventions but those larger conventions dont want 100 hotels to deal with. They want four or five hotels to deal with.

The proposed hotels proximity to the Alamo and Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center would likely make it viable, Holley said.

If the Hard Rock folks have their stuff together and can come and propose something thats complementary to what we need downtown, how can we say no? Holley said.

Richard Webner is a staff writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | rwebner@express-news.net | Twitter: @RWebner
Turkish Airlines plans to increase its frequencies to a number of cities in the former Yugoslavia next year as it prepares for the opening of its new hub in Istanbul and the arrival of new aircraft. Notably, the carrier will run up to eighteen weekly flights to Skopje next summer season, up from this year's fourteen per week. The airline remains Macedonia's second busiest with 83.310 passengers handled to and from the country during the first half of the year. Frequencies will be progressively increased from April 1 and will peak in late June. Istanbul continues to be the most popular destination from Macedonia with some 11% of all passengers travelling between Skopje and Turkey's largest city.





In Croatia, Turkish Airlines will operate double daily flights to Dubrovnik, up from eleven per week this summer. The additional frequencies will be launched at the end of June. The carrier recently said it was considering its third destination in the country. "Twenty years ago we launched two weekly flights to Zagreb, while today we maintain double daily services. In addition, two years ago we commenced four weekly year-round operations to Dubrovnik. This summer, services have been increased to eleven weekly. Our plan is to launch another route to Croatia so we can better connect the country to the world and bring even more tourists", the Country Manager for Croatia, Ugur Cantimur, said.





Turkish Airlines will maintain the greatest number of flights within the former Yugoslavia to Sarajevo next summer with three daily services planned from the very start of the 2019 summer season. The airline will maintain a total of 21 weekly flights. It is also considering introducing a second destination in the country. "We recently received an enquiry from Turkish Airlines about which aircraft type could operate to Mostar, which shows that our negotiations have advanced. We forwarded them information concerning the airport's technical capabilities. We are already discussing equipment and scheduling and we expect to reach a concrete agreement with Turkish Airlines very soon", Mostar Airport's General Manager, Marin Raspudic, said recently.





The Turkish carrier will also grow its operations to Podgorica by adding an additional flight to the Montenegrin capital for a total of fourteen per week. "Turkish Airlines currently flies to every capital city in the region such as Belgrade, Sarajevo, Podgorica and Ljubljana. Before we decide on introducing a new route within our destination network, our team of experts conducts a number of studies focusing on various aspects and taking into account the performance of our existing destinations, which also plays a deciding role in our network expansion. In addition, it is important to take note of various changes on the market and have initiative", Mr Cantimur said.





Turkish Airlines will deploy its incoming new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft on a number of routes in the former Yugoslavia as early as this year. The carrier plans to use the jet three times per week to Sarajevo from September, on selected services to Podgorica in September and October, on its Belgrade operations from October 14, as well as on its evening service to Skopje from the start of the 2018/19 winter season, which begins on October 28. The aircraft will have the capacity to seat 151 passengers, with sixteen seats in business and the remaining 135 in economy class. It has a total of 75 of the jets on order. The 737 MAX builds on the strengths of the Next-Generation 737 with improved efficiency, reliability and passenger appeal.
DTE Energy Co. operates as a diversified energy company, which engages in the provision of electricity and natural gas sales, distribution and storage services. It operates through the following segments: Electric, Gas, Non-Utility Operations, and Corporate & Other. The Electric segment engages in the generation, purchase, distribution and sale of electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers in south-eastern Michigan. The Gas segment engages in the purchase, storage, transportation, distribution and sale of natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers throughout Michigan and the sale of storage and transportation capacity. The Non-Utility Operations segment engages in gas storage and pipelines, power and industrial projects, and energy trading. The Corporate & Other includes various holding company activities, holds certain non-utility debt, and holds energy-related investments. The company was founded in January 1995 and is headquartered in Detroit, MI.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Bristol-Myers Squibb: 1096271 B.C. ULC, 345 Park LLC, A.G. 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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. 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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. 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Greece sought global help through the European Union as fires on either side of Athens left lines of cars torched, charred farms and forests, and sent hundreds of people racing to beaches to be evacuated by navy vessels, yachts and fishing boats.

Greece has issued an urgent appeal for help to tackle the fires, which have raged uncontrollably in several places across the country, destroying homes and disrupting major transport links.

Huge forest fires raging across Greece have killed at least four people and injured dozens more, forcing authorities to seek worldwide assistance as they battle the flames.

Several countries, including Cyprus and Spain, have so far offered assistance.

One fire is burning northeast of Athens in the Penteli area.

"We will do whatever is humanly possible to control it", said Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras during an official visit in Bosnia.

"This is an extreme situation".

A burned house is seen following a wildfire at the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece July 24, 2018.

But the death toll soared with the discovery of 26 more bodies in a single villa at a seaside resort in Mati on Tuesday, a Red Cross official said.

At least 50 are dead after twin forest fires have ripped through seaside Greece.

Kostas Laganos, who also survived the Mati fire, said: "Thankfully the sea was there and we went into the sea, because the flames were chasing us all the way to the water".



A wildfire rages in the town of Rafina near Athens Greece

Forest fires are common in Greece during the hot, dry summers, and temperatures recently hit highs up to 104 Fahrenheit.

Flights have been diverted because of low visibility and the thick smoke from the fires has led to main motorways being shut down.

Malliri said Tuesday that strong winds have fanned the flames, with the fires spreading rapidly into inhabited areas, preventing people who are in their homes or in their cars from managing to flee.

A separate fire also broke out west of Athens yesterday, adding to the challenge faced by the authorities.

A man uses a cloth to protect himself from smoke as wildfire burns in the town of Rafina, near Athens, Greece, July 23, 2018.

Achilleas Tzouvaras, a senior fire chief, told residents to "just leave" homes threatened by the fire.

Two more people died Monday while being taken to hospital, public television Ert said, citing the Greek capital's emergency services Ekav.

Meanwhile in Finland's northernmost Lapland province, fires have ravaged woods and grassland close to the border with Russian Federation.

Fire raged around the Saronicos Gulf, ravaging tracts of pine forest, and was visible for miles. An ominous cloud of black-orange smoke hung over the Acropolis hill and the Parthenon temple in Athens on Monday afternoon.

Flames rise as a wildfire burns in the town of Rafina, near Athens. "I saw it with my eyes, it is a real total catastrophe".
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The government has been urged to create a new environmental watchdog which will enshrine biodiversity and soil quality targets after the UK leaves the EU.

The cross-party Environmental Audit Committee has today (24 July) called for the establishment of the new independent oversight body  the Environmental Enforcement and Audit Office (EEAO)  modelled on the National Audit Office (NAO).

The body would govern, enforce, and carry policy functions currently carried out by the European Commission and European Court of Justice. It would also have the power to take the government and other public bodies to court where standards are breached.

The government has promised a new Environmental Principles and Governance Bill covering air, waste, water, chemicals that cannot be copied and pasted into UK law through the EU (Withdrawal) Act.

But the Committee is calling for the government to go one step further and to enshrine biodiversity targets, habitats, soil quality targets, and access to justice in UK law for the first time.

Support for farmers to create 500,000 hectares of new habitat for endangered species and helping farmers replenish depleted soils are already plans tipped for the 25-year Environment plan.

Defra Secretary Michael Gove has been vocal on the subject of soil health in particular. He said the UK will see the "fundamental eradication of soil fertility" because industrial farming has "damaging the earth".

But the Committee criticises a "worrying lack of detail" in the governments 25-Year Environment Plan as to how the environmental objectives will be achieved.

It recommends that legally-binding targets should be introduced on key environmental indicators  with five yearly action reports along the model of the 2008 Climate Change Act.

The Committee also recommends the government brings forward details on targets, implementation, governance and funding before the publication of the draft Environmental Principles and Governance Bill.

'World-leading'

Mary Creagh MP, Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee said the UK "needs a world-leading environmental watchdog if it wants a world-leading environment".

But in recent months the Government has been referred to the EUs highest court for failing to tackle illegal levels of air pollution in the UK. We are facing a biodiversity crisis and risk losing iconic species like the hedgehog, Ms Creagh said.

The Governments 25 Year Plan is high on ambitions, but low on milestones. The Government has more experience of getting rid of environmental watchdogs than of setting them up.

We want an Environmental Governance and Principles Act that sets legally-binding targets and creates a new Environmental Enforcement and Audit Office to measure progress and enforce this new law.

Ms Creagh added: The Government needs to set out detailed delivery and funding proposals for the Plan and departments across Whitehall need to commit to its ambitions, rather than trying to water them down behind the scenes.

Any proposed environmental watchdog has come under attack by the farming industry and green campaigners.

The CLA, a rural organisation representing farmers and landowners, has criticised the potential watchdog as "adding confusion and complexity" to environmental policy.

CLA Director of Policy and Advice Christopher Price said the body could add "increased bureaucracy" to the system.

We are concerned that what is suggested in this consultation could add significant cost, complexity and bureaucracy to the system and put at risk the better delivery of environmental policy, Mr Price said.

As we consider the proposals in detail and discuss the issues with officials and ministers, we will be challenging the Government on why it is not looking at a more fundamental consolidation of the many enforcement and reporting agencies currently involved in environmental governance.

Mr Price added: The worst case scenario is that this agency could end up duplicating or confusing existing arrangements for scrutiny and enforcement in Parliament, existing public authorities and the courts.
Tesco is to make a multi-million pound investment in the British lamb industry by introducing improved cost of production contracts for around 160 of its farmers.

The announcement is seen as a move to build long-term partnerships between retailer and farmers.

Farmers will benefit from a price based on the average cost of production across the Tesco Sustainable Farming Group for lamb. The price will be set for 12 months, before being reviewed for the second year of the contract.

The group was set up in 2014 to strengthen the retailer's relationship with its farmers and processors. They meet to share knowledge, customer insight and best practice around sustainability and animal welfare.

Tesco made the announcement at the Royal Welsh Show, with around a third of the farmers included in the scheme based in Wales.

George Wright, Tescos Commercial Director for Fresh Food said the move will ensure farmers have the confidence to invest in their businesses and build for the future.

We know many lamb farmers are looking for stability to overcome the uncertainty surrounding CAP payments, so were delighted to be offering these industry-leading COP contracts to 160 lamb farmers across the UK, Mr Wright said.

Through our ten Sustainable Farming Groups, were building transparent, long-term partnerships with our farmers and producers.

Mr Wright said the "door is open" for more British lamb farmers to join Tesco and "take advantage of the new model." Next years contracts start on the 1 April.

The news comes after Tesco announced new contracts for its Aberdeen Angus beef farmers and the relaunch of the Tesco Sustainable Farming Group for Beef.

Tesco now operates 10 Sustainable Farming Groups covering areas including lamb, beef, poultry and eggs, cheese and potatoes.
Welsh Conservatives have called on the government to release funds from the Basic Payments Scheme in order to help farmers cope following the prolonged dry spell.

Farmers across the UK have been suffering with the effects of the prolonged heatwave, with the Welsh Conservatives now calling for BPS payments to be released in October.

It has led the Farmers Union of Wales (FUW) to say that the current and coming impacts of the weather on Wales farming industry should be a "key focus" for governments.

This summer is on course to be one of the driest every recorded. Over the coming months, farmers across the UK are going to be placed under strain by the extreme weather.

Welsh Conservatives Shadow Rural Affairs spokesperson, Andrew RT Davies AM said the Welsh government has so far "failed to deliver".

In the past the Welsh Government has talked a good game on supporting the farming community, but has failed to deliver, Mr Davies said.

However, the Welsh Government can now do something both concrete and immediate that will provide real help to Wales farming community  bring forward payment scheme funds from December to October.

This would help farmers cover the cost of animal feed and would assist with their winter cash flow.

Mr Davies added: A Welsh Government promise to open the Basic Payment Scheme window in October would be a huge shot in arm for the entire farming community in Wales as it battles the effects of this exceptional summer.

FUW President Glyn Roberts said that having alerted the Welsh and UK Governments to the "dire situation", the farming union said it was "disappointed" that its calls for an emergency meeting to discuss what actions can be taken have not yet been heeded.

It follows news of the NFU explaining how crops are "being parched to the bone" as the heatwave cranks up a notch for most of this week.
Half of farmers face ruin from subsidy cuts, warn experts

Up to half of farmers could see profits 'wiped out'
Abhishek Bachchan Slammed The Report On Twitter!

"Replying to @indiaforums With due respect. Please refrain from making up false stories. I understand the need to continously post, but would really appreciate it if you could do so responsibly and without mischievous intent. Thank you."

Junior B Doesn't Take Things Lying Down

Abhishek Bachchan is active on Twitter and takes false news head on! He has replied to several mischievous reports previously as well and shut them up like a boss.

A User Had Questioned Abhishek Bachchan's Daughter Aaradhya's School Activities

"@juniorbachchan, is ur child not going to school? I do wonder What school gives permission to take a out a kid when u like to go a a trip with mom. Or are u guys going for beauty without brains. Always hand in hand with a arrogant mom. Not having a normal childhood."

Abhishek Bachchan Replied To Her Tweet & Shut Her Off

"Ma'am, as far as I know... Most schools are shut for the week-end. She goes to school on the weekdays. Maybe you should try it considering you(r) spelling in your tweet."

On The Work Front

Abhishek Bachchan will be seen alongside Taapsee Pannu in the movie Manmarziyan, which is scheduled to hit the theatres on September 21, 2018. The film will clash with Shahid Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor starrer Batti Gul Meter Chalu.
Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah Team cancels 10 year celebration after Dr Hathi | FilmiBeat

The sudden demise of the actor Kavi Kumar Azad came as a shocker. He was seen playing the role of Dr Haathi on the hit television show Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah. He passed away earlier this month on July 9, 2018, due to cardiac arrest. Still mourning the senior actor's death, Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah team has cancelled their 10th anniversary celebrations that was supposed to happen on July 28, 2018. The makers have decided to have a puja on the sets of the show instead.

When the actor passed away, an official statement by the show's makers read, "We are very sad to inform loss of our senior actor Kavi Kumar Azaad. He was playing the character of Dr Hathi in TMKOC. We lost him to a massive cardiac arrest today morning. He was an amazing actor and a very positive person. He truly Loved the show and always came for the shoot even if he was not feeling well. He called today morning that he is not well and will not be able to come for shoot. And later we got the news that he passed away. We are all too numb to say anything."

Also according to Times Of India reports, the show creators have cancelled their shoot that was initially planned to take place in Vaishno Devi, Kashmir. The producer of the show Asit Kumar Modi apparently felt that it would be difficult to shoot during the visit of the holy shrine with such a huge star cast, therefore the idea had to be called off.

Kavi Kumar was a part of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah from the start. Upon his demise, numerousrumours were circulating with regard to who will be replacing him. Though a few sources assured that actor Nirmal Soni will be replacing Kavi Kumar, Nirmal said he hasn't been approached.

"It's too early to comment on that. Let them call me first and then I will think. I am 150 kg right now. I can't decide if I am eligible or not,", he further added. We need to wait and watch who will be playing the iconic Dr Hathi's role.

Also Read-Kaun Banega Crorepati Season 10 Teaser Unveiled!
Bhabhi Ji Ghar Par Hain: Is Saumya Tandon leaving the show ? Here's the Truth | FilmiBeat

Television actress Saumya Tandon rose to popularity through her role Anita Vibhuti Narayan aka Anita Bhabi. She managed to impress the viewers with her comic timing and has a huge fan following. However, since the time the actress has stopped coming to the sets of the show, rumours have been doing the rounds that Saumya Tandon might be quitting the show. Also, a few sources are saying that she will be one of the contestants on the forthcoming reality show Bigg Boss 12 that's hosted by Salman Khan.

But yesterday, July 23, 2018, Saumya took to her Twitter handle to address the rumours and said, "Hey thanks for the concern, I had a liver infection so was on a leave for a week, have been shooting in Naigaon for Bhabhiji Ghar Par Hain since 3 days." Seems like we will get to see her back on the show shortly.

Producer of Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain, also confirmed the news through a statement to India.com that read, "Saumya suffered from a bout of Hepatitis B and was unwell for a while. But, now she has recovered and is back on sets."

When asked if she is willing to be a part of Bigg Boss, she had told in an interview to Hindustan Times, "No, I won't do the show. I am a private person. Also, since I am very boring and extremely straightforward, I won't be able to give any TRPs to the channel. I am thus not the right candidate for the show!"

"But I keep doing many events, because I love talking and always have the desire to be there, up on the stage with a mic, with a crazy number of people packed for the show. But I don't know if any show is there around today which is exciting enough. Nothing good has really come my way. If it does, I will definitely do it", she further added.

Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain is a comedy show revolving around lives of two neighbours and the men of the family are smitten with each other's wife. Their daily life is showcased in a humorous way for the audience.

Also Read -Post Kavi Kumar Azad's Death, Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah Cancels 10th Anniversary Celebrations
We are still digesting all that Netflix's first Indian original series Sacred Games had to offer, and the actor Pankaj Tripathi who plays the role of Guruji just dropped a bomb. Pankaj Tripati has revealed that his character is going to be as big as Ganesh Gaitonde! Yes, you heard it right. The character that was described as Teesra Baap in the pilot season, will reportedly be the mastermind behind the chain of events. Pankaj says there will be a clash of titans as Guruji will bail out on his trainee.

In an interview to Mid Day Pankaj said, "Guruji is a larger-than-life part and will become the most sought-after character in the series. My character becomes as big as Gaitonde." The first season of Sacred Games left us numb with the ambiguous death of Ganesh Gaitonde. However, the makers of the series have confirmed that there will be four more seasons.

Though Pankaj was seen only in a handful of scenes from the first season, he says he had an amazing experience working with the team. He further added, "Anurag, Vikram and Varun [Grover, writer] know me for many years now. I simply followed the brief they gave me. It was a brilliant experience to do this show. I even dubbed the lines in English."

While cherishing memories from the past, the actor revealed that he and Nawazuddin Siddiqui were schoolmates at the National School Of Drama. He said, "Nawaz bhai and I lived in the same hostel at the NSD. We admire each other's work. Since we come from the same acting background, our approach to work is similar. We have been taught by the same people. When we meet, we hardly talk work, we reminisce about the old times."

Sacred Games is the first Indian political drama to stream on the international platform Netflix. The series is directed by Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane. The story revolves around the rise and fall of the slum gangster Ganesh Goitande in Mumbai. Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays the role of Gaitonde and Saif Ali Khanis seen playing the honest cop Sartaj Singh.
The Show Gave Me Everything

Cezanne Khan says he is happy and thrilled' about the reboot of his show! He adds that the idea of rebooting an old show is refreshing and amazing'. The actor was quoted by HT as saying, "I can never forget the show that gave me everything - popularity, success, name and fame."

Everything I Have Today Is Because Of KZK

The actor adds, "I really enjoyed being on the show and playing the role of Anurag Basu on KZK. The show rocked and how. Everything I have today is because of it. KZK was always in the top 10 shows on the ratings chart." (Image Source: Facebook)

Cezanne Wishes KZK 2 Team

"Though, I didn't get much time to watch the serial myself as I was shooting non-stop, from the 1400-plus episodes, I must have seen some 20 episodes because I was dubbing for the scenes in them. I wish the team all the luck for the reboot." (Image Source: Facebook)

The Actor Is Not In Touch With Shweta & Uravashi

Cezanne says that he is not in touch with his co-actors, Shweta Tiwari and Urvashi Dholakia but has been in contact with Deepak Qazir and Ankur Nayyar who were part of KZK.

KZK Actor Remains Connected With Industry Folks On FB!

The actor says, "I am not in touch with anybody personally but I do remain connected with many industry folks on Facebook. I do bump into some familiar faces on and off too."

Why Cezanne Wasnt Seen On Indian TV?

Cezanne was seen on two shows apart from KZK which were Ek Ladki Anjaani Si and Seeta Aur Geeta. After which he was not seen on Indian television. He was part of Pakistani shows that were filmed in Dubai in the interim. When asked as to why he was away from Indian television, the actor told the leading daily, "I want to work but I need to find something worth it. I don't want to take on a show for the sake of it." (Image Source: Facebook)

The Actor Is Not Comfortable Doing Reality Shows

He further added, "I want to enjoy the work that I do and once you take up a project, like a daily soap, you end up living on the set. So, it has to be something which gives me satisfaction and fun. For me, money has never played an important role in considering a project but the role and the project. I get offers for reality shows but I am not comfortable doing them. I would rather do a daily soap." (Image Source: Facebook)
He is not expected to visit Ecuador's London embassy, scene of a vigil last month to mark the sixth anniversary of Assange living there.

Greenwald claims that the President of Ecuador, Lenin Moreno has already agreed to the British authorities.

Mr Moreno is set to meet global development secretary Penny Mordaunt in London tomorrow, and insiders say he is close to agreeing a deal under which Ecuador could withdraw its asylum protection of Mr Assange.

However, the Ecuadorian leader is also expected to use his trip to the British Isles to "finalize an agreement under which Ecuador will withdraw its asylum protection of Julian Assange", according to the Intercept's co-editor, Glenn Greenwald, who is best known for a series of reports detailing the United States surveillance programs based on the documents leaked by Edward Snowden.

It is thus highly unlikely that Moreno - who has shown himself willing to submit to threats and coercion from the UK, Spain and the USA - will obtain a guarantee that the United Kingdom not extradite Assange to the US, where top Trump officials have vowed to prosecute Assange and destroy WikiLeaks. According to Greenwald, such a development could lead to Assange being sent to jail for at least one more year "under his best-case scenario", which would mean that he would have spent almost a decade imprisoned "despite never having been charged with, let alone convicted of, any crime".

The Australian national has resided in Ecuador's London embassy since 2012, after he breached bail in relation to sexual assault allegations he faced in Sweden. He was detained in London that December and placed under house arrest, while continuing to fight his extradition to Sweden.

In may 2017 in Sweden stopped the investigation against Assange.

Britain ended a permanent guard outside the embassy in October 2015 after spending nearly 13 million pounds in policing but has vowed he will be arrested should he leave the embassy.

Moreno has previously called Assange a "hacker" and a "stone in the shoe". In may, Ecuador's President has ordered to withdraw additional security to the Embassy in London. Moreno will also travel to Madrid, notes Greenwald, where Spanish officials are angry over Assange's denouncing of Spain's government over human rights against protesters.
Iron Mountain chooses Google Cloud as its preferred cloud provider for artificial intelligence and machine learning

Companies will jointly develop solutions that will enable customers to gain insights from business data through innovative content analytics, information management capabilities and cloud-based machine learning

BOSTON, July 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM), a global leader in storage and information management services, today announced a partnership with Google Cloud to develop new AI-powered SaaS solutions on GCP to help organizations analyze their vast physical and digital information and data repositories, to unlock insights, improve decision making and create new revenue streams. Iron Mountain expects to deliver these new subscription services built on GCP this September.

In addition, Iron Mountain has selected Google Cloud as its preferred cloud provider for artificial intelligence and machine learning, providing Iron Mountain with highly reliable and secure services.

With the exponential growth of data across industries, many businesses continue to struggle to classify, access, and understand the full value of their data. By not knowing what they have, organizations are missing the opportunity to utilize that data to uncover new revenue opportunities and cost savings.

"As the trusted guardian of information for 95 percent of the FORTUNE 1000, we know firsthand the challenges of understanding and acting on data insights," said William Meaney, president & CEO, Iron Mountain. "Whether it's a global insurance company or an oil and gas conglomerate, our customers depend on us to help make their physical and digital information useful and accessible while keeping it safe. This partnership with Google Cloud brings two industry-leading players together to deliver a new category of solutions for organizations looking to utilize their data's value, while closely managing their security and privacy."

"We're delighted to partner with Iron Mountain to develop and bring new insight capabilities to market - particularly given their deep domain expertise and customer portfolio," said Tariq Shaukat, President, Partner and Industry Platforms at Google Cloud. "Customers in data-intensive industries like energy, financial services, healthcare and many others can create significant business value from the union of data with machine learning and content analytics."

The new solution, delivered as a subscription service to lower the cost of ownership, will enable organizations to:

Quickly Know What You Have - Iron Mountain's innovative content analytics platform, interoperability with its Iron Cloud secure data storage services, and expertise in data analytics and metadata classification;

innovative content analytics platform, interoperability with its Iron Cloud secure data storage services, and expertise in data analytics and metadata classification; Enhance Intelligence - Google Cloud Platform's advanced machine learning and leading edge artificial intelligence capabilities; and

Google Cloud Platform's advanced machine learning and leading edge artificial intelligence capabilities; and Drive Value - Apply neural networks and deep learning to deliver high impact outcomes such as revenue creation, cost reduction, risk avoidance - across a wide range of vertical market segments.

Iron Mountain and Google Cloud will collaborate to enable business growth, compliance and digital transformation initiatives, providing customers with the peace of mind that an organization's high-value data remains secure, protected and available. Customers can benefit from the seamless integration of policy-driven data management, workflow management and data analytics in a more automated and cost-effective way. This partnership reinforces Iron Mountain's strategy for meeting the digital transformation needs of its customers through the development of innovative information management solutions and strategic partnerships with market-leading providers of cloud and technology solutions.

"We've heard from many companies about the challenges of trying to manage data and utilize information for insights," said Holly Muscolino, research vice president, Content Technologies and Document Workflow, IDC. "They have too much of it to analyze, and when they try to, it's highly complex and resource-intensive to do on their own. The combined expertise, technology and customer relationships that Iron Mountain and Google Cloud bring to the table is well positioned to unlock this potential."

About Iron Mountain

Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM), founded in 1951, is the global leader for storage and information management services. Trusted by more than 225,000 organizations around the world, and with a real estate network of more than 85 million square feet across more than 1,400 facilities in over 50 countries, Iron Mountain stores and protects billions of valued assets, including critical business information, highly sensitive data, and cultural and historical artifacts. Providing solutions that include information management, digital transformation, secure storage, secure destruction, as well as data centers, cloud services and art storage and logistics, Iron Mountain helps customers lower cost and risk, comply with regulations, recover from disaster, and enable a more digital way of working. Visit www.ironmountain.com for more information.

MEDIA CONTACT

Christian T. Potts

Iron Mountain Incorporated

(617) 535-8721

christian.potts@ironmountain.com

INVESTOR CONTACT

Melissa Marsden

Iron Mountain Incorporated

(617) 535-8595

melissa.marsden@ironmountain.com
24 July 2018

VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Limited (the "Company")

LEI No.: 2138007UD8FBBVAX9469

Director Appointment

The Board of Directors of VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Limited (VOF) is pleased to announce that Mr Julian Healy has been appointed as a non-executive Director of the Company, effective 23 July 2018. Mr Healy has been involved in investment in frontier markets for many years, both as a portfolio manager and as an investment banker. He has long experience of private equity investing in developing countries and brings a new dimension of experience to the VOF Board. He is a Chartered Accountant by training and began his career with Morgan Grenfell, moving later to Flemings and then to the EBRD. Steve Bates, Chairman of VOF said: 'We are delighted that Julian is joining the Board. He has particular expertise in complex investments in frontier markets as well as relevant experience as a board member of operating businesses, banks and closed end funds in these regions.'

There is no other information required to be disclosed pursuant to paragraph 9.6.13 R of the Listing Rules.





Enquiries:



Jonathan Viet Luu / Joel Weiden

VinaCapital Investment Management Limited

+84 28 3821 9930

jonathan.luu@vinacapital.com / joel.weiden@vinacapital.com



David Benda / Hugh Jonathan

Numis Securities Limited, Broker

+44 20 7260 1000

funds@numis.com



Andy Dovey

Northern Trust International Fund Administration Services (Guernsey) Limited, Company Secretary

+44 14 8174 5001

AD317@ntrs.com



Edward Gascoigne-Pees

Camarco, Public Relations (London)

+44 20 3757 4980

ed.gascoigne-pees@camarco.co.uk


VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 24, 2018 / Doubleview Capital Corp. ("Doubleview") (TSX-V: DBV; OTC PINK: DBLVF) is pleased to report that Hudbay Minerals Inc. ("Hudbay"), optionee and operator of the Hat gold-copper porphyry project, has initiated the first ever deep-penetrating Induced Polarization ("IP") geophysical survey program on the Hat project. The IP survey will cover the entire exploration area and provides additional data for delineation of targets for drilling programs.

"I am pleased that our partner, Hudbay, is applying state of the art geophysical methods and other advanced exploration techniques to further explore this project. In particular the deep-penetrating IP survey will provide insight about the depth, shape, structures and dimensions of the gold-copper mineralization at our Hat property and is an important step forward in the exploration of the deposit(s). The planned 40 line-km IP survey will cover the Lisle discovery zone and all other known areas of mineralization on the Hat gold-copper property as well as numerous potential target areas," stated President and CEO, Mr. Farshad Shirvani.

Hat Copper-Gold Porphyry Project Option Agreement with Hudbay:

On 19/June/2018 Doubleview signed a definitive Option Agreement with Hudbay Minerals Inc.

Hudbay, by terms of the Option Agreement may earn a 65% interest in the Hat Property by

1) Spending $25 million on exploration and delivering a mineral resource estimate to earn a 51% interest

2) Spending a further $15 million on exploration and completing a pre-feasibility study to earn a cumulative 55% interest; and

3) Spending all amounts required to complete a feasibility study to earn a cumulative 65% interest in the Hat Property.

Doubleview-Hudbay Hat Property Agreement:

The following link is to a video that describes in detail the Hat agreement:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vReInrVUBds&t=2s

About Doubleview Capital Corp:

Doubleview, a mineral resource exploration and development company, is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and is publicly traded on the TSX-Venture Exchange [TSX-V: DBV], [OTCBB: DBLVF], [GER: A1W038], [Frankfurt: 1D4].

Doubleview identifies, acquires and finances precious and base metal exploration projects in North America, particularly in British Columbia. Doubleview increases shareholder value through acquisition and exploration of quality gold, copper and silver properties and the application of advanced state-of-the-art exploration methods. The Company's portfolio of strategic properties provides diversification and mitigates investment risk.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Farshad Shirvani, President & Chief Executive Officer

For further information please contact:

Doubleview Capital Corp.

409 Granville St., Suite #880

Vancouver, BC V6C 1T2

Farshad Shirvani, President & CEO

T: (604) 678-9587

E: corporate@doubleview.ca

Forward-Looking Statements

Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. Doubleview cautions that all forward looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond Doubleview's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to Doubleview's limited operating history and the need to comply with environmental and governmental regulations. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, Doubleview undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.

NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

SOURCE: Doubleview Capital Corp.
24

July

2018

Acron Group's Output Up

4

% in

H

1 2018

Group's Consolidated Output (including operating results for Acron, Dorogobuzh and North-Western Phosphorous Company)





Product, '000 t H1 2018 H1 2017* YOY, % MINERAL FERTILISERS Ammonia 1 , 285 1,258 2.1 Incl. in-house consumption 1,065 996 Nitrogen fertilisers 2,081 1,897 9.7 Incl. in-house consumption 484 525 AN 939 990 -5.2 Incl. in-house consumption 199 304 Urea** 475 410 15.9 Incl. in-house consumption 285 221 UAN 667 497 34.1 Complex fertilisers 1,277 1,394 -8.4 Incl. in-house consumption 22 31 NPK 1,148 1,108 3.6 Incl. in-house consumption 22 31 Bulk blends 129 285 -54.9 Total commercial output for Mineral Fertilisers 3,072 2,996 2.5 INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS Organic synthesis products 235 217 8.1 Incl. in-house consumption 117 107 Methanol 54 51 5.9 Incl. in-house consumption 43 39 Formalin 85 78 9.0 Incl. in-house consumption 73 67 Urea-formaldehyde resins 95 88 8.7 Incl. in-house consumption 1 1 Non-organic compounds 414 398 4.1 Low-density and technical-grade AN 88 75 16.7 Industrial urea** 53 30 77.7 Calcium carbonate 244 263 -7.3 Liquid carbon dioxide 26 27 -3.5 Argon 3 3 29.4 Total commercial output for Industrial Products 532 508 4.7

PHOSPHATE INPUTS Apatite concentrate 619 544 13.9 Incl. in-house consumption 465 449 Total commercial output for apatite concentrate 154 95 62.5



TOTAL COMMERCIAL OUTPUT 3,758 3,599 4.4

Note:

Commercial output is output less in-house consumption.

* Brought up to date

** H1 2017 data is adjusted due to reclassification of a part of urea as an industrial urea





Chairman of Acron's Board of Directors Alexander Popov commented on the results:

"In H1 2018, commercial products output increased 4% year-on-year to 3.7 million tonnes, setting yet another record. Mineral fertiliser output was up 2.5% to 3.1 million tonnes.

"The Group's facilities increased ammonia output 2%. At the new Ammonia-4 unit, output was 417,000 tonnes, up 7% year-on-year. Following further improvements, we plan to increase the unit's capacity to 2,500 tonnes per day. Expanding total ammonia output will allow us to increase production of nitrogen and complex fertilisers.

"In 2017, Acron's site in Veliky Novgorod implemented a number of measures to modernise its urea units, boosting output in H1 2018 to 475,000 tonnes, up 16% year-on-year. We already announced the launch of a sixth urea unit in Q4 2018, which will increase urea solution capacity to 3,650 tonnes per day. As we ramp up production of urea solution, we will be able to increase output of value-added products based on it. Due to the favourable UAN market conditions in the reporting period, Acron's production of liquid nitrogen fertiliser increased 34%, setting yet another record. There was also a significant increase in high-quality industrial urea production (including for AdBlue), which was up 78% to 53,000 tonnes.

"Acron Group's complex fertiliser production was down 8%. In the reporting period, there was a significant decrease in bulk blends production due to lower regional demand. However, instead of decreasing the utilisation rate at its main production facilities, the Group shifted end product sales towards AN and NPK. As a result, output of commercial AN and NPK increased.

"In H1 2018, apatite concentrate output was 619,000 t, up 14% year-on-year, mainly due to decreased overburden operations at the open-pit mine compared to H1 2017. The total of 2.099 million tonnes of ore were produced in the reporting period, including 353,000 tonnes produced at the underground mine."

Market Trends

Urea prices dropped as expected from USD 230 FOB Baltics to USD 215 in Q2 2018, a period with traditionally low seasonal demand. However, in June, prices suddenly started to rise and reached peak values of USD 270 by July, mainly due to lack of supply on the global market as Chinese producers pulled back on their exports in response to cost pressures. High prices for coal, the main feedstock for urea production in China, force local producers to keep their prices above USD 300 FOB China and focus on the domestic market. Chinese companies exported just 0.6 million tonnes of urea in the first five months of the year, down from 2.1 million tonnes year-on-year and 4.3 million tonnes during the same period in 2016. In order to attract additional Chinese products, prices in other regions had to go up. However, despite significant growth, it is expected that global prices will remain high until the end of Q3 due to strong demand from Brazil and India.

Along with urea, AN prices also increased from USD 150 FOB Baltics in May to USD 210 by July. UAN prices are expected to recover with a delay, as they have not yet reacted to price growth in the segment.

In Q2 2018, NPK prices remained stable, showing a slight increase in late June due to the positive dynamics of nitrogen and phosphorous fertiliser prices.





Average Indicative Prices, USD/t, FOB Baltic/Black Sea

Q2 2018 Q1 2018 Q2 2017 Q2 2018 /

Q1 2018

change Q2 2018 /

Q2 2017

change NPK 16-16-16 291 284 264 +2.5 % +10.3 % AN 166 186 168 -10.8 % -0.7 % UAN 155 162 137 -4.5 % +13.1 % Urea 225 224 191 +0.4 % +17.5 % Ammonia 232 284 284 -18.4 % -18.6 %







Media

contacts:

Sergey Dorofeev

Anastasiya Gromova

Tatiana Smirnova

Public Relations

Phone: +7 (495) 777-08-65 (ext. 5196)

Investor contacts:

Ilya Popov

Investor Relations

Phone: +7 (495) 745-77-45 (ext. 5252)

Background Information

Acron Group is a leading vertically integrated mineral fertiliser producer in Russia and globally, with chemical production facilities in Veliky Novgorod (Acron) and Smolensk region (Dorogobuzh). The Group owns and operates a phosphate mine in Murmansk region (North-Western Phosphorous Company, NWPC) and is implementing a potash development project in Perm Krai (Verkhnekamsk Potash Company, VPC). It has a wholly owned transportation and logistics infrastructure, including three Baltic port terminals and distribution networks in Russia and China. Acron's subsidiary, North Atlantic Potash Inc. (NAP), holds mining licenses for 13 parcels of the potassium salt deposit at Prairie Evaporite, Saskatchewan, Canada. Acron also holds a minority stake (19.8%) in Polish Grupa Azoty S.A., one of the largest chemical producers in Europe.

In 2017, the Group sold 7.3 million tonnes of various products to 65 countries, with Russia, Brazil, Europe and the United States as key markets.

In 2017, the Group posted consolidated IFRS revenue of RUB 94,342 million (USD 1,617 million) and net profit of RUB 14,260 million (USD 244 million). Acron's shares are on the Level 1 quotation list of the Moscow Exchange and its global depositary receipts are traded at the London Stock Exchange (ticker AKRN). Acron employs approximately 11,000 people.

For more information about Acron Group, please visit www.acron.ru/en.
BENGALURU, India, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Infosys has been recognized as a Leader in the IDC MarketScape report, 'Worldwide Life Science R&D ITO Services 2018 Vendor Assessment'. IDC rated Infosys highly for the value it delivers to its customers relative to cost, quality of its ITO work, and willingness to contribute strategically to operational efforts.

(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/633365/Infosys_Logo.jpg )



The IDC study is the second document of a three-part series (BPO, ITO, and strategic consulting) that examines IT outsourcing in the life science R&D space. With a specific focus on life science R&D ITO, this report compares 11 major IT service providers based on operational, business, and market-centric criteria that should be important to life science companies when considering the selection of an external service provider to take over non-core IT activities.

Infosys has been serving the life science industry for more than 13 years and has over 5,000 workforce dedicated to its life science practice. Within the life science and R&D ITO space, Infosys is strong in delivering data and applications development and management, technology infrastructure and cloud implementation and support, and testing services to its clients. The extensive network of delivery centers also enables Infosys to offer its customers flexibility for project engagements. According to IDC, while growing its efforts with eminent pharmaceutical companies, Infosys has created a significant industry footprint that appeals to companies of all sizes.

For more information contact PR_global@infosys.com
SAN FRANCISCO, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The global cervical pillows market size is estimated to reach USD 5.07 billion by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc., progressing at a CAGR of 5.10% during the forecast period. Growing prevalence of neck pain, increasing healthcare spending, and rising disposable income are among the major factors stoking the growth of the market. However, lack of awareness regarding cervical pain is anticipated to restrain the market over the forecast period.

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At present, neck pain is one of the most common health problems. The neck is coordinated with the spine, nerves, and muscles. Any damage caused to muscles, nerves, or spine may affect neck. Untreated neck pain can become chronic with time, generating pain in head, shoulders, and arms. As per the findings of the National Center for Biotechnology Information, approximately 20.3% of the world population reported neck pain in early 2017.

In addition, rising disposable income is enabling people to access improved healthcare facilities and treatments. According to the Office for National Statistics 2016, disposable income of the populace in U.K. has increased by 2.2% since 2015 and this has also boosted healthcare spending. Overall healthcare spending increased to 4.6% in 2015, according to Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC).

Browse full research report with TOC on"Cervical Pillows Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Type (Standard, Roll, Water-based), By Function (Displacement, Support), By Region, (North America, Europe, APAC, LatAM, MEA), And Segment Forecasts, 2018 - 2025" at:https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/cervical-pillows-market

Further Key Findings From the Report Suggest:

Water-based cervical pillows are likely to be the fastest growing segment over the forecast period as these pillows reduce the intensity of pain, provide pain relief, and improve quality of sleep

The support cervical pillows segment is projected to dominate the market owing to preference of these products for various reasons such as comfort during travel and improvement of sleep quality

The Asia Pacific cervical pillows market is poised to exhibit the highest CAGR over the forecast period owing to rise in healthcare spending and disposable income in countries such as Japan and China

cervical pillows market is poised to exhibit the highest CAGR over the forecast period owing to rise in healthcare spending and disposable income in countries such as and Some of the prominent companies operating in the market are Mediflow; Coop Home Goods; Custom Craftworks; Malouf; Snuggle Pedic; and Innocor, Inc.

Browse related reports by Grand View Research:

Home Healthcare Market - The global home healthcare market size was valued at USD 244.4 billion in 2015 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.8% over the forecast period.

The global home healthcare market size was valued at in 2015 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.8% over the forecast period. Brain Tumor Diagnosis And Therapeutics Market - The global brain tumor diagnosis and therapeutics market was valued at USD 354.9 million in 2015 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.1% over the forecast period.

- The global brain tumor diagnosis and therapeutics market was valued at in 2015 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.1% over the forecast period. Home Infusion Therapy Market - The global home infusion therapy market size was valued at USD 13.0 billion in 2015. Key drivers contributing to market expansion include the rising geriatric population.

The global home infusion therapy market size was valued at in 2015. Key drivers contributing to market expansion include the rising geriatric population. Angiography Device Market- The Global angiography devices market is expected to show significant growth over the forecast period majorly due to sophisticated healthcare infrastructure and technological advancement.

Grand View Research has segmented the global cervical pillows market on the basis of type, function, and region:

Cervical Pillows Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025) Standard Roll Water-based

Cervical Pillows Function Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025) Displacement Support

Cervical Pillows Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025) North America U.S. Canada Europe Germany U.K. Asia Pacific Japan China Latin America Brazil Mexico Middle East and Africa (MEA) South Africa Saudi Arabia



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Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare.

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RHEINBREITBACH, Germany, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The European Investment Bank (EIB) provides new financing of EUR 15 million to Jennewein Biotechnologie GmbH, a highly innovative German company that offers a breakthrough technology for the production of rare functional sugars for a wide range of applications, including nutritional, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. The Company is also a leading manufacturer of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), which form an essential part of human mother milk and have been shown to have beneficial health impacts.

The EU bank's loan is backed by a guarantee from the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). EFSI is an essential pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe - also known as the Juncker Plan - under which the EIB and the European Commission are working together as strategic partners and the EIB's financing operations are boosting the competitiveness of the European economy.

The President of the European Investment Bank, Werner Hoyer, stated: "The EU bank supports in Europe many activities which by nature are riskier and therefore often face difficulties in accessing finance. We, as the EU bank, can provide these funds to address the needs of small and innovative companies, as we are backed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments. This clearly demonstrates the added value that the Juncker-Plan brings to the European economy to foster growth and jobs."

Jennewein will use the new financing to build a R&D centre to continue increasing its HMO's product portfolio. It also will upscale its production capacity. Stefan Jennewein, founder and CEO of Jennewein, emphasised that being on a new and very innovative market, commercial banks were not prone to invest in his business while the EIB was there to make sure his development plans come true. "With this loan the European Investment Bank has given us her trust and the chance to conquer furthermore the market of human milk oligosaccharides. With the help of the EIB we can invest in the future, it means in our production and a new R&D research center," says Stefan Jennewein on the occasion of signing the contract in Rheinbreitbach.

European Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis said: "As the EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety and a former doctor, I know the positive impact that research, innovation, including in biotechnology, can have on our nutrition and good health, particularly those of infants and young children. I am happy to see that the Investment Plan for Europe is really working and boosts research and innovation for the health of EU citizens."

European Investment Bank

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals.

About Jennewein

Jennewein Biotechnologie is a leading international industrial biotechnology company with a range of products in the field of complex oligosaccharides (HMOs) and rare monosaccharides. The company manufactures an extensive portfolio of innovative HMO products, such as 2'-fucosyllactose, 3'-fucosyllactose and lacto-N-tetraose. These rare sugars are used in the food industry (particularly infant milk formulas), the pharmaceutical industry, and the cosmetic industry. In 2015, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Jennewein Biotechnologie a license to market 2'-fucosyllactose in the USA. This was followed in 2017 by European Union marketing authorisation under the Novel Food Regulation.

Contact: Dr. Bettina Gutierrez, bettina.gutierrez@jennewein-biotech.de , Tel.: +49(0)2224-919-7346
TORONTO, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

CellCube Energy Storage Systems Inc. (formerly Stina Resources Ltd.) ("CellCube" or the "Company") (CSE: CUBE) (OTCQB: CECBF) (Frankfurt: 01X).

Further to its Press Release of June 28, 2018, CellCube Energy Storage Systems is pleased to announce further details involving the spinout of its 100-per-cent-owned vanadium project, the Bisoni Mackay and Bisoni-Rio in Nevada, into a newly formed subsidiary, V23 Resource Corp. ("V23 Corp.")

CellCube has now completed the incorporation of V23 Resource Corp. and appointed Mr. Mike Neylan chairman of the company. Mr. Neylan has over 20 years of extensive financial, legal and international corporate experience. Most recently, he was a portfolio manager in the private equity division of Sprott Inc. ("Sprott"), a leading alternative investment manager with over $11 billion in assets under management, where he was primarily responsible for establishing Sprott Asia. While at Sprott, he helped raise over $500 million of institutional investment capital from China and Korea and executed over $300 million of investments predominantly in the resource and renewable power sectors.

"I am very enthused to be leading the structuring and implementation of V23 Corp. as a standalone vanadium resource company," Neylan stated. "Over the coming weeks, we will be assembling a highly qualified board of directors and management team as we prepare to finalize the spinout and distribution to CellCube shareholders of V23 Corp. shares beginning in September this year."

The price of vanadium pentoxide has risen from a low of $2.5/lb in 2016 (through $4.2/lb in 2017) to a 9-year high of almost $17.0/lb today. Vanadium, widely used as an alloy to strengthen steel and in vanadium flow batteries for the energy storage industry, is the best-performing battery metal over this time period surpassing cobalt, copper and nickel.

Upon completion of the spinout arrangement, the company intends to issue one share of V23 Corp. for every two shares of CellCube held by CellCube shareholders of record. The company intends to retain a 19.9-per-cent interest in V23 Corp.

Spinout transaction highlights:

V23 Corp. will be a publicly listed independent vanadium exploration and production company with advanced projects in Nevada .

. Distribution of a share dividend to CellCube shareholders with CellCube retaining a 19.9-per-cent ownership as well as certain offtake rights and a net smelter royalty.

The formation of a new pure play vanadium company, V23 Corp, that will fast-track its drilling programs on the vanadium projects to upgrade its indicated and inferred resources. On completion of the planned drilling, a new National Instrument 43-101 technical report will be commissioned to develop a new resource estimate. It is planned to follow this by commissioning a preliminary economic assessment.

A National Instrument 43-101 indicated resource of 11.9 million tons at an average grade of 0.39 per cent vanadium pentoxide (V2O5), and an inferred resource of 7.0 million tons at an average grade of 0.42 per cent V2O5 (see company news release dated Sept. 13, 2016 ). Only 12 per cent of the Bisoni McKay area has been drilled, and none of the Bisoni-Rio which is contiguous with Bisoni McKay and sits between Bisoni and Prophecy's Gibellini vanadium deposit.

). Only 12 per cent of the Bisoni McKay area has been drilled, and none of the Bisoni-Rio which is contiguous with Bisoni McKay and sits between Bisoni and Prophecy's Gibellini vanadium deposit. Research currently conducted by the University of Calgary focusing on testing of the Bisoni McKay vanadium and its use for production of vanadium electrolyte is continuing. The University of Calgary will be performing tests using a laboratory test battery that has been provided by Enerox GmbH.

The proposed spinout transaction will be subject to shareholder approval.

V23 Corp. will be highly focused on creating a portfolio of high-quality vanadium assets on a global scale. Furthermore, V23 Corp. will already have supply agreements with its parent company, CellCube, a leading vanadium battery manufacturer, for its vanadium requirements for its large vanadium flow batteries.

Chris M. Healey, PGeo, geological consultant to CellCube, is the independent qualified person who has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical contents of this press release.

About CellCube:

CellCube's acquisition of the assets of Gildemeister Energy Storage GmbH has transformed CellCube and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Enerox GmbH, into a leading integrated resource and energy storage company. Together with the company's recent acquisition of Jet Power & Control Systems Ltd. (now renamed EnerCube Switchgear Systems Inc.) and Hillcroft Consulting Ltd. (renamed PowerHaz Energy Mobile Solutions Inc.) and its investment in Braggawatt Energy Inc., CellCube is gearing up to deliver fully vertically integrated energy storage solutions to utilities and independent power producers for both standalone energy storage projects as well as projects where energy storage enhances the value proposition from renewable energy generation.

This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts which address events, results, outcomes or developments that the Company expects to occur; they are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "aims", "potential", "goal", "objective", "prospective", and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "can", "could" or "should" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Certain material assumptions regarding such forward-looking statements are discussed in this news release and the Company's annual and quarterly management's discussion and analysis filed at http://www.sedar.com . Except as required by the securities disclosure laws and regulations applicable to the Company, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information, please contact:

Glenda Kelly

CellCube Energy Storage Systems Inc.

Telephone: 1800-822-3213

Email: info@cellcubeenergystorage.com

http://www.cellcubeenergystorage.com

CellCube Energy Storage Systems Inc.

Ste 10 - 8331 River Road

Richmond, BC V6X 1Y1

65 Queen St West, Suite 520

Toronto, Ontario M5H2M5

1-800-882-3213

CSE CUBE 12g3-2(b): 82-2062

OTCQB CECBF Frankfurt: 01X
PALO ALTO, California, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Annual Reviews, the nonprofit publisher of scholarly review journals, today announced the publication of the inaugural volume of the Annual Review of Biomedical Data Science, its 50th publication to launch since the company was founded in 1932.

Inaugural Co-Editors Russ B. Altman, winner of the 2018 International Society for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Outstanding Contribution Award, and Michael Levitt, joint winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and the journal's Editorial Committee have invited recognized leaders to address broad challenges in the discipline. Contributors synthesize and analyze primary research addressing important new technologies for analyzing biomedical data such as deep learning, text mining, network analysis, visualization, privacy policy and technology, sequence analysis, protein-RNA interactions, molecular interaction networks, simulation of cells/tissues, challenges for mass spectrometry, clinical and genomic phenotyping, and cancer therapy resistance.

The field of biomedical data science merges the disciplines of statistics, computer science, and computer engineering with the allied field of biomedical informatics to create and apply new methods to large sources of biological and medical data. The complexity of both the data streams and the science questions requires specialized understanding to convert rapidly expanding data into useful information and knowledge. Reviews addressing research and collaboration across the fields of bioinformatics, computational biology, biomedical, clinical and clinical research informatics, biostatistics, and imaging informatics are brought together within the scope of this journal.

Reflecting on the need for a review journal in this rapidly expanding field, Dr. Altman shared:

"The Annual Review of Biomedical Data Science offers readers deeper discussion of novel methods to explore the unprecedented volume and velocity of genomic data, sensor data, and health care data. The articles will summarize progress and challenges, becoming an archival record and source of deep information about the contributions of data science to the larger biological and medical research landscape. As more biologists, physician-scientists, clinical trialists and others need this specialized knowledge, the journal will be invaluable to address the most pressing research challenges to accelerate scientific discovery and improve patient outcomes and health care."

Dr. Levitt said, "Many scientists who have not previously used or needed data-intensive computational approaches will find these articles to be valuable as they describe current approaches and define needs for further research. I have enjoyed working with Russ and the committee to launch this journal and will continue to provide counsel and advice as needed in my forthcoming role as Founding Co-Editor Emeritus."

Richard Gallagher, President and Editor-in-Chief of Annual Reviews, commented:

"Novel computational tools and access to large, robust data are already transforming biomedical research programs and advancing discoveries that can improve patient health care and global public health. The Annual Review of Biomedical Data Science will benefit researchers, industry-leaders, government funding agencies, and legislators who are addressing the opportunities of this leading-edge area of research. We greatly value the vision and contributions of our distinguished Editors, Editorial Committee, and authors to this important addition to the portfolio of Annual Reviews."

The full volume is freely available online for an initial preview period.

About Annual Reviews

Annual Reviews is a nonprofit publisher dedicated to synthesizing and integrating knowledge for the progress of science and the benefit of society. For more than 85 years, Annual Reviews has offered expert review journals that today span over 50 titles across the biomedical, life, physical, and social sciences. Annual Reviews launched Knowable Magazine in 2017, an open access digital magazine to explore the real-world significance of this highly cited scholarship and make it accessible to broad audiences.

Contact Information:

Jenni Rankin, Product Marketing Manager

jrankin@annualreviews.org

This press release can also be found at the Annual Reviews Press Center
DETROIT, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Stratview Research announces the launch of a new research report on Ceramic Matrix Composites Market in Aircraft Engines by Aircraft Type (Commercial Aircraft, Business Jets, Military Aircraft, and Helicopter), by Engine Type (Jet Engine, Helicopter Engine, and Others), by Component Type (Static Components and Rotational Components), by Application Type (Combustor Liner, Shrouds, Blades, Nozzles, and Others), by Engine Zone (High Pressure, Low Pressure, and Combustor), by Material Type (SiC/SiC, Ox/Ox, and Others), by Manufacturing Process (Chemical Vapor Infiltration, Solid Phase Infiltration, Polymer Impregnation and Pyrolysis, and Melt Infiltration), and by Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World), Forecast, Competitive Analysis, and Growth Opportunity: 2018-2023.

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This report, from Stratview Research, studies the CMCs market in the global aircraft engines industry over the period 2017 to 2023. The report provides detailed insights on the market dynamics to enable informed business decision making and growth strategy formulation based on the opportunities present in the market.

Ceramic Matrix Composites Market in the Global Aircraft Engines Industry: Highlights

Ceramic matrix composites market is one of the fastest-growing one in the global aviation industry. CMCs market in aircraft engines is projected to witness an impressive double-digit growth rate over the next five years, driven by the development of CMC applications in the best-selling aircraft or their variants owing to its intrinsic advantages, such as temperature resistance up to 260C higher than nickel alloys at just one-third weight. There would be continuous replacement of nickel alloys with CMCs in both low-pressure and high-pressure engine zones during the forecast period. Furthermore, increasing aircraft deliveries and demand for fuel-efficient aircraft would further propel the demand for CMC in aircraft engines.

Commercial aircraft is forecasted to remain the largest segment of the CMC market in aircraft engines over the next five years. Development of CMC parts in variants of the best-selling aircraft programs, such as B737 Max and A320neo, is the key growth driver of the market. Additionally, upcoming variant B777x with five CMC applications in its GE9X engine is likely to further elevate the demand for CMC parts in this segment.

Most of the current CMC developments in aircraft engines are primarily for static components, such as shrouds and combustor liner. All the major engine manufacturers are trying hard for the development of CMC components in static applications in their best-selling engines. We also expect a healthy surge in the demand for CMC parts in rotational components over the next five years.

Based on the application type, shrouds are projected to remain the largest application of CMCs in aircraft engines over the next five years, driven by their usage in Leap engines. Leap engine is certified for B737 Max, A320neo, and C919 aircraft. CFM International, a JV between GE Aviation and Safran Aircraft Engines, delivered 459 Leap engines in 2017 and is projected to deliver in the range of 1,100-1,200 Leap engines in 2018. Furthermore, development of CMC-based shrouds in upcoming aircraft engines, such as GE9x, would further accelerate the demand over the next five years. All the major applications including combustor liner, shrouds, blades, and nozzles, are projected to witness healthy growth rates during the forecast period.

Click Here and Register for Free Sample Report on CMCs Market in Aircraft Engines

In terms of engine type, high pressure would remain the hotspot for CMC market in aircraft engines during the forecast period. CMCs are ideal materials as they offer a wide spectrum of advantages at high-pressure zones including a reliable performance at extreme temperatures up to 1,300C, significant weight savings compared with the nearest rival nickel alloys, and no need for cooling air requirements.

As per the study, North America is projected to remain the largest CMC parts market for aircraft engines during the forecast period. This region has been investigating the potential of CMC in aircraft engines for the last two decades. Key CMC players worked with government institutions to make sure the commercial viability of CMCs in aircraft engines. The region also owns the presence of all the major CMC part manufacturers, such as GE Aviation. They are rolling out their dedicated CMC plants in North America to address the surging demand for CMCs.

The global CMCs market in aircraft engine is highly consolidated with the presence of less than a dozen players. The top five players are GE Aviation, Pratt & Whitney, Composite Horizons, Safran Herakles, and COI Ceramics, Inc. They are expected to remain the dominant players during the forecast period as well. Development of new applications, long-term contracts, and collaboration with OEMs are the key strategies adopted by companies to gain a competitive advantage over others in the market.

Report Features

This report provides market intelligence in the most comprehensive way. The report structure has been kept such that it offers maximum business value. It provides critical insights on the market dynamics and will enable strategic decision making for the existing market players as well as those willing to enter the market. The following are the key features of the report:

Market structure: Overview, industry life cycle analysis, supply chain analysis.

Market environment analysis: Growth drivers and constraints, Porter's five forces analysis, SWOT analysis.

Market trend and forecast analysis.

Market segment trend and forecast.

Competitive landscape and dynamics: Market share, product portfolio, product launches, etc.

Attractive market segments and associated growth opportunities.

Emerging trends.

Strategic growth opportunities for the existing and new players.

Key success factors.

This report studies CMCs market in the global aircraft engines industry and has segmented the market in eight ways, keeping in mind the interest of all the stakeholders across the value chain. Following are the eight ways in which the market is segmented:

Ceramic Matrix Composites Market in Aircraft Engines by Aircraft Type:

Commercial Aircraft

Business Jets

Military Aircraft

Helicopter

Ceramic Matrix Composites Market in Aircraft Engines by Engine Type:

Jet Engine

Helicopter Engine

Other Engines

Ceramic Matrix Composites Market in Aircraft Engines by Component Type:

Static Components

Rotational Components

Ceramic Matrix Composites Market in Aircraft Engines by Application Type:

Combustor Liner

Shrouds

Blades

Nozzles

Others

Ceramic Matrix Composites Market in Aircraft Engines by Engine Zone:

High-Pressure Zone

Low-Pressure Zone

Combustor

Ceramic Matrix Composites Market in Aircraft Engines by Material Type:

SiC/SiC

Ox/Ox

Others

Ceramic Matrix Composites Market in Aircraft Engines by Manufacturing Process Type:

Chemical Vapor Infiltration (CVI)

Solid Phase Infiltration (SPI)

Polymer Impregnation and Pyrolysis (PIP)

Melt Infiltration (MI)

Ceramic Matrix Composites Market in Aircraft Engines by Region:

North America

Europe

Asia-Pacific

Rest of the world

Stratview Research has number of high value market reports in the global aerospace & defense industry. Please refer to the following link to browse through our reports:

Click Here for Other Reports from Stratview Research in the Aerospace & Defense Industry

Some of our other premium market reports in the aerospace & defense industry:

Aircraft Floor Panel Market by Aircraft Type, by Core Material Type, by End-User Type, and by Region, Trend, Forecast, Competitive Analysis, and Growth Opportunity: 2018 - 2023

Global Aerospace & Defense Composite Ducting Market by Aircraft Type, by Pressure Type, By Reinforcement Type, by Matrix Type, by Application Type, by Manufacturing Process, and by Region, Trend, Forecast, Competitive Analysis, and Growth Opportunity: 2018 - 2023

About Stratview Research

Stratview Research is a global market intelligence firm providing wide range of services including syndicated market reports, custom research and sourcing intelligence across industries, such as Advanced Materials, Aerospace & Defense, Automotive & Mass Transportation, Consumer Goods, Construction & Equipment, Electronics and Semiconductors, Energy & Utility, Healthcare & Life Sciences, and Oil & Gas.

We have a strong team of industry veterans and analysts with an extensive experience in executing custom research projects for mid-sized to Fortune 500 companies, in the areas of Market Assessment, Opportunity Screening, Competitive Intelligence, Due Diligence, Target Screening, Market Entry Strategy, Go to Market Strategy, and Voice of Customer studies.

Stratview Research is a trusted brand globally, providing high quality research and strategic insights that help companies worldwide in effective decision making.

For enquiries, please contact:

Stratview Research

E-mail: sales@stratviewresearch.com

Direct: +1-313-307-4176


Netanyahu, in broadcast remarks, said he would tell the envoys that "Israel insists on the separation of forces agreement between us and Syria being honoured, as they were honoured for decades until the civil war in Syria broke out".

He said the aid workers would remain at a "closed" location and that Britain, Germany and Canada had agreed to resettle them within three months.

But Imad told AFP he feared reprisals.

Netanyahu has also pledged to keep Iran from entrenching itself militarily in neighbouring Syria, where Tehran is supporting President Bashar al-Assad in his country's civil war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and others requested Israel's assistance in the evacuations of "people who have saved lives and whose lives were in danger".

Russia's embassy in the Netherlands welcomed the White Helmets' departure.

Russian and Syrian jets stepped up their bombing of an Islamic State bastion along the Jordan-Israel border in southwestern Syria, as the militants pushed into areas abandoned by other rebel groups, diplomatic and opposition sources said.

Federica Mogherini, the foreign policy chief for the European Union, wrote of the White Helmets' rescue that the European Union "recognises the essential efforts of #Israel, #Jordan and all others who contributed to bringing them to safety". "Our thanks to Israel, Jordan, US, UK, Germany and our other partners who have worked closely with Canada to make the evacuation of WH possible".

On Saturday, Canada said it was working with the United Kingdom and Germany to "ensure the safety of the White Helmets and their families".

Russia's military said it had also shot down two unidentified drones that attacked its air base at Hmeimim in northern Syria on Saturday and Sunday, Russian agencies reported.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt called the evacuations "fantastic news", and the Trump administration said it "deeply appreciates" Israel's role and Jordan's "generosity".

But a volunteer in Daraa city, who asked to remain anonymous, said he had made a decision to stay despite being given the choice to leave.

A similar number to those who were rescued remain trapped in southern Syria.

The White Helmets are a volunteer aid and rescue NGO supported and lauded by the West, credited for saving thousands of civilians from the onslaught of Syrian troops and their allies driving Western-backed rebel groups from what were once rebel strongholds.

"We are first and foremost a humanitarian organisation, not a military one, or a terrorist one as the regime alleges".

Since its formation, when Syria's conflict was nearing its third year, more than 250 of its volunteers have been killed.

The Israeli government signaled it would not impede the Syrian army presence in Quneitra as long as Syrian forces steered away from a demilitarized zone along the border.

Regime forces have now regained control of most of the two provinces through a combination of deadly bombardment and Moscow-brokered surrender deals.
Funding will accelerate development of Platform as a Service to meet increased demand for fast, secure product development

SAN FRANCISCO, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Rescale, the leader in enterprise big compute in the cloud, today announced that the company completed its Series B round of $32 million in funding, raising total investment in the company to $52 million. One of the fastest growing enterprise software companies in the world, in 2017 Rescale grew 30% month over month.

The new round of funding will enable Rescale to continue to invest in talent and develop the next generation of security and platform enhancements. The investment supports Rescale's commitment to expand the largest and most powerful high performance computing infrastructure in the cloud, optimizing customers' digital transformation strategy to drive accelerated innovation.

"Rescale is transforming how today's leading enterprises innovate," said Joris Poort, Co-founder and CEO of Rescale. "With support of our Series B funding, we are further investing in our hybrid multi-cloud platform in order to help executives, IT leaders, engineers, and scientists securely manage their product innovation. The hypergrowth we are seeing demonstrates a strong commitment from our enterprise customers and highlights our leading platform solutions for big compute."

Initialized Capital, Keen Venture Partners and SineWave Ventures led the Series B funding round joining a group of more than 30 existing and new investors in Rescale including Sam Altman, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Chris Dixon, Paul Graham, Ken Hao, Adam Smith, Peter Thiel, Steve Westly, Data Collective, ITV Ventures, Jump Capital, M12 (formerly Microsoft Ventures), Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, Quiet Capital, Streamlined Ventures, Translink Capital, Two Roads Group and Y Combinator.

Ben Verwaayen, Partner at Keen Venture Partners and former CEO of British Telecom and Alcatel-Lucent, joined the Rescale Board of Directors. "We were drawn to Rescale because they are disrupting the high performance computing market," stated Verwaayen. "The market is currently 95% on-premise, and Rescale supports customers as they move to hybrid and eventually to a fully cloud native solution. Rescale helps CIOs enable the digital transformation journey within their enterprise, to optimize IT resources and enable meaningful productivity and cost improvements."

Rescale's latest enhancements include new hybrid cloud capabilities enabling organizations to extend on-premise high-performance computing to the cloud. The innovations provide an entry point for CIOs to start their cloud transformation journey in key industry verticals including automotive, aerospace and defense, oil and gas, life sciences and semiconductor.

For more information on Rescale, visit www.rescale.com.

About Rescale

Rescale is the leader in enterprise big compute in the cloud. Rescale empowers the world's transformative executives, IT leaders, engineers, and scientists to securely manage product innovation to be first to market. Rescale's ScaleX multi-cloud platform, built on the most powerful high-performance computing infrastructure, seamlessly matches software applications with the best architecture in the cloud or on-premise to run complex data processing and simulations. Rescale partners with the four largest cloud service providers, has over 125 Global 2000 enterprise customers including four of top five largest global automotive manufacturers and two of top three largest global aerospace and defense companies. For more information on Rescale, visit www.rescale.com.

Contact:

Liz Reilly

lreilly@sspr.com
SHANGHAI, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Medtec China, the leading medical device design and manufacturing exhibition in China, will take place 26-28 September 2018 in Shanghai. More than 400 exhibitors will showcase their latest offerings at Medtec China 2018, among which 75 suppliers are first-time participants at the event. More than 20,000 decision makers, purchasing staff, R&D engineers, product engineers and quality inspectors from 4,500-plus medical device manufacturers will congregate at the show. Both international and domestic buyers such as MicroPort, Tuoren, Shinva, J&J Suzhou, BD Suzhou, Medtronic China, and Stryker are attending Medtec China 2018.

Large Medical device manufactures constantly join Medtec China 2018

Pre-registration has been underway for two months, the number of attendees and their registration growth rate are both beyond that of the same period of last year. Many well-known medical device manufacturers will visit Medtec China as part of delegations to meet hundreds of industry peers at the largest gathering in China. More importantly, they are coming to search for high-quality suppliers, purchase new products and access product innovation ideas over the three-day duration of the show.

Up to now, companies such as Shanghai Microport Medical (Group), Stryker (Suzhou) Medical Technology, J&J SUZHOU; Abbott, MicroPort, Tuoren, Shinva and PINS Medical Equipment have registered to attend. For more information about Medtec China Buyers, please call +86-21-6157-7217.

400+ Suppliers covering 21 exhibits categories optimizes visiting experience

This year, 400+ suppliers are going to exhibit their cutting- edge products, technologies and services at Medtec China 2018, covering the entire medical design and manufacturing chain. For example, DuPont (China) Research & Development and Management, Safe Secure Packing (Shenzhen), Shanghai Pumao Packing, Bemis Flexible Packaging (Suzhou) will showcase medical packaging materials; DSM, Nusil, and Visaido Technology will exhibit implant materials; Lubrizol Management (Shanghai), Eastman Chemical (China), INEOS Styrolution Polymers (Shanghai), Covestro (Hong Kong) Limited, ALBIS PLASTIC (SHANGHAI), and Trinseo (Hong Kong) Limited will show polymer materials; Johnson Matthey, Fort Wayne Metals, and TANAKA, TOKUSEN will introduce medical metals; HnG Medical, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions (China) Co., Ltd, Norson, and Pall Filter (Beijing) will exhibit medical components; and DSM, SCS, Unitak Science & Technology Co., and Siansonic Technology Ltd. will introduce their surface treatment services.

50 Plus Keynote Speakers discuss trendy topics of Regulation, Quality and Technology

Every year, Medtec China holds the MDiT Forum and Regulation Summit 2018 and many other onsite conferences and activities to provide visitors with a great opportunity to learn and communicate with keynote speakers, professionals in specific industries, peers and government officers from all over the world. Several speakers have confirmed their participation in and support of Medtec China 2018: Jiang Hua, director of biology division, CFDA Tianjin Medical Device Quality Supervision and Inspection Center; Yan Liang, Chairman of Shanghai Pudong Medical Device Trade Association; William Bill, Assistant Director of the FDA China office; Yu Zeli, RAC Global; Yi Manqi, Regulation director of J&J, and Thomas Jaw, Medical Manager at NAMSA. Besides, WuXi AppTec will bring the VP of its Safety Assessment Center, Director of Technical & Regulatory, Director of Analytical Chemistry and Technical Director to share Biological Evaluations of Medical Devices and ASCA of medical device to FDA and CFDA standards during the Regulatory Lecture.

Only seven booths remain available, and booth reservation ends in July. If you want more information about 2018 exhibitors, visitor purchasing needs, or booth reservation, please click here or call us.

Media\Exhibit\Visit\Conference Contact:

Carina Li

UBM China

T: +86-10-5730-6163

E: carina.li@ubm.com

Get more information: www.medtecchina.com

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LOS ANGELES, PUNE, India and TOKYO, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

New report published by QY Research which offers insights on the global Anti-Jamming market. According to the report, global revenue for Anti-Jamming market was valued at $ 3.54 Billion in 2017, and is expected to generate revenue of $ 5.68 Billion by end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of slightly above 6.11% between 2017 and 2025.

(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/719476/QY_Research_Logo.jpg )



Global Anti-Jamming Market: Market Driver and Restraint

The increasing demand for secured weapons guided systems, increasing vulnerability of GPS signals due to development of low-cost GPS jammers, and present developments to improve the overall GPS infrastructure are the major factors driving the growth of this market.

GlobalAnti-Jamming Market: Forecast by Application

This segment includes Military & Government and Commercial. In the applications, the Military & Government segment was estimated to account for the highest market share of 91.51 % in 2017 and is expected to gain significant market share by the end of 2025.

Global Anti-Jamming Market: Forecast by Form

This segment includes Nulling System, Beam Steering Systems and Civilian Systems. The nulling systems type of anti-jamming techniques accounted for a share of 70.02% in 2017; the market was valued at USD 2,477.28 million in the same year and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.11% between 2017 and 2025.

The market for beam steering systems was valued at USD 760.46 million in 2017 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.49% during the forecast period. A major reason for beam steering systems holding such a low market share is that they are comparatively new in the market since the last decades and hence are not widely used.

They are very expensive and are used only on high-end military vehicles such as strike aircrafts. For a long time nulling systems was the only known type of anti-jamming technique. However, with the development of beam steering systems and the civilian anti-jamming systems, the market for anti-jamming is expected to increase.

Request Sample Report or Customized Sample Report as per your Requirements@ https://www.qyresearch.com/sample-form/form/418020/global-anti-jamming-sales-market

Global Anti-Jamming Market: Forecast by Region

North America held the largest share of the Anti-jamming market in 2017, while the market in APAC is expected to be the second-largest by 2022. This growth of the market in APAC can be attributed to the ongoing territorial disputes in the South China Sea between China and some South-East Asian countries, between Japan and North Korea, and disputes between South Korea and North Korea. These political tensions are expected to fuel the military expenditures in these respective countries, and a significant portion of this expenditure is expected to be invested in GPS anti-jamming.

The Anti-jamming market in Rest of world is expected to grow at a moderate rate. The volatile situation in Syria and the threats posed by the Islamic State (ISIS) group has prompted many of the regional powers there such as Turkey, Israel and Saudi Arabia to increase defense spending for their armed forces, which includes installing GPS anti-jamming systems.

Global Anti-Jamming Market: Key Players

"Raytheon, Rockwell Collins, Novatel, Cobham, Mayflower, BAE Systems, Thales Group, Harris and Hwa Create Technology, are the key vendors included in this report."

This market is fragmented and contains multiple local and multinational vendors. The issue is export control. This, of course, varies by country. In the U.S., a CRPA developed towards a defence program is likely to have International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) restrictions attached to it. In Canada, CRPAs are subject to the Controlled Goods Program. In the UK, CRPAs sit on the "dual-use" export control list, which recognizes that CRPAs have both military and non-military application. An export license is usually required.

Request to buy Full Report and Delivered within 24 Hours@ https://www.qyresearch.com/request-discount/form/418020/global-anti-jamming-sales-market

More Reports Related to his topic@ https://www.qyresearch.com/index/list/47/electronics-and-semiconductor

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Currently, QYResearch has become the first choice, worthy and trusted consulting brand in Global and China business consulting services.

QY Research Achievements:

Year of Experience: 11 Years

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Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Held to Commemorate Company Milestone

BOTHELL, Washington, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- AGC Biologics, a global leader in clinical and commercial manufacturing of therapeutic proteins, celebrated the opening of the company's new Global Headquarters facility in Bothell, Washington on Wednesday, July 18, 2018.

The Ribbon Cutting Ceremony included AGC Biologics employees, special guests from the AGC Japan Corporate Office, representatives from the Consulate General of Japan, and distinguished attendees from Washington State, Snohomish County, and the City of Bothell.

Ceremony speakers were comprised of Gustavo Mahler, President and Chief Executive Officer of AGC Biologics; Hideyuki Kurata, Chairman of the Board and General Manager of AGC Life Science General Division; Masao Nemoto, President of AGC Chemicals Company; Cyrus Habib, Lieutenant Governor of Washington State; Patricio Massera, Chief Operating Officer of AGC Biologics; and Jin Wang, Site Head and General Manager of AGC Biologics, Seattle.

AGC Biologics' new global headquarters facility holds the company's corporate administrative offices and process development labs, with expansion space for additional mammalian and microbial manufacturing capacity. The site will also house a state-of-the-art R&D center dedicated to novel manufacturing technologies for faster development of therapeutic proteins.

"This was a wonderful occasion and a meaningful step for AGC Biologics in our continued expansion within the United States; as well as reaffirmation of our strong commitment to our operations within the dynamic Washington State Life Sciences Community," said Gustavo Mahler, President and Chief Executive Officer of AGC Biologics. "We sincerely thank everyone to joined us to celebrate this momentous event, and we look forward to many exciting things to come as we continue our trajectory of growth and innovation."

About AGC Biologics

AGC Biologics is a leading global Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO), with a strong commitment to deliver the highest standard of service to our clients and partners. AGC Biologics is the product of the convergence and integration of Asahi Glass Company (AGC) Bioscience, Biomeva GmbH, and CMC Biologics. The company currently employs more than 850 employees worldwide. Our extensive network spans three continents, with cGMP-compliant facilities in Seattle, WA; Berkeley, CA; Copenhagen, Denmark; Heidelberg, Germany; Yokohama, Japan; and Chiba, Japan.

AGC Biologics offers deep industry expertise and unique customized services for the scale-up and cGMP manufacture of protein-based therapeutics; from pre-clinical to commercial production, for mammalian and microbial. Our integrated service offerings include cell line development, bioprocess development, formulation, analytical testing, antibody drug development and conjugation, cell banking and storage, and protein expression - including our proprietary CHEF1 Expression System for mammalian production. Further information can be found at www.agcbio.com.

AGC Biologics Media Contact Information:

Ms. Kim Yang

Director, Global Marketing and Communications

Email: kyang@agcbio.com

Office: +1 425.415.5438

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Significant points for 1st quarter:

High-performing Hardware activity up 20.1% with strong street furniture and LED displays sales

Good first quarter Printing and Home Decor activity, up 29.8%

Order backlog on June 30, 2018 stands at 9.52 million with significant LED product sales

Q1 consolidated sales

Q1: April 1, 2018 - June 30, 2018 Not audited 3 months 3 months In M (estimated) 2018/2019 2017/2018 Var M % Printing activity 7.9 7.86 +0.04 +0.5% Hardware activity 5.78 4.82 +0.97 +20.1% Total T1 13.68 12.68 +1.0 +7.9% Total constant currencies 13.88 12.61 +1.20 +9.5%

The foreign exchange impact is mainly due to variations in the value of the South African Rand and GBP.

Prismaflex International Q1 figures are again positive with total sales up 7.9% at 13.68 million (+9.5% organic growth).

Excluding Home Decor, Printing activity stands at 6.46 million compared with 6.75 million in N-1, due essentially to the currency effect (UK and South Africa).

Home Decor activity is buoyant, up 29.8% at 1.43 million against 1.11 million for the same period the previous year.

Hardware sales are also up 20.1% at 5.78 million versus 4.82 million for the same period in N-1. Q1 street furniture sales stand at 2.06 million and LED display sales at 2.0 million.

Outlook

On June 30, 2018, order backlog, essentially for hardware, remains high at 9.52 million including a major order for LED displays from a German client. A number of other significant orders are at the negotiation stage and should be finalised shortly.

In 2018-2019, the Group reiterates it will benefit from the dynamic commercial action put in place on the American LED display market with Anthem Displays LLC.

Forthcoming dates : Publication online of the annual financial statement 2017/2018 on July 25, 2018. The Annual Shareholders Meeting will take place on September 28, 2018 in Saint Clement les Places (69930) at 2.30pm. Q2 sales figures, October 18, 2018 after closure.

PRISMAFLEX INTERNATIONAL

OUTDOOR ADVERTISING SOLUTIONS MANUFACTURER AND WIDE FORMAT DIGITAL PRINTING

ISIN: FR0004044600-ALPRI - Reuters: ALPRI.PA - Bloomberg: ALPRI.FP

EURONEXT GROWTHTM

www.prismaflex.com



Contacts :

Luc Cormoreche - CFO - phone: +33 (0)4 74 70 68 00 - finance@prismaflex.com

Amalia Naveira - Analysts/Investors contact - phone: +33 (0)4 72 18 04 92 - anaveira@actus.fr

Marie-Claude Triquet - Press contact - phone: +33 (0)4 72 18 04 93 - mctriquet@actus.fr

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The European Investment Trust Plc - Transaction in Own Shares

The European Investment Trust plc ("the Company")

The Company announces that on 24 July 2018 it purchased the following number of its ordinary shares of 25 pence each on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.

Ordinary Shares:

Date of purchase: 24 July 2018 Number of ordinary shares purchased: 20,000 Lowest price per share 934p Highest price per share 934p

The Company intends to cancel the purchased shares.

Following the above transaction, the Company has 41,657,269 ordinary shares in issue. Each of the Company's shares carries one vote. Accordingly, the total number of voting rights of the Company is 41,657,269.

24 July 2018

LEI: 213800QNN9EHZ4SC1R12

Enquiries:

Kenneth J Greig

Edinburgh Partners AIFM Limited

Tel: 0131 270 3800

The Company's registered office address is:

Beaufort House

51 New North Road

Exeter

EX4 4EP
GUILDFORD, SURREY / ACCESSWIRE / July 24, 2018 / ANGLE plc (AIM: AGL, OTCQX: ANPCY), a world-leading liquid biopsy company, is pleased to announce that, further to the announcement of 18 July 2018, the Company has now received confirmation from HMRC that an investment in the Company will qualify for VCT tax relief ("VCT Advanced Assurance").

Completion of the Fundraising is conditional on Admission of the EIS/VCT Placing Shares becoming effective ("EIS/VCT Admission") and Admission of the General Placing Shares and Subscription Shares becoming effective ("General Admission").

Application has been made for the 25,400,000 New Ordinary Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM. Subject to the Placing Agreement not having been terminated in accordance with its terms, it is anticipated that:

admission of the 8,400,000 EIS/VCT Placing Shares is expected to occur at 8.00 a.m. on or around 31 July 2018; and

admission of the 15,443,282 General Placing Shares and 1,556,718 Subscription Shares is expected to occur at 8.00 a.m. on or around 1 August 2018.

With effect from EIS/VCT Admission, the Company will have 125,486,522 Ordinary Shares in issue, with no Ordinary Shares held in treasury. Shareholders may use this figure as the denominator by which they are required to notify their interest in, or change to their interest in, the Company under the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

With effect from General Admission, the Company will have 142,486,522 Ordinary Shares in issue, with no Ordinary Shares held in treasury. Shareholders may use this figure as the denominator by which they are required to notify their interest in, or change to their interest in, the Company under the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

Capitalised terms not otherwise defined in this announcement shall have the same meaning ascribed to such terms in the announcement released on 25 June 2018 unless the context requires otherwise.

For further information ANGLE:

ANGLE plc +44 (0) 1483 343434 Andrew Newland, Chief Executive Ian Griffiths, Finance Director finnCap Ltd (NOMAD and Joint Broker) Corporate Finance - Adrian Hargrave, Simon Hicks, Max Bullen-Smith Corporate Broking - Alice Lane, Nikita Jain +44 (0)20 7220 0500 WG Partners (Joint Broker) Nigel Barnes, Nigel Birks, Andrew Craig, Chris Lee +44 (0) 203 705 9330 FTI Consulting Simon Conway, Mo Noonan, Stephanie Cuthbert Evan Smith, Anne Troy (US) +44 (0) 203 727 1000 +1 212 850 5612

For Frequently Used Terms, please see the Company's website on http://www.angleplc.com/the-parsortix-system/glossary/

This announcement contains inside information.

About ANGLE plc www.angleplc.com

ANGLE is a world leading liquid biopsy company with sample to answer solutions. ANGLE's proven patent protected platforms include an epitope-independent circulating tumor cell (CTC) harvesting technology and a downstream analysis system for cost effective, highly multiplexed analysis of nucleic acids and proteins.

ANGLE's cell separation technology is called the Parsortix TM system and it enables a liquid biopsy (simple blood test) to be used to provide the cells of interest. Parsortix is the subject of granted patents in Europe, the United States, Canada, India, China, Japan and Australia and three extensive families of patents are being progressed worldwide. The system is based on a microfluidic device that captures live cells based on a combination of their size and compressibility. The Parsortix system has a CE Mark for Europe and FDA clearance is in process for the United States.

ANGLE's analysis technology for proteins and nucleic acids of all types is called Ziplex and is based on a patented flow through array technology. It provides for highly multiplexed, rapid and sensitive capture of targets from a wide variety of sample types. A proprietary chemistry allows for the capture and amplification of over 100 biomarkers simultaneously in a single reaction. These technologies can be combined to provide fully automated, sample to answer results in both centralised laboratory and point of use cartridge formats. It is ideal for measuring gene expression and other markers directly from Parsortix harvests.

ANGLE has established formal collaborations with world-class cancer centres. These Key Opinion Leaders are working to identify applications with medical utility (clear benefit to patients), and to secure clinical data that demonstrates that utility in patient studies. Details are available here http://www.angleplc.com/the-company/collaborators/

SOURCE: ANGLE plc
Paragon ID (Euronext Paris - FR0011980077 - PID), the leading European provider of identification solutions for Transport, e-ID, Traceability and Brand Protection, publishes preliminary consolidated turnover figures for the financial year closing 30 June 2018.

M - IFRS standard

non audited data 2017/18

consolidated 2016/17

consolidated Change consolidated 2016/17

pro forma Turnover (12 months) 101 63 +60% 108

The 2016/17 turnover represents the consolidated financial data of the Paragon Group's Identification Division. Prior to the completion of the merger, Paragon Group reorganized its division by aggregating all of its "Identification" subsidiaries (five in total) under a lead holding company, Paragon France SAS, on February 28th, 2017. The reorganisation of the Paragon Group's Identification Division resulted in the new subsidiaries of Paragon France SAS being consolidated from March 1st, 2017.

The 2016/17 proforma turnover has been established as if the merger had taken place from July 1st 2016.

Business activity of the 2017/18 fiscal year

At the end of the 2017/18 financial year, Paragon ID reports preliminary consolidated sales of  101 million, up +60%.

The company notes that the consolidated turnover for the 2016/17 fiscal year did not yet include all the subsidiaries of the Paragon Group Identification Division (consolidation effective since March 1st, 2017) nor ASK's contribution (consolidated from May 1st, 2017). In addition, the Group transferred a non-strategic activity to another entity of the Paragon Group prior to the Identification division's merger with ASK.

On a pro forma basis, the turnover for 2016/17 was of the order of 108m, but this number does not take into consideration the impacts of the commercial and industrial reorganisations which were required within the ex-ASK organisation (notably the closure of the Chinese operations and of the French production facility in Mouans-Sartoux).

Activity per business line

The Product ID business, which combines the activities of Product Traceability & Brand Protection and Gaming activities, totalled 31 million, in 2017/18.

The People ID business line, which includes the e.ID and Transport & Smart Cities activities, totalled 70 million, in 2017/18.

Financial agenda for the 2017/18 financial year

2017/18 fiscal year results October 26th, 2018

This date is given for information only, it is likely to be modified if necessary. Publication will take place before the opening of the Euronext markets.

About Paragon ID

Paragon ID is a leader in identification solutions, in particular in the e-ID, Transport & Smart Cities and Traceability & Brand Protection sectors.

Using the latest technologies such as RFID and NFC, Paragon ID provides smart cards, tickets, labels and tags to worldwide clients in diverse markets including public transport, manufacturing, logistics, gaming and retail.

Paragon ID employs more than 600 staff, with worldwide manufacturing sites close to its global customers.

Paragon ID is a part of Paragon Group, which is a leading provider of Identification and Customer Communications services, and has a total of more than 700 million turnover and close to 6,000 employees. For further information about Paragon Group, visit Paragon-Europe.com.

Paragon ID is listed on Euronext Paris. Share identification: Paragon ID - ISIN code: FR0011980077 - Ticker: PID - Number of issued shares: 58,286,819

More information at Paragon-id.com.

Contacts

Paragon ID

CEO

John Rogers

Tel.: +41 79 629 46 74

john.rogers@Paragon-ID.com ACTUS finance & communication

Investors Relations

Mathieu Omnes

Tel.: +33 (0)1 53 67 36 92

momnes@actus.fr ACTUS finance & communication

Press Relations

Jean-Michel Marmillon

Tel.: +33 (0)1 53 67 36 73

jmmarmillon@actus.fr

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LONDON, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Worldpay unveils Drone Pay proof-of-concept for secure and speedy delivery

Researchers at Worldpay are investigating the use of drone technology to help combat the growing issue of parcel fraud, it was announced today. The payments provider has unveiled a prototype design that could help pave the way for drone delivery around the world.

Worldpay's Drone Pay proof-of-concept uses EMV contactless* payment card technology to verify the identity of the recipient, ensuring a parcel is delivered to the right person at the right address. This technology is embedded into a drone landing pad, which is issued to the customer in the form of a doormat. When the drone lands to drop off the package, the card details stored within the doormat are read automatically. If the information matches that of the correct recipient, the parcel is released.

The growing popularity of online shopping has helped move the value of the Australian parcel market to $9 billion,[1] and this number is set to explode following the launch of Amazon Prime last month. However, a natural consequence of this growth has been the rise in delivery complaints, which topped 1.1 million last year.[2]

Worldpay's prototype demonstrates how drone technology could help retailers provide a better last-mile experience by offering a more reliable proof of delivery. Recent research by the payments company suggests that Australian consumers are ready for drone delivery to become a reality, as public perception towards the concept becomes increasingly positive. A survey of 2000 consumers found that Australia has reached a tipping point for drone delivery adoption, with 42% ready to embrace delivery by drones, compared to 30% hanging back[3].

For consumers, drone delivery could offer far greater convenience when shopping online. Shoppers can choose to have a package delivered to a location convenient to them, and also have the opportunity to check the item before accepting it. For merchants, Worldpay's Drone Pay proof of concept could help reduce delivery complaints, which cost companies unnecessary time, money and lost custom every day.

Phil Pomford, General Manager for Asia Pacific, Global Enterprise eCommerce at Worldpay Inc. said: "Drones are already proving invaluable to certain industries, from search and rescue, to environmental research, so there is undoubtedly a huge potential market for delivery too. Our data suggests that consumers are becoming increasingly open to the notion of drone delivery. Nevertheless, there are still several logistical hurdles that need to be addressed before it becomes commonplace. The weight of the package and flying distance both remain potential barriers to adoption, in addition to ensuring that parcels are delivered to the correct customer.

This is where payment technology can help. By verifying the identity of the recipient before releasing the parcel, our proof of concept is an example of how technology can address the common problems that many Australians experience with parcel delivery. The volume of packages in transit is projected to reach 1 billion by 2021[4], as online increasingly becomes the channel of choice for Australian shoppers. Merchants should therefore explore new ways of innovating their supply chain capabilities, to keep pace with demand."

You can watch a demo of the proof of concept here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR9s_lp9l30&feature=youtu.be

* EMV stands for Europay, MasterCard and Visa, and is a global standard for credit and debit cards that uses computer chips to authenticate (and secure) chip-card transactions.

About the data

The research was compiled in partnership with Opinium and interviewed over 20,102 consumers about their opinion on the Internet of Things and drones. Research was conducted in 10 markets - Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Singapore, the UK and USA. In Australia, the study interviewed 2,006 consumers.

About Drone Pay

Drone Pay is a prototype technology developed by Worldpay's innovation team to understand how payment technology can be used to create more secure delivery and fulfilment for online retailers, whilst also adding an additional layer of buy authentication.The proof of concept uses EMV contactless payment card technology to authenticate the identity of the recipient. The technology is drone agnostic, and simply clips onto the drone model. The original drone remains unaltered.

About Worldpay

Worldpay, Inc. (NYSE: WP; LSE: WPY) is a leading payments technology company with unique capability to power global integrated omni-commerce. With industry-leading scale and an unmatched integrated technology platform, Worldpay offers clients a comprehensive suite of products and services globally, delivered through a single provider.

Worldpay processes over 40 billion transactions annually through more than 300 payment types across 146 countries and 126 currencies. The company's growth strategy includes expanding into high-growth markets, verticals and customer segments, including global eCommerce, Integrated Payments and B2B.

Worldpay, Inc. was formed in 2018 through the combination of the No. 1 merchant acquirers in the U.S. and the U.K. Worldpay, Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange as "WP" and the London Stock Exchange as "WPY."

Visit us at http://www.worldpay.com.

References

1. https://internetretailing.com.au/e-commerce-drives-parcel-boom/ [https://internetretailing.com.au/e-commerce-drives-parcel-boom ]

2. Citizens Advice: Parcel delivery - delivery services in the online shopping market

3. Research of 2,006 consumers conducted by Opinium in June 2017

4. https://internetretailing.com.au/e-commerce-drives-parcel-boom/ [https://internetretailing.com.au/e-commerce-drives-parcel-boom ]
The North Korean government has maintained that the site is only for scientific and peaceful uses, but USA intelligence believes Sohae plays a critical role in testing technology used in their long-range missile program.

Sohae, on the northwest coast of North Korea, has been used to test rockets, with the aim of putting a satellite into orbit.

"It will take full enforcement of sanctions for us to get there, it will also take chairman Kim following through on his personal commitments that he made to President Trump in Singapore", stated Pompeo.

Pyongyang has maintained that Sohae is a satellite launch site.

President Trump on Monday asserted that he's "very happy" with progress toward ridding North Korea of nuclear weapons, despite the stiff resistance that US officials have faced from the regime in the weeks since Trump's summit with Kim Jong Un.

"The US is fatally mistaken if it went to the extent of regarding that the [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] would be compelled to accept, out of its patience, the demands reflecting its gangster-like mindset", the statement said.

The U.S. and the global community have criticized South Korea for being too lax in enforcing sanctions against the North amid a sudden thaw.

"Now North Korea and the United States have started to have talks", she said.

It said they should "implement effective due diligence policies, procedures, and internal controls to ensure compliance with applicable legal requirements across their entire supply chains".

"Discussions are ongoing and they're going very well", Trump told reporters Tuesday.

"The fact of the matter is that previous year, on President Trump's watch, North Korea made significant advances in its ballistic missile technology, achieving what many experts agree is a nuclear-capable operational ICBM", Menendez added. The North Korean government has made a number of such unilateral moves since the start of the year, including the apparent destruction of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in March.

"Trump has been hit with a strong dose of reality of North Korea's negotiating style, which is always hard for Americans to understand", said Duyeon Kim, a Korea expert at the Center for a New American Security. On Monday, Trump tweeted that the story was "wrong" and that he was "very happy!"

South Korean soldiers stand guard at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, South Korea, April 18, 2018.

Trump said last week there was "no rush" and "no time limit" on denuclearization negotiations.

After talks between the US and North Korea hit a speed bump earlier this month, the North Korean foreign ministry signaled that it may halt negotiations pertaining to its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile development programs.

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.
Mills are required to export 20 lakh tonnes of sugar in the current 2017-18 marketing year (October-September) to avail of a subsidy of Rs 55 per tonne offered by the government

New Delhi: Nearly 4,00,000 tonnes of sugar is in the process of being exported from India to countries in the Middle East as also Sri Lanka, a senior government official said on Tuesday.

Mills are required to export 20 lakh tonnes of sugar in the current 2017-18 marketing year (October-September) to avail of a subsidy of Rs 55 per tonne offered by the government.

"Out of 20 lakh tonnes, 4,00,000 tonnes of sugar has been moved out of the factories for the export purpose," the official, who did asked not be identified, told PTI.

Much of the shipment is being undertaken from states like Maharashtra and Karnataka which are close to ports, the official added.

The government is in talks with southeast Asian countries for export of sugar, the official said.

Sugar production of India, the world's second-largest producer, is estimated to touch a record 32.25 million tonnes in the current marketing year as against 20.3 million tonnes in the previous year, as per the industry data.

Domestic demand is pegged at 25 million tonnes annually.

To liquidate surplus sugar and help mills clear huge cane arrears, the government has announced a slew of measures to bailout the industry.

Export duty on sugar has been scrapped and import duty on it has been doubled to 100 percent. Moreover, a package of Rs 8,500 crore has been announced which includes a soft loan of Rs 4,500 crore to boost ethanol production.

A buffer stock of 3 million tonnes has also been created to tide over the crisis.

According to Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), the country's sugar production is estimated to rise by 10 percent to touch a new record of 35.5 million tonnes in the 2018-19 marketing year.
Piyush Goyal said Centralised Scrutiny and Prosecution Mechanism (CSPM) has been tasked to examine the records of top 1,000 companies obliged to spend on CSR

New Delhi: The government on Tuesday said it has issued preliminary notices to as many as 272 companies for not complying with corporate social responsibility (CSR) spending requirements under the companies law.

Under the law, certain class of profitable entities is required to shell out at least 2 percent of their average three-year annual net profit towards CSR activities in a financial year.

In case of not spending the requisite amount, the firms concerned have to provide reasons for the same.

In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, Corporate Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal said Centralised Scrutiny and Prosecution Mechanism (CSPM) has been tasked to examine the records of top 1,000 companies obliged to spend on CSR.

"Based on scrutiny, preliminary notices have been issued to 272 companies. This is a continuous process and prosecution is filed gainst companies that have not complied with CSR spend requirements and also not furnished any valid reasons for not spending or underspending," he added.

CSPM was set up by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs in April 2018 to keep a tab on entities' compliance with CSR obligations.

The Registrar of Companies initiates action against non-compliant companies after due examination of records.

"For 2014-15, prosecutions against 254 were sanctioned of which 33 companies have filed applications for compounding," the minister said.

Of 6,286 companies, as many as 2,203 firms spent more than the prescribed amount towards CSR during April-November period of 2016-17, while 3,718 companies spent less than the required amount and 346 firms did not spend any amount towards such activities.
By Liz Hampton and John Benny (Reuters) - Shares of oilfield services provider Halliburton fell by more than 8 percent on Monday after the company warned of moderate growth in the oil and gas-rich Permian Basin and lower third-quarter earnings.

By Liz Hampton and John Benny

(Reuters) - Shares of oilfield services provider Halliburton fell by more than 8 percent on Monday after the company warned of moderate growth in the oil and gas-rich Permian Basin and lower third-quarter earnings.

Halliburton said some of its customers are reducing activity and lowering their rig count because increased production in the Permian Basin in west Texas and New Mexico has left companies that transport oil to Gulf Coast markets unable to keep up, as existing pipeline, rail and trucking capacity falls short of needs.

The bottlenecks have driven down the price of regional crude compared with U.S. benchmark oil and are threatening to dampen demand for oilfield services and equipment. Halliburton was the largest hydraulic fracturing provider in North America as of March, according to consultancy Rystad Energy.

Halliburton Chief Executive Jeff Miller said third-quarter results would likely mirror those of the second quarter and strove to play down the problems with transportation of crude out of the Permian. The company expects a 4 cents per share hit to earnings in the current quarter on the slowdown and on higher maintenance costs, he said, a number already baked into the company's forecast.

"I'm not naive to the math around the off-take issue," he told an earnings conference call, adding later: "Even in the Permian, as we've described that, that's a moderation in growth as opposed to a pullback."

Analysts said investors read those comments as an admission that the Permian was on the cusp of a slowdown and Miller also said that the bottlenecks would subside only in 2019.

That took the shine off a 24 percent year-on-year rise in Halliburton's revenue for the second quarter that was slightly ahead of analysts expectations.

Shares were down 8.1 percent at $41.53 afternoon trade.

WEIGHTED

While Halliburton continues to benefit from soaring U.S. oil production - a record 11 million barrels per day this month - the Permian issues and a stalling of both oil prices and the U.S. stock market have helped knock more than 20 percent off Halliburton shares since May.

The company's operations are more heavily weighted toward North America than those of its peers, leaving the it more vulnerable to the pipeline bottlenecks than rival Schlumberger, which missed forecasts for quarterly revenue last Friday.

Excluding one-time items, the company earned 58 cents per share, in line with Wall Street estimates, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

"What the market is trying to discount is the change in earnings estimates and the outlook for North America especially North American land market ... as growth in the Permian moderates," said Evercore ISI analyst James West.

A doubling of crude oil prices since early 2016 has underwritten a surge in production that should make the United States the world's biggest oil producer this year.

Still, the number of wells that are getting drilled but not completed, or DUCs, continues to grow amid tightness in the hydraulic fracturing market and as some companies opt to delay completions until prices rise.

In June, there were 3,368 DUCs in the Permian Basin, up 164 from the prior month, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

(Reporting by John Benny in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Steve Orlofsky)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Hero MotoCorp is also betting on good agricultural harvest on account of the normal monsoon across the country to drive market demand

New Delhi: Two-wheeler market leader Hero MotoCorp plans to launch new 125cc scooters and Xtreme 200R motorcycle in September-October with an eye on double-digit growth in festive season, company's Chairman and MD Pawan Munjal said.

The firm is also betting on good agricultural harvest on account of the normal monsoon across the country to drive market demand.

We are preparing for a pre-festive launch of our new 125cc scooters and the premium motorcycle Xtreme 200R. These products could come by September or October of this year," Munjal told shareholders at the company's annual general meeting here on Tuesday.

He further said, "We will gradually build on our premium portfolio with a range of new products. One such differentiated product will be the Xpulse 200. 

Commenting on the company performance, Munjal said, We have had a robust start to the year so far, with our all-time high quarterly sales coming in the first quarter."

Hero MotoCorp sold 20,60,342 bikes and scooters in the April-June period, its all-time high quarterly sales, as against 18,11,343 units in the year-ago period.

"We are confident of carrying the growth trajectory forward through the festive season as well, Munjal said while responding to a question from a shareholder on the company's expectations from the festive season.

On growth expectations, he said, "We expect to grow at double-digit in the upcoming festive season to top off our strong growth of the previous years."

He further said, The normal monsoon in most parts of the country, and the consequent agricultural harvest will keep the sentiments buoyant and help maintain our momentum."

Munjal said economic growth, rural investments and initiatives such as minimum support price (MSP), and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Act (MGNREGA) augur well for the future growth of the industry.

Replying to a question on the company's plans on electric vehicles (EVs), Munjal said we are currently working on a few projects  including connected two-wheelers  at our R&D facility, the Centre of Innovation and Technology (CIT) in Jaipur, and will be launching these products in the market at an appropriate time.

Hero MotoCorp has already introduced the Xtreme 200R in the North-Eastern markets of the country and will soon have a national roll-out. Another premium motorcycle that will be launched later this fiscal is the XPulse 200 adventure motorcycle.

Hero MotoCorp had showcased the XPulse motorcycle and the 125cc scooters at the Auto Expo - the Delhi Motor Show - in February this year.
The Idea Vodafone merger is expected to give breather to both debt-ridden firms Idea and Vodafone, from cut-throat competition in the market where margins have hit rock bottom with free voice calls.

New Delhi: Inching closer to the formation of the country's biggest telecom operator, Idea Cellular and Vodafone have made joint payment of Rs 7,248.78 crore under protest to the Department of Telecom (DoT) for merging their mobile business.

"Idea Cellular and Vodafone have made payment under protest as demanded by the DoT for the merger. Rs 3,926.34 crore have been paid in cash and bank guarantee of Rs 3,322.44 crore have been furnished," an Idea Cellular official confirmed the development.

The Department of Telecom gave a conditional nod for merger of these companies on 9 July and asked companies to meet the demand raised for taking merger on record.

The combined operations of Idea and Vodafone will create the country's largest telecom operator worth over $23 billion (or over Rs 1.5 lakh crore), with a 35 percent market share and a subscriber base of around 430 million.

The merger is expected to give breather to both debt-ridden firms Idea and Vodafone, from cut-throat competition in the market where margins have hit rock bottom with free voice calls.

It will have the capacity to provide 4G spectrum in all telecom circles of the country. According to a presentation by Idea, the combined 4G spectrum of both the companies is capable of offering up to 450 megabits per second broadband speed on mobile phones in 12 Indian markets.

With the new entity coming in force, Bharti Airtel will lose the tag of India's biggest telecom service provider to the new entity.

The combined debt of both the companies is estimated to be around Rs 1.15 lakh crore.

Vodafone will own 45.1 stake in the combined entity, while Kumar Mangalam Birla-led Aditya Birla Group would have 26 percent and Idea shareholders 28.9 percent.

The Aditya Birla Group has the right to acquire up to a 9.5 percent additional stake from Vodafone under an agreed mechanism with a view to equalising the shareholdings over time. If Vodafone and the Aditya Birla Group's shareholdings in the combined company are not equal after four years, Vodafone will sell down shares in the combined company to equalise its shareholding to that of the Aditya Birla Group over the following five-year period.

Until equalisation is achieved, the voting rights of the additional shares held by Vodafone will be restricted and votes will be exercised jointly under the terms of the shareholders' agreement.
Goyal, who was replying to a question related to the black money of Indians deposited in Swiss bank accounts, the government sought 4,000 pieces of information from Swiss banks

Mumbai: Finance minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday claimed that the amount deposited by Indians in Swiss banks reduced by 80 percent between 2014 and 2017, according to a media report.

Goyal, who was replying to a question on so-called black money deposited by Indians in Swiss bank accounts, said the government has sought 4,000 pieces of information from Swiss banks and that depending upon the data they receive, the Centre will take action, India Today reported.

According to data released by Swiss National Bank, loans and deposits of individual Indians in the bank decreased by 34.5% in the last year compared to the previous year: Finance Minister Piyush Goyal in Rajya Sabha pic.twitter.com/27wNkV85yy  ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2018

Goyal said that news reports quoting an increase of 50 percent in Swiss banks' total liabilities towards India in fiscal 2016-2017 are misinterpreted. "It includes non-deposit liabilities, the business of Swiss branches in India, interbank transactions, fiduciary liability," Goyal was quoted as saying by ANI.

In the Rajya Sabha, Trinamool Congress member Sukhendu Shekhar Roy demanded to know as to how much black money had been recovered under various agreements with Switzerland, and also asked as to when Rs 15 lakh would be deposited in the bank account of every Indian. To this, Goyal said the MP seemed to have information that even the government did not.

On Monday, the finance ministry refused to share a copy of three reports on the quantum of black money held by Indians inside the country and abroad, saying its disclosure would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament.

The then UPA government had in 2011 commissioned these studies by Delhi-based National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) and National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) as well as the National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM) in Faridabad.

Replying to an RTI query, it said the study reports of the NIPFP, NCAER and NIFM were received by the government on 30 December 2013, 18 July 2014, and 21 August 2014, respectively.

The ministry said these reports were submitted to the Standing Committee on Finance on 21 July last year and the committee is now seized of the matter.

"Accordingly, the disclosure of the information would cause a breach of privilege of the Parliament. Therefore, the information sought is exempt from disclosure under Section 8 (1) (c) of the RTI Act," it said in reply to the RTI application filed by a PTI correspondent.

The section bars information, the disclosure of which would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament.

There is, at present, no official assessment on the quantum of black money in India and abroad. According to a study by US-based think-tank Global Financial Integrity (GFI), an estimated $770 billion in black money entered India during 2005-2014.

In June it was reported that money parked by Indians in Swiss banks rose over 50 percent to CHF 1.01 billion (Rs 7,000 crore) in 2017, reversing a three-year downward trend amid India's clampdown on suspected black money stashed there.

By comparison, the total funds held by all foreign clients of Swiss banks rose about three percent to CHF 1.46 trillion or about Rs 100 lakh crore in 2017, according to the official annual data released on 29 June by the Swiss National Bank (SNB), the central banking authority of the Alpine nation.

--With inputs from agencies.
Budget carrier IndiGo Airlines, which has been grappling with Pratt & Whitney (P&W) engines woes for a while now, has reportedly tabled revised data about the technical snags its aircraft logged in 2017.

IndiGo, the country's largest private carrier, has now told the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that it faced 14,628 technical snags in 2017, and not just the 340 reported previously, according to The Economic Times.

The exponential rise in the number of snags, the airline told the newspaper, is because the regulator had asked it to "set a more stringent threshold for glitches". These 340 snags caused delays of more than 15 minutes. DGCA reverted, seeking the total number of pilot-reported snags, irrespective of having caused a delay, an IndiGo spokesperson was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

On 28 March, Jet Airways, SpiceJet and Vistara flagged serious concerns over data on technical snags faced by airlines in 2017, which was provided by the Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Jayant Sinha, in Parliament. They maintained that the data was leading to a "false illusion" about the safety of the airlines.

In a letter to Sinha, the airlines demanded an investigation by the DGCA so that accurate information can be provided to Parliament and the public at large.

"It seems apparent that the number of technical snags being reported by various airlines is inaccurate. This discrepancy and misreporting of data is leading to false illusion of the relative safety of some airlines over others," the airlines said in their letter on 28 March.

In March, Indigo's troubles compounded further with as many as five of its aircraft - three Airbus A320 Neos and two A320 Ceo planes - facing glitches in 24 hours. At that time, the airline had grounded as many as 12 A320 Neos.

Earlier in March, Sinha, in a written reply submitted in the Rajya Sabha, said airlines reported over 24,700 technical snags in 2017. According to the minister's reply, the number of technical snags faced by IndiGo, which has a fleet size of 151, was only 340 (or some 2.25 snags per aircraft).

What is a technical snag?

IndiGo operates over 1,000 flights a day.

A technical snag (defect) refers to a problem in an aircraft, or aircraft components, arising from any cause other than damage, which would preclude it or another aircraft component from performing their intended functions. The DGCA has regulations and procedures for monitoring snags encountered during aircraft operations.

With inputs from agencies
Piaggio was now studying the market and infrastructure like charging facility which was needed for e-vehicles

Coimbatore: Italian motor vehicle-maker Piaggio is set to launch e-vehicles in India.

Announcing this to newsmen here on Monday, Piaggio 2-wheelers India-business head, Ashish Yakhmi said, "We're ready with the technology for two-wheelers and four-wheelers as well, but we're waiting for regulations to introduce the vehicles in the country."

The company was now studying the market and infrastructure like charging facility which was needed for e-vehicles, he said.

The official of the company was here to inaugurate a new showroom and the launch of two-wheelers Vespa and Sporty Fun Aprilia.

He said the company planned to increase the number of dealers by 100. At present, there were 200 dealers.
Mehul Choksi, who is accused of defrauding Punjab National Bank of $2 billion along with his nephew, diamond tycoon Nirav Modi, fled India before the accusations came to light and said in Mondays application that he could not disclose his location in public because of the threat to his life

Mumbai: One of the main defendants in the country's largest bank fraud case made a court application on Monday for cancellation of an arrest warrant against him, citing fears for his life because of a growing number of mob lynchings in the country.

Mehul Choksi, who is accused of defrauding Punjab National Bank of $2 billion along with his nephew, diamond tycoon Nirav Modi, fled India before the accusations came to light and said in Mondays application that he could not disclose his location in public because of the threat to his life.

The recent trend of mob lynching is growing, Choksis lawyer said in the application seen by Reuters, adding that he fears such a fate if he were ever to return to India.

Fake news messages on alleged child abductors circulating on WhatsApp, and via text messages and word of mouth, have led to a spate of mob lynchings in the country.

Choksis lawyer said that a lack of prosecutions in lynching cases is encouraging more mob violence.

Those with grievances against Choksi, who owns Gitanjali Gems, include employees who have not been paid, families of detained employees and various creditors, he said.

Choksi and Modi are accused of colluding with a handful of bankers to secure credit from overseas banks using fraudulent guarantees. Both have denied the allegations.

Authorities have said that Choksi and Modi left India before the PNB complaint against them was filed and their whereabouts remain unknown.

Choksi has been highly critical of investigating agencies, alleging that the seizure of his assets, bank accounts and the shutting down of all his offices in India has caused prejudice against him.

A special court for cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act had issued a non-bailable warrant against Choksi this month after the Enforcement Directorate, which investigates financial crimes in India, filed charges against Choksi and his associates last month.
However, the minister has not provided details of the complaints about ICICI and L&T

New Delhi: The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has received complaints against private sector lender ICICI Bank and engineering firm Larsen and Toubro, Parliament was informed on Tuesday.

The probe agency comes under the corporate affairs ministry.

"SFIO receives various complaints against companies. Complaints have been received against Mehul Choksi, ICICI and L&T," Minister of State for Corporate Affairs PP Chaudhary said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

However, the minister has not provided details of the complaints about ICICI and L&T.

Further, Chaudhary said that the ministry, in February, ordered an SFIO probe into the affairs of 114 entities directly or indirectly associated with Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi and their family members in the multi-crore Punjab National Bank scam.

"The matter is presently under investigation," he said.

In a separate reply, the minister said the government has assigned the investigation to SFIO into the affairs of 29 listed companies in more than five years.

Out of this, an investigation has been completed in respect of four companies. Prosecutions in all the four companies have already been filed, he added.
Rouhani, a day earlier, had warned the Trump administration against continuing its intensifying hostility toward Iran.

That is when Trump announced his decision to withdraw the United States from a 2015 global agreement over Iran's nuclear program.

Despite some mixed messages from senior State Department officials in recent weeks, Pompeo made clear that pressure campaign includes dropping Iranian oil imports to "as close to zero as possible by November 4" when US sanctions snap back into place.

"This confuses the media, as they keep saying that Trump is the worst thing to happen since "The View", he said.

Wazne, the director of American Strategic Studies institute in Beirut, warned that "it needs just one mistake to have a major regional war".

Almost a year on, Trump has met Kim - who he once called "Rocket Man" on a "suicide mission" - for a landmark summit, and follow-up talks are underway between the two sides.

Rouhani also made fun of Trump's threat to stop Iranian oil exports. Administration officials also seem to be trying to encourage Iranians to rise up against their government.

"Our differences are with the Iranian regime's actions and, in particular, with the actions of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, not the Iranian people".

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the President's "strong stance" after years in which the Iranian "regime was pampered by world powers".

"NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE", Trump tweeted at Rouhani.

While Washington prepares to reimpose economic sanctions on Tehran after pulling out of the nuclear deal, Iran's faction-ridden religious and political elites have closed ranks against Trump's hawkish approach to Tehran.

Seed Leilaz said he was not "worried about the remarks and tweets", which he described as propaganda.

Every other country in the pact has said it will uphold the deal.

Gutfeld said the media is forgetting that Trump's detente with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un followed a similar pattern, with the two leaders using elevated language before eventually holding a summit together.

In Washington, US officials told the Reuters news agency that the Trump administration has launched an offensive of speeches and online communications meant to foment unrest and help pressure Iran to end its nuclear programme and its support of armed groups. Sanders said Trump has been "very clear about what he's not going to allow to take place".

Iranian lawmaker Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh told The Associated Press that he doubted it would come to a military confrontation between Iran and the United States, despite the escalating rhetoric.

She declined to say whether Mr Trump had consulted with his aides before posting the tweet, but added: "The President consults with his national security team on a daily basis".

Pompeo insisted the United States would have no qualms in targeting Iran's top leadership with sanctions, and said the Trump administration was launching a 24/7 Farsi-language channel on TV, radio, digital and social media formats to reach Iranians in Iran and around the globe.
Vijay Mallya reportedly wants to join the legal process in India and contest the recent action against him under the Fugitive Economic Offender Ordinance.

New Delhi: Embattled liquor baron Vijay Mallya, the main accused in a Rs 9,000-crore alleged bank fraud case, is understood to have sounded out to Indian authorities that he was willing to come back home to face the law, official sources said on Tuesday.

Mallya, who is contesting in a London court the Indian government's action for extradition, is said to have sent feelers to authorities that he would like to join the legal process in India and contest the recent action against him under the Fugitive Economic Offender Ordinance. Under this recently promulgated ordinance, the government can immediately confiscate all properties in the country and abroad that have links to Mallya.

However, top sources in investigative agencies said the final contours of the move are still not clear as they refused to divulge more details.

Last month, a special court in Mumbai under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act had issued summons to the beleaguered businessman to appear before it on 27 August on the Enforcement Directorate's plea seeking action against him under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance in the bank fraud case. The central agency, as part of this action, has also sought immediate confiscation of Mallya's assets worth around Rs 12,500 crore.

If he does not appear before the court or respond to its summons on the designated date, Mallya risks being declared a fugitive economic offender, besides properties linked to him being confiscated.

Mallya, his now defunct Kingfisher Airlines and others availed loans from various banks during the tenure of the UPA-I government and the outstanding amount, including interest, against him is Rs 9,990.07 crore at present, officials said. He had recently said he has become the "poster boy" of bank default and a lightning rod for public anger.

The former liquor baron had said he had written to both the prime minister and the finance minister on 15 April, 2016, to explain his side of the story. Both the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation have filed separate criminal cases of alleged loan default against him.

A hearing in the extradition case is expected to be heard in London July end, where a team of Indian investigators will remain present.
Cutting across party lines, the BJP, AAP and the Congress welcomed Monday's Supreme Court order lifting ban on rallies, dharnas or sit-ins at the Jantar Mantar and Boat Club areas in Delhi, terming it a victory of democracy.

New Delhi: Cutting across party lines, the BJP, AAP and the Congress welcomed Monday's Supreme Court order lifting ban on rallies, dharnas or sit-ins at the Jantar Mantar and Boat Club areas here, terming it a victory of democracy.

Welcoming the verdict, AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj said it asserts the right of the people to protest peacefully against governments and their policies. "AAP welcomes the decision of Hon'ble Supreme Court which has lifted the blanket ban on peaceful protests and demonstrations at Jantar Mantar and Boat Club. It's again victory of people's rights, victory of democracy (sic)," he tweeted.

Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken said, "The Supreme Court ruling is a victory for democracy. The ruling makes it clear that we are not living under a Police Raj and the people have every right to protests on pressing issues at Boat Club and Janpath."

Welcoming the apex court order, Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari said, "In a democracy people and socio political organisation have the right to protest near the seat of power and, Jantar Mantar amd Boat Club over the period of time got recognition as such protest spots."

Lifting the ban on rallies, dharnas or sit-ins at the Jantar Mantar and Boat Club areas in Delhi, the top court asked the Centre to frame guidelines within two months for according sanctions to such events. A bench of justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said, "There is a need to strike a balance between conflicting rights such as the right to protest and the right of citizens to live peacefully." "There cannot be a complete or absolute ban on holding protests at places like Jantar Mantar and Boat Club (near India Gate)," the bench said.
Although BJP national president Amit Shah denied the involvement of any members of his party, it has emerged that all eight persons named in the FIR are directly linked to the BJYM, RSS or the BJP and its affiliates.

Activist Swami Agnivesh was attacked last week in Jharkhand's Pakur town, allegedly by members of BJP Yuva Morcha (BJYM). And though BJP national president Amit Shah denied the involvement of any members of his party, a report on The Indian Express has said that all eight persons named in the FIR are directly linked to the BJYM, RSS or the BJP and its affiliates.

The eight persons named in the FIR, as reported by The Indian Express article are: Anand Tiwari, Pintu Dubey, Prasann Mishra, Gopi Dubey, Ashok Prasad, Balram Dubey, Badal Mandal and Shiv Kumar. The eight range from being members of the RSS, BJP, Bajrang Dal and BJYM. One of them, Mishra, is the district head of the BJYM, while Pintu Dubey is the district convenor of the Bajrang Dal. Gopi Dubey is the BJP's district secretary, the report mentioned.

However, this was far from being the first time the RSS and BJP and their affiliated organisations have indulged in violence on religious grounds, or targeted people who disagreed with the Sangh.

Last week, five BJYM members were arrested in Kerala for vandalising Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor's office. According to a report on The News Minute, the five arrested accused have been identified as Manu (25), Akhil (28), Govind (29), Vishnu (28) and Harikrishnan (27).

The attack on Tharoor's office took place after the Congress leader made his controversial "Hindu Pakistan" remarks. Tharoor wasn't present in his office at the time of the incident, whereby protesters smeared black engine oil on office premises and put up a banner saying 'Hindu Pakistan Office'. They also laid a wreath at the office's entrance and raised slogans asking him to leave the country and go to Pakistan, the report added.

Meanwhile in West Bengal, BJP party workers attacked police personnel while returning from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in Midnapore town. Video footage showed BJP activists kicking and beating police personnel with bamboo sticks after the latter allegedly failed to clear the roads for their party vehicles to move.

BJP state unit president Dilip Ghosh said people couldn't reach the rally venue, and it was "natural" that they would be angry with the police for blocking their way with guardrails. "Police should have made the arrangements peacefully. It was not the aim of these people to indulge in violence. Had it been so, then there would have been more attacks on the police, along the entire stretch," he claimed.

Earlier this year, a 32-year-old Muslim youth died after being attacked by Bajrang Dal activists in Gujarat, while his mother was grievously wounded. Five persons were arrested for the attack that took place in Chhatral town of Gandhinagar district. According to a report on The Indian Express, the victim, Farnaz, and his mother were attacked by disobeying the Bajrang Dal's diktat of remaining indoors while a procession was being carried out through the Muslim-dominated area to mark the anniversary of the Babri Mosque demolition.

The police admitted that incidents of communal violence have been recurring. "In other cases that have happened in the recent past, we have made arrests and some matters are also in court. We are aware of the recurring incidents and we are ensuring that there is no tension," the superintendent of police for Gandhinagar, Virendra Yadav, said.
A local Meo leader, Sher Mohammed, called BJP MLA's remarks on Alwar lynching incident an unfair generalisation of the entire community

Jaipur: Days after a man was allegedly lynched by cow vigilantes in Alwar, a BJP legislator has accused people from the victim's Meo community of being involved in crime in the district and said he had already banned them from his office.

The killing of Akbar Khan has shocked the nation and it should be probed fairly, Alwar (Urban) MLA Banwari Lal Singhal told PTI.

The law will take its course. But at the same time it is also a fact that people from the Meo community are involved in crime and entire Alwar is suffering, and people should know about this, he added.

A local Meo leader, Sher Mohammed, called the MLA's remarks an unfair generalisation of the entire community from Mewat region, spread over parts of Haryana and Rajasthan.

The MLA blamed people from the region for crimes like robbery in Alwar.

"Many of them come to Alwar from Haryana and return to their villages after committing the crime, he claimed.

Singhal said he had earlier stopped people from Mewat from entering his office, claiming that most of them came only to seek favours for their relatives involved in crime.

Sher Mohammed took exception to the charge levelled by the MLA. Saying that there might be criminal cases against people from the region, but generalising the whole community is unfair.

In a note submitted Tuesday to the district authorities, he also expressed concern over the safety of Meos in the state.

Rajasthan has become Lynchistan where so-called cow vigilantes lynched Akbar Khan. The cow vigilantes are without any fear and five people have so far lost their lives in Alwar, Sher Mohammad, head of the Alwar Meo panchayat, alleged in the memo addressed to Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.

He also alleged that Ramgarh MLA Gyan Dev Ahuja has been "openly saying" that those who beat up Rakbar Khan, also known as Akbar Khan, were his own men, a charge denied by that BJP MLA.

The police said Sher Mohammed is history-sheeter at a police station in Alwar district. But the Meo leader suggested that these were false cases.

"When the police do not find a culprit, they frame a Meo person and I am fighting for such people, he said.

Rakbar Khan was beaten up on Friday night by a group of people who suspected him of smuggling cows.

An assistant sub inspector of police was suspended and three constables sent to the police lines after reports that they had delayed taking him to hospital.

The Meo leader said Naval Kishore Sharma, who informed the police about the incident, was the main culprit. He also demanded that the role of Gyan Dev Ahuja should also be probed.

The Meo panchayat also demanded a government job for Rakbar Khan's widow and a compensation of Rs 50 lakh.

Aslam Khan, who escaped from the mob attack, had told police that the vigilantes had boasted of backing from an MLA when they attacked his friend Rakbar Khan.

They were telling him that the MLA sahab' is with them and nobody can do anything against them, according to Aslam Khan's statement to the police.

He also told police that the attackers were also talking about setting Rakbar Khan on fire.

Aslam Khan heard the names of five people involved in the attack. There were two others in the group, but he was not aware of their names, he told police.

The police have arrested three of them so far.

Though Sher Mohammed has alleged that the MLA saheb mentioned in Aslam Khan's statement is Ahuja, no one has been named by the victim's friend.

Ahuja said the police got the 'MLA saheb' reference recorded deliberately to target him because he keeps raising his voice against their failure to stop crime.

He held the local police responsible for Rakbar Khan's death, saying the group of people who caught the man had handed him over them. But police delayed taking him to hospital, he said.
BJP MLA Gyan Dev Ahuja on Tuesday said that lower rank policemen were being targeted to shield senior officers in the case of alleged lynching of 28-year-old Rakbar in Alwar and demanded a judicial inquiry into the case.

Jaipur: BJP MLA Gyan Dev Ahuja on Tuesday said that lower rank policemen were being targeted to shield senior officers in the case of alleged lynching of 28-year-old Rakbar in Alwar and demanded a judicial inquiry into the case. He also demanded action against former superintendent of police of Alwar and a probationary IPS officer and held them responsible for rise in crime in the district.

Alwar has become number one in crime in Rajasthan and the functioning of former Alwar SP Rahul Prakash and probationary IPS officer Anil Kumar is responsible. I had demanded action from the Home minister against the SP, but nothing had happened and the crime kept rising in Alwar," Ahuja told PTI. Both the officers were transferred on Thursday last week while the incident of lynching took place on Saturday night in the Ramgarh area.

Action was taken against four policemen today but this is just to shield senior rank police officers. I have also demanded a judicial probe which should investigate the matter in a time-bound manner, he said. Ahuja, who represents the Ramgarh (Alwar) constituency, said that there were 11 kinds of crime that included cow smuggling, cow slaughtering, illegal mining, gambling, among others, that saw a spurt in the recent times.

Rakbar, along with his friend Aslam, was taking cows to their villages in Haryana through a forest area in the Ramgarh area of Alwar, where they were caught by the mob. Aslam had managed to flee. Rakbar was allegedly lynched by the mob on suspicion of cow smuggling.
Rajasthan home minister Gulab Chand Kataria will visit Ramgarh in Alwar district on Tuesday to inspect the spot where Rakbar (28) was allegedly lynched on suspicion of cow smuggling and inquire about the lapses that occurred.

Jaipur: Rajasthan home minister Gulab Chand Kataria will visit Ramgarh in Alwar district on Tuesday to inspect the spot where Rakbar (28) was allegedly lynched on suspicion of cow smuggling and inquire about the lapses that occurred.

Days after the alleged lynching, the police arrested three people suspected to be involved in the attack on Rakbar, alias Akbar Khan, even as a video surfaced on Monday purportedly showing an assistant sub-inspector admitting to his mistake for alleged delay in taking the victim to the hospital.

As the civil society and opposition parties mounted their pressure the Rajasthan Police set up a four-member committee to probe allegations against the policemen and within hours, the panel ordered suspension of the then officer-in-charge and transferred three others to police lines.

Katarai told reporters, I along with the chief secretary and DGP will visit the spot to once again inquire about the lapses that occurred. There were lapses on part of police as they first took the cow to shelter and then took the victim to the hospital. They should have taken the victim to the hospital from police station," he said.

On the demand for judicial inquiry into the alleged lynching, Kataria said that he is personally going to inquire about the incident and necessary decisions will be taken.
A comparison of timeline of events in Alwar lynching presented by eyewitness and the Rakbar Khan's colleague suggest that the eyewitness and police may have known about them even before Rakbar and Aslam had reached Lalawandi village

Jaipur: Speaking on the Alwar lynching case, Rajasthan home minister Gulab Chand Kataria said that the evidence collected points to a custodial death and further investigation is underway, according to several media reports.

In the wee hours of Saturday morning, Rakbar Khan, succumbed to death as he became the seventh person in Rajasthan since April 2017 to have died of mob violence. Rakbar was allegedly beaten by a mob in Alwar on Friday night, as the crowd suspected him to be a cow smuggler.

The Ramgarh Police, with eyewitness Naval Kishore Sharma, went to the Gaushala (cow shed) to drop the cows before taking Rakbar to the closest medical help available, says Sharma, as they felt he was in absolute proper condition.

"After almost one hour of constantly questioning Rakbar in the police station, where he was thrashed as well, the sub-inspector asked me to accompany him to the Gaushala to drop the cows. Rakbar was fine and there were no signs of ill health. He was talking to us very normally, says Sharma, also a Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader. Sharma says that Rakbar had accepted that he was smuggling cows during the investigation at the police station.

Gaushala was nine kilometres from police station

Sharma says that they then followed the tempo which was hired to carry the cows. The Gaushala was nine kilometres away so it took us half an hour one side. After about an hour, we reached back to the police station, after which Rakbar was taken to the hospital where he was declared brought dead. The hospital is about 50 meters away from the station, Sharma added.

He further stated that while the post-mortem report states fracture and internal bleeding, there was not one scratch on his upper body, which could indicate that he needed immediate medication.

However, Rakbars neighbour, Shekhawat Khan states otherwise. I washed his body before the burial and there was not one body part that did not bleed. One of his legs was broken in four places, and in total, about eight of his bones were broken. Even his ribs were broken, Khan said.

Rajasthan has been infamous for lynching cases with Rakbar being marked as the seventh case since April 2017 when Pehlu Khan, a dairy farmer in Alwar, was accused of cattle smuggling and lynched to death.

Meanwhile, Rakbar was accompanied by Aslam Khan, who had managed to escape that night. We had decided to take the cows from Khanpur village in Rajasthan to our hometown in Haryana during the night as the cows get distracted from the traffic during the day, Aslam informed.

We had bought the cows for Rs 30,000 each and were taking them home to feed our children some milk. Rakbar was the only breadwinner for his family and had seven children. I am not aware if he was beaten by the villagers, I was scared, Aslam said.

Two timelines of the incident

Going by the accounts of the two eyewitnesses to the incident, we have two versions of the timeline in which the events followed in Alwar:

Timeline 1: Naval Kishore Sharma (eyewitness)

12.15 am: Sharma gets a call which he did not answer.

12.25 am: His nephew wakes him up and he speaks to the villagers who seek the polices help as the cows had entered their fields.

12.41 am: He calls the police.

1.15 am: Sharma and Police reach the spot where Rakbar was found lying in a pool of mud.

1.45 am: Police finish washing Rakbar and they head to the police station.

1.55 am: They stop at a tea stall for a break.

2.10 am: They reached the police station where Rakbar was questioned and thrashed again.

3 am: They decided to leave for the Gaushala.

3.26 am: They reach Gaushala to drop the cows.

4 am: They return to the police station

4.05 am: They take Rakbar to a community health centre where he was declared dead.

Timeline 2: Aslam Khan (a colleague of the victim)

11 pm: They left Khanpur.

1.20 am: They reached Lalawandi village, which was on their way.

1.30 am: They hear firing and some villagers running towards them.

1.35 am: Aslam hid behind the bushes while Rakbar along with the cows ran in fields.

2 am: Aslam came out of hiding after the police went

5 am: He reached the village as he got lost during the night

The contradiction in the two timelines appears at 1.30 am. While in Aslam's version they were attacked at 1.30 am and Rakbar ran with the cows into the fields at 1.35 am, according to Sharma, the cows had entered the fields at 12.25 am, and he even got a call at 12.15 am, which Sharma says he did not answer. By 1.15 am Sharma, along with the police, had reached the spot where Rakbar was found. Did he know about the cow smugglers even before Rakbar and Aslam had reached Lalawandi village (at 1.20 am)?

Transportation of cows is a very informal act as there is no documentation done for the same. In 2014, he (Rakbar) was bringing the cows from somewhere in a similar manner when he was booked for cow smuggling. However, no action was taken against him and only an inquiry was conducted, said Shekhawat Khan. Ramgarh Police was unavailable for any comment on Monday. However, they have mentioned in a press release on Monday that a committee has been formed to look into the matter.

Director General of Police, Rajasthan, OP Galhotra, issued orders to set up an investigation committee to scrutinise Rakbars death. The committee will include Special Director General of Police (law and order), Additional Director General of Police (CID-CB) PK Singh, Inspector General of Police in the Jaipur range, Hemant Priyadarshy, and Inspector General of Police  CID CB Jaipur, Mahendra Singh Chaudhary, who is also a nodal officer for cow vigilance. "The committee has been instructed to report on the details and reasons for the alleged delay in taking (the victim) to the hospital, the release said.

Three suspects have already been booked by the police for alleged participation in the lynching. In addition to this, according to various reports, Mohan Singh, additional sub-inspector, Ramgarh Police Station, who was on duty during the incident, has been suspended.

The centre has also sought a report on the alleged mob lynching. The Ministry of Home Affairs has asked Rajasthan government to provide details and take action as early as possible, as reported by the PTI. The issue was also raised in the Lok Sabha session by the opposition.

With inputs from Vishakha Agnihotri

The author is a Jaipur-based freelance writer and a member of 101Reporters.com, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters
The Punjab assembly Speaker assured the AAP delegation that he would take up the issue with the Centre

A delegation of Aam Aadmi party (AAP) leaders on Tuesday met Punjab assembly Speaker Rana KP Singh and complained that two of the party's legislators were denied entry into Canda and sent back from the Ottawa airport.

The Speaker assured the delegation that he would take up the issue with the Centre.

"An AAP delegation met me today. They expressed regret that two of the party's MLAs were sent back from Canada's Ottawa international airport. This is unfortunate," the Speaker told reporters.

"I will bring this incident to the notice of Government of India for appropriate action," he said.

Singh said India and Canada shared close ties and from time to time efforts were made to further strengthen them. He said these incidents cause a setback.

AAP legislator and Leader of Opposition Sukhpal Singh Khaira said, "We have raised this issue with the Speaker. It is a very unfortunate incident as nothing was against them".

He said the two legislators had completed all formalities, be it of visa, sponsorship or court permission. "A letter by the Speaker, which is required, too was attached," he said.

"But we have to say with deep regret that Canada, which is a member of the Commonwealth nations, when our MLAs went there, they were ill-treated at the airport. They were denied entry into Canada and after having to face much humiliation, they were sent back," Khaira said.

"The two are duly elected public representatives and sending them back in this manner is also an insult to the Vidhan Sabha, to which they have been elected," said Khaira.

The two AAP legislators, Kultar Singh Sandhwan and Amarjeet Singh Sandhoa, Monday had, however, denied they were deported by Canadian authorities from the Ottawa international airport.

Both the legislators had returned to India Monday.

Sandhwan had claimed that the concerned authorities had denied them entry "because of confusion" over purpose of the visit.

"We were not deported. Canadian Border Services told us that they could not make out whether our visit was personal or political. They told us that they could not allow us in and then we told them that we will return (to India)," Sandhwan had said.

Canada denies two AAP leaders entry, sends back from Ottawa international airport; party complains Punjab Assembly Speaker
He said Fadnavis's 'provocative' statements on the eve of 'Ashadhi Ekadashi' were also responsible for the violence and he should take moral responsibility and quit.

Mumbai: The Opposition Congress blamed Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis for the Maratha reservation agitation taking a violent turn and demanded his resignation.

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil of the Congress accused the state government of dilly-dallying on the demands of the community when it was taking out "silent" morchas cross the state to press for its demands, including reservation in jobs and education. Nine policemen were injured in stone pelting, while two protesters attempted suicide during the Maharashtra bandh called by Maratha outfits to press for reservation.

"Fadnavis should have chalked out a time-bound programme to deliver on the promise of Maratha reservation when silent morchas (rallies) were being taken out.

"But, since the BJP government is anti-reservation, it has not given reservation not only to Marathas but also Muslims and Dhangars (shepherd community)," he said.

He said Fadnavis's "provocative" statements on the eve of "Ashadhi Ekadashi" were also responsible for the violence and he should take moral responsibility and quit.

During the just-concluded monsoon session of the legislature in Nagpur, the opposition demanded that the government take steps to provide reservation to Marathas. But, there was no satisfactory response from the government, Vikhe Patil said.

State Congress spokesman Sachin Sawant said Fadnavis' "irresponsible" statements levelling false allegations against the Maratha quota stir leaders were the main reason for the agitation taking a violent turn.

He alleged the BJP engaged in caste polarisation since the silent morchas were taken out by the community and the ruling party took benefit of the polarisation during the local body elections across the state.

"Now, there is a huge discontent against the BJP government and this is the reason it is pitting Dalits against Marathas by engineering the Bhima-Koregaon violence earlier this year (in Pune district)," Sawant said.

On Sunday, Fadnavis, while announcing his decision not to participate in the annual puja at the Lord Vitthal Temple Pandharpur on the occasion of Ashadhi Ekadashi, said "Police have intercepted some messages, like 'will release snakes among devotees', 'could create a situation that would lead to stampede', among others."

A pro-quota leader of the community had said in Pandharpur that if Fadnavis visited the temple town on 23 July "they will hold a massive protest there and disrupt the puja".

Fadnavis had hit hack at protesters, saying such a move was a shame for a "progressive" state like Maharashtra. "The puja is beyond politics. But some 10 lakh

people (devotees) are there (in Pandharpur). Efforts are being made by some organisations and people to create a life-threatening situation in Pandharpur," the Fadnavis had said.

The Maratha Kranti Morcha, the organisation leading the agitation, has demanded an apology from Fadnavis for alleging that some members from the community were planning violence at Pandharpur. Fadnavis has said only the courts can take a decision on granting reservation to the Marathas, a politically influential community.

"Some (pro-reservation) organisations are aware of it; still they are instigating the community. If throwing stones at me can get reservation for the Maratha community, then I am ready for it," he had said.

"Those who hold devotees to ransom cannot be called true followers of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj," Fadnavis had said.
Pakistani-American convict in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack case, David Headley, is reportedly battling for his life after being attacked by at a US jail.

David Coleman Headley, the Pakistani-American convict arrested for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, is reportedly battling for his life after being attacked by inmates at a detention centre, media reports said on Monday, although US authorities have refused to comment on the reports.

"We are not able to locate information about this individual," the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in Chicago said in a brief email response to the Press Trust of India on Monday when asked about the incident.

According to some media reports, Headley was attacked on 8 July by two other inmates. The reports said he suffered serious injuries and was rushed to North Evanston hospital, where he was admitted to the critical care unit.

Who is Headley?

Headley, an American who admitted to scouting targets for the 2008 Mumbai attacks and later agreed to testify against the plotters to avoid the death penalty, was sentenced to 35 years in prison by a US court in 2013.

Headley had visited various Indian cities, including Mumbai, on a reconnaissance mission before the 26/11 attack. He was arrested in 2009.

The sentence, handed down by US District Judge Harry Leinenweber, was the maximum sought by federal prosecutors.

The attacks killed more than 160 people, including six Americans. Headley, a US citizen of Pakistani descent, admitted to videotaping the sites that were targeted by the Mumbai attackers.

He was arrested in 2009 and pleaded guilty to 12 charges, including conspiracy to bomb places of public use, commit murder and plotting an attack on a Danish newspaper.

After entering his plea in 2010, Headley cooperated with US investigators and foreign intelligence agencies to avoid the death penalty and extradition to India, Pakistan or Denmark, agreeing to testify in foreign judicial proceedings, the US government had said.

In a memorandum filed with Judge Leinenweber, the government had said: "... there is little question that life imprisonment would be an appropriate punishment for Headley's incredibly serious crimes but for the significant value provided by his immediate and extensive cooperation."

Headley had revealed more details about the 2008 attacks in a deposition, giving the names of the people involved in the attacks and the extent of their involvement. One of the names revealed in the deposition was of Tahawwur Hussain Rana  a Pakistani-Canadian member of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

In 2011, Rana was convicted by a United States jury and sentenced to 14 years in prison by US District Judge Harry Leinenweber for aiding the group that carried out the 26/11 terror attack.

Headley, who spent his childhood in Pakistan and whose father was Pakistani, changed his name in 2005 from Daood Gilani to ease his travels, "portraying himself in India as an American who was neither Muslim nor Pakistani".

Prosecutors have said he scouted several targets throughout India, including figures in Bollywood, Indias movie industry. An excerpt from The Mind Of a Terrorist: The Strange Case of David Headley reveals that Headley had found more than 20 targets for terrorism in India, which he reported to Lashkar-e-Taiba. And he delivered roughly 50 hours' worth of video from Mumbai.

Beginning in 2002, he travelled three times to Lashkar camps to receive weapons training and learn survival skills and combat tactics, according to the plea agreement.

With inputs from PTI
"It was then intercepted by the Patriot missiles".

Israel shot down a Syrian fighter jet with surface-to-air missiles on Tuesday after the plane infiltrated its airspace, the military said, in a rare incident that could provoke tensions.

Sirens rang out as a Syrian Sukhoi-model fighter jet reportedly crossed into Israeli airspace in violation of the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement, which requires that Syria respect the demilitarized zone between the two countries, The Times of Israel reported.

The Syrian aircraft flew over one mile into the Jewish state's territory before it was destroyed by a pair of Patriot Missiles confirmed a spokesperson for the country's military.

Syria criticized this evacuation as a "criminal operation" carried out by "Israel and its tools".

Israel has been on high alert in recent days as Syrian government forces advance against foreign-backed terrorists near the Golan Heights.

It was the first time Israel shot down a manned Syrian fighter jet since 2014.

On July 16, Syrian army took control of a strategic hill overlooking the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israel also launched an interceptor missile at the second Syrian rocket, but it is unclear if it hit its target.

On Tuesday, Syrian state media says government forces had advanced close to the border with Israel after capturing territory from rebels and Islamic State militants.

Al-Ikhbariya TV broadcast footage from the fence demarcating the United Nations buffer zone between Syrian and Israeli forces inside the Golan Heights.

Throughout the day, Reuters witnesses on the Golan Heights heard explosions and saw plumes of smoke rising from Syrian territory.

The strikes have led to condemnation from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, but Israel has maintained good relations with Russian Federation and has coordinated its actions in Syria with Moscow.

An IDF spokesperson on Twitter said it launched the missiles due to "an increase in the internal fighting" in Syria.

Russian Federation intervened in the Syrian conflict in 2015 on behalf of Assad, but Iran has backed the Syrian leader throughout the long, deadly war, which since 2011 has killed more than 400,000 people and displaced 11 million others.
A flood warning was issued in Tamil Nadu after the Stanley Reservoir at Mettur achieved its full reservoir level (FRL) of 120 feet on Monday, for the first time in five years.

A flood warning was issued in Tamil Nadu after the Stanley Reservoir at Mettur achieved its full reservoir level (FRL) of 120 feet on Monday, for the first time in five years. The water level in the dam was almost at its full capacity, 93.47 thousand million cubic feet.

This was the 39th time that the Mettur Dam achieved FRL in its 85-year-old history. The last time the dam reached near-full capacity was in August 2013, according to a report in The Hindu.

A flood warning was issued to people in low-lying areas. They were asked to move to safer locations, and also move their livestock, as a precautionary measure. The warning was issued following a heavy downpour in catchment areas of the Cauvery river and an increase in the discharge of water from the reservoirs Krishna Raja Sagar and Kabini in neighbouring Karnataka, Live Mint reported.

Flood alerts have been issued in 12 districts in Tamil Nadu  Salem, Dharmapuri, Erode, Namakkal, Trichy, Karur, Ariyalur, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Cuddalore and Pudukottai.

The chief minister released a statement on Monday, saying, Since the flow of water is high, people are prohibited from entering the river in the restricted areas and those staying in low-lying areas have been asked to move to safer locations.

Special teams are patrolling the banks of the river in all the districts in the Cauvery delta basin to ensure the safety of the people living in the low-lying areas, according to the Live Mint report.

Five drown in flash flood near Mettur Dam

Five people drowned in Tamil Nadu's Salem district on Sunday after they were washed away by a flood while bathing in the Cauvery river following the release of excess water from the Stanley reservoir of the Mettur dam.

The Public Works Department which maintains the dam, had been releasing 20,000 cusecs of water every day since Thursday to reduce strain on the Stanley reservoir. Authorities say they had issued mandatory warnings about possible flooding before and after the release of excess water, according to a report by Hindustan Times.

We have given flood alerts through media, loudspeakers, and notices. Also, we have kept danger signboards at 30 vulnerable points in the Salem district. Boat operations have also been stopped. Police and fire service forces are kept ready to respond to the unexpected situation. Tourists who are visiting Mettur should not enter into the river. No one should take selfies by the river, Rohini Bhajibakare, collector of Salem told Hindustan Times.

Cauvery river verdict

In February 2018, the Supreme Court passed a verdict on the decade-long conflict between the Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the Cauvery river.

Largely following the arrangements put in place by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) in 2007, the apex court directed the Karnataka government to release 177.25 thousand million cubics (TMC) of water to Tamil Nadu, 14.75 TMC lesser than what was allotted by the tribunal.

The tribunal had asked the Karnataka to release 192 TMC of water.

The long-awaited judgment was pronounced by a bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra, and Justices Amitava Roy and AM Khanwilkar.

In April, the Supreme Court had asked the Centre to come up with a plan to implement its judgment on the distribution of Cauvery waters by 3 May. The bench had reiterated that its judgment had to be complied with, by all the stakeholders.

The Centre presented a draft of the Cauvery Management Scheme for smooth distribution of water among the four states  Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry  saying the scheme should be taken to its "logical end".

The intervention was approved by the apex court.

On 18 July, the tribunal was dissolved by the Centre stating that all the disputes over the river water among the states had reached a "finality" and the panel was no longer needed.

The Cauvery river flows through the southern states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Both the states have been at loggerheads for their shares the water. In 1990, the Union Government had set up the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal to look into inter-state river water disputes.
Over 2,000 ponds are being rejuvenated by the agriculture and water resources ministries of Jharkhand, in a bid to ease the water crisis in the state.

Editor's note: A recent NITI Aayog report on India's water resources presented an alarming state of affairs. The country, according to the think tank, is in the grip of the worst water crisis in its history, with 600 million Indians faced with "high to extreme water stress", resulting in 2 lakh deaths a year. Firstpost will run a series of ground reports from across the country to determine the extent to which depleted reserves have affected daily life.

Read all stories in the series here.

***

Ranchi: The villagers of Rajbandh have lived under the shadow of violence and unrest. A region once ravaged by the Maoist insurgency is now hoping to rewrite its destiny, by reviving local water bodies.

The 120-odd ponds in Dumka's Rajbandh panchayat are key to a new lease of life for the villagers in the area and home to Jharkhand's first 'machli panchayat' or fishery cooperative. Aimed at turning the smaller water bodies in the panchayat into a source of livelihood for the people, the machli panchayat now promises a source of income.

Yogesh Murmu, the ex-headman of Rajbandh, says that though fish farming is prevalent in the area, the quality and quantity of the produce isn't fit for sale in the market. "Whatever we produced was consumed in the village itself. It is difficult to rear fish without a proper setup and though a handful of families used to rear fishes in the local farm ponds, the people had zero access to the markets," he says.

"When farm ponds were dug last year as a part of a state-wide project, we expanded the fishery business in the village with almost hundred families using these ponds to rear fish," says Murmu. "But we had glitches, especially with the supply of seed to cultivate the fishes. The government finally pitched in and allotted funds both for the maintenance of the ponds and rearing of fishes. Now, families in the village will be able to supplement their income through fishery."

2,000 ponds to be revived by year-end

The story of Rajbandh is not an isolated one. Over 2,000 ponds are being rejuvenated and revived through the efforts of the agriculture and water resources ministries of Jharkhand, in a bid to improve the situation of water resources in the state. The state's ambitious project of digging 1.4 lakh farm ponds to replenish the underground water level and to meet the irrigation demands in the rural pockets is making a difference.

In the second phase of the pond-digging initiative, the project is being extended to the revival of government and public ponds in both rural and urban areas by the state agriculture department. Already, 2,000 ponds below five acres which need maintenance have been listed and the agriculture department is working on their revival.

Pooja Singhal, secretary for the state department of agriculture, says: "We are targeting the revival of 2,000 ponds by the end of 2018. The process involves de-silting of the ponds so that they can retain water in the dry season."

Singhal says water retention in the dry season is the biggest challenge. "Be it irrigation or fishery, a certain water level needs to be maintained for the ponds to effectively work as a feasible resource for the people. The agriculture department has taken up 2,000 such government and private ponds which are being deepened by removal of silt deposits in them. We will be distributing fish seeds in the same so that they could alternate as a source of livelihood to the people around."

As Raghubar Das, chief minister of Jharkhand, recently observed, "A paltry 13 percent of the farmlands in Jharkhand are equipped with irrigation facilities. The pond revival initiative will help improve the outreach of irrigation facilities in the state and help spread awareness about rainwater harvesting- techniques among farmers. The outreach of the drip irrigation techniques also needs a boost in the state. Five representatives from each district will be sent overseas to study the utilisation of drip irrigation in countries like Israel."

6.53-point growth in state's water-index score in a year

Initiated this May, the project has revived 600 ponds already. "The goal was to reach a target of at least 1,400 ponds before the monsoon. But we are working on it and the district administrations are being roped in to speed up the process before rains start," says Singhal.

In the capital Ranchi, which is itself battling a major water crisis, the rejuvenation of larger ponds is underway. The Karamtoli pond, which has become shallow owing to slime and silt deposits, is being deepened and de-silted. The pond will be used as a fishery. The water from these ponds will also be used to irrigate over two lakh hectares across the state through a network of pipelines.

And it is not just the pond revival initiative that is re-scripting Jharkhand's water-management story. Rainwater harvesting is also being promoted. In Khunti district, 455 ponds have been constructed as part of rainwater-harvesting systems.

"Percolation tanks are also being constructed across Jharkhand," says Singhal. "Around 600 such tanks have already been built and are being utilised to recharge the underground water levels. These tanks are designed to recharge the groundwater at locations where land is permeable enough to easily recharge the groundwater through a surface water body. Since Jharkhand is in a rocky terrain area, they are highly effective in recharging the groundwater levels in the state," added Singhal.

The state cut a sorry figure in the NITI Aayog's recently released Composite Water Management Index, scoring the lowest among the non-Himalayan states. Though there has been 6.53-point growth in Jharkhands water-index scores in the past year, the total score of Jharkhand remained 35, which was much lower than the average score of 49 for non-Himalayan states.

But, the state's new policies to revive its water resources and improve utilisation have pushed it to second place among states with the highest incremental growth in the sector. According to NITI Aayog's index, the percentage of over-exploited water bodies that saw a rise in their water tables before the monsoons has increased from 17 percent in 2015-16 to 50 percent in 2016-17.

The author is a Ranchi-based freelance writer and a member of 101Reporters.com, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.
Defence spokesman said there was no ceasefire violation in Jammu and Kashmir. The firing was resorted by the army.

Jammu: A 10-year-old boy on Tuesday was critically injured when an unexploded shell went off near the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

Ashiq Hussain was injured when he reportedly started fiddling with some unexploded ammunition in Shahpur sector, a defence spokesman said.

He was rushed to a civilian hospital where doctors referred him to Government Medical College Jammu for specialised treatment, a police official said. He said small arms firing was also reported for over half-an-hour in the nearby Sawjian sector in the early hours of Tuesday but further details were awaited.

The defence spokesman, however, said there was no ceasefire violation and the firing was resorted by army to challenge suspicious movements noticed along the LoC.

There was no report of any casualty in the incident, he said.
An unidentified militant in Kashmir Valley on Tuesday surrendered before security forces and returned to his family, the police said.

Srinagar: An unidentified militant in Kashmir Valley on Tuesday surrendered before security forces and returned to his family, the police said. "With the help of community one more joins his family and shuns the path of violence," Kashmir Zone Police said on Twitter.

With the help of community one more joins his family and shuns the path of violence.@JmuKmrPolice @HMOIndia @spvaid  Kashmir Zone Police (@KashmirPolice) July 24, 2018

However, the details of the surrendered militant have been kept a secret in order to ensure the security of the youth. More than a dozen militants have laid down their arms in Kashmir since last year when police announced that they will accept an offer to surrender of local militants even during ongoing encounters.

Most of these militants have surrendered after appeals by their families to shun the path of violence and return home.
A 65-year-old man was allegedly attacked by a family while he was taking a buffalo to his home, police said on Monday dismissing social media reports linking the incident to cow vigilantism.

Banihal (JK): A 65-year-old man was allegedly attacked by a family while he was taking a buffalo to his home, police said on Monday dismissing social media reports linking the incident to cow vigilantism. Three of the accused were arrested, they said.

Abdul Hamid Sheikh had purchased a buffalo from a local Gujjar for domestic use and was allegedly intercepted by Parbhat Singh at Inhar village of Ramsoo in Ramban district on Monday evening, police said in a statement.

A scuffle followed a heated argument between the two and Singh was later joined by some other members of the family who attacked Sheikh, they said. As soon as the matter came to the notice of police, a party led by local Station House Officer immediately rushed to the spot. Sheikh was shifted to a hospital for medical treatment and a case was registered against the culprits, the statement said.

The police said three accused persons were arrested and investigation was in progress. No lynching by any mob has taken place and the injured person has been discharged from the hospital after required medical treatment, the police said.

Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Banihal, Sajjad Sarwar identified the arrested persons as Prabhat Singh, Dharam Singh and Sandeep Singh. Meanwhile, Aman Committee, Pogal-Paristan, comprising local Hindu and Muslim residents condemned the incident and vowed to maintain peace in the region.
The Congress' women wing held a massive protest on Monday strongly condemning the Morni gangrape case in Haryana and demanded dismissal of the Khattar government over its alleged failure to ensure safety and security of women.

Chandigarh: The Congress' women wing held a massive protest on Monday strongly condemning the Morni gang rape case in Haryana and demanded dismissal of the Khattar government over its alleged failure to ensure safety and security of women.

The Mahila Congress workers took out a protest march in Panchkula and raised slogans against the BJP government over the rape of a 22-year-old Chandigarh woman by 40 men for four consecutive days at a guest house in Morni area of Haryana's Panchkula district. They alleged that law and order situation in the state had broken down under the Khattar government. Later, talking to reporters, the chief of Congress' women wing demanded dismissal of the Khattar government.

Sushmita Dev, president of the All India Mahila Congress (AIMC), said the BJP government had failed to check the increasing incidents of gang-rapes and crime against women. Earlier on Monday, Dev led a delegation to Haryana Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki and submitted a memorandum to him in the case of alleged gang-rape of a Chandigarh woman in Morni hills area.

She later told reporters that the Congress demanded dismissal of the area women police station house officer (SHO) in Panchkula and shifting of the case from Panchkula to Chandigarh as the complainant has stated that she has lost faith in Haryana police. "The chief minister needs to answer why a woman who has been brutally raped wants her case to be transferred to Chandigarh. Doesn't this reflect the state of affairs which exists in Haryana under this government?," she asked. Dev also demanded a probe into the alleged flesh trade flourishing in Morni Hills area in Panchkula district allegedly with police connivance.

Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda also hit out at the Khattar government for failing to ensure the safety and security of the women. "The woman who has been brutally raped is turned away by the police who ask her to register case somewhere else, such a thing is shocking... the crime graph has been on the rise ever since this government came to power. Law and order machinery has completely broken," Hooda alleged.

The police have so far arrested nine accused in connection with the alleged gang rape of a 22-year-old woman from Chandigarh in Morni of Panchkula district. In a complaint lodged with the Chandigarh Police at Manimajra police station on July 19, the woman alleged that she was held captive for four days where the accused took turns to rape her.

The guest house manager and another key accused, who was known to the victim's husband and was instrumental in taking her to the guest house, was among those who have been nabbed. The Chandigarh Police had registered an FIR at Manimajra police station after the woman approached them, amid allegations that the Haryana police had failed to take cognizance of her complaint initially when she approached a women police station in Panchkula. Alleging that they did not have faith in Panchkula police as they had not acted on their complaint initially, the victim and her husband have desired that the case be transferred back to the Chandigarh Police.

The Panchkula police had set up a Special Investigation Team under IPS officer Anshu Singla, currently posted as ASP, Panchkula, to probe the gangrape incident. Three police officials, including a woman assistant sub-inspector (ASI), were suspended for negligence and not handling the rape survivor's complaint properly.
The agitation by Maratha community for reservation in government jobs and education has turn violent with protests being organised by Maratha outfits on roads and highways blocking traffic and torching vehicles.

The agitation by Maratha community in Maharashtra for reservation in government jobs and education has turned violent with protests being organised on roads and highways blocking traffic and torching vehicles.

Moreover, some Maratha outfits have even called for a bandh in Maharashtra on Wednesday. Some Maratha groups have also planned to protest in Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Raigad and Palghar. A pro-reservation Maratha leader said they have called the bandh across the state and that they would continue their agitation until Fadnavis apologises to the community.

However, Maratha Kranti Samaj, one of the groups behind the planned agitation, said that they will conduct a peaceful bandh as they don't intend to trouble anyone.

"We will observe a peaceful bandh tomorrow. Thane, Navi Mumbai, Raigad to be bandh tomorrow. Schools and colleges will not be included in this bandh as we do not intend to trouble anyone," a Maratha Kranti Samaj leader told ANI.

The Mumbai Police, meanwhile, has made arrangenents to keep in check the law and order situation during the bandh. "All the necessary deployments have been put in place. We have also instructed our vigilance teams to keep a watch at sensitive pockets. We have told them to protest peacefully," DCP Deepak Deoraj, PRO, Mumbai Police said.

On Monday, a 27-year-old protester Kakasaheb Shinde jumped to his death in the Godavari river and his death has triggered a fresh set of protests in several parts of Maharashtra, with opposition leaders seeking to put the onus on the BJP-led government in the state.

Protesters on Tuesday blocked the Ahmednagar-Aurangabad highway and damaged a dozen vehicles, including a police van and a bus, in Gangakhed tehsil of Parbhani district. They refused to take possession of Shinde's body and demanded the resignation of Fadnavis. They held a sit-in protest at the Gangapur police station in Aurangabad district, demanding that criminal case be filed against the chief minister over Shinde's death. Locals also attacked the vehicle of Shiv Sena MP Chandrakant Khaire when he went to attend Shinde's funeral.

The Shiv Sena has said that it supports the call for reservation for Maratha community and urged those "who promised reservation" to come out in support of the issue. "Maratha reservation has been delayed. How the court will react to it must be kept mind. Shiv Sena supports Maratha reservation. People who promised reservation to solve the issue should come forward," Maharashtra minister and Shiv Sena leader Subhash Desai told ANI.

The Maharashtra government, meanwhile, has announced Rs 10 lakh ex-gratia for Shinde's family.

Meanwhile, according to ANI, two more protestors, Jayant Sonavne and Jagannath Sonavne tried to attempt suicide by jumping into the river and consuming poison respectively. Both have been admitted to the hospital.

Maharashtra: Maratha Kranti Morcha workers tonsured their heads in Aurangabad's Gangapur during their protest demanding reservation for Maratha community in govt jobs & education. pic.twitter.com/OT8KnMWCXP  ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2018

In the last few days, protests have taken place in Buldhana, Akola, Parali, Washim and even in Mumbai. The Maratha leaders have placed several demands before the state such which include reservation for the Maratha community under OBC category and strict action against people involved in Kopardi rape and killing of a minor girl. Meanwhile, accusing the Maharashtra government of failing to act on their demands, the Maratha leaders on Monday had said that they would not allow the chief minister to perform annual pooja at the Lord Vitthal temple in Pandharpur. After which, Fadnavis had cancelled his visit. But, at least 20 members of the Maratha Kranti Morcha were detained on Monday as they were reportedly planning to stage a protest at the venue of an event to be attended by the chief minister. The Maratha Kranti Morcha had then demanded an apology from Fadnavis for alleging that some members from the community were planning violence at Pandharpur. "We will continue our agitation until chief minister Fadnavis apologises to the Maratha community. We will observe bandh in Aurangabad, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Palghar and Raigarh on Wednesday," Ravindra Patil, the coordinator of a pro-reservation group of Marathas, said. Some Maratha groups have also planned to protest in Mumbai in the near future.

#WATCH: Maratha Kranti Morcha workers set ablaze a truck in Aurangabad's Gangapur as a mark of their protest demanding reservation for Maratha community in government jobs & education. #Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/OIdBJlSLpo  ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2018

However, reacting to the public agitation, BJP's Rajya Sabha member Sambhaji Chhatrapati said, "The issue of Maratha reservations is of utmost importance. The chief minister should not ignore it." Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Ashok Chavan said, "The Fadnavis-led government is engaged in an attempt to paint the protesting Maratha community members as criminals and this attempt is infuriating."

The community leaders had also earlier taken out several rallies in various districts to highlight their demands. Last year, a huge rally was organised by the Maratha Kranti Morcha in Mumbai. And the community leaders have claimed that despite assurances from Fadnavis to fulfil the demands, nothing concrete has been done till now. Various Maratha organisations had held massive 'silent marches' also across the state in 2017 for various demands, including reservation.

Earlier, the Maharashtra government had said in the state Assembly that it would allot 16 percent of the 72,000 posts to fill to the Maratha candidates in the form of backlog if the Bombay

High Court allows quota for the community. Fadnavis had said the government was "committed" to give quota to the community.

"Some people are saying that the posts won't be available for the Marathas in case the high court announces reservation for them if we went ahead with the mega recruitment. I would like to assure that we have more posts available than this," Fadnavis told the Assembly last week. He said, "Even if we fill the 72,000 posts, 16 percent posts would be filled as a backlog as and when reservation is granted to Marathas. Therefore, there would be no injustice meted out to the community."

On the demand for reservation for the Dhangar (the Shepherd) community, the Fadnavis had said that the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), entrusted to conduct a study of backwardness of the community, is likely to submit its report to the government "any time". "Based on that report, we would make a recommendation to the Centre," Fadnavis said. "The commission headed by Justice Gaikwad is visiting every district and holding a public hearing to prepare a report. The HC order on the Maratha reservation is expected after the Commission submits its report," he said, adding that the government is providing all possible assistance to the commission for submission of the report as early as possible.

The Bombay High Court had in 2014 stayed implementation of the erstwhile Congress-NCP government's decision to provide reservation to Marathas. The HC had also stayed the government's decision to provide five percent reservation to the Muslims in government service but allowed quotas for them in educational institutions.

Members of the Dhangar community have been demanding reservation under the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category. Whereas, Marathas, a politically influential community in the state, have been demanding quota in government jobs and education under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.

With inputs from PTI
The Maratha Kranti Morcha on Monday demanded an apology from chief minister Devendra Fadnavis for alleging that some members from the community were planning violence at Pandharpur.

Pune: The Maratha Kranti Morcha on Monday demanded an apology from chief minister Devendra Fadnavis for alleging that some members from the community were planning violence at Pandharpur.

"The CM, while using objectionable language against the Maratha community, said that he had intelligence inputs that some organisations were planning violence to disrupt his visit to the Lord Vitthal Temple in Pandharpur," said Pravin Gaikwad, one of the coordinators of MKM.

"All these allegations are baseless. Till date, the Maratha community has taken out 58 mookmorchas (silent marches) in the state and all these morchas were peaceful in nature. Not a single case of violence was reported during these morchas," Gaikwad claimed.

Stating that warkaris (pilgrims who arrive on foot at Pandharpur during Ashadhi Ekadashi) were farmers, Gaikwad said that it was the children of warkaris who were demanding reservations in jobs and education. Demanding an apology, Gaikwad dared Fadnavis to make the intelligence report public.

At another event in Pune's Chinchwad area, a woman activist reportedly from a Maratha organisation, tried to raise slogans at a function attended by Fadnavis. She tried to raise slogans when Fadnavis rose to address a gathering at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Krantiveer Chaphekar National Museum in Chinchwad.

Earlier, police had detained 20 members of the MKM ahead of the CM's Chinchwad visit. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Fadnavis had said that "Police have intercepted some messages, like 'will release snakes among devotees', 'could create a situation that would lead to stampede', among others." "Efforts are being made by some organisations and people that could create a life-threatening situation in Pandharpur," the chief minister had said.
A pro-reservation Maratha leader said they have called the bandh across the state and that they will continue their agitation until Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis apologises to the community.

Mumbai: Maratha outfits have called for a bandh in Maharashtra on Tuesday, a day after a man demanding reservation for the community jumped to his death in a river in the Aurangabad district.

A pro-reservation Maratha leader said they have called the bandh across the state and that they will continue their agitation until Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis apologises to the community.

"We will continue our agitation until Chief Minister Fadnavis apologises to the Maratha community. We will observe bandh in Aurangabad and other parts of the state today," Ravindra Patil, the coordinator of a pro-reservation group of Marathas, said.

Some Maratha groups have also planned to protest in Mumbai in the near future.

Yesterday, a 27-year-old protester, Kakasaheb Shinde, jumped off a bridge over Godavari River in Aurangabad. He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead, police said.

The Maratha Kranti Morcha had on Monday demanded an apology from Fadnavis for alleging that some members from the community were planning violence at Pandharpur town in Solapur district, where the Fadnavis was earlier scheduled to perform puja at a temple on 'Ashadhi Ekadashi'.

The outfit, which led the 'jal samadhi' protest in which Shinde died, is leading the agitation seeking reservation for the community in government jobs and education.

Shinde's death had triggered a fresh set of protests in several parts of Maharashtra, with opposition leaders seeking to put the onus on the BJP-led government in the state.

In the last few days, protests have taken place in Buldhana, Akola, Parali, Washim and even in Mumbai.

Fadnavis had said on Sunday that he was cancelling his visit, scheduled for Monday, to the temple in Pandharpur after Maratha outfits threatened to disrupt the event.

Quotas for Marathas, a politically influential community that constitutes around 30 percent of the state's population, has been a hugely contentious issue.

The community leaders had earlier taken out several rallies in various districts to highlight their demands. Last year, a huge rally was organised by the Maratha Kranti Morcha in this connection in Mumbai.

Despite assurances from Fadnavis to fulfill the demands, nothing concrete has been done till now, community leaders have claimed.
To check incidents of lynching, the Centre has asked all states to appoint a superintendent of police-level officer in each district, set up a special task force for gathering intelligence and closely monitor social media contents, so that no one is attacked on the suspicion of child-lifters or cattle-smugglers.

New Delhi: To check incidents of lynching, the Centre has asked all states to appoint an officer at the level of a superintendent of police in each district, set up a special task force for gathering intelligence and closely monitor social media contents so that no one is attacked on the suspicion of being a child lifter or a cattle smuggler.

The Union home ministry also said wherever it is found that a police officer or an officer of the district administration has failed to comply with the directions to prevent, investigate and facilitate expeditious trial of any such crime of mob violence and lynching, it should be considered as an act of deliberate negligence and misconduct, and strong action must be taken against the official concerned.

The advisory has been sent to the states and Union territories following a Supreme Court directive issued in this regard on 17 July.

"Incidents of violence and lynching by mobs in some parts of the country fuelled by various kinds of rumours and unverified news such as child lifting, theft, cattle smuggling etc, are a matter of serious concerns. Such instances of persons taking the law in their own hands run against the basic tenets of the rule of law.

"All state governments, UT administrations and their law enforcement agencies are requested to implement the directions of the Supreme Court in letter and spirit. A detailed report on the action taken in the matter may please be sent to the ministry at the earliest," the advisory sent to chief secretaries and DGPs of the states and UTs said.

This is the second advisory on the issue, within a month.

The move came in the wake of constitution of a Group of Ministers (GoM), headed by home minister Rajnath Singh, and a committee, headed by the Union home secretary, to suggest legal framework to check incidents of lynching.

Singh on Tuesday said in Parliament that the government will enact a law, if required, to curb incidents of lynching.

The Supreme Court directive said, "The state governments shall designate, a senior police officer, not below the rank of Superintendent of Police, as nodal officer in each district. Such nodal officer shall be assisted by one of the DSP rank officers in the district for taking measures to prevent incidents of mob violence and lynching."

They shall constitute a special task force so as to procure intelligence reports about the people who are likely to commit such crimes or who are involved in spreading hate speeches, provocative statements and fake news, it said.

The state governments shall forthwith identify districts, sub-divisions and/or villages where instances of lynching and mob violence have been reported in the recent past. The process of identification should be done within a period of three weeks from 17 July.

The secretary, home department, of the states concerned shall issue directives/ advisories to the nodal officers of the concerned districts for ensuring that the officer-in-charge of the police stations of the identified areas are extra cautious if any instance of mob violence within their jurisdiction comes to their notice.

The nodal officer, so designated, shall hold regular meetings (at least once a month) with the local intelligence units in the district along with all SHOs of the district to identify the existence of the tendencies of vigilantism, mob violence or lynching in the district and take steps to prohibit instances of dissemination of offensive material through different social media platforms or any other means for inciting such tendencies, the apex court directive stated.

The nodal officer shall also make efforts to eradicate hostile environment against any community or caste which is targeted in such incidents.

The Director General of Police shall issue a circular to the Superintendents of Police with regard to police patrolling in the sensitive areas keeping in view the incidents of the past and the intelligence obtained by the office of the Director General.

All law enforcement and intelligence agencies of the state governments shall monitor the social media platform and shall take action under the legal provision contained in Information Technology Act and other relevant law to curb and stop dissemination of irresponsible and explosive messages, videos and other material on various social media platforms which have a tendency to incite mob violence and lynching of any kind.

The police should register FIR against persons who disseminate irresponsible and explosive messages and videos having content which is likely to incite mob violence and lynching of any kind.

Wherever it is found that a police officer or an officer of the district administration has failed to comply with the aforesaid directions in order to prevent and/or investigate and/or facilitate expeditious trial of any crime of mob violence and lynching, the same shall be considered as an act of deliberate negligence and/or misconduct for which appropriate action must be taken against him/her and not limited to departmental action under the service rules, the Supreme Court had said.

Departmental action shall be taken to its logical conclusion preferably within six months by the authority of the first instance, it had said in the directive.
Fighting near the Golan Heights frontier is sensitive to Israel, which yesterday said it had used two missiles to bring down rockets launched in the battle between the Syrian army and the Islamic State.

But, a Syrian military source accused Israel of firing at one of its warplanes as it carried out operations against jihadists over Syrian territory.

Syrian state media has said Israel targetted a Syrian warplane while conducting raids in Syrian airpace.

Israel's Army Radio said the jet may have crashed on the Syrian-held side of the border and the condition of the pilot was unclear.

Military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus says Tuesday that the plane flew toward Israel at "relatively high speed" before breaching the country's airspace. "We do not have any information so far about the pilots".

The Syrian jet was the first to be shot down by Israel in four years. "The IDF is in high alert and will continue to operate against the violation of the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement", tweeted the IDF.

Israel has been stressing for weeks that it would enforce the ceasefire between it and Syria amid a Russian-backed government offensive in the country's south.

Israel's military sounded air defence sirens on the Syrian frontier earlier today, but did not give a reason why it was activated.

On Tuesday they reached the Golan Heights for the first time in seven years.

Minutes before the reported shootdown, Syria's state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV was broadcasting footage from the fence demarcating the United Nations buffer zone between Syrian and Israeli forces inside the Golan Heights.

Reuters cited an Israeli official as saying that while Russian Federation was "committed" to its offer, Netanyahu rejected it and told Lavrov: "We will not allow the Iranians to establish themselves even 100 kilometers from the border" because Iran has long-range missiles that can reach Israel from Syria.

While Israel and the United States have been pressuring Russian Federation to limit Iranian influence in Syria, Moscow contends that it has little influence on the tight relationship between Syria and Iran, and it would be unrealistic to expect Iran to fully withdraw from the country.

The Syrian regime usually responds to Israeli strikes against its forces with angry condemnation but no significant action.
The Andhra Pradesh Re-organisation Act was also one of the things discussed in the Rajya Sabha, where TDP and other Opposition parties asked the BJP-led government to honour its assurances in letter and spirit by granting special category status (SCS) to Andhra Pradesh.

On the fifth day of Monsoon Session 2018, issues such as cases of mob lynchings and the alleged rape and murder of a girl at a shelter home in Bihar figured in both Houses of Parliament. Home Minister Rajnath Singh assured action from the Centre on both matters.

The Andhra Pradesh Re-organisation Act was also one of the subjects discussed in the Rajya Sabha, where the Telegu Desam Party (TDP) and other Opposition parties asked the BJP-led government to honour its assurances in letter and spirit by granting special category status to Andhra Pradesh. However, the home minister virtually ruled out granting the special status to the bifurcated state, saying that the Centre was providing more assistance than what it would have got under that tag.

Rajya Sabha debates on Andhra Pradesh Act

In the Upper House, Rajnath said 90 percent of the promises made under the Andhra Pradesh Re-organisation Act, which had led to the bifurcation of the state into Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in 2014, have already been fulfilled. "The remaining promises will also be kept," he said, while replying to a short-duration discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the non-implementation of the provisions of the 2014 legislation.

His statement came after former prime minister Manmohan Singh said in the Upper House that he had expected his successor Narendra Modi to fulfil the UPA government's commitment to grant special category status to Andhra Pradesh, as it was a promise made after consulting BJP leaders at the time.

"Whatever commitments have been made, not only by our prime minister but even by former prime minister Manmohan Singh, our government will fulfill those commitments," the home minister said, adding that commitments made in Parliament should be kept and the Centre was doing just that.

After his reply, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad categorically asked whether the Centre would be granting special category status to Andhra Pradesh and sought a reply in "yes or no".

To this, the home minister wondered whether it was not clear from his reply. "Why are you just stuck at special category status. Why don't you move on? The idea behind special category status is that the state should get assistance. We are giving more assistance than that," Rajnath said.

He added that the state was entitled to get over Rs 22,000 crore as a revenue deficit grant in five years ending 2019-20, and the Centre was disbursing the amount.

The home minister said there was a "conflict" between Manmohan Singh's promise of special category status and the 14th Finance Commission report, which has not made any distinction between a special category state and other states.

Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said the Centre "has an open mind". "We are willing to consider in a rationale manner how these issues can be resolved so that the letter and spirit is adhered to," he said, adding that the state would not have got any extra funds through the special category status. "The purpose is that the people of Andhra Pradesh should get benefits, and the Modi government is fully committed to that... Don't go by the letter, go by the spirit of the arrangement."

Saying that the state has been provided with Rs 22,000 crore as a revenue deficit grant, he said: "If we were to rework all the schemes on 90:10 (ratio) as per special category status, then this revenue deficit grant would have come down by about Rs 17,500 crore."

In response, Azad said the Modi government should fulfill the promises it had made as well as those made by the earlier UPA dispensation. The Congress leader also warned that there could be a privilege motion against the NDA government if this was not done.

However, BJP member GVL Narasimha Rao, making his maiden speech in the House, defended the government, saying the Centre has fulfilled most of the promises made to Andhra Pradesh and accused the TDP of "misleading its own people".

Both Houses discuss Bihar shelter home rape and murder case

Parliamentarians expressed anguish over the alleged rape of girls and a murder in a state-run shelter home at Muzaffarpur in Bihar. The Centre said it would consider ordering an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation if the state government makes a recommendation.

Members of Opposition parties, including the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), raised the issue during Zero Hour in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

Congress member Ranjeet Ranjan expressed concern over the alleged cases of young girls being forced into prostitution. She also demanded a CBI investigation into such cases. RJD member Jaiprakash Narayan Yadav alleged that there was lawlessness in Bihar. In response, Rajnath said it was a serious issue. "If there is a recommendation from the state government, then the Centre will consider ordering a CBI probe into the matter," he said in the Lok Sabha.

In the Rajya Sabha, RJD leader Manoj Kumar Jha also demanded a CBI investigation in the Muzaffarpur case. A Janata Dal (United) leader said the Bihar government has already started an investigation.

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu called the incident "very serious".

Discussions on mob lynching

Amid Opposition outcry in the Rajya Sabha over incidents of mob lynching in the country, Rajnath said the central government will enact a law, if necessary, to curb similar incidents.

Opposition parties, mainly the Congress and the Trinamool Congress (TMC), raised the issue in the Lok Sabha during Zero Hour and demanded that the Centre take action to curb lynchings.

TMC leader Shanta Chhetri cited media reports to say that "88 precious lives have been lost (in lynching incidents) since this government came to power". Noting that the Supreme Court had last week asked for a law to curb mob lynching, she asked what the government had done to check such incidents.

Responding to the criticism, Rajnath said, "I want to make it clear that the government is not just concerned but has taken lynching incidents very seriously." He reiterated that the biggest lynching in India had occurred in 1984 when thousands of Sikhs were killed in the aftermath of the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi.

"But the incidents of lynching should not be politicised. The Supreme Court has also given its observations on lynchings," he said.

A 28-year-old man was beaten to death on Friday on suspicion of being a cow smuggler in Lalawandi village in Rajasthan's Alwar district.

The home ministry had announced on Monday that it would sett up two high-level committees to suggest ways and a legal framework to effectively deal with incidents of mob violence and lynching.

Lok Sabha passes anti-corruption Bill

The Parliament on Tuesday passed an anti-corruption Bill that punishes both bribe givers and takers and allows prosecution of former public officials. The Rajya Sabha passed the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2018, last week.

In his reply, Union minister Jitendra Singh said the Bill provides safeguards to officers who perform their duties with honesty. "We have brought amendments so that an honest performing officer does not get intimidated or his initiatives get killed," he said, adding that the "historic legislation" has provisions to ensure speedy trial in corruption cases. "For any corruption case, we will bring guidelines for the decision to be ordinarily made in two years."

Referring to the delay in the appointment of the Lokpal, he said the blame laid with the Congress as it did not get enough seats for its leader to be recognised as the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

The Leader of Opposition is a member of the Lokpal selection panel. Singh said the government had sought to include the leader of the largest Opposition party in the meetings concerning the Lokpal appointment. Many members who took part in the debate stressed on the need for electoral reforms to curb corruption.

Rajya Sabha adjourned for 90 minutes

At one point, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned for about 90 minutes after noisy protests by TMC members, who stormed the Well demanding that black money stashed by Indians in Swiss banks be brought back.

The protests erupted during the Question Hour, when TMC member Sukhendu Sekhar Roy sought to know from the finance minister the unaccounted deposits of Indians recovered so far from Switzerland, in how many cases have proceedings have been initiated and when would Indians get the promised Rs 15 lakh in their bank accounts.

"I think the honourable member may have some information the government does not have. If he is privy to any information about black money, I think he should put it before the government so the government can take action," Goyal said, in his reply to Roy's question.

This provoked the TMC members who started shouting slogans, and some of them moved into the Well. The ruckus, during which Congress MPs were also on their feet and protesting vociferously, led the Rajya Sabha chairman to adjourn the House for about 90 minutes.

With inputs from agencies
Following the delegation-level talks, India and Uganda signed four MoUs in the areas of defence cooperation, visa exemption for official and diplomatic passport holders, cultural exchange programme and material testing laboratory.

Kampala: India on Tuesday extended two lines of credit worth nearly $200 million to Uganda and signed a defence cooperation agreement with the African nation as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held wide-ranging talks with President Yoweri Museveni and discussed ways to strengthen the ties.

Modi, who arrived in Kampala on Tuesday evening on a two-day visit to Uganda  the first bilateral tour by an Indian prime minister since 1997, held one-on-one meeting with Museveni which was followed by a delegation-level talks to comprehensively review all aspects of bilateral relations.

Following the delegation-level talks, the two sides signed four MoUs in the areas of defence cooperation, visa exemption for official and diplomatic passport holders, cultural exchange programme and material testing laboratory.

In a joint press statement, Modi announced two lines of credit worth nearly $200 million in energy infrastructure, agriculture and dairy sectors.

He lauded the time-tested relationship between the two countries and said India was ready to enhance the cooperation in the defence sector with Uganda.

Modi said India and Uganda should strengthen cooperation in the field of military training. He also announced to provide vehicles and ambulances for the Ugandan force as well as civilian use.

"India will assist Uganda in training, capacity building, infrastructure development, IT and development initiatives," he said.

Modi said India will provide a cancer therapy machine to the cancer institute in Kampala. "This will help Uganda as well as other African countries," he added.

"Uganda was always close to our heart and will remain so in future. India was always there to assist Uganda in its development initiatives," Modi said.

"We will continue to support Uganda," the prime minister added.

Describing the Ugandan president as an "old friend of India", he said the memory of his first trip to Uganda as Gujarat chief minister in 2007 was still afresh.

On his part, Museveni praised Modi, saying his business management approach in the public affairs has brought lot of changes in India. "Instead of worshipping bureaucracy he promotes efficiency and that has helped India emerge as one of the fastest growing economies," he said.

Museveni also called for mutual prosperity approach wherein the two countries support each other's product.

Projecting Uganda as a major tourist destination, he said there is a huge scope for tourism cooperation between the two countries.

India can assist Uganda to promote tourism by launching direct flight from Mumbai and other cities, he added.

He also sought assistance from Indian experts for the manufacturing and assembling of solar-powered water pump the country needs for irrigation.

The Uganda president sought assistance from India to improve healthcare facilities in his country.
A day ahead of the general elections in Pakistan, separatists in Kashmir said political parties in the neighbouring country desisted from making Kashmir a major campaign issue.

Srinagar: A day ahead of the general elections in Pakistan, separatists in Kashmir said political parties in the neighbouring country desisted from making Kashmir a major campaign issue. Hurriyat (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said Kashmir was not a major campaign issue for political parties in Pakistan and that they were more focussed on finding solutions to their internal problems.

Their reaction came even as the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president and partys prime ministerial candidate Shehbaz Sharif said he will try to unify Kashmir with Pakistan. Pakistan Teheek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan also said an unresolved Kashmir was a threat to peace in the subcontinent.

Senior separatist leader and Hurriyat (G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani earlier said that Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) president Maulana Fazl-ur-Rahman should be removed from the chairmanship of the Pakistans parliamentary special committee on Kashmir. He said the Pakistani government should appoint a person who could speak on Kashmir. The MMA chief had come under attack for not speaking about Indian atrocities in Kashmir after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant commander Burhan Muzafar Wani.

The PML-(N), PTI and MMA are locked in a three-way battle which is being held amid tight security. The run-up to the elections was marked by unprecedented violence, with militants targetting campaign rallies as political parties traded charges of corruption. Meanwhile, the Pakistan economy has been left in dire straits by former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Mirwaiz said, In the Pakistan election, internal issues dominated the discourse. We have not seen any fierce campaigning on Kashmir by any party. It is all right that every party kept Kashmir in its agenda, but Kashmir was not a major factor in campaign. The focus was on Pakistan's internal problems.

However, he added it remains to be seen what kind of seriousness the new dispensation in Pakistan will show towards resolving the "Kashmir problem". No matter which government takes power, Kashmir will be an important aspect of their foreign policy. But the question remains: How serious will they be about implementing their election manifesto? How successful will they be in implementing their agenda?" Mirwaiz asked.

However, separatist leaders remain divided on if the new dispensation in Pakistan will start a dialogue with Government of India (GoI) outside the purview of United Nation's resolutions which seek a plebiscite on Kashmir.

Former Pakistani Army chief and ex-president, Pervez Musharraf had proposed a four-point formula, which was seen as departure from Pakistans policy on seeking implementation of UN resolutions. Geelani had opposed the formula, which envisaged gradual reduction of troops at the Line of Control (LoC) by India and Pakistan, increased people-to-people contact across the LoC, self-governance and joint supervision of Kashmir by India and Pakistan.

Though Musharraf faces charges of treason in Pakistan, Mirwaiz said Musharraf's four-point formula was the official policy of the government. But Hurriyat (G) spokesman Ghulam Ahmad Gulzar said Musharrafs policy was his personal view.

Both Gulzar and Mirwaiz agreed: Irrespective of Pakistans internal politics, the new dispensation will continue to support resolving the situation in Kashmir. The official policy of Pakistan vis-a-vis Kashmir remains unchanged. Our faction of Hurriyat openly opposed Musharrafs formula and said that was no solution. But that was his personal view, not that of people of Pakistan, said Gulzar,

Except for Geelanis attack on Maulana Fazl-ur-Rahman and Musharrafs policy on Kashmir, separatist leaders in Kashmir have largely toed the official line of Pakistan on Kashmir. Many separatist leaders said irrespective of who wins in Pakistan, it is the countrys army which decides the Kashmir policy. They said Musharraf could propose a resolution outside the purview of UN resolution since he was also the army chief.

Separatist leaders, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said even PML(N) has accused Pakistani Army of interference in elections and supporting PTI, and that politics in Kashmir is directly controlled by the army. They said the Pakistani Army monitors the events unfolding in Kashmir on a day-to-day basis.

Mirwaiz added, People of Pakistan have always supported resolving the Kashmir issue, but what needs to be seen is what the political leadership in Pakistan will do to build a consensus on Kashmir at the international level.
What was seen as a landmark legislation to protect tribal rights is in reality proving to be not much of a protection to the tribals in Chattisgarh.

Editor's note: Pathalgadi are stone slabs bearing inscriptions that villagers in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have, over the past year, appropriated to declare their "independence" from the state and central government, and as signposts to mark tribal agitation. This has led to state action against the rebellion. Firstpost will run a series of reported pieces from the region to understand the concerns of locals and the government's position.

Read all parts of the series here

***

Raipur: What was seen as a landmark legislation to protect tribal rights is in reality proving to be not much of a protection to the tribals in Chattisgarh. The Panchayats (Extension of Scheduled Areas) Act of 1996 (PESA) is meant to extend self-rule to tribal areas and protect the tribal's rights regarding land, water and forest, and their traditional social customs in what are declared as fifth schedule areas (areas that the President may, by order, declare to be schedule areas).

This law was put to the test when on 4 June, 2005, the Indian Farmers Fertilisers Cooperative (IFFCO) Limited and the Chhattisgarh government in Raipur signed an agreement to set up a 1320 MW power plant in the Premnagar gram panchayat area of Sarguja district at a cost of about Rs 4,000 crores.

The project required 728.41 hectares spread over five revenue villages  Premnagar, Chandanagar, Namna, Raghunathpur and Abhaypur  and would affect 1,386 families. But Premnagar gram panchayat was a fifth schedule area, which meant it required the approval of the area's gram sabha.

The PESA Act's provisions were quite clear. According to Rajni Soren, an advocate of Chhattisgarh High Court, apart from directing that the state legislation on Panchayats should be made in consonance with the customary tribal law, social and religious practices, PESA also recognises the supremacy of traditional management practices for community resources and dispute resolution.

It also decrees that every gram sabha shall approve the plans, programs and projects for social and economic development before they are taken up for implementation and that the gram sabha or the Panchayats at the appropriate level shall be consulted before acquisition of land in the Scheduled Areas for development projects and before re-settling or rehabilitating persons aected by such projects in the Scheduled Areas.

The Act gives the gram sabha the power to prevent alienation of land in the Scheduled Areas, and to take appropriate action to restore any unlawfully alienated land of a Scheduled Tribe.

Playing around with PESA

Given these legal provisions, the Chhattisgarh government organised a gram sabha in Premnagar under the PESA law in 2005. However, the Panchayat voted against the power plant. Those who attended the meeting made it clear that they did not want to leave their homes or allow pollution of their village. The resistance to the power plant in the tribal-dominated village made IFFCO realise that if the rights provided to the tribals under PESA were to remain, the power plant was doomed.

The state government, however, did not give up. Between 2005 to 2009, it organised 14 gram sabhas for setting up a power plant in Premnagar gram panchayat but every time the tribals passed a resolution against it. So, in March 2010, the government issued a notification and converted Premnagar gram panchayat to a Nagar Panchayat ie City Council which meant the PESA Act would no longer be applicable in the district which that IFFCO would not require the permission of any gram sabha for setting up the power plant, which it finally did.

Alok Shukla, convener of the Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan, said Premnagar was a prime example of how PESA is circumvented in Chhattisgarh. In the last few years, the government has converted almost 70 gram panchayats into Nagar Panchayats. The Pathalgadi movement across 200 villages in Jharkhand has thrown light on the state governments indifference towards implementing PESA in securing tribal rights. Shukla said that in Chhattisgarh, tribals needed a movement like Pathalgadi. He added that the government was trying to ignore the real issues behind Pathalgadi by terming it as a movement related to religious conversions, external elements and Maoist supporters.

A sentiment echoed by Chhattisgarh Sarv Adivasi Samaj patron and former Union minister Arvind Netam who claimed that the Chhattisgarh government never took PESA laws seriously. Recalling actions taken by the state government for the steel plant in Dholali-Bhansi of Dantewada and Lohandiguda of Bastar, he said the government had to conduct a gram sabha under the PESA law.

However, in the presence of hundreds of cops, the government arbitrarily sidelined the gram sabha. The dissatisfaction of the tribals was such that even after 13 years, the steel plant is yet to be finished. Netam added that the situation would have been different if the tribals had been consulted while implementing PESA laws, but the governments are now used to imposing their decisions on the tribals.

Gram sabhas ignored

Alok Shukla argues that the government never listens to the gram panchayats of the tribal areas in matters related to a large number of allocated coal mines in the state. Even the quarries of Coal India undertaking South Eastern Coalfields Ltd have been operating by sidestepping PESA provisions. But Coal India said it does not follow PESA as its "provisions apply to the acquired land under the Land Acquisition Act whereas Coal India acquires the land under the Coal Bearing Act, 1957.

But even as it ignores PESA provisions when it comes to acquiring land for industrial projects, it uses the Act vigorously when it comes to religious issues. When in May 2014 several gram panchayats of Bastar  under the PESA Act  prohibited the propagation, dissemination and prayer of any religion besides Hinduism in their villages, the state government stood firmly with them. Vishwa Hindu Parishad took the initiative to ban other religions in more than 50 villages.

Arun Panna Lal of the Chhattisgarh Christian Forum said, "Today, when tribal people are doing Pathalgadi according to PESA act in Jashpur, the government is terming it illegal. But in 2014, we were told that the government cannot interfere in the matter of gram panchayat. We got relief after we approached the Chhattisgarh High Court to protect the fundamental rights of followers of any religion.

Not surprisingly, Chhattisgarhs Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Ajay Chandrakar said the state government was very serious when it came to PESA and the government intervenes if the law is violated. Chandrakar claimed that in June the government had organised a special gram sabha in 5,055 gram panchayats where the Fifth Schedule is applicable.

According to him, the government also organises special training related to PESA for state officials. But the manner in which the tribals are mobilising over PESA from Jashpur to Bastar can prove troubling for the BJP in the upcoming state and general elections.

The author is a Raipur-based freelance writer and a member of 101Reporters.com, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.
In a major success, the Uttar Pradesh anti-terror squad (ATS) today nabbed two members of terror outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) from Greater Noida in a joint operation with the West Bengal Police

Noida/Lucknow: In a major success, the Uttar Pradesh anti-terror squad (ATS) today nabbed two members of terror outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) from Greater Noida in a joint operation with the West Bengal Police.

The two arrested JMB members were identified as Musharraf aka Musa, and Rubel Ahmed, both Bangladeshi nationals, Director General of Police (DGP) OP Singh told reporters in Noida. The two was arrested from Surajpur police station area in Greater Noida on the outskirts of the national capital and were taken for interrogation by officials of the UP ATS and intelligence department, Gautam Buddha Nagar SSP Ajay Pal Sharma said.

According to sources in the police department, the two JMB members were planning to carry out a major terror strike in the National Capital Region (NCR). More revelations in this regard can be made only after interrogation, officials said. When asked about more details of the two terrorists, he said both were active members of the JMB.

They would be taken by WB police on transit remand for further interrogation, the DGP said. "A team of UP ATS will also interrogate them to extract more information" he said. The intelligence department had received a tip-off that some JMB members were collecting funds in the NCR for their outfit, a source said. The JMB, founded in 1998 by Shaikh Abdur Rahman, was banned in 2005 for setting off about 500 bombs simultaneously all around Bangladesh.

Three Bangladeshi youths, suspected to have links with Islamic extremist group Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), were arrested in Lucknow in September last year by the Uttar Pradesh anti-terrorist squad. Mohammad Imran, Rajiuddin and Mohammad Firdaus, who were brothers, were caught while boarding the Howrah-Amritsar Express train, officials said.

During interrogation, they confessed that they were residents of Bangladesh and fake Aadhaar cards were found from their possession. The names of the three came after an ATS team arrested a suspected Bangladeshi terrorist Abdullah, associated with the ABT from Muzaffarnagar. The ABT, also called Ansar Bangla, was implicated in crimes, including some brutal attacks and murders of atheist bloggers in Bangladesh.

Abdullah alias Al Mamun was arrested from Kutesara locality in Charthawal area of Muzaffarnagar district by an ATS team and during his interrogation names of some people came to the fore and probe was done in Deoband madrassas to find his links. Abdullah resided in Deoband area of Saharanpur since 2011 and had also got his Aadhaar card and passport prepared using a fake identity.

It was found that three persons  a madrassa teacher and his two brothers  were missing after which the ATS team swung into action and they were arrested.

ATS officials said Abdullah was associated with the ABT and was involved in preparing fake identity proofs of terrorists, especially for those from Bangladesh, with the help of one Faizan who lived in Deoband (Saharanpur).

Based on this input, Faizan's house was searched in Deoband but he was not found there but jihadi literature in Bangla, literature for preparation of bombs, colour printer and a number of fake IDs were recovered, they said. The ABT is an al-Qaeda inspired Islamic extremist group in Bangladesh.
Religion goes beyond just a relationship with Gods and is also a binding factor in how that relationship structures a people and a civilization.

Religion is not just a spiritual pursuit but a critical part of the societal organisation. Religion and rituals bind communities, give them an identity that precedes them and will survive long after they are gone. Therefore, there are adequate reasons to justify that religion goes beyond just a relationship with Gods but is also a binding factor in how that relationship structures a people and a civilisation.

So, there are two bonds here. The first is with the Gods, and the second within the society, with fellow believers. The latter though is not just structured by a common faith but also by multiple other ascribed and attained identities, like gender, caste and economic status. These changing social relations may impinge on the bond with God which, in turn, alienates people. In such a scenario, the commonly held identity is eroded and the civilisational bond weakens. Thats why religion must also remain relevant to changing social structures and relationships. It needs reform from within.

Hinduism being a living religion has never shied away from reform. From addressing issues of caste-based discrimination, which is as yet an unfinished project, to speaking strongly against rituals that endanger human life and dignity, it has churned through centuries, assimilated, evolved remained relevant, and continues to change.

The civilisational bond nurtured by the Hindu faith therefore persists and gets strengthened. The call for reform from within through a churning is not new, nor is it undesirable. However, the reforms must be implemented within the ambit of the Constitution with a few conditions.

When it comes to reform of Hindu religion, it should be central to the grievances of Hindus and the Hindu community should be at the forefront of discussions. For instance, the entry of non-Hindus into temples is not a call for reform. But, entry of Hindus who are wheelchair bound, or who have been discriminated because of their caste, should certainly be a topic for discussion.

The second condition is that the relevance of religious practices cannot be adjudicated by the government or the judiciary unless it impinges on the fundamental rights of a citizen. This legitimacy is drawn from the Indian Constitution.

In this context, let us examine the Right to Pray controversy surrounding the Sabarimala temple. The argument is that denial of temple access to women in menstruating age infringes on the fundamental rights of Hindu women to practise their religion freely. I have highlighted practise their religion because quite clearly there is no fundamental right to pray.

However, it does seem like a genuine grievance. A Hindu woman wants to pray to her beloved deity and is being restricted from doing so. This is certainly an issue worth debating internally and could also be justified as an impediment to freedom of women to practise their faith. So, the case landing up in court could also be justified.

The second issue is the alleged taboo around menstruation. Some arguments suggest menstruating women should not enter the temple because they may pollute the confines. This is unacceptable because there is nothing unclean or impure about a menstruating woman. This is discriminatory against women and a case should be made against it.

That is one side of the engagement.

On the other hand, we need to understand what practising a religion essentially means. This side of the argument holds that reigning deity Shri Ayappan in Sabarimala is a naisthika Bramhachari i.e., a celibate male deity. It is, therefore, the desire of the deity to be spared the presence of women of a certain age group. It also means that women below and above that age-group are free to enter the temple. This has nothing to do with menstrual taboos but with the nature of the deity. It should also be noted that there are four major Ayappan temples and each of these temples has the deity in one life stage, Balaka (childhood), Kumara (youth), Bharyasameta (with consort) and Tapasya (ascetic). Clearly, only in one Ayappan temple where the deity is represented as a celibate youth that women of a certain age are disallowed from entering.

Let us break this down. As a believer, one may choose to worship a deity whose celibate nature and certain restrictions to female devotees is common knowledge. In the pantheon of Hindu deities, there is one deity like this and he has his unique rituals and principles which those who follow him, live by. One may choose to believe him yet have no faith in the essence which drives the cult around him.

You are a devotee, but you want to alter the deitys core belief. It begs the question: are you really a devotee if the deity and the story around him make no sense to you? If a devout has concerns with the fundamentals of the deity and the temple, this incarnation might not be the one to repose faith in. In such a situation, they could either visit the other Ayappan temples where the deity resides in other life stages. Or else there are hundreds of other Hindu gods and hundreds of other temples who could be followed without restrictions.

A temple is considered the house of a deity. It is his or her prerogative to decide who gets to enter, who gets to meet and under what condition. The story of the deity is at the core of the belief system and that is the only argument that could stand scrutiny here. The argument of not being able to practice their religion does not stand here because of the following reasons.

One, women of a certain age group are allowed into the Sabarimala temple. There is no blanket ban.

Two, the same deity is worshipped in other temples at different life stages and in these temples, women are allowed.

Three, there are hundreds of other gods and goddesses where such rules dont apply. There is no restriction in praying to them.

Right to Pray comes with the precondition of faith and if there is no faith in the deity, then right to pray is fallacious and insincere. The relationship of practising Hindus with their deities cannot be seen through a monotheistic lens. The many gods come with their many stories, many customs and many practices. Like monotheism, there cannot be one common template to worship.

Consider the Attukal Bhagavathy temple where men are disallowed. Or the Kanyakumari temple where the Devi is a celibate female and hence men have no right of entry. Or the Maa Panchubarahi temple in Odisha which is open to only married Dalit women. These temples have their own histories based on complex epithets attached to the deities. This is the diversity that perhaps cannot be understood if one sees it through the lens of one religion, one book, one place of worship, one template of piety.

The courts today sit in judgment of how the legend and the customs of the deity are to be interpreted so that some women who do not believe in the essence of Ayappan can worship him. Is this case going to be interpreted as one of gender equality or one of religious freedom?

Is this a genuine case of lack of inclusion and blatant discrimination of women where reform is needed or is this a cookie-cutter approach of outraging against diverse customs and practises under the umbrella of Sanatan Dharma?

In the religion of subaltern deities, of living gods who are treated as family, of unique rites and rituals, can the diversity of tradition and customs be compromised for inclusion? Can one temple dedicated to the celibacy of the deity be a test case for inclusion of women and gender-based equality? And finally, based on all these questions comes the big question, how much ground should faith cede to accommodate social churning, and can such reform sustain a civilisation?
The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed dissatisfaction over the Centre's response on the appointment of search committee members for a Lokpal.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed dissatisfaction over the Centre's response on the appointment of search committee members for a Lokpal.

A bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi, R Banumathi, and Navin Sinha asked the Centre to file a fresh affidavit giving relevant details of the search committee.

During the hearing, Attorney General KK Venugopal submitted an affidavit and said a meeting of the selection committee was held but the names for the search committee were not finalised.

He said another meeting would be held soon for appointing members of the search committee, keeping in mind the provisions of law for such appointments.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for petitioner NGO Common Cause, said the Centre has not specified the date of the next meeting and they are actually delaying the appointment of a Lokpal despite passage of a law nearly five years ago.

He said contempt action should be initiated against the concerned authorities or the court may proceed to appoint the Lokpal by exercising its power under Article 142 of the Constitution (enforcement of decrees and orders of Supreme Court).

The bench, in its order, said it is unsatisfied with the Centre's reply and sought a fresh affidavit in four weeks giving all necessary details.

The Centre had earlier told the apex court that the Lokpal selection committee, headed by the Prime Minister, was scheduled to meet to set up a search panel for recommending a panel of names for the appointment of the anti-graft ombudsman and its members.

The government had said the search panel would lay down its procedures, following which the selection committee would fix the time frame within which the names for selecting the chairman and members of the Lokpal would be recommended.

The committee comprises the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India, Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan, the leader of the largest opposition party and an eminent jurist.

The court was hearing a contempt petition filed by the NGO which has raised the issue of non-appointment of Lokpal despite the apex court's judgement of 27 April last year.

The apex court, in its last year's verdict, had said there was no justification to keep the enforcement of Lokpal Act suspended till the proposed amendments, including on the issue of the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, were cleared by Parliament.
Monday was the last day for submission of the PhD thesis in Jawaharlal Nehru University. Two other students were also barred from submitting their papers.

Umar Khalid has accused the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration of a vendetta and said that they have not allowed him to submit his PhD thesis on Monday despite the Delhi High Court ordering the institution to not take any coercive action against him till 16 August, according to several media reports.

According to The Times of India, Monday was the last day for submission of the PhD thesis and two other students were also barred from submitting their papers. Khalid said that he was asked to pay a fine for his submission. He only needed clearance from the chief proctor Kaushal Kumar, after he got the same from his centre, and hostel. However, the chief proctor refused to clear it, he alleged, according to the report.

Khalid told The Indian Express that he will contest the "vendetta". "...the proctor refused to accept my submission, arguing that it was not coercion. This is another level of vendetta. I will definitely not pay the fine I will contest this further, he was quoted as saying.

Khalid, Kanhaiya Kumar, and Anirban Bhattacharya, were arrested in February 2016 on charges of sedition in connection with the controversial event and now are out on bail.

Khalid was earlier rusticated and slapped with a fine of Rs 20,000 in connection with the 2016 incident. On 20 July, the Delhi High Court listed for 16 August a plea by Khalid, as the JNU counsel said that no coercive steps will be taken against Khalid and some other students, who have also moved the court against the penalty imposed on them by the varsity.

A high-level panel of JNU had recommended that Khalid be rusticated in connection with the incident. Besides, financial penalty was imposed on 13 other students for violation of disciplinary norms.

The students had then moved the Delhi High Court, which had on 12 October 2017 directed the university to place the matter before an appellate authority to review the panel's decision.

On 5 July, the university had revealed that the appellate authority upheld the decision against Khalid and Kumar and in some cases the penalty has been reduced.

With inputs from PTI
Former Gujarat BJP MLA Jayanti Bhanushali has been asked to appear before a police team in connection with a rape case against him

Surat: Former Gujarat BJP MLA Jayanti Bhanushali has been asked to appear before a police team in connection with a rape case against him, a senior officer said on Monday. "We have issued summons to Bhanushali under section 160 of the CrPC in the rape case filed at the Sarthana police station in the city in which he is the accused," said Police Commissioner Satish Sharma. Summons issued under the section requires one to appear at the relevant police station to record statement.

Acting on a complaint filed by a 21-year-old woman, the police on 19 July had registered an FIR against Bhanushali under various sections of the IPC related to public servant committing rape, criminal intimidation, cheating, wrongful confinement and forgery, among others.

The summons, issued by DCP Leena Patil  heading the investigation into the case  directs the former lawmaker to immediately present himself before the Sarthana police. It was sent at Bhanushali's residence in Ahmedabad. The former MLA is required to appear before the police so that his statement is recorded and medical examination conducted as part of the investigation, police said. Bhanushali represented the Abdasa assembly segment in Kutch district from 2007 to 2012.

In the wake of the allegations, the 53-year-old leader had to step down from the post of Gujarat BJP vice-president. He had then described the allegations as baseless and said they were aimed at finishing his political career. The former MLA had also said he will not take up any post till his name is cleared in the case.

In her complaint, the woman has alleged that the accused raped her on several occasions between November 2017 and March 2018 on the promise of getting her admitted in a reputed fashion design institute. The first sexual assault was allegedly taped by one of Bhanushali's assistants and he raped her on several occasions by threatening to circulate the video, she alleged.
Maintaining that he never supported the killing or lynching people by 'gau rakshaks', Singh, however, deplored 'nobody discusses protection of cows and how to stop such violence'.

Hyderabad: Incidents of lynching will not stop till the time cow gets the status of "Rashtra Mata", a BJP MLA from Telangana has said, amid the outrage over the killing of a Muslim man over suspicion of being a cow smuggler in Rajasthan's Alwar.

T Raja Singh Lodh, the BJP MLA from Goshamahal in Hyderabad, said in a video message on a social networking website on Sunday he does not want "khoon-kharaba" (bloodletting) on the issue, but if it has to stop, the cow must be declared the Mother of the Nation.

In the 7-minute clip, the lawmmaker also urged MPs to make such a demand in Parliament. "Till cow is not accorded the status of 'Rashtra Mata', I feel the war for 'gau raksha' (cow protection) will not stop even if 'gau rakshaks' (cow protectors) are put into jails or bullets are fired at them," Singh said. He also sought prime minister Narendra Modi's support for the demand.

"Till the time a ministry of cow protection is created in every state and stringent laws are enacted for cow protection, I feel such killings will not stop....this is my feeling and I am telling the fact," Singh, known for making controversial remarks, said. Maintaining that he never supported the killing or beating up of people by "gau rakshaks", Singh, however, deplored "nobody discusses protection of cows and how to stop such violence".

"Recently, a man named Rakbar alias Akbar Khan, a cow smuggler was killed. The media reported some cases of cow smuggling were pending against him," he said, claiming many cow protection activists were killed by cattle smugglers but such incidents were ignored by media. However, when a cow smuggler is killed, the electronic media rakes up the issue, which is also raised in Parliament, he said.

Singh also took to Twitter where he claimed a Hindu man was lynched in Rajasthan the same day as Khan over his love affair with a Muslim girl. "Same day When Rakbar Khan was allegedly Lynched Kheta Ram Bheel a Dalit was also Lynched in Rajasthan by the Muslim family of the girl he loved. BUT MEDIA & other secular parties are not interested as all the accused are from Peaceful community which doesn't suit their agenda," he wrote.

Rakbar and his friend Aslam were accosted by alleged cow vigilantes in Alwar's Ramgarh on Saturday. Aslam managed to flee, but Rakbar was brutally assaulted. He later died from injuries received during the attack. The Ghoshamahal MLA has often found himself on the wrong side of the law because of his remarks.

He recently said the holy Quran was responsible for the spread of terrorism and those hosting Iftaar parties were begging for Muslim votes.
Moscow made the offer - which would see Iranian forces stay 100 kilometres (62 miles) from Syria's border with the Golan - during talks Monday in Jerusalem between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the official said.

At 1:42 PM on Tuesday, the rocket alert went off along Israel's northern border with Syria.

"Israel has a very clear policy: No plane, and certainly not a Syrian plane, is allowed to enter our airspace" without the appropriate authorization, Israel's former Military Intelligence chief Amos Yadlin told Army Radio on Tuesday.

As he has in the past, Netanyahu demanded during the meeting that all Iranian fighters and their allies be removed from Syrian soil in the long-term, media said.

Reuters said Israel previously rejected a Russian proposal to keep Iranian forces about 80 kilometers from the frontier. "The IDF is ready and vigilant and will continue to act against violations of the 1974 separation of forces agreements".

"A short while ago, two Patriot missiles were launched at a Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet that infiltrated into Israeli airspace", the Israeli Defence Forces said in a statement.

The military would not comment on how the Syrian plane was able to penetrate two kilometers into Israeli airspace before being shot down.

It was Israel's first operational use of the mid-range David's Sling, which is jointly manufactured by USA firm Raytheon Co. When Israeli sensors realised they would land on the Syrian side, David's Sling was given an abort order for the interceptors to self-destruct in mid-air.

@IDF tweeted on Monday: "Breaking: Sirens sounded in northern Israel". The plane crashed in Syrian territory. Asked if the United States was apprised of the incident, the source said: "I'm sure that will happen in the future, as there are joint interests".
The agitation by Maratha community for reservation in government jobs and education today took a tragic turn after a 27-year-old protester jumped to his death in Godavari river.

Aurangabad: The agitation by Maratha community for reservation in government jobs and education today took a tragic turn after a 27-year-old protester jumped to his death in Godavari river.

Kakasaheb Shinde, a resident of Kaygaon village in Aurangabad district, jumped off a bridge over Godavari river, police said. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead, they said. The incident came a day after Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said he was cancelling his visit, scheduled on Monday, to a temple in Pandharpur after protesting Maratha outfits threatened to disrupt the event.

Shinde's death triggered a fresh set of protests in several parts of Maharashtra, with opposition leaders seeking to put the onus on the BJP-led government in the state. Protesters blocked the Ahmednagar-Aurangabad highway and damaged a dozen vehicles, including a police van and a bus, in Gangakhed tehsil of Parbhani district. They refused to take possession of Shinde's body and demanded the resignation of Fadnavis. They held a sit-in protest at the Gangapur police station in Aurangabad district, demanding that criminal case be filed against the chief minister over Shinde's death. Seeking immediate announcement of reservations for the Maratha community, the protesters also sought a compensation of Rs 50 lakh for Shinde's family.

The Maratha Kranti Morcha, which led today's 'jal samadhi' protest in which Shinde died, is leading the agitation seeking reservations for the community. In the last few days, protests have take place in Buldhana, Akola, Parali, Washim and even in Mumbai.

Congress MLA Nitesh Rane blamed the Fadnavis government for the death of the protester, while NCP leader Sunil Tatkare said Shinde's death should help serve as a warning to all concerned to handle the stir with caution. BJP's Rajya Sabha member Sambhaji Chhatrapati said, "The issue of Maratha reservations is of utmost importance. The Chief Minister should not ignore it." "The Fadnavis-led government is engaged in an attempt to paint the protesting Maratha community members as criminals and this attempt is infuriating," Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Ashok Chavan said.

The community leaders had earlier taken out several rallies in various districts to highlight their demands. Last year, a huge rally was organised by the Maratha Kranti Morcha in this connection in Mumbai. Despite assurances from Fadnavis to fulfil the demands, nothing concrete has been done till now, community leaders have claimed.
In June, the HRD Ministry had announced its decision to replace the UGC with the HECI by repealing the UGC Act, 1951

New Delhi: The Ministry of Human resource Development (HRD) has received over 8,000 comments and suggestions on the draft Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) Act, 2018, slated to replace the University Grants Commission (UGC), a senior official said Tuesday.

In June, the HRD Ministry had announced its decision to replace the UGC with the HECI by repealing the UGC Act, 1951.

"Over 8,000 suggestions and comments covering Members of Parliament, state governments, academicians, teachers' unions, chambers of commerce and students have been received and appropriate changes are being made in the draft Bill based on public feedback," the official said.

According to the draft, which was placed in public domain by the ministry to seek feedback from the stakeholders, the new commission will focus solely on academic matters and monetary grants would be under the purview of the ministry.

"However, the grant disbursal function to universities and colleges is now proposed to be located in an entity which works in a transparent, merit-based approach through an ICT enabled platform," Human Resources Development Minister Prakash Javadekar had told the Lok Sabha Monday.

According to the HRD Ministry, less government and more governance, separation of grant-related functions, end of inspection raj, powers to enforce compliance with the academic quality standards and to order closure of sub-standard and bogus institutions are some of the highlights of the new HECI Act, 2018.
The local police organised 'Darjeeling Rising Stars' as part of a venture to rebuild people's confidence in the force after the Gorkhaland protests last year.

Popular perception is that the region's penchant for music could well be inspired by its natural surroundings. But when the soundtrack in the Darjeeling hills is animated by a singing contest projected in the public arena, it has had the potential to affect domains far beyond the stage or studio, both in space and time.

Eleven years ago, Indian Idol, the nationwide singing reality show, had ushered in a new political dispensation in the hills, riding on the wave of a ground-swell of support for the Nepali/Gorkha crooner who had come up trumps in the contest. Today, a mega event drawing thousands of participants across the region is designed to shore up legitimacy for the current status quo. Organised by the local police as part of a confidence-building and public relation venture, the event comes on the back of a seismic shift in the political landscape, which followed a record June-September 104-day-long lockdown in Darjeeling in support of the demand for a new Gorkhaland state last year.

Back in 2007, it was Prashant Tamang, who hails from the hills, who had triumphed, propelled by a mass mobilisation campaign largely on ethnic lines and navigated by leaders who used it as a springboard to power. Today, the police-sponsored mega talent quest encompassing the hills, the likes of which has not been seen in recent memory, has all but run its four-month-long course. Winners of "Darjeeling Rising Stars" will be selected and prizes awarded at the finale scheduled in the hill town this weekend.

However, the jury is expected to be out for a while on whether the organisers have been successful in what they had set out to achieve through the event  to salvage the confidence of a public, a considerable section of which was at the wrong end of a robust crackdown on supporters of the statehood campaign during and in the aftermath of the protracted shutdown in the hills. Also to be seen is how far the event has, in any way, been able to facilitate the return to the mainstream of the youth who had formed a substantial section of the vanguard of the movement, as the police administration hopes.

Given its nationwide reach, Indian Idol unsurprisingly towers over any regional public singing competition. But that can, in no way, diminish the significance of the ongoing event in the Darjeeling hills, designed not merely to hunt and reward musical talent but also to serve a wider social purpose, considering the region's rather turbulent political recent history.

Much water has flown down the springs crisscrossing the hills since a fresh set of leaders of a new political formation  the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM)  were catapulted into power after the 2007 Indian Idol contest. The very dynamics in local politics has since changed, and the rhetoric surrounding the statehood demand seems  at least for now  no longer part of the script. GJM leader Bimal Gurung has been exiled to the margins, but his one-time associate, Benoy Tamang, the chairman of the board of administrators of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, remains firmly strapped in the saddle, albeit with the support of the West Bengal government. The set-up he now presides over would be the ultimate winner if the singing, dance and music competition restores public confidence in the police after last year's unrest, which shook the local political arrangement.

Suffice it to note that it was this very police that had booked Gurung, who continues to be on the run, for a raft of charges, including under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with the violence in Darjeeling during last year's statehood stir. In March, the Supreme Court dismissed his pleas seeking immunity from arrest. However, he has remained elusive all these months, believed to be holed up in Nepal for much of the time. This has led to questions on whether the administration is particularly keen on nabbing him, even though he had been served a lookout notice last September. Local circles are questioning whether his arrest would make Gurung a martyr for the cause of a new state, or should he be left to fester in his own juices, now that he has been banished from the region and is no longer a threat to the powers that be.

Earlier this month, Tamang had upped the ante at a GJM rally at Kurseong in Darjeeling district, where he asked why Gurung was scared of facing the legal process and going to jail. "Do you think you can lead a movement by remaining underground?" he had reportedly said. Although out of sight, Gurung realises the need to send out the occasional audio from his hideout, in which he reiterates his commitment to the statehood cause, well aware that it is imperative that he make at least the odd verbal contact if he is to hold onto what is now being accepted as his rapidly shrinking base constituency.

And all this while Tamang prepares to consolidate his hold on the GJM, which continues to remain the principal political force in the region even though it might have torn itself apart into two camps. What is significant though is that the division within it seems to have set the stage for a proxy political tussle between the ruling party in the Centre and that in the state  one that could well go a long way in affecting the political future of the hills.
On Sunday, ex-minister in the BJP-PDP coalition government, Singh addressed a gathering of more than a thousand people at Teacher Bhawan auditorium in the Gandhi Nagar area of Jammu

After the Peoples Democratic Party, the BJP too seems to be facing a 'rebellion' of sorts in Jammu and Kashmir with the controversial party MLA and former minister in PDP-BJP coalition government, Choudhary Lal Singh, floating his own political outfit which he says would work for 'Dogra Swabhiman and Sangathan' (Dogra dignity and unity).

On Sunday, Singh addressed a gathering of more than a thousand people at Teacher Bhawan auditorium in the Gandhi Nagar area of Jammu. Addressing the gathering, Singh started his speech with the slogan "Jai Dogra", to which the audience responded with a "Jai Dogra" of its own. He then continued his speech in chaste Dogri for an hour, clamouring for the reclamation of the pride of the Dogras, who ruled the state with an iron hand till the Partition of the subcontinent in 1947.

Singh, 59, a former Congress leader, who joined the BJP before the 2014 Lok Sabha election, said on Monday that he has launched his own outfit with the symbol of a tiger and a goat. Among the top priorities for the BJP MLA from Basohli is the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir and its resources, and that the chief ministership, regardless of which government comes to power, should be rotational for three years between the two culturally distinct regions of the state.

"Yes, it is my own political outfit which will work for the betterment of people of Jammu regardless of religion, caste or creed," said Singh over the phone from Jammu, "But it is an apolitical organisation and will work to reclaim the pride of Dogras of Jammu. We have chalked out 21 points on which we will work in coming days."

Former health and forest minister in the erstwhile PDP-BJP coalition government, Singh was one of the two ministers who were unceremoniously ousted from Mehbooba Mufti's cabinet for addressing a rally in solidarity with the alleged culprits arrested in the brutal rape and murder of an eight-year-old nomad girl. He has also been demanding a CBI probe in the case.

"This organisation will fight against the discrimination meted out to Dogras. This is not a political party. This is purely to wage a fight against the discriminatory politics in our state," he added. While addressing the gathering on Sunday, Singh said the Jammu region had ample resources, and yet lacks development and falls short "in almost everything". "We face maximum shortage of power, when one river alone has the potential to generate 20,000 MW of electricity," he told the gathering.

"The fruits of natural resources of the Jammu province  forests, water, travel, tourism, etc should first be given to the people of Jammu and then to Kashmir," he added. He called for a separate Public Service Commission for Jammu and Kashmir, and came down heavily on the state Crime Branch for carrying out "botched" investigations into the rape and murder of the nomad girl in Rasana village.

For his Congress lineage, Singh has been an eyesore for many state BJP leaders. Party insiders say he has never been accepted as a "BJP leader", but an outsider. The political circles in Jammu are rife with rumours that he might be joined by Vikramaditya Singh, a former PDP MLC who resigned few months ago from party, Congress leader Sham Lal Sharma, former health minister and his brother Madan Lal Sharma, the former Congress MP. For the time being, however, it seems Singh will have to walk alone.

The Jammu and Kashmir BJP had already been wary of Singh's moves for the past few months after he stopped attending party functions and even refused to attend the rally of BJP president Amit Shah in Jammu after the fall of the PDP-BJP government last month. Singh, on one occasion, even refused to exchange greetings with the party state unit president Ravinder Raina when both were touring the border areas recently to meet the victims of Pakistani shelling.

"You can guess which way the wind is blowing and what his intentions are. He might say the outfit is apolitical but it is not," said Avinash Rai Khana, the BJP MLC and senior party, "A report has been sent on Monday to the central leadership about his activities."

But another MLA and senior BJP leader from Jammu, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Singh is directly in talks with Shah and refuses to entertain the state party leadership. "He is so arrogant that he doesn't even answer phone calls from the state party president, saying he is a 'bachcha', who has much to learn before teaching him politics."

The state unit of the BJP has been pressing the central leadership to somehow manage to return to power in the state as it fears the party might lose its electoral base, if not to the Congress, then to any other political outfit which will talk about Jammu and the emotive issues that deliver the votes.

But any coalition government without overt or covert support of the PDP or BJP seems to be impossible at this juncture as PDP is trying to set its house in order and the National Conference is guarding the gates of its MLAs. For the moment, the clamour for the 'third front' in the state seems to be fizzling out with Governor's Rule likely to continue in the state for next few months before President's Rule comes into effect.

Singh is likely to benefit in the prevailing situation as it offers him both the window of time as well as opportunity to manoeuver the political checkerboard in Jammu. Whether he succeeds in his ambitious plan of creating a new political force in Jammu depends a lot on how the BJP performs in the next year's Lok Sabha polls. The wind can blow either way.
What does the party do if its leader has inherent and inbuilt limitations? Its strategy, therefore, is one of distortion. If you have no issue, manufacture one. Hence the Rafales fake controversy.

Congress party's history of creating fake issues

In 1989, there was an outrage in the whole country against the Congress party and its leadership on the Bofors issue. The Congress party's strategists invented a counter strategy of diversion by creating a fake issue. A bank account in St. Kitts was created in the name of VP Singh's son so that the Congress could now have a face-saving argument  if we are corrupt, so are you.

In 1999, when the NDA led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in the backdrop of the Kargil conflict, was likely to sweep the poll, and the Congress Party was faced with a massive defeat, it manufactured an issue of sugar export to Pakistan. Some two dozen press conferences on the issue were organised to question the government's commitment to nationalism. The truth of the allegation was that a mid-level unknown Chandni Chowk trader had been exporting an OGL item, sugar to Pakistan. Needless to say that the Congress lost the election badly. Falsehood fell apart.

The Congress party and the present political situation

The Congress party realises that there is a danger of the next election becoming a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's performance. The popularity gap between the prime minister and his competitors is very wide. Congress is either non-existent or a poor third or fourth in states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Tripura, parts of North East, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Delhi and Tamil Nadu. These states account for 50 percent of the Lok Sabha seats. Of the balance seats, if Congress enters into some form of alliance, it may have to concede seats in several states to its allies. It is, therefore, faced with the prospect of effectively contesting only about 225 seats where it will face a direct clash with the BJP.

If the first part of the Congress mukt bharat (Congress-free India) was scripted by the BJP, the federal front is more than eager to script the part-2 of the same. Its message to the Congress is clear  'you will have to support us; the other way is not possible.' For the Congress the best case scenario is to become a tail-ender of the federal front and concede to it a large political space.

Many in the Congress realise that 2019 is not their election. They should try and improve but concentrate as a priority on 2024. However, mid-level leaders of the Congress in the age group of 65 to 74 are unwilling to wait for 2024. They know that 2019 is their last chance and they will probably be time-barred by 2024. They are quite willing for a tail-ender's role.

Its attack on the economy are failing since India, under the Modi regime, continues to be the fastest growing major economy in the world. The Congress party's strategy of consolidating arithmetic against Prime Minister Modi's chemistry is a double-edged weapon for the Congress. It can push the Congress to the margins with the federal front occupying the Opposition's space.

The Congress strategy

What does the party do if its leader has inherent and inbuilt limitations? It had been stigmatised by corruption and in contra-distinction Prime Minister Modi has led a scam free government. Its strategy, therefore, is one of distortion. If you have no issue, manufacture one. Hence the Rafales fake controversy.

The Congress' strategy is, therefore, two-fold. It has manufactured the issue of the Rafale deal. The issue is failing to cut much ice. It's a government-to-government agreement with no private group involved. It involves national security and it is the armed forces which have preferred this aircraft for its improved combat ability.

The UPA ministers also never disclosed the cost breakup of the weaponry because that is not in larger national interest. The supplier/OEM manufacturers of defence equipment appoint their own offset manufacturers. The government has nothing to do with it. The truth always holds together. It is the falsehood that falls apart. So when Rahul Gandhi's statement that French president Emmanuel Macron told him that there is no secrecy pact got smashed into pieces, the next day the Congress party shifted the Rafale issue to other extraneous grounds.

The second strategy of the Congress party is directed against the federal front. By attacking the BJP on certain issues, it is engaged in an implied battle with the federal front in order to reclaim the minority vote. Comparison of Hindus with 'Taliban' and phrases such as 'Hindu Pakistan' are intended to help it against the federal front to reclaim the minority vote. This strategy also is likely to backfire. As equal participants in the Indian electoral process, the minorities have a constitutional right of a vote. But so does the majority. By redefining secularism as a euphemism for majority bashing, the Congress party is antagonising the majority against itself. This will always happen in an election where you have an inadequate leader and no real issue.

This article first appeared on Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's official Facebook page.
The Congress is ready to accept any candidate from among the Opposition as the next prime minister who does not have the backing of the RSS, party sources said on Tuesday.

New Delhi: The Congress is ready to accept any candidate from among the Opposition as the next prime minister who does not have the backing of the RSS, party sources said on Tuesday.

To prevent the BJP from coming back to power in 2019, the Congress will look to cobble up alliances with various parties in states, they said.

On whether Congress president Rahul Gandhi will step aside for a woman candidate from a possible Opposition alliance, the sources said he "is comfortable seeing any prime minister other than an RSS-backed one". Let's see how the dice rolls, the sources said.

There is speculation in the Opposition camp that a woman prime ministerial candidate may be projected in the next elections and names of BSP leader Mayawati and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee are doing the rounds.

According to the sources, the Congress leadership is of the view that the BJP will be decimated without any "anger and disrespect".

The BJP will not get enough seats to win the next general polls as parties like the TDP, the Shiv Sena are not happy with the saffron party, the sources added.

For Narendra Modi to be the prime minister again, he has to get seats in the range of 280 and that is not going to happen, they said.

The sources said if grand alliances in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar work out fine, then it will be difficult for Modi.

They claimed that Modi is desperate to win the 2019 polls as he fears that the RSS as also agencies like the CBI will be after him if he is out of power.

While Uttar Pradesh has 80 Lok Sabha seats, Bihar has 40 and the two together comprise over 22 percent of the total strength of Lok Sabha members of 543.

Noting that the Congress is focussing on increasing women's representation in the party, the sources said women leaders will be appointed in general secretary level posts after they gain experience at different levels of party functioning.
The Rajya Sabha was on Tuesday adjourned for about 90 minutes following noisy protests by members of the Trinamool Congress, who stormed the Well demanding that black money stashed by Indians in Swiss Banks be brought back.

New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha was on Tuesday adjourned for about 90 minutes following noisy protests by members of the Trinamool Congress, who stormed the Well demanding that black money stashed by Indians in Swiss Banks be brought back.

The protests erupted during the Question Hour when TMC member Sukhendu Sekhar Roy sought to know from finance minister Piyush Goyal the unaccounted deposits of Indians recovered so far from Switzerland, in how many cases have proceedings have been initiated and when would the Indian people get the promised Rs 15 lakh in their bank account.

"I think the honourable member may have some information which the government does not have. If he is privy to any information about black money, I think he should put it before the government so that the government can take action," Goyal said in his reply to Roy's question.

This provoked the TMC members who started raising slogans and some of them even moved into the Well. The ruckus, during which Congress MPs were also on their feet and protesting vociferously, led Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu to adjourn the House for about 90 minutes till 2 pm.

In reply to the question on black money by Ram Kumar Kashyap of the INLD, Goyal said the money deposited by Indians in Swiss Banks had gone down by 80 per cent between 2013 and the end of 2017.

He said the data collected by Swiss National bank in collaboration with Bank for International Settlements (BIS) show that loans and deposits of Indians, other than banks, in the Swiss banks declined by 34.5 per cent in 2017 as compared to 2016.

Further, there has been a significant reduction in the Swiss non-bank loans and deposits of Indians by 80.2 per cent between 2013 and 2017, Goyal said in the written reply.

He also said the Automatic Exchange of Information, based on Common Reporting Standard, has commenced from 2017 with many countries enabling India to receive financial account information of Indian residents. This will also be useful in bringing the unaccounted income and assets to tax, he said.

In the written reply, Goyal said the disclosure of information received under a tax treaty was governed by the confidentiality provisions of the treaty.

Further, the disclosure of information in case of individual assessees is protected as per the provisions of Section 138 of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

"As regards the exchange of information requests, the government has made 4,843 exchange of information requests to foreign jurisdictions in the last four financial years and proceedings are going on," Goyal said in the Rajya Sabha, amid protests by TMC members.
Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam went to meet Nirmala Sitharaman today along with V Maitreyan, but the defence minister only met the Rajya Sabha MP.

For someone who was granted an audience with the prime minister whenever he wanted last year, 24 July is a day O Panneerselvam (OPS) is in no hurry to forget. Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had snubbed the Tamil Nadu deputy chief minister when had she refused to meet OPS, even though he was sitting just a few steps away in the waiting room of the minister's office.

It was Rajya Sabha MP V Maitreyan who had sought an appointment with Sitharaman on Panneerselvam's behalf. Even though OPS and Maitreyan had gone to the defence minister's office together on Tuesday afternoon, only the MP was allowed inside. A while later, OPS left crestfallen, humiliated.

That was not all. Sitharaman decided to rub it in by going public with the fact that she had not met OPS. In response to a Tamil channel's tweet that OPS was meeting the defence minister, her office tersely tweeted at 2:44 pm, clarifying that an "appointment was given to Shri V Maitreyan, MP, Rajya Sabha" and that Panneerselvam "has not met Smt Nirmala Sitharaman".

On Monday evening, OPS had arrived from Chennai to a rather high-profile reception at the Delhi airport. More than half the parliamentary party of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham (AIADMK) had lined up to greet him with bouquets, making many wonder if there was something cooking.

That the visit came within days of the income tax raids on a highway contractor deemed close to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) led to conspiracy theories, given Panneerselvam's clout in the BJP circles. It was also just four days after the AIADMK  in a surprising move  had voted, instead of abstaining, for the BJP during the no-confidence motion. Importantly, it also came during the week the Madras High Court is hearing two petitions on Panneerselvam's alleged disproportionate assets.

But the visit was personal, OPS insisted. He had come to Delhi to thank Sitharaman for providing an air ambulance from Madurai to Chennai for his ailing brother O Balamurugan earlier this year. EPS also sang the same tune in Tamil Nadu, denying any political angle to Panneerselvam's trip.

So what went wrong? The suspicion is that Sitharaman may not have been too happy with the use of the air ambulance being made public. Another school of thought is that since the high court could order an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation into Panneerselvam's assets, Sitharaman may have been a bit circumspect about being felicitated by him. It is also possible that the BJP, which is believed to be planning a number of changes in Tamil Nadu, hopes to send a message across to the AIADMK with this snub.

It is also difficult to believe that in a party like the BJP, with its control firmly in the hands of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, Sitharaman would have decided to mete out this treatment to OPS, without keeping either of the top two in the loop. Politicians rarely insult anyone personally unless they stand to gain from it. Although this was not pitched as an official trip, the fact remains that OPS is the deputy chief minister of Tamil Nadu and his position deserved to be shown respect.

AIADMK sources are trying to play down the insult, saying there was a communication error and OPS indeed did not have an appointment. That does not cut the ice because if that was the case, how was OPS allowed inside the minister's office? After all, security protocol at such a sensitive ministry would ensure that no one can walk in without an appointment. Sources also say that ministry officials had taken details of Panneerselvam's convoy beforehand, so it would be far-fetched to claim that Sitharaman was unaware of the deputy chief minister's presence.

The episode is proof of Panneerselvam's diminishing political relevance in the Delhi durbar. When he revolted in February 2017, he was celebrated as a clean politician, and behind the scenes, the BJP had tried its best to help him attract a significant number of legislators. That effort failed and he had to quietly return to the AIADMK. A few months ago, he had boasted about how it was Modi who had advised him to patch up with EPS and get back to the party. Today, despite being deputy chief minister, he is a marginalised force with the control of the government firmly in the hands of EPS and the Gounder community lobby. OPS has only himself to blame for the manner in which he has allowed the BJP to use and throw him.

OPS, too, sought to play down the incident, indulging in a bit of philosophy. He said MGR had said people should have the heart to bear anything.

Incidentally, two Tamil Nadu ministers, SP Velumani and P Thangamani  both considered close to EPS  are scheduled to meet acting finance minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday. If that meeting takes place, it will be like rubbing salt on Panneerselvam's wounds and ego. AIADMK MP Sathyabhama also met Sitharaman at her office on Tuesday, further confirming that the no to a meeting with OPS was deliberate.

AIADMK watchers say this was precisely the treatment former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa used to mete out to party leaders. Visuals of senior leaders, including OPS, prostrating before the tyres of her SUV are out in the public domain. Amma is gone, but the wheel has turned a full circle for OPS.
Modi was expectedly at his fiery best, mixing up humour with hard facts and stinging rebuttals which carried enough history lessons about the Congress party

The no-confidence motion against the NDA government, introduced by the TDP and supported with conjured enthusiasm by the Congress and other Opposition parties, was the last opportunity for the Congress, ahead of 2019, to rise to the occasion and prove itself a worthy leader. However, it effortlessly squandered away another opportunity, helping the NDA emerge stronger than ever before.

Why? O' Why?

The most intriguing question is this: Why do you need a no-confidence motion knowing fully well that the no-confidence motion is a test of numeric strength on the floor of the House and you just don't have the numbers? Moreover, the Congress knew it just as well that the ruling party has better orators and that the prime minister's impactful speeches on the floor of the House have, in the past, more than made up for his limited interaction with the media.

What was equally surprising was the TDP beginning the discussion on the vote of confidence by not sparing the Congress for its role in the flawed bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, hence blaming it for the present mess. Now in such a paradoxical situation, the no-confidence motion was a non starter from the word 'go'.

Come Rahul speech

Rahul Gandhi, who is obsessed with the word jumla, this time came up with a new, absurd coinage  "jumla strike". One cant but wonder if he is really so naive to not have realised the implications of this coinage? Modis savage response in his speech would make Rahul shudder at the thought of using the word again.

Personally, I was very disappointed with Rahuls speech. The contrived aggression aside, instead of basing his speech on hard facts, he employed brazen falsehood and loose talk. Why would he want to drag the French president into the discussion knowing fully well that he had no verifiable sources to back his content? Moreover, such juvenile behavior unnecessarily impacts the excellent relations India has with France.

The other grave charge that he made was around Modi helping businessmen loot the country. Later, Modi at his fiery best, did well to let the country know that the bank loot actually began in 2008 when the UPA was jittery about its prospects in 2009 elections. Upon being re-elected, this loot went on till 2014. The indiscriminate loans disbursed during this period to ineligible clients bears testimony to this loot. Thanks to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code coming into effect, more than Rs one lakh crore have found their way back into the banks in the last one year, something Rahul is perhaps ignorant of.

Anyway, a significant population of ours doesnt care for content. This chunk was perhaps quite impressed by Rahul's aggressive tenor, until he messed it all up with some unstable comic behaviour. I mean, why would a man spew venom at the BJP and Modi throughout his speech, then end it by accusing the BJP of spreading hatred, then acknowledge that the prime minister has taught him to be a true Hindu, then rush across for an impulsive hug and then conclude the act with a cheeky wink. For me, this seemed like worrisome behavior, symptomatic of anxiety related depression. Anyway, since I am not an authority on this, Id rather leave it to a psychologist to analyse if this behavior was normal.

Modi vanquishes the Opposition

Knowing the nature of the no-confidence motion where the final speech would be by the prime minister, any sensible Opposition would have avoided it.

Modi was expectedly at his fiery best, mixing up humour with hard facts and stinging rebuttals which carried enough history lessons about the Congress party. Interestingly, while Congress was in his firing line, an underlying effort to reach out to regional parties like the TRS was evident in his speech.

The end result, I am sure was an eye-opener for the entire so called Mahagathbandhan: 326 votes against the motion, just 125 in favour it.

The crucial takeaway

One, the so-called Mahagatthbandhan is a myth. It is a figment of a few parties imagination and their unabashed lust for power. In reality, half of the supposed Mahagathbandan constituents are fence-sitters and can swing either away depending upon who shares power with them. A simple look at the voting pattern on the no-confidence motion, proves this. Now, the NDA had only 315 MPs in 2014. Eighteen MPs from Shiv Sena abstained from voting on the motion. This means that the no-confidence motion actually gave NDA new allies accounting for 29 MPs.

If the no-confidence motion alone can make the NDA stronger by 29 new MPs, then the Mahagathbandhan surely has disaster written all over it.

Two, while Rahul Gandhi may be gloating in his success at keeping the BJP out of power in Karnataka, in reality, backing the JD(S) has triggered a new set of existential problems for the Congress. Now every regional party realises how desperate the Congress is and has started exploiting the situation by blackmailing it with more and more demands before an alliance. If you ask any of these regional parties if they'd back a Congress prime minister, they scoff at the prospect. This really leaves the Congress in a helpless spot, where it has reduced itself to being at the mercy of regional satraps.

Three, as Modi sarcastically reminded Rahul twice in his speech, there is no competition for him till 2024. That wasnt arrogance. That is the writing on the wall today.

I had recently been to Israel as part of a delegation to engage with political strategists and the business community there. Thanks to the grim picture the Opposition has managed to paint about India, there were anxious queries from people about what could be the result of 2019. I would calmly tell these potential stake holders, "Relax and just go ahead with your plans. Any change of government is unlikely before 2024."

The author is a BJP leader and tweets @tuhins. Views expressed are personal.
Press Trust of India

Seeking to encourage research in advanced computational systems and other deep-technologies, the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi has set the ball rolling to establish a PhD start-up incubator, work on which is likely to begin this month.

IIT-Delhi Director V Ramgopal Rao, interacting with reporters in the Senate Room said, the target would be to incubate at least 20 ideas in the first year after its inception.

The announcement was made by IIT-Delhi, buoyed by its inclusion among the three public academic institutions, which were granted 'Institutions of Eminence' status by the HRD Ministry on July 10, enabling them to get full autonomy and special incentives to project them as "world-class universities".

"The start-up incubator would be for those people who have finished their PhD and wish to work on an innovative idea on harnessing deep-technologies. Idea is to encourage research and innovative work in advanced computational systems, like artificial intelligence, data sciences, blockchain technologies, among other fields," Rao said.

"The incubator would come up in the Sonepat campus of IIT-Delhi," he said.

Anil Wali, Managing Director of Foundation For Innovation And Technology Transfer (FITT), an industrial interface organisation at IIT-D, said, this incubator would be different from incubators existing in various IITs for encouraging start-ups by students at undergraduate level.

"This would focus on key challenges around deep-technologies and look for a viable business plan that brings in innovation in the field," he said.

"The programme would be announced at a national-level, inviting applications. And, then the plan is to have a two-stage screening process to select the best candidates who are serious about working on deep-technology ideas," Wali said.

The IIT-D director said the incubator facility at Sonepat campus would not only help them to build prototypes but also let them demonstrate it, say if its from the field of nanotechnology, the prototype developed would also be demonstrated.

As part of the Institutions of Eminence grant, the HRD Ministry will be providing IIT-D with "Rs 1,000 crore over five years", which the institute would supplement with internal revenue generation mainly through R&D grants and other mechanisms, he added.

"We hope to raise another Rs 1,500 crore in the five years, so a total of Rs 2,500 cr would be spent by IIT-D on enhancing its research facilities, infrastructure, and outreach," he said.

Rao also said, a technology park is currently operational in the Sonepat campus and another one will come up in the Delhi campus.

"We are also planning to introduce diploma programmes and industry-sponsored Masters and PhD programmes," he said.

Besides, IIT-D also has planned to attract foreign students through fellowships and assistantships.

Joint PhD programmes with top universities in Australia, Taiwan, Canada are in various stages of finalisation, he said.
"How can you have a servant at home who keeps their own passport with them?" "She goes out one day a week and works for 6 days which brings her total days out to four a month and one has no clue what happens during those four days when her passport is in her possession".

Social media influencer Sondos Al Qattan says the reaction to her comments over changes in labour law for Filipino workers in Kuwait is unjustified, and she does not feel she needs to make an apology.

A Kuwaiti social-media influencer who was criticised over comments she made about Filipino domestic workers has defended her remarks.

"These contracts (maids contracts) are a mere comedy".

In a report published by another online-based news platform buzzfeednews.com, the Kuwaiti blogger was also quoted to have said: "Even worse is that they get a day off every single week!"

"If they ran away and went back to their country, who'll refund me?"

"All I said was that the employer was entitled to keep the servant's passport, and that many Kuwaitis and Gulf nationals agree with me", Alqattan said.

In February, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte imposed a partial ban on workers travelling to Kuwait after a Filipina maid was murdered and her body found in a freezer.

"Her expensive stuff and pretty face can not mask her rotten attitude". Her comments resulted in a huge backlash on social media.

The outrage continues as people call for other high profile brands that sponsor the blogger to cancel their contracts - most notably Max Factor and MAC Cosmetics.

With Migrante International, a Filipino advocacy group, likening Alqattan's comments to that of a "slave owner" with an outlook "that literally belongs to the dark ages".

However, the two sides eventually reached an agreement, which included the right for Philippine workers to keep their mobile phones and passports and a 24/7 hotline to report abuse, and the ban on skilled and domestic worker deployment was lifted shortly after. The incident led to Kuwait's expulsion of the Philippine ambassador and the withdrawal of its own ambassador from Manila.

Jeddah - The Philippines is asking domestic worker recruitment agencies in Kuwait to deposit $10,000 in an escrow account as a kind of insurance against violation of a labor agreement signed between Kuwait and the Philippines in May this year.

An estimated 660,000 domestic migrant workers are living in Kuwait, which has a population of four million.

According to Human Rights Watch, the country's "kafala" system, which gives employers extensive powers over migrant workers, often forces them to remain with abusive bosses, while those who flee can be punished and imprisoned.
Asheeta Regidi

The increased focus on the liability of WhatsApp for the fake news menace leads to a return to the focus on another issue - on the liability imposed on group administrators. A recent report is of the arrest of 21 year old Junaid Khan, who has been in jail for 5 months, merely for being the group administrator of a WhatsApp group on which an objectionable post was made. The arrest of the group administrator is increasingly becoming a default practice, without an assessment of his actual participation in the criminal act in question. The result is that ironically, a WhatsApp group administrator is subject to greater responsibility and stricter liability for objectionable content than WhatsApp itself, which is protected under the law as an intermediary.

No Act imposes liability on a WhatsApp administrator

A WhatsApp group administrator is thus being held liable for failing to monitor or remove such content on the group. The liability further, is strict liability, for he is being arrested for the mere fact that he was the group administrator of that group, regardless of whether he actually had any criminal intent in relation to the illegal content. The immediate question that arises then is on the legal basis of this liability imposed on the group administrator.

The fact is that no such liability is imposed under any act. The group administrator is certainly not an intermediary under the Information Technology Act, 2000 (as per the definition, an intermediary is one which receives, stores or transmits the message, which in this case would be WhatsApp, and not the administrator). He is thus, not subject to the obligations drawn out for an intermediary, such as to remove objectionable content on coming to know of it. Neither is he entitled to the protections offered to an intermediary, which is protected from liability for illegal content that it hosts on its platform.

Legal basis include Magistrate orders and police directions

The legal basis appears to be then, through orders issued by various district magistrates on the one hand, and directions issued by the police on the other. For instance, recent reports include a warning to group administrators of action against them by a Madhya Pradesh IPS officer, and a notice to 21 WhatsApp group administrators in Jammu from a Kishtwar Magistrate for failing to register, on finding that the platform was being routinely used to spread provocative material on militancy. The legal basis for some of these arrests is unclear, such as in the case of this arrest of a group administrator by the Kairana (UP) police recently for sharing posts inciting religious hatred.

No procedural clarities or boundaries of liability imposed

While the exact terms of these orders are unclear, they impose a liability that is very stringent, and further has no procedural clarity or boundaries drawn for its exercise. Consider the rules that WhatsApp is subject to with respect to monitoring of content.

As an intermediary, for instance, it is required to exercise due diligence under the IT (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules, 2011. This does not, however, include a requirement to monitor content. An intermediarys obligation w.r.t objectionable content is to remove access to it, only when the content comes to its notice. Further, this must be done within 36 hours only when accompanied with a court order or other governmental direction (as per Shreya Singhal v. Union of India. Censorship, also, is subject to rules and regulations, such as the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009.

The reason for these rules and protections are, firstly, that censorship leads to major concerns with the exercise of the right to freedom of speech. Secondly, an intermediary, given its special position as an entity which enables the communication but does not otherwise participate in it, is not expected to be aware of the content. This is in contrast to, say the editor of a newspaper, who is required to be aware of the content he puts up. The fake news menace has certainly raised questions on whether these protections need to be revisited, and intermediaries like WhatsApp be made subject to greater responsibility.

WhatsApp administrator is not on the same footing as an intermediary

However, the fact is that these are, at present, not subject to such responsibilities. A WhatsApp group administrator further, is simply not on the same footing as an intermediary. The question then arises, as to how WhatsApp group administrators are expected to exercise the same, or greater responsibilities, and be subject to stricter liability than WhatsApp itself.

It leads to a situation where, with respect to dealing with objectionable content, a group administrator would be subject to more defined responsibilities and greater protection if they were to launch a social media platform instead. There, for instance, there is a clearly defined obligation to inform him of an objectionable post, before any kind of responsibility to deal with it arises.

Administrators to take responsibility of content regardless of facts

In the current situation, however, administrators are expected to take on responsibility of the content on their group, regardless of whether they were even aware of the illegal content on the group, whether they were active members of the group, and even whether they were actually the administrator at that time.

Specific facts point to this, such as in Junaid Khans case, where he argues that he was not the administrator at the time the post was shared, and further, he wasnt even aware that he was the administrator. He had become the default administrator after two successive administrators left. In another case, the arrested administrator argues that he wasnt even a member of the group at the time the post was shared.

Several other facts come to mind, such as of persons who created groups and are not even active participants in it, leave alone monitoring the communications on the group. Many group administrators are not even aware of the identity of every member on their group.

Issues arising if an administrator acts against content

Even if a WhatsApp administrator were to act against objectionable content, this may lead to further issues, such as an accusation of censorship or violation of the right to free speech. An administrator deleting such content may also face accusations of deleting evidence. Further issues can arise, such as whether the administrator has a responsibility to inform the police of such content. Even in such a case, surely an equal responsibility lies on any member of the group.

Mens rea not being considered

Unless the administrator has actually participated in some way, be it to create the illegal content, share it or otherwise add to, say, the incendiary nature of it through comments, targeting him is completely unjustified. Where the group has specifically been created for an illegal purpose, then the administrator, along with every member, needs to be investigated. The same applies to a group that is frequently misused for such purpose. The administrators actual knowledge of the content is a crucial factor.

Imposition of criminal liability is unjustified

However, in the absence of clear laws on the issue, or of the order of a higher court on the matter, these orders are binding, within the jurisdiction in which they are issued. One judgment in support of WhatsApp group administrators is this 2016 judgment of the Delhi High Court. This, unfortunately, will only bind lower courts within its jurisdiction only, and moreover, the judgment did not deal with important questions, such as whether a group administrator has the responsibility to monitor content.

There is an urgent need for clarity to be brought to this situation. Thus, in the case of Junaid Khan, action is being taken against him for sedition, which can attract imprisonment of 3 years under the IPC. Without a change in current practices, he could well be held liable for sedition. In these cases, the imposition of criminal liability on a person without any obligation imposed on him under the law, or any assessment of his criminal intent or mens rea, is unjustified and a major misuse of the law.

The author is a lawyer and author specialising in technology, privacy and cyber laws.
Reuters

Deep coral reefs in a "twilight zone" in the oceans differ sharply from those near the surface, dimming hopes that they can be a refuge for marine life fleeing threats such as climate change and pollution, scientists said on Thursday.

Worldwide, coral reefs in shallow waters are among ecosystems most threatened by climate change. The Great Barrier Reef off Australia suffered severe bleaching, a whitening driven by warm waters that can kill corals, in 2016 and 2017.

A US-led team of divers who studied little-known reefs in the West Atlantic and Pacific Oceans between 30 and 150 meters (100-500 ft) deep where sunlight fades, found most species of corals and fish were unlike those closer to the surface.

"We were surprised to find little overlap," lead author Luiz Rocha of the California Academy of Sciences told Reuters of the findings published in the journal Science.

Less than five percent of fish and corals were found in both shallow and deep waters against the scientists previous estimate of 60-75 percent, based on historical records, he said.

"The potential for deep reefs to act in a refuge capacity is far less than we have previously hoped," they wrote. And, like shallow reefs, the deep reefs also faced threats including climate change, storms and pollution.

Divers found, for instance, plastic fishing nets entangled on deep corals off the Philippines and deep corals harmed by warm waters off the Bahamas.

Rocha said the scientists were trying to place temperature sensors in the twilight zone to see how far deep reefs were exposed to rising ocean temperatures, which are most extreme at the surface.

Deep reefs covered at least the same ocean area worldwide as shallow reefs, he estimated. Some reefs, such as those off the mouth of the Amazon River, exist only in the depths.

The authors urged better safeguards for deep reefs, for instance by expanding protected areas and banning bottom trawlers that can scrape the seabed.

Among previous research, a 2016 study by the UN Environment Programme found evidence that some deep reefs could act as what it called lifeboats for nearby, connected shallower reefs.

But it said that in other cases, deep reefs "may be just as vulnerable as shallower reefs" to human pressures.
tech2 News Staff

Auroras, sometimes called polar lights, northern lights or southern lights, are ghostly displays of colourful light in the Earth's night sky. These spectacular events, which are seen predominantly in the high-latitude regions near the poles, have featured at least as PC desktop backgrounds for everyone at some point in time.

Now, as it turns out, Earth isn't the only planet that witnesses the natural electrical phenomenon.

NASAs MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission) spacecraft just reported a new type of Martian aurora that occurs over much of the day side of the Red Planet, where auroras are very difficult to see.

"Auroras flare up when energetic particles plunge into a planets atmosphere, bombarding gases and making them glow. While electrons generally cause this natural phenomenon, sometime protons can elicit the same response, although its rarer. Now, the MAVEN team has learned that protons were doing at Mars the same thing as electrons usually do at Earth  create aurora," a NASA statement said.

NASA's MAVEN team observed that on occasion, the ultraviolet light coming from hydrogen gas in Mars' upper atmosphere would mysteriously and suddenly brighten for a few hours. Then, it was seen that the brightening events occurred when a MAVEN instrument, the Solar Wind Ion Analyser (SWIA), measured enhanced solar wind protons. What does that mean, you ask?

A solar wind is an erratic flow of protons that the Sun ejects at speeds of over 3 million kilometres per hour. These protons are essentially hydrogen atoms stripped of their lone electrons by intense heat (check the illustration above for the detailed process).

But this is where scientists encountered two major puzzles, according to NASA: How did these protons get past the planets 'bow shock'  a magnetic obstacle which diverts the solar winds charged particles around the planet? And how could the protons give off a light, since atoms need electrons to do so?

"The answer was thievery," said Justin Deighan, lead author of a paper on this research appearing 23 July in Nature Astronomy. "As they approach Mars, the protons coming in with the solar wind transform into neutral atoms by stealing electrons from the outer edge of the huge cloud of hydrogen surrounding the planet. The bow shock can only divert charged particles, so these neutral atoms continue right on through."

When those high-speed incoming atoms hit Mars' atmosphere, some of their energy was emitted as ultraviolet (UV) light, which is invisible to the human eye but detectable to instruments on MAVEN. In fact, one incoming atom can collide with molecules in the atmosphere hundreds of times before it slows down, giving off a slew of ultraviolet photons, NASA said.

"The Martian proton auroras are more than a light show," NASA quoted Jasper Halekas of the University of Iowa as saying. "They reveal that the solar wind is not completely diverted around Mars, by showing how solar wind protons can sneak past the bow shock and impact the atmosphere, depositing energy and even enhancing the hydrogen content there."
Bangladesh Police have charged eight militants over a 2016 attack on a cafe in Dhaka that killed 22 people, and freed a British suspect detained without charge for the past two years.

Dhaka: Bangladesh Police have charged eight militants over a 2016 attack on a cafe in Dhaka that killed 22 people, and freed a British suspect detained without charge for the past two years.

Briton Hasnat Karim was detained after the July 2016 attack in Dhaka on suspicion of being involved. Rights group Amnesty International had campaigned for his release.

Karim was with his family celebrating his daughters 13th birthday at the cafe, when militants barged in, taking 22 hostages, mostly foreigners, who were killed over 12 hours.

Karim became a suspect after he agreed to a demand to act as a human shield during the ordeal, witnesses said at the time. An investigation found Karim was not involved, Monirul Islam, the head of the polices counter-terrorism and transnational crime unit, said on Monday.

During our two-year long investigation, we did not find any involvement (of Karim) in this attack directly or indirectly, so he was acquitted from this case, Islam said.

Islamic State had claimed responsibility for the cafe attack, though Bangladesh has denied the groups involvement and Islam said the investigation showed no involvement of foreign militants.

All of them belong to (Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh), a homegrown militant group, he said, saying eight militants had been charged.

Nine Italians, seven Japanese, an Indian and a Bangladeshi-American and four Bangladeshis, including police, were killed.
Narendra Modi left for his Africa tour on Monday, which began from Rwanda and culminate in South Africa, where he will attend the 10th BRICS Summit.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for his three-nation tour of Africa on Monday, which began from Rwanda and will culminate in South Africa. He will attend the 10th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg from 25 to 27 July and is also likely meet Chinese president Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the summit.

The theme of the summit this year is 'BRICS in Africa: collaboration for inclusive growth and shared prosperity in the 4th Industrial Revolution'. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, BRICS leaders are expected to discuss "global hotspot issues, international peace, and security, global governance, trade issues during the restricted session".

The issues before the 10th BRICS Summit broadly include: multilateralism, global governance, health and vaccines, socio-economic empowerment of women, peacekeeping, network of science, parks and technology, inclusive growth, sustainable development, infrastructure.

For the first time, a BRICS leaders' retreat is being organised wherein leaders will deliberate and take stock of BRICS cooperation during the decade and on its future prospects, MEA press release said.

Other than the BRICS summit, Modi will also participate in Outreach with Leaders from Africa and Outreach with Leaders from Global South summit. In the BRICS Africa Outreach, the invited countries include Rwanda, Uganda, Togo, Zambia, Namibia, Senegal, Gabon, Ethiopia, Angola, and the African Union Chair.

With regards to the prime minister's agenda, he is likely to bring up cross-border terrorism. According to The Times of India, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval travelled to Durban for a BRICS security meet ahead of the summit where he underscored India's contention that not enough has been done to check cross-border and state-sponsored terrorism.

India is also likely to push BRICS nations to define terrorism, according to Hindustan Times, which further said that Indian officials have already taken up the matter with their counterparts in the other BRICS members.

The idea of BRICS rating agency will also be taken up during the summit, confirmed Secretary Economic Relations in MEA, TS Tirumurti. India had pressed the BRICS nations to set up an independent rating agency of the five-member group during the first meeting of the BRICS finance ministers and Central bank governors which was held on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank spring meetings in April this year.

Speaking at the informal meeting of the BRICS leaders on the sidelines of the G20 Summit last year, Modi had also said that expeditious action should be taken to establish the BRICS credit rating agency while asserting that the BRICS group has to be a voice of stability, reform, progress and governance at the world stage.

In 2016, BRICS nations agreed to set up an independent credit rating agency based on market-oriented principles as part of efforts to further strengthen global governance architecture.

Trade war risk to dominate summit

The threat of a worsening global trade war will top the agenda of BRICS Summit 2018. Russian economy minister Maxim Oreshkin said ahead of the Johannesburg meeting that "this summit is about the context  we are at a time when the US and China announce new measures almost every week".

He said much of the discussions with China would likely focus on what is happening with the United States. "This is a trade war, so leaders' discussions are particularly important in coordinating our positions," said Oreshkin.

Analysts say US trade policy could give the group some renewed momentum. "Trade agreements between associations of countries like BRICS have become increasingly important given the self-seeking, and ultimately short-sighted, barriers to trade that are being instigated by the US," Kenneth Creamer, an economist at Johannesburg's Wits University, told AFP.

China pledges to boost cooperation with BRICS nations

China has pledged to boost cooperation with fellow BRICS countries in response to soaring frictions with the US, as it seeks to cultivate alliances to help it weather a bruising trade war.

China will enhance coordination on macroeconomic policies with fellow BRICS members Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa in response to the "challenges posed by the changing policies of certain developed countries," said assistant foreign minister Zhang Jun.

The summit might also see the five nations hit out against US president Donald Trump's protectionist trade policies, while norms on greater financial integration and investment facilitation may be discussed, according to Business Standard.

At the meeting of the BRICS finance ministers earlier this year, the BRICS nations agreed to "fight against trade protectionism together". Chinese finance minister Liu Kun had said, "The BRICS should firmly support economic globalisation and multilateralism and unequivocally oppose unilateralism and protectionism in any form."

BRICS Summit 2017

The five-nation economic grouping, for the first time, named Pakistan-based terrorist outfits Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in its joint declaration, while asking all states to prevent terror activities from their soil and curb terror financing.

The joint declaration, which was issued at end of the Plenary Session of the BRICS Summit in China's Xiamen, called upon the international community to establish a "genuinely broad" international counter-terrorism coalition.

It reaffirmed that those responsible for committing, organising, or supporting terrorist acts must be held accountable and sought expeditious finalisation and adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) by the United Nations. The BRICS also called upon all states to prevent financing of terrorist networks and terrorist actions from their territories.

Four documents, including on economic and trade cooperation, were signed by all the five BRICS countries with an aim to deepen commercial ties among the grouping's members. Apart from the action agenda on economic and trade cooperation, the three other documents signed in the presence of BRICS leaders were action plan for innovation cooperation (2017-2020), strategic framework of BRICS customs cooperation and Memorandum of Understanding between the BRICS Business Council and the New Development Bank on strategic cooperation.

With inputs from agencies
By Dan Williams and Lisa Barrington JERUSALEM/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Israel said it shot down a Syrian warplane that crossed into the occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday, but Damascus said the jet was fired on as it took part in sorties against rebels within Syria. The incident added new fuel to weeks of tensions over the Golan, a strategic plateau between the two old enemies and where Israel has been on high alert as Syrian government forces, supported by Russia, close in to regain rebel-held ground

By Dan Williams and Lisa Barrington

JERUSALEM/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Israel said it shot down a Syrian warplane that crossed into the occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday, but Damascus said the jet was fired on as it took part in sorties against rebels within Syria.

The incident added new fuel to weeks of tensions over the Golan, a strategic plateau between the two old enemies and where Israel has been on high alert as Syrian government forces, supported by Russia, close in to regain rebel-held ground.

Israel worries Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may defy a 1974 U.N. armistice that demilitarised much of the Golan, or let his Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah reinforcements deploy there.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Syrian jet had been in "gross violation of the separation of forces between us an Syria". Israel "took appropriate action" he said.

For the second time in as many days, Israeli sirens sounded on the Golan and witnesses saw the contrails of two missiles flying skyward. The military said it fired Patriot interceptor missiles at a Syrian Sukhoi jet that crossed 2 km (1 mile) into Israeli-controlled air space, after first trying to warn it off.

U.N. peacekeepers "observed burning debris falling from an aircraft" some 10 km (6 miles) inside Syrian territory southeast of the Golan buffer zone, their agency said in a statement.

The warplane's pilot was killed, a non-Syrian source close to the Syrian government told Reuters.

The source said the plane fell in a pocket of territory held by Islamic State-affiliated forces adjoining the occupied Golan Heights. The Syrian army is advancing into this pocket to try to bring the whole of southwest Syria back under its control.

Syrian state media said the plane was targeted by Israel and hit while conducting raids in Syrian-controlled air space.

"The Israeli enemy confirms its support for the armed terrorist groups," the official news agency SANA quoted a military source as saying. Lebanon's pro-Damascus TV station al-Mayadeen said the plane fell 15 km (8 miles) inside Syrian territory and did not enter the air space of the occupied Golan.

The spiralling Israeli-Syrian tensions have spurred intercession by Moscow, which sent Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and its top general on Monday for talks with Netanyahu.

Israeli officials said Netanyahu rebuffed as insufficient a Russian offer to keep Iranian forces 100 km (62 miles) from the Golan lines.

Nickolay Mladenov, a U.N. envoy for the Middle East, warned on Tuesday of "a disturbing trajectory of increasingly frequent and dangerous confrontations" between Israel and Syria.

"I call on all parties to abide by all the provisions of the 1974 agreement," he told the U.N. Security Council.

Before Tuesday's shoot-down there was an escalation of the Syrian fighting close to the Golan, Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus said.

"We issued warnings and messages through different channels in various languages numerous times over the day in order to avoid any miscalculations, misunderstandings or any violations of Israeli air space," he told reporters.

On Monday, Reuters witnesses on the southern edge of the Israeli-occupied Golan spotted numerous warplanes and helicopters in the skies over Syrian territory, some of them dropping bombs. Anti-aircraft return fire could also be seen.

In February, an Israeli F-16 jet was brought down by Syrian anti-aircraft fire.

That warplane crashed in northern Israel while returning from a bombing raid on what Israel said was an Iranian military installation in Syria. Both pilots ejected, injured.

(Additional reporting by Stephen Farrell in Jerusalem, Laila Bassam in Beirut and Michelle Nichols in the United Nations; Writing by Dan Williams; editing by William Maclean/Mark Heinrich)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
As a part of a 'take-over', photographer Alessio Mamo posted pictures from his series on hunger in India to World Press Photo's Instagram account. He took pictures of people in poverty-stricken areas posing in front of fake food

Alessio Mamo, an Italian photographer, and the World Press Photo Foundation have been criticised globally over photographs that Mamo uploaded to the latter's Instagram account, as part of a 'take-over'. The subjects of these photographs taken by Mamo include men, women and children in India who can be seen covering their eyes while a decorated table with 'fake food' is present before them.

Although the post garnered more than 18,000 likes on Instagram, several social media users, photographers and journalists lashed out at the tone-deafness and apparent insensitivity of the project, taking to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram itself to post their criticism. They were quick to call the project as another 'poverty porn' gimmick, which means that the subjects and their poor conditions are exploited by a Western photographer to generate sympathy through photographs.

World Press Photo Foundation is a Netherlands-based non-profit organisation that is well known for holding annual photography contests. Mamo was the prize winner of the #WPPh2018 Photo Contest and was selected to take-over the foundation's Instagram account. The idea of such take-overs, as they have been termed, is that someone new handles the account for a day and gives a glimpse into their life or various projects.

Mamos first photograph from his series on Iraq appeared seven days ago on World Press Photos Instagram feed. Since then, the Sicily-based photographer has been uploading other series and photographs clicked in various regions, such as Iraq, Jordan and India.

The series of photographs that have received criticism were uploaded on 23 July. This series was titled 'Dreaming Food' and he described it as a conceptual project about the hunger issue in India. Mamo claims that the photographs were pictured in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh two of the poorest states of India'. In a lengthy caption that accompanies the pictures, Mamo detailed his credentials and the reason for starting a series with such a concept.

These photographs were clicked in areas of rural India which battle poverty and disease. In his caption, Mamo also mentioned statistics on malnourished children in India. He went on to explain how the idea for the series developed, stating, The idea of this project was born after reading the statistics of how much food is thrown away in the West, especially during Christmas time. I brought with me a table and some fake food, and I told people to dream about some food that they would like to find on their table.

Social media users raised questions about the editorial decision or lack thereof for allowing the publication of the series on India.

irresponsible and horrendous. a photographer supported by @WorldPressPhoto traveled to impoverished areas in india asking locals to imagine their dream meals then took their photos with a bounty of fake food as conceptual art. the epitome of poverty porn https://t.co/53Ys1VKs13 pic.twitter.com/qC407L03C2  celeste noche (@extracelestial) July 23, 2018

Ethics should never be pushed aside in the quest for a good photo opportunity. Always consider how you represent an issue, people and place. These photos published by @worldpressphoto are an example of ethics abandoned. #ALC701 https://t.co/hEE4aDyt1A  Lisa Ritchie (@lisajaritchie) July 23, 2018

'I bought with me a table and some fake food and I told people to dream about what food they would like to find on the table.' Even by @WorldPressPhoto exploitative standards. Even with their lack of editorial integrity this is really something else.https://t.co/Z47d40VNGD pic.twitter.com/ZghhM8UTbo  duckrabbit (@duckrabbitblog) July 22, 2018

Came across this post on @WorldPressPhoto. Shocked that such an Organisation rewards work that seems to advance personal interests masked in social-political reportage rather than respecting the ethical boundaries in the craft. pic.twitter.com/0jsZvzMxAp  Pierre (@petersize10) July 23, 2018

Those pictures are so humiliating. And with kids! Can't believe someone would do that.

The person has no empathy for another human being.  Austin Fernandes (@quickbug) July 23, 2018

Today's edition of Fkkd Up Creative Racism is brought to you by @WorldPressPhoto pic.twitter.com/WSHyv2CYJU  scherezadenfreude (@zaharaesque) July 23, 2018

Dear @WorldPressPhoto your latest 'Dreaming about food' series on Instagram, featuring poverty stricken Indians with closed eyes and fake food in front of them, isn't journalism. It's poverty porn masquerading as journalism. Hope you realize that you are nothing but white trash. pic.twitter.com/no2dZLyOCC  Arnav Das Sharma (@arnav_d) July 23, 2018

World Press Photo issued their own statement on Twitter regarding the issue on 24 July after eminent photo-journalists and journalists heavily criticised the project as well as the organisation for allowing the photographs to be published on their social media accounts. One of the reasons the organisation mentioned states: "The World Press Photo Foundation is a platform that connects members of our community (contest winning photographers, masterclass participants, etc.) with the general audience. Being a platform we do not limit photographers choices beyond the guidelines provided, and we ask the photographers to respond directly to the audience when questions arise." The organisation repeated the phrase to many social media users who demanded an explanation. The statement also mentions that apart from his portrait of Manal (an Iraqi girl living in Kirkuk), none of the photographs Mamo has shared were awarded prizes in the photo contest.

Our Instagram account is a platform for photographers in our community to use. We have guidelines for photographers who takeover the account. You can read those guidelines, and our statement about Alessio Mamo's takeover last week, here: https://t.co/EbZGnesx3s  World Press Photo (@WorldPressPhoto) July 23, 2018

The outrage over Western photographers exploiting the struggles of subjects who live in poor conditions is not new, but in Alessio Mamo's case, people have highlighted the deeply unethical portrayal of poor people posing before fake food, as well as the involvement of children.
By David Shepardson and Steve Holland WASHINGTON/KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Tuesday said it would pay up to $12 billion to help U.S.

By David Shepardson and Steve Holland

WASHINGTON/KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Tuesday said it would pay up to $12 billion to help U.S. farmers weather a growing trade battle with China, the European Union and others, a clear signal the president is determined to stick with tariffs as his weapon of choice in the conflict.

The move to cushion the blow for a politically important constituency - rural and agricultural states that supported U.S. President Donald Trump by wide margins in the election but have been targeted by China's retaliation to his trade tactics - was met with broad criticism by many farmers and farm-belt lawmakers.

Trump's trade policies have become central in several rural-state U.S. Senate races ahead of congressional elections in November, as Democrats there try to keep hold of several seats that Republicans have targeted.

The president, speaking at an event in Kansas City on Tuesday, aggressively reaffirmed his support for tariffs and pledged that ultimately, "farmers will be the biggest beneficiary."

"Just be a little patient," Trump said.

To that end, the relief package is intended to serve as only a temporary boost to farmers as the United States and China negotiate over trade issues, officials said.

"This obviously is a short-term solution that will give President Trump time to work on a long-term trade policy," said Sonny Perdue, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The aid will be financed through the USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation and thus will not require congressional approval, Perdue said.

The CCC has broad authority to make loans and direct payments to U.S. growers when prices for corn, soybeans, wheat and other agricultural goods are low.

The administration's action appeared to divide Republicans.

Kevin Cramer, a U.S. representative trying to unseat Democrat Senator Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota, praised the move.

"Great to see [Trump] providing aid to farmers impacted by retaliatory tariffs," Cramer wrote on Twitter.

But other Republicans were troubled by what they view as the kind of widespread government-assistance programme their party has traditionally opposed.

"This trade war is cutting the legs out from under farmers and the White House's 'plan' is to spend $12 billion on gold crutches," said Senator Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican who frequently criticizes the president, a fellow Republican.

"Tariffs are taxes that punish American consumers and producers," Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul wrote on Twitter. "If tariffs punish farmers, the answer is not welfare for farmers  the answer is remove the tariffs."

Democratic Representative Jackie Speier of California, a major agricultural state, on Twitter accused Trump of trying to "placate the farmers that voted for you" with a $12 billion payment.

Later this week, Trump will visit Iowa and Illinois, two other farm-belt states, as he seeks to shore up support for Republican candidates in those regions.

SHORT-TERM BOOST?

Farmers have been a particular target in the current clash over trade policy as other countries seek to retaliate for Trump's duties on Chinese goods as well as on steel and aluminium imports from the European Union, Canada and Mexico. Those affected economies have in turn targeted U.S. agricultural products, including soybeans, dairy, meat, produce and liquor.

The United States exported $138 billion in agriculture products in 2017, including $21.5 billion of soybeans, the most valuable export. China alone imported $12.3 billion of U.S. soybeans last year, according to the USDA.

The size of the direct payments to farmers as a result of trade shortfalls would be unprecedented, said Scott Irwin, an agricultural economist at the University of Illinois.

"We have never compensated farmers directly on such a large scale for retaliatory tariffs," Irwin said.

The news lifted shares of farm equipment companies on the prospect that farmers will have more money to spend on tractors and other farm gear.

Deere & Co jumped 3.1 percent, while Caterpillar Inc gained more than 1 percent and AGCO Corp rose 0.6 percent.

Soybean futures <0#S:>, hit hard by China's retaliatory tariffs, rose 1.2 percent and hit their highest in two weeks as traders bet farm aid would improve demand, reducing a current surplus supply.

Still, Blake Hurst, a corn and soybean farmer and president of the Missouri Farm Bureau, said that unless the White House's policies change, the U.S. agriculture industry will continue to suffer.

The payments will be helpful to farmers facing overdue loans and angry bankers, but are completely insufficient if they mean that tariffs and the trade war will last for the foreseeable future," Hurst said. "They are a very temporary bandage to a self-inflicted wound.

(Reporting by Ginger Gibson, Susan Heavey, Roberta Rampton, David Shepardson in Washington; Michael Hirtzer, Thomas Polansek, Caroline Stauffer, Mark Weinraub in Chicago, and Steve Holland in Kansas City.; Writing by Susan Heavey and James Oliphant; Editing by Tim Ahmann, Marguerita Choy and Frances Kerry)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Narendra Modi appreciated the Rwandan government's 'Girinka Programme.' He said people in India too would be surprised to see the cow being given such importance.

Kigali: In an unusual gift, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday presented 200 cows to poor villagers in Rwanda to support President Paul Kagame's ambitious initiative for poverty reduction and tackling childhood malnutrition.

The Girinka programme was initiated by president Kagame in 2006 to provide one cow per poor family for their nutritional and financial security. Modi, who was in Rwanda on a two-day state visit, gifted these cows to poor families during a function at Rweru Model Village.

Speaking on the occasion, Modi appreciated the Rwandan government's 'Girinka Programme.' He said people in India too would be pleasantly surprised to see the cow being given such importance as a means of economic empowerment in villages, in faraway Rwanda. He said that the Girinka Programme will help transform villages in Rwanda.

"Being part of a transformative project towards economic development of Rwanda! PM @narendramodi donates 200 cows under #Girinka - One Cow per Poor Family Programme at Rweru village. Girinka is an ambitious projects that provides both nutritional and financial security to the poor," tweeted Raveesh Kumar, the spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs.

Modi said that the Rwandan government can also work on honeybees on the lines of the Girinka programme. "Honey can be produced along with milk and both businesses can be run together which would provide additional benefits," Modi said, adding that the Indian government is ready to provide every support to the Rwandan government for this.

The word Girinka can be translated as 'may you have a cow' and describes a centuries-old cultural practice in Rwanda whereby a cow was given by one person to another as a sign of respect and gratitude, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

The Girinka Programme was initiated by Kagame in response to the alarmingly high rate of childhood malnutrition and as a way to accelerate poverty reduction and integrate livestock and crop farming, the statement said.

The programme is based on the premise that providing a dairy cow to the poor transforms livelihoods, reconciles communities improving agricultural productivity through the use of manure as fertilizers which would lead to improving soil quality and reducing erosion through the planting of grasses and trees, it said.

Since its introduction, hundreds of thousands have received cows through the Girinka programme. The programme has contributed to an increase in agricultural production in Rwanda - especially milk production and its products, reduced malnutrition and increased incomes.
The medical board that examined Nawaz Sharif in Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi, concluded there was no acute medical problem except some issues.

Lahore: Nawaz Sharif is not suffering from any acute medical problem, a media report on Tuesday quoted a medical board as saying, this a day after doctors examined the jailed former Pakistan prime minister.

A five-member team of doctors from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) comprising cardiologist Dr Naeem Malik, Medical Specialist Dr Shaji Siddiqui, neurologist Dr Sohail Tanvir, Dr Mashood and Joint Executive Director Dr Ejaz Qadeer examined Sharif on Monday.

Sharif has multiple health issues like heart problems, hypertension and diabetes. He already underwent open heart surgery in London in 2016. The medical board that examined Sharif in Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi, concluded there was no acute medical problem except some issues and that the patient was well-oriented in time and space, the Express Tribune reported.

Sharif, 68, and his daughter Maryam, 44, are serving jail terms of 10 years and seven years respectively in Adiala Jail, after a court convicted them on 6 July over the family's ownership of four luxury flats in London.

The board was constituted on request of jail authorities to examine the ousted premier for a second opinion after examination by two cardiologists of the Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology (RIC) found him dehydrated, it added.

The RIC team suggested hospitalisation to avoid cardiac and diabetic complications. According to the medical team, his body's water levels are very low, which has made his heartbeat erratic. The amount of urea in his blood has also become very high, which could even lead to kidney failure, the report said. They had recommended to shift Sharif to a hospital.

However, the PIMS medical board assessed that the blood tests and urine tests were normal except his urea level, which was 64, and creatinine was 1.3. Some blood tests and echocardiography will be done on Tuesday and the patient will be re-examined by the same medical board after the results are available.

The medical board maintained that the patient needed fluids, re-hydration and comfortable environment. It recommended that a follow-up check-up may be closely monitored by a personal physician. As the patient has already been on medication for cardiac, cholesterol, blood pressure, kidney and diabetic problems, he has been advised to continue previous medications until the fresh medical tests and investigation are complete.
240718RAIVET SAYS BOUGAINVILLE BLESSED BY YWAM ARRIVAL

New Dawn FM News

The ABG Deputy Chief Secretary Policy and Planning, THOMAS RAIVET says Bougainville has been blessed with the arrival of MV YWAM LIBERTY because most part of Bougainville is inaccessible by air, road and by sea which makes it nearly impossible for the ABG to deliver much needed services to its people.

MR. RAIVET said that the arrival of MV YWAM will assist the ABG especially the Health Department to finally reach its people in the most remotest parts of Bougainville is a blessing.

MR. RAIVET also thanked ABG President Chief DR. JOHN MOMIS and his government for giving the clearance for the ship to enter the region.

He also thanked the ABG Minister for Health DENNIS LOKONAI and his Secretary for Health CLEMENT TOTAVUN and their hardworking staff for making this program finally reach Bougainville.

MR. RAIVET also thanked the Medical team for supporting and gracing Bougainville in the five months that they will be in Bougainville.



Ends






In an email sent to staff on Monday, tronc said the remaining staff - estimated by reports at around 40 journalists - would focus on breaking news involving "crime, civil justice and public responsibility".

The company also announced the departures of Jim Rich, the newspaper's editor-in-chief, and Kristen Lee, its managing editor. In a sign of the tabloid's faltering economic health, it was sold for only $1.

The New York Daily News once had one of the largest circulations in the country. I have had the pleasure of working extensively with Robert over the course of this year, when he served as publisher and editor of the successful Morning Call news properties in Allentown, PA.

Earlier this month, a Daily News investigation also forced President Donald Trump to pay $48,000 in taxes on his Trump Tower condo.

"I firmly believe that today's actions will position the Daily News for growth in the years ahead", he added.

During York's tenure, The Morning Call won numerous journalism awards, including Best Overall Newspaper in the daily category at the Pennsylvania Press Conference for 2017.

NY governor Andrew M Cuomo urged tronc to reconsider the lay-offs, saying they were made without notifying the state or asking for assistance. At the time of sale, the paper's long-term pension liability was at least $100 million and losing $30 million annually.

Cuomo also objected to the cuts at what he termed "an important NY institution and one of our nation's journalism giants".

"I urge Tronc to reconsider this drastic move and stand ready to work with them to avert this disaster".

"They completely ravaged the newspaper - which is a New York City Institution", Kay said.

He also called Tronc's plan to cover the Yankees with wire services as "small-town America", "not New York City", and an "absolute disgrace". "Tronc should sell the paper to someone committed to local journalism".

It is known for one of the most famous newspaper headlines in US history, "Ford to City: Drop Dead", following a 1975 speech by President Gerald Ford that denied the city financial aid as it tottered on the brink of bankruptcy.

Politico reported in 2017 that some members of management felt the anti-Trump direction of the paper was having a negative impact on the paper's bottom line by "costing the News subscriptions in places like Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island".

"We are fundamentally restructuring the Daily News", says an email from Tronc to staff. "They're gritty. That's what it means to be at the Daily News".

The notice said the employees affected would be hearing from the human resources department before the end of the day.

"The decisions being announced today reflect the realities of our business and the need to adapt an ever-changing media environment", Tronc wrote to staff on Monday. Staffers were then brought into conference rooms, where they were informed of their fates - if they were sat down in front of a folder, it was bad news.

Whitmore then met with senior staffers, with whom he shared the new organizational chart. "Pretty much every reporter had to file one, often times several breaking news stories a day".

"I'm sure people will feel it in the paper", the source said.
Islamabad Capital Territory is the smallest province of Pakistan, both in terms of size and population. It's also a new district with planned layout and political structure, meaning fewer problems than other provinces

The southern port city of Karachi was chosen as the capital of the newly created country of Pakistan, which won independence from the British in 1947. However, a decade later, when President Ayub Khan declared martial law in 1958, he also decided to move the capital city away from Karachi.

To this end, he decided on the establishment of a new capital city, Islamabad, nearly 1,500 kilometres away to the north. The reasoning behind this move was political and never clearly established, but it's believed that Ayub wanted the capital city to remain close to Rawalpindi, where the military headquarters were located. As mentioned in an article on Huffington Post, Ayub may have also been wary of the threat posed by Rawalpindi's military generals, that they might stage another coup d'etat while he himself was attending to administrative matters in distant Karachi.

In addition to the establishment of a new city, the original plan also called for the creation of a new province: Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). Accordingly, land was transferred from the neighbouring district of Rawalpindi in Punjab province to the ICT, although the city of Rawalpindi was eventually kept out.

Demographics

Today, the Islamabad Capital Territory is the smallest province of Pakistan, both in terms of size and population. As per the 2017 census, there were 3,35,408 households in ICT, making a total population of 20,01,579. This was a significant increase over the region's population from 1998, when there were just 8,05,235 persons, and from 1981 when there were 3,40,286 persons.

It's also the smallest area by size, measuring just 906 square kilometres. However, having over two million people in such a small area by size gives ICT a population density of over 1,000 persons per square kilometres, which is by far the most densely populated of Pakistan's seven administrative divisions.

However, with many of the country's political elite living in Islamabad, the province is more affluent and well-heeled. This is also reflected in its literacy and life expectancy. As per the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, www.pbs.gov.pk, Islamabad had a literacy rate of 85 percent, the highest in the country, and far more than the national average of 58 percent.

Of them, 7,30,000 are eligible to vote in the 26 July elections, as reported by Pakistan Observer earlier this year.

Key issues

Being the smallest division means ICT has just three constituencies. Being a relatively new district with a planned layout and political structure, there are also fewer problems afflicting Islamabad Capital Territory as compared to the others.

However, as the Huffington Post article pointed out, years of complacency and misrule, in addition to focus on things that were perhaps not as important, have left the city with myriad problems. The Capital Development Authority (CDA), in charge of the city's civic administration, spent huge sums of money on beautifying the city and building freeways. In doing so, however, it has robbed the ICT of its green cover, while the public mass transit system is woefully inadequate.

In addition, there's also a critical shortage of water in the region. The affluent neighbourhoods manage to make do by having water tankers deliver water to their doorsteps every day albeit at exorbitant prices. On the other hand, those who cannot afford to have tankers, dig wells illegally to draw from groundwater, the report added.

However, a key issue this year will be delimitation of constituencies, an exercise that was carried out following the Election Act 2017, which said the changing demographics of Pakistan's different provinces would have to be acknowledged while defining electoral maps. Accordingly, Islamabad Capital Territory, which used to have two constituencies, will now have three. These have been identified as NA-52, NA-53, and NA-54, the Pakistan Observer report added.

Of these, NA-52 and NA-53 have been carved out of the erstwhile NA-49 constituency, and include the regions of Rawat, Pind Bhagwal, Chatta Bakhtawar, Chak Shehzad, Morha Noor, etc. NA-54, on the other hand, includes mostly the urban areas of F-8, F-10 and Golra Sharif, the report added.

Sitting legislators

The 2018 elections will be the first time three legislators would be representing ICT. In previous elections, there were just two. Being a more cosmopolitan city with a diverse population, the politics of Islamabad are also not shaped by the regional aspirations of the parties. With people from all across Pakistan making Islamabad their home, the PML-N, PPP, and PTI are all equally strong. The two sitting legislators include one each from the PML-N and PTI, while PPP candidates didn't fare too badly either.

The NA-49 seat has gone the way of the PML-N in the last two elections, in 2008 and in 2013, as the party's candidate Tariq Fazal Chaudhry kept up his winning streak. On 26 July, Chaudhry will look to make it a hat-trick of wins.

As mentioned in a report on The Tribune, the NA-49 used to be a mostly rural section of the capital city, and Chaudhry won it by a slender margin of just 756 votes over the PPP's Nayyer Hussain Bukhari. Five years later, Chaudhry won it again, but this time with a far more comfortable margin of nearly 40,000 votes more than his nearest rival.

What's also interesting is the gains made by the PTI. Imran Khan's party had traditionally been strong in the northern mountains, but by 2013, it had begun making inroads into Islamabad as well. The PTI candidate Chaudhry Ilyas Meherban won over 57,000 votes to pip PPP to the second spot, a huge achievement considering the party was nowhere on the political arena until five years prior to that.

But even more impressive was the party's performance in the capital's other seat, NA-48, where PTI's Makhdoom Javed Hashmi claimed a surprising victory. The Tribune reported that the party's 'Naya Pakistan' campaign was enthusiastically cheered on by youth and women's participation in the predominantly urban constituency to claim a famous win over the incumbent, PML-N's Anjum Aqeel Khan.

However, Islamabad was Hashmi's second constituency, and the PTI leader chose to give it up in favour of his home seat of Multan. This necessitated bye-polls, and the PTI's Asad Umar managed to win that too, albeit the bye-poll was marred by poor voter turnout and lacking enthusiasm among citizens and party workers, as reported by Dawn.

Candidates in 2018

Both sitting legislators, Tariq Fazal Chaudhry and Asad Umar, have been given tickets by their respective parties for 2018, from NA-52 and NA-53 respectively. The PPP, meanwhile, is also targeting ICT in a big way, fielding Sibtul Haider Bokhari and Raja Imran Ashraf from NA-53 and NA-54 respectively, reported Pakistan Observer. The report added that Ashraf is the brother of former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, while Bokhari is the brother of former Senate chairman Nayyar Hussain.

A report on Pakistan Today said there's also the Jamaat-e-Islami which is interested in fielding heavyweight candidates from Islamabad, including former member of the National Assembly, Mian Aslam. On the other hand, its former candidate from NA-49, Zubair Farooq, is considering contesting as an Independent candidate from NA-54 this time, the report said.
The Balochistan Assembly adopted a resolution on 31 May seeking one month's delay in the general elections in the province.

Ahead of the general elections in Pakistan, the political scenario in the country seems to be getting murkier by the day. With deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif becoming ineligible to hold public office for life after a Supreme Court ruling and former military ruler Pervez Musharraf resigning as chairman of All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), the focus has shifted to Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Balochistan is often referred to as Pakistan's "most complicated" region and the politics in the province, as Tara Kartha pointed out in this Firstpost article, has become even more muddied. The most significant development in Baloch politics has been the growth in the number of independents. Some of these, along with the dissidents of PML-N formed a new party Balochistan Awami Party (BAP).

The government in Balochistan completed its term on 31 May, 2018. However, the Balochistan Assembly adopted a resolution on 31 May before adjournment seeking one month's delay in the general elections in the province.

The resolution, according to Geo TV, demanded that the elections be held in August instead of July this year because "a majority of the public wants to undertake Hajj for which (many) would be travelling to Saudi Arabia in July", and hence, they would be unable to vote in the elections.

The resolution also expressed concern saying that the province receives monsoon downpours during the month of July, due to which many districts have to deal with flooding and a lot of residents are forced to move to other areas for shelter. Such a situation would deprive these people of the opportunity to vote, it stated.

The Balochistan Assembly has also demanded an increase in the number of seats in the National and provincial Assemblies.

It demanded that the National Assembly seats be increased district-wise and at least 20 more provincial Assembly seats be added to the current size of 65-member Balochistan Assembly.

Geography

Balochistan consists of the southwest of Pakistan. In the west, it borders with Afghanistan and Iran and in the south, it has the Arabian Sea.

Balochistan, the largest province of Pakistan, spreads over an area of 3,47,190 square kilometres forming 43.6 percent of the total area of Pakistan, according to the government website. It has clustered population and is smallest in proportion as compared to that of other provinces.

Balochistan's geographic area can be divided into four distinct zones  Upper high lands, lower high lands, plains, and deserts.

Population and tribes

According to the 2017 census of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Balochistan has a total population of around 12 million people.

The major tribes are Baloch (Baloch and Brahvi) and Pashtun. According to The Diplomat, Baloch are mostly Sunni Muslim people who speak an Iranian language, Balochi.

The Baloch were traditionally nomads but, they remain a largely pastoral society now.

Most of the people in the cities and towns understand and speak more than two languages. In addition to Balochi, Pashto and Brahvi, the majority of the population understands and speaks Urdu, the national language. In Kachhi and Sibi districts, people speak Seraiki and Sindhi.

Political landscape

The voter turnout for National Assembly elections in Balochistan slightly increased in 2013 as compared to 2008. In 2008, it was 31 percent after several political parties boycotted the election. Despite militants' threat to bar the elections in 2013, Balochistan witnessed a turnout of 38.97 percent for National Assembly election, according to the Election Commission of Pakistan.

This year, a total of 161 people have filed their nomination papers for the National Assembly seats from Balochistan. For National Assembly constituency NA-265 (Quetta), at least 32 people have filed their nomination papers, according to Dawn.

Among them are Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP) chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai, BAP leader Saeed Ahmed Hashmi and Qasim Khan Suri of PTI, the report added.

BAP was formed this year by dissidents of the PML-N and some independent lawmakers. Former chief minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo is also a member of the party.

Balochistan Muttahida Mahaz (BMM) later merged with BAP. Nawabzada Siraj Raisani, who was recently killed in a bomb blast was the chairman of BMM. Right after the two parties merged, Raisani had said that the decision was made keeping in view the BAPs mission to unite people from all tribes and ethnic backgrounds living in the province for the rights of the province.

BAP has given out 200 tickets to candidates throughout Balochistan for contesting both the National Assembly and provincial Assembly seats.

BAP president Jam Kamal is a chief minister hopeful for Balochistan but, has also filed nomination papers from NA-272. He was quoted as saying by The Express Tribune that the party was formed with the vision to impose good governance in the province and provide people their due rights.

"We will make the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects beneficial for the province," he further said.

Meanwhile, Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has appealed to the Baloch people to boycott the 2018 general elections in Pakistan. BLA spokesman Azad Baloch said elections in an occupied land are equivalent to legalising illegal occupation.

Key issues

Balochistan is a strategically important province for the government of Pakistan because of an abundance of natural resources like oil and gas reserves here. However, despite the resources, the province remains poor.

Poverty: According to Pakistan's first ever official report on multi-dimensional poverty, four out of ten Pakistanis live in acute poverty and Balochistan fares the worst. Four of the five poorest districts are in Balochistan, where the poverty level is alarmingly high. The poorest district is Kila Abdullah with 97 percent of the poor population.

The Nawaz Sharif government had repeatedly said that the proposed China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will bring development to this region. Sharif was quoted as saying by Dawn, "Deprivation of the people of Balochistan would come to an end as the port city would bring a ray of hope for them. He said Pakistan would be Asias and Gwadar Pakistans tiger with the completion of projects under the CPEC."

However, as The Diplomat pointed out that the province's share in CPEC is only 0.5 percent. Bizenjo had also complained that Balochistan was being neglected in the CPEC project. He said that while a major portion of CPEC fell under Balochistan, the people of the province were being ignored in development works of the project.

Economic growth in Balochistan has stagnated in the past decade because of limited investment and capital accumulation, according to a report of Asian Development Bank. Balochistan's enormous resource potential is still untapped, and therefore, it lags behind other provinces in economic development.

Political parties are vowing to change things in the province by getting its share. Kamal said that though Balochistan did not see any development in 70 years, the province will witness real development in every sector.

Balochistan National Party (BNP) leader Haji Lashkari Raisani said that the party was committed to changing the lifestyle of the people if given a chance and blamed the corrupt and incapable representatives of the National Assembly and the provincial Assembly for the misery of the people.

Unemployment: Unemployment is another major issue in Balochistan. Bezinjo had said in February this year that his government was taking concrete steps to eliminate unemployment.

BNP's Raisani expressed concerns over the unemployment rate in the province. Terming it an "alarming issue", he said that the unemployment ratio is touching new heights and will affect future generations. Kamal, according to The Express Tribune, also said that the province continues to suffer from a shortage of water, lack of health facilities and unemployment.

Deplorable healthcare facilities: Healthcare is reportedly a luxury for the people of Balochistan. Sultan Rudhi, who works at the District Health Information Centre, told Geo TV that there is a dearth of medical staff in the province along with the lack of facilities.

The health and education secretaries have often faced the ire of the provincial government, the locals and also the Chief Justice of Pakistan. He berated them over the deteriorating state of public hospitals.

Water shortage: Experts have warned that if dams are not built or groundwater is not refilled, Balochistan will soon run dry. Drought coupled with a drop of 2,000 feet in sea level has destroyed agricultural lands across the province, reported Geo TV. Quetta and Gwadar do not even have water to drink.
In the run-up to the 2018 Pakistan general elections, a majority of candidates of mainstream political parties have got the support of custodians of shrines, commonly known as pirs and banned outfits, which has further polarised society on religious grounds.

Editor's note: In the past, ethnicity was one of the major factors influencing voters in Pakistan. However, the 2018 general elections has witnessed an increase in the number of religious parties contesting the election, and it is feared that they may divide the vote bank further on the basis of schools of Islamic thoughts. In a multi-part series, Firstpost looks into the different religious parties in the fray, and how their presence will impact the results on 25 July.

Islamabad: In the run-up to the 2018 Pakistan general elections, a majority of candidates of mainstream political parties have received the support of custodians of shrines, commonly known as pirs and banned outfits, which has further polarised society on religious grounds.

While some political parties have shown their concerns over the participation of activists of banned outfits in the 25 July election, when it comes to the contests at constituency-level, all major political parties, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have battled to get the support of pirs (the spiritual leaders), extremist religious groups and proscribed organisations.

Earlier this month, PTI chairman Imran Khan visited the Shrine of Golra Sharif in Islamabad and sought support from its custodian pir Nizamuddin Jami. The pir agreed to support PTI and said his devotees would vote for PTI this time.

Last week, Zulfi Bokhari, Imran's chief of campaign for NA-53the constituency from where he is competingmet one of the custodians of Islamabads Bari Imam Shrine and consequently received the support of pir Syed Ali Gilani for Khan.

The pirs have played a role in Pakistani politics in both before and after Partition. There are shrines all over the country but a majority of them fall in Punjab and Sindh. The custodians of a majority of these shrines are either participating in the elections or supporting candidates. Because of their huge following, they influence the vote bank and consequently remain part of the countrys powerful elite, directly or indirectly.

PTI vice-chairman Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi is head of Ghousia Jamaat and custodian of a famous shrine in Multan. He has a large following in south Punjab and Sindh and is contesting from both provinces. Pir Sahib Pagara, the spiritual leader of Hurs in Sindh, is the head of his own party: Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F).

Pagara is contesting the election in Sindh under the banner of Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA). The pir of Hala and head of Sarwari Jamaat belongs to a family in Sindh which has been contesting elections on the PPP platform for decades.

In south Punjab's Rahim Yar Khan district, PTI candidate Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar is contesting against the PPPs Makhdoom Shahab Uddin. Both are cousins and belong to Mianwali Qureshian shrine. Another pir, Hamid Saeed Kazmi, a former federal minister for religious affairs, is contesting as an Independent from the same district.

The custodians of Sultan Bahu Shrine of district Jang, Punjab, are contesting elections on the PTI tickets from two constituencies. Faisal Saleh Hayat, custodian, Shah Jewna Shrine of Jang Makhdoom district, is contesting on a PPP ticket from NA-114. His relative Syeda Sughra Imam is also in the running in NA-115 as an Independent candidate.

Muhammad Amir Rana, a political analyst and director of an Islamabad-based think tank, said it was not necessary that devotees would vote only after being instructed by pirs. Even pir Pagara lost an election, he said. He said the religious vote bank would increase in Pakistan from around 3 percent to 5 percent because a number of religious groups are in the race.

And it can even go above 5 percent if Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), an alliance of mainstream religious-political parties, gets a large number of votes, he added. He said the vote bank of Sunni Barelvis had concentrated because of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan's participation.

Political parties get support of banned outfits

Last week, PTI leader Asad Umar met with Maulana Fazal ur Rehman Khalil, an extreme right-wing cleric who has been placed by the United States on its terror watch list. Khalil announced his support for Umar, who is contesting from Islamabads NA-54. Khalil heads his own religious group: Ansar ul Ummah, which is also on the US terror list. He is the founder of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), a militant group that has been designated as a terrorist organisation by the US. Besides this, a number of candidates of mainstream parties have got the support of the banned Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ).

The banned ASWJ is the new name of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), which was banned by the government for creating sectarian violence. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), an offshoot of SSP, was also banned on similar charges.

Many activists of the banned ASWJ, formerly known as defunct Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, are either contesting elections from the platform of Pakistan Rah-e-Haq Party or as Independents. The sectarian group has fielded 70 candidates for the National Assembly seats and over 100 candidates for the provincial Assembly seats.

Maulana Mohammad Ahmed Ludhianvi-led ASWJ has announced its support for the candidates of other mainstream partiesthe PTI, the PML-N and a few of PPPfrom where it has not fielded candidates.

The candidates of mainstream political parties who have got support of ASWJ include former prime minister and PML-N candidate Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, former premier and PPP leader Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani, former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, former religious affairs minister and PML-N candidate Sardar Muhammad Yousaf Muhammad Yousaf and PTI candidate Abdul Aleem Khan.

The others who have also received the stamp of approval are Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, who is contesting from Rawalpindis NA-62, PTI candidate Ghulam Sarwar Khan from NA-63 (Rawalpindi), PTI candidate Sadaqat Ali Abbasi from NA-57 (Murree). ASWJ is also supporting Dr Nisar Jutt, a PTI candidate from NA-106 (Faisalabad) and Iftikhar Nazir, a PML-N candidate from NA-153 (Khanewal).

In Karachi, the ASWJ has announced its support to PTI candidates Faisal Vawda (NA-249) and Najeeb Haroon (NA-256). ASWJ leader Allama Aurangzeb Farooqi, who is also a candidate from NA-238 (Karachi), has made an electoral alliance with the provincial Assemblys candidates of PML-N and PTI to defeat the PPP candidates.

Recently, the Islamabad chapter of ASWJ announced its support for Abbasi after he visited its office in the capital and requested the party to support him in the elections.

Oneeb Farooqui, the spokesman of ASWJ, said a number of candidates from mainstream political parties sought its support and would receive assistance at the constituency-level. All these candidates approached the ASWJ on an individual basis and visited our local offices to seek our support, he said.

Last month, the federal government, by request of the Punjab home department, removed the name of ASWJ chief Maulana Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi from the Fourth Schedule: a local terror watch list. Ludhianvi is contesting election from NA-115 (Jhang) as an Independent candidate.

Read Part I: Pakistan election: Radical parties likely to dent right-wing PML-N's vote bank, help Opposition in tightly-contested seats
It began with an audience member asking Pakistani parliamentary candidate Jibran Nasir to declare his religion at a public forum, a request he politely refused on the grounds it is irrelevant.

Islamabad: It began with an audience member asking Pakistani parliamentary candidate Jibran Nasir to declare his religion at a public forum, a request he politely refused on the grounds it is irrelevant. Later, the mobs started showing up. In the past week, three of Nasirs public meetings in Karachi, Pakistans largest city, has been disrupted by religious hardliners  shouting out and shoving his supporters.

Nasir, a human rights lawyer, is a rare breed in Pakistan: an avowedly secular, progressive candidate in the overwhelmingly Muslim country of 208 million, where most parties appeal to an Islamic vote bank.

His independent candidacy is in stark contrast to the prevailing mood of Pakistans campaign, which has seen the rise of new ultra-right Islamist parties campaigning on protecting draconian blasphemy laws and denouncing the persecuted Ahmadi sect.

Liberal and secular-minded Pakistanis say the sheer number of religious party candidates, combined with their ultra-conservative rhetoric, has already shifted the agenda in their direction.

Nasir aims to challenge the prevalent extremist discourse.

Our campaign is bigger than just my win; what it is symbolising for the people is a change in narrative, he said.

That challenging extremist thought is possible; not using religion to get votes is possible.

Since launching his campaign, a number of clerics in Karachi have branded Nasir a blasphemer from the pulpit, a dangerous accusation in Pakistan that can lead to the death penalty, and labelled him an Ahmadi, a sect they consider heretics.

On Saturday, a mob of people chanting slogans associated with the new ultra-Islamist Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan party, which campaigns under the death to blasphemers rallying cry, descended on his public meeting, crowding around Nasir and intimidating his supporters.

I believe it is being done in a very organised manner, Nasir said. Our politics should be free from compromise, fear, and discrimination.

Labaik spokesman Ejaz Ashrafi said his party did not send anyone to do this, adding that people running in elections should declare their faith.

Nasir gained nationwide prominence in 2014 after staging protests against the Red Mosque, the Islamabad centre of a militant network with links to Pakistani Taliban strongholds in the northwest and in neighbouring Afghanistan.

The mosque was the site of a military standoff in 2007, but within two years its chief cleric was freed from detention and was once again calling for strict Islamic rule across Pakistan.

The mosque campaign earned Nasir a phone call and death threats from a high-ranking Taliban commander.

We are doing it for the millions of Pakistanis, who right now are forced to choose amongst the lesser of evils, who are willing to embrace different political leaders with all their biases and religious bigotry, he said.

Every day I am carrying on with my mission, they are making a fool of themselves.
Leaders of the three main parties  Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)  have questioned the timing of the order, saying that such 'unnecessary actions' make the electoral process controversial

Islamabad: Pakistan's election commission's latest order that only women polling agents will be allowed at female polling stations across the country has been slammed by major political parties as an unnecessary move ahead of general elections on Wednesday.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had issued an order that only women polling agents will be allowed at female polling stations across the country where 46.73 million registered female voters are present. Leaders of the three main parties  Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)  have questioned the timing of the order, saying that such "unnecessary actions" make the electoral process controversial.

"The latest order is an explicable departure from the past practice and aimed at leaving female polling stations entirely at the mercy of official polling staff without necessary oversight by the representatives of political parties," PPP secretary general Farhatullah Khan Babar said on Monday. The order had been issued by the ECP when elections were only hours away and "the parties do not have the time to train women polling agents" he said.

He said he had received complaints from various candidates, particularly from rural Sindh, that they had been informed about the ECP decision at the eleventh hour. In the past, the PPP leader said, due to shortage of female election workers in rural areas male polling agents had been posted at female polling stations through a mutual agreement between the contesting candidates who belonged to the same locality, community and extended families.

"Why this abrupt restriction imposed just when the elections are two days away?" he asked. "If at all it was necessary, the ECP should have issued directives several months ago to enable candidates and parties to train female political workers on how to keep an eye on various facets of polling on election day," he said.

Babar was of the view that the abrupt order at this stage amounted to leaving the polling stations at the mercy of polling staff to manipulate at will the activities on polling day without oversight of candidates and parties through polling agents. "The army personnel to be posted at the polling stations are complete strangers to the female voters of the area. If strangers can be posted at female polling stations why not male polling agents belonging to the same locality with the consent of the candidates and parties?" he asked.

"The latest order will only tilt the scales against popular political parties and amounts to pre-poll rigging," he said, adding that the PPP called upon the ECP to reverse its order and allow male polling agents at the female polling stations with mutual consent of the candidates and parties. When contacted, spokesmen for the PML-N and the PTI also expressed the same viewpoint that it was not the proper time for the ECP to issue orders having direct impact on the voting process.

Fawad Chaudhry, PTI information secretary, said that traditionally parties nominated women polling agents at female polling stations, but there should be no such restrictions if such a provision was not available in laws. He also criticised the ECP for it's another controversial order asking the voters to mention their exact name as given in the computerised national identity card (CNIC) on ballot papers. He was of the view that such directives could create confusion and problems for voters at polling stations.

Chaudhry said it was not the time for the ECP to announce such major decisions as the elections were now just two days away. PML-N information secretary Mushahidullah Khan said the ECP should not take any step which could bring its credibility and independence under question. Besides this, he added, the ECP should desist from taking any measure which could create difficulties for political parties.

He said that apparently there was nothing wrong in the latest ECP directives, but political parties were justified in raising objections to the move because of the timing and the past practice when similar orders were issued to damage certain parties. The order by the ECP had been issued keeping in view "social and moral values". However, legally the ECP could not bind the parties to appoint only women as polling agents as there had been no mention of the gender in laws regarding the appointment of polling agents, ECP spokesman Chaudhry Nadeem Qasim said.

In the past too, the ECP had approved the appointment of women as polling agents at female polling stations. Even at the combined polling stations, female election staff and female polling agents had been deputed in the past outside the polling booths, ECP spokesman Qasim said. He explained that the main job of polling agents was "identification" of voters and said it would be inappropriate to ask any man to do the exercise. When asked about the presence of male soldiers inside and outside the polling stations, Qasim said that troops had nothing to do with the polling process and identification of voters.
By Joyce Lee SEOUL (Reuters) - When North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed in June to help return the remains of American troops killed in the 1950-53 Korean War, it was seen as one of the more attainable goals to come out of his summit with U.S.

By Joyce Lee

SEOUL (Reuters) - When North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed in June to help return the remains of American troops killed in the 1950-53 Korean War, it was seen as one of the more attainable goals to come out of his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.

American officials expect North Korea to hand over around 50 sets of remains in coming days or weeks, but the drawn-out process of negotiations to get to this point highlights the complications involved in the issue.

At the heart of the difficulty, former officials involved in previous recovery missions say, are likely demands from North Korea for cash compensation, as well as the unsolved tensions over North's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile arsenal.

More than 7,700 U.S. troops who fought in the Korean War remain unaccounted for, with about 5,300 of those lost in what is now North Korea, according to the Defence POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), the U.S. military agency tasked with tracking down prisoners of war and troops missing in action.

The Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, leaving the United States and North Korea still technically at war.

Soon after the June summit, Trump announced North Korea had returned the remains of 200 soldiers that had already been found, but this has yet to take place and negotiations over the actual handing over of the remains have dragged on.

Trump told an audience of veterans on Tuesday that he hoped "fallen warriors" would begin to come home "very soon."

Bill Richardson, a former U.S. diplomat with experience negotiating with North Korea, including during the recovery of the remains of seven Americans in 2007, said Pyongyang was using the issue as "a bargaining chip".

"They're stalling," he told Reuters. "I think in the end the North Koreans will turn over the majority of the remains that they have - but it will have a price. Not just a financial price."

REMAINS RETURNED

Between the 1990s and 2005, more than 400 caskets of remains found in North Korea were returned to the United States, and the bodies of some 330 Americans were accounted for, according to the DPAA.

Decades-old remains that North Korea has handed over in the past have not always been identifiable as U.S. troops.

The U.S. and North Korea worked together on so-called joint field activities (JFAs) to recover remains from 1996-2005, until Washington halted operations, expressing concerns about the safety of its personnel.

A Congressional Research Service (CRS) report said the United States paid $28 million to North Korea for assistance in the effort.

"To the best of my knowledge, it was never based on a per body calculation. Payments were made in support of each field mission  each joint recovery operation," said Frank Jannuzi, a former Democratic Senate Foreign Relations Committee staffer focusing on East Asian and Pacific affairs. Payments were to compensate North Korea for direct expenses incurred such as fuel costs, disruption of agricultural planting, or equipment costs, he said.

In 2011, President Barack Obama's administration agreed with Pyongyang to restart recovery missions, offering to pay $5,669,160 in "compensation" for services provided by North Korea.

Those planned missions never happened, however, as Washington called off the deal after North Korea tested a rocket in early 2012, said Paul Cole, author of "POW/MIA Accounting."

"If the past is any indicator, the (North Koreans) are demanding up-front deliveries of food, fuel and at least $5 million in cash," Cole told Reuters. "In the era of 'maximum pressure,' the dilemma for the Trump administration is whether to give the (North Koreans) massive amounts of food, fuel, trucks, SUVs and millions in cash, or cancel the deal."

Former officials say typically North Korea has not asked for compensation when it unilaterally returns remains it recovers, such as the roughly 200 currently being discussed.

But if the United States hopes to send its own teams into North Korea, there will likely be a cost.

Asked whether the cost of future joint field activities would be similar to what was paid in the past, the Pentagon's DPAA Public Affairs Office said: "As of yet, there are no JFAs scheduled in North Korea so we cannot speculate on what such activities may cost."

The U.S. State Department did not have an immediate comment on the negotiations, but Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last week North Korea had committed to return the first remains "in the next couple of weeks." [nL1N1UE1A3]

According to CRS, the United States also paid for recovery operations in Vietnam. As with North Korea, critics complained the Vietnamese government charged "extraordinarily high fees for providing support ... and that the services received are by no means as lavish as the bills presented indicate".

South Korea's former vice minister of foreign affairs and trade, Kim Sung-han, said Pyongyang would likely want to use the return of remains to improve its relations with Washington, while avoiding addressing more touchy subjects such as denuclearisation.

"North Korea wants the war declared ended sooner rather than later, so trust can be built and progress on its international standing can be made," he said, adding that any "reimbursements" were likely to violate sanctions.

Besides being politically sensitive, however, handing the North Korean government stacks of cash offers no guarantee that authenticated U.S. servicemen's remains would be recovered, Jannuzi said.

"We might spend a million dollars and come up with nothing."

(Additional reporting by Jeongmin Kim and Josh Smith in Seoul, Arshad Mohammed, Daphne Psaledakis, Steve Holland and David Brunnstrom in Washington; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Jonathan Oatis)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Even as the Sri Lankan Parliament works on constitutional reforms, the state administration has been struggling to meet the needs of Tamil refugees returning to their homeland after decades.

Maharagama, Sri Lanka: Black July 1983. It was a dreadful month which witnessed the most brutal anti-Tamil pogrom Sri Lanka ever experienced. But there were heroes in the midst of violence. Like the head priest of a Buddhist temple in Campbell Place, Dehiwala, just a few kilometres from Colombo. And Kadeeja Umma and her family, in Kandy. The Buddhist monk twice drove away Sinhala mobs who came for the Tamil community. He could not prevent them from torching a few houses, however.

Among the Tamils living in the area was a 19-year-old MA Sumanthiran and his family. Realising their lives were in danger, Sumanthirans boss, a Sinhalese government official, gave them shelter. Then came a harrowing four-day boat journey to Jaffna, recalls Sumanthiran, without adequate food or water, along with hundreds of other Tamil families fleeing the Sinhala mobs. The young man survived the 27-year bloody guerrilla war that followed, going on to become a legislator in the Sri Lankan parliament. A Tamil National Alliance MP, Sumanthiran today represents Jaffna district.

Kadeeja Ummas family was sheltering a Tamil family of four when Sinhala mobs killed and burned down homes of Tamil residents. Living in a Muslim majority community, the Tamil family had nowhere to go. Kadeeja, 19 at the time, recalls how her family sheltered the Tamil family for days until they were able to get to safety with the help of law enforcement authorities.

I remember how scared the family was, she recalls. Kadeeja was reminded of this incident again 35 years later in March when Sinhala extremists ran riot in Muslim areas in Digana, in central highlands of Sri Lanka, torching their homes. Kadeeja, like many others, thought back to what she saw 35 years ago. The Tamil family had found shelter in the very same house Kadeeja was living in now, but she had none to seek shelter from. Instead, they all ran into the neighbouring jungle till law enforcement authorities took control of the situation three days later.

We are the generation born after July 1983, literally into a full-blown war, said young activist and researcher Nayanthini Kadirgamar. More reconciliation efforts are needed to bridge the gap between the countrys community, she says. We dont have direct experience of the riots but have felt deeply the impact of a polarised and fearful community our whole lives. We heard the same fear being expressed by the Muslim community after the recent riots in Ampara and Digan. A fear felt while doing the most routine things, like sending their children to school or attending the mosque for prayer. Addressing this fear is important.

The country has learnt nothing from the violence of 1983, echoed Marisa de Silva, a human rights activist. Black July was a gruesome state-sponsored pogrom against the Tamil community, and even today we continue to be polarised, and continue to be manipulated by the politicians who take pride in pitting the majority community against one or the other minority community. Kadirgamar agrees with Desilva, adding that as an activist working with women and other social groups in the East, North and South, it has been a challenge and also an opportunity. In instances where rationality has not worked to burst myths and deep prejudices held against other communities, confronting the fear of the 'other' head on and to understand it and find ways to work together has helped. But we have a long way to go."

But National Integration, Reconciliation and Official Languages Minister Mano Ganesan insists the country has come a long way despite shortcomings. A victim of '83 violence himself, the minister takes solace in the absence of outright conflict. Yes, problems are still there, but we dont have a conflict now, he says admitting the need to find a solution.

And today, after almost 70 years of struggle for their rights there is a golden opportunity towards that goal, feels Sumintharan. In the past, be it 56, 77, or 81, whenever the Tamil community spoke of power-sharing there was a pushback similar to 83 although not in the same scale. Later political parties could never bring about a solution as there was always opposition. But today, with both major political parties in the government, there is a window of opportunity to find a lasting political solution through constitutional reforms, he says. But Sumanthiran warns that time is running out and reforms need to happen soon.

But even as Parliament works on constitutional reforms, the state administration has been struggling to meet the needs of Tamil refugees returning to their homeland after decades. Many Tamil families had moved to the north after July 1983 and later when war broke out those who could left the country as refugees. India hosted close to 500,000 refugees. Since the end of the war in 2009, these refugee families have been returning to Sri Lanka but are struggling to re-integrate into the present society.

With little help from the administration, these families face problems with housing and documentation needed to get restarted in Sri Lanka, says Raga Alphonsus a Programme Advisor for Non-Governmental Organization ZOA. The North already has a housing problem. But the returnees, with no family here and no land ownership, are worst off, missing out on state assistance under housing beneficiary programmes, explains Alphonsus. Also, it takes months for these people to get their documentation attested and accepted in Sri Lanka. Children born in India cant get their birth registered, and without birth certificates they cannot get a national Identity Card, without this they cannot do anything. The government charges a penalty of 25,000 Lankan Rupees for late registration of births, which the returnees dont have," Alphonsus points out.

Without basic documents, many returnees struggle to find decent work. Some who worked in skilled jobs in India as lab assistants, nurses and clerks remain unemployed as their qualifications are not recognised in Sri Lanka. Their plight is made worse by the economic hardships the north and eastern provinces have been thrown into. Despite many efforts, the government has failed to generate jobs for the youth and need-based borrowing has caused, as Alphonsus says, On top of the war-trauma, now these communities have a debt trauma.

Minister Ganesan admits there are problems in the governments efforts to facilitate the reintegration process causing frustration in the post-war societies in North and East.

We are aware of the situation and action is being taken, Ganesan assures.

Chathuri Dissanayake is a Sri Lanka-based freelance writer and a member of 101Reporters.com, a network of grassroots reporters.
The UN Security Council has urged Myanmar's government to step up efforts to create conditions that will allow Rohingya Muslims who fled a violent crackdown to safely return to the country from neighbouring Bangladesh.

United Nations: The UN Security Council has urged Myanmar's government to step up efforts to create conditions that will allow Rohingya Muslims who fled a violent crackdown to safely return to the country from neighbouring Bangladesh. The council stressed in a statement following closed briefings on Monday that progress is also needed by Myanmar on implementing agreements on relations with the UN refugee and development agencies and with Bangladesh on returning Rohingya.

Rohingya face official and social discrimination in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar, which denies most of them citizenship and basic rights because they are looked on as immigrants from Bangladesh, even though the families of many settled in Myanmar generations ago. Dire conditions led more than 2,00,000 to flee the country between 2012 and 2015. The latest crisis began with attacks by Rohingya insurgents on Myanmar security personnel last August.

The military responded with counterinsurgency sweeps and was accused of widespread human rights violations, including rape, murder, torture and the burning of Rohingya homes. Thousands are believed to have died and about 7,00,000 fled to Bangladesh. The UN and US officials have called the government's military campaign for ethnic cleansing. Security Council members again stressed "the importance of undertaking transparent and independent investigations in allegations of human rights abuses and violations."

The new UN special envoy for Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, said Myanmar's leaders want to bring Rohingya back to Rakhine state, but there are not only divisions between the government and Rohingya, but divisions between that Muslim minority and the rest of Rakhine's mostly Buddhist population. The council "stressed the need to step up efforts, including through providing assistance to the social and economic development, in order to create conditions conducive to the safe, voluntary and dignified return of Rohingya refugees and internally displaced persons to their homes in Rakhine state."

Burgener, who started the job two months ago, said she has travelled widely, met government officials including State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi three times and has gotten approval to open a small office in Myanmar's capital, Naypyitaw. She said she plans to return to Myanmar in September. "I need dialogue, and for that I need open doors," she said, including to discuss "critical questions" and advise the government on "how they can also change the attitude of the communities on the ground."

Several Security Council members have called for the UN's most powerful body to impose sanctions to pressure the government on the Rohingya issue, but China, a close ally of Myanmar and a veto-wielding council member, is highly unlikely to ever agree.

Burgener told reporters, "I think Myanmar is not a country which is reacting quite on pressure, but it's up to the Security Council." Sweden's UN ambassador, Olof Skoog, the current council president, stressed the importance of council unity, though he said his country thinks progress has been "far too slow." "I think there is a recognition among Security Council members that there have been positive steps taken lately. It's also fair to say that many of those steps are far from sufficient," Skoog said. "As long as the council is unified in terms of engagement, but also on putting pressure, I think we are making progress slowly."
Nearly two years after the United States designated India as a 'Major Defence Partner', the US Congress has asked the Trump Administration to come up with a strategy that can reflect a measurable progress in its defence ties with India and sought steps to put a curb on its two major adversaries China and Russia.

Washington: Nearly two years after the United States designated India as a "Major Defence Partner", the US Congress has asked the Trump administration to come up with a strategy that can reflect a measurable progress in its defence ties with India and sought steps to put a curb on its two major adversaries China and Russia. A US congressional conference report comprising bipartisan groups of members from House and Senate Armed Services committees today made a provision on these lines in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)-2019.

According to a summary of the conference report, NDAA-2019 requires the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State to submit a forward-looking strategy and specific benchmarks for measurable progress toward enhancing US defence cooperation with India and India's status as a major defence partner.

The full conference report would be available in the next few days. The NDAA-2019 now moves to the Senate and the House for a formal passage before it can be sent to the White House for President Donald Trump to sign into law. Among other things, NDAA extends authority for the Maritime Security Initiative (MSI) for an additional five years, redesignates the Southeast Asia MSI as the Indo-Pacific MSI, includes Bangladesh and Sri Lanka as recipient countries of assistance and training, and adds India as a covered country eligible for payment of certain expenses.

It also requires the Secretary of Defense to submit a five-year plan for an Indo-Pacific Stability Initiative.

Noting that the National Defense Strategy identifies the reemergence of long-term, strategic competition as the central challenge facing the United States, the conference report classifies China and Russia as strategic competitors that seek to shape the world toward their authoritarian model through destabilising activities, threatening the security of the United States and its allies.

To help deter further Chinese and Russian aggression, the NDAA, as per the conference report, includes the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act and the Export Control Reform Act to give the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) the authority it needs to address national security concerns.

It also requires a public report on the military and coercive activities of China in the South China Sea and elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific region and limits Pentagon funds for Chinese language programmes at universities that host a Confucius Institute unless certain criteria are met. NDAA modifies the annual report on Chinese military and security developments to include malign influence, such as efforts to influence media, cultural institutions, business, and academic and policy communities in the United States.

It authorises an additional $235 million to procure deployable air base systems in the US Pacific Command area of responsibility to support NDS priorities and resiliency and agile logistics force posture initiatives as well as to enhance the credible combat power of US forces in the India-Pacific region. Prohibiting Chinese participation in RIMPAC naval exercises subject to waivers by the Secretary of Defense, NDAA 2019 prohibits the federal government from procuring or obtaining, as well as entering into, extending, or renewing a contract with an entity that uses telecommunications equipment or services produced by Huawei Technologies Company or ZTE Corporation.
Nearly 1,200 children aged 5 years and older, have been reunited with their families after being separated at the US-Mexico border, leaving hundreds to go before this week's court-imposed deadline, according to a Justice Department court filing that raised the possibility that many parents have been deported.

San Diego: Nearly 1,200 children aged 5 years and older, have been reunited with their families after being separated at the US-Mexico border, leaving hundreds to go before this week's court-imposed deadline, according to a Justice Department court filing that raised the possibility that many parents have been deported.

There have been 1,187 reunifications with parents, sponsors and guardians by the Health and Human Services Department's Office of Refugee Resettlement, which took custody of the children, the filing said.

The administration has identified 2,551 children 5 years and older, who have been separated from their families.

US District Judge Dana Sabraw has set a deadline of Thursday for the government to reunite all older children with their parents. He set an earlier deadline for dozens of children under 5 years of age.

The filing indicates there are 463 adults who may not be in the United States. It says those findings are based on case notes and are under review.

More than 1,600 adults were believed eligible for reunification, including 217 who have been released by immigration authorities into the United States, according to the filing. More than 500 were vetted and awaiting transportation.

More than 900 were "not eligible, or not yet known to be eligible," many of them undergoing vetting.

The administration was still working to develop a list of how many adults have been deported.

Sabraw has ordered frequent updates as the deadline nears. The administration and the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents the families, are due in court Tuesday for the seventh time this month to discuss the status.

Last week, the judge temporarily halted deportations of families to give the government time to respond to the ACLU's request that parents have a week to decide if they want to seek asylum after they rejoin their children.

The government's response was due by Monday morning. But the two sides asked for a one-day extension as they sought to iron out differences, potentially setting the stage for the halt to be lifted.
PM Modi and Rwanda President Paul Kagame discussed measures to boost the bilateral strategic ties.

India and Rwanda signed an agreement of $100 million for development of industrial parks and expansion of Special Economic Zones, and a similar amount for an agriculture irrigation scheme in that African nation, following delegation-level talks between Modi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame on Monday in Kigali.

In the space of 24 hours, leaders of China and India-Asia's largest and third-largest economies-will be visiting tiny Rwanda in east Central Africa spotlighting the tiny country which has Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo as its neighbours.

Rwanda has had a high commission in New Delhi for many years, now manned by Ernest Rwamucyo as envoy.

Modi also announced that India will open a new High Commission in Rwanda in what can be seen as yet another manifestation of India's increasing engagements with Africa.

India will also be opening a mission in Rwanda very soon, Tirumurti said. Bilateral meetings with participating countries on the sidelines of BRICS meetings are also planned.

The two countries signed 15 bilateral memorandum of understandings (MOUs) and agreements.

They agreed on cooperation in defence capacity building, industry, science and technology.

Rwanda is also a recipient of Indian lines of credit of almost $400 million and of Indian training and scholarship programmes.

They include; cooperation in defense, trade cooperation framework, cultural exchange program, amendment of MoU on cooperation on agriculture and animal resources and a MoU on leather products development.

Xi called on the two countries to strengthen the link between their respective development strategies, give full play to their complementary advantages, and carry out pragmatic cooperation in more areas and at deeper levels.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarks on a five-day three-nation tour of the African continent on Monday.

The Prime Minister's aircraft landed at the Kigali International Airport where he was given a red carpet welcome this evening. There have been 23 outgoing visits to Africa by the President, Vice President and Prime Minister in the last four years.

Both President Xi Jinping of China and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India are on their first visits to Rwanda and both will be signing a clutch of pacts in Kigali in a bid to shore up ties.

"If we are able to recognise ourselves in each other even in our most tragic chapters, it means that we will be firm friends and partners in the best of times as well", Kagame said. "First-ever visit by an Indian PM to Rwanda", Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had tweeted.

Calling the African Union (AU) a banner guiding African countries to solidarity and cooperation, Xi said China always supports the AU playing a leading role in promoting peace and development of Africa and playing a bigger role in regional and global affairs. The trip has already taken him to the United Arab Emirates and Senegal, and will also take him to South Africa for a state visit and the 10th BRICS summit, and to Mauritius during a stopover.
Donald Trump, who met with Putin in Helsinki last week, has been slammed by the US media and political opponents for failing to defend the American intelligence community.

Washington: The Unites States will never trust Russia or its President Vladimir Putin, America's envoy to the Unites Nations Nikki Haley has said amidst an uproar over President Donald Trump's alleged bonhomie with his Russian counterpart.

Trump, who met with Putin in Helsinki last week, has been slammed by the US media and political opponents for failing to defend the American intelligence community during a much-talked about press conference with Russian president after their first summit.

The US Ambassador to the UN told Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) News, "We don't trust Russia, we don't trust Putin, we never will. They're never going to be our friend. That's just a fact."

At the same time, Haley supported the move to have talks with the Russians. "What I do think is, whether it's the president sitting down with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un or whether the president sits down with Putin, those are things that have to happen. You can't get to the end of the other side if you don't have those conversations," Haley said in response to a question.

She came out in support of Trump's one-on-one meeting with the world leaders.

"He (Trump) did that with Kim. He's done it with other leaders. He did it with President Xi Jinping of China and that's just his way. He feels like he can get more out of them if he goes one-on-one like that. It's his style. It's the way he does it," she added.

You're going to see that their next meetings are going to have people in them, the working groups are going to come together, all of those things. But he's always thought just to create that genuine reality of the two of them talking, he feels like he needs to do it face-to-face," said Haley, the first-ever Cabinet-ranking Indian-American official.
worth paying multiplex prices for

worth a look, but wait for DVD, unless your favorite actor is in it

give it a miss

my reaction under consideration

my reaction under gag order for now

not yet seen by me
Xiaomi today introduced the Mi A2 smartphone as the successor of the Mi A1, at an event in Spain. Here we have the hands on impressions of the Android One smartphone

The Mi A2 comes with a 5.99-inch Full HD+ 18:9 aspect ratio display without a notch, which is slightly bigger than the 5.5-inch display on the Mi A1. Powered by Snapdragon 660 with up to 6GB of RAM, it runs stock Android 8.1 (Oreo) with support for Treble. It has a 20-megapixel Sony IMX376 sensor for the front camera with soft LED flash and AI beautification.

The phone has a unibody metal design, and the phone has a solid feel when holding. It comes with a 12-megapixel rear camera with f/1.75 aperture, Sony IMX486 sensor along with a 20-megapixel secondary rear camera with Sony IMX376 sensor to capture depth information for AI portraits.

There is a fingerprint sensor on the back, and the phone doesnt miss out on the infrared sensor, however it doesnt have a microSD expansion slot and 3.5mm audio jack, but the company includes a Type-C to Audio adapter in the box. It has a 3010mAh built-in battery.

It starts at 249 Euros (US$ 291 / Rs. 20,065 approx.) for the 4GB RAM with 32GB storage version and goes up to 349 Euros (US$ 408 / Rs. 28,130 approx.) for the top-end 6GB RAM with 128GB storage version, but it should be cheaper in India when it launches in August.

Srivatsan contributed to the post
Every day, Wall Street analysts upgrade some stocks, downgrade others, and "initiate coverage" on a few more. But do these analysts even know what they're talking about? Today, we're taking one high-profile Wall Street pick and putting it under the microscope...

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) stock has lagged all year. Down 4% in a market that's gained more than 13%, the shares have shed $30 in price since 2018 began. Yesterday, Illinois Tool Works suffered its biggest one-day drop in nearly seven years after reporting an earnings miss and weak guidance.

Now Citigroup says you should buy it. Here's what you need to know.

What Illinois Tool Works said

Reporting earnings for fiscal Q2 2018, Illinois Tool Works told investors it earned $1.97 per share on revenue of $3.83 billion. Sales at this diversified manufacturer were up 7% year over year and earnings climbed 17%, but both fell just short of analysts' estimates.

Despite the miss, CEO E. Scott Santi characterized the company's results as "another strong quarter with good growth momentum and excellent operational execution," highlighting improvements in operating profit margin and a strong 38% surge in the production of free cash flow. Investors, however, had a different take on the report.

Looking past the strong Q2 results, investors appear to have keyed in on a projected "$0.12 negative currency impact versus prior guidance," which reduced ITW's guidance for full-year earnings to a range of $7.50 to $7.70 per share.

What Citigroup said about that

That's not quite the 17% earnings growth that Illinois Tool Works reported for Q2, but it's still a strong 15% earnings growth rate being expected this year. Additionally, management is promising that free cash flow will be "at or above 100 percent of net income" this year, giving the company plenty of cash with which to "repurchase $1.5 billion of its own shares in 2018."

In Citigroup's view, that's a good use of the company's cash. Citi called Illinois Tool Works' guidance "disappointing" in a note covered on TheFly.com this morning. Regardless, the banker believes that "the fundamental strengths of Illinois Tool Works' 'diversified' portfolio and focused business model is not materially changed." The analyst thinks currency impacts "are a real concern" but shouldn't diminish the company's "durable strengths."

To account for the near-term outlook, Citi is cutting its price target on ITW stock to $166 but reiterating its buy rating and recommending that investors use Monday's sell-off as a chance to buy it on the cheap.

What everyone else is saying

It should be pointed out that this view is not universal on Wall Street. According to TheFly's tally of analyst recommendations, at least two other bankers (Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch) have already downgraded Illinois Tool Works to neutral in response to the earnings news. Three other analysts -- RBC Capital, Wells Fargo, and Credit Suisse -- cut their price targets, with Credit Suisse in particular opining that Illinois Tool Works looks to be worth no more than $146 a share today, and RBC not much more optimistic, setting a price target of $150.

What to do now

So what should you do if you own Illinois Tool Works stock? Here's how I look at it.

Over the past 12 months, Illinois Tool Works has reported earnings of $1.9 billion. Free cash flow (calculated using a combination of historical data from S&P Global Market Intelligence plus updated numbers from the company's earnings release) works out to an even more robust $2.3 billion.

Weigh these numbers against its $47.3 billion market cap (adjusted for $5.5 billion in net debt), and the stock is selling for an enterprise value of roughly 27.8 times trailing earnings, and 23 times FCF. Both these valuations look optimistic relative to Illinois Tool Works' promise to grow earnings 15% this year. Weighed against analysts' consensus expectation that the company will grow its profits at only 10% annually over the next five years, and the stock is looking downright expensive.

On balance, I have to side with the (many more) analysts who are voting against Illinois Tool Works. It may have turned in a stronger quarter than it's being given credit for yesterday, but the stock is still much too expensive to buy.
IHG Brings Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants to Germany

Global boutique luxury brand Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants to continue European expansion with first hotel in Germany, Kimpton Frankfurt

July 24, 2018 // Franchising.com // InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), one of the worlds leading hotel companies, will be bringing its rapidly expanding Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants brand to Germany in 2023 with the opening of Kimpton Frankfurt.

Set in a listed building of Junghofstrasse in Frankfurts city centre, the luxury boutique hotel will feature 155 rooms, two large meeting rooms and an onsite gym. In addition to the hotels signature restaurant, there are also plans for a sky-bar and restaurant on the roof terrace, where guests will be able to enjoy an unrivalled skyline view of the city. The classic 1950s lobby will serve as the main entrance to the hotel.

Kimpton Frankfurt is part of Frankfurts most pioneering development project; FOUR Frankfurt, which is led by highly-regarded developer Gro & Partner. FOUR Frankfurt is a unique high-rise in the middle of the central banking district which features office, residential and retail space in a prime city centre location. The mixed-use project, which highlights innovative and sustainable design by UNStudio architects, will be home to 5,000 people for both business and residential purposes.

Kenneth Macpherson, CEO of Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa (EMEAA) at IHG, commented:Being one of Europes largest financial hubs, Frankfurt is a key location for us and this signing is a great milestone in Kimptons European expansion. Were proud to partner with Gro & Partner to bring the brand to Germany, where IHG is growing at pace. Guests staying at Kimpton Frankfurt can expect Kimptons signature bold and playful design, luxury, personalised service and truly local feel.Nikolaus Bieber, Managing Director of Gro & Partner commented: Frankfurt can look forward to a new, international hotel brand in a class of its own. With the signing of Kimpton Frankfurt, the FOUR Frankfurt receives another point of attraction that will enrich and upgrade the downtown area. Kimpton Frankfurt in Junghofstrae will be a special experience, not only for hotel guests enjoying the city skyline but also for local restaurant and bar visitors.

Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants was acquired by IHG in 2015. The luxury boutique brand currently operates 66 hotels and 80 restaurants, bars and lounges in the U.S., Caribbean, and Europe . Kimpton De Witt in Amsterdam was the first Kimpton property to open outside of the Americas in May 2017. Continuing the brands expansion in key cities across Europe, IHG has announced plans to debut the brand in the UK and open Kimpton Paris in 2020, with more European signings in the pipeline. This announcement continues Kimptons international expansion to new global markets in every IHG operating region, with additional hotels underway in Tokyo, Taipei, Bali, Shanghai and Sanya.

About IHG

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organisation with a broad portfolio of hotel brands, including InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Hotel Indigo, EVEN Hotels, HUALUXE Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Holiday Inn Resort, avid hotels, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites.

IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns nearly 5,400 hotels and 800,000 guest rooms in almost 100 countries, with more than 1,700 hotels in its development pipeline. IHG also manages IHG Rewards Club, our global loyalty programme, which has more than 100 million enrolled members.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Groups holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales. More than 375,000 people work across IHG's hotels and corporate offices globally.

Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.ihgrewardsclub.com for more on IHG Rewards Club. For our latest news, visit: www.ihgplc.com/media and follow us on social media at: www.twitter.com/ihg, www.facebook.com/ihg and www.youtube.com/ihgplc.

Contacts:

Lauren Moment-Walker

lauren.momentwalker@ihg.com

+44 (0) 1895 512 663

Iman Denney-Brown

iman.denneybrown@ihg.com

+44 (0) 1895 512 267

SOURCE IHG

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Keller Williams Expands into Belgium and Luxembourg

AUSTIN, Texas - (BUSINESS WIRE) - July 23, 2018 - Keller Williams, the world's largest real estate franchise by agent count and the U.S. leader in units and sales volume, is expanding globally with new master franchises in Belgium and Luxembourg.

Regional Operating Principal Olivier Vigneron will lead franchise growth across both regions. The new master franchises are currently initializing operations and scheduling the launch of future offices, with the first market center to open in Brussels.

Keller Williams has now launched in 14 countries across Europe with 79 market centers and almost 3,500 agents in just the last five years. The European market centers of Keller Williams Worldwide (KWW), the international division of Keller Williams, have an average agent count of 44 agents per office.

The growth we are seeing around the world, and especially in Europe, is nothing short of spectacular, said William E. Soteroff, president, KWW. Now we have a phenomenal new leader who is bringing KWs unique culture into two very special markets perfectly suited for this agent-centric model.

Vigneron also serves as the CEO of Brussels, Belgium-based B2B Estate, a firm he founded in 1993. B2B Estate is a real estate firm specializing in office space leasing and sales, investment operations and real estate portfolio divestitures. Vigneron is currently integrating the KW models and systems as well as launching the regions growth strategy for Brussels and beyond.

The arrival of Keller Williams in Belgium and Luxembourg marks a virtuous disruption of the market because agents will now be able to become true entrepreneurs, leveraging the brands models and systems, said Vigneron. Were currently meeting with real estate leaders in Belgium and Luxembourg to find the best leaders.

According to Vigneron, home values continue to increase year over year in both countries as prevailing economic conditions continue to drive strong results for the two markets.

Keller Williams continues to grow thanks to leaders like Olivier. He already had the vision for building businesses that put the agent first and disrupted the traditional real estate model, said Ellen Curtis, COO, KWW. This vision is in total alignment with the growth our other European leaders are generating, leveraging our proven Growth Initiative models and systems responsible for our hyper-growth in North America.

Across the globe, KWW is now home to more than 6,500 international agents, 159 market centers and 31 regions operating outside of the United States and Canada.

Outside of the U.S. and Canada, Keller Williams Worldwide regions include Argentina; Belgium; Belize; Bermuda; Colombia; Costa Rica; Czech Republic; Dubai, UAE; France; Greater Shanghai, China; Greece; Indonesia; Israel; Jamaica; Mexico; Luxembourg; Monaco; Nicaragua; Panama; Philippines; Poland; Portugal; Puerto Rico; Romania; Southern Africa; Southern Cyprus; Spain; Turkey; Northern Cyprus; United Kingdom; and Vietnam.

About Keller Williams

Austin, Texas-based Keller Williams, the world's largest real estate franchise by agent count, has more than 950 offices and 184,000 associates. The franchise is No. 1 in units and sales volume in the United States. In 2012, Keller Williams launched Keller Williams Worldwide and began franchising outside of the United States and Canada. In 2018, Training magazine inducted Keller Williams into its Hall of Fame of top training organizations across all industries in the world.

Since 1983, Keller Williams has grown exponentially and continues to cultivate an agent-centric, education-based, technology-driven culture that rewards agents as stakeholders. The company also provides specialized agents in luxury homes, commercial, and land properties.

For more information, visit kw.com and kwworldwide.com.

Contact:

Darryl Frost

Keller Williams

254-466-3627

Darryl.frost@kw.com

SOURCE Keller Williams

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The North Korea-focused 38 North website said commercial satellite images between July 20 and 22 indicate the North began dismantling key facilities at the Sohae launch site.

No work has been reported at any of the other sites so far, which include the Chamjin Machine Factory test stand, Iha-ri Driver Training and Test Facility test stand, Magunpo Solid Rocket Motor Test Facility, Nampo Shipyard submersible test stand barge, Sinpo South Shipyard submersible test stand barge, Sinpo South Shipyard test stand, and Tonghae (Musudan-ri) Satellite Launch Facility.

"It will take full enforcement of sanctions for us to get there, it will also take chairman Kim following through on his personal commitments that he made to President Trump in Singapore", stated Pompeo.

"We ignored North Korea too long, and now it's about managing how many nuclear weapons and delivery systems they have, not IF they have them", she said.

While Pyongyang could be trying to build trust with Washington as they engage in talks to resolve the nuclear standoff, analysts say dismantling a few facilities at the site alone wouldn't realistically reduce North Korea's military capability or represent a material step toward denuclearization.

Amid speculation that North Korea hadn't done enough to work towards that goal, Trump took to Twitter to clarify.

"A Rocket has not been launched by North Korea in 9 months".

North Korea expects the U.S.to make a "bold move" and sign a peace treaty officially ending the Korean War before denuclearization talks can continue, a source with close knowledge of North Korea's position on this matter told CNN. "Likewise, no Nuclear Tests".

The conflict, in which the United States fought alongside South Korea, ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty, leaving the two sides technically at war.

Last week, USA and South Korean officials held a fifth round of what Yonhap describes as "thorny defense-cost sharing talks" as part of the Special Measures Agreement, or SMA. "Japan is happy, all of Asia is happy", he tweeted earlier in the day.

After an problematic meeting in Pyongyang involving Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a team of North Korean officials, the North criticized the US for making unilateral demands of North Korea while ignoring Pyongyang's expectations, with a peace treaty being high on the country's list of demands.

The launching site played helped the rogue regime develop their intercontinental ballistic missile program.

New satellite imagery showed partial dismantlement of North Korea's satellite launch facility.

Melissa Hanham, a senior research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in California, said Monday that the dismantling is "a good move" but called it "the bare minimum that can be done at the site".

North Korea reportedly believes it has made sufficient concessions - namely its freeze on weapons testing, the destruction of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, and the imminent return of the remains of USA war dead - to warrant the start of talks on a peace treaty.
He finished the tweet with "be cautious!"

This week, it appears as if Iran began to fight back verbally.

With Tehran scrabbling to salvage the deal with the other participants in the pact, the U.S. has taken an increasingly hard line, prompting companies such as the energy giant Total and shipper Maersk to end operations in the country.

"To our Iranian-American and Iranian friends: The Trump Administration dreams the same dreams for the people of #Iran as you do, and through our labors and God's providence they will one day come true", he tweeted.

Mr. Trump fired this online shot across the bow after the Iranian leader declared in Tehran, "America must understand well that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars".

"America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars", Rouhani told a group of Iranian diplomats, according to Reuters. Still, he also criticized what he characterized as American efforts to destabilize Iran's government, saying that the U.S.is "not in a position to incite the Iranian nation".

The U.S.is set to reimpose economic sanctions on Iran in coming weeks, which will likely cause new problems for the country's struggling economy. In them, he said Iran's 40-year revolution had borne "bitter fruit".

Trump's eagerness to provoke a confrontation with Iran is bound up with his calculation that China must be confronted sooner rather than later.

Trump's claims that Iran threatens the USA are preposterous.

She said it's easy to fire out a strongly-worded late night tweet, but that doesn't establish a policy or convey a clear message.

Secretary of state Mike Pompeo, who on Sunday compared the Iranian government to the "mafia", attempted to assuage the concerns of ordinary citizens.

Following the United States withdrawal from the Iran nuclear accord that stunned even Washington's closest European allies, Pompeo on May 21 unveiled a "new strategy" meant to force Iran to yield to a dozen stringent demands.

Trump's administration regards Iran as a unsafe influence int he Middle East amid tensions rising tensions over Syria and its involvement with the war in Yemen.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has long pushed for a tougher stance against Iran by global powers, praised Trump on Monday.

"Right now, the United States is undertaking a diplomatic and financial pressure campaign to cut off the funds that the regime uses to enrich itself and support death and destruction", Pompeo said in his speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley.
Critics have whale hunting in Iceland under scrutiny again. Members of the NGO Sea Shepherd, that aims to protect the oceans, has revealed a disturbing video. When they were surveilling the whaling firm known as Hvalur hf in Hvalfordur, in Iceland, they witnessed a marine mammal that could have been a blue whale.

The specimen, which died in the night of 7th to 8th July, is now the twenty-second whale that has been killed and butchered by Kristjan Loftssons whaling company and then exported to Japan. Since 20th June and after two years of interruption, the company has once again taken up fin whale hunting, with a quota of 190 whales per season, to the great dismay of ecological organizations.

The problem is that although Iceland does in fact have a permit to hunt, this permit does not include blue whale hunting, since this species is rare and threatened and hasnt been deliberately killed since 1978. Nowadays, it is strictly protected by a supervised standstill by the International Whaling Commission (IWC). When questioned, Kristjan Loftsson, who runs the Hvalur hf company, said that the whale was a hybrid.

To mistake a blue whale for a fin whale is impossible, this whale has all the characterizations of a fin whale in the ocean. He explained to the BBC.

There are a lot of blue whales off the coast of Iceland, when we see the blows and sail to it, and we realize it is a blue then we leave it and go look for fin whales.

I know a blue whale when I see one

This version is however being challenged by the NGO Sea Shepherd and an experienced observer.

While I cant entirely rule out the possibility that this is a hybrid, I dont see any characteristics that would suggest that. From the photos, it has all the characteristics of a blue whale; given that  notably the coloration pattern  there is almost no possibility that an experienced observer would have misidentified it as anything else at sea, explains Dr. Phillip Clapham, expert at NOAA in a Facebook post.

This opinion is also shared by Paul Watson, founder of the NGO.

Ive seen a lot of blue whales on the surface, dived with them beneath the surface in Western Australia, off the coast of California, in the Southern Ocean and in the south of the United States. I know a blue whale when I see one and this whale shot by Kristjan Loftsson is a blue whale, said the founder who is calling for measures to be taken against Kristjan Loftsson, accusing him of ruthlessly violating international conservation.

The government has promised to look into this further and do a DNA test to determine the nature of the animal for activists, but the damage has already been done.

The meat, skin, blubber and bone all now mixed in with the fin whales previously caught, which will make it difficult or impossible to locate during potential inspections by the authorities, said the NGO on Facebook.

After being tirelessly hunted for centuries, the blue whale is currently also under threat from climate change and acidification in the oceans. Out of the 250,000 specimens recorded throughout the world last century, there are now no more than 5,000. According to Hard To Port, a NGO that has also looked into the whale hunting carried out in Iceland, this incident is great proof that this practice cant really be controlled or regulated.
North Korea has started dismantling some facilities at its main satellite launch station, seen as the testing ground for its intercontinental ballistic missiles, according to expert analysis of recent satellite images.

The July 20 photo showed that work was underway to remove structures at the launch pad and the engine test stand.

38 North said satellite images from Friday showed the roof and supporting structure partially removed from the rail-mounted processing structure for the launch pad and numerous vehicles were present, including a large crane.

Trump told a news conference after his unprecedented June 12 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that Kim had promised that a major missile engine testing site would be destroyed very soon.

"This could (and that's a big could) mean that North Korea is also willing to forgo satellite launches for the time being as well as nuclear and missile tests".

"And it seems like they are going step by step toward denuclearization", Nam said.

A North Korean flag flutters on top of a 160-metre tower in North Korea's propaganda village of Gijungdong, in this picture taken from the Tae Sung freedom village near the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), inside the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas, in Paju, South Korea, April 24, 2018.

Citing an unidentified USA official, CNN reported Monday that Trump had "privately expressed frustration over the perceived lack of progress in the talks".



Test stand superstructure appear to have been completely dismantled Airbus Defense and Space and 38 North

The U.S. State Department did not have an immediate comment on the negotiations, but Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on June North Korea had made a commitment to unilateral return the first remains "in the next couple weeks".

The publication of the new images emerged just hours after Donald Trump refuted what he called "fake news reports" that claimed that he was somehow frustrated over the lack of progress of the North Korean denuclearization agreed upon at the Singapore summit last month.

After an problematic meeting in Pyongyang involving Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a team of North Korean officials, the North criticized the US for making unilateral demands of North Korea while ignoring Pyongyang's expectations, with a peace treaty being high on the country's list of demands. "Likewise, no Nuclear Tests".

Melissa Hanham, senior research associate with the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, said that while dismantling the engine test site was a "good move", it amounted to "the bare minimum" that could be done at Sohae.

"The U.S. side never mentioned the issue of establishing a peace regime on the Korean peninsula which is essential for defusing tension and preventing a war", the North Korean foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in early July. "Japan is happy, all of Asia is happy", Trump said on Twitter.

"However, the global community has repeatedly made clear it will not accept a nuclear-armed DPRK", the spokesperson told The Japan Times, using the acronym for the North's formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The Washington Post reported last weekend that Trump, who had said last month that North Korea's nuclear problem was "largely solved", was now privately expressing concern about a lack of progress on the issue.
Qualcomm shows world's first mmWave 5G antenna for mobile devices News oi-Priyanka The QTM052 mmWave antenna modules work in tandem with the Snapdragon X50 5G modem to help overcome the formidable challenges associated with mmWave.

Qualcomm today unveiled the world's first fully-integrated 5G NR millimeter wave (mmWave) and sub-6 GHz RF modules for smartphones and other mobile devices.

The Qualcomm QTM052 mmWave antenna module family and the Qualcomm QPM56xx sub-6 GHz RF module family pair with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 5G modem to deliver modem-to-antenna capabilities across several spectrum bands, in a very compact footprint that is suited for integration in mobile devices.

According to Qualcomm until now mmWave signals have not been used for mobile wireless communications due to the many technical and design challenges they pose, which impact nearly every aspect of device engineering, including materials, form-factor, industrial design, thermals, and regulatory requirements for radiated power.

As such, many in the mobile industry considered mmWave highly impractical for mobile devices and networks, and thus unlikely to materialize.

The QTM052 mmWave antenna modules work in tandem with the Snapdragon X50 5G modem to help overcome the formidable challenges associated with mmWave, Qualcomm informed.

They support advanced beam forming, beam steering, and beam tracking technologies, drastically improving the range and reliability of mmWave signals. They feature an integrated 5G NR radio transceiver, power management IC, RF front-end components and phased antenna array.

"Qualcomm Technologies' early investment in 5G has allowed us to deliver to the industry a working mobile mmWave solution that was previously thought unattainable, as well as a fully-integrated sub-6 GHz RF solution. Now, these type of modem-to-antenna solutions, spanning both mmWave and sub-6 spectrum bands, make mobile 5G networks and devices, especially smartphones, ready for large-scale commercialization," said Cristiano Amon, President, Qualcomm Incorporated.

Qualcomm also said that they support up to 800 MHz of bandwidth in the 26.5-29.5 GHz (n257), as well as the entire 27.5-28.35 GHz (n261) and 37-40 GHz (n260) mmWave bands. Most importantly, the QTM052 modules integrate all these capabilities in a very compact footprint, such that up to four of them can be integrated into a smartphone.

Best Mobiles in India
Samsung Galaxy Note9 to offer up to 512 GB storage with a price tag of Rs 1,00,000 News oi-Vivek Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is likely to be available in 64, 128, 256 and 512 GB storage.

Samsung is all set for the unpacking of the Samsung Galaxy Note9 in the USA on the 9th of August 2018. As of now, most of the specifications of the smartphone are out (leaks and speculations) and the company will announce the international pricing of the smartphone with in-depth product presentation on the 9th of August.

The leak

And now, according to a report by a famous tipster Roland Quandt, the Korean smartphone manufacturer is planning to launch the Galaxy Note9 with a whopping 512 GB storage, which is expected to be priced at 1250 Euros (Rs 1,00,000), which makes the Galaxy Note9, the costliest Samsung flagship smartphone ever (other than the special editions).

Previous leaks and rumors have already confirmed that the smartphone will come with a brand new S-Pen with improved features like support for music playback, camera shutter button and additional interesting features, which are not usually seen on an S-Pen.

The Samsung Galaxy Note9 will launch a month before the launch of the next generation iPhone (Apple might launch three new iPhone models) and the company will have enough time to sell its flagship smartphone before the iPhone debut.

Specs-sheet

The Samsung Galaxy Note9 is expected to come with a 6.3-inch Super AMOLED display with a QHD+ resolution. Under the hood, the smartphone will be running on either on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Octa-core chipset or the Exynos 8920 Octa-core chipset with 6 or 8 GB RAM and 64 GB or 128 GB storage with a micro SD card slot for additional storage expansion.

The smartphone is likely to have a dual 12 MP camera on the back with a 12 MP RGB sensor with variable aperture and a 12 MP telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom. The main camera will offer features like 4K video recording at 60fps and super slow motion videos with a rear-facing fingerprint sensor located below the camera module.

Recent leaks also confirm that the Samsung Galaxy Note9 will have a massive 4000 mAh Li-ion battery with support for fast charging and wireless charging support just like the Samsung Galaxy Note8.

Conclusion

Last year Apple launched the Apple iPhone X in India for a price of Rs 1,08,000 and this year Samsung might launch a smartphone with Rs 1,00,000 or above price tag. However, the entry-level model with 6 GB RAM and 64 GB storage is likely to cost as much as the Samsung Galaxy Note8 and it will be priced well below Rs 70,000 price mark.

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Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite, Xiaomi Mi A2 officially launched with a starting price of Rs 14,999 News oi-Vivek Xiaomi Mi A2 is a rebranded Xiaomi Mi 6X and the Mi A2 Lite is a rebranded version of the Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite

Xiaomi has officially launched the Xiaomi Mi A2 and the Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite in Spain. These are the second generation Android One smartphones from the Chinese smartphone brand or the number one smartphone brand in India. The company has confirmed that the Xiaomi Mi A2 will launch in India in the next few weeks, but the company will not launch the Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite, so, the company is likely to launch the Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro in India.

Originally, the Xiaomi Mi A2 was launched in China as the Xiaomi Mi 6X and the Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite was launched as the Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro. The only difference between the Chinese and the international version is the operating system. The Xiaomi Mi A2 and the Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite runs on stock Android OS with no third-party customization, whereas the Xiaomi Mi 6X and the Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro runs on the custom MIUI skin.

The company has been teaser with a hashtag #2isbetterthan1, which means two smartphones are better than one and Xiaomi Mi A2 is better than the Xiaomi Mi A1.

Pricing Xiaomi Mi A2 4 GB RAM + 32 GB storage 249 Euros (Rs 20,000)

4 GB RAM + 64 GB storage 279 Euros (Rs 22,500)

6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage 349 Euros (Rs 28,000) Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite 3 GB RAM + 32 GB storage 179 Euros (Rs 15,000)

4 GB RAM + 64 GB storage 229 Euros (Rs 18,500) Availability The Xiaomi Mi A2 and the Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite will be available in France from the 10th of August. The Xiaomi Mi A2 and the Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite will be available in Italy from the 8th of August. Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite The Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite has a 5.84 inch HD+ IPS LCD display with a notch on top. Under the hood, the Mi a2 IS running on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 Octa-core chipset with 3 or 4 GB RAM and 32 GB or 64 GB storage. In terms of optics, the smartphone has a 12 MP primary sensor and a 5 MP depth sensor similar to the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro. Both the Xiaomi Mi A2 and the Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite comes with Android One branding offering faster software updates and these two smartphones will be updated to Android P in the future. The smartphone packs in a 4000 mAh battery with a micro USB port for charging and data syncing. Xiaomi Mi A2 On the front, the Xiaomi Mi A2 adorns a 5.9-inch IPS LCD display with a 2.5D curved tempered glass protection on the top. Under the hood, the smartphone is running on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 Octa-core chipset with 4 or 6 GB RAM and 64 GB or 128 GB storage options The smartphone also has a dual camera setup at the back of the smartphone with a 12 MP + 20 MP setup and a massive 20 MP front-facing camera with AI capabilities. The smartphone has a 3000 mAh battery with Qualcomm Quick charge 3.0 capability. Conclusion The Europian pricing of the Xiaomi Mi A2 and the Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite seems a bit expensive than the Chinese pricing. However, the company is most likely to launch the Xiaomi Mi A2 in India at a much competitive price point.

Best Mobiles in India
North Korea appears to have begun dismantling part of a key rocket launch site in the country's north-west. "So do I, as progress is happening", he added without elaborating.

But when Pompeo arrived in Pyongyang, the North Koreans insisted they were still not ready to commit to specific plans, according to diplomats familiar with the discussions.

Without such a treaty, which would require two-thirds approval in the United States senate, North Korea is unlikely to proceed with denuclearisation, CNN reported.

It said they should "implement effective due diligence policies, procedures, and internal controls to ensure compliance with applicable legal requirements across their entire supply chains".

But worldwide relations experts Gi-Wook Shin and Joyce Lee warned there is no longer a "realistic" chance of North Korea denuclearising.

In a tweet early on Monday, Trump rejected "Fake News" that he was angry because progress was not happening fast enough with North Korea.

But their agreement contained no details about when or how North Korea would abandon its nuclear weapons program or shut down its existing nuclear facilities. "We and the Security Council and the worldwide community have to support those talks, and the best way to support those talks is to not loosen the sanctions".

"We need to see chairman Kim do what he promised the world he would do", Pompeo said.

Gross domestic product (GDP) in North Korea last year contracted 3.5% from the previous year, marking the biggest contraction since a 6.5% drop in 1997, when the isolated nation was going through a devastating starvation, the Bank of Korea said. Last month, China and Russian Federation drafted a press release seeking the easing of sanctions against the North, but the document was not distributed due to fierce opposition from the U.S.

The Amazon Washington Post has gone insane against me ever since they lost the Internet Tax Case in the U.S. Supreme Court two months ago.

The Washington Post published the initial report Sunday.

The lack of immediate progress, though predicted by many analysts, has frustrated the president, who has fumed at his aides in private even as he publicly hails the success of the negotiations.

USA documents sent to the committee and obtained by The Associated Press cite 89 instances between January 1 and May 30 in which North Korean tankers likely delivered refined products "illicitly procured" via such transfers.

"As North Korea and the United States ask each other to take action first, what South Korea could do is lead them to take action simultaneously at their discretion", said Kim Hyun-wook, a professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy.

Pompeo made the remarks after he and US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, as well as with leaders from Japan, South Korea and the entire UN Security Council on Friday.
Trump adviser 'collaborating, conspiring' with Russia, FBI says

Iran Press TV

Mon Jul 23, 2018 12:54AM

Former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page has denied findings by the FBI about his collusion with Russia.

Page appeared on CNN Sunday to defend himself against the Federal Bureau of Investigation's claim that he "has been collaborating with and conspiring with the Russian government."

On Saturday, the FBI released a redacted version of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant application, revealing that he was the subject of "targeted recruitment" by Russia during the 2016 election that yielded President Trump.

This is the first time a FISA application has been made public since the law was passed in 1978.

The 412 pages, released upon request by The New York Times and some advocacy groups, warned that "perhaps other individuals associated with" the Trump campaign were also engaged in coordination with Moscow to allegedly interfere with the presidential election.

The release also noted Page's "established relationships" with Russians.

"This is really nothing and just an attempt to distract from the real crimes that are shown in this misleading document," said the former Trump campaign adviser.

In February, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes claimed that the FBI was biased in wiretapping Page.

Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has also thrown his support behind the FBI.

"I don't think they did anything wrong. I think they went to the court, they got the judges to approve it, they laid out all the information, and there was a lot of reasons unrelated to the dossier for why they wanted to look at Carter Page," he said.

Ever since Trump was inaugurated in January 2017, the US intelligence community has overwhelmingly maintained that Moscow sought to meddle in the 2016 election.

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Researcher At Russian Spacecraft Center Charged With Treason: Report

July 23, 2018

A 74-year-old researcher at a Russian rocket and spacecraft design facility has reportedly been charged with treason for allegedly giving classified information to a NATO country.

The Russian newspaper Kommersant reported on July 23 that Viktor Kudryavtsev of the Central Research Institute for Machine Building is accused of passing classified data on hypersonic technology to a representative of an unspecified alliance member.

Citing unnamed sources, Kommersant reported that Kudryavtsev is being held at the Lefortovo jail in Moscow and has pleaded not guilty.

A spokesman for Russian space agency Roscosmos, Vladimir Ustimenko, said on July 22 that Kudryavtsev had been arrested but did not give any details.

A member of the Public Monitoring Commission NGO, Yevgeny Yenikeyev, said on July 22 that Kudryavtsev was placed in pretrial detention on high treason charge.

The case is one of several in recent years in which Russian citizens have been accused of treason or disseminating classified or sensitive information.

Based on reporting by Interfax, TASS, and Kommersant

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/researcher-at- russian-spacecraft-center-charged-with- treason-report/29384728.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Trump Considering Revoking Brennan's, Comey's Security Clearances

Sputnik News

20:18 23.07.2018(updated 22:06 23.07.2018)

Former CIA Director John Brennan is no longer in the agency, but is still in the limelight, with Republicans suspecting he might be using his previous strings and power to play against President Trump.

The Trump administration said on Monday it was considering canceling the security clearances for six former intelligence and law-enforcement officials, including the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, John Brennan, who served under Barack Obama, and the onetime head of the FBI sacked by President Trump, James Comey.

Republican Senator Rand Paul earlier tweeted his intention to ask President Trump to cancel former CIA chief John Brennan's security clearance.

"Is John Brennan monetizing his security clearance?" Paul asked, going on to question if Brennan is making mammoth sums "divulging secrets to the mainstream media with his attacks on [Trump]."

According to a CNN report, former high-profile intelligence officials, like Brennan, who led CIA under President Barack Obama from March 2013 to January 2017, continue to enjoy high-level security clearance after they quit.

Brennan has been a stiff critic of Trump ever since he left office, the most recent barrage arriving in wake of Trump's landmark meeting with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki earlier this month: he labeled Trump's rhetoric as "nothing short of treasonous." Paul, conversely, obstructed a recent resolution from Sen. Bernie Sanders that demanded US intelligence's evaluation of the alleged collusion with Russia during the 2016 presidential race, calling it "crazy hatred" targeting Trump. According to Paul, the Senate has been partly seized by "Trump derangement syndrome."

In March, Paul blasted Brennan for suggesting that Trump will go down in history as a "disgraced demagogue," noting what was actually disgraceful was Brennan spying on Americans while running the agency.

Brennan has been denounced lately by other lawmakers. Most particularly, Republican Ron DeSantis referred to his term as CIA chief as "a disaster," while separately picking up on the widely known fact that Brennan voted for a Communist presidential candidate, Gus Hall, in 1976.

Brennan himself later noted that he had opted for the Communists then to "signal his unhappiness with the system, and the need for change."

 Sputnik

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Exercise Sea Breeze 2018 Concludes

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS180722-10

Release Date: 7/22/2018 9:13:00 PM

From U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet Public Affairs

ODESSA, Ukraine (NNS) -- The 18th iteration of exercise Sea Breeze concluded following a closing ceremony in Odessa, Ukraine, July 17.

Sea Breeze is a U.S. and Ukraine co-hosted multinational maritime exercise held in the Black Sea and is designed to enhance interoperability of participating nations and strengthen maritime security within the region.

"Our Sailors and Marines worked on the water, in the air, on land and under the sea," said Rear Adm. Shawn Duane, vice commander of U.S. 6th Fleet. "Twenty-nine ships from 18 nations participated and many tactical skills were practiced and perfected."

For the first time during Sea Breeze, the staff embarked the Blue Ridge-class command and control ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) during the at-sea portion of the exercise.

In total, there were more than 150 staff members from various countries that made up the Sea Breeze 2018 maritime operations center aboard Mount Whitney.

"The reason we wanted to go afloat this year was that it keeps people singularly focused on the exercise with no distractions," said Capt. Matt Lehman, commodore of Task Force (TF) 65.

Participants were familiar with some of the training that the exercise offers. Bringing the planning and execution aboard Mount Whitney added an additional layer of real-world training.

"This year's exercise presented new challenges and new areas to improve that will allow us to make next year's exercise even more complex," said U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Ryan Newmeyer, TF-65 maritime planner. "As we increase the interoperability between our Black Sea partners and NATO allies, we need to continue to adapt to the changing environment and embarking staff aboard the USS Mount Whitney is just one way of doing that."

Ships from the U.S., Ukraine, Turkey, and Bulgaria participated in different scenarios while underway. Maritime interdiction operations, air defense, anti-submarine warfare, damage control tactics, search and rescue and medical training are some areas the exercise focused on.

"The purpose of the at-sea phase of the exercise was to work with NATO and non-NATO navies to conduct serialized events in a variety of warfare areas," said Newmeyer.

Cmdr. Craig Trent, executive officer of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78), lauded the effort the nations exuded for this year's Sea Breeze.

"The success of this year's exercise is a very positive step in building our partnerships and strengthening each others capabilities," said Trent. "Each year our exercise grows in complexity and we intend to carry this trend forward."

Sea Breeze is designed to enhance interoperability among participating nations and strengthen regional security by focusing on a variety of warfare areas.

U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests, security and stability in Europe and Africa.

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RIMPAC 2018 Hosts Submarine Rescue Symposium

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS180722-07

Release Date: 7/22/2018 8:56:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Daniel Hinton

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii (NNS) -- Approximately 30 submarine officers and civilian contractors from 13 nations attended a Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise 2018 submarine rescue symposium hosted at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, July 9.

The symposium offered those in attendance an opportunity to strategize how different nations can work together in the event of a submarine accident or casualty.

"The great thing about RIMPAC is we get more participation from around the world, specifically Asian countries that were not able to join our working groups throughout the year," said U.S. Navy Cmdr. Joshua Powers. "This increased and diversified participation allows us to engage with our partners who operate submarines and are interested in submarine rescue."

Powers said recent submarine accidents like the Argentinian ARA San Juan disaster in November 2017, which was lost with all hands on board, have placed a heightened emphasis on nations working together to aid in search and rescue of submarine accidents.

"First of all, it's about people. We are trying to save people and you can't put a price on that," said Royal Norwegian Navy Cmdr. Dag Hanssen. "It is easy to share what you are doing, what your plans are, what your equipment is because all of it is unclassified. All of this is about saving lives."

During the symposium, a special emphasis was placed on identifying foreseeable logistical hurdles that would delay timely mobilization of rescue plans in the event of a downed submarine.

Hanssen said because submariners are a highly specialized career field in a war effort, having the ability to save downed submarines is enormously valuable and something that military leaders value.

The symposium also included an extensive walkthrough of the U.S. submarine search and rescue procedures, allowing attendees the opportunity to discuss and get clarification on procedures performed differently within their own submarine communities.

"I am here because Colombia recognizes the importance of submarine rescue capabilities," said Colombian Navy Frigate Captain Ernesto Araujo. "All the information, procedures and contacts I gather here I can bring back with me."

Araujo said the most important thing he took from the symposium was being connected to the multinational community of submarine rescue experts he can call if Columbia was in need.

Twenty-five nations, 46 ships, five submarines, about 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 27 to Aug. 2 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world's largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security of the world's oceans. RIMPAC 2018 is the 26th exercise in the series that began in 1971.

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Special Operations Forces Practice Submarine Insertion during RIMPAC 2018

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS180722-06

Release Date: 7/22/2018 8:50:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Daniel Hinton

PACIFIC OCEAN (NNS) -- Members of the multinational special operations force supporting the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise participated in a submarine insertion evolution at sea off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii, July 9.

Special Operations Forces (SOF) from the United States, Republic of Korea, Republic of the Philippines, Indonesia, India, Peru and Japan participated in the event designed to enhance each countries' maritime interoperability.

"The main purpose of RIMPAC is to bring countries together and build partnerships," said Cmdr. John C. Roussakies, commanding officer of the Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Hawaii (SSN 776). "Developing that interoperability is important because it's a big ocean out there, and we cannot do the job ourselves."

The submarine Hawaii, using a reconfigured torpedo room, transported approximately 30 multinational SOF operators to a debarkation point off the coast of Oahu.

"It sounds like it should be easy, but it's a lot of work," said Roussakies. "It took five to six sailors to carry each raft onto the sub, and the vessel will be 'rocking and rolling' on the surface."

SOF personnel used the submarine's lockout chamber to exit the ship, inflate rigid hull inflatable boats, and make an amphibious landing.

"For some of our partner-nation special operators, submarine evolutions like today were new," said Army Capt. Matthew Song, detachment commander of Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha from 1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group based out of Okinawa, Japan. "We rehearsed the day before, and that set us up for success because they executed pretty well today."

Song said dry dock launches like the one performed during this exercise are essential because it provides critical standoff distance for our special operators during maritime operations.

"At the end of the day RIMPAC is about partnerships, everything that we are doing is purposely designed so that we can operate together with our partners," said Song. "The relationships we are building today are important, and we hope to maintain them so that when there is a problem, we can all come together to solve it."

Twenty-five nations, 46 ships, five submarines, about 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 27 to Aug. 2 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world's largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security of the world's oceans. RIMPAC 2018 is the 26th exercise in the series that began in 1971.

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NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center San Diego Supports RIMPAC 2018

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS180722-03

Release Date: 7/22/2018 8:32:00 PM

By Candice Villarreal, Director, Office of Corporate Communications

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center (FLC) San Diego is lending its support to the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) this July as the Navy trains with 24 other nations to improve interoperability between Pacific Rim armed forces.

RIMPAC is the world's largest international maritime exercise, designed to promote global security and stability in the region. The exercise also provides a unique opportunity for the United States and participating nations to strengthen strategic partnerships.

Since RIMPAC 2018 kicked off in June, NAVSUP FLC San Diego has received, stored, transported and loaded more than $22 million in material from several countries from the Pacific Rim and beyond. The command is also coordinating short notice requests for crane, forklift and transportation support while ensuring motor gasoline, rigid hull inflatable boats, flares and material handling equipment reach their destinations to meet critical mission requirements.

"Our role in RIMPAC support is to allow our warfighters to go out and execute their operational plans while we execute the logistics involved with coordinating such an enormous exercise," said Lt. David Oh, customer service officer. "We want to make the support as seamless as it can be so that they can go out, work together, and focus on what they set out to do. We are essentially enabling mission accomplishment through logistics from the shores of San Diego."

NAVSUP FLC San Diego personnel have met with supply department Sailors aboard a number of multinational ships, serving as the primary liaison between all foreign vessels and the Defense Logistics Agency and arranging for the delivery of high priority requisitions. In addition, the logistics team acts as the last tactical mile, ensuring delivery of critical parts to ships getting underway.

"A ready force is a winning force," said Commanding Officer Capt. Brian Anderson. "These troops are operating forward, focusing on deterrence, increasing lethality and honing their warfighting readiness. We are their flexible partner ashore, here to ensure they can accomplish their goals without having to worry about logistics-related issues."

More than 200 aircraft, 47 surface ships and 25,000 personnel are participating in the Hawaii-based exercise, held biennially since 1971. It is hosted by Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, headquartered at Pearl Harbor.

NAVSUP FLC San Diego is one of eight FLCs under Commander, Naval Supply Systems Command. Headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and employing a diverse, worldwide workforce of more than 22,500 military and civilian personnel, NAVSUP's mission is to provide supplies, services, and quality-of-life support to the Navy and joint warfighter.

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F-22 pilots fire live missiles at Combat Archer

By 2d Lt Savanah Bray, 633rd Air Base Wing Public Affairs / Published July 23, 2018

JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. (AFNS) -- More than 200 pilots, maintainers and operations support staff from the 1st Fighter Wing are gaining firsthand experience in loading and firing live missiles at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida from July 6-20, 2018.

During these two weeks, the 1st FW from Joint Base Langley Eustis, participated in Combat Archer as part of the Weapons System Evaluation Program, in conjunction with Checkered Flag 18-2. The goal of these combined exercises is to train and evaluate the F-22 Raptor and other weapons systems under simulated combat environments, to include firing live missiles against remotely piloted targets. While many units and military aircraft come together for major exercises a few times a year, Combat Archer is unique because it's one of the few opportunities pilots have to fire live missiles in training.

"Outside of combat missions and operational or developmental test flights, the 1st FW doesn't train with live missiles," said Capt. Robert Pupilis, 1st FW project officer for Combat Archer/Checkered Flag 18-2. "It's an opportunity that is not taken for granted, and for some pilots, this exercise is the first time they have ever fired a live missile. "

Pupilis said, the experience of firing a live missile is difficult to explain.

"You prepare yourself, study your shot profile and every possible thing that could go wrong," Pupilis said. "When flying (in position to take the shot), you are soda straw-focused, and you tend to experience temporal distortion. When you hit the button (that fires the missile), it takes only a few moments for the missile to leave the jet and launch in a smoke trail across your nose. For my first shot, those few seconds seemed like 100, but once you catch up to reality, the feeling of awe is hard to forget."

According to a welcome letter from the host unit, the 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group, Combat Archer is not just a training event; it is a formal evaluation of the total weapon system, man, machine, and missile and a squadron's ability to conduct air-to-air missions. It is a rare opportunity for squadrons to load live weapons and shoot them at threat-realistic targets. The goal is to maximize live-fire experience throughout the combat Air Force, so priority is given to first-time shooters.

This training and live-fire experience is critical to Raptor pilots, as air superiority is the primary mission for the F-22. In addition to the experience pilots and maintainers gain from loading and launching live missiles during Combat Archer, Checkered Flag provides the opportunity to work alongside multiple weapons systems and services.

"In one fight, more than 50 aircraft may participate from multiple services, including fourth and fifth generation fighter jets, bomber platforms, refueling aircraft, and command and control aircraft," Pupilis said. "At Langley, typical training consists of only F-22s and T-38 Talons. Being able to integrate with the other fighters on the same side of the fight, and fight against different platforms on the enemy side provides great training for all involved."

In total, the JB Langley-Eustis's F-22s and T-38s were scheduled to fly 300 sorties. The F-22 shot 20 missiles: five AIM-120 medium range missiles and 15 AIM-9 heat seeking missiles.

According to Pupilis, a lot of work and planning goes into launching that many jets and firing 20 missiles, but Combat Archer provides unparalleled live-fire experience for the pilots and maintainers of the 1st FW, as the F-22 Raptor continues to be the most dominant air superiority fighter in the world.

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Coalition Strikes Continue Against ISIS Targets in Syria, Iraq

July 23, 2018

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve and its partners have accelerated offensive activity against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria targets in designated parts of Syria and Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Between July 16-22, coalition military forces conducted 24 strikes, consisting of 40 engagements, in Iraq and Syria

Strikes in Syria

There were no reported strikes conducted in Syria yesterday.

On July 21, coalition military forces conducted three strikes consisting of six engagements against ISIS targets near Abu Kamal. The strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed three ISIS vehicles and an ISIS line of communication.

On July 20, coalition military forces conducted four strikes consisting of six engagements against ISIS targets near Abu Kamal. The strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS vehicle and two ISIS supply routes.

On July 19, coalition military forces conducted four strikes consisting of four engagements against ISIS targets near Abu Kamal. The strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two ISIS logistics hubs and two ISIS lines of communication.

On July 18, coalition military forces conducted four strikes consisting of five engagements against ISIS targets near Abu Kamal. The strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two ISIS vehicles and three ISIS lines of communication.

On July 17, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of one engagement against ISIS targets near Soor. The strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two ISIS motorcycles.

On July 16, coalition military forces conducted four strikes consisting of four engagements against ISIS targets near Abu Kamal. The strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS vehicle, two ISIS supply routes and an ISIS-held building.

Strikes in Iraq

Yesterday, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of two engagements against ISIS targets near Kisik.

There were no reported strikes conducted in Iraq on July 21, 2018.

On July 20, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of two engagements against ISIS targets near Sulayman Bek. The strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit, and destroyed two ISIS vehicles and an ISIS cave.

There were no reported strikes conducted in Iraq on July 18-19.

On July 17, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of one engagement against ISIS targets near Sulayman Bek. The strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS vehicle-borne improvised explosive device and two ISIS fighting positions.

On July 16, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of nine engagements against ISIS targets near Makhmur. The strike destroyed 14 ISIS caves, five ISIS tunnels and four ISIS-held buildings.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The destruction of ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the rest of the world, task force officials said.

The list above contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft; rocket-propelled artillery; and ground-based tactical artillery, officials noted.

A strike, as defined by the coalition, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single or cumulative effect.

For example, task force officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIS vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of ISIS-held buildings and weapon systems in a compound, having the cumulative effect of making that facility harder or impossible to use. Strike assessments are based on initial reports and may be refined, officials said.

The task force does not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target.

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US Army Conducts First RIMPAC Joint Live-Fire Sinking Exercise as Multi Domain Task Force

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS180723-07

Release Date: 7/23/2018 9:59:00 AM

By U.S. Army Capt. Rachael Jeffcoat, 17th Field Artillery Brigade

PACIFIC MISSILE RANGE FACILITY BARKING SANDS, Hawaii (NNS) -- "Attention in the TAC! Target is Colorado."

The U.S. Army's Multi Domain Task Force (MDTF) Tactical Command Post (TAC) operating at PMRF in Hawaii is filled with energy and tension.

Sweat drips down the faces of the MDTF Soldiers as they process the fire mission, "Colorado," to the 17th Field Artillery Brigade's (17th FA BDE) High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) crews. Quiet, the Soldiers eagerly await the loud, booming sound of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) firing of a surface-to-ship missile alongside the HIMARS.

The long-range artillery systems fire ... then comes silence. Soldiers crowd around the television screen in the TAC as they watch the feed provided by the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade's (25th CAB) unmanned aerial system, an MQ-1C Gray Eagle, to see if the round will impact the target. The target is a decommissioned naval vessel also known as ex-USS Racine ... it's a good hit!

The 17th FA BDE, alongside the JGSDF, conducted its first live-fire exercise here, July 12, during the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise.

The Naval Strike Missile was the first to launch as a land-based asset. Following the NSM, Apache AH-64E helicopters, assigned to the 25th CAB and 16th CAB, fired upon ex-USS Racine. Lastly, two surface-to-ship missiles from the JGSDF, launched missiles in conjunction with the 17th FA BDE HIMARS system.

"People are wondering 'why are we participating in RIMPAC?'" said U.S. Army Col. Chris Wendland, commander of the 17th FA BDE and MDTF. "We are here to support the Navy and our other services, to show them what the U.S. Army's MDTF can provide to the fight."

RIMPAC is the world's largest international maritime exercise. It features 25 nations and is typically focused on naval operations. This year however, U.S. Army ground forces had a role in the exercise for the first time as the MDTF.

"We are an asset the Navy and our joint services can utilize," said Wendland. "What our maritime adversaries conducting this exercise are looking for are other ships or submarines as threats. What they are not looking for is the Multi Domain Task Force, our ground forces, who can acquire the target and fire upon it using land-based surface-to-ship missiles, then be able to move freely."

U.S. Army Pacific designated the 17th FA BDE, a subordinate unit under America's I Corps at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Washington, as the pilot program for the MDTF concept.

"We looked across the U.S. Army and selected the best assets and leaders to build an organization that can fight in all domains," said U.S. Army Gen. Robert Brown, commander of U.S. Army Pacific, during a brief to senior leaders before the live-fire event.

The concept of MDTF brings together various capabilities to address peer- or near-peer threats that could deny access to U.S. and coalition forces in maritime, land, air, and space domains. The MDTF integrates its assets to overcome adversary anti-access and air-denial through integration and synchronization of a variety of capabilities. These capabilities include unmanned surveillance assets, aviation, long-range artillery, air defense, electronic warfare, cyber, and space assets.

"We want to leverage and learn what our joint services utilize, as well as integrate our capabilities as a Multi Domain Task Force into their planning efforts," explained Wendland. "Our goal is to create joint interoperability to be able to deter our adversaries across all domains."

RIMPAC has provided the MDTF and the U.S. Army with many 'first' opportunities. This is the first time 17th FA BDE has worked under a naval commander instead of providing long-range artillery for I Corps during a military exercise; the first flight for 25th CAB's MQ-1C Gray Eagle in Hawaii as a capability of the MDTF; and the first time using a distributed line-of-sight battle management network, knows as Link 16, with joint forces outside of the brigade.

The exercise is a tough, realistic training for joint and combined forces to deter and defeat aggression by major powers across all domains and levels of conflict in order to build multi domain concepts.

The 17th FA BDE will continue to improve multi-domain concepts within the next year as it executes military exercises in Guam and Japan as the pilot program of the U.S. Army's MDTF.

Twenty-five nations, 46 ships, five submarines, and about 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 27 to Aug. 2 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world's largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security of the world's oceans. RIMPAC 2018 is the 26th exercise in the series that began in 1971.

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Almost 50 people have died in wildfires burning in the Attica region around Athens, in Greece's worst fire crisis in more than a decade.

A separate fire also broke out west of Athens yesterday, adding to the challenge faced by the authorities.

Smoke from the blazes blotted out the sun over the famed Parthenon temple in Athens, where some ministries closed in the afternoon due to the soaring heat. The area was devastated by a fast moving blaze on Monday evening.

Police in the town earlier said they found two Danish tourists out of a group of 10 in a boat at sea off the town and were trying to locate the others.

The death toll from two big wildfires raging on the outskirts of Athens has risen to at least 20.

A clip from Greek TV station Skai (see below) shows the Monday wildfire in Kineta burning residents' yards as they fled in cars and on mopeds.

"I am really concerned by the parallel outbreak of these fires", he said, with officials raising the possibility they could have been started deliberately by criminals out to ransack abandoned homes.

Sixteen children are among those hurt in the region, which is popular with local tourists.

The bodies of 26 people - many of them huddled together - were discovered in the coastal village of Mati this morning.

One of the youngest victims was thought to be a six-month-old baby who died of smoke inhalation, officials said.

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan tweeted a message of empathy with the Greek authorities and people as they battle the flames.

The fire department said 156 adults and 16 children were hospitalized with injuries. Boats plucked another 19 people from the sea.

"We will do whatever is humanly possible to control it", he said. The service urged residents to report missing relatives and friends.

Smoke and fire coming from the town of Mati, east of Athens, Monday, July 23, 2018. Burned-out cars were scattered outside gated compounds where three- and four-story buildings bore signs of fire damage.

"It's a hard night for Greece", Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said late Monday after cutting short a trip to Bosnia and returning to Athens.

Greece issued an urgent appeal for help to tackle fires that raged out of control in several places across the country, destroying homes and disrupting major transport links.

Cyprus has already confirmed it will send firefighters and equipment to Greece.

The inferno dominated front pages in the country on Tuesday, with headlines such as "killer fire" and "hell" and newspapers reporting fears the death toll would climb.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has declared a state of emergency, mobilizing firefighters and military to stop the fires. But, according to Reuters, Tsipras and other Greek officials "have expressed misgivings" that several fires broke out at once.

Greece has been known to have summer wildfires, the worst of which happened in 2007 when 670,000 acres of forest, olive groves and farmland were destroyed and dozens died; however, a particularly dry winter this past year has made conditions especially ripe for fires.
SOCPAC Conducts Airborne Exercises with Multinational Special Operations Forces during RIMPAC

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS180723-04

Release Date: 7/23/2018 9:48:00 AM

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Carlos Gomez

WAHIAWA, Hawaii (NNS) -- About 150 special operations forces members from seven countries flooded the skies during airborne operations in Wahiawa, July 17 and 19.

Special Operations Command Pacific (SOCPAC) conducted airborne operations with multinational Special Operations Forces (SOF) in support of the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise.

In the spirit of RIMPAC, U.S. Army Special Forces from the 1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (SFG) partnered with SOF units from the Republic of Korea (ROK), India, Indonesia, Peru, Philippines, Japan, and SOCPAC for two days of conducting and refining static-line and military free fall parachuting techniques. While the jumps help all units involved maintain proficiency in their training requirements, there is a deeper theme to these events.

"It's about building partnerships," said U.S. Army Capt. Matthew Song, assigned to the 1st SFG out of Okinawa, Japan. "In SOF, that person-to-person relationship plays out big in the end."

Song, the lead facilitator for SOF units during the airborne operations, understands the importance of bridging together different units from around the globe. This was the first time conducting an exercise of this scale and complexity, Song said, citing the many moving parts and countries involved.

"I've been in the military a long time and never had the chance to work with these nations," said Indian Navy Lt. Cmdr. "VB", assigned to the Indian Navy's Marine Commando Force. "RIMPAC is incredible as it brings us all together."

Aside from building rapport across nations, these events allow participants to learn from one another.

"These evolutions enable subject matter expert exchanges, key leader engagements, and familiarity between all countries involved," said U.S. Army Master Sgt. Juan C. Lopez, the primary jumpmaster for the exercise. Improving interoperability and fostering professional relationships are also important outcomes, he said.

"Interoperability in training together is extremely important as we learn new things," said ROK Navy Lt. "K", assigned to ROK's Naval Special Warfare Flotilla. "You never know when you'll need it in the future."

"All countries involved performed exceptionally," Lopez said. "From the combined jump master teams, to the paratroopers, and the support personnel, everyone worked as a cohesive unit to execute a complex operation that exceeded expectations."

Twenty-five nations, 46 ships, five submarines, and about 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 27 to Aug. 2 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world's largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security of the world's oceans. RIMPAC 2018 is the 26th exercise in the series that began in 1971.

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Chinese, Senegalese presidents pledge to create better future for ties

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 07:31, July 23, 2018

DAKAR, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and Senegalese President Macky Sall held talks here Saturday, vowing to create a better future for China-Senegal ties.

The two leaders spoke highly of the development of bilateral ties in recent years, and agreed to continue to make joint efforts and promote more fruitful results from cooperation in various fields.

Xi arrived here earlier on Saturday for the first state visit to Senegal by a Chinese head of state in nine years.

During the meeting with his host, the Chinese president thanked the government and people of Senegal for their warm hospitality and welcome, saying it fully demonstrated that China-Senegal friendship has gained broad support.

Recalling their joint decision to forge a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries in 2016, Xi said that thanks to joint efforts from both sides, China-Senegal relations have entered a fast track with growing political mutual trust and concrete economic and trade cooperation.

China is willing to join hands with Senegal to lift bilateral ties and cooperation to a higher level, so as to bring more benefits to both peoples, Xi said.

The Chinese president expressed appreciation to Sall for viewing their ties from a strategic perspective, positively responding to the Belt and Road Initiative and strongly supporting China-Africa cooperation.

The two sides should carry out closer high-level exchanges and support each other on issues concerning their core interests and major concern, said Xi.

Noting that the two countries should strengthen the alignment of development strategies and policy communication, Xi welcomed Senegal to be the first West African country to sign a Belt and Road cooperation document with China.

We hope to take this opportunity to comprehensively upgrade China-Senegal cooperation, he said.

China will continue to uphold the spirit of "teaching a man to fish," expand and deepen cooperation with Senegal, and enhance its ability in independent development, Xi said.

He called on the two countries to boost people-to-people exchanges and promote mutual understanding between the two peoples.

The two sides should enhance law enforcement and security cooperation, Xi said, adding that China supports Senegal in building capability in counter-terrorism, peacekeeping and safeguarding stability.

China supports Senegal in playing a greater role in global and regional affairs, and is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with Senegal in major international and regional issues such as peace and security in Africa, the United Nations and climate change, so as to protect the common interests of Africa and developing countries, said the Chinese president.

Noting that he attaches great importance to China-Africa ties, Xi said he feels strongly about the long-term friendship between China and Africa, and their common future in sharing weal and woe.

The two sides are sincere partners on their path of development and natural allies in international affairs, Xi said, adding that China's development will bring more opportunities to Africa, while Africa's development will add momentum to China's development.

China will continue to uphold its African policy and concept of sincerity, concrete results, affinity and good faith, uphold justice and pursue shared interests, promote the construction of a closer China-Africa community with a shared future, so as to realize win-win cooperation and common development, Xi said.

In September, we will hold a summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing, said Xi, adding that he is looking forward to meeting African leaders including President Sall in Beijing and discussing the important agenda on China-Africa cooperation.

For his part, Sall thanked President Xi for visiting Senegal in his first overseas trip since being re-elected as Chinese president, saying that it is Senegalese people's honor.

Hailing that China made significant contributions to humanity's progress in history, Sall said today's China is playing an even more important role in international affairs.

Senegal, Sall said, admires China's development achievements, appreciates China's precious support for Senegalese economic and social development and its implementation of revitalization plan.

The bilateral ties, based on solidarity, mutual trust, mutual respect, win-win and mutual benefit, are strong and satisfactory, said the Senegalese president.

Senegal firmly adheres to the one-China policy, is committed to deepening the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with China, stands ready to enhance cooperation in areas such as infrastructure construction, water conservation, industrialization, agricultural product processing, tourism, culture and sports, said Sall.

Senegal supports China's Belt and Road Initiative and stands ready to vigorously participate in connectivity construction, Sall said, adding that his country appreciates China's contribution in Africa's peace and development cause.

The FOCAC is a cooperative framework featuring inclusiveness, effectiveness and solidarity, established on the basis of practical cooperation, Sall said, vowing Senegal's full support in strengthening the FOCAC, deepening cooperation between China and Africa, and establishing the China-Africa community with a shared future.

Senegal is ready to strengthen communication and coordination with China in multilateral affairs, and work with China to build a more balanced, just and inclusive global governance system, safeguard multilateralism and oppose protectionism, Sall said.

After their talks, Xi received Senegal's top medal of honor from Sall, and the two leaders witnessed the signing of multiple cooperation documents, including the one on jointly building the Belt and Road.

Before the talks, the Senegalese president and people held a grand welcoming ceremony for Xi, with thousands of locals dressed in festive attire, cheering, singing and dancing.

Senegal's official guards of the presidency also put on a magnificent parade on the streets of Dakar escorting the Chinese president.

Senegal is the second stop in Xi's first overseas trip after being re-elected Chinese president in March. He has already visited the United Arab Emirates and will pay state visits to Rwanda and South Africa, attend the 10th BRICS summit in Johannesburg, and visit Mauritius during a stopover.

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Shabab claims killing 27 soldiers in southern Somalia

Iran Press TV

Mon Jul 23, 2018 06:06PM

Al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab militants have launched a deadly attack on a military base in southern Somalia, claiming to have killed at least 27 soldiers there.

Abdiasis Abu Musab, al-Shabab's military operations spokesman, said the fatalities took place on Monday after the militant group carried out a car bomb attack and raided the base in Baar Sanguni village, located some 50 kilometers away from the southern port city of Kismayo.

"We first attacked the base with a suicide car bomb and then stormed. We killed 27 soldiers and took the base. Some soldiers fled into the jungles," he said.

Somali military forces in Kismayo confirmed the attack and said reinforcements had been sent to the base following the explosion and heavy fighting.

There has been no immediate comment from the Somali government on the attack.

Somali government forces have been battling al-Shabab militants since 2006.

The Takfiri militant group controlled Mogadishu between 2007 and 2011. In 2011, it was driven out of the capital with help from African Union troops. A period of relative calm started in Mogadishu afterward.

Al-Shabab militants, however, still retain a significant presence, reportedly roaming freely and posing a threat in regions outside the capital where the central government has little control.

The group launches regular attacks on government, military and civilian targets.

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UN denounces use of violence to obstruct elections in Afghanistan

Iran Press TV

Mon Jul 23, 2018 05:43PM

The UN Security Council has unanimously slammed the use of violence by the Taliban militants and Daesh Takfiri terrorist group to disrupt the electoral process in Afghanistan.

"The Security Council stresses the importance of a secure environment for conducting elections, condemns in the strongest terms those who resort to violence to obstruct the electoral process, including the Taliban and ISlL (Daesh) affiliates," it said in a statement on Monday.

The world body also commended "the resiliency, progress, and exceptional courage displayed by the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces in their leading role in securing their country."

The UN body reaffirmed its strong commitment to Afghanistan's "sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national unity" and threw its weight behind "the Afghan electoral process as a fully Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process."

The statement came a day after nearly 23 people were killed and at least 14 others injured in a bombing carried out at the Kabul International Airport, where scores had gathered to welcome home Afghanistan's Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum, who had been in exile.

Kabul police spokesman, Hashmat Stanekzai, said the bomb attack hit near the airport's main entrance, where supporters were waiting to greet Dostum. He had left the airport in a motorcade only minutes before the explosion, which officials said appeared to have been caused by a bomber.

Daesh Takfiri terrorist group claimed responsibility for the deadly blast. The Daesh-affiliated Amaq news agency said the bomber detonated his suicide jacket at a gathering to receive the vice president.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA, said in a report on July 15 that the number of civilian deaths in Afghanistan's long-running conflict hit a record high of 1,692 fatalities in the first six months of 2018.

UNAMA added that the death toll was one percent higher than a year earlier and the highest since the group began keeping records in 2009. Militant attacks and bombings were reported as the leading causes of the deaths in the war-torn country.

The Security Council's statement also said that more than 8.9 million Afghans, including more than three million women, had registered to exercise their democratic right to vote at the upcoming parliamentary and district council elections on October 20 and in the next year's presidential elections.

It "underscores the importance of developing sustainable democratic institutions in Afghanistan based on inclusive, transparent and credible elections, and stresses the need to promote the full and safe participation of women as well as members of minority groups, including ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, both as voters and candidates."

Security has been a main deterrent to Afghanistan's ability to hold the parliamentary elections some three years after an original five-year mandate of the legislature ended in 2015.

The war-torn country has struggled to ensure security in registration centers as many still suspect Kabul could hold the elections on time.

The elections, viewed as a prelude to Afghanistan's 2019 presidential vote, come amid increased attacks by Taliban and other militant groups across the country. Militants have even warned civilians that they should stay away from key government-run positions, including polling stations.

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Eight killed as Boko Haram bomber detonates explosives at mosque in NE Nigeria

Iran Press TV

Mon Jul 23, 2018 01:55PM

At least eight Nigerian civilians have been killed after a bomber from the Boko Haram Takfiri terrorist group detonated his explosives at a mosque in the country's troubled northeast, a local militia and residents say.

Ibrahim Liman, from a civilian militia force assisting the military in the fight against Boko Haram, told AFP on Monday that the blast happened in the Mainari area of Konduga in Borno state. He added that the latest attack appears to have been carried out by a man in his early 20s.

"The male bomber walked into the mosque at about 5:15 a.m. (0415 GMT) while prayers were on and exploded, killing eight worshippers and injuring five others," Liman said, adding, "Seven of the victims died in the mosque while another died on the way to (the Borno state capital) Maiduguri."

Umar Goni, a Konduga resident, also said he was on his way to the mosque when the explosion occurred and he helped rescue victims.

"We pulled out seven dead bodies and six injured worshippers. One of the six injured died on the way to hospital," he said.

The bomber was disguised as a worshipper, Goni said, adding, "There was no way anybody could have known his mission."

Bombings against "soft" civilian targets such as mosques, markets and bus stations are the hallmark of Boko Haram. Many of the bombers used by the group are young women and girls.

In recent days, there have also been a number of attacks on military convoys and bases in Borno and neighboring Yobe state, with undisclosed casualties.

Last week, at least six traders lost their lives when a convoy of lorries under military escort were ambushed in Borno state near the border with Cameroon.

Earlier this month, Boko Haram Takfiri terrorists also overran a military base following a ferocious gun fight with Nigerian troops in Yobe state.

Since 2009, Boko Haram militancy has left at least 20,000 dead and made over 2.6 million others homeless.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, a former general, came to power in 2015 on a platform of stamping out Boko Haram.

However, despite losing swathes of territory to government forces, the group continues to stage attacks targeting both civilians and military targets.

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Trump calls Russia election meddling allegations a 'big hoax'

Iran Press TV

Mon Jul 23, 2018 05:27AM

US President Donald Trump has called the ongoing investigation into his alleged dealings with Russia during the 2016 US presidential election "a big hoax," saying it's his predecessor, Barack Obama, who needs to be probed for not taking action against Moscow.

Trump, who has been under fire for his performance during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, said Sunday that Obama was fully aware of the alleged Russian interference but did not take action because he thought Trump was never going to defeat his Democratic Party rival, Hillary Clinton.

Trump spent days trying to reassure Americans that he accepts that Moscow interfered in the 2016 US election after his public undermining of US intelligence agencies in Helsinki while standing alongside Putin. But Trump cast doubt once again in a Sunday tweet, diminishing at least the significance, if not the existence, of the interference and the US investigation into Russia's actions.

"So President Obama knew about Russia before the Election," Trump tweeted Sunday. "Why didn't he do something about it? Why didn't he tell our campaign? Because it is all a big hoax, that's why, and he thought Crooked Hillary was going to win!!!"

It was not immediately clear whether Trump was suggesting that the entire notion of alleged Russian meddling was fraudulent, or just the investigation of potential collusion by Trump associates with Russian agents.

Trump has accused the FBI and the Obama administration of spying on his campaign and deliberately ignoring the first sign of a possible Russian intervention.

His latest missive came shortly after the FBI released a redacted version of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant application, revealing that former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page had been the subject of "targeted recruitment" by Russia during the 2016 election that yielded President Trump.

The release also noted Page's "established relationships" with Russians.

Trump did not specify what he considered a hoax -- the ongoing investigation into his "collusion" with Russia which is led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, or the claim that Russia interfered with the election campaign through hacking attacks that US spy agencies say tipped the scale in his favor.

The tweet echoed comments the American head of state made in an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity that aired Monday, following the meeting with Putin in the Finnish capital of Helsinki.

"He [Obama] thought Hillary Clinton was going to win and he didn't want to do anything to disturb it," Trump said then. "And frankly, when I won, he said, 'This is the biggest deal.' But before I won, he said, 'This is nothing and it can't happen.' It's a very dishonest deal."

The comments once again highlighted Trump's difference of opinion with the US intelligence community, something he tried so hard to gloss over following an explosive joint press briefing with Putin.

Controversy arose during the media session when the US head of state appeared to side with Putin, undermining the US intelligence community over the allegations.

Trump briefly contradicted findings by his intelligence agencies and said he did not see any reason "why it would be" Russia behind the attacks. He walked back that statement on Tuesday, however, claiming he meant to say "wouldn't."

It only took Trump one day, however, to undermine his latest statement by answering "no" to a reporter's question asking whether Russia was still targeting the US.

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UN Condemns Use Of Violence To Disrupt Afghanistan Vote

July 23, 2018

The UN Security Council has unanimously condemned the use of violence by the Taliban and the Islamic State (IS) group to disrupt Afghanistan's elections.

The Council, in a statement issued a day after 23 people were killed in a suicide bombing in Kabul on July 22, said it "condemns in the strongest terms those who resort to violence to obstruct the electoral process, including the Taliban and ISlL (Da'esh) affiliates," it said, referring to IS by its alternate and Arabic acronyms.

It hailed the "exceptional courage displayed by the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces in their leading role in securing their country."

The July 22 bombing near the Kabul International Airport was claimed by the IS group. It followed the return from exile of Afghan Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan says the first half of 2018 was the deadliest yet with 1,700 civilians killed.

More than half of those victims were killed in attacks attributed to the IS.

Some 8.9 million Afghans, including more than three million women, are registered to vote in parliamentary and local elections on October 20 and presidential elections in 2019.

The Council statement highlighted "the importance of developing sustainable democratic institutions in Afghanistan based on inclusive, transparent and credible elections."

It also noted "the need to promote the full and safe participation of women as well as members of minority groups, including ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, both as voters and candidates."

Dostum, a powerful former warlord turned politician, narrowly escaped the attack as he returned home from Turkey.

Officials said he had left the airport in a motorcade only minutes before the blast struck at the entrance of the airport, where hundreds of his supporters had gathered to welcome him.

Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said the explosion was "caused by a suicide attacker on foot."

Dostum returned to Kabul after more than a year in self-imposed exile in Turkey amid claims that he had ordered his men to abduct, beat, and rape a political rival last year.

Dostum is a controversial figure who has been accused of serious human rights violations, including the deaths of hundreds of Taliban prisoners in 2001 in the custody of his militia forces.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Afghan Service, AP, and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/un-condemns-use-of-violence-to- disrupt-afghanistan-vote/29385407.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Trump Says He 'Gave Up Nothing' At Summit With Putin

RFE/RL July 23, 2018

U.S. President Donald Trump says he "gave up nothing" at a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, suggesting he made no concessions or agreements that might be detrimental to U.S. interests.

In a tweet on July 23, Trump also said he and Putin "got along very well, which is a good thing," and accused what he called the "Corrupt Media" of putting a negative spin on the summit.

Putin and other Russian officials have said that Trump and Putin reached several agreements at the July 16 summit in Helsinki, their first full-fledged meeting since Trump took office on January 2017.

U.S. officials have not described any substantial agreements and have given few details about talks at the summit, which included a one-on-one meeting with only interpreters present, leaving critics of Trump concerned that he may have made unwise deals.

"When you hear the Fake News talking negatively about my meeting with President Putin, and all that I gave up, remember, I gave up NOTHING, we merely talked about future benefits for both countries," Trump tweeted.

Earlier on July 23, Trump posted a tweet that seemed to contradict a recent statement in which he said he accepted the intelligence community's conclusion that Russia interfered in the election he won.

Trump wrote that his predecessor, Barack Obama, knew about allegations of Russian meddling before the November 2016 vote.

"Why didn't he tell our campaign? Because it is all a big hoax, that's why," Trump wrote.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders later said that Trump was referring to the issue of whether his campaign colluded with Russia, not to the alleged Russian meddling itself.

"Obviously the president is talking about the collusion with his campaign," Sanders said. "He's been very clear that there wasn't any. I think he's said it about 1,000 times."

In December 2016, between Trump's election and his inauguration, Obama said that he had told Putin in September 2016 "cut it out" in a reference to cyberattacks targeting the U.S. electoral process.

Obama said his administration sought to avoid politicizing the issue of Russian hacking from the White House due to concerns that such actions might be seen as a partisan attack.

Trump has repeatedly cast doubt on the findings of U.S. intelligence agencies that released a report in January 2017 saying they concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered a hacking-and-propaganda campaign targeting the election.

After he drew strong criticism from U.S. lawmakers and others after appearing to side with Putin on the issue at their summit on July 16, Trump said he accepts that the "intelligence community's conclusion that Russia's meddling in the 2016 election took place,"

However, he added: "It could be other people also. A lot of people out there," and Democrats in Congress dismissed the statement acknowledging Russia interfered in the election as political damage control.

U.S. Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating the alleged Russian meddling as well as any possible collusion by Trump's campaign.

Trump denies there was any collusion and has described Mueller's probe as a "witch hunt" intended to detract from his election victory.

Russia claims it did not interfere in the election.

Three days before the Trump-Putin summit in Helsinki, U.S. authorities charged 12 Russian military intelligence officers whom they accuse of direct involvement in the election-meddling efforts.

With reporting by AP and Politico

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/trump- again-suggests-russian-election- meddling-is-a-hoax-/29384802.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Pentagon Eyeing Lowering Transport Fees For Countries That Buy US Weapons

Sputnik News

23:53 23.07.2018(updated 01:41 24.07.2018)

The US Department of Defense is considering reducing the transportation fee placed on arms sales for foreign buyers in an attempt to lower overall costs to its military partners.

The move was unveiled by Lt. Gen. Charles Hooper, the head of the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), at the 2018 Farnborough International Airshow on Sunday.

"We're looking at reducing the transportation admin fee," Hooper told Defense News. "The last time we looked at it, the price of oil was relatively high. So we looked at that, and we're going to reduce that."

According to the publication, in line with the Pentagon's Foreign Military Sales program, the DSCA works as an intermediary, handling the procurement, logistics and delivery of products between US defense industry contractors and foreign governments. Foreign buyers are charged a transportation fee which is determined by the cost of oil and the item being sold.

While the final decision to lower fees depends on what the DSCA Comptroller's Office concludes, Hooper told the outlet he has "high confidence that we'll come back with a positive determination so we can lower that fee."

Hooper went on to note that the goal was ultimately to attract more buyers by lowering costs where the department can.

"We want to make our goods more competitive," he said. "We only want to [charge] the management fees that are absolutely necessary to provide a high, above-standard level of service to our partners. Not one penny more. And we want to offer the best equipment in the world at a fair price."

If the move is a success, this would be the second time that the DSCA has cut fees while headed by Hooper. The department previously cut a surcharge on foreign sales of American equipment from 3.5 percent to 3.2 percent in June.

Hooper's move comes after it was revealed that the Trump administration has sold more weapons in the last six months than it did in all of 2017. As Sputnik previously reported, Washington has agreed to sell $46.9 billion worth of weapons and military equipment in 2018 thus far.

Although Hooper previously indicated that the uptick was "good" for the US national security, foreign policy and economic security, not everyone is on the same page.

"These exports are bad for national security, bad foreign policy and bad for our economy," Greg Mello, executive director of the Los Alamos Study Group, told Sputnik. "They make the American economy hollow, its politics corrupted, and they often corrupt foreign governments as well, undermining sovereignty and democracy."

Rather than focusing on growing the US military industrial complex, Mello urged US officials to look at "investing in the country."

"We have upside down priorities. Ours [US defense spending] is rising, and it can't go on like this. Empires die from what they do to themselves from within,"he said.

In fiscal year 2017, the Pentagon sold some $41.9 billion worth of weaponry. In 2016, the amount totaled some $33.6 billion, according to Defense News.

 Sputnik

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Philippines to Defend Interest in S China Sea Despite Improved Ties With Beijing

Sputnik News

18:43 23.07.2018(updated 18:45 23.07.2018)

On July 23, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivered his third State of the Nation address, highlighting the country's "re-energized" relations with China, which have resulted in an "unprecedented level of cooperation" between the two nations.

In an hour-long speech, Duterte promised to defend the Philippines' interests in the South China Sea, where the country claims a group of islands and reefs, despite positive changes in the relations between Manila and Beijing.

"Our improved relationship with China does not mean we will waiver in our commitment to defend our interest in the West Philippine Sea," he said, at the same time noting that to this end, the country had "engaged China through bilateral and multilateral platforms, such as the ASEAN-China and the Philippines-China Bilateral Consultation Mechanism."

The Philippine president stressed that the two countries had managed to draw up a draft framework for a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, "which intends to resolve disputes by peaceful means."

China is currently in control of the vast majority of islands, reefs and shoals in the South China Sea, which are also claimed by a number of other nations in the region, including the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.

In 2016, a Hague-based arbitration tribunal ruled that there was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights over areas falling within the so-called "nine-dash line"  a vaguely located demarcation line used by China to lay its claims to the biggest part of the contested waters.

Beijing refused to recognize the verdict and insisted that the matter be resolved through negotiations, involving other claimants.

The ruling also came shortly after Duterte's inauguration, after which he decided to pursue rapprochement with China, at the same time loosening traditionally close ties with the US.

Recently published opinion polls showed that majority of the Philippines' population wanted the government to adopt a tougher approach in laying claims to the South China Sea.

According to Pulse Asia's survey, 73 percent of Filipinos wanted the authorities to assert the 2016 tribunal ruling, while another poll by Social Weather Stations suggested that some 80 percent of the population were dissatisfied with the government's handling of the maritime disputes with China.

 Sputnik

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According to the Seismological Center of the Geophysics Institute of Tehran University, the quake rocked Tazeh Abad to the west of Kermanshah at 14:45 local time.

There was no immediate word on casualties.

Eastern Iran was also struck by a separate 5.5 magnitude quake today, with residents of the city of Kerman expressing their shock on natural disaster tracking website EMSC-CSEM.

However, Seyed Mohammad Saberi, the head of the province's medical emergency centre, later said that 79 people have been taken to hospitals in Kerman following the strong quake.

Rescue teams have been sent to 26 affected villages, Saeedi added.

It said it was very shallow, at a depth of only 6.2 miles, which would have amplified its effect.

Kermanshah Province officials say the magnitude-5.9 quake in the western region injured 248 people and destroyed many houses, but left no one dead.

A magnitude 5.7 quake has struck Hormozgan Province in southern Iran, Iranian media reported.

Governor General of Kermanshah province Houshang Bazvand announced on Sunday afternoon that the quake injury toll hit 40 in Tazeh Abad city in Kermanshah province. "Reports indicate that some walls have collapsed, but extensive damage has not been reported", Salimi told the official news agency IRNA.

Iran is crisscrossed by major geological fault lines and has suffered several devastating earthquakes in recent years.
Israel Downs 2 Missiles From Syria Fired Amid Fight Between Gov't, Militants

Sputnik News

10:10 23.07.2018(updated 11:10 23.07.2018)

The news comes after reports on Sunday of Israeli aviation carrying out air strikes on targets near the western Syrian city of Masyaf in the province of Hama.

Israel's David's Sling aerial defense system has intercepted two rockets that triggered warning sirens in the country's north near the Syrian border. The Israeli Defense Forces have said that the missiles were fired from Syrian territory during a fight between the government's forces and the armed opposition in the south of Syria. The IDF added that no casualties had been reported following the interception.

This comes shortly after Israeli TV aired a video of what was said to be an aerial interception. After the initial report, the IDF sounded sirens in several locations in northern Israel.

The development comes after Syrian state media reported on Sunday that Israel had targeted military sites in an air raid to "cover up for the collapse of terrorist organizations in Daraa and Quneitra."

The tensions between the two countries have been running high recently. Last week, Syrian air defenses responded to an Israeli attack on the province of Quneitra in southwestern Syria after the IDF fired a Patriot anti-aircraft missile, shooting down a Syrian drone that had entered Israel's airspace.

The conflict escalated when on July 16 Syrian government forces said they had captured a strategic hill near the Golan Heights in a push to eliminate the remaining militants operating in the area. The news put Israeli forces on high alert.

Israel has recently intensified strikes in Syria, citing the alleged Iranian military presence in the Arab Republic as a pretext for its attacks. Tehran and Damascus have repeatedly denied the claims, insisting that only Iranian military advisors are present in the country in order to help the legitimate authorities fight terrorism.

 Sputnik

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Afghanistan: UN mission condemns deadly attack near Kabul airport

23 July 2018 - The United Nations mission in Afghanistan has condemned Sunday's terrorist attack outside Kabul's airport that reportedly killed and injured scores of civilians.

The suicide attack took place among a crowd gathered to greet First Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum, shortly after his convoy had departed the area.

According to news reports, the former civil war general returned to the capital, after living outside Afghanistan for more than a year.

"This was a senseless attack that served no purpose other than to spread terror and try to promote division," said Tadamichi Yamamoto, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for the country.

"The organizers of these attacks, those supporting these cynical crimes, must be held accountable and brought to justice," added Mr. Yamamoto, who heads the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

According to UNAMA's 2018 mid-year report on civilian casualties, suicide and complex attacks by anti-government insurgents killed 427 civilians and injured 986, a 22 per cent increase in the total causalities from the same period in 2017.

"At a time when Afghans are exploring ways toward much-needed peace, we must not allow such attacks to deter our collective resolve to make progress on ending the conflict," said Yamamoto, who is also head of UNAMA.

Last week, Afghanistan concluded the voter registration process for the upcoming parliamentary and district council elections on 20 October and for the 2019 presidential elections.

And on Monday, the Security Council adopted a presidential statement to support the electoral process in Afghanistan, noting that more than 8.9 million Afghans, including more than three million women, have registered to vote.

In the statement, the 15-member body also emphasized the need to address remaining challenges and to accelerate progress in electoral preparations.

The Council also stressed the importance of an enabling a secure environment for voting, and condemned "in the strongest terms those who resort to violence to obstruct the electoral process, including the Taliban and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da'esh) affiliates."

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UN human rights chief denounces grave 'assaults' on fundamental rights of Palestinian people

23 July 2018 - From arbitrary detentions and deliberate deprivation, to attacks against civilians and forced displacements, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, expressed "acute concerns" on Monday over the current human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Briefing the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, Zeid  who also heads the UN human rights office, OHCHR  expressed concern over the dramatic escalation of violence along the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel during the past few months, in which dozens of Palestinian civilians were killed.

"I remind all parties that any disproportionate or indiscriminate use of weapons which lead to the death and injury of civilians is prohibited by international humanitarian law", said High Commissioner Zeid, warning that this escalation could potentially threaten peace across a far broader region.

Though the United Nations and the Government of Egypt have made efforts to maintain a ceasefire between Israel and the militant group Hamas which controls Gaza, the situation remains extremely fragile, he said. "I urge the parties and all those with influence to do their utmost to avoid another round of violence and misery."

In his briefing, the Human Rights chief highlighted the dire conditions that Palestinians living in Gaza continue to endure. He regretted that these regular waves of violence "compound the already extreme humanitarian crisis", which he denounced as "entirely man-made and entirely preventable", including "skyrocketing unemployment and poverty, crumbling infrastructure, record food-dependency and a bleak political horizon".

The grave funding crisis currently faced by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA)  which plays a crucial role in providing protection, education and health services as well as employment to the refugee populations  is likely to further aggravate the situation, he said.

Regarding the recent "shocking killings" along the Gaza fence during the 'Great March of Return' demonstrations, he noted that the Human Rights Council resolved in May, to dispatch an independent, international Commission of Inquiry on the matter.

"It is essential that the authorities cooperate with the future Commission to advance accountability for these killings, as well as all alleged violations and abuses of international humanitarian law and international human rights law", Zeid said, adding that "although Israel has put in place a number of accountability mechanisms, there are serious concerns that these are not in compliance with the international standards of independence, impartiality, and effectiveness."

He said that it would also be "vital to address the root causes of the recent demonstrations", namely the "grossly inadequate living conditions" in Gaza.

In his statement, Zeid mentioned the adoption in July by Israel of the Nation-State Basic Law, stating that it "anchors inherent discrimination against non-Jewish communities, most notably the Arab citizens of Israel and residents of occupied East Jerusalem" and that it "could also further inflame tensions".

The UN Human Rights High Commissioner went on to highlight that the planning and construction of Israeli settlements continues "unabated" across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. "Since the beginning of 2018, settler attacks on Palestinians have spiked to the highest monthly average of the past three years," he added.

As for demolitions and forced displacement of Palestinian families in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, despite having slowed down after peaking in 2017, they continue to take place monthly, said Zeid, with 366 structures demolished in the West Bank alone  including 11 school structures  in the past year.

Other violations in breach of international law cited by the High Commissioner include increasing restrictions on movement; daily intimidation by soldiers at checkpoints; settler violence and harassment; forced transfer, and the continued existence of the separation wall.

The Human Rights chief highlighted also the plight of hundreds of Palestinian children detained by Israel, including some without charge, under the so-called "administrative detention" system. An estimated 440 Palestinians are being held currently.

"These assaults on fundamental rights dismantle trust in institutions; strip away the social structures which enable peaceful resolution of disputes; and create a tinderbox in which any flash of conflict may ignite severe and unpredictable consequences," he concluded.

On Monday, the UN Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories also denounced the deterioriating human rights situation for Palestinians, following their annual mission to Jordan.

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South Sudan Criticizes White House Statement

By Waakhe Simon Wudu July 23, 2018

The South Sudan government on Monday criticized a White House statement that condemned South Sudan's move to extend the government's mandate by another three years and demanded the country's leaders be sincere as they negotiate a peace agreement.

In a statement released Sunday by White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the U.S. called on South Sudanese leaders to commit to negotiations that include civil society, church, women and other groups that have been excluded. The statement said a "narrow agreement between elites" will only "sow the seeds of another cycle of conflict."

The White House statement said President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar have not shown the leadership required to bring "genuine peace" to the country, and that the U.S. "would not be a guarantor, a funder or an advocate for additional U.N. resources to support the transitional government if the leaders do not show a commitment to peace, good governance and financial accountability."

Sanders also warned in her statement that additional sanctions are on the table for persons "engaged in corrupt activity" or for those who threaten the country's peace.

The South Sudan government Monday criticized the White House statement, saying it is the kind rebuke that should never be directed to a U.S. ally like South Sudan.

In an exclusive interview with "South Sudan In Focus," South Sudan Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Mawien Makol described the statement as unhelpful and harsh.

"We need the language which is supporting this kind of commitment and I think this is what the U.S. should be doing, urging us to really continue to doing what we are really doing, but it will not derail us from our commitment," Makol said.

Makol strongly denied that South Sudan's negotiators meeting in Khartoum, Sudan, were preparing to sign a peace-sharing agreement that is not inclusive.

"They have to come in here with details about the lack of commitment they are talking about, because we are seeing these men are sitting together, laughing together and demonstrating that they can work together, so what else can you say about this kind of commitment?" Makol told South Sudan in Focus.

Makol said the Kiir administration is well aware of the suffering the conflict has caused on innocent civilians and will work with the rebels and other opposition groups to restore peace and stability.

But he said the White House statement has tarnished the image of his government.

"It shows to the world that the government is not committed, when you are committed to do something then somebody comes and say that if you don't do it then you will face this and that. That doesn't help in the diplomatic arena," Makol told VOA.

Violence broke out in South Sudan in late 2013 amid a political power struggle between President Kiir and Machar, who fled the country in 2015 when a fresh wave of fighting erupted in the capital Juba between government forces and Machar's bodyguards.

Last week, the U.S. pushed for and received a U.N. Security Council arms embargo. Juba condemned the resolution authorizing the embargo.

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12 Killed as al-Shabab Attacks Somali Military Base

By Harun Maruf July 23, 2018

At least 12 people were killed early Monday when al-Shabab militants carried out a raid on a Somali military base in the Lower Juba region.

Officials told VOA Somali the attack targeted the Sanguni camp, located about 50 kilometers north of the port town of Kismayo.

Mukhtar Abdi Mohamed, a unit commander with Somali forces in Sanguni, says troops identified two car bombs and detonated them before the vehicles could reach the base.

Mohamed said 80 to 100 militants attacked the base from the north, sparking a fierce firefight. Somali officials say four soldiers and at least eight militants were killed, including the drivers of the two vehicles.

"We had the information about the attack," Mohamed said.

"If we didn't have prior information, we would not have been able to destroy the vehicles before they entered the camp," he added.

Al-Shabab said it had "overrun" the camp and killed 27 government soldiers.

Mohamed dismissed the al-Shabab report, calling it a "baseless claim intended to attract media attention."

Sanguni is the same camp where an American soldier was killed in June when al-Shabab fired mortars at the base. It's not clear if any U.S. advisers were at Sanguni at the time of Monday's attack.

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Trump Defends Putin Summit as Poll Shows High Disapproval

By Jim Malone July 23, 2018

President Donald Trump continues to defend his recent summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump said Monday on Twitter that he made no concessions to Putin in their meeting last week.

The president's performance got a negative review in the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll, which found that 50 percent of Americans disapproved of his handling of the summit, compared to 33 percent who approved.

Trump has been on the defensive over the summit since returning from Helsinki, especially during a key moment when he was asked about Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election as Putin stood beside him.

"My people came to me, [Director of National Intelligence] Dan Coats came to me and some others; they said they think it's Russia," Trump said at his joint news conference with Putin. "I have President Putin; he just said it's not Russia."

'Gave up nothing'

In offering his defense on Twitter, Trump wrote that he "gave up nothing" in his meeting with Putin and talked about "future benefits for both countries."

Trump also renewed his attacks on the Russia probe in a tweet Sunday, describing it "as a big hoax."

In recent days, both Democrats and Republicans have criticized Trump's Helsinki performance.

"President Trump obviously seemed frightened in the presence of Putin," said House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California. "What was he afraid of? What is President Putin blackmailing President Trump with?"

A larger than normal chorus of Republicans also expressed dismay about the Putin meeting - including one of Trump's few regular Republican critics, Arizona Senator Jeff Flake.

"We have indulged myths and fabrications and pretended that it wasn't so bad, and our indulgence got us the capitulation in Helsinki," Flake said in a speech on the Senate floor.

Trump defenders spoke up as well, including 2016 Republican rival and Texas Senator Ted Cruz.

"I think we are also seeing a lot of folks on the political left trying to take advantage of it, hyperventilating and using extreme rhetoric, using words like treason, which is ridiculous," Cruz told reporters. "It was a mistake. He shouldn't have said what he said."

Tougher stance

After several days of criticism, Trump issued a stronger statement on the threat of Russian interference in this year's midterm congressional elections.

"Unlike previous administrations, my administration has and will continue to move aggressively to repeal any efforts and repel. We will repel it. Any efforts to interfere in our elections," Trump told his Cabinet last week.

Trump's summit drew strong reactions from voters around the country as well.

"Putin is almost like an evil genius in a way. He is very manipulative and he knows what he is doing and I think Trump really got played," said one Trump critic interviewed by VOA's Russian Service in New York City.

Trump supporters were quick to jump to his defense. "I think it all boils down to, point blank, a sore loser. And they are just grasping at straws," said a woman, interviewed by Associated Press Television, outside a coffee shop in Mississippi.

Lasting damage?

Analysts continue to debate whether Trump has hurt himself politically.

"I think it is lasting political damage, but more importantly, it is lasting damage to his presidency," said Elaine Kamarck, a political expert with the Brookings Institution in Washington. "It raises very, very serious questions about either his competence or his integrity, and neither one is something you want to question in a president."

Kamarck argued the summit could have an impact on both Trump critics and supporters. "There are people who have been suspicious of the president from the beginning who are outraged at his behavior with Russia," she said. "And there are people who have wanted to believe him and are for him, and many of them are mystified."

Given Trump's loyal political base, will many of them be swayed? John Fortier of the Bipartisan Policy Center is not so sure.

"The average Republican voter is with Donald Trump," he said. "The elites of the Republican Party are very split on him, but the average Republican voter believes in him."

In addition to the recent Washington Post-ABC News poll, a survey by CBS News found only 29 percent approved of Trump's handling of the summit, while 56 percent disapproved. Among Republicans in the CBS survey, 68 percent approved compared to only 21 percent who disapproved.

In the latest Wall Street Journal-NBC News poll, 45 percent of those surveyed felt Trump's relationship with Putin was "too friendly," while 29 percent disagreed and 26 percent had no opinion.

So it remains an open question as to whether the summit will actually move voters in one direction or another, or simply be added to the long list of issues for them to sift through before midterm congressional elections in November.

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Zimbabwe Election Body Promises Secret Ballot

By Sebastian Mhofu July 23, 2018

Zimbabwe's electoral commission said Monday that all votes cast during the July 30 general election will count and be secret. Past elections in Zimbabwe have been marred by accusations of rigging to favor the ruling ZANU-PF party.

The deputy chair of the commission, Emmanuel Magade, spoke to journalists, diplomats and observers Monday as part of a credibility-building exercise.

"My assurance to this audience is that the secrecy of the vote will not be compromised. My own personal opinion is that the question of the secrecy of the vote is non-negotiable. That is the assurance that I am giving to the international community and that is the assurance that I am giving to the good people of Zimbabwe," Magade said.

The promise came as the main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change Alliance (MDC), said it would launch mass demonstrations Tuesday, should the commission fail to meet MDC demands to ensure that every vote counts.

The MDC says the electoral body is trying to rig the vote in favor of the ruling ZANU-PF party, just as it allegedly did for the party during the rule of former president Robert Mugabe.

MDC and commission officials are expected to meet to discuss the presidential ballot, which the opposition says was designed by the electoral panel to give an unfair advantage to President Emmanuel Mnangagwa.

The MDC is also seeking the nullification of votes by some police officers who were forced to cast ballots in front of their superiors.

The opposition has already approached Zimbabwe's Electoral Court with urgent applications over the same issue and to order the elections body to release the actual voter rolls to be used in the elections. The opposition says it wants to check for voter fraud, which it said occurred under Mugabe's 37-year rule. He was forced to resign last November.

Mnangagwa, who succeeded Mugabe, maintained last week that the election would be free, fair, credible and transparent. He challenged the opposition to approach the courts if it doubted the electoral commission's professionalism.

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US trade threats, intimidation will never work on China: Spokesman

Iran Press TV

Mon Jul 23, 2018 02:53PM

Amid an intensifying trade war between China and the United States, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs says the US intimidation and threats "will never work" on Beijing, calling on Washington to maintain a rational attitude in dealing with related issues.

"Firstly, China is not easily scared or intimidated. China has the ability and confidence to safeguard its people's interests. Secondly, we advise the US side to remain calm and maintain a rational attitude in dealing with related issues," China's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Geng Shuang said at a regular news conference in Beijing on Monday.

In an interview with the business channel CNBC on Friday, US President Donald Trump expressed readiness to step up his trade war with China by imposing tariffs on all $500 billion of imports from the world's second largest economy.

Trump added that he was "ready" and willing to slap tariffs on every single Chinese item imported into the US should the need arose.

In early July, Washington imposed 25-percent duties on $34 billion of imports from China as a first step in a possible series of increases that Trump says could affect up to $550 billion of Chinese goods.

China, for its part, announced that its retaliatory tariffs had taken effect on $34 billion of US goods that included soybeans, pork and electric vehicles.

The US administration recently announced that it would impose 10-percent tariffs on an extra $200 billion worth of Chinese goods after China retaliated.

Beijing, in response, blasted American unilateralism and filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against the new US-proposed tariffs.

China also warned the US that it would have no choice but to take "necessary countermeasures" against Washington.

Elsewhere in the presser, the Chinese spokesperson said his country does not need to use competitive devaluation of its currency to aid its exports, stressing, "China's position on this issue has been consistent."

He pointed to the "healthy" performance of the Chinese economy, saying it can offer "ample support for the value" of the country's currency.

The spokesman urged Washington to "handle and resolve the problem in a reasonable manner."

In a pair of tweets on July 21, Trump accused the European Union and China of "manipulating their currencies."

In another tweet, Trump said that the US "should not be penalized because" it is doing so well.

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'Belts Tightened': With Sanction Relief Hopes Waning, North Korea Warns Populace

Sputnik News

23:39 23.07.2018

North Korean state media has renewed warnings to the population that belt-tightening might be in the near future, fanning fears that denuclearization talks with the US, stalled since mid-June, might never actually lead to the repeal of economic sanctions against the East Asian country.

The official newspaper of the Korean Workers Party, Rodong Sinmun, wrote recently that a new "arduous march" may be in store for the Korean people, but pledged government determination to soldier through the tribulations, Yonhap News Agency reported July 23.

"Even if [we] have to travel a long distance through snowstorms with our belts tightened, we will go straight to the people's road which was proved as immortal in the process of the 70-years-long struggle and to the road of socialism," the paper wrote.

The relaxation of economic sanctions preventing much key resource trade with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was a major point of negotiation between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump at their summit in Singapore June 12. The essence of the agreement they came to was that Trump would lower restrictions on exports to North Korea once Pyongyang had taken key steps to end its nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programs.

Concrete progress has not been made on any of the points agreed upon at the Singapore summit, aside from North Korea's supposed destruction of sites associated with its missile and nuke programs. An effort to bring home remains of US soldiers from the Korean War  another of the Singapore agreements  stalled when US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo failed to meet with Kim during a visit in early July. Kim instead opted to visit a potato farm near the Chinese border.

Yonhap also reported that in recent weeks, Kim has stepped up his calls for self-reliance and strongly chastised party and government officials for their handling of economic affairs while visiting industrial and agricultural sites.

Economic sanctions by the United Nations have been in place since 2006, when the DPRK tested its first nuclear weapon, and the US has attempted to orchestrate further sanctions against the country designed to strangle it economically by denying it fuel and food as well as foreign currency from exports. The US itself has refused to trade with the DPRK since 1950, when the Korean War began.

Nonetheless, CNBC reported in 2017 that 2016 had been the North Korean economy's strongest year since 1990, with a gross national product increase of 3.9 percent.

The North Korean state's governing principle for the last half-century has been self-reliance ('Juche' in Korean). The North Korean obsession with autarky stems in large part from it having been caught in the middle of the quarrel between its two erstwhile-allies, the Soviet Union and People's Republic of China.

The three states had once formed a close relationship, with both the DPRK and the USSR coming to the aid of the Chinese communists during their civil war, which they won in 1949, and the Chinese and Soviets in turn coming to the North Koreans' aid when US and allied forces threatened to overrun the country during the Korean War.

When the rivalry between China and the USSR grew in the early 1960s, the DPRK stepped away from choosing sides, and leader Kim Il Sung began to emphasize the importance of Korean socialist construction not being dependent on another country. Through the split between China and the USSR, North Korea retained ties with both sides, especially receiving food from them, since only about one-fifth of the mountainous country is actually cultivable, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Still, before 1976, the North had the higher GNP of the two Koreas, according to the CIA World Factbook, only losing ground due to its turn toward self-reliance and because of heavy foreign investment in the South's economy.

Despite Juche, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the turn toward a market economy by China in the 1980s and 1990s were catastrophic for all their allies, but none more so than the DPRK. North Korea was beset with disaster after disaster, gutting the government's ability to mitigate the effects of the loss of their primary benefactors.

The period from 1994 to 1998 is known in North Korean history as The Arduous March, a time when famine swept the country following unparalleled flooding and drought, with which the already-strained economy could not bear. A US Census Bureau estimate in 2011 said that out of a population of 22 million, between 500,000 to 600,000 people died of starvation between 1993 and 2000 in the DPRK, and malnutrition affected millions more.

 Sputnik

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Advisory Released on Sanctions Risks for Businesses With Supply Chain Links to North Korea

Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

July 23, 2018

The U.S. Department of State, with the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, is issuing this advisory to highlight the sanctions evasion tactics used by North Korea that could expose businesses  including manufacturers, buyers, and service providers  to sanctions compliance risks under U.S. or United Nations sanctions authorities. This advisory also assists businesses in complying with the requirements under Title III, the Korean Interdiction and Modernization of Sanctions Act of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

This advisory does not impose new sanctions on North Korea. The United States remains committed to the Joint Statement that President Trump and Chairman Kim signed June 12 in Singapore. As the President has said, sanctions will be enforced and remain in effect. The international community cannot let up on pressure until the DPRK denuclearizes.

Multiple U.S. and UN sanctions impose restrictions on trade with North Korea and the use of North Korean labor, potentially impacting a company's supply chain operations. The two primary sanctions compliance risks are: (1) inadvertent sourcing of goods, services, or technology from North Korea, and (2) the presence of North Korean citizens or nationals in those supply chains, whose labor generates revenue for the North Korean government. This advisory also provides due diligence references for businesses.

Businesses should be aware of these deceptive practices in order to implement effective due diligence policies, procedures, and internal controls to ensure compliance with applicable legal requirements across their entire supply chain.

The advisory will be published in English, Chinese, French, Korean, Russian, and Spanish.



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Prime Minister Tsipras declared a state of emergency in Attica, saying all emergency services had been mobilised.

Some parts of Mati were still smouldering in white smoke early on Tuesday. Reuters reported that 696 people were picked up from beaches and 19 from the sea. More than 170 people were treated in hospitals for injuries including burns. Evangelos Bournous, the mayor of the seaside town of Rafina, told reporters that he had personally seen many homes go up in flames. He added that more than a thousand buildings and 300 cars had been damaged.

Most of the victims were trapped in the village 40km (25 miles) north-east of Athens, and died either in their homes or their cars.

According to Maliri, 82 people remained in the hospital on Tuesday night, including 10 adults needing respiratory assistance and nearly a dozen children.

There was no official figure on how many people were evacuated overall.

At least six people died trying to escape the flames into the sea.

At least 715 people have been evacuated, mainly from the Mati area, Greek government spokesman, Dimitris Tzanakopoulos, said.

Red Cross spokeswoman Georgia Trisbioti said: 'People are shocked, lost.

Rescue workers said the victims included children.

Tsipras cut short his visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina and returned to Athens.

"Today, Greece is mourning and we are declaring three days of national mourning in the memory of those who perished".

The first major fire broke out in a pine forest near the seaside settlement of Kineta 30 miles west of Athens between the capital and Corinth.

The Greek government has asked the European Union for help fighting the fires. "Israel is at the disposal of Greece if it becomes necessary", Israel's foreign ministry said in a statement Tuesday.

A woman reacts as she tries to find her dog, following a wildfire at the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece July 24, 2018.

Nine coastal patrol boats, two military vessels and "dozens of private boats" assisted by army helicopters were mobilized to help those stuck in the harbour in Rafina, one of the worst affected areas close to Mati.

"I am really concerned by the parallel outbreak of these fires", he said, with officials raising the possibility they could have been started deliberately by criminals out to ransack abandoned homes.

At least four of the fires had not been brought under control, MSB said, and weather conditions were unfavourable.

Supreme court prosecutors announced they had opened an investigation into the causes of the fire.

A view of smoldering fire and a burnt house (background) in Argyra Akti, Mati, close to Nea Makri, in Attica, Greece, July 24, 2018. Blazes in 2007 on the southern island of Evia claimed 77 lives.

Forest fires are common during Greece's hot, dry summers and temperatures recently reached up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).

Dozens of wildfires have hit countries across northern Europe and Greece as a heatwave continues to hold across much of the continent. It has counted more than 20 fires across the country.

In Finland's northernmost Lapland province, fires have ravaged woods and grassland close to the border with Russian Federation.

Fueled by 80 kph winds that frequently changed direction, the fires one to the west of Athens near the town of Kineta and another to the northeast near the port of Rafina spread at speeds that surprised many, trapping hundreds on beaches and cutting off escape routes.

Fire officials said several fires seemed to erupt at once in the area outside the capital of Athens, where temperatures had been in the 90s for days.

Thick clouds of smoke have billowed across the Athens skyline as fire crews work desperately to extinguish the raging inferno that has swallowed large sections of forest.

Fires have also hit Latvia, which is receiving assistance from the European satellite Copernicus, the commission said.
Trump 'Very Happy' with North Korea Nuclear Weapons Talks

By Ken Bredemeier July 23, 2018

U.S. President Donald Trump declared Monday that he is "very happy" with the pace of ongoing negotiations with North Korea to end Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program, rebuffing news accounts to the contrary.

"A Rocket has not been launched by North Korea in 9 months. Likewise, no Nuclear Tests. Japan is happy, all of Asia is happy," Trump said on Twitter. "But the Fake News is saying, without ever asking me (always anonymous sources), that I am angry because it is not going fast enough. Wrong, very happy!"

A day after his Singapore summit last month with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un calling for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, Trump said in a tweet, "There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea."

But their agreement contained no details about when or how North Korea would abandon its nuclear weapons program or shut down its existing nuclear facilities. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met in Pyongyang recently with North Korean officials to try advance discussions, but there appeared to be little progress. Some diplomats say the North Koreans have canceled meetings and failed to maintain basic communications with the U.S.

As he did Monday, Trump has publicly professed satisfaction at the pace of negotiations with North Korea, saying last week there was "no rush" in completing talks with Pyongyang because U.S. and United Nations economic sanctions against North Korea remain in place.

On Monday, the U.S. State, Treasury and Homeland Security departments said, "The international community cannot let up on pressure" until North Korea ends its nuclear weapons program.

Trump said last week that U.S. relations with North Korea "are very good and the process is moving along." He said that with eventual denuclearization, there would be "big benefits and exciting future for North Korea at end of process!"

But several news outlets have reported in recent days that behind the scenes at the White House Trump has voiced his displeasure to aides at the pace of talks in pushing North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program.

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Indian PM Likely to Face Privilege Motion for Not Revealing Rafale Deal Cost

Sputnik News

17:42 23.07.2018(updated 17:43 23.07.2018)

While India's Narendra Modi-led government has time and again invoked a "secrecy clause" for not revealing the actual price at which the country is purchasing 36 Rafale fighter jets from France, the main opposition Congress Party has claimed no such clause exists in the India-France contract.

New Delhi (Sputnik): India's opposition parties have threatened to move a Breach of Privilege Motion in Parliament against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for "misleading the Parliament" about a "secrecy clause" in the Indo-French defense agreement pertaining to the acquisition of 36 Rafale fighter jets.

"There is nothing in the defense agreement that does not allow the government to reveal the priceAfter the 2008 Indo-French agreement, I had revealed in Parliament prices of many defense contracts, including the most sensitive ones such as Admiral Gorshkov, Vikramaditya, and Sukhoi. Significantly, I revealed the price of the Mirage up-gradation. And Mirage is a French aircraft," A.K. Antony, former defense minister and member of the Congress Party, said in a press briefing on Monday.

"They [Modi government] have to reveal the price details of the Rafale aircraft. The more they try to hide it, the more suspicion will rise," Antony added.

"The defense minister and the prime minister breached privilege of Parliament in a brazen manner," Anand Sharma, another senior parliamentarian said.

Congress claims that the price of each Rafale jet negotiated under the erstwhile government led by Manmohan Singh was INR 526 crore ($79.065 million, approx.) which has gone up to INR 1670 crore ($251.024 million approx.) under the present deal struck with France by the Modi government.

Last week, Congress President Rahul Gandhi had made a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speech during the no-confidence motion debate in the parliament. The Modi government countered Gandhi, accusing him of spreading falsehood and being disrespectful of international pacts.

Meanwhile, unscathed by the controversy, Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has reaffirmed that the deal is on track and that the delivery of Rafale fighter jets will start in September 2019. In a written reply in parliament, the minister said that the delivery of the 36 fighter jets will be completed by April 2022.

As enumerated in the Indian constitution, if any individual or authority violates or disregards any of the privileges, powers and immunities of the Houses of Parliament or members or committees thereof, that individual may be punished for "breach of privilege" or "contempt of the House." The House has the power to determine what constitutes a breach of privilege and contempt.

A person found guilty of breach of privilege or contempt of the House may be punished either by imprisonment, or by admonition (warning) or reprimand. Two other punishments may also be awarded to the members for contempt, namely, "suspension" and "expulsion" from the House.

 Sputnik

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Maldives Extends Stay of Indian Helicopters and Crew Until December

Sputnik News

16:20 23.07.2018(updated 17:44 23.07.2018)

The two advanced Dhruv choppers were gifted to the Maldives by India along with a 48-member crew for operation and maintenance. However, with relations between the two countries having deteriorated in the recent past, Male had asked New Delhi to take them back.

New Delhi (Sputnik): The Maldives has extended the deadline it had given to India for rolling back two gifted military helicopters along with the 48-member crew. The earlier deadline expired on June 30, following which India had sought an extension.

Diplomatic sources told Sputnik that both countries have agreed to allow the choppers to remain in the archipelago at least till December.

"Both the countries have reached a consensus that Male will continue to use the two helicopters along with the 48-member crew till December," a government official who did not want to be named told Sputnik.

48 members of the Indian Navy, Coast Guard and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. will also stay there, as the Maldives has agreed to extend their visas till December. The officials have been deployed in the Maldives to do maintenance work and operate of the helicopters.

Last week, Sputnik reported that India had some serious concern over the rollback of the helicopters, as the weather in the Indian Ocean remains very rough till October, which would not be very safe to fly the helicopters.

One of the two helicopters is stationed on the Maldives' southernmost island, Addu, and the second one on Laamu, on the northern tip of the island. The aerial distance between Addu and the nearest airfield on the southern Indian coast is around 1000 miles, which is more than the flight range of the helicopters. The helicopters will have to be transported by ship to the Indian mainland, which India avoids doing in rough weather conditions.

The Indian government has remained tight-lipped about the rollback of the two choppers. Nirmala Sitharaman, India's minister of defense, refused to talk about it during a recent press conference, saying the matter was still under discussion.

India-Maldives relations have been tense since February, when the president of the Maldives declared a state of emergency, which was condemned by India. India has recently also voiced its concern about the sentencing of former Maldives President Abdul Gayoom and Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed, calling it "denial of a free trial."

 Sputnik

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Trump reacts to remarks by Iran president

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, July 23, IRNA -- US President Donald Trump, in a new tweet on Monday, reacted to recent remarks by the Iranian president Hassan Rouhani who had warned Washington against taking a hostile approach towards Iran.

President Trump chose capital letters to convey his message, something which well demonstrated his fury at what President Rouhani said on Sunday in a reference to the US hostile approach towards Iran: 'Do not play with fire.'

'NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE,' Trump tweeted, using a similar literature that was used earlier by the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

'Never threaten an Iranian,' Zarif once said during talks with the parties to the Iran nuclear deal, which was trended on Twitter under a hash tag.

Trump went on to use the bullying words and the rhetoric he uses especially in his early-morning tweets, to again threaten Iran.

'WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!,' Trump wrote in capital letters.

The Iranian president on Sunday, addressing a meeting attended by Iran's representatives in foreign countries, said that the US last resort is aimed at exhausting Iranian people.

'Iranian people are the master and they will never bow to anyone,' President Rouhani said.

He said that the Americans should come to realize that establishing peace with Iran is the mother of all peace and waging war with the country is mother of all wars.

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No one powerful enough to economically isolate Iran: Army official

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, July 23, IRNA -- Iran keeps relying on its indigenous capabilities and Economy of Resistance policy, and no one is capable to isolate the country economically, army deputy commander in coordination affairs said here on Monday.

Self-sufficiency in producing all military weapons inside the country has led to save foreign exchange, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari told Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) on the sidelines of his visit to an exhibition in this Iranian capital.

Commenting on the US measures to isolate Iran economically, Sayyari said the country's Armed Forces play a main role in providing necessary supports for economy.

Economy will not prosper as long as there is no security in the country, the army official added reiterating that Iran's armed forces would do all within their reach to help the government resist against sanctions and economic restrictions.

The US administration has been trying to force Asian and African states to decrease their oil imports from Iran to put more pressure on Tehran. This is while some countries including India, Japan and Turkey have so far resisted against US will.

The US mounted its anti-Iran measures shortly after Washington's unilateral withdrawal from the Iran Deal formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) which ended over a decade of nuclear dispute between Iran and Western countries.

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Iran slams Pompeo's groundless, hypocritical statements

ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency

Mon / 23 July 2018 / 15:53

Tehran (ISNA) - Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi has condemned the baseless and unfounded remarks made by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo among a group of Iranian-American citizens living in California.

In a statement on Monday, Qassemi said the hypocritical and cheap remarks made by the US Secretary of State in this gathering were merely part of an instrumental and propagandistic act.

"These statements more than ever reveal the utter helplessness of the US government after its illegal withdrawal from the nuclear deal and its failure to achieve the goals of this unwise and one-sided move which made Washington globally isolated," noted Qassemi.

"Such words are precisely in line with the US' long-term policy of destabilising the region, which is a violation of its international obligations."

He further slammed Washington's dishonesty, hypocrisy, and countless contradictions in imposing the cruellest illegal sanctions against the interests of the Iranian people.

On the one hand, he said, Washington calls the Iranians terrorists and puts the name of Iran on the list of countries whose citizens are subject to restrictions and a ban on entry into the United States, and on the other hand, it makes fraudulent claims and plays the false and hypocritical role of friendship for the people of Iran.

Qassemi pointed to the long history of costly interventions by the US administrations in Irans internal affairs, saying that all Iranians interested in the grandeur of their land and their glorious Iranian identity would never forget the 1953 coup detat that led to the overthrow of the popular and legal government of Iran.

"Nonstop support for criminal terrorists and separatist groups, support for Saddam Hussein in his eight-year war against the great nation of Iran, the shoot-down of Irans passenger aircraft over Persian Gulf waters and dozens of other anti-Iran behaviours will not be forgotten."

This Iranian spokesman stated that there is a paradox between the speeches, deeds and the overt and covert behaviours of the current US administration. "They are dishonest not only with the people of Iran, but also with their own people."

"Throughout history, Iranians have never accepted any foreign domination and bullying policies. Certainly, in such sensitive situation, Iran will not pay heed to the policies of the current president and warmongering minority in the US. [These people] are not committed to any of the ethical, human, legal, and international norms; their speeches and behaviours are devoid of any authenticity; and they are not trustworthy as many of their own friends and allies admit."

Qassemi underlined that Iranians, without a doubt, are expected to respond to such interventionist remarks and measures by American officials and politicians with unity and integrity.

"The words of the US secretary of State, and especially his last night remarks, show that he is still deprived of the required knowledge and understanding of the past and present of Iranians," he noted.

Before making any assessment and judgment about other nations and societies in the world, the American officials need to have enough knowledge, reasoning and a deep understanding of the realities of these societies, he went on to say.

"Undoubtedly, the brave people of Iran will foil all plots hatched against their country with the maturity achieved from their past experiences and countless ups and downs throughout the country's history, inspired by their cultural teachings and intrinsic talent," concluded Qassemi.

End Item

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We've been around for millennia, BE CAUTIOUS! Zarif warns Trump

Iran Press TV

Mon Jul 23, 2018 07:49PM

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warns US President Donald Trump to be cautious after he threatened the Islamic Republic with incredible hardships in a Tweet.

"COLOR US UNIMPRESSED: The world heard even harsher bluster a few months ago. And Iranians have heard them albeit more civilized onesfor 40 yrs. We've been around for millennia & seen fall of empires, including our own, which lasted more than the life of some countries. BE CAUTIOUS! ," Tweeted Zarif on Monday.

Late on Sunday, Trump threatened Iran with what "few throughout history have suffered before."

"NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE," Trump wrote. "WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!"

Earlier on Sunday, President Hassan Rouhani of Iran said the United States should know that peace with Iran will be the mother of all peace while war with the country will be the mother of all wars.

"The Americans should learn well that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace and war with Iran is the mother of all wars," President Rouhani said in a series of sharp remarks aimed at the US.

Under the administration of President Donald Trump, the US has taken an increasingly hostile approach toward Iran.

On May 8, Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from a 2015 multilateral nuclear deal with Iran over the objections of Europe as well as Russia and China  the other parties to the deal, which is officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The withdrawal entailed not only the re-imposition of sanctions on Iran but also the so-called secondary sanctions on third countries. Some of those sanctions will take effect after a 90-day wind-down period ending on August 6, and the rest after a 180-day wind-down period ending on November 4.

Most recently, the Trump White House has announced that it seeks to supposedly bring Iran's oil sales down to "zero."

Iranian officials have said the US measures equal an "economic war" on Iran.

On Saturday, Zarif said the Islamic Republic has managed to thwart the Iranophobia plot hatched by Israel and the US through relying on the guidelines of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

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Iran opens missile production line, rejects Trump's threat

Iran Press TV

Mon Jul 23, 2018 10:31AM

The head of Iranian volunteer Basij forces says the United States is not in a position to threaten Iran, dismissing President Donald Trump's pugnacious Tweeter message addressed to President Hassan Rouhani as "psychological warfare."

"Trump's statements against Iran are psychological warfare. He is not in a position to act against Iran," Brigadier-General Qolam-Hossein Gheibparvar said on Monday.

Trump has threatened Iran with hardship "the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before" as the United States launched a campaign meant to foment unrest in the Islamic Republic.

Gheibparvar said the Iranian people and Armed Forces will stand up to the enemies, and will not back down, adding "our belief is that the way to felicity and progress is to resist and withstand ill-wishers and enemies."

"We will not step away from our revolutionary principles and beliefs, and will stand up to the expansionists, arrogant powers, and bullies," he said.

"Those who fear this crazy president's psychological warfare will know that America will not be content with anything less than our annihilation," the commander added.

On Monday, Iran unveiled the mass-production line of a medium-range air-to-air missile, dubbed Fakour, in the presence of Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami.

Hatami said the missile was being manufactured for the first time in Iran, adding the projectile had been designed and produced using state-of-the-art technology, and could be engaged against various aggressive aircraft within its operational range.

He also called the missile's mass production a key step towards enhancing the country's defensive power and effective deterrence capability.

The missile, Hatami said, had reached the mass-production stage despite US-led sanctions targeting Iran's missile industry.

"Today, we live in an environment, where we are surrounded by shameless enemies and mischievous people like the current rulers of the US, and some of its allies, who do not understand anything other than the language of force," the defense chief noted.

In line with the instructions of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, Iran would give a proportionate response to any threat, Hatami added.

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Trump threatens Iran with what 'few throughout history have suffered before'

Iran Press TV

Mon Jul 23, 2018 07:21AM

President Donald Trump has threatened Iran with hardship "the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before" as the United States launched a campaign meant to foment unrest in the Islamic Republic.

Trump's pugnacious Tweeter message in all capital letters late Sunday came following Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's warning to him not to "play with the lion's tail" after the US unveiled a series of measures which amount to a declaration of war.

"NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE," Trump wrote.

"WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!" he added.

Addressing a group of Iranian diplomats in Tehran Sunday, Rouhani said, "America must understand well that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars."

"You declare war and then you speak of wanting to support the Iranian people," he told the US president, adding "You are not in a position to incite the Iranian nation against Iran's security and interests."

Also on Sunday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced in a speech that the Trump administration had launched a "maximum pressure campaign" targeting Iran and its economy.

The US will pursue a "diplomatic and economic pressure campaign" on Iran, Pompeo said as he appealed to Iranians who fled the country after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, including MKO terrorists.

Pompeo described Iran's officials as a "mafia" and promised unspecified backing for Iranians unhappy with their government.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi on Monday hit back at Pompeo's "foolish and baseless" remarks, saying they are a clear example of US interference in the Islamic Republic's internal affairs.

"The US secretary of state's remarks, especially last night, show that he is still deprived of the necessary knowledge and understanding of the past and present of the Iranians," the spokesman said.

"Throughout history, Iranians have never accepted any foreign domination and bullying, and certainly in these sensitive situations, they will not only ignore the current president and the war-mongering minority in the US ... they will also respond to these meddlesome remarks and measures with exemplary unity and coherence."

In his Sunday speech, Pompeo said President Trump was "willing to talk" to the Iranian government if it showed what he called signs of change.

He referred to Trump's withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement in May, saying it had freed the US to re-impose financial sanctions on the country and on those doing business with Tehran.

He also reiterated that the administration seeks to force Iranian crude exports "as close to zero as possible by November 4," when the US sanctions lifted by the nuclear deal snap back into place.

"The US secretary of state's hypocritical and foolish speech more than ever...was a sign of the American government's fathomless desperation after its unilateral and unwise withdrawal from the JCPOA and its failure to achieve its goals despite global isolation," Qassemi said.

The spokesman said Pompeo's statements showed the "hypocrisy and lack of sincerity" of the current American statesmen and the long gap which exists between their words and deeds.

He touched on a long litany of US hostilities, including its role in the 1953 coup against the Iranian government, support for terrorist and secessionist groups, backing for the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in his war of the 1980s on Iran and its downing of an Iranian passenger jet over the Persian Gulf in 1988.

Under the Trump administration, the US has taken an increasingly hostile approach toward Iran. Iranian officials have said US measures equal an "economic war" on Iran.

Pompeo's speech drew criticism from domestic critics of the administration, including veteran diplomats behind the landmark Iran nuclear deal.

His speech "only underscores the counterproductive nature of this administration's Iran strategy and parallels efforts by the G. W. Bush administration to prepare for war in Iraq," said Diplomacy Works, an organization that campaigns for the preservation of the nuclear agreement.

"Data shows that the sanctions regime this administration plans to impose following the president's decision to violate the [Iran deal] will hurt the Iranian people," the statement added.

Supporters of Iran likened the US measures to alleged foreign campaigns to interfere in the 2016 US presidential election, spreading the hashtag #StopMeddlingInIran on Twitter.

US officials told Reuters on Sunday the Trump administration had launched an offensive of speeches and online communications meant to foment unrest in Iran.

More than half a dozen current and former officials said the campaign, supported by Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton, is meant to work in concert with Trump's push to economically throttle Iran.

The current and former officials said the campaign paints Iranian leaders in a harsh light, at times using information that is exaggerated or contradicts other official pronouncements, including comments by previous administrations.

"Some of the information the administration has disseminated is incomplete or distorted," Reuters said, citing current and former officials.

A top Iranian official played down the campaign, saying Washington had sought in vain to undermine the government since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

"Their efforts will fail again," Reuters quoted the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, as saying.

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Trump Threatens Rohani, Iran With Historic 'Consequences'

RFE/RL July 23, 2018

U.S. President Donald Trump has warned Iranian President Hassan Rohani on Twitter to "never, ever" threaten the United States or he would face consequences "few throughout history have ever suffered before."

Trump's tweet late on July 22, mainly in capital letters, followed a speech in which Secretary of State Mike Pompeo excoriated Iran's leadership, and came hours after Rohani warned Trump against pursuing hostile policies against Tehran.

"America should know peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars," the official Iranian government news agency IRNA quoted Rohani as saying at a July 22 gathering of Iranian diplomats.

Trump's tweet said: "To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE."

"WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!"

The commander of Iran's Basij force, Gholam Hossein Gheibparvar, dismissed Trump's tweet as "psychological warfare."

"He wouldn't dare take any action against Iran," Gheibparvar was quoted as saying by the semiofficial ISNA news agency.

ALSO READ: Pompeo Assails Iranian Leaders As 'Hypocritical Holy Men'

"We will never give up our revolutionary principles and beliefs," he said, adding that "the Iranian people and armed forces will stand up to enemies and will not yield."

Iran's official government news agency IRNA said Trump was only "copying" Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who had reportedly warned Western countries during the 2015 nuclear negotiations to "never threaten an Iranian."

The tweet came about two hours after after Pompeo blasted Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other Islamic religious leaders in the theocratic government as "hypocritical holy men."

In a speech in California, Pompeo also assailed Rohani and Zarif, considered by many to be moderates in comparison with Khamenei and others in the ruling establishment.

"The truth is they're merely polished front men for the ayatollah's international con artistry. Their nuclear deal didn't make them moderates. It made them wolves in sheep's clothing," he said.

Pompeo also vowed that the United States would maintain and increase diplomatic, military, and financial pressure against what he labeled the "mafia" government of Iran.

A correspondent with RFE/RL's Radio Farda who covered Pompeo's speech said Iranian-Americans he interviewed "warmly" welcomed the remarks by the top U.S. diplomat and the focus on Iran's human rights abuses.

Pompeo's speech at one point was interrupted by a woman screaming and shouting: "President Trump imprisons children. The Trump-Pence regime is kidnapping children."

The audience booed the woman, and the crowd began chanting, "USA. USA."

Pompeo reacted by saying: "if there were only so much freedom of expression in Iran."

Iran's Foreign ministry criticized the speech as interference in its affairs.

"Pompeo's speech was a clear interference in Iran's state matters...Such policies will unite Iranians who will overcome plots against their country," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said on July 23.

Germany called for restraint in reaction to the warnings exchanged between Rohani and Trump.

Foreign Ministry Christofer Burger told reporters in Berlin on July 23: "We support dialogue and talks, and we call on all sides to exercise restraint and rhetorical disarmament."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has repeatedly called for a harder international stance on Iran, praised Trump's warning to Tehran.

"I would like to praise the tough stand expressed yesterday by President Trump and Secretary of State Pompeo against the aggression of the Iranian regime," Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet meeting.

"Over the years, this regime has been spoiled by the major powers and it is good to see that the U.S. is changing this unacceptable equation," he added.

The U.S. administration is ratcheting up pressure on Tehran since Trump in May pulled the United States out of the 2015 nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions against Iran.

The deal with six world powers provided Iran with some relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear program.

The others who signed the pact  Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China  have vowed to remain in the deal.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Farda and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-iran-rohani -threat-twitter/29384167.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Kim told both Mr. Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in that "he was prepared to denuclearize", Pompeo said.

An official said on Tuesday South Korea's presidential Blue House was briefed about the site's dismantlement based on government intelligence but did not elaborate.

According to Yonhap, Nam Gwan-pyo, deputy director of the South's national security office, said: "It's better than doing nothing".

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the imagery was "entirely consistent" with commitments Kim made to Trump during their summit in Singapore.

"Given the state of activity, work is likely to have begun sometime within the past two weeks", it said.

"We may see progress in North Korea's denuclearization".

A South Korean delegation that traveled to NY over the past weekend said Seoul needed to be exempted from some worldwide sanctions against the North to implement the Panmunjom Declaration.

Jenny Town, managing editor of 38 North, which is based at Washington's Stimson Center, said the work at Sohae could be an important move to keep negotiations going.

On Twitter, 38 North's founder, Joel Wit, said the images suggested that North Korea may be willing to "give up its space launch programme".

USA army soldiers stand guard at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, South Korea, April 18, 2018.

As Pompeo spoke in California, Trump told an audience of US veterans in Kansas City he hoped the remains of American soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War would be returned by North Korea soon - another agreement the president has touted from the summit that has been slow to materialise.

Although Trump hailed the Singapore summit as a success, skeptics have questioned this assumption, given that Pyongyang, which has rejected unilaterally relinquishing its nuclear weapons, appeared to make no new tangible commitments in a vaguely worded joint statement.

Trump said last week that US relations with North Korea "are very good and the process is moving along".

It said they should "implement effective due diligence policies, procedures, and internal controls to ensure compliance with applicable legal requirements across their entire supply chains".

"The actions at Sohae are a helpful signal that Pyongyang wants to continue negotiations, but do not in themselves advance nuclear disarmament", analyst Adam Mount told the AP.

A rocket launch from Sohae space centre in 2016, shown on North Korean TV.

The diplomatic offensive has tamped down tensions after fears of nuclear war rose a year ago as the communist state demonstrated strong advances with a series of missile launches and its sixth and most powerful nuclear test. "Japan is happy, all of Asia is happy", he tweeted earlier in the day.

The Washington Post reported last weekend that Trump, who had said last month that North Korea's nuclear problem was "largely solved", was now privately expressing concern about a lack of progress on the issue.

It follows comments from the USA president last week that there was "no time limit" for North Korea to denuclearise and no need to rush the process. U.S. intelligence officials said last month that Pyongyang was working to hide key aspects of its nuclear programme.
Pompeo Assails Iranian Leaders As 'Hypocritical Holy Men'

RFE/RL July 23, 2018

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blasted Iran's ruling elite and its religious leaders for using their positions to "line their pockets" with riches while the average person "cries out for jobs, reform, and opportunity."

Pompeo on July 22 called Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other Islamic religious leaders in the theocratic government "hypocritical holy men" and pointed out officials who had amassed hundreds of millions of dollars of wealth from their positions.

He said the accumulation of wealth among leaders and the corruption of the "violent" government indicated that Iran is "something that resembles the mafia more than a government."

He added that the "regime in Iran has been a nightmare for the Iranian people."

Pompeo was delivering an address titled Supporting Iranian Voices at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute in Simi Valley, California.

There are an estimated 250,000 Iranian-Americans in southern California.

The crowd appeared highly receptive to Pompeo's comments, but his speech at one point was interrupted by a woman screaming and shouting in protest. It was not immediately clear what the nature of her protest was. The audience booed the woman, and the crowd began chanting, "USA! USA!"

Pompeo vowed that the United States would continue to support the "long-ignored voice of the Iranian people" and would continue to "spotlight the abuses" perpetrated against the country's citizens by their government.

In May, U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew his country from a landmark 2015 deal between Iran and leading world powers that granted relief from some sanctions in exchange for curbs to Iran's nuclear program.

Trump complained that the terms of the deal were not strong enough to deter Iran from developing nuclear weapons and it accused Tehran of violating the spirit of the agreement by continuing to finance militant violence in the region and by testing ballistic missiles.

The other nations in the agreement -- Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China -- unsuccessfully urged Washington to remain a part of the deal, saying it was the best way to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Iran has denied the allegations and said its nuclear program is strictly for civilian purposes. But it also has said it is continuing to acquire uranium since the U.S. pullout and is close to finishing a plant where it can build more centrifuges to enrich it.

In his speech, Pompeo vowed to keep up the financial pressure on Tehran, specifically targeting the banking and energy sectors.

He said the goal of the United States was to work with its partners and to bring their imports of Iranian oil to "zero" by November 4.

He added, without being specific in regard to financial pressure, "There's more to come."

"Regime leaders...must be made to feel painful consequences of their bad decision-making," he said.

The U.S. decision to reimpose sanctions has hit the Iranian economy hard, with many international firms leaving the country since Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal.

Financial hardships have led many Iranians to take to the streets in protests, initially for economic reasons but often morphing into demonstrations against the government itself.

Pompeo called the demonstrations "the most enduring and forceful protests" since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

"In light of these protests and 40 years of regime tyranny, I have a message for the people of Iran: The United States hears you. The United States supports you. The United States is with you," he said.

Pompeo said anger against "widespread" corruption helped encourage the protests.

In naming Iranian officials who have amassed fortunes while the people struggle, Pompeo cited "thieving thug" Sadeq Larijani, head of the Iranian Judiciary, who he said is now worth $300 million.

The U.S. has imposed financial sanctions against Larijani, saying he is "responsible for ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing the commission of serious human rights abuses against persons in Iran or Iranian citizens or residents."

Pompeo said the action showed that U.S. authorities "were not afraid to tackle the regime at its highest level."

"The United States under President Trump will not stay silent," he said.

Pompeo also assailed Iranian President Hassan Rohani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Mohammad Javad Zarif, considered by many to be "moderates."

"The truth is they're merely polished front men for the ayatollah's international con artistry. Their nuclear deal didn't make them moderates. It made them wolves in sheep's clothing," he said.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/pompeo-iran-hypocritical- holy-men-sanctions/29384111.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Iran Will Close Strait of Hormuz if Country's Oil Shipments Threatened  Army

Sputnik News

17:56 23.07.2018

Faced with tough US sanctions, Iran is looking to Europe and is tapping domestic resources to minimize their impact.

Iran's ground forces commander Brigadier General Kiomars Heidari has warned Washington and its allies to avoid trying to bring Iran's oil exports to a halt adding that the country's armed forces have everything they need to defend the nation, Fars News wrote.

"We support President Rouhani's threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, and the Iranian Armed Forces have warned about it for years," General Heidari emphasized.

The general repeated a similar warning made earlier this month by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari who said that if Tehran were not able to export oil via the Strait of Hormuz, "no other country would be able to do so."

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamanei, has said that Washington wants to bring back the position it enjoyed in Iran prior to the 1979 Islamic Revolution and would not rest until it does.

Amid the current standoff with the United States, Tehran said it will continue cooperation with the European Union if the outcome of the July 6 Vienna talks shows promising signs.

"If the process of the European foreign ministers' meeting in Vienna, which is aimed at encouraging Iran to cooperate, is promising, we will continue our cooperation with Europe," Rouhani noted.

But after the Vienna talks by foreign ministers from Iran and the five world powers (Russia, China, Germany, France and Britain) failed to meet Tehran's expectations with the EU's foreign affairs commissioner Federica Mogherini saying only that the sides had agreed to continue talking, including on economic measures, over how to save the Iran nuclear deal, the Iranian parliament unveiled a comprehensive list of moves to fight off sanctions.

According to information obtained by Fars News, the plan consists of a package of social and cultural measures to reinvigorate the country's economy and infrastructure against the US sanctions that come into effect on November 4.

Following its withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, the United States has been ramping up pressure on its European allies threatening to penalize European companies which continue doing business with Tehran.

 Sputnik

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'Never, Ever Threaten the US Again': Trump Fires Back at Rouhani's Threats

Sputnik News

06:35 23.07.2018(updated 08:16 23.07.2018)

On Sunday Iranian President Hassan Rouhani urged his US counterpart Donald Trump to stop playing with fire, referring to Washington's calls for its allies to completely abandon imports of Iranian oil by early November.

US President Donald Trump warned Tehran on Sunday of consequences "the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered," if the country threatens the United States.

The Iranian president said earlier that a "war with Iran is the mother of all wars," but did not rule out peace between the two countries.

"Today, speaking with US has no meaning except surrender and end of people's achievements. Mr. Trump! We are the people of dignity and guarantor of security of the waterway of the region throughout the history. Don't play with the lion's tail; you will regret it," Rouhani said at a meeting with Iranian diplomats as quoted by the presidential office.

The Iranian president also said that Iran's power was of a defensive nature, adding that the country was not fighting against anyone. "But the enemies must understand well that war with Iran is the mother of all wars and peace with Iran is the mother of all peace. We have never been intimidated and will respond threat with threat," Rouhani stressed.

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo delivered a speech Sunday entitled "Supporting Iranian Voices" at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Center for Public Affairs, in which he compared the Iranian government to the mafia.

"Iran is run by something that resembles the mafia more than a government," Pompeo said

In early May, US President Donald Trump announced that the United States would be pulling out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, signed in 2015 in Vienna by Iran, the European Union, China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany.

In addition, the US president decided to reinstate wide-ranging sanctions on Iran, previously lifted under the agreement in exchange for Tehran maintaining the peaceful nature of its nuclear program. Washington's unilateral move has been opposed by other parties to the nuclear deal.

 Sputnik

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US Unleashes Rhetorical Barrage on Iran

By Steve Herman July 23, 2018

President Donald Trump says he's "not at all" worried his Sunday night tweet will provoke Iran.

The president replied to a reporter on the White House South Lawn on Monday afternoon when asked about his all-capital-letters tweet in which he sharply warned Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to "never threaten the United States" or the Islamic Republic would suffer historical consequences.

National Security Adviser John Bolton said he had spoken to Trump "over the last several days," and the president "told me that if Iran does anything at all to the negative, they will pay a price like few countries have ever paid before."

"He has a lot of bad news he's trying to distract from," Barbara Slavin, director of the Future of Iran Initiative at the Atlantic Council, said of Trump's tweet. "It was kind of disproportionate. But, no, it didn't surprise me."

Trump appeared to be responding to Rouhani warning Trump: "Don't play with the lion's tail. This would only lead to regret."

"America must understand well that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars," Rouhani said.

Both Trump and Rouhani find themselves facing internal pressure over their foreign policies. In addition, Rouhani is confronting economic discontent.

Some analysts question whether the two presidents are pursuing hard-line rhetoric merely to marshal domestic support, or whether Trump is reapplying his high-stakes North Korea model  raising tension with tough talk that justifies going to the negotiating table.

"That none of the parties seems inclined to make the first move toward rapprochement is at best a recipe for an ongoing dangerous standoff, at worst for direct confrontation," Ali Vaez, the Iran Project director at the Crisis Group, told VOA.

Some worry, however, that Trump may be seeking to eliminate by force the threat from Iran.

Slavin tells VOA she does not see any realistic possibility of Trump initiating such an armed conflict, although "the U.S. is already conducting an economic war against Iran, which is frankly very, very damaging for ordinary Iranians."

Noting Trump has made clear he does not want U.S. forces on the ground in the Middle East "and he doesn't even want to keep troops in Syria," Slavin asserted that a U.S. military move against Iran "seems out of the question."

Iran weapons, strategy

Except for Israel and Saudi Arabia, much of the international community would likely not support a U.S. attack, as they would assert Iran has curbed its nuclear programs and remains in compliance with the international nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Iran currently "does not have a single nuclear weapon," noted Joshua Pollack, a senior research associate at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, California. It does, however, possess short- and medium-range ballistic missiles with conventional warheads and a formidable number of anti-ship missiles.

Pollack, who is also editor of The Nonproliferation Review, added that Iran, if attacked or provoked, has other response options, including trying to close the Strait of Hormuz  a strategic chokepoint for transit of oil from the Middle East.

In addition, "they have state-sponsored terrorists and local allies who could be disruptive," Pollack told VOA. "They also have hackers" who have conducted successful cyberattacks on Saudi Aramco and other targets in the Saudi kingdom, which is the arch rival to Iran for influence in the region.

Financial pressure

In a speech Sunday night, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged all U.S. allies to collectively suppress Iran through financial pressure.

"This especially goes for our allies in the Middle East and Europe, people who have themselves been terrorized by the violent regime's activity for decades," Pompeo said.

The Trump administration still appears to have no firm commitments from the top buyers of Iranian oil to significantly drop their imports to comply with sanctions Washington is reinstating as part of the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA.

Pompeo is also accusing Iran's government of numerous crimes and abuses, including kleptocracy, alleging its top leaders have squandered the people's wealth on terrorism and theft and a zeal to spread the Islamic revolution to other nations.

"Judging by their vast wealth, they seem more concerned with riches than religion," he said. "These hypocritical holy men have devised all kinds of crooked schemes to become some of the wealthiest men on Earth while their people suffer."

Based on the statements about Iran in the past day by the president, his national security adviser, and top diplomat, VOA asked White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders on Monday what is stopping the Trump administration from openly advocating regime change in Tehran.

"Our focus is on stopping Iran from having nuclear weapons regardless of who is there," Sanders replied. "That's what our priority is."

VOA's Cindy Saine and Jesusemen Oni contributed to this report.

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Trump to Iran: 'Never Threaten the United States'

By VOA News July 23, 2018

U.S. President Donald Trump sharply warned Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to "never threaten the United States," or the Islamic Republic would suffer historical consequences.

He appeared to be responding to reports earlier in the day quoting Rouhani warning Trump, "Don't play with the lion's tail. This would only lead to regret."

"America must understand well that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace and war with Iran is the mother of all wars," Rouhani said.

Gen. Gholam Hossein Gheibparvar, a senior officer in Iran's Revolutionary Guard, dismissed Trump's statement as "psychological warfare" and said Trump would not take action against Iran.

Trump's national security adviser John Bolton said he had spoken to Trump "over the last several days" and said the president "told me that if Iran does anything at all to the negative, they will pay a price like few countries have ever paid before."

Asked if Trump ran the risk of inciting a war with his tweet, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said,"Look, the president is responding to Iran, and he's not going to allow them to continue to make threats against America. If anybody is inciting anything, look no further than to Iran."

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told an audience at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California that the government in Iran has become a nightmare for the Iranian people.

The top U.S. diplomat said the United States is not afraid to pressure the Iranian government at its highest level, as he urged all U.S. allies to join in financially to suppress the government.

"This especially goes for our allies in the Middle East and Europe, people who have themselves been terrorized by the violent regime's activity for decades," Pompeo said.

He said the Trump administration will not stay silent against what he calls the numerous crimes and abuses of the Iranian government. This includes kleptocracy, with Pompeo saying those at the top have squandered the people's wealth on terrorism and theft and a zeal to spread the Islamic revolution to other nations.

Pompeo said the Iranian economy is "going great," but only for the elite, accusing the ayatollahs and senior leaders of lining their pockets with billions of dollars while a third of Iranians live in poverty.

"Judging by their vast wealth, they seem more concerned with riches than religion," he said. "These hypocritical holy men have devised all kinds of crooked schemes to become some of the wealthiest men on Earth while their people suffer."

While Pompeo was speaking about the lack of free speech in Iran, he was interrupted by a heckler. The secretary stood by calmly before remarking that Iranians should have the same kind of freedom of expression.

Pompeo also announced that the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees the Voice of America, is taking new steps to help Iranians get around internet censorship. The BBG is also launching a new 24/7 Farsi-language channel across television, radio, digital and social media formats.

He said the goal of the United States is to see Iranians inside their own country live the same kind of life Iranians in the United States enjoy.

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Three killed as gunmen storm govt. building in Erbil

Iran Press TV

Mon Jul 23, 2018 10:36AM

Kurdish security forces have killed three gunmen who stormed the governorate building in the city of Erbil in Iraq's semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan and took hostages.

The attackers entered the building in the commercial sector of Erbil, the seat of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), in northern Iraq on Monday and fired from windows at security forces.

Several people were taken hostage inside the building, where the gunmen took over the third floor, Kurdish security officials said.

"At around 7:45 am two gunmen approached the entrance of the governorate and opened fire at the guards. They managed to enter and now they are on the third floor," Tahir Abdullah, a deputy governor of the city, said.

Some of the attackers blew themselves up as they came under sniper fire. Kurdish security forces announced the end of operation after they killed the remaining gunman who was holed up in the building.

Reports said that two policemen were wounded. One of the rescued hostages was also seriously injured, security officials said.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, but a Kurdish security official said the gunmen were believed to be members of the Daesh terror group because of the tactics they used in breaking into the building from the main gate.

In December, Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared final victory over Daesh, but the Takfiri militants still operate from pockets along the border with Syria and have continued to conduct ambushes, assassinations and explosions across Iraq.

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Russia ditched billions of US bond holdings for gold

Iran Press TV

Mon Jul 23, 2018 09:28AM

Russia is reported to have been radically dumping US bond holdings in a way seldom seen in global markets as it prepares to protect itself from American sanctions.

Analysts polled by RT said the move was mainly taken due to fears that the US could freeze Russian-owned bonds once tensions between the two countries deteriorated.

Withdrawing assets from the US could also be part of a strategy by Moscow to diversify its financial resources and make re-investments into Chinese bonds as well as gold, others said.

Data released by the US Treasury this week showed that Russia, which once ranked among the top 10 foreign holders of US Treasury securities, by May had sold off all but about $15 billion of that debt -- down from nearly $100 billion in March, according to media reports.

As it has sold off Treasury securities, Russian Central Bank statistics show that the country has shifted into buying large amounts of gold, with Russia recently overtaking China as the world's biggest holder of gold, with $80.5 billion in holdings.

The unusually rapid selloff of US bonds -- which many analysts are attributing to rising US-Russia tensions and in particular, US sanctions imposed on Russian billionaires this year -- caused Russia to fall below the $30 billion threshold for being included on the Treasury's list of its "major bondholders."

"Both political and economic reasons could be found here. The Central Bank may have thought that Russia-owned Treasuries could be frozen because of geopolitical tensions. The regulator announced in spring that it plans to diversify its reserves," said Zhanna Kulakova, financial consultant at TeleTrade.

Russia owned as much as $176 billion in US debt in 2010, according to Treasury figures. However, it began unloading its US holdings after former US President Barack Obama started imposing sanctions on Moscow over its aggression in Ukraine in 2014, according to various media reports.

The sanctions have continued and increased under the administration of US President Donald Trump, who under a sanctions law enacted last summer announced new measures earlier this year targeting 38 individuals and organizations that benefit from close ties to Putin -- including seven Russian oligarchs and 17 government officials.

Nearly half of the Russian selloff occurred since those sanctions were imposed in April.

A $30 billion to $40 billion drop in US Treasury security holdings by a foreign country during a one-month time period is significant, but not unprecedented, Boris Rjavinski, a financial strategist at Wells Fargo bank, told USA Today.

China's holdings of US Treasuries declined by roughly $200 billion over several months when the country was going through a currency exchange adjustment process a few years ago, Rjavinski added.

The market size for the Treasury is more than $15 trillion, large enough to absorb such changes, he emphasized.

China, which holds $1.2 trillion of US debt, remains the top holder of US Treasuries, followed by Japan, Ireland, Brazil, and the United Kingdom.

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Wolves In Sheep's Clothing? Putin's Biker Pals Set Up Military-Style Camp In Slovakia

Yaroslav Shimov, Alan Crosby July 23, 2018

With the 50th anniversary of the Warsaw Pact invasion to rein in then-Czechoslovakia quickly approaching, one of the Kremlin's boldest advocacy groups has set up a military-style "camp" outside the capital of NATO member Slovakia.

The Night Wolves motorcycle club, whose members were at the vanguard of Russia's occupation of Crimea and nicknamed "Putin's Angels" by the media, has taken residence at a former military base in Dolna Krupa, about 60 kilometers northeast of Bratislava.

The move by the club, known for promoting Russian nationalism, hatred of gays and feminists, and allegiance to the Kremlin, appears aimed at revealing a dark, anti-Western side of the European Union member, which has sizable far-right and Russophile elements.

The group, which has been hit with sanctions from the West over its support for pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine, was established in Slovakia last month.

"They've come to irritate democrats and recruit people who are capable of shooting at Ukraine," Slovak oppositionist and communist-era Charter 77 signatory Jan Budaj told journalists. "They're bringing a message aimed at disrupting the EU and dissolving NATO."

With an imposing 2-meter-high black wall topped with barbed wire surrounding the facility, few know what goes on inside.

But what is known via drone photos is that it houses tanks, armored vehicles, and police equipment.

According to the newspaper Hospodarske Noviny, the local branch of the Night Wolves is headed by Jozef Hambalek, who the newspaper says owns the property and is close to former Interior Minister Robert Kalinak. Neither has commented publicly on the base.

Hambalek is said to want to open a military museum in the complex.

But the military equipment is said to be owned by the Defense Ministry, which has suspended Miloslav Capalovic, the head of the Military History Institute, for allowing equipment to be rented by Hambalek.

"It is obvious that the head of the Military History Institute, Miloslav Caplovic, failed to thoroughly check on the background of this civic association, and thus, he exceeded his competences," according to Defense Ministry spokeswoman Danka Capakova.

'Beyond The Limits'

Police say they have been monitoring the group's activities but that so far they've seen nothing illegal.

The Foreign Ministry has expressed concern, saying "the activities of group members need to be carefully monitored and evaluated."

But Jaroslav Nagy, director of the Slovak Institute for Security Policy, warned against an overly lax approach to the matter.

"This is beyond the limits of the permissible.... Their actions are always as unequivocally propaganda actions," he said in an interview with RFE/RL's Russian Service.

The Night Wolves' leader, Aleksandr Zaldostanov, has frequently appeared in public with Putin, and is known for his fiercely nationalistic statements.

He has led the group on a series of provocative rides before -- including a Victory Day trip to Berlin and a candlelighting at Katyn, where Josef Stalin is said to have ordered the execution of tens of thousands of Polish officers during World War II.

More recently, though without Zaldostanov, nearly two dozen Night Wolves took part in what they called a "Russian Balkans" tour in March.

Earlier that month, Bosnia-Herzegovina's authorities had banned Zaldostanov, who calls himself "The Surgeon," from entering the country as he was deemed a potential threat to Bosnia's national security.

Bosnia officials alleged the tour was aimed at intimidating non-Serbs in the divided country, where a 1992-95 ethnic war killed more than 100,000 people.

The tour also coincided with what Western intelligence officials say has been an increase in efforts by Moscow to expand its influence in the Balkans.

'Paramilitary Bomber Unit'

In Slovakia, the Student Initiative group said it was so concerned over the situation that it has called a protest for July 27.

"We urge all citizens to come along with us to express our disapproval of having such an object on our territory, and to show together that the security of our country is not stolen," said Timothy Lauko of the initiative, which uses the hashtag #niejenamtojedno -- roughly meaning "it matters to us" in Slovak.

"The Night Wolves are known to be a paramilitary bomber unit directly supported by the Russian Kremlin. This motorcycle gang also echoes members who, along with the Prussian separatists, fight with our eastern neighbors in Ukraine," he added.

Night Wolves members were among the spearheads of Russia's covert invasion and occupation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in 2014, according to officials in Kyiv.

If many outsiders are worried about the current situation in Slovakia, it might be hard to say the same of nearby residents.

"They recently celebrated something [and] they behaved decently," the Internet information website Topky.sk quoted one Slovak villager as saying. "Russian bikers also go here; there are no problems with them."

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/night-wolves-putin-bikers- slovakia-military-camp-/29385437.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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U.S., Russia Differ On Evacuation Of Syrian White Helmets

RFE/RL July 22, 2018

The United States and Russia hailed the evacuation by the Israeli military of a Syrian volunteer civil organization from a volatile border area near the Golan Heights, although the two powers saw the operation in sharply differing ways.

The U.S. State Department on July 22 issued a statement saying it "welcomes the safe evacuation of more than 400 members of the Syrian Civil Defense" -- also known as the White Helmets.

"We are glad that these brave volunteers, who have saved thousands of lives, are now out of harm's way."

"We renew our call on the [Syria] regime and Russia to abide by their commitments, end the violence, and protect all Syrian civilians, including humanitarians such as the White Helmets, in areas formerly part of the southwest deescalation zone and throughout Syria," it added.

Meanwhile, the Russian Embassy in the Netherlands welcomed the departure of the "notorious" White Helmets.

"Definitely there will be less chances of new so-called #CW (chemical weapon) attacks in Syria after forced evacuation by the collective West of the notorious #WhiteHelmets," it wrote on Twitter.

The White Helmets work exclusively in rebel-held areas and receive donations from several Western governments, including Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States.

Its members say they are neutral, but Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government and his Russian ally accuse the White Helmets of being tools of their international donors.

Western powers have accused Syria of attacking rebel-held areas with illegal chemical weapons. Syria and Russia claim the Western-backed rebels and their supporters have staged the attacks in an attempt to frame Assad's government.

The evacuation of the White Helmet members and their families came overnight on July 21-22 as they fled advancing Syrian government forces and slipped over the border into Jordan.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement on July 22 that he aided the evacuation at the request of U.S. President Donald Trump and other leaders based on fears the volunteer workers' lives were in danger.

"A few days ago, President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau and others approached me with the request to help extract from Syria hundreds of White Helmets," Netanyahu said.

Reuters quoted a Jordanian government source as saying that 422 people had been brought from Syria over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and into Jordan. Earlier reports had said some 800 people had been evacuated.

Those rescued will be kept in a "closed" location in Jordan before being resettled in Britain, Germany, and Canada within three months, the source told Reuters.

The U.S. statement said that "we deeply appreciate Israel's role in facilitating the transit of the White Helmets and their family members. We commend Jordan's generosity in supporting their processing by UNHCR and the commitment of the United Kingdom, Canada, and Germany to provide the White Helmets and their families with permanent homes."

Russia and Iran back Assad's government in Syria's seven-year civil war, while the United States supports antigovernment rebels. Islamic State (IS) and other militant groups have also been involved in the fighting but have mainly been driven from their strongholds.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-us-syria-white- helmets-evacuation-israel/29383551.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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White Helmets Evacuation From Syria Reveals Organization's True Nature - Moscow

Sputnik News

21:07 23.07.2018(updated 21:11 23.07.2018)

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - During the Syrian conflict, the activists of the White Helmets non-governmental organization have been involved in "the most odious provocations" and their evacuation from the Middle Eastern country has revealed their true nature and hypocrisy, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday.

"It is well known that the White Helmets has been involved in the most odious provocations during the Syrian conflict. It was carrying out activities only on the territories controlled by Islamic radicals. It was preparing blatant fakes, which were then used as a pretext for making accusations against the Syrian authorities," the ministry said in a commentary.

"It is symbolic that the White Helmets activists have opted to flee Syria with foreign support thus revealing their true nature and exposing their hypocrisy to the whole world," it added.

The foreign ministry also stressed that the United States had done nothing to separate Syria's so-called moderate opposition forces from terrorist groups. "Presently, Syrian forces with support of Russia are restoring law and order in southwestern Syria creating conditions for restoring a peaceful life," the ministry added.

On Sunday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced that the Israeli authorities had evacuated the White Helmets activists along with their families from Syria to a "neighboring country" at the request of Canada, European countries and the United States. According to local media, about 800 NGO members have been transported through Israel to Jordan.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry has condemned the evacuation of the White Helmets' personnel from the country, slamming it as a "criminal operation" conducted by Israel, whereas Washington has welcomed the transfer of the NGO's members, calling them "brave volunteers, who have saved thousands of lives."

The White Helmets, also called the Syrian Civil Defense, declares the rescue of civilians in war zones as its fundamental aim. However, the non-governmental organization has been repeatedly accused of establishing links to jihadists as well as disseminating Western-sponsored propaganda.

 Sputnik

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The slump in oil prices prompted the Algerian government to seek temporary measures to reduce the trade deficit. The most notorious among these were import restrictions that affected more than 800 products.

Algerias protectionism has so far backfired producing counter-productive results in a country that failed to diversify its economy away from utter dependence on oil and gas.

While Algerias trade deficit dropped by 47% in first half of 2018, it was mainly due to a temporary hike in oil prices making up 94% of total export that is $18.816 billion.

Imports remained high at $22.784 billion, months after the protectionist measures imposed by the Algerian customs.

The products hit by the restrictive import policy include cars, foodstuffs, cell phones, home appliances and some raw materials in an effort to address a gaping trade deficit.

Local firms including drinks producers and potters are already complaining of shortages in raw materials putting their businesses at risk.

Algerias isolationist economic policy based on the distribution of oil revenues, which accounts for 60% of the countrys GDP, is undermining the competitiveness.

With the government having little success in boosting the non-energy sector, even the private sector is dependent on oil. The big companies in the country Cevital, ERTHP or Arcofina operating in the industrial, distribution, real estate or construction sectors live in a way or another thanks to the oil and gas money, a factor that has kept them uncompetitive at the African level.

These companies owe their existence to public markets financed by oil revenues or to the distribution of heavily-subsidized products.

The lack of vision has also kept the 40-million people nation dependent on imports with the state subsidizing most consumer goods, especially foodstuff.

The persistence of the Algerian government on Import restrictions is further thwarting investments and undermining the business climate in the country. Who would venture to set up a production plant when supply may be interrupted at any moment by government protectionist measures?

Investors are also finding it hard to implement projects in Algeria where a 51/49% law continues to prohibit foreign capital from holding more than 49% of Algerian companies.
Thousands of Militants Agree to Leave Syria's Quneitra - Russian MoD

Sputnik News

08:01 23.07.2018

QUNEITRA (Syria) (Sputnik) - Several thousand militants agreed to voluntarily leave the Syrian southwestern province of Quneitra and move to Idlib in the country's northwest, a spokesperson for the Russian Center for Syrian Reconciliation said.

"Several thousand people agreed to withdraw from settlements in Quneitra province. Irreconcilable militants are leaving together with their families," the spokesperson said.

According to another spokesperson for the reconciliation center, various armament and ammunition are being seized from the militants.

A local reconciliation between the Syrian government and an armed opposition in Quneitra has been announced earlier.

Under the reconciliation deal, a part of militants agreed to surrender and return to peaceful life, while the others, who refused to lay down their arms, will move to Idlib.

On Sunday, a source in security services told Sputnik that nearly 1,500 militants withdrew from the suburbs of Syria's southwestern city of Daraa for Idlib in the country's northwest.

Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with the government forces fighting against numerous opposition groups and terrorist organizations, including the Jabhat al-Nusra.

 Sputnik

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Tsai: Ensuring strong national defense 'our responsibility'

ROC Central News Agency

2018/07/23 16:45:05

Taipei, July 23 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen () said Monday the government will do everything in its power to defend Taiwan, adding that ensuring Taiwan has strong national defense and self-defense capabilities "is our responsibility."

Tsai was responding to a domestic newspaper report at a meeting with media representatives during a trip to the eastern county of Taitung.

According to a China Times report published earlier that day, that the Ministry of National Defense (MND) did not deny, the military's newly revised national defense plan indicates that in the event of conflict with China, the United States will not send troops to Taiwan.

Instead, Taiwan will ask the U.S. to provide intelligence so it has a better grasp of the movements of enemy forces, according to the report.

Commenting on the report, Tsai said enhancing Taiwan's national defense and self-defense capabilities "is our responsibility."

The president added that maintaining regional peace and stability is also the government's responsibility and it will do its utmost to defend Taiwan and effectively deter Chinese military ambitions.

However, it is too early to say what countermeasures relevant government agencies will take in the event of a hypothetical enemy action, Tsai added.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a statement issued Monday that the Republic of China (Taiwan) has played an important role in maintaining peace, stability and security in the Asia Pacific region and a robust national defense provides strong support for peace in the Taiwan Strait and national security.

In the face of external threats and challenges, Taiwan will stick to its military strategy of securing territory with resolute defense and utilizing multi-domain deterrence with joint capabilities, according to the statement.

Other strategic guidelines include rejecting arms race thinking, integrating existing national defense resources to invest in the build-up of prioritized military assets and continuing to strengthen key national defense and combat capabilities to deter enemy forces from taking unwelcome action, the MND said.

Noting that "you've got to help yourself before you're ready to get help," the MND said it is duty-bound to defend the nation, while reiterating the military's firm resolution and strong self-defense capabilities.

The ministry said it believes countries that share core values such as democracy, freedom and human rights with Taiwan remain its allies and should work together to promote regional stability.

(By Lu Hsin-hui and Evelyn Kao)

Enditem/AW

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Taiwan needs U.S. military support to defend itself: official

ROC Central News Agency

2018/07/23 19:11:06

Taipei, July 23 (CNA) Taiwan needs the United States' continuous support in the face of China's growing military threat or it will be vulnerable to being taken over by force by Beijing, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu () told CNN during an interview aired Monday.

Asked if the U.S.'s continuous military support for Taiwan would increase the potential risk of military confrontation with China, Wu told CNN that the reality is quite the opposite.

"What we are concerned about is that the U.S. does not support Taiwan anymore," he said.

"If the security ties between Taiwan and the U.S. are getting stronger and strengthening our ties, then that would become a barrier for the Chinese to think about future military scenarios against Taiwan," Wu said.

The comments came in the wake of a China Times report that the military's newly revised defense plan indicates that in the event of a conflict between Taiwan and China, the U.S. will not send troops to Taiwan.

Taiwan instead will ask the U.S. to provide intelligence to monitor the movements of enemy forces, said the report, which the Ministry of National Defense did not deny.

In the interview with CNN, Wu also noted the importance of the relationship with the U.S.

He said Taiwan was pleased that Taiwan-U.S. relations were growing closer under the Donald Trump administration, despite concerns raised by some Taiwanese who fear Taiwan will be used as a pawn between Washington and Beijing.

He stressed that Taiwan government has full faith in the cordial relationship.

"We (Taiwan and U.S.) both believe in the values that we share and they (U.S.) told us that they believe Taiwan is not tradeable, and democracy is not tradeable," he said.

"We feel very strongly that the Trump administration as a whole is deeply committed to Taiwan's security and its relationship with Taiwan," he added.

Wu was also asked about the mounting pressure Beijing has put on Taiwan, using military drills, aircraft fly-bys and vessels passing through the Taiwan Strait, since President Tsai Ing-wen's () Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which has traditionally favored independence, took power in 2016.

The foreign minister described such measures as counterproductive to Beijing's claim to win over Taiwanese hearts and minds.

"They (Beijing) say they want to win the hearts and minds of Taiwanese people but what they're doing ... is to create hatred among the regular Taiwanese people of the Chinese government. It is pushing Taiwan further and further away," he said.

Asked whether President Tsai would push for Taiwan independence, Wu said Tsai was determined to maintain "the status quo" with its mainland neighbor.

"We want to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait ... By itself, Taiwan exists outside China, Taiwan exists by itself, so there's no need for Taiwan to go beyond what it is right now," he said.

According to Taiwan's Foreign Ministry, CNN's half-hour interview with Wu was conducted on Monday morning and is scheduled to be aired at 8 p.m. Monday (Taiwan Time).

(By Joseph Yeh)

Enditem/sc/ls

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Turkey police detain 43 suspected members of Daesh terror group in Istanbul

Iran Press TV

Mon Jul 23, 2018 05:15PM

Turkish security forces have arrested 43 people suspected to be foreign members of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in an array of counter-terrorism operations across Istanbul.

The suspected terrorists were detained in simultaneous raids on 15 separate homes across the city on Friday, Turkey's state-run Anadolu News Agency reported, citing a statement released by the provincial police department on Monday.

Police also said that the detainees were believed to be members of Daesh-linked social media groups and that they had been in contact with people in conflict zones.

The terror group has conducted numerous attacks across Turkey in recent years. In January 1, 2017, Daesh terrorists attacked a nightclub in Istanbul and claimed the lives of 39 people. In another attack, they launched a bomb attack in the city's historic heart that killed a dozen people in 2016.

Turkey has stepped up anti-terror operations against Daesh's network inside the country in the last couple of years, arresting many suspected terrorists and eliminating several terror cells across the country.

The terror group, which once held large swaths in Syria and Iraq, has not lost all of its urban bastions in both Arab countries, thanks to constant counter-terror operations carried out by Syrian and Iraqi armies. However, remnants of Daesh conduct sporadic attacks against government troops and civilians alike in the war-torn countries.

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Morocco and the European Union (EU) initialed this Tuesday (July 24) in Rabat a new fisheries agreement marking the end of three months of negotiations.

The four-year agreement will enter into force after ratification by the European and Moroccan parliaments.

Through this new fisheries agreement, the European Union has just confirmed that partnership with Morocco is so firm and that the Kingdom constitutes a regional power in the Mediterranean and North Africa.

The EU ambassador to Morocco, Claudia Wiedey, expressed her pride that these negotiations have led to positive results in less than three months. This is proof of the genuine partnership existing between the two parties. The agreement includes fishing in the Saharan areas of Morocco, she confirmed during the signing ceremony on Tuesday in Rabat.

It is a win-win agreement, she also said.

Morocco has defended its rights and interests through this agreement that will allow bilateral relations to break the impasse since the Moroccan Sahara provinces were included in this agreement, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita was quoted by the media as saying.

Minister of Agriculture and Maritime Fisheries Aziz Akhennounch, one of the main negotiators for the renewal of this agreement, also confirmed that the 4-year agreement includes the Saharan provinces and offers the local populations the possibility to benefit from the advantages of this agreement.

For Morocco, the deal is a recognition of its sovereignty over its southern provinces and its quality as the only interlocutor in negotiating international agreements covering the Sahara.

From the start of negotiations in Rabat, Moroccan officials made it clear that sovereignty over the Sahara is a red line and that agreements signed by Morocco shall cover all its territories including the Sahara. Moroccos stand has been understood and its warnings heeded.

The Moroccan Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries said in a release that the two sides agreed on the content of the new sustainable fisheries agreement and its implementation protocol.

The text specifies explicitly the fishing zones and access conditions for European trawlers, according to the categories of fleets and target species.

The level of compulsory landings and fishing categories remain unchanged compared to the former agreement, while the number of vessels concerned by the new agreement would reach 128, the statement said.

Under the former agreement that expired on July 14, the number of European trawlers authorized to operate in Moroccan water was set at 120.

The new agreement provides for an increase of 30 percent of the financial payment to Morocco, which will thus go up from 40 million a year to 52.2 million, the Ministry said.

The two sides also agreed on the implementation of improvement measures to increase benefits for the local populations in the concerned areas, the release pointed out, adding that these populations will benefit from the socio-economic advantages of the agreement, mainly in terms of infrastructure, basic social services, enterprise creation, vocational training, development projects and modernization of the fishing sector.

The number of boarding contracts for Moroccan sailors and fishermen aboard European fishing vessels will also increase, the release said. To bolster the socio-economic impacts on the fishing areas covered by the deal, the text provides for a compulsory landing volume, the same as in the previous agreement, but increases penalties from 5 percent to 15 percent in case of non-compliance with the landing requirements.

Besides, several technical conditions have been included in the new agreement in order to preserve the sustainability of fisheries resources and protect the marine environment, such as a review of catches of small pelagic in the south.

In order to preserve some species, octopus and shrimps are not included in the agreement, which covers the geographical area extending from Cape Spartel to Cape Blanc. The Mediterranean Sea is excluded from this perimeter in order to preserve its resources, which are overexploited.

Fisheries monitoring and control system was also strengthened by making the presence of observers compulsory for some categories that were not provided for in the former agreement, the Ministry said in the release.

Vessels from 11 EU countries (Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, The Netherlands, Ireland, Poland and United Kingdom) will resume their activities in Moroccos waters as soon as the agreement is ratified.
Guatemalan asylum seeker Hermelindo Che Coc reunites with his 6-year-old son. Photo: Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

With a deadline to reunite separated migrant families only days away, the Trump administration admitted in a court filing Monday that 463 parents are no longer in the U.S. and have possibly been deported, leaving them ineligible for reunification with their children. That deadline will almost certainly be missed.

The government insists that all parents whove been deported were given the option of taking their children with them, but some immigration advocates are questioning whether the parents knew what they were agreeing to.

In its own filing Monday, the ACLU asked U.S. District judge Dana Sabraw to force the government to produce a list of parents who agreed to be deported without their children. These parents urgently need consultations with lawyers, so that they do not mistakenly strand their children in the United States, the filing said.

The ACLUs skepticism follows reports that ICE officials have pressured migrant parents into signing voluntary deportation forms by telling them that its the only way theyll ever see their kids again. On the contrary, it may prevent them from ever reuniting, former acting director of ICE John Sandweg said last month. I think were going to see hundreds of cases where the children are permanently separated from their parents, becoming wards of the United States, he said.

Its clear, though, that some parents did in fact agree to leave the country without their kids. Jose Ottoniel is one such parent. Deported back to Guatemala in June, he has left his 10-year-old son in a shelter in Texas. Right now, we think its best for him to have this opportunity in the United States, to get out of this place, Ottoniel told the Washington Post.

In the Monday court filing, the government said that a total of 879 migrant parents have so far been reunited with their children. Another 538 parents have been approved for reunification, but are waiting for transportation. Meanwhile, there are more than 450 who remain ineligible because of criminal records, communicable diseases, and the need for further evaluation.

In a statement, the ACLU took issue with the governments authority to determine that parents were ineligible to be reunited with their kids. Weve asked the court to order the government to provide details about the nature of the charge, conviction, or warrant for each parent whom the government excluded, so that we can verify that not reunifying the child is truly in their best interest, the statement said.
After last years successful return following a one-year hiatus, the 40-something SoNo Arts Festival is back again and organizers are promising an expanded celebration this time out.

Last year was a starting year and this year is a building year, event director Sue Brown Gordon said in a phone chat. There are going to be a lot of surprises, as well as things people have come to expect, like the Puppet Parade.

The two-day free festival, taking place Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 4-5, in South Norwalks historic district along Main and Washington streets, will feature an expanded number of artists, musicians and family activities with a local focus.

Were really bringing art back, said Brown Gordon, who has been involved at various points in the event over the years. Were making it much more about the art and the creativity we have in the area.

Besides local musicians on multiple stages and interactive childrens activities, there will be just over 120 fine arts and craft artists featured, along with performance artists, a live mural painting, scavenger hunt and other surprises, she said.

There will be a lot of visual stimulation that is new this year; a lot of things that will just pop up in the middle of the event that people wont be expecting that will draw a crowd, she said, not wanting to give away too many specifics. I just want people to look out for surprises.

Organizers also have been focused on improving the food and beverage court experience in the plaza at 50 Washington St. Weve really worked on that to make it a more desirable area to sit and relax, Brown Gordon said.

Acoustic and electric performances also will be ongoing throughout the event in the streets and on the main stage in the 50 Washington St. plaza. We are doing more to reach out to local bands and people who would benefit from having a showcase in their local fine arts festival, Brown Gordon said.

Families also will have plenty of ways to express their artistic sides at this years event.

Were doing a lot of hands-on activities and more immersive activities for people to get excited about the arts, Brown Gordon said. Were partnering with the Maritime Aquarium this year to do more hands-on things for children and theyre helping to sponsor the Puppet Parade as well.

The popular Puppet Parade will step off Sunday at 2 p.m., with volunteers handling a number of creations of various shapes and sizes, decorated with ribbons, feathers and cloth pieces. Directed by Mary Hall and created by volunteers, the Puppet Parade culminates in an event open to the public to join as participant or spectator.

Were looking for people to come and march, Brown Gordon said, asking volunteers to arrive at 1 p.m. If theyre creative and they want to, theyre even invited to create their own puppet and bring it to march. Otherwise, we have plenty of puppets for people to come and grab and march in the parade.

pquinn@ctpost.com
STAMFORD  In an effort to curtail recurring budget deficits, the First Congregational Church in Stamford is hoping to sell its downtown home of over 100 years.

At a meeting held on June 24, members of the congregation voted overwhelmingly in favor of selling the property at 1 Walton Place to the Coptic Orthodox Church, which currently has a location on Peveril Road in Stamford. According to the churchs monthly newsletter, the final vote to sell to the Coptic Church was 41 in favor, 4 opposed, and 3 abstained.

Negotiations between the two churches appear to be in the early stages, though the Coptic Church offered $3.3 million for the entire 0.8-acre site, according to a letter released by an ad-hoc planning group within the First Congregational Church.

The letter states that the church building and land have a market value of $3.5 million to $4 million, based on offers received. The property has a much higher value according to the city of Stamfords assessors office, which assessed the building and land at $6.45 million in 2017, with an appraised value of $9.2 million.

The potential sale would allow First Congregational, which has been in Stamford for over 350 years, to move on from the Walton Place location and find a space more suited to its congregation, which has become too small for the downtown church.

Nonetheless, multiple members of First Congregational stated that the deal between the two churches has yet to be finalized. No members of the church leadership, including Pastor Todd Yonkman, agreed to comment for this story.

We have no comment because no deal has been finalized, Yonkman wrote in an email. If/when a deal is finalized, we will have a public statement that we will be happy to share.

Father Andrew Awad of the Stamford Coptic Church did not respond to multiple efforts to reach him by telephone and email.

More News Marilyn Monroe's iconic pose in front of Stamford church draws mixed reactions

No matter what happens with the potential sale, it seems that First Congregationals time at the Walton Place location is drawing near, as budgetary concerns mount. Over the last 15 years, the church has faced an average annual deficit of $44,000, according to a letter from the churchs planning group. Last year, the deficit ballooned to over $146,000.

The letter states that the churchs board of trustees came to the conclusion that the church would need to generate an additional $150,000 a year in income to get out of its financial hole.

The church does have a $2 million endowment fund, but church leaders are hesitant to use more than 4 percent of those funds annually, out of fear of seriously depleting the resource.

Because of the financial constraints, the church leadership has looked into multiple ways to recoup some money, including renting space, and merging with another church. But neither solution would seemingly provide the church with the needed funds to control its budget shortfall.

Therefore, the decision was made to sell the property, which had grown too big for the dwindling size of the congregation. The letter from the planning group states that the current building is much larger than what we need or can find uses for with a smaller congregation today, while we have fewer members financially supporting an aging, oversized building.

The granite Walton Place church, right in the heart of Stamfords downtown, was constructed in 1912, and has three floors. The total square footage of the building is 35,000.

First Congregational received multiple offers to buy the church, including two from developers and one from a nonprofit that provides low income housing. Ultimately, the congregation chose the offer from the Coptic Church.

With the possible sale, the future of First Congregational is unclear, though there does appear to be a plan for the church to rent space as needed in the short term for worship and office use. In one of the churchs weekly newsletters, Yonkman mentioned the Avon Theatre, Stamford High School, and the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Stamford as possible worship locations.

However, the congregation is planning on remaining at the Walton Place location for at least a year after the possible sale of the building.

Other church sales

Earlier this year, the Zion Lutheran Church in Stamford sold their former 24,000 square foot home at 132 Glenbrook Road to Pentecostal Mission John 3:16 for just under $3.2 million.

The highest price paid for religious property in Stamford in the last 30 years was the almost $6.2 million exchanged between Stamford developer RMS Cos. and Congregation Agudath Sholom. The arrangement allowed RMS to construct a number of single family homes and townhouses on the 4.5-acre lot at 159 Colonial Road.

Ignacio Laguarda is a freelance writer. Email him at ilaguarda@yahoo.com
A brutal day at 4 New York Plaza. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

On Sunday night, Daily News staffers received an email mandating that everyone be at the office at 9 a.m. Given the circumstances, it was not hard to discern what was about to happen. Amid rumors and reporting, staffers at the almost century-old tabloid had for days been bracing for severe cuts from Tronc, the media conglomerate that bought the paper from Mortimer Zuckerman for $1 last year. And Mondays meeting was preceded by an ominous tweet from the papers editor-in-chief, Jim Rich.

If you hate democracy and think local governments should operate unchecked and in the dark, then today is a good day for you.  Jim Rich (@therealjimrich) July 23, 2018

At the appointed hour, Tronc executive Grant Whitmore confirmed employees worst fears. Speaking for less than one minute, he informed those in attendance that dozens of staffers would be let go, reducing the newsroom total to less than 50 people. Staffers were then brought into conference rooms, where they were informed of their fates  if they were sat down in front of a folder, it was bad news. Whether they had been at the company for six months or 15 years, laid-off employees were uniformly offered the same severance deal: 90 days of pay, with the possibility of transitional benefits after that. The papers sport section was slashed from 35 people to nine. Its social media team was eliminated altogether, as was its archival library.

Rich was among those to get the ax. He will be replaced on July 30 by Robert York, who currently heads the Morning Call, Troncs newspaper in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

In a memo from Tronc to staff, the company said it was reducing today the size of the editorial team by approximately 50 percent and re-focusing much of our talent on breaking news  especially in areas of crime, civil justice and public responsibility.

It's confirmed and it's brutal: Tronc slashes @NYDailyNews newsroom by 50 percent, wants emphasis on breaking news for web. Memo: pic.twitter.com/eocNyFewSJ  David Folkenflik (@davidfolkenflik) July 23, 2018

Some of those who had been let go lingered after receiving the news, and there was plenty of hugging and crying in an office that has grown smaller and more tightly knit in the wake of previous cutbacks, including especially harsh ones in 2015.

Many people then repaired to a bar, leaving behind a shell-shocked newsroom.

Cheers from Team NYDN pic.twitter.com/FJPIpqRil8  Zach Haberman (@ZHaberman) July 23, 2018

The cuts are the latest blow in a long fall from grace for a publication where circulation soared to 2 million during the 1940s, and which has served as a worthy, working-class rival to the New York Post for decades. According to the New York Times, the News circulation has dwindled to around 200,000 in recent years, with its digital products reaching 23 million people. It is now left without reporters to cover some of the citys signature interests and attractions  for example, there is now no Yankees beat writer or Broadway critic at the paper.

But many people lamented the loss of resources that went into covering stories, some routine, some sensational  about crime, waste, fraud, and abuses of power  in other words, the meat and potatoes of a style of local journalism that finds itself increasingly endangered.

Troncs newfound focus on breaking news, meanwhile, rang false to those who pointed out that the Daily News is, in fact, pretty good at doing just that.

That part pissed me off, said Sarah Ryley, who worked as an investigative journalist at the News from 20122017, winning a Pulitzer Prize in public service there last year. I dont think Tronc understands what it truly means to cover breaking news as a local newspaper, instead of getting tweets and clicks from people in Florida who want to read about the next weird crime story.

The Post has its way of covering things, the Times very much picks and chooses, she continued. The one outlet in this city that has always been going full force on breaking news, more than any other in the city, is the Daily News. Not a single reporter did not have breaking-news duties. Pretty much every reporter had to file one, often times several breaking news stories a day.

As members of the media and readers mourned on Twitter, both Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo offered their support. De Blasio called the layoffs a disaster for NYC; Cuomo asked Tronc to reconsider this drastic move and cited his father, Mario Cuomo, who had helped the New York Post through tough financial times despite ideological differences. The Daily News has veered to the left in recent years, and has recently become known for its pointed covers criticizing President Trump.

Tronc, which recently announced that it would change its name back to Tribune Company after years of ridicule, has left a trail of destruction at many of the newspapers it has acquired, which have included big names like the Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun, and Los Angeles Times. Its effort to modernize its assets for the digital age have often resulted in widespread layoffs, decreased newsroom morale, and a sense that the company prioritizes cheap clicks and profits over traditional journalism.

Staffers at the latter paper, which Tronc recently sold to billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, offered their support to the Daily News:

Were furious and heartsick over these needless firings at the @NYDailyNews. Tronc executives have shown us again and again that theyre willing to line their own pockets at the expense of the companys hardworking journalists. https://t.co/gXf3Vqv75s  L.A. Times Guild  (@latguild) July 23, 2018

In March, Tronc Chairman Michael Ferro, an enthusiastic proponent of the companys newsroom cuts, stepped down just before allegations of sexual harassment were brought to light. Months earlier, he had entered into an agreement with the company that would pay him $15 million in consulting fees through 2020.
GREENWICH  The delicate chimes of handbells signaled the beginning of the Rite of Installment at St. Pauls Lutheran Church on Saturday morning.

White-gloved women rang the bells, a 30-year tradition, and ushered in 11 Lutheran clergymen in white robes tied with white ropes. Cubist-style stained glass windows diffused the noon light in jewel tones.

After seven vacant months without a pastor to lead the congregations of St. Pauls Lutheran Church in central Greenwich and First Lutheran Church in Byram, parishioners from both churches welcomed the Rev. Evan Scamman with excitement and relief. Pastoring two churches is already uncommon, but his churches represent two districts of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, a traditional denomination of the Lutheran Church.

Im relieved, St. Pauls congregation vice president Laura Dianis said. Im excited for what lies ahead.

Only 2 miles separate the two parishes  with one on Delavan Avenue and the other across the street from Greenwich Town Hall. But they represent the New England District and the Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Church, a nongeographical district of formerly Slovakian churches.

As Eastern Europeans settled in American mill towns, they formed churches and held Slovakian services. Three generations later, English unites the churches while the district lines separate them. Scamman will split his time between the churches, celebrating an early service at St. Paul and a late service at First Lutheran.

For the service, he sat in a chair, chocolate brown wood and velvet the color of wine, where his five predecessors sat for their installation rites since the churchs founding in 1902. The Rev. James Douthwaite, pastor of Saint Athanasius in Virginia, read from the Old and New Testaments and the gospel, each passage a reflection on the role and work of a pastor.

The readings are actually part of the historic lectionary, Scamman said. For 1,500 years, those scriptures have been read the eighth Sunday after Trinity, so it just kind of fortuitously were perfect readings for an installation. I couldnt have picked better ones if I had chosen them myself.

His wife, Lena, and the couples daughter, Katie, an incoming freshman at Greenwich High, sat up front.

The family moved to Greenwich a week ago after four years in the Midwest  three in Fort Wayne, Ind., and one in Lincoln, Neb., where he completed his vicarage, a kind of internship. The trio is excited to be near water again, Lena said. Both she and her husband of nearly 16 years grew up near the other coast, along the shore of Washingtons Puget Sound.

Its nice living next to beaches and mountains, Katie said.

Her dad agreed: Even driving through town and going up a little hill, its like Oh yeah, this is great.

Greenwich was a complete surprise, Lena Scamman said. Evan Scamman learned of his assignment on call night, when the placement coordinator announces the destination church of every graduating minister.

The congregation of St. Pauls gathered that same call night to watch a live-stream of the service, waiting to catch a glimpse of their new pastor. Dianis prepared for the Scamman familys arrival, even planning a pantry party.

Without a pastor, the lay people had been leading the services themselves, reading from sermons that pastors posted on the synods website and receiving communion once a month from a visiting minister, Dianis said.

Its a lot of work, she said.

Dianis understated the effort the parishioners made, so Lena Scamman jumped in.

It is a ton of work, that a few key people have done for a very long time, and theyve done a very good job of it, a very good job of it, she said.

Dianis conceded: We all pitched in.

When a church is vacant, attendance drops off, Scamman said. St. Pauls hasnt experienced the decline because of the parishioners work and dedication, she said.

The leadership of the church stepped forward, and everyone got involved, Dianis said. It pulled us together, actually.

The Rev. Ben Loos served St. Pauls in addition to First Lutheran, Dianis said. Loos came to First Lutheran six years ago, and when St. Pauls pastor left three years into Loos ministry, he started serving as the churchs interim pastor.

For the congregation and the new pastor, the transition is similar to a new relationship, said Benjamin Mayes of Concordia Theological Seminary who was Scammans church history professor.

Theres a time when youre getting to know the other person, and figuring out how to work together best, and figuring out what annoys this other person, and what might annoy me, and theres a time of finding how were going to live together well, Mayes said. But Im confident that things are going to go great.

He drove to Connecticut for this rite with his family in support of his friend and former student, making a road trip out of it. Mayes knew Evan Scamman before he taught him, through his wifes friendship with Lena Scamman, who co-led a support group for barren women.

Evan Scamman was a non-traditional student, Mayes said.

I dont think he went through four years of college, but he went through our masters program and was able to do everything very well, he said, praising Scamman as smart and inquisitive.

Scamman was homeschooled and earned a GED at 16. He went to work as a fabricator at a local sign company in Washington state, where he stayed for 20 years. Then he and his wife started discussing the possibility of seminary.

It seemed like a crazy idea, but as soon as we started talking about it, it seemed right, Scamman said. We took the first step, we took the second. We waited to see if there was a brick wall, and there wasnt.

He quit his job and earned an associates degree from Grays Harbor College in Washington in eight months. He and his wife sold their house and moved to Indiana, where he enrolled in the four-year program at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne and graduated in May with a masters of divinity.

Taking those steps was risky  completing the seminary and receiving an assignment are not guaranteed, Scamman said.

You dont know until today, or until three months ago, you dont know if God is going to send you, he said.

Seminarians and their family members dont have a home for four years, Scamman said. He helped at a local church for a while at Concordia, then he interned (seminarians call it a vicarage) at a church in Lincoln and spent one more year in Indiana before getting his assignment and graduating.

We are way too good at moving, Scamman said. We threw away all our boxes.

Hopefully, they will stay in Greenwich for the next 40 years, he said. For his wife, the promise of decades in one spot means having a church family for the first time in six years.

I think the best part will be getting to know our church family, she said. Its been a long time.

Cousins and second-cousins of the Scammans populate the Northeast, so the three moved closer to family though they swapped coasts.

Its like moving back home to a home we never lived at, he said.

jo.kroeker@hearstmediact.com
GREENWICH  The interim administrator who helped to launch the Windrose Program is leaving the Greenwich Public Schools after accepting a position as Pequot housemaster at Fairfield Warde High School.

Brian T. Keating was named the interim program administrator after participating in the Alternative High School Design Team during the 2016-17 school year to develop the Windrose Program. He joined Greenwich High School in 2001 as an English teacher with the GHS Community Learning Program and served as Clark House assistant dean.

I am thankful for the many opportunities afforded me during my 17 years of service to the Greenwich Public Schools, he said in a statement. Helping to enrich the lives of students has been rewarding, and the time spent with my colleagues was invaluable.

During his tenure in Greenwich, Keating held a handful of leadership roles, as a building representative for the Greenwich Education Association, lead department mentor for the states Teaching Education and Mentoring Program and lead English teacher for the Saturday CAPT Academy.

Brian has served the GHS community with distinction during his many years here, GHS Headmaster Chris Winters said in a statement. An exemplary teacher of English, a passionate and enthusiastic assistant dean, an innovative thinker in planning for the Windrose Program, and a steady leader as the program administrator of Windrose, Brians work has left a positive mark on the students, staff, and parents of GHS.

Keating, who taught English at Danbury High School until 2001, had previous experience developing programs for underserved students. He started a Danbury Public Schools program called R.E.A.C.H., which helps expelled students, in 1994.

He received a bachelor of science degree in English in 1993 and a master of arts degree in education in 1994 from the University of Connecticuts Neag School of Education. He completed his sixth-year certification in administration at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven in 2016.

Keating said he will miss Greenwich but is excited to work with the students, staff and community of Fairfield.

We wish him the very best, Winters said.
GREENWICH  Town officials are on the alert after a mosquito trapped near the Eastern Greenwich Civic Center in Old Greenwich tested positive for the West Nile Virus, the first such case found in town this year.

The presence of the virus in mosquitoes does not automatically mean humans will contract it or, even if they do, that their health will be at risk. But the town is urging residents to be cautious and take common sense steps to protect themselves from mosquitoes.

Precautions include avoiding outdoor activities at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are the most active, wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants when outdoors and using mosquito repellent according to the labels instructions. For safety, people should wash skin that has been treated with repellent when they return indoors and avoid using repellants with DEET on infants and small children.

According to the town Department of Health, most people who get West Nile virus do not know they have it because the symptoms are typically minor. Sometimes people do not show any symptoms at all as their bodies fight off the infection. However, the virus can be a serious health risk, particularly for the elderly and people with compromised immune systems.

Town Director of Environmental Services Michael Long said muggy, rainy stretches of weather, like the one currently making life uncomfortable in southern Connecticut, and predicted to last into next week, are times to be particularly cautious.

Its a fairly low infection rate but there are things people can do to reduce the infection rate even more, Long said.

Parents and caregivers are also urged to cover the arms and legs of children playing outdoors and cover playpens or carriages with mosquito netting.

Additionally, for anyone camping it is not advised they set up camp near stagnant or standing water.

People can cut down on mosquito populations by eliminating standing water on their properties. Trash containers should be covered and the water in birdbaths should be changed daily.

Property owners with ponds and other stagnant water bodies that do not support fish, frogs or other amphibians that eat mosquito larvae, can treat them with biological agents. Before doing so, however, a property owner should contact the Department of Health at 203-622-7836 or 203-987-1001.

In 2017, there were three reported cases of West Nile Virus in humans in Connecticut and none were fatal. No cases of humans with the virus have been reported so far in 2018.

The town is in the middle of an ongoing program to reduce mosquito populations on public land.

The general public must be vigilant in eliminating standing water on their own properties and protecting themselves from biting mosquitoes at all times, Long said. It is important to recognize that the highest risk of exposure to West Nile Virus-infected mosquitoes is during the months of August and September.

Symptoms can occur suddenly between five to 15 days after a person is bit by an infected mosquito. Mild symptoms can include a slight fever, headaches, a rash, swollen lymph nodes, nausea, malaise and eye pain. More severe problems caused by West Nile can include severe headaches, high fevers, a stiff neck, disorientation, severe muscle weakness and gastrointestinal symptoms. In cases it can even cause coma or death.

According to the states Mosquito Management Program, mosquitoes carrying the virus already have been found in Stamford, New Canaan, Darien, Bridgeport, Easton, Stratford, Waterbury and West Haven. Testing of trapped mosquitoes will continue through October throughout the state including at three locations in Greenwich, the civic center, Lake Avenue and the Mianus River Park.

The town has undertaken a preemptive larvicide program, treating public and private roadway catch basins.

Controlling the mosquito population in the larval stage through the application of larvicide has been found to be a prudent action, said town Director of Health Caroline Calderone Baisley. However, this measure only helps to reduce the mosquito population, not eliminate it. The recent warm weather and periodic rain events have increased the ability for mosquitoes to breed. Residents are encouraged to protect themselves whenever they are outdoors.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
Robert E. Lee, erected 1884, New Orleans. Photo: Matthew Shain

Im from California, Matthew Shain says, and the Civil War was very academic to me. That all changed when he traveled for the first time to New Orleans, where statues of generals and slaveholders stood all over town. Then the monuments started to vanish, as, over the past few years, cities and their governments belatedly realized that they had to reckon with the representations of white supremacists their civic forefathers had cast in bronze and zinc. And as the statues came off their pedestals  sometimes with official sanction, sometimes disruptively  Shain observed that these symbols were being removed, rewriting our collective history, without having new symbols put in their place. Its a transitional time, trying to find more inclusive and equitable ways of telling the story. After all, he adds, a lot of people who liked the monuments didnt connect with the history they really represented  they were just landmarks that they were used to. And other people liked them for very dark-hearted reasons.

He set out to photograph the pedestals where they had stood, and so far hes covered five states, including New York, with a few more to go. His are typological pictures, a bit like those famous water-tower photographs by Bernd and Hilla Becher, though without the hyper-rigid formality. (Theyre on view in The Way We Are Now, a group show at Aperture, through August 16.) All are in black and white  though, Shain hastens to say, I didnt want them to be nostalgic. But theres an ambiguity there. Every one is framed to emphasize the empty space above. In noting the statues absence, he makes them extremely present.

Thomas Jonathan Stonewall Jackson, erected 1957, The Bronx. Photo: Matthew Shain

Confederate Soldiers and Sailors monument, erected 1903, Baltimore. Photo: Matthew Shain

Chief Justice Roger Taney, erected 1872, Annapolis, Maryland. Photo: Matthew Shain

John Henninger Reagan, erected 1933, Austin, Texas. Photo: Matthew Shain

Jefferson Davis monument, erected 1964, Memphis, Tennessee. Photo: Matthew Shain

*This article appears in the July 23, 2018, issue of New York Magazine. Subscribe Now!
Alphabet has just published its financial results for the second quarter of 2018, and the numbers look impressive. The Google parent company reported $32.65 billion in revenue, a 26% increase over the same quarter last year. It also an increase over Q1 of 2018 when the numbers were $31.15 billion.

The company was fined 4.3 billion (the equivalent of $5.01 billion) by the European Commission, but the company is still appealing against that so it has no reflection on the actual Q2 results. Still, Google listed its results to include it and it still managed to post positive operating income of $2.8 billion.

86% of the revenue came from advertising, but the Other revenues jumped 34% on a yearly basis to $4.425 billion. The Other section includes cloud services, hardware and app sales. It also has the Nest sales under its wing after Alphabet moved it from Bets to the regular non-ad sector.

Source
LG has finally started pushing Android 8.0 Oreo OTA update for the LG V20. The first versions to receive it are the F800L, F800K and F800S that can be found in South Korea. The update weighs in at a little over 1.6GB and its build number is V20c-JUL-06-2018.

The changelog of the update includes:

Privacy policy update.

The blue light filter in "Comfort view" has been improved. 10 new levels of adjustment added.

The Home touch buttons can now be hidden while using apps.

New icon shapes.

Improved settings layout.

Each app's notifications can now be managed managed all in one place.

The notification badge on the apps displays the number of new notification accordingly.

Battery and performance optimizations by limiting background apps.

Sony's LDAC codec is now supported for Bluetooth headsets that support it as well.

Touching and holding on an app icon reveals more options.

Historically, LG sends out the update to South Korea first in the form of a wide soak test, but if everything goes smoothly we can expect it to arrive in other countries pretty soon.

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Perhaps Vlad knows better than Donald about whats good for Donalds political future. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

The theory that Vladimir Putin has a tender, almost fatherly interest in the political well-being of his friend Donald Trump received fresh validation today when the Kremlin deflected Trumps strange public invitation for a second summit meeting in Washington this fall. Reuters has the report:

The Kremlin was reticent on Tuesday about whether it would accept an invitation from U.S. President Donald Trump to hold a summit with Vladimir Putin in Washington later this year, saying only that the two men had other chances to meet as well

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said that though Washington and Moscow agreed there was a need for another Putin-Trump meeting, Russia had not yet begun any practical preparations for a new meeting.

There are other options (to meet) which our leaders can look at, Ushakov told reporters, citing a meeting of G20 leaders in Argentina which starts at the end of November.

Its possible the Russians feel so fortunate about their big propaganda win at the Helsinki summit that they dont want to jinx themselves by returning to that well so soon. Its even possible they fear that Trump will try to make up for his toadying behavior at the first event by going all Barbarossa on their leader and ruining their budding alliance with the U.S.

But the most logical explanation is that like many Americans, they figure a quick second summit with Putin on U.S. soil would be the wrong big foreign-policy move for Trump, particularly if it happens right before the midterm elections. Republican voters are clearly coming around to the idea of Russians being the new English  our most reliable friends  enjoying a special relationship founded on conservative Christianity and hostility to those refugee-hugging liberal Euroweenies in the increasingly irrelevant NATO. But its not necessarily the note that will mobilize them to flood the polling places in November. Maybe in 2020, eh?

Well see if the White House takes the hint and goes to a plan B.
OnePlus announced today it is opening three new authorized offline stores. They will be in Bangalore, Mumbai, and Kolkata and the launch will be on July 28 at 11 AM. The company will hand out prizes for the first 100 customers, including an actual OnePlus 6 Marvel Avengers Iron Man case and OnePlus branded t-shirts.

The store in Bengaluru is in Jayanagar, 4th Block, the Mumbai one is in Central Mall while Kolkata OnePlus fans should head to South City Mall. To be eligible for exclusive OnePlus goodies on purchase, customers must register online. Along with the first customers, all students also have a chance to win Back-to-School kit on purchase, and there are free OnePlus 5 or OnePlus 5T accessories for everyone, who brings a friend.

OnePlus 6 in Iron Man case

The company opened its first offline store back in January 2017 in Bangalore. It said that since the opening, OnePlus 6 offline sales grew 91%, compared with the OnePlus 5 results. The Chinese manufacturer plans to expand its brick-and-mortar network with at least 10 more stores in 10 key markets and to open an R&D center in India.

Source
Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium keeps expanding to new markets. The phone was just approved by the Eurasian Commission that certifies phones for Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.

More interestingly, it was joined by an upcoming Sony phone with model name H4413. Judging by previous Sony model names this should be the yet-to-be-announced Xperia XA3. Typically XZ phones are named H6xxx, while the midrangers are H4xxx.

The Japanese company is holding an announcement at IFA on August 30 and the appearance of an H4413 smartphone suggests we might see a new member of XA series at the venue.

If the Xperia XA3 is really the surprise Sony is preparing for IFA, it will arrive just nine months after the Xperia XA2 and Xperia XA2 Ultra that were unveiled at CES Las Vegas 2018. It might also be an entirely new member of the series - an Xperia XA2 Premium, sliding between the XA and XZ series.

Unfortunately no information about its hardware is available at this point, so we'll have to wait for more leaks to fill us in.

Via
Xiaomi is holding an event in Madrid, and we cant be more excited. The Spanish capital is not the usual destination where we see phone debuts, but these are hardly the most typical phones either.

The Chinese company is announcing the Xiaomi Mi A2, the follow-up of the Android One device Mi A1. Alongside it we'll see the Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite - an even cheaper device with stock Android.

The event begins at 11 AM local time (UTC+2) and will be streamed live both on the Mi Facebook page and its YouTube channel.



Xiaomi Mi A2 (in Black)  Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite (in Gold)

The Xiaomi Mi A2 is going to feature hardware identical to the Xiaomi Mi 6X, but with MIUI being replaced by stock Android. If the manufacturer keeps the tradition, the clean Oreo will arrive with some apps from the Mi user interface like Camera and Calendar.

The Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite will also be on the Android One program for timely updates and stripped of the heavy Mi customization. It is expected to be based on the Redmi 6 Pro, so brace for a notch on the 5.84 screen.

If the YouTube video does not play for some reason, follow the Source link for the Facebook stream.

Source
Korean Movie | 2017

 Documentary

Directed by Park Bae-il ()

87min | Release date in South Korea: 2018/08/16

Synopsis

Vibrant stars disappears into the night as the sun rises and Ui-seon with her hunched back depends on her stroller to walk around the yard slowly. Sun-bun plants sesame, pulls out grass in her field, and digs out potatoes all day, sweating. Geum-yeon and Sang-hui have a conversation while eating snacks, sitting under the shade of stubby bushes. Several people eat in a circle, play card games, and take a nap in the village hall. This day in Soseongri goes on just like yesterday did.

Soseongri is made up of the all spectrum of emotions both good and bad from the people who lives here - Geum-yeon who lost her 3 year old baby boy; Sun-bun who has fought against the patriarchy to reclaim her lost name and identity; Ui-seon who find joy in sharing even if herself lives in extreme poverty. The village hall where the North Korean People's Army used to sell bread, the entrance of the village where the Korean armed forces massacred people, and the valley where the dead are buried are all bearing scars of Koreas modern history. The people in Soseongri have embraced the history of fetters and hard-knocked lives, and support each other. On April 26, 2017, THAAD was deployed in Soseongri, accompanied by the military boots of the Korean police and the sneers of American soldiers, destroying the peaceful daily lives of those who live here. THAAD, meant to stop wars, turns Soseongri into a battlefield. The people in Soseongri lie down on the asphalt road again to protect their lives.

Source
By Vasia Orion | Published on 2018/07/23

I know a production is excited about its own cast when they let the photos speak for the scene, and the combined popularity of Yoon Si-yoon and Park Byung-eun is a solid reason for that confidence. The latest images from "Your Honor" show the two actors' characters clashing.

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I imagine Yoon Si-yoon's Han Gang-ho will be clashing with a lot of people, given his extensive prison living, inferiority issues against his brother, and the fact that he now has to act like him in a challenging job. That job being on the side of the law he probably feels has abandoned him means that there will be plenty of folks to hate in the workplace.

Park Byung-eun's Oh Sang-cheol seems to have mutual feelings, and a rivalry with Gang-ho's brother, Soo-ho. From the training academy to the workplace, there's plenty of animosity in their past. Adding to this Sang-cheol's rejection by Song So-eun (Lee Yoo-young), and her probably romance with Gang-ho, and we have a recipe for disaster.

The hopefully entertaining disaster of "Your Honor" will be with us shortly, premiering on Wednesday July 25th on SBS.

Written by: Orion from 'Orion's Ramblings'

Sources (1)
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Press release

Havre Edward Jones Financial Advisor Jennifer Tilleman is working to support Havre-area schools by using her office as a drop-off location for a school supplies drive.

As our world becomes more global, competition within our younger generation continues to rise, emphasizing the importance of a quality education, Tilleman said in a press release. Im proud to support the academic development of young minds in this community through this school supply donation program.

The branch address is 304 Fourth St.

Edward Jones and its associates cannot accept monetary donations of any kind.
Havre Police Department

Casey Owen Mummey of Havre, 37, was arrested on a pick up and hold order served on First Street West at 12:07 p.m. Monday.

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A caller at a First Street business reported at 1:09 p.m. Monday that a man stole two beers.

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Gene William Liese of Fort Belknap, 30, was arrested on charges of partner or family member assault and probation violation and on a state District Court warrant, after a Second Street caller reported Monday at 1:52 p.m. a man and woman were fighting.

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A McKinley Avenue caller reported at 3:01 p.m. Monday that her vehicle had been broken into and money and alcohol stolen.

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A Grant Avenue caller reported a stolen gun Monday at 5:14 p.m.

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Travis Kyle Wilson of Havre, 28, was arrested on charges of partner or family member assault, criminal destruction of a communication device and criminal mischief, following a Monday 3:43 p.m. report of a disturbance on Second Street. Dispatch received requests for help at the hospital at 6:48 p.m. and 7:36 p.m. while medical personnel were treating a man connected to this arrest.

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A Lincoln Avenue caller reported finding a set of keys at 4:52 p.m. Monday.

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A caller reported someone backed a vehicle into and damaged a pole at a First Street West establishment Monday at 7:06 p.m.

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Two callers on Third Avenue reported at 12:32 a.m. today hearing a loud noise, possibly a firework.

Hill County Sheriff's Office

A caller reported at 10:14 a.m. Monday that a garbage truck lost a garbage bin on U.S. Highway 2 East.

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Colten Lee Shambo of Hays, 27, was arrested on two Justice or City court warrants at Hill County Detention Center Monday at 7:25 p.m.

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A Fifth Street North caller reported Monday at 10:21 p.m. a custody violation.

Havre Fire Department

Emergency medical personnel responded to three calls Monday.

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Firefighters responded to two calls Monday: a damaged power pole on the 200 Block of First Street West at 7:09 p.m. and a fire alarm on the 500 Block of First Avenue at 8:18 p.m.

Havre Animal Shelter

This morning the shelter held one medium-hair cat with sex listed as "unknown," three medium-hair male cats, one male long-hair cat and five female short-hair cats.

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The shelter also held this morning a 2-year-old female hound, a 2-year-old female pit bull terrier-German shepherd cross, a 13-week-old male shepherd, 1-year-old male spaniel-pit bull terrier cross, a 26-week-old Labrador retriever-mastiff cross, a 2-year-old male Australian cattle dog-blue heeler cross, a 9-month-old female pit bull terrier and a 3-year-1-month-old male Labrador retriever.

Births

A girl was born Monday, July 23, 2018, to Kaci and Mike Hipple of Havre.
The Relay for Life will never give up on the Hi-Line, said volunteers from Havre and Chinook who met Monday in Havre to work on organizing 2019s event, although many expressed frustration that this years June relay was canceled.

We cant let this happen, cancer survivor and volunteer Donna Tilleman said.

She added that the Relay for Life here used to be one of the biggest in the state.

She said the coordinator did no advertising for the event and nobody knew anything about it. She added that she and other volunteers did not hear about its cancellation until the day it was supposed to happen in Chinook, June 29.

Relay for Life is the primary fundraising activity for the American Cancer Society, taking place all across the country since 1985, said Kris Holmes of Missoula, a community development manager for American Cancer Society Inc.

She added that the relay is not a race and the purpose of the event is to honor cancer survivors, those who have died and caregivers. All of the money raised goes to the American Cancer Society, she said, with the money donated to local programs, research, transportation, lodging and free wigs for those who need them.

Holmes said the relay itself is a celebration.

She commended the people working to put the relay on again next year.

They have committed to moving forward with the relay for next year, Holmes said.   They came together and said, We need to make this happen next year.

She added that the event last month was canceled due to a lack of communication between the committee for Havre and Chinook, among other reasons.

Tilleman said the event is a lot of hard work to organize.

She said Blaine County didnt always have their own relay, but went to the one in Havre. Then, eventually Blaine County organized its own. But two years ago, she added, the two counties decided to co-host the event, holding the relay in Havre in 2017.

The big difference with the organization last year for the 2018 relay, volunteer Reba Domire said, was that it was the first year a community manager from the American Cancer Society was not able to make it into town to assist with organizing the event.

Volunteer Kyndra Hall said it does make a difference. The community organizers acted as a cheerleader and helped guide the volunteers in making the event a success.

Volunteer, cancer survivor, and Relay for Life guest speaker Art Kleinjan said the community manager helped him with sponsorships.

Every year, the community manager, from the time we started down there, always supplied me with the sponsorship forms, Art said.   This year I heard from nobody, I got nothing, and when I finally started compiling it was too late.

Tilleman added that there are no plans for the Hi-Line to receive another community manager in town, with the closest one being Holmes in Missoula.

Holmes, who covers the state west of Billings while another coordinator covers Billings and east of that city, said she started in September and doesnt know how the operation worked before she started.

She said she will be supporting the Hi-Line Relay for Life remotely, the same as all the other regions of the state she is responsible for, but has no plans on coming up directly.

Every community that I have are so committed and passionate for the relay, Holmes said.   We couldnt do this without the help of our volunteers.

The volunteers at Mondays meeting all agreed that this year, while planning for 2019, the Relay for Life needs as many volunteers as possible to be involved.

Tilleman said that the relay not only needs support from volunteers but the communities. She said she wants to get schools involved again, and senior centers as well as any other partnerships they can find.

We will never, never, never give up, Mary Pyette, a volunteer and cancer survivor said.

Hall said the organizers will hold a meeting at the Eagles Club Monday, Sept. 17, at 6 p.m. and the public is welcome to join.

Pyette said the event brings a high level of therapy as well. She added that being around people who have been through something similar and receiving encouragement from the community can go a long way.

Pyette said people are able to tell their stories at this event and usually there is a speaker or two who will share their stories and give words of encouragement.

Tilleman said she first started as a participant years ago and gradually got more and more involved in the program, from being a team member then on a committee before being a co-chair of the committee, although recently she had stepped back and started participating as a survivor.

Its always been very near and dear to my heart, she said, so I just want to see it up and running again. This area needs this event; there are a lot of cancer survivors in this area.

For more information or to find out how to get involved, contact Donna Tilleman at [email protected], Mary Pyette at [email protected], Reba Domire at [email protected] or Kyndra Hall at [email protected]
Not in favor of owning libs. Photo: Pool/Getty Images

Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a oft-mentioned future presidential candidate, told a group of conservative high-school students on Monday that one of their favorite activities might be fun, and might feel good, but its not always in their best interest.

She was talking, of course, about owning the libs. The Hill provides a transcript of Haleys remarks on the subject:

Raise your hand if youve ever posted anything online to quote-unquote own the libs, Haley asked at the High School Leadership Summit at George Washington University.

The vast majority raised their hands in response, and then erupted into spontaneous applause.

I know that its fun and that it can feel good, but step back and think about what youre accomplishing when you do this  are you persuading anyone? Who are you persuading? Haley asked. Weve all been guilty of it at some point or another, but this kind of speech isnt leadership  its the exact opposite.

Real leadership is about persuasion, its about movement, its bringing people around to your point of view, she added. Not by shouting them down, but by showing them how it is in their best interest to see things the way you do.

The irony of Haleys remarks is that they came at an event hosted by Turning Point USA, a group that has made its name by attempting, often with disastrous results, to get under the skin of liberals. The group famously hosted an event at Kent State University last October that saw a student in a diaper, sucking a pacifier and sitting in a playpen. The point? To mock the safe spaces that liberal students were demanding.
However, some useful points to remember are:

An employee who is a union delegate will not be protected by a cloak of immunity from disciplinary action by reason of their union position if that employee engages in misconduct or poor performance; It is possible for an employer to disaggregate the conduct of an employee, such as protected industrial activities that they are lawfully engaged in, from other unlawful or unprotected activities; and This approach will also apply to Health and Safety Representatives (HSR), who are often union elected members, when the HSR is exercising their powers work health and safety legislation.

How can conduct be "disaggregated" from union membership or activities?

Industrial tribunals have long held that while they will be vigilant to protect the position of any union member or delegate unjustly dealt with by an employer for legitimate activity on behalf of his or her union, that this does not provide such persons with a "magic cloak conferring on the wearer immunity from liability for wrongful actions" (as stated in the Newcastle Steel Works Case (1961) AR 48)

The High Court decisions in The Board of Bendigo Regional Institute of TAFE v Barclay [2012] HCA 32 and CFMEU v BHP Coal Pty Ltd [2014] HCA 41 confirm that the question of why an employer took adverse action against an employee is a question of fact that must be answered in light of all the evidence in the proceedings. If a decision-maker establishes to the satisfaction of the Court that his or her motivation for taking adverse action was free from any unlawful consideration (ie a workplace right, industrial activity or discriminatory attribute) then this will be a successful and complete defence to an adverse action claim.

On that basis, it is not open to the court to draw an objective or unconscious connection between the decision to take adverse action and the protected attribute or activity and find a contravention of the adverse action provisions.
HOUSTON  Theres a hitch in the swing of a protein that delivers the flu virus. Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine researchers believe this mechanism may be a useful target to stop the virus from infecting cells.

In a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the Rice-Baylor team led by biophysicist Jose Onuchic and biochemists Jianpeng Ma and Qinghua Wang delves further into a glycoprotein complex it began to define in a 2014 paper.

That protein, hemagglutinin, sits on the surface of flu viruses and helps them attach to and transport through the protective membranes of target cells.

The paper begins to define the mechanism that allows the protein to unfold and refold in a snap, changing its form to expose a peptide that attaches the virus to a cell and begins infection. The researchers believe therapeutic drugs can use this mechanism to shut the virus down.

This protein starts in a folded state and goes through a global transformation, refolding in a completely different state, said Onuchic, co-director of Rices Center for Theoretical Biological Physics (CTBP). But theres a small part in the center that evolution has conserved.

That single conserved amino acid residue is the hitch that makes the protein pause in the process of refolding. It allows a fusion peptide buried inside to bind to the target cell and begin infecting it. Without the pause, the refolding would be too quick for binding to take place.

Lead author and Rice postdoctoral researcher Xingcheng Lin modeled that part of the protein, the B-loop of the HA2 domain. HA2 sits beneath another domain, a cap known as HA1 that mutates to escape past defenses. Lin explained that HA1 is a common target for flu medications because the exposed cap domain is more accessible than the protected HA2 domain.

The problem is that HA1 mutates constantly to resist drugs, he said. That influences how effective flu vaccines are every year. Lin and Onuchic said HA2 presents a better target for drugs because the mechanism is highly conserved by evolution.

If a drug targets HA2, the domain cannot escape by making mutations because the mutations themselves would make it nonfunctional, Lin said. That kind of drug could become a universal vaccine.

HA2 is a trimeric structure that, when triggered by acidic conditions in the environment near a target cell, transforms itself from a random loop to a coiled coil. Even with the pause, it unfolds and refolds in a fraction of a second, far too fast for microscopes to see. But a computer simulation of the process can be slowed down.

That happens to be a specialty of the CTBP, which uses programs that analyze the energy landscape of proteins to predict how they will fold. Onuchic and his colleagues are pioneers in the theory that folding proteins follow an orderly, funneled process that depends on the intrinsic energy of every atom in the chain, each of which constantly seeks its lowest energy state. If all the atomic beads can be identified, its possible to simulate the complex folding process.

The Rice researchers often use coarse-grained models of proteins, a subset of atoms that represent the whole, to predict how they will fold. The new study was much more ambitious and set out to predict the complex unfolding and refolding by using not only every atom in the chain but also every atom in its liquid environment, Onuchic said.

Lin modeled 40 microseconds (millionths of a second) of the HA2 domain transition that represents the entire process, which takes 1.4 milliseconds (thousandths of a second) to complete. Even that shortened process took two years of computer time to deliver results, he said.

The simulated domain is about 3,000 atoms, but when the environment, including water, is accounted for, the total simulation incorporates around 100,000 atoms, Onuchic said. Its still an enormous simulation that required state-of-the-art techniques.

Previous theories based on crystallographic images of the before-and-after proteins put forth the idea of a spring-loaded domain that appeared to attach to the target cell after the caps removal. Onuchic said the complete model of HA2 supports a different mechanism.

We figured out theres a bunch of energy that makes the final state of HA2 much more stable than the initial state, he said. But with the spring-loaded mechanism, most of the energy would already be wasted by the time it forms the coiled coil and binds the cell and viral membranes. It wouldnt leave any energy to pull the membranes together.

Thats why we decided to do a full calculation of the system  all the atoms of the protein and all the water, Onuchic said. It was a gigantic effort.

The conserved hydrophilic (water-attracting) residue, known as Thr59, is of particular interest to the researchers not only for the way it disrupts folding and allows the virus to attack, but also because it has a twin.

In the full evolutionary tree, these viruses fall into two groups, and the difference appears to be this residue, Onuchic said. They split 1,500 years ago and somehow, after this separation, theyre fully conserved. They havent been able to change that residue no matter what, and we believe that makes this residue important.

The current research focused on the group that incorporates Thr59 and causes the H3N2 strain responsible for the Hong Kong flu, Lin said. The other residue, Met59, appears in the H1N1 strain that caused the Spanish flu.

We still have a long way to go to understand the entire protein, he said. Here, we only studied one domain of one protein, and there are several others that are very important to its function.

But what Xingcheng has already done is a computational tour de force, Onuchic added. He showed how this particular residue breaks the helical symmetry of the domain and makes it unstable enough to give the peptide time to grab the membranes.

Former Rice postdoctoral researcher Jeffrey Noel, now a Humboldt Fellow at the Max Delbruck Center, Berlin, is co-author of the paper. Onuchic is Rices Harry C. and Olga K. Wiess Professor of Physics and Astronomy. Ma is a professor of bioengineering at Rice and the Lodwick T. Bolin Professor of Biochemistry at Baylor. Wang is an assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Baylor.

The research was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Welch Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. Rice computing resources were provided by the NSF-supported DAVinCI supercomputer, the BlueBioU supercomputer and the NOTS cluster administered by the Center for Research Computing and procured in partnership with Rices Ken Kennedy Institute for Information Technology. The researchers also used the Anton supercomputer at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center made available by D.E. Shaw Research, as well as the NSF-supported Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment supercomputer.

Rice University
A Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center viral oncology researcher has discovered a key cellular pathway associated with activating Kaposi sarcoma, a rare cancer most often found in people with HIV/AIDS or otherwise compromised immune systems.

We have identified the main oncogenic driver of the tumor and the viral mechanism of activation, said Enrique A. Mesri, Ph.D., professor of microbiology and immunology at the Miller School of Medicine, director of the Miami Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) AIDS Malignancies Program, and lead author of a study published in the journal PLOSPathogens.

Our findings support the repurposing of Olaratumab/Lartruvo, an anti-cancer drug recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, for its use in AIDS-associated Kaposi sarcoma, Mesri said. Our teams initial concept for a clinical trial of the drug has been favorably viewed by Eli Lilly and members of the AIDS Malignancies Consortium, and is now being reviewed by the National Cancer Institute.

Mesri led a University of Miami Miller School of Medicine research team that included Pascal Goldschmidt, M.D., professor of cardiology and former dean of the Miller School of Medicine; Julian Naipauer, Ph.D., a postdoctoral associate; and Lucas Cavallin, M.D., Ph.D., and Qi Ma, M.D., Ph.D., two former lab members. Their study, KSHV-Induced Ligand Mediated Activation of PDGF Receptor-Alpha Drives Kaposis Sarcomagenesis, was done in collaboration with the Departments of Dermatology and Pathology. Other Miller School co-authors were Sachin Gupta, Ph.D., Mani Kurian, Ph.D., Paola Locatelli, M.D., Ph.D., Paolo Romanelli, M.D., and Mehrdad Nadji, M.D.

Kaposi sarcoma, which causes lesions to grow in the skin, lymph nodes, internal organs, and mucous membranes, is caused by a type of herpes virus called Kaposi sarcoma herpes virus (KSHV). It is most common in individuals with late-stage HIV/AIDS or those taking immunosuppressant medications.

Mesris study focused on how the KSHV virus activates normal host tissue cells to induce Kaposi sarcoma. We found that the PDGF receptor alpha (PDGFRA) on the host cells plays the key role in the development of KSHV-induced tumors in laboratory mice, he said. The invading virus carries genes that activate the production of PDGF the proteins ligands that trigger the PDGF receptors  and signal the host cell to drive the process of malignant proliferation.

Treating Kaposi sarcoma is very challenging, because most patients are already taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV/AIDS, Mesri said. Managing this cancer becomes even more complicated when patients fall out of compliance with their ART regimen, he added. Therefore, we need to find new strategies for preventing KSHV from triggering this deadly cancer and therapies that can be combined with ART. Our study opens the possibility of using Olaratumab as an anti-PDGF receptor immunotherapy  a promising and straightforward approach because it could be given in combination with Doxorubicin, which is an AIDS-KS frontline therapy.

Mesri added that the discovery that the viral mechanism of PDGFRA carcinogenicity involves the need for ligand activation of the PDGF receptor will pave the way for the use of Olaratumab/Lartruvo, which is a monoclonal antibody that blocks this ligand-receptor interaction.

Since we also found that PDGFRA activation is a prominent feature of most KS tumors, we are confident that efficacious targeting of PDGFRA via immunotherapy or inhibitory drugs could benefit many AIDS-KS patients.

Miller School of Medicine
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.  New research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine explains why obesity causes harmful inflammation that can lead to diabetes, clogged arteries and other health problems. Doctors may be able to use this knowledge to battle these chronic diseases and others driven by damaging inflammation.

All these diseases have a common denominator, said researcher Vlad Serbulea, PhD. It may well be that weve identified what starts off the whole cascade of inflammation and metabolic changes.

Effects of Obesity

The researchers, for the first time, were able to explain why resident immune cells in fat tissue  immune cells that are thought to be beneficial  turn harmful during obesity, causing unwanted and unhealthy inflammation.

The research team, led by Norbert Leitinger, PhD, of UVAs Department of Pharmacology, found that damaging free radicals produced within our bodies react with substances known as lipids inside fat tissue. This attack on the lipids prompts them to cause inflammation, a natural immune response.

Free radicals are so reactive that they want to hitch onto something, Serbulea explained. Lipids happen to be a very good sink for these radicals to combine with.

That results in a process called lipid oxidation. At first the scientists expected the oxidized lipids would prove harmful, but it wasnt that simple. Some of the oxidized lipids were causing damaging inflammation  reprogramming immune cells to become hyperactive  but other oxidized lipids were present in healthy tissue. Specifically, shorter truncated ones are protective, while longer full-length ones were inflammatory.

When we compare healthy and obese tissue, what seems to change is the ratio of full-length and truncated oxidized lipids, Serbulea said. Our studies show that the full-length, or longer, oxidized lipids are quite inflammatory. They promote inflammation within these immune cells, and we think that instigates and perpetuates the disease process within [fat] tissue during obesity.

A Drug to Combat the Inflammation of Obesity

Now that scientists know which oxidized lipids are causing problems, and how, they can seek to block them to prevent inflammation. They may be able to develop a drug, for example, that would reduce the number of harmful, full-length oxidized lipids.

Now, knowing that some of these molecules are really bad guys, so to speak, eliminating them from the circulation may have a very beneficial effect on chronic diseases, said Leitinger, of UVAs Robert M. Berne Cardiovascular Research Center and UVAs Carter Immunology Center.

Alternately, doctors might want to promote the number of beneficial, shorter phospholipids. Inflammation is important for your bodys defenses, so you dont want to eliminate it completely, Leitinger said. Its a question of finding the right balance.

By restoring that balance, doctors may be able to make significant inroads against chronic diseases that now plague millions of people.

One thing we showed is that metabolism in the immune cells is an exploitable target, Serbulea said. Its been a target in diseases like cancer, but now for obesity and atherosclerosis it becomes more and more of a focus.

Findings Published

The researchers have published their findings in PNAS, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The research team consisted of Serbulea, Clint Upchurch, Michael Schappe, Paxton Voigt, Dory DeWeese, Bimal Desai, Akshaya Meher and Leitinger.

The work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (grants R01 DK096076, P01 HL120840 and R01 GM108989) and a University of Virginia Double-Hoo Research Award.

UVA Health System is an academic health system that includes a 612-bed hospital, the UVA School of Medicine, a level I trauma center, nationally recognized cancer and heart centers and primary and specialty clinics throughout Central Virginia. UVA is recognized for excellence by U.S. News & World Report, Best Doctors in America and Americas Top Doctors.
Blake finishes as runner-up for new police chief job

Hendersonville Police Chief Herbert Blake won't be going to Bluffton, South Carolina, as police chief, having finished as runner-up to a candidate from Arkansas.

Bluffton Town Manager Marc Orlando selected Christopher Chapmond as Blufftons next chief of police, the town announced on Tuesday. Chapmond, who is currently the assistant police chief for Hot Springs, Arkansas, will begin by Sept. 1.

Town leaders and staff are excited about Christopher Chapmond being hired as Blufftons new chief of police, Mayor Lisa Sulka said. Throughout the two-month interview process, Chapmond demonstrated the leadership, law enforcement management skills and energy to advance the Bluffton Police Department to a higher level of public safety and community policing within our Town.

Orlando said the Town received more than 60 applicants from 24 states and two countries.

Blufftons search for a new police chief introduced Town leaders to numerous talented applicants with extensive law enforcement experience, Orlando said. Dozens of people provided input to this selection process to include Town Council members, members of a citizens panel and the general public who attended the July 18 public forum. I believe Christopher Chapmond is the right fit for the Town to take our police department to its next stage of professional growth as an organization.

The Town held its final interviews on July 18, which included a public forum held at the Rotary Community Center and an interview with the town manager.

During the forum Blake, who has been a police chief for 17 years, described Hendersonville as basically Bluffton in the mountains," Bluffton Today reported.

For 17 and a half years, Ive always put service first. Law enforcement is obviously important, but we have to serve and protect, Blake told townspeople at the forum. My department does so much more than take calls. We change flat tires. For example, if you come to Hendersonville and youre asking for directions, we dont give directions. My guys are taught to say, Follow me. We are high on service."
Harry Crosbie wants to add two floors to his quayside home. Picture: Gerry Mooney

Residents have lodged objections with Dublin City Council over plans by developer Harry Crosbie to turn his quayside home into a four-star, 19- bedroom hotel.

As part of the plan for the "iconic building for the docklands", called Number Nine, the application is seeking to add two floors to the existing two-storey property.

The development also includes a bar-restaurant and a gallery and performance space. Each of the bedrooms will have a balcony overlooking the water.

In a consultation, planners from the city council told consultants for Basin Holdings they had no objection in principle to a revised extension scheme.

The consultants said the multi-use facility would create "an iconic building for the Dublin Docklands and Hanover Quay" and would contribute significantly to the city as an enhanced tourist destination and "place to meet".

Amenities

They said the 9 Hanover Quay development "will be a considerable planning gain for Grand Canal Dock providing services, public amenities and a cultural hub".

However, it is facing opposition from a number of local residents.

Three living in Longboat Quay spoke out.

Phil Costelloe told the council that he and his wife have enjoyed living in their south- facing and light-filled home.

However, he said if the plan proceeded, "we will be trapped in darkness, negative equity with lack of privacy. We would also suffer from noise pollution from the hotel and bar".

Mr Costelloe, who bought his one-bedroom home in 2007, said the proposal "would absolutely decimate the value of my home".

Graeme Roche said that "if additional floors are added, our apartment would become almost entirely boxed in" and it would "remove all remaining natural light and privacy".

He said that the area was already extremely well served by the many hotels nearby.

"The addition of 19 rooms would create little value when compared to the detriment of the homeowners and residents who live there," he added.

Resident Jessica Lee told the council: "At present, Airbnb lists 'over 300-plus' places to rent in the Grand Canal Dock area. I see no reason why another hotel directly beside The Marker and hundreds of Airbnb rentals is required."

A decision is due on the application next month.
Pic Shows: Jonathan Keogh or Johnny Keogh (LEFT IN WAIST COAT AND DICKIE BOW) and Thomas Tossy Fox. Both men are accused of murder of Gareth Hutch. Johnny Keogh is the brother of Hutch Gang murder victim Michael Keogh. Michael was shot dead on May 31st 2017 in an underground car park in Dorset Street.

A murder trial judge yesterday ruled that mobile phone records alleged to show contact between defendants can be used in evidence.

The ruling came on the final day of the prosecution case against three people accused of the gun murder of Gareth Hutch.

Expand Close Monday 17 May 2010. Blanchardstown DC: Gareth Hutch. / Facebook

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A nephew of Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch, the 36-year-old was shot outside Avondale House on North Cumberland Street, Dublin, on May 24, 2016.

Jonathan Keogh (32), his sister Regina Keogh (41) and friend Thomas Fox (31) have all pleaded not guilty before the Special Criminal Court to murdering Mr Hutch.

Threatened

Mr Fox, of Rutland Court, Dublin 1, has also denied the unlawful possession of a Markarov 9mm handgun on May 23, 2016.

Prosecutors have claimed that Mr Keogh, of Gloucester Place, Dublin 1, threatened to kill Mr Hutch the evening before the shooting.

It is alleged that Mr Fox and Ms Keogh, of Avondale House, were instrumental in planning the murder, and Mr Keogh and another man, Mr AB, were the gunmen. Mr AB is not before the court.

The court has previously been told that gardai had analysed several mobile phone numbers allegedly associated with the three defendants, and the contact the numbers had with each other around the time of the murder.

Last week, defence lawyers Sean Guerin SC and Seamus Clarke SC argued the retention of phone data and the unrestricted access by gardai to it was in contravention of EU law, and breached their clients' rights to privacy.

However, prosecutor Paul Burns SC said a person's right to privacy was not absolute and could not frustrate a murder investigation.

Mr Justice Tony Hunt ruled yesterday that the phone evidence was admissible and said the court would give written reasons later in the week.

Mr Burns then said the prosecution had completed all its evidence.

Lawyers for the accused said they had no applications to make.

During the eight-week trial, evidence was heard from protected witness Mary McDonnell, who identified Mr Keogh from CCTV as one of the shooters. She also identified Mr Keogh and Mr Fox as the men who came into her flat the night before with two guns.

Mr Keogh's ex-girlfriend Denise King gave evidence that Regina Keogh came to her home the day after the shooting, and asked her to take an envelope containing money to her brother in Belfast.

She said she asked Mr Keogh if he had shot Mr Hutch and he swore on his baby daughter's life that he hadn't killed him.

The trial resumes tomorrow, when lawyers for the prosecution and defence are expected to make closing speeches.
US President Donald Trump told Iran it risked dire consequences "the like of which few throughout history have suffered before" if the Islamic republic made more threats against the United States.

His words, spelled out in capital letters in a late night Twitter message, came hours after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told Mr Trump that hostile policies toward Tehran could lead to "the mother of all wars".

Despite the heightened rhetoric, both sides have reasons to want to avoid starting a conflict that could easily escalate.

Pressure

Mr Trump's comments come in the context of a barrage of speeches and online communications meant to stir up unrest and pressure Iran to end its nuclear programme and its support of militant groups, according to US officials.

Iran has faced increased pressure and possible sanctions since Mr Trump's decision in May to withdraw the United States from a 2015 international agreement over Iran's nuclear programme.

In his message directed at Mr Rouhani, Mr Trump wrote: "Never, ever threaten the United States again or you will suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before. We are no longer a country that will stand for your demented words of violence and death. Be cautious!"

On Sunday, Mr Rouhani told Iranian diplomats: "Mr Trump, don't play with the lion's tail, this would only lead to regret.

"America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars," state news agency IRNA quoted.

Mistake

Mr Rouhani left open the possibility of peace between the two countries, at odds since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

But Iran's most powerful authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said negotiations with the United States would be an "obvious mistake".

Mr Rouhani also scoffed at Mr Trump's threat to halt Iranian oil exports and said Iran had a dominant position in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping waterway.

A senior commander of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards reacted angrily to Mr Trump's threats by saying Tehran would continue to resist its enemies.
Manafort gets a reprieve. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

A federal judge on Monday approved a request from Paul Manaforts lawyers to delay his trial for bank- and tax-fraud charges that was to begin Wednesday. It will instead begin on Tuesday, July 31.

Manaforts lawyers argued that they need more time to prepare for the trial. Specifically, they asked for more time to go through 120,000 pages of documents that Manafort lawyer Kevin Downing says he and his team received in the past several weeks. Many of the documents came from devices owned by Rick Gates, Manaforts longtime partner who has pleaded guilty and is cooperating with prosecutors.

Lawyers on Special Counsel Robert Muellers team argued against the delay. They said many of the documents are from four phones or iPads belonging to Gates and most were printouts of images. Im just not sure what looking at pictures is going to do for their case, Uzo Asonye, a lawyer on Muellers team, said in court Monday.

U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis sided with Manaforts team and granted the delay, but it was much shorter than the extension defense lawyers requested. They wanted to put the trial off until later this fall.

Former U.S. attorney Joyce Alene tweeted that Ellis likely agreed to the delay because he wants to make sure Manafort has had enough time to prepare so there are no gounds [sic] for appeal if there is a conviction.

With a July 31 start date, Manaforts trial is coincidentally set to begin on the second anniversary of the FBIs investigation into ties between Donald Trumps campaign, which Manafort once ran, and Russia.
Breast cancer is treatable and may be avoidable. What you need to know
Former CIA director John Brennan has said nasty things about the president, so the White House is revoking a security clearance he is in no position to use. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

In the latest Trump administration effort to wage war on the presidents critics in the federal intelligence community, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders made a strange announcement today, as reported by the Washington Post:

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the officials being examined are former CIA director John Brennan; former FBI director James B. Comey; former CIA director Michael V. Hayden; former national security adviser Susan E. Rice; former director of national intelligence James R. Clapper Jr.; and former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe.

The president is exploring these mechanisms to remove security clearances because theyve politicized and, in some cases, actually monetized their public service and their security clearances in making baseless accusations of improper contact with Russia or being influenced by Russia, Sanders told reporters at a regular press briefing.

The idea seems to have come from Senator Rand Paul, who this morning did a rage-tweet about Brennan, who drew GOP fire last week for calling the presidents performance in Helsinki treasonous.

Is John Brennan monetizing his security clearance? Is John Brennan making millions of dollars divulging secrets to the mainstream media with his attacks on @realDonaldTrump ?  Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) July 23, 2018

The monetizing business appears to be based on the idea that Brennan is making money from speaking fees and media appearances that he wouldnt get if people didnt think he was listening in on the presidents most sensitive communications. That might be true if said people had no idea how security clearances work. Even if Brennan is cleared to receive highly sensitive information, nobody has to give it to him, and if someone in Trump World is doing so (and theres no actual evidence this is happening), then that might be the problem the White House should look at.

If the Brennan security-clearance revocation looks like a dumb (or more likely, just emptily vengeful) idea, at least it would be real. Comey and McCabe do not appear to have security clearances to revoke.

Comey hasnt had a security clearance for many months, according to a person familiar with the matter.

McCabes clearance was deactivated when he was fired from the FBI, said Melissa Schwartz, a spokeswoman for McCabe. She said McCabes lawyers were told that was according to FBI policy.

A couple of others in the White House hit list still have courtesy clearances continued in case their Trump administration successors decide they need to consult with them (again, its a matter of what they are and arent given, not what they are cleared to read or hear), which apparently they havent.

James Clapper on CNN: "I don't get the briefings. I don't have access to classified info ... Haven't had a case to use it and has no bearing whatsoever on my regard or lack thereof for President Trump or what he's doing ... I think this is just a very, very petty thing to do."  Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 23, 2018

I dont go back for classified briefings. Wont have any effect on what I say or write  Gen Michael Hayden (@GenMhayden) July 23, 2018

We havent heard from Susan Rice yet, but again, its unlikely anyone is giving her classified information, even if shes still cleared to review it, and its equally unlikely that anyone listening to her thinks she is.

So whats going on here? Its rather transparently an effort to insinuate that Trumps intelligence-community critics are doing something disreputable or even criminal without having to go to the trouble of alleging anything in particular. An expired or unusable security clearance has nothing to do with why people pay attention to any of these critics. The actual reason is that they are emissaries from a pre-Trump world with very different standards of truth, information-gathering, and even patriotism. They dont need any secret scoop to figure out the threat Trump poses to the values and interests they were trained to revere.
As the grouping of five countries meets for the 10th BRICS summit at Johannesburg on July 25, this diverse and disjointed group of nations with varying trajectories, even serious bilateral disputes, continues to be seen as yet another alphabet soup with limited potential to transform global governance structures. China, which constitutes two-thirds of the economic power of BRICS, has major difficulties with India, the groups second largest economy. Russia remains entangled with the US on many global flashpoints and Brazil and South Africa are preoccupied with their own regional and domestic problems. So what does India stand to gain from staying on board with BRICS?

No doubt the rapid rise in intra-BRIC trade from $29 billion in 2000 to $319 billion in 2010 (when South Africa joined), and then to $744 billion last year provides a catchy explanation to underline BRICS expanding partnerships. But wasnt this triggered simply by the overall rapid rise in their global commerce? Chinas foreign trade during 2000-2017 rose from $47 billion to 4.1 trillion which is much higher compared to rise in intra-BRICS trade.

As regards its contribution to creating alternative global governance structures, even as the New Development Bank and its regional centre in Johannesburg have emerged as efficient institutions and the currency reserve pool has evolved as per expectations, the BRICS Credit Rating Agency remains mired in deliberations.

A more credible argument to underline BRICS potency would be in highlighting the multi-pronged innovative strategies in strengthening BRICS constituencies at home and credibility worldwide. This will be the source of BRICS enduring success in materialising Jim ONeils forecast of the BRIC grouping (S was added later) emerging as a force to reckon with, overtaking the G7 grouping of industrialised countries by 2035.

First, in building domestic constituencies, it is important to note that all BRICS summits are preceded, not just by dozens of official meetings but also by events involving sports, media and the youth that generate social networks and goodwill for institutionalising BRICS. This includes initiatives such as the MoU for Regional Aviation Partnership Cooperation that BRICS nations will sign this week or in India taking the lead in digitising the BRICS education and training sectors. Such state facilitation promises to promote greater trade and investments, encourage intra-BRICS tourism as also educational, cultural and information exchanges.

Second, efforts at strengthening the credibility of BRICS worldwide saw the grouping introduce the BRICS+N formulation at their 2014 Forteleeza summit. This was an attempt to start dialogue with leaders of the regional developing economies that saw them holding additional dialogue with select Southern American countries. At the 2015 Ufa summit, this outreach was formalised in a dialogue with leaders of the Eurasian Economic Union and the 2016 Goa summit held a similar outreach with BIMSTEC leaders. But at the Xiamen summit last year, BRICS+N was upgraded to BRICS Plus mechanism of friends and instead of regional powers, the BRICS outreach dialogue invited representatives from five major developing economies from around the world.

The Johannesburg summit this week is expanding the BRICS outreach further. It will hold dialogue in both formulations: BRICS+N outreach (involving African such as Angola, Ethiopia, Gabon, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia) and also BRICS Plus dialogue with friends (which will include national leaders from Argentina, Egypt, Indonesia, Jamaica, and Turkey) as also the secretary general of the United Nations. This truly makes BRICS an event with global overtones and its implications become stronger in face of US President Donald Trumps tariff war which portends a majority of BRICS members potentially being identified as US adversaries.

Such an expanded audience bodes well for Prime Minister Narendra Modis genre of diplomacy. But as this summit sees BRICS expanding its reach and launching new initiatives, it poses an uphill task for the Indian team that needs to surpass the high benchmark of the Xiamen Declaration which was celebrated last year as a victory for Indian diplomacy. The 2017 Xiamen Declaration devoted several paragraphs in specifically naming Pakistan-based terror groups such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed condemning terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, undertaking to combat financing of terrorism at the Financial Action Task Force as also seek expeditious finalisation and adoption of [India-initiated] Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism. Terrorism remains the foremost issue for India with little change in ground realities. Thus, while highlighting Indias concerns and capabilities, the countrys representatives will need to dig deeper into building BRICS constituencies and enhancing its credibility.

Swaran Singh is professor of international relations, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

The views expressed are personal
Earlier this year, United States President Donald Trumps Twitter page featured claims that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had been illegally spying on his election campaign. The major flaw in these allegations was that the incident to which he was referring, which he dubbed Spygate, was perfectly legal. The informant, a 73-year-old Cambridge professor named Stefan Halper, had allegedly supplied information on the Trump campaigns connections with Russia to the FBI.

This issue was once again brought to light this Sunday, following the revelation of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) documents indicating an FBI investigation into informal foreign-policy adviser Carter Pages ties with Russia in 2016. Trump was quick to seize on this as an indicator of espionage, even accusing Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Convention of involvement in the illegal scam. However, Trumps allegations lack one crucial element: evidence. This alone is enough for one to take little importance in his latest Twitter rants.

Many have pointed out that even without his links to Trump, Pages connections to Russia warranted investigation. Additionally, as Page had little or no official relationship with the Trump campaign, an inquiry into his individual ties with a foreign power should not be construed as spying on the campaign itself, and certainly not for the political gain of another party.

The purpose of an election campaign is to promote a candidate by making his or her agenda clear to the public  a campaign, by nature, is meant to be transparent. There is nothing wrong in passing information on a campaign to federal intelligence, especially if those details are a matter of national security, and there is certainly nothing illegal in it. After all, in a democracy, it is the right of the people to release information on anything unclassified  and an election campaign is by no stretch of the imagination a classified affair. Which begs the question: what does the Trump campaign have to hide? What is so secret that even the slightest probing causes Trumps Twitter feed to explode?

Of course, after two years with Trump in the spotlight, we have learned to take some of his more farfetched claims with a grain of salt  after all, his infamous wall plan shows no signs of development, let alone execution. On the other hand, though, the office of the POTUS is a source we should never have to doubt. In voicing his opinions so impulsively, Trump has thrown away much of his credibility with both hands, abandoning any semblance of professionalism.

Tejas K Narayan is a student based in New York

The views expressed are personal
There is a moment in Sairat that has stayed with me. About 90 minutes into the Marathi film as the Dalit protagonist Parshya is being hounded by his upper caste lovers family, he seeks the counsel of a professor from his college. The professor, stinging from a recent rebuke at the hands of her family, tells Parshya to dump the girl if he has already slept with her. After all, these people do the same thing to our women, he reasons.

Parshya flies into a rage, and tells his teacher he loves Archie, and therefore cannot think of women like that, simultaneously both underlining and defying the ways caste shapes gender in India. If caste teaches us to dehumanise women, then in a moments rebellion, Parshya shatters the structure.

This sequence is one of several that didnt make it to Sairats Hindi remake, Dhadak, which released last Friday. Several commentators have criticised the airbrushed characters, the lazy plot setting, and the acting that hobble Dhadak. But underneath the veneer of Bandhani shirts and tharo-maro hamming, something more insidious is going on.

Look at the families of the two male leads. In Sairat, Parshyas family struggles against the villages caste leadership, and in one scene in the second half of the film, the father is seen pleading with upper-castes to suspend a boycott as his son is as good as dead to him. The everyday ignominy of caste is mirrored in the lives of Parshyas friends, and their family  and even a scene involving Archie defying community barriers by drinking water. Families in the neighbourhood are allowed joy, banter, jokes  not just submission.

In contrast, Dhadak doesnt think necessary to create a world for Madhukar. His family has no community, and his friends are suspended in air  without culture, life and a society for them to seek, they are a nucleus onto themselves. Caste dictum is not shown as shaping public and private lives, but only in the singular matter of Madhukar and Parthavis love. It is as if the spectre of community censure recedes from the public sphere  so, there are no sequences on other lower-caste families  and exists only in the pride that Parthavis father Ratan Singh feels.

And because caste is not a structure in Dhadak, Madhukars uncle can reveal his family shunned him because he married a Marathi woman ( a story arc absent in Sairat), a clear indication director Shashank Khaitan thinks questions of honour and community are the same among Dalits and upper-castes.

This framing allows the makers to chop the elaborate chase-and-escape sequences. Archie and Parshya were fleeing a structure of power with roots in every sphere of life and politics, and therefore found themselves repeatedly pulled back into its throes (remember the scene where they take a bus, only to realise that it is going back to Bittergaon, or recognise that the police will do little to help them), but Madhukar and Parthavi are running away from family, not a structure, so the initial escape is painless.

In its clueless gaze, Dhadak amplifies Sairats weaknesses and glosses over its strengths. The disabled best friend is reduced to a trope and denied basic human dignity, or emotion, while women from the lower castes are completely erased. Madhukars mother simpers without much screen time, and the strong woman who had sheltered Parshya and Archie, and taught them how to survive in a difficult city, is swapped for a Bengali man in an inter-faith relationship, presumably for the director to cram in more progressive tropes. The housing itself is no longer among rag pickers, domestic workers, and waste workers  all occupations dominated by the lower castes  but some agnostic clot of buildings.

It is then no surprise the directors choice of alternative ending to the film kills the Dalit man, while letting the upper-caste woman live, and then uses the frame of honour killing. Sairat didnt need a trigger for the crime  it showed caste as an unrelenting machine whose function in the banal everyday is its strength  but Dhadak has to give Ratan Singh a reason  losing an election -- to be pushed to kill his son-in-law and grandson.

The difference between the two films, then, is not caste. What sets Sairat apart was its Dalit director, who depicted caste for its cold everyday function, and the terrible price it extracts for resistance and assertion. Dhadaks gaze is upper-caste  the story it tells, therefore, is not about the crushing reality of the everyday but the exalted world of the dominant, where caste is but an aberration. Fittingly, therefore, the hammy Bollywood fiasco underscores that to be clueless about caste is to be the most casteist of all.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
Pakistani actor Saba Qamar has become the target of vicious haters after some behind-the-scene images from her latest shoot leaked online where she can be seen smoking. The Hindi Medium actor is clearly in the moment as she gets ready for the shoot. It is evident that she is in the midst of a dress change, when the pictures were taken.

Sabas colleague also had to face online harassment after photos of her smoking with Indian actor Ranbir Kapoor, while in New York, found their way to the internet. Mahira had to issue a clarification eventually. Trolls brought in Mahira again as they attacked Saba. One person wrote, Saba Qamar has also begun following Mahira Khan. Is she even Muslim anymore?

Saba is among Pakistans top actors. In the rather stylish behind the scenes pictures, Saba is wearing a white shirt while her coat/blazer is being removed by an assistant. The hair looks wet and combed backwards. She is holding a cigarette in her right hand and wears an assured expression on her face.

That is enough to get the trolls going with some accusing her of being another Mahira Khan in the making, wearing skimpy clothes and to being un-Islamic.

The actor has, however, maintained a dignified silence and some of closest colleagues have come out in support of her including Osman Khalid Butt, Adnan Siddiqui and Aijaz Aslam.. Noted Pakistani actor Adnan Siddiqui, slamming the haters, wrote: Came through whats being called BTS images of my colleague and a friend #SabaQamars recently done photoshoot which is spreading on social media like wildfire, Im deeply saddened by this act, this is not us and we shouldnt take pride in it in any manner! #support #friendship.

Came through whats being called BTS images of my colleague and a friend #SabaQamars recently done photoshoot which is spreading on social media like wildfire, Im deeply saddened by this act, this is not us and we shouldnt take pride in it in any manner! #support #friendship pic.twitter.com/T17zud6k90  Adnan Siddiqui (@adnanactor) July 20, 2018

Osman Khalid, who acted in TV drama Baaghi with Saba, has written an Instagram post criticising the haters. For the love of God, stop looking for every excuse to drag your icons down... Stop sharing these images/videos and stop commenting on them. If you want to speak out, speak out against the jahalat of whoever did this just for social media infamy, read a part of his Instagram post.

Lifestyle journalist Mishaal Cheema posted a long note on Twitter, defending Saba while attacking trolls of all hue and colour who use an amazing media like Twitter for all the wrong reasons. Sharing her post, she wrote: This message is for a very fine actress of Pakistan who is going through something ridiculous being done to defame her. Please give it a look and share to show support to her and this Industry! @s_qamarzaman #IsupportSabaQamar #SabaQamar #Lollywood #PakistaniShowbiz.

This message is for a very fine actress of Pakistan who is going through something ridiculous being done to defame her. Please give it a look and share to show support to her and this Industry! @s_qamarzaman #IsupportSabaQamar #SabaQamar #Lollywood #PakistaniShowbiz pic.twitter.com/YNgzoZTsgm  Mishaal Cheema (@MishaallC) July 20, 2018

Saba made her Bollywood debut with Irrfan Khan starrer Hindi Medium in which she played his wife. How they try to get their daughter admitted to a high-profile school in urban India is what forms the crux of the story.

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If it is Mumbai, showbiz is always around you. Be it at the airport or at an upscale salon or at the conference hall of a five-star hotel, you always bump into a star. Hence, it mustnt come a surprise at the so many stars are seen in prominent places all over Mumbai, all so often. And Monday was no different. The cast of three upcoming films - Mulk, Fanney Khan and Karwaanwere spotted promoting their respective films. So Anil Kapoor was on the sets of Dil Deewane 2 to promote his Fanney Khan, while Mulks star cast comprising Taapsee Pannu, Rishi Kapoor and Prateik Babbar were at a press conference to talk about their film. Similarly, Mithila Parkar and director Akarsh Khurana too stepped out to promote their film, Karwaan.

Madhuri Dixit dropped by the Dance Deewane sets while one of judges, Raveena Tandon, was spotted during its shoot, coming in a fancy rickshaw. Shilpa Shetty looked ravishing at a brand promotion of an event while Kanganas airport look as her left for Coimbatore, dressed in a white sari with a blouse that flaunted her beauty no less, was a combination of purity and oomph.

Similarly, a lot many celebrities such as Vidya Balan and Karisma Kapoor were spotted at the airport.

Heres a look at life in the showbiz world on Monday:

Taapsee Pannu and Rishi Kapoor promote Mulk.

Mithila Parkar promotes Karwaan.

The beauties gallery: Priyanka Chopra, Nushrat Bharucha, Kriti Kharbanda and Urvashi Rautela.

Anil Kapoor, Janhvi Kapoor, Karisma Kapoor and Vidya Balan were all spotted at the airport.

Kangana Ranaut at the airport on her way to Coimbatore.

Aayush Sharma spotted outside the gym.

Anil Kapoor with Mika Singh to promote Fanney Khan.

Shilpa Shetty looks ravishing in a blue dress.

Madhuri Dixit on the sets of Dance Deewane with Raveena Tandon.

Raveena Tandon comes in a rickshaw

(All pictures of Viral Bhayani)

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At least 58 pilgrims, stranded at Gunji in Pithoragarh district after paying obeisance at Kailash Mansarovar, were airlifted by IAF helicopters to Naini-Saini Air Strip in the district on Tuesday.

They had been stranded at Gunji that falls on India-China border due to inclement weather condition for the past one week.

A similar number of onward pilgrims were airlifted from the air strip to Gunji, from there they will enter China to pay obeisance at Kailash Mansarovar.

Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) general manager TS Martoliya said there was hope now that a total of 18 batches would be taken to Kailash Mansarovar till September 8. KMVN is the nodal agency for yatra in the state.

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted: I am happy to inform that all Kailash Mansarovar Yatris stranded at Gunji (Uttarakhand) have been evacuated and brought to Pithoragarh by IAF helicopters. With this normal movement of Yatris has recommenced.

On July 23, she tweeted, We have 115 Kailash-Mansarovar yatris stranded at Gunji (Uttarakhand) due to inclement weather. They are being looked after by ITBP and Kumaon Vikas Mandal. As weather conditions improve, they will be airlifted to Pithoragarh.

Martoliya said after a week-long delay, 9th batch is now at Pithoragarh and 10th batch at Chaukori and 11th batch at Bhimtal, which is waiting for orders to move further up.

Notably, the yatris are being taken from Pithoragarh to Gunji by aerial route as land route is broken up due to landslides.
Casey Cagle and Brian Kemp have had a largely unfriendly GOP runoff campaign. Photo: John Bazemore/AP/REX/Shutterstock

From 1872 until 2002, every governor of Georgia was a Democrat. There have now been two Republican governors of the Peach State since Reconstruction (current U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and outgoing incumbent Nathan Deal). Thanks to favorable demographic trends (a sizable and growing minority population and plenty of upscale college-educated folk of every background, many of them transplants from beyond the Deep South), the Donkey Party is optimistic about regaining its ancient grip on the state. Some think that revival could occur beginning with this years gubernatorial contest, given a good national tailwind and the considerable enthusiasm that Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams has generated.

Democrats have also counted on a large and abrasive GOP gubernatorial field to burnish the partys extremist reputation and dampen Republican enthusiasm. And so far, going into the July 24 runoff between Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle and Secretary of State Brian Kemp, the GOP has not disappointed. They have largely behaved like the general election is theirs no matter how they conduct themselves. And what had been a sort of a nasty low-grade skirmish has blown up into something else as larger forces have taken over the CagleKemp contest.

Cagle, who has been lieutenant governor since 2002, was the front-runner from the beginning of the cycle, and initially looked like someone who might win without a runoff (Georgia requires majorities for party nominations). Though the obvious Establishment Republican candidate, the Establishment in Georgia is pretty hard-core conservative, and the entire field ran conspicuously to the right of the very popular Nathan Deal (notably they all criticized the incumbent for vetoing a questionably drafted religious liberty bill, and stampeded, against Deals wishes, to punish Atlanta-based Delta Airlines for breaking off its special relationship with the National Rifle Association). But Cagles rivals went the extra mile to treat him as insufficiently conservative and themselves as hard-core, gun-hugging, Trump-worshiping enemies of illegal immigration and all things liberal.

Brian Kemp won the sub-primary to become the right-wing challenger to Cagle, winning 23 percent to the front-runners underwhelming 39 percent in the May 22 primary. Heres how the Atlanta Journal-Constitution described Kemps campaign as the runoff began:

[A] pair of provocative spots  and the roughly $1 million his campaign put behind them  appeared to help fuel his rise past former state Sen. Hunter Hill to a spot in a July 24 runoff against Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle. One featured him cleaning a shotgun next to Jake, a young suitor of his daughter who nervously shifted in his seat. The other featured explosions, guns, a chainsaw  and a boast that he has a big pickup truck just in case I need to round up criminal illegals and take em home myself.

Cagle also contributed to the outcome by heavily targeting his well-funded media campaign on Hunter Hill. This was decision that had a strange afterlife just after the primary when Cagle admitted hed changed his position on a controversial bill in order to deny Hill a potentially lucrative endorsement (that conversation was taped, with part of it leaked to the media and another part leaked to Brian Kemps campaign).

Until recently the runoff campaign has had two features. The first involved dueling ethics allegations against both candidates. Aside from the money-related flip-flop mentioned above, Cagle was charged with buying a condo from a lobbyist at a below-market price, while Kemp got heat for the terrible performance of a company he partially owned, and for taking campaign contributions from professionals he regulated as secretary of state. Beyond that, Kemp has intensified the hard-core ideological message of his primary campaign, calling himself politically incorrect and purporting to be the Trumpiest of the very Trumpy Georgia Republicans. Cagle, who took a hit among conservative believers for complaining privately that the whole GOP nomination contest had become a test of who could be the craziest, tried to shore up his own base bona fides via an appearance with NRA president Oliver North.

There was a sense that the summer timing of the runoff, the lack of that many offices on the ballot, and the nastiness of the GOP gubernatorial contest, might depress turnout, which was relatively low during the GOP primary (indeed, a big part of Cagles strategy was an expensive early voting effort, which helped produce a healthy turnout of 239,000 GOP votes during the July 220 window for in-person early voting).

Then during the last week of the runoff campaign everything changed.

First Cagle got a much-prized endorsement from Nathan Deal, who is leaving office as a very popular governor. With polls showing a very tight race, it seemed Deal might prove to be the kingmaker. But then three days later the real bombshell hit when Donald Trump sent out this tweet with no warning:

Brian Kemp is running for Governor of the great state of Georgia. The Primary is on Tuesday. Brian is tough on crime, strong on the border and illegal immigration. He loves our Military and our Vets and protects our Second Amendment. I give him my full and total endorsement.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 18, 2018

The endorsement seemed to come as a surprise to everyone in Georgia, including Brian Kemp and his staff. One theory is that Trumps Cabinet member Sonny Perdue and his cousin Senator David Perdue prevailed on POTUS to intervene (Kemp was first appointed secretary of state by Perdue). A more exotic notion is that highly influential Christian right operative Ralph Reed pulled Trump across the line, thereby securing cold-dish revenge for Cagles 2006 primary win over Reed, which abruptly ended his budding electoral career. Perhaps Trump saw one of Kemps atavistic ads and just plain enjoyed it.

In any event, the runoff has turned into a surrogate battle between the two most popular Republicans in Georgia, Trump and Deal. Kemp had already pulled narrowly ahead in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll before the dual endorsements. Two polls released since then have shown larger Kemp leads. Mike Pence appeared at an event for Kemp over the weekend. Cagle better hope his early-voting investment pays off big, and that many MAGA fans voted for him before finding out Trump favored his opponent. Both candidates are from exurban territory just outside metro Atlanta (Cagle is from Gainesville, Kemp from Athens). While Kemp has to be considered the favorite now, it could go either way.

Meanwhile Democrats are hoping the whole spectacle divides and discourages Republicans and appalls swing voters. A recent poll from SUSA shows both Kemp and Cagle virtually tied with Abrams. Thats about as good a starting point for the general election as Democrats could have hoped for, particular given the weaknesses the primary and runoff have exposed in both GOP candidacies. If Kemp does win the nomination, he has a particular history with Abrams over her efforts to register previously untapped reservoirs of minority voters, and his supervision as Georgias chief election official of aggressive voter purge initiatives that push the limits of federal and state laws and take advantage of weak Voting Rights Act enforcement by the courts and the Trump administration.

Georgia Democrats will not simply be sitting down with popcorn and enjoying the GOP fight on July 24, however. They are holding congressional runoffs in two north Atlanta districts that are long shot but not impossible targets for November. One is in the now-famous Sixth District, where Democrat Jon Ossoff came very close to beating Republican Karen Handel in a wildly expensive special election last summer for what had been a reliably Republican seat. This time Handel will face the winner of a Democratic runoff, with national gun-control spokesperson Lucy McBath, an African-American woman who is also backed by Emilys List, is favored over self-financing businessman Kevin Abel. In the neighboring Seventh District, where incumbent Republican Rob Woodall is showing some signs of vulnerability, another Emilys List favorite, Georgia State University professor Carolyn Bourdeaux, faces another self-funder, David Kim, who is trying to capitalize on the districts rapidly increasing Asian-American population.

Change is the name of the political game in Georgia, but the pace of change will determine whether the much-discussed Democratic breakthrough is nigh or just over the horizon.
Auto-rickshaw rides in Delhi are set to become more expensive with chief minister Arvind Kejriwal giving an in-principle approval to a new fare slab structure on Monday during a meeting with representatives of various auto drivers unions, according to officials familiar with the developments.

Though the Delhi government will set up a committee to formalise the new fares and get them approved by the State Transport Authority (STA), Kejriwal told about 500 auto-rickshaw drivers that they will soon be able to charge Rs 25 for the first kilometre, followed by Rs 10 of each subsequent kilometre. At present, the auto fare is Rs 25 for the first two kilometers and Rs 8 for every subsequent kilometre.

This will amount to an increase of about 35% for a distance of five kilometres and nearly 30% for a distance of 10 kilometres (see box) . Fares were last increased in May, 2013 by the then Congress government led by Sheila Dikshit.

Delhi has 98,000 registered auto-rickshaws, and their drivers are considered a strong vote bank for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the national Capital. During the 2014 and 2015 assembly elections, they had campaigned extensively for the party.

Transport minister Kailash Gahlot confirmed that the Delhi government had considered the demands of auto-rickshaw unions that had agreed to hike fares. Yes, there will be a fare revision soon. The government will formally set the new fare slabs through a committee. The process of appointing the committee has already started. It will submit its report within a month. After this, the recommended fares will be sent to the STA for final approval, Gehlot said.

The committee will also decide if waiting rates need to be added to the fare in addition to the distance covered. The file will also be sent to Delhi lieutenant governor (L-G) Anil Baijal for approval. Though the government and the L-G have differed on various schemes, officials in the government said they were confident the recommendations would go through in light of a recent Supreme Court order that, they said, made it clear that governance issues other than land, public order and policing were the governments jurisdiction.

The Kejriwal government had attempted to revise fares once in 2016, but the plan was rolled back after auto-rickshaw unions opposed an increase in fares since they were facing fresh competition from app-based taxi aggregators.

During Mondays meeting with the chief minister, several auto unions demanded a fare hike citing an increase in CNG rates and higher maintenance cost. Around 500 auto drivers were called by the CM to discuss the fare system. Ninety per cent of those present agreed to increasing the rates, while the remaining opposed it saying they would lose more business as cab aggregators could reduce their minimum rates further. The CM went with the majority and told them that the rates will be revised, said Upender Singh, treasurer of Aapka Apna Auto Taxi Union, which includes 500 drivers appointed as in-charge by AAP at auto stands across the country. A representative of the union did not give exact figures on how many members it has.

Soon after the government agreed to the demands of auto drivers, taxi unions also demanded that fares be increased. The rate of economy radio taxis was also last increased in June, 2013. If auto fares are hiked, we demand our rates go up too. At present, an economy radio taxi costs Rs 12.5 per kilometre. Business has taken a hit after the boom of taxi aggregators in the city, said Inderjeet Singh, president of Rajdhani Parivahan Panchayat.

Experts said a hike in fares may not necessarily be a good thing since it could put passengers off autos. People now opt for auto-rickshaws only for short distances or to travel to places where other modes such as metro or Ola/Uber (cabs) are not available. The government should do a fare elasticity demand study for deciding the rates. And if rates are increased, then it should ensure drivers do not refuse any passenger and that they all go by the metre, said Sanjay Gupta, head of the department, transport and planning, at the School of Planning and Architecture.

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vijender Gupta and Congresss Ajay Maken said pricing for autos must follow a uniform policy to ensure all transport  metro, e-rickshaws and auto-rickshaws  coexist.

Interest of auto drivers and users should be taken care of equally. The policy should be created with balanced approach, said Gupta, who is also the lead of the opposition in the Delhi assembly.

Maken said a fare hike is not the only way to encourage autos. It is not only the fare that concerns the drivers and general public; the government has to take holistic view and also consider the need of different segments of users, he said.
The Delhi government intends to pay Rs 1 crore in compensation to the families of members of the armed forces, the police and paramilitary units who die in the line of duty in the national capital or elsewhere in the country under a policy approved by the cabinet on Tuesday.

The scheme will cover personnel of the Delhi Fire Service, Home Guards and the district disaster management force as well. Families from another states whose kin die in the line of duty in Delhi will also be eligible for the compensation. The announcement was made by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

The proposal was first approved by the Delhi cabinet in April 2015 - two months after his Aam Aadmi Party came to power for the second time in the capital , but it was turned down by then LG Najeeb Jung, who had reasoned the compensation could be given only to Delhi residents.

Kejriwal said the scheme would be implemented immediately. After the SCs July 4 verdict, we will be sending just a copy of the cabinet decision to the LG. The scheme comes into effect from now and no concurrence of the LG is needed. In the past three years, no such family of martyrs has been given the compensation because the scheme was stopped by the LG. Only five to six people had benefitted from the scheme. At least 10 cases are pending before us at the moment.

The reference was to an SC ruling that the LG is bound to listen to the citys democratically elected government and act on its aid and advice. The LG, however, has exclusive control over land, law and order and the police, the court said.

Under the compensation policy, one member of the family of the deceased will also be given a job as per his/her educational qualifications in a Group C or Group D post under the Delhi government, provided the employment has not been offered by the central government or any other organisation.Kejriwal added that compensation of ?50,000 per month would also be awarded to the families of those missing in action or prisoners of war.

Rs 1 crore is nothing in front of their supreme sacrifices but it is just a token of respect...

The CM said a group of ministers headed by deputy CM Manish Sisodia would process the compensation claims.
As many African countries transitioned from colonialism to freedom, Indias democracy was the template for them. The continents strongmen, Ghanas Kwame Nkrumah, Congos Patrice Lumumba, Egypts Gamal Abdel Nasser had strong personal links with Indias first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru who saw the potential benefits of increased economic and strategic cooperation with the continent.

As Prime Minister Modis three-nation Africa tour in the run-up to the BRICS summit today gets underway, the story has changed to one of lost opportunities and benign neglect. It is not the India has done badly in Africa. But given the historic ties between many African countries and India, a more robust engagement would have paid much higher dividends. Indias lack of a consistent proactive policy towards Africa led to the Chinese stealing a march over it in terms of investment and trade. Despite being Africas oldest trading partner, India is now forced to play catch up with China as the latter has aggressively wooed the continents leaders with its largesse, pushing its investments up to $ 3.5 trillion in 2015. In contrast, India will cross the $ 500 billion mark in 2020. This suggests that India and Indian companies must shed their traditional conservatism and pursue bigger gains in Africa. New Delhi did the right thing in extending a $ 10 billion line of credit from 2015 to 2020 but it must now push to see that it is used appropriately. Whereas Indias policy has focused on job creation in the countries it has invested in, China has tended to bring in its own labour causing resentment among the locals. The good news is that India is scrambling to rectify past mistakes and re-engage with Africa in a big way as the series of high profile visits in the last four years shows.

India must play to its natural strengths and move swiftly into the education and infrastructure fields as well as IT in Africa. The Chinese model has often been criticised for creating huge debts for the nation in which it sets up projects, the Nairobi-Mombasa rail link being one example of this. The $ 4 billion project has left Kenya with enormous debts and the Chinese military base in Djibouti has raised fears that Beijing is abandoning its non-interference policy in the region. Mr Modis promise of opening an embassy in Rwanda is welcome; it is one of the economic success stories of Africa despite long years of civil strife. Many African countries are wary of putting all their eggs in the Chinese basket. This is something India must exploit to its advantage.
Tamil Nadus directorate of government examinations announced the supplementary exam result of Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC +2) or Class 12 board examinations on Tuesday.

Heres the direct link to check the TN Class 12 supplementary result.

TN HSC supplementary result 2018: Steps to check

1) Visit the official result website for Tamil Nadus directorate of government examinations

2) Click on the link for HSE Special Supplementary June 2018 Second Year - Provisional Mark Sheet for Individuals

2) Key in your registration number and date of birth

3) Click on View Result

4) Check your result and take a print out

The directorate had announced the state board Class 12 (HSC+2) annual exam result on May 16. A total of 91.1% students passed the Class 12 board examinations. The pass percentage of girls is 94.1 and of boys is 87.7.

Of the 8,60,434 students who appeared for the examination, 7,84,081 cleared it. The Tamil Nadu Board HSC +2 exams started on March 1 and ended on April 6 this year.
Actor Dhanush is excited that his maiden international venture The Extraordinary Journey Of The Fakir will make its Victorian premiere at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) next month. IFFM will be held from August 10-22.

Directed by Ken Scott, the Indo-French co-production is based on the international bestseller by Romain Puertolas The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir Who Got Trapped in an Ikea Wardrobe. It revolves around the life of Ajatashatru Lavash Patel, played by Dhanush, a charming charlatan from Mumbai, who embarks on an extraordinary journey in search of a father he never knew. As he travels from India to France, UK, Spain, Italy and Libya, what was supposed to be a simple journey to Paris turns into a veritable odyssey.

Dhanush said in a statement that he is really excited to showcase the movie to all his Australian fans. See you guys soon, he said. The films producer Aditi Anand is also looking forward to the gala as the movie continues its trip around world, going from strength to strength and now landing in Australia.

IFFMs theme this year is inclusion. Festival director Mitu Bhowmick Lange finds it a very relevant film.

What better way than to have one of Indias most loved stars Dhanush present his film for the first time to an Australian Indian audience. We are absolutely honoured and cant wait to welcome him and his beautiful film to our festival, he said.

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BJP MLA from Ramgarh (Alwar) Gyandev Ahuja on Tuesday accused the police of conspiring against him and insisted that two of the three men arrested by the Alwar police for lynching Rakbar Khan are innocent and should be released immediately.

Police arrested Dharmendra Yadav and Paramjeet Singh Sardar by deceit as they were first asked to accompany them to the police station to register the report. They are just trying to take revenge (on gau rakshaks). These two people were waiting for the police to appear at the crime scene. They would have fled had they been guilty. I dont know about the third accused, Ahuja told HT.

Inspector general of police (Jaipur range) Hemant Priyadarshi had said the two men were found to be involved in Rakbars death.

Two suspects were taken to police station from the spot and were later arrested after we found their involvement. Investigation is on to find other culprits, Priyadarshi had said.

The third accused, Naresh Singh, was arrested on Sunday and all the three have been remanded to police custody for five days.

Ahuja said he had spoken to state home minister Gulabchand Kataria about the wrongful arrest and demanded their release and the minister has assured him that he would inquire into the matter.

The police which has been heavily criticised for the delay in taking Rakbar to hospital, also came under fire from the BJP lawmaker.

Asked about statement of Aslam (the other person accompanying Rakbar Khan who managed to escape) to the police that the mob were shouting we are MLAs men, Ahuja said it was a conspiracy hatched by officials of Alwar police as he had openly blamed them for Rakbars death.

This statement recorded by the police is nothing but a conspiracy to frame me. Aslam ran away from the spot and went straight to his village that is 25 km away. Which mob shouts we are MLAs men. This is an absurd allegation, he said.

Ahuja denied that Nawal Kishor Sharma, the local VHP leader who was allegedly a part of the lynch mob, was his protege. I know thousands of people in Alwar, which is my constituency. That does not mean that they are my men, he said.

He also brushed aside the oppositions accusation that the BJP and some MLAs like him were trying to use the lynching incident to create polarisation in the run up to the elections, and blamed the Congress instead. Its an absolutely false charge. In fact, it is the conspiracy of the Congress which wants to give BJP a bad name.

Ahuja seemed convinced that Rakbar was a cow smuggler. Cow smuggling has to end if such lynching incidents, which are unfortunate, are to be stopped.

On what evidence he had that the police had beaten up Rakbar Khan, Ahuja said that he had all the evidence that was needed. The photos of Rakbar Khan in the police van when he was conscious and appeared to be not seriously injured have already been shared on social media. Just wait and watch. The truth will come out, he said.
Rajasthans home minister Gulab Chand Kataria said on Tuesday that Rakbar Khan who was beaten up by a mob of cow vigilantes died in police custody.

According to the evidence we have collected, it looks like a custodial death. Further investigation is underway, Kataria said about the Alwar lynching case. We have written to the additional chief judicial magistrate to initiate a probe.

The minister also said an initial compensation of Rs 1.25 lakh had been ordered for the family of the deceased.

I met the victims family and they told me that they are satisfied with the action taken so far. I told them to come and meet me whenever they want if they want to tell me something more, Kataria said.

Rakbar (31) and his associate Aslam of Kol village in Haryanas Mewat region, were herding two cows when they were intercepted by suspected cow vigilantes and assaulted at Alwars Lalavandi village on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday. While Rakbar was beaten up, Aslam managed to escape.

On Tuesday, BJP MLA from Ramgarh (Alwar) Gyandev Ahuja had also accused the police of beating up Rakbar in custody.

Alwar police had come under fire for a suspicious conduct in the death of Rakbar Khan. On Monday, Rajasthan Police suspended as assistant sub inspector Ramgarh police station and sent three constables to the police lines following an uproar over the delay in taking Rakbar to a hospital. The man was declared brought dead to the hospital, more than three hours after found him.

A four-member panel appointed of the Rajasthan Police to probe the circumstances surrounding Rakbars death has admitted that there were lapses on the part of the police.

At the preliminary stage, we have found that there was some error in judgment. There was a time lapse of three hours, and the incident could have been avoided if the police had responded more efficiently, said inspector general of police (law and order) NRK Reddy on Monday. Reddy heads the probe committee.

The police have been accused of further beating Rakbar after the assault and squandering over three hours in having tea and shuttling the cows to a bovine shelter before finally admitting him to a hospital.

(With agency inputs)
Alwar lynching victim Rakbar Khan died of shock due to his injuries, news agency ANI quoted his post-mortem report as saying.

Rakbar, who was in his thirties, died after suspected cow vigilantes assaulted him at Alwars Lalavandi village on Saturday morning. According to latest reports, the Rajasthan government was all set to order a magisterial inquiry into the incident. A formal notification in this regard will be issued shortly, said NRK Reddy, inspector general (law and order), Rajasthan.

State home minister Gulab Chand Kataria and chief secretary DB Gupta will also visit Lalavandi.

A four-member panel appointed to probe the circumstances surrounding his death has admitted that there were lapses on the part of the police.

At the preliminary stage, we have found that there was some error in judgment. There was a time lapse of three hours, and the incident could have been avoided if the police had responded more efficiently, said inspector general of police (law and order) NRK Reddy, who heads the probe committee.

The police have been accused of further beating Rakbar after the assault and squandering over three hours in having tea and shuttling the cows to a bovine shelter before finally admitting him to a hospital. While an assistant sub-inspector  Mohan Singh  has been suspended, three constables were transferred to the Alwar police lines in this connection, said Reddy.

Three people have been arrested so far.

According to Aslam Khan, who was with Rakbar at the time of the attack, the duo had bought two cows for Rs 60,000 and were herding them home when they heard gunshots. As we were passing through Lalavandi, some people started shouting that we were trying to steal cows. They rushed towards us. I got scared and ran into a field, he said.

Aslam said he could not see the attackers because of darkness, but could recognise their voices as they were abusing us very loudly. He remained hidden in the field until daybreak on Saturday before returning to his village in Haryana.

Others, including Vishwa Hindu Parishad member Nawal Kishore Sharma, have accused the police of brutally assaulting Rakbar.
A bandh called by the main Opposition party YSR Congress against the Centres denial of special category status to Andhra Pradesh evoked a mixed response across the state on Tuesday.

With the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) opposing the bandh this time, there was a virtual clampdown on the protesters with police detaining YSRC leaders at several places.

Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu sought to know what would the YSRC achieve by enforcing a bandh in the state.

Why should the state be penalised for the follies of the Centre? What is the use for calling bandhs instead of fighting with the Centre? he asked.

In Chittoor district, YSRC legislators R K Roja and Narayanaswamy were taken into custody at Puttur as they attempted to take out a rally with their supporters.

In Visakhapatnam, former minister Botsa Satyanarayana was taken into custody, while in Tirupati party general secretary Bhumana Karunakara Reddy was detained.

MLA P Ramakrishna Reddy was placed under house arrest at Macherla in Guntur district, while several top leaders of YSRC were taken into custody in Guntur city, Repalle, Sattenapalli and Narsaraopet, police said.

In other districts as well, YSRC leaders were detained as they tried to enforce the bandh.

Educational institutes declared a holiday in view of the bandh call, while State Road Transport Corporation (RTC) buses were operated in limited numbers.

In Vijayawada city, YSRC activists staged a protest outside the RTC bus station and tried to prevent their movement, but police rounded them up and took them to a nearby police station.

YSRC workers staged protests at various police stations against the detention of their leaders.

The TDP had withdrawn its ministers from the central government and later walked out of the NDA, alleging that the Centre had failed to fulfil its promise of special category status to Andhra Pradesh.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)
Virtually ruling out granting special category status to Andhra Pradesh, home minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said the Centre was providing more assistance than what it would have got under that status.

Assuring the Rajya Sabha that all promises made to the people of the state would be fulfilled, Singh said 90 per cent of promises made under the Andhra Pradesh Re-organisation Act, which had led to the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in 2014, have already been fulfilled.

The remaining promises will also be kept, he said while replying to a short-duration discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the non-implementation of provisions of the 2014 Act.

The home ministers statement came after former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he had expected his successor Narendra Modi to fulfil the UPA governments commitment on special category status to Andhra Pradesh as it was a promise made after consulting the BJP leaders at that time.

The TDP and other opposition parties also asked the Centre to honour its assurances in letter and spirit by granting special category status to Andhra Pradesh, even as the BJP accused the ruling party of the state of misleading its own people. Recently, the TDP quit the NDA coalition over this issue.

Whatever commitments which have been given, not only by our Prime Minister but even the commitments made by former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, our government will fulfill those commitments, the Minister said, adding that commitments made in Parliament should be kept and the Centre is doing it.

After his reply, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad categorically asked whether the Centre would be giving special category status to AP and sought a reply in Yes or No.

To this, the Minister wondered whether it was not clear from his reply.

Why are you just stuck at special category status. Why dont you just move on? The idea behind special category status is that the state should get assistance. We are giving more assistance than that, Singh said.

He said the state was entitled to get over Rs 22,000 crore as revenue deficit grant in five years ending 2019-20 and the Centre is disbursing the amount.

The home minister said there was a conflict between the former Prime Ministers promise of special category status and the 14th Finance Commission report, which has not made any distinction between special category state and other States.

Highlighting the projects approved by the Centre in last four years, he said the permission for setting up 10 educational institutions have already been given, out of the 11 promised and there would be no funding constraint.

On infrastrucure projects, the Minister said expert panels have been asked to re-examine the feasibility of steel plants and railway zone. We will set up railway zone in AP.

Singh also assured the House that he would personally take interest in the matter and appealed to the Chief Ministers of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to reach at consensus as nothing could be done unilaterally there.

Both the states are big...Promises made in the Act will be fulfilled in letter and spirit, Singh said, while requesting that this issue should not be politicised.

The Home Minister assured the House that the interests of the Telugu-speaking people would be protected.

Earlier, the former PM and Congress leader Manmohan Singh said he had made a solemn commitment on the floor of the House as prime minister of India on February 20, 2014.

The assurance on special category status to the successor state of Andhra Pradesh was given after discussing the issue with Arun Jaitley, then Leader of Opposition in the Upper House, and other senior BJP leaders, Singh said.

Commitments made on the floor of the House are to be honoured and fulfilled. They are in the nature of an assurance on behalf of Parliament.

I had expected my distinguished successor to fulfil the commitment I had made after consultation with his own colleagues, the former Prime Minister said.

Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said the Centre has an open mind. We are willing to consider in a rationale manner how these issues can be resolved so that the the letter and spirit is adhered to.

The purpose is that the people of AP should get benefit and that the Modi government is fully committed to. ... Dont go by the letter, go by the spirit of the arrangement, he said, adding that the state would not have got any extra fund through the special category status.

Stating that the state has been provided with Rs 22,000 crore as revenue deficit grant, he said: If we were to rework all the schemes on 90:10 (ratio) as per special category status, then this revenue deficit grant would have come down by about Rs 17,500 crore.

During the debate, the TDP and other opposition parties also demanded that the BJP-led government should honour its assurances in letter and spirit by granting special category status to Andhra Pradesh.

Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said the Modi government should fulfill the promises made by it as well as the estwhile UPA dispensation. He also warned that there could be a privilege motion against the NDA government if this was not done.

However, BJP member G V L Narasimha Rao defended the government saying the Centre has fulfilled most of the promises made to Andhra Pradesh and accused the TDP of misleading its own people.

Initiating the debate, TDP leader Y S Chowdary said the hasty and unscientifically prepared and politically motivated decision of the undivided Andhra Pradesh had caused agony to the people of the state.

The frustration and helplessness of the people of AP has serious implication for the future of the country as it rightly aspires to find its due place, he said.

He claimed that the government has blatantly violated the provisions of the Constitution and neglected the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.

Chowdary also alleged that the NDA government has carefully orchestrated a misinformation campaign against the state with regard to special category status and central assistance given under the so called special package.

He also accused the Modi government of willfully burying the Union Cabinets decision in respect of special category status to the state and said there was a huge dichotomy in the words and deeds of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

This demonstrates the failure on part of the government in implementing the Act passed by both the Houses, though four years have lapsed. he said.

Leaders of SP, Trinamool Congress, RJD, BJD, AIADMK and TRS also supported the demand.
A joint team of district police and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) on Sunday evening arrested Konch block president of Janata Dal United (most backward cell) Ashok Saw on charge of liquor smuggling. Police also recovered liquor from his possession.

The Konch police were also in look out for the JD(U) leader for his nexus with ultra-Left organisations and he allegedly used to supply arms and ammunition to the extremist groups. Following the arrest, Tekari JD(U) MLA and state president of the partys youth wing, Abhay Kushwaha, announced Saws expulsion from the party and removal from the partys post.

Saw has been forwarded to jail. Reports quoting police sources said acting on a tip off the SSB jawans and Konch police station house officer (SHO) Jyoti Basu started checking the vehicles near Dadreji turning on Gaya-Goh Road. From Saws bike they recovered liquor and took him to the police station for interrogation.

During quizzing, Saw confessed that he had links with the Maoists for whom he used to play the role of middleman for either collecting levy or supplying arms and ammunition.

The Konch police had been in lookout for Saw ever since recovery of huge quantity of explosives and gelatins concealed in a field near Usas-Deora village. Saw was made the named accused in the case and booked under various sections of the IPC and CL Act.

During interrogation, Saw admitted to his involvement in supplying arms and ammunition to the extremist groups.

The Konch police SHO and SSB assistant commandant Suman Saurabh told mediapersons that further investigation was on to find out links of the Maoists to other such persons or politicians.
Bihar will not recommend a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation in a case where 29 out of 44 girls were raped in a shelter home in Muzaffarpur, the states senior-most police officer said on Tuesday, even as opposition parties accused the government of shielding the accused.

Director general of police KS Dwivedi said he was satisfied with the investigation being conducted by the department into the case that has triggered an outrage in the state.

Dwivedi said 42 girls out the 44 rescued from the shelter home, 70km north of Patna, were medically examined and reports show 29 were raped. The two other girls are reportedly unwell and could not be sent for the tests till Tuesday afternoon.

The senior police officer deflected a question on the involvement of politicians in the case while addressing the media along with principal secretary, social welfare department, Atul Prasad, in Patna.

Ten of the 11 accused have so far been arrested, he said.

When asked why a test identification parade had not been done as yet, Dwivedi said, We will do it, if required.

Reports of repeated sexual abuse of inmates at the short stay home in Muzaffarpur surfaced after Mumbais Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) carried out a social audit of shelter homes across Bihar last year. The audit report pointed to sexual abuse of girls at the Muzaffarpur home.

Prasad said the institute submitted its report in April this year. The government lodged a first information report on May 31.

The department first discussed and reviewed the report, which was in three parts  good practices being followed, administrative lapses, and criminal negligence at shelter homes, said Prasad.

The lapses at the Muzaffarpur shelter home came on the criminal side. We held a workshop on May 26 in which we deliberated on the report threadbare, he added.

A medical board of Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH) in June had confirmed the sexual abuse of a majority of the girls of the Balika Grih.

The Nitish Kumar-led government is under pressure from opposition parties in the state to act against the culprits and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav has even accused it of shielding the culprits in the case.

Opposition parties raised the case in the Lok Sabha and Congress member Ranjeet Ranjan demanded a probe by the central agency into the case.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh said it was a serious issue.

If there is a recommendation from the state government, the Centre will consider ordering a CBI probe, Singh said during Zero Hour.

And, an aggressive opposition led by RJD, Congress and CPI-ML(Liberation) disrupted the proceedings in the Bihar assembly and pressed for their demand for a CBI probe into the sexual exploitation of the inmates of Muzaffarpur shelter home.

Yadav, Leader of opposition in the Bihar legislative assembly, also demanded a CBI inquiry under the Patna high courts watch and slammed the state government for rejecting the central probe.

The RJD leader accused that the leaders of the ruling Janata Dal(United) were involved in the case.

He also wondered about the reason behind the state governments opposition to an impartial probe by the CBI if the Centre was willing to get it done.

He alleged that chief minister Kumar had gone to campaign during the 1995 assembly elections for the main accused in the case.

Authorities had on Monday dug the vacant space inside the Muzaffarpur short-stay home over allegations that one girl was allegedly killed and buried after an argument with the staff. The authorities, however, did not find any human body.

Following the expose, the girls were rescued from the shelter home and shifted to Madhubani, Patna and Mokama.
The Centre has asked all states and Union territories to appoint a superintendent of police (SP)-level nodal officer in each district, set up a special task force to gather intelligence and monitor social media contents in order to curb lynching incidents.

The home ministry advisory, the second of its kind to be issued in a month, is based on the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court on July 17 to check lynching incidents. The ministrys recommendations come close on the heels of a man being beaten to death in Rajasthans Alwar district on the suspicion of being a cow smuggler.

Incidents of violence and lynching by mobs in some parts of the country fuelled by various kinds of rumours and unverified news such as child lifting, theft, cattle smuggling etc, are a matter of serious concerns. Such instances of persons taking the law in their own hands run against the basic tenets of the rule of law, the advisory sent to chief secretaries and director generals of police (DGPs) of the states and UTs said.

All state governments, UT administrations and their law enforcement agencies are requested to implement the directions of the Supreme Court in letter and spirit. A detailed report on the action taken in the matter may please be sent to the ministry at the earliest, it read.

Also read: Lynching wont stop till cow gets status of Rashtra Mata: Hyderabad BJP MLA

The advisory was issued by the ministry after it formed a committee of secretaries on Monday to recommend measures to control incidents of mob violence.

The ministry added that if a police or other district administration official fails to comply with the directions to prevent, investigate and facilitate expeditious trial of an instance of mob violence then it should be considered an act of deliberate negligence and misconduct, and strong action must be taken against the official concerned.

Earlier in the month, the Supreme Court had told the states to identify districts, sub-divisions and/or villages where instances of lynching and mob violence have been reported in the recent past It directed states secretaries to issue directions to nodal officers to ensure that the officer-in-charge of the police stations of the identified areas are extra cautious.
Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said the central government is taking the incidents of mob lynching very seriously and might bring a law, if necessary, to stop these.

Singh was responding to the Oppositions outcry in the Lok Sabha following the latest in a series of incidents of mob lynching in recent past, in which a Muslim man was killed in Rajasthans Alwar district over claims that he was smuggling two cows to his native place in Haryana.

Victim Rakbar Khans family has said they are milk traders.

During the debate on the issue of lynchings in the Lok Sabha, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge demanded that a sitting Supreme Court judge conduct the inquiry into such incidents and take action.

Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandopadhyay said mob lynchings were creating an alarming situation in the country. Deputy Speaker and AIADMK leader M Thambidurai urged the Centre to come forward and stop such incidents.

Why is this (lynchings) happening? What is intelligence doing?... What is the role of the Centre, he asked.

CPI(M) member Mohammed Salim said a lot of hatred was being spread in the country through such incidents, as he took a swipe at the government by citing various instances, including the recent attack on Swami Agnivesh in Jharkhand.

Responding to oppositions criticism, the home minister reiterated that lynching incidents have been happening for years and mentioned that the biggest lynching happened in 1984 (anti-Sikh riots). Congress MPs protested his remark.

The matter was also raised in the Rajya Sabha. Trinamool Congress MP Shanta Chhetri demanded to know what steps are being taken by the union government to come up with an anti-lynching law.

Citing media reports, the MP said, So far 88 precious lives have been lost since the present government came to power. She said the Supreme Court had last week asked for a law banning mob lynching, and wanted the government to clarify what steps were being taken to check such attacks.

Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu hoped the government will take note of the issue raised.

On Monday, the Home Ministry announced setting up of two high-level committees to suggest ways and a legal framework to effectively deal with incidents of mob violence and lynching. The committees were set up a week after the Supreme Court asked the central government to enact a law to deal with incidents of lynching and take action on mob violence.
The proposed federal front is more than eager to script the second part of the Congress-mukt Bharat (Congress-free India) campaign, and the best-case scenario for the party is to become a tail-ender in such an alliance and concede to it a large political space, Union minister Arun Jaitley wrote in a blog on Tuesday.

The senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader wrote that the Congress was also engaged in an implied battle with the federal front to reclaim the minority vote, but by redefining secularism as a euphemism for majority bashing, the Congress is antagonising the majority against itself.

Use of phrases such as Hindu Taliban and Hindu Pakistan, he said, are intended to help the Congress against the federal front to reclaim the minority vote, but this also is likely to backfire. Both phrases were used by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who first said India was in danger of becoming a Hindu Pakistan if the BJP is re-elected next year. After he was bitterly criticized for that remark, Tharoor wondered if a Taliban was emerging in Hinduism. The Congress leadership tried to distance itself from the remarks.

As equal participants in the Indian electoral process, the minorities have a constitutional right of a vote. But so does the majority, Jaitley wrote in his blog.

The minister claimed the Congress knows about the danger of the next election becoming a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modis performance, and said the popularity gap between Modi and his competitors is very wide.

The Congress, he said, is either non-existent or a poor third or fourth in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Tripura, parts of the North-East, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Delhi and Tamil Nadu. These states account for 50% of the Lok Sabha seats, he said, adding that Congress may have to concede seats in several other states to its allies. It is, therefore, faced with the prospect of effectively contesting only about 225 seats where it will face a direct clash with the BJP, he said.

If the first part of the Congress Mukt Bharat was scripted by the BJP, the federal front is more than eager to script the part-2 of the same. Its message to the Congress is clear  you will have to support us; the other way is not possible, the minister wrote.

Jaitley claimed many in the Congress realize that they should concentrate on the 2024 general election, but their leaders in the age group of 65-74 know that 2019 is their last chance and they will probably be time-barred by 2024. They are quite willing for a tail-enders role, he wrote.

Jaitley described Congress strategy of consolidating arithmetic against Modi as a double edged weapon for the opposition party, which can push the Congress to the margins with the federal front occupying the opposition space.

He claimed that given such an adverse situation, the Congress was trying to invent issues against the Modi government.

This will always happen in an election where you have an inadequate leader and no real issue, he said, taking a dig at the Congress and the partys president Rahul Gandhi, wondering what the party could do given its leaders inherent and inbuilt limitations.

Jaitley accused the Congress of deliberately distorting the truth over the deal to purchase Rafale aircraft from Dassault Aviation of France, and said it was in line with past examples. Rahul Gandhi claimed in the debate on the no-confidence motion on Friday that French President Emmanuel Macron told him that there was no secrecy clause to the deal as claimed by the BJP; the government has refused to disclose financial details of the deal, citing such a clause. Gandhis claim was quickly rebutted by France, which said the clause was incorporated in an agreement in 2008, when the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance was in power.

Jaitley said the Rafale deal was a government-to-government agreement with no private group involved, and even the UPA ministers never disclosed the cost breakup of the weaponry in the national interest.

The truth always holds together. It is falsehood that falls apart. So when Rahul Gandhis statement that President Macron told him that there is no secrecy pact got smashed into pieces, the next day the Congress Party shifted the Rafale issue to other extraneous grounds, he said.
A four-member panel appointed to probe the circumstances surrounding the death of Rakbar Khan, a suspected cattle smuggler, admitted on Monday that there had been lapses on the part of the police.

At the preliminary stage, we have found that there was some error in judgment. There was a time lapse of three hours, and the incident could have been avoided if the police had responded more efficiently, said inspector general of police (law and order) NRK Reddy, who heads the probe committee.

While an assistant sub-inspector  Mohan Singh  has been suspended, three constables were transferred to the Alwar police lines in this connection, he added.

Rakbar (31) died after suspected cow vigilantes assaulted him at Alwars Lalavandi village on Saturday morning. However, while police have owned up to their mistakes, the exact sequence of events that occurred on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday remains unclear due to differing narratives.

In one, the police are accused of further thrashing Rakbar after the assault and squandering over three hours having tea and shuttling cows to a cow shelter before finally admitting him to a hospital.

Jaipur inspector general Hemant Priyadarshi, a member of the panel, visited the spot where Rakbar and his associate, Aslam Khan, were assaulted. The official spoke to the local residents  including Nawal Kishore Sharma, a gopalak (cow protector) appointed by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

Sharma says he was the first person to inform the law about the incident, and accuses them of beating up Khan.

The sketchiest version of the story came from Aslam Khan, who was with Rakbar at the time of the attack. According to him, he and Rakbar bought two cows for Rs 60,000 and were herding them home when they heard gunshots. As we were passing through Lalavandi, some people started shouting that we were trying to steal cows. They rushed towards us. I got scared and ran into a field, he said.

Aslam said he could not see the attackers because of darkness, but could recognise their voices as they were abusing us very loudly. He remained hidden in the field until daybreak on Saturday before returning to his village in Haryana.

In his statement to police on Sunday, Aslam said the attackers shouted We are MLAs men as they came after him and Rakbar.

Rakbars father Sulaiman Khan denied allegations that his son was a smuggler. I do not believe what the people and police are saying. We are a poor family and my son used to work as a labourer at a stone mine, he said.

The police have arrested Dharminder Yadav, Paramjeet Singh and Jitendra Singh and charged them with unlawful assembly, wrongful restraint, voluntarily causing hurt and murder.

Dharminders father Kailash doesnt believe his son could be involved. We are so afraid of the police that I have not even gone to see my son yet. Like my son, police can arrest me too without any evidence.

Ranjeet Singh, accused Paramjeets brother, also questioned the investigation. The police have arrested those who have helped them. (Paramjeet) is the one who helped. Is he behind bars for his honesty? He could have very easily fled the spot but he stayed there with Dharminder because he is honest, he said.

Sharma said he informed police about the attack on Rakbar at 12.30am on Saturday, 15 minutes after Dharminder Yadav called him up to say that some villagers were beating a cow smuggler. He said he accompanied the police to the spot, where they found Khan drenched in mud.

This is the second version of the events that does not portray the police in good light.

(Rakbar) was conscious when we reached there about 1 am. We took him to a tube well nearby to clean him up, Sharma said. He claimed that Yadav arranged for some clothes before police started questioning Rakbar.

Just then, one of the constables, Surender Yadav, started beating him with his belt and guns butt saying he was a cow smuggler. ASI Mohan Singh tried to stop him but the constable continued to assault him, he alleged.

Sharma also claimed that the police asked him to arrange for a vehicle to send the two cows to a shelter home.

Police took Rakbar, Dharminder and Paramjeet to the (Ramgarh police) station, he said, adding that he handed the cows over at the shelter around 3:15am and returned to the police station by 3.40 am. I saw Rakbar being beaten at the station (too). He fell on after which the policemen took him to the community health centre where he was declared dead, Sharma alleged.

But theres a third version that questions Sharmas own role, too.

Pushpendra (who uses only one name), a Ramgarh resident, said Sharma is a friend of ASI Singh and constable Surender Yadav, who were the first to reach the spot. He provides information to the police on cow smuggling in the area and the police seek information from him. Sharma might have beaten Rakbar as he has done it in the past.

According to the FIR lodged by ASI Singh, Sharma informed him about the attack at 12.41am. The officer first picked up Sharma and then left for the spot, around 4km away, he wrote in the FIR. He (Rakbar) spoke about how the locals beat him up with sticks, injuring his ribs and limbs.

The ASI claims to have taken Rakbar to Ramgarh health centre after asking constable Surender Yadav to take the two cows to Jain Sudha Sagar Gaushala.

Rakbar was brought to the health centre at 4am, according to the records kept there. During the check-up, it appeared that there was a fracture in his leg, said Dr Hasan Ali Khan, who shortly after declared him dead.

BJPs Alwar MLA Gyan Dev Ahuja alleged that Rakbar was a habitual offender and a known cow smuggler. An FIR for cow smuggling was lodged against him on December 24, 2014...
Despite constant chatter about the massive (and rising) costs of election campaigns in India, there is a dearth of credible data on the actual costs, the sources of support for candidates, and the implications of campaign costs on governance between elections.

However, newly available survey data on politicians in three of Indias largest and most electorally competitive statesBihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh offer a unique and systematic view into the nature of campaign finance across all levels of elected office, from the gram panchayat to the Lok Sabha, and the possible repercussions for Indian democracy. These data, collected between 2011 and 2014 from surveys of more than 2,500 incumbent politicians, provide insights into the role of political parties in funding elections, candidates sources of campaign support, and the specific, and troubling, importance of illicit funds.

The survey asked politicians about their own spending in past elections, sources of both financial and non-financial assistance, perception of the spending habits of their peers, and, perhaps most importantly, the role of cash in their campaigns.

What did we find? Its worth starting with what we did not find: accurate estimates of campaign spending. Most respondents report spending less on campaigns than the official limits, despite regular grumbling by politicians about the exceedingly strict campaign finance limits imposed by the Election Commission.



Read | Power to the rich: India needs to talk about money in politics

Thus, either the anecdotal reports are wrong or politicians are unwilling to report honestly on their spending. One piece of evidence in favour of the second explanation is the fact that politicians at all levels indicate their peers spent at least double what they themselves spent, suggesting that their own reports are severe underestimates.

The politicians responses were not all such obvious affectations of innocence, however, and there is much we can learn from what they did report.

A key question posed by election analysts, to date unanswered, is the degree to which political parties provide financial support to candidates for office at various tiers of government . We found that party support was far more prevalent at higher levels of office.

More than 60% of politicians at the state and national levels report receiving political party support, compared to fewer than 10% of respondents at the district level and lower.

These are also substantial contributionswith the average amount received at state and national levels making up at least half of reported spending. Thus, political parties play a prominent role in funding high-level elections, while individuals running for office in local councils must instead rely on their own funds for the lions share of their campaign. Lower level politicians are further inhibited by a lack of access to financing from private sector and bureaucratic actors, which is more prevalent at higher levels.

Who else might influence elected officials? Answering this question requires attention to broader non-financial forms of election support. Politicians disclosed information about who helped them during the campaign, and here too we see substantial variation across levels of elected office.

State and national-level politicians reported support from a much wider range of actors, but they were particularly reliant on other elected officials, party workers, and individual fixers. Panchayat politicians, in contrast, were relatively more reliant on help from local organisations, such as village or neighborhood associations.

Given the differences in their relative importance during the campaign period, it seems plausible that local associations are more likely to have influence over politicians at the sub-state level while political parties are more likely to have sway over politicians at higher levels.

What do these actors do to support a campaign? Assistance in gift giving is a key role. While giving gifts to voters is technically illegal, more than half of respondents across all levels of officeand nearly all at the state and national levelreport that candidates are pressured to distribute gifts on the campaign trail. Gift-giving is such a prominent feature of elections that politicians estimate at least a quarter of votersacross the various types of election campaigns receive a gift.

This strategy of gift-giving helps explain the role of individual actors in supporting campaigns; even in local offices, politicians report that it is individual party and unaffiliated actors who help to distribute funds.

Perhaps even more surprising is that more than a quarter of state legislators themselves report that they distribute gifts to help other candidates with their campaigns.

In this way, it is not simply canvassing or attending rallies that arenecessary to support candidates, it is taking part in fundamental, but illicit, acts of gift distribution.

The importance of gift-giving in campaigns helps to explain a final and critical finding from the surveytaking us back to the supply of campaign financeand that is the significance of illicit funds across elections. When asked what they think was the most important source of funds for their peers in the most recent election, the most common response by state and national legislators was funds gained through corrupt means (black money). Although this was a less common response from panchayat politicians, 15-20% of block and district officials still reported that this was the most frequent source of funding.

While the finding that illicit funds are important is not surprising, the degree to which politicians understand black money to be the most important source of funds is striking.

If this is the case, then understanding who has influence over elected officials is not simply a question of who knocked on the most doors or who handed out the most gifts, but rather who has the ability to provide illicit sources of funds.

While this accords with the received wisdom, these data suggest with even greater potency the centrality of black money in Indias democracy.

Jennifer Bussell is assistant professor of political science and public policy at the University of California, Berkeley.
The Congress on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman of lying in Parliament on the Rafale deal, saying there was no secrecy clause in a 2008 Indo-French pact that binds the government from revealing price details of the jets, charges termed as falsehood by the BJP.

Heres a look at the allegations and the governments response:

Congress charge: The commercial cost of the Rafale Jets can be revealed under the Indo French Confidentiality Agreement, 2008.

Government Response: Details of the deal cannot be disclosed as there is a clause in the pact that legally binds Indian and France to protect classified information in the inter-governmental agreement. The French government endorsed the governments stand last week, saying revealing classified information could impact the security and operational capabilities of the defence equipment in the Indian and French arsenals.

Congress charge: The junior defence minister disclosed the price in Parliament earlier. Did the defence ministry mislead the Parliament then or is it misleading now?

Government Response: Parliament has been informed thrice that each basic Rafale fighter costs Rs 670 crore, but this does not cover associated equipment, weapons package, India-specific enhancements, maintenance support and services. The break-up of the cost is an essential part of the classified information.

Congress charge: India paid Rs 351 crore more for each jet than other Rafale customers such as Egypt

Response: Rafale maker Dassault Aviation has said the figures gleaned from its March 2018 annual report have been misinterpreted to conclude that India ordered expensive warplanes. Indian Rafales have been tailored for IAFs needs and come with a raft of enhancements. When the Rafale bid was opened in 2001 during the UPA regime, the proposed cost per aircraft was 100.85 million Euros. Under the NDA regime in 2016, the price was finalized at 91.75 million EURO in the inter-governmental agreement, 9% less than the UPA price. The cost of Rafales for Egypt and Qatar cannot have any comparison with India.

Congress charge: Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman agreed to disclose the Rafale Price. Why hide now?

Response: In November 2017, Nirmala Sitharaman said the ministry would share the price details with the media. Per unit cost of the aircraft has already been shared in Parliament. The final cost relating to weaponry, India-specific capabilities and maintenance are essentially a part of the classified information and cannot be revealed in national interest.

Congress charge: Government bound to reveal the price to CAG and Parliamentary Standing Committee.

Response: If you know that these things will be revealed before a Parliamentary panel, then why are you creating so much noise.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is looking for big gains from Indias eastern region as compared to its 2014 tally, and believes it can win close to half the seats across the 11 states, said a senior leader of the party.

In 2014, the BJP won two of 42 seats in West Bengal, one of 21 seats in Odisha, eight of 25 seats in the North-east, and one seat each of Andhra Pradeshs 25 and Telanganas 17. This made it a total of 13 out of 130 seats.

We believe we will increase our tally several times over across these states, said the leader, closely involved with the partys campaign.

During his recent nationwide tour, BJP president Amit Shah spent three days in West Bengal; visited Manipurs capital Imphal, where he met all party chief ministers and top leaders of the North-east; spent a day in Odisha; visited Telangana; and met the partys Andhra Pradesh leaders.

The sense in the party, according to the leader cited above, is that it will see huge, unprecedented gains in West Bengal, where it has set a target of 22 seats; in Odisha, where it has set a mission of 120 of 147 seats in the assembly polls to be conducted along with the Lok Sabha polls; and the North-east, where it hopes to win 20 of the 25 seats.

In a recent interview, Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan explained the importance of the east for the party. When Amit Shah took over as the party president in August 2014, in his first presidential address, he talked about eastern India. When we recently won elections, he said our victory will be complete when we form governments on the Coromandel coast. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been saying since his campaign in 2013 that till eastern India develops, we cannot say India is developing in a comprehensive and balanced manner, he said.

Pradhan, who is leading the BJP campaign in Odisha, added that his state and West Bengal would constitute the pillars of a post-2019 government.

In the North-east, the BJP is in power on its own or in an alliance in Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura and is preparing for the Mizoram state polls at the end of the year. N Biren Singh, the chief minister of Manipur, said: The Lok Sabha election and Modis comeback is important for us because the North-east was neglected before the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) came to power.

Claiming that the overall tally from the region would increase , the CM added: In Manipur, we will win both the seats. In Nagaland and Meghalaya, the BJP or its ally will win. In Assam, in some parts, we will increase and some parts, we could dip. But together, the North-east will see a good performance.

Opposition parties and experts however believe the BJP is being overly optimistic. In Bengal the people will not give a single seat to the BJP, said chief minister Mamata Banerjee from the dais of her party programme on July 21 in Kolkata. Our target is 42 out of 42, she said. Her nephew and party MP Abhishek Banerjee also set the same target.

Patricia Mukhim, editor of the Shillong Times, also had a cautionary note for the BJP. It will be difficult for them to sweep the North-east. There is a sense of insecurity in pockets, in Mizoram, in parts of Meghalaya, in Muslim-dominated pockets of Assam. Many of these states are inhabited by minorities and they can see incidents of lynching and violence every day, and this causes apprehension. At the same time, people are wondering what is the alternative. There is uncertainty.

Read: 45 days, 29 states: Amit Shah begins 2019 poll preparations with whirlwind tour
India has extended lines of credit (LoCs) worth $200 million to Rwanda as Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the first Indian diplomatic mission will be opened in the East African nation.

India and Rwanda signed an agreement of $100 million for development of industrial parks and expansion of Special Economic Zones, and a similar amount for an agriculture irrigation scheme in that African nation, following delegation-level talks between Modi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame on Monday in Kigali.

Stating that India and Rwanda were looking forward to further elevate their ties, Modi, while addressing the media with Kagame, said: Today, we signed agreements for $200 million for lines of credit and in the area of training.

Modi reached Kigali on Monday evening in the first leg of his three-nation tour of Africa that will also take him to Uganda and South Africa.

This is the first ever Prime Ministerial visit from India to Rwanda.

Modi also announced that India will open a new High Commission in Rwanda in what can be seen as yet another manifestation of Indias increasing engagements with Africa.

This will not only facilitate close communication among our governments, it will also help in consular, passport, visa and other facilities, he said.

Indias current High Commissioner to Rwanda has residence in Uganda.

In his address, Modi appreciated the steps for peace that have been adopted in Rwanda following the mass genocide in that country in 1994.

Around 500,000 to one million people were killed in the mass genocide against the Tutsi people by the majority Hutu government of that time.

For us, it is a matter pride that India is a trusted development partner of Rwanda, Modi said.

We have been helping Rwanda in capacity building, infrastructure development and ICT, he said.

Following Mondays bilateral talks, the two sides signed eight agreements, including in the areas of defence, agriculture and dairy production, trade and leather and allied sectors.

On his part, Kagame, in his address to the media, said that both sides discussed a range of bilateral, regional and global issues.

He also thanked India for its development aid cooperation with Rwanda.

This is Modis second visit to mainland Africa after he visited Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya in 2016.

Over the last few years, there has been significant engagement in various fields with African countries. There have been 23 outgoing visits to Africa by the President, Vice President and Prime Minister in the last four years.
Former chief minister J Jayalalithaa was never pregnant in her life time, the state government informed the Madras High Court on Tuesday submitting video clips of late TN chief minister dating back to 1980s.

TN Advocate general Vijay Narayan made this statement in his arguments related to a case filed by one Amrutha of Bengaluru who has been claiming to be the biological daughter of former AIADMK leader.

The Advocate General submitted that the petitioners intention was to take over the properties left behind by the late leader. He also asked the petitioner, why she had never taken a picture with Ms Jayalalithaa. Narayan also submitted before justice S Vaidyanathan that as per the records submitted by Amrutha, she was born in August 1980. The video clip submitted to the court was taken in 1980 at a film award ceremony. This was filmed just a month before the birth of Amrutha and the court can see that there are no signs of pregnancy, he claimed.

There are other relatives of Ms Jayalalithaa and their DNA samples can be compared with that of Amrutha if required, Narayan added. Justice Vaidyanathan posted the matter for further hearing next week.

In her petition, Amrutha had also sought a direction to exhume Jayalalithaas body and enable her and her family to cremate it on the grounds that the chief minister was a Brahmin. She also prayed to the court to order a DNA test to ascertain her parentage. Jayalalithaa died on 5 December 2016 after prolonged hospitalisation and was buried at the Marina beach.

Amrutha had approached the high court after failing to impress the Supreme Court to order a similar review on November 27, 2017. Rejecting her plea, the Supreme Court had suggested that she approach the high court concerned for any relief.
A passenger on an Indigo flight was detained at the Srinagar Airport on Tuesday after he told the crew that the flight is hijacked.

However, he later told the police that he was making a joke.

Airport security officials said 30-year-old Lakhwinder Kumar was handed over to Budgam police after the Indigo staff submitted an application.

The plane was flying from Chandigarh to Srinagar.

After landing, the man told the crew the flight is hijacked, said deputy superintendent of police Bashir Ahmad. The crew gave us an application and we handed him over to the police station concerned for legal action.

The official said the man was a resident of Punjab and was here as a tourist.

He told us that he has was flying for the first time and in excitement, made a joke in front of his friends who were also on the flight, said an official at Srinagar Airport police post. He also told us that he had come for the Amarnath Yatra.

Srinagar International Airport, around 12 km north of Srinagar, is under the control of the Indian Air Force and Airports Authority of India.
A campaign group has said that the Sikh community in the United Kingdom is on the verge of having a separate ethnic identification in the countrys 2021 census after thousands rejected Indian and chose other as an identifier in UKs last population count in 2011.

A series of representations and initiatives have been made by local Sikh groups in recent years to have a separate Sikh identity box in the census forms. But the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which is responsible for the census, told Hindustan Times on Monday that no decision has been taken yet.

Population counts by ethnicity are crucial for various political, social, cultural and economic purposes, including distribution of government funds. Over 80,000 British Sikhs reportedly used other in the 2011 census to identify their ethnicity, and mentioned Sikh on the forms, instead of ticking the box that said Indian.

Campaign group Sikh Federation (UK) said 112 gurdwaras, with a membership of over 1 lakh people from across the UK, have told the ONS that they are in favour of the separate Sikh box which, it claimed, means the ONS will certainly recommend to the cabinet office that a Sikh ethnic tick box must be included in the Census White Paper-2018.

When contacted, a spokesperson for the ONS said: No decision has been made on the content of the 2021 census. Our recommendations for the 2021 census will be included in a government White Paper later this year.

After receiving requests for 55 new ethnic identifiers for the 2021 census, ONS reduced the number being considered to four: Jewish, Roman, Sikh and Somali. A final decision, to be made later this year, has the potential of adding to the fractious relations between some sections of overseas Sikhs and India.

In September 2017, over 100 MPs, including Preet Kaur Gill (Labour), chair of the all-party parliamentary party for British Sikhs, supported the demand for a separate identifier for Sikhs in the 2021 census.

Bhai Amrik Singh of the Sikh Federation (UK) said: The ONS cannot overlook the huge protest by over 83,000 Sikhs in the Census 2011 who rejected all existing options and wrote SikhWe have the support of at least 250 MPs from across the political spectrum for our demand.

He added that the ONS had taken legal advice and knew it could not ignore the legal recognition of Sikhs as an ethnic group. The final ONS test was one of public acceptability and our main religious institutions have spoken with one voice with 100% backing for a separate Sikh ethnic tick box, he added.

I welcome the step. We in India are also demanding constitutional amendment and seeking separate identity for Sikhs, said Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Gobind Singh Longowal.

Sikh historian Prithipal Singh Kapur said: Its a good beginning. From the days of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, British considered Sikhs as a separate identity. But diplomatically, England is with the Indian government as far as Sikhs living in India are concerned.
A day after Kakasaheb Shinde, a 28-year old Maratha youth committed suicide by jumping into Godavari river as part of the protest, the agitation for the Maratha reservation took violent turn in Aurangabad in Marathwada (central Maharashtra) on Tuesday in which a police constable died and another sustained injuries.

Several vehicles including those of the police, fire brigade and TV channel vans were torched in Aurangabad, while in some parts of Marathwada the protesters pelted stones to damage the state transport buses.

Maratha community outfits have announced a shutdown in Mumbai, Thane and adjoining areas on Wednesday after a mixed response to its statewide bandh on Tuesday. The community has been protesting for their various demands including reservation in government jobs and education, review of the SC/ST Act, construction of Shivaji statue on Arabian sea and freeships to students for professional courses.

In Aurangabad, the protesters turned violent during the funeral of Shinde. The mob set state transport buses on fire and also heckled local Shiv Sena MP Chandrakant Khaire and Congress MLA Subhash Jhambad, who had come to attend the funeral.

According to police, constable Shyam Padgaonkar, 47, a police constable, died while manning the situation and another constable sustained injuries in reported stone pelting.

At Aurangabads Kranti chowk, hundreds of protestors gathered who blocked vehicular movement. Schools and colleges remained shut in Aurangabad while shopkeepers preferred to down the shutters. The rural areas remained tense where agitators burnt vehicles and tyres and blocked roads.

Two protesters, Jayesh Sonavne, 30, and Jagannath Sonavne, 55, tried to attempt suicide by jumping into the Vel Ganga river and consuming poison respectively. Both were rescued to safety and hospitalised. Jayant has sustained fractured injuries on his leg in the incident.

The shutdown affected all the eight districts of Marathwada region. State transport buses were kept off the roads in the region. Chiranjeev Prasad, Aurangabad police commissioner, has appealed for peace. The city area has remained under control barring a few incidents, he added.

As a precaution, the police authorities have suspended internet services in city. Seventy percent force of all the units have been mobilised [in the wake of the Maharashtra bandh call given by the protestors for Wednesday,additional director general of police (law and order) Bipin Bihari told the Hindustan Times.

In Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai shops, schools and colleges were open and there were no disruptions in public transport. Sakal Maratha Samaj, the umbrella body representing various community organisations has given a call for bandh on Thursday in Mumbai, Thane and Raigad districts.

The Maharashtra government in 2014 granted 16% reservation for the Maratha community which was later struck down by Bombay high court, which asked the government to submit documents to prove backwardness of the Maratha community. The community outfits have announced to intensify their protest until demands are met. The outfits also demanded resignation of chief minister accusing him of failure to meet their demands and blamed him for Shindes death.

Meanwhile, the funeral on the body of Shinde was performed at Kaygaon only after government assured the community the compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the family of Shinde, government job to his brother and recommendation of for the status of martyr.
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Senegal on July 22 for a two-day visit, the first stopover of an Africa visit that will also see him head to Rwanda, South Africa and Mauritius.

The Chinese leader arrived in Africa a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Uganda on Monday on the first stop of his three-nation tour that includes Rwanda and South Africa.

Both leaders are attending the 10th BRICS summit in South Africa from July 25 -27. The summit will focus a great deal on Africa, a continent of 54 countries  most of them resource-rich and with rapidly growing markets.

India and China are rivals in Africa; India had an early start, but China has powered ahead, largely on the back of its willingness to underwrite, even build infrastructure in the continent.

China is also Africas biggest trading partner. But India has been busy these past four years, according to a diplomat.

We have also had an unprecedented 23 outgoing visits to Africa in the last four years at the President, vice-president and Prime Minister level. The Prime Minister himself has visited six African countries and will now visit three more. Under our Africa Outreach initiative, we have had visits to all African countries at the Ministerial level, said TS Tirumuri, secretary, economic relations at the ministry of external affairs .

Xi is the first Chinese President to visit Rwanda; likewise, Modi is the first Indian PM to visit that country. Rwanda, with which India has had a strategic partnership since 2017, is also a recipient of Indian Lines of Credit (LoC) of nearly $400 million.

During Modis two-day visit to Rwanda on July 23 and 24, India will finalise two more LoCs  one for $100 million for the development of industrial parks and the Kigali special economic zone and another for $100 million for agriculture and irrigation.

The Chinese president will also be meeting his Senegalese counterpart Macky Sall for the third time. Beijing invested $100 million in the country last year and has become Senegals biggest trading partner after France.

India and China are competing for political space and economic/natural resources opportunities in Africa, explained strategic affairs expert C Uday Bhaskar. China has diplomatic missions in 43 African countries. India has 29 resident missions in Africa. To expand its outreach on the continent, the Indian government, early this year, approved 18 new diplomatic missions that are to be established over a four-year period ending 2021.

Bhaskar added that considering that both India and China are looking for long term energy options around the world, there is logic to the priority being accorded to Africa by both these countries.

Beijing has certain tangible advantages, including its deeper pockets and proven ability to deliver on large infrastructure projects. Indias advantages are its soft power prowess, centuryold association with the continent and India is also seen as an IT, computer and cyber-skill provider, he said.

India will have to maximize its strengths and invest in the growth corridor (Asia-Africa growth corridor) with Japan in a such a manner that the perception that India doesnt walk the talk or it is unable to deliver on promises made is altered in a manner that enhances Indias credibility, he said.
Lok Sabha adjourned

The Lower House of the Parliament is adjourned for the day.

LS passes Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2018

The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2018 passed in Lok Sabha.

Rajya Sabha adjourned

The Upper House of the Parliament is adjourned for the day.

1,662 defamatory sites, contents blocked by social media platforms: Govt

As many as 1,662 defamatory websites and contents were blocked by social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter following requests from law enforcement agencies: Union minister Hansraj Gangaram Ahir.

Facebook has blocked 956 URLs against requests for 1,076 URLs, Twitter 409 URLs against 728 requests and YouTube 152 URLs against 182 requests, Ahir said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha .

Govt will fulfil its commitments: Rajnath Singh on AP special status

Whatever commits have been made by our government as well as the former government will be fulfilled: Rajnath Singh

We do politics for the development of the country. The promises in Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act will be fulfilled: Home minister

I expected my successor to fulfil commitment I made: Manmohan Singh

I expected my successor to fulfil commitment I made: Manmohan Singh in Rajya Sabha on special category status to Andhra Pradesh.

Commitments made on the floor of the House are to be honoured and fulfilled. They are in the nature of an assurance on behalf of Parliament. I had expected my distinguished successor to fulfil the commitment I had made after consultation with his own colleagues, the former prime minister said

YSR Congress Party MP remarks during discussion on AP Act

Nowhere in 14th finance commission is it stated that special status cannot be given to Andra Pradesh as BJP has categorically said: YSR Congress Party lawmaker V Vijaysai Reddy.

338 incidents of ceasefire violation during Ramzan in J-K: Govt

A total of 338 incidents of ceasefire violation and cross-border firings were reported in Jammu and Kashmir during the month of Ramzan: Union minister Hansraj Gangaram Ahir

Dont deceive people of AP, says CPI (M) lawmaker T K Rangarajan

Tamil Nadus CPI(M) lawmaker CPI(M) lawmaker TK Rangarajan says NDA wanted to use TDP for 4 years and now they have ditched them. If 5 crore people are being deceived, youll deceive 123 crore people.

Those raising lynching issue are hypocrites: Lekhi

BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi dubs those raising the issue of lynching as hypocrites, saying they have forgotten the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and the alleged lynching of karsevaks in 2002.

The promise given in this temple is being violated: Odisha MP

The promise of special status to Andhra Pradesh was given in this temple of democracy by two prime ministers and it is not being delivered: Odisha MP Prasanna Acharya.

LS takes up anti-corruption Bill

The Lok Sabha takes up the anti-corruption Bill that provides for stringent punishment to bribe givers, and extends prior nod for prosecution to former public officials.

Moving the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2018, Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh says the Bill provides safeguards to officers who perform their work with honesty.

Derek O Brien says BJP should reflect why Sena is not with them

Shiv Sena and BJP go back 29 years. It is for BJP to reflect why Shiv Sena is not with them and questioning them. Shiv Sena was BJPs largest ally, TDP was their second largest ally and they brought the no-confidence motion: Derek O Brien.

The TMC says these are the question BJPs conscience needs to answer.

Everybody who wants federalism will oppose the BJP: Derek O Brien

AIADMK alleges discrimination in allocation of funds to Tamil Nadu

AIADMK lawmaker A. Navaneethakrishnan alleges that Central government has discriminated against Tamil Nadu in allocating funds.

Motor Vehicle bill may be discussed on July 31

The discussion on the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill may resume in the Rajya Sabha on July 31 after Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari holds discussions with various opposition parties seeking amendments to the Bill.

Ensure both AP, Telangana progress: Ghulam Nabi Azad

The govt just announced 15 crore for the tribal population of the state. 1500 crore allotted for Amravati which should have been at least 10,000 crore. The govt is deceiving everyone by saying that it has fulfilled its promises made to Andhra.

Piyush Goyal on black money in Swiss bank

Congress President had been levelling baseless allegations, that money of Indians in Swiss banks have increased by 50%, without understanding seriousness of matter. Hes habituated to speak without knowing truth. We saw how he was exposed by French govt: Finance Minister P Goyal.

Discussion on the Andhra Pradesh Re-Organisation Act

Discussion on the Andhra Pradesh Re-Organisation Act 2014 currently underway.

Lok Sabha adjourned

House adjourned till 2:30 PM.

MoS HRD on NEET data leak

The DG of NIC has told me there has been no data leak from their server. But some private agency has collected data from students. So, perhaps it has been compromised. However, the Govt of India ensures no data leak from any Govt agency: Satyapal Singh, MoS HRD, on NEET data leak.

CBI enquiry being demanded on Bihar shelter rape case

Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan demands CBI inquiry into Muzaffarpur Shelter Home Rape Case, in Lok Sabha, says Till the time the inquiry is not completed, it is to be seen that the girls are given proper security.

Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2pm

Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2 PM as TMC members protest over black money issue.

Rajnath Singh on lynching incidents

Home Minister Rajnath Singh says in Lok Sabha that government will enact a law, if necessary, to curb incidents of lynching.

If state govt recommends this, we will consider a CBI inquiry: Home Minister Rajnath Singh in reply to Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan in Lok Sabha who demanded a CBI inquiry over the incidents of rape at shelter home in Bihars Muzaffarpur.

Parliament discusses black money

After Modi government came to power in 2014, the amount deposited in Swiss National Bank has reduced by 80% between 2014 and 2017: Finance minister Piyush Goyal in Rajya Sabha

According to data released by Swiss National Bank, loans and deposits of individual Indians in the bank decreased by 34.5% in the last year compared to the previous year.

News reports quoting Swiss Banks annual statistics showed increase of 50% in its total liabilities towards India in 16-17. Data is misinterpreted, it includes Non-deposit liabilities,Business of Swiss branches in India,Inter bank transactions,Fiduciary liability.

Its assumed that assets held by Indian Residents in Switzerland are undeclared.BIS data shows non-Bank loans&deposits(constituting individual&corporate deposits used as Black money haven in past & exclude interbank transactions)fell by 34.5% in 17 compared to 16.

Focus on Bihar shelter home rape case

RJD MP Jay Prakash Narayan Yadav raises the issue of Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case in Lok Sabha, says, This is a matter of national shame.

Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan demands CBI inquiry into the case, saying: Till the time the inquiry is not completed, it is to be seen that the girls are given proper security.

Home minister on lynchings

We are thoughtful about this. This didnt start only recently, the incidents of lynching have been going on since years. I have said this earlier too, the biggest mob lynching is, what happened in 1984: Home minister Rajnath Singh in Lok Sabha

Police & cow vigilantes are hand in glove in Alwar lynching

Police & cow vigilantes are hand in glove in this matter. It was the duty of the police to take him to hospital immediately. Police has played a suspicious role. This is a case of not only mass lynching but also custodial death, says Congress Alwar MP Karan Singh Yadav.

MSP of more than 50% of production cost to farmers

Agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh said in Parliament today that the government is committed to providing the minimum support price of more than 50% of the production cost to the farmers.

Congress likely to move privilege motion over Rafale deal

Congress is likely to move a privilege notice against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman for allegedly misleading the Lok Sabha, party leaders said.

Bills to be discussed in Rajya Sabha

Business listed in Rajya Sabha today: Bills for passage

Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill

Motor Vehicles Amend Bill.

Discussion on the non implementation of the provisions of Andhra Pradesh Re-organization Act, 2014 also scheduled.

Bills to be discussed in Lok Sabha

Three Bills listed for discussion and passage in Lok Sabha today:

Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill,

Homeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, and

Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-third Amendment) Bill

TMC MPs protest over lynching incidents

Delhi: All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs stage protest in front of Gandhi statue in Parliament over incidents of lynching pic.twitter.com/UVV3APaCN7  ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2018

TDP MPs protest outside Parliament

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MPs protest in front of Gandhi statue in Parliament over the demand of special status for Andhra Pradesh.

Adjournment Motion Notice in Lok Sabha

Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan and RJD MP JP Yadav give Adjournment Motion Notice in Lok Sabha over the incidents of rape at a shelter home in Bihars Muzaffarpur.

Zero Hour Notice in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha gives Zero Hour Notice in Rajya Sabha over the incidents of rape at a shelter home in Bihars Muzaffarpur.

CPI MP Mohd Salim gives Zero hour notice in Lok Sabha over situation of violence in West Bengal and Tripura
The Parliament on Tuesday passed an anti-corruption Bill that provides for punishment to bribe givers and takers, and extends prior nod for prosecution to former public officials with the Lok Sabha given its assent to the law.

The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2018, passed by the lower house after a reply by minister of state for personnel, public grievances and pensions Jitendra Singh, was passed by Rajya Sabha last week.

In his reply, the minister said the Bill provides safeguards to officers who perform their duties with honesty. We have brought amendments so that honest performing officer does not get intimidated or his initiatives get killed,  he said.

Singh said the historic legislation has provisions to ensure speedy trial in corruption cases.

For any corruption case, we will bring guidelines for decision to be ordinarily given in two years, he said. The minister said the government aimed at taking strict measures against corruption while also ensuring good work atmosphere.

Referring to delay in appointment of Lokpal, he said the blame laid with Congress as it did not get enough seats for its leader to be recognised as the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

The Leader of Opposition is a member of Lokpal selection panel. Singh said the government had sought to include the leader of the largest opposition party in the meetings concerning appointment of Lokpal. Many members who took part in the debate stressed on the need for electoral reforms to curb corruption.

Some opposition members accused the government of diluting the anti-corruption act through the amendments. They also cautioned the government over the provision to punish the bribe giver. Shiv Sena member Arvind Ganpat Sawant targeted the Modi government over demonetisation and asked if its stated objectives had been achieved.

Citing some other decisions related to the government, he said it is easy to talk about corruption and difficult to walk the talk. He asked if expenses of a party meeting addressed by the prime minister or a chief minister are borne by the exchequer or the political party concerned.

Election is den of corruption, school admission is den of corruption, he said.

The Bill provides for imprisonment from three to seven years, besides fine, to those convicted of taking bribes. Bribe givers have also been included in the legislation for the first time and they can be punished with imprisonment up to seven years, fine, or both.
Praising the Indian diasporas contributions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday described them the ambassadors of India who are making a mark all over the world.

Addressing a gathering of Indian community members here, Modi said Rwandas President Kagame had told him about the Indian communitys work in the country.

I am delighted to interact with the Indian community in Rwanda. President @PaulKagame told me that the Indian community is contributing to Rwandas progress and they are also doing lot of community service. I was happy to hear this, he said.

All over the world, the Indian diaspora is making a mark. They are our Rashtradoots, the prime minister said.

Modi is on a two-day visit to Rwanda -- one of Africas fastest growing economies. He is the first Indian prime minister to visit the country.

For years the Indian community in Rwanda wanted a High Commission. This long pending demand will be fulfilled and you will be connected even further with India, he told the gathering.

Earlier, Modi held wide-ranging talks with President Kagame and discussed measures to boost the bilateral strategic ties by strengthening cooperation in defence, trade and agriculture sectors.

Later today, Prime Minister Modi will visit the Genocide Memorial and participate in an event on Girinka (one cow per family), a national social protection scheme of Rwanda initiated by Kagame.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday gifted 200 cows in a symbolic gesture to villagers in Rwandas Rweru model village under the Rwandan Governments Girinka Programme.

The locally sourced cows are a contribution to Rwandan President Paul Kagames flagship programme Girinka in which the poorest get cows from the government and gift the first female calf to a neighbour to promote brotherhood. The exercise also enables the poorest in Rwanda to have a livelihood. The national social protection scheme was personally initiated by the Rwandan President.

Earlier in the day, Modi visited the Genocide Memorial Centre in Kigali to pay his respects to over 250,000 victims of Rwandas mass killings in 1994.

The first Indian Prime Minister to visit the East African country, Modi arrived on Monday on a two-day state visit to Rwanda on the first leg of his three-nation Africa tour.

Beginning the day on a poignant note! PM @narendramodi visits the Genocide Memorial Centre in #Kigali. The Memorial honours the victims of the worst excesses of violence. It is also symbolic of the admirable and exemplary process of reconciliation Rwanda has embarked upon, external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet.

The memorial is the final resting place for more than 250,000 victims of the genocide against the Tutsi -- the principal ethnic community in Rwanda. There is also a childrens memorial and an exhibition on the history of genocides around the world.

(With agency inputs)
A man, aged about 50, allegedly committed suicide in Rajasthans Churu district near Jaipur after making an abortive bid to rape his daughter-in-law, during which he also stabbed her repeatedly on meeting resistance, the police said on Tuesday.

The man allegedly attempted to rape the 30-year-old wife of his son last night in absence of her husband and attacked the woman with a knife as she resisted his attempts, the police said.

The mans son and daughter-in-law used to live along with their two children separately from the assailant.

The victims husband was in Jaipur for the last four days for some work and she was staying with her two children in their house in Churu. Last night, her father-in-law barged into their house and tried to rape her, said SHO Rajkumar of the woman police station.

When she resisted his attempts, he attacked the woman with a knife due to which she sustained multiple injuries on head, neck, hands and other parts of her body. She, however, managed to get out of the house and raise an alarm, following which the neighbours rushed her to a hospital in the wee hours today, he said.

The alleged assailant, meanwhile, consumed some poison and fell unconscious. He too was rushed to the hospital where he died during the treatment, said Assistant Sub Inspector Ummed Singh of Kotwali police station.

While the FIR for the attempt to rape under relevant sections of IPC was lodged with Mahila police station, the report for suicide under section 174 of CrPC was registered with the Kotwali police station of Churu.
Xiaomi finally took the wraps off the new Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite, the second generation of Android One phones by the Chinese company. The company held the launch event in Spain's Madrid and showcased their latest global smartphones. Both Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite have been launched in China as Mi 6X and Redmi 6 Pro respectively. The new phones will focus on western and European markets. Android One's stock interface will be familiar to most consumers in these new markets. Xiaomi started the new series in India last year with the Mi A1 and later pushed out to other markets as well. Now, the new series plans on furthering the global reach of the line-up.

Price: The Mi A2 is priced at 249 euros (roughly Rs 20,000) for the base model with 4GB RAM and 32GB internal storage. The 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage variant is priced at 279 euros (roughly Rs 22,500). The most expensive device cost 349 euros (roughly Rs 28,100) with 6GB RAM and 128GB of internal storage.

The MiA2 Lite is priced at 179 euros (roughly Rs 14,500)for the 3GB RAM 32GB storage and 229 euros (roughly Rs 18,500)with 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage. Both devices will go on sale from August 10 in Spain. In France, the device will go on sale from July 27. In Italy, the Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite will go on sale in August 8. Xiaomi also announced that the devices will soon be available in 40 countries very soon. India was among the list of countries that will receive the new Android One phones from Xiaomi.

Both devices will be available in three colours: Blue, Black, and Gold.

Android One- The new phones come with Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box and will also receive the Android P update later this year. The default photos app on the device provides unlimited high-quality photo storage. Google Lens will also come fully incorporated in the device. With the Android P, these two phones will get Google's Adaptive battery feature and the newest navigation system.

Specifications

Mi A2

Design- Xiaomi's new Android One offering comes with an 18:9 aspect ratio display. The 5.99-inch display is an IPS LCD panel with FullHD+ resolution. The display is covered with 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The back panel is made of aluminum and comes in matte colour options. Body thickness measures in at 7.3mm.

Power- The smartphone is powered by a Snapdragon 660 chipset and will be available in two RAM variants. The processor is coupled with Adreno 512 GPU.

Camera- The camera comes with a dual lens setup with one 20megapixel sensor with other with a 12megapixel sensor. The aperture is large at f/1.75, which will help with low-light pictures. The 20megapixel sensor comes with something called SuperPixel which is 4-in-1 pixel for better sharpness.

The front camera is also a 20megapixel sensor with large pixel size and aperture of f/2.2. The front camera uses AI for different modes. Despite being a single-lens setup at the front, the selfie camera supports bokeh effect.

Mi A2 Lite

Design- The Mi A2 Lite has a more modern design with a notch on top. Though the device's bezel is not as thin as most displays with a notch, it does help provide some added screen real estate. The display is a 5.84-inch panel with a 19:9 aspect ratio. The phone will be available in Black, Blue, and Gold.

Power: The device is powered by a Snapdragon 625 chip and will come coupled with either 3GB or 4GB RAM. The processor will be coupled with Adreno 506 GPU.

Camera: Rear dual camera comes 1.2 ultra pixel size with both 12megapixel lens and the 5megapixel lens. The front camera is a single lens 5megapixel camera. The front facing camera uses AI to capture portraits with bokeh pictures.
China on Tuesday said it is willing to work with India in Africa and implement the consensus reached between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping during their recent meetings in Wuhan and Qingdao to explore new modes of cooperation in third world countries.

Modi arrived in Rwanda on Monday en route the BRICS summit in South Africa and agreed to provide $200 million in loans to the impoverished country. The PM will later hold high-level meetings with representatives of the BRICS nations of Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa.

Xi arrived in Rwanda on Sunday and signed various agreements, including a $126 million loan plan to build two roads. Both Xi and Modi are expected to meet on the sidelines of the BRICS summit. With this, Rwanda signed deals with both India and China earlier this week.

With India, we signed a loan of $100 million for irrigation in three separate areas in the country and $100 million for developing special economic zones, Rwandas finance minister Uzziel Ndagijimana told Reuters. With China, we signed a loan agreement of $76 million for a road from Huye to Kibeho, and $50 million for the new Bugesera airport access road, Ndagijimana said.

Answering a question on the simultaneous visits of Modi and Xi, Chinas ministry of foreign affairs (MFA) said on Tuesday that the two countries could cooperate in third world countries.

We noticed that on the same day Modi arrived in Rwanda and the two sides signed a series of bilateral cooperation agreements on investment and infrastructure, MFA spokesperson Geng Shuang said. We all want to help Africa speed up industrialisation under the south-south cooperation. We all want to develop cooperation with Africa.

We believe that China and India are on the same page in this regard. In April, Xi and Modi met (in the central Chinese city of) Wuhan and in June in Qingdao for the Shanghai Cooperation Summit. The two will meet again in South Africa. Three meetings in just several months show China-India relations developing with a very sound momentum, Geng added.

Referring to the consensus reached during the informal meeting between Modi and Xi in Wuhan, Geng said: We hope India and China can implement the consensus reached by leaders to explore new modes of cooperation like China-India-Plus 1 and China-India-Plus X to realise a win-win situation for China, India and other countries.

It was in Wuhan that Modi and Xi had agreed to jointly implement a capacity building project in Afghanistan.
The Telugu Desam Partys war against the Centre is not yet over in Parliament as the Rajya Sabha is set to discuss on Tuesday the unfulfilled issue of granting the status of the special category state to Andhra Pradesh.

The contentious issue led to a no-confidence motion debate in the Lok Sabha last week when the southern partys leaders launched a frontal attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A similar attack on the government is expected on Tuesday when the Upper House takes up the issue for debate.

The party is expected to launch the most pungent political attack on the government, said a political functionary.

No-confidence motions cant be taken up in the Upper House.

Even as the issue was discussed threadbare in the Lok Sabha, the TDPs members of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha had tried to disrupt the Upper House on a few occasions.

According to an official, the partys floor leader YS Chowdary had a heated argument with none other than the House chairman, vice-president Venkaiah Naidu during one of the internal meetings.

Chowdary almost refused to allow the House to run smoothly and insisted that his party has the right to protest.

An irked Naidu warned Chowdary that his party members may face tough action if they continue to protest. Finally, at least nine TDP MPs gave a notice for a Short Duration discussion on the issue and the government, which decisively won the no-confidence vote, immediately agreed for another debate in the Upper House.

To raise a discussion on the non-implementation of the provisions of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, the notice read.

Members of N Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP held a demonstration outside Parliament House on Monday, demanding a discussion and voting on the issue in the Rajya Sabha. They also demanded that a discussion must be held in the Upper House.

A furious TDP even gave a shraap (curse) in the Lok Sabha during the no-confidence motion debate that the Bharatiya Janata Party would be decimated in Andhra Pradesh.

Jayadev Galla, the partys lawmaker from Guntur, slammed Prime Minister Modi for what he called a misleading and deceiving the people of Andhra Pradesh.

Do you have respect for that your predecessor (Manmohan Singh) has promised? How can we function if the word of PM is not fulfilled? Galla asked.

The TDP reminded Modi that the BJPs 2014 manifesto promised to give Andhra Pradesh additional five years of the special category state status.

In front of Lord Balaji, you promised special status. You asked us to choose Scheme Andhra or scam Andhra. Why should we have confidence and trust in you? The BJP would be decimated in Andhra Pradesh if you dont fulfil promises, said Galla
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Umar Khalid has claimed he was not allowed to submit his PhD papers on Monday, the last date to submit thesis, despite the Delhi high courts instructions to the university not to take coercive action against him and other students till their plea was heard on Tuesday.

Khalid was among the three students who were arrested in connection with an event held on February 9, 2016, on campus in which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised.

He was rusticated for one semester and a fine of Rs 20,000 was imposed on him after a high-level enquiry committee (HLEC) of the university found him guilty of indiscipline.

I wasnt allowed to submit my PhD, saying I have not given the fine imposed by enquiry committee. But we have challenged it in high court and there is already a direction to not use coercive action against students till the next hearing, Khalid said.

He said the chief proctor refused to give him clearance to submit the PhD after which he approached the court again on Monday afternoon.

Khalid then filed an application in the HC seeking directions to the university to allow him to submit his PhD. The court allowed him to submit his PhD, saying the last date of submission (Monday) would not be valid for him.

I went to the administration again but despite todays instruction from the court, the chief proctor refused. I will fight this case even if I have to go to the Supreme Court, he said.

The JNU vice-chancellor, registrar, chief proctor and rector did not respond to calls and text messages for a comment on the matter.

On Friday, the Delhi high court had set aside the universitys order imposing a fine of Rs 10, 000 on former JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar for addressing and participating in the February 9, 2016 event.

Justice Siddharth Mridul noted that the order passed by JNU on July 4 this year was illegal, irrational and suffered from procedural impropriety. The court sent the matter back to the appellate authority, which would start the proceedings afresh.

Khalids matter, along with a batch of pleas by aggrieved students who have been fined, will be now heard on Tuesday with the court also restraining the University from taking any coercive action against them till the next date of hearing i.e (Tuesday).
The US congress has taken a significant legislative step towards amending a law that seeks to punish Russia for the 2016 election meddling that, if enacted, would allow India to go ahead with its plans to purchase Russian S-400 air defence systems without worrying about American sanctions.

A final version of US defence spending Bill for 2019 that was announced Monday amends existing waivers in the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) to allow third-party countries to buy military equipment from Russia as long as they fulfil certain conditions.

India fulfils most of them, according to officials and experts, and it could go ahead with its proposed purchase of S-400s without the fear of secondary (unintended) sanctions that had cast a shadow on ties between the two countries and on the upcoming inaugural 2+2 Dialogue in New Delhi.

The portion of the bill  National Defense Authorisation Act  that amends CAATSA does not mention any country, but the intended beneficiaries of the amended waiver are India, Vietnam and some others, as named by defence secretary James Mattis in his appeal to lawmakers during a congressional hearing last week.

There are nations in the world which are trying to turn away from formerly Russian-sourced weapons and systems like this. We only need to look at India, Vietnam and some others to recognize that, eventually, were going to paralyse ourselves, he said during that hearing.

Mattis has emerged as the most ardent advocate for exempting India and other countries from CAATSA, through direct appeal during congressional hearings, closed-door meetings and in a letter. Secretary of state Mike Pompeo has backed the exemptions as well, and publicly supported Mattis.

The modified waiver is a testament to some of those efforts. A summary of the final version of the bill released said it provides flexibility for strategic partners and allies to move away from the use of Russian military equipment to American equipment, while ensuring that US defence and security interests remain protected.

The finalised bill came at the conclusion of a legislative process called conference during which a congressional committee reconciled the defence bills passed separately by the House of Representatives and the Senate. It will now be voted by the two chambers before being sent to President Donald Trump for his signature and enactment.

Effectively, the NDDA provides flexibility to countries such as India that are reducing their dependence on Russia. Indias imports from Russia, as expressed as a proportion of its total arms imports have fallen from 79% in 2008-12 to 62% in 2013-17 and most experts believe it will go down further, as India diversifies its arms portfolio.

Its a good outcome and though not a clean waiver it will allow the two countries to maintain the momentum in defence ties, said Benjamin Schwartz, a former defence department official who is now with the US India Business Council. He added, Its also proof of how strong the US-India defence relationship. The very fact that were able to overcome all the other interests in Washington to create this carve-out, which is principally for India, goes to show just how important the relationship is.

CAATSA, which was enacted in 2017 and went into effect this January, was intended to punish Russia for meddling in the 2016 elections through sanctions against designated individuals and entities and third-party countries were threatened with secondary sanctions for making significant transactions with them.

Russian maker of S-400s  Almaz-Antey Air and Space Defense Corporation JSC  is on that list. India would have been a target for secondary sanctions if it went ahead with the proposed purchase of least five of them at an estimated cost of $4.5 billion -- if the law wasnt changed to provide it a waiver.

In its current form, CAATSA has some waiver authorities built in, but it is not sufficiently clear and unambiguous, as supporters of change argued forcefully to congress. The proposed amendment makes it clearer, by specifying conditions, which, experts and officials are saying, can see India through given the unique nature of the ties.

The conditions say the proposed transaction by the third-party country should not endanger the integrity of any multilateral alliance with the US; should not adversely affect ongoing operations of the armed forces of the US, including coalition operations; should not have a negative impact on defence cooperation between that country and the US; and should not significantly increase the risk of compromising US defence systems and operational capabilities.

Also, the country must demonstrate it is taking or will take steps to reduce its inventory of major defence equipment and advanced conventional weapons produced by Russia and continuing waiver would depend on specific enforcement actions by that country towards that goal.

Most of those conditions, in fact, all of them are being fulfilled by India, which has significantly reduced its major defence purchases from Russia over the years, said an expert who asked to be not identified. The conditions, if you look closely, are aimed at punishing Turkey.

Turkey has said it plans to buy the Russian S-400s and has been dismissive of objections from the United States. It is a NATO partner and is part of a coalition operating with the US in anti-IS operations with the US in and around Syria. The message is to Turkey clearly, the expert added.

Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (retd), additional director general, Centre for Air Power Studies, described the development as a step in the right direction.

Look, we have a large amount of Russian weaponry in the armed forces. The move serves to illustrate that Washington recognises and accepts Indias concerns, Bahadur said.

On July 13, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the deal for S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems with Russia was at conclusive stage and the US sanctions legislation wont affect it, brushing aside Washingtons concerns about the purchase. We have explained to the US that we have had a continuous relationship with Russia for defence preparedness for decades... Also CAATSA is a US legislation and not a United Nations one, she had said.
A day after the organisational rejig, BSP chief Mayawati on Monday reiterated that her party doesnt have any official presence on social media.

I wish to reiterate that BSP doesnt have an official Twitter handle or a Facebook account. Nor has it approved any website to be managed in the partys name, Mayawati said after she was made aware of a website BSPYouth being run by one Devashish Jarariya.

Barring a brief attempt to take to social media ahead of the 2017 UP polls, when several videos and posters of Mayawati titled behenji ko aane do (Let Behenji come to power) appeared on Twitter and Facebook, the BSP chief has mostly kept away from social media.

In August 2017, the former UP chief minister, who is expected to be a key player in the likely anti-BJP coalition ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, disassociated herself from a poster on opposition unity that surfaced on a verified @BspUp2017 Twitter handle.

The poster displayed a big photograph of Mayawati, along with smaller pictures of opposition leaders, including UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and RJD leader Lalu Yadav among others.

BSP sources said several opposition leaders were in touch with Mayawati, which could be the reason why she was being cautious to avoid any misunderstanding with other parties. Analysts are also of the view that Mayawati wants to tread carefully as a larger anti-BJP front is in the works.

The reiteration of the no social media policy also comes after Mayawati showed the door to two young national coordinators, Jai Prakash Singh and Vir Singh, ostensibly for commenting on BSPs role in the likely anti-BJP alliance and for making personal attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.

Unlike the BJP and Congress and now even the Samajwadi Party, which have an active presence on social media, the BSP hasnt quite accepted the social media as an electoral tool. Probably, part of it has to do with the fact that Behenji believes in keeping things under control and on social media, things do get out of hand at times, a former BSP lawmaker explained.

The former BSP lawmaker further said that Mayawati was also wary of fake Twitter handles being floated to tarnish her partys image.

You would have noticed how she got the media to see that she left the government house on Mall Avenue in a good condition. This saved her from the embarrassment that SP chief Akhilesh Yadav faced later. She believes in doing politics in the good old way, the former MLA added.

Jarariya, Mayas office said, was also seen on news channels as a BSP panellist occasionally, which Mayawati didnt approve of.

Other than Sudhindra Bhadoria, the BSP has not authorised anyone to represent the party in news channel debates, said a press release issued in Mayawatis name later.

Anyone deviating from the partys official line will face action, Mayawati warned.

The BSP chief also said that 50 percent people in all the partys committees are youth, but unlike other parties, the BSP doesnt need any separate wing for youth, students or women.
Yogi Adityanath became the first UP chief minister to cover all 75 districts of the state in just 16 months as he flew from Etah to Hathras on Monday. The exercise is part of his partys outreach initiative ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Barely a day before, he had sent out a terse message to the bureaucracy on Sunday while visiting Farrukhabad, the 73rd district in his itinerary.

So far, I was watching, observing, deciphering. Now, I will act. I want results, Adityanath warned officers.

The government will now also keep a watch on whether the number of complainants travelling to Lucknow from across the state dipped, stayed constant or increased. Accountability will be fixed, for sure, an official considered close to the chief minister said.

With general elections less than a year away, Adityanaths team is drawing up a list of priorities and problem areas. As if on cue, chief secretary Anup Chandra Pandey held meetings and instructed officials to ensure that the benefits of various schemes reached those for whom they were intended.

Mrityunjay Kumar, the chief ministers advisor, confirmed that Adityanath now has a better understanding of the states problems after having done his homework, first by sitting through department presentations well past midnight soon after taking over and then following it up with tours across the state in record time.

Its going to be action time. The delivery of government schemes and reaching the unreached will be the first priority, he said.

On August 2 last year, Adityanath interacted with the district magistrates and senior superintendents of police of all the 75 districts and had decided on his tours immediately afterwards to gather a first hand feel of the administrative functioning across the state.

His tours include superstition-shattering visits to Noida and a night stay at the Agra circuit house to break a jinx. Both the Noida visit and the night stay at the Agra circuit house were avoided by successive UP CMs for fear of losing power.

However, leader of opposition Ram Gobind Chaudhary described Adityanaths trips as futile.

The chief minister doesnt have a grip on the bureaucracy and these trips have done little to improve matters, he said.
After being told by the Bombay high court on Tuesday, the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) has agreed to appoint independent experts to examine possible damage to two Parsi temples caused owing to excavation and tunnelling for Metro-3 in south Mumbai.

These experts are from Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI). However, a bench of justices Abhay Oka and Riyaz Chagla deferred issuance of order to VJTI till Wednesday because of a difference between MMRCL and the petitioner, Jamshed Sukhdawala.

Sukhdawala has approached the high court, complaining that the ongoing Metro-3 construction poses danger to the structural stability of the two Parsi fire temples  Zartoshi Anjuman Atash Behram and HB Wadiaji Atash Behram near Metro Cinema in South Mumbai. He said tunnelling was also likely to make the wells at these holy shrines run dry.

According to petitioners counsel, Navroz Seervai, Metro construction may lead to the collapse of the temples. Walls of Jer Mahal Annexe, a nearby building in Kalbadevi, have collapsed because of tunnelling and construction Metro-3, alleged Sukhdawala.

MMRCL has, however, denied the charge, saying Metro work was 116 metres away from the collapse site.

MMRCL claimed that it has diligently following all rules while carrying out tunnelling. The apprehensions expressed by the petitioner were mere speculations, not based on facts, it said.

Replying to the claim of possible drying up of the wells at the Parsi temples, MMRCL said there is a sufficient vertical and horizontal gap between the Metro tunnel and the wells. It said the metro tunnel was 15 feet away from Zartoshi Anjuman Atash Behram and 42 feet away from HB Wadiaji Atash Behram
There are certain norms in politics. If there are two parties in alliance or multiple parties are in a coalition while running a government, the partners dont oppose the policies of the government publicly. It is assumed that the decisions taken by the government are a collective responsibility of all the partners in power. It is not a rule but a basic protocol and often political parties follow it. There are several examples when they dont. In Maharashtra itself, we saw the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) doing it while it shared power with the Congress between 1999 and 2014. Now, it is the Shiv Sena which is training the guns on the BJP, its partner in power from Delhi to Mumbai.

The art of enjoying perks of power and at the same time criticizing the ruling partner is again in focus as the Sena decided not to stand by its ally BJP as a no-trust motion was moved against the Modi government in Lok Sabha.

Sena leadership decided to boycott the proceedings when the motion was debated and voted in the Lok Sabha. Now, in an interview to Sena mouthpiece Saamana on Monday, Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray sought to explain his stand  he didnt want to vote against the BJP because they were partners in power. He did not want to side with the Telugu Desam Party and the Opposition and would choose when to act against the BJP.

This leads to a rhetorical question: why isnt the Sena quitting the government if it doesnt want to stand with the ruling party while being in power?

Senas reply is that they will speak against the government whenever they think the latter is taking decisions that are not in the interest of the people.

Looking for logic in that explanation? Well, politics and logic may not go hand in hand in such cases. It is more about political calculations or opportunities.

But then, can the Sena alone be blamed for this?

The Shiv Sena-BJP alliance government that was in power in 1995-99 had also seen some bickering. Ironically, it was the BJP that had targeted the Sena, which was the major partner in the alliance. BJP leaders had publically targeted decisions such as forming a company to handle slum rehabilitation projects in Mumbai and the move to allot Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authoritys (Mhada) plots at prime places in Mumbai to certain individuals. The related departments were with the Sena ministers then. Often, the BJP ministers used to privately speak against the decisions taken by the government. Many of them were then unhappy with chief minister Manohar Joshi who hailed from the Sena.

The Congress-NCP alliance that wrested power from the saffron combine in 1999 continued this tradition. The NCP took it to a new level. The two parties were together in power for 15 years but they were constantly at loggerheads during most of this period. NCP leaders often used to criticize the government publicly. The bickering between the two parties reached such a level that it used to affect the functioning of the government.

The Shiv Sena has just taken a cue from the NCP and customized it for itself.

The key question here is why do the parties do so? It is done to retain its support base or to occupy some opposition space. Sometimes, it is also done to avoid a split. The party leaders are not happy with the deal they get but also fear that some of their legislators would defect to the ruling party the moment they walk out of the government. In a nutshell, it is their compulsion to stay in power but at the same time they want to keep appealing to a certain support base or a group.

There have been arguments that the voters do not approve of such opportunistic politics, which is debatable. The Congress and NCP bickering went on for 15 years while they were in power but they were re-elected in 2004 and 2009. The NCP managed to hold on to its voter base till it lost ground during the Modi wave in 2014. The Sena managed to win municipal elections, including Mumbai civic body, while it continued to target the BJP. Most recently, it gave a tough fight to the BJP while contesting the Palghar Lok Sabha byelection. We will have to wait till the next Lok Sabha or Assembly elections to see if Uddhav Thackerays gamble works or not.
There was a near-stampede situation on Tuesday morning outside Lower Parel station, after the road overbridge (RoB) was shut for vehicular traffic as well as pedestrians. The reason: despite several rounds of meetings between various authorities, there was no concrete public dispersal plan for pedestrians and initially, there was neither signage nor personnel to direct the crowds.

Mumbai traffic police in coordination with the Western Railways (WR) and the BMC had planned to shut down the RoB at Lower Parel station, which was built in 1921 and found unsafe during a safety audit conducted by Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) on July 17. An inspection of all railway bridges across the city is being conducted following the collapse of Gokhale Bridge in Andheri earlier this month. Based on the report, it was decided that the bridge would be rebuilt and closed to both pedestrians and vehicles on July 20.

In anticipation of this, the traffic police announced a diversion plan for vehicles.

The road closure forced Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) to divert seven bus routes via Bharat Mata-Elphinstone Road Bridge. However, no authority had thought about east-west connectivity for pedestrians at the stations. Most commuters were unaware that they would have to use a service lane or a staircase, both of which are narrow.

We had requested railway officers to allow the pedestrians to use the bridge, but they claimed that the entire bridge is dangerous, said Ajay Chaudhary, a Shiv Sena legislator who has asked Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar to call a joint meeting of all three authorities to find a solution.

Ravinder Bhakar, chief spokesperson of WR, said the bridge was not safe for pedestrian traffic. We asked to shut the bridge only after receiving the recommendation of the IIT Bombay report, he said.

Lower Parel station has a footfall of 1,50,000 passengers and close to 75,000 use the station every day. Daily, lakhs walk between Lower Parel station on WR, Currey Road on Central Railway (CR) and N M Joshi Marg to reach offices in the surrounding areas. In a situation that had ominous similarities to the 2017 stampede at Elphinstone Road station, the railway, civic and traffic police authorities had not taken note of the pedestrian traffic between the two stations that are located about 200 meters from each other.

A large crowd accumulated to go up the narrow staircase to reach the station or go towards the west side, as there was no other option. As a result, the situation became chaotic. We were praying that there would not be stampede as the crowd got stuck and there was no way out, said an eyewitness? who remembers the girl next to him was crying.

Mahadeo Dorugade, a Currey Road resident, said he was on his way to office in Lower Parel when he was swept up by the huge crowd. Due to peak hour rush, some people were trying to rush towards their offices on the west side of the railway line, while passengers were alighting on the station were coming from the opposite side. Neither group was moving ahead nor there scope to turn back. Parked vehicles were also obstacles, said Dorugade. It took him more than 20 minutes to climb the staircase from the junction, instead of the usual five minutes. According to locals, the situation eased around 10.30 am when the police arrived and created a passage through private property. Commuters blamed lack of coordination between various authorities for their troubles. Before shutting the bridge for traffic, why didnt the authorities inform public about an alternate route? Why were parked cars and other obstacles were not removed from the service lane? asked Laxman Revane, a resident. By noon, the BMC had put up boards and removed obstacles from the service lane. In the evening, WR issued a passenger dispersal plan and deployed the Railway Police Force (RPF) at the stations. According to the plan, passengers should use the foot overbridges (FoB) to the north and south. Ropes would be introduced to facilitate a queue if the crowd swells at the station.

The locals reported that the situation was better in the evening.

The rail overbridge was closed on Tuesday morning. (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo )
A shutdown called by Maratha outfits demanding reservation began in Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, and several other areas of Maharashtra on Wednesday.

Shops were closed in Navi Mumbai and auto-rickshaws were off the roads, a day after large-scale violence marred a statewide protest by Maratha outfits demanding quota in jobs and education. Schools and colleges, however, were exempt from the shutdown.

The decision to call a bandh (shutdown) was taken at a meeting of Maratha organisations at Shivaji Mandir in Mumbai on Tuesday afternoon. The Maratha Kranti Morcha, an umbrella body of various community groups, announced the bandh.

The Marathas have been agitating for reservation for the community in government jobs and education for a while now.

The organisation has appealed to community members to observe the bandh peacefully. Essential services have been exempted from the bandh, it added.

The shutdown is expected to be observed in Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Palghar, Raigad and Satara.

Members of Maratha Kranti Morcha at Thane, Maharashtra, July 25, 2018. (Praful Gangurde /HT Photo )

NCP MLA Narendra Patil, who has been part of protest marches in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai, said on Tuesday the bandh will be observed in all three cities on Wednesday. We had a meeting of various organisations in Navi Mumbai in Tuesday and decided to observe the bandh in the three districts tomorrow, he said. The decision to call for Maharashtra bandh was taken very late on Monday in Aurangabad, and gave us very little time to prepare. By observing the bandh, we are extending our support to protests being staged at various places.

Following death of youth activist Kakasaheb Shinde, who drowned after jumping in the Godavari river in Aurangabad during protests for reservation on Monday, Maratha outfits called for a state-wide bandh on Tuesday. While it was a success in Marathwada (central Maharashtra), it was not observed in many parts of the state, including the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), so a bandh has been called again on Wednesday.

At the meeting, representatives of the various Maratha outfits passed a resolution condemning chief minister Devendra Fadnavis for the governments delay on the issue of reservation.

The last bandh that Mumbai experienced was the one called by Dalit groups in January this year, which saw several incidents of violence and brought Mumbai to a grinding halt.
Pakistans political dynamics

24 July, 2018

By Asif Haroon Raja

Birth of Pakistan was seen as a miracle of 20th century. Its survival under extreme odds was indeed a bigger miracle. History depicts that Radcliffe award was critical in sowing the seeds of animosity among numerous communities and hence led to a bloody and violent partition. Kashmir was the unfinished agenda of the partition left behind by the British which has kept India and Pakistan perpetually locked in antagonism and has led to three major wars and several conflicts and standoffs.



The country is considered to be an epitome of unpredictability, political instability, coups and internal division. Although this country is engulfed by a few hydra-headed problems, its resilience has been a prominent feature of these seven decades of survival. Like tidal waves, we have witnessed our highs and lows. There have been certain instances where we achieved something substantial and on the other hand, there have been instances where we touched the nadir but still, we survived.



Pakistan has been continuously labeled as a failed state, in fact, some have been calling it a rogue state. Therefore its survival amidst all the speculations is by far its biggest success. We are actually seventy one years old now, but democracy is still in its embryonic stages. Intolerance and extreme polarization on the basis of religion, province, race, and ethnicity is a norm in our country.



Apart from military no institution has been developed and political instability led to division of the country in the name of religion, sect, and ethnicity.



From 1947 until this year (2018), there have been a total of 10 governments and 15 prime ministers in Pakistan. None of the prime ministers could complete their constitutional tenure of five years in office. So far 10 general elections have taken place starting 1970 and the losers complained of rigging after each election. After the 1956 and 1962 Constitutions, the 1973 Constitution which has survived, needs a second look because of its severe mutilation. Likewise the Westminster democracy and Anglo Saxon laws need a reappraisal to bring them in conformity with the aspirations of the people.



Out of a total period of Pakistans existence for 71 years, there were four democratic eras (1947-1958; 1972-1977; 1988-1999; 2008-till to-date). The



share of army rule was for 33 years (four regimes); Field Marshall Ayub Khan from October 1958 to 1969, Gen Yahya Khan from March 1969 to Dec 1971, Gen Ziaul Haq from Sept 1978 to August 1988 and Gen Pervez Musharraf from October 1999 till August 2008.



Frequent military interventions impacted the evolution of genuine and strong democratic polity and also heightened civil-military tensions, but Pakistan's economy performed significantly better under military rules than in the decades under political governments. The worst decade for Pakistan's economy was 1990s, also known as the lost decade, when the GDP grew just 4% as Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif (NS) took turns to mismanage it. While Ayub Khans period was the best, five-year rule of PPP under Asif Ali Zardari from 2008 to 2013 was the blackest tenure.



India which has not reconciled with the existence of Pakistan has all along exploited regionalism in our smaller provinces by fomenting ethnicity and sprinkling salt on their real and imaginary grievances. Punjab has been portrayed as a villain prospering at the cost of other federating units. Fissiparous tendencies that had to a large extent been suppressed have once again raised their ugly head and are threatening the federation of Pakistan. 18th Amendment made in the constitution in 2010, which has devolved powers to the federating units has made the situation more complex, particularly when seen in context with backwardness of Baluchistan and Sindh, widening gap between rich and poor, ongoing terrorism, extreme political polarization, political instability, tumbling economy, looming water crisis and threatening posture of enemies of Pakistan.



Centre-right PML-N that had remained the darling of the establishment till 1992, started to nurture ill-feelings after Gen Waheed Kakar forced NS to abdicate power in 1993. Thereon, he developed differences with all the army chiefs. His resentment morphed into hatred after his ouster from power on October 12, 1999 by Gen Musharraf and his team of generals, his mistreatment during detention, trial and award of life sentence on charges of hijacking of a plane and terrorism. Although he was sent into exile, but he never forgave Musharraf, particularly when he and his brother Shahbaz were denied entry into Pakistan in September 2007, and both not been made part of NRO deal in October 2007. He owes his gratitude to King Saud for release from jail and his return in November 2007.



It was essentially his obsession to try Gen Musharraf under Article 6 which strained his relations with Gen Raheel. Dawn leaks in November 2016 further spoiled his relations with the military. After his trial in Panama case and disqualification on July 28, 2017, he has become rebellious. He and other party leaders openly accuse that the judiciary backed by the establishment had removed him from power under a predisposed script. They feel that ends of justice have not been met since no corruption was proved. Contention of the trial court is that the accused failed to provide money trail for the purchase of Avenfield apartments in London. NS and his daughter Maryam were arrested in Lahore on July 13 on their arrival from London after an accountability court found them guilty over his family's ownership of four luxury flats in London. NS and his daughter Maryam were sentenced by the accountability Court to 11 years and 8 years jail terms respectively. Son-in-law Safdar has been given one year sentence. They are already lodged in Rawalpindi Adiala jail. Their appeal to set aside the accountability court verdict has been overturned. Proceedings on pending two corruption references (Azizya and Flagship cases) in which NS is the lone accused, which were to be held inside the jail will now take place in open from July 30. It implies that the three will not be able to take part in election campaign. The PML-N fans feel that it will give fillip to sympathy votes.



Elections are due on July 25 but the whole atmosphere is charged up and emotions have overtaken rationalism. An impression has been built that PTI led by Imran Khan is being supported by the establishment, judiciary, Election Commission and the NAB and is well poised to win. PML-N is playing the victim card and is complaining that it has been systematically incapacitated through selective accountability to prevent its victory in the polls. The PPP which till recent was hostile to PML-N and was figured to be on the side of the establishment, has now started to change its colors. It is suspecting that IJI-2 (Grand Democratic Alliance GDA) has been sponsored in Sindh. Infighting within PPP ranks over distribution of tickets has added to the anxieties of Zardari and Bilawal.



Both PML-N and PPP are contemplating to join hands to boycott the poll results if things go against their interests. Far Right has become assertive and are undercutting the democratic parties, while leftist parties have grouped together and are raising their voice against election engineering. Hydra-headed monster of provincialism exacerbated by foreign powers is threatening the integrity of the nation. Recent three terror attacks in quick succession have cast a pall over the election campaign. Daesh based in Afghanistan is



getting stronger and deadlier. Leaders of almost all political parties are on the hit list of terrorists.



Less than a week is left for the 11th general elections, but no one is sure what will be its outcome and which party will win the race. Despite the organized enfeeblement of PML-N by the judiciary and NAB, it is still in the race and Shahbaz Sharif is hopeful that partys performance coupled with sympathy votes will turn the tide in its favor. Many spoilers have emerged from the Far Right such as MMA, TLP and MML that are aligning with mainstream parties. Dozens of Lotas (turncoats), now given a decent name of electable, mostly from South Punjab have defected from PML-N and have either joined PTI, or are contesting elections as independents. Latter are most likely to join PTI. These electable weathercocks numbering 150 to 200 are dirty rich and have been instrumental in undermining democracy. They spend their ill-gotten wealth during election campaign lavishly to buy votes and influence the outcome.



GDA, Mutahida Majlis Amal (MMA) and Pakistan Sarzamin Party (PSP) are likely to team up with PTI to grapple with PPP in Sindh. Ch Nisar, carrying the symbol of jeep is expected to harness sizeable number of independents to make a dent in the fortunes of PML-N in Punjab. In Baluchistan, Baluchistan Awami Party (BAP) led by Qadus Bezinjo in league with PPP and PTI will be pitched against PML-N, Hasil Bezinjo led National Party and Achakzai led PkMAP.



The dice is heavily loaded in favor of the PTI and it has good chances of forming coalition govts in the centre, KP and Baluchistan with the help of independents and smaller parties, but it will at best secure a simple majority, resulting in a hung parliament. Its toughest battle will be in Punjab where PML-N has been ruling the roost for a decade. However, if PTI loses, it will once again chant the slogan of rigging and opt for agitation.



Centre-left PPP which will again be number three in Punjab, will in all probability join hands with PML-N to boycott the poll results if it is not given a share in power by PTI. It is already complaining of denial of level playing field. Reports of convergence of PML-N and PPP are in circulation. If PTI under duress agrees to take PPP on board, it will dash Imran Khans dream of Naya Pakistan. PTI is otherwise filled with electables from PPP, PML-Q and PML-N which has become a cause of concern for the old stalwarts of the party that have been denied tickets.



With no single party having a clear edge over others, post-election period is likely to be rowdy since the loser will not accept the result. Whatever



hotchpotch coalition formed to run the govt (almost all parties minus PML-N and PPP), will be up against heavy odds. Electables within the winning party will fight for portfolios, while the opposition (PML-N, PPP, JUI-F) will make things difficult for the ruling regime. The traditional anti-Pakistan elements driven by foreign agenda will sooner than later turn their guns toward the new govt since the real powers who hold the strings will never like Pakistan to become economically strong and a self-reliant nation. Game of snakes and ladders will continue as heretofore.



God forbid, if this experiment to put things in order fails, then what next other than the military option? After all, many among the educated lot have been strongly advocating military rule. Gen Raheel Sharif was glorified to tempt him to seize power. And when he didnt oblige, he was censured. The other popular option under discussion is the presidential form of govt run by the technocrats duly monitored by the army. This form has been prescribed as a panacea for all our problems.



Military rule rejected by political forces will become an easy prey for the adversaries of Pakistan to deal with. Musharraf had tamely accepted all the seven demands since according to him he had no other choice. We know what price Pakistan had to pay to play the US game. Can we afford a replay of the same game which has been spurned by Gen Qamar Bajwa? Our military is undoubtedly very strong and resilient. But it ranks 15th and India ranks 4th among the top 25 most powerful militaries of the world and enjoys sound industrial and economic bases as well as diplomatic ascendency.



Strength of military is not only measured by its capacity on land, air and sea vis-a-vis its adversaries, but also by its war stamina, diplomatic clout, sound economy, political stability, internal unity and harmony, smooth interior and exterior lines of communications, safe sea lanes, and above all support of the public. Notwithstanding its current popularity, does the Army has the capability to unite and galvanize the divided nation?



We must not forget that FM Ayub Khan, Gen Zia and Gen Musharraf ruled the country for 10, 11 and 9 years respectively. None could doctor the afflictions of Pakistan. While Gen Zia was killed in a plane crash, others including Gen Yahya had to exit in disgrace. How are we so sure that this time the military will succeed? As regard the technocrat option, given the morally contaminated environment, from where will we bring clean, honest, competent, and upright technocrats?



Although these elections will be most complicated because of grumbling by two mainstream parties and sense of terror hanging over the candidates and



voters, they say every dark cloud has a silver lining. So one should never lose hope. Pakistan has defied repeated dire forecasts of doom and gloom since its independence. The report released in June, 2018 shows that Pakistan's GDP has grown from $3.7 billion in 1960 to $305 billion in 2017, or 82.4 times. CPEC which is a game changer is operational and resolve of the armed forces to thwart enemy designs is resolute and unwavering. If we could turn the tide of terrorism which was described as impossible, we will go through the process of elections smoothly irrespective of the threats.



It is expected that the caretakers in conjunction with the army will be able to hold timely, transparent, fair and free elections. It is also expected from the party leaders to demonstrate maturity and accept the results gracefully so as to ensure smooth transition. Political stability is going to play a pivotal role in the development of our country, while effective implementation of 20-Point National Action Plan together with across the board accountability by the next govt will not only help in eliminating terrorism, but also in strengthening institutions and establishing rule of law. There is a dire need to ensure a viable balance between economy and security in order to achieve prosperity. Education, clean drinking water, poverty alleviation, jobs, provision of social services, tackling of water crisis, debt retirement and moral refurbishment should be our priorities. All this will be possible if education, electoral, judicial, police and bureaucracy reforms are carried out and we formulate independent foreign policy.



The writer is retired Brig, war veteran, defence analyst, columnist, and author of five books. asifharoonrja@gmail.com
To a certain extent, native English speakers have it easy. The language is spoken by one in five people globally, making it easily understood anywhere from Athens to Zagreb. And for those of us who learned English as toddlers, the languages we picked up in high school or fine-tuned during study abroad make the world feel even more interconnected.

But sometimes that leg up still leaves us at a literal loss for words. When youre trying to communicate with a taxi driver in Tokyo or pick the right cold medicine in France (how do you say non-drowsy, again?), theres only so much that rudimentary language skills, or a helpful concierge, can do to help.

Enter Google Translate. Since 2006, the free app has been breaking the language barrier for travellers far and wideand its algorithmic, machine-learning methods have only gotten better (and fluent in more languages) over time. Its technology is now available to developers all around the globe via a public API, which means more savvy translation tools than ever before. Some are specialized for particular languages or regions, some can listen to your voice in addition to reading text, and some can even auto-detect languages or use image recognition to supply the words youre looking for.

None of them are perfectnot yetand sometimes they cant tell the difference between an asp and an elbow. But after eight months of on-the-road testing in France, Spain, Germany, and Japan, these are the five that stood the test of time. All have free versions and are available for both Android devices and iPhones alike.

Best for Global Coverage

Google Translate

Why we like it: With more than 100 languages that can be automatically detected and translated in either direction by text, voice, and character recognition (in varying combinations), this app covers more of the globe than any othereven if competitors use its technology as the basis for unique specialized features and regional expertise.

Earlier this summer, Googles parent company, Alphabet Inc., announced that its neural machine translation enginewhich creates more natural-sounding translations by parsing entire sentences, rather than individual wordsnow functions offline for 58 languages. And Google Lens, which triggers Google Translate from your phones camera, lets you hover over a sign or menu and instantly see its written translation. The feature is now built into most Android phone cameras; just look for the Lens icon. Its also accessible through the camera option inside Google Translate or via a separate companion app.

Caveat: Give it big chunks of text or anything vaguely technical, and Google strugglessometimes comically. Use Lens to translate the label on a carton of whole, non-homogenized milk in a Kyoto supermarket, for instance, and it might tell you its Breaking fat globules homogenizing without doing homogenizing milk close to milked fish made as handmade as possible.

Best for Business Trips

TripLingo

Why we like it: More than just a translator, TripLingo is a full service travel app aimed at minimizing miscommunication and missteps while traveling abroad. It offers instant voice- and text-based translations in 42 languages, plus guidelines on local customs, etiquette, and tipping around the world. (There are even cheat sheets on medical and safety phrases, just in case.)

Perhaps its smartest feature is receipt translation, which uses your phones camera to convert snapshots of sales slips and dinner tallies into the language of your choice; it saves the translated versions as PDFs that you can easily add to expense reports. (In such credit card-averse countries as Japan, where cash receipts are also spelled out in kanji, this is immensely helpful.) Need to do something more complicated, such as change a train reservation or explain a food allergy? Avail yourself of TripLingos live translator service, which gets an actual human translator on the line for $3.50 per minute.

Caveat: Most of the basic features are free, but some unique premium features require a $20 per month subscription, including language lessons, custom phrase books, and one live translation every 30 days.

Best for Big Groups

Microsoft Translator

Why we like it: Compared to other tech juggernauts, Microsoft offers a small number of languagesa little more than 60 in total. Still, it stands out for its ability to translate multiple tongues simultaneously, all as part of a single conversation. Whether thats in a boardroom with executives from a companys six regional offices or in a restaurant with global patrons and communal tables, the app will quickly translate everyones thoughts for each participant on their respective phones.

In Rome, this was a nice way to get menu recommendations from, and swap stories with, other guests at the bar; the app was surprisingly accurate and even offered practical phrasebooks for more intimate situations. Best of all? Its free.

Caveat: Only 40 of the apps languages are available offline.

Best for Trips to Asia

Waygo

Why we like it: In places where Chinese hanzi, Japanese kanji, and Korean hanja characters are used, Waygo is indispensable. Its developers are the pioneers and leaders of visual character translation; the four-year-old app is uniquely capable of interpreting sentences, whether theyre displayed vertically or horizontally, and it can translate any image from your camera roll.

Those qualities might come in handy when deciphering kanji-based descriptions at the recently reopened Teien Museum in Tokyo or when shopping for cold medicine in Seoul. As for translation apps that can be overly literal in the face of idiomatic phrases? Waygo has a unique feature, exclusively for food, that offers up images of your translated word or phrase alongside the text, so you know that strawberry moving perryas translated from Japanese into Englishis really just a glass of juice. Bonus: Most of Waygos features are offline by default, so theres no need to worry about roaming overages. All this makes it well worth the price tag, which starts at $7.99.

Why we like it: As with any type of expertise, Waygos algorithms are highly specialized for use in Asia. If its developers could expand to other non-Roman alphabet languages such as Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, and Russian, wed be happy to pay even more for it.

Best for Casual Conversations

iTranslate

Why we like it: This app offers extreme versatility. Itll translate anything you type into more than 100 languages. For 24 of those (at last count), itll spout out text-to-voice translations in a multitude of male and female voices. Most travelers will feel comfortable with the free app, but an upgrade to Pro is required for offline translation in 33 languages. The $4.99 monthly subscription also provides in-app website translation, which helps you scour local-language blogs for tapped-in recommendations.

Unlike the other apps, iTranslate offers clear advantages for Apple users. For instance, an iPhone-only object recognition feature identifies items and suggests their local name. That pretty bird outside your Provencal window? Its a roitelet, or wren. Even more useful are voice-to-voice translation and Apple Watch integration, which offers hands-free help when youre busy throwing back tapas in Spain.

Caveat: Many of this apps most useful featuresincluding on the Pro versionare offered free by Google Translate and Microsoft Translator. But iTranslate uses a wide mix of translation technologies, which makes for unique and sometimes smarter phrase suggestions.

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At least three people were wounded after several rockets were fired into Kabul on Tuesday, police said, but there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest attack on the Afghan capital.

Three rockets were fired on Kabul city from an unknown direction and... hit residential areas near the mountains in PD5 (police district), police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai said.

Three civilians were wounded in the attacks and police have been deployed to find the launch site, Stanikzai added.

An AFP reporter heard what appeared to be a fourth explosion, but that could not be immediately confirmed by police.

The rocket attacks came two days after a suicide bomber blew himself up near Kabul international airport, killing at least 23 people, including AFP driver Mohammad Akhtar. A further 107 people were wounded.

Sundays attack was claimed by the Islamic State group (IS), which said it had targeted Afghan Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum, who returned to Kabul after more than a year in exile.

Scores of government officials, political leaders and supporters had gone to the airport to welcome home Dostum, a powerful ethnic Uzbek leader and former warlord.

Dostum was unharmed in the attack, his armoured vehicle having already whisked him away when the bomber struck.

Ordinary Afghans have borne the brunt of the grinding 17-year war that has turned Kabul into one of the most dangerous places in the country for civilians.

Militant attacks and suicide bombs were the leading causes of civilian deaths in the first half of 2018, a recent UN report showed.

The total number of civilians killed was 1,692, the highest number for the period since the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan began keeping records in 2009.

Another 3,430 people were wounded, the report said.

Suicide bombs and complex attacks that involve several militants accounted for 1,413 casualties -- 427 deaths and 986 injuries -- up 22 percent from a year earlier.

If that trend continues, the figure will top the 2017 full-year record of nearly 2,300 casualties.
Children in traditionally Buddhist Tibet have been banned from taking part in religious activities over the summer holidays, an official Chinese Communist Party newspaper has reported.

The Global Times quoted an education official in the regional capital of Lhasa as saying that students were required to sign an agreement to not take part in any form of religious activity during the break.

The policy appears to reflect increasingly harsh restrictions on the Himalayan regions traditional Buddhist culture, largely aimed at reducing the influence of the regions spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in India.

The students are following the regulation under the guidance of their parents and teachers, the paper said, quoting Choephel, the head of the political education department at Lhasa Middle School, who like many Tibetans uses just one name.

No phone number was available for the department and Chinese authorities severely limit foreign journalists access to Tibet. The report was viewed on the papers website on Tuesday.

China claims Tibet has been part of its territory for more than seven centuries and regards the Dalai Lama as a dangerous separatist. Many Tibetans insist they were essentially independent before the Communist Partys Peoples Liberation Armys battled its way into the Himalayan region in 1950.

The presence of security forces was increased significantly after deadly anti-government rioting broke out in Lhasa in 2008 and spread quickly through Tibetan-inhabited areas in western China. Buddhist religious institutions that form the backbone of the regions culture have become a particular target of the authorities.

The overseas-based International Campaign for Tibet reported earlier this month that young Tibetan monks were forced to leave one of the biggest monasteries in a Tibetan region of western China as part of a drive to replace monastic life with secular education.

That threatens to cut the transmission of religious knowledge and monastic tradition between monks of different generations, the organisation said. Recent months have also seen sweeping crackdowns on traditional Muslim culture among the Uighur ethnic minority group in the northwestern region of Xinjiang and among Christians in eastern China.
China has invited Bhutan to join the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and share its development dividend, Beijing said on Tuesday, a day after a senior Chinese minister visited Thimpu and held talks with the Bhutanese leadership on wide-ranging issues, including the disputed border.

Bhutan was at the centre of last years 73-day Sino-India military standoff in Doklam (Donglang in Chinese), an area under Chinese control but claimed by Thimpu, near the Sikkim border. This was the first high-level visit by a Chinese politician to Bhutan since the Doklam standoff was resolved at the end of last August.

An official said Chinas vice foreign minister Kong Xuanyou, accompanied by the countrys points-person for Bhutan Luo Zhaohui, discussed with the Bhutanese leadership the gamut of the bilateral dispute, which included the situation along the China-Bhutan-India border in Doklam. Kong met Bhutans King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, besides foreign minister Damcho Dorji.

The two sides exchanged views on China-Bhutan ties, and also the boundary issue, and reached many agreements, Geng Shuang, ministry of foreign affairs (MFA) spokesperson said at a ministry briefing on Tuesday.

Kong met Bhutans King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay besides foreign minister Damcho Dorji.

Bhutan does not have diplomatic ties with China and is the only country in Indias neighbourhood that hasnt joined the BRI, President Xi Jinpings multi-billion-dollar connectivity project that India has refused to endorse on multiple international forums because of sovereignty issues linked to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. It refused to attend the only major BRI forum organised in Beijing in May 2017.

Other than India, Bhutan is the only country with which China currently has a land border dispute.

China and Bhutan have held 24 rounds of talks  the last one in Beijing in 2016  to resolve the bilateral boundary dispute. The 25th round of border talks slated for 2017 is said to have been cancelled because of the Doklam military standoff and is expected to be held this year.

Chinas state media routinely blames India for Beijings lack of diplomatic ties with Thimpu.

Kong told the leadership in Thimpu that China will continue to work towards resolving the border question with Bhutan.

The two sides should continue to push forward the border negotiations, abide by the principled consensus reached, jointly safeguard peace and tranquillity in the border areas, and create positive conditions for the final settlement of the border issue, said an MFA statement in Chinese published on the ministrys website.

China attaches great importance to the traditional friendly relations with Bhutan and will respect Bhutans independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity as always, respect Bhutans political system and development path chosen according to its own national conditions, and respect Bhutans independent foreign policy of peace... China welcomes Bhutans active participation in the Belt and Road Initiative and sharing Chinas development dividend, the statement added.

The Chinese MFA statement quoted the Bhutanese side as saying although the diplomatic relations between the two countries have not been established, the traditional friendship between the two countries is a model for large and small countries.

Bhutan firmly adheres to the One China policy and is committed to deepening exchanges and cooperation with China. It is willing to maintain communication with China on bilateral relations and border issues, the statement said, quoting Bhutanese officials, adding that Thimpu admires Chinas development and the BRI.

There was no response from Indias external affairs ministry, but an official who tracks developments in the matter said: We dont comment on other countrys bilateral engagements. And our views on One Road One Belt initiative is well known and are repeatedly articulated.

Indias stated position the initiative is that the connectivity initiatives must be based on universally recognised international norms, good governance, rule of law, openness, transparency and equality, and must be pursued in a manner that respects sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Commenting on the latest developments, strategic affairs expert Brahma Chellany said: The timing of Chinese vice foreign ministers surprise visit to Thimphu underscores Beijings increasing assertiveness in Indias backyard. Having quietly seized control of much of Doklam Plateau, which Bhutan regards as its own integral part, China is now mounting pressure on Bhutan to allow it to open an embassy in Thimphu. This kind of pressure is extraordinary. If Bhutan lets China open an embassy, it will represent a watershed moment in New Delhi-Thimphu relations.

(With inputs from Jayanth Jacob in New Delhi)
The lawyer of Pakistani-American convict in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack case David Coleman Headley, has denied reports that he was attacked at a detention centre in Chicago.

John Theis, who has represented David Headley for years, said the reports were news to me.

I have no information about that (about the attack), he said over phone from Chicago where he practices. I cannot disclose where he is but I can tell you I have no information that he was attacked, Theis said.

Earlier, reports suggested Headley was attacked on July 8 at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago by two other inmates and had suffered serious injuries. The reports said he was rushed to the North Evanston hospital.

The lawyer also said Headley was not being held at the center in Chicago.

When asked if Headley had been attacked, the Metropolitan Correctional Center wrote back, We are not able to locate information about this individual.

Authorities have not ever publicly disclosed where Headley, a Pakistani-American sentenced to jail for 35 years for multiple crimes, including involvement in the Mumbai 2008 terrorist attacks, is being held.

A search of his name  David Coleman Headley  on the inmate-locater of the federal Bureau of Prisons, which runs federal prisons and facilities, has always returned 0 Results and a search for David Headley yields details for an inmate who was released in 1992.
North Korea has started dismantling some facilities at its main satellite launch station, seen as the testing ground for its intercontinental ballistic missiles, according to expert analysis of recent satellite images.

If confirmed, the analysis by respected US-based website 38 North could signal a step forward after last months landmark summit between Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump, although some experts questioned the significance of the gesture.

After the summit, Trump had declared the North Korean nuclear threat was effectively over, and US media reports suggest he is privately furious at the lack of any subsequent progress on the denuclearisation issue.

His public statements, however, remain upbeat and the 38 North analysis came as the president pronounced himself very happy with the way talks were progressing with Pyongyang.

The website said imagery indicated the North had begun taking down a processing building and a rocket-engine test stand that had been used to test liquid-fuel engines at its Sohae Satellite Launching Station.

Sohae, on the northwest coast of North Korea, is ostensibly a facility designed for putting satellites into orbit, but rocket engines are easily repurposed for use in missiles and the international community has labelled Pyongyangs space programme a fig leaf for weapons tests.

38 North analyst Joseph Bermudez called the move an important first step for Kim in fulfilling a promise that Trump said the North Korean leader made during their June summit in Singapore.

Since Sohae is believed to have played an important role in the development of technologies for the Norths intercontinental ballistic missile program, these efforts represent a significant confidence-building measure on the part of North Korea, Bermudez said.

Trump said in Singapore that Kim had committed to destroying a major missile engine test site, without specifying the site.

Bare minimum

Sohae has been the Norths main rocket launch site since 2012, and South Korea  whose president brokered the landmark summit between Trump and Kim  called it a step towards denuclearisation.

Its a better sign than doing nothing, Nam Gwan-pyo, deputy director of the presidential national security office, told reporters. I believe they are moving step by step towards denuclearisation.

But some experts cautioned against reading too much into the work described in the 38 North analysis.

Melissa Hanham, senior research associate with the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, said that while dismantling the engine test site was a good move, it amounted to the bare minimum that could be done at Sohae.

Unless they dismantle the whole site, it will remain North Koreas premier location for space launches, Hanham said on Twitter.

North Korea does not need the Sohae engine test stand anymore if it is confident in the engine design. As (Kim Jong Un) said himself, North Korea is moving from testing to mass production, she said, adding that observers should look for signs of new sites where more missiles could be built.

We ignored North Korea too long, and now its about managing how many nuclear weapons and delivery systems they have, not IF they have them, she said.

A US defence official also played down the news, saying the Sohae site was not a priority in terms of monitoring the Norths denuclearisation efforts. Its not on the radar, so to speak, the official said.

In a sign of Washingtons impatience with what it sees as North Korean heel-dragging on the denuclearisation issue, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was in New York last week urging UN member-states to keep tough economic sanctions in place to pressure Kim into moving forward.

China and Russia have argued that North Korea should be rewarded with the prospect of eased sanctions for opening up dialogue with the United States and halting missile tests. South Korea has also pushed ahead with its reconciliation with the North since a landmark inter-Korean summit in April.

Seouls defence ministry said Tuesday it was considering withdrawing some troops from the border Demilitarised Zone on a trial basis  a move which could expand into a gradual pullout later.

The 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty, leaving the two Koreas technically at war. The DMZ was designated as a buffer zone but the areas to the north and south of it are heavily fortified.

At their April summit, Kim and the Souths president Moon Jae-in agreed to cease all hostile acts and turn their border into a peace zone.
Pakistans 106 million registered voters will have the chance to choose a new parliament and provincial assemblies on Wednesday. Parliament has a five-year term, and the majority party or a coalition chooses a prime minister.

No Pakistani prime minister has ever completed his or her term.

Here are 10 things to know about the elections.

1. There are a total of 342 seats in the National Assembly. Out of the total seats in the National Assembly, elections are held for 272 seats 70 seats are reserved for religious minorities and women to be filled by proportional representation among parties with more than 5% of the vote.

2. A single party will need to bag at least 137 of the directly elected seats to form the government on its own.

3. A total of 3,459 candidates are contesting the 272 general seats in the National Assembly while 8,396 are running for 577 general seats of the four provincial assemblies - Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

4. Eligible voters can cast their ballots for two seats in each constituency: one for the National Assembly (the lower house of Parliament) and one for their Provincial Assembly (which runs their provincial government).

5. Opinion polls have put Imran Khans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf a little ahead of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (N) while the Pakistan Peoples Party is a distant third.

6. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed its grave concern over unabashed attempts to manipulate the outcome of the elections after the PML-N alleged that its candidates and supporters have been urged to switch loyalties by people identifying themselves as intelligence or military officers across the country.

7. The military has deployed more than 370,000 troops to ensure security on polling day, but there are fears of further attacks after a bombing killed 150 people in the southwestern district of Mastun

8. Candidates belonging to a large numbers of extremist and militant sectarian groups are also contesting the elections. The Jammat-ud-Dawah, declared as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US in June 2014, has fielded 80 candidates for the National Assembly that includes Hafiz Saeeds son Hafiz Talha Saeed and son-in-law Hafiz Khalid Waleed. Hafiz has a $10 million bounty on his head.

9. If the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (N) loses, the country could see only the second peaceful democratic transition of power in its history, after the 2013 handover.

10. Pakistans foreign policy, including strategic ties with the US and China and its turbulent relations with India, is controlled by the military and so no matter who wins, no major changes will be expected on those fronts.
Chinese president Xi Jinping has ordered a thorough investigation into widespread concerns that hundreds of thousands of infants might have been administered fake vaccines produced by one of the countrys largest pharmaceutical firms.

According to official news agency Xinhua, Xi termed the illegal production of vaccines by Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences Limited as hideous and appalling.

Reports on the developing scandal have revealed that the company may have supplied ineffective DPT (diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus) vaccines that were given to babies as young as three months old, and forging data for anti-rabies vaccines.

Northeast Chinas Jilin provincial food and drug supervision authority has revoked Changchun Changshengs drug GMP certificate for rabies vaccines, halted their production and sale, and suspended the approval of all products brought out by the company.

The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported that the firms chairwoman, Gao Junfang, and four senior executives were taken away by Changchun police for questioning. Once a darling of Chinese fund managers, Changsheng Bio-tech has lost nearly half of its share value since the State Drug Administration uncovered its data forgery in an unannounced inspection a week ago, and is now in danger of being delisted, the newspaper reported.

Despite these steps, Chinas top leadership has had to issue stern statements to address public concerns on the scandal. Even Xi, who is currently on a tour of Africa and will be in South Africa to attend the BRICS summit on Wednesday, spoke on the matter.

It is rare for the Chinese president to comment on a domestic issue while abroad, and this reflects the governments urgency to control the damage  especially on the credibility of Chinas health system  caused by the latest medical scandal.

The Xinhua report quoted Xi as saying that relevant departments and local authorities should pay close attention and immediately probe the case to find the truth. The president also added that the investigation be thorough, the punishment severe, and the cases progress be publicised on time to address public concern.

Xi stressed that it was the bounden responsibility of Communist Party of China committees and departments at all levels to ensure drug safety. A firm determination should be mustered to improve the countrys vaccine management system, and utmost efforts should be made to protect the peoples interests, social security and stability, he said.

Chinese premier Li Keqiang had earlier called for severe punishment against those involved, stating that the case had crossed a moral line.

The scandal first emerged a week ago, when it was found that the companys anti-rabies vaccines were faulty and didnt meet immunity standards. Although there have been no reports of the said vaccines causing any harm, the case triggered massive outrage from hundreds of thousands of people on the social media after investigations revealed that the listed company  Changsheng Biotechnology Co  was linked to a substandard DPT vaccine for infants.

The vaccine case has crossed a moral line, and the nation deserves a clear explanation, Li was quoted as saying in a statement.

Details of the fake DPT vaccines sold by the same company last November emerged during investigations into the rabies vaccine, indicating that the matter was hushed up.

Changsheng Biotech Co, parent company of Changchun Changsheng Bio-tech Co, revealed in November that 252,600 doses of the substandard ADPT vaccine that couldnt meet the standard of immunity results were all sold to Shandong province and have been recalled, a state media report said on Monday.

On July 20, the Jilin Provincial Drug Administration announced a penalty regarding Changchun Changsheng Bio-tech Cos substandard DPT vaccine. The company was fined 2.58 million yuan ($282,000), and assets worth 859,000 yuan from the sales of the vaccine were confiscated.

Several state media groups called for severe punishment and stricter supervision of vaccines. Peoples Daily released a commentary on July 22 saying that drug-makers should stick to moral principles and make life their priority rather than profits, news agency Reuters said in a report.

News about the vaccine scandal involving Changchun Changsheng is flooding the Internet with public anger and panic. Vaccines directly concern the health of children and are related to life. Every item of negative news in this area attracts the attention of all society. Supervising and regulating the safe production of vaccines can be argued as a test of a modern countrys governance, tabloid Global Times said in an editorial.

The scandal remains among the top-searched topics on Weibo, Chinas equivalent of Twitter.

Indians make real medicine and Chinese make fake medicines. The sale of Indian medicines is restricted while Chinese counterfeit drug makers are making a fortune, wrote one Weibo user.

As a mother, I am extremely angry. I want to know how to stop the fake vaccine from harming my child, wrote another.
Pakistans most populous province of Punjab holds the lions share of seats in the national assembly: 141 out of 272.

To win Wednesdays elections, one has to win a majority in Punjab province, say analysts. For a party to win in the national elections, it has to win in the Punjab, says an observer.

Nawaz Sharifs PML-N party has seen Punjab as its home base. In the past, the party has secured power based on its performance in Punjab. Critics have always painted the PML-N as a Punjab party and not as a national party.

Whenever the PML-N won most seats in Punjab, it went on to form the government, both in 1990 and in 1997.

In 2008, the party secured 69 seats, almost all from Punjab. But that year, the PPP won more seats and went on to form the government at the centre.

Many observers say that Punjab voted overwhelmingly in that year for the PPP as a sympathy vote for Benazir Bhutto, who had been killed a year earlier while on the campaign trail. But in 2013, the PML-N was back and the party secured 128 seats in parliament, almost all from Punjab.

This year, neither would it be smooth sailing for the PML-N nor will its main opposition come from the PPP. Thanks to what some analysts describe as pre-poll electoral engineering, the PTI has emerged as Nawaz Sharifs major opponent in Punjab. Over the past few years and more so in 2018, a number of electables have defected from the PML-N to the PTI.

PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah blames the ISI for engineering these defections. But that is just one side of the story, say analysts. For its part, the PML-N focused much of its development projects in central Punjab where the bulk of its support comes from. Southern Punjab, also known as the Sairaiki belt, remained largely ignored because it has traditionally voted for the PPP.

Overnight the tables have turned. To give credit to the PTI, it has focused on areas where the PML-N popularity was waning. In some instances, the popular candidates have been bought over. In others, owing to the decline in popularity of the PML-N, a direct challenge has been mounted, says analyst Ghazi Salahuddin. A combination of both tactics could well mean that the PML-N would sufffer crippling losses in Punjab.

By dislodging PML-N from the Punjab, the PTI will have succeeded in sweeping the carpet from under the feet of Sharif, say some observers.

Unlike the PML-N, the PTI has support in KP and is expected to win a sprinkling of seats in Sindh, including Karachi, and in Balochstan. "This will give it the legitimacy and the edge," says Salahuddin.

In many ways, the PML-N has seen the writing on the wall.

The party has accepted that Punjab may not be their in 2018. At the same time, the popularity of former chief minister Shehbaz Sharif may spring a few surprises. He is possibly the most popular chief minister the province has seen in many years. For most political analysts, Punjab could swing either way. And whichever party wins in Punjab has the best chance at ruling the centre.
LHC rejected Sheikh Rasheed plea

The Lahore High Courts Rawalpindi Bench Monday rejected Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rasheeds plea challenging the Election Commission of Pakistans decision to postpone elections in the NA-60 constituency.



The ECP had postponed polling in the Rawalpindi constituency after the arrest and disqualification of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and Sh Rasheeds main contender Hanif Abbasi in the ephedrine quota case last week.



Justice Mujahid Mustaqeem of the LHCs Rawalpindi bench upheld the ECPs decision of delaying polling in NA-60 Rawalpindi.



In his response to the verdict, Sh Rasheed said he would approach the Supreme Court against the LHC verdict on Tuesday (today).



Submitting a petition through his counsel Sardar Abdul Razzaq earlier, Sh Rasheed contended that election cannot be postponed due to the sentencing of a candidate. He stated in the petition that elections in the constituencies of PML-Ns Maryam Nawaz and Capt (r) Safdar were not postponed when they were jailed in the Avenfield properties reference earlier this month.



The petition has named the ECP and NA-60 returning officer as respondents.



Separately, Pakistan Peoples Partys candidate in NA-60, Mukhtar Abbas, also challenged the ECPs decision in the Islamabad High Court on Monday on similar grounds. Taking up the plea, Justice Aamer Farooq issued notice to the ECP seeking a reply by Tuesday (today) and adjourned the hearing.
US President Donald Trump is mulling over revoking the security clearance of former national security officials, mostly from the Obama administration, who have been critical of his widely perceived reluctance to confront President Vladimir Putin on alleged Russian interference in the 2016 elections.

The president is exploring these mechanisms to remove (the) security clearances because theyve politicised and, in some cases, actually monetised their public service and their security clearances, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said at her regular news briefing on Monday.

It was extremely inappropriate of these officers to make baseless accusations of improper contact with Russia or being influenced by Russia against the president, she added.

On Trumps list are Obama administrations CIA director John Brennan, director of national intelligence James Clapper, FBI director Jim Comey, national security adviser Susan Rice and deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe. Incidentally, General Michael Hayden  who headed the CIA and the NSA in the George W Bush regime  is also on the list.

While all of them have been bitterly critical of Trump on Russia, three  Clapper, Brennan and Comey  were in a group of intelligence community chiefs who gave him their assessment of Russian meddling in January 2017, just days before he took office. Comey had hung back to tell Trump of the controversial dossier that said  without any evidence found or cited yet  that Russia has some comprising material on Trump from his visit to Moscow in 2013.

Brennan, who has been scathing in his attacks on Trump, went as far as to call the presidents controversial news briefing with Putin in Helsinki treasonous and imbecilic.

Comey and McCabe have a different history with the president, who had both of them fired. And he has since been especially critical of McCabe, accusing him playing a partisan role in the FBIs investigation of Hillary Clintons use of a private email server as the US secretary of state.

Security clearance for formal intelligence officials allows them access to classified information, enabling them to continue to work with serving officials and help them with their years of experience and knowledge. But it also helps them advise and work with private sector agencies that deal with classified programmes.

Critics said this weaponisation of security clearance to deal with critics is unprecedented and specially problematic, given that it is being considered by an administration that has struggled with security clearance questions  especially for senior officials such as senior adviser and the presidents son-in-law Jared Kushner.

At least two former Obama officials in the crosshairs, Comey and McCabe, dont have security clearance. Comey told a friend, Benjamin Wittes, in a text  which he quoted in a tweet  that he had been read out when he left the government. McCabes security clearance was deactivated when he was fired.

Brennan, Clapper, Hayden and Rice presumably have theirs intact, but only thus far.

Well, its interesting news, Clapper said on CNN, on which he appears frequently as a guest expert. Im reading it and learning about it just as you are. I think it is, off the top of my head, a sad commentaryfor political reasonsthis is a petty way of retribution, I suppose, for speaking out against the president, which I think on the part of all of us, are borne out of genuine concerns about President Trump.

I dont go back for classified briefings, Hayden wrote on Twitter. Wont have any effect on what I say or write.

The presidents move drew criticism accompanied by obvious comparisons. This is what totalitarianism looks like, Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono said on Twitter.

And Richard Haas, a Republican who served in the George W Bush administration and who now heads the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote also on the microblogging site: It represents a degree of politicisation and a misuse of power that we associate with Erdogans Turkey, not with the United States.
The gunman who went on a shooting spree in Toronto on Sunday, killing two and injuring another 13, has been identified as Faisal Hussain, 29, a resident of the citys Thorncliffe Park Drive locality.

Hussain, who had been employed in a grocery store, later exchanged fire with Toronto police officers on the scene and his body was later found in the vicinity of the mayhem. Police have yet to clarify whether he was killed due to injuries sustained during the firefight or if he committed suicide.

No motive has been attributed by investigators for the deadly rampage, and his family  originally from Pakistan  has issued a statement in which they said their son had severe mental health challenges, (was) struggling with psychosis and depression his entire life.

Hussain opened fire in the bustling Danforth neighbourhood of Toronto, claiming the lives of a 10-year-old and an 18-year-old. The older victim has been identified as Toronto resident Reese Fallon, who was to begin studies at McMaster University in the city of Hamilton this September. The name of the young girl, who was from the Greater Toronto area, has not been released per the wishes of her family.

The shooting, which horrified those that crowded the busy strip of stores and restaurants on a weekend night, occurred at around 10 pm. The gunman appears on a video posted online, dressed in dark clothes and carrying a bag slung over a shoulder.

Police and emergency crews swarmed into the locality, known as Greektown, and a special investigation unit took charge of the case. Toronto Police chief Mark Saunders told the media that they were examining every single possible motive for this.

Swathes of the area remained barricaded till Monday evening as investigators, including forensic experts, combed through the scene of the rampage. Torontos mayor John Tory met Ontario premier Doug Ford and federal minister Bill Blair at City Hall, the seat of the citys government, on Monday. Following that meeting, he said: I know we are all committed to stopping gun violence and sending a clear message that it will not be tolerated in our city.

As shooting-related deaths have escalated in Canadas largest city this year, he had earlier said that guns are too readily available to too many people.

Reacting to the terrible tragedy in the early hours of Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted: The people of Toronto are strong, resilient and brave - and well be there to support you through this difficult time. A vigil for the victims was held in Toronto on Monday evening as Torontonians gathered to mark yet another violent episode in the recent history of Canadas largest city.
Britains home secretary Sajid Javid was at the centre of a row on Monday after it emerged that he informed the US attorney general Jeff Sessions that London would not block death penalty to two Islamic State members, who were stripped of British citizenship.

Javid was accused by the opposition Labour of changing long-held British policy to oppose death penalty in any circumstances, without any discussion or debate in parliament.

Hailing from west London, the two men are Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, captured in Syria in January. They are accused of being the last two members of an IS group called The Beatles.

Shami Chakrabarti, Labour's shadow attorney general, alleged that Javid had secretly and unilaterally abandoned Britain's opposition to the death penalty. By doing so he is not just playing with the lives of these particular terrorists but those of other Britons  including potentially innocent ones  all over the world.

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Theresa may said the decision to let the two men face trial in the US without the usual assurance that the death penalty would not be applied was taken by Javid and Boris Johnson, former foreign secretary.

The prime minister was aware of the decision, but the spokesperson refused to say that May supported the decision, insisting that the government agreed that the men need to face justice.

In the letter to Sessions on June 22, Javid reportedly wrote that the UK would not seek assurances over the death penalty in this case, but said it did not mark a change in UK policy: I am of the view that there are strong reasons for not requiring a death penalty assurance in this specific case, so no such assurances will be sought.
Many foreign media reports published ahead of the Pakistan general election, to be held on Wednesday, dwelt on the twin concerns of likely military interference and militant participation in the democratic exercise.

A BBC article -- titled Pakistan election raises fears of creeping coup -- starts by stating that the countrys dream of an undiluted democracy seems to be receding in the light of recent developments, before going on to suggest that its military may just be indulging in a fresh round of political manipulation in an attempt to pull a democratic coup. It listed the refusal to release convicted former prime minister Nawaz Sharif ahead of the polls, allowing militant groups to join the political process, and closely monitoring the voting process as some ways in which the military wants to give violently anti-India parties an advantage over moderate ones like Sharifs Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz).

An article in the New York Times, titled Militarys Influence Casts a Shadow Over Pakistans Election, begins by describing how Pakistan Muslim League (N) candidate Rana Iqbal Siraj began receiving calls demanding that he defect from the party that governed Pakistan for the last five years. In June, roughly a month before election day, security officials had raided his business at the behest of the military, Siraj said in an interview.

They are trying to ruin me financially by raiding my warehouse and beating my staff, the NYT quoted him as saying. What am I at fault for? Just because Im running on the PML-N ticket?

The military campaign has been likened by some candidates to a soft coup, and has included sidelining candidates who are out of the militarys favor, censoring major news outlets and persecuting peaceful political movements, the newspaper said, adding that the most likely beneficiary of this manipulation is Imran Khans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

The Guardian, for its part, reported how the people of Pakistan were not bowled over by the alleged military interference in the election. An article headlined Anti-military protests rock Pakistan in run-up to fiercely contested election describes how protesters queued up on the streets outside the Pakistan military headquarters in an unprecedented show of defiance over the weekend. This, it goes on to say, sums up the mood of the public in the Islamic country.

The Time magazine, however, chose to look at the positive side of things. It reported on the representatives of a small community -- its transgenders -- who were trying to make a mark of their own in the election.

I am running against big names like Imran Khan and former Prime Minister Shahid Abbasi, and Im not considered a real threat, TIME quotes Kashish, who is running as an independent in Pakistans nationwide elections on Wednesday, as saying. People hear about my election run and think its a joke, they just start to laugh.

Nevertheless, the very candidature of Kashish and the others from her community is seen as a great achievement in terms of legal rights in post-Independence Pakistan, although they still face discrimination, harassment and societal exclusion.
US First Daughter Ivanka Trump on Tuesday announced the closure of her namesake clothing, footwear and accessories brand, which had become a target of opponents of her father President Donald Trump.

After experiencing a sharp rise in sales in 2016, the brand suffered a backlash after her father took office, and has been dropped by several retail chains. The 36-year-old Ivanka currently serves as an advisor to her president father, and she has faced criticism about possible conflicts of interest with her business.

When we first started this brand, no one could have predicted the success that we would achieve. After 17 months in Washington, I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business, but I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington, Ivanka said in a statement.

So making this decision now is the only fair outcome for my team and partners, she added.

Last year, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus department stores both dropped her line, citing slow sales after pressure from activists to boycott stores doing business with Trumps family. Earlier this month, Canadian retailer Hudsons Bay  whose holdings include US retailers Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor  phased out the brand.

Abigail Klem, president of the Ivanka Trump brand, said in a statement that she understood the decision had been a difficult one for the Presidents daughter.
T he dangers of pollution are well documented. Accelerated ageing and respiratory problems are among the most serious health impacts of air pollution across the UK and worldwide.

London reached the legal pollution limit for the entire year just a month into 2018, yet air inside our homes and offices can often be more polluted than the air outside.

Earlier this year, The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan commissioned a report on indoor air quality in London's schools.

The Indoor Air Quality Report, published on May 23, found that "the average person spends over 90 per cent of their time indoors" yet we tend to be "far less aware of indoor air pollution than outdoor air pollution".

The UK has the highest prevalence of childhood asthma out of all European countries, according to the report, with indoor air quality described as particularly important as it "may affect the health, performance and comfort of school students and staff."

Allergens such as moulds and house dust mites can worsen symptoms usually associated with asthma  wheezing, shortness of breath  and in extreme cases can result in seizures.

So what can you do to minimise the impact of these indoor pollutants? Whether you live in a pollen hotspot or in a small city flat near a polluted zone, here are some top tips for improving the air quality in your home.

PURIFIERS

Air purifiers trap dust and pollen particles, reducing the impact of allergies, asthma and hay fever. This one from Vax removes 99 per cent of potentially harmful particles down to 0.3 microns (for scale, the human eye can't see anything smaller than 40 microns in size).

Small but powerful: ideal for compact city homes, this Pure Air purifier's LED display shows green when the air around it is clean

It's advisable to turn air purifiers off and open windows in one room at a time for at least 10 minutes, to ensure a new supply of air for the purifier to clean.

Get rid of major dust collectors such as old cushions and heavily upholstered furniture.

And, in really polluted areas, it's a good idea to use a purifier-fan combo to make sure the clean air reaches the entire room rather than concentrating in one part. Some purifiers have indicators on them so you can track, and improve, your home's most polluted areas. Dyson's hard-working Pure Cool fan has been QVC's top-selling fan of the summer, with air quality sensors and a hi-tech filter that removes 99.95 per cent of microscopic particles.

PLANTS

"Indoor air is up to ten-times as polluted as outdoor air so, as we sit in our offices breathing recycled, air-conditioned air we are also exposed to many common toxic chemicals," says Freddie Blackett, founder of London houseplant supplier Patch.

"Plants have been shown to be the most viable way of reducing these chemicals in a domestic or office setting."

NASA's Clear Air Study, conducted in 1989 but widely regarded as the most comprehensive to date, found the top air-purifying houseplants to include Weeping Fig, Devil's Ivy, Flamingo Lily, snake plants, bamboo palm, spider plants, peace lillies and ferns.

Impressive: Rick, available at Patch, works hard to remove benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, and xylene from your home

DIFFUSERS

"Ultrasonic essential oil diffusers can help to combat some pollutants in the home if used correctly," says the director of British lifestyle brand MadebyZen, Kajal Bhayani. "Die-hard aromatherapists believe that essential oils can help with breathing difficulties caused by chemicals, pollutants and other allergens.

"However, for some users, essential oil use can exacerbate certain conditions caused by air pollution as even 100 per cent natural essential oils contain some allergens."

"We find that oils can help ease some of the discomfort caused by pollution and allergens. Eucalyptus and peppermint can help to ease the symptoms of hay fever and nasal congestion."

CLEANING PRODUCTS

"You should be as careful about the products you use in your home as the ones you use in your beauty regime," says Sophie Lavabre-Barrow, co-founder of KINN Living.

Cleaning products, paints and printers all contain organic compounds which can worsen symptoms for sufferers of common breathing problems.

"Use eco green cleaning products that are open and transparent about the ingredients they use. You don't need products that have been dyed hot pink to know that they work," says Lavabre-Barrow.

"An airborne pollutant that can commonly be found in cleaning products is bleach, so choosing products that dont rely on harsh chemicals to do the cleaning is a great way to swap out the bleach."

Eco friendly: KINN's lavender and rosemary set will leave your home feeling clean and smelling fresh

OTHER WAYS TO IMPROVE INDOOR AIR QUALITY

1. Invest in your vacuum cleaner

Allergens can build up in household dust so it's a good idea to invest in a powerful vacuum cleaner which can help minimise the amount of chemicals and pollutants found in our homes, but also pollen, pet fur and dust mites too. Don't forget to clean walls, carpet edges and furniture too.

2. Leave your shoes at the door

Use doormats to make sure dirt from the outside world stays there. Or, even better, leave your shoes at the door.

3. If you have a pet it's time to banish it from the bedroom

Clean regularly, and make sure to brush pets outside as often as possible to decrease the amount of dander in your home. If you shampoo your pets, use lukewarm water. Hot water dries the skin and actually increases the flaking. Wash their bedding regularly, in hot water.

4. Ditch the fake fragrances

Air fresheners cover up smells rather than eliminate them, releasing nasty chemicals in the process. As an alternative, try dipping cotton balls in essential oils and leaving them around the house. Another top tip is to choose fragrance-free laundry products.

5. Stop using aerosols

Use roll-on, preferably aluminium free, deodorants. Microwave sliced lemons, water and baking soda to cut through cooking smells and get your kitchen smelling fresh again.

6. Clean (the air) as you go
Stack Rock Fort, which sits off the Pembrokeshire coastline, is being sold as an amazing opportunity to own a piece of history for 400,000.

The site has always been significant to Britain  Henry VIIIs advisor Sir Thomas Cromwell proposed the construction of a fort on this outcrop as long ago as 1539.

However, the Grade II-listed fortification was eventually built between 1850 and 1852 to defend Milford Haven from a potential invasion by Napoleon III.

The architecturally stunning circular stone fort, complete with the original gun tower which once housed 16 guns and 150 men, has a large and secluded courtyard and views of Wales and the Celtic Sea.

The fort is spread over three floors connected by spiral staircases, although currently the atmosphere is more relic than relaxed.

TODO: define component type brightcove

Presently, the fort is uninhabitable but PurpleBricks, who are selling the property, says that the scope for development is unbelievable previous owners have enquired about the potential to turn the fort in to a commercial residence with links to the mainland.

Stack Rock was originally built as part of a longer thread of fortifications. For inspiration, potential buyers should take a look at nearby West Blockhouse fort for a glimpse of what the island could become.

West Blockhouse has been transformed into a holiday property, marketed by the National Trusts Landmark Trust which restores historic buildings.

Seasickness sufferers take note: in bad weather, access to Stack Rock is impossible.

In an interview with the Independent, Ross McKenzie of PurpleBricks said no viewings will take place in bad weather.

The listing notes that access must be arranged in advance, and viewings can only take place when the sea is calm.

If Napoleonic forts are your thing but you prefer something land-based, Golden Hill Fort is also currently on the market.
Pipeline

24 July 2018

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), one of the world's leading hotel companies, will be bringing its rapidly expanding Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants brand to Germany in 2023 with the opening of Kimpton Frankfurt.

Set in a listed building of Junghofstrasse in Frankfurt's city centre, the luxury boutique hotel will feature 155 rooms, two large meeting rooms and an onsite gym. In addition to the hotel's signature restaurant, there are also plans for a sky-bar and restaurant on the roof terrace, where guests will be able to enjoy an unrivalled skyline view of the city. The classic 1950s lobby will serve as the main entrance to the hotel.

Kimpton Frankfurt is part of Frankfurt's most pioneering development project; FOUR Frankfurt, which is led by highly-regarded developer Gro & Partner. FOUR Frankfurt is a unique high-rise in the middle of the central banking district which features office, residential and retail space in a prime city centre location. The mixed-use project, which highlights innovative and sustainable design by UNStudio architects, will be home to 5,000 people for both business and residential purposes.
Press Release

24 July 2018

Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) has opened online registration for its Annual Convention, which it has produced since 1952. Following the traditional event format, the event will offer a variety of educational sessions, networking and vendor opportunities. HFTP has secured two keynote speakers who will discuss topics relating to productivity, engagement, collaboration and communication in the workplace: Colette Carlson and Curt Steinhorst. The HFTP Annual Convention will take place from October 24-26 at the brand new Omni Louisville Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky USA.

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HFTP Annual Convention full registration attendees will have access to three days of education, two days of table top exhibits, a Welcome Reception and a formal HFTP Tribute to Success dinner and dance. The 2018 schedule of events is available on the HFTP website, and will be continuously updated until the event. Additionally, Annual Convention will feature a business meeting and the HFTP Helps Silent Auction benefiting the HFTP Foundation during the HFTP Tribute to Success. The HFTP Greater Louisville Chapter will also host a social night event on October 25, 2018 at the Kentucky Derby Museum to support the HFTP Helps fundraiser.

"HFTP is excited to host Annual Convention in Louisville, Kentucky this year," said HFTP CEO Frank Wolfe. "Annual Convention is created specifically with our association's members best interests in mind - join us this October for hospitality education, networking, exhibits, vendor interaction, fundraising, fun social events and more."

The dynamic event program will provide relevant industry information for hospitality professionals. Vendor interaction this year will allow attendees to meet with participating companies at table top exhibits. Exhibits will be open to attendees on Wednesday evening during the Welcome Reception, as well as during breaks and lunch on the following Thursday.

Visit the Annual Convention page on the HFTP website for complete information about all conference events, including the program schedule, hotel and travel details and more. For more information about HFTP's Annual Convention and other global activities, contact the HFTP Meetings & Special Events Department at [email protected] or visit www.hftp.org.

Coming up, HFTP's Florida Regional Conference will take place July 25-27, 2018 at the Sarasota Westin in Sarasota, Florida USA - immediately followed by HFTP's inaugural Club Forum which will take place July 28, 2018 at the same location. HITEC Dubai will take place December 5-6 at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai, UAE. For more information about HFTP's international events, visit www.hftp.org and www.hitec.org or contact the HFTP Meetings & Special Events Department at [email protected].

About HFTP

Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP), established in 1952, is a hospitality nonprofit association headquartered in Austin, Texas USA with offices in Hong Kong, United Kingdom, The Netherlands and Dubai. HFTP is recognized as the spokes group for the finance and technology segments of the hospitality industry with an international network of members and stakeholders. HFTP uniquely understands the industry's pressing issues, and assists its stakeholders in finding solutions to their challenges more efficiently than any organization. HFTP offers expert networks, educational resources, career development programs, research, leadership opportunities and conferences and events. HFTP produces international events throughout the year, including the world's largest hospitality technology tradeshow and conference brand: HITEC. The association also owns the world's only hospitality-specific search engine: PineappleSearch.com. For more information about HFTP, visit www.hftp.org.For the latest news, visit the HFTP News page at news.hftp.org and the HFTP Connect blog at blog.hftp.org.

Follow HFTP on social media: Facebook (@HFTPGlobal); LinkedIn; Twitter (@HFTP); Instagram (@HFTP_HITEC). Stay tuned to HFTP's industry-specific, informational news sites: HFTP News, HITEC Bytes, HFTP Club Bytes, HFTP Finance Bytes, HFTP GDPR Bytes and HFTP FB Bytes. HFTP event photos are available on Flickr, and HFTP event videos are available on YouTube.
Mamnoon Hussain concern over Nawaz Sharif health

ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain on Monday expressed concern over reports of poor health of Nawaz Sharif and directed caretaker Prime Minister retired Justice Nasirul Mulk to take care of the former prime minister.



According to a presidential spokesman, Mr Hussain telephoned Prime Minister Mulk and directed him to ensure proper medical treatment of Mr Sharif.



Mr Sharif is in Adiala jail after he was awarded a prison term by an accountability court in the Avenfield properties reference.



A press release issued by the presidency said: President Mamnoon Hussain expressed concern over reports of bad health of Nawaz Sharif and talked to caretaker prime minister in this regard.



It said the president also asked the prime minister to provide all required medical facilities to Nawaz Sharif. Meanwhile, Azad Jammu & Kashmir Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider telephoned President Mamnoon and expressed concern over poor health of Nawaz Sharif.



The caretaker government will be responsible if anything wrong happens to Nawaz Sharif, the AJK prime minister asked the president. Mr Haider said satisfactory steps had not been taken for providing proper health facilities to Mr Sharif.
Opinion Article

24 July 2018

The Tucson lodging market often lives in the shadow of its bigger sibling, Phoenix. And while meeting and group demand in both markets is driven by Arizona's idyllic weather during the winter and spring, differences in local dynamics paint significantly different pictures in terms of leisure and commercial demand.

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Both lodging markets experienced a prolonged recovery following the national recession late last decade, partially attributed to the controversial SB 1070 immigration law; however, the loss of MLB Spring Training in 2011 and the federal government sequestration in 2014 stalled Tucson's recovery even further. Furthermore, Tucson's in-house meeting and group segment is somewhat dependent on the health of Phoenix's resort market, which was affected significantly by the effects of the last recession, as the two markets are often seen as substitutes for one another. Nevertheless, RevPAR in Tucson has been on the rise in recent years, with data illustrating an 8.5% gain in RevPAR for the first quarter of 2018 the strongest first-quarter growth in the state.

Photo: HVS

While a healthy Phoenix meeting and group market has allowed Tucson hotels and resorts to assert more pricing power than in previous years, the primary driver of growth over the past few years has been economic expansion. In 2016, Raytheon Missile Systems (RMS), Tucson's largest private employer, was awarded a $291-million missile contract from the U.S. Navy. More recently, RMS dedicated a new visitor-access center in May of this year, while two more buildings are currently under construction, and several more are planned to be built by 2020; the expansion is expected to allow RMS to create an additional 2,000 jobs over time. In addition, the $426.7-million expansion of the Banner-University Medical Center Tucson, which began construction in 2016, is on schedule for completion in April 2019, while the $98-million Banner Health Center at the UA Cancer Center opened in December 2017. Moreover, Amazon recently selected Tucson for a new, 855,000-square-foot distribution center, and Hexagon Mining announced that it would lease 26,000 square feet on the third and fourth floors at Bourn Companies' new, five-story, 69,000-square-foot, City Park multi-use complex in the Central Business District. The building is currently under construction and slated for completion this fall. Furthermore, Caterpillar broke ground on its 200,000-square-foot office facility in January 2018; completion is scheduled for early 2019. Caterpillar's decision to locate its headquarters in Downtown Tucson will bring 600 jobs to the city.

Tucson's economic expansion has resulted in increasing levels of commercial-related travel and lodging demand, which is anticipated to continue. However, Tucson's reliance on government demand, from sources such as the University of Arizona, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, US Customs and Border Patrol, and the State of Arizona, limits average rate (ADR) growth in the market, which represents a challenge for potential investors. A limited number of nonstop flights from the east coast to Tucson are another challenge. Furthermore, uncertainty surrounding NAFTA remains a major caveat to optimistic views of Tucson's growth. PRI's The World reported that up to 236,000 jobs in Arizona would be at risk if the U.S. were to pull out of the deal.Source: RCA & CoStar

Arizona Transaction DataSource: RCA & CoStar

While Tucson may be overshadowed by Phoenix, the market is making strides in its own right. The city's lack of corporate headquarters has historically been a stumbling block, but the relocation of Caterpillar, as well as the expansion of Raytheon and Amazon, bode well for the market. New supply remains at healthy levels and is not expected to negatively affect performance for the greater market. And although the uncertainty surrounding the current administration's renegotiation of NAFTA remains a concern, the overall outlook for Tucson is optimistic given the numerous positive factors.

Pima County Transaction Data  RCA & CoStar

Arizona Transaction Data  RCA & CoStar

Previously published in the Tucson Trend Report July 2018 provided by  Tucson Real Estate + New Development.

[1] https://tourism.az.gov/research-statistics/data-trends/lodging

[2] https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-12-21/trump-s-threats-pull-out-nafta-concern-many-arizona

[3] https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2018/02/25/stronger-nafta-could-add-63-000-jobs-arizona-study-says/306879002/
Opinion Article

24 July 2018

Once upon a time there was a Gallic village that continued to resist the invader. Not content with being just an extremely popular tourist destination, it wanted to be able to boast of being the first in the world. However, the Gallic chiefs had spent decades looking for a recipe to make a magic potion that not only made their ultimate dream come true, but could also count the tourists who visited.

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The leaders also wanted to keep control over their flock at all costs, to control and ultimately to curb their villagers' businesses. But the villagers were not satisfied, because the costs of maintaining the village were heavily dependent on businesses, and there were also commissions to distributors who would sell their products as well as fees paid to their franchisors. All this weighed more and more heavily on their budgets and nibbled away at their margins as surely as the druids could not find the magic potion that would allow them to set up the observatory of their dreams.

This fable might make you smile, but it's somewhat mirthless... Because how can we imagine this small Gallic village competing against multinationals that are making billions of dollars in profits, that can afford their own Internet connection cable between the United States and Europe, that hold multiple terabytes of data on their users and are conducting research on artificial intelligence, that are constantly testing new algorithms and have colossal budgets to promote the listing of their products on the web. In short, they have everything to crush the small Gallic village; how can anyone want to fight with them on equal terms?

The Gallic village was long-lived, France is competing with an ever-broader range of destinations and would do well to turn things over to companies in the sector and trust them with the opportunity to develop destinations. Each tourism professional can improve the appeal of their product by working alongside other accommodation providers, restaurants and tourist sites at their destination. Succeeding is practically unimaginable when we know that Bilbao has a larger budget than France

It seems utopian to want to make a tourist observatory in France, the gauge has been broken several times, it has been passed from hand to hand, and it still does not give a proper reading. Do we really have to get into a battle of numbers or should we focus on the quality of the tourists who come to France, on the target of repeaters who visit less visited destinations than the Eiffel Tower. While the objective of 100 million is a beautiful target, where do we hope to accommodate these tourists? Do we plan to make them wait for hours in line before entering the Louvre Museum, have we considered expanding the Basilica of Sacre Coeur? In the 21st century, big data allows us to forecast tourist behavior, so why persist in setting up an observatory that will produce statistics one year later? Why look in the rearview mirror when we can look ahead and prepare our future?

More than anything, Gallic leaders must do their job and let the villagers do theirs. It is not by controlling and reining in the village's beautiful shops that they will prosper. They will only succeed in paralyzing an industry that is seeking to prosper. The strategy of dividing to reign better no longer has any reason to be; like the French team, which has benefited from outstanding management where each talent could achieve its maximum potential. Leaders should draw inspiration from this model to lead France towards success.

What if instead of stubbornly trying to make an even more magical potion we changed our objectives? Gallic leaders were sometimes interested in tourism and those who got involved showed a real will to improve the system, but without understanding either its complexity or the range of professionals involved in each stage of organizing the tourist's journey. To each his trade. Let us hope that summer will allow everyone to find their place and make their contribution to the project to get back to work on the right foot, more combative than before, but without getting into the wrong battle.
HFTPs 2018 Annual Convention is October 24-26 at the Omni Louisville Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky USA

Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) has opened online registration for its Annual Convention, which it has produced since 1952. Following the traditional event format, the event will offer a variety of educational sessions, networking and vendor opportunities. HFTP has secured two keynote speakers who will discuss topics relating to productivity, engagement, collaboration and communication in the workplace: Colette Carlson and Curt Steinhorst. The HFTP Annual Convention will take place from October 24-26 at the brand new Omni Louisville Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky USA.

HFTP Annual Convention full registration attendees will have access to three days of education, two days of table top exhibits, a Welcome Reception and a formal HFTP Tribute to Success dinner and dance. The 2018 schedule of events is available on the HFTP website, and will be continuously updated until the event. Additionally, Annual Convention will feature a business meeting and the HFTP Helps Silent Auction benefiting the HFTP Foundation during the HFTP Tribute to Success. The HFTP Greater Louisville Chapter will also host a social night event on October 25, 2018 at the Kentucky Derby Museum to support the HFTP Helps fundraiser.

"HFTP is excited to host Annual Convention in Louisville, Kentucky this year," said HFTP CEO Frank Wolfe. "Annual Convention is created specifically with our association's members best interests in mind - join us this October for hospitality education, networking, exhibits, vendor interaction, fundraising, fun social events and more."

The dynamic event program will provide relevant industry information for hospitality professionals. Vendor interaction this year will allow attendees to meet with participating companies at table top exhibits. Exhibits will be open to attendees on Wednesday evening during the Welcome Reception, as well as during breaks and lunch on the following Thursday.

Visit the Annual Convention page on the HFTP website for complete information about all conference events, including the program schedule, hotel and travel details and more. For more information about HFTP's Annual Convention and other global activities, contact the HFTP Meetings & Special Events Department at education@hftp.org or visit www.hftp.org.

Coming up, HFTP's Florida Regional Conference will take place July 25-27, 2018 at the Sarasota Westin in Sarasota, Florida USA - immediately followed by HFTP's inaugural Club Forum which will take place July 28, 2018 at the same location. HITEC Dubai will take place December 5-6 at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai, UAE. For more information about HFTP's international events, visit www.hftp.org and www.hitec.org or contact the HFTP Meetings & Special Events Department at education@hftp.org.

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The integration of eZee solutions with IRD portal, Nepal, with eZee solutions will allow the hospitality industry a simplified digital transfer of daily transactions that take place at their businesses.

eZee Technosys, the total hospitality solutions provider have built a regional compliance of their on-premise solutions eZee FrontDesk hotel PMS and eZee BurrP! restaurant POS system with the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) portal of Nepal.

This integration will facilitate a quick submission of daily transactions taking place at hotels and restaurants in Nepal to the IRD portal, thus eliminating the expenses incurred on physical movement of data, threat of data loss and security.

The IRD is responsible for administration of taxes such as value added tax, income tax, and excise duty, along with the fair collection of taxes from businesses and citizens of Nepal. Considering the hospitality sector in Nepal, when any hotel receives payments, cancels a transaction or gets a booking, the revenue generated is to be updated to the Nepal government. The same requirement applies to the restaurant industry as well. eZee have also redesigned their invoices, reports and audit logs to meet IRD requirements.

Heres what eZees CEO Aeijaz Sodawala has to say, Our on-premise solutions are now compliant and connected with the IRD portal. With this certification, well be able to cater better to the Nepalese hospitality market, as this integration simplifies the major task of all the hoteliers and restaurateurs, that is, a secure and swift transfer of critical data.

Additionally, the IRD regulation requires all the hotels and restaurants to keep their data servers in Nepal, even if the establishment is having other branches outside the country. eZee NextGen, being desktop-based solutions have fulfilled these requirements smoothly, as they need a client-server environment requiring the server to be present on-premise. This way, hoteliers and restaurateurs using eZees solutions in Nepal would be effortlessly complying to IRD regulations.

Up until now, the company have taken into account several regional compliances of government reforms and requirements for Panama, UAE, Oman, Iceland, Malaysia, India and many more countries with the chief agenda of empowering the regional markets smoothly. This compliance from Nepals IRD portal will aid the company to tap the Nepalese hospitality industry with better finesse and benefits.

Striving to reach the untouched corners of the industry through cutting-edge technology, eZee have always been more than ready to meet the ever changing requirements of the sector.

About eZee Technosys

eZee Technosys is a global hospitality technology provider. They offer on-premise as well as cloud based solutions that includes hotel management, booking management, online room distribution, restaurant management, reputation management, guest feedback and hotel mobile apps. Founded in 2005, eZee have been adept in developing cutting edge solutions from last 12 years serving more than 10,000 clients in more than 160 countries across the globe. Visit eZees corporate website for more.

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 2021 Hotel News Resource
Just like the majority of the hip hop community, Cardi B is riding for her man, Offset, following his recent gun arrest last week in Georgia. Sources tell TMZ that Cardi believes the hip hop cops targeted Offset and that he was only pulled over for being a rich, successful black rapper.

Cardi is also reportedly doubling down with the lawyer and agreeing that the guns found by police did not belong to Offset. She says that Offset doesn't own any firearms. She apparently doesn't believe he broke any laws and was just targeted by the police. Cops originally said they pulled Offset over for crossing a double yellow line, but his attorney, Drew Findling, says that was just a bogus excuse to bust him, and Cardi agrees with him.

Offset's been charged with two felony gun charges as well as some misdemeanors, so the possibility of jail time is arguably there on paper. However thats nothing for Cardi apparently. Sources added that Cardi has been telling friends that if Offset were to be sent to prison, shed be by his side and not leave him. And if you didnt already know that Cardi B was a ride or die type woman, then here ya go.

[Via]
This year has been a quiet one for fans of Lil Uzi Vert. While he's popped up every once in a while to kill a feature spot, the recording artist still has not released a full-length project in 2018. While one has been teased for a minute by Don Cannon, Uzi's current social situation doesn't do much to help with the speculation. When his hackers threatened to leak a lot of his music, they didn't seem to come through and with two songs popping up on WorldStar's official YouTube page today, it's a little unclear whether or not they were authorized by the Philadelphia rapper.

As one of the leaders of the new school, a lot is expected out of Uzi with every release and he definitely comes through on 'Everything Lit." The song is less formulaic than his regular singles as he rhymes over a hypnotic loop, going for more of an unstructured finish. When you think the beat is going to drop, you've gotten yourself fooled but when it finally does, the payoff is real. With two new tracks surfacing today, it's worth it to keep an eye on the young artist as he's been rumored to be teasing a new project titled Eternal Atake. With the entertainer spitting "Luv Is Rage" a few times throughout the song, it makes us think this is an older loosie. Regardless, we're stoked that it's readily available now, though.

From "Everything Lit" and "Introvert," which are you feeling more? I'm crossing my fingers that this means more new Uzi soon.

Quotable Lyrics:

I fuck with Hit-Boy, Im tryna be a hitman

Takin yo ass straight out of existence

Where is yo hitman, that other man got him

Shout out Jodye Flocko, fuck wit your album

Moving them pigeons, them birds, they be flockin

White b-tch on my d-ck, she ride like a Rari
Offset's lawyer has previously questioned the validity of the traffic stop and now, it seems like he might have evidence to back the claim. According to TMZ, Offset's arresting officer didn't make the rapper do a field sobriety test after he smelled weed coming from the car.

Police previously reported that they smelled weed coming out of Offset's car after they pulled him over for "failure to maintain lane." Sources from the Clayton County Police Department said that it's often difficult to prove whether someone was driving under the influence or not in a court room. They also said that cops will often arrest someone for weed, but Offset had less than an ounce which is considered a petty offense. However, driving under the influence carries is a much more severe offense and the fact that the arresting officer didn't make Offset do one, sparks questions about the validity of the stop.

A field sobriety test is a standard practice across America when police see a driver showing a lack of control of the vehicle, especially if they suspect the driver is under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Unfortunately, there are many people who are convicted of crimes based off of a police officer's observations. Police typically have the option to arrest the driver and bring them to a hospital, get a warrant and make the driver draw blood. However, this was not the case for Offset.

Offset's lawyer, Drew Findling, believes that the police officer's intent when Offset was pulled over was to search the Porsche he was driving.
Offset's been dealing with some legal issues over the past few days. The rapper was arrested and charged with two misdemeanors and two felonies after he was pulled over in Georgia. Offset's lawyer, Drew Findling, said that he believes the rapper was targeted by the police for being Black and successful. Earlier today, police claimed that Offset was weaving through lanes before he was pulled over. However, Findling isn't buying what the cops are saying.

Drew Findling believes the cops are lying about Offset's arrest, TMZ reports. The officer who arrested Offset said that he smelled weed when he pulled over the rapper's vehicle. However, Findling says that if that was the case, the officer would have ordered Offset to step out of the car and do a field sobriety test (i.e. walk the line) which didn't occur.

The police report doesn't mention Offset being impaired or any suspicions of him being impaired.

Findling feels like this is further indication that Offset was targeted by police for being black and successful. He believes that Offset was profiled because he is a successful young black male that was wearing a "big fat watch" and driving an expensive car. Findling says the cops goal was to "take him down."

At this point, we're hoping that this all works out for Offset. The rapper and his wife Cardi B recently welcomed their first child together, Kulture.
Some women say that they want a man who knows what he wants. A man that is committed to his dreams, and will do anything to get there. Well, "The World's Sexiest Weathergirl" Yanet Garcia is learning the hard way that sometimes, that means leaving a relationship behind. Pro-gamer FaZe Censor (real name Douglas Martin) has been dating Garcia for three years, and the couple became famous on the internet for being super attractive and personable. The couple went well together, with Garcia pursuing a modeling career on the side while Martin chased his dreams of being a world champion Call of Duty player. In a video the pro-gamer posted to Youtube, he very publicly (and somewhat insensitively), decided to break things off with the 27-year-old Mexican meteorologist.

"If any of you guys don't know, Yanet is obviously one of the most beautiful women in the world," explains Douglas in the video. "For now, all I want in my life at this very moment is to compete in Call of Duty, because I love it so much. I really love competing, and I'm going to do whatever it takes to be a champion." Douglas goes on to state that Yanet works non-stop in Mexico as a meteorologist, and their busy schedules don't really link up.

Yanet took to Twitter to vent about the breakup, posting a tweet that read, "Heartbroken ."
Crude rose on expectations that U.S. oil inventories already close to a 3-year low continue to shrink.

Futures rose as much as 1.5 percent in New York on Tuesday. A U.S. government report is forecast to show a 3.1 million-barrel decline in commercial stockpiles when it's released on Wednesday, according to a Bloomberg survey.

"What we've been seeing in the crude stock numbers is increased volatility," said Bill O'Grady, chief market strategist at Confluence Investment Management LLC in St. Louis. "The reality is this is high gasoline demand season. They're going to keep refineries operating pretty strongly until after Labor Day."

The U.S. oil benchmark has declined about 7 percent this month amid escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China that threatens global energy demand. While prices gained briefly on Monday amid a war of words between the U.S. and Iran over oil exports, pledges from Saudi Arabia and other producers to boost production have investors worried about a surfeit.

"The market seems to be obsessed with the idea that there's oversupply, for whatever reason, and so financial investors have rushed to the exits," said Carsten Fritsch, an analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt.

West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery climbed 95 cents to $68.84 a barrel at 10:35 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Total volume traded was about 27 percent below the 100-day average.

Brent for September settlement added 31 cents to $73.37 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The global benchmark crude traded at a $5.06 premium to WTI.

Brent contracts are signaling a short-term surplus. The September contract was trading at a 39-cent discount to October -- a condition known as contango -- as higher Libyan production allayed supply concerns after a labor dispute at North Sea platforms operated by Total SA.

"The basic backdrop is bullish," Jeff Currie, head of commodities research at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., said in a Bloomberg television interview. Still, "the market's rotating back and forth, between being slightly balanced, slightly in a surplus, slightly in a deficit."

In the U.S., inventories at the storage hub at Cushing, Oklahoma, declined by an estimated 900,000 barrels last week, according to a Bloomberg forecast.

The industry-funded American Petroleum Institute will release its weekly tally of inventories later on Tuesday.

Oil-market news:

Gasoline futures rose 1.4 percent to $2.121 a gallon.

China unveiled a package of policies to boost domestic demand as trade tensions threaten to worsen the nation's economic slowdown.

There is "real risk" oil will reach $100 a barrel, Mizuho Securities USA LLC analysts including Paul Sankey wrote in a note.

--With assistance from Tsuyoshi Inajima, Kintan Andanari and Grant Smith.

2018 Bloomberg L.P.
Nawaz Sharif sent audio message from Adiala jail

Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, in his message from Adiala Jail, Monday urged the masses to vote for Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in tomorrows general election.



The audio message by the former prime minister was shared on his daughter Maryam Nawazs Twitter handle.I, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, is speaking from the prison and the historic day of July 25 is just around the corner, he says in the message.I am witnessing your passion while being incarcerated in the jail, and listening to respect the vote chants everywhere.



Through his recorded message, Nawaz urged the masses to give a final push to the already tumbling wall of flaws.I want to tell you that the time has come to give a final push to the already tumbling wall of flaws that have been destined on us for years, he said.Change all of this now, the former prime minister said, addressing people of an independent homeland who he said had been enslaved.



The PML-N supremo said that he and his daughter were incarcerated because of leading the campaign for the respect to the vote. Maryam and I are incarcerated because we led this movement for your honour and respect of your vote. The time has come for you to make this movement a success, and announce such a historic verdict which may sweep all those verdicts away that have made Pakistan a graveyard of justice, he urged the people.



Set out of your homes after the Fajr prayers on July 25, with utmost resolve and determination, and vote for Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz for dignity and sanctity of your vote.
WASHINGTON - The Trump administration said in a court filing Monday that 463 parents of migrant children are no longer present in the United States, indicating that the number of mothers and fathers potentially deported without their kids during the "zero tolerance" border crackdown could be far larger than previously acknowledged.

The progress report to U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw cautioned the 463 cases are "under review," meaning the filing was not a definitive tally of all migrant parents who have been deported while their children remain in U.S. government shelters.

Sabraw has issued the Trump administration a 30-day deadline - expiring Thursday - to quickly reunite as many separated families as possible, and last week he asked the government to clarify how many of the more than 2,500 parents eligible for reunions are no longer in the country. He also temporarily suspended deportations of families that have been reunited.

Monday's filing included no additional explanation, but the government is scheduled to brief the court Tuesday afternoon about its progress in the reunification effort, and will probably provide more details about the whereabouts of the 463 parents.

Their numbers amount to nearly one-fifth of the parents who were potentially separated from their children prior to Trump's June 20 executive order halting the practice.

Stephen Kang, one of the attorneys for the plaintiff in the case, the ACLU, said Monday's filing appeared to be the government's first attempt, however imprecise, to gauge the figure that his team, the court and many reporters have been pressing for.

"If this number turns out to be as large as the report suggests, this is going to be a big issue for us," Kang said. "We have a lot of questions."

Immigrant advocates say migrant parents were pressured into signing voluntary deportation forms out of desperation to be released from immigration detention once their sons and daughters were taken from them and sent to government shelters.

"We have concerns about misinformation given to these parents about their rights to fight deportation without their children," said Kang. Locating them in Central America will be challenging and time-consuming, he said.

The Trump administration insists that all of the migrant parents who were deported gave their written consent and were duly informed of their rights in their native tongue.

According to Monday's filing, the government has reunited 879 parents with their children so far, up from 450 on Friday. Another 538 parents have been cleared for reunions and are awaiting transportation, meaning that at least half of the separated families will likely be back together by Thursday's deadline.

Under court order, the administration prioritized the cases of more than 100 parents whose children were younger than age 5, and the government has since moved on to the much larger 5-to-17 age group. After conducting background checks on parents and confirming familial relationships, the government interviews the mothers and fathers to ask if they want their children back before proceeding.

So far, 130 of those parents have opted against a reunion, in some cases preferring their children be allowed to remain in the United States with another relative while their immigration appeals are pending.
Google Maps

A small plane made an emergency landing Monday outside a Texas prison after the propeller broke mid-flight, authorities said.

After realizing the problem, the pilot of a single-engine Grumman AA-5B brought the craft down in a cow pasture outside the Clemens Unit in Brazoria County, according to Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Lynn Lunsford.
Deputies discovered more than 100 animals living in tight quarters inside a southwest Houston apartment Tuesday.

Harris County Precinct 7 Constable's Office deputies were serving an eviction notice at a complex in the 10200 block of Sugar Branch Drive early Tuesday when they discovered the animals inside the apartment belonging to the residents who were to be evicted.

After seeing the animals' living conditions, the Precinct 7 deputies called the Harris County Animal Cruelty Taskforce  which is comprised of several animal advocacy groups, including the Houston Humane Society and the Harris County Precinct 5 Constable's Office.

OTHER ANIMAL SEIZURES: SPCA seizes 73 livestock and pets from Cypress-area home

In all, deputies discovered 13 ferrets, 16 sugar gliders, 22 chinchilla, two prairie dogs, 11 guinea pigs, six African Grey parrots, 32 cockatiels, and three dogs.

Deputies with the Harris County Precinct 5 Constable's Office secured a warrant to seize the animals from the owner.

The animals will be housed and cared for at Houston Humane Society until a judge determines permanent custody.

Harris County Precinct 5 Constable's Office officials said a criminal investigation is ongoing.

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Jay R. Jordan covers breaking news in the Houston area. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com | Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan | Email him at jay.jordan@chron.com
A wanted teenage robbery suspect is facing charges after he was accused of attempting to run down a police officer in southwest Houston on Monday.

The suspect, a 16-year-old boy, was charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and felony evading arrest, Houston police said.
Peace talks with Taliban show US strategy in Afghanistan is working: US commanders

KABUL: Increasing prospects of peace talks with the Taliban show the US strategy in Afghanistan is working, top US commanders in Afghanistan said on Monday.



The comments came as speculation has grown that talks to end 17 years of war in Afghanistan may be closer after last months ceasefire over the Eid holiday brought scenes of unarmed fighters and soldiers mingling on the streets.



The advancement towards the reconciliation goal in President Trumps strategy has seen progress in the last year that we havent seen in the previous 17 years and that is significant, General John Nicholson, commander of the Nato-led Resolute Support mission, told reporters.



I believe this advancement towards peace is extremely relevant and in a way is perhaps more important than some of these other metrics that weve been using, he said.



Almost a year after US President Donald Trump sent more troops to Afghanistan and gave commanders greater authority to use air strikes against the Taliban, thousands of civilians are still being killed and wounded and the government holds no more than two-thirds of the country.



However General Joseph Votel, the top US regional commander who was visiting Kabul, expressed cautious optimism about the progress made. He said the strategy, which set no deadline for US forces to leave Afghanistan, had squeezed the Taliban and created the space for diplomatic and social pressure for peace to build.
Marie D. De Jesus, Houston Chronicle / Houston Chronicle

AUSTIN  Congressional hopeful Sylvia Garcia on Monday announced plans to step down from her Texas Senate seat in January, officially clearing the way for voters to elect her successor before the Legislature returns for its 2019 lawmaking session.

Garcia, the Democratic candidate for the 29th Congressional District, announced she would give up her state Senate seat on Twitter, saying the people in her Houston district deserve uninterrupted representation in the next legislative session. She urged Gov. Greg Abbott to order a special election in conjunction with the Nov. 6 general election so her replacement can begin serving in the Senate at the beginning of the legislative session. She said the timing would help Harris County taxpayers avoid the cost of a separate election.
If President Trump wants to shut down the critics of his performance in Helsinki and strengthen U.S. national security, he can do so with one bold move: Announce he is moving out most U.S. forces currently stationed in Germany and sending them to Poland.

The Polish government recently presented Trump with a formal proposal to move U.S. troops from Stuttgart, Germany, to a new permanent U.S. military base in Poland. Trump should take up Warsaw on this offer.

Moving U.S. troops to Poland would be a bold, historic decision on par with Trumps decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. Not only would it better position American forces, it also would completely flummox Trumps critics in the U.S. foreign policy establishment. After spending last week accusing him of being Putins puppet, they would look foolish if they turned around and criticized him for antagonizing Russia. And after attacking him for undermining NATO, they could hardly complain because he is taking unprecedented action to shore up the alliances Eastern flank.

Such a move would reinforce the tough line the president took on defense spending at the NATO summit, by punishing a deadbeat ally that does not meet its NATO commitments and rewarding a steadfast ally that does. Why should Germany  a country that spends just 1.24 percent of its gross domestic product on defense  continue to be rewarded with the economic benefit of U.S. bases? Better to station U.S. forces in a country such as Poland that is providing what Trump has called a truly magnificent example as one of the NATO countries that has actually achieved the benchmark for investment in our common defense.

Trump can further argue that Germanys actions beyond its inadequate defense spending have necessitated this move. At NATO, Trump blasted the Germany-to-Russia Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, declaring its a very bad thing for NATO. Hes right. The pipeline not only makes Germany more dependent on Moscow for energy, it also risks the security of Poland and other Eastern European allies. Right now, all Russian gas exports to Western Europe go through pipelines that cross Poland and Slovakia  which means Russia cannot cut off gas to NATO allies in the East without also cutting off its lucrative exports to the West. But once the new pipeline is built, sending gas directly to Germany under the Baltic Sea, Russia will be able to shut off energy supplies to Eastern Europe far more easily. Trump can correctly say that he needs to shore up the security of NATOs East European allies because of the German governments sign-off on the pipeline.

The move would also address a major U.S. strategic concern about its ability to deter Russia. The Washington Post recently reported that U.S. military commanders are worried that if they had to quickly move U.S. troops east to head off a military conflict with Moscow, the most powerful military in the world could get stuck in a traffic jam as Humvees ... snarl behind plodding semis on narrow roads and U.S. tanks ... crush rusting bridges too weak to hold their weight. Stationing American forces in Poland would alleviate that problem. As the Polish government points out in its proposal, a U.S. permanent presence in Poland [offers] a more forward operating location than Stuttgart provides, would greatly alleviate well founded fears that fellow Eastern European and Baltic governments have that Moscow would be able to overtake defending forces prior to the support of U.S. and NATO forces in Stuttgart could provide.

The move would also benefit U.S. taxpayers. The Polish government has offered up to $2 billion to cover most of the costs of building such a base and supporting U.S. troops in Poland, declaring it is committed to share the burden of defense spending [and] make the decision more cost-effective for the U.S. government. This should be attractive to Trump, who has criticized other allies for not paying enough for the cost of stationing U.S. forces on their territory.

And there is one last good reason to do it: Poland loves Trump. When Trump spoke in Warsaw last year, his speech was repeatedly interrupted by chants of Donald Trump! Donald Trump! Such response would be unimaginable in Berlin.

The U.S. military presence in Germany is a legacy of the Cold War, when we positioned our forces to deter a Soviet invasion from East Germany. Today the need for deterrence is undiminished, but the potential line of contact has moved east. So should the U.S. military.

Follow Marc A. Thiessen on Twitter, @marcthiessen.
Millions of babies are born in this country every year, although the numbers are declining. Last year, the United States had its lowest birthrate in 30 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a new survey, in which participants were asked why they were having fewer children than they wanted, the top responses were almost all economic: child care is too expensive, cant afford more children, waited because of financial instability, worried about the economy. Babies are costly, and the current administration is not offering relief for the majority anytime soon.

For all the joy and privilege of becoming a mother in America, most of us are navigating a host of challenges with little to no societal support: the physical effects of labor, the chronic sleep deprivation, the complexities of breast-feeding (logistically and politically), juggling the demands of work and family. But perhaps the most daunting is finding and paying for child care.

The United States holds the dubious distinction of being the only developed country in the world that does not offer paid maternity leave as a federal mandate. If and when a woman returns to work after having a baby, she must confront the sobering reality of securing care for her child. (Even if she is partnered, the responsibility is likely to fall to her, statistically speaking.) Once she determines whether there are viable options in her area - by no means a given - shes likely to encounter a wait list. If a spot does become available, she must then contend with sticker shock: In more than half of states, the cost of child care exceeds public university tuition.

It hasnt always been like this. Once upon a time, the country set mothers up for greater success, if only unintentionally.

During World War II, as more and more men found themselves on the front lines, ammunition factories were short of workers. The solution: Women took their jobs. During the war, 6.5 million American women joined the labor force; the percentage of working women with children younger than 10 increased from 7.8 to 12.1 percent between 1940 and 1944. This significant uptick in working mothers left countless young children at home and unsupervised.

The government resolved the quandary by swiftly amending the Lanham Act. The 1940 law, which allowed for the provision of war-related grants, would now also provide for the establishment of federally subsidized child-care centers nationwide.

Serving thousands of families across all income levels, these programs were innovative, smartly designed and well equipped to serve mothers needs. In addition to play spaces, they included medical clinics that provided vaccinations and routine health care, as well as infirmaries where sick children could be tended to by doctors and nurses. They offered an amenity that would make todays parents swoon: personal shoppers who fulfilled a moms customized grocery list while she was at work. Items were bagged and ready when she came to pick up her children at quitting time, right down to the chicken dinner.

At the programs peak in 1944, 130,000 children were enrolled. The federal government spent $52 million on the program between August 1943 and February 1946; parents paid an additional $26 million in user fees, which in todays dollars would be $9 or $10 a day.

A report released at the time suggested overwhelming satisfaction with these centers. More than 80 percent of those surveyed had favorable opinions, while nearly 90 percent said the programs should be established in every school district and made available to both working and stay-at-home moms. In a much more recent analysis of the far-ranging effect of the program, Chris Herbst of Arizona State University reported on the outcomes of the children who were enrolled. They were more likely to be employed, have higher earnings, and less likely to need cash assistance as adults, he writes. In addition, the benefits of the program accrued largely to the most economically disadvantaged individuals.

After the war ended, the Child Welfare League of America lobbied to keep the centers open. Eleanor Roosevelt wrote in her newspaper column, Many thought [the centers] were purely a war emergency measure. A few of us had an inkling that perhaps they were a need which was constantly with us, but one that we had neglected to face in the past . . . it would seem to be in the interests of the community to organize child care centers and see that they are properly run. Where state help is needed, it should be given; and when states are incapable of giving sufficient help, it should be forthcoming on a national scale as it has been in the war years. But the efforts of Roosevelt and others were for naught. Despite irrefutable evidence of the programs efficacy, funding was cut shortly after the end of the war, and centers were closed within a year or two.

In 1971, we came close to realizing a second nationwide, federally subsidized system of child care. Then current research on childrens development during the critical zero- to 5-year period helped inform Congresss decision to pass the Comprehensive Child Development Act with bipartisan support. According to the plan, free care would be provided to the countrys poorest children, with their more advantaged peers enrolled on a sliding scale. Shortly after Congress took action, President Richard M. Nixon was scheduled to visit China. In an unfortunate twist, conservative presidential adviser Pat Buchanan framed the act as not only fiscally irresponsible, but also a threat to democracy at large. He suggested that federally subsidized day care would impose the moral authority of the government, systematically weakening the nations families. Nixon vetoed the act, and mothers were again left to fend for themselves.

Although the Lanham and Comprehensive Child Development Acts fizzled, they established compelling precedents for federally funded day care. In fact, the government is still enacting some versions of them. One is Early Head Start, a child-care program run by the Administration for Children & Families. Intended for youngsters from birth to age 3 who fall at or below the poverty level, and for homeless and foster children, EHS lacks the necessary funding to meet the demand, and wait lists are the norm. The second option is afforded to military families. After identifying that a surprising number of those on active duty had been absent from training because of a lack of child care, the Army decided that providing reliable access was a matter of national security -- not the 1940s.

The Military Child Care Act of 1989 outlines a detailed plan. Cost is determined by parental income level. A mother who enrolls her child generally pays no more than 10 percent of her salary, a sharp contrast to her civilian peers, who are likely to pay twice that. Military child-care centers are conveniently located on base, and are uniformly accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. (Only about 10 percent of their nonmilitary counterparts are accredited by the NAEYC or a similar organization. )

The child-care models offered by the Lanham and Military Child Care acts are neither uniquely inspired nor perfect. What they were, and are, is funded: paid for because those in power appreciated a substantial risk to our country if those resources were unavailable. The truth is, a larger, pervasive threat already exists. Forty-two percent of children younger than 5 live in parts of the country considered child-care deserts, rural areas where no child-care centers are located or can meet the demand. This results in lost wages and benefits for parents who are forced to quit jobs to care for their children at home. Families who can access day care are forced to pour the bulk of the resources into covering those costs.

Yet President Donald Trumps budget for fiscal 2018 indicates a $100 million cut in funding to military child care. His daughter and adviser Ivanka Trumps child-care plan, a proposal that offers tax deductions determined by the cost of child care in each state, has been reported by members of both parties to favor those who need it the least -- the rich.

Raising the next generation of citizens to run our country requires love, time and attention, obligations most parents fulfill. But it also requires money, more than most hard-working parents can come by, and they are responding by having fewer children. We might not be embroiled in a world war, but as a nation that depends on robust birthrates to thrive, we are imperiled.

Kurtz is a licensed social worker, director of the Anna Keefe Womens Center at the Training Institute for Mental Health and author of Mother Matters: A Holistic Guide to Being a Happy, Healthy Mom.
American socialism is having one hot summer. In New York, 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, running as a Democratic Socialist, upset Rep. Joe Crowley, who was favored to succeed Rep. Nancy Pelosi as leader of the House Democrats, in the Democratic primary. Democratic candidate for governor Cynthia Nixon, running in the September primary against Gov. Andrew Cuomo, has proclaimed herself a Democratic Socialist too.

Its numbers surging after Ocasio-Cortez's stunning victory, the Democratic Socialists of America now claims 45,000 members. That's a ninefold increase over the 5,000 members (myself included) it had before Sen. Bernie Sanders began his presidential run in 2015.

OPINION: Outright Nazis are running as Republicans, so dont worry about the Democratic left

OPINION: Democratic socialists are winning elections. So what do they want?

Connected to but distinct from the socialist surge, leading Democrats, not just from the party's left but also from its center  particularly if they have presidential aspirations  are embracing social Democratic policies. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has co-sponsored Sanders' bill to supplant our unaffordable hodgepodge of a health care system with Medicare for all; so have her previously centrist colleagues, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., who also have endorsed Sanders' proposal for a governmental full-employment program. Of the 57 Democrats who have won congressional primaries in swing districts and will challenge Republican incumbents this November, according to the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, 33 support Medicare for all.

By running in Democratic primaries, candidates like Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have made it easy for progressives  to vote for them.

The rising fortunes of the American socialist movement have invariably coincided with the leftward shifts of mainstream liberalism. The high point of early 20th century socialism came in 1912, when Socialist Party presidential candidate Eugene Debs won 6 percent of the general election vote, even as two reformist liberals  Democrat Woodrow Wilson and progressive Theodore Roosevelt  won 69 percent of the vote between them. The next period of socialist ascent, the 1930s, arose in tandem with the New Deal.

OPINION: Kylie Jenner didnt build that

SATIRE: Bring back the guillotine

The dysfunctions inherent in capitalism don't seem to lead, as Karl Marx said they would, to socialist revolutions, but when they get bad enough, they certainly lay the groundwork for periods of socialist upsurge. Just as Gilded Age plutocracy produced both Debsian socialism and Progressive Era reform, just as the Great Depression made possible the epochal changes of the New Deal, so the 2008 crash and the subsequent recovery, which has seen nearly all newly created wealth claimed by the 1 percent while wages stagnate, has led to a rebirth of the American left.

Sanders' presidential campaign didn't so much create a new left as reveal it. Before Sanders had won a single vote, polls on the eve of the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary showed that 43 percent of likely voters in the former and 31 percent in the latter said they were socialists. The shift to socialism has been particularly pronounced among the young, for whom the job security, debt-free college educations and affordable housing that their parents and grandparents could count on no longer exist. A 2017 YouGov poll asked millennials whether they preferred to live in a capitalist, socialist, fascist or communist nation. While 42 percent said capitalist, 44 percent said socialist - a breathtaking response in a nation long deemed exceptional by the absence of a socialist movement.

The rebirth of American socialism derives in part from a shift in electoral strategy dating to the 1970s. Michael Harrington, the Democratic Socialists of America founder, argued that given the nation's entrenched two-party system, the most advantageous way to present socialism to voters was to have openly socialist candidates run as Democrats. Running on a third-party line, socialists were likely only to siphon support from Democrats and help elect Republicans, as the independent candidate Ralph Nader was to do, calamitously, in the 2000 presidential election.

By running in Democratic primaries, candidates like Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have made it easy for progressives, who would have shunned them had they run as Nader-esque spoilers, to vote for them and, in some cases, to join DSA.

It took more than 40 years in the political desert, however, until Harrington's strategy was so decisively vindicated - 40 years in which the economy grew steadily harsher. In the 1970s and 80s, the constraints that unions and New Deal legislation had placed on corporate conduct had yet to fully erode. During that time, the Los Angeles DSA chapter, in which I was active, never had more than roughly 350 members (one of them a spy from the Ed Davis-Daryl Gates-era Los Angeles Police Department). Today, the L.A. chapter has close to 1,500 members, campaigning for rent control, for closing ICE, for single-payer health insurance. Most are millennials, who need no instruction in how our economic system curtails prosperity and breeds plutocracy.

Socialism is back. If you seek a culprit, blame capitalism.

Meyerson is executive editor of the American Prospect.
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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



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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!


Latin Americas caudillos, or charismatic strongmen, have always made good muses. The agonizing final days of liberator-turned-authoritarian Simon Bolivar inspired Gabriel Garcia Marquez to write The General in His Labyrinth. Paraguayan dictator Jose Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia was the template for Augusto Roa Bastos megalomaniacal tyrant in I, the Supreme, while Argentinas Juan Peron fathered a small library of fevered tales.

So how will Mexicos incoming President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador be portrayed? Due to take office in December, the self-styled populist redeemer is still a working draft. But few leaders have begun their mandate with such a keen sense of narrative destiny as the man Mexicans known as AMLO.

EDITORIAL: Trump vs. AMLO: Whoever wins, Texas loses

OPINION: North Americas energy future on trial in Mexicos presidential campaign

Lopez Obrador, who once cast himself as a comic book avenger, draws devotees like a Pentecostal preacher, and in his victory address dramatically promised Mexicans, I wont let you down. If his compatriots have yet to discover what sort of leader they elected, theyve long imagined him. AMLO has been in the minds of Mexicans for quite some time, Ilan Stavans, a Mexican-American author and scholar of Latin American literature at Amherst College, told me.

As much as politics - his term as Mexico City mayor, his two prior failed runs for president - personal tragedy has shaped his life. His first wife died of lupus, and he watched his younger brother die while brandishing a pistol. Hes a living, messianic figure, whose landslide win can be seen as a consequence of what has been happening in the country and in its literature, said Stavans.

OPINION: Under AMLO, Mexico is poised for change

So perhaps its no wonder that Mexicos intellectuals and especially its writers have long been fascinated by Lopez Obrador, and will have a hand in shaping if not his government then surely the way he will remembered. Legendary journalist Elena Poniatowska once declared she loved Lopez Obrador more than she did Pope John Paul; at the other extreme, historian Enrique Krauze dismissed him as a tropical Messiah. A passel of authors joined his campaign, none more enthusiastically than novelist Paco Ignacio Taibo II, touted to be Lopez Obradors secretary of culture and arts, who threatened to expropriate companies that attempt to boycott the incoming government.

More broadly, the anguished, hopeful, corrupt and violence-torn Mexico that has fired the imagination of a new generation of writers is the same country now in thrall to the graying, larger-than-life caudillo, and already turning his campaign offices into a wishing well.

Yet Mexicos contemporary authors also chafe at the labels once favored by the literary establishment and have little use for banners or founding myths. If Octavio Paz, Carlos Fuentes and other founding figures of last centurys literary boom told stories that puzzled over national character and identity, Mexicos younger authors appear to have no boundaries or agenda.

Their rejection of the old aesthetic orthodoxy mirrors the countrys civic uprising against the political establishment. The overbearing literary quest for identity was very much connected to how the Institutional Revolutionary Party has ruled Mexico since the early 20th century, dictatorially, a force for political status quo, that repressed democratic voices, said Stavans. Mexican literature has been shaking this off for a while now.

Like its democracy, Mexican literature today is loud, messy, courageous, and has no discernible direction, said Stavans. Now writers help themselves to the prevailing angst and drama - drug cartels, immigrants, graft - but remain unconcerned with Mexicanness or spinning emblematic tales. Mexico may serve them as a canvas, but mostly to paint an intimate, usually stark but ultimately nonpolitical picture.

Anthropologist Alberto William Sanchez labeled them Mexicos post-national writers, whose stories are driven by a kind of dirty realism, that are less collective cause and more matter-of-fact. Their stories rarely have tidy endings and many are unrelentingly dystopian.

Although Juan Manuel Servins 2007 post-apocalyptic novel At the End, the Void is apparently set in a ruined Mexico City, he never names the national capital. In Heriberto Yepezs A.B.U.R.T.O., a novelized version of the actual confessions of the assassin of a presidential candidate, the hemispheres biggest metropolis is described as a terminal condition: It is not only an urban area; it is a plague.

Im not your Peter. To be frank, I have trouble believing there is a reason to all that surrounds us, protests the bespectacled wannabe writer in Ilan Stavans and Santiago Cohens Angelitos (Little Angels), a 2018 graphic novel about the urban shanties where a quixotic barrio priest tries to rescue street kids. I often wake up believing the universe is an abyss ruled by a senseless, buffoonish master.

Emiliano Monges 2015 Las Tierras Arrasadas (roughly, Razed Lands) is a deep dive into the unspeakable plight of immigrants, less a human rights pamphlet than a shriek against barbarity. Literature wont change the world, Monge told an interviewer, but it has the ability and responsibility to reveal the things in the world that may be changed.

With his refrain of anticorruption and cant of social redemption, Lopez Obrador might seem a character from an earlier tale. His references are to Mexicos bygone glories, and he models his plans for government on two former presidents: the mythic Lazaro Cardenas, who nationalized the oil industry, and Benito Juarez, an astute politician remembered for his fiscal sobriety and constitutional reforms.

Critics like Krauze have argued that Lopez Obrador resembles neither of his idols: Hes supposedly too much of a hothead to channel Cardenas and too much the populist to deliver Suarezs balanced economy. But the key to Lopez Obradors triumph may be not so much his ability to repeat the glories of the past as to evoke their mythic power, and so restore Mexicos bludgeoned sensibilities.

Thats a narrative Mexicos chroniclers can appreciate. A Greek chorus called for the transformation of a country with more than 50 million poor, 99 percent impunity for crimes and the worlds highest murder rate for journalists. Ideology mattered less than devotion, novelist Juan Villoro wrote of the crowds who thronged Lopez Obradors final rally. The 2018 Mexican elections were a story of terror with a fairytale ending.

As in all fables, the secret of Mexicos next government will be in the telling. Like his sketchy plans for the economy, Lopez Obrador has been coy on foreign policy - astutely so on the United States, cooling his campaign rhetoric against Donald Trump, and more worrisomely on Venezuela and Nicaragua, whose thuggish regimes he has avoided criticizing.

Margolis is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Latin and South America. He was a reporter for Newsweek and is the author of The Last New World: The Conquest of the Amazon Frontier.
Foreign reporters visit Fukushima fishery facility

July 23,2018 | Source: NHK

Foreign journalists from Thailand and other places have visited a facility handling fish caught off Fukushima Prefecture.



They were invited to a fisheries' sorting facility in Soma City on Monday and came from Thailand, Russia, Brazil and Hong Kong.



They viewed examinations for radioactive substances that began after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in 2011.



Officials said that since April 2015, no fish or shellfish have been found with substances exceeding the country's standard.



A shipment of flounder was suspended after fish containing 59 becquerels per kilogram of cesium-137 were found on July 20th.



The level exceeds the 50 becquerels standard set by the prefecture's fisheries association. The national standard is 100 becquerels, which is still much stricter than Western countries.



Prefectural officials stressed that rigorous checks were the reason the fish were discovered.



In March this year, flounder was exported to Thailand. It was the first such fisheries product caught off Fukushima to be exported since the nuclear accident. But an event in Thailand to promote the fish was cancelled after a consumer group and others expressed concerns. Exports have remained suspended since.



A reporter from a Thai financial paper said during Monday's visit that confidence in the products has increased after the facility's strict standards were confirmed.

 NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation)

Theme(s): Others.
New Zealand and Tahiti seeking more co-operation in agriculture and fisheries

July 23,2018 | Source: RNZ

Co-operation in agriculture and fishing have been the subject of talks during the French Polynesian president's visit to New Zealand this week.



The French Polynesian government says Edouard Fritch has been meeting the ministers of fisheries and agriculture as well as the minister in charge of regional development.



Discussions have centred around fisheries and environmental protection, biosecurity and the export of quality organic agricultural products.



The French Polynesian government says Mr Fritch and New Zealand's regional development minister Shane Jones reaffirmed their commitment to more collaboration.

 Radio New Zealand 2018

Theme(s): Fisheries Development and Aquaculture.
Ghana fishermen council push for legal action following closed season ban

July 23,2018 | Source: Modern Ghana

he Ghana National Canoe Fishermen Council has threatened to sue the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development over plans to ban fishing activities for the whole of August 2018.



The Association insists the ban should be postponed to next year [2019].



Government has imposed a ban on all fishing activities effective Tuesday, August 7 to September 4, to help restore the dwindling fish stock.



Speaking to Citi News, a Member of the Ghana National Canoe Fishermen Council and Chief Fisherman at Jamestown, Nii Kai Okaishe III, said the government must rather deal with the illegal methods of fishing.



He said the fishermen council will oppose the move through a lawsuit.



We are going to take legal action against the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture for stopping fishermen from going to sea. The month of August has since time immemorial been the month in which we get a bumper harvest, but these days it is not so because of the illegal activities going on in the sea. Too many canoes chasing the fishes, and too many fishing trolleys chasing the fishes.



Some fisher-folk at James Town and Chorkor in Accra have told Citi News that the ban must not be implemented because it will affect them and their families.



I make between GhC100 and GhC500 daily. I can't do any work but fishing; I have been doing it since childhood. I have been a fisherman for 46 years and have never witnessed a ban on fishing activities. We are against it, one of them stated.



Another said that if the government should ban fishing, he will not be able to take care of her family.



I have been doing this work for forty years. This is how I am able to cater for everyone in my family. What does the government expect me to do when the ban is imposed?



In the Western Region, the fisher-folk have demonstrated against the intended ban. A similar protest which was to be held in Accra, has been put on hold due to an expected response to their concerns from the government in the coming days.



In 2017, the co-convener of the Fisheries Alliance, Richster Nii Armah Armafio, said that the Fisheries Commission was working with the implementers of the Sustainable Fisheries Management Plan Project to bring a halt to all fishing activities for one month this year.



The reason given at the time was that such an act would help in the regeneration of fish stock in Ghana's fishing waters.



Scientists are telling us that Sadinella stocks are pregnant around August and so if you have observed when you get them, they have a lot of eggs in them. The idea is to allow August to pass so that they will lay their eggs for the juveniles to go into the wild. The adults will then be available for capture.



You need every fish to spawn at least once to keep the cycle going. If we want to restock our fisheries, we need not disturb the spawning process.

Theme(s): Fisheries Development and Aquaculture.
Europe lifts Tuvalu's yellow card over fishing governance

July 23,2018 | Source: RNZ

The European Union has lifted a so-called "yellow card" it had given Tuvalu over its fisheries management.



The lifting comes following improvements Tuvalu's made to fight illegal fishing.



The European Commission said Tuvalu has amended fishing laws, complied with other state obligations and brought in sanctions.



It said it was also updated its fisheries management system and adopted regional conservation measures.



The yellow card was an official warning to EU trading partners in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.



Tuvalu was issued the yellow card in December 2014, at risk of being considered a "non-cooperating country."



Fish caught by vessels operating in these countries can't be imported into the EU.



The European Commission said it recognised Tuvalu's progress in addressing shortcomings in its fisheries governance.



It said the EU had been able to help Tuvalu combat illegal fishing through a range of measures.



According to the European Commission, Tuvalu had amended its fisheries legal framework in line with international law of the sea instruments.



It had complied with flag, port, coastal and market state obligations, and also included a deterrent regime of sanctions.



Furthermore, Tuvalu has updated its fisheries management system on "best scientific advice and precautionary approach practices" and has complied with the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission conservation and management measures.



It has also reinforced its monitoring, control and surveillance systems including the reinforcement of patrol capacity and inspections at port, strengthened staff capacity for control, inspection and observation.



As well, Tuvalu is understood to have agreed to cooperate with countries whose vessels operate in Tuvalu's waters by granting access to Vessels Day Scheme information.



Vessels Day Scheme was a scheme where vessel owners can purchase and trade days fishing at sea in places subject to the Parties to the Nauru Agreement.



The Parties to the Nauru Agreement are Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.

 Radio New Zealand 2018

Theme(s): Others.
We are interested in wood pellets of 8mm from hardwood from producer, for export to Bulgaria, from 40 t a month, big bag.
Here we reproduce news and opinion articles in the print and electronic media since October 8, 2008, about each of our 58 county grand juries. Most are about grand jury reports. Our posting of these articles does not purport to reflect the opinions of CGJA or our members. We hope that this feature is a resource to grand juries, grand jury advisors, CGJA chapters, the media, and the public. Sponsored by the California Grand Jurors' Association, www.cgja.org/




About Me Scott Because prophetic scriptures are found throughout the bible, it is obvious that a comprehensive, systematic approach would be useful, if not necessary, for the understanding of prophecy. Past prophecies have been fulfilled in a literal manner, as confirmed by the dating of these writings and historical records of confirmation. These past prophecies also serve as a model of how to interpret future prophecies. A literal view of prophecy clearly indicates a certain sequence of events will occur within a single generation, concluding with the Tribulation and Second Advent and these events will be obvious. The prophetic signs appear to be present in this generation and we believe these signs are revealed in the news from around the world. View my complete profile
Imperial Valley News Center

U.S. Department of State, UVA Darden School, and Concordia Announce Finalists for 2018 P3 Impact Award

Washington, DC - Finalists for the 2018 P3 Impact Award were announced today by the Office of Global Partnerships at the U.S. Department of State, the University of Virginia Darden School of Business Institute for Business in Society and Concordia. The Award recognizes exemplary public-private partnerships (P3s) that provide solutions to pressing issues in areas such as: economic development, housing, health and sanitation, and workforce.

A judging committee selected the following five 2018 finalists:

DREAMS Partnership focused on reducing new HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women in 10 sub-Saharan African countries (eSwatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe), and 5 additional countries that are just beginning to implement DREAMS interventions (Botswana, Cote DIvoire, Haiti, Namibia, Rwanda). DREAMS is a partnership between the U.S. Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Johnson & Johnson, Gilead Sciences, Girl Effect, and ViiV Healthcare.

Griha Praveshaims to establish a sustainable ecosystem of affordable housing for disadvantaged communities in India. Griha Pravesh is a partnership between Saath Charitable Trust, Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, Brick Eagle, Indian Housing Federation (IHF), DBS Affordable Housing Pvt. Ltd., and Micro Housing Finance Corporation Ltd. (MHFC).

Kosmos Innovation Centerharnesses the power of technology-savvy youth to bring innovation into priority development sectors by providing business training, mentorship, and other resources for young Ghanaian entrepreneurs. Kosmos Innovation Center is a partnership between DAI Global, Kosmos Energy, and Ghanas Meltwater Entrepreneurship School of Technology.

Lake Kivu Coffee Alliancecultivates the re-emerging coffee industry in the Democratic Republic of Congos Lake Kivu region and provides support and rehabilitation for victims of landmines and other explosive remnants of war. Lake Kivu Coffee Alliance is a partnership between the Polus Center for Social & Economic Development, Inc., Higher Grounds Coffee, Eastern Congo Initiative, and the Department of States Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement.

Mi Futuro provides smallholder farmers in Guatemala access to a synthetic-free line of pesticide alternatives to combat pests and promote a healthier community and environment. Mi Futuro is a partnership between Feed the Future Partnering for Innovation, Agropecuaria Popoyan, Fintrac Inc., Universidad del Valle, and Genesis Empresarial.

The winner of the P3 Impact Award will be announced at the Concordia Summit taking place September 24-25, 2018, in New York City. During a strategic dialogue at the Summit on September 25, finalists will present, in front of a judges and an audience, a summary of their partnerships, including: partners involved, impact, metrics, results, innovation, scalability, and barriers. The P3 Impact Award winner, along with an audience choice winner, will then be announced at the Concordia Summits main plenary stage.

Additionally, each finalist will be featured in a special edition of the Darden Schools thought-leadership publication, Darden Ideas to Action, focused on the P3 Impact Award. The P3 Impact Award winner will also receive a full scholarship to send partnership representatives to attend a weeklong Darden Executive Education course.
Imperial Valley News Center

President Trump on the Confirmation of Robert Wilkie as Secretary of Veterans Affairs

Washington, DC - Statement from the President Trump on the Confirmation of Robert Wilkie as Secretary of Veterans Affairs:

"I applaud the United States Senate for confirming Robert Wilkie as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Mr. Wilkie has dedicated his life to serving his country with honor and pride. He has displayed great patriotism and a commitment to supporting and empowering Americas armed forces and veterans. Under his leadership, I have no doubt that the Department of Veterans Affairs will continue to make strides in honoring and protecting the heroic men and women who have served our Nation with distinction." ~ President Donald Trump
Orange County Man Sentenced to 108 Months in Federal Prison in $21 Million Builder Bailout Fraud Scheme

Santa Ana, California - An Orange County man was sentenced to federal prison for his leadership role in a builder bailout mortgage fraud scheme.

Momoud Aref Abaji, 37, of Huntington Beach, was sentenced to 108 months in prison by United States District Judge Andrew Guilford and ordered to pay more than $10 million in restitution to the financial institutions that were victims of the fraud. The scheme Abaji operated resulted in the fraudulent purchase of more than 100 condominium units around the country, causing more than $10 million in losses when the properties went into foreclosure.

Abaji, along with several co-conspirators, operated the scheme through Excel Investments and related companies based in Santa Ana and Irvine. The scheme involved kickbacks from condominium builders during the 2008 financial crisis, that Abaji and his co-conspirators hid from lenders to convince them to fund loans in excess of the actual purchase price.

During the course of the scheme, co-conspirators identified condominium developments around the country where the builders were struggling to sell units and arranged to purchase multiple units at a discount. The builders benefitted by making it appear that their condos were selling and maintaining their value, while members of the conspiracy obtained the kickbacks.

The co-conspirators negotiated with condominium builders in California, Florida and Arizona for discount units. The defendants bought units for themselves, their relatives, and on behalf of straw buyers whom they brought into the scheme. They identified straw buyers by looking for individuals with good credit scores and then recruited them into the scheme by giving them an upfront payment for their participation and by presenting the scheme as an investment opportunity that required no down payment and would generate income through rental payments.

To obtain mortgages for the properties, Abaji and other co-conspirators prepared loan applications with false information about the straw buyers  including fake employment, income and assets, as well as fabricated W2s, pay stubs and bank statements. The mortgage applications also included false information about the terms of the transactions, such as concealing the large kickbacks from builders through false and misleading HUD-1 forms. As a result of the false statements in the fraudulent loan applications, mortgage lenders provided over $21 million in financing to purchase more than 100 properties.

Many of these loans went into default, and mortgage lenders lost more than $10 million after foreclosing on the properties. The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) purchased dozens of these loans on the secondary mortgage market and suffered losses of at least $1.3 million as a result of defaults and foreclosures on the properties.

Several other defendants were charged in connection with the same scheme.

Abajis brother, Maher Obagi, 32, of Huntington Beach, who was sentenced in June 2018 to 78 months in prison and ordered to pay just over $10 million in restitution.

Mohamed Salah, 43, of Mission Viejo, who was sentenced in June 2018 to 57 months in prison and ordered to pay just over $7 million in restitution.

Ali Khatib, 53, of Newport Coast, pleaded guilty in a related case and is scheduled to be sentenced on September 10th;

Jacqueline Burchell, 57, of Orange, pleaded guilty in June 2013 and is scheduled to be sentenced on October 1st;

Wajieh Tbakhi, 53, who is currently a fugitive; and

Mohamed El Tahir, now deceased. This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of the Inspector General; and IRS Criminal Investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kerry L. Quinn of the Major Frauds Section.
C5+1 Working Group Meetings a Success

Almaty, Tashkent - From July 20-23, U.S. government officials met with senior delegations from the five Central Asian republics in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and Tashkent, Uzbekistan, to discuss progress under the three C5+1 Working Groups - Environment, Economic Connectivity, and Security. The C5+1 is the primary regional diplomatic platform through which the United States and the five Central Asian republics cooperate to advance economic integration, mitigate environmental vulnerabilities, and strengthen security cooperation.

Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs Manisha Singh led the U.S. delegation to the Economic Connectivity Working Group on July 20, in Almaty. During that event, Assistant Secretary Singh headed a conversation on bolstering connectivity and trade through increasing economic ties, during which USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator for Asia Javier Piedra also briefed participants on current C5+1 economic projects and identified opportunities for future engagement.

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Central Asia Henry Ensher led the U.S. delegation to the Environment Working Group, held on July 20, in Almaty, which introduced the Central Asian Regional Electricity Market (CAREM) project to the C5+1.

Mr. Ensher also led the U.S. delegation to the Security Working Group on July 23, in Tashkent. Participants discussed regional counterterrorism efforts and border security cooperation, as well as efforts to counter violent extremism in the region and the launch of the first two Working Group projects. Those Working Groups projects focus on community engagement as a means to prevent radicalization to violence.
Tahira Kashyap Recounts Incident of Forgetting Her Baby at a Restaurant, Not the Bill or Her Bag
For tequila fans the world over, that's the post-work Happy Hour plan today. July 24 is Tequila Day, according to National Day Calendar, which, granted, is known for its take-all approach to holidays.

The blue agave plant-based liquor hails from Mexico, with distilleries based largely in a part of Jalisco called--you guessed it--Tequila.

Many tequila drinkers are aware of the industry giant, Jose Cuervo, but they may not know about its history. It's a family-owned business dating back to 1795, when Jose Maria Guadalupe de Cuervo got the first charter for commercial tequila from Spain's King Carlos IV, according to the Jose Cuervo website. The company reported $1.4 billion in net sales last year.

The Jose Cuervo label, which is produced at the La Rojena distillery in Jalisco, has been in the Beckmann family for generations. Juan Domingo Beckmann, son of Juan Beckmann Vidal, is Jose Cuervo's CEO.

Turns out that several tequila brands follow a tradition of family ownership. Here are a notable few.

Siete Leguas

Founded in 1952 by Ignacio Gonzalez Vargas, his son Juan Fernando runs the operation that produces Siete Leguas, according to MuchoAgave.com. The process starts with blue agave grown on an estate in the Los Altos region. The tequila is then made in one of two distilleries owned by the family, El Centenario and La Vencedora.

Pueblo Viejo

Carmen Alicia Villarreal Trevino is considered a trailblazer in the male-dominated industry. According to an interview with Tequila Aficionado, Trevino took over the Casa San Matias distillery, which produces the Pueblo Viejo brand after her husband's death in 1997. The family distillery's roots began with Don Delfino Gonzalez in Mexico in 1886. Casa San Matias also produces the San Matias Gran Reserva, San Matias Gran Tahona, Rey Sol, and Orgullo labels.

Tequila Cabeza

The Vivanco Family, which founded the El Ranchito Distillery in 1994, has been cultivating agave on their 800-hectare estate in Arandas, Jalisco, for five generations. Falico Vivanco still oversees the process behind producing the 86-proof tequila, according to a fact sheet published by The 86 Company, a New York-based spirit maker.

Tapatio Anejo
Ivanka Trump's fashion line is shutting down, with employees being alerted of the closure on Tuesday.

The first daughter said in a statement: "My focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington."

The fashion company has faced boycotts since President Donald Trump's campaign began, with backlash continuing into the Trump presidency.

Ivanka Trump's controversial fashion brand is shutting down.

The company, which sells clothing and shoes, is being shuttered "ASAP," Page Six and the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

"After 17 months in Washington, I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business, but I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington," Trump said in a statement. "So making this decision now is the only fair outcome for my team and partners."

Abigail Klem, who took over as the president of the company when Trump stepped down from day-to-day operations following the election of President Donald Trump, said in a statement that she and others at the company are "incredibly proud of the brand we have built and the content and product we've developed."

"We've seen strong sales since the brand's inception, which continued through this year with the successful launch of our rapidly growing e-commerce business," Klem said in a statement.

She continued: "I know that this was a very difficult decision for Ivanka and I am very grateful for the opportunity to have led such a talented and committed team. When faced with the most unique circumstances, the team displayed strength and optimism."

Ivanka Trump's brand has faced boycotts since her father's presidential campaign, with backlash continuing into the Trump presidency.

Earlier in July, department-store chain Hudson's Bay became the latest retailer to drop the Ivanka Trump brand from its stores and website. Brands such as Nordstrom, Jet.com, and Gilt dropped the Ivanka Trump fashion line last year.

According to Rakuten Intelligence, online sales of the brand on Amazon, Macy's, Bloomingdale's, and Zappos fell nearly 45% in the 12 months leading up to June, compared to the same time the previous year, the Wall Street Journal reported. In November, YouGov consumer perception survey found that Ivanka Trump's fashion line had fallen to the bottom 10 of more than 1,600 brands analyzed.
Alpha Industries is a company rich in history and heritage. I had the pleasure of sitting down with its CEO, Mike Cirker to discuss the brand's identity, its success, and what lies ahead for Alpha Industries.

LM: Let's start by giving me a snapshot of you and the company.

MC: Alpha Industries is a heritage brand with deep roots. Since 1959, Alpha Industries has designed high-quality, military-inspired outerwear that remains true to its heritage. The authenticity of the brand's top styles, the MA-1 Flight Jacket and the M-65 Field Coat, were born of purpose as a result of the first contracts awarded by the U.S. Department of Defense over 50 years ago. Even today both styles, among many others, have kept Alpha Industries in the forefront of military fashion offering new fits, silhouettes, colors, and detailing. Available in department stores, specialty shops, and fashion retailers around the globe, the brand also collaborates with top brands and designers.

LM: Tell me about your origin story. Why did you join this company?

MC: We are a private, family-owned business so this company is in my roots and heritage. I took the reigns in 2011 when my father passed away and am the third generation leader of the company. My grandfather originally founded Alpha in 1959 as a supplier of military textile products to the Department of Defense (DOD). America's escalation into the Vietnam War in the 1960s put Alpha on the map as the leading purveyor of flight jackets, field coats, parkas and various other products that provided protection for airmen, seaman, and ground forces for all American military engagements throughout the second half of the century.

LM: What is your favorite part about being part of this company?

MC: I love the rich history and heritage. I am a trained historian so to be able to work with a brand that has deep roots, not only in my family, but with the American military, is amazing. The fact that we stay true to the original design and components of the military contracted styles while updating them to be fashion-forward impresses me daily. We always look to the streets for current collections or collaborating with designers that appeal to the trend. I have an amazing team here who work hard to maintain the integrity of the brand while creating product that ignites demand.

LM: Talk to us a little bit about why you think Alpha Industries has been so successful.

MC: in the last couple of years, the bomber jacket has been a #1 global trend in outerwear. Coupled with this, we garnered an incredible celebrity fan base who choose to wear our styles because of the authenticity. Not only were they choosing our styles for their personal use but also for things like their tour merch. Additionally, we've been recognized by fashion brands who wish to collaborate us because we are the authentic brand for military outerwear - Vetements, Opening Ceremony, Public School to name a few. We are the leaders in this space and have always stayed true to our roots and that means something.

LM: How can emerging brands in the space be successful?

MC: I think for us it has really come down to staying true to who we are and I think that goes along way with consumers, especially today's super savvy and informed consumers. Emerging brands should really know who they are and what their mission is. We've never strayed from who we are as a brand and that really shows in our marketing, our product and everything we put out there.

LM: What brands are you currently obsessed with and why?

MC: I follow brands that inspire me with a brand component that relates to Alpha, be it a heritage story or a unique fabrication or a focus on a particular subculture. Ever since the Stutterheim x Alpha Industries collab, I love seeing how this brand develops product and brand extensions using the same rubberized fabric. Filson inspires me as a heritage brand that has mastered the art of story-telling. All the touchpoints in this brand, from the local manufacturing plant to the rustic outdoor ambiance in the shops, and the packaging, all read authentic heritage to me. They even have old, dusty fishing manuals and a farmers' almanac in the shop. I also like to keep up with certain eclectic military brands like Maharishi, Visvim, and Ark Air to name a few.

LM: What is your take on the future of Alpha Industries? What's next?

MC: We are excited about what the future has in store! We are excited for our new collections next season and have made some great updates to our colder weather styles, such as parkas. We have some amazing collaborations coming out and are excited for consumers to see what we are doing!
Really disconnecting from work when you're on vacation will help you feel revitalized and refreshed upon your return. Getty Images

As a busy entrepreneur, I get it. You can't possibly fathom disconnecting from work for a week or more. You're busy running your company, guiding your teams, and serving clients and customers. The company won't survive without you.

But I believe that's all the more reason to not only take a vacation, but to 100 percent disconnect from the electronic tether that keeps you mired in the day-to-day.

I too fight the "Type A" battle of a modern business owner -- wired to be available for my clients and colleagues 24/7. It's one of those trade-offs you agree to when you decide to start a business. And like you, my iPhone calls to me, no matter where I am on the planet.

But, I'm also firmly committed to space for family, physical and mental health, inner growth and just plain old 'me time'. This is one of the values I explore with my clients: Are you able to make the time for what's most important in your life?

Disconnecting needs to be a mindful decision. So in advance of my vacation last month -- two glorious weeks in Israel on an action-packed tour with my wife -- I vowed to practice what I preach by putting the phone away and shutting off the constant barrage of work.

Previously, I'd been able to do it in brief spurts -- usually on the total relaxation, feet-in-the-sand kind of vacation. But sightseeing over the course of eight days with six strangers was a far cry from lounging on a beach. I was worried I'd need my phone as a distraction during any long waits or awkward silences while traveling from site to site.

Wanting to set myself up for success, I prepped my team well in advance of my trip. My office manager knew how to reach me in an emergency and I gave two other key people permission to text me if they absolutely felt it necessary (guess what? they didn't). Otherwise, I cleared the decks, set my out of office message and promised myself I would stay away from work. No checking emails or voicemails.

Once in Israel, the nine of us (including our guide, Tomer) embarked for our first stop, Caesarea, an ancient city dating back to Herod's rule. Plunged back into the far reaches of civilization was breathtaking. The only thing I even considered using my phone for was taking photos and sharing them on Instagram.

Over the course of the tour, we visited a winery, the remains of a British detention camp, the military cemetery at Mt. Hertzl and the Holocaust Memorial (Yad Vashem).

We slathered our bodies with the mud of the Dead Sea and floated in the salt water. We rode camels and looked out over the vast landscape from Masada, the site of the revolt against Roman rule.

We hiked, walked, touched and tasted history through mystical sites, forests, deserts, mountains, valleys, all while listening to the stories of battles, struggles, courage and victories of the people who had lived there.

It put my being out of the office and out of touch in perspective. I didn't need to be on call. I needed to be steeped in ancient history and fully present in the moment.

I will admit FOMO got the best of me and I did check email about mid-way through my trip. But we all know there's no such thing as "just checking in" when you are an entrepreneur. As soon as I realized my mind was too focused on work and I felt my stress level start to rise, I gracefully backed out of the two conversations I started and didn't look again. Surprisingly, I wasn't even tempted.

Then something magical happened. Our group began spending more time together. As we opened up to one another, we shared our family stories. A father's remarkable escape from Nazi-occupied Europe at 13 years old was the captivating story that really brought us together in a meaningful way.

The same people I thought I might need a distraction from became a highlight of the trip. If my nose was buried in my phone or my head firmly planted in what was happening back in the office, I'd have missed the full experience.

Disconnecting from work provided me the opportunity to completely connect not only with my fellow travelers, but the raw beauty of the ancient landscape, and to restore my mind, body and spirit.
Whereas the Who is America? premiere was a mixed bag, the shows sophomore effort hits the ground running and does not stop, Sacha Baron Cohen striking gold multiple times throughout the half-hour episode.

First up, Erran Morad  the Israeli terrorist fighter who has quickly become one of the most controversial characters in Cohens catalogue  returns to teach the Republican state representative Jason Spencer about repelling terrorists.

After playing a few real news clips, Erran begins training the politician, duping Spencer into taking an underskirt photo, making racist observations about the Chinese, and screaming the N-word multiple times. To think this man has any influence or power is shockingly scary and Cohen makes for the perfect foil, provoking increasingly distressing behaviour from Spencer.

Thats only the first sketch with Erran though, as Cohen takes on the persona to interview Dick Cheney, the episodes best-known name. Rather than being quite as terrifying, the segment recalls Ali G thanks to multiple 'Dick' jokes, the best being Did you want to get rid of [George] Bush and see some more Dick. Cheney, for his part, stays relatively quiet but remains completely oblivious to being the butt of every joke, making for another comedy interview masterclass from Cohen.

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The laughs continue when Corinne Olympios, the former Bachelorette contestant, enters the fray. Cohen plays a new character here, the Italian photographer Gio Monaldo, and manages to fool the personality into lying about charity work. Again, Cohen manipulates her to perfection, Olympios happily claiming to have saved 6,000 people from an African warlord. When her PSA comes later on in the episode  calling on people to adopt a child soldier  you are convinced that she would read absolutely anything off a prompter.

Of course, as the first sketch demonstrated, Who is America? can be much more alarming than funny. Cohen returns as the self-hating white man Dr. Nira Cain-NDegeocello, using the character impeccably at an Arizonan Town Hall meeting. Offering a $385 million investment, the townsfolk quickly turn on the liberal as they realise the money would be spent on a Mosque. The scenes become so obscene that one local even admits: I am a racist towards Muslims. That Mosque would look good on fire. Excruciating, powerful viewing.

Theres only one real weak point during the episode, and that comes with InfoWars spoofer Billy Wayne Ruddick. Last week, the character failed to get anything from Bernie Sanders (which, in retrospect, was a poor choice of interview to open the series considering the material after) and once again cannot break liberal media broadcaster Ted Koppel, who deals with the situation as best anyone could. Cohen tries to make a mockery of both Republicans and Democrats, but has so far only landed excellent segments about the former. Still, if Who is America? stays on this upward trajectory, this could sit among Cohens best work yet.
Thousands of scientists have supported a call to recognise the harm Donald Trumps border wall will have on native wildlife along the US-Mexico border.

The borderlands are home to more than 1,500 native plant and animal species, and cover some of North Americas most biologically diverse areas.

Placing a physical barrier between the two nations, will destroy this unique habitat, block species migrations and drive others to regional extinction, the scientists have argued.

Creatures singled out as particularly threatened include Mexican grey wolves, jaguars and Sonoran pronghorns.

In their paper, published in the journal BioScience, the authors call on fellow scientists to join us in expressing unified concern over the border wall's negative impacts on wildlife and habitat and binational collaboration in conservation and scientific research.

Professor Paul Ehrlich, a Stanford University conservation biologist who co-authored the paper, noted that extinction in a risk wherever a large-scale construction project is taking place.

Every time you see a strip mall, airport or housing development being constructed, you can be sure biodiversity is suffering, he said. Many hundreds of miles of border wall and the accompanying construction and maintenance infrastructure would be a crime against biodiversity.

Colombian reserve becomes worlds largest rainforest national park Show all 12 1 /12 Colombian reserve becomes worlds largest rainforest national park Colombian reserve becomes worlds largest rainforest national park The Stadium, one of the most impressive geological formations of the Serrania de Chiribiquete. Colombian Amazon Colombian reserve becomes worlds largest rainforest national park Forest burns due to the colonisation front near the northern border of Chiribiquete National Park, Colombian Amazon Cesar David Martinez Colombian reserve becomes worlds largest rainforest national park Grandpa Marcelieno and his son, of the indigenous Araracuara people, with sacred plants from the region: mambe and ambil. Colombian Amazon Cesar David Martinez Colombian reserve becomes worlds largest rainforest national park Cattle ranching at the agricultural frontier near the northern border of the Chiribiquete National Park Cesar David Martinez Colombian reserve becomes worlds largest rainforest national park Oil palm monoculture, Puerto Concordia on the Ariari River, Colombian Amazon Cesar David Martinez Colombian reserve becomes worlds largest rainforest national park Preparation of traditional sugarcane-based beverage by the indigenous Barasano people of Pacoa, on the Apaporis River, near the southeastern border of Chiribiquete National Park Cesar David Martinez Colombian reserve becomes worlds largest rainforest national park Tapir in the community of Buenos Aires, Apaporis River. Colombian Amazon Cesar David Martinez Colombian reserve becomes worlds largest rainforest national park (Left) Pictograms over 20.000 years old found on stone in the Chiribiquete National Natural Park FCDS Colombian reserve becomes worlds largest rainforest national park The main maloca of the Mutanacua indigenous community of Pacoa, on the Apaporis River, near the southeastern border of Chiribiquete National Park. Colombian Amazon Cesar David Martinez Colombian reserve becomes worlds largest rainforest national park Vigilant Grandfather, one of the Chiribiquete National Parks representative tepuyes. Colombian Amazon Cesar David Martinez Colombian reserve becomes worlds largest rainforest national park Aerial view of one of the park's waterfalls FCDS Colombian reserve becomes worlds largest rainforest national park Ajaju River, Chiribiquete National Park. Colombian Amazon Cesar David Martinez

Nearly 3,000 scientists have endorsed the call for the US Congress to ensure that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) follows environmental laws when constructing border walls.

In 2005, the DHS was granted the authority to waive laws such as the Endangered Species Act that slow the construction of border fences.

The scientists also urged the DHS to identify species threatened by barrier construction and take action to preserve them.

This could include fences that allow animals to pass through where possible and purchasing replacement habitat for animals when habitat destruction cannot be avoided.

Another Stanford researcher, Professor Rodolfo Dirzo, emphasised the global responsibility for the US-Mexico borderlands, which contain a unique blend of creatures from both temperate and tropical regions.

Professor William Ripple, an ecologist at Oregon State University and another of the papers authors, added: "The border extends about 3,200 kilometres and bisects many important habitat types from desert to forest to scrublands to mountain ranges," said

"These are important wildlife habitats, high in biological diversity, that span both sides of the border. I hope national leaders will listen to our conservation message."
Underpants. We tend not to talk about them but they are a fact of life (unless you go commando). Briefs have a fascinating history and are now being transformed by technology, with high-performance undies that claim to do everything from filtering flatulence to emitting soothing vibrations.

The first type of underpant was the loincloth worn by ancient Egyptians. Known as a schenti, it was made from woven materials, commonly cotton and flax, kept in place with a belt. The lower classes and slaves were almost naked, so technically this loincloth was often outerwear. But Egyptian art from 1189BC to 1077BC in the Valley of the Queens shows pharaohs wearing sheer outer garments, rendering the loincloth a type of underpant.

In Europe, during the Middle Ages (500-1500AD), underwear consisted of a shirt made of fine linen or cotton for both men and women. A form of underpant returned during the 15th and 16th centuries, when mens leg-hose were bifurcated (split in two).

To provide extra protection for the male genitalia, a padded codpiece was added. The codpiece also served as a symbol of sexual energy, designed to enhance rather than conceal the genital area.

The arrival of drawers

In the early to mid 19th century, both men and women wore bifurcated drawers with separate legs  a loose type of knee-length trousers suspended from the waist. This simple style of underpant made relieving oneself more manageable, especially if several layers of petticoats or breeches were worn.

Closed crotched underpants for women (pantalettes) emerged in the mid to late 19th century. In 1882, dress reformer Dr Gustave Jaeger argued that wearing natural woollen fibres next to the skin would help disperse bodily poisons by allowing the skin to breathe. He also felt the elasticised qualities of knitted garments were more likely to promote exercise.

Closed crotched pantalettes for women emerged in the mid to late 19th century (Wikimedia Commons)

Also in the 19th century, the popularity of long-legged trousers for men led to a change in mens underpants, with hose (long johns) extending to the ankle. These were made of silk for the wealthy and flannel, or later wool, for the masses.

For women in the early 1900s, getting dressed involved multiple layers of undergarments including chemise and drawers followed by a constrictive corset. During the First World War more women undertook physical labour in factories, mines and farms, and thus needed utilitarian garments. The silhouette of outerwear such as loose trousers and boiler suits paved the way for knickers, which women began wearing from around 1916. From the 1920s, the corset was gradually replaced by less restrictive elasticated versions such as the girdle and step-ins gradually replaced the corset.

Latex, a rubber yarn introduced in 1930, allowed stretch undergarments to become more figure-hugging. These eventually evolved into underpant styles similar to those worn today. In 1938, after the invention of the synthetic fibre nylon, lightweight easy-to-launder underwear started to appear.

Shorter, crotch-length underpants or trunks for men appeared after 1945. In 1959, a new manmade elastomeric fibre called Lycra was invented. Combined with cotton or nylon, it was strong, stretchable and recovered well. The result was more body-conscious underpants for men and women.

In the more permissive 1960s, underpants became briefer for both sexes and the Y-front was largely eliminated from mens undies. By the 1970s, underpants were virtually seamless. (The thong, or G-string, I would argue, is hard to define as an underpant  its chief popularity seems to be that it offers wearers an invisible pant line.)

Advancements in fibre technologies have led to dramatic redesigns of the underpant (Wikimedia Commons)

Undulating futures

With advancements in fibre technologies and knitting manufacturing, underpants today can be as unassuming as a pair of Aussie Bonds briefs, or high-tech with the inclusion of haptic communication.

For instance, Sydney-born, NY-based company Wearable-X has teamed with condom manufacturer Durex to create interactive underwear called Fundawear. Fundawear has a vibrating touch that can be transferred from anywhere in the world through a smartphone app. The underwear contains actuators (which are similar to the devices that make smart phones vibrate). Couples wearing it converse via the app, transferring sensations to each others undergarments.

Meanwhile, brands Modibodi and Thinx have developed reusable underpants for women menstruating or experiencing incontinence. Manufactured from bamboo, merino wool and microfibre fabrics, the breathable and moisture-wicking layers draw fluids away from the body, securing them in a waterproof outer layer. The fabric technology allows the underpants to be rinsed in cold water, machine-washed and, once dry, ready for reuse. Since launching in 2014, Modibodi has become an Australian market leader for reusable period underwear.

UK brand Shreddies has even developed flatulence-filtering underwear for men and women using carbon-absorbing cloth. According to its website, the underwear uses the same activated carbon material used in chemical warfare suits. Which is good to know.

Medical underwear for postoperative and postnatal patients is also widely available in western hospitals, providing infection control and wound care.

Advances in material manufacturing, additive fabric coatings and body-centred smart textile applications have the ability to monitor patient physiological conditions and offer personalised care and direct user feedback to medical specialists. Researchers at the University of California have developed a textile-based, printable electrochemical sensor, which has the capacity to be used for a variety of medical and safety applications. The flexible textile sensors, for example, when printed onto the elastic waistband of underpants, can recognise chemical substances secreting from the skin.

Science is adding functions to underwear that could scarcely have been envisaged 50 years ago. The loincloth has come a long way.

Alana Clifton-Cunningham is a lecturer in fashion and textile design at the University of Technology Sydney. This article first appeared on The Conversation
You know the partys about to start when someone cracks open a bottle of tequila.

The much-beloved Mexican spirit, which is made from the blue agave plant, is often best enjoyed as a shot with a sprinkle of salt beforehand and a slice of lime afterwards.

However, with National Tequila Day taking place today in the US, why not put your mixology skills to the test by concocting a delectable tequila-based cocktail instead?

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Stir up a storm this National Tequila Day with these five cocktail recipes:

1. The refreshing margarita

'Gaucho Margarita' (Coin Laundry)

This margarita is served at Coin Laundry at Exmouth Market in Clerkenwell, London.

The recipe includes Gatsbys caramate Olmeca tequila, which is a combination of Gatsbys caramate tea and Olmeca silver tequila.

To make the tequila, infuse 25g of Gatsbys caramate tea in a 70cl bottle of Olmeca silver tequila.

Let it infuse for approximately 15 minutes, before fine straining the mixture and rebottling it.

Ingredients:

50ml Gatsbys caramate Olmeca tequila

25ml lime juice

10ml agave syrup

Two dashes of saline solution

Method:

Put all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Shake it with ice and strain it twice. Serve the cocktail in a glass on the rocks.

2. The sweet and sour tipple

'The Moriarty' (The American Bar)

The Moriarty cocktail is served at The American Bar at The Stafford London.

The beverage is designed to be both appetisingly sweet and sour, with a blend of grapefruit juice, lime juice and Solerno blood orange liqueur.

Ingredients:

30ml Don Julio tequila

20ml Vida mezcal

15ml Solerno blood orange liqueur

40ml grapefruit juice

15ml lime juice

Dash of agave syrup

Dash of champagne

Method:

Place the tequila, mezcal, Solerno liqueur, grapefruit juice, lime juice and agave syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake the mixture thoroughly and pour it into a glass. Add a dash of champagne once poured into a glass to top it up. Garnish the cocktail with a banana leaf and fresh dill.

3. The chocolatey delight

'The Arrest' (Rake's)

The cocktails created at Rakes at Andaz on Liverpool Street are inspired by the life of Tom Rakewell, a fictional character whose life was depicted in a series of paintings by 18th Century English artist William Hogarth.

This cocktail, named The Arrest, is based on one of the paintings, which shows Rakewell evading arrest while on his way to a party at St Jamess Palace.

The ingredients are purposely bittersweet, combining a sweet syrup with chocolate mole bitters, rum and tequila.

Ingredients:

30ml East London Liquor Company demerara rum

20ml Patron silver tequila

10ml salted simple syrup (make by mixing 8g of fine sea salt with 700ml of simple syrup)

Five drops of Bittermens Xocolatl mole bitters

Method:

Pour all ingredients into a rocks glass thats been rimmed with coffee, salt, pepper and sugar. To make the blend of ingredients for the rim, mix 1g coffee with 0.5g salt, 4g sugar and 0.5g fresh black pepper. Then, stir the drink directly into the glass with a single large ice cube inside.

 Pope asks for tequila in Mexico

4. The fruity offering

'AquaRiva Firing Squad' (Cleo Rocos)

Cleo Rocos became a well-known name on the comedy circuit before deciding to explore other avenues with the drinks industry, founding tequila brand AquaRiva.

Rocos, who will be holding a free tequila masterclass at Skylight in East London on 5 August, has created the AquaRiva Firing Squad, which is full of fruity flavour.

Ingredients:

50ml AquaRiva tequila (blanco or reposado)

25ml freshly squeezed lime juice

25ml fresh pomegranate juice

12ml AquaRiva organic agave syrup

Four shakes of Angostura bitters

Method:

Shake the blend of ingredients with lots of ice. Serve on the rocks with a twist of orange. This cocktail can also be strained and served in a chilled martini glass.

5. The elegant option

'Sexy Ting' (Bobby Fitzpatrick)

The Sexy Ting cocktail, served at retro eatery Bobby Fitzpatrick in West Hampstead, London, requires very few ingredients in order to make an impact.

The concoction is made simply from tequila, lime juice and Ting reduction.

Ting is a carbonated drink popular in the Caribbean.

In order to make Ting reduction, all you need to do is simmer Ting until the liquid reaches a third of its original volume, leave it to cool and then keep it refrigerated for up to a week.

Ingredients:

50ml tequila blanco

20ml fresh lime juice

30ml Ting reduction

Method:

Churn all of the ingredients in a tall glass with crushed ice.

Read all about the many misconceptions that surround tequila and discover how you can drink the spirit and actually enjoy it.
Theres not much thats dignified or delicious about taking a shot of tequila. Sprinkling grains of salt onto your hand from a bottle thats sticky for reasons you dont want to think about. The awful, harsh flavour as the shot hits your tongue and attacks your tastebuds. And the mouth-twisting lemon to erase any trace of the drink, simply proving that tequila is totally disgusting.

But, surely, tequila cant be all bad. If Mexico gave us guacamole, burritos and chocolate, tequila isnt the issue here. Its the drain water posing as tequila that the rest of us are drinking giving the decent stuff a bad name. There must be types of tequila that dont have the flavour of the aftertaste of vomit. There must be a way to consume it without having to mask it with salt and lemon.

Recommended Tequila could help you lose weight

The first mistake most of us make is drinking tequila that isnt produced using 100 per cent agave sugar. Tequila is made from the fermented juice of the agave plant. Its a long old process: first the plants take eight years to mature. The plants core is then distilled. Similarly to champagne, only the drink made in Mexico can be rightly called tequila.

The tequila that first arrived in the UK and Europe was mixto tequila. This means that only 51 per cent of the sugars came from the agave plant, the other 49 per cent came from other sources like grain or sugarcane, explains Eduardo Gomez, director of Mezcal and Tequila Festival London. Usually these tequilas were low quality. The hugely popular gold tequila was coloured with caramel which causes that horrible hangover the morning after.

When selecting a tequila, avoid anything aged above four years, says Andrei Talapenscu, head bartender at Pullitzer in Amsterdam. Arm yourself with a few key terms: Blanco describes tequila two-months-old or less; Reposado is that which is between two and 11 months; Aneja is tequila aged between one to five years; and Extra Anejo a minimum of three years.

Recommended Top bartenders reveal the easy cocktails you need to learn how to make

After the four-year mark not much happens to it, and evaporation from the barrels makes the process very costly. So, lets stick to Blanco, and have it the Mexican way, suggests Talapenscu.

Taking shots of tequila is the next faux pas to leave behind, adds Andy Kerr, the co-owner of Londons Discount Suit Company bar. Treat it like a sipping whiskey or rum. Nose it gently with small sips and let it open up for you. Use a tasting glass or wine glass to really open the flavours up. The best atmosphere to try it is when youre relaxed with mates. It doesn't have to be in a shot but shots are still definitely allowed!

Cocktail lovers, says Gomez, should try Bloody Marys with tequila instead of vodka. Or swap a G&T for a Paloma, served with tequila and grapefruit soda rather than tonic served over ice.

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Tequila and tacos goes hand in hand, adds Josh Rooms, the bar manager of Cartel in Battersea, which stocks 70 types of tequila. Anejo go incredibly well with slow cooked beef marinated with chipotle chillies, tomatoes, white onion and cooked with chorizo.

Still, even these top bartenders have had some fun with a few shots of cheap mixto.

I remember my first experience with a cheap 'tequila-flavoured spirit', says Talapenscu. We had back-to-back shots and an attempt to play pool which turned into a sword fight using the pool cues. Im pretty sure I lost the fight and ended up sleeping on the beach that we were on.
Bitcoin has broken above $8,000 for the first time since May, following a remarkable turn-around in fortunes that has seen the cryptocurrency rise in value by more than 30 per cent in the space of two weeks.

Other major cryptocurrencies, including ethereum, ripple and EOS, have bucked the usual protocol by not mirroring bitcoin's market movements. Only bitcoin cash  itself a spinoff of bitcoin  followed suit with a surge of 5 per cent over the last 24 hours.

Bitcoin's latest price gains mark a month of steady resurgence, which followed bitcoin's worst ever start to a year. Its latest price is still a long way off the highs of 2017, which saw it briefly reach close to $20,000 amid remarkable enthusiasm for the digital currency.

Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Satoshi Nakamoto creates the first bitcoin block in 2009 On 3 January, 2009, the genesis block of bitcoin appeared. It came less than a year after the pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto detailed the cryptocurrency in a paper titled 'Bitcoin: A peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System' Reuters Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Bitcoin is used as a currency for the first time On 22 May, 2010, the first ever real-world bitcoin transaction took place. Lazlo Hanyecz bought two pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins  the equivalent of $90 million at today's prices Lazlo Hanyecz Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Silk Road opens for business Bitcoin soon gained notoriety for its use on the dark web. The Silk Road marketplace, established in 2011, was the first of hundreds of sites to offer illegal drugs and services in exchange for bitcoin Screenshot Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures The first bitcoin ATM appears On 29 October, 2013, the first ever bitcoin ATM was installed in a coffee shop in Vancouver, Canada. The machine allowed people to exchange bitcoins for cash Reuters Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures The fall of MtGox The world's biggest bitcoin exchange, MtGox, filed for bankruptcy in February 2014 after losing almost 750,000 of its customers bitcoins. At the time, this was around 7 per cent of all bitcoins and the market inevitably crashed Getty Images Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Would the real Satoshi Nakamoto please stand up In 2015, Australian police raided the home of Craig Wright after the entrepreneur claimed he was Satoshi Nakamoto. He later rescinded the claim Getty Images Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Bitcoin's big split On 1 August, 2017, an unresolvable dispute within the bitcoin community saw the network split. The fork of bitcoin's underlying blockchain technology spawned a new cryptocurrency: Bitcoin cash Reuters Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Bitcoin's price sky rockets Towards the end of 2017, the price of bitcoin surged to almost $20,000. This represented a 1,300 per cent increase from its price at the start of the year Reuters Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures What goes up... Bitcoin price crashes spectacularly, losing half of its value in a matter of days Getty Images Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Bitcoin plunges The cryptocurrency eventually bottoms out below $4,000 in 2019 before slowly rebuilding momentum to outperform more traditional assets Getty Images

Analysts said positive news has helped drive bitcoin's momentum, which in itself will lead to further good news for the cryptocurrency space.

This is an extremely exciting period for cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology with increased interest from Tier 1 banks and financial institutions," David Sapper, COO of Blockbid, told The Independent.

"Although it will take time for these companies to implement their cryptocurrency plans, positive news within the cryptocurrency sphere will benefit the market and raise prices as seen with Bitcoin in the last seven days. As cryptocurrencies grow and start to take a bigger chunk of the market in regards to trading, more and more of these financial institutions will be looking to see how they can capitalise on the growing cryptocurrency market."

Some experts even predicted that the latest run of good fortune could take bitcoin all the way back above $10,000.

By soaring past those key barriers of resistance, it would seem history is not repeating itself and theres real strength in the move," said Matthew Newton, an analyst at the trading platform eToro. "If bitcoin can close above $8,000 today, we could assume that we may have a good run towards $10,000.

Analysis from comparison platform Finder.com also suggests that increased trading volumes could be behind the recovery.

"The total volume traded in cryptocurrencies over the last seven days was $105.5 billion, compared to $81.7 billion [last week]. This is a 29 per cent increase week-on-week," the firm said in an email to The Independent.

"Out of the top five coins by trading volume, bitcoin cash and bitcoin grew the most, increasing 77 per cent and 33 per cent respectively."
HPV stands for human papilloma virus - its the name for a group of viruses that affect the skin and the moist membranes lining your body, including the cervix, anus, mouth and throat.

There are more than 100 different types of HPV, 30 of which can affect the genital area.

It is the second most common sexually transmitted infection in the UK.

How is it spread?

HPV is highly contagious and spreads easily, usually through sexual intercourse (oral, vaginal or anal sex) or skin-to-skin contact of the genital areas.

Sometimes, HPV can be transmitted during birth too.

HPV infections can sometimes remain dormant and then later infect a new or existing sexual partner.

What are the symptoms and effects?

Most of the time, the bodys immune system defeats an HPV infection before symptoms appear, and often HPV infections are benign, causing nothing more than warts or verrucas.

Some forms of HPV lead to genital warts (the second most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in England), abnormal tissue growth and other changes to cells within your cervix  which can sometimes lead to cervical cancer, according to the NHS.

Most of the 100s of strands of HPV are harmless, however about 12 types can cause cancer, including cancers of the anus, penis, vagina, vulva and back of the throat (oropharyngeal).

Is there a cure?

Warts often disappear by themselves or you can take medication to get rid of them, but theres no cure for HPV.

Its best to see your GP if you have warts, as they will be able to prescribe the best course of treatment.

Seeing as there is no cure for HPV, prevention through the vaccine and practising safe sex are recommended by doctors.
A man was kicked out of Planet Fitness and arrested for doing naked yoga - despite pointing the company's 'judgement-free zone' slogan.

Eric Stagno, a 34-year-old man from Massachusetts reportedly walked around naked in the Plaistow, New Hampshire gym before contorting himself into yoga poses in front of the mirrored wall.

After gym staff called the police, Stagno was arrested - but not before he pointed out to police that he thought the gym was a judgement free zone.

According to police captain Brett Morgan, who spoke to WBZ-TV, Stagnos nude yoga made other gym members feel disgusted, sick, and unsafe - and went against the gyms policy, despite how Stagno may have interpreted the slogan.

The 34-year-old was charged with indecent exposure and disorderly conduct and has been released on bail.

On social media, the response to the mans workout has been mixed - with many defending Stagno.

I mean man does have a point. I go to Planet Fitness and it says right up on the wall in big, bright letters under which I can only assume he was doing his naked yoga, one person tweeted.

Eric Stagno was arrested for doing naked yoga at Planet Fitness (Plaistow police)

However, while the gym does not judge its clients, it does require them to wear proper workout attire.

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In the Planet Fitness rules and regulations, it states: Suitable & appropriate exercise clothing must be worn at all times while exercising in a club.

The gym's slogan is 'judgement free zone' (Planet Fitness)

Planet Fitness has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Tequila is great for a lot things  especially making tasty Margaritas  but according to research, it could also be good for your bones.

As reported by Science Daily, a researcher from Mexico has found that the plant used to make tequila contains substances capable of improving absorption of calcium and magnesium.

This will undoubtedly delight those celebrating their favourite alcoholic beverage on National Tequila Day 2018, which is being marked in the US today.

Recommended 9 best tequilas

Both minerals essentials to maintaining bone health.

In the study, which was conducted by the Center for Research and Advanced Studies in Mexico, mice who ingested fructans from blue agave produced nearly 50 per cent more osteocalcin  a protein that indicates the production of new bone  than mice who did not.

Whats more, the diameter of their bones proved to be higher after eight weeks of ingestion.

The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol Show all 10 1 /10 The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 10. Poland Results from an OECD report The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 9. Germany The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 8. Luxembourg Rex Features The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 7. France The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 6. Hungary Rex Features The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 5. Russia AFP/Getty Images The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 4. Czech Republic The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 3. Estonia Rex Features The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 2. Austria Getty Images The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 1. Lithuania AFP/Getty Images

Project leader Dr Mercedes Lopez says these effects are down to an interaction between the fructans and bacteria in the intestines which allow sugar molecules to capture nutrients and help transport them to bone cells.

The consumption of fructans contained in the agave, in collaboration with adequate intestinal micriobiota, promotes the formation of new bone, even with the presence of osteoporosis, Lopez explains.

As such, the results provide the possibility of developing an alternative treatment for osteoporosis, a disease that is said to affect 200 million people worldwide.

This isnt the first time tequila has been hailed for its health benefits either.

Aside from its potential to treat osteoporosis, Elite Daily says that it can also help lower blood sugar, aid weight loss and even fight cholesterol.
Humans are using up the planets resources so quickly that people have used a years worth in just seven months, experts are warning.

And the rate at which we are consuming the Earths natural resources is still speeding up.

This year the annual date when people have caused a years worth of ecological damage  Earth Overshoot Day  comes two days earlier than last year.

It falls on August 1 as calculated by Global Footprint Network, an international research organisation that observes humanitys use of materials such as food, timber and fibres, as well as carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels and the environmental damage caused by building infrastructure.

The experts say it means humanity is currently using nature 1.7 times faster than our planets ecosystems can regenerate.

The costs of the ecological overspend include biodiversity loss, deforestation, soil erosion, collapsing fisheries, fresh water scarcity and the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, leading to a vicious circle of climate change and more severe droughts, wildfires and hurricanes.

10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Show all 10 1 /10 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A group of emperor penguins face a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica Kira Morris 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Floods destroyed eight bridges and ruined crops such as wheat, maize and peas in the Karimabad valley in northern Pakistan, a mountainous region with many glaciers. In many parts of the world, glaciers have been in retreat, creating dangerously large lakes that can cause devastating flooding when the banks break. Climate change can also increase rainfall in some areas, while bringing drought to others. Hira Ali 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Smoke  filled with the carbon that is driving climate change  drifts across a field in Colombia. Sandra Rondon 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a woman on a raft searches for somewhere dry to take shelter. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to sea level rise, which is expected to make tens of millions of people homeless by 2050. Probal Rashid 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Sindh province in Pakistan has experienced a grim mix of two consequences of climate change. Because of climate change either we have floods or not enough water to irrigate our crop and feed our animals, says the photographer. Picture clearly indicates that the extreme drought makes wide cracks in clay. Crops are very difficult to grow. Rizwan Dharejo 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A river once flowed along the depression in the dry earth of this part of Bangladesh, but it has disappeared amid rising temperatures. Abrar Hossain 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A shepherd moves his herd as he looks for green pasture near the village of Sirohi in Rajasthan, northern India. The region has been badly affected by heatwaves and drought, making local people nervous about further predicted increases in temperature. Riddhima Singh Bhati 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A factory in China is shrouded by a haze of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has warned such pollution, much of which is from the fossil fuels that cause climate change, is a public health emergency. Leung Ka Wa 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Water levels in reservoirs, like this one in Gers, France, have been getting perilously low in areas across the world affected by drought, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions. Mahtuf Ikhsan

Such effects are starting to force people to migrate to cities or countries, Global Footprint Network warns.

Mathis Wackernagel, head of the organisation, said: Fires are raging in the western United States; on the other side of the world, residents in Cape Town have had to slash water consumption in half since 2015. These are consequences of busting the ecological budget of our one and only planet.

Our economies are running a Ponzi scheme with our planet. We are using the Earths future resources to operate in the present and digging ourselves deeper into ecological debt.

How humans are bringing their ecological debt day forward each year

Its time to end this ecological Ponzi scheme and leverage our creativity and ingenuity to create a prosperous future free of fossil fuels and planetary destruction.

The groups solutions to address the crises include:

Cutting driving by half worldwide  replacing a third of car miles with public transportation and the rest by walking and biking.

Halving food waste.

Reducing meat consumption. The network says it takes 14 times as much land to produce a ton of beef as to produce a ton of grain. Pork takes 1.9 times as much. And global livestock is responsible for at least 9 per cent of all man-made carbon emissions.

If every other family in the world had one child less, Overshoot Day would move back 30 days by 2050.

Scientific studies over the past year have revealed a third of land is now acutely degraded, while increasingly erratic weather and habitat loss are accelerating the decline of wildlife.

Recommended Fish lose sense of smell as climate change turns oceans to acid

Network activists are inviting people to calculate their own personal Overshoot Day and ecological footprint at www.footprintcalculator.org.

They say one cause for hope is that the ecological footprint of China, the country with the largest total impact on the planet, fell by 0.3 per cent from 2013 to 2014 after a steady climb since 2000.

The countrys ecological footprint per person also decreased  by 0.8 per cent from 2013 to 2014.
The European Commission has offered to pay countries 6,000 (5,346) per person to host migrants in secure centres in their territory, as part of a plan to break the deadlock in Brussels over migration policy.

The EUs executive said on Tuesday it would shoulder the cost of taking in the people crossing the Mediterranean on boats from the blocs common budget, as well as cover the cost of specialist personnel to process them.

The proposal is the latest in a string of policies designed to resolve the issue, which has leapt up the political agenda in recent months after the election of far-right parties in countries such as Italy and Austria  despite a sharp fall in the number of people trying to travel to Europe.

Italys far-right interior minister Matteo Salvini has previously closed Italys ports to the boats, but the countrys government softened its line this week, saying it would temporarily lift the embargo over August while the bloc worked out a new policy.

At the last European Council summit in Brussels at the end of June, EU national leaders agreed on the need to set up secure centres to process asylum claims, as well as agreeing a raft of hardline stances on migrants  such as condemning NGO-operated rescue boats operating off the Libyan coast.

But there was little detail agreed regarding what form the processing centres should take, and some countries, including France, Germany and Italy said they had no intention of hosting them.

Leaders also in principle agreed another proposal for disembarkation platforms based in North Africa where EU officials could process asylum claims outside EU territory  but again, little detail was given.

We are ready to support member states and third countries in better cooperating on disembarkation of those rescued at sea Dimitris Avramopoulos, EU migration commissioner

Representatives from EU countries are expected to discuss the proposal for new payments at a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday. Countries such as Spain, France and Malta may welcome the plan as they have been taking in boats rejected by Italys government.

Italys government immediately moved to reject participation in the plan, however. Mr Salvini, the interior minister said: If they want to give money to someone else let them do so. Italy doesnt need charity.

The current multi-year EU budget is being negotiated by member states, and the commission has already proposed to set aside billions for a contingency fund to deal with unforeseen costs related to migration.

Refugee crisis - in pictures Show all 27 1 /27 Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugee crisis - in pictures A child looks through the fence at the Moria detention camp for migrants and refugees at the island of Lesbos on May 24, 2016. AFP/Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Ahmad Zarour, 32, from Syria, reacts after his rescue by MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station) while attempting to reach the Greek island of Agathonisi, Dodecanese, southeastern Agean Sea Refugee crisis - in pictures Syrian migrants holding life vests gather onto a pebble beach in the Yesil liman district of Canakkale, northwestern Turkey, after being stopped by Turkish police in their attempt to reach the Greek island of Lesbos on 29 January 2016. Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees flash the 'V for victory' sign during a demonstration as they block the Greek-Macedonian border Refugee crisis - in pictures Migrants have been braving sub zero temperatures as they cross the border from Macedonia into Serbia. Refugee crisis - in pictures A sinking boat is seen behind a Turkish gendarme off the coast of Canakkale's Bademli district on January 30, 2016. At least 33 migrants drowned on January 30 when their boat sank in the Aegean Sea while trying to cross from Turkey to Greece. Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A general view of a shelter for migrants inside a hangar of the former Tempelhof airport in Berlin, Germany Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees protest behind a fence against restrictions limiting passage at the Greek-Macedonian border, near Gevgelija. Since last week, Macedonia has restricted passage to northern Europe to only Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans who are considered war refugees. All other nationalities are deemed economic migrants and told to turn back. Macedonia has finished building a fence on its frontier with Greece becoming the latest country in Europe to build a border barrier aimed at checking the flow of refugees Refugee crisis - in pictures A father and his child wait after being caught by Turkish gendarme on 27 January 2016 at Canakkale's Kucukkuyu district Refugee crisis - in pictures Migrants make hand signals as they arrive into the southern Spanish port of Malaga on 27 January, 2016 after an inflatable boat carrying 55 Africans, seven of them women and six chidren, was rescued by the Spanish coast guard off the Spanish coast. Refugee crisis - in pictures A refugee holds two children as dozens arrive on an overcrowded boat on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugee crisis - in pictures A child, covered by emergency blankets, reacts as she arrives, with other refugees and migrants, on the Greek island of Lesbos, At least five migrants including three children, died after four boats sank between Turkey and Greece, as rescue workers searched the sea for dozens more, the Greek coastguard said Refugee crisis - in pictures Migrants wait under outside the Moria registration camp on the Lesbos. Over 400,000 people have landed on Greek islands from neighbouring Turkey since the beginning of the year Refugee crisis - in pictures The bodies of Christian refugees are buried separately from Muslim refugees at the Agios Panteleimonas cemetery in Mytilene, Lesbos Refugee crisis - in pictures Macedonian police officers control a crowd of refugees as they prepare to enter a camp after crossing the Greek border into Macedonia near Gevgelija Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A refugee tries to force the entry to a camp as Macedonian police officers control a crowd after crossing the Greek border into Macedonia near Gevgelija Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees are seen aboard a Turkish fishing boat as they arrive on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing a part of the Aegean Sea from the Turkish coast to Lesbos Reuters Refugee crisis - in pictures An elderly woman sings a lullaby to baby on a beach after arriving with other refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A man collapses as refugees make land from an overloaded rubber dinghy after crossing the Aegean see from Turkey, at the island of Lesbos EPA Refugee crisis - in pictures A girl reacts as refugees arrive by boat on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees make a show of hands as they queue after crossing the Greek border into Macedonia near Gevgelija Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures People help a wheelchair user board a train with others, heading towards Serbia, at the transit camp for refugees near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija AP Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees board a train, after crossing the Greek-Macedonian border, near Gevgelija. Macedonia is a key transit country in the Balkans migration route into the EU, with thousands of asylum seekers - many of them from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia - entering the country every day Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures An aerial picture shows the "New Jungle" refugee camp where some 3,500 people live while they attempt to enter Britain, near the port of Calais, northern France Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A Syrian girl reacts as she helped by a volunteer upon her arrival from Turkey on the Greek island of Lesbos, after having crossed the Aegean Sea EPA Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees arrive by boat on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Beds ready for use for migrants and refugees are prepared at a processing center on January 27, 2016 in Passau, Germany. The flow of migrants arriving in Passau has dropped to between 500 and 1,000 per day, down significantly from last November, when in the same region up to 6,000 migrants were arriving daily.

Migration and Home Affairs Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said: Now more than ever we need common, European solutions on migration. We are ready to support member states and third countries in better cooperating on disembarkation of those rescued at sea.

But for this to work immediately on the ground, we need to be united  not just now, but also in the long run. We need to work towards sustainable solutions.
The airfield which houses the Red Arrows will be sold off by the Ministry of Defence as part of budget costs.

RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire was opened in 1916 and is also famous for being the base from which the Dambusters raid was launched during the Second World War.

Offloading the base is part of the ministrys efforts to shrink its estate by around one third and save 3bn by 2040.

Downing Street defended the plans, insisting the move will save taxpayers 140 million and help provide more modern and efficient military bases.

The Red Arrows, which have been at the base for over 20 years, will be relocated to another airbase.

Scampton employs around 600 people and is also the headquarters of 1 Air control Centre, which protects the UKs airspace from hostile aircraft.

The sale is expected to be completed by 2022 and work is ongoing to find a new site for the aerobatics team, authorities said.

Another base, RAF Linton-on-Ouse, in North Yorkshire, where fast-jet pilots are taught, and where Prince William underwent training, will be closed in 2020.

Fast-jet training will now take place at RAF Valley, Anglesey, Wales, from 2019.

In a written statement on Tuesday, Tobias Ellwood, under secretary of state at the MoD, said: The MoD will close RAF Scampton (Lincolnshire) in 2022, relocating the RAF Aerobatics Team (RAFAT) and others to locations more fit for purpose.

The disposal of the site would offer better value for money and, crucially, better military capability by relocating the units based there.

The MoD can also confirm the intention to cease RAF use of RAF Linton-on-Ouse (North Yorkshire) in 2020... the site will no longer be needed.

Scampton and Linton-on-Ouse come on top of 91 military sites the MoD has previously said it planned to dispose of by 2040 in a bid to save 3bn in running costs and provide land for tens of thousands of homes.

In a 2016 report titled A Better Defence Estate said the estate, which costs around 2.5bn per year to maintain, will be reduced by 30 per cent by 2040.

 Red Arrows jet crashes in Wales sparking RAF investigation

The Red Arrows aerobatic team is world-famous for its stunts and daredevil displays.

Earlier this year, an RAF engineer died after one of their distinctive Hawk jets crashed in North Wales.

The MoD is expected to make 1.7bn in savings in the next 10 years, prompting concerns the defence budget is under too much strain.

Last month, the Commons Defence Committee called on the government to increase defence spending from 2 per cent to 3 per cent of GDP, a boost of around 20bn a year.

Committee chairman Julian Lewis said the hike was necessary to place our defence policy on a sustainable basis to meet new threats and fill existing financial black holes.
The UK may be on track to record its highest ever temperature in the coming days, with forecasters predicting the blisteringly hot weather to continue for another 30 days.

Heatwave conditions will see the mercury in some areas top 30C all week and forecasters believe there is a chance  albeit a relatively slim one  that a new record may be set.

Britains highest ever temperature was 38.5C, recorded near Faversham in Kent in 2003. But the Met Office said today there was a 20 per cent chance that figure could be eclipsed on Friday.

A slightly greater chance, of 30 per cent, existed of beating the hottest ever July day. Heathrow Airport saw thermometers hit 36.7C three years ago.

If we did break the record, it would be on Friday, meteorologist Mark Wilson told The Independent.

And long-range forecasts suggested the above-average heat may continue for another month, he said. Any respite from thunderstorms or showers would not last long.

Early signs are that the next 30 days will remain drier, sunnier and hotter than average, although there may be some more unsettled, short-lived spells, Mr Wilson added, while warning that the further into the future a forecast looked, the lower the confidence in its predictions.

Sweltering conditions in recent weeks have turned fields brown, ripened wild berries months earlier than normal and precipitated an amber-level heat health warning, with people urged to stay in the shade.

Social workers are on high alert to check on people having difficulties in the heat, council leaders said.

But the Local Government Association (LGA) also urged the public to check on vulnerable or elderly neighbours, family or friends, warning that the elderly and those suffering from heart and respiratory problems were most at risk.

Social workers, community wardens and maintenance staff were all on high alert to identify those who could be struggling, it said.

Council workers will be making calls and extra visits to people at risk, but the LGA also urged the public to keep an eye on people vulnerable to heat.

UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies Show all 35 1 /35 UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies People on the beach at Croyde Beach in North Devon PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies People enjoy the sun at Carsington Water in Derbyshire PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies Sophie Todd, aged 7, and her mother Jane Todd playing in one of the Trafalgar Square fountains in London PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies A couple play catch with a ball whilst swimming in the River Stour Getty Images UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies Children play in the fountains at Granary Square, King's Cross PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies A dog under an umbrella at the Festival of British Eventing at Gatcombe Park, Gloucestershire PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies People sunbath on the clifftop at Woolacombe Beach in North Devon PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies A woman stands in a field of sunflowers at Vine House Farm near Spalding, Lincolnshire PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies A woman takes a selfie in front of St Paul's Chathedral PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies Paddle boarders off the coast at Tynemouth , Tyne & Wear PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies People on Woolacombe Beach in North Devon PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies A canal boat passes along the Regent's Canal PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies People relax in the warm weather on the beach in Brighton PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies People enjoying the hot weather and sunshine on the banks of the River Thames in Putney Rex Features UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies Spectators enjoy the hot weather during day seven of the Nature Valley International at Devonshire Park PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies Hot and sunny day in Hyde Park's Serpentine lake Rex UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies People relax in the warm weather on the beach in Eastbourne PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies People sunbathe as they enjoy the warm weather on Bournemouth beach PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies A person sunbathes on a blow up mattress in the sea off of Bournemouth beach in Dorset PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies A couple relax in the sunshine on the beach in Brighton PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies People play in water fountains in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies Chris Bryant from Basingstoke paddle boards at Boscombe Beach in Dorset PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies People shelter from the sun beneath umbrellas as they walk in St James's Park in London AFP/Getty Images UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies Arianna Espiritu Kelly, 2, eats an ice-cream in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies Victor the Polar Bear enjoys a dip in the water at Yorkshire Wildlife Park PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies People on the beach in Brighton PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies Woman relax in the sunshine on the beach in Hastings, Sussex PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies People enjoy their lunch break in the sunshine near Tower Bridge in London PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies Police horses drink from a water fountain during the hot weather in Green Park PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies Anglers fish on New Brighton beach on the Wirral, Merseyside as the sun rises over the Port of Liverpool and the River Mersey PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies A family of lemurs enjoy an ice lolly at Yorkshire Wildlife Park PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies People enjoy the sunshine in St James's Park in in London AFP/Getty Images UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies A duck swims in the algae covered lake in St James's Park, London PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies A couple cycle in the sunshine around Bewl Water in Kent PA UK weather: Temperatures soar as heatwave intensifies A man takes a break in the sun on Southbank, London PA

Izzi Seccombe, chair of the LGAs Community Wellbeing Board, said: The hundreds of deaths caused by high temperatures each year are avoidable.

Councils are determined to reduce the toll as much as possible, but they cannot do it alone.

Local people can make a massive difference by helping us identify other residents who might need some advice or practical help.

No one is immune to the power of the sun.

Additional reporting by PA
Legal action could be launched against the government over its failure to demand that two members of a British Isis cell known as the Beatles will not be executed in the US.

MPs are in uproar over the fact they were not consulted about the reversal of a long-held policy barring extradition or intelligence sharing in cases where the death penalty may be used.

The Howard League for Penal Reform is now examining the possibility of legal action against the home secretary, Sajid Javid, over the fate of Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, who were stripped of their British citizenship before they were captured in Syria earlier this year.

The charitys chief executive Frances Crook said: We are committed to upholding the rule of law and the total abolition of capital punishment. We have been advised that legal action is feasible. We are consulting with senior legal figures on the precise details and we will make an announcement shortly.

Ben Emmerson QC, a former United Nations special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, said the decision was unprincipled, incompetent and almost certainly unlawful.

He told BBC Radio 4s Today programme that the British governments historic position of opposing the death penalty in all circumstances has translated to an absolute rule, which is legally enforceable, not to extradite an individual to a country where they are at serious risk of the death penalty without an assurance in advance that the penalty will not be carried out.

 Security minister Ben Wallace: two Isis terrorists would 'roam around UK' if government did not share intelligence with US

Kotey and Elsheikh are currently being held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a non-state coalition backed by the US.

This, along with the fact they are no longer British citizens, means the transfer will not technically be an extradition but a mutual legal assistance arrangement.

A leaked letter from the home secretary told the US attorney general that the government was not requesting the pair to be transferred to Britain for trial, or seeking assurances that the death penalty would not be used.

We believe that a successful federal prosecution in the US is more likely to be possible because of differences in your statute book and the restrictions on challenges to the route by which defendants appear in US courts, Mr Javid wrote.

He also promised to hand over material from a four year investigation by counterterror police to be used in a federal criminal investigation.

Mr Emmerson said the decision could absolutely be challenged in court and violated government guidance published by David Cameron in 2010, which prohibits any cooperation of this kind.

The lawyer said that although the deprivation of UK nationality means Kotey and Elsheikh cannot assert some of their previous rights, it is immaterial to the legality of the British government passing information to a foreign power where they know the consequence is going to be a fundamental human rights abuse of this kind.

Ben Wallace, the security minister, argued in the House of Commons last week that seeking an assurance against the death penalty might get in the way of a US trial.

He was jeered for suggesting the alternative was letting Kotey and Elsheikh roam free, and used Isis horrendous crimes to bat away questions from MPs over why the government had not followed normal policy.

The crimes that we are talking about include the videoed beheading of dozens of innocent people by one of the most abhorrent organisations walking this earth, Mr Wallace said.

Timeline: The emergence of Isis Show all 40 1 /40 Timeline: The emergence of Isis Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2000 Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (pictured here) forms an al-Qaeda splinter group in Iraq, al-Qaeda in Iraq. Its brutality from the beginning alienates Iraqis and many al-Qaeda leaders. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2006 Al-Zarqawi is killed in a U.S. strike. Al-Zarqawis successor, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, announces the creation of the Islamic State in Iraq (ISI). Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2009 Still al-Qaeda-linked ISI claims responsibility for suicide bombings that killed 155 in Baghdad, as well as attacks in August and October killing 240, as President Obama announces troop withdrawal from Iraq in March. Getty Images Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2010 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi becomes head of ISI, at lowest ebb of Islamist militancy in Iraq, which sees last U.S. combat brigade depart. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2012 In Syria, protests (pictured here starting in Daree) have morphed into what president Assad labelled a real war with emergence of a coalition of forces opposed to Assads regime. Syria group Jabhat al-Nusra are among rebel groups who refuse to join, denouncing it as a conspiracy. Bombings targeting Shia areas, killing more than 500 people, spark fears of new sectarian conflict. Sunni Muslims stage protests across country against what they see as increasingly marginalisation by Shia-led government. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2013 Al-Baghdadi renames ISI as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or Isis, as the group absorbs Syrian al-Nusra, gaining a foothold in Syria. In response, al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri (Bin Ladens successor) concerned about Isis expansion orders that Isis be dissolved and ISI operations should be confined to Iraq. This order is rejected by al-Baghdadi. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - January Isis fighters capture the Iraqi cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, giving them base to launch slew of attacks further south. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Isis declares itself the Caliphate, calling itself Islamic State (IS). The group captures Mosul, Iraqs second largest city; Tal Afar, just 93 miles from Syrian border; and the central Iraqi city of Tikrit. These advances sent shockwaves around the world. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Around the same time Isis releases a video calling for western Muslims to join the Caliphate and fight, prompting new evaluations of extremists groups social media understanding. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Isis take Baiji oil fields in Iraq - giving them access to huge amounts of possible revenue. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - August James Foley is executed by the group as concerns grow for second American prisoner, fellow reporter Steven Sotloff. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - August Obama authorises U.S. airstrikes in Iraq, helping to stall Isis along with action by Kurdish forces following the deaths of hundreds of Yazidi people on Mount Sinjar. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Isis release video showing Steven Sotloffs murder prompting Western speculation his executioner is same man who killed Mr Foley. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Obama tells us that America will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Isis release a video appearing to show David Haines, who was captured by militants in Syria in 2013, wearing an orange jumpsuit and kneeling in the desert while he reads a pre-prepared script. It later shows what appears to be the aid worker's body. Rex Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Peshmerga fighters scrabble to hold positions in the Diyala province (a gateway to Baghdad) as Isis fighters continue to advance on Iraqi capital. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - October Aid worker Alan Henning is killed. Self-imposed media blackout refuses to show images of him in final moments, instead focuses upon humanitarian care. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - October Isis raise their flag in Kobani, which had been strongly defended by Kurdish troops. The victory goes against hopeful western analysis Isis had overextended itself, while alienating much of the Muslim population through the murder of Henning. Victory causes fresh waves of Kurdish refugees arriving in Turkey. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - November American hostage, who embarced values of Islam, Peter Kassig and 14 Syrian soldiers are shown meeting the same fate as other captives. But intelligence agencies will be poring over the apparently significant discrepancies between this and previous films. Seramedig.org.uk Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis has released a video revealing the murder by burning to death of a Jordanian pilot held by the group since the end of December 2014. Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis militants have released videos which appear to show the beheading of Japanese hostages Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February American aid worker, Kayla Mueller was the last American hostage known to be held by Isis. She died, according to her captors, in an airstrike by the Jordanian air force on the city of Raqqa in Syria, though US authorities disputed this. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis militants have posted a gruesome video online in which they force 21 Egyptian Coptic Christian hostages to kneel on a beach in Libya before beheading them. Egypt vowed to avenge the beheading and launched air strikes on Isis positions. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February The British Isis militant suspected of appearing in videos showing the beheading of Western hostages has been named in reports as Mohammed Emwazi from London. Rex Features Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - March Isis triple suicide attack has killed more than 100 worshippers and hundreds of others were injured after the group members targeted two mosques in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Iraqi forces have claimed victory over Isis in battle for Tikrit and raised the flag in the city. EPA/STR Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Isis has claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan that killed at least 35 people queuing to collect their wages and injured 100 more. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Isis media arm released a 29-minute video purporting to show militants executing Ethiopian Christians captives. The footage bore the extremist groups al-Furqan media logo and showed the destruction of churches and desecration of religious symbols. A masked fighter made a statement threatening Christians who did not convert to Islam or pay a special tax. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Isis has been "incapacitated" by a spinal injuries sustained in a US air strike in Iraq. He is being treated in a hideout by two doctors from Isis stronghold of Mosul who are said to be "strong ideological supporters of the group". Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis has also claimed responsibility for killing 300 of Yazidi captives, including women, children and elderly people in Iraq AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis attack on Prophet Mohamed cartoon contest in Texas was its first action on US soil. Two gunmen were shot and killed after launching the attack at the exhibition. Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi have been named as the attackers at the Curtis Culwell Centre arena in Garland. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isiss deputy leader, Abu Alaa Afri, a former physics teacher who was thought to have taken charge of the deadly terrorist group, has been killed in a US-led coalition airstrike. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May US special forces have killed a senior Isis leader named as Abu Sayyaf in an operation aiming to capture him and his wife in Syria. Getty Images Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Iran-backed militias are sent to Ramadi by the Iraqi government to fight Isis militants who completed their capture of the city. Government soldiers and civilians were reportedly massacred by extremists as they took control and the army fled. Charred bodies were left littering the city streets as troops clung on to trucks speeding away from the city. Ramadi is the latest government stronghold to fall to the so-called Islamic State, despite air strikes by a US-led international coalition aiming to stop its advance in Iraq and Syria. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis rounded up civilians trapped in Palmyra and forced them to watch 20 people being executed in the historic citys ancient amphitheatre. The Unesco World Heritage site was overrun by militants, threatening the future of 2,000 year-old monuments and ruins. Thousands of Palmyras residents fled but many are still living within the city walls, while the UN human rights office in Geneva said it had received reports of Syrian government forces preventing people from leaving until they retreated from the city. Getty Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May A group of Isis-affiliated fighters have captured a key airport in central Libya. The militants took control of the al-Qardabiya airbase in Sirte after a local militia tasked with defending the facility withdrew from their positions. Affiliates of Isis, already control large parts of Sirte, the birthplace of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and a former stronghold of his supporters. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June The US Air Force has destroyed an Isis stronghold after an extremist let slip their location on social media. According the Air Force Times, General Herbert "Hawk" Carlisle, commander of Air Combat Command, said that Airmen at Hulburt Field, Florida, used images shared by jihadists to track the location of their headquarters before destroying it in an airstrike. Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Kurdish forces captured a key military base in a significant victory in Raqqa as well as town of Tell Abyad. YPG fighters, backed by US-led airstrikes and other rebels, consolidated their gains, when they seized the key town on the Syria-Turkey border. They are now just 30 miles to the north of Raqqa and have cut off a major supply route deep inside Isis-held territory. Ahmet Silk/Getty Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Isis has released gruesome footage claiming to show the murder of more than a dozen men by drowning, decapitation and using a rocket-propelled grenade as it seeks to boost morale among its fanatical supporters. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Isis has begun carrying out its threat to destroy structures in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, blowing up at least two monuments at the Unesco-protected site as Syrian government troops made advances on the Islamists positions. AFP

We are not going to seek assurances because it is our reality that we do not think we have the evidence here to try them in the UK.

At the end of the day, this is about the security of our country and about security being delivered where it can be done.

Downing Street threw its weight behind the Home Office by saying Theresa May supported its handling of the case.

The ultimate aim for all of us in our discussions with the US is to make sure that these men face the rest of their lives in prison  that is also what the victims families want, said a spokeswoman. The prime minister was aware of these plans and supports the way that these are being handled.

Diane Foley, the mother of murdered hostage James Foley, has called for a fair trial  and a captive who survived said he did not want to see Kotey and Elsheikh be given the satisfaction of execution.

French journalist Nicolas Henin, who was released by the Beatles cell of Isis militants four months before they started a wave of filmed executions, told The Independent that the death penalty would fulfil the pairs stated wish for martyrdom.

The basic principle in war is that you will never give your enemy satisfaction, he added. If they want to die you should not give them that.

British charity volunteer Alan Henning was among the hostages murdered (AP)

Tory grandee Ken Clarke was among the Conservatives condemning the government, saying the UK must not let its standards slip in the face of terror.

We should have nothing to do with cases of this kind unless we have assurances that people arent subject to the death penalty, he told The Independent. The reputation of this country depends on upholding the highest standards of human rights and individual liberty, and things like torture, rendition and the death penalty should not be part of our tough and effective intelligence services.

Terror experts have cautioned that executing Kotey and Elsheikh would hand Isis a fresh propaganda victory as it seeks to regroup in new wilayat (provinces) following territorial losses across Syria and Iraq.

Charlie Winter, a senior research fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence, said the death penalty would be a gift.

Killing them would inevitably result in them being framed as heroic martyrs to the Isis cause, he added.

The killing of two former fighters from the crusader UK by the crusader US would be a communication coup for Isis.

Originally from London, Kotey and Elsheikh were declared Specially Designated Global Terrorists by the US State Department ahead of their capture in January, with official documents naming them as members of the the Beatles and saying the cell had beheaded more than 27 hostages and tortured many more.

Hostages have told of their brutality, which included torture, waterboarding, electric shocks, mock executions and crucifixions.

Executioner Mohammed Emwazi, who became known as Jihadi John, was killed in a drone strike, while the remaining Beatle Aine Davis is imprisoned in Turkey.
Ex-cabinet minister Dominic Grieve has given his backing to a referendum on Britains future Brexit choices as a sensible way forward out of the UKs current political crisis.

Writing exclusively for The Independent, Mr Grieve said he has concluded that a referendum now offers a clear democratic route for resolving the uncertainty around Britains future.

The ex-attorney general, who has led efforts to reshape Theresa Mays Brexit deal in parliament, argued that recent events have shown it is unclear whether any government proposal can now command a majority in the Commons.

Recommended The British people must be given a final say on the Brexit deal

The Independent today launches a campaign for the British people to have a Final Say on the Brexit deal agreed with Brussels, with Mr Grieve, Labour MP Chuka Umunna and Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran making the case today.

It comes as the most recent polling shows that amid the chaos of the Brexit process, the largest number of people in the UK would prefer to simply remain in the EU, if forced to choose between staying or going.

Mr Grieve has previously hinted that he would back a second referendum, saying only last Sunday that it may soon be the only solution. But his article for The Independent goes further.

He said: I hear some argue that a referendum would be divisive, but it is difficult to see how it would be more so than what is happening now.

 No-deal Brexit could happen 'by accident', Jeremy Hunt says

I first raised this issue soon after the first referendum, although at the time I saw it as a rather remote possibility.

But the further our political crisis deepens the more it seems to me to offer a sensible way forward. Such a referendum presupposes nothing.

He wrote that if the electorate are determined to leave, and vote as such for the terms of withdrawal, then the decision can be beyond reproach.

Mr Grieve then added: But to carry such change through in chaos, in order to discover a short time thereafter that the electorate are unhappy with the outcome would be a massive abdication of responsibility for good governance by both government and parliament.

 Corbyn on benefits of brexit from an economic standpoint

His intervention comes after former education secretary Justine Greening also gave her backing to a new referendum.

She said it is the only solution to take the decision out of the hands of deadlocked politicians and give it to the British people.

The Independents campaign, launched today, also calls for the public to be given a final say on the outcome of Brexit, deciding whether or not to accept a deal, if there is one, or deciding whether or not to leave without a deal.

Recent polling undertaken by BMG Research asked some 1,500 people in a balanced cross-section of the public: should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union, or leave the European Union?

Some 49 per cent said remain, while 43 per cent said leave, 7 per cent said they did not know and 1 per cent refused to answer.

When those who did not give a clear answer the first time were asked which way they are leaning towards most, a total of 51 per cent said remain, and 45 per cent said leave, while 5 per cent still said they did not know or refused to answer.

Source note: BMG Research interviewed a representative sample of 1,511 GB adults online between 3 and 5 July. Data is weighted. BMG are members of the British Polling Council and abide by their rules.
The new Brexit secretary has promised to ensure there is adequate food supply if the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal.

Dominic Raab finally confirmed the government was making extraordinary plans to stockpile food in case the negotiations fail  having refused to do so two days ago.

He told MPs the task would be overseen by industry, rather than Whitehall, and refused to go into any further detail.

In a TV interview on Sunday, Mr Rabb refused to discuss his no deal planning  sparking accusations that he was keeping the public in the dark about the reality of crashing out.

Asked again, by the Brexit committee, he said technical notices in the coming months would set out the preparations to keep supermarket shelves well stocked.

Mr Raab argued: It would be wrong to describe it as the government doing the stockpiling. And, of course, the idea that we only get food imports into this country from one continent is not appropriate.

Brexit casualties Show all 10 1 /10 Brexit casualties Brexit casualties Andrea Jenkyns - Resigned from Parliamentary Private Secretary at the ministry for housing, communities and local government role May 2018 - The Morley and Outwood MP said: We want to see a new relationship with Europe, with a new model not enjoyed by other countries  nothing that leaves us half-in, half-out. And in order to achieve this, we need to leave the customs union. Ms Jenkyns also said she wished to dedicate more of her time to Parliaments influential Exiting the European Union select committee, after a series of unbalanced reports produced by MPs PA Brexit casualties David Davis - Resigned from Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union role July 2018 - quit following a major row with May over her plans for post-Brexit relations with the EU. Davis resignation letter said: As you know there have been a significant number of occasions in the last year or so on which I have disagreed with the Number 10 policy line, ranging from accepting the [European] Commissions sequencing of negotiations, through to the language on Northern Ireland in the December Joint Report. At each stage I have accepted collective responsibility because it is part of my task to find workable compromises, and because I considered it was still possible to deliver on the mandate of the referendum, and on our manifesto commitment to leave the Customs Union and the Single Market. I am afraid that I think the current trend of policy and tactics is making that look less and less likely. He went on to argue that the general direction of Ms Mays policies would leave the UK in at best a weak negotiating position, and possibly an inescapable one. AFP/Getty Brexit casualties Steve Baker - Resigned from Minister at the Department for Exiting the European Union role July 2018 - Mr Baker, a key Tory figure in the Leave campaign, was David Daviss main lieutenant at Dexeu, and was hailed as courageous and principled by other Brexiteer Tories as he also left. Reuters Brexit casualties Boris Johnson - Resigned from Foreign Secretary role July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. In his resignation letter to the prime minister, Mr Johnson said: "On Friday, I acknowledged that my side of the argument were too few to prevail and congratulated you on at least reaching a Cabinet decision on the way forward. "As I said then, the government now has a song to sing. "The trouble is that I have practised the words over the weekend and find that they stick in the throat." Reuters Brexit casualties Conor Burns - Resigned from Parliamentary Private Secretary to Foreign Secretary role July 2018 - A Brexit supporter who worked alongside Boris Johnson stated in his resignation letter: I've decided it's time to have greater freedom. I want to see the referendum result respected. And there are other areas of policy I want to speak more openly on. Rex Brexit casualties Chris Green - Resigned from Department for Transport role July 2018 - The Bolton West MP said: "Parliament overwhelmingly decided to give the decision of whether to leave or remain in the European Union to the British people and they made an unambiguous decision that we ought to leave. "I have always understood the idea in 'Brexit means Brexit' is that the final deal should be clear to me and my constituents - that we have, in no uncertain terms, left the European Union. Twitter Ads info and privacy "The direction the negotiations had been taking have suggested that we would not really leave the EU and the conclusion and statements following the Chequers summit confirmed my fears. "I recognise that delivering Brexit is challenging, however I had hoped at tonight's meeting that there would be some certainty that my fears were unfounded but, instead, they have been confirmed. "I have been grateful for the opportunity to serve as Parliamentary Private Secretary and it is with regret that I offer my resignation with immediate effect." PA Brexit casualties Maria Caulfield - Resigned from Conservative Party vice-chair for women role July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. Lewes MP warned that the direction of travel did not fully embrace the opportunities that Brexit can provide. Ms Caulfield said in her letter to the PM: The policy may assuage vested interests, but the voters will find out and their representatives will be found out. This policy will be bad for our country and bad for the party. The direct consequences of that will be prime minister Corbyn. PA Brexit casualties Ben Bradley - Resigned from Conservative Party vice-chair for young people role July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. The Mansfield MP said: I admit that I voted to Remain in that ballot. What has swayed me over the last two years to fully back the Brexit vision is the immense opportunities that are available from global trade, and for the ability for Britain to be an outward looking nation in control of our own destiny once again. I fear that this agreement at Chequers damages those opportunities; that being tied to EU regulations, and the EU tying our hands when seeking to make new trade agreements, will be the worst of all worlds if we do not deliver Brexit in spirit as well as in name, then we are handing Jeremy Corbyn the keys to No10. PA Brexit casualties Robert Courts - Resigned from Parliamentary Private Secretary role July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. MP Mr Courts said: I have taken a very difficult decision to resign my position as [parliamentary private secretary] to express discontent with the Chequers [plans] in votes tomorrow. I had to think who I wanted to see in the mirror for the rest of my life. I cannot tell the people of Woxon that I support the proposals in their current form. Getty Brexit casualties Scott Mann - Resigned from Parliamentary Private Secretary role July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. "I fear elements of the Brexit white paper will inevitably put me in direct conflict with the views expressed by a large section of my constituents. I am not prepared to compromise their wishes to deliver a watered-down Brexit. "The residents of North Cornwall made it very clear that they wish to have control over our fishery, our agricultural policy, our money, our laws and our borders. I will evaluate those principles against the Brexit white paper and ensure that I vote in line with their wishes." Rex

But we will look at the issue in the round and make sure there is adequate food supply.

The Brexit secretary added: Im not going to give more detail until I can set it out in a responsible and full fashion.

Mr Raab acknowledged the uncertainty we would face in the short term, if the UK left the EU without a deal, but insisted: Long term, we would still be able to thrive.

And he refused to repeat his predecessors David Davis boast that a full trade deal could be agreed with the EU by exit day next March, saying: That would be a challenge, but one that Im up for.

Caroline Lucas, the Green MP and supporter of the Peoples Vote campaign, seized on the comments about stockpiling food, saying: This will alarm my constituents and millions of other people across the country.

In just over two years since the 2016 referendum, weve gone from being told that 'there is no downside to Brexit, only a significant upside', to the government now warning that we might not have enough food to go around.

Despite Mr Raabs comments about food imports from other continents, the governments own figures show that 30 per cent came from the EU in 2016.

The next highest figure is 5 per cent  from Africa  with 49 per cent produced domestically, in the UK.

During the evidence session, the Brexit secretary acknowledged the Chequers plan had involved significant concessions, while insisting it was too crude to say meets the EU halfway.



He said: We are very clear that we have come a long way with a principled and pragmatic approach.

Mr Raab also insisted there was no tension between him and Olly Robbins, the prime ministers chief Brexit adviser, who is now leading the approach to the negotiations.

We have been very clear about this  theres no tension between us, I think thats clear  that all the advice and all of the meetings will be attended by me, with the prime minister, and that all the advice will come to me."

He dismissed allegations of serious questions about the constitutional propriety of having an unelected unit in Downing Street making Brexit policy.
Theresa May has told MPs she is taking control of Brexit talks as she sliced off part of the Brexit departments remit and passed it to Downing Street officials who report directly to her.

In a statement published on the last day before parliaments summer break, the prime minister said responsibility for negotiating Britains exit from the EU would pass from the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) to Downing Streets Europe Unit, giving her greater control of the process.

Ms May said her team would assume control of the preparation and conduct of the negotiations, while her new Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab, will deputise for her during talks with Brussels.

The move will hand greater influence to the prime ministers main Brexit adviser, Olly Robbins, who leads the Europe Unit and has assumed increasing responsibility in recent months.

The change prompted claims that Mr Raab had been sidelined just days after he took over the role from David Davis.

In a written statement to MPs, Ms May said: It is essential that in navigating the UKs exit from the European Union, the government is organised in the most effective way. To that end I am making some changes to the division of functions between the Department for Exiting the European Union and the Cabinet Office.

DExEU will continue to lead on all of the governments preparations for Brexit: domestic preparations in both a deal and a no deal scenario, all of the necessary legislation, and preparations for the negotiations to implement the detail of the future framework. To support this, DExEU will recruit some new staff, and a number of Cabinet Office officials coordinating work on preparedness will move to DExEU while maintaining close ties with both departments."

Ms May said that, from now on, Downing Street will assume responsibility for the preparation and conduct of the negotiations.

She said: I will lead the negotiations with the European Union, with the secretary of state for exiting the European Union deputising on my behalf. Both of us will be supported by the Cabinet Office Europe Unit and with this in mind the Europe Unit will have overall responsibility for the preparation and conduct of the negotiations, drawing upon support from DExEU and other departments as required."

Some staff will move from the Brexit department to the Cabinet Office as part of the shakeup but the total number of Brexit department staff will not be cut, Ms May said.

Brexit casualties Show all 10 1 /10 Brexit casualties Brexit casualties Andrea Jenkyns - Resigned from Parliamentary Private Secretary at the ministry for housing, communities and local government role May 2018 - The Morley and Outwood MP said: We want to see a new relationship with Europe, with a new model not enjoyed by other countries  nothing that leaves us half-in, half-out. And in order to achieve this, we need to leave the customs union. Ms Jenkyns also said she wished to dedicate more of her time to Parliaments influential Exiting the European Union select committee, after a series of unbalanced reports produced by MPs PA Brexit casualties David Davis - Resigned from Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union role July 2018 - quit following a major row with May over her plans for post-Brexit relations with the EU. Davis resignation letter said: As you know there have been a significant number of occasions in the last year or so on which I have disagreed with the Number 10 policy line, ranging from accepting the [European] Commissions sequencing of negotiations, through to the language on Northern Ireland in the December Joint Report. At each stage I have accepted collective responsibility because it is part of my task to find workable compromises, and because I considered it was still possible to deliver on the mandate of the referendum, and on our manifesto commitment to leave the Customs Union and the Single Market. I am afraid that I think the current trend of policy and tactics is making that look less and less likely. He went on to argue that the general direction of Ms Mays policies would leave the UK in at best a weak negotiating position, and possibly an inescapable one. AFP/Getty Brexit casualties Steve Baker - Resigned from Minister at the Department for Exiting the European Union role July 2018 - Mr Baker, a key Tory figure in the Leave campaign, was David Daviss main lieutenant at Dexeu, and was hailed as courageous and principled by other Brexiteer Tories as he also left. Reuters Brexit casualties Boris Johnson - Resigned from Foreign Secretary role July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. In his resignation letter to the prime minister, Mr Johnson said: "On Friday, I acknowledged that my side of the argument were too few to prevail and congratulated you on at least reaching a Cabinet decision on the way forward. "As I said then, the government now has a song to sing. "The trouble is that I have practised the words over the weekend and find that they stick in the throat." Reuters Brexit casualties Conor Burns - Resigned from Parliamentary Private Secretary to Foreign Secretary role July 2018 - A Brexit supporter who worked alongside Boris Johnson stated in his resignation letter: I've decided it's time to have greater freedom. I want to see the referendum result respected. And there are other areas of policy I want to speak more openly on. Rex Brexit casualties Chris Green - Resigned from Department for Transport role July 2018 - The Bolton West MP said: "Parliament overwhelmingly decided to give the decision of whether to leave or remain in the European Union to the British people and they made an unambiguous decision that we ought to leave. "I have always understood the idea in 'Brexit means Brexit' is that the final deal should be clear to me and my constituents - that we have, in no uncertain terms, left the European Union. Twitter Ads info and privacy "The direction the negotiations had been taking have suggested that we would not really leave the EU and the conclusion and statements following the Chequers summit confirmed my fears. "I recognise that delivering Brexit is challenging, however I had hoped at tonight's meeting that there would be some certainty that my fears were unfounded but, instead, they have been confirmed. "I have been grateful for the opportunity to serve as Parliamentary Private Secretary and it is with regret that I offer my resignation with immediate effect." PA Brexit casualties Maria Caulfield - Resigned from Conservative Party vice-chair for women role July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. Lewes MP warned that the direction of travel did not fully embrace the opportunities that Brexit can provide. Ms Caulfield said in her letter to the PM: The policy may assuage vested interests, but the voters will find out and their representatives will be found out. This policy will be bad for our country and bad for the party. The direct consequences of that will be prime minister Corbyn. PA Brexit casualties Ben Bradley - Resigned from Conservative Party vice-chair for young people role July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. The Mansfield MP said: I admit that I voted to Remain in that ballot. What has swayed me over the last two years to fully back the Brexit vision is the immense opportunities that are available from global trade, and for the ability for Britain to be an outward looking nation in control of our own destiny once again. I fear that this agreement at Chequers damages those opportunities; that being tied to EU regulations, and the EU tying our hands when seeking to make new trade agreements, will be the worst of all worlds if we do not deliver Brexit in spirit as well as in name, then we are handing Jeremy Corbyn the keys to No10. PA Brexit casualties Robert Courts - Resigned from Parliamentary Private Secretary role July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. MP Mr Courts said: I have taken a very difficult decision to resign my position as [parliamentary private secretary] to express discontent with the Chequers [plans] in votes tomorrow. I had to think who I wanted to see in the mirror for the rest of my life. I cannot tell the people of Woxon that I support the proposals in their current form. Getty Brexit casualties Scott Mann - Resigned from Parliamentary Private Secretary role July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. "I fear elements of the Brexit white paper will inevitably put me in direct conflict with the views expressed by a large section of my constituents. I am not prepared to compromise their wishes to deliver a watered-down Brexit. "The residents of North Cornwall made it very clear that they wish to have control over our fishery, our agricultural policy, our money, our laws and our borders. I will evaluate those principles against the Brexit white paper and ensure that I vote in line with their wishes." Rex

The change follows months of frosty relations between No 10 and the Brexit department, with Mr Davis having grown increasingly frustrated at the direction Mr Robbins was taking. Tory Brexiteers are suspicious of Mr Robbins, who they see as being a supporter of a soft Brexit, and are likely to raise concerns about him assuming a greater role at the expense of Mr Raab, a vocal Eurosceptic.

The move is also likely to be seen as a sign of mounting concern among Ms Mays team at the prospect of failing to secure a deal by the October deadline.

Asked about the changes while giving evidence to the Commons Brexit committee, Mr Robbins said Mr Raab would continue to lead talks with Michel Barnier, the EUs chief negotiator, but that Ms May considered the negotiating strategy to be her personal responsibility.

Mr Raab, appearing before the same committee, admitted there had been some shifting of Whitehall deckchairs but said he would continue to deputise for Ms May. The changes were designed to ensure there is a clear chain of command, he said.

But Labour claimed Mr Raab had been sidelined after just days in the job.

Jenny Chapman, a shadow Brexit minister, said: Dominic Raab has been sidelined by the prime minister before he has even had the chance to get his feet under the table.
MPs have criticised the worrying lack of detail in the governments long-term plans for the environment and called for legally binding targets to ensure ministers make good on their promises.

Air quality, water and wildlife must be all be protected by a world-leading watchdog that ensures standards do not drastically slip when the country leaves the EU.

Brexit poses a major threat to the current measures in place to protect the UKs environment, especially if no deal is reached by ministers.

The proposed new independent body, modelled after the National Audit Office, will be required to ensure enforcement and rules that are currently the responsibility of the EU are not lost.

It would also mean the government and public bodies could be taken to court when standards are breached.

Mary Creagh, chair of the Environmental Audit Committee  which produced the report in response to the governments 25 Year Plan for the Environment  said if we want a world-leading environment we need a world-leading environmental watchdog.

Despite the ambitious goals set out in the plan, launched by Theresa May in January, Ms Creagh said based on the governments record there was a need to tighten these targets.

People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Show all 30 1 /30 People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Rex People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal AFP/Getty Images People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal A young protestor shouts as she takes part in the People's Vote demonstration against Brexit Getty Images People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Reuters People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal A protester's pro-EU t-shirt EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal AFP/Getty Images People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal AFP/Getty People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Gina Miller and Caroline Lucas EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Tens of thousands of people march through London EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Demonstrators at the People's Vote March Getty People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal 'Two months too young to decide on my future' REUTERS People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal PA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal A young girl joins in the march PA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal An EU flag is draped across the statue of Winston Chruchill in Parliament Square REUTERS People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal AFP/Getty Images People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Vince Cable MP, Pro-EU campaigner Gina Miller, Tony Robinson and Caroline Lucas MP join with crowds PA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal PA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Crowds gather on Pall Mall PA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal A man resembling Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, joins EU supporters Reuters People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Reuters People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal People gather in Trafalgar Square REUTERS People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Pro-EU campaigner Gina Miller and Tony Robinson PA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EU supporters, calling on the government to give Britons a vote on the final Brexit deal, participate in the 'People's Vote' march REUTERS

In recent months the government has been referred to the EUs highest court for failing to tackle illegal levels of air pollution in the UK. We are facing a biodiversity crisis and risk losing iconic species like the hedgehog, she said.

The governments 25 Year Plan is high on ambitions, but low on milestones. The government has more experience of getting rid of environmental watchdogs than of setting them up.

New legislation has already been promised to cover areas like air, waste, water and chemicals that cannot simply be transferred into UK law following Brexit.

However, to ensure these pledges are carried out the committee said there was a need to introduce five-yearly plans to ensure ministers are on track to meet their environmental targets.

A similar system is already in place to monitor greenhouse gas emissions in the form of the carbon budgets set by the Climate Change Act  a system widely regarded as effective and world-leading.

We want an Environmental Governance and Principles Act that sets legally-binding targets and creates a new Environmental Enforcement and Audit Office to measure progress and enforce this new law, said Ms Creagh.

The government needs to set out detailed delivery and funding proposals for the Plan and departments across Whitehall need to commit to its ambitions, rather than trying to water them down behind the scenes.

Environmental campaigners, who have welcomed the governments recent announcement that a new environment act is imminent, agreed that current proposals are not strong enough.

No one would argue that we shouldnt be striving for cleaner air or water along with a vibrant countryside rich in wildlife, said RSPB conservation director Martin Harper.

But to achieve this we need a more transformative piece of legislation  one that delivers ambitious targets for nature, soil, water and air and holds the government to account when standards arent met.

Over 100,000 people have signed a Greenpeace petition calling on Michael Gove and Philip Hammond to keep their promise of a "world-leading watchdog".

"MPs are right to call on the government to create an environmental watchdog with powers to require ministers and public bodies to comply with environmental laws, said Greenpeaces senior political adviser Rebecca Newsom.

People only need to look at the government's utter failure to deal with our roadside air pollution crisis to see why this matters. If Michael Gove wants to deliver the "world-leading watchdog" he has promised, he should take the committee's recommendations to heart."

A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson said: Our 25 Year Environment Plan sets out in detail how we will improve our environment for the next generation, and we have already taken significant steps to deliver this pledge.

We are bringing forward the first Environment Bill in over 20 years, and are now consulting on a new world-leading body to hold government to account on environmental standards.
Ian Paisley has been suspended from the Democratic Unionist Party after he was found to have breached parliamentary rules over a luxury trip paid for by the Sri Lankan government.

The decision by the DUP comes after MPs supported a punishment for Mr Paisley that recommended he be suspended for 30 sitting days.

During his suspension, Theresa May will see her working majority on key votes reduced by one as the party props up the prime minister's fragile government in the Commons through the supply and confidence arrangement.

A DUP statement said: The Officers of the Democratic Unionist Party have considered the report of the House of Commons Committee on Standards on Ian Paisley MP.

The party takes this report and the matters contained within it very seriously. The party officers have decided to suspend Mr Ian Paisley MP from membership of the party pending further investigation into his conduct.

The party does not intend to make any further comment on these matters during the course of the above outlined process.

The North Antrim MP earlier vowed to fight for his seat if he faces the electorate over his failure to declare two luxury family holidays paid for by the Sri Lankan government.

In March 2014, the senior Democratic Unionist lobbied against a proposed United Nations resolution to investigate alleged human rights abuses during a civil war on the Indian Ocean island without citing his financial benefits.

In view of the seriousness of this matter, we recommend that Mr Paisley be suspended from the service of the House for a period of 30 sitting days starting on 4 September 2018, said the Commons standards committee said last week.

MPs on Tuesday backed the recommendation from the committee meaning the suspension from the chamber will now go ahead.

Patrick Corrigan, head of Amnesty International in Northern Ireland, said the victims were those killed in Sri Lanka.

Mr Paisley saw fit to lobby the prime minister against a UN investigation into gross human rights violations, including the mass killing of civilians at the end of the Sri Lankan war, for which no adequate investigation has ever been carried out, he said.
It could be illegal to pay private pensions to many retired British expats if the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal, MPs have been told.

The Association of British Insurers said pensioners who receive their payments into bank accounts in their adopted countries could be left without cash.

That is a perfectly plausible risk in the future if no agreement is reached in some countries of the EU, said Huw Evans, the ABIs director general.

An alarmed Hilary Benn, the Brexit committees chairman, said: They might find that they couldnt be paid their pension  is that what you are saying?

The warning came as Britains leading service industries attacked Theresa Mays Chequers plan for Brexit, the Commercial Broadcasters Association suggesting they had been thrown under the bus.

Those proposals would protect goods by keeping the UK tied to EU rules, but exclude services  even though they make up 80 per cent of the UK economy.

During the evidence session, Mr Evans also warned that tourists would be forced to pay more for health insurance because they would lose cross-EU insurance cards.

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Show all 8 1 /8 The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Post-Brexit immigration workers sorting radishes on a production line at a farm in Norfolk. One possible post-Brexit immigration scheme could struggle to channel workers towards less attractive roles - while another may heighten the risk of labour exploitation, a new report warns. PA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Customs union A key point in the negotiations remains Britain's access to, or withdrawal from, the EU customs union. Since the referendum there has been hot debate over the meaning of Brexit: would it entail a full withdrawal from the existing agreement, known as hard Brexit, or the soft version in which we would remain part of a common customs area for most goods, as Turkey does? No 10 has so far insisted that Brexit means Brexit and that Britain will be leaving the customs union, but may be inclined to change its position once the potential risks to the UKs economic outlook become clearer. Alamy The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Northern Ireland-Irish border Though progress was made last year, there has still been no solid agreement on whether there should be a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To ensure borderless travel on the island, the countries must be in regulatory alignment and therefore adhere to the same rules as the customs union. In December, the Conservative Partys coalition partners, the DUP, refused a draft agreement that would place the UK/EU border in the Irish Sea due to its potential to undermine the union. May has promised that would not be the case and has suggested that a specific solution would need to be found. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Transition period Despite protests from a small number of Conservative MPs, the Government and the EU are largely in agreement that a transitional period is needed after Brexit. The talks, however, have reached an impasse. Though May has agreed that the UK will continue to contribute to the EU budget until 2021, the PM wants to be able to select which laws made during this time the UK will have to adhere to. Chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said the UK must adopt all of the laws passed during the transition, without any input from British ministers or MEPs. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Rights of EU citizens living the UK The Prime Minister has promised EU citizens already living in the UK the right to live and work here after Brexit, but the rights of those who arrive after Brexit day remains unclear. May insists that those who arrive during the transition period should not be allowed to stay, whereas the EU believe the cut-off point should be later. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreement (with the EU) Despite this being a key issue in negotiations, the Government has yet to lay out exactly what it wants from a trade deal with the EU. Infighting within the Cabinet has prevented a solid position from being reached, with some MPs content that "no deal is better than a bad deal" while others rally behind single market access. The EU has already confirmed that access to the single market would be impossible without the UK remaining in the customs union. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreements (internationally) The Government has already begun trying to woo foreign leaders into prospective trade agreements, with various high profile state visits to China, India and Canada for May, and the now infamous invitation to US President Donald Trump to visit London. However the UK cannot make trade agreements with another country while it is still a member of the EU, and the potential loss of trade with the world's major powers is a source of anxiety for the PM. The EU has said the UK cannot secure trade deals during the transition period. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Financial services Banks in the UK will be hit hard regardless of the Brexit outcome. The EU has refused to give British banks passporting rights to trade within the EU, dashing hopes of a special City deal. However according to new reports Germany has suggested allowing trade on the condition that the UK continues paying into the EU budget even after the transition period. Getty

And he highlighted the threat that a staggering 38 million insurance contracts would be left in legal limbo because it would also be illegal to pay claims in EU countries.

If a claim comes in two years down the line, in a country like Germany, their lawyers will be advising them you cant pay the claim, Mr Evans told the committee.

On the threat to insurance-based pensions, he said he wanted to avoid panic, acknowledging it would not be a consequence of no deal in all EU countries.

But he warned the UK would end up as rule takers, telling the MPs: That is inherent in the approach the government has decided to take in its negotiating position.

Mr Evans also suggested some company bosses were reluctant to speak out because those that did were condemned by cabinet ministers, saying: That is not a comfortable position.

In the white paper that followed the Chequers plan, the UK abandoned attempts to persuade the EU to grant mutual recognition to services after Brexit  settling instead for a lesser equivalence model.

But this will allow Brussels to deny market access rights if it decides the UKs regulatory regime does not meet the EUs standards.

Adam Minns, the executive director of the Commercial Broadcasters Association, condemned the shift as a backward step.

He said the UK currently boasted more international channels than any other EU country, a crucial factor being the ability to broadcast to the continent.

But a country such as the Netherlands  with its own tech hubs, excellent air links and with English commonly spoken  was perfectly placed to grab that dominance.

We are not certain if we are being thrown under the bus, or have hit a temporary roadblock, Mr Minns told the committee.

Asked if ministers understood the threat to service industries, he replied: I dont know  some do, some dont.

The City of London Corporation said it feared the consequences, for example, for solicitors unable to fly in and out to provide advice, but recognised the decision as pragmatic.
 Close What is still needed to complete a deal with the EU?

The government has rushed out 21 written statements on the final day of the parliamentary term, in what has been dubbed "taking out the trash" day for Whitehall departments.

Public sector pay rises for doctors, teachers and armed forces personnel were unveiled, with updates on Crossrail, defence, and local government finance.

Brexit also dominated the agenda as Theresa May confirmed that she was taking overall control of the EU negotiations, effectively demoting the Brexit secretary Dominic Raab.

Britain's de-facto Brexit chief negotiator Olly Robbins also made a rare appearance before MPs, where he faced a grilling from Eurosceptic MPs who believe he has softened the UK's negotiating stance.

See below for live updates
Jeremy Corbyn will today claim there has already been an economic "benefit" of Brexit, as he launches a campaign to boost British manufacturing.

The Labour leader will suggest the crash in the pound that followed the 2016 referendum made sterling more competitive and should have helped UK exporters, had the government had a plan to let them capitalise on it.

It will come in a "build it in Britain" speech, in which Mr Corbyn will also attack a reliance on imports made by "cheap labour from abroad" and demand government contracts are kept in Britain instead of being given to "companies outside the UK".

The nod to potential economic benefits of leaving the EU will anger those in his party who want the Labour leader to soften his stance on Brexit, while his rhetoric on industry is likely to be compared to Donald Trump's "America first" approach to manufacturing.

Mr Corbyn will use a speech in Birmingham to claim the government has prevented UK businesses from exploiting the "one benefit" Brexit has already delivered.

He is expected to say: Our exporters should be able to take proper advantage of the one benefit to them that Brexit has already brought - a more competitive pound.

"After the EU referendum result, the pound became more competitive and that should have helped our exporters. But they are being sold out by a lack of a Conservative government industrial plan, which has left our economy far too reliant on imports.

The pound plummeted in the wake of the vote to leave the EU, wiping billions off the economy and leaving many businesses and consumers worse off. Sterling is currently worth around 14 per cent less against the Euro than it was before the Brexit vote.

Launching Labour's "Build it in Britain" campaign, Mr Corbyn is expected to condemn what he will call a reliance on overseas workers, and criticise the government for awarding contracts to foreign companies.

Speaking to the EEF manufacturers union, he will say: For the last 40 years, a magical kind of thinking has dominated the way Britain is run. Weve been told that its good - advanced even - for our country to manufacture less and less and instead rely on cheap labour from abroad to produce imports, while we focus on the City of London and the finance sector."

He will add: A lack of support for manufacturing is sucking the dynamism out of our economy, pay from the pockets of our workers and any hope of secure well-paid jobs from a generation of our young people. It must be our job in government to reprogramme our economy so that it stops working for the few and begins working for the many. That is why we will build things here again that for too long have been built abroad because we have failed to invest.

 No-deal Brexit could happen 'by accident', Jeremy Hunt says

Mr Corbyn's team will hope the message will go down well in Labour's northern heartlands, where many areas voted Leave amid concerns over immigration.

However, it is likely to be criticised by some of the party's own MPs, who are pushing for their party leader to adopt a more anti-Brexit stance and commit to keeping the UK in the EU single market.

Comparisons are also likely to be drawn between Mr Corbyn and the language used by Mr Trump as he set out his "America first" approach during the White House's "Made in America Week" last week.

The US president said: "We want to build, create and grow more products in our country using American labour, American goods and American grit.

"American workers, farmers and innovators are really the best in the world. You construct and harvest products that fill our homes, feed our nation and enrich our lives."

He added: "Restoring American manufacturing will not only restore our wealth, it will restore our pride in ourselves, it will revitalize our independence."

People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Show all 30 1 /30 People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Rex People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal AFP/Getty Images People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal A young protestor shouts as she takes part in the People's Vote demonstration against Brexit Getty Images People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Reuters People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal A protester's pro-EU t-shirt EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal AFP/Getty Images People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal AFP/Getty People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Gina Miller and Caroline Lucas EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Tens of thousands of people march through London EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Demonstrators at the People's Vote March Getty People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal 'Two months too young to decide on my future' REUTERS People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal PA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal A young girl joins in the march PA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal An EU flag is draped across the statue of Winston Chruchill in Parliament Square REUTERS People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal AFP/Getty Images People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Vince Cable MP, Pro-EU campaigner Gina Miller, Tony Robinson and Caroline Lucas MP join with crowds PA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal PA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Crowds gather on Pall Mall PA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal A man resembling Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, joins EU supporters Reuters People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Reuters People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal People gather in Trafalgar Square REUTERS People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Pro-EU campaigner Gina Miller and Tony Robinson PA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EU supporters, calling on the government to give Britons a vote on the final Brexit deal, participate in the 'People's Vote' march REUTERS

Mr Corbyn will also promise that a Labour government would hand national contracts to UK companies.

He will say: We have plenty of capacity to build train carriages in the UK and yet repeatedly over recent years these contracts have been farmed out abroad, costing our economy crucial investment, jobs for workers and tax revenues. If we want to reprogramme our economy so that it works for everybody, we must use powers we have to back good jobs and industry here.

Labour is determined to see public contracts provide public benefit, using our money to nurture and grow our industries, our people and to expand our tax base.

"The next Labour government will bring contracts back in-house, ending the racket of outsourcing that has turned our public services into a cash cow for the few. And we will use the huge weight of the governments purchasing power to support our workers and industries.
A Massachusetts state senator who opposes President Donald Trumps immigration policies was mistakenly booked on Fox News, and she used the airtime to criticise Mr Trumps illegal and inhumane treatment of migrant families crossing the US-Mexico border.

Barbara LItalien, a Democrat, appeared Monday on Fox & Friends First, instead of the intended guest, Democratic congressional candidate Ann Kirkpatrick, who has openly supported US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). A spokesman for Ms LItalien said in a statement that due to a Fox News error, Ms LItalien was contacted and asked to share her views on ICE and decided to use the opportunity to make a statement straight to Trump.

Im actually here to speak directly to Donald Trump, she said during the broadcast. I feel that whats happening at the border is wrong.

The senator said she has four children and believes that separating kids from their parents is illegal and inhumane.

Desiree Dunne, executive producer for Fox & Friends First, said in a statement to The Washington Post that the spokesman on file for Ms Kirkpatrick had accepted the invitation for the candidate.

This morning, we invited Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick to appear on Fox & Friends First through her press contact on file, Joe Katz, who accepted the invitation on Kirkpatricks behalf, Ms Dunne said. Katz followed with an email confirming the segment, which also included background information and a campaign logo for Ann Kirkpatrick. During the actual segment, Barbara LItalien, appeared on camera instead of Ms Kirkpatrick.

Despite speaking to producers prior to the interview, LItalien did not identify herself as anything other than Kirkpatrick until she was live on air, at which point we ended the interview.

When asked whether he indeed had sent Ms Kirkpatricks background information and campaign logo to the network, Mr Katz said in an email: I showed the exact same commitment to the truth and accuracy that Fox News always has.

The segment began with a video clip showing Ms Kirkpatrick, a Democratic candidate in Arizonas 2nd Congressional District, getting booed as she raise her hand in support of ICE during a recent debate.

Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy Show all 8 1 /8 Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy Mishawaka, Indiana AP Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy Washington DC AFP/Getty Images Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy New York Mayor Bill De Blasio speaks in Tornillo, Texas alongside the many other US mayors who have called for detained immigrant children to be reunited with their families AP Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy Albuquerque Mayor Tim Kelle leaves a teddy bear as a gift for detained immigrant children in Tornillo, Texas AP Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti leave sandals as gifts for detained immigrant children in Tornillo, Texas AP Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy San Diego, California EPA Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy US embassy, Mexico City AFP/Getty Images Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy San Diego, California EPA

Joining us now, that candidate  the only Democrat onstage to support ICE  Ann Kirkpatrick. Thank you for joining us. We appreciate it. Tell us why you do support ICE, Fox host Jillian Mele said, according to a clip on LItaliens YouTube channel.

Im actually Barbara LItalien, said Ms LItalien, who also is running for Congress.

I keep thinking about what were putting parents through  imagining how terrifying that must be for those families, imagining how it would feel no knowing whether Id ever seen my kids again, the state senator added. We have to stop abducting children and ripping them from their parents arms, stop putting kids in cages and stop making 3-year-olds defend themselves in court.

Within seconds, Fox hosts Rob Schmitt and Mele interrupted, telling Ms LItalien that migrant children are no longer separated from their parents. A federal judge in San Diego has ordered the US government to reunite about 2,500 migrant children with their families by Thursday after the children were seized as part of the Trump administrations zero tolerance crackdown on illegal immigration.

Again, my name is Barbara LItalien, Ms LItalien pressed on. I refuse to believe that our only options are open borders or - she continued before the broadcast abruptly ended.

Who is this? Mr Schmitt said, as someone in the studio began to clap. That didnt go as planned.

After the segment, <Ms LItalien said on Twitter that her time on the air had been cut short, and she continued with her prepared statement.

I refuse to believe that our only options are open borders or traumatising children, and shame on you for pretending that they are. Shame on you for putting this vile, racist policy in place, she said, addressing Mr Trump.

Our immigration system should be just, fair, compassionate and reflect our values as a nation of immigrants, Ms LItalien added. What we have now, what you are doing, is none of those things.

You are just being cruel to people who believed us when we said that this country was a land of freedom and opportunity. You need to stop blaming everyone else for your moral failures and put a stop to this, Mr President.
 Close Sean Spicer resigns: The White House Press Secretary's most memorable moments

Donald Trump's mouthpiece is finally talking for himself.

Sean Spicer's book  The Briefing: Politics, The Press and The President  has just been published and offers and unprecedented look into the workings of the White House and its sometimes bizarre, often controversial relationship with the press.

And we will be reading the book live, just as it makes its way from the press itself.

It is the latest in a series of bombshell books detailing life inside Trump's White House. From Michael Wolff's incendiary Fire and Fury to James Comey's combative A Higher Loyalty, many of Mr Trump's foes and confidantes have attempted to peer inside the president's head and work out what is going on.

But Spicer's is the first major release from one of the president's allies. And what an ally he has been: Spicer was famous for defending Trump over and over, even when that meant outright lying or appearing to suggest the holocaust didn't happen.

Now the erstwhile press secretary and communications director will finally give his insight on working for Trump, and helping create the image of the president we have today.

Please allow a moment for the live blog to load.
A Donald Trump voter said she was ashamed to be an American after her daughter-in-law was deported following his administrations crackdown on illegal immigrants.

Shirley Stegall's daughter Letty, crossed illegally from Mexico to the US in 1999 at the age of 21 and settled in Kansas City, Missouri. Starting out waiting tables, she eventually worked her way up to manage a bar.

She got married and had her daughter Jennifer, now 17, but later divorced. Then she fell in love with Shirley's son Steve. The pair were married and went on to buy a home together.

Jennifer Tadeo-Uscanga, 17, walks down a staircase lined with family photos at the Kansas City, Missouri (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Meanwhile back in Mexico, Letty's parents were forced to abandon their home and business as a drug cartel moved into the area around Cosamaloapan where she grew up.

As she set off to the gym one February morning, three cars containing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents leapt out and arrested her. Six years beforehand she had been charged misdemeanor drunken driving which had made authorities aware that she was in the US illegally. Stegall spent a month in jail and her case went into the immigration system.

Four days after her February arrest, Letty won a stay of deportation in court pending a hearing. But ICE already had her shackled aboard a flight to Brownsville, Texas, where she was directed to cross by foot back into Mexico. Her family, relieved by the victory in court, were unaware she was gone.She joined her family in Boca del Rio, a small city in the Gulf of Mexico.

The only regular she with her husband and 17-year-old daughter is online.

Jennifer Tadeo-Uscanga, 17, and her stepdad, Steve Stegall, stand outside their house in Kansas City, Missouri. Jennifers mother Letty Stegal lived in the United States for 20 years, but was deported back to Mexico in March. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Her situation has appalled her mother-in-law Shirley, who said she voted for Mr Trump because she liked his promise to bring jobs back to the US and the vow to make trade with China fairer.

She also supported him when he said criminal immigrants would be deported, althought they did not consider her daughter-in-law to be one, even if she came to the country illegally.

Ive always been proud to be an American, Shirley said. But now Im ashamed.

An estimated 8 million to 9 million Americans live with at least one relative who is in the country illegally and the thousands of deportations that have taken place under Mr Trump's presidency have affected citizens and those living in the country legally.

During his presidential election campaign Mr Trump vowed in 2016 to remove bad hombres, in what some voters interpreted to mean removals would be directed at gang members and seasoned criminals.

But arrests of migrants with minor convictions such as driving under the influence outnumber those of immigrants previously convicted for more egregious crimes.

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National Stop Trump protest: march against US President's visit to UK Angela Christofilou National Stop Trump protest: march against US President's visit to UK Angela Christofilou National Stop Trump protest: march against US President's visit to UK Angela Christofilou National Stop Trump protest: march against US President's visit to UK PA National Stop Trump protest: march against US President's visit to UK Angela Christofilou National Stop Trump protest: march against US President's visit to UK AFP/Getty Images National Stop Trump protest: march against US President's visit to UK Angela Christofilou National Stop Trump protest: march against US President's visit to UK Angela Christofilou National Stop Trump protest: march against US President's visit to UK Angela Christofilou National Stop Trump protest: march against US President's visit to UK Angela Christofilou National Stop Trump protest: march against US President's visit to UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn walks through a demonstration against President Trump's visit to the UK on his way to make a speech in Trafalgar Square Getty Images National Stop Trump protest: march against US President's visit to UK PA National Stop Trump protest: march against US President's visit to UK Angela Christofilou National Stop Trump protest: march against US President's visit to UK Children were among thousands of people around the UK to protest against Donald Trump's visit Angela Christofilou National Stop Trump protest: march against US President's visit to UK Angela Christofilou National Stop Trump protest: march against US President's visit to UK Jessica Morgan National Stop Trump protest: march against US President's visit to UK Jessica Morgan National Stop Trump protest: march against US President's visit to UK Rex Features National Stop Trump protest: march against US President's visit to UK Jessica Morgan National Stop Trump protest: march against US President's visit to UK Angela Christofilou National Stop 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Immigration and Customs enforcement arrested 59,985 people for driving under the influence (DUI) in the year to September 2017, while only arresting 6,553 in 2017 for homicide, sexual assault or kidnapping collectively. Arrests of immigrants without criminal convictions have increased significantly since Mr Trump took office.

Letty's deportation means she could be barred from entering the US for a decade. She hopes paperwork that cites her marriage to a US citizen will be approved within two years, but the process can be protracted.

In the meantime, technology allows her to keep in contact with her husband and daughter.

Shes not dead, said Jennifer of her mother. But shes not here.
The Trump administration said in a court filing on Monday that 463 parents of migrant children are no longer present in the United States, indicating that the number of mothers and fathers potentially deported without their kids during the zero tolerance border crackdown could be far larger than previously acknowledged.

The progress report to US District Judge Dana Sabraw cautioned the 463 cases are under review, meaning the filing was not a definitive tally of all migrant parents who have been deported while their children remain in US government shelters.

Mr Sabraw has issued the Trump administration a 30-day deadline  expiring on Thursday  to quickly reunite as many separated families as possible, and last week he asked the government to clarify how many of the more than 2,500 parents eligible for reunions are no longer in the country. He also temporarily suspended deportations of families that have been reunited.

Mondays filing included no additional explanation, but the government is scheduled to brief the court on Tuesday afternoon about its progress in the reunification effort, and will probably provide more details about the whereabouts of the 463 parents.

Their numbers amount to nearly one-fifth of the parents who were potentially separated from their children prior to Trumps 20 June executive order halting the practice.

Stephen Kang, one of the attorneys for the plaintiff in the case, the ACLU, said Mondays filing appeared to be the governments first attempt, however imprecise, to gauge the figure that his team, the court and many reporters have been pressing for.

Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy Show all 8 1 /8 Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy Mishawaka, Indiana AP Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy Washington DC AFP/Getty Images Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy New York Mayor Bill De Blasio speaks in Tornillo, Texas alongside the many other US mayors who have called for detained immigrant children to be reunited with their families AP Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy Albuquerque Mayor Tim Kelle leaves a teddy bear as a gift for detained immigrant children in Tornillo, Texas AP Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti leave sandals as gifts for detained immigrant children in Tornillo, Texas AP Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy San Diego, California EPA Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy US embassy, Mexico City AFP/Getty Images Families belong together protests over Trump immigration policy San Diego, California EPA

If this number turns out to be as large as the report suggests, this is going to be a big issue for us, Mr Kang said. We have a lot of questions.

Immigrant advocates say migrant parents were pressured into signing voluntary deportation forms out of desperation to be released from immigration detention once their sons and daughters were taken from them and sent to government shelters.

We have concerns about misinformation given to these parents about their rights to fight deportation without their children, said Mr Kang. Locating them in Central America will be challenging and time-consuming, he said.

The Trump administration insists that all of the migrant parents who were deported gave their written consent and were duly informed of their rights in their native tongue.

According to Mondays filing, the government has reunited 879 parents with their children so far, up from 450 on Friday. Another 538 parents have been cleared for reunions and are awaiting transportation, meaning that at least half of the separated families will likely be back together by Thursdays deadline.

Under court order, the administration prioritised the cases of more than 100 parents whose children were younger than age 5, and the government has since moved on to the much larger 5-to-17 age group. After conducting background checks on parents and confirming familial relationships, the government interviews the mothers and fathers to ask if they want their children back before proceeding.

So far, 130 of those parents have opted against a reunion, in some cases preferring their children be allowed to remain in the United States with another relative while their immigration appeals are pending.

The Washington Post
US Attorney General Jeff Sessions repeated students chants of lock her up! at a conservative political summit, laughing at the call to jail Donald Trumps former election opponent, Hillary Clinton.

Mr Sessions repeated the familiar phrase at a conference for conservative student group Turning Point USA, where he spoke this week along with other Trump administration officials like Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley.

Mr Sessions speech on Tuesday focused on what he called the coddling of American university students, especially the use of educational tools like trigger warnings and safe spaces.

At one point, the attorney general listed off activities that occurred on college campuses after the 2016 presidential election, including a planned event at the University of Michigan where students were invited to participate in stress-busting self-care activities like coloring, blowing bubbles, and sculpting with Play-Doh. The event was eventually cancelled due to criticism, according to Fox News.

I can tell this group isnt going to have to have Play-Doh when you get attacked in college and get involved in a debate, Mr Sessions said. Youre going to stand up and defend yourselves and the values you believe in.

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As the crowd began to clap and cheer, Mr Sessions added: I like this bunch, I gotta tell you. Youre not going to be backing down. Go get 'em!"

At this, several students started chanting Lock her up!  a familiar rallying cry from Trump campaign events. Mr Sessions laughed as the chants grew louder, and repeated: Lock her up!

I heard that a long time on the last campaign, he said, before returning to his prepared remarks.

 Trump says 'lock her up' chant only 'plays great before the election'

The chant was a hallmark of Trump rallies during the presidential campaign, serving as a shorthand for Mr Trumps suggestion that Ms Clinton be jailed for her use of a private email server as secretary of state. The FBI conducted an investigation into the issue in 2015, after which then-FBI Director James Comey recommends no charges be filed. The US Attorney General at the time, Loretta Lynch, declined to pursue charges.

Still, Mr Trump continued to raise the idea of prosecuting Ms Clinton throughout his campaign and into this presidency.

A year ago to the day, the president criticised Mr Session for not pursuing Ms Clinton forcefully enough, tweeting: So why aren't the Committees and investigators, and of course our beleaguered AG, looking into Crooked Hillary's crimes & Russia relations?

Mr Sessions told the House Judiciary Committee at the time that he had "not been improperly influenced and would not be improperly influenced" by the president's actions.

The Independent has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.
The majority of Americans approve of Donald Trump inviting Russian President Vladimir Putin to the White House, according to a new poll.

Mr Trump invited the Mr Putin to Washington on the heels of a controversial summit between the two world leaders in Helsinki last week. During the summit, Mr Trump appeared to cast doubt on the US intelligence community's assessment that Moscow had meddled in the 2016 election.

Sixty percent of Americans said they disapproved of Mr Trumps handling of Russia in the aftermath of the summit, according to a poll conducted by The Hill and the HarrisX polling company. According to the same poll, however, 54 per cent of respondents supported Mr Trumps decision to invite Mr Putin to the White House.

The poll results were heavily divided along partisan lines: Eighty-seven percent of Republicans approved of the invitation, compared to 26 per cent of Democrats.

The results were similar to a survey conducted by Axios last week, in which 79 per cent of Republicans said they approved of how Mr Trump handled the summit, and only 7 per cent of Democrats said as much.

Mr Trump claimed the summit had been a great success" in a tweet last week, announcing that he had invited Mr Putin to the White House "so that we can start implementing some of the many things discussed".

The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images

The latest poll results came after numerous White House attempts to clean up from the summit, where Mr Trump said he did not see any reason why it would be Russia who intervened in the election  a direct contradiction of the US intelligence communitys findings.

Upon returning to Washington, Mr Trump said he had misspoken, adding that he had full confidence in the US intelligence agencies.

"In a key sentence in my remarks I said the word 'would' instead of 'wouldn't'," the president said. "The sentence should have been: 'I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be Russia'."

Mr Trump also tweeted on Tuesday that he was "concerned" about Russian meddling in the coming midterm elections  a possibility he had refused to acknowledge up until that point. He added that Moscow would be likely be pushing for Democratic candidates, claiming that "no President has been tougher on Russia than me".

 Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats informed on stage that the Trump administration has invited Vladimir Putin to the White House

The efforts did little to soothe tensions in Congress, where Republicans said Mr Putin would not be invited to speak if he visited Washington. Republican representative Trey Gowdy, usually a strong defender of the president, told Fox News that extending the invitation was a mistake.

The fact that we have to talk to you about Syria or other matters is very different from issuing an invitation, Mr Gowdy said. Those should be reserved for, I think, our allies.

Mr Putin has yet to accept his American counterpart's offer. A Kremlin aide said on Tuesday that Russia had not started preparations for such a summit, according to Reuters. The aide, Yuri Ushakov, said there would be plenty of other times for the two men to meet, including the G20 summit in November.

After the [Helsinki] summit you know what kind of atmosphere there is around its outcome, he said. I think it would be wise to let the dust settle and then we can discuss all these questions in a business-like way. But not now.
Donald Trump has said he is concerned that Russia will meddle in the US midterm elections in November amid outcry over his attempts to build a relationship with Vladimir Putin.

Mr Trump has until now declined to say whether he thought Russia would intervene in the upcoming elections, despite warnings from several US intelligence officials that the Kremlin is already preparing to do so.

Im very concerned that Russia will be fighting very hard to have an impact on the upcoming Election, the president tweeted. Based on the fact that no President has been tougher on Russia than me, they will be pushing very hard for the Democrats. They definitely dont want Trump!

Mr Trumps tweet was met with incredulity by some, as he has previously refused to acknowledge the intelligence communitys conclusion that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential contest with the express intent of boosting his campaign. He has repeatedly called the investigation into election meddling a witch hunt, and lambasted those charged with conducting the probe.

The presidents latest tweet comes after days of cleanup from his controversial press conference with Mr Putin, in which he appeared to doubt US intelligences findings. At the press conference in Helsinki last week, Mr Trump said he didnt see any reason why it would be Russia who intervened in the election.

The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images

Mr Trump walked back on the comments upon returning to Washington, claiming he meant to say wouldnt instead of would. He added that he had full faith in Americas intelligence agencies, and accepted the conclusion that Russias meddling took place.

However, at a press conference later that week, Mr Trump appeared to shake his head when asked whether he thought Russia was still targeting the US. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders later claimed that Mr Trump was saying no to more questions, not in answer to the reporters query.

The president provoked further outcry when he invited Mr Putin to a follow-up summit in Washington in the autumn. The invitation was criticised by many in Congress, where two intelligence committees are currently investigating Russian election interference and Special Counsel Robert Mueller is overseeing a separate independent probe. Republican leaders said Mr Putin would not be invited to Capitol Hill if he accepted Mr Trumps offer.

Top officials at both the FBI and CIA have warned that Moscow is preparing to interfere in the USs midterm elections in November. Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, said last week that Russias efforts are persistent, they are pervasive, and they are meant to undermine Americas democracy on a daily basis.

The warning signs are there, the system is blinking, and that is why I believe we are at a critical point, he added.
Japans weather agency has declared its deadly heatwave a natural disaster, as the extreme weather continued to break records in the country.

At least 65 people died in the week leading up to Sunday, the fire and disaster rescue agency said, making it the deadliest heatwave since Japan started collating records of such fatalities in 2008.

More than 22,000 people have been taken to hospital with heatstroke symptoms, again a record, making it the worst ever for any week during summer, an agency spokesman told the AFP news agency.

It comes after the mercury rose above 41C for the first time in the countrys history, with 41.1C recorded on Monday in the city of Kumagaya, northwest of Tokyo.

And Tokyos metro area recorded a temperature above 40C for the first time since records began, with the citys governor, Yuriko Koike, telling a news conference it was like being in a sauna.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said it expected temperatures of 35C or higher to continue into early August.

We are observing unprecedented levels of heat in some areas, spokesman Motoaki Takekawa told BBC News, adding the heatwave was a threat to life and we recognise it as a natural disaster.

Tourists in Tokyos historic Asakusa district struggled with the heat. Cosett Romero from Mexico told reporters she and her family were getting headaches.

Its difficult to us because we dont have this heat in Mexico, she said.

Authorities have been warning people to take precautions against the heat, including staying inside, drinking plenty of water and using air conditioning.

But the heatwave is also being used as an opportunity to promote traditional, at times ritualistic, ways of staving off the burning sun.

Ms Koike recommended hanging straw screens and taking part in an event known as uchimizu, or water ceremony, which involves spraying water on hot pavements and road surfaces.

But our traditional wisdom is not enough to beat the heat like this, the governor acknowledged, so we will be using cutting edge technology.
North Korea appears to have begun dismantling a site used to develop components for ballistic missiles, in what would be an important first step towards fulfilling the agreement made at a summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un in June.

Satellite images published by a leading think-tank on North Korea show activity at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station, located among dense forest and hills close the northern border with China.

Workers are believed to be dismantling a building used to assemble space-launch vehicles and a nearby rocket engine test stand used to develop liquid-fuel engines for ballistic missiles and space-launch vehicles, the 38 North think-tank said.

North Korea's weapons programme was high on the agenda at a summit between Mr Trump and Mr Kim in Singapore last month. The US president later said his counterpart had promised to destroy a major missile engine testing site "very soon".

Mr Trump did not identify the site, but a US official subsequently told the Reuters news agency that it was Sohae.

"Since these facilities are believed to have played an important role in the development of technologies for the Norths intercontinental ballistic missile program, these efforts represent a significant confidence-building measure on the part of North Korea," 38 North said in a report.

The apparent progress comes amid concerns over whether North Korea would follow through with the commitments made in Singapore. The White House reportedly admitted that a subsequent trip made by Mike Pompeo to Pyongyang went "as bad as it could have".

US officials have repeatedly said North Korea has committed to giving up a nuclear weapons programme that now threatens the US, but Pyongyang has offered no details as to how it might go about this.

Satellite image from Airbus Defense and Space and 38 North, shows the apparent dismantling of facilities at the Sohae satellite launching station, North Korea (AFP/Getty ) (AFP/Getty)

Jenny Town, managing editor of 38 North, which is based at Washington's Stimson Centre, said the work at Sohae could be an important move to keep negotiations going.

"This could (and thats a big could) mean that North Korea is also willing to forgo satellite launches for the time being as well as nuclear and missile tests. This distinction has derailed diplomacy in the past," she said.

Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Show all 20 1 /20 Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Trump and Mr Kim leave following their historic meeting AFP/Getty Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Trump and Mr Kim sign a document committing to peace between their nations, amongst other things EPA Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Trump holds up a document that both he and Mr Kim have signed AFP/Getty Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un The two leaders reach out to shake hands for the first time AP Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Trump and Mr Kim shake hands as they meet for the first time Reuters Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Trump and Mr Kim walk off stage, following their historic meeting Reuters Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Trump and Mr Kim take a stroll after their meeting on June 12 Reuters Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Trump and Mr Kim interrupt their stroll to talk to the media AP Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Kim and Mr Trump look out over a balcony at the Capella hotel, where they held their meeting on June 12 Reuters Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Trump takes questions at the press conference following his meeting with with Mr Kim AP Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Trump appreciates the crowd in the press conference following his meeting with Mr Kim Getty Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Trump travels to the Istana ahead of the summit with Kim Jong Un on June 12 Reuters Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Kim Jong Un travels to the Istana ahead of the summit with President Trump on June 12 Reuters Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Kim poses for a photo with Singapore's Finance Minister Vivian Balkrishnan and Education Minister Ong Ye Kung ahead of the summit with Mr Trump Twitter/Reuters Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Trump shakes hands with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, meeting on Monday June 11 in the Istana, Singapore's presidential palace AP Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un At a working lunch on Monday, Singapore's Prime Minister surprised Mr Trump with a birthday cake, in early celebration of his 72nd birthday later in the week EPA Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo answers questions about the summit at a press briefing in Singapore on Monday, June 11 Getty Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un US President Donald Trump arrives at the Paya Lebar Air Base in Singapore on June 10, two days prior to his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un Reuters Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Trump and Mr Kim met on Tuesday June 12 in the Capella hotel on the island resort of Sentosa, just off the south coast of Singapore AFP/Getty Singapore Summit: historic first meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un Mr Trump boards Air Force One following the summit AFP/Getty

On Friday, senior US officials called on Mr Kim to act on his promise to give up his nuclear weapons and said the world, including China and Russia, must continue to enforce sanctions on Pyongyang until he does so.

And on Monday, the US State Department issued an advisory together with the departments of Treasury and Homeland Security alerting businesses to North Korea's sanctions-evasion tactics.

It said they should "implement effective due diligence policies, procedures, and internal controls to ensure compliance with applicable legal requirements across their entire supply chains."

In a tweet early on Monday, Mr Trump rejected "Fake News" that he was angry because progress was not happening fast enough with North Korea.

"Wrong, very happy!" he said in the Tweet.

"A Rocket has not been launched by North Korea in 9 months. Likewise, no Nuclear Tests. Japan is happy, all of Asia is happy," he said.

A report in The Washington Post at the weekend said that in spite of positive assessments Trump has given on progress with North Korea, he has vented anger at aides over a lack of immediate progress.

Last week, Mr Trump said there was "no rush" and "no time limit" on denuclearisation negotiations.

US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said on Thursday it was technically possible for North Korea to eliminate its nuclear weapons program within a year, but added that it was not likely to happen.

Additional reporting by Reuters
 Close Dozens dead in Greece wildfires

At least 74 people are thought to have been killed by a series of wildfires that have spread through tourist resorts close to the Greek capital Athens.

Witnesses have reported whole towns have been razed to the ground by the blaze, thought to be the country's most deadly fire in more than a decade.

Authorities believe dozens are dead, including 26 people found across just two villas in the village of Mati by Greek Red Cross relief workers.

More than 100 others have been reported injured while fleeing the fires, including 11 understood to be in a serious condition.

Follow our live updates for all the latest news from Athens:
One of the founding members of the feminist protest group Femen has been found dead in her apartment in Paris.

Oksana Shachko took her own life, according to friends, at the age of 31.

Another of the Ukrainian feminist groups founders, Anna Hutsol, told Ukrayinska Pravda she had taken her own life, but friends were waiting for an official police report.

A post on the groups website described Ms Shachko as fearless and vulnerable.

RIP. The most fearless and vulnerable Oksana Shachko has left us. We mourn together with her relatives and friends and expect for the official version from the police, it said on its official blog.

At the moment it is known, that yesterday, July 23, Oksanas body was found in her apartment in Paris.

Oksana Scachko was one of the co-founders of Femen (REUTERS/Gleb Garanich)

The Femen movement was founded in Kiev in 2008, and has won notoriety in Europe for its protests  usually topless  against religious institutions, dictatorial regimes, homophobia and sex tourism.

Another post on the groups blog called Ms Shachko one of the heroines of our time.

It said she fought against injustice, fought for equality, fought for herself and for all women as a hero.

Oksana is no more with us, but she is here, she is everywhere. Oksana is in each of us, she is in Femen, she is in the history of feminism.

 Topless FEMEN protester storms Front National stage and gets within a few feet of Marine Le Pen

A postmortem will be carried out to determine the cause of death.

For confidential support in the UK call Samaritans on 116 123.

You can also contact the following organisations for confidential support:

https://www.mind.org.uk/

http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/mentalhealth

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk
Five people have been injured after a tourist boat burst into flames in northwest Spain.

It came after the catamaran, which was carrying nearly 50 people, collided with another boat off the island of Toxa in the Galicia region.

Many passengers reportedly threw themselves into the sea as the Civil Guard and boats piloted by civilians scrambled to rescue victims.

There are no reports of fatalities, but a number of passengers have been treated for burns, other injuries and shock.

The wounded have been taken to various hospitals depending on their type of injury, according to local emergency services.

The blaze sent a thick plume of black smoke over the sea.
Early on Saturday morning, a team of Russian secret service agents honed in on their target  an elderly scientist working at the mechanical engineering research institute (TsNIIMash) in Korolev, a satellite town not far from Moscow.

Viktor Kudryavtsev, 74, was in bed when officers arrested him. He was hardly in the best of health. He suffers from diabetes, several other age-related conditions, and had only recently recovered from a heart attack.

As a result, the hours that ensued were a test of endurance. He was delivered first to a secret court; and then to Moscows infamous Lefortovo prison, where he was stripped of his civilian clothes and given a black uniform to wear.

Over the weekend, reports in the local press gradually alerted the outside world to his story.

First, the state news agency Tass reported the arrest of a decorated scientist. Hour by hour, the details were filled in. The scientists alleged area of expertise  hypersonic missiles. The alleged crime  leaking secrets to a Nato country. The year  2013. The fact of ongoing searches at his institute. And the article under which the scientist was being tried  275, or state treason.

Recommended Brutal video exposes torture in Russian prisons

The human rights worker Yevgeny Yenikeyev found out about Mr Kudryavtsevs detention by accident. He was in Lefortovo prison the day of the arrest, visiting Antonina Zimina, another Russian recently arrested for crimes against the state. On leaving the meeting, Mr Yenikeyev casually asked prison guards if there was anyone else he should see.

He was granted access to the new prisoner. Mr Yenikeyev recalls seeing a tired, sad man. He was allowed to give his age, where he lived, and the article under which he was being tried. But there would be no answers to questions about where the man worked. That information was secret, prison officers said.

The deal for human rights workers allowed into Russian prisons is simple enough: Dont ask too many questions. So instead, Mr Yenikeyev focused on the basic day-to-day things that are important to someone in prison for the first time.

We talked about how to write a letter to family. How to buy things from the prison shop. That kind of thing. He didnt ask about much other than his wife. We didnt talk about his case, he says, speaking to The Independent.

But information about Mr Kudryavtsevs workplace and history was easily available on open sources.

We talked about how to write a letter to family. How to buy things from the prison shop. That kind of thing. He didnt ask about much other than his wife. We didnt talk about his case Yevgeny Yenikeyev, human rights activist

Snippets of his biography are listed on the website of his research institute. For example: the scientist was awarded a government prize in 2004 for a rocket and space complex called Sea Launch. He is also listed as a deputy head of a department. A look at academic citations reveals him to be the author of dozens of papers: from rocket aerodynamics to thermal characteristics of manufacturing materials.

According to the Kommersant newspaper, Mr Kudryavtsev was arrested in connection to his work developing materials used for new hypersonic missile systems.

That technology is at the heart of several new generation systems unveiled by President Vladimir Putin during his 1 March state of the nation speech. Kommersant makes mention of the kinzhal missile system, which Mr Putin has claimed is able to circumvent any existing missile shield.

Even a cleaner at one of these institutes would be interesting for a foreign state, says Gennady Gudkov, an opposition politician who worked in the KGBs counterespionage section between 1982 and 1993. Mr Kudryavtsev, who has access to a broad range of military developments, would be a remarkably useful asset to someone.

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Yet the case is strange, says Mr Gudkov. Had this been a counter-espionage operation of the type he had professional experience of, things would have played out differently.

There would be evidence of secret notes, and secret communications devices  like, perhaps, the British rock found in a Moscow park in 2006. There would be links to foreign embassies, with individual diplomats labelled as persona non grata and deported.

During Soviet times, this was a standard protocol that happened time and time again.

Here, the evidence is missing, says Mr Gudkov: You have none of the usual tell-tale signs of espionage. There is no motive, no link to a foreign handler, no secret communication, no sense of a reward  whether that be cash or promise of asylum, no regular meetings. That is all highly suspect.

Mr Gudkov said he could not rule the scientist accidentally leaking a state secret  in other words, without the normal signs of espionage. After all, security services have been known to go after scientists who have quoted material already in the public domain, he says.

But if this was the case, another article of the criminal code would have been applied, most likely 283, revealing a state secret. Instead, Mr Kudryavstev is being tried on the most serious of articles  275, or treason.

You have none of the usual tell-tale signs of espionage. There is no motive, no link to a foreign handler, no secret communication, no sense of a reward  whether that be cash or promise of asylum, no regular meetings. That is all highly suspect Gennady Gudkov, opposition politician and former KGB member

Pavel Luzin, a specialist in the space and defence industry at Perm State University, is similarly unconvinced of the scientists crime. He says the case resembles other processes against elderly researchers who were tried and imprisoned on flimsy evidence.

Mr Kudryavtsev was a scientist of the Soviet school, says Mr Luzin. He had the chance to leave and make money two decades ago; having remained in science, he wasnt about to begin selling secrets now.

Instead, the scientist was likely to have been chosen as a scapegoat by security officers looking to impress senior officers. Perhaps the aim was to instal a regime of fear in the scientific community, he says: The Kremlin is very keen the truth about kinzhals doesnt get out, for example, because they dont actually exist as advertised.

Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election Show all 29 1 /29 Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election St Petersburg, Moscow Station Russia's imperial capital is the starting point of our journey Dmitry Markov Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election Chudovo market Chudovo was one of the first stops of Radishchev's journey Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election Chudovo market "They say the fish rot from the head down" Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election On the way out of Chudovo Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election Polling station "We choose our president, we choose our future" Dmitry Markov Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election Sergei Mikhailov "People have become fussy and want clear water" Dmitry Markov Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election Radishchevo village "Life is just great" Dmitry Markov Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election Veliky Novgorod Once the seat of a forward-looking republic  Russia's first experiment with democracy Dmitry Markov Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election Veliky Novgorod Once the seat of a forward-looking republic  Russia's first experiment with democracy Dmitry Markov Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election Veliky Novgorod Once the seat of a forward-looking republic  Russia's first experiment with democracy Dmitry Markov Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election Veliky Novgorod Dmitry Markov Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election Navalny HQ Navalny's activists continue campaign despite their leader being barred from the elections Dmitry Markov Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election Navalny HQ Fake election newspaper "Putin's Pravda" Dmitry Markov Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election Roadside cafe, Proletary, Novgorod Oblast "Thatcher was a bitch, but I liked her. This one is just a bitch" Dmitry Markov Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election Service station, Valdai Propaganda  keeping pace every step of the way Dmitry Markov Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election Trucker's cafe, Yedrovo Two years ago, truckers staged a protest against new road taxes. Today, many of them are choosing to stay away from the elections Dmitry Markov Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election Trucker's cafe, Yedrovo Two years ago, truckers staged a protest against new road taxes. Today, many of them are choosing to stay away from the elections Dmitry Markov Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election Trucker's cafe, Yedrovo Two years ago, truckers staged a protest against new road taxes. Today, many of them are choosing to stay away from the elections Dmitry Markov Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election Some roads lead to Moscow Dmitry Markov Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election Along the road to Vyshny Volochyok Mikhail, an Afghan veteran, is proud of his mushrooms Dmitry Markov Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election Along the road to Vyshny Volochyok Pensioners are the group most likely to vote on Sunday  and most of them for Vladimir Putin Dmitry Markov Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election Vyshny Volochyok The Soviet Union is still viewed by many as a golden era  with social welfare and stability Dmitry Markov Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election Nelle's Shop, Tver "People have cut back on the fags, but you won't see them turning away from alcohol  they'd sooner steal it than go without" Dmitry Markov Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election Polling Station, Tver Dmitry Markov Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election Car scrapyard, Tver Peace to the world! Dmitry Markov Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election Proletarian Courtyard, Tver Rats, black mould and communal living Dmitry Markov Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election Proletarian Courtyard, Tver Rats, black mould and communal living Dmitry Markov Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election Proletarian Courtyard, Tver Rats, black mould and communal living Dmitry Markov Welcome to the real Russia, on eve of election Grandma Masha "Help me! Ill get on my knees to beg you" Dmitry Markov

Another factor that could be playing a role is a massive reorganisation under way in the Korolev institutes parent organisation, Roscosmos. In June, Alexei Kudrin, the head of the Public Accounts Chamber, and close Putin confidence, accused Roscosmos of misspending at least 760bn roubles of public money in 2017. Perhaps, speculates Mr Gudkov, the FSB wanted to show their strength in order to to have a say in the reorganisation.

None of this, of course, is likely to help Mr Kudryavtsev as he begins to get used to life behind bars.

The problem is that there will never be an objective investigation of the Kudryavtsevs guilt, says Mr Gudkov. Those charged with investigating will also be prosecuting. It is a most serious situation for the man concerned.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) may have discriminated against Qatari nationals after the Gulf diplomatic spat erupted last year, the United Nations' highest court has said..

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) said in a provisional order that the UAE must immediately reunite families and allow students previously resident there to continue their studies after Qataris were kicked out of the country in June 2017.

It also found Qataris should be allowed access to judicial services in the UAE.

Along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, the UAE abruptly cut off all diplomatic and trade ties with tiny Qatar last year, alleging that the state interfered in the affairs of its neighbours and funded terror organisations.

Qatar has denied the lengthy allegations against it, claiming the crisis is politically motivated.

According to the country's National Human Rights Committee, the ongoing Gulf blockade has significantly affected around 13,000 Qatari nationals, including 646 families who have been split up as a result.

The ICJ case against the UAE bought by Qatar last month alleged that the Emirates had violated international law by expelling thousands of resident Qataris and freezing their assets, as well as banning travel and shutting down the Qatari-owned al Jazeeras news operations in the country.

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The discriminatory measures directed at Qataris based expressly on their national origin breached the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), to which both countries are signatories, Qatar alleged.

The other parties involved in the dispute - Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt - are not signatories of the CERD convention.

While the UAE initially argued the case was without merit and should be dismissed, Emirati officials welcomed the ruling.

The summary of the International Court of Justice decision today addressed what is known as the provisional measures and the judges' rejection to the Qatari demands, calling for three measures concerning families, student and access to litigation, which the UAE has executed in accordance to its national regulations after the steps taken by the four nations against Doha, UAE foreign minister Anwar Gargash said in a tweet.

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This is just the first step in a long struggle to vindicate our rights, but it sends a strong early signal to the UAE that its actions will not be tolerated, a statement from the Qatari foreign ministry said.

The ICJs order is a provisional measure and will remain in place until the court hears the full case and makes a final ruling at an undermined later date.

The court has no power of enforcement, but the UAE said it has already been implementing the ICJ's ordered procedures.
Israel has shot down a Syrian warplane it says was flying over its airspace in the southern Golan, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has said.

Two Patriot surface-to-air missiles were fired at a Syrian Russian-made Sukhoi-22 jet on Tuesday after it was monitored flying around two kilometres (1.25 miles) into Israel, according to a military statement. The IDF remains on high alert.

The pilot was identified by pro-Syrian government media as Colonel Umran Mare, and it is believed he was killed when the plane crashed in an area on the Syrian side of the border, possibly in territory controlled by Isis.

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The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the pilot's death, but did not identify him.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had "made clear" that Israel "will not accept any such penetration of or spillover into our territory, neither on the ground nor from the air.

Damascus has denied Israels claim, saying instead that the jet was operating in Syrian airspace. A state-operated news agency said the plane was targeted while conducting a raid against Isis within southern Syria.

Israel attack Iran targets in Syria: overnight airstrike in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Israel attack Iran targets in Syria: overnight airstrike in pictures Israel attack Iran targets in Syria: overnight airstrike in pictures Missiles rise into the sky as Israeli missiles hit air defense position and other military bases, in Damascus Syrian Central Military Media, via AP Israel attack Iran targets in Syria: overnight airstrike in pictures Missile fire is seen from Damascus Reuters Israel attack Iran targets in Syria: overnight airstrike in pictures An Israeli flag is seen placed on Mount Bental in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. Israel's army said today it had carried out widespread raids against Iranian targets in Syria overnight after rocket fire towards its forces it blamed on Iran, marking a sharp escalation between the two enemies. Israel carried out the raids after it said around 20 rockets, either Fajr or Grad type, were fired from Syria at its forces in the occupied Golan Heights at around midnight. AFP/Getty Israel attack Iran targets in Syria: overnight airstrike in pictures The Israeli military on Thursday said it attacked "dozens" of Iranian targets in neighboring Syria in response to an Iranian rocket barrage on Israeli positions in the Golan Heights AP Israel attack Iran targets in Syria: overnight airstrike in pictures Israeli artillery deployed missiles toward Syrian military targets, on the Golan Heights EPA Israel attack Iran targets in Syria: overnight airstrike in pictures Missile fire is seen over Daraa Reuters Israel attack Iran targets in Syria: overnight airstrike in pictures Air defence systems intercepting Israeli missiles over Syrian airspace AFP/SANA Israel attack Iran targets in Syria: overnight airstrike in pictures Israeli soldiers walk among armored vehicles in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights Reuters Israel attack Iran targets in Syria: overnight airstrike in pictures Syrian air defense missiles are seen in the sky over the capital Damascus EPA Israel attack Iran targets in Syria: overnight airstrike in pictures Air defence systems intercepting Israeli missiles over Syrian airspace. Israeli missile strikes fired at Syria hit military bases, as well as an arms depot and military radar. AFP/SANA

Israeli military spokesperson Lt Col Jonathan Conricus told reporters on Tuesday afternoon that the Syrian plane flew towards Israel at relatively high speed but it was unknown whether it deliberately crossed into hostile airspace.

The IDF noted increased activity by the Syrian air force near the the border during the day, which prompted Israel to issue deconfliction warnings through several different channels, said Danny Danon  Israels ambassador to the United Nations.

Southern areas on Syrias borders with Jordan and Israel have seen intense fighting in recent weeks after the Syrian government, with the help of Russias air force, launched a major operation to retake Deraa province from rebels and extremist groups.

The downing of the jet comes a day after Israel deployed its Davids Sling air defence system for the first time, which intercepted two stray Syrian surface-to-surface missiles after they triggered siren warning systems in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Tuesdays incident marks the first time a Syrian warplane has been shot down by Israel since 2014. While a 1974 disengagement agreement demilitarised the contested Golan Heights, the two countries technically remain in a state of war.

The new offensive to retake Deraa has seen Syrian president Bashar al-Assads government take up military positions in the border zone with Israel for the first time in decades, leading to Israeli worries that Damascus may seek to reinstate its military presence in the Golan.

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Around 100 Israeli airstrikes in Syrian territory in the last few years have aimed to prevent weapons smuggling to the Iran-allied Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which also fights alongside Assads troops. Hezbollah, like Iran, is committed to the destruction of the Jewish state.

As Assad has slowly regained control of the country, hostilities between Iran and Israel have ratcheted up, with Israeli officials warning they will not accept a permanent Iranian military presence in Syria.

Escalating tensions have led to an intervention from Moscow, which on Monday sent a delegation led by foreign minister Sergey Lavrov for talks with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, designed to reassure Israel that Russia will keep Iranian forces at least 100km (62 miles) away from the Golan frontier.

Israeli officials remain sceptical of Russias ability to limit Iranian activity in the war-torn country.
After Kilauea in Hawaii and Fuego in Guatamala, the next volcano to blow its top might be closer to home  in the popular Spanish tourist destination of the Canary Islands.

Cumbre Vieja means old summit in Spanish, but just because its old doesnt mean this volcano on La Palma is inactive  far from it. In fact, its erupted twice in living memory  in 1949 and 1971  and over the past 12 months there have been well over a thousand recorded tremors on the island, 928 of them in just one week this February.

The more recent eruptions on La Palma have not been enormous, but one risk is of a giant landslide on the western half of the island, creating a tsunami that could drown coastal swathes of the eastern seaboard of America and even the beaches of southern England.

Descending San Antonia volcano (Gerard Gilbert)

Its a remote risk, seismologists believe, but added a frisson of danger when I visited for a hiking holiday that took me to the rim of Cumbre Vieja and the islands several other slumbering eruption sites, along a panoramic and clearly marked route of the volcanos.

From the rim of the most southerly of these  the Volcan de San Antonio (which itself enjoyed a year-long eruption in 1677)  you can see the newest part of Spain, formed in 1971 when the nearby Teneguia volcano blew its top and sent rivers of lava towards the sea, expanding the surface area of the island. The land was quickly colonised by winemakers planting the distinctive local Malvasia grape  the basis for the Malmsay that was said to have been Shakespeares favourite tipple.

Despite these arid reminders of planet earths inherent instability, La Palma  dubbed La Isla Bonita (the pretty island)  is the lushest of the Canaries, especially in the north and east where high peaks that run up the centre of the island snag the westerlies blowing in from the Atlantic and ensure plentiful rainfall. The equitable temperatures have led to the Canaries being called the islands of eternal spring  but in the real springtime, wildflowers turn La Palma into a subtropical paradise, best appreciated on foot.

La Palma is allegedly one of the steepest islands in the world (iStock) (istock)

And this is a destination for hikers, not sun-loungers or those after the hedonistic nightlife of Lanzarote or Gran Canaria. La Palmas only real resort is tiny Los Cancajos  a short strip of bars and pizza parlours  and your best bet is to go self-catering as I did, in a well-appointed villa about 15 minutes from the airport.

When meeting a fellow hiker, its best to say guten tag rather than greet them in Spanish or English, because the vast majority of visitors here are Germans intent on covering long distances on foot. Even so, their numbers arent huge; a mere 33,000 at the last count. Theres a lot to be said for La Palmas other epithet as the forgotten Canary Island.

Much of the walking is of the up and down variety, La Palma allegedly being one of the steepest islands in the world. I decided that Id save my knees and drive myself to the islands most stunning panorama atop the Caldera de Taburiente, a bit of a white-knuckle drive, as it turned out, around hairpin bends with vertical drops. Thankfully, a few parking areas gave me a chance to stop and recover while enjoying the views right across the island and over the cobalt-blue Atlantic towards Tenerife, and breathing in the resin scent of the Canary pine.

I did manage the three-hour walk that winds up a sharp ravine called Cubo de la Galga, through pristine laurel forests and a canopy of birdsong, before emerging at a viewing platform that was sadly sheathed in cloud on that particular afternoon. Cloud cover on the peaks would seem to be an occupational hazard on La Palma and my advice is to check the summits out before you set off; theyre visible from just about everywhere.

After my exertions, I was ready to fill up the local food, which turned out to be delicious (despite being described in my guidebook as basic). Fresh fish and grilled octopus, or rabbit and goat for adventurous carnivores, came with the ubiquitous red or green mojo sauce and wrinkly potatoes  an early import from Venezuela from where islanders have traditionally emigrated during lean times. Known as papas bonitas, these small spuds are something of a gastronomic treasure and served as such.

The beautiful Cascada de los Colores at Caldera de Taburiente, La Palma (istock)

Bananas are, however, the chief export of the island  smaller and sweeter than the ones were used to in British supermarkets  and theyre used in both sweet and savoury dishes. There is also a long-established trade with Cuba, and the cigars manufactured on La Palma allegedly met the approval of Fidel Castro himself. But if the numerous tremors being experienced in La Palma are a portent, then one day soon cigars wont be the only things smoking on this rather wonderful island.

Travel essentials

Getting there

Easyjet flies from London Gatwick to Santa Cruz de la Palma from 99 return.

Staying there

Inntravels week-long self-catered stay in cottages on La Palma (sleeping two-four people) starts from 680 per property, including seven days car hire.
The French motto of "Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite" could not be more fitting as the number of French people identifying as nudists has risen by more than 50 per cent in the past four years alone.

Figures from the French Federation of Naturism (FFN) reveal that the country typically associated with the sensual pleasures of food and love can now claim around 2.7 million nudists.

Last year, a section of one of Paris largest public parks, the Bois de Vincennes, was set aside as a clothing-optional zone.

Paris first nudist restaurant, the aptly named ONaturel, opened its doors to the clothing averse in November last year.

And, when the Palais de Tokyo museum in Paris advertised a naked session of an exhibition, an incredible 30,000 people requested one of only 161 tickets on offer, according to The Telegraph.

Organisers of other clothing-free events are also reported to be heavily oversubscribed.

Images of retired hikers can also be dismissed, as more young people than ever before are exploring the liberating lifestyle, according to the FFN.

Jacques Freeman from the Association of Promotion of Naturism in Liberty suggested that young peoples growing interest in naturism could be part of a wider political movement.

Nudity is synonymous with freedom, he told French news site The Local.

A spokesperson for the French Embassy seemed happy with the developments: Naturists and nudists are welcome all over our country! There are over 80 centres and 180 clubs throughout the country ready to welcome them, which makes France the country most visited by naturists and the best-equipped to meet their needs.

Those considering a move away from travelling textile  the term used to describe being fully clothed  are well served. Earlier this year, NaturistBnB was launched to help naturist travellers find nudist-friendly holidays. The Airbnb-style booking site lists over 200 properties around the globe for those seeking some clothing-free rest and relaxation.
The Independent today launches a campaign to win for the British people the right to a final say on Brexit. Come what may in the months ahead, we maintain our commitment to our readers to retain balance and present many different points of view. But on this subject we believe a referendum on the final deal is right. We do so for three reasons.

First, amid the chaos of recent months, one thing has become increasingly clear: Theresa Mays approach  and indeed the chaos in parliament  is not working. We are simply not close enough to resolving so many big issues about which people care so much. The enormity of the task, the contradictions in both major parties and the ferocious divisions in their ranks have now stretched our parliament to its limits, to the point where the impasse leads us ever closer to an accidental Brexit, as foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt most recently acknowledged, without a deal.

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You can support the Final Say and have your voice heard on our future relationship with the EU by signing our petition here.

Second, sovereignty rests with the people  the people should have the opportunity to finish what they began, to pause and consider whether they still want to go ahead with the Brexit course were on, just as they would any other major decision in their lives.

Third, while there are questions about the validity of another referendum  shouldnt the original outcome be delivered?  we clearly know more now than we did in 2016, amid such deeply flawed campaigns on both sides. Ignoring these shortcomings and ploughing on regardless is a far bigger problem for democracy. Faced with the current turmoil in our politics, and with dangers ahead coming into focus, it is surely undemocratic to deny people a chance to express their opinion afresh.

There is just a chance too that a new referendum would provide a form of healing for a divided nation, the indisputable closure we all crave. Clarity may emerge. At the very least, it could reassure the losing side  whichever that may be  that the country had a chance to have its say on the final deal that is offered, rather than on the original, opaque principle alone of exit from the EU.

***

We do not have to look for long to find examples of the failures of the current process. Parliament is deadlocked. Such is the challenge in getting anything through that last week Ms May only managed to overcome the latest attempted rebellion by drawing on the sort of skulduggery, in the infamous vote pairing scandal, that left her own MPs feeling ashamed.

After the long summer recess that is now upon us, there will be more knife-edge divisions in the Commons and more amendments to legislation. Some will no doubt indulge in the same sort of politicking  the votes will be tight, accidents will happen, chief whips may make honest mistakes about arrangements for members of parliament on maternity leave. There will be more ministerial resignations, more Conservative leadership crises, more threats, more confusion, more fudge, more uncertainty.

It seems wrong.

Parliament has been offered a meaningful vote on the final deal, a concession exacted by the skilful work of former attorney general Dominic Grieve. However, recent events suggest the government lacks a true and honourable commitment to parliamentary process.

Besides, the meaningful vote may not end in a meaningful outcome, because parliament looks unable to be decisive  turning this way and that, depending on the shifting ballast of dissent in the Conservative Party, the scheming of the whips, and sheer happenchance.

For their part, the hard Brexiteers make little secret that they wish to keep their eyes on the prize  the fact of Brexit. They are undismayed by crashing out of the EU without a deal if none has been reached by 29 March  indeed, some would welcome this hardest of all Brexits. Thus they have every incentive to confuse, prevaricate and delay. Chaos suits them just fine. They would allow the people of the UK to endure the cost  vast economic disruption, a possible return to the Troubles in Northern Ireland and, some claim, a state of emergency  as long as it allows them to achieve their own goal.

The British people decided to pursue our course in the referendum of 2016, so as we now look for a decision on whether we will like the deal agreed with the EU (assuming there is one), it is natural that those same people should have the final say.

Indeed, given the magnitude of the decision, it would be essential for the British people to be given that final right of approval, even if cabinet and parliament were providing the leadership we need, which they are not.

Morally, emotionally even, a referendum is also needed to help bind up the wounds of the past two years. The 2016 referendum was deeply flawed. Both the campaigns for Leave (Vote Leave and Leave.eu) have been censured by the Electoral Commission, with individuals referred to the police. It could be argued, on the other hand, that the greatest democratic outrage associated with the 2016 referendum was the decision by David Cameron to send an official leaflet to every household recommending a Remain vote, paid for by the taxpayer at a cost of around 9m.

A general election, some argue, especially in Labour circles, would be another way of dealing with the impasse. Yet general elections are fought on many issues, and the European issue so obviously runs across party lines that we might end up with an accidental government under first past the post  if, say, Ukip takes votes away from Conservatives to let Labour, SNP and Liberal Democrats in, or if Ukip polls so well in Labour areas it pushes Jeremy Corbyn back.

People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Show all 30 1 /30 People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Rex People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal AFP/Getty Images People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal A young protestor shouts as she takes part in the People's Vote demonstration against Brexit Getty Images People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Reuters People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal A protester's pro-EU t-shirt EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal AFP/Getty Images People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal AFP/Getty People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Gina Miller and Caroline Lucas EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Tens of thousands of people march through London EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Demonstrators at the People's Vote March Getty People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal 'Two months too young to decide on my future' REUTERS People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal PA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal A young girl joins in the march PA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal An EU flag is draped across the statue of Winston Chruchill in Parliament Square REUTERS People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal AFP/Getty Images People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Vince Cable MP, Pro-EU campaigner Gina Miller, Tony Robinson and Caroline Lucas MP join with crowds PA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal PA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Crowds gather on Pall Mall PA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal A man resembling Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, joins EU supporters Reuters People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Reuters People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal People gather in Trafalgar Square REUTERS People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Pro-EU campaigner Gina Miller and Tony Robinson PA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EU supporters, calling on the government to give Britons a vote on the final Brexit deal, participate in the 'People's Vote' march REUTERS

So how should the referendum work? What should the question on the ballot paper ask? What voting system should be used? These are all important issues, and we will be returning to them in the weeks ahead. Of course, the question put to the public in a meaningful referendum would depend on whether an EU-UK deal is even reached at that point. If there is no deal on offer, the ballot paper would be simple: a choice between leaving the EU with no deal, or staying in the EU. If there is a proposed deal, there would need to be three options on the ballot, expressed in some variety of preferential voting system: accept the deal and leave the EU, leave the EU without a deal, or remain in the EU. The question of the voting system must wait for another day. One important lesson might be to explicitly make the referendum binding; that would add a formal air of finality to the episode.

The final deal referendum would be relatively easy to organise, compared with other difficulties ahead. Should an extension to the Article 50 period be needed to facilitate it, so be it  what is a few months compared with the forever that follows them?

The author Robert Harris put the case for a final deal referendum differently in a recent tweet: Strongly suspect there will be 2nd referendum, not for any noble reason, but because MPs will desperately want to hand the screaming, defecating, vomiting baby back to its parents  the electorate  & let them decide what to do with it.

Like changing a baby, the process of a final deal referendum will be messy, but necessary. And much, much better than the alternative.

Our politicians have hardly covered themselves in glory since the 2016 referendum. Its time to let the people take back control.
Almost without anyone noticing, the Labour Party seems to be turning itself into the party of economic nationalism. My evidence? The innocuous sounding Build it Britain campaign, launched by Jeremy Corbyn who, it is fair to say, speaks for his party with some authority these days. The pity is, the party he could be speaking for is Ukip.

Labours latest economic idea is to ensure that public money should be spent on British products and British workers and British companies. That, Im afraid, is protectionism wrapped up in a Union Jack. It is, Corbyn sincerely believes, how British manufacturing can be revived after Brexit, when foreign-based companies such as Honda, BMW and Nissan will be reviewing their commitment to invest in a country outside the biggest market for their UK-made products  the EU customs union and single market.

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Show all 8 1 /8 The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Post-Brexit immigration workers sorting radishes on a production line at a farm in Norfolk. One possible post-Brexit immigration scheme could struggle to channel workers towards less attractive roles - while another may heighten the risk of labour exploitation, a new report warns. PA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Customs union A key point in the negotiations remains Britain's access to, or withdrawal from, the EU customs union. Since the referendum there has been hot debate over the meaning of Brexit: would it entail a full withdrawal from the existing agreement, known as hard Brexit, or the soft version in which we would remain part of a common customs area for most goods, as Turkey does? No 10 has so far insisted that Brexit means Brexit and that Britain will be leaving the customs union, but may be inclined to change its position once the potential risks to the UKs economic outlook become clearer. Alamy The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Northern Ireland-Irish border Though progress was made last year, there has still been no solid agreement on whether there should be a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To ensure borderless travel on the island, the countries must be in regulatory alignment and therefore adhere to the same rules as the customs union. In December, the Conservative Partys coalition partners, the DUP, refused a draft agreement that would place the UK/EU border in the Irish Sea due to its potential to undermine the union. May has promised that would not be the case and has suggested that a specific solution would need to be found. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Transition period Despite protests from a small number of Conservative MPs, the Government and the EU are largely in agreement that a transitional period is needed after Brexit. The talks, however, have reached an impasse. Though May has agreed that the UK will continue to contribute to the EU budget until 2021, the PM wants to be able to select which laws made during this time the UK will have to adhere to. Chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said the UK must adopt all of the laws passed during the transition, without any input from British ministers or MEPs. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Rights of EU citizens living the UK The Prime Minister has promised EU citizens already living in the UK the right to live and work here after Brexit, but the rights of those who arrive after Brexit day remains unclear. May insists that those who arrive during the transition period should not be allowed to stay, whereas the EU believe the cut-off point should be later. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreement (with the EU) Despite this being a key issue in negotiations, the Government has yet to lay out exactly what it wants from a trade deal with the EU. Infighting within the Cabinet has prevented a solid position from being reached, with some MPs content that "no deal is better than a bad deal" while others rally behind single market access. The EU has already confirmed that access to the single market would be impossible without the UK remaining in the customs union. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreements (internationally) The Government has already begun trying to woo foreign leaders into prospective trade agreements, with various high profile state visits to China, India and Canada for May, and the now infamous invitation to US President Donald Trump to visit London. However the UK cannot make trade agreements with another country while it is still a member of the EU, and the potential loss of trade with the world's major powers is a source of anxiety for the PM. The EU has said the UK cannot secure trade deals during the transition period. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Financial services Banks in the UK will be hit hard regardless of the Brexit outcome. The EU has refused to give British banks passporting rights to trade within the EU, dashing hopes of a special City deal. However according to new reports Germany has suggested allowing trade on the condition that the UK continues paying into the EU budget even after the transition period. Getty

Perhaps Corbyn thinks theyll be persuaded to stay if he insists the British public sector buy the stuff they make here and will no longer be able to shift in Europe; if so, we will be buying an awful lot of cars for the public sector. Maybe he could just give them away to the needy; Vote Labour and get a free Mini Cooper! Or, get a new Nissan Qashqai on the NHS.

This outbreak of economic nationalism is a very big clue as to why Corbyn has always been lukewarm about the EU, if not committed to withdrawal  the longstanding belief that a Labour government should be able to subsidise businesses and support jobs without some Brussels bureaucrat or judge telling it that it cannot. Those with long memories will recall that was the approach of Tony Benn, the long-time leader of the Labour left and political mentor of Corbyn.

So what's wrong with the idea?

Well, lets take the renationalised Royal Mail that Corbyn promises (I heard him say so for myself at the Labour Live festival recently, and it went down pretty well with the crowd waiting for Clean Bandit, and who will actually soon be getting Clean Brexit. Boom boom).

Once the posts have been returned to the public sector, the secretary of state for business (or whatever it will be called by then) will be keeping an eye on its procurement policies. A new van for Postman Pat will be high on the agenda. After extensive examination of their financing, their reliability, running costs, depreciation, driver comfort and suitability for Post Office customisation, the bosses at the Royal Mail recommend buying Peugeot vans built in Spain. Oh no you don't, says the minister, presumably Rebecca Long-Bailey. Under our manifesto commitment to buy British, youre going to have to buy Vauxhall vans, made in Luton, albeit by the same French-based group. But, squeal the mail folk, theyre not as good, theyre too big, theyre more expensive. Tough, says Ms Long-Bailey. I have the British people behind me. Tell Pat and his black and white cat that his new Vivaro is on the way.

This is what life used to be like. When the British still had a domestically controlled motor industry, the Royal Mail, the police, British Rail, the local authorities and other public agencies were the only people, pretty much, who would purchase the products of the nationalised British Leyland Motor Corporation. The obsolescent Sherpa van was shunned by much of the private sector and small businesses because it was nowhere near as good for the job as a Ford Transit, which happened also to be made in Britain. The general point, though, is this; buying British can mean worse value for money for taxpayers and poorer services and products for consumers. This is not some ideological rant or neo-liberal fixation; it is simply common sense, and a recollection of what life was like in this country when the state ran businesses. Badly.

 No-deal Brexit could happen 'by accident', Jeremy Hunt says

Economic nationalism is wrong, but it is seemingly policy that Corbyn, Ukip and Donald Trump have in common. It represents a belief that producer interests are more important than consumer interests, and, often enough, taxpayer interests. It is not free trade. It will leave uncompetitive British enterprises, public and private, being propped by tax revenues paid by the successful ones, which is precisely the wrong way round. We should not, even if it hurts, be buying British where French, Spanish, Indian or Chinese products or services or contractors promise superior value, or are better suited to consumer tastes.

Corbyn says: For the last 40 years, a magical kind of thinking has dominated the way Britain is run. Weve been told that its good  advanced even  for our country to manufacture less and less and instead rely on cheap labour from abroad to produce imports, while we focus on the City of London and the finance sector.

Id only suggest to him that there is actually nothing wrong with relying on imports manufactured with cheap labour, because that cheap labour, as he disparagingly calls it, comprises millions of people in places such as China, India, Indonesia and Vietnam who have been lifted out of poverty in recent decades. They make shirts, shoes, cars, steel and, well, almost anything better than we do. Globalisation has thus reduced global inequality  not socialism. Fact.

Where I grew up, in Leicester, there still stands the Co-operative wholesale Society shoe factory, built in around 1890, and which was, in those days, the biggest in the world. Most of this handsome structure survives and is now flats. I well remember us visiting the factory shop at the back, where they offered excellent value. The biggest shoe factory in the world is now to be found, I think, in Dongguan, in China. I am sorry about that, sentimentally, but know that it make more sense to get our footwear from East Asia than the East Midlands. Maybe Corbyn doesnt want to put the clock back on that  but what does he want us to make here that is made by Chinese workers today? How will he do that, apart from public procurement? And what will the World Trade Organisation and the Chinese say about that? Why is it socialist to put a Chinese worker out of a job?

Much the same goes for railway trains, which Corbyn wants to build here, even if the Japanese or the Germans are better at it. Perhaps hed want NHS uniforms made in the UK rather than China. Maybe our schools should ensure that their textbooks are printed in this country rather than abroad, if it squeezes their budgets.

Can you imagine going shopping with Corbyn? Hed make you have the Wensleydale rather than the Brie; the English sparkling wine rather than the Prosecco; English apples rather than the South African ones. I wonder how much British stuff is in the Corbyn larder. Or where his washing machine, smartphone or bicycle is made. Maybe he wants to start a British Banana Corporation (BBC) with a plantation in sunny Cornwall, so we dont have to rely on the ones form West Africa and the Caribbean, where the wages are so low. Those guys can find something else to do. Is that the ultimate destination of Corbynomics?

I think we should be told.

After Brexit, if it happens, the market will determine where Britains comparative advantage lies, where the jobs will be created, where the investment will go, and how we will pay for it. In the cold climate that we will encounter outside the EU's protected markets, we will find life more difficult, and harsher than anyone has yet owned up to  on the Corbynite left or the Rees-Mogg right, or in Ukip for that matter. The one thing we cannot afford is a double whammy  finding ourselves outside the EU but lumbered with a protectionist, and statist Labour government trying to keep living standards high as the economy fails to generate the exports and funds to support them. Brexit may well be ruinous, at least in the short term, but it will be made much, much worse if we go down the road of economic nationalism.
When brand new Brexit secretary Dominic Raab stood at the despatch box of the House of Commons on Tuesday afternoon he was the holder of arguably the biggest non-job in the country.

But by the time he had dashed straight from there to his first appearance before the Brexit select committee it had been made public that he was in fact the holder of arguably the biggest non-non-job in the country.

It has been well known for some time that a civil servant called Olly Robbins has been informally in charge of Brexit, a truth that only became more self evident as Robbins sat by Raabs side throughout the select committee hearing, wearing the kind of counterfeit grin the single market was expressly invented to keep out.

Recommended Theresa May says she is taking charge of Brexit talks

As the two men took their seats, Downing Street published a written ministerial statement that confirmed Theresa May would be taking personal charge of the Brexit negotiations herself, with Raab merely deputising for her.

The old story of the Chinese zodiac springs immediately to mind, except that with the riverbank finally approaching, the rat is now jumping off the oxs back, but landing several feet short of dry land and plopping directly in the drink. Except there is no riverbank, just a thundering ravine and precious little time available to argue about who is to blame for the imminent demise.

Raab exuded news of his de facto demotion with the kind of easy air that causes one to wonder whether it really is mere coincidence he has never been seen in the same room as Begbie from Trainspotting.

Seen up close, Raab is frankly terrifying. He is the angry cop in an ITV police drama, sneaking in late at night to destroy the CCTV footage of that incident in the cells with the suspected nonce. He is the provincial dad still waiting for his court date after hed accidentally been brought the wrong bill in the the local Italian.

As John Whittingdale and others tried to establish who was whose boss, and who was above and below who while both being simultaneously below Theresa May, Raab did his level best to explain it all away as some rearranging of the Whitehall deck chairs. Which is true, in that sense that the deckchairs are musical, the music has stopped, and he isnt sitting in one of them.

It was, he said, about establishing a clear chain of command, about having one track. And indeed there is a clear chain of command, its just that when it gets down to Raabs level it comes straight back up again, with milk and two sugars.

Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines Show all 10 1 /10 Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines The Sun, March 9 2016 This wholly false headline merited the first ruling by IPSO (the press regulator) under clause 1 of the revised Editor's Code of Practice. Clause 1 makes specific reference to newspapers printing "headlines not supported by the text" Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines Daily Mail, November 4 2016 In perhaps the most notorious front page of the past few years, the Mail derides the High Court judges who ruled that parliament must have a vote on whether to trigger article 50 and start the Brexit process Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines Daily Express, November 4 2016 In the Express' take on the same story, they manage to incorporate the Union Jack, allude to First World War propaganda, invoke memories of Churchill and, of course, state "Brexit means Brexit" Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines The Sun, March 29 2017 The Sun marked the day on which Mrs May triggered article 50 by projecting a huge and terrible pun on to the Cliffs of Dover Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines The Sun, April 4 2017 Referencing their notorious eurosceptic headline from 1990 (See: Up Yours Delors), the Sun stokes the flames of the brief Gibraltar dispute, a dispute in which Spain, the supposed aggressors, only joined to note that there was "no need for it" Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines Daily Mail, April 19 2017 This headline followed Mrs May's snap election announcement, which gave the Mail hope that dissenting opinions on Brexit would disappear Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines Daily Mail, December 14 2017 In recent months, the Mail has often forgone catchy headlines in favour of rambling rants, this is an early example aimed at Tory Brexit rebels Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines Daily Mail, January 31 2018 This headline (?) takes aim at the Lords over their repeated amendments to the EU Withdrawal Bill Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines The Sun, June 12 2018 On the day that the EU Withdrawal Bill is to be debated in the Commons, the Sun offers two choices to MPs, desperately including all conceivable imagery that might make Brits feel patriotic, which apparently includes the Loch Ness Monster Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines Daily Express, June 12 2018 On the same day, the Express lets MPs know what the consequences of the vote may be

And on the subject of milk and sugar, not yet two years from the day trade secretary Liam Fox described the prospective trade deal between the EU and the UK as the easiest trade deal in human history, Raab confirmed that plans were already under way for making sure there is adequate food for the increasingly likely event that the easiest trade deal in human history proves to have been too difficult for Her Majestys Government all along.

Robbins, for his part, said that Raab remained Monsieur Barniers primary interlocutor, which is the same reassurance one imagines he has been giving David Davis for most of the last two years, before David Davis quit his job for no greater reason than there was no job left from which to quit.

Raab has been a true believer in Brexit from the beginning, and faced with the burgeoning reality of the situation he retreated to the usual stock phrases, all of which are as unfalsifiable, evasive and meaningless as ever.

Raab is not going to wallow in pessimism about the state of this country in relation to Brexit, even though its all his fault.

Raab thinks this countrys best days lie ahead, even though he is only confident Brexit will be a success in the medium to long term. So quite when those best days will come is not clear, though it will be long after Raab bears any personal responsibility for the worse ones that will, by definition, be required to get there.

Raab is, he said, confident in this country. Which is to say he is confident this country will get by with substantially less money than it previously had.

Still, now that Theresa May has taken personal control of Brexit away from the Brexiteers, perhaps a positive outcome is possible.

Could Theresa Mays personal control of Brexit go the same way as her personal control of the dementia tax, the taking in of Syrian refugee children, the return of grammar schools, Hinkley Point, lists of foreign workers, the energy price cap and definitely not having a snap election?

Fingers crossed then. There is still time for Take Control Theresa to work her unique magic.
British Prime Minister Theresa May visits the Reece Group's Armstrong Works in Newcastle in England, where she met staff and held a question and answer session after holding a cabinet meeting in nearby Gateshead. Photo: Russel Cheyne

Britain should consider the damage to its international relationships if it tries to renege on its financial commitment to the EU, the Taoiseach has warned.

Mr Varadkar was responding to a threat made by British Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab who suggested the UK could now insist on 'conditionality' to its previous agreement to pay off the money it owes Brussels.

The financial settlement is an estimated figure that the UK is obliged to pay the EU based on the various outstanding commitments that exist from over 45 years of EU membership.

"The settlement which the UK has agreed to in principle, bear in mind, are obligations and commitments that they have already made," the Taoiseach said.

"I think any country seeking to make treaties and agreements into the future, in particular international treaties and agreements into the future, will want to honour those obligations."

Mr Varadkar was speaking in the Croatian capital Zagreb, where he held a bilateral meeting with the country's Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic.

He said he didn't directly ask for assurances from the Croatians to defend Ireland's position on the Border in the case of a no-deal scenario.

Under World Trade Organisation rules and the laws governing the EU single market, Ireland is obliged to erect a customs and regulatory border with any third country in order to check for unauthorised or substandard goods entering the internal market.

Asked whether he got such assurances, he said: "Well we actually didn't discuss that in any detail, but I think everyone understands Ireland's position when it comes to there not being a physical or hard Border between North and south - it's just something that we cannot contemplate. I think there is a real understanding from every member state that we need to avoid that, first of all through the withdrawal treaty, and then through the final relationship."

A spokesperson for the Croatian prime minister said there was no change to the country's "official position" and Croatia supports Ireland in the sense that post-Brexit "there are no disruptions" to the status quo.

Mr Plenkovic described Brexit as a "lose, lose, lose situation" and was won through "manipulation by populists".

Meanwhile, UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned that without a "change in approach from the EU negotiators", there is now a "very real risk of a Brexit no deal by accident".

He warned of "unintended geopolitical consequences", with Vladimir Putin "rejoicing" if there was no deal.

EU agriculture commissioner Phil Hogan touched on the prospect of a no-deal on Brexit.

Speaking at the MacGill Summer School he said: "It is a very high probability. The way things are going... there are a lot of imponderables which would lead everybody to believe, and certainly the view of the European Commission, that we should prepare for a no deal."

Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas says it wants a deal, "not a disorderly Brexit". "We know that everyone has to make mutual concessions to get this deal," he said.

Meanwhile, it emerged that Amazon's UK boss warned Mr Raab Britain would face "civil unrest" within weeks of a no-deal Brexit. Doug Gurr, the retail giant's UK manager, reportedly made the comment during a meeting between Mr Raab and a group of senior business executives on Friday.

Amazon declined to confirm whether Mr Gurr had made the remarks, reported in the 'Times', but a spokesperson said: "Like any business, we consider a wide range of scenarios in planning discussions, even if those scenarios are very unlikely."

Yesterday, UK Prime Minister Theresa May began a summer charm offensive by reaffirming her plans to bolster the "powerhouse" of northern England.

She chaired a cabinet meeting in Gateshead before meeting factory workers for a rare town-hall-style event.

She told workers in a factory: "The future post-Brexit is going to be what we make it.

"We want to get that good deal with the European Union, but we have huge benefits here in the UK, with our entrepreneurship, our innovation, our skill-set, our workforces."
The Dundrum Town Centre in Dublin is co-owned by Hammerson

Hammerson, the co-owner of the Dundrum Town Centre, is launching a share buyback programme worth 300m (336.6m).

It says the move is part of efforts to return proceeds from its asset disposals to investors over the next 12 months.

The company has also announced that it is reducing the number of executive directors from four to two.

Chief investment officer Peter Cole and executive director Jean-Philippe Mouton will both step down from the board at the end of the year.

As part of a wide ranging strategy update, Hammerson said it was setting a disposal target of 1.1bn by the end of 2019.

It has already reached 300m in disposals this year and has now increased its overall target for 2018 to 600m.

It will also aim to diversify the geography of its property holdings, with non-UK retail exposure set to increase by around 10pc.

Hammerson is now aiming to cut costs by around 7m per year.

Chief executive David Atkins said: "Through increasing the level of disposals, including exiting the retail parks sector, we will now focus solely on winning destinations of the highest quality: Flagship retail destinations and premium outlets.

"These are the venues we believe will maintain relevance and outperform against the shifting retail backdrop. Our customer and retailer offer will be amplified, and this includes a step change in our retailer line up."

"We will reduce the amount of floor space let to department stores and high street fashion as we actively focus on the latest consumer trends and take bolder steps to provide the best retail mix.

"Our results today demonstrate the resilience of our business. We are taking tough decisions and have absolute conviction in our ability to deliver.

"By reprioritising our capital deployment and repositioning our portfolio, we will accelerate future shareholder value and returns."

Hammerson made the announcement alongside its half year results which showed pre-tax profit plunging 80pc to 55.8m over the six months to June 30.

Revenue for the period was down from 160.1m to 152.5m.
David Atkins, CEO of Hammerson, said the company continues to see opportunities to dispose of selected assets in order to better deploy capital. Photo: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Listed retail landlord Hammerson has announced the sale of two retail parks for 164m (183m) as it gears up for a raft of disposals meant to pacify shareholders during its half-year results.

The Dundrum Town Centre owner said it has exchanged contracts for both the Imperial Retail Park in Bristol, England, and the Fife Central Retail Park in Kirkcaldy, Scotland.

The sites were acquired by the company in 2012 and 2005, respectively.

Hammerson is tipped to unveil a new strategic plan today that is meant to address shareholder anger after the company ditched plans to buy its rival Intu, which operates the Trafford Centre, in Manchester.

The deal with Intu was set to create Britain's biggest property company, with 21bn worth of assets across Europe.

The latest disposals bring Hammerson's total proceeds from disposals this year to 300m.

CEO David Atkins said there was more news to come during the company's half-year results, due to be published today.

"We continue to see opportunities to dispose of selected assets in order to better deploy capital on behalf of our shareholders," he said.

"With 300m of sales achieved this year, we are already over half-way to reaching our planned disposal target for 2018.

"We look forward to providing a further update on disposals and capital deployment tomorrow when we report our half-year results."

Hammerson and Intu officially called off the 3.4bn deal in late April after the Bullring owner withdrew a recommendation for shareholders to vote through the acquisition.(PA)
Planning permission has been granted for the redevelopment 30 - 32 Sir John Rogersons Quay, Dublin 2.

The building, which used to be owned by U2, is one of the last remaining original warehouse buildings on Dublins quays.

Originally used for the importation of tropical fruit into Ireland, the building, which is being developed by Irish property fund IPUT, will deliver over 70,000 sq. ft. of offices, and will include a new six storey office block at the rear of the building.

The design incorporates the addition of two floating, fully glazed office floors, which will provide panoramic views over the River Liffey.

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"The Tropical Fruit Warehouse will be an exceptional building, a cutting-edge, efficient modern office space which also incorporates a thoughtful restoration of the historic warehouse buildings," Niall Gaffney, IPUT chief executive, said.

"We are excited about the unique letting opportunity that the Tropical Fruit Warehouse represents which will further support the anticipated 20pc growth in our dividends over the next 3-5 years."

In a statement today IPUT said that the original warehouse would be sensitively restored, and the development will also incorporate a "significant investment" for the general public, creating a pedestrian connection to Whitaker Square from the River Liffey activated by a cafe and an artists studio at street level.

The development has been designed by Henry J Lyons Architects, and construction is due to commence in the latter half of this year, with the building ready for market delivery in the latter half of 2020.
A national drive to get extensive livestock farmers to grow more silage this autumn for those who are short of fodder was called for by stakeholders at Inter-Agency Fodder Committee last week.

An additional 6-8m tonnes of silage will have to be harvested to avoid a serious fodder shortage nationally, Joe Patton of Teagasc has estimated, and getting additional silage stocks from less-intensive holdings this autumn is vital.

With tighter global feed supplies, and importing the required level of cereals and straights posing massive logistical challenges, Ireland is at risk of its third fodder crisis in six years.

ICSA secretary general Eddie Punch told delegates that there is potential for more grass to be grown on less intensive livestock farms on heavier ground but that an incentive would have to be put in place to ensure farmers get paid.

"The reason someone might not make extra silage at the moment is that they'd be very concerned about getting paid for it, that's the barrier," Mr Punch said.

He suggested that the co-ops and marts should act as intermediaries in any fodder sale scheme that was devised to ensure farmers were paid for silage grown.

"There is potential to grow extra silage but people won't unless they're sure they'll get paid. Co-ops and marts can act as an intermediary. For example, a livestock farmer who owes money to a co-op could set that against bales he supplies for a dairy farmer of that co-op," he said.

Joe Patton of Teagasc accepted that there was a risk that farmers who grew extra silage might not get paid. But he claimed an unoffical fodder trading system was already in operation.

"The risk is that we are asking people who have never done it before to spread fertiliser, book a contractor, buy the wrap and the netting and assume they'll get paid. But successful examples of this are happening under the radar but nobody ever hears the good stories, they only hear stories of those who don't get paid," he said.

"The most pressing thing is to grow this stuff in the country and we have to be pushing that. Six to eight million tonnes of fresh feed is needed and no transport subsidy will look after that, there's not enough boats on the continent to import it," Mr Patton pointed out.

INHFA's Vincent Roddy cautioned that many extensive farms are in GLAS which means there is restrictions on the fertiliser they can spread and that this would have to be examined first and foremost.

"If there's proactive measures taken on, then some of those farmers in GLAS can help. But we have to recognise that farmers in GLAS are restricted on the fertiliser they can use," he pointed out.

'Dire straits'

"There's 250,000 hectares of GLAS low-input permanent pasture in the country. Farmers will be topping that, but at the moment they can only leave it rot in the ground. If 10pc was allowed to be cut, that would be 10 bales per hectare and 250,000 bales we wouldn't have to import. A taskforce needs to be set up to ensure this happens," Mr Roddy said.

ICMSA deputy president Lorcan McCabe suggested that farmers cull cow numbers to ease the level of demand for fodder.

"We're in the most dire straits that I've ever seen. Fodder's going to be extremely scarce. Nobody wants to hear it, but we have to get rid of surplus stock and get rid of cull cows," Mr McCabe maintained.

"If everyone got rid of five cows, it would be a huge help," he said.
Farmer Claire Spencer with bales of hay on her family farm in Annahala, Co Cork. Photo: Daragh McSweeney

Hay and straw prices have almost doubled as livestock farmers warned it could take Ireland 18 months to recover from the miserable winter followed by the record-breaking summer drought

Livestock farmers and stud operations are now desperately competing for available hay and straw supplies, with the Government carefully monitoring the situation, given the potential demand for a second fodder intervention in just four months.

Even world-renownedequestrian operations arebuying in fodder supplies.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has been briefed on the escalating problems facing livestock farmers due to the heatwave, drought and feared fodder shortages.

Straw bales (4x4) are now fetching 30 each  a near doubling of the 17 price many farmers had shelled out for straw in 2017.

It is estimated that straw yields are now back by around 40pc nationwide.

Ireland traditionally produces around 7.5 million bales (4x4) of straw, but there are fears it could drop to 5.25 million bales this season.

The south-east, which traditionally produces hay and straw for other areas, is now expecting yields to plummet.

If some of the horror stories are to be believed, not a bale will leave places like Wexford because of local need, one Cork farmer said.

Waterford IFA chairman Kevin Kiersey said the terrible winter and unprecedented drought is causing serious

problems for many farmers.

The problems are going to become very apparent in the coming months, he said.

Major agri-food players have already taken action, with Dairygold offering interest-free credit to all its members for purchases of feed and fertiliser throughout July and August.

Round bales of hay are selling for 40 in some areas, with farmers warning that prices may rise further.

Cork farmer Jimmy Donoghue said his entire fodder stock was wiped out by Irelands miserable winter and spring.

I reckon I am back around 100 bales on where I was this time last year. I got hay at 30 per bale but I know other farmers who are being charged 40 and more per bale, he said.

Farmers across Ireland are desperately working to get straw and hay saved.

Donal and Elizabeth Cott were working hard on their farm at Knockane outside Donoughmore, Co Cork, while Claire Spencer was carefully inspecting her hay yield at Annahala, also in Cork.

Mr Cott said: It has been a really challenging year with a long winter, a wet spring and now a summer drought. What every farmer needs now is rain.

Mr Varadkar has promised the Government will not be found wanting if the drought continues and the multi-billion Euro agri-food sector faces a potential fodder crisis.

Ireland recorded its hottest and driest June in living memory. Rainfall last week was the first seen by some parts of

Ireland since June 21.

Experts warned, however, that another two to four weeks of good rainfall is required to tackle parched farmland and replenish Irish streams, rivers, lakes and reservoirs.
THE Central Bank is seeking new legislative powers to make individuals in banks responsible for their decisions.

It comes after a report found some banks continue to operate with a crisis-era mindset.

The onset of the financial collapse a decade ago was blamed for banks mistreating their customers, including wrongly taking good-value tracker mortgages off them.

But despite lenders recovering from the crash some banks still have command-and-control leadership styles, a Central Bank review found.

The regulator wants new laws so that individuals in banks can be held personally responsible for their decisions.

The report was ordered by the Finance Minister in December in the wake of the tracker mortgage rip-off.

Regarded as one of the largest financial scandals in the history of the State, the tracker debacle saw almost 40,000 mortgage holders either denied a tracker rate or put on the wrong margin.

Putting right the tracker mess is set to cost the banks around 1bn.

The new report focuses on the leadership and culture of AIB, Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank, Permanent TSB and KBC Bank and examines how customers should be prioritised. But individual banks are not named in the report.

No individuals have been held to account for the tracker swindle.

In the report on the culture of the banks, the regulator says some banks still have a long way to go when it comes to acting in a more consumer friendly way.

The Behaviour and Culture of the Irish Retail Banks report found some banking executive committees display firefighting behaviour ten years after the banking collapse.

There is a focus on urgent and short-term issues.

This may be a remnant of a crisis-era mindset which persists because of the necessity to solve a multitude of legacy and regulatory issues, the Central Bank said.

There is a need to empower senior staff rather than have all decisions going through chief executives.

The Central Bank wants the law changed to give it powers to make individuals in banks accountable for their actions.

Senior managers would have to set out where responsibility and decision-making lies in their bank.

Bank bosses would have to adhere to new conduct standards setting out what was expected of them by the regulator.

Central Bank director general financial conduct Derville Rowland said culture is set from the top down.

It is a matter for boards and senior management, in the first instance, to set an effective culture that places the best interests of their customers first. Banks still have a distance to go to live up to their slogans of putting customers first.
Dublin Port will have seen growth of 37pc in six years by the end of 2018, and says this highlights the need to build additional capacity at a faster rate

Dublin Port will today launch a revised development plan covering the years to 2040.

The port is planning to invest 1bn in its facilities over the next 10 years, compared to a previous projection of 600m.

Expand Close Eamonn O'Reilly, CEO of Dublin Port Company. Photo: Colin O'Riordan / Facebook

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It told the Irish Independent it will have sufficient financial firepower in place, drawing on its own cash flow, funding from the European Investment Bank, and backing from other lenders. It is abandoning plans to deepen the port to 12 metres, saying that ongoing work to deepen it to 10 metres will suffice. It is also lifting the extent to which it plans to increase the port's capacity.

"The revised masterplan is founded on our commitment to the proper planning and sustainable development of Dublin Port," CEO Eamonn O'Reilly said.

"As we build more capacity on the same footprint in Dublin Port, we will continue to work to achieve a reintegration of the port with the city. Next year, for example, will see construction start on a 4km greenway for pedestrians and cyclists on the northern fringe of the port overlooking the Tolka estuary."

The port posted a 5.2pc year-on-year increase in cargo volumes in the first half of the year. Both imports and exports increased, while ferry passenger numbers rose 2.7pc.

Cruise ship calls to the port rose to 61 in the first half of this year, compared to 50 last year.

Petroleum imports and animal feed drove growth of 11.5pc in bulk commodities, the report said.

"We had budgeted for growth of 5pc this year, but are now running at the higher rate of 5.2pc," Mr O'Reilly said.

"At this level, by the end of 2018 we will have seen growth of 37pc in just six years. This is significantly higher than our masterplan planning growth rate of 3.3pc and highlights the need for us to build additional port capacity at a faster rate," he added.

"Where we had been planning to invest 600m in the decade to 2027, we now know we need to spend 1,000m if we are to continue to provide capacity for our customers.

"Our investments match those of the major shipping lines such as Irish Ferries, Stena Line and CLdN, all of whom have already or will shortly introduce new larger ships on services between Dublin and both the UK and continental Europe."

Mr O'Reilly said the port was working with relevant State agencies to ensure border control and inspection facilities were in place to deal with the potential effects of Brexit. The port reiterated that a previous proposal to reclaim land from Dublin Bay is being ditched.

It said work has begun on the so-called Dublin Inland Port close to Dublin Airport, which will span 44 hectares and house logistics operations on the port's behalf.

The port is also working on the Southern Port Access Route - designed to connect the port tunnel on the north side of the Liffey to the port's southern lands at the Poolbeg peninsula.

Mr O'Reilly told the 'Sunday Independent' earlier this year that this was likely to be a new bridge rather than a new tunnel.
Harry Crosbie has plans to turn his quayside home into a luxury four-star hotel, but some local residents have lodged objections with Dublin City Council. Photo: David Conachy

A number of local residents have lodged objections with Dublin City Council over plans by developer Harry Crosbie to turn his quayside home into a luxury four-star 19-bedroom hotel.

As part of the plan for the 'iconic building for the docklands', called 'Number Nine', the application is seeking to add two extra floors to the two-storey property.

The development also includes a bar restaurant and a gallery and performance space - each of the hotel bedrooms will have a balcony overlooking the water.

Consultants for Basin Holdings say the multi-use facility would create "an iconic building for the Dublin Docklands and Hanover Quay and shall contribute significantly to the city as an enhanced tourist destination and place to meet".

The consultants say the 9 Hanover Quay development "will be a considerable planning gain for Grand Canal Dock providing services, public amenities and a cultural hub".

However, the plan is facing opposition from a number of residents living in the area.

Local resident Phil Costelloe has told the council that since getting married 10 months ago, he and his wife have enjoyed living in their south-facing light-filled home on Longboat Quay.

However, he says if the 9 Hanover Quay plan proceeds, "we will be trapped in darkness, negative equity and lack of privacy. We would also suffer from noise pollution from the change of use of the existing residential structure into a hotel and bar".

Mr Costelloe said that he purchased his one-bedroom apartment in 2007.

In his objection, Mr Costelloe said that "since purchasing my home in 2007, I have experienced a massive decline in the value of my home due to economic reasons. Thankfully, the value of my home has come somewhat close to what I originally paid for it".

In reference to the Crosbie plan, Mr Costelloe said "this proposed four-storey development at 9 Hanover Quay would absolutely decimate the value of my home".

Another resident at Longboat Quay, Graeme Roche, has told the council that "if additional floors are added to the structure at 9 Hanover Quay, our apartment would become almost entirely boxed in".

Mr Roche argues that "the proposed development at 9 Hanover Quay would remove all remaining natural light and privacy". He said the area is already extremely well served by the many hotels in close proximity - The Marker, Clayton Hotel Cardiff Lane, Maldron Hotel Pearse Street, and The Ferryman.

A decision is due on the application next month.
Ryanair dragged the ISEQ index of Irish shares lower yesterday, as investors reacted to a trading update that said the airline expected further strikes.

The carrier has been grappling with industrial relations strife at a number of locations around Europe and has been forced to cancel flights.

After-tax profits fell 20pc year-on-year in the airline's first financial quarter, despite revenue rising, as increased staffing and fuel costs bit.

The airline lost 6.75pc in Dublin yesterday to finish at 14.50. It was the worst performer, with the index down just over 1pc in closing at 6864.64.

US stock indexes got a boost in afternoon trading from bank shares in an otherwise lacklustre session as investors digested warnings from the world's financial leaders about the impact of protectionism on growth.

The S&P 500 Index rose, with financials leading the gainers amid below-average trading volume. But Amazon pulled consumer discretionary stocks lower after US President Donald Trump renewed his public campaign against Jeff Bezos's 'Washington Post'. West Texas crude oil briefly advanced above $69 after Mr Trump warned his Iranian counterpart not to threaten the US, before retreating to below last week's close.

"This week should be a bit more active, given that it will be the busiest week of this earnings season," Matt Maley, equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co, said in a note on Monday. "But we still think this lack of activity highlights something that we already know: that growing odds of a trade war, which is now becoming a currency war as well, has made investors much less willing to make definitive investment decisions."
Tesla asked some suppliers to return a portion of its payments to them in an attempt by the electric-car maker to turn a profit, the 'Wall Street Journal' has reported, citing a memo sent to a supplier last week.

The company's shares dropped as much as 5.9pc yesterday, following the report. The bonds also declined. Tesla, whose eroding cash position has alarmed investors, requested a "meaningful" amount of payments made since 2016 to be returned, according to the letter. The note stated all suppliers had been asked to help the Californian company become profitable.

The request indicates more struggles for Tesla in its quest to reverse losses. While CEO Elon Musk proclaimed the company to be a "real" carmaker after hitting a weekly goal of producing more than 5,000 mass-market Model 3s, there are doubts the volumes can be sustained. Some of the increased output, pivotal for boosting revenue and earnings, came from a makeshift tent.

Tesla's stock was down 5.7pc to $295.64 (252.70) at one stage yesterday in New York. Its 5.3pc bonds due in 2025 fell as much as 1.75 cents, the biggest drop since May, according to Trace bond price data.

The US auto manufacturer declined to comment, but confirmed it's seeking price reductions from suppliers for projects, some of which go back to 2016, according to the report. Tesla called such requests a standard part of procurement negotiations to improve its competitive advantage, especially as it increases Model 3 production, the 'Journal' said.

It's not clear how many suppliers were asked to hand back money, with some saying they weren't aware of the request, the newspaper said. (Bloomberg)
EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is due to meet President Trump to discuss the imposition of US tariffs on EU steel and aluminum. Photo: Reuters

Europe will not bow to threats from the United States in a trade dispute and wants to resolve it via negotiations, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Tuesday before European Commission talks with Washington on the issue.

Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is due to meet US President Donald Trump to discuss the imposition of US tariffs on EU steel and aluminum and his threats to expand those measures to European cars.

"It is good that Jean-Claude Juncker will be in Washington tomorrow to talk and to seek a solution but we are not heading to negotiations with a pistol at our chest. I don't think threats bring us closer to a solution," Maas said.

"We in Europe must stick together...I hope that we succeed in resolving this via consensus but we will not be threatened and climb down so easily," he told German public television.

Trump has complained about higher duties applied by the European Union on car imports and has described the bloc as a trade "foe".

EU officials say that while EU import duties for cars are heavier than those applied by the United States, the US rates for other products, including trucks, are higher. They say cutting duties for cars can only be part of a broader trade deal.

Maas, about to visit Japan and South Korea, who are also threatened by US tariffs, said no one had an interest in new and higher tariffs.

"In the end, all sides would lose, also the Americans," he said, adding he hoped that US officials would realise this.
Since shooting onto the fiction charts with The Couple Next Door in 2016, Shari Lapena has established herself as one of the biggest names in the domestic thriller genre that has proved a publishing phenomenon.

The former lawyer and teacher from Toronto is enjoying enormous success, with her debut selling over a million copies and her follow-up, A Stranger in the House, rocketing to the top of the bestseller list, too.

Now Lapena is back with An Unwanted Guest, her third novel in as many years, this time blending the psychological thrills her fans love with an old-fashioned locked-room mystery.

A cast of 12 has assembled for a weekend getaway at the Mitchell Inn, an intimate hotel nestled in a snowy forest in the Catskill Mountains. Along with the father and son who run the hotel, the guests include best friends who have grown apart, young lovers seeking time alone, a handsome heir and his beautiful fiancee, a middle-aged couple trying to reconnect, an author working on her book, and a reticent lawyer looking to escape for a few days.

They arrive in the middle of a storm, which shows no signs of abating. As the snow grows heavier, the roads become blocked, the phone signal dies and the group find themselves trapped inside the hotel.

Following a tense round of drinks and a quiet dinner, the guests turn in, still optimistic of having a relaxing trip. Their hopes of a restful weekend, of course, are dashed when they wake up to a dead body on the stairs.

They discover the electricity is gone, leaving them cut off from emergency services and the outside world. They alone must attempt to identify the killer in their midst as the bodies start to pile up.

Writers shouldn't have to provide likeable characters, but this universally disagreeable ensemble makes it difficult to invest in the murders.

All the same, Lapena has a good grasp of her vast group, and while they remain mostly two-dimensional, she does a solid job of making each one memorable and a viable suspect.

But Lapena's homage to classics of the genre is disappointingly derivative - An Unwanted Guest reads like a very familiar, yet enjoyable, riff on Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None.

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Save a delicious final-page twist, the clever plotting mostly fizzles out by the end and the story is let down by some lazy, choppy writing ("Riley is glad that David is gone. She thinks he's reckless, and she's glad he's gone"). There are clues leading readers to guess the killer, but the ultimate reveal relies on a heap of complex backstory, explained in a flat, meandering monologue.

There are at least two too many bodies to keep track of, and in the latter half, the story tests the limits of plausibility, particularly a fireside chat during which the characters methodically unload their deepest secrets to each other.

Where Lapena excels is in creating atmosphere. The Mitchell Inn may be an underwhelming title (it's certainly no Overlook Hotel), but it's the perfect setting for her whodunnit.

The secluded mountain retreat, "covered in a pure, muffling white snow", transitions seamlessly from cosy and romantic to horrifying: with no lights, phones or internet, the sense of isolation is palpable, and to make matters worse, the group must preserve evidence by leaving the corpse lying on the stairs until the police can be reached.

It makes for gripping reading, and if you're not fussed about originality, An Unwanted Guest is an ideal book to be devoured in the space of a few hours.

If you're a fan of Lapena's previous novels, you're sure to tear through her latest in one sitting. It's an arguably stronger work than The Couple Next Door, largely thanks to that chilly suspense that keeps readers guessing up to the very last page, and Lapena skilfully ramping up the tension by switching perspectives among the group.

While the icy setting is wonderfully rendered, it strikes as an odd choice to market for the summer beach reader. I would much prefer this as a wintertime treat, one to blaze through by the fire on a frozen afternoon. A light and fun, if forgettable, thrill.
A 14 million (15.7m) bid to buy a collection of more than 5,500 artefacts from the Titanic wreck site and bring them to Northern Ireland has been launched.

The rare collection has become available after a US company that currently owns the items filed for bankruptcy.

Titanic Belfast, the Titanic Foundation, National Museums Northern Ireland and the National Maritime Museum have teamed up to launch the multi-million pound Titanic Artefacts Collection campaign.

The #TitanicArtefacts campaign is an exciting collaboration between ourselves @TitanicBelfast, @TFL_Belfast, National Museums NI and @RMGreenwich which aims to bring a collection of over 5,500 artefacts home to the UK & Ireland. Find out more >> https://t.co/hEEdNjBWdg pic.twitter.com/pMu9ABmawS  Titanic Belfast (@TitanicBelfast) July 24, 2018

The campaign, which was launched in Belfast on Tuesday, has the backing of the Titanic film director James Cameron, and Dr Bob Ballard, who discovered the wreck of Titanic in 1985.

Dr Ballard will be among those speaking at the event at the Titanic Belfast.

Soon after the wreck was found, the privately-owned company RMS Titanic Inc gained exclusive rights to salvage it and recovered items from statues to shoes of the victims.

The 5,500 artefacts were recovered from the seabed over the course of seven expeditions between 1987 and 2004.

"We're on a journey to bring the artefacts home, to bring them into public ownership in perpetuity...we are fortunate to have had a very strong collaboration in this campaign." Conal, Harvey, @TitanicBelfast #TitanicArtefacts  Titanic Artefacts Collection (@TitanicArtefact) July 24, 2018

Premier Exhibitions, which currently owns the collection, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States in June 2016.

The 14.5m bid will ensure that the collection is not broken up, bringing it back home to Belfast, securing its longevity through public ownership and protecting and preserving the legacy of Titanic.

The famous ship sank after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage in 1912, resulting in the deaths of more than 1,500 people.

Mr Cameron helped make the ship world famous after releasing the film in December 1997.

The Hollywood director, who has added his support to the bid through his Avatar Alliance Foundation, said he feels a deep responsibility to Titanic.

His first expedition to the wreck site was in 1995 as part of the move project. He has since made 33 dives to the Titanic site over a 10-year period.

You feel responsible to get the story right and honour the dead and the tragedy, he said.

I went to the wreck site [in 1995] for a purpose, to film the Titanic for a movie but I came away with a sense of a greater purpose which is to tell that story by whatever means.

Once Titanic is in your life, it doesnt leave easily.

When the issue of the artefacts came up, Bob Ballard contacted me and said this was happening and I said we should do something do about it.

The director worked with Dr Ballard and organised a meeting with Conal Harvey, the deputy chairman of Titanic Belfast, at the National Geographic Society headquarters in the US a year ago.

The team discussed the idea of acquiring and repatriating the artefacts.

Following the meeting, the National Geographic Society pledged 500,000 dollars (380,000) to help with the fundraising to back up the offer.

Mr Cameron added: One of the concerns is that the collection would be broken up, sold privately, the bankruptcy court might award the company the opportunity to break up the collection, to sell it piecemeal and it would disappear from the public eye.

Thats why people who feel some responsibility around Titanic has stepped up.

If its sold privately that would be wrong, its a part of the world heritage. Its an incredible piece of history.

I spent more time on the ship than the captain did, he added.

From the first moment we raised this idea it was a dream, but I think the chances are very good and certainly its moved from an idea to a dream to a partnership.

He said the artefacts will help boost Northern Irelands economy and tourism.

Because Titanic is such a world-wide known event, I cant think of a better place for the majority of artefacts to be.
A British Army officer has been jailed for 18 months after being convicted over the killing of a 21-year-old soldier who was shot during a training exercise.

Captain Jonathan Price, 32, was also dismissed from the British Army after being found guilty last month of the manslaughter of Ranger Michael Maguire by gross negligence following a seven-week court martial at Bulford, Wiltshire.

Two other officers, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Bell, 46, and Warrant Officer Stuart Pankhurst, 40, were convicted of negligently performing a duty.

Col Bell lost one years seniority as a lieutenant colonel, which could affect his promotion prospects, while WO2 Pankhurst was fined 3,000.

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Rgr Maguire was one of several soldiers who came under machine gun fire during an exercise at the Castlemartin Training Area in Pembrokeshire in May 2012 for members of the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment.

Rgr Maguire, from Co Cork, died after being hit in the forehead by a stray bullet from a machine gun.

The three defendants were accused of having a total disregard for the safety of their men when they organised a live ammunition exercise ahead of deployment to Kenya.

After the shooting Capt Price, who was a lieutenant at the time, said to one witness: Ive messed up, havent I?

The court heard that soldiers on one part of range 10 were firing directly at those in another part of the range, who were about 1km away and would have been visible.

Capt Price, now of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish, failed to set up and supervise a safe exercise, failed to attend a recce of the range when preparing a range action safety plan (Rasp), placed targets too close together and failed to deconflict the two exercises.

Col Bell, who was then a major and Capt Prices company commander, was the senior planning officer for the exercise and failed to review or counter-sign the Rasp produced by Capt Price and failed to supervise or support him.

WO Pankhurst, who was an acting sergeant supervising the exercise, failed to produce a Rasp for the machine gun firing which he was supervising.

It emerged after the convictions that the Ministry of Defence has received a Crown Censure for breaches of health and safety regulations.

Mathew Sherratt QC, representing Capt Price, said he had recently married and had a 10-year-old stepson and urged the court to impose a suspended sentence.

It was his dream to be in the regiment. He accepts that is finished and that is huge punishment, he said.

The punishment of the loss of his career is devastating for this young man. I suggest that if he could ever turn the clock back he would and he should have gone to get some help.

Mr Sherratt said there were systemic issues in the British Army and there had been changes to procedures after the death of Rgr Maguire.

Puneet Rai, representing married father-of-two Col Bell, said he was on the reserve list to be promoted to full colonel and a recent posting had been withdrawn as a result of the conviction.

It is accepted by the Ministry of Defence that there were failings in the system which contributed to where we are today, she said.

Since the day of this incident Col Bell has made it his personal crusade to make sure that the failings within the system are challenged.

Catherine Bradshaw, representing married father-of-three WO2 Pankhurst, said that any loss of rank would be particularly hard on him and suggested should receive a reprimand and fine.

For WO2 Pankhurst, who joined the Army with the aspiration of becoming regimental sergeant major of his local regiment, not to have the coveted position of sergeant major comes as a blow to him, she added.

Passing sentence on behalf of the court martial board, Assistant Judge Advocate General Alan Large said Capt Prices negligence was so great that only an immediate custodial sentence was appropriate.

We have no doubt that the offence of gross negligence manslaughter committed in the circumstances of this case and after a contested trial are so serious that an immediate prison sentence is required, he said.

The judge said the board had reduced the sentence from a starting point of four years after taking into account Capt Prices exemplary service to the country, including a tour to Afghanistan.

Taking into account all the mitigation, imprisonment for 18 months is the shortest sentence we can pass. We do not consider it appropriate to suspend the sentence.
Ana Kriegel (14) was murdered in Lucan on May 14

The book of evidence is almost complete in the case of the first 13-year-old boy charged with the murder of Kildare schoolgirl Ana Kriegel.

The boy, who cannot be named because he is a minor, was charged with the murder of 14-year-old Anastasia 'Ana' Kriegel at Glenwood House, Laraghcon, Lucan, on May 14.

Her body was found at the disused farmhouse three days later.

The teen faced his fourth hearing at the Dublin Children's Court yesterday, having been charged and remanded in custody on May 25 last.

When the case resumed yesterday, Judge John O'Connor noted there had been a psychiatric assessment and he asked, "Where are we now?".

A State solicitor told Judge O'Connor the Director of Public Prosecutions' direction, under Section 52.4 of the 2001 Children Act, would be ready next week.
A model and ex-partner of Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch's nephew Alan Hutch has admitted pulling clumps out of a young mother's hair while the victim was on a Dublin bus with her baby.

Emily Jane Stewart left the woman bleeding from scratches in a "frightening", unprovoked attack.

She went on to assault the woman's mother on a bus two days later, "diving" on her, biting her finger and punching her face.

Judge Martin Nolan suspended a six-month sentence after Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard the older victim was in a relationship with Stewart's father which led to "tensions" between the two families.

Stewart pleaded guilty to assaulting the two women in separate incidents in 2017.

Garda Daniel Eccles told the court the first victim, Shannon Ryan, got on the 27 bus in north Dublin at 4.30pm on March 10, 2017. She was travelling with her three-and-a-half-month-old baby in the push chair area.

Stewart (22), from Belcamp Avenue, Coolock, got on at the next stop and went upstairs. Ms Ryan rang her mother to say she had seen Stewart and the accused came back down stairs and told her to get off the bus.

When Ms Ryan refused, the demand was repeated. Stewart then ran towards Ms Ryan, and threw "digs and kicks" at the victim, who hit back in self-defence.

Ms Ryan suffered cuts to her neck, and clumps of her hair were pulled out.

Her mother Sabrina was on the 27 bus on March 12, when Stewart walked down the stairs and began shouting at her before diving on her, punching her and scraping her face.

Sabrina Ryan suffered a black eye and a bleeding bite-mark on her finger.

The court heard Stewart suffered from mental health issues. Suspending the sentence, the judge ordered the accused to have no contact with either victim and to pay 750 to each woman within a year.
The family of a young mother beaten, strangled and left dying for four hours in a derelict building have said they take "a measure of comfort" that her killer faces a life sentence.

The McCarthy family issued a special statement yesterday in response to the conviction of Adam O'Keeffe (27) for the brutal murder of Amy McCarthy (22), his girlfriend and the mother of his young son, in a jealous rage last year.

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O'Keeffe received a mandatory life sentence last Friday when a Central Criminal Court jury of five men and six women returned a unanimous guilty verdict following a two-week murder trial.

O'Keeffe, of St Vincent's Hostel, Co Cork, denied the murder of Ms McCarthy but admitted her manslaughter.

Yesterday, a statement was read out by Ms McCarthy's sister Jessie on behalf of their entire family.

"Although we are relieved by the verdict we got in court on Friday, we are not winners," she said.

"We are still left without a sister and there is a little boy left without his mother.

"We hope the result in time will help everyone in our family get some closure to put all this behind us and remember Amy as we knew her and very much loved her."

She also paid tribute to the gardai and victim support groups for the support shown to them since the heartbreaking loss of Amy.

Jessie said they deeply mourn her loss every day.

"The one thought in our minds that will remain forever is of Amy lying on the floor with no one to pick her up and get her the help she needed," she said.

"We have no doubt he was pining for us that night.

"The one person that misses her most is her son Adam. What we would do or give up to see them reunited and see the joy on their faces again but we know that is never going to happen."
THIS is rapist Eoin Berkeley giving a Nazi salute on a Dublin city street.

The 25-year-old pleaded guilty yesterday to the rape of an 18-year-old Spanish student.

Berkeley, who was on bail at the time, met the teenager in the city centre before luring her to a tent on the Irish Glass Bottle site in Ringsend and raping her repeatedly at a time unknown between July 15 and 16, 2017. She escaped after he fell asleep.

Our exclusive photo shows the evil rapist giving a Nazi salute to photographers after a bail hearing last year.

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The 18-year-old student had been staying with a host family in Dublin at the time.

Berkeley pleaded guilty when the charges were put to him at the Central Criminal Court yesterday.

STATEMENT

Mr Justice Michael White said the complainant should be advised of her right to make a victim impact statement, and he adjourned sentencing to give her time to do so.

Caroline Biggs SC, prosecuting, said arrangements would be made for the young woman to travel to Ireland if she decided to attend the sentencing hearing.

Mr Justice White remanded Berkeley in custody for sentencing on October 22.

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The judge agreed to finalise the matter within that week, as the complainant may need to spend several days in Ireland.

Michael Bowman SC, the defence counsel, said he would be addressing the court at the sentencing hearing in relation to psychiatric issues.

Another court was previously told Berkeley had a significant history of mental health problems.

The victim met Berkeley on the Liffey boardwalk in Dublin city centre on Saturday, July 15, last year.

It is understood she was interested in photography and that he offered to take her to the beach.

They then took the Luas to The Point in Dublins docklands and walked across the East Link Bridge to Pigeon House Road.

The woman later told gardai he took her to a tent and raped her repeatedly.

She told detectives she managed to escape after he fell asleep and she made her way to a nearby house where the alarm was raised and gardai were called.

Berkeley was arrested but was later released without charge when the Director of Public Prosecutions did not immediately give the go-ahead to press charges.

His release was front page news and sparked an outcry.

It would be another three days before he was taken into custody after having his bail revoked in connection with an unrelated charge. He was charged with rape later that day.

Berkeley has 25 previous convictions, including for possession of imitation firearms, drugs offences and public order offences.

Last year, as he left court after receiving bail on a separate charge, Berkeley delivered a Nazi salute to a photographer.

During a previous case, a court was told Berkeley had been placed in a foster home when he was four years old because his mother had her own difficulties.

It also heard he had no secondary school education and had speech and language issues when he was younger.

GRAFFITI

Berkeley had previously faced criminal damage charges in relation to an incident in which homophobic graffiti and a swastika were daubed on the facade of The George, a well-known gay bar in Dublin city centre, on May 20 last year.

While in custody awaiting arraignment on the rape charges, Berkeley was acquitted over the incident at The George.

Although the court heard he had allegedly admitted the crime to gardai, he was granted a dismissal following a number of technical arguments made by his defence solicitor.

However, he received a two and-a-half-month sentence for public order offences committed at Eustace Street in Dublin on June 29 last year.

Last month, he received a two-and-a-half-year sentence after pleading guilty to possessing a realistic looking imitation firearm in a public place.

A court heard he had been walking around near Dublin Airport and Santry with an imitation AK-47 assault rifle in May 2016.

A garda who intercepted Berkeley told a court it was the most realistic of its kind his colleagues had ever seen.

The device turned out to be an airgun capable of discharging 6mm ball bearings.

In 2015, he received a suspended sentence for a similar offence when he was intercepted carrying an imitation rifle in Dublin city centre.

The court heard Berkeley wanted to see how long he could go around with it before being apprehended by gardai.
'Mr Justice Michael White said the complainant should be advised of her right to make a victim impact statement, and he adjourned sentencing to give her time to do so' (stock photo)

A 25-year-old man will be sentenced in October after pleading guilty to the rape of a Spanish student in Dublin last summer.

Eoin Berkeley, of Hampton Wood Way, Finglas, Dublin, admitted three counts of raping the girl at the Irish Glass Bottle Company site, off Pigeon House Road in Ringsend, at a time unknown between July 15 and 16, 2017.

The 18-year-old student had been staying with a host family in Dublin at the time.

Berkeley pleaded guilty when the charges were put to him at the Central Criminal Court yesterday.

Rapists can receive sentences of up to life in prison. However, this is a rare occurrence and the average sentence for the offence is around 10 years.

Mr Justice Michael White said the complainant should be advised of her right to make a victim impact statement, and he adjourned sentencing to give her time to do so.

Travel

Caroline Biggs SC, prosecuting, said arrangements would be made for the young woman to travel to Ireland if she decides to attend the sentence hearing.

Mr Justice White remanded Berkeley in continuing custody for sentencing on October 22.

The judge agreed to finalise the matter within that week, as the complainant may need to spend several days in Ireland.

Defence counsel Michael Bowman SC said he would be addressing the court at the sentencing hearing in relation to psychiatric issues.

Another court was previously told Berkeley had a significant history of mental health problems.

The victim met Berkeley on the Liffey boardwalk in Dublin city centre on Saturday, July 15, last year.

It is understood she was interested in photography and that he offered to take her to the beach.

They then took the Luas to The Point in Dublin's docklands and walked across the East Link Bridge to Pigeon House Road.

The woman later told gardai he brought her to a tent and raped her repeatedly.

She told detectives she managed to escape after he fell asleep and she made her way to a nearby house where the alarm was raised and gardai were called.

Berkeley had 25 previous convictions, including for possession of imitation firearms, drugs offences and public order offences.

During a previous case, a court was told Berkeley had been placed in a foster home when he was four years old because his mother had her own difficulties.

It also heard he had no secondary school education and had speech and language issues when he was younger.
The use of a controversial medical device used to control urinary incontinence and organ prolapse in women has been temporarily suspended, Health Minister Simon Harris announced today.

He said the use of vaginal mesh implants will be "paused "in HSE-funded hospitals, in cases where it is clinically appropriate and safe to do so.

The announcement follows a review by the Department of Health together with the HSE and the Health Products Regulatory Agency (HPRA) of a similar decision by health authorities in England and Northern Ireland.

It came on foot of a recommendation UK's Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review (IMMDS).

The pause will continue until a set of conditions to mitigate the risks of injury are met, he said.

"There is understandable public and patient anxiety about the ongoing safety of mesh devices following the considerable publicity that this issue has received, and this has been heightened by recent developments in the NHS. It is important that this be addressed as comprehensively as possible.

"A pause on the use of mesh procedures, pending confirmation by the HSE that the key recommendations below have been implemented, is now considered proportionate and necessary to provide public assurance that these procedures are being carried out in accordance with internationally accepted good practice.

He said there is no concurrent change in the evidence base concerning these devices.

"It is widely accepted that for many women suffering the distressing symptoms of urinary incontinence in particular that surgical procedures using synthetic mesh devices have provided a more effective and less invasive form of treatment than traditional surgical procedures.

"The recommendations of the IMMDS to NHS England arose because of a lack of certainty or confidence that critical clinical governance measures to assure the safety of mesh procedures are demonstrably in place. The Department considers that similar concerns in relation to the visibility and consistency of such measures apply equally in the public health system here.

"This pause should remain in place until the HSE confirms implementation of recommendations relating to (i) Surgical Training, (ii) Informed Consent and (iii) the Development of an agreed Dataset of Mesh Procedures. The Department has also written to the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and the Continence Foundation of Ireland requesting that they assist the HSE in progressing these recommendations on an urgent basis.

"Patients affected by the cancellation will be contacted by the HSE as soon as possible to advise them that their surgery has been postponed. The duration of their cancellation will be related to the duration of the pause and every effort will be made to keep this to a minimum. Patients with concerns are advised in the first instance to contact their Consultants clinic.

NHS England has put down conditions that by March next year surgeons only undertake the operations for incontinence using the mesh if appropriately trained and a registry set up to keep track of any complications.

Vaginal mesh implants are devices used by surgeons to treat pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence in women.

However, in some women, they have been allegedly shown to erode and disintegrate, slicing through organs and vaginal walls to cause paralysis, chronic pain, sepsis, loss of sex life and even organ failure.

The manufacturers of the implants Johnson and Johnson defended their safety record saying all such devices have pros and cons.

Melanie Power, solicitor for a group of Irish women, Mesh Survivors Ireland, who claim side effects, wrote to Mr Harris asking him to take the same decision here as in the UK.
Researchers at the University of Illinois, in Chicago, said their study shows sex-specific tests for alzheimers should be developed (stock photo)

An Alzheimer's test specifically for women should be developed after a new study found superior female verbal skills disguise the onset of the disease, scientists have said.

Research in the US revealed doctors are less likely to diagnose Alzheimer's in women than in men.

The imbalance means that female patients appear to deteriorate more quickly following diagnosis, when in fact they have already been suffering for some time.

Women are disproportionately affected by Alzheimer's, making up 65pc of patients in the UK.

Researchers at the University of Illinois, in Chicago, said their study shows sex-specific tests should be developed.

Currently, verbal and memory tests are an important tool for diagnosing Alzheimer's.

These can involve asking the patients to remember the name of a common object and repeat it a few minutes later, or asking them to draw the numbers on the face of a clock and a specified time.

However, women in general typically score better in verbal tests, and the new research indicates they hang on to this ability even while dementia is taking hold.

Presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference, the trial of around 1,300 patients of both sexes showed women scored better than men, while blood tests showed the disease was at a moderate and low stage, but lost their advantage once it became more severe.

Diagnosing Alzheimer's early can give patients the chance to have treatments capable of slowing down progression or temporarily improving symptoms.
Irish Rail has said Conor McGregor's father should buy a Leap card to avoid excess change when paying for rail tickets.

Tony McGregor complained about the large amount of coins he received in change when buying a ticket for the Dart on Sunday.

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He said that Irish Rail "had the bloody cheek" to return 17.30 to him in coins after he bought a ticket to Dun Laoghaire from Lansdowne Road.

Mr McGregor - whose MMA fighter son earned a reported $99m (85m) in 2017 - said all the coins would not fit into his designer, fitted Hugo Boss suit.

However, an Irish Rail spokesman said Mr McGregor should get a Leap card and that he would even save money in doing so.

"We'd recommend that Mr McGregor resolves the problem by purchasing a Leap card," he told the Irish Independent.

"If money is as tight as his trousers, he'll save on his fare as well.

"You can save up to 31pc using a Leap card."

In a bizarre social media video rant, Mr McGregor said he received 17.30 in coins from a 20 note.

"I tendered a brand new crisp 20 note into the automatic machine, looking for a single ticket to Dun Laoghaire," he said. "They had the bloody cheek to give me back...and I'm gonna show you this coinage.

"20...17.30 and a miserable little one-way ticket, they gave me all that coinage.

"I have no room to put those coins anywhere.

"I wear a slim-fit, hand-fitted, Hugo Boss suit."
07/11/2011 Photos of Paul Shine Dixon who was last seen in Perpignan, France,Dublin. Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins

07/11/2011 Photos of Paul Shine Dixon who was last seen in Perpignan, France,Dublin. Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins

The family of missing Paul Shine-Dixon are heartbroken by the news that his body has been discovered in France.

Remains believed to be those of the missing father-of-three were found buried in the south of France earlier this month.

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Police in France are now investigating all the circumstances surrounding his death.

A source close to the family told independent.ie they were informed of the development over the weekend, and were too upset to talk further.

"We were only told about what happened a few days ago [Friday] and are just trying to cope  we're all extremely upset," the source said.

Mr Shine-Dixon, who was originally from Finglas, was just 28 when he was last seen in 2009.

He was last seen in the French city of Perpignan, after he informed his girlfriend Sinead he had seen someone being shot in one of the train's carriages.

He told Sinead he needed to charge his phone and would ring her back shortly.

Nobody ever heard from him again.

A Garda spokesperson confirmed that Mr Shine-Dixon's death is currently being investigated

"This investigation is being conducted by the French authorities. Officers from the Garda Missing Persons Bureau are liaising with investigators in Perpignan."
Ali Charaf Damache, leaving court yesterday after after he won his high court battle against extradition to the United States where he is wanted to face charges relating to international terrorism. Pic: Courtpix

Ali Charaf Damache, leaving court after after he won his High Court battle against extradition to the United States where he is wanted to face charges relating to international terrorism Pic: Courtpix

Ali Charafe Damache has lived in Ireland for more than 10 years

Cartoonist death plot...PLEASE NOTE THE FACE OF THE GARDA OFFICER HAS BEEN BLURRED BY THE PRESS ASSOCIATIONPreviously unissued photo dated 13/03/10 of Algerian national Ali Charafe Damache as he arrivives at an earlier hearing at Waterford District Court and who was tonight charged in connection with an alleged plot to murder Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks, who depicted the Prophet Mohammed with the body of a dog. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Monday March 15, 2010. Algerian Ali Charafe Damache and Abdul-Salam Mansour Al-Jehani from Libya were brought before a special late night court sitting in the Irish Republic.Damache was charged with sending a menacing text message while Al-Jehani was charged with an immigration offence. The men were arrested last week over an international conspiracy to kill Lars Vilks, whose controversial depictions of the Muslim prophet were printed in a newspaper in Sweden in 2007.See PA story IRISH Vilks. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire ...A

An Algerian man accused of recruiting an American woman known as "Jihad Jane" in 2009 and who originally pleaded not guilty to a U.S. charge of supporting terrorism, is expected to change his plea to guilty, a court filing has shown.

Ali Charaf Damache, 53, a dual Irish and Algerian citizen, was extradited to the United States last year and while none of the plans U.S. prosecutors accused him of resulted in attacks, authorities said he was in direct contact with Islamist militants in Pakistan and recruited two American women to help him.

U.S. District Court Judge Petrese Tucker in Philadelphia on Thursday scheduled a change of plea hearing for Monday in the case, which is often a precursor to a guilty plea. Damache was extradited from Spain and is jailed in Philadelphia while awaiting trial or resolution of his case.

Damache's lawyer Noah Gorson could not be reached for comment on the court filing by the judge.

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Damache, who pleaded not guilty last year to a U.S. charge of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, was jailed in Ireland in 2010, and successfully fought extradition to the United States. After his release in Ireland, he travelled to Spain, where he was detained in 2015 and Spanish authorities agreed to U.S. requests to extradite him.

The indictment said that in 2009 Damache lured to Ireland a suburban Philadelphia woman named Colleen LaRose, who called herself "Jihad Jane" online.

LaRose pleaded guilty in 2011 to participating in a failed plot with Damache to kill Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who had offended some Muslims by depicting the head of the Muslim Prophet Mohammad on a dog.

In 2014, a U.S. judge sentenced LaRose to 10 years in prison.

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LaRose told Reuters in a 2012 interview that she was attracted to Damache by his promise to teach her how to live as a Muslim wife and support others in violent jihad. But she said that after moving to Ireland to live with him, she became disillusioned by his lack of follow-through, and allowed the Federal Bureau of Investigation to buy her a ticket to return to the United States.

The other U.S. woman who joined Damache in Ireland, Jamie Pauline Ramirez of Leadville, Colorado, served an eight-year sentence on a terrorism charge.

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Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tn.) Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), Mike Enzi (R-Wy.), and Dick Durbin (D-Il.) on Monday issued the following statement reinforcing that they would oppose premature efforts to prevent states from implementing the Supreme Courts decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair. The senators want to gather additional feedback from states, businesses, and others impacted by the Courts ruling, as states implement the Wayfair decision.

As sponsors of the Marketplace Fairness Act, we believe Congress needs to better understand the issues that states, businesses, and out-of-state sellers face following the U.S. Supreme Courts decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair before taking legislative action, said the senators.

The Supreme Courts decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair has rightly leveled the playing field between Main Street brick and mortar retailers and their out-of-state counterparts. We support the Courts decision to overturn the physical presence standard and we agree with the Courts reasoning.

Over the past several years, we have worked hard to advance common sense, bipartisan legislation that would help states, consumers, and businesses. In 2013, 69 senators voted for the Marketplace Fairness Act, but the legislation did not become law.

In the coming months, we look forward to engaging with our state and local partners, as well as small businesses, as they consider and implement the Courts decision. We want to hear how this decision will impact them, especially since the total uncollected sales and use taxes in the U.S. in 2015 alone was nearly $26 billion. We strongly support the rights of states to collect out-of-state sales and use taxes that are already owed, and we hope states take note of the guidance Wayfair provides regarding retroactivity, simplification and exemptions for small sellers.

We are encouraged that nearly half of all states have already adopted streamlining and simplification requirements as part of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement (SSUTA), and more states are considering how they can take advantage of simplification efforts.

We are mindful that any new sales and use tax collection requirements may present new and unanticipated challenges, especially for small businesses. However, Congress should not take any legislative action until we better understand the issues facing those impacted by this ruling.

The Supreme Court ruled in June in South Dakota v. Wayfair that states have the ability to require out-of-state retailers to collect sales tax. Earlier this year, the senators submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court urging the Court to overturn a 25 year-old case determining whether states can require out-of-state businesses like out-of-state vendors to collect and remit state sales and use taxes. They also filed a brief asking the Court to reconsider the case last fall.

Last year, Senators Alexander, Enzi, Durbin, and Heitkamp introduced the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2017  legislation that would give states the right to require out-of-state businesses or out-of-state retailers to collect and remit the sales and use taxes that are already owed under current law. In 2013, the Senate passed the Marketplace Fairness Act by a bipartisan vote of 69-27, but the legislation did not become law.
'Ryanair would have to prove that the strike was an 'extraordinary circumstance' to avoid the payout.' Stock photo: PA Wire

The Irish aviation watchdog has encouraged up to 11,500 Ryanair passengers whose flights have been grounded to seek 250 compensation - despite the airline's refusal to pay out.

If they are successful, the airline could face a bill of up to 2.8m - just for Ireland.

Its costs could also rise considerably this week as up to 100,000 passengers are hit by 600 flight cancellations due to cabin crew strikes.

Holidaymakers are not guaranteed the compensation but the Commission for Aviation Regulation said the onus is on the airline to prove it should not pay up. A spokesperson at the commission said passengers can look for compensation regardless of whether they have already received a refund or been re-accommodated on another flight.

Ryanair would have to prove that the strike was an "extraordinary circumstance" to avoid the payout.

"The commission recommends that passengers make their claims to Ryanair in the first instance, including claims for compensation due to cancelled flights," he said.

"If they are unsatisfied with the outcome they may appeal this to the Commission for Aviation Regulation and we will examine all cases."

He said that the airline is also obliged to give customers two weeks' notice of cancellations.

However, this could be difficult for the airline as unions are only obliged to give seven days' notice of strike action.

He said the compensation rate was 250 for a short-haul flight - which would include UK flights. Compensation rises to 400 for a medium-haul flight, which includes flights between Ireland and European destinations.

A Ryanair spokesperson said it was not liable to pay compensation under the European air passengers rights rules, known as EU261.

"Ryanair fully complies with all EU261 legislation. However, as these flight cancellations were caused by extraordinary circumstances, no compensation is due," said the spokesperson. "Under EU261 legislation, no compensation is payable when the union is acting unreasonably and totally beyond the airline's control."
Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin saw his party trail their rivals by 13pc at the weekend. Photo: Mark Condren

Fianna Fail chiefs have discussed extending the confidence and supply arrangement by one year - rather than the two demanded by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

Relations between the two parties are continuing to deteriorate amid rows over how a potential extension to the minority Government's lifespan should be negotiated.

Fianna Fail remains furious over reports that emerged from a meeting last week during which Mr Varadkar suggested both sides agree to an election in summer 2020.

But Fine Gael remains buoyed by a weekend opinion poll which put it 13pc clear of Micheal Martin's party.

Sources in Fianna Fail have told the Irish Independent that a two-year extension would be "hard to swallow" for its backbenchers and grassroots supporters.

However, they acknowledge that Brexit makes the timing of an election very complicated.

Key negotiations are scheduled for October and the UK is destined to leave the EU next March.

Fianna Fail's hierarchy accepts that there is a "national interest" case in not having an election during this period.

But it does not want to be perceived as keeping Mr Varadkar in power during a housing and health crisis.

Such a view among the public would play into the hands of Sinn Fein, which claims to be the real Opposition.

One senior Fianna Fail TD said the party feels "trapped between being responsible and leaving Varadkar in power".

They insisted the Taoiseach is trying to appear reasonable in public while simultaneously working behind the scenes to cause an election.

Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy yesterday criticised efforts by Fianna Fail to delay detailed talks on an extension of the deal.

While the Taoiseach has asked for talks to begin in earnest over the summer months, Mr Martin has refused to budge from his belief that no such negotiations should take place until after October's Budget.

"We believe the important thing we need is a Government of stability.

"That's what we want. We don't know what Fianna Fail wants," Mr Murphy said.

"We don't know why we should have to wait until the end of the year to know what it wants to do. It's too important now with Brexit.

"October is a very, very important month for the Government. People shouldn't expect us to be negotiating Brexit in Europe with the UK and at the same time trying to negotiate the next two years of government. We'd like to do that sooner rather than later."

Until recent weeks, Fianna Fail had been largely supportive of the Government's strategy on Brexit.

But in a growing trend of attack, Mr Martin last night said the Taoiseach had "wasted valuable time on a doomed manoeuvre".

He said the Government focused too heavily on trying to ensure a relationship between the UK and EU which would be so close that the Border problem would become irrelevant.

"I have no doubt that key elements of this strategy have clearly failed and were a mistake in the first place - something which was pointed out at the time.

"In fact, I was attacked by the Taoiseach 12 months ago for suggesting that Ireland should propose a separate North/south arrangement.

"We wasted valuable time on a doomed manoeuvre to use the backstop to cover the whole of the UK and the massive over-hype of one part of last December's agreement has caused serious damage.

"When Michel Barnier pleads for the de-dramatising of the backstop we all know where most of the drama was generated," Mr Martin said.

He said UK Prime Minister Theresa May had made it clear last week that the backstop "as understood in Dublin is incapable of securing a majority in the British government and parliament".
Noel Whelan is considering standing for the presidency. Picture: David Conachy

Political pundit and barrister Noel Whelan says he will not stand for the presidential election.

Speaking on RTE Radio One's 'Today With Miriam' programme, Mr Whelan said he had given the matter some consideration before opting not to run for election.

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When asked by broadcaster Miriam O'Callaghan if he had considered it seriously, he replied: "I did. We spent eight weeks... If Michael D Higgins wasn't running, then we wouldn't have waited until now. We would have put a campaign in place at beginning of last April. I mean I'm surprised at some of those who are focussed on it haven't put campaigns together from April or May.

"And in part because, when the incumbent is not running, you can envision the presidency, you can reimagine the presidency, you can put forward a proposal as to how you can re-purpose the presidency.

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Last week, Mr Whelan, a former Fianna Fail candidate for the Dail and once a full-time party adviser, said he was considering seeking the support of four councils to stand as an Independent in the election expected on October 26th.

"I am engaged in a number of conversations on the matter and I will decide in the next week or 10 days," Mr Whelan told the Irish Independent last week.

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Mr Whelan's announcement comes a day after former GAA President Liam O'Neill announced he was not going to stand in the election.

Last week, Mr O'Neill said he had been approached by a number of people who thought he should run.

However, on TV3's 'Tonight Show' last night, Mr O'Neill said he was not going to run after giving the matter some consideration.

Yesterday, Senator Gerard Craughwell pulled out of the race, after agitating for an election for almost a year.

Mr Craughwell said last night he believes his chief aim has been achieved because there will be an election in October.

Businessman and Dragon's Den's Gavin Duffy is expected to make an announcement soon as to whether he will run.

His co-star on Dragon's Den, Sean Gallagher, is also expected to state his intentions

Senator Joan Freeman, the founder of Pieta House, has already stated she intends to seek a nomination from the local authorities.

Her Seanad colleague, Independent senator Padraig O Ceidigh, who founded Aer Arran, is also seeking a nomination.

Sinn Fein is considering running John Finucane, the son of murdered solicitor Pat Finucane. Aged 38, he is a solicitor and brother of civil rights lawyer Michael Finucane.

A committee has now been put in place to field candidates, chaired by Waterford TD David Cullinane. Dublin MEP Lynn Boylan ruled herself out but her Brussels colleague Liadh Ni Riada, who is the Sinn Fein MEP for Ireland South and a native Irish speaker, is a potential contender.
A young boy who was left with severe brain damage after falling into a pond while on a creche outing 11 years ago has died.

Sean Ross McGowan, who was just 21 months at the time of the tragedy, almost drowned in a pond in Ranelagh Park in Dublin. He fell into the water unnoticed while on a day out with Miss Carrs Childrens Home in 2007.

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A doctor passing by the pond some five minutes later spotted the toddler who wasnt breathing and quickly administered CPR, ultimately saving the childs life.

However, he was left permanently brain damaged from the incident, suffering from seizures and blindness. At the time, he was given just four years to live.

In recent years, Seans condition worsened as he suffered a number of heart attacks leading to doctors reducing his dosage of medication.

He faced a tragic decrease in his quality of life and required round the clock care as epileptic fits and respiratory difficulties became more frequent.

Last week, the parents of Sean Ross, Rose Houlihan and John McGowan were told that his breathing was quickly going downhill.

At around 7am this morning he passed away with his parents by his side at the Laura Lynn-run Sunshine Care Home where he was being cared for

On Friday we got the word that his breathing was deteriorating and by Sunday he was completely incapacitated drifting in and out of consciousness, a close family member told Independent.ie.

They were devastated that Sean had passed away but said it would be a relief for Sean who had been in a lot of pain in recent months.

In the past three years the epileptic fits became a massive issue and there were issues surrounding his heart, he said.

He was left in a vegetative state and severely brain damaged. He couldnt eat or chew. He had about six or seven heart attacks in his life.

There is a degree of relief that he isnt in pain but there is devastation at the loss of their child the challenge is in the next few months in piecing together their lives.

Rose Houlihan took a case against Miss Carrs Childrens Home and the HSE who funded the centre on Seans behalf following the incident in 2007.

Liability was accepted after Seans mother claimed negligence and breach of duty against the centre.

The High Court was told that a settlement of 650,000 was accepted.
Daniel Radcliffe (R) stars as Harry Potter as he watches as Professor Dumbledore, portrayed by the late Richard Harris, feed Fawkes the Phoenix

Ireland's only hermit priest has warned of the dangers of Harry Potter and video games, which he says expose children to the 'dark side.'

Fr David Jones (64) has also urged users of Reiki to be careful, saying that by opening up pores and shakras to positive energy, the negative spirits can also get in.

The Welsh native, who has lived in Duleek, Co. Meath for over ten years believes that video games and even Harry Potter are part of a bigger agenda 'to normalise the dark side."

"Evil that can come out of a screen is deliberate and pumped at people who are defenceless, such as children. Video games and screens and damaging children and hugely exposing them to evil," he said.

"It's murky and affects every layer of society.

"Old Nick is not short of measures of getting in there. Little children watching Harry Potter are learning real spells and being told that vampires, the ugly are the good. it's a topsy turvy system to get them ready for something worse."

Fr David, who lived in monasteries in Italy and France and speaks eight languages, also claims that drug shipments in Latin America are presided over by Satanic rites to ensure maximum destruction.

"Big shipments of drugs are coming out with maximum demonic attachment because they (drug lords) invite someone involved in Satanism to come out and perform a rite of cursing over each shipload to cause maximum harm and therefore they are most lucrative to them.

"Practices such as Reiki also open doors to the dark side because they open the shakras and pores to other energies too."

There's also a surge of Satanic power at Hallowe'en where human sacrifices occur each year, he claims.

"Human sacrifices happen each Hallowe'en and people are conceived in Satanic rites for Satan - every time this happens, there's an increase in Satanic power on earth. These demons want our souls and they're getting them."

Although Fr David has been present at exorcisms he is not trained to perform them, though admits each diocese has a priest that is.

"I have been in the presence of evil. Major exorcisms can't be performed without the permission of the Bishop because it's dangerous and it's noisy. I have been there it it can frighten you, but you mustn't get frightened because you're in control - a demon is a creature so it has to obey Christ in the priest.

"Nothing else will get rid of demons other that the power of the priest.

Although warning about the presence of 'Old Nick,' Fr David admits that Ireland has more of an inherent faith than most countries, and that many young people come to him because they still have faith.

"You can't get away from the faith in Ireland. It's strong by instinct. If a person is in trouble, they pray. People tend to go back to base at the most important times

"However Ireland is a no man's land at the minute - it's neither what it once was or what it will be."

His weekly Latin Mass in Navan is attended by people from all over the country and even people home from abroad on holidays.

"People are drifting back to this Mass because they've been upset by the abuses of the church and looking for something that's nourishing and not superficial," he said.

A convert to Catholicism from a one-time calling to be a Baptist minister, Fr David came to Ireland under the permission of Bishop Michael Smith of the Diocese of Meath, who he says has protected him as a hermit.

"Under Canon law, to be a hermit you must have a degree of separation, a commitment to penance, continuous prayer and no parish ministry and permission from your Bishop."

He rises at 3.15am to start praying and fasts until lunchtime, a menu which he gets from divine providence.

"I eat simply but sufficiently and never have to buy food, it arrives when needed, out of the blue from kind parishoners.

"I have very little sleep, no breakfast, no TV and very limited internet - it's pretty stark and austere, if I'm honest."
Robbie Krawcyzk (pictured) is the chef behind one of 2018's most talked-about restaurant openings: Chestnut in Ballydehob. Robbie grew up in West Cork, so there's something of a return of the prodigal to his new venture.

Robbie's paternal grandparents left Poland around the time that Stalin was making his presence felt, and ended up in Shepherd's Bush, where Robbie's father, Frank, was raised. When Frank met Anne Kenefick, from Cork city, they settled in Schull, where the couple ran a seasonal summer restaurant, The Barn, from their home.

"It was a pop-up, really," says Robbie, "they were holding dinner parties and charging people to come." Frank began to experiment with making sausages and salamis for the restaurant, his customers liked them, and almost inadvertently a hobby turned into a year-round business - more sustainable than a restaurant that was open for only two months a year.

These days Frank consults for others starting to make their own charcuterie and, says his son, has been a huge help in the early months of Chestnut.

"Ireland doesn't have a huge tradition of smoking and curing," says Robbie, "as there is too much humidity. It's a bigger thing in countries such as Spain and Italy where the air is dryer; if meat is too wet it goes off."

Now that technology can be used to control humidity, a barrier has been removed. "People love cured meats when they go on holiday," says Robbie, "and they are getting more interested in making them and eating them at home in Ireland."

Robbie is already making ham fat which he preserves in salt for use in the kitchen at Chestnut, and plans to start making coppa, different flavours of salami, bacons and pancetta in the coming months - under Frank's guidance.

This month, Rob will host Black Bush Cured: a hands-on whiskey and charcuterie masterclass at Drury Buildings in Dublin, on July 25, in collaboration with Bushmills Irish Whiskey. The interactive event will see him teaching his students how to use the whiskey to cure and smoke their own meat.

The masterclass is part of the #BlackBushStories campaign - a collaborative event series celebrating the stories and crafts of independent, spirited and extraordinary talent across Ireland.

To register for 'Black Bush Cured' and to read more about Rob's story, visit blackbushstories.com.

BROOK LODGE BREAD

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At Brook Lodge in Macreddin learn to make bread the old-fashioned way... and bring home live yeast so that you can continue at home. A one night B&B package including a bread-making masterclass and lunch in the Waterside Lounge costs from 165pps. Contact info@brooklodge.com.

LOOSE CANON

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Loose Canon - 'boire un canon' is a French colloquialism for having a drink - at 29 Drury Street is a new natural wine and cheese bar/shop from the lovely people behind Meet Me in the Morning. Go for cheese toasties at lunchtime, stay for cheese and Irish charcuterie in the evenings... and wine.

THE IVY ARRIVES IN DUBLIN

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The Dublin branch of London theatre restaurant, The Ivy, opens on Dawson Street this week. Expect the glitter monkeys and the just plain curious to turn up in their droves to check out the famous shepherds pie and crispy duck salad (above). Book at theivydublin.ie.
Right at the end of Main Street, you'll find Arcade Restaurant, a retro diner and longtime favourite of Elvis's.

10am: Breakfast like the king

The King used to sneak in the back door and settle into his very own booth - you can follow in his footsteps with a fried Peanut Butter 'N' Banana Sandwich (with added bacon on request). Take some time to wander up Main Street afterwards - the vintage shops are fantastic.

How: arcaderestaurant.com

1pm: Make for the museum

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Located at the Lorraine Motel, where Dr Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated, the National Civil Rights Museum is a vital visit. The whole experience is as insightful as it is heartbreaking, particularly in this, the 50th year since the death of one of the most important figures in American history. To stand outside the motel and look at the spot where Dr King was killed is an unfailingly moving moment.

How: Admission $16/13; civilrightsmuseum.org

4pm: See Sun Studio

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It's known as the birthplace of rock 'n' roll, and there's no denying that some musical heavyweights have passed through its doors. This is where Elvis first recorded, where Johnny Cash sang the words 'I Walk the Line', and where Jerry Lee Lewis stubbed his cigar out on a piano key. Take a tour of the studios and you can see that very piano, and have a little croon on Elvis's mic to boot.

How: Admission $14/12; sunstudio.com

8pm: Central BBQ & music

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Enough about the theory of music - it's time to live it. Head to BB King's Blues Club or catch a gig in Lafayette's Music Room, which is further east. But before all of that, you'll need some good ole barbecue - order up a platter of dry rubbed ribs, brisket and nachos at Central BBQ.

How: bbkings.com; lafayettes.com; cbqmemphis.com
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge wear the sweaters of the Canadian Rangers after being made honourary members on July 5, 2011 in Blatchford Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge visit Blachford Lake near Yellowknife on July 5, 2011 in Blatchford Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada

Kate wore comfortable wedges with navy jeans and a blazer to board a Canadian Airforce jet to Slave Lake at Yellowknife Airport on July 6, 2011 in Yellowknife, Canada.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive to attend the annual Endeavour Fund Awards at Goldsmiths' Hall in London, to celebrate the achievements of wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women who have taken part in sporting and adventure challenges over the last year

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex at the Famine Memorial, on the second day of their visit to Dublin, Ireland

Prince Harry and fiance Meghan Markle leave the 'Endeavour Fund Awards' Ceremony at Goldsmiths Hall on February 1, 2018 in London, England

Prince Harry and fiance Meghan Markle arrive to attend the 'Endeavour Fund Awards' Ceremony at Goldsmiths Hall on February 1, 2018 in London, England

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive to attend the annual Endeavour Fund Awards at Goldsmiths' Hall in London, to celebrate the achievements of wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women who have taken part in sporting and adventure challenges over the last year

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave the 'Endeavour Fund Awards' Ceremony at Goldsmiths Hall on February 1, 2018 in London, England

Meghan Markle is reportedly frustrated with the confines of her new royal status, including a restrictive wardrobe.

Britain's Duchess of Sussex has displayed a preference for sharp suits and jeans in recent months, but Prince Harry vetoed a Stella McCartney suit for their upcoming Australia tour for being too untraditional.

"Meghan is being told she needs to stop dressing like a Hollywood star and start dressing like a royal. Meghan wanted to wear a tuxedo-style suit but Harry said it wasn't traditional enough," a source told the Mail on Sunday.

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Markle has been having a number of meetings with Kensington Palace's "special projects team" ahead of their tour in New Zealand and Australia in October, which includes wardrobe consultations.

"It might also, perhaps, be a reminder of fashion rebellions by Harrys late mother, Princess Diana," the paper wrote, adding that it's Queen Elizabeth who has the final say over the chosen attire.

While Kate Middleton prefers more traditional attire as it is, she was also told to wear longer hemlines and put weights in her skirts after she had a few too many 'Marilyn moments' in her early days as a full-time royal.
The temperature rose to a record 41.1C in a city north-west of Tokyo yesterday, as a heat wave in Japan that has killed at least 23 people and sent thousands to hospital showed no sign of significant easing.

The temperature was recorded in Kumagaya, in Saitama prefecture, topping the previous high of 41C in the western prefecture of Kochi in August 2013, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Records go back to varying dates for different cities, with data for Kumagaya starting in 1896. Japan has been battered by intense heat for close to two weeks but the mercury soared yesterday, breaking above 40C in one part of the broader Tokyo metropolitan area, while the centre of the capital marked a high of 39C in the early afternoon.

According to the Fire and Defence Management Agency, which issues weekly data, 12 people had died from the heat as of July 15, the latest available figures.

Media reports say at least 11 more died this past Saturday alone, while thousands have been taken to hospital.

Among the dead was a primary school boy who collapsed after a field trip to a park just 20 minutes' walk from his school.

With the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2020, concern has risen about the safety of athletes and spectators.

The heat, due to a layering of two high pressure systems over much of Japan, is expected to ease slightly this week but temperatures of around 33C are expected.

Meanwhile, people in Britain have been urged to stay out of the sun until Friday, as temperatures could soar to more than 34C in some parts of the country this week.

The Met Office has issued an amber heatwave action alert, warning that people should keep their homes cool, drink plenty of fluids and check on the elderly.

Britain saw its hottest day of the year so far yesterday, with a temperature of 33.3C in Santon Downham, in Suffolk, beating the previous high of 33C recorded at Porthmadog in north Wales on June 28.

The warning urges people to either stay out of the sun or avoid it at its strongest between 11am and 3pm.

It is designed to make local services aware that these conditions are being met and for them to take action.

"Stay out of the sun," the Met Office advice reads.

"Keep your home as cool as possible - shading windows and shutting them during the day may help. Open them when it is cooler at night. Keep drinking fluids.

"If there's anybody you know, for example an older person living on their own, who might be at special risk, make sure they know what to do."

Members of the public were also urged to take the usual precautions in the sun, including covering up, wearing sun screen and drinking plenty of water. ( Daily Telegraph, London)
A combination of two satellite images taken on June 22, 2018 (top) and July 22, 2018 show activity at the Sohae rocket launch site in North Korea. Planet Labs Inc/Handout via REUTERS

Satellite images indicate North Korea has begun dismantling key facilities at a site used to develop engines for ballistic missiles, a first step toward fulfilling a pledge made to U.S. President Donald Trump, a Washington-based think tank said on Monday.

The July 20 images showed work at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station to dismantle a building used to assemble space-launch vehicles and a nearby rocket engine test stand used to develop liquid-fuel engines for ballistic missiles and space-launch vehicles, the 38 North think tank said.

"Since these facilities are believed to have played an important role in the development of technologies for the North's intercontinental ballistic missile program, these efforts represent a significant confidence-building measure on the part of North Korea," it said in a report.

Trump said after his unprecedented June 12 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore Kim had promised that a major missile engine testing site would be destroyed very soon.

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Trump did not identify the site, but a U.S. official subsequently told Reuters that it was Sohae.

An official said on Tuesday South Korea's presidential Blue House was briefed about the site's dismantlement based on government intelligence but did not elaborate.

According to Yonhap, Nam Gwan-pyo, deputy director of the South's national security office, said: "It's better than doing nothing."

"And it seems like they are going step by step toward denuclearisation," Nam said.

The 38 North report comes amid growing questions about North Korea's willingness to live up to the commitments Kim made at the June summit, particularly to work towards denuclearisation.

U.S. officials have repeatedly said North Korea has committed to giving up a nuclear weapons programme that now threatens the United States, but Pyongyang has offered no details as to how it might go about this.

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Whatsapp US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) shakes hands with Kim Yong Chol (R), a North Korean senior ruling party official and former intelligence chief. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Shares of South Korean companies with exposure to North Korea rose after the news that the satellite site was being dismantled.

Jenny Town, managing editor of 38 North, said the work at Sohae could be an important move to keep negotiations going.

"This could (and thats a big could) mean that North Korea is also willing to forgo satellite launches for the time being as well as nuclear and missile tests. This distinction has derailed diplomacy in the past," she said.

Separately on Tuesday, South Korea's Defence Ministry said it was planning "a test reduction of some guard post troops and equipment" along the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides North and South Korea.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed at a summit in April to reduce tensions along the border with an eye to turning the DMZ into a "peace zone."

Senior U.S. officials called on Kim on Friday to act on his promise to give up his nuclear weapons and said the world, including China and Russia, must continue to enforce sanctions on Pyongyang until he does so.

The U.S. State Department issued an advisory on Monday together with the departments of Treasury and Homeland Security alerting businesses to North Korea's sanctions-evasion tactics.

It said they should "implement effective due diligence policies, procedures, and internal controls to ensure compliance with applicable legal requirements across their entire supply chains."

Trump rejected "Fake News" that he was angry because progress was not happening fast enough with North Korea.

"Wrong, very happy!" he said on Twitter on Monday.

"A Rocket has not been launched by North Korea in 9 months. Likewise, no Nuclear Tests. Japan is happy, all of Asia is happy," he said.

A report in The Washington Post at the weekend said that, despite positive assessments Trump has given on progress with North Korea, he has vented anger at aides over a lack of immediate progress.

Trump said last week there was "no rush" and "no time limit" on denuclearisation negotiations.

U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said on Thursday it was technically possible for North Korea to eliminate its nuclear weapons programme within a year, but added that it was not likely to happen.
A Greek national flag flutters over the charred remnants left by the fire (Thanassis Stavrakis/AP)

Wildfires have raged through seaside resorts near the Greek capital, killing at least 50 people and causing tourists to flee, authorities said.

Rescuers battling the through the blazes which destroyed homes and forests near Athens discovered 26 bodies huddled together at one holiday compound, all believed to be family members. Some of them were hugging.

Many tourists and residents fled towards the coastline to escape the flames and choking smoke.

Authorities evacuated more than 700 people by sea overnight, said government minister Nektarios Santorinios, whose ministry is in charge of the coast guard.

The two largest wildfires  one 20 miles north-east of Athens near Rafina, the other 30 miles west of the capital in Kineta  broke out on Monday during hot, dry summer conditions.

Fanned by gale-force winds that frequently changed direction, the flames spread rapidly into populated seaside towns  too fast for many who were in their cars or homes to flee, fire department spokeswoman Stavroula Malliri said.

Greeces prime minister Alexis Tsipras has declared a three-day period of national mourning for the victims of the fires.

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The head of Greeces Red Cross, Nikos Oikonomopoulos, told Skai television that a Red Cross rescue team reported finding the 26 bodies in a compound north-east of Athens. In all, the death toll stood at 50 by Tuesday morning, government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said.

Andreaas Passios, who lives next to the compound, said: Everything happened in seconds.

I grabbed a beach towel. It saved my life. I soaked it, grabbed my wife and we ran to the sea.

Mr Passios said he and his wife stayed by the sea for two hours.

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It was unbelievable. Gas canisters were exploding. Burning pine cones were flying everywhere.

When the flames died down, Spyros Hadjiandreou came searching for loved ones.

My niece and cousin were staying here on holiday, he said. I dont know if they made it out.

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I dont know if they are OK. I havent heard from them.

A Polish woman and her son were among 10 people who drowned when their boat capsized during evacuation from the wildfires.

The two had been on holiday Mati, according to Janusz Smigielski, deputy head of the Poznan-based Grecos office.

He said that Greek water police and other forces were evacuating 45 people from a Mati hotel in boats when one of them capsized. Details over the incident, including how many other people were on board the boat, have yet to be confirmed by Greek authorities, Mr Smigielski added.

Aleka Papariga, a former Greek Communist Party leader who lives near Rafina, said: The police tried to direct us away from the fire, but we couldnt escape it.

We got stuck in traffic and the flames were on top of us. We managed to find a small gap and we made it out.

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Whatsapp People stand in the sea near to cars parked on the beach to protect them from the fire in the town of Mati (AP/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Evangelos Bournous, the Rafina mayor, blamed the strong winds.

We were unlucky, he said. The wind changed and it came at us with such force that it razed the coastal area in minutes.

#Greece  & #Latvia  have both activated the #EUCivPro requesting assistance to combat the #forestfires that have endangered homes and properties. I urgently call on all participating states to show their #solidarity and offer assistance.    - Christos Stylianides (@StylianidesEU) July 23, 2018

Mr Tzanakopoulos said 715 people were evacuated from beaches and the coastline by navy vessels, yachts and fishing boats. The coast guard said 19 people were rescued at sea, some of whom had swum out to escape the flames.

Rafinas dock became a makeshift hospital during the night as paramedics checked survivors, some of them clad in only their bathing suits, emerging from coast guard vessels and private boats.

The fire department said 156 adults and 16 children were taken to hospital with injuries. Eleven of the adults are in a serious condition.

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In all, 47 brush and forest fires broke out across Greece on Monday and early on Tuesday, with most of them quickly extinguished, the fire department said. Ten were still burning late on Tuesday morning, including blazes in Corinth, Crete, and in central and northern Greece.

More than 400 firefighters and volunteer firefighters were battling the two fires near Athens, supported by seven water-dropping helicopters and three aircraft.

Greece sought international help through the European Union. Spain was sending two firefighting aircraft while Cyprus was sending in 60 firefighters. Israel and Turkey have both also offered assistance.

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It is the deadliest fire season to hit Greece in more than a decade. More than 60 people were killed in 2007 when huge fires swept across the southern Peloponnese region.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who cut short a trip to Bosnia in order to return to Athens, said: Its a difficult night for Greece.

Showers that passed over the Greek capital on Monday missed the two big fires, but heavy rain is forecast across southern Greece on Wednesday.

Forest fires are common in Greece during the hot, dry summers, and temperatures recently hit highs of up to 40C.
A house burns as a wildfire rages at the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece, July 23, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

Locals try to extinguish a fire at a nearby house as a wildfire burns at the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece, July 23, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

A man looks at the flames as a wildfire burns in the town of Rafina, near Athens, Greece, July 23, 2018. REUTERS/Costas Baltas

A house burns as a wildfire rages at the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece, July 23, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

A car and motorcycle which burt out during wildfires is seen at the village of Mati near Athens, Greece, July 23, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

A wildfire rages in the town of Rafina, near Athens, Greece, July 23, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

Rescuers wait at the area where bodies were found following a wildfire at the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece, July 24, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

A man walks among burnt cars following a wildfire at the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece, July 24, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

A firefighter sprays water on the fire in the town of Mati, east of Athens, Monday, July 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

A firefighter holds a hose as a wildfire burns at the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece, July 23, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

A woman reacts as she tries to find her dog, following a wildfire at the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece July 24, 2018. REUTERS/Costas Baltas

A local reacts as he stands next to burnt cars following a wildfire at the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece, July 24, 2018. REUTERS/Costas Baltas

Locals wearing masks walk among burnt cars following a wildfire at the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece, July 24, 2018. REUTERS/Costas Baltas

A local stands next to burnt cars following a wildfire at the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece, July 24, 2018. REUTERS/Costas Baltas

A local looks at his burnt house following a wildfire at the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece, July 24, 2018. REUTERS/Costas Baltas

Melted aluminium from cars is seen on the ground following a wildfire at the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece, July 24, 2018. REUTERS/Costas Baltas

An excavator pushes back a burnt car following a wildfire at the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece, July 24, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

A local walks on a burnt slope following a wildfire at the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece, July 24, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

A woman reacts as she tries to find her dog, following a wildfire at the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece July 24, 2018. REUTERS/Costas Baltas

A house burns in the town of Mati, east of Athens, Monday, July 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed they are providing consular assistance to a number of people in Athens, where at least 74 people have died during wildfires.

However, they would not be drawn on whether they were injured in the wildfires.

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Whatsapp A woman speaks on the phone as she stands next to a burned apartment, following a wildfire at the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece July 24, 2018. REUTERS/Costas Baltas

This comes as Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has declared a three-day national mourning period for dozens of people killed by wildfires near Athens.

"The country is going through an unspeakable tragedy," Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in a televised address. "Today, Greece is mourning and we are declaring three days of national mourning in the memory of those who perished," he said.

Wildfires sweeping through a Greek resort town killed at least 74 people, officials said, including families with children found clasped in a last embrace as they tried to flee the flames.

The inferno was by far Greece's worst since fires devastated the southern Peloponnese peninsula in August 2007, killing dozens. It broke out in Mati, east of Athens, late Monday afternoon and was still burning in some areas on Tuesday.

"Greece is going through an unspeakable tragedy," Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said as he appeared on television to declare three days of national mourning.

Emergency crews found one group of 26 victims, some of them youngsters, lying close together near the top of a cliff overlooking a beach.

"They had tried to find an escape route but unfortunately these people and their kids didn't make it in time. Instinctively, seeing the end nearing, they embraced," Nikos Economopoulos, the head of Greece's Red Cross, told Skai TV.

The strong smell of charred buildings and trees lingered in the air in parts of Mati on Tuesday, where white smoke rose from smouldering fires.

Expand Close A firefighter holds a hose as a wildfire burns at the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece, July 23, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis / Facebook

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Whatsapp A firefighter holds a hose as a wildfire burns at the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece, July 23, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

Residents wandered the streets, some searching for their burned-out cars, others for their pets. The eerie silence was punctured by fire-fighting helicopters and the chatter of rescue crews.

A Reuters photographer saw at least four dead people on a narrow road clogged with cars heading to a beach.

"Residents and visitors in the area did not escape in time even though they were a few metres from the sea or in their homes," fire brigade spokeswoman Stavroula Maliri said.

Coastguard vessels and other boats rescued almost 700 people who had managed to get to the shoreline and pulled another 19 survivors and six dead bodies from the sea, the coastguard said.

Expand Close Rescuers and volunteers push an inflatable boat as locals are evacuated during a wildfire at the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece, July 23, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis / Facebook

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Whatsapp Rescuers and volunteers push an inflatable boat as locals are evacuated during a wildfire at the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece, July 23, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

In total, at least 74 people were killed and the death toll was expected to rise, Evangelos Bournous, mayor of nearby Rafina-Pikermi, said.

It was unclear how many people remained unaccounted for as coastguard vessels combed beaches to find any remaining survivors, with military hospitals on full alert, the government's spokesman said.

The Irish Travel Agents Association has issued a warning to holidaymakers who may be travelling to the region.

Pat Dawson, CEO of the ITAA said: This particularly region isnt a main destination for Irish tourists.

People on holiday in this area are advised to monitor news reports and follow any advice or instructions issued by the local authorities, their travel company or their accommodation providers.

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Whatsapp Burned cars are seen following a wildfire at the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece, July 24, 2018. REUTERS/Costas Baltas

He continued to say: Anyone due to travel imminently to the areas affected should speak to their travel company or accommodation provider.

One of the youngest victims was thought to be a six-month-old baby who died of smoke inhalation, officials said. Of the at least 94 people injured, 11 were in intensive care, and 23 were children, they added.

Mati, 29 km (18 miles) east of the capital, is a popular spot for Greek holiday-makers, particularly pensioners and children at camps. Poland said two of its citizens, a mother and her son, were among the victims.

Greece's fire brigade said the intensity and spread of the wildfire at Mati had slowed on Tuesday as winds died down, but it was still not fully under control.

The service urged residents to report missing relatives and friends. Some took to Twitter and Facebook, posting photographs of young children and elderly couples they hoped to locate.

Newspapers printed banner headlines including "Killer Fire" and "Hell".

Greece issued an urgent appeal for help to tackle fires that raged out of control in several places across the country, destroying homes and disrupting major transport links.

Cyprus and Spain offered assistance after Greece said it needed air and land assets from European Union partners.

"Our thoughts go to Greece and the victims of the terrible fires," French President Emmanuel Macron said in tweets published in French and Greek. Forest fires are also raging in Sweden.

Authorities said they would use an unmanned drone from the United States to monitor and track any suspicious activity.

Tsipras and Greek officials have expressed misgivings at the fact that several major fires broke out at the same time.

Wildfires are not uncommon in Greece, and a relatively dry winter helped create the current tinder-box conditions. It was not immediately clear what ignited the fires.

A hillside of homes was gutted by flames east of Athens. A mayor said he saw at least 100 homes and 200 vehicles burning.

On Monday, Greek authorities urged residents of a coastal region west of Athens to abandon their homes as another wildfire burned ferociously, closing one of Greece's busiest motorways, halting trains and sending plumes of smoke over the capital.
France is to ban "upskirting", inspired by Britain's proposed law against taking photos under women's skirts or dresses without their permission, and similar legislation in Canada and Belgium.

A bill on sexual violence and street harassment has been amended to make "filming improper images" a criminal offence punishable by a maximum of two years in prison and a fine of up to 30,000.

Senators passed the amendments by a large majority after it emerged that upskirting was becoming increasingly common in France, especially on trains and buses. Many women have complained on social networks of attempts to film under their skirts. Some said they had called police but no action was taken against the culprits, many of whom are believed to have posted their footage online.

One victim posted on Twitter: "Urgent please: A guy filmed under my skirt in a shopping centre. We called the police. Can you tell me what I can do?"

Marion (29) said a man had tried to film her in the Paris Metro. "He was sitting opposite me and I saw him trying to film under my skirt with his mobile phone. I raised my voice and told him to stop... He did... muttering and staying calmly in his seat."

According to a survey, half of all women in France wear trousers on public transport to avoid harassment. Some say they have taken to wearing shorts under their skirts to defend themselves against upskirting.

One woman, Adele, told 'Le Parisien' newspaper that she had grabbed and broken the phone of a man who filmed her on the Metro. One 17-year-old said she had felt violated after being filmed on an escalator in a shopping centre.

Upskirting is already illegal in Belgium, but police say few women report it to the police.

Olivier Slosse, a Brussels police spokesman, urged more women to report upskirting or voyeurism. "We only get about 20 complaints a year for this kind of voyeurism," he said.

"It's important for the victims to come forward because they are the victims of an illegal act and it's important for us because these crimes are under-reported." A proposed law to ban upskirting was blocked in the UK by Christopher Chope, a senior Tory MP. Prime Minister Theresa May has since revealed plans to push the law through. ( Daily Telegraph, London)
Hammerson has unveiled a sweeping strategy overhaul that will see it offload 1.1 billion in assets and hand millions back to shareholders in a move meant to appease investors after profits plunged 80%.

The Birmingham Bullring owner made the announcement alongside its half-year results, where it outlined plans to exit the retail parks sector and instead focus on flagship retail destinations and premium outlets.

Hammerson said it was targeting 1.1 billion in disposals by the end of 2019, having already offloaded 300 million this year and increased its overall 2018 target to 600 million.

It will also hand up to 300 million back to investors through a share buyback programme in an effort to share the proceeds.

The company is now targeting at least 7 million in annual cost savings, which will be achieved through operational efficiencies, aided by the disposal programme as well as management changes that include cutting the number of executive directors from four to two.

Chief investment officer Peter Cole and executive director Jean-Philippe Mouton will both step down from the board at the end of the year.

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Whatsapp Shoppers at the Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham, owned by Hammerson (PA)

It comes as Hammerson reported a whopping 80% drop in pre-tax profits to 55.8 million over the six months to June 30, compared with 289.7 million a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, profits rose a mere 0.5% to 120 million.

The company said its UK shopping centres and retail parks were affected by the turbulent retail market and the recent raft of Voluntary Arrangements (CVAs), which have seen retailers demand lower rents or shut stores completely.

Hammerson said it was cutting the floor space let to department stores by a quarter, and high street fashion by a fifth, letting loose firms that have continued to struggle amid a slowdown in consumer spending.

It also plans to diversity its portfolio by increasing its non UK retail exposure by around 10%.

Revenue for the period fell from 160.1 million to 152.5 million.

We will now focus solely on winning destinations of the highest quality: flagship retail destinations and premium outletsHammerson chief executive David Atkins

Chief executive David Atkins said: Through increasing the level of disposals, including exiting the retail parks sector, we will now focus solely on winning destinations of the highest quality: flagship retail destinations and premium outlets.

These are the venues we believe will maintain relevance and outperform against the shifting retail backdrop.

Our customer and retailer offer will be amplified, and this includes a step change in our retailer line-up.

The strategy update is part of efforts to address shareholder anger after the company ditched a 3.4 billion deal to buy rival Intu, which operates the Trafford Centre in Manchester.

While it would have created Britains biggest property company with 21 billion worth of assets across Europe, Hammerson said it was no longer in the best interest of shareholders, citing growing dismay over the health of the UK retail property market.

French shopping centre firm Klepierre also walked away from a potential deal with Hammerson in April, after holding a meeting with its takeover target to table a 5.04 billion proposal.

Klepierre said it would not make a formal offer because Hammerson  which also owns the the Bicester Village and Brent Cross shopping centres  did not provide any meaningful engagement.

Shares in Hammerson were up nearly 2% in early trading after releasing its strategy update.

Mr Atkins added: Our results today demonstrate the resilience of our business. We are taking tough decisions and have absolute conviction in our ability to deliver.

By reprioritising our capital deployment and repositioning our portfolio, we will accelerate future shareholder value and returns.
Ivanka Trumps clothing company is shutting down after some stores dropped her line and she decided ethics restrictions were holding back its ability.

In an email to CNBC, Ivanka Trump said: When we first started this brand, no one could have predicted the success that we would achieve.

After 17 months in Washington, I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business, but I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington, so making this decision now is the only fair outcome for my team and partners.

"... My focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington, so making this decision now is the only fair outcome for my team and partners." Ivanka Trump issues a statement about shuttering her fashion brand. https://t.co/DY03MFKg18  CNBC (@CNBC) July 24, 2018

The New York Post reported that staff have been informed that theyre being laid off. The Wall Street Journal is also reporting the closure.

Ivanka, who is a senior adviser to her father President Donald Trump, has recently been encouraging US companies to pledge to hire American workers.

Her company has been accused in the past of using foreign workers to make its products abroad.

.@WhiteHouse National Council for the American Worker together w/ the private sector is working to equip students + workers w/ skills they need to succeed in the jobs being created across our Country & ensure Americas workforce remains the BEST in the world #WorkforceDevelopment pic.twitter.com/1IWisxiFxp  Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) July 20, 2018

Views on the brand have become highly polarised and it has faced boycotts from anti-Trump protesters.

With sales flagging by some measures, Nordstrom dropped the Ivanka Trump line last year and recently Hudson Bay reportedly did the same.

The company has also come under attack by government ethics experts for trademarks granted by foreign governments such as China seeking favour from the president.
The US government is planning to send billions of dollars in emergency aid to farmers who have been caught in the crossfire of President Donald Trumps trade disputes with China and other American trading partners.

The agriculture department is expected to announce the proposal that would include direct assistance and other temporary relief for farmers.

The plan comes with Mr Trump scheduled to speak at the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention in Kansas City in the heart of the nations farm country.

Mr Trump declared earlier on Tuesday that Tariffs are the greatest! and threatened to impose additional penalties on US trading partners as he prepared for negotiations with European officials at the White House.

The Trump administration has slapped tariffs on 34 billion dollars (26 billion) in Chinese goods in a dispute over Beijings high-tech industrial policies.

China has retaliated with duties on soybeans and pork, affecting Midwest farmers in a region of the country that supported the president in his 2016 campaign.

Mr Trump has threatened to place tariffs on up to 500 billion dollars (380 billion) in products imported from China, a move that would dramatically ratchet up the stakes in the trade dispute involving the globes biggest economies.

Before departing for Kansas City, Mr Trump tweeted that US trade partners need to either negotiate a fair deal, or it gets hit with Tariffs. Its as simple as that.

The president has engaged in hard-line trading negotiations with China, Canada and European nations, seeking to renegotiate trade agreements he says have undermined the nations manufacturing base and led to a wave of job losses in recent decades.

The imposition of punishing tariffs on imported goods has been a favoured tactic of Mr Trump, but it has prompted US trading partners to retaliate, creating risks for the American economy.

Mr Trump has placed tariffs on imported steel and aluminium, saying they pose a threat to US national security, an argument that allies such as the European Union and Canada reject.

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He has also threatened to slap tariffs on imported cars, trucks and car parts, potentially targeting imports that last year totalled 335 billion dollars (225 billion).

During a Monday event at the White House featuring American-made goods, Mr Trump displayed a green hat that read: Make Our Farmers Great Again.

Mr Trump said: Were stopping the barriers to other countries. They send them in and take advantage of us.

This is the way its going to go  make our farmers great again.

The president is meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday.

The US and European allies have been at odds over the presidents tariffs on steel imports and are meeting as the trade dispute threatens to spread to car production.
India is changing. Now, its own citizens are living in fear. Of course not everyone but a selected few. Muslims and Dalits are the Prime targets of the majority community that is going full throttle in pushing its own vision of India down to the throats of others. These days Muslims who are even remotely related to cattle trade are being killed by the self-appointed Gau Rakshak from the majority Hindu community on the allegation of beef trade. The recent one was Alwar's Rakbar Khan. The first police chose to have a cup of tea and 'safely place the cattle found with him' and then took fatally injured Rakbar to hospital. Priorities set, right? Yes, even police are not doing anything to stop violence against Muslims, which began with the killing of Mohammed Akhlaq in Dadri near Noida in 2015.

The murder of Junaid in a train in Faridabad and the killing of Pehlu Khan in Alwar by cow-vigilantes were just anecdotes in a bigger game allegedly designed and played by right-wing forces to further marginalise the Muslim community across north India.

Well, the so-called collective conscience of the country is silently observing this and not reacting at all. Perhaps, this is India imagined by the majoritarian forces, or the worse is yet to come, only time will tell. But one thing is sure, Muslims, particularly poor Muslims are not safe in India at the moment.

reuters

It didnt start with Akhlaqs murder as the roots of this political game go back to 2013 Muzzafarnagar riots which burnt the century-old social fabric of cohesion between landlord Jats and their partner cum allies-the Muslims who worked on the lands of these farmers since ages.

Ever since that bond broke after the riots, Muslims started getting alienated from the farming and the effects of this were seen on other non-white collar professions too in which majority of the Muslim youngsters would find employment.

According to NSSO survey 2016, only 32.6 per cent Muslims work and this is the lowest among all communities and nearly 60 per cent out of these 32.6 per cent are employed in menial jobs and the polarisation executed through lynchings etc. has further pushed the community in the corner.

Here are five major occupations where Muslims used to work traditionally. However, in the current social environment, they are forced to either leave their jobs or end up being lynched.

1. Agriculture

Now unless the Muslim farmers own land, the prospects of them being farmers on someone elses land has diminished to a greater extent. The Western UP was the biggest web where Muslim farmers were making their living by tilling the land. In most cases, the land was owned by Jats, but since the social fabric of so strong, Muslims were getting employment in those lands for centuries. Then came the riots.

reuters

Various reports have surfaced where it has been learnt that the villages deserted by Muslims during the riots didnt see their comeback after things normalised and now the majority of these families are employed in non-agricultural jobs.

Since farming is like a nucleus in an atom, other means of employment were bound to get affected.

2. Dairy Farming

reuters

Whether its Pehlu Khan last year or Rakhbar Khan, the fate of Muslims in dairy farming is not bright. The mob which attacked them didnt even give them a chance to explain because they dont have the strength to imagine that a Muslim can keep cows to a dairy farmer to keep his family running. While Pehlu Khan had bought the cow to feed his family, Rakbar was in dairy farming as he already had three cows at home and wanted to increase to the number of cows to ten, as later told by his family.

The repeated episodes of lynching and the hatred injected by right-wing forces into the minds of common people via their propaganda have diluted the picture that shows Muslim as a dairy farmer.

3. Urban jobs too have felt the heat

We all remember how Ola passenger refused on board a taxi because of the driver of a Muslim. Days later, a Muslim journalist was threatened with dire consequences when he questioned the driver about not giving a drop to his home in Jamia Nagar.

These are just reported incident which highlights the growing misunderstanding about Muslims among masses. The reports of Muslims not getting employed due to their appearances or Muslim youth not getting residence on rent are common now which itself explains about inhibitions people now have about employing Muslims.

4. Slaughterhouses and Leather business

Reuter

After the cow slaughter was a banned across India and the state cracked the whip on illegal slaughterhouses and it saw leather industry getting crippled. While the big industries survived, the local and small-scale industry which banked on the slaughterhouses for raw material faced the crunch. Muslims were employed in both- the slaughterhouses as well as the local leather industries.

5. The meat business

The ban on slaughterhouses did affect the business, but the fear of being lynched further made the lives of the local businessmen tough. Various reports highlighted that the fear of being targeted by cow vigilantes forced them to shun the selling of meat of other animals like buffalo.

Whether its the big firms dealing in meat or the local meat shops, Muslims would get employment in the business. But first the ban and later the fear of violent crackdown affected the business and its ramifications were felt on the employability of the Muslims.

In 2006, the famous Sachar Committee Report suggested that Muslims are even worse than Dalits in several walks of like. Threats like these are surely going to push them to the brink. Can we find a leadership in this secular deocracy that will ensure safety and financial growth of all its citizens.
This is one story that completely resonates with the things I have grown up seeing. It was completely normal for me to see my father in the kitchen, whipping up some tasty meals.

unsplash/picture for representation

Heck to this day, I think my dad is a better cook than my mom.

As a child, the complexities of gender disparities hardly ever troubled me. But as a grown-up, gender inequality is way too real. Perhaps adulting is what makes us complicate the simplest of things.

In another moving story shared by Humans of Bombay, a girl talks about how her parents juggled their professional lives with their personal.

She says, "home is where gender equality starts". In the post, she shares how she despised the fact that her mother worked, while all her friends had stay-at-home mums.

But as a grown-up, she now appreciates the way her parents shared each and every responsibility at home, be it the household chores or raising their children. They did it together.

Read her full post below:

She says, "I learnt my most valuable lessons watching my parents - that if a woman works full time, she doesn't become any less homely and if a man takes to the kitchen, he doesn't lack ambition."

It's really not that hard to break out of this baseless societal malice called gender Inequality, all it takes is maturity and the willingness to share responsibilities.
People across India have a strange fascination with cow urine and it's certainly not something recent - it's been going on for a while now.

PTI

Heck, there are some (supposedly) real scientific studies that prove that cow urine can cure diseases like Cancer. More recently, scientists at Junagadh Agriculture University in Gujarat claimed that they had been able to kill cancer cells using cow urine.

So, it's no surprise that people are obsessed with this 'magic pee'. Rajasthan seems to be acing it all by buying more cow urine than milk!

Reuters

According to reports, farmers are using it extensively in organic farming and religious rituals and now it is selling at up to Rs 30 a litre in the wholesale market. In comparison, cow milk fetches farmers between Rs 22 and Rs 25 for a litre.

The Times of India quoted a milk trader Om Prakash Meena, as saying, "I sell one litre of cow urine between Rs 30 and Rs 50. The demand for urine is high among organic farmers who use it as in alternative to pesticides. They sprinkle cow urine on crops to prevent from insect attacks."

Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology in Udaipur is one of the largest buyers of cow urine. It purchases about 300-500 litres of cow urine every month for organic farming. It costs the University about Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000.
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Also sued for approving the non-compliant cladding treatment used on part of the building are the architectural firm, fire engineer, and facade contractor.

Philip Chun and its director Shane Leonard argued that the polyethylene core aluminum panels were compliant with existing regulations when the hospital contract was awarded in 2005. But, whether or not the defence succeeds, it is likely that similar claims will be made against other consultancies for other buildings, further driving up already increasing insurance premiums, Gallagher said.

Wayne Liddy, national vice president of the Australian Institute of Building Surveyors (AIBS), said Victorian surveyors have already experienced premiums hikes from 200% to 400%.

Adding to the challenge facing the building consultancy sector is that insurers are seeking to protect themselves by inserting exclusions to cladding-related claims in their policies, when state-licensing bodies require professional indemnity policies to be free of exclusions in order to meet their conditions, Gallagher said.

The peak building consultancy body is calling on the federal government to get involved in addressing the non-compliant cladding issue, so the industry can formulate a consistent response nationally.

Related stories:

Government intervention needed to address major issue - expert

Building defect epidemic creating broker opportunity

Queensland unit owners at risk of skyrocketing insurance costs
Hyperion Insurance Group has announced that Dr. Signe Michel  senior associate, private equity at Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ)  will join the board as non-executive director.

Michels inclusion on the board took effect July 26, 2018, a release said. His arrival follows the closure of the transaction in 2017 which saw CDPQ join General Atlantic as a long-term institutional investor in Hyperion.
Making the switch from Beazley, Tigleanu joins JLT Specialty as a partner and brings a wealth of experience in handling issues around information security and privacy. The former AIG cyber risk senior underwriter is a certified information privacy professional.

Also joining as a partner is Davey, who was assistant vice president in technology E&O (errors and omissions) and cyber liability at Marsh prior to moving to JLT where she will focus on growing its European retail presence. Davey previously served as a broker at Aon where she was mainly in charge of professional indemnity insurance.

Meanwhile Herring, a former cyber practice leader in Sweden for Aon, has been appointed as a broker and will be based in Stockholm. JLT Specialty said his extensive experience in property insurance brings a new perspective to business interruption.

Cyber broker Elliott-Frey, on the other hand, has been snapped up from Aon Risk Solutions. His experience includes time spent at cyber insurance broker Safeonline.

Modern and constantly evolving online risks require true multi-disciplinary thinking to address effectively and strategically, commented Sarah Stephens, partner and head of cyber at JLT Specialty. These welcome additions to our team are the latest demonstration of our commitment to bringing onboard highly skilled individuals from diverse backgrounds such as insurance, business intelligence, and IT.

Our footprint continues to grow significantly across Europe, where there is clearly heightened awareness of cyber risks due to rising numbers of incidents as well as European cyber and data-related regulatory changes. This latest expansion will help us continue to define innovative solutions for companies in the UK, across Europe, and around the globe.

Related stories:

JLT on a "soft underbelly" for cybercriminals

JLT announces UK acquisition
XL Innovate, XL Groups insurtech-focused venture fund, has announced the promotion of Chris Downer from associate to principal. As part of his new role, Downer will help lead the companys venture investments into new categories within insurtech, including data and analytics, artificial intelligence, and new insurance business models.

Downer joined XL Innovate in 2016, and has focused on insurtech investments in North America, Europe and Asia. He has also led due diligence and deal sourcing for the fund and served as a board observer at Pillar Technologies, which provides environmental monitoring for construction sites, as well as Stonestep, which provides micro-insurance in emerging markets.
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Greek firefighters say that at least 74 people were killed in wildfires in the countrys Attica region, which includes Athens, as a summer heatwave has increased the risk of blazes across Europe.

The fires struck two coastal resorts popular with vacationers from Greeces capital on Monday and also resulted in 187 injuries, including 23 children, a fire department spokeswoman said in televised comments. Eleven of the injured are in critical condition, and the death toll is expected to rise further.

The fires are worse than in 2007, when record-high temperatures led to a series of blazes across the country killing at least 73 people. The casualties from this weeks wildfires were concentrated around Mati, a coastal settlement in northeast Attica, and were stoked by heavy winds, which spread the flames in the dry conditions.

Greece is going through one of its hardest moments, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in a televised address on Tuesday, declaring a three-day period of national mourning. Today Greece is in mourning, but we cannot allow grief to overcome us.

The country is awaiting 60 firefighters from Cyprus and two water-bombing planes from Spain, the fire departments spokeswoman said. Europe will stand by our Greek friends in these difficult times. Help is on its way from several EU countries, European Council President Donald Tusk said in a tweet.

The government held an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss the situation and organize compensation for damages. Tsipras spoke by phone with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Tuesday, who said that he will provide whatever means and funds are needed to combat the tragedy, according to a statement from the Greek premiers office.

Elsewhere in Europe, Swedish authorities said the risk of fires spreading across the country will hit  extreme levels this week, as emergency services battled dozens of blazes that have already destroyed more than $100 million worth of forested land.

Our thoughts are in Greece and the victims of the terrible fires, French President Emmanuel Macron said in a tweet. In Sweden, and in Greece, France and Europe show their solidarity and bring help.

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Wildfire Europe
Nebraskas highway safety administrator says its tough to explain why more pedestrians have been killed this year on the states roads compared to last year.

Figures from the Nebraska Department of Transportations Highway Safety Office show that 13 pedestrians have been killed on Nebraska roads so far this year. At this time last year, the state had eight pedestrian fatalities, the Omaha World-Herald reported.

The state has seen an average of 10 pedestrian deaths annually from 2007 to 2016, according to the Highway Safety Office. Such deaths have been increasing in recent years, including 18 in 2015.

There really isnt anything we can put our finger on that is common, Highway Safety Administrator Fred Zwonechek said. Theres not anything we can really look at and say, `This is the reason theyre up.

The deaths have occurred in rural and urban settings. Zwonechek said he hopes the increase is just an anomaly.

Pedestrians and drivers need to pay attention to avoid such deaths, Zwonechek said. People who are walking should cross at crosswalks, wear bright colors, follow traffic signals and ensure theyre visible to drivers, he said. Drivers also need to commit their full attention to driving and be aware of their surroundings, he said.

Were all pedestrians at some point, Zwonechek said. So we all ought to be paying attention.

While the number of pedestrian deaths has increased, fatal bike crashes have decreased, even as more people are riding bikes, Zwonechek said. So far this year, there have been no fatal bike crashes, while there were two fatalities during the same period last year, he said.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Nebraska
A Chicago-based vice president of an insurance underwriting group fraudulently obtained more than $13.5 million from a corporate client by fraudulently issuing and collecting premium payments on matching deductible policies, according to federal criminal charges filed today by the U.S. Attorneys Office in Chicago.

Federal prosecutors allege that David Ballard, 54, of Chicago, oversaw the Pennsylvania account of a large health care company. From 2005 to 2016, Ballard fraudulently issued matching deductible insurance renewal policies that his employer had not authorized, according to the charges filed by the U.S. Attorneys Office.

In a statement federal prosecutors said Ballard created and submitted to the health care company phony estimates, invoices, binder letters and policies that outlined the purported terms of coverage.

He allegedly had the premium payments diverted to a shell company that he controlled and used the fraudulently obtained $13.5 million, to pay personal expenses, including credit card bills, expensive dinners, travel costs, and real estate for himself and his family.

Ballard is charged with one count of wire fraud and faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.

The charge was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Jeffrey S. Sallet, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Arraignment has not yet been scheduled.

Source: U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Illinois

Topics USA Fraud Abuse Molestation
The market for privately written inland flood insurance in the United States is growing rapidly, but flood modeling is still in its infancy. As a result, underwriters need to be aware of the differences that exist among commercial flood models, experts agree.

Flood models are hugely important in making private flood viable and making it possible to do a proper job of setting rates, said Nancy Watkins, principal and consulting actuary at actuarial and consulting firm Milliman, who is based in the companys San Francisco office.

Insurers have to use these models if they want to start writing private flood, measuring their risk or even evaluating it, she emphasized. But they need to be cautious consumers of the information.

The U.S. market for privately written flood insurance grew by 51.2 percent in 2017, according to figures compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence, which noted that state-level markets are growing more competitive and less profitable.

As insurers and reinsurers begin to put their toes in the water of U.S. flood risk, they need to swim carefully because U.S. flood models are relatively newhaving been rolled out within the last five yearsand results can vary widely.

To demonstrate model variances, Watkins cited an actual example of a house, located adjacent to the beach, with a swimming pool, protected against the ocean only by a sea wall. In a portfolio analysis conducted for a client, Milliman examined the output from three different models. One model gave the property an average annual loss (AAL) of about $1,000, another model gave it an AAL of $30 and the third model gave it an AAL of $20,000.

She cited another example of inland flood results, where a Milliman analysis revealed anomalies among the results of three models: an AAL of $1,500 for one, $3 for another, and $30 for the third.

What would you charge the premium for a house where your model tells you the average loss is $1,500? Your flood insurance premium would have to be at least $3,000, Watkins said. On the other hand, the second model tells you your average premium should be negligible, because the expected loss is only $3.

She explained that these very divergent results are typical of what happens with commercially available flood models for both coastal and inland flood risks. (See flood graphic below.)

Federico Waisman, head of Analytics at Ariel Re, which is part of ArgoGlobal, noted that his company conducts regular analyses or comparisons of potential losses calculated by commercial flood modelsusing the same conditions, locations, number of properties, values and exposures for each.

There are many similarities between the models, but there are a lot of differences, he noted. Late last year, Waisman gave a presentation when he described some of the differences in the flood models of four modeling firms.)

For example, in one analysis, the models revealed different annual frequencies for expected U.S. inland flood events. AIR had the highest tally at 69 events per year, followed by KatRisk at 36, CoreLogic at 12 and Impact Forecasting at 10.

In another example, Waisman asked the modeling companies to provide ground elevation for 1.2 million locations, which revealed differences of three to 30 feet. Thats a difference between being completely flooded and not flooded at all.

Other differences were found in modeled losses for 1-in-100-year eventswith models differing by a factor of two for single events and by a factor of three for aggregate losses modeled at the 1-in-100-year level. Waisman also observed that when looking at results by region, the differences between the models increase.

Challenge of Limited Data

A major challenge to modeling flood is that vendors are working with limited data.

Given that the primary flood market in the U.S. is just starting to grow, the availability of detailed event loss data to calibrate the model is not as extensive as for hurricanes, said KatRisk, the Berkeley, Calif.-based modeling firm, in an emailed statement.

In addition, the geographical gradient between low and high risk is very steep and requires modeling at high resolution, said KatRisk, which was founded in 2012. It released its U.S. probabilistic flood model in 2017.

While some data exists from the U.S. National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), individual policy-by-policy losses have not been made public, said Waisman in an interview with Carrier Management.

Further, flood is a very difficult peril to modelespecially U.S. flood, which is extremely challenging because of the sheer amount of data, said Waisman. Its not only a very vast country, but there are so many climates or drivers of flooding, such as wind, coastal surges and precipitation flooding from hurricanes, torrential rains in California and snow melt in the Colorado, to name just a few of the variables.

Seasonalitythe distribution of events throughout the yearis handled differently by modelers, he said, noting that some models may not incorporate the different U.S. weather patterns.

Waisman affirmed that some models have a peak of events in a particular period, like in the summer, while others show constant seasonality across the regions. As a result, you can see that maybe the model is not sophisticated enough to pick up on the very different weather patterns between California and the Southeast Coast of the U.S.

Underwriters need to consider such differences when gauging the models overall value and accuracy, he said, because seasonality is an important aspect of correlation of riskswhether several regions will get hit in one month and how many will occur in the year.

Underwriting Flood Risk

What can underwriters and risk managers do about model discrepancies?

Watkins said that Milliman works with clients that are entering the flood risk marketfirst by running a portfolio of risks through a model, either using the companys dataset or a market basket of exposures that are representative of the flood risks in the state or region.

Starting with a fairly robust dataset, wed run them through the model, and then we would assess them for reasonability, she said. We look for discontinuities. We look for results that are just illogical.

For example, we would look for low losses in high-risk areas, or alternatively, very high losses in low-risk areas, Watkins said, explaining that such discontinuities can be evidence of something going on inside the model that is geographically inaccurate.

We also look at whether the models have all of the secondary modifiers that reflect important risk characteristics, to see if the model is paying attention to them because there are a lot of contributors to flood risk, Watkins explained. These modifiers would include whether the home has a basement, which is riskier than a home without a basement, as well as the homes relative elevation, which determines how high the house is in relation to the land around it.

You need to make sure they have all the elements of flooding that youre going to have to pay for if youre an insurance company, she went on to say.

Theres typically a component thats non-modeled, and if thats the case, you need to know what it is, and you need to figure out how youre going to price for itwhether you would just put in a minimum premium, whether you need to come up with other data from another place or maybe use another model, Watkins said.

Flood is a very difficult peril to model, especially U.S. flood, which is extremely challenging because of the sheer amount of data.

When conducting such an analysis, Milliman takes the data needed to price a risk, or to model a risk, and appends GIS (geographic information systems) variables. These variables should have relationships to risk, like the distance of the property to the coast, river or ocean; whether the house is on flat land where water could pool or a hillside where torrential rain will run down the slope.

Waisman said underwriters and risk managers often will benchmark vendor models against historical loss data and will judge them against their own expectations of what they think, relatively speaking, the risks could be. You must calibrate against historical experience, both on the hazard side and on the loss side, if this information is available.

Underwriters can use stream gauge data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), as an example, to benchmark past events against the models, he suggested. If theres a big range of numbers, you can use history to figure out what the actual number should be and figure out which of these vendors you think is the most accurate one.

Of course, the underwriter needs to know the underlying perils, weather patterns, and seasonality of rain and snow, etc., to then be able to judge a models accuracy, Waisman continued.

However, experienced flood risk underwriters should be able to take the output from the model and come to a decision about which of the vendors have models that are good enough to be able to use, which of the models they feel need a lot of modifications and which ones they may not use at all, he said.

Underwriters need to understand where the models work and where they dontwhat things they cover and what they dont cover, Waisman continued. They need to be thoroughly aware of the risks and assumptions about them.

Watkins said when insurers are designing their underwriting rules and their rating plans, they should consider how much risk theyre intending to take and what they understand about the risk, based on their knowledge of the local geography. Then they need to compare that information with the models numbers and determine whether they intuitively make sense, she continued.

And in areas where its just a total question mark, maybe thats a place where you want to build in a higher risk load, charge a higher minimum premium or underwrite to leave those policies out entirely, Watkins explained. If youre entering the flood market, you dont have to write everywhere. You can put on an amount of risk that youre comfortable taking on and start watching how the models perform after an event.

When insurers enter the U.S. flood market, sometimes they will rely on the expertise of their reinsurers. Thats why Hiscox Re & ILS launched a new U.S. personal lines flood product late last year, called FloodXtra, which aims to help its insurer partners provide their customers with more affordable flood insurance, thereby helping to fill the flood insurance gap. (More details on FloodXtras flood product, can be found in an IJ article published on July 25).

The birth of flood models in the last four or five years has enabled Hiscox and other carriers to get into the market, but the models are not yet at the point where you can treat them as a black box and take them straight off the shelf, said Katy Sivyer, underwriter for the North America and Caribbean at Hiscox Re & ILS.

She emphasized that Hiscox Re & ILS has done the legwork: The company spent the last four years getting comfortable with the analytics of U.S. flood models and developing a deep understanding of the flood peril. With the FloodXtra product, Hiscox does a bit of hand-holding for insurers that are new to the market by offering quota-share arrangements and all the latest analytic technology and flood modeling.

Watkins said Milliman typically performs analyses of models for insurance companies and sometimes for its own research. Weve asked the modelers, Can you run our market basket so we can kick the tires? So if somebody asks us about it, well know how the model works.

If a client prefers a particular model, Milliman will use it but will build in variables for the portion of the loss that its not modeling, said Watkins, noting that the company has been working in flood models for about three or four years, comparing models as part of market-feasibility studies for companies thinking about getting into flood risks. She said Milliman also has done work comparing models for the NFIP.

We provide information about a model and what its limitations are, what its strengths are, and what needs to happen to shore up the limitations.

If, for example, the analysis flags an AAL problem for just one house, we would probably determine that the insurers rates arent wrong, she said. However, if there is a pattern of funny numbers that could throw off the results in a material way, then that must be considered, she added.

Watkins said there are many reasons results can be wrong or misleading. We need to understand what were looking at in order to know what we can do with it.

Commenting on what insurers and reinsurers should do to assess risk when model outputs vary, Peter Bingenheimer, senior vice president at Boston-based AIR Worldwide, said: We strongly encourage carriers to understand the model underpinnings and how the model was validated. Its also important to consider the quality of the exposure data being input into the model, including location accuracy and building details, such as the presence or absence of a basement, first floor height, floor of interest, and location of critical services and fixtures. Finally, as with all models, modeled losses for flood should be used as one of multiple inputs into risk management decisions. Information such as flood zone, elevation and distance to body of water can offer additional insights. (AIRs inland flood model was released in 2014.)

KatRisk recommends that underwriters fully understand what is included and not included as well as model development methodologies. Some examples are:

Is tropical cyclone rainfall included in the model?

What is the resolution of the model? Can flood maps be visualized in order to determine the reasonableness of flood patterns?

Has hydraulic modeling been performed everywhere, or have simplified statistical models been utilized in some areas (particularly important in modeling non-riverine surface runoff flooding)?

How many events per year are modeled, and how does that compare to the historical record?

What vulnerability assumptions have been made relative to the first-floor elevation of buildings?

Is the runtime of the model fast enough such that sensitivity analyses can be efficiently performed?

Does Blending Work?

Sometimes insurers will decide to blend (or average) model results, which needs to be done with care and a good understanding of the underlying risk.

Dan Dick, head of Aon Benfields catastrophe management team, said averaging or weighting the modeled results can often serve as the most sufficient view of risk.

The modeled results serve as one data point that informs the buying decision. When modeled results differ, Aon Benfield works with the buyer to understand which model they may want to give preference to, based on which model may best reflect their view of risk, he said. All models have strengths and weaknesses, so differing results actually provide an opportunity to better understand these.

When asked the question about blending models, Watkins said that blending can help but has limitations. She cited her analysis of three modelsone that came up with an AAL of $1,000 for a beachfront property while a second one had an AAL of $30 and a third had an AAL of $20,000. Averaging two models would get you a completely different result than averaging the other two models or averaging all three models.

If you take the first two numbersthe $1,000 and the $30and you calculate a 50/50 blend, that gives an AAL of $515, she said. On the other hand, Watkins added, if you take a 50/50 blend of the second model result of $30 and the third model result of $20,000, that creates an AAL of $10,015.

Which one of those numbers is good? In my opinion, for a house right on the beach with a swimming pool, which looks pretty big and nice, an AAL of $30 is the outlier. Thats the number that doesnt make sense. And an outlier can have a huge impact on the average.

Although she is not opposed to blending, she cautions it wont take care of all your problems with models. You still need to understand the underlying risk. You need to understand that theres one model thats an outlier from the other two models and how important it is [to accurate underwriting].

For me, blending requires that you calibrate, or you correct, each of the models individually for blending to be able to work, said Waisman.

New Technology

There has been an earthquake risk market and a hurricane risk market for many years, which created the need for vendors to develop models for those risks. Flood models, on the other hand, came on the scene more recently as a result of the opening of the commercial market.

The only reason we started seeing the development of flood models in the U.S. is because of the potential of NFIP going public and the opening of the market, said Waisman. The vendors wont create a model if they cannot sell licenses. And insurers and reinsurers will not buy a model license if theyre not selling the flood product. Its a Catch-22.

While modeling vendors only recently started offering U.S. flood models, they have existed for many years in other parts of the world, such as Germany, Belgium, France and the U.K., as well as Asia.

As time goes by, he affirmed, the data available to feed the models will become more and more granular and accurate, following a similar trajectory to hurricane models, which were first offered in the early 1990s. These hurricane models have been benchmarked through Hurricanes Andrew, Ike, Sandy, Katrina, Wilma, etc. They have all of that history and have been able to benchmark those losses against the models and calibrate them. The same will happen for the flood models, Waisman explained.

The models will become more accurate when underwriters, agents and brokers begin asking flood-specific questions. Waisman suggested questions such as: Do you have a basement? Whats the elevation of your first floor? If youre a commercial building, where do you have your valuables? Which is a floor of business interest? What sorts of measures do you have to defend against flood? Do you have any private flood defenses, such as pumps?

Previously, underwriters have not had the opportunity to ask such questionsbut thats changing. When the models are developed, you start collecting the data, Waisman said.

That sentiment was echoed by RMS, the Newark, Calif.-based risk modeling firm. Because flood exposure information has developed more slowly compared to wind, it is more challenging to develop models that estimate the financial loss to a flooded building, said RMS in emailed comments.

For example, the height of the first floor (FFH) relative to the ground is essential for determining the flood depth that will cause damage, but this information is not always directly available to the insurer, RMS said. Weve built intelligence into the model to estimate building attributes like FFH, using other more accessible information about the property such as foundation type, until FFH and other key attributes become more readily available at the underwriting level.

RMS currently accounts for coastal flood risk in its North Atlantic Hurricane Model. It will be releasing a U.S. Inland Flood Model later this year.

After every major flood event, RMS deploys teams to collect ground truth and compare that data to the model. RMS also gathers flood gauge data (e.g., from the USGS), other meteorological data, as well as claims and loss information from the industry as a whole and from individual clients. All this information is used to improve the modeling methodology and calibrate the model to actual loss experience, RMS said.

Were working with the first generation of U.S. flood models, said Waisman. As the years go by, new versions will be released, he said, noting that every flood event helps models improve.

Regardless of output and differences in risk assumptions, the flood model vendors Waisman analyzes have done great work. He noted: Its quite an accomplishment to be able to put together a U.S. flood model. Its a big investment in resources and money. You dont turn them around in six months; theyve been at work on them for a year and a half to two years.

This article first appeared in Insurance Journals sister publication, Carrier Management.

Related:

Topics Carriers Catastrophe USA Profit Loss Flood Underwriting Hurricane Reinsurance Risk Management
Paul Nakasone, U.S. cyber commander and director of the National Security Agency, confirmed that hes created a special task force to address Russian threats in cyberspace.

Russia has great capabilities on which we will certainly be called upon, Nakasone said late Saturday on the final day of the annual Aspen Security Forum in Colorado. And if called upon, I think, no doubt we will ensure that we act.

The Washington Post reported on July 17 that the NSA and Cyber Command, the militarys cyber arm, will collaborate against Russian threats to the security of U.S. midterm elections in November with control of the House and Senate at stake.

I stood up a Russia group, a Russia Small Group, said Nakasone, who took up his current dual role in May, succeeding Admiral Michael Rogers. Its in line with what the intelligence community has really been doing since post 2016, 2017.

Nakasone, a four-star Army general, described strategic engagement with Russia and China  the adversaries that we must focus on early on and into the future  in terms of the broader question of which countries get to set norms in a new arena of conflict.

Defining the Domain

We have to have some manner upon which were going to look at being able to contest them in places like cyber space, he said.

If we decide that were going to stand on the sidelines, that were not going to bring the power of our nation against our adversaries in cyberspace  and thats more than just cyber, its the whole capabilities that our nation has  I think again that we run the risk of our adversaries defining what they are going to do within this domain.

Nakasone, who described helping design and then launch the U.S. cyber command in 2010, has seen the domain shaped by actions by adversaries that dont quite rise to the level of warfare.

They steal intellectual property, they steal P.I.I. or information on personnel, they cause discord within our social ranks or attempt to undermine our elections, all below the level of war, he said. And so this idea of how do you engage that force is something that I believe needs to be on a continual basis.

Infrastructure Designation

A targeting of U.S. critical infrastructure, though, would constitute an attack above that level, Nakasone said.

In January 2017, Jeh Johnson, in his final days as President Barack Obamas head of Homeland Security, added election infrastructure  including voting systems, voter registration databases and polling places  to a list of critical government facilities that includes sectors such as finance, emergency services and energy.

Nakasones announcement of the Russia Small Group comes amid a week of mixed messages about Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. President Donald Trump first called into question the consensus by the U.S. intelligence community that Russia had meddled in the 2016 election, before later affirming that assessment.

The New York Times reported in June that the Pentagon increased Cyber Commands responsibilities during the past few months, empowering it to consistently intrude in adversary networks to secure networks at home. Cyber Command was previously focused for the most part on network defense. The recent boost in status seems to provide more options for how the command could defend against Russia.

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.

Topics Cyber USA Russia
With Florida about to enter peak hurricane season, a state insurance association representing 15 insurers in Florida is hitting back against a recent report from ratings agency Weiss Ratings that identified 10 Florida-based insurers as weak.

The insurer trade group, the Florida Property & Casualty Association (FPCA), is disputing the weak assessments by Weiss and defending the marketplace in general, saying it does not believe Weiss is a legitimate ratings agency.

Florida homeowners should beware of a recent press release by Weiss Ratings that contains misleading information about the financial stability of our states homeowners insurance companies. This is simply not the truth, the Florida Property & Casualty Association (FPCA) said in a statement.

State insurance officials did not respond to individual ratings assertions by Weiss but did downplay the effect of open Hurricane Irma claims that Weiss cites as a concern.

Weiss Ratings has defended its assessments of the 10 insurers as weak, claiming other rating agencies give some insurers high ratings they dont deserve.

In the June 14 press release that upset FPCA, Weiss highlighted what it called the 10 strongest and weakest providers of homeowners insurance in Florida.

The ratings agency, which analyzes and rates 2,300 property and casualty insurers in the United States, said it uses annual and quarterly financial statements filed with state insurance commissioners to complete an analysis of hundreds of factors that are synthesized into a series of indexes that are then used to arrive at a companys letter grade rating.

Based on this criteria, Weisss statement identified 10 carriers with more than $2.5 million in annual homeowners premiums in the state to which it gave a grade of D+ or lower, as of Dec. 31, 2017:

Florida Homeowner Insurers Weiss

Safety Rating Homeowner Premiums

$ Millions Anchor P&C Insurance Co. D 53.7 Edison Insurance Co. D+ 68.2 Florida Specialty Insurance Co D 75.8 Olympus Insurance Co. D+ 121.5 Peoples Trust Insurance Co. D+ 212.2 Prepared Insurance Co. D 51.5 Tower Hill Preferred Insurance Co. D 104.2 Tower Hill Prime Insurance Co. D 220.1 Universal P&C Insurance Co. D 846.1 White Pine Insurance Co. D+ 6.8

Weiss warned consumers to remain vigilant of these 10 insurers with weaker finances, which combined have more than $1.7 billion in homeowners premium in Florida.

FPCA, which represents 15 Florida insurers, including Edison Insurance and Peoples Trust, disputed the Weiss ratings, saying in its release that Florida home insurers must pass a rigorous catastrophe reinsurance stress test by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR), as well as vertical and horizontal reinsurance reviews by what it calls credible rating agencies.

FPCA alleges that Weiss Ratings opinions are not recognized by the insurance industry because they fail to consider the rigorous reinsurance programs purchased by insurance carriers on an annual basis, FPCA said.

Our leadership of and members of the FPCA do not believe Weiss is a legitimate ratings agency. To the best of our knowledge, their ratings arent recognized by the secondary mortgage market and they dont speak with the insurance companies they claim to rate. A.M. Best, S&P, Moodys and Demotech all do, said FPCA Chairman Roger Desjadon.

Each of the top 10 companies Weiss assigned low ratings to have Financial Stability Ratings (FSR) of A or better by Ohio-based financial analysis firm Demotech, except one  White Pine Insurance Co., which is rated B+ by A.M. Best only. In addition to its A rating from Demotech, Tower Hill Prime Insurance Co. also carries an A- rating from Best with a negative ratings implication, as of Sept. 2017. Best does not rate the other eight companies.

In March, Demotech affirmed the A ratings of Anchor Property & Casualty, Florida Specialty, Peoples Trust, Prepared Insurance, Tower Hill Prime, Tower Hill Preferred and Universal P&C after warning earlier in the year that these companies could face downgrades if they didnt take what it deemed to be necessary actions to maintain their ratings.

Demotech cited ongoing issues in Florida, including assignment of benefits (AOB) litigation and the states judiciary climate, as its reasons for not affirming the 16 insurers back in February.

FPCA said in its statement that homeowners in Florida should rest assured that Florida home insurance companies are financially strong, heavily reinsured, and committed to serving their customers.

The number and financial strength of insurers operating in Florida have improved markedly since the 1990s, said William Stander, executive director of the FPCA. Today, the market is much healthier, competitive and homegrown. This positive change is the result of local entrepreneurship in cooperation with the states legislature, governor, cabinet, Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, and Floridas Insurance Commissioner.

In response to FPCAs statement, Weiss responded with its own statement to Insurance Journal defending its ratings announcement, saying it sticks by its recommendation that homeowners favor insurance companies that truly merit their high ratings.

We believe that assigning an A rating to a company with below-average financial strength is tantamount to a consumer deception, says Weiss Ratings founder Martin D. Weiss. If that rating agency is paid fees by the insurer for the ratings, and if this cozy arrangement is defended by trade associations or regulators, we fear that these institutions could also be parties to that deception.

Weiss also said it thoroughly reviews reinsurance data but that reinsurance alone is often insufficient to prevent the failure of undercapitalized and poorly run insurers, let alone ensure prompt payment of claims.

Weiss noted the nearly 70,000 Hurricane Irma claims still open as of June 12, according to OIR data, and the failure of one Florida insurer  Sawgrass Mutual.

Months prior to the failure of Sawgrass Mutual Insurance Co., Weiss assigned it a D+ (weak) rating and retained that warning in place until the day it failed, Weiss said. In addition, Weiss gave a D+ rating to Prepared Insurance Co., which was subsequently taken over. Although this company did not fail thanks to the takeover, we feel that our rating provided an appropriate warning to consumers of the risks.

Weiss said the open Hurricane Irma claims and Sawgrass Mutual failure raise serious questions for consumers and regulators, such as why they occurred despite the ratings deemed acceptable by Freddie Mac and Fannie May?

Weiss also argued that its ratings are 100 percent independent, which it alleges is not the case with the Demotech and A.M. Best programs that insurers must pay to participate in. Weiss said it doesnt accept compensation from the companies it rates, with its sole revenue source being the sale of ratings and research to consumers, investors and other end users.

What conflicts of interests are created by virtue of the fact that FPCA members, like other insurance companies, pay large fees to their rating agencies for their ratings?

FPCA called Weiss claim about open Irma claims misleading.

In reality, 91.5% of residential property claims have already been adjusted and paid, according to filings received by [OIR] as of June 12, 2018, FPCA said.

In a statement to Insurance Journal, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation said that the number of open Irma claims reflects the nature of the adjustment process as Florida continues to recover from Hurricane Irma, and directed consumers seeking assistance with any claims to contact the Florida CFOs office.

We continue to monitor companies as they address their Irma claims, both from a financial standpoint and an operational standpoint. OIR does not see any connection between the number of open claims and the financial strength of insurers at this time. OIR will continue to monitor the financial strength of each insurer individually, said Erin VanSickle, OIR deputy chief of staff.

Related:

Topics Carriers Legislation Florida Claims Hurricane Reinsurance Property Property Casualty Homeowners
Three men were arrested last week for their participation in a staged accident ring operating in South Georgia, according to a statement from the Georgia Department of Insurance.

Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens said arrest warrants were issued to Germain Baynard, 20, Ryan Law, 21, and Demetrius Lee, 22, each of Thomasville, Ga., who now face felony charges related to the crime.

Authorities are currently seeking a fourth suspect, Keronda Bell, 46, also of Thomasville.

Special Fraud Agents in Hudgens office and the National Insurance Crime Bureau alleged the men staged slip-and-fall accidents at various businesses in Brooks, Colquitt and Thomas counties. According to GADOI, the investigation revealed that Bell was the ringleader, planning the slip-and-falls and filing the fraudulent claims.

My office will investigate all forms of insurance fraud, said Hudgens. Individuals who feel that they are above the law and file a false insurance claim will be arrested and prosecuted.

Baynard, Law, and Lee were booked into the Thomas County Jail and later released on bond. The Associated Press reported Thursady that all were released on bond and that it was unclear if any of the accused has a lawyer.

Source: Georgia Department of Insurance

Topics Fraud Georgia
Toronto, Ontario Canada, July 24, 2018  Kyle Winston, President and CEO of CRU GROUP, today announced the hiring of Laura Pastore as the new Vice President U.S. Business Development for Catastrophe Response Unit USA. This is a huge coup for CRU said Mr. Winston, The addition of such a highly respected and well known senior claims executive to the CRU team helps us move our rapidly expanding CRU USA business to a whole new level.

Laura Pastore brings exceptional breadth of experience in selling multi-line claims adjusting services to both personal and commercial lines insurers. Her past experience includes Claims Adjusting, Customer Service, and Marketing positions within the insurance industry and she has held senior Business Development positions at two of the worlds largest independent adjusting companies. Most recently, she served as VP and Senior Account Manager at Cunningham Lindsay (now Sedgewick) where she was accountable for the companies largest accounts.

The opportunity to join CRU was just too good to pass up. explains Mrs. Pastore To work in such an innovative and entrepreneurial organization with such a clear commitment to customer focus and employee satisfaction is refreshingI cant wait to get started!

Over the last several years, the CRU commitment to our customers and our capability to execute as the insurer wants, said Paula Holladay, USA Operations Manager using their policies, procedures and systems  has helped us build a stronger brand in the US marketplace. Having Laura join our CRU USA team is a giant next step for us as we look to accelerate our expansion across America.

About CRU GROUP

Founded in 2004, CRU Group provides claims management and staffing solutions for the Property & Casualty industry across North America. CRU offers Catastrophe Response and Daily Claims services in both Canada and the United States. It also offers market-leading specialty claims adjusting services through Maltman International and provides comprehensive training programs via The Academy of Insurance Adjusting (AIA). The Groups Head Office is in Toronto, Canada.

Media contact:

Becky Ramsbottom

416-492-4411 X 1263

rramsbottom@cruadjusters.com

Topics USA Claims Leadership Canada
What is a Convenience Yield?

A convenience yield is the benefit or premium associated with holding an underlying product or physical good, rather than the associated derivative security or contract.

Sometimes, as the result of irregular market movements such as an inverted market, the holding of an underlying good or security may become more profitable than owning the contract or derivative instrument due to its relative scarcity versus high demand. Consider purchasing physical bales of wheat rather than wheat future contracts. If theres a sudden drought, and the need for wheat increases, the difference between the first purchase price of the wheat versus the price after the shock would be the convenience yield.

Convenience Yield Explained

The storage of a physical good or commodity closely relates to the convenience yield of products. However, theres an inverse correlation between commodity prices and storage levels. Based on the levels of supply and demand, when storage levels of a commodity are scarce, the commodity's price tends to rise. The opposite is also true; when a commodity's storage levels are plentiful, the price typically decreases.

Convenience yields tend to exist when the costs associated with physical storage, such as warehousing, insurance, security, etc., are relatively low.

Convenience Yield and Cost of Insurance

Investors can calculate the convenience yield as the cost of insurance against price risk. The formula is calculated by multiplying the price of a front-month futures contract by the capital cost of money that is tied up in inventory, or Euler's number raised to the borrowing rate multiplied by the time to maturity, then adding the storage cost and subtracting the price of the futures contract for the back-month contract. Next, divide this calculation by the price of the front-month futures contract and add one to the quotient. The resulting value is raised to the power of 365 divided by the number of days to maturity. Finally, subtract one from the resulting value.

Key Takeaways A convenience yield is a premium associated with holding an underlying asset, rather than the associated derivative security or contract.

Convenience yields typically arise when costs associated with physical storage are low.

Investors need to know the commodity's future price, spot price, borrowing rate and time to maturity to calculate the convenience yield.

Real World Example of Convenience Yield

The convenience yield is simple to calculate if a commodity's future price, spot price, borrowing rate and time to maturity are known. The futures price is calculated as the spot price multiplied by Euler's number, or the mathematical constant e, raised to the power of the difference between the borrowing rate and the convenience yield multiplied by the time to maturity. Consequently, the convenience yield is solved to be the difference between the borrowing rate and one divided by the time to maturity multiplied by the natural log of the futures price divided by the spot price. This formula is used for continuously compounding rates and yields.

For example, lets say that a trader wishes to calculate the convenience yield of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil for delivery one year from today. Assume that the annual borrowing rate is 2%, the spot price of WTI crude oil is $50.50 and the futures price of crude oil contracts expiring one year from today is $45.50. Therefore, the convenience yield is calculated to be 12.43% continuously compounded per year, or 0.02 - (1/1) * LN($45.50/$50.50).
What Is a Golden Hello?

A golden hello is a signing bonus offered to executive-level employees as an inducement to join from a rival company. The payment typically comes in the form of lump-sum cash payment upon an employee entering the firm.

Alternately, the amount may be through installments over a specified timeframe. Either way, the sum is an award for services to be rendered.

Key Takeaways A golden hello is a bonus offered to executive-level employees as an inducement to join one company from a rival company.

The flat tax on supplemental income like a golden hello is 22% if the bonus is under $1 million.

The media and the public may scrutinize high-end executive pay packages.

Often sectors like finance and technology deploy a golden hello recruitment technique for executive hires.

How Golden Hello Works

Depending on the industry and the company's size, a golden hello may run into the millions of dollars. This signing premium is a calculated risk by the hiring company. It hopes that the executive's value and knowledge will exceed the cost of the bonus.

Before the financial crisis of 2008-2009, the prevalence and size of golden hellos reflected a robust job market. They served as a way to distinguish one employer from another in competitive industries.

Specific sectors utilized golden hellos more than others. In particular, technology, finance, and companies providing consulting services were among those that deployed this recruiting technique to lure high-level executives away from their competition.

Linking ESG to executive employee salary and benefits may help companies remain aligned with their long-term strategy and shareholder interests.

However, following the financial crisis, executive pay packages became scrutinized more intently. Also, shareholder support and public acceptance of such forms of payment have come under fire. Today, corporate boards are much more conscious of their bottom lines and the impression these big-dollar compensation packages convey, both internally and externally.

Tax Implications of Receiving a Golden Hello

The assessment of taxes is at the time of receipt and based on the amount received. For the American market, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires employers to tax the sum as supplemental wages described on IRS Form 1036.

For golden hello payments under $1 million, this tax rate could be as high as 22% of the total bonus. The IRS does allow the employer some flexibility, and the employee may see some savings when reporting the amount with regular wages.

In the United Kingdom, if a payment is made to an employee before they begin work, the tax must be deducted using a basic rate (BR) tax code.

How Investors View Golden Hello Bonuses

Investors use standards such as the environmental, social, and governance criteria (ESG) for a company as they screen potential investments. Investors consider these standards as they review a firm's ethical impact and sustainable practices.

Environmental measures look at how a company performs as a steward of the natural environment.

Social models examine how a company manages relationships with its employees, customers, and the communities where it operates.

Governance, including corporate leadership, internal controls, and shareholder rights, consider executive pay as well.

The recognization of company governance as an essential determinant of corporate accountability and performance is now paramount. High levels of executive pay remain the norm, including golden hello payments in certain situations, even in the post-financial crisis atmosphere.

Any lack of alignment with matters concerning executive compensation may concern longer-term investors, giving them a potential risk to consider when determining whether a company meets its investment criteria.
What Is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)?

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is a U.S. government agency created in 1965 as part of then-President Lyndon Johnsons Great Society agenda to expand Americas welfare state. Its primary mission is improving affordable homeownership opportunities to support the housing market and homeownership in inner-city areas.

HUDs programs are geared toward increasing safe and affordable rental options, reducing chronic homelessness, fighting housing discrimination by ensuring equal opportunity in the rental and purchase markets, and supporting vulnerable populations.

Key Takeaways The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is a U.S. government agency that supports community development and homeownership.

HUD enforces the Fair Housing Act and offers housing assistance through the Community Development Block Grant program and the Housing Choice Voucher program.

The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on sex, race, color, national origin, religion, family status, and disability.

Understanding HUD

HUD enforces the Fair Housing Act and oversees the Community Development Block Grant program and the Housing Choice Voucher program. It also supervises other programs to assist low-income and disadvantaged Americans with their housing needs, and it works with various government agencies and private organizations, including community nonprofits and faith-based groups, to reach its goals.

Following Hurricane Katrina, HUD became involved in disaster recovery in the Gulf Coast region.

The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on sex, race, color, national origin, religion, family status, and disability. HUD investigates any cases concerning the refusal to rent or sell a property, denying someone a dwelling, falsely stating that properties are unavailable, and imposing different terms or conditions based on any of the aforementioned discriminating conditions.

HUD is led by the HUD secretary, a member of the presidents cabinet who is nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The position is currently held by Marcia Fudge, who took office on March 10, 2021.

Types of HUD Assistance Programs

HUD offers various assistance programs for those in need of housing financial assistance.

Grants

The Community Development Block Grant program allocates federal grant money to communities to develop neighborhoods that have decent, affordable housing. These grants typically aid low- and middle-income residents so they can find suitable living environments near employers, supermarkets, or public transportation. States, cities, towns, communities, and organizations apply for these block grants or for loan guarantees to aid in development projects.

Vouchers

The Housing Choice Voucher program, also called Section 8, allows low-income, disabled, or elderly citizens to choose a place to live regardless of whether the property exists as subsidized housing. The property must meet certain requirements, and applicants need to meet government standards to qualify.

Local public housing authorities determine a moderately priced housing option based on local real estate prices before deciding the benefits that families or individuals can receive. Families then seek out a housing unit for the number of people who will live in the house, duplex, or apartment.

A family who is issued a housing voucher must find housing where the owner agrees to rent under the voucher programand the rental unit must meet standards of health and safety that are determined by the public housing agency (PHA).

The vouchers are administered by local public housing agencies (PHAs) that are funded by HUD. The PHA pays the subsidy directly to the landlord on behalf of the tenant, and the tenant pays the difference between the actual rent charged by the landlord and the amount subsidized by the program. HUD states that to be eligible for the voucher program, the tenants income may not exceed 50% of the median income for the area.

Families can move from one housing unit to another because of income changes, job status, or the addition of family members. The voucher program attempts to allow for mobility without losing housing benefits. Beneficiaries with vouchers sign leases with property owners that have this program. With subsidized housing, residents sign leases with property managers who oversee federally owned projects.
By Gordon Deegan

Pre-tax profits at the Cork-based unit of sweet maker Ferrero last year decreased 11% to 2.44m, as revenues dipped.

Revenues fell slightly to 28.04m in the 12 months to the end of August at Tic Tac maker Ferrero Ireland Ltd.

The figures show that the numbers employed at the company last year fell from 262 to 245, while staff costs fell from 13.25m to 12.5m.

The company had 210 people involved in production and 35 people working in administration, according to the accounts.

Directors pay, including pension costs, last year increased from 416,504 to 426,552.

The directors said, however, that the results were in line with the expectations.

Ferrero has produced the global brand of Tic Tac, which is available in over 100 countries, since 1969.

The Cork plant is profitable with the profits of 2.44m in the most recent financial year down from the 2.76m earned in 2016.

The company said some of the risks facing the company include the constant need to devise new flavours, competition within the Ferrero Group, and a requirement to maintain low operating costs.

The directors state that they are confident that the company can meet all these challenges.

R&D costs came to 105,864 last year, down from 165,240 spent in 2016.

The firms profits take account of non-cash depreciation costs of 4m.

At the end of August, the company had accumulated profits of 34.7m, shareholder funds of 58.1m, and a cash pile of 179,014, down from 538,006 in the previous year.
A new report from the Oireachtas has shown that Ireland's main airports contribute 10.2 billion to the economy and have seen passenger numbers grow by almost 50% since 2012.

Passenger numbers at Ireland's airports have surged 45% since 2012, according to figures released by the Oireachtas.

In Dublin, numbers have grown 54% to 29.4 million and had its busiest year in its 78-year history last year.

The report said that 85.5% of all passengers come through Dublin airport and it is the 19th most connected airport in Europe.

In Cork, however passengers number fell 1.4% to 2.3m since 2012.

Cork accounts for 6.7% of passengers and provides a 727 million economic impact to the economy.

The most popular route at Cork airport is Heathrow, followed by Stansted and then Amsterdam.

In Shannon, passenger numbers grew 24% to 1.6m.

Total employment at all Irish airports stands at 143,745 people

Figures released by the Oireachtas also show that 267 routes are served by the airports overall.

Following the publication of the report, Ireland South MEP Deirdre Clune has again called on Aer Lingus to consider reintroducing the Cork-Amsterdam flights that were cut earlier this year.

Deirdre Clune

"The Cork to Amsterdam Schiphol flight is a vital route for the Munster region, providing connectivity and access not only to Amsterdam, but also to onward flights through this international airline hub as well as excellent train access across Europe through Schiphol Airport Railway Station," said MEP Clune.

"The latest figures show that it is the third most popular destination for travellers at both Cork and Dublin airports. A recent report also showed that Amsterdam is one of the best connected airports in Europe."

Ms Clune welcomed the growth in passenger numbers but warned that airports outside of Dublin cannot be ignored when it comes to investment.

You can find further details from the report here.

Digital Desk
By Padraig Hoare

The threat to more than 650 jobs at Aughinish Alumina in Limerick appears to have eased as the US administration significantly softened its rhetoric on its owner Rusal and signalled it wanted to reach a deal.

Shares in Rusal rose 15% in Hong Kong after US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said he was open to removing the Russian aluminium producer from a US sanctions list, saying the object of the sanctions was not to put Rusal out of business.

The jobs in Limerick have been under a cloud as US sanctions imposed on Aughinishs owner Rusal played havoc with metal markets over the past four months.

Some 450 staff and around 220 contractors are employed at the plant near Askeaton, which has been described as one of Limericks best employers.

Rusal is majority-owned by a company controlled by Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, who was targeted because of his purported close ties to the Kremlin.

The US Treasury in April imposed sanctions against Mr Deripaska and the eight companies in which he is a large shareholder, including Rusal, in response to what it called malign activities by Russia.

Mr Deripaska has called the sanctions groundless but has indicated he would divest his interests in businesses like Rusal.

The US sanctions fuelled volatility in aluminium prices by casting doubt on the future of a major player in the supply chain.

Rusal supplied about 6% of the worlds aluminium and operates mines, smelters, or refineries in locations including the Republic, Guinea, Jamaica, and Russia.

Rusal has since taken a series of steps to try to appease the US Government and get the restrictions lifted.

Last month Rusal shareholders elected a new board of directors, dominated by independent directors and operational managers.

Mr Deripaska and a team of his top managers stepped down from Rusals board of directors in May and are currently working on several options to reduce his control over the company.

Several countries and companies worked to successfully lobby Treasury for a softening of the terms on Rusal.

Business Minister Heather Humphreys directly raised Aughinish Alumina with US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross during a visit to Washington in May, while acting US ambassador to Ireland, Reece Smyth, said the US government was closely aware of the situation in Limerick.

Mr Mnuchin said Rusal was important to the global aluminium market, and that the US did not want to put it out of business.

If we can find an acceptable solution, that is our objective, said the treasury secretary.

Additional reporting Reuters
By Ann O'Loughlin

Campaigners against a proposed controversial 160 million incinerator for Cork Harbour today got permission from the High Court to mount a legal challenge to the proposed plant.

Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment can now bring a judicial review to the granting of planning permission in May this year by An Bord Pleanala for the incinerator.

Mr Justice David Barniville ruled there were sufficient grounds to bring a judicial review challenge and he adjourned the case to next Monday.

Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment (Chase) in the proceedings are seeking an order quashing the decision on May 28, 2018 to grant planning permission.

It is also seeking an order quashing the environmental impact assessment carried out by the Bord on May 23, 2018. It also seeks a declaration that An Bord Pleanala erred in law and had no jurisdiction to grant planning permission.

It is also seeking a declaration that the Bord erred in law by allegedly failing to carry out any or any legally adequate Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) or appropriate assessment prior to the decision to grant development consent and that there was an alleged failure to carry out an assessment of the impact on health and an alleged failure to carry out any adequate EIA in respect of the fundamental issue of site selection.

An Bord Pleanala in May granted planning permission for the 160 million municipal and hazardous waste incinerator at Ringaskiddy in Cork Harbour.

The Bord granted planning permission under the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act 2006 to Indaver Ireland for an incinerator at a 13.5 hectare site at the end of the Ringaskiddy Peninsula. The incinerator will have an operational life of 30 years.

Indaver lodged a planning application on January 13th 2016 and since then An Bord Pleanala deferred its decision nine times.

The permission was granted with a number of conditions, including that the eight-storey facility, with a 70-metre chimney, would take no more than 240,000 tonnes of municipal waste and no more than 24,000 tonnes of hazardous waste each year.

IIndaver Ireland Ltd and Indaver NV trading as Indaver Ireland are notice parties to the proceedings.
By Ann O'Loughlin

Judgment has been reserved at the High Court in a challenge against another refusal by the Minister for Justice to revoke a deportation order made against an Algerian man with alleged links to Islamic terrorism.

This is the third such challenge brought on behalf of the man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons and who fears being tortured if returned to Algeria.

The State has opposed the application and argues the Minister's decision to remove the man from the State should be upheld.

The Supreme Court in July 2017 quashed the Minister's first refusal to revoke the deportation order issued in late 2016 and also remitted the man's case back to the Minister for further reconsideration.

The Supreme Court's ruling came after the man appealed an earlier High Court order which found the Minister's decision that there were no substantial grounds to find he would be at real risk of ill-treatment if deported to his home country was lawful.

Last December the High Court quashed the second refusal by the Minister to revoke the deportation order due to a failure to inform the man's lawyers that certain information about Algeria was relied upon by the Minister when considering the application to revoke.

The High Court sent back the matter back for fresh consideration. Last February, after the case has been reconsidered, the Minister again refused to revoke the deportation order against the man.

That decision was the subject of the challenge which Mr Justice Humphreys said should be quashed.

Michael Lynn SC, with David Leonard Bl argued before Mr Justice Richard Humphrey's that the Minister's decision should be quashed.

This it was argued was because there is a danger the man's rights under Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights, which prohibits torture and being subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment, would be breached if he was returned to Algeria.

Three reports on human rights and prison conditions in Algeria from internationally recognised experts in support of the man's claims were submitted to the court.

Counsel said the man has been in custody in Ireland since 2016,

Opposing the challenge Remy Farrell SC, with Sinead McGrath Bl for the Minister, said that there have been significant improvements in regards to the protection of human rights in Algeria especially since 2016.

Counsel said that there had been changes to the Algerian constitution, the establishment of a human rights body by the Algerian authorities.

In addition the Algerian government's intelligence agency, which had been accused of human rights abuses, the DRS had been disbanded.

Following the conclusion of submissions Tuesday Mr Justice Humphreys reserved judgment on the issue.

The man, who attended the court hearing was convicted of terrorism offences in Algeria and France, and had previously used multiple identities and had been jailed in Ireland for attempting to travel on a false passport,

The Minister issued a deportation order against the man in 2016 after gardai informed the Department of Justice the activities of the man and his associates were of serious concern and contrary to the States security.

The man, aged in his 50s and has lived in Ireland for several years. He denies being involved in terrorism or being involved in groups including Al-Qaeda.

He claims he is at risk of being tortured and subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment due to his political views.

During the 1990s he was convicted of several offences in Algeria and received three life sentences and two death sentences.

Those offences include forming an armed terrorist group intending to spread murder, sabotage, possession of prohibited war weapons assassination, theft intending to harm the security of his home country.

He was jailed for eight years following his arrest in France in 2002 after he was found guilty of charges including membership of a criminal organisation preparing an Act of Terrorism.
By Tom Tuite

A troubled youth who started abusing drugs at the age of 12 has been given a one-year sentence for a litany of drug-fuelled offences.

During one incident while under the influence of cocktail a cannabis and tranquillisers he released the handbrake of a car causing it roll towards gardai, the Dublin Childrens Court was told.

The then 17-year-old pleaded guilty to 25 charges and still has a serious case pending in the circuit court, Judge John OConnor was told.

The teen did not address the court but in an emotional plea for leniency he handed in a letter to the judge and it was read into the court record.

In it the the youth described how, my father left home when when I was just a child. He said he started hanging around with the wrong people and started taking drugs at the age of 12 and getting into trouble with the police.

I now realise I dont want this growing up, he said, adding, I dont want to end up like my father. He had two younger siblings who looked up to him, he said.

I really dont want to be like my father, in and out of jail his life.

Judge OConnor noted the youth, now aged 18, had 23 prior criminal convictions.

The court heard that during one incident the teenager was in a car and released the handbrake when gardai arrived at the scene in north Dublin. Gardai had to run to he back of the vehicle and push against it and prevent it colliding with their parked patrol car.

The car was stopped one inch before it hit the garda vehicle.

When the youth was tested he was found to have benzodiazpines as well as cannabis in his system.

Pleading for leniency, defence solicitor Eoghan OSullivan told the court that the teenager had a drug problem which he was trying to address in custody.

He had been an avid boxer, training three times a week, which had required discipline, however, he stopped at the age of 15 when he received his first custodial sentence.

The court has also heard that the youth was facing more serious charges down the line.

The teens prior offences included criminal damage, theft, burglary, motor theft and failing to appear in court.

He pleaded guilty to a motor theft and driving without a licence in Dublin on June 26 last year, possessing articles for use in theft and handling a stolen computer hard-drive worth 300 a Manor Kilbride in Co. Wicklow on Feb. 19, 2018 as well as a motor theft in Terenure on the same date.

His other crimes included the incident on Oct. 10, when the car rolled at gardai, which led to charges for drug-driving, trespassing and driving without insurance at Richmond Avenue in Dublin. He also stole a 600 bike from a school in Fairview, in Dublin on Feb. 16 last and he was caught driving without insurance or a licence on another date.

Mr OSullivan said the teen was trying to better himself but knew he was facing a sentence.

The judge said he could have given the youth up to two years in custody but noted he pleaded guilty and also his circumstances. The teen was also given a six year road ban.
It has been suggested that if there is a no deal Brexit, customs arrangements on the Irish border should continue as normal, with governments "picking up the pieces" later.

British officials are drawing up contingency plans to prevent lorries being stopped at borders between the UK and the EU.
Update 9pm: The union representing Ryanair pilots is calling for an intervention in its long-running dispute with the airline.

A row over seniority, base transfers and annual leave saw 100 Irish based pilots walk off the job today.

The action has so far seen 70 flights cancelled - affecting 11,000 passengers.

The union will meet again in the morning and warns it is impossible to rule out more industrial action.

Forsa spokesman is Bernard Harbour:

"We've also, by the way, suggested to the company a number of times that there could be value in getting some third party, independent, assistance to the process," said Forsa spokesman Bernard Harbour:

"We've done that in the past in aviation and in pretty much every sector of the economy.

"It can help in situations where the two sides can't find agreement."

Update 5.15pm: Ryanair pilots could hold more strike action - as the row with the airline continues.

A quarter of the airlines Irish based pilots walked off the job today in a dispute over seniority, base transfers and annual leave.

The action has so far seen 70 flights cancelled - affecting 11,000 passengers.

The airline says it is a charade and warns that if it continues jobs could be affected.

"We've had those nine hours of meetings in the past two weeks, they [the pilots] haven't been discussing the real issues," said Ryanair's Kenny Jacobs.

"They are making speeches about everything they haven't liked about Ryanair for the past 25-years and they are not getting into the detail on the issues that we need to discuss.

"If you look at the proposals we've made they'll actually see 'Okay, these guys are serious and these are real proposals that we've made'.

"And they'll see that the vast majority of things that they are looking for are actually addressed."

The airline has announced that "all 260+ flights to/from Irish airports today are operating normally thanks to the great work of our Irish pilots."

"There has been no customer disruption other than the 16 flights which were cancelled last Wednesday."

Update 16.30  All 260+ of our flights to/from Irish airports today are operating normally thanks to the great work of our Irish pilots: pic.twitter.com/rNOgZH22ph  Ryanair (@Ryanair) July 24, 2018

Earlier: Third Ryanair strike takes place today

Pilots at Ryanair are to stage a third one-day strike today.

This industrial action centres on a long-running dispute between Ryanair and around 100 Irish based pilots directly employed by the company  over seniority, base transfers and annual leave.

As a result, the airline has cancelled 16 flights  affecting around 2,500 passengers  all of whom have been offered alternative flights or a refund.

Ryanair has apologised to customers affected by today's strike.

Management and the unions have met twice in the last fortnight  however, both sides have failed to reach a deal.

Yesterday Ryanair warned that the strikes could affect jobs and expansion plans in the coming months  something the trade union FORSA has described as irresponsible.

The union will meet again tomorrow to consider more industrial action.

Forsa says the pilots are continuing to seek a fair and transparent method to govern base transfers.

A disputes committee at the trade union will meet tomorrow to consider further industrial action.

Forsa's Head of Communications Bernard Harbor has criticised Ryanair for not taking up the offer of talks it made last Friday.

"Forsa has been available for talks since Friday evening. We're now four days later and another strike is taking place in the company.

We could have been talking about a solution in that time.

"I think it's obvious to everyone concerned that the two parties are not really getting down to the nuts and bolts in the talks that have taken place.

"That's why Forsa has suggested a number of times that an independent third-party facilitator could help to move us towards some kind of consensus."

However, the airline says it will meet Forsa "any time".

"Were available to meet with Forsa at any time. We are already meeting Forsa regularly on cabin crew recognition agreement.

"But after three months and two meetings lasting over nine hours Forsa still havent responded to our written proposals on seniority, base transfers and annual leave, which address their claimed requirements.

Sadly Forsa prefer to strike first rather than use strikes as a last resort.

"When Ryanair has already agreed pilot recognition deals in bigger markets like Italy and the UK, clearly its Forsa and 25% of the Irish pilots that are causing these problems here in Ireland, not Ryanair."

Separately Ryanair has cancelled more than 600 flights across Europe tomorrow and Thursday because of a strike by Cabin crew in Belgium, Portugal and Spain.

Digital Desk
A Fianna Fail TD has criticised the Government for its handling of Direct Provision.

Fiona OLoughlin TD said the Government continues to ignore the significant challenges facing asylum seekers living in Direct Provision.

Deputy OLoughlin made the comments after discussing the issue with delegates at the Ogra Fianna Fail Summer School in Galway.

"Direct Provision was intended to be a short-term solution to prevent widespread homelessness among asylum seekers. However 20 years later the centres still remain open and grave inequalities have emerged within the system down through the years," said Deputy OLoughlin.

"The Government has done little to address these significant inequalities which are having a detrimental impact on the lives of asylum seekers.

There are currently almost 5,000 asylum seekers living in Direct Provision. One third of them are children. Only three of the 43 Direct Provision centres across the country are actually purpose-built.

"There is major disparity in the standard of services on offer. The accommodation is substandard for many and children are denied access to suitable play areas. The asylum seekers living in these centres feel like they are in a prison like environment and feel disconnect from the community.

Ireland has one of the lowest success rates when it comes to integrating asylum seekers into society. This is no surprise considering the environment asylum seekers are forced to endure in Direct Provision centres.

"Many cannot find suitable work and there are considerable barriers in place preventing people from accessing education. This is having a detrimental impact on their lives.

"Depression and mental health problems significantly impact on those living in Direct Provision. The rates of depression are up to five times higher than the wider community. Despite this, people living in Direct Provision do not have access to proper mental health services. This results in people becoming institutionalised, damaging their health, welfare and life chances.

"The end goal must be to close down the Direct Provision centres and enable asylum seekers to integrate into the wider community. I understand this cannot happen overnight, but the Government has been far too slow in alleviating the pressure placed on asylum seekers.

"Whilst the confirmation at the beginning of the year that the Ombudsman can receive complaints from residents living in direct provision is to be welcomed; nonetheless we need a more robust inspection process for private firms operating Direct Provision centres to ensure services are up to standard.

The residency requirement for education should be reduced from five to three years, as is the case for the wider community. We also need to see significant investment in mental health services.

Digital Desk
Former GAA President Liam ONeill has announced he will not be a candidate in the Presidential Election.

Last week he said he was considering running for the office of President of Ireland.
A new book details how the lives of trees at Aras an Uachtarain did not end when they were felled in storms, writes Aileen Lee.

Its not everyone who can say the President of Ireland has provided the foreword to a book they have written.

Marion Mc Garry and Dermot ODonovan.

Two people who can lay claim to that honour are Dr Marion McGarry and Dermot ODonovan, staff members of the National Centre of Excellence for Furniture Design and Wood Technology, at Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) Letterfrack.

Their book, See The Wood From The Trees, which was launched last week, documents the story of oak, ash, and beech trees at Aras an Uachtarain that were felled by storms in Aras an Uachtarain and gifted by President Michael D Higgins and wife Sabina to GMIT Letterfrack for use by students.

As a backdrop to this, the book gives a brief history of trees in Ireland as well as the history of Aras an Uachtarain. Included also is the story of how a partnership between Connemara West and GMIT in 1987 led to Letterfrack Industrial School being transformed into the furniture college, now known as GMIT Letterfrack.

Dermot ODonovan, head of centre at GMIT Letterfrack, explains that the timber gifted by the President was transported onto the campus, dried, and let sit for two years before the students used it.

They then made and designed corporate gifts for the President to give to dignitaries. A second project undertaken with the wood was the creation of a trail on campus for use by the community, which Mr Higgins opened for them.

ODonovan says: That was the real rich part seeing the full cycle of the trees: From being destroyed in the storm  some of them were 250 years old  and then being transported here and preserved in a way that they were then going to be something for use by the community.

The book happened organically, says McGarry, with both she and ODonovan mentioning it to each other at the same time about three years.

Over time they gathered images for the book, with the main body of work completed in the last year. They approached Artisan House, based next to them in Connemara, to publish it, who were based next to them in Connemara.

McGarry and ODonovan are hugely complimentary of the assistance given by Vincent Murphy and Mary Ruddy who run the small publishing house.

Mr Higgins own connection with the campus precedes his presidency, Letterfrack being a part of his constituency when he was a TD for Galway West.

Tabletop by Shane Collins  detail in oak and pewter, as seen in See The Wood from theTrees, by Marion McGarry and Dermot ODonovan.

In his foreword, he recalls the strong connection between the Aras and this small campus on the west coast of Ireland. Three lecterns in the Aras and the presidential inauguration chair were crafted by students and graduates of GMIT Letterfrack.

In addition, lecturer Paul Leamy crafted the presentation boxes for artist Vivienne Roches climate bells which the President has presented to Prince Charles and heads of state such as Pope Francis

Prince Charles.

The President writes:

They, like all of the pieces designed in Letterfrack, are not just beautiful objects in themselves. They represent portals into a past that has shaped and formed our contemporary moment, and into a shared heritage and culture which, in its recall, is available to inspire and influence the vision of an exciting and increasing new generation of talented artists.

It is fitting that this book, which also not only celebrates the work of GMIT Letterfrack but promotes a strong message on eco-friendly practices in construction and design, would include an introduction from architect and broadcaster

Duncan Stewart.

He knits together the setting of GMIT Letterfrack, with the potential of its role in promoting sustainable woodlands.

He writes: Forestry is pivotal to the livelihood and wellbeing of communities in rural Ireland. The authors remind us too of the role that trees play in mitigating climate change, the greatest challenge facing our planet today.

It is in this message for greater awareness and action around climate change that Stewart is most supportive of the work of GMIT Letterfrack.

He says: Students are involved in all aspects of wood, from the planting and care of new trees, cutting and drying of mature trees, and finally in the creative process as students take that raw material and transform it into beautiful furniture and wooden objects.

Interwoven throughout the book are visuals of student and graduate work from the campus, as well as poetry about nature and trees. McGarry says the idea to include poetry came from the publishers: The poetry lends it a bit more depth. We wanted to get into the whole meaning of trees in an Irish context.

Centre-stage is the inclusion of The Farmleigh Tree Alphabet, a poem by Theo Dorgan. It is based around the Gaelic alphabet which had 18 letters, each one associated with a tree.

Dorgans poem neatly ties in with the history of trees in Ireland detailed in the book.

McGarry explains: The book outlines the once important part that forests played in Irish life: they were legislated for in Brehon Laws and trees inspired much of the Ogham alphabet.

Rocking Stool in Birch Plywood by Michael Harris, featured in See The Wood from the Trees. Pictures: Aoife Herriott.

"However, wholesale destruction led ultimately to the poignant loss of the ancient Irish forests from the 17th century, and along with it the loss of Irish understanding of trees and forests and of timber craft and wood skills. It was only at the beginning of the 20th century that we began to see some renewal, but Ireland remains the least forested area in Europe.

McGarry is a historian of art, design, and architecture, specialising in Irish material culture and identity. For her, the message she wants to convey to readers about GMIT Letterfrack is the wonderful reputation it has built for itself in its 30 years of existence.

I want the book to give tangibility to that, for, alongside the story of the Aras timber, it shows examples of student and graduate work, tells our story and what we do.

"In terms of woodcraft skills, I see GMIT Letterfrack playing a vital role in the revival of these skills amongst our graduates and the people who consume the products they make.

We not only nurture their design skills but really encourage their understanding of materials. Sustainability is also a huge issue, so we teach them to choose materials carefully, to use environmentally friendly manufacturing processes and materials, and to think of the afterlife of the products.

ODonovan, who originally hails from Cork but who has been working on the campus for the last 20 years, says:

Were probably the smallest third-level campus in the country. Were unique  were in a remote area and that has its challenges but at the same time, were highly specialised and the students when they come here get a rich opportunity to have a really diverse learning, and were always looking to the outside world for collaboration.

Theres something really beautiful and inspiring about the Connemara landscape and to have a third-level college here, to have it embedded in the community with a community organisation as we are with Connemara West, theres a model there that shows that rural life can be sustained if you have the right ingredients.

See The Wood From The Trees is published in three formats: A hardback edition; special limited edition; and special deluxe limited edition. artisanhouse.ie
The arts festival in Galway has a series of talks and discussions on the subject of home. Here, three of the participants offer Richard Fitzpatrick their thoughts.

Cyberhomes

Novelist John Lanchester on the perils of social media

This is a new thing that has crept up on us. Life  the text of peoples days, the way they engage with the world around them  has fundamentally changed.

Our consciousness is really made up of our attention. The things to which you give your attention are a huge part of who you are. Thats changed in revolutionary ways in the last decade.

If youre in Mumbai, for example, or Lagos or Co Cork, youll see people walking past you on their phones with their heads somewhere else.

Their head is not where they are. Thats happened everywhere in the world simultaneously. Its the scale and speed of it that makes it something new.

There is this place my family goes on holidays during the summer in France, in the south in Provence. The village near us is called Bonnieux.

I just happened to see [earlier in July] that one of the richest men in China died in Bonnieux because he fell off a 10m wall that hed jumped up on to take a selfie photograph.

Its a massive deal because he leaves behind this huge Chinese conglomerate thats going through difficult times. Apart from the fall of the Chinese dragon, theres something about the idea of a tycoon getting up on a wall to get a better selfie and falling over the edge.

If you tried to explain it to someone in 2008, theyd say Stop, wait, what? Say that again.

Once upon a time a broadcaster was something quite specific. They were gatekeepers over who got to project a version of themselves. Now anyone can, from anywhere all the time, and at the same time, be connected instantly to everyone else in the world.

We dont know where this is going to end up. We dont know what effect that is having on our nheads or on the world around us.

Blackbird

Poet Andrew OHagan on travels with Seamus Heaney

Seamus had a great gift for friendship and honesty and for feeling very essential in your life. Once youd met Seamus, and hed taken to you, you knew that you had someone powerful on your side.

It was felt in the raw when you were actually with Seamus. He performed that unmatchable trick ofmaking you

better at being yourself.

It is a holy gift. You always came away from a trip with Seamus having laughed your guts off. Youd drank your share, and you had been better at yourself than would otherwise have been the case. We went to Inis Oirr, one of the Aran Islands, once.

That was a trip never to be forgotten. I have a perfectly formed memory of the day. Sometimes youre in a situation that you know yourself is loaded with a kind of memorial evidence. It was one of those days. Even on the boat over I noticed that Seamus was just enraptured by the view, looking over the lip of the boat into the water and the approaching land.

He said very little. He was completely in a state of meditation. I almost shrank from interrupting him.

We stepped onto a horse and cart and went off around the island. The man who was in charge of this vehicle had a perfect face. His face looked like it had been exposed to all weathers at once. He had this slender

whip and it went through the air and lightly touched the horses back.

It was like a fly fisherman at work. This man would cast his light whip in the direction of the horse to get it to giddy on a bit.

Seamus turned to us and he said, Look at the lazy, light touch."

When All Is Ruin Once Again

Prof Roy Foster on Thoor, Ballylee, WB Yeatss towerhouse near Gort

It was the first and in a sense the only house WB Yeats owned. All his other properties were rented and insecure.

It was in a part of the country which was sacred to him, from the 1890s, because of its connection with the poet Raftery and also its proximity to Lady Gregorys Coole Park.

Its generally thought he bought it for his new wife George Hyde-Lees but he didnt. He was negotiating for it well before he married, but he didnt take possession of it until 1917.

He bought it for 35 from the government. It had been lived in by a local until about 20 years before but had fallen into disrepair.

He had a thing about towers, as many poets have. It relates to Milton and Shelley and the idea of the poet in his lonely tower writing inspirationally, and it became his inspiration.

His most famous collection of poems is called The Tower, and has a beautiful illustration of Ballylee on the cover.

His next collection is called The Winding Stair, which is based on the winding stair in one of the corners of the tower.

He spent summers there. I talked to his children about it and their memory of it was having to wash out mud and worms every time they came down to it in summer because it flooded every winter. It wasnt practical but it was inspirational.

Its very atmospheric. Its one of those places you go to when youre foot-stepping an author, which doesnt disappoint.

One of his greatest sequences, Meditations in Time of Civil War, is very much written about living in the tower as the Irish Civil War breaks out around him.

It occupies a very central place in his greatest poetry of the 1920s and 30s. In a letter to Ezra Pound, he writes that George has just called to him. She had been fishing out a window of the tower into the river below and that she had caught a small trout. Its so perfect that I can hardly believe it, but its there in the record.
At the click of a button, we cede our privacy to internet platforms, but data ownership is the next obvious evolution from property rights, whether they be actual or intellectual, says Gaspard Koenig.

During the High Medieval Period, from the 11th to the 13th century, serfs in France had no property rights.

Instead, those with land had to hand over most of what they produced to the local seigneur (lord), who could confiscate their land upon their death (mainmorte).

In return, they did receive services, such as protection from conflict and access to a mill or village oven. They had little choice: Opting out of the deal and, say, building their own mill, would have been strictly forbidden. This looks a lot like consumers relationships with internet firms.

In this age of digital feudalism, we have little choice but to agree, with one click, to an impenetrably long and convoluted set of terms and conditions, which subject us to constant monitoring.

The platforms we use collect our personal data and sell them to many more actors, including advertising companies that can then target us.

For internet firms, this is lucrative practice: The value of users personal data is expected to reach 8% of European GDP by 2020. In exchange, the firms offer free services, such as social media, to the digital serfs who produce the data.

This is not a sharing economy, but an optimised, extractive economy  based on the near-infinite availability of raw material (our personal data)  that enriches a few companies at the expense of consumers. And, like the economy of the High Medieval Period, it is ripe to be revolutionised through property rights.

Property rights have protected and empowered people for millennia, evolving as technology does. For example, the printing revolution brought intellectual property rights, and the industrial revolution popularised the patent system.

What the digital revolution must bring is the right to personal data-ownership, including the classic elements of property rights: Usus (I use my data as I wish), abusus (I destroy my data as I wish, without any fancy right to be forgotten), and fructus (I sell my data for profit, if I wish).

Personal data-ownership would spur a market, with some of the worlds 3.5bn internet users claiming remuneration for sharing their data, according to the value they produce.

Other users, prioritising privacy over profit, would pay a fair market price to benefit from a service anonymously.

This is what US tech executive Sheryl Sandberg was hinting at when she suggested that a full-blown opt-out from data-collection on Facebook would be a paid product.

The change would be profound, and the practical challenges could be overcome with existing technological solutions.

For example, to support data-management, users could each have a smart account that stores the information and the contractual conditions for its use. As for pricing, intermediaries would negotiate directly with the big platforms on behalf of millions of users, leading to the creation of a proper marketplace.

Effective legal implementation of the right to personal data-ownership will take work. Yet personal data-ownership remains a more rational and realistic solution than other approaches, such as the right to informational self determination established by Germanys constitutional court in 1983.

The potential benefits of giving individuals more control over their digital lives extend beyond economic fairness. Such a system could also crack open the much-maligned filter bubbles that have arisen as a result of social-media algorithms, which show users content that reinforces their biases and beliefs.

In this sense, personal data-ownership could ease the dangerous political polarisation that now afflicts many countries. Today, not a single legal system recognises personal data-ownership. But the idea is gaining ground.

Brittany Kaiser  a whistleblower at Cambridge Analytica, the political data firm that allegedly misused data from Facebook and other platforms to influence political campaigns  now advocates that users treat their data as property, just like their houses.

Owning a house doesnt make you a greedy real-estate speculator; it allows you to participate fully in what the philosopher John Rawls called a property-owning democracy.

The same goes for data. In France, the think tank I created, GenerationLibre, issued a 150-page report on personal data-ownership. At the European level, the recent General Data Protection Regulation prepares the ground for property rights by guaranteeing the portability of personal data.

In the US, author and researcher E Glen Weyl, together with virtual reality pioneer Jaron Lanier, recently argued that data should be treated (and remunerated) as labour. (I would prefer to treat data as capital, as they originate from our self-owned personality, but this is just semantics.) And a growing number of start-ups are developing data monetisation services.

In his bestselling book, Homo Deus, the historian, Yuval Noah Harari, anticipates the advent of dataism, whereby personal free will is sacrificed at the altar of the algorithm. But humans do not have to be at the mercy of data flows.

By establishing personal data-ownership, the very notion of individuality could be fortified, bolstering the liberal values that have made our civilisation succeed. Gaspard Koenig is a philosopher and is founder and president of GenerationLibre.
By Katy Hayward, Queen's University Belfast and David Phinnemore, Queen's University Belfast

The status of the Irish border after Brexit is the most complicated and contested part of the UKs withdrawal from the EU. The UK government insists the issue can only be addressed in the formulation of a new UK-EU relationship. To this end, its most recent white paper, published on July 12, envisages a future deal in which there are no checks and controls at any UK-EU border.

Meanwhile, in Brussels, the text of primary concern remains the draft Withdrawal Agreement. It contains a separate protocol on Northern Ireland and Ireland which includes the EUs own proposal for avoiding checks at the Irish border. Under this so-called backstop, Northern Ireland would effectively remain part of the EUs customs union and single market for goods  implying potential checks and controls at sea and air ports on the movement of goods between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

This backstop is the EUs (and, with it, Irelands) insurance policy  only to kick-in if the future trade deal is insufficient to avoid border checks and controls between the UK and EU.

The Customs Bill amendments

The amendments made to the Taxation (Cross-Border Trade) Bill (more commonly known as the Customs Bill) in the House of Commons on July 16 have direct bearing on this backstop. One, in particular, came by way of a pro-Brexit alliance between rebel MPs from across the house, including the Democratic Unionist Party from Northern Ireland.

Clause 37 makes it unlawful for Northern Ireland to be part of any customs territory outside that of the UK. It is obviously intended to cut dead any prospect of a customs border in the Irish Sea, and thus to slay the EUs backstop proposal.

The nodding-through of this clause in Westminster belies the colossal political and economic repercussions of Brexit for the place it most affects. News of the amendment was met with vocal expressions of despair and frustration from several quarters in Northern Ireland. The Brexit rollercoaster has been made even more nerve-racking in Northern Ireland by a sense of democratic deficit, given the absence of a functioning Assembly and Executive and the policy of abstention observed by Sinn Fein MPs.

.@jacob_Rees_Mogg said visiting the Irish border wouldnt give him any further insight beyond what I can get from studying it. So @ShonaSkyNews and I took him. Did he change his mind? Watch our trip >>>> https://t.co/qN2A3fRj7V pic.twitter.com/L6bRqLRPGB  Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) June 28, 2018

Nervousness centres on concerns that the amended Customs Bill could scupper any prospect of a backstop in the protocol, and with it, the likelihood of finalising the Withdrawal Agreement itself.

And where does this leave the UKs Brexit plan? Well, the white paper was always intended to make the EUs backstop unnecessary. As it states: The operational legal text the UK will agree with the EU on the backstop solution as part of the Withdrawal Agreement will not have to be used. How does it propose to achieve this?

The Irish dimension

First, the white paper proffers a UK-wide version of the EUs backstop for Northern Ireland, effective membership of the single market for goods. To the irritation of Brexiteers, it would see the UK subscribe to a common rulebook with the EU. The idea is that common rules would mean no UK-EU regulatory divergence, and so no checks or restrictions between the UK and EU on their agricultural and manufactured products.

For goods coming from outside the EU and UK it advocates the creation of a facilitated customs arrangement. This is unique and untested. It would require tremendous flexibility, not to mention trust, on the part of the EU  the prospects for which are ever-diminishing.

And on the detail, the EU may straightforwardly query the viability and realism of this proposal  as it did in response to the UKs proposal for a temporary customs arrangement, commonly known as the UKs alternative backstop.

But the Irish border is about much more than trade. The fact that the border region is so integrated now is due not only to EU membership but to the layers of contact and cooperation that exist across it. Much of these have been established since the 1998 Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, which remains a cornerstone of peace in Northern Ireland.

Lough Melvin: the lake with the Irish border running through it. Paul McErlane/EPA

This complexity and sensitivity was acknowledged in the priority given to the Irish dimension from the start of the withdrawal negotiations. This resulted in a set of commitments from the EU and UK to Northern Ireland/Ireland in the Joint Report of December 2017.

Elements of the Joint Report are acknowledged at several points in the white paper but there are also serious omissions. Recognising the importance of a holistic approach to the Irish border issue, negotiators in Brussels will want to assess the significance of such omissions. Are they simply due to a lack of space or is there an attempt by London to row back on previous promises? Whether their assessment is characterised by trust or suspicion will have implications for the wider withdrawal process.

Back to the backstop

One thing remains unalterable: the Withdrawal Agreement cannot be finalised without an insurance policy to avoid a hard Irish border. Whether this backstop is specific to Northern Ireland  as the European Commission has insisted  or UK-wide will only be decided by ongoing UK-EU negotiations.

While the language of the protocol on Northern Ireland can be de-dramatised, the consequences of failing to agree a backstop cannot. Without a backstop for the Irish border, there will be no Withdrawal Agreement. Without this, the UK will simply leave the EU on March 29, 2019 with no transition period, no insurance policy, and no agreed framework for the future relationship.

There is no doubt that such an outcome would cut sharpest at the most vulnerable point in the separation of the UK from the EU: the Irish border.

This article was written by Katy Hayward, Reader in Sociology, Queen's University Belfast and David Phinnemore, Professor of European Politics, Queen's University Belfast and was originally published on The Conversation.

Read the original article here.
WHILE the Taoiseach has a habit of grandstanding on Brexit negotiations, irritating unnecessarily Theresa May and her government, Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin has advanced a more conciliatory approach towards British concerns to ensure the softest possible UK exit from the EU and the avoidance of a hard border.

Leo Varadkar has repeatedly stated  loudly and tactlessly  that the Irish Government will not countenance a hard border, insisting that the backstop arrangement agreed between the EU and UK last December guarantees that.

It doesnt for two reasons: there is no agreement on how the backstop would actually work and little or no consideration of a mechanism to make it legally binding and enforceable. While the backstop seeks to ensure no hard border, it is more a statement of intent than anything else.

On top of that, as he and politicians in all parts of this island are aware and as the Peace Process made clear, nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.

The Taoiseachs tough-man approach towards the UK may have won him popular support but such megaphone diplomacy is rarely either successful or worthwhile.

Micheal Martins more nuanced approach is a good alternative. While denouncing what he terms the ridiculous and almost messianic over-spinning of the backstop last December, he has advanced an alternative to the border issue that is worth detailed analysis.

In a speech at the Magill Summer School, Mr Martin said the best opportunity for Northern Ireland was for it to become a special economic zone.

This would allow it to benefit from the best of both worlds, with access to both the UK and EU markets, and that special treatment would give it a competitive advantage.

Under the plan, the zone could cover both Northern Ireland and border counties in the Republic. Such a model could be created while respecting the constitutional rights protected in the Belfast Agreement.

There are plenty of examples of such zones both within the EU itself and in areas bordering and associated with the bloc. There are 31 overseas territories of EU member states which, for historical, geographical, or political reasons, enjoy special status within or outside the union.

Livigno in Italy, the Canary Islands and parts of Germany enjoy VAT free status and are not subject to customs rules while Greenland has a peculiarly exotic relationship with the EU.

It joined the European Community in 1973 as part of Denmark, but after gaining autonomy with the introduction of home rule left in 1985. Citizens of Greenland are, nonetheless, EU citizens within the meaning of EU treaties. Norway, Iceland and Leichtenstein are in the Single Market but not the VAT area or the EU customs market.

The EU is not the monolithic union that many of its citizens assume it to be. Northern Ireland has more options than the current Brexit negotiations would suggest.

Micheal Martins plan is a good example of thinking outside the bloc. It should be given serious consideration.
The US sexual offenders assessment board has recommended that Bill Cosby should be classified as a sexually violent predator.

The district attorney for Montgomery County in Pennsylvania has requested a hearing on the report so a judge can decide if disgraced entertainer Cosby will be classified as a sexually violent predator.
Paul Dingivan yesterday said be briefly considered taking his own life when he was told his wife Julie was going to die.

An audit of the CervicalCheck screening programme found 208 women who would later be diagnosed with cervical cancer were originally given an incorrect all-clear result following a smear test.

Of those, 162 were not told about the audit results.

Last May, Patrick Lynch, chairman of the HSE Serious Incident Management Team, revealed that 17 of the women had died.

Mr Dingivan, whose wife was one of those 17 women who died, yesterday recalled his experience.

In May, he had called the Neil Prendeville Show for information, having heard a discussion on the case involving Vicky Phelan, who took the State to the High Court and received a settlement over her misdiagnosis.

He was waiting on a call back from the show when he received a call from Julies doctor seeking a meeting, at which he was told of Julies misdiagnosis.

I found that extremely hard, to be brought into the same room that Julie initially went into to be told that she had cancer the first time, to be brought into that same room, to be told then that a mistake had been made, Mr Dingivan told the Neil Prendeville Show yesterday.

Julie was wrongly given the all clear from a smear test in 2009, but she bled heavily during another 2013 examination and was sent for a biopsy which confirmed she had cancer.

She never felt sorry for herself, he said of Julies attitude to treatment. If something didnt work, it was: OK, so whats the next step now, what do we do?

She always just wanted an answer, what do we do next and she was always up for the fight.

The couple have a daughter Ali, born in 2011, and a child each from previous relationships.

Paul Dingivan and his daughter Ali

It was when Julie went for a hysterectomy that she discovered she was pregnant with their second child  which was lost due to her treatment.

Despite the initial all-clear, Julies cancer returned in 2014 when the couple were planning their wedding, which they went ahead with in Spain while Julie was having bouts of chemotherapy treatment.

Paul said: We were being told by the doctors youre young, youre healthy, weve caught this early, which we all know now that they didnt catch it early, but thats what we were always being told. Youve a great chance, were not looking to treat this Julie, were looking to get rid of this for you, we caught it early; thats what we were being told.

When the cancer returned in 2015, Julie went to the Beacon Hospital for targeted radiotherapy.

Eventually, Julie went to Marymount Hospice to treat her pain, where Paul received the news he feared.

They said theyd like to sit down with me, with Julies family, with any of Julies friends and whoever we wanted to be there, he said. So we all sat around and they just said does anyone have questions you want to ask about it? and I asked is she going to die and they said she was, they gave her about a week to live.

I didnt want it to be, but I kinda knew thats what was coming. Thats where we were going with it.

I tried to have the talk with Julie, but she said she didnt want to know how long; when she did wake up she got upset when I tried to talk to her, she said: I dont want to know how long I have left with my children  just leave me to enjoy it.:

She cried and then she snapped out of it straight away and she sat down then with her sister and my daughter and a few other friends and she picked out what kind of communion dress she wanted Ali to wear, what way she wanted her hair done; stuff like that.

Paul said he struggled with the disclosure by the hospital and left Marymount, considering taking his own life. A call from Julie convinced him to return and they spoke about the future.

She kept saying: Whatever you do, stay at work and make sure you can give Ali the life she deserves,  said Paul.

Paul also recalled when his wife passed away.

I laid on the bed with Julie and I fell asleep with my arms around her, he said. I woke up with a nurse and my daughter Jasmine in the room, and she said Julies gone, shes stopped breathing.

I was talking to her for a while even though she was asleep. I told her to go if she wanted to, dont keep fighting. They woke me then to tell me she was gone.
The local authority has made the provision of new social housing its biggest priority, earmarking 326m to build houses, lease properties, or purchase finished units directly from property developers.

Around 72m of that has been set aside for the acquisition of single housing units.

The councils head of finance, Lorraine Lynch, outlined details of the plan at a meeting in County Hall. She said the second biggest priority would be roads.

In total 214.5m has been set aside for a number of roads projects. These include the building of the M28 (Cork-Ringaskiddy bypass), the Macroom bypass, and the Carrigaline western relief road, as well as significant upgrades to roads in Glanmire and Midleton.

Plans are also in place to build relief roads in Kanturk and Bantry. An upgrade of the Little Island junction is also planned, along with traffic flow improvements in Douglas and the Tramore Valley.

A total of 47.9m has been set aside for flood prevention schemes in Skibbereen, Douglas, Midleton, and Glanmire, with 5m for coastal erosion works.

A further 21.53m is to go towards the ongoing remediation of the former East Tip on Haulbowline Island. The site was contaminated with carcinogenic chromium 6 and a number of heavy metals. It is being capped and turned into an amenity site.

In addition, 28m is to go on maintaining and developing amenity/recreational facilities. This programme includes greenway projects in the Cork Harbour area and from Midleton to Youghal, plus the development of boardwalks in seaside areas.

Ms Lynch said the council has earmarked 13.94m towards the further development of the Cork Science & Innovation Park at Curraheen.

Planning permission has been granted for the site, which includes the upgrade of the adjoining Curraheen interchange on the N40. The council plans to proceed with advance works to open up the site.

The council has engaged with the city council to determine its position on this key piece of infrastructure that will be within the revised city boundary area, said Ms Lynch. Progression of these works will be largely determined by the views of the city council on this strategic employment area and the commitment of their resources to its future development, as no national funding is currently available for same.

Plans are also in place to build new fire stations in Mitchelstown, Macroom, Kanturk, and Clonakilty, along with an investment programme to upgrade the fire engine fleet.

A significant amount of money has been earmarked for public lighting, primarily to replace old lights with new and more efficient LEDs.

She said the blueprint would be reviewed in early 2019 and its progression would, in part, be dependent on the level of Government funding made available.

Fianna Fail councillor Seamus McGrath said the council should borrow money if Government grant-aid wasnt forthcoming for all projects.

We have to be ambitious, said Mr McGrath.
Well-placed sources confirmed the Dragons Den panelist will launch his campaign early next week as speculation intensified last night over rival Sean Gallagher after he wrote again to councillors saying the next president must be business and Brexit focussed.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner after Independent senator Gerard Craughwell pulled out of the race, claiming he is a pauper who could end up 200,000 out of pocket if he loses, sources close to Mr Duffy confirmed his intention to run.

They said that after contacting Fianna Fail figures in order to encourage them to allow party councillors to nominate Independent candidates, Mr Duffy believes he now has enough support and will confirm his plans after a meeting with Waterford County Council next Monday.

They know where theyre going with this, its just a case of timing. Gavin believes he has the support of 22 to 24 councillors already, and he really worked hard on Fianna Fail to allow their councillors to nominate, the source said.

Mr Duffys move came as rival Dragons Den panelist and 2011 presidential candidate Mr Gallagher wrote to councillors for the second time to strongly indicate he wants to run.

While not specifically saying he will make a second bid for the Aras this autumn, Mr Gallagher last night wrote that he has received messages from councillors across the country who he said want a president more actively engaged in business and Brexit issues.

The businessman from Co Cavan, an area that risks being badly damaged by Brexit, also said in the letter that his previous call for councillors to open up nominations to independents was not designed to benefit anyone in particular.

The growing speculation over Mr Duffy and Mr Gallagher came as Mr Craughwell pulled out of the race citing the sheer scale of money needed to run a campaign.

I was the only fella who was a pauper running, he told the Irish Examiner, saying he could not risk losing up to 200,000 by running.

Mr Craughwell insisted yesterday that he would have had enough support to run. He said the local authorities who would have backed him included Galway, Kilkenny, Kerry, Waterford and Donegal county councils.

It is understood he was contacted by Mr Duffy about his intentions in recent days, but has chosen not to formally back another candidate.
But for amateur Graham Atkinson, first past the post at the famed Kildare racecourse on Sunday last was a million dreams come true.

The emotional Co Cork man said: Im speechless, but added: For 20, almost 30 years Ive been in this game and its the first time Ive ever crossed the line in front, I just cant believe it!

You couldnt write this script, its a million dreams come true, Ill bring this to the grave with me.

Graham, 40, a landscaper from Upton near Bandon, is one of the competitors in the Irish Injured Jockeys Corinthian Challenge.

A three-race challenge at top racecourses, Graham won the opening leg on the 15-8 favourite, four-year-old Air Supremacy, to edge out Six Silver Lane, by a head in the charity stakes. There were 13 runners.

Its the third year of the successful fundraising challenge which has already raised over 250,000.

Two further races will take place at Navan on September 23 and Leopardstown on October 27 and a points system will run throughout the series to decide on the overall winner.

Graham has grown up in racing and his brother Don Atkinson recently retired from point-to-point riding following four decades in the saddle. Their cousin is Wayne Lordan, one of Irelands top flat jockeys also, who rides out of Baldoyle.

Graham celebrated his great win with his wife Theresa, children and family including his mother Eileen.

In preparation for the series, Graham has been training hard to lose weight and increase his fitness.

Leaving his Co Cork home in the early hours, he has been riding out at top young trainer Joseph OBriens yard at Carriganog Stables in Piltown, Co Kilkenny every weekend for almost two months. There, he rides on average four lots a morning and a variety of horses on each visit.

Further, he has been working hard in the gym most weekday mornings before work which has helped him to see a loss of over two stone in preparation for the race.

Ruby Walsh, chairman of Irish Injured Jockeys, was quick to thank the industry for supporting the fundraiser so strongly.

The Corinthian Challenge is a wonderful fundraiser but without the backing of the trainers and the owners within the industry it could not happen and you have all these riders working hard on their fitness for racing, and raising a great deal of money for the charity too, it is hugely appreciated.

Competitors are amateurs from all walks of life who have made a huge commitment signing up to take part in the series, not to mention a rigorous training regime.

- For further details about the individual jockeys and to support their fundraising campaigns, visit www.corinthianchallenge.com or text JOCKEY to 51777.
Bliain na Gaeilge and Festival Republic are collaborating on some special feature events at the festival and the campsite is just one feature of many that will promote the Irish language.

There will be space for 200 people in this designated camping area, in which Irish will be the common language of the residents.

Culture, music, and language will be celebrated at dusk in The Hazel Wood After Dark,which is being curated by Bliain na Gaeilge in celebration of the passing of 125 years since the beginning of the revival of the Irish language.

Traditional and contemporary music will be on stage each evening from 7pm to12am, along with a cafe and bar service which will be offered as Gaeilge.

Also on site will be Raidio Ri-Ra, which will be broadcasting live throughout the evening. REIC poets and comedic storyteller Aindrias de Staic will guide wanderers through the night, presenting them with enchanting music and explosive acts  Scannal, Seo Linn, Lauren Ni Chasaide, Liam OConnor, Just Like Us, and Do Fa Do to name just a few.

Bhliain na Gaeilge comhordaitheoir Siomha Ni Ruairc said the campsite and The Hazel Wood After Dark will create a new space for people who want to socialise through Irish at the festival.

We are so grateful for this opportunity to promote the Irish language to a wider audience, and to strengthen the presence of the language, at Electric Picnic as part of Bliain na Gaeilge 2018, she said. We are looking forward to our curated space in The Hazel Wood After Dark (An Chollchoill), but we are especially excited about founding An Ghaeltacht, the designated Irish language camping area.

Tickets for Electric Picnic are sold out, but those who have already purchased tickets will be able to stay in the Gaeltacht campsite.

However, campers will have to register beforehand, at electricpicnic.ie.

Applications will open for ticketholders at 10am today.

Meanwhile, the Department of Communications, Climate Action, and the Environment has allocated almost 1m for TG4 in 2018 which will be put towards a number of initiatives relating to Bliain na Gaeilge and other specific projects.

According to the new strategy, the funding will assist the Irish language broadcaster in supporting 160 jobs, promoting growth, and building audiences.
Mr Shatter lashed out at his constituency rival as he refused to rule out running in the next general election, saying he has yet to decide whether to try and win back the seat he lost in 2016.

Speaking on RTE radio, Mr Shatter said that despite Mr Rosss promises to re-open Stepaside Garda Station, the new plan appears to be to put a modular or prefab building in its place.

Criticising the move as inadequate and proof there is no clear need to bring back the station, Mr Shatter claimed people who are concerned about crime in the area have been used by fakery and fantasy politics in recent years.

I have this strange, old-fashioned view that telling people the truth is important, Ive made a habit of telling people that through my career, said Mr Shatter.

But what weve really had [with the Stepaside debate] has been five years of bombastic fakery. My beef is Ive really genuine concerns about the manner good people who have real concerns about crime have over the years been grievously misled.

It will take years to make [the station] functional, there have been a series of fake announcements of the reopening, and the latest one is the so-called modular building theyre planning. This is going from the bizarre to the ridiculous.

Mr Shatter denied the row between him and Mr Ross has become personal, saying he doesnt get under my skin at all and claiming his concerns are based on the fantasy politics at the centre of the Stepaside debate.

Asked if he would consider running in the Dublin Rathdown constituency where Stepaside is based, Mr Shatter refused to rule out the move.

Thats a question Im being consistently asked, and it isnt a question Ive reached any final decision about, he said.

Mr Shatters intervention has been seen as the clearest indication yet he will seek to win back his Dail seat in the next general election.

The constituencys three seats are held by Fine Gael TD and Culture Minister Josepha Madigan, Green Party TD Catherine Martin, and Mr Ross, who, it is believed, may be vulnerable in the area if the reopening of the garda station is delayed.

Mr Shatter lost his seat in 2016.
Statistics published by the Department of Housing showed that, in June, there were 9,872 people homeless, including 3,824 children. It represents a slight increase on the corresponding figure for May which showed 9,846 people homeless, including 3,826 children.

The crisis shows little sign of easing, even though the Department also published provisional results of the 2018 Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA), which showed an annual fall in the number of people on the housing waiting list.

The data shows that 71,858 households were assessed as being qualified for and in need of social housing support as of June 2018, down just over 16% on the last assessment carried out in June 2017.

However, organisations assisting those caught up in homelessness said that while there had been progress in some areas, the Government was still failing to do enough to ease the crisis.

We must never allow the constantly rising number of people becoming homeless each month to become the norm, and there is a real risk that this is starting to happen, said Focus Ireland CEO Pat Dennigan.

Only three years ago, in June 2015, there were 1,318 children homeless. This was seen as shocking at the time, but the total has now trebled in only three years to a shameful 3,824.

The number of families homeless has shot up by 170% in the same period from 650 in June 2015 to 1,754 in June 2018. In the last month, 92 families in Dublin became newly homeless, the highest June figure ever recorded.

The Simon Communities in Ireland noted a 28% increase since June last year in the number of families living in emergency accommodation.

At the heart of this is the lack of secure, affordable housing, said Simon Communities spokeswoman Niamh Randall.

Without an accessible private rental sector or social housing, people have nowhere to go if they cannot afford to rent.

She also said the Simon Communities were deeply concerned over suggestions from Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy of moving from monthly to quarterly reporting on the figures.

On the 2018 Summary of Social Housing Assessments, Ms Randall said: It is welcome that the number of households on the social housing waiting list has dropped 16% from 85,799 to 71,858. However, this number remains far too high.

Barnardos said that the numbers of children living in emergency accommodation have risen sharply in the Mid-West and the South-East.

June Tinsley, the head of advocacy at Barnardos, said: We have seen large increases in two particular regions. The Mid-West has seen a 23% increase in child homelessness, while numbers increased in the South-East by 24%. More is clearly needed to support families in these regions  and tailored supports are necessary.

Mr Murphy said almost every one of the countrys local authorities reported a decrease in their annual waiting lists and claimed the new SSHA figures represented a total decrease of more than 21% since September 2016 and the publication of Rebuilding Ireland.
Last night, at a special presentation, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Paolo Nespoli presented flags representing both the Rebel County and the Cork Institute of Technology to both the mayors for Cork city and county, as well as the CIT President, having brought the banners with him into space.

CIT had hosted the hugely successful International Space University Space Studies Programme last year and, during the programme, Mr Nespoli took the two Cork flags to the International Space Station on board Expedition 52/53.
Judge Olann Kelleher praised Breda Higgins, guardian of 18-year-old Cian Higgins, of 134 Kilbarry Place, Farranree, for looking after the teenager, who was before the court for charges arising out of the alleged dangerous driving of a motorbike on October 10 last year.

Ms Higgins was described in Cork District Court as the teenagers grand aunt, but she said this description was incorrect.
Childrens Minister Katherine Zappone met Tuam residents and members of the Tuam Mother and Baby Home Survivors group at a public meeting where she sought feedback from the community before she signs off on her final decision before Government.

Ms Zappone told the meeting it was her personal opinion that the possibility of exhumation of the remains and their reinterment in a respectful and sensitive manner should be investigated.

The minister also said that she was willing to introduce any legislation required to ensure the approach decided on can be carried out.

Based on my considerations so far, I believe that an approach based on human rights and the principles I have already outlined would involve taking all reasonable steps to investigate the scope for retrieval of human remains and, if logistically possible, to exhume and reinter the bodies in a respectful and sensitive manner, said Ms Zappone.

Of course, questions of scale arise here, which are not altogether straightforward.

I very much hope to be able to bring proposals to Government by the early autumn, and I commit to being as open as possible as things develop.

Let me assure you that if what seems to me to be the best approach requires us to introduce legislation to ensure it can be done, then I will not be dissuaded from that task.

Outside the venue of the meeting, hundreds of toys were laid out on display by some residents of Tuam, around a sign reading: Bury our babies with dignity.

In 2015, research by local historian Catherine Corless revealed there were no burial records for 796 children at the Tuam home between 1925 and 1961 and, shortly after that, a Commission of Investigation was launched to probe the actions of 18 State-linked religious institutions.

Death registers showing hundreds of infant deaths at the Bessborough and Sean Ross Abbey mother and baby homes were handed over to the State by the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in 2011, while an Irish Examiner investigation in 2015 revealed the HSE informed the Department of Health and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs about serious concerns about infant mortality rates at Tuam and Bessborough in 2012.

To date, Tuam is the only site that has been examined for infant remains.

Last month, Ms Zappone published the report of a public consultation process carried out by Galway County Council. The report found former residents and residents of the Tuam home were overwhelmingly in favour of a forensic excavation of the site and DNA analysis of all remains.
Delivering a speech at the MacGill Summer School, he took aim at the Conservative Party in Britain over Brexit and their cavalier disregard for peace in the North.

Mr Martin also wants the Government to stop spinning about Brexit and provide an alternative solution, as its attempts to prioritise Ireland have failed.

He reflected on former British prime minister David Camerons disastrous failures of leadership and his original calls for a Brexit referendum over five years ago.

We do not need to wait for the history books to understand that Camerons manoeuvre represents one of the most disastrous failures of leadership in a modern democracy, he said.

It is not just that the people were presented with a dishonest and incomplete question  it showed a cavalier disregard for one of the greatest achievements of modern democracies, the peace and reconciliation agenda in Northern Ireland.

The Government here needs to develop the ability to reflect on its own tactics, said Mr Martin.

We have reached the moment of truth on Brexit and Northern Ireland, he said. The choices facing us are starker than ever, the room for manoeuvre is becoming narrower by the day  there is no more time for delay.

Claiming a no-deal scenario is highly unlikely to happen, Mr Martin said key elements of the Governments Brexit strategy have clearly failed.

This included the focus on the so-called backstop and the massive over-hype on this since last December, as well as attempts to prioritise the Irish question.

Today, Ireland is actually the only point of significance still to be decided in the withdrawal treaty and the attempts to have a close-to-membership arrangement between the UK and the EU has manifestly failed, said Mr Martin.

I believe that a special economic zone status offers the best opportunity. There are hundreds of such zones in the world, and it is a concept which was developed here in Shannon.

Both London and the EU would agree to special treatment for the North, which would give it a competitive advantage.

Mr Martin also warned of the threat to peace in the North.

I believe that a special economic zone status offers the best opportunity, he said. There are hundreds of such zones in the world, and it is a concept which was developed here in Shannon.
The plan features in the 2018-2020 strategic plan of Udaras na Gaeltachta, the regional authority responsible for the Gaeltachts economic, social and cultural development, whose overall objective is to ensure that Irish remains the main communal language of the Gaeltacht.

Census 2016 data showed that the proportion of people living in Gaeltacht areas who can speak the language fell from 68.5% to 66.3% since 2011. In the same five-year period, daily use of the language fell in all but four of the Gaeltachts 26 language planning areas.

Udaras-supported companies employ 7,500 people full-time and generate annual sales of 844m, more than 500m of it from exports.

The main objective of the strategy published yesterday include the approval of 1,500 jobs over its lifetime, and supporting 8,000 full-time jobs in client companies. The aim is for a 10% increase in supported companies that are engaged in exports as part of a 20% target for increased exports and sales.

Part of the enterprise drive would see the development of 30 innovation and digital hubs with high-speed broadband connectivity under the gteic heading, to form a Greasan Digiteach na Gaeltachta (Gaeltacht Digital Network). The hubs would be established throughout the Gaeltacht, but also on six Gaeltacht islands and seven other offshore islands.

As well as giving new tech companies the chance to set up or move to Gaeltacht areas, this plan is seen as a way of allowing the Gaeltacht community return to or live in their home area by providing remote working opportunities at hot desks, co-working spaces, or offices at these hubs.

A Diaspora na Gaeltachta strategy will seek to bolster the Irish language as a community language by encouraging the emigrant Gaeltacht community abroad or in Ireland to return home to their families and communities.

It is hoped that a continual connection can be established with this national and international community in order to make them aware of the employment, living, social, language and cultural opportunities in the Gaeltacht areas, and provide any information, advice and support they may need when choosing to return home, says the 24-page strategy document.

Udaras na Gaeltachta chairwoman Anna Ni Ghallachair said the organisation will meet the significant challenges that lie ahead with enthusiasm and determination to ensure a Gaeltacht that is stronger linguistically and as a community.

The previously announced Pairc na Mara at Cill Chiarain in the Connemara Gaeltacht in Co Galway also forms part of the 2018-2020 strategy. It is planned as a low-carbon marine innovation park, where enterprise, researchers, public bodies and State development agencies will work together.

A Gaeltacht brand will be promoted to visually represent the enterprise and heritage of the regions, while language, culture and landscape will be central to the promotion of the Gaeltacht under a new tourism development initiative.

An action plan for natural resources is to be developed and implemented, with the Gaeltacht seaweed sector to be the subject of research to identify value-added products.
It usually happens when youre confronted with selfishness or human stupidity (or Donald Trump). But it shouldnt perhaps be the appropriate response to a piece of public policy.

But heres the thing. Our government is confronted with an issue  internet safety. This means different things to different people. For some its about privacy, and trying to ensure that people arent turned into commodities against their will.

For others its about child protection, and seeking to ensure that young people, especially those with vulnerabilities, dont get sucked into things they cant control.

In the face of these and other challenges, our Government has completely, absolutely, and without any question, chickened out.

They have completely and totally abdicated their responsibility. They have responded in ways that deserve to be treated with nothing but contempt. Their entire approach to internet safety is a farce, and an obvious farce at that.

Many of you will have seen the Channel 4 Dispatches programme about Facebook last week.

There have been a lot of concerns about that companys approach to privacy, and about the ease with which personal data can be harvested and used for all sorts of purposes it was never intended.

Last weeks programme revealed another dimension entirely, as it showed Facebook employees not bothering to address harmful and dangerous content on their platform.

It goes to show the pervasiveness of risk. Its not in Facebooks interests  in fact it is diametrically the opposite of their interest  for them to be seen as a potential home for dangerous material.

If they were to attract that reputation, subscribers mightnt leave in their droves, but advertisers certainly would.

So it seems that Facebook, one of the richest companies in the history of the world, tries to cut corners and save a few bob in its training and supervision of staff. If that is the case with them, how is it possible to assume than anyone operating in this area is working to unimpeachable levels of safety?

Now, Im not suggesting that on the basis of a television programme, the Government should turn up at Facebooks door, like the sheriff of Dodge City, and threaten them with closure.

But there has to be a structure in place where clear breaches of safety standards, whoever commits them, are investigated independently and proactively, and prevented from reoccurring, with the perpetrators appropriately punished.

This is already pretty well the case in relation to the protection of private information. The European GDPR has given a powerful suite of weapons and punishments to Data Protection Commissioners, including our own, and there has been a mad rush towards compliance.

But when it comes to protecting young people from abuse, nothing. Zilch. Zero.

Oh, wait. Theres a link on the Governments website. Its called Be safe online  and the Government is spending money on radio ads to encourage people to go there. Click on the link and youll be whisked immediately to Irelands official online safety hub.

There youll find all sorts of things you should do  as a parent, a teacher, a child, or a member of the general public. Things you need to take responsibility for.

And again and again in this hub youll read the assertion that the Government cant do it all on its own. Now try searching for what the Government is actually going to do.

Good luck with that. Because as far as the Government is concerned, its up to you, or the EU, or the internet providing companies, or the people who run the platforms. The Government is actually proposing to do nothing.

Theres a plan, of course, that you can open and read in the hub. Its full of meaningless drivel and gobbledegook.

Theres a whole of government approach to nothing. The whole of government approach will be led by sponsors  another way of saying that no-one is actually accountable. Stakeholders, God bless them, will be endlessly consulted about nothing. Oireachtas committees will be worked with about nothing.

In the face of scandals in the charity sector, the Government (eventually) established a charities regulator. It took a couple of years to get going, but its now a trusted, efficient operation. (I should declare an interest because as well as working for a charity Im on the board of the authority.)

It operates proportionately  which is another way of saying, stick by the rules and were on your side. Mess with the rules, and well come after you. But in the face of clear and present danger from the internet, the Government waffles.

A meaningless piece of legislation was passed recently that set out to raise the digital age of consent to 16, and those in favour of that proposition seem to think that the job is now done. But it isnt, and it wont be until the Government accepts that the self-regulation of the internet industry, in all its aspects, is entirely phoney.

The Government plan actually refers approvingly to a code of practice and ethics drawn up by the Internet Service Providers Association of Ireland, which represents the vast bulk of the companies in the industry.

This so-called code of practice, about which Ive been writing for years, was written and adopted five years before the iPhone was launched. It can be updated, of course, but only if 75% of its members agree. As an effective contributor to regulation, its palpable nonsense.

The Governments response? Well someday, maybe soon and maybe not, its going to reconfigure and strengthen the Internet Advisory Council (bet you didnt know we had one). And every year on Internet Safety Day (whatever that is) its going to cause an annual report to be published. So you can sleep soundly in your beds.

And if you do come across dangerous content online, stuff youre really worried about, well then, by all means, report it.

Not to the gardai, or to any independent body responsible for childrens safety. You get to report it to Hotline, a body that is owned, trained and ridden by the industry.

The last time they published an annual report, a couple of years ago, they recorded the largest ever number of concerns reported to them  more than 7,000  and found less than 400 illegal.

The great bulk  in respect of which no action was taken (no warning, no intervention) involved adult pornography. In a tiny number of cases (about 150) internet service providers were advised to consider removing material classified as child erotica.

Its a joke, like so much else about this business. But the biggest joke of all is a government that pretends to be vitally concerned about internet safety, and yet absolves itself of all responsibility, and leaves it to the industry to regulate itself.

Hypocrisy about internet safety is a national disgrace.
Business Govt Releases Regulations for New Companies Law

Shipping containers are stacked and moved at the Asia World Port in Yangon on July 2, 2014. / Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters

YANGON  The government issued new regulations on Monday to help firms navigate the Myanmar Companies Law, which takes effect on Aug. 1, with instructions on online registration, corporate constitutions, capital structures and more.

Prepared by the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA), the regulations also instruct existing firms on how to re-register, provide a model constitution and include rules on maintaining registers and records and regulations for resident directors.

Passed by the Parliament in November, the Companies Law is seen to be one of the major legislative achievements of the current government, replacing and adopting elements of the 1914 Companies Act and the 1950 Special Companies Act.

Once it takes effect, all existing companies will have to re-register electronically with Myanmar Companies Online within six months.

According to the new regulations, companies must ensure that all forms and documents filed electronically are properly executed and also kept in hard copy together with the companys registers and indexes at its registered office.

A company may be refused registration if it fails to complete the required forms in line with the instructions, fails to attach additional documents asked for, or fails to pay the requisite fees.

If an existing company does not re-register online within the six months, it will be struck from the register and dissolved.

Companies and corporations that choose to reregister must provide their registered office address and the full name, date of birth, gender, nationality and address of every director and secretary.

DICA Director U Myo Min told The Irrawaddy earlier this month that companies also need to update their lists of members, directors, mortgages and charges and review the new duties and liabilities for directors.

According to DICA, there are more than 50,000 local companies and 7,000 foreign companies currently registered in Myanmar.
Arts Prolific Artist Showcases Printed Painting

Printed Painting will be on display through Thursday at OK Art Gallery in Aung San Stadium.

Despite his slight build, Soe Naings appetite for art is quite grand. While art fans are still enjoying his oil lamp installation at Seven Decades art exhibition in Yangons Secretariat, he is showcasing another exhibition. His oil lamp installation, which has neither burner nor wick, has fascinated many exhibition-goers as it reflects the countrys irregular electricity supply.

The prolific artist has rolled out Printed Painting, which will be on display through Thursday at OK Art Gallery in Aung San Stadium.

Paintings at this exhibition reflect nothing. Soe Naing did not even use canvas or brushes to make them. He only used turpentine and oils, and sketched figures on glass. He then pressed colored paper onto the glass to create what he calls printed paintings.

Ive exhibited this type of work at exhibitions since 1994. I lectured on this technique at a private school last month. Then I had the urge to make more, so I did. But this is the first time Ive showcased this type of painting at a solo exhibition, said Soe Naing.

The artist is known for his abstract depictions of humans, dogs, cats, horses and such. As he used colored paper instead of paint, viewers will get a fresh taste of his work.

Because glass is smoother (than canvas), I could sketch more quickly. On regular canvas, brushwork cant be that swift. Drawing these paintings refreshed my mind; it was so much fun, so satisfying, said Soe Naing.

More than 100 paintings are on display at the exhibition and are available for prices from 10,000 to 15,000 kyats.

Regarding the printed paintings of Soe Naing, veteran modernist Maung Di said, I like everything he createspaintings, sculptures and anything else.

Soe Naing has held more than 20 solo art exhibitions and is also a regular participant in modernist group art exhibitions.
In Person With Departure from Rakhine Advisory Panel, Kobsak Sends a Warning Signal

Former consultant to the Advisory Panel on Rakhine, Kobsak Chutikul, left, with State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi / Supplied

YANGON  Kobsak Chutikul recently told news media he had quit Surakiart Sathirathais advisory panel on Rakhine State earlier this month, citing a lack of progress and expressing frustration at the lack of any independent mechanism by which to monitor implementation of the panels recommendations.

In an exclusive interview with The Irrawaddy, Kobsak, a longtime Thai diplomat and former member of Parliament, discusses his decision to resign, his views on the panels progress  or lack thereof  and his longtime involvement with Myanmar.

What are the main reasons for your resignation?

The main reason is age. At 68, I am one of the oldest persons in the group, and the field trips and the daily need to keep up with developments on what is a constantly moving chessboard were taking a toll. I decided to step aside and ask a younger colleague, a recently retired ambassador, to take my place.

But as a long-time friend of the Burmese people, when asked to elaborate [on the decision to quit], I tried to leave a small positive contribution, which was, to send out a small warning signal, a distress call. This has been somewhat overblown in some news coverage as an indictment of the board itself and of Myanmar officials. My intention had merely been to stress the message from many diplomatic and international quarters that the coming three months could be critical and game-changing in terms of Burmas standing in the world. A Burma that I sincerely love and respect. And so it was a genuine concern for me.

We are coming to the end of the annual budget and reporting cycle of many countries and organizations, and a huge number of reports and assessments will be coming out, such as by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Fortify Rights, the US State Department, US congressional committees, the EU Parliament, the ICC. Some, like Canada, have already announced targeted sanctions. Then well have the human rights reports from committees in Geneva winding their way to the [UN] General Assembly in New York, which starts its session at the end of September. Before that, of course, on Aug. 24, will be the one-year anniversary of the Kofi Annan Report and therell surely be numerous reports and analyses questioning how much has been implemented. Then, on Aug. 25, the one-year anniversary of the ARSA attacks and a worldwide rehashing of what happened can be expected. In addition to that, natural phenomena such as the monsoons have to be borne in mind. If the monsoons were to result in images of women and children at Coxs Bazar being washed to sea, it would grip the worlds attention and unleash torrents of condemnation to the detriment of Burma.

Time is of the essence, and we should not be complacent or lulled into thinking that enough has been done or is being done. I thought by resigning, I could in some small way help to draw attention to the need for concrete and timely actions, and to prod for things to be done a little differently.

A new ray of hope is the presence of the UN Special Envoy. Ambassador Christine Burgener seems to be well received and trusted by all stakeholders both within Burma and the international community. The time is auspicious to get seriously into the implementation stage. I feel we need to coalesce behind this mechanism.

As Kofi Annan himself has noted, when too many bodies are set up  committees, commissions, boards  it takes focus away from implementation and time is consumed in coordination, logistics and report writing.

What were your responsibilities as the secretary of the panel? Who appointed you?

I was just a consultant to the board, not the secretary as reported in some news items. I did not wish to be tied down with administrative paperwork, and chose to do consultancy rather than be board secretary. The chairman of the board [Surakiart Sathirathai] appointed me, presumably in prior consultation with the relevant Myanmar officials, and the board members were then informed. I helped the secretariat prepare substantive background papers and talking points, coordinating with board members and setting up board meetings. The most satisfying part was taking field trips to Rakhine State and listening to the communities there as well as UN agencies and CSO workers. The visit to Coxs Bazar, which I undertook alone and not related directly to the board, was both eye-opening and emotionally wrenching.

You spent six months with the panel. Could you share with us your overall analysis of its progress? You told Reuters, The group had been kept on a short leash and achieved little.

Its difficult to pass judgment at this time on progress. Much of it is in the eye of the beholder. As Ambassador Laetitia van den Assum, a member of the Kofi Annan Commission, has noted at several conferences, there is no independent mechanism in place monitoring implementation, and no independent reporting process of the situation on the ground, on the basis of which credible judgments can be formed about progress. We may need to have such mechanisms in place before pronouncing or concluding credibly about what progress has been achieved.

My own observations were made in terms of what the board could and could not do compared to the Kofi Annan Commission. Naypyitaw may well have had valid reasons in wanting to do things differently from their experience with the Kofi Annan Commission, such as wanting to be in control of such things as number of meetings, itinerary, financing. But from my working-level perspective, it has constrained the ability of the board to do more, affecting how much we could achieve relative to the level of ambition of many board members and those who worked for them and the expectations of stakeholders. I could be wrong in my perception, of course. Its just my personal opinion. Only time will tell.

Most importantly, the best judges of whether progress has or has not been made are the actual people whose lives are impacted on a daily basis. They deserve to have a voice, they deserve to be asked whether things have changed for the better for them, what they see being done, whether they have more hope now for themselves, for their children and grandchildren. These people are the different communities of Rakhine, and the human beings huddled at Coxs Bazar.

In contrast to your views, Chairman Surakiart Sathirathai said the board is effective and the government has acted on its recommendations. Do you have any response?

There can be many different and equally valid perspectives. As you know, when it comes to Myanmar there are so many different and often competing narratives. And as the saying goes, where you stand often depends on where you sit.

As for recommendations, all I can add is that all pertinent recommendations are already contained in the Kofi Annan Report. In fact, 88 recommendations which, taken together, address all aspects of the Rakhine situation at root cause and in a comprehensive manner. When I drafted background notes for the board, I drew on the 88 recommendations, since we had no mechanism of our own on the ground, and it was pointless to reinvent the wheel. All the recommendations are there in the report, whether it be citizenship, inter-communal harmony, media access, cooperation with UN agencies, repatriation, enquiry commission, security, IDPs, health-education-agriculture in model townships; the studies have been made, the solutions are available. What is required now is will power and practical implementation. And it is for the purpose of implementation that the current Advisory Board was set up; to work with the Implementation Committee of Dr. Win Myat Aye.

I do not know what factors go into influencing a particular decision of the government in Naypyitaw. I only know that according to an ancient Burmese saying, all of us must be careful not to be like the rooster that crows every morning and thinks it is responsible for the sun coming up.

You said the panel tried to reach out to the military but in vain. How many times did you try, and to whom? What were their reasons for avoiding the meetings?

Before each board meeting, the secretariat would request our counterparts in Naypyitaw to put a courtesy call to Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing on the program. Even when the senior general visited Thailand twice over the past six months, requests were made to call on him. There was no response. I do not know the reason why, or even whether our requests were passed on to the senior-general.

As a consultant, I naturally came to the conclusion that the inability, for whatever reason, to have access to the supreme head of the military  which is in direct control of the ministries and services absolutely essential for implementation of measures and policies in Rakhine State  seriously constrains the ability of the board to fulfill its mandate. I can only hope the situation will change in future.

Were there any disagreements among the panel members that contributed to your resignation?

I dont believe so. Only at the beginning, with the Governor Bill Richardson incident. Most board members have proven records of integrity and commitment. The three international members, for example, had ideas about pursuing their own areas of expertise such as on citizenship, inter-communal dialogue, and access to public health. Those are complementary and not competing areas. As for my relationship with the chairman, it was formal and correct. With hindsight, I should have raised some of my concerns in a more straightforward manner, and not erred on the side of Asian deference.

Overall, I think one abiding lesson is that decision-makers at all levels must be given frank views and factual advice at all times. We all must be able to look ourselves in the mirror without cringing. We must all abide by our principles. Otherwise, we could become part of the problem, not part of the solution.

You have a longtime connection with Myanmar. Does your resignation mean the end of your involvement in Burmese affairs?

My involvement with Burma has spanned 50 years. My first friend in university, in Australia, was a lady from Burma. I was in my first year, she was doing her Ph.D. She became my mentor, cooked Burmese food for me over the weekends when the student canteen was closed, bought sweaters for me when it got cold. It is a debt of gratitude to her and the people of Burma that I will never be able to fully repay.

At some personal risk to myself, I have consistently championed over many decades, like many colleagues, in many capacities and many cities around the world the restoration of democracy in Burma, and the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, at times being blacklisted for doing so. I was ambassador in Prague when President Vaclav Havel decided to nominate the Lady for the Nobel Peace Prize.

I have stepped aside, but will not walk away. In my small capacity as a friend and neighbor, I will try to do whatever I can, health willing, perhaps through civil society and NGO forums, to continue to stand beside the people of Burma. I have every confidence that the proud people of Burma will one day emerge from the complex challenges, stronger, more united and widely admired, as they deserve to be.
News Army Slaps Down Karenni State Chief over Threat to Use Troops Against Statue Riots

Karenni State Chief Minister L Phaung Sho. / Kayah State Government Office / Facebook

YANGON  The Myanmar military (Tatmadaw) on Monday admonished the Karenni State chief minister over his warning that he would call in troops to quell disturbances related to an unpopular plan to put up a statue of General Aung San in the states capital.

The chief minister does not have the authority to take such action, the Tatmadaw said.

The response followed Chief Minister L Phaung Shos warning to demonstrators last week during a meeting about the governments plan to erect a statue of the independence hero in Loikaw, which had drawn a public outcry. Ethnic Karenni youths took to the streets to protest the plan early this month, and the demonstration turned violent when security forces tried to stop them.

A number of young activists involved in the protest are now facing legal proceedings initiated by the government.

During the meeting between the Karenni State officials and representatives of local political parties and CSOs, the chief minister said that if needed, he would personally deploy army troops to curb the violence, adding that, Its my duty.

His comments attracted serious criticism from the public, with critics saying it was unacceptable for a representative of the democratically elected National League for Democracy-led state government to threaten protesters with the use of state force.

But on Monday evening, the military released a statement saying that under the countrys Constitution, chief ministers of states and regions have no authority to order military intervention in case of emergency.

Only the National Defense and Security Council has the authority to declare a state of emergency, the military said in the statement. It cited a Constitutional provision under which, in a situation where a local administrative body claims it cannot carry out its administrative function in accordance with the Constitution, the president can coordinate with the National Defense and Security Council (NDSC) to promulgate an ordinance declaring a state of emergency and requesting assistance from the Army. The NDSC is an 11-member council including the president and military chief that is responsible for security and defense affairs in Myanmar.

The chief minister has misinterpreted the Constitution, and what he said was based on his point of view. The military will act according to the charter, the statement reads.

Karenni State Chief Minister L Phaung Sho was not available for comment on Monday.

NLD spokesperson Dr. Myo Nyunt told The Irrawaddy that the party has no plan to warn the chief minister over his action, as this is not a party matter.

Only the administration can do it. We cant intervene in the administrative sector, he said.

Presidents Office spokesperson U Zaw Htay said the Union government has instructed the Karenni State government to work with local people on the statue issue.

On Monday, hours before the militarys response, the Karenni state chief minister held a press conference at the state government office and said a new statue committee would be established by community-based organizations, with the state government playing an assistance role.

He announced that a state government committee tasked with commissioning a statue of Gen Aung San would be disbanded following public objections to the plan

The Irrawaddy reporter Htet Naing Zaw contributed to this report from Naypyitaw.
Asia China Vaccine Maker Changsheng Plunges Again after Police Launch Probe

A nurse prepares a vaccine to be given to a child in a hospital in Beijing, China, April 13, 2016. / Reuters

SHANGHAI  Chinese vaccine maker Changsheng Biotechnology plunged by its daily limit of 10 percent in early Tuesday trade, after police launched a probe into illegal behavior by the firm and Chinas President Xi Jinping called for swift action.

Chinas drug regulator has accused Changsheng of fabricating production and inspection records related to a rabies vaccine regularly given to infants, sparking public outrage.

While there have been no known reports of people being harmed by the vaccine, Chinese regulators ordered Changsheng to halt production and recall the product.

Changsheng apologized in a regulatory filing on Monday. The firm was also found to have sold 252,600 substandard DPT vaccines, a mandatory vaccine in China to inoculate children against diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus.

Changsheng is now being investigated by multiple authorities in China, including the securities regulator and the countrys top graft watchdog. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said on Tuesday it had begun an investigation into possible corruption at the firm.

The scandal, which dragged down healthcare stocks across the board on Monday, has now wiped around $1.8 billion from Changshengs Shenzhen-listed shares since mid-July, over half their value.

Chinese citizens have been quick to express their fury online with one discussion hashtag on the Sina Weibo microblog gathering over 600 million views. The state-run Global Times newspaper said in an editorial late on Monday the case had created a tsunami on the internet.

The scandal has prompted speculation that mainland Chinese would take their children outside mainland China for vaccines as has happened during previous scandals, which could lead to a shortage in Chinese-controlled regions like Hong Kong or Macau.

The Hong Kong Department of Health told Reuters local supply of the vaccines remained stable and it would closely monitor the situation. Macaus health bureau said current supply was sufficient for residents and there was no need for concern.
Burma Hundreds Protest in Mon State Against Polluting Factories

People gather ahead of a protest against antimony factories in Moulmein Township, Mon State, on Sunday. / Me3

Mon State  About 300 residents of Moulmein Township in Mon State protested on Sunday against three coal-fired antimony factories accused of polluting the local air with their emissions, according to the organizer.

The protesters brandished signs and chanted We dont want the antimony factories to use coal to urge the state government to shut them down.

Zaw Naing Oo, who organized protest and lives near the factories, told The Irrawaddy that residents were suffering.

We have to breath the polluted air every day. We are going to die from it, he said.

He claimed that some residents had headaches and have developed respiratory problems because of the factory emissions and that some of their livestock have died from eating grass contaminated by their runoff.

He works at a textile factory about 200 feet from the factories and said employees have to wear masks on windy days to cope with the fumes blown their way or even exit the building when its too much.

The factories were built in 2014 and are owned by a company called Myanma San Zaw, a joint Myanmar-China venture that processes antimony shipped in from Karen State.

The facilities were shut down by the previous government following earlier community complaints but allowed to reopen in January by the government that followed, with instructions to upgrade their equipment and fall in line with government guidelines. But locals say the problem persists and have continued to complain.

U Min Kyin Win, the states minister of natural resources and environmental conservation, told The Irrawaddy that he and his staff have investigated the factories several times.

We noticed that sometimes a bad smell comes out. We checked emission levels and they were high. We told them to reduce them as much as they could, he said.

He said one of the factories has since installed new equipment and that his staff would investigate again when the other two followed suit. He added that they would be shut down if they continued to operate in breach of government guidelines but did not say how much time they were given to comply.

If they cannot follow our guidelines, they have to shut down their factories, the minister said.
Burma At Least 9 Missing in Hpakant Landslide

Rescue workers look for bodies of miners killed by a landslide in Hpakant jade mine, Kachin State, Myanmar, November 24, 2015. / Reuters

MANDALAY  At least nine people are missing after a mining waste pile collapsed in the Hpakant jade mining region of Kachin State on Tuesday.

A waste pile of the Ayar Yadana jade mining company collapsed early Tuesday morning, while at least 40 prospectors where at the site searching for jade residue.

Witnesses said about 40 people were there, but the missing persons list we received had nine names, said a police officer from the Hpakant police station.

The police said search and rescue efforts were ongoing.

Due to rain and the waste pile being deep and steep, it is very difficult for rescuers to do their job, said the police officer. We arent sure when theyll be able to do so.

Locals blame heavy rain in the region for the incident; however, they call on authorities to enact strict rules and regulations to stop disasters like this from repeatedly happening at waste pile sites.

The incident on Tuesday is the second tragic incident in one week. On July 16, a collapsed pile of mining waste in the Lone Khin region claimed 20 lives and injured dozens.

After the incident in Lone Khin, the regional minister of natural resources and environmental conservation reportedly visited the region and investigated the mining companies and the waste piles.

We want these tragic accidents to stop. We hope that the minister will find a way as soon as possible, and that both the companies and the prospectors will follow whatever regulations the authorities put in place, said U Khin Myint, a local miner in the Hpakant jade mining region who witnessed the incident on Tuesday.
Burma USDP Warns of Instability Over Ban on Nationalist Group

USDP supporters join a pro-military rally organized by Buddhist nationalists in Mandalay in November. / Zaw Zaw / The Irrawaddy

YANGON  The opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) raised concerns about national stability following a decision by the government and senior monks to outlaw the countrys largest nationalist group, the Buddha Dhamma Prahita Foundation, formerly known as Ma Ba Tha.

The states Buddhist clerics authority, Ma Ha Na, issued a five-point proclamation against the group on Friday that included a ban on the use of the foundations name, an order to take down its signposts across the country within 45 days, and a threat to take legal action against those who fail to comply.

In response to the proclamation, the foundation said it would ask its members across the country whether it should submit, adding that it was not a sangha association but a non-governmental organization comprising monks and laymen in support of state, race and religion.

On Tuesday, the USDP, the countrys main opposition party, issued an announcement warning that the dispute between the foundation and the government and Ma Ha Na could lead to disunity of the Buddhist clergy, public discontent and political instability.

Ma Ba Tha, the Myanmar acronym for the Association for the Protection of Race and Religion, was founded in 2014 while the USDP was in power. With chapters across the country, it has become virtually synonymous with Buddhist-led nationalism.

Despite being accused of inciting hatred of Muslims, the USDP did little to curb its activities. Under then-President U Thein Sein, the government approved a controversial law on race and religion proposed by the association. During the 2015 election campaign, Ma Ba Tha lobbied for the USDP. The party and association are critical of how the new government, led by the National League for Democracy, has been handling the Rohingya crisis and rejected the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, which was led by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
News District Election Body in Rakhine Rejects Objection to Candidate

A view of the welcome sign for Rathedaung Township, Rakhine State. / Min Aung Khine / The Irrawaddy

SITTWE, Rakhine State  The Sittwe District Election Commission in Rakhine State has dismissed objections by the Arakan National Party (ANP) to a candidate from a rival party for the by-elections set for November.

The ANP objected to candidate U Thein Maung, who has switched to the Arakan League for Democracy (ALD), on the grounds that it has not yet accepted his resignation.

A total of four candidates  one each from the ANP, ALD, National League for Democracy and an independent  will contest a seat in the Rakhine State legislature representing Rathedaung Township Constituency 2.

The district election commission launched an investigation following the ANPs complaint and ruled last week that U Thein Maungs candidacy with the ALD did not violate any election laws or bylaws, said district election officer U Khin Maung Oo.

U Thein Maung submitted his resignation to the ANP twice, but the party has not accepted it yet. The election law does not include provisions regarding this. So we told them to solve the problem between themselves. The candidate does not violate election laws, U Khin Maung Oo told The Irrawaddy.

The ANPs U Hla Myint, who lodged the complaint against U Thein Maung, said his argument was not based on whether or not U Thein Maung was qualified as a candidate but on the fact that an individual cannot be a member of two political parties at the same time, according to the law of political party registration.

I raised the objection not because he does not meet candidate criteria, but because he cant be a member of two political parties at the same time, he told The Irrawaddy.

U Hla Myint said he would appeal the district decision to the Rakhine State Election Commission.

U Thein Maung, a retired school principal, was chairman of the ALDs Rathedaung Township chapter before it merger in 2013 with the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP) to form the ANP. After the merger, he served as township chapter vice chairman for the ANP.

The merger of the ALD and RNDP lasted less than four years, however. In January 2017, former leaders of the ALD announced that they were splitting from the ANP and re-registering the ALD with the Union Election Commission for the 2020 elections, citing problems with the merger.

The Sittwe District Election Commission is set to release the list of qualified candidates on Aug. 6.

According to the commission, there are 50,000 voters in Rathedaung Constituency 2. The seat was left vacant after the death of ANP lawmaker U Poe Min, who won in the 2015 general elections.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.
News Reuters Reporter Says Myanmar Police Planted 'Secret' Papers

Detained Reuters journalist Wa Lone is escorted by police officers as he leaves Insein court in Yangon on Monday. / Reuters

YANGON  A jailed Reuters reporter told a court in Myanmar on Monday that documents he is accused of breaking state secrets laws to obtain were planted by a police officer, who handed him papers he had not sought in order to entrap him. The officer had then lied to the court about what happened, he said.

Wa Lone, 32, who began giving evidence last week at the court in northern Yangon, also said under questioning by prosecutors that he had followed journalistic ethics in his reporting of a massacre of Rohingya Muslims last year.

Wa Lone and Reuters colleague Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, are on trial on charges brought under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, in a case seen as a test of press freedom in Myanmar. Both have pleaded not guilty. If convicted, they face up to 14 years in prison.

As his hours-long cross-examination continued on Monday, Wa Lone repeatedly stated that the reporters were framed by police who handed them papers without asking minutes before they were arrested on Dec. 12.

Lead prosecutor Kyaw Min Aung questioned Wa Lone about the documents, asking whether the reporter believed their contents could be damaging to the state if given to insurgents, and why he was arrested with the documents.

Wa Lone said he had not reviewed the documents properly before he was arrested, so could not speak about their contents. He repeatedly said he had not violated Myanmar media law.

The documents found in my hands were given by Police Lance Corporal Naing Lin to set us up and arrest us, Wa Lone told the court.

Naing Lin testified during pre-trial hearings that he met the reporters at a restaurant on Dec. 12, but said that he did not hand them anything. Wa Lone told the court on Monday that Naing Lin had given false testimony.

Prosecutor Kyaw Min Aung declined to comment at the end of the days proceedings.

Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay has declined to answer questions on the proceedings, saying Myanmars courts are independent and the case would be conducted according to the law. He did not answer calls seeking comment on Monday.

Kyaw Soe Oo began testifying on Monday afternoon shortly before Judge Ye Lwin adjourned proceedings for the day. The trial continues today.

Dutiful Reporters

At the time of their arrest, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo had been working on an investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys in the village of Inn Din in western Myanmars Rakhine State.

The killings took place during a military crackdown that United Nations officials have said constituted ethnic cleansing. More than 700,000 Rohingya fled to neighboring Bangladesh last year, according to UN agencies.

Wa Lone testified last week that police deprived him of sleep and transported him hooded to an interrogation site after his arrest. Police questioning centered on the reporting of the massacre, not on the allegedly secret state documents, he said.

After Mondays hearing Wa Lone told reporters that he felt duty-bound to report the killings and other violations by security forces that he and Kyaw Soe Oo had uncovered in Inn Din.

We wouldnt be dutiful as reporters if we ignored these violations of the law. We covered the Rakhine issue, and because of that we have been facing trial for months and facing these troubles, he said.

Prosecutor Kyaw Min Aung also questioned Wa Lone on Monday about his ties to Police Captain Moe Yan Naing, who in April testified that a senior police officer had ordered subordinates, including Lance Corporal Naing Lin, to trap Wa Lone. The reporter said he had only come to know the police captain in the course of his reporting on Inn Din, where Moe Yan Naing served in a position of responsibility.

Diplomats from several Western countries attended Mondays hearing, alongside friends and family of the accused, including Wa Lones pregnant wife, Pan Ei Mon, and Kyaw Soe Oos daughter Moe Thin Wai Zan, who turned three on Sunday. As her father was being bundled into a police truck after the hearing, Moe Thin Wai Zan cried papa, papa!

The embassy of Denmark called for the two reporters to be released immediately. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo are brave men who deserve praise and admiration for their brave work, the embassy said in a statement.
Chattanooga residents have the chance to help cleanup the citys oldest African American Cemetery on Saturday from 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m.

Buried within Beck Knob Cemetery are four African American Union soldiers, along with many formerly enslaved black people who once lived in Camp Contraband, where Renaissance Park is today.

The cemetery will soon be recognized as a Tennessee State Historic Site.

Those participating include Southeast Conservation Corps, Hurst United Methodist Church and city of Chattanooga Office of Multicultural Affairs.

Beck Knob Cemetery is at the corner of Dartmouth Street and Carrington Way in North Chattanooga.

Volunteers of all skill levels are welcome and asked to bring gloves and any brush clearing tools they would like to use. Snacks and water will be provided.

To sign up please contact Gary James at gjames6168@gmail.com.
Guest Column Assams NRC Update: A Fix or a Crisis in the Making?

A line during the NRC update process. / The Week

It has taken more than three decades since the end of the Assam agitation for this state in Indias northeastern frontier to finally have a complete register of citizens, a dream and a demand of many local denizens. The National Register of Citizens (NRC), a draft list to be published on July 30, is expected to contain names of genuine Indian citizens residing in Assam and, in the process, find a solution to the problematic citizenship issue in Assam that has plunged the state into various phases of violent social unrest since the 60s and the 70s.

The process has been undoubtedly hailed by many, particularly the Assamese speaking populace, as a panacea for Assam that will free it from illegal infiltrators. But it has also invited serve criticism and insults from various organizations, individuals and intellectuals that have expressed fear that the process will render a number of people stateless. The latest to hit the headlines is a social media campaign accompanied by the caption India stop deleting Muslims, linking the process of verification of citizenship in Assam to the exodus of the Rohingya in Myanmar.

The campaign was initiated by Avaaz, a US-based social media platform that was launched in January 2007 that claims to promote global activism on issues such as climate change, human rights, animal rights, corruption, poverty, and conflict. Its statement reads: India will delete as many as 7 million Muslims in Assam State from its master list of citizens because they speak the wrong language and worship the wrong God. It goes on to claim this is how genocide begins-how the nightmare of the Rohingya began, and that a similar situation is unfolding quietly, in Assam that calls for raising a massive alarm and calling for the UN Secretary General and key governments to intervene.

However, to say that the process was deleting out Bengali Muslims and to use the analogy of the Rohingya crisis was strange to say the least, given the fact that those that have been affected by the process includes people from all religions, predominantly Bengali Hindus and Muslims. In fact, it has become an everyday story now of people who claim to be genuine citizens in the Barak valley, Barpeta, Nalbari, Goalpara, Kokrajhar and other districts of Assam, but have had their applications for verification rejected.

The NRC office in Guwahati has launched a counter campaign under the hashtag (#Stop_Fake_Propaganda_Against_NRC_Assam) on its official Twitter handle NRCAssam. In comparison to the Avaaz campaign, which has almost 800,000 signatories, the NRCs counter campaign has managed to garner near about 3,000 signatures to date. But more than finding the winners and losers in this social media battle, what perhaps is of great significance is that the masses in Assam have refused to be distracted by social media or allow it to cause civil unrest.

After all, the NRC, however controversial it may be, is part of both an emotive and an extremely complex issue that is meshed in various shades of grey when it comes to identifying genuine citizens, based on historical facts, demarcation of boundaries and post-partition India and the creation of Bangladesh in 1971. It is a process that is perhaps inalienable to the history of the state and its people and it does, at least in principle, promise to find a solution to the issue of illegal migration of people from across Bangladesh. Assam shares a 284km border with Bangladesh of which about 224km is fenced. There is also a 60km porous stretch that is mostly riverine.

Why Use the NRC in Assam: The Background

The objective behind updating and publishing the 1951 NRC is to compile a list of the names of genuine Indian citizens residing in Assam and, in the process, detect foreigners  mostly Bangladeshis  who may have illegally entered the state after March 24, 1971. Citizenship has always been a thorny issue in Assam, plunging it into several phases of the anti-foreigners movement since the early 60s and culminating in the Assam agitation in 1979 led by the All Assam Students Union (ASSU). The anti-foreigners movement reached its crescendo with the massacre of 2,191 Bengali Muslims, mostly women and children in Nellie in Assam, Nagaon district in February 1983, and ended with the signing of the tripartite Assam Accord in 1985 with the then Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi, the Assam State government and the ASSU leaders. March 24, 1971, was set as the cut-off date after which anyone entering Assam from Bangladesh would be identified as a foreigner.

Publication of the NRC has been long overdue. The process is certainly important, as it has been a long-standing demand of the Assamese people to detect and deport illegal Bangladeshi migrants from their state. The massive exercise aimed at identifying illegal immigrants in the state follows a decision in 2005 after a series of meetings between the central, state government and the AASU.

However, various governments that ruled Assam were reluctant to update the NRC of 1951 either owing to various political considerations or perhaps fear that it would lead to a breakdown of law and order in the state. The apex court of India  the Supreme Court  stepped in and responded encouragingly to petitions that were brought before it, including those that asked for the deletion of illegal voters from the voters list of Assam and sought an update of the NRC, and ordered the Indian government to begin the process of updating the NRC in Assam. Accordingly, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notification for starting the work of updating the NRC on January 28, 2014. An Indian Administrative Service (IAS) bureaucrat Prateek Hajela, was appointed as the coordinator.

The NRC Updating Process to Date

An important milestone was reached on December 31, 2017, when the first draft of the NRC with names of 1.9 crore or 10.9 million (of the 3.29 crore or 30.29 million people that applied) was published. Those that were included were mostly added on the basis of legacy documents (the NRC of 1951 and the Electoral Roll of 1971 through midnight of March 24, 1971, are together called Legacy Data. Persons whose names appear in these documents and their descendants are certified as Indian citizens). After the publication of the second draft on July 30, a final list is expected to be published by December 2018 after the disposal of all claims and objections in final registers at various levels

On July 5, NRC coordinator Hajela said that names of around 1.5 lakh or 150,000 people featured in the first draft of the NRC would not be included in the final draft to be published on July 30, as discrepancies were found during the verification process. Also, after the publication of its first draft on December 31 last year, the names of 65,694 persons featured in it were found to be inadmissible during the family tree verification process. A family tree verification process is a two-part system (manual and computerized) of checking the legacy data of applicants

The NRC coordinator also stated that the names of another 19,783 persons were included by mistake, adding that more such cases might come up during the final quality control checks. The names of 48,456 married women, who had provided certificates from panchayats (village councils) to prove their citizenship, were also found to be inadmissible.

The Campaign Against the NRC

The online campaign against the NRC on Avaaz has gone viral. Thousands of people from across the world signed the petition minutes after it was shared on Twitter and Facebook on July 12. We urge you to issue an early warning about the publication of the NRC in Assam state in India  which will lead to mass violence, ethnic cleansing and the transfer of minority Muslims to prison camps for life. As global citizens, we ask the UN and other concerned governments to work with India and Bangladesh to ensure there is scrutiny over the NRC process, that it complies with human rights standards and that no one is left stateless, the statement said in its message to the UN Secretary General and the whole International Community.

The campaign also carried NRC coordinator Hajelas picture along with the statement: One bureaucrat in India currently holds the fate of millions in his hands! Prateek Hajela is responsible for the list of citizens and hes carrying on the work of a dangerous state machinery, thats destroying lives.

The NRC Coordinators Counterpoint

The NRC coordinator took the challenge head-on. He told this writer that he is not much worried about whos saying what in this world regarding the NRC. We are concerned with our own laws, so the NRC is fine. But because of, this my state and my country should not be slandered across the world. People should not defame me. We are not a banana republic where anyone can get away with saying that we are carrying out illegal acts. Its a constitutional process with all of the safeguards for everyone and it cuts across religions, Hajela asserted.

He seemed certain that the online campaigns against the NRC were aimed at creating a law and order situation and inciting communal passions, as the very use of the word Rohingya and genocide is an indication of that. In his opinion, he is only carrying out a task, which the Supreme Court of India has assigned him to do. He dismisses the campaign against the process by Avvaz and other groups like Newsclick, SabrangIndia and a civil society initiated fact-finding report under the banner of United Against Hate, as absolutely absurd statements.

Some of these groups have come out with a fact-finding report without any facts. They interviewed me and my officer but chose not to write about what we told them, Hajela claimed.

The 12-member United Against Hate fact-finding team, which visited Assam recently to assess the NRC update, released its findings on July 14, questioning the procedure of citizenship enumeration, categorically stating that injustices (are being) meted out to Bangla-speaking Muslims and Hindus on the basis of language and religion and if not checked and stopped on time, a volcano can erupt in the state. However, this claim has been dismissed by many Guwahati-based intellectuals and activists.

The fact-finding missions claim that suicide rates have increased owing to the NRC with people taking their lives for fear of being left off of the citizens register had Hajela asking, How many suicides have happened earlier and how many now? Do they have the data? How can you make such a sweeping statement?

Ground Zero

However, it is not that there are no problems. There are almost daily reports in the news of people that are either being made to run from pillar to post to get more documents, many from poor families in which the daily wage earner then has to run all over. Others end up in detention centers (jails) after being marked doubtful voters (D-voters)  flawed confinements of people and many others left at the mercy of the Assam border police to prove their identity as Indian citizens.

Not a day goes by without reading stories of suffering of those that are marked D-voters, running around with a bag full of documents (16 documents are needed to prove ones nationality claim), doing the rounds of the Foreigners Tribunal and the one-judge bench of the Gauhati High Court with an appeal after spending all of their hard-earned income. The story of the inhumane detention (since March 31) of the 102-year-old Chandradhar Das, a resident of Borai Basti in the Silchar jail in Assams Cachars district, is a sad reminder of the cases that violate human dignity and rights.

Many organizations both in the Bhramaputra and the Barak valley of Assam  The Citizens Rights Protection Coordination Committee, an umbrella organization of 43 different groups in south Assams Barak Valley, the All Cachar Karimganj Hailakandi Students Association, the All BTAD Minority Students Union (ABMSU) and the All Koch-Rajbongshi Students Union (Pradip Ray faction), to name a few  have risen in protest and said harassment in the name of illegal migrants is not acceptable.

Notably, a special monitor for minorities and communal violence of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Harsh Mander, recently resigned after claiming that the commissions refusal to act on his report on the status of the people declared as foreigners in the detention centers in Assam was one of the reasons. A former IAS officer, Mander was assigned by the NHRC to visit the detention centers in Assam.

Such has been the intensity of the problems in many parts of the state that the main opposition party in the state and the countrythe Congress partyhas decided to move the Supreme Court against what it called bias in the NRC process. The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee President Ripun Bora on July 19 also urged Union home affairs minister Rajnath Singh to intervene in the NRC updating process. In a letter to Singh, he alleged that the NRC Authority was acting in a partisan manner to drop the names of thousands of Indian citizens from the draft NRC.

Bora, who is also a member of the Upper House in the Indian Parliament, claimed that merely on the basis of misleading police complaints filed by some local residents against laborers from a minority community that move around the state for work, the NRC state coordinator has forwarded all cases registered in different police stations against these Indian citizens to the verification officers of the concerned NRC Seva Kendra (a local government office) with instruction to delete these names from the draft list without any verification of their records.

In his letter to the Indian home affairs minister, Bora also claimed that apart from keeping on hold the names of 1.25 lakh D-Voters and their descendants, the names of approximately 90,000 declared foreigners and their descendants would not appear in the draft NRC to be published by July 30. In his words, there is panic on this issue everywhere in Assam and if names of several lakhs of genuine Indian citizens are left out, it will not only be an injustice but abuse of Constitutional powers.

Response from Indias Home Affairs Minister

The Indian home affairs minister responded with a series of tweets last Sunday. He said, There is no reason for panic or fear. No person will be allowed to be harassed. We will ensure that every individual gets justice and is treated in a humane manner, while assuring that the NRC exercise is being carried out in a totally impartial, transparent and meticulous manner and will continue to be so.

His statements read: All individuals will have sufficient opportunity for all remedies available under the law. At every stage of the process, adequate opportunity is given to all persons to be heard. Government wants to make it clear that the NRC, to be published on July 30, is only a draft and after draft publication, adequate opportunity for claims and objections will be available. All claims and objections will be duly examined. Only thereafter, final NRC will be published. The Citizenship Rules provide that any person who is not satisfied with the outcome of claims and objections can appeal in the Foreigners Tribunal. Thus, there is no question of anyone being put in a detention centre after the publication of NRC.

NRC coordinator Hajela, however, smashed the Assam Congress party leaders claims of bias, calling it absolutely irresponsible and a lie. He wonders if they have realized the issue of omitting some applicants, which was taken up for hearing in the Supreme Court on July 2, only now. If they realized it earlier, why did they not go to the Supreme Court earlier, and why now are they issuing such absurd statements. I strongly contradict their statements.

The Way Forward

Questions on the future of those declared as foreigners are expected to rise. Will millions of people be incarcerated? Will they be deported to Bangladesh? Is that possible at all? The Assam Accord (clause 5.8) specifies, Foreigners who came to Assam on or after March 25, 1971, shall continue to be detected, deleted and expelled in accordance with law. Immediate and practical steps shall be taken to expel such foreigners.

Surely in the absence of any bilateral (repatriation) treaty between India and Bangladesh and also because most of the cases are highly contentious, the road ahead is going to be extremely complex.

The other issue of concern that has perhaps been the trigger of an international outcry, is the handling of those that have been declared D-voters by the Foreigners Tribunalliterally throwing them into jails (there are six detention centers in the state attached to jails and more than 800 people are still under confinement) and treated as undertrials.

Hajela is of the view that his office has nothing to do with D-voters, and that its an Election Commission of India exercise. He believes that his office has no role in the detention of people that are declared foreigners, as once a person has been declared a D-voter, the process comes under the ambit of the Foreigners Tribunal. The foreigners tribunal is an appellate authority and judicially speaking is superior to the NRC, and thus we have no control on such cases, he said.

Many would still question that and argue that the process of identity starts with the NRC and that it is inter-related with all the other parts of the system. What perhaps is noteworthy to consider is this  what appears on July 30 is only a draft list.

In the words of NRC coordinator Hajela, No point in making such aggressive statements, as some organizations have done so far. Wait for the draft to come out.

The author is a former senior journalist who has worked for national and international news media in India and elsewhere. Currently, he is a contributing editor for The Irrawaddy.
Twenty-one members of a huge India-based fraud and money-laundering conspiracy that used phone scams to cheat Americans of millions of dollars have been sentenced to varying terms in prison. The sentencing took place in Houston on Friday.

Three other men, also Indians, were sentenced earlier this year for laundering money for the scam operators.

The longest sentence was given to Miteshkumar Patel, 42, of Illinois, who was jailed for 20 years, followed by three years of supervised release for money laundering. Another man, Hardik Patel, 31, also of Illinois, was jailed for 15 years and eight months, followed by three years of supervised release.

The scams against Americans were carried out from call centres in both Mumbai and Ahmedabad, the latter city being in the Indian state of Gujarat.

The call centres involved were HGlobal, Call Mantra (aka Robust Inc, Raytheon International), Worldwide Solution, Zoriion Communications and Sharma BPO Services.

According to the indictment, the break-up of people charged and their affiliation was  HGlobal: 18 each in India and the US; Call Mantra: three each in India and the US; Worldwide Solution: two in India, three in the US; Zoriion Communications: seven in India; and Sharma BPO Services: two in India. This meant a total of 32 people in India and 24 in the US.

Twenty of the 24 suspects in the US were arrested at the time.

In some cases, people from these call centres pretended to officers of the US Internal Revenue Service and defrauded Americans by claiming they owed money to the IRS and saying they would be arrested and fined if they did not pay their back-taxes right away.

In other cases, staff from these call centres impersonated officers from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services and misled US residents into believing they would be deported unless they paid fines for alleged irregularities with their residence papers.

In a third category of cases, US residents were misled into believing that they were eligible for so-called payday loans and that they needed to pay a small fee upfront to indicate that they had enough funds to repay the loan.

And in a fourth set of cases, the call centres misled Americans into believing they were eligible for fictitious government grants and asked them to pay an upfront fee towards an IRS tax or a processing fee.
Western Australia-based telecommunications provider Norwood Systems has appointed Aidan Montague and Noel Northcott as senior executives to assist with its sales and to drive commercial scale for Norwoods product portfolio.

The appointments will see the publicly-listed (ASX:NOR) Northcott focus on sales execution and go to market operations and Montague responsible for marketing strategy, sales conversion and lead generation.

Both Montague and Northcott have joined the Norwood team after several weeks of consulting to the company.

The appointments follow Norwoods determination to increase commercialisation efforts, as Norwoods disruptive suite of telecommunications services reaches a greater level of maturity.

Montague, a professional engineer by background and a member of the Institution of Engineers, Australia. was instrumental in the establishment and growth of the Australian arm of the internet/communications giant, Cisco Systems. In addition, he has extensive consulting and board experience with ASX listed and private companies in Australia.

Northcott is an experienced general manager of ICT and technology businesses and holds a BSc Engineering degree and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA), and has been successful in managing several start-ups and managing the turn-around of several businesses and projects, including work at ERG.

Paul Ostergaard, chief executive and founder of Norwood Systems, said: I am delighted to welcome Noel and Aidan to the Norwood executive team. Both Noel and Aidan bring great and complementary execution skills to the company, needed for both our current and next stages of growth.

I am confident that their contributions will deliver significant increased value, both in the short and longer term, as we execute our current commercialisation strategy. The suite of services we have developed over the past few years have the potential to disrupt segments of the telecommunications industry, and Noel and Aiden have the talents and abilities to allow us to help realise this potential.

Noel and Adrians deep industry-relevant experience coupled with their proven execution track-records will greatly assist Norwood in further developing its commercialisation strategy and bolstering the Companys current sales execution, while we pursue a significant range of revenue generating opportunities.
Human resources outfit PageUp People has been publishing information about a massive data breach it suffered on a section of its website, but not linking to it from its home page.

Tech consultant Ian Brightwell, who is also an adjunct lecturer in computer science at the University of New South Wales, told iTWire that he had found more information about the breach than that which was linked off the home page, because one of three notices he received had provided a link to the new page.

He said he had taken an interest in the breach because of his background in IT and didn't think that the advice offered by PageUp  to change one's passwords  was sufficient.

The page that had not been linked off the front of PageUp's website is headlined "Information for potentially affected individuals". It also provides a link to the actual filing about the breach by the company.

Brightwell said the flow of information from PageUp had been highly inadequate. Merely mentioning that malware was responsible, as the company did initially, was insufficient, he said.

Instead, one needed to know what kind of malware it was and how it had gotten onto PageUp's systems. Was it due to inadequate protection on the system, a misconfiguration or lack of security practices - these were all important questions that needed answers, he pointed out.

Since 19 June, PageUp People has published nothing about the breach on the page where it initially provided information, having revealed very little about it prior to that as well, after first breaking the news of the breach on 6 June. The company has said it first noticed the intrusion on 23 May.

Brightwell also said that PageUp's claim that they were unable to determine whether data had been exfiltrated did not sound convincing at all. The extent of access, the time, the destination of data, all could be ascertained by looking at logs, he said.

And, he added, given that the PageUp site was hosted on Amazon Web Services  and many companies and even individuals were opting to go in for cloud services these days  it was necessary to know whether the PageUp breach had been due to its host's security practices or its own security faults.

This was something that the IT world needed to know so as to learn from the incident, Brightwell said.

He is readying a complaint to be filed with PageUp about all these aspects, "not a legal complaint", he said.

Additionally, Brightwell has filed a Freedom of Information request with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner to obtain details of all breaches that have been notified after the breach law took effect on 22 February.

On Monday, the head of cyber law at Sladen Legal, Helaine Leggat, told iTWire that the secrecy around the PageUp breach may be in order to set a precedent for future breaches.
Freshworks, the leading provider of cloud-based business software, is hosting its first AI-focused customer experience event in Sydney on 10th August.

AI is beginning to offer unprecedented opportunities to engage consumers in new and totally different ways. While we can continue to marvel at its potential, its about time we acted on it to reap its practical rewards.

As a step towards this, Freshworks invites you to Refresh:CX at Sydney on 10th August, to discuss the role of AI in the future of customer experience. The event will feature the Freshworks CEO, Girish Mathrubootham among other inspiring speakers (soon to be announced) from the industry. It will also have interactive breakout sessions demonstrating how businesses can develop their own AI experiments and initiatives.

At the event, we aim to,

Simplify AI and address its possibilities

Understand practical applications of AI in customer support

Identify high-impact opportunities to get started with AI initiatives

Not sure if youre AI-ready? Save your spot at the conference to learn how the most effective solutions can be applied to solve your CX challenges and how to carry out a smart transformation to bring you long-lasting results!

Register your interest here.

If you have any questions, or want to find out more, please contact anz@freshworks.com

DATE AND TIME

Friday 10 August 2018

8:00 am  1:30 pm AEST

LOCATION

Doltone House - Darling Island

48 Pirrama Road

Pyrmont, NSW 2009
The Indian Government has indicated to Facebook that it will have to introduce "traceability and accountability", in order to ensure that provocative messages sent on WhatsApp can be traced to their source, or face legal action.

The statement, by the Ministry of Electronics and IT, comes in the wake of a number of deaths which are said to have been caused by the spreading of rumours on WhatsApp.

It is in effect an order to the social media giant that it will have to break encryption on the platform when it is deemed necessary by Indian authorities.

"...WhatsApp has been requested today to come out with more effective solutions that can bring in accountability and facilitate enforcement of law in addition to their efforts towards labelling forwards and identifying fake news," the statement said. "It has been conveyed to them in unmistakable terms that it is a very serious issue which deserves a more sensitive response."

Earlier this month, the ministrymany innocent people had been lynched as a result of messages circulating on WhatsApp.

Last week, WhatsApp said it would roll out software changes to make it harder for messages to be forwarded.

The ministry said that after WhatsApp had announced this change, an incident in Bidar in the south Indian state of Karnataka, had led to the death of a software engineer following rumours on WhatsApp about child abductors.

"It is regretted that the enormity of the challenge and the rampant abuse happening in the country leading to repeated commissioning of crimes pursuant to rampant circulation of irresponsible messages in large volumes on their platform have not been addressed adequately by WhatsApp.

"Reports in the media resonate the general sentiment that there is much more that needs to be done by WhatsApp. There is a need for bringing in traceability and accountability when a provocative/inflammatory message is detected and a request is made by law enforcement agencies.

"When rumours and fake news get propagated by mischief mongers, the medium used for such propagation cannot evade responsibility and accountability. If they remain mute spectators they are liable to be treated as abettors and thereafter face consequent legal action," the ministry statement warned.
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Secretary of State Mike Pompeos rant against Iran on Sunday accused the leadership of that country of hoarding the countrys wealth, behaving like a mafia, and being hypocritical clergymen. While these allegations are not without basis in fact, Pompeos own record undermines the critique.

The Trump administration is itself a government of billionaires, by billionaires and for billionaires. The tax cut they passed last February will over time transfer trillions of dollars to the super wealthy in the US, and will cut services and health care for most people. The average wage of the average worker in the US has been stagnant since 1970. But the top 1% has seen its wealth and income soar (that is roughly 3.2 million people). They are taking home 22% of the national paycheck each year now, but they are 1% of the population. The billionaire cabinet of trump has turned the Environmental Protection Agency into a vehicle for aiding corporations to pollute the earth and poison our air and water and inflict on us global heating. The Republicans have even repealed whatever few improvements to financial regulation that were passed after the 2008 crash, setting us up for another crash. The really wealthy seem to like occasional such crises, since they are too big to fail and can use them to transfer more wealth to themselves, kicking people out of their homes and stealing their equity.

Irans mullahs are corrupt, but the Trump administration isnt perhaps the one with the standing to criticize them.

Pompeo complained about Irans aggression. Iran hasnt militarily invaded another country for a very long time. The United States, in contrast, overthrew the elected Iranian government in 1953 and aggressively invaded Iraq in 2003 with no casus belli, occupied it for 8.5 years, and left it a smoldering mess to this day. The US goes around overthrowing democratically elected governments the way Switzerland makes watches and chocolates. Moreover, not only has the US been active in invading other countries, but its chief client in the region, Israel, invaded or mounted bombing campaigns against others in 1956, 1967, 1982, 2006, 2009, and 2014. Pompeo is all right with those acts of aggression.

Despite what people like Pompeo say, Iran is not actually much involved in Yemen, and certainly not as an invader or a driver of events. In contrast, the UAE and Saudi Arabia really have invaded Yemen, with US backing. Iran was invited into Syria by the government. It was invited into Iraq by the government (the same government that invited 6,000 US troops into the country, so you cant easily condemn the one and not the other).

Then there was that crack about hypocritical clergymen. Pompeo is a paid up member of the Christian Taliban, the tribe in the US that most steadfastly supports Donald Trump. They used to say that the moral conduct of the president is crucial back when Obama was in. But now all of a sudden, only 1/3 say that. It is almost as if it matters most to them not whether the president leads a moral life but whether he is white and anti-abortion. I mean, you cant be more hypocritical than to be a committed Christian and to support Trump to a hilt.

Or how about hypocritically saying that Trump supports Iranian families when he is tearing them apart with his Muslim visa ban?

Then there is the hypocrisy of actively supporting the crushing of the occupied Palestinian people by Israels Likud Party, when helping the weak and oppressed was kind of important to Jesus of Nazareth.

And there is the hypocrisy of allying strongly with Wahhabi Saudi Arabia, which does not allow Christians even to practice their religion publicly, and which is an absolute monarchy with no elections higher than the municipal level. Saudi Arabia moreover supported the extremist group in Syria, the Army of Islam, which dreamed of ethnically cleansing Syrias Allawite Shiite minority.

Irans elections are deeply flawed because the candidates are vetted for ideological purity by regime hard liners. But once the vetting is done, the elections are mostly fairly aboveboard (2009 was an exception), and there are surprises. Iran has an elected parliament with Jewish and Christian representatives. There is nothing like that in authoritarian Saudi Arabia, where the kings word is law.

Trump and Pompeo and the like keep talking about Iran committing terrorism. But they mean by that things like Iranian support for Hizbullah in Syria, which was the force that actually defeated al-Qaeda and some ISIL forces. Hizbullah was born from southern, Shiite Lebanese resistance against the Israeli occupation of 10% of Lebanon, in which the US had de facto acquiesced, and if it hadnt been for that resistance, Israel would still be in south Lebanon. Taking on that occupation is mostly what Trump and the Likud mean by terrorism. But look back to the period before the Israel invasion of Lebanon in 1982, and there had been no militancy among Lebanese Shiites (who are, by the way, only about 1.3 million people and not exactly ten feet tall; Israels population is 8 million and they have been given the best military equipment in the Middle East by the US). People like Trump and Pompeo depend on Americans not being well-informed enough to distinguish between Sunni extremists and the Shiite Iranians.



Bonus video:

Democracy Now! U.S. Pushes Confrontation with Iran: Trump Warns of Consequences, Pompeo Likens Leaders to Mafia
Crystal Tower East Cleveland

The owner of Crystal Tower, a large apartment building in East Cleveland, was one of two major landlords who sued East Cleveland last year over an increase in occupancy fees for rental housing. On Monday, a Cuyahoga County judge sided with the landlords and threw out the city's occupancy-fee law, calling it an "illegal tax."

(Marvin Fong/Plain Dealer file)

EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio - A Cuyahoga County judge tossed out East Cleveland's rental-fee law on Monday, deeming the cash-strapped city's annual occupancy charge on apartments and rental homes unconstitutional.

The decision came seven months after two major Northeast Ohio landlords sued the city over a 900 percent hike in annual occupancy fees, which climbed from $10 to $100 a unit - with no cap. Common Pleas Court Judge Shannon Gallagher ultimately agreed with the landlords' assertion that East Cleveland isn't providing the services, such as inspections, to justify a fee.

"The fees are in fact a tax disguised as a fee and charged solely to raise general revenues for the city," the judge wrote, pointing to case law that shows license fees should reflect public spending on whatever is being licensed.

The ruling removes, at least for now, a notable plank of East Cleveland's plan for curing a deficit that has kept the city of just over 17,000 people in a state of fiscal emergency for nearly six years.

Officials were banking on higher occupancy fees to generate close to $154,000 in new revenues annually starting this year, according to projections provided to The Plain Dealer. Aside from government grants, the fees were the largest single recovery-plan source of cash.

Willa Hemmons, the city's law director, said Monday afternoon that she hadn't yet seen the judge's decision and wasn't in a position to react. "We've got to read the opinion," she said.

In filings and past interviews, city officials argued the increased fees were justified because East Cleveland hadn't raised the costs in decades. The city pointed to other, nearby communities that charge more; however, East Cleveland misstated many of those fees.

And officials openly acknowledged during depositions that the fee hike was an attempt to raise money for the general fund - and that East Cleveland had not been inspecting apartment buildings.

Gallagher's decision prohibits the city from collecting any fees - $10, $100 or otherwise - under its existing rental-occupancy law. That doesn't mean East Cleveland can't implement a new fee. But any such charge on landlords is sure to be challenged if it's not tied to inspections.

It's unclear how many property owners have paid the $100-per-unit fee, which was due Jan. 15. Early this year, the city agreed to exempt the K&D Group and PK Management, the landlords who sued, from the increased fees during litigation.

But that dispensation didn't apply to other companies and individuals who owned rental properties in the city.

Landlords who paid under protest, reserving their right to ask for money back if the fees were found to be an illegal tax, have options. People who willingly cut a check probably don't.

K&D Group and PK Management own and manage a combined total of nearly 1,000 apartments in East Cleveland.

The East Cleveland dispute cropped up at a time of increased pushback against local government efforts to inspect and levy fees on real estate. Across the state, cities face lawsuits and disputes over where their regulatory rights end and where private property rights begin.

Majeed Makhlouf, an attorney who represented K&D and PK Management, noted that his clients did not challenge the overall legitimacy of occupancy-fee programs. The companies pay similar fees in other communities

But Makhlouf, a former Cuyahoga County law director, said that "cities cannot be looking to fees to cover shortfalls in tax revenue. ... It started with East Cleveland, but I have no doubt that it will move to other cities, if there are abuses."
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United Nations (United States) (AFP)  The United Nations rights chief on Monday demanded that Israel either give more than 400 detained Palestinian children their day in court or release them, decrying assaults on Palestinians rights.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein criticized the administrative detention system under which Israel is currently holding an estimated 440 children.

Israel should immediately charge, or release, all of them, the Geneva-based Zeid said via videolink, calling Israels system a fundamental human rights violation.

It should be absolutely clear that international law requires detention only be used for children as a last resort, he said.

And whether for children or for adults, detention without trial, on evidence that is often kept secret, under often indefinitely renewable administrative detention orders, contravenes Israels obligations under international law, and must come to an end.

The meeting focused on recent violence in the Gaza Strip, which is to the UN Security Council is set to take up Tuesday during a regular monthly session on the Middle East.

Zeid also criticized what he called Israels arbitrary detention and arrest of rights activists.

The Gaza Strip, controlled by Islamist movement Hamas, has been under an Israeli blockade for more than 10 years.

But since late March, that blockade has sparked a vast protest movement along the border with Israel that has left at least 149 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier dead.

Featured Photo: AFP/File / ALAIN GROSCLAUDE. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein is criticizing Israels administrative detention of hundreds of Palestinian children.
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(OpenDemocracy.net)  After Trumps decision to move the American embassy to Jerusalem, Israel has gained its allys backing to go even further in its control over the Palestinian part of Jerusalem

Salem Ahmad/ABACA News Agency/PA images. All rights reserved

Roughly around their sixteenth birthday, the youth of Jerusalem are eager to obtain their Israeli Identification card. They would wait in an inhumane line outside the Israeli Ministry of Interior in East Jerusalem for hours, and when they reach the officer, they will submit an extensive set of documents to prove that their centre of life is Jerusalem. Eventually, and if they were fortunate enough, and have fulfilled a particular set of requirements, they would receive an Israeli ID stating they were permanent residents in the place they call home. The word permanent is used loosely here because Israel considers Palestinian Jerusalemites as foreign immigrants who reside in Jerusalem not as per their right of birth, but more so as a favour granted to them by the state.

Israel considers Palestinian Jerusalemites as foreign immigrants

Within the pile of papers, these teenagers have to present their school transcripts of the past three years. If they have attended schools outside of Jerusalem, they risk their residency being revoked. According to Israeli rights group BTselem, Israel has revoked the status of 14,500 Palestinians since 1967.

Most of the Jerusalemite youngsters, who speak Arabic and identify themselves as Palestinians in contradiction to the identification card they hold, would be enrolled at Arabic schools in East Jerusalem. The total number of students in Arab education in East Jerusalem, as per data acquired from the Jerusalem Education Authority (JEA) is 110,496. Whereas the number of Arab children in Jerusalem (ages 3-18) is 127,198, which means that 16,702 Palestinian children, who constitute 13% of East Jerusalemite children of compulsory education age are Vanished Children. They are not registered in a known educational institution and are therefore unmonitored by authorities in the education system.

Schools under occupation

Four types of schools offer education to Palestinian Jerusalemites. The first is Waqf Schools that adopted the Palestinian curriculum in the academic year of 2000/2001 and operate under the Islamic Endowment Department. These schools had become affiliated with the Palestinian Ministry of Education in 1994; therefore the ministry oversees the provision of school supplies and covers the payroll of its employees.

The second type is private schools that are owned by an individual or a group of individuals, or operate under the supervision of charitable societies and churches. These schools rely on tuition fees or church donations to cover their expenses. However, 90% of private schools receive financial assistance from the Israeli Jerusalem municipality, hence adopt the Israeli curriculum.

The third type of schools is run by UNRWA that adopted the Palestinian curriculum in 2000/2001 and is responsible for paying salaries and providing school supplies. However, due to the US government decision to cut funding to UNRWA, the education for 25,000 children is put in jeopardy.

The fourth type is schools supervised jointly by the Israeli Ministry of Education and the Jerusalem Municipality, where the former supervises the technical and logistical processes of the schools and covers expenses of elementary schools, and the latter covers expenses on secondary schools, appoints teachers and administrators and covers their payroll. It goes without saying that the Israeli curriculum is fully adopted at these schools.

Subversion heritage through the curriculum

After Trumps decision to move the American embassy to Jerusalem, Israel has gained its allys backing to go even further in its control over the Palestinian part of Jerusalem. On what Israel calls Jerusalem day, i.e., the holiday that, according to Israelis, commemorates the reunification of Jerusalem and the establishment of Israeli control over the Old City in the aftermath of the June 1967 Six-day-war, and what Palestinians consider to be the Occupation of Jerusalem. The Israeli government made a number of decisions as part of a $560 million five-year plan for the development of East Jerusalem. The objective of this plan is to mend the gap between East and West Jerusalem in the areas of education, employment, infrastructure and planning through investments. As reported by Israeli media, the lions share of the budget is allocated towards encouraging the transition of Palestinian schools in East Jerusalem to the Israeli curriculum.

Trumps decision has subliminally rectified the Israeli control over East Jerusalem

Trumps decision has subliminally rectified the Israeli control over East Jerusalem. This control is apparent through the recent financial injections into the education sector in East Jerusalem, because as Israel sees it: knowledge is power, and if the new generation has a deluded image of their heritage, they would not be as threatening as the previous generations who had started the first and second intifada.

The Israeli government, through its Ministry of Education and the Jerusalem Municipality, has adopted a strategic and well-thought plan to tamper with the education of Palestinians in Jerusalem through its conditional funding of schools. Arabic schools suffer from various challenges that, in many cases, push them to accept Israeli funding in return for adopting the Israeli curriculum.

The Israeli curriculum was first introduced into the Palestinian education sector back in 2001, which has slowly but strategically been adapted and poised to allow for organic programming of the mind towards dissolving the image of the Palestinian story and the facts that have been documented throughout history to desensitize the young population, eventually normalizing occupation. The Israeli curriculum is tailored to erase the Palestinian identity from the mindset of young Palestinian students, and instil the concepts of Zionism and emphasizing loyalty towards the Israeli state.

Israeli authorities are responsible for the printing of textbooks used in Arab schools in Jerusalem that follow the Palestinian curriculum. The printing is executed post-review, and changes to the texts are made per the authoritys views and ideologies. These books are used in schools that do not receive funding from the Jerusalem Municipality.

Multiple authorities, multiple problems

One of the most pressing issues facing the education sector in East Jerusalem is the subjugation to multiple authorities, which leads to the absence of an individualized supervising party responsible for setting a unified vision and objectives governing the practices within the Palestinian education sector in Jerusalem. A causative catalyst that eventually creates a vacuum, where Israeli agenda that aims at interfering in the affairs of Palestinian schools in Jerusalem, gains momentum.

In addition to having multiple authorities governing the education sector in Palestinian schools, which creates an imbalance in the philosophy of Palestinian education, schools face other challenges that halt the healthy evolvement of an educated Palestinian generation such as the lack of classrooms and rented buildings.

Moreover, Palestinian schools in Jerusalem suffer from a severe shortage of qualified and specialized educational staff due to low salaries paid by schools compared to salaries paid by the Israeli Municipality schools. The Israeli authorities also refuse to grant teachers holding West Bank IDs entry permits to Jerusalem, where they can be hired by schools in Jerusalem.

These challenges maximize the impact of the burdensome economic, social and humanitarian situation in East Jerusalem, and they affect students both directly and indirectly. Whereas 41% of male secondary school students drop out of schools to financially assist their households, 27% of females would be coerced into early marriages to relieve the financial burdens of their parents.

In light of the preceding issues, and the impact of the Israeli policies on East Jerusalemite Palestinians in the education system, specific measures need to be taken to ensure that the Right to Education is intact and concurrent with International laws and human rights agreements. International monitoring needs to be exercised on the education sector in East Jerusalemite schools to ensure the adherence of the Israeli curriculum to international treaties. Likewise, there is a need for appropriately managing school systems, allowing for the connection of education to the communitys heritage, culture, and national life.

Palestinian Jerusalemite youth are still resilient and are open to life in a place where all the odds are against them

The need for devising nationwide campaigns to raise awareness of the Palestinian Jerusalemite parents is crucial to counteract the practices done by the Israeli government through the Jerusalem Municipality and the Israeli Ministry of education, aiming at tampering with the Palestinian heritage.

The international community needs to increase its financial assistance to Palestinian school in East Jerusalem to motivate competent Palestinian teachers to join the Arabic education institutions. Additionally, there is a need to allocate strategic funds to satisfy criteria for suitable physical infrastructure, which includes closing the gap of missing classrooms correlating to the average increase in population.

That being said, Palestinian Jerusalemite youth are still resilient and are open to life in a place where all the odds are against them. However, they need the International community to stand with them to get a tailored education to their needs to preserve their national identity.

About the author

Palestinian activist, media specialist and writer.

This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence.

Via OpenDemocracy.net



Bonus video added by Informed Comment:

United Nations: Illegal Israeli actions in Occupied East Jerusalem and Palestine  UN General Assembly
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lumina Gold Corp. (TSXV:LUM) (OTC:LUMAF) (the Company or Lumina) is pleased to announce that the Ecuadorian Minister of Energy and Non-Renewable Natural Resources, Carlos Perez Garcia, enacted a Ministerial Agreement (the Agreement), which will allow mining concession holders to perform non-systematic drilling during the Early Exploration Phase of mining concessions. Drilling activities were previously only permitted during the Advanced Exploration Phase of mining concessions and required an environmental license.

The Agreement will enable the drilling of previously untested areas on the west side of its Cangrejos deposit (C20), as well as the Gran Bestia satellite deposit, located approximately one kilometre away, where Newmont Mining Corp. previously drilled 978 metres over five holes in 1999. Luminas tests will help it determine whether Gran Bestia contains mineral resources that would add to the existing Cangrejos deposit and the mine plan which was described in the Preliminary Economic Assessment announced on June 28, 2018. Lumina also plans to test whether mineralization at Gran Bestia connects to the existing Cangrejos deposit.

In addition, the Agreement will allow for drilling to commence at Orquideas, part of the previously announced First Quantum Minerals earn-in, provided appropriate water authorizations are in place. The Company continues to advance other early stage exploration properties, such as Tarqui, to the drill ready stage following the completion of an Induced Polarization work program planned for this year.

According to the Agreement, Lumina will be able to drill reconnaissance or test holes from a maximum of forty platforms within each of its mining concessions. Non-systematic drilling will still require authorization for industrial water use from the National Water Secretariat (SENAGUA) and the update of the applicable environmental registry to reflect drilling activity.

About Lumina Gold

Lumina Gold Corp. (TSXV:LUM) is a Vancouver, Canada based precious and base metals exploration and development company focused on gold and copper projects in Ecuador. The Companys Cangrejos Gold-Copper project is located in El Oro Province, southwest Ecuador, and its Condor Gold-Copper project is located in Zamora-Chinchipe Province, southeast Ecuador. The Company also holds a large and highly prospective land package in Ecuador consisting of 135 thousand hectares. The Company has an experienced management team with a successful track record of advancing and monetizing exploration projects.

Further details are available on the Companys website at https://luminagold.com/.

LUMINA GOLD CORP. For further information contact: Signed: Marshall Koval Scott Hicks This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Marshall Koval, President & CEO, Director T: +1 604 646 1890

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements and information herein, including all statements that are not historical facts, contain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such forward-looking statements or information include but are not limited to statements or information with respect to the impact of the Agreement; the future drilling and timing of drilling at the Cangrejos deposit, the Gran Bestia area, Orquideas, Tarqui and Luminas other exploration stage properties; Luminas anticipated testing at Gran Bestia and the impact of the testing; and completion of the Companys Induced Polarization work program planned for this year and the effects of that program.

Often, but not always, forward-looking statements or information can be identified by the use of words such as will, plans, anticipates or variations of those words, or statements that certain actions, events or results will be taken, occur or be achieved.

With respect to forward-looking statements and information contained herein, the Company has made numerous assumptions including among other things, assumptions about general business and economic conditions, the prices of gold and copper, and anticipated costs and expenditures. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive.

Although management of the Company believes that the assumptions made and the expectations represented by such statements or information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that a forward-looking statement or information herein will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking statements and information by their nature are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the Companys actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. These factors include, but are not limited to: Lumina not obtaining shareholder or court approval of the Arrangement; the market valuing Lumina and Luminex in a manner not anticipated by Lumina; unanticipated costs, expenses or liabilities associated with the Arrangement; risks associated with the business of the Company; business and economic conditions in the mining industry generally; the supply and demand for labour and other project inputs; changes in commodity prices; changes in interest and currency exchange rates; risks relating to inaccurate geological and engineering assumptions (including with respect to the tonnage, grade and recoverability of reserves and resources); risks relating to unanticipated operational difficulties (including failure of equipment or processes to operate in accordance with specifications or expectations, cost escalation, unavailability of materials and equipment, government action or delays in the receipt of government approvals, industrial disturbances or other job action, and unanticipated events related to health, safety and environmental matters); risks relating to adverse weather conditions; political risk and social unrest; changes in general economic conditions or conditions in the financial markets; changes in laws (including regulations respecting mining concessions); and other risk factors as detailed from time to time in the Companys continuous disclosure documents filed with Canadian securities administrators. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
MONTREAL, July 23, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - SRG Graphite Inc. (TSXV: SRG) ("SRG" or the "Company") today announced that it has filed, on July 20, its National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") Technical Report supporting the initial resource estimate for its 100%-owned Gogota Nickel-Cobalt-Scandium deposit located in the Republic of Guinea, on SEDAR, as reported in the SRG's news release dated June 6, 2018.

The maiden mineral resource estimate includes a pit-constrained inferred resource of 44.9 million tonnes ("Mt") of mineralized material grading 1.28% nickel ("Ni") for 573,040 tonnes ("t") of contained nickel. The cobalt ("Co") grade of the resource is 0.13% Co for 59,560t of contained cobalt. The resource also contains 29.4 grams per ton ("g/t") of scandium ("Sc") for 1.17 tonnes of contained scandium in the limonitic portion of the deposit.

The NI 43-101 Technical Report was prepared by consultant Schadrac Ibrango, P. Geo, of Montreal-based Met-Chem, a division of DRA Americas Inc. Mr. Ibrango is a Qualified Person ("QP"), independent of SRG Graphite, within the meaning of NI 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects of the Canadian Securities Administrators.

The Lola Graphite Project is under the direct supervision of Marc-Antoine Audet, P.Geo., and a QP as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

The NI-43-101 Technical Report may be referenced on SRG's website at www.srggraphite.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

ABOUT SRG

SRG is a Canadian-based company focused on developing the Lola graphite deposit and the Gogota cobalt-nickel-scandium deposit located in the Republic of Guinea, West Africa. SRG is committed to operating in a socially, environmentally and ethically responsible manner.

For additional information, please visit SRG's website at www.srggraphite.com.

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All information contained herein that is not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information, including references to the plans and project of the Company such as proceeding with production at the Company's Lola Project, proceeding with exploration activities on its permits including Lola and Gogota. Generally, such forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "potential", "high-potential", "expected", "optimistic", "looking forward", "moving forward", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would" or "might". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: (i) volatile stock price; (ii) the general global markets and economic conditions; (iii) the possibility of write-downs and impairments; (iv) the risk associated with exploration, development and operations of mineral deposits; (v) the risk associated with establishing title to mineral properties and assets; (vi) fluctuations in commodity prices; (vii) the risks associated with uninsurable risks arising during the course of exploration, development and production; (viii) competition faced by the issuer in securing purchasers, off-taker markets, clients and experienced personnel and financing; (ix) access to adequate infrastructure to support mining, processing, development and exploration activities; * the risks associated with changes in the mining regulatory regime governing the issuer; (xi) the risks associated with the various environmental regulations the issuer is subject to; (xii) risks related to regulatory and permitting delays; (xiii) risks related to potential conflicts of interest; (xiv) the reliance on key personnel; (xv) liquidity risks; (xvi) the risk of litigation; and (xvii) risk management.

Forward-looking information is based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable at the time such statements are made, including but not limited to, continued exploration activities, no material adverse change in metal prices, exploration and development plans to proceed in accordance with plans and such plans to achieve their stated expected outcomes, receipt of required regulatory approval, and such other assumptions and factors as set out herein. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. Such forward-looking information has been provided for the purpose of assisting investors in understanding the Company's business, operations and exploration plans and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is given as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake to update such forward-looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
Comments and links to reports on science, and its applications.
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In response to the perception that Pakistan would be a major hindrance in pushing through Indian sponsored connectivity plans for the South Asian region within the SAARC forum as was later proved in the Kathmandu Summit of SAARC held in November, 2015, a spate of sub-regional initiatives were launched such as Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) in 1997 which comprised members such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand, BCIM initiative in 1999 to establish an economic corridor between Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar and BBIN initiative in 1997 between Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal.





These initiatives particularly aimed at connectivity of power, transport and infrastructure within the region. These initiatives were viewed with even more urgency in New Delhi once Chinese footprints expanded in the region and were considered vital in providing alternatives to Chinas OBOR and Maritime Silk Road projects. However, these initiatives proved themselves fledgling due to lack of leadership, resources and institutionalization. Former Foreign Secretary of India Krishnan Srinivasan remarked that members of BIMSTEC not only represented uneven economies with differing interests, absence of China  the biggest Asian economy would slow down the initiative due to lack of investments.





Sub-regional initiatives also did not figure as a priority area for members and these lacked institutionalization. For instance, it took 17 years for BIMSTEC to establish a permanent secretariat in Dhaka in 2014. Similarly, BCIM remained a Track II initiative for India till 2013 despite the rhetoric as to the perceived importance of sub-regional groupings. BBIN initiative which was in cold storage for a long time was activated following India under Modis leadership failed to push through the Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA) in the SAARC Summit in Kathmandu. It has also proved a delayed and ineffective exercise as Bhutan failed to endorse Indias connectivity plans finally withdrawing from the agreement.





It is being increasingly realized with Chinas launching of OBOR and given the growing interests of most of the South Asian countries in Beijings infrastructure development and connectivity plans, the scope for India-led sub-regional cooperation within South Asia has shrunk considerably.





Despite rhetoric and frequent use of the semantics of sub-regional cooperation from the Indian side, these initiatives have not received due attention and momentum, political and territorial security issues still plague SAARC and there is a growing Chinese economic influence in the region. Strengthening SAARC would be beneficial to all the South Asian countries. and militancy in the region can be discussed without the present hindrance which can camouflage many issues as sensitive bilateral issues.





Implications of Including China as A Dialogue Partner





Inclusion of China as a dialogue partner into the SAARC framework would help in discussing concerns related to Beijing-led regional infrastructure development and connectivity projects and address several issues related to terms and conditions of loans, benefits for local economy and sovereignty concerns of countries in the region. Indias outright rejection to get involved in OBOR initiative has not able to prevent its small neighbors from collaborating with China. Rather, a framework for discussing the implications of this mega project for the regional economy would be helpful and SAARC can provide such a broad regional forum. India can express its security concerns related to the project and discuss how Indian and Chinese initiatives would become complementary rather than competitive. Chinese inclusion as a dialogue partner would provide the only way to bring in Pakistan to discussion table.





Common concerns like terrorism can be brought to Chinese notice by all the South Asian countries for discussions and it is possibly the only country with massive clout in Pakistan which can be used to exercise influence and push Islamabad to mend its ways. China has shown its willingness to get involved in SAARC process since it became an observer in 2007. Massive resources at its disposal can be used for strengthening SAARC once China is allowed to play a greater role within the framework.





Beijings preference for a mediating role in recent years as witnessed in its attempt to broker peace in Afghanistan between the Afghan government and the Taliban and between Bangladesh and Myanmar on the Rohingya refugee issue demonstrates Chinas increasing political capital in the region which can be helpful for South Asian countries to sort out their differences which India cannot alone do because of big brother syndrome attached to it. It is noteworthy that Indias preference for bilateral engagements which was fostered on the underlying assumption that the regional security architecture needs to be suitable to its security interests helped create a big brother syndrome in the neighborhood despite its unilateral concessions many times. Chinas inclusion in the regional organization as a dialogue partner might help institutionalizing a monitoring mechanism to oversee Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) between India and Pakistan ensuring peace along the Indo-Pak border.





It would also help discuss many of the security concerns related to illegal movements of people, drugs and militancy which are most of the times bypassed under the rubric of sensitive bilateral issues.





India has been able to persuade other South Asian countries in placing a 5 year moratorium in 2015 preventing discussions on the issue of Chinas inclusion as a dialogue partner let alone full member.





Currently, as an observer, China cannot initiate any proposal nor can it participate in discussions and deliberations within the forum. India believes that inclusion of China would lead to Chinese veto (given all the decisions within SAARC need consensus for their approval) on India-led initiatives within SAARC.




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Guwahati, July 23 : Assam Rifles troops had apprehended an arms dealer and recovered arms and ammunition in Nagaland.





According to the reports, based on specific information Kiphire Battalion of Assam Rifles under the aegis of HQ IGAR (North) launched a search operation in general area Iron Bridge (Phelungre) and established a Mobile Vehicle Check Post near DC ground in Kiphire district on Sunday.





During conduct of spot vehicle check, troops of Assam Rifles intercepted a blue colour Alto Car bearing registration No WB 06 H-0161 and apprehended an arms dealer identified as Vitoka Sumi, a resident of village Thazuvi in Kiphire district alongwith one point 32mm pistol, a magazine and three live rounds.





The apprehendee alongwith recovered items were handed over to Kiphire Police Station for further investigation.




Kathmandu, Nepal: Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Sher Bahadur Tamang has resigned from his post following his controversial remark regarding the Nepali MBBS students in Bangladesh on Tuesday.





Minister Tamang handed over his resignation letter to the Prime Minister KP Shama Oli after announcing his resignation amid a press conference at Singhdurbar.





His statement made while interacting with SEE students of Practical International Academy on Friday was that female students who go to pursue MBBS in Bangladesh have to compromise at some point to earn their degrees was widely condemned from different sectors.




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A guest post by Jordan Williams from The Free Speech Coalition:

Earlier in the month, a group of New Zealanders from across the political spectrum, concerned about the direction of free speech rights, decided to raise money to judicially review Auckland Council and Phil Goff over their decision to restrict Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux from using Council owned venues. I was one of them.

The grassroot support from across the country shows Kiwis care about free speech  even if they dont like the views of these speakers.

People from all walks of life and political views donated to ensure free speech both in Auckland and as a matter of precedent going into the future. We received emails from some donors apologising that they could only give a very small sum  say $2  because they were on sickness benefits or were struggling to make ends meet.

The largest donation was $5,000. 75 percent of the $89,000 raised was from donations less than $300.

It was insulting for Stuffs Glenn McConnell to assert that our donors just didnt need the money. Many of our donors cut back last week to ensure the point of principle, of human rights, could be made in court.

That brings us to the principle at stake. Why is free speech so important that people made a personal financial sacrifice to ensure it was protected?

The right of free speech primarily governs the relationship between the citizen and the state.

The Government has the power to tax you, and if you refuse to pay, imprison you. If you own property in Auckland, you are forced to pay rates for common property and services provided by the Council.

As a ratepayer, if you are forced to pay for the provision of public spaces and buildings, should the Mayor be able to restrict their use for political reasons? Thats the principle at stake.

Critics of the Free Speech Coalition have laughed at this principle and argued that we should have used the money to pay for a private venue.

This is a pathetic argument.

Firstly, from a practical perspective, there are very few suitable private venues available at short notice in Auckland  the Council owns most large spaces.

But more importantly, paying for a private venue would do nothing to protect the principle of free speech.

Yes, Southern and Molyneux, would be able to speak on August 3, but the ability of a Mayor to restrict the use of public venues to speakers they find politically dangerous would go unchallenged. I suspect many of those defending Mr Goff would not be if it were Judith Collins in the Mayoral chair, banning, say, a radical anti-Israel group.

Almost all the organisers of the Free Speech Coalition disagree with the views of Southern and Molyneux. The principle at stake is far more important.

While Phil Goff initially claimed his position was motivated by opposition to hate speech, the Council is now backtracking on his behalf. The Council argues, in a similar fashion to colleges in the United States when they have restricted certain speakers, that protests would cause health and safety issues.

Thats a dangerous position to hold. It would effectively allow the Mayor to ban speakers whenever there are potential protests. It gives a hecklers veto.

So, were not simply going to court to fight for the rights of these two Canadians. Were fighting to set a precedent that your right to free speech isnt chipped away, no matter what your views are. That means defending speakers you might find personally repulsive. But thats what standing up for freedom of speech means  otherwise its not free speech at all.
By Jason Bechervaise



One of the buzzwords over recent weeks and months has been bitcoin, a decentralized digital currency that remains popular in Korea despite some fluctuations in the markets.



South Korea is currently the third-largest market in the world for bitcoin trades, which together with its vibrant entertainment industry makes the country a potentially lucrative territory for Slate Entertainment Group, a new company on the block.



What differentiates Slate from other companies dealing with cryptocurrency is its focus on content bringing together digital currency and entertainment.



Based in Los Angeles and Toronto, Slate is essentially a form of digital currency and a blockchain protocol for entertainment.



In an interview with The Korea Times, Slate co-founder Cody Hackman said "underneath Slate, there is SLATIX, which is a ticketing platform. The purpose is for mainstream adoption. There are billions of dollars of cryptocurrency in the world that people trade and everyone has a different technology behind them but they are not really accepted anywhere."



"The goal of SLATIX and Slate is with our relationships with the entertainment space to bridge that adoption for the masses, so it could look like theatre chain partnerships and different venues that would accept Slate for the purchasing of tickets," Hackman added.



This year, the renowned Sitges Film Festival in Spain will be the first festival in the world accepting cryptocurrency for ticket sales adopting SLATIX that will be launched in October.



Then there is Binge that will be online globally within twelve months. According to Hackman, the platform could be described as "Netflix on blockchain."



"Binge is designed to add transparency into the film industry that really needs it. Out of any industry where blockchain technology is needed, I would say entertainment is the industry that needs disruption the most," said Hackman.



"We believe that if you treat filmmakers fairly and compensate them fairly having proven analytics that you cannot mess around with on the blockchain that Binge will end up receiving and producing the best content in the world" added Hackman.



Currently, options open to filmmakers for exposure outside festivals are limited to distributors and online streaming services, but transparency has been an issue with sites such as Netflix where data on what films are being watched is not shared.



Binge will have a content creator dashboard which will allow those who sell their content to the company to see who is watching it, in which country, where they stopped watching it and how many minutes were viewed thereby enabling producers and directors to make specialized content.



So for example, "maybe Germany watched the movie the most so for a sequel it would make sense to put a German star in it" said Hackman.



"Netflix disrupted traditional media like cable television and blockbuster. Blockbusters don't exist anymore. This is where technology is heading where it's caught up so it can disrupt a company like Netflix", added Hackman.



Through Slates' technology called Masternodes, people can also contribute to the network by storing content and are paid and rewarded through Slate tokens (SLX) to do that, which decentralizes the network.



This also means the company is seeking to acquire global rights to much of their content making it accessible to anyone with internet access, but will still provide theatrical windows for certain films.



Aware of the wealth of content in Korea both in terms of film and television, the company is looking to acquire a large library consisting of both Hollywood and international films, mini-series and documentaries.



Together with the growing prominence of bitcoin itself, it makes sense for those behind this venture to explore what the Korean market has to offer.



Jose Maradiaga, VP of Operations for Slate who accompanied Hackman on a trip to Korea that coincided with the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) that wraps on July 22 said "up to 20 percent of the entire cryptocurrency market is based out of South Korea."



"It's pivotal to get exposure in a market like South Korea because a lot of the teens, from 16 to 18-year-olds are using it on a daily basis. If you can find a means for exchange for them to be entertained, it goes hand in hand" said Maradiaga.



"We are bridging the gap between entertainment and cryptocurrency," added Maradiaga.



The fact that Korea is seen as technologically ahead of the game embracing new mediums is another reason for trying to infiltrate the Korean entertainment ecosystem.



"It's just the right market for this type of technology because it is the future" said Hackman.





Jason Bechervaise is a film critic and professor at the Department of Entertainment and Arts Management at Korea Soongsil Cyber University.






Delegates from South Korea's Minjung Party and North Korea's Korean Social Democratic Party pose at the Rungrado restaurant in Shenyang, China, Friday. Seen are Minjung Party co-leader Jung Tae-heung, third from left, and Ri Kum-chol, fourth from left, vice head of the North's Social Democratic Party's central committee. / Courtesy of Minjung Party

By Park Ji-won



The minor leftist Minjung Party plans to send a delegation to Pyongyang soon as part of its inter-Korean parliamentary exchange program, the party said Tuesday.



The party with only one seat in the 293-member National Assembly held talks with the Korean Social Democratic Party of North Korea from Friday to Saturday in Shenyang, China, to discuss boosting exchanges in accord with the Panmunjeom Declaration signed at the latest inter-Korean summit.



The two parties had exchanged letters via the unification ministry.



At the meeting in Shenyang, the Minjung Party suggested a plan to send a delegation to Pyongyang in late August or early September. Along with that, the two parties agreed to hold a gathering at Mount Baekdu in North Korea and climb the mountain together.






By Kim Bo-eun



The U.S. is seeking to add a new category of operational support to the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) that outlines what South Korea must pay for the presence of U.S. forces here.



In a twitter post, the U.S. underlined its proposal to add the operational support category during the fifth round of talks held at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) near Seattle last week.



The category would make South Korea pay for the deployment of U.S. strategic assets here, although the currently halted joint military exercises have mostly eliminated circumstances in which this occurs. The SMA currently covers costs for three categories  personnel expenses, military supplies and construction of military facilities.



"South Korea's stance is that the SMA is about the cost of stationing U.S. troops here, so we cannot accept the category of operational support," a foreign ministry official told reporters, Tuesday.



The tweet posted by the U.S. State Department's political-military affairs bureau stated the location of the talks "highlights the newly proposed category."



"This was meant to show that at times of an emergency on the Korean Peninsula, not only the USFK, but also forces and assets stationed on the U.S. mainland could be mobilized," the official said.



The new proposal is seen as a means to increase the amount South Korea must pay in defense costs.



The official said he could not specify how much the U.S. asked for, but said "it is a considerable amount that we cannot accept."



"We have maintained that we are making sufficient contributions and that the current amount we are shouldering is sufficient," he said.



The U.S. made the demand, despite the current detente on the Korean Peninsula following North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's meetings with President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump. "The stance of the U.S. is that circumstances on the peninsula could change and therefore it is important to maintain a firm joint defensive posture."



Official figures of the governments of South Korea and the U.S. maintain Seoul is paying 42 percent of the costs, but a civic group claimed South Korea paid over 70 percent in 2016, considering the sites it provides for military bases.



The last SMA renewal expires at the end of the year and talks are ongoing to make a new one to go into effect next year. The SMA was first made in 1991, and has been renewed eight times.



The next round of talks is set to take place in mid August in Seoul.


Kathmandu, Nepal: Nepali Congress (NC), the main opposition party in the parliament, staged protest program in Kathmandu on Tuesday against of the governments indifferences on the demand of Govinda KC, who is in hunger strike for 24 days demanding reform in the medical education sector.





The Nepali Congress has been protesting against of the government for the delay to save KCs life by fulfilling his demands forwarded to reform in the medical education.




The Dalton Police Department has awarded the agencys Award of Merit to 10 officers involved in the response to the Feb. 28 shooting incident at Dalton High School. The awards were presented to officers at the monthly meeting of the Dalton Public Safety Commission.

Assistant Chief Chris Crossen made the presentation at the beginning of Tuesday mornings meeting. Chief Crossen noted that the departments policy for the Award of Merit states that it is given to members of the agency who distinguish [themselves] by bringing extraordinary credit, honor, and/or recognition to the department. Among the possible acts mentioned in the awards criteria are [defending] others from harm while sacrificing personal safety where immediate action was necessary and/or excellence under fire/stress during a critical incident.

The Feb. 28 event at Dalton High School certainly qualifies as a stressful and critical incident. That morning, Dalton High teacher Randall Davidson barricaded himself inside his classroom and fired a single shot from a handgun that he had brought into the school. Within two minutes of the shots fired report on the radio, officers from the DPD were inside the school and moving towards the threat.

In his remarks to the Public Safety Commission Tuesday, Assistant Chief Crossen noted that the 10honorees and also other responding officers made the conscious decision to find the threat and do whatever was necessary to protect the students and faculty of the school.

Mr. Davidson eventually surrendered to authorities without incident and there were no serious injuries in the incident.

Honored with the Award of Merit were: Lt. Alan Woods, Sergeant Mike Houck, Detective Brian Shirley Patrolman First Class David Saylors, Patrolman First Class Sean Hudson, Officer Matthew Dykes, Officer Mollie Parker, Officer Stephen Trego, Officer Coleman Jenkins, and Chief Cliff Cason.

Deputy Fire Chief Ricky Busby continued Tuesday mornings meeting by recognizing four firefighters who have completed their probationary period as recruits and earned the rank of Firefighter I. After completing the departments recruit school, firefighters have one year to complete the task book requirements for Firefighter I.

The four new firefighters recognized Tuesday were Christopher Dennis, Scott Rafferty, Caleb Carlson, and Andrew Carlson. All four were graduates of the agencys fall recruit school in November 2017 and completed their probationary period in less than nine months.
"I would like to say 'This book is written to the glory of God', but nowadays this would be the trick of a cheat, i.e., it would not be correctly understood."--Ludwig Wittgenstein



"Talk to me about the truth of religion, and I'll listen gladly. Talk to me about the duty of religion and I'll listen submissively. But don't come talking to me about the consolation of religion or I shall suspect that you don't understand."--C.S. Lewis
Indian Cultural Forum, 23 July,2018

Statement from the Indian Writers Forum

Writers against Self-censorship

aWe have to fight against hounding writers into self-censorship with every word we haveaa

The thugs policing our cultural fraternity have struck again. In response to the violent threats against his family, Malayalam writer S Hareesh has now withdrawn his novel Meesa (Moustache) being serialised by Mathrubhumi, stating that he will publish it when athe climate is congeniala .

Meesa is the first novel written by Hareesh, winner of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award for short fiction . The first three chapters of this novel were published in serial form by Mathrubhumi weekly, raising great expectations among readers. Then right -wing groups began a campaign of intimidation that has become only too familiar in recent years.

Hareesh was accused of ahurting religious sentimentsa and amaligning Hindusa . He was threatened that his hand would be chopped off to ateach him a lessona . He was abused and threatened on social media, forcing him to deactivate his accounts. Members of his family were viciously trolled. Copies of the weekly were burnt, prompting the editor to tweet that literature is being mob lynched.

Hareesh has been attacked for a reference one of the characters in the novel makes to womens visits to the temple. It was a character speaking, not the author; the serialisation of the novel had just begun and the characters were getting established. Such disintegrated reading would make all of literature, cinema and art vulnerable to similar dastardly attacks. Moreover, disagreement with and disapproval of a novel cannot take the form of harassment or threats. The goons who attack expressions of our multiple cultures want us to lose more than one novel.

Several writers in Kerala have already expressed their solidarity with Hareesh. As writers and readers, as citizens of a democracy, we cannot wait for athe climatea to change. It is we writers and artists who create the cultural climate and not communal politicians. We have to insist that we have the freedom of expression essential for a diverse society to express itself; the critical imagination required to examine the divisions in our society, past and present; and to exercise the rights guaranteed to us by the Constitution.

We cannot have a repeat of the Perumal Murugan story where the writer was hounded into declaring himself dead as a writer. We cannot have more attacks like the recent one on poet Kureeppuzha Sreekumar in Kerala or other writers in different parts of the country. The list is growing. We appeal to all our colleagues in the cultural fraternity to resist being hounded by the right - wing groups into self-censorship. We call on the central government and state governments to commit to a safe milieu for writers and artists to do their work.

No writer should be hounded into putting down his or her pen. No democracy, indeed no culture, can live if its writers are silent. This is why we have to fight against this hounding of writers into self-censorship with every word we have.

K Satchidanandan

Paul Zacharia

TM Krishna

Kiran Nagarkar

Sunil P Elayidom

Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar

Chandan Gowda

Damodar Mauzo

Manoj Kuroor

Megha Pansare

Banani Chakravarty

Vinu Abraham

Srilata K

Shanta Gokhale

Githa Hariharan

Nayantara Sahgal

Perumal Murugan

Ganesh Devy

KP Ramanunni

Ritu Menon

Atamjit Singh

Rafeeq Ahammed

Rubin DaCruz

Shekhar Pathak

Ajit Magdum

Pramod Munghate

Arundhati Ghosh

Romila Thapar

NS Madhavan

Shashi Deshpande

Keki Daruwalla

Sethu

Jerry Pinto

Arshia Sattar

Meena Alexander

Dona Mayoora

Sandesh Bhandare

Madhav Palshikar

Pramod Nigudkar

Kavitha Murlidharan
Kolkata, Jul 23 (PTI) Bangladesh today described the publication of draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam as an "internal matter" of India and said it would not interfere.

The second and final draft of the NRC is scheduled to be published on July 30, a date set by the Supreme Court.

"The issue has not been raised at the official level by the Government of India with the Bangladesh government at any stage," High Commissioner of Bangladesh Syed Muazzem Ali said.

"So, as of now this is an internal matter and I have seen conflicting positions of different Indian states on this particular issue and I will not interfere in an internal matter," he told reporters here.

The high commissioner said the issue can only become "bilateral" only after the Indian government takes it up with the Bangladesh government.

Ali was asked whether his country has made any decision in the backdrop of the expected publication of the draft NRC on July 30, leading to a possibility of people moving across the border to their territory.

"As of now I do not want to get into the details. We all have gone through the newspapers and we all know the origin of this crisis. My only request to everybody is let sanity prevail," he said.

Assam, which had faced influx of people from Bangladesh since the early 20th century, is the only state having an NRC, which was first prepared in 1951.

Terming the Rohingya issue as a "man-made" one, the Bangladesh diplomat requested the Myanmar government to take back their citizens.

"We do not have any bilateral problem with Myanmar. Myanmar's problem is that they are not willing to recognise the people in their Arakan region as the citizen of their country.

"So if you do not want to recognise your people as your own and start sending them to my country, then it's a problem," he said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Hyderabad, Jul 22: Gold weighing 1.12 kg worth Rs 34.5 lakh suspected to have been smuggled from Colombo has been seized from a passenger at the international airport here, DRI said today. Acting on tip off, officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) intercepted a passenger who arrived by a flight from Madurai yesterday.

Upon examination it was found that the passenger was carrying two packages in his hand luggage containing paste weighing 1850 grams, which had 1,120 grams of gold content, a DRI release said. Investigation revealed that the passenger was entrusted with the job of retrieving the gold paste during the domestic run of the flight.

Whereas the said gold paste was smuggled from Sri Lanka and concealed in the aircraft by his associate on its international run from Colombo to Madurai, so as to avoid customs checks at the international airport, it said. A total of 1120.780 grams of gold was extracted from the gold paste, valued at Rs 34.57 lakh and has been seized under the Customs Act, 1962. Further investigation is in progress, the release added.
Kampala, July 24: India and Uganda on Tuesday agreed to boost bilateral cooperation in the areas of economy and defence following delegation-level talks co-chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni here.

"India will always support Uganda's economic development and nation-building efforts," Modi said in a joint address to the media with Museveni following the talks.

Stating that bilateral trade and investment is growing stronger, he said that both he and Museveni will meet CEOs of both countries here on Wednesday. The Prime Minister also announced two lines of credit worth nearly $200 million for energy infrastructure, agriculture and dairy sectors.

Modi said that it is a matter of great satisfaction that defence cooperation between the two countries is progressing well. "We are ready to further strengthen our defence ties," he said.

On his part, Museveni said that the two sides emphasised trade, investment and tourism during Tuesday's talks. Inviting Indians to visit Uganda, he said that promoting tourism would go a long way in boosting bilateral trade.

In this connection, he sought permission for Ugandan Airlines to fly to Mumbai. According to Museveni, one of Modi's suggestions during the talks was for Indian companies to invest in Uganda's healthcare sector.

Modi arrived here earlier on Tuesday from Rwanda on the second leg of his five-day, three-nation tour of Africa that will also take him to South Africa. This is the first Prime Ministerial visit from India to Uganda in over 20 years. For Modi, this is his second visit to this East African nation after his visit in 2007 as Gujarat Chief Minister.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 24, 2018 08:38 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
2019 Honda HR-V ditches manual, gets volume knob

Jul 24, 2018, 9:20am ET

Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Honda Sensing among revised CUV\'s new features.

The 2019 Honda HR-V was officially announced Tuesday, confirming a few changes we already new (or at least strongly suspected) and bringing with it some welcome updates and revisions.

For starters, the manual transmission has been eliminated entirely. Honda warned us that this change was coming, so it's not really a surprise (nor should it have been even notwithstanding the advanced notice). It's also not really much of a loss, as the only model to offer it was the base, front-wheel-drive vehicle.

There's genuinely good news, though. The 2019 HR-V's infotainment system gets an old-fashioned volume knob, ditching the touch-sensitive surface controls that accomplished less with more required effort and concentration.

Android Auto and Apple CarPlay integration are also now available, and the Touring trim's navigation system gets upgraded graphics and 3D landmarks.

The 2019 HR-V also marks the introduction of standard Honda Sensing semi-autonomous functionality and safety features on EX models and above.

With these updates come some interior and exterior styling and feature updates. The bumpers, headlights, grille, and taillights are all revised, giving the HR-V a slightly more upscale look to match the newly replaced CR-V's.

The 2019 Honda HR-V goes on sale this week.
Jul 24, 2018, 3:30am ET

Hellcat purchase gets Georgia sheriff in trouble

The DOJ wants to see a $70,000 check from the sheriff\'s office before July 31st.

Butch Conway, the sheriff of Gwinnett County in Georgia, raised eyebrows in April when he spent nearly $70,000 obtained from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to purchase a brand-new 2018 Dodge Charger Hellcat as his company car. The federal government recently for a reimbursement before July 31st.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the DOJ allocated Gwinnett County an undisclosed sum of money from its seized assets program to help the department buy the equipment it needs to support its missions. Federal officials initially approved Conway's request for a Hellcat but ultimately decided the 707-horsepower sedan represents an extravagant purchase.

"The vehicle in question is a high-performance vehicle not typically purchased as part of a traditional fleet of law enforcement vehicles," the DOJ wrote in a letter.

Conway drives the Hellcat to and from work. His application also noted he planned to participate in a local non-profit program that highlights the danger of illegal street racing by staging drag races in controlled environments. Finally, he also wanted to use it when participating in field operations. He stresses there's nothing wrong with the purchase.

"Sheriff Conway maintains that this vehicle is an appropriate purchase, especially for an agency with a $92 million budget and the opportunity this vehicle provides in making our roadways safer," the sheriff's spokeswoman wrote in a statement.

The DOJ disagrees, and it won't send Gwinnett County more funds until it receives a full reimbursement. Though the sheriff's office is "exploring its options," county officials have already promised to pay the full amount and add review points to the acquisition process to ensure those who want a Charger as a company car stick with more basic models.
Experiential learning helps students apply what they learn in the classroom to the real world, discover their passions through hands-on projects, and make an impact on the world around us. It is a student-centered approach that builds on Lehigh's proud tradition of engineering, with learning environments and approaches design for, and fueled by, the concept of creative inquiry.
After almost six years, authorities say they have finally arrested an Allentown teen's killer.

Twenty-eight-year-old Quante Cruz has been charged in the 2012 death of 17-year-old Kareem Fedd, who was apparently shot and killed while sleeping at his Fullerton Avenue home. The charges, which include first-degree criminal homicide, were announced Tuesday in a news release from Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin.

Fedd was pronounced dead at 4:23 a.m. Aug. 24, 2012, at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Salisbury Township, the victim of multiple gunshot wounds. Later that morning, neighbor Fadi Sabbagh described to lehighvalleylive.com what he saw after waking about 4 a.m. to screams next door in the 1100 block of Fullerton Avenue.

Sabbagh, then 22, told a reporter that he ran to the house, where another teenager was screaming "My brother! My brother!" He hurried up the stairs to the second-floor bedroom and found Fedd's mother hysterical.

The boy was apparently dead on the bed, his torso bloodied from gunshot wounds. A window was open, and Sabbagh speculated that the killer entered via a fire escape.

"It seemed to me he was shot sleeping," Sabbagh said that morning, still appearing slightly dazed. "It was a shock."

Later, when paramedics entered the house to take Fedd, his mother tried to run back into the house and Sabbagh held her back.

"I knew when I heard the screams it wasn't just an argument, that something was wrong," Sabbagh said. "I thought somebody was hurt and that maybe I could help. I wasn't expecting anything like that. Maybe I shouldn't have rushed in like that."

In the days following, authorities said they were investigating if the shooting was gang-related. It was not clear from Tuesday's release if that was the case.

The slaying was investigated by Allentown police and the DA's office. Testimony and evidence against Cruz was reviewed by a grand jury, though its findings and other details of the case were sealed by Judge Maria L. Dantos, the DA said in the announcement.

Cruz, whose listed address is an apartment in the 900 block of West Hamilton Street, was due to be arraigned Tuesday, and prosecutors planned to request bypassing a pending preliminary hearing.

Cruz is charged with criminal homicide, conspiracy to commit homicide and burglary, all first-degree felonies, as well as lesser firearms offenses. Between 2009 and 2014, Cruz has faced numerous small charges including public drunkenness an drug offenses, several resulting in fines or dismissal. A burglary charge in February 2014 was withdrawn.

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveNovakLVL and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
UPDATE: Missing Allentown runaway, 2 others 'found safe,' police say

Amy Yu, the 16-year-old Allentown girl who ran off earlier this year to Mexico with a 45-year-old man, is one of three girls reported missing early Monday from a residential program for at-risk youth, authorities report.

Yu, Nichole Richard, 17, and Ajah Linares, 16, got into a car at 1:21 a.m. and left VisionQuest in Greene Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania State Police said.

Yu was possibly wearing pants, a sweatshirt and dark sneakers with light-colored laces, police said.

Richard now has red hair and is possibly wearing a light-colored three-quarter sleeved two-tone shirt, shorts and carrying a backpack/cinch bag and a duffel bag, police said.

Linares, who has long black hair, is possibly wearing a tank top and skinny jeans and carrying a bright pink camouflage bag, police said.

The girls are not a threat to the public, police said.

Allentown police have been advised of Yu's disappearance and are on the lookout in case she tries to return to the city, Assistant Chief Gail Struss said.

VisionQuest in Greene Township offers "holistic services for victims of commercial sexual exploitation of children," according to an online job listing.

Greene Township is southwest of Harrisburg and near the Maryland border.

Yu and Kevin Esterly, of Lowhill Township, flew March 5 from Philadelphia to Cancun, authorities said at the time. They were involved in a secretive relationship, officials reported.

They were found about 10:30 a.m. March 17 in Playa del Carmen by Homeland Security investigators, the Policia Federal Transnational Criminal Investigative Unit and the United States Marshals Service, according to Allentown police.

Esterly is being held in Lehigh County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail on charges of interference with child custody, concealment of whereabouts of child and corruption of minors. He has a pretrial trial scheduled for Aug. 27.

Reporter Sarah Cassi contributed to this post.

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
UPDATE: 'Scores of calls' responding to photos help police ID suspect



Bethlehem Township police are seeking the public's help in a theft/fraud case.

A woman during a six-month period withdrew more than $7,000 from another person's savings account at First Commonwealth Federal Credit Union in the township, police said on Facebook.

If you recognize the pictured woman, you are asked to call Investigator Ed Fox at 610-419-9646 or email him at efox@bethlehemtwp.com. Reference incident No. 18-04329.

Bethlehem Township police are trying to identify this woman in a fraud/theft case. (Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com)

Bethlehem Township police are trying to identify this woman in a fraud/theft case. (Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com)

Bethlehem Township police are trying to identify this woman in a fraud/theft case. (Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com)

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Prosecutors sought to increase bail for a man accused of trying to kill Easton police officers during a standoff last week in the city.

Jeffrey Folkner was initially held on $55,000 bail on attempted homicide and related charges, stemming from the Wednesday night standoff in the 600 block of Pearl Street in Easton.

Police said Folkner fired a shotgun and threw Molotov cocktails at them, before walking out of the home carrying a machete.

On Friday, Assistant District Attorney Edward Penetar petitioned to have Folkner's bail increased.

"I didn't feel the bail set was appropriate," Penetar said.

Senior Judge Leonard Zito set bail at $500,000, with a 10 percent option if Folkner meets pretrial requirements.

If Folkner is able to post bail, Zito said he must submit to mental health and drug and alcohol evaluations, as well as have no contact with the victims, including Easton police.

A message left for Folkner's attorney, James Connell, was not returned.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
They explored 1,000-year-old castle ruins.

They rode a gondola to the highest point in the German Alps.

Easton Area High School students spent 18 days in Germany in June and July 2018 through a cultural exchange program.

And the Easton Area High School students who participated in these activities also gained a better understanding of a different culture.

Ten Easton Area High School students returned in mid-July from an 18-day trip to Germany.

It was the third exchange between the Easton area school and Werner-von-Siemens Gymnasium, a high school in southern Germany that prepares students to advance to a university.

"By attending classes in a German high school and living with a host family, the students gain a very meaningful insight into the lives of German teenagers, their families and the greater community in which they live," said Easton Area High School German teacher Karen Doerr in a news release.

The trip followed a visit by the German students and their teacher, Corinna Fruhwirth-Haberler, to Easton in October 2017.

The Easton students' trip to Weissenburg, Bavaria, was part of an exchange program under the auspices of the German American Partnership Program run by the Goethe Institute and funded in part by the U.S. Department of State and the Office of the German Foreign Ministry.

The Easton area students visited the historic towns of Nurnberg, Bamberg and Ausberg.

The rode a gondola to the Zugspitze. They spent two nights in Heidelberg, where they stayed in a youth hostel and explored the ruins of a 1,000-year-old castle.

Records concerning Weissenburg date back to 867 A.D., Doerr said. The city was founded by the Romans and lay on the border of their empire. Roman baths found by a homeowner in the 1970s have been excavated, restored and put on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Doerr said.

"Through this type of exchange, rather than a tourist-type trip, young people learn so much more about the cultures of both countries, and are able practice and improve their German language skills," Doerr said.

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.
That was fast.

Just two months after shocking diners by announcing its closure following 28 years in business, The Vineyard Restaurant at 605 N. Fiot St. in Fountain Hill now says it will reopen.

Owner and chef Pietro DiMatteo said the longtime neighborhood fixture is hoping to open its doors again by the end of September this year. The restaurant has also announced the reopening on its website.

DiMatteo, who has operated the restaurant with his wife Maria DiMatteo since 1990, said his family had originally made the decision to close the restaurant because he faced health issues including a back surgery.

But recently he has been feeling better, and his son Francesco DiMatteo offered to step up and handle many of the front-of-house duties.

"He wanted to get involved, and I figured, let's give him a shot," said Pietro DiMatteo.

The family seriously considered selling the restaurant, DiMatteo said, but they were unhappy with the offers they received.

"Everybody wants to be on the main streets, where the traffic is," he said. "But when you make good food, people don't mind going out of their way."

Though he has decided he's not ready for retirement just yet, DiMatteo said he would take it easier himself when the restaurant reopens.

"Sometimes health is more important than the job and money," he said.

The restaurant will be closed Mondays and Tuesdays, though DiMatteo said they might reopen for Tuesdays once his son gets in the swing of things.

Leading up to the planned reopening, the family plans to make some upgrades to the kitchen.

But diners shouldn't expect many other changes from the restaurant they know and love. Meat will still be prepared and often butchered on-site. When it first announced its closure, the restaurant received an outpouring of support from dedicated patrons dismayed by the news.

Those fans should rest assured: DiMatteo said he doesn't expect another closure any time soon.

"As long as I'm alive and I'm healthy," DiMatteo said, "I will get up in the morning and come up and come over here."

Andrew Doerfler may be reached at adoerfler@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @adoerfler or on Facebook.
The Trump administration's announcement Tuesday it will provide $12 billion in emergency relief to farmers is a "trade war bailout," U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey says.

Already critical of President Trump's escalating trade disputes with China and other countries, Toomey was among Republicans who quickly dismissed the plan.

"The U.S. Department of Agriculture is trying to put a band-aid on a self-inflicted wound," Toomey, who is from Lehigh County, said in a late afternoon statement. "The administration clobbers farmers with an unnecessary trade war then attempts to assuage them with taxpayer handouts. This bailout compounds bad policy with more bad policy."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is trying to put a band-aid on a self-inflicted wound. The administration clobbers farmers with an unnecessary trade war then attempts to assuage them with taxpayer handouts. This bailout compounds bad policy with more bad policy.  Senator Pat Toomey (@SenToomey) July 24, 2018

The Agriculture Department said it would tap an existing program to provide billions in direct payments to farmers and ranchers hurt by foreign retaliation to Trump's tariffs.

With congressional elections coming soon, the government action underscored administration concern about damage to U.S. farmers from Trump's trade tariffs and the potential for losing House and Senate seats in the Midwest and elsewhere.

The administration said the program was just temporary.

"This is a short-term solution that will give President Trump and his administration the time to work on long-term trade deals," said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue as administration officials argued that the plan was not a "bailout" of the nation's farmers.

Rank-and-file Republican said the tariffs are simply taxes and warned the action would open a Pandora's box for other sectors of the economy.

"I want to know what we're going to say to the automobile manufacturers and the petrochemical manufacturers and all the other people who are being hurt by tariffs," said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. "You've got to treat everybody the same."

Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said the plan would spend billions on "gold crutches," adding, "America's farmers don't want to be paid to lose -- they want to win by feeding the world. This administration's tariffs and bailouts aren't going to make America great again, they're just going to make it 1929 again."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Marijuana legalization is looking like a foregone conclusion in New Jersey. Even though the Legislature has yet to get behind a bill, Gov. Phil Murphy has said he wants to sign legislation by the end of the year to allow use and possession of small amounts of marijuana.

In a letter obtained by NJ Advance Media, Attorney General Gurbir Grewal has asked prosecutors to seek to postpone "any matter involving a marijuana-related offense pending in municipal court" until Sept. 4 or later." The expectation is the state Senate is readying a legalization bill for approval in the fall.

Grewal did not say, however, whether arrests for low-level marijuana offenses should be put on hold.

Some municipalities have moved ahead on their own decriminalization measures. In Pennsylvania, Bethlehem and Allentown have adopted ordinances to reduce simple possession to a summary offense. However, Lehigh County Prosecutor James Martin has warned that municipalities don't have the power to overrule state law and that police departments should continue to make arrests.

Pennsylvania legislators have shown much less interest in decriminalization than their counterparts in Trenton.

What do you think? Have the governor and attorney general essentially signaled the end of prosecutions for marijuana use in New Jersey? Is it safe to light up? Have a say in our informal poll, and feel free to elaborate in the comment section.
Tributes have been paid to the family of a Portlaoise teenager who died in a tragic drowning accident in Spain last week.

Joshua Osahon Okonkwo, aged 19, from Lake Way, Kilminchy, was a graduate of St Mary's CBS in Portlaoise, and was studying medicine in Kiev Medical School.

He had been spending the summer in central Spain on an educational course teaching English to students, as part of the Interway programme by the Spanish Department of Education.

The tragedy occurred last Friday July 13, while the group were spending the day swimming in the picturesque Laguna Salvadora lake at Lagunas de Ruidera National Park.

Joshua was reported missing on the return of the group to their bus, and his remains were recovered the next morning and brought to Abbacete hospital.

He is mourned by his devastated parents Chris and Grace and his sister Anita.

His funeral took place in St Peter & Paul's Church Portlaoise on Monday July 23, followed by his burial in St Peter & Paul's cemetery.

Joshua had come to Ireland from Nigeria as a small child with his family in 2001. His 20th birthday would have been on September 11.

At his funeral, Joshua was remembered for his love of poetry and writing, for his calm, responsible manner, and his devotion to religion.

He was also a keen athlete and swimmer, and a follower of Chelsea FC.

He was also interested in fashion and was about to start his own clothing line based in Canada.

The young man loved to travel and in his short life had visited China, Hong Kong, Canada, the USA, UK, Spain and his native Nigeria.

A large attendance of both the African and local Laois community attended the funeral service, as well as many of Joshua's former schoolfriends.

Joshua's sister Anita is also studying medicine. His mother is proprietor of Graceland Creche and Montessori schools in Portlaoise. He is also mourned by his grandparents Alice, James and Victoria, many aunts and uncles, cousins relatives and friends.

The principal of St Mary's CBS Portlaoise Maura Murphy paid tribute to her former student.

"It was with great sadness that we said goodbye to Joshua Okonkwo yesterday afternoon. Joshua sat his Leaving Certificate in June 2017 and went on to study medicine in the Ukraine. Joshua was a gentle soul and a gentleman always. He will be remembered by all of us who knew him in St Mary's CBS as quiet spoken and as a young man who always wanted to do his best and to do the right thing.

"He was always a credit to his family, parents Grace and Chris and his sister Anita. He will be missed and had so much to offer in his chosen profession of medicine. The entire school community wish to extend our sympathy to his parents, sister and extended family who are heartbroken at this time. May you Rest In Peace Joshua.

Bolaji Adeyanju offered condolences on behalf of the Laois Africa Support Group.

Joshua shone so bright in his short life, like a candle in the wind. We send our sincere condolences to his family, and we are always there if they need our support, he said.

The group has set up a GoFundMe page called Joshua Osahon Okonkwo's Funeral.

Every bit of support would go a long way to support his family, Mr Adeyanju said.

Villanueva de los Infantes City Council in Spain issued a statement following the tragedy, expressing their deepest condolences to the family and friends of the young man.
Land in Portlaoise was rezoned to allow for the opportunity of a housing development on the site near Kilminchy.

A submission was made to the Draft Portloise Local Area Plan 2018 - 2024 by Dunamaise Homes in the care of David Mulcahy requesting that the way would be cleared for a possible 36 house development.

Planning permission has been granted for 36 houses to be built on the 1.13 hectares of land on the Dublin Road which does not expire until 2021.

In the submission, Dunamaise Homes outlined the need for residential zoning to meeting the housing demand in Ireland. It was previously zoned as a Strategic Reserve site.

Rebuilding Ireland seeks to build more private houses. There is an estimated need for 25,000 houses to be built per annum. Lands were previously zoned for residential.

There are no known constraints associated with the site. Adjoin existing residential lands and represent sequential development.

Direct and extensive frontage onto an existing public road. Single ownership not requiring any collaboration. Permission has recently been granted for additional houses on adjoining lands. This is not a strategic reserve area.

Chief Executive of Laois County Council John Mulholland agreed with the submission and the land was rezoned in the Draft Portlaoise Local Area Plan 2018 - 2024.

As the site is located within the town boundary and has an existing permission on site it is considered appropriate to zone the lands Residential 2, Mr Mulholland said in a written reply.

This comes as part of a major and rezoning which took place at the Chief Executives Report meeting in Laois County Council last week.

An additional 18 hectares of land in Portlaoise town was rezoned to allow for up to 600 houses to be built in the next five to six years.

Portlaoise land rezoned for possible new apartments with push from councillors.

Laois land rezoning opens potential for building boom in Portlaoise.
Japanese and Australian Irish dancers will be among the international guests at a unique Laois festival that kicks off next Monday July 30.

The Maureen Culleton Festival of Dance is organised by the lady herself, an Irish dancing teacher who is passionate about keeping traditional Irish music and dance alive and well in Laois.

"It is an annual festival to promote the Irish culture. We get people from not just all parts of Laois, but the four corners of Ireland, and Japan, Australia and mainland Europe," she told the Leinster Express.

Irish music is big in Japan she explained.

"Japanese people are very taken with our music. I have been to Japan to teach dance and they come and dance here, and I keep them informed of events so they will be coming over for the festival," she said.

The week long festival is mostly free of charge to enjoy for all, and is based at An Sean Chistin, in Irey, Ballyfin near Portlaoise.

It kicks off on Monday July 30 with a ceili at 8.30 pm to the music of All Ireland Champion accordionist, Keelan McGrath and friends.

"An Sean Chistin comes alive to the sound of Irish music, song, dance, poetry, stories, laughter, friendship and fun, with events each day," Ms Culleton said.

A Rambling Session on Tuesday 31 at 8pm welcomes all to contribute a song, dance or story, or just relax and enjoy the great company, cuppa and chat.

A special Irish language event will be held to celebrate Bliain na Gaeilge on Wednesday August 1 at 8pm. A Pop Up Gaeltacht will welcome visitors to use their cupla focal in a relaxed, inclusive environment.

On Thursday August 2 at 8pm, it's Laois Matters, a celebration of the people of Laois with local songs, music, dancing and stories. With complimentary Cupan tae no caife.

On Friday August 3 the festival moves to The Community Centre Ballyfin for a Ceili Mor at 9.30pm with Johnny Reidy CB. Admission for this is 10.

It is back to An Sean Chistin on Saturday for a whole day of dance classes.

From 11am to 4pm there will be sean-nos and brush dancing workshops for all ages and abilities, price 10. Dancers are advised to bring a packed lunch but there is free tea and coffee.

The festival rounds off on Sunday August 5 with a Slan Abhaile Session at An Sean Chistin at 7.30pm.

For further information on the festival, contact Maureen at 087 6482038, email seanchistin@gmail.com or click on sets.ie
Gardai have objected to the immediate restoration of a driving licence to a 44-year-old businessman who had been convicted of dangerous driving through Naas.

After listening to their concern at Naas Circuit Court on Friday, July 20, Judge Eoin Garavan opted to grant the licence back to the man on June 1, 2019, but not before that date.

Tim Kennelly, solicitor, had applied for the restoration of the licence of Daniel Taylor, with an address at Brownstown, Kilcloon, Meath.

Mr Taylor, who runs the MCR Group, was convicted on three counts of dangerous driving following an incident on Saturday night, June 28, 2014.

Garda Kieran OKeefe said a nine month jail sentence was imposed along with a 10-year driving ban.

Mr Taylor appealed the District Court decision, and Naas Circuit Court reduced the penalty to a four year driving ban with no jail sentence. Mr Taylor had, however, paid 8,000 to charity as a donation, as agreed by the Circuit Court.

Garda OKeefe said the four year ban period started on October 1, 2015. He said the incident was very serious.

Around 10.15 pm on the night in question, Mr Taylor drove on the wrong side of the street and at 120 kph through the Main Street when pedestrians were in the area.

Garda OKeefe followed the vehicle as it sped through Poplar Square and up the Dublin Road, where Mr Taylor drove on the wrong side of the road. It crashed at the back of the cinema.

Mr Taylor abandoned the car and fled on foot into a field. A member of the public ran after and caught Mr Taylor, who was then arrested.

Judge Garavan was told that part of the chase was caught on Naas town CCTV and he viewed the footage for a few minutes.

The judge asked if this had been played in the District Court and Circuit Court previously. Mr Kennelly said it was not.

Garda OKeefe said Mr Taylor had pleaded guilty to the offences. The court was told that it was the night of the Derby at the Curragh.

Mr Taylor had two previous convictions, one for speeding and one for not having a back registration plate lit up, which was recorded at Athy District Court in 2006.

Making the restoration application, Mr Kennelly said that his client he had two- thirds of the ban period completed and was seeking the restoration of the licence.

He said Mr Taylor was going through a rough time at the time of the offences.

He lived in the countryside and had to commute to Dublin city. He had to employ his brother-in-law to drive him to work for fourteen months. Mr Kennelly said Mr Taylor owned the MCR group, which was involved in security and cleaning, and was a big employer. His brother-in-law was employed by the company. Mr Taylor had three children aged under 16 and it was difficult not being able to drive them to activities.

Garda OKeefe said the driving ban would end in October 2019, having started on October 14 2015. Mr Kennelly said Mr Taylor had now servied 32 of the 48 months.

Judge Garvan, noting that Mr Taylor might be able to afford to pay 8,000, said he would not restore the licence immediately. He said Mr Taylor could employ a driver and that the Circuit Court had been generous to Mr Taylor. He opted to restored it on June 1, 2019, four months before the end of the four year ban.
The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has commenced a national public consultation on offering the HPV vaccine to boys.

Currently, the national immunisation programme offers the HPV vaccine to girls in their first year of secondary school. HIQAs health technology assessment is reviewing the clinical and cost-effectiveness of extending this programme to include vaccinating boys in their first year of secondary school as well.

HIQAs Director of Health Technology Assessment and Deputy Chief Executive, Dr Mairin Ryan said, HPV infection presents a significant and increasing health burden in both males and females, but currently only girls are offered the vaccine. On average, 539 cases of cancer associated with HPV infection are diagnosed every year in Ireland, including cervical, anal, penile and oropharyngeal cancers. HPV infection is also responsible for genital warts, with 90% of these caused by HPV types that are included in the vaccine.

No treatment exists for HPV infection, so the focus must be on preventing those at risk from acquiring the virus.

The draft findings of HIQAs report have been published for public consultation. The assessment found that vaccinating both boys and girls would have considerable health benefits.

Dr Mairin Ryan continued, From reviewing the evidence, HIQA has found that the HPV vaccine is safe and is effective at preventing infection with HPV. Extending the current girls-only HPV immunisation programme to include boys would reduce HPV-related disease in males and females in Ireland, improving patient-related outcomes and reducing mortality from HPV-related cancers.

HIQA wants to hear the views of the Irish public on this draft report before it is finalised. Following this, a final report will be prepared for consideration by the HIQA Board, before final recommendations are made to the Minister for Health.

HIQA invites members of the public to give feedback on the draft report until Friday 7 September 2018. The completed assessment will be submitted to the Minister for Health and the Health Service Executive as advice and published on the HIQA website.

Minister for Health Simon Harris welcomed the news, he added "Cervical cancer impacts the lives of almost 7,000 women in Ireland every year. Vaccination teams will be returning to schools in September to administer the HPV vaccine to girls in first year and I encourage parents to ensure that their daughters receive this important life-saving vaccine".

You can read the draft report and take part in the public consultation on www.hiqa.ie.

Also read: Leitrim parents protest outside Dail as inventor of HPV vaccine gets honoured
A COCAINE addict who stole two flat screen TVs from a house he broke into in Limerick has been jailed for four months.

Joe Storan, aged 40, of Raheen Square, Ballinacurra Weston pleaded guilty to a single burglary charge relating to an incident at Ballinacurra Road on November 16, last.

Sergeant Donal Cronin told Limerick District Court gardai were alerted to the burglary at around 5pm after the homeowner returned home from work to find her front door wide open.

In addition to the TVs around 1,000 in cash was also taken by the defendant who entered the house by a rear window.

Judge Mary Larkin was told the TVs were recovered at around 10.30pm on the same day after gardai encountered the defendant attempting to sell them.

While the TVs were recovered by gardai and returned to the owner, the cash was not recovered.

Solicitor Tom Kiely said his client, who suffers from a very serious addiction, made full and detailed admissions following his arrest.

It (his addition) has caused him great trouble of late, he said adding that Mr Storan accepts that he needs to address matters.

It is getting away from him, he is not able to control it, he told the court adding that his client accepted that he was going to jail.

Judge Larkin said what happened was very serious and she commented that burglaries at domestic homes can have long term effects for the occupants.

She said the defendant appeared to have spiraled out of control and that such behaviour cannot be tolerated and that a custodial sentence had to be imposed.

Storan was fined 150 in relation to separate shoplifting matter while a second theft charge was taken in consideration.

Those charged, the court heard, related to the theft of vodka, worth more than 100, from two different stores in the city on the same date last September.
INFORMATION is being sought after a worker at a fast food restaurant in Limerick city centre was assaulted.

According to gardai, a member of staff at McDonalds, Cruises Street was attacked while on a break at around 3.20am on Sunday.

He was at the side of the building on a break when he was attacked. He received injuries of a minor nature, said Garda John Finnerty who is appealing to anyone who was in the area around the time of the incident to come forward.

There would have been a number of late night revellers around this location last Saturday night, so if you recall seeing a disturbance or a male being attacked please contact the gardai at Henry Street who are investigating, he said.

CCTV has also been obtained and viewed as part of the investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to contact 061-212400.
Foundations of row houses have been excavated in New Towne, where Jamestown settlers expanded to live in the 1620s.

Jamestown, founded in 1607, was the first successful permanent English settlement in what would become the United States. The settlement thrived for nearly 100 years as the capital of the Virginia colony; it was abandoned after the capital moved to Williamsburg in 1699. A preservationist group took over the site in the late 1800s, and today, it is part of a national historic park with tours, museums and ongoing archaeological digs that continue to reveal new findings.

Colonization of the Americas

Jamestown was not the first successful permanent European settlement in what would become the United States; that distinction belongs to St. Augustine, in Florida, which was founded by the Spanish in 1565.

At the beginning of the 17th century, England was lagging behind other nations when it came to colonization in the Americas. Spain controlled a vast empire in the New World that included much of South and Central America, Mexico, part of the Caribbean and a settlement in Florida. The Spanish were also moving into what is considered the American Southwest.

Also by this time, the French were exploring Canada's northeast and, in time, would establish a highly profitable fur trade in the region.

In the 16th century, the English did attempt to found Roanoke colony, a venture that ended in disaster; the colonists disappeared and were never heard from again, Karen Ordahl Kupperman, a professor of history at New York University, said in her book "The Jamestown Project" (The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2007). They were lost in what is now the Outer Banks area of North Carolina, and may have left their colony to live with the native people.

In addition to the Roanoke colonists, other European adventurers had sailed along the eastern coast of North America, some of whom ended up living with the native people they encountered, Kupperman wrote.

"It does not seem too fanciful to assume that some colonists in Jamestown, founded twenty years after the last Roanoke colony, might have encountered descendants of earlier transatlantic migrants without knowing it," she wrote.

Disastrous early years

The founding of Jamestown had the blessing of England's King James I, and the settlement and James River were named in his honor. However, the settlement was financed and run by the Virginia Company. This company, in turn, was financed by private investors, who expected the colonists to discover a valuable commodity, or a route to East Asia, which would make the enterprise profitable and offer a return on their investment.

The investors in London hoped that some of the Roanoke colonists (or their descendants) were still alive and, with knowledge they gained about the area, could guide the Jamestown colonists to minerals and a passage to East Asia, Kupperman noted.

Unfortunately, the company chose to build its settlement on "a disease-ridden, bug-infested swampy island with no source of fresh water," according to Jerome Bridges, a park ranger and Historic Jamestowne tour guide. Located about 60 miles (94 kilometers) up the James River from the Atlantic Coast, the site was chosen because the settlers had orders from their investors not to take any land that was occupied by the native people, Bridges said.

When the English landed there in May 1607, they were divided into three groups: One group was to build fortifications and a storehouse and then some simple houses; the second group was to plant crops; and the third party was to explore for minerals and a passage to East Asia.

It did not take long for the colonists to run into trouble. Within a few weeks, a force of several hundred Powhatan Indians attacked the settlement. The colonists had not even had the opportunity to unpack their muskets, and so relied on naval gunfire from the ships that were still off the coast to repel the attackers.

In the next few weeks, the settlers focused their work on building a fort, which was a triangular palisade with three bulwarks, or raised platforms, for cannons.

Before long, the colonists started dying. Of the 104 men and boys who landed, only 38 were still alive by January 1608, according to Historic Jamestowne. Research by geology student Doug Rowland at the College of William and Mary and colleagues revealed that the colonists' drinking water was salty and contained arsenic. Additionally, food ran out, famine set in, and a particularly harsh winter along with drought compounded the misery of the colonists.

"Our men were destroyed with cruel diseases as swellings, fluxes [also called dysentery], burning fevers, and by wars, and some departed suddenly, but for the most part they died of meer famine," wrote George Percy, one of the survivors, in a report on the colony. "There were never Englishmen left in a foreign country in such misery as we were in this new discovered Virginia."

In that first year, the bodies were buried in unmarked graves to prevent the natives from finding out that so many of the settlers had died, according to Bridges. Recent excavations by a team led by William Kelso, director of archaeology for Jamestown Rediscovery at Historic Jamestowne, have revealed 29 burial shafts close to the west palisade wall inside the fort. The team thinks these graves likely hold many of the colonists who died in 1607.

Two of the excavated grave shafts contain two bodies. According to the Historic Jamestowne website, the colonists likely resorted to double burials because so many men were dying in a short amount of time. Twenty individuals died in August 1607 alone, and multiple burials saved energy and time.

In the other excavated shaft lay a boy about 14 years old, according to Historic Jamestowne. A small arrowhead was found next to the boy's right leg, which suggests he had been shot shortly before he was buried. This may be the young boy who was recorded by Percy as being slain during combat with Powhatan Indians during the first month of the settlement.

William Kelso, who directs excavations at Jamestown, told Live Science that the archaeology team hopes to excavate the rest of the graves and identify the bodies. "We know their names, and now we know where they were buried," he said. "We'll try to identify them using forensics."

Pocahontas & John Smith

The well-known story of how Pocahontas, daughter of Chief Powhatan, saved Captain John Smith's life very likely did not happen, at least not the way most people have heard it (and most certainly not the way the Disney animated movie told it), said Bridges.

Smith, who was elected president of the colony's council after most of the councilors died or became incapacitated, wrote that the colony depended on trade with friendly Powhatan in order to survive. Indeed, according to park ranger Bridges, when they weren't fighting each other, Powhatan's people often visited the settlers. The chief's daughter, about 10 years old at the time, was a frequent visitor to Jamestown, delivering messages from her father and bringing food and furs to trade for hatchets and trinkets, Bridges said.

She also liked to play, and would spend time turning cartwheels with the boys of the colony. Her name was actually Matoaka, and Pocahontas was a nickname meaning "Little Wanton," according to Historic Jamestowne.

Smith later wrote that at one point during an expedition in December 1607, he was captured and brought to Powhatan. He was first welcomed and offered a feast. Then he was grabbed and forced to stretch out on two large, flat stones. Indians stood over him with clubs as though ready to beat him to death if ordered. Suddenly, Pocahontas rushed in and took Smith's "head in her arms and laid her owne upon his to save him from death," wrote Smith. The girl then pulled him to his feet. Powhatan said that they were now friends, and he adopted Smith as his son, or a subordinate chief.

Smith's tale has become legend, and he romanticized it in later writings, according to Historic Jamestowne. Smith told the story only after Pocahontas converted to Christianity, and he didn't mention it in an earlier account of his adventures in Virginia. And if Smith's story is true, this mock "execution and salvation" ceremony was traditional with the Powhatan, and Pocahontas' actions were probably one part of a ritual.

The "starving time"

Although the colony had been resupplied, along with 100 new settlers, in January 1608, the settlers hit another low in the winter of 1609-1610, a period that became known as the "starving time," according to Historic Jamestowne. By this time, Smith had been forced to leave due to gunpowder injuries, and the colony's new governor, Thomas Gates, had been shipwrecked on the island of Bermuda along with essential supplies.

By this point, relations with the Powhatan had deteriorated to the point where trade was impossible and the Jamestown fort was under siege. When the colonists ran out of food, they "fed upon horses and other beasts as long as they lasted, we were glad to make shift with vermin, as dogs, cats, rats and mice," wrote Percy in an account of what happened. Boots, shoes and leather were also consumed and, as recent archaeological evidence confirms, some colonists resorted to cannibalism to survive.

In May 1610, Gates made his way from Bermuda to the colony on makeshift ships made partly from wood found on Bermuda. Finding only 60 survivors at Jamestown, he gave the order to abandon the settlement but not to burn it. As the group set out to sea, however, they encountered a fleet led by Lord De La Warr, with fresh supplies and new colonists, and they returned to Jamestown and repaired the fort.

Improving fortunes

In the decade to come, Jamestown's situation would improve. Martial law was imposed, solving, however harshly, some of the discipline problems experienced in the first three years of the colony, according to Historic Jamestowne.

The problem of the colonists finding a marketable commodity was solved in 1612 when John Rolfe, experimenting with tobacco seeds  possibly from Trinidad  developed a marketable crop that could be exported to England. King James I would give the Virginia Company a monopoly on tobacco, making the trade even more profitable. He even allowed the company to set up a lottery to provide additional funds for the Jamestown venture, according to Historic Jamestowne.

In April 1613, Pocahontas was captured and brought to Jamestown. Although she was supposed to be used as barter for English prisoners, she turned into a catalyst for peace. She married Rolfe in 1614, in the Jamestown church, converted to Christianity and took the name Rebecca Rolfe. Her father, Powhatan, reached a peace agreement with the English that allowed the colony to expand its cultivated territory, setting up new settlements, including Henrico and Bermuda Hundred.

Now "after five years' intestine war with the revengeful, implacable Indians, a firm peace (not again easily to be broken) hath been lately concluded," wrote Gov. Thomas Dale in 1614.

Pocahontas, Rolfe and their infant son, Thomas, would go to London, where she would become something of a celebrity. Tragically, she died in 1617 while the three of them were preparing to return to Virginia. Rolfe returned to Virginia alone, leaving their son in the care of an English family.

First representative assembly & first slaves

In 1619, the colony's new governor, Sir George Yeardley, returned to Jamestown with instructions from the Virginia Company, which controlled the colony, to create "a laudable form of government ... [for] the people there inhabiting," according to historical documents, The Washington Post reported.

In June of that year, 30 men met for the first time in Jamestown to discuss issues facing the growing colony. "This assembly was the first expression of English representative government in North America," Kelso wrote in his book, "Jamestown: The Buried Truth" (University of Virginia Press, 2006).

That same year, the company allowed single women to travel to Jamestown, which in its early years had been a largely male-only settlement. The company hoped that women would encourage the Jamestown men to settle down, rather than return to England after making some money.

Also in 1619, a Dutch ship arrived at Jamestown and traded food supplies for the ship's cargo of "20 and odd negroes," originally from Angola. "Slavery as it was later defined did not yet exist in the Chesapeake, and some of these Africans lived to achieve their freedom," Kupperman wrote. They worked as indentured servants (as many English newcomers did), but were forced to labor for longer terms.

An attack too late

After the death of the peacemaker Powhatan in 1618, war seemed inevitable, according to Kupperman. With the colony growing, and the English settlers using more land and making more aggressive attempts to convert the Powhatan to Christianity, the stage was set for a showdown.

Opechancanough, Powhatan's successor, felt threatened by the growing English presence, now consisting of more than 1,000 people in several plantations. In 1622, he launched a surprise attack in an attempt to wipe out the colony.

The company claimed the attack killed 347 people, Kupperman wrote, although the actual death toll was likely higher. The English were forced to abandon some plantations and cluster closer together.

Although the attack succeeded in killing many English, it failed in its aim of dislodging their presence. More settlers, spurred by poor economic conditions in England, arrived to work on the plantations, hoping, in time, to obtain land of their own. The attack gave the English the excuse they needed to wage war against Opechancanough's people, sparing only the children so that they could be converted to Christianity and forced to work on the English plantations, according to Kupperman.

This war was a take-no-prisoners' affair, Kupperman wrote. "In [May] 1623 they invited Indian leaders to a peace parley where they served poisoned wine and then fired on the disabled Indians."

This map shows the site of the original Jamestown and the status of archaeological excavations. (Image credit: Preservation Virginia

New Towne

As the Virginia colony grew, Jamestown developed into a thriving port town. Thousands of colonists either passed through to start tobacco plantations farther inland, or they settled in Jamestown, which expanded to a suburb of sorts called New Towne, situated east of the original fort.

Representative government took hold in the 1620s, and legislative business called for inns and taverns. The tobacco trade required warehouses and piers along the shore. Jamestown's well-to-do residents built English-style cottages and houses along New Towne's main road.

In time, with new settlers flowing in, the English would gain control of the Chesapeake Bay area and launch new colonies (including Plymouth in 1620) along the Eastern Seaboard of the future United States. In May 1624, the Virginia Company was formally dissolved and Jamestown became a crown colony with a governor appointed by the king.

With the growth of new settlements in Virginia, and the improving military situation of the English, the original fort site became redundant. As "Jamestown grew into a 'New Town' to the east, written reference[s] to the original fort disappear. Jamestown remained the capital of Virginia until its major statehouse, located on the western end of Preservation Virginia property, burned in 1698," researchers with the Jamestown Rediscovery Project wrote in an article on their website.

Rediscovery of the original fort

In 1994, the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA) began archaeological work to look for ruins from the original Jamestown fort, Kelso said. It was widely believed at the time that the fort had been washed away into the James River.

Excavations revealed holes where the triangular palisade had once stood, along with remains of three bulwarks used to strengthen its defenses. The archaeologists also found the remains of five churches (one built on top of the remains of the preceding church); row houses, including a structure that appears to be the governor's house; a blacksmith shop, and barracks, among other features.

To this day, Jamestown is an active dig site. In 2015, the team uncovered the burial sites of four Jamestown leaders who had been buried in the church. In 2018, archaeologists digging in a church in Jamestown found a headless body that might be that of Yeardley. They are hoping to match DNA from the skeleton and teeth found nearby with DNA from Yeardley's living descendants.

In recent years, replicas of the triangular fort, a barracks and the original church have been built on their original plots. Foundations of some New Towne houses have been uncovered, but because they would erode quickly if exposed to the elements, they were reburied, according to signs at Historic Jamestowne. Some reproductions have been built using similar bricks.

In his book, Kelso recalled some British tourists who came to talk with him while he was excavating the remains of a wall that consisted of a black stain in the clay (the wall was made of perishable material that had decayed, leaving the stain). The British tourists were startled to find that the first English settlement, which paved the way to modern America, was so simply made.

"You mean that's it? That's all there is? America, the last of the world's superpowers, began as ... just dirt?" asked one of the British tourists, according to Kelso. "No, there was just dirt," Kelso said he responded. "But you know what else? I guess plenty of, well, just hope."

"Oh brilliant!" the tourists exclaimed in unison, "brilliant indeed!"

Additional reporting by Reference Editor Tim Sharp.

Additional resources
Colored liquid spreading through water can be described as a random walk. A new study shows that the quantum version of a random walk can give rise to a bizarre paradox where two losing games can combine to become a winning one.

Two losing games can add up to a winning one, according to a concept called Parrondo's paradox.

Now, physicists have shown that this paradox also exists in the realm of quantum mechanics, the rules that govern subatomic particles. And it could lead to faster algorithms for future quantum computers. [The Mysterious Physics of 7 Everyday Things]

Physicist Juan Parrondo first described the paradox in 1997 to explain how randomness can drive ratchets  asymmetrical, saw-toothed gears that allow motion in one direction but not the other. The paradox is relevant in physics, biology, and even economics and finance.

A simple example of Parrondo's paradox can be illustrated with a coin-flipping game. Say you bet a dollar on flipping a weighted coin that gives you slightly less than a 50-percent chance of guessing the right side. Over the long run, you would lose.

Now play a second game. If the number of dollars you have is a multiple of 3, you flip a weighted coin with a slightly less than 10-percent chance of winning. So nine out of 10 of those flips would lose. Otherwise, you get to flip a coin with just under a 75-percent chance of winning, meaning you'd win three out of four of those flips. It turns out that, as in the first game, you would lose over time.

But if you play these two games one after another in a random sequence, your overall odds go up. Play enough times, and you'll actually end up richer.

"Parrondo's paradox explains so many things in the classical world," said study co-author Colin Benjamin, a physicist at India's National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER). But "can we see it in the quantum world?"

In biology, for example, quantum ratcheting describes how ions, or charged molecules or atoms, pass through cell membranes. To understand this behavior, researchers can use simple, easy-to-simulate models based on quantum versions of Parrondo's paradox, said David Meyer, a mathematician at the University of California, San Diego, who was not involved in the research.

One way to model the random sequence of games that gives rise to the paradox is with a random walk, which describes haphazard behavior such as the motion of jiggling microscopic particles or the circuitous path of a photon when it emerges from the sun's core. [See Gorgeous Images of the Sun's Corona in Simulations]

You can think of a random walk as using a coin flip to determine whether you step to the left or right. Over time, you might end up farther to the left or the right of where you started. In the case of Parrondo's paradox, stepping left or right represents playing the first game or the second.

For a quantum random walk, you can determine the sequence of gameplay with a quantum coin, which gives not only heads or tails but also both at the same time.

It turns out, however, that a single, two-sided quantum coin doesn't give rise to Parrondo's paradox. Instead, Benjamin said, you need two quantum coins, as he and Jishnu Rajendran, a former graduate student at NISER, showed in a theoretical paper published in February 2018 in the journal Royal Society Open Science. With two coins, you step left or right only when both show heads or tails. If each coin shows the opposite, you wait until the next flip.

More recently, in an analysis published this June in the journal Europhysics Letters, the researchers showed that the paradox also arises when a single quantum coin is used  but only if you allow the possibility for it to land on its side. (If the coin lands on its side, you wait for another flip.)

Using these two ways of generating quantum random walks, the researchers found games that led to Parrondo's paradox  a proof of principle that a quantum version of the paradox does indeed exist, Benjamin said.

The paradox also has behaviors similar to those of the quantum search algorithms being designed for tomorrow's quantum computers, which could tackle calculations that are impossible for normal computers, physicists say. After taking a quantum random walk, you have a much higher chance of ending up far from your starting point than if you took a classical random walk. In that way, quantum walks disperse faster, potentially leading to faster search algorithms, the researchers said.

"If you build an algorithm that works on a quantum principle or random walk, it will take much less time to execute," Benjamin said.

Editor's Note: This story was updated to clarify that Jishnu Rajendran is no longer a graduate student at NISER.

Originally published on Live Science.
An archaeologist investigates the burial while wearing a suit that will minimize contamination to the historical site.

Archaeologists digging in a 400-year-old church in Jamestown, Virginia, have found a headless body that might be that of Sir George Yeardley, one of the first politicians  and slave owners  in the American colonies.

Few people have heard of Yeardley, but he played a key role in America's history. The Jamestown governor oversaw the House of Burgesses, the first elective governing body in the English colonies.

Scientists still aren't sure if the headless body is Yeardley's, but shortly after uncovering the skeleton, they made another finding that could help answer that question. They discovered a handful of teeth, 10 in all, on Sunday (July 22) that fit into a skull previously unearthed in the church. [In Photos: New Jamestown Settlers Identified]

If DNA from the teeth and skull matches that from Yeardley's living descendants, then scientists will be able to identify Yeardley's body. By analyzing the skull's contours and tooth plaque, researchers may also be able to re-create his face and determine what kinds of food he ate, The Washington Post reported.

"We have a lot of world-renowned experts working with us on this," Mary Anna Hartley, a senior archaeologist with Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation, told The Washington Post. "And I wanted to make sure there was something for them to examine."

Researchers examine human remains from the 400-year-old church. (Image credit: Jamestown Rediscovery)

For instance, Turi King, a geneticist and archaeologist at the University of Leicester in England, who helped identify the remains of King Richard III after they were discovered under a parking lot in 2012, is working with the Jamestown team.

"We've been working under whats known as clean conditions [at the church]," King told Live Science. "One of the biggest things we're worried about is contaminating the site with DNA from one of us. When I'm getting DNA from an individual, we want to make sure it belongs to that individual and not to me or another archaeologist."

Jamestown rediscovered

The church excavation is part of a project run by the Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation, in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution, to learn more about Jamestown, the first successful permanent English settlement in the American colonies. The community was founded in 1607 and originally called "James Cittie," according to Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation.

Yeardley didn't come to Jamestown until 1610 (he left London in June 1609, but a hurricane blew his ship off course to Bermuda). He became Jamestown governor in 1616, at the age of 29. He was later knighted by King James I in Britain, and then he returned to Jamestown with instructions from the Virginia Company, which controlled the colony, to create "a laudable form of government . . . [for] the people there inhabiting," according to historical documents, The Washington Post reported.

The plan worked. In June of 1619, a group of 30 men met at the church the archaeologists are now excavating.

Archaeologists examine the burial, which could contain the body of Sir George Yeardley. (Image credit: Jamestown Rediscovery)

That same year, America received its first group of enslaved Africans. The slaves, taken from Angola in west central Africa, were on a Spanish ship bound for Vera Cruz, Mexico, until two English privateer ships attacked and took up to 60 of the Africans to Point Comfort, in what is now Hampton, Virginia said David Givens, director of archaeology at Jamestown Rediscovery. Yeardley purchased eight of the people, Givens told Live Science.

With the 400th anniversary of both of these events approaching, archaeologists hope to learn more about Yeardley, starting with the identification of his body, the researchers said. Although the DNA work is yet to come, the skeleton does offer several clues: It comes from a robust man in his late 30s or early 40s, which would match Yeardley, who died at age 40, in 1627, the archaeologists told The Washington Post.

Moreover, the skeleton's hands are at its sides  not crossed over the pelvis  indicating that this burial was an important one, likely laid out so that people could see the body before its final burial, Hartley said. And in the early 1900s, people found a tomb slab engraved with knightly symbols in the church. Given that Yeardley was a knight, it's possible this limestone slab belonged to him, Hartley said.

She also noted that the burial is located in front of the church's altar, "a pretty prime spot to be buried," Hartley said.

The soil and artifacts at the burial match the right time period, Givens added. The team also plans to radiocarbon date the bones and do isotopic testing (an isotope is a variation of an element that has a varying number of neutrons in its nucleus) on the remains so that they can tell whether the individual drank water from England as a youth, he said.

Original article on Live Science.
All three of these images were generated using the same data. But they don't tell the same story.

Color maps in scientific papers are too colorful, according to data scientists. These figures, they say, can be so vivid that they trick people's brains into thinking scientific results are more dramatic then they really are.

The colorful figures, illustrations meant to visually communicate data, might be the most compelling thing to look at in a paper full of dense text and tables of date. These images  maps of blood flow in the brain, humidity levels in Great Britain or an ant's favorite place to munch leaves  just pop out.

That's a problem.

Here's one example of a color map of the human brain provided by Chris Holdgraf, a data scientist at the University of California, Berkeley:

(Image credit: Chris Holdgraf)

Images like this are attractive, Holdgraf told Live Science. But they're also a problem, because they can trick your brain. [3D Images: Exploring the Human Brain]

The idea behind a color map is simple. Sometimes, you have multiple kinds of data that you're trying to represent in a single figure. When you have just two kinds of data, that problem is easy to solve. Just create an x-axis and a y-axis, like so:

(Image credit: K. Bolino/Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)

If you plot one of the two kinds of data (let's call it "time") along the x-axis and the other kind of data (let's call it "height of rocket") along the y-axis, you can just put a lot of points on the graph to easily, clearly represent the information. As the rocket climbs over time, the points move higher up the graph.

(Image credit: Live Science)

But sometimes, you have three kinds of information to convey in a graph. A brain scan, for example, might give you a map of a slice of the brain  that's both your x-axis for horizontal position and y-axis for vertical position  with information about how much blood is flowing through each point in that slice. There's no room for a 3D z-axis on a flat piece of paper, so researchers typically use color to represent that third type of data. Red might mean "lots of blood flow," and blue might mean "less blood flow." It's a fairly easy kind of visualization to make using standard scientific software.

A typical figure from a neuroscience paper uses color to represent blood flow changes to different parts of the brain in different circumstances. (Image credit: NIMH, Public Domain)

The problem, Holdgraf said, is that human brains don't perceive color as effectively as they perceive positions in space. In a 2015 talk, UC Berkeley data scientists Nathaniel Smith and Stefan van der Walt explained the problem in detail: If two dots are an inch apart, our brains are usually pretty good at accurately perceiving the distance between the two, no matter where they are in a visualization. So, figures like that climbing rocket graph are pretty easy to read. But color is more complicated. In a rainbow, a shade of orange might be as far from red as it is from yellow, but our brains might perceive the hue as much redder or much more yellow than it really is.

"Your brain perceives color in nonlinear  kind of wacky  ways," Holdgraf said. "If you're not careful about the color you choose, then a step from 0 to 0.5 might be perceived as actually to 0.3. And then that second step from 0.5 to 1 might actually be perceived as like 0.8."

That's a problem, Holdgraf said, when you're using color to represent relationships among precisely collected scientific data points. A visualization might make a discovery look more dramatic than it really is or make small effects look very large.

"I don't think this is something anyone has done with any kind of bad intent," he said.

For the most part, he said, people are just using default color sets that come along with scientific software.

But Holdgraf, along with Smith and van der Walt, said that scientists need to shift to color palettes carefully selected to avoid tripping any "perceptual deltas" in the human brain  places where visual science says our color perception is uneven. Such color palettes, he said, are less dramatic-looking. They don't "pop." But for most people, they'll convey a more accurate picture of what data really says.

See more

To illustrate the point, Holdgraf wrote a short bit of software called "makeitpop" that can reveal how much perceptual deltas distort data visualizations. In the tweet above, the image on the left turns data into color using "viridus," a color pallette that avoids perceptual deltas. The one in the middle is made using Jet, a common color pallette that, due to perceptual deltas, can make data look more dramatic than they really are. The image on the right is the result of using makeitpop on the viridus image, highlighting areas that would get warped using Jet.

He said he hopes the example will help get the word out to scientists about perceptual deltas and how to avoid them. However, he added that it will never be possible to do this perfectly, because not everyone perceives color in exactly the same way.

Holdgraf also said that while he does think this sort of distorted color map is a serious problem, he doesn't think it's leading scientists to false conclusions  because no one bases their interpretation of a paper purely on a color map.

"It's the icing on the cake [of a paper]," he said.

Still, he said, it's an issue of trying to be as honest and straightforward as possible in scientific research. If scientists want to be as precise and accurate as possible, he said, they shouldn't be using visualizations that can distort reality.

Originally published on Live Science.
Born in 1815, Ada Lovelace is considered by many to be the world's first computer programmer. A book containing her breakthrough algorithm just sold for $125,000 at auction.

Young Ada Lovelace was introduced to English society as the sole (legitimate) child of scalawag poet Lord Byron in 1815. More than 200 years later, she is remembered by many as the world's first computer programmer.

On Monday (July 23), Lovelace's scientific reputation got a boost when a rare first edition of one of her pioneering technical works  featuring an equation considered by some to be the world's first computer algorithm  sold at auction for 95,000 pounds ($125,000) in the U.K. [Beyond Tesla: History's Most Overlooked Scientists]

In the rare book, titled "Sketch of the Analytical Engine Invented by Charles Babbage, Esq"(Richard & John Taylor, 1843), Lovelace translated a paper by Italian mathematician (and later Italian Prime Minister) Luigi Menabrea that describes an automatic calculating machine (aka, a computer) proposed by English engineer Charles Babbage.

Starting in her teen years, Lovelace collaborated extensively with Babbage. Her work on the 1843 manuscript was not just simple translation; her own contributions were longer than the original Menabrea paper, including copious new notes, equations and a formula she devised for calculating Bernoulli numbers (a complex sequence of rational numbers often used in computation and arithmetic).

This formula, some scholars say, can be seen as the first computer program ever written.

"She's written a program to calculate some rather complicated numbers  Bernoulli numbers," Ursula Martin, an Ada Lovelace biographer and professor of computer science at the University of Oxford, told The Guardian. "This shows off what complicated things the computer could have done."

According to auction house Moore Allen & Innocent, the "extremely rare" book is one of six first editions known to exist. Auctioneer Philip Allwood called the book "arguably the most important paper in the history of digital computing before modern times."

In the auctioned copy, "Lady Lovelace" is inscribed below a line on the title page reading "with notes by the translator." (This inscription, among other handwritten notes scribbled throughout the document, are believed to have been written by Lovelace's friend Dr. William King, who is thought to be the book's original owner.) According to a statement from Moore Allen & Innocent, Lovelace's identity as the author was not revealed until 1848, just four years before she died of cancer at age 36.

Though Lovelace showed a mathematical aptitude her entire life, she is best known for her collaboration with Babbage on the automatic calculating machines, the "Difference Engine" and the never-built "Analytical Engine." The extent of Lovelace's contributions to this work have been debated by scholars for centuries, but evidence of her mathematical prowess  including correspondence with Babbage and handwritten notes of algorithms  continues to mount.

"Recent scholarship, seeing past the naivety and misogyny of earlier work, has recognized that [Lovelace] was an ablemathematician," Martin told The Guardian. "Her [auctioned] paper went beyond the [limitations] of Babbage's never-built invention to give far-reaching insights into the nature and potential of computation."

Originally published on Live Science.
Karen Warren/Staff Photographer

Texas Children's network of primary-care doctors has opened two practices in Austin, part of the Houston hospital's expansion into the central part of the state.

Texas Children's Pediatrics, the nation's largest such primary-care network, opened TCP Austin Pediatrics in west Austin (5625 Eiger Road) in June and TCP Pediatric Partners in north Austin (3410 Far West Blvd.) Monday, TCH announced this week. The new locations are TCP's first outside Houston.
More than four years after the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, scientists are still uncovering sobering new information about the lasting effects of the virus on survivors.

A study published Monday describes a Liberian woman, 33, who survived an Ebola infection during the 2014-2015 epidemic and then, one year later, apparently infected her husband and two of their sons. One son, 15, died. The husband, 40, and other son, 8, recovered.

The study, in the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal, is the first indication of transmission from a female Ebola survivor, highlighting the continued risk for a resurgence of cases and the potential for large-scale outbreaks long after there is no longer active disease spread.

The epidemic in West Africa sickened more than 28,000 people, including more than 11,000 who died across Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. A few cases have been reported of sexual transmission from the semen of male survivors; there has also been one report suggesting that the virus spread through a survivor's breast milk.

Researchers aren't sure how the woman in the Lancet study infected her husband and sons. They ruled out travel to areas where there was an active Ebola outbreak and contact with animals that could spread the virus. The researchers said it was probably from close physical contact or contact with bodily fluids. (It is highly unlikely that the woman infected her husband through sex, researchers said. There is no recorded evidence of sexual transmission from female survivors.)

During the West African epidemic, family members in the same household became infected by cleaning a sick person's waste or washing linens or sharing utensils, said lead author Emily Kainne Dokubo, a medical officer and epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dokubo was deputy director of CDC's Ebola response in Liberia during the outbreak.

One of the biggest mysteries about Ebola, one of the world's deadliest pathogens, has been recurrent disease in survivors. Even after patients have fully recovered, virus particles have been detected in semen, breast milk, spinal fluid and the inside of the eye. American physician Ian Crozier's left eye turned from blue to green because of the virus that remained in his bodyafter he was infected treating patients in Sierra Leone in September 2014. A Scottish nurse recovered but had several relapses.

A study published in the Lancet two years ago warned that Ebola lingers in semen much longer than previously thought. One man was found to still carry the virus 565 days after he recovered from the illness.

The latest study "highlights the fact that we are just starting to understand the epidemiology and clinical course of Ebola virus infection," said Anne Rimoin, an infectious disease expert at UCLA and longtime researcher on Ebola who was not involved in the study. "It also highlights the need for continued monitoring and study of Ebola virus survivors and their close contacts, long after an outbreak is declared 'over.' We still have a lot to learn about the nature of these persistent infections and what drives them."

Dokubo said: "We don't want countries to have a sense of complacency that everything is fine and we can go back to normal business. We need to keep in place the systems that can help prevent another outbreak from happening. "

Most survivors are healthy and have developed protective antibodies to reduce the chances of getting infected again, Dokubo said. Ebola reemergence is very rare, and researchers don't know what factors are associated with viral persistence, she said.

At the same time, she said, "we don't want to sound the alarm and have people thinking there are a bunch of people walking around with active virus."

The findings could "lead to additional stigma around survivors of Ebola," Lorenzo Subissi, an infectious disease expert in Brussels, noted in an accompanying commentary. Vaccination, which was deployed to fight the recent Ebola outbreak in Congo, could become an important strategy to control both spread and stigma, he wrote.

A team of three dozen researchers from the CDC, the World Health Organization and Liberia's Ministry of Health, among others, investigated the woman's family and analyzed the genetics of the virus found among them.

In July 2014, the woman cared for her sick brother, who later died of Ebola. She became very sick with symptoms consistent with Ebola infection. (Initial symptoms typically include tiredness, headache and fever. That is often followed by vomiting, diarrhea and, in some cases, bleeding.) She recovered but was never diagnosed or treated; she was later found to have antibodies to the Ebola virus, indicating that she had been infected.

In May 2015, Liberia was declared Ebola-free. A flare-up of cases occurred afterward but was quickly contained. The country was again declared Ebola-free on Sept. 3, 2015.

On Sept. 27, 2015, the woman had a baby. She fell sick about a month later. The authors speculate that her infection re-emerged then, because pregnancy can cause latent infections to turn into symptomatic disease.

While she transferred protective antibodies against Ebola to her newborn son, the authors suggest that she transmitted the virus to the other family members during her flare-up.

Genetic analysis suggests that the virus carried by the father and the two infected sons was similar and a continuation of the West African disease outbreak.
"Find your passion" is a mantra dictated to everyone from college students to retirees to pretty much anyone seeking happiness.

But according to a forthcoming study from Stanford and Yale-NUS College in Singapore, it's actually bad advice - and may actually make it harder for people to figure out what they love to do.

Why? The idea of "finding" one's passion implies that people have built-in interests just waiting to be discovered, and if you can simply figure out what they are you will magically be able to embrace them, says the study, which will be published in the journal Psychological Science.

But people with that mind-set are more likely to give up on their newfound interest when they hit the inevitable roadblock, the study found. Instead, researchers say true passion develops - through being open-minded about delving into a new topic, and being willing to put some work into it.

Earlier studies had focused on people who had "fixed" versus "growth" mind-sets about intelligence - that is, whether one believes intelligence is fixed (you either have it or you don't) or it can be cultivated. In this study, researchers looked at the differences between people who believe interests are static and those who believe they can be developed with time and effort.

They conducted five experiments involving 470 participants. In one, they recruited undergraduate students who identified either as "fuzzy" (interested in the arts and humanities) or "techie" (interested in STEM topics). They had the students read two articles, one about technology and the other about literary criticism - and found that those who held a fixed mind-set about interests were less open to the article that was outside their interest area.

In another experiment, students were shown a video about black holes and the origin of the universe, which most found fascinating. But when asked to read a denser scientific article on the same topic, the students with a fixed mind-set lost interest more quickly than the ones who believed interests can be cultivated.

The study used undergraduates because "they're young and they're at a time in their life when they're being bombarded with the idea that you have to go out and find your passion," said Paul O'Keefe, assistant professor of psychology at Yale-NUS College and the paper's lead author. "They might be waiting for that trigger to happen - 'Oh yeah, that's my interest after all' - versus, 'Maybe I'll take this astronomy class, even though it looks hard.'"

Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, a co-author of the study (and a pioneer in earlier research on fixed versus growth theories of intelligence), said her undergraduates "at first, get all starry-eyed about the idea of finding their passion, but over time they get far more excited about developing their passion and seeing it through."

If finding a calling through developing yourself sounds too vague, here's a more concrete incentive: Developing a range of interests can also boost your grades and predict future success.

That's because focusing too narrowly on one kind of interest can cause people to miss developing knowledge in other areas that could help them succeed in their field, O'Keefe said.

Students with a growth mind-set "engage in their coursework more deeply and more enthusiastically, resulting in better learning," he said. "And if [they] are more open to things outside of their previous interests, then they might be seeing more connections between what they're learning and what the other things are."

In a world that is becoming more interdisciplinary, the future will belong to those who cultivate passions in a variety of areas, such as science and the humanities, O'Keefe said.

"That's what Steve Jobs was all about - he didn't just make a computer; he made a computer that was a piece of art."
JERUSALEM - Israel said Tuesday it shot down a Syrian warplane that entered airspace above the Golan Heights, sending a firm message about its "red lines" as the dust settles on the civil war in southern Syria.

The jet's downing comes at a time when Israel is pressing to ensure that its security concerns in Syria are addressed as President Bashar Assad's forces mop up remaining territory held by rebels in the south of the country.

As Syrian forces advanced Tuesday, the Israeli military said it noted an increase in Syrian air force activity near Israeli airspace. The military said it observed a Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet crossing about a mile into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights before Israel fired two Patriot missiles. The plane fell inside Syrian territory, and the fate of the pilot is unknown, the Israeli military said.

Syrian state media said the plane was "raiding terrorist gatherings" near the area of Wadi al-Yarmouk and was inside Syrian airspace when it was shot down.

The incident marked the second time Israel has downed a Syrian plane in more than three decades. Israel shot down another that crossed into the Golan Heights in 2014.

The Israeli military has been on high alert as fighting inside Syria has pushed closer to Israel's northern border in recent weeks. As the civil war in Syria has shifted in favor of Assad, who is backed by forces from Iran and Russia, Israel has watched with alarm. Despite being technically at war with Syria, Israel says it has no issue with Syrian government forces returning to areas they held before the civil war - as long as forces linked to Iran are excluded.

That concern was the subject of talks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during his visit to Israel on Monday. An Israeli official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the Russians had offered to enforce a 62-mile buffer zone inside Syria free of Iranian forces. However, Israel is demanding that Iranian troops fully withdraw.

"We made clear again that we would not accept an Iranian military buildup in Syria, not near the border and not beyond the 100-kilometer strip that the Russians are talking about," the official said.

The Israeli military has carried out more than 100 airstrikes in Syria in an effort to prevent Iranian entrenchment or the transfer of arms to its proxy, Hezbollah, and Tuesday's jet downing was a reminder of the potential for escalation. Earlier this year, Israel shot down a drone that crossed into its airspace, saying it was armed and operated by Iranian forces inside Syria.

"Iranian military entrenchment in Syria is a red line for Israel. If it's 100 kilometers from the border or 120, it makes no difference for us," said Tzachi Hanegbi, Israel's minister for regional cooperation. "They don't need to be close to us to harm us."

He said Israel has been working for more than a year to make Russia understand how "crucial" the Iranian issue is for Israel.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a spokesman for the Israeli military, said Israel's policy in Syria remains one of "noninterference."

"For the past few days we have seen movement of Syrian forces approaching the area close to our border, and all of our defensive systems have been on elevated readiness levels," he said. On Tuesday, warnings were issued through various "channels" as a heightened amount of aerial activity took place just over the boundary.

The plane, a Sukhoi 22 or 24, took off from the T-4 military base near Palmyra, he said. "From our perspective, this event has finished," he said. "It is not ongoing."

On Syrian state media, the attack was framed as an assault on the country's sovereignty. On several television channels, indignant guests claimed that the Israeli strike had targeted Syrian warplanes as they bombed Islamic State positions near Damascus.

In southwest Syria, only a few small pockets remain under opposition control as Assad's army nears the end of a months-long offensive.

Israel captured most of the Golan Heights, a strategic elevated plateau on its northern border, from Syria in 1967. A United Nations peacekeeping force was deployed in the region in 1974, when a demilitarized buffer zone was established. In 1981, Israel annexed the area it occupied.

- - -

The Washington Post's Louisa Loveluck in Beirut and Ruth Eglash in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has no plans to accept donations from the gun lobby and no intention of filling out a questionnaire from the National Rifle Association, his deputy campaign manager said Monday.

Doug Mayer said the governor told a group of students last week that he has "no interest" in accepting contributions from the gun rights group or answering the survey, which the organization generally uses to decide whether to endorse candidates.

Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ben Jealous on Monday challenged his Republican rival to give back any money the NRA has donated to his campaign and to respond to the 2018 NRA questionnaire.

Mayer did not say whether Hogan would return $4,000 he received from the NRA Political Victory Fund in January 2015, shortly before he took office. But he noted that several Democrats in Annapolis, Maryland, also have received NRA donations, and he asked whether Jealous was pushing for them to be returned, as well.

"The governor's record speaks for itself," Mayer said in an email. "Four years ago, he made a promise not to roll back Maryland's gun laws, and he has not only kept the promise but supported and implemented common sense proposals to curb gun crime and violence across our state. He will keep his promise and continue pursuing these kinds of actions throughout his second term."

Hogan was endorsed by the NRA in 2014 and received an A-minus rating, with the group citing his "support and commitment to the Second Amendment."

This year, he supported state legislation that bans bump stocks, keeps guns away from domestic abusers, and allows a court to remove firearms from those who pose an immediate and present danger to themselves or others.

Democrats have long called for the governor to release his 2014 NRA questionnaire, but he has not done so.

On Monday, Jealous made his questionnaire public and signed a pledge not to accept NRA money.

"We all deserve to know where our elected officials stand in public and in private," he said in a statement.

The survey includes 28 questions, including several about repealing portions of Maryland's Firearm Safety Act. Other questions are about proposed legislation, including a bill that would require ammunition to be registered and another that would require "microstamping" of cartridge cases.

Gun violence is an especially potent issue in Maryland following last month's deadly rampage at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis; a March school shooting in St. Mary's County that killed a 16-year-old student; and a homicide epidemic in Baltimore that included more than 340 killings last year. Students from Great Mills High School organized a gun-violence awareness rally in Annapolis this weekend and met with Jealous and Hogan before the event.

Last week, the governor wrote an op-ed in the Capital highlighting his support of universal background checks and the recent state legislation, including a measure that allows a judge to take a gun from someone thought to be dangerous.

"Will this red-flag law stop all future shooters? Of course not - the hard truth is that no one law can. But we cannot stop there," Hogan wrote. "Maryland already has the toughest gun laws in the country, but it is clear to me that an effective, nationwide, universal background check system to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals and the dangerously mentally ill is a tool police need to stop more shooters. That's just common sense and it is something I will continue to support."

Hogan told the Great Mills students that he also would support changing a Maryland law to make it illegal to store a loaded firearm where someone younger than 18 could access it. Current law covers only those younger than 16.

Austin Rollins, the student who fatally shot Jaelynn Rose Willey and injured another student at Great Mills before killing himself, was 17. The gun he used was owned by his father.

Mileah Kromer, a political-science professor at Goucher College in Baltimore, said there is no indication that Hogan's stance has affected his strong approval rating among GOP voters.

"He needs strong turnout from his base," she said. "And there has been nothing thus far . . . that has brought down those numbers."
Cleveland businessman Allan Jones, owner of the 138-year-old Hardwick Clothes, is calling for tariffs, especially on clothing imported from Mexico and Canada. Mr. Jones, chairman of Jones Capitalcorp, LLC, rescued Hardwick from bankruptcy in 2014. He said he pumped millions of his own money into the venture "in an attempt to salvage the company, maintain employment for the companys 300-plus employees, and keep Americas oldest tailor-made clothing manufacturer in business."

Mr. Jones said, When the Tariff of 1824 was instituted, the goal was admirable: protect woolen mills in America, He said that a century later in 1930, Hardwick Woolen Mills in Cleveland, Tn., was the largest clothing manufacturer and mill in the world. When the company leadership saw the decline of mills, Hardwick sold the milling business to Burlington Fabrics to concentrate on their tailored clothing.

Unfortunately, Mr. Jones said, While fine woolen fabric mills in America have since ceased to exist, the tariffs have not. Today, manufacturers based on both of Americas borders - Canada and Mexico - pay no tariffs on imported fabrics (which come primarily from Europe), whereas American manufacturers pay a 25 percent tariff on the same goods, only to see Canadian and Mexican manufacturers ship their tailored clothing tariff-free to America.

Though there is a rebate program through the Farm Bill, the construction of the rebate is based on historical purchases - not actual purchases - and goes disproportionately to two manufacturers that receive much more rebate than they have paid in tariffs, he said.

Mr. Jones said, This isnt a rebate. Its a subsidy that places other American clothing manufacturers at a distinct disadvantage.

One of these disadvantaged, he said, is Hardwick, Americas oldest tailor-made clothing company that was founded on July 28, 1880. He stated, The company has survived a mountain of obstacles during its 138-year history, including two major fires, two World Wars, the Great Depression, and even leisure suits! Today, the company is penalized by tariffs on raw materials necessary to manufacture clothing and an unfair, disproportionate rebate subsidizing the companys competitors.

In an effort to level the playing field for all, Mr. Jones said he is requesting that during NAFTA negotiations, a tariff of 25 percent be placed on all imported tailored clothing - menswear in particular - especially clothing that is imported from Canada and Mexico, and any rebate be based on actual, not historical, purchases. This will allow Hardwick to pay higher wages and allow the company to grow its market, he said.

Mr. Jones said, After NAFTA, there was a giant sucking sound, with tailored clothing manufacturing moving to Canada and Mexico, while Hardwick remained an American company. Now, were seeking a level playing field. The future of the tailored clothing industry in America depends on it."

Trump needs a substantial negotiating tool, Mr. Jones concluded, and we need to get out of the way and let Trump be Trump. Hell manhandle these tariffs and bring about a level playing field for all American manufacturers.
Qatar will spend $1.8 billion upgrading the major air base used by the United States for its ongoing military and counterterrorism operations in the Middle East and Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf kingdom said Monday.

Expansion of the base, which houses about 10,000 U.S. military personnel, will include new family housing facilities for more than 200 officers and other infrastructure enlargements, along with "operational" improvements, Defense Minister Khaled Mohammed al-Attiyah said in an interview.

The improvements, to be formally announced at a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday, were previewed this year in meetings between Attiyah and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. They come as Qatar and its gulf rivals, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are in the midst of a deep regional dispute and competing for closer relations with the United States.

Last summer, fresh from a triumphant visit to Saudi Arabia, President Donald Trump sided with the Saudis and Emiratis when they broke relations with Qatar and accused it of ties to terrorism. By fall, however, Trump backed off after Mattis and then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that it was unwise to take sides in what was a long-standing rivalry, and reminded him of U.S. military interests in Qatar.

Since then, he has repeatedly called on them to mend their differences and offered to mediate. Last April, when Trump hosted a visit by Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Qatar was described as a "valued partner and longtime friend" that provided "critical support" for operations against the Islamic State.

Qatar is also viewed as a major donor to administration plans to provide development assistance to Gaza and the West Bank as part of a still-unrevealed U.S. plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Qatar is a major customer for the U.S. defense industry, including last year's purchase of $12 billion worth of F-15s. "We have bought a lot of military equipment from the U.S. so we can fly hand in hand with our partners," Attiya said.

He dismissed any notion of regional rivalry, saying that Qatar is "not very much interested in rivalry" but rather was interested in "the stability of the region."

According to a background statement from the Qatar government, the contract for 36 F-15 fighter jets "supports 50,000 total jobs and more than 550 suppliers in 42 states." Other recent purchases include $20 million worth of Javelin guided missiles, $700 million in logistics support services and equipment, and an estimated $200 million in weapons systems "which support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States."

But the centerpiece of U.S.-Qatar ties is Al Udeid Air Base, home to scores of aircraft, including fighters, bombers, tankers and reconnaissance planes.

The base is key to U.S. military efforts in the Middle East and has played a central role in the Pentagon's air campaign against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. In addition to the large U.S. troop presence, it is also the headquarters of Air Forces Central Command, headed by a three-star U.S. general, and a combined air operations center from which the Pentagon tracks the maneuvers of aircraft throughout the region.

The U.S. military relationship with Qatar expanded rapidly in the 1990s and early part of the 21st century, as the Qataris built Al Udeid and encouraged the United States to use it. The Pentagon moved its air operations center there from Saudi Arabia in 2003, after Riyadh denied the United States permission to use its Prince Sultan Air Base to attack Iraq.

Qatar's willingness to let the United States fly bombers from Al Udeid is seen as particularly significant. Other nations in the region do not allowed bombers, but the Pentagon has had a steady rotation of bomber squadrons through the base. A unit of B-1B bombers arrived this spring, replacing B-52s that carried out airstrikes in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria over the previous two years.

The U.S. military has spent about $450 million in construction at Al Udeid since 2003, expanding the facility from an expeditionary airfield in which many U.S. troops lived in tents to the more permanent structures there today. Qatar calculates it has spent $8 billion there to support U.S. operations.

The U.S. presence at Tuesday's ceremony is expected to be relatively low-level, as defense officials try to distance themselves from the ongoing inter-gulf dispute.

Attiya said that Qatar hoped eventually to see Al Udeid declared a permanent American facility.

"Of course we would like to see our colleagues and allies permanently staying here with us," Attiya said. But the main purpose of the expansion, he said, "is that we have men and women away from home and we are trying always to modify and expand, just to make their stay comfortable."

Over the next five years, Qatar is also building two major new "top-of-the-line" naval bases, Attiyah said, both of which would be "able to host our partner the United States if they feel that it is convenient to send their navy as well."
WASHINGTON - The Senate easily confirmed Robert Wilkie on Monday as the 10th secretary of Veterans Affairs, elevating the top Pentagon official and Washington insider to lead an agency that serves a key constituency for President Donald Trump but has floundered amid political infighting.

The 86-to-9 bipartisan vote, with Democrats casting nearly all of the no votes, was without the drama of other Cabinet confirmations in the Trump administration. Wilkie was able to convince many Democrats that he would not privatize the agency. But Wilkie became the first VA secretary to fail to receive unanimous Senate confirmation, a reflection of the political tensions in what has long been a bipartisan corner of the government.

Several of the opposing votes, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Kamala Harris , D-Calif., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., came from potential candidates for president in 2020 who have opposed other Trump Cabinet nominees.

The president, in a statement issued by the White House, said Wilkie has "dedicated his life to serving his country with honor and pride. He has displayed great patriotism and a commitment to supporting and empowering America's armed forces and veterans. Under his leadership, I have no doubt that the Department of Veterans Affairs will continue to make strides in honoring and protecting the heroic men and women who have served our Nation with distinction."

Wilkie's confirmation had been all but assured since his May nomination to succeed David Shulkin, a hospital executive and holdover from the Obama administration who clashed with the White House and the team of political appointees at VA. Trump had initially chosen White House physician Ronny Jackson for the job, but that candidacy imploded in a torrent of misconduct allegations.

Wilkie, 55, now head of military personnel at the Defense Department, was welcomed on Capitol Hill as an experienced official who could address the agency's many challenges.

"Robert Wilkie is the real deal," Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee said on the Senate floor before the vote. "I told him, 'You have no excuses.' We're here to make sure VA has no excuses, only results."

Isakson had told Wilkie at his confirmation hearing this month that poor morale was the biggest challenge he would face leading the government's second-largest agency, with 360,000 employees.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., moved quickly to get Wilkie in place following a report in The Washington Post last week on a politically motivated purge of employees by VA's interim leadership. After revelations that acting secretary Peter O'Rourke has taken aggressive steps to sideline or reassign employees who are perceived to be disloyal, Isakson called for a confirmation vote "without delay."

"Today, unlike never before, we've got political forces at work inside VA," Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., the committee's top Democrat, said before the vote, describing an agency he said has lost sight of its mission of serving veterans.

"Good employees are being forced out not because of the job they're doing but because of their views," Tester said. "Veterans need a leader who will build bridges, not tear down the department to meet a political agenda."

Wilkie, an Air Force reservist and the son of an Army artillery commander who was severely wounded in Vietnam, is now in charge of military personnel policy for the Trump administration. He has spent three decades working in Washington on military and national security issues, developing deep connections on Capitol Hill and in the White House. He has worked for some of the most polarizing political figures in Washington, including the late senator Jesse Helms, R-N.C., but his past embrace of some divisive cultural views did not deter his path to confirmation.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who is in a tough reelection fight, said in a statement that she could not support Wilkie's nomination because his long career defending "many controversial policies and elected officials" - including his defense of the Confederate flag - precluded him from serving all veterans.

Wilkie spent eight weeks as acting VA secretary, then returned to the Pentagon to await confirmation.

The White House has advocated an expansion of private-sector options for veterans, a policy the White House came to believe Shulkin was not pushing hard enough. Wilkie has said he would carry out a similar mandate of newly passed legislation - but said private care would not replace VA, a long-standing fear among Democrats and some veterans' service organizations.

VA has been without a permanent leader for four months just as it began implementing multiple new laws and projects. A contract for a multibillion-dollar electronic health records system to replace one built in-house decades ago was just signed. So was the massive "Mission Act," which expands veteran access to private doctors at taxpayer expense, a victory for the president that helps cement one of his biggest campaign promises.

Other challenges include suicide prevention, cutting the backlog of benefits claims, changing the post-9/11 GI Bill and filling thousands of vacancies for medical professionals.

The agenda comes amid a string of departures of senior leaders over the last six months as an interim leadership team of political appointees consolidated power and helped oust Shulkin.

Wilkie will face heightened tensions between these appointees and civil servants throughout the agency's Washington headquarters.

A law Congress past a year ago to make it easier for the agency to fire employees for poor performance has unleashed widespread concern what whistleblowers are being targeted.

According to data compiled by the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service, more than 26,000 full-time employees left VA last year, with the majority quitting and retiring.

"The first thing VA needs right now is employee confidence in their senior leadership," said Joe Davis, communications director for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, whose annual convention in Kansas City, Missouri, Trump is scheduled to address Tuesday.

"There's a morale problem," Davis said. "There's nobody captaining the ship. VA is often a headline away from a nationwide crisis."

Supporters of the team in place, however, argue that the high staff turnover is benefiting the agency because employees who did not support Trump's policies for veterans are gone.

"I don't think many of [those who've left] were aligned with the president's vision for VA," said Dan Calwell, executive director of Concerned Veterans for America, a group backed by conservative billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch that is allied with the Trump administration.

"The administration has approached fixing the VA much differently than the Obama administration," Caldwell said. "Robert Wilkie is going to have to focus a lot on change management."

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Amid President Donald Trump's trade war hardball, China is demonstrating it can use soft power to get what it wants.

Witness Chinese telecom company ZTE, which just spent a small fortune lobbying Washington to try to claw its way out of a crackdown that posed an existential threat. The effort appears to have worked.

Senate Republicans late last week dropped their demands that a defense bill restore penalties on the company that would have driven it out of business. Instead, under a compromise provision in a package the House will vote on as soon as this week, ZTE can keep doing business with private American suppliers. That's despite violating sanctions by making sales to North Korea and Iran.

The company forked over what amounts to a princely K Street sum to snatch its victory from the jaws of defeat: It paid the law firm Hogan Lovells $1.3 million over the past quarter - pocket change for ZTE considering the stakes, yet the priciest single lobbying contract of the period, Politico Influence noted on Monday. Lobbyists working on the matter, including former Republican senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota, pressed ZTE's case on both sides of the Capitol, at the Commerce and Treasury departments, and within the White House, its latest lobbying disclosure report shows. A spokesman for the firm didn't respond to a request for comment.

ZTE had an even more powerful advocate in its corner. After the Commerce Department banned U.S. firms from doing business with the company in April, Chinese President Xi Jinping made a personal appeal to Trump. His phone call in May yielded a surprise tweet from Trump announcing the two were "working together" to salvage the company.

News of the deal drew some bipartisan outrage in the Senate. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., among those leading the charge to apply a maximum penalty to ZTE, decried the compromise as a cave in a Monday tweet:

Rubio tweeted "No nation steals from or spies on us more than #China & they use telecomm companies like #ZTE to do it. That's why I fought so hard to put ZTE out of business in the U.S. & why its shocking some decided to cave & let them survive. We got played by China again. This can't continue"

And Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in a Friday statement said Trump and congressional Republicans "have once again made President Xi and the Chinese government the big winners and the American worker and our national security the big losers."

The Wall Street Journal's Kate O'Keeffe and Siobhan Hughes provide the context: "Many lawmakers were dissatisfied with Mr. Trump's deal, and the Senate struck back on June 18, voting to reinstate the ban on selling U.S. parts to ZTE by wrapping the measure into the defense bill. But in order for the provision to become law, the House, which had already passed its own version of the legislation without the sales ban, would have had to agree to the ZTE measure, and the reconciled text would have had to survive a potential veto by Mr. Trump."

ZTE isn't the only Chinese interest leaning on Washington hands. The Daily Beast's Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian writes that both "the Chinese government and Chinese companies, often with close state ties, have retained lobbying and public-relations firms in the Beltway, in some cases hiring former U.S. officials as personal lobbyists." The roster includes former House speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, former U.S. ambassador to China Clark Randt, and former CIA Beijing station chief Randall Phillips.

Earlier this month, the Chinese commerce ministry urged American companies operating in Beijing to lobby Washington against escalating the trade fight. And Beijing is finding more unconventional ways of getting the point across. CGTN, an English-language operation produced by state TV broadcaster China Central Television, on Friday posted a cartoon featuring a talking soybean warning that American farmers could face long-term damage if the Trump administration persists with tariffs.

But the takeaway from the ZTE episode may be less than encouraging for Beijing. As Height Analytics wrote in a Monday note, "The final version of the [defense package] appears to have been shaped heavily by input from House members unwilling to block President Trump on trade. . . Trump's actions on ZTE provide an important read-through to how he will react to Congressional efforts to limit his authority in other trade actions. Specifically, Trump is unlikely to moderate his actions."

Indeed, the president's intervention on ZTE's behalf defied his otherwise steady progress toward ratcheting up the trade war with Beijing. The U.S. Trade Representative Tuesday kicks off two days of public hearings on the next round of possible tariffs on $16 billion worth of Chinese imports. Trump himself is already eyeing a massive escalation, telling CNBC last week he is "ready" to slap duties on all $505 billion worth of goods the U.S. imports from China.

Lobbyists and cartoons may meet their match.
In America's fevered political landscape, supporters of President Donald Trump often cast criticism of him as a symptom of a condition: "Trump derangement syndrome." Trump's opponents are so possessed by their contempt for him, the diagnosis goes, that they embrace positions and pursue policy goals they would never consider in any other context. Supposed examples of this include the newfound Russophobia among some American liberals and the knee-jerk rejection to Trump's overtures to North Korea - signs of partisan tribalism supposedly displacing political logic.

But Trump and his lieutenants are guilty of their own derangement syndromes, most conspicuously when it comes to Iran. Even as Trump has gone out of his way to cozy up to an autocrat in Moscow, embraced human-rights-abusing Arab monarchs and celebrated his friendliness with the world's most isolated dictator, he sees in Tehran an implacable, irreconcilable enemy.

On Sunday night, the White House ratcheted up tensions with the Islamic republic. Trump issued a dramatic tweet, addressing Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in all caps: "NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE."

The tweet received a bullish reply from Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, the following day.

Javad Zarif tweeted "COLOR US UNIMPRESSED: The world heard even harsher bluster a few months ago. And Iranians have heard them -albeit more civilized ones-for 40 yrs. We've been around for millennia & seen fall of empires, incl our own, which lasted more than the life of some countries. BE CAUTIOUS!"

Trump's ire was apparently sparked by comments Rouhani made on Sunday in a meeting with Iranian diplomats. "America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars," Rouhani said, delivering a pointed warning to the Trump administration not to engage in efforts to overthrow the Iranian regime.

Rouhani seemed to be offering a rebuttal to the speech Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered that day. During that address, Pompeo launched a lengthy attack on Iran's political leadership, arguing the theocratic regime was a corrupt "kleptocracy" and a "mafia."

"To our Iranian American and Iranian friends, tonight I tell you that the Trump administration dreams the same dreams for the people of Iran as you do," Pompeo said, "and through our labors and God's providence, that day will come true."

Pompeo's remarks were the latest broadside in a wider diplomatic offensive against Iran. Since reneging on its end of the nuclear deal with Tehran, the White House is pushing for renewed and tougher sanctions on Iran and has cheered all glimmers of protest within the country. Trump has also consistently cast Iran as a global menace, parroting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's talking points about the country's corrosive influence in the Middle East.

There is no doubt senior Trump administration officials want regime change. Pompeo and many of his former colleagues on Capitol Hill court the support of anti-regime outfits in the Iranian diaspora that have little clout at home. National security adviser John Bolton, who has spent much of his career saber-rattling at Iran, issued a statement reiterating Trump's threats. "I spoke to the President over the last several days," it read, "and President Trump told me that if Iran does anything at all to the negative, they will pay a price like few countries have ever paid before." A coterie of other Washington neoconservatives who once championed the ill-fated invasion of Iraq have resurfaced, urging a new confrontation.

That's why numerous Iran analysts are wary of parallels between Trump's current tweets and the "fire and fury" declarations that preceded his historic summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un. "Unlike the case of North Korea, enmity with Iran is quite ideological in this administration," said Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group.

Media Matters tweeted "Ari Fleischer says the US should destabilize Iran to initiate regime change: 'The more unstable we can help Iran to become, the better it is to actually secure peace'"

Meanwhile, Rouhani's position is growing weaker. Many Iranians now pin the country's slumping economy on the president, angry that the nuclear deal has not delivered the economic benefits he promised. The hard-line forces Rouhani once maneuvered against are ascendant.

The Trump administration "has strengthened the hand of hardline Iranian factions, in the clerical and judicial establishment as well as in the Revolutionary Guards, who always said it was a mistake to strike a deal with the U.S.," reported Najmeh Bozorgmehr of the Financial Times. "These groups, who believe their position has been vindicated, have been able to use the threats from Mr Trump and others to reassert their authority, adding to pressure on Mr Rouhani, whose credibility has been badly damaged by his failure to keep the deal and new economic curbs from Washington."

That could provoke a backlash from the regime, via its proxy forces in various corners of the Middle East. "Western countries should be aware that if they put too much pressure on Iran, it could unleash radical Shia forces and trigger a new wave of Islamic radicalism," added Hossein Marashi, a reformist politician in Tehran.

That may be exactly what Washington's own hard-liners want. On Sunday, Pompeo dismissed any prospect that there are real political differences in Tehran, arguing that Rouhani and Zarif are "merely polished frontmen for the ayatollah's international con artistry. Their nuclear deal didn't make them moderates; it made them wolves in sheep's clothing." Trump's lieutenants are positioning themselves as champions of revolutionary change within Iran - or for armed conflict with an increasingly cornered adversary.

But the Trump administration's grandstanding on this front is unlikely to galvanize popular discontent within Iran. "The more the U.S. threatens Iran, and the more ordinary Iranians have to deal with economic hardships," argued Vaez, "the less motivation [Iranians] may have for pursuing any kind of radical change." Leadership in Tehran, Vaez told us, is skilled at survival and content to batten down the hatches and wait out the Trump administration.

My colleague Jason Rezaian, who endured a year and a half in Iranian prison, attended Pompeo's event. For all its zeal for change, he observed, the Trump administration is simply the wrong messenger.

"Most of what Pompeo said about the depravity of Iran's rulers was true," wrote Rezaian, "but when coupled with U.S. moves that directly hurt Iranians - specifically, stiff economic sanctions and the recently upheld travel ban - it is difficult for the administration to support its own claims that the well-being and prosperity of Iranians matter."
Congressional investigators want to know whether Rep. Thomas Garrett, R-Va., asked staff members to do personal errands for him or his family and whether his use of alcohol interfered with his official duties, according to letters to former staff members.

The questions are at the heart of confidential investigations by the House Ethics Committee and the Office of Congressional Ethics of Garrett, a first-term congressman representing Charlottesville, Virginia, inquiries sent in the past week show.

Garrett has not had a drink in the nearly two months since he announced his struggle with alcoholism and that he would not seek reelection, Bill Janis, his newly hired chief of staff, said Tuesday. He said Garrett has been attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

"Precisely because he was in the public eye and running for public office, he couldn't admit he was an alcoholic and seek help," Janis said. "He's firing on a lot more cylinders now that he's clean and sober."

Garrett hired Janis after a hectic period in his office earlier this year, when he dismissed his former chief of staff and tried to fend off allegations in a Politico article from unnamed staff members who accused the congressman of mistreating them.

Investigators from the House Ethics Committee have reached out to former staff members to determine whether Garrett violated House rules or laws by asking taxpayer-funded employees to perform personal tasks and whether his drinking or use of other substances interfered with his official duties, according to a letter the committee sent to a former staff member.

"I know of no scenario where he was drinking on the job," said one former staff member who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a confidential investigation.

The work of the committee, which will meet behind closed doors Wednesday, is complicated by the fact that members are about to leave for their August break. When they return, many will be preoccupied with reelection campaigns, leaving little time to complete an investigation before Garrett leaves office in December. The committee can investigate only sitting members of Congress.

The Office of Congressional Ethics asked for documents related to financial disbursements or reimbursements involving Garrett's family and written communications related to the firing of Garrett's former chief of staff, according to a letter the nonpartisan office sent to a former staff member that was obtained by The Washington Post.

Spokespeople for the House Ethics Committee and the Office of Congressional Ethics declined to comment.

Garrett denied any wrongdoing, including allegations that employees were asked to fetch groceries and clothes and provide rides for his daughters, as first reported by Politico.

"Congressman Garrett has broken no law and has consistently comported himself in an ethical manner," according to a statement from his office.

"Now, confidential inquiries have been made public by those not satisfied with the outcome of previous smear attempts. When Garrett is cleared of any legal wrongdoing, we wonder whether the D.C. character assassins will be in such a hurry to run a story. We are doubtful," the statement says.

Garrett has maintained a busy schedule in the past two months.

Days after announcing that he would not seek reelection, via a video on his Facebook page, he attended a GOP meeting in Nelson County , Virginia, convened to choose the candidateto replace him on the ballot, Denver Riggleman. Riggleman is considered the front-runner against Democrat Leslie Cockburn, a former journalist.

Garrett, an Army veteran and former commonwealth's attorney with a libertarian streak, has continued to vote in the House and attend meetings of his committees: foreign affairs, homeland security, and education and the workforce.

This month, he introduced a resolution condemning the hostile actions taken by the Lao People's Democratic Republic against the Hmong ChaoFa indigenous people, who served as U.S. allies during the Vietnam War.

He also introduced a bill that would require federal agencies to give surplus computers and technology equipment to a nonprofit organization for repair and distribution to veterans, students and others in need.

He spoke in Las Vegas at Freedom Fest, which calls itself the world's largest gathering of free minds, and received the Freedom Fighter Award from FreedomWorks, a conservative group that helped start the tea party movement.

"I never drank at work," he said in a video series posted on Facebook called, "The Swamp. "I've never been drunk on the floor, I've never been drunk in a courtroom, I've never been drunk in the Virginia state Senate chamber. Maybe I could drink 20 times and have no problems, but the 21st, who knows. It was a math game."

He added: "As far as politics, man, we're getting divorced, and I hope she never calls."

A friend, state Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin, called the investigations an unnecessary attack on a lawmaker who didn't walk in lockstep with leadership.

"What does this say about someone who goes in there and follows the rules but tries to be his own man?" he said. "I think he's too good for this."
The Texas restaurant company which banned a customer after an employee's story of a receipt scrawled with a racial epithet went viral said on Monday that it had parted ways with the employee and learned that the story was spurious.

"After further investigation, we have learned that our employee fabricated the entire story," Terry Turney, the chief operating officer of Saltgrass steakhouses, said in a statement. "Racism of any form is intolerable, and we will always act swiftly should it occur in any of our establishments. Falsely accusing someone of racism is equaling disturbing."

The incident unfolded earlier this month when Khalil Cavil, a 20-year-old waiter at a Saltgrass outpost in Odessa, Texas, posted an image to Facebook that showed a $108 bill with zero on the tip line, and "We don't tip terrorist," written in ink at the top. Cavil, who is of mixed black and white parentage, said that he received the note from one of his tables, and that it left him "sick to my stomach."

"I share this because I want people to understand that this racism, and this hatred still exists," Cavil wrote. "Although, this is nothing new, it is still something that will test your faith."

The incident came in the midst of increased attention given to incidents of racist behavior in the public sphere, particularly as they are shared in social media posts that generate thousands of views and strong emotions. But the ease with which fake information can spread on the Internet before it is ever verified remains a persistent concern.

Cavil's post was shared thousands of times, generating some 8,000 comments on Facebook. The decision by Saltgrass, which is owned by the company Landry's, to ban the customer for the incident drew coverage in USA Today, CBS, and The Washington Post.

"Racism of any form is unacceptable," Turney said at the time.

On Monday, the company declined to explain what had caused it to issue the striking about-face or whether Cavil had been dismissed.

"All I can say is he's no longer with the company," spokeswoman Colleen Wagner said. It is not clear what information on the image of the receipt was authentic.

The customer, whose name had been redacted on the receipt, has not been identified, but the company said that the person had been invited back to the restaurant to dine for free.

Cavil was not immediately available for comment. A voicemail message left with his mother, Jamie Swindle, was not returned. The Odessa American reported that he had apologized in an interview with a reporter.

After his story went viral, Cavil thanked supporters on Facebook who sent him money. But Cavil's Facebook posts about the incident have since been deleted and it is not clear if his profile still exists on the service.

At the time, Cavil gave an interview to an ABC affiliate in Texas in which he spoke about what he said was the history of his name and about how his faith was guiding him through the experience of supposedly being called a terrorist.

"It was not about the money," Cavil said. "It's about shedding a light on an issue I feel very passionately about."
WASHINGTON - Top Democrats on Capitol Hill and across the country have spent the past 18 months contending with voters who want the party's agenda to move left - toward such policies as "Medicare for All," tuition-free college, and even, in some cases, abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

But that's not where House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., is headed. Even after a self-described Democratic Socialist ousted a fellow House leader in a primary last month, the No. 2 House Democrat is maintaining an increasingly lonely voice promoting more centrist policies and a message calibrated to moderate and Republican-leaning voters ahead of November's midterm elections.

He renewed his long-marinating "Make It In America" agenda Monday, delivering a half-hour speech at a downtown Washington outlet of WeWork, a chain of shared workspaces emblematic of the rising "gig economy." Not mentioned therein were some of the more costly government interventions being promoted on the party's left - including a universal health-care program or a free college guarantee.

Instead, the policy prescriptions on offer ring familiar to anyone familiar with Democratic campaign platforms of the past decade, including Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in 2016: Enhancing and expanding job skills training for American workers, making employment benefits such as health care and retirement savings more portable for workers who switch jobs, and undertaking a robust program of infrastructure investment, in roads and bridges as well as energy and communications networks.

And instead of touting the agenda of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 28-year-old New Yorker who beat House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joseph Crowley in the June 28 primary, Hoyer instead dwelled on another candidate during the speech and a subsequent interview - Pennsylvania Rep. Conor Lamb, who won a March special election in a district President Trump won in 2016 by 20 points.

"I think the most significant election over the last year was Conor Lamb's," Hoyer said, pointing to the necessity of winning Trump districts to retake the House majority. "Conor Lamb won with a message that I think is a Democratic message: The tax bill was not for you. They're trying to take your health care away. . . . Clearly what we found in the polls was, [voters] will listen, they're not happy."

Hoyer's promotion of a more moderate economic agenda came as Democrats seem to be spinning their wheels in selling that agenda to the American public. A campaign message meticulously negotiated among congressional Democrats representing all wings of the party, rolled out last year as "A Better Deal," was unceremoniously scrapped by House Democratic leaders last week and replaced with the similarly anodyne "For the People."

While Hoyer's "Make It in America" effort, dating back to 2010, is separate from the partywide branding effort, he acknowledged Monday that Democrats are having a hard time coming up with anything as memorable and resonant as "Make America Great Again."

"We need to have a brand as Trump had," Hoyer said. "And I think why that resonated was, so many people believed that they weren't doing so well, and if America were great they would have been doing well. And therefore you know this guy is new - I'll take a shot at him."

Now, "I think there's some buyer's remorse," he said. "We need to convince them that not only do we have a program . . . [but] when we take over our first focus is going to be your jobs, your economic well-being, you'll make it in America.' Because we're for the people. We're for you."

The bigger issue that Hoyer and other Democrats have to contend with is the strong U.S. economy - or at least the perception of a strong U.S. economy, which stands to be the cornerstone of the Republican midterm campaign. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and other top GOP leaders are promoting a message of "Better Off Now" - highlighting record-low unemployment, rising wages and an uptick in economic growth, something Republicans say is rooted in their moves to cut taxes and slash federal regulations.

Asked about how Democrats expect to rebut that narrative, Hoyer again pointed to Lamb's campaign - where Republican strategists expected a campaign touting the GOP tax cut would be enough to keep the party in the Pennsylvania seat, only to see Lamb squeak out a victory running against the GOP on health care, pensions and other bread-and-butter issues.

"The 'Better Deal' did not seem to resonate as well," he said. "But I think intuitively what Conor Lamb found - both on taxes and on health care - people really do believe Democrats are more likely to be for people like me. And that's what 'For the People' is trying to capture. . . . There are a lot of people saying, 'Well, yeah, I think the economy is getting better but, you know, my economy's not getting better, personally.' So I think there's a lot of angst about, am I going to succeed in the next five years? Is my kid going to be able to succeed? And that's what this better future, 'Better Deal,' 'For the People' deal is."
 Dallas DA talking about capital case review and a quasi-moratorium | Main | New Brennen Center report on court-appointed defense counsel 

September 16, 2008

"When Acquitted Doesn't Mean Acquitted"

The title of this posts is the title of this long piece at ABC News on one of my favorite modern sentencing litigation topics. The full title of the piece is "When Acquitted Doesn't Mean Acquitted: Judges Can Sentence Criminals to Longer Prison Terms Even After a Jury Has Acquitted Them," and here is an excerpt from the article discussing a few recent cases that regular readers of this blog know well:

The Supreme Court has called the right to a jury trial one of the foundations of American law. But at same time, the Court has given judges broad discretion in meting out sentences under the now-advisory federal sentencing guidelines, allowing them to consider conduct that the jury never considered or found a defendant not guilty of committing. The issue has come up in several recent cases around the country. Earlier this year, in the case of a Madison, Wis., man who was sentenced to an additional 15 years in prison for possession of crack cocaine, the Supreme Court declined to reconsider its Watts decision. Mark Hurn was convicted of possessing powder cocaine, which would have sent him to prison for about three years, according to federal sentencing guidelines, but acquitted of crack cocaine possession. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison. In Washington, D.C., federal prosecutors are asking a judge to sentence Antwuan Ball to the 40-year statutory maximum prison sentence for selling 11 grams of cocaine, though Ball was acquitted of every other count in a massive drug and murder conspiracy trial that lasted eight months. Ball's lawyer says Ball should be sentenced to about six years in prison under the sentencing guidelines for the drug charge.

Some related posts on acquitted conduct sentencing enhancements:

September 16, 2008 at 09:35 AM | Permalink

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At least ONE major news outlet has picked up on this disturbing and disgusting national issue. Will it change anything? Not likely.

Defenders of this draconian policy will try to explain it away with cerebral legal arguments and lofty statutory discussions.

But wrong is wrong. And you can put as much lipstick on that pig as you want.

Posted by: babalu | Sep 16, 2008 5:01:38 PM

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A federal jury on Tuesday convicted a leader of the Zetas cartel on all seven drug-trafficking related charges he faced.

Juan Francisco Trevino Chavez, 38, who is the nephew of the two previous bosses of the now-splintered cartel, now faces at least 10 years to life in prison when hes sentenced later this year for trafficking multi-kilogram quantities of marijuana and cocaine.

Trevino, who is also known as Kiko and Comandante Kiko, is considered the last leader of the Zetas before it fragmented into the Cartel del Noreste, or CDN  which Trevino reportedly led before his arrest in fall 2016  and a faction known as the Zetas Vieja Escuela (Old School Zetas).

RELATED: Security forces in Mexican border state struggle to wrest control from cartels

The split came after his uncles, Miguel Angel Trevino Morales, known as Z-40, and Omar Trevino Morales, Z-42, were arrested by Mexican authorities in July 2013 and March 2015, respectively.

The heavily-guarded trial for Juan Trevino began July 16, and federal prosecutors brought in a number of witnesses that included one of the Zetas founders, Jesus Enrique Rejon Aguilar, also known as Mamito. Rejon, who has been cooperating with the feds for at least four years, has testified at prior Zeta figure trials that he was a former corporal in the Mexican army special forces and deserted in 1999 to join the Zetas, a group of hit men for the Gulf Cartel. Rejon was the seventh member of the Zetas, which split from the Gulf Cartel in 2010, according to his testimony previously reported by the Express-News.

Juan Trevino, a U.S. citizen known as Kiko or Comandante Kiko, is the second of the Trevino family to be tried in the United States. Another of his uncles, Jose Trevino, was convicted in a trial in Austin for laundering the Zetas drug money through quarterhorse racing, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Kiko Trevino was arrested in Baytown, outside Houston, in September 2016 after slipping into the United States illegally some time after he was released by a judge in Mexico, where he had been arrested in 2012.

According to current and retired agents who investigated the Zetas, Juan Trevino is a volatile drug user who helped the cartel control large swaths of the northern Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon and Coahuila, which border Texas, from its home base of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. The cartel used Interstate 35 as a corridor to points north, sometimes dropping drug shipments in San Antonio or other cities along the way, according to federal agents.

RELATED: Mexico sees 16 percent rise in murders in 1st half of 2018

In 2010 alone, when the Zetas split from the Gulf Cartel, the gang brought in $300 million to $400 million a year from its drug trafficking, Rejon previously testified. Other witnesses have testified in other Zeta trials that cartel leaders ordered the dismemberment of rivals, debtors or innocent victims  while alive  who were then dissolved in vats of acid or burned in barrels.

After closing arguments that ended after lunch Tuesday, jurors deliberated the rest of the afternoon, returning the verdict after 5 p.m. They found Juan Trevino guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana, conspiracy to import marijuana, unlawful distribution of controlled substances, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute large cocaine and conspiracy to import cocaine  all punishable by between 10 years to life in prison. The jury also convicted him of conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and money laundering conspiracy, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

In February, he turned down a plea deal that would have capped his potential sentence at 30 years if he had pleaded guilty to some of the charges in two separate federal drug cases related to cartel drug smuggling operations.

Guillermo Contreras covers federal court and immigration news in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | gcontreras@express-news.net | Twitter: @gmaninfedland
 "Do the crime, pay more than time" | Main | DPIC director assails our "thoroughly modern death penalty" 

March 18, 2011

Latest chapter in notable federal acquitted conduct case from DC

As detailed in this local piece from the Washington Times, which is headlined "D.C. man gets 18 years for $600 drug deal," a notable federal criminal case involving acquitted conduct finally resulted in a sentencing outcome yesterday. Here are some of the specifics:

More than three years ago, a federal jury acquitted Antwaun Ball on racketeering and conspiracy charges that he led a violent drug gang in the Congress Park neighborhood in Southeast Washington, convicting him solely of a $600, half-ounce drug deal. But at Ball's long-delayed sentencing Thursday, U.S. District Judge Richard W. Roberts disagreed, saying he saw clear evidence of a drug conspiracy before sentencing Ball, 40, to more than 18 years in prison for his conviction of the 2001 hand-to-hand drug transaction. The judge's ruling in federal court in Washington shines a light on a little known practice called acquitted conduct sentencing that lets judges mete out tougher prison terms based on conduct jurors rejected. Arguing Ball was the ringleader of a gang called the Congress Park Crew, prosecutors pointed to, among other things, testimony from cooperating witnesses in the federal drug case as well as guilty pleas by people who said they saw Ball dealing drugs and carrying guns. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gilberto Guerrero Jr. argued that Ball caused "havoc" in Congress Park that "destroyed people's lives." Meanwhile, Ball's defense attorney, John Carney, cited testimony of people who worked with Ball on various community projects in Congress Park, including a former U.S. Parole Board commissioner, Janie Jeffers, who called Ball "a catalyst" for improving the neighborhood. Mostly, Mr. Carney pointed to the words of a juror in the case, Jim Caron, who died not long after writing a letter to the judge after the trial. "Conspiracy? A crew? With the evidence the prosecutor presented, not one among us could see it. Racketeering? We dismissed that even more quickly," Mr. Caron wrote. "This is one of the few times we know exactly what the jury was thinking," Mr. Carney argued. Prosecutors disagreed: "That's one person's perspective," said Mr. Guerrero. Defense lawyers also argued in court memos that if the judge relies on acquitted conduct, Ball unfairly would get a prison term far longer than what he'd receive under the federal sentencing guidelines. But prosecutors pointed out that those guidelines are advisory, not mandatory, and that selling five or more grams of crack cocaine by law carries a sentence anywhere from five to 40 years in prison. Judge Roberts said the "stark duality" of Ball's persona was "confounding and tragic." And he said while he respected the jury's verdict, he couldn't turn a blind eye to what he called "clear and convincing" evidence that Ball was part of a long-running conspiracy to deal crack cocaine in Congress Park. The judge did not otherwise address Mr. Caron's letter, which was later cited by Gilbert S. Merritt Jr., senior judge on the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in an unrelated case in Kentucky involving acquitted conduct issues. Judge Roberts said his reliance on acquitted conduct in determining a sentence for Ball was proper. He also gave Ball credit for the time he's served since being locked up in April 2004, and he reduced his sentence by 15 months because of delays in carrying it out.... A co-defendant in the case, David Wilson, was sentenced to 45 years in prison last week. He was convicted in two murders and on drug charges. In a sentencing memo, prosecutors called for a 40-year sentence for Ball on the basis of, among other things, "ample evidence" that Ball was the leader of a criminal conspiracy. Other "acts of violence, witness intimidation and other obstructive acts," prosecutors argued, "show what a true danger Ball is." The prosecutors also said they were asking for a tougher sentence for Ball not on the basis of acquitted conduct, but uncharged conduct  or actions the jurors were never asked to consider. By contrast, defense attorneys called the jury verdict a "virtually total rejection" of the government's case against Ball. Ball's sentence is likely to be appealed.

I am pleased to see that the acquitted conduct issue has been preserved by Ball's counsel and that he apparently has plans to appeal his client's sentence. Though the DC Circuit has upheld the constitutionality of acquitted conduct sentencing since Blakely and Booker, at some point in some way some circuit has to question at least the substantive reasonableness of a sentence that is greatly elevated on the basis of acquitted conduct. And such a ruling may be what is needed to convince the Supreme Court that this issue merits re-examination in light of Blakely and Booker.

Some older posts on the Ball case and acquitted conduct sentencing enhancements:

March 18, 2011 at 10:00 AM | Permalink

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"...such a ruling may be what is needed to convince the Supreme Court that this issue merits re-examination in light of Blakely and Booker."

Of course Booker is exactly the problem, or at least the remedial portion thereof.

Based on the Apprendi/Blakely line of cases, the Booker Court had a choice of remedies to fix the guidelines. One was to require the government to prove significant sentencing facts BRD and (if the defendant so desired) to a jury.

The second was to continue to permit the judge to find those facts by less than a BRD standard (which had been pre-existing practice), but to render the guidelines advisory.

Both the defense bar and DOJ supported the advisory option, and by a 5-4 split, the SCOTUS went along with it.

Today, and for hardly the first time, we see the results.

What needs re-visiting is Booker's remedy. We need to go back to mandatory guidelines and THEN implement Blakely's proof requirement concerning sentencing facts.

But it ain't happening. Why?

Because the Sentencing Commission, while holding hearings on relative minutiae, as it did yesterday, continues, now for the sixth year, to snore past the central job for which it was created, that being the implementation of mandatory guidelines.

It's not just that Justice Stevens got this right in his dissent in Booker, and that Justice Souter got it right in his concurrence in Gall. It's that it's been obvious for years.

We can have a neat philisophical debate about the relevant conduct rule, or we can demand concrete action. Specifically, the Sentencing Commission can act to point Congress toward the re-examination of a remedy that Justice Breyer all but invited in his majority opinion.

If the Commission has so completely forgotten the central purpose for which Congress established it, there is no reason that, in tough budget times, Congress should continue to lavish millions on it. It's not like this is a new problem, and it's not like, without action, we won't see, in the future, dozens if not hundreds of cases just like today's.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 18, 2011 10:43:39 AM

Bill,

Why should the USSC bother itself with such a daunting task as convincing COngress that proving sentencing facts to jurors BRD is the way to go? Why push the boundaries of such a nice cozy sinecure? It's not like they are actually in danger of elimination.

I forget where I saw it, but in any organization there are two types of people. The first type is dedicated to the mission of the organization (think teachers struggling with unruly students, hostile administration and indifferent parents). The second type exists the further the organization itself, and always end up writing (and enforcing) the rules under which the organization operates. Our government is, unfortunately, completely under the sway of this second type of person and I don't see anything changing until Uncle Sam tries to get another loan but can't find anyone willing to take the paper.

Posted by: Soronel Haetir | Mar 18, 2011 11:16:59 AM

Bill,

First, let me say how kind of you to be commenting on the unjust nature of Mr. Ball's sentence, advocating that his enhancements should be proven BRD.

But second, say what you will now about the desirability of mandatory guidelines super-imposed with guideline findings BRD. You don't, however, get to re-write history.

You say "[b]oth the defense bar and DOJ supported the advisory option." That is incorrect. The defense bar did not advocate for advisory guidelines in Booker. The National Association of Federal Defenders and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers filed amicus briefs arguing that enhancements should be plead and proven within the existing guideline scheme (as did the Messrs. Booker and Fanfan themselves). In other words, had the defense bar got its way in Booker, Mr. Ball's enhancements would have had to be plead and proven BRD, and the resulting range would have operated just as it did pre-Booker.

It may pain you know that you are now advocating for a system that the defense bar wanted 6 years ago in Booker, to which the DOJ resisted. But at least acknowledge that reality.

I won't hold my breadth, though, as you refuse to acknowledge the reality that the guidelines continue to drive sentencing practice, even in a post-Booker advisory world.

Posted by: DEJ | Mar 18, 2011 12:26:00 PM

What about an as-applied Sixth Amendment violation here? Absent the judicial fact-findings, the sentence would be unreasonable (or so the argument would go).

Posted by: DEJ | Mar 18, 2011 12:49:07 PM



DEJ --

1. "First, let me say how kind of you to be commenting on the unjust nature of Mr. Ball's sentence..."

I don't recall saying it was unjust. And what's with the sarcasm? There was no sarcasm in my post -- is there some reason it's needed in yours?

2. "...advocating that his enhancements should be proven BRD."

Yes, if we return to mandatory guidelines, which is what Stevens and Souter suggested (a fact you don't dispute), some enhancements would need to be proven BRD. But "just" is a layman's word, and in my view, a just sentence is one the defendant's actual behavior has earned. The standard of proof required to demonstrate actual behavior is a procedural question, and an important one, but -- for example -- the standard of proof that freed OJ does not mean he didn't do it. I don't know of a single serious person who thinks he didn't do it.

3. "The National Association of Federal Defenders and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers filed amicus briefs arguing that enhancements should be plead and proven within the existing guideline scheme (as did the Messrs. Booker and Fanfan themselves)."

I'll assume you're right about that, although that is not my memory. Making that assumption, I appreciate the correction and apologize for the error. I know for a fact, however, that many defense lawyers were pushing for a BRD-type remedy, and contiue to do so.

4. "It may pain you know that you are now advocating for a system that the defense bar wanted 6 years ago in Booker, to which the DOJ resisted."

No, unlike the "they're-all-innocent" and "Amerika stinks" ideologues who occasionally appear on this site, I will happily go with the other side when I think they have the better case (just as Doug supports the DP although in most other ways tends toward the liberal side). For example, I support video-taping interrogations and enhanced pay for many appointed defense counsel.

"But at least acknowledge that reality."

Contrary to what you imply, I have long supported the BRD standard as the correct Blakely remedy in a mandatory guidelines system. I did this, for example, and publicly, in my article in the FSR more than two years ago ("Priority for a New Administration: Restore the Rule of Law in Federal Sentencing," and again in the most recent issue, "The Sad, Slow Swoon of the Sentencing Suggestions," available here,

https://docs.google.com/a/fed-soc.org/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B5HjNVIrveCFZTc5YjAxNTAtZDE3ZC00YTM5LTg5MzMtNjBkNjE5NzZkNmRk&hl=en&pli=1).

5. "I won't hold my breadth, though, as you refuse to acknowledge the reality that the guidelines continue to drive sentencing practice, even in a post-Booker advisory world."

Whether you hold your breath is up to you. My own breathing will continue normally while you refuse to acknowledge that there has been a clear drift away from guidelines sentencing over at least the last six years, if not longer. Within range sentences are now given in slightly less than 55% of the cases. In the years after the guidelines first became effective in November 1987, it was over 75%. If you have a problem, it's with the Sentening Commission's statistics, not with me.

The guidelines "drive" sentencing practice only in the empty sense that they reflect the usual sentences that were given before guideline ranges were developed. Indeed, that's HOW they were developed -- from existing practice at the time the guidelines were being written.

P.S. For all your "correcting" the historical record about consideration of acquitted and uncharged conduct, you mangaged to omit the most pertinent Supreme Court case, US v. Watts, 519 U.S. 148 (1997), in which the defendant got blown out. You also bypassed the most pertinent statute, 18 U.S.C. 3577: "No limitation shall be placed on the information concerning the background, character, and conduct of a person convicted of an offense which a court of the United States may receive and consider for the purpose of imposing an appropriate sentence."

Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 18, 2011 1:40:46 PM

i loved this comment!

" Mr. Ball's enhancements would have had to be plead and proven BRD, and the resulting range would have operated just as it did pre-Booker."

Seems you all missed this part!

"More than three years ago, a federal jury acquitted Antwaun Ball on racketeering and conspiracy charges that he led a violent drug gang in the Congress Park neighborhood in Southeast Washington,"

These illegal enhancments the judge is using to up his sentence WENT to a jury and were REFUSED and he was aquitted on them. THAT makes this judge a traitor to his oath of office and eligible for execution as a traitor in wartime by any american who wants to do the job.

Posted by: rodsmith | Mar 18, 2011 2:03:55 PM

sorry bill but this is wrong!

"You also bypassed the most pertinent statute, 18 U.S.C. 3577: "No limitation shall be placed on the information concerning the background, character, and conduct of a person convicted of an offense which a court of the United States may receive and consider for the purpose of imposing an appropriate sentence."

Statue DOESN'T trump U.S. Constution that says if your not convicted of it...IT DIDNT' HAPPEN!

Posted by: rodsmith | Mar 18, 2011 2:05:59 PM

Bill to DEJ: "What's with the sarcasm?"

My guess is that the sarcasm was prompted by your purported expertise on the position of the defense bar. It gets annoying, particularly when you don't even have your facts straight (e.g., re what the defense bar's position actually was at the time of Booker).

Posted by: member of the defense bar | Mar 18, 2011 2:09:10 PM

member of the defense bar --

1. Is that your entire response?

2. Do you think I should be sarcastic when my postions are repeatedly mis-stated by defense lawyers? As, for example, when DEJ falsely implied that I'm a newcomer to the BRD remedy proposed in Stevens' Booker dissent?

3. Have you expressed any ettiquette-related qualms when Kent, federalist and I were (and are) referred to as Nazis, "torture cheerleaders," bloodlusters, barbarians, murderers and savages -- all for the "crime" of supporting the death penalty?

Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 18, 2011 2:21:45 PM

Bill,

First, it seems odd that you, of all people, are detailing the position of the defense bar and also complaining that the problem in this case is that a defendant did not get the benefit of BRD findings. Hence the sarcasm.

Second, yes, "many defense lawyers were pushing for a BRD-type remedy," and that was my point. It was the defense bar that wanted pleading and BRD findings, which would cause the resulting GL to be mandatory. It was the DOJ, conversely, who wanted advisory Guidelines. And yes, Stevens and Souter believed that the correct course in Booker was mandatory guidelines; that was the point of their dissent. My only point was that you were incorrect to attribute a contrary argument to the defense bar. Similarly, I never implied that you did not support the BRD remedy. I only asked that you acknowledge it was mainly an argument of the defense bar in Booker.

I'm guessing you have trouble understanding figurative language, since you take my "holding breath" comment literally. Here's some help for you: http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Don't+hold+your+breath

Concerning the continuing strength of the guidelines, weve been over this before. Your claim that [w]ithin range sentences are now given in slightly less than 55% of the cases is the prototypical example of a disingenuous argument, when suggesting that the guidelines are meaningless, especially after Booker. My problem, in turn, is not with the statistics, but with your selective citation of them.

In 2009, within-GL sentences accounted for about 57% of sentences. But this figure does not prove your point about the continuing significance of the guidelines post-Booker (or, in your mind, lack thereof). Lets look to see whats really going on:

57%: guideline sentences

1%: upward variance

13% downward variance

25% govt-sponsored departure

1% upward departure

3% downward departure

The reality of these statistics is that a total of only 14% of sentences were the result of post-Booker variances  not the 45% figure your post would imply. (And how many of those 14% can be attributed to guidelines that almost everyone agrees are excessive, such as crack and 2G2.2?). Even the 14% figure is inflated because many of those variances would have been departures pre-Booker, but the court characterized them as variances simply because its safer and easier to do so. Quite simply, Booker is not the bull-in-a-china-shop you hope to convey. (Oh, whoops. Theres I go again with figurative language. If you need help with that one, just google it.)

Your complain about the advisory guideline system is disparity and luck-of-the-draw sentencing. Towards that end, you conveniently leave out how 25% of the 45% non-GL sentence citation you like so much is from government-sponsored downward departures. The choice of judge has little, if anything, to do with such non-GL sentences, and again, neither does Booker.

Posted by: DEJ | Mar 18, 2011 2:48:48 PM

Concerning the P.S.:

My comment was not on the merits of using acquitted conduct. Hence, no reference to Watts or 18 USC 3577. On that subject, however, I will say there may be due process concerns, as well as a potential as-applied Sixth Amendment challenge.

To be clear, I was making two points with my comment: 1) the defense bar's position in Booker was to plead and prove BRD enhancements within the existing mandatory guideline system, and 2) any suggestion about Booker's remedy wreaking such havoc is unfounded.

Posted by: DEJ | Mar 18, 2011 2:59:51 PM

DEJ --

"...when suggesting that the guidelines are meaningless, especially after Booker."

I don't recall saying that the guidelines are "meaningless." Where was that?

Talk about attributing to people positions they don't hold. Good grief. It is true, however, that the percentage of within-range sentences is lower now than at any time in the guidelines' 24-year history. But that's something you don't tell us.

If, as you say, you were not intending to address the "merits of using acquitted conduct," then I believe you are missing what is by far the major theme of the post Doug put up.

What the defense bar says and what DOJ says are all well and good, but what Congress and the Supreme Court say is considerably more important.

I have posted about this today on Crime and Consequences, http://www.crimeandconsequences.com/crimblog/2011/03/acquitted-conduct-at-sentencin.html.

For those who wish to discuss the substantive law of using acquitted conduct, comments there are welcome, and I will address them.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 18, 2011 3:34:59 PM

"I don't recall saying that the guidelines are 'meaningless.'"

You are correct. Meaningless may have been too strong of a word. But the spirit of my comment is certainly consistent with the spirit of your frequent commentary about the post-Booker sentencing system.

"I believe you are missing what is by far the major theme of the post Doug put up"

I am grateful for Professor Berman's posts and blog. Comments, however, are sometimes meant to be responsive to other comments, as mine was to your's.

"What the defense bar says and what DOJ says are all well and good, but what Congress and the Supreme Court say is considerably more important."

Here, in response to your initial comment, we are not talking about the defense bar's or DOJ's position on acquitted conduct. We are talking about Booker's remedy (again, only because of your initial comment).

Posted by: DEJ | Mar 18, 2011 4:28:51 PM

Why does the United States Code even authorize an eighteen years plus sentence for a $600, half-ounce drug deal?

Clearly this judge abused his discretion, and clearly there is a very deep problem with any system in which acquitted conduct may be openly considered by a judge in setting a sentence.

But, Congress deserves some blame too in providing judges with ridiculously broad discretion to impose long sentences for petty crimes and relying on the Sentencing Guidelines rather than its own judgment to narrow that discretion.

Posted by: ohwilleke | Mar 18, 2011 5:59:58 PM

Thanks for your share,thanks a lot.Good luck!



Posted by: Big pony | Apr 11, 2011 7:56:57 AM

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March 17, 2014

DC Circuit gives disconcertingly short-shrift to Antwuan Ball's many significant sentencing claims

Very long time readers with very good memories may recall the array of notable post-Booker issues that surround the sentencing of Antwuan Ball following his conviction for crack distribution in Washington DC. As first noted in this prior post (from June 2008!), Ball put the government to its burden of proof concerning allegations of a massive drug conspiracy and murders; a very lengthy jury trial led to Ball being acquitted in November 2007 on every count of a massive racketeering, drug conspiracy and murder indictment save for one crack distribution count related to a $600, half-ounce, hand-to-hand crack-cocaine deal in 2001.

Fast forward to 2011 and, as reported here, the feds are urging the district judge to rely heavily on all sorts of alleged/claimed wrongdoing by Ball to impose a max statutory sentence of 40 years on the crack charge. (Significant side note: in light of the passage of the FSA and Supreme Court's subsequent Dorsey ruling, I am not sure 40 years was in fact the proper stat-max for Ball, but more on that point later.)

Relying on the prosecution's allegations that Ball was the leader of a huge crack consipracy (claims which the jury rejected), the district judge apparently calculated Ball's guideline sentence range to be 292 to 365 months (though again, due to the FSA, I am not sure that was the right guideline range circa March 2011). This NACDL amicus brief filed in January 2013 indicates that Ball's guideline range would have been only 51 to 71 months absent consideration of acquitted conduct.

As reported here, District Judge Richard Roberts at sentencing declared that he "saw clear evidence of a drug conspiracy [and imposed on Ball a 225-month prison sentence] for his conviction of the 2001 hand-to-hand drug transaction." At the time of Ball's 2011 sentencing, I noted here that I was quite pleased the acquitted conduct issues preserved in this notable case, and I suggested "some circuit has to question at least the substantive reasonableness of a sentence that is greatly elevated on the basis of acquitted conduct."

Now fast forward exactly three more years, and I find myself quite disturbed and troubled by how the acquitted conduct issues (and other issues) were given seemingly quite short shrift by a panel of the DC Circuit in its ruling late last week in US v. Jones, No. 08-3033 (DC Cir. Mar. 14, 2014) (available here).

For starters, as I read the panel opinion in Jones, I find myself persistently wondering whether and how the district court at Ball's 2011 sentencing may have been influenced by the pre-FSA crack statutes and guidelines before the Supreme Court in Dorsey subsequently made clear that post-FSA rules should apply to all post-FSA sentencings. This issue is not discussed in the Jones opinion (and perhaps it was not raised/preserved), but uncertainty about the application of the FSA at the time of sentencing might arguably alone be reason enough to require resentencing for Ball.

More fundamentally, to reject Ball's acquitted conduct claims, the DC Circuit opinion in Jones only cites to (now dated) post-Booker precedents from all the circuits via this discussion (my emphasis added):

Although we understand why appellants find sentencing based on acquitted conduct unfair, binding precedent of this court establishes that the practice does not violate the Sixth Amendment when the conduct is established by a preponderance of the evidence and the sentence does not exceed the statutory maximum for the crime. See United States v. Settles, 530 F.3d 920, 923-24 (D.C. Cir. 2008) (citing United States v. Watts, 519 U.S. 148, 156-57 (1997) (per curiam)); Dorcely, 454 F.3d at 371 [D.C. Cir. 2006] ([A] sentencing court may base a sentence on acquitted conduct without offending the defendants Sixth Amendment right to trial by jury.). This is true even when consideration of the acquitted conduct multiplies a defendants sentence severalfold. See Dorcely, 454 F.3d at 370-71. Appellants, in effect, ask us to reconsider Settles and Dorcely. But not only do those decisions bind us, no subsequent decision by the Supreme Court or another circuit calls their validity into question. Cf. FED. R. APP. P. 35(b)(1) (suggesting contrary decisions by the Supreme Court or by another court of appeals as grounds for en banc review). Indeed, since the Supreme Court struck down the mandatory federal sentencing guidelines and freed judges to exercise broad discretion in imposing a sentence within a statutory range, United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 233, 243-44 (2005), every numbered circuit has addressed the constitutionality of sentencing based on acquitted conduct, and each one has reached the same conclusion reached by this court. See United States v. White, 551 F.3d 381, 384-86 (6th Cir. 2008) (en banc); United States v. Mercado, 474 F.3d 654, 656-58 (9th Cir. 2007) (collecting cases from every numbered circuit but the Sixth).

I have emphasized a phrase from the middle of this paragraph because I actually believe there are at least two SCOTUS rulings since the DC Circuit addressed this issue in Settles and Dorcely that arguably "calls their validity into question." Specifically, just from 2013, the Supreme Court's Peugh decision (basics here) and especially its Alleyne decision (basics here and here) provide a reasonable basis to question the continued validity of severe acquitted conduct guideline enhancements. A fair reading of Alleyne suggests that judicial fact-finding as to facts which "alter the prescribed range of sentences to which a defendant is exposed and do so in a manner that aggravates the punishment" can be constitutional problematic even if these facts do not raise the applicable statutory maximum sentence.

Critically, I am not asserting that the 2013 SCOTUS rulings Peugh and/or Alleyne now require reversal of old circuit precedents upholding major acquitted conduct enhancements. But I do strongly believe that 2013 SCOTUS rulings Peugh and/or Alleyne raise significant new questions about old circuit precedents upholding major acquitted conduct enhancements. Consequently, I find this cursory treatment of what strikes me as a significant sentencing issue in a significant case to be disconcerting.

That all said, perhaps the "optimistic" way to read this opinion is as an invitation to Ball and others to see en banc review of old circuit precedent upholding major acquitted conduct enhancements. At the very least, given that Ball still likely has a decade in federal prison left for his $600, half-ounce, hand-to-hand crack-cocaine deal in 2001, I hope he seriously considers pursuing further appeals of his sentence.

Some old posts on the Ball case and acquitted conduct sentencing enhancements:

March 17, 2014 at 01:31 PM | Permalink

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Doug --

Last week, you put up a Ninth Circuit case containing this wise language:

The Supreme Court has cautioned courts of appeals against concluding that recent cases have, by implication, overruled an earlier precedent. Agostini v. Felton, 521 U.S. 203, 237 (1997). Thus, [i]f a precedent of [the Supreme] Court has direct application in a case, yet appears to rest on reasons rejected in some other line of decisions, the Court of Appeals should follow the case which directly controls, leaving to [the Supreme] Court the prerogative of overruling its own decisions. Rodriguez de Quijas v. Shearson/Am. Express, Inc., 490 U.S. 477, 484 (1989). ###

I believe that is fatal to your view that, "I am not asserting that the 2013 SCOTUS rulings Peugh and/or Alleyne now require reversal of old circuit precedents upholding major acquitted conduct enhancements. But I do strongly believe that 2013 SCOTUS rulings Peugh and/or Alleyne raise significant new questions about old circuit precedents upholding major acquitted conduct enhancements. Consequently, I find this cursory treatment of what strikes me as a significant sentencing issue in a significant case to be disconcerting....That all said, perhaps the "optimistic" way to read this opinion is as an invitation to Ball and others to see[k] en banc review of old circuit precedent upholding major acquitted conduct enhancements."

As the Ninth Circuit correctly noted, a court of appeals, whether sitting en banc or otherwise, is in no position to depart from Watts, which is the basis of prior DC Circuit precedent. If that is to be done, it will have to be by SCOTUS.

But SCOTUS won't do it either. The die was cast on this issue in Booker, where, in order to accept the remedy of making the guidelines advisory only, the Court expressly rejected the alternative remedy of requiring Apprendi/Blakely proof BRD.

The defense bar can't have its cake and eat it too: Getting mandatory guidelines neutered (resulting, predictably, in more downward departures), AND requiring proof of sentencing facts BRD.

Personally, I would have preferred the BRD remedy, for the reasons brilliantly stated by Justices Stevens (writing) and Scalia, et al., dissenting from the remedial portion of Booker. But I didn't have a vote.

If we are to preserve the long-existing and Booker-chosen rule of proof of sentencing facts by a preponderance of the evidence (the same standard that is used to decide, for example, suppression motions), then Judge Roberts, and the DC Circuit, got this right.

Finally, I would add that, under Booker, Gall and Kimbrough, it makes no difference what the Commission says about the permissibility vel non of relying on acquitted conduct, or by what standard such conduct must be proved. After those opinions, the views of the Commission -- which is part of the judicial branch but not a court -- may be disregarded by sentencing judges.

P.S. I'm also willing to make one of my now-infamous bets that SCOTUS does not grant cert on the standard of proof question in this case. Are we on?



Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 17, 2014 2:16:21 PM

Doug--we argued that Peugh and Alleyne help a defendant in a case such as this, where my client (Ball) and his co-defendants were sentenced by judge-made findings that they had committed the elements of another offense (conspiracy), of which they had been acquitted. The Circuit suggested taking it up with the Supreme Court. We will do that. And we will reach out to interested readers/scholars/groups to join us. At the Circuit level we were favored with an excellent amicus from NACDL/Nat'l Ass'n Fed Defenders and ACLU National Capital Region, authored by Jeffrey Green. I welcome input from you and your readers.

Posted by: Steve Leckar | Mar 17, 2014 2:27:13 PM

Was an as-applied Sixth Amendment challenge raised to the D.C. Circuit? Seems to me one of the best cases to make the argument.

Posted by: DEJ | Mar 17, 2014 2:49:01 PM

well bill I think that granting any sentence enhancement to anyone using so-called aquitted or unconvicted conduct is a unconstitutional crime committed against anyone. Sorry from what I see the DA and the Judge are the bigger criminals here and since they have a constitutional duty to uphold the law are now guilty of that so-called unconvicted crime which should bring summary execution.

as for this bit of criminal stupidity!

"District Judge Richard Roberts at sentencing declared that he "saw clear evidence of a drug conspiracy [and imposed on Ball a 225-month prison sentence] for his conviction of the 2001 hand-to-hand drug transaction."

someone might want to remind this criminal fuckup it's not HIS JOB to see the evidence. It's his job to decide what evidence goes before the JURY. it's THEIR job to decide to belive it or not.

the ONLY time he get's to see the evidence and render a decision on it that effects a post conviction sentence is during a BENCH TRIAL.

absent that he's a CRIMINAL maybe he should get the 225 months for that. oh wait. he's a sitting justice who's off his rocker and in violation of his oath of office. that's a nice 2 or 3 step enhancement. let's make it 1,000 months.

Posted by: rodsmith | Mar 17, 2014 3:27:04 PM

All fair points, Bill, though Watts plainly did NOT address a Sixth Amendment claim and Booker expressly distinguished it on that ground. Ergo, an as-applied Sixth Amendment claim is, technically, an open question. (And yes, DEJ, this claim based on Scalia's dicta in Rita was expressly raised (and expressly rejected) by the DC Circuit panel.)

More importantly, Bill, to the extent SCOTUS in Peugh concluded that even advisory guidelines have constitutional significance/import for purposes of the ex post facto clause because, as the majority put it, "the Guidelines [are still] the lodestone of sentencing," then advisory guideline calculations might still implicate the Sixth Amendment, especially if/when these calculations, in the words of Alleyne, dramatically "alter the prescribed range of sentences to which a defendant is exposed and do so in a manner that aggravates the punishment."

Critically, Bill, I think the story here --- both for constitutional and statutory purposes --- should be nuanced based on whether we are dealing with uncharged or acquitted conduct. As you have often said in this setting when we talk about the coercive force of charging MMs and other prosecutorial powers through charging/bargaining, the ultimate protection for defendants is to go to trial and raise reasonable doubt about the feds allegations. In this case, this is exactly what Ball did --- and yet he still gets hammered with an additional decade in prison because a (Clinton appointed) judge who was a prosecutor before becoming a judge is inclined to believe prosecutors more than a jury is.

You are the one, Bill, eager to have prosecutors eat their cake by being able to threaten extreme charges and back that up with a reality that the defendant will still get hammered even if a jury categorically rejects those charges at a trial. You also do not want to trust judges to exercise sentencing discretion, but do want them to have fact-finding authority. That is truly a bizarro-world of constitutional procedure that only a prosecutor who trusts government bureaucrats (and surely not a Founding Father) would be eager to embrace.

Posted by: Doug B. | Mar 17, 2014 5:42:30 PM

While procedurally correct (preponderance is all that is required, there is no explicit exception for acquitted conduct), the outcome here is questionable given Alleyne. The judge clearly "aggravat[ed] the punishment" by things specifically rejected by the jury. The proportionality of the upward variance is telling. I missed it, what was his criminal history score?

1B1.3 shenanigans are rarely surprising and were rarely worth litigating prior to Alleyne. I'd definitely like to see cert on this.

Posted by: Skeptical | Mar 17, 2014 6:06:48 PM

"The die was cast on this issue in Booker..."

The die is never cast. If it were, there wouldn't be a Booker.

Posted by: Michael Drake | Mar 17, 2014 8:35:21 PM

Acquitted conduct or uncharged relavent conduct, my option both are a crock.

My all time favorite cluster. Xxxx. Is Duck hunter gets 30 yrs. it was quite a fiasco on this guy.

He wasn't a sweet heart for sure. But 30 yrs essentially for a felond in passion of. Gun.

The guy took his Remington 870 and shot some ducks. Then oh yeah by the way, your are now an ACCA. Oh by the way, you apparently sent some pipe bombs to his old girl friends house. We are going to double it to 30 yrs.

Must have been old ex fed judge jack camp, maybe he was hungover from a coke binge the night before. I know it wasn't him. But what the hey, it's a mess. Ask holder to fix that one.

By the way what job is he after next, that's why he's greasing the wheel on drug sentencing. My opinion.

Posted by: MidWestguy | Mar 17, 2014 9:02:53 PM

Michael Drake --

"The die is never cast."

I believe what you mean to say is that die is never PERMANENTLY cast.

And in that you are mostly correct. I would think, though, that Brown v. Board, for example, is going to be around for a long, long time.

The cast die in this setting is the Supreme Court's decision in the remedial part of Booker to preserve the real offense system embraced by the SRA, in the terms that Congress understood that system to use. Those terms were judge-found facts at sentencing.

At the time SCOTUS handed down Booker, Apprendi and Blakely were settled law, and the alternative of requiring a BRD standard for sentencing facts was squarely before the Court. It was equally squarely rejected. With the Court's present membership, it's going to stay rejected (Roberts, Alito, Kennedy, Ginsburg and Breyer).

But if you think differently, I'll offer you the same bet I offered Doug.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 17, 2014 9:52:44 PM

skept where did you find this bit of crap?

"While procedurally correct (preponderance is all that is required, there is no explicit exception for acquitted conduct), "

there certainly is an explicit exception for acquitted conduct. It's called BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT!

the jury acquitted. Therefore they DOUBTED THE EVIDENCE. therefore any judge who uses it to enhance a sentence is in fact and law a CRIMINAL.

Posted by: rodsmith | Mar 17, 2014 11:39:01 PM

rodsmith,

Sentencing enhancements carry a lesser burden than guilt or innocence (beyond a reasonable doubt). The concept is broadly named "Relevant Conduct", and was meant to ensure a defendant's "real offense conduct" would be considered by the sentencing judge, not just whatever the individual plead guilty to. You may Google "1B1.3 relevant conduct" if you want to review some law on it. As this issue demonstrates, the way "relevant conduct" is parsed by the judge or even included in the PSR (presentence report) is very government friendly.

Posted by: Skeptical | Mar 18, 2014 3:38:38 AM

Steve,

As you are aware the facts here are quite sympathetic to a Supreme Court challenge, but framing the issue requires some nuance.

As I think you are aware, this is some natural disconnect between caselaw which finds the sentencing guidelines "law" for certain purposes - ex post facto situations, if I recall correctly - and yet merely advisory for purposes of the Sixth Amendment. This creates an irreconcilable conflict as to the true nature of the sentencing guidelines that has been left unaddressed. This would be how I would focus any cert petition.

The nuance comes in framing a solution to the problem. The Supreme Court won't go for a solution where the jury has to decide every enhancement. And I think it will be hard to find a principled distinction between acquitted conduct and uncharged conduct. The only solutions I see at first blush involve either:

a) blowing up the current guidelines entirely, by not permitting enhancements based on felonious conduct that could have been part of an indictment but either was not brought or for which there was an acquittal;

or

b) requiring the sentencing guidelines to put more emphasis on the statutory range itself, so that the difference between being acquitted of conduct and being convicted becomes itself relevant other than simply setting an outer boundary.

The more honest approach would be to attack the constitutionality of some of these statutory ranges themselves as grossly disproportionate. But unfortunately, that would be tilting at windmills given the current precedent and makeup of the Court.

Posted by: Justin | Mar 18, 2014 11:48:57 AM

Justin --

I'm not on your side, but it's a true pleasure to read something about law as opposed to persons, and to read something analytically adept.

To my way of thinking, both solutions (a) and (b) are more legislative in character than the Court would feel comfortable doing. I just doubt the defense can win this issue as long as the Court is willing to buy a real offense system of sentencing, and I don't see any great reason to believe that the majority is ready to depart from the compromise the Court reached in the remedial part of Booker.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 18, 2014 2:34:57 PM

Professor Berman:

I appreciate your response to Mr. Otis, but I think part of the problem is the limits of what a jury's verdict says. A "not guilty" might indeed mean, as you say, that the jury "rejected" the idea that the Defendant did, in fact, commit the offense. But it might mean (and, in my admittedly limited experience, more often does mean) a host of things that are entirely consistent with using the Defendant's conduct: perhaps they thought him "probably" guilty, but not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; perhaps they engaged in nullification, perhaps they disapproved of the police's tactics, or any number of a hundred things. We don't know why the jury in Ball's case found him not guilty, and I think that's key to the question of whether that conduct should be used.

Posted by: GP | Mar 18, 2014 4:28:08 PM

GP --

Correct. The only thing we know for sure from a not guilty verdict is that the 12 jurors were unwilling to say, unanimously, that they were convinced by the evidence admitted in court that the government proved every element of the charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt.

The OJ Simpson case is a perfect example. No normal person I have spoken to thinks Simpson didn't do it, and a civil jury found him responsible for both killings. The acquittal is a legal fact, and an important one, but it is not a fact about what happened outside the courtroom.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 18, 2014 4:38:32 PM

Skeptical:

The Supreme Court just held in Rosemond v. United States:

"We hold that the Government makes its [aider and abettor] case by proving that the defendant actively participated in the underlying . . . crime with advance knowledge that a confederate would [to extend the case beyond 924(c) offenses read: do the criminal act] during the [primary]crimes commission."

This suggests to me the Supreme Court does not buy into the Sentencing Commission's now advisory, definition of "relevant conduct." I am presently arguing in all of my cases that 1B1.3 is overbroad in light of Rosemond --that Rosemond--not 1B1.3 provides the permissible scope of "relevant conduct."

Posted by: ? | Mar 18, 2014 9:53:49 PM

Bill:

Since, "The acquittal is a legal fact, and an important one, but it is not a fact about what happened outside the courtroom."

Would you also agree the "The conviction is a legal fact, and an important one, but it is not a fact about what happened outside the courtroom."

If not, why not?

Posted by: ? | Mar 18, 2014 9:57:31 PM

actually skept I don't need to go to google. the united states of America's constitution says if your not charged; tried and either convicted of plead out to something IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. at least as far as that individual is concerned sorry but last time I looked no law trumps constitution no matter what those 9 retards on the USSC try and creatively interpet.

they lost me and what little scemplence of legality they had when they creatively interpreted

"no expost"

to suddenly after almost 200 years to be no "EXCEPT' fill in the blank.

sorry they can't legally do that.

and GP as for this!

"But it might mean (and, in my admittedly limited experience, more often does mean) a host of things that are entirely consistent with using the Defendant's conduct: perhaps they thought him "probably" guilty, but not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; perhaps they engaged in nullification, perhaps they disapproved of the police's tactics, or any number of a hundred things."

there is a reason for this. our founders thought we have real citizens not a bunch of sheeple or retards.

that's why they gave 2 choices to a jury.

GUILTY

or

NOT GUILTY!

when added to the states burden to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

if it's anything but GUILTY. That is prositive proof that the state did NOT prove their case. Therefore under our constitution they are now legally innocent of that charge and it is GONE!

Anyone now trying to use it to punish then is now not only a CRIMINAL in their own right but if they are an agent of the govt they are a traitor to their oath of office and subject to summary execution by any American who wants to do the job.

Posted by: rodsmith | Mar 19, 2014 2:18:28 AM

? --

Because an acquittal reflects a reasonable doubt about what the defendant did out of court, and a conviction reflects no reasonable doubt about what the defendant did out of court.

Was that supposed to be hard?

Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 19, 2014 3:12:39 AM

? --

"This suggests to me the Supreme Court does not buy into the Sentencing Commission's now advisory, definition of "relevant conduct." I am presently arguing in all of my cases that 1B1.3 is overbroad in light of Rosemond --that Rosemond--not 1B1.3 provides the permissible scope of 'relevant conduct.'"

1. And how many times has that argument prevailed?

2. Do you argue that your clients should be sentenced based on the whole of their life and behavior? If not, fine, but that would make you the exception among defense lawyers. If so, why should the sentencing judge regard "all of their life and behavior" to mean "all of their life and behavior except the bad parts"?

Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 19, 2014 3:19:08 AM

If you consider civil cases or any case with a preponderance standard, you regularly see defense verdicts returned by the fact finder. Now while I acknowledge that there are many material differences between civil cases, broadly defined, and contested federal criminal sentencing hearings which address acquitted conduct, you would expect to see at least a few examples of where the sentencing judge finds that the government, in addition to failing to prove the crime BRD, also failed to prove the acquitted conduct by a preponderance of the evidence. (Personally I know of only one example.) It seems that sentencing judges automatically find the government has proven the acquitted conduct by a preponderance in 99.99% of the cases. Acquitted conduct would be less of an issue if sentencing judges occasionally found that the government had failed to prove acquitted conduct by a preponderance.

Posted by: Fred | Mar 19, 2014 10:03:02 AM

Bill:

1. Rosemond was issued March 5, 2014. So, do your really think that measuring how many times "that argument has prevailed" in the last 14 days is a good measure of its merit?

2. "Relevant conduct" as used in 1B1.3 does not incorporate the whole of a client's life and behavior. I often argue that sentencing should be based on what my client actively participated in relation to the offense of conviction--not what a co-defendant did that my client didn't know about. To address your question, I struggle with the issue of whether meritocracy is a valid sentencing consideration in all cases. So, the answer is sometimes I do and sometimes I don't advocate that a client be judged for a particular offense based on all of their life and behavior including all the bad parts. For the most part I believe people are capable of change--even incapacitation theory (as evidenced by mandatory minimum sentencing regimes) recognizes that as prisoners get older they are less likely to engage in serious misconduct. The primary indicator that clients' have changed for the better is when they say to their lawyers, judges and prosecutors "I'm tired" meaning I'm tired of doing time. There is no magic age, they could be in their 20's, 30's, or 40's when the light comes on. Those defendants, in my experience, rarely recidivate.

Posted by: ? | Mar 19, 2014 10:21:19 AM

? --

1. Let me know if/when you win on that Rosemond argument. That is not sarcastic; I'd actually like to know. I suspect it will be a long day in December, but I will stand to be corrected, depending on your results.

2. Fair enough. Although "change" in the sense I was using that word means something different from "gets old and runs out of steam." As I was using it, it means, "changes his conscience and his way of looking at his obligations to society."

3. I believe you were the commenter who was quite unhappy that I used the phrase, "anonymous guttersnipe." We've now had an anonymous poster (he calls himself "Tom") who has called my wife a kapo, meaning a Jewish concentration camp prisoner who turned on other Jews and helped the Nazis. It seems to me that that fully justifies my use of the phrase "anonymous guttersnipe." Do you disagree? Or are family members of commenters fair game for anonymous anti-Semitic slurs?

Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 19, 2014 11:49:39 AM

Bill:

Requiring defendant to change "his conscience and in way of looking at his obligations to society" skirts very close to "thought police" activities. I am satisfied with the person who stops committing offenses -- their hearts and minds are for another day.

The beauty and ugliness of the internet is the ability to opine anonymously. I am a defense lawyer, I got a thick skin, getting mad detracts from getting the job done. The way you fight the "Toms" of the world is to not let them deter you. Simply recognize when someone goes ad hominen it detracts from the force of their argument. I don't know, don't care, and believe it doesn't matter if either your or your wife are Jewish. I'll tell you I am not sure if "Kapo" is anti-Semitic because one person's "cooperating witness" is another person's "Snitch" or Norwegian person's "Quisling" or a French person's "collaborator." All of these terms seem to have in common the theme of helping/assisting/supporting those who are in power by someone who is not in power. Probably an "us versus them" dichotomy. As to your use of the term guttersnipe, I am unsure how one determines from internet postings how an anonymous blogger is a guttersnipe i.e., " a scruffy and badly behaved child who spends most of their time on the streets." I might be anonymous but I am not a child and I spend most of my time in my office or in court. I think we should all avoid ad hominem arguments and focus on the merits and demerits of the myriad sentencing issues our secular Republic faces on a daily basis.

Posted by: ? | Mar 19, 2014 4:22:18 PM

? --

1. I have no intention of "requiring" the inmate to change his way of thinking, although that is what rehabilitation -- generally regarded as highly desirable -- is virtually always thought to mean. But if he doesn't change it, that shows he has learned nothing and cares nothing about the harm he did in committing the crime. That in turn legitimately affects the determination whether and when he should be released.

If someone wants to belt me over the head with a tire iron to get my wallet, and thinks that's an OK way to behave -- and then CONTINUES to think that way notwithstanding his conviction and sentence -- then I'd have to out of my mind to want to see him back on the street all that soon, wouldn't I?

2. I agree that people should have a reasonably thick skin and be able to roll with the punches. But going after commenters' FAMILY MEMBERS is a new low, and to go after them by saying that they are kapos is especially vile, since a kapo is a coward and traitor to his own people who sells out the helpless for better treatment for himself. To aim that insult to a Jew is appalling.

If behavior like that does not get strongly condemned, by, for example, having commenters of all ideological stripes denounce the person doing it just as Micheal R. Levine did, then what's going to happen is that people who want to put up their thoughts here will just go elsewhere, to sites where that kind of stuff is not tolerated (Crime and Consequences is one such site, and there are many others). That will be a loss to the quality and diversity of this board. It doesn't have to happen, and it shouldn't happen.

But that's only part of the problem. A certain minimal level of decency is per se due anyone you're talking to. I would never have thought of addressing a defendant or his lawyer with anything like that, ever. It is not acceptable in normal, adult discourse.

I am not using the term guttersnipe in its literal sense -- if I were, it would be too good for "Tom." What I am saying is that people who employ Internet anonymity to be able to employ insults like that without accountability should be condemned, shunned and effectively banished.

There is no excuse for it, none.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 19, 2014 5:41:09 PM

ouch bill. that was harsh but very very appropriate. I agree completely

Posted by: rodsmith | Mar 20, 2014 3:24:51 PM

rodsmith --

Thanks. I should add that you are one of only three people who condemned it, although the entire board certainly must know it's way below the line.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 20, 2014 3:56:21 PM

Bill, Brown v. Board was actually in the initial draft of my comment. It's an apt example, and I take it you approve of the decision.

But, as you might have put it at the time, "the die was cast" in Plessy. And so a string of litigants had to make a loser argument against it many times before that argument could finally become a winner in 1954.

So of course anyone on the scene before Sweatt who derisively shouted "Bet me!" would have been on the right side of the wager; but they would have been on the wrong side of history. Which side would you have rather been on?

Posted by: Michael Drake | Mar 20, 2014 5:51:38 PM

Michael Drake --

It's all true. Culture and law can change after seven or eight or nine decades.

If I said anything leading you to believe that I don't know this obvious, but for any practical purpose utterly irrelevant, fact, I'm so, so sorry.

Meanwhile, do you approve or disapprove of disgusting insults being directed to my wife? Yes, I know you're not the board policeman. But you have opinions about many things, and I would like to know your opinion of that.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 21, 2014 12:00:56 AM

You misunderstand the point. But anyway, no, I don't approve of even mild insults being directed at your wife. I hope that helps.

Posted by: Michael Drake | Mar 22, 2014 3:45:53 PM

Michael Drake --

If the point was that history is inevitably on the side of whatever liberals want right now, the point is wrong. See, e.g., Gregg (effectively reviving the death penalty after Furman); Payne v. Tennessee (overruling Booth and Gathers and permitting the use of victim impact statements even in capital cases).

As to your disapproval of insults being directed to my or anyone's family members: Thank you.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 22, 2014 11:33:45 PM

No, the point was just to have you look at your wager through a lens that would help you see how irrelevant it is to those who've made a career choice to represent the underdog.

Posted by: Michael Drake | Mar 23, 2014 12:59:42 AM

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Sports & Recreation, Nature & Weather, Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Politics

By Long Island News & PR Published: July 24 2018

Assemblyman Thiele: "I am pleased to see that the DEC is keeping its promise to support a vital Long Island industry that is getting choked out by poor regulation."

Long Island, NY - July 24, 2018 - Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. and State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle today announced that the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will host a series of meetings in July and August to gather feedback from key stakeholders about the States current commercial fishing licensing system and ideas for reforms to modernize and improve the program.

Assemblyman Thiele and Senator LaValle brought this issue into focus last year when, in the State Legislature, they blocked the DEC from continuing the current archaic commercial fishing licensing scheme for another three years. As a compromise, the licensing scheme was limited to one (1) year and DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos agreed to come to Long Island last fall to meet with members of commercial fishing industry.

At that meeting, the industry unanimously supported two demands: 1) Challenge the federal quotas; and 2) Reform the commercial fishing licensing system to improve access and transferability of licenses. The Commissioner promised action.

Assemblyman Thiele stated, I am pleased to see that the DEC is keeping its promise to support a vital Long Island industry that is getting choked out by poor regulation. Commercial fishermen have long suffered from unfair and inequitable quotas arbitrarily set by the federal government based on faulty data. Additionally, the current regulations related to the transfer of permits and licenses have thwarted the proper operation of this industry.

"We must resolve these issues with our fishing community at the table in full participation. The economic survival of our commercial fishermen must be our ultimate priority. I, too, applaud the DEC's efforts to fight for fair and equitable quotas and will continue my efforts to protect this vital industry," said Senator LaValle.

In March, the DEC retained the services of marine fisheries consultant George LaPointe, who will facilitate the meetings. A former Commissioner of the Maine Department of Natural Resources, Mr. LaPointe will analyze and evaluate the current marine commercial licensing system and provide recommendations on how to improve and revise it. The topics to be addressed include, specifying qualifications for license issuance; license transferability; identifying means of entry for new participants in New Yorks fisheries; apprenticeship; and resolution of the latent licenses issue.

There are several meetings scheduled throughout Long Island, including two on the East End:

Thursday, August 2, 2018, 6:00 PM

Southampton Town Hall (first floor)

116 Hampton Road

Southampton , New York 11968

Tuesday, August 21, 2018, 6:00 PM

Suffolk County Marine Environmental Learning Center

3690 Cedar Beach Road

Southold , New York 11971

For an updated list of meeting notices, including Montauk, visit DECs website at http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/7755.html . DEC will accept comments on the Marine Commercial Licensing System until September 15, 2018. Comments can be submitted by email to FW.Marine@dec.ny.gov with subject line GLP Permits, or by mail to Maureen Davidson, NYSDEC, 205 Belle Mead Road, Suite #1, East Setauket , NY 11733.
Local News, Business & Finance, Community, Charity & Cause

By Long Island News & PR Published: July 24 2018

NCBA volunteer attorneys meet one-on-one with homeowners to discuss their particular situation.

Mineola, NY - July 24, 2018 - As a free community service to help those fearful of losing their homes, the Nassau County Bar Association offers Free Legal Mortgage Foreclosure Consultation Clinics. Held twice a month to meet the demand, the next two clinics are scheduled for Monday, August 6 and Monday, August 20, 2018, 3 - 6 p.m., at the Nassau County Bar Association, located on 15th Street at the corner of West Street in As a free community service to help those fearful of losing their homes, the Nassau County Bar Association offers Free Legal Mortgage Foreclosure Consultation Clinics. Held twice a month to meet the demand, the next two clinics are scheduled for Monday, August 6 and Monday, August 20, 2018, 3 - 6 p.m., at the Nassau County Bar Association, located on 15th Street at the corner of West Street in Mineola , two blocks south of the bus and train stations.

NCBA volunteer attorneys meet one-on-one with homeowners to discuss their particular situation. Resources and agencies are available immediately in the same room for additional help for mortgage modifications, loan restructuring, bankruptcy questions and financial planning. Currently, each clinic held twice a month averages 30 - 40 homeowners, signifying that foreclosure continues to be prevalent in Nassau.

Attorneys fluent in Spanish are on site. Attorneys bi-lingual in many other languages, including Russian, Haitian Creole, Korean, Chinese, Hindi and American Sign Language, may be requested when making reservations.

To make an appointment for the next free clinic, call the Bar Association at 516-747-4070. Language translation is available. Attendees are asked to bring their mortgage documents or other important papers and correspondence.

NCBA's Mortgage Foreclosure Project is funded through the NYS Attorney General Homeownership Protection Program (known as HOPP) and grants.

About the Nassau County Bar Association
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October 14, 2014

Three Justices dissent from denial of certiorari in Jones/Ball acquitted conduct case

I am very disappointed to have to report that this morning the Supreme Court denied certiorari review in the notable federal drug sentencing case from DC involving Antwan Ball and his co-defendants concerning judicial fact-finding to increase a federal guideline sentence contrary to a jury acquittal. As I noted in this post last week, Jones v. US, No. 13-10026, was relisted by the Justices after their "long conference." Now today's SCOTUS order list has at the very end the news that cert has been denied in Jones v. US, No. 13-10026, with a three-page dissent from that decision authored by Justice Scalia and joined by Justices Thomas and Ginsburg. Mega-bummer!!!

Here is the bulk of Justice Scalia's dissent from the denial of cert in Jones (with emphasis in the original):

A jury convicted petitioners Joseph Jones, Desmond Thurston, and Antwuan Ball of distributing very small amounts of crack cocaine, and acquitted them of conspiring to distribute drugs. The sentencing judge, however, found that they had engaged in the charged conspiracy and, relying largely on that finding, imposed sentences that petitioners say were many times longer than those the Guidelines would otherwise have recommended. Petitioners present a strong case that, but for the judges finding of fact, their sentences would have been substantively unreasonable and therefore illegal. See Rita v. United States, 551 U.S. 338, 372 (2007) (SCALIA, J., joined by THOMAS, J., concurring in part and concurring in judgment). If so, their constitutional rights were violated. The Sixth Amendment, together with the Fifth Amendments Due Process Clause, requires that each element of a crime be either admitted by the defendant, or proved to the jury beyond a reasonable doubt. Alleyne v. United States, 570 U. S. ___, ___ (2013) (slip op., at 3). Any fact that increases the penalty to which a defendant is exposed constitutes an element of a crime, Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 483, n. 10, 490 (2000), and must be found by a jury, not a judge, Cunningham v. California, 549 U. S. 270, 281 (2007). We have held that a substantively unreasonable penalty is illegal and must be set aside. Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007). It unavoidably follows that any fact necessary to prevent a sentence from being substantively unreasonable  thereby exposing the defendant to the longer sentence  is an element that must be either admitted by the defendant or found by the jury. It may not be found by a judge. For years, however, we have refrained from saying so. In Rita v. United States, we dismissed the possibility of Sixth Amendment violations resulting from substantive reasonableness review as hypothetical and not presented by the facts of the case. We thus left for another day the question whether the Sixth Amendment is violated when courts impose sentences that, but for a judge-found fact, would be reversed for substantive unreasonableness. 551 U.S., at 353; see also id., at 366 (Stevens, J., joined in part by GINSBURG, J., concurring) (Such a hypothetical case should be decided if and when it arises). Nonetheless, the Courts of Appeals have uniformly taken our continuing silence to suggest that the Constitution does permit otherwise unreasonable sentences supported by judicial factfinding, so long as they are within the statutory range.... This has gone on long enough. The present petition presents the nonhypothetical case the Court claimed to have been waiting for. And it is a particularly appealing case, because not only did no jury convict these defendants of the offense the sentencing judge thought them guilty of, but a jury acquitted them of that offense. Petitioners were convicted of distributing drugs, but acquitted of conspiring to distribute drugs. The sentencing judge found that petitioners had engaged in the conspiracy of which the jury acquitted them. The Guidelines, petitioners claim, recommend sentences of between 27 and 71 months for their distribution convictions. But in light of the conspiracy finding, the court calculated much higher Guidelines ranges, and sentenced Jones, Thurston, and Ball to 180, 194, and 225 months imprisonment. On petitioners appeal, the D. C. Circuit held that even if their sentences would have been substantively unreasonable but for judge-found facts, their Sixth Amendment rights were not violated. 744 F. 3d 1362, 1369 (2014). We should grant certiorari to put an end to the unbroken string of cases disregarding the Sixth Amendment  or to eliminate the Sixth Amendment difficulty by acknowledging that all sentences below the statutory maximum are substantively reasonable.

I am especially disappointed that Justice Scalia and his joiners here could not garner one more vote to grant cert from any of the newer Justices who came on the Court after Blakely and Booker became the Sixth Amendment law of the land. Of course, Justice Alito has frequently shown his disaffinity for expanding the Sixth Amendment rights recognized in those cases. But Chief Justice Roberts joined the Blakely gang in applying (and arguably expanding) Sixth Amendment rights in Cunningham v. California and Justices Sotomayor and Kagan have "shown empathy" for defendants seeking expanded applications of the Sixth Amendment in more recent cases such as Alleyne. As I will explain in a future post, anyone (like me) hoping that Justices Sotomayor and Kagan might end up being even more committed to defendants' procedural rights at sentencing has to be deeply troubled by their disinclination to provide a fourth vote for granting cert in Jones.

Previous related posts on this case and acquitted conduct sentencing enhancements:

October 14, 2014 at 09:58 AM | Permalink

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One vote short of the four votes needed to grant Certiorari.

Posted by: Jim Gormley | Oct 14, 2014 10:00:49 AM

I understand Breyer's intransigence since he's been locked into acquitted conduct as the cornerstone of the USSG since the very beginning, but I'm totally at a loss to understand where Sotomayor and Kagan are on this. The split of the Justices (and seeming lack of courage and intellectual honesty) here is beyond ironic.

Posted by: Stan Adelman | Oct 14, 2014 10:27:47 AM

Perhaps someone's (or some-two's) worried about how a vote on the merits would come out . . .

Posted by: SH | Oct 14, 2014 10:37:46 AM

I think you are right, SH, but just elevating the debate by having this before SCOTUS would be very valuable and might even "shame" Justices like Kennedy or even Roberts to reconsider Watts.

Ultimately, as I will say in a coming post, I think Justices like Breyer, Kennedy and Roberts realize that taking up a case like this --- especially if/when the ruling below might be affirmed --- would give the court a(nother) black eye. I suspect Breyer Kennedy and Roberts, perhaps at the same time they made Sotomayor and Kagan happy by denying cert in the SS marriage cases, requested that Sotomayor and Kagan vote to deny in this case for the time being.

Posted by: Doug B. | Oct 14, 2014 11:18:32 AM

This may seem puzzling to many, at least those not SCOTUS-philes, with regard to the political makeup of the justices involved in the cert-denial / dissent of cert denial scuffle.

Scalia is not, last I heard, pro criminal, and Kagen / Sotomayor / Breyer were not heavy sentencing afficianados. What gives here?

The point I've been trying to make is that there is a "Constitutional Interpretation" split among the justices, and NOT a conservative/liberal split. For the most part, those who have followed rigid constitutional authority have been more aligned with the right (Thomas, Alito, Scalia) than the left (Kagan, Sotomayor, Breyer, Ginsburg). The left is more open to a "fluid" or "evolving" constitutional jurisprudence. (Notable was Kagan's preference for a foreign Constitution over the US Constitution which should frankly disqualify ANY judge, not just a Supreme Court justice, but I digress).

Scalia's remonstrance was indicative of providing one of those moments where people, if they get past the "What the Fudge?" reaction, realize the true nature of how Constitutional helps everyone, not just those of a particular political bent.

Posted by: Eric Knight | Oct 14, 2014 11:38:35 AM

This issue shows the complexity of the divisions of the USSC, which does not always come down on a strict liberal/conservative axis. Take a look at the Blakely break-down:

Scalia, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Stevens, Souter, Thomas, and Ginsburg, JJ., joined. OConnor, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Breyer, J., joined, and in which Rehnquist, C. J., and Kennedy, J., joined except as to Part IVB. Kennedy, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Breyer, J., joined. Breyer, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which OConnor, J., joined.

We saw something similar in certain Confrontation Clause rulings -- on certain issues, Scalia/Thomas (not always voting the exact same way) see certain constitutional clear lines that have pro-criminal rights results. Roberts/Alito are less formalist in various cases. This means, given Breyer's past actions, Sotomayor/Kagan is key here and might be more hesitant in expanding past cases than their predecessors.

The reference to the SSM denials seem a bit stretched though both probably have prudential elements. I agree the matter is due to be taken & the "black eye" concern seems overblown. But, the author is a lot more knowledgeable on the subject than I.

Posted by: Joe | Oct 14, 2014 12:19:31 PM

ETA: SCOTUSBlog has a post on this denial and also referenced Dunlap v. Idado.

http://www.scotusblog.com/2014/10/the-jury-acquits-the-judge-still-sentences-can-that-be/#more-219219

Posted by: Joe | Oct 14, 2014 12:21:12 PM

"Scalia is not, last I heard, pro criminal"

Scalia voted for the defendant in *every* Fourth Amendment case last term. Breyer, of course, voted against. One problem is that a line of argument that gets Scalia's vote inevitably loses Breyer, and vice versa.

The Justices are a bit more complicated than the popular media portrayal, especially, as noted by Joe above, on the Confrontation Clause and right to trial by jury.

Posted by: John Thacker | Oct 14, 2014 1:37:06 PM

I wasn't certain Scalia would be in Ball's camp here. Since he was (and Thomas too) the fact that at least Sotomayor wasn't interested suggests to me that they didn't think they could get five votes. A dissent from denial of cert is much better than a dissent in an opinion on the merits.

Posted by: Erik M | Oct 14, 2014 2:20:56 PM

Thomas wrote Peugh vs. US, which Scalia dissented from, so he's less surprising, I agree. But this was *the* best case to test this proposition, since the jury explicitly found the defendants not guilty and the judge essentially reversed. It really was the perfect test cases.

Note too, as Scalia does, that the lower courts have essentially been interpreting the Court's silence as consent to these kind of enhancements.

Posted by: John Thacker | Oct 14, 2014 4:22:05 PM

what this so-called issue proves is this group of retards now holding the bench of the USSC are both a joke and a criminal gang involved in destroying the United States Constitution.

Posted by: rodsmith | Oct 14, 2014 10:52:09 PM

John, just a point of clarification. Sotomayor wrote Peugh, to which Thomas dissented. But I agree that this was a very good test case. The only thing that would have made it better was if the acquitted conduct was less-directly related factually to the jury's finding of guilt. Here, you had three guys selling drugs together who were acquitted of conspiracy. Not disagreeing with the jury finding, but you can imagine the judge easily getting over the preponderance hurdle on the facts.

Peugh v. U.S.: Reversed and remanded, 5-4, in an opinion by Justice Sotomayor on June 10, 2013. Justice Ginsburg, Justice Breyer, and Justice Kagan joined the opinion in full and Justice Kennedy joined the opinion except as to Part III-C. Justice Thomas filed a dissenting opinion, in which Chief Justice Roberts, Justice Scalia and Justice Alito as to Parts I and II-C. Justice Alito filed a dissenting opinion in which Justice Scalia joined.

Posted by: TJH | Oct 15, 2014 12:31:05 PM

"One problem is that a line of argument that gets Scalia's vote inevitably loses Breyer,"

I believe that this largely because of bad lawyering. Because of the way that these two justices see the law you will never get them to agree on every case. But there is no good reason why a well-tailored argument can't pick up both votes in some cases.

Posted by: Daniel | Oct 15, 2014 4:03:38 PM

How can an individual now consent to serving on a jury, when a judge can overturn a not guilty verdict ? In fact, after being acquitted of conspiracy charges, the judge tried him again on the same count ( amounting to double jeopardy ) and found them guilty and denied them their jury verdict.

Just another FUBAR decision by our traitorous SCROTUM justices. So was their decision that the death penalty is unconstitutional for child molesters. Everyone dies, so the death penalty in and of itself is not unconstitutional ( nor cruel and unusual ), only the manner of execution can be cruel and unusual.

Jurisdiction - How can one submit to jurisdiction of a court that does not have to obey the verdict of the jury ?

I demand that the House Of Representatives impeach the 6 dishonorable justices who did not either vote to overturn the lower courts decision, or who didn't vote to review the unconstitutional sentence given.

Posted by: Michael Martin | Oct 18, 2014 1:34:53 PM

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A Boston woman has shared the story of how she became an accidental millionaire for ten minutes after a transfer error.

Ellen Fleming received a voicemail last week from online broker TD Ameritrade telling her a deposit had been made to her account.

Ms Fleming, 26, had an account with the broker but it only had about $50 in it.

When she checked her account after the voicemail, she had $US 1.1 million.

"A bank account that I had $50 in had over $1 million dollars deposited into it. A banker made a HUGE mistake and confused me with another Ellen Fleming," Ms Fleming said on Twitter.
A 15-year-old girl who authorities say was assaulted Sunday night in Cambridge died from her injuries Monday.

The Middlesex District Attorney's office said the girl was walking on Cambridge Street around 6:30 p.m. when she was shoved to the ground. Police believe she was walking to an acquaintance's house.

The girl's head hit the ground. Police were called to the scene and found the victim.

The victim was transported to an area hospital where she was in critical condition. She died around 2:45 p.m. Monday, the district attorney's office said.

"This is an open and ongoing investigation and no further information is being released, including the identification of the decedent, pending a ruling of the cause and manner of death by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner," the district attorney's office said.

No arrests have been made as Monday night.
UPDATE: Richelle Robinson identified as 15-year-old girl who died following Cambridge assault

Grief counselors were on hand at Cambridge Rindge & Latin High School on Tuesday after a student died from an "apparent assault" on Cambridge Street this weekend.

Officials say the victim, a 15-year-old girl, was likely walking to an acquaintance's house when someone shoved her to the ground on Cambridge Street around 6:30 p.m. on Sunday. The girl struck her head and was immediately transported to a local hospital, where she remained in critical condition until she was pronounced dead shortly before 3 p.m. on Monday.

Cambridge Police believe the girl was the victim of an assault and have not announced any arrests in the case. Cambridge Public Information Officer Jeremy Warnick told MassLive that police are unable to provide details on the incident because it is being investigated as a potential homicide.

CRLS has been informed by Cambridge Police that one of our students was the victim of this incident. As a result of this... Posted by Cambridge Rindge & Latin School on Monday, July 23, 2018

Local business owners on Cambridge Street, in the areas of Warren and Harding Streets where the teen was injured, struggled to understand how the incident happened -- and how no one appeared to have seen it.

"It's fairly well-trafficked, not a ghost town," said John, a bartender at the Portugalia Restaurant who would only give his first name. "It's odd something like that could happen around here...in broad daylight."

He was told by colleagues who worked Sunday night that two female customers ran out of the Portugalia to help the teen victim before an ambulance arrived. Besides the Portuguese restaurant, nearly all surrounding businesses were closed at the time of the attack on Sunday.

Maria Nunes, who works at Central Bakery on Cambridge Street, said the storefront was closed while bread bakers used the loud machines out back.

Madalena Oliveria, who works at the Royal Pastry Shop next door, said that despite living in an apartment overlooking the scene of the incident, the drum of her air conditioner drowned out the noise of any activity down below. It wasn't until her daughter came home after walking by the sight of police tape and flashing lights that she learned something had happened.

Cambridge Mayor Marc McGovern offered his condolences on Twitter Monday night, saying, "my heart breaks for this young girl and her family."

So incredibly sad. My heart breaks for this young girl and her family. -MM https://t.co/Wa7pyEP0Uh  Mayor Marc McGovern (@Cambridge_Mayor) July 24, 2018

The identity of the teen will not be released until the cause and manner of death is ruled by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Outgoing Boston Police Commissioner William Evans received an unusual parting gift during his last "Ask the Commissioner" segment on 89.7 WGBH's Boston Public Radio Tuesday.



Hosts Jim Braude and Margery Eagan gave him a bong. They said it is because they have interviewed him extensively about legalized marijuana in Massachusetts.



When they gave Evans the present, he asked: "Did they get it from Margery's house?"



Evans was commissioner through the state's early legalization of marijuana following the success of a November 2016 ballot initiative. In October, he told the hosts of the WGBH show that the smell of marijuana was "everywhere."





"I can tell you everywhere I go, all I smell is pot now, I hate to say it," Evans said.

"I'm serious, I'm serious," Evans said after the hosts laughed. "Everywhere you go, you sort of smell it."



Evans also took a surprise call from "Charlie from Swampscott" better known as Gov. Charlie Baker on Tuesday's show, which is available online.

At a Monday announcement of his retirement from the top Boston police post, Evans said he wanted to relax and "gain some weight." Perhaps, Braude and Egan's gift will help.
Update: The street has mostly been reopened at 11 p.m.

AGAWAM - A massive oak tree fell on a home Monday evening, crushing an attached sun room and killing a resident inside.

Pineview Circle was closed from 7:30 p.m. until about 11 p.m. while rescue crews and police removed the large tree from the home.

"An investigation is currently underway on Pineview Circle where a large tree has fallen on a home resulting in the death of one individual," police said in a written statement.

A couple in their 60s had just returned from vacation when the tree fell on the sun room attached to the home at 81 Pineview Circle, killing the man who was sitting inside, sources said.

In total three "massive" oak trees fell in the incident. The one that crushed the sun room weighed more than 32,000 pounds, sources said.

One tree could be heard falling at about 10 p.m. while rescue crews were working.

The tree was removed from the home at about 10:30 and most crews left shortly after 11 p.m.

Police and fire officials did not comment further on the tragedy at the scene Monday night.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim's family at this time," police said in the statement. The victim's name was not released.

Tuesday Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said the tree fell from the backyard through the roof and into the home. It landed directly onto the victim who was pronounced dead at the scene.

He did not release the name of the victim because it is not a criminal investigation.

Agawam Police and Fire were assisted by the Western Massachusetts Technical Rescue Crew which is made up of firefighters from a variety of different departments including Chicopee, Easthampton, Holyoke and Northampton, who are trained in difficult rescues.

Interstate Towing assisted with cranes and other equipment and Top Notch Tree Service were also called to help to remove the tree from the house.

The Massachusetts Department of Fire Special Operations, Columbia Gas and Eversource also assisted at the scene.

The Chicopee Fire Department was also seen bringing generators and other equipment to the home. Rescue teams also set up large floodlights as it got dark.

The road was closed between 41 Pineview and the intersection of Arrowood Drive but neighbors were allowed to walk down the street to their homes.
AGAWAM - Gerry Leferriere was readying to take out his trash when he heard a thunderous crack and a deafening thud in his back yard on Monday evening.

"I said 'Oh, I know what that sound is. I remember it from the October storm," he said, referring to the 2011 snowstorm that took out collective acres of trees across Western Massachusetts and left 700,000 without power.

When Laferriere went outside to assess the damage he assumed affected his 1.5-acre lot, he discovered one prong of an enormous, three-pronged oak tree had fallen squarely on his neighbor's home at 81 Pineview Circle and killed the man.

"I said to myself: 'Good thing they're still on vacation," he said of the friendly couple who recently moved into the home directly behind his house on Arrowood Drive.

But as he and other neighbors gathered around, he learned there was someone inside.

Agawam police on Monday confirmed a 67-year-old resident of the home had been killed by the weight of the tree when it came crashing down on an attached sun room yesterday evening.

The parcel is located in a pretty residential neighborhood off Main Street lined with well-kept homes on mostly wooded lots.

The weather had been dicey and mercurial all day, Leferriere said.

"It was windy and rainy and awful all day," he told a reporter on Tuesday, as a cluster of workers used chainsaws and heavy equipment to first carve up the tree, then extract the huge oak from the back deck and the roof.

Authorities have not yet publicly identified the victim.

This story will be updated with new information after further reporting.
A Washington, D.C.-based hamburger chain has apologized for a weekend tweet featuring journalist James Foley, who was beheaded by ISIS in 2014.

The Evanston, Illinois native grew up in New Hampshire and was a 2002 graduate of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. He was 40 when he was executed by ISIS is Syria.

The Z-Burger tweet featured an image of Foley moments before his beheading with the words, "When you say you want a burger and someone says okay let's hit McDonalds" Beneath the photo was the message, "You disgrace me."

The tweet has since been deleted, but screen captures have gone viral.

Z-Burger has tweeted several apologies including one that says, in part, "Please accept our sincere apology to all who have been affected by the tasteless and insensitive post and expect Z Burger to be much more vigilant in the future."

Owner Peter Tabibian apologized on behalf of Z-Burger, which operates four locations in DC and Maryland. He told The Washingtonian said an outside company, Valor Media, was responsible.

Michael Valor, who runs Valor Media, confirmed in a series of videos that his company was at fault and that Z-burger had no part in the creation of the ad.

He said he took full responsibility for the mistake made by his company.
CHICOPEE - Police Chief William R. Jebb remains in the hospital after being injured in a motorcycle crash on Thursday, but police and city officials said he is recovering.

Capt. Daniel Sullivan is serving as acting police chief until Jebb can return to work, said Michael Wilk, police public information officer.

Jebb is up and walking and in communication with members of the department, but his recovery is expected to take some time and it is not known when he will return to work, Wilk said.

He was seriously injured in a motorcycle crash at about 10:35 p.m. at the Interstate 391 exit ramp off Grattan Street. Police responded to the 911 call to find Jebb was the victim. Officers and Chicopee Fire Department EMTs stabilized him and he was brought to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield by ambulance.

He was alert and conscious at the scene. No other vehicles were involved in the crash and no one else was injured, Wilk said.

Tuesday Mayor Richard J. Kos said he visited Jebb and his family and thanked residents for their support as he recovers.

"He is in good spirits and his condition is improving each day. I would like to thank the community for their overwhelming support for Chief Jebb during his recovery. Please continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers," Kos said.

Jebb has been a member of the Police Department for 31 years and was appointed as chief in 2014 by Kos.

The Massachusetts State Police is investigating the crash.
 "The Budgetary Effects of Ending Drug Prohibition" | Main | "Judicial Delegation" 

July 23, 2018

A father's perspective on clemency and its potential (and limits)

A helpful reader alerted me to this interesting new commentary authored by John Owen, headlined "A father's plea for mercy for his imprisoned daughter." Here are excerpts:

President Donald Trumps recent pardons and commutations have spotlighted, once again, the importance of executive clemency to soften the harshness of our criminal justice system. President Abraham Lincoln was famous for preferring mercy over strict justice. In fact, he used his clemency power so liberally, his attorney general had to assign someone to shadow him to record the names of all those he pardoned or commuted, according to author Margaret Love.... Thats how executive clemency is supposed to work. It operates outside our rule of law, but it also respects it. It is the personal prerogative of the leader and so, inevitably, can be arbitrary. It is also a message to our branches of government and to our society to mitigate our desire for vengeance with compassion.... I have spent the past nine years grieving the almost 20-year sentence imposed on my daughter, Mary Anne Locke, for her low-level, non-violent role in a meth distribution conspiracy. She was ordered to report to federal prison in 2009, six weeks after she had a Cesarean section. Along with her baby, she left behind a loving husband and two other children. Mary Anne did not have an easy life, and I accept the role I played in that.... In her early teens, Mary Anne found drugs and men who were themselves substance abusers and also physically violent.... She relapsed at age 28, triggered by personal tumult, as well as health problems for which she was prescribed amphetamines. It was around this time that she became involved with the head of the meth conspiracy charged in her federal case. He gave her an unlimited supply of meth and, in return, embroiled her in a supportive capacity in his drug distribution activities. Pregnant with her second child in 2007, Mary Anne again disavowed the drug lifestyle. The indictment in her federal case was handed down in 2008, when she was pregnant with her third child, after two years of sobriety and a wonderful marriage with her then husband, who had no connection with her drug activities. She cooperated fully upon arrest, at considerable risk to herself. Imagine our familys devastation when she was sentenced to 234 months, or 19.5 years. Murderers get less time. Although nationally, statistics indicate that defendants with her characteristics would receive an almost 50 percent reduction of their applicable guideline, the judge gave her just a 20 percent reduction. Mary Anne was not the kingpin or organizer. She never engaged in or threatened any violence. She played a supportive role to fund her addiction. She had never spent more than a night in custody. She is precisely the kind of low-level player deserving of leniency. Rather, her sentence was driven by the charging decisions of the prosecutors she faced and the particular sentencing philosophy of her judge. This judge has been critiqued as one of the harshest in the country. In fact, she is the only sitting judge to have been subject to a commutation by Trump (the 27-year sentence of Sholom Rubashkin). Moreover, today, not only would another judge give Mary Anne an almost 50 percent reduction of her applicable guideline, Mary Annes sentencing guideline would be substantially lower.... Needless to say, Mary Anne has served the top end of that guideline. And she has done so with distinction. She has been an exemplary prisoner  discipline-free, who has worked and studied consistently throughout her sentence, completing her final year in a three-year college program in office administration. Dont get me wrong. Mary Anne broke the law and deserved punishment. But her lengthy sentence violates any basic notions of justice and proportionality. She deserves mercy. She applied for clemency before President Barack Obama, and has again applied before President Trump. She was represented in both applications by the Clemency Project at the University of Minnesota Law School. I am a lifelong Republican. I am, however, forever grateful to Obama for bringing executive clemency back to its roots  to address systemic unfairness, while also acknowledging the humanity of each person behind bars. I am also buoyed by Trumps recent clemency decisions, and his pronouncements that he plans to use it even more expansively. But nothing beats a legislative solution that grants my daughter  and the thousands of prisoners like her  a second look at the severity and fairness of their sentence, in a public proceeding, with a judge and an advocate.

July 23, 2018 at 05:30 PM | Permalink

Comments

If you follow an American male with a stopwatch, he spends an average of 7 minutes a day with his children. Those children are more likely in the care of another female, either that wonderful father's mother or his new girlfriend. Hopefully these ladies are normal.

Are these children better off in the care of normal women, or should their mother be released? She is a drug addict and drug dealer. Is exposing children to a person with the character associated with those activities good or bad for the children? It is not a straight forward question to answer. Her prison sentence may spare them the traumas and damages associated with her lifestyle.

Posted by: David Behar | Jul 23, 2018 9:24:28 PM

Apparently, a purveyor of a crack house in E. St. Louis with a violent history was more worthy of clemency. Such is the caprice of Barack Obama. Speaking of apparent disparities in clemencies granted by Obama, compare and contrast the clemency granted to the Puerto Rican terrorist and the clemency denial regarding Leonard Peltier. Peltier had a smaller body count--but he did kill FBI agents--of course, Obama's thwart Trump strategy required help from FBI Director Comey--hmmmmmm.

But let's look at this:

https://www.ajc.com/news/youth-second-chance-another-family-tragedy/E1jgzjHXPceQz6OdWlVEjN/

This case exemplifies why lenience is so dangerous. Doug always yaps about showing a commitment to freedom by releasing criminals. How much freedom does Christian Broder have?

Posted by: federalist | Jul 24, 2018 6:59:06 AM

I dont want anybody else to be held at gunpoint by this man, the judge said in court when a prosecutor objected to her plan, according to the transcript. I want to end it. Youre interested in punishment. Im interested in rehabilitation and community safety for the future, because he is going to get out, and I want him to be a positive influence in the community.

That's a quote from the judge in the Myrick case. Why in the world would we give arrogant judges like Ms. Downs the power to grant lenience to thugs?

Posted by: federalist | Jul 24, 2018 7:34:16 AM

Judge Linda Reade is a callous female fellow of Judge Julia Gibbons. To Gibbons, I sent the following letter on learning she had ordered a LIFE sentence for Alice Johnson. BTW, I loved that photo of Reade at a social occasion, distended liver observable to all, with drink in hand. No, alcohol abuse doesn't affect her-- no way, no how.

Judge Gibbons:

I had hoped the day would arrive when Federal Judges would be hoisted on their petards

for their aggressive, sadistic sentencing of human beings, and their celebratory passion

in hammering people with the Sentencing Guidelines (passed by America's over-compensated political lemmings).

In your case---"with all due respect"--sonorously intoned I would imagine by many U.S. prosecutors, you sentenced a woman

Alice Johnson, to life without parole, away from her family, past any hope of childbearing years, and simply put, without any hope whatsoever,

puts you into a category I hope one day soon to see: the Hall of Shame. You set no example for women.

I used to wonder whether, or how much, judges were themselves self-medicated and/or drank to oblivion. That habit

was not criminal--too many politicians equally addicted, but "drug" possession by poor blacks and rural

whites-- now those were the true criminals and the real crimes. You were among the unblemished living in glass houses.

For shame. May it besmirch your legacy eternally, whatever that may be.

I led a trek of a Chicago-area cemetery, Graceland, last weekend, that may give you pause.

Located there is a tombstone for Chief Justice Melville Fuller. It's very discreet, and his name is inscribed below that of his wife.

He is not listed nor named in the official Graceland Cemetery map, but intrepid me found it.

Fuller's diminished heritage never ceases to amaze the lawyers and historians who accompany me, but it should serve as a lesson

to those who forget the humanity of people appearing before them.

Posted by: FluffyRoss | Jul 24, 2018 10:26:05 AM

That Myrick case is ugly, federalist, and I am especially curious about the role and responsibility of the (seemingly somewhat shady) diversion program that he was sent to after time in juve: http://fox5atlanta.com/news/i-team/i-team-teen-accused-in-murder-of-wedding-guest-had-no-issue-in-prison-diversion-program

That said, I am eager to have you explain why you think the quote by the judge about "rehabilitation and community safety" somehow makes her "arrogant." I believe Georgia had juvenile justice reform enacted in 2013 that called for judges to seek to put more juve offenders into community-based programs rather than prison. I do not know the details of the law well, but I know juve justice systems have long emphasized rehabilitation over punishment for even the most serious of juve offenders. You can disagree with the spirit or substance of juve justice laws and even disagree with how they were applied in this case, federalist. But calling the judge arrogant for doing what laws encourage her to do seems quite misguided.

Posted by: Doug B | Jul 24, 2018 11:30:33 AM

The arrogance drips from the page.

First of all, her casual denigration of the prosecutor coupled with the ivory tower lecturing is off-putting. Judges have no business talking to prosecutors in that manner.--as the prosecutor is in no position to defend him or herself. The judge acted like she knew best, and clearly she did not.

Second of all, when confronted with evidence that Myrick was actually NOT a positive influence, she refused to consider the fact that she might be wrong.

As for "the law"--from what you describe, it sounds hortatory. And is 2 1.2 years enough for an armed robbery? You seem to think so.

This judge is responsible for the death. Let's start by getting that right.

Posted by: federalist | Jul 24, 2018 8:45:51 PM

I am struggling to see what you call "ivory tower lecturing" given that prioritizing "rehabilitation and community safety" over "punishment" is so fundamental to so much of juvenile justice in both law and practice. That said, the facts do show that the judge was wrong to have faith in the Vision Unlimited program as a means to achieve rehabilitation or community safety. Based on what I have read about Myrick, I have a hard time seeing why and how a judge concluded he could be safely released when he was.

Posted by: Doug B | Jul 24, 2018 9:29:05 PM

She lectured the prosecutor in personal terms: "You're interested in punishment." But she, the enlightened judge was interested in "community safety for the future." As if the prosecutor were some mindless drone . .. . . perhaps, Doug, in your ivory tower, you cannot see the arrogance and condescension dripping from the transcript.

Seems to me that the judge was interested in virtue-signaling while the prosecutor was interested in community safety. And the judge was too arrogant to admit she was wrong about Myrick when his instagram posts came to light.

1. Do you support the reduction of Myrick's sentence to 2 1/2 years?

2. Will you concede that armed robbery, when committed by juveniles, is in grave danger of escalation given juveniles' weaker ability to control impulses?

3. Willl you concede that the "You're interested in punishment" was rude and unbefitting a judge?

4. Will you concede that the victim's death was entirely preventable.

5. Will you concede that if we, as a society, are going to take chances on juveniles, that court supervision has to be better than what happened here.

6. Will you concede that, because juvenile's brains are still developing, juvenile armed robbery is especially dangerous to innocent victims?

And if you will not concede, please explain why.

Posted by: federalist | Jul 25, 2018 7:52:41 AM

federalist, you are right that I do not see "arrogance and condescension dripping from the transcript," but rather only see a judge stating on the record that she is "interested in rehabilitation and community safety" rather than "punishment." As I have been trying to you explain, that reflects a long-standing approach to juvenile justice adopted by legal systems throughout the nation for many decades. See, e.g., Kent v. US, 383 U.S. 541, 554 (1966) (explaining that with juvenile adjudications "the objectives are to provide measures of guidance and rehabilitation for the child and protection for society, not to fix criminal responsibility, guilt and punishment")

You may see "arrogance and condescension dripping" from the judge asserting that the prosecutor was embracing the wrong legal philosophy at sentencing. But without knowing applicable Georgia law well (and without seeing a full transcript), I am disinclined to jump to that conclusion. Still, I am prepared to jump to some other conclusions in light of your questions:

1. No.

2. Depends on the role of a juvenile in the armed robbery (e.g., leader vs. hanger-on, brought/brandished gun, etc), but I share your general instinct that it is critical for a judge in this situation to assess whether a juve offender seems likely to escalate or de-escalate his criminal behaviors.

3. No. If the Georgia law says "punishment" is not a proper or primary goal in this context, explaining to a prosecutor why his sentencing proposal is being rejected in these terms seems like a reasonable comment from a judge. (If, in contrast, applicable law says "punishment" is a proper/primary goal, this the statement is unreasonable.) This is why I keep stressing the need to understand applicable Georgia law before jumping to any conclusions about that statement.

4. Yes. (And this is why the judge made a mistake based on her own avowed commitments: her disposition obviously did not successfully advance rehabilitation and community safety.)

5. Yes. (And this is why I want to know a lot more about this Visions Unlimited program that somehow had a representative, speaking on the record, assuring the judge that it could achieve rehabilitation and community safety for this offender.)

6. I think all forms of armed robbery (and really all forms of gun activity) can be "especially dangerous to innocent victims." I would love to see data on whether juve armed robbery results in more harm than adult armed robbery. Are you aware of any such data?

Posted by: Doug B | Jul 25, 2018 11:08:40 AM

Neither punishment nor rehab is effective to lower the crime rate. The rewards of crime are too great. The culture of crime is too compelling, once on the street. It is like being an Israeli in Iran or a an owner of the law on a rent seeking law blog. You will change before the surroundings will change.

The sole effective and mature purpose of sentencing is incapacitation. It went up after mandatory guidelines. Common law crime decreased 40%. Decarceration succeeded in lowering the prison population by 3%. Murder went up by 10-15% in many major cities.

I thought, juveniles were more impetuous, according to the Supreme Court. By definition their age makes them more dangerous, but less culpable, than adults committing armed robbery.

Posted by: David Behar | Jul 26, 2018 6:56:53 PM

Aaaaahh the Berman fog.

Let's recap.

First, it's telling that Professor Berman's even interested in defending the judge from my attacks. She inexplicably refuses to revoke probation and all Doug can worry about is that meanie federalist called her"arrogant."

Second, the judge told the prosecutor what the prosecutor was thinking. So now she's a mind-reader? She denigrated the prosecutor's motivation and acted as if she cared more about public safety than the prosecutor. If you can't see the imperiousness and condescension, well, I guess you're just blind.

Third, the reference to Georgia law is a nice try. Georgia law clearly allowed the long sentence. And the prosecutor was making an argument that was based on incapacitation.

Fourth, how much freedom does the victim have in this case? Hmmm. That would be none.

Posted by: federalist | Jul 26, 2018 10:16:11 PM

federalist, you asked why "arrogant judges like Ms. Downs" are given power to send juvenile offenders to a diversion program. I said I was curious about the seemingly suspect diversion program, and then asked why you were calling the judge arrogant when it seemed she was (perhaps) seeking to faithfully apply Georgia law. I am not defending the judge; just trying to understand the basis for your particular attacks on her. She made a deadly mistake, but one I see as based on a misguided hope Myrick could be rehabilitated. Perhaps you think it arrogant for the judge to pursue that end, but I generally do not think it arrogant for a judge to seek to follow applicable laws.

Meanwhile, you call this judge, based on a single phrase in newspaper quote from a transcript, arrogant, rude, imperious and condescending. That seems to me to be a whole lot to take from a single phrase. Seeking your explanation was not, I do not think, a way to call you a meanie, rather it just provided for me another window into how you see the world and the judiciary.

And, indeed, the mistake made by the judge here cost the victim his freedom, and that is a tragedy and one that I am sad was not avoided.

Posted by: Doug B | Jul 27, 2018 9:53:23 AM

Doug, it is presumptuous to tell person what that person is thinking . . .. how you don't see that is beyond me.

Posted by: federalist | Jul 27, 2018 3:16:59 PM

Being presumptuous is not the same as being "arrogant," federalist. That semantic niggle aside, I have not seen the whole transcript, and it seems possible that the prosecutor could have said something to the effect of "the defendant needs to be punished for _____."

Would you still consider the judges's statement "Youre interested in punishment" to be arrogant, rude, imperious, condescending and presumptuous if the prosecutor had talked about being interesting in punishment for the defendant prior to that statement?

Again, my point is not to defend the substance of the judge's decision, but rather to suggest we need to see the whole transcript before labeling her attitude based on one phrase. Interestingly, according to this local article, the judge here was an Assistant District Attorney for 13 years before becoming a judge, and had some problems with the operation of her old office: https://www.ajc.com/news/local/downs-unlikely-run-for-fulton-after-commission-ruling/pfn04o3Sf4OKJT2u2JIo4N/?icmp=np_inform_variation-test. Perhaps you have read the judge's mind/statement properly, as it is certainly plausible that she believed she knew what prosecutors were thinking based on her own long history as a prosecutor.

Posted by: Doug B. | Jul 27, 2018 5:00:50 PM

Her presumptuousness--i.e., reading the prosecutor's mind and then telling the prosecutor what his/her motivation is, is arrogant. And yeah, I would. A judge is supposed to be patient etc. Her comment presupposes a superior knowledge, when he whole thing is a crapshoot, and is an exercise in virtue-signaling--which is off-putting as hell.

And, when confronted with irrefutable evidence that the kid was dangerous, she ignored the pleas to incapacitate him.

And someone died.



Posted by: federalist | Jul 27, 2018 9:26:55 PM

https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/brookhaven/chief-judge-diversion-program-release-statements-about-teen-accused-in-brookhaven-murder/85-577835291

And look at the judges defending each other and passing the buck. Wow.

Posted by: federalist | Jul 27, 2018 9:34:27 PM

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AGAWAM -- When David Coughlin didn't show up for his regular coffee date with longtime friends on Tuesday morning, it immediately sparked worry.

"We all said: Where's Dave? There must be something wrong," said Dolores Stryszko, of West Springfield.

She was unfortunately correct. Coughlin, 67, was killed when a huge oak tree fell on his home at 81 Pinewood Circle on Monday evening. Though Coughlin lived there with his wife, he was home alone, neighbors said.

The tree came crashing down on an attached sun room, police said. Emergency officials on Monday estimated the tree weighed 32,000 pounds.

On Tuesday, the street was reopened and the otherwise quiet neighborhood was filled with the sounds of chainsaws and heavy equipment as workers labored in the humidity to cut the massive trunk in pieces and remove it with a boom crane from the house, where it had smashed through the roof.

Stryszko, 87, drove by with tears in her eyes to confirm what she heard from a family member.

"It's so awful. He's such a nice man. He would do anything for anybody. He only was home from their house on Cape Cod so he could go to a doctor's appointment. I can't believe this happened," Stryszko said.

She is among a half-dozen friends -- including Coughlin -- who meet every morning at 9 a.m. at the McDonald's on Riverdale Street in West Springfield.

"We've been meeting there for years," she said, adding that Coughlin and his wife just bought the house less than a year ago.

The Coughlins' neighbor also confirmed the friendly couple had moved in within the last year from West Springfield, looking to downsize and enjoy retirement.

"They introduced themselves and invited me in to show me all the renovations they were doing to the house. They took down a couple of trees," neighbor Gerry Laferriere said. "Just not the right one, unfortunately."

Laferriere said he was readying to take out his trash Monday evening when he heard a loud crack, then a thud that reverberated into his own yard, which is directly behind the Coughlins' on Arrowood Drive.

He said the sound was familiar to him after the woodsy, residential neighborhood lost several trees during the fluke snowstorm in October 2011 that dumped a foot of heavy snow onto Western Massachusetts.

"I thought: I remember that sound. Let me go and see which tree I lost this time," he said, noting that the wind and rain had been whipping through the trees all day.

When he emerged from his yard, he saw that one prong of an enormous three-pronged tree had fallen on top of the Coughlin's house. Laferriere said he felt momentary relief because he believed the couple was still at their beach house.

"Then, someone said there was somebody inside and I just felt terrible," he said. "I bet that tree was 100 years old."
GREENFIELD -- City finance director Elizabeth Braccia has been removed from her post by Mayor William Martin.

Martin told The Greenfield Recorder that Braccia's "contract was not renewed," but Braccia released a statement Tuesday saying "there are no grounds for my dismissal, and due process will reveal the truth."

The City Council plans an emergency meeting Thursday to address the sudden and unexpected vacancy.

City Council president Karen "Rudy" Renaud told the Greenfield newspaper that tensions have been brewing between Braccia and Martin for nearly a year.

Braccia last September alleged that Daniel Kelley, then-manager of the city's municipal broadband utility, was mishandling funds. The accusations led to a City Council investigation and Kelley's firing.

Kelley, who denied the allegations, in May sued the city for $100,000.

GCET, or Greenfield Community Energy and Technology, is building a citywide fiber optic internet service. It was launched with $5 million in local bonding, and the entity's goal is to be financially self-sustaining.

The City Council in March approved a new accounting system for GCET as recommended by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.

"I am saddened to my core because I love working for the residents of Greenfield," Braccia wrote in her statement "I take pride in being the watch guard of your tax dollars. I believe this was demonstrated by the integral role I had in getting the Telecommunications (GCET) venture back on track."

Renaud told The Recorder that Braccia also objected to Martin's removal of a Franklin Pride Day poster in the treasurer's office.

Braccia was hired in 2011. Martin was first elected mayor in 2009.
Note: Story has been updated at 10:55 a.m. Tuesday to include a statement from Greenfield Police Chief Robert H. Haigh Jr.

GREENFIELD - A Greenfield Police seargent is being charged with negligent vehicular homicide for his role in an October 2017 fatal crash that occured while he was racing to an unrelated call, according to the Northwestern District Attorney's Office.

Sgt. James B. Rode is scheduled to be arraigned on the charge Wednesday morning in Greenfield District Court, according to Mary Carey, communications director for Northwestern DA David Sullivan.

He is charged in connection with the Oct. 1 crash at High and Sanderson streets that resulted in the death of James Arcellana, 29, of Hinsdale, New Hampshire, and injuries to a passenger.

Just before the crash, Rode had been dispatched from the station to respond to a report of an erratic operator near the Deerfield town line.

An investigation into the crash found that Rode was travelling 83 mph in a 30 mph zone at the point of impact, Carey said.

The police cruiser was speeding south on High Street when it collided with the rear passenger side of Arcellana's Suburu, which was westbound on Sanderson Street and had just entered the intersection at High Street.

Arcellana and his passenger, and Rode each needed to be hospitalized for injuries in the crash. Arcellana died a few days later at Baystate Medical Center.

Rode has been out injured since the crash.

Immediately following the crash, Greenfield Police Chief Robert H. Haigh Jr. launched an internal investigation by the department.

Carey said state police detectives assigned to Sullivan's office, and troopers assigned to the state police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section also investigated.

The charge of negligent motor vehicular homicide is considered a misdemeanor punishable by up to 2 1/2 years in the county jail and a loss of a driver's license for up to 15 years.

Rode, according to Greenfield police, has been a full-time officer with the department since 2002. He was promoted to the rankof sergeant in October 2015.



Chief Haigh on Tuesday morning that issued a statement reading:

"To be sensitive to the continued investigation and judicial procedures that are in progress, I will not be making any additional statements in regard to the press release from the Northwestern District Attorneys Office.

The Greenfield Police Department has an open internal investigation into this incident, and will release any finding when the investigation can be completed. The officer involved currently remains out on injured on duty status, and has not returned to active duty status since the date of the initial incident. Our thoughts are with all those who continue to be affected by this tragic event, and I ask for patience with regard to this ongoing matter."
GREENFIELD -- A city police sergeant is being charged with negligent vehicular homicide for his role in an October 2017 fatal crash that occurred while he was racing to an unrelated call, according to the Northwestern district attorney's office.

Sgt. James B. Rode is scheduled to be arraigned on the charge Wednesday morning in Greenfield District Court, according to Mary Carey, communications director for Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan.

Rode is charged in connection with the Oct. 1 crash at High and Sanderson streets that resulted in the death of James Arcellana, 29, of Hinsdale, New Hampshire, and injuries to a passenger.

Just before the crash, Rode had been dispatched from the station to respond to a report of an erratic operator near the Deerfield town line.

An investigation into the crash found that Rode was travelling 83 mph in a 30 mph zone at the point of impact, Carey said.

The police cruiser was speeding south on High Street when it collided with the rear passenger side of Arcellana's Suburu, which was westbound on Sanderson Street and had just entered the intersection at High Street.

Arcellana and his passenger, as well as Rode, each needed to be hospitalized for injuries in the crash. Arcellana died a few days later at Baystate Medical Center.

Immediately following the crash, Greenfield Police Chief Robert H. Haigh Jr. launched an internal investigation by the department.

Carey said state police detectives assigned to Sullivan's office, and troopers assigned to the state police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section also investigated.

The charge of negligent motor vehicular homicide is considered a misdemeanor punishable by up to 2 1/2 years in the county jail and a loss of a driver's license for up to 15 years.

Rode, according to Greenfield police, has been a full-time officer with the department since 2002. He was promoted to the rank of sergeant in October 2015.
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey is launching an investigation into JUUL Labs Inc., saying the California-based e-cigarette manufacturer's products are marketed to minors.

Healey said at a time when the rates of lung cancer and teen smoking of traditional cigarettes are declining, e-cigarette companies are aping the tactics of cigarette companies a generation ago, with cartoon characters and TV advertisements, in a bid to get tens of millions of young smokers addicted.

"They're engaged in an effort to get kids addicted, to get them hooked so they will have customers for the rest of their lives," Healey said.

The liquid in vaping pens carries nicotine. Vaping is also known as "juulling."

A 2016 report from the US Surgeon General's Office said that in recent years e-cigarette use has increased 900 percent among American high school students.

Almost 50 percent of high school students in Massachusetts have said they used e-cigarettes at least once, according to a 2015 state survey.

Many of the e-cigarettes or vape pens look like USB flash drives, according to Healey.

One cartridge is equal to one pack of cigarettes. E-cigarettes are "highly addictive and a dangerous combination that shouldn't be anywhere near the brains or the lungs" of young people, Healey said.

A JUUL spokesman said the company has "never marketed to anyone underage."

"We welcome the opportunity to work with the Massachusetts Attorney General because, we too, are committed to preventing underage use of JUUL," Matt David, the spokesman, said in an emailed statement. "We utilize stringent online tools to block attempts by those under the age of 21 from purchasing our products, including unique ID match and age verification technology."

Healey's office has also sent cease-and-desist letters to two online vaping companies, saying they are selling e-cigarettes in a manner equivalent to a liquor store not checking IDs. The two companies are Direct Liquid LLC and Eonsmoke LLC.

"Stop selling this stuff to young people," Healey said at the press conference.

Healey announced the JUUL Labs investigation Tuesday. She was joined by Dr. Jonathan Winickoff, director of pediatric research at Mass. General Hospital's Tobacco Research and Treatment Center.

"The adolescent brain is uniquely sensitive to nicotine and can become addicted more rapidly and at lower exposure concentrations," Winickoff said in a statement. "The younger a teen starts smoking or vaping, the harder it will be to quite."

Posters displayed at Healey's press conference showed social medial and retail marketing efforts that had e-cigarettes and related products in colorful candy-like packaging, or carried Captain America's face on them.

The investigation comes as a bill sits on Gov. Charlie Baker's desk increasing the purchasing age for tobacco or e-cigarettes to 21 from 18. The bill also bans the use of vape pens and e-cigarettes in the same places smoking is publicly prohibited.

Massachusetts public health officials recently launched an education campaign on e-cigarettes.

"We at JUUL Labs firmly believe that no young person or non-nicotine user should ever try JUUL or e-cigarettes, and we applaud the Massachusetts Department of Health's recent campaign to educate and prevent teenage use," Ashley Gould, chief administrative officer of JUUL Labs, said in response to the campaign.

This post was updated with a response from JUUL.
A Massachusetts state senator is seeking to restore time-and-half-pay on Sundays and holidays.

The state is phasing out a requirement for time-and-half-pay as part of a new law that raises the minimum wage to $15 an hour. The law calls for gradual increases in the minimum wage, hitting $15 on Jan. 1, 2023, while time-and-a-half pay is steadily phased out over the same period, a requirement that primarily affects the retail sector.

The so-called "grand bargain" backed by Democrats in the state Legislature and signed by Republican Gov. Charlie Baker also includes paid and family leave programs, as well as a permanent annual sales tax holiday weekend starting in 2019. The new law was aimed at keeping three questions off the November 2018 ballot.

But state Sen. Jamie Eldridge, an Acton Democrat, is looking to undo the part of the "grand bargain" that was opposed by some unions - the elimination of time-and-a-half-pay.

"Restoring time-and-a-half would increase wages for workers in every community at a time when income remains stagnant for too many Massachusetts residents while costs for housing, health care, and child care are rising at an alarming rate," Eldridge said in a statement.

"These workers, who likely will spend their earnings locally on groceries, healthcare, and area retail stores, often rely on this critical income just to make ends meet," he added.

Eldridge said he's heard from retail workers who were unaware the state Legislature, dominated by Democrats, would "consider cutting wages for hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents."

Before Baker signed the law, Massachusetts and Rhode Island were the only states with time-and-a-half pay. The Massachusetts retail industry sought the elimination as part of acquiescing to raising the minimum wage, arguing that otherwise they would be forced to pay workers $22.50 an hour, leading to cutbacks.

Eldridge is aiming to tack his time-and-a-half proposal on to a $601 million economic development bill that is scheduled to surface for debate on the state Senate floor Wednesday.

The economic development bill is just one piece of legislation among many that state lawmakers are looking to get to the governor's desk before the end of the month, when they take a break in formal sessions for the rest of the year.
A Martha's Vineyard firefighter remains in critical condition at a Boston hospital following a freak motorcycle accident.

Eric Voshell, 37, was riding a Harley-Davidson with a female passenger in Oak Bluffs early Sunday when her sweater became caught in the back wheel, police told the Martha's Vineyard Times. The wheel locked up and Voshell lost control of the bike.

Voshell was transported by ambulance to Martha's Vineyard Hospital, and transferred off-island to Massachusetts General Hospital. He was in critical condition Tuesday morning, the Times reported.

Passenger Heather Chartier, of Manchester, New Hampshire, suffered minor injuries.

Voshell has been a call firefighter with the Oak Bluffs fire department for six years.
SOUTH HADLEY - The River to Range Trail at 240 Ferry St. will close Aug. 1 while Eversource conducts routine maintenance on nearby utility poles. The 1-mile trail opened only a few weeks ago.

Anne Capra, South Hadley's Conservation and Planning Administrator, said the trail closure is to ensure public safety as Eversource crews work on the poles. "They're closing the trail so there's no conflict between construction and trail users while that's going on," she said.

The poles cross the trail at points. Visitors are asked to stay away from the area until the work is completed.

The gravel path begins near Mount Holyoke's rowing complex, a short walk from Brunelle's Marina. Capra expects the work will take a few weeks to complete. She will post a reopening date on the Town of South Hadley's official website.

The trail skirts the Connecticut River and offers scenic views of Bachelor Brook-Stony Brook Conservation Area. The Mount Holyoke Range rises prominently in the distance.

An opening ceremony was held at the trail's entrance June 27.

Capra said the flat trail, which loops around, is accessible not only to hikers but people who use walkers or wheelchairs. "It's meant to be used by anyone," she said. "It's fairly level and has a couple of sitting areas along it."

A grant from the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission funded the trail design, while a Massachusetts Recreational Trails Grant paid for the construction phase. The Town of South Hadley and Mount Holyoke College provided matching funding.
Vera Adams was a private person who lived a quiet and modest life. But, as her obituary notes, that didn't stop her from enjoying the company of people, friends and family.

"She always lit up when she had a chance to see her friends' children, grandchildren, and her cousins," the obituary says, adding that she had a "beautiful smile" that she frequently flashed.

Her likely final wish would have been "for everyone to be more kind to each other, setting an example for the next generation," according to the obituary.

Adams, 77, graduated from Weymouth High School in 1958 and worked at New England Telephone and Sullivan Insurance in neighboring Quincy "where she met some lifelong friends," the obituary reads.

"She will be remembered for her generosity when it was needed, and her kind demeanor," the obituary says. "Vera enjoyed reading, having dinner with friends, and her trips to Cape Cod."

She is survived by cousin Karen Kneeland of Mashpee and longtime friends Judie and Bob D'Ambrosia-Rose of Pennsylvania, Cynthia and Rich MacDonald of South Weymouth, and Cynthia's grandchildren, among others, "who enjoyed Vera's company very much."

She was the wife of Donald Adams, who passed away in 1993.

Her services will be kept private at Adams' request.

"She would have loved seeing her community come together not only in collected mourning, but more importantly in such beautiful collected support of each other," the obituary says.

Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to the Vera Adams Memorial Fund at Equitable Bank in South Weymouth. The funds will be used for a memorial project.

According to authorities, Adams was inside her Weymouth home on July 15 when 20-year-old Emanuel Lopes, on the run from police after shooting Officer Michael Chesna, opened fire and fatally shot her.

Lopes was arraigned in Quincy District Court and pleaded not guilty to murder charges.
WESTFIELD -- The Westfield Fire Commission on Monday night named a new city firefighter / EMT, a decision that has been appealed by the other candidate.

Michael Wailgum, 24, a Westfield native who graduated from the University of New Haven with a degree in bioscience administration, got the commission's nod.

Wailgum is the nephew of retired fire chief Mary Regan. He had internships with the Massachusetts State Police, New Haven Fire Department and Boston Fire Department.

He said he wanted to return to his roots. "I have a family history of firefighting in Westfield. I wanted to come back home to work in my community," Wailgum said.

The second candidate for the vacant position, Leon Morin, of Westfield, was deployed by the military and not able to attend the meeting, but his wife and supporters were there.

Morin was bypassed for the same vacancy by the Commission in the spring and is appealing that decision because he is a veteran. Fellow veteran and Lowell firefighter Tom Underwood spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting and told commissioners that Morin has job preference because of his veteran status.

"He has preference and you have to show that he's not qualified, not that someone else is more qualified," Underwood said, adding there would be a second appeal if he was not selected.

Commissioners said they followed the law in making their decision. The process included in-person interviews with both candidates, a pre-screening, a city application, reviews of introduction letters, resumes, references and a comprehensive CORI background check.

"We really looked at this," said Chairman Albert Masciadrelli. "If we make a bypass, there's a reason for it."

Commissioner Patrick Olearcek said it was a difficult process.

"This is not taken lightly," he said.

Wailgum said he planned to meet with the personnel staff Tuesday. "I'm excited and ready to work," he said.
 "Judicial Delegation" | Main | Could Judge Brett Kavanaugh, as a SCOTUS Justice, encourage his colleagues to take up acquitted conduct sentencing? 

July 23, 2018

Notable discussion of clemency's past, present and possible future in DC on July 25

As detailed in this press release, an impressive and diverse collection of experts will be speaking about clemency this week at the George Washington University Law School. Here are a few details about the event from the release:

Criminal Justice Reform Advocates to Hold Forum on July 25 to Discuss Clemency in the Trump Era, Featuring Commutation Recipient Alice Johnson & Bipartisan Clemency Advocates What: Justice Roundtable will host a forum on July 25, 2018 from 11:30 am to 2:00 pm to explore clemency for drug offenses, focusing on its use in the Bush, Clinton and Obama presidencies, how it is being handled during the Trump presidency and concrete ways it can be enhanced today and beyond. Where: George Washington University Law School, Moot Court Room 2000 H Street NW, Washington, DC When: 11:30 am to 2:00 pm; Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Here is how the clemency panel discussion is structured and scheduled speakers:

What it Was Roy Austin, former White House Domestic Policy Council

Rachel Barkow, Commissioner U.S. Sentencing Commission

Jason Hernandez, sentence commutation by President Obama

Amy Povah, Director CAN-DO Foundation & Clinton commutee What it Is Mark Holden, General Counsel, Koch Industries

Van Jones, political commentator, host of The Van Jones Show

Brittany Barnett, founder Buried Alive Project, Attorney for Alice Johnson

Alice Marie Johnson, sentenced commutation by President Trump What it Can Be Mark Osler, Professor & Distinguished Chair, Univ. of St. Thomas Law School

Paul Larkin, Senior Fellow, Meese Center, Heritage Foundation

Ebony Underwood, founder, We Got Us Now

Andrea James, Natl Council Incarcerated & Formerly Incarcerated Women & Girls

July 23, 2018 at 10:49 PM | Permalink

Comments

Looking forward to it.

Posted by: Beth | Jul 24, 2018 12:45:10 AM

Maybe over looked, but I didnt see Bill Otis name on the agenda.

Posted by: MidWestGuy | Jul 24, 2018 6:53:15 AM

Post a comment
PITTSFIELD - A woman critically injured in what has been called a self-inflicted shooting last week in the home of the Pittsfield police officer used the officer's service weapon, according to reports.

The Berkshire Eagle and WAMC-FM are reporting the officer, Miles Barber, a 18-year veteran of the department has been placed on administrative leave while the department's internal investigation into the shooting continues.

The shooting was reported just after 3 p.m. on July 18 for a shooting in Barber's home. Barber, who was off duty, had returned home to find the woman suffering from gunshot injury.

She was transported by helicopter ambulance to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield with critical injuries. At last report, she was in stable condition.

Her name and her relationship to Barber have not been disclosed.

The investigation by state police determined the shooting appeared to have been self-inflicted.

The Eagle cites Pittsfield Police Chief Michael Wynn saying investigators have determined the weapon used in the shooting was Barber's department issued service weapon, a 40-caliber Glock semiautomatic handgun.

The weapon is now in the custody of the Massachusetts State Police as part of the investigation.
A 21-year-old woman will be arraigned on Tuesday for the murder of Brandon Chicklis, on what would have been his 21st birthday.

Julia Enright of 171 Packard Hill Road in Ashburnham is accused of killing Chicklis in Ashburnham. His body was taken to New Hampshire and found off Route 119 in Rindge on July 10 after a jogger saw his remains in the woods, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said.

After an investigation that involved authorities from New Hampshire and Massachusetts, Enright was arrested Monday night, Early said during a brief press conference outside Winchendon District Court Tuesday afternoon.

Chicklis' cell phone records placed him at 171 Packard Hill Road on June 23, Early said. Search warrants have been served at the address.

A police search was conducted at the Packard Hill Road address last week.

Chicklis left his home in Westminster on June 23. His family reported him missing the next day, Early said.

A Honda that belonged to Chicklis was found on June 29 in the parking lot of the Hannaford Supermarket on U.S. Route 202 in Rindge, about six miles from where Chicklis' body was discovered.

Chicklis was found on July 10. The New Hampshire Attorney General's office used dental records to identify him. Chicklis' death was determined to be a homicide, but the cause of his death has not been made public.

More details were expected to be released during the arraignment. The district attorney did not elaborate on the nature of Chicklis' killing or any relationship between the victim and Enright.

Chicklis and Enright both graduated from Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School in 2015, according to a list of graduates posted online. The two are Facebook friends.

Chicklis' family has started a GoFundMe page to raise money for his funeral, which will be held at a later date.

"We have unfortunately lost our dear son, grandson, nephew, brother, friend and much more and are looking for ANY contributions towards funeral expenses to this very tragic event that has occurred," the page reads. "We appreciate any and all that you can give and thank you immensely."
A Fitchburg man accused of lying to police in connection with the death of 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver, the boy found dead inside a suitcase off a Massachusetts highway, admitted to misleading police and a grand jury during an appearance in court Tuesday.

Christian Sierra, the 25-year-old brother of Alberto Sierra, was sentenced to serve 2-and-a-half-years in jail for misleading police. He was ordered to serve 135 days of the sentence and was given credit for 135 days of time served.

The father of two young children will be on probation for two years for the perjury charge. The balance of the sentence will be suspended while he is on probation.

Christian Sierra was among three people who were charged in superior court with perjury and misleading police. Cailey Thibault, Christian Sierra's girlfriend at the time, and Ashley Cormier, a friend, both have cases pending.

Jeremiah Oliver went missing in Fitchburg in late 2013. His remains were found on April 18, 2014 inside a suitcase off Interstate 190 in Sterling. The boy's death has been ruled a homicide, but no one has been charged in the killing.

Elsa Oliver, Jeremiah's mother, and her then-boyfriend, Alberto Sierra, have both pleaded guilty to abusing Jeremiah's siblings, one boy and one girl. They are both currently in prison.

Charges filed in connection with the alleged abuse of Jeremiah were dropped against Elsa Oliver and Alberto Sierra after they were sentenced last year.

Dropping the charges against Oliver and Sierra is a legal maneuver that keeps the door open for the possibility of future charges to be filed against Sierra and Oliver in the killing of Jeremiah.

Alberto Sierra is accused of helping Elsa Oliver dump Jeremiah's body on the side of the highway.

Christian Sierra, Cormier and Thibault lied about phone calls made around the same time Elsa Oliver was arraigned in late December in connection with Jeremiah's disappearance, authorities said.

Prosecutor Courtney Sans said during an Dec. 14, 2013 interview with Massachusetts State Police detectives, Christian Sierra was told the disappearance of Jeremiah was "pretty serious" and the "easiest way to get into trouble" was to lie.

Christian Sierra, according to Sans, denied knowing anything about Jeremiah's disappearance and believed the child was in Florida.

Elsa Oliver told state Department of Children and Families investigators that Jeremiah was in Florida, but the investigators knew that wasn't the case, records show.

Authorities say the Sierra brothers, Elsa Oliver, Cormier and Thibault were either seen together or spoke via telephone or text messaging around the time of Jeremiah's disappearance.

Prosecutors say if investigators were aware of the cell phone calls, the meetings between the defendants and the text messages, police would have had more information in the beginning of the Jeremiah case.

Records say Thibault threatened Elsa Oliver while trying to get her to appear in Fitchburg District Court in December 2013.

Sans said Christian Sierra and the co-defendants delayed the investigation. Information was possibly lost in the investigation, she said.

Christian Sierra's lawyer said his client regrets not being open with police at the beginning of the investigation.

Cormier and Thibault return to court in August.
When authorities searched the Ashburnham property where Brandon Chicklis' cell phone was last pinged, police discovered the missing man's blood inside and around a treehouse in the backyard.

The treehouse is located near 171 Packard Hill Road in Ashburnham, where 21-year-old Julia Enright lives. She is now accused of killing Chicklis.

Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said on Tuesday that Enright killed Chicklis in Ashburnham on June 23. His family reported him missing the next day. Chicklis' body was dumped in New Hampshire, where a jogger discovered his remains on July 10.

Chicklis would have turned 21 today, as Enright appeared in court to face a murder charge. A not-guilty plea was entered on her behalf and she was ordered held without bail.

Several of Chicklis' family members sobbed as Enright was arraigned in Winchendon District Court. Family declined to comment outside the courtroom.

As authorities started to investigate Chicklis' disappearance and death, they discovered that his phone was at 171 Packard Hill Road on June 23 and then was either destroyed or turned off.

Police searched the property and found the treehouse, prosecutor Terry McLaughlin said as Enright was arraigned. Blood was found on the stairs leading up to the treehouse, inside the treehouse and underneath the treehouse.

"It was apparent that the treehouse had recently been cleaned and a new rug had been placed on the floor," documents filed in court read. "When the rug was removed, it appeared that blood had seeped down through the floorboards."

Blood was also found in Enright's car. The Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab determined that the blood belonged to Chicklis.

Enright told authorities that she had met with Chicklis at her property on June 23, but denied being in the treehouse or car with him, McLaughlin said.

She also told police that she and Chicklis were drinking alcohol on June 23 and said that Chicklis left to buy narcotics and never returned, court documents read.

Chicklis' family reported him missing on June 24.

Chicklis and Enright both graduated from Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School in 2015, according to a list of graduates posted online. The two knew each other, according to Early.

Court records list Enright's occupation as a phlebotomist, which is someone who is trained to draw blood from a patient.

Enright is scheduled to return to court on Aug. 29.

A Honda that belonged to Chicklis was found on June 29 in the parking lot of the Hannaford Supermarket on U.S. Route 202 in Rindge, New Hampshire.

Chicklis was found on July 10 after a jogger in Rindge spotted his body off Route 119, about six miles from the Hannaford store.

The New Hampshire Attorney General's office used dental records to identify Chicklis' body.

Chicklis' death was determined to be a homicide, but the cause of his death has not been made public. Court documents say he suffered numerous wounds.

Chicklis' family has started a GoFundMe page to raise money for his funeral, which will be held at a later date.

"We have unfortunately lost our dear son, grandson, nephew, brother, friend and much more and are looking for ANY contributions towards funeral expenses to this very tragic event that has occurred," the page reads. "We appreciate any and all that you can give and thank you immensely."

As of Tuesday afternoon, the page had raised more than $10,000 of its $12,000 goal.
The city of Worcester will work with Chinese bike sharing company ofo to collect all of the company's yellow dockless bikes from the city's streets within a week.

On Monday, ofo confirmed to MassLive that it is pulling all 400 of its bikes out of Worcester amid a nationwide downsizing. The company is also ending its service in Revere, Quincy and Lynn.

City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr. said in a statement Tuesday that the city will work with the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce and several other local partners to find a new bike sharing company for Worcester.

"From Walk-Bike Worcester to Worcester Earn-A-Bike, Worcester has long been a welcoming city for bike share culture," Augustus said.

When ofo came to Worcester last September with it's $1 an hour rentals, it was the second U.S. market the company launched in after Seattle.

At the time, the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce were actively searching for a bike share program to complement the city's ongoing renaissance, providing alternative modes of transportation as the city works to install bicycle lanes and get people moving both within and outside of downtown and the neighborhoods.

Ofo fit the bill. The company distributed bikes in targeted locations and riders used a smartphone application to locate and unlock the bikes. When they were done, they could leave them in any public place for someone else to find.

Now, ofo is cutting the vast majority of its workforce in the U.S. and retreating to a handful of larger cities. It has more than 40,000 bicycles in more than 30 U.S. markets.
A suspect has been arrested in connection with the murder of Brandon Chicklis.

The 20-year-old Westminster man went missing last month and was found dead in New Hampshire two weeks ago. Last week, police searched an Ashburnham property that was reportedly connected to Chicklis' disappearance and death.

The Worcester County District Attorney's Office said that a suspect will be arraigned in Winchendon District Court Friday morning.

A press conference will be held following the arraignment.

State Police detectives assigned to the office of Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. searched a property on Packard Hill Road in Ashburnham on Wednesday.

Chicklis was last seen in Westminster on June 23 around 1 p.m., driving a gray 2010 Honda Civic. The Honda was later found at the Hannaford Supermarket parking lot on U.S. Route 202 in Rindge by the New Hampshire State Police.

A jogger in Rindge discovered a body off Route 119 in Rindge on July 10. The New Hampshire Attorney General's office used dental records to identify the person.

There appears to be a connection between Chicklis and the Packard Hill property owner.

Chicklis graduated from high school with the property owner's daughter and is also Facebook friends with her, as first reported by the Sentinel and Enterprise.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
BOSTON -- A federal judge in Boston will allow a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's decision to end temporary protected status for some foreign nationals to continue.

U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper, in a 42-page ruling, denied a motion by the federal government to dismiss the case. She said she was unwilling to dismiss the possibility that racial bias was the cause of Trump administration decisions.

"This Court finds that the combination of a disparate impact on particular racial groups, statements of animus by people plausibly alleged to be involved in the decision-making process, and an allegedly unreasoned shift in policy sufficient to allege plausibly that a discriminatory purpose was a motivating factor in a decision," Casper wrote.

Temporary protected status, or TPS, allows people from certain countries affected by war or natural disaster to remain in the U.S. temporarily. People can end up staying for years, making it difficult for them to return.

President Donald Trump's administration has been announcing that it will end TPS for several countries because conditions have improved to the point that they are safely able to accept returnees.

A group of TPS holders and two immigrant rights groups -- Centro Presente and Haitian-Americans United -- sued Trump and top administration officials in federal court in Boston to force them to renew TPS for El Salvador, Haiti and Honduras.

Casper's ruling does not make any determination on the TPS policy, but it lets the lawsuit continue.

The groups argued that the Trump administration was motivated by racial bias when it ended TPS, based on statements Trump has made disparaging illegal immigrants, Latinos, Haitians and TPS recipients. They say the countries are not in a position to receive deportees, due to violence, crime, disease, poverty and other factors.

Casper said the plaintiffs have a plausible argument that the Trump administration adopted a new policy in considering only whether the conditions that initially led to TPS still exist, rather than also looking at other current conditions. The Trump administration had argued that it was continuing the same policy as prior administrations, so it did not offer a reason for the shift.

Regarding the claims of racial bias, attorneys for the U.S. argued that it was Homeland Security officials, not Trump, who made the TPS decisions, while Trump was the one accused of bias.

But Casper wrote that it would be "premature" to conclude that Trump had nothing to do with the decisions by his top officials. She cited a call allegedly made by then-White House Homeland Security Adviser John Kelly to then-Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke telling her that extending TPS for Haiti would prevent the Trump administration's "wider strategic goal" on immigration.

Casper found that the decisions' disproportionate impact on black and Latino people, Trump's statements and the shift in policy were enough to allow litigation to continue over whether the TPS decisions were made to protect a legitimate government interest or whether they were made illegally due to racial bias.

Casper rejected claims by the U.S. Department of Justice that the court does not have jurisdiction over TPS decisions.

Casper also denied a request by the Department of Justice to dismiss Trump as a defendant.

"We look forward to progressing in this important case and holding the federal government accountable for illegally and improperly canceling TPS and the life-saving humanitarian protection it provides to immigrants," said Oren Nimni, an attorney with the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice who represents the TPS recipients, in a statement.

Patricia Montes, executive director of Centro Presente, said in a statement, "TPS recipients have been an important part of our communities for decades. They are raising U.S. citizen children. They own businesses and homes. They deserve to be treated with dignity and respect by the federal government and President Trump."

The ultimate resolution of the case could affect the fate of 262,500 TPS holders from El Salvador, 58,550 from Haiti and 86,000 from Honduras who are currently living in the U.S.
BOSTON -- The Massachusetts Senate will vote Wednesday on a $601 million version of an economic development bill that includes patent law reform, non-compete reform and a host of municipal projects.

The economic development bill is an annual piece of legislation that authorizes borrowing to fund construction projects, job training and community grants.

A different version passed the House two weeks ago, and a final bill will have to be agreed on before the legislative session ends July 31.

The House version of the bill included a sales tax holiday the weekend of Aug. 11-12.

The Senate version of the bill does not include a sales tax holiday, but lawmakers are likely to introduce one through an amendment on the Senate floor.

The Senate bill includes slightly less money than the House - authorization to bond $601 million compared to $666 million.

There are two major policy proposals included in the Senate bill, but not the House bill.

One would set limits on how non-compete agreements are used by businesses.

The other would crack down on "patent trolls."

Patent trolls, officially known as non-practicing entities or patent assertion entities, send large numbers of letters to companies alleging that the company is infringing on a patent and demanding money to avoid a lawsuit.

The bill would prohibit someone from making an assertion of patent infringement "in bad faith" and would let someone file a civil lawsuit if they are the target of a bad faith patent claim.

The bill would require any demand letter that alleges patent infringement to include basic information about the patent, the patent owner and why the owner believes the person is infringing on a patent. The target of the letter would have to be given a reasonable time in which to respond.

This issue is one that has been pushed by Sen. Eric Lesser, D-Longmeadow, who had enormous power to shape the bill as Senate chairman of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies.

Lesser said Massachusetts is "one of the innovation capitals in the world," but one of just 17 states that does not protect entrepreneurs from patent trolls.

"We need to step up and make sure our entrepreneurs, our start-ups are protected," Lesser said.

Lesser said the bill would not affect the right of research institutions or manufacturers to protect their patents. It would crack down on the "shakedown operation" of organizations that "weaponize patent laws to extract as much money as they can."

"It's targeted at the most egregious examples of abuse," Lesser said.

The biggest difference between the two bills in funding is the Senate includes $200 million for the MassWorks infrastructure program, compared to $300 million that both the House and Gov. Charlie Baker proposed. MassWorks gives grants to cities and towns for public infrastructure that promotes economic development.

Lesser said the smaller appropriation "allows tighter oversight over where the funds are going and how they're being used."

The Senate bill includes $105 million for projects in coastal communities, compared to $100 million in the House. Like the House bill, it includes $100 million to expand a Boston cruise port and $50 million for rehabilitating cultural facilities.

The Senate includes $32.7 million for municipal grants to improve publicly owned or nonprofit-owned buildings or land; $25 million for higher education manufacturing programs; $75 million for technical education and training programs; and $12.5 million for small business grants.

The bill includes a tax credit to incentivize businesses to move into vacant downtown storefronts. It would create a new program to help municipal governments connect with technology startups.

The bill would require cable television operators to provide access to free public, educational and governmental access channels in the same way as they provide access to paid broadcast channels -- for example, using HDTV technology.

It would require the state Medicaid office to allocate $2 million to provide a health insurance purchasing pool to fishermen.

The economic development bill always includes numerous local earmarks, many of which will be added during debate on the Senate floor.
BOSTON -- Gov. Charlie Baker has signed a bill giving firefighters who get certain types of cancer access to paid leave.

The bill, H.2515, builds on an existing law that says certain cancers are assumed to be sustained in the line of duty unless there is a showing that the cancer stems from another cause. The new law will let firefighters who are temporarily incapacitated by cancer receive paid leave to deal with their illness.

Baker signed the bill on Friday and held a ceremonial bill signing at a fire station in Lynn on Tuesday.

Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said in a statement, "This bill will help provide for those men and women impacted by cancer, one of the many unseen dangers associated with such a courageous profession."
An economic development bill released Monday by a Massachusetts Senate committee revives attempts to regulate non-compete agreements during the final days of the legislative session.

"Non-competes have been increasingly overused in Massachusetts," said Sen. Jason Lewis, D-Winchester, chairman of the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development. "I think they in many cases are unfair to workers and their ability to earn an income and support themselves and their families." Lewis added that when enforced broadly, non-compete agreements can "stifle innovation and can hurt the state's economy."

Businesses use non-compete agreements to prohibit employees from going to work for a competitor and sharing inside knowledge. They are frequently used in industries like tech, finance and pharmaceuticals. But employees have complained that companies are going too far -- for example, restaurants or camps are using non-competes to prevent hourly employees from working for a competitor.

The bill, which will be voted on Wednesday, would require any non-compete to be agreed on in writing by both parties. It must be no broader than necessary to protect a company's legitimate business interest that cannot be protected in a less restrictive way.

A non-compete could last for no longer than a year and would be limited geographically to the area where the company has interests. The non-compete would also have to include a clause requiring the employer to pay half of the employee's wages during the restricted period, unless the employer and employee agree on another type of compensation.

Non-competes could not be enforced against certain types of employees, such as interns, teenagers or anyone who is laid off.

The bill would also establish a Uniform Trade Secrets Act, allowing a company to sue an employee who misappropriates a trade secret.

In the last legislative session in 2016, the Massachusetts House and Senate both passed bills to regulate the use of non-competes by setting limits on who can be subject to a non-compete and what non-competes could look like. However, negotiators were unable to reach agreement on a final version of the bill. Discussions continued until the final day of the session, and it only became clear at midnight that a deal would not be reached.

The language in this year's bill is similar to what was being negotiated at that time. It is the same as language that passed a joint House-Senate committee earlier this year.

Sen. Will Brownsberger, D-Belmont, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, who has been involved in the legislative discussions, said he is hopeful that this year, the language will pass because House and Senate lawmakers are on the same page.

"Non-competes are overused in this commonwealth, and this language will definitely move us in a good direction," Brownsberger said.

State Rep. Paul Brodeur, D-Melrose, House chairman of the Committee on Labor and Workforce Development, said in a statement, "I am looking forward to reviewing the language that clears the Senate and hope we can help workers get the relief they deserve."

Lewis said the bill was a "consensus" piece of legislation, which emerged from discussions between senators, representatives, workers and businesses. "I think it's fair to say everyone has some things they like and some things they perhaps aren't thrilled about or think the bill doesn't go far enough," Lewis said.

Sen. Eric Lesser, D-Longmeadow, Senate chairman of the Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, said the bill "will do a lot to correct some of the worst and most abusive elements of non-competes."

Lesser said the use of non-compete agreements puts Massachusetts at a competitive disadvantage compared to states like California, which do not allow them.

If the provision passes the Senate, the language would have to survive informal negotiations on a final bill with the House. If both the House and Senate approve it, the bill would go to Gov. Charlie Baker, who could sign or veto it.

Senate President Harriette Chandler, D-Worcester, would not predict whether non-compete reform will end up making it into law. The legislative session ends July 31. "I don't know about that," Chandler said. "We have so much to do in such a short time."
 Spotlighting a remarkably thoughtful federal sentence in a remarkably challenging setting | Main | A father's perspective on clemency and its potential (and limits) 

July 23, 2018

"The Budgetary Effects of Ending Drug Prohibition"

The title of this post is the title of this notable new paper authored by Jeffrey Miron published by the Cato Institute. Here is how it starts:

In the past several years, the national movement to end drug prohibition has accelerated. Nine states and Washington, DC, have legalized recreational marijuana, with at least three more states (Connecticut, Michigan, and Ohio) likely to vote on legalization by the end of 2018. Dozens of others have decriminalized the substance or permitted it for medicinal use. Moreover, amid the nations ongoing opioid crisis, some advocates and politicians are calling to decriminalize drugs more broadly and rethink our approach to drug enforcement. Drug legalization affects various social outcomes. In the debate over marijuana legalization, academics and the media tend to focus on how legalization affects public health and criminal justice outcomes. But policymakers and scholars should also consider the fiscal effects of drug liberalization. Legalization can reduce government spending, which saves resources for other uses, and it generates tax revenue that transfers income from drug producers and consumers to public coffers. Drawing on the most recent available data, this bulletin estimates the fiscal windfall that would be achieved through drug legalization. All told, drug legalization could generate up to $106.7 billion in annual budgetary gains for federal, state, and local governments. Those gains would come from two primary sources: decreases in drug enforcement spending and increases in tax revenue. This bulletin estimates that state and local governments spend $29 billion on drug prohibition annually, while the federal government spends an additional $18 billion. Meanwhile, full drug legalization would yield $19 billion in state and local tax revenue and $39 billion in federal tax revenue. In addition, this bulletin briefly examines the budgetary effects of state marijuana legalizations that have already taken place in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington. This study finds that, so far, legalization in those states has generated more tax revenue than previously forecast but generated essentially no reductions in criminal justice expenditure. The bulletin offers possible explanations for those finding.

I cannot help but being a bit suspicious of parts of this paper because the very first sentence is a little off: it is not at all "likely" that Connecticut or Ohio will have marijuana legalization votes in 2018. Michigan will be having an initiative vote in November, and it is possible that Missouri, North Dakota and Oklahoma voters all could also have a chance to vote for full legalization, too. This state-vote accounting snafu notwithstanding, the other forms of accounting in this paper still seem to me worth checking out, and the paper also seem to provide a good excuse to link to a few related recent posts from Marijuana Law, Policy and Reform:

July 23, 2018 at 05:19 PM | Permalink

Comments

One reason, I do not harass you on your Marijuana blog is that the question of legalization is settled in every way, clinically, economically, and legally. Full recreational marijuana should be legal. Its quality should be regulated. Its cost should be taxed. Prof. Berman is doing a good job of reporting marijuana law developments, with a quiet bias in favor of legalization. I agree with Prof. Berman, and I disagree with Bill Otis on this subject.

Opiates for practical purposes are also ubiquitous and mostly immunized. So opiate use should be legalized. There are, tragically, positive effects of the overdose deaths associated with its prohibition. Prohibition is a major factor in the deaths of 45000 people. These deaths may make crime come close to disappearing. The lawyer hierarchy is responsible for this mass murder, but it is not all bad.



Should cocaine, amphetamines and hallucinogens be legal? I do not know.



Everyone knows this, and it has been widely known for 50 years. Nothing comes close to the killings of 400,000 people a year by tobacco, and 100,000 a year by alcohol. These are direct natural deaths by the substances themselves. Then, half the murderers are drunk. Half the murder victims are drunk. Half the suicides are legally drunk. These fractions are likely to be even higher in domestic abuse and battery cases. These two substances stand alone in damage.



The lawyer has successfully squeezed the rate of smoking from 40% to 15% of the population. That model may be applicable to these other troublesome substances, as the most productive, least expensive approach.

Posted by: David Behar | Jul 23, 2018 9:39:44 PM

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A majority of American voters believe President Donald Trump's recent summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin hurt the United States and think that the Kremlin has compromising information on the American commander in chief, according to a new poll.

A Quinnipiac University national survey released Tuesday found that voters, by a 52 to 27 percent margin, believe the Helsinki summit was a "failure" for the U.S., while 73 percent cast the high-profile gathering as a "success" for Russia.

More than half of voters, or 54 percent, said they believe Trump was not acting in the country's best interest in his talks with Putin, the poll found.

Similarly, voters, by a 51 to 35 percent margin, said they think the Kremlin may have compromising information on Trump, including three-quarters of Democrats, over half of independents and 18 percent of Republicans, according to survey results.

Despite criticism Trump has faced following the Helsinki summit, the percent of Americans who believe Russia may have something on him has remained largely unchanged since April.

Then, a Quinnipiac survey found voters, by a 53 to 35 percent margin, believed that the Russian government has compromising information on the president.

More than two-thirds of American voters, however, said they are "very" or "somewhat" concerned about Trump's relationship with Russia, and 59 percent said they disapprove of the way the president handles issues involving Putin, according to the latest survey.

Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, offered the findings suggest that "Trump's relationship with Russia has delivered a small blow to his already poor standing with the American people."

"Following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Trump's job approval is back below 40 percent again," he said, noting that only 38 percent of American voters surveyed had favorable views of his work in office.

"The president gets a split 49 to 47 percent score on the economy, but he receives negative reviews on his handling of a bevy of international problems and especially his relationship with Russia," Brown continued.

The Quinnipiac survey polled nearly 1,200 voters nationwide via telephone from July 18 to 23. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points .

The findings came one week after Trump drew criticism for telling reporters during a joint news conference with Putin that he didn't "see any reason why" the Kremlin would have meddled in the 2016 election.

When pressed on whether he believes U.S. intelligence officials and would condemn Russia's alleged actions, the president further questioned the Federal Bureau of Investigation's handling of the probe in election interference.

Days later, however, Trump stressed that he accepts American intelligence officials' finding that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential contest and misspoke in his news conference remarks.
Get Sample Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2866

Global M Health Device Market  Key Players

Some of the key players in this market are: Allscripts, Apple Inc., GE Healthcare, Athenahealth, Cerner, Koninklijke and Medtronics.

Global M Health Device Market  Overview

M-Health is a process of enabling various e-health data content and services to users, by using wireless technologies such as WiMax, Bluetooth, GSM/GPRS/3G, and WiFi among others. These data contents and services are accessed by the health providers, consumers (patients), and other related users through devices such as mobile phones, smart phones, PDAs, laptops, and tablet PCs (personal computers).

The M-Health Devices Market report presents detailed analysis of the entire mHealth ecosystem and provides extensive insights of the different mHealth devices. The report also focuses on different applications in which mHealth devices are being used. Further, all of the above mentioned report coverage parameters are discussed across different regions like North Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC) and Middle East & Africa (MEA). The global mHealth device market is expected to grow at an estimated CAGR of 35.03% from 2017 to 2023. The Global M-health device market is expected to grow with CAGR of 35.03% during the period 2017 to 2023.

There is a growing acceptance of wearable devices pertaining to medical applications is further propelling the demand of mHealth devices across the ecosystem. These devices enables various e-health data content and services to users, by using wireless technologies. The global mHealth device market has been identified as one of the fastest growing industries, owing to the changing dynamics of the legal and regulatory framework and the intense competitive rivalry among a plethora of public companies.

The devices includes Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) (sensors, semiconductors & smartphones, and Personal Digital Asstaints manufacturers) along with manufacturers of medical devices, health and fitness devices, and other devices. However, this report focuses specifically on the end product providers (medical devices, Health & fitness devices, and others). These devices are deployed for monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment applications that augment the chances of better healthcare and fitness systems. These devices work as a guiding framework to record the data by the patient and send it to the healthcare providers for feedback.

Global M Health Device Market  Segments

Global M-Health Device Market has been segmented on the basis of Type (Medical Devices, Health and Fitness Devices and Other Devices), by Application (Monitoring application, Treatment and Diagnostics, Education and Awareness, Healthcare Management, Wellness and Prevention and Others)

Global M Health Device Market  Regional Analysis

The global market for M-Health Devices is growing rapidly. The market for M-Health Devices growing with the CAGR of 35.03% during the forecast period from 2017-2023. This growth is due to the cost effectiveness of these devices and easy storage and transfer of patient data. North America accounts for largest market share in 2016 and is expected to reach US$ 16,443.4 million in 2023 due to establishment of healthcare system and technological advancement. In North America, US accounts for the highest market share followed by Canada. Europe is second largest market. In Europe has largest market followed by France and Italy. This is due to increase in efficiency of healthcare workers and healthcare system.

Asia-Pacific region is the fastest growing market for m-health devices, which is expected to grow at a CAGR of 35.71% during the forecast period from 2016 to 2023 is due to the emergence of high-quality and better healthcare infrastructure and institutions in this region.

Major Table of Content

Chapter 1. Report Prologue

Chapter 2. Market Introduction

2.1 Definition

2.2 Scope of the Study

2.2.1 Research Objective

2.2.2 Assumptions

2.2.3 Limitations

Chapter 3. Research Methodology

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Primary Research

3.3 Secondary Research

3.4 Market Size Estimation

Chapter 4. Market Dynamics

Continued.

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by Gary Holmes , Op-Ed Contributor, July 23, 2018

So Sacha Baron Cohen is up to his old tricks again. After having achieved notoriety as Ali G, the fake interviewer with the funny accent who duped former Secretary of State James Baker and others into answering silly questions, Baron Cohen went on to even greater fame as Borat, a fake documentarian from Kazakhstan.

The Baron Cohen shtick is to make politicians and ordinary people look ridiculous by tricking them into interviews under false pretenses and then engaging them in an increasingly absurd line of questioning until they figure out theyve been had. This is supposed to reveal something profound about the purported absurdity of the American experience.

This is hardly an original approach to comedy or social commentary. Half of the content onThe Daily Show consists of mocking interviews with some poor rube who doesnt watch Comedy Central and doesnt know better than to engage with its correspondents.

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But my purpose today is not to critique Baron Cohens new Showtime series Who Is America?, which I probably wont be watching anyway, but to wonder how it is that 14 years after Da Ali G Show, people still fall for his tricks?

I have a professional interest in this question. Having worked in public relations for a long time, Id like to think that no client of mine would even be interviewed by a disguised Sacha Baron Cohen. It is the job of a PR handler to vet the interviewer well before anyone agrees to talk in front of a camera. You do this by talking with his or her producer, then verifying everything theyve told you via Google searches and databases like Cision and Gorkana. Best practices would then call for the PR team to produce a briefing memo with the bio of the interviewer, some suggested themes, and maybe even some potential questions.

Its fair to say that none of these procedures were followed before Baron Cohens victims agreed to be interviewed for Who Is America? However, those of us on the outside are in no position to second-guess too aggressively, because we dont know what claims were made to induce the subjects to be interviewed.

There are allegations that Baron Cohen and his staff gained credibility by telling interview targets they were working on a series for Showtime. If thats true, I think this is the last time any sane person would allow himself to appear in a program described as a Showtime documentary. On the other hand, at least one of the Baron Cohen characters apparently represented himself as a representative of truthbrary.org, which purports to be a conspiracy-oriented website. If anyone clicked on this outlandish site and still agreed to the interview, then he got everything he deserved.

My guess is that few if any PR handlers were involved in arranging these interviews. The people who appear in Who Is America? fall into two general categories: 1) politicians like Bernie Sanders, Sarah Palin and Dick Cheney, who have been interviewed so many times that their staffs probably no longer bother to do rudimentary checks on interviewers; and 2) regular schmoes who are interviewed so rarely that they dont even know they should do some research first.

Reporters sometimes claim that public relations people run interference between them and potential newsmakers  but shows like Who Is America? and The Daily Show demonstrate why so many people use PR staff to shield them from potential mockery. If I were in the Public Relations Society of America, I would launch a PR campaign based solely on Sacha Baron Cohen clips with the tagline, Dont Let This Happen To You!
by Tanya Gazdik , Staff Writer, July 23, 2018

Hyundais 16-month long partnership with Amazon is expanding to include a new digital showroom. It will feature more robust information on the Hyundai brand and vehicles available via the online retailer. It also gives customers the ability to quickly find a Hyundai dealer in their area.

Car buyers can compare pricing and reviews, book test drives, check dealer inventories and other Shopper Assurance conveniences directly through Amazon Vehicles. The new digital showroom can be found at Amazon.com/Hyundai.

The car industry is changing, and customer demands and expectations around a frictionless, efficient and transparent experience are key drivers, says Dean Evans, CMO Hyundai Motor America, who gave a detailed presentation on Shopper Assurance at MediaPosts Marketing: Automotive conference at the New York Auto Show earlier this year. Hyundai Shopper Assurance was just the first step in modernizing the way people shop for and buy cars.

The automaker and online retailer partnered in March 2017 to to let potential customers order up test drives right from the e-tailers website. Available via Amazon Prime Now, the program featured the 2017 Elantra in California for 45- to 60-minute test drives over several weekends.

Hyundais showroom on Amazon.com takes prospective car buyers on a customer journey, starting with a brand experience page highlighting the latest in Hyundai technology and automotive innovation. From there, customers can learn about Hyundai Assurance, receive details on vehicles that fit their preferences and buying habits, read reviews and more.

For the first time, customers also have the opportunity to click through directly to HyundaiUSA.com to access Shopper Assurance conveniences, including transparent pricing, flexible test drives, streamlined purchase options and a three day worry-free exchange, along with finding a local Hyundai dealer.

This collaboration with Amazon provides customers with the ability to learn about Hyundai vehicles in a way that matches their expectations for nearly every other type of purchase, said Tim Maxwell, senior group manager, digital marketing, Hyundai Motor America. Hyundai and its dealers are modernizing the car buying process, so it made sense for us to be the first car company with its own digital showroom.

This is not a short-lived trend; in fact, its only the beginning, says Sam Mylrea, CEO of PureCars.

They are proving to other OEMs that making the car-buying experience as seamless as possible drives sales, Mylrea tells MediaPosts Drive Time. Consumers value convenience more than anything. While car buying is no exception, auto manufacturers have been slow to catch on.

Investing in a new car is a stressful and time-consuming process and, at the end of the day, the sale goes to the dealer who streamlines the process  which is what Hyundai is doing by partnering with Amazon, Mylrea says.

Partnerships between automakers and Amazon will continue to develop, and those who capitalize on the opportunity will be able to connect with more car buyers, he adds.

In a world where the most convenient option is usually the preferred choice, Amazon comes out on top, Mylrea says. Car buyers dont want to spend an entire Saturday at the dealership, so its time to bring the sales where theyre already shopping."
by Wayne Friedman , July 24, 2018

Just a year after she was promoted to Chief Revenue Officer, Univision Communications Tonia O'Connor will step down from her position -- all this comes in the midst of a company-wide restructuring.

O'Connor had been a longtime senior executive for the Spanish-language TV group. Previously, OConnor has been executive vice president of distribution sales and marketing for since January 2008.

Over the past decade, the company credits her for boosting the group to 17 networks from three channels, including Univisions first English-language digital network.

Univision has had to make some major structural changes this year -- after abandoning plans for an IPO due to lackluster investor response.

As part of this change, Univision hired Morgan Stanley to help the possible sale of digital properties, which includes The Onion, Gizmodo, Jezebel, Deadspin, Lifehacker, The Root.

In March, CEO Randy Falco retired two years, prior to his contract expiring. He was replaced in May by Vincent Sadusky.

Over the past year -- July 2017 to July 2018 -- the Univision network has pulled in $1.5 billion in national TV advertising, according to iSpot.tv.
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, July 24, 2018

BrightEdge and Searchmetrics have settled their patent infringement lawsuit after four years in court and a huge amount of undisclosed financial investments.

On Monday the two companies said they dismissed all legal claims between them as a result of a settlement, which resolves legal claims brought between BrightEdge and Searchmetrics concerning the misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition, trade libel and patent infringement -- cases brought before the Superior Court of California and the U.S. Northern District Court of California.

It became effective on July 9, 2018. Settlement terms were not disclosed.

The suit began in 2014 when BrightEdge claimed five patents were infringed upon by Searchmetrics. In January 2018, a California federal court judge ruled in favor of the defendant, Searchmetrics, after a costly and lengthy patent infringement battle against BrightEdge.
by Sarah Mahoney @mahoney_sarah, July 24, 2018

First daughter Ivanka Trump is throwing in the made-in-China towel on her branded apparel line, IT Collection, and political activists are quickly stepping in to claim victory.

While the privately held company has claimed sales of its products, which include clothing, jewelry and accessories, are up, its been facing a constant stream of criticism ever since the Trumps moved to Washington.

At first, the brand, launched in 2011, seemed to benefit from her fathers White House win, with wholesale revenue rising 61% to $47.3 million in the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2017, as reported by Fortune.

But as reaction built against President Donald Trumps famous Access Hollywood tape, in which he encouraged men to grab women by the you-know-what, activists started the #GrabYourWallet movement, urging people to boycott any stores selling Trump-branded gear.

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Nordstrom was the first to cave to the pressure, and stopped selling Ivanka Trump clothing in February 2017, citing poor performance for the brand. That triggered both nasty tweets from the president, and an endorsement from White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, who took to Fox News to urge people to go buy Ivankas stuff. (That earned her a counseling from administration brass.) Stores like Burlington and Belk soon followed, yanking the clothing from its shelves.

And while Ivanka Trump stepped back from day-to-day management, a Wall Street Journal analysis last December found that she manages to wear her branded clothing in 68% of her public appearances.

The timing of the shutdown is interesting: This is Made in America week at the White House, and Ivanka Trump has spoken out on behalf of American workers. But all of her products are made outside of the United States, and earlier this year, the Associated Press reported widespread labor abuses in its Chinese manufacturing chain. Just recently, Hudson Bay Corp., which owns Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue, also stopped selling the collection.

Then last month, in just one of a series of allegations that the company stole work from other designers, a judge has ordered Ivanka Trump to appear in court.

Views on the brand have become highly polarized, and it has become a lightning rod for protests and boycotts, writes Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, in a note. While the company is still viable, doing business has become far more challenging, and these problems will only increase.

This is people power at work, says Shannon Coulter, co-founder of #GrabYourWallet, in a tweet. This is you using your voices and your hard-earned money to push back on extremism. This is you saying no to the hate that the Trump administration embodies. You are #GrabYourWallet and this is your win.
The Duke Buys A Bride by Sophie Jordan

Rogue Files, #3

Historical Romance

July 24, 2018

Avon

Reviewed by Tori

Favorite Quote: I always sleep naked.

Not with me you dont.

As this was the first time we slept together, I did not realize we had established protocol.

Alyse Bell was sold into marriage when her father gave her to a friend in the hopes she would be protected after he passed away. Having reached her maturity, she is ready to start her future with her best friend who promised to come back and take her away. Only, he never arrives and her husband arranges for the auction to continue so he can marry another. As she stands on the auction block in the center of town, a rope around her neck like chattel and fuming in silence as she watches those she considers her friends and family bidding on her like a fatted calf, a handsome stranger rides into the square and places the winning bid.

Marcus Weatherton (The Scandal of it All) left London after discovering his stepmother was in love with his best friend and his fiancee dumped him for his illegitimate brother. Waking up in jail after an all-night bender, Marcus heads out of town out only to happen upon an auction where a young woman is being sold to the highest bidder. Shocked and outraged by the scene, Marcus intervenes only to discover he didnt buy her freedomhe bought a wife.

Expecting gratitude, he instead gets attitude and decides to take her to his estate in Scotland and set her up as his housekeeper. But the road to redemption is long and a series of misadventures and close calls shows Marcus that life often gifts you with what you need when you least expect it.

Marcus, the fifth Duke of Autenberry, woke up with a startled jolt face-down in horse shit So begins the third novel in Sophie Jordans Rogue Files series-The Duke Buys a Bride. Delightfully witty and overflowing with snark, guilt, pride, and sexual tension, Jordan writes a compelling and bittersweet story that addresses the lack of female agency and one mans abrupt awakening to his own privilege. Laughter and a few heart-pinching moments firmly engages the reader as Jordan weaves an opposite attraction romance that delights and enchants from page one.

I love opposite attraction and marriages of convenience, especially when the couple are strong-willed, decidedly independent, and well versed in the art of witty repertoire. Alyce knows her place in the world and has accepted it for the time being because shes always has a plan. When her plan falls through, she adjusts and adapts. Something women have been doing for ages. Married at a very young age, she was essentially a nanny to the older mans children and a caretaker for him. It was a tolerable situation because Alyse knew it wouldnt last forever. Having planned to marry her childhood sweetheart, she is once again denied her voice when he runs away, leaving her at the mercy of the town and her soon-no-to-be husband.

He was supposed to take her with him. He had promised they would begin a life together [] He had agreed. But he left. He had abandoned her. Left her to be auctioned off, sold to any man with the whim to buy her.

Purchased by a stranger, Alyse is determined to use her latest situation to her advantage as they head towards his estate. She attempts to engage Marcus only to find a stubborn, grumpy, and rather stinky man whose speech and carriage tell her hes not from around there and of a much higher social setting.

Where are you from?

A beat of silence passed before he answered. England.

Obviously.

[]

I hear the highlands are lovely any time of year. I imagine covered in snow they are quite majestic.

At last, he asked in a wearied voice, Do you plan to talk the entire journey?

Have you an aversion to conversation, sir? We will be in each others company for a long time and I thought it might help.

Help? With what? I dont require pointless banter.

Pointless banter? She huffed out a foggy breath. The man did not win points for charm.

So begins their battle of wits.

Alyse and Marcus are an amusingly prickly couple, tossed together by circumstance. Alyse just wants the freedom long denied her and Marcus wants to be left alone to wallow in his misery. A reluctant hero, Marcus is caught between wanting to save the fair maiden but now that he has, he is unsure what to do with her. His own childhood and a series of blows he has suffered in London has left him weary and disillusioned. He denies the chemistry he feels between them, unable to accept this young woman may be his destiny. Alyse herself has no illusions about Marcus or even romance in general. She has been disappointed so many times. She knows she is not for him and is put out when he cleans up and she can see exactly who he is.

Dear God. This was the man who bought her. Her employer. Hed bathed, shaved, and was positily transformed. He wasbeautiful. No, no, no, no. He could not be this. He could not look like this. She could not be stuck withthis.

A series of mishaps follow them on their way to his estate; from sickness to kidnapping, they push their way forward. Marcus fluctuates between bemoaning his situation to worrying about her every step of the way. He repeatedly finds himself in compromising situations with her only to back away and cry foul. He refuses to legitimize their marriage, though when she is abducted, he discovers he cannot live let her go. She has become more than a dutya burden. She had become a person he cared about.

Their first night together he had simply climbed into bed with her, giving her little thought. Them she was nothing more than a woman he had bought at auction. Someone he had taken pity on and helped through a difficult time.

Now she was something more.

No longer a stranger.

An eclectic cast of secondary characters gives the book some depth and provides amusement. I enjoyed seeing Marcus brother and his wife. Alyses friend/stepdaughter Nellie was a fierce one and I loved her protective nature. Some minor issues left me a little berate though didnt spoil my overall enjoyment. I do wish the focus hadnt been totally on just this couple. I would have enjoyed seeing some resolution from what happened in London though Jordan hints at some reconciliation on that front while preparing the way for the next book concerning Marcuss sister.

The Duke Buys A Bride is another grand adventure from Sophie Jordan and an entertaining addition to this series.

Grade: B

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by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, July 24, 2018

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai plans to testify to Congress that the recent repeal of the net neutrality rules is paving the way for better broadband service.

"The Internet remains open and free, and we now have a regulatory framework in place that is encouraging the private sector to make the investments necessary to bring better, faster, and cheaper broadband to more Americans," Pai will tell the House Communications Subcommittee, according to his prepared statement.

Last December, the FCC voted 3-2 to repeal the Obama-era net neutrality rules, including rules that prohibited carriers from blocking or throttling traffic and from charging higher fees for prioritized delivery.

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Pai has frequently claimed that those regulations were too heavy-handed, and depressed investment. But consumer advocates and other net neutrality proponents say net neutrality rules are necessary to prevent Comcast, AT&T and other broadband providers from censoring sites or discriminating against competitors like Netflix.

Pai reiterates in his written testimony that network investment declined in the two years after 2015, when the agency passed net neutrality regulations. "Weve now abandoned that failed policy," he states.

But some net neutrality advocates who have examined the carriers' stock reports have reached different conclusions. The pro-neutrality advocacy group Free Press said last year that investment by 13 major broadband providers increased in the two years after the FCC passed the net neutrality regulations.

The FCC Chairman adds that the internet "remains open and free," despite the repeal. "We were told that it would be the destruction of the Internet, or as some outlets put it, 'the end of the Internet as we know it,'" he will testify. "But the [order] has taken effect, and the sky has not fallen. Indeed, the only thing that has fallen is the credibility of the Chicken Littles who made such dire predictions."

Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, who supported the Obama-era regulations, plans to tell Congress that the agency's procedures too often "fall short of what good governance requires."

Among other examples, she will mention that the agency ignored the influx of fake comments about net neutrality, including half a million comments from Russia.
Highlights for acetaminophen-hydrocodone Acetaminophen-hydrocodone oral tablet is available as a generic drug and as a brand-name drug. Brand name: Norco. Acetaminophen-hydrocodone comes as an oral tablet and an oral solution. Acetaminophen-hydrocodone oral tablet is used to treat moderate to severe pain that other treatments have not been able to relieve.

Acetaminophen-hydrocodone side effects Acetaminophen-hydrocodone oral tablet may make you feel sleepy, dizzy, or lightheaded. Avoid driving a car or using machinery until you know how your body reacts to this medication. This drug can also cause other side effects. More common side effects The more common side effects that can occur with acetaminophen-hydrocodone include: sleepiness or drowsiness

feeling dizzy or lightheaded

nausea

vomiting

constipation Serious side effects Call your doctor right away if you have serious side effects. Call 911 if your symptoms feel life threatening or if you think youre having a medical emergency. Serious side effects and their symptoms can include the following: Skin rash

Swelling of your face, throat, and mouth

Liver problems, including liver failure. Symptoms may include: yellowing of your skin and the whites of your eyes pain in the upper right part of your stomach area swelling of your stomach area itchiness confusion feeling tired lack of appetite

Trouble breathing

Drug dependence Disclaimer: Our goal is to provide you with the most relevant and current information. However, because drugs affect each person differently, we cannot guarantee that this information includes all possible side effects. This information is not a substitute for medical advice. Always discuss possible side effects with a healthcare professional who knows your medical history. Other warnings Severe allergic reaction warning: This medication may cause a severe, potentially life threatening allergic reaction. The reaction can occur very quickly. Symptoms may include: trouble breathing swelling of your face, throat, and mouth rash itching vomiting

This medication may cause a severe, potentially life threatening allergic reaction. The reaction can occur very quickly. Symptoms may include: If this occurs, stop taking this medication and call your doctor right away or get emergency medical help. Adrenal gland problems warning: This medication may cause your adrenal glands to not work as well. Symptoms may include: nausea vomiting loss of appetite tiredness weakness dizziness lightheadedness

This medication may cause your adrenal glands to not work as well. Symptoms may include: If you have these symptoms, talk with your doctor. You may need to stop taking this medication or have some tests done.

What is acetaminophen-hydrocodone? Acetaminophen-hydrocodone is a prescription medication. As an opioid, its a controlled substance. It comes as an oral tablet and an oral solution. Acetaminophen-hydrocodone oral tablet is available as the brand-name drug Norco. Its also available in its generic form. Generic drugs usually cost less than brand-name drugs. In some cases, they may not be available in every strength or form as the brand-name version. This medication is a combination of two or more drugs in a single form. Its important to know about all the drugs in the combination because each drug may affect you in a different way.

What is acetaminophen-hydrocodone used for? Acetaminophen-hydrocodone oral tablets are used to treat moderate to severe pain that other treatments have not been able to relieve. This medication is a combination of the opioid (narcotic) hydrocodone and the analgesic (pain reliever) acetaminophen. Doctors prescribe both drugs to help reduce their patients pain. These drugs work in the brain to block pain signals and decrease the ability to feel pain. Hydrocodone can alter how the body responds to pain, helping a person feel more comfortable. Acetaminophen can also reduce a fever.

Acetaminophen-hydrocodone may interact with other medications Acetaminophen-hydrocodone oral tablet can interact with other medications, vitamins, or herbs you may be taking. An interaction is when a substance changes the way a drug works. This can be harmful or prevent the drug from working well. To help avoid interactions, your doctor should manage all of your medications carefully. Be sure to tell your doctor about all medications, vitamins, or herbs youre taking. To find out how this drug might interact with something else youre taking, talk with your doctor or pharmacist. Examples of drugs that can cause interactions with acetaminophen-hydrocodone are listed below. Drugs that cause drowsiness Taking certain drugs with acetaminophen-hydrocodone increases your risk of drowsiness, dizziness, tiredness, and reduced physical and mental function. If you need to use one of these drugs with acetaminophen-hydrocodone, the dosage of one or both drugs should be reduced. Examples of these drugs include: other opioids (narcotics)

antihistamines, which are used for allergies

antipsychotics, which are used for bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or depression

benzodiazepines, which are used for anxiety Drugs that increase serotonin Taking this medication with drugs that increase the amount of a chemical called serotonin in your body can cause a serious problem. This problem, called serotonin syndrome, can be fatal. Tell your doctor if you are taking any of these medications: some antidepressants (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors [SSRIs], selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors [SNRIs], tricyclic antidepressants [TCAs], monoamine oxidase inhibitors [MAOIs], mirtazapine, trazodone)

certain drugs for migraine (triptans) certain drugs for nausea, such as ondansetron

tramadol, which is used for pain

linezolid, which is an antibiotic Drugs that inhibit activity of certain enzymes in the liver Taking this medication with drugs that can inhibit activity of certain liver enzymes can increase the amount of hydrocodone in your body and cause more side effects. You may have increased breathing problems or drowsiness. Examples of these drugs include: erythromycin

ketoconazole

protease inhibitors used to treat HIV, such as ritonavir Drugs that increase activity of certain enzymes in the liver Taking this medication with drugs that can increase activity of certain liver enzymes can lower the amount of hydrocodone or acetaminophen in your body. You may need a higher dose of this medication to control your pain. Examples of these drugs include: rifampin

carbamazepine

phenytoin Disclaimer: Our goal is to provide you with the most relevant and current information. However, because drugs interact differently in each person, we cannot guarantee that this information includes all possible interactions. This information is not a substitute for medical advice. Always speak with your healthcare professional about possible interactions with all prescription drugs, vitamins, herbs and supplements, and over-the-counter drugs that you are taking.

Acetaminophen-hydrocodone warnings This drug comes with several warnings. Allergy warning This drug can cause a severe allergic reaction. Symptoms may include: trouble breathing

swelling of your throat or tongue

hives

rash

itching If you develop these symptoms, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. Do not take this drug again if youve ever had an allergic reaction to it. Taking it again could be fatal (cause death). Alcohol interaction warning You should not drink alcohol while taking acetaminophen-hydrocodone. Drinking alcohol while taking this medication may cause: slowed or stopped breathing

drowsiness

tiredness

mental cloudiness

physical and mental slowing Combining alcohol with this drug also increases your risk for liver problems and liver damage. Withdrawal warning Suddenly stopping acetaminophen-hydrocodone may cause withdrawal symptoms. Symptoms of withdrawal from acetaminophen-hydrocodone may include: nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea

restlessness

excessive sweating

runny nose

belly cramps or pain

muscle aches

fast heart rate

high blood pressure Your risk for withdrawal symptoms is higher if youve been taking high doses of this drug for several weeks or longer. Talk with your doctor before stopping acetaminophen-hydrocodone. Warnings for people with certain health conditions For people with head injury: If you have a head injury, hydrocodone may cause increased pressure in your brain and cause breathing problems. For people with stomach problems: Use caution taking this drug if you have intestinal obstruction, ulcerative colitis, or constipation. This medication may worsen your symptoms. For people with severe kidney disease: This drug may build up in your body, which can cause trouble breathing and other side effects. For people with lung disease: If you have lung disease, you might have trouble breathing if you take this medication. For people with severe liver disease: If you have severe liver disease, your risk of liver failure is increased. Also, this drug may build up in your body, which can cause trouble breathing and other side effects. For people with prostate enlargement: If you have an enlarged prostate, taking acetaminophen-hydrocodone may cause increased difficulty in urination. For people with asthma: If you have severe or uncontrolled asthma, do not use this medication without talking to your doctor. You may have to take the first few doses in a monitored setting. For people with seizures: If you have epilepsy or have ever had seizures, tell your doctor before taking acetaminophen-hydrocodone. This drug may increase your risk of seizures. For pregnant women: This drug is a category C pregnancy drug. That means two things: Research in animals has shown adverse effects to the fetus when the mother takes the drug. There havent been enough studies done in humans to be certain how the drug might affect the fetus. Tell your doctor if youre pregnant or plan to become pregnant. Babies born to mothers who regularly take opioids such as hydrocodone may be born physically dependent on this drug. This can cause symptoms of withdrawal, or neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome. Symptoms can include: excessive crying

sneezing

shaking

rapid breathing

increased bowel movements

yawning

vomiting

fever Theres also an increased chance that the baby may have trouble breathing if this medication is given to the mother shortly before giving birth. For women who are breastfeeding: Acetaminophen is passed in small amounts in breast milk. Hydrocodone also passes into breast milk and may result in excessive tiredness and slowed breathing in a child who is breastfed. Breastfeeding while taking this medication may come with risks. You and your doctor should decide whether youll take this medication or breastfeed. For seniors: Older adults may have decreased kidney, liver, and heart function. If youre a senior, your doctor may start you at a low dose of this medication.

How to take acetaminophen-hydrocodone All possible dosages and drug forms may not be included here. Your dosage, drug form, and how often you take the drug will depend on: your age

the condition being treated

the severity of your condition

other medical conditions you have

how you react to the first dose Forms and strengths Generic: Acetaminophen-hydrocodone Form: oral tablet

oral tablet Strengths: hydrocodone 5 mg/acetaminophen 300 mg hydrocodone 7.5 mg/acetaminophen 300 mg hydrocodone 10 mg/acetaminophen 300 mg hydrocodone 2.5 mg/acetaminophen 325 mg hydrocodone 5 mg/acetaminophen 325 mg hydrocodone 7.5 mg/acetaminophen 325 mg hydrocodone 10 mg/acetaminophen 325 mg

Brand: Norco Form: oral tablet

oral tablet Strengths: 2.5 mg hydrocodone/325 mg acetaminophen 5 mg hydrocodone/325 mg acetaminophen 7.5 mg hydrocodone/325 mg acetaminophen 10 mg hydrocodone/325 mg acetaminophen

Dosage for moderate to severe pain Adult dosage (ages 18 years and older and weighing at least 101 pounds [46 kg]) 5 mg or 2.5 mg hydrocodone / 300 mg or 325 mg acetaminophen: The typical dosage is 12 tablets taken every 46 hours as needed. The maximum dosage is 8 tablets per day.

The typical dosage is 12 tablets taken every 46 hours as needed. The maximum dosage is 8 tablets per day. 7.5 mg or 10 mg hydrocodone / 300 mg or 325 mg acetaminophen: The typical dosage is 1 tablet taken 46 hours as needed. The maximum dosage is 6 tablets per day. Child dosage (ages 017 years) Dosage for people younger than 18 years hasnt been established. Disclaimer: Our goal is to provide you with the most relevant and current information. However, because drugs affect each person differently, we cannot guarantee that this list includes all possible dosages. This information is not a substitute for medical advice. Always speak with your doctor or pharmacist about dosages that are right for you.

Take as directed Acetaminophen-hydrocodone is used for short- or long-term treatment. It comes with risks if you dont take it exactly as prescribed by your doctor. If you stop taking the drug or dont take it at all: Your pain will continue and might get worse. If you miss doses or dont take the drug on schedule: Your medication may not work as well or may stop working completely. For this drug to work well, a certain amount needs to be in your body at all times. What to do if you miss a dose: If youre taking the medication regularly, take the missed dose as soon as you remember. Skip the missed dose if its almost time for your next scheduled dose. Dont use extra medication to make up the missed dose. This could result in dangerous side effects. How to tell if the drug is working: Your pain should decrease.

Overdose It is possible to overdose on this medication if a person takes too much. Your doctor may recommend that you have naloxone (Narcan) available. This medication helps reverse an opioid overdose if its available and can be given in time. Symptoms of an acetaminophen-hydrocodone overdose may include: nausea and vomiting

sweating

fatigue

slowed or stopped breathing

slowed heart rate very low blood pressure

coma

liver damage or failure If a person thinks that they have taken too much of this drug, they should call their doctor or seek guidance from the American Association of Poison Control Centers at 1-800-222-1222 or through their online tool. If symptoms are severe, a person should call 911 or visit the nearest emergency room right away. Some acetaminophen-hydrocodone medications may contain other drugs, such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and antihistamines. It is important to never take any of these substances separately if a doctor has already prescribed a combined medication, as this can cause an overdose.

Important considerations for taking this drug Keep these considerations in mind if your doctor prescribes acetaminophen-hydrocodone for you. General Take with food to lower your risk of upset stomach.

You can cut or crush the oral tablet. Storage Store this drug at temperatures ranging from 68F to 77F (20C to 25C).

Keep this in a container with a child-resistant closure.

Keep this drug away from light. Refills A prescription for this medication is not refillable. You or your pharmacy will have to contact your doctor for a new prescription if you need this medication refilled. Travel When traveling with your medication: Always carry your medication with you. When flying, never put it into a checked bag. Keep it in your carry-on bag.

Dont worry about airport X-ray machines. They cant hurt your medication.

You may need to show airport staff the pharmacy label for your medication. Always carry the original prescription-labeled container with you.

Dont put this medication in your cars glove compartment or leave it in the car. Be sure to avoid doing this when the weather is very hot or very cold. Clinical monitoring Your doctor may do certain tests to check whether you have severe liver or kidney disease. These tests will check your: Kidney function. Your doctor may do kidney tests if you have kidney problems to make sure that this medication is safe for you and wont cause breathing problems.

Your doctor may do kidney tests if you have kidney problems to make sure that this medication is safe for you and wont cause breathing problems. Liver function. Your doctor may do liver tests if you have liver problems to make sure that this medication is safe for you and wont cause breathing problems. Prior authorization Most insurance companies do not require a prior authorization for this drug.
Highlights for clindamycin Clindamycin oral capsule is available as a generic drug and a brand-name drug. Brand name: Cleocin. Clindamycin also comes as an oral solution, topical foam, topical gel, topical lotion, topical swab, topical solution, vaginal suppository, and vaginal cream. In addition, its available as an intravenous (IV) drug, which is only given by a healthcare professional. Clindamycin is used to treat certain bacterial infections.

Important warnings Skin effects warning: This drug can cause serious skin reactions. These reactions may be fatal (cause death). If you have a serious skin reaction, stop taking this drug and call your doctor right away. Symptoms can include rash, peeling skin, and swelling of your face or tongue. They also include blisters on your skin or blisters in or around your nose, mouth, and eyes.

This drug can cause serious skin reactions. These reactions may be fatal (cause death). If you have a serious skin reaction, stop taking this drug and call your doctor right away. Symptoms can include rash, peeling skin, and swelling of your face or tongue. They also include blisters on your skin or blisters in or around your nose, mouth, and eyes. Finish taking your drug: You must finish the entire course of treatment of this drug as prescribed by your doctor. Do not stop taking the drug or skip doses if you start to feel better. Doing so could cause your infection to last longer. You could also develop a resistance to the medication. This means that if you get a bacterial infection again, clindamycin may not work to treat it.

What is clindamycin? Clindamycin oral capsule is a prescription medication thats available as the brand-name drug Cleocin. Its also available as a generic drug. Generic drugs usually cost less than the brand-name version. In some cases, they may not be available in all strengths or forms as the brand-name drug. Clindamycin is also available as an oral solution, topical foam, topical gel, topical lotion, topical swab, topical solution, vaginal suppository, and vaginal cream. In addition, its available as an intravenous (IV) drug, which is only given by a healthcare professional. Why its used Clindamycin is used to treat certain infections caused by bacteria. These infections include acne and bacterial vaginosis. How it works Clindamycin belongs to a class of drugs called antibiotics. A class of drugs is a group of medications that work in a similar way. These drugs are often used to treat similar conditions. Clindamycin works by stopping bacteria from multiplying. This drug should only be used to treat bacterial infections. It should not be used for viruses, such as the common cold.

Clindamycin side effects Clindamycin oral capsule doesnt cause drowsiness. However, it does cause other side effects. More common side effects Some of the more common side effects that can occur with use of clindamycin oral capsule include: stomach pain

nausea

vomiting

diarrhea

rash

metallic or unpleasant taste in your mouth If these effects are mild, they may go away within a few days or a couple of weeks. If theyre more severe or dont go away, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.

Serious side effects Call your doctor right away if you have serious side effects. Call 911 if your symptoms feel life threatening or if you think youre having a medical emergency. Serious side effects and their symptoms can include the following: Antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Symptoms can include: severe diarrhea bloody diarrhea stomach cramping and pain fever dehydration loss of appetite weight loss

Severe skin rashes, such as Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis. Symptoms can include: severe rash peeling skin swollen face or tongue blisters on your skin or blisters in or around your nose, mouth, and eyes

Disclaimer: Our goal is to provide you with the most relevant and current information. However, because drugs affect each person differently, we cannot guarantee that this information includes all possible side effects. This information is not a substitute for medical advice. Always discuss possible side effects with a healthcare professional who knows your medical history.

Clindamycin may interact with other medications Clindamycin oral capsule can interact with other medications, vitamins, or herbs you may be taking. An interaction is when a substance changes the way a drug works. This can be harmful or prevent the drug from working well. To help avoid interactions, your doctor should manage all of your medications carefully. Be sure to tell your doctor about all medications, vitamins, or herbs youre taking. To find out how this drug might interact with something else youre taking, talk with your doctor or pharmacist. Interactions that can make your drugs less effective When clindamycin is used with certain drugs, it may not work as well to treat your condition. This is because the amount of clindamycin in your body may be decreased. Examples of these drugs include: Drugs called CYP3A4 inducers, such as rifampin. These drugs may reduce how much clindamycin your body absorbs. Interactions that can increase side effects When clindamycin is used with certain drugs, it may result in more side effects. This is because the amount of clindamycin in your body may be increased. Examples of these drugs include: Drugs called CYP3A4 inhibitors, such as ketoconazole. These drugs may increase how much clindamycin your body absorbs. Disclaimer: Our goal is to provide you with the most relevant and current information. However, because drugs interact differently in each person, we cannot guarantee that this information includes all possible interactions. This information is not a substitute for medical advice. Always speak with your healthcare professional about possible interactions with all prescription drugs, vitamins, herbs and supplements, and over-the-counter drugs that you are taking.

Clindamycin warnings This drug comes with several warnings. Allergy warning Clindamycin can cause a severe allergic reaction. Symptoms can include: hives or other serious skin reactions, such as rash, peeling skin, or blisters

trouble breathing

swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room if you develop these symptoms. Do not take this drug again if youve ever had an allergic reaction to it. Taking it again could be fatal (cause death). Warnings for people with certain health conditions For people with gastrointestinal disease: If you have a gastrointestinal issue, such as inflammation of your colon, ask your doctor whether this drug is safe for you. This drug can cause severe diarrhea and inflammation of your colon. This can make your condition worse. For people with allergies: If youre likely to develop allergies, ask your doctor whether this drug is safe for you. For people with severe liver disease: If you have liver problems or a history of liver disease, you may not be able to clear this drug from your body well. This may increase the levels of clindamycin in your body and cause more side effects. Your doctor may test your liver function before and during your treatment with this drug. For people with kidney disease: If you have kidney problems or a history of kidney disease, taking this drug may make your condition worse. Let your doctor know if you have a history of kidney problems. Your doctor may test your kidney function before and during your treatment with this drug. For people with meningitis: This drug should not be used in the treatment of meningitis. Talk with your doctor if you have any questions. Warnings for other groups For pregnant women: Studies of pregnant women in their second and third trimesters have not shown any negative effects. During the first trimester, this drug should only be used if clearly needed. Studies of the drug in pregnant animals during the first trimester havent shown a risk to the fetus. However, animal studies dont always predict the way humans would respond. There havent been enough studies done in pregnant women during the first trimester to show if the drug poses a risk to a human pregnancy during that time. Talk with your doctor if youre pregnant or planning to become pregnant. For women who are breastfeeding: Clindamycin passes into breast milk and may cause side effects in a child who is breastfed. Talk with your doctor if you breastfeed your child. Your doctor may suggest that you switch to a different medication. For seniors: If youre older than 65, you may not be able to tolerate the diarrhea this drug may cause. Your doctor may watch you more closely.

How to take clindamycin This dosage information is for clindamycin oral capsule. All possible dosages and drug forms may not be included here. Your dosage, drug form, and how often you take the drug will depend on: your age

the condition being treated

how severe your condition is

other medical conditions you have

how you react to the first dose Forms and strengths Generic: Clindamycin Form: oral capsule

oral capsule Strengths: 75 mg, 150 mg, and 300 mg Brand: Cleocin Form: oral capsule

oral capsule Strengths: 75 mg, 150 mg, and 300 mg Dosage for bacterial infections Adult dosage (ages 18 years and older) Serious infections: 150300 mg taken every 6 hours

More severe infections: 300450 mg taken every 6 hours Child dosage (ages 017 years) If your child cant swallow clindamycin capsules whole, they should not take the capsules. Talk with your doctor about using the oral solution instead. Serious infections: 816 mg/kg of body weight per day taken in 34 equally divided doses

More severe infections: 1620 mg/kg of body weight per day taken in 34 equally divided doses Disclaimer: Our goal is to provide you with the most relevant and current information. However, because drugs affect each person differently, we cannot guarantee that this list includes all possible dosages. This information is not a substitute for medical advice. Always to speak with your doctor or pharmacist about dosages that are right for you.

Take as directed Clindamycin oral capsule is used for short-term treatment. It comes with risks if you dont take it as prescribed. If you stop taking the drug or dont take it at all: If you dont take this drug, your infection wont get better. It may even get worse. If you miss doses or dont take the drug on schedule: Your medication may not work as well or may stop working completely. For this drug to work well, a certain amount needs to be in your body at all times. If you take too much: You could have dangerous levels of the drug in your body. Symptoms of an overdose of this drug can include: diarrhea

convulsions (sudden movements caused by tightening of the muscles)

temporary paralysis (loss of the ability to move)

low blood pressure

If you think youve taken too much of this drug, call your doctor or local poison control center. If your symptoms are severe, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room right away. What to do if you miss a dose: Take your dose as soon as you remember. But if you remember just a few hours before your next scheduled dose, take only one dose. Never try to catch up by taking two doses at once. This could result in dangerous side effects. How to tell if the drug is working: Your symptoms and infection should get better.

Important considerations for taking clindamycin Keep these considerations in mind if your doctor prescribes clindamycin oral capsule for you. General You can take this drug with or without food.

Take this drug at the time(s) recommended by your doctor.

Not every pharmacy stocks all forms of this drug. When filling your prescription, be sure to call ahead. Storage Store clindamycin at room temperature. Keep it between 68F and 77F (20C and 25C).

Dont store this medication in moist or damp areas, such as bathrooms. Refills A prescription for this medication is refillable. You should not need a new prescription for this medication to be refilled. Your doctor will write the number of refills authorized on your prescription. Travel When traveling with your medication: Always carry your medication with you. When flying, never put it into a checked bag. Keep it in your carry-on bag.

Dont worry about airport X-ray machines. They cant hurt your medication.

You may need to show airport staff the pharmacy label for your medication. Always carry the original prescription-labeled box with you.

Dont put this medication in your cars glove compartment or leave it in the car. Be sure to avoid doing this when the weather is very hot or very cold. Clinical monitoring Your doctor should test you to help make sure you stay safe while you take this drug. These tests check your: Kidney function. If your kidneys are not working well, you may have a higher risk of side effects. Your doctor will monitor your kidneys to make sure this drug is safe for you to take.

If your kidneys are not working well, you may have a higher risk of side effects. Your doctor will monitor your kidneys to make sure this drug is safe for you to take. Liver function. If your liver is not working well, you may have a higher risk of side effects. Your doctor will monitor your liver to make sure this drug is safe for you to take.
JOURNALIST: The Prespa Agreement was even welcomed by the European Peoples Party, to which VMRO and New Democracy belong. But we havent had positive messages from Belgrade. Why?



N. KOTZIAS: The Prespa Agreement laid bare the differences that exist between the forces stuck in the past  opting for inaction on many issues  and forces like us, who believe in an active democratic foreign policy that actively endeavours to change the conditions in the region to make them better and more progressive. We dont want history as a prison; only as a school. New Democracy and VMRO thrive on problems. We thrive on resolving problems.



With regard to certain nationalists in Belgrade  who are in the minority, fortunately  my feeling is that this agreement puts paid to their dreams of regaining leadership of the region. In contrast with these circles, the majority of the political forces and Serbian society are, I believe, well disposed towards the agreement.



JOURNALIST: Russia isnt very happy about the prospect of fYROMs joining NATO. Was there resentment from Russia? Is this why the two Russian diplomats were expelled?



N. KOTZIAS: Our policy is based on the criterion of national interest. Russia has to realise that it cannot disrespect the national interests of another state simply because it feels stronger than the other state. We will not accept such a stance  and we have proven this  from the West or the East.



On the other hand, I must say Im more interested in the domestic reactions that dont bear these interests in mind. When I raised the issue of removing the occupation forces from Cyprus, they criticized me and urged me to show understanding for Turkeys demands to keep the occupation forces in Cyprus. When I wanted to resolve the name issue and, consequently, thwart third parties designs on the region  first and foremost Islamist designs  they falsely accused me of surrendering Greek Macedonia. Now they are asking me to show tolerance for espionage activities in Greece. The people saying all of these things are playing the hard-line patriot, but in reality they are supporting third-party interests.



JOURNALIST: There were internal reactions to the Prespa Agreement in both countries, with the opposition in both countries using virtually the same arguments. Are you concerned that this polarisation might have broader repercussions, at least in Greece.



N. KOTZIAS: In both countries, the opposition is using hate speech. They are cultivating political hatred in all its dimensions: domestically and in international relations. New Democracy rejects the agreement on the grounds that we conceded everything to Skopje. Ivanov and his party arent ratifying the agreement because it supposedly subjugates their country to Greece. If you hold these side by side, the obvious conclusion is that, in both countries, these are parties that thrive on this rhetoric, on the non-solution of problems, on inertia. They have failed to understand history, the geopolitical developments in the region, and, with regard to the agreement, they dont understand even a paragraph of international law.



At the end of the day, of course, Im not concerned by the disagreement on the Agreement. From one standpoint it is natural. What concerns me is where the propagation and legitimization of extreme-right hate speech will lead the country.



JOURNALIST: What is your message to citizens who disagree?



N. KOTZIAS: They should read and study the agreement more carefully; listen to the other side of the argument; consider in practical terms whether the risks some camps within the opposition are pointing to are in fact real. For example, one woman told me that, through the agreement, we are conceding Thessaloniki as fYROMs new capital. As we say in Greece, lies and deception are short-winded.



It is no coincidence that the vast majority of the historians dealing with the Macedonian issue, along with the professors of international, public and private law, and diplomats who are experts on these issues, support the agreement. This was clear on Thursday, at the conference we held, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the legal aspects of the Prespa Agreement.



JOURNALIST: What are the risks for the two governments in the long roadmap for sealing the agreement.



N. KOTZIAS: The leadership of North Macedonia have to win the referendum and the parliamentary votes on amendment of the Constitution. We need to continue to ensure a parliamentary majority in favour of the agreement. Together, we need to deal with the hate speech, because we want to live in peace with the people of the neighbouring country. The interests of our two countries are closer than fYROMs interests are to those of any other country in the region.



JOURNALIST: Can you describe two pivotal moments in the negotiations when you thought everything was falling apart?



N. KOTZIAS: In my life, as a minister, and, in the past, as an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I have carried out numerous negotiations. My experience is that, in these negotiations, one must be very focused on the latter, on the basis of the needs and interests of the country, and our European course, while at the same time carrying out a realistic assessment of the other sides needs. There are many difficulties and few pleasant moments in these negotiations. You have to maintain your composure and orientation, not losing sight of the goal because of difficulties. You have to be sober and come up with solutions to the problems that arise.



The most difficult moment was when we had finished the negotiations but not everyone saw it that way. It was also difficult to persuade the EU and the UN to let us find the agenda for the solutions. But we did persuade them. Because the more sides are involved  whether with various pretexts or good will  the more complicated and difficult the negotiations become. Fortunately, the UN helped through its role, and everyone else kept their distance from the negotiations. The most difficult point in the negotiations themselves was the issue of the constitutional changes.



JOURNALIST: And also when you felt the agreement was being completed?



N. KOTZIAS: As you know, I am not a career politician. From a young age, I have been a political being. On the large political stage, I agreed to contribute to the solution of problems and to bringing Greek foreign policy out of the mire of submission and inertia. When the agreement was completed, I really had few moments  and only moments  of joy. But as you know, politics  at least as I know it, as its servant  has the disadvantage of usually being very bitter, but the advantage of never being boring.



JOURNALIST: You have made advance announcement of the agreement with Albania on the EEZ and the pre-emptive reactions started from the opposition in both countries. Do you fear a reaction like the one to the Macedonia issue?



N. KOTZIAS: We have problems with Albania that go back as far as 90 years. The reason they are unresolved is that they manifested themselves substantially after the end of the Cold War. And there is also the fact that previous governments ran out of steam in any efforts they might have made to resolve some of these issues. For example, the state of war. Can we pretend that these two countries are still at war? The opposition on both sides of the border is trying to play on citizens' emotions regarding this issue. They are trying to perpetuate negative stereotypes and prejudices between the two peoples. They went so far as to say Greece would lose Northern Epirus because of me. My answer is that they should look into whether the Asia Minor Disaster was my fault.



I think the Greek people are gradually learning to support solutions rather than problems. Consequently, it is my hope that there will be a more mature view of the solutions to our problems with Albania. We want friendship between our peoples and a policy of peaceful coexistence between our societies. Personally, I always look with pride on my excellent Albanian students at the University of Piraeus; students who are now professors in their country.



JOURNALIST: What is the overall strategy behind good neighbourly relations and friendship with our northern neighbours? How will Greece benefit strategically, economically and politically?



N. KOTZIAS: The social and economic development of our country is facilitated and bolstered by the development of the region. Whats more, together with our three northern neighbours we have started drawing up a cooperation and joint-action policy that will, I hope, constitute the basis of our future cooperation within the EU. It is also key to ensure, through the European course of these states, their independence from Turkish expansionism and from the strong Islamist movements that are trying to transform the nationalism in states of the region into religious fanaticism.



So, our policy is a political and economic, social and cultural, development strategy of Greece and the region, based on the principles and values of the policy of peaceful coexistence free of fanaticism of any kind, to the benefit of our states and peoples. Everyone sees us as leaders of the region, but exercising this leadership means fighting arrogance, impudence and any effort to make others submit to us. It requires a spirit of friendship and cooperation, consensus and compromise. It requires the spirit of Rigas Feraios.



JOURNALIST: What is your assessment of Turkey following the elections and how do you see Greek-Turkish relations developing? What do you expect from Ankara? A positive move on the issue of the detention of the two Greek soldiers? Escalation in the Aegean and the Cypriot EEZ? A Tsipras-Erdogan meeting?



N. KOTZIAS: Turkey is a difficult neighbour. The political leadership is restless and inclined towards revisionism. At the same time, they have proven to stand the test of time and the Turkish people find them charismatic. Im not a fortune teller, so I cant tell you how our relations with Turkey will evolve, but Ill tell you what has to happen to keep them from deteriorating further. I think it has to be accepted that a number of problems we have with them need to be resolved on the basis of international law. Peaceful development of our relations and a stop to all provocations is imperative, as is the further development of socio-economic relations to the benefit of our peoples. Above all, the Cyprus problem needs to be settled on the basis of the UN resolutions, and the occupation forces have to leave. Our neighbours have to stop dreaming about the Aegean islands and understand that the Greek Muslim minority in Thrace multiplied, in contrast to what the Greeks in Turkey suffered. Finally  but of great and symbolic importance  Turkey needs to release the two Greek soldiers.



JOURNALIST: Exploitation of the energy deposits in the south-east Mediterranean and pipelines, transiting Greece, to Europe raise an issue of the security of energy facilities and routes. How will you deal with this situation?



N. KOTZIAS: Through closer linking of Greece and Cyprus and the development of our alliances in and for the region. At the same time, we will pursue better relations with Turkey, but that isnt up to us alone; Turkey has to work in this direction as well. We will do what we can to keep Middle East crises and wars from spreading to the Eastern Mediterranean. The two regions are adjacent to each other to a great extent, but they dont overlap. I also think our trilateral cooperation schemes in the region (with Egypt, Armenia, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon and Palestine) and the Rhodes Conference for a new security and stability structure in the region  in which 25 states and international regions are participating  are contributing in this direction.



JOURNALIST: Do you expect anything new from the UN Secretary-Generals latest initiative for reopening the Cyprus talks?



N. KOTZIAS: In the past, every new round of negotiations took place with a loss of ground on the positions of the previous negotiations. Each new proposal was a step back from the previous one. For the first time, this historical trend has been reversed. We are going into the new negotiations on terms that are better than the ones Mr. Eide prepared. We are entering this round with the proposals of the very serious UN Secretary-General, as these were set out at the end of the talks in Crans Montana. We have consolidated the position that the treaties of guarantee and alliance can no longer be maintained. And I am very proud of this last point because when I raised this in the negotiations  along with Prime minister Tsipras and my colleagues in Pratto  most people distrusted and were even hostile to my proposals, especially outside of Greece.



JOURNALIST: How is the composition and balance of the new government in Berlin impacting the direction of the EU, especially with regard to the refugee issue?



N. KOTZIAS: Well see. On the refugee issue, we need to achieve a cohesive European policy rather than a zero-sum game of counterproductive national policies. In the initial stage of the refugee crisis, Germany opened its embrace. It now seems to have regretted this. I hope positive, productive thinking wins out in Germany. I hope they choose to ally themselves with France and the South, and not with nationalism. Otherwise, Europe will be facing major problems.


(AP) Los Angeles Mediator and Conflict Resolution Consultant Mark Baer contends that legalizing discrimination against LGBT people, by individuals and organizations employed or funded by the government, is a reflection of moral decay within our society.

He refers to an amendment approved on July 11, 2018 by the Republican majority in the House Appropriations Committee to the 2019 funding bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. The approved amendment allows federally-funded child welfare placing agencies to discriminate against children in their care and qualified prospective parents based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and religion.

Speaking on this controversial House Appropriations funding amendment, Baer states, Allowing people and organizations receiving taxpayer funds to discriminate against a segment of the population they view as immoral, based upon an immutable characteristic having nothing to do with character and integrity, couldnt be more reprehensible. While people may differ in opinion as to what is sinful and immoral, such things are always based upon actions and behaviors - not unalterable traits.

He says, This seemingly endless mistreatment of LGBT people is based upon a sincerely held religious belief that their sexual orientation and gender identities are preferences or choices, which is contrary to uniform findings from professional mental health, medical and scientific organizations. What is unethical and immoral is denying people justice, fairness and rights because of who they are, irrespective of what they do. As Pope Francis purportedly said, earlier this year, to an abuse survivor in a private meeting, God made you this way and loves you this way, and the pope loves you this way.

According to an article published by Science Daily in June 2018 titled Psychological Adjustment, No difference in outcomes for children of same-sex versus different-sex parents, it states: Over the years, most studies have found no difference in child psychological adjustment or in the quality of parenting and family relationships for gay or lesbian parents, compared to heterosexual parents.

Additionally, the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law issued a report on July 19, 2018 titled,  Mental health of young adults with lesbian parents the same as their peers, study finds.

As a mediator and a conflict resolution consultant, says Baer, I am having an incredibly difficult time understanding why its acceptable for the government to use taxpayer money to fund organizations that discriminate against children, under their care, and qualified prospective parents when LGBT people pay an equal share of taxes. This type of absurdity is destined to occur when people refuse to separate the person from the behavior. He adds, Whos engaging in unethical and immoral behavior by punishing individuals for entering into committed relationships with other consenting adults, rather than living their entire lives alone and celibate?

We could all learn a lesson from a bit of history that took place in 1773 in Boston, Massachusetts over taxation without representation. It was called the Boston Tea Party and came about when the American colonists revolted against being taxed by the British and threw 342 chests of British tea into Boston Harbor. This episode directly led to a series of events which escalated into the American Revolution and our independence from British rule. With this funding amendment, instead of the British, our own federal government is waging war against its own taxpaying citizens.

As a mediator, when dealing with conflicts involving differing values and moral differences, its essential to develop mutual understanding and respect between all the parties. But how do you develop mutual understanding and respect when one side views a persons sexual orientation as a sin and therefore insists on trying to change it? How do you develop such things when one side falsely links pedophilia to a persons sexual orientation, when all the credible research reflects that gays are no more likely to molest children or be sexually attracted to them than are straight people? The only research reflecting otherwise falsely assumes that a person who molests a child of their same sex is gay.

International mediators Tracy Allen and Eric Galton, known for their work on Restoring Civil Discourse, state, The way we change our minds on moral issues is by interacting with others, especially because we are not good at seeking evidence that contradicts our beliefs. Baer says thats how you gain emotional self-awareness. As an example, he points to a statement made by Reverend Rob Schenck, a once militant and very self-righteous evangelical minister, who recently stated in an interview with NPRs Terry Gross, I can certainly speak for myself in those times and say that I was not the most self-aware. I really didnt understand myself.

Time will tell whether Congress will pass a version of the 2019 funding bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services which includes the amendment legalizing discrimination against LGBT people by recipients of taxpayer money. If so, its a reflection of moral decay within our society and goes against the very principles which led to the creation of our great nation.

Mediator Mark Baer focuses his practice on conflict resolution and mediating divorces and child custody cases, among other types of family and interpersonal conflicts. A well-known thought leader in the area of Family Law, Baer was elected a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation in recognition of his exemplary dedication to the highest principles of the legal profession, and commitment to the welfare of society. He has written blogs for both the Huffington Post and Psychology Today on many topics, with the ultimate goal of improved interpersonal relationships and decision-making through a deeper understanding of ourselves and others.
As Bike Chattanooga marks its 6th anniversary, it is hitting the streets is a pilot program integrating BOOST e-bikes to deliver a mixed system with both traditional and e-bikes. Additional stations are also connecting residents and visitors from the Incline Railway in St Elmo to the bike lanes on North Market Street. Plus, on Wednesday, Aug. 1, Bike Chattanooga will offer Free Ride Wednesday. All 24 hour pass purchases are free and includes unlimited 60 minutes trips. More details on the Daily Pass here.

The new electronic pedal-assist technology on the BOOST bikes has smart riding intuitive technology and will detect how much electronic boost each unique rider needs or wants and adjusts accordingly to deliver a smooth, easy riding experience. With a maximum speed of 15 miles/hour, the BOOST e-bike will propel riders through their ride. Each bike is built to ride upwards of 35 miles on one charge.

E-bikes may be docked anywhere, anytime and Bike Chattanooga ensures all bikes are charged for use. Learn more about BOOST e-bikes here.

A celebration will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 1, at noon at Waterhouse Pavilion in Miller Plaza, where lunch will be provided by MoJo Burrito. Following lunch, demonstrators will lead a group ride on the BOOST e-bikes to mark the official launch of the pilot program into the Bike Chattanooga system.

Event details and RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/424038651431507/

A daily pass is $8, 3-day pass is $15 and annual pass is $50. Learn more here.

Follow Bike Chattanooga on Facebook (@bikechattanooga).
Le Collectif Cheikh Yassine a organise un certain nombre dactivites et de festivites pour les enfants de Gaza sous le theme  La joie des enfants de Gaza pour lAid . Ces activites ont commence le premier jour de lAid et continue jusquau 4eme jour de lAid dans la bande de Gaza.



Plusieurs activites, ont ete organisees parmi lesquelles : des competitions recompensees par des prix, des jeux, des animations et des chants presentes par un groupe ainsi que des distributions de cadeaux et daides financieres.




A sort of quirk in the schedule finds the statebred frosh fillies back for second time in 18 evenings, with Yonkers Raceway hosting Tuesday nights $159,000 New York Sire Stakes Frank Becerra Pace.

Post time for the dozen-race card s 6:50 p.m., with the sire stakes event going as races 7 (purse $78,800) and 8 (purse $80,200), respectively.

The opening event finds So Awesome (Tim Tetrick, post 4) going after a Westchester repeat. The daughter of So Surreal went the distance (1:55.3) as the 3-4 favourite the last time she hit town from this exact same venue. The lass, who has that lone win in three tries, is owned by William Hartt and trained by Scott DiDomenico.

Crazy Cute (Jordan Stratton, post 5) chased So Awesome around the oval from the pocket, while Boogie Roll (Tyler Buter, post 7) was a 12-1 upsetter when the ladies visited Tioga (1:54).

American Marilyn (Jason Bartlett, post 3) made an early break in her stateside/statebred debut (race won by Boogie Roll).

Tuesday nights second and final division has St Somewhere (Yannick Gingras, post 5) eyeing a sires stakes hat trick. She had no eight-hole issues here, finishing what she started by open lengths (1:54.4). She returns off a Tioga win (1:52.2)

The daughter of American Ideal is co-owned (as Burke Racing) by (trainer) Ron Burke, Phil Collura, Jandt Silva Purnel & Libb and Weaver Bruscemi LLC.

Hurrikane Norakane (Dan Dube, post 3) was placed first the last time this caravan stopped by, while Zero Tolerance (George Brennan, post 8) was snapped late at Tioga by St Somewhere in her first sires stakes try.

Gias Surreal (Bartlett, post 1) has been a bridesmaid in her two Empire soirees.

(Yonkers)
On Saturday, July 28, Guns & Hoses - The Ultimate Challenge is set to return to Hoosier Park Racing & Casino for the eighth year in a row.

Madison County police departments will once again challenge Madison County fire departments in the annual charity fundraiser benefitting the Madison County Fire Rescue House. The evening includes a series of friendly competitions between the departments and a community fair featuring first responder appreciation, live racing, and more. The event will take place outside near Hoosier Parks race track starting at 5:30 p.m., and is free to the public.

Guns & Hoses will feature carnival food, games, activities, and live racing with a first-race post time of 6:30 p.m. Guests will have an opportunity to donate to Madison County Fire Rescue House through a Pass the Boot collection and a Give $5 Get $5 free slot play promotion. Additionally, Hoosier Park will make a $2,500 donation directly to the organization.

As part of the Guns & Hoses event, Madison Countys police departments and fire departments will compete in a series of fun challenges including a Fire and Police Sulky Race, First Responder Tricycle Race, Bounce Horse Race, Donut Speed-Eating Contest, and a Tug of War contest.

Saturday, July 28 is also designated as First Responder Appreciation Night at Hoosier Park. All first responders will receive $10 in free slot play when they visit Trackside Club Centaur with a valid credential.

Were ready for the ultimate showdown between Madison Countys Police and Fire Departments. Guns & Hoses is one of our communitys biggest fundraising events and a great time for the whole family, said Kristin Lennis, promotions and events manager for Hoosier Park. We encourage everyone to come out and support our local heroes as they battle it out in this fierce but friendly competition.

Madison County Fire Rescue House, the organization benefitting from the annual event, provides victims of domestic house fires, natural disaster, or other personal difficulties with temporary housing, assistance, and inspiration in a safe and supportive environment. The goal of the organization is to leave no family without a place to call home in a time of need. More information about the Fire Rescue House can be found at firerescuehouse.org.

(Hoosier Park Racing & Casino)
Sandy Pensler, 61, of Grosse Pointe Park is a businessman who is running against John James, a Farmington Hills businessman, for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. The winner of the Aug. 7 primary will face incumbent Debbie Stabenow.

James did not respond to requests to participate in the Huron Daily Tribune's election Q&A. The following are Pensler's responses.

1. What are the top three things you wish to accomplish, and how will you accomplish them if elected?

Reduce the Deficit: We must make hard choices to reduce the deficit. Every program must be reviewed on the basis: is it worth borrowing from our kids and grandkids to fund it. If the answer is no, it must be stopped.

Creating great jobs in Michigan: Making Michigan first in job creation and wages by continuing to lower taxes, decreasing unnecessary regulations and renegotiating bad trade deals so that companies are incentivized to create and maintain good jobs here in Michigan rather than sending them to China, India and Mexico.

Health Care: Health care cost in the United States run 18 percent of Gross Domestic Product and are growing rapidly. They are twice the average of other developed countries and by far the highest in the world. The growth in health care costs is the biggest driver of the deficit. We must repeal Obama Care and install proper competitive incentives in the healthcare system to control costs. We must control malpractice costs to eliminate excessive defensive medicine and control prescription costs through competitive purchasing and proper dispensing. We must eliminate government funding for Planned Parenthood and other entities that provide abortions.

2. How do you feel the government should respond to the Social Security deficit projected by the Social Security Administration's June 5 annual report?

We need to protect Social Security and Medicare to ensure their future. We need to establish a blue ribbon panel to recommend adjustments for the OASI (Old Age Survivor Insurance) program so we can make sure it has sufficient funds. The disability program must focus on being a springboard to get people back into the workforce rather than long-term dependency. This shift has begun under President Trump, as a result the program's finances, which were crippled under Obama era misuse, are rapidly improving.

3. What can be done at the federal level to increase wages for the middle class?

The key to increasing wages for the middle class is to improve education. Michigan in particular has been falling behind (ranking 48th among states in third grade reading).We need to emphasize choice and competition in our schools as well as embrace technology. We must reward teachers based on performance rather than seniority.

4. Michigan residents, like those in other U.S. states have already done, are poised to vote on whether to legalize recreational marijuana, and have already legalized medical marijuana. Should the federal government decriminalize marijuana? Why or why not?

Marijuana under the federal controlled substance act is a schedule 1 controlled substance with high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use. It is illegal. However, an amendment was put in place, which prohibits the federal government from prosecuting its use for medical purposes. Now, 31 states have legalized some form of medical marijuana. The federal government should perform rigorous testing to properly determine the medicinal, mental and addictive effects, if any, of the drug so that we can determine the appropriate course of action.

5. How would you overcome the partisanship in Washington D.C., and get business accomplished for your district?

Partisanship: I would work to eliminate the filibuster rules, which require 60 votes in the Senate. The constitution does not contemplate a tyranny of the minority. The rules are being used to obstruct and resist rather than to deliberate and should be eliminated. I would always seek to find common ground when and if it is available and work with whoever was willing to promote legislation that I thought served the interest of Michiganders and the country.
The San Francisco Chronicle's front page headline on February 23, 1901 was heartbreaking: "Six score souls go down to death at the Golden Gate." Four pages of stories described the horrific 5:25 a.m. collision of the steamship SS City of Rio de Janeiro into rocks near Fort Point.

The accident, which claimed the lives of 128 of the 210 people known to be onboard  most of whom were Chinese and Japanese immigrants  was likely the worst shipwreck near San Francisco in modern history. The boat sank in just 10 minutes, taking the captain, William Ward, down with it.

In the accounts that followed, a mystery emerged: what valuables, and how much, were lost in the wreckage?

The Chronicle spoke with many of the surviving passengers the day of the incident, including a woman named Kate West, who was among the last to see the captain before the ship sank.

"The lights went out and I ran on deck," she recalled. "Captain Ward told me not to get excited and said there was a boat just below. He helped me along and gave some orders."

West detailed that the fog was too thick and it was too dark to see much of anything, but she said she did watch the captain retire to his quarters and close the door. "I am satisfied that he did it on purpose, because one night during the trip conversation ... Captain Ward said that if he ever lost his ship he would go down with it."

(Ward's remains were found a year later when the ship's wooden pilothouse separated and drifted to Fort Baker. He was identified by a watch he was known to wear, which had a key fob on it made of a silver Chinese coin.)

RELATED: Wild history of East Bay 'haunted' landmark: Parties, a train crash, and hot springs interrogations

Among others lost was Rounsevelle Wildman, the United States Counsel-General in Hong Kong, as well as his wife and their two children. They were en route to Washington D.C. for a political event with President William McKinley, who had appointed him to his post.

Hours later, suitcases and trunks belonging to those onboard were promptly looted by scavengers. But the greatest treasures, or so it was thought decades after, were gold and silver to the tune of millions of dollars  what would be tens of millions now  left behind in the wreckage at the bottom of the Bay.

RELATED: The most famous shipwrecks of San Francisco Bay

In May 1931, Captain Charles O. Haskell laid claim to the shipwreck, telling journalists that he found the Rio using instruments and underwater vessels of his own invention, including a "hand-operated submarine." Haskell notarized his finding  whether or not it was actually the Rio that he discovered  believing that there was around $6 million in gold and silver within the wreck.

In the Chronicle's original 1901 reporting of what was lost onboard the ship, there was no indication that any precious metals were onboard. A journalist writing about the Rio only noted that silks, opium, and other "merchandise" were lost, although he did detail that those damages were approximately "valued at a million and a half dollars" at that time.

In 1931, likely prompted by spreading rumors, the United States Department of Commerce finally chimed in. An Associated Press dispatch from the department stated that "in response to repeated requests, (the department) wants it known there was no gold or jewels aboard the Rio, but there were quite a few casks of sake."

Haskell left San Francisco upon hearing the news, abandoning his plans for recovery.

But unlike Haskell, some believed there was reason to doubt the government's statement. In 1936, a postal inspector reportedly testified that "he had seen packages in a strong room [on the Rio] that contained silver bullion from China worth $2 million [in 1901 prices]."

There was also a claim in a 1985 issue of the Chronicle that "subsequent research confirmed that the Rio had aboard her $75,000 in gold."

Then, in 1965, a "treasure hunter" named Al Mikalow, owner of the Coastal Deep Sea Diving Company in Oakland, believed he located the Rio and obtained a permit to search for it. He too gave up on his plans when he failed to raise $600,000 for additional salvage efforts.

Finally, in 2014, the Rio was at last found using a remote submersible. It was covered in dirt and grime under 287 feet of water, half a mile northwest of Fort Point. "It is a mud-filled tomb," a marine historian named James Delgado told the newspaper then.

Unlike some searchers before him, Delgado believes there was no gold or silver aboard, but rather tin. And if that postal inspector was correct in his observations, it might be quite a lot of tin.

But don't count on getting answers for this century-old mystery anytime soon. Due to its difficult location, there's a good chance the Rio de Janeiro is going to stay buried indefinitely, "like a maritime graveyard."

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.


Equimania, Equine Guelphs travelling educational equine exhibit, is currently recruiting staff to assist at the Georgia National Agricultural Fair from October 1  16.

They also require staff for local events:

Horse Capades August 2, 3, 5, 6 and 13 and for CNE August 17 - September 3, 2018

Responsibilities include:

Interact and engage with visitors of all ages (children and adult)

Be an ambassador for Equine Guelph & the University of Guelph

Supervise EquiMania! volunteers including volunteer orientation

Excellent communication skills, a knowledge of Equine Guelph & horse knowledge

Possess a G license and a vehicle

Assist in setting up and take down of the EquiMania! exhibit (if working August 16 and/or September 4 shifts, carpooling also available for the set up/take down shifts)

Salary: $15.60 hourly

For more information, click here.

To apply, please contact [email protected].
ALBANY  A superseding indictment unsealed Tuesday charged several top members of the secretive NXIVM organization with running a criminal enterprise that engaged in crimes including money laundering, extortion and obstruction of justice.

The criminal case against NXIVM co-founder Keith Raniere and television actress Allison Mack now includes NXIVM's president, Nancy Salzman, and her daughter Lauren, along with Clare Bronfman, the organization's operations director and an heiress of the Seagram's liquor empire. Kathy Russell, a longtime bookkeeper for NXIVM, also was indicted.

Federal agents in Albany arrested Salzman and her daughter along with Russell early Tuesday. Bronfman was taken into custody by federal agents in New York City.

The seven-count superseding indictment charges the six defendants with crimes that also included identity theft, harboring of aliens for financial gain, forced labor, sex trafficking and wire fraud.

The charges allege the defendants took part in recruiting and grooming sexual partners for Raniere and of using "harassment, coercion and abusive litigation to intimidate and attack perceived enemies and critics of Raniere."

The indictment, which describes NXIVM as having been run as a type of pyramid scheme, alleges that they encouraged "associates and others to take expensive NXIVM courses, and incur debt to do so, as a means of exerting control over them and to obtain financial benefits for the members of the enterprise."

The indictment unsealed Tuesday is a crippling blow to an organization that took shape in the Capital Region in the late 1990s. Under the direction of Raniere and Salzman, who had touted NXIVM's training curriculums as a way for participants to improve their lives, the organization quietly built a following that included actors as well as the wealthy and politically powerful.

NXIVM, which has been described by some experts as a cult, also developed a reputation for aggressively pursuing critics and defectors who broke from its ranks. The organization has been accused of using litigation to punish defectors who have criticized Raniere, the organization, or its training methods. NXIVM required its employees and devotees to sign non-disclosure agreements that were often used as weapons in their litigation against defectors or critics.

One of the counts in the federal indictment unsealed Tuesday includes an allegation that NXIVM officials destroyed "videotapes of Nancy Salzman" as part of an effort to conceal evidence from use in a civil case in which NXIVM had sued Rick Ross, a cult expert. The lawsuit, filed in 2006, accused Ross of publishing  without authorization  protected materials from its training programs. NXIVM has denied it is a cult. Ross eventually prevailed in the litigation, which dragged on for years.

Ross had accused the corporation of hiring a New York investigative and security firm, Interfor, to conduct background checks on him, including obtaining details of his banking records, phone calls and personal relationships.

The Salzmans and Russell made their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Daniel Stewart in Albany on Tuesday afternoon.

Russell, who has been associated with NXIVM since coming to the Capital Region from Alaska in 2002, was the first to appear in federal court. Accompanied by U.S. marshals, she shuffled down the hallway to the fourth floor courtroom with shackles on her ankles and her hands cuffed behind her back.

Federal prosecutors asked Stewart to set bond for Russell at $50,000, but he lowered it to $25,000 at the request of her attorney, William Fanciullo. However, Fanciullo told the judge his client had very little cash, a car worth about $8,000 and no assets. He said she lives in a Clifton Park apartment.

"She is a 60-year-old woman," Fanciullo told the judge. "She has next to no money. ... Her release poses no danger to anyone or to the community."

Prosecutors noted that Russell, who has an accounting background, is known for her ability to travel long distances and is accused of helping commit identity theft and aiding in an illegal border crossing. They said she also allegedly took part in a scheme to help obtain computer user names and passwords of people "believed to be NXIVM enemies," prosecutors said.

Lauren Salzman remained in custody at the Rensselaer County jail late Tuesday after the judge had agreed to her release on $5 million bond. The release required her grandparents  traveling from New Jersey on Tuesday  to pay $50,000 cash to secure the bond.

Nancy Salzman was also ordered released pending the execution of a $5 million surety bond that was to be signed by her parents and a friend, Capital Region resident David Messing. It was not clear late Tuesday whether she remained in custody.

The Salzmans will be allowed to maintain contact, the judge said, primarily because Lauren Salzman is helping care for her mother, who is facing what was described in court as a "life-threatening" medical condition.

The Salzmans were ordered to appear in federal court in Brooklyn at 2 p.m. Wednesday. Russell also remained in federal custody late Tuesday pending her release.

Bronfman made her initial court appearance at a federal courthouse in Brooklyn on Tuesday afternoon and was released on $100 million bond after pleading not guilty, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

All of the defendants were described as flight risks by federal authorities, and their conditions of release include home detention and electronic monitoring.

The arrests are part of an investigation that led to the indictment in April of Raniere and Mack, a longtime NXIVM member. They were initially charged with sex trafficking and conspiracy for allegedly organizing a secret group within NXIVM in which some of its female members said they felt coerced into joining a slave-master club, and were later branded with a design that included the initials of Raniere and Mack.

But the indictment unsealed Tuesday sharply expanded the breadth of the case. Among the allegations are that Bronfman aided in the illegal entry of an immigrant for her personal gain and committed money laundering using international wire transfers.

Prosecutors filed a memorandum Tuesday outlining details of the alleged crimes against Bronfman. They said she conspired to commit identity theft, facilitated Raniere's use of his deceased girlfriend's credit card, and led efforts to discredit Raniere's alleged victims.

Lauren Salzman's alleged crimes include trafficking a victim for forced labor, including helping facilitate the captivity of a Mexican woman who was Raniere's sexual partner; the woman was allegedly locked in an apartment for more than a year as punishment for showing interest in another man.

Prosecutors said Lauren Salzman also was a "first line master" in the underground slave-master club, and led efforts to disseminate misinformation about the secret group to discredit victims who defected.

Nancy Salzman, president of NXIVM, was revealed as a target in the probe several months ago when the Times Union first reported that FBI agents seized more than $520,000 in cash after they raided her Saratoga County residence as part of the intensifying investigation of NXIVM's business dealings.

Federal court records indicate she took part in illegally obtaining user names and passwords to monitor the email accounts of NXIVM's perceived enemies. She also allegedly altered videos of her training seminars that were ordered to be turned over to a former student who was sued by NXIVM  and countersued  as part of pre-trial discovery.

Salzman "agreed to edit the videos to remove material that they believed would have supported the former student's claims and to make it look as if the videos were unedited," prosecutors wrote in memorandum filed Tuesday.

People familiar with NXIVM's inner workings said that Lauren Salzman has served as CEO of some of the businesses connected to the organization. Russell, they said, left her family in Alaska to join NXIVM and had helped with its financial and business operations for more than 15 years.

In 2000, during a deposition in a bankruptcy proceeding, Nancy Salzman, who records indicate has been a licensed nurse in New York since 1983, described herself as a "psychotherapist," while acknowledging that it is "not an earned degree ... it's a descriptive term." She also testified that beginning in 1985 and continuing through 1992, she had taken "neurolinguistic programming courses."

The Times Union reported last October that Nancy Salzman had recruited participants who took part in unsanctioned brain-activity and other human experiment studies that were conducted by at least one doctor, Brandon Porter, associated for years with NXIVM. Porter is facing disciplinary charges from New York state for his unsanctioned experiments and did the work for both NXIVM and a non-profit set up by Bronfman, who has been a close confidante of Raniere's and Salzman's and one of the organization's biggest sources of funding.

NXIVM, headquartered in Colonie and with offices in Los Angeles, Canada and Mexico, recently suspended its operations in the wake of Raniere's arrest.

While the case had focused on the alleged sex trafficking of Raniere and Mack, the investigation also has probed the business dealings of NXIVM and allegations that large amounts of cash had been smuggled into the United States from Mexico.

In the sex trafficking charges against Raniere, the government alleged that some of the women said they felt coerced into having sex with Raniere because of the threat of having their personal material or "collateral" released if they tried to leave the group or failed to follow orders.

Prosecutors have not described NXIVM as a cult or raised that issue in the indictment or other court filings. They have described NXIVM as a multi-level marketing  or pyramid  scheme.

A federal judge recently rejected Raniere's request to be released from custody while his criminal case is pending. He is being held at the U.S. Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

Raniere, 57, was arrested in March at a luxury beach villa in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. In Mexico, authorities said, Raniere got rid of his mobile phone and used encrypted email to communicate. It took authorities nearly two months to locate him before he was deported and arrested by U.S. federal agents.

Mack was released on bond under conditions that include remaining at her parents' California residence and wearing an electronic monitoring device on her ankle.
Yonkers Raceways upcoming Sunday matinee (July 29) shall again offer a first post of 12:30 p.m.

Races 1 through 4 (post time 2 p.m.) will be overflow-field, mile-and-a-quarter French trots. The Race 12 final will head to post at roughly 4:40 p.m.

Sundays New York, New York Double will be comprised as the third race from Saratoga (post time 2:07 p.m.) and the fifth race from Yonkers (post time 2:20 p.m.).

After this weekend, the next Sunday matinee will take place on August 5.

(With files from Yonkers Raceway)
A panel of House and Senate lawmakers on Monday reached a deal on a massive defense policy bill that includes a 2.6 percent pay raise for service members and an increase in troops, equipment and weapons for the Defense Department.

Senate and House Armed Services Committee staffers, who spoke with reporters on the condition of anonymity, said Monday that the National Defense Authorization Act, or H.R. 2810, will also address a series of other matters, including the next step in creating a space force and authorization for a military parade in November.

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The House began debating the negotiated deal, known as the NDAA conference report, Monday night. The effort could draw a vote in the lower chamber as early as this week.

"This legislation will strengthen our military's readiness, provide our troops a pay raise, support effective implementation of the National Defense Strategy, drive further innovation in emerging technologies to secure our military advantage and continue to reform the Department of Defense," Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., respectively the chairman, ranking Democratic member and a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a joint statement Monday.

The move signals the 2019 defense bill remains on track for on-time passage by Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year.

"This House is committed to rebuilding our military and ensuring our brave men and women in uniform have the equipment and training they need to successfully carry out their mission," said House Majority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. "I look forward to another big bipartisan vote."

With a two-year spending deal that lifts budget caps already in place, mid-term elections this fall and a more experienced administration, lawmakers are eager to pass the 2019 NDAA earlier than in recent years.

Earlier this year, a budget deal allowed Congress to increase defense spending to $716 billion for 2019.
The Senate by a vote of 86-9 confirmed Robert Wilkie on Monday as the next secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs in a move to bring stability to a department Republicans and Democrats suggested has been in turmoil over political infighting and low morale.

The vote for Wilkie, 55, of North Carolina, an Air Force Reserve colonel with long experience at the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill, capped a tumultuous four months at the VA marked by ongoing leadership shuffles since President Donald Trump fired former VA Secretary Dr. David Shulkin in March.

In a sign of continuing questions about the direction of the VA, the Senate's action in confirming the new secretary -- normally a bipartisan event -- featured opposition votes.

The vote to confirm Shulkin last year was 100-0 to head a department serving nine million veterans annually with a budget of more than $190 billion and a workforce of more than 350,000.

The "no" votes came from eight Democrats, including Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and one independent, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Sanders earlier this month cast the first opposition ballot in memory for a VA secretary nominee in the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee vote that sent the nomination to the floor.

Sanders at the time said he was voting more in protest of Trump than he was to Wilkie's qualifications, saying he feared that Trump and political appointees within the VA would use the recently passed VA Mission Act as a vehicle to press for the "privatization" of VA health care.

In the floor debate leading up to the vote, Sen. John Boozman, R-Arkansas, said he is confident Wilkie can "re-establish the non-partisan approach to serving our veterans" at the VA, a possible reference to political infighting at the department.

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, who voted for Wilkie, was more direct. "We've got political forces at play inside the VA. That's very unfortunate," said the committee's ranking member. "When Mr. Wilkie becomes secretary, he has to see that this stops."

In his stormy departure from the VA, Shulkin said he was the victim of "subversion" by Trump political appointees within the VA and at the White House.

Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Georgia, chairman of the committee, said, "We know Robert Wilkie is the real deal," and he will now have the opportunity "to fix the problems that we have" at the VA.

"This is the opportunity to do the changes of a lifetime," Isakson said but repeated a warning he gave Wilkie at his confirmation hearing: "You will have no excuses."

Shulkin's firing initially led Trump to nominate Rear. Adm. Ronny Jackson, his personal physician and head of the White House medical unit, to head the VA.

In an embarrassment to the administration, Jackson withdrew his name over allegations -- never proven -- that he mishandled prescriptions at the White House medical unit and may have been drunk on duty.

Following Jackson's withdrawal, Wilkie was moved over from the Pentagon to become acting secretary at the VA. In his time as acting secretary, Wilkie noted the political turmoil and low morale at the department. He said he wanted the staff "talking to each other, not at each other."

When Trump surprised him by nominating him to the full-time position, Wilkie had to step down as acting secretary to avoid violating a provision of the U.S. Code barring acting secretaries from nomination to cabinet positions.

Peter O'Rourke, a former Trump campaign worker who had been chief of staff at the VA, was moved up to the acting secretary's position. O'Rourke has since clashed with VA Inspector General Michael Missal over access to whistleblower complaint data.

The major veterans service organizations (VSOs) supported Wilkie's nomination despite initial reservations that expansion of community health care options for veterans could lead to privatization.

In a statement after the vote, Denise Rohan, national commander of the two-million-member American Legion, said in a statement, "I congratulate Mr. Robert Wilkie on his Senate confirmation to be the 10th secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs."

"We look forward to working closely with Secretary Wilkie and his staff to ensure America's veterans receive the health care, education, and other benefits they have earned through their selfless service to our great nation," she added.

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.
National Guard leaders told lawmakers Tuesday that troops supporting the southern border security mission could be more effective at surveillance with the use of more sophisticated aerial platforms such as the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter and the MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial system.

Guard pilots have been supporting the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol by flying surveillance missions in the UH-72 Lakota helicopter. Texas and Arizona will soon deploy the RC-26B fixed-wing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft to the border as well.

But Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael McGuire, adjutant general of the Arizona National Guard, told members of the House Homeland Security Committee that other aircraft are available for the mission.

"There are other rotary-wing and remotely piloted systems like MQ-9 and Apache that could be used in night, low-visibility [situations] to help support our customs and border patrol agents out of the normal daytime cycle," he said.

"The problem with MQ-9s is always the confusion about we are not asking to pull people back from theater. We are trying to use assets that we presently use for training with our folks there in garrison to keep their training requirements up," McGuire said. "We could put them on mission on the border just like we are going to do with the RC-26."

It's been more than three months since President Donald Trump tasked the Defense Department to provide increased support of the U.S. border security mission.

Operation Guardian Support authorized the deployment of up to 4,000 National Guardsmen to the southern border to conduct surveillance, logistical support, vehicle maintenance and other support missions to free up border patrol agents to focus on border enforcement.

"Any assistance we can get down on that border helps us," said Rodolfo Karisch, chief patrol agent from the Tucson Sector for the U.S. Border Patrol and Department of Homeland Security.

"I think people seem to look at this as simply an immigration matter, which it's not. You are looking at still a war on terror that we are fighting. You've got guns coming across the border, you've got cash, you've got people and you've got violence. ... Having the support of committed and dedicated National Guardsmen gives our agents much needed help," he said.

Karisch credited the Guard's aviation support with the confiscation of 11,000 pounds of marijuana, as well as assisting with more than 11,000 apprehensions.

But Karisch stressed that Guard personnel are not doing any direct law enforcement work and have no contact with individuals crossing the border into the United States.

"These are the Guard personnel who are either operating aircraft and are making personal observations or working camera rooms," he said. "There was a Raven aircraft unit from the Guard that was flying recently from Tucson, observed six individuals with burlap backpacks, directed agents in, and our agents were able to seize 284 pounds of marijuana and arrested all six individuals."

Rep. Martha McSally, R-Arizona, asked if Guard personnel are getting training opportunities from the border mission.

"Our Lakota pilots are getting real-world training," said Maj. Gen. John Nichols, adjutant general of the Texas National Guard. "It's on-the-spot ... so it's better training than they can do at home."

McGuire agreed. "The pilots get great opportunity to operate the [Lakota] sensor package at night and low-visibility doing real missions," he said.

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.
The military's fifth-generation stealth fighter jets teamed up to train in Hawaii before Marines head to the Middle East in what could be the F-35B's first-ever combat deployment.

Members of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211 and the Hawaii Air National Guard flew F-35B Lightning IIs and F-22 Raptors far out over the Pacific Ocean last week.

The exercise not only gave Marines a chance to conduct air-to-air operations against another fifth-gen fighter, but also symbolized a real transformation for military aviation, said Col. Chandler Nelms, commanding officer of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

"I think it's the future," he told Military.com. "We're transitioning from a fourth-generation air wing in the Marine Corps to a fifth-generation. Seeing us there with the Air Force's fifth-generation capability, you can tell that things are changing."

The 13th MEU will spend seven months patrolling the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean and the Middle East while embarked with the Navy's Essex Amphibious Ready Group. This will be the first time the F-35B will operate in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, which includes Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The F-35B is really a fighter and attack aircraft," Nelms said. "... It can defend both Marines on the ground from air attack and it can defend the embarked force, the amphibious ready group."

Adding fifth-generation capabilities like the F-35 to an ARG-MEU is a game-changer for the Navy and Marine Corps team, said Marine Maj. Gen. David Coffman, director of expeditionary warfare. The F-35B not only increases lethality, he said, but also survivability.

"The agility and breadth of capability inherent in these platforms offers the naval commander a nearly endless menu of force-employment options," he said Tuesday at the U.S. Navy Amphibious Warship Congressional Forum in Washington, D.C.

In Hawaii, the fighter pilots traded off playing blue and red teams -- or good and bad guys, Lt. Col. Kyle Shoop, the F-35 squadron's commanding officer, told Hawaii News Now.

That's valuable training in an aircraft that significantly expands what Marines are able to do in the battlespace, Nelms said, in an aircraft that's low-observable, highly capable and carries more ordnance than its predecessor.

"The pilots said it was extremely valuable -- not only just for the chance to fly and conduct air-to-air, but specifically to work with the F-22s," he said. "It was a really unique and key opportunity for us to take advantage of while we were in Hawaii."

This was the ARG-MEU's final training stop before it officially begins its deployment. The Marines also conducted amphibious landings and live-fire and urban warfare training in preparation for the crisis-response mission they could face while deployed.

"We're just looking forward to seeing what the [F-35B] can do ... to support the Marines on the ground," Nelms said.

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ginaaharkins.
This article originally appeared on TheWarHorse.org, a nonprofit investigative news organization focused on covering the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.

Sarah Holzhalb was a Coast Guard officer from 2002-2007, serving both afloat and ashore tours. She received her B.A. from Virginia Commonwealth University and her M.P.S. from the George Washington University. Sarah works for Team RWB, a nonprofit that enriches the lives of America's veterans by connecting them to their community through physical and social activity. Follow her on Twitter @SarahHolzhalb.

He was no more than 10 years old. His slender face was tilted skyward, and he looked at me with his big brown eyes as I told him I was going to remove the contents of his pockets. From the back pocket of his dirty jeans I took a yellow toothbrush. That can be filed down into a weapon, I told myself, and tossed it into the confiscation bag. From his front pockets I pulled out some pieces of hard candy and three condoms still in their gold foil wrapping. My gaze flew from my left hand holding candy, to my right holding condoms, to his young, silent, unquestioning face. Throwing the condoms into the ever-growing confiscation bag, I tried not to think of the reasons why a boy his age had them in the first place. None of the stories I told myself were good ones.

I told him he could keep his candy, and I shoved the jewel-colored pieces back into his pocket with my latex-gloved hand. Besides his baby face, the candy was the only thing that reflected his age, given his other confiscated possessions and the striped polo shirt and jeans that hung off him. I stared after him as our lone interpreter, who was himself Haitian born, escorted him away to ask him further questions. His parents weren't in the group, nor did he know any of the hundreds of adults he was traveling with.

My roommate and I were the only females among our shipmates that made up our 100-person crew. Perhaps because we seemed less intimidating, we were tasked with searching babies and children, and ensuring they were reunited with their loved ones. A little less than a week later, we delivered the little boy and the approximately 350 others we'd rescued from their unseaworthy vessel back to Haiti, where they were ferried to shore in small groups via multiple trips made by our small boats. Our ship remained at anchor in Port-au-Prince Harbor.

I never found out whether he was an orphan or how he found himself on the dilapidated sailboat in the first place. The vessel, with its rotten wood and grimy, torn sails flapping uselessly in the wind, also carried a small family that was offered asylum in a country other than the U.S., but they refused: "The United States or nothing." They received the latter, and I thought of how reckless a decision this was on their part. Any place had to be better than Haiti if escaping on that near-shipwreck of a boat seemed their only option.

We would remain at anchor for days in the often breezeless Port-au-Prince Harbor as a security presence, the constant, putrid odor of burning rubber, dirt, and garbage coming from land permeating all corners of the ship and our clothes. With not much to do and anchored with nowhere to go, I had too much time to think about what all those people we had taken care of for days were doing now. A part of me was happy not to be patrolling the Caribbean Sea searching for more migrants to return.

I'd joined the nation's oldest seagoing service because its primary mission is saving lives. My first tour as an officer in the Coast Guard was on a 270-foot cutter, a ship that conducted search and rescue missions and law enforcement operations, narcotic and migrant interdiction. Though the drug traffickers eluded us, we did interdict a lot of migrants. Most were Haitians fleeing the deplorable human rights conditions, police violence, and unrest that began under the rule of Haiti's then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and that continued even after he resigned and fled to exile in February 2004. Some of the migrants we picked up were Cuban nationals fleeing Fidel Castro's Communist rule, as thousands and thousands had done in the decades since he'd initially come to power. Each time we'd return migrants to the countries they'd been fleeing, I wondered what might happen to them. Haitians walked up the shore back into their chaotic and crumbled city, as if no one realized they were ever gone. Cuba welcomed home its fleeing migrants with fear and implied threats of violence.

"Socialismo o Muerte" -- Socialism or Death -- graced the cracked concrete sea wall in bright red and blue graffiti as our patrol boat entered the small canal to Bahia de Cabanas. At the territorial sea line, a drab, gray Cuban Navy patrol boat met us to escort our ship into Cuban waters. We motored along at a few knots, maintaining a courteous speed so as not to create a wake that would bounce between the maze of green, tangled mangroves lining the canal. The blue-mirrored lenses of my silver Oakleys hid my watchful eyes. We kept watch on our passengers sitting on the deck, facing aft so they couldn't see where we were going, to make sure they didn't jump overboard in one last attempt to escape. I've wondered how many of them already knew where they were, how many of them had been through this same exercise with us before. As we got closer to mooring, I tried to eavesdrop on their whispered Spanish but couldn't understand much. The captain maneuvered the ship alongside a cement slab that could barely be called a pier, and on it waited a military-style van manned by two uniformed Cuban men holding AK-47s.

"We see again, gracias," the migrants said in a jumble of two languages, laughing slightly, as they disembarked our boat and walked toward the men with guns. What happens to them, I wondered, after they get into the van? I wonder today if they're still alive, and if they got a chance to try again as they said they would.

We had plucked these fleeing souls from the overpacked sailboat that seemed on the verge of breaking and delivered them right back to the hell they'd tried to escape and to an unknown fate. I've tried to imagine what it must be like to want simple freedoms so much that I would get on some scrap of material -- a rubber dinghy, a vessel made of empty plastic gasoline cans screwed together, anything that appears it can float -- with nothing more than a phone number in my pocket to bob around on the vast, unforgiving sea with no shelter from the elements, hoping that the currents eventually would bring me to the U.S. How bad, I wondered, would your life have to be that you would take such a chance?

-- The opinions expressed in this op-ed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Military.com. If you would like to submit your own commentary, please send your article to opinions@military.com for consideration.
Interstellar space travel may not be just for science fiction movies. U.S. scientists are striving toward deep space exploration, and NASA is looking to the U.S. Air Force for help to get there.

NASA leaders visited David Grant Air Force Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base, California, last month to better understand medical advances that could lead to years-long deployments in space, according to a recent Air Force release.

"Although manned space travel isn't new, the distances for the next phase of deep space missions are much greater than ever before for human exploration," the release said.

Officials are looking to develop new technologies, as NASA estimates it will invest in deep-space travel within the next 15 to 20 years, it said.

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NASA officials toured the facility -- one of the largest hospitals in the continental U.S. -- to get a glimpse at Travis medical teams' latest research, as well as the 60th Medical Support Squadron's Clinical Investigation Facility, where medical researchers are pursuing the advancement of military science and technologies.

"The maximum distance we travel now is 230 miles to the International Space Station," Dr. David Loftus, medical officer and principal investigator of the Space Biosciences Research Branch, part of the NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California, said in the release. "Ultimately, we'll explore unmanned and then manned missions around the moon, then to Mars and beyond.

"With our medical technologies and their abilities to test them with real-world application through research, the partnership will be vital to our success," he added.

CIF's researchers look at science breakthroughs through the lens of military application. With additional research from Livermore National Laboratory in California, the agencies plan to test technologies such as breathing and fluid sensors to monitor astronauts who may one day travel to Mars, roughly 34 million miles from Earth.

"Our technologies are a combined effort between NASA and Livermore National Laboratory," Loftus said in the release. "The advancements of microfluidic and breath analysis technologies combined together to form a very powerful diagnostic instrument."

The innovation stems from a device created by Dr. Jing Li of NASA's Ames Research Center.

"The E-Nose breathalyzer allows you to understand the different volatile compounds in exhaled breath," Loftus said. "This correlates with the various compounds and the health of the patient or warfighter."

The E-nose breathalyzer may also have battlefield applications.

"We feel this technology will be perfect for deep space missions as well as military applications," Loftus said in the release. "We're very interested in the effects of injuries from pulmonary and traumatic brain injury from improvised explosive devices."

Similarly, the Air Force and Navy are working with NASA to try to solve a spike of hypoxia-like episodes in pilots in flight.

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.
Vampires and Priests Wage War in New Novel

Contact: Kevin Wandra, 404-788-1276, KWandra@CarmelCommunications.com SAN FRANCISCO, July 24, 2018 / Standard Newswire / -- In turn-of-the-century London, a deep-seated evil is besieging the city, leaving a trail of murders in its wake and baffling local police. Attorney John Kemp, the protagonist, is skeptical of supernatural activity until he joins forces with Father Thomas Edmund, a Dominican friar who faces down the likes of vampires and demons on a regular basis. A BLOODY HABIT weaves a tale of the undead as evil seeks to build a powerful army in London during early 1900.A BLOODY HABIT is Eleanor Bourg Nicholson's inaugural novel. She is a religious education director, the assistant executive editor of Dappled Things and assistant editor of the Saint Austin Review (StAR). Nicholson also edited the Ignatius Critical Edition of Dracula, and has extensive knowledge and background of the Victorian era, which lends to a detailed  and nearly believable  novel of vampires assaulting London at the dawn of the new century.John Kemp is a run-of-the-mill attorney in London and a natural skeptic, so when he meets a Dominican friar whose life's work intersects with the undead and the blood trail of murder and destruction in London, Kemp cannot help but be drawn into the invisible world that lives parallel to the seen world.Tackling good and evil with an ounce or two of humor, A BLOODY HABIT twists a tale of sinister threats intertwined with respectable skepticism. Nicholson seeks to bring questions about the existence of good and evil to the mind of the reader, not preach answers to those questions."A real 19th century Gothic vampire story, rich and colorful, and wonderfully full of foreboding," Tim Powers, bestselling novelist and author of On Stranger Tides, says of A BLOODY HABIT. "The characters are vivid and convincing, and the historical locales make the supernatural element effective and affecting as it builds to the point where our protagonist must recognize it and confront it."For more information, to request a review copy or to schedule an interview with Eleanor Nicholson, please contact Kevin Wandra (404-788-1276 or KWandra@CarmelCommunications.com ) of Carmel Communications.
The suspension of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter sales to Turkey has become more likely after both the House and Senate opposed the deal in their versions of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act.

The Defense Department has 90 days from the bill's final passage to submit a report to lawmakers explaining the strategic value of selling the jet to Turkey, a member of NATO. Until that time, deliveries of the fifth-generation fighter to Turkey will be on hold, House aides told reporters Monday, The Hill reported.

The latest move comes weeks after Defense Secretary Jim Mattis encouraged lawmakers to reconsider. "At this time, I oppose removal of Turkey from the F-35 program," he said in a letter earlier this month.

Turkey, a coalition member in the fight against the Islamic State, plans to buy more than 100 F-35As, the conventional takeoff and landing model of the stealth fighter. The first delivery is expected this year.

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But Mattis and members of Congress have not been happy that Turkey has also made a deal to acquire Russia's S-400 surface-to-air missile system, known by Moscow as the "F-35 killer."

"Ultimately, we are concerned that by purchasing these systems from the Russians, it will be supportive of some of the least good behavior that we have seen from them in various places, including in Europe but also elsewhere," said Tina Kaidanow, acting assistant secretary for the Bureau of Political Military Affairs at the State Department.

The State Department has been quietly trying to push Turkey to reconsider the S-400 buy in favor of the U.S.-made Patriot missile system.

"That's true of a number of our partners. It's not just ... the Turks, as I said," Kaidanow told reporters last week during the Farnborough Airshow.

Lawmakers in April voiced concern over the missile purchase and attempted to block the sale of F-35s to Turkey over the "increased risk" its recent actions pose to U.S. interests.

Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.; James Lankford, R-Okla.; and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., introduced a measure April 26 that would pause the transfer of the F-35A. It would also block Turkey from having a role in depot maintenance for the aircraft.

In 2017, Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, proposed an amendment to the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act that would ban the sale of F-35s to Turkey after members of Turkish President Recep Erdogan's security detail were seen beating protesters outside the Turkish embassy in Washington, D.C.

The House is expected to vote on the conference version of the NDAA this week; the Senate should vote on the bill in August.

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.
A panel of House and Senate lawmakers reached a deal Monday to give military members a 2.6 percent pay raise in 2019.

Check out the proposed 2019 pay charts.

The bicameral panel, made up of lawmakers from both houses, approved the pay deal as a part of the larger National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (HR 5515), also known as the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019.

The panel resolved differences between the house and senate versions of the 2019 military spending bill, and sent their final committee report to the House Rules Committee to schedule a vote on their recommendations that seek to compromise and include details from both versions of the bill.

A final vote on the conference's recommendations could come as early as next week.

If the measure passes, and is signed by the president, the pay raise will go into effect for fiscal year 2019, which begins Oct. 1, 2018.

If that happens, it would be the first time since 1996 that the NDAA actually became law before start of the fiscal year.
"Super Troopers 2" (out now on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital) is notable for a couple of things: Fans of the Broken Lizard comedy troupe funded the movie on Indiegogo with $4.6 million in funding after studios passed on the project. Also, it features Rob Lowe doing what's got to be the worst French Canadian accent in the history of movies.

If you love "Super Troopers" or "Beerfest," why didn't you go to the theaters to see this movie? It was a surprise hit this past winter and turned enough of a profit to warrant another sequel, coming soon and allegedly called "Super Troopers: Winter Soldiers."

There's a border dispute between the USA and Canada and the Vermont governor (played by Linda Carter) rehires the disgraced state patrolmen to set up shop in a sliver of Canada that's about to be handed over to the United States. They alienate the Canadian locals, get into disputes with the Canadian Mounties set to be displaced by the move and uncover a smuggling operation.

As weed becomes legal across the country, it's fair to ask whether juvenile drug-fueled humor can maintain a subversive edge. If you're high school bio teacher is lighting up and zoning out with Broken Lizard at night, how rebellious will 420 be?

Jimmy Tatro (the alleged vandal Dylan in the outstanding Netflix series "American Vandal") has a great moment as the victim of a traffic stop, Jim Gaffigan reprises his part from the first movie and there's a good bit with cows that alludes to the French Taunting scene from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."

Watch it with a group. Most of you will have to enjoy it with beer, but if you live in California, Colorado or Massachusetts, it might be funnier if you exercise your newly acquired cannabis rights.
Dog lovers have long had their reservations about the movies of director Wes Anderson. The demise of Buckley in 2001's "The Royal Tenenbaums" and the random killing of Snoopy in 2012's "Moonrise Kingdom" stand as two of the most shocking canine murders in movie history. "Isle of Dogs" (out now on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital) is the director's apology to everyone who thinks he hates dogs.

Made in the stop-motion style he first used in the 2009 kids' movie "The Fantastic Mr. Fox," "Isle of Dogs" is definitely for an older audience, more because of its weird plot because there's not much in the way of profanity or violence.

Anderson recruited some of his favorite actors to voice the dogs: Jeff Goldblum, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Bob Balaban, Tilda Swinton, Harvey Keitel, Anjelica Huston and Frances McDormand return from his earlier films. Bryan Cranston, Scarlett Johansson, Greta Gerwig, Yoko Ono, Koyu Rankin, Liev Schreiber, Konichi Nomura, Courtney B. Vance and Akira Ito join his troupe for the first time.

It's Japan and it's the future. Dogs are accused of infecting the city of Megasaki with a dog flu. The mayor banishes them to Trash Island. The mayor's young ward Atari wants to his dog Spots and sets off for the island, where he enlists a pack for dogs to aid his search.

The dogs speak English, the Japanese humans speak Japanese and get on-screen subtitles. The dogs search the island and uncover a conspiracy. As with most Wes Anderson movies, it's about character interaction and weird moments. If you're looking for a plot-driven story, it's going to drive you crazy.
Air Force veteran and best-selling author Dan Hampton ("Viper Pilot," "Lords of the Sky") returns with "Chasing the Demon: A Secret History of the Quest for the Sound Barrier, and the Band of American Aces Who Conquered It," which out now and available for purchase here.

"Chasing the Demon" digs deep into the military's race to achieve supersonic speeds in the years after World War II. The "demon" was the nickname test pilots gave to the sound barrier. The story that Hampton's uncovered is far more complicated and interesting than the version you may know already.

We've got an excerpt from the book courtesy of William Morrow, an Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. It's taken from the preface and it does a great job of setting up the story.

Excerpt from: CHASING THE DEMON by Dan Hampton

During that brief flight in 1945, Lothar Sieber did indeed become the first man to be successfully launched in a rocketfor fifty-five seconds. At 1,650 feet, some fifteen seconds into the flight, the canopy inexplicably detached and the Ba-349 flipped onto its back while climbing shallowly to 5,000 feet. Rolling inverted, the Natter then dove straight into the ground about four miles from its launch point, barely missing the little hamlet of Stetten am kalten Markt. A partial left leg, a left arm, and fragments of Sieber's skull were eventually recovered from the fifteen-foot-deep crater.

No one knows exactly what occurred that morning, yet when the canopy detached, it could have struck Sieber. A pilot's conscious or semiconscious reaction would be to grab the stick and pull back, so if this occurred the Natter would have ended up on its back. Entering a cloud deck at that speed and attitude would be disorienting, and Sieber would very likely find himself out of control. If this happened, he would try to bail out, though this would be nearly impossible in a 500 mph dive. The fact that his left leg and arm were recovered lends credence to this notion, however, and he may have been trying to climb out of the tiny cockpit when the Natter impacted.

No matter the cause, with the failure of this single manned flight, and with Allied forces converging on the Germany from all sides, a secret list of top German scientists and engineers was passed to U.S. intelligence. With the war ending, the Americans initiated Operations Lusty and Paperclip to prevent this equipment, these men, and their special knowledge from falling into Soviet hands. Over 1,500 were eventually relocated to the United States, including Major General (Dr.) Walter Robchasing ert Dornberger, who would eventually become the vice president of Bell Aircraft.

The Natter project was discontinued, yet there are those who were present as Sieber's Natter shot from the clouds, rocket motor screaming at 600 miles per hour and accelerating, who claim they heard the demon's voice: a boom that would later be recognized as flight past the speed of sound.

Six weeks later a man felt the demon's claws and got close enough to smell its breath. On April 9, 1945, two sleek Me 262 Schwalbe jet fighters lifted off from Lechfeld, just west of Munich, and headed up into thin, clear air. Led by Lieutenant Colonel Heinrich Bar, a Luftwaffe experten with over 1,000 combat sorties and 220 confirmed victories, the jets leveled off at 36,000 feet. Today was a training mission for Bar's wingman, Hans Mutke, who was converting to the Me 262 after three years of flying Bf 110 night fighters.* The Schwalbe, or "Swallow," was now Germany's last realistic hope to alter the drastic situation in the skies over the Reich. Powered by a pair of Junkers Jumo engines, each producing 4,000 pounds of thrust, the Messerschmitt could climb at 3,900 feet per minute and sustain 532 miles per hour in level flight at 26,000 feet. The armed variant usually carried four 30 mm cannons, and twenty-four 55 mm rockets capable of hitting a B-17 from a half mile away. It was a game changer and, if not a war winner at this late stage in the conflict, there still were those who believed it was still not too late, which was why experienced, twin-engined pilots like Mutke were being rushed through the conversion course.

"He's under attack . . . right now."

Bar's voice was calm as he rolled over and dove his armed Me 262 left toward a P-51 attacking another German fighter far below. Mutke followed in his unarmed jet with no external tank. Though a highly experienced pilot, this was only his third jet sortie and, as one would in a piston-engined fighter, Mutke left the throttles up. Passing about 35,000 feet in a 40-degree dive, the jet began bucking wildly, and the tail began to yaw. Obviously alarmed, he noticed the airspeed indicator was pegged at the limit of 1,100 kilometers per hour: about 680 miles per hour. As his nose pitched sharply down, Mutke could no longer control the 262, later recalling to American aviation historian Walter J. Boyne: "I moved the stick wildly around the cockpit. For a brief moment, the airplane responded to controls again momentarily, then went back out of control. The plane still did not respond to pressure on the stick so I changed the incidence of the tailplane. The speed dropped, the aircraft stopped shaking, and I regained control."

By manually altering the angle of the horizontal tail, which could be done from the cockpit, Mutke disturbed the airflow over his stabilizers and slowed from supersonic to subsonic speed. When this occurred, the shock wave generated by supersonic air moved forward, allowing the nose to lift again and control to be restored. Mutke was able to throttle back, which flamed out his engines, then slow to a controllable 300 miles per hour. Managing to land, he and the ground crew discovered popped rivets and warped wings.

Limited to 0.86 Mach by technical order, it was physically possible for the Me 262 to exceed the speed of sound in any sort of dive. At full throttle in the thin air above 30,000 feet and diving, this becomes more likely if there is no structural failure. The damage to Mutke's jet indicates that any sort of prolonged flight under those conditions would have been disastrous. A computer-modeling simulation conducted at the Technische Universitat Munchen in 1999 suggested it could be donebut a simulation is not the real thing.

Did it happen?

Ken Chilstrom, one of the original USAF test pilots who flew a captured 262, doesn't think so. "The engines could have done it," he stated in a 2017 interview for this book, "but structurally I don't think the plane would have held together."

"This could have just been the jet I flew though," he added. "German quality was very problematic at that phase of the war, and each jet was put together a bit differently."

No one knows, and to date nothing has been found in Messerschmitt's surviving wind tunnel data to indicate it had ever been tried. Yet given the combat accidents suffered by Allied fighter pilots who lost control during high-speed dives, transonic speeds had clearly been reached. And if straight-winged, piston-engined aircraft could cross into that region, then a swept-winged jet certainly could so.

How then did mankind, who had only truly flown forty-two years earlier, progress to the point where flight past the speed of sound was possible? For even if it did not occur on that March day in 1945, it was certainly possible, and extreme velocity was the way of the future. This was a hard lesson learned on both sides as jet-powered Me 262's operated far beyond the capabilities of Allied piston-engined fighters and defensive guns from bomber formations. Fortunately, there were too few of them to make a significant impact, but this same German technology, inherited by the Allied victors, would live on to shape global geopolitics during the late 1940s and early 50s.

With the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II, the nuclear age had begun. War planners now faced a radically new calculus: the ability to get a bomb over target faster than one's enemy trumped "conventional" tactics. Meanwhile, a new conflict, the Cold War, was emerging. Tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union were already high as the fragile, wartime alliance frayed to a point where, in 1946, Joseph Stalin openly declared the coexistence of capitalism and socialism to be impossible. Justifiably wary of challenging the American military, Soviet engineers and scientists raced to close the technical gap. Jet aircraft, specifically long-range strategic bombers capable of delivering nuclear weapons, were initially viewed as the best option for power projection. This, Moscow believed, would permit the intimidation possible for multi-hemispheric, Communist expansion and, if the situation deteriorated, would provide a Soviet capability to wage open war with the United States.

Equally cognizant of the military and ideological threat posed by the USSR, American leaders were determined to maintain their technological edge and therefore blunt Communist ambitions. If atomic or thermonuclear warheads could be delivered onto an enemy's soil, as had been done against the Japanese, then who would risk armed confrontation with the United States?

Even as they returned home to try to enjoy a world without war, a small group of incredibly daring American fighter pilots were poised to shake the foundations of man's achievements to their core; to kick open the door of modern air combat tactics and change the world as it currently existed. Having survived combat and vanquished one set of threats these men knew other evils would rapidly emerge to fill the vacuum, and so they did. Ideological and nuclear threats capable of a mass destruction unthinkable a decade earlier, and for a few short years the safety of the world was dependent on an extremely narrow margin defined and redefined by military technology; an anthropogenic Pandora's Box that could either be contained by the West, or opened by the East through the possession of a single key: speed.

In the years immediately following World War II speed was the yardstick by which aircraft, the "long rifle" of the modern age, were measured. Before the development of intercontinental or submarine-launched ballistic missiles, jet aircraft capable of high subsonic flight were essential to the ambitions of both superpowers, and to the making of war or the preservation of peace. The ability to fly farther, longer, and, above all, faster, could either balance or tip the uneasy strategic equilibrium of the postwar era. Manned supersonic flight was the prize as it offered an area of exclusiona profound combat advantagefor those who possessed it against those who did not. This quest began with experimental aircraft and fighters, for a supersonic interceptor could destroy a bomber well before it could drop its lethal, thermonuclear payload. Defensive weapons, coupled with radar guidance, had not yet been developed to counter such speed, so it was believed that such combat operations could be conducted with relative impunity, and thereby ensure victory or maintain the peace.

Men like Ken Chilstrom, George Welch, Chalmers Goodlin, and Chuck Yeager had already risked everything for their country during the Second World War; their own lives had been disrupted and forever altered, yet they did not hesitate to roll the dice again in the name of duty, danger, and honor. These were hardened men born in the turmoil following the Great War, raised to maturity during the chaos of the 1930s, and honed sharp by combat. They understood, if others did not, that peace not backed by strength was an empty hope. These men were part of an America that accepted, albeit reluctantly, a mantle of global leadership that could not be discarded if the world were to remain safe for their children's children. Just as it never occurred to them to dodge their wartime obligations, they could not, and would not, shrink from a new challenge. Only pilots such as this could chase the demon beyond whatever barrier existed, and finally take mankind faster than the speed of sound.

* Mutke remained a fahnrich, an officer cadet, all through the war because he would not join the Nazi Party. Surviving the war, he finished medical school and became a gynecologist.
7:27pm: Then again, a source tells Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (Twitter link) that its not accurate to say the sides have discussed Hamels.

Of course, the Nats do have someone on hand to watch Hamels in action tonight, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports on Twitter. The Braves, Cubs, Phillies, Yankees, and Diamondbacks do as well.

Of course, there are other players on view as well. The Atlanta organization may be looking at lefty reliever Jake Diekman, MLB.coms Mark Bowman suggests on Twitter.

As for the Nationals, Janes tweets that noted D.C. executive Dan Jennings is the rep in Arlington, though she suggests his appearance is more due diligence.

7:15pm: The Nationals are the latest team with some level of interest in Rangers lefty Cole Hamels, according to MLB.coms Jon Morosi. Those two organizations are said to have engaged in trade discussions, though theres no indication that a deal is particularly close.

Its not surprising to see the Nats angling to deepen their rotation and Hamels is certainly a pitcher with whom the organization is familiar. Of course, its also a bit interesting to hear of this particular connection given a rather notable run-in between Hamels and the D.C. ballclub, though that was some years ago.

After a strong outing on June 19th, Hamels owned a 3.41 ERA. After four sub-optimal times out, though, hes all the way up to a 4.36 mark that arguably better reflects his true talent level at this stage of an outstanding career.

On the one hand, Hamels is back to generating a strikeout per nine after a big fall-off in 2017. On the other, hes giving up home runs on 20.2% of the flyballs put in play against him. ERA estimators mostly view Hamels as a solid hurler  hes at a 5.06 FIP, 4.11 xFIP, and 4.06 SIERA this year  but theres not much reason to believe that Hamels is the top-line starter he once was.

Perhaps theres some added appeal in the fact that Hamels has a long history of good work in the postseason, even if his most recent appearance  a 2016 dud for the Rangers  did not go as hoped. All told, he has thrown 98 1/3 innings of 3.48 ERA ball over 16 playoff starts. Hamels was also named the MVP of the 2008 World Series.

Contract will play a major role in the market for Hamels. Hes earning $22.5MM this year, a hefty rate for a sub-elite starter. Hes also due a $6MM buyout on a $20MM club option for 2019. Increasingly, it seems likely hell end up receiving the break-up fee.

Hamels can block trades to twenty teams, but the Nats are not among them. Neither are the division-rival Braves. The Atlanta organization has been linked loosely to Hamels in the recent past. Morosi suggests the Braves are indeed at least taking a look, though its not clear if theres serious interest.
DETROIT, MI - You can enjoy a little taste of the Caribbean before actually headed to the Caribbean as Jimmy Buffett's first Air Margaritaville restaurant in the Midwest is set to open at Detroit Metro Airport.

And that's not the only new dining option planned for the airport's North Terminal. Coming soon will be: Detroit Scene Cafe featuring Zingerman's Coffee, Atwater Brewery, MOD Pizza, Anita's Kitchen Lebanese Cafe, Brioche Doree, Cantoro Italian Market Trattoria, Chick fil-A, Pei Wei, Common Grace Coffee Company, Jolly Pumpkin and National Coney Island.

Construction begins this fall. "For the first time since the North Terminal opened in 2008, we're completely refreshing our food and beverage program," said Wayne County Airport Authority Interim CEO Chad Newton.

"Most of the North Terminal's passengers are local residents or visitors to our area; they're not connecting in Detroit to fly to other cities," said Wayne County Airport Authority Concessions Director Greg Hatcher. "When they're in our terminal, we believe passengers will enjoy seeing local brands they love and those that pique their interest."

The nearly $21 million transformation will happen in phases. The first phase will begin with construction in the fall of 2018 and finish with the opening of new concessions in the spring of 2019. The final phase is expected to wrap up by the spring of 2020.

"Detroit is America's comeback city with a hot and happening food scene thanks to its resurgence and local talent," said HMSHost President & CEO Steve Johnson. "We are honored that the Wayne County Airport Authority has selected HMSHost to enhance the airport experience for its tourists and business people by bringing the authentic energy and tastes of Detroit's restaurants into this major Midwestern hub."
Posted by Ibrahim M Mission on Tuesday, July 17, 2018

In a matter of days, Robert Stanzler's life has changed drastically because of a viral video that showed the owner of Detroit Mercantile Company in Eastern Market spitting in the face of another man during a parking dispute.

Video from the July 16 encounter shows Stanzler giving the middle finger and spitting in the direction of a man identified as Ibrahim Mission. It was posted on Facebook by Mission and had garnered over 75,000 views as of Monday, July 23.

Stanzler is now charged with misdemeanor assault and battery, but many in the court of public opinion have already cast their verdict, leading to uncertainty regarding the business's future.

Some call for a boycott of The Detroit Mercantile Co. after its owner was recorded spitting on security officer over parking dispute https://t.co/TW1RyyDS5Y pic.twitter.com/Kt04aMxyBa  Crain's Detroit Business (@crainsdetroit) July 19, 2018

Immediately after the incident, many on social media began calling for a boycott of Detroit Mercantile Company, a retailer of new and vintage Detroit-related clothing and items, as well as antiques with connections to "iconic Michigan companies," according to its website.

Dearborn-based clothing manufacturer Carhartt announced it will no longer sell its products at Stanzler's store. Stormy Kromer, an Ironwood-based clothing retailer known for its hats, followed suit, and Eastern Market Corp. announced it will no longer allow Detroit Mercantile to sell goods in its open markets, Crain's Detroit reported.

Carhartt has discontinued its relationship with Detroit Mercantile over the spitting situation. pic.twitter.com/t67BSkWvMd  philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) July 20, 2018

Days after posting a public apology on the Detroit Mercantile Facebook page, the apology, along with the business's Facebook page, had been deleted.

MLive requested comment from Stanzler or Detroit Mercantile representatives and had not received a response as of Monday, July 23.

Detroit Mercantile shares a building with the Eastern, a warehouse used as an event venue, at 3434 Russell in Eastern Market.

Attendees of an event at the Eastern on July 16 were parking in a section of the parking lot Stanzler believes are spots reserved for his business, which sparked the confrontation, Detroit Metro Times reported.

An organizer for the event told Metro Times he believes Stanzler's reaction to Mission was racially motivated. Stanzler is white and Mission is black. There was no indication that race was mentioned during the argument.

Stanzler is expected to be arraigned on a count of aggravated assault Tuesday in Detroit.
Carhartt & Pendleton Woolen Mills distributor arrested: Robert Stanzler owner of Detroit Mercantile assaults Security Officer Ibrahim M Mission in the line of duty @the Eastern Market Detroit, MI Posted by Ibrahim M Mission on Tuesday, July 17, 2018

With his beard shaved, Detroit Mercantile owner Robert Stanzler appeared via video feed to be arraigned on a misdemeanor aggravated assault charge Tuesday, July 24.

Stanzler is accused of spitting in the face of a security guard during a parking dispute outside the Eastern Market business he owns on July 16.

Stanzler's bond was set at $5,000, 10 percent, and he's forbidden from making contact with the victim, Ibrahim Mission, who shared a viral video of the encounter on Facebook. Footage shows Stanzler giving the middle finger and spitting in the direction of Mission.

Robert Stanzler arraignment The owner of Detroit Mercantile Co. who spit in a young man's face is being arraigned. DETAILS: https://bit.ly/2NCRrbF Posted by WXYZ-TV Channel 7 on Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Immediately after the incident, many on social media began calling for a boycott of Detroit Mercantile Company, a retailer of new and vintage Detroit-related clothing and items, as well as antiques with connections to "iconic Michigan companies," according to its website.

Dearborn-based clothing manufacturer Carhartt announced it will no longer sell its products at Stanzler's store. Stormy Kromer, an Ironwood-based clothing retailer known for its hats, followed suit, and Eastern Market Corp. announced it will no longer allow Detroit Mercantile to sell goods in its open markets, Crain's Detroit reported.

Detroit Mercantile shares a building with the Eastern, a warehouse used as an event venue, at 3434 Russell in Eastern Market.

Attendees of an event at the Eastern on July 16 were parking in a section of the parking lot Stanzler believes are spots reserved for his business, which sparked the confrontation, Detroit Metro Times reported.

Stanzler is scheduled to return to court for a pretrial hearing on Aug. 2.
FLINT, MI -- Flint Community Schools could face a take-over of school buildings by the Genesee Intermediate School District or closures if benchmarks in a new partnership agreement with the Michigan Department of Education are not met.

The agreement entered into this month by the school district, MDE, GISD, and the State School Reform/Redesign Officer puts in place several goals and 18- and 36-month deadlines to hit those benchmarks.

Benchmarks in the first 18 months include raising student attendance rates to 88 percent; reducing out-of-school suspension by 5 percent; and increasing proficiency by 5 percent as measured by state assessments, M-STEP, MME and SAT scores.

If the benchmarks are not met, accountability could include closure or engaging the GISD to assume control of schools.

The state SRO has the authority under Michigan law to "address chronically failing schools to achieve superior academic performance for students at those schools," according to the agreement.

Four schools had originally been part of the discussion -- Accelerated Learning Academy, Holmes STEM Academy, Potter School and Northwestern High School - when discussions with the state first began.

"Flint Community Schools was approached by the state to enter into the partnership agreement, and immediately recognized the opportunity as a positive one for the district," said Diana Wright, board president, in a statement to MLive-The Flint Journal. "For that reason, the district extended the agreement -- at its own discretion -- from four to all 12 schools."

William DiSessa, an MDE spokesman, said the benchmarks were mutually agreed to as "part of an ongoing collaborative process" that involves several other parties in helping the district achieve the figures.

Those parties named in the agreement include the MDE, GISD, as well as the C.S. Mott Foundation, Michigan State University, Crim Fitness Foundation, and the Concerned Pastors for Social Action.

Gregory Weatherspoon, interim Flint schools superintendent, said he was "excited to continue to develop and fortify existing relationships" with partners named in the agreement "each of which is committed to improving student outcomes in Flint."

"The partnership agreement signifies the district's commitment to deliver on and measure student attendance, student behavior, school curriculum and state exam performance, and to develop an advisory council to create a continuum of support from cradle-to-career for Flint students," said Weatherspoon.

As part of the partnership agreement, an advisory council set to include the C.S. Mott Foundation will be organized to provide support for Flint students and develop a comprehensive, multi-year, multi-partner plan.

Ridgway White, president of the C.S. Mott Foundation, said the nonprofit organization signed off on the agreement "because we care about Flint kids" and has been a partner to the city school district for decades.

White noted the foundation has provided $54 million in support for the district over the past five years alone, including support for technical assistance to help the district out of debt, paying for new textbooks for all K-12 student in core subjects, and a recent grant supporting repairs and improvements at Southwestern as it becomes the only high school in the city this fall.

"We hope the partnership agreement with the state will help Flint chart a course for progress in our public schools that will lead to better outcomes -- and brighter futures -- for our students," said White. "We also hope the state will more directly address the broad challenges that contribute to declining student achievement across Michigan."

If the district chooses to amend the partnership agreement, a reconstitution plan would be required and include making significant changes to instructional and noninstructional programming, replacing at least 25 percent of the faculty and staff of a school, and replacing the principal unless they've been in place less than three years and the board determines it's best to keep them in place.

The adoption of similar goals to those stated in the original agreement would have to be reached within five years or a second reconstitution plan would be imposed on the school or closure.

Other Michigan school districts striking partnership agreements with the state Department of Education include Ecorse Public Schools, Baldwin Community Schools, Grand Rapids Public Schools, Saginaw Preparatory Academy and Muskegon Public Schools.
Qingdao Mayor Meng Fanli (Right) officially opens the first barrel of beer at the 28th Qingdao International Beer Festival at Golden Beach Beer City in Qingdao West Coast New Area, one of the six venues where the annual festival is being held. [Photo by Meng Yuante/For chinadaily.com.cn]



Beer, a performance, a museum and a production line, as well as advanced technologies, these are all part of the 28th Qingdao International Beer Festival, which opened in grand style on Friday.

The annual event in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province, dubbed the largest of its kind in Asia, will run until Aug 26 and last 38 days this year, longer than in previous years.

The ongoing festival has six major venues around the coastal city. Venues in the citys West Coast New Area and Laoshan district have firstly spruced up to host visitors.

Visitors enjoy the festive atmosphere in a beer tent featuring local Tsingtao brewery at the Golden Beach Beer City in Qingdao West Coast New Area, one of the six venues where the 28th Qingdao International Beer Festival is being held. [Photo by Li Wei/for chinadaily.com.cn]



Close to beach and sea, the Golden Beach Beer City in Qingdao West Coast New Area has built new facilities and applied state-of-the-art technologies in operations and service, such as robots, drones, face recognition and big data. The festival there stretches across 800,000 square meters, making it one of the world's largest beer-themed squares.

On Friday night, Qingdao Mayor Meng Fanli officially tapped the festivals first barrel during the opening ceremony at Golden Beach Beer City, followed by a spectacular performance, Phoenix Fire Dance Show, in which international dancers made their moves with fire on hand.

A sculpture of two beer mugs raised in a toast graces the gate of the Golden Beach Beer City in Qingdao West Coast New Area, one of the six venues where the 28th Qingdao International Beer Festival is being held. The sculpture, which is decorated using lighting technology, embodies the festival slogan, "QINGDAO GANBEI WITH THE WORLD". [Photo by Qi Xiuli/for chinadaily.com.cn]



The performance is a daily event during the 38-day event, along with an international music season, exotic circus show and artistic parades, as well as splendid fireworks and light displays every day.

Organizers from the new area say that this year there are 200 beer brands from over 30 countries and regions that offer more than 1,300 types of beer.

This years event is themed, SCO beer festival, following the SCO Qingdao summit successfully held in early June. Organizers hope that the festival will enhance exchange among SCO countries. The festival is featuring a vast tent offering Russian beers, and is offering branded beer from SCO member countries. Organizers also invited many performers from related countries.

A museum has been established to provide information, such as on beer history and brewing technologies. A mini brewery has been built to offer visitors fresh beer from the production line.
FLINT, MI -- Attorneys are asking a federal judge to step in and force the city of Flint to properly respond to the water crisis as required by a lawsuit settlement.

Flint is not following a settlement agreement involving water filter installation and the replacement of lead and galvanized service lines, according to two motions filed by attorneys for the Concerned Pastors for Social Action, Natural Resources Defense Council and American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan.

The settlement agreement, which was approved by the U.S. District Court in March 2017 following a lawsuit against the city and state by the organizations, calls for the state of Michigan to pay up to $97 million to replace at least 18,000 lead and galvanized service lines -- including $87 million for the initial replacement program and $10 million in reserves.

Part of that agreement mandated the city immediately check in with residents after their water transmission lines were replaced to ensure faucet filters are correctly installed, according to a motion filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit.

The settlement also called for Flint to evaluate if there are more than 18,000 lead and galvanized steel service lines in the city -- a crucial element in determining how much the replacements will cost.

"We're going back to court because the city has not lived up to the commitments it made to resolve this case," said Cyndi Roper, senior Michigan policy advocate with the Natural Resources Defense Council. "Those commitments -- ensuring each resident has a properly installed filter immediately after pipe replacement and updating the city's estimate of how many lead pipes remain in the city -- are essential to getting all of the lead pipes out of Flint and to protecting public health while pipe replacements are ongoing."

MLive-The Flint Journal could not reach city officials for comment.

The motions ask a judge to enforce the settlement agreement.

The city agreed to excavate the service lines of at least 18,000 homes over three years, but it was unknown exactly how many lead or galvanized lines were in Flint when that pact was made, according to one of the motions.

"The city used an illogical, rigged formula that could never result in a conclusion that there were more than 18,000 lead and galvanized steel service lines in Flint," according to the motion. "The city's approach effectively insulates it from a finding that would require it to complete additional excavations and pipe replacements."

The city's estimate that no more 18,000 homes require line replacement is unsupported by data, the motion claims.

An estimate from the city's Flint Action and Sustainability Team Start project was accurate and reliable, according to a response filed by the city, and there is no information that shows it is reasonably likely there are more lead or galvanized lines.

"Their motion also seeks to change the fundamental, underlying structure of the settlement agreement and place additional financial burdens on the city," the city's response said.

But the FAST Start analysis and data from other sources is not adequate, attorneys for the Concerned Pastors and others argue.

"The city relies on guesswork and undocumented personal observations of city staff to reduce the projected number of service lines for replacement," attorneys argue in the motion. "The consequences of the city's shoddy analysis are not academic. If the city's estimates are off by even 2 percent, it will run out of funding under the agreement."

The state must work to secure additional funding if the $97 million allocated is not enough for all the excavations and replacements, but the state's obligation to seek more funding can only be triggered based on the initial analysis done by the city, according to the motion.

"If the city later discovers that it needs more money to complete its work, the state will not be required to seek those funds from the state legislature," the motion claims. "Thus, this evaluation is the only mechanism under the agreement that ensures the city will have enough money to replace Flint's lead and galvanized steel service lines."

Flint residents would be protected against spikes in lead levels right after service lines are replaced because the city was supposed to immediately check to make sure a faucet filter was properly installed after the construction work, attorneys for the NRDC and Concerned Pastors argue.

However, they claim the city has failed to ensure the timely installation of filters.

The motion also claims the city has taken weeks to contact homes after the service line replacement work is done -- with some residences waiting more than eight weeks.

"The city has failed to do so -- the latest in a string of serious, systematic violations of the settlement agreement's terms," the motion reads.

No response has been filed on behalf of the city in response to the filter replacement issue, according to court files.

There will be a motion hearing is scheduled to take place at 2 p.m. on Aug. 21 before District Judge David M. Lawson.
FLINT, MI -- The police investigation into the collection of signatures in the recall of Mayor Karen Weaver is still ongoing one year after it began.

The city of Flint denied a Freedom of Information Act request July 18 from MLive-The Flint Journal seeking information on the case, citing the ongoing investigation.

Flint police Spokesman Sgt. Tyrone Booth said the department does not comment about on-going investigations.

Police announced the investigation in a July 24, 2017, news release.

Little detail has been released about the investigation launched a year ago, other than that Flint police requested an arrest warrant from Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton in late July 2017 against mayoral recall leader-turned-mayoral candidate Arthur Woodson.

Leyton said Monday, July 23, that the warrant request is still pending while awaiting evidence.

He said investigators sent something for laboratory analysis, but would not comment further.

Leyton did not know when the results are expected back.

The criminal investigation into the recall was initiated about a month after efforts to collect petition signatures to recall Weaver began.

The Flint Police Department announced the investigation into a criminal complaint alleging residents were tricked into signing the petitions.

Officers were then spotted knocking on doors in the community to question voters on whether they signed to recall the mayor.

"I feel that it's a phony investigation because they started knocking on doors and when the media started asking questions," Woodson said Monday. "They said there was an investigation. It's a bogus investigation. I didn't do anything wrong."

The police department's involvement in the mayoral recall election came into question in August after Weaver took the recall attempt to court, pointing to "grossly illegal behavior by the petition circulators" in an attempt to have a judge call off the election to oust her.

Woodson said he's going to the police station numerous times over the last month to get a status on the investigation.

"If you're going to investigate, why haven't you spoken to anybody who was circulating petitions," Woodson said. "They won't even say what they're investigating me for."



Genesee Circuit Judge Geoffrey Neithercut raised concerns about the police department's role in the recall after four of the mayor's witnesses testified they were summoned to court for Weaver's challenge by police officers through house visits and phone calls.

Records previously obtained by MLive-The Flint Journal via a Freedom of Information Act request also showed a Flint police officer using a check from Weaver's campaign funds to purchase copies of the recall petitions his department was actively investigating.

Chief Tim Johnson and off-duty officers also were spotted going door-to-door in the city passing out literature supporting Weaver -- something Johnson repeatedly said he and his officers have "every right" to do.

The investigation also brought questions from the Michigan State Police.

MSP officials initially questioned Flint police on running a criminal background check on Woodson, MLive-The Flint Journal previously reported. However, the MSP later said Flint police's background check was legitimate after Deputy Flint Police Chief Devon Bernritter said the check was done as part of obtaining an arrest warrant for Woodson in the ongoing recall petition criminal investigation.

In a landslide victory, Weaver beat 17 opponents to keep her job on Nov. 7, pulling nearly 53 percent of the city's vote.

"It was a political ploy," Woodson said of the investigation. "It was election time. They tried to taint me. What investigation lasts this long?"
A weekend of wet weather has led to some mid-Michigan communities lifting their burn bans.

The Mt. Morris Township and Thomas Township fire departments lifted their burn bans on Monday, July 23 as did the Davison-Richfield Fire Department covering Davison, Davison Township, and Richfield Township.

"As always please continue to use caution and take the appropriate measures when having a fire as well as have a burn permit," reads a statement from the Davison-Richfield Fire Department. "We will continue to monitor the outside conditions and reevaluate as needed."

The Grand Blanc Fire Department lifted its burn ban Saturday, July 21 allowing for city and township residents to have campfires, but open burning in those areas remains closed.

Lapeer County also lifted their burn ban on Monday that was put into effect more a week ago due to prolonged dry conditions which turned many lawns into brown patches.

With the rain received over the weekend, the ban on burning has been lifted countywide, effective immediately. Burn permits are again available. Please continue to exercise caution when burning. Posted by City of Lapeer Fire & Rescue on Monday, July 23, 2018

Burn permits are once again available for purchase in Lapeer County, with fire officials asking to maintain cautioning while having outdoor fires.

A burn ban is still in place for the city of Montrose and Montrose Township.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Grand Rapids' second search for its next city manager has produced five finalists.

The city announced its short list of candidates Tuesday, July 24. The finalists were selected by a subcommittee comprised of Mayor Rosalynn Bliss, Third Ward Commissioner Senita Lenear and First Ward Commissioner Jon O'Connor, with the help of the executive recruitment firm, Springsted Waters.

The finalists are:

Tom Almonte, acting interim deputy city manager and managing director of public services for Grand Rapids

Peter Auger, Novi's city manager

Michael Cernech, city manager of Tamarac, Florida

April McGrath Lynch, Ferndale's city manager

Mark Washington, assistant city manager of Austin, Texas

"We are excited about this strong field of candidates, and we look forward to getting to know each of them better during the interview process," said Mayor Bliss in a press statement. "We encourage feedback from the community as we work to find the right person for this important job."

Community members will have an opportunity to hear from the candidates during a 90-minute public forum scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday, July 30, in the Ryerson Auditorium at the Grand Rapids Public Library, 111 Library St. NE.

The public is asked to fill out comment cards, or email manager@grcity.us with feedback on the candidates.

Interviews will then be held from 2 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 31, in the ninth-floor commission chambers at City Hall, 300 Monroe Ave. NW. Immediately after, the city commission will spend an hour publicly reviewing and discussing the interviews and candidates.

The interviews and discussion will be streamed live on Facebook, YouTube and the Grand Rapids Information Network (Comcast channel 26).

If needed, a second round of interviews will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday, Aug. 7 in the commission chambers. The commission is slated to vote on the city manager vacancy later that day.

Grand Rapids' city manager oversees 1,500 employees, 14 collective bargaining units, and a combined budget of more than $590 million. The position pays a starting salary between $175,00 and $250,000.

Almonte has worked for Grand Rapids since 2009. He was promoted to director of public services in 2015 and previously served as assistant to the city manager and business developer in the city's diversity and inclusion office.

In February, Almonte stepped into the deputy city manager role on an interim basis. He was filling a spot left temporarily vacant by Eric DeLong, who has since been serving as interim city manager following the retirement of Greg Sundstrom.

Prior to working for the city, Almonte was an employment specialist at a local staffing firm, and co-founded the news agency El Vocero Hispano. He's a graduate of Grand Valley State University, with a master's degree in public administration from the University of Phoenix.

Auger has held the position of city manager for four years in Novi -- a city with about 60,000 residents, more than 400 employees, and a city budget of $61 million.

He has 31 years of local government experience, including stints as city manager of Auburn Hills and Davison, and village manager of Ortonville. Auger is also a former Auburn Hills police officer, and served in the U.S. Army Military Police Corps.

Cernech has 23 years of experience in local government, including the last seven years as city manager in Tamarac, Florida. Tamarac has 65,000 residents, 500 employees, and a city budget of $200 million.

He previously served as the city's deputy city manager, assistant city manager, and director of public works and finance. Before coming to Florida, Cernech served as city manager of Shavano Park, Texas, and assistant to the city manager in Belton, Texas.

Lynch has 22 years of experience in local government, including the last seven years as city manager for Fernadale -- a city of 20,000 residents, 150 employees and a budget of $61 million.

She was previously the assistant city manager in Ypsilanti, and before that served as Ypsilanti's human resources director and worked in the planning and zoning departments. Lynch's resume also includes stints as the human resources director for the cities of Monroe and Grand Haven.

Washintgon joined Austin's municipal workforce in 2009, serving as human resources director for six years before taking over as assistant manager for the last three years. He also previously served as assistant human resources director, compensation and benefits manager, and street services project manager for the city of Fort Worth, Texas.

Washington's 22 years in local government include the last three helping to manage a city of nearly 950,000 residents, 14,000 employees and a budget of $4 billion.

The city hopes to have a new city manager in place by early September.

Each candidate's resume is available on Grand Rapids' city manager search website.

This is the second city manager search Grand Rapids officials have conducted since Sundstrom retired. The last search didn't produce a fitting candidate in the eyes of the commission, community groups and residents.

Grand Rapids hired Springsted Waters for $26,500, after spending $25,000 on a contract with the first recruitment firm, GovHR.
KENT COUNTY, MI - Police are trying to determine if a man jailed for sex assault and production of child sexually abusive material harmed other children.

Sheriff's detectives say Juan "John" Camargo, 63, apparently spent time at the playground at Autumn Ridge apartments in Grand Rapids. He stayed there from March 2017 to December 2017, police believe.

"Based on several circumstances within the investigation, detectives are considering the possibility of additional victims," the Sheriff's Department said in a statement.

Camargo is on Michigan's sex-offender registry after he was convicted in March in Oceana County of accosting children for an immoral purpose, records showed.

A spokesperson for Autumn Ridge said Camargo was not a tenant and but was instead an "unauthorized occupant" who was not legally staying there.

Autumn Ridge staff released the following statement:

"Our deepest condolences go out to the victims and their families of this tragic occurrence. The accused suspect was illegally visiting our community without our knowledge and was not an authorized resident of Autumn Ridge Apartments.

"We are working diligently with the Kent County Sheriff Department to ensure justice and closure for those involved. During this time, we appreciate privacy and respect for our residents and community. "

Camargo is charged in Kent County with two counts of producing child sexually abusive material, two counts of first-degree criminal-sexual conduct involving a child under the age of 13 and second-degree criminal-sexual conduct involving a child under 13, jail records show.

He is charged as a fourth-offense habitual offender. He is held on bonds totaling $275,000, records show.

The Sheriff's Department has asked for help to determine if other children had contact with Camargo at the playground, apartment complex or another area. Anyone who suspects their child had contact with Camargo can file a report with the Sheriff's Department or contact Detective Matt Hooker at 616-970-2263.
COMSTOCK PARK, MI -- Sugar Free Specialties, a Plainfield Township-based candy producer specializing in sugar free products, is expanding its footprint with the purchase of a 22,500-square-foot building at 5320 West River Drive.

The company will use the facility to increase production and expand its presence in the brick-and-mortar retail market, said Dr. John Bruinsma, a Grand Rapids-area dentist who, along with his wife, Debra, founded the company in 1995.

"If the retailers order something from you, they expect within one to two weeks," he said. "Right now, we're out five to seven weeks."

The company, whose products are branded under the name Dr. John's Healthy Sweets, produces hard candy, lollipops, gum, mints, caramels, taffy and chocolates. They are primarily sold online directly to dentists and other medical professionals throughout the United States and internationally, and Grand Rapids area stores such as Harvest Health Foods and Peters Gourmet Market.

Created using all-natural sweeteners, the company's products do not include any artificial colors and flavors. A new line of candy introduced by the company, known as Healthy Sweets, include fiber, vitamin C and probiotics, a type of live bacteria said to benefit the human digestive system.

The company, which is based at 310 Dodge NE, closed on its new building on West River Drive earlier this month for $1.2 million, said CEO Mike McDonald.

The building, formerly occupied by industrial spray painting company Moonlight Industries, which closed in April after its owners retired, will be used for production purposes. The company's goal is to begin production at the new facility by October. It received a $75,000 state grant that will be used to help purchase equipment for the facility, Bruinsma said.

Over the next two years, as Sugar Free Specialties aims to ramp up production by as much as five times its current level, the company expects to hire 18 people.

Twelve to 14 of those positions will be based at the new facility in Plainfield Township, and the rest are expected to be stationed at the company's current manufacturing center in White Pigeon, Bruinsma said. The new positions will range from production workers to management.

The company has about 20 employees now.

McDonald said he's either in conversations with or plans to begin discussions with retailers such as Meijer, Kroger, Texas-based H-E-B stores, and New York-based supermarket chain Wegman's. The goal is to have the company's products on store shelves within the next year or more.

Expanding into those markets is expected to increase annual sales from a projected $3 million this year to $15 million in 2 1/2 years, McDonald said.

Bruinsma said he's excited by the prospect of his sugar-free candy reaching more shoppers.

"It's the healthiest candy in the world," he said. "It's really kind of fun to be involved with it and going out and trying to introduce it."
LANSING, MI - Days after Gov. Rick Snyder released a call for more civility in state politics, Lt. Gov. and Republican candidate for governor Brian Calley attacked Attorney General Bill Schuette for an official schedule Calley says is light on full work days.

"I'd say more appropriate than 'Schuette on duty' would be 'Bill Schuette off duty,' at least when it comes to the work of the people of the State of Michigan," Calley said at a press conference where he presented Schuette's entire official schedule since becoming Attorney General.

Calley's campaign obtained the schedule through a Freedom of Information Act request. In analyzing it, his team determined Schuette had worked a full day just 104 times in the seven and a half years he's served as Attorney General. He defined that as when Schuette's first scheduled event and the end of his last scheduled event were eight or more hours apart.

He released an advertisement, below, based off those statistics.

Schuette's campaign has also lobbed light schedule charges at Calley, who was attending Harvard while serving as lieutenant governor. Faced with Calley's accusations, Schuette's campaign reverted to that.

"Brian Calley is losing and desperate to hide that he skipped 1/3 of his job duties while getting a Harvard degree on the taxpayer dime, during the time the Flint water crisis exploded. Meanwhile, Bill Schuette is pursing justice in Flint, fighting human trafficking, and prosecuted Larry Nassar. Calley abandoned the issues in this campaign and now he has abandoned the truth," said Schuette campaign spokesman John Sellek.

Andrea Bitely, Schuette's spokesperson in his official capacity as Attorney General, called Calley's accusation a "political attack" and pointed to Schuette's accomplishments.

Calley said his Harvard courses were mainly completed online, though he did make the trip to campus physically sometimes. He said he is confident his schedule is more robust than Schuette.

Calley said he would not release his own schedule but would be releasing comparable statistics from it. His office is not subject to FOIA and he said releasing his entire schedule would release others' schedules at the same time.

The Michigan Democratic Party used the opportunity to slam both candidates.

"We're glad Bill Schuette and Brian Calley are finally recognizing that neither of them have been doing their jobs. Of course, you don't need to look any further than our declining schools, crumbling roads, and ongoing water crisis to know Republicans in Lansing have been a failure for the past 8 years," said MDP Chair Brandon Dillon.

Also on Tuesday, Schuette in a press released challenged all four GOP primary governor candidates - in addition to he and Calley, Patrick Colbeck and Jim Hines will appear on the Aug. 7 primary ballot -- to pledge to support the winner of the primary.

"To beat the Democrats and Gretchen Whitmer in the fall, the Republican Party will need to be unified and focused on August 8th," said Schuette in the press release, pledging to throw his support behind the winner.

Calley, asked to respond, said the Republican field was better than the candidates Democrats have. Democrats Gretchen Whitmer, Shri Thanedar and Abdul El-Sayed are seeking that party's gubernatorial nomination.

"Any one of the four of us will get my support over any of the three of them," Calley said.

The governor, who has endorsed Calley, recently released a pledge encouraging civility in public discourse. It's been signed by more than 220 people, including Calley. Those who signed pledged to commit to "focus discussions and debates on the issues at hand."

The primary takes place Aug. 7. The general election takes place Nov. 6.
Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin are returning to Michigan this week for a series of fundraisers in support of a Michigan ballot proposal to raise the minimum wage.

The Michigan One Fair Wage proposal would raise the state's minimum wage from $9.25 per hour to $10 in 2019 and $12 by 2022.

If the proposal become law, food servers -- who currently earn $3.52 before tips -- would get the full minimum wage by 2024.

Supporters of the proposal needed 252,523 petition signatures to put it on the November 2018 ballot. They collected 372,105 signatures, and the staff of the Board of State Canvassers has recommended the proposal go on the ballot. The board meets Thursday, July 26, to vote on that recommendation.

However, a group saying the proposal is unconstitutional has asked the Michigan Court of Appeals to keep the proposal off the ballot. In their recommendation, the staff of the Board of State Canvassers rejected the challenge.

Fonda and Tomlin are appearing at fundraisers in Traverse City and metro Detroit to help fund the general campaign to pass the proposal.

There also is a free, public event in Kalamazoo from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 28, at People's Church, 1758 N. Tenth St. Here is the link to RSVP: https://bit.ly/2LrJQPR.

Here are the list of fundraisers:

Saturday, July 28, a

Sunday, July 29, a reception at the Detroit Club

Sunday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Tomlin and Fonda will be a

Monday, July 30, Fonda and U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., a progressive who is vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, will appear at a

Tomlin and Fonda, who star together in the Netflix series "Grace & Frankie," both have Michigan ties.

Tomlin grew up in Detroit and attended Cass Tech High School and Wayne State University. Fonda's second husband, Tom Hayden, grew up in Royal Oak and was a University of Michigan graduate.

The two came to Michigan in September 2017 to raise awareness about the campaign to raise the minimum wage.
MOUNT CLEMENS, MI -- Test results show contamination has been pouring out of Selfridge Air National Guard Base into the Clinton River and Lake St. Clair, which is the source of drinking water for nearby municipalities reporting detections of harmful chemicals.

Five storm-water drainage outfalls around the Macomb County air base tested positive in February for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, contamination, according to Michigan Department of Environmental Quality sampling data obtained by MLive through the Freedom of Information Act.

The sum total of six PFAS compounds in the drainage entering the Clinton River near the intersection of Irwin Drive and North River Road tested for 5,009 parts-per-trillion (ppt). Total PFAS in another outfall downstream near Bridgeview Street tested at 4,771-ppt.

Total PFAS in base water entering Lake St. Clair directly from a drainage outfall on the northeastern base perimeter off Jefferson Avenue tested at 947-ppt.

The results pinpoint Selfridge as a known source of PFAS in Lake St. Clair, which is the raw drinking water source for several communities, including Mount Clemens, New Baltimore and Ira Township. Testing last year confirmed low PFAS levels in those municipal supplies, which together serve a population of about 35,000.

There is also a consumption advisory for bluegill and sunfish in Lake St. Clair due to PFOS -- one of many individual PFAS compounds in the contaminant family that health studies link to illnesses like pre-eclampsia during pregnancy, low birth weight, liver damage, thyroid disease and increased cancer risk among people exposed.

Whether the base is the only source is still under investigation. According to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, PFAS has been detected at high levels in the Clinton River upstream of the base near Moravian Drive, before the river forks at the spillway.

The test results are not exactly surprising. The base, like hundreds of others, used aqueous film forming foam, or AFFF, to train with and fight fires. The PFAS-laden foam has caused contamination plumes at numerous sites in Michigan and nationwide.

In Michigan, PFAS has been found at Camp Grayling, the Battle Creek Air National Guard Base, the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda, the former K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base near Marquette and the former Escanaba Defense Fuel Supply Point.

The Department of Defense began looking into AFFF use at Selfridge in 2015, but did not get around to testing base groundwater until this spring. Public affairs staff with the 127

th

Wing at the base say those results are pending but expected "later this summer."

Selfridge public affairs developed a press release about the outfall data sent to MLive in response to requests for an interview with base environmental managers. The release only contains reference to detected levels of PFOS and PFOA, which are two of the six PFAS compounds detected and tested for in base drainage.

The compound PFHxS, commonly found in AFFF, made up roughly half the total PFAS contamination found in base drainage.

In a statement, base engineer Lt. Col. Corey Enderby said the DEQ, National Guard Bureau and local officials are working to "develop the best way to mitigate the amount of PFOS and PFOA being discharged."

One mitigation measure under consideration includes placing activated carbon filters at the outfalls, the base said.

The release states Selfridge replaced 91,000 pounds of AFFF foam with a newer formulation based on different PFAS compounds. Chemical manufacturers say PFOS and PFOA replacements aren't supposed to last as long in the environment, although public health officials caution that limited study of replacements have not shown them to be any less toxic to humans.

The release indicates the base, in keeping with Department of Defense policy, will only act on detections of PFOS and PFOA exceeding the Environmental Protection Agency drinking water advisory level of 70-ppt -- a benchmark noted as potentially being 7 to 10 times too high to adequately protect public health, according to a draft toxicology report released in June by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).

Municipal water managers in Ira Township, New Baltimore and Mount Clemens did not return calls from MLive. Macomb County Drain Commissioner Candice Miller declined to comment on the base PFAS drainage when contacted.

Scott Homminga, superintendent of the water system in Grosse Pointe Farms, which draws from the lake south of the base, said the city's municipal supply is filtered through granular activated carbon (GAC) filter beds, which are known to remove PFAS.

"We have not had any detects with PFAS to date," Homminga said. "Were going to be doing ongoing testing."

In addition to municipal water concerns, there has been some testing of private residential well water near the base. The DEQ held a meeting at the Macomb County Health Department on April 16 after sending letters to about 35 Clinton Township residences with wells.

One letter went to the Trinity Lutheran Church and School on Harper Avenue. Rick Wyatt, director of operations, said the facility is on the Detroit municipal water system and the private well there was abandoned several decades ago.

Most of the area is served by Detroit water, he said, which the state considers a PFAS-free source.

Although Wyatt was unfamiliar with PFAS as an environmental health concern, he said, "I guess that wouldn't surprise me" to learn that AFFF at Selfridge had caused contamination.

"I can imagine the things that happened there over the years," he said.

According to the Air National Guard's work plan, 25 different areas on the base are being investigated as potential plume sources where AFFF was released. Those include three fire training areas, six hangars, a nozzle testing area, two crash sites, two parking and maintenance ramps, base fire department buildings, drainage basins, a former wastewater treatment facility and several sewage sludge drying beds and application areas.

Base records note 11 airplane crashes occurred at Selfridge between 1970 and 2004, but site investigators have only pinpointed the exact location of two of them.

Between 1964 and 1989, fire training was done on four acres northwest of Taxiway C in the southwestern part of the base. Hundreds of gallons of jet fuel would be poured into pits, set ablaze and sprayed with AFFF. In 2004, soil polluted with volatile organic compounds and heavy metals was excavated from the site.

According to a former base fire chief interview conducted by the military in 2016, AFFF may have been used off the base on mutual aid calls in 2015 at a tanker fire on I-94, a spring 2015 fire at Van Thomme's Greenhouse and a fall 2013 Chesterfield Township boat fire.

Releases of AFFF are still happening. The foam system in a U.S. Coast Guard maintenance hangar accidentally unloaded last month.

Jodie Knox, spokesperson for the Coast Guard in Detroit, said an estimated 20 gallons of foam went into the base drainage system. The discharge was discovered June 7 after base staff noticed foaming outside a base storm water pumping station outlet.
Supporters of proposals to raise Michigan's minimum wage and mandate sick time for workers expected an official decision today on whether the initiatives qualified for the November ballot.

But the scheduled vote by the Board of State Canvasser was delayed after an attorney representing opponents questioned the timing of the board's vote.

The board agreed to reconvene at 4:30 p.m. Friday, July 27, at Delta Township Hall in Lansing.

That decision was made at Thursday's board meeting after Eric Doster, an attorney for Small Business for a Better Michigan, told the panel that state statute required the board to publicly release its staff recommendation and analysis two full business days before voting. That report was released mid-day Tuesday.

Doster said the day of the release doesn't count under the statute, and the earliest the board could vote would be 5 p.m. Thursday.

"The statute is unequivocal," Doster said. "All I'm saying is, follow the statute."

Both proposals were recommended for approval by the board, which determines whether supporters of a ballot initiative gather enough signatures to put it on the ballot.

The standard practice by the office has been to release the report two business days before a vote, which has been defined as "two intervening evenings," said Fred Woodhams, spokesman for the Michigan Secretary of State Office, which oversees the board.

The release of the reports on the minimum wage and sick-time proposals "followed our standard practice," he said.

"This is a new one," Woodhams said about having at least two full business days before a vote.

Mark Brewer, an attorney representing both the minimum wage and sick-time supporters, called Doster's protest "a stunt."

"This is absurd," he said. "This is a stalling technique. Nobody has been harmed."

He noted that Doster had not told the board of his objection until the meeting, "when he springs this on us."

However, Brewer also said the board should "protect itself" against a lawsuit.

"Do what you need to do to cut through this nonsense and avoid a frivolous legal challenge," Brewer said. "Hundreds of thousands of people have signed these petitions. They deserve to have this on the ballot without these legal games."

In its recommendation, Michigan Bureau of Elections staff said both petition drives met the statutory requirements for inclusion on the ballot.

The Michigan One Fair Wage proposal would raise the state's minimum wage from $9.25 per hour to $10 in 2019 and $12 by 2022.

Tipped workers -- who currently earn $3.52 before tips -- would get the full minimum wage by 2024.

Supporters of the proposal needed 252,523 petition signatures to put it on the November 2018 ballot. They collected 372,105 signatures.

An opposition group called Michigan Opportunity has asked the Michigan Court of Appeals to keep the proposal off the ballot, saying the petitions violate the state Constitution by not clearly stating how the proposal would change the state's current minimum wage law.

That court case is pending.

Michigan Opportunity also filed a challenge with the Board of State Canvassers alleging improper use of capitalization on the petitions, improper placement of a summary statement and some petition signers checked both "township" and "city" when they lived in a community such as Ann Arbor or Kalamazoo where there is a city and township by the same name.

In its staff recommendation, the Michigan Bureau of Elections rejected those challenges, based on board policy and its approval of similar petitions.

However, attorneys for Michigan Opportunity reiterated those arguments at Thursday meeting and asked the board to overrule the staff recommendation.

The proposal by MI Time to Care Coalition would create the Earned Sick Time Act, under which people would earn one hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked.

Residents, depending on the size of their business, could earn up to nine days of paid sick time annually, according to MI Time to Care Coalition.

The coalition gathered 377,560 signatures compared to 252,523 needed. The Small Business for a Better Michigan filed a challenge to some signatures, but the board staff determined the coalition still had enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot.

On Thursday, Doster asked the board to vote against putting the initiative on the ballot, citing the argument that some petition signers checked both "city" and "township."

Brewer told the board Thursday that the staff recommendations needed to be followed, saying the board can't change long-standing policies in the middle of an election cycle.

"If the policy needs to be changed, it should be done going forward -- not in the middle of an election cycle and as selective enforcement," Brewer said. "You can't put arbitrary obstacles" in place to stop a ballot initiative.
JACKSON, MI - He went out on his porch and fired two shots into the ground as a warning when two uninvited teenagers came running toward him at a fast pace, Tracy Lawrence said.

Wearing unseasonably heavy clothing, the strangers got to the back of a car parked in Lawrence's driveway, and he shot two more times, Lawrence told jurors Monday.

All this transpired in probably 15 seconds, he estimated.

"I was scared for myself and my wife that is in bed sleeping," said Lawrence, charged with second-degree murder for shooting and killing Matthew McMillen and Hunter Lentz on June 8, 2016.

He was the last to testify on July 23, lawyers gave their closing arguments and deliberations are to continue Tuesday, July 24.

The defense contends Lawrence justifiably killed the two 18-year-olds in self-defense, or he lawfully prevented the escape of fleeing felons. Prosecutors argue Lawrence fired at them while they ran away from him, just as he ordered them to do.

Lawrence repeatedly said this was not what happened. They came at him, he said, but he could not explain why McMillen had a gunshot wound to the back.

Lentz was struck in the side of the head, a medical examiner testified. Prosecutors have characterized the hit as behind his left ear.

Lawrence, 55, said he saw a teen was trying to open the doors to his truck, parked west of his porch off Town Road. The other looked to be attempting to access his garage, also west of the porch, he said.

One was holding up the garage door for the other, and he told them to get the "f--- off his property," Lawrence said, answering questions posed by one of his lawyers, George Lyons.

Photographs of the scene, taken the day of the shooting, showed the garage door closed, Assistant Prosecutor Steven Idema noted. Lawrence, however, said there were pry marks, one of several indications of criminal activity.

In the grass on his property was a jack that had been stored in his mobile home, on his second parcel of land, east of the main house at 13111 Town Road. It had been in the kitchen, tucked behind a door or cupboard, Lawrence said.

The mobile home had signs of breaking and entering. It was in disarray.

Burglary tools were left in the grass along or on a path connecting the two pieces of land. Lawrence said they did not belong to him.

Lawrence spotted the two alleged burglars and trespassers - he said he has more than 12 signs warning such visitors - after a cat woke him about 6 a.m.

He then heard a rattling outside his bedroom window that sounded like the cellar door, below and near the window -- one of a few details he did not share with a detective the day of the shooting.

At the time of the only police interview, he was upset, scared and tired. It had been a long day, Lawrence told Lyons.

He had never previously fired a gun at or pulled a gun on anyone, said Lawrence, a former Army mechanic no longer able to work because of health issues that include asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

On this morning, Lawrence said he went to the living room, opened the shades and turned on the TV, the coffee pot and the lights.

As he watched TV, he caught a glimpse through a picture window of a brightly colored stocking hat.

He fetched his .22-caliber rifle he used to shoot raccoons, opossums or other critters. Without putting on a shirt or shoes, he walked to the porch to try to "scare them off," he testified.

He did know them and did not intend to kill them, he said.

Never did he see anything in the hands of the two trespassers, he told Idema.

"I had no idea," he said about whether they were armed with guns. And without having all the facts, Lawrence fired anyway, Idema contended in his cross-examination.

"Did they stop and tell you whether they had knives and guns?" Lyons asked in response.

Agreeing with Idema, Lawrence said the two teens never came on or threatened to come on the porch, which faces away from the road but toward a U-shaped driveway curving around the house.

McMillen and Lentz were said to be west of the house. To get to the pickup truck registered to Lentz's grandmother on the second parcel of land, they would have had to pass the porch, a prosecution map showed. The Chevrolet Silverado was parked northeast of the house.

Lentz's body was found 87 feet south of the porch steps. McMillen dropped about 337 feet east of the steps, on the property at 13051 Town Road, a state police sergeant earlier testified.

Lawrence's position was in question. He said he never left the porch, but there were bullet casings found beyond it, Idema noted. Where the teens were when he fired or stopped firing was questioned. "Where was the threat?" Idema kept asking.

Though he told the detective he continued like a "dumb a--" tracking McMillen after Lentz fell to the ground, on Monday he said he stopped firing when Lentz fell.

"I kept a gun trained on them," he said Monday, in case they turned around or had a weapon.

Lawrence said he has since had time to think about what occurred. He said he thinks about it every day.

For a listing of stories on this case, click here.
JACKSON, MI - Tracy Lawrence is guilty of two counts of second-degree murder, jurors decided Tuesday, July 24.

The jury deliberated about seven hours. They also convicted Lawrence of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

Jackson County Circuit Judge John McBain is to sentence Lawrence at 9 a.m. Aug. 29.

Lawrence, 55, shot and killed Hunter Lentz and Matthew McMillen, both 18, on June 8, 2016, on his property off Town Road in Springport Township.

Prosecutors have asked McBain to revoke his bond and McBain remanded Lawrence to the county jail, where he will be held without bond.

The prosecution said Lawrence first killed Lentz, who likely died instantly, and then continued firing at McMillen as he fled.

McMillen was shot in the back, according to the medical examiner who conducted the autopsy.

Lawrence contended McMillen and Lentz were running toward him, and it "scared the hell" out of him.

The defense pointed to ample evidence the teens were on the property for purposes of committing crimes. They were wearing heavy clothing, including gloves, in June. They left behind what have been characterized as burglary tools and they possibly broke into Lawrence's mobile home on an adjacent property.

The defense had argued Lawrence acted in self-defense or he was lawfully stopping the escape of fleeing felons.

Family members on both sides have been sitting every day in the courtroom benches.

Though he recognizes his brother was involved in illicit or inappropriate activity, Dakotah Lentz said on Monday he did not believe Hunter was going to get into Lawrence's house or cause Lawrence harm.

By now, two years after their crimes, Hunter Lentz and McMillen, Hunter's friend, might have already paid their debt, said Dakotah, who had to step up and aid his younger brother. Their parents were not together. There were associated drug issues.

Dakotah tried to be a good influence. Doing the right thing, however, is hard, and Hunter was troubled.

He understands wanting to defend property, but to shoot and kill?

These were two 18-year-old kids acting foolishly. "And lost their life for it," Dakotah said.

For a listing of stories on this case, click here.
LENAWEE COUNTY, MI - Police have identified a 19-year-old Mason woman who was killed Monday in a vehicle-pedestrian crash near Michigan International Speedway, the scene of the weekend Faster Horses festival.

Makayla Rae Hostetler died after being struck by a vehicle while walking north on Brooklyn Highway, north of U.S. 12, about 4:20 a.m. July 23, according to the Lenawee County Sheriff's Office.

A male pedestrian who also was struck was flown by helicopter to a hospital in critical condition.

Police said a 17-year-old Adrian boy was driving the vehicle traveling north on Brooklyn Highway, which divides Woodstock and Cambridge townships.

Alcohol appears to have been a factor in the crash, according to the sheriff's department. Both the driver and pedestrians were suspected of drinking, Lenawee County Undersheriff Troy Bevier told MLive on Monday.

The 17-year-old driver was not immediately arrested. His blood was drawn at the scene, Bevier said. He added it is not unusual police would seek a blood sample and later pursue charges.

The boy's vehicle would have been impounded and he did not drive from the scene, Bevier said.

Investigators were working to determine whether the pedestrians were walking in the road or the vehicle crossed the fog line -- the white line at the side of the road, police said.

The crash came after the Faster Horses Festival at Michigan International Speedway that lasted July 20-22. The undersheriff said Monday he wasn't certain those involved attended the festival or camped in the area.

The 17-year-old boy and two others who were walking with Hostetler and the male pedestrian were not injured in the crash.

The crash remains under investigation, Bevier said.

A GoFundMe for Hostetler's funeral costs has been set up. The account states Hostetler intended on attending Michigan State University this fall.
JACKSON, MI - Prosecutors called them boys. They were young men with people who cared about them, people who miss them, Assistant Prosecutor Katie Hawkins told jurors.

Matthew McMillen and Hunter Lentz, both 18, were not the raccoons or opossums Tracy Lawrence used his .22-caliber rifle to kill on his secluded property in Springport Township. "They were human beings."

Defense lawyer George Lyons called them criminals who plotted an assault.

"Each and every one of us, our blood sugar run cold because there are young men like these two who come behind you, and they watch you, and they plan to catch you vulnerable," he said.

Lawyers on Monday, July 23, gave their final arguments at the close of Lawrence's jury trial. He is accused of second-degree murder for shooting and killing McMillen and Lentz on June 8, 2016, outside his home on Town Road.

It now is up to the jury to decide whether his actions were justified.

Twelve men and women began deliberations Monday afternoon and are to continue Tuesday, July 24.

The defense contends Lawrence shot them in defense of himself or he killed them, as allowed by law, to prevent their escape as fleeing felons.

Lyons on Monday removed his suit jacket and put on a hoodie, a coat and gloves, to demonstrate the way the teens were said to be dressed. He tied a bandanna around his face.

"Would this scare the hell out of you? Would it ma'am? Would it sir?" Lyons asked jurors. "These weren't kids. They were dressed for success."

They had done it before, and they were going to do it again, he said. "At your house, and your house and your house."

Assistant Prosecutor Steven Idema said Lawrence shot the teens because they were trespassing. This is the only thing Lawrence knew for certain.

He had no information, at that moment, about Lentz and McMillen possibly breaking into a camper and a mobile home on his property, Idema said. He was angry and agitated that two teenagers were touching his locked truck and garage.

Lawrence conceded he saw nothing in their hands, and a much-discussed set of burglar tools, which the defense indicated might have been used as weapons, were nowhere near the bodies of Lentz and McMillen, who fell about 87 and 337 feet from Lawrence's porch.

There was not a threat when he spotted the teens from his house, Idema said. There was not a threat when Lawrence intentionally grabbed his rifle, or when he leveled the gun. "There was no threat when he pointed the gun at Matthew McMillen and Hunter Lentz. There was no threat as they were running away."

When asked, Lawrence, who said he fired when the boys ran at him, not away from him, could not explain the gunshot wound to McMillen's back, Idema said.

Lawrence said the teens "scared the hell" out of him, but he did not say they were going to kill or hurt him, the prosecution argued.

He made his choice while he was still in his house, Idema contended.

Never did Lawrence mention stopping fleeing felons, a theory only lawyers have discussed. "We have never heard him say that," Hawkins said.

Lawrence might have gone inside and called 911. He might have locked himself in the house and waited, she suggested.

Lyons said Lawrence had no obligation to retreat.

He had only seconds to act. He did not have the benefit of two years and stacks of photographs, as the prosecution presented, he said.

Lyons asked the jury: Does anyone really believe they were there to trespass?

"You trespass when you run across my lawn. What they did was break and enter. What they did was destroy," he said.

Possession of burglary tools is a felony, as can be breaking and entering.

The trouble came to Lawrence, he said.

"Tracy Lawrence is every one of us. He is an average guy in an average home in an average place, whose life has been turned inside out by two criminals."

There is no sugar-coating the teen's behavior, Hawkins said. "Was it wrong? Yes. Was in unacceptable? Absolutely. Were they infringing on someone else's property? Yes," she said.

And the two, she said, undeservedly paid with their lives.

For a listing of stories on this case, click here.
JACKSON, MI - Some of the same subjects might have been involved in two Jackson shootings, one of them outside an E. Michigan Avenue strip club and the other near Prospect and Woodbridge streets, said Elmer Hitt, Jackson director of police and fire services.

One man was shot in the foot early Sunday, July 22, behind The Avenues Gentleman's Club, 621 E. Michigan Ave., and Kingston's Lounge, 629 E. Michigan Ave., police said. A video circulated on Facebook shows a fight and then one person firing several shots before running from the area.

No arrests had been made as of Tuesday morning.

A day later, about 3:30 p.m. Monday, July 23, police were called to a report of shots fired in the 1700 block of Woodbridge Street.

Two men, 31 and 26, were arrested at the nearby Admiral gas station, 250 W. Prospect St. They were accused of a weapons offense. Police found firearms in a Chrysler 300, a vehicle believed to be associated with the shooting, police reported. Two others were in the car, but were not arrested.

No one was hurt in the second shooting and police did not believe there to be any associated damage.
COMSTOCK TOWNSHIP, MI - Police are investigating after two people were shot outside of a bank early Tuesday, July 24.

Police believe they were shot during an attempted robbery outside of the Fifth Third Bank at 5653 Gull Road, Kalamazoo County Undersheriff James VanDyken said.

Investigators are trying to determine if the robbery attempt happened at the automated-teller machine, or ATM, or for other reasons.

The incident happened around 2:10 a.m.

The victims are being treated at a hospital. The injuries are not considered life-threatening, police said.

Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, Kalamazoo Police Department and state police are assisting the Sheriff's Department in the investigation.
PORTAGE, MI -- A West Michigan real estate developer is facing a $3.3 million civil penalty for violating federal regulations in hundreds of flights with its corporate jets.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced its allegations in a June 29 press release. The Hinman Co., through subsidiary Hincojet, LLC, allegedly broke several FAA regulations while chartering two multimillion-dollar jets through aircraft timeshare agreements.

In more than 850 flights, the FAA alleges pilots lacked required operator certificates. Hinman is also accused of double-billing timeshare clients for various legs of trips and not keeping pilot records and load manifests for flights.

Hinman legal representative Tim Maher, a partner with Barnes & Thornburg LPP, said a meeting is scheduled with the FAA at the end of August. The informal conference with an FAA attorney is scheduled to discuss the allegations and possible resolutions.

"FAA regulations permit timeshare agreements and we believe that we properly engaged in those arrangements," Maher said.

Maher said the allegations include some "factual errors," but did not elaborate when contacted Monday. He indicated the proposed $3.3 million penalty is a steep fine.

The FAA does not issue criminal penalties but has the authority to develop regulations and take enforcement actions. According to information provided by an FAA spokesperson, investigators and attorneys conduct multiple reviews of evidence before proposing a civil penalty.

Civil penalties are issued when the FAA finds a safety concern, the spokesperson said.

Entities can appeal to an administrative law judge of the U.S. Department of Transportation or, when fines are greater than $400,000, the U.S. District Court.

FAA investigators found that on Sept. 30, 2015, Hinman billed a client for a trip from Connecticut to North Carolina and then to Florida. On the same day, the company billed another client for a trip aboard the same aircraft that included multiple stops on a round-trip flight from Kalamazoo to Detroit, Indiana and Illinois.

The FAA alleges the aircraft was incapable of conducting all of those flights in a single day.

Investigators also found that Hinman charged clients for fuel and other expenses more than allowed under FAA regulations for non-commercial aircraft. The FAA alleges the company should have conducted 850 flights in accordance with regulations applicable to commercial operations.

As a result, Hinman failed to meet FAA commercial flight requirements for record keeping, including pilot records and load manifests.

The company also had no commercial aircraft pilot training program in place, according to the FAA, so pilots operating the flights were not authorized to conduct the flights.

Hinman Co. has seven regional offices in Michigan, Illinois and Indiana, with its headquarters located in Portage. Hincojet, LLC was organized by Roger Hinman in 2003, according to the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.

In June, Hinman Co. was awarded a $4.4 million community revitalization program loan from the state Economic Development Corporation for a $25.5 million development in downtown Kalamazoo.

It's also planning a 13-story building at 10 Ionia NW in Grand Rapids and apartments on the top floors of its Terrace Plaza office building.

The FAA publicizes fines greater than $50,000 through press releases.
KALAMAZOO TOWNSHIP, MI -- Police have released photos of the suspect and getaway vehicle from a July 20 Kalamazoo Township credit union robbery.

Police say the masked suspect entered Kalsee Credit Union, 316 W. Mosel Ave., around noon Friday, July 20. He jumped the counter and forced employees to turn over an undisclosed amount of cash, according to a Kalamazoo Township Police Department press release.

No injuries were reported.

The man fled to a waiting maroon or burgundy sedan, which was last seen going west on Mosel Avenue.

Police say the suspect fled in this burgundy car after robbing Kalsee Credit Union in Kalamazoo Township Friday, July 20, 2018.

The man is described as a tall, medium build black man wearing dark clothing and a mask. Kalamazoo Township is investigating along with help from the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety and the FBI.

Kalamazoo Township police on Monday, July 23, released photos of the suspect and the burgundy sedan.

Anyone with information about the suspect or the vehicle can call Kalamazoo Township police at (269) 343-0568 or Silent Observer at (269) 343-2100.
NORTON SHORES, MI - The Mona Shores Board of Education named its choice for the district's next superintendent.

Bill O'Brien

Bill O'Brien Jr., who has served as interim superintendent since December, will take the top job at Mona Shores Public Schools, pending contract negotiations.

"Mr. O'Brien's calm, stable leadership, his focus on collaboration and continuous improvement, and his passion for kids and for Mona Shores will serve the district well," said Board President Stan Miller, in a statement. "His plan for the next 90 days includes enhancing relationships and partnerships, increasing the use of relevant data, establishing a team-first culture, fostering community engagement and ensuring staff support. The board looks forward to working with him to drive that work and more well into the future."

O'Brien was among four candidates interviewed for the job, and one of two granted a second interview during an open meeting on Monday, July 23. Jonathan Whan, superintendent of Grant Public Schools, was the other finalist.

On Monday, O'Brien and Whan presented 90-day entry plans, the board asked questions related to the presentation and reviewed audience feedback.

A community open house was held prior to the interviews on Monday. About 60 people attended the events.

O'Brien has been interim superintendent since Dec. 4. Prior to that, he was named acting superintendent on Nov. 13. He has also retained his duties as director of curriculum and instruction while filling the interim position.

The appointment followed the resignation of former superintendent Greg Helmer in November. Helmer was under pressure after he was reprimanded for retaliating against an employee and was placed on paid administrative leave.

O'Brien has been with the district since 2013. He has served the district in several capacities, including elementary principal, and director of state and federal programs. He previously served as middle school principal in Whitehall.

Board Vice President Jeanne Cooper-Kuiper, Treasurer Jay Keessen and Trustee Michael Hansen were appointed as a committee to recommend a contract for O'Brien to the full board.

The superintendent search process has been facilitated by Dave Killips, regional president of the Michigan Leadership Institute. There were 22 applicants for the job.

"We're incredibly grateful to the teachers, staff and community members who gave us their thoughts on various candidates throughout this process," Miller said. "We will rely on their passion for Mona Shores and our students to continue to move the district forward."
SAGINAW, MI -- More than a year ago, parolee Alonte P. Smith opened fire on a woman as she sat in a car in her driveway, hitting her nearly a dozen times. Despite the numerous bullet wounds she suffered, the woman survived, and now her assailant stands convicted of numerous felonies.

Smith's trial began Tuesday, July 17, before Saginaw County District Judge Andre R. Borrello. It ended Friday with the jury found the 26-year-old defendant guilty of assault with intent to murder, felon in possession of a firearm, tampering with an electronic monitoring device, and two counts of second-offense felony firearm.

Assault with intent to murder is a life offense. Felony firearm normally comes with a two-year mandatory minimum prison sentence, but the second-offense addendum increases the mandatory minimum to five years, to be served consecutively to any other stint.

The jury deliberated for about 90 minutes before delivering its verdicts.

Smith's crime occurred about 12:35 a.m. on Feb. 9, 2017. Smith had followed a 39-year-old woman from market to her home in the 400 block of South 24th Street in Buena Vista Township. As she and a friend sat in the car, Smith began shooting at them.

Smith, who is gang-affiliated, had shot the woman over a case of mistaken identity, believing her to be a different person he wanted to kill, said Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor Blair Stevenson.

Police recovered 14 .40-caliber shell casings from the scene. The woman in the driver's seat was struck by 11 bullets, Stevenson said. Her passenger was not shot.

At the time of the shooting, Smith was on parole on five felonies related to weapon possession, motor vehicle theft, and assaulting police. As such, Smith was on a GPS tether, which proved to be a crucial piece of evidence at trial, as the monitor placed Smith at the crime scene at the time of the shooting, Stevenson said.

The monitor also showed Smith had run from the scene when the shooting ended.

Evidence indicated Smith was the lone shooter, Stevenson added.

Smith was on the lam for about a week after the shooting before surrendering to police.

The wounded woman survived her injuries and testified in the trial. Smith himself did not take the stand in his own defense.

Judge Borrello is to sentence Smith at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 12.
Audit 2

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Auditors of 204 listed companies resigned in the period between January 1 and July 17 this year, according to an Indian Express report. This translates to one resignation per day.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has sent queries regarding this after complaints by investors and stakeholders.

Auditors are increasingly becoming cautious in their association with companies that can result in reputational impact, alongside the possibility of getting banned as in the case of PWC, a corporate official said.

As per the Registrar of Companies (ROC) records, resignations were majorly from companies registered in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Ahmedabad. In fact, three out of every four establishments in these cities saw their auditors quit.

In May, Price Waterhouse resigned as the auditor of Vakrangee citing absence of adequate and relevant information and explanations. In a letter to the companys board, the auditor said it got no reasonable assurance whether the financial statements were free from material misstatements, whether due to fraud or error.

The companys share price has fallen from Rs 455.90 on January 30 to Rs 47.45 on July 23.

Another company which followed the same pattern is Manpasand Beverages whose stock price fell from Rs 344.20 on May 28 to Rs 112.50 on July 23 after Deloitte Haskins & Sells resigned.
Air India

Several Air India passengers flying out of New Jerseys Newark Liberty International Airport have complained of being bitten by bed bugs while in flight.



@airindiain @sureshpprabhu @narendramodi_in Suresh Prabhuji - just arrived from New York on Air India 144 business class with family . All our seats infested with bed bugs . Sir , have heard of bed bugs on trains but shocked to experience on our maharaja and that too business pic.twitter.com/m2GnfOpTO3

 Pravin Tonsekar (@pat_tons) July 17, 2018

In a tweet by Pravin Toneskar, multiple bedbugs can be seen on the business class seats of the plane, which was en route to Mumbai  a nearly 17-hour flight.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, Toneskar said the seats were infested and they had to downgrade to economy just to escape the bugs. The economy seats were allegedly damaged and most facilities were inoperable.

Air India reached out to Toneskar, after he lodged an official complaint, and offered an apology, assuring him that corrective measures would be taken.



@airindiain my wife and three kids flex business class AI 144 from Newark to mumbai; now they have bed bug bites all over their body; is this is what we paid $10,000 for???

 Rohan (@roscrow) July 19, 2018

Two days following this incident, another passenger Rohan, who was on the same flight, tweeted that his family was covered in bites and that he had paid about $10,000 for business class seats.

Other flyers, on a different Air India plane headed to Mumbai, suffered the same plight but an eight-month-old baby was in an especially bad shape.

The airline grounded both planes following the growing number of similar complaints and said fumigation was underway.

A Port Authority spokeswoman said they had not received any complaints of bed bugs in any other area of the airport.
A private security guard stands in front of the main gate of Sterlite Industries Ltd's copper plant in Tuticorin

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International Copper Association (ICA) India has commenced a study on the "possible impact" on domestic industry of the closure of Vedanta's Sterlite Copper unit in Tamil Nadu. The state government in late May ordered permanent closure of the smelter after 13 people among protesters demanding its shutdown on environmental concerns were killed in police firing.

"Vedanta's plant closure...will have a direct impact on supplies to the downstream and ancillary industry. We are conducting a study to assess the possible impact of closure," Sanjeev Ranjan, ICA India managing director told PTI.

Billionaire Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta unit is one of the three primary copper producers in the country, Ranjan said, adding that "of the total domestic refined copper usage amounting to 6,71,000 tonnes, Vedanta has a market share of 35 per cent".

The study will be concluded by the end of next month, he said.

The closure of the plant may lead to shortage of copper for the industries like consumer goods, electrical and electronics, automobile, Ranjan said.

Of the overall copper usage in India, the electrical applications sector accounts for about 54 per cent, he said.

The rise in demand for copper in India has grown by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5 per cent in 2006-2016.

The downstream and ancillary industries which make finished products from semi-copper items is likely to be hit hard due to the closure.

"The shortage may also lead to rise in imports of cathode and wire rods. Due to this the import cost will rise as copper industry will have to depend on imports of cathode and wire rods which has import duty of 5 per cent. The increased cost burden due to import duty will be passed on to the consumer by making the product costly." Ranjan said.

On the other hand import of finished goods from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region comes under zero duty as per the Free Trade Agreement (FTA). This could lead to rise in imports of finished goods at the cost of domestic producers, he said.

Besides, he added, there might be a rise in low grade copper from the secondary route.
As confirmed by a government agency, Xinjiang Uyghur, an autonomous region in China, is all prepared to eliminate "illegal" bitcoin mining operations by the end of August.

This confirmation came following the leak of a government notice issued by Xinjiangs Economic and Information Commission (EIC), indicating that the authority was demanding the local utility companies report and shut down their illegal bitcoin mining operations. As per a report in Coindesk, an official from the Commission confirmed the authenticity of the document on Monday, mentioning that it was drafted by the EICs unit in charge of the regions utility issues.

The decision was followed by a notice issued in January that required Xinjiangs utility companies to make regular reports to the authorities on bitcoin activities locally, as a part of a wider move to eventually guide these entities to an orderly exit of the business in the area and nationwide. The document defined bitcoin miners as any operation that is not registered with the government as a licensed business entity or has been using electricity without formal contracts with utility firms are illegal bitcoin miners. It further states that the utility companies in the region are now tasked with the mission of shutting down such unlicensed operations. Their task would also be to report back to the authority on their progress by the end of August. The EIC wrote, Local utility agencies and companies will be held accountable if they failed to shut down illegal bitcoin mining operations.

Scott Meng, the chief executive of a Canadian blockchain startup, said: "I have two partners (in the region): one has 18,000 crypto miners, the other has 40,000. And they have been crying for help in the past days, urging me to look for places in the US and Canada (as substitutes). But even for me, I have to get electricity first. And even if I had that, we need to build farms from scratch."
The G20 has decided to review a global anti-money laundering (AML) standard on cryptocurrency by the end of October this year.

According to a report in Coindesk, the central bank governors and finance ministers of the G20 member countries held a meeting to discuss their position on a plan for "vigilant" monitoring of cryptocurrencies. A statement issued on Sunday confirmed the meeting and lists out some details about the same. An intergovernmental body formed to fight money laundering and terrorist financing, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was further called by the member countries to clarify how its existing AML standards can apply to cryptocurrency within three months.

Prior to the meeting, in order to bring a global regulatory system for cryptocurrencies and blockchain, the members of G20 had asked for an AML standard on cryptocurrency from the FATF in March. In response, the Financial Stability Board, n organization focused on analyzing and making recommendations to the G20 on global financial systems, had presented several key metrics last week for monitoring crypto assets.

A member country of G20 said: "While crypto-assets do not at this point pose a global financial stability risk, we remain vigilant. ... We reiterate our March commitments related to the implementation of the FATF standards and we ask the FATF to clarify in October 2018 how its standards apply to crypto-assets."

It was also speculated that FATF is eyeing to develop regulatory rules for some of the major cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, in order to put a hold on the increasing money laundering cases in crypto.
Heavy downpours brought on the remanence of tropical storm Ampil pounded Beijing and neighboring through early Tuesday, causing flight delays and evacuations. Beijing issued a yellow warning for heavy rain on Tuesday morning. [Photo: VCG]

Typhoon Ampil, the 10th this year, is wreaking havoc in China, as it continues to move northeast after making landfall in Shanghai.

More than 260,000 people and over 31,600 hectares of crops in east China's Shandong Province have been affected by torrential rain triggered by Ampil since the tropical storm hit the province Monday noon.

Direct economic losses in the province were estimated at 116 million yuan (17 million U.S. dollars), according to the provincial civil affairs department.

Heavy downpours brought on the remanence of tropical storm Ampil pounded Beijing and neighboring through early Tuesday, causing flight delays and evacuations. Beijing issued a yellow warning for heavy rain on Tuesday morning. [Photo: VCG]

The department said that as of 8 a.m. Tuesday, one person was killed and 134 residents had been evacuated and relocated to safer places.

The rain has currently stopped in Shandong, and rescue and relief operations have been launched across the province.

Tianjin Municipality saw heavy rain from Monday night until Tuesday afternoon, with maximum rainfall reaching 237 millimeters in the downtown area.

Heavy downpours brought on the remanence of tropical storm Ampil pounded Beijing and neighboring through early Tuesday, causing flight delays and evacuations. Beijing issued a yellow warning for heavy rain on Tuesday morning. [Photo: VCG]

The municipal meteorological observatory issued a blue alert for typhoon and storms Monday noon, but upgraded the alert to orange at around Tuesday noon.

Heavy precipitation has led to severe flooding on several road sections. By 10 a.m. Tuesday, 19 flights had been canceled and 30 delayed at Tianjin Binhai International Airport.

Two women and an infant who were trapped in a house in Tianjin were rescued and relocated by local police Tuesday morning.

The meteorological observatory of northeast China's Liaoning Province said that Ampil was now moving northeast at a speed up to 30 kilometers per hour, and most areas of the province would experience precipitation on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Liaoning has issued a blue alert for rainstorms and a yellow alert for natural disasters.

The provincial meteorological observatory has warned people living in western Liaoning to avoid outdoor activity and make precautions against mudslides and landslides.
The government said the defence budget as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product may appear to be decreasing due to an increasing trend of GDP growth of the country.

In the Union budget, the government had allocated Rs 2.95 lakh crore to defence forces which is estimated to be around 1.58 per cent of the country's GDP. A separate allocation of Rs 1.08 lakh crore was set aside for defence pensions.

This defence budget, in terms of percentage of the GDP, was lowest since 1962.

Replying to a question in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre said the defence budget, including allocation for miscellaneous expenditure and pensions, was Rs 4.04 lakh crore, which is 16.6 per cent of total expenditure of government for the year 2018-

"Further, capital budget of ministry of Defence for 2018-19 is approximately 33 per cent of the total capital expenditure of the central government," Bhamre said

He said, "Defence budget as a percentage of GDP may appear to be decreasing due to increasing trend in the growth of GDP."

In March, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, headed by BJP MP Maj Gen (retd) B C Khanduri, had come down hard on the government for inadequate allocation of funds to the Army, Navy and the Air Force.

The Army had told the panel that it was reeling under severe financial crunch and struggling to even make emergency procurement when China and Pakistan were carrying out modernisation of their defence forces in "full swing".

The then Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Sarath Chand had told the parliamentary panel that inadequate allocation of funds in the defence budget for 2018-19 will hit the Army's modernisation plan even as the Chinese military was competing to reach the level of the US.

In the Rajya Sabha, Bhamre said allocated budgetary resources are optimally utilised towards meeting the operational requirements of the armed forces.

"Depending upon the allocated resources schemes are also reprioritised to ensure that urgent and critical capabilities are acquired without compromise of operational preparedness," he said.
The central government has commissioned a costing study on 1,350 treatment packages under Ayushman Bharat  National Health Protection Mission  and said it is open to review the package rates based on the study.

Policy think tank Niti Aayog and Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) are tasked to do undertake a detailed study that aims to examine the cost of each procedure and arrive at a suitable package rate.

Right now cost studies have not been done in India for most of the treatments. We also dont have standard treatment protocols, Indu Bhushan, Chief Executive Officer of Ayushman Bharat told Moneycontrol. "So we will work on those and if we believe that rates need to be revised we will revise them."

The study is expected to take around three years for completion.

Ayushman Bharat, also dubbed Modicare aims to provide Rs 5 lakh health coverage to 10 crore poor families, covering 40% of India's population. Though not officially decided, the Prime Minister's pet scheme is widely expected to be launched on August 15.

According to Ayushman Bharat so far close to 3,000 hospitals have been empanelled into the scheme. Twenty six states have enrolled to the scheme with West Bengal being the latest one to be onboarded after long drawn negotiations.

Moneycontrol had first reported that the Mamata Banerjee-led state will sign an MoU with the Centre on July 20. Two days later the West Bengal inked the pact for implementing the health insurance scheme in the state.

Large private hospital chains have kept away from the scheme citing the proposed reimbursement package rates as unscientific, arbitrary and insufficient.

Over 70% of healthcare in India is provided by private hospitals, making the participation of these hospitals critical to success of Ayushman Bharat.

With launch date nearing government wants to make sure that large private hospitals sign-up with the scheme.

Bhushan asked private hospitals to consider large volumes that Ayushman Bharat generates and said he doesnt see any reason for private hospitals from sitting out of the path-breaking government initiative.

This scheme is opening up (a market) of around 500 million beneficiaries. We are talking about large volumes. We havent had such scheme so far that provides this kind of volumes, Bhushan said.

We want to make sure that rates are high enough so that we can attract the private sector, but at the same time they should not be so high that they make the scheme unsustainable, he added.

Bhushan said the empanelment process is still underway, and expects others hospitals to join.

Though the prices were set at the national level, Bhushan said, the hospitals should not be worried as states were given the flexibility to states to increase or decrease prices, and some states have done that already.

"The Cesarean section has been put at a package rate of Rs 9,000, Chhattisgarh has changed it to Rs 18,000. States have flexibility to changed that based on their requirement," Bhushan said.

There are also a few inbuilt incentives, over and above the package rates announced by the government to improve quality of treatment and expand healthcare infrastructure in backward districts.

For hospitals with entry-level National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH) accreditation, the government provides 10% commission above the package rate and 15% for fully-accredited hospitals.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said the RBI and the Income Tax Department should ascertain at the earliest whether the money deposited in banks post demonetisation was "white or black" in order to maintain the credibility of the reform.

As part of efforts to curb illicit fund flows in the system, the government had cancelled old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes as legal tenders in November 2016.

After demonetisation, Naidu said, "people started enquiring from drivers, cooks, servants whether they have bank accounts or not". Some people requested them to park some of their ill-gotten money in bank accounts, he added.

Naidu said that there was widespread cynicism about demonetisation and people wanted to know what was the gain when the entire money has reached the banks.

"What was the purpose of demo (demonetisation)? Apart from counterfeit notes, the purpose was to bring money into the system. So, money reached banks with address. What else you want!," he said.

Speaking at the centenary celebration of New India Assurance here, Naidu said it is now for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Income Tax Department to prove the money which has come back to the banks is white or black".

"That should be done at the earliest so that the credibility of these reforms would be maintained. This is my advice to the RBI and also the other agencies involved," the Vice President said.

Last year, the RBI revealed that 99 per cent of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes returned to the banking system.

Around Rs 15.28 lakh crore or 99 per cent of the Rs 15.44-lakh-crore worth scrapped currency notes had come back to the banking system during the period from November 8, 2016 and June 30, 2017, as per the RBI data.

Demonetisation was announced on November 8, 2016.

Expressing concern over low penetration of insurance in the country, Naidu asked insurers to devise simple, unique and innovative policies so that people buy products on their own.

"Insurance should become assurance that would be good for the country," he said.

Noting that India is part of the globalised world, Naidu said that "entire world is watching us".

"Both financial inclusion and industrialisation have to take place hand in hand for India to continue its onward march to become one of the leading economies in the world in the next two decades," he said.
French luxury label Louis Vuitton, which has been selling only accessories in India, now plans to bring its apparel line to the country.

The Louis Vuitton store at the Emporio Mall in Delhi would be transformed into what it calls LAppartement to sell mens and womens cloth line in the Indian market.

Currently, Louis Vuitton sells only bags, shoes, scarves and other accessories in the country through their three retail stores -- Bengalurus UB City, Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai and Emporio in Delhi.

According to sources, the apparel line of the French luxury brand would be launched at the Emporio store this September. Sources also say the brand would now have a two-level store with the introduction of the apparel line and new format of LAppartement.

Places like Singapore and Hong Kong already have their own L'Appartement where customers get exclusive access to the fashion powerhouses latest collections. It is said Louis Vuitton is working with two top artists to put together Indias first LAppartement. According to sources, the brand is in talks with London based artist Lubna Chowdhary for the same project.

According to the latest numbers available, Louis Vuitton - part of the French luxury retail group LVMH - recorded over 50 percent rise in profit in its retail store business in India in the financial year ending March 2017. According to data from the Registrar of Companies, LVMH reported a profit after tax of over Rs 8 crore as against Rs 5 crore in the previous year for Louis Vuitton India Retail Pvt Ltd.

Rising luxury market

While numbers clearly show a rise in demand for Louis Vuitton products in India, according to brand strategist Saurabh Uboweja Indians spending money on luxury in India is no more a new thing. However, people are still skeptic about buying ultra-luxury brands from India. There are close to one lakh HNIs in India who splurge on ultra-luxury brands and while they wouldnt think twice to spend around Rs 4 lakh on a lehenga they would spend only 50 percent of it on western wear from Indian stores selling global luxury labels because the perception about these stores is that they generally do not have the latest stock. If one has to buy the latest piece of an outfit from the global brands theyd buy it from the brands stores in markets like Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore or even the Middle East, said Uboweja.

According to Uboweja, the average spending on clothes from brands like Louis Vuitton in India is generally not more than Rs 2 lakh. However, as it turns out, revenue in the luxury apparel segment in India amounts to $840 million in 2018. According to the statistics portal, Statista the market for the same is also expected to grow annually by 4.8 percent by 2022.
Cow Shelter - gaushala

Dairy farmers now have one more stream of revenue - cow urine. Farmers are using it extensively in organic farming and religious rituals and now it is selling at up to Rs 30 a litre in the wholesale market. In comparison, cow milk fetches farmers between Rs 22 and Rs 25 for a litre.

Farmers earnings have increased up to 30% as they have started to sell cow urine, The Economic Times reported. High demand for the product means farmers are selling urine of high breed cows, such as Gir and Tharparkar, at Rs 15-Rs 30 per litre.

Cow urine is used in organic farming as an alternative to pesticides. It is also used by people for medicinal purposes and religious rituals like 'yagna' and 'anchgavyam' during 'janaau' ceremony.

However, the profits are coming at a cost. Farmers have to stay awake at nights to make sure that urine is collected without being spoiled.

The urine is further sold by traders at Rs 30 to Rs 50 per litre in retail markets. "I sell one litre of cow urine between Rs 30 and Rs 50. The demand for urine is high among organic farmers who use it as pesticides, the report quotes Om Prakash Meena, a milk trader in Jaipur.

Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology in Udaipur is one of the large buyer of cow urine. It purchases about 300-500 litres of cow urine every month for organic farming. It costs the University about Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000.
After the regulator guided, it was clear that we had the physical settlement of Equity Derivatives in site. Here we are now with the first phase of the Physical Settlement with a set of 46 stocks required to be settled physically from the upcoming expiry on July 26.

Now, it becomes very important for us participants to understand how it will work. I have jotted down the mechanism of physical settlement with few illustrations hope it would clear the air.

We will start with who is obliged to deliver, what quantity and at what price. Then we will go through some cases to understand it better.

Delivery Obligation

Futures:

All Open positions( Long futures or Short Futures) left on expiry post trading hours on Expiry day will be eligible for Physical settlement.

Options:

All In the Money options (ITM Call or ITM Put) that are left to expire and should ideally get settled in cash the following day will be eligible for Physical settlement. However, in respect of Close to Money (CTM) option contracts the option holder shall have a facility of do-not-exercise.

Now, what are Close to Money Options?

> Call Options - 3 ITM options strikes immediately below the final settlement price

> Put Options - 3 ITM options strikes immediately above the final settlement price

All other Options in the sense, ATM or OTM do not entail any further settlement, thus no physical delivery requirement. In other words these are the ones that end up to be zero on the day of expiry.

Lets understand it with an illustration; conceptually following table explains the moneyness option best.

Where,

S= Final settlement price on expiry day

X= Strike

Now lets take an example, Just Dial final Settlement price on July 26 is 575 then options moneyness will look something like this:

Delivery Quantity

To get the grip of understanding of physical settlement, we need to go back to our Basics of Options

Also, when we have to give delivery or take delivery in options, it amount to total quantity i.e.

Market lot * number of contracts

Netting of Quantity

Final commitment of receiving stock/providing delivery would be on net basis taking combine future and option positions for a particular stock for same expiry.

Price

Futures:

Final Settlement price of the futures contract on expiry day.

Options:

Relevant strike price of the option contract (Call or Put) in which position is held long or short

Illustrations:

Mr Amit has positions in Future and Options in Just Dial. Assume: Just dial close at Rs.575 on 26th July expiry (Lot size of Just dial is 1400). Lets evaluate various possibilities

Qty (Positive: Receive delivery; Negative: give delivery)

Value (Positive: Money inflow; Negative: money outflow)

Strategies:

(VI) Key Takeaway

> Trader needs to be cautious in stocks which are compulsory in physical delivery mechanism by squaring/rolling the contract well before expiry to avoid huge obligation of providing delivery/ cash outflow> If trader fails to square off ITM ( Long or short )option and is incapable of providing delivery/ Cash outflow then he/she would face huge penalty /auction requirement

> In case of Options where traders deal in multiple lots, obligations could be high. Thus retail traders need to be extra cautious

Disclaimer: The author is CEO & Head of Research at Quantsapp Private Limited. The views and investment tips expressed by investment expert on moneycontrol.com are his own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
The portfolio of Chennai-based Dolly and Rajiv Khanna, who have a reputation of spotting value in small and midcaps, is seeing deep cuts. Most stocks in their portfolio (mostly mid and smallcaps) are down double-digits. As many as 15 companies of the over 20 companies in her portfolio have come out with details of their shareholding pattern as of July 19.

As many as 9 of the 15 stocks in which Dolly Khanna reduced her stake in the June quarter have fallen up to 50 percent in 2018 so far. These include: Butterfly Gandhimathi Appliances, IFB Agro Industries, LT Foods, Rain Industries, Ruchira Papers, Srikalahasthi Pipes, Tata Metaliks and Thirumalai Chemicals.

The duo are counted as one of the top Indian analysts in the fraternity of value pickers. Rajiv Khanna, who started investing in the market in 1996 with an initial investment of Rs 1 crore, is now worth over Rs 750 crore, according to reports.

This is not the complete portfolio as we have collated a list of those stocks in which the duo hold more than a percent stake, as per July 19 shareholding data. Their portfolio would also include other companies in which they hold less than a percent stake.

Dolly and Rajiv Khanna have a knack of spotting multibaggers and know when to book profits and increase stake in companies offering value after a correction.

During the June quarter, the duo added two stocks to their portfolio in which they hold more than a percent. Dolly Khanna added Muthoot Capital Services to her portfolio with 1.07 percent stake. The stock has already rallied over 60 percent so far in 2018.

Another stock which Dolly added was Selan Exploration with 1.48 percent stake in the June quarter. The stock has fallen a little over 20 percent year-to-date.

The duo increased their stake in two distillery companies - Radico Khaitan from 1.05 percent in March quarter to 1.06 percent in the June quarter and in Som Distilleries to 1.11 percent in June quarter from 1.02 percent recorded in the previous quarter.

Radico Khaitan makes produces various brands of whiskey and rum, including 8 PM, Royal Whytehall, After Dark Whisky, Contessa Rum and 8 PM Bermuda Rum. Som Distilleries & Breweries manufactures beer and whisky.

Apart from distillery companies, Dolly Khanna increased stake in Nilkamal which is a plastic products manufacturer based out of Mumbai to 1.64 percent in June quarter from 1.53 percent recorded in the March quarter.

Another firm in which the duo increased their stake is Tata Metaliks to 1.22 percent in June quarter from 1.19 percent recorded in the March quarter.
The first telltale sign of trade war stress on the global economy is now visible.

Copper prices, which were trading at four-year highs a month ago, have shed 20 percent and are close to their lowest levels in a year. Copper is considered a proxy for the global economy on account of its usage in multiple industries  from construction to consumer durables. The fall in copper prices is on account of companies delaying their expansion plans in anticipation of a slowdown ahead.

The eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation between the US and China has moved a step further with both parties landing soft punches by imposing tariff restrictions on some products. While these tariffs were too small to impact the overall economy, the threat of both parties taking their gloves off has sent investors in metals running for cover.

There is a reason why metals are the first to get trampled in the fight. China accounts for 50 percent of global consumption of most metals. Any restriction on China will have an immediate impact.

But the story has moved on from China. When US President Donald Trump first swung by introducing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, little did he know the punch would land on his face. A study by NERA Economic Consulting found that a 7 percent aluminum tariff would save 1,000 jobs annually in the aluminum industry but wipe out 22,600 other jobs across the US economy.

Steel and aluminum prices in the US have already decoupled themselves from international prices. While hot-rolled steel prices in China have recovered from the fall after imposition of tariff, US steel has moved higher by 25 percent.

Higher steel prices have already impacted the fasteners industry in the US. As fasteners are commodities with low-value addition, they are directly impacted by the price of underlying commodities.

Mid Continent Nail, a privately-held company, was the first to make the headlines when it said it would have to shut shop and shift to Mexico if it is not able to secure exemption from the tariff. The same is the case with hand tools manufacturers.

Even automobile companies and machine manufacturers are now feeling the heat in the US. Analysts are talking of the companies moving production, just as Harley Davidson did recently.

History shows that in wars and trade wars, there are no winners, only survivors. Trump, before bulldozing his idea of protectionism, would have done better to look at how the US fared every time they tried to protect the economy by imposing tariffs.

A recent example is when the Obama administration introduced tariffs on Chinese tyres, which was met with China introducing a tax of 105 percent on chicken feet from the US. Chicken feet are thrown away in the US but relished in China. A study by The Peterson Institute for International Economics calculated that the tariffs probably saved 1,200 American jobs in the tyre sector  but consumers paid over $900,000 in higher tyre prices for each job saved. The data highlights the cost of protectionism.

In 2002, President George W Bush imposed tariffs on Chinese steel. The move allowed US steel producers to increase prices, raising costs for companies that buy steel and pressuring them to cut back elsewhere. Studies show that the move resulted in the US economy losing as many as two hundred thousand jobs. A similar fate is expected from the current round of tariff hikes in the US.

Though metal prices signal a slowdown going forward, the economic data print does not show the stress, at least immediately. Despite Trumps effort to cut US trade deficit with China, Chinese data released recently show that the gap widened to $28.97 billion in June from $4.39 billion from May. That data might not go down well with Trump. Already, he has threatened to slap tariffs on all of USs $500 billion imports from China.

Metals have already tripped, oil prices corrected by nearly 10 percent from the top last week. Earlier this week, after a meeting of finance ministers, the group of 20 warned about rising risks to economic growth over the short and medium term. These include rising financial vulnerabilities, heightened trade and geopolitical tensions, " the release said.

Equity markets are holding on globally. Only time will tell if the equities are waiting for a full-scale trade war to react. Perhaps, headline indices are steady because new economy stocks account for significant weightage in these gauges. If thats the case, in which case the broad market indices will reflect it when most of the damage is already done.
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Moneycontrol Research

It is still early days before the first-quarter earnings calendar gathers full steam, yet the early result mix is enough to suggest few discerning trends.

Foremost is an uptick in consumption demand, which appears widespread, even as rural demand outpaces urban. Consumption sectors (FMCG, durables, autos), though on a soft base, post noticeable volume growth for a consecutive quarter. The IT sector continues with its resurgence thanks to their digital offerings and emerges as a key beneficiary of currency depreciation.

Among the major challenges thrown up by the results, input inflation appears sticky for most manufacturing sectors and the impact was felt in sectors like chemicals, auto, agro-chemicals and metals.

So far, 163 companies have reported their Q1 FY19 numbers. Excluding financial services companies, 139 companies posted, on aggregate, 12 percent sales growth YoY (year on year) with the major contribution from IT and auto companies. Operating leverage led to improvement in margins by around 140 basis points, or 1.4 percent.

Source: Moneycontrol Research

While optically, numbers look interesting, investors should keep in mind that large number of manufacturing companies witnessed pre-GST destocking in the run-up to the GST deadline (July 1) in the year-ago quarter. Hence, part of upbeat topline growth is contributed by the soft base.

Further, as a caveat, while analysing these numbers, investors should consider that YoY numbers are not strictly comparable due to GST accounting impact, which lowers the reported topline numbers in the post GST quarters. For instance, the FMCG sectors reported sales growth numbers were mediocre but the comparable growth has been in lower double digit.

So as a way around, for a comparable assessment, we looked at the sequential growth numbers for the last three post-GST quarters and found that cumulative sequential sales, operating profit and net profit growth numbers have been 10, 14 and 15 percent respectively. These suggest a steady recovery. However, sales numbers for the last two quarters have been at par with operating profit, which means the cycle of margin improvement has plateaued.

Early results from the FMCG companies reflect upon steady recovery in volume and earnings, albeit on a weaker base, as trade conditions have nearly normalised. While consumer offtake has been strong for general trade and modern trade channels, CSD (canteen stores department) has been a laggard. Topline growth has been led by the sector leader Hindustan Unilever (HUL), which reported third consecutive quarterly result of double digit volume growth.

Even more noteworthy has been the higher growth pace for the rural areas. However, HULs management is still shy of calling it a trend. Bajaj Corp updated that rural offtake for their flagship product, Almond Drop hair oil, has been 30 percent higher than urban in both volume and value terms.

While improved rural sentiments aided by recent policy measures and positive fall out of monsoon season augurs well for the sector, key risk factors to note from the sector result are increased competitive intensity and crude linked raw material prices.

Majority of IT companies had a great start to the new fiscal. Albeit a quarter of wage hike and visa costs, the favourable currency movement (rupee depreciation) and efficiency improvement restricted the decline in operating profit margin. The outlook/guidance for the future shared by these companies looks extremely strong as many of them are actively participating in the transformation agenda of the enterprises with a strong digital offering. The share of digital in their business is inching up and this business is commanding a higher margin and growing much faster than the companys average.

Results reported from two auto companies, Ashok Leyland and Bajaj Auto, indicate that demand in domestic market continues to be robust across all segments: 2W (two-wheeler), 3W (three-wheeler) and commercial vehicle (CV). Export markets are also looking very robust in terms demand. However, there seems to be huge competition in domestic 2W and CV markets forcing companies to enter into a price war, which in turn hurting the operating profitability. Further, the companies continue to face pressure from the significant rise in raw material (RM) prices.

The retail focused private banks reported in line performance on expected lines. Loan growth has been healthy for them, as well. The upward revision in MCLR (marginal cost based lending) is beginning to impact lending yields positively. A large bank mentioned about pricing power coming back to lenders. However, the same lender cautioned about the stress in the SME segment which is perhaps borne out by the weak number reported by a mid-sized SME focused bank. One of the mid-sized corporate lender surprised positively on asset quality after reporting extreme stress in previous quarter that had an industry wide impact due to RBIs guidelines on bad debt recognition. The weakness in garnering CASA (low cost deposits) was a trend visible across banks and points to firming up of rates in the system.

An exception to this trend was Bandhan Bank. The youngest private bank posted CASA growth of 84 percent YoY taking its CASA ratio to 35 percent, albeit on a lower base. The bank mainly in micro lending posted stellar performance indicating buoyant conditions for those operating at the bottom of the pyramid. One of the largest consumer lending NBFC, Bajaj Finance, continued to reap benefits of its two pronged-strategy of focusing on urban aspirational mass as well growing rural demand. Competition is heating up in the retail lending space. However, since the credit pie is growing driven by rising penetration and increasing average loan size, there is enough space for growth.

From the agrochemical stable, Rallis reported its numbers last week. The pressure on account of strained supply from China continued in Q1, pushing up the raw material prices. With limited pricing power and high competition there was continued difficulty to pass on the high costs to consumers and margins were impacted, despite a healthy growth in topline.

Within the materials sector, metals companies which have reported results so far have seen benefits of higher metals prices and better demand, thereby reporting strong growth in revenues. Companies have also reported better realisation. Increase in demand has resulted in higher volumes and impacted margins positively on account of operating leverage. Despite higher input cost (coal and others) companies like Tata Sponge and Hindustan Zinc reported record production led by higher demand from the user industries.

Another sub-segment from the material sector and among the favourite sector for last fiscal, chemicals in its initial set of results appeared struggling due to plant shutdowns (Bhansali Engineering & Goa Carbon) and elevated input prices. Having said that the key differentiator in this heterogeneous sector remains the end market prospects. Improving realization for the products like Calcined petroleum coke (Goa Carbon) provides strong growth prospects for aluminium companies.

In the engineering space, companies like ABB and few others that have reported results have delivered better than expected growth in sales led by recovery in demand. Segments like railways, renewables, construction, power T&D have been driving the growth while industrial continues to be an area of concern. Also, exports are seen to be improving led by recovery in global demand and depreciating rupee.

In case of cement sector, prices continue to remain subdued despite a strong volume growth aided by pick-up in infrastructure activities. Amid rising cost pressures and increased competitive intensity, cement companies are laying more emphasis on optimising cost structure. Talking about individual companies, UltraTechs increasing rural segment contribution has been noteworthy and it has improved to around 40 percent from 35-36 percent a few quarters back.

Among building materials, Havells management has indicated that real estate sector has seen a stabilisation of demand post the introduction of GST and RERA last year. However, a strong pick-up in real estate will take some more time.
Invesco Mutual Fund will revise the fund management responsibility of Invesco India Liquid Fund with immediate effect, the fund house said in an addendum. Subsequently, the scheme will be co-managed by Krishna Cheemalapati and Abhishek Bandiwdekar.

Earlier, Nitish Sikand managed the scheme along with Cheemalapati, the addendum said.

All other features of the scheme will remain unchanged.
affordable housing

Over 53 lakh houses have been sanctioned in the past three years under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U), the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry said on July 24.

The ministry said that it has approved the construction of 2.67 lakh additional affordable homes for the benefit of urban poor under the scheme. Approval for the same was given in the 36th meeting of the Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee held in New Delhi.

Madhya Pradesh has been sanctioned 59,421 affordable homes, while Gujarat has been sanctioned 55,296. The number of homes sanctioned in Maharashtra is 52,935, Uttar Pradesh (36,370), West Bengal (26,604) and Bihar (15,924), Rajasthan (8,600), Chhattisgarh (7,961), Punjab (2,442) while Uttarakhand has been sanctioned 1,993 homes.

After subsuming projects of the RAY scheme, a total of 53,74,306 homes are being funded under PMAY(U).
Here are the stocks that are in news today:

Results on Tuesday: Asian Paints, GSK Pharma, ICICI Prudential Life, Symphony, Hexaware, Info Edge, Century Plyboard, Kajaria Ceramics, Network 18, TV18 Broadcast, Radico Khaitan, Inox Leisure, TeamLease, Chambal Fertilizers, Borosil Glass, Elantas Beck, Kalyani Steels, Kirloskar Pneumatics, KRBL, KSB Pumps, Music Broadcast, Navin Fluorine, Rane Brake, Thirumalai Chemical.

IOC to invest Rs 12,000 cr in Haldia refinery, pipeline infra

United Spirits Q1 net profit up 29% at Rs 81.2 crore versus Rs 62.9 crore, YoY

ACC: Q2 profit rises 0.9 percent at Rs 329 crore versus Rs 326.2 crore; revenue increases 11.4 percent at Rs 3,848 crore versus Rs 3,453 crore (YoY).

L&T Technology: Q1 profit increases 24.5 percent at Rs 198.1 crore versus Rs 159.1 crore; rupee revenue rises 9.2 percent at Rs 1,152.2 crore versus Rs 1,054.8 crore; dollar revenue rises 4 percent at $168.9 million versus $162.4 million (QoQ).

Hindustan Zinc: Q1 profit increases 1.5 percent to Rs 1,918 crore versus Rs 1,889 crore; revenue rises 16 percent to Rs 5,310 crore versus Rs 4,576 crore (YoY).

L&T Infotech: Q1 profit rises 24.8 percent to Rs 361 crore versus Rs 289.4 crore; revenue increases 7.7 percent at Rs 2,155.7 crore versus Rs 2,001.2 crore; dollar revenue rises 3.5 percent to $319.9 million versus $309 million (QoQ)

Linde India: Q1 profit at Rs 5.2 crore versus loss of Rs 2.2 crore; revenue rises 2.8 percent at Rs 549.6 crore versus Rs 534.7 crore (YoY).

Indiabulls Ventures: Q1 profit rises sharply to Rs 877.3 crore versus Rs 450 crore; revenue jumps to Rs 3,446 crore versus Rs 1,574.4 crore (YoY).

V-Mart Retail: Q1 profit increases 11.2 percent to Rs 24.9 crore versus Rs 22.4 crore; revenue rises 14.6 percent to Rs 361.2 crore versus Rs 315.1 crore (YoY).

Balaji Amines: Q1 profit rises to Rs 33.82 crore versus Rs 22.75 crore; revenue jumps to Rs 260.2 crore versus Rs 200 crore (YoY).

Delta Corp: Q1 profit surges 52 percent to Rs 28.6 crore versus Rs 18.8 crore; revenue jumps 36.7 percent to Rs 109.9 crore versus Rs 80.4 crore (YoY).

Syngene International: Company expanded the scope of R&D collaboration with Baxter Healthcare Corporation, to set up additional infrastructure at dedicated Baxter Global Research Center.

Punjab National Bank: The bank has received the amount of capital infusion of Rs 2,816 crore towards the contribution of the Central Government in the preferential allotment of equity shares.

Bank of India, Dena Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, City Union Bank, Karnataka Bank, Union Bank of India: Banks enter into Inter-creditor Agreement (ICA) for resolution of stressed assets.

PNB received Rs 2816 crore as capital infusion by GoI

Allahabad Bank received Rs 1790 crore as capital infusion from GoI

Uflex made an astounding impact at the Propak China exhibition that was held during 11-13 July 2018 in Shanghai

Fitch revises UPL outlook to negative, affirms IDR at BBB-

Narayana Hrudayalaya: Narayana Holdings Private Limited (NHPL), Mauritius, a wholly owned step down subsidiary of the company has incorporated a company in Bangladesh - NH Health Bangladesh Private Limited. NHPL, Mauritius holds 99.99 percent of the share capital of the newly incorporated company in Bangladesh while the balance is held by a Director of NHPL.

Essel Propack: Company commenced commercial production at the Assam factory.

Genesys International completed its first large scale HD mapping projects in North America

Himachal Futuristic approved proposal for expansion of current Optical Fibre Cable manufacturing capabilities by setting up new plant in Hyderabad
The nationwide strike called by All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) entered its fifth day today. Major industries across the country are hit as the inter-state goods movement has come to a standstill.

What are their demands?

The truckers are protesting against rising fuel prices, demanding a reduction in central and state taxes by bringing diesel in the ambit of GST, so that its price can be reduced.

Through an indefinite strike, the AIMTC is also protesting flawed and non-transparent toll collection system, which costs them time and fuel loss worth Rs 1,50,000 crore annually. The truckers also claim that the system favours the road concessioners.

One of their demands is a reduction in third-party premium in insurance and exemption on premium from GST. Exemptions and abolition of indirect taxes, national permits for all buses and trucks are also on the list. They insist on removing the direct port delivery tendering system.

Losses continue across India

Across India, losses due to the ongoing strike are pegged at Rs 10,000 crore, with Maharashtra alone seeing over Rs 2,000 crore. Vegetable and fruit supplies, dairy supplies and movement of manufactured goods in major cities have been hit.

Traders are now depending on a limited supply of groceries from neighbouring states, moving through light motor vehicles having an inter-state permit. The price of vegetables and fruits shot up in the market as the operating vehicles took huge fares.

Himachal Pradesh reportedly saw losses worth Rs 500 crore on the strikes fourth day. A spokesman for Himachals BaddiBartoiwala-Nalagrath (BBN) belt, the biggest industrial cluster of the state, said if the strike is not called off soon, small industrial units will start suffering on financial grounds.

The strike has caused vegetable supplies to drop by almost 25 percent in Gujarat markets. The protesting transporters, however, did not shoulder any responsibility for the price rise in the state.

We are not obstructing any vehicle from transporting any essential or non-essential goods. We are only asking them to cooperate and not forcing anyone, Mukesh Dave, executive president of Akhil Gujarat Truck Transporters Association, told DNA.

Meanwhile, wide-ranging products worth over Rs 70 crore are stranded in Nagpur as primary means of transport is absent. Traders are worried as prices of perishable products are rising, and drivers and new load workers in the city are jobless.

Prices of rice and cereals have remained uniform due to adequate stock. In fact, in some cities, cereal has become cheaper.

Is resolution likely?

The government remains unmoved as of now, with the strike getting more support from local trade unions from all parts of India.

AIMTC core committee chairman Bal Malkit Singh told PTI, We have urged the government to intervene, to find a tangible resolution of the issues. On the third day, too, there had been no reconciliatory talks or indication from the government to resolve the issues. The movement will only intensify.
Karti Chidambaram

The Madras High Court today quashed CBI's look out circular (LOC) against Karti Chidambaram, the son of former Union minister P Chidambaram, in connection with the INX Media case, saying that it was issued in haste and in the absence of conditions warranting it.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Abdul Quddhose gave the order allowing a petition by Karti challenging the LOC issued last year.

It, however, said the order will not impact the criminal proceedings initiated pursuant to the FIR or any other proceedings taken up against the petitioner.

"...in our view, the Look Out Circular was issued in hot haste when the conditions precedent for issuance of such circular did not exist. The impugned Look out Circular is, thus, liable to be set aside," the bench said in its order.

Since the LOC had been quashed on this ground, there was no need to go into the questions of whether it could have been issued without statutory sanction or whether the respondents had jurisdiction, the bench said.

On whether the writ court should exercise its discretionary jurisdiction to interfere with the LOC, it said: "An LOC, which is a coercive measure to make a person surrender and consequentially interferes with his right of personal liberty and free movement, certainly has adverse civil consequences.

"This Court, therefore, holds that in exercise of power of judicial review under Article 226 of the Constitution, the writ Court can interfere with an LOC," it said.

Refusing the arguments of Additional Solicitor General G Rajagopalan, the bench said such LOCs cannot be issued as a matter of course but only when reasons exist, where an accused deliberately evades arrest or does not appear in the trial court.

The case relates to alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to INX Media for receiving overseas funds to the tune of Rs 305 crore in 2007 when P Chidambaram was the Union finance minister.

The CBI, which filed the FIR on May 15 last year, had arrested Karti on February 28 this year at the Chennai airport on his arrival from London. He was granted bail by the Delhi High Court on March 23.

The LOC was issued by the Bureau of Immigration and the Foreigner Regional Registration Officer (FRRO), under the Union Home Ministry, at the request of the CBI to prevent Karti from travelling abroad.

During the pendency of the petitions, the high court had permitted Karti to fly to Europe on a business tour but asked him to return home by February 28.

Initially, a single judge bench of the Madras High Court had stayed the LOC, but on an appeal by the CBI, the apex court had put on hold operation of the HC order on August 10 last year.

On January 31, the Supreme Court remanded back to the Madras High Court the matter with a request to dispose it of within two months.

Accordingly, the first bench headed by Justice Banerjee heard the matter and had reserved orders on March 19.

In his petition, Karti had contended that the look out circular was part of the central government's "political vendetta" and issued "arbitrarily" and without jurisdiction to prevent him from travelling abroad.
India today extended USD 200 million lines of credit to Rwanda as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held wide-ranging talks with President Paul Kagame and discussed measures to boost the bilateral strategic ties by strengthening cooperation in trade and agriculture sectors.

After the one-on-one talks with president Kagame, Modi, the first Indian prime minister to visit the East African country, announced that India will soon open its mission in Rwanda.

We are going to open a High Commission in Rwanda. This will not only establish communication between our respective governments but also enable facilities for consular, passport, visa, Modi said at a joint press statement.

He noted that India and Rwanda relationships have stood the test of time.

It is a matter of honour for us that India has stood with Rwanda in their economic development journey, Modi said, adding that India will be continue to back Rwanda's development.

The two countries signed agreements on leather and allied areas and agricultural research. India also extended two lines of credit -- one of USD 100 million for development of industrial parks and Kigali special economic zone (SEZ) in Rwanda and another one for USD 100 million for agriculture.

Besides one-to-one meeting, the two leaders also participated in delegation level talks to strengthen partnership in trade and investment, capacity building, development partnership and people to people ties.

President Kagame in his remarks said that Prime Minister Modi's visit represents a milestone between the long standing friendship and cooperation between Rwanda and India. Modi arrived in Rwanda tonight on the first leg of his three-nation Africa tour as part of India's outreach to the resource-rich continent, soon after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Kigali.

The prime minister's aircraft landed at the Kigali International Airport where he was received by President Kagame. He was accorded a red carpet welcome at the airport. "A historic visit starts with a special gesture.

President @PaulKagame personally welcomed PM @narendramodi to Rwanda," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted. His two-day state visit to Rwanda -- one of Africa's fastest growing economies -- assumes significance as it could boost India's strategic ties with this country.

"A special gesture by a close friend and a strategic partner! Prime Minister @narenderamodi personally received by Rwandan President @PaulKagame at #Kigali International Airport on the first leg of his three-nation tour. First-ever visit by an Indian PM to Rwanda," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had tweeted. Modi will also meet the business leaders and the Indian communities here.

Today, Prime Minister Modi will visit the Genocide Memorial and participate in an event on "Girinka" (one cow per family), a national social protection scheme of Rwanda initiated by Kagame.
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India's thermal coal imports rose by more than 14 percent in the second quarter of 2018 from a year earlier, putting the energy-hungry nation on track for a rise in annual imports after two straight years of decline.

Indian imports rose to 43.4 million tonnes during the three months ended June 30, up from 37.9 million a year ago, according to data from American Fuels & Natural Resources, a Dubai-based trader of coal from the United States which tracks shipments around the region.

That is India's highest quarterly import tally in two years, which along with higher consumption in China has been a major driver behind the strong recovery seen in benchmark Australian coal prices this year.

The strong purchases take India's first-half imports to 81.9 million tonnes, up 13 percent from the 72.3 million tonnes imported over the same period in 2017.

Domestic logistical bottlenecks due to a shortage of trains, regulatory changes targeting pollution cuts and surging power demand have all fuelled the higher imports, which are expected to stay firm through the rest of the year.

"Users of petcoke switching over to coal due to a ban in some regions, regulations being contemplated in others, and logistical bottlenecks are driving coal demand in India," Vasudev Pamnani, a senior coal trader from American Fuels, told Reuters.

"Any additional demand will be addressed by imports, and India will support pricing."

Indonesia accounted for over three-fifths of total supplies during the latest quarter, while South Africa accounted for over a fifth, according to vessel arrival data tracked by American Fuels.

US coal made up about 9 percent, the data showed.

Adani Enterprises, India's largest coal trader, accounted for over 14 percent of all imports, purchasing about 6.23 million tonnes during the period, the data showed.

The Tata Group imported 2.16 million tonnes of coal, while Swiss Singapore, part of the Aditya Birla Group, shipped in 2.21 million tonnes and JSW Group brought in 2.14 million tonnes.

The companies did not respond to requests for comment.

The Mundra port brought in the most coal shipments, and accounted for about 13.6 percent of all imports, according to American Fuels. Krishnapatnam took 11.5 percent, while Kandla handled about 9.3 percent of all imports.
A 28-year-old man was arrested in Mumbai, on Sunday after he made a call to Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, wrongly accusing a 26-year-old Yemeni woman of carrying a bomb in her bag. The man, Qutubudin Hatimbhai Shahiwala, allegedly did this after the woman rejected his marriage proposal on Saturday.

As per a report by The Hindustan Times, Sahar police said that the airport control room at the Mumbai airport, got a call from the accused, Shahiwala, on Saturday around 1 am, claiming that the woman had a bomb in her bag.

When the woman arrived at the airport around 2.30 am, for her 5 am flight to Yemen, the authorities stopped her and checked her baggage, but found nothing. Later, she identified the number which notified the police as Shahiwala's.

Upon questioning, the authorities discovered that the woman was being threatened by Shahiwala, as despite his warnings she decided to leave him.

Following the revelation, the police arrested Shahiwala from his residence at Mohamed Ali Road. The man from Madhya Pradesh, who was living in Mumbai for past five years, met the woman through a matrimonial website. They met after she came to Mumbai for her fathers treatment.

The woman stated that she was deceived by Shahiwala who claimed to be wealthy but instead worked at a shop.

She refused to pursue the relationship, but Shahiwala threatened her to marry him. He has now been remanded to police custody and has been booked under sections 506 (2) (criminal intimidation) and 505 (1) (b) of the Indian Penal Code.
Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today arrived in Rwanda on the first leg of his three-nation Africa tour as part of India's outreach to the resource-rich continent, becoming the first Indian premier to visit the East African country.

The Prime Minister's aircraft landed at the Kigali International Airport where he was received by President of Rwanda Paul Kagame. He was accorded a red carpet welcome at the airport.

"A historic visit starts with a special gesture. President @PaulKagame personally welcomed PM @narendramodi to Rwanda," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted.

His two-day state visit to Rwanda -- one of Africa's fastest growing economies -- assumes significance as this is the first by an Indian premier.

"A special gesture by a close friend and a strategic partner! Prime Minister @narenderamodi personally received by Rwandan President @PaulKagame at #Kigali International Airport on the first leg of his three-nation tour. First-ever visit by an Indian PM to Rwanda," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

Later, Prime Minister Modi held one-on-one talks with President Kagame. He will also meet the business leaders and the Indian communities here.

He will visit the Genocide Memorial and participate in an event on "Girinka" (one cow per family), a national social protection scheme of Rwanda initiated by Kagame.

A defence cooperation agreement is also expected to be signed between India and Rwanda during the visit, T S Tirumurti, secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs, said in New Delhi last week.

India will also be opening a mission in Rwanda very soon, Tirumurti said.

"During this visit, we expect to conclude two lines of credit -- one of USD 100 million for development of industrial parks and Kigali special economic zone (SEZ), and another one for USD 100 million for agriculture and irrigation," he said.

An important element of the programme would be the prime minister's visit to Rweru Model Village where he will gift 200 cows as a contribution from India to the 'Girinka' scheme of Rwanda, Tirumurti said.

Under 'Girinka', a social protection scheme of the Rwandan government personally overseen by President Kagame, poorest families are gifted dairy cows by the government and the first female calf born to the cow is gifted to the neighbour, thus promoting brotherhood and solidarity.

The cows to be gifted by India would be sourced from Rawanda.

"We expect agreements to be concluded in the areas of defence, dairy cooperation, leather, agriculture, and culture," he said.

Modi's visit comes days after Chinese President Xi Jinping's trip to Rwanda.

Modi would proceed to Uganda tomorrow for a two-day visit, the first bilateral visit by an Indian prime minister since 1997.

"Rwanda is an important gateway to Eastern Africa and we have elevated our bilateral relations with Rwanda to the level of a strategic partnership in January 2017," a senior External Affairs Ministry official said in New Delhi.

The President of Rwanda is the current Chair of the African Union.

Modi will attend the 10th edition of the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa during which the grouping's leaders are expected to deliberate on global hot-spot issues, international peace and security, global governance and trade issues among others.
Over 49 dead as wildfires near Athens, people forced to flee into the ocean

July 24, 2018 / 06:43 PM IST / 06:43 PM IST Prevention of Corruption Bill passed in Lok Sabha

The lower house of Parliament has passed the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill , 2018, that aims to tackle corruption through legal means.











July 24, 2018 / 04:36 PM IST Mehul Choksi moves to Antigua on local passport

Fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi has moved to Antigua from the US and taken the passport of the Caribbean country, government sources said. The Enforcement Directorate has been informed by Antiguan authorities that Choksi arrived there this month and had taken the passport of that country. Choksi had fled the country in the first week of January, nearly a fortnight before weeks before country's biggest banking fraud surfaced.















July 24, 2018 / 04:28 PM IST











July 24, 2018 / 04:24 PM IST Maratha reservation has been delayed. How the court will react to it must be kept mind. Shiv Sena supports Maratha reservation. People who promised reservation to solve the issue should come forward: Maharashtra Minister and Shiv Sena leader Subhash Desai said.











July 24, 2018 / 03:55 PM IST JUST IN | The Maratha Mahamorcha bandh will continue tomorrow in Navi Mumbai, Palghar, Raigarh and Thane, reports CNN News18.











July 24, 2018 / 03:02 PM IST India is growing exponentially but our mantra is 'Sabka saath sabka vikas'. We will grow but we will also help those grow, who are with us. We will walk together: PM Narendra Modi in Kigali.











July 24, 2018 / 02:58 PM IST We want to boost economic ties between India and Rwanda. Our nations can do a lot together. There are several opportunities in rural development and small-scale industries: PM Modi in Kigali.











July 24, 2018 / 02:20 PM IST JUST IN | Delhi's Patiala House Court has issued summons to all accused including former Himachal Pradesh CM Virbhadra Singh, his wife, son Vikramaditya Singh and others in the disproportionate assets case against them. They have been asked to appear before the Court on August 20.











July 24, 2018 / 01:57 PM IST











July 24, 2018 / 01:29 PM IST JUST IN | Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy blocks transparency, orders ban on entry of media inside Vidhan Soudha, reports Times Now.











July 24, 2018 / 01:12 PM IST Agitation for reservation for Maratha community in government jobs and education: Two people attempted suicide in Maharashtra today. Jayant Sonavne attempted suicide by jumping into river&Jagannath Sonavne alias Guddu consumed poison in Deogaon Rangari in Aurangabad. Both of them have been admitted to a hospital.










West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee addresses during Youth Trinamool Congress rally at Damurjala Stadium in Howrah district of West Bengal on Friday. PTI

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today held the BJP responsible for increasing number of lynching incidents in the country and said that instead of merely condemning them, the saffron party should control its leaders.

"Rajnath-ji (Union home minister) condemned the incident in Parliament. But, why instead of condemning, they are not controlling their leaders from the upper to lower level.

"It is only because of their hate campaign that so many lives have been lost (in lynching incidents). Charity begins at home," she told reporters at the state secretariat.

The CM's comments came in the backdrop the alleged lynching of a 28-year-old man by a cow vigilante group in Alwar on Saturday.

Mamata alleged that lynching incidents were the handiwork of some extremist religious groups.

"We appeal to all the common citizens. It's a serious phase we are going through. So many lives have been lost. This should be stopped immediately," she said.

The chief minister said strict action would be taken against those found to be involved in such incidents anywhere in West Bengal.

"Law and order is a state subject. We do not discuss anything on cows. We treat cows as our mothers," she said.

She also blamed fake news and rumours spread through social media platforms for incidents of lynching.

Mamata had last week given a call to oust the BJP in the next Lok Sabha elections at a rally here, accusing the party of trying to create an atmosphere of "lynching, hatred and violence".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sonia Gandhi BJP Congress Karnataka 2018

The Congress today accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman of "lying" in Parliament on the Rafale deal, saying there was no secrecy clause in a 2008 Indo-French pact that binds the government from revealing price details of the jets, charges termed as "falsehood" by the BJP.

Days after Congress president Rahul Gandhi forcefully attacked the government in Parliament on the Rafale deal, the party fielded three of its top leaders -- former defence minister A K Antony, Anand Sharma and Randeep Surjewala -- who said revealing the "commercial cost" of Rafale aircraft will neither violate any "secrecy agreement" with the French government, nor disclose any classified or protected information.

At a press conference, they alleged PM Modi "sought to hide behind a cloak of pseudo-nationalism in the Rafale deal" during the debate on the 'no-confidence motion' in Parliament on July 20.

Antony, who was defence minister in 2008 when India and France inked an inter-governmental agreement on defence procurement, said the government's claim that a secrecy clause in the pact was forcing it to not reveal price details of the deal was "totally wrong".

Dismissing Congress' charges, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asserted that the base price of each aircraft negotiated by the government with the French government is at 91.75 million Euro, which is nine per cent less than the 100.85 million Euro the UPA government had decided upon.

For the Congress, Sharma said, "The Prime Minister is equally accountable. He is equally responsible. He too enthusiastically repeated the lie and misled the House and misled the people of the country. I am sure since this was in the Lok Sabha, it shall be appropriately taken forward."

In his address during the debate on the no-confidence motion against the government on Friday, Gandhi had said that French President Emmanuel Macron had told him during a meeting that there was no secrecy pact that forces India from revealing price details of the Rafale aircraft.

Prasad dismissed Congress' charges as a "collective singing of falsehood" to defend Rahul Gandhi, who, he said, was "prima facie guilty of breach of privilege for misleading" the Lok Sabha. Prasad also cited replies made in Parliament by then UPA government on defence purchases and other issues in which its defence minister, first Pranab Mukherjee and then Antony, had declined to share price details and other information on the ground of national security.

"The stand of the Congress on the Rafale deal is clearly not in the interest of the country," he told reporters.

The Congress has been demanding that the government share details of the Rafale fighter aircraft price as it accused the Modi government of buying them at thrice the price negotiated by the UPA government for 126 aircraft. The government has rejected the demand, citing secrecy clause in the 2008 pact.

In their press briefing, the Congress leaders also released a copy of the confidential agreement the UPA government had signed with France in January 2008, to drive home the point that it does not restrict India to reveal the price details of the Rafale deal.

They also indicated that the Congress may bring a privilege motion against the PM and Sitharaman.

According to copy of the agreement released by Congress, both French and Indian governments, in accordance with their national laws, shall take all measures necessary for the protection of classified information and material provided ti them under it or in accordance with agreements, contracts or sub-contracts concluded between or by the two sides or by their authorised agencies.

In his address during the debate on the no-confidence motion against the government on Friday, Gandhi had said that French President Macron had told him during a meeting that there was no secrecy pact that forces India from revealing price details of the Rafale aircraft.

After Gandhi's remarks, the French Foreign Ministry said France had signed a security pact with India in 2008 which legally binds the two countries to protect the classified information which could impact security and operational capabilities of the defence equipment.

In his reply to the motion, Modi asked Gandhi to not make such "childish" allegations on such sensitive issues.

In today's press conference, Antony said the government's claim that a secrecy clause in the pact was forcing it to not reveal price details of the deal was "totally wrong".

Antony also said the government cannot hide the price details of the Rafale jets as the deal has to be scrutinised by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) as well as Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

"They must reveal the price details of the aircraft and they must also tell us why a company was selected as offset partner who has no experience manufacturing aircraft," said Antony, alleging the private player has benefited by crores.

Sharma said "The French government had no objection in revealing the price of the Rafale aircraft. This was conveyed by the French president to Rahul Gandhi during a meeting in which I was present along with the former prime minister."

The Congress had claimed that the per aircraft price under the deal inked by the NDA came to Rs 1,600 crore as against the Rs 520 crore negotiated during the UPA.

The deal negotiated by the UPA could not be finalised by it.
In the light of yet another lynching incident where a man was killed in Rajasthans Alwar on the suspicion of cow smuggling, RSS leader Indresh Kumar said mob lynching could be stopped if people ceased to eat beef, The Indian Express has reported.

Emphasizing on the role of sanskaar or values, Kumar was quoted as saying, Mob lynching cant be welcomed if the practice of eating cow meat is stopped, many such crimes of the Satan could be stopped.

Kumar added that none of the major religions of the world supported the practice of killing cows. He was quoted by the paper as saying, Be it Christianity, which talks of Holy Cow, because Jesus was born in a cowshed; or Islam, where killing cows is banned in Mecca and Madina (cities in western Saudi Arabia); or any other religion, killing a cow is not approved anywhere.

Kumar said even though laws have to be formulated to check and stop mob lynching, it is the society that needs the right sanskaar to tackle the problem.

Kumar was addressing a press conference after inaugurating the office of the Hindu Jagran Manch in Ranchi, Jharkhand. He said many Muslim parties associated with the Babri Mosque-Ram temple dispute have agreed to give up the demand for a mosque in Ayodhya, which he claimed was the birthplace of Lord Ram.

He also claimed that calling Hindus communal is fraught with the risk of labeling all religions in the world as communal.
lok sabha, Parliament ,session

The ongoing Monsoon Session has seen arch nemeses BJP and Congress file privilege motions against Congress President Rahul Gandhi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi respectively on the issue of Rafale deal.

While the BJP has alleged that Rahul misled the Parliament by levelling false accusations on PM Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman; the Congress has said Sitharamans statement in Parliament that the secrecy pact between the governments of India and France is preventing the Centre from revealing details of the Rafale deal are totally wrong.

Speaker of Lok Sabha Sumitra Mahajan is due to hear these motions in session today. Hence, it is essential that we know what a privilege motion is and what are its consequences.

What is a privilege motion?

Members of Parliament (MPs) enjoy certain parliamentary privileges which are bestowed on them collectively and individually so that they can discharge their duties and functions effectively. In the case that any of these immunities or rights are disregarded by any MP, the act is regarded as a breach of privilege and is a punishable offence under Laws of Parliament.

When a breach of privilege is found, then an MP can move a privilege motion against those being held guilty of breach. Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha reserve the right to punish any action of contempt (not necessarily breach of privilege) which is against its authority and dignity.

Where do these rules find mention?

The rules governing privilege motion are mentioned as Rule 222 in Chapter 20 of the Lok Sabha Rule Book and as Rule 187 in Chapter 16 of the Rajya Sabha Rule Book. According to the rules, an MP may raise a question of breach of privilege with the Speaker or the Chairperson, notices for which have to be sent to them before 10am. The breach of privilege could be of another MP, a committee or of the House. However, the rules mandate the notice should be regarding an incident which has occurred recently and that it needs the intervention of the House.

What is the authority of the Speaker/ Chairperson vis-a-vis privilege motion?

The first level of scrutiny that a privilege motion has to go through is that of the Speaker, in case the motion is moved in the Lok Sabha, and that of the Chairperson when a motion is moved in the Rajya Sabha. The Speaker/Chairperson may decide on the privilege motion at their own discretion or they may refer it to a parliamentary committee. If the Speaker/Chairperson admits the motion, then the concerned member is given an opportunity to explain themselves by making a short statement.

What if the Speaker/Chairperson refers the motion to a parliamentary committee?

In the Lok Sabha, the Speaker nominates a committee of privileges which consists of 15 members proportionate to the strengths of various political parties in the Lower House of Parliament. They prepare a report which is then presented before the House for its consideration. The Speaker may allow a half-an-hour debate on the report before she/he passed the final orders. The Speaker can also direct that the report be tabled before the House and a resolution may be unanimously passed on the breach of privilege. Currently, Congress MP PC Chacko is the chairperson of the privilege committee.

The process is similar in the Upper House, except that the privilege committee consists of 10 members and is headed by the deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha.

Have privilege motions been passed in Parliament earlier?

A number of privilege motions have been passed in Parliament earlier, with most of them being rejected and very few demanding penal action.

# The most significant privilege motion was passed against Indira Gandhi in 1978. The then Home Minister Charan Singh had moved a resolution of breach of privilege against her on the basis of observations made by Justice Shah Commission, which investigated the excesses during the Emergency. Mrs Gandhi, who had just won the Lok Sabha elections from Chikmagalur, was expelled from the House.

# In another case, BJP MP Subramanian Swamy was expelled from Rajya Sabha in 1976 for bringing disgrace to Parliament through his interviews to foreign publications.

# In 1961, editor of Blitz RK Karanjia was indicted with gross breach of privilege after the publication put out an article that publicly castigated Congress veteran JB Kripalani. Karanjia was reprimanded in Lok Sabha and the gallery pass of his correspondent was annulled.

Has a privilege motion been moved against Rahul Gandhi in the past?

In the Winter Session of 2017, BJP MP Bhupendra Yadav had moved a privilege motion against Rahul Gandhi in Rajya Sabha during Zero Hour. Yadav had accused Rahul of intentionally, maliciously and disrespectfully twisting the name of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in a tweet. Rahul had referred to Jaitley as Jaitlie.

However, Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu had cautioned Yadav against moving the motion as Rahul was not present in the House to defend himself.
India has joined a bunch of countries where autocratisation is manifesting and democracy is seriously in peril, especially after the election of the NDA government in 2014, said a new study.

The level of democracy in India has declined significantly over the last decade, showing a disquieting trend, particularly in freedom of speech and alternative sources of information, civil society, the rule of law, and some electoral aspects.

Many of these changes have taken place after the Bharatiya Janata Party won the parliamentary elections in 2014 and its leader, the current Prime Minister, Narendra Modi assumed office, according to the V-Dem Liberal Democracy Index, published at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.

The governments pursuit to revitalise Indias slumping economy has come at the expense of a reduction in the overall quality of Indias democracy, according to the indicators in the index. India and the US  the worlds most populous democracies  became backsliders on democracy for the first time in the V-Dem data. They joined other democracies such as Brazil, Hungary, Poland, and Suriname registered as backsliders already last year.

Worrying Trend

India exemplifies a trend in which the rights and institutions being diminished are the ones that make electoral processes meaningful and fully democratic. This is a worrisome set of developments, posing a clear challenge to the future of democracy, said the study.

In India, the infringements on media freedom and the civil society activities of democracy following the election of a Hindu-nationalist government have started to undermine the longest-standing and most populous democracy in the global south, according to the study. But the main indicators of the core electoral aspects of democracy do not show significant decline, it added.

The study said freedom of expression and alternative sources of information in India have been affected. While there are about 12,000 newspapers circulating in India today, the media is increasingly being censored. Several newly introduced or more harshly enforced laws hinder free speech and encourage censorship.

The study cited as example the law on defamation that contains prison sentences of up to two years and said it being is used to silence critical journalists at an increasing rate. Moreover, sedition laws that were upheld by the courts in 2016 even allow harsh punishment of people accused of inciting dissatisfaction  disloyalty and all feelings on enmity  towards the government. Its existence serves as a deterrent and encourages self-censorship.

Harassment of journalists is also on the rise, said the study. Many journalists have been murdered or threatened for reporting critically on the actions of the ruling party.

Clampdown on CSOs

These apart, the government increasingly restricts the entry and exit of civil society organisations (CSOs) by using a law on foreign funding for NGOs, the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA). As of 2017, 20,000 CSOs  mainly working on human rights and environmental issues  have lost their licenses. After that only 13,000 CSOs remain to continue working unconstrained.

A noticeably large drop in the V-Dem indicators on the ease of entry and exit, and the level of repression of civil society organisations in India, reflects the current challenges, said the study. These above also illustrate that law enforcement is gradually becoming less predictable, and that the state fails to effectively protect its citizens from politically motivated killings.

Elections in India have remained free and fair and open to multi-party competition. Nevertheless, several indicators capturing how clean elections have declined, the study warned, particularly the increase in intimidation and at polling stations. Party agents intimidate, harass and bribe voters, in effect preventing them from casting their votes freely.
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Mahindra & Mahindra Tuesday unveiled a new range of intermediate commercial vehicles (ICV) under the brand Furio, which will see 21 launches over the next 1-2 years.

Using a new platform, the Mumbai-based company spent Rs 600 crore for developing the new vehicle architecture that will help plug the product gap in its existing range.

The new products will address the segment of 6-16 tonne and buyers who cater to vegetable transport, e-commerce deliveries, auto parts shipments, and such other businesses.

This is the first major launch of a range of trucks by the company since introducing the heavy commercial vehicle range in 2011. It spent four years developing the model using 500 employees and 180 vendors. Around 500 transporters were also part of the development process.

The ICV segment generates volumes of 150,000 units a year. Tata Motors and Eicher Motors are the segment leaders with around 37 percent share each followed by Ashok Leyland and Daimler India Commercial Vehicles.

The segment has grown at a compounded annual rate of 15 percent and is projected to continue the same pace of growth in the coming years given the broader uptick in demand for commercial vehicles.

Vinod Sahay, CEO, Mahindra Truck and Bus Division said, With the progressive launch of the ICV range we will have products from 0.5 tonne to 49 tonne. This will make us a significant player in the commercial vehicle industry."

Mahindra will kick off the commercial launch of these trucks from the December quarter and intends to put out at least six models before the end of the year. At least seven models will meet Bharat Stage (BS) IV emission norms while the rest will meet BS VI. The BS IV range will be upgraded to BS VI.

The Furio was entirely designed by Mahindra-owned Italian design company Pininfarina which also happens to be the first fully designed product by them for M&M. The Furio will have a choice of five engines (four diesel and one CNG).

The percentage of owned driver in this category of CVs is around 22 percent where the driver of the vehicle is the owner of the vehicle itself. This percentage is just 2 in the case of a heavy commercial vehicle, said Sahay

This is the reason why the company has added a lot of driver comfort features such as air conditioning, music system, car-like cabin features to name a few.

Managing Director Pawan Goenka said the truck and bus division made its maiden profit at the operating level in the last quarter of last year. He said the segment is on track to stay in the black this financial year.

Earlier known as Mahindra Trucks and Bus Limited (MTBL), the company was merged into M&M a few years ago after recurring loses. It was decided to continue with the business given the Indian CV market is controlled by just two players  Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland.

Overtime M&M built its CV portfolio with the launch of a range of products in the heavy category under the brand Blazo and in the LCV category under the brand Maxximo. The passenger carrying segment (buses) are still a segment that is under-tapped by the company and the focus for the next few years will be to plug that gap, said a senior company official.
The Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad has developed a way to automatically detect helmet defaulters using surveillance videos.

Keeping no-helmet-related accidents and deaths in mind, access to CCTV footage and data has been provided after a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Hyderabad City police and IIT Hyderabad.

The institute is waiting for patent rights to arrive before it can commence production, for which it intends to rope in a major industry partner. The majority of fatal road accidents is due to motorists not wearing helmets or due the helmet being of poor quality.

The motorists without a helmet would trigger a signal, which will then be transmitted to the police department's control room by the software, on a card embedded in the CCTV cameras. This would alert the authorities and help catch the violators.

One of the researchers, Dinesh Singh, said in a report by The Economic Times that the system would be fully automatic along with a web interface allowing the operators to verify the alerts.

It will then be connected to the existing RTO website to generate challans (fines) and send a notification to the riders through SMS. In the future, this system can be adapted to detect other traffic violations as well.

Singh, along with C Krishna Mohan and C Vishnu, developed this artificial intelligence (AI) solution. AI is what analyses the visual information to make this solution work.

Mohan said that a lot of experiments have been conducted on traffic at the IIT campus as well as traffic in Hyderabad City. We have done significant lab experiments on sparse traffic at the IITH campus as well as dense traffic from Hyderabad City.
Representative image

Samsung accidentally confirmed that the name of its next smartwatch will be the Samsung Galaxy Watch, when the device unexpectedly turned up on the companys US website.

According to a report by The Verge, the website featured a 42mm rose gold smartwatch, resembling the Gear S3 Classic, with Bluetooth connectivity. Other information such as pricing and release date were not given and it showed the model number SM-R810NZDAXAR, which matched earlier reports that Samsungs new smartwatch would be the SM-R800.

As per CNET, the name was initially assumed to be the Gear S4 but, as the listing showed, the name was revealed to be Samsung Galaxy Watch, fitting into the companys Galaxy product line.

Earlier reports suggested that the watch would run Google Wear OS but latest reports show that it will run Tizen OS but in a new version 4.0. In the past, Samsung made Gear Live, one of the first watches to feature Android Wear, and the Samsung Gear 2, which ran a separate Tizen OS.

The company will be debuting a multidevice-charging option similar to Apples AirPower technology. It is called the Samsung Wireless Charger Duo and it will charge the Galaxy Watch and the new Note 9 at the same time.

Samsungs AI Bixby will also feature as the watchs standard voice assistant; it is unclear whether or not Google Assistant will be an option.

The watch will also have a better battery life compared to its predecessor  Gear S3  which could go days with a full charge; it is claimed that the watchs new battery will be 470mAh.

Its OLED display will be 1.2 inches big, sleeker and curved with a possible rotating bezel allowing for more modes or features.

As the leaked watch had a rose gold colour, there could be at least two more  black and silver. It could also have design variants such as the Classic and Sport.

The Galaxy Watch will also have more complex sensors; the device could be used to track blood pressure, heart rate and even sleep apnea.

The price was not leaked along with the design on Samsungs website. But reports suggest that it could be around $350 price range.

Samsungs last smartwatch release was the Gear S3 in 2016 and the Galaxy Watch may be revealed on August 9 at Samsungs Unpacked 2018 event in New York.
Representative image

The Maratha communitys agitation for reservation in the state in government jobs and educational institutions, got violent on July 24, as protesters torched police vehicles and ambulances in Aurangabad. Two members of the Maratha community even attempted suicide in the city.

The Maratha Kranti Samaj, one of the outfits leading the agitation, has called for a Mumbai bandh, on July 25.

Heres all you need to know about the agitation:

The protest first started in 2016, after a teenager from the community was allegedly raped and killed by men from the Dalit community.

As a result, Marathas started a "silent protest march" demanding reservation as well as amendments to the Prevention of Atrocities on Dalits Act, which they alleged was "misused".

Over the past two years, Maratha outfits have held "silent" protests across the state with lakhs coming in support of the community. In August 2017, a silent rally in Mumbai, reportedly the 58th such rally, was attended by lakhs of people from across the state and brought the city to a standstill.

Marathas constitute nearly 30-40 percent of the state's population.

Who led the agitation?

Several Maratha outfits, such as the Maratha Kranti Morcha, Maratha Kranti Samaj and Sakal Maratha Samaj are leading the agitation. Smaller Maratha groups have joined these larger groups, turning them into umbrella bodies.

Why did the issue crop up again?

According to reports, the agitation started after Maharashtra's Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis cancelled his visit to a temple in Pandharpur  an annual ritual for the CM  after Maratha outfits threatened to disrupt his visit. The visit was scheduled for July 23.

How did the agitation turn violent?

The agitation intensified after a 27-year-old protester reportedly committed suicide by jumping into the Godavari river in Aurangabad district on July 23.

The deceased was identified as Kakasaheb Shinde.

Following the incident, Maratha outfits reportedly attacked police vehicles and ambulances in Aurangabad, forcing authorities to suspend internet services.

According to ANI, a police head constable died due to a heart attack in Gangapur, after protesters threw stones at the police.

What are the precautions being taken?

Besides local police, seven battalions of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) have been deployed in sensitive areas in Mumbai.

Additional Director General of Police (law and order) Bipin Bihari said that around 70 percent of forces from all units have been mobilised in Aurangabad.

Mumbai bandh

Meanwhile, the Maratha Kranti Samaj, one of outfits leading the agitation, has called for a "peaceful" shutdown in Raigad, Thane and Navi Mumbai on July 25.

Maharashtra Education Minister Vinod Tawde said that law and order conditions will be assessed by local police authorities to decide whether schools and colleges should be kept open.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Deepak Deoraj told ANI that all necessary deployments have been made, keeping in view tomorrow's shutdown.

Mumbai's disaster management authorities have stated that they have not received any notification regarding the shutdown, and no special measures have been taken as of yet.
The New Development Bank, set up by the BRICS group of emerging economies, has approved loans of $300 million for energy projects in South Africa and $300 million for a transportation project in China.

South Africa, which will host a BRICS summit later this week in Johannesburg, is trying to diversify its energy mix to reduce its reliance on heavily polluting coal-fired power plants.

It has launched several bidding rounds for billions of dollars of renewable energy deals in recent years, with the latest expected to open later this year.

The BRICS development bank said in a statement that its $300 million loan to South Africa would be channelled via the Development Bank of Southern Africa and would focus on projects which reduce carbon dioxide emissions and boost energy efficiency.

Its $300 million loan to China is for a new metro line in the city of Luoyang. With the two projects, the bank's portfolio of loans stands at more than $5.7 billion.

The BRICS grouping comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Russia said this month that it was in talks with the New Development Bank about borrowing more than $1 billion for infrastructure projects.
In an unprecedented move, US President Donald Trump is exploring the possibility of revoking the security clearance of nearly half a dozen former top national security officials who have been highly critical of his policies.

These officials are former CIA Director John Brennan, former FBI Director James Comey, former director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former director of the National Security Agency Michael Hayden, former National Security Adviser and UN Ambassador Susan Rice and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.

The president is exploring the mechanisms to remove security clearance because they politicise and in some cases monetise their public service and security clearances, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters at her daily news conference.

Making baseless accusations of improper contact with Russia or being influenced by Russia against the president is extremely inappropriate, and the fact that people with security clearances are making these baseless charges provides inappropriate legitimacy to accusations with zero evidence, Sanders said.

However, she refused to give a time line for revoking the security clearance.

When we have further updates on that front, I'll certainly let you know, she said.

Every speech he doesn't like and he wants to punish them for it? she was asked. No, I think you are creating your own story there. The President doesn't like the fact that people are politicising agencies and departments that are specifically meant to not be political and not meant to be monetised off of security clearances, the presidential spokesperson said.

When you have the highest level of security clearance, when you're the person that holds the nation's deepest, most sacred secrets at your hands and you go out and you make false accusations against the President of the United States, he thinks that is something to be very concerned with and we're exploring what those options are and what that looks like, Sanders said.

Clapper described this as revengeful. This is kind of a petty way of retribution, I suppose for speaking out against the president, he told the CNN.

Hayden said that this would have no impact on what he says. I don't go back for classified briefings. Won't have any effect on what I say or write, he said on Twitter.

Following the president's summit last week with Russia's Vladimir Putin, Brennan, who headed the CIA under President Barack Obama, described Trump's behavior as "nothing short of treasonous." Comey was fired by Trump in May 2017.
Googles parent company, Alphabet posted robust second-quarter earnings easing the pressure on its stock that followed an antitrust fine imposed by European Union (EU).

According to a Mint report, profits of the second quarter in Alphabet reduced by 9.3 percent, to $3.2 billion. Alphabet shares were up 3.6 percent to $1,254.12 in after-hours trade.

Alphabet clocked revenue of $32.7 billion, which was a year-on-year (YoY) rise of 26 percent.

Google faced a record EU antitrust fine of 4.3 billion euros over its Android smartphone system, in a ruling that risks a fresh clash between Brussels and Washington.

The company's CEO Sundar Pichai said it was too early to understand the impact of the fines on Androids operations.

The report said the smartphone operating system runs on more than 85 percent of the smartphones.

The EU Competition Commissioner said the US tech giant abused Android's dominant market position to boost usage of its own search engine and browser. Google may need to rethink its business arrangements with smartphone companies, it added.

A majority of the revenues came from its search engine and the YouTube video streaming website, with revenues totaling $32.5 billion. Advertising was still the main source of revenue, pulling in $28 billion in the second quarter, which was a 24 percent rise from the year-ago period.

Alphabets other projects saw losses, despite a 49 percent jump in revenues from a year ago. Waymo, its self-driving unit, had an operating loss of $732 million in the past quarter.

Alphabet has been aggressively looking to expand in several other avenues, right from cloud computing to computers to the voice assistant market, dominated by Amazons Alexa.
Members of the media, wearing protective suits and masks, walk after they receive briefing from Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) employees (in blue) in front of storage tanks for radioactive water at TEPCO's tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, Japan February 10, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai - D1BESMFAYHAA

Satellite images indicate North Korea has begun dismantling key facilities at a site used to develop engines for ballistic missiles, in a first step toward fulfilling a pledge made to U.S. President Donald Trump at a June summit, a Washington-based think tank said on Monday.

The July 20 images showed work at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station to dismantle a building used to assemble space-launch vehicles and a nearby rocket engine test stand used to develop liquid-fuel engines for ballistic missiles and space-launch vehicles, the 38 North think tank said.

"Since these facilities are believed to have played an important role in the development of technologies for the North's intercontinental ballistic missile program, these efforts represent a significant confidence-building measure on the part of North Korea," it said in a report.

Trump told a news conference after his unprecedented June 12 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that Kim had promised that a major missile engine testing site would be destroyed very soon.

Trump did not identify the site, but a U.S. official subsequently told Reuters that it was Sohae.

The 38 North report comes amid growing questions about North Korea's willingness to live up to the commitments Kim made at the summit, particularly to work towards denuclearisation.

U.S. officials have repeatedly said North Korea has committed to giving up a nuclear weapons programme that now threatens the United States, but Pyongyang has offered no details as to how it might go about this.

Jenny Town, managing editor of 38 North, which is based at Washington's Stimson Center, said the work at Sohae could be an important move to keep negotiations going.

"This could (and that's a big could) mean that North Korea is also willing to forgo satellite launches for the time being as well as nuclear and missile tests. This distinction has derailed diplomacy in the past," she said.

On Friday, senior U.S. officials called on Kim to act on his promise to give up his nuclear weapons and said the world, including China and Russia, must continued to enforce sanctions on Pyongyang until he does so.

On Monday, the U.S. State Department issued an advisory together with the departments of Treasury and Homeland Security alerting businesses to North Korea's sanctions-evasion tactics.

It said they should "implement effective due diligence policies, procedures, and internal controls to ensure compliance with applicable legal requirements across their entire supply chains."

In a tweet early on Monday, Trump rejected "Fake News" that he was angry because progress was not happening fast enough with North Korea.

"Wrong, very happy!" he said in the Tweet.

"A Rocket has not been launched by North Korea in 9 months. Likewise, no Nuclear Tests. Japan is happy, all of Asia is happy," he said.

A report in The Washington Post at the weekend said that in spite of positive assessments Trump has given on progress with North Korea, he has vented anger at aides over a lack of immediate progress.

Last week, Trump said there was "no rush" and "no time limit" on denuclearisation negotiations.

U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said on Thursday it was technically possible for North Korea to eliminate its nuclear weapons programme within a year, but added that it was not likely to happen.
Iran will respond with equal countermeasures if the United States tries to block its oil exports, the foreign ministry in Tehran said on Tuesday.

US officials are stepping up diplomatic efforts to pressure countries to stop importing Iranian oil.

"If America wants to take a serious step in this direction it will definitely be met with a reaction and equal countermeasures from Iran," foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday backed President Hassan Rouhania's suggestion that Iran might block Gulf oil exports if its own exports are stopped.

Already fraught relations between Tehran and Washington have worsened in recent days.

On Monday, Iran dismissed an angry warning from President Donald Trump that it risked dire consequences "the like of which few throughout history have suffered before" if it made threats against the United States.

Iran's parliamentary speaker on Tuesday described Trump's comments as "the words of a troublemaker".

"The United States is experiencing disorder and wildness in its diplomatic relations," Ali Larijani was quoted as saying by IRNA.

Iran has faced the threat of US sanctions since Trump decided in May to withdraw the United States from a 2015 agreement between world powers and Iran over its disputed nuclear programme.
A medical board which examined Nawaz Sharif today recommended the immediate shifting of the jailed former Pakistan prime minister to a hospital but the PML-N supremo insisted that the required medical facilities should be provided to him in the jail itself, according to a media report.

Sharif, 68, and his daughter Maryam, 44, are serving jail terms of 10 years and 7 years respectively in Adiala jail in Rawalpindi, after an accountability court convicted them on July 6 over the family's ownership of four luxury flats in London.

A four-member team of doctors from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) comprising cardiologist Dr Naeem Malik, Medical Specialist Dr. Shaji Siddiqui, neurologist Dr Sohail Tanvir and Dr Mashood examined Sharif, sources said.

Sharif has multiple health issues like heart problems, hypertension and diabetes. He already underwent open heart surgery in London in 2016.

Citing family sources, Urdu langauge daily 'Jang' said the medical board has recommended to immediately shift Sharif to hospital, but he insisted that the required medical facilities should be provided to him in the jail itself.

The doctors in their report said that oppressive heat and dehydration caused by sweating were cause of Sharif's illness. They said his condition aggravated due lack of sleep and delay in provision of treatment.

They found excessive Urea in his blood and warned that it can affect the kidneys. More tests will be performed tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain expressed concerns at Sharif's health conditions and asked the government to ensure his treatment.

In a phone call to Prime Minister Nasirul Mulk, the President "expressed concerns" at the health condition of Sharif and asked him to "ensure complete treatment of the former prime minister", according to a statement issued by the President House.

Sharif's family and the party also voiced concerns at the reports about his health complications.

His younger brother and PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif said that he had already raised the issue of poor jail condition in a letter addressed to the Punjab government and asked for provision of facilities to the former premier.

PML-N leader Pervaiz Rashid also expressed concerns at Sharif's health and demanded that he should be provided complete medical care.

Earlier, a team of doctors from Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology (RIC), headed by its Chief Executive Major General (retd) Dr Azhar Mehmood Kayani, visited the prison and compiled a report after carrying out a detailed medical check-up, the Express Tribune reported.

Although his personal physician Dr Adnan had seen him twice in recent days, the jail administration called doctors from RIC to be sure of what had happened. The team spent about one-and-a-half hour inspecting his condition.

According to the RIC medical team, his body's water levels are very low, which has made his heartbeat erratic now. The amount of urea in his blood has also become very high, which could even lead to kidney failure, the report said.

They had recommended to shift Sharif to hospital immediately.

Sharif had complained about his health on Saturday.

The Punjab Prisons sources told Daily Express that they are waiting for the Punjab home department's orders about shifting Sharif to the hospital.

Caretaker provincial ministers Shaukat Javed and Ahmed Waqas Riaz confirmed that Sharif's medical tests suggested he had kidney issues. The caretaker government is in touch with jail authorities and Sharif is getting better medical facilities, they added.

Meanwhile, Barrister Zafrullah Khan of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has filed a petition with the Supreme Court to declare residences of Sharif and his daughter Maryam and son-in-law Muhammad Safdar as sub-jails.
A worker arranges sacks of election materials for distribution among electoral workers, at a distribution point, ahead of general election in Peshawar, Pakistan. (Image: Reuters)

Burned cars are seen following a wildfire at the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece (Image: Reuters)

Detained Reuters journalist Kyaw Soe Oo plays with his daughter as he is escorted by police at Insein court in Yangon, Myanmar (Image: Reuters)

A crowd watches as Australian Aboriginal paintings by six First Nations artists are projected onto the Sydney Opera House as part of the project "Badu Gili 2018", meaning "water light" in the local Aborigine's Gadigal language, in Sydney, Australia (Image: Reuters)

Demonstrators take part in a march to demand the ouster of Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega in Managua, Nicaragua (Image: Reuters)

TMC MPs stage a protest against incidents of lynching, in front of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi, during the Monsoon session of Parliament, in New Delhi (Image: PTI)

Police detain Mahila Congress members who were holding a protest against the Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case, outside the Bihar Assembly in Patna (Image: PTI)

Trucks parked at a terminal on the 5th day of the transporters' nationwide strike, in Kolkata (Image: PTI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre, in Rwanda (Image: PTI)
A passenger jet had to make an emergency landing in Moscow when a small dog somehow managed to open the luggage compartment, and triggered an alarm onboard.

As per a report by RT sourced from Russian news agency Interfax, the commander of Boeing 737 that was flying from St. Petersburg immediately informed the ground services of the situation as the flight was reaching the Russian capital, on Sunday.

After investigating the incident, it was discovered that the opening of luggage compartment hatch happened because of a small dog whose cage was not locked properly, and as a result, the dog sneaked out. The animal started acting unsure and anxious seeking an escape, not aware of the fact that it is way above the ground level.

"The crew safely performed an emergency landing, no one was hurt," a source at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport told Interfax.

The alarm went off leading to fear and concern when the passenger jet was at an altitude of around 4,000 meters (13,000 feet).

The source further added that the dog 'tore the inner lining of the luggage compartment and somehow provoked the opening of its front half-door. There was a gap of several dozen centimeters, but the dog was unable to get into it and stayed alive.'

The plane's electronics did not let the dog open the hatch completely, thus triggering the alarm to block it.
Rank 7 | Washington DC, USA | Score - 87.6 (Image: Reuters)

As tensions mounted between the US and Iran, the White House said today that President Donald Trump wanted to ensure that Iran did not acquire nuclear weapons.

The President has been, I think, pretty strong since day one in his language towards Iran. He was responding to comments made by them, and he's going to continue to focus on the safety and security of American people, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters when asked about the latest tweet from Trump in which he warned Iran of grave consequences for threatening the US.

I'm not going to get into specifics and certainly not negotiate with the press. That would be a determination that the President would make...but the ultimate goal and the focus of the President is making sure we keep nuclear weapons out of their hands and that we focus on the protection of America, she said.

Responding to questions, she said Trump's number one goal is to make sure Iran doesn't get a nuclear weapon.

We have similar and shared interests with our European allies, we're continuing to have discussions with them, and when we have specifics on that front, we'll let you know, she said.

President Donald Trump yesterday warned his Iranian counterpart that Tehran risked consequences the likes of which few throughout history have suffered before if he threatens the US again, hours after Hassan Rouhani cautioned that America's hostile threats against his country may trigger "the mother of all wars."

The tirade at the highest level signalled an immediate escalation of tensions between Washington and Tehran, weeks after the US left a landmark deal signed in 2015 which curbed Iran's nuclear activities in return for the lifting of international sanctions.

Rouhani had also warned Trump to stop "playing with the lion's tail" and threatening Iran, "or else you will regret it."

In the nearly all-caps tweet, Trump mentioned about the dangers to Iran of making hostile threats after Rouhani said, "America must understand well that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace and war with Iran is the mother of all wars."

"To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE," Trump tweeted, adding that "WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!"

Sanders refused to comment when asked that the language the president used in the tweet was very similar to the language he used last August in New Jersey when he spoke of fire and fury being rained down on North Korea. That finally led to a one-on-one meeting he had with Kim Jong Un last month.

Is the president open to diplomacy with Iran, meeting perhaps one-on-one with President Rouhani? she was asked.

I'm not going to negotiate with the specifics that the president or the administration will be looking at. Again, our goal was to stop Iran from nuclear weapons and we'll keep you posted as we move through that process, Sanders said.
A New Zealand supermarket chain is tackling period poverty by dropping the price of their in-house sanitary items.

Countdown has dropped the price of its Homebrand and Select sanitary products to make them more affordable.

The price of a 20 pack of Homebrand regular liners has gone down from $3.50 to $2.00 while a 20 pack of Select regular tampons was dropped in price from $3.49 to $3.00.

Corporate Affairs General Manager Kiri Hannifin said one of the drivers for making sanitary products more affordable is to help address the worldwide phenomenon.

"Period poverty is a worldwide phenomenon and a reality here in New Zealand.

"Too many women go without sanitary products themselves so they can provide essentials like food and rent for their family, or for some families, it's simply something they can't stretch their budgets to afford for their children."
A manager change presents one of the greater challenges in mutual fund investing. You need to figure out how important the departing manager was to the fund, how good the new manager or managers are, whether the fund's strategy will change, and if that strategy still fits with your portfolio.

To summarize, you need to figure out if the fund's competitive advantages will endure after the change. Ideally, you will have done a lot of the work in advance. You should already have an idea of how important the fund manager is and your thesis for owning the fund. If you do, the rest is a lot more manageable.
Buy Properties BC has announced the recent launch of its newest website (BuyPropertiesBC.ca) which offers multiple features to help potential home buyers and sellers alike.

The websites operator stated that the launch is especially well-timed considering recent developments in the local housing segment.

In 2018, the real estate market began to slow down in Vancouver and this means it might be the best time for first-time home buyers to get into the market, Buy Properties BC said.
Tim has been an innovative and truly transformational leader, and I want to thank him for his continued service, said Egbert J. Perry, chairman of Fannie Maes board of directors. During Tims tenure as CEO, Fannie Mae has been profitable on an annual basis, paid the Treasury approximately $167 billion in dividends, and reduced risk to taxpayers.

Fannie Mae has also announced the appointment of Dave Benson as president. In that role, Benson will manage the day-today business and operations of the company. Fannie has also promoted Celeste Brown to executive vice president and chief financial officer  the position previously held by Benson.

Dave is a natural choice for the president position, Perry said. He is an excellent leader who has held a variety of senior positions in his 16 years at Fannie Mae. He has deep expertise in the companys business, the mortgage market, and operations.

Brown joined Fannie Mae a year ago as senior vice president and deputy chief financial officer following an 18-year career at Morgan Stanley.

I am pleased with the depth of our bench as demonstrated by Celeste Browns promotion, Perry said. Celeste has made great contributions to our finance team since she joined Fannie Mae, and I am confident she will continue to move the company forward as the new CFO.
Citing several sources familiar with the meetings, Reuters reported that the meetings involved Stanley Fischer, who then served as Fed vice chairman, and Nathan Sheets, then the undersecretary for international affairs at the Treasury.

The two meetings have not been previously reported, according to Reuters.

In April 2015, Butina went to the US with Alexander Torshin, who then served as deputy governor of the Russian Central Bank. In separate meetings with Fischer and Sheets, Butina and Torshin took part in discussions about the economic relations between the two countries during the administration of former President Barack Obama.

According to Reuters, CNI Executive Director Paul Saunders in December 2016 called on then President-elect Donald Trump to ease tensions with Russia.

In an email to Reuters, Fischer confirmed meeting with Torshin and an interpreter. Fischer said he was unable to recall whether Butina was the interpreter. However, he told Reuters that the discussion involved the state of the Russian economy and Torshins new role.
James Durbin/Reporter-Telegram

A 28-year-old Midland man died Saturday in a two-vehicle wreck on U.S. Highway 385, 6.5 miles south of Odessa, according to a press release from the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Cody L. Engle was driving a Ford F-250 northbound on U.S. 385 behind a Cub Cadet truck tractor. Engle failed to control his speed and hit the truck in the rear, according to the release.
A petition calling for Midland ISD Superintendent Orlando Riddick to resign has been created by the advocacy group Midland Moms on a Mission.

The petition went live Tuesday morning on the website, change.org. As of 8:45 p.m., more than 245 online signatures were reported.

RELATED: Protesters call attention to MISD bullying

The petition states Midland community members are requesting for the resignation of Orlando Riddick, Midland Independent School District Superintendent in Midland, Texas. After nearly a year of leadership, Mr. Riddick has failed to optimally perform in the following areas, which are a part of his contractual obligations as the head of schools MISD. In addition to his resignation, we are requesting the removal of specific leaders and employees of under his authority, which are tied to the collapse of leadership and school administration under Mr. Riddick.

Midland ISD offered the following response from Superintendent Orlando Riddick.

Upon arriving in Midland, it has been my goal to engage with our community. There are claims made in this petition that are simply not true, and I encourage our community and the news media to ask hard questions and seek more information before making assumptions about my leadership, members of my team and my work. I have been extremely transparent and accessible since I came to this district. In the past year, Midland ISD has hosted a number of community engagement events. We have gone directly to our community seeking ways we can improve our district through a Listen and Learn Tour coupled with multiple parent meetings. During these meetings, we discuss openly with our community difficult topics and engage in very dynamic conversations. Boundary changes, transformation, in-district charter partnerships, and before and after-school programs, are examples. More so than ever before, we are collaborating with parents, business, faith-based, and community-serving organizations. A transparent example of this is the creation of the bullying task force which includes parents, community members, district staff and Midland Moms on a Mission. Our goal will remain to engage with our community. 

Areas of concern, according to the petition, include:

--the mass exodus of teachers;

--school safety;

Online petition Resignation of Midland ISD Superintendent: Orlando Riddick See More Collapse

--corrupt leadership;

--mistrust from the community;

--poor communication.

The petition states Prior to the request, Mr. Riddick was given numerous opportunities to rectify our concerns and make progress toward meeting the goals set forth by the community at large. He has willfully disregarded community input and student needs to save his position and those serving under him.

Midland Moms on a Mission came into existence during the Riddick era, which is just more than 1 year old. The group has been vocal about the districts alleged lack of response to bullying. Midland Moms on a Mission, which has grown to also include former teachers, has been a consistent presence at Midland ISD board meetings, and members have spoken during the public comment period. Representatives of the organization also protested outside the central administration office on May 8.

Recently, their comments have centered around a bullying case involving an elementary school student. Midland ISD sent a letter to the students parents that there wasnt enough evidence to determine whether bullying took place. Midland Moms on a Mission responded at last weeks meeting with details from a Midland Police Department report. Comments from a detective indicate the belief that the elementary school student was sexually assaulted by another student.

In a June op-ed, Riddick told Reporter-Telegram readers the following:

Over the past several weeks, there has been a number of allegations and statements made attacking and falsely accusing the school district of sweeping under the rug covering up, and withholding information regarding bullying instances throughout our district. Incredibly harsh accusations and attacks against our campuses and staff have run rampant like wildfires in the media and throughout social media.

In all of my years in education, I have learned that this type of behavior stems from misunderstanding, mistrust and lack of collaboration between the community and a public school system. As your superintendent of schools, it is my commitment to you to be forthright and transparent in all areas that impact our school district, including academics, finance, facilities, safety and security, etc.

Anyone at Midland ISD, myself included, will tell you the safety of our students is our top priority.

Editor's Note: The story has been edited to take out a reference of a children's advocacy center official expressing belief in a student's story about an alleged sexual assault. The police narrative mentions center officials interviewing students but doesn't offer comments to whether they believe a student is believable or not.
Early Morning Smoke over New Melones View Photos

The Mariposa County Air Pollution Control District and the Tuolumne County Air Pollution Control District have issued an Air Quality Alert for both Mariposa and Tuolumne Counties

Smoke levels continue to reach well into the hazardous range.

Exposure to particle pollution can cause serious health problems, aggravate lung disease, cause asthma attacks and acute bronchitis, and increase risk of respiratory infections.

Residents are advised to use caution as conditions warrant.

People with heart or lung diseases should follow their doctors advice for dealing with episodes of unhealthy air quality.

Older adults and children should avoid prolonged exposure, strenuous activities or heavy exertion, as conditions dictate.

The Alert remains in effect until the Ferguson Fire is extinguished.

The Significant Weather Advisory issued for the Sierra Nevada expired last Monday night at 6:15 PM.

The Heat Advisory issued for the Mother Lode expired Sunday night at 9 PM.
The Plainview Police Departments SWAT team has been working since late February to restore an old military truck.

On Thursday, the department presented the finished product to the Plainview City Council and even gave some councilmembers a ride after their meeting.

Police Chief Ken Coughlin said the vehicle was acquired through the Texas LESO Program, which provides an opportunity for law enforcement agencies across the country to get excess equipment from the Department of Defense.

Theres a state process to get qualified to get considered, Coughlin said during Thursdays midday City Council meeting.

Coughlin said the vehicle was used in Afghanistan and had less than 7,000 miles on it. It was originally valued at about $700,000.

Plainview PD purchased it with money collected from drug busts, he said. None of the cost was covered by the city.

Pictures of the vehicle at the time the department made the purchase show torn seats and other obvious interior and exterior damage - mostly cosmetic. You wouldnt know it just by taking a glance at it in person today, though.

The truck looks and runs like new thanks to countless hours department officials put into its restoration.

The idea behind having the vehicle, Coughlin said, is ultimately to provide protection to Plainviews PD. Its ideal for situations where the SWAT team or other PD members, first responders or citizens need protection from gunfire.

I can tell you we do, Coughlin said after stating that he was sure people were wondering if it was a necessity for the department.

The department this year has had about four or five SWAT callouts, he said.

We certainly do have a need, Coughlin said.

Coughlin said the vehicle can also come handy in snow storms or high flooding.

It could take anywhere between one to two hours for a SWAT team from Amarillo or Lubbock to arrive with their resources should a situation arise in Plainview, Coughlin said.

The mine-resistant truck was built with heavy metal plates providing shields and with bullet proof windows. It completely protected, he said.

It was originally designed to fit six people. After restoration, Coughlin said, it can fit about 10 or 12, though not comfortably.

Coughlin said the truck is expected to last the department at least 20 to 30 years with routine maintenance.

We know it came from Afghanistan, he said. We know it served our country. Now its going to serve our city.
The Texas Department of Transportation regularly monitors every bridge owned by government agencies, said Heath Bozeman to the Lubbock City Council on Thursday.

Its time to revamp the one at Running Water Draw.

During the council meeting Thursday afternoon, Bozeman, Plainview area engineer for TxDOT, spoke about the proposed project and answered questions from board members.

Were in the very preliminary design stages of this, Bozeman said. Though he noted that the bridge will likely be as wide as it is long.

Since the bridge is in the area by the Country Club and the YMCA area, Bozeman said the plan is to create something thats pleasing to look at.

The board also heard a presentation on activity by the Plainview/Hale County Economic Development Corporation by Mike Fox, which Fox later presented at both the EDCs quarterly meeting and the County Commissioners work session.

Fox gave updates on some of the work the EDC has been doing since April. A few highlights include a groundbreaking on the Plainview/Hale County Business Park, a news conference regarding the Hale Windfarm Project and updates on the Plainview Property Project.

Fox said hes spoken with the new owners of the old Cargill plant and they expect to release information in the near future about a possible new tenant, though he declined to give details.

He also told the council there are a few business owners interested in opening locations in Plainview. Because of confidentiality clauses, Fox said he couldnt give more details about what those businesses are but he expects announcements to be made fairly soon.

Plainview Police Chief Ken Coughlin kicked off the meeting with a presentation about the Plainview Police Departments SWAT teams restoration project.
The Plainview/Hale County Economic Development Corporation presented Plainview Independent School District with a $10,000 check Friday afternoon.

The money will be used for the Plainview High School culinary program.

Robin Straley, director of secondary teaching and learning at PISD, said the money benefits the programs kitchen revamp.

The money will allow PHS to take the program to the next level, Straley said during the check presentation at the EDCs quarterly meeting.

Representatives of the Plainview School District  including two culinary students  were on hand to accept the check and give a few details about the program.

Jennifer Scarborough, culinary teacher under the PISD career and technical education program in the family and consumer science department, said the district has a strong CTE program and this funding will allow educators to further enhance that.

She also mentioned that the kids are excited.

Saylor Scarborough, a PHS senior, said the funding allows interested PHS students an opportunity to get a hands-on approach to learning skills with appliances they may not find in home kitchens.

Thank you for investing in our future, S. Scarborough told the EDC.

Megan Comans, a PHS sophomore, expressed her thanks, too.

This is the second year PISD has been a recipient of the matching funding through Plainviews EDC.

For those of you who dont know or who can maybe think back to last year, the EDC partnered with the Texas Workforce Commission as well as LEDA (Lubbock Economic Development Alliance), said Mike Fox, executive director of the EDC. We applied for matching grants through the Texas Workforce Commission.

Straley said those funds were used to purchase some items for the culinary program and a few other items for other certification programs available through PISD.

These new funds are being used similarly, she said. These funds are aiding ongoing construction within the culinary programs kitchens.

This is a tremendous opportunity for our students, Straley said.
A Plainview teacher was chosen to participate in a prestigious professional development institute in San Antonio last month.

Nicole Abell, an English II-IV teacher at Ash High School, was chosen to participate in Teaching the American Literary Tradition workshop, which is hosted by Humanities in Texas in partnership with The University of Texas at San Antonio.

The workshop focuses on topics in the English language arts curriculum, according to the news release.

The workshops are led by distinguished scholars.

Humanities Texas is part of the National Endowment for the Humanities, which strives to improve the quality of classroom teaching, according to the news release.
Vampires and Priests Wage War in New Novel First-time author weaves a fictional tale of demons, vampires and Catholic priests



Contact: Kevin Wandra, 404-788-1276,



SAN FRANCISCO, July 24, 2018 /



A BLOODY HABIT is Eleanor Bourg Nicholson's inaugural novel. She is a religious education director, the assistant executive editor of Dappled Things and assistant editor of the Saint Austin Review (StAR). Nicholson also edited the Ignatius Critical Edition of Dracula, and has extensive knowledge and background of the Victorian era, which lends to a detailed  and nearly believable  novel of vampires assaulting London at the dawn of the new century.



John Kemp is a run-of-the-mill attorney in London and a natural skeptic, so when he meets a Dominican friar whose life's work intersects with the undead and the blood trail of murder and destruction in London, Kemp cannot help but be drawn into the invisible world that lives parallel to the seen world.



Tackling good and evil with an ounce or two of humor, A BLOODY HABIT twists a tale of sinister threats intertwined with respectable skepticism. Nicholson seeks to bring questions about the existence of good and evil to the mind of the reader, not preach answers to those questions.



"A real 19th century Gothic vampire story, rich and colorful, and wonderfully full of foreboding," Tim Powers, bestselling novelist and author of On Stranger Tides, says of A BLOODY HABIT. "The characters are vivid and convincing, and the historical locales make the supernatural element effective and affecting as it builds to the point where our protagonist must recognize it and confront it."



For more information, to request a review copy or to schedule an interview with Eleanor Nicholson, please contact Kevin Wandra (404-788-1276 or



Share Tweet Contact: Kevin Wandra, 404-788-1276, KWandra@CarmelCommunications.com SAN FRANCISCO, July 24, 2018 / Christian Newswire / -- In turn-of-the-century London, a deep-seated evil is besieging the city, leaving a trail of murders in its wake and baffling local police. Attorney John Kemp, the protagonist, is skeptical of supernatural activity until he joins forces with Father Thomas Edmund, a Dominican friar who faces down the likes of vampires and demons on a regular basis. A BLOODY HABIT weaves a tale of the undead as evil seeks to build a powerful army in London during early 1900.A BLOODY HABIT is Eleanor Bourg Nicholson's inaugural novel. She is a religious education director, the assistant executive editor of Dappled Things and assistant editor of the Saint Austin Review (StAR). Nicholson also edited the Ignatius Critical Edition of Dracula, and has extensive knowledge and background of the Victorian era, which lends to a detailed  and nearly believable  novel of vampires assaulting London at the dawn of the new century.John Kemp is a run-of-the-mill attorney in London and a natural skeptic, so when he meets a Dominican friar whose life's work intersects with the undead and the blood trail of murder and destruction in London, Kemp cannot help but be drawn into the invisible world that lives parallel to the seen world.Tackling good and evil with an ounce or two of humor, A BLOODY HABIT twists a tale of sinister threats intertwined with respectable skepticism. Nicholson seeks to bring questions about the existence of good and evil to the mind of the reader, not preach answers to those questions."A real 19th century Gothic vampire story, rich and colorful, and wonderfully full of foreboding," Tim Powers, bestselling novelist and author of On Stranger Tides, says of A BLOODY HABIT. "The characters are vivid and convincing, and the historical locales make the supernatural element effective and affecting as it builds to the point where our protagonist must recognize it and confront it."For more information, to request a review copy or to schedule an interview with Eleanor Nicholson, please contact Kevin Wandra (404-788-1276 or KWandra@CarmelCommunications.com ) of Carmel Communications.
(Bloomberg) -- Ivanka Trump, the presidents daughter, is pulling the plug on Ivanka Trump, the purveyor of womens fashion.

After a year and a half of sporadic controversy over potential conflicts of interest, Trump, a White House adviser, said Tuesday that she would wind down the company. She made the decision after some big-name department stores dropped her brand, but said in an emailed statement that she did it as a mercy to her employees.

I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business, but I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington, so making this decision now is the only fair outcome for my team and partners, Trump said in an emailed statement.

The brand depended on Ivanka Trump as a symbol of aspiration and possibility, selling dresses, shoes and accessories meant to signal confidence without pushing fashions envelope. But politics brought scrutiny. Most of her products were made overseas even as Donald Trump decried outsourcing and threw up tariffs meant to keep jobs at home. China granted the company trademarks, bringing accusations of favoritism and emoluments. In the end, the company will join a long list of defunct Trump enterprises, including casinos, magazines, steaks and ill-fated Trump University.

I dont think its a surprise to anyone, said Gabriella Santaniello, founder of retail consultancy A Line Partners. Her wholesale business has been contracting for well over a year now. You need retailers to have a wholesale business, and given how its been received by the public, a lot of retailers dont want to wade in politics.

Being Ivanka Trump Brings Ethical, Legal Pitfalls: QuickTake Q&A

Trump launched her fine jewelry brand in 2007, adding footwear in 2010 and handbags the following year. The company expanded into apparel in 2013 and outerwear, eyewear and fragrances one year later. By 2016, there was denim, activewear, fashion jewelry and even baby bedding, a company spokeswoman said. Much was made by Marc Fisher Footwear and G-III Apparel Group Ltd., which also makes clothes under the Donna Karan and Karl Lagerfeld brands.

Washington Bound

In March 2017, Trump was named an adviser to her father, taking no salary and leaving the business in the hands of a caretaker. According to her public Facebook page, she focuses on job creation, economic empowerment, workforce development and entrepreneurship.

Her role hasnt been clearly defined, although shes expressed interest in family leave and was prominent in discussions about the tax system. She attended the W-20 womens summit in April 2017 and led a U.S. delegation to India in support of womens entrepreneurship.

As her identification with the administration grew, her business waned. T.J. Maxx last year told employees to eliminate Ivanka Trump signs in its stores. Some retailers pulled merchandise from their websites while continuing to sell them in stores, downplaying the brand while avoiding the ire of activists and labor rights groups that said Chinese workers that made the goods were underpaid and underprotected.

Trump Backlash

When Nordstrom Inc. in February 2017 said it would stop selling her merchandise, Donald Trump said on his personal Twitter account that his daughter was being treated unfairly. This month, Hudsons Bay Co. said that it would stop selling the goods at its Canadian namesake stores, citing slow sales.

After the breakup with Nordstrom, Ivanka Trumps brand began to target shoppers directly. In late 2017, it started to sell handbags on its website and opened a small accessories store in the lobby of New Yorks Trump Tower. This year, it began to allow shoppers to order apparel from a website.

Executives insisted the Ivanka Trump brand was performing better than ever in the weeks following the Nordstrom saga, thanks to the media frenzy. Trump valued her business at over $50 million in a recent public financial disclosure filing.

In recent years, management moved the brand downmarket. Once aimed at wealthy women, the label began exuding a more modest image as a celebrity brand, rather than a house of fancy fashion. In 2017, the brand closed its fine jewelry business, trading its glitzy diamond necklaces for $30 bangles and earrings.

Retail is about mass, it was a mass market brand. They dont want any controversy, Bob Phibbs, chief executive officer of New-York based consulting firm the Retail Doctor, said in a phone interview. Great retail brands are making the world more inclusive. They cant afford to be polarizing people.

As the business winds down, the brands partners will continue to produce and sell products through the end of existing licensing agreements.

Unsolvable Problem

The Ivanka Trump brand tried to boost sales overseas, where it had struggled to find customers. The same day her brand won approval for three new trademarks in China, Ivanka Trump was seated next to Chinese President Xi Jinping at a dinner.

Norman Eisen, a fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington and a former adviser to President Barack Obama, said closing down the business cant remove the ethical taint.

She still maintains other business ties such as her trademarks, he said in an interview. And its just as likely the reason for this is that people have pivoted away from her brand.

I would have welcomed this decision if it came 18 months ago but at this point its difficult to be too enthusiastic. As usual with the Trumps, there is much less than meets the eye.

In the end, the company couldnt escape the fundamental question posed to Ivanka Trump last year at a panel of women entrepreneurs: What is your role, and who are you representing, your father as president of the United States, the American people, or your business?

(Adds analyst quote in 5th paragraph, financial information in 12th paragraph.)

--With assistance from Lindsey Rupp, Sandrine Rastello and Lauren Coleman-Lochner.

To contact the reporters on this story: Kim Bhasin in New York at kbhasin4@bloomberg.net;Matthew Boyle in New York at mboyle20@bloomberg.net;Hema Parmar in New York at hparmar6@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Crayton Harrison at tharrison5@bloomberg.net, Stephen Merelman, Anne Riley Moffat

2018 Bloomberg L.P.
Ivanka Trump, President Donald Trumps eldest daughter and a top White House adviser, is shutting down her namesake fashion brand more than a year after stepping away from the company.

A spokesman for Ivanka Trumps brand confirmed Tuesday that the process of winding down the company would begin immediately, that the brands licensing deals would not be renewed and that employees would depart in the coming weeks.

After 17 months in Washington, I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business, but I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington, so making this decision now is the only fair outcome for my team and partners, Trump said in a statement.

Since Donald Trump won the presidential election in 2016, members of his family have faced continuing criticism that they are exploiting his position to promote their own personal interests.

Ivanka Trump has been a particular target of that criticism and resigned from the day-to-day operations of the company last year, partly to try to address concerns that her role as a presidential adviser created conflicts of interest.

Although Trump took steps to separate herself from the companys management, she retained a financial interest in the business through a trust. Her financial disclosures filings show that she earned more than $5 million from that entity last year.

The trust arrangement also called for Trump to approve major decisions made by the company, including striking new licensing partnerships and overseas deals. The provision prompted questions about whether Trump had put enough distance between herself and her financial interests.

In a statement Tuesday, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, a Washington group that has been especially vocal in expressing concern about the Trump familys blurring of business interests and government work, offered muted approval for Trumps move.

While this is a notable step in the right direction, its a small one that comes much too late, the statement said, adding that Trump had reportedly realized that there were too many potential conflicts of interest to avoid, something many observers warned about from the beginning.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Americans associate misinformation with Facebook and the ways it shaped debate around the 2016 presidential election. But in other countries, falsities are just as likely to spread on private messaging services - sometimes with deadly consequences.

At least two dozen people have been killed in mob lynchings in India since the start of the year, their deaths fueled by rumors that spread on WhatsApp, the Facebook-owned messaging service.

In Brazil, messages on WhatsApp falsely claimed a government-mandated yellow-fever vaccine was dangerous, leading people to avoid it. And as Mexico was heading into its presidential election this month, experts there called WhatsApp the ugly underbelly of the country's news environment, a place where politically misleading stories, memes and messages can spread unchecked.

On WhatsApp, with 1.5 billion users, information can go viral in minutes as individuals forward messages along to their friends or groups, without any way to determine its origin.

Messaging platforms have hosted disinformation campaigns in at least 10 countries this year, according to a report by the Computational Propaganda Project at Oxford University. WhatsApp was the main platform for disinformation in seven of those nations, including Brazil, India, Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Mexico. Other messaging apps that have hosted disinformation include Telegram in Iran, WeChat in China and Line in Thailand.

"In the U.S., the disinformation debate is about the Facebook news feed, but globally, it's all about closed messaging apps," said Claire Wardle, executive director of First Draft, a nonprofit news literacy and fact-checking organization affiliated with Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

The closed nature of messaging services complicates the already difficult task of fighting rumors and stamping out lies. Unlike the largely open forums of Facebook and Twitter, WhatsApp hosts private chats among groups of friends. It is encrypted, or mathematically scrambled, so that no one - not even the service's employees - can read the content of messages that were not intended for them.

"In many countries, messaging services are the main platform to get online," said Samantha Bradshaw, co-author of the report from the Computational Propaganda Project. "The closed platforms can be more dangerous because the information is spreading in these intimate groups of friends and family - people we tend to trust."

A group of friends picnicking in southern India this month stopped their car to offer some local children chocolate. It proved to be a deadly mistake - rumors quickly spread on WhatsApp that they were child kidnappers.

A virulent mob gathered in response to the messages. In the end, one of the picnickers, a software engineer named Mohammed Azam Ahmed, 32, lay dead.

"They kept pleading, but nobody listened to them," said the victim's brother, Mohammed Akram. "My brother was killed by fake news."

Now WhatsApp, under pressure from political leaders and spurred by new leadership, is taking steps to root out misinformation. Executives held urgent meetings with political leaders in India last week, and the service is building new technology to promote news literacy. On Thursday, the company announced a major change, limiting the ability to forward messages - a feature that has been blamed for enabling disinformation to go viral.

WhatsApp's new boss - Chris Daniels, a veteran executive from WhatsApp's parent company, Facebook - has vowed to prioritize safety. Daniels is playing catch-up with Facebook, which since the 2016 U.S. election has poured immense resources into combating viral fake news and other malicious content promoted by profiteers, ideologues and Russian operatives - an effort with mixed results. The fix at WhatsApp is even harder because the chat app was designed to be a black hole.

The app's encryption makes it impossible for WhatsApp's security staff to read messages unless a user specifically reports them as problematic. And because WhatsApp lets people sign up just with a phone number - unlike Facebook, WhatApp does not require users to have an email address or reveal their real name - engineers have limited visibility into users' friends or into what they've posted in the past, cutting them off from key clues to malicious behavior. WhatsApp says the average group size is six, but it allows groups of up to 256.

Conversations on these platforms are less visible to outsiders, journalists and fact-checkers who often debunk misinformation. In Colombia, Mexico and Brazil, news and fact-checking organizations have recently set up WhatsApp hotlines where people can forward along questionable content to be debunked. The organizations then return the correct story to the person who sent it and hope that person shares it with their groups.

For months leading up to the Mexican election, an edited video with accompanying text began circulating on WhatsApp. The grainy footage showed a man being burned alive in the state of Tabasco, while a crowd shouted "Morena" - the political movement of the front-runner, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who won the election - in the background, implying that the man was being tortured for his political beliefs. Accompanying text blamed Obrador supporters, using a derogatory term for leftists. Many people forwarded it to the Mexican fact-checking hotline, asking whether it was real.

Journalists and fact-checkers who reviewed the video said that the man was attacked because he was stealing a motorcycle, not for his political beliefs, and that the full unedited version showed the crowd shouting the names of different political candidates. The fact-checking group published an article with the facts as they understood them - citing local news reports - and sent it back to all the people who forwarded the original falsehood, asking them to spread it in their own groups. They said they recognized the limitations of the strategy.

In Brazil, a nationwide strike by truck drivers in May was organized on WhatsApp, said Daniel Bramatti, head of Abraji, Brazil's association of investigative journalism, and an organizer of a WhatsApp hotline to vet news that may be fake. False stories have spread about political candidates and about the dangers of many vaccines, he said - the yellow-fever story reached so many people that the federal government issued an official warning debunking it. Since the hotline was created, 17,000 messages have been forwarded to the group, Bramatti said.

WhatsApp is giving software tools to Brazilian news organizations that will allow them to send a link to a fact-checked story to large numbers of users at once - allowing them to debunk fake news en masse - ahead of the country's presidential election in October.

Brazil, which has about 160 million WhatsApp users, has shut down WhatsApp three times, most recently in 2016, over a fight between the site and the government, which wanted data about malicious actors and criminals.

But the dark side of misinformation on messaging services is most apparent in India, where more than 225 million people in India use it, according to the Indian government, a total quickly gaining on the estimated 240 million who use Facebook.

There, the combination of an inexperienced and digitally illiterate user base, coupled with WhatsApp's encryption, has proved to be toxic, leading to fear, misunderstanding and, in some cases, violence.

Beyond the July 13 incident that claimed the life of Ahmed, two dozen others have died in recent weeks from lynch mobs sparked by rumors that spread on WhatsApp of child-kidnapping rings or organ-harvesting gangs, authorities say.

The violence has prompted an angry warning from the Indian government. Last week the government called on WhatsApp to do more to address accountability and "traceability" in the app to stem the tide of fake news - or face legal action.

Many police departments and municipalities have created their own grass-roots response to the crisis, including public education campaigns with street theater, or "town criers" going from village to village with loudspeakers on tops of fans, warning citizens not to believe fake news.

But some Internet experts say that the Indian government has been slow to respond to the growing problem, in part because their political parties are hardcore users of the platform and often use it to send out false or misleading information themselves.

In a recent regional election in India that was seen as a prelude to the country's 2019 national election, WhatsApp researchers found that one political party - which they did not name - used the platform inappropriately, with party loyalists setting up thousands of WhatsApp groups and in some cases successfully spamming users with near-constant political messages.

The misuse of WhatsApp mirrors the way in which other tech tools have been weaponized in recent years, in particular around misinformation. The company's roots are about getting as little information about users as possible, and WhatsApp's founders, Brian Acton and Jan Koum, were libertarians who believed deeply in privacy.

After Facebook acquired WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014, its largest acquisition ever, the messaging company operated separately from its parent and was divorced from Facebook's efforts to combat misinformation, such as hiring thousands of moderators and building artificial-intelligence software to spot malicious posts. Researchers said that independence allowed problems to fester, undermining Facebook's corporate mission to promote democracy around the world.

"Our focus has always been on helping people stay safe and maintaining private communication on WhatsApp," said WhatsApp spokesman Carl Woog. "We recognize the severe consequences that can come from viral misinformation, and we're working with others to address this challenge."

Acton and Koum fought frequently with Facebook over user privacy, access to data and how to make WhatsApp turn a profit, according to two people familiar with the debates. Acton left late last year. Koum announced his resignation this year after a Washington Post report revealed he planned to leave over broad clashes with Facebook.

"They were fierce when it came to data privacy, and they were fiercely independent," said Kevin Lee, who was a global manager for spam operations at Facebook through 2016.

WhatsApp does not see itself as a social-media service, because content is not posted publicly and algorithms do not spread information virally. But even without algorithms, WhatsApp's ability to forward messages has turned it into a hybrid. Its leadership was previously opposed to any efforts to intervene in users' ability to send messages.

The shutdown in Brazil and growing commercial spam problems led to a crisis within WhatsApp, and Facebook began to clamp down, according to the two people familiar with the matter. Facebook sent engineers and pushed WhatsApp to hire policy experts for the first time, doubling the company's size and moving WhatsApp's headquarters to Menlo Park, California, where Facebook is based.

Last week the company started training Indian nonprofit organizations on how to spot fake news and "to think before you share," Woog said. WhatsApp also ran full-page newspaper ads in India that included 10 tips on how to recognize false information, including "check information that seems unbelievable" and "use other sources."

The company is hiring engineers to specifically focus on disinformation in elections, and it is building in new technology that will indicate whether a message has been forwarded, an indicator that the person who sent the message did not actually write the story or produce the content in question.

On his first week as CEO in May, Daniels, who declined to be interviewed, assembled WhatsApp's 300 employees for a town hall. The commitment to privacy would not change, he told them, but from now on the focus of the service would also include safety - preventing misinformation and the harm it can cause, according to an executive who attended the meeting.

---

Gowen reported from New Delhi. Farheen Fatima in India contributed to this report.
(Bloomberg) -- An heiress to the Seagram Co. fortune was arrested in a widening probe of a self-help organization that prosecutors say was a secretive cult that branded its victims and forced them to participate in sexual acts.

Clare Bronfman, the daughter of former Seagram chairman Edgar M. Bronfman, was one of four women charged Tuesday in connection with the investigation of Nxivm, an Albany, New York-based multilevel marketing company founded by Keith Raniere.

The new charges add a bizarre twist to a sensational case that generated headlines with the April arrest of Allison Mack, 35, an actress who allegedly recruited slaves for Raniere. A month earlier, Raniere, 57, was apprehended in Mexico and accused of sex trafficking and forced labor. Hes being held without bail. Both deny wrongdoing.

RELATED: Half-million in cash was seized from NXIVM president's house

Bronfman, 39, is one of seven children of her father, a second-generation heir who captained Seagrams expansion during his years leading the company. She, Kathy Russell, 60, Lauren Salzman, 42, and Nancy Salzman, 64, were allegedly members of Ranieres inner circle who recruited and groomed sexual partners for him.

Prosecutors said Nxivm operated like a pyramid scheme, charging participants thousands of dollars for courses while encouraging them to sign up for more and recruit others. Raniere created a "secret society" within the organization in 2015, known as DOS, with women serving as "slaves" overseen by "masters," according to prosecutors.

Provide Collateral

Recruits were expected to provide "collateral" before joining -- including damaging information about friends and family, nude photographs and rights to assets -- that could be used against them if they revealed the existence of the organization or tried to leave, prosecutors said. Many "slaves" were branded on their pelvic areas with a cauterizing gun with a symbol that incorporated Ranieres initials, according to prosecutors.

Using trust funds established by her grandfather, Clare Bronfman loaned $65 million to Raniere, which he lost trading in commodities markets, prosecutors said in a letter Tuesday arguing that she and the other defendants might flee before a trial. She has a private jet and a stake in a private island in Fiji. In the last three years shes traveled to Paris, Mexico City, Toluca, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Vancouver, Toronto, Israel, Fiji and Havana.

Clare Bronfman served on Nxivms executive board from 2009 until this year, prosecutors said. They said she and Rainier conspired to steal email user names and passwords to spy on his critics.

Some Purpose

In a 2010 article, Vanity Fair painted Clares sister Sara as the more outgoing of the pair and the first to join Nxivm, "desperately looking for some purpose in her life," according to a family friend. She urged Clare, then 23 and a competitive equestrian jumper who trained horses and owned her own company, to attend a workshop. Clare showed up in a dirty T-shirt and, an unnamed female Nxivm trainer recalled, "She would tell people that she had decided to spend the rest of her life with horses, because she didnt like human beings."

RELATED: Feds accuse Raniere of having sex with underage girls

Ranieres influence over Clare led her to sell most of her horses, put her $7 million New Hope, Pennsylvania, estate on the market, and throw herself into managing Raniere-inspired projects, according to the article.

Sara and Clare Bronfman declined to comment for the Vanity Fair story. A call to a foundation tied to Sara Bronfman wasnt immediately returned.

The four women are scheduled to appear in federal court in Brooklyn and Albany, New York, later Tuesday. The company said on its website that it has suspended events until further notice.

The case is U.S. v. Raniere, 18-cr-204, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn).

--With assistance from Christopher Yasiejko.

2018 Bloomberg L.P.
Retired San Antonio banker Tom Frost is recovering from surgery following a stroke.

Frost, 90, has been in the hospital since July 13 when he suffered a bleeding stroke, said his son Don Frost. Such a stroke involves a ruptured blood vessel that causes bleeding inside the brain.

Hes recovering from a high-risk surgery to remove pressure on the brain, Don Frost said Tuesday. Hes resting comfortably. Were happy with how hes progressing, but its difficult.

Tom Frost is chairman emeritus of Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc., the parent company of Frost Bank, the largest regional bank based in San Antonio. He is the great-grandson of the banks founder, who launched the bank in 1867.

The family has received an outpouring of well-wishes from the community, but Don Frost asked that the familys privacy be respected during his fathers recovery.

Tom Frost is a very active nonagenarian and was even in his office the morning of the day he had the stroke, Don Frost said. The stroke was not caused by a fall, Don Frost said.

Hes a strong, healthy 90-year-old, and we are anticipating a recovery, Don Frost said. Tom Frost is receiving excellent care from medical staff but Don Frost didnt want to disclose the hospital.

Tom Frost joined Frost Bank as an assistant cashier in 1950. He became president in 1962 and took over running the bank in 1971 when his father, Tom Frost III, died. He retired as chairman and CEO in 1997.

He has been active in San Antonios growth. He was an original backer of HemisFair 68, the 1968 worlds fair, which he said taught the San Antonio business community how to make big projects happen.

It was the generator of how to work together to get something done, he told the San Antonio Express-News this year.

While HemisFair served as a huge boost for tourism, it was a money-losing endeavor. Frost Bank, along with numerous other institutions, underwrote the fairs operating costs. It was underwritten three times; Tom Frost oversaw fundraising for the last one.

I individually raised  $3 million to save the fair, Frost recalled in an interview three years ago. Ill tell you, it was done on my knees at Christ Episcopal Church, most of it. He had to tell contributors theyd lose every dime.

Tom Frost and his wife, Patricia, have four sons  Tom, Bill, Don and Pat  12 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Don Frost, 60, is a Frost Bank executive vice president, and Pat, 58, is the banks president. Tom, 66, retired from the bank in May.

Patrick Danner is a staff writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | pdanner@express-news.net | Twitter: @AlamoPD
The Trump administration pledged $12 billion in financial aid to U.S. farmers Tuesday as it reiterated attacks on the illegal trading practices it blames for a broadening trade war with China and other countries.

It was a dose of relief for rural Texans  among the nations largest exporters of cotton and sorghum to China  and a sign that despite Trumps tweet in March that trade wars are good, and easy to win, the fighting of them is complex.

The programs were announcing today are a firm statement that other nations cannot bully our agricultural producers to force the United States to cave in, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said in announcing a relief program that aims to make up for retaliatory tariffs wiping out key markets for commodities including pork, soybeans, wheat and grain sorghum.

This is a short-term solution that will give President Trump and his administration time to work on long-term trade deals to benefit agriculture and all sectors of the American economy, Perdue said.

The program will include payments to soybean, cotton, sorghum, corn, wheat, dairy and hog farmers; a program to buy up surplus products such as fruit, nuts, rice and legumes for distribution by food banks and government food programs; and an effort by the Foreign Agriculture Service and the private sector to develop new export markets.

The plan, which has been in the works since at least April, drew sighs of relief from farm interests that have seen prices reach lows not seen in years.

U.S. pork, which began the year in expansion mode to capitalize on unprecedented global demand, now faces punitive tariffs on 40 percent of its exports, National Pork Producers Council President Jim Heimerl said in a news release. The restrictions we face in critical markets such as Mexico and China  our top two export markets by volume last year  have placed American pig farmers and their families in dire financial straits. We thank the president for taking immediate action.

Russell Boening, president of the Texas Farm Bureau, said the agricultural aid package will help farmers and ranchers who rely on export markets stay in business as the administration works to develop and obtain new markets.

But it also drew harsh criticism from both sides of the political aisle as an expensive bailout to help a significant part of Trumps voting base weather what could be a prolonged, multifront trade war.

This trade war is cutting the legs out from under farmers and White Houses plan is to spend $12 billion on gold crutches, said U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb. Americas farmers dont want to be paid to lose  they want to win by feeding the world. This administrations tariffs and bailouts arent going to make America great again, theyre just going to make it 1929 again.

U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., criticized President Donald Trump on his favorite medium.

OK @POTUS  you created this mess with your trade war and now you are going to spend $12 billion to placate the farmers that voted for you, she tweeted.

Exit polls from the 2016 election showed rural voters came out strong for Trump, whose appearances in heavily agricultural areas drew long lines of supporters. The Trump appeal was most dramatic among rural voters in tiny communities far from urban centers, where 71 percent went for Trump, compared with 40 percent of voters in cities with a million or more people.

Farm communities are caught up in trade politics. After the administration imposed tariffs on a wide range of imports, trading partners retaliated. China, a key buyer of U.S. agricultural exports, slapped $34 billion in tariffs on goods including soybeans, sorghum and pork.

Perdue said the aid package announced Tuesday is directly in line with the estimated $11 billion impact of illegal tariffs already facing the nations agricultural producers.

As you know, President Trump has promised since Day 1 that he has the back of every American farmer and rancher, and todays announcement is a fulfillment of that promise, Perdue said.

All the programs are authorized under the charter act of the Commodity Credit Corp. a government-owned entity incorporated in 1933 to help stabilize farm income and prices. Congressional approval is not required for the money to be used and producers are expected to be eligible to apply for the aid in September.

We certainly provided outreach to Congress and let them know the plan that were undertaking today, USDA chief economist Rob Johannson said. Its taking advantage of existing authority that we have.

Greg Ibach, USDA undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs, said other countries would see the bailout as a sign the administration was not backing down in its fight for more favorable trade deals.

We hope that it will allow time to conclude trade negotiations that will indeed open those markets and restart trade, he said. Were hoping other countries will see that were serious now about trade negotiations.

Luis Ribera, an agricultural economist at Texas A&M University, looked at the value of five top agricultural exports to China to get a sense of losses. In 2017, U.S. ranchers sent about $31 million to the just-reopened market for beef and veal (Texas share: $4 million), $349 million in wheat (Texas share: $11.5 million), $12.4 billion in soybeans (Texas share: $11.6 million), $976 million in cotton (Texas share: $449 million) and $836 million in sorghum (Texas share: $209 million).

We send $15.5 billion worth of these agricultural products, so if no alternative markets are found then that would be the amount needed, he said, adding, subsidies, in general they are just a patchwork and not sustainable. They usually disrupt markets and harm producers in the long run.

But Wayne Cleveland, executive director of the Texas Grain Sorghum Association, said the aid would keep a lot of growers from going under.

This is absolutely critical for our guys, he said. Theres no grain trading at all and its because of the tariffs. Its primarily the Chinese, but Mexicos even quit buying and you have to think that (North American Free Trade Agreement) negotiations are playing some part of this as well. This is across the board.

Sorghum is a cash crop and its used to pay for other crops, finish cattle, he added. So the money isnt there. These guys are having to go back to the to bank and nobodys going to loan them money in these markets.

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall agreed that the funding should help many of our farmers and ranchers weather the rough road ahead and assist in their dealings with their financial institutions.

lbrezosky@express-news.net
Spectacular Yosemite Valley, where the smoke from a raging wildfire is so thick that the giant granite monoliths are all but invisible, will be evacuated and closed to visitors for several days beginning Wednesday, the National Park Service said.

Hotels, campgrounds and visitor services in the valley and at Wawona at the south end of Yosemite National Park will shut at noon Wednesday and will stay closed at least until Sunday, park spokesman Scott Gediman said Tuesday.

The closure means that thousands of visitors will be forced to leave the park on the pair of two-lane highways  routes 120 and 41  that remain open. The Ferguson Fire, burning largely unchecked at the parks western boundary, has forced the indefinite shutdown of Highway 140. Glacier Point Road has been closed to allow for creation of a firefighting base camp.

Yosemite Valley, which can be so crowded in the summer as to resemble a small city, has been emptying out on its own as conditions deteriorated.

Thick smoke has largely obliterated visibility in the valley. On Tuesday, a half-dozen live webcams on the Yosemite visitor website were displaying vistas of near-solid gray.

Other parts of Yosemite, including Tuolumne Meadows and high-country areas accessible via Tioga Road (Highway 120), remained open.

A desk clerk at the Majestic Yosemite Hotel, formerly called the Ahwahnee, said by phone Tuesday afternoon that guests had already begun to depart. The hotel, usually full during the summer, has been half-empty in recent days as guests canceled reservations because of the fire.

Our eyes are stinging, our noses hurt and so many employees have left that were operating with skeleton crews, said a store employee at Half Dome Village, formerly known as Camp Curry, who asked to not be identified. Its very surreal to look out the window and see no guests, no hordes of hikers, no cars. Its way worse than a smoggy day in Los Angeles.

The smoke is so thick, the clerk said, that a visitor can stand at the base of El Capitan and look up  and not see El Capitan.

Thats eerie, he said.

Air quality in Yosemite Valley and in the Hodgdon Meadow area to the west was listed as unhealthy, the U.S. Forest Service said. In Mariposa, southwest of the valley and just outside the park, the air was unhealthy for sensitive individuals.

Camp Mather, the San Francisco-owned family camp near the northwestern corner of Yosemite, remained open.

Some campers had reported eye irritation, but there was a marked improvement in air quality on Tuesday, camp spokeswoman Tamara Barak Aparton said.

Yosemite Valley has been evacuated twice in the past two years  this past April and in January 2017  because of flooding caused by heavy rain. More extensive flooding that destroyed roads and campgrounds occurred in 1997.

The Ferguson Fire began July 13 and has been burning in steep, rough, parched terrain near Yosemite. It has been spreading toward the park, although firefighters are gaining ground.

The wildfire, which has devoured 37,795 acres, is 26 percent contained, fire officials said Tuesday night.

We are slowly making progress, said Rich Eagan, a fire spokesman. Maybe not as fast as some people would like, but were working hard and making progress.

Favorable weather conditions allowed crews to establish more lines around the blaze with the aid of planes and helicopters dropping water and fire retardant.

However, high temperatures expected Wednesday and Thursday  forecast as high as 103 degrees  are expected to make firefighting tougher, Eagan said.

The fire started in the Merced River Canyon, west of Yosemite along Highway 140. Flames have reached within about 2 miles of the park and forced the closure of Highway 140 and the Arch Rock entrance. Some employee and visitor housing has been evacuated.

The fire has killed one firefighter and injured six. The cause of the blaze is under investigation.

As of Tuesday night, 3,434 firefighters were battling the inferno. Included in the fire fight were 220 engines, 47 water tenders, 16 helicopters, 91 hand crews and 59 bulldozers. Firefighters from around the country continue to flow into Mariposa County.
GREENWICH  A self-proclaimed colorist to the stars and members of her management team are facing a legal complaint that employees at her salons were subject to discriminatory and harassing behavior.

Sharon Dorram Color, which operates from a salon on Greenwich Avenue and the Upper East Side of Manhattan, is the subject of complaints filed with the New York City Human Rights Commission last week.

A 27-year-old hair colorist, Matt Ustaev, had been working several times a month as a colorist at Dream Day Spa and Salon on Greenwich Avenue through Sharon Dorram Color. In the complaint filed with the human rights commission, he says he was subject to anti-Semitic comments by a manager at the New York salon.

A lawyer for the business is denying the complaint, meanwhile, and calls the complaint devoid of merit.

Ustaev, who is Jewish, says he was called a stupid Jew and taunted with other nasty remarks. He says he was retaliated against by management for supporting another co-worker bringing a claim of discrimination, who also contacted workplace-safety authorities. His hours in Greenwich were substantially curtailed and then zeroed out, Ustaev says.

The New York City complaint says Ustaev recorded a conversation in April with management after he had hired a lawyer, asking him to drop his discrimination claim in exchange for more bookings as a colorist.

Another complaint, specific to the Upper East Side location, was filed by Ingrid Sandoval, 22, a receptionist. She says in her complaint that Dorram forced minority workers to wear their hair up while their white co-workers didnt have to. Two complaints were filed with the New York City Human Rights Commission last year over that alleged policy. After that, employees were asked to sign affidavits that all employees were subject to the policy, the plaintiffs contend. The complaints filed last month state that punishment was directed at employees who did not sign. Sandoval was later terminated in October 2017.

Patrick Boyd, an attorney representing Sandoval and Ustaev, said the purported use of coercive tactics was a major part of the complaint. Disrespect for the process, its a pretty big deal, he said.

A lawyer representing Dorram, Carolyn Richmond, issued a statement: The salon will not comment on any specific employee or complaint. However, I can say that it has always been the policy of Sharon and the salon to follow equal employment laws. We intend to vigorously defend any allegations that Sharon or the salon discriminated against anyone based on race or religion. These allegations are devoid of merit and we have trust in the legal process to come that same conclusion.

Dorram, who has a residence in Greenwich, did not return messages seeking comment this week. Her clients have included Nicole Kidman and Kate Hudson, and the complaint has drawn the attention of New York media.

The complaint filed with the New York City Human Rights Commission is a first step in the process. That commission can impose penalties on its own.

Future lawsuits could also be filed at the federal or state level, Boyd said. For a federal lawsuit to be filed, a complaint at the municipal level is essential to the legal process. No legal filings have been submitted in Connecticut.

Ustaev has still been working for the hair-care company, though his hours have been limited, according to his lawyer.

The complaint is seeking compensation for lost wages, emotional damages, punitive damages and attorney fees. A dollar amount was not specified.

rmarchant@greenwichtime.com
Seattle

Retired Seattle Archbishop Raymond G. Hunthausen, whose outspoken support for nuclear disarmament, gay rights and an expanded role for women in the church made him one of the most controversial U.S. bishops, has died at 96.

Hunthausen died Sunday at his home in Helena, Mont., the Seattle Archdiocese said.

Hunthausen, who was born in Montana, served as the bishop of Helena from 1962 to 1975 and as archbishop of Seattle from 1975 to 1991. He was the last living American bishop to have participated in all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council, called by the pope in the early 1960s to modernize the church, the archdiocese said.

"He was someone who through his example, a lot of people really saw that there was a place in the church for them," his nephew, Denny Hunthausen, told The Seattle Times on Monday. "The messaging we're seeing from Pope Francis now was something he was doing 20, 30 years ago: the message of love and mercy."

Hunthausen led protests near a base for nuclear-armed Trident submarines at Bangor, Wash. He withheld half his federal income tax in the early 1980s in protest of nuclear weapon stockpiling, and he urged others to do the same. The IRS garnished his wages.

Critics accused him of deviating from Catholic doctrine by allowing a group for gay Catholics to celebrate Mass at Seattle's Saint James Cathedral; by allowing divorced or remarried Catholics to receive the sacraments; and by permitting Catholic hospitals to perform contraceptive sterilizations.

A Vatican investigation led to the appointment in 1985 of an auxiliary bishop who took over many administrative functions. Hunthausen's authority was largely restored two years later.

The archdiocese said that under Hunthausen's leadership, it became in 1988 one of the first dioceses in the nation to implement a policy to address child sexual abuse by priests and church employees.

Advocates for sex abuse victims say Hunthausen could have done more to protect young parishioners, but they also credit him with being more proactive than his predecessors or other bishops around the country. The archdiocese has paid out tens of millions of dollars to child sex abuse victims, including in many cases that stemmed from Hunthausen's tenure.

In 2009, Hunthausen became one of the highest ranking Catholic officials in the U.S. to testify at a sex-abuse trial, one that pertained to a priest who had been transferred from Spokane to Seattle for deviancy treatment. Hunthausen granted the priest, Patrick G. O'Donnell, full powers of ministry without the documentation usually required for transferred priests.

He testified that he was never informed why O'Donnell had been sent to Seattle.

"It was a breach on my part," Hunthausen said. "It's hard to acknowledge that now. It hurts me."

Hunthausen's legacy also includes support for the needy, including the Hunthausen Fund in Helena at Good Samaritan Ministries and the Hunthausen Fund at St. James Cathedral in Seattle, which support the working poor and homeless.
BRIDGEPORT - A Superior Court judge on Tuesday upheld the application of Boys and Girls Village Inc. to open a group home for troubled teenaged boys in Black Rock.

Following a hearing, Judge Dale Radcliffe ruled that the citys Planning and Zoning Commissions decision to issue the non-profit organization a special permit was reasonable and he dismissed the appeal brought by 675 Kings Highway LLC which had opposed the application.

The site of the proposed group home is a two-family house on Bennett Street that was previously purchased by Boys and Girls Village. It is next door to the regional office of Boys and Girls Village.

This is a great decision and my clients are very relieved and pleased, said Bridgeport lawyer Charles Willinger, who represents Boys and Girls Village. Judge Radcliffe did an excellent job of understanding the facts and applying them to the law. There is no adverse impact on the neighborhood by my clients purchase, improvements and use of the property.

The opposing party, 675 Kings Highway, is owned by Peter DiNardo, the son of long-time city real estate magnet and developer Salvatore DiNardo. They did not return calls for comment.

In June 2017, Boys and Girls Village submitted an application to the zoning commission to change the zoning classification for the property, according to court records. Boys and Girls Village proposed to operate the Hamilton Program, a program funded by the state Judicial Branchs Court Support Services Division, there.

The program is open to boys, ages 14 to 18, who are on juvenile supervision of probation and the facility would house a maximum of six boys, the application states.

Officials of Boys and Girls Village explained during a public hearing that the boys staying at the facility are required to attend school from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and that lights are turned off in the facility by 10 p.m. Two supervisors would be assigned to the facility overnight.

The commission received letter in support of the facility from neighbors, the regional administrator of the state Department of Children and Families and Action for Bridgeport Community Development Inc. the operator of a day care facility across the street from the proposed group home.

However, 675 Kings Highway LLC, the owner of the building housing ABCDs day care, vehemently opposed the application contending the proposal was not for a group home but an alternative incarceration center.

The zoning commission later approved the application in a 7 to 1 vote.
On this date in ...

1918: Mrs. Alexander Trowbridge, chief of the women's division of the state defense council, wrote a letter, which was made public, to the council's members calling for an effort to check the "useless feeding of soldiers and sailors on their way to and from training camps." While she acknowledged that troops and enlisted men should be greeted and fed when their officers or the Red Cross requests it, she went on to say, "I think that our enlisted men are often overfed by well-intentioned women, while many of our children in the cities are starving."

1968: A new real estate transfer tax, which would add 55 cents for each $500 of assessed property valuation, would go into effect in the state Aug. 1. County clerks would act as agents of the State Tax Commission in administering the new tax, announced Albany County Clerk John S. Bartlett Jr. One of the purposes of the bill, he said, was to provide information to local assessors and the State Equalization Board to aid in arriving at assessed valuation of real property.

1993: A California advertising firm offered to publish New York's driver's manual for free in return for the right to sell paid advertising in the handbook. The proposal by Los Angeles-based Ad Vantage Co. prompted the state Department of Motor Vehicles to draft legislation that would allow advertising in the manual for the first time. Harvy Goldenberg, corporate director of Ad Vantage, said his company made identical proposals to departments of motor vehicles in all 50 states.

Want to read more about the Capital Region's past? Have any memories or thoughts about how our history relates to today's events? See http://blog.timesunion.com/history/
NEW MILFORD  Three school board members have set to work on finding an interim superintendent for when Superintendent Joshua Smith leaves the district to lead Region 15.

Angela Chastain, Eileen Monaghan and Wendy Faulenbach were all appointed to the ad hoc search committee at a special meeting Monday night. All three volunteered for the task, said Board of Education Chairman David Lawson.

The committee is charged with recommending a candidate or candidates to the full board for the interim position. The number of suggestions will be based on the quality of the candidates who apply, Lawson said.

It depends on how they view the candidates, Lawson said. The ad hoc committee has a lot of latitude depending on the applicants.

The committee will work with the districts human resources department, which has a list of candidates for the members to review.

Once an interim is decided on, the board can focus on finding a permanent superintendent.

A timeline has not been established, though Lawson said its time sensitive. Smiths contract expires in October.

Smith announced this month that he was leaving New Milford to become the superintendent in Region 15. He will replace Regina Lemerich Botsford, who retired June 30 after serving as Region 15s superintendent for about five years.

Smith has said the ability to give back to the community he grew up in was an opportunity he couldnt let pass.

Smith was a student in Region 15 and it was also where he taught as a student before getting a full-time teaching job at Schaghticoke Middle School in New Milford.

The new position is also 40 minutes closer to his Southington home.

Smith has been with New Milford for seven years, serving as the full-time superintendent since 2016.

Since the announcement, Smith has said he will miss the New Milford community and those he works with in the schools. He sent emails to parents and staff to share the news of his departure.

You are a talented, dedicated group of people who care deeply about children and have made this decision very hard, he wrote to the teachers, adding a similar note to the parents, It has always been my goal to balance progress with compassion and policy with empathy. I hope that I have served you well in my time here and wish you all the very best on whatever your path has in store for you.

kkoerting@newstimes.com; 203-731-3345
ROCKY HILL  A Middletown man was killed and a 2-year-old boy is in critical condition after a three-car crash on Interstate 91 in Rocky Hill on Tuesday.

Benjamin Bidwell, 60, was killed after he collided with two other cars on the highway and his Jeep rolled over, ejecting Bidwell and his two passengers  Joshua Gootkin, 31, of Middletown, and his 2-year-old son Noah Alexander  from the car, police said.
STAMFORD  A self-portrait drawn in crayon by a five-year-old during a recent visit to the citys Summer preschool program showed a shaky black circle as a head, blue ovals for eyes and a red semi-circle made to represent a smiling mouth.

The portrait, one of several, actually represented more than the simple efforts of a budding artist: theyre part of a curriculum that gives underserved students their first classroom experience.

The Stamford Public Education Foundations Summer Start program, housed at Stillmeadow Elementary School, runs a six-week preschool for students from low-income families who have had no formal academic schooling.

In addition to learning shapes, drawing and literacy, the 76 students - out of approximately 273 students entering kindergarten at city schools in August - are taught soft skills, such as how to line up and walk quietly in a hallway  all of which are aimed at making it easier to focus on learning when they start kindergarten. Their full- day schedule includes a morning meeting of socializing with other students, literacy centers where they learn to write their name, reading time with folk tales and nonfiction books and learning centers with arts, blocks and puzzles.

Each classroom has a teacher and a paraprofessional. Many educators use interactive story time, drawings and songs to teach students concepts like being quiet in the hall or how to follow a story. On a recent Friday, one class took turns writing out the letter P before acting out their book of the week  The Three Little Pigs  complete with paper masks and a faux gruff voice from the wolf.

The students who partake in our program, theyre ready to pick up and go, said Summer Start head teacher Danielle Schmidt. Students with no classroom experience need those we teach here. Were helping build independence and teaching them routine.

Schmidt has been with the Summer Start program since it began as a Board of Education funded program in 2012. The program closed temporarily in 2016 due to lack of funding and picked up again last summer under the Stamford Public Education Foundation. Its made possible with $90,000 of funding provided by United Way of Western Connecticut, Legg Mason and Impact Fairfield County, which provided $100,000 to be used over the course of two years.

The program showed results after its pilot year - according to the Stamford Public Education Foundation, with 48 percent of Summer Start students performing at or above benchmark versus 43 percent of the peers who met expectations and were not enrolled in the program.

Last years results were remarkable, said Matthew Quinones, CEO of SPEF. Were hoping for continued success.

This years program included two classrooms of four-year-olds. Quinones said theyll be evaluating the younger students to see if the program, which runs four weeks for them, makes a difference in their classroom development. If so, itll continue to be offered in the future.

We do try and connect with each school, said Schmidt, who is a kindergarten teacher at K.T. Murphy during the regular school year. Its a great learning experience to get to know the children.

erin.kayata@stamfordadvocate.com; (203) 964-2265; @erin_kayata
Bellaire City Manager Paul Hofmann presented the city council with next years proposed budget and forecasts for future years at their July 16 meeting.

He said the city should work to address projected revenue issues in fiscal years 2020 through 2023 by drawing more sales tax dollars through retail and commercial development and by possibly raising property taxes.

Hofmann said the 2018 budget was unique in that between the time it was presented in July 2017 and when it was adopted months later, 2,000 Bellaire homes were flooded by Hurricane Harvey, a storm that is still affecting the community nearly a year later.

It changed the nature of what we did and how we did it for the next several months. In large fashion, it is still impacting what we do on a day-to-day basis, he said.

He said fortunately, planning helped the city be prepared for the impact.

Thankfully, good planning doesnt mean predicting the future. Good planning prepares us for reality even though we cant always anticipate the specifics of it, Hofmann said.

Looking ahead to next years proposed budget, he said the city typically evaluates pay standards for its employees every three years and would not be due for that process. However, with the past year being highly stressful for many Bellaire city employees due to the hurricane, Hofmann said the fiscal year budget for 2019 has allotted for a 1.5 percent across-the-board salary adjustment plus a 3.5 annual step increase for eligible employees.

This is not always an easy job. Its not always an easy place for people to work. I will say it is a high-stress job, he said.

Hofmann said the pay increases and rising costs of employee benefits make up more than half of the citys increase in forecast expenditures. The other increases, he said, will come from improvements in public safety, information technology, development services, recreation and the library.

Hofmann projected in fiscal 2020, Bellaire will have $21.05 million in recurring revenues and $21.68 million in recurring expenses (a deficit of $630,000), a gap that would widen by fiscal year 2023 to $3.01 million. But Hofmann said the numbers are all based on certain assumptions.

We continue the assumption of no new property tax revenues for the fiscal forecast period, and we do continue to show expenses going up, and that is primarily for salaries and benefits, Hofmann said. We continue to show an annual increase of salaries and benefits of 5 percent and very nominal increases in commodities and purchases and services and that sort of thing.

But the issue lies in the amount of money the city takes in, Hofmann said, not what it spends.

I think this is essentially a revenue problem. I know that is a hard message for me to say and perhaps for you to hear, he said.

Bellaire Chief Financial Officer Terrence Beaman said cutting expenses would mean an impact on services the citys residents depend on.

In order to reduce expenditures, there would need to be service delivery reductions as well, Beaman said. For example, do we mow right of way property less frequently? Do we clean public restrooms less frequently? Do we clean public parks less frequently? These are things council will need to consider if the direction is to reduce expenditures.

The decision will come down to what priorities the Bellaire city council will want to pursue, he said.

Another issue Beaman and Hofmann cautioned about was the fund balance component of the budget. Beaman said Bellaire has a Comprehensive Financial Management Policy Statement, that requires it to keep a 60-day reserve (fund balance), basically 60 days of recurring operating expenditures in the bank. By fiscal year 2020, the required fund balance is projected to be $3.61 million, but the ending fund balance after expenditures is projected to be $2.31 million, leaving a $1.3 million deficit.

Bellaire is trying to address some of the revenue problems by growing retail and commercial development that will produce more sales tax, Beaman said.

Although groceries are not taxable, with the H-E-B renovation and opening of a much larger store, sales tax should increase with the goal of attracting other retail and commercial development in the downtown and surrounding areas in the city of Bellaire, he said.

Hofmann said while the O&M (operating and maintenance) tax rate for homeowners will hold steady for fiscal year 2019 at $0.2678, the debt service rate will go up by about a third of a penny, making the total tax rate $0.4196 per every $100 in assessed value. But he said that rate is still lower than the state average of $0.4660.

Beaman said the O&M rate is remaining the same to help residents, many of whom are still recovering from Harvey. He said in in future years, the city council may need to consider raising that rate in order to maintain its level of services.

Beaman said while there are some issues with the forecast budgets, they will be addressed proactively and that Bellaire is still in a great financial position.

The city manager has never and will never present a budget to council that is not structurally balanced (recurring revenues exceed recurring expenditures), he said. In addition, the city of Bellaire is one of 34 municipalities out of over 1,200 in the state of Texas that have a AAA bond rating, and one of the main reasons the city receives such an honor is due to having structurally balanced budgets.

A budget hearing for fiscal year 2019 is slated for Aug 13 and will be followed by two budget workshops Aug. 14 and Aug. 20. The city council will then vote to adopt the budget Sept. 17.

tracy.maness@hcnonline.com
The man accused of carrying out an "unprovoked, unwarranted, vicious attack" that left an 18-year-old woman dead and her sister injured was arrested Monday night on a warrant for her killing, bringing an end to a day-long manhunt, Bay Area Rapid Transit officials said.

The search for John Lee Cowell, a 27-year-old paroled felon, began late Sunday after he allegedly stabbed Nia Wilson and 26-year-old Letifah Wilson with a knife while the sisters were transferring trains at the MacArthur BART station in Oakland, Calif., BART Police Chief Carlos Rojas said at a news conference Monday afternoon.

Both sisters were stabbed in the neck, and Nia died from her injuries, Rojas said.

"It was, in my close to 30 years of police experience, probably one of the most vicious attacks that I've seen," he said.

According to a statement from BART, an anonymous tip from a BART passenger led to Cowell's arrest Monday night. Cowell was spotted aboard another BART train miles away from the station where the stabbing took place, the statement said. He was taken into custody without incident. He has not commented.

It all began Sunday night when Nia Wilson and her sisters did something they normally didn't do.

They decided to take a BART train home from a family gathering, Letifah Wilson told ABC 7.

When the sisters got off their train at the MacArthur station, they had no way of knowing they would become victims of what Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf has denounced as a "senseless act of violence."

"All of a sudden we transfer just to get blindsided by a maniac," Letifah Wilson said Monday, a thick bandage covering the side of her neck. "She just yelled my name, 'Tifah, Tifah, Tifah,' and I said, 'I got you baby, I got you.'"

She looked back and said she saw the attacker standing on the platform's stairs, staring at them and "wiping off his knife."

Then, Wilson said she turned her attention back to her sister, applying pressure to Nia's neck using a baby blanket given to her by another person at the station. Two BART officers were also at the station at the time of the stabbing and it took them "maybe a minute" to reach the platform, Rojas said.

But, the attacker had already fled the scene.

"It's more reminiscent of a prison yard assault," Rojas said. "They do their attack so quickly that before anybody can really react the person takes off running."

Rojas said police found the murder weapon at a nearby construction site. He added that surveillance video also showed the attacker taking off his clothing in a BART parking structure after the alleged stabbing.

Audio of dispatchers recorded by Broadcastify and obtained by the East Bay Times reflected the attack's chaotic aftermath.

"We have two subjects with two lacerations," a man says over loud background noise and people yelling. " . . . I got another one with a laceration to the neck. We have two victims."

"The suspect has fled the scene, do we have a description?" another voice asks.

"Negative all we know now is a white male, that's all we got so far," a man responds. "White male with red hair," he reports as a woman interrupts saying, "No blonde hair, blonde hair."

On social media, news of the attack quickly sparked outrage with many calling the stabbing a hate crime. The Wilson sisters are African American and Cowell is white. By Monday night, Nia Wilson's name was a trending hashtag on Twitter.

However, during the Monday afternoon news conference, Rojas said police had not yet determined a motive.

"Up to this point, we do not have any information that suggests it is race motivated, but we cannot discount it at this time," he said.

At the same conference, Daryle Allums, Nia Wilson's godfather, asked the African American community to "stand down." Allums is also the leader of Oakland's "Stop Killing Our Kids Movement."

"We don't know if it was racist, we don't know if it was random, we don't know what it was," Allums said. "Let's get this information to find out what really happened. Let's find out the right facts, so then we're able to deal with this situation."

He added, "We need your help. We don't need us to break down right now and act crazy, tear up our city, or do anything that's crazy right now."

Following Cowell's arrest, Rojas told reporters police had still not been able to connect him with "any type of radical group or white supremacist group."

In a statement, Schaaf said it was important to acknowledge the crime's context.

"Although investigators currently have no evidence to conclude that this tragedy was racially motivated or that the suspect was affiliated with any hate groups, the fact that his victims were both young African American women stirs deep pain and palpable fear in all of us who acknowledge the reality that our country still suffers from a tragic and deeply racist history," she said.

A vigil held at the MacArthur station Monday evening turned into a demonstration as more than 1,000 people marched through the streets chanting "No justice, no peace" and carrying signs bearing Nia Wilson's name, KPIX 5 reported.

Aside from reigniting fears over hate crimes, the attack also raised concerns about safety for BART passengers. Nia's slaying was the third BART-related death in a week, Rojas said.

On Wednesday, Gerald Bisbee, a 51-year-old Pittsburgh resident, was assaulted after getting into a verbal argument with 20-year-old Abdul Bey. Rojas said Bisbee sustained a bloody lip and a small cut, less than one-eighth of an inch, to the back of his knee. Bisbee was found dead in his Pittsburgh home Friday and an autopsy determined he had died from an infection stemming from the cut on his knee, Rojas said.

A day before the Wilson sisters were stabbed, Don Stevens, 47, was "cold-clocked" on the side of his head by an unidentified man after he got into an argument with another person on the train, Rojas said. Stevens died Sunday after being taken off life support.

"This is really an anomaly," Rojas said. "This doesn't happen on BART. It's rare that we have a homicide, so of course this is ramped up to the highest priority when you have three deaths."

All Nia's father Ansar Mohammed wants is justice for his daughter, he told ABC 7.

"I never imagined myself going through nothing like this," Mohammed said. "This is a parent's worst nightmare."

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Video: Nia Wilson, 18, was brutally stabbed to death on the MacArthur BART Station platform in Oakland on July 22. Her slaying marks the third death in one week on the BART train line.(Amber Ferguson/The Washington Post)

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The Ivanka Trump fashion brand is shutting down. Its death was pronounced Tuesday afternoon.

In the past two years, the brand has been pummeled for business practices at odds with its namesake's political rhetoric. Employees will lose their jobs. Ivanka Trump, the woman, will focus on her work in Washington. Partisan politics will roar on. The fashion world will survive.

The womenswear brand, founded in 2011, was built around the public persona of Ivanka: the tall, blonde corporate executive with the famous last name, a mother of three with a lifestyle glamorously - no, adorably - curated for Instagram. The label was aimed at young, white-collar working women, and so the collections were filled with sheath dresses, simple silhouettes in feminine floral prints and office-ready shoes. There was nothing particularly unique about the products. Indeed, the company was accused of knocking off other brands. But there was nothing wrong with the clothes, either. And that, along with the price and the marketing, was what made them sell. The company aimed to dress a group of women that much of Seventh Avenue has shunned, because designers like to make clothes for daring hipsters and wealthy CEOs. The on-a-budget middle goes wanting. The Ivanka Trump fashion brand catered to managers, bureaucrats, assistants, junior executives and the like. For about $150, a woman could buy a perfectly appropriate work dress that made her look a little bit stylish. It gave her an alternative to the Ann Taylor ghetto, a break from the self-consciously trendy J. Crew, a reprieve from mass-market bland.

The Ivanka Trump label sold a narrative focused on professional glamour and mothers who have-it-all - preferably in an Upper East Side co-op. The story it told was of an idealized working woman whose light and airy home was always filled with fresh peonies and hydrangeas and whose daily schedule was a color-coded symphony of organization: morning run, board meeting, parent-teacher conference, date night. The brand was Ivanka. Or at least the flawlessly coiffed version of herself that she presented to the world.

The gloss peeled away when Ivanka, the daughter, came to Washington as an adviser to her father, the president, who said he wanted to put America first and who touted the importance of manufacturing in the United States. Because her brand was no mere vanity project, and making money was the point, her name was licensed to manufacturers, who did the work overseas, where labor was cheap. Business wasn't pretty, but it was profitable. In 2017, she published a book offering women advice on how to be their own best advocates and fight for their interests in the workplace, while the company that bore her name failed to offer the kind of work-life benefits that her book was telling women that they deserved.

Politics, with all of its hot air and bluster, made Ivanka Trump a walking contradiction. By extension it made her company's sins plain. Shoppers boycotted it. Social media trolls attacked it. Department stores dropped the brand.

In truth, none of these business practices are especially unusual in the fashion industry, even if they have increasingly been recognized as flawed, unsustainable and even immoral. Consumers are also skilled at ignoring fashion's dark underbelly when it benefits them. Most sneakers are manufactured overseas. Fast fashion thrives on depressed wages. Landfills are stuffed with our cast-offs.

What made the ire over the this brand notable is not the nature of its business practices. It was the hypocrisy that outraged critics. Still, there's plenty of that in fashion, too. An awful lot of brands that exploit Americana are manufactured overseas. Plenty of brands are accused of copying. But only the Ivanka Trump brand has Ivanka.

Intertwined with the fashion narrative of tasteful work attire, accessible pricing and woman-friendly rhetoric was the political storyline. She was supposed to be the gleaming beacon for women in the new administration, the voice of the family, the Trump-whisperer. It's hard to say which made people angrier: the fashion company that shunned American workers or the company's founder who disappointed a contingent of American voters.

Ultimately, the two grievances became one. And a fashion lie became became a political one.
WASHINGTON -- Ivanka Trump is shutting down her namesake clothing brand because of her work in Washington, she said Tuesday, a rare acknowledgement by a Trump family member about the challenges of holding an influential White House position while owning a global business.

In doing so, the president's daughter and White House senior adviser has gone further than other Trump family members, who have remained active in both business and politics. She handed over day-to-day operations after her father won the election but continued to own the company - which raised ethical concerns that have dogged enterprises across the Trump empire.

But her brand, founded as a carefree fashion and lifestyle brand for young, professional women, has suffered from how polarizing it became during the campaign and her father's move into the Oval Office, enduring boycotts, lost sales and controversies that saw its goods yanked from retailers' shelves.

On Tuesday, Ivanka Trump said her "focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington" and called the company's closure "the only fair outcome for my team and partners." Company officials said the closure was a reflection of Ivanka Trump's deepening commitment to stay in Washington and push her father's policies.

Ethics experts have long called on the Trumps to separate from their businesses in order to avoid conflicts of interest.

Trump had made the decision in recent weeks to close the brand, company officials said.

But she appeared to leave the door open for reviving a business under her name. Trump will retain the copyrights and intellectual property associated with her brand and is continuing to seek trademarks, according to a person familiar with the situation. Company spokespeople said she has voiced no interest in reviving the company later on, and Trump said she did "not know when or if I will ever return to the business."

The Ivanka Trump brand, based in New York's Trump Tower with 18 employees, has suffered recently as retailers, including department-store giant Nordstrom, decided to stop selling its products. Online sales of Ivanka Trump merchandise at Amazon, Bloomingdale's, Macy's and Zappos have dropped more than 55 percent in the past year, according to data from Rakuten Intelligence.

At the same time, it has endured heavy backlash as a symbol of President Donald Trump's policies. Its dependence on foreign manufacturing - all of its dresses, shoes and handbags were produced in other countries, such as China and Indonesia - stood in contrast to the president's calls for more products to be made in America. Trump was also dogged by questions about her reliance on a largely female overseas workforce as she tried to tout American labor and women's issues.

"Views on the brand have become highly polarized, and it has become a lightning rod for protests and boycotts," said Neil Saunders, managing director of the research firm GlobalData Retail. "While the company is still viable, doing business has become far more challenging and these problems will only increase."

Ivanka Trump arrived at the company's headquarters on Tuesday afternoon, where she spoke to staff members and left after about 45 minutes, company officials said. Employees had been told in the morning to attend a staff meeting, when they were informed of the brand's immediate closure. Employees stayed afterwards for a glass of wine and will receive a severance package, officials said.

The closure came as a surprise even within the company, where as recently as last week officials had been discussing the implementation of long-delayed oversight of the foreign factories where its goods were made.

Company chief Abigail Klem said last year she had been planning her first trip to tour some of the facilities that make Ivanka Trump products, and she said the company would boost oversight of the treatment of its largely female workforce. The company never shared details of those initiatives.

Trump started her fine-jewelry line in 2007 and expanded to shoes, clothing and eyewear. Like many fashion brands, the Ivanka Trump company signed licensing deals with suppliers who made her goods by contracting out manufacturing work to factories around the world.

The company's staff largely negotiated design deals, promoted Ivanka Trump's "Women Who Work" brand and ran its social-media presence. In a goodbye tweet on Tuesday, the company said it "had cultivated amazing partnerships and friendships during the life of the brand."

Last March, shortly after the inauguration, Trump handed over operations to Klem following criticism that she could use her family's political platform to boost her brand. She retained ownership and power in the company, including the ability to veto new deals.

But the company, and Trump's colleagues in the White House, sometimes blurred the lines between her private business and public prominence. President Trump's senior adviser Kellyanne Conway told Fox News viewers last February to "go buy Ivanka's stuff," violating a federal rule banning public officials from using their position to endorse products.

"I find it hard to believe that anybody has suddenly had an ethics lightbulb go off 18 months into Trump's presidency," said Norman Eisen, the chief White House ethics lawyer under President Barack Obama and a chairman of the government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW. "This is a family that has maintained unprecedented business ties."

Distancing herself from her company didn't assuage critics - or prevent a weakening of the business. Several retailers dropped the brand, including Canadian department store chain Hudson's Bay Co., which two weeks ago said it would remove all Ivanka Trump products from its website and 90 stores because of the brand's "performance."

As of Tuesday afternoon, Macys.com had marked down the brand's dresses as much as 53 percent, while Zappos was selling Ivanka Trump sandals for $56.25, down from $125. At Dillard's, all Ivanka Trump handbags had been "permanently reduced" by half.

A number of national retailers, including Lord and Taylor, Dillards, Bloomingdales and Amazon.com, carry the first daughter's line and will continue to do so until their agreements run out. (Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive of Amazon, owns The Washington Post.)

Trump's brand of affordable fashion for young, cosmopolitan women became a polarizing political statement, bought in solidarity by Trump supporters and boycotted vigorously by others.

In December, she opened a store in the lobby of Trump Tower, where, she said, she hoped to sell handbags, jewelry and candles directly to consumers, raising concerns among ethics experts who called it another way for the Trump family to tap into supporters' wallets.

"Her ties to the president have been toxic to her brand," said Eric Schiffer, chairman of Reputation Management Consultants in Los Angeles. "She used to have a global audience, but the president's 'America First' agenda has alienated so many countries, and with that has come a disdain for anything Ivanka."

The Ivanka Trump company's layoffs come as Ivanka Trump campaigns across the country for the White House's "Pledge to America's Workers," in which U.S. companies are pushed to commit to greater hiring, training and education of its American workforce. In a Wall Street Journal editorial last week, she wrote, "We call upon employers large and small to join this crucial initiative to create more jobs, strengthen our economy and restore hopeful futures to countless families."

Trump will retain the copyrights and intellectual property associated with her brand, which analysts say leaves the door open for future relaunches. In addition, the Ivanka Trump brand applied for 15 Chinese trademarks last March, the day before Trump officially joined the White House, according to CREW. The company has said its trademarks are used, like many other companies, to protect its products from counterfeits, and that their applications were not timed to any political events.

"She's dissolving the company now but is continuing to get trademarks so she can sell her stuff all over the world later," said Richard Painter, a professor of law at the University of Minnesota and chief White House ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush. "What better time to get those trademarks than now, when every government around the world wants to play nice with" her father.

Ivanka Trump made more than $5 million from her fashion company between January 2016 and March 2017, according to financial disclosures released last year. She also received $3.9 million from her family's Washington, D.C., hotel last year, according to government disclosure forms.

Other Trump-branded businesses, many of which Ivanka had a hand in growing and in which she still holds a financial stake, have experienced differing fortunes since Trump's presidency began last year. The company's name has come down off of hotels in Toronto, Panama and New York's Soho neighborhood, as well as from some residential buildings in New York.

While the Trump Hotel in Washington charges some of the highest rates in the city and has become a popular meeting place for Republican political groups, religious organizations and businesses, data on other Trump properties including the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida show signs of price drops as sports teams and charities move their business elsewhere.

Sales data on Trump-branded condominiums in New York City show them attracting lower prices than competing properties since Donald Trump became president. Meanwhile, the Trump Organization's plans to dramatically expand its hotel portfolio in the United States have failed to progress, having opened no hotels under its announced "Scion" and "American Idea" brands.

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The Washington Post's Jonathan O'Connell contributed to this report.
New York

The New York tabloid Daily News cut half of its newsroom staff Monday including Jim Rich, the paper's editor in chief.

The paper was sold to Tronc Inc. last year for $1, with the owner of the Chicago Tribune assuming liabilities and debt.

In an email sent to staff Monday, Tronc said the remaining staff will focus on breaking news involving "crime, civil justice and public responsibility."

The newspaper has been a key fixture in New York City for the last century. It has won 11 Pulitzer Prizes, including last year for its work with ProPublica on the abuse of eviction rules in New York City.

There had been reports that the cuts were coming, and an early-morning tweet from Rich hinted at what was to come.

"If you hate democracy and think local governments should operate unchecked and in the dark, then today is a good day for you," Rich wrote.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo urged Tronc to reconsider the layoffs, saying they were made without notifying the state or asking for assistance.

"I urge Tronc to reconsider this drastic move and stand ready to work with them to avert this disaster," Cuomo said in a printed statement.

Revenue slid 22 percent between 2014 and 2016, and the paper had already been letting people go. Tronc declined to say how many journalists lost their jobs Monday.

"Since the year began, we've worked hard to transform the New York Daily News into a truly digitally-focused enterprise  one that creates meaningful journalism, delivers it more quickly and more frequently, and develops new approaches to engage our readers," Tronc said in an email that was sent to the newsroom.
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's years-old remarks questioning the landmark ruling that forced President Richard Nixon to turn over the Watergate tapes opened a new front in the battle over his confirmation, ensuring his views on executive power will square prominently in Senate hearings.

Included in the thousands of pages turned over to the Senate Judiciary Committee this past weekend is a 1999 transcript of a panel discussion in which the future Supreme Court nominee opined whether the "tensions of the time led to an erroneous decision" in the case United States v. Nixon.

Although Kavanaugh has defended the 1974 ruling in other remarks, Democrats have seized on his skepticism from nearly two decades ago to build a key argument against the nominee: That he won't be a sufficient check on the president who appointed him.

"If Kavanaugh would've let Nixon off the hook, what is he willing to do for President Trump?" Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., asked Monday.

Democrats have also focused on Kavanaugh's rulings in favor of broad presidential power and his criticism of the independent counsel law to suggest he would protect President Trump from special counsel Robert Mueller's probe. The judge has been outspoken in saying, for instance, that he would "put the final nail in" the now-defunct independent counsel law.

But it is unclear whether Kavanaugh's dim view of the independent counsel law extends to separate special-counsel regulations governing Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Mueller's legal battle with Trump's lawyers over his request to interview the president could end up before the Supreme Court.

On the Nixon decision, Kavanaugh's allies rallied to his defense. They contended he had praised the unanimous ruling in the case - which forced Nixon to turn over the Watergate tapes and ultimately led to his resignation - in other venues, such as a law review article in 1998 and a speech in 2016.

But his comments suggesting Nixon was wrongly decided, which came during a roundtable discussion about government lawyers and attorney-client privilege, have drawn the most attention.

Philip Lacovara, who had argued United States v. Nixon, said Nixon had taken the position that under the Constitution, no one in the executive or judicial branch could challenge his decision to prevent White House information from being released.

"This question is actually very interesting," Kavanaugh said, noting that Clinton White House lawyers involved in the 1998 roundtable discussion had not questioned whether the court's ruling was correct.

"But maybe Nixon was wrongly decided - heresy though it is to say so," Kavanaugh said, according to a transcript of the discussion published in the January-February 1999 issue of the Washington Lawyer. "Nixon took away the power of the president to control information in the executive branch by holding that the courts had power and jurisdiction to order the president to disclose information in response to a subpoena sought by a subordinate executive branch official. That was a huge step with implications to this day that most people do not appreciate sufficiently."

In an interview Monday, Lacovara said Kavanaugh was not being provocative or playing devil's advocate.

"The idea that Brett was expounding was this very philosophical approach" regarding whether a president must disclose information because a government subordinate seeks it in a federal criminal investigation, Lacovara said.

The White House did not respond to questions about the views Kavanaugh expressed in the discussion. His supporters and former clerks have noted he has called United States v. Nixon one of the three "most significant cases in which the judiciary stood up to the president."

Former independent counsel Kenneth Starr, for whom Kavanaugh worked during the 1990s probe into President Clinton, and two other deputy counsels issued a statement Monday stressing that they discussed the Nixon case multiple times during their investigation and that Kavanaugh "viewed that decision as one of the most important decisions in Supreme Court history."

"We repeatedly relied on Nixon in opposing efforts by the Clinton Administration to shield important evidence from disclosure," said Starr and the deputies, Mark Tuohey and Bob Bittman. "Our clear recollection of Brett's views on Nixon is that they are entirely consistent with those he expressed in articles published in 1998 (where he wrote that Nixon should be followed by the Supreme Court), in 2014 (where he identified Nixon as one of the 'most significant cases in which the Judiciary stood up to the President'), and in 2016 (where he called Nixon one of the 'greatest moments in American judicial history')."

Senate Republicans on Monday also dismissed Democrats' efforts to make Kavanaugh's views of the Nixon case an issue.

"It's clear that the #Resistance is attempting to distort, distract and deceive to smear a highly qualified nominee," Taylor Foy, a spokesman for Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said in an email to The Washington Post. "A closer look at the public record shows a far different story than what the left is peddling."

In a 1998 law review article, Kavanaugh said in a footnote that he assumed the courts would have the authority to weigh in on a special counsel's motion to enforce a subpoena because the Supreme Court had held so in Nixon "and there is no reason to revisit that decision."

Democratic senators said they would ask Kavanaugh to discuss the precedent in his confirmation hearing because he discussed it at the panel discussion.

In addition to his comments on the Nixon ruling, Democrats also say Kavanaugh's past interviews, writings and judicial opinions reveal a philosophy greatly deferential to the chief executive - a view that Schumer has called "almost monarchical."

"It is revelatory of his beliefs, and they fit a pattern that is deeply disturbing," Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Monday.

Kavanaugh is continuing to meet privately with senators ahead of his confirmation hearing, which has not been scheduled. He will sit down Tuesday with Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, his most vocal Republican critic. Though most Democrats had boycotted the courtesy visits with Kavanaugh until a separate impasse over his documents is resolved, Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va., will meet with the judge next Monday, a spokesman for the senator said.

But Schumer and Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, had so far refused to sit down with Kavanaugh, demanding access to all paperwork that Kavanaugh touched during his time in the George W. Bush administration. He spent five years in the Bush White House, including serving as staff secretary.

Feinstein said Monday that she and Grassley have hit the "first glitch" over the discussions over Kavanaugh's documents, but she declined to elaborate.

"I've just sent him a letter, which indicates a concern," she said.
Bethlehem Police Department

BETHLEHEM  A 17-year-old Troy man has been arrested for his alleged involvement with two other city residents in the home invasion of an Orchard Street residence in Delmar, town police said Monday.

John D. Murdaugh was charged with first-degree robbery, second-degree robbery, first-degree criminal use of a firearm and first-degree burglary, town police said Monday.
The Trump administration is set to announce Tuesday a plan to provide billions in aid to farmers to help shield them from the impact of a trade war in which agriculture is a main target for retaliation against U.S. tariffs, a person familiar with the plans said.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has been promising an aid package for months, and department officials have said farmers may get assistance through government purchases of commodities using a Depression-era program. Administration officials and lawmakers have also discussed stepped-up trade promotion measures as a way to help farmers.

The supports would be a balm to producers who are seeing prices drop and inventories rise because of disputes with China, Canada and other trade partners who are significant purchasers of U.S. pork, soybeans and other crops. While emergency government commodity buys are rare, they're not unheard of. President Barack Obama allocated $170 million to help farmers struck by drought in 2012. The current USDA move is expected to be much larger.

Farmers are a key part of the rural political base that elected President Donald Trump, who has promised them they will emerge from a trade war better off. Many farmers are accepting that message. Still, an extended trade dispute that lingers into the fall harvest -- and elections -- holds the potential to shake that support. Trump also has been under pressure from farm state lawmakers to back away from imposing tariffs.

The announcement of the plan on Tuesday would give the president a talking point when he travels Thursday to Iowa, the top U.S. soybean-producing state and the home state of Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, who's been critical of Trump's moves on trade. Perdue said last week that the aid plan wouldn't be ready until the first week of September.

Grassley said Tuesday that commodity supports aren't a long-term solution and will be costly to taxpayers. Farmers would prefer trade to aid, he said during a conference call with reporters.

"The president's going to have to say more than 'I like the farmers and I support the farmers,"' he said.

Stocks of farm equipment makers including Deere gained on reports of the planned announcement of aid to farmers. Deere shares rose 4.6 percent, more than any full-day gain since May 18. Soybean futures for November delivery gain as much as 1.4 percent to $8.75 1/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, the contract's highest since July 10.

Agriculture is the rare U.S. industry that runs a trade surplus, with a projected $21 billion this year. Canada, China and Mexico are the three biggest buyers of U.S. farm goods, accounting for 43 percent of purchases in 2017. All three are embroiled in conflicts with the U.S.

Soybeans, the second-most valuable U.S. crop after corn, have been especially hard hit -- exports to China accounted for about one-third of the oilseed's revenue last year. The USDA projected earlier this month that average soybean prices paid to farmers would fall 75 cents to $9.25 a bushel next year.

U.S. farm profits were already projected to reach a 12-year low before any trade actions were announced. Farmer organizations including the American Soybean Association have called the impacts of tariffs on agriculture "devastating."

Trade conflicts "are having a real and costly impact on the rural economy and the ability of rural businesses to keep their doors open," said Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat, asking Trump to develop a farm plan. "Without prompt action, we could lose farmers and the rural businesses they support and depend on at an even more rapid rate."

- - -

Bloomberg's Mario Parker contributed.
White House counsel Donald McGahn met privately with key Senate Republicans on Tuesday to discuss how many of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's documents should be publicly released - a major point of contention in the confirmation process.

Democratic senators are demanding that Kavanaugh hand over any document he touched during his time at the George W. Bush White House, where he served in the counsel's office and as staff secretary. That document production could top 1 million pages, and Republicans have deemed the Democrats' demand a fishing expedition that will not be particularly revelatory.

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, confirmed the meeting with McGahn. Cornyn said the White House counsel visited with the panel's Republicans to describe what a "reasonable, relevant document production would look like."

Cornyn declined to describe directly what McGahn advised senators. But the influential No. 2 Republican said that documents from Kavanaugh's time in the White House counsel's office were "fair game" but that the paperwork from his service as staff secretary was not.

"The one that just seems to be a bridge too far that the Democrats never requested before his 2006 confirmation to the D.C. circuit are the staff secretary documents, which aren't really his documents," Cornyn said. "He was more or less a traffic cop."

Kavanaugh submitted thousands of pages to the Judiciary Committee over the weekend, but that collection includes his legal writings, public speeches and interviews. Democrats are seeking thousands of documents from the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum that span Kavanaugh's five-year service in that Bush White House, as well as paperwork from his time aiding former independent counsel Kenneth Starr.

Top Democrats have refused to even grant Kavanaugh his customary, one-on-one meetings until the two sides strike some sort of a deal on the nominee's Bush-era documents. But moderate Democrats have resisted participating in that blockade; Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., announced Tuesday that he would meet with Kavanaugh on Aug. 15, and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., has a meeting scheduled for July 30.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, has drafted a letter requesting all documents that Democrats want Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, to co-sign, but the Judiciary Committee chairman and other Republicans have insisted that only "relevant" documents from Kavanaugh's time in the Bush White House should be released.

"We have been having trouble getting an agreement with Judiciary Committee Chairman Grassley on the scope of the documents the Senate should request," Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday. "Chairman Grassley has had our request for over a week."

Grassley said Tuesday that the two side were still negotiating over the extent of documents to ask for publicly. But he said "it's fair to assume that there's going to be three times the number of documents available compared" with the amount of paperwork released for now-Justice Elena Kagan during her 2010 confirmation process.

Back then, more than 170,000 pages of Kagan's paperwork were turned over to the Judiciary Committee after demands from Republicans, who were then in the minority.

Grassley, who will helm Kavanaugh's confirmation hearings later this year, also said Tuesday that it is "still a couple of weeks" until he can announce a date for them.
WASHINGTON - The Trump administration on Tuesday announced up to $12 billion in emergency aid to farmers caught in an escalating trade war, seeking to temper growing Republican dissent over President Donald Trump's trade policies.

The aid is designed to help farmers facing tariffs in China, Mexico and other countries that imposed the levies on U.S. products in response to Trump's new tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. It is the latest sign that growing trade tensions between the United States and other countries are unlikely to send soon.

White House officials say farmers will begin seeing payments by September, and they hope the payments will quiet protests by farm groups and lawmakers - many of them Republicans - who contend that Trump's confrontational trade policy is harming American farmers months before the 2018 midterm elections.

Trump defended his approach Tuesday during a speech in Missouri, pleading with the public to "be a little patient" and arguing that farmers would eventually be "the biggest beneficiary" of his policies.

But many Republicans criticized the administration's aid package, saying the president should back off his trade war and help farmers regain more access to foreign markets, rather than offering them government payments.

"If tariffs punish farmers, the answer is not welfare for farmers. The answer is remove the tariffs," Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., wrote Tuesday on Twitter, echoing many Republicans.

"The trade war is cutting the legs out from under farmers and White House's 'plan' is to spend $12 billion on gold crutches. America's farmers don't want to be paid to lose - they want to win by feeding the world," said Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb.

The $12 billion plan demonstrates Trump's willingness to use his power to further influence the economy, first imposing tariffs and then bailing out people harmed by his approach. In recent weeks, Trump has taken steps to try to lower oil prices and has publicly criticized the Federal Reserve over planned interest-rate increases, all actions taken with an eye to keeping up economic growth ahead of the midterm elections.

But Republicans feared they could face a huge backlash tied to Trump's trade approach, particularly among farmers. Several key Senate races occur this fall in states with strong ties to agriculture, including Missouri, North Dakota and Indiana. The outcomes of those races in November could determine control of the Senate next year.

The new package does not need approval from Congress. It would include direct payments to farmers, efforts to promote U.S. goods abroad and an expansion of a program that purchases surplus farm output and distributes it to food banks and other anti-hunger programs.

Administration officials said the program aims to compensate farmers for how much they would lose as a result of the trade war, in part because of lost sales and lower prices. Trump ordered Agriculture Secretary Sonny Purdue several months ago to begin work on the plan.

A handful of Democrats and Republicans backed the aid package.

"Our president stood up to a bully; now he's standing up for rural America," said House Agriculture Committee Chairman Michael Conaway, R-Texas, referring to Trump's trade struggle with China. "This is the right fight to have, but in the meantime, our producers have got to . . . live, while this fight's going on."

The plan will rely in large part on a 1933 program called the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), a division of the Agriculture Department created during the Great Depression to provide financial backup for farmers.

The Agriculture Department already spends more than $10 billion annually on a range of farm supports under the CCC, including trade promotion for crops and purchases of surplus farm goods.

While such efforts are widely popular in rural states, some anti-spending Republicans and urban Democrats have said they unfairly prop up agribusinesses at taxpayers' expense. Trump's proposed 2019 budget also would have slashed funding for the CCC.

In the past four months, Trump has imposed tariffs against steel and aluminum imports from China, Canada, Mexico, the European Union, Japan and other countries. He is threatening to extend the tariffs to cars, uranium and other imports.

Several of the countries have responded to Trump's trade measures by imposing tariffs of their own, and farmers have complained that they are the victims of retaliation from other countries, on which they rely to sell their products.

China, for example, has announced it is imposing tariffs on imports of U.S. soybeans, diverting some of its purchasing to Brazilian production.

While U.S. farmers have complained for months about the brewing trade war, Trump has showed no signs of backing down.

"Tariffs are the greatest!" he wrote Tuesday morning. "Either a country which has treated the United States unfairly on Trade negotiates a fair deal, or it gets hit with Tariffs. It's as simple as that - and everybody's talking!"

Some White House officials had hoped that other countries would quickly offer concessions before Trump's trade conflict escalated further. But conservative critics of the White House's approach said that Trump's move suggests an open-ended conflict.

Former Congressional Budget Office director Douglas Holtz-Eakin said the emergency aid for farmers is likely to be considered Trump's first taxpayer funded bailout of private entities, an unusual occurrence during a strong economy.

Holtz-Eakin, a Republican, is one of several conservative economists who have been sharply critical of Trump's approach to trade, and he said Tuesday that the programs the Agriculture Department will use to help farmers were not designed for this purpose.

"This is a terrible idea," Holtz-Eakin said. "These programs exist to insure farmers against the vagaries of nature and crop cycles. They are not there to offset bad policy. Two wrongs don't make a right. It's a misuse of the programs."

It is unusual for the government to extend financial bailouts to U.S. farmers on the basis of trade-related circumstances precipitated by the White House.

Other countries could try to bring a World Trade Organization case against the United States for its aid to farmers, alleging that the Agriculture Department has created an improper subsidy. Agriculture Department officials said they were confident the policy would not be vulnerable to such a challenge.

This week could prove crucial for Trump's trade strategy. He is to meet Wednesday with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who has criticized Trump's use of tariffs to try to extract concessions from trading partners.

Trump on Tuesday suggested that the Juncker visit should be seen as a sign that European officials are willing to bend to his demands, but European officials have cautioned that no major deals will be cut this week.

On Thursday, Trump is to talk about the economy and his trade agenda during visits to Illinois and Iowa, states where the new package of federal funds for farmers are likely to come under close scrutiny.

Separately, House Republicans plan to meet with one of Trump's top trade advisers, Peter Navarro, who has supported the tariff-driven approach used by the White House this year.

- - -

The Washington Post's Erica Werner contributed to this report.
A man is expected to survive after a shooting Monday night inside a gated apartment complex in north Houston.

The shooting happened inside The Alara Apartments in the 17600 block of Wayforest Drive, near Greens Road, around 8:15 p.m.

An unknown number of assailants opened fire on the man, who was rushed to Ben Taub Hospital in an unknown condition. Houston police officers on scene believe the man will survive.

A search for the shooters was underway.

No other information was available. Check back for updates on this developing story as they come in.

Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message.

Jay R. Jordan covers breaking news in the Houston area. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com | Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan | Email him at jay.jordan@chron.com
Hays County has become the second jurisdiction in the San Antonio area to implement a feral hog bounty program this summer as the animals continue to contaminate Texas crops and waterways.

Tails can be collected beginning Wednesday and must be turned in to the county by Aug. 22. Each tail is worth $5.

Guadalupe County launched a similar program earlier this year.

"Feral hogs continue to pose significant problems for both agriculture producers and residential property owners in Hays County," Hays County Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources Jason Mangold said in a prepared statement.

The county aims to remove 500 hogs through the bounty program.

RELATED: Guadalupe County will pay people to hunt feral hogs

The county decided to launch the program after receiving a grant from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Services. In addition to the bounty program, the grant will also help fund a feral hog workshop and webinar, a countywide damage assessment, and financial assistance to some landowners attempting to trap hogs.

The grant funds cover $7,850 of the total project. The county contributed an additional $1,250 for a total of $9,100 put toward decreasing the number of hogs in the county.

For hunters, the $5 payout is intended to reimburse expenses for bounty hunters, not to foster a competition.

An estimated 3 million feral hogs live in Texas, contaminating creeks and rivers and harming agricultural production across the state.

Click through the slideshow to see what you need to keep in mind about the program.

S. M. Chavey is a staff writer for mySA.com. Read more of her stories here. | sarah.chavey@express-news.net | 210-250-3122 | Twitter: @smchavey
A wade fishing trip in Nueces County turned deadly after a man contracted vibrio, according to health officials.

The Corpus Christi-Nueces County Public Health District confirmed the death on Tuesday. The elderly man contracted the flesh-eating bacteria through skin tears, officials said.

RELATED: Report: Flesh-eating bacteria in Gulf of Mexico attack man's fresh tattoo; he died 2 months later

He went to the hospital complaining of severe leg pain and showing symptoms of a bacterial infection, according to the release.

Doctors acted quickly in an attempt to save him, even amputating his leg, but the man died of vibrio-related complications within 36 hours of his admission into the hospital.

Vibrio is a type of bacteria that naturally inhabits coastal waters, but the population tends to increase between May and October, when the water warms up. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 80 percent of infections occur during those months. It is most likely to affect people with a compromised immune system.

The flesh-eating bacteria enters the body through an open wound or by a person eating raw or undercooked shellfish, according to the release.

Symptoms include water diarrhea, abdominal cramping, nausea, vomiting, fever, chills, severe pain and blistering skin lesions.

Fares Sabawi covers crime in San Antonio and Bexar County for mySA.com. Read more of his stories here. | fsabawi@mysa.com | Twitter: @FaresInSA
MEXICO CITY (AP)  Homicides in Mexico rose by 16 percent in the first half of 2018, as the country again broke its own records for violence.

The Interior Department said over the weekend there were 15,973 homicides in the first six months of the year, compared to 13,751 killings in the same period of 2017.

The number is the highest since comparable records began being kept in 1997, including the peak year of Mexico's drug war in 2011.

At current levels, the department's measure would put national homicides at 22 per 100,000 population by the end of the year  near the levels of Brazil and Colombia at 27 per 100,000.

RELATED: Border Patrol agents apprehend gang members, convicted sex offenders over 4-day span

Security analyst Alejandro Hope noted "the figures are horrible, but there are some signs that are halfway encouraging."

For example, the growth in homicides seems to be flattening out; murders were up only about 4 percent compared to the second half of 2017. "The curve may be flattening out," Hope noted, though he cautioned it is too early to tell.

Some areas, like the northern border state of Baja California, showed big jumps in murder rates, which others saw sharp drops.

Baja California, home to the border city of Tijuana, saw 1,463 homicides in the first half of the year, a 44 percent increase over the same period of 2017.

Authorities have attributed the spate of killings to battles between the Jalisco and Sinaloa drug cartels for control of trafficking routes in Baja California. The state is now Mexico's second most violent, with a homicide rate for the first six months of the year equivalent to 71 murders per 100,000 inhabitants.

RELATED: In Mexico, rising 'mass crime' defies security forces

By comparison, Honduras and El Salvador  some of the deadliest countries in the world  have homicide rates of around 60 per 100,000.

Mexico's most dangerous state is Colima, on the Pacific coast, which saw a 27-percent rise in killings and now has a homicide rate of about 80 per 100,000. The Jalisco cartel is also active there.

The central state of Guanajuato, home to the colonial city of San Miguel Allende, saw a 122-percent increase in homicides, which were running at a rate of about 40 per 100,000. Authorities say much of the killing is related to gangs of fuel thieves who drill taps into government pipelines.

But in Baja California Sur, home to the resorts like La Paz and Los Cabos, a stepped-up police presence apparently helped reduce killings. The 125 homicides in the state were less than half the number registered in the first six months of 2017 and a quarter the number in the last half of 2017. Extra police and troops were sent in after warring drug gangs increased killings in the state in 2017.

Hope noted that in about half of Mexico's 32 states and the capital, murder rates didn't rise much or at all. "Now the growth is becoming concentrated" in some areas.

RELATED: How 'La Barbie' became the top-ranking leader of a Mexican drug cartel

It is hard to tell why growth in homicide rates seem to have tapered off in historically violent states like Guerrero, which is home to more than a dozen gangs and is a main growing area for opium poppies.

"The growth in the use of fentanyl could be reducing the harvest of opium poppies, and that could be having an effect" on murder rates, Hope said.

Farmers in Guerrero say prices for opium paste have dropped to unprofitable levels because drug cartels are substituting it for cheaper, easier to obtain synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

Still, not all of Mexico's resort areas fared as well as Baja California Sur.

The Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo, home to resorts like Cancun, Tulum and Cozumel, saw homicides rise by 132 percent, to the equivalent of about 35 killings per 100,000.

The state accounts for almost half of Mexico's national tourism income. And Mexico has seen international resorts like Acapulco and Zihuatanejo dragged down by a reputation for violence in the past.

"The can stop it (violence in Quintana Roo), but they have to take care of it very quickly," Hope said.
For at least the third time since Hurricane Harvey, Houston City Council has OK'd the purchase of rescue equipment to prepare the Houston Fire Department and other first responders for the next flood.

The council this week unanimously agreed to allocate $319,012 for the purchase of four high-water rescue vehicles.

The panel allocated about $150,000 a month ago to buy two evacuation boats, five double-stack trailers and two inflatable boats for HFD.

READ MORE: With future floods in mind, Houston council adds to HFD rescue fleet

The department was hobbled by a lack of resources and old equipment during Harvey, as firefighters rushed to carry out 7,000 rescues and answer more than 15,000 calls for help during the first five days of the storm last August.

We don't have the adequate resources to address even the expected risk in this community," Fire Chief Sam Pena said at the time.

CHIEF PENA: Lack of HFD investment puts residents, firefighters at risk

In the months since that initial bleak assessment and Penas similarly dire assessment to a city council committee last October, the council approved $2 million to buy dozens of new boats, trucks and other rescue equipment, and the 100 Club and others donated more than a dozen boats to help city and county first responders handle future floods.

READ MORE: Council approves $2 million for new rescue boats, vehicles

With the recent 100 Club donation, Pena said only a handful of boats still were needed, and the chief said funding is allocated to buy them this year.
LOS ANGELES (AP)  A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the Second Amendment protects the right to openly carry a gun in public for self-defense.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that Hawaii officials had violated George Young's rights when he was denied a permit to openly carry a loaded gun in public to protect himself.

The decision reversed a lower court ruling that sided with officials who said the amendment only applied to guns kept in homes.

RELATED: Open Carry Texas rallies in Olmos Park calling for the dismissal of city's police chief

"We do not take lightly the problem of gun violence, which the State of Hawaii 'has understandably sought to fight,'" Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain wrote. "But, for better or for worse, the Second Amendment does protect a right to carry a firearm in public for self-defense."

If the ruling stands, it could lead to more guns in public in the few western states under 9th Circuit jurisdiction where they are currently restricted.

"States like Hawaii and California will have to allow far more guns on the streets than they do today," said Adam Winkler, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. "States would be able to ban concealed carry but only if they allow people to carry their guns openly displayed."

Winkler, however, expects the decision to be appealed to a full panel of the San Francisco-based court.

Tuesday's ruling comes two years after a full panel of the 9th Circuit ruled that there's no right to carry concealed guns in public. That June 2016 ruling struck down a 2-1 panel opinion that was also written by O'Scannlain.

RELATED: 2 open carry activists accused of interfering with SAPD investigation downtown

Gun rights is one of the most hotly debated issues in U.S. political and legal circles with any loosening or restriction of access to guns often leading to a court battle. The U.S. Supreme Court has shied away from the issue in recent years, turning away challenges to gun restrictions after striking down gun ownership bans in the District of Columbia and Chicago in 2008 and 2010.

Judge Richard Clifton suggested in his dissent that the Supreme Court will inevitably have to weigh in on the issue because several conflicting appeals decisions now show "there is no single voice on this question."

Clifton, who like the other judges on the panel was nominated to the court by a Republican president, criticized the majority for going "astray in several respects" and disregarding that states such as Hawaii have long regulated and limited the public carrying of guns, which he said did not undermine the core of the Second Amendment.

Calls seeking comment from the police chief and a lawyer for the County of Hawaii were not immediately returned.

___

Associated Press Writer Jennifer Sinco Kelleher contributed to this story from Honolulu.
Here we go again.

President Donald Trump has resumed denouncing the fake news media as the enemy of the people.

What set him off this time was the way they covered his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Summit with Russia was a great success except with the real enemy of the people, the Fake News Media, he said in a message posted on Twitter.

I think the news reporting about the summit was accurate and mostly objective. Commentary was tough. But on any side of a major issue, it should be.

By fake news media, Trump means outlets that provide news and commentary not supportive of him.

When he calls the news media the enemy of the people, Trump seems to be saying they are a threat to America. The term was used by Lenin, Stalin and Mao Zedong to mean anyone opposed to their regimes.

Trump was pleased with his performance in the joint press conference with Putin after their closed-door conversation in Helsinki.

But when he returned to the United States, he faced a torrent of criticism from Democrats and Republicans in Congress and liberal and conservative commentators troubled by what he said.

With the Russian president standing beside him, Trump accepted Putins denial that Russia interfered in U.S. elections, and he dismissed the conclusion of U.S. intelligence agencies that it had.

At the urging of his team, Trump went on television to walk back this assertion. Reading from a prepared statement, he explained that in one sentence he had said would when he should have said wouldnt.

As for the fake news media. Trump said this in an interview with CBS anchor Jeff Glor: Its crazy. You do something thats positive, and they try and make it as negative as possible.

He complained that the news media did not cover his two-hour face-to-face session with Putin. He said many important subjects were discussed, such as nuclear proliferation, Israel and North Korea.

Trump apparently forgot that the press was barred from the meeting. Only four people were allowed in the room: Trump, Putin and their interpreters. No recording or transcript was released afterward.

Later in a tweet, Trump said this of the news media:

They make up stories without any backup, sources or proof. Many of the stories written about me, and the good people surrounding me, are total fiction.

Problem is, when you complain you just give them more publicity. But Ill complain anyway! he added.

In a friendly interview conducted by Joe Kernen of CNBC, Trump said, I mean, except for the fake news, I think I did really well at the press conference.

He told Kernen that fools covering the press conference wanted him to start shouting at the Russian president.

The fake news media would have considered it a big story. Thats for sure.

Paul Janensch, of Bridgeport, was a newspaper editor and taught journalism at Quinnipiac University. Email: paul.janensch@quinnipiac.edu.
If President Donald Trump wants to shut down the critics of his performance in Helsinki and strengthen U.S. national security, he can do so with one bold move: Announce he is moving out most U.S. forces currently stationed in Germany and sending them to Poland.

The Polish government recently presented Trump with a formal proposal to move U.S. troops from Stuttgart, Germany, to a new permanent U.S. military base in Poland. Trump should take up Warsaw on this offer.

Moving U.S. troops to Poland would a bold, historic decision on par with Trumps decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. Not only would it better position American forces, it also would completely flummox Trumps critics in the U.S. foreign policy establishment. After spending the past week accusing him of being Putins puppet, they would look foolish if they turned around and criticized him for antagonizing Russia. And after attacking him for undermining NATO, they could hardly complain that he is taking unprecedented action to shore up the alliances Eastern flank.

Such a move would reinforce the tough line the president took on defense spending at the recent NATO summit, by punishing a deadbeat ally that does not meet its NATO commitments and rewarding a steadfast ally that does. Why should Germany  a country that spends just 1.24 percent of its gross domestic product on defense  continue to be rewarded with the economic benefit of U.S. bases?

Trump can further argue that Germanys actions beyond its inadequate defense spending have necessitated this move. At NATO, Trump blasted the Germany-to-Russia Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, declaring its a very bad thing for NATO. Hes right. The pipeline not only makes Germany more dependent on Moscow for energy, it also risks the security of Poland and other Eastern European allies. Right now, all Russian gas exports to Western Europe go through pipelines that cross Poland and Slovakia  which means Russia cannot cut off gas to NATO allies in the East without also cutting off its lucrative exports to the West. But once the new pipeline is built, sending gas directly to Germany under the Baltic Sea, Russia will be able to shut off energy supplies to Eastern Europe far more easily. Trump can correctly say that he needs to shore up the security of NATOs East European allies because of the German governments sign-off on the pipeline.

The move would also address a major U.S. strategic concern about its ability to deter Russia. The Post recently reported that U.S. military commanders are worried that if they had to quickly move U.S. troops east to head off a military conflict with Moscow, the most powerful military in the world could get stuck in a traffic jam as Humvees  snarl behind plodding semis on narrow roads and U.S. tanks  crush rusting bridges too weak to hold their weight. Stationing American forces in Poland would alleviate that problem. As the Polish government points out in its proposal, a U.S. permanent presence in Poland (offers) a more forward operating location than Stuttgart provides, would greatly alleviate well founded fears that fellow Eastern European and Baltic governments have that Moscow would be able to overtake defending forces prior to the support of U.S. and NATO forces in Stuttgart could provide.

The move would also benefit U.S. taxpayers. The Polish government has offered up to $2 billion to cover most of the costs of building such a base and supporting U.S. troops in Poland, declaring it is committed to share the burden of defense spending (and) make the decision more cost-effective for the U.S. government. This should be attractive to Trump, who has criticized other allies for not paying enough for the cost of stationing U.S. forces on their territory.

And there is one last good reason to do it: Poland loves Trump. When Trump spoke in Warsaw last year, his speech was repeatedly interrupted by chants of Donald Trump! Donald Trump! Such response would be unimaginable in Berlin.

The U.S. military presence in Germany is a legacy of the Cold War, when we positioned our forces to deter a Soviet invasion from East Germany. Today the need for deterrence is undiminished, but the potential line of contact has moved east. So should the U.S. military.
Think of a current elected official who represents the polar opposite of your political beliefs. Now, imagine that person occupying the Texas governors office for decades.

That exercise can be just that, or it could be a reality if the Legislature fails to enact term limits on state officeholders. As we have observed in the past, allowing the same individual to serve as governor creates a consolidation of power by virtue of state agency board and commission appointments that has proven to be problematic.

Term limits can bring new blood and fresh ideas into the legislative process. In addition to reducing the powers of special interests over our elected officials, term limits can ensure more judicious lawmaking. The best examples of public servants are our Founding Fathers.

These men were farmers and shopkeepers who migrated to Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., crafted the first laws of our nation, then promptly returned home. If legislators know they will be forced to return home to live under the laws they pass, they will arguably be much less likely to advocate for repressive and unreasonable laws.

Today, 38 states have some form of term limits for statewide elected officials. Thirty-six of these states have term limits on the governor. Twenty-five states have term limits for the lieutenant governor, and 24 on other state officials. Fifteen states also have legislative term limits.

In previous legislative sessions, we have filed legislation that would institute term limits for elected officials serving at the state level. The bill called for term limits of 12 years total for statewide officeholders (three four-year terms for governor, lieutenant governor, and other statewide elected officials and two six-year terms for railroad commissioners), a maximum of six two-year terms for Texas House members, and a maximum of three four-year terms for a Texas Senate member, totaling 12 years for each.

Unfortunately, in 2013, our legislation was voted down on the House floor, primarily by the group of far-right House members currently known as the Freedom Caucus.

The same group who boasts about draining the swamp and minimizing governments role in our lives wants to hold on to political power into perpetuity. It is clear that the special interests on the far-left and far-right want to amortize their investment in their leadership over long periods of time.

Members of the party of denial and do-nothing can start packing their bags if folks in Texas are able to vote on term limits in 2019.

In 2018, the Legislature passed a resolution calling for a convention of states to amend the U.S. Constitution. This legislation proposes amendments that would enact term limits for federal elected officials, impose spending limits on the federal government, and limit its power.

If term limits are appropriate for elected officials at the federal level, and have been for the United States president since the 22nd Amendment was ratified in 1951, arent they equally needed for elected officials at the state level?

Regardless of the party with which we affiliate, we will all reach the point that we will be glad we took the initiative to institute term limits. Its time to allow Texas voters to decide whether they want term limits for our governor and other state elected officials.

Lyle Larson, R-San Antonio, is a member of the Texas House of Representatives. He can be reached at lyle.larson@house. texas.gov or @RepLyleLarson.
The guilty verdict delivered earlier this month in the case of a man charged with destroying a Victoria mosque and Islamic community center sent a resounding message. The unanimous vote by a jury of five men and seven women let it be known hate crimes and the destruction of places of worship will not be tolerated in our society.

Marq Vincent Perez, 26, a father of two, was found guilty on multiple federal criminal charges, including the use of a fire to commit a felony, commission of a hate crime and possession of an unregistered destructive device in an unrelated crime.

He faces up to 40 years in prison and a $250,000 fine at sentencing in October by U.S. District Judge John D. Rainey.

It was a terrible crime that merits a stiff punishment. The mosques burning on Jan. 28, 2017, came the day after President Donald Trump moved to impose a travel ban on some majority Muslim countries.

The move has prompted great debate across the country and become a polarizing issue in many communities.

Hate crimes targeting Muslims in the United States are on the rise, according to a study released by the Council on American-Islamic Relations in April.

Not all cases result in arrests, but those in which suspects are apprehended merit swift prosecution. It was encouraging to have Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Department of Justices Civil Rights Division state after the jury verdict that his office is committed to holding hate crime perpetrators accountable.

Reconstruction of the building gutted in the arson are about 85 percent complete and it is expected they will be complete by the time of Perezs sentencing on Oct. 2.

The outpouring of financial support that came forth for the rebuilding of the mosque and community center has been heartwarming. A Go Fund Me page for the center last week showed $1.12 million donated by 23,595 people.

Facebook shows a photo of the new building under construction and a sign hanging on the construction sites chain-link fence that reads, Rebuilding with your love.

It may take decades for the Victoria community to heal from the hateful acts of an arsonist who burned down a house of worship, but a conviction in the case was an important first step.
Re: Emmett Till, Your Turn, July 18:

Sharon Dupree, writing on authorities continuing the investigation of the lynching of 14-year-old Emmett Till in 1955, asked Even after a black man has been elected president of our country not once, but twice, it seems some want to keep the racial division and animus alive and well. Why?

Ms. Dupree, if you were suffering from a potentially fatal type of cancer and a treatment you received helped alleviate the symptoms, would you declare yourself cured and discontinue the treatment not knowing if it still lurked within you? Of course not. That is why.

Racism is a cancer, not a stab wound.

Rick Buch, New Braunfels

Property valuations

Chief Appraiser Michael Amezquita has stated that the Bexar County Appraisal District is not a Bexar County department. In fact, it is an entity that, using the Texas tax code, appraises valuation of property for all of the taxing entities in the county.

That being said, that means that our local elected officials have no control over how the state is evaluating our property values.

Well, let see. We have the following taxing entities: The Flood Fund; Alamo Community College District; the hospital district; Bexar County; the San Antonio River Authority; the City of San Antonio; other cities in the county; San Antonio Independent School District; and other independent school districts.

For the most part, our elected officials have not seen fit to raise their tax rates on property owners. So, I have a novel idea. Why not consider lowering the tax rate?

Certainly, our local elected officials do in fact set the tax rates! How about it? Local officials should, in fact, be accountable to their constituents. Show your taxpaying constituents that you share their pain, cut the tax rates.

Daniel Martinez

Define radical

Staff Writer Kevin Diaz quotes Sen. Ted Cruz that Rep. Beto ORourke is so radical and reckless that he is unfit to serve in the U.S. Senate.

The midterm elections will be where the constituents will decide who is reckless and unfit. Posting on social media is taking a stand. Uninformed voting is taking a stand. Informed voting is making a difference.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, voter turnout for households earning less than $40,000 is below 50 percent. Voter turnout for whites and blacks is above 60 percent, Hispanics just over 30 percent.

So, who is poised to make the biggest difference in November and 2020?

S.A. Schneider, Converse

Look in mirror

Re: Declining white population is spawning fears, bias, Opinion, Sunday:

The last time I checked, the Constitution is blind. It does not define race, class, gender, ethnicity, or any other label we can attribute to ourselves. It gives every American the freedom to chart their course and make their path in life. At least the one I read does. Mens hearts though do not. Out of mans heart comes hate, malice, deceit, prejudice, and a host of other things with the potential to divide, but not the Constitution.

Of the people I know and work with, there is a variety of color in the mix. What Ive discovered is everyone looks for character, integrity, work ethic, and a persons knowledge, but not color, gender, or ethnic background. And in politics, its who they feel would be the best candidate, based on what is being promised, but never color, ethnicity, or gender.

Funny, but the author, Rogelio Saenz, and I must live in two different worlds. This is not to say I have never felt the sting of racism or the ignorance of someones prejudice. I have, but to attribute it solely to white is disingenuous at best, and oddly, the laws written to curb the problem havent worked either based on his thoughts.

Ricardo M. Solis, Universal City

Plenty are bit

Police Chief William McManuss penchant for self-promotion hit a new low with his flippant remark that anyone who was not involved in gangs, drugs or prostitution in San Antonio had the same likelihood of being a victim of violent crime as someone bit by a shark  on land ( Express-News, Sunday). He needs to apologize to the thousands annual innocent victims of violent crime in San Antonio  from murder, rape, domestic violence, carjackings, home invasions, etc.

One would expect a little more humility from the chief of police of a city that in 2016 ranked No. 1 in serious crimes, according to the FBIs Uniform Crime Reporting Data.

Fred Previc

Say, what?

Trump says in Helsinki that He just said its not Russia. I will say this: I dont see any reason why it would be.

Later, after massive negative feedback: Ooops, I meant it wouldnt be Russia.

Sounds like the famous Clinton statement regarding Monica interviews where he said, It depends upon what the meaning of the word is ... is.

Sounds like 4-year-olds with hands in the cookie jar.

Bill Hurley
FAIRFIELD  With 21 days before the primary, five Republican candidates for governor battled in a contentious debate Tuesday, lambasting each others business and political backgrounds and tax reform ideas.

The debate, hosted by Hearst Connecticut Media, Sacred Heart University and WSHU radio, filled an auditorium at the university in Fairfield with about 180 people, many of them seniors, eager to hear the candidates distinguish themselves. It was one of the few debates that drew all five GOP candidates: Mark Boughton, Tim Herbst, Steve Obsitnik, David Stemerman and Bob Stefanowski.

Throughout the 90-minute fight, Stefanowski drew the most heat from other candidates on his business resume, economic plan, voting record and support for Democrats.

He should be ashamed for putting out (an economic) proposal that he knows the numbers dont add up, said Stemerman, a Greenwich hedge fund mogul. That comment set off a fierce back and forth between the two candidates who petitioned onto the primary ballot and are pouring their personal wealth into their campaigns.

You should be embarrassed, Mr. Stemerman and you should think before you speak, said Stefanowski, rising to stand. This guy has bought stocks his entire life. Hes never run anything. Ive run many businesses.

Thats a quite a slam. I own stocks, Stemerman, who founded Conatus Capital Management, said. Most people in this room, thats how we retire.

Madison resident Stefanowski was CEO of DFC Global Corporation from 2014 to 2017, a payday lender that was ordered to refund money to clients after regulators found it was lending more to borrowers than it could afford to pay.

The company was engaging in business practices that are illegal in the state of Connecticut, Stemerman claimed. Is that we need in our next governor? I dont think so.

Those bad practices occurred before Stefanowski got to the company, he said, and he cleaned them up.

You know why the pension funds of the state of Connecticut are bankrupt right now? Because people like you trade in their stock, living in mansions in Greenwich with thousands of bathrooms, losing money for the people on the pension plans, Stefanowski fired back. Im very proud of my track record.

Cutting taxes

All the candidates pitched ideas to reduce taxes, but disputed how to do it.

Herbst, the former Trumbull first selectman, cricitized plans by Boughton and Stefanowski to eliminate the income tax entirely.

Youre not going to be able to reduce or eliminate any other taxes until you dig out of this hole, Herbst said, noting Connecticuts snowballing pension liabilities and union contracts that cant be immediately renegotiated.

Obsitnik, a Westport tech entrepreneur, agreed that Connecticut has to earn our way in the direction of chopping the income tax. In the near future, the state can eliminate the estate tax, taxes on pensions and social security and phase out the corporate tax over three years.

Stemerman called tossing out the income tax an empty promise because it makes up more than half of state revenue. He backed reducing the income tax brackets from five to three.

The candidates embraced President Trumps economic approach, supporting his tariffs and his tax policies. They blamed Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and legislative Democrats for the states fiscal condition, particularly harping on the opposing partys support for tolls, which the five candidates all resoundingly rejected.

If Dan Malloy is succeeded by (Democratic endorsed candidate) Ned Lamont, we will be looking at the good old days of Dan Malloy, Stemerman warned.

Party allegiance

Stefanowski and Stemerman each have a record of supporting Democrats, which drew criticism from the three other candidates. Stefanowski received the brunt of the jabs because he has not voted for 16 years and changed his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat and back recently.

What would make you become a Republican one month before you announced your candidacy for governor? Herbst, former first selectman of Trumbull, asked Stefanowski.

Stefanowski did not directly respond to the questions, but dismissed Herbst as desperate.

This guy knows hes last in the polls and Im in the lead, Stefanowski said.

Stemerman took similar heat his own contributions to Democrats, like Barack Obama, and past registration as a Democrat. He defended himself by saying Donald Trump was only a Republican for four years before running for president and former President Ronald Reagan also changed parties.

I have been a Republican for 14 years consistently supporting our party and I believe I have earned the right to represent our party, he emphasized.

Boughton, Obsitnik and Herbst said they have been Republicans their whole lives.

When I was out there serving in the United States military and you were a registered Democrat up in Massachusetts, I was all over this country defending your very right to be a Democrat, jabbed Boughton, who is mayor of Danbury and the partys endorsed candidate.

Political experience

The three candidates with no experience in elected office, Stefanowski, Stemerman and Obsitnik painted Herbst and Boughton as career politicians.

Timmy, I know youve never had a real job in your life, Stefanowski said. At the same time I was overseas, you raised taxes.

He noted Herbsts recent commercials highlight the two times Trumbull homeowners had modest tax decreases, but not the six years in which taxes increased.

Stemerman, meanwhile, depicted Boughton as a perennial candidate who cant win, noting he unsuccessfully ran for statewide office two times previously.

Hearst, Sacred Heart and WSHU will host a second debate for Democrats Ned Lamont and his challenger Joe Ganim on Thursday at 2 p.m.

emunson@hearstmediact.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson
It's something people tell me all the time, and usually in hushed tones: "With a trillion planets out there, we really can't be the only intelligent beings in the galaxy." In other words, given the enormous amount of real estate in space, aliens are sure to exist. So why haven't we found any?

I don't dispute this straightforward idea because, after all, it underpins the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). But not everyone agrees. A recent paper by three researchers at the University of Oxford is throwing shade on those who feel confident that the cosmos is thick with extraterrestrials.

The Oxford academics were addressing a puzzle known as the Fermi Paradox, which describes the disconnect between our expectation of many worlds swarming with aliens and the fact that they remain undiscovered. Nearly 70 years ago, the celebrated physicist Enrico Fermi mouthed a deceptively simple question: "Where is everybody?" He made a quick estimate of how long it would take for any society bent on building an empire to colonize the entire Milky Way and realized it was only a few tens of millions of years, which is nearly 1,000 times shorter than the age of the galaxy.

This raised an obvious problem: There's been more than enough time for aliens to spread out, and yet we don't see them.

Perhaps the Fermi Paradox is keeping you awake at night. If so, the Oxford scientists offer some succor. The source of your discomfort, they say, could be your inflated estimate of how many alien societies might be out there.

To make such estimates, nearly everyone deploys the Drake Equation  a simple formula that was cooked up by astronomer Frank Drake in 1961. It reckons how frequently intelligent species arise by multiplying the probability that biology will appear with the likelihood that it will become smart enough to develop science and technology.

Most people who wield the Drake Equation simply suppose (which is to say, guess) the values of its terms. For example, they might say that the chance that microbes will eventually bubble out of the primordial soup of a watery planet is between one and 10 percent. But the Oxford scientists rightly point out that we really don't know this percentage with any degree of accuracy. It could be that the probability that biology will arise is many orders of magnitude less. Similar issues apply for some of the other terms in the Drake Equation.

If we own up to the true extent of these uncertainties and do the requisite math, the Oxford study finds that there's at least a 53 percent chance that we're alone in the Milky Way and at least a 40 percent chance that we're alone in the visible universe. Homo sapiens could be the smartest thing going.

This result, they claim, melts the Fermi Paradox like butter on a hot griddle  maybe no one has colonized the galaxy because no one else inhabits it.

Perhaps now you can sleep better. If so, great, but I can't.

While there's no arguing against the fact that many of the steps that lead to intelligent creatures have unknown and possibly very low probabilities, that situation could change soon. The discovery of microbes on one of the moons of Jupiter or Saturn  something that might happen while you still have your teeth  would strongly boost the chance of finding life elsewhere, and essentially guarantee that biology is as universal as door dings in a parking garage. At that point, the analysis by the Oxford team could itself dissolve.

Frankly, exploration is seldom done well on blackboards. For 2,000 years academics argued over the possibility that a continent-size land mass sat at the bottom of the globe. The ancient Greeks suggested that this was required by symmetry, which may have qualified as a good idea in 350 B.C. A better, if less optimistic, argument could have been made in the year 1600 by noting that all of the waters of the southern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans explored to date were known to be devoid of any large polar continent. Since these two sprawling bodies of water cover 55 million square miles, whereas a land mass the size of Antarctica is 5 million square miles, the a priori chances were more than 10-to-one against there being a continent just out of sight to the south.

Obviously this analysis would have been wrong, but it demonstrates that you don't make new discoveries by computing probabilities, only by investigating  by actually doing an experiment. In the case of the Antarctica hypothesis, that meant sending ships south.

We can try to reckon the odds of success in our hunt for cosmic confreres. That's always worthwhile. But, such exercises should not deter us from an actual search.

Dr. Seth Shostak is senior astronomer at the SETI Institute
- Akin Ogunbiyi, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)'s governorship aspirant in Osun, has called for the cancellation of the just concluded primary in the state

- Ogunbiyi alleged that the election was rigged in favour of Senator Ademola Adeleke, the declared winner, he should be the rightful victor

- He claimed that Adeleke's educational qualification up to school certificate level did not meet up to the basic conditions set by the 1999 constitution and the electoral act

A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)'s aspirant at the governorship primary in Osun state, Akin Ogunbiyi, had asked the partys leadership to declare him the winner of the polls.

Ogunbiyi claimed that he scored the highest lawful votes cast which was different from the declared results. He also faulted the educational qualification of the winner, Senator Ademola Adeleke, The Nation reports.

READ ALSO: DSS, police reportedly occupy Ekweremadus Abuja residence

Speaking with newsmen on Monday, July 23, in Abuja, Ogunbiyi said that he was at the PDP's national secretariat to question its leadership over the result of the primary.

Ogunbiyi, in a letter of petition addressed to the chairman of the governorship electoral appeal panel of the PDP, said that some 42 voided and 128 unaccounted votes respectively were his, stating that the total votes he got were 1,732.

He said: I, Dr Akin Ogunbiyi, having polled the highest number of votes in the primary election of July 21, be declared the validly nominated/ elected PDP governorship candidate for the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Osun.

On the grounds on the allegedly faulty process of the polls, Ogunbiyi therefore called for the disqualification of Adeleke as the acclaimed winner. He stated: Contrary to Section 30, Sub-Section E of the Electoral Guidelines for primary election 2018, the total number of delegates accredited was not announced before the commencement of voting.

He further claimed that the document submitted by Adeleke as evidence of his educational qualification up to school certificate level did not fulfil the fundamental qualification set by the 1999 constitution and the electoral act.

Ogunbiyi said: The Principal of Muslim Grammar School, Ede, Mr Khalid Abbas, who purportedly signed the Testimonial, had not been posted to the school as at the date indicated on the document. The principal has denied ever issuing or signing it and the denial is very well on record. He referred to the primary election as a brotherly and family contest.

Adeleke, on his part, urged aggrieved aspirants to unite with him and get back the state from the All Progressives Congress (APC). He urged Ogunbiyi to come on board and congratulated him for his hard-fighting team and for running a good and impressive campaign.

Adeleke said: It was a brotherly contest in our collective strive to redeem our state. It is, therefore, no gainsaying that we are all winners.

My emergence as the governorship candidate of our great party marks the beginning of divine liberation of our dear people from repression and oppression.

Moreover, some supporters Ogunbiyi, protested on Monday, July 24, in Osogbo, the state capital. Funso Babarinde, the leader of the protesters accused Bayelsa state Governor Seriake Dickson, the head of the electoral panel of fraud.

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The protesters alleged that the polls was rigged in favour of Senator Adeleke. Babarinde also said that many of the ballots marked as void votes were for Ogunbiyi. They demanded the cancellation of the results announced by the electoral panel, claiming that the manipulation robbed Ogunbiyi of victory.

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that supporters of Ogunbiyi were protesting the alleged manipulation of the Saturday, July 21, primary election of the party in favour of Senator Ademola Adeleke.

Some of the supporters of the aggrieved aspirant allegedly said the opposition party would make the election easy for the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, if Adeleke was presented as the PDP candidate.

Governor Rauf Aregbesola Interview: 'State of Osun' is correct (Exclusive ) | Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng
- Edem Duke, a former minister, is aiming to be the governor of Cross River state in 2019

- He has declared his intention to contest the state's governorship election on the platform of the APC

- Duke defected to the APC from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) last year

Former minister for tourism and culture, Edem Duke, on Monday, July 23, declared his intention to contest the Cross River governorship election in 2019 on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC).

Legit.ng gathered that he made the declaration at his Ikot Edem Udo ward in Akpabuyo local government area of the state.

Duke, a former chieftain of the PDP and former minister under the Goodluck Jonathan administration, said he joined the race to salvage the state because the PDP-led administration in the state had not lived up to expectation.

READ ALSO: Gabriel Suswam reportedly set to join APC

His words: For over a decade, Cross River state was a jewel in the crown of Nigeria. But in recent years, all our efforts over time are now receding into history. Therefore, there is need for us to rise up and see the possibility of enthroning true democracy and restore the peoples paradise from the hills of Obanliku to the forest of Bakassi.

It is time for people of this state to rise up and salvage the situation; and that is why, I have come out to offer myself for this selfless service. I have come out to be a steward of the people because the efforts to restore our state must be the responsibility of all well-meaning people of this state."

The governorship aspirant said that talent, knowledge, training and experience were nothing if these were not put into achievements and the direction of human progress.

He added that he would revitalize the ailing tourism sites and create new ones to make the sector thrive again if voted into power in the state.

I was the architect of tourism revolution in Cross River and I replicated the same thing at the national level as a minister. So, if given the opportunity to be governor of Cross River, I will turn around the tourism fortunes once more.

I will revive TINAPA; Marina Resort; the Qua Falls and Obudu Ranch Resort will come back to life again. These are the pride of Cross River; we cannot continue to allow our natural heritage to die, he concluded.

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He, however, cautioned the APC leadership to resolve the crisis in its state chapter as it might affect the partys chances in the 2019 election.

Meanwhile, the APC in Akwa Ibom state has taken over the building previously occupied by the PDP as their state secretariat on Ikot Ekpene road.

The PDP had relocated from the building to another rented apartment on Edet Akpan Avenue three years ago leaving the building empty except for some churches which occupied only a section of the massive duplex.

At their first meeting in the sprawling complex, APC members on Saturday, July 21, blocked a section of the road and moved a motion that the place should, henceforth, become their state secretariat.

President Buhari on 2019 Presidential Election: Will You Vote For Him? | Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit
- Senator Ayo Arise has disclosed how he and other APC chieftains worked to prevent Governor Ayo Fayose from installing his deputy as his successor

- The APC chieftain said they decided that enough was enough, and that Fayose had overstayed his welcome in Ekiti politics

- He provided a breakdown of those who worked against Fayose in their localities; and insisted that there was no manipulation of the election

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Ayo Arise, has explained how he and other stalwarts of the ruling party in Ekiti worked to prevent the state governor, Ayodele Fayose, from installing his deputy, Prof Kolapo Olusola Eleka, as his successor.

In an interview with The Point, the former lawmaker said he and other APC stalwarts resolved not to allow Fayose impose Eleka on the state.

Legit.ng gathers that the former lawmaker disclosed that APC chieftains in Ekiti, some of whom were previously allies of Fayose and had even worked for his re-election in 2014, concluded that Fayose had overstayed his welcome in Ekiti politics. He said he and his cohorts ensured that Fayoses anointed successor did not succeed in any of their localities.

READ ALSO: Be cautious - Iran fires back at Trump

Arise stated: Now, I want to say there have been several elections since Buhari became the president. I am sure you remember Anambra election took place. The government at the centre is APC, the government in Anambra is APGA.

So, there has been no manipulation of election since Buhari became the president of this country. And security was equally provided in Anambra. So, there is no relationship.

Fayose has overstayed his relevance in Ekiti; that is a fact. And those of us who worked to put him there have said enough is enough, and we worked to remove him. However narrow the margin is, everybody held on to his locality to deliver, and we delivered.

So, when you now look at Ado, where he had a home run the other time, it became impossible for him to have a home run this time. Dont forget, Senator Babafemi Ojudu is from Ado, he has his own strong presence there. Senator Raji Rasaki is from Ado, she worked for Fayose in 2014 election. In this last one, she worked against him.

Dont forget that the deputy to Fayemi is from Ado. He is the former chairman of Ado local government. He is a high chief in Ado and he is running a school in Ado, where many of the children, many Ado youths, attend. Those who could not afford the school fees were given free education. So by far, Bisi Egbeyemi is very popular; a known name.

All these factors combined, ensured that Fayose had no home run. Even though he is from that local government area; he is not from that town, but from a small village very close to Ado. He cant boast of 5,000 votes where he comes from. When people dont realise all these facts, they begin to say somebody has manipulated the election. How could Fayose have won this election?

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Recall that Legit.ng previously reported that supporters of the APC and Kayode Fayemi took to the streets in Ekiti, following his declaration as governor-elect of the state.

Fayemi won the gubernatorial election which took place on Saturday, July 14, to defeat his closest rival, Professor Kolapo Olusola of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Were Ekiti residents paid to vote? - on Legit.ng TV:

Source: Legit.ng
- The Coalition of Civil Society Organisation for Peace and Good Governance stormed the National Assembly on Tuesday, July 24

- The group protested an alleged misappropriation of funds previously approved for the establishment of cattle ranch across Nigeria

- They also called for the arrest of former president Goodluck Jonathan over the misappropriation of the said fund

A group on Tuesday, July 24, stormed the National Assembly in protest of an alleged misappropriation of funds previously approved for the establishment of cattle ranch across Nigeria.

Members of the Coalition of Civil Society Organisation for Peace and Good Governance besieged the National Assembly complex in their numbers.

The group said the death toll that has arisen as a result of the herdsmen and farmers conflict in Nigeria has reached an alarming stage.

They also said that without urgent and proactive measures were not taken, it has a potential to threaten the very foundation of the country our forefathers laboured to put in place.

READ ALSO: Breaking: Another rowdy session as 36 House members dump APC for PDP, ADC

The protesters, who were seen displaying placard, bearing various inscription alleged that some individuals who do not have the interest of Nigeria at heart have continued to engage in acts inimical to our progress as a nation.

The Coalition of Civil Society Organisation for Peace and Good Governance stormed the National Assembly. Photo credit: Chris Oko

Speaking during the protest the national president of the coalition Jonathan Ogwuche alleged that the embezzlement of the N100 billion cattle ranch fund released by the past administration in 2014 for the establishment of mini ranches across Nigeria.

The group also called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of former President Goodluck Jonathan over the alleged misappropriation.

Ogwuche said, Even as we are aware that the money was released without the approval of the National Assembly, there was no evidence of how it was utilized; there has not been any ranch constructed anywhere in the country to account for the expenditure of the money."

They protested misappropriation of funds approved for the establishment of cattle ranch across Nigeria. Photo credit: Chris Oko

It is also expedient to mention that this act of national sabotage has left the country with human and material casualties from herdsmen and farmers conflict.

READ ALSO: Breaking: Rowdy session in Senate as Melaye, Kwankwaso, 13 other senators dump APC for PDP (full list, video)

We are appalled by this act of rascality aimed at national disintegration by elements and principal political actors of the previous Peoples Democratic Party-led government in Nigeria.

With blood flowing freely in Nigeria as a result of this crime against humanity, these political actors are still roaming the streets freely and flaunting their ill-gotten wealth.

It is a clear four years after the release of the funds, yet nothing has been done or heard on the case, yet innocent Nigerians are dying on almost a daily basis," Ogwuche said.

At this point, we are constrained to believe that monies must have exchanged hands in a bid to kill the matter completely despite the innocent lives that are lost on a daily basis in Nigeria.

It also appears that some elements within the National Assembly might have conspired with those behind the dastardly act of embezzling the 100 billion naira to kill the probe.

We are therefore urging the National Assembly not only to investigate the matter but to also live up to the expectations of the people they are representing in their various constituencies to ensure that all of those that were part of the embezzlement of the funds are brought to book.

We also call for the immediate arrest and prosecution of former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan for under whose watch this heist was perpetrated, to establishing whether or not he was a part of the fraud," Ogwuche added.

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the presidency had urged all those against ranching and colony programmes for herdsmen across Nigeria to have a rethink.

The special adviser to the president on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, said Nigerians are better off living with the ranches and colonies than the consistent conflicts among herdsmen and farmers.

Adesina also decried connotations in many quarters that the ongoing crisis between farmers and herders is religious.

Nigerian herdsmen vs Nigerian farmers - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Nigeria and Niger has been signed at the State House in Abuja.

President Muhammadu Buhari attended the signing ceremony of MOU of the Nigeria-Niger Hydrocarbon Pipeline and Refinery Projects in the State House on Tuesday, July 24.

This was disclosed by the special adviser to President Buhari on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, on his Facebook page.

Legit.ng notes that Adesina in the post, shared pictures of the signing ceremony which had President Buhari, his Nigerien counterpart, Mahamadou Issoufu, in attendance.

Others were Nigeria's minister of state for petroleum Ibe Kachikwu and Niger Republic's minister of energy, Foumakoye Gado.

According to President Buhari's personal assistant on new media, Bashir Ahmad, the two presidents met yesterday night, Monday, July 23, at the State House before the agreement for the construction of hydrocarbon pipeline from Niger to Nigeria was finally signed on Tuesday.

President Muhammadu Buhari and his Nigerien counterpart, Issoufou Mahamadou, witnessing the signing of the memorandum of understanding. Photo credit: Facebook, Femi Adesina.

President Muhammadu Buhari and Nigerien counterpart, Issoufou Mahamadou. Photo credit: Facebook, Femi Adesina.

A group picture after the signing of the MOU. Photo credit: Facebook, Femi Adesina.

Nigeria's minister of state for petroleum Ibe Kachikwu, shaking Niger Republic's minister of energy, Foumakoye Gado, after signing the MOU. Photo credit: Facebook, Femi Adesina.

READ ALSO: BREAKING: House of Representatives members jubilate as senators defect from APC

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that out of the 35 firms that expressed interest to establish modular refineries, 13 were given licenses by the Nigerian government.

Maikanti Baru, the group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), made the announcement at the Offshore Technology Conference 2018 Nigeria Oil Industry Award Dinner in the United States, where he was the special guest of honour and received an award.

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According to him, the corporation and the ministry of petroleum resources were collaborating to encourage the establishment of modular refineries in the Niger Delta to encourage job creation.

President Buhari on 2019 Presidential Election: Will You Vote For Him? | on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng
- Akinwunmi Ambode, the Lagos state governor, has said that the government is under no obligation to permanently employ beneficiaries of the N-Power programme

- The position by the state government was announced by Obafela Bank-Olemoh, the special adviser to Ambode on education on Tuesday, July 24

- Bank-Olemoh said that Ambode has made this clear right from the inception of the programme organised by the federal government

The Lagos state government says it is not obliged to retain teachers posted to the state under the ongoing N-Power programme of the presidency.

Obafela Bank-Olemoh, special adviser to state governor on education, made the declaration in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday, July 24, in Lagos.

READ ALSO: Breaking: 36 House of Representatives members dump APC

Bank-Olemoh said: We have made it clear from the very beginning that in the N-Power programme, we are not obliged to employ anybody. They are there and when that programme is finished, they are eased out. The governor has given us a clear mandate that as teachers retire from the system, we replace them immediately.

Our teachers are something we are very passionate about. This administration has employed over 1,300 new teachers into the system and we are paying them.But we also know that there are challenges there and it is work in progress.

We are committed to the training and retraining of our teachers. We would continue to do it and over the next one or two years, they are going to see us do a lot more in strengthening our teachers.

NAN reports that the N-power initiative, which was inaugurated in 2016, seeks to address youth unemployment by providing large-scale skills acquisition and development opportunities to participants.

To that end, the programme deployed at least 5,436 teachers to Lagos state in 2017, and many more to other states.

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Speaking on the shortage of teachers in the state, Bank-Olemoh said the state government had plans to employ more teachers through the states agency charged with continuous recruitment.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that in a Facebook live chat with Afolabi Imoukhuede, senior special assistant to the president on job creation (N-Power Scheme), N-power encouraged participants to save for investment and plan ahead since the scheme was only for two years.

He also spoke on the reasons behind the recent deductions in stipends of some participants. Imoukhuede gave reasons for the delay in stipends, noting that the budget played a prominent role in the scheme's financing.

Ambode's second term is shaking, says Lagos woman - On Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng
Camping only a holiday if your house is worse than a tent Daily Mash

Two Dozen Raccoons Die in Viral Zombie Outbreak in New York Inverse :-(

Laos dam collapse: hundreds missing after villages flooded Guardian. More :-(

Japan heatwave declared natural disaster as death toll mounts BBC

Smartphone addiction: big techs balancing act over responsibility and revenue Financial Times (David L)

Deep Learning Algorithms Help Map Developing Brains Peek (David L)

Fukushimas nuclear signature found in California wine MIT Technology Review (furzy)

Caves all the way down Do psychedelics give access to a universal, mystical experience of reality, or is that just a culture-bound illusion? Aeon. Micael: Hilarious description of Western mysticism tourists that are more like drug tourists. Also, important points to keep in mind when big money moves into psychedelics after pot legalization

North Korea

Steve Bannon plans Europe-wide populist right campaign BBC

Ich will nicht aufwachen und einen Rache-Tweet von Trump lesen Die Welt

Italys Dignity Decree Bruegel. First legislation by the new government.

Brexit

Subversive civil servants secretly blacklisted under Thatcher and Wilson government used secret unit to smear union leaders Guardian Guardian (JTM)

New Cold War

Syraquistan

Big Brother is Watching You Watch

Imperial Collapse Watch

Trump Transition

A reader sent this tweet. Im normally leery of appearance-based criticism, but Hillary is a public figure with more than enough money to make sure shes presentable. Not only is the mumu a bizarre choice for an elderly woman who wants to be seen as authoritative (obviously reminiscent of nursing homes, as in infirmity and senility) but even her hair looks unwashed.

I already hate Hillary Clinton. She didnt need to wear a house dress and babble on about Vladimir Putin. She looked and sounded like a crazy lady who escaped from the attic. pic.twitter.com/YSi0u6PiSS  Margaret Kimberley (@freedomrideblog) July 23, 2018

Why So Many Reporters Are Missing the Political Story of the Decade Washington Monthly. Versailles 1788.

Im A Conservative, And I Went To An Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Rally Daily Caller (UserFriendly)

Wisconsin Regressivism New Republic

CYNTHIA NIXON MEETS WITH COMMUNITY CALLING FOR SHUTDOWN OF AIM FRACKED GAS PIPELINE Sane Energy. Thomas R sent this FB update which I cannot access but per him:

Second day of the proceedings is today. We have a lot of folks up there and in other support roles. Our fearless leader at SEP (Kim) and several other folks on our team crawled inside a piece of the AIM pipeline in 2016. Aside from the standard political sleaze factors involved with Spectras development of the project, and the obvious climate-change impacts of fracked gas, the project has brought folks in Westchester out to raise hell due to its insane proximity to the Indian Point nuclear facility. This is the first time that the climate necessity defense has been allowed in a civil disobedience case in NYS and I think one of the few times its been used anywhere in the country. It is definitely an important event in the NY climate struggle.

It looks kind of skeevy: Illinois governor shamed by cash giveaway Politico

BART stabbing: Woman, 18, killed, sister critically injured; Bay Area manhunt for suspect Mercury News. Third BART killing in a week.

Federal Jury Convicts Lawyer and Coal Company Executive for Bribing State Legislator Justice.gov. UserFriendly: Kudos to them, but the press release about the FBI ALWAYS going after corruption is hilariously far from reality.

MGM turns to never-tested law to sue Vegas shooting victims ABC News (JTM)

Googles Ad Business Helps Offset EU Antitrust Fine Wall Street Journal

Where modern macroeconomics went wrong Lars P. Syll

Diversity versus merit is a false choice for recruiters Andy Haldane, Financial Times

Overpromising has crippled public pensions. A 50-state survey Wirepoints

Backlash Against War on Cash Reaches Washington & China Don Quikones, Wolf Street

Class Warfare

Antidote du jour. Richard Smith, natch:

Snow owls sleep like they have necked 10 double whiskeys and just reached their bed. pic.twitter.com/bq0fRguX73  James Glynn (@jamesglynn) July 23, 2018

Plus a bonus video:

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
Hannah Crosse from Tipperary won Boodles Most Stylish Lady in association with Powerscourt Hotel, Resort & Spa and evoke.ie at the Curragh on Saturday.

The fashion competition was part of the Darley Irish Oaks Day at the Curragh Racecourse and was a wonderful occasion for both racing and fashion fans as one of the most glamorous race days in the Irish racing calendar.

Showing her support for local Irish designers, Hannah wore a dress by Tina Griffin Designs from Killorglin, Co.Kerry, saying "I chose the sage green coloured silk fabric and Tina came up with the design. I really love the fabric, fit and all the button detailing." She paired the look with a blush pink 'Ashley' hat by Carol Kennelly Millinery, both shoes and bag were LK Bennett.

Hannah's inspiration was based on traditional race day elegance; "Personally I like simple, classic looks and that is why I chose Tina Griffin Designs, she even designed my bridesmaid dresses for my wedding.

The stylish ensemble didn't go unnoticed by judges Sybil Mulcahy, Evoke.ie and Kate Harrington, leading Hannah to win the prize from Boodles & Powerscourt Hotel & Spa, worth in excess of 10 000 euros.

Hannah was engaged at Powerscourt Hotel, Resort & Spa four years ago, meaning the win has an even more sentimental edge, "I was very lucky to have got engaged at Powerscourt Hotel, Resort & Spa. It is a fabulous hotel and I am really looking forward to be going back with my husband Charles for the full VIP treatment."

The 2 runners up Ann-Marie Corbett from Mitchelstown and Liz Maher from Carlow also received a luxury overnight stay for two in Powerscourt Hotel, Resort & Spa including breakfast in SIKA overlooking the Sugar Loaf Mountain and fabulous goody bags from both Boodles and evoke.ie.
(Natural News) Aside from negatively impacting the concentration of teenagers, heavy smartphone use is linked to an increased rate of social isolation, depression, suicidal thoughts, and even suicide.

A decade after Steve Jobs, Apples co-founder, launched the first iPhone, 92 percent of teenagers own a smartphone. A double-edged sword, smartphones revolutionized communication but they also increased the risk of social isolation.

Smartphones have also made it easier to cyberbully individuals. A lot of teenagers have been miserable because of cyberbullying, and it has even driven some teens to commit suicide. (Related: Excessive social media use leads to depression.)

From 2010 to 2015, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) determined that the rate of suicide and severe depression went up by more than 30 percent among teens aged 13 to 18. About 60 percent of the increase was among teenage girls.

Because the internet gives teens access to all sorts of social media apps, they arent talking to each other as much. Theyre chatting, they send messages, and they like photos and videos but everyone is texting instead of talking in person.

Based on a recent study by Florida State University, there is a significant link between suicidal tendencies and smartphone usage. Researchers determined that those who were on their devices for over five hours daily had at least a 50 percent incidence of at least one suicidal behavior. The studys authors note that teenagers who owned smartphones and were on social media had a higher risk of reporting mental health issues.

Meanwhile, the researchers share that teens who spend less time on their devices and participate in physical activities or read books had a smaller chance of developing mental health problems.

In a separate report from Common Sense , it was revealed that the majority of younger children spend their formative years on their phones instead of with their parents. About 42 percent of children aged eight or younger own a tablet, marking a great spike from one percent back in 2011.

In France, phones are about to be completely banned in lower and middle schools. U.S. schools should be considering this move as well. Schools could also offer electronic devices that are restricted to school-related or independent academic work to discourage smartphone overuse.

Cyber etiquette

Another approach to consider is the introduction of cyber etiquette so adolescents can learn how to use their devices and the internet responsibly. It can teach children how to manage their time spent online, how to deal with cyberbullying, and how to integrate empathetic face-to-face human skills to the online world. It can also emphasize the importance of offline relationships.

No matter how hard we try, we cant totally eliminate smartphones from our lives. However, we can take the necessary measures to educate our children on how to use their devices wisely. Before we go and give them their own smartphones, we just need to make sure that they have a firm grasp of basic communication skills.

Teach teens to manage their cellphone usage

To curb potential smartphone overuse, teach your teenagers how to use their devices properly using the tips below:

Teenagers are stuck in the middle ground between childhood and adulthood so you need to carefully monitor their smartphone usage. As a parent or guardian, you must discuss cyber etiquette so they know the rules and the consequences of abusing this privilege.

so you need to carefully monitor their smartphone usage. As a parent or guardian, you must discuss cyber etiquette so they know the rules and the consequences of abusing this privilege. Decide on their phone usage hours. Can they use their phones the whole day? Should it be turned off by their bedtime? Limiting their phone time gives your children time away from social media so they can enjoy other activities.

Can they use their phones the whole day? Should it be turned off by their bedtime? Limiting their phone time gives your children time away from social media so they can enjoy other activities. Always open the lines of communication with your children. They need to know that they can trust you with their problems, especially if they are being bullied or harassed online.

They need to know that they can trust you with their problems, especially if they are being bullied or harassed online. Ask about school rules for smartphones. Not all schools will allow students to have their phones with them during class hours. Review the rules so your kids know what they can and cant do with their phones.

You can read more articles about how to use technology wisely at FutureScienceNews.com.

Sources include:

LifeZette.com

HuffingtonPost.com
(Natural News) On Saturday government watchdog organization Judicial Watch finally received documents related to the FBIs FISA court warrants against one-time advisor to the 2016 Trump presidential campaign Carter Page.

The documents, requested more than a year ago under terms of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), were sought by the group over suspicions that the government went to the super-secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court with less-than-truthful information regarding Page and the Trump campaign in regards to alleged Russian collusion.

Turns out that Judicial Watchs hunch may have been spot-on.

For one thing, as The National Sentinel reported, the documents  which are heavily redacted  appear to implicate former FBI No. 2 counterintelligence official Peter Strzok wasnt truthful with members of Congress recently during a joint hearing of the House Judiciary and Government Oversight committees when he testified he had nothing to do with FISA court requests regarding Page:

It took a year for Judicial Watch to receive those documents.

And though they arrived heavily redacted, there are already a few bombshells that can be gleaned from them.

For one, anti-Trump FBI thug Peter Strzok may have perjured himself in his recent testimony before a joint hearing of the House Judiciary and Oversight committees when he claimed he had nothing to do with obtaining those FISA warrants against Page.

During his recent contentious hearing, Strzok swore he provided no substantive input on the application.

He claimed that he didnt provide any evidence in the warrant application and wasnt involved in actually presenting the application to the FISA court for approval, according to sources, The Gateway Pundit reported, citing The Daily Beasts Betsy Woodruff.

The documents indicate otherwise. (Related: FISA memo released  bombshell report reveals MASSIVE Deep State conspiracy to keep Donald Trump out of the White House.)



Where is Jeff Sessions?

BREAKING: Newly released FISA application shows Strzok did, in fact, use Carter Pages Sept. 2016 letter to Comey as a pretext to open investigation on him, as Strzok suggested in an email to Page in Sept re Crossfire FISA. Yet Strzok just swore he had nothing to do with Page FISA, investigative journalist Paul Sperry tweeted, citing the documents.

BREAKING: Newly released FISA application shows Strzok did in fact use Carter Page's Sept. 2016 letter to Comey as a pretext to open investigation on him, as Strzok suggested in email to Page in Sept re "Crossfire FISA." Yet Strzok just swore he had nothing to do with Page FISA  Paul Sperry (@paulsperry_) July 22, 2018

For his part, Page told CNNs Jake Tapper on Sunday that the documents prove what a complete joke it was to obtain a FISA warrant in the first place.

This is so ridiculous. Its just beyond words. You know, its  youre talking about misleading the courts. Its just so misleading going through the 400 plus page documents, where do we even begin? Its literally a complete joke, he said.

Ive never been an agent of the foreign power in any  by any stretch of the imagination. You know, I may have back in the G20 when they were getting ready to do that in St. Petersburg, I might have participated in a few meetings that a lot of people including people from the Obama administration were sitting in on in Geneva and Paris and et cetera, he continued. Ive never been anywhere near whats being described here.

Being from CNN Tapper nevertheless pressed Page, asking him about being an adviser to Vladimir Putins government. Page called that spin and sitting in on some meetings didnt make him an advisor.

Its way over the top.

Left-wing commentators and media outlets are nevertheless spinning findings in the documents as proving the FBI had legitimate reasons to investigate Pages alleged Kremlin ties. But whats noteworthy is that before he became associated with the Trump campaign no one in the Obama administration paid him much attention.

Theres little doubt, based on the findings of Judicial Watch and others, that Page is clean and Strzok may have perjured himself.

The question is: Whats AG Jeff Sessions going to do about it?

Read more about Deep State corruption at DeepState.news.

J.D. Heyes is editor of The National Sentinel and a senior writer for Natural News and News Target.

Sources include:

Breitbart.com

TheGatewayPundit.com

TheNationalSentinel.com
(Natural News) Healthcare experts always recommend engaging in physical activities, and for good reason. Exercising does a lot of good to the overall health of a person. In fact, one study, recently published in The Journal of Physiology, suggests that exercising four to five times a week can actually slow down the aging of your heart.

Researchers from the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, Dallas and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center wanted to determine if recommended levels of exercise are enough to slow down the process of aging of the heart and blood vessel.

Their research involved 102 participants who were all above 60 years old. Each one of them consistently worked out throughout their life. They were categorized depending on the history of their exercise journey, and how many times in a week they perform their exercise regimen. In addition, the researchers measured each participants arterial stiffness.

The researchers categorized the participants as:

Sedentary  less than two exercise sessions per week

Casual Exercisers  two to three exercise sessions per week

Committed Exercisers  four to five exercise sessions per week (in line with provided guidelines)

Masters Athletes  six to seven exercise sessions per week

According to the results, Casual Exercisers appeared to have more youthful middle-sized arteries, which bring oxygenated blood to the head and the neck. Meanwhile, Committed Exercisers did not only have more youthful middle-size arteries, but they also have more youthful large central arteries, which are responsible for supplying blood to the chest and the abdomen.

This suggests that different levels of physical workouts affect the arteries differently, which is potentially vital information for creating and developing long-term exercise programs. (Related: Exercise found to treat chronic disease conditions better than drugs, with no toxicity.)

This work is really exciting because it enables us to develop exercise programmes to keep the heart youthful and even turn back time on older hearts and blood vessels, said Benjamin Levine, co-author of the study.

He added that previous studies suggest that its impossible to reverse a hearts aging once a person turns 70; however, their findings hinted otherwise. Our current work is focusing on two years of training in middle-aged men and women, with and without risk factors for heart diseases, to see if we can reverse the aging of a heart and blood vessels by using the right amount of exercise at the right time, Levine concluded.

Exercises for the heart

Working out doesnt always have to be laborious and expensive. There are many simple ways to break a sweat without breaking your bank, which you can also do at your convenience. The following is a list of exercises that highly benefit the heart. The best part is it doesnt require gym memberships and it wont take too much of your time.

Walking

Climbing the stairs

Riding a bike

Going for a swim

Dancing

Doing tai chi

Doing home exercise with the help of online videos

Water aerobics

By exercising regularly, you dont only take care of your heart but you also achieve other health benefits, including:

Lower blood pressure

Manageable weight

Stronger muscles

Prevention of the development of diabetes

Lower levels of stress

Reduced inflammation

Smoking cessation

Find more effective alternative ways to help improve your health by visiting Naturopathy.news.

Sources include:

Lifestyle.Inquirer.net

EverydayHealth.com

HopkinsMedicine.org
(Natural News) POTUS Donald Trumps meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week has driven the Left-wing establishment media and its commentariat, along with congressional Democrats and some Republicans, absolutely bonkers.

Amid absurd allegations of treason and traitor, the establishment is attempting to create the false narrative that POTUS Trump has somehow sold out his soul (and the country) to the Russian dictator, proving, of course, that our president was always in Putins pocket.

Nothing could be further from the truth. While very few people know what was said during Trumps private meetings with Putin  which were very private because he was concerned about leaks (and justifiably so)  to assert that Make America Great Again Trump really is a Moscow sell-out is just lunacy.

That aside, whats also lunacy is the fact that the same Left-wing media establishment now roasting POTUS Trump over his attempts to improve relations with a well-armed nuclear power are memory-holing those times when the Obama administration made very similar efforts to improve ties with Vladimir Putins Russia.

As Infowars founder Alex Jones notes, none other than Obamas first secretary of state, Hillary Reset Button Clinton, has recently gone on record hammering the current administration over the Trump-Putin summit in Helsinki, but of course, she got very cozy with the Russian authoritarian during her tenure.

Jones notes that in Clintons now-forgotten 2014 book, Hard Choices, which she attempted to use as a springboard to announcing her expected candidacy from the Democratic Party presidential nomination, the two-time loser talked about her deep bonding personally in private, secret meetings that she only reveals in the book with Vladimir Putin.

Researching it further, Jones noted that in her position as the nations top diplomat she signed off on at least six waivers for husband and former President Bill Clinton so he could also meet secretly with Vladimir Putin. (Related: GOP lawmaker: Rod Rosenstein may be under investigation for his supervision of Uranium One case.)

In her book, Clinton wrote that she and Putin thawed U.S.-Russia relations over discussions regarding his work to save Siberian tigers. And she noted that the Russian leader invited Bill Clinton to tag polar bears at one point, though that trip never came off.

Russian collusion has the Clinton fingerprints all over it

So after she and husband Bill had all of this secret contact and interaction with Putin, Hillary now says that its POTUS Trump who cant be trusted to do the right thing on Americas behalf regarding Russia.

And lets not forget previously disclosed information tying the Clintons and the Clinton Foundation to Mother Russia:

 As secretary of state, Hillary was in a position to kill a deal allowing Moscow to obtain 20 percent of all U.S. uranium assets, a strategic holding given their importance in the construction of nuclear weapons and in sustaining nuclear power plants. In fact, as Natural News reported in February, William D. Campbell  an FBI witness in a corruption case surrounding the sale  said that the Russians bragged that the Clintons influence in the Obama administration would ensure CIFUS (Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States) approve for [the] Uranium One deal.

 As the deal progressed, $145 million flowed to the Clinton Foundation from nine investors in Uranium One.

 A Kremlin-tied Russian bank paid Bill Clinton a half-million dollars for a single speech at a time when Hillary was openly opposing new sanctions on Russia  an issue that came up (briefly) during her failed 2016 campaign.

If you want to talk about having relationships with Russia, Id look no further than the Clintons, then-Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said during a press briefing in July 2017. Bill Clinton was paid half a million dollars to give a speech to a Russian bank, personally thanked by President Putin.

But of course, its POTUS Trump who is supposedly the Russian stooge.

Read more about Clinton corruption at Clinton.news.

J.D. Heyes is a senior writer for NaturalNews.com and NewsTarget.com, as well as editor of The National Sentinel.

Sources include:

TheCipherBrief.com

Infowars.com

NaturalNews.com

TheNationalSentinel.com
(Natural News) In recent months several reports have surfaced in independent and conservative media that the social media giants  Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Google, primarily  have been censoring and shadow banning their content, as well as the content of ordinary platform users who simply take political and social positions the Left-wing social media behemoths dont like.

As if to emphasize that point, on Monday The Western Journal published an analysis showing that after Facebook changed its algorithm in January, the ability for members of Congress to communicate with their constituents through the worlds largest social media platform has dropped dramatically.

Following the changes, members of both major parties saw their interactions with followers and readers fall off significantly  but of course, Republican members of the House and Senate were impacted measurably more than those of their Democrat counterparts, the news site noted, citing its analysis.

In all, interaction rates on Democrat officeholders pages fell by 27 percent from December to June, while the Republican interaction rate fell by 37 percent.

These findings follow an earlier analysis by The Western Journal revealing that content posted to conservative and pro-Trump media sites had fallen off Facebooks News Feeds far more dramatically than Left-wing establishment media. (Related: EMERGENCY: Big Techs Plot to Kill Free Speech Revealed.)

TWJs editor-in-chief George Upper reported:

This algorithm change, intentional or not, has in effect censored conservative viewpoints on the largest social media platform in the world. This change has ramifications that, in the short-term, are causing conservative publishers to downsize or fold up completely, and in the long-term could swing elections in the United States and around the world toward liberal politicians and policies.

Meanwhile, YouTube has banned entire channels and categories of subject matter such as material dealing with alternative medicine and firearms, while Googles news feed is just a funnel for Left-wing establishment fake news.

Independent, pro-Trump media has decided to fight back.



Tech giants will not voluntarily restore a level playing field for speech

Infowars has announced a massive petition drive aimed at forcing the social media giants to end their practice of algorithm-based censoring and shadow-banning  secretly censoring a users content without the user knowing its been censored. (Related: Two of the worlds most evil people  Bill Gates and George Soros  behind Facebooks news censorship agenda.)

Infowars Paul Joseph Watson writes:

Massive studies have proven that algorithms can shift millions of votes and change the outcome of national elections. This in itself is election meddling and should be illegal. All we are asking for is a level playing field.

Since social media platforms are now de facto becoming the Internet and have formed into monopolies, the argument that they are private companies who can behave with impunity is no longer valid. We demand congressional and parliamentary scrutiny. We demand a Digital Rights Act to secure free speech online.

He writes further that its been confirmed Twitter has implemented a site-wide shadow ban of conservatives under the guise of Quality Filter Discrimination. Thats the Left essentially justifying its censorship by arbitrarily deciding that a conservatives content posts are offensive, racist, bigoted, or otherwise unsuitable simply because they dont toe the liberal line.

Zero Hedge added, In short order, a flood of influential conservative Twitter users discovered they were shadow banned also using an account checking tool at shadowban.eu.

That means, PJW says, that users who are not following others, in particular, dont see their content, which dramatically reduces their reach and influence.

Left-wing users accounts, however, are not being affected.

We know that the social media behemoths are all in for Left-wing Democrats, who are becoming more like Socialists by the day.

We know that algorithm changes can affect election outcomes.

We know that the social media giants are boosting Left-wing content and censoring conservative content.

Its time the Left was made to compete equally on the field of ideas rather than steal power like a thief in the night.

Click here to sign the petition.

Read more about Left-wing media corruption at NewsFakes.com.

J.D. Heyes is editor of The National Sentinel and a senior writer for Natural News and News Target.

Sources include:

WesternJournal.com

NaturalNews.com

Infowars.com
(Natural News) A medical student who attends the University of Wurtzberg in Germany recently gave a TEDx talk during which she tried to argue that its perfectly normal for some adults to be sexually attracted to children.

According to Mirjam Heine, pedophilia is just another sexual orientation like heterosexuality. Pedophiles are born that way, she says, and thus deserve to be treated just like everybody else without having to be shamed or mocked.

Because anyone could be born a pedophile, its important to treat pedophiles with dignity, Heine says. And while she does admit that living out ones life as a pedophile will end in disaster, she insists that its not because of the practice itself, but rather because of how society treats pedophiles.

We shouldnt increase the sufferings of pedophiles by excluding them, by blaming and mocking them, Heine is quoted as saying, adding that its a problem that pedophiles are currently unable to be completely frank with someone else about their sexual attractions to children.

By doing that, we increase their isolation and we increase the chance of child sexual abuse.

Heine: everyone needs to overcome their negative feelings about pedophiles

While the vast majority of people would agree that pedophiles arent just like everybody else, Heine says they are. Just as all the rest of us are not responsible for our feelings, Heine argues, neither are pedophiles.

We do not choose them  but it is our responsibility to  overcome our negative feelings about pedophiles and to treat them with the same respect we treat other people with, she told her audience.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Heines statements drew intense criticism  so much so that TEDX ultimately decided to pull her video from its official YouTube account. Heine herself had asked that the video be pulled as well, on the grounds that it would lead to serious misinterpretation, as well as put her own personal safety at risk.



Pointing out the fact that genetically-engineered food is toxic to humans is no longer allowed at TEDx

Meanwhile, TEDx has long disallowed any talks about the dangers of GMOs, having published a letter back in 2012 explaining that any discussion of GMOs (genetically-modified organisms) in a negative light represents pseudoscience, and wont be tolerated.

In a further effort to reject bad science, pseudoscience and health hoaxes, TEDx also shies away from allowing its speakers to talk about the benefits of organic foods, as well as health-promoting natural compounds like curcumin (turmeric) that offer functional benefits to the human body.

So while its no big deal at TEDx for promoters of pedophilia to wax poetic about adult-child sex, any serious discussion about the dangers of industrial agriculture, for instance, is completely off limits  because we certainly cant have academics thinking critically about the safety of the food supply now can we?

This same TEDx letter also takes a swipe at people who criticize vaccines, claiming that they, too, are spreading the type of pseudoscience thats no longer allowed at TEDx.

Andrew Wakefields attempt to link autism and vaccines was exposed as a hoax last year, the letter falsely claimed, pointing to the witch hunt against Dr. Wakefield by the vaccine mafia as some kind of proof that his observations about the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine harming children were false.

What this all suggests is that TEDx is no longer about the sharing of ideas, but rather about the perpetuation of politically correct dogma. Pedophiles and transgenders are now celebrated at TEDx, while honest inquiry into food and vaccine science isnt.

For more news about the hijacking of academia and intellectualism by the cult of science and political correctness, visit PoliticalCorrectness.news.

Sources for this article include:

ChristianJournal.net

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Just when you thought it was safe to eat any food labeled certified organic, drink any brand of bottled water off the shelf, and take daily supplements you bought at the local pharmacy  think again. Over the past decade, insidious corporations in America have infiltrated the clean food movement, knowing its now a $20 billion dollar industry, and fully understanding that healthy, intelligent people dont fall for the ultimate scams of prescription medications, GMO-laced foods, or chemotherapy.

The result? If youre not dying of cancer, dementia, diabetes or heart disease, its because youre a smart shopper, who knows that some products and brands that sport the label organic arent safe for consumption at all, but quite the opposite. Know this: The USDA, FDA (toxic food and drug advocates), CDC, EPA  they are NOT on our side. Those regulatory agencies are in bed with Monsanto (now owned by Bayer), Merck, Dupont, Dow, Pfizer, Syngenta, and the rest of the food and medicine destroyers of our time. Its all one big business that thrives off Americans getting sick, staying sick, and dying slowly and expensively.

If you dont want to be a dirty human filter suffering from vital organ malfunction and mutated cell frenzy (cancer), then its time to become privy to the real clean food movement, and that includes water, natural medicine, and supplements too.

Take an inside look at the top 7 contaminants that infiltrate the organic food and supplements industries, so you know what to avoid

#1. MSG (monosodium glutamate)  There are a number of ingredients identified as organic that, organic or not, will contain processed free glutamic acid (MSG); autolyzed yeast, yeast extract, textured soy protein, and anything salts that are hydrolyzed are examples of ingredients that may be made from organic produce, but still contain some form of MSG  well call them cousins of the genetically modified salt monster thats responsible for horrific migraine headaches and brain damage in infants.

#2. Blood-clogging, dementia-causing canola oil (its really just diluted rapeseed oil)  What was deemed heart healthy is exactly the opposite. Canola oil, even when organic and expeller pressed, coagulates in the blood and digestive tract, causing health detriment, including dementia.

#3. Cellulose (wood pulp)  From sauces to ice cream to almond milk you may find out youre sucking back some reduced wood pulp from trees instead of food, and its all deemed safe for consumption by the FDA and allowed in organic foods, with no maximum limit, of course. When searching ingredients lists (as you always should), check under other ingredients. Cellulose is a cheap filler with no nutritional value, thats also used in plastics, construction materials, roof coatings and even asphalt.

#4. Rennet  Curdled milk from the stomach lining of a slaughtered, newly born calves  Often contains fungal and bacterial sources and genetically modified micro-organisms that still make it through the organic certified process and verification.

#5. Chlorine materials  Thanks to mass confusion about these, including chlorine bleach, dangerous chlorines used to disinfect and sterilize tools, equipment, and hard surfaces, come into direct contact with organic food, crops and livestock.

#6. Ammonium carbonate  (a.k.a. bakers ammonia or hatshorn) Classified as a hazardous substance by the EPA and the DOT  this white or colorless powder is a respiratory irritant thats often used as a food grade leavening agent for breads and cookies.

#7. Heavy metal toxins  Lead, aluminum, cadmium, mercury, nickel, copper and tungsten are the top food criminals found in many organic foods, especially those imported from China. Heavy metal toxins also invade tap water, childrens medicines, vaccines, flu shots, and the cosmetics industry. Currently, the USDA does NOT test for heavy metal toxins at all in certified organic foods. That is an atrocity in itself. The EPA could not care less about people drinking tap water contaminated with lead. Did you read about the massive scandal in Flint, Michigan a couple years back? Children were poisoned to death and the EPA looked the other way, knowing good and well what was going on. Want organic water? You better buy a Big Berkey home filtration system so you can filter out all the typical toxins found in tap and bottled water.

Investigating contaminants and synthetics in organic foods

Bottom line: Just because somethings USDA certified organic doesnt mean you should stop reading the label for contaminants. Dont be a human filter for food toxins. Read more quality information about deciphering between clean foods and supplements versus those that contain contaminants and pesticides. Its easy, just visit FDA.news and get the inside scoop from expert food scientist, Health Ranger and Editor of NaturalNews.com, Mike Adams.

Also check out LowHeavyMetalsVerified.org to cross-check and verify the content of toxic heavy metals that may be lurking in your choices of organic food and supplements. Want the full list of ingredients contaminating organic food, including synthetics? Food Babe Vani Hari has compiled the full list of toxins for us here.

Sources for this article include:

FoodBabe.com

FoodBabe.com

NaturalPedia.com

FDA.news

NaturalNews.com

LowHeavyMetalsVerified.org

TruthWiki.org

TrustedHealthProducts.com

NaturalNews.com

BigBerkeyWaterFilters.com

FoodMatters.com

NaturalSociety.com

OneGreenPlanet.org

BeyondPesticides.org
(Natural News) Silkworms may have a new competitor when it comes to producing refreshingly cool and bright-looking silk fabrics. The fibers spun by wild Madagascar comet moths look much more vivid and feel much cooler on the skin. An article in Newswise reports that research engineers have created artificial materials based on these fibers to replicate their cooling and optical properties.

The Columbia Engineering research team reported that comet moth fibers possess interesting one-dimensional nanostructures. These tiny structures not only vent heat but also send light signals and images.

Associate professor Nanfang Yu led the efforts to replicate these nanostructures and their properties. The research team published their findings in the science journal Light: Science & Applications.

Yu said comet moth fibers were the best natural fibers when it came to repelling sunlight. The fibers could even guide light signals or even send images from one end of the fiber to another. They could serve as biomedical materials that would not be rejected by the body of a patient and would dissolve or even get absorbed after their role is fulfilled. (Related: Scientists take super close-up shots of the human bone to understand why they are so strong.)

Metallic fiber spun by comet moth caterpillars can block light

Domesticated silkworms spin threads that look like solid, see-through cylinders in a microscope. In comparison, the fibers spun by comet moth caterpillars have a metallic appearance.

The latter fibers have lots of nano-sized air voids that run along the length of the fibers. They act like mirrors that reflect more than 70 percent of the visible light that hits them. It takes around 10 layers of typical textiles  such as silk  to achieve the same reflective properties as one comet moth fiber.

Furthermore, comet moth fibers can also reflect the infrared spectrum of light, which makes up about 50 percent of sunlight. They can also absorb ultraviolet light. When combined, these properties allow the fibers to block sunlight.

This ability to redirect light comes from the filamentary air voids along the threads. Using transverse Anderson localization, the air voids scatter optical light into the cross-section of the fiber. Light is thus restricted to traveling along the fibers.

Study author Norman Shi of Columbia Engineering said the way by which comet moth fibers guided light is different from the one used by undersea fiber-optic cables. It is also the first time transverse Anderson localization has been found in a natural material.

Synthetic version of comet moth fibers can make air-conditioned clothes

Shi, Yu, and the other researchers developed fiber pulling methods that copied how comet moth caterpillars could spin threads with a lot of particulate or filamentary voids. Their synthetic fibers achieved a void density that can reflect around 93 percent of sunlight.

They made the bio-inspired fibers out of both regenerated silk and polyvinylidene difluoride. The first was a natural and bio-compatible material, while the latter is a synthetic substance that can be mass-produced.

Yu said their new fibers do not have the solid core of conventional fibers. Instead, they have engineered nanostructures that allow them to give new optical and thermodynamic properties into fibers.

The new fibers can be used to make ultra-thin air-conditioned clothes. Several layers can make an opaque textile that is much thinner than paper. Yet it will not turn translucent when the wearer perspires.

Furthermore, the porous fibers could combine the evaporation of sweat, the air flow between the human body and its surroundings, and the way the body radiated heat outwards for the perfect cooling experience.

The next step for Yu is to raise the number of bio-inspired nanostructured fibers produced by his current process, which uses the spinning method used by the fiber industry.

Read about more scientific breakthroughs on nanostructured materials at Discoveries.news.

Sources include:

NewsWise.com

Engineering.Columbia.edu
(Natural News) In a moment of amazing candor, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper openly, frankly, and pointedly laid the credit for the entire Russian collusion witch hunt at the feet of his former boss, President Barack Obama, on Saturday.

During an appearance on CNN, where hes been an analyst since leaving the White House in January 2017 at the start of the POTUS Trump administration, Clapper said that the former president actually tasked the intelligence community, the Justice Department and the FBI with launching a counterintelligence probe against a rival presidential campaign, the first time in the history of our republic anything even remotely close to that has happened.

If it werent for President Obama we might not have done the intelligence community assessment that we did that set up a whole sequence of events which are still unfolding today including Special Counsel Muellers investigation, Clapper said, as reported by The Gateway Pundit. President Obama is responsible for that. It was he who tasked us to do that intelligence community assessment in the first place.

While Clapper might have thought he was giving Obama credit for the operation, what he really did is implicate his former boss as being the mastermind behind the scandalous investigation which, by the way, has yet to turn up even a scintilla of evidence there was collusion between the Russian government and members of the Trump campaign.

According to Obamas former spy chief, James Clapper, who appeared on CNN to say it was Obama who set the entire Russia witch-hunt into motion by tasking the intelligence community assessment.https://t.co/TNnRd1Me6V

Watch the video:https://t.co/y8DIXyTu4V  Evon (@EvonS777) July 20, 2018

Should we have seen this coming? Should we have known all along that Obama was at the center of this sham?

The warning signs were everywhere. (Related: All those times when Barack Obama committed impeachable offenses.)



It all makes sense now

The National Sentinel reported Sunday:

Remember that text exchange between FBI counterintelligence No. 2 Peter Strzok and former FBI lawyer Lisa Page, his lover?

In a Sept. 2, 2016, text to Strzok about preparing talking points for then-FBI Director James Comey to give to President Obama, Page said it was important to do so because potus wants to know everything were doing.

In May, President George W. Bushs White House press secretary, Ari Fleischer, said he guarantees that Obama knew about the Spygate operation. Whats more, he said Obama knew because he wouldve had to approve it.

The statement was reported at the time by investigative journalist Paul Sperry.

BREAKING: Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer said "I guarantee the answer is yes" to whether Obama knew Halper & others were deployed to spy on Trump campaign. Fleischer explained that no FBI director would put informants inside a presidential campaign w/o the prez authorizing it  Paul Sperry (@paulsperry_) May 24, 2018

POTUS Trump said pretty much the same thing in an impromptu interview with the White House Press Corps. When a reporter asked if Trump believes Obama knew, POTUS responded: Would he know? I would certainly hope not. But I think its going to be pretty obvious after awhile.

Whats more, Obama would have been kept informed of the ongoing Spygate operation by his attorney general, Loretta Lynch. In regards to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court warrants sought for putting Trump campaign advisor Carter Page under the FBIs watchful eye, anytime they are sought and approved the AG briefs the president, ABC News reported in March 2017.

Where did Obama get his authority to run fake counterintelligence and surveillance operations?

Try Congress. Yale law professor Jack Balkin explained in 2009:

The FISA Amendments Act of 2008, effectively gives the President  now President Obama  the authority to run surveillance programs similar in effect to the warrantless surveillance program [secretly implemented by George Bush in late 2001]. That is because New FISA no longer requires individualized targets in all surveillance programs. Some programs may be vacuum cleaner programs that listen to a great many different calls (and read a great many e-mails) without any requirement of a warrant directed at a particular person as long as no U.S. person is directly targeted as the object of the program.

Now, the question is, why did Clapper throw Obama under a bus? Is he trying to get out in front of some horribly damaging information thats getting ready to come out?

Its time for Muellers investigation to be shut down. This just clinches it.

Read about all of Obamas corruption at Corruption.news.

J.D. Heyes is also editor-in-chief of The National Sentinel.

Sources include:

TheGatewayPundit.com

TheNationalSentinel.com

Balkin.blogspot.com
(Natural News) As terrifying as any cancer diagnosis is, hearing that one has head or neck cancer can be especially frightening. Knowing that cancer is lurking close to the brain is ominous indeed, and many patients would immediately turn to chemotherapy and other conventional cancer treatments to try to fight the disease. Nonetheless, overall, such conventional treatments have proven to have low success rates and carry serious side effects, while destroying the bodys immune system  the human species greatest weapon in fighting disease.

It is encouraging to know, therefore, that peer-reviewed studies have found that there are natural ways to fight cancer  including cancers of the head and neck. One such study, conducted by researchers from the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, and published in Clinical Cancer Research, the peer-reviewed journal of the American Association of Cancer Research back in 2011, found that curcumin  the main component of the spice turmeric  can suppress a cell signaling pathway implicated in the growth of head and neck cancers.

What we know about head and neck cancers

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explains that, as with other cancers, in patients with head and neck cancers, certain cells in the body begin to grow out of control. Such cancers can start in various places in the head and throat, but do not include brain cancer or cancers of the eye. The cancer generally starts in the sinuses, inside or behind the nose, in the mouth, in the throat, in the voice box (larynx), on the lips, or in the glands that produce saliva.

Alcohol and tobacco use are listed as the greatest triggers of these types of cancers, and to lower risk it is essential to avoid all tobacco products, limit alcohol use and avoid indoor tanning beds.

Turmeric: A powerful cancer fighter

Turmeric features strongly in Asian and Middle Eastern cooking and has been lauded for centuries for its powerful medicinal properties. Several studies have found that it can suppress the growth of some types of cancer. (Related: Just a teaspoon a day of turmeric can help fight cancer, depression and allergies.)

For the study referenced above, the researchers obtained saliva samples from 21 patients both before and after chewing two tablets containing a total of 1,000 milligrams of curcumin. An hour later, an additional saliva sample was taken, and other tests were conducted.

UCLAs newsroom explained:

Eating the curcumin  puts the chemical in contact not only with the cancer but also with the saliva, and the study found that the curcumin reduced the level of cancer-enhancing cytokines. An independent lab in Maryland was sent blind samples and confirmed the results: The pro-inflammatory cytokines in the saliva that help feed the cancer were reduced in patients who had chewed the curcumin, and the cell signaling pathway driving cancer growth was inhibited.

This study shows that curcumin can work in the mouths of patients with head and neck malignancies and reduce activities that promote cancer growth, said Dr. Marilene Wang, the studys senior author. And it not only affected the cancer by inhibiting a critical cell signaling pathway, it also affected the saliva itself by reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines within the saliva.

Of course, prevention is always better than cure, and increasing ones consumption of turmeric can provide amazing health benefits for everyone. (Related: Heres what gets activated in your body when you eat just ONE teaspoon of turmeric every day.)

The website TheKitchn.com suggests seven clever ways to sneak turmeric into your meals:

Add it to your scrambled eggs. The similar colors of the eggs and the turmeric mean you likely wont even notice the difference. Add some to your roasted cauliflower, potatoes and other veggies to enhance their flavor. Spice up your rice and give it some color with a dash of turmeric. Add some turmeric to your sauteed greens like cabbage and kale. Warm up your soup with a touch of golden turmeric. Mask the flavor of your turmeric by adding a dash to your morning smoothie. Enjoy a cup of turmeric, coconut milk and honey tea.

Sources include:

NaturalHealth365.com

NewsRoom.UCLA.edu

CDC.gov

TheKitchn.com
(Natural News) A young man from Ghana has published to the web, a video of himself describing something that many ignorant Americans still insist isnt real: active worship of Satan in the modern age.

The man, who appears to be in his 30s, is seen describing how hes used some 675 people over the past 17 years as human sacrifices to the Father of Lies, with whom he says hes had an active relationship. Because the man was born into a fully spiritual family, he says hes been Satans buddy almost since birth.

But in order to maintain this relationship, the man says he was required by the god of hell to pay up in the form of human life. Of the 675 humans hes sacrificed, the man says most of them were children that were given to him by doctors and nurses who were secret members of an occult group.

During the course of his relationship with Satan, the man says he also had at his disposal 664 demonic spirits who helped him perform all sorts of evil acts. Many of these evil ghosts have names, he says, and can be beckoned at will by those who are satanically inspired.

Many pastors are Satan-worshippers who actively deceive their followers

According to the man, hes hardly alone. There are many people who worship Satan where he lives, including many so-called pastors who are really just Satans agents in disguise. They go around preaching a message about Christ when, in fact, theyre agents of evil tasked with deceiving their followers.

Some of these pastors claim to perform miracles, he says, but they either dont work or dont last. One common miracle, the distribution of healing water, is claimed to cure people from disease and deliver them from bondage. In some cases the healing water appears to work at first, only to have an affliction return later with a vengeance.

Watch the video below to hear for yourself the mans claims.

Planned Parenthood: Americas largest devil-worshipping organization that actively murders unborn human life in homage to Satan

Though it might seem primitive, and something restricted only to the Third World, such worship of Satan happens in the United States, too. Perhaps the largest and most well-known group actively performing human ritual sacrifices, Planned Parenthood murders unborn life every single day, and even sells the body part remains for cash.

We also now know that Planned Parenthood has knowingly teamed up with self-proclaimed satanists to push its evil agenda.

Planned Parenthood would never openly admit in non-ubiquitous terms that it sacrifices human life in homage to its god, Satan. But thats exactly what happens every single day at Planned Parenthood clinics all across the country that eagerly tear about unborn human babies, limb by limb, in the name of womens health.

Hillary Clintons former campaign manager, John Podesta, is also a Satan-worshipper, having been outed before the election for attending a spirit cooking dinner that involved mimicking ritual human sacrifice.

Satan-worship is everywhere in America, in other words  that is, if you have eyes to see it. It might not look the same as whats happening in Ghana, for instance, but that doesnt make it any less nefarious.

Its how politicians, CEOs, and many others gain powerful positions that afford them great wealth and power  Satan being the distributor of these things to his followers, so long as they pay him with human life in return.

Even Hillary Clintons daughter, Chelsea Clinton, worships Satan, as evidenced by a tweet she posted that wished the Church of Satan a happy new year. Clinton later denied the intent of the tweet, insisting that shes a Methodist.

Read more headlines about psychos and insane people at Psycho.news.

Sources for this article include:

GhanaWeb.com

NaturalNews.com

InfoWars.com

TimesOfIsrael.com
(Natural News) Crystallized water impurities in diamonds offer the first solid proof that there are pockets of liquid water located deep in the mantle of the Earth, according to a report published in ScienceDaily. A research team from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) found a rare kind of crystallized water called Ice-VII inside diamonds that had come from the interior of the planet.

Impurities found in gemstones and other types of minerals are called inclusions. These lower the market value of diamonds when they are turned into jewels, but for UNLV geoscientist Oliver Tschauner and his fellow researchers, inclusions like these are priceless because they provide insights about the internal processes of the Earth.

In the study, Tschauners team investigated impure diamonds from Botswana, China, and South Africa. These diamonds originated from the transition zone, the part of the mantle between 255 and 410 miles (410 to 660 km) depth. Upon examination, the team found Ice-VII inclusions in diamond samples from all three countries.

This shows that this is a global phenomenon, Tschauner said.

Rare crystallized water finally found in natural conditions

Ice-VII is a high-pressure form of water that requires immense heat and pressure. Before it was found in diamonds, it was first identified in earlier laboratory tests during intense pressure testing of materials. The International Mineralogical Association currently recognizes Ice-VII as a mineral.

The current study marks the first natural occurrence of Ice-VII from the deep mantle. Tschauners team speculated that the diamonds in their study were created in the Earths mantle, a rocky expanse of silicate minerals where temperatures exceeded 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The mantle also accounts for more than 80 percent of the volume of the planet, and it contains silicate minerals like quartz, as well as aluminum, calcium, iron, and other minerals. (Related: Natural, inexpensive AND more effective: Phosphate rock confirmed to be an effective fertilizer for acidic soils.)

Theres also water in there, somewhere, in the form of Ice-VII. And its liquid water, to boot. The stable minerals in the transition zone of the mantle can hold a lot of water. The researchers theorize that pockets of Ice-VII can be found at the edge of the region, formed when water that was chemically-bound to molten rock got released while the magma is flowing in and out of the region.

According to Tschauner, Ice-VII takes the form of a solid inside the hard confines of the diamond that has captured it. But the crystallized water occurs as a liquid in the hot and highly pressurized environment of the mantle.

These discoveries are important in understanding that water-rich regions in the Earths interior can play a role in the global water budget and the movement of heat-generating radioactive elements, he remarks.

The presence of Ice-VII impurities in diamonds can indicate the specific regions in the mantle where large amounts of liquid water can be found. Some of these waters are theorized to eventually make their way upwards towards the crust, where they can be accessed by humans.

A better understanding of the Earths internals

Tschauner believes this discovery will lead to more accurate depictions of the internal processes taking place deep within the Earth. In particular, researchers could find out where geothermal heat is generated under the crust and how that heat is created. Its another piece of the puzzle in understanding how our planet works, he remarked.

Tschauner freely admits that his team came across this discovery by accident. They were looking for a different impurity in the diamonds.

We were looking for carbon dioxide. Were still looking for it, actually, he says.

Find out about other scientific breakthroughs at Scientific.news.

Sources include:

ScienceDaily.com

Science.ScienceMag.org
In front of whats expected to be a packed chamber Tuesday night, the Oakland City Council will decide the fate of a proposed ballot measure that aims to protect thousands of tenants in the city from being evicted for no cause.

The ballot measure, proposed by council members Dan Kalb and Noel Gallo, would extend eviction protections to tenants who live in owner-occupied duplexes and triplexes.

'I Realize Not Everyone Is Going to Like It '

Some people are being evicted or pushed out because of the lack of protections, and this is a way to rectify that, Kalb said at a committee meeting last week. I realize that not everybody is going to like it, but I believe on balance its better to do this than not to do this, and I hope to let the voters decide that.

NBC Bay Area

Under current law, landlords can only evict Oakland tenants for specific reasons, such as failure to pay rent or violating sections of a lease. Tenants in duplexes and triplexes, however, are exempt from such protections if their landlord lives in the same building, according to Oaklands current Just Cause ordinance. Voters approved the exemption on Nov. 5, 2002, to give landlords  who live in smaller buildings more control over which tenants live alongside them. Supporters of the exemption also argue the law is necessary to protect landlords from lengthy legal disputes when attempting to evict tenants for legitimate reasons.



Critics Argue Exemption is being Exploited

Critics, however, say the exemption is being exploited by some landlords  mostly new investors  who are moving in, or at least claiming to, so they can evict the buildings tenants in order to usher in new tenants willing to pay more expensive rent.

If the City Council approves the measure on Tuesday, voters will get the chance to weigh in on the issue in the November election. If last weeks committee meetings were any indication, Tuesday is sure to draw a large and vocal crowd. Dozens of tenants, landlords, and advocates  on both sides  showed up to speak, sometimes fighting to be heard over a chorus of boos and jeers from the audience.

This is my living space, said Jessie Tegar, a landlord who spoke against the measure. I share space with these people and I should have more discretion. Its onerous.

Many longtime landlords who spoke said theyre being unfairly lumped together with new investors or corporate landlords. Some said theyre barely making ends meet.

I live in and own a duplex near Oakland High School, said Dr. Norma Francisco. My renters have lived above me with their two children for 10 years. I refused to raise the rent for six years. My 1925 building looks beautiful on the outside, but the plumbing is corroded, the electricity is outdated, theres no soundproofing between units, the yard is full of well-manicured weeds, the kitchen is dysfunctional and desperate, and the garage leaks.

Supporters of the measure say tenants in duplexes and triplexes should have the same protections from no-cause evictions afforded to renters living in larger buildings.

What we see happening with our [elderly] clients is young investors, young upwardly mobile folks, coming in and displacing long-term seniors who are on fixed incomes, said Rachel Gottfried-Clancy with Legal Assistance for Seniors, a nonprofit group advocating for the rights of the elderly.

There are desperate impacts on seniors when they become homeless, Gottfried-Clancy said. A senior who is 55-years-old has the same health disparities that a 75-year-old has when they become homeless.

During a recent Oakland City Council committee meeting, dozens of tenants and landlords sparred over a potential new housing law that would extend eviction protections to renters across the city (July 19, 2018).

'If I think about it too much, its just awful'

Josephine Hardy, whos lived in the same West Oakland triplex for 47 years, said shes been paralyzed by fear since a new owner bought her building last year and served her with an eviction notice. For decades, her family has occupied all three units of the triplex. The landlord used an owner move-in eviction to evict Hardys son, Khalif, from one of the units. Because the owner became an official tenant of the building, Oakland law allowed him to serve eviction notices to the rest of the family, for no reason, just days later.

The hardest part has been actually thinking about being separated from my family, Hardy said. If I think about it too much, its just awful.

Jacquelyn Martin/AP, File

Her granddaughter, Raynett, who lives with her mom in the buildings third unit, now faces the possibility shell have to move out of her native Oakland.

We dont have anywhere to go at this point, she said. The market rate is so high, all the places that weve been looking into are kind-of above our means.

Raynett said she thinks the only reason her family is being evicted is so her new landlord can raise the rent. The landlord declined requests for comment.

Although landlords are not allowed to raise their rent prices until theyve lived in the building for at least two years, the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit uncovered a serious lack of oversight in Oakland. The citys official resolution proposing the ballot measure cites the investigation as evidence of a need for reform.

NBC Bay Area

Oaklands Department of Housing and Community Development, admittedly, does not ever check if landlords actually move into a unit after kicking out tenants through an owner move-in eviction.

Unfortunately, we have not had the ability to go out and verify that and enforce it, said department Michele Byrd, who heads the department, during a February interview with the Investigative Unit.



Additionally, the department cannot provide statistics to reflect how often landlords are evicting tenants through owner move-in evictions.

It's also impossible to tell how many tenants have been evicted without cause from Oakland duplexes and triplexes, because, according to the Rent Adjustment Program, landlords are not required to file no cause eviction notices with the city.

Tenant rights advocates say the lack of oversight has created a system that is easy to exploit.

[Investors] buy the property, and then they pretend to move in, and then they get everybody out, said Leah Simon-Weisberg, Managing Attorney of the Tenant Rights Program at Centro Legal de la Raza in Oakland.

Simon-Weisberg said landlords shouldnt be exempted from rules designed to protect tenants simply because they own a smaller building  especially in the face of the Bay Areas housing crisis. Her organization has been pushing to remove the just cause exemption for duplexes and triplexes since last year.

People kind of want to pretend that because it's a triplex or a duplex, that somehow it's no longer a business, she said. It is a business and they need to act like good business people.



Not Enough Housing Supply

Property owners, however, argue landlords are being unfairly blamed for Oaklands housing crisis.

We dont have enough housing supply, said Wayne Roland, President of the East Bay Rental Housing Association. We dont have enough housing supply because of all the regulations that the people who are trying to build here have to go through.

His organization is lobbying against the ballot measure, which he said is a solution to a problem that doesnt exist.

How do they even know that [evictions] are exploding if theyre not even tracking it? Roland said. Theres no reason to make laws to solve problems that someone said exist, but in fact, they do not.

Tuesdays council meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. inside Oakland City Hall.

______________________________________

Watch the entire series in this NBC Bay Area investigation:

 Part 1: SF Landlords May Have Wrongfully Evicted Hundreds of Tenants

 Part 2: SF Fails to Prosecute Landlords for Certain Wrongful Evictions

 Part 3: San Francisco Considers New Eviction Laws Following I-Unit Series

 Part 4: NBC Bay Area Investigation Leads to Government Hearing

 Part 5: SF Eviction Crackdown Passes After Investigative Unit Series

 Part 6: SF Mayor To Sign Law After NBC Bay Area Investigation

 Part 7: SF Mayor Inks New Law to Combat Wrongful Evictions

 Part 8: Lake of Oversight Puts Oakland Tenants at Risk of Eviction

 Part 9: Oakland Voters May Get Say on When Landlords Can Evict Renters

 Part 10: Expansion of Eviction Protections Heads to Ballot in Oakland

 Part 11: Oakland Couple Uses Hidden Camera to Fight Eviction

 Part 12: Landlords Frequently Ignore Oakland Eviction Laws

 Part 13: Oakland Housing Director Defends Department

 Part 14: Oakland Housing Chief "Fired," Says Source
The bullet that killed a Trader Joe's store manager in an exchange of gunfire with a homicide suspect following a pursuit crash Saturday was fired by a Los Angeles Police Department officer, police said Tuesday morning.

LAPD Chief Michel Moore made what he called a "heart-breaking" announcement during a news conference about the investigation into the deadly standoff at the busy Trader Joe's store in Silver Lake. Moore said the round was fired by one of two officers as the gunman, who was struck by a round in the left arm, ran into the store and opened fire on police.

After the pursuit driver crashed into a light pole on Hyperion Avenue, people inside store approached the front windows, Moore said. That's when 27-year-old Melyda Corado was accidentally struck by LAPD gunfire as she tried to leave the building, Moore said.

She then went back inside the store and collapsed, police said.

"Those officers' actions to stop him, the split-second decisions they had to make, I recognize how they will forever go through their lives debating whether that was what they had to do," Moore said Tuesday. "I believe it's what they needed to do in order to defend ... the people in that store and to defend themselves.

"It is unimaginable, the pain of the Corado family. We share that pain."

Corado was eventually carried out by store employees.

The officers fired a total of eight rounds, Moore added. Moore said he spoke to the two officers who opened fire outside the store.

"I know that it is every officer's worst nightmare, to harm an innocent bystander during a violent engagement," Moore said. "I spoke to both of these officers this morning. They are devastated. They were devastated in the immediate aftermath of this event -- that a person died in their efforts to stop Atkins. This is a heartbreaking reminder of the split-second decisions that officers must make every day. And it is also a sobering reminder of the destruction a lone individual with a handgun can create."



The store remained closed Tuesday, but mourners continued to leave flowers and other items at a memorial outside the building in memory of Corado. Mayor Eric Garcetti said he met with the victim's family.

"Saturday was a dark day for the family of Melyda Corado, and it is our responsibility to shed light as quickly as possible on what happened," the mayor said in a statement Tuesday. "Melyda's loved ones are entitled to answers  and Angelenos deserve complete transparency in understanding the full circumstances of her death."

The news conference comes as criminal charges were filed against the suspect, identified as 28-year-old Gene Evin Atkins. He was charged with one count each of murder; kidnapping; fleeing a pursuing peace officers motor vehicle while driving recklessly; grand theft of an automobile; driving or taking a vehicle without consent; discharge of a firearm with gross negligence; shooting at an occupied motor vehicle; and assault with a firearm.

He did not fire the fatal round, but Atkins can still face homicide-related charges under California statutes, such as the provocative acts doctrine. Prosecutors said he was charged under the provocative acts doctrine because the suspect's actions set into motion the events that led to the store employee's death.

Bond was set at $18 million.

Atkins allegedly shot his grandmother and wounded another woman before he crashed his car and ran into the supermarket northeast of downtown Los Angeles, where he held dozens of people hostage in a tense standoff with scores of heavily armed officers outside. Video released at the Tuesday news conference showed video of the pursuit and exchange of gunfire from LAPD body-worn cameras.

One of the body-worn cameras shows an officer running for cover behind a concrete block wall.

Atkins fired at officers from outside and inside the store, Moore said.

No hostages were seriously hurt before the man handcuffed himself and surrendered about three hours after the crash.

Atkins' grandmother was in critical condition on Sunday, police said. She was shot seven times at a South Los Angeles home and another woman, who was allegedly forced into a car before the pursuit, suffered a graze wound from a bullet before the crash.

Two of Atkins' cousins said he had argued with his grandmother over his girlfriend being in the house.



Officers tracked the car using the Lo-Jack stolen-vehicle tracking system and tried to stop the man in Hollywood, but he refused to pull over, police said. He then allegedly fired at officers through the car's rear window.

Officers did not return fire during the chase, Moore said. In one of the videos released by the LAPD, an officer can be heard telling a colleague during the pursuit, "Don't shoot."

Customers in the store and others in the parking lot sought cover as bullets shattered the store's glass doors. Some people in the store climbed out widows. Other barricaded themselves in rooms.

Fire officials said six people, ranging in age from 12 to 81, were taken to the hospital. None had been shot, and all were in fair condition.
Which is more painful: higher prices at the gas pumps or overcrowded, beat up roads?

That's just one argument voters will hear as supporters of Proposition 6 -- a move to repeal the gas tax -- kicked off its campaign in the Bay Area. The campaign is being fought fiercely by supporters of the tax.

Currently, whenever someone in California uses a pump, they are fueling the 12-cents-a-gallon tax passed by Senate Bill 1. The money is reportedly being used to pay for transportation projects, which some drivers said is a worthwhile, but painful tradeoff.

"With the roads needing to be fixed and the gas going up, I think we need to fix our roads," California resident Ricardo Macias said.

A group pushing Proposition 6, a measure to repeal Senate Bill 1, launched its Bay Area campaign Monday in San Mateo and Santa Clara as part of its statewide effort. Proposition 6 would eliminate the 12-cents-a-gallon hike, as well as new vehicle fees and a 20-cents-a-gallon jump for diesel fuel.

"They've lied to us all along. They've stolen the money all along," Proposition 6 Chairman Carl DeMaio said. "Why do you think they're going to act any differently?"

Opponents led by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group point out transportation and road maintenance needs total $8 billion a year. Current funding is at $2.2 billion, leaving a $5.8 billion deficit.

"This is already funding safety improvements, road repair and pothole improvements," said Carl Guardino with the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.

The fight will only get more intense because some opponents also said Proposition 6 is being proposed mainly to bring out more Republican voters for other races.

The Proposition 6 campaign makes its way to Fairfield in Solano County on Tuesday.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Defense Secretary James Mattis and top Australian officials on Tuesday reaffirmed their commitment to ridding North Korea of nuclear weapons and touted the strong relationship between the two countries as they ended two days of meetings.

Pompeo told reporters at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University that reports that North Korea was dismantling a satellite launch site were "entirely consistent" with the commitment North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made to President Donald Trump at a summit in Singapore. He said the U.S. has been pressing for inspectors on the ground.

"They need to completely, fully denuclearize," Pompeo responded after he was asked what more he wanted to see from North Korea.

Pompeo is scheduled to testify before Congress Wednesday following President Donald Trump's widely criticized news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week during which Trump openly questioned his own intelligence agencies' conclusions that Moscow tried to tip the scales of the 2016 election in his favor.

Pompeo said history will show the world benefited from the meeting between the two leaders.

The news conference was also attended by Mattis, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Australian Defense Minister Marise Payne  who were glowing in their evaluation of U.S.-Australia relations.

"The United States is the global bastion of freedom and democracy, and the great appeal of the United States and one of its undoubted strengths is its network of alliances and partnerships around the world," Bishop said.

She congratulated the U.S. on the Singapore summit and said Australia backed the U.S. effort to bring "stability" to the Korean peninsula.

Asked later whether Trump's unpredictability might jeopardize relations, Bishop said the relationship was so deep and enduring that changes at the White House or in Australian leadership could not weaken it.

Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull got off to a rocky start within days of Trump taking office in January 2017 after they sparred by phone over a plan for the U.S. to accept hundreds of mostly Muslim refugees that Australia didn't want to take in itself. The two have met multiple times since then and appeared to be chummy during a meeting at the White House in February.

Payne said Australia has 43 people who are missing in action from the Korean War, and has given the U.S. dental records and DNA to assist in the identification of any remains the U.S. may receive.

North Korea has yet to return the remains of some U.S. service members, as was promised as part of an agreement signed in Singapore.

Payne said Australia was committed to enforcing sanctions on North Korea and achieving "the final, fully verified denuclearization" of North Korea.

The two countries agreed to consult on their vision for the Indo-Pacific region and coordinate efforts to combat "foreign interference," among other commitments made at the meeting, according to the State Department.
A man suspected of attacking two women, including stabbing and killing an 18-year-old victim Nia Wilson, at the MacArthur BART station in Oakland on Sunday has been arrested thanks to, in part, a vigilant resident who called the police on the suspect when she spotted him Monday.

Bri Spearman was one of several people who alerted law enforcement officials to John Lee Cowell's whereabouts when she saw two young men chased Cowell onto a BART train at the 12th Street Oakland City Center station.

Spearman was commuting home from San Francisco when Cowell got on the train and brushed up against her. She recalled getting nervous after seeing him, taking a seat and pulling up the photo of a man suspected of stabbing Wilson and her sister.



"Honestly I was scared. His attack on Nia was unprovoked. He was very fixated on me and another young African American lady that was on the train," Spearman told NBC Bay Area.

She said he had his hands in his boxers and she was worried he might pull out a weapon.

"I just wanted to watch his hands and watch him and keep my eyes on him. I didn't want to be the next victim. I didn't want her to be the next victim. It was frightening," Spearman recalled.

BART police arrested the 27-year-old suspect without incident at the Pleasant Hill station. Cowell was then detained and taken to the BART police station at Lake Merritt in Oakland for questioning.

A video of the arrest, recorded by Spearman, showed officers putting handcuffs on Cowell, calling on their radio and calmly speaking with the suspect.

Spearman said she was surprised by how smooth everything went down. The police didn't act like the man was armed and dangerous, she said.

"I think the Bay Area community helped. Not just me; we all helped catch this guy," Spearman said, referring to other tips police received before Cowell was eventually apprehended.

"Im relieved hes caught. We still dont know his motive. Its still uneasy for me and a lot of African American women," she said.

Surveillance video on the train and at the station's platform showed Cowell had been riding the same car as the sisters Sunday, but they did not interact, Police Chief Carlos Rojas said.

A motive for the attack remained unclear. Rojas said Cowell hasn't been connected to any radical or white supremacist groups, although he added: "We are going to explore all options and all possibilities."

Over 1,000 people attended a vigil for Wilson Monday evening at the MacArthur BART station. Her death was the third involving an attack in the BART system in five days, making it one of the deadliest weeks in the system's history.

Ansar Mohammed, the father of the victims, spoke out after the attack, calling it "a parent's worst nightmare."

"I never imagined myself going through nothing like this," Mohammed said. "That's my baby girl laying up there. I want justice for my daughter."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
What to Know Officials say the Ferguson Fire has scorched nearly 53 square miles of timber and brush

More than 3,000 firefighters are battling the fire

Thirteen areas are under mandatory evacuation orders.

The heart of Yosemite National Park, where throngs of tourists are awe-struck by cascading waterfalls and towering granite features like El Capitan and Half Dome, will be closed as firefighters try to corral a huge wildfire just to the west that has cast a smoky pall and threatened the park's forest, officials said Tuesday.

Yosemite Valley will be closed for at least four days beginning at noon Wednesday, along with a winding, mountainous, 20-mile stretch of State Route 41, park spokesman Scott Gediman said.

At least a thousand campground and hotel bookings will be canceled  to say nothing of the impact on day visitors, park workers and small businesses along the highway, Gediman said.

"We're asking people here tonight to leave tomorrow morning," he said. "And anyone that's incoming tomorrow will get an email or phone call stating that their reservation is canceled."

The last time the 7.5-mile-long valley was closed because of fire was 1990, he said.

Yosemite wasn't under imminent danger from the Ferguson fire, officials were quick to point out. Authorities decided on the closure to allow crews to perform protective measures like burning away brush along roadways without having to deal with traffic in the park that welcomes 4 million visitors annually.

Yosemite Valley is the centerpiece of the visitor experience, offering views of landmarks such as Half Dome, Sentinel Dome, Bridal Veil Fall, El Capitan and Yosemite Falls. The glacial valley's grand vista of waterfalls and shear granite faces has been obscured by a choking haze of smoke from a nearby fire.

Visitors are advised to "limit activity during the periods of poor air quality," the park said in a statement. "Some facilities and services are closed or diminished."

Over nearly two weeks, flames have churned through more than 57 square miles of timber in steep terrain of the Sierra Nevada just west of the park. The fire was 25 percent contained Tuesday morning.

Mandatory evacuations are in place in several communities, while others have been told to get ready to leave if necessary.

More than 3,300 firefighters are working the fire, aided by 16 helicopters. One firefighter was killed July 14, and six others have been injured.

Gediman suggested valley visitors divert to Tuolumne Meadows, on Yosemite's northern edge, or to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks to the south.

"There are wonderful places to visit in the region, so we're asking people to consider alternative plans," he said.

In the state's far north, a nearly 4-square-mile wildfire has forced the evacuation of French Gulch, a small Shasta County community that dates to the Gold Rush.
In Attleboro, Massachusetts, most people know Paul Heroux as the mayor or their former three-term state representative. But for Russians who watch RT, the state-funded Russian TV station, Heroux is a Middle East expert.

How did that happen? "They saw my credentials," Heroux explained. "I graduated from Harvard, the London School of Economics, lived in the Middle East, and so they invited me on to speak."

Heroux, who grew up on Attleboro's main drag, wasn't particularly interested in politics or the Middle East until the September 11 attacks, when he learned that 15 of the 19 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia.

"Instead of constantly reading about them or hearing about them on the news, what the country is like, I decided to go in for my own opinions by living there for six months," he said.

Heroux taught English and lived among the locals. When he returned to the U.S., he was contacted to do analysis by the BBC, Australian radio and RT.

There has been criticism that contributing to RT, under the control of President Vladimir Putin, only serves to legitimize Putin's anti-democracy agenda.

"People say that RT is the propaganda arm of the Russian government," Heroux said. "Well, some people say that FOX News is the propaganda arm of the Republican Party."

Heroux posts all his interviews on his Facebook page and says he answers all questions the same way he would answer his constituents.

"It's a good idea to share information and to have that dialogue," Heroux said. "If they were in the habit of butchering what I said, I wouldn't do that. Absolutely not. But they're not."

As a Democrat, Heroux says speaking his mind has required him to be critical of President Trump.

"I believe he's in way over his head," Heroux said. "I don't think he knows what he's doing."

Since 2011, Heroux says he's appeared on the Russian network almost 40 times. He says he will continue to share his commentary.
Massachusetts' attorney general is launching an investigation into a popular e-cigarette maker.

Attorney General Maura Healey said at a Tuesday news conference she wants to find out whether California-based Juul Labs is tracking underage use of their products and whether its marketing practices are intentionally driving its popularity among young people. She says her office has sent subpoenas to Juul.

"Just when teen cigarette use has hit a record low, Juuling and vaping have become an epidemic in our schools with products that seem targeted to get young people hooked on nicotine," said Healey. "I am investigating JUUL and online sellers of their products to keep these highly addictive products out of the hands of children."

Healey says she has also sent cease-and-desist letters to two online vaping stores she says appear to be selling products to minors.

The attorney general was joined by Dr. Jonathan Winickoff, a Massachusetts General Pediatric researcher.

"My patients report using Juul devices in the classroom while walking in the hallways because they need a hit to get through the day," Winickoff said.

Methuen School Superintendent Judith Scanell added that the use of the e-cigarettes are skyrocketing and could lead to abuses.

"This is a gateway for that next step into harder substance abuse for the kids," Scanell said.

The Food and Drug Administration in April asked Juul to turn over documents about the design, marketing and ingredients of its product.

Matt David, a spokesman for Juul, said it's also committed to preventing underage use of its product and welcomes the "opportunity to work with" Healey. He says Juul has never marketed to anyone underage.

The company has pledged to spend $30 million in an effort to keep its products out of the hands of underage users.
Marcus the Shih Tzu is back home in Peabody, Massachusetts, a lot quieter than he usually is after losing an eye over the weekend.

"When he turned to walk into the house, that's when I saw the eye socket ripped out and blood all over his face," said Jason Simmonds, the dog's owner.

The 7-year-old was in his yard behind a fence, barking near the small opening at the bottom and peeking out, when a woman walked by with two dogs. One of the dogs somehow managed to maul Marcus through the opening.

The incident was captured on a neighbor's security camera.

"It looked like he had been in a war," Simmonds said. "It looked pretty gruesome."

It's unknown if one of the dogs used a paw or its teeth. The woman kept walking, even when she was confronted.

"I said, 'Excuse me, do you know your dog just mauled my dog?' and she said 'Oh no, they were just barking at each other, but I pulled them away,'" recounted Simmonds.

Simmonds says he then showed her the injury. He asked her to leave her information while he rushed to the veterinarian, but she didn't.

His owners can't believe the woman just left.

"Please just turn yourself in," said Mishelle Simmonds. "Call the police and turn yourself in."

The woman with the two dogs told a neighbor she had just moved to the area from Oklahoma and was worried she'd have to pay hefty vet bills.

Police are hoping for some solid tips to help track her down.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Peabody police at 978-538-6340.
As he continues to face an uncertain future, Rigoberto Mendez does the best he can, but it isn't easy.

"I came for a better life over here, looking for a better future," Mendez, an undocumented immigrant who lives in Newton, Massachusetts, said Monday.

Mendez moved from Guatemala in late 1991. Since then, he's gotten married and had two kids.

"In life, I've spent more time living here than my own country. If I go back, I don't know," Mendez added. "It would be very difficult for me."

His lawyer says Mendez has gone through the judicial process to remain in the United States, but that in the end, he didn't meet the qualifications.

After several stays of removal, Mendez now faces a date to depart.

"We are running out of time. We have basically 10 days to get this thing in our direction or not," Victor Maldonado, Mendez's lawyer, said Monday. "We are at the end of the proverbial rope, so to speak."

Complicating matters, Mendez's wife has brain cancer, and she continues to undergo treatment at a Boston hospital.

"I hope someone can help me with the problem that I have," Mendez said.

Mendez added his son is about to start school at UMass Boston in the fall, the first in the entire family to attend college. His younger son is about to enter fourth grade in Newton.

"Lately, I haven't had time to sleep, because it is not easy, thinking how I'm going to do with this," he said. "I don't like to think about it."

Maldonado says Mendez must show up at at an ICE office in August with proof of a one-way ticket back to Guatemala.

"Him being here is pretty much everything," Maldonado said. "This guy is a terrific father, the kids are doing tremendously well. [His wife] started responding to the cancer treatment. She is not out of the woods, but she is certainly better than she was a year ago."

Maldonado says he hopes to meet with Sen. Elizabeth Warren's office later this week to ask for help.

"These are not usual circumstances," he said.

NBC10 Boston reached out to ICE for comment. A spokesman said the agency was looking into the matter late Monday.

"He's an asset, but he is an asset with an order of removal in this administration," Maldonado said. "That is not a good combination."
What to Know People crossing the border between Vermont and Quebec have paid smugglers up to $4,000.

Driving the increase is the ease of entry into Canada, officials say.

So far this fiscal year, there have been at least 267 apprehensions along Vermont's border with Canada, compared with 132 all of last year.

While the Trump administration fortifies the southern border, there's growing concern over the number of foreigners entering the country illegally across the porous northern border with Canada.

People crossing the border between Vermont and Quebec have paid smugglers up to $4,000, usually payable when the immigrants reach their U.S. destination, according to officials and court documents.

While the number of arrests is tiny compared with the southern border, the human smuggling is just as sophisticated.

"They are very well organized. They have scouted the area. They have scouted us," said U.S. Border Patrol Agent Richard Ross. "Basically, we are not dealing with the JV team; this is the varsity."

Driving the increase in northern Vermont, officials say, is the ease of entry into Canada, where visas are no longer required for Mexicans, and a border that receives less scrutiny and resources than the southern border, where thousands fleeing violence in Central America are being detained.

Much of the illegal border crossing activity in Vermont appears to be focused on a 30-mile (50-kilometer) segment of the Vermont-Quebec border where Interstate 91 reaches the Canadian border at Derby Line, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Montreal.

From Derby Line, it's about a six-hour drive to New York and its teeming immigrant communities.

Guarding the border here is tricky because Derby Line and the neighboring Quebec town of Stanstead comprise one community where homes and buildings happen to be bisected by an international border.

The community library was purposely built straddling the border to serve people in both communities. Quebecers simply cross an international boundary marked outside the library by pots of petunias. Occasionally, illegal border crossers will walk, or even drive, across near the library.

"This is really a town with an invisible border going through it," said Stanstead resident Matthew Farfan, who has written a book about life along the border, after he left the library's Vermont entrance and prepared to cross back into Canada.

Against this bucolic backdrop, however, there is a growing sense of unease among U.S. law enforcement authorities.

"The number of illegal alien apprehensions at the Vermont-Canada border has skyrocketed," said Christina Nolan, Vermont's United States attorney, whose office oversees the prosecution of people caught at the Vermont border.

So far this fiscal year, there have been at least 267 apprehensions along Vermont's border with Canada, compared with 132 all of last year, according to statistics compiled by Nolan's office.

In the Border Patrol sector that covers 300 miles (480 kilometers) of border with New York, Vermont and New Hampshire, agents have apprehended 324 people who crossed illegally from Canada so far this fiscal year, compared with 165 in all of 2017. Last month, agents apprehended 85 people across the three states, compared with 17 in June 2017 and 19 in June 2016, statistics show.

The statistics show no corresponding spike in illegal immigration or apprehensions elsewhere along the northern frontier. Border Patrol agents speculate it's because the area that includes Vermont is the first stretch of land border east of the Great Lakes and is a short drive from the population centers of Canada and the U.S. East Coast.

As part of a broader recent immigration crackdown, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has set up highway checkpoints in Maine, New Hampshire and upstate New York. One person was apprehended in New York on charges she had picked up four people who had crossed from Canada.

Visa-less entry into Canada for countries like Mexico and Romania, another nationality noted by Nolan and Border Patrol agents as contributing to a spike in apprehensions, play a role by making the northern border more attractive for people seeking to enter the U.S. illegally, Nolan said. A plane ticket from Mexico City to Montreal or Toronto can cost less than $350.

The Canadian government in late 2016 lifted its requirement that Mexican citizens apply for visas to enter the country as part of broader efforts to strengthen ties with Mexico. A similar requirement for Romanian citizens took effect in late 2017.

Canada views the recent visa changes for Mexico and Romania as having a minimal impact on the border, said Beatrice Fenelon, a spokeswoman for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

In the past two months, agents in Vermont have chased border crossers through the woods near Derby Line; there have been car chases and cases in which agents have lost sight of suspects in the woods, only to apprehend them days later.

"They have kind of gone southern-border style where they are taking a hike and they are coming through the tall grass," Ross said. "It's something I would have seen years ago when I worked in Harlingen, Texas."

The agents won't guess how many make it across.

The flow of illegal border crossers goes in both directions. Since around the time President Donald Trump took office, thousands of immigrants in the U.S. have fled north to Canada seeking asylum.

Last October in the largest single case in memory of Border Patrol agents in the Derby Line area, 16 people were apprehended at a hotel after 14 had entered the United States west of Derby Line. The other two were the smugglers.

In another case east of Derby Line, a group of eight Mexican immigrants met at a McDonald's restaurant in Montreal after flying into Toronto and Montreal, where they hired two taxis to take them to Stanhope, Quebec, not far from where Quebec meets Vermont and New Hampshire.

After the immigrants walked six hours through the forest, they were apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Norton, Vermont, while riding in a taxi from Albany, New York, court documents say.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, responsible for border security in Canada, made arrests last month in two human-smuggling cases between Stanstead and Derby Line.

In one case, the suspect, a Mexican who did not have legal status in Canada, has been convicted of bringing immigrants to the Vermont border and was sentenced to six months in jail, after which he will be deported.

The Mounties are aware of the cases and ready to help their U.S. counterparts, said RCMP spokeswoman Sgt. Camille Habel.

But the RCMP doesn't appear to view the problem with the same urgency as U.S. officials: "It's not a trend yet," Habel said.

Associated Press writers Rob Gillies, Michael Hill and David Sharp contributed to this report.
Federal medical privacy rules, known as HIPAA laws, are designed to keep your medical information confidential. They can be aggravating, stopping you from getting even basic information about a sick relative, or earning a good scolding if you dont stand behind the line at your pharmacy.

But the penalties do not appear to be as severe for doctors themselves. Fully sixteen months after NBC 5 Investigates revealed a trove of medical records in a Naperville doctors unsecured basement, state and federal investigators have levied no discipline, despite what appears to have been a blatant violation of federal privacy rules.

Last March, North Aurora resident Barbara Jarvis-Neavins contacted NBC 5 Investigates, saying she was appalled that she had access to the private records of her landlord, Naperville psychiatrist Dr. Riaz Baber.

It has their birthdate, their social security number, whats wrong with them, what theyre being treated for, and what medication, she said. I could take these files and create identities and get credit cards and do all kinds of stuff, and I could be on an island somewhere. And thats what I told the FBI!

It was after Jarvis-Neavins got no action from the FBI, or the agency where they referred her, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, that she contacted NBC 5.

I think if I was going to a doctor and he had all of my private stuff, I wouldnt want it in somebodys basement, she said.

Sixteen months later, neither HHS nor two state agencies appear to have taken any action, despite the fact that the doctors records were in full view of furnace and hot water repair people, and of course, our own crew from NBC 5 which verified the records existence. After our repeated contacts with Babers attorney, we watched as the doctor hired a moving crew to remove the documents. Jarvis-Neavins moved out shortly after that. But she said it wasnt until last month that anyone from HHS even contacted her.

When NBC 5 Investigates contacted that same investigator, we were quickly referred to a press contact in Washington who refused all comment on the case. A check of the HHS website indicates an open investigation, and that the apparent security breach involved the records of over 10,000 patients.

Despite the fact that an NBC 5 reporter, photographer, and producer were in the basement and examined the records, no investigators have contacted us to determine what we saw or how the records were secured.

It just made me feel like he didnt care about our privacy, said the wife of one of those patients, who asked that we withhold her name because of her husbands prior treatments, but told NBC 5 Investigates she was outraged that nothing had been done to penalize the doctor. Its not like he hired somebody and they accidentally dropped a boxhe put them there and left them there!

Federal statutes required Baber to notify patients and HHS within two months of the apparent breach. But that woman said she didnt receive a letter until September, the same month the HHS website indicates that agency learned of the issue.

I wondered why it took so long, she said. And I found out he was supposed to notify us within 60 days.

The office of Attorney General Lisa Madigan had indicated last March they would examine the issue. But a spokesman indicated all they had done was notify the doctor of his responsibilities.

We contacted the doctor and his lawyer to inform them what state law requires in the event of a potential data security breach, the spokesman told NBC 5 in a statement. This included providing guidance on how the records should be stored, how and when affected patients should receive notice, and which state and federal agencies should be contacted. The doctor reported that he conducted each of these activities as required by law.

Likewise, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which would not comment on why Jarvis-Neavins had never heard from their office. In fact, they would neither confirm nor deny whether they were investigating the breach at all.

There is no requirement for IDFPR to update an individual on the status of an investigation, spokesman Terry Horstman told NBC 5. Just because a complainant isnt interviewed does not mean that an investigation did not take place.

As for Jarvis-Neavins, she said she feels some kind of sanction is long overdue, a sentiment echoed by the wife of that former Baber patient.

Its mental health, mental health! she exclaimed. I kind of put it at the top of the pyramid!

Repeated inquiries to Dr. Babers attorney went unanswered.
Family and friends of 24-year-old Tiara Hardy gather on Marquette Park Beach are holding onto hope that she will be found.

Her brother says she went swimming with two friends Monday night.

The waves became too much. Her friends made it out.

The last thing theyd seen was a crashing wave over her and then she was gone, Taj, Tiara's brother, told NBC 5.

Multiple police agencies frantically searched for several hours. They began looking for her again at 5-in the morning.

Family and friends are staying on the beach, supporting each other and reminiscing about the fun loving young woman who dreamed of owning her own hair salon one day.

Shes such a sweetheart who would do anything for anyone, no matter what it takes from her, Linda Sykes, Tiara's grandmother, said.

That's why friends and family are planting their chairs in the sand...waiting for answers.

Were going to stay here until they find my baby," Linda said. "We need her in this family, Im not giving up hope that she didnt wash up on shore somewhere."
State and federal agents are investigating the disappearance of a 20-year-old University of Iowa student who has been missing for nearly a week from her hometown in eastern Iowa.

Volunteer searches for Mollie Tibbetts, of Brooklyn, were called off this week as the FBI and state investigators took over, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation spokesman Mitch Mortvedt said Tuesday.

"We're still asking for the public's help," Mortvedt said. "We'd like to get any information we can. The more eyes and ears we have, the better."

Mortvedt said officials have little to go on, but they're "leaning more and more toward something happening to her against her will."

Television station KCRG reported Tibbetts was staying at her boyfriend's home at the time of her disappearance. She was there to watch his dogs because he had a construction job about 100 miles northeast in Dubuque. A neighbor reported seeing Tibbetts going for a jog last Wednesday evening.

The boyfriend, Dalton Jack, told the station he received a Snapchat photo from Tibbetts late Wednesday night, after she would have returned to the home from her jog.

She was reported missing Thursday when she didn't show up for work.

Mortvedt said FBI and Iowa investigators are concentrating on areas around Brooklyn that Tibbetts has known to have gone to in the past.

The FBI is also using an array of computer forensics  such as studying online history and cellphone app usage  in an effort to pinpoint where she might be, he said.

"This could shake out a bunch of different ways," Mortvedt said. "We are hoping and praying for the best outcome."

Dozens of volunteers in the town of about 1,500 had been searching fields around her house and the house where she was staying. They also blanketed the area with missing posters, T-shirts and billboard pleas for help in finding Tibbetts.

Tibbetts' aunt, Kim Calderwood of Brooklyn, told the Des Moines Register that Tibbetts' family is frustrated by the lack of progress in the search.

"We're racking our brains, thinking what can we think of to tell the investigators," she said. "It's the worst thing . to want to fix something you can't fix."
What to Know More than 400 firefighters and volunteer firefighters were battling the two fires near Athens, supported by seven water-dropping helicopters

Hundreds of people were evacuated from beaches and the coastline by navy vessels, yachts and fishing boats

"Gas canisters were exploding. Burning pine cones were flying everywhere," said one witness

Wildfires raged through seaside resorts near the Greek capital, torching homes, cars and forests and killing at least 74 people, authorities said Tuesday. Twenty-six of the dead were believed to be groups of families or friends who were found huddled together, some of them hugging.

Rescue crews were searching the charred remains of homes and cars in the deadliest of the fires, the one in the Rafina area northeast of Athens.

The number of victims appeared set to go even higher, with crews checking charred homes and vehicles and the coast guard scouring beaches and deeper waters. There was no definitive count of the missing.

Fueled by 80 kph (50 mph) winds that frequently changed direction, the fires  one to the west of Athens near the town of Kineta and another to the northeast near the port of Rafina  spread at speeds that surprised many, trapping hundreds on beaches and cutting off escape routes.

All the casualties appeared to be from the fire near Rafina, a popular seaside area that is a mix of permanent residences and vacation homes. The blaze broke out Monday afternoon during a hot, dry spell but the cause was not immediately clear. Aerial photos showed charred swathes of forest and homes.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras declared three days of national mourning. Apart from the dead, which included children, hospitals treated 187 people, most for burns, with 10 listed in serious condition.

Although it had abated by Tuesday afternoon, the blaze was far from extinguished and more than 230 firefighters were still trying to put it out, helped by volunteers and water-dropping aircraft. Another five fires continued to burn, with flare-ups reported in the blaze near Kineta. Authorities ordered the evacuation of some communities as a preventive measure.

Authorities urged the public to contact them about the missing. Many took to social media, posting photos and what was believed to be their last location before the fires hit.

Hundreds of homes and cars were believed to have been burned. Many vehicles were found with the keys still in the ignition and doors open, a sign of the urgency with which their occupants sought to flee the flames. Narrow roads quickly became jammed, forcing many to try to escape on foot. The ferocity of the fire melted cars' metal hubcaps.

Many ran to beaches, but even there the fire got so close and the smoke was so thick that dozens swam out to sea despite the rough weather.

Coast guard and private boats picked up more than 700 survivors from beaches and the sea  but also recovered six bodies.

"It happened very fast. The fire was in the distance, then sparks from the fire reached us. Then the fire was all around us," said Nikos Stavrinidis, who had gone with his wife to fix up his summer home for a visit by his daughter.

Stavrinidis, his wife, and four friends swam out to sea to escape the smoke, but they quickly became disoriented, losing sight of shore and being swept out farther by the wind and currents. Two of his group didn't survive.

"It is terrible to see the person next to you drowning and not being able to help him," Stavrinidis said, his voice breaking. The rest of the survivors were picked up by a fishing boat with an Egyptian crew who jumped into the water to rescue them.

Rafina's dock became a makeshift hospital overnight as paramedics examined survivors, some wearing only their bathing suits, after being dropped off by rescue boats.

Rafina Mayor Evangelos Bournous said his home had burned down and his family escaped by going into the sea.

The speed of the fires caught many by surprise.

"Everything happened in seconds," said Andreaas Passios, who lives next to the compound in Mati where the 26 bodies were found. "I grabbed a beach towel. It saved my life. I soaked it, grabbed my wife and we ran to the sea."

Passios said he and his wife stayed by the sea for two hours.

"It was unbelievable. Gas canisters were exploding. Burning pine cones were flying everywhere," he said.

Among the survivors was former Greek Communist Party leader Aleka Papariga.

"The police tried to direct us away from the fire, but we couldn't escape it," she said. "We got stuck in traffic and the flames were on top of us. We managed to find a small gap and we made it out."

Local officials provided housing, food and clothes for those affected.

Greece sought help in fighting the fires from the European Union. Spain sent two firefighting aircraft, while Cyprus sent in 60 firefighters. Israel, Turkey, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy and Germany also offered assistance.

Over the two days, 47 brush and forest fires broke out across Greece, with most of them quickly extinguished, the fire department said.

Heavy rain was forecast Wednesday across southern Greece, and there was hope that could help firefighters.

Forest fires are common during Greece's hot, dry summers and temperatures recently reached up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).

In 2007, more than 60 people were killed when huge fires swept across the southern Peloponnese region.

Associated Press writer Costas Kantouris contributed.
A federal judge on Monday denied the Trump administration's bid to throw out a lawsuit that alleges its decision to end special protections shielding Haitian, Salvadoran and Honduran immigrants from deportation was racially motivated.

U.S. District Judge Denise Casper's ruling means the case that seeks to block the administration from terminating temporary protected status for thousands of immigrants from those three countries can move forward. She also rejected the administration's request to remove Republican President Donald Trump as a defendant in the case.

"This represents an extremely favorable outcome for the Honduran, Haitian and Salvadoran immigrants who have felt completely blindsided by the federal government's refusal to maintain this humanitarian protection program and who are firmly convinced that racism and discrimination were at the heart of the decision to terminate TPS," said Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal. He's executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice, which filed the lawsuit in February.

Casper denied one of the group's requests for relief but allowed all other claims to move forward, saying the immigrants have made plausible constitutional claims.

"This Court finds that the combination of a disparate impact on particular racial groups, statements of animus by people plausibly alleged to be involved in the decision-making process, and an allegedly unreasoned shift in policy sufficient to allege plausibly that a discriminatory purpose was a motivating factor in a decision," Casper wrote.

The Department of Justice didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Last month, a federal judge in San Francisco refused to throw out a similar lawsuit challenging the administration's decision to end the protections for immigrants from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Sudan.

Temporary protected status provides safe havens for people from countries experiencing armed conflicts, natural disasters and other challenges.

The program has been continuously extended for Haitians since a 2010 earthquake. Protections for El Salvadorans have been in place since earthquakes devastated the country in 2001. For Hondurans, the program known as TPS has been in place since 1999 after Hurricane Mitch devastated the Central American nation the year before.

The Trump administration argues that conditions in the countries have improved and that the program was not designed for the protections to be continuously extended.
What to Know Pentagon official Robert Wilkie is expected to become secretary of Veterans Affairs when the Senate votes Monday to confirm him.

Wilkie is the president's third pick for the job in 18 months.

He served as acting VA secretary after David Shulkin's firing in March.

The Senate on Monday confirmed Pentagon official Robert Wilkie to be secretary of Veterans Affairs, charged with delivering on President Donald Trump's campaign promises to fire bad VA employees and steer more patients to the private sector.

Wilkie won approval on a bipartisan vote of 86-9, securing the backing of many Democrats after insisting at his confirmation hearing that he will not privatize the government's second-largest department. It was a moment of respite from the sharp political divisions engulfing Trump's other nominees in the final months before congressional midterm elections.

Wilkie is Trump's third pick for the job in 18 months. The longtime public official says he will "shake up complacency" at VA, which has struggled with long waits in providing medical treatment to millions of veterans.

In a statement released by the White House, Trump applauded the confirmation vote and said he looked forward to Wilkie's leadership. "I have no doubt that the Department of Veterans Affairs will continue to make strides in honoring and protecting the heroic men and women who have served our nation with distinction," he said.

Trump selected Wilkie for the post in May after firing his first VA secretary, David Shulkin, amid ethics charges and internal rebellion at the department over the role of private care for veterans. Trump's initial replacement choice, White House doctor Ronny Jackson, withdrew after allegations of workplace misconduct surfaced.

Wilkie, a former assistant secretary of defense under President George W. Bush, has received mostly positive reviews from veterans' groups for his management experience, but the extent of his willingness to expand private care as an alternative to government-run VA care remains largely unknown.

Trump last year pledged he would triple the number of veterans "seeing the doctor of their choice." Currently more than 30 percent of VA appointments are made in the private sector.

Under repeated questioning at his hearing, the Air Force and Navy veteran said he opposed privatizing the agency of 360,000 employees and would make sure VA health care is "fully funded." When pressed by Sen. Jon Tester, the top Democrat on the panel, if he would be willing to disagree with Trump, Wilkie responded "yes."

"I have been privileged to work for some of the most high-powered people in this town," said Wilkie, currently a Pentagon undersecretary for Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. "They pay me for their opinions, and I give those to them."

Wilkie's main task in the coming months will be carrying out a newly signed law to ease access to private health providers. That law gives the VA secretary wide authority to decide when veterans can bypass the VA, based on whether they receive "quality" care, but the program could face escalating costs.

Some Democrats have warned the VA won't be able to handle a growing price tag, putting it at risk of budget shortfalls next year. Major veterans' groups want full funding for core VA medical centers, which they see as best-suited to veterans' specialized needs such as treatment for post-traumatic stress.

As VA secretary, Wilkie also will have more power under a new accountability law to fire VA employees. Lawmakers from both parties have recently raised questions about the law's implementation, including how whistleblower complaints are handled and whether the law is being disproportionately used against rank-and-file employees rather than senior managers who set policy.

"The tone has been set by President Trump on the direction of VA reforms," said Dan Caldwell, executive director of the conservative Concerned Veterans for America. "There have been a tremendous number of bills passed in the last year and half, and all will require a lot of work to make sure they are properly implemented."

Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia, chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, praised Wilkie as "eminently qualified," saying he will "bring stability and leadership" to VA.

Wilkie served as acting VA secretary after Shulkin's firing in March, before returning to his role as Pentagon undersecretary.

He will replace current acting VA secretary Peter O'Rourke, who clashed with the VA inspector general after refusing to release documents relating to VA whistleblower complaints and casting the independent watchdog as an underling who must "act accordingly." Under pressure from Congress, the VA agreed last week to provide documents to the IG.
Main Street in Newington has reopened after a car crashed into a utility pole and caused hundreds of power outages on Tuesday morning.

The car crashed into the utility pole on Main Street shortly after midnight, police said. The crash closed Main Street between Dowd Street and Mountain View Drive through rush hour and reopened shortly before 8:00 a.m. Drivers were encouraged to seek alternate routes.

Eversource was at the scene to make repairs and clean up, police said.

There were nearly 500 outages reported in Newington, but they have since been restored, according to Eversource.

It is unclear if anyone was injured in the crash. Investigators are working to determine what may have caused the accident.
Something went wrong in Milford during a common home renovation on the shoreline meant to prevent flood damage during bad storms, and it led to the home being demolished.

The clean-up continued on Cooper Avenue Tuesday after city officials decided knocking the house down was the only option following a mishap during renovations to raise it several feet off the ground.

Whether it was uneven settlement or not I cant be sure, City of Milford Building Official Joseph Griffith told NBC Connecticut over the phone. And then at the same time I believe the new framing that was provided supporting the house was not yet completed.

Another factor that could have led the house to shift and tilt is that the neighborhood is built on marshlands, Griffith said.

That building had been up in the air for my guess two weeks, so it probably was subject to stronger winds than we saw yesterday, Griffith added.

As a precaution, neighbors next door had to be evacuated during the demolition. The only injury was a worker who injured his arm.

It was amazing how they were able to take it down without incident, said Elizabeth Gunning, who lives on nearby James Street.

Gunnings home had several feet of flooding during Irene in 2011 and the next year during Sandy she said the flooding was even worse. But she has opted not to have her home lifted off the ground.

You can get a grant but Im not doing it, Gunning said. Im moving to higher ground.

Gunning said she was not surprised to see the home fall while being raised because all these foundations are shot, these houses really need to be just leveled and started from scratch because you cant lift a house that has rotted floorboards.

Griffith would not identify the contractor working on the now demolished home.

The elevated contractor, he said, we have a lot of experience with and hes very expert and professional.

Despite the dramatic video from the shoreline that is gaining attention in Connecticut and beyond, Griffith said homeowners by the water should still elevate their homes before the next major storm.

A Milford home had to be demolished after an accident while raising the home for repairs caused the structure to become unsafe.

If theyre not required to do so, he said, they should elect to do so, yes.

The City of Milford updated its building codes to go along with the Federal governments flood insurance regulations after Irene and Sandy. Since 2012, Griffith said he could only recall one other home in Milford that fell down out of about 250 that have been or are in the process of being raised.

The Cooper Avenue homeowner declined to speak with NBC Connecticut on-camera.
By Trend





Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR is interested in gas distribution in Bulgaria, Director of SOCAR Balkan company Murad Heydarov told Trend July 13.

Back in 2015, the Bulgarian government presented a set of projects on energy cooperation to Azerbaijan.

In particular, the Azerbaijani side was invited to participate in the construction of gas filling stations, invest in the construction of oil and gas storage facilities, oil refineries.

The sphere of SOCARs interests in Bulgaria includes several potential projects, however the distribution of gas is currently on the agenda, Heydarov said.

The company is exploring opportunities to invest in Bulgarias gas distribution network.

Earlier, SOCAR confirmed its intention to invest in the development of Bulgarias gas distribution network.

SOCARs interest in ensuring gas supply of Bulgarian cities was expressed during a meeting of Bulgarias Prime Minister Boyko Borissov with Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev in January. SOCAR has already successfully invested in this sector in Georgia and can use this experience in Bulgaria as well.

SOCAR representatives set before the Bulgarian experts from the Energy Ministry a number of issues related to legislation on gas distribution, subsidies for households, the choice of natural gas as a source of energy, competitive advantages of gas over other sources. The meeting in the Commission for Regulation of Energy and Water Supply will discuss details of the regulatory framework and licensing of gas distribution companies.
The suspect in a murder at a former Cinque Green Public Housing apartment building in New Haven in 2011 has been arrested.

Christopher Calhoun, 26, of New Haven, was taken into custody Monday as authorities served him with a warrant charging him with the murder of 23-year-old Issah Gantt, according to police.

Officers found Gantt lying wounded in the buildings vestibule when they responded at 12:47 a.m. April 20, 2011 to investigate the report of a person being shot.

Gantt was pronounced dead after being transported to the hospital and an autopsy revealed that he suffered three gunshot wounds to his back, two on his upper left arm and two on the left side of his head, according to the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice.

Calhoun was apprehended at his home on Pardee Street.
South Windsor Police have arrested a teacher and three supervisors of a daycare facility after an investigation into a child abuse complaint that authorities said was not reported to the state.

According to police, officers began an investigation in April after they received a complaint that a teacher at a local daycare was being abusive to children in her care. The complaint stated that the teacher handled children in a rough and aggressive way on three occasions.

Police did not release the name of the daycare that the teacher and supervisors worked for, but Mother Goose Childrens Center voluntarily surrendered its license earlier this month following allegations of abuse that came to light in a recent state inspection.

The complaint South Windsor police investigated also said that the daycare management was made aware of the teacher's behavior and did not report it to the state, even though they are required to by mandated reporter laws, police said.

South Windsor police said investigators from the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood and the Department of Children and Families worked with them to investigate the incident and a teacher and three supervisors were arrested.

On Monday, police arrested 25-year-old Ashley Swietek, of South Windsor, 74-year-old Marjorie Glater, of South Windsor, 36-year-old Nicole Moriarty, of South Windsor and 44-year-old Brandy Novack, of Coventry.

Swietek is charged with three counts of risk of injury to a minor, while Glater, Moriarty and Novack are charged with failure of a mandated reported to report abuse.

All four were released on bond and are scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 2.

According to the Office of Early Childhood, Glater, the daycare operator, voluntarily gave up her three licenses following the agencys investigation. The OEC alleged that on and prior to April 23, 2018, staff member engaged in abusive, neglectful and frightening treatment of children.

Glaters attorney Kevin Rennie said his client denies the alleged abuse and plans to enter a not-guilty plea

Its just a gross overreaction to then bring criminal charges to someone in this business 45 years serving parents and children in South Windsor. A beloved figure in our community and its preposterous these charges would have been brought against her," Rennie said.



State officials told NBC Connecticut earlier this month that the employee who was accused of the abuse was no longer employed at the center. They said Glater would work to implement a new director by Sept. 28.

Mother Goose Childrens Center is still open. The Office of Early Childhood Education has been visiting the facility daily. Glater has agreed with the Office of Early Childhood to not oversee day to day operations and is working administratively for now.
What to Know The FBI seized millions of files found on numerous computer storage devices and cellular phones from Trump's ex-lawyer in April.

Thousands of those files are still under review, with Cohen and Trump lawyers claiming attorney-client privilege.

A dozen audio recordings seized by the FBI from President Donald Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, were forwarded to federal prosecutors after lawyers dropped challenges on attorney-client privilege grounds, a former judge revealed Monday.

The recordings were among millions of files taken from Cohen in April as part of a criminal probe of his business practices.

Barbara Jones, a court-appointed lawyer and former Manhattan federal judge helping to decide which of the seized files are protected by privilege, said in a court filing that prosecutors received the recordings on Friday after attorneys for Trump, Cohen and the Trump Organization dropped privilege claims.

The same day, Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani said Cohen had recorded a conversation in which the president had discussed a potential payment to squash the story of a former Playboy model who said she had an affair with Trump.

Giuliani said the brief recording shows Trump did nothing wrong.

"The transaction that Michael is talking about on the tape never took place, but what's important is: If it did take place, the president said it has to be done correctly and it has to be done by check" to keep a proper record of it, Giuliani said.

In a weekend tweet, Trump called Cohen's practice of recording conversations "totally unheard of & perhaps illegal."

Attorney Lanny Davis, speaking on Cohen's behalf, has said what is on the tape will not harm Cohen.

Jones has been providing periodic updates on the privilege review of over four million items, mostly electronic, that were found on numerous computer storage devices and cellular phones seized from Cohen.

Late Thursday, Jones notified U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood, who appointed her, that Cohen, Trump or the Trump Organization had designated 4,085 items seized from Cohen as privileged among the most recent items she reviewed.

She wrote that she agreed that 2,633 were privileged, in full or part, but that 1,452 items were not. She said lawyers for Cohen still disagreed about 22 of those items but said they would not pursue their objections. With that, Jones released them all to prosecutors.

Jones wrote in Monday's filing that the parties withdrew their designations of privilege as to a dozen audio recordings that were being reviewed by Jones. She said she then released them to prosecutors.

Jones said she was continuing to review other items.

Cohen has not been charged with a crime.
Right-wing radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has moved to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed by the families of some of the 26 people killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting.

In written arguments filed Friday, Jones, who said he believes the Connecticut shooting happened, argued he was acting as a journalist when he questioned on his talk show "Infowars" the official narrative given by police and government officials.

"Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein relied on allegations from `Deep Throat' to link the Nixon Administration to the Watergate break-in," his lawyers wrote in filing for a dismissal. "Such journalism, questioning official narratives, would be chilled if reporters were subject to liability if they turned out to be wrong,"

A gunman killed 20 first-graders and six educators at the Newtown, Connecticut, school on Dec. 14, 2012.

Several families filed suit in April in state Superior Court, saying that Jones' comments questioning the shooting have tormented them and subjected them to harassment and death threats by his followers, some of whom have accused them of being crisis actors.

"The First Amendment simply does not protect false statements about the parents of one of the worst tragedies in our nation's history," Bill Bloss, an attorney who represents the families said in a statement Monday. "Any effort by any of the defendants to avoid responsibility for the harm that they have inflicted will be unsuccessful."

The plaintiffs include the parents of four children killed at the school -- Daniel Barden, Dylan Hockley, Ben Wheeler and Avielle Richman. Also suing are relatives of two slain educators -- school Principal Dawn Hochsprung and first-grade teacher Victoria Soto. FBI agent William Aldenberg, one of the first responders to the scene, also is a plaintiff.

The lawsuits seek monetary and punitive damages, attorney fees and other costs. They do not say exactly how much money the families are seeking

In separate lawsuits filed in Texas, where Jones' "Infowars" media company is based, the parents of slain children Jesse Lewis and Noah Pozner sued Jones seeking more than $1 million in damages for alleged defamation.

Wolfgang Halbig, who the families said was a frequent guest on Jones' show and questioned whether the school shooting really happened, is also named as a defendant in the case.

Halbig, 71, a former police officer who lives in Sorrento, Florida, said in April that he believes people died in the shooting, but that authorities refuse to clear up what he believes are discrepancies in the official story.

Jones acknowledged allowing Halbig and others to question the shooting on his show, but said he has a constitutional right to do that.

"To stifle the press (by making them liable for merely interviewing people who have strange theories) will simply turn this human tragedy into a Constitutional one," his attorneys wrote.

Jones' attorneys asked for oral arguments on their motion. Those were not scheduled Monday.
There are a number of job fairs planned in North Texas to help job hopefuls land some of the open positions.

The latest reports for Texas shows the state added more than 27,000 jobs in June and the Texas Workforce Commission reports the unemployment rate improved to 4-percent.

At a career fair in Fort Worth, organizers say applicants can meet hiring managers of top employers one-on-one.

Information:

Fort Worth Career Fair

Tuesday, July 24



11 a.m. - 2 p.m.



Radisson Hotel Fort Worth

2540 Meacham Blvd.

Free for job seekers.

You can find more information here.



Sprouts Farmers Market is also holding a nationwide day of hiring at each location. Walk-in interviews will be held at each Sprouts location.

Tuesday, July 24

9 a.m. - 6 p.m.

The grocery chain hopes to fill positions in 300 stores.



A list of available positions can be found at sprouts.com/careers.
Lockheed Martin has announced it will now add 400 jobs to its Fort Worth facility for the F-35 program.

This hiring increase comes after the company already hired more than 1,800 new employees to support production in the growing F-35 aircraft program.

Lockheed Martin plans on hosting a hiring event July 30. They're searching for employees with expertise in the following areas: avionics technicians, milling machinist, low observable coaters, structural assemblers, aircraft mechanics, field and service mechanics and electrical assemblers.

The F-35 was featured in the White House's "Made in America Product Showcase" Monday afternoon.



You can find hiring event information HERE.
Behind every badge is a story about the person who wears it.

One North Texas couple went across the state to gather those stories for their new book, aptly named "Behind the Texas Badge."



For Grand Prairie Assistant Police Chief Christy Martinez, that story was born from a desire to be a force for good after a brush with tragedy at 16 years old.

"I hope to bring the same type of energy -- a sense of hope that was quickened to me that particular night," Martinez said.

In September of 1999, a friend invited her to a prayer rally and concert at Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth.

Not long after the program began, a man with a gun ran inside the church and fatally shot seven innocent people before taking his own life.

A lot about that night is hazy for Martinez. But she vividly remembers the off-duty Fort Worth Police officer who was nearby, heard the gunshots, and rushed into the church to help them.

"He was a sign of relief, of hope -- and he allowed all of us to get out of there as quickly as possible," Martinez said. "He readily answered the call. And that's what spoke to me."

That moment is what inspired her to pursue a career in law enforcement, she said.

And it's what prompted Doug and Carol Hutchison, a married couple now living in Gainesville, to give Martinez a call.

That really struck us," Carol Hutchison said. "And we were eager to hear the rest of her story.

The two of them -- one a retired Irving Police motorcycle officer, the other a professional photographer -- had set out on a mission to find stories just like Martinez's and compile them into a book.

I was very appreciative to be thought of in that regard," Martinez said.

We wanted to do something to lift [officers'] spirits and to show people that theyre human beings  and that they care about people," Carol said.

The Hutchisons spent a year traveling more than 15,000 miles to every corner of Texas, where they met with officers, snapped pictures of them and captured their stories -- some inspiring, some heartbreaking, and some that are downright funny.

You can look in those officers eyes and you can almost see their souls," Doug said. "And you realize that this is not just a paycheck. Its not something they want to do for fun. Its something they feel they were truly called to do.

The Hutchisons hope that is indeed what comes through the pages.

For more about the book, visit the official "Behind the Texas Badge" website.


A man who approached DPS Special Agents while armed with a handgun is in serious condition after being shot Tuesday morning.

Lt. Lonny Haschel, with the Texas Department of Public Safety, said the agents were in an unmarked van working a case at an apartment complex in the 9800 block of Adleta Boulevard when someone pulled up behind them in a SUV and boxed them in.

A man who approached DPS Special Agents while armed with a handgun is in serious condition after being shot Tuesday morning. Lt. Lonny Haschel, with the Texas Department of Public Safety, said the agents were in an unmarked van working a case at an apartment complex in the 9800 block of Adleta Boulevard when someone pulled up behind them in a SUV and boxed them in.

A man armed with a handgun then exited the SUV and approached the DPS agents.

The agents, Haschel said, fearing for their lives, shot the man. He was given first aid and then transferred to a hospital in serious condition.



Two additional people inside the SUV were taken into custody and are being questioned.

Haschel said he did not know why the man approached the agents or why he was armed.

The shooting is being investigated by the Texas Rangers.


Residents in the Waxahachie development of Emerald Forest were left without water for over 24 hours after a broken pump knocked out service Sunday.

Water service, provided by The Carroll Water Company resumed for some residents Monday evening.

"I've been on the phone since 8:05 this morning calling every governmental agency I can get our hands on," Julie Davis, one of the residents who lost water service, said.

About 200 people live in Emerald Forest, and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said they were looking into the incident. Last month, neighbors in another Carroll Water Company-serviced subdivision in Ellis County complained their water was brown and undrinkable.

Davis said responsibility for this latest incident falls on the Carroll Water Company and is totally unacceptable.

"You're not performing what your duties are supposed to be when you are withholding water," Davis said.

The Ellis County Fire Department delivered water for animals on Monday and as water service resumed Monday evening, residents received a boil water notice, which is standard after a water outage.

NBC 5 called the Carroll Water Company, but as of publication has not heard back.
The Department of Economic Development  Abu Dhabi (ADDED) has launched the Government Economic Partnership Platform, "Sharakah", a centralised claims platform to register private sector companies who have provided services to government bodies but have not yet been compensated as well as for disputed fines.



Applicants can apply to speed up the settlement of their payment by accessing the platform online or visiting the Abu Dhabi Business Centre in ADDED's head office, where a dedicated team can guide them confidentially through the process.



A special committee has been created to review outstanding payments due to the private sector, and oversee all procedures related to the settlement of these payments. As a first step, ADDED will collect the data related to outstanding payments, validate and verify them and prioritise dues for payout based on criteria including age and risk.



The information collected will remain confidential and allow the Special Committee to review reasons for non-payment and revamp the payment process across government sectors to accelerate payout to private sector suppliers in the future.



Saif Al Hajeri, chairman of The Department of Economic Development - Abu Dhabi, said: "His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has made it clear that we all have to work together to improve the ease of doing business in Abu Dhabi especially for entrepreneurs, SMEs and the private sector. By empowering them, we can increase their contribution to the economy and job creation.



"With His Highness's instructions in mind, the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development is currently working on seven different initiatives, all of which aim to make Abu Dhabi the destination of choice for businesses of all sectors and sizes. In this endeavour, we are committed to work hand in hand with the private sector to build greater trust and understanding, as this will lay the foundation for long-term future partnerships.



"To foster trust with the private sector, we launched 'Sharakah' to allow companies from the private sector to escalate their claims to the Special Committee, which in turn could escalate to the Executive Committee. 'Sharakah' in essence is a direct and confidential channel for these companies to the senior leadership in the Government, an access that was not available before. The feedback received will also be beneficial to review and revamp payment processes in the future so that private companies providing services to government bodies have a constant cash flow, he added.



He also reiterated that the Abu Dhabi Government appreciates the strong and mutually beneficial relationships it has with its different suppliers in the private sector, which is why it has widened the scope of the Government Economic Partnership Platform to include reviewing fines to identify unfair or counter-productive penalties.



The initiative aims to support the private sector, protecting its rights, reinforcing its relationship with the government sector, and elevating its contribution to the economy.



"Sharakah" could be used by the private sector and individuals seeking a social or education benefit (e.g., health insurance) who have filed a claim and not yet been reimbursed.  TradeArabia News Service
A federal appeals court rejected an appeal from Diane Zamora, a former Naval Academy midshipman serving a life sentence in Texas for the 1995 slaying of her high school boyfriend's lover, to be returned to protective custody.

Zamora, now 40, argued the move from protective custody at one prison to the general population at another threatened her safety over animosity from inmates due to the high-profile nature of her case.



She and David Graham were convicted of killing Adrianne Jones, a sophomore at Mansfield High School, southwest of Dallas, where Graham was an honor student.

At the same time in 1995, Zamora was an honor student at nearby Crowley High School, south of Fort Worth. They were dating when Graham confessed to Zamora that he had sex with Jones, his teammate on the cross country team.

Before they were arrested and convicted, Graham and Zamora would graduate high school and begin attending the Air Force Academy and Naval Academy, respectively. It wasn't until Zamora began talking about the crime that the pair were charged, arrested and found guilty.

Zamora and Graham later admitted to taking Jones to a secluded field where Zamora hit her with a barbell and Graham shot her as she tried to run.

Both said the slaying was to appease Zamora, who was enraged that Jones and Graham slept together once. Graham said Zamora gave him an ultimatum: kill Jones or risk her leaving him or committing suicide. Zamora said at her trial that Graham killed Jones alone.

Court documents show Zamora had been housed in a "safekeeping" cell at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Mountain View Unit outside Gatesville and was moved to another Central Texas female prison, the Hobby Unit, where she was placed in general population. Acting as her own attorney in her lawsuit, Zamora argued she became a target for threats and assaults from other inmates because stories about her case were available in the prison library, that a movie had been made about her and that she had been in demand for media interviews.

"In essence, Zamora's contentions boil down to a disagreement with prison officials over her housing status," the 5th Circuit said late Monday in its four-page ruling that found no constitutional violation with her imprisonment.

In his ruling last year, Pitman said there was no evidence to show "having a high-profile case entitles a prisoner to safekeeping" and that evidence of assaults related to the nature of her case "is far from reliable."

As an inmate in safekeeping, she was housed in an air-conditioned cell and had her own television. In filings, Zamora said her only friend in prison was Yolanda Saldivar, another high-profile inmate convicted of the 1995 shooting death of Tejano singing star Selena Quintanilla-Perez.

Prison records Tuesday showed Zamora was housed temporarily at the Mountain View Unit, where she arrived earlier this month. Records also show she had a stint at a prison psychiatric unit earlier this year.

According to jail records Zamora and Graham, both serving life sentences for capital murder, are eligible for parole on Sept. 5, 2036.
What to Know North Korea appears to have begun to dismantle key facilities at its main satellite launch site.

The North Korea-focused 38 North website said commercial satellite images indicate the North began to dismantle facilities at Sohae.

An official from South Korea's presidential office on Tuesday said Seoul has also been detecting dismantlement activities at Sohae.

North Korea appears to have started dismantling key facilities at its main satellite launch site in a step toward fulfilling a commitment made by leader Kim Jong Un at his summit with President Donald Trump in June.

While Pyongyang could be trying to build trust with Washington as they engage in talks to resolve the nuclear standoff, analysts say dismantling a few facilities at the site alone wouldn't realistically reduce North Korea's military capability or represent a material step toward denuclearization. And they expressed concern the work is being done without verification.

The North Korea-focused 38 North website said commercial satellite images between July 20 and 22 indicate the North began dismantling key facilities at the Sohae launch site. The facilities being razed or disassembled include a rocket engine test stand used to develop liquid-fuel engines for ballistic missiles and space-launch vehicles and a rail-mounted processing building where space launch vehicles were assembled before being moved to the launch pad, according to the report.

"Since these facilities are believed to have played an important role in the development of technologies for the North's intercontinental ballistic missile program, these efforts represent a significant confidence building measure on the part of North Korea," analyst Joseph Bermudez wrote in the report.

An official from South Korea's presidential office on Tuesday said Seoul has also been detecting dismantlement activities at the Sohae launch site but did not specify what the North was supposedly taking apart.

Other analysts said North Korea is giving up little in dismantling the rocket engine test site when it's clear the country is satisfied with its current design of long-range weapons and could easily build other similar facilities if needed in the future.

Adam Mount, a senior defense analyst at the Federation of American Scientists, said it's also troubling that the North has been apparently allowed to duck verification by unilaterally dismantling parts of its nuclear and missile facilities without the presence of international inspectors. North Korea in May invited foreign journalists to observe the destruction of tunnels at its nuclear testing ground, but did not invite outside experts capable of certifying what had been destroyed.

"The actions at Sohae are a helpful signal that Pyongyang wants to continue negotiations, but do not in themselves advance nuclear disarmament," Mount said in an email. "North Korea still has not disclosed or offered to dismantle facilities that produce or store nuclear or missile systems, or the means to transport the missiles. So far, the facilities dismantled have been peripheral to these core functions."

Lee Choon Geun, a missile expert at South Korea's Science and Technology Policy Institute, said the North's supposed move to dismantle the rail-mounted processing building was the more meaningful development as it potentially indicated to broader dismantlement activities at the site.

"If North Korea goes further and dismantle the entire Sohae site, that would meaningfully reduce the country's long-range missile capability by eliminating a facility where it could fire multiple ICBMs in succession," Lee said. "The North can also fire ICBMs from transporter erector launchers, but their technology with these vehicles isn't stable."

However, Mount said the military consequences of a broader dismantlement would be "marginal." North Korea has invested a great deal of effort in ensuring its missiles can be fired from austere locations and doesn't require a site like Sohae, he said.

"Dismantling a test site does not seriously constrain the existing arsenal or even future designs," said Mount. "While it would be a significant step for the regime to shut down its space launch programs, it has always argued that these programs are distinct from military ones. Easing the missile threat would require restrictions on the number, types, or capabilities of missiles or the vehicles that transport and fire them."

After his summit with Kim in Singapore on June 12, Trump said he was told by Kim that the North was "already destroying a major missile engine testing site" without identifying which site. The leaders concluded their summit by declaring their vague aspirational goal of moving toward a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, but there's lingering doubts on whether Kim would ever agree to fully give up the nuclear weapons he may see as a stronger guarantee of his survival that whatever security assurances the United States can provide.

Kim in late 2017 declared his nuclear weapons and missile program was complete, following a torrent of nuclear and missile tests that include the detonation of a purported thermonuclear warhead and flight tests of three developmental ICBMs potentially capable of reaching the U.S. mainland. Kim announced the mission of his nuclear testing site as finished weeks before inviting foreign journalists to observe the destruction of the tunnels.

The South Korean presidential official, who didn't want to be named, citing office rules, said the supposed dismantlement activities shows the North is moving gradually.

"We need further analysis to figure out why the North didn't turn the dismantlement activities into an event and whether the country is trying to control the speed of the process to maintain a pace it wants," he said.
What to Know The cluster of cases in Liberia was identified after the woman's 15-year-old son was diagnosed with Ebola

The couple's 5-year-old son wasn't infected

Several weeks after giving birth to a baby in September 2015, the woman developed problems including fatigue and breathing difficulties

A Liberian woman who probably caught Ebola in 2014 may have infected three relatives a year after she first fell sick, doctors reported in a study published Monday.

There have been previous instances of men spreading Ebola to women via sexual transmission  the virus can survive in semen for more than a year  but the new case is the first time scientists have suggested that Ebola was spread from a woman after such a prolonged period.

The rare possibility of Ebola spreading long after infection highlights the importance of monitoring survivors, especially with the imminent end of the most recent flare-up of the disease in Congo.

That country's latest outbreak, announced in May, has so far recorded 38 confirmed cases, including 14 deaths. It is due to be declared contained on Wednesday, which will mark 42 days, or two incubation periods, since the last case was recorded.

"The Ebola virus hides in places where it can escape the antibodies from a body's immune system, so there is a need for vigilance," said Dr. David Heymann, a professor of infectious diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who was not linked to the new research.

The unusual cluster of cases in Liberia was identified after the woman's 15-year-old son was diagnosed with Ebola in November 2015.

Scientists then tested the rest of his family: the woman, her husband and their three younger sons.

The 15-year-old died a few days later. The father and an 8-year-old boy were positive for Ebola, but both recovered.

The couple's 5-year-old son wasn't infected.

Doctors found Ebola antibodies in the mother, her breast milk and her 2-month-old baby, suggesting a previous infection and the possibility she passed on protection to her infant son through breastfeeding.

Researchers reported genetic similarities between the viruses taken from the father, the two boys and the strain circulating during the 2014-15 outbreak across Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, which ultimately killed more than 11,000 people in the biggest Ebola epidemic in history.

Scientists discovered the woman had cared for her brother in July 2014, who died after suffering Ebola-like symptoms but before being tested for the disease. The woman later experienced a similar illness, but never sought care.

Several weeks after giving birth to a baby in September 2015, the woman developed problems including fatigue and breathing difficulties. Doctors say that because pregnancy lowers the body's immune defenses, that may have allowed for the Ebola virus to re-emerge.

"The suspicious illness she had following delivery may have been a re-activation of Ebola, but we have no confirmatory tests," said Dr. Emily Kainne Dokubo, who led the Ebola response in Liberia for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the study's lead author.

Dokubo said it was possible the woman infected her husband and two older sons with Ebola when they took care of her  the disease is normally spread through contact with an infected patient's blood or other bodily fluids.

The case report was published online Monday in the journal Lancet.

"There isn't complete evidence to reconstruct what happened, but this is the most likely scenario," said Lorenzo Subissi, an epidemiologist at Sciensano, a Belgian research institute, who was not part of the study.

Dokubo said such cases of Ebola re-emergence are exceptional, with only two reported instances: a Scottish nurse who developed meningitis caused by Ebola hidden in her brain and an American physician who had lingering virus in his eye. In those two cases, the virus did not spread any further.

"We don't want there to be a sense of complacency with people thinking that just because the outbreak is over, there's nothing more to be done," Dokubo said. "There is a risk of viral persistence and people should seek care immediately so that we can pick up any suspicious cases right away and stop a larger outbreak."

___

The Associated Press Health & Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Annette Richardson said that when she went to visit USC Dr. George Tyndall in 2000 she didn't get a standard gynecological exam.

She said she sought out a campus doctor because she was in need of a gynecologist due to ongoing health issues.

It was the worst experience, she said.

"It felt more like I was being molested by an unwanted sexual predator," she said on Monday. "I had tears running down my face and I felt humiliated.

She said she was shocked by the response when she reported the visit to a nurse.

The nurse, she said, told her, 'That's just how Dr. Tyndall is.'"

She is among 51 women who have filed a lawsuit against Tyndall and USC. The women claim Tyndall abused them and the school ignored their complaints for years. The new lawsuit adds to the total number of people suing USC and Tyndall, to 100.

NBC4 does not typically name victims of alleged sex abuse, but Richardson and two other women spoke publicly with their attorney during a news conference on Monday in West Hollywood.

Dana Lowe, who graduated with a doctorate in English from USC in 1995, recalled her gynecological exam during her sophomore year.

"I remember the excruciating pain he caused me," said Lowe. "When I squirmed and protested, he told me not to make such a fuss."

Tyndall, who has denied the allegations, does not face any criminal charges and has not been arrested. But police are investigating allegations from dozens of women and more than 400 students made complaints through a university hotline. USC has said it is cooperating with the investigations.

California's state Department of Education said last month it was investigating USC's response to allegations that Tyndall groped female students during campus office visits and improperly photographed and made comments about the women's bodies. Complaints made as early as 1990 were not fully investigated until 2016, the agency said. Tyndall, 71, retired in 2017.

"The University is conducting a thorough investigation into this matter," USC said in a statement Monday. "We will be seeking a prompt and fair resolution that is respectful of our former students. We are committed to providing the women of USC with the best, most thorough and respectful health care services of any university."

Andy Rubenstein, the attorney representing the women, said the case against USC is a case of silence.

"They were silent for three decades," he said. "Dr. Tyndall could not have gotten away with this without the help of USC."

Amanda Davis, who attended USC from 1999 to 2002, said Tynall took pictures of her nude during an exam, telling her they were for research purposes. She went to the USC health center because it was her sole healthcare provider during her time there.

"There was not anyone else present in the room, and I remember being naked on a table with Dr. Tyndall, while he was making small talk," she said. "After I left the office, I began to process what had happened. I began to feel stupid, embarrassed and ashamed."

She said she came from a small town and grew up to be a trusting person.

"I was very naive."

Dana Lowe was a patient of Tyndall in the early 1990s while she was a graduate student.

She said she felt uncomfortable when he asked her sexual history.

"From the beginning, the encounter felt strangely intimate and creepy," she said. "But it didn't occur to me that I was not in good hands."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
What to Know Disneyland Resort and the union representing theme park workers announced they reached a tentative contract agreement

Park workers have been staging rallies for weeks calling for increased wages

One worker said they have "been hiding in shame for too long, and it took us coming forward and taking a stand to make a real change"

Disneyland Resort and the union representing theme park workers announced Monday they have reached a tentative contract agreement, following weeks of protests by park employees who claimed that some of them were earning poverty level wages.

Terms of the proposed labor deal between the park and the Master Services Council -- which includes four labor unions that collectively represent about 9,500 workers at Disneyland Park, Disney California Adventure Park and Downtown Disney -- were not disclosed.

"The Disneyland Resort and Master Services Council are proud to have reached a tentative agreement, which we are hopeful will be ratified later this week," according to a joint statement issued Monday. "We have had a successful history of working together since Disneyland Park opened in 1955, and this contract continues that shared commitment to cast members."

A spokeswoman for Disneyland Resort said additional details of the agreement will be released once the contract is ratified.

In May, Disneyland Resort officials said they had proposed a wage offer that would amount to a 36 percent increase over a three-year span for its hourly workers. Under that proposal, Master Services Council workers would make a $15-per-hour wage by 2020, which would be two years ahead of the state's minimum wage standard.

MSC employees work in the areas of attractions, stores, custodial, main entrance, costuming, bakery/confection, resort transportation and parking, and the onsite distribution center.

Park workers have been staging rallies for weeks calling for increased wages. The union representing workers issued a report earlier this year contending that some Disneyland workers were paid so little they had recently experienced homelessness and others were unable to afford three meals a day.

Disneyland officials blasted the report as "inaccurate and unscientific."

Some unionized workers had planned on Tuesday to begin a week of fasting in an effort to pressure Disney into boosting wages. With a tentative contract reached, workers will instead gather outside the theme part to celebrate the deal and call for its ratification.

"I am so proud of all the members of my union, SEIU United Service Workers West, and the Master Services Council, for all of their hard work in this effort," said Artemis Bell, a member of the union bargaining committee.

"Disney workers have been hiding in shame for too long, and it took us coming forward and taking a stand to make a real change."
Victims of a mass shooting at a Las Vegas country music festival said Monday they were outraged when they learned they were being sued by the company that owns the hotel where the gunman opened fire.

Jason McMillan, a 36-year-old Riverside County sheriff's deputy who was shot and paralyzed, said he can't believe MGM officials would try to foist blame onto anyone but themselves.

"I just can't believe the audacity," McMillan said at a press conference in Southern California where survivors, victims' relatives and attorneys railed against the decision to file lawsuits against hundreds of victims.

"I'm not just a victim from the concert. I'm a survivor, and they're not going to get away with anything. We'll keep this going as long as it takes," McMillan said.

MGM Resorts International sued victims in at least seven states last week in a bid to get federal courts to declare the company has no liability for the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

In October, high-stakes gambler Stephen Paddock killed 58 people and injured hundreds at the festival by firing onto the crowd from his room at the Mandalay Bay casino-resort in Las Vegas. Paddock then killed himself.

MGM's lawsuits  which target victims who have threatened to sue or who have sued the company and voluntarily dismissed their claims  argue that that the shooting qualifies as an act of terrorism and that federally certified security services were used at the concert venue, which is also owned by MGM.

After 9/11, the U.S. enacted a law giving companies a way to limit their liability if their federally certified products or services failed to prevent a terror attack.

The company's decision to file the lawsuits stoked a public outcry. On Monday, MGM Resorts spokeswoman Debra DeShong said the company has faced dozens of lawsuits in multiple jurisdictions and resolving each case on its own would take years.

"We believe Congress determined these cases should be in federal court and that getting everyone in the same court is the best and fastest way to resolve these cases," she said.

McMillan said he felt helpless at the concert when he fell to the ground and couldn't feel his legs. His girlfriend helped drag his body over a fence and others helped load him onto the back of a pickup truck where he lay staring at the night sky, struggling to breathe, while the driver plowed over curbs and through bushes to rush him and other victims to the hospital.

When he woke, doctors told him he had a bullet in his spine. He was afraid his 4- and 7-year-old daughters would look at him differently in a wheelchair. He was afraid of what they might miss out on, he said, because of him.

It was insulting to learn he was being sued by MGM at the same time he was struggling to rebuild his life, McMillan said. And it brought him right back to feeling helpless again.

"It enrages me to think that this company can just try to skip out on their responsibilities and their liability for what happened," he said.
While millions of residents along the East Coast faced another round of heavy rain Tuesday, Texas, Southern California and much of the Southwest are still battling a sweltering heat wave that forecasters say could bring some of this year's hottest weather.

Flash-flood watches and warnings have been issued for major cities from North Carolina to Pennsylvania through Wednesday. Travelers flying into and out of the major East Coast airports should be prepared to face an uptick in weather-related delays.

In the Washington, D.C. area, where record-setting rain soaked the region over the last few days, more showers Tuesday and Wednesday were threatening to cause more flooding or worsen it in areas still recovering from the weekend's deluge, according to NBC Washington.

Overnight in Virginia, flooded roadways led to several water rescues, NBC Washington reported. One woman was killed Monday night when a tree fell on her home in Burke, a suburb southeast of Washington. Authorities said the 60-foot tree was possibly uprooted due to the soaked ground.

In Virginia's largest city, Virginia Beach, officials opened a shelter Tuesday for residents in the wake of flooding from excessive rain and wind-driven tides.

The Virginian-Pilot reported Tuesday that southern portions of Virginia Beach have been impacted by flooding. The city had already closed some roads. And residents say water had begun to enter some structures.

City Manager Dave Hansen said in a statement that residents can decide whether to shelter in place or move to the shelter at a local high school. The city is also sending help to anyone who can't travel due to high water.

Resident Bill Dixon said he saw a carp swimming in his front yard. The water was about an inch from entering his garage. But he said it's already entering some houses in his neighborhood.

Baltimore's Department of Public Works tweeted that high waters forced the evacuation of businesses in the Mount Washington area.

In Baltimore County, crews rescued two adults and one child from a school bus stuck in flood water Tuesday morning on Glencoe Road in Sparks, the Associated Press reported.

Parts of Pennsylvania were among the hardest hit by the days of torrential rainfall. Some evacuations were reported near Harrisburg Tuesday and the town of Tremont saw rivers of water rushing through its streets Monday, the NWS said. In Southern Chester County, flooded roads stranded dozens of people inside a tavern. A dive team used boats to rescue them, NBC Philadelphia reported.

Hersheypark was forced to close Monday after three days of rain in the central and eastern part of the state caused Spring Creek, which runs through the amusement park, to swell. The park reopened Tuesday.

Meanwhile, scorching weather swept across the Southwest for a second day on Tuesday, setting record highs in California's Death Valley, Thermal and Palm Springs in a week that forecasters say could prove to be the region's hottest this year.

The National Weather Service said a new high of 127 degrees (52.7 Celsius) was set at California's Death Valley. Weather service forecaster Chris Outler in Las Vegas said the record broke the previous one of 126 (52 Celsius) registered for the day in 1916.



Phoenix was forecast to be among the hottest urban areas in the Southwest, with highs passing 100 by midmorning and hitting 113 (46 Celsius) by early afternoon  just slightly cooler than Monday's record-breaking 115-degree high.

Maricopa County public health officials say 155 people died in the Phoenix area last year from heat-caused illnesses such as heat stroke and cautioned people to stay hydrated and take advantage of cooler indoor buildings.

Spokeswoman Jeanene Fowler said Tuesday there have been five confirmed heat-associated deaths in Maricopa County this year, with the cause of another 34 deaths still under investigation.

Forecasters issued excessive heat warnings to much of Arizona, including parts of Grand Canyon National Park, and extended into areas of Nevada and Southern California, where temperatures were expected to reach the triple digits again Wednesday, NBC Los Angeles reported.

With triple-digit temperatures expected throughout the region, the operator of California's electrical grid urged people to ease off blasting air conditioners or using washing machines or other appliances during the peak power usage times of 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health also urged people to stay out of the sun.

"When temperatures are high, even a few hours of exertion may cause severe dehydration, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke," said Dr. Jeffrey Gunzenhauser, the county's interim health officer.

Officials closed two popular hiking trails in California's southernmost national forest Monday and said they will remain closed through Thursday due to the excessive heat. Much of the Three Sisters' Falls trail in Cleveland National Forest is in direct sunlight and can be extremely dangerous for hikers and animals during this time, NBC San Diego reported. The national forest extends across parts of San Diego, Riverside and Orange Counties.

More than 130 drought-stricken Texas counties have been issued burn bans as the lack of rainfall and triple-digit heat have increased the threat of wildfires.



Parts of Utah were also issued an excessive heat warning with temperatures this week expected to approach 109 degrees (43 Celsius). The weather service said the warning for Utah's Dixie and Lake Powell regions will be in effect Tuesday through Thursday.

The National Weather Service uses a complicated formula that varies from region to region to declare an excessive heat warning, including close to record-breaking temperatures.
What to Know Secretary of State Brian Kemp beat Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, who outraised Kemp more than 2-to-1, in the primary runoff.

Kemp will be running against Democrat Stacey Abrams in November's general election.

If Abrams wins the general election, she would be the first black woman elected governor in any U.S. state.

Georgia Republicans have chosen Brian Kemp to face Democrat Stacey Abrams for governor in a November matchup that will test history and highlight the widening gulf between the two major parties in style and substance in the era of President Donald Trump.

Kemp, a two-term secretary of state, trounced longtime Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle in a runoff Tuesday after campaigning as a "politically incorrect conservative" in a bruising race marked by hard-line rhetoric on guns, immigration, and government spending. He credited Trump's endorsement for sealing his victory, and the president tweeted his congratulations Wednesday.

Abrams, who has become a national Democratic celebrity in her bid to become the United States' first black female governor, dominated her primary in May after pledging to expand Medicaid insurance and spend more on education, infrastructure, and job training.

The results reflect animated bases on the left and the right, leaving voters who consider themselves somewhere in the middle to decide one of the country's most closely watched midterm contests.

Both national parties opened their coffers ahead of Tuesday's GOP runoff; and the outcome will reverberate into 2020 as Democrats try to prove that GOP-controlled Georgia, after decades of population growth has made the electorate more urban and less white, has evolved into a presidential battleground.

To test that theory, Georgians set up a compelling juxtaposition between candidates each cast by the opposition as extreme:

Will a Deep South state  led by white, male governors since 1776 and not long removed from having Confederate insignia on its flag  elect a self-declared progressive black woman from Atlanta as its chief executive?

Or will an increasingly urban, diversifying state  now the eighth most populous and home to The Coca-Cola Company, Delta, Home Depot, UPS and the 1996 Summer Olympics  embrace a brash, gun-wielding, chain saw-cranking Republican who says he'll "round up criminal illegals" in his own pickup truck?

Kemp, 54, immediately set the race against the national backdrop, thanking Trump for his endorsement while linking Abrams' to a "radical left" he says threatens Georgia's "red-state" values. "Do you want a governor who is going to answer to Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton?" Kemp boomed in his victory speech, referring to the House Democratic leader from California and the 2016 presidential nominee who lost Georgia by 4.5 percentage points.

That echoed a Republican Governors Association ad unveiled before GOP runoff votes were tallied. The 30-second spot joins Abrams' picture alongside Clinton and Pelosi, with a voiceover warning that Abrams is "the most radical liberal to ever run for governor."

Trump, in his tweet, urged Kemp to "go win against the open border, crime loving opponent that the Democrats have given you."

Abrams, 44, was more circumspect with a Twitter fundraising appeal that mentioned Kemp only by his last name. "Service, faith & family guide our vision for GA: Affordable health care. Excellent public schools for every child. An economy that works for all," she wrote.

Other Democrats more eagerly fingered Kemp as the dangerous option.

"The craziest Republican emerged," said Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, in an interview. DGA recently steered $250,000 to the Georgia Democratic Party for its fall efforts.

Inlsee said Kemp's message, including his attacks on national Democrats, make him little more than "a sycophant for Donald Trump," while Abrams answers with a "real economic agenda for working families."

If Kemp "wants to run against Nancy Pelosi," Inslee added, "he should move to San Francisco."

Beyond the pitched rhetoric, both candidates have weaknesses to exploit. Kemp is roundly criticized because the personal data of millions of registered Georgia voters was twice compromised during his tenure as secretary of state. Kemp blamed an employee and the contractor running the state's elections system. Republicans hit Abrams for reporting $170,000 in credit card and student loan debt along with owing $50,000 to the IRS  liabilities she attributes to her Yale law education and her financial support for several relatives.

Republicans, like party strategist and pollster Mark Rountree argue that Abrams' policy agenda means higher taxes  anathema to the suburban voters she'll need. Rountree said her support for removing Confederate monuments from state ground will ensure conservative turnout.

Still, some Republicans lamented that a long primary battle will leave their nominee broke. "Casey's spent all of his bullets on Brian and vice-versa, while Stacey Abrams is just collecting money," said Jack Kingston, a former congressman who endorsed Cagle.

At least the matchup deviates from Georgia's recent penchant for establishment, predictable governors, regardless of party. Outgoing Republican Gov. Nathan Deal  who once served north Georgia as a Democratic congressman  backed Cagle over Kemp, a tacit acknowledgment that Kemp is to the right of the typical GOP governor here.

Four years ago, Democrats nominated Jason Carter, a grandson of former president and Georgia governor Jimmy Carter, but the younger Carter lost to Deal by 8 percentage points. This year, many of Carter's old-guard backers initially sided with Abrams' primary opponent, also a former state lawmaker. Stacey Evans hammered Abrams for making too many deals with Republicans  including Deal  but party elders still viewed Evans, who is white, as the more moderate choice.

Abrams' 3-to-1 victory obliterated that supposedly safe course.

"The most important thing about any candidate is matching the moment, and Stacey Abrams has clearly done" this, Jason Carter told the AP.

The question, Carter said, is whether she can "connect with enough voters" beyond the Democratic base, capitalizing on the historic nature of her candidacy "without being consumed by it."

Associated Press writers Brinley Hineman, Jeff Martin and Jonathan Landrum contributed to this report.
A 3-year-old South Florida boy was playing with a cigarette lighter when he accidentally set his family's house on fire.

Fort Lauderdale Battalion Chief Stephen Gollan says the boy told investigators he lit a paper on fire and it fell onto a bed on Monday afternoon. The fire spread quickly and the home was a total loss, officials said.

News outlets report the boy, his father and another child were treated for smoke inhalation at the scene.

Gollan says firefighters were hampered by the home's hurricane shutters. He advises people to take their shutters down when they aren't needed.

The American Red Cross is assisting the family. And the children will be required to attend a fire-started educational program.
Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has signed an agreement with Brand Dubai, the creative arm of Government of Dubai Media Office (GDMO), to undertake beautification projects across the city over the next three years.



Under this pact, both the organisations will establish strategic co-operation to implement public art projects aimed at enhancing the citys aesthetic environment, said a statement from RTA.



The beautification projects will cover bridges, tunnels, walking tracks, bus stops and other public facilities and areas throughout Dubai, it stated.



Accomplished artists from the UAE, the region and across the world will be invited to create public artworks that will transform the ambience of urban spaces in Dubai. The beautification project is designed to further enhance the way both residents and visitors connect and interact with their urban environment.



Mattar Al Tayer, the director general and chairman of the board of executive directors of the RTA, said: "We are very happy to partner with Brand Dubai to execute this unique urban beautification project in Dubai. The RTA is committed to working with diverse partners to enhance the urban experience that Dubai offers both to residents and visitors."



"The RTA is also keen to ensure that all its projects incorporate an aesthetic dimension. The unique designs of the Shindagha bridge, which features an architectural arch in the shape of the symbol of infinity, the oval-shaped Bridge of Tolerance' and the Dubai Metro stations are examples of this," noted Al Tayer.



Mona Al Marri, the director general of the GDMO, said: "The collaboration with the RTA to launch beautification projects across the city is aligned with the vision of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to turn Dubai into an open-air museum that celebrates art, creativity and aesthetic excellence."



"We thank the RTA for partnering with us to deliver this project and their commitment to this initiative that aims to revitalise public spaces in our city. Both our organisations bring significant capabilities to this partnership. By combining our strengths, we have a great opportunity to further enhance the artistic and cultural environment of Dubai," noted Al Marri.



Nehal Badri, the director of Brand Dubai, said: "Working with outstanding local, regional and international artists, our joint project with the RTA aims to add a new creative dimension to public spaces in Dubai."



"Through unique artworks, ranging from murals to installations, we seek to tap into Dubais unique spirit, character and heritage, and in the process inspire greater engagement, inclusiveness, and innovation in the community," noted Badri.



"These artistic creations will look at Dubais culture and history, and its ambitions and aspirations from a fresh viewpoint. Overall, the project will significantly enrich the experience of the city for both residents and visitors," he added.



Moaza Saeed Al Marri, the director of marketing and corporate communications at the RTA, said: "We back all efforts of Brand Dubai to enhance the urban landscape of the emirate. These not only support the vision to transform Dubai into an open-air museum but also deepen engagement between the city and its residents and visitors."



"Our co-operation with Brand Dubai allows us to further enhance the cultural interactions that take place in Dubai, a city that is home to over 200 nationalities," she added.-TradeArabia News Service


Agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration arrested a pain doctor and two of his medical assistants on charges of operating a pill mill in the Miami area Tuesday.

Dr. Armando Falcon of the Pain Center of Cutler Bay was arrested at his home on 103rd Terrace in SW Miami Dade when leaving for work, according to a news release.

In the release, the DEA said the arrest was the result of a lengthy undercover investigation. They say Falcon's pain management clinic was used as a cover to illegally sell large quantities of prescription pain killers.

The DEA said their investigation revealed that Dr. Falcon met with patients for less than two minutes before writing prescriptions for approximately 150, 30mg, oxycodone pills.

They say he accepted cash payments only and saw between 20-25 patients per day. They believe he earned more than $1 million a year from it.

The DEA says Dr. Falcon's bank records show he used the money to purchase apartments on the beach, boats, expensive cars and houses.

Two office managers who worked with Dr. Falcon were also arrested. They've been identified by the Florida's Attorney General's Office as Claudia Centeno and Reveka Karagianni. The AG's office release said they would print out prescriptions "usually before Dr. Falcon arrived at work--in an effort to expedite the process."

All three face charges of racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, trafficking oxycodone, money laundering, continuing a criminal enterprise and structuring transactions.

While federal agents arrested and searched the doctor's home, another set of agents searched the clinic located at 10961 186th Street in Cutler Bay.

Outside the clinic, there are large advertisements for medical marijuana and a sign that reads "Miami420doctors.com." But the charges against Falcon do not indicate anything related to medical marijuana. Another doctor who is a part of the state's medical marijuana registry is listed as the physician.

Dr. Falcon has been practicing medicine in Florida for 16 years and has no discipline on record, according to the Florida Department of Health.
A group of kittens left in a sealed cooler outside the South Florida Wildlife Center in Fort Lauderdale are being nursed back to health.

Officials with the center say the cooler containing five kittens was left outside the entry gate of the facility on Southwest 4th Avenue on Saturday, as temperatures surpassed 90 degrees.

Staff members found the kittens panting, shaking, highly agitated and dehydrated with high temperatures. Medical staff are still working to rehabilitate the kittens, which include four males and one female.

"There is no excuse for people leaving defenseless animals in tightly-sealed boxes or tethered in the burning sun, with no regard, or at least, no understanding, of the impact the heat, stress and lack or air flow has on the animals," Debra Parsons-Drake, the center's executive director, said in a statement.
What to Know Trump earlier this year pulled the United States out of the international deal to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon

The move, and new U.S. sanctions on Iran, ratcheted up tensions between the two countries

Trump has a history of firing off heated tweets that seem to quickly escalate long-standing disputes with leaders of other nations

President Donald Trump's explosive Twitter threat to Iran's leader comes as his administration is ratcheting up a pressure campaign on the Islamic republic that many suspect is aimed at regime change.

No one is predicting imminent war. But Trump's bellicose, all-caps challenge addressed to President Hassan Rouhani followed a speech by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in which he accused Iran's leadership of massive corruption and widespread rights abuses and urged Iranians to rise up in protest.

Both the tweet and the speech landed less than two weeks before the administration will begin re-imposing sanctions on Iran that had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal. In the meantime, the U.S. is stepping up Farsi-language outreach that is intended to support Iranians demonstrating against the policies of their government.

Trump's tweet doesn't appear to have been prompted by any notable shift in rhetoric from Iran.

It could have been an impulsive reaction to reports from Tehran quoting Rouhani as giving the U.S. an oft-repeated reminder that conflict with Iran would be "the mother of all wars." Yet animosity directed at the Iranian leadership is an established part of the administration's broader foreign policy.

Iran publicly shrugged off Trump's late Sunday message  "NEVER EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE."

Tweeted Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday: COLOR US UNIMPRESSED: The world heard even harsher bluster a few months ago. And Iranians have heard them albeit more civilized ones_for 40 yrs. We've been around for millennia & seen fall of empires, incl our own, which lasted more than the life of some countries. BE CAUTIOUS!"

Asked at the White House if he had concerns about provoking Iran, Trump said simply, "None at all."

Tehran is already aware of what is coming from the administration as consequences of Trump's May withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear accord take shape.

As Pompeo noted in his speech to Iranian-Americans and others in California on Sunday, the centerpiece will be the re-imposition of U.S. economic sanctions; the first batch will go back into force on Aug. 4 targeting the Iranian automotive sector and trade in gold and other metals. A more significant set of sanctions that will hit Iran's oil industry and central bank by punishing countries and companies that do business with them will resume on Nov. 4.

"Right now, the United States is undertaking a diplomatic and financial pressure campaign to cut off the funds that the regime uses to enrich itself and support death and destruction," Pompeo said in his speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley.

Pompeo also slammed Iran's political, judicial and military officials, accusing several by name of participating in rampant corruption, and called its religious leaders "hypocritical holy men" who amassed wealth while allowing their people to suffer. He said the government has "heartlessly repressed its own people's human rights, dignity and fundamental freedoms," and he hailed the "proud Iranian people (for) not staying silent about their government's many abuses."

"The United States under President Trump will not stay silent either," he said.

He was right. True to form, Trump did not stay silent. But the White House blamed Rouhani for inciting the war of words with his comment that "America must understand well that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace and war with Iran is the mother of all wars."

"WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!," Trump wrote.

Reaction from Congress, particularly Democrats, was swift and critical.

Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, acknowledged that Iran's terrorist activities in the Middle East pose a threat but suggested it wouldn't be solved through a tweet from Trump.

"Sadly, after pulling us out of the nuclear deal with Europe and Iran, there doesn't seem to be strategy for how to move forward to fight Iran's activities," she said.

And Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, the former Democratic vice presidential candidate, called the Twitter blast from the White House "another warning sign that Trump is blundering toward war with Iran."

Trump's National Security Council pushed back:

"Our differences are with the Iranian regime's actions and, in particular, with the actions of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, not the Iranian people. The Trump administration's Iran policy seeks to address the totality of these threats and malign activities and to bring about a change in the Iranian regime's behavior."

"If anybody's inciting anything, look no further than to Iran," said White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said. She added that Trump has been "very clear about what he's not going to allow to take place."

Trump has a history of firing off heated tweets that seem to quickly escalate long-standing disputes with leaders of nations at odds with the U.S.

In the case of North Korea, the verbal war cooled quickly and gradually led to the high-profile summit and denuclearization talks. Still there has been little tangible progress in a global push to rid North Korea of its nuclear weapons program since the historic Trump-Kim Jong Un summit on June 12.
What to Know Two undocumented Mexican grandparents were detained while trying to visit their soldier son-in-law at Fort Drum on July 4 have been released

Margarito and Concepcion Silva were released from a Buffalo detention facility after friends, family and strangers raised $20,000 bond

The couple was detained after presenting their IDNYC cards; on June 1, a pizza deliveryman with his own IDNYC was detained at Ft. Hamilton

The Brooklyn couple who were locked up on immigration charges while trying to visit their soldier son-in-law at an Army base on the Fourth of July have been released from a Buffalo immigration facility after nearly three weeks in detention.

Margarito and Concepcion Silva were released Monday after family, friends and strangers raised $20,000 to pay their bond. They still face a detention hearing.

Their daughter-in-law told News 4, "I am so relieved to let you know that we were able to post bond for my in-laws Concepcion and Margarito."

The Silvas, undocumented Mexican immigrants who have lived in New York for two decades, went to Fort Drum on Independence Day to visit their son-in-law, an Army sergeant in the 10th Mountain Division. When they presented their IDNYC cards, border patrol agents there questioned their IDs and then took them to a detention facility hundreds of miles away.

On their drive back home from the facility Monday, the couple spoke on the phone to News 4 sister station Telemundo-47.

"It was a few days that were very, very sad, especially because I didn't have my family. Thank God everything came out OK," said Concepcion Silva.

The Silvas' son, Eduardo Silva, has said his parents had used their IDNYCs to access military bases before. This time, when they were stopped by military police, the Silvas admitted they were in the U.S. illegally, according to Kris Grogan, a spokesman for Customs and Border Protection.

"On July 4, the United States Border Patrol received a call from the Fort Drum Military Police regarding two individuals attempting to gain access to a federal facility," Grogan wrote in an emailed statement. "Border Patrol Agents responded and interviewed the couple who admitted to being illegally present in the United States. Both subjects were charged with being Present in the United States without Admission or Parole."

Khaalid Walls, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the Silvas have no known criminal history and no previous contact with ICE.

A month before the Silvas were arrested by Border Patrol, another undocumented person was detained after presenting his IDNYC at the gates of Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn. Pablo Villavicencio-Calderon, a married father of two, was delivering pizza and presented his ID like on other occasions bringing pizza there, but was detained. Though a federal judge has temporarily blocked the deportation of Villvaicencio, he has been in ICE custody in New Jersey -- and will continue remain in ICE custody -- until his case goes to court. His family made a public plea Monday to allow him to stay.

The official IDNYC was a hit when it launched in 2015, with 50,000 people signing up to enroll in the program the first week. It's aimed at those who do not currently have a government-issued ID -- including the elderly, homeless and an estimated 500,000 undocumented immigrants in the city -- to help them obtain key services, like opening a bank account or getting a library card.

Immigrant advocates are now warning undocumented New Yorkers to steer clear of using those IDNYC cards at military and federal institutions and buildings.
What to Know A federal judge has ordered the release of an immigrant who was held for deportation after he delivered pizza to a Brooklyn Army base

Judge Paul Crotty issued an order late Tuesday saying Pablo Villavicencio must be immediately released

The judge says the release is necessary because his imminent removal from the United States is no longer reasonably foreseeable

The Ecuadorean immigrant who was held for deportation after he delivered pizza to a Brooklyn Army installation has been released from a New Jersey lockup after a judge Tuesday ordered his immediate release.

Pablo Villavicencio walked out of the immigration detention center in Hudson County shortly before 9 p.m. Tuesday and was greeted with hugs from his jubilant wife and two young daughters. He thanked supporters and the media before being whisked away in an SUV.

"It's immense. I'm so happy," he said in tears.

Hours earlier, U.S. District Judge Paul Crotty wrote of Villavicencio, "Although he stayed in the United States unlawfully and is currently subject to a final order of removal, he has otherwise been a model citizen."

The judge said Villavicencio can remain in the United States while he exhausts his right to try to gain legal status. Villavicencio applied to stay in the U.S. after he married a U.S. citizen, with whom he has two young girls, ages 2 and 4.

The judge cited those children and said they are U.S. citizens.

"He has no criminal history," the judge wrote. "He has paid his taxes. And he has worked diligently to provide for his family."

The U.S. government, which had wanted the case moved from New York to New Jersey, did not immediately comment on the judge's action.

Adriene Holder, the attorney-in-charge of the civil practice at the Legal Aid Society, said the rule of "law, humanity and morality" prevailed and the Villavicencio family has "finally received a crucial measure of relief from their 53-day nightmare."

Jennifer Williams, deputy attorney in charge of the immigration unit at Legal Aid, said in a news briefing just after Villavicencio was released, "It's just truly amazing that this utter nightmare for this family is officially over. It's just been such a joyous day."

The judge ruled after hearing arguments earlier Tuesday, when he put a government lawyer on the spot over the effort by immigration authorities to enforce a 2010 deportation order. He questioned the need to detain and quickly deport Villavicencio, who's 35 years old.

"Well, the powerful are doing what they want, and the poor are suffering what they must," the judge said after hearing Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Cordaro defend the government's actions.

"I mean, is there any concept of justice here or are we just doing this because we want to?" the judge asked. "Why do we want to enforce the order? It makes no difference in terms of the larger issues facing the country."

During the hearing, the lawyers debated whether Villavicencio should be allowed to stay in the United States while awaiting a response to the green card application that he started in February. According to his lawyers, he should be allowed to stay to see the process through without fear of deportation. However, prosecutors say he should go to Ecuador and see the process through from there.

The judge pressed prosecutors on why they think he poses a threat and consider him a danger to the community  even though he committed no crimes.

"Why is he being detained? Is he a threat to the community? Is he a risk of flight?" Crotty asked. "What is the danger to the community for a man who has committed no crime?"

Now, according to Gregory Copeland, a supervising attorney at Legal Aid, Villavicencio has the opportunity "to pursue the lawful status he had already commenced before he was detained unlawfully."

The case has attracted widespread attention amid a crackdown by the administration of President Donald Trump on illegal immigration. Trump, a Republican, has said his policies are designed to keep the country safe.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, said the federal government has "cruelly" kept Villavicencio from his wife, Sandra Chica, and two daughters "for no legitimate reason."

Villavicencio was arrested on June 1 while making a delivery to the garrison in Fort Hamilton. When he arrived at Fort Hamilton, guards requested identification, and he produced a city identification card. A background check showed he had been ordered to leave the United States in 2010 but stayed.
What to Know A fox has attacked three people in Yorktown in Westchester County over the weekend, officials say

The fox is believed to be rabid because of its aggressive behavior

Residents who see a stray or wild animal acting strangely should avoid contact with the animal and alert local authorities

The Westchester Health Department is warning residents to be on the lookout for a possibly rabid fox that is thought to be behind at least three attacks on humans over the weekend.

The first attack happened Saturday at around 6 a.m., when the fox bit a jogger on Lee Boulevard in Yorktown, officials said. The fox then bit another man in his backyard on North Deerfield Road at 8:30 a.m., and then a bit a woman in her backyard at 12:30 p.m. Sunday.

The woman bitten in her backyard showed News 4 photos of the fox in the yard before the attack.

"I walked into the yard, started waving my hands to get it to leave, and it got it charging at me," Kathy Coakley recounted Monday, still wearing hospital bands from the injury.

"It jumped up on me, it was on my arm, and I kind of pushed it away. Fell to the ground, but jumped right back. Kept coming at me," she said. "At one point, I had it pinned on the ground, tried to push it to the side. It tried to bite my hand at that point."

The fox eventually bit Coakley on the knee and possibly her foot, requiring seven painful anti-rabies injections, with three more trips to the doctor planned.

The other two victims are also getting preventive rabies treatment, health officials said.

Another woman who lives next door to the man who was attacked on North Deerfield Avenue also took photos of the fox. She managed to avoid being bitten but said she had to use a car door to shield herself from the animal as it charged at her.

"He came right up to my passenger side door," said Emily Marino. "You could tell he was rabid. His eyelids were hanging low."

Marino said the fox stayed there for 15 minutes, and by the time police responded, it had gotten away.

Another resident on North Deerfield Avenue, Ted Turner, said he saw his neighbor get bitten.

"He was over by his pool, came around the corner, and boom, the fox was right on him," he said. "He couldn't get it off his leg. He was shaking his foot."

Residents who see a stray or wild animal acting strangely should avoid it and alert local authorities. They should also keep their trash can lids securely sealed and avoid leaving pet food outdoors.

All animal bites or contact with animals suspected of having rabies must be reported to Westchester County Department of Health at 914-813-5000, 24 hours a day. For more information, visit www.westchestergov.com/health or call the RABIES INFOLINE at (914) 813-5010.
The Trump administration may have already deported as many as 463 migrant parents who were separated from their children at the U.S.-Mexico border, and they may have lost their right to reunification, Justice Department lawyers said in a court filing Monday.

Those parents may not be eligible to be reunified with their children, according to the filing, which grouped parents not in the U.S. as either potentially eligible or not eligible.

The filing also reported that 879 migrant parents have been successfully reunified with their parents, up from 364 on Thursday, NBC News reported. But 917 parents may not be eligible for reunification at all.

A total of 2,551 children between the ages of 5-17 have been taken from their parents at the border, many of them separated under Trump's "zero tolerance" policy that called for the prosecution of all immigrants crossing the border illegally.


What to Know In the episode, Spencer exposes his bottom after being told it helps scare away Muslim terrorists

Spencer apologized for the "ridiculously ugly episode"

The Islamic Council on American-Islamic Relations called for Spencer's resignation

A Georgia lawmaker is the latest public figure caught with his pants down on provocateur Sacha Baron Cohen's new cable TV series, this time literally, as the state legislator exposes his bottom, speaks with a mock Asian accent and yells a racial slur all in the name of fighting terrorism.

In Sunday night's broadcast of Cohen's Showtime series "Who Is America?" Cohen poses as an Israeli military expert who persuades Republican Rep. Jason Spencer to take part in several outlandish exercises. The lawmaker is told they're making a counterterrorism video.

Spencer repeatedly shouts the N-word after Cohen tells him the tactic is useful for drawing bystanders' attention to an unfolding attack.

He also drops his pants, then his underwear, before backing his exposed rear end toward Cohen while shouting "USA!" and "America!" Cohen told Spencer the move would incite fear in homophobic jihadists.

The segment also shows Spencer speaking with a mock Asian accent while pretending to use a selfie-stick to surreptitiously insert a camera phone under a Muslim woman's burqa.

Spencer's on-camera conduct horrified fellow Republicans in Georgia. State House Speaker David Ralston said Spencer "disgraced himself and should resign immediately," The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

GOP Gov. Nathan Deal said in a tweet: "There is no excuse for this type of behavior, ever, and I am saddened and disgusted by it."

Regardless, there won't be any reckoning for Spencer at the ballot box this year. A Republican challenger already defeated the lawmaker in Georgia's May 22 primary.

The Georgia legislator has been accused in the past of making offensive statements and proposals. In 2016, Spencer sought to update a 1951 state law that outlawed Ku Klux Klan members from wearing hoods at public rallies.

Civil rights and Muslim advocacy groups called Spencer's bill a veiled attempt to ban Muslim women from wearing religious headgear that covers their faces in public. He quickly dropped the proposal.

Spencer isn't the first public figure to be fooled by Cohen in his Showtime series. Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin , Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Arizona sheriff and U.S. Senate candidate Joe Arpaio have also been duped.

In a statement Monday, Spencer apologized for the "ridiculously ugly episode," but he refused to step down from office. He also said he has received death threats in the past and thought the techniques in the Showtime segment would prevent "what I believed was an inevitable attack."

The Atlanta newspaper reported Spencer had earlier threatened legal action to prevent the network from airing footage of him.

The Islamic Council on American-Islamic Relations also called for Spencer's resignation.

"The ignorance and malice behind Islamophobia has led Mr. Spencer to not only pursue bad policy, but engage in humiliating and hateful behavior unbecoming of anyone  especially a state legislator," said Edward Ahmed Mitchell, director of the group's Georgia chapter.

Spencer faced calls for his resignation last year after he warned a black former state legislator that she won't be "met with torches but something a lot more definitive" if she continued to call for the removal of Confederate statues in southern Georgia.
Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) has signed a joint venture agreement with Spain's Navantia for the design and construction of five Avante 2200 corvettes.

The programme will start this autumn and the last unit will be delivered by 2022, said a Saudi Press Agency report.

In line with the contract, Navantia and SAMI have agreed on the establishment of the JV in Saudi Arabia, which will provide an exceptional opportunity to consolidate the position of the integrated systems and technologically advanced solutions provided by Navantia in the Saudi market and area of influence, perfectly aligned with Saudi Arabias Vision 2030 by localising 50% of the total military spending by 2030.

The contract will generate 6,000 direct and indirect jobs for five years, as follows: 1,100 direct jobs, more than 1,800 from the auxiliary industry, and more than 3,000 indirect jobs generated by other suppliers.

In this respect, the JV will focus on programme management and combat system integration and installation, system engineering, system architecture, hardware design, software ydevelopment, testing and verification, prototyping, simulation, modelling, and through-life support.

Ahmed Al-Khateeb, chairman of SAMI, said: SAMI remains committed to being a key enabler of the Saudi Vision 2030, and the establishment of this joint venture with Navantia will localise more than 60% of ships' combat systems works including, installation, and integration, which contribute to the kingdom's objective to be at the forefront of shaping the local military industries' ecosystem.

"We will continue to explore collaborations and leverage partnerships that meet our key mandate to localise more than half of the kingdoms total military spending, he said.

Esteban Garcia Vilasanchez, Chairman of Navantia, said: Navantia is very happy with the signing of this contract that means a starting point for the collaboration with Saudi Arabia. Navantia is committed to contributing to Saudi Vision 2030 and will support the country in this endeavour.

The joint venture is an opportunity to develop capabilities in the country and jointly explore future opportunities, he said.

For the Avante 2200 contract, the JV will be responsible, among others, of supplying the combat system for all the five ships. Corvettes 4th and 5th will be finalised and delivered in Saudi Arabia, where the JV will do the installation, integration and test of the complete combat system.

Launched in May 2017, SAMI is a state-owned military industries company working under the directives outlined in the Saudi Vision 2030.

Aiming to be among the top 25 military industries companies in the world by 2030, SAMI is expected to play a key role in localising 50% of the kingdoms total government military spending.

SAMI is combining the latest technologies and the best national talent to develop military products and services at par with international standards across four business divisions - Aeronautics, Land Systems, Weapons and Missiles, and Defense Electronics. The company is also focused on increasing exports and bringing foreign investment to the kingdoms military industries sector.

With Saudi Arabia among the worlds top five spenders on security and defence, SAMIs targets set forth for 2030 include contributing around SR14 billion ($3.7 billion) to the kingdoms GDP, investing over SR6 billion ($1.6 billion) in research and development, and creating over 40,000 direct jobs locally.
What to Know The Wyncote Post Office was renamed The Staff Sergeant Peter Taub Post Office Building at a Monday morning ceremony.

Air Force Staff Sergeant Peter W. Taub was killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan on December 21, 2015.

Pennsylvania Congressman Brendan Boyle sponsored the bill that was signed by the president in March of 2018.

A Montgomery County post office was renamed Monday morning to honor a local member of the Air Force killed in Afghanistan in 2015.

A renaming ceremony took place at 10 a.m. at the Wyncote Post Office in honor of Air Force Staff Sergeant Peter W. Taub. The Wyncote native and five other troops lost their lives to a suicide bomber on Dec. 21, 2015.

Congressman Brendan Boyle's bill for this renaming was approved by the House of Representatives on Nov. 15, 2017. Four months later, after passing through senate, the bill was signed into law by the president on March 23, 2018.

"Staff Sergeant Peter Taub's story is one of unwavering patriotism and heroic bravery," Congressman Boyle said. "He served with great honor and made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. Renaming this post office in his home town is the least we can do to recognize his bravery; a small but important symbol of our eternal thanks."

The event, located at the Glenside Avenue post office, was held in front of elected officials, family and friends of Sergeant Taub.

At 11 a.m. the plaque was unveiled, officially changing the name of the building to the Staff Sergeant Peter Taub Post Office Building.
A Pennsylvania school district is investigating a teacher who portrays a Nazi villain named "Blitzkrieg" at local professional wrestling events.

The Spring-Ford Area School District launched the probe after video surfaced of 36-year-old Kevin Bean performing at a wrestling event in the Philadelphia suburbs. The video showed Bean, as Blitzkrieg, carrying a flag bearing the German Iron Cross and chanting the Sieg Heil Nazi salute.

Blitzkrieg is listed as a superstar on the website of the World Wide Wrestling Alliance. Wrestling videos posted online show Bean in character as Blitzkrieg at least as far back as 2012, goose-stepping into the ring and extending his hand in a Nazi salute.



Bean did not immediately return a phone message Tuesday.



The districts website said he has been a teacher at Spring-Ford since 2004. Spring-Ford officials said they are conducting an internal investigation.



I want to assure you that the actions portrayed in this video do not represent the core values of the school district, Superintendent David Goodin said in a message on the district website.



Dino Sanna, president of the World Wide Wrestling Alliance, did not immediately return an email seeking comment.


What to Know A man who had been kicked out of a bar following his racial remarks to a black patron later shot and killed another man, police say.

Witnesses say the suspect had an argument with a black man and made racial remarks that led to his removal prior to the shooting.

Family members believe the victim tried to defend the black man and make peace with the suspect before he was shot and killed.

A man who had been kicked out of a bar following his racial remarks to a black patron later shot and killed another man who may have gone outside to try to make peace, police said.



The victim, Chad Merrill, was shot early Saturday outside the Red Rose Restaurant and Lounge in Hellam Township. The man who was kicked out of the bar, James Saylor, was arrested and was charged with criminal homicide, police said.



Witnesses told investigators that just before the shooting Saylor had an argument with the black man and after some racial remarks he was removed from the bar.

Surveillance video showed Saylor going to his pickup truck and firing at the building, authorities said. Video showed Merrill walking outside in the direction of Saylors truck and then falling to the ground, they said.

Saylor, of Lower Windsor Township, tried to leave in his truck and collided with a sedan, then fled and later was arrested, police said.

Its unclear why Merrill walked outside since he didnt appear to be leaving the bar, they said, and surveillance images dont show any hostility on his part. Witness accounts indicate he may have been trying to make peace, they said.

Maybe he was trying to right the wrong, police Chief Doug Pollock said.

Family members suggested that Merrill, of Windsor, had been defending the black man targeted by the racial remarks. His older brother Richard Merrill said that was something very much in character for him.

My brother was someone who wanted to create peace, he said.

Court documents dont list an attorney who could respond to the charge against Saylor, and a listed phone number for him couldnt be found Sunday.

Merrill's loved ones created a GoFundMe page for funeral expenses.


Some scattered storms caused a flash flood threat for the Pennsylvania suburbs and Lehigh Valley Tuesday morning.



The NBC10 First Alert Weather Team issued a First Alert for heavy rain, and road flooding in low lying areas in those neighborhoods until 9 a.m.

Rain fell at a rate of more than 1 inch an hour as it moved north from Delaware into the western suburbs. Overnight rain had already saturated the ground, leading to the flood threat.

If you see a flooded roadway, turn around and don't put yourself in danger by trying to drive through the water.

Even people not in the First Alert neighborhoods could see heavy downpours and bolts of lightning later in the day, NBC10 First Alert Weather meteorologist Bill Henley said.

Temps will top out in the 80s Tuesday. The unsettled weather is expected to continue into Thursday.

Stick with the NBC10 First Alert Weather Team on air and on our app throughout the day to get the latest on the wet weather.
San Diego RV dwellers rallied Monday in protest of the citys overnight parking laws.

One local ordinance bans RV parking on the streets between 2 and 6 a.m. and another prohibits people from living in a car. After accruing five unpaid tickets, police have the right to impound a house on wheels.

Protestors argue those rules unfairly target the homeless and people with disabilities, leaving them no place to go other than shelters.

For those living in RVs, shelters offer substantially less in terms of living quality and force residents to make lifestyle changes those living in RVs, or homes, wouldnt. For instance, they say the so-called mega-tents dont allow animals or couples to live with each other.

No one would logically give up their RV, which gives them privacy, which has facilities in it like showers and running water and cooking facilities, in order to temporarily be in a mega-tent with hundreds of people, said Ann Menasche, senior attorney at Disability Rights California.

Last year, several law firms including Disability Rights California, filed a class action lawsuit against the City of San Diego on behalf of homeless people in RVs and other vehicles. This week, they will seek a motion in federal court asking the judge to halt ticketing during the pending litigation.

NBC 7 reached out to the city which said it could not comment on pending. Litigation.
More than 40 inmates in jails and prisons in the Washington, D.C. area have died by suicide in custody since 2014, according to an investigation by the News4 I-Team.

Records obtained from correctional agencies in D.C., Virginia and Maryland under the Freedom of Information Act show 400 other inmates attempted suicide since 2014, many of whom were saved by correctional officers and jail staff.

The I-Teams findings show an ongoing mental health crisis in local jails, correctional officials say. They also show the importance of mental health training, CPR and other life-saving techniques among local correctional officers, those officials said.

In late 2017, at least three inmates were rescued from suicide attempts by correctional officers at the Montgomery County correctional facility in Boyds, county records show.

Americas jails and prisons have become mental health facilities, said Montgomery County Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Director Robert Green. When someone is intent on harming themselves, its our job [to intervene].

Private Kendale Graves and Corporal Norman Pyles saved an inmate whod attempted to hang himself. Graves cut the inmate down. Pyles helped perform CPR," Green said.

Pyles said, Once I stopped giving 30 compressions, [the inmate] started breathing. When he started breathing, [the situation] became a lot calmer.

In another recent incident, correctional Officer Andrew Martin caught a suicidal inmate who had jumped from an upper level fence.

The only thing that hit the floor were his feet, Martin said. There were so many ways that could have gone wrong for me and for him. Im glad it worked out exactly the way that it did.

In a pair of incidents, Montgomery County correctional officers saved inmates who had attempted to choke themselves in their cells, including one who tried to strangle herself with the cord of her headphones. Officers Katherine Bower and Stephen Fultz said the woman was blue in the face when they found her and saved her.

These people have issues, and were dealing with them, Bower said. And were talking to them on a daily basis.

Montgomery Countys Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said it uses a strategy of direct supervision, in which jails are constructed to provide better sightlines and closer access to inmates by officers.

The I-Team obtained records from the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, Montgomery County, Prince Georges County, St. Marys County and Charles County in Maryland. They also received records from the Virginia Department of Corrections, Fairfax County Corrections and the D.C. Department of Corrections.

These records showed nearly 400 suicide attempts since the beginning of 2014. There were 16 suicides each in that same frame in Maryland state prisons and Virginia state prisons. There were four suicides in the D.C. jail, and two each in Prince Georges and Charles counties.

In early July, a 35-year-old man killed himself at Montgomery Countys correctional facility days after being convicted of a homicide.

Correctional officials in D.C., Virginia and Maryland said they are taking steps to help equip correctional officers to better detect and stop inmates from attempting suicide.

We have inmate suicide observation aides, Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services spokesman Gerry Shields said. Inmates get paid to monitor those on suicide watch. They sit outside their cells and record all activity. The inmates take a class and must pass a test to be an observation aide.

A D.C. Department of Corrections spokeswoman said the agency has created suicide-resistant cells, which have fewer chokepoints along walls.

[The agency] provides mandatory mental health and suicide prevention training to all staff, including officer recruits, in a pre-service training, as well as to all staff in annual in-service, required by all employees, she said.

A Virginia state corrections spokesman said staff members attend yearly mental health training programs.

One of our best practices is our Corrections Crisis Intervention Team training, which teaches basic to advanced de-escalation skills to security staff, he said. This is a 40-hour program that trains officers to specifically respond to offenders in mental health crisis.
The FBI is seeking a woman they're calling the "Fake Hair Don't Care Bandit" after she robbed banks in D.C. and Maryland.

The FBI Washington Field Office said Tuesday that they're offering up to $10,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest of the woman.

The "Fake Hair Don't Care Bandit" is suspected of robbing banks in Northwest D.C., Bethesda and District Heights from May 2016 to August 2017.

In one surveillance image, she wears a sleek black bob with bangs and a blazer. In another image, she wears a curly wig and what appears to be a nurse's top.

The FBI says the suspect is about 5-foot-tall, with a dark complexion. She is believed to be about 150 pounds and in her late 20s or early 30s.

In each of the robberies, the woman passed a note demanding money and then fled on foot.

Information on how much she stole was not available immediately.

These are the banks the FBI says she robbed:

May 23, 2016  Bank of America, 4301 49th St. NW, Washington, D.C.

May 27, 2016  Wells Fargo, 5201 MacArthur Blvd. NW, Washington, D.C.

May 28, 2016  Wells Fargo, 4965 Elm St., Bethesda

June 20, 2017  Capital One, 5714 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, D.C.

Aug. 1, 2017 Bank of America, 7520 Marlboro Pike, District Heights, Maryland

Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI Washington Field Office at 202-278-2000 or submit a tip at https://tips.fbi.gov.
What to Know Groups of women dressed as characters from 'The Handmaid's Tale,' greeted Vice President Mike Pence Monday during his visit to Philadelphia.

They protested Trump's zero tolerance immigration policy and its perceived anti-choice U.S. Supreme Court nomination, Brett Kavanaugh.

They shut down streets near city hall and snarled the evening commute.

Groups of women dressed as characters from "The Handmaid's Tale" greeted Vice President Mike Pence Monday during his visit to Philadelphia.

Protesters wearing red dresses and white caps carried signs reading "Free press, fake president" and "Freedom of religion is freedom from religion."

No, this was not a dystopian nightmare in which fertile women are enslaved by a military dictatorship. Rather, drawing on inspiration from the hit Hulu show, which is based on a Margaret Atwood novel of the same name, protesters marched against President Donald Trump's zero tolerance immigration policy and its perceived anti-choice U.S. Supreme Court nomination, Brett Kavanaugh.

The protests mirrored recent demonstrations throughout the country that use themes from "The Handmaid's Tale" aimed at "[waking] people up to the real life dangers of the Trump/Pence regime," organizers said in a statement.

"Nothing short of removing this whole illegitimate regime from power will stop this nightmare," organizer Samantha Goldman of Refuse Fascism Philly said. "If we allow this regime to get away with caging and torturing children, they know there is nothing they can't get away with."



Pence is in Philadelphia to tout Trump tax cuts and campaign for Pennsylvania senate candidate U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, a staunch conservative and supporter of Trump. Barletta is running against Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey in this year's Pennsylvania midterms.

The event, hosted by America First Policies, a non-profit started by a group of former Trump advisers, took place at the Sheraton Philadelphia in Center City. After the event, Pence attended a fundraiser hosted by Barletta at the Union League.

Great to be in Pennsylvania today supporting my friend @LouForSenate. Lou Barletta will put the interests of the hardworking men & women of PA first and will be an advocate for @RealDonaldTrump's pro-growth economic agenda! pic.twitter.com/dOXEDiVLjS  Mike Pence (@mike_pence) July 23, 2018

CORRECTION: This story has been updated to accurately reflect that "The Handmaid's Tale" is on Hulu.
Borouge, a leading petrochemicals company based in Abu Dhabi, UAE, has awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the development of an additional polypropylene plant (PP5), which will be later integrated with the existing Borouge 3 complex in Ruwais region of Abu Dhabi.



The contract was won by Tecnimont SPA, a subsidiary of Italy-based Maire Tecnimont, a leading provider of EPC services to oil, gas, petrochemical, and chemical industries, said a statement from Borouge.



On completion, it will take the total polymer production capacity to almost 5 million tonnes per annum by 2021, it stated.



Borouge, a joint venture between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and Borealis, Europes leading producer of polyolefin, was established 20 years ago and production has progressively increased as the Borouge 1, 2 and 3, plants have come on stream.



Borouge said the move comes as part of its growth strategy which aims to double the group's production capacity by 2030.



Abdulaziz AlHajri, the director of Adnocs downstream directorate, said: "At the heart of the downstream strategy is an Dh165 billion ($45 billion) investment, over the next five years, that will create the worlds largest integrated refining and petrochemicals hub in Ruwais, where Adnoc will convert 20 per cent of its crude to chemicals, tripling petrochemical production capacity to 14.4 million tonnes per year, by 2025."



"In parallel, Adnoc intends to build an international, integrated downstream presence, including securing additional crude refining capacity in growth markets," he noted.



Under Adnocs In-Country Value (ICV) programme, this project will maximise spend on local products, manufacturing, services and infrastructure, said the top official.



The ICV initiative also seeks to catalyse socio-economic development, improve knowledge transfer and create additional employment for UAE nationals, he added.



Based on Borealis Borstar technology, the new plant will have a nameplate capacity of 480,000 tonnes per annum and is expected to come on stream in the third quarter of 2021, noted AlHajri.



With this investment the total polypropylene production capacity of Borouge will grow to 2.24 million tonnes per annum, he added.



Borouge CEO Ahmed Omar Abdulla said: "Todays announcement is a significant milestone in the expansion of Borouges growth ambition to become the recognized leader in creative plastics solutions that have a positive impact on society today and tomorrow."



"The awarding of the PP5 EPC contract, after a rigorous and robust competitive tendering process, is not only a signal of our intent to grow our position as a reliable provider to petrochemical products but also a signal of the further growth of Ruwais as the biggest world-class petrochemical complex," stated Abdulla.



Building this new capacity in the UAE will help Borouge to expand its product portfolio and deliver leading edge solutions to its customers across the globe, supporting our customers growth ambitions in the transportation and energy markets as well as rigid and flexible packaging sectors, infrastructure and agricultural film, he added.



The awarding of the EPC contract comes a year after Adnoc and Borealis announced plans for the construction of a Borouge 4 complex in Ruwais, which will encompass a world-scale, mixed feedstock cracker and downstream derivatives units for both polyolefin and non-polyolefin products.



Increasing petrochemical production capacity is a key pillar of Adnocs aggressive downstream expansion strategy, which will see it become a world class producer, supplier and trader of refined and petrochemical products as it focuses on markets in Asia, including China.-TradeArabia News Service
Massive flooding from a South Korean-constructed hydroelectric dam in Laos left several people dead and hundreds missing, state media said Tuesday. Rescue efforts were underway as top government officials rushed to the site and public appeals were launched for aid.

The official Lao news agency KPL said part of the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower dam in southeastern Attapeu province collapsed Monday evening, releasing large amounts of water that swept away houses, flooded villages and made more than 6,600 people homeless.

The website of the state-run Vientiane Times newspaper said two people were confirmed dead as of Tuesday afternoon and the government had declared the area an emergency disaster zone. It said continued rain and strong winds predicted for the next few days could make the situation worse.

KPL said the disaster "left hundreds of people missing," without providing details.

Many areas of Laos have recently been hit by floods from heavy seasonal rains.

The dam was built by a joint venture led by two South Korean companies with Thai and Lao partners, and was still under construction.

SK Engineering & Construction, one of the two South Korean partners, said in a statement that "part of the upper area" of one of five auxiliary dams at the project "got swept away" Sunday night after several days of heavy rain. It said the auxiliary dam consisted mainly of earth and rock.

SK E&C said repair work was hampered by heavy rain, and damage to the dam worsened on Monday, causing water to overflow and flood seven out of 12 villages in the area. The company said it joined rescue efforts and was trying to contain further damage.

Photos and videos posted on social media showed people sitting on rooftops to escape the surging water, while others were carried to safety or rescued by boat. State media said helicopters were also being used to rescue people.

Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith suspended his government's planned Cabinet meeting and traveled with fellow ministers and other senior officials to Sanamxay district to monitor rescue and relief efforts, KPL and the Vientiane Times reported.

Provincial authorities issued a call for emergency aid  clothing, food, drinking water, medicine, cash and other items  from the "party, government organizations, business community, officials, police and military forces and people of all strata."

Laos is one of the poorest countries in Asia. It has transitioned from communism to a market economy but remains a single-party state where freedoms are limited. There is virtually no freedom of the press, and foreign reporters who visit operate under tight restrictions, limiting the flow of information.

Electricity from several hydroelectric dams provides a large share of Laos' export earnings, with Thailand being a major buyer.

KPL said the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy project cost an estimated $1.02 billion. Much of the financing came from Thai lenders.

According to the website of the company that built and runs the dam, it is majority-owned by SK E&C and Korea Western Power. The Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Public Co. Ltd. of Thailand holds a 25 percent stake and the Lao Holding State Enterprise holds 24 percent.

The dam was built to divert the Houay Makchanh, Xe-Namnoy and Xe-Pian rivers into reservoirs that feed into a 410-megawatt power plant that is due to begin operations in 2019. Only 10 percent of the power generated was to be used locally, with 90 percent exported to Thailand.

Laos is supposed to receive taxes, royalties and other income estimated at $33 billion per year from the dam.

According to project assessment documents, about 30 villages were affected by the project with more than 2,000 people in eight villages resettled. Roughly 10,000 people live in the affected area, with most belonging to ethnic minorities.

The project was supposed to be a cash cow for SK E&C, part of the SK Group, one of South Korea's top three conglomerates whose businesses include SK Hynix, the world's second-largest memory chipmaker, and SK Telecom, South Korea's largest telecoms carrier.

South Korea's Yonhap News agency reported that SK E&C sent its president to Laos and set up an emergency team in Seoul.

Last September, a dam in the northeastern Lao province of Xieng Khouang burst, damaging infrastructure, farm land and water supplies but causing no reported casualties. Officials blamed the rupture on bad construction and heavy rains.

The accident at the 15-MW Nam Ao hydropower dam led to hearings in the country's National Assembly on safety standards at hydropower projects, and promises by the government to inspect such projects and cancel those failing to meet the standards, the Vientiane Times reported.
Before 14-year-old Guatemalan Samuel Cazun left a Kansas nonprofit to be reunited with his father, he gave staff members the sketches of their faces he had drawn to help them remember him.

Of the dozens of migrant children housed at The Villages in Topeka under a contract with the federal government, Samuel was among as many as nine there who were separated from family members at the southern border under the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy on illegal immigration.

It has been more than a month since immigration agents took Samuel away from his father after the two waded across the Rio Grande into Texas following about 15 days traveling by bus from Guatemala. On Monday afternoon, Samuel and his father, Edvin Cazun, tearfully embraced at the Cincinnati airport, reunited once again.

Samuel was all smiles when he caught sight of his father as he rode up on the elevator at the airport, waving to family members. A young cousin ran up to hug him. Edvin Cazun then briefly buried his head on his son's shoulders and embraced him before wiping away his own tears. While still at the airport, Samuel had a video chat with his mother in Guatemala on a relative's cellphone.

Samuel told The Associated Press in Spanish that the separation was "very hard" and that it made him sad. He worried when he was in Kansas that his father would be deported and that he would never see him again.

Edvin Cazun said he initially tried to come into this country legally by paying for a worker visa, but he was instead ripped off by the people selling them. When he tried to get his money back, they threatened to kill him. So he fled with Samuel to the United States, leaving behind his wife and his four other children, ages 9 to 18, and is now seeking asylum in the hopes of giving Samuel a chance at a better life.

"What I want now that we are together is for him to get ahead in life. I want to be responsible for him. I want him to study in this country. That is the best future for him, no? That is my desire as his father," Edvin Cazun said in Spanish.

Samuel said in a Tuesday phone interview that he wants to study in the United States and become a professional artist.

The Trump administration said in a court filing Monday that there have been 1,187 children reunified with their parents or "other appropriate discharges," which include guardians and sponsors. It added that some 463 parents may not be in the United States, saying those findings are based on case notes and are under review.

Immigration attorney Clare Murphy Shaw is Samuel's attorney and said Tuesday that of the seven immigrant children in Kansas she represents in immigration court, five of them have already left The Villages. The two remaining separated children are scheduled to leave either Tuesday or Wednesday.

In what is the first public glimpse at life for migrant children at The Villages in Topeka, Samuel recounted how he was among 13 male teenagers housed in one of the group homes at the facility. He had his own bed and shared a room with another teenager. The food was good and the children could talk with their parents several times a week. They would also go to classes from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. each day, studying English, mathematics, science, technology and other subjects.

There were a lot of rules to follow, such as not hugging other children, although a handshake was ok. No opening the windows. Don't go into someone else's room.

It was a lot nicer than facility the Samuel was kept in while in Texas. His first day he was kept in a cage that he compared to one used to contain animals. He slept on a mat on the floor. He thinks he probably spent five days at a second Texas facility but wasn't sure because there were no windows, the lights were on all the time and he couldn't tell whether it was even day or night.

But the hardest part was being separated from his father. Samuel said he prayed to God while at the Kansas shelter that they would soon be together.

"Now I am no longer sad," Samuel said.
What to Know Radioactive particles from the Fukushima nuclear meltdown have shown up in Napa wines

The amount of radiation is far too low to cause human harm

Researchers observed a similar effect in French wine after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986

It's been more than seven years since the catastrophic meltdown of the Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan, but a team of French researchers has found evidence of that disaster here in the Bay Area, in the storied wine bottles of the Napa Valley.

Researchers looked for the radioactive particle, cesium-137, in vintages from 2009 to 2012, expecting to see an increase after 2011, when the meltdown happened. Cesium-137 is a byproduct of the uranium fission used in nuclear power generation, and was also found in higher levels in French wines made after the Chernobyl power plant disaster of 1986.

In a study published in the MIT Technology Review, researchers found that by vaporizing Napa wine at 500 degrees Celsius, they were able to detect tiny amounts of the radioactive isotope amid the ashes: about double the amount that was present in wines made before the meltdown. Much like the French wines studied after the Chernobyl disaster, the team found higher levels of the particle in red wines than they found in rose.

The technique used for the study was pioneered by French pharmacologist Philippe Hubert, who originally devised the procedure to combat wine fraud  that is, labeling a younger vintage as an older one in order to inflate the price. By scanning the radioactive signature of the wine, Hubert could determine, for instance, if it was made before nuclear testing began in the 1960s  in which case, the wine would have no detectable cesium-137  or if it was made shortly after the Chernobyl disaster, in which case the cesium-137 levels would be elevated.

Researchers stress that while the elevated levels of the radioactive particle could be seen in Napa wines for decades to come, they remain well below the threshold for causing human harm.
What to Know Prosecutors say an arrest has been made in the slaying of a Massachusetts man found near a New Hampshire road earlier this month

Twenty-year-old Brandon Chicklis was last seen on June 26 as he left his Westminster home to visit his father in Windham, New Hampshire

His body was discovered by a jogger on July 10 off Route 119 in Rindge, New Hampshire

Prosecutors say a woman has been charged with murder in connection with the death of a Massachusetts man whose remains were found in New Hampshire earlier this month.

Twenty-one-year-old Julia Enright was arrested by state police on Monday night in Ashburnham, Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early said. She was arraigned Tuesday and ordered held without bail. She is scheduled to return to court on Aug. 29.

Investigators said Enright killed 20-year-old Westminster resident Brandon Chicklis by a treehouse near her home in Ashburnham, which police were able to trace from the victim's cell phone records. Chicklis' blood was found on the stairs to the treehouse, inside it and under it.

"It was apparent that the treehouse had recently been cleaned and a new rug had been placed on the floor," Assistant Worcester District Attorney Terry McLaughlin said in court Tuesday. "When the rug had been removed, it had appeared the blood had seeped through the floorboards of the treehouse down underneath."

Investigators said they believe Enright then moved Chicklis' body to New Hampshire.

A family member of Chicklis told NBC10 Boston Enright and Chicklis once dated and that they remained friends after breaking up some time ago. Prosecutors said the two had been classmates at Montachusett Regional Vocational High School in Fitchburg.

Westminster Police Chief Michael McDonald called Enright's arrest "a step in the direction toward closure," while adding that "it's still going to be a tough one for everybody."

Chicklis, who would have turned 21 this week, was last seen on June 26 as he was leaving to visit his father in Windham, New Hampshire, for a belated Father's Day celebration. Family members reported him missing the next day when he didn't show up.

"He was one of the most kindest, lovingest person ever," said Chicklis' grandmother, Louise Rocka last week. "If you called him he was there. If you needed him for anything he was there for everybody."

Chicklis' body was found by a jogger on July 10 off Route 119 in Rindge, New Hampshire, about 20 to 40 feet from the roadside. His car was found in a supermarket parking lot in another part of town.

Rindge is located just over the New Hampshire border, about 20 minutes away from Westminster and over an hour from Windham.

"Something happened, and that's what we don't know. We just need to find out who did this to my son, who didn't deserve this horrific end to his short life," Paul Chicklis, Brandon's father, said after his son's body was found.

Authorities searched Enright's property in Ashburnham last week in connection with the ongoing investigation.

Family members have set up a GoFundMe page to help cover Chicklis' funeral expenses.
What to Know A 15-year-old girl died Monday afternoon after being assaulted Sunday evening in Cambridge

Authorities say the assault took place at the intersection of Cambridge and Warren streets

The teen's identity has not been released, and no arrests have been made in connection with the assault

Police are continuing to search for information regarding the death of a Cambridge, Massachusetts teenager, according to the Middlesex County district attorney.

Investigators are looking to identify any witnesses to the incident and information concerning the identity of a person seen in the area on a bicycle.

The 15-year-old girl who died Monday after being assaulted on Sunday was a student at Cambridge Rindge & Latin School, according to school officials.

The teen's name was not released by school officials, but school personnel and grief counselors will be at the high school on Tuesday for students and staff who would like to talk.

"Our thoughts are with this young woman and her family," the school said in a Facebook post.



The school is in the midst of summer session and the young woman who died attended summer school.

"Everyone knew her... it's sad because she was just here a couple of days ago and now she's gone," classmate Francesca Rivera said. "She was always a happy girl, so to see that something like this would happen to her... why?"

Police responded to the intersection of Cambridge and Warren streets around 6:30 p.m. Sunday, where they found the victim, according to DA Marian Ryan.

One of the owners of Portugalia, a nearby restaurant, couldn't believe what she saw outside the front door after the attack.

"When we went outside, she had fallen and she was bleeding from her nose and her mouth and she was pretty listless," Maria Valente said. "She was unconscious and she needed help."

The girl was reportedly walking to a friend's house when she was shoved to the ground and hit her head, authorities said.

"My first reaction was to call 911," Valente said.

Medics and police responded quickly. The girl was taken to a local hospital in critical condition. Monday afternoon, she died from her injuries.

Another of Portugalia's owners says that even though customers also came running out of the restaurant to help the girl, none of the witnesses saw who assaulted her.

"So incredibly sad," Cambridge Mayor Marc McGovern said on Twitter. "My heart breaks for this young girl and her family."

"Heartbroken & angry that an early evening assault on a neighborhood street has taken the life of a 15yo female," added Vice Mayor Jan Devereux.

Officials said they initially believed the attack was a robbery, but they have since ruled that out. No arrests have been made.

The medical examiner's office is investigating the cause and manner of the girl's death.

Anybody with helpful information regarding the incident is urged to call police at (781) 897-6600.


What to Know Gov. Charlie Baker criticized a proposal that would make changes to the federal family planning program.

The proposal would create barriers to a woman's ability to get an abortion if they seek one.

Baker sent a letter to the Trump administration to voice his opposition.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday criticized a proposed rule that he says would make major changes to the federal family planning program known as Title X, including creating barriers to a woman's ability to obtain an abortion.

The proposed rule would ban clinics from sharing physical space and financial resources with abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.

In a letter sent to top Trump administration officials, Baker said he was troubled by that provision and others in the proposed rule that he said would force providers to violate the confidentiality of patients.

He also opposed provisions in the rule that he said would require that all pregnant women be referred to prenatal care whether they want to or not, and make counseling on abortion virtually impossible, even for those who want it.

Baker said the proposed rule should be rejected in its entirety.

"We basically expressed concerns that some of the proposals being made by the administration would limit or significantly hinder, in some cases perhaps deny women access to title 10 services, family planning services, prenatal care services and the like," the Republican governor told reporters. "We urged them to take them back and I'm sure they will get a lot of comments from people that sound like ours, and I hope that they do take them back."

The administration has said it supports family planning and isn't cutting funding, but is instead drawing a "bright line" between birth control and abortion.

Title X serves about 4 million low-income people, mainly women. Disruptions could affect women's access to long-acting contraceptives, such as implants and intrauterine devices. Those are more effective than daily pills that can be forgotten, but also much more expensive upfront.

Abortion is legal, but under long-standing law and regulations, taxpayer money cannot be used to pay for abortions.

Dr. Jennifer Childs-Roshak, president of Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts, applauded Baker's letter. She described the proposed changes as a "gag rule" that will "devastate women's health nationwide."

"The result of this gag rule is that people will not get the health care they need. They won't get birth control, cancer screenings, STD testing and treatment, or even general women's health exams," she said.

In his letter, Baker said he's committed to working with state lawmakers and the state's congressional delegation "to ensure that women in Massachusetts continue to have access to comprehensive family planning and health care services that meet their individual needs."
The teenage accuser took the stand Tuesday in the trial of a former Maine High School teacher accused of sexual abuse.

Jill Lamontagne, who taught at Kennebunk High School, is facing 14 charges, including gross sexual assault and sexual abuse of a minor.

The alleged victim, who was 17 at the time of the alleged affair, told jurors he was getting extra help from the health teacher because he was at risk of not graduating. He said their relationship started innocently,

"Things became more personal between us, I guess, and then escalated to sexual," he told the jury.

He said Lamontagne, who was 29 at the time, requested the student's SnapChat name, texted and called him. He claims the two would kiss, hug, and eventually had oral sex in the classroom closet three times. He said he also went to Lamontagne's home on two occasions.

When the sexual encounters escalated, the alleged victim said Lamontagne told him they could not have intercourse until after he graduated.

"We would often discuss how much we loved each other," the 19-year-old alleged victim told jurors, adding that they planned to have a "real relationship" after he was done with school.

Toward the end of the school year, he said he was feeling distraught about his future and their relationship, and he attempted suicide.

Detectives who analyzed the alleged victim's cell phone testified that there were 86 phone calls and 94 text messages to and from Lamontagne's phone number during that same five-month period.

One text said "I can't stop thinking about you," according to Saco Police Detective Fred Williams. On the day the alleged victim attempted suicide, a text from Lamontagne's phone read "Will you call me and talk?" and another stated "Can't stop thinking about you."

Kennebunk Police Detective Steve Borst, who also examined the cell phone data, said Lamontagne's number sent a text to the alleged victim that contained a screenshot of a music player, playing the song "Who I Am With You" by Chris Young.

"Listen to the lyrics," the text read. Jurors listened to the song Tuesday, which contain lyrics such as "Who I am with you is who I really wanna be / You're so good to me ... You're the best part of who I am."

Caleb Shields, the alleged victim's best friend, also testified Tuesday. He was a student at Kennebunk High School, and said Lamontagne once called his cell phone number looking for the alleged victim.

"She wanted to know if he was with me, if he was alright, and if I would tell him that she loved him," Shields testified.

Lamontagne's lawyer has called the allegations against her "pure fantasy." He questioned the alleged victim's timeline of events and pointed out that he initially denied having a relationship with Lamontagne when school officials first investigated the rumor.

Lamontagne's lawyer said she was dedicated teacher, working her "dream job" and would not risk her career and reputation "to have [oral sex] with a 17-year-old at 7:30 in the morning in her classroom."

The alleged victim testified that he has retained an attorney to have the option of suing the school district and Lamontagne.

Testimony is expected to continue for at least one more day. Defense attorney Scott Gardner declined to say if Lamontange will take the stand in her own defense.
Microsoft has announced the appointment of Ibrahim Youssry as regional general manager of its MEA Multi Country Cluster (MCC).



This new subsidiary spans the full African continent (except for South Africa and Egypt), the Indian Ocean Islands, as well as Levant and Pakistan.



Emerging Markets are now realizing the benefits of digital transformation and its profound impact across every industry, Youssry said.



Microsoft has been at the forefront of this transformation, and the development of MCC speaks directly to that. I look forward to working closely with governments, organizations and our partners in these markets to harness the power of the digital revolution and contribute towards driving economic growth, fostering innovation and nurturing our youth - for a more sustainable future.



Youssry brings over thirty years of professional experience and industry knowledge to the role. He joined Microsoft in 2007 in the server and tools business, which he managed across most of Africa and Levant.



In November 2013, Youssry joined Microsoft Gulf as the Public Sector lead. Over the past four years, Youssry has made an enormous impact in the market supporting government and education organisations to accelerate their digital transformation agendas and growing the Microsoft public-sector business significantly.



Samer Abu-Ltaif, area vice president, Microsoft Middle East and Africa said: The establishment of MCC under Ibrahims leadership, allows us to more closely align across growth markets to further deliver on our vision of digital transformation, while enabling partners. I look forward to working with Ibrahim and the MCC team, not only to drive our customers success but also to invest in digital skills building and youth upliftment.



Prior to joining Microsoft, Youssry spent many years working in multinational organisations across different sectors including Aramco, GUPCO and Schlumberger in the oil and gas industry, Gemalto and Orascom Djezzy in the Telco space.  TradeArabia News Service
More than 200,000 people have visited Dippy at Norwich Cathedral and, ahead of the iconic dinosaurs final week, emergency services workers were last night treated to a special preview of the Dippy at Night farewell spectacle.

More than 200,000 people have visited Dippy at Norwich Cathedral and, ahead of the iconic dinosaurs final week, emergency services workers were last night treated to a special preview of the Dippy at Night farewell spectacle.

Time for the church to take action? In his two previous articles, Nigel Fox asked if we had an adequate view of Jesus is, challenging some of our preconceptions, and then explained why he believes that Jesus is now angry with the world. His final column in this trilogy is a call to action. Read more

Music event at Revelation in Norwich Following last year's hugely successful and entertaining event the Trustees of Revelation will be holding another six hour 'MusicOn' marathon fundraising event at St Michael at Plea Church on Saturday October 30 between 10am - 4pm. Read more

Norfolk Churches receive Historic England grants Four Norfolk churches have received Historic England grants for repairs. Read more

'Visions of Salvation' Julian retreat The Friends of Julian of Norwich present 'Visions of Salvation', a two day in-person and online retreat taking place on October 29 and 30. Read more

A Kenyan farmer looks at climate change in Norwich screening To mark COP26, St Peter Mancroft Church in Norwich will host a screening of 'Thank you for the Rain' in partnership with Christian Aid. Read more

Norwich musician creates songs for loss of a twin brother Norwich Christian musician Ben Lawrence is producing an album which talks openly about the loss of his twin brother Dan to cancer and the hope he has since found. Here he shares the vision. Read more

Norwich dinner invitation for everyday people How many of your friends have walked in space, been a pop star, served time for murder, raised the dead? asks Norwich FGB branch president Barrie Lawrence. Read more

Climate change talk at Norwich science fest In an open lecture on Monday October 25, Dr Justine Huxley will talk on the subject Climate and conflict: bridging our divisions for the sake of the Earth. This will focus on the social implications of the climate emergency in many parts of the world. Read more

Norwich church hosts charity quiz and chips Norwich Central Baptist Church are taking on Tearfunds Big Quiz Night on Saturday November 20, to take the charitys fundraising efforts past the 1 million mark, helping their work in some of the worlds poorest countries. Read more

We should care for Gods beautiful creation Philip Young explains his passion for Gods creation, which has prompted him to write a poem to challenge us to action. Read more

Norwich church collects tools for charity Heartsease Lane Methodist Church are organising a collection tools for Christian charity Tools With a Mission on October 23, followed by a service on Climate Control on October 24. Read more

Dereham Baptist Church to host free CAP money course Christians Against Poverty (CAP) is offering a free, three-session course that equips people with the skills they need to effectively manage their money well. Read more

Singing celebration of Dippy's visit to Norwich More than 1,000 schoolchildren joined with Norwich Cathedral Choir to celebrate Dippy the dinosaurs visit with some new music last week. Read more

Harrison family rocks the boat on the Waveney Hilary Harrisons new book Rock the Boat records the adventures of her family on the sailing barge Golden Mean. Thomas Harrison adds a story from Norfolk to bring it up to date. Read more

The Dean of Norwich announces her retirement The Dean of Norwich has announced that she is to retire from her role at the helm of Norwich Cathedral in May next year. Read more

New vacancies at Norfolk Christian holiday centre The Pleasaunce Christian Endeavour Holiday Centre near Cromer in North Norfolk is looking for a housekeeper, a kitchen assistant and a general assistant. Read more

Dereham District Youth and Schools Worker North Breckland Youth for Christ is looking to appoint a Dereham District Youth and Schools Worker, to include running youth cafes and other projects and developing schools work. Read more
Five years ago, Q2 had 240 servers. Today, it has 8,500 servers. The company spent $150 million over the last five years building out its infrastructure, where it now hosts more than 4 petabytes of user data.

Weve grown from 1.2 million users to 11.5 million users and reduced downtime to one-fifth of what it was during that same period, says Lou Senko, CIO of Q2, which is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and provides a digital banking platform for banks and credit unions.

Q2s cloud-based platform is aimed at helping smaller, community-based financial institutions compete with giants such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup. Local financial institutions have to compete against some big, big players, Senko says. Its our technology that levels the playing field in the digital world.

Smaller banks can gain access to features consumers want  such as remote deposit, mobile enrollment, financial management and person-to-person payments  and Q2 handles the backend integration, security and performance.

Weaving that together to create one seamless user experience is what we bring to the table, says Senko, whose domain includes risk management and assessment, compliance and regulatory management, product development, disaster recovery and incident response.

Q2 Q2 CIO Lou Senko

From a technology standpoint, one of the biggest challenges is tying banks legacy backend systems to new applications and exposing them to the internet while maintaining security, compliance and availability. Uptime is critical, obviously. Q2 balances its efforts between increasing resiliency to avoid downtime and streamlining remediation for the inevitable hiccups. Things are still going to break. So how do you have less downtime? How do you monitor? How do you remediate faster? he says.

The company rearchitected its platform over the last few years, Senko says. We were a .Net shop, three-tier architecture, SQL backend, he says. Q2 made the transition to an open-source microservices architecture enabled by container technologies. Weve totally embraced containers and orchestration, he says.

The goal is agility.

I cant sit down with my development department and plan for a year out, he says. What are the things that youre going to use in the next 12 months? Lets plan all that out and lets work with our vendors to make sure were covered. Thats not the way it happens. Its very, very rapid here.

Small development teams work fast to deliver new features, often taking a new idea from conception to production in as short at 60 days.

All these technologies that we can quickly download from the internet, rapidly prototype, take through QA and then resiliency and scale testing, and then it goes through DevOps, and then boom, into production, Senko says. What will show up in six months wasnt even thought of six months ago.

As Q2 has grown its platform and quickened its development pace, it has outgrown a number of monitoring tools that couldnt keep up. One that helped Q2 get to the next level is LogicMonitor. The vendors SaaS-based performance monitoring platform is designed for on-premises, publiccloud and hybrid IT infrastructure. Theyve been able to keep pace with us, Senko says.

As Q2 onboards new applications, LogicMonitor ensure theyre discoverable and monitorable. It also allows Q2 to consolidate monitoring environments behind a single pane of glass. The LogicMonitor team is nimble, expanding monitoring coverage if Q2 needs it, so IT can stay one step ahead of its development partners, Senko says.

Its not only part of our production-ization of new things that come in, but also its our backstop should stuff show up that we didnt know about.

As Q2 has strengthened its tooling arsenal, it also has changed how it views monitoring and troubleshooting. To take the place of its network operations center (NOC), Q2 built an integrated operations center (IOC). The shift to an IOC brought together more skilled personnel working on more complex issues. When Q2 ran a NOC, issues were often escalated outside the NOC to a DBA or network pro or server team. The IOC brings together all those experts, so that the people who are solving the problem are working alongside the teams that are responding to alerts and monitoring, Senko says.

The IOC has 33 fulltime employees and two managers. Now 87% of the issues that are picked up by monitoring tools are solved from within the IOC, he says.

The organizational shift elevated incident management to a more vital and higher profile discipline at Q2. We rebranded it, Senko says. It really is a showcase. Its not the stepchild of IT anymore. Its the heart and soul that watches all this stuff.

In addition to investing in the IOC buildout, Q2 is prioritizing employee training and engagement. As we keep evolving the technology platform, we keep the employees growing and evolving with us. We spend a ton of money on training and career development.

Retaining IT employees who understand the business is critical, Senko says.

Their knowledge of the customer and how this stuff is used, and their connection to Q2s mission is something that you cant easily replace. You can teach people new technology. You cant teach them that connection.
Find a shady spot and settle down with a good book - here are some suggestions for starters

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

A debut novel much praised for its portrayal of loneliness and the innate goodness of mankind. Eleanor Oliphant leads a seemingly humdrum existence  goes to work and goes home. But at weekends her time alone consists of food and gin  and lots of it. Through the kindness of the rather uncouth Ray, we start to see the real Eleanor and the way in which her life has been formed by traumatic events.

At times laugh-out-loud funny, while also tragic, this is an interesting exploration of how we cope in the face of adversity and how, by taking small steps, we can enjoy life again.

Circling the Sun by Paula McLain

Beryl Markham was a pioneering aviatrix, whose extraordinary early life is chronicled in Paula McLains tightly-written and beautifully-imagined book.

Always inviting scandal, Markhams early life in Kenya, from her wild childhood to her doomed marriage, aged just 16, and her subsequent affairs, as well as her prowess as a female horse trainer and then pilot, are all vividly brought to life.

The ex-pat colonial set move in and out of her life and her extraordinary tenacity and strength of will shines through every page of this absorbing account of a free spirit, ahead of her time.

The Silence Between Breaths by Cath Staincliffe

We are introduced to a group of characters travelling from Manchester to London, including the family heading to a wedding, the single man going for an interview, the group of businesswomen and the young Asian suicide bomber clutching his backpack. The second half deals with the aftermath of the explosion.

Slow to get going and filled with some cliched characters, it is worth sticking with this book. The description of the explosion feels realistic and the authors choice of who lives and who dies is brutal.

The second half, although a little rushed, deals with how the surviving characters cope and even more interestingly the impact on the English Muslim middle-class family of the bomber, who had no idea what was coming. Topical and compelling.

The Rooster Bar by John Grisham

John Grisham writes perfect holiday read material and this is no exception. Three students at a second-rate law school realise they will never pay off their huge debts and that a ruthless businessman is scamming them and thousands like them.

Their revenge is played out with consummate storytellling and youre never quite sure who has the upper hand until you turn the final page.
Celebratiing the rich literary legacy of Homer, the legendary poet responsible for Iliad and the Odyssey, Montblanc has unveiled its annual Writers Edition: Homage to Homer.

The launch event was hosted in Costa Navarino, southern Greece, the region where much of Homers Odyssey took place. It was hosted by Franck Juhel, President of Montblanc Middle East, India and Africa (MEIA), and participated by VIP guests and media who enjoyed an immersive cultural experience.

Instrumental in taking the oral verse to the then-new technique of alphabetic writing, Homers Iliad and Odyssey are among the most enduring legends known to the western world.

Exploring Greek history, guests enjoyed a scenic visit to the seaside town of Pylos, where they visited Nestors Palace and learned of King Nestor, who fought alongside Odysseus in the Trojan War. In the evening, guests enjoyed Mediterranean gastronomic traditions interpreted with a creative contemporary flair at Pero restaurant at the Romanos Hotel, while being entertained by a spectacular fire show.

For over a quarter of a century Montblanc has been honouring the most distinguished writers and literary icons of past times with its annual Writers Edition, said Juhel. We are delighted to present this years Homage to Homer in a region of Greece that formed a substantial element of his epic poem, the Odyssey, because it adds another dimension to the rich storytelling that Montblanc brings to life in the writing instrument. Our collectors are truly inspired.

With design elements inspired by the equine silhouette of the Trojan horse and the legendary spear of Achilles, the Montblanc Writers Edition, Homage to Homer includes the Montblanc Writers Edition, Homage to Homer and Montblanc Writers Edition, Homage to Homer Limited Edition 1581, with a limitation number that references the year of the first translation of Homers Iliad in English.

Completing the Writers Edition Collection, a fine stationery Greek blue leather notebook with embossed Trojan horse silhouette and a special ink in Greek Blue are also available.

The Montblanc Writers Edition, Homage to Homer is available in Montblanc boutiques around the world from July 2018. - TradeArabia News Service
BRIDGEPORT  As a mother, City Councilwoman Karen Jacksons instinct when her son was allegedly beaten and shocked with a Taser after fleeing the cops was to defend the 15-year-old.

Now Jackson says City Hall is trying to shut her up.

Any other councilman would have been flipping out, Jackson said Monday about her son, Gabriyel Fraser. I didnt create this mess. Im not going to let you (the city) walk all over my son.

Hearst Connecticut Media reported last week that Jackson had lodged a citizens complaint with the police departments internal affairs office about Frasers treatment. At that time she also said that the handful of officers involved in the June 27 incident abused their authority.

On Friday, Mark Anastasi, a veteran attorney for the city, warned Jackson that she also has a responsibility as a member of the citys legislative body to let the investigation of what happened to Fraser take its course without publicly rushing to conclusions.

It can prove particularly harmful when an elected official such as yourself prematurely calls into question the performance of officers sworn to protect our community, as well as long-standing court-ordered procedures to ensure the integrity of the civilian oversight process, Anastasi wrote Jackson in a letter she shared with Hearst.

When and if the internal affairs probe finds fault, the punishment of the accused officers will be up to a police commission whose members are nominated by the mayor and approved by the council.

Fraser was apprehended after he and other young men fled from a female cop who was investigating allegations they had broken into a yard in the Nob Hill Circle neighborhood, jumped on a trampoline and stolen a ball.

Jackson and Fraser filed a complaint with the police claiming the latter, once caught, had complied with police to stand hands up but was beaten by four officers, Tased in his legs, handcuffed and received several scratches on his leg, arm, face, lower back and wrist. Fraser was also charged with interfering with a police officer.

Police Chief Armando Perez in an interview last week said an officer approached Fraser and his friends to ask questions and that they should not have run. Their flight resulted in other police being called to the scene, he said.

But Perez also said he was not comfortable with the use of the Taser on Fraser.

Perez said the Taser darts connected to wires that deliver shocks to the body were not fired at Fraser. Instead, the chief said, the Taser device was pressed directly against the 15-year-old.

You just apply it to whatever part of the body and it causes a lot of pain, Perez said.

Its called drive stunning,  John DeCarlo, an associate professor of criminal justice at the University of New Haven who has 34 years in policing, said Monday when told about the incident. Basically, it is used when you are too close to discharge the darts in the Taser.

DeCarlo said drive stunning is common and generally on the same level of the continuum of force that the Taser darts are.

Criticizing a complaint

Anastasi, who for years ran Bridgeports law office and remains an influential voice within that department, began his letter to Jackson by emphasizing he understands her strong feelings that your son was treated inappropriately by officers ... and that your instincts are to support your son in this incident.

But, Anastasi wrote, As a council member, many of our citizens rightly look to you for guidance and leadership. When your constituents hear you as their elected official criticizing our police officers, this may lead some of them to lose confidence in our public safety services. Obviously, loss of confidence in the police department can undermine community policing initiatives and unintentionally contribute to a less safe community for all.

Lastly, Anastasi warned Jackson that she should remain cautious that your public criticism of the police performance in this incident can in no way be misinterpreted as an attempt to use your official position for personal gain ... and that you are neither seeking, nor will you accept, any preferential treatment due to your official elected position.

In the coming months, Jackson and her 19 council colleagues are expected to vote on a police chiefs five-year contract. The city is in the middle of a search for a top cop, with Perez, a close friend of Mayor Joe Ganims, in the running.

Jackson is a freshman council member who petitioned her way onto the 2017 primary ballot. As such, she is more of an outsider in a town with a history of political connections.

Jackson said Monday only a small number of her fellow council members have reached out to her since learning about the incident with her son.

One of those, Councilman Kyle Langan, another freshman and a vocal Ganim critic, in an email to Jackson wrote: Im deeply troubled to read of the violation experienced by your son and family, though I unfortunately am not surprised. We see examples of our neighbors experiencing things like this regularly and maintain the same (police department) leadership. ... Im here to support whatever efforts you want to make to bring attention to the cultural shift necessary in our police.

Council President Aidee Nieves on Monday said as a mother she understands her frustrations and wanting for answers. But Nieves, who read Anastasis letter to Jackson, added she also understands the attorneys points.

She wears two hats (as a mother and council member), Nieves said of Jackson. As an elected (official), we have to be very careful and not be seen like we want preferential treatment. She should let it (the internal investigation) run its course.
DANBURY  The passenger of a pick up truck who was killed Tuesday when a large tree fell on the vehicle has been identified as city resident Walter Cardenas Salinas.

Police said Salinas, 45, was killed when a very large tree fell on the passenger compartment of the truck shortly before 9 a.m. Tuesday as the vehicle was traveling north on Padanaram Road.

Authorities said the driver of the truck, identified as Edgar Nugra, could see the tree falling but didnt have time to react before falling on the truck, a 2014 Dodge Ram 1500. Nugra was conscience after the accident but transported to the hospital for evaluation.

Salinas was pronounced dead a the scene. The accident also brought down several electrical wires in the area that briefly caught fire.

About 187 customers were without power before electricity was restored.

Whether the tree was damaged during recent storms wasnt clear. Officials said a state arborist was inspecting the large tree, which appeared to be several feet in diameter, for damage.

The tree sat on the west end of the road near Padanaram Brook on property belonging to Costwald of Danbury, a White Plains-based developer who received approvals three years ago to build 37 single-family homes near the site. They have yet to be constructed.

The development was the subject of a long and contentious battle between the developer, city officials and residents who were concerned about possible erosion from storm run-off and its effect on the brook

This was the second possible storm-related fatality in nearly as many weeks. A New Milford resident was killed on July 17 when his car crashed into a tree on Ericson Road. Authorities said the tree likely came down during a heavy round of thunderstorms earlier in the day.

Two people were killed in May when severe thunderstorms and a macroburst took down trees and power lines across the area.

One Danbury man was mowing his lawn during the storm and took shelter in a truck that was hit by a tree. A 41-year-old woman in New Fairfield was killed when a tree struck her car. A child in the car survived the accident.

dperrefort@newstimes.com
One of the largest vaccine manufacturers in China, Changchun Changsheng Bio-technology Ltd. was found to have falsified reports in connection with production and inspection of around 113,000 rabies vaccines. They also falsified the records and distributed 250,000 of faulty DPT (diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus) vaccines to the general population last year. This latest and second misdemeanour naturally has sparked a public outrage.

Chinese Premiere Li Keqiang has tried to reassure the citizens and promised to take necessary steps. Changsheng produces nearly a quarter of all the Chinas rabies vaccines and as a result of this gross negligence has been fined 3.4 million yuan (US $ 502,200). They have been asked to stop the production of the vaccines and recall all the flawed samples that they have distributed. Their license for manufacturing rabies vaccine has been revoked. According to the statement of Premier Li Keqiang released this Sunday, the companys conduct has violated a moral bottom line. He pledged a crackdown on public threats such as these. Those involved will be resolutely punished with zero tolerance. (The government) will resolutely crack down on all illegal and criminal acts that endanger the safety of people's lives, the statement said. Countrys President, Xi Jinping called this incident as vile and shocking. The company has apologised for the scandal in a statement in return. The company statement released to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange read, The company will learn a lesson and take practical corrective measures and rectify thoroughly.

Up until now over 200,000 children in Shandong province have received the low quality of the vaccines, owever there have been no reports of harmful effects or injuries among the children. The whole matter is being investigated by China's Food and Drug Administration (CFDA). Investigators might file criminal charged for this misconduct. At present five of the senior executives of the company including the chairwoman have been arrested for detailed interrogation by the Changchun police. The police in their statement have said that an official criminal investigation against the company has been started.

The issue of faulty vaccine first came into news in July this year when the government officials were conducting an inspection of the company. The officials found that the company was fabricating the production and testing results and records. They were falsifying production specifications and equipment said the CFDA.

Eight provinces or cities have immediately stopped the use of human rabies vaccine from Changsheng. Four other provinces have said that they have never used these vaccines.
APM Terminals Bahrain, the operator of Khalifa Bin Salman Port (KBSP), has appointed Farooq Zuberi as its new chief financial officer (CFO).



An accomplished finance professional, Zuberi in his new role will be part of the companys strategic leadership team, said a statement from the company.



He will play a pivotal role in aligning the business and financial strategy to ensure value creation for all stakeholders of KBSP.



Zuberi will be responsible for APMTs accounting and finance, investor relations, legal affairs, procurement, and treasury function, it said.



He will also play a key role in the Public listing of APM Terminals Bahrain in Bahrain Bourse later this year, it added.



Prior to joining APM Terminals Bahrain, Zuberi has worked in senior leadership roles with Global Fortune 500 companies across several industries. He has worked with PwC, Unilever, GSK and Emirates Group in roles covering finance business partnering, project delivery and strategic initiatives.



He is a Chartered Accountant from ICAP as well as Chartered Certified Accountant from ACCA  UK.



Mark Hardiman, chief executive officer and managing director of APM Terminals Bahrain, said: Were really pleased to have Zuberi on board, who joins our team at this exciting time of transition as we prepare for our IPO this year.



With his exemplary track record and expertise in Finance Business partnering, we look forward to his value-added contribution to our strong, established team and achieving our business goals of expanding the logistics solutions we offer to our clients. We wish him immense success in his new role, he added.



Zuberi said: I am delighted to take on the new role at APM Terminals Bahrain, a world-class organisation which has contributed significantly towards Bahrains economic development through its effective operations of KBSP.



As we move forward towards achieving further growth and taking the company public, our focus will be to maximise value creation for our customers, shareholders and other stakeholders, he added.  TradeArabia News Service
Research led by QUT Associate Professor Yvette Miller, from the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, asked almost 6000 women about their birthing experiences in Queensland, Australia.

Professor Miller said many women were not aware that their choice of maternity care provider, birth facility, the way their baby is monitored in labor and positioning during labor and birth would all affect their labor and birth experience.

"We do this kind of research primarily to give women the information they need to make informed decisions about their maternity care," Professor Miller said.

"'Normal' birth was defined as an unassisted vaginal birth without induction of labor, epidural or general anesthetic, forceps or episiotomy.

"We partnered with the Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages to survey almost 6000 women who gave birth over a four-month period in Queensland. Women reported features of their experience alongside the four aspects of normal birth: onset of labor, use of anesthetics, mode of birth, and use of episiotomy.

"Only 28.7 percent of the women experienced a 'normal' birth.

"Our analysis found that those who had received GP shared care, standard public care, public midwifery continuity care or private midwifery care were all more likely to have a 'normal' birth than women in private obstetric care.

"We also found that women had a higher chance of a 'normal' birth if:

they lived outside major cities

could move freely throughout labor

received continuity of care in labor and birth

did not have procedures to augment their labor (such as having their "waters broken" or an Oxytocin drip)

did not have their baby continuously electronically monitored during labor

or gave birth not lying flat."

Professor Miller said research from Australia and several other countries indicated the majority of women report the desire for minimal medical intervention during birth.

"Rates of medical intervention in labor and birth have steadily increased in most middle- and high-income countries over the past few decades contrary to most women's preferences," she said.

"Analysis of 23 studies published from around the world found that only 13.8 percent of women expressed a preference for cesarean birth over vaginal birth."

"Our other research has shown that many women in Queensland are not informed or not involved in decisions about the use of medical procedures that can affect their birth experience and outcomes.

"Women are especially uninformed about how the type of maternity care they choose early on in their pregnancy can affect their chances of having the type of labor and birth they want."

"Queensland has published the Qld Maternity and Neonatal Clinical Guideline: Normal birth, and other states have similar guidelines. Australia, the UK, Canada, are among those countries which have recently published policy directives to increase normal births.

"The underlying ethos of current policy directives is that birth is a normal physiological process and not a medicalized 'problem'."

Source: https://www.qut.edu.au/news?id=133404
Tinkering with a method they helped develop over the last few years, scientists have for the first time measured at the nanometer scale the characteristic patterns of folds that give proteins their three-dimensional shape in water. Developed by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and their colleagues, this technique will help scientists gain insights about the behavior of biomolecules in watery environments similar to those in cells. These insights, in turn, could increase our understanding of major diseases, including Alzheimer's, that are related to "mistakes" in protein folding.

Life as we know it couldn't survive if proteins didn't fold into precise patterns leading to helices, sheets and other shapes that give proteins their three-dimensional structure. The precise shapes of proteins enable them to carry oxygen, fend off harmful bacteria and perform other essential tasks in the body. Proteins that fold improperly cannot function and sometimes generate toxic fragments, such as those associated with neurodegenerative disorders.

To understand the intricacies of folding, scientists need to study the detailed arrangement of chains of amino acids that are shorter and simpler than proteins--called peptides--and how they fold, assemble and rotate to create a variety of shapes, or conformations. Biologists prefer to examine proteins and peptides immersed in water because that environment closely approximates the conditions inside living cells.

Previously established techniques for determining the conformation of proteins, such as infrared spectroscopy, lack the fine spatial resolution to study the tiny and diverse assemblies of properly folded and misfolded proteins. In addition, these techniques don't work well in an aqueous environment because water strongly absorbs infrared light, confounding the analysis. Water had also posed severe challenges for a pioneering technique, known as photo-thermal induced resonance (PTIR), that recently enabled researchers to examine peptide structure and conformation in air with nanoscale resolution.

NIST researchers and their colleagues have now demonstrated that PTIR can be adapted to obtain conformational structure at the nanoscale in water using two chemically similar peptides known as diphenylalanine and Boc-diphenylalanine. Diphenylalanine is related to beta-amyloid, a sticky, larger peptide linked to Alzheimer's disease.

"PTIR is a powerful technique that had already shown promise for the study of biological systems, but the possibility to use this with samples in a liquid environment will greatly improve its use in this area," said Georg Ramer of NIST and the University of Maryland in College Park. Ramer and NIST researcher Andrea Centrone, along with their colleagues at the University of Cambridge in England, described their work in an article recently posted online at ACS Nano.

PTIR determines the chemical composition of materials with nanoscale resolution by combining an atomic force microscope (AFM) with light from an infrared laser that operates over a range of wavelengths. The characteristic wavelengths of infrared light that are absorbed by the sample are akin to a molecular fingerprint, revealing its chemical composition. At each site on the sample where infrared is absorbed, the material heats up, causing it to rapidly, but ever so slightly, expand. The expansion is detected, with the sharp tip of the AFM protruding from a cantilever, which oscillates like a diving board each time the sample expands. The more light that is absorbed by the sample, the greater its expansion and the larger the strength, or amplitude, of the oscillations.

As good as PTIR is, using the method in a water environment is problematic. Water strongly absorbs infrared light, producing an absorption signal that can interfere with efforts to discern the sample's chemical structure. In addition, the drag force exerted by water is much stronger than in air and it typically weakens the PTIR signal, as it strongly damps the oscillations of the AFM's cantilever.

To limit water's absorption of infrared light, the team placed a prism between the laser and the sample. The prism served to confine the infrared light to the sample's surface, minimizing the amount that could leak out and interact with the water. To address the damping problem, the team used a laser that could operate at frequencies up to 2,000 kilohertz. That enabled the researchers to match the frequency of the laser pulses to one of the higher frequencies at which the cantilever oscillates. Like pushing a child on a swing at just the right interval, the frequency matching enhanced the amplitude of the cantilever's oscillations, partially offsetting the damping due to water.

To demonstrate the accuracy of their method, the team compared PTIR measurements of diphenylalanine and other peptide samples in two environments: water and air. (The peptides folded similarly in both mediums, making it easier to perform the comparison.) Remarkably, the scientists achieved similar spatial resolution and contrast in water and air, demonstrating for the first time that measurements in a water environment can be performed accurately, revealing the precise conformation of peptides with nanoscale resolution.

"This finding is important to biologists who want to understand protein structure and folding in environments as close as possible to those in cells," said Centrone.

Source: https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2018/07/shape-water-first-nanometer-scale-measurements-folded-structure
CM Punk says more comics are in his future, and he already has a creator-owned offer on the table

The recently-returned wrestler talks about returning to comics
Athens : At least 74 people were killed, scores injured and many remained unaccounted for after wildfires spread rapidly through a popular vacationing spot on the Greek coast east of Athens, turning it into a disaster area that left the country reeling and in desperate need of firefighting reinforcements from the European Union on Tuesday.

Emergency services said the bodies of 24 adults and children were found just 30 meters from the sea, to where they had tried to escape from the flames that were raging through the fishing village of Mati, which took the brunt of the blaze that swept up coastal parts of the Attica region around Rafina, 15 km northeast of Athens International airport, Efe news agency reported.

Greek firefighters gave the latest death toll as 74, with 187 people injured, including 23 minors, although they warned that those figures were expected to rise as they had identified dozens of burned-out houses they had yet to access due to the extreme temperatures inside the buildings.

So far, 47 bodies have been taken to a forensic centre near Athens for formal identification.

Fanned by strong winds, the fast-moving wildfire incinerated whole swathes of the landscape and destroyed hundreds of properties and vehicles, many of which had to be abandoned as many people made a dash for the sea, using boats to escape the encroaching flames.

Some 700 people were rescued by coast guards, including 19 pulled directly from the water but several people drowned before help reached them.

Spain and Cyprus sent water-dropping planes and Portugal contributed 50 firefighters to bolster the Greek efforts to control the blaze, but the conflagration was still raging out of control late Tuesday.

President Vladimir Putin of Russia said his country was prepared to help but did not elaborate what shape this assistance would take.

The area around Mati, on the east coast, is popular with well-to-do Athens dwellers who built summer holiday homes there because it is surrounded by normally verdant forest and rolling hills within easy access to the Aegean Sea.

Dry and very hot conditions have turned the area into a potential tinderbox, authorities have said.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras declared a state of emergency and triggered the EU Civil Protection Mechanism requesting back-up to fight the flames.

European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides expressed his sorrow for Greece and thanked Cyprus, Spain and Bulgaria for offering planes, firefighters and vehicles.
New Delhi : India and Rwanda reviewed their entire gamut of bilateral ties and signed eight agreements across different sectors during the course of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to the East African nation, the External Affairs Ministry said on Tuesday.

"During the talks, both leaders reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation and expressed satisfaction at the excellent relations between Rwanda and India in the overall context of Strategic Partnership," the ministry said in a statement following delegation-level talks chaired by Modi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Kigali on Monday.

Ties between India and Rwanda were elevated to that of a Strategic Partnerhsip in January last year.

According to the statement, Modi highlighted the fact that Rwanda would house the first of the 18 new resident Indian missions to be opened in Africa in 2018 and this underlined the importance attached by India to its relations with Rwanda.

Stating that India and Rwanda were looking forward to further elevate their ties, Modi, while addressing the media with Kagame following Monday's talks, said: "This (opening the new mission) will not only facilitate close communication among our governments, it will also help in consular, passport, visa and other facilities."

Agreements in the area of trade, defence, dairy cooperation, agriculture, culture, leather and allied sectors and two lines of credit worth $200 million for expansion of the special economic zone and irrigation scheme were signed.

"Prime Minister appreciated the effective utilisation of $400 million lines of credit extended to Rwanda in the last few years," the ministry statement said.

In his address, Modi appreciated the steps for peace that have been adopted in Rwanda following the mass genocide in that country in 1994.

Around 500,000 to one million people were killed in the mass genocide against the Tutsi people by the majority Hutu government of that time.

"For us, it is a matter pride that India is a trusted development partner of Rwanda," Modi said.

"We have been helping Rwanda in capacity building, infrastructure development and ICT," he said.

According to the ministry statement, Modi complemented President Kagame for the important role played by him as African Union Chair in finalising the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement that has been signed by 44 countries as of March 21, 2018.

"He expressed hope that his leadership will guide the African Union in furthering economic integration of the continent," it stated.

"He indicated India's willingness to continue to strengthen relations with African Union."

Following the talks, Modi also interacted with the Indian community in Rwanda and invited them to visit India for the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas to be held in January 2019.

Members of the Indian community of neighbouring states had also travelled for this interaction with the Prime Minister.

On Tuesday, the second and concluding day of his visit, Modi visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial honouring the memory of the 1994 genocide victims and laid a wreath there.

Thereafter, he visited the Rwera model village and gifted 200 diary cows to the villagers as part of the Rwandan government's Girinka programme for economic development.

Girinka was initiated by President Kagame in response to the alarmingly high rate of childhood malnutrition and as a way to accelerate poverty reduction and integrate livestock and crop farming.

Speaking on the occasion, Modi appreciated the Girinka programme, and Kagame's initiative in this regard.

According to the External Affairs Ministry, he said people in India too would be pleasantly surprised to see the cow being given such importance as a means of economic empowerment in villages, in faraway Rwanda.

The Prime Minister also announced gifting of 100,000 books of the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) books, setting up of the Entrepreneurship Development Centre in Kigali which would provide training to youth of Rwanda for enhancing their skills in a variety of sectors, fully funded 25 slots for short-term training in the field of dairy production and processing, contribution of $10,000 each to the Kigali Genocide Memorial and the Imbuto Foundation run by the First Lady of Rwanda towards the education of the girl child.

Modi later addressed the India-Rwanda Business and called for boosting economic ties between the two countries.

"Our nations can do a lot together," he said. "There are several opportunities in rural development and small scale industries."

He said that though India is growing exponentially, "our mantra is 'sabka saath sabka vikas'".

"We will grow but we will also help those grow, who are with us," the Prime Minister said. "We will walk together."

Modi reached Rwanda on Monday in the first leg of his five-day, three-nation tour of Africa that will also take him to Uganda and South Africa.

This was the first ever Prime Ministrial visit from India to Rwanda.

This is also Modi's second visit to mainland Africa after he visited Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya in 2016.
Kampala : Prime Minister Narendra Modi has thanked the Ugandan people and government for providing home to the Indian-origin community after the troubles in the past in the East African country.

"There were troubled times in the past but the Ugandan government and people did not let you leave," Modi said while addressing an Indian community event here on Tuesday night.

He expressed his gratitude to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who was also present, in this context

In early August 1972, then President of Uganda Idi Amin ordered the expulsion of his country's Asian minority, giving them 90 days to leave the country.

At the time of the expulsion, there were approximately 80,000 individuals of South Asian descent, most of whom were Gujaratis.

Speaking at the event, Yoseveni addressed the Indian community as "my Indian tribe" and appreciated its contributions to Uganda's development.

"Many of my Indian tribe left Uganda in 1972," he said. "This time they would have been 200,000."

There are around 30,000 persons of Indian origin in Uganda today.

Yoseveni lauded the contributions of the Indian community in his country saying they have made their mark in its economic and business landscape.

"You have been able to create employment and expand the tax base of the government," he said.

Reminding the 10,000-strong gathering of their Indian roots, the Indian Prime Minister said: "You might not have remembered from where you must have come from India, but you have India in your hearts."

Modi arrived here earlier on Tuesday from Rwanda on the second leg of his five-day, three-nation tour of Africa that will also take him to South Africa.

This is the first Prime Ministerial visit from India to Uganda in over 20 years.

For Modi, this is his second visit to this East African nation after his visit in 2007 as Gujarat Chief Minister.
Jerusalem : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the UN Middle East Envoy Nickolay Mladenov met here on Monday with Gaza on the top of their agenda.

The meeting between Netanyahu and the envoy took place amidst escalating violence along the fence separating Israel and the besieged Palestinian enclave, Xinhua reported.

Netanyahu's office said in a statement that the two discussed "regional issues and the situation in Gaza".

Mladenov updated Netanyahu on his talks with the Islamic Hamas movement and Egypt to achieve calm along the fence and on humanitarian initiatives to ease the crisis in Gaza.

During the weekend, Mladenov helped to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip.

Gaza Strip has suffered a humanitarian crisis in the wake of a blockade imposed by Israel since 2007.

The recent round of violence has cost the lives of at least 135 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier.
US-based Emerson, a global technology company, has completed the purchase of Aventics, a global leader in smart pneumatics technologies that power machine and factory automation applications.



The acquisition will significantly expand the companys reach in the growing $13 billion fluid automation market and solidify Emersons automation technology presence in Europe, said a statement from the company.



Aventics is a strong complement to Emersons capabilities and solutions in key discrete and hybrid automation markets, it said.



The acquisition creates one of the broadest portfolios of fluid control and pneumatic devices that incorporate sensing and monitoring capabilities to improve system uptime and performance, enhance safety and optimize energy usage, it added.



With central offices in Laatzen, Germany, Aventics has approximately 2,100 employees globally with five manufacturing locations.



Emerson plans to address the financial impact of this acquisition within its third quarter earnings release and conference call scheduled for August 7, it stated.  TradeArabia News Service
Lucknow : Two alleged Bangladeshi terror operatives were arrested from Uttar Pradesh's Noida on Tuesday in a joint operation by the Uttar Pradesh's Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) and the West Bengal Police, an official said.

"A team is interrogating the operatives," an Uttar Pradesh Police spokesman told IANS. Identified as Musharraf and Rubel, the two operatives of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, based in Bangladesh.

Inspector General of Police, ATS, Aseem Arun informed that the two were arrested from city's Surajpur, adding their presence came to be known after the ATS had intercepted a telephone call few days back following which police zeroed down on them.

Officials indicated that a deadly attack was being planned either on August 15 or during the 'Kanwar Yatra' beginning July 28.

The two are being brought to Lucknow for further interrogation about their associates and plans.
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London-headquartered SDX Energy, an oil company with focus on North Africa, said that a gas discovery has been made at its SD-3X well in the South Disouq Concession, Egypt.



The SD-3X well was drilled to a total depth of 7,842 feet and encountered 32.6 feet of net conventional natural gas pay in the Abu Madi and Kafr el Sheik horizons, with an average porosity in the pay sections of 21.7 per cent.



The SD-3X well will now be completed as a producer in the Abu Madi horizon and then tested after the drilling rig has moved off location, a company statement said.



In order to optimise the potential recovery from the SD-3X well, the Abu Madi horizon will be completed and produced initially before re-entering the well to complete and produce the Kafr el Sheik horizon.



The Abu Madi testing is anticipated to commence between 30 and 45 days after the rig departs, depending on the availability of testing equipment. Assuming a successful test in the Abu Madi, it is anticipated that the well will be connected to the infrastructure located adjacent to the original SD-1X discovery, where production start-up is anticipated late in the 4th quarter of 2018.



Paul Welch, president and CEO of SDX, said: The discovery of gas in both the Abu Madi and Kafr el Sheik horizons is a very positive outcome for the SD-3X well. As demonstrated by the Ibn Yunus discovery earlier this year, the Kafr el Sheik horizon is an excellent quality productive sequence. The SD-3X discovery has confirmed that this horizon is extensively present throughout the concession.



Welch said the company will now analyse the data from all four wells drilled in the South Disouq campaign, as well as reprocessing and inverting the existing 3D seismic we have on the concession.



Upon interpretation of this data, and completion of the new 3D survey later this year, we expect to identify further Abu Madi and Kafr el Sheik prospectivity for drilling in 2019 and 2020. With our drilling activities completed, we will now focus on the completion of the South Disouq processing facility and pipeline infrastructure with a view to achieving first production by the end of 2018, he added.  TradeArabia News Service


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The Embassy of Sudan in Saudi Arabia today announced the opening of its first visa application centre in Riyadh in partnership with VFS Global, an outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions worldwide.



In a joint statement, the Embassy further said that it would not be accepting visa application submissions at its offices anymore and applicants only need to approach VFS Global to process visas to Sudan.



Apart from visa processing, VFS Global will also offer legalisation services at the Sudan visa application centre.



Opening the new visa application centre officially, the Ambassador of Sudan to Saudi Arabia, Abdulbasit Badawi Al-Sanousi, said: This is the first time Sudan has joined hands with a third party to outsource visa processing. Indeed, we are glad to partner with VFS Global acclaimed for its outsourced visa processing expertise across the world. For us, Riyadh visa application centre is the first and we would look forward to opening many more such centres across the world.



The VFS Global Sudan visa application centre in Riyadh is located on the fourth Floor, Al Yamama Centre, Al Murabia, King Fahad Road, Amr Ibn Al As Street.



In his statement at the inaugural function, Vinay Malhotra, regional group COO for Middle East, South Asia & China, VFS Global, said: Sudan is one of our newest client governments and represents yet another milestone in the growth of VFS Global which now serves 60 governments, offering our expertise in visa processing services across our centers, globally. The Sudan visa application centre will offer a new and fresh experience to applicants with greater comfort and convenience. Being a customer-centric entity, VFS Global will ensure that applicants get a seamless experience while applying for visas.



Managed by professionals trained to provide secure and time-efficient processing of entry permit requirements, VFS Global Sudan visa application centre comes with the convenience of an easily approachable location and automated queue governance for smooth flow of applicants. Potential applicants can also access a dedicated website for information on visa categories, requirements, check-list and applicable fees.



Applicants can also opt for the comfort of a Premium Lounge for more personalised service.



VFS Global staff is well trained in the secure handling of passports, documents and personal information. Door-step delivery of passport is yet another service that VFS Global offers. - TradeArabia News Service
BROOKFIELD  The former Brookfield superintendent and the Board of Education could finally go to trial over the firing of the school chief.

A trial management conference is planned for next Tuesday, while jury selection is scheduled to begin Aug. 7.

David Monastersky, attorney for the Board of Education, said it is unlikely the suit will be settled before then.

It's always possible a case can settle, but I don't think its going to happen in this case, he said, adding he has not heard from former Superintendent Anthony Bivonas attorney in some time.

Bivona sued in August 2015 after the Board of Education fired him in October 2014 for poorly overseeing the districts finances. During Bivonas tenure, two staff members were accused of stealing thousands of dollars from the schools.

In his suit, Bivona claims he had no knowledge that Art Colley, the former school finance director, had taken money from the student activity fund for his personal use.

Monastersky countered that the district had just cause to fire Bivona.

Colley used district money to cover his daughters rent and pay off more than $7,000 on his personal credit card, according to court documents. Police also said he paid an unauthorized $10,000 cash severance to a former employee he had fired.

Colley also gave school finance employee at the time, Elizabeth Kerekes, a side contract to pay for her college courses and her childs day care at the Brookfield YMCA.

In a June 2017 filing, Monastersky said it was Bivonas job to supervise Colleys work and that the two met frequently to discuss the budget.

It was the responsibility of the Boards business manager to conduct the day-to-day managing of the districts budget, but it was the Superintendents responsibility to oversee the process, the document said.

In January court documents, Bivonas attorney Peter Goselin argues the board itself thought the superintendent was highly qualified and finished the 2013-14 school year with a surplus because of his leadership. Colley also admitted that he did not tell Bivona about his actions.

Goselin did not return requests for comment.

The board placed Bivona on administrative leave in May 2014 and fired him after several public termination hearings.

A judge last month dismissed Bivonas claims that the board had acted in bad faith when it fired him. In a January court filing, Goselin had said the board had caved to public pressure to sack the superintendent, but the judge said there was no evidence to support this.

Monastersky said jury selection should take two to three days.

Colley and Kerekes were caught after auditors in 2014 found the district had overspent its budget by more than $1 million over two years.

Colley eventually was given a three-year suspended sentence and probation. He was required to contribute $1,000 to the student activity fund and perform 100 hours of community service during those three years.

Meanwhile, Kerekes was granted an accelerated rehabilitation program that required her to repay the district more than $26,000 and keep a clean record for two years, so that her charges could be wiped from her record.

Bivona was hired as superintendent in 2007 after holding the same position in Region 8. Superintendent John Barile took over for Bivona and has stayed at the job since.
NEW FAIRFIELD  The wife of a man deported to Guatemala earlier this year has created a GoFundMe page for help in relocating her family abroad.

The Reunite the Colindres Family page, created last week by former New Fairfield resident Joel Colindres wife Samantha, shows the family has raised nearly $9,000 of their $15,000 goal to make the international move. The family has not disclosed the location of the move for safety reasons, the page says.

Samantha Colindres said in an update that the decision to relocate herself and the couples two young children was difficult but reuniting the family seemed like the right choice, especially considering a recent denial of one of Joels appeals. The denial means that a five-year bar on Joel re-entering the United States cannot be overturned and that unless something else happens with the case, new waivers cannot be filed until 2023, the post states.

With this heavy weight of uncertainty finally lifted, I can for once finally say, after a year of turmoil, heartache, grief, extreme stress....that I am at peace with our decision to reunite our family abroad, Samantha wrote.

Thank you to all of you that have donated to our new page for our relocation. I am blown away by this amazing generosity and the messages of support that have come flowing in are overwhelming, she continued. It breaks my heart to leave behind all this support, especially my family and friends. My heart aches everyday to know my parents wont get to be as involved with their grandchildren as they are now. But we NEED Joel. The love of a husband and father cannot be replaced.

Joel Colindres returned to Guatemala on Jan. 31 after he was ordered by immigration officials to leave the country by that date. He had previously won a temporary stay of an earlier deportation order last summer.

Colindres had requested a stay on the second deportation order but it was denied. His attorney, federal lawmakers and supporters had rallied to keep Colindres in the country while his request for asylum moves through the courts.

When he first came to the United States in 2004, Colindres has said, a mix-up with paperwork led him to miss a court date, resulting in an order for his removal. The order has created a barrier in seeking legal residency based on his 2010 marriage to Samantha.

Colindres has an appeal pending with the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on his request to revisit the order of removal. The request argues that his life is in danger in Guatemala, where three of his family members were murdered in the last year.

aquinn@newstimes.com
Carol Kaliff / Hearst Connecticut Media

RIDGEFIELD  High school student and National School Walkout organizer Lane Murdock has been selected for a year-long Giffords Courage Fellowship.

The fellowship, in its first year, will bring 28 student leaders to Washington DC this week for a three-day team building and organizing workshop. The program will then participate in activities throughout the year that will give them the resources and opportunities to improve gun safety laws where they live, a release said.
BRIDGEPORT - A Stratford woman claims she was sexually assaulted in a Shelton spa by an unlicensed masseur who was working there.

In the lawsuit filed in Superior Court here, the 36-year-old woman, whose name is being withheld by Hearst Connecticut Media, states that Hyung Kim, a Korean citizen, sexually assaulted her on May 27, 2016, while she was at the Coco Spa.

She is suing both Kim and the Bridgeport Avenue spa.

Our claim is that this company hired an individual who was unlicensed and didnt supervise him and the result is that he used this business as a tool to assault woman, said the Stratford womans lawyer, Arthur Laske III, of Fairfield.

Kim, 55, of Fresh Meadows, N.Y., was arrested in July 2016 after police said half a dozen local women, including the Stratford woman, claimed he sexually assaulted them at the Coco Spa.

Charged with multiple counts of fourth-degree sexual assault and failure to have a massage license, he is free on $40,000 bond while he awaits trial in Superior Court in Derby.

The lawsuit filed by the Stratford woman is the first to be filed by any of the alleged victims.

The lawyer for the spa did not return calls for comment. A woman reached at the spa said the owner was not available for comment.

We are still reviewing the merits of the claims, said Joseph Andriola, the lawyer representing Kim in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit states that the woman went to the spa and was directed to a room for a massage by Kim who was introduced as a license massage therapist. Kim began to massage the womans back, asking her if she had a boyfriend.

The suits stated that he prodded her to remove her underwear in his supposed effort to massage her sciatic area but once she did he groped her breasts and then, spreading her legs, made unwanted contact with her genital area.

When Kim ceased his unwanted sexual touching of the woman she attempted to quickly get dressed. However Kim told the woman she needed to stretch and without her consent he pushed her over the massage table and pulled her leg upwards, the suit continues. The woman only got him to stop touching her by telling him she needed water. She then gathered her personal items and immediately left the spa.

The unwanted physical and sexual touching perpetrated by the defendant Kim was shocking to the plaintiff, caused her great anxiety and fear, and made her feel physically and emotionally violated, disgusted, traumatized and powerless, the suit states.
R Hotels has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with City University College of Ajman (Cuca) to provide its students with an insight into the professional internship and job placement opportunities across the group's seven properties in Dubai and Ajman.



R Hotels managing director, Sumair Tariq, said: It is a great privilege to extend this alliance with City University College of Ajman. At R Hotels, we believe in nurturing great talent and recognise that gaining experience in an organization not only provides students with insight into their chosen field and how business is done but can also give them a competitive edge when applying for jobs. We are also pleased to offer permanent employment to Cuca students, as their graduates present good talent pool.



Imran Khan, president of Cuca, said: At Cuca, we believe in fostering a learning environment which encourages innovation and entrepreneurship, in line with UAE vision 2021. Working with R Hotels will allow our students to get internship and job placement opportunities with an organisation which shares similar values on professionalism and following best practices in the industry." - TradeArabia News Service


But for one nagging detail, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's speech on Sunday about Iran stands as one of the finest moments in U.S.-Iran relations since the 1979 revolution. Unfortunately, that detail is not minor: It's the man Pompeo reports to, President Donald Trump.

First, the good news about the speech, titled "Supporting Iranian Voices": The secretary named names - not only shameful leaders like Sadeq Larijani, the head of Iran's judiciary, who stands accused of embezzling more than $300 million, but also a Sufi dissident known only as Mr. Salas, who was hanged by the regime last month. He also praised successful Iranian-Americans such as Makan Delrahim, an assistant attorney general. At a time when Iranian citizens are organizing protests and strikes about everything from corruption to drought, Pompeo's message was perfectly timed. It will resonate with a population that feels cheated out of the economic boon promised from the 2015 nuclear deal, and it's a reminder that America has no quarrel with Iranians, only their leaders.

Another strength of Pompeo's speech is that he did not directly call for "regime change," a phrase that implies the next Iranian revolution will come from America, not Iran. America's approach, Pompeo said, will focus on going after the regime's unaccountable leaders, not the Iranian people.

And now for the bad news: Pompeo's boss is a man who loves to cut deals. And even though Trump's all-caps tweet Sunday evening would appear to foreclose such a deal, if past is prelude his threats are part of a strategy to prod Iran's leaders to negotiate.

The obvious parallel here is with North Korea. Last year Trump threatened "fire and fury like the world has never seen" against Pyongyang's "little rocket man." Trump later invited Ji Seon-ho, a North Korean defector who endured torture and deprivation, to this year's State of the Union. And yet in June, Trump met with the man who oversees the very regime that Trump had called "depraved" just months earlier, even fawning about how much Kim Jong Un's people really love him.

This is the danger now for the Pompeo approach to Iran. If Iran agrees to talks after crippling sanctions are re-imposed in November, would this mean the U.S. is no longer interested in exposing the larceny of the Iranian regime? Would Pompeo's demand that Iranian leaders treat their people with dignity go the way of Trump's declaration of solidarity with Koreans who have endured their country's gulags?

Iranian officials claim that the Trump administration approached them several times last year asking for a meeting between Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, and Trump has said as much himself. At his press conference with Kim in Singapore in June, Trump said: "I hope at the appropriate time after the sanctions kick in and they are brutal on what we put on Iran. I hope they come back and negotiate a real deal."

Negotiations are not, in and of themselves, a bad thing. The worry is that in any discussions, the emphasis on the regime's corruption and abuse would be lost. It's not an unwarranted concern: The 12 demands that Pompeo made of Iran in a May speech focused on Iran's support for terror, its nuclear program and its meddling in the affairs of its neighbors. They did not include benchmarks for Iranian democracy or human rights.

So far, the Trump administration's support for human rights is as convenient and transactional as the rest of the president's foreign policy. This stands in contrast to the approach of Ronald Reagan, who negotiated arms control and trade agreements with the Soviet Union while simultaneously pressing Moscow to free its dissidents.

Pompeo is an admirer of Reagan. His speech on Sunday was delivered at the Reagan presidential library in California. But Pompeo is not the president. And Donald Trump has proven that any speeches about freedom coming from his administration - even principled ones such as Pompeo's - are not anchored in conviction. Rather, they are rhetorical maneuvers to pressure autocrats to submit to better terms.

---

Lake is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. He was the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast, and covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun and UPI.
Latin America's caudillos, or charismatic strongmen, have always made good muses. The agonizing final days of liberator-turned-authoritarian Simon Bolivar inspired Gabriel Garcia Marquez to write "The General in His Labyrinth." Paraguayan dictator Jose Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia was the template for Augusto Roa Bastos' megalomaniacal tyrant in "I, the Supreme," while Argentina's Juan Peron fathered a small library of fevered tales.

So how will Mexico's incoming President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador be portrayed? Due to take office in December, the self-styled populist redeemer is still a working draft. But few leaders have begun their mandate with such a keen sense of narrative destiny as the man Mexicans known as AMLO.

Lopez Obrador, who once cast himself as a comic book avenger, draws devotees like a Pentecostal preacher, and in his victory address dramatically promised Mexicans, "I won't let you down." If his compatriots have yet to discover what sort of leader they elected, they've long imagined him. "AMLO has been in the minds of Mexicans for quite some time," Ilan Stavans, a Mexican-American author and scholar of Latin American literature at Amherst College, told me.

As much as politics - his term as Mexico City mayor, his two prior failed runs for president - personal tragedy has shaped his life. His first wife died of lupus, and he watched his younger brother die while brandishing a pistol. "He's a living, messianic figure, whose landslide win can be seen as a consequence of what has been happening in the country and in its literature," said Stavans.

So perhaps it's no wonder that Mexico's intellectuals and especially its writers have long been fascinated by Lopez Obrador, and will have a hand in shaping if not his government then surely the way he will remembered. Legendary journalist Elena Poniatowska once declared she loved Lopez Obrador more than she did Pope John Paul; at the other extreme, historian Enrique Krauze dismissed him as a tropical Messiah. A passel of authors joined his campaign, none more enthusiastically than novelist Paco Ignacio Taibo II, touted to be Lopez Obrador's secretary of culture and arts, who threatened to expropriate companies that attempt to boycott the incoming government.

More broadly, the anguished, hopeful, corrupt and violence-torn Mexico that has fired the imagination of a new generation of writers is the same country now in thrall to the graying, larger-than-life caudillo, and already turning his campaign offices into a wishing well.

Yet Mexico's contemporary authors also chafe at the labels once favored by the literary establishment and have little use for banners or founding myths. If Octavio Paz, Carlos Fuentes and other founding figures of last century's literary boom told stories that puzzled over national character and identity, Mexico's younger authors appear to have no boundaries or agenda.

Their rejection of the old aesthetic orthodoxy mirrors the country's civic uprising against the political establishment. "The overbearing literary quest for identity was very much connected to how the Institutional Revolutionary Party has ruled Mexico since the early 20th century, dictatorially, a force for political status quo, that repressed democratic voices," said Stavans. "Mexican literature has been shaking this off for a while now."

Like its democracy, Mexican literature today is "loud, messy, courageous, and has no discernible direction," said Stavans. Now writers help themselves to the prevailing angst and drama - drug cartels, immigrants, graft - but remain unconcerned with Mexicanness or spinning emblematic tales. Mexico may serve them as a canvas, but mostly to paint an intimate, usually stark but ultimately nonpolitical picture.

Anthropologist Alberto William Sanchez labeled them Mexico's "post-national writers," whose stories are driven by a kind of "dirty realism," that are "less collective cause and more matter-of-fact." Their stories rarely have tidy endings and many are unrelentingly dystopian.

Although Juan Manuel Servin's 2007 post-apocalyptic novel "At the End, the Void" is apparently set in a ruined Mexico City, he never names the national capital. In Heriberto Yepez's "A.B.U.R.T.O.", a novelized version of the actual confessions of the assassin of a presidential candidate, the hemisphere's biggest metropolis is described as a terminal condition: "It is not only an urban area; it is a plague."

"I'm not your Peter. To be frank, I have trouble believing there is a reason to all that surrounds us," protests the bespectacled wannabe writer in Ilan Stavans' and Santiago Cohen's "Angelitos" (Little Angels), a 2018 graphic novel about the urban shanties where a quixotic barrio priest tries to rescue street kids. "I often wake up believing the universe is an abyss ruled by a senseless, buffoonish master."

Emiliano Monge's 2015 "Las Tierras Arrasadas" (roughly, "Razed Lands") is a deep dive into the unspeakable plight of immigrants, less a human rights pamphlet than a shriek against barbarity. Literature won't change the world, Monge told an interviewer, "but it has the ability and responsibility to reveal the things in the world that may be changed."

With his refrain of anticorruption and cant of social redemption, Lopez Obrador might seem a character from an earlier tale. His references are to Mexico's bygone glories, and he models his plans for government on two former presidents: the mythic Lazaro Cardenas, who nationalized the oil industry, and Benito Juarez, an astute politician remembered for his fiscal sobriety and constitutional reforms.

Critics like Krauze have argued that Lopez Obrador resembles neither of his idols: He's supposedly too much of a hothead to channel Cardenas and too much the populist to deliver Suarez's balanced economy. But the key to Lopez Obrador's triumph may be not so much his ability to repeat the glories of the past as to evoke their mythic power, and so restore Mexico's bludgeoned sensibilities.

That's a narrative Mexico's chroniclers can appreciate. "A Greek chorus called for the transformation of a country with more than 50 million poor, 99 percent impunity for crimes and the world's highest murder rate for journalists. Ideology mattered less than devotion," novelist Juan Villoro wrote of the crowds who thronged Lopez Obrador's final rally. "The 2018 Mexican elections were a story of terror with a fairytale ending."

As in all fables, the secret of Mexico's next government will be in the telling. Like his sketchy plans for the economy, Lopez Obrador has been coy on foreign policy - astutely so on the United States, cooling his campaign rhetoric against Donald Trump, and more worrisomely on Venezuela and Nicaragua, whose thuggish regimes he has avoided criticizing.

- - -

Margolis is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Latin and South America. He was a reporter for Newsweek and is the author of "The Last New World: The Conquest of the Amazon Frontier."
After more than six weeks waiting, Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Obsitnik was finally approved Wednesday for a $1.35 million campaign grant from the state.

While we wish the process was faster, we are pleased with the outcome, said Dan Debicella, Obsitniks campaign manager, in a statement. Our campaign can now fully focus on informing voters on Steves background as a veteran, high tech job creator, and outsider and his plan to create 300,000 jobs in the next eight years.

The delayed funding meant Obsitnik, a Westport tech entrepreneur had to dip into his own pockets to keep his campaign afloat or be handicapped against his four primary opponents. Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, the party-endorsed candidate, and Tim Herbst, of Trumbull both received their public financing grants in June. David Stemerman of Greenwich and Bob Stefanowki of Madison are pouring their personal wealth into their campaigns.

State law does not allow candidates participating in the Citizens Elections Program to lend money to their own campaigns, but they can spend money directly and seek reimbursement later. Obsitnik raised over $250,000 in increments under $100 to qualify for his grant.

Part of the hold up on Obsitniks grant was a State Elections Enforcement Commission investigation into his fundraising and his campaign's relationship with an independent group set up to support his candidacy.

The SEEC, which has issued an investigative subpoena, will look deeper into Obsitnik's connection with FixCT Inc., an independent group that has raised $137,000 to support him. The full investigation could take months.

The state law barring coordination between independent groups and campaigns prohibits the sharing of vendors. Records on file with the SEEC indicate that Obsitnik and FixCT had at least one consultant in common, Connect Strategy Communications of Dallas. Obsitniks campaign has said Connect Strategy was not employed by FixCT and Obsitnik at the same time.

emunson@hearstmediact.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson
The crowded race to be Connecticuts governor has captured the states attention, but the outcome of the primaries for lieutenant governor could have big implications for both parties come November.

Three Republicans are vying for the second-in-command post and it could be anyones game on primary day, Aug. 14.

State Sen. Joe Markley, 61, the partys endorsed lieutenant governor candidate, is the most conservative in the ring. In the Senate since 2010, he would eliminate the state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities and is staunchly pro-life.

Markley, of Southington, takes a hands-off approach to governance and once proposed legislation to eliminated the state requirement to fluoridate public drinking water. Hes often been the lone no vote in the Senate, and argued its not for government to decide on issues like a yes means yes policy for cases of sexual assault on college campuses.

In reliably blue Connecticut, some Republicans are worried that Markleys brand of conservatism could be a turn-off for the unaffiliated voters in the general election. Republicans are outnumbered in the state and need to pull in middle-of-the-road voters in order to win.

If I were a Republican master strategist, I would try and make sure my lieutenant governor at the very least didnt alienate voters, said Ronald Schurin, an associate professor of political science at the University of Connecticut. Its hard to imagine Markley bringing in voters. The people in the middle who Republicans need to attract will not vote for Sen. Markley so that should be a concern.

But voters in the partys August primary are often the more conservative segment of the party, so the odds may be in Markleys favor to win the nomination, Schurin said.

Schurin said its likely Democrats will make an issue of Markleys conservatism  the lieutenant governor presides over the senate and provides tie-breaking votes when necessary  and be quick to point out how often lieutenant governors have been asked to step up and fill the governors seat.

Markley isnt worried about attacks on his conservative values.

I represent the state Senate seat that Chris Murphy held not too many years before me, Markley said. So I think Ive shown in a district that is Democratic by nature, Im able to win and win by a big margin. Part of my political conviction is smaller government and creating the circumstances that lead to economic growth, and thats what people want.

Nicely in the middle

Darien First Selectman Jayme Stevenson, 56, has taken to marketing herself as the middle ground of the Republican party.

She argues that she would have been the party-endorsed candidate had it not been for the rogue campaign of New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart who switched from the governors race to the lieutenant governors race on the eve of the convention.

Stevenson favors reasonable gun laws, supports a womans right to choose and is a vocal advocate for pay equity and womens rights  she said shes faced her fair share of sexism and has four daughters. If she becomes the lieutenant governor, she plans to devote substantial time to finding ways the state can combat the opioid crisis. Stevenson, who has served as first selectman since 2011, was re-elected in 2016, the same year Republican-dominated Darien voted for Hillary Clinton.

I like to say Im a compassionate Republican, Stevenson said. I stand very nicely in the middle of Joe and Erin ... Hes not at all reflective of the general population of Connecticut and what they want in a leader.

Bringing diversity

Stewart, who was late to jump into the governors race and even later to enter the lieutenant governors race, and has been an advocate for ticket diversity, playing up her age and gender as imperative to Republican success.

Stewart, 31, said she felt it was important for the Republican party to have a millennial voice  specifically hers  this year.

I dont look like the typical politician, and Im OK with that, she said. The Republican party needs diversity on its ticket and thats a fact. Its not the only thing that matters, but it is important, especially in Connecticut.

Even so, Stewart knows primary day will be an uphill battle.

Weve done polling, Stewart said. We have work to do. Theres no doubt about it. But its a three-way race for lieutenant governor.

Stewart turned in her application for the state-funded Citizens Election grant on Friday, the last day to do so. She said she wont drop out of the race if she doesnt receive the grant.

I am not even considering that as an option right now, Stewart said. We will continue on the path that weve been continuing on thus far, and we would continue fundraising as we have been ... I think we would be just fine.

Connecticut is unusual in that its one of only a handful of states where the governor and lieutenant governor are separate on the primary ballot, but forced to team up for the general election.
By IANS:

Ghaziabad, July 24: A 25-year-old Muslim man was allegedly beaten up by a group of people at a Ghaziabad court where he had gone to marry a Hindu woman, police said on Tuesday.

Sahil, who works at a Noida firm, went to the court to register his marriage with Preeti Singh on Monday afternoon when the crowd attacked them, Sanjay Panday, the Station House Officer (SHO) of Sihani Gate police station, told IANS.

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The police personnel at the court saved the man from the attackers.

We have registered an FIR against two men  Vinod and Navneet  and several unknown persons. No arrest has been made so far, Panday said.

Sahil, who hails from Bhopal, sustained minor injuries while the woman, from Bijnore in Uttar Pradesh, escaped unhurt.
The South Korea company that claimed discovery of $130 billion in Russian gold from a shipwreck appears to be stock and cryptocurrency scams using the stolen location of a shipwreck.

In 2000, Dong-Ah Construction said they were the first to find the wreck and also said there was gold. Dong-Ah produced no gold and did nothing to get the ship.

In 2003, the government-funded Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST) said they had located the wreck. KIOST tried and failed to raise the wreck.

A consultant to KOIST took the actual location data, geological and marine info to the Shinil Group.

Shinil launched the Shinil Gold Coin cryptocurrency and is using the ship as collateral.

The President of Shinil said he would buy Jeil Steel company. The shares of Jeil Steel went up 30% before there were denials and regulator involvement.

Historians also doubt the original stories of historical gold. The 5000 ton Russian ship would have had 1600 tons of coal to make its journey. It would also have had cannons and weapons. The ship also had its crew and their food and supplies.
An Oakland woman was stabbed to death on a San Francisco Bay Area BART platform Sunday night. This was the second BART related homicide of the weekend and the third fatal assault over five-days.

John Lee Cowell, 27, is the primary suspect in a double stabbing Sunday night that killed one woman and critically injured another at the MacArthur station. He has a history of violent crimes and homelessness.

Cowell is a transient based in Concord with a history of arrests. Cowell had arrests for assault with a deadly weapon and robbery. In 2016, the Kaiser Medical hospital in Richmond sought a restraining order against Cowell after he threatened to kill an employee. Cowell spent two years in prison after being sentenced for armed robbery and was released on parole four months ago.

He also had prior arrests in Alameda County for one case involving petty theft and another involving misdemeanor vandalism and misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance.

The Saturday Bay Fair attack victim was a 47-year-old homeless man, Don Stevens. Surveillance video revealed that Stevens was on the station platform around 1:20 a.m. Saturday when a suspect punched Stevens on the side of his head. As he fell, Stevens head hit the cement platform.

Abdul Bey got into a fight with Pittsburg resident Gerald Bisbee, 51, on July 18. Bisbee left the train with a bloody lip and small cut to the back of his knee. Bisbee later died from an infection to his knee.

Reported BART Crime Statistics

A total of 137 violent crimes were reported on BART through April compared with 150 for the same period in 2017. There were 92 robberies reported through April compared with 110 at the same point last year. While overall violent crime is down, aggravated assaults increased from 34 through April of 2017 to 43 for the same time frame this year.

Through April, BART police made 148 felony arrests and 410 misdemeanor arrests. Thats a 16.5% increase in felony arrests.

There is a BART Crimes website which tracks far more incidents of crime on BART. BART Crimes uses information scraped from daily emails and posted.

Homeless Problem in the Bay Area

In 2016, data shows that San Francisco had the second highest homeless population in the USA.

San Francisco leads the Bay Area in homelessness. They have nearly twice the number of homeless as San Jose and three times the number in Oakland. But statistics go beyond the Bay Area.

A graph shows San Francisco ranks second to New York in homelessness. There are 795 people per 100,000 residents. New York has 887, followed by Seattle with 487, and Philadelphia with 384.

In 2018, the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing said 7,500 people are currently homeless on the streets of San Francisco.

There are significant issues of mental illness, drug and alcohol addiction in the homeless population.

These problems then are on BART as well. It is common to see people injecting themselves with needles on BART. Harassment or encounters with transients and vagrants occurs on many BART rides.
A BART passengers tip ended a daylong police manhunt for the violent felon suspected of fatally stabbing a BART passenger and injuring her sister in a sudden, unprovoked attack on the MacArthur Station platform in Oakland.

Nia Wilson, 18, died on the platform Sunday night after a man identified as 27-year-old transient John Lee Cowell approached and quickly stabbed her and Lahtifa Wilson, 26, both in the neck, police said. The older sister was hospitalized overnight.

In my close to 30 years of police experience, it was probably one of the most vicious attacks that Ive seen, BART Police Chief Carlos Rojas said at a news conference Monday.

For Cowell, 21 hours on the lam ended almost exactly where they began: He was located on another BART train about 6:30 p.m. Monday, after at least two passengers tipped off police that they had spotted the suspected killer.

Rojas told reporters that about 5:45 p.m., officers received a phone call from a rider who believed the suspect was on a Richmond-bound train, traveling from Coliseum Station. Officers fanned out across the area Monday evening about 10 minutes after the initial phone call, but initially werent able to locate the suspect, Rojas said.

About that time, another rider told police that the suspect might have jumped onto an Antioch-bound train. Police intercepted that train at Pleasant Hill, and two BART officers located Cowell after searching the train.

Rojas said investigators will interview Cowell soon, but to date still have no details on a potential motive for the crime. At an earlier press conference, Rojas said there was no evidence to support suggestions that the crime was race-related, but police havent taken the possibility off the table. Cowell is white and the Wilsons are African American.

When asked how Cowell was able to slip away from police Sunday evening, Rojas described a prison-type attack, where Cowell surprised his victims from behind in rapid succession and fled.

It basically happened at the snap of the fingers, at the drop of the pin  that quick, he said. The officers were at the station, and as soon as they were notified, they reacted.

Rojas said Cowell wasnt armed when police approached him, and that Cowell was truthful when officers asked for his name and provided them with a California identification card.

It was a very uneventful type of contact, Rojas said Monday evening.

Rojas said BART video cameras captured images of the stabbing at around 9:45 p.m. Sunday and the assailant as he fled the platform and entered a BART parking lot, where he changed his clothes. He said police later recovered the knife in a construction lot.

Lahtifa Wilson described the night in an interview with ABC-7 News.

She and two sisters were on their way home from a family function, listening to music on a train and keeping to themselves. They stepped off their train at MacArthur and were just about to transfer to another train. One sister got on board and the other two waited as a woman with a child in a stroller exited the train. Thats when they were blindsided by a maniac.

For what? I dont know why, she said, standing with a bandage on the right side of her neck. And I looked back, and he was wiping off his knife and stood at the stairs and just looked  and from there on, I was just caring for my sister. I was in shock. ... I didnt know I was cut because I was paying more attention to my sister. But he just stood there, like it was nothing.

She said her sister called out for her: She just yelled my name  Tifa, Tifa, Tifa  and I said, I got you, baby, I got you.

He didnt know us; we didnt know him, Wilson said.

Hundreds of people gathered for a vigil Monday evening at MacArthur BART Station, bringing flowers, candles and incense. Some held signs demanding justice for the two sisters.

Solena Sampson squeezed her 16-year-old daughter as she paid her respects. Sampson said she didnt know Wilson or her family, but as a mother knew the fear of having a child who didnt come home.

It could have been anybodys daughter, she said.

By early evening, the event evolved into a protest of sorts, with attendees decrying the violence against the Wilson sisters and other youth in Oakland.

Daryle Allums, Nia Wilsons godfather and leader of Oaklands Stop Killing Our Kids group, said Wilsons death had shaken up the whole town.

He addressed concerns that the attack might be racially motivated. He urged the African American community to stand down right now and avoid jumping to conclusions.

We dont know if this was racist, Allums said. Lets get this information to find out what really happened. Lets find out the right facts to then be able to deal with this situation.

In May 2016, Cowell was convicted of felony second-degree robbery, according to court records. That year, a Kaiser hospital in Richmond obtained a restraining order against him after he allegedly repeatedly harassed and threatened staff members with physical harm.

Cowell was homeless and would often show up in the emergency department and make rather specific threats, said Jason Curliano, an attorney who represents the hospital.

A separate restraining order was filed against Cowell in 2015, but the circumstances were not immediately available.

Cowell was previously convicted of battery in June 2013, and of being under the influence of a controlled substance in March 2016. Both those incidents happened in Walnut Creek.

He also had several misdemeanor infractions of vandalism, petty theft and possession of a controlled substance on his record, according to Alameda County court records.

The slaying of Nia Wilson was the third possible homicide connected to BART in just five days.

A witness to the aftermath of Wilsons stabbing, Nicole Mikels, said she was on the train at MacArthur Station that the sisters had just exited and heard horrifying screams.

The sounds came from the direction of two young women Mikels had noticed when she boarded the train a few minutes earlier at Rockridge Station.

One sister was screaming for help, Mikels said. Her sister was bleeding profusely by the neck  her entire torso was covered in blood.

Two BART police officers were at the station when the attack happened and performed CPR on the younger sister, Mikels said. She said she and other passengers tried to to calm the older sister by massaging her legs and giving her water.

She said everything happened so fast, Mikels said. That it was a white male that had slit her sisters throat.

In a statement, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said there was no known motive for the crime.

The senseless and violent stabbing of two young women on a BART train platform last night has shaken our community, she said.

Schaaf said BART was the lead agency conducting the investigation, and that the Oakland Police Department has been in constant contact and providing support.

We all mourn in this moment and we will all work together to bring justice for Nia, her sister and their family, Schaaf said.

Ebony Monroe, a cousin of the victims, called Nia Wilson a beautiful, sweet person who loved her cousins, fashion and doing makeup. Monroe said the 18-year-old had a boyfriend who drowned in a lake two years ago, and that she was celebrating his birthday on Sunday.

She needs her justice. ... She was just an innocent kid, and she didnt deserve this. Monroe said. And he did this for no reason.

Wilsons family set up a GoFundMe page with a goal of raising $9,000. As of print deadline Monday, more than $17,000 had been raised.

Megan Cassidy, Michael Cabanatuan and Sarah Ravani are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com, mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com, sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidy @ctuan @SarRavani
ORANGE  People against President Donald Trumps nomination of conservative Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court held a protest two weeks ago in downtown New Haven  and now there is more local pushback, as the Connecticut chapter of the National Organization for Women is holding two events, one in Orange, to send the same message to lawmakers.

All are encouraged to attend the postcard-writing events and help the cause, organizers said.

The events, organized by CT NOW President Cindy Wolfe Boynton, a Democratic candidate for state representative in the 117th District, will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at High Plains community Center, and at the CT NOW office in Hartford, 1 Main St., Tower 4.

The session in Orange is in partnership with the Democratic Town Committee, Milford Speaks Out and the West Haven Progressive Action Network.

Boynton said the postcard writing sessions to key U.S. senators will include pens, stamps and addresses. Participants should just bring themselves.

Among those to whom the group will write are U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, both D-Conn., who oppose Kavanaughs appointment.

Postcards also will be sent to Democrats in red states facing re-election in November, including Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, who broke ranks with their party to vote against the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, Boynton said.

Numbers matter, which is why postcards, phone calls and emails are so important, Boynton said. Our voice is our power. I truly believe that, and that every voice matters.

Some fear Kavanaughs confirmation could impact the Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion.

Boynton said that by naming Kavanaugh as a nominee, Trump has set the table to repeal Roe v. Wade and advance an anti-woman agenda that will hurt women and families alike.

A womens right to choose and to have control over her health, and her body, are among those that really matter to me, Boynton said. Rights that are being challenged both nationally and in our state, and that we cannot allow to be rolled back.

Blumenthal said Tuesday he is grateful to all in Connecticut who are giving their time to join this deeply consequential fight.

This nomination is a call to action for all across Connecticut and America whose lives and livelihoods are deeply threatened by Judge Kavanaughs radical views on health care, gun violence, civil liberties, workers rights, the rule of law and more, Blumenthal said. We must mobilize and galvanize America  just as citizens in Milford and Orange are doing. It will take extraordinary efforts to make sure that the United States Supreme Court remains faithful to the rule of law. 

Kavanaugh, a Yale University and Yale Law School graduate, has since 2006 served as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He is former staff secretary to President George W. Bush and served in the office of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, who handled the investigation into former President William Clinton .

Trump said in announcing his nomination of Kavanaugh to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy that there is no one in America more qualified for this position and no one more deserving.

Judge Kavanaugh has impeccable credentials, unsurpassed qualifications, and a proven commitment to equal justice under the law.  Throughout legal circles, he is considered a judges judge, a true thought leader among his peers.

Trump went on to say of Kavanaugh in making the announcement: Hes a brilliant jurist with a clear and effective writing style, universally regarded as one of the finest and sharpest legal minds of our time. Judge Kavanaugh has devoted his life to public service. For the last 12 years, he has served as a judge on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals with great distinction, authoring over 300 opinions which have been widely admired for their skill, insight, and rigorous adherence to the law. Among those opinions are more than a dozen that the Supreme Court has adopted as the law of the land.

Boynton said Kavanaughs record shows that he has not served as a neutral and fair-minded jurist. His record and public statements show a staunch conservative who makes decisions based on his moral beliefs and not the rule of law and that Kavanaugh has shown a lack of commitment to racial justice and a hostility toward the rights of workers and women.
Would you move to a new city or town if it was willing to hand you $10,000 just for showing up? According to a new report on Livability, such incentives are surprisingly common across the United States. Um, what's the catch?

The only catch, if you could call it that, is that these areas are typically plagued with a dwindling or aging population. As Livability explains, "As baby boomers leave the workforce and the demand for skilled workers rises, some cities and states are facing an unexpected situation: They need more residents, and fast."

RIGHT AT HOME: Where to live in Houston for the coolest views of the city

To reel in these newcomers, officials have gotten pretty creativeoffering up help with down payments on homes, college tuition, even free plots of land. So if you're up for moving where you'll be showered with gratitude in some form or another, check out these seven options below, plus a glimpse of some of the real estate in these areas.

New Haven, Conn.

Yale University may be New Haven's claim to fame, but it's also developed a bad rep as being unaffordable to non-Ivy-league folks. That's why in 2014, the city implemented RE: New Haven, a program that promises new residents a $10,000 loan for a down payment on a house.

As if that weren't nice enough, it's also offering an additional $30,000 for energy-saving upgrades, and will even slap on up to $40,000 in scholarships to any in-state college for students who graduate from New Haven public schools.

According to realtor.com/local, the median price of a home in New Haven is $223,000and there are plenty of pretty homes on the market to pick from, including this Cape Cod ranch below.

Price: $194,900

To see more: View all New Haven real estate listings

Burlington, Vt.

Eager to rejuvenate its aging work force, Vermont is looking to attract more full-time residentsparticularly young tech workers, who can work remotely. The bait? These new residents will receive $10,000 over two years, which will help cover moving costs, computer software, internet access, and membership of co-working spaces.

The only catch here is that enrollment is limited in this new program, which will launch in January 2019: Only 100 lucky workers will be relocated in the first year, and 20 workers each year after that. The statewide program is not limited to just Burlington, but since the city is Vermont's largest, it's being marketed to reel in newcomers.

The median home price in Burlington is $330,000, and incoming residents can find a variety of properties big and small, like the Cape-style home featured below.

Price: $668,000

To see more: View all Burlington real estate listings

Baltimore, Md.

Like other Rust Belt cities, Baltimore has seen its population steadily decline over the past few decades. Yet while many have left, their gorgeous houses remain. A median-priced home in Baltimore is $210,000, much less than what youd see in Washington, DC; Boston; or New York City.

As a further incentive to real estate bargain hunters, the city launched its Buying Into Baltimore program, which offers $5,000 to first-time buyers looking to purchase anywhere in the city. Added bonus: If you work for the city, it will fork over another $5,000 for your first home. And if youre looking to channel your inner Chip and Joanna Gaines and find a fixer-upper, Baltimores Vacant to Value Booster program will give you $10,000 to purchase that home and renovate it.

Take a peek at this spacious brick colonial townhome for sale in Baltimore below.

Price: $254,500

To see more: View all Baltimore real estate listings

Hamilton, Ohio

After experiencing a major shortage of skilled laborers, this Ohio city drew up a plan to attract young college graduates. As of now, only 15% of Hamilton residents hold a college degree, and the city hopes that its Talent Attraction Program Scholarship will boost its number of college-educated residents.

Hamilton is offering up to $5,000 to new residents to help pay off student loans. To receive the cash, which is paid in installments of $200 for up to 25 months, applicants must live in designated areas in Hamilton and show proof of employment in the city.

If the cash weren't incentive enough, the housing market in Hamilton is relatively cheap. The median house price is $160,000, and recent grads can snag a sweet deal, such as this move-in ready traditional home below.

Price: $94,900

To see more: View all Hamilton real estate listings

Harmony, Minn.

In spite of harsh winters, this small Minnesota town has found a way to get visitors to stay: Newcomers to Harmony can receive up to $12,000 if they decide to build a house. Interested builders can fill out the one-page application, and the city will hand over the cash as soon as the exterior of the house is built.

For those not interested in starting from scratch, Harmony has a few homes on the market, including this remodeled five-bedroom house (below). According to realtor.com/local, the median price of a home in Harmony is $137,000.

Price: $164,900

To see more: View all Hamilton real estate listings

Ludington, Mich.

Have a killer startup idea but can't find the cash you need to make it happen? Moving to this Midwestern city may be the best decision for your business.

Not only is Ludington located right on beautiful Lake Michigan, but the breezy town of 8,500 is also looking to becoming a hub for small businesses and startups through its yearly Momentum Business Plan Competition, which awards one lucky winner a grand prize of $50,000.

The only stipulation is that the winner must relocate his or her business to Ludington, but considering that a median-priced home runs for $192,000, it's not a bad trade-off. Maybe next year's winner will move into the lakeside lot featured below.

Price: $495,000

To see more: View all Ludington real estate listings

Marne, Iowa

Only 120 residents live in this tiny town, located about an hour outside of Des Moines, so a decade ago, town officials created a program to attract people to the struggling workforce. Sadly, there are no homes for sale in Marne, so new residents receive an unusual gift: free land!

Marne is providing a free plot of land to new residents who want to build a house. The lots average about 9,600 square feetnot bad, considering other plots in the area have been valued for over $180,000. That's quite a perkso if a truly small-town vibe is your thing, give it some serious thought.

The post 7 Places Where You'd Actually Get Paid to Live (and Love It, Too) appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com.
WEST HAVEN  The citys fund balance decreased by $1.4 million  to an $18.14 million deficit  during the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2017, leaving a carry-over deficit of $2 million even after the city sold $16.14 million in deficit funding bonds, an audit shows.

That was the grim-but-expected news Monday night when auditor Joseph Centofanti of PKF OConnor Davies Wethersfield office presented the long-delayed audit for the 2016-17 fiscal year to the City Council.

Credit rating agencies generally expect municipalities to maintain fund balances of 10 percent to 15 percent of their total operating budget, Centofanti told the council. The city sold the deficit funding bonds in November 2017.

According to Centofanti, summarizing the audit, the net decrease in the fund balance was the result of lower-than-expected intergovernmental revenue, which fell $2.71 million short of the budgeted amount; lower-than-expected charges for services, which fell $807,071 short, with those overages partially offset by an expenditure budget underspent by $1.11 million.

A number of other accounts were underspent  including general government that spent $748,868 less than budgeted, public safety that spent $824,174 less than budgeted and education, which spent $807,071 less than budgeted.

But they were offset by benefits and insurance overages that totaled $1.56 million, the audit found.

The lower intergovernmental revenue figure largely was the result of the city budgeting the school systems special education grant as revenue, which later was credited directly to the Board of Education.

The police and City of West Haven Fire Department - Allingtown pension funds were funded at 84.13 percent and 22.27 percent, respectively, the audit found  something the state Municipal Accountability Review Board already discussed at its meeting last Tuesday.

While the pension funds remaining underfunded, their net position increased by a total of $7.57 million: $6.8 million for the police pension fund and $763,081 for the Allingtown fund, Centofanti said.

The police pension funding percentage increased from 79.28 percent to 84.13 percent during the 2016-17 fiscal year while the Allingtown fund saw its funding percentage rise from 20.28 percent to 22.27 percent.

Council members offered only a peppering of questions on Centofantis presentation, with several asking whether the auditor, which prepared the audit in the first year of a three-year contract, could present next years audit report on time.

If not filing for an extension, audits generally are supposed to be completed by Dec. 31 following the close of a fiscal year.

Its shocking to see these numbers now, said Councilman Aaron Charney, D-3. I would love to see those numbers as we were working on the budget.

Council Chairman Ron Quagliani said at the end of the special meeting at which the audit was discussed that nothing happened at once and weve been in deficit year after year after year over the past 35 years, with the exception of the few years when the state was running city finances under a previous state review board.

We really need to be able to work together to get that under control as a community, Quagliani said.

But he said its important that we continue to make the decisions for this community, and not have the state make the decisions for us.

Mayor Nancy Rossi, who took office in December, asked questions to confirm that the deficit bonding didnt fully cover last years deficit, and remarked, I would have thought that would save bonds for the deficit ... but obviously not.
It was already nearly 90 degrees the morning of July 20 as Mark Hausknecht, dressed in blue scrubs, pedaled his bright yellow bike down Main Street toward work at Houston Methodist Hospital, as he did every day. The renowned cardiologist, who previously treated President George H.W. Bush, crossed a busy intersection just blocks from the heart of the Texas Medical Center, one of the largest medical complexes in the world.

And it was just then that another cyclist started catching up to him, according to surveillance footage Houston police released Monday.

The rider was clean-shaven, wearing a tan-colored ball cap, a blue polo and khaki shorts, the chosen ensemble of any number of men in Houston on a hot day. But what stood out about him was the olive-green backpack weighing him down. Police would soon describe it as "fully loaded."

He followed the doctor for a couple more blocks. Just a half-mile from his hospital, at about 8:45 a.m., he sped up on his tail. Then, in front of a hotel, the cyclist passed him, turned around and fired at 65-year-old Hausknecht. He was hit twice in the torso, according to the Houston Police Department.

The fatal seconds - the shooting itself - were not captured on the surveillance images released Monday. The doctor fell to the ground immediately, police said. A private ambulance driver on Main Street saw him lying there, local news station KTRK reported, and paramedics got out and started rendering first aid and CPR. A witness held Hausknecht's head in his hands until a vacant ambulance arrived.

But Hausknecht was pronounced dead at Ben Taub Hospital, a public trauma hospital.

The shooting death of one of Houston's most respected heart doctors in broad daylight, in a heavily trafficked area, has left police perplexed. The assailant remains on the loose, the object of a manhunt with no promising leads so far.

On Monday, police released more detailed photos and the surveillance footage that captured Hausknecht's last ride as the suspect followed behind him on the bike - footage police obtained from a city bus that happened to pass them both. From the footage and witness accounts, police have described the suspect as a white or Hispanic male, about 30, with glasses and a slender build.

But a motive remains completely unknown.

"Mark never had an enemy," Kevin Lisman, a physician who worked with Hausknecht for 15 years, told KTRK. "He was very quiet, and very humble. Just the kind of guy who would take care of anybody at the drop of a hat."

At the time of his death, Hausknecht worked as a cardiologist within Houston Methodist's internationally respected DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center and helped lead the Houston Cardiovascular Associates. In a statement published in full by KTRK, Houston Methodist described him as a "compassionate physician with a phenomenal bed side manner," whose patients were "so proud to call him their doctor. He had become well known in 2000 when he treated President George H.W. Bush for an irregular heartbeat, saying at a news conference watched by thousands that he did not suspect the former president had suffered a heart attack, and "I do not think his life is in peril in any way."

"Mark was a fantastic cardiologist and a good man," Bush said in a statement Friday. "I will always be grateful for his exceptional, compassionate care. His family is in our prayers."

Hausknecht's wife, emergency medicine physician Georgia R. Hsieh, called her husband's killing "senseless" in a statement, but said what she found truly senseless was public officials' lack of action addressing gun violence in America. So many had asked what they could do to help, she said. She asked those listening to "use your vote and your voice to stem the tide of this growing public health epidemic."

"After spending his adult life saving and prolonging the lives of others, my talented husband, Dr. Mark Hausknecht, had his life prematurely ended," she wrote.

"'Senseless' has become a trite adjective to describe these tragedies," she continued, "but what IS senseless is the misguided notion that any society with more guns is a safer society. When students cannot go to school without fear, and teachers need to arm themselves, what has this country come to? As a trained emergency medicine physician, I am no stranger to the devastating consequences of both intentional and accidental firearm use. Now my family and I have joined the ranks of the tens of thousands of grieving Americans who lose innocent loved ones every year."

By Monday a small memorial was set up near the site of Hausknecht's death, bearing flowers, a Bible and a sign that said, "Gun Violence. Reform Gun Laws. Vote Now! Road For Change," the Associated Press reported.
NEW HAVEN  The Board of Education approved six new elementary principals Monday, shuffling and promoting internal candidates to new roles to replace departing principals following several retirements.

Superintendent of Schools Carol Birks, who has inherited a projected deficit of $19 million in her first few months caused largely by essential staff being placed on now-expired grant money, has stressed her desire to reassign certified staff to positions that work directly with students.

Yolanda Jones-Generette, a former principal at Barnard School and Lincoln-Bassett School, was working in an administrative role supervising early childhood education, before being appointed to a principalship at West Rock STREAM Academy Monday. Similarly, Sabrina Breland, a James Hillhouse High School administrator on special assignment, was hired as principal of East Rock Community Magnet School.

Breland said she attended East Rock School in second grade and has entirely positive memories of the experience.

Jones-Generette thanked the school board for approving her appointment, saying she already met some of West Rocks staff and found them so warm and welcoming and that they share many common ideas.

Rosalyn Bannon is leaving her principalship at West Rock STREAM Academy for Barnard School, replacing retiring Principal Belinda Carberry. Birks said Bannon has made the school a statewide model and placed it on the path of continuous improvement, so she recommended Bannon to make the move to Barnard to share her talent and leadership at that school.

According to state data, in 2017, 51.4 percent of West Rock students met or exceeded their target goal in reading on a statewide exam, compared to 23 percent of Barnard students.

Bishop Woods School Principal Rosalind Garcia will head to Lincoln-Bassett, taking the helm of the turnaround school from former Principal Janet Brown-Clayton, who left for a job in Bridgeport last year. Replacing Garcia at Bishop Woods is Dina Natalino, an assistant principal at Wilbur Cross High School, who served as an interim principal during Principal Edith Johnsons maternity leave near the end of the school year.

Natalino said she regretted not having her family present when her promotion to assistant principal of Wilbur Cross was announced, so she brought about 10 members of her family to the meeting, some dabbing tears from their eyes as she explained that her three sons have been ocassionally bemused by her referring to students as her kids.

Lastly, Creed High School Principal Laura Roblee will land on her feet after the school was closed this year as a cost-saving measure, accepting a transfer to Brennan-Rogers School.

I have a business background and were going to spend every penny, Roblee joked after Birks announced Brennan-Rogers was one of a couple of schools receiving more than $1 million as part of a school improvement grant from the state.

Although Birks has spoken about the need to retool the districts alternative education program after it closed New Light High School and New Horizons High School, two of the districts three alternative schools, she said Riverside Academy Principal Larry Conaway will remain as principal of the remaining alternative school. She said Director of Instruction Gil Traverso also is helping the district rethink its alternative program. All four director of instruction positions have been eliminated from all versions of Birks central office organizational charts.

We need to do more internal work before school starts, she said.

There is still a vacancy at the helm of Metropolitan Business Academy as of Mondays meeting.

Birks said some of the principal hires were determined by administrator contracts, as they have some control over their placements.

We must respect the collective bargaining agreement, she said.

In a direct appeal to applicants who were passed over, she promised, we believe in you and we are going to continue to invest in you and the other leaders who want these opportunities.

Birks also presented an updated version of her proposed organizational chart for central office Monday, removing proposed positions for general counsel and a chief of staff which reported directly to her in her first draft. She said the district will incorporate its corporation counsel more often. Also, she said it makes sense in the revised plan to have three assistant superintendents report directly to her, instead of a subordinate deputy superintendent.

Given I was a principal supervisor, and its an area of great strength, she said, she would supervise those positions.

Previously, Birks has mentioned her desire to be a superintendent of schools with a view from the balcony. Currently, she is on the dance floor, she joked. She has previously stated that, with many vacant central office roles, she is doing the jobs of about seven people.

Board of Education President Darnell Goldson said he would not entertain any organizational chart that does not reduce the cost of operations in the districts central office. What Birks presented at Mondays meeting did not contain disaggregated data concerning costs.

Goldson said the board is not yet ready to vote on the plan.

brian.zahn@hearstmediact.com
Tension between the United States and Iran escalated Monday after President Donald Trump appeared to threaten military action in a bellicose tweet and Iranian officials vowed to resist any attempt to destabilize their country.

The president issued his warning in an all-caps, late-night tweet to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday, renewing speculation about a direct confrontation between the Trump administration and its chief adversary in the Middle East.

"NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE," Trump told the Iranian leader. ". . . BE CAUTIOUS!"

The president's threat came after Rouhani said earlier Sunday that war with Iran would be "the mother of all wars" and suggested that Tehran might flex its military might in Middle Eastern waterways that are crucial to global commerce.

Trump's message exposed the disjointed nature of his administration's strategy on Iran, as officials across the government continue to put economic and political pressure on Tehran despite the president's sudden hint at a military strike.

Despite putting Iran "on notice" in the earliest days of Trump's presidency, U.S. officials have shunned military moves that might bring an unwanted escalation and instead have opposed the international Iran nuclear deal and embraced a growing web of sanctions.

That indirect approach has so far failed to halt Iran's ballistic missile program or check its support for proxy groups across the Middle East.

"There's a huge gap between the objectives that have been laid out and the means the administration has so far been willing to employ," said former envoy Dennis Ross, who has advised Republican and Democratic presidents on the Middle East. "At some point, either you revise the objectives or you embrace new means."

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif responded to Trump on Monday afternoon, tweeting that Iran was "UNIMPRESSED" by the president's threat.

"The world heard even harsher bluster a few months ago. And Iranians have heard them -albeit more civilized ones-for 40 yrs. We've been around for millennia," he said.

White House officials said Trump's message to Iranian leaders was in keeping with his tough stance.

"The president's been, I think, pretty strong since Day One in his language towards Iran," press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters Monday. "He's going to continue to focus on the safety and security of [the] American people."

National security adviser John Bolton suggested in a statement issued Monday that Trump's tweet might have been planned or at least contemplated for a while.

"I spoke to the president over the last several days, and President Trump told me that if Iran does anything at all to the negative, they will pay a price like few countries have ever paid before," said Bolton, who has advocated regime change in Iran in the past.

Trump's tweet followed a familiar pattern: When mired in an especially negative situation, change the subject.

So a week after his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which was heavily criticized by Democratic and Republican leaders, and after waffling over his faith in U.S. intelligence agencies, Trump took to Twitter to issue an all-caps bulletin to Iran.

"There's nothing going on here except he wants to change the subject," said one Trump adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to offer a candid assessment.

The adviser noted that Iran's leaders have uttered similar "mother of all wars" taunts over the years and that little has substantively changed in recent days to indicate a real escalation of tensions.

Asked Monday if he had any concerns about stoking tensions with Iran, Trump told reporters, "None at all."

The most recent war of words comes several weeks after Trump set aside the concerns of America's closest allies and pulled out of the nuclear deal with Iran on May 8, deeming the pact "an embarrassment."

Since then, teams of U.S. officials have fanned out across Europe and Asia, warning companies to stop importing Iranian oil and to sever other types of business ties with Iran.

The Trump administration is also seeking to exact new financial costs on Iran, imposing sanctions on top officials and individuals associated with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

A fresh round of sanctions targeting the Iranian automotive industry and key metals will go into effect Aug. 4, the State Department has said. Sanctions targeting Iran's energy and banking sectors are due to be instated Nov. 4.

The United States is also intensifying efforts to reach Iranians directly. Speaking to Iranian Americans in California on Sunday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the U.S. government would expand broadcasts in Farsi and take steps to bypass Internet censorship in Iran.

Mark Dubowitz, who heads the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the administration's harsh rhetoric together with economic measures had yielded some results, including reductions in Iran's ballistic missile tests and harassment of foreign ships.

"What the president is trying to do with this tweet is what he's succeeded in doing in the last year and a half, signaling to the Iranians: 'Don't test me; don't close the Strait of Hormuz; don't interfere with international shipping,' " Dubowitz said. " 'I will order Secretary Mattis to sink your ships.' "

But in the absence of a direct challenge from Tehran, few administration officials have supported pushing back militarily against Iran, even in places where groups trained and armed by Iran have directly challenged U.S. objectives, such as Syria, Yemen and Iraq.

While the United States has acted several times to halt direct threats against its forces in Syria, Pentagon leaders, including Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, have consistently opposed risking another costly Middle Eastern conflict as they seek to reorient the military toward threats from Russia and China.

Instead, they have advocated an indirect approach to countering Iran's destabilizing activities, building up partner forces in Syria and Iraq and seeking to interdict weapons smuggled to Shiite rebels in Yemen.

Trump's tough language and threats appear to mirror his approach to North Korea and the leader he ridiculed last year as "Little Rocket Man." After a string of menacing statements, Trump and leader Kim Jong Un sat down for a high-profile summit in June.

But Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, warned that those tactics may not succeed with Iran.

"Iranian officials tend to be more prideful. Unless [supreme leader Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei is facing significant economic distress and existential angst, I suspect he will avoid negotiations with the United States during the Trump era," he said. "The depth of mutual mistrust and contempt is too great."

Jarrett Blanc, who worked on Iran issues at the State Department during the Obama administration, said Trump's threats did not appear to be connected to a larger plan building a case for war, similar to what occurred with Iraq before the U.S. invasion in 2003.

"I don't think Donald Trump has decided, in the way George W. Bush and Cheney decided with Iraq, that 'I'm going to go to war, and I'm going to build up this narrative and escalatory spiral to get me there,' " he said.

- - -

The Washington Post's John Hudson, Carol Morello and Anne Gearan contributed to this report.
Uprooted Palestinians are at the heart of the conflict in the M.E Palestinians uprooted by force of arms. Yet faced immense difficulties have survived, kept alive their history and culture, passed keys of family homes in occupied Palestine from one generation to the next.
In 1787, when the Constitutional Convention and an infant republic "hung by a thread," two imaginative New Englanders solved the problem and saved the day. Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth, both representing Connecticut, proposed a bicameral legislature made up of one house representing population and the other giving each state an equal voice. The "Connecticut Compromise" - designed as a safeguard against the domination of smaller states by the more populous neighbors - entered history as perhaps the most crucial of all the bargains that enabled a new nation to be welded together out of the ramshackle Articles of Confederation.

But Connecticut, which today, along with a number of other states, faces a seemingly insurmountable budgetary crisis, may end up regretting the statesmanship of its illustrious forebears. Sherman and Ellsworth's two-members-per-state system stands as a bulwark to prevent reckless states - Connecticut included - from raiding their more responsible brethren. Let's thank them for their innovation.

Over the past few years, several of today's 50 states have descended into unmanageable public indebtedness. In Illinois, vendors wait months to be paid by a state government that is $30 billion in debt and one notch above junk bond status. And in terms of per capita state debt, Connecticut ranks among the worst in the nation, with unfunded liabilities amounting to $22,700 per citizen.

Each profligate state is facing its own budgetary perdition for different reasons, but most share common factors. The explosion of Medicaid spending, even before Obamacare, has devoured state funds just as it and its entitlement cousins, Medicare and Social Security, have done at the federal level. This has crowded out other vital public activities, as striking teachers in most states experiencing such hardships know.

In parallel, public pensions of sometimes grotesque levels guarantee that the fiscal strangulation will soon get much worse. In California, some retired lifeguards are receiving more than $90,000 per year. A retired university president in Oregon received $76,000 per month - and no, that's not a typo. These are the modern-day welfare queens, and they are the reason for some of the nation's worst budget crises. California's pension shortfall, $250 billion under the rosiest of assumptions, is more likely close to $1 trillion.

With things this far gone, even an aroused public or a sudden eruption of statesmanship is unlikely to prevent a crash. In some states, government unions have barricaded their benefit levels behind a Maginot Line of legal and even constitutional protections.

More and more desperate tax increases haven't cured the problem; it's possible that they are making it worse. When a state pursues boneheaded policies long enough, people and businesses get up and leave, taking tax dollars with them. We see this often in the headlines: GE leaves Connecticut, General Mills exits Illinois, Chevron and Waste Management flee California. But also watch the U-Haul rental data: Illinois and California are first and second, respectively, in net rentals leaving vs. coming into the state.

So where is a destitute governor to turn? Sooner or later, we can anticipate pleas for nationalization of these impossible obligations. Get ready for the siren sounds of sophistry, in arguments for subsidy of the poor by the prudent.

In fact, this balloon was already floated once, during the crunch of the recent recession. In 2009, California politicians called for a "dynamic partnership" with the federal government. Money from other states, they said, would be an "investment" and certainly not a bailout. They didn't succeed directly, although they walked away with $8 billion of federally borrowed "stimulus" money. Such a heist will be harder to justify in the absence of a national economic emergency.

In the blizzard of euphemisms, one can expect a clever argument might appear, likening the bailout to another important compromise of the founding period: the assumption of state debts by the new federal government. But that won't wash. Those were debts incurred in a battle for survival and independence common to all 13 colonies, not an attempt to socialize away the consequences of individual states' multi-decade spending sprees.

Sometime in the next few years, we are likely to go through our own version of the recent euro-zone drama with, let's say, Connecticut in the role of Greece and maybe a larger, "too big to fail" partner such as Illinois as Italy. Adding up the number of federal legislators from the 15 or 20 fiscally weakest states, one can count something close to half the votes in the House.

The Senate - thanks to Ellsworth and Sherman - will be our theft insurance. These statesmen could never have imagined governments as sprawling and expensive as those even today's more cautious states operate. But had they somehow foreseen that their own beloved state would be among the worst offenders, one of those most likely to try to fob off its self-inflicted problems on its counterparts, I think they would only have felt better about their handiwork.

---

Daniels, a Post contributing columnist, is president of Purdue University and a former governor of Indiana.
Phaedra Parks, ex-cast member of Real Housewives of Atlanta, has sold her home in Atlantas Chastain Park, in the Buckhead area, for the deeply discounted price of $950,000.

The lawyer listed her home last summer for $1.5 million, following reports that she had been ousted from the long-running Bravo show. The outspoken 44-year-old had apparently been spreading malicious rumors about her castmates.

Setting aside rumors and sticking to the facts: Her home took a while to sell. After a few months on the market, Parks lowered the price to $1.2 million in November. Then, this spring, she dropped the price again, to $1.1 million. Now a smart buyer has snagged a serious discount on the home's initial list price.

Phaedra Parks' Atlanta home realtor.com

Two-story foyer realtor.com

Living room realtor.com

Kitchen realtor.com

Formal dining room realtor.com

Pool and covered patio realtor.com

The self-described Southern belle still might eke out a tiny profit. She purchased the French provincial mansion in 2013 for $845,000, according to property records.

And we'll leave the shade-throwing to the experienced ladies of the ATL. Parks' now-former house gets nothing but praise from us.

Along with four bedrooms, six bathrooms, and 4,453 square feet, the layout includes a grand two-story foyer, a wood-paneled library with fireplace, a family room with French doors to the backyard, a country-style eat-in kitchen, and a two-car garage. The entire spread sits on over half an acre.

The master suite on the main level has private pool access, and there are three more ensuite bedrooms. Outdoors includes a landscaped yard, pool, and loggia, perfect for hanging out with all your frenemies.

Parks appeared on RHOA from seasons three through nine. She also owns a second Atlanta area home thats about twice the size, on 2 acres, which she bought for $1.9 million in 2016, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports. If the entrepreneur is worried about her future after Housewives, she certainly isnt showing it. She recently posted on Instagram, No looking back."

The post Phaedra Parks of 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' Finally Sells Home at a Discount appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com.
SEYMOUR  For more than a decade, Selectman and former state Rep. Len Greene Jr. has dedicated his time and energy to serving the community.

But all good things must come to an end, and Greene on July 17 presided over his last Board of Selectmen meeting, announcing his resignation.

Greene, 38, his wife, Tory, and two young daughters, Jillian, 5, and Madison, almost 3, are moving on to a new chapter in their lives, packing their bags and moving to Bethel.

My family and I will be moving this month, so I will no longer be eligible to serve out the remainder of my elected term in office, Greene said. For the past 10 years it has been my distinct pleasure to represent the people of the Town of Seymour on eight different town boards and committees, in addition to representing the people of the 105th District as a member of the Connecticut General Assembly.

Greene said its been a great journey and will miss serving the residents.

I take immense pride in knowing Ive been able to serve the people of Seymour in so many different capacities to make our town a better place to live in, Greene added.

Greene said there were many memorable moments while serving as a selectman for the past five years.

By far the best part of it was having the opportunity to serve with (First Selectman) Kurt (Miller) and my fellow selectmen and selectwomen on both sides of the aisle, said Greene. If I had to choose one specific moment that was most memorable for me personally, Id have to say being elected deputy first selectman by my colleagues on the board. That was an incredible honor.

Greene said he regrets not being able to finish out his term, but is very confident his fellow board members will find a great replacement to finish the job.

Miller, who said hes proud to call Greene, a fellow Republican, a friend who certainly will be missed, said a replacement will be named at the boards next meeting in August.

At Greenes last meeting, his fellow board members lauded him for a job well done.

Len has always conducted himself with professionalism and class in everything hes done in the public realm and political arena, said Selectman Al Bruno. Hes been a great colleague, and most importantly, a great friend.

Greene was first selected to the 105th District, which covers Beacon Falls, Seymour and parts of Derby, in 2010. Some of his accomplishments that benefited the Valley included helping secure more than $1.4 million in funding for the Housatonic Wire cleanup in Seymour; new sewers on Chamberlain Road in Seymour; and replacement of a dangerous bridge and dilapidated retaining walls on Route 42 in Beacon Falls.

Greene doesnt know what the future holds for him politically, but he learned the value of serving the community early on from his grandfather, former Beacon Falls First Selectman James Greene, and his father, former 105th District state Rep. Len Greene.

Anythings possible, though Id like to get to know my new community first before Id consider getting involved in politics, and of course Id have to earn the support of the people in the town, Greene said.

jean.sos@snet.net
Another Stockton University student has alleged she was a victim of sexual assault, and says in a detailed lawsuit the ordeal she suffered started at an unauthorized fraternity house off campus.

The student, a female identified only by her initials, has filed a federal lawsuit naming the university, Pi Kappa Phi fraternity and a student named Daniel Novak.

She claims she was drugged during an off-campus frat party in 2014, then raped, possibly by three students. Only Novak is identified by name in the suit.

Novak was not charged criminally in the incident. Attempts to reach him for comment on Monday were unsuccessful.

This is the third suit filed in the last month alleging sex assaults at Stockton or at an off-campus frat house.

In her suit, the woman says she knew Novak as the son of a family friend and both met the summer before their freshman year in 2014.

After becoming friends, Novak invited her to attend a September 2014 party at an off-campus frat -- Pi Kappa Phi -- that he was considering pledging.

During the party, Novak handed her a green-tinted drink, while the beverage in his cup was red. All the girls at the party were drinking green beverages, while the males had red drinks.

The woman described her beverage as watered down fruit juice that "was very salty with an unusual taste." She asked Novak to try her drink, but he refused.

When the woman grew uncomfortably hot and thirsty, she said Novak supplied her with another green drink.

She then describes feeling "very weird" before blacking out. She woke up naked in Novak's dorm room with Novak starring at her. She felt "unusually sore all over."

She suffered bleeding and soreness over the next few days and remained confused about what had happened. When she texted Novak to ask if he had sex with her, he replied, "Yes, don't you remember?"

The woman said she never consented to sex. "It would have been impossible for her to consent, considering her incapacitated state," the suit asserts.

Based on police investigation that revealed two of Novak's friends arrived on his dorm floor around the same time he brought her to his room, she believes all three may have assaulted her, according to the suit.

The suit describes how the woman grew increasingly depressed as a result of the incident, her studies suffered and she became suicidal, the suit notes. She has since sought treatment for depression.

She also pursued a Title IX investigation against Novak, but that review concluded in March 2017 with no administrative actions taken against Novak or the fraternity.

The suit charges that Stockton personnel failed to properly investigate her allegations and subjected her to a "hostile educational environment" in violation of federal Title IX protections against sex-based harassment.

This is one of three suits filed by attorney Robert R. Fuggi Jr. alleging assaults against Stockton students.

A pair of lawsuits filed earlier this month alleged that Stockton grad Zachary Madle raped two students.

One of those students claimed she was raped twice at the same off-campus frat house in Egg Harbor City described in this woman's suit. The other suit alleged a victim was raped twice in her dorm room.

All three cases were investigated or are currently under review, Stockton officials confirmed Monday.

"In response to recent litigation concerning allegations of sexual assault, please know that these allegations either have been or are being investigated by Stockton University Campus Police, Galloway Township Police and/or the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office," the school said in a statement.

The state Attorney General's Office is representing the school in all three lawsuits.

In addition to accusing Novak of assaulting her, Stockton of failing in its duties to create a safe educational environment and to properly investigate allegations, the woman's suit charges the fraternity with conspiring to ply females with spiked drinks "in order to incapacitate women to assault them physically and or sexually."

For its part, Pi Kappa Phi has previously noted that its Stockton chapter was shut down several years ago and students were told they could not use the frat's name.

The suit also describes a university sanctioned program for new students that "openly discusses sexual activity, demonstrates sexual activity and is mandatory for all incoming freshman."

The assembly features "sexually charged topics" and contributes to a systemic problem at Stockton.

"Stockton University has created a dangerous, sexually charged environment for incoming young women as freshman students ..." the suit charges.

On that point, Stockton officials defended these programs, saying the school takes the issue of sexual assault seriously and has resources in place to "support and protect" its students and the community.

"We require incoming students to attend Orientation and Welcome Week programs that specifically address topics such as sexual assault and violence prevention," according to the statement. "The University is proactive in its warnings and we regularly caution our students about the dangers inherent in events involving alcohol and drugs."

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 judge has approved a gag order that will prevent the man charged with the murder of April Kauffman from posting about the case on social media.

The order also requires that prior online posts made by anyone directly involved in the case be removed.

Prosecutors sought a gag order because they say Ferdinand "Freddy" Augello is posting court discovery and quoted grand jury material concerning cooperating witnesses on his Facebook page.

Augello is accused of hiring a hitman to kill local radio host April Kauffman in 2012 after she threatened to got to the cops about an alleged drug distribution racket her husband, Dr. James Kauffman, was running with Augello and other members of the Pagans motorcycle gang, prosecutors claim.

The doctor, who was also charged with murder, killed himself in jail in January.

Judge Bernard DeLury approved a gag order Monday that applies to everyone involved, including prosecutors, attorneys, investigators and the defendant. The parties are limited to speaking publicly about the case only in open court.

The order goes a step further to require that items they've already posted on their social media pages and websites concerning the case be scrubbed.

"...the parties shall take immediate steps to remove to the greatest extent possible any materials and information that the parties have posted concerning this case that remains under their control, such as personal social media sites, and organizational or business websites, within 48 hours," DeLury's order states.

That would apply to the prosecutor's office, too, which posted about its participation in ABC's 20/20 program. The show devoted an entire episode to the Kauffman case in June.

The prosecutor's office had argued that Augello's actions could taint the jury pool and prevent witnesses from cooperating.

The state plans to call many of those witnesses during Augello's trial, which is slated to begin in September.

In addition to a murder charge, Augello is charged with attempted murder for allegedly trying to have James Kauffman killed in jail. As for the allegations regarding an opioid distribution racket run out of Kauffman's office, Augello is charged with leading the drug ring, while six others are charged with racketeering.

One of those six, Joseph Mulholland, cut a plea deal with the prosecutor's office in return for testifying against Augello. Mulholland described Augello in court as the boss of the drug ring, which authorities allege operated from 2011 until last year.

In Augello's Facebook posts -- it's not clear who is actually posting, since Augello is in jail without access to social media -- the defendant has questioned why Mulholland wasn't charged with April Kauffman's murder, given his alleged role in the killing.

Augello's public defender previously noted that Mulholland gave a statement to police that he drove the hitman to the Kauffman home. The alleged hitman died of a drug overdose in 2013, authorities said.

Augello has also written about Andrew Glick, a Pagans member who told a Canadian newspaper in March that he was cooperating with investigators on the Kauffman case. Glick told the news outlet that he was one of those solicited to carry out the hit on April Kauffman.

"Defendant's publications go well beyond editorial comment," Chief Assistant Prosecutor Seth Levy wrote in his application seeking the gag order. "He cited specific page numbers, quoted grand jury testimony, disclosed content of discovery material and referenced certain facts."

Prosecutors were also concerned about what Augello might release next.

"(Augello) promised to release additional information in future posts, including the recorded statement of a cooperating witness," Levy added.

These kinds of posts could prove harmful to witnesses in the case, he argued.

"Many of the witnesses made statements of a derogatory nature toward or against the interests of such violent organizations as La Cosa Nostra and The Pagan Outlaw Motorcycle Gang, both of which are known to take violent retaliation against perceived 'rats,'" Levy stated.

Augello's Facebook page included an urgent plea as he awaited the Monday decision by DeLury.

"We ask all supporters of the "FREE FREDDY" movement to please 'copy and paste' and share this before the possible GAG ORDER is given ... People have to know that Joseph Mulholland and Andrew Glick are being protected from prosecution for their heinous self confessed crimes by the ACPO under the guise of justice."

Goodnight my friends from the Atlantic Co. Justice Facility. Thanks for all your support, you can't imagine how much it... Posted by Freddy Augello on Sunday, July 22, 2018

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.
On the surface, it was a standard political victory lap. There were speeches, over-sized smiles from lawmakers and more "thank yous" than anyone cared to count.

But beyond the fanfare, Gov. Phil Murphy's signing of a school funding bill on Tuesday marked a monumental step in the long battle over the state's education spending.

Finally, New Jersey is on the path to fully funding its public schools.

"This is just a big win for all the kids in the state," said state Senate President Stephen Sweeney, the sponsor of the bill.

The plan won't make everyone happy, though. And it won't come cheap.

The bill establishes a plan to fully fund every school district by 2025, a critical investment that will increase school aid by more than $1 billion by the time the plan is fully phased in.

That means eventually quadrupling state aid to Chesterfield Township, New Jersey's most-underfund district in terms of state funding.

It means $37 million more right away for Newark Public Schools, one of the state's most challenged districts.

And it means more teachers, technology and academic opportunities for hundreds of thousands of students attending districts long shorted on state aid.

"It's about every single child," Sweeney said. "Making sure every single child is treated fairly."

For a long time, New Jersey lawmakers haven't been able to say that.

The state in 2008 enacted a school funding formula meant to provide every students a "thorough and efficient education," something promised by the state constitution.

The formula considers enrollment, demographics and local tax base, and tells every district three key statistics: how much it should spend overall, how much state aid it should receive and how much it should raise in local tax revenue.

But lawmakers tacked on additional stipulations that prevented the formula from doing its job. And the state failed to hold up its end of the bargain, regularly underfunding the formula by $1 billion or more.

As enrollment swung and demographics changed, districts saw their state aid stay roughly the same, leaving some grossly underfunded by the state and others getting more money than the formula said they really needed.

The plan Murphy blessed on Tuesday will even out those inequities over time. It eliminates limits on how much districts' state aid can increase in a single year and kills a provision that prevented any district from losing money.

The changes are already unpopular in some areas. More than 150 district will see their state aid go down, and some will even be legally required to raise taxes in coming years to help make up the difference.

But lawmakers have said those districts have benefited from extra state aid for far too long.

The changes will usher in a "new era" of school funding, Murphy said.

That's something both sides of the aisle could celebrate Tuesday.

"A child should never have to pay the price for the state's inability to meet their needs," said Christopher "Kip" Bateman, R-Somerset. "Fully funding our schools is not a waste of taxpayer money - it's a fair and appropriate investment in the very people who will shape our future."

Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
When he was convicted in 1993 of sexually assaulting a minor, David Lutter was legally barred from owning firearms. So he bought a replica.



But when Lutter met with an undercover federal agent in Verona in January 2017, federal prosecutors said Monday, the replica hadn't just become a functioning firearm -- it was a full-fledged machine gun.



In a statement, the U.S. Attorney's Office said Lutter, 69, of Verona, on pleaded guilty on Monday in federal court in Newark to possessing a total of three firearms as a previously convicted felon, an offense that carries a maximum potential sentence of 10 years in prison.



In a criminal complaint filed this winter, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said Lutter had offered the converted replica of a Thompson sub-machine gun to the undercover agent for the price of $400 -- a deal that included 50 rounds of .45-caliber ammunition.



Lutter told the undercover agent he'd fitted the now-functioning sub-machine gun with a "rock-and-roll switch" to select between semi-automatic and fully automatic fire, according to the affidavit.



Prosecutors said Lutter, who was represented in court by the Federal Public Defender's Office, also sold the agent a .32-caliber revolver and 50 rounds of ammunition for $125 as part of the same transaction, and a Colt .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol, bullets and gun parts four months later for $500.



Investigators found more gun parts and hundreds of additional rounds of ammunition when they searched Lutter's storage unit following his arrest last June, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.



Lutter's sentencing has been scheduled for Oct. 30, 2018, in front of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas.

His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday evening.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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A West New York man riding a bicycle groped a woman as he passed her on a Hoboken street and fled, but he was tracked down and arrested four days later, authorities said.

Carlos Ramos-Huapaya, 28, was arrested at his home on July 23 and charged with criminal sexual contact, Hoboken Lt. Edgardo Cruz said.

Cruz said the groping incident occurred on July 19, when the victim was walking home in the area of 13th and Clinton streets. The woman told police she was approached from behind by a man riding a mountain bike, and the man grabbed her buttocks, Cruz said.

The victim told police she was not injured.

A brief description was provided, but police could not locate the man, Cruz said. Detective Arturo Gonzalez picked up the investigation and, with the assistance from uniformed personnel, and along with the evidence collected, identified Ramos-Huapaya as the assailant, Cruz said.

After his arrest Ramos-Huapaya was taken to Hudson County jail.
JERSEY CITY  Anyone interested in entering the lottery for the 80 affordable units at the new apartment complex on Marin Boulevard has until Friday to apply.

The 17-story building at 485 Marin Blvd., across the street from the Newport mall, includes a total of 397 apartments, 20 percent of which are required to be set aside for the next 10 years as housing for people with moderate incomes.

It is the second building to open in Jersey City with an 80/20 split of market-rate and affordable units. The first, VYV, is located two blocks south in the Metro Plaza shopping center. Both projects received state and city subsidies in exchange for the affordable units.

Mayor Steve Fulop has argued that the tax breaks were an integral part of keeping Downtown Jersey City affordable for residents of modest means. A third tower with 5 percent affordable units is planned for Columbus Drive.

KRE Group, the developer behind 485 Marin, is listing the monthly rents for affordable units at $1,318 for studios, $1,412 for one-bedroom apartments, $1,695 for two bedrooms and $1,958 for three bedrooms. Rents for the market-rate apartments are as low as $2,450 for a studio and $5,975 for three bedrooms.

To be eligible for the affordable units, your household must make between 50 percent and 80 percent of the county's annual median income. The eligible income range for a single person is between $32,950 and $52,750, for a two-family household it's $37,650 to $60,250 and for four people, $47,050 and $75,300.

Kevin Walsh, executive director of advocacy group Fair Share Housing Center, said restricting the 485 Marin affordable units to people who make no more than 80 percent of the county's AMI excludes too many residents of Jersey City. Walsh said the rents should be lower considering the project received a city tax abatement and $40 million in state tax credits.



"There are plenty of inclusionary zoning programs throughout North Jersey in which there are affordable homes built as part of the construction, without public subsidies," he said. "So the fact that they got public subsidies here only increases what their obligation should be."

The 485 Marin rents are 19 to 33 percent higher than the "good faith estimate" of rents submitted to the council in 2015 when the project's 20-year tax break was approved. Then, the rents were estimated to range from $990 and $1,643. Spokeswomen for the city and for KRE Group declined to comment on the change.

When VYV announced the rents of its affordable units last year, they were also higher than the initial estimates. The developer of that tower, Forest City, pledged to lower the rents to the previously announced amounts.

The deadline for the affordable housing lottery at 485 Marin is July 27 at 5 p.m. To apply, email affordable@marinjc.com for more information. The application fee is $75 (if you win the lottery). All parties will be notified after Aug. 3.

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
The superintendent of Secaucus schools has taken the first step in trying to fire the former high school principal who was suspended earlier this year over the handling of a drug incident involving a student, sources told The Jersey Journal.

Superintendent Jennifer Montesano, who is entering her second year in the district, has recommended tenure charges against Principal Robert Berckes, who was replaced at Secaucus High School and appointed to the same position at Clarendon School at the Board of Education meeting in June.

Superintendent Jennifer Montesano

At that same meeting, Danielle Garzon, Supervisor of Elementary Schools and Testing, was named acting principal of Clarendon School effective July 1, 2018.

Berckes' attorney, David Castellani today called the tenure charges "improper ... concocted, vindictive and retaliatory."

Berckes and Assistant Principal Jeffrey Case were suspended in mid-April after an incident in which a student was found with a small amount of marijuana and a pocket knife.

At the May 10 school board meeting, Berckes said he and Montesano agreed on a five-day suspension and the marijuana was flushed down the toilet on the recommendation of a police officer stationed at the middle school/high school. The following day, Montesano said she was upset over the handling of the incident and suspended both Berckes and Case, Berckes said.

Information about the incident was forwarded to the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office, which looked into it and declined to press charges against any school officials or the police officer at the school.

Since then, Berckes, who had been principal at the high school since 2010, has filed a notice of tort claim of a $5 million lawsuit against the district. Case resigned at the end of the school year.

Multiple sources said the tenure charges were given to the Board of Education earlier this month. Montesano and school board members did not answer requests for comment on the latest development.

According to state regulations, Berckes had to be notified of the charges within three days, and then he had 15 days to dispute the allegations in an official response. After a brief extension was granted, that response is due today, Castellani said.

"The inherent disparity here is that they get four months to contrive charges and we get 15 days to answer them," Castellani said.

After his response is submitted, the school board will hold a special meeting to vote on whether to drop the tenure charges or forward them to the state commissioner of the Department of Education. A regular meeting of the school board is scheduled for July 26.

The commissioner would then review the charges and decide if they should be forwarded to an arbitrator, Castellani said, noting that the process has been changed recently to speed up the adjudication of cases.
JERSEY CITY -- A 28-year-old woman took the witness stand Tuesday morning and provided what prosecutors hope will be the testimony that convicts a man on trial for a 2017 murder.

The woman, whose identity and photo are not being published at the request of the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office, painted a terrifying picture of the May 9, 2017 gunfire on Woodlawn Avenue in Jersey City, which claimed 19-year-old Rasheed Raysor's life.

Dominique Green, 23, the man on trial for Raysor's murder, faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted. Green is also charged with weapons offenses and two counts of conspiracy to commit witness tampering.

"(Raysor) was on the ground," the woman told the court, crying, as she reached for a tissue. "(Green) was standing over him... shooting him."

Then Green walked away regularly, "like it was a sunny day," she said.

The woman said she was initially unsure about testifying because she "started getting all types of threats" and worried about the safety of her children and family. After reaching an agreement with detectives, she was relocated to another state and hasn't returned to New Jersey except for the trial.

The HCPO requested that The Jersey Journal not publish her name and photo in the paper's coverage of Green's trial because of the threats she received.

The woman told the court that sometime after 2:45 p.m. on the day of the shooting she was taking her children to their grandparents' home when she spotted Rayson -- whom she had known for many years -- with two males near a dollar store at Woodland and Ocean avenues.

The woman testified that she went into the store and engaged in "small conversation" with Raysor before walking up Woodlawn Avenue. As they approached the corner of Woodlawn Avenue and Corcoran Street, Jerome Jeter  who is also a witness in the trial  called her over and talked with her for about 10 minutes, she said.

While she spoke with Jeter, she said, Raysor waited across the street -- leaning on a pole while listening to music out-loud.

Moments later, the woman said she saw someone walking "not fast pace, not slow" from Corcoran Street  onto Woodlawn Avenue  but couldn't make out the person's face. It wasn't until the person "brushed" past her back that she made eye contact with the shooter.

The 28-year-old described the shooter as someone dressed in a navy sweat-suit with a hood over his head and hands in his pocket.

"It was Dominique," she said. "We locked eyes and proceeded to cross the street."

She told the courtroom that she had known Green as "Deno" through mutual friends and said that they had privately messaged through Facebook before.

After the first shot, she stated, she ran into Jeter's building and continued to watch the shooting from the front door's glass window.

As the woman described the shooting, the courtroom grew tense  and a woman ran out of the courtroom crying -- The witness explained she approached Raysor's body, screaming for help, but no one initially came.

The 19-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene at 3:50 p.m.

"What did the guy do so bad to get shot like that?" Jeter said during his testimony.

"Nothing," a person in the courtroom mumbled.

On the day of the homicide, the woman was asked by police if she had known what happened, but initially told investigators that she "knew nothing" and stuck to that statement during an on-the-record interview the next day.

However, on her way out of the interview, an officer asked if she was okay, to which she responded "no," and proceeded to say "I know who killed Rasheed," she said.

But when defense attorney Scott Finckenauer got to question the witness, he focused on the discrepancy between her initial statement to investigators and her court testimony she provide.

"'I'm gonna lie so I can get what I want,'" said Finckenaur, regarding the woman's revised statement to police.

The woman asserted she initially denied knowing anything about the shooting to save her own life.

Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Keith Travers also called a pair of HCPO homicide detectives to the stand on Tuesday to provide testimony on the investigation and Green's arrest three days after the homicide.

The jury trial will continue Wednesday at 9 a.m. in front of Hudson County Superior Judge Mark Nelson at the Hudson County Superior Court.
Rabbi Robert Scheinberg

Texas is attracting a lot of out-of-state visitors these days, and they're not all tourists, as religious leaders like Hoboken's Rabbi Robert Scheinberg are asking to inspect the immigrant children's detention centers.

While they are not permitted entry, as Scheinberg's group earlier this month found out, they, nonetheless, hope to amplify concerns about the treatment of children and the reunification of them with their families.

While some 2,800 children are still in detention centers all over the country, none has moved people's hearts as much as the camps in Laredo. The largest one, though, is in nearby Dilley.

Scheinberg, of United Synagogue, went down July 8-10 as a guest of Rabbi Neil Blumofe of the Jewish community of Austin. A member of their delegation of 25 was a lawyer who was representing some asylum seekers in the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, which has room for 2,400 detainees.

"Family residential" is basically a euphemism for the detention of women and children, Scheinberg said.

There, video conferencing for arraignment -- which, for example, is used between the Hudson County Correctional Center in Kearny and the county courts in Jersey City -- saves the jurisdiction from transporting inmates or detainees from the facility. Scheinberg was concerned about its use in Texas because lawyers, translators, judges and immigrants were all in different locations.

Bishop James Tomayo of the Diocese of Laredo joined the group for Shaharit, or morning prayers. The group then went to a federal courthouse in Laredo and saw about 79 mostly men, but some women. Most appeared to be in their late teens or 20s and had come from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, Scheinberg said.

The court-appointed public defenders had less than two hours to meet with all the defendants to prepare for the proceedings -- translating to less than 2 minutes of individual time per defendant.

All the people they saw pleaded guilty to illegally crossing the border between June 26 and July 6 by walking, swimming or taking a boat, raft or inner tube across the river, he said. The next step for them will be "removal proceedings," i.e., deportation.

"I was disturbed by this scene that seemed so different from what I would expect from the American judicial system," Scheinberg said. "The lawyers and law students in our group were especially appalled, with some saying that they felt they were witnessing due process violations.''

The group also met with the Laredo regional director of border patrol and immigration activists who included DACA recipients, journalists and clergy leaders.

"It was a productive and respectful discussion with lots of disagreement but also points of agreement," Scheinberg said.

All agreed, for example, that illegal drugs are pouring over the border and that extreme enforcement of immigration laws has deterred undocumented people from getting medical help and turning to law enforcement out of fear of detention.

Finding some common ground fulfilled one of his hopes for the trip: "to always to find some way to demonstrate how we are connected despite difference."

Empty seats with roses memorialize the 26 congregants killed in a mass shooting last November at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.

A side trip was a visit to the Baptist church in Sutherland Springs where 26 church members, including the pastor's 14-year-old daughter, were murdered during a church service in November. The church building has been converted into a memorial -- with 26 chairs set up in the locations where the victims had sat on that fateful day.

Church services are now held in an adjoining temporary building.

"I found the community remarkably friendly, and clearly they worked hard to cultivate an atmosphere of joy and gratitude even amidst the backdrop of sadness," Scheinberg said.

The rabbi remarked that the prevailing gun culture of the region makes it "a community that is quite distant from me religiously, politically and culturally."

But that made Scheinberg's trip more meaningful for him.

Besides, he said, "including dreams for the welfare of our children and communities" matters.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Rev. Alexander Santora is the pastor of Our Lady of Grace and St. Joseph, 400 Willow Ave., Hoboken, 07030, FAX: 201-659-5833; Email: padrealex@yahoo.com; Twitter: @padrehoboken.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Interested in the marijuana business industry? NJ Cannabis Insider is a new premium intelligence briefing that features exclusive weekly content geared toward entrepreneurs, lawyers and realtors. View a sample issue.

WASHINGTON -- Talk of removing the federal ban on marijuana is getting louder on the federal level, and could pave the way for significant legislation in the next Congress.

So says Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., a founder of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus.

Blumenauer recently gave a midyear report to NJ Cannabis Insider on the efforts to legalize marijuana on the federal level.

"The politics is going to help us here and it's setting the stage for a really very monumental session next year if the results in the election go the way I think they will," Blumenauer said. "More and more voters are talking about it, and the people who care, the advocates, get more organized, as there's more activity that's taking place across the country."

Hundreds of marijuana lobbyists descended on Congress earlier this year, and Blumenauer joined with U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Cory Gardner, R-Colo., and Rep. David Joyce, R-Ohio, to introduce the Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States, or STATES, Act. The legislation would block the federal government from going after states that have legalized cannabis.

President Donald Trump indicated he likely would sign that bill if it reached his desk.

At the same time, the House and Senate Appropriations committees have renewed their ban on the U.S. Justice Department spending money to go after states that allow marijuana for medical use.

"We're pushing every day looking at things we can do here," Blumenauer said. "Next year, I think all the pieces can come together."

He said he expected marijuana to be big issue in the fall campaign.

"It is an issue absolutely," Blumenauer said. "It's an issue that people vote on and they care about. It's something where the politicians tend to be out of step with the public.

"People who are on the wrong side of this are on the wrong side of voters."

This report originally appeared in NJ Cannabis Insider.

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Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Interested in the marijuana business industry? NJ Cannabis Insider is a new premium intelligence briefing that features exclusive weekly content geared toward entrepreneurs, lawyers and realtors. View a sample issue.

In a move that will affect thousands of defendants and millions of residents, New Jersey's attorney general has announced an immediate adjournment of all marijuana cases in municipal courts statewide until at least September.

In a letter to prosecutors obtained exclusively by NJ Advance Media, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal wrote that he was asking "that all municipal prosecutors in New Jersey seek an adjournment until September 4, 2018, or later, of any matter involving a marijuana-related offense pending in municipal court" so that his office could develop "appropriate guidance" for prosecutors.

Sharon Lauchaire, spokeswoman in the attorney general's office, said that nothing in the letter directs police to stop making marijuana arrests.

Meanwhile, a source in the state Senate also told NJ Advance Media on Monday that a bill legalizing adult-use marijuana sponsored by state Sen. Nick Scutari, D-Union -- himself a municipal prosecutor in the city of Linden -- was expected to reach the Senate for consideration by September as well.

Assuming the Senate passes the bill, the combination of the two actions could effectively end prosecution of marijuana possession in New Jersey permanently.

Nine U.S. states and the District of Columbia have decriminalized weed altogether, but over 50 localities in a dozen states have enacted municipal laws or resolutions either fully or partially decriminalizing minor cannabis possession offenses, according to the Washington D.C.-based non-profit NORML.

The deal with prosecutors has broad implications for New Jersey's courts and for New Jerseyans themselves.

In May, NJ Cannabis Insider reported that of the nearly 36,000 people who were arrested on marijuana charges in New Jersey in 2016, more than 32,000 were charged for possession of small amounts of marijuana.

New Jersey has the second-highest marijuana arrest rate in the country, behind only Wyoming, and the third-highest total number of weed-related arrests, following Texas and New York, according to 2016 FBI crime data.

New Jersey also saw the largest increase in marijuana arrests from 2015 to 2016.

Such marijuana possession convictions can cause offenders to lose their homes, cost them financial aid, or see the revocation of their driver's licenses.

The deal with the attorney general comes after a dramatic week of see-sawing announcements and contradictions issued by the prosecutor for the state's second-largest city, Jersey City's Jake Hudnut, and the office of Attorney General Gurbir Grewal.

Last week, Jersey City's newly installed prosecutor, Hudnut, announced his office would seek to downgrade some marijuana charges to non-criminal offenses, seek the outright dismissal of low-level marijuana charges and divert those defendants with prior drug arrests and signs of addiction to the city's community court.

Almost immediately however, the state attorney general's office responded, warning Hudnut that "you do not have the legal authority to decriminalize marijuana or otherwise refuse to criminally prosecute all marijuana-related offenses in the municipal courts of Jersey City," adding that only the Legislature could take such action.

The situation in Jersey City came to an impasse when Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop backed his own prosecutor in a July 20 tweet, saying that "we respect the letter but don't agree."

A source said a meeting between Grewal, Hudson County prosecutor Esther Suarez and Jersey City's prosecutor Hudnut was called on Monday at the satellite offices of the Bergen County prosecutor's office in Paramus.

While Hudnut was pressing for effective decriminalization, Hudson County prosecutor Suarez argued for a more hard-line approach, according to a source familiar with the talks.

A spokeswoman for the attorney general's office was not immediately available for comment.

In an emailed statement on Tuesday, Hudnut, praised Grewal's move.

"In adjourning all marijuana cases across New Jersey while a directive is prepared, Attorney General Grewal has put himself at the national forefront of progressive prosecutors," wrote Hudnut. "I am looking forward to working closely with him in the coming weeks on this directive, as well as on other issues affecting all of our state's municipal courts."

On Tuesday, at a press conference on school funding held in Cliffside Park, the governor briefly discussed the Attorney General's guidance and proposed legislation.

"I'll tell you what we want the final product to be -- and we were just doing some business walking in here -- which is adult use legalization, sooner rather than later," said Murphy, gesturing to the Senate president Sweeney standing behind him. "I'm all in."

Wayne Blanchard, the president of the New Jersey State Troopers Fraternal Association, said he expected there would be no change in enforcement as a result of the attorney general's directive.

"We have a duty and obligation to enforce the laws as their written right now," said Blanchard.

In June, Gov. Phil Murphy endorsed federal legislation that would stop the federal government from enforcing anti-marijuana laws in states that have legalized the drug, and has been pushing for legalization to occur within New Jersey by year's end.

Efforts by state lawmakers to legalize recreational marijuana by tying it to the more broadly popular expansion of medical marijuana failed earlier this summer.

However, now Trenton's lawmakers are under increasing pressure to legalize as a newly released study commissioned by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo just recommended New York make marijuana legal, saying the benefits of legalization vastly outweigh potential risks.

Claude Brodesser-Akner may be reached at cbrodesser@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ClaudeBrodesser. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
A former police officer who admitted to hitting a handcuffed suspect in a patrol car and trying to cover it up was sentenced to six months probation on Monday.

Those charges against Todd Ritter ended his 22-year career as an officer in Piscataway. He was suspended without pay in February upon being charged.

About two weeks before, 19-year-old Isiah Benbow was thrashing in the backseat of Ritter's cruiser kicking the glass between the front and back seats, yelling at and eventually threatening Ritter. The incident was captured on police video.

"I'm gonna break it," Benbow yells about the glass partition. "... Why you gotta lie? ... I'm gonna kill all you all (expletive), watch!"

Ritter then gets out of the car, opens the back door and punches Benbow in the face.

He later admitted falsifying a report to indicate that Benbow kicked him in the groin.

Ritter, a 54-year-old resident of Millstone, Monmouth County pleaded guilty to simple assault in May and agreed to forfeit public employment.

Judge Joseph Rea, when sentencing Ritter in Superior Court in New Brunswick said he received 33 letters of support for the ex-officer, according to MyCentralJersey.com. Rea said he could have given Ritter between one and five years probation, but said six months was enough, according to the report.

"All of us to varying degrees make mistakes. It's very important for you to understand this is a lapse. This does not make you a bad person. Don't forget that," Rea said, the news site reported.

Ritter's wife also testified, as did two crime victims whom Ritter had helped during his career.

Ritter joined the force in 1996 and had a salary of $120,948 before he was suspended.

This article contains information from The Associated Press.

Joe Brandt can be reached at jbrandt@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JBrandt_NJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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A tugboat stuck for hours on a sandbar off the shore in Lavallette, which forced the closure of nearby beaches, was removed Tuesday afternoon, officials said.

There were no signs of pollution from the Sea Cypress, according to a Coast Guard spokesman. The once-stranded 96-ton tug was headed to the Barnegat Light Marina after the rescue.

"All lifeguard stands and beaches are now open," the Lavallette Beach Patrol said in a Facebook post after the tugboat was freed.

A propeller on the Sea Cypress failed around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday when its tow line got tangled in it. The vessel broke down about 4 to 5 miles from the shoreline and began drifting toward the beach, said Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer 2nd Class David Micallef.

Changing tides, favorable weather conditions and rescue boats helped crews free the 75-foot tug, the spokesman added.

Local officials closed the Lavallette beach to swimmers as an effort to free the boat unfolded. A small crowd gathered to watch the response.

The Sea Cypress has been released from the sandbar and towed from the beach. All lifeguard stands and beaches are now open Posted by Lavallette Beach Patrol on Tuesday, July 24, 2018

The Philadelphia and New Brunswick avenue beaches were shut down in case a line used to free the tug snapped, Capt. Bob Tormollan, of the Lavallette Beach Patrol, told the Asbury Park Press early Tuesday.

Lines from two rescue boats held the Sea Cypress in place, about 100 feet off Philadelphia Avenue beach. Four people on the tug were not hurt.

Officials said the Sea Cypress, which is owned by Garber Bros. of Morgan City, Louisiana, was working off the Jersey Shore on sand dredging.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
UPDATE: Tugboat stuck on Jersey Shore sandbar could be stranded for hours

The U.S. Coast Guard is still working to free a 75-foot tugboat that is stuck on a sandbar off the beach in Lavallette after breaking free of its moorings early Tuesday morning.

All four people on board are safe and the tug boat is not taking on water, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The tugboat is the Sea Cypress, according to marinetraffic.com.

Two tugboats sent by the Coast Guard have so far been unable to wrest the tug free, Lavallette Beach Patrol Capt. Bob Tormollan said at about 10:15 a.m.

"It looks like the two tugs are going to take another run at it," Tormollan said. "They hooked up a second tug to the first to try to get more power."

Low tide isn't until 11:45 a.m., which might hamper attempt to pry the tug off the sandbar.

Dozens of onlookers have gathered on the Philadelphia Avenue beach, where people are being kept out of the water.

The Coast Guard dispatched the first rescue boat from its station in the Manasquan Inlet and established contact with the captain shortly after 3:30 a.m.

A video posted on Twitter shows the tug in the waves near the beach with the back of the it facing the shoreline.

News12.com reported that the boat's tether line became entangled in the propeller, but a Coast Guard spokesman said he couldn't confirm that.

Based out of Morgan City, Louisiana, the tug weights 96 tons.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
This combination of two pictures shows President Donald Trump on July 22, 2018, and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Feb. 6, 2018. In his latest salvo, Trump tweeted late on Sunday, July 22 that hostile threats from Iran could bring dire consequences. This was after Iranian President Rouhani remarked earlier in the day that "American must understand well that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace and war with Iran is the mother of all wars."

By Jennifer Rubin

Perhaps attempting to distract from the bipartisan firestorm still raging over President Donald Trump's Helsinki performance (or maybe the upcoming Paul Manafort trial?), the president went on yet another Twitter rant, with particular focus on Iran.

"To Iranian President Rouhani: Never, ever threaten the United States again or you will suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before. We are no longer a country that will stand for your demented words of violence & death. Be cautious! Trump tweeted, typing mostly in all caps.

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To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018

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The Washington Post reports:

"Iran's state-owned Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) replied within hours, dismissing Trump's tweet and describing it as a "passive reaction" to [Iranian President Hassan] Rouhani's remarks.

"Earlier Sunday, Rouhani said the United States should avoid inciting Iranians against the government as the Trump administration is poised to reimpose sanctions suspended under a 2015 nuclear deal that Trump withdrew from in May."

The verbal exchange comes in the wake of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's fiery speech on Sunday in which he excoriated the Iranian regime for human rights abuses and corruption.

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RELATED: Trump's week of unreal claims on Russia, NATO, the queen of England (FACT CHECK)

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Why we shouldnt buy it.

Commentators might become alarmed that Trump's rhetoric will set off a rhetorical escalation that leads to increasing conflict on the ground in the Middle East tinderbox. Instead, we should be more concerned that we have no Iran policy to speak of and, in fact, are encouraging Iranian aggression by our passivity in Iran and indulgence of its ally Russia.

Aaron David Miller, a veteran of Middle East negotiations, tells me: "One of my former bosses, George Shultz, used to say that when you don't have a policy, the temptation grows to give a speech, or in Trump's case to tweet. We have no coherent Iran policy."

He explains: "We can't change the regime; won't talk to them; won't challenge them in Syria, let alone confront them unilaterally. And so we'll re-impose sanctions waiting and hoping that by some miraculous process, the regime will collapse and all our Iran problems will be resolved. And if you believe that, I have an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal to sell you."

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What we learned about North Korea talks.

The North Korea negotiations, if you believed Team Trump, were supposed to demonstrate to Iran how tough we were on nuclear proliferation. Trump, in fact, got nothing, gave Kim Jong Un a PR win and undermined the U.S. pressure campaign against North Korea. Tehran has been watching Trump's belly-flop in Singapore and his obsequiousness to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who continues to support Iran's operations in Syria.

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When you hear the Fake News talking negatively about my meeting with President Putin, and all that I gave up, remember, I gave up NOTHING, we merely talked about future benefits for both countries. Also, we got along very well, which is a good thing, except for the Corrupt Media!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018

As Steven A. Cook put it: "The uprising that began in [the town of Daraa] on March 6, 2011, has finally been crushed, and the civil war that has engulfed the country and destabilized parts of the Middle East as well as Europe will be over sooner rather than later. Bashar Assad, the man who was supposed to fall in 'a matter of time,' has prevailed with the help of Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah over his own people."

Cook continued: "Lest anyone believe that this was a policy particular to U.S. President Barack Obama and his aim to get out of, not into Middle Eastern conflicts, his successor's policy is not substantially different, with the exception that President Donald Trump is explicit about leaving Syria to Moscow after destroying the Islamic State. While the bodies continued to pile up, all Washington could muster was expressions of concern over another problem from hell."

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RELATED: Max Boot: Trump is trying to change the subject to Iran. Let's not let him.

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Trump administrations wish list is unattainable.

Furthermore, Trump's erratic conduct has only strengthened the hand of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. A Washington Institute for Near East Policy report observes:

"With some justification, the IRGC claims it saved Assad. More important, the force is widely seen to its friends - nimble at intervening quickly, able to mobilize many fighters, and potent on the battlefield. Many accept the IRGC's claim to have defeated the United States in Syria: Washington insisted Assad had to go, and Iran insisted he had to stay. The resultant state of affairs is dangerous - at a time when Iran is torn by debates about how to resolve the many crises it faces, the IRGC can argue that its path works best.

"The IRGC can, and does, correctly point out that Iran's self-styled reformers/technocrats have proven unable to end the country's isolation. Their strategy of a "nukes only" deal (and a weak, time-limited deal at that) did not work. By contrast, the IRGC can argue that its strategy of resistance has worked at achieving its objectives, especially in Syria. To be sure, Iranians resent the cost, but in the end, success sells - at least to the Supreme Leader and the key decision-makers, whose prime concern is defending the revolution. More generally, success in war gives legitimacy and rallies people around the government."

And so long as the "IRGC is riding high, the U.S. government cannot achieve the twelve objectives Secretary Pompeo outlined on May 21," a long wish list of unattainable objectives that many experts believed amounted to regime change, at best a long-term prospect.

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Team Trump has no real strategy.

Middle East expert Dennis Ross explains that "it will be hard for the administration to re-create the pressures that existed when we had the whole world joining in our pressure campaign. Then Iran could not do business in the international financial system and could not sell a significant part of its oil.

"Today, the Chinese will not stop buying Iranian oil - though they may insist on discounted prices. The Europeans will probably cut back purchases even as they try to preserve the [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action." He adds: "Bottom line, the administration has no real counter-strategy in the region; instead their policy is basically sanctions-driven. It is up to the Israelis to counter them in Syria, counting on Russia to give them a free hand."

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Whats Trumps foreign policy?

The lesson learned in Tehran from 18 months of Trump foreign policy chaos is clear: Trump is a blowhard, a paper tiger. The lesson the IRGC learned is that there is no reason to curtail its hegemonic activities in the region. No matter how many tweets Trump sends, Iran's aggression in the regime continues; its economy is weak, but it's better than it was when the West was united in support of a sanctions regimen. Iran has successfully split the P5+1 (thanks to Trump) and sees no real downside to its regional adventurism.

Former ambassador to Turkey Eric S. Edelman tells me that it isn't wise "to elevate that by responding with a presidential tweet. Particularly since it will certainly be compared to the 'fire and fury' statement and the result of that which was the Singapore Summit and the North Korean stonewalling that has followed." He concludes, " It is never good for the president to issue a bellicose threat if he really isn't prepared to follow it up with action."

This is not the portrait of a coherent, let alone successful, policy for Iran.

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Jennifer Rubin writes the Right Turn blog for The Washington Post, offering reported opinion from a center-right perspective.

Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.
By Ksenia Voropaeva

As a veteran of the Air Force, I proudly celebrate this country's independence, freedom and the constitution that I pledged to uphold.

However, over the past few months, the United States has been witnessing the cruelty and inhumanity faced by migrants and immigrant families at the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs (ICE) and Border Protection, leaving millions living in fear. The heart- wrenching images of children and families in cages have signaled to Americans how insidious the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" immigration policy is and the federal immigration enforcement has become.

It is time for New Jersey's state leaders to take action to protect immigrant families and this must include the expansion of access to driver's licenses.

My family and I emmigrated from Belarus when I was 11 years old to escape poverty and violence. Growing up, I relied on my mother to take me to extracurricular events and social activities. These experiences were crucial to me learning English, forming friendships and discovering the fabric of this country.

After turning 16, I started driving myself to work. My mother and I worked different shifts at the same grocery store while I attended high school. We could not have made our livelihoods without the license to drive. I found my purpose as an Air Force ROTC cadet pursuing a linguistic scholarship. Commissioning as an immigrant underscored my love for this nation and its founding ideals. However, many in New Jersey live in continuous fear of being deported, sometimes for a simple traffic violation.

More than 500,000 individuals in New Jersey lack access to driver's licenses, including undocumented immigrants, putting families at risk of forceful and many times brutal separation by ICE. Many families live in fear of dropping their kids off to schools or going to appointments with doctors because a minor traffic violation could end in deportation. The opportunity to provide for their children is locked away behind outdated policies that are often stalled due to ignorant prejudices about immigrant families.

Interestingly, many states already have expanded access to driver's licenses for all. Yet, New Jersey lags behind states like Utah and Oregon.

Recently, I updated my driver's license to include my veteran status. The required form included the question "Are you here legally?" The question made me cringe, as it has little to do with driving vehicles. My experience as an Air Force fleet manager taught me that without a doubt, road and vehicle safety is achieved through an open dialogue with drivers and is built most importantly through trust.

Likewise, allowing more drivers who maintain the proper training to drive will only improve road and public safety in New Jersey.

This year, I celebrated 21 years since immigrating to the U.S. Of that time, almost six years were spent as an airman serving on overseas duty stations. My experience as an airman has taught me that being an immigrant doesn't make you any less of an American.

However, that's not the picture our current president paints. The America I served is a nation that stands up to tyrannical rule. The America I love is a nation that mutually pledges to uphold equality and liberty for us all. While some leaders in Washington, D.C., continue to criminalize immigrants, New Jersey legislators can champion this state as a beacon of hope and opportunity that America represents.

New Jersey will be a safer place by allowing more residents to be tested and trained to drive.

Ksenia Voropaeva lives in Jersey City. She is a member of Common Defense, a grassroots organization of U.S. veterans and family members.

Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.
I had just finished a long run in the park. It was a hot day and a cold beer was in order.

As I walked along with a cup of beer in my hand, I passed an old pickup with two young guys in it. One of them yelled, "Hey, you got any more?"

I got a couple more bottles out of the cooler. As they opened them, I warned them to be discreet. "Beer's not really legal here," I said.

"Neither is this," one replied as he pulled out a pipe and offered me a hit of marijuana.

I politely declined. We got to talking about the upcoming legalization of pot in New Jersey. As you might expect, they were looking forward to it. But there was a problem: Price.

"I heard the medicinal costs as much as $500 an ounce," one of my new friends said. "I can get it for a lot less."

Even if pot is legalized here in Jersey as planned, the guy said, he intends to keep getting it from the local dealer.

As an unabashed capitalist, I liked his free-market approach. But it presents a problem for the lawmakers pushing different approaches to legalizing marijuana.

One such lawmaker is Joe Danielsen, a Middlesex County Democrat who's sponsoring a bill that would open up the market in medicinal marijuana, which is already legal but is very tightly regulated.

That's not true for so-called "recreational marijuana." That's still illegal for now, possibly because that's such a goofy name. Every time I hear it, I think of potheads playing on a jungle gym.

The backers have wisely relabeled this "adult-use" marijuana as part of the campaign to get it legalized by year's end.

Danielsen told me he doesn't think that black-market marijuana will be a big problem once adult-use pot is legal.

"We can make and brew our own wine and beer, but very few people are doing that," said Danielsen. "That tells me they like the quality, consistency and safety even though it may cost more."

Perhaps. But legal pot will be taxed. If I were in the market for pot, I would award my contract to the lowest bidder.

And that's just one of many complications as the Legislature moves toward legalization. There's also the question of how much competition the state will encourage.

Danielsen wants more. He proposes to legalize "micro-licenses" that would encourage small business to get into the cultivation and sale of medicinal marijuana. In a recent Star-Ledger article he went so far as to say of Gov. Murphy "He's not catering to patients; he's catering to the rich white man."

That may not have been the wisest choice of words for a guy who needs the Guv's signature on a bill. But he's got a point. Trusting a few big corporations to grow all the pot is like trusting big corporations to brew all the beer. If it weren't for the microbrewers, we'd be stuck with the likes of Bud Light.

Danielsen is a sincere guy, as is Nick Scutari, the Democratic state senator from Union County who has crafted the adult-use bill most likely to make it to the governor's desk. But they face a tough task.

When something's been illegal for eight decades, there's no easy way to legalize it. Some states that legalized pot have found that so many growers jumped in that there's a glut.

In Oregon at the moment there are a million pounds of pot on hand for a mere four million people. That has prices plummeting to $200 an ounce.

My new friends would applaud that, but the regulators in Oregon fear that cultivators might ship some pot out of state, which remains illegal under federal law.

Meanwhile there's one Jersey legislator who wants to legalize pot in the most straightforward fashion: By repealing the laws that make it illegal.

Assemblyman Mike Carroll, a Republican from Morris County, is sponsoring a bill to do just that.

"I'd prefer to treat it like tomatoes," Carroll said. "My philosophy is 'Let 'em grow it.'"

That makes sense to me. If the politicians wants to tax pot, then let them tax it the same way they tax cigarettes. And let them sell it in the same stores.

Imagine my new friends picking up a pack of joints at the gas station next year. When they get to the park, however, they'll realize they still can't smoke them.

Under a bill Murphy signed last week, it's against the law to smoke "any substance which contains tobacco or any other matter that can be smoked" in parks and on beaches.

Logically one form of smoking should be treated the same as the next. And that's where we seem to be headed.

But it's going to be a bumpy ride.
U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez hasn't fired a television ad shot in anger, but his Republican opponent Robert Hugin has unleashed salvo after salvo at Menendez, depicting him in an unflattering light.

Menendez escaped federal corruption charges but not from being admonished by the Republican-controlled Senate.

All of this is just a prologue to what happens after the Labor Day weekend. The U.S. Senate campaign for the November election begins then with unrelenting intensity. Menendez will come out firing.

Poll numbers suggest Hugin's ad barrage is having some impact.

In April, the Monmouth University poll favored Menendez 53-32 percent. The May 25 Fairleigh Dickinson University poll showed the Democrat's lead shrank to a mere 28-24 percent. And on July 17, the Gravis poll showed Hugin trailed only 43-41.

And Hugin has an advantage: he's raised $16.7 million -- about $15.5 million of which he loaned to his own campaign -- to Menendez's $8.9.

One political certainty: the campaign war chests for both candidates will increase dramatically after Labor Day.

Perhaps even more important, however, is the fact that the Democrats enjoy a lopsided advantage among registered voters statewide. But the most telling figure in the New Jersey election is the number of unaffiliated or independent voters. These total 2,361,492.

The Democrats have mustered 2,120,485 registered voters to 1,140,873 Republicans.

Republicans haven't elected a U.S. Senator in New Jersey in nearly 50 years. New Jersey Blue is still New Jersey Blue.

Joseph Albright's column appears every week in The Jersey Journal
It is tempting to ignore President Trump's unhinged tweet-storms, if only to preserve one's mental health. But his threat to make war with Iran during a late-night tantrum Sunday night is downright scary. And this time, his senior aids seem to be goading him on, rather than trying to calm him down.

Start with Trump's threat, aimed at Iranian President Hassan Rouhani: "Never, ever threaten the United States again or you will suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before."

On Monday morning, the message was reinforced by National Security Advisor John Bolton, who openly pressed for regime change in Iran before Trump recruited him: "If Iran does anything at all to the negative, they will pay a price like few countries have ever paid before."

Why these macho threats of annihilation? It's likely a response to a speech Rouhani gave Sunday warning that Iran will fight back if attacked, and his earlier warning that it may disrupt oil traffic through the Straits of Hormuz if the United States succeeds in forcing a halt to Iran's oil shipments.

"Peace with Iran would be the mother of all peace and war with Iran would be the mother of all wars," Rouhani said Sunday.

This chest-thumping on both sides comes a few months after Trump provoked a crisis by unilaterally breaking the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, despite his own administration's conclusion that Iran was abiding by its terms.

Even now, Iran continues to abide by the agreement, according to all the other countries that signed it, including our key European allies, China, and Russia. Still, the United States has re-imposed sanctions and is pressuring other countries to wean themselves of Iranian oil by November, a campaign of economic warfare that threatens the survival of the Iranian regime and has led to an enormous capital flight and a 50 percent drop in the value of Iranian currency. If the U.S. campaign to block Iranian exports succeeds, that would risk provoking extreme measures like blocking the Straits of Hormuz.

"Is it possible that everyone in the region sells their oil and we stand idly by and watch?" Rouhani asked recently.

Iran presents a complex challenge. It is a threat to Israel, supplying rockets to Hezbollah in Lebanon, and establishing a threatening presence across the border in Syria, where its Revolutionary Guard is helping the murderous Assad regime survive. It is intervening in Yemen's civil war as well, while repressing lawful dissent within Iran.

President Obama's response was to reduce the risk by negotiating a halt to Iran's nuclear weapons program. Trump's response is to raise the stakes by demanding Iran change its behavior across the board, not just ending its nuclear program, but by withdrawing from the regional conflicts, abandoning allies like Hezbollah, and halting the development of its ballistic missiles program.

Few nations on earth would prostrate themselves like that without a fight, and to expect Iran to yield so fully to the United States, given the history of our unjust interventions, is beyond unrealistic.

This strategy risks provoking a war that could be even more ruinous that our adventure in Iraq. In 2012, a bipartisan group of seasoned American diplomats and military leaders came to this sobering conclusion: "Given Iran large size and population, and the strength of Iranian nationalism, we estimate that the occupation of Iran would require a commitment of resources and personnel greater than what the U.S. has expended over the past 10 years in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined."

Trump and his team are playing a dangerous game. And once a fight with Iran begins, it will be difficult to end as each side faces domestic pressure to escalate. So, here's hoping that Republicans and Democrats step up now, and press Trump to change course.

More: Tom Moran columns

Tom Moran may be reached at tmoran@starledger.com or call (973) 836-4909. Follow him on Twitter @tomamoran. Find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.
WASHINGTON -- Dean Serratelli had some doubts when he first got the phone call: Would he like to represent New Jersey at the White House's second annual Made in America Day?

"I didn't know if it was authentic," said Serratelli, the fourth-generation owner of Serratelli Hat Co. in Newark.

The call was real, and that's how Serratelli got a chance to display his cowboy hats at the White House, alongside Wiffle Balls from Connecticut, Jack Link's meat snacks from Wisconsin, covers for fishing tackle from Washington state, automobile fluids from Kansas, and other products from each of the 50 states.

"It was a such a tremendous honor to be featured and represent New Jersey," he said. "It's just an amazing opportunity."

Campbell Soup Co. was New Jersey's representative last year. Now it was Serratelli, whose company employs 86 people to make cowboy hats whose biggest markets are Texas, California, Canada and Australia.

They began in 1878 as importers of the raw materials for other manufacturers and then decided to make the hats themselves.

"Having a hat maker of this caliber from Newark, New Jersey, it's an oxymoron," said Rep. Marl Meadows, R-N.C., one of several lawmakers and administration officials to visit the display, which spilled over from the White House onto the lawn.

"I think we were invited for the shock value," responded Serratelli's son, Alex.

Both President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence appeared at the event. Serratelli made a special cowboy hat for Trump with his name, and a hat box with the presidential seal to store it in. The president didn't stop by, though.

"For decades, the United States allowed other countries to steal our jobs, close our factories, and plunder our wealth," Trump said at the event as he touted his trade policies. "They let our factories leave, they let our people lose their jobs to workers in faraway lands. That's not free trade. That's fools' trade. That's stupid trade. And We don't do that kind of trade anymore."

Serratelli said his business was up under Trump.

"The market has definitely increased since Trump came into office," he said. "A lot of the people who buy our hats are his constituents. We've noted continuing growth since he's come in."

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
When then-candidate Phil Murphy was asked last year whether he backed legislation that banned the state from investing in businesses that boycott Israeli goods and services, he expressed his unequivocal support.

"That's a bill I would have signed if I were governor," Murphy said on the campaign trail. "I would have voted on it if I were in the Assembly. And most importantly, I would have enforced it."

But now that he's governor, the Democrat has has taken a decidedly different approach when it comes to divesting pension funds for particular causes.

The governor's office announced Monday that Murphy vetoed a pair of bills that would prohibit the state's $78.6 billion pension fund from investing in two things, the governor said in his veto message, he supports in theory.

However, he's now opposed to divestment being the first course of action.

Murphy rejected the bills in a form of a conditional veto. Instead, he recommended the creation of an "Environmental, Social and Governance" policy with the goal of empowering the investment council "to use a number of negotiating tools to influence a company's behavior."

One of the bills Murphy vetoed was a measure (S1914) that would prohibit pension investments in entities engaged in mortgage foreclosures of homes in Puerto Rico damaged by Hurricane Maria.

The other (S1208) would prohibit investments in entities that fail to follow environmental cleanup rules in Superfund sites across the state.

Instead, Murphy wants the State Investment Council to decide whether to divest for a particular cause -- not the Legislature.

The administration argues it gives the state more leverage over companies it chooses to invest the pension fund.

"While I agree that divestiture is an appropriate penalty in certain instances ... I do not believe that it should be the only available response when companies in which the state has invested pension funds behave poorly," Murphy said in his veto message.

Murphy didn't express similar views during his gubernatorial campaign when he was asked about New Jersey divestments as it related to Israel. In fact, he split with his running mate, Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, who was a state Assemblywoman at the time who had voted against the bill.

Oliver was one of only three members of the Assembly to vote against the measure in 2016. It was signed into law by Gov. Chris Christie.

Murphy offered his forceful support of the measure.

In his veto message on Monday, however, the governor cited the Israeli divestment as an example of why New Jersey should not mandate divestiture by statute.

"The state has spent more than $23 million monitoring the divesture of holdings as a result of recent statutory mandates to divest pension system assets from companies that do business with Iran and companies that boycott Israel and Israeli businesses," Murphy wrote.

In response to a question about the change of heart when it comes to divestments, a Murphy spokesman, Dan Bryan, said in a statement the governor believes the State Investment Council should have the authority "to weigh environmental and social considerations in its investment decisions moving forward."

Bryan added: The governor "believes the council should have a number of negotiating tools at its disposal to help influence a company's behavior rather than solely relying on divestment."

Asked if the governor still support the Israeli divestment, Bryan responded "yes."

Murphy's decision to veto legislation that dealt with Puerto Rico took the bill's sponsors by surprise, particularly given all the governor has done to shine a spotlight on the destruction Hurricane Maria caused in its wake to the island's 3.4 million people in September 2017.

"The administration acknowledges that divestiture is an appropriate penalty in certain instances. However, it leads to question why the administration wouldn't agree that in this instance that divestiture isn't warranted when the bill unanimously passed the Senate," sponsors of the bill, state Sens. Teresa Ruiz and Nilsa Cruz-Perez, said in a statement.

Before taking office, Murphy visited Puerto Rico to meet with its governor and get an update on recovery efforts. After he became governor, he created a commission to help the estimated 30,000 Puerto Ricans displaced to New Jersey by the storm.

Lawmakers hoped the legislation would prevent foreclosures on the homes of people still recovering.

Murphy's office argues the State Investment Counsel has had success in convincing lenders to suspend foreclosures. However, moratoriums on mortgage and reverse mortgage foreclosures expired in March and The New York Times reported last week foreclosures there have picked back up.

Nearly 300 new foreclosure actions were filed across the island over the last four months, according to the report. Among the holding companies included is TPG Capital, in which New Jersey invests its pension funds.

"Unfortunately, through its actions today, the State has failed to support those families struggling to recover from devastating circumstances," Ruiz and Cruz-Perez said.

The veto of the Superfund divestment bill came under fire from environmentalists.

"Governor Murphy's conditional veto weakens the purpose of the bill by giving the State Investment Council options," said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. "Will those options lead to divestment? We need to hold polluters accountable by divesting, period."

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco or Facebook.
WASHINGTON -- Three New Jersey House Democrats blasted President Donald Trump's administration for continuing to withhold almost $6 million in law enforcement grants.

The money was to be awarded to New Jersey and its municipalities through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants program, but the lawmakers, joined by Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, said the funds were being held hostage to the state's opposition to Trump's immigration policy.

Several municipalities have declared themselves "sanctuary cities" and said they would not cooperate with federal immigration authorities, and the Trump administration has threatened to withhold some grants in return.

"No one should ever play politics with our law enforcement, but this is exactly what Donald Trump and [Attorney General] Jeff Sessions are doing," said Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-9th Dist. "Local law enforcement strategies should not be undermined by Trump forcing states and localities to enforce his cruel, draconian immigration policies."

Justice spokesman Devin O'Malley has blamed that the delay to a lawsuit brought by the city of Chicago and in June announced it would start distributing Byrne funds "to jurisdictions that share the department's commitment to keeping criminal aliens off our streets and our law abiding citizens safe."

Pascrell was joined by Reps. Frank Pallone Jr., D-6th Dist., and Donald Payne Jr., D-10th Dist., at Newark City Hall. They said the state was to get $4 million and 41 municipalities $2 million in Byrne grants, which provids funds for training, personnel and equipment to fight crime and terrorism.

"By forcing a false choice between abandoning our immigrant community or receiving federal law enforcement grants, the Trump administration has hurt every single New Jerseyan," Payne said.

New Jersey and five other states earlier this month sued to force the Justice Department to release the funds.

Last November, the state's Democratic lawmakers said the money was being withheld after several municipalities said they would not cooperate with federal immigration authorities.The lawmakers told Sessions that said they believed the delay was part of the Justice Department's efforts "to punish states and local governments for their immigration laws and policies."

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
The process of forecasting and certifying revenues in New Jersey this year was fraught and dramatic -- but it doesn't have to be, government budgeting experts said Tuesday.

They spoke in support of Senate President Stephen Sweeney's plan to take the constitutional power to certify revenues away from the governor and hand it over to a three-person panel.

The proposal comes just weeks after Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy and Democratic legislative leaders wrapped up contentious budget negotiations, but Sweeney said Monday it is the outgrowth of years of politics creeping into what should be a purely analytical process.

"I remember Gov. (Chris) Christie was roundly criticized for projecting 7 percent ratable growth one year. Everyone knew it wasn't true. Everyone argued it wasn't possible. But you know something? We couldn't do anything about it. And then in that year we had to cut $1 billion in spending," Sweeney said before a hearing on the measure Monday.

The hearing was the first step in the process to amend the state constitution to turn over that power to a three-person panel to include the state treasurer, the finance officer in the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services, and a third agreed-upon member.

Sweeney, D-Gloucester, said the proposed amendment is not a "shot" at Murphy but a needed modernization. He said he regrets he didn't pursue the change during Christie's tenure.

The way it currently works, the Treasury Department and the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services prepare competing estimates of how much money the state will take in each year and how much it can spent. Ultimately, though, the governor gets the final say.

The governor's authority caused the Democratic-controlled Legislature distress during this year's budget negotiations. Murphy said during the disagreement over how much money the state expects to collect this year that he would have to slash hundreds of millions of dollars in spending.

Meanwhile, legislative leaders accused the governor of low-balling to justify his call for bigger tax increases.

Consensus forecasting is recommended by good government groups and rating agencies that say more input leads to better accuracy.

Sweeney wants to go beyond consensus forecasting and also vest certification powers with the three-member panel.

In a statement, state Treasurer Elizabeth Muoio said this "jeopardizes the system of checks and balances enshrined within our Constitution."

"The certification is a fundamental check on the budgetary process, ensuring that the state's books are in balance upon adoption of the budget," she said.

Gordon MacInnes, president of New Jersey Policy Perspective, a progressive Trenton think tank, said the change will "strengthen the budget process," but challenged the rush to get it on this fall's ballot.

"If you take 72 years to make the change instead of 71, the damage will not be that great," he said.

Sweeney will need three-fifths support from the Legislature's two chambers to place the question (SCR132) on the ballot for voter approval this fall.

Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin said in a statement only that "we support looking at ways that the state conducts revenue forecasting to ensure that it is as accurate and reliable as possible."

Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @samanthamarcus. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
One of the state's largest hospital chains Tuesday pledged $1 billion over the next 20 years to nurture medical research, lure top academic talent and expand health care opportunities throughout New Jersey.

RWJBarnabas Health, the $5.4 billion not-for-profit 11-hospital network, announced the financial commitment as part of a pact it introduced last summer and finalized with Rutgers University officials on Tuesday morning.

The deal is meant to catapult the state into big-time clinical trials, medical education and research. It will also form one of the largest medical practices in the nation, comprised of 2,500 physicians and other health care professionals from RWJBarnabas Health and Rutgers Health, according to the announcement.

"This unparalleled enterprise will further our shared goal to grow research activities and expand clinical trials statewide," Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences Chancellor Brian Strom said during a press conference with Rutgers University President Robert Barchi, and other top Rutgers and RWJBarnabas officials.

In 2017, Rutgers -- including the two medical schools, the Cancer Institute, the schools of Nursing, Dental Medicine, Public Health and other institutions -- drew down $150.8 million in funding, or 63 percent of the $241 million the state received from the National Institutes of Health. But 22 other states received more NIH funding than New Jersey last year.

RWJBarnabas -- the product of a hospital mega-merger between Robert Wood Johnson University Health and Barnabas Health in 2016 -- is putting up $100 million immediately. Another $50 million a year will sustain the endeavor over two decades.

"We have had the ability over the years to retain a certain amount of operating margin to make investments in important projects and relationships," RWJBarnabas President and CEO Barry Ostrowsky said. "This is the most meaningful investment in the history of our organization."

"The medical schools require a great deal of support and investments in human and physical capital, and that is not available from the revenues medical school generate," Ostrowsky said. "Without that investment, they can't be as good as we want them to be."

Part of the money will be used to recruit about 100 new high-profile principal investigators to Rutgers over ten years with the goal of doubling the amount of research, according to the announcement.

The hospital chain also pledged to fund the construction of a new clinical and research building for the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the state's only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, and an outpatient care center, both in New Brunswick.

And $10 million is earmarked to help pay down the college debt of medical students to keep more of them working in New Jersey. Surveys say most medical students leave the state because it is too expensive to live and practice.

RWJBarnabas Health and Rutgers University will remain separate organizations, but their work together will be led by a joint committee featuring equal representation from both institutions, according to the announcement.

"Through this partnership, we have formed the largest and most comprehensive academic health system in New Jersey and are well positioned to take our place as a national leader in patient care, health science discovery and innovation," Barchi said.

The Rutgers-RWJBarnabas Health partnership was announced Tuesday by hospital Board of Trustees chair Jack Morris, (left to right, sitting) RWJBarnabas Health president and CEO Barry Ostrowsky, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences Chancellor Brian Strom, and Rutgers University president Robert Barchi; (standing, l-to-r) RBHS Senior Vice Chancellor for Clinical Affairs Vicente Gracias, RBHS Senior Vice Chancellor, Finance and Administration Kathleen Bramwell, and RWJBarnabas Health Board of Trustees vice chair Marc Berson. (Courtesy Rutgers University)

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
WASHINGTON -- After Senate Republican leaders blocked a resolution siding with the U.S. Justice Department and intelligence agencies concerning the Russian investigation, Rep. Leonard Lance introduced the same measure in the House.

"There should be no confusion -- Russia meddled in the 2016 election and must be punished for it," said Lance, R-7th Dist. "The sanctions Congress passed overwhelmingly last year need to be enforced fully and lawmakers should be on the record supporting the findings of the intelligence community."

Lance's co-sponsor was Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., giving the House measure the same bipartisan sheen as last week's Senate effort led by U.S. Sens. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and Chris Coons, D-Del.

Lance is considered New Jersey's most endangered House incumbent in an election seen as a referendum on fellow Republican Donald Trump.

His race is rated as a tossup by the Cook Political Report, a Washington-based publication that tracks congressional races, and his Democratic challenger, former Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Tom Malinowski, had more money in the bank at midyear than Lance.

The measure commended the U.S. Justice Department investigation into possible collusion between Russian officials and the Trump campaign, and declared that the Senate supported the conclusion of U.S. intelligence agencies that Moscow did interfere in the 2016 election on behalf of the Republican nominee.

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, blocked the Senate from voting after Flake and Coons spoke in favor of their measure.

The resolution was a response to Trump's comments in Helsinki, Finland, on July 16 when he appeared to side with Russian President Vladimir Putin over American intelligence agencies.

"I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial," Trump said at the press conference following his meeting with the Russian leader.

Criticism was bipartisan. U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called it "one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory." Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry described it as "one of the most disgraceful, remarkable moments of kowtowing to a foreign leader by an American president that anyone has ever witnessed."

Trump, however, continued to proclaim his meeting with Putin a success.

When you hear the Fake News talking negatively about my meeting with President Putin, and all that I gave up, remember, I gave up NOTHING, we merely talked about future benefits for both countries. Also, we got along very well, which is a good thing, except for the Corrupt Media!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018

He also attacked the Justice probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller.

So we now find out that it was indeed the unverified and Fake Dirty Dossier, that was paid for by Crooked Hillary Clinton and the DNC, that was knowingly & falsely submitted to FISA and which was responsible for starting the totally conflicted and discredited Mueller Witch Hunt!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
Uber came to New Jersey in 2013, CitiBike in 2015.

This fall, commuters in one suburban community will get the chance to try riding an e-scooter to travel between a train station and home.

The borough of Madison and Boxcar Inc., a company that provides bus trips and parking through its app, are bringing the state's first electric-powered scooters for commuters through a joint venture.

Madison is the first town in the state to get an e-scooter program. The scooter has a Razor style with a tiny electric motor.

"When I rode one for the first time, I was sold," said Joe Colangelo, Boxcar CEO. "People are going to love these things, they make you feel like a kid."

E-scooters are being marketed for the "first and last mile" between train stations and home, without using cars and dealing with the accompanying traffic and parking issues.

"Boxcar has parking at 20 train stations, but there's just not enough inventory available for everyone who needs a spot," Colangelo said. "We've looked at a lot of "first-mile" solutions in addition to parking, such as jitneys and carpooling, but without subsidies, neither of those make as much sense as electric scooters."

Madison and Boxcar are partnering with Inboard Technology, which provides the scooters for a pilot program that will start in September. Commuters can apply through Boxcar's website to participate.

Scooters will be free for the first two months for residents who live in a 2.5 mile radius of the Madison train station in exchange for commuters keeping records of usage. The company has not said how much they will charge after the grace period.

"Scooters may not be for everyone, but if we can get a few dozen people regularly using them, then it is a major boost to the parking availability in these downtown areas," Colangelo said.

E-Scooter companies have sprung up in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Portland. The initiative came with controversies when parked scooters started taking up sidewalk space.

In Madison, users who apply and are selected for the program will take the scooters home with them at night to recharge, Colangelo said.

"During the day, we will have a designated safe location at the train station where they can store them until they return from work and ride home," he said.

Boxcar was one of several companies that started operating commuter buses from communities on NJ Transit's Morris & Essex lines during the summer 2017 Amtrak track project that displaced those trains from Penn Station, New York. Those buses continue to operate.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Weather forecasters say more rain, heavy at times, is heading for New Jersey. (AccuWeather)

By Len Melisurgo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

After three straight days of rainy weather, most of New Jersey is getting a slight break. But nasty conditions will return Tuesday night and Wednesday, with heavy downpours and scattered thunderstorms threatening to turn streets into rivers.

The National Weather Service says theres a threat of flash flooding and some river flooding on Wednesday, particularly in towns that get repeated rounds of heavy rainfall - a process known as training.

The heaviest bands of rain descended on eastern Maryland and Pennsylvania on Monday, flooding the Hersheypark amusement park and also streets and homes in Tremont, Pennsylvania, and more heavy rain is expected in those areas on Tuesday.

New Jersey is getting a slight reprieve, with some breaks of sun in the early afternoon, followed by scattered showers and thunderstorms later in the afternoon, said Alex Staarmann, a meteorologist at the National Weather Services regional forecast office in Mount Holly.

The bulk of rain will start moving in tonight and overnight, Staarmann said Tuesday morning. I think tomorrow is going to be the day with the most rain for New Jersey.

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***Dangerous and life threatening rain and #flood event continues today***



Heavy rain once again fell in our basin over the past 24 hours. The highest rainfall amounts were in the Susquehanna basin. More rain is forecast! Never enter flooded roads - Turn Around, Dont Drown! pic.twitter.com/AIuHw7a40v  NWS MARFC (@NWSMARFC) July 24, 2018

Dangerous surf at Jersey Shore

For the fourth consecutive day, theres rough surf and a high risk of dangerous rip currents along the entire Jersey Shore, from Sandy Hook down to Wildwood and Cape May. Waves as high as 6 to 7 feet are crashing into the shoreline.

Forecasters note that rip currents can be deadly, even for experienced swimmers.

"A high risk of rip currents means dangerous and potentially life threatening conditions exist for all people entering the surf," the weather service notes on its surf forecast page.

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The National Weather Service is warning swimmers that there's a high risk of dangerous rip currents forming along the entire Jersey Shore on Tuesday, and also in Delaware.

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Flash flood watch

The weather service has issued a flash flood watch for all of New Jersey, except for the northeastern counties of Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic and Union, and the southern counties of Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland.

The watch remains in effect through late Wednesday night.

Rainfall amounts over 1 inch in an hour will be possible, and any training of heavy showers will lead to even higher amounts, the flash flood watch says. Excessive rainfall within a short period of time can lead to rapidly rising water and flash flooding, particularly in urban areas and along small creeks and streams.

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A Flash Flood Watch has been issued for the following locations. #FiOS1News pic.twitter.com/ifoSwQmsey  Geoff Bansen (@WeatherGeoff) July 24, 2018

Rainy month

With all the rain that has fallen during the past two weeks, New Jerseys three main climate sites  Newark, Trenton and Atlantic City  are averaging about 1 inch above the amount of rain they normally get through the third week of July.

Newark has gotten 4.47 inches of rain so far this month; Trenton has gotten 4.91 inches; and Atlantic City has received 3.46 inches, according to data from the National Weather Service.

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Flooding on Swatera creek near Hershey Park. @PennLive pic.twitter.com/HTCDpmMgXA  Daniel Zampogna (@DanielZampogna) July 23, 2018

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Saturated towns in N.J.

Some towns across New Jersey have gotten far more saturated. Among them are Point Pleasant and Toms River, both in Ocean County, and High Point in Sussex County.

As of Tuesday morning, Point Pleasant has had a total of 7.11 inches of rain in July, and Toms River has received 6.86 inches, according to the New Jersey Weather & Climate Network, based at Rutgers University. The climate station in High Point has recorded 7.08 inches of rain this month, including more than 2.5 inches on Monday and nearly an inch on Tuesday.

With the ground so saturated, it wont take much additional rain to trigger flash flooding on some roads and highways, which is why forecasters are concerned about the drenching showers that could hit the region Tuesday night and Wednesday.

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Basically you have the maritime airmass set up like a wall just inland with convection/cloud streets (I call em streaks lol) stemming from that boundary it appears. Reason for SE NJ/E. NJ missing out. It will shift east overnight ! pic.twitter.com/KYip1CYz82   .  (@WxmanFranz) July 24, 2018

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Will the weather pattern improve?

The tropical weather pattern that has been responsible for the recent rain is expected to start breaking down after Wednesdays final surge of rain, Staarmann noted.

Although the heavy rain threat will go down on Thursday and Friday, theres still a 60 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms on Thursday and a 40 percent chance on Friday.

Mostly sunny skies will finally return on Saturday and Sunday, but muggy air will remain, and theres a 30 percent chance of showers or thunderstorms each of those days.

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ECMWF Extreme Forecast Index (EFI) for precipitation is really hinting that we may have to watch for flash flooding over portions of the Mid Atlantic and Northeast on Wednesday. Ensembles are also showing a high chance of >2" of rain in areas that have already seen 3-6" of rain pic.twitter.com/dZXSXGUjZd  Steve Copertino (@TheSteveCop) July 23, 2018

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Amazing satellite image of tropical moisture streaming into the coast, lifting, and then the convergence zone over Pennsylvania. pic.twitter.com/tvWZ6ZxkkV  NY NJ PA Weather (@nynjpaweather) July 24, 2018

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Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @LensReality or like him on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
A man is suspected of threatening several people with a gun Sunday (July 22) at the Gentilly home of his adoptive mother, according to the New Orleans Police Department.

Jermaine Zeno, 31, is wanted on charges of aggravated assault and home invasion, police said.

Detectives believe Zeno entered his mother's home in the 1400 block of Mandolin Street and then took out a handgun, pointing the weapon at those inside of the home.

According to the NOPD, one of the victims led Zeno outside. He then fled in his mother's red Dodge Caravan, which Zeno had stolen earlier in the day, police said.

The Dodge Caravan was later recovered but as of Monday afternoon, Zeno remained at large.

Zeno's criminal history in Orleans Parish includes various drug-related convictions, as well as a 2010 conviction for aggravated battery, a 2016 conviction for simple battery and a March 2017 conviction for second-degree battery and drug-possession charges, according to Orleans Parish court records. For the March 2017 convictions, he was sentenced to 16 months in prison, with credit for time served.

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In addition, Zeno has open charges of possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine, battery of a police officer and resisting a police officer in connection with an April arrest, court records show. He missed his latest court appearance, scheduled for July 12, due to medical reasons, according to court records.

In a separate case, investigators are searching for 33-year-old Yashica Bickham, accused of pulling a gun and threatening to kill another woman in the Hollygrove neighborhood.

The aggravated assault occurred June 28 in the 8700 block of Colapissa Street, police said.

According to the NOPD, the victim said she was on her mother's porch when a woman, later identified as Bickham, arrived at the home and pointed a pistol at the victim. After threatening to kill the victim, Bickham got into the passenger side of a blue sedan, which then drove away, police said.

Anyone with information on Jermaine Zeno's whereabouts is asked to call NOPD 3rd District detectives at 504-658-6030. Anyone with information on Yashica Bickham's whereabouts is asked to call NOPD 2nd District detectives at 504-658-6020.

Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111 or toll-free at 1-877-903-7867.
A 21-year-old man found in the corner of a 9th Ward park, shot to death, on Saturday (July 21) has been identified by the Orleans Parish Coroner's Office as Jaleel Sino.

The shooting was reported to police about 6:30 a.m., when officers found Sino lying dead near the F.P. Jackson Playground in the 2200 block of Louisa Street, in the Florida neighborhood.

The scene is one block from where police said a 19-year-old man was shot in the leg five hours earlier the same day. Dr. Dwight McKenna's office, through spokesman Jason Melancon, said on Tuesday that Sino died of gunshot wounds.

The coroner's office on Tuesday also identified a man who was fatally shot April 24 at the edge of the St. Roch and St. Claude neighborhoods as 61-year-old Davis Murray.

NOPD said the shooting was reported at 3 a.m. in the 1500 block of Franklin Avenue between North Claiborne Avenue and North Robertson Street. He was shot in the chest and died at the scene, officers said.

Additionally, Melancon identified the man whose body was pulled from the Industrial Canal Saturday as 33-year-old Jonathan Michael Buchanan. New Orleans police said a boater found his body in the water near the Chef Pass Bridge in New Orleans East.

The man was last seen by his family Thursday when he left to go for a swim, NOPD said. He was reported missing the next day, and a passing boater reported finding his body face-down in the water about 7:30 a.m. Saturday, NOPD spokesman Gary Scheets previously said.

Anyone with information about the fatal shootings is asked to contact NOPD's Homicide division at 504-658-5300 or Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111.
Louisiana's Scholarship Program and Tuition Donation Rebate program for private school tuition both grew at a slower pace this year than in previous years, The Advocate reports.

The programs as a whole paid full or partial tuition for almost 9 percent of Louisiana's private school children in the 2017-18 school year, the newspaper stated. More than 9,200 children participated, and about 300 students each were added to the programs.

The Advocate stated 86 voucher schools are opening seats to new students this school year, up from 80 schools that did so a year ago. However, the newspaper stated they will collectively be making available 241 fewer seats than a year ago. The voucher program's growth is limited by how much it receives in an annual legislative appropriation, which has stayed at $40 million for the past few years.

Concordia Lutheran School in Marrero and Torah Academy in Metairie will be among the private schools new to the program this year. Hype Academy in New Orleans will also offer vouchers.

The Louisiana Scholarship Program received more than 9,000 applications from parents for the 2017-2018 school year, according to the Louisiana Federation for Children. The federation stated 6,909 students were awarded a scholarship to attend 122 schools in 31 school districts statewide.

. . . . . . .

Wilborn P. Nobles III is an education reporter based in New Orleans. He can be reached at wnobles@nola.com or on Twitter at @WilNobles
U.S. Sen. John Kennedy says he's started reading Judge Brett Kavanaugh's articles and opinions in preparation for voting on President Donald Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court. The vote has not been scheduled, but the Louisiana Republican plans to meet in his Capitol Hill office with Kavanaugh on Tuesday (July 24) at 1:30 p.m. central time.

"I want to know what's in his head. I want to know what's in his heart. I want to know how he views the world," Kennedy said of the planned meeting. "I want to understand, just in a general way, what he sees the role of the United States Supreme Court as being in our society."

The meeting is one of many ice-breakers that the White House has scheduled for Kavanaugh with senators since Trump announced the nomination July 9. In a conference call with Louisiana news reporters, Kennedy said he hopes the Judiciary Committee, on which he sits, will hold a hearing on the nomination during the third week of August.

Kennedy is one of the few Republican senators to have voiced any misgivings about the GOP president's judicial nominees. As of May, he was the only Republican senator to have voted against any of them -- Gregory Katsas for a seat on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit -- and in one celebrated incident his questioning embarrassed another nominee who later withdrew from consideration.

In preparation for committee hearings, Kennedy said he has begun reading Kavanaugh's articles from the Yale University Law Review. He then plans to examine some 300 main opinions that Kavanaugh has written on the D.C. Circuit Court, to which President George W. Bush appointed the nominee in 2006.

Listen to Kennedy's conference call:

. . . . . . .

Drew Broach covers Jefferson Parish politics and Louisiana interests in Congress, plus other odds and ends, for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Email: dbroach@nola.com. Facebook: Drew Broach TP. Twitter: drewbroach1. Google+: Drew Broach.
St. Tammany Parish Hospital and the city of Covington on Monday (July 23) announced a joint plan to make road and walkway improvements to an area near the medical complex where a pedestrian was killed earlier this year.

The plan involves reconfiguring the crosswalk and sidewalks near the intersection of West 8th Avenue and South Harrison Street, replacing warning beacons, adding advance signage approaching the intersection, and putting roadway markings at the hospital exits and radar speed alert signs between Jefferson and Harrison, according to a joint statement released by the hospital and city government.

Those plans are to be implemented immediately. In addition, long-term improvements will include the widening of West 8th to allow for a raised center island with flashing beacons, widening Harrison to include a right turn lane and aesthetic improvements once construction is complete, the joint statement said.

The immediate improvements will be first priority, but hospital and government leaders said that all work, including the longer-term upgrades, will be complete by year's end.

The improvement plan stems from a traffic engineering study of the area by Digital Engineering of Kenner, which recommended the immediate and long-term improvements. Covington Mayor Mike Cooper, City Council members and city engineer Daniel Hill, along with hospital leaders, reviewed the recommendations and agreed they are needed for the safety of both drivers and pedestrians.

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Current city budget plans would not cover all aspects of the recommendations within this budget year. The city and hospital developed a cooperative endeavor agreement to share the cost, according to the statement.

The news release did not provide an estimated cost.

"We want employees and visitors to have safe, convenient access to our hospital," Hospital Board Chairman John Evans said. "We're proud to collaborate with the city to bring about the needed improvements and to support the project with some funding to ensure it doesn't have to wait for future budget years."

On Feb. 2, a nurse walking to an employee parking lot after her shift was struck by a vehicle in a marked crosswalk at the intersection of West 8th and Harrison, immediately south of the main building. The nurse died of her injuries. The driver, also a hospital employee, was cited with failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk in what police described as a "low-speed accident."

A short time after the accident, the city and the hospital announced it would conduct an examination of pedestrian and vehicular traffic on and near the medical facility's campus.
A Covington man has been arrested in connection with what authorities said was a scheme in which he used Craigslist and social media to try and sell land he did not own in Washington Parish.

Ryan Skler Crain, 29, was booked with multiple counts of theft in what the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office is calling a "real estate scam.'' He remained in custody in Washington Parish under a $3,250 bond late Monday, the Sheriff's Office said.

The Sheriff's Office said detectives investigated complaints of land sales on social media sites and Craigslist by a person who did not own the listed property. The investigation led them to Crain, the Sheriff's Office said.

Authorities said Crain falsely claimed to own the land and provided buyers with sale documents that appeared to be legitimate. But the potential purchasers learned the sales were bogus after contacting the Washington Parish Clerk of Court's office to research the property, the Sheriff's Office said.

The Sheriff's Office said three victims have been identified but investigators think there might be more. Chief Deputy Mike Haley said the three victims had provided a down payment, but were able to pull the plug before paying the full amount.

The Sheriff's Office said Crain also told people he was in the military and had to return to active duty, which is why he was selling the land. Haley said Crain is not in the military. Crain used several aliases -- Eddie Morris, Edward Stride and Edward Stang, the Sheriff's Office said.

The Sheriff's Office asks any other persons with information or who might have had contact with Crain to contact Capt. Tom Anderson at (985) 839-3434, ext. 2059.
The exercise is as old as the Republic, but the first thing you need to understand about redistricting is that hot-water cornbread is as ubiquitous in north Louisiana as etouffee is in the south, says Rick Gallot, the Ruston Democratic representat
Rupert Wace, a well-known dealer in antiquities in London, and his partner, Sam Fogg, have said they acquired the work legally from the Montreal museums insurance company. But after investigators laid out a lengthy and detailed timeline they said showed that the item was in fact stolen, the men signed court papers agreeing to the surrender.

At the time of the seizure, Mr. Wace had said in an email, This work of art has been well known to scholars and has a history that spans almost 70 years. He had added that he and Mr. Fogg were simply flabbergasted at what has occurred.

The bas-relief is an eight-inch-square piece of carved limestone that was part of a long line of soldiers depicted on a balustrade at the central building on the Persepolis site. It dates to the Achaemenid dynasty  or the First Persian Empire  and experts said it was made sometime between 510 and 330 B.C., when Persepolis was sacked by Alexander the Great.

The district attorneys office has made investigating looted antiquities a priority in recent years and even created a new squad devoted to that mission last year. Aided by forensic researchers and legal specialists, the office has pieced together the histories of dozens of illicit items that arrived in New York for sale.
More than 7,000 Nike employees will be getting raises after an internal pay review, undertaken after claims of workplace misconduct and discrimination against women, shook the company and forced out several of its top executives.

Nike cast the pay changes as part of its effort to maintain a corporate culture in which employees feel included and empowered, according to an internal memo sent to staff on Monday. The New York Times reviewed a copy.

The company, which is based in Beaverton, Ore., said the changes would affect about 10 percent of its 74,000 employees worldwide.

Two months ago, Mark Parker, Nikes chief executive, pledged at a companywide meeting that Nike would alter its compensation and management training programs to reflect its goals for equal pay and work force diversity. Mr. Parker apologized to the gathered workers for missing signs of discontent.
Though Comeys judgment about things that affect political campaigns is not good, I think hes sincere in wanting Democrats to win in November. But his worry is misplaced. Partly, this is because Democrats are not, in fact, rushing to the socialist left in great numbers. Overall, it's not really true that the insurgent leftist candidates, like the candidates who are affiliated with the D.S.A. or Bernie Sanderss group, are doing all that well, said Alan Abramowitz, a political scientist at Emory University who specializes in partisan polarization. With many of this years primary races completed, Crowley is the only Democratic congressional incumbent so far to lose to a challenger from his left. Ocasio-Cortez is a bright, exciting new figure in the Democratic Party, but she doesnt define it.

And even people like Comey  center-right figures who are momentarily allied with Democrats because they abhor Donald Trump  should be cheered by the energy that Ocasio-Cortez and others like her are creating. In the midterms, passion is likely to matter more than appeals to an ever-shrinking pool of swing voters, who at any rate tend to be idiosyncratic economic populists rather than the judicious centrists of Beltway imagination.

Im not wholly unsympathetic to people of good faith who want Democrats to win in November, but who fear that America is more conservative than left-wing activists like to believe. I grew up at a time when Democrats were deeply afraid of liberal overreach. For many of the people who taught me about politics, the debacle of George McGoverns 1972 rout was formative. Its lessons were reinforced by the overwhelming defeat of Michael Dukakis, who was painted as soft on crime and mocked by George H.W. Bush for being a card-carrying member of the A.C.L.U., as if concern for civil liberties were shameful. I wasnt old enough to vote when Bill Clinton was first elected, but I remember what a relief it was when he broke the Republicans 12-year stranglehold on the White House, and how necessary and worthwhile his compromises seemed.
Theres a lot of discussion about how far left the Democratic Party should go these days. Is it destroying its electoral chances when its members call for a single-payer health plan or abolishing ICE?

Thats an important question, but the most important question is what story is the Democratic Party telling? As Alasdair MacIntyre argued many years ago, you cant know what to do unless you know what story you are a part of. Story is more important than policies.

We post-Cold War Americans havent really settled on what story we are a part of. Well flock to anybody who can tell us a story that feels true.

The story Donald Trump tells is that we good-hearted, decent people of Middle America have been betrayed by stupid elites who screw us and been threatened by foreigners who are out to get us. That story resonated with many people. You can get a lot of facts wrong if you get your story right.
FRONT PAGE

An article on June 29 about Russian business proposals to a major donor backing a British exit from the European Union referred incompletely to an investment funds participation in the Russian diamond giant Alrosa. Since publication of the article, representatives of the British financier Jim Mellon have said that a fund managed by a company he founded, Charlemagne Capital, had invested in an initial public offering of shares in Alrosa by the Russian government in 2013. The article reported only a later investment by a Charlemagne fund in a secondary private placement of shares in Alrosa by the Russian government in 2016, shortly after the referendum to leave the European Union.

CORRECTIONS: July 24, 2018

FRONT PAGE

An article on Monday about the declassification of a memo related to the F.B.I.s surveillance of Carter Page gave an imprecise description of a brief email response from a spokesman for Representative Devin Nunes to a request for comment. The spokesman meant that the court filings did not contradict Mr. Nuness February statements. He did not mean that Mr. Nunes did not want to comment.

NATIONAL

An article on Friday about the interpreter present at a meeting between President Donald J. Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia misstated when a photo of Michael A. McFaul was taken during a meeting between President Barack Obama and Mr. Putin. It was during Mr. Obamas first term, not in 2015.

BUSINESS DAY

An article on Monday about an economic revival in Portugal misidentified the location of Ramon Riveras olive oil business. It is in the Alentejo region, not the Algarve region.
SAN FRANCISCO  European authorities took their best swing, but it appears that Google hardly felt it.

Less than a week after the European Union fined Google a record $5.1 billion for abusing its dominance in the smartphone market, Googles parent company, Alphabet, said on Monday it had already absorbed the cost of the fine and still made $3.2 billion in profits in its latest quarter.

Alphabets stock rose 3.5 percent in after-hours trading, and some analysts recommended the companys shares. With the regulatory issue settled, they said, Google could get back to focusing on selling ads across the internet.

Its like a delivery company having to pay for a parking ticket, Brian Wieser, a Pivotal Research analyst, said of the penalty, which Alphabet accounted for in the second quarter. Its not a meaningful fine in the context of the size of this company.
The authorities in California said Monday night that they had captured a man who fatally stabbed a young woman and wounded her sister at an Oakland transit station over the weekend, the latest of three unrelated homicides at Bay Area transit stations in less than a week.

The Bay Area Rapid Transit Police Department identified the stabbing suspect as John Lee Cowell, 27, a parolee who was released from prison about four months ago.

Around 6:30 p.m. local time, the police took him into custody at the Pleasant Hill BART station, about 15 miles northeast of where the stabbing took place, said Chief Carlos Rojas of the BART Police Department. He said riders had identified Mr. Cowell, whose picture had been widely distributed. The suspect was unarmed when he was arrested.

Mr. Cowell was being held without bail on Tuesday morning in a jail in Alameda County, Calif., on charges of first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon and theft, according to court records. His first court appearance was scheduled for Wednesday morning.
ALEXANDRIA, Va.  A federal judge on Monday delayed the financial crimes trial of Paul Manafort for six days to allow Mr. Manaforts lawyers more time to review a trove of documents that they said could be crucial to his defense.

The decision by the judge, T. S. Ellis III of the United States District Court in Alexandria, pushed the start of the trial back to next Tuesday. It is the first of two faced by Mr. Manafort, the veteran Republican lobbyist and former campaign chairman for President Trump.

Mr. Manafort has been charged with money laundering and tax evasion in a case that arose from the investigation by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, into efforts by Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election.

Prosecutors have said they do not intend to raise the issue of collusion with Russia during the trial, and Judge Ellis warned lawyers on Monday not to stray into areas that could prejudice the jurors. He advised the defense not to attack the prosecutors motives, despite the fact that Judge Ellis has previously said in court that he believes Mr. Mueller is pursuing a case against Mr. Manafort as a way of pressuring him to help build a case against Mr. Trump.
The United States Senate on Monday overwhelmingly voted to approve President Trumps latest pick to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, confirming Robert Wilkie as the next secretary 86 to 9.

Mr. Wilkie, 55, will lead the second-largest department in the federal government, overseeing about 360,000 employees and the vast veterans health care system.

He is taking over a department in turmoil. Veterans Affairs, which has struggled for years to provide timely and efficient care, has been without permanent leadership since the previous secretary, David J. Shulkin, was fired in March. The department is also dealing with thousands of job vacancies and staff turnover at the highest levels.

Mr. Wilkie will be responsible for stabilizing the department and revamping the veterans health care system to make it easier for veterans to take their benefits to private doctors.
WASHINGTON  A lawyer for the pornographic film actress Stephanie Clifford said on Monday that she and her husband had decided to end their marriage, days after Ms. Clifford, who goes by the stage name Stormy Daniels, was mistakenly arrested at an Ohio strip club.

Ms. Cliffords husband, Glendon Crain, also a pornographic film actor, filed a divorce petition last week in a State District Court in Texas, seeking child support and custody of the couples 7-year-old daughter.

Mr. Crain and Ms. Clifford, who gained national prominence after alleging she had an affair with President Trump before he took office, were married in 2015.

The gossip website TMZ reported that Mr. Crain had accused Ms. Clifford of adultery and had successfully sought a restraining order against her.
ATHENS  Fast-moving wildfires near Athens have killed at least 76 people, officials said on Tuesday, and have forced thousands of tourists and residents to flee in cars and buses, on foot, aboard boats and on makeshift rafts. In desperation, some people plunged into the Aegean waters and tried to swim to safety.

Gale-force winds topping 50 miles an hour have fanned a pair of fires that tore through seaside areas popular with travelers, leaving behind a trail of charred resorts, burned-out cars and smoldering farms, and wrapping the region in a pall of smoke. Officials said that at least 187 people were injured, including 23 children.

Many evacuation routes were blocked, and people who managed to escape by road had to drive through choking smoke, sometimes with walls of flame leaping through trees just yards away.

At his home in Rafina, a port town, Vaios Kiriakis first smelled the fire late Monday afternoon, and by 8 p.m. he, his wife and their 12-year-old son had fled, taking only some money and waterproof jackets with them. They did not know whether they would ever see their house again.
The judge will decide whether to uphold the boards opinion after hearing arguments and witnesses from both sides, lawyers said.

Mr. Cosby, 81, faces up to 30 years in prison after being found guilty of assaulting Andrea Constand, a former Temple University employee, at his home outside Philadelphia in 2004. The trial included testimony by five other women who said they believed Mr. Cosby had drugged and sexually assaulted them in prior decades. Prosecutors argued that Ms. Constands encounter was part of a long pattern of predatory behavior. Mr. Cosby was not charged with assaulting the other women.

If the judge agrees with the psychological assessment, and Mr. Cosby were not to receive a prison sentence, he would be required as a sexually violent predator to report monthly to the police for the rest of his life under Pennsylvania law. The law is the states version of Megans Law, a federal statute that requires the monitoring of convicted sex offenders.

Joseph P. McGettigan, a former prosecutor who is now in private practice, said there doesnt need to be convictions for multiple assaults for a defendant to be classified as a predator. Other evidence beyond the number of cases, such as the testimony of the five women who spoke against Mr. Cosby during the trial, could factor into the boards decision.

Information gathered by the Sexual Offenders Assessment Board thats related to events other than conviction may be relevant, he said.
Jane Austens novels may epitomize Regency England, but she didnt think much of the man for whom the period was named.

Like many of her compatriots, Austen loathed the Prince Regent, once railing in an 1813 letter against the man whose gluttony, profligacy and infidelities scandalized the nation. In 1815, when she was strong-armed into dedicating her fourth novel, Emma, to the future George IV, she produced a tribute so strained that a scholar called it one of the worst sentences she ever committed to print.

But now, in a delicious irony that Austen herself might have appreciated, it turns out that the man who was counted among her most reviled readers might also have been one of her very first.

This month a graduate student working in the Royal Archives in Windsor Castle came across a previously unknown 1811 bill of sale from a London bookseller, charging the Prince Regent 15 shillings for a copy of Sense and Sensibility, Austens first novel. Oddly, the transaction took place two days before the books first public advertisement  making it what scholars believe to be the first documented sale of an Austen book.
As a subject, the princess proves to be something she never was in life: obliging. Beautiful, bad-tempered, scandal-prone, she makes for unfailingly good copy, and heaps of it. Everyone seems to have met her at least once or twice, even those who did their best to avoid her, Brown writes. She shows up without warning, popping her head around the door of every other memoir, biography and diary written in the second half of the 20th century  usually to insult her hostess or use someones hand as an ashtray.

Image Craig Brown

But, for a time, her charms were considerable. Little hot looking pretty girl, according to Ralph Ellison. Picasso desperately wanted to marry her. Peter Sellers would have settled for an affair. John Fowles publicly fantasized about abducting her and keeping her as a prisoner.

When the playwright Alan Bennett visited a friend, the television interviewer Russell Harty, on his deathbed, Harty requested the tracheotomy tube be removed. He just had to report that Margaret had inquired about his health  twice.

The princess could, her father said, charm the pearl out of an oyster. Her interests, however, ran more to sadistic parlor games (she makes an indelible appearance in Edward St. Aubyns Patrick Melrose novels). She was aflame with snobbery and, as she grew older, addicted to bullying and one-upmanship. She would boast about her royal status to her children, and insist lovers address her as Your Royal Highness. When needing a rest, she was known to commandeer the Queen Mothers wheelchair.

Disobedience is my joy, she supposedly told Jean Cocteau. But it was more than that; it was her identity. It was the opinion of Gore Vidal, one of her more loyal friends, that since the queen was the source of national honor and duty, it fell to the princess to be the evil sister, the source of creative malice. (Of Vidal, the princess once said dryly: The trouble with Gore is that he wants my sisters job.)
THE INCENDIARIES

By R.O. Kwon

224 pp. Riverhead Books. $26.

Think of charm as a verb, not a trait, Gavin de Becker writes in his 1997 best seller, The Gift of Fear, in a chapter on predators. Charm is an ability, not a passive feature, he writes, and it almost always has a motive.

In R. O. Kwons radiant debut novel, The Incendiaries, her two central figures are the perpetrators, and victims, of the act of charm. They twist against the barbed wire of human connection in an isolating world. This is a dark, absorbing story of how first love can be as intoxicating and dangerous as religious fundamentalism.

Will and Phoebe meet during the still-sweaty first days of the college school year. Phoebe is a Korean-born, California-raised freshman of relative means whose evident sexual confidence ensnares the ex-born-again, working-class Will. Each of their narratives is told in the first person, interspersed with brief chapters about John Leal, a fanatical Christian cult leader whose grip over Phoebe grows in parallel with hers over Will.

The novel is about extremism, yes, but its for anyone whos ever been captivated by another; for anyone who has been on either side of a relationship that clearly has a subject and object of obsession; for anyone whos had a brush with faith, or whos been fully bathed in its teachings; for anyone afraid of his or her own power.
POGROM

Kishinev and the Tilt of History

By Steven J. Zipperstein

Illustrated. 261 pp. Liveright Publishing. $27.95.

In Kishinev, a provincial city of the Russian Empire (now Chisinau, Moldova), on April 19-20, 1903, 49 Jews were murdered, several among them children; as many (or more) were serially raped; very many more were injured. Synagogues were desecrated, shops were looted, and homes were destroyed or damaged. One woman said afterward: I was pulverized, crushed like a vessel filled with shame and filth. The victims knew their assailants, many crying out their names while being beaten or raped. They were not protected by the civil authorities. In response to calls for help, one police officer told the Jews they were getting what they deserved; the police thwarted Jewish self-defense efforts by confiscating weapons. Two-thirds of the city was affected by violence.

This was the Kishinev pogrom, a dreadful moment in Jewish Diaspora life, Steven J. Zipperstein writes in his impressive, heart-wrenching new book on the subject, Pogrom. The episode is so little known now that its facts are likely to come as a shock to most readers. Yet until the late 1930s it was practically synonymous with anti-Semitism. The word pogrom, which Kishinev concretized, was believed to capture accurately centuries of Jewish vulnerability, the deep well of Jewish misery, Zipperstein writes. It was the state directing mob violence, a phenomenon that would reach its apogee in the Holocaust. The genocide of World War II has come to act like a screen across the middle of the 20th century. But Zipperstein reminds us that it is important to understand the catastrophes that preceded. And theres no better place to start than Kishinev.

Zipperstein gives us a strong, clear narrative as well as appalling details. Rumors of attacks on the Jews had been circulating; permission had been given, it was said, for three days of violence; there were accusations against the Jews of ritual murder. It began with random, nonlethal violence. The mob found meaning through its slogans, Strike the Jews! and Death to the Jews! They were cheered on by local officials who claimed, as one put it, that Jews exploited the Christians in a hundred unscrupulous ways, to their own aggrandizement. But the book is much more than an account of these horrors. It is a history of the pogroms reception, as well. Among his six chapters, Zipperstein addresses the impact on Russian anti-Semites, who took the pogrom as proof not of Jewish weakness but of Jewish mendacity; on the Zionist movement and then on Israeli society, who saw in it the impossibility of diaspora existence; on the N.A.A.C.P., energized by efforts to align the Russian pogroms against Jews with the American lynching of blacks, as well as in the United States generally, the epicenter of pro-Kishinev relief campaigns and demonstrations.
 Im a German when we win, but I am an immigrant when we lose. Mesut Ozil, one of Germanys most celebrated soccer stars, quit the national team, saying he was a victim of bigotry and hypocrisy. [The New York Times]

 In China, parents reacted with fury after reports that hundreds of thousands of children might have been injected with faulty vaccines for diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough. [The New York Times]

 Wildfires near Athens killed at least 20 people and injured more than 100 in the deadliest fire in Greece in more than a decade. [The Associated Press]

 Stephen Bannon, President Trumps former adviser, has his sights set on Europe. Hes dreaming up a right-wing supergroup to gain a foothold in the European Parliament in elections next year. [BBC]

 Greece and Russia have long seen themselves as natural allies, but they have had a stunning falling-out over Russian meddling in Greek affairs, a Greek newspaper columnist writes in an Op-Ed. [The New York Times Opinion]

Smarter Living

Tips for a more fulfilling life.
The facial recognition systems being built by SenseTime and Megvii use artificial intelligence to discern individuals from one another in images or video, by studying libraries of existing content. It is one of the more established machine learning techniques, which means that it has found some practical application in consumer products  such as Apples Face ID, which allows a user to unlock his or her iPhone by looking at it, or Facebooks tools, which can recognize users in uploaded images.

Such software has proved controversial because of the privacy issues that it raises. Law enforcements use of it to identify criminals or track citizens, in particular, has drawn pushback.

But even if its citizens have such concerns, Chinas government wants to use facial recognition to create a vast national surveillance system. And it has created an environment to foster its development.

The countrys push to become a technological powerhouse has created a wave of promising A.I. start-ups. Its desire to track its citizens has also meant that many of them have focused specifically on image recognition. And there are close ties between many of these start-ups and the government, which allows companies to apply their software to huge state data sets. The chief executive of SenseTime, which has contracts with the Police Department in Chongqing and China Mobile, told The Financial Times in January that the company had processed 500 million identities for facial recognition. U.S. companies cant test on so many customers.

Similar arrangements have existed in the United States. But American technology companies have recently run into resistance when working with government agencies.

Amazon endured heavy lobbying from shareholders, the American Civil Liberties Union and staff about the use of its Rekognition software by police to identify people. Microsoft, too, has suffered blowback over a project to help develop A.I. for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. And Google ultimately decided not to renew a contract with the Pentagon that called for using image recognition to improve the performance of drone operations.

In the wake of those criticisms, Microsoft has actually called on Congress to regulate the use of facial recognition technology.

The nature of A.I. means that software systems can be improved by crunching through larger and larger data sets that can be provided by the government  from things like CCTV footage, driving license images, and more. Chinas start-ups, then, are enjoying the benefits of improving their technology inside projects that Americas tech giants might be lobbying their own way out of.
In June, the finance minister, Lim Guan Eng, told reporters that $750 million was misappropriated by 1MDB from the Tun Razak Exchange, known as TRX. The Mahathir administration, he said, had nevertheless decided to invest almost $700 million more to complete the project.

The Malaysian cabinet has decided to support the TRX project to recoup all misappropriated funds, repay all borrowings, recover all funding investments and opportunity costs as well as potentially achieve a small surplus return, Mr. Lim said in a statement.

The Exchange 106 tower and the new financial center were particular favorites of Mr. Najib. The Tun Razak Exchange is named for his father, Abdul Razak Hussein, Malaysias second prime minister. Mr. Najibs allegiance to the project helped persuade the Mulia Group, a big developer based in Jakarta, Indonesia, to spend $166 million for the 3.4 acres in the exchange, enough room to build the tower. Mulia owns 49 percent of the tower; the Malaysian Ministry of Finance owns the other 51 percent.

The Tun Razak Exchange was included in a $100 billion infrastructure construction campaign started by Mr. Najib in 2009 to elevate Malaysia from a middle-income country to what he called a Top 20 nation. Those projects included new rail lines and stations, mixed-use real estate developments, ports, highways, pipelines and energy plants.

Since the May 9 election, Mr. Mahathir, the new prime minister, has canceled or suspended most of the big projects, including two pipelines, a Kuala Lumpur metro line and two national train lines. But with the Mahathir administrations new investment in the Tun Razak Exchange, the Exchange 106 tower will be finished on schedule before the end of the year, and the entire 70-acre development appears on a clear path to completion by the early 2020s.

Until the corruption scandal broke into public view in 2015 and its assets and responsibilities were restructured, 1MDB was responsible for land sales and development in the Tun Razak Exchange. The Ministry of Finance assumed 1MDBs share of the project last year.
Tariffs are the greatest! the president wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. Either a country which has treated the United States unfairly on Trade negotiates a fair deal, or it gets hit with Tariffs. Its as simple as that - and everybodys talking! Remember, we are the piggy bank thats being robbed. All will be Great!

The European Union is coming to Washington tomorrow to negotiate a deal on Trade, he wrote later in another tweet. I have an idea for them. Both the U.S. and the E.U. drop all Tariffs, Barriers and Subsidies! That would finally be called Free Market and Fair Trade! Hope they do it, we are ready - but they wont!

In a briefing on Tuesday, a senior European official denied that the tariffs had made the bloc more willing to negotiate. But the official said the Europeans were eager to find a course of action that could release both sides from a downward spiral of tariffs and retaliation.

But he added that the Europeans had not yet received a clear indication of the Americans primary goal, whether it was slashing tariffs on automobiles or reducing the United States trade deficit with Europe. He said people were struggling to understand the administrations negotiation strategy, and whether it would change its approach from one day to the next.

During his visit, Mr. Juncker is prepared to discuss two options for the trading relationship, the official said, both of which the Europeans have floated with the United States before. The first is an agreement that would have all major global auto exporters slash their tariffs on foreign cars. The second calls for a limited trade deal between Europe and the United States centered on industrial goods.
Britain on Tuesday joined a growing group of Western nations hardening their use of national security as a litmus test for Chinese investments, with the government in London unveiling a blueprint to sharply tighten its oversight of foreign takeovers.

The proposal, which follows a pledge by Prime Minister Theresa May to protect sensitive industries, widens the scope of deals that Britain can thwart to protect its competitive edge. The new rules being suggested extend the governments reach when it comes to foreign takeovers, lowering the threshold to include acquisitions of even small companies, intellectual property, individual assets or company shares.

The move aligns Britain more closely with the United States, Canada, Australia and major European economies, which have been strengthening foreign investment and takeover criteria. In Washington, lawmakers are expected to soon expand the powers of a body that investigates international deals for national security risks.

Britain and other governments in the West have had to tread a fine line when it comes to handling investment from China.
Headliner

The lush, meaty cuisine of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy has relatively little representation on New Yorks dining scene, so Nonna Beppa is a welcome addition. The specialty of the house is tortellini, and you can see Martha Salamanca , the head pasta maker, rolling and fashioning it at her station in the front window. The tortellini, filled with cured meats, fresh pork and Parmigiano-Reggiano, are compact, perfectly formed and served in broth or bathed in cream. There are also more than a dozen other pastas from the region on the menu, alongside cured meats, meatballs and breaded chicken cutlets with prosciutto and Parmigiano. A good list of Lambruscos (as well as other selections) to complement the food is also available. The chef is Giancarlo Cacciatori, known as Wendy, who owns this restaurant with his wife, Valentina Imbrenda, and another partner. Mr. Cacciatori has two restaurants outside Bologna and another one, Via Emilia 9, in Miami Beach. His New York debut, named for his grandmother, is in a somewhat unfinished industrial space with subdued lighting and tables draped in white napery.

290 Hudson Street (Spring Street), 917-639-3996, nonnabeppa.com.

Opening

Cardoncello di Vino

A type of king mushroom from Apulia in Southern Italy, called cardoncello because it flourishes near fields of cardoons, is the specialty of this new Italian restaurant. The mushrooms, imported from Italy, are served grilled, tossed with fettuccine, alongside braised beef cheeks, and as a side dish. (Opens Wednesday)

43 West 27th Street, 212-409-5995, cardoncellodivino.com.

Charley St.

Dan Churchill, an Australian chef and entrepreneur, is pressing all the trendy buttons  fast-casual, healthy, local and sustainable  in his new restaurant, which also has a studio kitchen that can be used for classes, filming and promotions.

41 Kenmare Street (Mott Street), charleyst.com.

The Butchers Daughter Williamsburg

A branch of the vegetarian restaurant, which has two locations in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles, has opened in Brooklyn.

271 Metropolitan Avenue (Driggs Avenue), Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 347-763-1421, thebutchersdaughter.com.
The Ebola outbreak that began in the Democratic Republic of Congo in April was declared officially over on Tuesday in what appeared to be twin triumphs for a new vaccine and rapid response.

Just 33 people died, even though the outbreak reached Mbandaka, a river port city of over one million people. At one point, experts had feared the virus might spread throughout Central Africa.

Three years ago, an Ebola outbreak in West Africa cost more than 11,000 lives. Health agencies were slow to respond, and no vaccine was available until it was nearly over.

The last known case in Congo occurred in early June, and the World Health Organization declared the outbreak largely contained three weeks later. Declaring it officially over, however, required waiting 42 days  the length of two viral incubation periods.
Thank you to the 739 teenagers who participated in the fourth week of our 10-week Summer Reading Contest, and congratulations to Christine Choo, our winner, as well as to our many runners-up and honorable mentions.

Scroll down to take a look at the variety of topics  from the Thai cave rescue to immigration, abortion and Toys R Us  that caught the eyes of our participants this week.

And please remember to always check the top of our contest announcement to find the right place to participate, any week from now until Aug. 24.

Winner

Christine Choo of Singapore chose an article headlined Why Trying to Be Less Awkward Never Works and wrote:

6-year-old me could never have imagined freezing up just because I was stuck in the train with someone Ive met only once. I was spunky, bubbly, and definitely not awkward. I wouldve struck up a conversation that couldve lasted for hours. But with every new candle on a birthday cake that I blew, the bubble of self-consciousness in my body also began to blow up, and soon I found myself trapped in it. Now I actively avoid looking up from my phone on trains, so that I wont see anyone I know (hopefully, they dont see me too). Its lucky that my nerves show up in innocuous ways, like smiling excessively, so most who dont know me well cant tell Im feeling awkward or panicky. But inside me, its always a vicious cycle of nerves. At home, I often think of everyone I talked to that day, all of whom I maybe offended. Im afraid this sheer awkwardness, and the fear that comes with it, will develop into something worse. Im interested in this article because I dont want to let my awkwardness stop me from doing things that I want to do. Im interested because I want to form relationships which dont have awful first memories. Im interested because I dont want to ignore someone who needs help just because Im too nervous again. I like to think that reading this is a good step in helping me find my 6-year-old self again. Maybe today, Ill try not to glue my eyes on my phone on the train.

Runners-Up

bengal11Vanessa100601 on Braving the Queue, for Mom and Roger Federer

Charlotte Dotson on What Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezs Victory Means
Allies had gone from haggling to sharing a currency. In theory, this is a useful development: For activists, it means expecting allies to understand your needs and reliably support your positions rather than having to continually explain yourself to people who are meant to be helping. In practice, though, this drift toward vague, unspoken standards can muddle the whole point of alliances. You can see this in the gradual adoption of the term allyship. Alliances are purposeful, clear and often explicitly named; allyships are informal, unbound by explicit parameters or goals or even participants. Their work is unending and unclear. Instructions like listen to women and support people of color are common directions, while actual methods and tactics go unmentioned. Allyship transforms what could be concrete and pragmatic into a strange ballet of omissions: The first rule of allyship is that you should not have to talk about allyship.

The nebulousness and abstraction of being an ally has led to growing distrust. Mia McKenzie, the writer and activist who founded the Black Girl Dangerous blog, emphasizes deeds over labels: Solidarity is action, she wrote in a 2015 post. Someone putting ally in their bio is a really easy way to let me know that they are, in fact, a cookie seeker. In a 2016 interview, the author Mychal Denzel Smith, who has written extensively on race, took a similar stance. Im trying to get away from the language of ally because it means that you dont have anything to lose, he said. All you have to lose is honor and prestige and the praise associated with being an ally.

This distrust stems not just from how easy it can be to claim allyship but from how much praise is sometimes bestowed upon it. When Senator John McCain significantly sided with Democrats in a 2017 health care vote, for instance, some liberals cheered him as a hero  despite his long record of disparaging the Affordable Care Act. Tim Wise, on the other hand, the author of the books White Like Me and Dear White America, has become a bit of a pariah among race scholars, because his anti-racist research is shared and acclaimed far more widely than similar work by scholars of color. Allies are presumed to share beliefs, goals, experiences and risks; rewards somehow never circulate as freely.

This is what happens when allyship is defined as an unspoken familiarity, a tacit, nonnegotiated bond. Its what happens when strangers try to treat one another as something other than strangers. With strangers, after all, we know that we will have to express ourselves and our beliefs, and they will have to express theirs  and real communication can take place about where everyones goals intersect.

This communication isnt always pretty, and the coalitions it forms can be uncomfortable ones. The American right has managed to make factions of nationalists, evangelicals, deficit hawks, internet trolls and deregulators congeal far better than would be expected, largely unimpeded by these groups vast differences. It is hard to believe that these groups trust one another, but that is precisely where the value of an alliance lies: It forces you to state your interests explicitly and locate the places where they overlap with those of people you may not otherwise care for. (Say, a Supreme Court appointment.)

Allyship seeks to correct that distrust, emphasizing intimacy as the foundation of a working partnership. This approach is, in so many cases, worthwhile and productive. But intimacy is not just a performative passing of the microphone or a winking flash of solidarity  wearing the right hat, using the right buzzword, displaying the symbolic safety pin. It is a form of recognition, of shared interests, of varied dispositions, of work to be done, together.
What such an account fails to address, however, is why the meat allergy has increased in other parts of the world, like Australia and Europe. (Van Nunen says that in the tick country around Sydney, people are now more likely to carry EpiPens, which contain a shot of adrenaline, for meat allergy than for better-known peanut allergies.) Other tick species are linked with meat allergy in those regions, not the lone-star tick. And it seems very unlikely that the microbiomes of all these ticks on different continents have changed in similar ways at the same time. I dont for the life of me have a unifying hypothesis for why its happening everywhere, Commins told me, although he added that pesticides could be one factor changing tick microbiomes globally.

It may simply be that an increase in the number of ticks has turned a problem once so rare that it went scientifically unnoticed into an observable epidemic. I think weve got far more tick bites today than people had as recently as 35 years ago, Platts-Mills told me. He lays the blame for the growing spread of ticks on newly abundant deer. In Virginia, he thinks new laws requiring dogs to remain on leashes have emboldened deer, which then bring ticks closer to people. People arent necessarily venturing deeper into the forests than in the past, he says. More than half the patients he sees with the allergy were bitten on their own lawns.

His leash theory is anecdotal, but its certainly true that the current ecological state of Eastern forests is probably encouraging ticks to multiply. After having been cleared in the Colonial era, the forests have partly grown back. Deer and turkey, which the lone-star tick likes to feed on, are abundant again. They thrive in the new-growth forests, now fragmented by roads and suburbs. Large predators are mostly absent. And the rise of tick-borne disease generally has been linked with the decline (or absence) of predators that eat the animals ticks feed on. In Australia, for example, van Nunen points to the eradication of foxes, an introduced species there, as one factor in the increase of ticks and the rise of meat allergy.

We might label this the disturbed ecosystem theory of meat allergy. Forests ecosystems have recovered partially  lots of animal hosts for ticks but not enough predators to keep those hosts in check  and this imbalance has fostered an exponential growth in the number of ticks. In some ways, this is the most probable explanation for the rise of meat allergy. Climate change may be aiding the lone-star ticks move northward too, Rick Ostfeld, a disease ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, told me. Hundreds of cases of meat allergy have been diagnosed on Long Island in recent years, which wasnt part of the ticks range in recent history. The tick has been spotted as far north as Maine.

But whats happening in the American East cant account for the full extent of the phenomenon elsewhere in the world. In Northern Europe, ticks are proliferating as forests recover and the climate becomes warmer. But in Spain and Southern Europe, the rising incidence of meat allergy has not been accompanied by an increase in tick numbers, according to Jose de la Fuente, a professor at the Institute of Game and Wildlife Research in Ciudad Real, Spain. For him, the mystery of meat allergy is captured in one question: If a tick bites two genetically similar people, why might only one develop the meat allergy?

Onyinye Iweala, an assistant professor who works with Scott Comminss lab at the University of North Carolina, echoes this uncertainty. Why are some people sensitized to alpha-gal  meaning they have allergic antibodies directed at the sugar in their blood stream  but never have an allergic reaction to it? This can happen in all allergies. You can have antibodies to, say, cat dander, yet never wheeze or sneeze around cats. Iweala suspects that sensitization to alpha-gal isnt new. Whats changing is the proportion of people who, after sensitization, proceed to overt allergy. Something else in the environment, she told me, is likely pushing people toward full-blown meat allergy. Perhaps shifts in the microbes that live within us have somehow made us more easily sensitized by tick bite. As a model of how this might work, Iweala points to intriguing research on the interaction between malaria and the human microbiome that centers on alpha-gal.

OUR DISTANT ANCESTORS once made alpha-gal. Understanding why humans dont could shed light on the meat-allergy mystery. Like other mammals, South American monkeys produce alpha-gal. Only Old World monkeys and apes (and humans) have lost the ability to make the sugar. Hence scientists deduce that the change most likely happened after New and Old World primates diverged from each other around 40 million years ago. One explanation for the disappearance of alpha-gal is that it was driven by some catastrophe, a deadly infection that afflicted Old World primates, perhaps, and as a result maybe these distant relatives of ours stopped being able to produce the sugar because doing so conferred an evolutionary advantage. The mutation that eliminated alpha-gal could have improved a primates ability to fight off an infection by enabling its immune system to more easily distinguish between its own body and some pathogen with alpha-gal.
For decades, enclaves of ultra-Orthodox Jews across New York City have received emergency medical care from a Jewish ambulance service called Hatzolah. But those EMS workers are all men. And while life-threatening situations allow for some leeway in strict prohibitions on contact between the sexes, some women remained reluctant to call for help.

As Hadassah Ellis, an EMS recruit in the documentary 93Queen, puts it: These women have never held hands with anybody who are not their husbands  and then suddenly theres 10 men in her room while shes exposed from the waist down?

93Queen, the feature debut of Paula Eiselt, follows the creation of Ezras Nashim, an all-female EMS corps for the Borough Park area, in Brooklyn, that started in 2014. The organization was controversial among some ultra-Orthodox Jews, who saw it as an erosion of traditional gender roles and a Trojan horse that invited secularism into their neighborhoods. (The difficulty of access for filming should be noted here: Ms. Eiselt identifies as Orthodox herself and, while serving as her own cinematographer, followed her subjects customs relating to modesty during shooting.)
In the late 1990s, James and Karla Murray started photographing storefronts in New York after visiting a candy store in Bedford-Stuyvesant whose colorful sign caught their eye. When they went back a few months later, the store was gone.

It changed the neighborhood, Ms. Murray said. So we started to document shops.

The Murrays have lived in the East Village for 22 years. And they have highlighted some of the family-owned stores they frequented in Mom-and-Pops of the L.E.S., a mixed media art installation recently opened in Seward Park on the Lower East Side. All of the storefronts represented, except for Katzs Delicatessen, have shuttered.

The Lower East Side has long been a favorite of photographers  from Jacob Riis in the late 1880s to Bud Glick a century later  who documented the shifting culture as immigrants moved in and, later, out to different neighborhoods. Like so many other parts of New York, rising rents have driven out local residents who called it home for decades.

Ebony Pace, a dance movement therapist who has lived in the neighborhood for three years, recently walked past what she thought was a kiosk selling sodas. Instead, it was one side of the installation: a photo illustration of a deli and grocery where the Murrays once shopped. The other three sides of the structure show a luncheonette, a newsstand and a delicatessen.
Joanne Page, president of the Fortune Society, which helps former inmates make the transition back into society, commended the mayors overall efforts, but criticized the practice of transferring young inmates to places like Albany County where they can be held in solitary confinement.

I think its wrong, she said. They should be doing something different in a way that is keeping them safe and not being placed in solitary confinement in upstate New York.

Zulay Lopez, 38, said worries about the safety of her son, Julian Cepeda, 20, who is awaiting trial on attempted murder, conspiracy and weapons charges. He was transferred in January from Rikers to the Albany County Correctional Facility and is currently being held in solitary confinement there. Ms. Lopez said her son, who has been charged with assaulting correction officers in the past, maintains he too has been beaten by guards in Albany. I dont know how many times I cried, she said.

New York City Councilman Keith Powers, chairman of the Councils Criminal Justice Committee, called on the Department of Correction and the Board of Correction to re-evaluate the practice, and said he will consider legislative measures.

But a spokesman for the mayor, Eric Phillips, said there are no plans to review the citys longstanding policy.

Mr. de Blasio said the city could not dictate how the eight inmates under 21 being in Albany County Correctional Facility are treated. Those inmates are being held in isolation and say guards have beaten them. During the televised interview on Monday, Mr. de Blasio said other jurisdictions should scale back their use of solitary and ban it for young offenders, but he stopped short of saying the city would bring the inmates who have complained of abuse back to Rikers.

As for the practice of transferring inmates, he said, This is something we will look at to see if there are any actions we can take to improve upon it.
As some officials in New Jersey are pushing to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, the states attorney general directed prosecutors on Tuesday to seek to pause any cases stemming from marijuana-related offenses for at least a month, in a move regarded as a possible step toward decriminalizing such offenses.

The attorney generals announcement comes after Gov. Philip D. Murphy, a Democrat who was elected last year, campaigned heavily on legalizing marijuana and follows an effort by officials in Jersey City to pre-empt state leaders by declaring that municipal prosecutors would use their broad discretionary powers to no longer pursue marijuana possession cases as criminal offenses.

In a memo issued on Tuesday, the attorney general, Gurbir. S. Grewal, asked prosecutors in New Jersey to seek adjournments until September in any matter involving a marijuana-related offense pending in municipal court. Mr. Grewal had challenged the argument officials raised in Jersey City, but in a statement on Tuesday, his office said he sought the delay while working to clarify the scope and appropriate use of prosecutorial discretion in marijuana-related offenses in municipal court.

The attorney generals move has been welcomed by proponents for changing marijuana laws, including the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, which called it a step forward. Even some opponents of legalization praised the decision as a sensible one.
A federal district court judge on Tuesday ordered the immediate release of Pablo Villavicencio Calderon, an undocumented pizza delivery man, from immigration detention in New Jersey, where he had been locked up since June 1.

The order came after a morning hearing in which Judge Paul A. Crotty, an appointee of President George W. Bush and the former corporation counsel for Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, pointedly questioned the government about why it had detained Mr. Villavicencio and planned to deport him. Is there any concept of justice here? Judge Crotty asked the governments lawyer.

Later in the day, the judge said that Mr. Villavicencio, 35, who is married to a United States citizen and in February began a petition for a green card, should be released. The judge granted a stay of deportation while Mr. Villavicencio pursues permanent residency.
Aiko Herzig Yoshinaga, a Japanese-American whose tenacious archival research persuaded Congress to approve reparations for her fellow inmates of World War II internment camps and an official apology to them, died on July 18 in Torrance, Calif. She was 93.

Her death was confirmed by her daughter Lisa Furutani.

Mrs. Herzig Yoshinagas discovery of a document in the National Archives contributed to the 1983 decision by a Federal District Court in California to void a wartime verdict against Fred Korematsu, who had refused the blanket evacuation order of Japanese-Americans from sensitive military zones, and the convictions of two others, Gordon Hirabayashi and Minoru Yasui in similar cases.

The document she discovered was apparently the only remaining original version of a 1943 government report that refuted the Pentagons claim that the evacuation was a military necessity.

The version of the report, by the Civil Affairs Division of the Western Defense Command, undermined War Department claims that there was no time to hold hearings before evacuations.
Lincoln Brower, who spent six decades studying the remarkable migratory life cycle of the monarch butterfly and urging action to protect it, died on July 17 at his home in Roseland, Va. He was 86.

His wife, Linda S. Fink, said the cause was complications of Parkinsons disease.

In countless scholarly papers, articles and interviews, Dr. Brower illuminated the story of the monarch, which can fly several thousand miles from places like Maine and the Dakotas to a winter home in the mountains of central Mexico. What makes the trip particularly astonishing is that the butterflies arriving in Mexico have never been to the wintering grounds; they are the descendants of monarchs that migrated from Mexico in a previous cycle. (The butterflies breed as they go north and then die.)

If youve ever looked inside the brain of a butterfly, its about the size of a pinhead, Dr. Brower said in a 1990 interview with The New York Times, and yet the minicomputer inside that pinhead has all the necessary information to get them to Mexico without having been there before.

Dr. Brower worked with groups in Mexico and with the Mexican government in the 1980s to establish sanctuaries to protect crucial fir forests, where the butterflies mass, from logging, although in later years he said illegal cutting continued.
The knee-jerk reaction to the European Unions decision to fine Google $5.1 billion is to blame the Europeans. How can it be possible that in Europe the antitrust authorities determined that Google abused its dominance in the smartphone market when in America it did not?

Its not the first time. Just last year the European Commission (the administrative arm of the European Union) fined Google $2.8 billion for unfairly favoring its comparison-shopping service in the search engine market, a charge that the American Federal Trade Commission had dropped a few years earlier. Is this the first salvo in an incoming trade war or a form of tax-thy-neighbor policy?

It would be both wrong and dangerous to just blame the Europeans. Wrong, because there is reliable evidence that the European Commission does not target American companies: It is just as tough with all firms, including domestic ones.

Dangerous, because it will deflect from asking the real important question: Is there something wrong with American antitrust? Perhaps there is a reason Americans are paying so much more for smartphones in the United States than Europeans are.
Similarly demolished is the Nunes memos argument that the F.B.I. falsely implied independent corroboration for Mr. Steeles claims by citing news reports about his work. The reference to those reports is in a separate section detailing not Mr. Pages Russian contacts but his public denials  potentially relevant if they included independently falsifiable claims  and a partly redacted footnote suggests the F.B.I. understood those articles to be indirectly derived from Mr. Steeles work.

An independent line of attack was mounted by the National Review writer Andrew McCarthy, a former prosecutor, who blasted the F.B.I. for relying on Mr. Steeles hearsay, which had not been properly verified. While redactions leave the full body of evidence unclear, verification in the FISA context typically refers to compliance with the so-called Woods Procedures implemented in 2001, a process meant to ensure that representations to the court match whats in the F.B.I.s case files, not to automatically exclude information provided by a single source. Even in ordinary criminal investigations, current law unambiguously allows hearsay  secondhand information normally inadmissible as evidence in a criminal prosecution  to be used in warrant applications.

Does the application as a whole substantiate the F.B.I.s belief that the Russian Governments efforts are being coordinated with Page and perhaps other individuals associated with Candidate #1s campaign? The black bars obscuring whole sections of the published applications make it hard to say, but in the renewal applications  all, like the first, approved by Republican-appointed judges  those redacted sections grow progressively longer, suggesting an accumulation of information, separate from Mr. Steeles contentious dossier, that the F.B.I. regarded as corroborating their initial assessment.

Perhaps, though, that shouldnt matter: A warrant is supposed to be justified by the evidence at hand before the search, not the evidence the search itself uncovers. And if the parts of the Page application that are now public constituted the whole of the case, that would indeed be thin grounds for a yearlong wiretap on an American.

That, however, would not be a problem of F.B.I. abusing the system; it would be a problem with the system itself. Once we recognize claims about the F.B.I. misleading the court as nonsense, there are only two possibilities: Either the F.B.I. had compelling evidence that Mr. Page was an agent of a foreign power, or four different judges signed off on wiretapping him without such evidence.

Its obvious why Mr. Trump and his allies would want to deny the first possibility. But the second is equally inconvenient for Mr. Nunes and many of his co-partisans, who have long supported more expansive intelligence surveillance powers and worked furiously to defeat legislative efforts to impose stricter privacy safeguards.

Shortly before releasing his notorious memo, after all, Mr. Nunes was instrumental in reauthorizing a surveillance authority known as Section 702, which permits warrantless interception of Americans communications with intelligence targets abroad. And he voted to block proposals that would require judicial approval before F.B.I. agents could sift through the National Security Agencys vast wiretap database looking for those communications.
SHANGHAI  After a decade of effort in which Facebooks progress at courting China often seemed to stall, the social network finally gained an official status in the country  at least temporarily.

Facebook has registered a subsidiary in the city of Hangzhou, according to a Chinese government filing, which said the company had gotten approval last Wednesday. The subsidiary was financed with an investment of $30 million, according to the records.

Yet late Tuesday, in a sign of possible complications, the corporate registration was taken down from the Chinese government website, and some references to the new subsidiary appeared to be censored on social media in the country.

The moves indicated how complicated it remains for Facebook to navigate China, where it has been blocked for almost 10 years. If the subsidiary is allowed to proceed, it will be a toe in the water here for the Silicon Valley company. Facebook said it wanted to use the subsidiary to coordinate with Chinese developers in the closely censored market.
These crosses for us were like symbols of hope and liberation, she said.

During the Stalinist period after World War II, some 300,000 Lithuanians, largely intellectuals, were deported to Siberia; 50,000 never returned. Ms. Kakneviciute first took us to a park dedicated to partisans, or Forest Brothers, young men who waged a guerrilla war against the Red Army despite the threat of certain execution and the deportation of their relatives if caught. The Hill of Crosses was really developed because lots of people were lost, lots of people were deported, said Ms. Kakneviciute, and their families wanted to commemorate them and pray for them to come back from Siberia.

For decades, the Soviets would clear out the crosses, only for Lithuanians to put them back up again. They gave up clearing in 1970. The last count was around 100,000, but now, Ms. Kakneviciute said, it must be at least 300,000. Nearly everyone who comes to the site leaves a cross anywhere they choose, whether for a loved ones death or a newborn baby. Even Pope John Paul II made a pilgrimage in the 90s to leave a giant crucifix. And when a single cross falls over, it leaves a trail of broken crosses, like fallen dominoes.

The Erasure of a People

Among all this, what you may miss, if youre not looking for it, is the absence of the people who shaped much of the citys history and cultural life. Before World War II, Lithuania had one of the largest Jewish populations in Europe, dating to the 15th century and topping out at around 250,000. Vilne, as it was called in Yiddish, was one-third Jewish, with over 100 synagogues, and was widely known as the Jerusalem of the North.

Over 90 percent of Lithuanias Jews were murdered in the Holocaust  the largest percentage of any country in Europe with a substantial Jewish minority. And the executions were not in camps, but by shooting at mass grave sites, largely at the hands of enthusiastic Lithuanian volunteers, including some who would become those lauded Forest Brothers.

You can take a walking tour of the citys Jewish history and go to the Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum, both of which I missed because of bad timing. The citys state-run Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights (known until April of this year as the Museum of Genocide Victims) is almost exclusively a history of Lithuanians oppression at the hands of the K.G.B., the Soviet secret police and intelligence apparatus. The museums name had become a huge point of contention for both Jewish visitors and scholars, including Vilnius-based Dovid Katz, who has pointed out many times that the K.G.B.s horrible acts did not amount to genocide because they were about eliminating dissidents and not exterminating an ethnic minority. Mr. Katz and others still take issue with the museums glorification of Lithuanian militants who started killing Jews en masse before the arrival of the Nazis. Nowhere in the city did I see any major memorial to Jewish Holocaust victims.

In Tallinn I had visited its K.G.B. Museum, located in a skyscraper hotel used to spy on foreigners, and found the guides jokes about how she wouldnt confiscate my photos pretty funny. There, Soviet agents and the spy equipment they left when they fled in 1991 are treated like cartoons. Microphones hidden in bread plates! Tiny cameras used in peepholes on picture frames! But when I heard Ms. Kakneviciute talk about the suffering of her grandparents under the K.G.B., those jokes felt grossly shallow.

Every year, she told me, she goes on a patriotic mission to Siberia with a group of young Lithuanians to interview any locals who remember the experiences of deportees. They also clean up cemeteries, then come back to tour schools with the stories theyve learned. Its important to remember this still-living history because maybe in 10 years they are all passing away, she said. Lots of people are still crying around in Lithuania, Oh, what a bad life we are having! But then just think what our grandparents lived through.
With the Border Patrol pushing border crossers into more remote areas, and with a heat wave punishing parts of the Southwest, forensic researchers say the number of migrants dying around the border may actually be much higher, providing the Aguilas with many grisly reports of such tragedies.

Sometimes the relatives of missing migrants accompany the Aguilas on their grim task, as Mr. Luna did one recent Saturday, just an hours drive from prosperous San Diego. He joined more than 20 volunteers who piled into aging 4x4s and then fanned out on a stretch of barren federal land.

After trekking under the desert sun, using satellite images and intelligence gleaned from other migrants, they found the body of a man who seemed to have been trying to find shelter near a boulder in his last moments alive. Next to him, in bag of belongings, was a Mexican ID card with the name of Adrian Luna, who went missing two months ago while crossing the border.

That was my brother, Mr. Luna said after absorbing the shock of finding the remains, and thanking the Aguilas for their help in finding the body. He and the volunteers placed a simple wooden cross where the remains were found. Now, maybe its time to move on, he said.
The authorities in Burien, a Seattle suburb of 33,000 people, are investigating a weekend attack on the citys first Latino mayor as a possible hate crime.

The mayor, Jimmy Matta, said he had been physically and verbally assaulted by an older white man while attending a block party in the city on Saturday night. Mr. Matta said in a Facebook post that his attacker was angry about policies that protect immigrants.

I was physically assaulted, and verbally threatened by a male who was upset because Burien is a sanctuary city, and I am a Latino male mayor, his post said.

Mr. Matta told The Seattle Times that his attacker came around the back, took his arm, wrapped it around my neck and brought me down and started talking in my ear. He said the man threatened his life and whispered, Were not going to let you Latino illegals take over our city.
Created by the Texas Legislature in 2005, the commission  made up of seven scientists, one prosecutor and one defense attorney  does not investigate the guilt or innocence of defendants, but rather the reliability and integrity of the forensic science used to win their convictions. Earlier this year, its inquiry into the Bryan case broadened into a re-examination of bloodstain-pattern analysis, a forensic discipline whose practitioners regard the drops, spatters and trails of blood at a crime scene as clues that can sometimes be used to reverse-engineer the crime itself.

The commission examined the training of some of the disciplines practitioners, who have been admitted as expert witnesses in courts around the country despite having completed no more than a weeklong course in bloodstain interpretation.

Robert Thorman, a police detective from Harker Heights, Tex., with 40 hours of training in bloodstain-pattern analysis, was a key prosecution witness in the Bryan case. His testimony about a blood-speckled flashlight found by the victims brother in the trunk of Mr. Bryans car four days after the murder was the linchpin of the prosecutions case.

Yet what connection the flashlight had to the crime, if any, was never clear. In 1985, a crime lab technician working before the advent of DNA analysis determined the blood on the flashlight to be type O, which corresponded not only to Mr. Bryans wife, Mickey, but also to nearly half the population.

To secure a guilty verdict, prosecutors needed to tie the flashlight to the crime scene. Based on his assessment of photographs of the flashlight, Mr. Thorman testified that the flecks of blood on its lens were back spatter  a pattern that indicated a close-range shooting. With the help of prosecutors, he wove a narrative that suggested the flashlight had been present at the crime scene  specifically, that the killer was holding the flashlight in one hand at the time that he shot Mickey Bryan.
We remain heartbroken over the tragic death of Melyda Corado and the trauma our crew members and customers have suffered, the spokeswoman said. Mely was a valued and beloved crew member. Our sole focus remains on supporting her family and those involved in Saturdays horrible ordeal in Silver Lake.

The police department released some footage on Tuesday from the body camera worn by one of the two officers, who can be seen sitting in the passenger seat of a cruiser pursuing Mr. Atkins. Almost immediately after Mr. Atkins crashed outside the Trader Joes, Mr. Atkins can be heard on the footage opening fire on the officers in the car. The officer wearing the body camera can be seen taking cover behind the cars passenger door and then can be heard returning fire.

Ms. Corado was shot just as Mr. Atkins barricaded himself inside the store during a three-hour standoff, which drew police officers in tactical gear to surround the store. Some employees and customers escaped on their own, including through windows on a second floor. Mr. Atkins later let others go after negotiations with the police, Chief Moore said.

Mr. Atkins eventually surrendered to the police around 6:30 p.m., exiting the Trader Joes after he had placed handcuffs on himself and with hostages by his side.

His surrender ended what Chief Moore said was an especially violent day involving Mr. Atkins.

Around 1:30 p.m., Mr. Atkins got into an argument with a 17-year-old girl and his grandmother Mary Madison, 76, while at Ms. Madisons home in the Central-Alameda neighborhood south of downtown Los Angeles. He pulled out a handgun and shot both of them in the head, the police said, and took the girl, whose name has not been released, with him as he drove off in Ms. Madisons Toyota Camry.

Los Angeles police received a bulletin to look out for Mr. Atkins and for Ms. Madisons car. Around 3 p.m., two police officers spotted Mr. Atkins in the car, which began the chase that ended outside the Trader Joes. Mr. Atkins fired at the officers through the back window of the Camry during the chase, the police said.

After Mr. Atkins entered the store, the police rescued the injured girl from the passenger seat. The girl, who had also been beaten by Mr. Atkins, and Ms. Madison, who had been shot seven times, including at least once in the head, were in critical condition at a hospital on Tuesday, Chief Moore said.

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles District Attorneys Office issued more than 30 charges against Mr. Atkins, including five counts of attempted murder. He was being held in jail on more than $9 million bail.
The person said that the childrens escorts have had to request hotel rooms, which have been approved by the Health and Human Services Department, the agency that oversees care of the separated children.

Among the migrants inside Port Isabel during Sundays lockdown was Irma, a 35-year-old woman from Honduras separated for more than two months from her two teenage sons, Fernando and Jonatan.

Irma, who asked that only her first name be used, hadnt thought a reunion would happen. A federal official had told her she would never see the boys again.

It was horrible, horrible, Irma said through tears on Tuesday, inside the airport in McAllen, Tex. The family was about to board a flight to Baltimore.

The hurdles that remain in the reunification process were discussed at a status hearing on Tuesday, where little more was explained about the number of parents who appear to have left or have been sent out of the country without their children.

The judge who ordered the reunifications, Dana M. Sabraw of Federal District Court in San Diego, called the situation the unfortunate result of a policy that was introduced without forethought to reunification or keeping track of people.

Some immigrant advocates said many of the migrant parents had agreed to be deported quickly, believing that doing so would speed up reunification  and perhaps not understanding that they would be leaving their children behind.
WASHINGTON  Federal labor mediators have advised the Education Department that it most likely imposed new work rules on its employees illegally, curtailing workers protections and access to union representation in violation of federal law.

The American Federation of Government Employees said Tuesday that the Federal Labor Relations Authority advised the Education Department that it had engaged in bad-faith bargaining when it implemented a contract this year that gutted compensation and benefits provisions for the departments 3,900 employees, and limited employees ability to carry out union duties during the work day.

The decision could have broad implications because the Education Departments actions mirror Trump administration efforts throughout the federal government. The Social Security Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs have begun implementing work rules similar to the ones at the Education Department, union officials said. And many of the anti-union elements reflect a series of executive orders on the federal work force that President Trump signed in May.

The union plans to use the finding as it pursues labor disputes across the federal government.

For the first salvo to be knocked down by the F.L.R.A., it sends the message that the government isnt going to be allowed to operate outside the bounds of the law, said David A. Borer, general counsel for the union.
Mr. Gates was looking to re-establish himself as a Washington power broker after spending the better part of the decade before the 2016 campaign working with Mr. Manafort, his mentor and business partner, for Russia-aligned Ukrainian interests that paid them tens of millions of dollars.

Mr. Broidy, who had pleaded guilty in 2009 in a pension fund fraud case, was looking for help courting foreign government clients for a defense contractor he had purchased in 2015, and pushing for policies that favored clients and prospective clients.

Although Mr. Gatess role on Mr. Trumps presidential campaign had shrunk dramatically after Mr. Manafort resigned under pressure as its chairman months before the election, he maintained connections to numerous Trump advisers, including two key players in Mr. Trumps orbit with whom he had worked planning the presidential inauguration  Mr. Broidy, who was a vice chairman of the inaugural committees finance team, and the billionaire California investor Thomas J. Barrack Jr., who served as chairman of the inaugural committee.

After the inauguration, Mr. Gates began receiving monthly consulting payments for help navigating the new administration from a company headed by Mr. Barrack, Colony NorthStar, which paid Mr. Gates $20,000 a month, and one owned by Mr. Broidy, which paid Mr. Gates $25,000 a month, according to documents and people familiar with the relationships, who requested anonymity to discuss private business arrangements.

The payments came despite the fact that Mr. Gates and Mr. Manafort were emerging as subjects of federal and congressional investigations looking into their lucrative Ukraine work, and any connections between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Other Washington consultants were puzzled by the willingness of clients to hire Mr. Gates or Mr. Manafort at a time when it seemed that the looming investigations would limit their effectiveness and access to Mr. Trumps advisers, some of whom had tried to bar Mr. Gates from working with the administration. Mr. Gates maintained at least some access, in part because he was seen as having the blessing of Mr. Barrack, a close friend and business associate of Mr. Trumps, according to a Trump associate.

But when Mr. Gates was indicted in October, Mr. Trumps allies began to further distance themselves. Colony NorthStar quickly terminated its arrangement with Mr. Gates, according to someone familiar with it.
Gov. Steve Bullock of Montana, a Democrat who has crusaded against the loosening of campaign finance rules, is suing the Trump administration to block it from eliminating a mandate that politically active nonprofit groups disclose the identities of their major donors to the government.

The Treasury Department announced last week that the Internal Revenue Service would no longer require a range of nonprofit organizations to identify any contributors giving more than $5,000, in a move it described as bolstering privacy and easing administrative burdens for those groups. Previously, certain nonprofits had to name their large donors to the government even though they were not supposed to be disclosed to the public.

The change in rules stirred immediate political controversy because of its effect on so-called dark money groups, which spend money in elections but are not required to reveal the sources of their funding except to the I.R.S. Under the new reporting regime, groups associated with organizations like the National Rifle Association, Planned Parenthood and Americans for Prosperity, the conservative advocacy network backed by the billionaire Koch brothers, would no longer have to list their donors, even to the government.

But in a lawsuit filed on Tuesday in Federal District Court in Montana, Mr. Bullock and his administration alleged that the Trump administration had flouted proper government process in eliminating the disclosure requirements. The suit asked the court to issue a judgment voiding the new I.R.S. policy.
Watching is The New York Timess TV and film recommendation website. Sign up for our thrice-weekly newsletter here.

No, its not just your imagination: Netflix is stockpiling prestige programming at a dizzying rate. In the past several months, the streaming service has surpassed HBO in Emmy nominations, lured Ryan Murphy away from 21st Century Fox and even signed a multiyear production deal with the Obamas. Meanwhile, Netflix has said it wants to create, acquire or distribute 1,000 original titles this year, according to a report in June by New York magazine.

This glut of programming is as overwhelming as it is exciting. So, to help you prioritize your virtually unlimited viewing options, we periodically survey the Netflix landscape in search of the best new shows and seasons the service has to offer. This second installment (read the first one here) features riveting true-crime documentaries, heartwarming reality series, an irreverent weekly talk show and a very angry cartoon panda.
He said Mr. Lauer had allowed 100 people access to his property and had only denied three, though others had used the land without asking.

Mr. Lauer told Radio New Zealand that the groups trying to get access were taking advantage of the difficult times he went through in losing his job, and were targeting him because he was an easy mark.

Mr. Pyle of the Walking Access Commission said that public access to Mr. Lauers ranch would not be unfettered. He noted that similar access had been allowed through other nearby properties, including two leased by the record producer Mutt Lange, who was previously married to Shania Twain.

One of the things wed be very happy with would be if Mutt Lange and Matt Lauer could meet, and Matt could learn from that; learn the value that could be obtained from being a great member of the community, Mr. Pyle said, adding that Mr. Lauer would be held in very high regard in New Zealand if he allowed more access.

Mr. Lauers lease on the property was put in jeopardy after his firing from the Today show, when New Zealands government conducted a six-month investigation into whether he met the good character test that foreigners must pass to lease land in New Zealand.

The inquiry concluded that since Mr. Lauer had not been charged with a crime, primarily lived in the United States and was not involved in the New Zealand ranchs day-to-day operations, he would be allowed to keep the property. But officials who conducted the investigation said they did not condone the inappropriate way Mr. Lauer had behaved while at NBC, and that it would continue to monitor the matter.
SYDNEY, Australia  A Chinese billionaire who had tried to distance himself from a sexual assault case that has gripped Australia for the past month was identified this week as Richard Liu, chairman and chief executive of the e-commerce giant JD.com.

Mr. Liu isnt accused of any wrongdoing, but the assault was alleged to have taken place after a party that he had hosted here in 2015. He had tried to get a court in the Australian city to prevent the release of his name by citing potential damage to his marriage and business, court documents show.

That effort failed on Friday when a judge refused his request for a suppression order, with Australian media naming him on Monday.

For Mr. Liu, the founder of one of Chinas largest internet companies, the details of the case are fraught with potential peril, both for himself and, by extension, the company with which he is synonymous in China. It offers a rare glimpse of the high-flying lifestyle Chinese business leaders have sought to keep private.
JERUSALEM  Israel shot down a Syrian fighter jet on Tuesday after it penetrated Israeli-controlled airspace over the Golan Heights, the military said, a rare encounter that underscored the heightened risk of confrontation in the area.

As Syrian government forces advance to retake areas long held by rebels along the frontier with Israel, the military said it fired two Patriot surface-to-air missiles at the plane.

The downing of the jet, which crashed on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, was only the second time during the seven-year-old Syrian war that Israel had intercepted a warplane. The first was in 2014.

Israeli forces were on alert for any possible Syrian retaliation. Tensions in the area were already high as Syrian government forces advanced. But Syria, which has long been in a state of war with Israel, has so far avoided fighting on the Israeli front, focusing instead on its internal enemies and largely maintaining the truce with Israel that has held since 1974.
Hoover Dam was a public works project likened to the pyramids. Now, after channeling a river, what if it could tap the power of the sun and wind?

Hoover Dam helped transform the American West, harnessing the force of the Colorado River  along with millions of cubic feet of concrete and tens of millions of pounds of steel  to power millions of homes and businesses. It was one of the great engineering feats of the 20th century.

Now it is the focus of a distinctly 21st-century challenge: turning the dam into a vast reservoir of excess electricity, fed by the solar farms and wind turbines that represent the power sources of the future.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, an original operator of the dam when it was erected in the 1930s, wants to equip it with a $3 billion pipeline and a pump station powered by solar and wind energy. The pump station, downstream, would help regulate the water flow through the dams generators, sending water back to the top to help manage electricity at times of peak demand.

The net result would be a kind of energy storage  performing much the same function as the giant lithium-ion batteries being developed to absorb and release power.

The process begins when the dam converts water into energy. Here's how:

The Hoover Dam project may help answer a looming question for the energy industry: how to come up with affordable and efficient power storage, which is seen as the key to transforming the industry and helping curb carbon emissions.

Because the sun does not always shine, and winds can be inconsistent, power companies look for ways to bank the electricity generated from those sources for use when their output slacks off. Otherwise, they have to fire up fossil-fuel plants to meet periods of high demand.

And when solar and wind farms produce more electricity than consumers need, California utilities have had to find ways to get rid of it  including giving it away to other states  or risk overloading the electric grid and causing blackouts.

I think we have to look at this as a once-in-a-century moment, said Mayor Eric M. Garcetti of Los Angeles. So far, it looks really possible. It looks sustainable, and it looks clean.

The target for completion is 2028, and some say the effort could inspire similar innovations at other dams. Enhancing energy storage could also affect plans for billions of dollars in wind projects being proposed by the billionaires Warren E. Buffett and Philip F. Anschutz.

But the proposal will have to contend with political hurdles, including environmental concerns and the interests of those who use the river for drinking, recreation and services.

In Bullhead City, Ariz., and Laughlin, Nev.  sister cities on opposite sides of the Colorado, about 90 miles south of the dam  water levels along certain stretches depend on when dams open and close, and some residents see a change in its flow as a disruption, if not a threat.

Any idea like this has to pass much more than engineering feasibility, Peter Gleick, a co-founder of the Pacific Institute, a think tank in Oakland, Calif., and a member of the National Academy of Sciences, internationally known for his work on climate issues. It has to be environmentally, politically and economically vetted, and thats likely to prove to be the real problem.

Housed inside Hoover Dams 726-foot structure are massive power-generating units. The proposed pump station would help regulate the water flow through the dams generators, sending water back to the top to help manage electricity at times of peak demand.

AN IDEA COMES OF AGE

Using Hoover Dam to help manage the electricity grid has been mentioned informally over the last 15 years. But no one pursued the idea seriously until about a year ago, as California began grappling with the need to better manage its soaring alternative-electricity production  part of weaning itself from coal-fired and nuclear power plants.

In California, by far the leading state in solar power production, that has sometimes meant paying other states to take excess electricity. Companies like Tesla have gotten into the picture, making lithium-ion batteries that are deployed by some utilities, but that form of storage generally remains pricey.

Lazard, the financial advisory and asset management firm, has estimated that utility-scale lithium-ion batteries cost 26 cents a kilowatt-hour, compared with 15 cents for a pumped-storage hydroelectric project. The typical household pays about 12.5 cents a kilowatt-hour for electricity.

Some dams already provide a basis for the Hoover Dam proposal. Los Angeles operates a hydroelectric plant at Pyramid Lake, about 50 miles northwest of the city, that stores energy by using the electric grid to spin a turbine backward and pump water back into the lake.

[Read more: Its tricky to store energy on an industrial scale, but engineers have devised clever workarounds.]

But the Hoover Dam proposal would operate differently. The dam, with its towering 726-foot concrete wall and its 17 power generators that came online in 1936, would not be touched. Instead, engineers propose building a pump station about 20 miles downstream from the main reservoir, Lake Mead, the nations largest artificial lake. A pipeline would run partly or fully underground, depending on the location ultimately approved.

Hoover Dam is ideal for this, said Kelly Sanders, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Southern California. Its a gigantic plant. We dont have anything on the horizon as far as batteries of that magnitude.

Sri Narayan, a chemistry professor at the university, said his studies of lithium-ion batteries showed that they simply werent ready to store the loads needed to manage all of the wind and solar power coming online.

With lithium-ion batteries, you have durability issues, Mr. Narayan said. If they last five to 10 years, that would be a stretch, especially because we expect to use these facilities at full capacity. It has to be 10 times more durable than it is today.

Mr. Narayan said he felt the Hoover Dam project should be given serious consideration because pumped-storage projects had been tested and proven for decades. In a comparison with lithium-ion batteries, he said, I think the argument is very good.

An aerial view of the Colorado River downstream from Lake Mead and Hoover Dam. Harnessing the rivers force, the dam helped transform the American West.

WAITING FOR WASHINGTON

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the nations largest municipal utility, says its proposal would increase the productivity of the dam, which operates at just 20 percent of its potential, to avoid releasing too much water at once and flooding towns downstream.

Engineers have conducted initial feasibility studies, including a review of locations for the pump station that would have as little adverse impact on the environment and nearby communities as possible.

But because Hoover Dam sits on federal land and operates under the Bureau of Reclamation, part of the Interior Department, the bureau must back the project before it can proceed.

Were aware of the concept, but at this point our regional management has not seen the concept in enough detail to know where we would stand on the overall project, said Doug Hendrix, a bureau spokesman.

If the bureau agrees to consider the project, the National Park Service will review the environmental, scientific and aesthetic impact on the downstream recreation area. If the Los Angeles utility receives approval, Park Service officials have told it, the agency wants the pumping operation largely invisible to the public, which could require another engineering feat.

Among the considerations is the effect on bighorn sheep that roam Black Canyon, just below the dam, and on drinking water for places like Bullhead City. Some environmentalists worry that adding a pump facility would impair water flow farther downstream, in particular at the Colorado River Delta, a mostly dry riverbed in Mexico that no longer connects to the sea.

Another concern is that the pump station would draw water from or close to Lake Mohave, where water enthusiasts boat, fish, ride Jet-Skis, kayak and canoe.

Keri Simons, a manager of Watercraft Adventures, a 27-year-old rental business in Laughlin, said water levels already fluctuated in stretches of the Colorado close to the river towns. The smaller Davis Dam, just north of Laughlin, shuts off the flow overnight.

One morning this year, the water level just outside town dropped so low that you could walk across the riverbed, Ms. Simons said. We couldnt put any boats out until noon, she said. Half the river was a sandbar.

Even if no water is lost because of the pumping project, the thought of any additional stress on the system worries Toby Cotter, the city manager of Bullhead City.

The town thrives on the summer tourism that draws some two million visitors to the area for recreation on the greenish-blue waters, Mr. Cotter said. That lake is the lifeblood of this community, he said. Its not uncommon to see 100 boats on that lake.

Despite the possible benefits of the project, there are concerns among community members and business owners in the area. Keri Simons, manager of a watercraft-rental business in Laughlin, said water levels were already inconsistent along stretches of the Colorado, sometimes leaving a footpath across the river.

A TROUBLED RELATIONSHIP

Environmentalists have been pushing Los Angeles to stop using fossil fuels and produce electricity from alternative sources like solar and wind power. And Mayor Garcetti said he would like his city to be the first in the nation to operate solely on clean energy, while maintaining a reliable electric system.

Our challenge is: How do we get to 100 percent green? he said. Storage helps. Theres no bigger battery in our system than Hoover Dam.

But old wounds are still raw with some along the Colorado. A coal-fired power plant in Laughlin that the Department of Water and Power and other utilities operated was shut down in 2006, costing 500 jobs and causing the local economies to buckle. And a decision long ago to allot Nevada a small fraction of the water that California and Arizona can draw remains a sore point.

Theres nothing going on in California with power that has given people who are dealing with them any comfort, said Joseph Hardy, a Nevada state senator. I think from a political standpoint, we would have to allay the fears of California, Nevada and Arizona. There will be a myriad of concerns.

The decision to close the coal plant angered many residents. They wanted the utility to simply add emission-control features known as scrubbers to reduce carbon pollution. The community later hoped a natural-gas plant would replace the coal facility, but Los Angeles could not agree with the local communities on a site.

The 2,500-acre parcel where the coal plant stood remains largely vacant. Theres still some sting here, said Mr. Cotter, the Bullhead City official.

There have been local efforts to convert the site into a development of housing and businesses  or to build a solar farm on a plot of land, if Los Angeles would buy the power.

Mr. Garcetti said other states and cities had worked with Los Angeles to build economic development projects for their communities, so he would like to consider similar ideas for the Hoover Dam project, as well as ways to benefit the entire region. Im all open ears to what their needs are, he said.

Mr. Hardy is wary of big-city promises. The Department of Water and Power has treated Nevada so cavalierly, he said, that a security guard at the old coal plant site once refused to return a ball to children after it bounced over the propertys fence. He said the guard had told the childrens parents that they could file a claim to get it back  a process that would take two to three years.

Not the kindest neighbor, Mr. Hardy said.

But he said he was willing to meet with Los Angeles officials to make the project successful.

The hurdles are minimal and the negotiations simple, as long as everybody agrees with Nevada, Mr. Hardy said. It would be nice if there was a table that they would come to. Ill provide the table.
India has offered Uganda a cancer therapy machine. The machine will be installed at the Uganda Cancer Institute.



India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi who started a two-day state visit in Uganda told journalists after bilateral talks with his host President Yoweri Museveni that the machine will serve cancer patients in the East African region.



During the closed-door talks, Museveni proposed that a section of Indian entrepreneurs come to Uganda and invest in health care.



"You know what this means, most of our people travel to India for treatment and this proposal can help us reduce on the number of people travelling out for treatment," said Museveni.

President Yoweri Museveni (R) with Indian PM Narendra Modi

Modi also announced a Shs 780 billion loan for electricity transmission and agriculture projects in Uganda.

Addressing journalists after the talks which were attended by several cabinet ministers, Museveni said that the loan will also be used to procure value addition equipment from India saying that the country makes good machinery for food processing, maize milling, and textile making machines, shoemaking machines and others.



Museveni further added that the loan from India will enable Uganda assemble its own solar power water pumps for irrigation purposes.



Modi said that Uganda and India enjoy a long history of defence cooperation and that India has decided to supply the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) with ambulances and other vehicles.



India-Uganda relations cover a broad range of sectors including technology, cultural, commercial, economic and commercial cooperation. Modi's visit to Uganda follows a meeting with Museveni on the sidelines of a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) meeting in London earlier in April.



The economic bond between Uganda and India is strong, with Uganda being a market for India's high-value finished products, ranging from medicines to motor vehicles like lorries, buses and even motorcycles.



According to Bank of Uganda July 2018 data, India's exports to Uganda, for 2017, were worth Shs 2.1 trillion, up from Shs 505.9 billion in 2007.



India's exports to Uganda were highest in 2013 at Shs 3.2 trillion before they started to drop. Meanwhile, Uganda's exports to India increased from Shs 5.5 billion in 2007 to Shs 159 billion in 2017.



Modi will on Wednesday address parliament. He will be accompanied by his host President Museveni. During his four-year tenure as prime minister, Modi has visited over 20 African countries with Uganda being the latest. His visit marks the third time an Indian prime minister visits Uganda with earlier visits in 1997 and 2007.



According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, there are about 20,000 Indian families in Uganda, making 0.1% of Uganda's total population currently estimated at 40 million.
Bord na Mona is to receive a grant from Minister for Agriculture Food and the Marine, Michael Creeds department for a fish investment in Offaly.

On July 23, Mr Creed announced the award of 1.5m in grants to twenty seafood enterprises in ten different counties under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund Operational Programme for the seafood sector.

The grants will support total investment of 4,018,852 in the fisheries, aquaculture and seafood processing sectors. They are co-funded by the Irish government and the EU and subject to terms and conditions.

One of them is for a Bord na Mona aquaculture test project at Mount Lucas near the wind farm in East Offaly, between Edenderry and Daingean, a company spokesperson confirmed.

The Kildare based company is planning to construct a 351,821 finfish facility in conjunction with Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) and will receive grant aid of 105,546 towards it.

Bord na Mona spokesperson, Pat Sammon, said Bord na Mona and BIM will conduct a test, which has not been tried yet, to see how a fish farm would work in the area. A small section of land will be filled with water and tests carried out.

The grant is given under the Sustainable Aquaculture scheme. The Department said the Sustainable Aquaculture Scheme supports capital investment by licensed aquaculture enterprises to sustainably grow production and reduce environmental impact of aquaculture.

Mr Sammon said there was no timeline yet for the completion of the project.

Minister Creed said it was very encouraging to see a continued increase in investment in aquaculture and these investments will positively contribute to our sustainable growth targets for the sector.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

If you have a story for us, sports news, an event happening in your area, or if you want to submit pictures or videos, contact the Offaly Express team via email to news@offalyexpress.ie, or through our Facebook.
25 Lashkar, Hizbul terrorists come together for a photo-op

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Srinagar, July 24: The photo propaganda by the terrorists in the Valley continues. This time a video of 25 terrorists from both the Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Tayiba has surfaced, giving security agencies a headache.

The video was shot at an orchard in South Kashmir and all 25 terrorists are seen brandishing guns. The group is led by Zeenat-ul-Islam, the dreaded Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist who carries a huge bounty on his head. The video also has Manan Wani, the scholar turned terrorist who had recently written a long post justifying his foray into terror.

The police suspect that this video was shot in Shopian, South Kashmir, which has become a hub for terrorists. The video according to officials is another attempt at propagating terror so that more youth join these outfits.

An official said that this video is particularly disturbing as it comprises terrorists of two groups. Normally they pose with their own flock. However the culmination of terrorists in such large numbers from both groups is disturbing as they are try to show their might.

We are identifying all the members in the video and suitable action would follow.

The Army and the police have already prepared a hit-list of the most wanted terrorists in the Valley. Terrorists have been taking a leaf from Burhan Wani and have been extensively using the social media to propagate their cause. As a result of this several youth have joined the ranks of the Hizbul Mujahideen in particular.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Tuesday, July 24, 2018, 10:59 [IST]
35 Army personnel martyred in 9 terror strikes since 2016

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Srinagar, July 24: At least 35 Army personnel have been martyred in terrorist strikes at Jammu and Kashmir. According to the Defence Ministry, in the past 30 months, there have been nine attacks on army camps.

The figures were made available by Union Minister of State for Defence, Subhash Bhamre in a written reply at the Lok Sabha. In the nine terror attacks, 35 personnel were martyred and 40 others suffered injuries. These attacks also claimed the lives of 15 terrorists and a civilian.

In the year 2016, 26 Army personnel were killed and 25 injured in 5 terror strikes on Army camps. In the year 2017, three personnel were martyred while seven injured in one strike that took place at a military camp.

In 2018, 6 personnel were martyred and 8 others injured in three terror strikes camps. Out of the 15 terrorists killed, 10 were gunned down in 2016. The statistics reveal that the in 2017, two were killed while in 2018 the number stood at three.

Bhamre said all militant attacks on army camps were investigated in detail.

"Prima facie it was found that these attacks were carried out by militant outfits," he said.

Bhamre said the Government of India (GoI) had issued broad guidelines for security of "defence installations and in compliance with the said Guidelines, the defence forces have taken a number of actions including risk categorisation of military bases; appraisal and up gradation of intelligence gathering capabilities; strengthening and streamlining of the response mechanism; use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs); periodic security audit of all military installations etc."

He said army also carries out an in-depth analysis of the militant attacks and security breaches that are identified with various incidents.

"Perimeter security projects of all three armed forces have been sanctioned by the Government," Bhamre said.

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Story first published: Tuesday, July 24, 2018, 10:27 [IST]
Andhra bandh today: YSR Congress demands special status

India

oi-Staff

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Amaravati, July 24: Jagan Mohan Reddy of the YSR Congress has called for a state-wide Andhra Pradesh bandh today. Reddy said that the bandh which would be observed across the state of Andhra Pradesh is to protest the injustice by the BJP government at the Centre.

"We will support any party at the national level. Our only demand is special category status to Andhra Pradesh," Jagan Mohan Reddy said. AP has been demanding a special status, which involves extensive financial benefits. The leaders in AP say that the economy of AP has taken a blow after bifurcation.

The Lok Sabha witnessed a no-confidence motion on Friday over the same issue. The Telugu Desam Party which had pulled out of the NDA had moved the no-confidence motion which was defeated.

During the no-trust vote, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he had warned Chandrababu Naidu of getting in a race of one-upmanship with the YSR Congress. I had told Naidu that you are doing this because of your internal politics with the YSR Congress. It is unfortunate that Parliament was used to deal with domestic problems, Modi also said in his reply.
We live in times when what we eat is not personal: Justice Gogoi

Quick fire staccato: Here is what happened on day 1 at CJI Gogois court hall

Going public was the only option says Justice Chelameswar on the famous presser by SCs top 4

Blatant reliance on social media needs to be checked by the citizens: CJI Dipak Misra

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

New Delhi, July 24: In the wake of recent incidents of mob lynching, Chief Justice of India Dipak Mishra urged citizens of the country against blatant reliance on social media for peace and order in the society.

"The blatant reliance on social media needs to be checked by the citizens themselves; to ensure peace and order in the society," CJI Misra was quoted as saying by ANI.

"There is a recent surge in mob lynching, please don't misunderstand me because I have authored the judgement, there is a recent surge in mob lynching based on the viral text on the social media and this leads to mobocracy and loss of life, in certain cases, he said.

CJI Misra's comments on the latest lynching come as the Centre is considering the possibility of amending the Indian Penal Code to define 'mob lynching' as a penal offence.

"Everything is in the preliminary stage as the entire Supreme Court order asking the Centre to come up with a new law has to be examined," a senior government functionary told PTI.

If the IPC is amended, the government will not have to bring a stand-alone law on mob lynching, he added.

Condemning the rising incidents of lynching in India, the Supreme Court had on July 12 asked the government to enact a law to deal such cases. A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra had termed the incidents of lynching "horrendous acts of mobocracy".

(With PTI inputs)

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Story first published: Tuesday, July 24, 2018, 20:00 [IST]
Congress trying to copy us: TMC on decision to field 40 per cent women candidates for UP polls

Have never seen such chaos, anarchy as what is playing out in Punjab Cong: Manish Tewari

Congress ready to accept any non-RSS person as PM candidate

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, July 24: The Congress is ready to accept any candidate from among the Opposition as the next prime minister who does not have the backing of the RSS, party sources said today.

To prevent the BJP from coming back to power in 2019, the Congress will look to cobble up alliances with various parties in states, they said.

On whether Congress president Rahul Gandhi will step aside for a woman candidate from a possible Opposition alliance, the sources said he "is comfortable seeing any prime minister other than an RSS-backed one".

Let's see how the dice rolls, the sources said.

There is speculation in the Opposition camp that a woman prime ministerial candidate may be projected in the next elections and names of BSP leader Mayawati and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee are doing the rounds.

According to the sources, the Congress leadership is of the view that the BJP will be decimated without any "anger and disrespect".

The BJP will not get enough seats to win the next general polls as parties like the TDP, the Shiv Sena are not happy with the saffron party, the sources added.

For Narendra Modi to be the prime minister again, he has to get seats in the range of 280 and that is not going to happen, they said.

PTI
PM says notion that Army, police meant for men no longer exists, lauds rise in number of women cops

PM Modi launches Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission: What we know about the scheme, so far?

Rafale deal: Congress gives privilege notices against PM Modi, Sitharaman

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

New Delhi, July 24: The Congress party on Tuesday gave notices in Lok Sabha seeking permission for moving a breach of privilege motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman claiming they misled the House on the Rafale fighter jet deal during the no-trust vote in Parliament on July 20.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge in its plea said Sitharaman's assertions "on the floor of this House were absolutely false" and she had misled not just the members of the House but "the entire nation".

"The 2008 Agreement does not state that 'Commercial Costs' of Procurement of Defence Deals cannot be revealed. Article 1 of the 2008 agreement clearly defined 'classified information and material' as "material which requires protection...in the interest of the national security...". It is not specific to Rafale jet fighters and nowhere prohibits the disclosure of purchase price to the Parliament," he said.

Referring to Modi, he said the Prime Minister's claim on transparency in the Rafale agreement is "factually incorrect, untrue and deliberately made with the intention to mislead the House".

"The Prime Minister's claim on transparency in the agreement is factually incorrect, untrue and deliberately made with the intention to mislead the house," he added.
Hopeful IT panel will take up Pegasus; officials may have been instructed to skip last meet: Tharoor

Cow and Beef have become excuse to attack people: Tharoor on lynching incidents

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

New Delhi, July 24: The Congress on Tuesday lashed out at RSS leader Indresh Kumar for saying that people should stop eating beef to curb mob lynching incidents.

Kumar on Monday said mob lynching incidents could stop if people stopped eating beef. Kumar also emphasised on the importance of right "sanskaar" to deal with this problem.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said hatred was being spread in communities in the name of cow and beef.

"Hatred is being spread in the country and various communities. Cow and Beef have just become an excuse to attack people," news agency ANI quoted Tharoor as saying.

Congress MP Husain Dalwai asked why Indresh Kumar is being allowed to speak when there are serious allegations against him.

"Indresh was named in bomb blast case. Why does the government allow him to speak like that? Why is he not jailed?..Unka lynching hoga to samjhega kya? (Will he understand when he is lynched?) We do not want this for anyone. They want to make India Pakistan or Afghanistan," Dalwai told ANI.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Board chief Waseem Rizvi came out in support of Indresh Kumar's statement and said Muslims should stop eating beef as it is 'haram' (Sin) in Islam.

Indresh Kumar had claimed that calling 'Hindus communal' is fraught with the risk of labelling all religions in the world as communal.

Speaking at the inauguration of Jagran Hindu Manch in Ranchi, Kumar said, "The Lynchings will stop if people don't eat beef. The cows must be protected and cowdung should be used as cement, then both poverty and violence will end... Jesus was born in a cowshed and that is why in Christianity they talk of 'Holy cow'. In Mecca and Medina killing cow is a crime. Can we not pledge not to kill cows. If we can pledge this our problem of mob lynching will be solved."

In the latest incident on Friday, a man attacked by a mob on suspicion of cow smuggling in Rajasthan's Alwar bled out as policemen took him to hospital three hours after they found him.

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Story first published: Tuesday, July 24, 2018, 16:07 [IST]
Param Bir Singh plea against Maha govt inquiries can be adjudicated by CAT says HC

Astrological incompatibility can't be an excuse to go back on marriage promise: Bombay HC

Debt tribunal non-functional: Is Finance Minister asleep asks Bombay HC

India

oi-Staff

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Mumbai, July 24: The Bombay High Court expressed annoyance over the non-functioning of the Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT), whose premises here were closed following a fire over a month ago, and sought to know "if the finance minister of the country was sleeping" over the shutdown of a key body.

The court said while Mumbai was considered the financial capital of the country, the city-based DRT, which dealt with debt-recovery cases involving banks, financial institutions and their customers, was non-functional for over a month.

A division bench of justices A S Oka and Riyaz Chagla made the critical remarks while hearing a petition filed by the Debts Recovery Tribunal Bar Association, seeking a direction to the Union government to allot another space for the tribunal's office in south Mumbai.

The DRT, located in the Scindia House building at Ballard Estate in south Mumbai, has been non-functional since a fire broke in the building on June 2 this year.

The court sought to know from the Union government by when it would identify an alternative place for the tribunal.

"The government should be doing all this on their own, instead of the issue coming before us and the court passing orders," Justice Oka observed.

"In the financial capital of the country, the Debts Recovery Tribunal is not functioning...Is the finance minister sleeping?" Justice Oka said.

The court posted the petition for further hearing on July 25 and asked the Centre to identify another place to house the tribunal by then.

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Story first published: Tuesday, July 24, 2018, 6:58 [IST]
It is targeted killing: MEA condemns terrorist attack on civilians in Srinagar

Delimitation will happen, J&K statehood to be restored: Amit Shah in Srinagar

J&K: Terrorist attack CRPF party at Batmaloo in Srinagar; 1 jawan killed

India

oi-Madhuri

Srinagar, July 24: A CRPF jawan was killed after Terrorists attacked a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) patrol near the police control room in Batmaloo area of Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday.

SSP Srinagar Imtiaz Ismail Parray said the Terrorists opened fire upon CRPF men in Batmaloo, leaving a trooper injured.

A manhunt has been launched to nab the attackers, the SSP said, according to the report.

The injured CRPF was shifted to hospital and the area has been cordoned off for searches, police said.
JNU allegedly refuses to accept Umar Khalid's PhD thesis

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

New Delhi, July 24: The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has allegedly refused to accept the the PhD thesis of student Umar Khalid, who has challenged the varsity's order to rusticate him over a 2016 incident. Monday was reportedy the last day for MPhil and PhD students to submit their thesis.

Khalid's PhD thesis on the Adivasis of Jharkhand has been signed by all authorities except the Chief Proctor and Finance Officer, reported Indian Express.

Along with Khalid, Aswathi Nair, who has done her PhD on Political Economy of the Transformation of Zimbabwe from 1980-2013, was also not allowed to submit her thesis. She had been slapped with a fine of Rs 20,000.

The Delhi High Court had on July 19 directed the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) to not take any coercive step against Kahlid, who was rusticated by the varsity, till the next hearing.

A JNU committee had earlier recommended rustication of Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya, former JNUSU leader Kanhaiya Kumar and two others in connection with a 2016 incident in the varsity campus. A Rs 10,000 fine was also imposed by an appellate authority of the university in connection with the incident in which anti national slogans were allegedly raised and Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru was glorified.

Khalid had earlier said that they were being "targeted in a systematic and a malafide manner by an enquiry that was prejudiced against us from day one".

Earlier, in May 2016, the Delhi High Court had stayed the disciplinary action taken against Kumar, Khalid, and Anirban Bhattacharya. In October 2017, the Delhi High court after setting aside the disciplinary action yet again had asked the university administration to look into the matter afresh and to allow students to submit evidence and present their side.

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Story first published: Tuesday, July 24, 2018, 11:25 [IST]
Kargil Vijay Diwas - All you should know

India

oi-Staff

By Oneindia Staff Writer

India observes the Kargil Vijay Diwas on July 26 in honour of the men who lost their lives in the war.

During the first week of May 1999, India received reports of infiltrators from across the border coming into Kargil occupying it. The security forces initially thought they were Mujahideen, but they soon realized that it was the Pakistani army that had occupied some of the posts. In reaction to the infiltration, India launched Operation Vijay to drive the Pakistani troops out of Kargil.

Kargil conflict explained in 10 points:

Kargil war was tough in 1999 between India and Pakistan in Kargil, Ladkah, intially Baltistan district, separated by the LOC after the first Kashmir war.

This was the first war after the war in 1971, which led to the formation of Bangladesh.

Atal Bihar Vajpayee was the Prime Minister at that time.

Operation Vijay was launched to clear the Kargil sector of infiltration by Pakistani soldiers and Kashmiri terrorists on the Indian side of the LoC

The war was fought in May-July 1999 in Kargil and also along the LoC.

Safed Sagar, the IAF's operation was a major one. Air power at at the height of 32,000 feet was used for the first time to identify Pakistan troops and infiltrators.

Operation Vijay was declared successful on July 28, 19 years back. Vajpayee declared the operation as successful on July 14, but it was officially declared closed on July 26 1999.

India list more than 500 of its men. Pakistan on the other hand lose 3,000 of their men including terrorists.

The Kargil war was a rare instance of a war being fought by two nuclear states.

Kargil was the toughest war due to a high-altitude warfare. Such wars are considered most dangerous due to rough terrain and natural habitat.
Artillery played a key role

The terrain of Kashmir is mountainous and at high altitudes. Even the best roads, such as National Highway 1D from Leh to Srinagar, are only two lanes. The rough terrain and narrow roads slowed down traffic, and the high altitude, which affected the ability of aircraft to carry loads, made control of NH 1D (the actual stretch of the highway which was under Pakistani fire) a priority for India.

From their observation posts, the Pakistani forces had a clear line-of-sight to lay down indirect artillery fire on NH 1D, inflicting heavy casualties on the Indian forces. This was a serious problem for the Indian Army as the highway was the main logistical and supply route. The Pakistani shelling of the arterial road posed the threat of Leh being cut off, though an alternative (and longer) road to Leh existed via Himachal Pradesh.

Kargil War memorial wall in Dras

India positioned five infantry divisions, five independent brigades and 44 battalions of paramilitary troops in Kashmir. It also deployed as many as 60 frontline aircraft.

The Indian Army, supported by the Indian Air Force, recaptured a majority of the positions on the Indian side of the LOC infiltrated by the Pakistani troops and militants. Facing international diplomatic opposition, the Pakistani forces withdrew from the remaining Indian positions along the LOC.

The Indian Army's first priority was to recapture peaks that were in the immediate vicinity of NH 1D. This resulted in Indian troops first targeting the Tiger Hill and Tololing complex in Dras, which dominated the Srinagar-Leh route. This was soon followed by the Batalik-Turtok sub-sector which provided access to Siachen Glacier. Some of the peaks that were of vital strategic importance to the Pakistani defensive troops were Point 4590 and Point 5353.

A war memorial

While 4590 was the nearest point that had a view of NH 1D, point 5353 was the highest feature in the Dras sector, allowing the Pakistani troops to observe NH 1D. The recapture of Point 4590 by Indian troops on 14 June was significant, notwithstanding the fact that it resulted in the Indian Army suffering the most casualties in a single battle during the conflict. Though most of the posts in the vicinity of the highway were cleared by mid-June, some parts of the highway near Drass witnessed sporadic shelling until the end of the war.

As the operation was fully underway, about 250 artillery guns were brought in to clear the infiltrators in the posts that were in the line-of-sight. The Bofors FH-77B field howitzer played a vital role, with Indian gunners making maximum use of the terrain.

The Indian army launched its final attacks in the last week of July; as soon as the Drass subsector had been cleared of Pakistani forces, the fighting ceased on 26 July.
Govt yet to decide on 12 names reiterated by SC collegium for appointment as judges

You have right to protest not right to block roads: SC to farmers

Lokpal: SC unhappy with outcome of meeting attended by CJI, PM

India

oi-Staff

By Oneindia Staff Writer

New Delhi, July 26: The Supreme Court on Tuesday called 'unsatisfactory' a report filed by the Central Government after the July 19 meeting of the Lokpal selection committee. The meeting also comprised the Prime Minister and Chief Justice of India.

A Bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi told Attorney General, K K Venugopal that the affidavit of the Centre was not satisfactory and it had refrained from giving a timeline on the appointment of a Lokpal.

The high-power committee had met to constitute the search committee, which will shortlist names for Lokpal and other members and then recommend them to selection committee for final approval.

The Bench had on July 17 expressed optimism that the committee would be constituted and a time frame would be laid down for shortlisting the names. The search committee was not formed and neither was a time frame given, the Bench said.

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Story first published: Tuesday, July 24, 2018, 14:22 [IST]
Should India opt out of India-Pakistan T20 World Cup? Who said what

Aromatherapy spray manufactured in India linked to two deaths in US, faces recall

India reports 15,906 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours; Active caseload stands at 1,72,594

Malaysia police confirm India has not sought Zakir Naiks extradition

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, July 24: Has India requested the extradition of controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik from Malaysia. A lawyer representing Zakir Naik says that India has not sought to extradite the controversial preacher.

The lawyer Mohd Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz posted a letter from the police confirming that no request to extradite Zakir Naik has been made by India as yet. He appended the July 13 letter from the Royal Malaysia Police's Legal Affairs Department on his Facebook page.

"For your information, this department has checked and found no such request made by the Indian government towards your client up to date," the statement read.

"We urge you to check with the Attorney General's Chambers on this matter too."

It had been reported earlier that the Indian government had sent an official request to Malaysia on January 2018. This was also confirmed by the Ministry for External Affairs.

Zakir Naik, against whom scores of cases have been filed in India had fled to Malaysia. He had been granted Permanent Resident Status. On July 6, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dr Mahathir Mohammad had said that Zakir Naik could stay in the country as long as he did not create any problems.
Modi donated 200 cows under 'Girinka'

Modi donated 200 cows under 'Girinka' (one cow per poor family programme). This gift to the east African country was locally sourced, and is meant as a contribution to Rwandan President Kagame's flagship Girinka program, in which the poorest get cows from the government and gift the first female calf to a neighbor to promote brother hood.

'Girinka' scheme

'Girinka' is a social protection scheme of the Rwandan government personally overseen by President Kagame. Girinka describes it as a centuries-old cultural practice in Rwanda whereby a cow was given by one person to another, as a sign of respect & gratitude.

When was 'Girinka' programme launched?

In 2006, Rwanda government launched the Girinka programme, under which the State gifted one milch cow to every poor family. Since its introduction, hundreds of thousands have received cows through the Girinka programme. The programme has contributed to an increase in agricultural production in Rwanda - especially milk production and products, reduced malnutrition and increased incomes.
Govt yet to decide on 12 names reiterated by SC collegium for appointment as judges

You have right to protest not right to block roads: SC to farmers

Mumbai dance bar case: SC fixes next hearing on August 8

India

oi-Madhuri

Mumbai, July 24: The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned the matter and fixed its next hearing of the Mumbai dance bar case, where, the bar owners have challenged the stringent norms regulating bars on August 8.

The Maharashtra government has justified the need for these restrictions to ensure the safety and dignity of women, working in these establishments.

The apex court had earlier, on September 21, ruled that three dance bars in Maharashtra, with proper CCTV, can continue operating. A division bench of the top court, headed by Justice Dipak Misra and Justice C Nagappan passed this order.

On August 30, the apex court had issued a notice to the Maharashtra Government over a new law for dance bar licenses and asked it to reply within six months. Dance bar owners have objected to the restriction of maintaining a one-kilometer distance from any religious or educational structure, claiming it was not possible in big cities.

The Dance Bar Regulation Bill, which was unanimously passed by the Assembly on April 13, among other things, prohibits serving liquor in performance areas and mandates that the premises must shut by 11.30 pm.

It also imposes heavy penalties on dance bar owners and customers for not following these rules.

The apex court had on March 2 rejected certain suggestions like providing live CCTV footage to police of performances in the dance bars and asked the state government to grant licenses to owners within 10 days after they comply with the modified guidelines.

(with inputs)

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Story first published: Tuesday, July 24, 2018, 11:36 [IST]
Police investigation at the shelter home premises

Police investigate the site where a rape victim was allegedly buried, at a government shelter home in Muzaffarpur, on Monday, July 23, 2018. So far, 10 people have been arrested and a chargesheet will be filed against them. Muzaffarpur Police dug up premises of shelter home where a girl was allegedly beaten to death and buried. The digging took place based on the statement of one of the victims. The girl said a girl was killed after disagreement with staff members of the shelter home.

Police escorts children out of shelter home

Police personnel escort children out of a government-funded shelter, in Muzaffarpur, on Monday, July 23, 2018. A girl of a government shelter home has alleged that one of her fellow inmates was beaten to death and buried at the premises of the facility, and several were raped. PTI Photo

Police seizes documents from shelter home

Security official carries documents as further investigation takes place at a government-funded shelter home, in Muzaffarpur.

Former deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav alleged that owner of the NGO that runs the shelter home is close to CM Nitish Kumar. Tejashwi said, " Owner of the NGO that runs the shelter home is close to CM Nitish Kumar, had even campaigned for him in elections."

RJD protest

RJD senior leader Rabri Devi with party legislators stages a protest against Bihar shelter rape case, during the Monsoon session of the state Assembly, in Patna on Tuesday, July 24, 2018. (PTI Photo)
Now, airports to get 3D scanners to check your hand baggage

India

oi-Madhuri

New Delhi, July 24: Now passengers might soon be free from the hassle of having to remove their iPads and laptops from their bags when going through security. Some of the busiest hubs around the world is launching a new technology that could change the way bags are scanned at airports across the country.

The goal is to replace ageing X-ray scanners with new 3-D carry-on bag scanners that use the same technology as CT scans. This will also likely spot explosives older machines could miss.

The machine uses the same technology as CT scanners, providing a 3D image of a bag's contents.

The new scanner, which will be used at the airport's security checkpoint, will allow security forces to rotate a bag's image 360 degrees to show its contents. American Airlines says this should provide a more effective way for agents to inspect bags for explosives and other prohibited items.

The technology was first used in June during a demonstration at Phoenix Sky Harbour International, USA but has also made an appearance in the UK. However, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) in Indian airport is closely monitoring and plans to test the technology here too, reports TOI.

Since most Indian airports, both PPP metro and those run by Airports Authority of India, have failed to augment capacity in last few years that have seen a number of air travellers grow manifold, serpentine queues at pre-embarkation security checks (PESC) have become a routine sight in peak travel hours.

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Story first published: Tuesday, July 24, 2018, 16:44 [IST]
Operation Jubaida: How Aadhaar led to the unearthing of Indias biggest arms licence scam

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, July 24: It is probably one of the biggest arms licence scams of all times and in the past ten years nearly 4.29 lakh licences were issued from the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The scam was unearthed by the Rajasthan ATS in an operation which it had codenamed Jubaida. The probe found that 1,32,321 of the 1,43,013 licences in Jammu's Doda, Ramban and Udhampur districts were issued to those from outside the state. In the entire state, 4,29,301 licences were issued of which only 10 percent were given to residents of the state.

When the ATS questioned a person called Baby, he had admitted to possessing a fake gun licence and a firearm that he had procured from Jammu and Kashmir in 2014. In fact the licence that he possessed was backdated to 2007.

Operation 'Jubaida': How India's biggest arms licence scam involving IAS officers was busted

This was the major breakthrough the ATS achieved while probing the case. Several of the gun licences issued in 2014 were backdated to 2007. However the cartel ended up making a major blunder, by carrying on the licence, Aadhar as the identity proof. ATS officials say that there was no Aadhaar in 2007 and this led them to busting this major scam.

The network:

There were several influential businessmen who were part of this cartel. While many were from Jaipur, the role of several officials in Jammu and Kashmir too came under the scanner during investigations.

Officials would use the name of Army personnel and issue the gun licences at costs of Rs 3 to 5 lakh. As part of the extensive six month probe, the ATS ended up seizing lakhs of gun licences and 100s of guns from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab and J&K.

The ATS found that the name of an Army jawan was used to procure a fake licence from the Valley. One of the suspects was issued a licence in the name of an Army jawan by the officials in Kashmir. Further probe revealed that several such licences were issued in the name of Army personnel.

Operation 'Jubaida': How 3,367 gun licences were procured in the name of Indian Army personnel

The probe which ought to have moved forward faster, slowed down as the ATS did not get the support of the authorities in Jammu and Kashmir. Now the ATS has suggested that the matter be handed over to the CBI for further investigation as the matter has inter-state ramifications and concerns national security.

ATS officials tell Oneindia that this racket has been on since the past 10 years. During the probe the ATS arrested the brother of an IAS officer from Kashmir. It was found that he had been paid Rs 40 lakh by the arms lobby. He was based in Gurugram, the ATS said.

The probe also found that of these licences that were issued, 3,000 of them were issued in the name of Army personnel serving in Jammu and Kashmir. The Army was asked to verify the names.

The police say that the main suspect in the case is one Rahul who hails from Jammu. He was the one who acted as the go-in-between. He hails from a middle class family and started his career as a middleman in a licensing authority office in J&K.

The probe found that this was part of a major arms racket. The scam was so rampant that in several cases it was found that one licence was issued for three to four guns.
Pakistan polls: Why India would need to deal with Taliban Imran Khan and Hafiz Saeed

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, July 24: It is a well known fact that the all powerful army in Pakistan controls almost everything. One also witnessed the clout the army where Nawaz Sharif was concerned and how it behaved like the judge, jury and the executioner.

The elections in Pakistan are round the corner and it would be a very closely watched event especially in India. The two persons, Nawaz Sharif and Pervez Musharraf, with whom India has dealt with in the past are out of the picture. This would essentially mean that whoever is elected to power, India would have a new face to deal with.

The big players in the Pakistan elections this year are Imran Khan, Bilawal Bhutto and very unfortunately Lashkar-e-Tayiba boss, Hafiz Saeed. The power military has put its weight behind Imran Khan.

In Imran Khan, the ISI and army have seen several benefits. He has openly supported the idea of opening dialogue with Jihadi outfits in Pakistan. He has been vocal about accommodating the terrorists, who unleash havoc in India, which has earned him the name Taliban Khan.

Going by the events in Pakistan, it still appears as though Nawaz Sharif's PML-N is in the lead.

However officials in India closely watching the elections say that this time they are sure that the army is controlling the entire process and if they wish, they could ensure that Imran Khan goes through.

Bilwal Bhutto on the other hand too is taking a shot. India has dealt with his party, the Pakistan People's Party. However Bhutto and his party appear to be on the back-foot and through the campaign have failed to create any buzz.

The army control:

When Sharif was barred from contesting the elections and sent off to jail, Pakistan was under the caretaker government of Nasir Mulk. During this period the army and ISI took control of almost everything and even ensured media space was not given to both the PML-N and PPP.

It is clear from the way the army is controlling events, that they want Imran Khan to come out tops in the poll battle. Analysts in India say that all efforts would be made to ensure that Khan comes close to the majority mark in the 342 member National Assembly of Pakistan. They also point out that in Khan they have a dummy and even if were to take the hot seat, he would have hardly any role in strategic affairs and foreign policy.

This would come as very bad news for India as all the talking would be done by the army, which has always taken a hardline stance. This would also signal the escalation of violence along the border and in Jammu and Kashmir as well.

The Hafiz Saeed factor:

Saeed, the 26/11 mastermind had taken a shot at legitimising himself by floating a political outfit called the Milli Muslim League. However his plans suffered a set back when the US state department amended its Foreign Terrorist Organisation list by changing the description of the Lashkar toad the MML as a Lashkar ally.

Saeed then decided to field 265 candidates for the National Assembly and Provincial Legislatures. All these candidates are contesting on the tickets of the Allah-o-Akbar Tehreek.

It is to be seen how many seats Saeed's men could bag in the elections. However the writing on the wall is that if Imran Khan's party fails to touch the majority mark, the army would want Saeed's candidates to back him and form the government in Pakistan.

With an Imran Khan backed by Hafiz Saeed calling the shots in Pakistan, India has plenty to worry especially when it comes to the border policy and Kashmir. Former Chief of the Research and Analysis Wing, C D Sahay tells OneIndia that the news coming from Pakistan as of now is not good. It is clear that the army is in complete control. While the people may not back Imran Khan and go with the PML-N instead, there is no guarantee that the army will not rig the results.

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Story first published: Tuesday, July 24, 2018, 9:58 [IST]
Congress trying to copy us: TMC on decision to field 40 per cent women candidates for UP polls

Have never seen such chaos, anarchy as what is playing out in Punjab Cong: Manish Tewari

Police and cow vigilantes are hand in glove: Alwar MP

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

New Delhi, July 24: Congress parliamentarian from Alwar blamed Rajasthan Police for being accomplice in the lynching incident. Yadav alleged that the police played a suspicious role in the lynching.

Karan Singh Yadav, Congress MP from Alwar, said, "Police and cow vigilantes are hand in glove in this matter. It was the duty of the police to take him to hospital immediately. Police has played a suspicious role. This is a case of not only mass lynching but also custodial death."

He blamed the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) for indulging in communal politics. "BJP indulges in such kind of politics. They make a Hindu-Muslim issue, fuel tensions a few days before election & try to win using issue of cows. Situation is the same today. It is known that cow vigilantes are protected by them," Yadav said.

Also Read | Alwar lynching: Victim died of excessive internal bleeding, says post-mortem report

The Rajasthan police has set up a high-level committee to probe the allegations of delay against the Alwar police in taking Akbar Khan to a hospital after he was allegedly lynched by a group of people on the suspicion of cow smuggling. It is alleged that when the incident happened in Lalawandi village in Alwar, it took over two-and-a-half hours for the police to take the victim to the Ramgarh Community Healthcare Centre, which is nearly 4 km away.
Will Rahul and Sonia decide if Lingayats are Hindu or not?: Indresh Kumar

RSS to provide a road map for Fifth Dham in Cambodia; report to be given to senior leadership

Pakistan can get split into 5-6 parts, will not be on world map again: RSS leader Indresh Kumar

Shia Waqf Board backs RSS leader's advise to 'stop eating beef', says its 'haram' in Islam

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

New Delhi, July 24: Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Board chief Waseem Rizvi has come out in support of RSS' Indresh Kumar who said that people should stop eating beef to curb mob lynching incidents. Rizvi said that Muslims should stop eating beef as it is 'haram' (Sin) in Islam.

RSS leader Indresh Kumar on Monday said mob lynching incidents could stop if people stopped eating beef. Kumar also emphasised on the importance of right "sanskaar" to deal with this problem.

"I think Indresh Ji's statement has a point. Religious sentiments should not be hurt. If law is made to stop killing of cows, lynching will stop. You can't kill someone who is given the status of mother by a community," Rizvi told news agency ANI.

"Muslims should stop eating beef. Killing of cows should stop. Meat of cows is 'haram' in Islam as well. You can't stop mob lynching, security cannot be deployed everywhere. So a law should be made awarding strict punishment to those killing cows," he added.

Indresh Kumar had claimed that calling 'Hindus communal' is fraught with the risk of labelling all religions in the world as communal.

Speaking at the inauguration of Jagran Hindu Manch in Ranchi, Kumar said, "The Lynchings will stop if people don't eat beef. The cows must be protected and cowdung should be used as cement, then both poverty and violence will end... Jesus was born in a cowshed and that is why in Christianity they talk of 'Holy cow'. In Mecca and Medina killing cow is a crime. Can we not pledge not to kill cows. If we can pledge this our problem of mob lynching will be solved."

In the latest incident on Friday, a man attacked by a mob on suspicion of cow smuggling in Rajasthan's Alwar bled out as policemen took him to hospital three hours after they found him.

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Story first published: Tuesday, July 24, 2018, 13:59 [IST]
To stitch up federal front, Mamata to visit New Delhi

India

oi-Staff

By Oneindia Staff Writer

New Delhi, July 24: TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will visit Delhi for three days next week to personally invite opposition leaders to the "federal front" rally she plans to hold in January in Kolkata, party sources said.

Banerjee is scheduled to arrive in Delhi on July 31.

During her previous visits to Delhi, she met the leaders of regional and opposition parties as part of her efforts to cobble up support for the "federal front" she has proposed to take on the ruling BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

The sources - who are close to Banerjee - said she has been invited to Delhi by St. Stephen's College to deliver a lecture on August 1, but she is likely to invite opposition leaders personally for the rally to be held on January 19 next year.

On July 31, the day she arrives in Delhi, Banerjee would speak on "the atmosphere of fear and intolerance against minorities prevailing in the country" at a gathering organised by Christian organisations, the sources said.

The meet would be attended by archbishops of Delhi.

"Everybody knows that it is she who is fighting against the BJP and communal forces. She is likely to visit Parliament and meet leaders of other political parties to extend her invitation for her January rally," a TMC leader said.

She would try to put forward the "real picture" of what is happening in West Bengal to stop the BJP's "negative" against her government, according to the Trinamool Congress leader.

Banerjee has been trying to stitch together a federal front of regional parties to take on the ruling BJP in the next general election. But many in the opposition have remained sceptical about her efforts.

"She is free to do anything. Earlier too she and TRS chief had a talk on federal front. But the TRS helped the NDA in the no-trust motion. I have always stated that this whole federal front script is forwarded to them by Nagpur," CPI(M) leader Mohammad Salim said.

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi had abstained during the no-trust vote, bringing down the Opposition numbers.

TRS chief K Chandrashekhar Rao had previously met Banerjee in Kolkata and discussed the formation of a federal front to take on BJP and the Congress in the 2019 general election.

It was not yet confirmed whether Banerjee would invite the Congress leadership for the January rally.

At TMC's "Martyrs Day" rally in Kolkata on Saturday, she had said that all leaders of the potential federal front will come to Kolkata on January 19.

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Story first published: Tuesday, July 24, 2018, 7:16 [IST]
UK PM Boris Johnson to set out plans for end of lockdown on July 19

Vijay Mallya willing to come back to India: Reports

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, July 24: Embattled liquor baron Vijay Mallya, the main accused in a Rs. 9,000 crore alleged bank fraud case, is understood to have sounded out to Indian authorities that he was willing to come back home to face the law, official sources said today.

Mallya, who is contesting in a London court the Indian government's action for extradition, is said to have sent feelers to authorities that he would like to join the legal process in India and contest the recent action against him under the Fugitive Economic Offender Ordinance.

Under this recently promulgated ordinance, the government can immediately confiscate all linked properties of Mallya in the country and abroad.

However, top sources in investigative agencies said the final contours of the move are still not clear as they refused to divulge more details.

A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court in Mumbai had last month issued summons to the beleaguered businessman to appear before it on August 27 on the Enforcement Directorate's plea seeking action against him under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance in the over Rs. 9,000 crore bank fraud case.

The central probe agency, as part of this action, has also sought immediate confiscation of assets worth around Rs. 12,500 crore of Mallya.

If he does not appear before the court or respond to its summons on the designated date, Mallya risks being declared a fugitive economic offender, besides properties linked to him being confiscated.

Mallya, his now defunct venture Kingfisher Airlines Limited and others availed loans from various banks during the tenure of the UPA-I government and the outstanding amount, including interest, against him is Rs. 9,990.07 crore at present, officials had said.

He had recently said he has become the "poster boy" of bank default and a lightning rod for public anger.

The liquor baron had said that he had written letters to both the prime minister and the finance minister on April 15, 2016, to explain his side of the story.

Both the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have filed separate criminal cases of alleged loan default against him.

A hearing in the extradition case is expected to be heard in London this month end where a team of Indian investigators will remain present.

PTI

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Story first published: Tuesday, July 24, 2018, 23:02 [IST]
At least 60 killed in Greece forest fires

International

oi-Shubham

By Shubham

Athens, July 24: At least 60 people were reportedly killed in wildfires in Attica region around the Greek capital, making it the worst fire since the devastation in the southern Peloponnese peninsula in August 2007, killing dozens.

Over 150 people were also injured in the fires that destroyed structures, affected transport links and saw people escaping from their homes.

Local officials informed the country's media about the death toll after the blaze ruined the seaside village of Mati in Rafina region of south-eastern Greece, located around 29 kilometres from Athens.

Bodies of 26 adults and children, apparently hugging each other, were found by the rescuers, the report added.

The blaze gained strength from Monday (July 23) night but lost pace as winds slowed down but the firefighters still had a difficult time to being it under control.

Greece's fire brigade said the intensity and spread of the wildfire in the coastal village of Mati, about 29km east of Athens, had slowed on Tuesday as winds died down, but it was still not fully under control.

Authorities declared a state of emergency in the Athens metropolitan area and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras cut short a visit to Bosnia to return home.
China, Bhutan discuss boundary dispute

International

pti-PTI

Beijing, July 24: Post-Doklam, China and Bhutan have discussed their boundary dispute and reached many agreements during the visit of a senior Chinese minister to the Himalayan kingdom, the Chinese foreign ministry said today.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou, accompanied by a high-level delegation, paid a two-day visit to Bhutan which ended today. Kong also invited Bhutan to take part in Beijings Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China and Bhutan do not have diplomatic relations but maintain contacts through periodic visits by officials. This is the first time a senior Chinese official visited Thimphu since last years 73-day-long Doklam military standoff with India.

Bhutan had objected to China building a road in the area claimed by it. India had also opposed the road which is too close to the strategic and narrow Chickens Neck corridor linking Indias northeast.

During the visit of Kong, the two sides exchanged views on China-Bhutan ties, and also the boundary issue, and reached many agreements," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a media briefing here.

A press release issued by the Chinese foreign ministry on the visit of Kong said he had stated during his talks that the two sides should continue to push forward the border negotiations, abide by the principled consensus reached, jointly maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas, and create positive conditions for the final settlement of the border issue.

Significantly, China also sought to rope in Bhutan for the BRI of which the controversial China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a flagship project. India had protested to Beijing as the CPEC traverses through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). China welcomes Bhutan's active participation in the Belt and Road Initiative to share China's development dividends, said Kong.

He called on the King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and also met Bhutanese Foreign Minister Damcho Dorji. For its part the Bhutanese side stated that it admired China's development achievements, welcomed the positive progress made by President Xi Jinping's "One Belt, One Road", the press release said. Besides appreciating China's contribution to promoting world peace, prosperity and development, Bhutan said it welcomed China to play a greater role in the international arena, the press release said. The Chinese delegation included the Chinese Ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui.

In his talks with the Bhutanese officials, Kong said China and Bhutan have maintained a sound momentum of development in recent years and made new progress in exchanges and cooperation in various fields. China attaches great importance to the traditional friendly relations with Bhutan and will as always respect Bhutan's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, respect its political system and development path chosen according to its own national conditions, and Bhutan's independent foreign policy of peace, the press release quoted him as saying.

China is willing to work with Bhutan to maintain high-level contacts, expand pragmatic cooperation, strengthen multilateral communication and coordination, and achieve common development on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit, Kong said.

Bhutan said although diplomatic relations between the two countries have not been established, the traditional friendship between the two is a good example for countries large and small to get along with each other, the Chinese press release said. Bhutan firmly adheres to the 'One-China policy concerning Taiwan and Tibet and is committed to deepening exchanges and cooperation with China and it is willing to maintain communication with China on bilateral relations and border issues, it said.

The two sides also exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern, it said.

PTI
Collapse of Kabul will go down as one of the greatest defeats in American history: Donald Trump

Thousands of terrorists might have been airlifted out of Kabul: Trump slams Biden

Never in history has withdrawal from war been handled so badly: Trump

Donald Trump mulls revoking Obama-era critics' security clearances

International

oi-Shubham

By Shubham

Washington, July 24: US President Donald Trump is said to be mulling revoking the security clearance of former CIA chief John Brennan and other critics of him belonging to the Barack Obama era.

The Trump administration named six former top officials, including those from intelligence, law enforcement and national security in the list.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders Huckabee said the said individuals had "politicised and in some cases monetised their public service" to bring "baseless" charges against the US president.

Besides Brennan, the other individuals named are former FBI director James Comey with whom Trump is having a serious tussle; former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe; former National Intelligence director James Clapper; former National Security Agency director Michael Hayden and former National Security Adviser Susan Rice.

The development earned scathing reaction from various quarters with Clapper even saying that it made even the Watergate scandal of Richard Nixon era looked pale in comparison.

Hayden tweeted after the announcement that even if his clearance was revoked, it would not change anything he believes or pens.

Meanwhile, Sanders Huckabee rubbished allegations by the media that Trump targeted former officials for exercising their freedom of speech and said it was more because Trump didn't like people politicising agencies and departments that are meant to be non-political.

She also said by providing security clearance, one was only paving way for "inappropriate legitimacy to accusations with zero evidence".

As per BBC's analysis, the threat to revoke security against a few government officials for criticising the president showed that Trump's friction with the members of intelligence community continued despite the ruckus at the Helsinki summit held recently.

"...never mind that even if the White House goes through with its threat, it will do little to silence their various condemnations of the president. Former top intelligence officers like Michael Hayden and John Brennan are sought-after as public speakers and television talking heads because of their experience and expertise, not their current access levels," analysis said.
India- Rwanda relations have stood the test of time, says PM Modi

Modi in Africa: PM gifts 200 cows to villagers in Rwanda under 'Girinka' scheme

China may lead in hard diplomacy but India wins Rwandan hearts with its food

India will grow and we'll take others along: Modi in Rwanda

PM Modi in Uganda after Rwanda: His Africa tours are well-planned

Modi in Rwanda: India sign 7 agreements with East African nation

International

oi-Shubham

By Shubham

Kigali, July 24: Officials from India and Rwanda signed seven bilateral pacts at Village Urugwiro, the address of the president of Rwanda, in Kigali on Monday evening local time, the African nation's leading daily The New Times reported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame witnessed the inking of the agreements.

Modi reached Rwanda on Monday as the first destination of his three-nation tour of Africa which also includes South Africa, the host to this year's BRICS summit. He was received by Kagame, who is in charge of the East African country for 18 years now.

Modi and Kagame hailed the agreements as milestones in the longstanding ties between India and Rwanda. The pacts included cooperation in trade, defence and a cultural exchange programme (2018-22), The New Times report said.

The two sides also signed a Memorandum of Understanding over cooperation in agriculture and animal resources as well as in leather and allied industries, the report added.

Besides, India Exim Bank also committed to extend a $200million credit like to Rwanda for the development of special economic zones and agricultural schemes in the country.

President Kagame appreciated India's support to Rwanda and welcomed opening of an embassy by India in his country.

Kagame, who is the current chairperson of the African Union, said the process to operationalise the African Continental Free Trade Area, which is currently underway, will make use of opportunities for investment and trade between Africa and India.

Modi was set to gift 200 locally sourced cows to families in Rweru model village in Bugesera district of Rwanda's Eastern Province on Tuesday, July 24, as a contribution to Rwanda's Girinka programme, The New Times report added.

Modi said India was keen to learn from Rwanda the practices in rural development and agriculture where it has made developments.

Modi and Kigali were scheduled to meet the business communities from both countries.

Rwanda also signed a number of agreements with China during the visit of President Xi Jinping to the African state just before Modi.
India will grow and we'll take others along: Modi in Rwanda

China may lead in hard diplomacy but India wins Rwandan hearts with its food

International

oi-Shubham

By Shubham

Kigali, July 24: India might still remain eclipsed by China's jet-speed development initiatives in Africa, but its soft power wins hearts of many and the African continent is no exception.

Take for example, Rwanda. The tiny East Asian country is in news now because of the visits of two leading statesmen - China's Xi Jinping and India's Narendra Modi - ahead of the BRICS summit in South Africa. Both the leading economies have focussed on Rwanda which is one of the fastest developing economies of Africa today.

While China attracted more headlines owing to its huge commitments to Africa and Rwanda, India was highlighted because of culinary reasons.

According to a report in Rwanda's The New Times, "the spicy, intensely colourful world of Indian food found an ever-increasing fan base in Rwanda."

In many parts of capital Kigali, either there exists an Indian restaurant or an eatery that offers Indian food, the report said, conceding that Indian cuisine has a cultural impact.

The report gave the instance of Khana Khazana restaurant in Kigali which is in operation since April 2009. It can accommodate 120 people in an open-air diner and specialises in authentic Indian vegetarian and non-vegetarian cuisine.

"Two years ago, its villa and boutique hotel, located in the heart of the upmarket Nyarutarama area, was also opened. It is here that avid and regular customers of this place remain awed at the consistency of the quality of the food year in and year out; a rare feat to manage and achieve," the report added.

The owner of the restaurant Raviraja Poojary invested half a billion Rwanda Francs (1 Rwanda Franc is 0.079 INR) to set up the unit after he was convinced by a friend that Rwanda is a good country to do business. He heard about how the people of Rwanda respected foreigners and the country made fast economic progress and that it is known for its cleanliness, good weather and natural beauty.

His friend was already in Rwanda, running an African eatery. He found two Indian chefs looking for jobs. He employed both and started offering Indian food. He later decided to open an Indian one as well since there were not many serving authentic Indian dishes and invited Poojary to Kigali and the two started Khana Khazana in Kigali's Kiyovu area.

It was not easy in the beginning but tried hard to familiarise the local people with Indian food and now the business is flourishing and is often regarded as the best in Kigali, the report said.
Believe we are even with the Indians, Headley told Rana after 26/11 attacks

On Headley being attacked, lawyer says,  news to me

International

oi-Staff

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Washington, July 24: The lawyer for David Coleman Headley has denied reports that his client had been assaulted. John This, who has represented Headley, a convict in the Mumbai 26/11 attacks said the news of his being assaulted was news to him.

I have no information about the attack. I cannot disclose where he is, but I can tell you that I have no information that he was attacked, the lawyer was quoted by the media as saying.

There is no information about where Headley is. His location has been kept a secret. If one searches for his name on the inmate locator of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, it does not yield any results.

David Headley, battles for life after being assaulted for being Islamic terrorist

Reports had said that he attack is said to have taken place on July 8. He was attacked by two inmates as he had been a double agent working with the ISI and also for his Islamist terror links.

Reports suggest that he had to be rushed to hospital as his injuries were grievous in nature. He has been admitted to the critical care unit unit and is under 24/7 supervision.

The two men who had attacked Headily are brothers and were imprisoned for several assault cases on police personnel.

Headily was tasked by the ISI and Lashkar-e-Tayiba to conduct a reconnaissance in Mumbai. During his stay he gathered details and prepared maps of the targets which were attacked by ten terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba.

In February 2016, he had deposed through video conferencing before a Mumbai court. He was however not deported to India from the United States as he had entered into a plea bargain deal with the FBI.

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Story first published: Tuesday, July 24, 2018, 14:41 [IST]
Should India opt out of India-Pakistan T20 World Cup? Who said what

Pak elections: Punjab doc prescribes patient not to vote for Imran Khan to get well

International

oi-Shubham

By Shubham

Lahore, July 24: The election fever is on is Pakistan.

As the country inched towards its general elections scheduled for Wednesday, July 25, it saw all sorts of bizarre incidents happening, including a doctor prescribing his patient not to vote for one particular party to get rid of his illness!

According to a report in Pakistan's The Express Tribune, a homeopathic medical practitioner in Vehari, Punjab, advised his patient on Monday, July 23, not to vote for Imran Khan's Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party in Wednesday's election.

Jahangir Shah reportedly prescribed three different remedies to one Malik Amir Shah to help him get rid of his mental ailment. On the left corner of the prescription, it was written "don't vote for Imran Khan Niazi on July 25", the Express Tribune report said.

The prescription soon became a hit on the social media with supporters of Khan's PTI and the Sharifs' Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) debating it. While the supporters of the former national ruling party said the doctor did a perfect diagnosis of his patient's ailment and prescribed the perfect remedy, the PTI supporters slammed him as a "putwari" who belittled the profession, the report added.

The doctor himself told The Express Tribune that the prescription was forged and elements tried to use it to make their own political gains. Shah said he is a doctor and not a political worker and that is something he would prefer to do last.

He said the controversial mentions on the prescription were fabricated and decided to take legal action against those who were responsible for it, the report added.

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Story first published: Tuesday, July 24, 2018, 14:10 [IST]
Why Imran Khans invite to Modi to his swearing-in will only see photo-op sessions

Pakistan Election official results: Imran Khans PTI ends up with 116 seats

International

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Oneindia Staff

Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf emerged as the single largest party, winning 116 of the 270 contested seats, as Pakistan's election commission released final results of the general elections marred by a tediously slow vote count and resulting in allegations of rigging.

The final results were announced more than two days after the conclusion of voting for the 11th general elections held on July 25.

According to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led the National Assembly tally with 116 seats.

Jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with 64 seats and former president Asif Ali Zardari's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with 43 seats are placed at number two and three respectively, the ECP said.

The PTI is on the top with 16,857,035 votes, followed by the PML-N with 12,894,225 and the PPP with 6,894,296 votes.

We hope you enjoyed the LIVE updates. Thank you for staying tuned:

Newest First Oldest First As per the Election Commission of Pakistans published results, Imran Khans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) finished as the largest party, winning 115 of 270 National Assembly seats. The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) or PML-N  won 64 seats while another major national party Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) ended with 43 seats. Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA), an alliance of religious parties, won only 12 seats while Muttahida Qaumi Movement  Pakistan (MQM-P) managed just six seats. PML-Q (Quaid e Azam Group) and the newly formed Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) won four seats each while the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) based in Sindh won just two seats. The Election Commission of Pakistan on Friday announced 95 per cent of the provisional results for the National and four provincial assemblies where PTI has emerged as the single largest party. Imran Khan promised that he will protect the tax money of people and will reduce his expenses. I will ashamed to live in such a huge prime ministers house. We will decide what to do with the prime ministers house, we will turn it into some sort of educational institute. We will use all governor houses for the public. The PTI chairman said that he wanted all of Pakistan to unite. He was forgetting all attacks, including personal ones, that his opponents had launched against him. My government will not take vengeful action against anyone. Pakistans election commission on Friday issued results for 250 of the 270 contested seats of the National Assembly, showing Imran Khans party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leading in 109 seats in the general elections marred by a tediously slow vote count and resulting in allegations of rigging. PML-N calls all party conference as party leader terms delay in results 'a beautiful coincidence' PTI has claimed victory in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The PTI is leading with 105 of the 228 seats. Final results continue to trickle in. More than 85,000 polling stations were set up for elections to the national and provincial assemblies but transmission of results from there stopped due to fault in the Result Transmission Service -- a special software designed for it. Pakistan authorities faced with hiccups in finalising the outcome of the general elections due to logistic and technical problems, resulting in allegations of rigging. ECP has received 90% Election Results, say reports. Mistakes, delays in electoral procedure 'premeditated conspiracy': PML-N Several cricket stars, from Pakistan as well as the rest of the World, are happy to see Imran Khan becoming his nations political leader again. From Shoaib Akhtar to Shahid Afridi cricket stars from all over the world dropped congratulatory messages for the newly elected Pakistan PM Imran Khan. Latest updates: Imran Khans PTI has won 115 seats so far, followed by Shehbaz Sharifs PML-N that has won 60 till now. Bilawal Bhuttos PPP has won 40 and the Others, including Independents, have claimed a substantial number so far  51 seats. Former Jammu and Kashmir CM Farooq Abdullah congratulates Imran Khan. I congratulate Imran Khan. I'll also say that his statement regarding India that he wants to have better relations with India & solve issues with dialogue, is kind-hearted.We want him to implement what he is saying, he said. Mahesh Kumar Malani of Pakistan Peoples Party today became the first Hindu to win the National Assembly seat from Tharparkar in southern Sindh province. Malani, the 55-year-old minority community leader, defeated his nearest rival Arab Zakaullah of the Grand Democratic Alliance in the NA-222 constituency. He secured 37,245 votes while Zakaullah received 18,323 votes, the Express Tribune reported. Election Commission of Pakistan: Final results will come out within 24 hours. There is no delay. 90% of results have been announced by Returning Officers in the field. We have received 82% of the results. Union minister RK Singh says things doesn't change for India with the election of Imran Khan. I don't see any change because as far as India is concerned, the important matters like export of terrorism by them, are not going to change. Military used to decide this policy & they'll do it now as well: Union Minister RK Singh said. The BBC has issued an apology for confusing Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan with his former teammate Wasim Akram in its election-related coverage. During its flagship night-time news show, Newsnight', BBC2 showed footage of former left-arm pacer Wasim Akram instead of right-handed all-rounder Khan as he emerged as the frontrunner in the Pakistani general elections. If you think there has been rigging, we will open all the ballots again. We will not let political victimisation of anyone happen, says Imran Khan But India must make that effort. It only continues to blame Pakistan for everything that happens around the world. Our friendship is imperative for the subcontinent. I dont think any leader has seen as many personal attacks as I have seen in the past 3 years: Imran Khan Kashmir has been a decades issue with India. We can sit across the table, talk and resolve issues. Blame game will not work. If India blames us for Balochistan and we blame them for Kashmir, then we are back on square one. Saddened by the way Indian media has portrayed me in the run up to the elections. I am well known in India. I want to improve ties with India. If trade ties with India improve then it will benefit both nations We have a lot to learn from China. We will work towards bettering ties with China, Says Imran Khan. He further hailed China's CPEC initiative. We have to fight poverty, its a big challenge. China is the biggest example in front of us, it lifted 70 crore people out of poverty in the last 30 years, it was unprecedented: Imran Khan. Afghanistan is the country which has seen the worst of terrorism. If there is peace in Afghanistan, there will be peace in Pakistan. Fears have mounted over wide-ranging powers granted to military units overseeing Pakistan's polling stations when the country votes on Wednesday, with opposition parties and analysts warning the move could erode trust in the tense contest. The Pakistan military has stationed over 370,000 troops nationwide to ensure the vote goes smoothly, the largest such deployment in the country's history on an election day. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said military officers would also be given magisterial powers, effectively making them judge and jury to punish individuals for illegal acts committed inside polling stations. The survey says that the PTI is leading with 29 per cent, followed by PML-N at 25 per cent. The Pakistan People's Party led by Bilawal Bhutto is at 20 per cent. Also in the fray are Hafiz Saeed's men who are contesting on the ticket of the Allah-o-Akbar party. Saeed has fielded 79 candidates for the National Assembly and 181 for the four provincial assemblies. Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has advised people to bring their Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) for casting vote on election day. Security forces on high alert in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan. 1,768 polling stations declared 'extremely sensitive' and 768 'sensitive', out of almost 5,000 polling stations. Pakistan's National Assembly consists of a total of 342 members of which 272 will be directly elected today whereas the remaining 60 seats reserved for women and 10 for religious minorities will be selected later through proportional representation among parties with more than five percent of the vote, GeoTV reported. Polling will begin at 8 am and conclude at 6 pm. Election authorities in Pakistan have ordered an inquiry into reports that women are being barred from voting in parts of conservative northwest Pakistan in the general elections on Wednesday. Elections have been postponed in eight national and provincial assembly constituencies in Pakistan which goes to the polls, according to a media report. In one of the constituencies, a candidate had been disqualified while in the other seven, the contesting candidates had passed away, the Express Tribune reported. The US today said it is "closely" monitoring the situation in Pakistan which goes to polls, emphasising that it supports free, fair, transparent and accountable elections in the country. More than 1.6 million polling staff will perform duties on the election day. About 400,000 police officers and 371,000 army troops have been deployed across the country. There are 105.96 million registered voters in the country. The voting on more than 85,000 polling stations will start at 8.00 am and will continue till 6.00 pm. The counting of votes will be done on the spot soon after polling is concluded and results will be announced within 24 hours. 3,459 candidates are contesting for 272 general seats of the National Assembly, while 8,396 candidates are running for 577 general seats of the four provincial assemblies - Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. At least 1,696 candidates are contesting for the National Assembly from Punjab whereas 4,242 are vying for the provincial assembly seats. Polling will end at 6pm after which counting of votes will begin. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has requested the media not to air unofficial results before 7pm (PST). Pakistan government has declared July 25 a public holiday in an effort to encourage maximum voter participation. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has set up 85,307 polling stations across the country. Around 20,000 polling stations have been declared sensitive and CCTV cameras have been installed inside and outside all the sensitive polling stations. Voting has begun for the Pakistan general elections. 1.6 million people are expected to cast their votes as the Election Commission of Pakistan expects a record turnout. PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif stand in a queue outside a polling station in Model Town to cast his vote for Pakistan Elections 2018 #PakistanElections2018: Women queue up outside a polling booth in Lahore to cast their votes. pic.twitter.com/ebDUU2nfst  ANI (@ANI) July 25, 2018 Women queue up outside a polling booth in Lahore to cast their votes. Just cast my vote. High time that all of you came out to vote for Pakistan's progress and prosperity. May this election be a source of peace and stability for the nation! pic.twitter.com/uiUZYdo09j  Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) July 25, 2018 Shehbaz has been tweeting this morning, sharing pictures of himself voting and encouraging people to vote. High time that all of you came out to vote for Pakistans progress and prosperity, he wrote in one tweet. The people of Pakistan - especially women - the power is in your hands. Get up, go and vote! Democracy shall win! #Election2018  pic.twitter.com/LqVRUK9cjO  Malala (@Malala) July 24, 2018 Malala Yousafzai, the youngest ever Nobel peace prize laureate, has encouraged people to get out to vote today. The magisterial powers given to the army has been opposed by the Pakistan Peoples Party. The Election Commission of Pakistan expects a record turnout of voters today. Daughters of Benazir Bhutto- Bakhtawar and Aseefa after casting their vote in Sindh's Nawabshah. Baloch national leader and head of Free Balochistan Movement (FBM) Hyrbyair Marri has urged the people of Balochistan to boycott the Pakistan general elections. In a statement, Marri said, The Balochs should boycott Pakistani elections like the previous one in Balochistan because through these polls, Pakistan will prolong its brutalities and slavery on Balochistan. Marri further said that refusing to vote would be the voice of freedom of the Balochs before the world, and urged them to do their utmost to refrain from taking part in the polls. If anyone is forcibly dragged to the polling station by stooges of state, then instead of voting for so-called Baloch nationalists the vote should be destroyed. So that your vote, instead of strengthening the Baloch slavery, can weaken it, he added. The first voter to enter a polling station in the city of Lahore was business executive Maryum Arif, who was followed soon after by Shehbaz Sharif, the younger brother of ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif and the head of the PMLN party. The death toll from election-related violence reached more than 170 and the military has deployed a huge number of troops to try to ensure security.

Also read: Pakistan polls: Why India would need to deal with Taliban Imran Khan and Hafiz Saeed

Around 70 per cent of the supporters of both parties have reported a strong or very strong intent to vote. To win a majority in the province, the PTI has to swing a substantial portion of the undecided voters on to its side. The case would be similar where the PML-N is concerned.

Pakistan elections: Imran Khan has thin edge over PML-N says survey

In Punjab, the survey shows that PMLN has a lead of 7 percentage points over PTI which is outside the survey's provincial margin of error of + 1.9 percentage points. But what is of concern for PMLN, and gives hope to PTI, is that outside central Punjab, the former's 5 percentage points lead lies within the survey's margin of error of 2.6 percentage points in this region.

This, combined with the fact that this region accounts for 55 per cent of the province's National Assembly seats, makes the contest between the two parties a real cliffhanger.
Pakistan elections 2018: Eventful campaign phase concludes

International

oi-Shubham

By Shubham

Islamabad, July 24: The campaigning for the national and provincial elections in Pakistan scheduled for Wednesday, July 25, concluded on Monday (July 23) midnight with leaders of all major parties rounding off their electioneering and predicting victories for themselves. In city like Lahore, rain played a spoilsport on the final day of the campaigning as the venues of many rallies had to be changed while some others had to be cancelled.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan took part in as many as four rallies on the final day of the campaigning while Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif held a public meeting in Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab province. Leader of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) - Bilawal Bhutto Zardari - also addressed meetings in several places like Shahdatkot, Garhi, Jacocabad before paying tributes to his predecessors - Benazir Bhutto and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto - at their graves. Both Benzir and her father Zulfiqar served as Pakistan's prime minister but perished under military rule.

The election campaign ahead of the July 25 election which is expected to see a peaceful transfer of power for only the second time in the history of Pakistan has been marred by a series of terror strikes, including one in Balochistan where over 150 people, including an election candidate, were killed. The political leaders nevertheless continued with their campaigning undeterred.

Voting will begin at 8 am on Wednesday (8.30 am IST) and conclude at 6 pm (6.30 pm IST). The preliminary results are expected to come out around 8 pm onwards (8.30 pm IST).

This election in Pakistan turned more eye-catching with the ouster and imprisonment of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, arguably the tallest politician in the country at the moment. Sharif was sentenced to jail along with his daughter Maryam and son-in-law Captain Safdar in connection with a corruption case, leaving his PML-N and its electoral prospects in a jeopardy.

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Story first published: Tuesday, July 24, 2018, 10:26 [IST]
Pakistan elections: Imran Khan has thin edge over PML-N says survey

International

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Oneindia Staff

Islamabad, July 24: The battle in Pakistan is between the PTI led by Imran Khan and PML-N led by Nawaz Sharif's brother Shahbaz Sharif. Campaigning has ended for the elections for which several have cast aspersions on the conduct of the Pakistan army. Pakistan will be voting tomorrow.

An opinion poll on Monday has put the PTI slightly ahead of the PML-N. The survey has found that 14 per cent of the respondents in the Punjab province, the PMLN's stronghold, remain undecided. And, it is this group of voters who are expected to determine the final outcome of the 2018 elections.

The survey says that the PTI is leading with 29 per cent, followed by PML-N at 25 per cent. The Pakistan People's Party led by Bilawal Bhutto is at 20 per cent.

Also in the fray are Hafiz Saeed's men who are contesting on the ticket of the Allah-o-Akbar party. Saeed has fielded 79 candidates for the National Assembly and 181 for the four provincial assemblies.

Around 70 per cent of the supporters of both parties have reported a strong or very strong intent to vote. To win a majority in the province, the PTI has to swing a substantial portion of the undecided voters on to its side. The case would be similar where the PML-N is concerned.

In Punjab, the survey shows that PMLN has a lead of 7 percentage points over PTI which is outside the survey's provincial margin of error of + 1.9 percentage points. But what is of concern for PMLN, and gives hope to PTI, is that outside central Punjab, the former's 5 percentage points lead lies within the survey's margin of error of + 2.6 percentage points in this region. This, combined with the fact that this region accounts for 55 per cent of the province's National Assembly seats, makes the contest between the two parties a real cliffhanger.

The survey was carried out in 55 districts across Pakistan. The survey was conducted by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), one of Pakistan's respected think tanks, and the Herald magazine, the Dawn newspaper group's magazine. The survey carried out between June 25 and July 12 with 6,004 randomly chosen respondents - 2,848 from Punjab, 1,117 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 1,055 from Sindh and 984 from Balochistan.

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Story first published: Tuesday, July 24, 2018, 10:13 [IST]
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Curr: Long Looking to: Sell @ 63.50



As of 3/21/21 @ 8:46pm EST: $60.85



LAST WEEK: We suggested shorting from $66.28 up to $67.98 with stops on a close above $68 and with a target for covering and getting long at $59.65.



UPDATE: Crude oil bottomed in the very short-term and should bounce to around $63.50 before heading lower once again.



We would hold longs until $63.50 and would then sell those longs and get short. Stops should be honored on a close above $64 and the downside target for covering shorts and getting long will be $53.83.
Opalesque Industry Update - GAM Investments announced today the hire of Maggie Gresio as managing director of business development covering the institutional market in the US. She joins in July and will be based in New York, reporting to Gary Droscoski. Maggie joins from Man Group where she was managing director of sales and marketing covering the US west coast. Previously she was sales and marketing director at Fulcrum Asset Management for five years and has held various sales and investment research roles at Bluecrest Capital Management, Natixis Capital Markets and Lehman Brothers. Gary Droscoski, head of business development North America, said: "Maggie brings a wealth of experience to GAM - this will be invaluable in helping us to achieve our strategic US growth plans and to service our growing sophisticated institutional client base. We believe our recent mandate win from the Teachers Retirement System of Illinois, who allocated USD 200 million to GAM Systematic's Core Macro strategy, is testament to the strength of our differentiated offering. Maggie is a key addition to our 10-strong team."
Opalesque Industry Update - Northern Trust announced today it has developed enhanced reporting and analytical tools to provide private equity managers with greater transparency into fund operations, delivering on-demand data and customized views of portfolio information. The sophisticated reporting for Northern Trust private equity fund administration clients was developed in collaboration with financial technology solutions provider FIS and leverages FIS's Data Exchange Reporting and Analytics (DX R&A) solution. This capability enables on-demand reporting to answer investor and investment manager inquiries, providing general partners with direct access to detailed and comprehensive information on their schedule of investments, cash flows, investor capital commitments and balances. "We have focused heavily on deploying leading technology to drive increased transparency in private equity investing, and this latest enhancement is another example of how we continue to raise the bar," said Pete Cherecwich, president of Corporate & Institutional Services at Northern Trust. "By incorporating the advanced FIS solution, we give clients the data they need to make more informed decisions." The new technology supports increasing demand from private equity financial officers for direct and immediate access to their data - enabling general partners to drill down into their trial balances and the underlying transactions. Access to intuitive dashboards displaying performance and risk metrics will soon be available. "Northern Trust joins a growing number of firms that deploy our Data Exchange Reporting and Analytics solution to provide a self-service platform for their clients to view their data, run reports, and analyze portfolio performance," said Sami Juma, Head of Alternative Solutions, FIS. "Using our advanced solution, Northern Trust's clients can transform data into intelligence to improve decision-making, whilst simultaneously benefiting from an enhanced customer experience." Northern Trust's Alternative Fund Services business provides fund administration, accounting and data and analytical solutions to more than 100 private equity managers across the globe. It supports diverse and complex fund structures across multiple domiciles and jurisdictions and has expertise in alternative investment vehicles, including private equity, private debt, venture capital, real estate, infrastructure and real asset investment vehicles.
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Crying eye

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What Israel is doing to Palestinians is an outrage. It strikes at the very core of our existential values, our sense of morality, our notions of justice and compassion. It is a crying shame we are reduced to this state of helplessness. To have to watch our words and tiptoe around the 'sensitivities' of an oppressor and its sponsors. To be told even passive boycott is verboten.

What sin-ridden karma are Palestinians forced to repay through their wrenching battle for survival against the pitiless onslaught of another people who view them as sub-humans? How is it that five generations of a people have lived like a lost tribe in plain sight for 70 years when even the dreaded Jewish concentration camps in WW II lasted a mere 12 years? Must a people who played no part in the tragedy of the Jews keep paying the price of an unending retribution by proxy? Why, even as the rest of us charge headlong into the marvels of the 21st century, are they locked in a time warp? Did the world throw away the key to its conscience the same day Israel threw away the key to the world's largest open-air prison?

Such visceral reactions are to be expected from anyone with a modicum of human decency. Israel is a lawless rogue nation still playing the victim 73 years after the holocaust. Its in your face defiance of international laws and the perverse justifications for its bizarre conduct invoke more probing questions though.

What is the purpose of Israel? Are the Jews of Israel to be eternal victims of such an unforgettable, unforgivable tragedy that the world must forever look the other way while their leaders do whatever they want? Why is only their particular tragedy called a holocaust? Why are the walls around Palestine still going up when more formidable walls have come crashing down elsewhere in the world?

Perhaps our outrage is meant to be. To keep us seething in a torrent of raw emotion at this danse macabre in one forlorn corner of the world, while something coldly calculating weaves a sinister web of intrigue in the shadows. We -- the onlookers, the Palestinians, ordinary Israelites and the Jewish diaspora -- may all be getting played.

To start with, the accuracy of the 6 million Jewish deaths in the holocaust of WW II has never been proven. To question it is to invite a tirade of accusation, abuse and criminalizing laws as many, British historian David Irving among them, have discovered. Roundly condemned, shouted down and jailed as an anti-Semite and holocaust denier, Irving nevertheless raises some troubling issues. According to his calculations, the actual number of Jewish deaths could be closer to 3 million, many of them due to starvation and disease rather than lethal gas. For sure, even 3 million deaths, by whatever cause, in those horrific circumstances is still an abomination which should never have taken place. But it does not explain why the 6 million is such an occultic number that even a hint of skepticism about it should set off a howl of indignation.

Contrast this against the selective amnesia over a similar fate that befell the North Koreans and Vietnamese, neither of whom have been accorded a sacrosanct status as the Jews. The yawning gulf between official and unofficial body counts (still in fashion then, after a fashion) from their tragedies has produced little more than a yawn. Officially, one million North Koreans died in the Korean War, which featured the most brutal carpet bombing ever in modern history. Unofficial estimates suggest North Korea lost nearly a third of its population, some 3.5 million people. Likewise, officially approved estimates say just a million Vietnamese lost their lives in the Vietnam War. The real death toll was placed at as high as 3.8 million by American political scientist Rudolf Rummel. Obviously, who gets killed and who does the killing matter more than how many have to die to qualify as holocaust victims. Just as carbon monoxide, Zyklon B and barrel bombs are haram but napalm, Agent Orange, depleted uranium and nuclear bombs are kosher.

The term holocaust was coined by Elie Wiesel, survivor of Auschwitz and Buchenwald in 1944--1945, in his book Night, which was published in 1960, 15 years after the last WW II concentration camp was shut down. 'The Holocaust' has since been the raison d'etre for the very phenomenon of Israel, burnished into its leitmotif through a vast global propaganda machine dominated by Western media in a sweeping rationale for all that has transpired since with Israel. Not only in Palestine, but right across the Middle East in Iraq, Libya, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Yemen, Iran and the Gulf States. And winding its way over Turkey to Europe, the Caucasus, Ukraine, Russia, Central Asia, South and South-East Asia...perhaps even to China and the Far East.

Too farfetched? Consider how, in almost every one of these tension points where the West's interests clash against those of others, the name of Israel keeps popping up in one capacity or another. Strange that a tiny country with a population of barely 7 million can punch so far above its weight. The popular perception is Israel is the tail that wags the Western dog. This may well be a myth we are fed. Israel's outsized presence in global geopolitics resembles more the 15km long Halley's Comet with its 100,000 million km plume. We see only the cosmic dust trail of the plume.

The creation of Israel at the center of the Islamic world was clearly premeditated. The world Jewish population today is about 14.5 million. Of this, only 44% live in Israel, followed by 40% in the US and less than 100,000 in Germany. Fewer than half of the Jewish people were seduced by the siren song of Zion to the sadistic killing fields of Palestine. Had the Western powers wanted, they could have relocated the entire Jewish population of 11 million in 1945 within Europe itself or to other resource-rich Western countries with vast land areas and low population densities like the US, Canada or Australia. A hugely talented and industrious people, the Jews would have assimilated seamlessly into those communities, as the ones that did not elect to go to Israel amply demonstrate. They could have even been given the same sliver of land shaved off any of these countries to call their own. They would have prospered among friendly nations instead of soaking a barren promised land with sacrificial blood to propitiate the god of Zion.

The Western powers, however, chose to plonk them down on a hornet's nest. It beggars belief they were oblivious to the inevitable blowback. Empires do not do such things casually, nor do they get into raptures over holy causes except when it suits their less than holy purposes. The undimming aura of violence Israel has emanated for seven interminable decades suggests it was meant to be the West's frontier post in the East for other reasons. To keep a menacing finger on the pulsatile arterial blood flow of the global economy -- the oil and gas resources of Arabia. Perhaps also to keep Islam on the back foot in its own heartland and to act as a staging point to steal the vast natural resources of the African continent.

The mafiaesque solidarity of the Western political class in its carved in stone fealty to Israel, despite its own bitter internecine feuds, lends credence to the above. The official story about the long arc of the moral universe finally bending to justice for wandering Israelites sounds like a bedtime yarn for the wide-eyed in the face of all that has happened. How is it that the very governments which are reducing Christianity to a laughingstock by 'liberating' themselves and their citizenry from its binding moral strictures (which were indeed set in stone) are dazzled by an everlasting epiphany over the sanctity of another religion? Are we to believe they are stauncher to another faith than their own?

The real reasons, truer to their character, are likely venal. Western governments and their allies are in thrall to financial and business elite interests with ostensibly Zionist overtones denied only halfheartedly. A righteous front for grand skullduggery on a global scale. Bearing the imprints of the Rothschilds, Goldman Sachs and their ilk, it snakes across the world's billionaire class of all religious persuasion (or none), and rears its hood like the serpent of Eden each year at Davos and the Bilderberg Group -- secretive conclaves of one world order control freaks. Key government positions in the US and Europe -- particularly in the areas of finance, military affairs and foreign policy -- have been systematically infiltrated by these one-worlders who flaunt their sympathy for the Zionist cause like a matador baiting the bull. For suckers like us who gore the lure while they stick it into our flanks.

This account will be incomplete without a dishonorable mention of the disgraceful role of Western mainstream media, which has sworn an oath of omerta on all news and views contrary to the interests of Israel and one-worlders. It is a seamless affair that segues from one to the other without drawing a breath, as if they are one and the same. It throws a blanket immunity over both against any and all international laws or moral restraints under the twin pretexts of a 4,000 years old Biblical claim and a reparation in blood for a 70 years old tragedy which has been elevated to the level of the original sin. No atrocity is too big to commit for Israel or the one-worlders. All are in self-defense, every rival an existential threat.

Whose existence? The Jews can survive without Israel, the majority already does. It is the one-worlders who seem to need Israel more than the Jews themselves.

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(CNS): We are all very familiar with the phrase 'going Dutch' (meaning each person of a group pays one's own expenses in an outing), but are we also aware of dealing with HIV/AIDS the Dutch way? Perhaps very few of us know that "Amsterdam, which is currently hosting the 22nd International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2018) from 23-27th July 2018 - the largest conference for any global health issue in the world - became the first city in the world to overshoot the 90:90:90 target, set by UNAIDS (joint United Nations programme on HIV/AIDS), with a continuum progress of 94:90:94," said Alphonsus Stoelinga, Netherlands Ambassador to India, in an exclusive interview given to CNS (Citizen News Service) on the eve of AIDS 2018.

Stoelinga shared with pride (and rightly so) that Netherlands has indeed been on the forefront of the global fight against HIV/AIDS for quite some time now. "We are actively contributing to UNAIDS' 90:90:90 target for 2020 that is also intertwined with the global promise of ending AIDS through the adoption of SDGs by 2030. As per UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS)' Country Progress Report 2016, the Netherlands' estimated continuum progress in as far back as December 2014 was 88:94:92, with 88% HIV-infected people diagnosed and linked to care; 94% with initiated combination antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 92% of all people receiving ART with suppressed viral load", said the Ambassador.

Multi-sectoral approaches and innovations are a must

Any efforts directed towards ending AIDS cannot function without multi-level cooperation and innovation. Presently, in the absence of functional vaccines or cures against HIV infection, the need for countries to join hands and innovate - both at the local and global levels - becomes more important than ever. "I am very proud to share that the Kingdom of the Netherlands has consistently and diligently been working at both these levels. The Dutch HIV/AIDS policy focuses on 3 core principles: (i) Prevention (ii) Linkage between prevention and care and (iii) Ensuring low threshold access to testing and treatment", informed Stoelinga.

Dealing with HIV the Dutch way

Netherlands Ambassador to India Stoelinga claimed that the Dutch were the first nation in the world to spearhead large scale needle exchange programmes to combat the spread of HIV among injecting drug users (IDUs). "The first information campaign targeting the Dutch population began in 1987 and it was initiated by the government. HIV testing through public health institutions is free-of-charge. Outreach programs are perpetually being set up for specific risk populations being tested. Free HIV testing, on World AIDS Day (December 1) and during the AIDS Conference 2018, are also being offered. All pregnant women in the Netherlands are tested free of cost for HIV. For most other people, HIV testing is covered by health insurance. Those who are more likely to have STIs and/or HIV (the high risk populations) for various reasons can get tested for free at an STI Outpatients' Clinic of the Public Health Service", he said.

The again, in Netherlands, HIV testing is also available through the internet and the pharmacy. This allows one to test ones blood or saliva for HIV antibodies at home. The young population is given particular attention - by way of sexual education at schools, mother/child care (in the form of food supplements), prevention of teenage pregnancy, ensuring that young people can be tested for HIV, and those living with HIV have access to the care they need.

"Our efforts cover the full spectrum. We have a close-knit system of physicians, nurses, social workers working together to keep all people living with HIV in a continuum of care. Additionally, keeping up with the reach and power of social media, communicating about HIV/AIDS is also a part of our efforts", the Ambassador said.

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From Asia Times



Here's the real reason the US must talk to Russia

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Future historians may well identify Russian President Vladimir Putin's landmark March 1 speech as the ultimate game-changer in the 21st-century New Great Game in Eurasia. The reason is minutely detailed in Losing Military Supremacy: The Myopia of American Strategic Planning, a new book by Russian military/naval analyst Andrei Martyanov.

Martyanov is uniquely equipped for the task. Born in Baku in the early 1960s, he was a naval officer in the USSR era up to 1990. He moved to the US in the mid-1990s and is now a lab director in an aerospace firm. He belongs to an extremely rarified group: top military/naval analysts specializing in US-Russia.

From quoting Alexis de Tocqueville and Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace to revisiting the balance of power during the Soviet era and beyond, Martyanov carefully tracks how the only nation on the planet "which can militarily defeat the United States conventionally" has reacted to a situation where any "meaningful dialogue between Russia and America's politicians is virtually impossible."

What is ultimately revealed is not only a case of disregarding basic Sun Tzu -- "if you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles" -- but most of all undiluted hubris, turbocharged, among a series of illusionistic positive feedback loops, by Desert Storm's "turkey shoot" of Saddam Hussein's heavily inflated, woefully trained army.

The United States' industrial-military-intel-security complex profits from a compounded annual budget of roughly US$1 trillion. The only justification for such whopping expenditure is to manufacture a lethal external threat: Russia. That's the key reason the complex will not allow US President Donald Trump even to try to normalize relations with Russia.

Yet now this is a whole new ball game as the US faces a formidable adversary that, as Martyanov carefully details, deploys five crucial capabilities.

Command, control, communications, computers, intel, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities equal to or better than the US.



Electronic warfare capabilities equal to or better than the US.



New weapons systems equal to or better than the US.



Air defense systems that are more than a match for US air-power.



Long-range subsonic, supersonic and hypersonic cruise missiles that threaten the US Empire of Bases and even the entire US mainland.

So how did we get here?

Martyanov argues that Russia, all through the first decade of the millennium, spent enough time "defining herself in terms of enclosed technological cycles, localization and manufacturing."

In contrast, Germany, even with a large, developed economy, "cannot design and build from scratch a state-of-the-art fighter jet," while Russia can. Germany "doesn't have a space industry, and Russia does."

As for those who pass in the US for Russian "experts," they never saw these techno-breakthroughs coming; they "simply have no grasp of the enormous difference between the processes involved in a virtual monetized economy and those involved in manufacturing of the modern combat informational control system or of the cutting-edge fighter jet."

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Marta Harnecker, author of numerous books and articles advocating her vision of 21st Century socialism" in Latin America recently published an article in Spanish in an online journal focused on Venezuela. It was translated into English and appeared on Links, Portside, Real News Network, Monthly Review as "Venezuela After the Elections: What is to be done?"

We should note first of all that the most important issue facing Venezuela after their May 20 presidential election is coping with the continually increasing US-Canada- European Union economic sanctions and their goal of overturning Chavismo in Venezuela. Of this Harnecker says little. She begins with Chavez' vision for Venezuela:

"he specified that this was a 21st century socialism to differentiate it from the Soviet socialism of the 20th century. He warned that we must not "fall into the errors of the past"; into "Stalinist deviations" that bureaucratized the party and ended up eliminating popular protagonism; into state capitalism that focused on state ownership and not on the participation of workers in the running of companies.

"Chavez viewed socialism as an economic system that had human beings, not profits, at its heart; one based on a pluralist and anti-consumerist culture in which being took primacy over owning. This was a socialism based on genuine and deep democracy, where the people assumed a protagonistic role. This is one element that differentiates it from other democratic socialist proposals. For him, people's participation in all spheres was what could allow people to win confidence in themselves and develop as humans."

Then she jumps into Post-Election Challenges. We cannot follow her so quickly. The above are the views of Chavez, except for Harnecker's own assertion that the Soviet Union was "state capitalist" (a term that has the "advantage" that nobody actually knows what it means), but Harnecker does not bother to look at the degree Chavez' vision has become a reality, what has obstructed its implementation.

Venezuela has not built socialism; the country remains capitalist. Nor can Venezuela be said to have a superior form of democracy when Washington and the local oligarchy possess significant power to heavily influence the nation's voters and disrupt their practice of popular democracy. Chavez did build a socialist party, the PSUV, but it is more a bureaucratic organ than an organ of popular protagonism.

Bolivarian Venezuela has made great achievements providing housing, food, services, education and self-respect for the people. It has been a strong anti-imperialist bastion for almost 20 years, has advocated for the struggle for socialism as the solution to humanity's problems, and has encouraged organizing an Americas wide anti-imperialist and pro-socialist movement. But has it created a "21stCentury socialism" superior to the "20th Century socialism"? (Both misnamed because the only 21stcentury socialisms existing are those constructed in the 20thcentury).

Passing to Post-Election Challenges that Venezuela confronts today, Harnecker states:

"There are those who think we do not have to tell the people the problems that exist because this can be disheartening. I believe the complete opposite: I am convinced that our peoples are sufficiently intelligent to understand and tighten their belts when necessary, if we are capable of clearly explaining to them the origins of the existing crisis, and honestly recognizing that the right is making use of the weaknesses and errors of Chavismo.

" What we need to seriously analyze is what we did wrong and what we have learnt along the way that we should not repeat."

Yet while proclaiming her conviction here, she tells us nothing about what she thinks went wrong but simply switches the subject.

In concluding she calls for increased international solidarity and points out quite accurately:

"Venezuela kicked off the cycle of changes in Latin America. It was the rebirth of hope and of a form of governing focused on resolving the problems of the most underprivileged, understanding that the problem of poverty could only be resolved by giving power to the poor. It was the incarnation of solidarity with the fraternal peoples of the region who faced economic difficulties. Today, this country, which is suffering more than others from the impacts of the world crisis of capitalism and the economic war waged against it, and which is the focal point of aggression for reactionary forces around the world, deserves all our solidarity. Let us repay its noble and incredibly broad generosity with the poorest nations and peoples of the region and world by forming, together with all those who support the process, a cordon in defense of the Bolivarian revolutionary process.

"Without doubt, Chavez's legacy has marked his people and allowed them to mature, something I saw with my own eyes during the years that I lived in the country, and something that can be seen in the high vote obtained by Maduro in the recent elections. I believe that all these people, those who were given the opportunity to study, to think, to participate, to build, to decide -- and that grew enormously in terms of self-confidence and human development -- will defend the process."

But how does she answer the question: what is to be done? She copies the title from Lenin's famous book about the need and the method to build a revolutionary party to lead a revolutionary movement of workers and peasants to take power in Russia. But unlike Lenin in his book, she is short on answers.

Harnecker, like George Ciccariello-Maher and Dario Azzellini has long advocated building cooperatives and communes and a national communal system as the road towards building socialism. These are not new ideas in the anti-capitalist movement, and have been taken up long ago in the socialist movement.

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From Consortium News

Former FBI attorney Lisa Page has reportedly told a joint committee of the House of Representatives that when FBI counterintelligence official Peter Strzok texted her on May 19, 2017 saying there was "no big there there," he meant there was no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

It was clearly a bad-luck day for Strzok, when on Friday the 13th this month Page gave her explanation of the text to the House Judiciary and Oversight/Government Reform Committees and in effect threw her lover, Strzok, under the bus.

Strzok's apparent admission to Page about there being "no big there there" was reported on Friday by John Solomon in The Hill based on multiple sources who he said were present during Page's closed door interview.

Strzok's text did not come out of the blue. For the previous 10 months he and his FBI subordinates had been trying every-which-way to ferret out some "there" -- preferably a big "there" -- but had failed miserably. It is appearing more and more likely that there was nothing left for them to do but to make it up out of whole cloth, with the baton then passed to special counsel Robert Mueller.

The "no there there" text came just two days after former FBI Director James Comey succeeded in getting his friend Mueller appointed to investigate the alleged collusion that Strzok was all but certain wasn't there.

Robert Parry, the late founder and editor of Consortium News whom Solomon described to me last year as his model for journalistic courage and professionalism, was already able to discern as early as March 2017 the outlines of what is now Deep State-gate, and, typically, was the first to dare report on its implications.

Parry's article, written two and a half months before Strzok texted the self-incriminating comment to Page on there being "no big there there," is a case study in professional journalism. His very first sentence entirely anticipated Strzok's text: "The hysteria over 'Russia-gate' continues to grow ... but at its core there may be no there there."(Emphasis added.)

As for "witch-hunts," Bob and others at Consortiumnews.com, who didn't succumb to the virulent HWHW (Hillary Would Have Won) virus, and refused to slurp the Kool-Aid offered at the deep Deep State trough, have come close to being burned at the stake -- virtually. Typically, Bob stuck to his guns: he ran an organ (now vestigial in most Establishment publications) that sifted through and digested actual evidence and expelled drivel out the other end.

Those of us following the example set by Bob Parry are still taking a lot of incoming fire -- including from folks on formerly serious -- even progressive -- websites. Nor do we expect a cease-fire now, even with Page's statement (about which, 10 days after her interview, the Establishment media keep a timorous silence). Far too much is at stake.

As Mark Twain put it, "It is easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled." And, as we have seen over the past couple of years, that goes in spades for "Russia-gate." For many of us who have looked into it objectively and written about it dispassionately, we are aware, that on this issue, we are looked upon as being in sync with President Donald Trump.

Blind hatred for the man seems to thwart any acknowledgment that he could ever be right about something -- anything. This brings considerable awkwardness. Chalk it up to the price of pursuing the truth, no matter what bedfellows you end up with.

Courage at The Hill



Ex-FBI lawyer Lisa Page

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Solomon's article merits a careful read, in toto. Here are the most germane paragraphs:

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Otto Warmbier's Parents Receive Standing Ovation At State Of The Union | NBC News President Donald Trump recognized Fred and Cindy Warmbier, parents of American student Otto Warmbier, detained in North Korea

This newly published story in GQ is truly brilliantly done. Written by DOUG BOCK CLARK, it breaks my heart all over again. We need to create a foundation to help political prisoners all over the world, named after Otto Warmbier. You should read the entire article and I will only except small sections of it that are major breakthroughs in investigative journalistic scrutiny. Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson played a key role in getting Otto brought home, along with several Korean American political prisoners after Otto's release (if you can call sending a comatose young man back to his family a "release"!)

The back channel story plus many other insights and inside observations throughout all of the rest of the article are truly excellent, worthy of a Pulitzer.

To the cognizant and perceptive, all of this should in fact now loom ahead in importance of Trump's "Summit with Kim Jong Un," (for those who are actually reading between the lines in the real news, and those are damned few in number these days in the United States!), I will be pursuing the idea of creating a Foundation or Non Governmental Organization named in honor of Otto; if that can be accomplished and could be effective in specific applications, it will be done.

August 2018 Gentleman's Quarterly

click here

Doug Bock Clark wrote about the assassination of Kim Jong-un's brother in the October 2017 issue. His first book, 'The Last Whalers,' comes out next year.

>>>

My own short letter upon the death of Otto Warmbier (who died after his imprisonment in North Korea) appeared in many American newspapers, and particularly in USA Today June 20, 2017

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Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121

"Fascinating, eye-opening, and extraordinary, Rob Kall's Bottom Up: Tapping the Power of the Connection Revolution explores the emerging paradigm of our age -- bottom-up thinking -- connecting an enormous range of disciplines and topics from systems, chaos, and complexity theories to the evolving role of technology in our lives. Not merely a cogent exposition of contemporary thinking, however, Bottom Up extrapolates from abstract ideas to derive practical, everyday steps we can take to improve our chances of global survival, peace, and prosperity. Following Rob's lead, we can change habits as individuals to deepen our connection with others across the planet."



Wendell Potter, former health insurance executive, co-author of Nation on the Take: How Big Money Corrupts Our Democracy and What We Can Do About It, and Founder of Tarbell.org
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For about a year now, the unemployment rate has been around 4%. That's supposed mean full employment, labor shortages, and rising pay. But the latest earnings report is the same old story: no gains in real hourly wages from June of 2017 through June of 2018. Most employers have been able to find new workers without having to raise pay offers much.

What's going on? There are screwball right-wing diversions and explanations. A Trump economist, D. J. Norquist, opines that it will take time for the Republican tax-cuts to work their way through the economy. This is nonsense. Just because the lords of creation get more money doesn't mean more will filter down to workers. We have the evidence of forty years on that issue. Then we have Stephen Moore at the Heritage Foundation. He suggests that the economy might be creating a disproportionate number of low-wage jobs, which could outweigh rising wages higher on the job ladder. But this compositional shift is not happening. And if it were, we would be right back to asking why a booming labor market was generating more lousy jobs.

It's true that scattered labor shortages are lifting wages and employment opportunities for some people. California farm workers' average pay is now about $14 an hour. More prisoners and ex-prisoners are getting regular jobs and the unemployment rate for disabled people has fallen to 7%. These are positive events. But average real wages have been stuck for two years.

So what are the causes for the general wage drag? Here are the important ones.

1. There is still a plentiful supply of jobless workers. The official unemployment rate tells us nothing about millions of people who are essentially unemployed and ready to work, but who are not currently searching for work and are not labeled as unemployed. Five million people came off the sidelines to take jobs in June. We are not close to full employment.

2. Few workers are unionized; most do not have collective power to take full advantage of good labor markets. Employers love dealing with workers one at time. Most employers don't want unions. Quite a few don't want regular employees. Millions of employees are involuntary part-timers, temps, or "independent" contractors who get no company contributions for Social Security and health insurance and may earn less than the minimum wage.

3. U.S. employees have less job security than employees in other rich nations. They are more likely to be laid off or fired, and less likely to get enough unemployment benefits to carry on a careful search for a better-paying job.

4. Capitalists and their financial overlords are more determined than ever to limit pay raises for rank-and-file workers. Everything, including executive pay, is about corporate earnings, stock prices, and shareholder gains. When American Airlines offered wage increases to employees, there was bitching and boo-hooing on Wall Street. "Labor is being paid first again," said Citigroup's analyst. "Shareholders get leftovers." Really? In what evil parallel universe do people like this guy live? Shareholders have been making out like bandits for years, and they are benefitting now from the Republican tax-cut giveaway which lowers rates on personal and corporate income, and gives companies tons of money for share-buybacks. Yes, I am aware that capitalism is inherently self-interested and amoral. But American capitalists seem more parasitic than ever. The invisible hand of self-interest does less to promote the general welfare than it once did. Wages are too low, poverty rates too high, global warming races ahead, and so on.

5. Another factor keeping wages down is akin to serfdom: employers rig labor markets with non-compete and no-poaching contracts. Employees must promise not to move to a competitor, even within the same company. Franchise owners pledge not to hire employees from other franchisees in the company. Company arguments are that employees have trade secrets, and also that employers must protect their investments in worker training. But the average fast-food worker doesn't get trade secrets, and there can't be a lot of training for fast-food workers. The real issue is that when employees have more freedom to search for a better deal, average wages are more likely to rise.

How restrictive are these contracts? In 2014 Jimmy John's required low-level employees to sign non-compete contracts that prohibited them from going to work for any business that earned more than 10% of its revenue from "selling submarine, hero-type, deli-style, pita and/or wrapped or rolled sandwiches" within three miles of any JJ's franchise anywhere in the United States. This meant, for example, that a Jimmy John's employee in Chicago would not be able to take a new job making sandwiches in the Chicago area.

These anti-competitive contracts occur in many occupations, but they have been common in the fast-food industry. And truly wicked: you are an owner and you are paying very low ages--the median hourly rate at six fast food chains is $9.58--and now you and your company are barring employees from searching for a better job in the industry.

There's some reform at the state level. As I composed this article, the Attorney General of the State of Washington announced binding agreements to end no-poaching practices with McDonald's (which had stopped enforcing its contracts last year), Auntie Anne's, Arby's, Carl's Jr., Jimmy John's, Cinnabon, and Buffalo Wild Wings. Meanwhile, Democratic Attorney Generals in ten other states and Washington, D.C. announced investigations of six companies, including Panera Bread and Burger King.

So here's a little good news at a time when the Supreme Court, the White House, and Congress are dominated by people whose main labor policy is to limit the power and the living standards of workers. So treasure small victories. But remember other, bigger things that make for more subtle forms of modern serfdom.

Frank Stricker is a board member of the National Jobs for All Coalition, and emeritus professor of history and labor studies at California State University, Dominguez Hills. He has just finished What Ails the American Worker: Unemployment and Crummy Jobs: History, Explanations, Remedies.

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This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here.

If you don't happen to be part of Donald Trump's base and you're a member of the "fake media," it's a commonplace to assume that our president is a creature of impulse, a giant id with hardly rhyme, no less reason for what he does. News headlines and those of opinion columns tell the story: "Trump is incapable of seeing past his own ego"; "The Potemkin policies of Donald Trump, the simplest summary of White House economic policy to date is four words: there is no policy"; "World Leaders have figured it out: you can play America by playing Trump's ego"; "Quick takes: 'Trump is pure raging authoritarian id'"; "America must deal with Donald Trump, the first rogue president"; "Donald Trump is proving too stupid to be president." Let me stop there, but believe me, I wouldn't have to. And whether you're of the left, the center, or (as in several cases above) the right, you would undoubtedly have a point if you had written such pieces, given the mad spectacle of these months. Still, it might be worth thinking of such headlines less as a commentary on that spectacle and far more as part of it. These days, reporters and pundits, addictively focused on The Donald, increasingly seem like but another part of the Trumpian id released upon the world.

And since Donald Trump has, after his own fashion, smashed the ship of state directly into that same media and changed the landscape of our world of "information," he's also made an endless range of journalists and pundits into something new: actors on his planet. If you don't believe me, watch Wolf Blitzer "interviewing" -- which means mostly ranting to -- Senator Rand Paul, who is defending the president, and tell me that we're not in a new id-ified world of reportage.

In such a world of id-sters, it's also possible that something important is being missed. Perhaps the way to think about it (and our president) is in this fashion: if there's madness to his method (and there is), that doesn't mean that there isn't method to his madness. Read TomDispatchregular Michael Klare today and tell me that isn't possible. Klare suggests that, when it comes to global policy in relation to Russia, China, and the European Union, there has always been a distinct Trumpian method to those mad displays of his. Tom

Entering a 1984 World, Trump-Style

Or Implementing the Sino-Russian Blueprint for a Tripolar World Order

By Michael T. Klare The pundits and politicians generally take it for granted that President Trump lacks a coherent foreign policy. They believe that he acts solely out of spite, caprice, and political opportunism -- lashing out at U.S. allies like Germany's Angela Merkel and England's Theresa May only to embrace authoritarian rulers like Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong-un. His instinctive rancor and impulsiveness seemed on full display during his recent trip to Europe, where he lambasted Merkel, undercut May, and then, in an extraordinary meeting with Putin, dismissed any concerns over Russian meddling in the 2016 American presidential election (before half-walking his own comments back). "Nobody knows when Trump is doing international diplomacy and when he is doing election campaigning in Montana," commented Danish defense minister Claus Hjort Frederiksen following the summit. "It is difficult to decode what policy the American president is promoting. There is a complete unpredictability in this." While that reaction may be typical, it's a mistake to assume that Trump lacks a coherent foreign-policy blueprint. In fact, an examination of his campaign speeches and his actions since entering the Oval Office -- including his appearance with Putin -- reflect his adherence to a core strategic concept: the urge to establish a tripolar world order, one that was, curiously enough, first envisioned by Russian and Chinese leaders in 1997 and one that they have relentlessly pursued ever since. Such a tripolar order -- in which Russia, China, and the U.S. would each assume responsibility for maintaining stability within their own respective spheres of influence while cooperating to resolve disputes wherever those spheres overlap -- breaks radically with the end-of-the-Cold-War paradigm. During those heady years, the United States was the dominant world power and lorded it over most of the rest of the planet with the aid of its loyal NATO allies. For Russian and Chinese leaders, such a "unipolar" system was considered anathema. After all, it granted the United States a hegemonic role in world affairs while denying them what they considered their rightful place as America's equals. Not surprisingly, destroying such a system and replacing it with a tripolar one has been their strategic objective since the late 1990s -- and now an American president has zealously embraced that disruptive project as his own. The Sino-Russian Master Plan The joint Russian-Chinese project to undermine the unipolar world system was first set in motion when then-Chinese President Jiang Zemin conferred with then-Russian President Boris Yeltsin during a state visit to Moscow in April 1997. Restoring close relations with Russia while building a common front against U.S. global dominance was reportedly the purpose of Jiang's trip. "Some are pushing toward a world with one center," said Yeltsin at the time. "We want the world to be multipolar, to have several focal points. These will form the basis for a new world order." This outlook was inscribed in a "Joint Declaration on a Multipolar World and the Establishment of a New International Order," signed by the two leaders on April 23, 1997. Although phrased in grandiose language (as its title suggests), the declaration remains worth reading as it contains most of the core principles on which Donald Trump's foreign policy now rests. At its heart lay a condemnation of global hegemony -- the drive by any single nation to dominate world affairs -- along with a call for the establishment of a "multipolar" international order. It went on to espouse other key precepts that would now be considered Trumpian, including unqualified respect for state sovereignty, non-interference in the domestic affairs of other states (code for no discussion of their human rights abuses), and the pursuit of mutual economic advantage. Yeltsin would resign as president in December 1999, while Jiang would complete his term in March 2003. Their successors, Vladimir Putin and Hu Jintao, would, however, continue to build on that 1997 foundational document, issuing their own blueprint for a tripolar world in 2005.

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From Asia Times



Iranians burn an image of President Donald Trump during an anti-US demonstration

(Image by bloomberg.com) Details DMCA



President Trump's late-night, all-caps Tweet of Mass Destruction threatening Iran is bound to be enshrined in the Art of Diplomacy annals.

But let's go back to how this all started. After unilaterally pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, the Trump administration has issued what amounts to a declaration of economic war on Iran and will go no holds barred to squeeze the Islamic Republic out of the global oil market -- complete with threatening allies in Europe with secondary sanctions, unless they cut all imports of Iranian oil by November 4.

This past weekend, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei said he would support blocking all Middle East oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz if Iran's European trade partners succumb to pressure from Washington and stop buying Iranian oil altogether.

Then President Hassan Rouhani followed Khamenei and warned the US about "playing with the lion's tail."

Rouhani, as his record attests, has always behaved as the epitome of cool diplomacy. Contrary to predictable US media spin, he never "threatened" to attack the US. His premise was that Tehran was pleased to offer Washington the "mother of all peace." But if Trump instead decided to attack Iran, then (italics mine) that would open the way to the Mother of all Wars.

The fact remains that the Trump administration ditched a UN-sponsored multilateral treaty and has now launched serious covert ops with the ultimate goal of regime change in Iran.

Trump's explosion of rage, coupled with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's touting of the interests of "the long-ignored voice of the Iranian people" has been met with derision and scorn all across Iran.

Geopolitically, Russia-Iran relations remain extremely solid, as shown by the recent meeting between President Putin and Khamenei's top foreign policy adviser Ali Akbar Velayati. As Professor Mohammad Marandi at the University of Tehran told me: "The Putin-Velayati meeting went very well. Velayati plans to go to Beijing in a few weeks. People in Iran hate Trump, and all political parties and factions have become much more united. Rouhani's speech was widely watched and very well received."

Khamenei and Rouhani are on the same page -- and that's very significant in itself. They now agree any negotiation with Washington is futile. Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif provided the coup de grace, tweeting that Iran had lasted millennia and had seen many empires fall. He wrapped up with an all-caps Trumpism: "BE CAUTIOUS!"

The whole soap opera is ridden with pathetic overtones as US "experts" posing as extras digress that there are only two outcomes left for Iran: capitulation or implosion of the "regime."

Anyone claiming Tehran will capitulate shows an utter ignorance of the overall mood of defiance and scorn among the Iranian people, even as they are faced with massive economic hardship. And anyone stating there will be regime change in Tehran basically parrots a US "policy" that is just wishful thinking.

The US neo-conservatives that brought the world the failed, multi-trillion-dollar Iraq war should have been buried not six feet, but six miles under. Yet, like the Walking Dead, they will never give up.

But, in the Middle East, at the moment there are three characters who are singin' and dancin' like everything is going according to plan: Saudi Arabia's Mohamed Bin Salman (MBS), his mentor, the United Arab Emirates' Mohamed bin Zayed, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Surely they are not heeding the expert advice of former Mossad head Meir Dagan, who stated that a military attack on Iran was "the stupidest thing I have ever heard."

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BY: T. D. DUFF TONKA BAY, MINNESOTA

She was born in 1880 and became the first woman to be elected to congress. She started out her life as a social worker, but did not like the tasks she was assigned, and later in 1910 she became an activist for women's suffrage.

She eventually worked with Jane Adams and Emily Greene Balch at the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and with other peace and justice organizations. In 1968, she led a brigade in a protest against the Vietnam War, joining with Coretta Scott King to present a petition on behalf of Women Strike for Peace. She once said, "As a woman I can't go to war, and I refuse to send anyone else." The journalist William Allen White once wrote of her that, "When in one hundred years from now, courage, sheer courage based on moral indignation, is celebrated in this country, this woman's name, who stood firm in folly for her faith, will be written in monumental bronze, not for what she did, but the way she did it."

She was elected to Congress as a Republican from Montana in 1916, as the State had extended the vote to women in 1914. She campaigned for "preparedness for peace." She was one of the lone votes against the war in 1917. Her vote alienated some suffragists, who claimed it had set back the movement by years. Most suffragists thought that the "cause" would be better served if she had taken what they considered a more patriotic stand. Running for reelection to the House of Representatives was out of the question, in consequence of her antiwar vote.

She was elected to congress a second time in 1940, by again campaigning for American neutrality and American preparedness for peace. But after Pearl Harbor, when again a declaration of war came before her, she again voted no. She was the only member of Congress who refused to sanction going to war. Angry war supporters threatened her and reporters swarmed around her, at one point forcing her to take refuge in a phone booth in the Capital.

She was elected to Congress twice, by three generations of her electorate, and she claimed in large part, it was because of one powerful metaphorical story she told often during her campaigns for election.

In her campaign for election in 1916, her campaign would send out letters to schools, mostly one-room schoolhouses at that time, announcing the date and time she would be there. Her campaign left no return address on the letters so it was impossible for the schools to deny her campaign stop.

In speaking to those students, she told the story of a boy who was a classmate of hers from her young school days. It was a story the boy had told, who as a baby had been carried in a covered wagon across territory in which hostile Indians still roamed. Early one morning, the caravan heard Indians coming. There was a considerable number of them, women as well as men. The white men in the caravan ran for their guns. But the mother of the boy who was to become her classmate took her baby in her arms and walked ahead alone toward the Indians. When she reached the Indians, who had halted when they saw her approaching, she handed her baby to one of the Indians. Quite possibly, it was the first white baby they had ever seen. The Indians took this as a sign of trust and friendship. They handed the baby back to the mother, and went on their way.

She would say to the children, when she had finished the story, "You will not be able to hand your Senator a baby when he comes to your town, but you can do something to make him understand that you really care about abolishing strife and hatred among men."

In her campaign for the House of Representatives in 1940, she told the "baby of peace" story once again, this time to high-school students, and their parents who had remembered the powerful peace metaphor told to them 23 years earlier in 1917, when she was first elected to Congress.

Jeannette Rankin of Montana, was a powerful and fearless advocate for peace and keeping the country out of war. We need to actively re-enshrine and re-invigorate her VOICE FOR PEACE.
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From Smirking Chimp

If Seymour Hersh had only broken the story of the massacre of unarmed civilians at My Lai in Vietnam by the United States Army in 1968, it would have been enough to make a career. But that was only one story in a range of stories that this feisty and independent journalist has broken over the course of his long career. He was the one who pointed his finger at a host of stories, including the U.S. programs for chemical and biological weapons, the Israeli nuclear bomb and the shenanigans of the Nixon White House regarding Vietnam and Watergate. Recently, it was Hersh who wrote important stories on the death of Osama bin Laden and on allegations of the use of chemical weapons in the war in Syria. Each of his stories is received as a bombshell, largely because the story is likely to be a bombshell.

Over his long career, Hersh has worked for major U.S. publications such as The New York Times and for smaller outlets such as the Dispatch News Service. He did not care where he wrote as long as he could report with freedom and write with his usual bluntness. It was not prestige that Hersh was after, but the story. This is clear across his fascinating autobiography -- Reporter: A Memoir (2018). Winning the Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on the U.S. atrocities in My Lai did not stir him. It simply meant that he had done the right thing. It did not inflate his personality or make him eager for more establishment accolades. He won the Pulitzer Prize because he deserved it. If he wrote another story that deserved a prize, well, then he would get it. There was no need to write for the prize. To learn to write for the prize puts the reporter in the camp of the establishment. Hersh would have none of that.

Born in a hardscrabble home in Chicago, Hersh had none of the opportunities that were available to many of his peers. He went to college by luck and by determination and went to work with that same attitude. Like many good reporters, Hersh began on the night shift in Chicago, covering stories that taught him the essence of his craft. Listen to people's stories, surely, but also do not take the word of the authorities without question. One night, in 1964, there was a clash between the police and a group of African Americans. The police told Hersh that the African Americans had shot at the police, hence the retaliation. Hersh rushed back to the Associated Press office, where he worked, and filed his story about how African Americans had fired at the police. His night editor, Bob Olmsted, rewrote the lead. "Gunfire broke out tonight," Olmsted wrote. When Hersh protested, Olmsted asked him if he had talked to any African Americans. He had not. "I had made no effort to get to the rioters across the police barriers," Hersh recalled. He did not "begin to know what they thought the riot was about." On that one night, Hersh writes, Olmsted, who would later be an editor at Chicago Sun-Times, "taught me a master's degree worth of journalism."

Stenographers of war

Of course, many master's courses in journalism do not teach the lesson that one must not become the stenographer of the state. Hersh begins his memoir by saying that today "the reporter is little more than a parrot." This is a harsh assessment but there is merit to it. So much of the world of journalism now adopts the views of the state without any question. Press releases are directly reprinted as if they are news reports. The view of the state is allowed to define stories of monumental importance. Trust in the state has become a fundamental attitude in newsrooms and among opinion writers. Even more so, trust in corporations has become commonplace. If there is an oil spill, the view of the oil company is taken more seriously than the views of the people who are impacted by the spill. This is the lesson that Hersh learned early in his career.

When Hersh went to Washington from his time in Chicago, he was confronted directly with the most important story of the mid 1960s, the U.S. war on Vietnam. Leonard Downie, who was a fixture at The Washington Post, wrote in The New Muckrakers: "Most major stories written by Pentagon correspondents on national issues reflected the official point of view." There were important exceptions, although these reporters were pilloried for their brutal honesty.

As Hersh writes: "If you supported the war, you were objective; if you were against it, you were a lefty and not trustworthy." Hersh rightly praises the work of Harrison Salisbury, who went to Hanoi for The New York Times and wrote about the morale in Vietnam's north, as well as about civilian casualties as a result of the U.S. bombing raids on cities and towns. Hersh went into the world of the Pentagon to see if he could corroborate from within the U.S. military what Salisbury found in Vietnam. He was able to do so and wrote landmark pieces both on the collapse of morale in the U.S. forces and on the futility of the bombing raids and on civilian casualties. The leadership of the U.S. military denied all this. Hersh's conclusion is important: "I had no idea of the extent to which the men running the war would lie to protect their losing hand."

Hersh's method

How did Hersh get the stories that other reporters seemed to miss? The first point is his attitude. He cultivated skepticism about governmental and corporate power. Hersh was not awed by the leadership or eager for its approval. This allowed him to ask questions that it did not want asked and that it prevented from being asked by using every means. It is because he did not believe that the U.S. was always good or right that he was able to do the landmark stories that he did. Hersh's Reporter should be read by young journalists. It is itself an education. There is buried in this book a manual for how to do good journalism. Here are some basic points to explain his method:

(1) Read. Hersh read. "Read before you write," he notes in reference to an important but buried article that he had read by Elinor Langer in Science, the weekly publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Reading Langer in this obscure publication allowed Hersh to see that the U.S. government was pursuing a chemical and biological weapons program. He would not have known of such a story or pursued it if he had not read Langer's work.

(2) Research. Having read Langer, Hersh went to the Pentagon library and read everything available on the chemical and biological weapons program. He digested whatever public material was available. He learned which U.S. military bases had stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons. He read the weekly newspapers of those bases. Here he found reports on retirement parties for colonels and generals that offered details about where they had decided to retire. This information was crucial.

(3) Find and cultivate sources. Hersh then traveled to the towns that housed the bases as well as the towns where the retired military officers had moved. He tried to meet retired officers and others to ask them about the weapons program and its impact on the local communities (as well as on their own health). Painstaking work allowed him to find one or two people who would talk to him and then point him to others. This is how Hersh found William Calley, who gave him the My Lai story. Some of these retired officers were upset by the chemical and biological weapons program or were disgruntled by being passed over for promotion. "Want to be a good military reporter?" Hersh asks "Find those officers." Over the course of his career, Hersh cultivated many of these officers and other military officers. They would slip him reports and lead him to other people like themselves. These kind of sources are crucial for the Hersh method. The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, William Colby, would later say of Hersh and the CIA: "He knows more about this place than I do." He was probably right.

(4) The Hersh rule. In the book, Hersh says that when he interviewed officials he would often ask them about their work outside the story at hand. When he interviewed a judge, for instance, he asked him about his appellate decisions -- having read them already. "Never begin an interview by asking core questions," Hersh writes. "I wanted him to know I was smart and capable of some abstract thought. And I wanted him to like me and, perhaps, trust me." That judge would eventually deliver Hersh a crucial part of the My Lai story.

(5) Write to learn more, stay on the story. There is something to be said for persistence. Hersh would stay on a story for as long as he needed. He would write short articles, which would shake the trees and draw in more sources -- some family member who wanted to say something, some government official (including elected officials) who wanted Hersh to know something. He was not in a hurry to put out his final story. There would be time for that. Journalism, for Hersh, was a process, not about the creation of a product.

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The United States is under the power of a Great PsyOp with political, MSM, and officials and assets of the Intelligence Community in the Orchestra, claiming hysterically that America's is under attack by the Russians. Yes, a warfare offensive exists and it is conducted against the American people, however, who is doing the fighting and who ultimately benefits? Hillary Rodham Clinton and members of the Democratic National Committee were the first to point to the Russians, and we now know that President Obama ordered the investigation into the political platform for deficiencies in political correctness, the possibility of Collusion with Russian agents, and his personal history, of then-candidate Donald Trump and his 'Make America Great Again' campaign organization. Fine, although this investigation never stopped and its' aim has appeared to move beyond mere impeachment, a case is being made before the public to simply dismiss the President for treason, arising from the Helsinki Summit with Russian President Putin.

The PsyOp is busily working to distract us from the Political Establishment's damage and destruction to the United States for the last 40 years. The unemployment rate is more like 20%. You can't go anywhere without seeing the plight of the unemployed and the homeless. Poverty, caused by the Wall St. system is the actual national security crisis and we are sure Putin and the Russians put Donald Trump in the Oval Office. 100 million Americans are driven into poverty caused by the Wall St. system. The demands of Wall St.'s Finance Capital, that is permanent government subsidy, high unemployment, low wages, and War, because war is profitable have not been recognized by the American people. Yet we have both history and factual evidence all around us; it's embedded in the political party system and Academia. The best minds America can produce go about supporting a system that is killing the nation and God forbid you should protest; the human garbage heap exists, nonconformance with the neoliberal offensive is punished severely.

Under the cover of the 2008 Financial Meltdown, the Obama Administration, the Wall St. bagmen, the US Treasury, the Federal Reserve Bank, and the Establishment Congress gave $40 Trillion dollars and the nation to Wall St. The TBTF, banker-speculators' looting system was saved. Yet, over 30 million Americans were forced from their homes through a colorable, fraudulent foreclosure process. Wall St. centered companies employ fictitious paper debt instruments for what is a Stalinist 'forced relocation of the population program'. The injuries and bereavement of Finance Capital's banker-warfare impacts a substantial portion of the nation's population and nothing is ever mentioned. It's never been investigated. A functioning national government just doesn't allow something like that to happen, unless that's the plan. So this monstrous chapter in American governance by the Wall St. owned political system is what is actually behind the attacks on President Trump. The Establishment System cannot possibly withstand any light on its machinations over the last 40 years, the looting system, and worse their intentions cannot be known. The US citizenry must know that we can't allow all of this to be jettisoned onto the historical ash heap like so many workers, men, women, and children sacrificed for this satanic Global ideal, whatever that is, it is certainly an economic and radical population reduction policy.

Recently the Federal Reserve Bank reported that the net wealth of American Households broke the $100 Trillion dollar barrier. That's net wealth, minus taxes and debt, mortgage and credit card debt. However that's not the net wealth of the Main St. economy hunkered down with high unemployment, low wages, high debts, and taxes, the costs of the Wall St. bailouts are heaped onto the US National Debt and the Republicans are once again threatening Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. We are reading a crime report, the 1% are in possession of $100 Trillion dollars; a masterful redistribution of the nation's wealth has already occurred with your consent, managed by the Congress, the MSM, and Marxist Political Correctness that gives you no room to think let alone protest this outrage. The Rape of America, like the Rape of Russia, operates as if 'that is the way it's supposed to'. The study of Economics communicates this precisely and since critical thinking is absent we go on supporting the creation of our doom.

The national security demands that the US citizenry perform the necessary political intervention at once. Presidents Trump and Putin initiated the paradigm shift in international relations, it's the beginning of the take-down of Globalization's Perpetual Chaos, Perpetual Warfare offensive against humanity. The US citizenry cannot allow this initiative, this great event to be scuttled by the Establishment Political System that provokes war or the threat of war per the diktats of Finance Capital; 'War, because War is profitable' is sacrosanct to these people. War Avoidance is crucial to the Great America Project. Reorganize the US Treasury, the Federal Reserve Bank, and Wall St. Retrieve the lost, unaccounted for and Stolen $Trillions, Tax Wall St. and the 1%. Transition the Fed into a Public Bank facility that will fund the 50 states, infrastructure, and industry in support of the Redevelopment of North America that can beat back the Wall St. ordered Greatest Depression upon us now. There are no other options. Agitate, Contact your political representatives, Contact the President.
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Angry Yes, but Never Emulate NRA, Putin or Trump Violence

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Resist being duped by the dancing red laser beam programmed by talking and Koch heads, and start asking, the five W's and Howour news media is failing to see current Trump administration events through the lens of First Amendment and Deep Throat, lessons.

Before Trump/Pence, we could occasionally rely on newspapers and radio, if not always TV media, to give us, Jack Webb's, just the facts, ma'am, regarding how the How and five W'scorroborate the truth -- albeit reminiscent of the forgotten Fourth Estate standards, honored by Edward R. Marrow, Chet Huntley, David Brinkley, and the man who, like Rachel Maddow wept for our nation on national television, Walter Cronkite.

You want answers? Sadly, Colonel Nathan R. Jessup was correct, we can't handle the truth, if we're in lockstep with herd mentality, allowing marketing ads to successfully brand us madmen fighting among ourselves -- relentlessly ignoring, a House Divided cannot Stand, instead of following Putin's Russian Rubles.

Admit the damage that our repetitive voting pendulum's pinball machine approach to elections, both reflects and incites radical Newton's Third Law mood swings -- from keeping our Democratic Republic, to rippling democratic calls for an Arab Spring -- to backlash swinging toward the comfort zone of what's forever, Gone with the Wind.

Centuries after Sodom and Gamora and Amnon raping his half-sister Tamar, we've almost learned from #MeToo and #TimesUp how to indict the aggressive harassing predator of sexual assault, rather than re-persecuting those assaulted -- regardless of gender.

Before Bush/Cheney's endless oil wars, we protested LBJ's & Nixon's Vietnam geographical, death, maimed and brain damaged War escalations -- ultimately confusing Americans in uniform whose lives were put in Harm's Way, with the lies of the presidents who sent them.

Following precedent set by Mark Foley's assault on Congressional Pages and Larry Craig's wide stance, pickup line, we've endured Republican hypocrisy: publicly bashing LGBTQ Rights, while men like, Ed Schrock and RNC Chair Ken Mehlman, secretly experimented with their sexuality -- possibly even ignoring the pleas for help from sexually abused Ohio State students.

Too soon after the gun violence of Columbine & Sandy Hook flung open America's identity extremes: accepting Blue on Black shootings and Pulse, Las Vegas and Parkland mass murders -- the NRA partnered with Russian spies to raise Putin's puppet above our Old Glory.

Before Little Miss Maria Butina offered entry to her curds and whey, for access to an alleged sex offender accused of raping a thirteen-year-old girl, President Warren G. Harding invited little Miss Britton over to the White House for more than a lap dance.

Before AMI, Manhattan Madam and Roger Stone reveal, we were mute when our freedom to, take a knee, to honor lives cut short by racism, bigotry, hate, and vehicular murder -- was maligned by a fake patriot.

Before 45 chose a poisonous murderer over America's Intelligence Agencies, voting Democrats, by 65,845,063 to 62,980,160 valiantly attempted to defend the Land of the Free, from a Russian takeover of our electoral process -- to implant a Groper-in-Chief and his selectively Christian Vice backup, our FBI & CIA led by example: brining to justice American KGB moles, CIA's Aldrich Hazen Ames and FBI's Robert Philip Hanssen.

Since 1776, reasonable Americans have borne the weight of those clinging to past comfort zones, and now we must resist becoming, some of the people all of the time who believed claims of baby trafficking in a pizza shop basement were true.

Before SCOTUS legalized same-sex marriage, a rainbow of Americans defeated AXIS powers -- and our votes, alerting Putin and his USA allies, will defeat the trumped GOP with, This far but no further.

In 2018, it is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- electing to embody an American Dream, for all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, by supporting Americans who are the answer to our call for reinvigorated thinking, and Justice for All, like Abigail Spanberger, Leslie Cockburn, Danica Roem, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Kamala Harris.

After 6/16/15, my friends, dogs and cats inspired my hope to -- Make America Kind Again.
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A federal judge has delayed the start date for the trial of former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort, who faces charges of tax fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, witness tampering and failing to register as a foreign agent. His trial will now start on July 31; it had been slated to start on July 25. The judge also agreed to grant immunity to five witnesses who are expected to testify in Manafort's trial.

For more we speak with Greg Gordon, Washington correspondent for McClatchy.

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

JUAN GONZALEZ: Greg, how could the whole legal battles of Michael Cohen, Trump's former -- or lawyer, personal lawyer -- affect this particular case as well, or tie into this case as well?

GREG GORDON: I'm not sure whether Michael Cohen ties into the NRA, but I would say that what investigators are looking for with respect to Michael Cohen ties back into the famous dossier that was assembled by the ex-British spy, Christopher Steele. And in that dossier, the biggest thing, the most explosive thing aside from activities that went on in a hotel room, was whether Cohen went over to Prague in late August or late summer of 2016 and met with a senior member of Russia's parliament and hackers. And if that dossier is correct, well, that would be what some investigators call the holy grail, because it would carry strong suggestions of collusion between the Russians and the Trump campaign.

Now, let me just say that Bob Mueller has such a -- and this is true in mob investigations also -- you have to find a way, because many of the people that you're looking at of course are not cooperating. In this case, Robert Mueller has indicted 25 Russians. They're all in Russia. There's no extradition treaty. They're not coming here. So how's he going to build this case other than through former Trump campaign aides? And that's what he's trying to do.

He has brought enormous pressure to bear on Paul Manafort, and now he's bringing pressure to bear on Michael Cohen. And we hear about leaks where Michael Cohen is comparing himself to John Dean, the famous Watergate figure who was counsel to President Nixon. And now you have another lawyer, and word that he was taping calls with the president. What does Michael Cohen have, and will he cooperate? And if so, to what extent will he cooperate in order to avoid prosecution?

The whole game here, from where I sit, is for Mueller to try to get these guys to help him to save their own skins, to turn them on each other. And we don't know what Michael Flynn told Bob Mueller yet. We don't know what Rick Gates, who was Manafort's deputy -- both of whom pleaded -- and they had to give something up for those plea agreements. No prosecutor is going to let people off the way they were let off given the charges that were brought to bear against them without a big piece of evidence to assist in the investigation. So now, the question is, is that going to occur with Michael Cohen, and to what extent?

AMY GOODMAN: And of course a lot of what you said, Greg, is at this point speculation.

GREG GORDON: It is speculation.

AMY GOODMAN: But Greg Gordon, we want to thank you for being with us, Washington correspondent for McClatchy. His report in January with Peter Stone was headlined FBI investigating whether Russian money went to NRA to help Trump. That was January.

This is Democracy Now!. When we come back, the homeland security secretary has just stirred up some controversy once again, commenting on the Charlottesville attack of last year. Stay with us.
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According to Indian Ministry of Home Affairs, between 2014 and March, 2018, 45 people were killed in mob lynchings across nine states in India. In the latest example, a group of villagers beat to death 28-year-old Akbar Khan in Rajasthan's Alwar district, an incident that came to light just five days after the Supreme Court urged the Center to frame a law to curb lynchings.

In response to Akbar Khan's lynching by a mob, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor tweeted Sunday (July 22): "It seems safer in many places to be a cow than a Muslim."

The First Post recently carried a three-part series "Anatomy of Lynching" to highlight the reasons that fuel this mobocracy across the country. The First Post writer Saurabh Sharma says: they came for Mohammad Akhlaq in Uttar Pradesh's Dadri, then Zahid Rasool Bhatt in Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, Mazlum Ansari and Imteyaz Khan in Jharkhand's Latehar district, the Dalits in Gujarat, Pehlu Khan in Rajasthan, Junaid Khan in Ballabhgarh, Qasim and Samiuddin in Hapur, and several others in between.

All in the name of the holy cow, this is a list of lynchings -- not a new trend in India, but one that has seen a spike in the four years since the Narendra Modi government came to power, he said.

"Most such hate crimes have been concentrated in states governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party, and an accused has been convicted in only one case, so far. In several of these incidents, FIRs were lodged against the victims, many of whom were cattle traders or dairy farmers from the minority community, and the perpetrators let off. A central minister recently made news forgetting photographs clicked with eight men, who were convicted for killing a Muslim meat trader in Jharkhand, and welcoming them at his house," Sharma concluded.

Modi's Minister garlands six accused of lynching

At a time when policymakers should be up in arms against those spreading fake news or participating in mob-lynching incidents, some lawmakers are indulging in the opposite--going even to the extent of facilitating them. Recently, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha garlanded the six accused in the Alimuddin Ansari lynching case, causing quite a furor on social media. The minister ultimately had to offer a carefully worded apology.

This is not the first incident when a member of the ruling party has promoted or supported those involved in such cases. Union minister Giriraj Singh came out in support of the VHP and Bajrang Dal activists arrested in connection with communal violence during last year's Ramnavami. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Many politicians have fallen prey to fake news circulating on social media and repeatedly endorse accounts spewing venom in the cyberspace, according to the First Post.

While responding to a question in Lok Sabha in March, the home ministry told Parliament that the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) does not maintain data on the cases of "mob lynching" and policing is a state subject. However, it said that since 2014, 40 lynching-related cases were filed in the country and 45 people had died in such incidents. It also mentioned that 217 arrests were made in such cases so far. Most of the cases were reported from Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya.

Shashi Tharoor

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor tweeted Sunday (July 22): "It seems safer in many places to be a cow than a Muslim." His comments came in response to the latest Alwar case where a Muslim youth, Akbar Khan, was lynched by a mob.

Writing in The Print under the same title, parliament member Tharoor said: Since the ascent of the BJP to power, the forces unleashed by the dominance of Hindutva have resulted in many incidents of violence.

In one grim reckoning, more than 389 individuals have been killed in anti-minority acts of violence since mid-2014, and hundreds of others injured, stripped, beaten and humiliated.

Particularly haunting is the story of 15-year-old Junaid Khan, returning home on a crowded train after buying new clothes for Eid, who was stabbed repeatedly because he was Muslim and thrown off the train to bleed to death on the tracks.

Seventy cases of cow-related violence have been reported in the last eight years, of which 97 percent (68 out of 70) have occurred during the four years of BJP rule and a majority of these have occurred in BJP-ruled states.

Lynch Mobs Now a Full Fledged Extortion Industry

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By Jen Hayden, Daily Kos Staff



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Sacha Baron Cohen has been embarrassing one Republican after another on his new Showtime show Who is America? Dressing up as various characters, Cohen has convinced these gullible Republicans to do and say some fairly incredible things and in last night's episode, Cohen was pretending to be Col. Erran Morad, an Israeli anti-terrorism expert.

In a statement, which can be read alongside the jaw-dropping video below, Georgia State Rep. Jason Spencer says he thought he was taking self-defense and anti-terrorism classes. So Spencer apparently believed a defense tactic against a terrorist would be to drop his pants and chase Cohen with his bare butt, saying "You better drop the gun or I'll touch you with my bare buttocks!" Later, in another self-defense scenario, Cohen tells Spencer he has three seconds to yell something to get people's attention -- and Spencer repeatedly yells out the most vile of racial slurs.

Spencer wasn't done yet! He also used a string of offensive stereotypes while pretending to be a Chinese tourist and went onto record a "message" to terrorists using vile, racist, language. From the Huffington Post:

"'All you damn sand-ni**ers over in the Middle East, we are tired of you coming to America and we are tired of you trying to threaten us,' Spencer says in a post-credits video titled, 'A Message to Terrorists from Rep. Jason Spencer.' "In addition to brandishing a knife, Spencer continues his rampage: 'We will cut off your dick, you understand? We will take your dick and we will shove it in your mouth. How are you going to rape children and women without a dick?'"

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal is "disgusted" by Spencer's behavior, but not disgusted enough to publicly call for his resignation!

The actions and language used by Jason Spencer are appalling and offensive. There is no excuse for this type of behavior, ever, and I am saddened and disgusted by it. 5:11 AM - Jul 23, 2018

Nonetheless, it isn't improbable that this post will be updated with news of Spencer's resignation by the end of the day. Spencer recently lost a primary election and is on his way out of the Georgia legislature, but his colleagues may hasten that departure after seeing this segment.

Spencer had previously drawn national attention after he introduced a bill in Georgia to ban Muslims from wearing veils.
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"We're going to take out seven countries in five years, starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and, finishing off, Iran." (US General Wesley Clark, former Supreme Commander of NATO)



I F****D You All, But Thank You For Blaming The Black Guy. PS, The Orange Guy Makes Me Look Like A Genius!

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Contemptuous of international law, the US makes no secret of its plots to overthrow the leaders of internationally recognized governments that reject the neoliberal New World Order. Iran is at the top of the US enemies list. The US has been at it since the 1979 Iran Revolution, when the Iranian people overthrew the US's "our boy", the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The Shah had become the US's "our boy" as CIA agent Kermit Roosevelt referred to him in 1953, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower overthrew the popular democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh. Overthrowing governments is illegal according to US law and international law. It is also immoral if one believes in democracy, self-determination, and the sovereignty of nations, respect for human life, and the rule of law.

The Weaponization of Human Rights

The crushing economic sanctions now unilaterally imposed by the US on Iran are causing massive suffering and the deaths of thousands of Iranian civilians. The US response is glee that the sanctions are "working". This is nothing short of barbaric siege warfare to starve the Iranians out. Under international law the Iran sanctions may be illegal, since they are not authorized by the United Nations. The collective punishment of economic warfare is immoral, economic terrorism and a weapon of mass destruction. Secondary sanctions that impose sanctions on non-US and non-Iranian financial institutions that transact business with Iran amounts to blackmail, especially since it is the US that violated the Iran Nuclear Deal, and not Iran.

Weaponizing human rights is a most cynical tool of US imperialism, especially since the US has a very poor record on human rights at home. While holding itself out in biblical terms as a "city on a hill" (Matthew 5:14-16), the US is not a model of John Winthrop's Christian Charity , as politicians such as Ronald Reagan have opined. The US is the only developed country that does not consider healthcare a universal human right, and it has been steadily cutting FDR's New Deal social benefits, while the rich get richer from tax cuts. In 2008 the US bailed out the banks, while millions of homeowners lost their homes. Over 20% of US children live in poverty. Basic human services that are the responsibility of government have been turned into cash machines by privatizing.

George H. W. Bush's New World Order neoliberals and neocons despise any country that closes its doors to US corporate exploitation, and instead uses its own natural resources for the benefit of its own people. The US uses "human rights" to attack countries such as Venezuela, Libya, and Iran that consider economic freedom from need a human right.

One of the main reasons that Iran's moderate President Hassan Rouhani negotiated the Iran Nuclear Deal was so that the lifting of UN Security Council economic sanctions would give Iran the much needed ability to increase social spending for the Iranian people. Instead, the imposition of even harsher US unilateral sanctions by the Trump neocon stacked administration has dashed Rouhani's hopes, and makes the economic situation direr for the Iranian people. The nefarious purpose of sanctions is to make the Iranian people suffer so that they will become disgruntled and rebellious.

The Foundation for the Defense of Democracy (FDD) is a right wing neocon funded and infested think thank that has been particular rapacious in attacking Iran. FDD executive director Mark Dubowitz has been previously hailed as "the architect of many of the Iran sanctions", as reported by The Nation magazine, How the Anti-Iran Lobby Machine Dominates Capitol Hill.

As Robert Fantina has written in Counterpunch, the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy is intensively lobbying for the US to sanction Iran's "The Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order" (EIKO). One of EIKO's subsidiaries is the Barakat Foundation, which is a charitable foundation that is concerned with social programs for the people. The Ayatollah Khomeini has described it by saying,

"I'm concerned about solving problems of the deprived classes of the society. For instance, solve problems of 1000 villages completely. How good would it be if 1000 points of the country are solved or 1000 schools are built in the country."" The Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order.

Targeting human rights organization to "promote human rights" is a cruel oxymoron. It is weaponizing human rights at its worst, and attacks the most vulnerable people in a society.

Liberals often consider economic sanctions an acceptable, even humane, alternative to force. Nothing could be further from the truth, and progressive people everywhere need to recognize it. Economic sanctions are violence. The Geneva Conventions recognize that siege warfare and collective punishment against civilians are war crimes. How could something that is illegal in wartime be legal in peacetime? The International Committee of the Red Cross has often raised concerns about economic sanctions, including UN authorized economic sanctions.

The United States of "Amnesia"

Gore Vidal was one of the great American intellectuals, writers, commentators and critics of US foreign policy, domestic politics and society. He coined a phrase to describe the US's memory loss of inconvenient truths: "The United States of Amnesia". Most Americans are illiterate about US history. They cannot even remember recent events that happened in their lifetime. Today people barely remember what happened prior to the current 24 hour news cycle.

Now that the destruction of Iran is at the top of the to-do list, the people of the "United States of Amnesia" have forgotten all the countries that the US has destroyed in just the past quarter of a century. It has gone down the memory hole. Anything that happened in the 70's, 80, and 90's has been completely lost in the fog of amnesia. US victims are not so forgetful.

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Duluth, Minnesota (OpEdNews) July 24, 2018: As everybody knows, Trump's campaign motto was "Make America Great Again." I guess that America was "great" after President Harry Truman dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. No doubt the American men and women who contributed to America's role in the victory in World War II made great contributions -- some sacrificed their lives. Tom Brokaw has dubbed them "the greatest generation." I would argue that the Marshall Plan and the benefits granted to veterans were great.

So during WWII, America emerged as great because so many Americans were unified in making their respective contributions to the war effort. No doubt Axis powers in Germany, Italy, and Japan were a menace. No doubt they needed to be stopped. No doubt communism in the Soviet Union and China was brutal and aspired to world dominance. Trump's campaign motto "Make America Great Again" evokes the anti-communism hysteria of America in the 1950s.

Yes, in the Cold War era after WWII, America embraced anti-communism hysteria. In principle, both Republicans and Democrats, with few exceptions, claimed to be anti-communism. But Republicans liked to criticize Democrats for allegedly being soft on communism. Let us not forget that Senator Barry Goldwater's anti-communism was strident. He was the Republican Party's presidential candidate in 1964. He was a precursor of Trump, and Goldwater's most ardent supporters in 1964 were the precursors of Trump's most ardent supporters in 2016. No doubt Goldwater and his most ardent supporters represented what Richard Hofstadter refers to as the paranoid style in American politics.

For an example of the paranoid style, see Patrick J. Buchanan's book State of Emergency: The Third World Invasion and Conquest of America (New York: Thomas Dunne Books/ St. Martin's Press, 2006).

Now, because Trump's campaign and his presidency tend to amplify tribalism in our contemporary American culture, I want to discuss the American Jesuit theologian John Courtney Murray's 1962 essay "The Return of Tribalism." He was worried that anti-communism hysteria moved the American people toward tribalism.

John Courtney Murray (1904-1967; doctorate in Catholic theology, Gregorian University in Rome, 1937) taught Catholic theology at the Jesuit theologate in Woodstock, Maryland, from the fall of 1937 until his death in 1967 at the age of 63. (In Jesuit parlance, a theologate is a graduate school for Jesuits in training to study theology for four years before they are ordained priests.) Murray served as the editor-in-chief of the Jesuit-sponsored journal Theological Studies from 1941 to his death (from a heart attack). He also served as an associate editor of the Jesuit-sponsored magazine America. In the fall of 1960, He published the book We Hold These Truths: Catholic Reflections on the American Proposition (New York: Sheed and Ward, 1960), a collection of thirteen previously published pieces with an introduction/overview (pages 5-24). This book garnered for Murray a cover appearance and cover story in Time (dated December 12, 1960). This is his most widely known book.

We should not forget that anti-Catholic animus had long been a staple feature of American WASPs. For example, Paul Blanshard's book American Freedom and Catholic Power was first published in May 1949 (the second ed., in 1958). In the 1960 presidential campaign, Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts had to defend his religion.

From colonial times up to, say, 1960, WASPs, and former Protestants, dominated the prestige culture in American culture. Out-groups such as American Catholics tended to produce their own parallel prestige culture.

In the foreword to his 1960 book (pages vii-xii), Murray says, "It is classic American doctrine, immortally asserted by Abraham Lincoln, that the new nation which our Fathers brought forth on this continent was dedicated to a 'proposition'" (page vii) -- "'All men are created equal'" (page viii).

Murray says, "Neither as a doctrine nor as a project is the American Proposition a finished thing. Its demonstration is never done once for all; the Proposition itself requires development on penalty of decadence" (page vii).

Murray says, "What not ought be questioned, however, is that the American Proposition rests on the forthright assertion of a realist epistemology" (page viii) -- not on mere subjectivism and relativism.

For further discussion of realist epistemology, see Martha C. Nussbaum's article "Human Functioning and Social Justice: In Defense of Aristotelian Essentialism" in the journal Political Theory, volume 20, number 2 (May 1992): pages 202-246.

For further discussion of what Murray refers to as "nihilism" and "subjective feeling" (page 12), see Michiko Kakutani's short new book The Death of Truth: Notes on Falsehood in the Age of Trump (New York: Tim Duggan Book/ Penguin Random House, 2018).

In the introduction to his 1960 book (pages 5-24), Murray works with the contrast of the civil multitude locked together in argument characterized by civility v. a mass or a herd or a huddle -- a contrast he claims St. Thomas Aquinas works with "himself giving refined expression to the tradition of classic antiquity" (page 6). The tradition of classic antiquity refers to the Greek contrast of Greek v. barbarian (pages 12-14). I will return to the Greek v. barbarian contrast momentarily.

In accord with the civil multitude v. a mass or a herd or a huddle, Murray says, "Society is rescued from chaos only by a few men [and women], not by the many. . . . It is only the few who understand the disciplines of civility and are able to sustain them in being and thus hold in check the forces of barbarism that are always threatening to force the gates of the City" (page 13).

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Introductory Note : This column offers a paper on the emigration/immigration of European Jews fleeing Nazi terror in the decade before the onset of World War II. It was written by my father, Harold J. Jonas, and published in the Contemporary Jewish Record in the Sept.-Oct. 1939 issue. Comparisons with the contemporary World situation, from the Western border of Myanmar to the Southern border of the United States, are purely intentional.

Introduction

My father, Prof. Harold J. Jonas, the author of the academic paper on the plight of the Jews of Europe in mid-1939, published in the Contemporary Jewish Record of Sept.-Oct. 1939, republished below, was a fighter against organized anti-Semitism in the United States from the mid-1930s until he was drafted into the US Air Force (at age 34[!]) in 1944. His principal achievement was that he did the bulk of the research for the first book that proved that the so-called "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" are a forgery. For political reasons at the time --- anti-Semitism was still certainly rife in the United States --- it was published under the name of a gentile --- by Columbia University Press: John S. Curtiss: An Appraisal of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion , New York: Morningside Heights: Columbia University Press, 1942.

As far as his paper below is concerned, the situation he described was the direct result of the outcome of the so-called "Evian Conference" of 1938 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89vian_Conference ) and the international policy of "no Jews here" that was formalized by it. Called by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and attended by 32 nations and a number of voluntary agencies to discuss the "Jewish situation" in Europe and consider what might be done about it, it concluded that for the most part, the attendee nations would/could do nothing. The result was, when Adolf Hitler had determined that Germany would become "Judenrein" (clean of the Jews) and surely had that in mind for any European country that he might conquer in the future, that no major nations agreed to take any of the Jews. This led to the situation that my father described in this paper.

It should be pointed out if any significant number of European Jews had been offered refugee status by any significant number of the attending nations, including the United States, A) it is likely that any then-future Holocaust in Europe would have claimed many fewer victims, and B) it is unlikely that the State of Israel as it is known today, most unfortunately, especially for Jews like myself, practicing its own form of racist discrimination and subjugation, would exist. And now to Dad's paper.

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People in Flight

THE GERMAN REFUGEES AT THE OUTBREAK OF THE WAR

By HAROLD J. JONAS

THE problem of political refugees is not new in the post-War period. As a result of territorial adjustments and internal upheavals hundreds of thousands of homeless people were thrown upon a war-worn world. The groups most affected were the Russian "Whites," the Armenians, and the Assyrians. The Russian "Whites" and the Armenians scattered into various countries in both hemispheres. The Assyrians, driven out from their homeland, following the assumption of independence by Iraq, were settled mainly in Syria and Lebanon. Other post-War refugees were Greeks, Bulgars, and Turks, whose problems were solved, though not fully, by mass repatriation or exchange of populations.

International cooperation was in every case a large factor in the eventual solution of the problem created by these refugee migrants. By 1930, the most crying needs had disappeared and the world was already beginning to take an academic view of the problem. The rise of Hitler to power in 1933, however, set in motion a new stream of refugees from Germany. Because of the racial laws, Jews were the first among those who were faced with the choice of exile or death. Others were political opponents, such as the Catholic Centrists, Social Democrats, and Communists. Still others feared the concentration camps and fled immediately. Christians of "non-Aryan' descent, too, furnished a large proportion of those forced to leave,

As Nazi imperialism swept across other countries, many emigre's again had to flee the terror of the Gestapo. Not uncommon are cases of men who sought refuge, first in Vienna, and later in Praha, only to be trapped there. While Germans, Austrians, and Czechs are not forced to leave their homelands, a Jew or a Christian "non-Aryan," is faced with the choice of leaving, or facing slow death by starvation or quick death in the concentration camps. It is their lot to bear their sufferings grimly and await the day of liberation.

JEWISH mass migrations had begun even before the destruction of the Second Temple and remained an important factor throughout Jewish history. The emancipation period served to cement Jewish communities in Western Europe, but in Eastern Europe economic pressure caused great waves of Jewish migration. From the period of the 1880's onward, Jews fled in large numbers from the intolerable conditions in the Russian Pale of Settlement. Rumania, and other East European lands to new homes in Western Europe, in South Africa, and the Americas. Restriction of immigration after the World War, particularly in the United States, served to choke off the flow of a harassed people and to aggravate their condition. It must be noted, however, that German Jews were not at first affected by this policy. It was their brethren in East Europe who suffered.

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SunEQ & NIFCO achieved Financial Close for one of the largest PV Power Plants with an Industrial Offtaker

Windhoek, 18. June 2018. SunEQ Namibia has reached financial close with the Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) for a 5 MWAC solar project for Ohorongo Cement, the largest cement factory in Namibia.It is a major milestone for the sister company of German solar consulting company Suntrace on its way towards becoming an independent power producer. SunEQ has structured the financing substantially from local Namibian sources, both in terms of equity and debt. Namibia Infrastructure Finance Limited (NIFCO), an unlisted infrastructure investment company targeting renewable energy projects in Namibia (jointly established and owned by Old Mutual Investment Group Namibia and IJG Capital), has a shareholding of 60%, together with a Namibian Empowerment Partner Hungileni Investment holding 30% and SunEQ holding 10%. The Co-Developer and EPC-Contractor is GILDEMEISTER Energy Solutions GmbH, a subsidiary of DMG Mori.The captive power plant is located next to the Ohorongo Cement factory in the Otjozondjupa region. The plant will be equipped with approximately 20,000 crystalline silicon modules mounted on a tracking system and an installed capacity of 6.5 MWDC for an output of 5 MWAC. Once it starts commercial operation, which has been scheduled for end of June 2018, an estimated 14 GWh per year of clean electricity will be fed into the electricity grid of Ohorongo Cement.Commenting on the announcement, Dr. Matthias Schwara, SunEQs Managing Director said: The team at SunEQ is delighted to have reached financial close with our local partners OMIGNAM, IJG Capital and Hungileni. The project is a major step in our mission to increase the solar energy production in the region. We believe that the plant will be a blueprint for other industrial off takers.This financial close shows the comfort of Shareholders, the Development Bank of Namibia and other stakeholders with this robustly structured project. We are grateful to have won the trust of our customer Ohorongo Cement to develop, finance, build and operate the solar power supply for an industrial and mining company in Sub Saharan Africa. There is a lot of potential in this type of projects in Africa and we can now build on this reference and pursue further opportunities of similar type says Boris Westphal, Managing Director of Suntrace GmbH. The Hamburg-based group is pursuing a pipeline of solar projects in Africa.About SunEQSunEQ GmbH was established in 2015 in Hamburg, Germany, as a solar asset development platform. SunEQ GmbH is a limited liability company in private ownership, which provides expertise and capital for the development of early stage projects into bankability and investment maturity. With a focus on growth markets such as Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa, SunEQs objectives are to form an Independent Power Producer with a portfolio of long-term investments in assets and a pipeline of solar projects under development. The company has a technical and financial service agreement with Suntrace GmbH.About SuntraceSuntrace GmbH was founded in Hamburg in 2009. The independent consultancy specializes in assisting large-scale solar projects in the development and realization phase in emerging and developing countries. Thanks to its expertise in the business segments Solar Resource, Technology & Engineering and Solar Investment, Suntrace is able to provide energy suppliers, research organizations, development banks, investors, project developers and governments with competent support for the development and construction of power plants. With branches and cooperation partners in Spain, India, Africa and Latin America, the team covers the whole project life cycle, from the early project development phase through to the commissioning of the plant. Since its foundation, Suntrace has supported power stations in over 30 countries, with a total aggregate capacity of more than five gigawatts.About NIFCONamibia Infrastructure Finance Limited (NIFCO) is an unlisted infrastructure investment company targeting renewable energy projects in Namibia, jointly established and managed by IJG Capital (Pty) Ltd and Old Mutual Investment Group (Namibia) (Pty) Ltd. NIFCO demonstrates OMIGNAMs and IJG Capitals commitment to responsible investment in Namibias infrastructure and further development for future generations.About Hungileni InvestmentHungileni Investment cc is a Namibian company, majority-owned by female PDN (Previously Disadvantaged Namibian) shareholders. Hungileni promotes and pursues the development and investment of renewable energy in Namibia to the benefit of local stakeholders.Hungileni provides services for the development and implementation of renewable energies among others to Nampower and also invests into long-term assets. The Ohorongo Project is Hungilenis most important investment milestone so far in Namibia.Suntrace GmbHGrosse Elbstrasse 145c22767 HamburgGermanyPhone: +49-40-767 96 38 0Fax: +49-40-767 96 38 20
Aluminum Aerosol Cans Market to Make Great Impact in Near Future by 2026

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Aluminum aerosol cans plays a pivotal role in packaging industry with easier, safer, faster, effective and efficient ways of canning of various commodities. Aluminum aerosol cans are also eco-friendly and sustainable, which in todays global society means they are modern, abreast of the times and trend-setting. They are fascinating in design and in appearance and comes in various sizes for convenience of consumers. Added features like bacteria free, preservative free packaging, hermetically sealed, multi-layered laminatedhave expanded the scope of aluminum aerosol cans market. Aluminum aerosol cans market is anticipated to derive demand from various application sectors including healthcare, pharmaceutical, food and beverages industries, paint industries etc.Global Aluminum Aerosol Cans Market: Drivers & RestraintsAluminum aerosol cans market was started way back in 1940 and since then it has become an integral part of commercial products since. Aluminum aerosol cans market is expected to be highly concentrated into homecare and personal beauty products. Around 80% of aerosol can industry is for personal care & beauty care products and rest is distributed between F&B industry and homecare products. As per Consumer Specialty Products Association (CSPA) in 2015 around 3.8 billion containers were filled in the U.S. and 20% of it were aluminum containers. Excellent properties of aluminum aerosol cans such as providing a long shelf life and a safe way to dispense a wide variety of products. Rise in economic condition of individuals and shift of mindset towards products which are packaged in convenient containers. Growth in industries such as paint industry, F&B industry, Alcoholic beverages etc. and there increase in spending to offer products in aluminum aerosol cans to which provide a long shelf life. Recyclability properties of aluminum aerosol can are few of the factors to be mentioned which can drive the growth of aluminum aerosol will cans market.Request to Sample of Report @In terms of geography, the global aluminum aerosol cans market has been divided in to five key regions including North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East & Africa. The global aluminum aerosol cans market is expected to register healthy CAGR during the forecast period. North America is expected to be leader in the aluminum aerosol cans market owing to the large amount of industries such as F&B industry, Alcoholic Beverage industry, Industrial products industry etc. present in U.S. predominantly and in Canada and those industrys product offerings in aluminum aerosol cans for consumers convenience. North America is followed by Europe due to similar trends alike North America. In APAC countries such as India, China are witnessing a growth in the population who are below age of 35-40 Years, the younger population generally have general liking and prefer products in aluminum aerosol cans as it appeals to them. In MEA the aluminum aerosol cans market is expected to grow over the forecast period industries such as F&B, Alcoholic Beverages, Homecare Products are the one who is driving the growth of aluminum aerosol cans market in MEA region. In Latin America the aluminum aerosol cans market is in nascent stage and it is expected the market will grow over the forecast period in various other new avenues.Request Report for Table of Contents @Global Aluminum Aerosols Cans Market: Key PlayersSome of the major players identified in the global aluminum aerosols cans market include BALL CORPORATION, Exal Corporation, Neelam Global Pvt. Ltd., SHIBA CONTAINERS PVT. LTD., Casablanca, CCL ContainerThe research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data, and statistically supported and industry-validated market data. It also contains projections using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. The research report provides analysis and information according to market segments such as geography, technology, and applications.The report is a compilation of first-hand information, qualitative and quantitative assessment by industry analysts, inputs from industry experts and industry participants across the value chain. The report provides in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macro-economic indicators and governing factors along with market attractiveness as per segments. The report also maps the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and geographies.Report Highlights : Detailed overview of parent market,Changing market dynamics in the industry,In-depth market segmentation,Historical, current and projected market size in terms of volume and value,Recent industry trends and developments,Competitive landscape,Strategies of key players and products offered,Potential and niche segments, geographical regions exhibiting promising growth,A neutral perspective on market performance,Must-have information for market players to sustain and enhance their market footprint.Request to Report Methodology @About UsFuture Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. 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Global High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) Packing Materials Market 2017-2025| BioChrom Labs, Akzo Nobel, YMC Co Ltd and Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation

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Albany, NY, 24th July : Recent research and the current scenario as well as future market potential of "High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) Packing Materials Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017 - 2025" globally.High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), formerly referred to as high-pressure liquid chromatography), is a technique in analytical chemistry used to separate, identify, and quantify each component in a mixture.Get PDF for more Professional and Technical insights @It relies on pumps to pass a pressurized liquid solvent containing the sample mixture through a column filled with a solid adsorbent material. Each component in the sample interacts slightly differently with the adsorbent material, causing different flow rates for the different components, and leading to the separation of the components as they flow out of the column. HPLC has been used in the production processes of pharmaceutical and biological products. It is employed to detect performance enhancement drugs in urine. Moreover, it is utilized in the research field to separate the components of a complex biological sample or of similar synthetic chemicals from each other. In the medical field, HPLC is employed to detect vitamin D levels in blood serum. Increasing demand for HPLC to resolve mixtures of closely related components in complex biological matrices in less time with higher precision has led to the development of a variety of new HPLC columns, which eliminate the need for sample preparation. HPLC columns are usually packed with pellicular or porous particles. Pellicular particles are made from polymer or glass beads. These beads have a diameter range of 30 to 40 m. They are surrounded by a thin uniform layer of silica, alumina, or other types of ion-exchange resins. Porous particles are more commonly employed and have diameters between 3 to 10 m. These particles are mostly made of silica, polystyrene-divinyl-benzene synthetic resin, alumina, or other type of ion-exchange resin. HPLC packings isolate small molecules from biological macromolecules on direct sample injection by exerting two separation mechanisms. The names given to these new packings include internal surface reversed-phase, shielded hydrophobic phase, semipermeable surface, dual zone material and mixed-functional phases.On the basis of type, there are three type of the packed gels, viz., silica gels, polymer gels, and other gels. Silica gel is the most popularly used packing material. There are two types of silica gels. One is spherical, while the other has irregular shape. Spherical-shaped gels are widely employed currently. The silica gel utilized in LC has pores on the surface of the gel. The pores provides larger surface area as compared to the ones without pores. The size of the pore is very small and expressed in angstrom (A) unit. The silica with pores is called porous silica. In the initial phase of HPLC development, almost always, silica gels were utilized. However, polymer-based column is gaining popularity. The commonly known polymers include polyethylene and polypropylene. Other than silica and polymer gels, the gels employed include natural substances such as cellulose, agarose, dextrin, and members of ceramics such as hydroxyapatite and zirconia. However, their usage is limited.Make An Enquiry About TOC with tables & Figures @North America is a prominent market for the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) packing materials followed by Europe. Increase in funding for R&D activities in the healthcare industry is a major factor that boosts the High Performance Liquid Chromatography packing materials Market. Furthermore, expansion of the food testing industry is anticipated to further propel the market during the forecast period. 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The report also features a complete qualitative and quantitative assessment by analyzing data gathered from industry analysts and market participants across key points in the industrys value chain.A separate analysis of prevailing trends in the parent market, macro- and micro-economic indicators, and regulations and mandates is included under the purview of the study. 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Smartwatch Market Competitive Analysis 2025 | Qualcomm Incorporated, Nike Inc.

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Global Smartwatch Market: SnapshotSmart watches are touted as next generation wearable device as they gradually eat into the market share of their indigenous counterparts. With rapid advances in technology and nonstop innovations, smartwatches pose significant threat to personal devices and watches industries. Furthermore, with the advent of 3G and 4G enabled smartwatches, which are available in varying watch faces, has stoked their salability. Furthermore, breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, meaning learning, and voice communication will stoke the demand for smartwatch in the coming years.Request Sample Copy of the Report @According to the report, the global smartwatch market is likely to exhibit strong growth between 2017 and 2025. As per recent studies, growth witnessed across developed countries will remain robust through the course of the forecast period. Besides this, emerging nations will show lucrative prospects as well, steering growth in the global smartwatch market. In Asia Pacific especially the market will gain from the increased production of smart gadgets. As per surveys conducted over the last few years, China is fast emerging as a popular hub for the latest technologies. Furthermore, its evolution as a low-cost smartwatch producing nation will pave way for the smartwatch markets growth in the coming years.The demand for wearable devices is also expected to rise in the healthcare industry. As per the report, the rising demand for wireless health monitoring to facilitate remote patient monitoring will augur well for the market. In addition to this, the market is forecast to gain significantly from the rising integration of haptics technology. Besides this, several other innovations are on cards, which are likely to fuel the demand for smartwatches in the coming years.Global Smartwatch Market: OverviewThe rising adoption of smartphones across the globe and the rising use of internet are expected to contribute substantially towards the development of the global smartwatch market in the coming years. As a result, the market is projected to register a progressive growth rate over the forecast period. The leading players in the global market are focusing on innovations and the expansion of their presence across the globe are anticipated to offer potential growth opportunities in the near future.Global Smartwatch Market: Key TrendsThe emergence of affordable smartwatches for price-sensitive nations worldwide is the key factor predicted to augment global smartwatch market in the next few years. The rising emphasis on improvements related to design and appearance of the product is likely to accelerate the markets growth in the near future. Furthermore, the key players on marketing activities and advertising campaigns in order to attract a huge volume of consumers are expected to supplement the overall growth of the global smartwatch market in the forecast period.Request TOC of the Report @Global Smartwatch Market: Market PotentialA vigorous increase in the smartphone and internet penetration and the changing preference of technologically, especially among the young population are the key factors that are projected to encourage the growth of the global smartwatch market in the next few years. In addition, a significant fall in the prices of products for price-sensitive economies is another major factor is likely to accelerate the development of the overall market in the near future.On the flip side, several limitations related to the battery life of smartwatches and the size of power source are predicted to hamper the growth of the global smartwatch market in the forecast period. In addition, the lack of a fully-developed application system is likely to curtail the markets growth in the next few years. Nevertheless, the rising focus on the expansion of the product portfolio is estimated to segment global market in the near future.Global Smartwatch Market: Regional OutlookAmong the regional segments, the North America market for smartwatches is expected to witness progressive growth throughout the forecast period. The rising adoption of high-end smartwatches, thanks to the presence of a large number of tech-savvy population is expected to fuel the growth of this region in the next few years. In addition, the rising awareness among consumers regarding a healthy lifestyle is likely to augment the markets growth in the near future.Furthermore, the rising disposable income of consumers and the rising popularity of smartwatches are estimated to bolster Asia Pacific market in the next few years. A wide range of products available in the market and a tremendously rising use of smartphones are projected to contribute extensively towards the development of the smartwatch market in several emerging nations in Asia Pacific in the coming years.Global Smartwatch Market: Competitive AnalysisThe global smartwatch market is expected to witness a high level of competition throughout the forecast period. The increasing number of players that are likely to enter the global market is predicted to encourage new product development in the coming years. The leading players operating in the smartwatch market are emphasizing on innovations, which is likely to accelerate the growth of the global market and generate promising growth opportunities for the players.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @Some of the key players operating in the smartwatch market across the globe are Martian Watches, Qualcomm Incorporated, Nike Inc., Pebble Technology Corporation, Fitbit Inc., Garmin Ltd., Sony Electronics Inc., ConnecteDevice Ltd., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., and Apple Inc. The rising number of mergers and acquisitions is anticipated to accelerate the growth of the global smartwatch market in the forecast period.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends. Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Natural Fiber Composites Market Size, Trends, Technological Growth Analysis 2018  2022 (PolyOne, TECNARO, UPM, Weyerhaeuser, GreenCore Composites, Aqvacomp, Dow, DuPont, GreenGran)

Natural Fiber Composites (NFC) Market

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Global Natural Fiber Composites Market Report 2018 report provides the newest industry data and industry future trends, allowing you to identify the products and end users driving Revenue growth and profitability. The industry report lists the leading competitors and provides the insights strategic industry Analysis of the key factors influencing the market.Global Natural Fiber Composites (NFC) Market Overview:The report spread across 119 pages is an overview of the Global Natural Fiber Composites Market Report 2018. The Global Natural Fiber Composites Market is projected to grow at a healthy growth rate from 2018 to 2022 according to new research. The study focuses on market trends, leading players, supply chain trends, technological innovations, key developments, and future strategies.Available Exclusive Sample Copy of this Report @The Global Natural Fiber Composites (NFC) Market is expected to grow at an impressive Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) from 2018 to 2022.Synthetic Fiber Composites are made from non-renewable resources and require advanced processing technologies. However, the demand for synthetic fiber composites is declining due to the negative impact of these composites on the environment and rising price of non-renewable resources. This is encouraging various industries to use Natural Fiber Composites (NFC). NFCs are cost effective. Also, they are made from renewable resources such as plants and animals. The Global Natural Fiber Composites (NFC) Market identifies that the rising potential of NFC to replace synthetic fiber reinforced composites will be one of the major factors that will have a positive impact on the growth of the market. NFCs are used for a number of industrial and engineering applications. The demand for NFCs is continually increasing due to the economic development, especially in rural areas.The North America region accounts for the largest market of Natural Fiber Composites (NFC), globally, due to the high demand from the construction industry and regulatory norms requiring the use of ecofriendly materials. Along with the existing capacities, several NFCs manufacturers are expanding their production capacities. The demand for NFCs in North America is projected to continuously increase in the near future on account of significant performance at lower prices of NFCs in automotive and construction applications driven by regulatory standards recommending the use of lightweight and recyclable materials.Purchase this report online with 119 Pages, List of Tables & Figures and in-depth Table of Contents on Global Natural Fiber Composites Market Report 2018 @Major Key Players:1 FlexForm Technologies2 PolyOne3 TECNARO4 UPM5 Weyerhaeuser Company6 GreenCore Composites7 Aqvacomp8 Dow9 DuPont10 GreenGran and More.Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report covers:1 North America Country (United States, Canada)2 South America3 Asia Country (China, Japan, India, Korea)4 Europe Country (Germany, UK, France, Italy)5 Other Country (Middle East, Africa, GCC)Grab Your Report at an Impressive Discount @This study answers to the below key questions:1 What will the market size be in 2022 and what will the growth rate be?2 What are the key market trends?3 What is driving this market?4 What are the challenges to market growth?5 Who are the key vendors in this market space?6 What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?7 What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?In the end, this report covers data and information on capacity and production overview, production, market share analysis, sales overview, supply, sales, and shortage, import, export and consumption as well as cost, price, revenue and gross margin of Natural Fiber Composites Market.Major Points in Table of Contents:Global Natural Fiber Composites Market Report 20181 Natural Fiber Composites Product Definition2 Global Natural Fiber Composites Market Manufacturer Share and Market Overview3 Manufacturer Natural Fiber Composites Business Introduction4 Global Natural Fiber Composites Segmentation (Region Level)5 Global Natural Fiber Composites Market Segmentation (Product Type Level)6 Global Natural Fiber Composites Market Segmentation (Industry Level)7 Global Natural Fiber Composites Market Segmentation (Channel Level)8 Natural Fiber Composites Market Forecast 2018-20229 Natural Fiber Composites Segmentation Product Type10 Natural Fiber Composites Segmentation Industry11 Natural Fiber Composites Cost of Production Analysis12 ConclusionAbout 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
Advanced Battery Energy Storage System Market - Catalyzing Growth 2025 | EnerSys, Samsung SDI

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Global Advanced Battery Energy Storage System Market: OverviewEnergy storage is referred to as the capturing of energy produced at one point of time for future use. A device that is used for storing energy is often known as an accumulator. Energy is found in multiple forms such as kinetic, latent heat, elevated temperature, electricity, electrical potential, gravitational potential, chemical, and radiation. Battery energy storage comprises converting energy into a form that can be easily stored in the form of battery and are more convenient and economically feasible. Battery energy systems are gaining prominence among residential, commercial, and transportation sectors as a mean of storing natural energy and using it at the time of emergency. Manufacturers seek huge growth potentials in the micro-grid developments in advanced battery energy storage systems for disaster relief and military purposes. Batteries such as lithium ion used for energy storage are witnessing high demand owing to factors such as low cost, long battery life, fast charging, light weight, and low requirement for space.Request Sample Copy of the Report @The report examines the growth of the global advanced battery energy storage systems market that occurred in the last over the last few years and is likely to occur in the coming years. The research publication additionally explains the causes of the fluctuations in the global market. It does this by assessing of the facets and the different trends that have been prevalent from past few years and also the aspects that are anticipated to maintain a strong impact on the market over the coming years. The Porters five forces analysis has been considered by analysts to present a clear picture of the vendor landscape to readers. Agreements, mergers, acquisitions, and other dealings have been further mentioned in the study. It focuses on the strategies, products, and market share along with position of the companies operating in the market.Request TOC of the Report @Global Advanced Battery Energy Storage System Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe global market for advanced battery energy storage systems is likely to benefit from the growing emphasis on decreasing the dependence on fossil fuels and magnifying the share of clean resources in the energy mix. The burgeoning demand for enhanced power quality, time shifting, improved grid network utilization, and the availability of emergency power source for protecting and controlling equipment is expected to further drive the global advanced battery energy storage system market. These advanced battery energy storage systems have application in sectors such as forklifts, UPS, telecom, grid storage, and transportation. The growing demand from these sectors is likely to boost the growth of the market over the coming years. In order to enhance business productivity, there is an incessant need for uninterrupted supply of power in telecommunications and data centers. As a result of this, the demand for these storage systems is likely to exponentially rise.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @Global Advanced Battery Energy Storage System Market: Regional OutlookRegionally, the global market for advanced battery energy storage system can be segmented into North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Rest of the World. North America and Europe are likely to emerge as prominent regions in the market owing to high availability of natural resources and advanced means of converting and storing them. Asia Pacific is also expected to catch up in the run owing to rising focus on the use of the available natural sources for energy needs.Global Advanced Battery Energy Storage System Market: Competitive LandscapeSome of the key participants in the market are EnerSys, Samsung SDI, AES Technologies, Exide Technologies, Hitachi Ltd., and General Electric.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Global Electric Buses Sales Market Huge Growth Opportunities, Trends and Forecast to 2025 - QY Research, Inc.

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This report studies the global Electric Buses market status and forecast, categorizes the global Electric Buses market size (value & volume) by key players, type, application, and region. This report focuses on the top players in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia India and Other regions (Middle East & Africa, Central & South America).An electric bus is a technologically advanced version of a conventional bus, which runs on electricity. In these buses, electric energy is stored in batteries, and can be recharged at charging stations.The major players covered in this reportKing Long United Automotive IndustryBYDZhengzhou YutongProterraVolvoSolarisDaimlerZhongtongEBUSCOAshok LeylandGeographically, this report studies the key regions, focuses on product sales, value, market share and growth opportunity in these regions, coveringUnited StatesEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaWe can also provide the customized separate regional or country-level reports, for the following regions:North AmericaUnited StatesCanadaMexicoAsia-PacificChinaIndiaJapanSouth KoreaAustraliaIndonesiaSingaporeRest of Asia-PacificEuropeGermanyFranceUKItalySpainRussiaRest of EuropeCentral & South AmericaBrazilArgentinaRest of South AmericaMiddle East & AfricaSaudi ArabiaTurkeyRest of Middle East & AfricaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoBelow 10 MetersAbove 10 MetersOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate for each application, includingPure Electric Bus Series Hybrid BusSeries Parallel Hybrid BusParallel Hybrid BusThe study objectives of this report are:To analyze and study the global Electric Buses sales, value, status (2013-2017) and forecast (2018-2025);To analyze the top players in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India, to study the sales, value and market share of top players in these regions.Focuses on the key Electric Buses players, to study the sales, value, market share and development plans in future.Focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the market competition landscape, SWOT analysis.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region.To analyze the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the marketTo analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the marketTo strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Electric Buses are as follows:History Year: 2013-2017Base Year: 2017Estimated Year: 2018Forecast Year 2018 to 2025For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2017 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered.Key StakeholdersElectric Buses ManufacturersElectric Buses Distributors/Traders/WholesalersElectric Buses Subcomponent ManufacturersIndustry AssociationDownstream VendorsAvailable CustomizationsWith the given market data, QYResearch offers customizations according to the company's specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:Regional and country-level analysis of the Electric Buses market, by end-use.Detailed analysis and profiles of additional market players.Request Sample Copy of Report@About Us:QYResearch always pursuits high product quality with the belief that quality is the soul of business. Through years of effort and supports from huge number of customer supports, QYResearch consulting group has accumulated creative design methods on many high-quality markets investigation and research team with rich experience. Today, QYResearch has become the brand of quality assurance in consulting industry.Contact USQY Research, INC.17890 Castleton,Suite 218,City of industry, CA  91748 ?USA: +1 626 295 2442Email ? enquiry@qyrsearch.comWeb ?
Bionematicides Market - Booming Industrial Sector 2025 | Bio Innovations, Inc., LAM International

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Global Bionematicides Market: SnapshotBionematicides are referred to as bio pesticides which are employed for controlling and treating nematode infestation in agricultural crops. These type of pesticides comprise microorganisms such as fungus and bacteria. Furthermore, bio fertilizers are extracted from renewable resources such as plant and animal extracts and are also low in cost. The application of bionematicides starts from the pre-plantation stage for it to work better. The bionematicides market is chiefly influenced by robust industrialization which results in the decline of availability of fertile land for agriculture. The agriculture sector is highly affected by leading industry players focusing on the use of organic and biological methods employing bio fertilizers in order to improve the crop yield, thus avoiding chemical fertilizers. Moreover, the excessive use of chemical fertilizers, contaminate the soil thus resulting in soil pollution. The market will be thus driven by the rising use of microorganisms in order to manufacture organic nutrients to enhance the soil fertility.Request Sample Copy of the Report @The report examines the growth of the global bionematicides market that occurred in the last over the last few years and is likely to occur in the coming years. The research publication additionally explains the causes of the fluctuations in the global market. It does this by assessing of the facets and the different trends that have been prevalent from past few years and also the aspects that are anticipated to maintain a strong impact on the market over the coming years. The Porters five forces analysis has been considered by analysts to present a clear picture of the vendor landscape to readers. Agreements, mergers, acquisitions, and other dealings have been further mentioned in the study. It focuses on the strategies, products, and market share along with position of the companies operating in the market.Request TOC of the Report @Global Bionematicides Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe growth of the global bionematicides market is likely to be supplemented by robust industrialization leading to decrease in the fertility of the agricultural lands. Additionally, high invasion of nematodes in crops and their growing resistance to the conventional methods is further expected to propel the demand for bionematicides over the coming years. Strict regulations imposed by governments pertaining to the harmful impact of chemical nematicides on the environment and loss of yield are factors triggering the adoption of bionematicides. With the global population growing exponentially, the demand for food is expected to gain momentum. As a result of this, the need for effective land and high yielding fertilizer, seed and crop management is also expected to increase, thus benefitting the market in return. The applications of bionematicides is likely to expand owing to its environment friendly nature. However, limited varieties of bionematicides is expected to inhibit the growth of the market.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @Global Bionematicides Market: Regional OutlookRegion-wise, the global market for bionematicides can segmented into North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Rest of the World. Asia Pacific is expected to witness strong growth over the coming years owing to factors such as environmental concerns, climate change, sustainability, affordability, demographic shifts, overpopulation, and robust industrialization. The market in North America is also likely to significantly expand owing to the growing acceptance of bionematicides.Global Bionematicides Market: Vendor LandscapeSome of the leading companies in the market are Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc., LAM International, Monsanto Company, Bayer CropScience AG, ow AgroSciences LLC, and BASF SE.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Facades Market 2018; Reaches to USD 252.52 Billion Registering a CAGR of ~7.23 by 2023 | SEPA, Enclos Corp, Walters & Wolf, Permasteelisa North America and Harmon Inc.

Facades Market

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The Facades Market was worth USD 134.72 billion in 2014 and is expected to reach approximately USD 252.52 billion by 2023, while registering itself at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.23% during the forecast period.Facades Market - Competitive insights:The leading players in the market are SEPA, Enclos Corp, Walters & Wolf, Permasteelisa North America and Harmon Inc. The business has encountered the entry of many Chinese manufacturers, including Xiamen China-Nice Manufacturing and Trading Co.,and Jinjiu Sci-Tech New Material Co., Ltd. which has significantly increased competition, and may influence the entrenched players.Sample copy of this report:Increasing construction related exercises, which are an economic gauge animating interest, is evaluated to drive the market development over the estimate time frame. Besides, advancements in technology have prompted the improvement of energy saving facade materials. These propelled products assimilate solar energy vitality and locate an across the board appropriation in numerous business and private structures as an auxiliary wellspring of electricity generation. The business is foreseen to develop at a significant rate over the gauge time frame. This development is credited to the rising consumer spending power, fundamentally in Brazil, China, Japan, India, and GCC nations, alongside the need to render a protected workplace to representatives. Moreover, the expanding usage of metal composite materials offers a modern, durable, and harmonious appearance to the building. The use of such composite materials to fabricate exteriors is foreseen to be the key pattern affecting the facades market development emphatically finished the following years.Facades Market - Product Outlook and Trend Analysis:Curtain walls are foreseen to develop as the quickest developing product fragment in the market; attributable to the expanding infiltration in business structures. They chiefly contain glass materials that can transmit heat to give a warm atmosphere in locales with a low temperature. Therefore, they are likewise liable to pick up an appeal in private applications in the upcoming years, principally in the United States, the United Kingdom, and other colder parts of Europe. The industry, currently, is ruled by classic designs, which are anticipated to be supplanted by a cutting edge, eco-accommodating outlines throughout the following years. The convenience of raw material accessibility and quick request at end-use area, including the industrial and commercial parts, attributable to the recuperation of the worldwide economy, is foreseen to produce open doors for industry players over the conjecture time frame. The significant advancements in the composite materials improvement have prompted defeated a few confinements of excess heat and soundproofing. Many essential materials that are used as a part of the advancement of the item incorporate steel, aluminum, glass, plastic & fiber, and ceramic. Aluminum and glass-based composite materials are altogether used to manufacture facades, inferable from their low weight and high transparency individually. Glass and aluminum are exceptionally favored due to their tough and versatile properties. This enables designers to give a legitimate shape and size to the facades.The Facades Market is segmented as follows-Facades Market - By Product:Non-VentilatedVentilatedCurtain WallsOthersFacades Market - By End User:CommercialIndustrialResidentialFacades Market - End User Outlook and Trend Analysis:Facades are widely used as a part of residential and commercial structures to secure the inside and give an outwardly engaging external design. The item is essentially utilized as a part of commercial structures because of the accessibility of high development spending plan among corporates. The rise in the quantity of business structures, for example, medical centers, retail stores, garages, warehouses, and hotels, in Brazil, India, China and the Middle Eastern nations is foreseen to sling the product request over the figure time frame. The product infiltration in private structures is additionally expected to increment throughout the following couple of years due to the rising client awareness relating to energy saving, basically in the United Kingdom, Japan, United States and Germany.Facades Market - By Region:North America - U.S, Canada, MexicoEurope - Germany, France, UK, Italy, Spain, Rest of EuropeAsia-Pacific - Japan, China, Australia, India, South Korea, Rest of Asia PacificRest of the World - Brazil, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, OthersFacades Market - Regional outlook and Trend Analysis:In 2016 Asia Pacific ruled the market with over 30 percent income share. This is ascribed to the expanding development of new ad and modern structures in nations including India, Southeast Asia, and China throughout the following years. Moreover, the improvement of imaginative eco-friendly materials is additionally foreseen to prompt clients, especially in the United States and the United Kingdom, to redevelop structures. Europe and North America collectively represented more than 40 percent of the aggregate share of the market in 2016 due to the developing partiality toward the reception of cutting edge facade materials. These areas are exceptionally versatile to new advancements. Accordingly, the entrance of the product in business and private divisions is foreseen to be high, positively affecting the market development.Get more information of this report:Facades Market - Table of Contents:1. Introduction1.1. Report Description1.2. Research Methodology2. Executive Summary2.1. Key Highlights3. Market Overview.7. Company Profiles7.1. Fundermax7.2. Trimo7.3. Rockpanel Group (ROCKWOOL B.V.)7.4. Hansen Group7.5. Skanska7.6. Enclos7.7. National Enclosure Company7.8. Aluplex7.9. Hochtief7.10.EOS Facades Limited7.11.Bouygues.Facades Market - List of Tables:Table 1.Global Facades Market, By Product ($Million), 2014-2023Table 2.Ventilated Market, By Region ($Million), 2014-2023Table 3.Curtain wall Market, By Region ($Million), 2014-2023Table 4.Non-ventilated Market, By Region ($Million), 2014-2023Table 5.Other Products Market, By Region ($Million), 2014-2023Table 6.Global Facades Market, By End User ($Million), 2014-2023Table 7.Residential Market, By Region ($Million), 2014-2023Table 8.Commercial Market, By Region ($Million), 2014-2023.Facades Market - List of Figures:Figure 1.Global Facades Market Share, By Product, 2014 & 2023Figure 2.Facades Market, By End User, 2016, ($Million)Figure 3.Facades Market, By Region, 2016, ($Million).What our report offers:- Market share assessments for the regional and country level segments- Market share analysis of the top industry players- Strategic recommendations for the new entrants- Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations- Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends.- Company profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments- Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancementsIn order to browse complete report with TOC:ContinuedAbout Crystal Market Research:Crystal Market Research is a U.S. based market research and business intelligence company. Crystal offers one stop solution for market research, business intelligence, and consulting services to help clients make more informed decisions. It provides both syndicated as well as customised research studies for its customers spread across the globe. The company offers market intelligence reports across a broad range of industries including healthcare, chemicals & materials, technology, automotive, and energy.Contact Us:Judy304 South Jones Blvd, Suite 1896,Las Vegas NV 89107,United StatesToll Free: +1-888-213-4282Email: sales@crystalmarketresearch.com
Kaolin Market Outlook: Increasing demand for ceramics to drive industry growth over 2016-2024

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https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/kaolin-market

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Kaolin market for paper applications is slated to observe a CAGR of almost 3.5% over 2016-2024, owing to the wide-ranging uses of the product as an appearance enhancer and in filling and coating.Increasing applications of kaolin across sectors such as construction, plastic, and manufacturing will fuel the Kaolin Market size over the coming years. Kaolin, more commonly called China clay, is widely used in the paper, rubber, fiberglass, and ceramic industries, driven by its features such as non-abrasive texture, inertness, and opacity. An amplified growth in these sectors will majorly propel market expansion. According to Global Market Insights, Inc., Kaolin market is predicted to observe a CAGR of more than 4% over 2016-2024.Request for a sample of this research report @The global ceramic tiles market share is projected to witness a CAGR of more than 9% over 2016-2024, which will ultimately spike industry growth. Consumer demand for elegant living quarters, urbanization, increased end-user spending, and the rapidly developing construction sector will lead to a significant upsurge in the kaolin market in the years to come.Kaolin is extensively used in the plastic and polymer industry to upgrade its strength and durability. It is also used to produce rubber materials such as EPDM and SBR. The rising trend of plastic taking precedence over metal and steel and the massive use of rubber in the automotive and manufacturing sectors will elevate kaolin market to greater heights.Global kaolin industry is dominated by key players such as Daleco Resources Corporation, Imerys SA, I-Minerals Inc., BASF SE, Kaolin AD, Morien Resources Corporation, Lasselsberger GmbH, KaMin LLC, Sibelco, Thiele Kaolin Company, LB Minerals Ltd., Quarzwerke GmbH, and Stephan Schmidt KG.Browse Full Report @Kaolin market finds applications in the ceramic, paint, fiberglass, adhesives, paper, plastic, and cement industries. Metakaolin market finds applications in two key sectors  concrete and mortar.The global kaolin industry for ceramics is expected to register a CAGR of more than 4.5%, driven by the products excellent resistance properties, extensive demand for ceramic flooring, and increasingly sophisticated lifestyle dynamics.North America kaolin industry registered a revenue of almost USD 1 billion in 2015 and is expected to grow at a healthy rate over 2016-2024, owing to factors such as increasing demand for ceramic flooring and the rising number of remodeling projects. Furthermore, North America also contributed to more than 20% of the global metakaolin market share in 2015.Top product manufacturers such as BASF, Imerys, and KaMin have established their presence across multiple platforms in this industry and have a significant contribution in global business. Mutual collaborations and acquisitions definitely have a major part to play in company growth and survival.About Global Market InsightsGlobal Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb:Blog:
Nematicides Market Analysis 2018, Major Key Players Reviews  Bayer CropScience AG, Monsanto Company, The Dow Chemical Company, FMC Corporation, Syngenta AG, Etc.

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Market Overview:Nematicides are widely used in the agricultural segment to restrict the nematode attack on the agricultural produce by inhibiting or killing the nematodes responsible for the crop diseases. Increasing demand for food grains coupled and shrinking cultivating land are expected to drive the demand for nematicides. Apart from the agriculture use, nematicides are increasingly used in the horticulture, floriculture, domestic, and commercial pest management program.Market Forecast:Increasing demand for agricultural products is driving the growth of the market due to increased crop production along with food security and crop-damage. Additionally, high acceptance for integrated pest management (IPM) by the crop cultivators is adding fuel to the growth of the nematicides market.Receive a Sample Report@TOP Key Players:Some of the key players profiled in the global nematicides market: BASF SE (Germany), E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (U.S.), Monsanto Company (U.S.), The Dow Chemical Company (U.S.), Bayer CropScience AG (Germany), FMC Corporation (U.S.), Syngenta AG (Switzerland), Ishihara Sangyo Kaisha, Ltd. (Japan), Valent U.S.A. Corporation (U.S.), Adama Agricultural Solutions Ltd. (Israel)Nematicide Market  Product AnalysisFumigantCarbamateOrganophosphateOthersNematicide Market  Crop AnalysisOilseeds & PulsesCereals & GrainsFruits & VegetablesOthersReport Contents:Market segmentsMarket Drivers, Restraints and OpportunitiesMarket Size & Forecast 2016 to 2022Supply & Demand Value ChainMarket  Current TrendsCompetition & Major CompaniesTechnology and R&D StatusPorters Five Force AnalysisStrategic and Critical Success Factor Analysis of Key PlayersRegional Analysis:The global nematicides market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and rest of the world (RoW). The North American region is dominating the nematicides market followed by Europe. The U.S. accounts for a higher use of nematicides for the protection of fruits and vegetables from nematodes owing to increasing awareness about the benefits of using nematicides. Furthermore, high demand for organic fruits and vegetables from the farmers is considered to be key driving factor in this region.The global nematicides market is segmented into the following regionsNorth America:The U.S.CanadaMexicoEurope:GermanyFranceItalySpainRest of EuropeFor a full, detailed list, view our report@Asia PacificChinaIndiaAustraliaJapanRest of Asia PacificRest of the worldBrazilArgentinaSouth AfricaOthersAbout Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.ContactMarket Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
High equipment cost and limitation in technology is expected to hinder the market growth of small animal imaging market

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Small animal imaging (In vivo) is a technique used for imaging biological processes in living animals which shows the changes in cellular activity to study the effect of drugs and disease progression. Small animal imaging is used in clinical research for drug development. Small animal imaging helps to study the drug assessment on various diseases. The small animal imaging includes whole body scan of small animals which is a cost effective method for regular validation and commercialization of new drugs. Small animal imaging is in vivo classification and measurement of biologic process at molecular level which involves the study of specific targeted molecule. Small animal imaging includes micro CT, micro MRI, digital angiography, micro SPECT, micro PET magnetic particle imaging and x-ray imaging.Small Animal Imaging (In vivo) Market: Drivers & RestraintsSmall animal imaging market is an emerging due to the advancements in technology and increase in healthcare expenditure. There is an enormous increase in pharmaceutical companies and research institutions elevation in usage of small animal imaging techniques across the globe. Although, high equipment cost and limitation in technology is expected to hinder the market growth of small animal imaging market over the forecast period. Also, surviving in highly competitive market and inaccessibility of radiopharmaceuticals are the main challenges to overcome for small players. Whereas, innovations in MRI imaging techniques as well in other imaging techniques, usage in many applications and emerging markets are some of the favorable factors for small animal imaging market growth. Small animal imaging market is also being affected by some factors such as insufficient infrastructure for research amenities and shortage of skilled personnel in developing regions.A sample of this report is available upon request @Small Animal Imaging (In vivo) Market: SegmentationSmall animal imaging Market is classified on the basis of application, technology and geography.Based on application, the small animal imaging market is segmented into the following:Monitoring Drug Treatment ResponseBio Distribution StudiesCancer Cell DetectionBiomarkersLongitudinal StudiesEpigeneticsBased on technology, the small animal imaging market is segmented into the following:Micro-Magnetic Resonance Imaging (Micro-MRI)Digital AngiographyUltrasoundNuclear ImagingMicro-Positron Emission Tomography (Micro-PET)Micro-Single Photon Emission Computerized Tomography (Micro-SPECT)Optical Imaging (OI)Bioluminescence ImagingCerenkov Luminescence ImagingOthersMicro-Ultrasound ImagingMicro-Computerized Tomography (Micro-CT)Based on geography, the small animal imaging market is segmented into following:North America (U.S., Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil)Western Europe (Germany, Italy, U.K, Spain, France, Rest of Western Europe)Eastern Europe (Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, ASEAN, Australia & New Zealand)JapanMiddle East and Africa (GCC, S. Africa)Small Animal Imaging (In vivo) Market: OverviewSmall animal imaging market is expected to grow at a good pace. Enormous increase in number of pharmaceutical companies and research institutions, rise in usage of functional imaging and growing adoption rate for small animal imaging are the factors expected to boost the market growth over the forecast period.The swift progression in technology, many applications and growing base of research are some of the key factors to drive the growth of small animal imaging globally.Emerging countries will be growing with a faster CAGR related to other parts of the world as expenditure in these region on research is growing.Small Animal Imaging (In vivo) Market: Region-wise OutlookDepending on geographic region, small animal imaging market is segmented into seven key regions: North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific and Middle East & Africa.North America contributes the maximum share in small animal imaging market. Eastern and Western Europe will show a good growth as the need for drug development through small animal imaging will be increasing. Asia Pacific is growing with a significant CAGR for small animal imaging market due to increase in healthcare expenditure and investment in research. Amongst the Asian countries, China, India and South Korea will be the more promising because of having a good economy and more expenditure on research.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Small Animal Imaging (In vivo) Market: Key PlayersSome of the key participating global players in small animal imaging (In vivo) marketare Berthold Technologies, Spectral Instruments Imaging, Agilent Technologies, Inc., Aspect Imaging, Bioscan, Inc., Bruker Corporation, Gamma Medica-Ideas, Inc., Genovis Ab, Li-Cor Biosciences, Life Technologies Corporation, Mediso Medical Imaging Systems, Miltenyi Biotec Gmbh, Perkinelmer, Inc., Promega Corporation, Scanco Medical Ag, Siemens Ag, Sofie Biosciences, Inc., Targeson, Inc., Uvp. LLC, Fujifilm Holdings Corporation, Thermo Fischer Scientific.About UsFuture Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centres in the U.S. and India.FMIs research and consulting services help businesses around the globe navigate the challenges in a rapidly evolving marketplace with confidence and clarity. Our customised and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. We continuously track emerging trends and events in a broad range of end industries to ensure our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers.Contact UsU.S. Office616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWeb:
Mobile Business Intelligence Market to Witness Robust Expansion throughout the Forecast 2017 - 2025

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Over the last 5 years, the use of Mobile business intelligence tools to make business decisions has been making its way to the forefront, with organizations of all sizes gaining insights from past data with the help of Mobile business intelligence tools. Mobile business intelligence market is one of the greatly increasing market due to increase in use of smartphones, tablet PCs and other mobile devices at work place. Moreover, many organizations are looking to leverage the ability to receive and disseminate reporting and analytics from mobile devices in order to stay informed, make timely decisions and boost productivity.Mobile business intelligence refers to deployment of business data on to mobile devices such as smart phones, tablets etc. Many key benefits of Mobile Business intelligence including increased competitive advantage, customer satisfaction, improved ROI and workforce productivity. Mobile business intelligence tools enable the mobile users to get business insights by analyzing data with the help of applications for mobile and smart devices.Mobile Business Intelligence Market: Drivers and ChallengesThe major growth drivers of the mobile business Intelligence market include increase in the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend, rise of Mobile Enterprise Application Platform (MEAP), growing popularity of Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interface (REST APIs), proliferation of in-memory computing, and rapid advancement of mobile device features.Major challenges mobile business intelligence market is facing are limits on data interaction, means, and user can import limited data on mobile device. Another challenge should be smaller viewing space. These two factors are the major challenges for mobile business intelligence market.Request for Report Sample:Mobile Business Intelligence Market: SegmentationSegmentation on the basis of PlatformMobile Business intelligence market segmentation on the basis of platform includes software and services. Platform means on which operation system mobile business intelligence tool should be run.Software and servicesSegmentation on the basis of devicesFurther mobile business intelligence market segmented on the basis of device such as smart phones, tablets and others.Smart Phone devicesTabletsOthersSegmentation on the basis of IndustryMobile business intelligence market can be segmented on the basis of industrial use.Healthcare and PharmaAutomotiveCPGRetailEnergyOthersSegmentation on the basis of End-UsersEnd- users of Mobile business intelligence tools are Small scale industries and large scale organizations. Both kind of industries have different applications of Mobile business intelligence tools.Small scale industryLarge Scale organizationRequest for Report TOC:About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA,Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Position Sensor Market to Witness a Healthy Growth during 2017  2025

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Position sensor market is one of the outstandingly increasing market due to increasing investment in manufacturing infrastructure, integration of position sensors in modern automobiles, and growing adoption of position sensors in the aerospace industry. Position sensors are used to measure, How far the body has moved from its reference or initial position. Moreover position sensors are position sensing devices used to measure the distance travelled by the body starting from its reference position. Position sensors measures linear or angular position in reference to a fixed point or arbitrary reference. Automation taking place in manufacturing and industrial units and it is one of the major drivers of position sensor market. Position sensor market. Position sensors are used in an extensive variety of industrial and commercial applications, from Aerospace, Manufacturing and ICT.Position Sensor Market: Drivers and ChallengesThe growth of Position sensor market is propelled by the increasing adaptation of position sensors in the Aviation industry and increasing demand in the manufacturing industry. Position sensors are used in numerous areas in manufacturing industry including material tracking, transit of final goods, operation efficiency etc. The emerging trend towards plant automation and increased demand for vehicle safety are generating high demand for this market, these sensors ensure Vehicle safety, and thus rise in use of vehicles is projected to fuel the growth of position sensor market and the growth in the Automotive Industry directly translates into increasing demand in the Automotive Position Sensor market. Position sensors in Machine tool application is expected to hold the largest size of the position sensor market during the forecast period. It has been assumed that Increasing integration of position sensors in vehicles portray a positive outlook of continuous growth in the Automotive Position Sensor market.Request for Report Sample:The key challenge for position sensor market is the Lack of Proper Standards to Measure Performance Indicators. Position sensors are lacking to measure performance of an object with whom the sensors are integrated.Position Sensor Market: SegmentationPosition sensor market has been classified based on the basis of type, contact type, basis of applications and basis of industry.Segmentation on the basis of Type:The position sensor market, in terms of type includes linear position sensor, used to measure the linear position of a device and rotary position sensors used in electrical measurements.Laser Position SensorLinear PotentiometerMagnetostrictive SensorLinear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT)Linear EncoderLinear Position SensorRotary Position SensorRotary EncoderRotary PotentiometerRotary Variable Differential Transformer (RVDT)ResolverRequest for Report TOC:About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA,Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Global Sodium Sulfite Market: Global Industry Expert Opinions Analysis, Emerging Opportunities

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Sodium sulfite is an inorganic salt of sodium and sulfurous acid. It is a white crystalline solid soluble in water and most solvents. It is manufactured commercially through a reaction between a solution of sodium bicarbonate and sulfur dioxide. Sodium Sulfite is also produced as a by-product of resorcinol manufacturing process. Sodium sulfite is toxic inorganic chemical due to its sulfur content and may cause irritation and/or burns to skin and eyes even fatal allergic reactions if inhaled. The chemical is considered hazardous because it releases toxic and irritating sulfur dioxide gas if burnt.Get Sample Report of Sodium Sulfite Market at @Sodium sulfite is primarily used in the paper and pulp industry as the basic ingredient in acid sulfite and semi-chemical pulping. It is used in industrial and municipal waste water treatment because of strict regulations requiring dechlorination of the waste water treatment process. It is also used as an oxygen scavenger in boilers for water treatment, flooding oil wells and drilling mud from oil wells to avoid fires. Sodium sulfite is also used as a preservative in foods and beverages including wine. The sodium fluoride market is driven by its demand in water treatment applications, oxygen scavenging applications and paper and pulp applications. However, rising awareness about the harmful effects of sulfur dioxide gas and hazardous nature of the chemical might hamper the market growth over the forecast period. Shale oil revolution is expected to bring prospective opportunities for future market growth of sodium sulfite as an oxygen scavenger during drilling activities.Sodium sulfite is a widely used chemical due to its reactivity and versatile applications. It is extensively used as a preservative in controlled amount as it is poison to the bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms that might cause staling of foods and beverages. In the oil and mining industry it is extensively used as a agent for extraction and drilling of crude oil. In water treatment applications sodium sulfite is commonly used as an agent for dechlorination of industrial and municipal waste water in compliance with the stringent regulations laid down by regulatory bodies worldwide. The water treatment chemicals industry is witnessing a rapid rise in demand due to regulatory pressure for better treatment of industrial as well as municipal waste water released into the water bodies. Growing awareness among the general public and the protests against the harmful effects, of industrial and municipal waste water contaminated with human wastes, on the environment has lead to strict regulations governing the release of treated wastewater. This in turn, has supported the growth of waste water treatment chemicals including sodium sulfite.In terms of geography, Asia Pacific is the largest consumer of sodium sulfite in paper and pulp industry. Major industrial economies including China, India, Japan and South Korea are the major consumers of sodium sulfite for application in waste water treatment, paper and pulp and chemical industry. Two of the most populated countries, China and India are situated in Asia. Both these countries are growing rapidly and witnessing rising disposable income and purchase power parity of the general population. North America is another major consumer for sodium sulfite especially in the oil well drilling and waste water treatment applications. In Rest of the World, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and South Africa contribute to major demand for the market. Europe is expected to witness comparatively slower growth than other regions owing to stringent regulations against hazardous chemicals.Some of the market players include Merck Millipore, Solvay, Calabrian, Indspec Chemical, Olympic Chemical, Orica Watercare and Southern Ionics, among many others.Else Place an Enquiry or Ask Question to Our Researcher @About Market Research Reports (MRRSE)Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Chemical Research Reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.Contact UsState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United States Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.com
Calf Milk Replacers Market 2018 Flourishes with International Prestigious Players | Land O'lakes, Inc., Cargill Inc., Archer Daniels Midland Company, Frieslandcampina, CHS Inc., Glanbia, PLC and Lactalis Group, Etc.

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Market Definition:Calf milk replacers are developed to support minimal growth and encourage early consumption of calf starter. The ingredients and composition are specially designed according to the digestive system of the calf. Calf Milk Replacer can be fed at any time of the day, making it more convenient than the whole milk consumption. Moreover, feeding milk replacers prevents the transfer of diseases from cow to calf e.g. para-tuberculosis. Additionally, the long shelf life of the product is further supporting the growth of the market.Market Scenario:Growing calf population is driving the growth of calf milk replacers market. Moreover, growth of dairy industry is boosting the growth of this market owing to increase in milk consumption for commercial use. Johnes bacteria, E. coli, salmonella, and mycoplasma are some of the health threats for claves which is influencing the demand for calf milk replacers.Receive a Sample Report@Growing awareness regarding the product benefits is further boosting the growth of the market. Long shelf life of the product is an added advantage for the growth of the calf milk replacers market. However, high input costs of Calf Milk Replacer proteins may hamper the growth of the market. Nevertheless, all these factors are projected to contribute to the estimated CAGR of 6.7% of calf milk replacers market during the forecast period, 2017-2023.Top Key Players:Some of the key players profiled in the global calf milk replacers market are Land O'lakes, Inc. (U.S.), Cargill Inc. (U.S.), Archer Daniels Midland Company (U.S.), Frieslandcampina (The Netherlands), CHS Inc. (U.S.), Glanbia, PLC (Republic of Ireland), Lactalis Group (France).Industry Segments:Calf milk replacers market is segmented on the basis of type such as medicated Calf Milk Replacer and non-medicated milk replacer. Non-medicated milk replacers are witnessed to hold a leading share in the market owing to comparative cost-effectiveness. However, medicated calf Calf Milk Replacer is anticipated to be the fastest growing segment based on the growing concern for increasing diseases among calves.Based on the source, the calf milk replacers market is segmented into dairy based and non-dairy based. Among them, the dairy-based milk replacers are projected to be the fastest growing segment based on high nutrition absorption from the dairy based calf milk replacers.On the basis of form, the calf milk replacers market is segmented into powder and liquid form. The powdered segment is holding a major market for calf milk replacers. However, the liquid segment is projected to be the fastest growing segment based on its ease of digestibility resulting in the optimum intake of nutrition.Following are the Applications of Calf Milk Replacer Market:(Whey Based, Skim Based,)IndustryGlobal Calf Milk Replacer Market Overview:Global Calf Milk Replacer Market by Type and ApplicationGlobal Calf Milk Replacer Market Business Distribution by RegionCalf Milk Replacer Business ProfileTop Consumer/End Users of Milk ReplacerMajor Topics Covered in Calf Milk Replacer Industry Research Report are as follows:Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders:Marketing ChannelDirect MarketingIndirect MarketingMarketing Channel Development Trend included in Calf Milk Replacer industryMarket PositioningPricing StrategyBrand Strategy of Calf Milk Replacer marketTarget ClientDistributors/Traders ListHave Any Query? Ask Our Expert @:Calf Milk Replacer Market in Global Forecast:Calf Milk Replacer Market in Global Capacity, Production, Revenue ForecastCalf Milk Replacer Market in Global Production, Consumption Forecast by RegionsCalf Milk Replacer Market in Global Production Forecast by TypeCalf Milk Replacer Market in Global Consumption Forecast by ApplicationCalf Milk Replacer Price ForecastMarket Effect Factors AnalysisTechnology Progress/RiskSubstitutes ThreatTechnology Progress in Calf Milk Replacer IndustryConsumer Needs/Customer Preference ChangeEconomic/Political Environmental ChangeKey Points Covered in TOC:Calf Milk Replacer Market in Global Research ReportCalf Milk Replacer Market in Global Competition by ManufacturersCalf Milk Replacer Market in Global Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by RegionCalf Milk Replacer Market in Global Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by RegionCalf Milk Replacer Market in Global Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeCalf Milk Replacer Market in Global Analysis by ApplicationCalf Milk Replacer Market in Global Manufacturers Profiles/AnalysisCalf Milk Replacer Manufacturing Cost AnalysisIndustrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersMarketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersMarket Effect Factors AnalysisCalf Milk Replacer Market in Global ForecastRegional Analysis:The global calf milk replacers market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and rest of the world (RoW). Europe is accounted to hold the highest share of calf milk replacers. Promotion of veal calves consumption in the EU is majorly driving the growth of calf milk replacers in this region. North America is estimated to have a moderate expansion in the market share of calf milk replacers over the estimated period with the U.S. as its major contributor.Asia Pacific is witnessed to be the fastest growing region in calf milk replacers market. India and China are the two countries majorly contributing to the growth of calf milk replacers in this region. Latin America is anticipated to gain a moderate growth rate over the estimated period.Access Report Details @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.ContactMarket Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Market Overview : Global Biochips (Microarrays/Microfluidics) Market 2018 Abbott, Agilent, PerkinElmer, Fluidigm, Illumina, Cepheid, Roche,

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Biochips (Microarrays/Microfluidics) Market Professional Survey Report 2018" to its huge collection of research reports.This report studies the global Biochips (Microarrays/Microfluidics) market status and forecast, categorizes the global Biochips (Microarrays/Microfluidics) market size (value & volume) by manufacturers, type, application, and region. This report focuses on the top manufacturers in North America, Europe, Japan, China, India, Southeast Asia and other regions (Central & South America, and Middle East & Africa).Biochips are essentially miniaturized laboratories that can perform hundreds or thousands of simultaneous biochemical reactions. Biochips enable researchers to quickly screen large numbers of biological analytes for a variety of purposes, from disease diagnosis to detection of bioterrorism agents.The global Biochips (Microarrays/Microfluidics) market is valued at 10700 million US$ in 2017 and will reach 41300 million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of 18.4% during 2018-2025.The major manufacturers covered in this reportAbbottAgilentPerkinElmerFluidigmIlluminaGE HealthcareBio-Rad LaboratoriesCepheidThermo FisherRocheTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Geographically, this report studies the top producers and consumers, focuses on product capacity, production, value, consumption, market share and growth opportunity in these key regions, coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanIndiaSoutheast AsiaOther regions (Central & South America, Middle East & Africa)We can also provide the customized separate regional or country-level reports, for the following regions:North AmericaUnited StatesCanadaMexicoAsia-PacificChinaIndiaJapanSouth KoreaAustraliaIndonesiaSingaporeRest of Asia-PacificEuropeGermanyFranceUKItalySpainRussiaRest of EuropeCentral & South AmericaBrazilArgentinaRest of South AmericaMiddle East & AfricaSaudi ArabiaTurkeyRest of Middle East & AfricaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoDNA ChipLab-on-a-chipProtein ChipBy Application, the market can be split intoAcademics InstitutesDiagnostics CentersThe study objectives of this report are:To analyze and study the global Biochips (Microarrays/Microfluidics) capacity, production, value, consumption, status (2013-2017) and forecast (2018-2025);Focuses on the key Biochips (Microarrays/Microfluidics) manufacturers, to study the capacity, production, value, market share and development plans in future.Focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the market competition landscape, SWOT analysis.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region.To analyze the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the market.To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the market.To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Biochips (Microarrays/Microfluidics) are as follows:History Year: 2013-2017Base Year: 2017Estimated Year: 2018Forecast Year 2018 to 2025For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2017 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered.Key StakeholdersBiochips (Microarrays/Microfluidics) ManufacturersBiochips (Microarrays/Microfluidics) Distributors/Traders/WholesalersBiochips (Microarrays/Microfluidics) Subcomponent ManufacturersIndustry AssociationDownstream VendorsTable of ContentsGlobal Biochips (Microarrays/Microfluidics) Market Professional Survey Report 20181 Industry Overview of Biochips (Microarrays/Microfluidics)1.1 Definition and Specifications of Biochips (Microarrays/Microfluidics)1.1.1 Definition of Biochips (Microarrays/Microfluidics)1.1.2 Specifications of Biochips (Microarrays/Microfluidics)1.2 Classification of Biochips (Microarrays/Microfluidics)1.2.1 DNA Chip1.2.2 Lab-on-a-chip1.2.3 Protein Chip1.3 Applications of Biochips (Microarrays/Microfluidics)1.3.1 Academics Institutes1.3.2 Diagnostics Centers1.4 Market Segment by Regions1.4.1 North America1.4.2 Europe1.4.3 China1.4.4 Japan1.4.5 Southeast Asia1.4.6 IndiaGet Complete TOC With Tables and Figures @2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Biochips (Microarrays/Microfluidics)2.1 Raw Material and Suppliers2.2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Biochips (Microarrays/Microfluidics)2.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Biochips (Microarrays/Microfluidics)2.4 Industry Chain Structure of Biochips (Microarrays/Microfluidics)3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Biochips (Microarrays/Microfluidics)3.1 Capacity and Commercial Production Date of Global Biochips (Microarrays/Microfluidics) Major Manufacturers in 20173.2 Manufacturing Plants Distribution of Global Biochips (Microarrays/Microfluidics) Major Manufacturers in 20173.3 R&D Status and Technology Source of Global Biochips (Microarrays/Microfluidics) Major Manufacturers in 20173.4 Raw Materials Sources Analysis of Global Biochips (Microarrays/Microfluidics) Major Manufacturers in 2017Continue...About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.For More Information Kindly Contact:ResearchMozMr. Nachiket Ghumare,Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn @Follow me on @
Global Minimally Invasive Surgery Equipment Sales Market to Witness Robust Expansion by 2025

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Geographically, this report split global into several key Regions, with sales (K Units), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Minimally Invasive Surgery Equipment for these regions, from 2013 to 2025 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesChinaEuropeJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaGlobal Minimally Invasive Surgery Equipment market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Minimally Invasive Surgery Equipment sales volume, Price (USD/Unit), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingGE HealthcareSiemens HealthcarePhilips HealthcareMedtronicStrykerZimmer BiometAbbottJohnson & JohnsonSmith & NephewBoston ScientificOlympusOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoRobotic MIS InstrumentsNon-Robotic Hand Guided Assistance SystemsOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate for each application, includingCardiothoracic SurgeryVascular SurgeryCosmetic/Bariatric SurgeryGastrointestinal SurgeryGynecological SurgeryUrological SurgeryOrthopedic SurgeryOthersIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Request Sample Copy of Report@About Us:QYResearch always pursuits high product quality with the belief that quality is the soul of business. Through years of effort and supports from huge number of customer supports, QYResearch consulting group has accumulated creative design methods on many high-quality markets investigation and research team with rich experience. Today, QYResearch has become the brand of quality assurance in consulting industry.Contact USQY Research, INC.17890 Castleton,Suite 218,City of industry, CA  91748 ?USA: +1 626 295 2442Email ? enquiry@qyrsearch.comWeb ?
Bioresorbable Scaffolds Market by Qualitative Analysis, Outlook, Growth, Trends, Size with Abbott Vascular, Biotronik, REVA Medical, Inc., Xenogenics Co. Forecast to 2027

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Bioresorbable Scaffolds Market - Regional AnalysisThe Global Bioresorbable Scaffolds Market is dominated by America owing to the presence of huge population suffering from cardiovascular diseases, presence of number of leading companies and increasing geriatric population. Moreover, increasing obese and diabetic population, lack of exercise, increasing stress and desk-bound lifestyle has provided push for the growth of the market. Followed by the Americas, Europe has the second largest market due to the availability of huge research funds and increasing government support. Moreover, increasing healthcare expenditure along with the presence of developed economies like the Italy, Germany, France, and others within the region fuels the market growth within the region. Asia Pacific accounts for the fastest growing market due to the rapid development in technology, growing healthcare industry and a huge patient suffering. On the other hand, the Middle East & Africa accounts the least share in global Bioresorbable Scaffolds Market, especially due to the presence of poor economies within the African region.Get sample report @Bioresorbable Scaffolds Market - Key PlayersSome of the key players in this market are: Abbott Vascular (U.S.), Biotronik (GER), Kyoto Medical Planning Co. Ltd. (JP), REVA Medical, Inc. (U.S.), Xenogenics Corp. (U.S.) and others.Bioresorbable Scaffolds Market - Competitive AnalysisCharacterized by the presence of several well-established and small players, the global market of bioresorbable scaffolds appears to be highly competitive and fragmented. International players are increasingly expanding their footprint in the developing economy, making it difficult for regional vendors to compete with them, especially in terms of features such as product differentiation, product portfolios, quality, and pricing. The Market is witnessing intensified competition which is expected to get more intensified further during the forecast period. The intense competition prevalent in the market dictates the consolidation among marketers.Well established players incorporate acquisition, collaboration, partnership, expansion, and product launch in order to gain competitive advantage in this market and to maintain their market position.In April-2016, Abbott entered into a definitive agreement with St. Jude Medical Inc. which led to its acquisition. This created a premier medical device leader with top positions in high-growth cardiovascular markets, including atrial fibrillation, structural heart and heart failure as well as a leading position in the high-growth neuromodulation market. Under the agreement, St. Jude Medical shareholders received USD 46.75 in cash and 0.8708 shares of Abbott common stock, representing total consideration of approximately USD 85 per share. At an Abbott stock price of USd 43.93, this represented a total transaction equity value of USD 25 billion.In June-2016, BIOTRONIK commercially launched of Solia S ProMRI, with a 5.6 French lead body, the smallest MR conditional pacing lead making it available in the U.S in 45, 53 and 60 centimeter lengths.In July-2017, REVA Medical, Inc completed the reduction in its workforce in connection with the commercialization of its Fantom scaffold. A total of 11 full-time employees were let go, with 49 full-time employees remaining, in the transition from research and development activities to commercial activities. The Company estimates that it will incur aggregate cash charges of approximately USD 420,000 associated with the workforce reduction, comprising approximately USD 410,000 in severance payments and approximately USD 10,000 in continuation of benefits.Get Discount on Report @Bioresorbable Scaffolds Market - HighlightsThe Global Bioresorbable Scaffolds Market is growing with the rapid pace. According to a recent study report published by the Market Research Future, the Global Bioresorbable Scaffolds Market is booming and expected to gain prominence over the forecast period and is projected to grow a sound pace. The market is projected to demonstrate a sound growth by 2027, surpassing its previous growth records in terms of value with a striking CAGR during the anticipated period (2017-2027).Bioresorbable Scaffolds are the medical devices used during surgeries of coronary artery disease. These scaffolds are introduced recently and allow successful acute revascularization of coronary artery stenosis. The main advantage of the bioresorbable scaffolds is inclusive of complete bioresorption, leaving no foreign body. Increasing prevalence of cardiovascular disease and diabetes are the major drivers of for the market growth during the forecast period. According to WHO in 2014, cardiovascular diseases were the major cause of deaths, globally. Moreover, it was estimated that during the same year, about 39% of adults who aged 18 years were over overweight whereas 13% were obese. Additionally, rapid development in the devices used for the cardiovascular surgeries, rising demand for bioresorbable scaffolds, adoption of desk-bound lifestyle, and government support for the research and development of better medical devices have fuelled the market growth. However, availability of alternative therapies and high cost of the bioresorbable scaffolds are estimated to restrain the market growth during the forecast period.Bioresorbable Scaffolds Market - SegmentsGlobal bioresorbable scaffolds Market has been segmented on the basis of types which comprises of Absorbable magnesium stent (AMS), Polymeric scaffold, poly carbonate scaffold, Poly salicylic acid stent, Myolimus-eluting Poly-L-Lactic acid scaffold, Everolimus-eluting Poly-L-lactic acid scaffold and others. On the basis of applications, the market is segmented into peripheral vascular intervention, regulation of blood flow and others. On the basis of end users, market is segmented into Hospitals, clinics, research institutes and others.To Know More Enquire @Major Table of ContentChapter 1. Report PrologueChapter 2. Market Introduction2.1 Definition2.2 Scope of the Study2.2.1 Research Objective2.2.2 Assumptions2.2.3 LimitationsChapter 3. Research Methodology3.1 Introduction3.2 Primary Research3.3 Secondary Research3.4 Market Size EstimationChapter 4. Market DynamicsContinued.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Contact:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune  411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: salesteam@marketresearchfuture.com
Topical Pain Relief Market was valued at $7,481 million in 2017, and is projected to reach $13,276 million by 2025 at a CAGR of 7.4% from 2018 to 2025

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Topical Pain Relief Market, by Therapeutic Class, Type, Formulation, and Distribution Channel: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2018-2025, the global topical pain relief market was valued at $7,481 million in 2017, and is projected to reach $13,276 million in 2025, registering a CAGR of 7.4% from 2017 to 2025.Access Full Report Summary:Topical pain relief medications are pain killers that are directly applied, rubbed, or sprayed on the skin over painful muscles or joints. They are designed to relieve pain as they are composed of different ingredients such as opioids, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), salicylates, capsaicin, and others. These products have a heating or cooling effect that stimulate the nerves near the pain point and relieve pain. When pain is localized, patients highly prefer topical treatments as adjunctive therapy, which can be as effective as oral treatments and cause fewer side effects.The factors that drive the growth of the topical pain relief market include increase in prevalence of arthritis, diabetic neuropathy, and other bone disorders across the globe, rise in geriatric population, fewer side effects caused by topical pain relief as compared to oral medications, and high adoption of topical pain relief products by sportsperson. However, topical pain relief medications can cause irritation, and these products are usually characterized by an unpleasant odor which impede the market growth. Conversely, the development of an online platform for topical therapeutics and the untapped market potential in emerging economies are expected to provide lucrative growth opportunities for the market.The non-opioids segment accounted for the largest share in 2017 owing to high usage in treatment of pain and lesser side effects as compared to opioids. By type, the over-the counter pain relief segment dominated the global topical pain relief market in terms of revenue in 2017 and the trend is projected to continue throughout the forecast period.The utilization rate of cream pain relief products is high owing to high availability of these products with high success rate and lesser side effects. However, the patch pain relief products segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.0% during the forecast period.The pharmacies & drug stores segment is the largest segment in the global topical pain relief market, and is estimated to expand at a CAGR of 6.9% during the forecast period. On the other hand, e-commerce segment is anticipated to record highest CAGR during the forecast period.Get Free Sample Copy Request:Key Findings of the Topical Pain Relief Market :The opioids segment accounted for nearly one-fourth share of the global topical pain relief market in 2017.The over-the-counter pain relief segment is expected to grow at highest CAGR from 2018 to 2025.The spray segment accounted for around one-eighth share of the global market in 2017.Europe accounted for around one-fourth share of the global market in 2017.LAMEA is expected to provide lucrative market growth opportunities from 2017 to 2025.North America was the leading revenue contributor to the global topical pain relief market in 2017, and is expected to dominate the market during the forecast period. This is attributed to the early approval of topical pain relief medications and high adoption of over-the-counter pain relief products in this region. However, Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at the highest CAGR of 8.6% during the study period, due to increase in affordability, surge in healthcare expenditure, and rise in awareness towards safe pain relief products.Do Purchase and Enquiry:Allied Market Research, a market research and advisory company of Allied Analytics LLP, provides business insights and market research reports to large as well as small & medium enterprises. The company assists its clients to strategize business policies and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.Allied Market Research provides one stop solution from the beginning of data collection to investment advice. The analysts at Allied Market Research dig out factors that help clients to understand the significance and impact of market dynamics. The company amplies clients insight on the factors, such as strategies, future estimations, growth or fall forecasting, opportunity analysis, and consumer surveys among others. As follows, the company offers consistent business intelligent support to aid the clients to turn into prominent business firm.Contact:Shriram Dighe5933 NE Win Sivers Drive#205, Portland, OR 97220United StatesToll Free: +1-800-792-5285UK: +44-845-528-1300Hong Kong: +852-301-84916India (Pune): +91-20-66346060Fax: +1855550-5975help@alliedmarketresearch.comWeb:
Global Life Science Software Market worth Growth of +24 Billion Forecast by 2021

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The global Life Science Software Market is expected to grow from +7 Billion in 2016 to +38 Billion by 2022, at a CAGR of +26% by the end of the forecasted period. 2025.Life Science Software Report by Material, Application, and Geography  Global Forecast to 2021 is a professional and in-depth research report on the worlds major regional market conditions, focusing on the main regions (North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific) and the main countries (United States, Germany, united Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and China).Top Key Vendors in Market:Medidata Solutions,Oracle,SAP,SAS Institute,Veeva Systems,Other prominent vendors in the market include ArisGlobal, DXC technology, Ducen, EPAM Systems, FUJITSU, GE Healthcare, HCL Technologies, Instem Group of Companies, PDS, Persistent Systems, Signiant, and Xybion.Get Sample Copy of this Report @The report firstly introduced the Life Science Software basics: definitions, classifications, applications and market overview; product specifications; manufacturing processes; cost structures, raw materials and so on. Then it analyzed the worlds main region market conditions, including the product price, profit, capacity, production, supply, demand and market growth rate and forecast etc. In the end, the report introduced new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis.For more Information:The report includes six parts, dealing with:1.) Basic information;2.) The Asia Life Science Software Market;3.) The North American Life Science Software Market;4.) The European Life Science Software Market;5.) Market entry and investment feasibility;6.) The report conclusion.Table of ContentsGlobal Life Science Software Market Research ReportChapter 1: Life Science Software Market OverviewChapter 2: Global Economic Impact on IndustryChapter 3: Global Market Competition by ManufacturersChapter 4: Global Production, Revenue (Value) by RegionChapter 5: Global Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by RegionsChapter 6: Global Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7: Global Market Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8: Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9: Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10: Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 11: Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter 12: Global Market ForecastGet Discount on this Report @Our research will change the way you think about problems. We provide global consulting that can transform businesses and give you an experience of innovative solutions and outcomes.Research N Reports helps clients harness the power of innovation to thrive on change. We have successfully guided businesses throughout the world with our market research reports. We are uniquely positioned to lead digital transformations, thus creating greater value for clients by presenting growth opportunities in the global market.Our profound experience provides a clear and confident vision to help clients navigate the future. Research N Reports techniques encompasses both qualitative and quantitative modes to provide customized and highly flexible tailored research studies so that you get information that is just the best-fit to make informed strategic organizational decisions. Research N Reports helps clients decode the future to be more successful and innovative.Contact us:(Research N Reports)10916, Gold Point Dr, Houston, TX, Pin - 77064,Sunny Denis(Sales Manager),+1-8886316977,sales@researchnreports.com ,
Editors note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the authors.

Manila (CNN Philippines Life)  President Dutertes third State of the Nation Address (SONA), directed by Joyce Bernal, was preceded by a short film. A silent one, at that, after the mikes went off while Deputy Speaker Rolando Andaya questioned the abrupt adjournment of that mornings session. No matter. The action unfolded without need for words: one moment there was mere rumor (a plot to unseat then House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez), the next moment, some sort of deja vu playing out on national television.

On screen was Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, dressed in orange, surrounded by lawmakers shaking her hand. Arroyo, climbing to the rostrum, straining to make herself heard. Arroyo, taking oath, not as president this time, though the ministrations were eerily familiar.

In this quick performance of political theater, Arroyo is the new House Speaker, ousting Alvarez by an overwhelming vote in the House of Representatives, supposed to be under his control. Never mind Dutertes SONA. We already have a blockbuster: Arroyo, the alleged plunderer, who is implicated in the NBN ZTE scandal, the Hello Garci electoral fraud, the Fertilizer Fund Scam, the PCSO fund scam, thousands of extrajudicial killings, and other various sins of manipulation and corruption, is now back in power as the third highest ranking official in the land.

All in approximately 15 minutes. Its as if the two decades did not happen.

We dont understand accountability

Its not that Filipinos have short memories. Its that we have yet to figure out how to keep naked power in check, and we have yet to decide what to do with people who break our trust. So we lower our defenses, transform them into memes, have a good laugh, give them a second chance, or elect them to office.

Thus we have the Marcoses in government. Convicted plunderer Joseph Estrada as Manila mayor. Convicted rapist Romeo Jalosjos as congressman (and thereafter, a free man). Theres a long list of criminals who are elected or are otherwise qualified to run for local positions.

This happens because the law requires someone to be convicted with finality to be disqualified for running for office  a rule easily exploited by way of filing an appeal or any other action to delay proceedings. A criminal-politician may also be pardoned or his or her sentence commuted by the president.

Arroyo, for her part, has never been convicted with plunder, though she was under hospital arrest for four years for plunder charges arising from misused Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) funds. She has openly admitted to attempting to manipulate election results in 2004, exposed via wiretapped conversations with Comelec commissioner Virgilio Garcillano in the Hello Garci scandal. She has been tagged as the beneficiary of 728 million in public funds, allegedly directed to her presidential campaign rather than farmers, in the Fertilizer Fund Scam. She has ignored extrajudicial killings under her regime.

Seven to eight years ago, civil society worked hard to push back against Arroyos budding authoritarian rule and efforts to consolidate power, which saw the declaration of martial law in Maguindanao and policies such as the preemptive calibrated response, struck down by the High Court for being unconstitutional. Arroyo was also responsible for the so-called midnight appointments made just before she stepped down from office, the most controversial being the late Renato Corona as Chief Justice.

"Arroyo sitting at that rostrum means she never left. Its like when we allowed Marcos to be buried a hero."

Theres a long list of sins for which Arroyo should have paid. Journalists have repeatedly listed the shame and scandals of her family, how she has wrought havoc on key institutions by cannibalizing democracy. Former public officials declared her years in power inflicted curses on the Philippines. She is called the original sin  her betrayal of public trust, from the very first time she falsely promised not to run for president, [laid] the groundwork for systemic impunity that is haunting Philippine politics.

Did it seem like all of these were gone, after Arroyos term ended in 2010? She remained a popular and well-loved politician in her familys stronghold in Pampanga. As early as 2009, she announced plans to run in her provinces 2nd district, won, and held office even under hospital arrest, despite her background of impunity, corruption, and fraud.

She was never out of power. Hers is a game of calculated gambits  dropping allies when they have served their purpose, keeping them when the need arises. Owing to her influence, it was not difficult to ally with Duterte (who once campaigned for her ouster) and secure her freedom just in his first year of office.

The courts have acquitted Arroyo of the plunder charges for lack of evidence. Most recently, the Sandiganbayan acquitted one of her co-defendants in the PCSO fund misuse case, Rosario Uriarte, thus banishing all possible roadblocks to her re-ascent to power.

Her being back shows that our system is weak in holding power to account  that the elite could easily withstand checks that are nothing but temporary setbacks in their continuing rule, says Joy Aceron, Government Watch convenor and research fellow at the Accountability Research Center.

This signals the need for an overhaul of our accountability system and the strengthening of accountability culture, especially the democratic forces that are supposed to advance it.

GMA being back in a critical post means there is another big threat to the opposition, civil society, and democratic rights, given her track record, she adds.

Congresswoman Gloria Macapagal Arroyo at the rostrum after she is elected as the new House Speaker. Photo by JL JAVIER

Hello, Garci  again

Now that Arroyo is House Speaker, there are a few things to watch out for, aside from her dismal track record. Is GMA as speaker going to push for parliamentary so she can vie for being Prime Minister? I remember this was their plan before, says Aceron.

Another is the crack in the ruling partys coalition. How big a player is Alvarez inside is a good question to answer because that could potentially determine the damage within the ruling party that this dynamics has caused.

This should also be a time to revisit why we continually fail to hold abusive leaders to account. Columnist Conrado de Quiros wrote, during one of Arroyos SONAs, that the (true) state of the nation was this: Hello Garci  Hello Garci  Hello Garci  repeated over and over until his newspaper space ran out.

If the long list of shame, scandals, curses, and sins overwhelms, its easy to remember Hello Garci. Arroyo should have resigned at that point, when she said I am sorry for calling Garcillano to influence election numbers. For what kind of accountability is it when you apologize but do not make amends? Where is the integrity in saying sorry but dodging consequences?

De Quiros column ends by finally saying: Goodbye Gloria. He might have spoken too  too soon. Arroyo sitting at that rostrum means she never left. Its like when we allowed Marcos to be buried a hero. When we continually allow their allies to run our government. When we compromise integrity just because no one steps up. When we fail to demand the best from our leaders. When we settle for what we do not deserve.

We have never succeeded in killing our monsters. We only let them sleep.
Global Fire Glass Market: by key player AGC, NSG, Saint Gobain, Guardian, PPG Industries: 2018-2022

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Fire glass is tempered glass manufactured as a medium to retain and direct heat in fireplaces and gas fire pits. Fire glass, like artificial logs and stones, is additionally used to obscure the gas plumbing inherent in gas fireplaces or stoves. During the manufacturing process, sheets of glass are tempered to withstand heat. Although a variety of fire glass types exist, variations are purely aesthetic, and all varieties serve the same purpose within a fire feature.The Global Fire Glass Market is explained in detail in this report, starting with a basic overview, which includes definitions and various specifics related to the raw materials used in manufacturing the market products. This section also includes a considered distinction of major and minor factors that influence this market. The summary includes a depiction of the value chain structure of the global industry and a status update for the different major regional segments of this industry. Further the report scrutinizes the several policies that regulate processes in this global market, specifically, the ones that are currently active, along with an analysis of the top news stories about the global industry.Get Sample Copy of this Report @Top Key Vendors in Market:AGC,NSG,Saint Gobain,Guardian,PPG Industries,Schott,Padiham Glass,CSG Holding,Xinyi Glass,Luoyang Glass,SYP GlassThe report also provides a detailed and in-depth examination of the global handbags industry in terms of market size for the worldwide channels, along with region-specific channels in the global region. The market size of each region is explained with respect to the sales values and sales revenue in terms of applications and market players, growth rates in volume and value, and the sales price in terms of types, applications, and companies. The report also provides a critical assessment of the Global Fire Glass Market with regard to additional costs such as labor costs and the overall manufacturing costs and process analysis.The report describes the competitive landscape of the Global Fire Glass Market by describing all of its key players. Each major company is assessed through their company profile, the volume of sales, product specifications, gross margin, product pictures wherever applicable, sales price, and sales revenue.Ask for discount@Table of Content:Global Fire Glass Market Research Report 2018-2025Chapter 1: Global Fire Glass Market OverviewChapter 2: Fire Glass Market by Manufacturers, ApplicationChapter 3: Analysis of Global Fire Glass MarketChapter 4: Fire Glass Market Consumption (K Units) by RegionsChapter 5: Global Fire Glass Market Production, Price TrendChapter 6: Fire Glass Market Analysis by ApplicationsChapter 7: India Global Fire Glass MarketChapter 8: Southeast Asia Aviation Bullet Resistant Glass (Volume, Value and Sales Price)Chapter 9: Global Fire Glass Market Manufacturers AnalysisChapter 10: Aviation Bullet Resistant Glass Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 11: Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 12: Global Fire Glass Market Analysis, DistributorsFor more Information:About QYReports:We at, QYReports, a leading market research report published accommodate more than 4,000 celebrated clients worldwide putting them at advantage in todays competitive world with our understanding of research. Our list of customers includes prestigious Chinese companies, multinational companies, SMEs and private equity firms whom we have helped grow and sustain with our fact-based research. Our business study covers a market size of over 30 industries offering unfailing insights into the analysis to reimagine your business. We specialize in forecasts needed for investing in a new project, to revolutionize your business, to become more customer centric and improve the quality of output.Contact:QYReportsJones John(Sales Manager)+91-9764607607sales@qyreports.com
Consumer Healthcare Sensor Market is growing with +5% CAGR- Technological Advancements, Global Innovations & Key Players like Infineon Technologies AG, Invensense

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A new research report recently added to the repository of QyReports , presents a comprehensive analytical study of the Consumer Healthcare Sensor Market with a special focus on North America, Europe, Middle East & Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin AmericaA growing momentum for consumer healthcare monitoring and sensing driven by sensors with progressive features and sophistication. The consumer healthcare will lessen the healthcare cost of the patient by reducing the time associated with doctor consultation, visiting doctor and so on. The growths in sensing technologies can help to rise the trend of continuous patient monitoring, which can result in reduced healthcare costs and enhanced treatment outcomes.Consumer Healthcare Sensor Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of +5% during the forecast period 2018-2023. The use of sensors will help to capture the healthcare data continously, and keep an electronic health record. This report on Consumer Healthcare Sensor Market is a point by point investigate concentrate that aides gives answers and apropos inquiries regarding the developing patterns and development openings in this specific industryGet Sample Copy@Top Key Vendors:Infineon Technologies AG, Invensense. Inc., Koninklijke Philips N.V., Maxim Integrated, Banner Engineering Corporation, Cambridge Temperature Concepts, Danaher Corporation, Ecardio Diagnostics, ELMOS Semiconductor AG, Aptina Imaging Corporation, Atmel Corporation, 3M, Ametek, Inc., Analog Devices, Inc., Measurement Specialties Inc., Melexis Corporation, Avago TechnologiesOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into Temperature Sensor, Image Sensor, Motion Sensor, Touch Sensor, Heart Rate Sensor, Others. On the basis on the end users/applications, Therapeutic, Imaging, Handheld and Homecare, Fitness and Welness, Others.The research study analyzes the global market for Consumer Healthcare Sensor Market on the basis of the type and their application. It likewise points out the courses in which the associations can strengthen their stand in the market and augment their livelihoods in the forthcoming years. Consistent technological progressions and the enduring penetration of Internet in the remote corners of the world are moreover responsible for the astounding advancement of the Global Market.Avail 20% Discount and Customization On This Premium Report@Table of Contents:Global Consumer Healthcare Sensor Market Research Report 2018-2023Chapter 1: Consumer Healthcare Sensor Market OverviewChapter 2: Global Economic Impact on IndustryChapter 3: Global Market Competition by ManufacturersChapter 4: Global Production, Revenue (Value) by RegionChapter 5: Global Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by RegionsChapter 6: Global Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7: Consumer Healthcare Sensor Market Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8: Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9: Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10: Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 11: Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter 12: Global Consumer Healthcare Sensor Market ForecastFor more enquiry @About QYReports:We at, QYReports , a leading market research report publisher accommodate more than 4,000 celebrated clients worldwide putting them at advantage in todays competitive world with our understanding of research. Our list of customers includes prestigious Chinese companies, multinational companies, SME's and private equity firms whom we have helped grow and sustain with our fact-based research. Our business study covers a market size of over 30 industries offering unfailing insights into analysis to reimagine your business. We specialize in forecasts needed for investing in a new project, to revolutionize your business, to become more customer centric and improve the quality of output.Contact:QYReportsJones John(Sales Manager)+91-9764607607sales@qyreports.com
Iv Equipment Market is anticipated to witness a steady CAGR of 5% from 2017 to 2022.

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Rising cases of needle stick injuries, the shift in demand towards ambulatory surgical centers and fusion pumps, and a greater number of surgical procedures performed are poised to benefit the IV equipment market. Furthermore, a prevalence of chronic diseases in an ageing population in developed nations are positive signs for the IV equipment market. However, lack of wireless connectivity, regulatory mandates for new product launches and increasing cases of medication errors inhibit the unencumbered growth of the IV equipment market that is anticipated to witness a steady CAGR of 5% from 2017 to 2022.The IV catheter segment is the most popular in the IV equipment market and should remain so for the foreseeable future. The IV catheter segment is expected to be worth more than US$ 2.7 billion in 2017 itself and companies are recommended to target this segment with gusto. The infusion pump segment is a close second in the IV equipment market in terms of product type segment and is likely to be the biggest winner in terms of market share. Key stakeholders in the IV equipment market would do well to focus their energy on the Europe infusion pumps market as the region accounts for more than a third of the revenue contributionA sample of this report is available upon request@The securement device segment and stopclocks & valve segment have single digit revenue share in the IV equipment market. While the former is projected to lose market share, the latter is on track to gain share and companies may seek to take advantage of this. The stopcock & valves segment is estimated to grow with a CAGR of just under 6% from 2017 to 2022. Along with Europe, the stopcocks & valves segment has strong potential in APEJThe drip chamber and needleless connector segment have a revenue share of less than a tenth in the IV equipment market at the end of 2017. The needleless connector segment is predicted to lose substantial share in the near future while the drip chamber segment should fall slowly. The Europe drip chamber segment is assessed to grow past more than US$ 285 million at the end of the forecast period. The needleless connector segment also has the greatest potential in Europe. Along with Europe, companies could additionally target the North America needleless connector segmentHospitals hold the lions share in the IV equipment market by end user segment and are forecast to hold steady for the medium to long term. Hospitals are the most-well equipped to deal with any and every patient need pertaining to IV treatment. Europe is the largest region in the hospital segment of the IV equipment market but there is a close competition for the second place between APEJ and North AmericaRequest report Toc@The companies profiled in the IV equipment market are AngioDynamics, Moog Inc., Terumo Corporation, C. R. Bard, ICU Medical, Smiths Group, Baxter International Inc., Fresenius SE & Co., B. Braun Melsungen AG, and Becton, Dickinson and CompanyPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email:amir@futuremarketinsights.comWeb:
Mobile Commerce Solution Market Business Opportunities, Current Trends, Market Challenges & Global Industry Analysis by 2023 Key Players Mobify, Moovweb, Netbiscuits, Skava, MobiFin, and Usablenet

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Global Mobile Commerce Solution Market Research Report 2023, mobile commerce or m-commerce users. Increasing adoption of mobile commerce solutions across small and medium-scale to large-scale enterprise is also expected to fuel market demand over the forecast period. Further, rise in number of smartphone users owing to the flexibility offered in operating mobile commerce solutions is anticipated to be the key factor that drives market growth. Companies emphasize on addressing several security issues pertaining to online payment and data-security, which is also expected to positively impact the mobile commerce solution market growth over the forecast period.Get a Sample PDF for Research Insights at:Near Field Communication (NFC) provides a secure payment platform, which may further catapult market demand. Further, next generation technologies such as digital money, Bitcoin is expected to transform the mobile payment platform, and positively impact the mobile commerce solution market demand over the next few years. Several key electronic commerce players are expected to migrate to mobile commerce technology owing to increased smartphone demand. Customization, flexible contract period and scalability of the solution are other factors that may spur market demandSome of the leading vendors: Ericsson, Volusion, CBES, Netsity Systems (P) Ltd., Vaimo, Branding Brand, July Systems, Kony, Mad Mobile, Merkle 5th Finger, Mobify, Moovweb, Netbiscuits, Skava, MobiFin, and Usablenet.Mobile commerce solution services include ticketing, buying or selling consumer products, auctioning and digital money. Digital money provides several avenues for market growth. High adoption across the telecom and banking sector has resulted into new form of payment technology, which is expected to positively impact the market in next few years.While analyzing the profiles of leading companies, the authors have dived into their latest updates and touched vital portions such as their main business, gross margin, price, revenue, and sales. Besides this, the specifications, applications, and products of the global Mobile Commerce Solution market, major competitors, sales location, and manufacturing base of each of the companies have been discussed in the report. Under geographical study, the report has explored key areas of the market such as import and export for the review period.Get Reasonable Discount on this Premium Report @:Table of Content:Chapter 1 Industry Overview of Mobile Commerce SolutionChapter 2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Mobile Commerce SolutionChapter 3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Mobile Commerce SolutionChapter 4 Global Mobile Commerce Solution Overall Market OverviewChapter 5 Mobile Commerce Solution Regional Market AnalysisChapter 6 Major Manufacturers Analysis of Mobile Commerce SolutionChapter 7 Development Trend of Analysis of Mobile Commerce Solution MarketChapter 8 Mobile Commerce Solution Marketing Type AnalysisChapter 9 Conclusion of the Global Mobile Commerce Solution Market Professional Survey Report 2018To get more information, Ask for Sample PDF illustration with TOC, Tables, Figures and Charts @:About Company:We at IT Intelligence Markets conduct intensive market research and generate detailed reports about the products and services offered in the IT domain. Our team is devoted to providing custom reports that are taylor-made to suit the customers requirements. We make sure to keep our customers updated with the latest market dynamics as IT industry is undergoing sea change intrinsically & extrinsically by forces such as regulatory fluctuations, rapidly evolving consumer preferences, and newer technologies. Not only do our market research analysts scrutinize market requirements but also track competitors relentlessly for obtaining the most updated scenario of the market.Contact Name: Vijay TannaAddress:Survey No-9/4, Flat# 6, Panchshil Park,Ganpati Marg, Nigidi, Pune 411044Website:Email: sales@itintelligencemarkets.comPhone: +91 976-460-7607
Helpdesk Outsourcing Market Demand and Key Players by 2025: Qcom Outsourcing, ABS, ActivSupport, CGS, 4Results, Adaptive, AlfaVox

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ReportsWeb Adds Global Helpdesk Outsourcing Market Size Status and Forecast 2025 The objective of the report is to define, describe, and forecast the size on the basis of technologies, stages, components, applications, deployment types, organization size, industry types, and regions.Global Helpdesk Outsourcing Market Size Status and Forecast 2025This report studies the global Helpdesk Outsourcing market size, industry status and forecast, competition landscape and growth opportunity. This research report categorizes the global Helpdesk Outsourcing market by companies, region, type and end-use industry.Get sample copy of this report:Companies Profiled in this report includes: Qcom Outsourcing, ABS, ActivSupport, CGS, 4Results, Adaptive, AlfaVox, Batyckie Centrum Biznesu, Business Support Solution, Call Center Inter GalaticaHelpdesk outsourcing is the process of the business engaging resources outside the company to manage customer service and technical assistance support for their customers. Outsourcing helps the organization to decrease the operational cost and to reach maximum end users.Get Discount of this report:Apart from the inherent cost advantages, it can aid in enhancing the productivity within a short time because of a well-trained and continuously monitored workforce. Scalability in terms of handling of calls can also be ensured. These services are also providing a competitive edge to the SMBs that do not have the resources to build and maintain a technical help desk.The detailed reports present a thorough account of trend analysis and market forecasts of the markets, along with accurate facts, statistics, market related data, and other important information regarding the software industry related market research reports compiled in the repository. The reports could prove to be useful to new as well as existing players concerned with the software sector in analyzing the feasibility of new investments in these markets.In 2017, the global Helpdesk Outsourcing market size was xx million US$ and it is expected to reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, with a CAGR of xx% during 2018-2025.The study objectives of this report are:To study and forecast the market size of Helpdesk Outsourcing in global market.To analyze the global key players, SWOT analysis, value and global market share for top players.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, end use and region.To analyze and compare the market status and forecast between China and major regions, namely, United States, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India and Rest of World.To analyze the global key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the marketTo analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the marketTo strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.Table of Content:Global Helpdesk Outsourcing Market Size, Status and Forecast 20251 Industry Overview of Helpdesk Outsourcing2 Global Helpdesk Outsourcing Competition Analysis by Players3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 Qcom Outsourcing3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Helpdesk Outsourcing Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.2 ABS3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Helpdesk Outsourcing Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.3 ActivSupport3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Helpdesk Outsourcing Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)4 Global Helpdesk Outsourcing Market Size by Type and Application (2013-2018)5 United States Helpdesk Outsourcing Development Status and Outlook6 Europe Helpdesk Outsourcing Development Status and Outlook7 China Helpdesk Outsourcing Development Status and Outlook8 Japan Helpdesk Outsourcing Development Status and Outlook9 Southeast Asia Helpdesk Outsourcing Development Status and Outlook10 India Helpdesk Outsourcing Development Status and Outlook11 Market Forecast by Regions, Type and Application (2018-2025)12 Helpdesk Outsourcing Market Dynamics13 Market Effect Factors AnalysisComplete Report:Contact Info:Name: Sameer JoshiEmail: sales@reportsweb.comCompany Name: ReportsWebWebsite: Reportsweb.comPhone: +1-646-491-9876About ReportsWeb:ReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.533, 5th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Commercial Seaweeds Market at a CAGR of 9.3% by Top Competitors (Dupont De Nemours and Company, Cargill, Incorporated, Roullier Group, Compo Gmbh & Co. Kg, Biostadt India Limited, Acadian Seaplants Limited, Brandt)

Global Commercial Seaweeds Market

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Global Commercial Seaweeds Market 2018 report gives a brief summary of definitions, applications, types and leading key players of Global Commercial Seaweeds industry. It provides complete, professional, and extensive analysis of Global Commercial Seaweeds Market. key trends, market drivers, standardization, deployment models, challenges, opportunities, circumstances and business competition design is also discussed in the report.Global Commercial Seaweeds Market report offers a comprehensive valuation of the market. It does so via in-depth comprehensions, appreciative market growth by following past developments, and analyzing the present situation and future forecasts based on progressive and likely states.Ask Free Sample Report:Global Commercial Seaweeds Market is expected to reach USD 22.32 billion by 2025, from USD 13.90 billion in 2017, growing at a CAGR of 9.3% during the forecast period of 2018 to 2025. The upcoming market report contains data for historic years 2016, the base year of calculation is 2017 and the forecast period is 2018 to 2025.Major Market Competitors/Players: Global Commercial Seaweeds Market E.I. Dupont De Nemours and Company, Cargill Incorporated, Roullier Group, Compo Gmbh & Co. Kg, Biostadt India Limited, Acadian Seaplants Limited, Brandt, CP Kelco, Gelymar, Seasol International Pvt. Ltd, Aquatic Chemicals, Algea AS, Yan Cheng, Pacific Harvest, Chase Organics GB Ltd., Mara Seaweed, CEAMSA, The Cornish Seaweed Company, Leili Group, Irish Seaweeds, Qingdao Gather Great Ocean Algae Industry Group (GGOG), Annie Chuns, Chase Organics, GimMe Health Foods, Maine Coast Sea Vegetables, Ocean Harvest Technology, Seagreens, SeaSnax, among others.Inquiry Before Buying:Competitive Analysis: Global Commercial Seaweeds MarketThe global commercial seaweeds market is highly fragmented and the major players have used various strategies such as new product launches, expansions, agreements, joint ventures, partnerships, acquisitions, and others to increase their footprints in this market. The report includes market shares of commercial seaweeds for global, Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and South America.Major Market Drivers and Restraints: Growth in applications of commercial seaweeds Increased demand of seaweeds Rising awareness of medicinal uses of seaweeds Usage of seaweed as hydrocolloid and a gelling agent High content of mercury and arsenic Rising water population due to seaweed farmingMarket Segmentation: Global Commercial Seaweeds MarketThe commercial seaweeds market is segmented on the basis of type, form and application.The market is segmented on the basis of type into brown seaweeds, red seaweeds, green seaweeds, alginate-containing seaweeds, agar-containing seaweeds, and carrageenan-containing seaweeds.The market is segmented on the basis of form into liquid, powdered and flakes.The market is segmented on the basis of application into direct food, textile, food additive, pharma & medical, paper, animal feed, fertilizer and others.Based on geography the global commercial seaweeds market report covers data points for 28 countries across multiple geographies namely North America & South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and, Middle East & Africa.Access Full Report:About Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Data Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-281Email: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com
Governance, Risk Management & Compliance (GRC) Market Key Players by 2024: IBM, SAP, SAS Institute, Microsoft, EMC, Fidelity National Information Services, Oracle, Metric Stream, Turnkey consulting

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The policy management, risk management, and audit & compliance management are the major solutions available in the market. Policy management is the governance part of the software that involves specifying, updating, communicating, publishing, and enforcing of the policy. The audit management software offers a centralized process to automate the complete the audit lifecycle. Whereas, the risk & compliance management part of the software includes processes to mitigate or minimize risks, utilize the opportunities, and check its compliance with global laws and organizational policies.Governance, Risk Management & Compliance (GRC) Market size is driven mainly by the increasing incidences of the cyber-attacks across the countries. In 2017, approximately 164% increase in the cyber security attacks across the globe has been witnessed as compared to 2016. This encourages organizations to adopt advanced risk management solutions to mitigate the risks of cyber security attacks. Furthermore, the stringent government regulations and growing need to adhere to the compliance and corporate governance standards are driving the growth of the GRC market.Request for an in-depth table of contents for this report @The rise in the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled eGRC solutions and the adoption of the software-enabled businesses & IT infrastructure are developing myriad growth opportunities for the growth of the market. However, the high installation cost of the solutions and uncertain government regulations due to uncertain regimes are restricting the growth of the GRC market.There are three main components of GRC market, governance, risk, and compliance. Governance ensures the alignment of operational activities with the organizational business goals, Risk is associated with the identification of risks involved in business activities along with its optimal solution to avoid severe consequences and Compliance makes sure that the organizational processes and activities meet the laws and regulations related to those systems.The software can be deployed in two ways: on premise or cloud based to avail its benefits. The cloud-based system is widely implemented across the organizations as it is a quick and easy way to perform operations and the cloud gives optimal reliability, security, and scalability in lower cost as compared to the on-premise system.Browse Full Research Report On Governance, Risk Management & Compliance (GRC) Market @The GRC market is also segmented into integrated, domain specific, and point solutions. The integrated solution provides an overall industrial solution to an organization. The domain specific offers solutions applicable to specific industry verticals in-line with the organizational goals. Point solutions provide are used to address the customer-specific challenges.Transportation and logistics, IT, BFSI, construction and engineering, energy and utility, government, manufacturing, and retail are some of the major end users of the GRC market. BFSI sector holds the major share due to the rising need among the financial institutes to mitigate the risk of cyber-attacks. The solutions are also used to maintain transparency in the system and provide customized services to end users.North America GRC market is leading the market followed by Europe. The growth of the market is attributed to the rising incidences of the cyber attacks in the region. Furthermore, the adoption of the big data, cloud services, and IoT technology fosters the market growth. Asia Pacific is estimated to grow substantially during the forecast timeline. The growing adoption of the cloud services in the region is driving the market growth. Furthermore, growing adoption of the solutions among the SMBs is propelling the market growth.Multinational companies are leveraging on the mergers and acquisition activities to increase their product line, customer base, and market share. For instance, in April 2018, Oracle acquired Grapeshot to strengthen its technological base and provide better services to the market. Also, IBM acquired Agile 3 Solutions in February 2017 and Promontory Financial Group in September 2016 to improvise its services in the data security and risk management segment.Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @The major market players in the GRC market are IBM, SAP, SAS Institute, Microsoft, EMC, Fidelity National Information Services, Oracle, Metric Stream, Turnkey consulting, Thomson Reuters, RSA Archer, Newport Consulting Group, BWise, and ACL. The software providers are mainly focused on the development of more intuitive and configurable platforms, offering expanded content options and better integration. For instance, in June 2018, SAP launched GRC 12.0, the latest version of the on-premise software that comes with new dashboard, monitoring, and aggregation features. Similarly, in June 2017, Turnkey Consulting, the risk management consultancy institute launched its new product, Bedrock.About Global Market Insights:Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Contact Us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb:Blog:Connect with us: Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Twitter
Cloud Security Market: Size, Share, Growth, Revenue Analysis and Global Key Players (Cisco Systems, Symantec, CA Technologies, Fortinet, Sophos, Panda Security et al) | Forecasts 2018  2025

Cloud Security Market

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Cloud Security Market 2018 Global Industry Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Cloud Security industry. This report examines the global Cloud Security market and provides information regarding the revenue for the period 2018 to 2025. It further elaborates the market drivers which contribute to the growth. It then describes the restraints that are faced by the market. Additionally, this report gives Cloud Security Market size, trends, share, growth, cost structure and drivers analysis.Get Sample Copy of this Report atThe Global Cloud Security market 2018 research provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Global Cloud Security market analysis is provided for the international markets including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status. Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand Figures, cost, price, revenue and gross margins.Complete report on Global Cloud Security Industry 2018 Market Research Report is spread across 140 pages and provides exclusive vital statistics, data, information, trends and competitive landscape details in this niche sector. Inquire more or share questions if any on this report @Analysis of Cloud Security Industry Key Manufacturers: Cisco Systems, Symantec, CA Technologies, Fortinet, Sophos, Panda Security, Zscaler, McAfee, Symplified et al.Key segments covered in this report:Geography segment, end use/application segment and competitor segment. The key countries in each region are taken into consideration as well, such as United States, China, Japan, India, Korea, ASEAN, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Spain, CIS, and Brazil etc. For end use/application segment, this report focuses on the status and outlook for key applications. End users also can be listed.With tables and figures helping analyze worldwide Global Cloud Security market, this research provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.For competitor segment, the report includes global key players of Cloud Security Market as well as some small players. The information for each competitor includes: Company Profile Main Business Information SWOT Analysis Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin Market ShareMajor chapters covered in Cloud Security Market Research are:Chapter 1 Executive SummaryChapter 2 Abbreviation and AcronymsChapter 3 PrefaceChapter 4 Market LandscapeChapter 5 Market Trend AnalysisChapter 6 Industry Chain AnalysisChapter 7 Latest Market DynamicsChapter 8 Trading AnalysisChapter 9 Historical and Current Cloud Security Market in North America (2013-2018)Chapter 10 Historical and Current Cloud Security Market in South America (2013-2018)Chapter 11 Historical and Current Cloud Security Market in Asia & Pacific (2013-2018)Chapter 12 Historical and Current Cloud Security Market in Europe (2013-2018)Chapter 13 Historical and Current Cloud Security Market in MEA (2013-2018)Chapter 14 Summary for Global Cloud Security Market (2013-2018)Chapter 15 Global Cloud Security Market Forecast (2019-2023)Chapter 16 Company ProfilePurchase Direct Copy atFew Points from List of Tables and Figures:Table Abbreviation and Acronyms ListTable Research Scope of Cloud Security reportTable Primary Sources of Cloud Security reportTable Secondary Sources of Cloud Security reportTable Major Assumptions of Cloud Security reportTable Cloud Security ClassificationTable Cloud Security Applications ListTable Drivers of Cloud Security MarketTable Restraints of Cloud Security MarketTable Opportunities of Cloud Security MarketTable Threats of Cloud Security MarketTable Key Raw Material of Cloud Security and Its SuppliersTable Key Technologies of Cloud SecurityTable Cost Structure of Cloud SecurityTable Market Channel of Cloud SecurityTable Cloud Security Application and Key End Users ListTable Latest News of Cloud Security industryTable Recently Merger and Acquisition List of Cloud Security industryTable Recently Planned/Future Project List of Cloud Security industryContinuedAbout UsOrian Research is one of the most comprehensive collections of market intelligence reports on the World Wide Web. Our reports repository boasts of over 500000+ industry and country research reports from over 100 top publishers. We continuously update our repository so as to provide our clients easy access to the worlds most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, and products. We also specialize in custom research in situations where our syndicate research offerings do not meet the specific requirements of our esteemed clients.Contact UsRuwin MendezVice President  Global Sales & Partner RelationsOrian Research ConsultantsUS: +1 (832) 380-8827 | UK: +44 0161-818-8027Email: info@orianresearch.comWebsite:Follow Us on LinkedIn:
Mobile Front Hauls Market Key Players - Nokia Corporation, OE Solutions, InnoLight Technology Corporation by Forecast to 2022

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Market Scenario:The global mobile front haul market is projected to grow at a steady rate and capture a moderate CAGR over the forecast period of 2016-2022, reveals a research report by Market Research Future (MRFR). Colossal amounts of mobile data generated per day lead to mobile traffic load and mobile front haul is an emerging mobile architecture which addresses the growing challenge of transportation of mobile loads.The Mobile Front Haul Market has gained immense popularity in recent years, and the growth in the market can be attributed to the deployment of 4G and 5G mobile networks. High-end 4G and 5G networks require broader bandwidth which necessitates front haul requirements to deliver high-speed internet. Switching from traditional technologies to mobile front haul technology offers the benefit of reduced deployment and maintenance cost which is a key driver of the market. Mobile front haul provides further advantages of simplification of mobile management and better-optimized backhauls.Additionally, the growing use of smartphones and benefits of low-cost power consumption offered by mobile front haul boosts the market growth. Capital expenditure by service providers on mobile front haul technologies to reduce the burden on existing radio base stations have also resulted in the increase of mobile front haul market. Rising R&D activities to develop the front haul architecture system and rising government funding and support across the globe augment the market growth. Mobile front-haul network protocols are subject to strict requirements which are latency sensitive and might restrict the growth of the market. Moreover, Mobile front haul networks are very complicated, and the networking options are limited. However, lack of technical know-how and complexities arising out of the network architecture are restraining the growth of the market. The emergence of the 5G network provides lucrative growth opportunities for market expansion in the future.Request a Sample Report @Competitive Landscape:The global mobile front haul market is highly competitive and is characterized by the presence of many established players. The market participants are competing based on price, technology, and services and are committed to delivering state-of-the-art services. The key players functioning in the market include Accelink Technologies Co.ltd. (China), Nokia Corporation (Finland), Finisar Corporation (U.S.), InnoLight Technology corporation (China), MACOM Technologies (U.S.), E-blink SA (France), OE Solutions (U.S.), and Eoptolink Technologies Inc. (China) among others.Segmentation:The global mobile front haul market has been segmented based on type, network, and end-users. By type, the market has been segmented into centralized RAN and Cloud-RAN (C-RAN).By network, the market has been segmented into Passive WDM, Semi-passive WDM, active WDM and optical transmission network among others. By end-users, the market has been segmented into Telecommunications, Networking, Government, and Enterprises among others.Regional Analysis:The principal markets of the global mobile front haul market include the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East & Africa. North America is dominating the mobile front haul market due to high technological adoption rate in the region.The market in Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at a considerable rate over the forecast period owing to rising investments in R&D activities in the region. The Europe market possesses significant growth opportunities while the Middle East & Africa market is also likely to grow moderately.Browse Full Report Details @Industry Updates: In June 2018, a European research project demonstrated an Ethernet-based front haul solution that can achieve high data rates expected for 5G network. The trial was carried out by UK's University of Kent. At a recent broadband forum meeting in June 2018, NTT demonstrated how splitting up PON functions can enable 5G front haul. The demo was held in Osaka, Japan.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Market Research FutureOffice No. 524/528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Global Connected Health Market: Leading Countries, Drivers, Opportunities, Challenges, Types, Applications, Revenue, Companies & Dynamics and Trends Strategies and Forecast till 2022

Connected Health Market

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Connected healthcare solutions consolidate information from many different spheres of a person's world to give a more complete picture of their health that includes biological, genetic, medical, lifestyle and sentiment/mood data. These solutions put the patient at the centre of the healthcare system gathering, linking and interpreting information from many different sources to enable informed, patient-centred care decisions.The Global Connected Health Market Estimated to grow at a CAGR of +30% during forecast period.Get Sample Copy of this Report@:The report on Global Connected Health Market delivers comprehensive overview of the global market along with the market elements such as market drivers, market trends, challenges and restraints. Our analysts have done thorough analysis of all the major elements to define the future prospect of Global Market.Top Companies Profiled in this Report includes Allscripts, Apple, Athena health, GE Healthcare, Philips Healthcare, Aero Scout, Abbott, Agfa-Gevaert, Alcatel-Lucent, Cardio Net, Epic Systems, Evolent Health, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Google, Honeywell Life Care Solutions, HP, Huawei, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, Microsoft.After studying key companies, the report focuses on the startups contributing towards the growth of the market. Possible mergers and acquisitions among the startups and key organizations are identified by the report's authors in the study. As leading companies take efforts to maintain their dominance in the global Connected Health market, the right way to do so is by adopting new technologies and strategies. The report highlights major technological developments and changing trends adopted by key companies over a period of time. For a stronger and more stable business outlook, the report on the global market carries key projections that can be practically studied.Get Reasonable Discount on this Premium Report @:Connected Health market is segmented on the basis of various parameters. The factors which are impacting the markets growth are studied in detail. The report also presents a overall weaknesses which companies operating in the market must avoid in order to enjoy sustainable growth through the course of the forecast period. Besides this, profiles of some of the leading players operating and encouraging in the growth of the global market are included in the study. Additionally, using SWOT analysis, markets weaknesses and strengths are analyzed. It also helps the report provide insights into the opportunities and threats that these companies may face during the forecast period.Table of ContentsGlobal Connected Health Market Research ReportChapter 1 Connected Health Market OverviewChapter 2 Global Economic Impact on IndustryChapter 3 Global Market Competition by ManufacturersChapter 4 Global Production, Revenue (Value) by RegionChapter 5 Global Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by RegionsChapter 6 Global Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7 Global Market Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8 Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 11 Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter 12 Global Connected Health Market ForecastFor More Information:About QYReports:We at, QYReports, a leading market research report publisher accommodate more than 4,000 celebrated clients worldwide putting them at advantage in todays competitive world with our understanding of research. Our list of customers includes prestigious Chinese companies, multinational companies, SME's and private equity firms whom we have helped grow and sustain with our fact-based research. Our business study covers a market size of over 30 industries offering unfailing insights into analysis to reimagine your business. We specialize in forecasts needed for investing in a new project, to revolutionize your business, to become more customer centric and improve the quality of output.The Work Lab,FC Road, Pune, MH, India411016
Smart Camera Market 2018  2022 Global Key Leaders: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Panasonic Corporation, Olympus Corporation, Canon Inc, Micro-scan Systems, Inc

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Smart Camera Market Overview:The global smart cameras market has seen substantial growth over the years and is expected to grow steadily over the forecast period of 2016-2022, reveals a study by Market Research Future (MRFR). Smart cameras have been gaining in market penetration in surveillance and machine vision industries. Smart cameras can perform tasks beyond just recording videos such as motion detection, recognize the human behavior, read vehicle number plates and much more owing to which they find intensive application in automated control systems.The growth in the Smart Cameras Market can be attributed to the growing use of smart cameras in video surveillance of residential buildings and commercial offices due to rising concerns for safety and security. Smart cameras are also being deployed in smart homes for home monitoring which spurs the growth of the market. Application of smart cameras in bar code reading is widespread and offers opportunities for growth of the market. Advancements in the smart camera technology such as 3D vision are likely to boost the market for smart cameras. Growing use of smart cameras in machine vision applications has increased considerably over the years which is a major driver of the market.Additionally, usage of smart cameras for automated system controls in various industry verticals such as automotive, chemical, pharmaceuticals and food & beverage also adds fuel to the growth of the market. Regulations mandating installation of security and surveillance systems in commercial areas have also reflected positively on the market. Despite the growing popularity of smart cameras, the market growth might be hindered by various factors. High price due to product premiumization is likely to restrict the adoption of smart cameras. Smart cameras are less flexible compared to conventional cameras and offer limited user interface.Request a Sample Report @Competitive Landscape:The global smart cameras market is highly competitive with the presence of some established players. The key players are indulging in various strategic activities such as mergers and acquisitions, partnerships, product launches, innovation, etc. to sustain their market position.The key players functioning in the global smart cameras market include Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (South Korea), Bosch security systems, Inc. (Germany), Nikon Corporation (Japan), Panasonic Corporation (Japan), Olympus Corporation (Japan), Watec Cameras Inc. (Japan), Sony Corporation (Japan), Canon Inc. (Japan), Flir Systems, Inc. (U.S.), Raptor Photonics Ltd. (U.K.), Polaroid Corporation (U.S.).Segmentation:The global smart cameras market has been segmented based on type, component, technology, and applications. By type, the market has been segmented into Stand-alone, Single-chip, Embedded system, and PC & network-based smart cameras among others. By component, the market has been segmented into Display, Image sensors, Processors, Lens, and communication interface among others. By technology, the market has been segmented into sensor (CMOS, CCD), and Scanning (area scan, Line scan) among others. By applications, the market has been segmented into Video surveillance, Industrial, Transportation, Automobiles, and Medical among others.Regional Analysis:The key markets of the global smart cameras market include North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Rest of the World. The Asia-Pacific market for smart cameras is expected to remain dominant over the forecast period owing to the presence of major players in the region. Moreover, the establishment of manufacturing industries and growing infrastructural activities in the region augment the growth of the market.Browse Full Report Details @Industry Updates: In July 2018, Reolink launched a smart camera which is wire-free and can also be recharged via solar panels. The versatile smart camera would ensure better security and clearer, sharper images while being affordable. In June 2018, Ooma, Inc., a platform for smart communications, announced the launch of a smart video security camera which includes advanced features such as facial recognition, and offline recording to the Canadian market. Named Ooma Butterfleye, is the latest offering by the company and is equipped with high-end sensors.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Market Research FutureOffice No. 524/528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Glycinates Market by Top Vendors Analysis (BASF, Solvay, Ajinomoto, Clariant, Albion Laboratories, Shijiazhuang Donghua Jinlong Chemical, Galaxy Surfactants, Novotech Nutraceuticals)

Global Glycinates Market

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Global Glycinates Market 2018 report gives a brief summary of definitions, applications, types and leading key players of Global Glycinates industry. It provides complete, professional, and extensive analysis of Global Glycinates Market. key trends, market drivers, standardization, deployment models, challenges, opportunities, circumstances and business competition design is also discussed in the report.Global Glycinates Market report offers a comprehensive valuation of the market. It does so via in-depth comprehensions, appreciative market growth by following past developments, and analyzing the present situation and future forecasts based on progressive and likely states.Get Free Report Sample @Global Glycinates Market is expected to reach USD 1470.98 billion by 2025, from USD 929.91 billion in 2017 growing at a CAGR of 5.9% during the forecast period of 2018 to 2025. The upcoming market report contains data for historic years 2015 & 2016, the base year of calculation is 2017 and the forecast period is 2018 to 2025.Major Market Competitors/Players:Some of the major players operating in the global glycinates market are BASF, Solvay, Ajinomoto, Clariant, Albion Laboratories, Shijiazhuang Donghua Jinlong Chemical, Galaxy Surfactants, Novotech Nutraceuticals, Schaumann, Dunstan Nutrition, Aliphos, Chaitanya Chemicals Provit, Shanghai Greenearth Chemicals Co. Ltd., Pinnacle Bioceuticals LLP and Glenmark Generics Ltd., PerfectIn PTFE Solution CO. LTD., China Skyrun Industrial CO. LTD., Guangzhou Quanto Chemical Co. Ltd. and BALAJIAMINES LTD., Purina Animal Nutrition and ForFarmers NV, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Dunstan Nutrition, Solvay, Schaumann, Clariant, Albion Laboratories, Galaxy Surfactants, Aliphos, Chaitanya Chemicals, Provit (Poland), and Novotech Nutraceuticals among others.Inquiry Before Buying@Major Market Drivers and Restraints: Rising demand from supplements & preventive healthcare products sectors Growth of feed & personal care industries Increasing awareness about precision nutrition techniques Mineral deficiency among consumers High R&D costsMarket Segmentation: The global glycinates market is segmented based on form, type, application and geographical segments. Based on type, the global glycinates market is segmented into magnesium glycinate, zinc glycinate, calcium glycinate, copper glycinate, manganese glycinate, sodium glycinate and others. On the basis of form, the global glycinates market is classified into dry and liquid. On the basis of application, the global glycinates market is classified into pharmaceuticals/nutraceuticals, food additives, feed additives, personal care products and others. Based on geography, the global glycinates market report covers data points for 28 countries across multiple geographies namely North America & South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and, Middle East & Africa. Some of the major countries covered in this report are U.S., Canada, Germany, France, U.K., Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, China, India, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and, Brazil among others.Competitive Analysis:The global glycinates market is highly fragmented and the major players have used various strategies such as new product launches, expansions, agreements, joint ventures, partnerships, acquisitions, and others to increase their footprints in this market. The report includes market shares of glycinates market for global, Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and South America.Access Full Report @About Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Data Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-281Email: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com
Guar Gum Market by Top Competitors Analysis (Cargill, Incorporated, DuPont, The INGREDION, Ashland, Vikas WSP Limited, Hindustan Gum & Chemicals Ltd., Dabur, India Glycols Limited, Neelkanth Polymers, Lucid Group.)

Global Guar Gum Market

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Global Guar Gum Market 2018 report gives a brief summary of definitions, applications, types and leading key players of Global Guar Gum industry. It provides complete, professional, and extensive analysis of Global Guar Gum Market. key trends, market drivers, standardization, deployment models, challenges, opportunities, circumstances and business competition design is also discussed in the report.Global Guar Gum Market report offers a comprehensive valuation of the market. It does so via in-depth comprehensions, appreciative market growth by following past developments, and analyzing the present situation and future forecasts based on progressive and likely states.Get Free Sample Report Copy@Global Guar Gum Market is expected to reach USD 1417.3Million by 2025, from USD 806.8 Million in 2017 growing at a CAGR of 8.3% during the forecast period of 2018 to 2025. The upcoming market report contains data for historic year 2016, the base year of calculation is 2017 and the forecast period is 2018 to 2025.Major Market Competitors/Players: Cargill, Incorporated, DuPont, The INGREDION, Ashland, Vikas WSP Limited, Hindustan Gum & Chemicals Ltd., Dabur, India Glycols Limited, Neelkanth Polymers, Lucid Group., Global Gums Chemicals, Guangrao Liuhe Chemical Co. Ltd., Jai Bharat Gum & Chemicals LTD., Altrafine Gums, Supreme Gums Pvt. Ltd., Ruchi Soya Industries Limited, rama gum industries limited, Lamberti S.p.A., Nutriroma, AEP Colloids, Shree India Sino, Penford Corporation, TIC Gums Inc.Any query? Talk to Analyst:Major Market Drivers: Increasing demand for guar gum in the oil & gas industry. Increasing applications of guar gum due to its multifunctional properties. Increased consumption of convenience food.Market Segmentation: Global Guar Gum MarketThe global guar gum market is segmented based on:- Grade, Function, and Application.On the basis of grade global guar gum market is segmented into:- food-grade, Industrial-grade, and Paper, Mining, Explosive, Oil and Gas. Pharmaceutical-grade. Drugs, Cosmetics and others.On the basis of Function global guar gum market is segmented into:- Thickening, Gelling, Binding, Friction Reducing, Emulsifier, Flocculent, Preservation Agent, others.On the basis of Application global guar gum market is segmented into:- Oil & Gas, Food & Beverages Miningo Bakery &o Confectionery Products Dairy &o Frozen Products Beverages Sauces &o Dressings others.Based on geography the global guar gum market report covers data points for 28 countries across multiple geographies namely:- North America & South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and, Middle East & Africa.Competitive Analysis: Global Guar Gum MarketThe global guar gum market is highly fragmented and the major players have used various strategies such as new product launches, expansions, agreements, joint ventures, partnerships, acquisitions, and others to increase their footprints in this market. The report includes market shares of global guar gum market for global, Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and South America.Access Full Report@About Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Data Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com
Clean Label Ingredients Market Global Leader Key Vendors, Top Manufacturer, Leading Players | Archer Daniels Midland Company, Ingredion Incorporated, Cargill Inc. Sensient Technologies Corporation, Etc.

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Clean Label Ingredients Market Overview:Clean label ingredients refer to natural ingredients with no artificial ingredients and chemicals. It is a consumer-driven movement demanding a return to real food and transparency through authenticity. Consumers are highly influenced by being aware of ingredients used in the food they consume which is driving the clean label ingredients market globally. The type of clean label ingredients includes emulsifiers, stabilizer, and thickeners (EST), flavor, preservatives, colorants, and others. They are applicable in various industries including bakery & confectionery, dairy & frozen desserts, beverages, oils & fats, snacks, meat products, and others.The global clean label ingredients market is increasing due to increased demand for clean label products in developed countries. Growing health concerns among the global population, together with the increasing awareness about the benefits of consuming clean label ingredients are the key driving factors for the growth of clean label ingredients market. In addition to the changing lifestyle, the growing demand for food, beverages, confectionery, and others is expected to drive the global clean label ingredients market.Receive a Sample Report@Key Players:Some of the key players profiled in the global clean label ingredients market: Cargill Inc. (U.S.), Archer Daniels Midland Company (U.S.), Koninklijke DSM N.V. (The Netherlands), Kerry Group PLC. (Republic of Ireland), Ingredion Incorporated (U.S.), Tate & Lyle PLC (U.K), Chr. Hansen A/S (Denmark), DuPont (U.S.), Sensient Technologies Corporation (U.S.), Corbion N.V. (The Netherlands)Key Findings:Growing food & beverage industry is the reason for growing demand for clean label ingredientsNew product launches in food & beverage industry are highly inclined towards clean label ingredientsIntended Audience:Clean label ingredients manufacturersBakery industryDairy industryMeat processorsBeverage industryTraders, importers, and exportersSegments:Clean label ingredients market is segmented on the basis of type, which includes emulsifier, stabilizer, and thickeners (EST), colorants, flavor, preservatives, and others. Among them, the preservative is the most common type focused on clean label owing to harmful effects caused due to an overdose of artificial preservatives. Moreover, the rising demand for low-fat alternatives in processed food and beverages is likely to surge the demand for natural emulsifiers, stabilizers, and thickeners over the review period.On the basis of the form, the clean label ingredients market is segmented into dry, liquid and others. Among them, the dry segment is witnessed to gain a potential growth over the forecast period.On the basis of application, clean label ingredients market is segmented into beverages, bakery & confectionery, sweet and savory snacks, dairy & frozen desserts, oils and fats, and others. The bakery & confectionery segment is dominating the market owing to the high use of food additives in bakery & confectionary products for its stability and increased shelf-life.Regional Analysis:The global clean label ingredients market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and rest of the world (RoW). Europe is dominating the global clean label ingredients market followed by North America. The U.K, Germany, and France are the major contributors in Europe for the clean label ingredients market. In North America, the U.S. has been accounted for a higher consumption of clean label ingredients owing to increasing awareness. Additionally, consumption of healthy products with enhanced shelf-life is considered to be the key driving factor in this region.Asia Pacific is witnessed to gain a potential growth over the forecast period owing to increasing consumer awareness and high inclination towards healthy products. Moreover, growing food and beverage industry in this region is a supportive factor for the growth of clean label ingredients market. The governments support in various regions followed by the high focus of food & beverage manufacturers in clean label ingredients will propel the growth of the market in rest of the world.Access Complete Report @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.ContactMarket Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
New Market Research Report of Global Wood Preservative Coatings Market : 2017-2027 : Attractiveness, Analysis and Key Players- HMG Paints Limited, Bergolin GmbH & Company KG, Chugoku Marine Paints, Ltd.

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Wood Preservative Coatings Market: APEJ Anticipated to Emerge as the Most Attractive Regional Market in Terms of CAGR and Market Share During the Forecast Period: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2017-2027" to its huge collection of research reports.About This ReportWood preservative coatings manufacturers and wood working manufacturers work closely to cater to the increasing demand for protective coatings from end users such as construction and furniture industries. Wood preservative coatings manufacturers are vertically integrated  either backward integration or forward integration. An emerging trend in the global wood preservative coatings market is a shift from solvent-borne to water-borne coatings. The strict regulations for VOCs and other HAPs is a major force for the adoption of water-borne type of coatings. Our analysts have examined the global wood preservative coatings market in detail and have published the key findings in a new report titled Wood Preservative Coatings Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2017-2027.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @During our research, we have observed that the wood preservative coatings market in the APEJ region accounts for a relatively high revenue share and is anticipated to witness rapid growth over the forecast period due to the favourable manufacturing conditions and vast opportunities in the region. It has also been observed that companies can capitalise on opportunities in Asia Pacific by offering cost-effective and high solids type of wood coatings. In the Asian region, new entrants in the market should focus on offering wood preservative coatings with higher flexibility across various applications, as this can offer them an advantage over the existing players.While studying the different market segments we have found that solvent-borne coatings currently dominate the wood preservative coatings market because of their technical advantages; however, the preservatives segment is likely to dominate the market both in terms of value and volume in the coming years owing to its importance in protecting wood from decay besides offering interior and exterior protection. Among the end-use segments, the furniture industry consumes more than one-third of wood preservative coatings and is expected to remain dominant over the period of forecast.Analysis of various factors impacting the Global Wood Preservative Coatings MarketRise in construction: Global wood preservative coatings market will grow with a rise in demand for housing and commercial projectsSafeguarding forestry, plantation of monocultures and mixed cultures: Dense forestry and organised production of lumber influences wood preservative coatings sales volumeFurniture industry: Growth of furniture industry is indirectly proportional to wood preservative coatings market revenuePlastics as substitute to wood: Cost-effective solutions offered by plastic products influences the wood preservative coatings marketView Complete TOC with tables & Figures @Rise in sustainable wood coatings: Rise in eco products adoption increases the demand for wood preservative coatingsRaw material supply: Fluctuations in raw material prices affects the wood preservative coatings marketRegional recession and economic issues: Fall in economic conditions creates imbalance in the trade, which also affects the sales of wood preservative coatingsRise in custom wood products: Rise in customisation and protective measures for wood products impacts the wood preservative coatings marketCompany share analysisThe global wood preservative coatings market is highly fragmented. Akzo Nobel N.V., BASF SE and The Dow Chemical Company constitute a major share in the global wood preservative coatings market together contributing more than 30% value share. Companies such as The Sherwin-Williams Company, PPG Industries, Inc. and Valspar Corporation contribute around 21% share to the global wood preservative coatings market. Other local and regional players such as HMG Paints Limited, Bergolin GmbH & Company KG, Chugoku Marine Paints, Ltd., Morrells Wood Finishes etc. hold around 30% market share.Research MethodologyWe have taken a systematic research approach while inspecting this market. In-depth secondary research is used to arrive at overall market size, top industry players, top products and industry associations. Our analysts have formulated a detailed discussion guide in order to conduct expert and industry interviews with experts, industry players, distributors and retailers. Data is validated using the triangulation method, wherein primary and secondary research data along with Future Market Insights analysis contribute to the final data. Market analysis has been done in terms of Basis Point Share and Y-o-Y growth projections for all segments of the global wood preservative coatings market.Browse Report @Market attractiveness analysis and market size and value of each segment has been incorporated in the report. Factors such as production capacity, consumption capacity, wood coatings market industry growth and wood preservative coatings market industry growth have been considered while examining this market. For each system type, weighted average selling price (ASP) has been considered to deduce market values. Average selling price varies by system type and is varied for Chinese, regional and global players. Top-down approach has been used to assess market numbers for each category, while bottom-up approach has been used to counter validate the market estimations.Table Of Content1. Wood Preservative Coatings Market  Executive Summary2. Wood Preservative Coatings Market: Introduction2.1. Global Wood Preservative Coatings Market: Taxonomy2.2. Global Wood Preservative Coatings Market: Definition2.3. Global Wood Preservative Coatings Market: Parent Market Overview2.4. Global Wood Preservative Coatings Market: Forecast Factors3. North America Market Analysis3.1. Introduction3.1.1. Market Value (US$ Mn) & Volume (Tons) Analysis Snapshot3.1.2. Pricing Analysis3.2. Market Dynamics3.2.1. Drivers3.2.2. Restraints3.2.3. Trends3.3. North America Market Value (US$ Mn) & Volume (Tons) Analysis & Forecast3.3.1. Basis Point Share (BPS) Analysis,3.3.2. Y-o-Y Growth Analysis3.3.3. Absolute $ Opportunity3.4. North America Market Value (US$ Mn) & Volume (Tons) Analysis & Forecast, By Country3.4.1. U.SAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.For More Information Kindly Contact:ResearchMozMr. Nachiket Ghumare,Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn @Follow me on Blogger at:
Biotherapeutics Cell Line Development Market Set to Witness Growth 2018  2025 | Global Key Companys Becton Dickinson,Beckman Coulter, Boehringer Ingelheim Group,Catalent Inc. , MC Biologics A/S, Lonza Group Ltd

Biotherapeutics Cell Line Development Market 2018

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Biotherapeutics Cell Line Development Market Research Report provides a detailed Global Identity Management Software Industry overview along with the analysis of industrys gross margin, cost structure, consumption value, and sale price. The leading companies of the Global Identity Management Software Market, manufacturers, and distributors are profiled in the report along with the latest Industry development current and future trends.Get Sample Copy of this Report -Biotherapeutics Cell Line Development market 2018 research provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Global Biotherapeutics Cell Line Development market analysis is provided for the international markets including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status. Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand Figures, cost, price, revenue and gross margins.Complete report on Global Biotherapeutics Cell Line Development 2018 Market Research Report is spread across 97 pages and provides exclusive vital statistics, data, information, trends and competitive landscape details in this niche sector. Inquire more or share questions if any on this report @Global Biotherapeutics Cell Line Development market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the TOP PLAYERS including Becton Dickinson & Company Beckman Coulter Boehringer Ingelheim Group Catalent Inc. CMC Biologics A/S Lonza Group Ltd. The report also focuses on global major leading industry players of Global Biotherapeutics Cell Line Development market providing information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also carried out. The Global Biotherapeutics Cell Line Development market development trends and marketing channels are analyzed. Finally the feasibility of new investment projects are assessed and overall research conclusions offered.With tables and figures helping analyze worldwide Global Biotherapeutics Cell Line Development market, this research provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Order a copy of Global Biotherapeutics Cell Line Development Market Report 2018 @On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into Transfection & Selection Single Cell CloningOn the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, including In-house Outsource Hybrid Do-It-Yourself (DIY)Table of Contents:Global Biotherapeutics Cell Line Development Market Research Report 20181. Global Biotherapeutics Cell Line Development Market Overview2. Global Biotherapeutics Cell Line Development Market Competition by Manufacturers3. Global Biotherapeutics Cell Line Development Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2013-2018)4 .Global Biotherapeutics Cell Line Development Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2013-2018)5. Global Biotherapeutics Cell Line Development Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type6. Global Biotherapeutics Cell Line Development Market Analysis by Application7. Global Biotherapeutics Cell Line Development Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis8. Global Biotherapeutics Cell Line Development Market Manufacturing Cost Analysis9. Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers10. Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders11. Market Effect Factors Analysis12. Global Biotherapeutics Cell Line Development Market Forecast (2018-2025)13. Research Findings and Conclusion14. AppendixAuthor ListDisclosure SectionResearch MethodologyData SourceAbout Us:Orian Research is one of the most comprehensive collections of market intelligence reports on the World Wide Web. Our reports repository boasts of over 500000+ industry and country research reports from over 100 top publishers. We continuously update our repository so as to provide our clients easy access to the world's most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, and products. We also specialize in custom research in situations where our syndicate research offerings do not meet the specific requirements of our esteemed clients.Contact Us:Ruwin MendezVice President  Global Sales & Partner RelationsOrian Research ConsultantsUS: +1 (832) 380-8827 | UK: +44 0161-818-8027Email: info@orianresearch.comWebsite:Follow Us on LinkedIn:
Plasma Cutting Machine Market global Industry Analysis 2017-2025 : C&G Systems, HACO, SICK, MultiCam, Kjellberg Finsterwalde, Hornet Cutting Systems

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Global Plasma Cutting Machine Market: SnapshotA plasma cutting machine mainly makes use of an electrically conductive gas to transfer energy from a power supply to any other conductive material, thus resulting in a cleaner and faster cutting process than any other oxyfuel.The cutting system mainly works by formation of a plasma arc when a gas such as nitrogen, oxygen, argon, or even air is made to go through small nozzle inside a torch. An electric arc is formed from the external power supply used to generate enough energy, which is then introduced to a high pressure gas flow. This flow is what we commonly call the plasma jet. This jet reaches temperatures off about 40,000 degrees Fahrenheit. After reaching up to such a high temperature, the flow can easily penetrate through most materials, by blowing away the molten material.As such cutting operations provide a lot of ease when carried out with the help of plasma technology, these processes are widely used all over the world, thus constituting a distinct plasma cutting machine market. Plasma cutting systems comprise three major portions, viz. the power supply, the arc starting console, and the plasma torch.The power supply converts a single or three phase AC line voltage into a smooth and constant DC voltage that may differ from machine to machine. This voltage is mainly needed for keeping the plasma arc steady throughout the cutting process. The arc starting console produces AC voltage that can form a spark inside the plasma torch to create the plasma arc. And the plasma torch mainly provides proper alignment and cooling of the consumables. Major consumable parts needed for plasma arc generation are the swirl ring, electrode, and the nozzle. In some machines, a shielding cap may also be used to enhance quality of cutting processes. All the parts may be held together by inner and outer retaining caps too.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Global Plasma Cutting Machine Market: OverviewOver the past few years, the global market for plasma cutting machine has been witnessing a commendable rise. Industry experts anticipate that this market will continue to experience a phase of positive growth in the near future, thanks to the increasing trend of automation.This research study on the global plasma cutting machine presents a detailed and unbiased assessment of this market on the basis of its previous and current performance. Researchers have also examined the most prominent trends and the growth prospects of this market in order to predict its future status in this market study.Global Plasma Cutting Machine Market: Key TrendsThe current trend in the global automated plasma cutting machine is automated plasma cutting machines, which are highly efficient in increasing the productivity and profit of most businesses. Another key trend in this market is the incorporation of biochemistry with plasma cutting. Both the trends are likely to support the growth of this market, substantially, in the years to come.Request TOC of the Report @Global Plasma Cutting Machine Market: Market PotentialThe uptake of plasma cutting machines has gained significant traction in the recent times, thanks to their consistency in delivering across a wide array of operating temperatures and with clean cuts and negligible dross. However, the complex operability of plasma cutting machines may emerge as a challenge in the near future, inhibiting its uptake. The dearth of skilled professionals, high cost incurred in maintenance, and limited application scope are also expected to act as deterrents for the growth of this market over the forthcoming years.Nevertheless, the market is anticipated to gain substantially from the geographical expansions of established market participants over the next few years. The frequent introduction of new and innovative products is also predicted to boost the growth of this market in the near future.Global Plasma Cutting Machine Market: Regional OutlookNorth America, Asia Pacific (APAC), Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa (MEA) are considered as the key regional markets for plasma cutting machines. Asia Pacific, among all, has been dominating the global market, thanks to the increasing investments by a number of leading players, looking to cash on the untapped opportunities this region holds. The continual rise in various end-use sectors, such as automotive, defense, aerospace, industrial machinery, and electrical equipment, in Asia Pacific is likely to support this regional market in the forthcoming years.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Compound Feed Market 2018 Flourishes with International Prestigious Players | Farmers Group, Cargill Inc., Land O'Lakes, Inc., New Hope Group Co., Ltd., Kent Nutrition Group, Inc., Nutreco N.V, Etc.

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Market Definition:Compound feed market is observing an exponential growth based on its high usage in the feed industry. They offer additional nutrients such as minerals, antioxidants, amino acids, and vitamins to the animal feed. They are used for improving the feed quality and animal health by reducing livestock diseases. The major types of compound feed include starter, grower, and finisher feed.Increasing demand for high nutrition animal feed products is driving the growth of the compound feed market. Furthermore, advance processing methods & technologies, and high opportunities in developing countries are positively supporting the growth of the market. With the growing consumer awareness regarding livestock health, growing concerns about animal nutrition and their healthy eating habits, the demand for compound feed has increased to a greater extent.Receive a Sample Report @Market Scenario:However, the high cost of processing and raw materials may hamper the compound feed market over the review period. The market players are responding to these new opportunities by expanding their product lines, which has boosted the share of the compound feed in the global market. The global compound feed market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.1% during the forecast period, 2017-2023.Key Players:Some of the key players profiled in the global compound feed market: Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (U.S.), Farmers Group, Inc. (U.S.), Cargill Inc. (U.S.), Land O'Lakes, Inc. (U.S.), New Hope Group Co., Ltd. (China), Kent Nutrition Group, Inc. (U.S.), Nutreco N.V. (the Netherlands), Guangdong Haid Group Co., Ltd. (China), Feedone Co., Ltd. (Japan), and JD Heiskell & Co Inc. (U.S.)Key Findings:The demand for compound feed is high from poultry and livestock holdersAsia Pacific region is found to be an emerging market for compound feedJun 2017, Biomin has launched its innovative, next-generation phytogenic feed additive, Digestarom DC, to the Indian feed and livestock.Regional Analysis:The global compound feed market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and rest of the world (RoW). The Asia Pacific region is dominating the compound feed market followed by North America owing to rising population followed by increasing consumption of poultry and meat products in the developing regions. Moreover, China is the major producer & consumer of poultry and meat products, which, in turn, is driving the market of compound feed in the Asia Pacific region.The U.S. dominates the North American compound feed market. Rising demand for poultry products in the North American region is likely to boost the compound feed market over the forecast period.Access Complete Report @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.ContactMarket Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Educational Travel Market: How It Is Going To Impact On Global Industry To Grow In Near Future And Top Key Vendors like NST TRAVEL GROUP LTD, WORLD CHALLENGE EXPEDITIONS LTD and CONTIKI (U.K.) HOLDINGS LTD

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Market Research and business development company specializing in the global youth, student and educational travel market. The company provides comprehensive insights on global student mobility patterns and market trends and helps organizations to succeed in the international youth travel market.Though frequently associated with personal reflections on study abroad experiences, including the numerous student blogs that publish pieces from foreign countries. In more general terms, however, educational travel writing can touch on any experience overseas that involves learning. Whether it is volunteering, working, interning or intensive language study, all these can fall under the educational travel writing umbrella.Get Sample Copy of this report:Top Key Vendors: NST TRAVEL GROUP LTD, WORLD CHALLENGE EXPEDITIONS LTD and CONTIKI (U.K.) HOLDINGS LTDThe main goal for the dissemination of this information is to give a descriptive analysis of how the trends could potentially affect the upcoming future of Educational Travel market during the forecast period. This markets competitive manufactures and the upcoming manufactures are studied with their detailed research. Revenue, production, price, market share of these players is mentioned with precise information.The Educational Travel market is also explained to the clients as a holistic snapshot of a competitive landscape within the given competitive forecast period. A comparative analysis of regional players and segmentations, which helps readers get a better understanding of the areas and resources with better understanding.To get more information, Ask for Sample PDF illustration with TOC, Tables, Figures and Charts @Table Of Content:Chapter 1 Industry Overview of Educational Travel MarketChapter 2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Educational Travel MarketChapter 3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Educational Travel MarketChapter 4 Global Educational Travel Overall Market OverviewChapter 5 Educational Travel Regional Market AnalysisChapter 6 Major Manufacturers Analysis of Educational TravelChapter 7 Development Trend of Analysis of Educational Travel MarketChapter 8 Educational Travel Marketing Type AnalysisChapter 9 Conclusion of the Global Educational Travel Market Professional Survey Report 2018Early buyers will receive up to 40% Discount on this reportAbout Company:We at IT Intelligence Markets conduct intensive market research and generate detailed reports about the products and services offered in the IT domain. Our team is devoted to providing custom reports that are taylor-made to suit the customers requirements. We make sure to keep our customers updated with the latest market dynamics as IT industry is undergoing sea change intrinsically & extrinsically by forces such as regulatory fluctuations, rapidly evolving consumer preferences, and newer technologies. Not only do our market research analysts scrutinize market requirements but also track competitors relentlessly for obtaining the most updated scenario of the market.Contact Name: Vijay TannaAddress:Survey No-9/4, Flat# 6, Panchshil Park,Ganpati Marg, Nigidi, Pune 411044Website:Email: sales@itintelligencemarkets.comPhone: +91 976-460-7607
Argan Oil Market 2018 Global Industry Professional Survey 2023 Growth Opportunities | Groupe Olvea, Zineglob SARL , Argan Liquid Gold , Nadifi Argan Oil, Sidi Yassine, Vima Souss

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Argan Oil Market 2018 Industry report presents a detailed analysis of the industry by Share, size, growth rate, Trends, Demand, key players, regions, product types & applications, the report also evaluates key factors that affected market growth and with the help of previous figures this report elaborates current scenario and forecast of Argan Oil industry.Global Argan Oil Market is predicted to grow at approximately 5% CAGR during the forecast periodArgan Oil Market Overview:The increasing sale of argan oil is driven by rising awareness among the consumers about the beneficial properties of argan oil. High antioxidant content of the oil makes its application more significant in personal care products due to the anti-ageing property the oil imparts. Rise in consumption of healthy food products has supported the sale of argan oil in the global market. Increasing disposable income and economy development is also found to fuel up the market demand of unconventional oils such as argan oil. The consumption as well as production of argan oil is found to be high in Middle East and African region and is evaluated to increase at a positive growth rate in various countries of North America, Europe and Asia Pacific region.Receive a Sample Copy @Argan Oil market Top Key Players Analysis: Groupe Olvea (France) Zineglob SARL (Morocco) Argan Liquid Gold (U.K.) Nadifi Argan Oil (Morocco) Sidi Yassine (Morocco) Vima Souss (Morocco) Malak Bio (Morocco)Argan Oil Market Forecast:Globally the argan oil market share as one of the fastest growing unconventional oil segment is estimated to escalate at a higher growth rate which is supported by the rising mass consumers demand for natural and healthy products. Rapid urbanization and increased disposable income has led to consumers inclination towards aromatherapy and spas which also has a positive impact on this market. Demand for organic and natural skin care products among the mass population is also driving the market of argan oil.Study Objectives of Argan Oil Market:Detailed analysis of the markets segments and sub-segmentsTo estimate and forecast market size by source, application, distribution channel & regionTo analyze key driving forces influencing the marketRegion level market analysis and market estimation of North America, Europe, Asia, and the rest of the world (ROW) and their countriesValue Chain Analysis & Supply Chain Analysis of Argan OilCompany profiling of major players in the marketCompetitive strategy analysis and mapping key stakeholders in the marketAnalysis of historical market trends and technologies along with current government regulatory requirementsArgan Oil Regional Analysis:The Global Argan Oil Market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and rest of the world (ROW). Middle East and Africa (Rest of the World) holds a major market share followed by North America. High demands for healthy oils with widespread applications from the developed countries of these regions is contributing to the positive growth of argan oil market. Morocco, U.S., the Netherlands, China, U.K., and Japan are the major importers of argan oil.Argan Oil Downstream analysis:Consumption of organic argan oil is growing at significant rate based on high consumers demand for chemical-free products in order to reduce the harmful effects imparted from such products. Increase in demand for effective personal care products especially among the female population has resulted in increased sale of argan oil across the globe.Sale of argan oil through supermarkets and hypermarkets is found to be high on a global level. This is due to consumer convenience and preference for one-stop shopping experience. In addition, based on the adoption of advanced technology by the consumers into their daily routine and convenience shopping experience, the sale of argan oil through e-commerce is found to escalate at a positive growth rate.Get Complete Report Details Followed by TOC & Table of Figures @At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Celiac Disease 2018 Global Market to Grow at CAGR 27.2% and Forecast to 2025

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Celiac Disease market is valued at 130 million US$ in 2017 and will reach 890 million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of 27.2% during 2018-2025.Global Celiac Disease Industry focuses on global major leading industry players providing information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also carried out.Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand Figures, cost, price, revenue and gross market Celiac Disease.Get a FREE Sample Copy of Celiac Disease Industry Report@The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Celiac Disease Industry manufacturers and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the industry.Global Celiac Disease Market provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Celiac Disease Market analysis is provided for the international Industry including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status.Key Companies Analysis:GSKThe Celiac Disease Market development trends and marketing channels are analyzed. Finally the feasibility of new investment projects are assessed and overall research conclusions offered. With the tables and figures the report provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Direct Purchase Celiac Disease Industry Report@The provincial analysis of the worldwide Celiac Disease Industry splits the global market area into key areas that include both continents as well as specific countries which are currently shining in phrases of demand, volume or normal Trends.The overall Celiac Disease is all around clarified in following PartsPart 1: To study and forecast the market size of Celiac Disease in global market.Part 2: To analyze the global key players, SWOT analysis, value and global market share for top players.Part 3: To define, describe and forecast the market by type, end use and region.Part 4 : To analyze and compare the market status and forecast between China and major regions, namely, United States, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India and Rest of World.Part 5: To analyze the global key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.Part 6: To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.Part 7: To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.Part 8: To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the marketPart 9: To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the marketPart 10: To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.Discount on Celiac Disease Industry Report at :List of Tables and FiguresAbout Us:ReportsAndMarkets is part of the Algoro Research Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. On ReportsAndMarkets.com you will find all the globally available market research and company reports from well-respected market research companies, all leaders in their field. Reports And Markets is totally independent and serves its customers by providing the most reliable market research available, as we understand how important this is for you.Contact Us:Sanjay JainManager - Partner Relations & International Marketinginfo@reportsandmarkets.comPh.: +44-020-3286-9338 (UK)Ph.: +1-214-377-1121 (US)
Global Tissue Diagnostics Market 2018 Industry Trend and Forecast 2023

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Global Tissue Diagnostics IndustryNew Study On 2018-2023 Tissue Diagnostics Market Global Key Player, Demand, Growth, Opportunities And Analysis Forecast Added To Wise Guy Reports DatabaseTissue Diagnostics Market is expected to grow with a CAGR 7.7% during 2018-2023. Need for more accurate diagnosis in cases of cancer has resulted in development more advanced diagnostic technologies such as tissue diagnostics. Cancer is a fatal disease and it is prevalent across the globe with huge economic burden in emerging and low-middle income group countries. It has considerable presence in developed and developing economies such as US, UK, Spain, China, India and Korea. Tissue diagnosis includes Haematoxylin & Eosin (H&E) Stain, Immunohistochemistry (IHC) Test, Fluorescent in Situ Hybridization (FISH) Test, Silver in Situ Hybridization (SISH) Test, Pathology and other stain tests. These diagnostic services are widely available and due to technological advancement, innovation and efficient results these diagnostic devices are in huge demand.Try Sample Report @Tissue diagnostics market on the basis of geographical regions is analysed as North America, Europe, APAC, and Rest of the world. Asia Pacific generates highest revenues across the globe due to high prevalence of cancer. APAC region such as China, India, Japan and Korea are the key markets and expected to improve upon their existing diagnostic technologies. Improved healthcare spending, infrastructure and favourable government policies are the key factors which are expected to drive the APAC market. The report includes detailed market overview, market determinants, company profiling, sector analysis, market segmentation, geographical analysis, pipeline analysis, strategic recommendations, key company analysis, gap analysis, key findings, market estimations, market insights, analyst insights and predictive analysis of the market.The report also covers various factors that influence the market such as the government regulations, drug and device laws and regulations, regulations on clinical trials and government policies. The report also covers parametric analysis, historical analysis and tissue diagnosis which includes various test such as Haematoxylin and silver in situ hybridization test. Global tissue diagnostic market is segmented on the basis of technology, diagnosis, product, end user and geography.The key players of global tissue diagnostic market includes Abbott Laboratories, Roche Holdings AG, Biogenex Laboratories, Bio SB, Agilent Technologies Cell Signaling Technology, Danaher Corporation, Sigma-Aldrich, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Qiagen, Becton Dickinson & company, Alere, Diagenic, Stryker, Biomeriux, Promethius Laboratories, Life Technologies, GE healthcare, Philips, Siemens, Johnson & Johnson, Quest Diagnostic, Axxin, Caris Life Sciences, Singulux, Teco Diagnostic, Ribomed, Signal Genetics and so on.Market SegmentationGlobal Tissue Diagnostics Market by TechnologyGlobal Tissue Diagnostics Market by DiseaseGlobal Tissue Diagnostics Market by ProductGlobal Tissue Diagnostics Market by End UsersRESEARCH METHODOLOGYThe market study of tissue diagnostic market is incorporated by extensive primary and secondary research conducted by research team at OMR. Secondary research has been conducted to refine the available data to breakdown the market in various segments, derive total market size, market forecast and growth rate. Different approaches have been worked on to derive the market value and market growth rate. Our team collects facts and data related to the market from different geography to provide a better regional outlook. In the report country level analysis is provided by analysing various regional players, regional tax laws and policies, consumer behaviour and macro-economic factors. Numbers extracted from Secondary research have been authenticated by conducting proper primary research. It includes tracking down key people from the industry and interviewing them to validate the data. This enables our analyst to derive the closest possible figures without any major deviations in the actual number. Our analysts try to contact as many executives, managers, key opinion leaders and industry experts. Primary research brings the authenticity in our reports.Secondary sources include:Financial reports of companies involved in the marketAuthentic Public DatabasesWhitepapers, research-papers and news blogsCompany websites and their product catalogue.Supplier Websites such as Alibaba, amazon for pricing analysis.The report provides in-depth analysis on pricing, market size, intended quality of the product preferred by consumers, initial norms and vehicle segment. The report will serve as a source for 360-degree analysis of the market thoroughly integrating different models such as PEST analysis, Porter five analysis delivering insights into the market for better business decisions.The Report covers:Comprehensive research methodology of Global Tissue Diagnostics Market.This report also includes detailed and extensive market overview with Analyst insights & key market trends.Exhaustive analysis of macro and micro factors influencing the market guided by key recommendations.Analysis of regional regulations and other government policies impacting the Global Tissue Diagnostics Market.Insights about market determinants which are stimulating the Global Tissue Diagnostics Market.Detailed and extensive market segments with regional distribution of forecasted revenues.Extensive profiles and recent developments of market players.For Detailed Reading Please visit WiseGuy Reports @Some points from table of content:1 REPORT SUMMARY1.1. RESEARCH METHODS AND TOOLS1.2. MARKET BREAKDOWN1.2.1. BY SEGMENTS1.2.2. BY GEOGRAPHY1.2.3. BY STAKEHOLDERS2 MARKET OVERVIEW AND INSIGHTS2.1. GAP ANALYSIS2.2. HISTORICAL ANALYSIS2.3. PARAMETRIC ANALYSIS2.3.1. RISING INCIDENCE AND PREVALENCE RATE OF CANCER2.3.2. EPIDEMIC OF NEURO-DEGENERATIVE DISEASES2.3.3. RISING DIAGNOSTIC CENTERS ACROSS GEOGRAPHIES2.3.4. RISING LABORATORIES ACROSS GEOGRAPHIES2.3.5. HOSPITAL AND RESEARCH CENTER ON RISE2.4. ANALYST INSIGHT2.4.1. KEY FINDINGS AND CURRENT TRENDS2.4.2. RECOMMENDATION2.4.3. CONCLUSION2.5. REGULATION2.5.1. REGULATIONS ON CLINICAL TRIALS2.5.1.1. UNITED STATES2.5.1.2. EUROPEAN UNION2.5.1.3. CHINA2.5.1.4. INDIA2.5.2. DRUG AND DEVICE REGULATIONS2.5.2.1. UNITED STATES2.5.2.2. EUROPEAN UNION2.5.2.3. CHINA2.5.2.4. INDIA2.5.2.5. JAPAN3 MARKET DETERMINANT3.1. MOTIVATORS3.1.1. RISE IN PERSONALIZED HEALTHCARE3.1.2. RISING IN-VITRO DIAGNOSTICS ENABLES TISSUE DIAGNOSTIC MARKET TO GROW SIGNIFICANTLY3.1.3. RISE IN CANCER INCIDENCE & PREVALENCE3.1.4. FDA APPROVALS ARE ON RISE AND MAY ATTRACT OTHER BIG PLAYERS TO ENTER INTO THE TISSUE DAIGNOSTIC MARKET3.1.5. RISE IN ADOPTION OF CANCER DIAGNOSTICS AND TREATMENT3.1.6. TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT IN TISSUE DIAGNOSTIC3.1.7. DEVELOPMENT IN PROTEOMICS AND GENOMICS3.1.8. INNOVATION IN DIAGNOSTIC AND TREATMENT3.1.9. FAVORABLE GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND REGULATIONS3.1.10. RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT TO DRIVE THE TISSUE DIAGNOSTIC MARKET3.2. RESTRAINT3.2.1. HIGH COST OF DIAGNOSIS & TREATMENT3.2.2. STRINGENT GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS3.3. OPPPORTUNITY3.3.1. COST SAVING FOR LABORATORIES DUE TO EFFICIENT TISSUE DIAGNOSTIC DEVICES3.3.2. ADOPTION OF LAB AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGY IN TISSUE DIAGNOSTIC3.3.3. UNTAPPED APAC REGION IS FULL OF OPPORTUNITY FOR GLOBAL TISSUE DIAGNOSTIC MARKET3.3.4. CLINICAL TRIALS ARE PREDICTED TO INCREASE IN NEXT FEW YEARS3.3.5. COLLABORATION AND PARTNERSHIP IN TISSUE DAIGNOSTIC MARKET4 IN VITRO DIAGNOSTICS MARKET ANALYSIS5 MARKET SEGMENTATION5.1. BY TECHNOLOGY5.1.1. IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY5.1.2. IN SITU HYBRIDIZATION5.1.3. DIGITAL PATHOLOGY AND WORKFLOW MANAGEMENT5.1.4. SPECIAL STAINING5.1.5. HEMATOXYLIN & EOSIN (H&E) STAIN5.2. BY DISEASES5.2.1. BREAST CANCER5.2.2. GASTRIC CANCER5.2.3. LYMPHOMA5.2.4. PROSTATE CANCER5.2.5. NON-SMALL CELL LUNG CARCINOMA5.3. BY PRODUCT5.3.1. INSTRUMENTS5.3.1.1. SLIDE STAINING SYSTEMS5.3.1.2. SCANNERS5.3.1.3. TISSUE PROCESSING SYSTEMS5.3.1.4. OTHER PRODUCTS MARKET5.3.2. CONSUMABLES5.3.2.1. ANTIBODY5.3.2.2. KITS5.3.2.3. REAGENTS5.3.2.4. PROBES5.4. BY END USER5.4.1. HOSPITALS5.4.2. PHARMACEUTICALS5.4.3. RESEARCH INSTITUTES5.4.4. LABORATORIES5.4.5. OTHER RESEARCH6 COMPETETIVE LANDSCAPE6.1. MARKET SHARE ANAYSIS6.2. KEY COMPANY ANALYSIS7 REGIONAL ANALYSIS7.1. NORTH AMERICA7.1.1. UNITED STATESContinued.For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comAbout UsWise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available.Contact Us:Norah Trent+1 646 845 9349 / +44 208 133 9349Follow on LinkedIn:
Global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Market - Industry Trends, Opportunities and Forecasts to 2025

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This report studies the global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics market status and forecast, categorizes the global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics market size (value & volume) by manufacturers, type, application, and region. This report focuses on the top manufacturers in North America, Europe, Japan, China, and other regions (India, Southeast Asia, Central & South America, and Middle East & Africa).The global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics market is valued at million US$ in 2017 and will reach million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of during 2018-2025.The major manufacturers covered in this reportCognexTeledyne DalsaBasler AGAbsolute VisionStemmer ImagingISRA VisionVitronics JAI A/SAdept TechnologyAllied Vision TechnologiesBit FlowEastman KodakEdmund OpticsElectro Scientific IndustriesKla TencorMatroxMicroscan SystemsMvtec SoftwareNational InstrumentOmron CorpPpt VisionProphotonixTeradyne DalsaToshiba TeliVidekXiris AutomationRequest a Sample Report @Geographically, this report studies the top producers and consumers, focuses on product capacity, production, value, consumption, market share and growth opportunity in these key regions, coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaWe can also provide the customized separate regional or country-level reports, for the following regions:North AmericaUnited StatesCanadaMexicoAsia-PacificChinaIndiaJapanSouth KoreaAustraliaIndonesiaSingaporeRest of Asia-PacificEuropeGermanyFranceUKItalySpainRussiaRest of EuropeCentral & South AmericaBrazilArgentinaRest of South AmericaMiddle East & AfricaSaudi ArabiaTurkeyRest of Middle East & AfricaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoPC-based Machine Vision SystemsSmart Camera Based Machine Vision SystemsVision Guided RoboticsOn the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, includingIndustrial Application AreasNon-industrial Application AreasThe study objectives of this report are:To analyze and study the global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics capacity, production, value, consumption, status (2013-2017) and forecast (2018-2025);Focuses on the key Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics manufacturers, to study the capacity, production, value, market share and development plans in future.Focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the market competition landscape, SWOT analysis.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region.To analyze the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the marketTo analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the marketTo strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.Table of ContentsGlobal Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Market Research Report 20181 Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics1.2 Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2013-2025)1.2.2 Global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 PC-based Machine Vision Systems1.2.4 Smart Camera Based Machine Vision Systems1.2.5 Vision Guided Robotics1.3 Global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Segment by Application1.3.1 Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2013-2025)1.3.2 Industrial Application Areas1.3.3 Non-industrial Application Areas1.4 Global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Market by Region (2013-2025)1.4.1 Global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2013-2025)1.4.2 North America Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.4 China Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.7 India Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics (2013-2025)1.5.1 Global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Revenue Status and Outlook (2013-2025)1.5.2 Global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2013-2025)2 Global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.1.1 Global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.1.2 Global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Production and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.2 Global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.3 Global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Average Price by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.4 Manufacturers Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion3 Global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2013-2018)3.1 Global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Capacity and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)3.2 Global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Production and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)3.3 Global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)3.4 Global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.5 North America Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.6 Europe Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.7 China Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.8 Japan Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.9 Southeast Asia Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.10 India Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)4 Global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2013-2018)4.1 Global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Consumption by Region (2013-2018)4.2 North America Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)4.3 Europe Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)4.4 China Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)4.5 Japan Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)4.6 Southeast Asia Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)4.7 India Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)5 Global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type5.1 Global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Production and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)5.2 Global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Revenue and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)5.3 Global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Price by Type (2013-2018)5.4 Global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Production Growth by Type (2013-2018)6 Global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Market Analysis by Application6.1 Global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Consumption and Market Share by Application (2013-2018)6.2 Global Machine Vision and Vision Guided Robotics Consumption Growth Rate by Application (2013-2018)6.3 Market Drivers and Opportunities6.3.1 Potential Applications6.3.2 Emerging Markets/CountriesContinuedAccess Complete Report @ABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.ADDRES:WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Social Employee Recognition Systems Market 2017-2025 : Achievers Corp., Corporate Rewards Ltd., Incentive Logic, and Peoplecart Private Limited.

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Global Social Employee Recognition Systems Market: OverviewWorld over, the considerable drive for social employee recognition systems has stemmed from the need for getting away with traditional employee reward and recognition methods and programs. The numerous limitations of the traditional systems has led to the rapid emergence of social employee recognition system. The system occupies a key determinant of successful implementation of pay-for-performance compensation strategies and plans in a range of end-use industry verticals. The system is increasingly being gathering pace among human resource managers, IT executives, and business leaders. These systems are helping in bolstering employee engagement, making their efforts increasingly aligned toward companys goals and visions, thus permeating across the entire company culture. The adoption of more effective approaches in talent management systems by businesses achieve better outcomes account for the rising relevance of social employee recognition systems.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Global Social Employee Recognition Systems Market: Key TrendsThe market is driven by the rising implementation of social employee recognition systems across business of all sizes in end-use industries, including manufacturing, IT & telecom, consumer and retail, travel and tourism, hospitality, and healthcare. This is attributed to the widespread adoption of social and gamification concepts in devising employee recognition programs. The growing popularity of BYOT (bring your own technology) concept in the global workplace is fortifying the adoption. Furthermore, in recent years, enterprise social networking platforms have garnered colossal traction, thus boosting the demand. The rising popularity of social employee recognition system deployed through software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications is creating substantial revenues in the market.Global Social Employee Recognition Systems Market: Market PotentialOrganizations of all sizes and in diverse industry verticals are harping on adopting social employee recognition systems for an inclusive, vibrant, and performing workplaces. To this end, they seek social employee recognition system espoused by potentially human-centered software solutions. Globoforce, a multinational company pioneering in social recognition software and provider of human applications, has in April 2018 announced that it is expanding its assortment of products. This will provide new avenue for organizations looking to leverage the potential of new generation social employee recognition systems. The new suite of products notably include WorkHuman Cloud and they are launched with an objective to help organizations create more closely-knit connected teams and foster better relations among the employees.Request TOC of the Report @The new HR software solutions will be used to promote effective team-driven approaches in the way world is performed across the organization, built on the concepts of crowdsourcing and transparency. The solution will be used to evaluate ongoing work achievement and give developmental feedback. Furthermore, the application of the human-centered social employee recognition cloud solution will help employees and managers to celebrate career milestones, leading to the creation of more productive workplace, believes Globoforce. This is expected to underpin a culture of innovation in organizations deploying the solution, opines the company.Global Social Employee Recognition Systems Market: Regional OutlookThe report offers a comprehensive assessment of the potential of various regional markets by evaluating lucrative avenues and emerging opportunities. Some of the key geographical areas for the expansion of the market could be North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (MEA). North America in all likelihood is expected to garner potential lucrative avenues, driven by the rising uptake of cutting-edge employee recognition solutions. Asia Pacific could also be a promising regional market.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Global Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells Market : Industry Size, Share, Growth, Forecasts 2018

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The Report Global Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells Market Research Report 2018 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.bizThis report studies the global Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells market status and forecast, categorizes the global Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells market size (value & volume) by manufacturers, type, application, and region. This report focuses on the top manufacturers in United States, Europe, China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan and other regions.Request Sample Copy of the Report @This report primarily focuses on consumer and enterprise grade femtocells and excludes outdoor small cells. Our forecast for outdoor small cells is contained in a separate Market Data, Small Cells and Carrier Wi-Fi.The global Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells market is valued at xx million US$ in 2017 and will reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of xx% during 2018-2025.The major manufacturers covered in this reportEricssonSamsungNSNInterface, IncMetro GroupGeographically, this report studies the top producers and consumers, focuses on product capacity, production, value, consumption, market share and growth opportunity in these key regions, coveringUnited StatesEUChinaJapanSouth KoreaTaiwanWe can also provide the customized separate regional or country-level reports, for the following regions:North AmericaUnited StatesCanadaMexicoAsia-PacificChinaIndiaJapanSouth KoreaAustraliaIndonesiaSingaporeRest of Asia-PacificEuropeGermanyFranceUKItalySpainRussiaRest of EuropeCentral & South AmericaBrazilArgentinaRest of South AmericaMiddle East & AfricaSaudi ArabiaTurkeyRest of Middle East & AfricaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoResidentialEnterprise/BusinessOn the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, includingRetail outletsHotelAirportsTrain stationsOthersComplete Report Details @The study objectives of this report are:To analyze and study the global Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells capacity, production, value, consumption, status (2013-2017) and forecast (2018-2025);Focuses on the key Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells manufacturers, to study the capacity, production, value, market share and development plans in future.Focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the market competition landscape, SWOT analysis.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region.To analyze the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the marketTo analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the marketTo strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells are as follows:History Year: 2013-2017Base Year: 2017Estimated Year: 2018Forecast Year 2018 to 2025For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2017 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered.Key StakeholdersEnterprise and Consumer Femtocells ManufacturersEnterprise and Consumer Femtocells Distributors/Traders/WholesalersEnterprise and Consumer Femtocells Subcomponent ManufacturersIndustry AssociationDownstream VendorsAvailable CustomizationsWith the given market data, QYResearch offers customizations according to the company's specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:Regional and country-level analysis of the Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells market, by end-use.Detailed analysis and profiles of additional market players.Request For TOC Report @Table of ContentsGlobal Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells Market Research Report 20181 Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells1.2 Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2013-2025)1.2.2 Global Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 Residential1.2.4 Enterprise/Business1.3 Global Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells Segment by Application1.3.1 Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2013-2025)1.3.2 Retail outlets1.3.3 Hotel1.3.4 Airports1.3.5 Train stations1.3.6 Others1.4 Global Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells Market by Region (2013-2025)1.4.1 Global Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2013-2025)1.4.2 United States Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.3 EU Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.4 China Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.6 South Korea Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.7 Taiwan Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells (2013-2025)1.5.1 Global Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells Revenue Status and Outlook (2013-2025)1.5.2 Global Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2013-2025)2 Global Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.1.1 Global Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.1.2 Global Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells Production and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.2 Global Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.3 Global Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells Average Price by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.4 Manufacturers Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Enterprise and Consumer Femtocells Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, ExpansionAbout usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Solar Panels Market Growths in Manufacturing Technology and Leading Key Players: Trina Solar Limited , Canadian Solar Inc. , Jinko Solar Holding Co., Ltd. , JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd., Hanwha Q CELLS Co., Ltd.,

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Market Highlights:The solar panel market is driven by various factors such as increase in solar systems installations and generous government initiatives and policies that support solar energy generation. This is mainly because, solar panel power generation is less polluting and produces less carbon emissions when compared with traditional conventional energy sources such as coal, oil and petroleum. Solar power generation is helping in the fight against climate change as well as it is acting as a source of power for remote and off grid areas where still millions of global population lives. However, the growth of the market can be hindered by the low power generation capacity of the solar panels and increasing stringent regulations on the land used for solar power generation sites.Solar Panels Market is expected to grow with the CAGR of approximately 20.18% during the forecast period.Get sample Report @Industry Top Key Players:The key players of solar panel market are Trina Solar Limited (China), Canadian Solar Inc. (Canada), Jinko Solar Holding Co., Ltd. (China), JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (China), Hanwha Q CELLS Co., Ltd., (South Korea), ABROS green GmbH (Germany), Yingli Solar (China), SunPower Corporation (U.S.A), Abengoa Solar (Spain), eSolar, Inc. (U.S.A).Solar PV by Technology Segment is Expected to Grow at the Fastest Rate and hold the Largest Market Size in Forecast Period.Solar cells, also known as photovoltaic cells, converts sunlight directly into electricity. Basically the name PV originates from the process of converting light (photons) to electricity (voltage), which is called the PV effect. The PV effect was discovered in 1954, when scientists at bell laboratories discovered that silicon created an electric charge when exposed to sunlight. Solar PV was later commercialized and brought up in the market, which are now widely used from powering space satellites to smaller items such calculators and watches. Solar photo-voltaic holds the largest share in the solar panel market with the highest installed capacity of 306.5 GW till 2016 around 2% of the worlds electricity demand. The levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) ranges between USD 0.11 and USD 0.12/kWh (in South and North America, respectively) to over USD 0.31/kWh (in Central America and the Caribbean). But for individual projects there are wide range of costs. In countries with decent solar resources, projects are now being constructed with an LCOE of USD 0.08/kWh, while a recent tender in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, resulted in a successful bid for a solar PV power purchase agreement (PPA) for just USD 0.06/kWh, without financial support. It is expected that the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of utility-scale solar PV projects would witness an average fall of 50% during the forecast period.Scope of the Report:This study provides an overview of the global solar panels market, tracking three market segments across four geographic regions. The report studies key players, providing a six-year annual trend analysis that highlights market size, volume and share for North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC) and Rest of the World (ROW). The report also provides a forecast, focusing on the market opportunities for the next six years for each region. The scope of the study segments the global solar panels market by its application, by module type, by technology and by regions.By Technology Solar PV CSPBy Module Type Parabolic Troughs Linear Fresnel Reflectors Power Towers Parabolic Dishes Crystalline Thin FilmBy Application Residential Commercial UtilitiesAccess Report Details @By Region North America Asia Pacific Europe Rest of the WorldRegional Analysis:Asia-Pacific is the biggest solar power market; followed by Europe and then North America. China alone shares almost 44% of new solar PV capacity. Spain remained the global leader in existing CSP capacity, with 2.3 GW till the end of 2016, followed by the United States with just over 1.7 GW. These two countries still accounted for over 80% of global installed capacity. The rest of the world (ROW) region is comprised of Brazil, Middle East, and Israel; which are gaining attention from the major players of the PV and the CSP market considering the potential that these regions hold.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Market Research Future+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Global Morpholine Market Professional Survey Report 2018

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The Global Morpholine Market 2018-2028 report offers a detailed analysis of the industry, with market size forecasts covering the next ten years. This report will also analyze factors that influence demand for tactical communication, key market trends, and challenges faced by industry participants.The Morpholine industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed. Finally the feasibility of new investment projects are assessed and overall research conclusions offered. With the tables and figures the report provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.For Sample report @Complete Report of Morpholine Market available with the following details: Pages - 104, Leading Companies - 09, Table of contents - 190Profiling Companies: APL (IN) ,Anhui Haoyuan (CN) ,FUYUAN (CN) ,Liaoyuan (CN) ,Sinochem (CN) ,Huntsman (US) ,Basf (DE) ,Nippon Nyukazai (JP) ,Balaji Amines (IN)Global Morpholine Market provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Morpholine Market analysis is provided for the international Industry including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status.Grab Discount here@Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand Figures, cost, price, revenue and gross margins.Global Morpholine Market focuses on global major leading industry players providing information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also carried out.Purchase Morpholine Market Report @Major Points Covered in Table of Contents:1 Morpholine Market /Industry Overview2 Classifications by Product Category3 Global Needles Free Drug Delivery Players/Suppliers Profiles and Sales Data, Type and Application4 Morpholine Manufacturing Cost Analyses5 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers6 Marketing Strategy Analyses, Distributors/Traders7 Market Effect Factors Analysis8 Research Findings and Conclusion9 AppendixAbout Us:Reports And Markets is part of the Algoro Research Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. On ReportsAndMarkets.com you will find all the globally available market research and company reports from well-respected market research companies, all leaders in their field. Reports And Markets is totally independent and serves its customers by providing the most reliable market research available, as we understand how important this is for you.Contact Us:Sanjay JainManager - Partner Relations & International Marketinginfo@reportsandmarkets.comPh: +44-020-3286-9338 (UK)Ph: +1-214-377-1121 (US)Ph: +91-703-049-0292 (IND)Connect with us on:Facebook:LinkedIn:Twitter:RSS/Feeds:
Food Cans Market 2018 Global Market Key Players : Crown Holdings, Ball Corporation, Ardagh Group, Wells Can Company

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Global Food Cans MarketDescription:-Wiseguyreports.Com Adds Global Food Cans Market 2018: Global Analysis, Industry Size, Share, Trends, Application Analysis and Growth Opportunities Forecast to 2025 To Its Research DatabaseKey Content of ChaptersPart 1:Terminology Definition, Industry Chain, Industry Dynamics & Regulations and Global Market OverviewPart 2:Upstream (Raw Materials / Components) & Manufacturing (Procurement Methods & Channels and Cost),Major Regional Production Overview and Trade FlowPart 3:Product Segment Overview and Market StatusPart 4:Application / End-User Segment Overview and Market StatusPart 5:Region Segment Overview and Market StatusPart 6:Product & Application Segment Production & Demand by RegionPart 7:Market Forecast by Product, Application & RegionPart 8:Company information, Products & Services and Business Operation (Sales, Cost, Margin etc.)Part 9:Market Competition and Environment for New EntrantsPart 10:ConclusionRequest a sample copy @Market Segment as follows:Key CompaniesCrown HoldingsBall CorporationSilgan HoldingsArdagh GroupCAN-PACK S.A.Kian Joo GroupCPMC Holdings LimitedKingcan Holdings LimitedHuber PackagingNovelisWells Can CompanyMarket by TypeAluminum CanSteel CanPlastic CanTin CanOthersMarket by ApplicationFruit and VegetablesConvenience FoodPet FoodMeat and SeafoodOthersTable of ContentPart 1 Industry Overview (200 USD)1.1 Food Cans Industry1.1.1 Market Development1.1.2 Terminology Definition in the Report1.1.2.1 Production1.1.2.2 Demand1.1.2.3 Sales Revenue1.1.2.4 Ex-factory Price & Sales Price1.1.2.5 Cost1.1.2.6 Gross Margin1.2 Products & Services Scope1.3 Industry Chain1.4 Industry Dynamics & Regulations1.5 Global Market OverviewPart 2 Upstream & Production (200 USD)2.1 Raw Materials / Components2.2 Procurement Methods & Channels2.3 Cost Structure & Manufacturing2.4 Industry Capacity2.5 Production Distribution by Geography2.5.1 Production in Major Regions / Countries2.5.2 Trade Flow OverviewPart 3 Product Segment (400 USD)3.1 Introduction by Type3.1.1 Aluminum Can3.1.2 Steel Can3.1.3 Plastic Can3.1.4 Tin Can3.1.5 Others3.2 Market StatusPart 4 Application / End-User Segment (400 USD)4.1 Introduction by Application4.1.1 Fruit and Vegetables4.1.2 Convenience Food4.1.3 Pet Food4.1.4 Meat and Seafood4.1.5 Others4.2 Market StatusPart 5 Regional Market (600 USD)5.1 Market Overview5.2 by Region5.2.1 North America5.2.1.1 United States Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.1.2 Canada Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.1.3 Mexico Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.2 Europe5.2.2.1 Germany Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.2.2 UK Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.2.3 France Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.2.4 Italy Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.2.5 Spain Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.2.6 Netherlands Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.2.7 Poland Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.2.8 Belgium Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.2.9 Sweden Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.2.10 Austria Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.2.11 Denmark Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.2.12 Switzerland Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.2.13 Russia Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.3 Asia-Pacific5.2.3.1 China Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.3.2 India Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.3.3 Japan Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.3.4 Korea Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.3.5 Australia Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.3.6 Indonesia Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.3.7 Thailand Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.3.8 Malaysia Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.3.9 Singapore Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.3.10 Philippines Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.4 South America5.2.4.1 Brazil Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.4.2 Argentina Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.4.3 Columbia Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.4.4 Chile Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.4.5 Peru Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.4.6 Puerto Rico Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.4.7 Ecuador Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.5 Middle East5.2.5.1 Saudi Arabia Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.5.2 Iran Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.5.3 UAE Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.5.4 Oman Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.5.5 Kuwait Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.5.6 Iraq Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.5.7 Turkey Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.6 Africa5.2.6.1 South Africa Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.6.2 Egypt Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.6.3 Nigeria Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.6.4 Algeria Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.6.5 Angola Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.6.6 Morocco Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)5.2.6.7 Sultan Market Size and Growth (2015-2018E)Part 6 Market Subdivision (800 USD)6.1 Regional Production6.1.1 Production by Type6.1.1.1 Aluminum Can Production by Region6.1.1.2 Steel Can Production by Region6.1.1.3 Plastic Can Production by Region6.1.1.4 Tin Can Production by Region6.1.1.5 Others Production by Region6.1.2 Production by Application6.1.2.1 Fruit and Vegetables Production by Region6.1.2.2 Convenience Food Production by Region6.1.2.3 Pet Food Production by Region6.1.2.4 Meat and Seafood Production by Region6.1.2.5 Others Production by Region6.2 Regional Demand6.2.1 Demand by Type6.2.1.1 Aluminum Can Demand by Region6.2.1.2 Steel Can Demand by Region6.2.1.3 Plastic Can Demand by Region6.2.1.4 Tin Can Demand by Region6.2.1.5 Others Demand by Region6.2.2 Demand by Application6.2.2.1 Fruit and Vegetables Demand by Region6.2.2.2 Convenience Food Demand by Region6.2.2.3 Pet Food Demand by Region6.2.2.4 Meat and Seafood Demand by Region6.2.2.5 Others Demand by RegionPart 7 Market Forecast (200 USD)7.1 Global Forecast7.2 Forecast by Type7.3 Forecast by Application7.4 Forecast by RegionContinued..Browse full Report @About Us:Wise Guy Reports 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Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Contact Us:Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt Ltdsales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)Maharashtra, Pune  411028
Virtual and Augmented Reality Global Market 2018: Key Players  7D Vision, Apple, Inc., DAQRI, HTC Corp., Microsoft Corp., Nvidia Corp.

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Virtual and Augmented Reality IndustryDescriptionWiseguyreports.Com Adds Virtual and Augmented Reality -Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities and Analysis Of Top Key Player Forecast To 2023 To Its Research DatabaseVirtual reality (VR) is a computer-generated environment created through the combination of hardware and software and allowing users to interact with an artificial 3D landscape using a head-mounted display and input tracking devices. With the use of a range of systems such as headsets, gloves and computer technology, VR is implemented by stimulating the users senses.Augmented reality (AR) technologies are enhanced versions of reality. Views of physical real-world environments are augmented with superimposed computer-generated sensory inputs such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. VR replaces the real world with the simulated one while AR is traditionally in real-time and in context with environmental elements.According to BCC Research estimates, the global virtual and augmented reality technologies market was valued at REDACTED in 2017 and is predicted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of REDACTED to reach REDACTED by 2023.The growth of the VR and AR technologies market is driven by the decreasing cost of hardware and the increasing use of head-mounted displays systems in gaming, healthcare, education and other applications, resulting in increasing consumer awareness and a greater selection of content. The boost in the usage of smartphones and development of computer graphic systems is expected to play a significant role in growing the market.Request for Sample Report @However, factors such as weak VR content, technological barriers and challenges, lack of VR familiarity and over-pricing are some of the major hurdles for the VR and AR market on its road to mass adoption in the consumer and enterprise space.The global market for virtual and augmented reality technologies has been segmented based on component, technology, sector and geography. Based on components, the market has been classified into hardware and software. Based on technology, the VR market has been segmented into immersive, non-immersive, semi-immersive and distributed VR technologies and the AR market has been segmented into mobile-based, wearable, vision and spatial. Based on sectors, this report has segmented the market into healthcare, gaming, education, military, industrial training and engineering, and Others.On the basis of geography, the market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and ROW.North America accounts for the largest share of the global VR market, followed by Europe and the Asia- Pacific region. Key market participants include Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), Sony, HTC, Oculus, Vuzix, Daqri, Eon Reality and Osterhout Design Group (ODG).Report ScopeThe scope of this study includes market information on virtual and augmented reality technologies and their key segments, including components, technologies, sectors and regions. It includes overall VR and AR device revenue, including software.By component, the virtual and augmented reality technologies market is segmented into hardware and software. The technology segment is bifurcated by fully-immersive, non-immersive, semi-immersive and distributed for VR; and mobile-based, wearable, vision and spatial for AR. Based on sector, the market is segmented into healthcare, gaming, education, military, industrial training, engineering and others. Finally, by region, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of World (ROW). Revenue forecasts from 2018 to 2023 are given for all of the above-mentioned segments in the virtual and augmented technologies market with estimated values derived from solution providers total revenue.The report also includes a discussion of the major players across each regional market. Further, it explains the major drivers, restraints/challenges and opportunities of the market. The report concludes with a special focus on patents and the vendor landscape which includes detailed profiles of the major vendors in the global virtual and augmented reality technologies market. Some of the companies profiled in the report include Microsoft, Alphabet Inc. (Google), Sony Corp, HTC, Oculus, Daqri, Vuzix, Eon Reality and Osterhout Design Group. The report also focuses on the major drivers, restraints and opportunities that affect the market and the supplier landscape. The research estimates the global virtual and augmented reality market in 2017 and 2018 and includes forecasts for 2023.Report Includes- 47 data tables and 30 additional tables- An industry analysis of the global markets and technologies for the virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR)- Analyses of global market trends with data from 2017, estimates for 2018, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2023- Quantification of the VR and AR market by various segments such as technology types, applications, components and geographical regions- Discussion covering current and future trends and analysis on a basis of various competitive technologies- Emphasis on the major drivers, restraints, and opportunities that affect the global VR/AR market and supplier landscape- A relevant patent analysis- Examination of vendor landscape and profiles of major market players within the industry, including 7D Vision, Apple, Inc., DAQRI, HTC Corp., Microsoft Corp., Nvidia Corp., Qualcomm, Inc., and Sony Corp.Leave a Query @Table of ContentsChapter 1 IntroductionChapter 2 Summary and HighlightsChapter 3 Virtual and Augmented Reality Technologies: Market OverviewChapter 4 Market Breakdown by ComponentChapter 5 Market Breakdown by TechnologyChapter 6 Market Breakdown by ApplicationChapter 7 Market Breakdown by RegionChapter 8 Competitive AnalysisChapter 9 Company Profiles7D VISIONBusiness OverviewBusiness Performance/FinancialsProduct OfferingsALPHABET, INC. (GOOGLE)Business OverviewBusiness PerformanceStrategic OverviewAPPLE, INC.Business OverviewBusiness Performance/FinancialsProduct PortfolioCHRISTIE DIGITAL SYSTEMS USA, INC.Business OverviewBusiness Performance/FinancialsProduct OfferingsCINOPTICSBusiness OverviewBusiness Performance/FinancialsProduct PortfolioDPVR (SHANGHAI LEXIANG TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.)Business OverviewBusiness Performance/FinancialsProduct OfferingDAQRI, LLCBusiness OverviewBusiness Performance/FinancialsProduct PortfolioKey DevelopmentsEMAGIN CORP.Business OverviewBusiness Performance/FinancialsProduct OfferingsEON REALITY, INC.Business OverviewBusiness Performance/FinancialsProduct & ServicesGRAVITY JACKBusiness OverviewBusiness Performance/FinancialsService OfferingHTC CORP.Business OverviewProduct and ServicesDevelopments and StrategiesHUAWEI CULTURE CO., LTD.Business OverviewProduct OfferingsJAUNTBusiness OverviewBusiness Performance/FinancialsProduct PortfolioMARXENT LABS, LLCBusiness OverviewBusiness Performance/FinancialsProduct and ServicesMERGE LABS, INC.Business OverviewBusiness Performance/FinancialsProduct OfferingMETA COMPANYBusiness OverviewBusiness Performance/FinancialsProduct PortfolioStrategic OverviewMICROSOFT CORP.Business OverviewBusiness Performance/FinancialsProduct PortfolioStrategic OverviewKey DevelopmentsMAGIC LEAP INC.Business OverviewProduct PortfolioNINTENDO CO., LTD.Business OverviewProduct OfferingsNVIDIA CORP.Business OverviewProduct PortfolioKey DevelopmentsOCTAGON STUDIO LTD.Business OverviewBusiness Performance/FinancialsProduct OfferingsOCULUS VR, LLC (FACEBOOK)Business OverviewBusiness Performance/FinancialsProduct PortfolioOculus Rift SpecificationsKey DevelopmentsOSTERHOUT DESIGN GROUP (ODG)Business OverviewBusiness Performance/FinancialsProduct PortfolioKey DevelopmentsPICO TECHNOLOGY LTD.Business OverviewBusiness Performance/FinancialsProduct OfferingQUALCOMM, INC.Business OverviewProduct PortfolioDevelopments and StrategiesSAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.Business OverviewProduct and Service OfferingsProduct SpecificationsDevelopments and StrategiesSONY CORP.Business OverviewProduct and Service OfferingsProduct SpecificationsDevelopments and StrategiesTPCASTBusiness OverviewBusiness Performance/FinancialsProduct OfferingUNITY TECHNOLOGIESBusiness OverviewBusiness Performance/FinancialsProduct PortfolioKey DevelopmentsVIRTALIS LTD.Business OverviewBusiness Performance/FinancialsProduct OfferingsVUZIX CORP.Business OverviewBusiness Performance/FinancialsProduct PortfolioKey DevelopmentsWORLDVIZBusiness OverviewBusiness Performance/FinancialsProduct PortfolioKey DevelopmentsZEISS GROUPBusiness OverviewProduct PortfolioProduct SpecificationsFinancialsKey DevelopmentsChapter 10 Appendix: List of AbbreviationsBuy Now @Continued...Contact Us: Sales@Wiseguyreports.Com Ph: +1-646-845-9349 (Us) Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (Uk)About Us:Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Addres:Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt LtdPune  411028Maharashtra, GlobalPh: +91 841 198 5042
Microbiology Testing Market 2023 Top Key Players are Alere, BD, Beckman Coulter, Inc., Biomerieux SA, Cepheid, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

Microbiology testing Market

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The report for Global Microbiology testing Market of Market Research Future comprises extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performanceKey Players for Global Microbiology testing Market:Alere (US), BD (US), Beckman Coulter, Inc. (US), Biomerieux SA (France), Cepheid (US), F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd (Switzerland), Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (US)Get Premium Sample Copy @Market Scenario:Microbiology testing has emerged as one of the rapidly changing segment of healthcare over the past few years. Microbiology testing deals with the study of microbial germs and their clinical applications for the improvement of health. Increasing prevalence of various infectious diseases are driving the growth for global microbiology testing market.Considering the global scenario of the Microbiology testing market, this market is one of the fastest growing market and expected to continue its growth near future. The total market for Microbiology testing was US$ 2706.1 million in 2016 and expected to reach US$ 5409.1 million by 2023. While considering the segments, Chemicals & Reagents was holding largest market share that was about 42.1% in 2016.Segments:Global Microbiology Testing Market has been segmented on the basis of type which comprise Instruments, Chemicals & Reagents, Consumables & Accessories, and others. On the basis of application, it is segmented into, Gastrointestinal Infections, Respiratory Infections, Urinary tract Infections, Sexually Transmitted Infections, Others. On the basis of end user, it is segmented into, Hospital based laboratory, Independent laboratory, and Academics & Research Institutes.Get Quality Discount @Regional Analysis of Global Microbiology testing Market:Considering the global scenario of the market, North America was holding largest market share of 37.9% in global Microbiology testing market in 2016. Asia-Pacific is second largest and fastest growing market in global Microbiology testing market. APAC is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.1% during 2017-2023. Europe was second largest microbiology testing market and is expected to grow at a significantly during the forecast period. On the other hand. Middle East and Africa (ME&A) microbiology testing market was growing lower than global average and expected to grow at steady pace.TABLE OF CONTENTS1 Report Prologue2 Introduction2.1 Scope of Study2.2 Research Objective2.3 Assumptions & Limitations2.3.1 Assumptions2.3.2 Limitations3 Research Methodology3.1 Research Process3.2 Primary Research3.3 Secondary Research4 Market Dynamics4.1 Introduction4.2 Drivers4.2.1 Technological Advancements4.2.2 Rising Cases Of Infectious Diseases4.2.3 Surveillance Programs For Disease Control4.2.4 Rising Stringency Of Standards4.2.5 Weakness Of Traditional Laboratory Techniques4.3 Restraints4.3.1 Erroneous Results4.3.2 High Cost Of Reagents And Instruments4.4 Opportunities4.4.1 Research And Development4.4.2 Rising Grants, Collaborations And Partnerships4.5 Challenges4.5.1 Government Regulations And PoliciesContinued!Reports Enquiry @Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone: +1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Corn Syrup Market Size, Share, Trends, Growth, Forecast Analysis Report By Segment, By Product, By Application, By Region - Gobal Forecast 2018-2023

Corn Syrup Market Size, Share, Trends, Growth, Forecast Analysis Report

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The Report published on UpMarketResearch.com about Corn Syrup Market is spread across 138 pages and provides newest industry data, market future trends, allowing you to identify the products and end users driving Revenue growth and profitability. The industry report lists and studies the leading competitors, also provides the insights with strategic industry Analysis of the key factors influencing the marketCorn Syrup Market Research Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state which focuses on the major drivers and restraints for the key players. PCB Design Software Industry research report provides granular analysis of the market share, segmentation, revenue forecasts and geographic regions of the market.Get FREE Exclusive PDF Sample Copy Of This Report @The report begins with the overview of the Corn Syrup Market and updates the users about the latest developments and future expectations. It presents a comparative detailed analysis of all the regional and major player segments, offering readers a better knowledge of areas in which they can place their existing resources and gauging the priority of a particular region in order to boost their standing in the global market.Gain Full Access of Corn Syrup Market Report along with complete TOC @In this report, there is a healthy amount of coverage of the market economies such as the demand and supply, cost and profit of the Corn Syrup Market. This holds key importance for users and hence this information is well supported with due statistics that are represented in easy to consume graphs, charts, and tables.The report compiles exhaustive information obtained via proven research methodologies and from trusted sources within the industries.Key Reasons to Purchase: To gain insightful analyses of the market and have a comprehensive understanding of the PCB DESIGN SOFTWARE and its commercial landscape. Assess the PCB DESIGN SOFTWARE production processes, major issues, and solutions to mitigate the development risk. To understand the most affecting driving and restraining forces in the Corn Syrup Market and its impact on the global market. Learn about the market strategies that are being adopted by your competitors and leading organizations. To understand the future outlook and prospects for Corn Syrup MarketMore Reports by UpMarketResearch: Global LED Power Supply Industry Market Analysis & Forecast 2018-2023 Global Ferromanganese Industry Market Analysis & Forecast 2018-2023Customization of the Report:UpMarketResearch provides free customization of reports as per your need. This report can be personalized to meet your requirements. Get in touch with our sales team, who will guarantee you to get a report that suits your necessities.About UpMarketResearch:Up Market Research () is a leading distributor of market research report with more than 800+ global clients. 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.Contact Info:Name: Alex MathewsEmail: Alex@upmarketresearch.comOrganization: UpMarketResearchAddress: 500 East E Street, Ontario, CA 91764, United StatesPhone: +1 347-377-7033
Off-Road High-Performance Vehicle Industry 2018 Global Market Analysis Report: Wildcat, AEV Conversions, Zone Offroad, Icon Vehicle Dynamics, 4 Wheel Parts, Extreme Offroad, Stylin Trucks, and Summit Racing Equipment

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Off-Road High-Performance Vehicle Market Research Report  Global Forecast To 2023, is latest report published by Market Research Future provides comprehensive information on Off-Road High-Performance Vehicle Market Historic and Forecast data on Off-Road High-Performance Vehicle Industry Scope, Trends, Size, Share, Key Players, And Regional Analysis with forecast to 2023. Global Off-Road High-Performance Vehicle Market segmented by Channel (OEM and Aftermarket), Application (Defense & Recreation) and by Regions.Key companies in Off-Road High-Performance Vehicle Market Analyzed are:Wildcat (U.S.), AEV Conversions (U.S.), Zone Offroad (U.S.), Icon Vehicle Dynamics (U.S.), 4 Wheel Parts (U.S.), Extreme Offroad & Performance (U.S.), Stylin Trucks (U.S.), and Summit Racing Equipment (U.S.).Get Sample Report on Off-Road High-Performance Vehicle Market Research Report - Global Forecast to 2023 at:Off-Road High-Performance Vehicle Global Market Overview:Although, off-road vehicles are serving military forces across the globe for over a century there has been a considerable increase in application of Off-road high-performance vehicles in defense. The introduction of all-terrain vehicles (ATV) resulted in a rapid decline in Off-road High-performance vehicle application in defense. Technological development and the introduction of electric motorcycles and hybrid electric motorcycles and four-wheelers has drastically changed the scope of the Off-road High-performance vehicle market specifically in the defense application. Introduction of all-terrain vehicles adversely impacted the Off-road high-performance vehicle market as a whole. Specifically, in the defense application, Off-road high-performance vehicle witnessed a steep decline for a considerable period. Introduction of electric motorcycles and hybrid technology has resulted in a rather welcome change in the overall industries landscape. Enhanced vehicle performance, combined with higher durability and tailor-made designs for defense applications have resulted in a rapid surge in demand for Off-road high-performance vehicles in the defense sector.The global Off-road high-performance vehicle market has been segmented, by channel as original equipment manufacturers and aftermarket. By application, the market has been segmented as recreation and defense. By geography the market has been segmented as Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the world.Mainly due to their lower cost, high mobility and efficiency Off-road high-performance vehicle have become an integral part of irregular warfare. Such rise in demand for Off-road high-performance vehicle from the defense sector is expected to influence the Off-road high-performance vehicle market. With manufacturers now focusing on the development of tailor-made Off-road high-performance vehicle for military application, the market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. Off-road High-performance vehicles found widespread defense applications during the world wars. These motorcycles were primarily utilized for liaison, communications and transportation. After the world wars the demand for Off-road high-performance vehicle diminished, and the wartime orders have never returned. Technological development is one of the key growth influencing factors for the Off-road High-performance vehicle market. Inflated defense budgets across the globe is another major factor, expected to provide the Off-road High-performance vehicle market, a boost in the future. Increase in applications of motorcycles in defense is expected to have a major impact on the growth of the Off-road high-performance vehicle market.The growth of the Asia Pacific region can be attributed to the adoption of passenger cars and therefore, the increase in adoption of Off-road high-performance vehicle in the passenger cars. The recent shift in the preference for mileage to vehicle looks and features is also expected to result in high demand for Off-road high-performance vehicle. The global Off-road high-performance vehicle market is also expected to grow during the forecast period, owing to increasing population, rapid industrialization and aggressive expansion of manufacturing sector.Intended Audience:Distributor & Supplier companiesEnd UsersConsultants and Investment bankersGovernment as well as Independent Regulatory AuthoritiesMarket Research Analysis:In the past couple of years, the motorcycle industry in the U.S. has witnessed a significant increase in the number of motorcycles sales and registrations. Motorcycle registrations have increased by an estimated 75% this year. Dominated by Harley Davidson, the motorcycle industry in the U.S. is going through a drastic change in depleting market share of Harley Davidson and increasing market share of smaller players. Off-road High-performance vehicle market has benefited from this shift in the past couple of years with market players such as Yamaha and Honda gaining significant ground on their competitors owing to their Off-road High-performance vehicle segments.For more details on this report:About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact Us:Amanora Chambers,Magarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Industrial Air Preheaters Market - Current Scenario and Future Growth Analysis by 2018-2028

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Global Industrial Air Preheater Market: IntroductionIndustrial air preheaters are heat exchangers predominantly used in steam boilers to absorb heat from the flue gases of the boiler, and transfer it to the combustion/incoming cold air before it enters the furnace. These are used when the exhaust temperatures of gases coming from combustion systems are high. By preheating the combustion air with the hot flue gases, a considerable increase in efficiency of the boiler and power plant can be obtained. Thus, industrial air preheaters are an essential component of a boiler system. The type of industrial air preheater completely dominating the market is the regenerative type industrial preheater, owing to its high efficiency and results in reduced space requirements with an optimum price. Besides, the regenerative type of industrial preheaters offer ease of replacement of elements and weigh considerably lower than recuperative industrial air preheaters. In order to gage the trend and growth analysis of the global industrial air preheater market; this study offers a complete analysis.Request Brochure Copy of the Report @Global Industrial Air Preheater Market: Market DynamicsA drop in power generation from coal in some regions is expected due to record increases in power generation from renewable sources of energy, such as hydropower wind, solar, etc. Further, underutilized coal-fired power plants, owing to overcapacity in countries such as China, exacerbates conflicts among grids, thereby impacting the consumption of industrial air preheaters. Prominent manufacturers have been extensively investing in manufacturing operations in lucrative regions, such as South East Asia & Pacific, thereby enhancing their production footprint in order to cater to the elevating demand in the ASEAN and other neighboring countries. Existing and upcoming coal power plants have important implications for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the climate goals of the Paris agreement. In the short-term outlook, this factor will likely sway market growth negatively. However, the most recent trend shows that, global coal power generation capacity has been growing at a high rate in recent years, and is expected to continue to grow in many regions of the world, subsequently triggering the pace of the industrial air preheater market.Global Industrial Air Preheater Market: Market SegmentationThe global industrial air preheater market can be segmented on the basis of tube material, tube design, technique, end use industry, and region.On the basis of tube material, the global industrial air preheater market can be segmented as:Steel and Stainless SteelCopper and AluminumSpecial MaterialsOn the basis of tube design, the global industrial air preheater market can be segmented as:Elliptical Finned TubesRound Finned TubesPlain TubesOthersOn the basis of technique, the global industrial air preheater market can be segmented as:Recuperative Air PreheatersRegenerative Air PreheatersOn the basis of end use industry, the global industrial air preheater market can be segmented as:Power GenerationPulp & PaperMarineChemicalOil and GasOther Industrial ApplicationsGlobal Industrial Air Preheater Market: Regional OutlookBeing at the forefront, China dominates the global industrial air preheater market, followed by North America and India. Industrialized countries in the European region encourage the in-house production of power, and proliferate the need for industrial air preheaters. Moreover, India, being a leading market for industrial air preheaters, offers huge potential and growth opportunities against the backdrop of surging demand for energy and rapid economic growth. China, a country with a mammoth number of coal power units, also demands a significant number of industrial air preheaters. Coal use is increasing in growing economies, such as Indonesia, to meet electricity demands. Anticipating future demand, the government has announced a determined electricity infrastructure plan by enhancing total power generation capacity by 2020. Consequently, a surge in domestic demand, mainly from coal-fired power plants, is foreseen to bolster the demand for industrial air preheaters.Request Report TOC @Global Industrial Air Preheaters Market: Key ParticipantsExamples of some of the market participants in the global industrial air preheater market discerned across the value chain include:Balcke-Durr GmbHKelvion Holding GmbHARVOS Group (Ljungstrom)Geurts International B.V.Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machinery Systems, Ltd.AerofinNanjing Yire Zonglian Energy Saving Technology Co. Ltd.Howden GroupMaxxtec GmbHEKSTROMS VARMETEKNISKA ABThermodyne Engineering SystemsAbout FactMRFactMR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports.Contact UsFactMR11140 Rockville PikeSuite 400Rockville, MD 20852United StatesEmail: sales@factmr.comWeb:Follow Us on Linkedin:
worldwide Malaria Drugs Market Research Reports & Industry Analysis

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The Global Malaria Drugs Market 2018-2028 report offers a detailed analysis of the industry, with market size forecasts covering the next ten years. This report will also analyze factors that influence demand for tactical communication, key market trends, and challenges faced by industry participants.The Malaria Drugs industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed. Finally the feasibility of new investment projects are assessed and overall research conclusions offered. With the tables and figures the report provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.For Sample report @Complete Report of Malaria Drugs Market available with the following details: Pages - 108, Leading Companies - 10, Table of contents - 195Profiling Companies: Cipla ,Guilin Pharmaceutical ,IPCA Laboratories ,GlaxoSmithKline ,Mylan Labs ,Roche ,Novartis ,Sanofi Aventis ,Ajanta Pharma ,Kunming PharmaceuticalGlobal Malaria Drugs Market provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Malaria Drugs Market analysis is provided for the international Industry including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status.Grab Discount here@Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand Figures, cost, price, revenue and gross margins.Global Malaria Drugs Market focuses on global major leading industry players providing information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also carried out.Purchase Malaria Drugs Market Report @Major Points Covered in Table of Contents:1 Malaria Drugs Market /Industry Overview2 Classifications by Product Category3 Global Needles Free Drug Delivery Players/Suppliers Profiles and Sales Data, Type and Application4 Malaria Drugs Manufacturing Cost Analyses5 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers6 Marketing Strategy Analyses, Distributors/Traders7 Market Effect Factors Analysis8 Research Findings and Conclusion9 AppendixAbout Us:Reports And Markets is part of the Algoro Research Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. On ReportsAndMarkets.com you will find all the globally available market research and company reports from well-respected market research companies, all leaders in their field. Reports And Markets is totally independent and serves its customers by providing the most reliable market research available, as we understand how important this is for you.Contact Us:Sanjay JainManager - Partner Relations & International Marketinginfo@reportsandmarkets.comPh: +44-020-3286-9338 (UK)Ph: +1-214-377-1121 (US)Ph: +91-703-049-0292 (IND)Connect with us on:Facebook:LinkedIn:Twitter:RSS/Feeds:
Diabetes Drug Market Overview 2018 to 2023 Achievable the in-depth table of content TOC & Market Synopsis | with Booming Growth Worldwide by Key Factors Analysis | Increased Prevalence Rate  Avail Prime Report to MRFR

Diabetes Drug Market

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Market Research Future published a Cooked research report on Global Diabetes Drug Market Research Report - Forecast till 2023  Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2023Global Diabetes Drugs Market  OverviewThe global diabetes drugs market is growing with a swift phase; mainly due to increase in patient population and research and development done by market players to fill the gap of market. The WHO estimated that diabetes leads to 1.6 million deaths in 2015 and it is the major causes of blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke, and lower limb amputation.Get Premium Sample Report Available @Increase in incidence of chronic disease owing to diabetes will drag the interest of biopharmaceutical researchers for developing effective drugs for the treatment. More than 170 diabetes drugs are in the development stage to cure diabetes or diabetes related conditions. In 2014, the cost of diabetes diagnosis was around USD 245 billion in the United States, and biopharmaceutical researchers are focusing to find new lifesaving and life-changing treatments.Global Diabetes Drugs Market - SegmentationThe global diabetes drug market is segmented on the basis of types, route of administration, drug class, and end users.On the basis of types, the market is segmented into type-1 diabetes and type-2 diabetes.On the basis of route of administration, the market is segmented into oral, intravenous and other.On the basis of drug class they are insulin, sensitizers, SGLT-2 inhibitors, alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, secretagogues, peptide analogs and others. Sensitizers are sub segmented into thiazolidinediones and biguanides. Secretagogues are further segmented into sulfonylureas and non-sulfonylureasOn the basis of end users, the market is segmented into hospital & clinics, ambulatory clinics and other.Global Diabetes Drugs Market - Key PlayersThe major player in the global diabetic drug market are Eli Lilly (US), Novo Nordisk (Denmark), Abbott (US), AstraZeneca (UK), Biocon (US), Sunpharma (India), Sanofi (France), Novartis (Switzerland), Merck & Co. (US), Pfizer (US), Daiichi Sankyo (Japan), Boehringer Ingelheim (Germany), Akros Pharma (US), Amgen (US), Adocia (France), Peptron (South Korea), Takeda (Japan).Global Diabetes Drugs Market - ScenarioDiabetes is a metabolic disorder in which the body glucose level is elevated. There are two type of diabetes namely type-1 diabetes and type-2 diabetes. During last decade there is a tremendous increase in the number of diabetic population. According to International Diabetes Federation, in 2016, it was estimated that 420 million adult population were suffering from diabetes which is increasing at the rate of 8.4% and is expected to reach 625 million by 2040. A number of different types of drugs are available in the market however, no available treatment can cure diabetes totally. However, cost issues, strict regulatory rules and long approval time for drugs may led to restrain the growth of the market.The global Diabetes Drug Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.2% during forecasted period 2017-2023.Browse Complete Report @Global Diabetes Drugs Market - Regional AnalysisAmerica dominates the global diabetes drug market owing to large diabetic patient population. According to the WHO, in 2016, 9.6% of total America population were suffering from diabetes. In addition to this, increasing number of obese people, changing lifestyle and increasing healthcare expenditure have boosted the growth of the market in America. Increasing cholesterol level and smoking increases the possibility of causing diabetes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2014), 73.5 million adults in the US had diagnosed with high cholesterol level.Europe accounts for the second largest diabetes drug market, which is followed by Asia Pacific. Huge smoking population, availability of funds for research, and government support for research & development will drive the market in Europe.Asia Pacific is the fastest growing region for the market due to the presence of a huge patient population, continuously developing economies, and increasing need for the better treatment.On the other hand, the Middle East & Africa has the least share in the global diabetes drug market due to presence of poor economy especially in Africa region. Middle East holds the major share in the Middle East & Africa diabetes drug market owing to well-developed healthcare sector and huge healthcare expenditure.MAJOR TABLE OF CONTENTS:Chapter 1. Report PrologueChapter 2. Market Introduction2.1 Definition2.2 Scope Of The Study2.2.1 Research Objective2.2.2 Assumptions2.2.3 LimitationsChapter 3. Research Methodology3.1 Introduction3.2 Primary Research3.3 Secondary Research3.4 Market Size EstimationChapter 4. Market Dynamics4.1 Drivers4.2 Restrains4.3 Opportunities4.4 Challenges4.5 Macroeconomic IndicatorsMajor TOC Continued!Get Exclusive Discount @About US:Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone: +1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Roofing Chemicals Market - Global Industry Insights, Trends, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 20182024

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Roofing chemicals are generally utilized to improve the performance and shelf life of roof coatings and coverings. These chemicals are vital to keep the temperature low in the interiors of the house. Cool roofing technologies has increased awareness regarding roofing chemicals across the globe. Roofing chemicals are preferred for their various properties such as high reflectivity and insulation. Roofing chemicals are vital for thermal management of buildings and houses. The electricity costs are also reduced owing to lesser energy requirements for cooling the interiors of the house.Request For Sample Copy of this Research Report :Prevalent Scenario in Roofing Chemicals MarketIncreasing construction activities have boosted the demand for roofing chemicals across the globe. Asphalt roofing material is widely used for buildings. It is the most-widely used type of roofing chemical. Asphalt provides the best performance in terms of roofing material. Factors such as wide choices in top-surfacing, insulation, reduced deformation, reduced flushing, better texture and durability have further boosted the demand for asphalt roofing chemicals. Other factors such as lower cost, lower crack formation, and flexibility also drive the demand for asphalt. Asphalt roofing also form part of fire, wind and hail resistant roof systems. In terms of application segment, bituminous roofs are in high demand owing to their rigidness and long life. Bituminous roofs are very durable and generally have extended shelf life. They can be used with conventional shingles, which makes them suitable for quick installation.Regional Outlook of Roofing Chemicals MarketCurrently, Asia Pacific is the leading market for roofing chemicals. Countries such as China, India, Japan, Australia, and South Korea among others drive roofing chemicals market in this region. China is the dominant player in this market not only in Asia Pacific but also globally. The demand for roofing chemicals in China is growing due to increasing construction activities as well as the real estate boom in the country. This trend is expected to continue throughout the forecast period. India is also a growing market for roofing chemicals. China and India are expected to grow at the fastest rate owing to increasing infrastructure and construction activities in these countries. In Europe, roofing chemicals is in high demand owing to the inclination of the region towards energy security, efficient housing and green buildings. Countries such as Germany, the U.K., France, Italy, Norway, Spain, and Denmark among others drive the roofing chemicals market in the region. North America has high demand for roofing chemicals. The U.S. and Canada have set high standards for energy efficiency which has boosted the demand for roofing chemicals in this region. Middle East and Africa also have huge demand for roofing chemicals. The demand is expected to increase owing to increasing interest in energy efficiency and minimum wastage in this region. Countries such as UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and South Africa among others drive the roofing chemicals market in this region. The share of Latin America in global market in roofing chemicals is expected to increase during the forecast period owing to increasing construction and housing projects in the region. Countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Chile are expected to drive the market in this region.Market Driven By R&DThe global roofing chemicals market is driven by research and development and new product development by leading companies. Companies are striving to introduce new products in the market with qualities such as better solar reflectance index, longer shelf life, high elasticity, reliable adhesion, and dirt resistance among others. Some of the major companies operating in the global roofing chemicals industry include BASF SE, The Dow Chemical Company, Saint-Gobain S.A., 3M Company, Akzo Nobel N.V, and Sika AG among others.For More Information:About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com
Car Rental Market 2018 Business Analysis and Future Scope with Top Key Players- Avis Budget, Carzonrent, Enterprise Holding, Europcar, Hertz, Sixt

Car Rental

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The report gives the clear picture of current Car Rental Market scenario and the predicted future of the industry. The report focuses on the basis of market drivers, restraints, growth, trends and forecast for the period of 2018-2025. In addition, the report also maps the market performance by value chain analysis which will help in better product differentiation along with the analysis of each segment in terms of opportunity, market attractiveness index and growth rate.The report Car Rental Market by Key players highlights the essential market dynamics of Car Rental Market sector. The efficiency of this segment has been studied deeply along with the noteworthy challenges and forthcoming growth opportunities and prospective. The report focuses in decision making abilities and supports to make effective counter strategies in order to achieve competitive advantage. Current market scenario of the segment and forecasts of the market situation have also been bounded in this market report.QY Research groups can be relied upon for the most updated and in depth information of the title Global Car Rental Market this is estimated by experts to develop at the most elevated CAGR amid the estimate time frame 2018-2025.Get your Sample Report Copy @This report focuses on the global top players, covered Avis Budget Carzonrent Enterprise Holding Europcar Hertz Sixt...Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report covers United States Europe China Japan Southeast Asia IndiaMarket segment by Type, the product can be split into Luxury Cars Executive Cars Economy Cars SUVs MUVsMarket segment by Application, split into Local Usage Airport Transport OutstationThe study objectives of this report are: To study and forecast the market size of Car Rental in global market. To analyze the global key players, SWOT analysis, value and global market share for top players. To define, describe and forecast the market by type, end use and region. To analyze and compare the market status and forecast between China and major regions, namely, United States, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India and Rest of World. To analyze the global key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks. To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth. To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments. To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the market To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the market To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.Get the best Discount in the market here @This market is segmented by Types and Applications. It provides a profound study of the leading players in the market and the prevailing regions in the business, thereby benefiting new entries in the business by proving the most updated insights of the market.At QY Research Groups we render the most authentic and elaborate information for the utmost benefit of our clients.About Us:QY Research Groups is a company that simplifies how analysts and decision makers get industry data for their business. Our unique colossal technology has been developed to offer refined search capabilities designed to exploit the long tail of free market research whilst eliminating irrelevant results. QY Research Groups is the collection of market intelligence products and services on the Web. We offer reports and update our collection daily to provide you with instant online access to the world's most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends.Contact Us:Call: +1-888-236-2744Email: sales@qyresearchgroups.comRoom B1510, Shiji Kemao Building,No.66 Zhongguancun East Road,Haidian District, Beijing,100190, China.
Power Fact Report of Global Defense Fuel Cells Sales Market 2018

Defense Fuel Cells

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This report studies the global Defense Fuel Cells market status and forecast, categorizes the global Defense Fuel Cells market size (value & volume) by key players, type, application, and region. This report focuses on the top players in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia India and Other regions (Middle East & Africa, Central & South America).Fuel cells offer significant savings of loads, in weight and volume, compared to conventional power sources. The Global Defense Fuel Cells Market is expected to grow. Factors such as use of fuel cells as environmentally viable energy-on-demand solution, enhanced efficiency of fuel cells and increasing awareness about the benefits of the fuel cell are boosting the market growth. In addition, acceptance of fuel cells to decrease dependence on imported oil is one of the key trends which help the market to grow. However, lack of fuel cell infrastructure and high price of the catalyst, which raises the price of fuel cell are restricting the market.. . Get Sample Report_' 'The global Defense Fuel Cells market is valued at xx million US$ in 2017 and will reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of xx% during 2018-2025.- The major players covered in this reportWATT Fuel Cell Corporation, Ultracell, SFC Energy, Protonex, Neah Power Systems, General Motors, Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Corporation, .Other- Geographically, this report studies the key regions, focuses on product sales, value, market share and growth opportunity in these regions, coveringUnited StatesEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndia. . More Clear Details get Full Table of Contents_' '- The study objectives of this report are:To analyze and study the global Defense Fuel Cells sales, value, status (2013-2017) and forecast (2018-2025);To analyze the top players in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India, to study the sales, value and market share of top players in these regions.Focuses on the key Defense Fuel Cells players, to study the sales, value, market share and development plans in future.- Key StakeholdersDefense Fuel Cells ManufacturersDefense Fuel Cells Distributors/Traders/WholesalersDefense Fuel Cells Subcomponent ManufacturersIndustry AssociationDownstream VendorsContinue.....ResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Researchmoz Global Pvt. Ltd.90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United States,Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free),Tel: +1-518-621-2074
Wireless Gas Detection Market 2018 Global Industry Professional Survey 2026 Growth Opportunities | Agilent Technologies, Airtest Technologies, Crowcon Detection Instruments, Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaA

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Market Insights:Global Wireless Gas Detection market is accounted for $1.27 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach $5.72 billion by 2026 growing at a CAGR of 18.2%. Growing environmental safety concerns among industries, raising acceptance of Industrial Internet of Things Technologies trend, and innovative technological advancements are some of the factors propelling the market growth over the forecast period. Furthermore, increasing demand from oil & gas industry is also assisting the market growth. On the other hand, security threats while using wireless technologies, high deployment costs are some of the restraints hindering the market growth.Detailed Sample Copy of Updated Analysis @Top Industry Players:Some of the key players in Wireless Gas Detection market include Agilent Technologies Inc., Airtest Technologies Inc., Crowcon Detection Instruments Ltd., Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaA, Gastronics Inc., Honeywell International Inc., MSA Safety Incorporated, Otis Instruments, Inc., Pem-Tech, Inc., Sensidyne, LP, Siemens AG, Tektroniks Ltd, Tyco Gas & Flame Detection, United Electric Control, and Yokogawa Electric Corporation.What our report offers:- Market share assessments for the regional and country level segments- Market share analysis of the top industry players- Strategic recommendations for the new entrants- Market forecasts for a minimum of 9 years of all the mentioned segments, sub segments and the regional markets- Market Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations)- Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations- Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends- Company profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments- Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancementsRequest Discount on this repots @Market Segments:By technology, Wireless Networking (Wi-Fi) Technologies are prognosticated to lead the market with largest market share during the forecast period owing to its attributes of easy installation, cost efficiency and adoptability in various industrial processes. North America is emerged as the major revenue generating region in the global market due to high adoption of technological innovations and stringent safety regulations at work place. There is an increasing demand for the Wireless Gas Detection from APAC region. China and Japan are the major countries having higher demand for Wireless Gas Detection.Product Types Covered: Carbon Dioxide Carbon Monoxide Nitrogen Oxide Oxygen Other ProductsComponent & Service Types Covered: Services Software HardwareTechnologies Covered: Bluetooth Technology Cellular Technology License-Free Ism Band Wireless Networking (Wi-Fi) Technology Other TechnologiesApplications Covered: Environmental Safety National Security and Military Safety Industrial SafetyEnd Users Covered: Chemical & Petrochemical Commercial Buildings and Public Facilities Discrete Manufacturing Industries Government and Military Mining and Metals Oil and Gas Utilities and Power Generation Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants Other End UsersEnquiry Before Buying @About Market PrognosisWe at Market Prognosis believe in giving a crystal clear view of market dynamics for achieving success in todays complex and competitive marketplace through our quantitative & qualitative research methods.We help our clients identify the best market insights and analysis required for their business thus enabling them to take strategic and intelligent decision.We believe in delivering actionable insights for your business growth and success.Contact us:ProgMark Pvt Ltd,Thane - 421501India.Contact No: +1 973 241 5193Email: sales@marketprognosis.com
United States Insulin Pump Market will Reach USD 4 Billion by the Year End of 2022

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The research report titled United States Insulin Pump Market Insights, Opportunity, Analysis, Growth Potential & Forecast 2017  2022 examines the market, competitive landscape and trends of the United States Insulin Pump Market. The report provides an in-depth analysis of the type 1, type 2 and newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes and overall diabetes population. It provides essential insights into insulin pump users with more focused on type 1 and type 2 diabetes insulin pump users. Market outlook in value terms for the forecasted period for Insulin Pump Market has been detailed in the report. It also covers reimbursement pattern and offers a clear view of the regulatory landscape. Additionally, the report includes assessment of clinical trials and preferred insulin pump brand by the patients. Key trends in terms of collaborations, partnerships and licensing agreements are analysed with details. The report also explores detailed description of growth drivers and inhibitors of the United States Insulin Pump Market.Market growth can be attributed to factors such as increasing number of diabetic patients, growing awareness towards diabetes, improved glucose control and flexible, lifestyle-compatible treatment options and technological advancement in insulin pump devices. However, high cost of the insulin pumps is hampering the growth of this market.Get Free Sample Report@The report concludes with the profiles of major players in the Insulin Pump Market such as Insulet Corporation, Medtronic, Roche, Animas Corporation and Tandem Diabetes Care. The major market players are evaluated on various parameters such as company overview, product outlook and sales analysis of the Insulin Pump and Diabetes Market from 2011 to 2022.Key Topics Covered in the Report United States Diabetes Population (2011  2022) United States Insulin Pump Users and Market Analysis (2011  2022) United States Insulin Pump Preferred Brand  By Product United States Insulin Pump Market: Reimbursement & Regulation System United States Insulin Pump Market  Major Deal Types Insulin Pump Market Clinical Trail Insight by Phase, Company & Country Key Companies Analysis Key Drivers and Inhibitors of the United States Insulin Pump MarketEnquiry about Report@Key Companies Covered in the Report are as follows: Insulet Corporation Medtronic Roche Animas Corporation Tandem Diabetes CareAbout Us:Qurate Business Intelligence delivers unique market research solutions to its customers and help them to get equipped with refined information and market insights derived from reports. We are committed to providing best business services and easy processes to get the same. Qurate Business Intelligence considers themselves as strategic partners of their customers and always shows the keen level of interest to deliver quality.Contact Us:Nehal ChinoyRunwal Platinum,Ramnagar Colony, Bavdhan,Pune, Maharashtra, India-411021IN +919881074592info@qurateresearch.com
Hire Affordable and Business Friendly Language Translators

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When it comes to business, the communication has to be crisp and clear. The business relationship depends majorly depends on the communication and how both the parties convey their messages. It can be easy for companies that conduct business communication in English, but what if both the parties belong to a different culture and language? This is when you need a professional business translation service that can do the job efficiently. Shakti Enterprise, the leading language translation service in Delhi offers business translation service, keeping the idioms and culture in mind.In the current challenging economic environment and market expansion, it is important to have a backing of expert translation service that can help to accomplish your business goal. At Shakti Enterprise, we ensure that your business communication is done with perfection helping to take the business to a whole new level.Multi-Disciplines Business Translation Approach:At Shakti Enterprise, we finely incorporate our business translation service with a multi-disciplines approach to give a positive result. Whether your business belongs to marketing, finance, accounting, human resource, etc., we blend our translation service with your business language finely. Our company is backed with expert business language translators who understand the business requirements. All these are offered at an affordable rate.When it comes to cost language translation for business, we ensure that our service values your monetary investment.International Business Translations:When it comes to business translation, one of the major challenges is to understand the rich business words and the mood of the entire work. Different countries have different regulatory bodies and government agencies which are important to know. The translator must understand different business idioms and rules set by the business circle. Shakti Enterprise has worked with top international companies worldwide to offer an accurate business translation. From corporate documentation to financial statements, we have worked on several of the business documents under affordable cost.Our business translation cost involves techniques used and type of document to translate.The team of Professional Business Translator:One of the reasons why Shakti Enterprise is considered the best business translation service in Delhi is because of a backing of professional translators. We set our cost of business translation as per the requirement. Our professionals are bound to hold the confidentiality of the documents translated and ensure that there is no breach of confidence. Moreover, our translators are sensitive to nature and fully respect the documentation.Being the leading translation company in India, Shakti Enterprise doesn't charge high to any business entity.Cost of Business Translation:We have set the quote for our business translation as per the requirement from the client. The price of the translation majorly is on a per-word basis. We first check your demand and the time required for the translation. Moreover, the tools required for the translation also matters. In general, per word for general business document translation and per word for small translation projects is charged. However, if the project demands a larger time, then costing is according to the per hour rate.Professional Translators for your business:If you are looking for a translation partner who can handle all the major business translation work, then Shakti Enterprise is the one whom you must connect with. From local language translation to crossover country business language translation, we indulge in every aspect of business translation. Whether you are a multinational company or a startup having a global presence aim, then Shakti Enterprise should be your partner for language translation.Shakti Enterprise, one of the leading language translation and localization services in Delhi offer complete service- online and offline for businesses. From localization of website to a translation of business documents, Shakti Enterprise indulges in different forms. Being a certified agency, we understand that every aspect of translation is important to give out the best result. Whether your company deals with IT domain or Marketing or product based, we ensure that there is a proper communication between clients. We are ISO certified and are equipped with all types of software products for the use of translation work. We also deal with Content Writing, Proof Reading, Transcription and Interpretation service in most Indian and Foreign languages. Do connect with us for all types of business language translation service in Delhi.Shakti Enterprise, Municipal No. 3, Old Madras Road, Benniganahalli village Krishnarajpuram, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560016, 7208885555.
Medical Cameras Market Outlook to 2025 - Stryker, Olympus Corporation, Hamamatsu Photonics K.K, Carestream Health., Sony Electronics Inc., IMPERX, Inc, B. Braun Melsungen AG, CYMO B.V, LEMKE, ATMOS Medizin Technik GmbH & Co. KG.

Medical Cameras Market Growth Report to 2025

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Medical camera is technique to visualize the internal parts hidden by skin and bones for clinical purposes. These medical cameras are used in surgeries and other healthcare applications to record techniques which further can be utilized for training and reviewing purposes. An endoscopy is used as a medical equipment used in diagnosis or treatment to look inside the body and is performed with an endoscope.An exclusive Medical Cameras market research report created through broad primary research (inputs from industry experts, companies, and stakeholders) and secondary research, the report aims to present the analysis of Global Medical Cameras Market By Type, By Application, By Region - North America, Europe, South America, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa. The report intends to provide cutting-edge market intelligence and help decision makers take sound investment evaluation. Besides, the report also identifies and analyses the emerging trends along with major drivers, challenges and opportunities in the global Medical Cameras market. Additionally, the report also highlights market entry strategies for various companies across the globe.Order a copy of this RESEARCH STUDY atLeading Medical Cameras Market Players:1. Stryker2. Olympus Corporation3. HAMAMATSU PHOTONICS K.K4. Carestream Health.5. SONY ELECTRONICS INC.6. IMPERX, Inc7. B. Braun Melsungen AG8. CYMO B.V9. LEMKE10. ATMOS Medizin Technik GmbH & Co. KGWorldwide Medical Cameras Market Analysis to 2025 is a specialized and in-depth study of the Medical Cameras industry with a focus on the global market trend. The report aims to provide an overview of global Medical Cameras market with detailed market segmentation by product/application and geography. The global Medical Cameras market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Medical Cameras players and offers key trends and opportunities in the market.The report provides a detailed overview of the industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides overview and forecast of the global Medical Cameras market based on product and application. It also provides market size and forecast till 2025 for overall Medical Cameras market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America (SAM), which is later sub-segmented by respective countries and segments. The report evaluates market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend and provides exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions.Get Sample Copy of this Report atAlso, key Medical Cameras market players influencing the market are profiled in the study along with their SWOT analysis and market strategies. The report also focuses on leading industry players with information such as company profiles, products and services offered, financial information of last 3 years, key development in past five years.Reason to Buy- Save and reduce time carrying out entry-level research by identifying the growth, size, leading players and segments in the global Medical Cameras market- Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies.- The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the Medical Cameras market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long term strategies.- Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets.- Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it.- Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to products, segmentation and industry verticals.Get Complete Report With TOC and Company Profiles atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@theinsightpartners.comAbout Us:The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Automotive and Defense.533, 5th Floor, Amanora Chambers,Amanora Township, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Global Detonator Market 2018 Key Players: Yunnan Civil Explosive, Orica, CNIGC, Dyno Nobel/IPL, MAXAM, Huhua.

Detonator Market

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/2802352-global-detonator-market-research-report-2018

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/2802352-global-detonator-market-research-report-2018

Detonator Market:WiseGuyReports.com adds Detonator Market 2018 Global Analysis, Growth, Trends and Opportunities Research Report Forecasting to 2025 reports to its database.Executive SummaryThis report studies the global Detonator market status and forecast, categorizes the global Detonator market size (value & volume) by manufacturers, type, application, and region. This report focuses on the top manufacturers in United States, Europe, China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan and other regions.A detonator, frequently a blasting cap, is a device used to trigger an explosive device.Worldwide, 1892.6 million units detonator have been produced in the year 2016, while China attributes close to 59.24% of the world production, EMEA close to 22.05%, and Americas 9.36%. As for the consumption, countries which have large output of mines, such as China, USA, and Australia and so on, are the key consumers. China consumed 1103 million units detonator in 2016, contributing 58.28% sales share. Coal mines accounts for 24.68% of all detonator consumption, compared to 23.40% for metal mines and 15.70 % for non-metal mines.Yunnan Civil Explosive is the largest manufacturer of detonator. The company production volume was 179.7 million units in 2016 with 9.49% share globally. Other players accounted for 7.66%, 6.28% and 4.84% including Orica, CNIGC and AEL.The global Detonator market is valued at 830 million US$ in 2017 and will reach 750 million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of -1.4% during 2018-2025.The major manufacturers covered in this reportYunnan Civil ExplosiveOricaCNIGCDyno Nobel/IPLMAXAMHuhuaNanling Civil ExplosivePoly Permanent Union Holding GroupSichuan YahuaLeiming KehuaIDEALGezhouba ExplosiveSasolAELENAEXEPC GroupeBME MiningNOF CorporationAUSTINRequest Sample Report @Geographically, this report studies the top producers and consumers, focuses on product capacity, production, value, consumption, market share and growth opportunity in these key regions, coveringUnited StatesEUChinaJapanSouth KoreaTaiwanOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoIndustrial Electric DetonatorsShock Tube DetonatorsOthersOn the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, includingCoal MinesMetal MinesNon-metal MinesRailway/RoadHydraulic & HydropowerOthersThe study objectives of this report are:To analyze and study the global Detonator capacity, production, value, consumption, status (2013-2017) and forecast (2018-2025);Focuses on the key Detonator manufacturers, to study the capacity, production, value, market share and development plans in future.Focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the market competition landscape, SWOT analysis.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region.To analyze the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the marketTo analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the marketTo strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Detonator are as follows:History Year: 2013-2017Base Year: 2017Estimated Year: 2018Forecast Year 2018 to 2025For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2017 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered.Key StakeholdersDetonator ManufacturersDetonator Distributors/Traders/WholesalersDetonator Subcomponent ManufacturersIndustry AssociationDownstream VendorsAvailable CustomizationsWith the given market data, We offers customizations according to the company's specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:Regional and country-level analysis of the Detonator market, by end-use.Detailed analysis and profiles of additional market players.Table of ContentsGlobal Detonator Market Research Report 20181 Detonator Market Overview2 Global Detonator Market Competition by Manufacturers3 Global Detonator Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2013-2018)4 Global Detonator Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2013-2018)5 Global Detonator Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type6 Global Detonator Market Analysis by Application7 Global Detonator Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis8 Detonator Manufacturing Cost Analysis9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders11 Market Effect Factors Analysis12 Global Detonator Market Forecast (2018-2025)13 Research Findings and Conclusion14 AppendixContinuousFor further information on this report, visit Contact Us:Norah Trentsales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US); +44 208 133 9349 (UK)About Us:Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Addres:WISEGUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone :+91 841 198 5042
Spire discusses e-commerce strategies suited to the Indonesia market

Spire, Event, Jeffrey Bahar, E-commerce, Indonesia Market

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Spire was honoured to participate at the GATES Indonesia ICT Reseller Channel Summit 2018. The Summit was held on 1-3 May, 2018 in Bali. Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Spire Research and Consulting group and Indah Muliana, Senior Manager, shared insights on the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry in Indonesia, focusing on market trends and challenges.Bahar and Muliana discussed the growth of the ICT (Information and Communications Technology) market, its rapid expansion and the challenges faced by e-commerce businesses in Indonesia.Due to the rise in internet penetration with more online transactions, Indonesias ICT spending is expected to reach USD28.4 billion by 2020 whereas end-user device spending is set to increase 18% by 2020.As Indonesias internet user population reaches 143.26 million in 2017, 90% are using smartphones and close to 65% people prefer the Cash on Delivery (COD) option when buying products online.However, challenges remain for small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) struggling to capture the online market through appropriate channel partners.Bahar and Muliana focused on a 4-point e-commerce strategy known as AADC (Acquisition, Affiliation, Diversification and Collaboration) to address issues such as improving workforce productivity, lowering operational costs, increasing business growth and managing uncertainty.Bahar and Muliana discussed multiservice bundling, out of the box solutions and loyalty programs for customers. One example that was discussed was drones developed by SNC Technology to create fleet monitoring and capturing solutions to target forestry and plantations.Jeffrey Bahar and Indah Mulianas presentation deck on GATES Indonesia ICT Reseller Channel Summit 2018 can be found here:Spire Research and Consulting was established in 2000 to address a gap in the research and consulting industry in global emerging markets. Unlike most agencies that focus on traditional consumer research, our founders saw a profound need for holistic research projects.Unit 501-502, DLF City Court,DLF Phase III, Sector 24, Gurugram  122002, IndiaTelephone: (91) 124 421 6144Fax: (91) 124 422 1934E-mail: india.info@spireresearch.com
Global Smart Learning Systems Market 2025 Analysis, Trends and Forecasts report

RnM

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Global Smart Learning Systems Market: Global Demand, Growth Potential & Opportunity Outlook 2025 examines the market, competitive landscape and trends of the Global Smart Learning Systems Market. The report analyzes market data and provides a better understanding of Smart Learning Systems sales value and demand in the Global Market.Global Smart Learning Systems Market, provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Smart Learning Systems Market analysis is provided for the international Industry including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status.For Free Sample report @The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Smart Learning Systems Market manufacturers and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the industry.Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand Figures, cost, price, revenue and gross market Smart Learning Systems.Complete report on Global Smart Learning Systems Market spreads across 114 pages, profiling 18 Companies and supported with 214 tables and figures@The provincial analysis of the worldwide Smart Learning Systems Industry splits the global market area into key areas that include both continents as well as specific countries which are currently shining in phrases of demand, volume or normal Trends.Key Companies Analysis : Adobe Systems Inc. ,Educomp Solutions ,NIIT Limited ,Scholastic Corporation ,Smart Technologies ,Three Rivers Systems ,Cisco Systems ,Intel Corporation ,Ellucian Company L.P. ,Saba Software ,Blackboard, Inc. ,McGraw-Hill ,Pearson PLC ,Desire2learn ,Samsung Electronics ,SumTotal Systems ,Tata Interactive System ,Promethean, Inc.Global Smart Learning Systems Market focuses on global major leading industry players providing information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also carried out.Direct Purchase this Report@The Smart Learning Systems industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed. Finally the feasibility of new investment projects are assessed and overall research conclusions offered. With the tables and figures the report provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Major Points Covered in Table of Contents:1 Industry Overview2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Smart Learning Systems Market3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis4 Production Analyses of Smart Learning Systems Market by Regions, Technology, and Applications5 Sales and Revenue Analysis of Smart Learning Systems Market by Regions6 Analyses of Smart Learning Systems Market Production, Supply, Sales and Market Status 2018-20257 Analysis of Smart Learning Systems Market industry Key Manufacturers8 Price and Gross Mar Smart Learning Systems Analysis9 Marketing Traders or Distributor Analysis of Smart Learning Systems Market10 Development Trend of Smart Learning Systems Market industries 2018-202511 Industry Chain Suppliers of Smart Learning Systems Market with Contact Information12 New Project Investment Feasibility Analysis of Smart Learning Systems Market13 Conclusion of the Smart Learning Systems industry 2018 Market Research ReportList of Tables and FiguresAbout Us:ReportsandMarkets is part of the Algoro Research Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. On ReportsandMarkets.com you will find all the globally available market research and company reports from well-respected market research companies, all leaders in their field. Reports And Markets is totally independent and serves its customers by providing the most reliable market research available, as we understand how important this is for you.Contact Us:Sanjay JainManager - Partner Relations & International Marketinginfo@reportsandmarkets.comPh: +44-020-3286-9338 (UK)Ph: +1-214-377-1121 (US)Ph: +91-703-049-0292 (IND)
Automotive Fasteners Market Outlook to 2023 by Top Companies Wurth, Araymond, ITW, KAMAX, STANLEY, Aoyama Seisakusho, Meidoh, LISI, NORMA, Nifco, Meira, ZF TRW, Precision CastpartsCorp., Topura, Chunyu, Boltun, Fontana and Others

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The "Global Automotive Fasteners Market Analysis to 2023" is a specialized and in-depth study of the Automotive Fasteners industry with a focus on the global market trend. The report aims to provide an overview of global Automotive Fasteners market with detailed market segmentation by services, industry vertical and geography. The global Automotive Fasteners market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the leading market players and offers key trends and opportunities in the market.Automotive fasteners are a collection of products that are used in automotive and vehicle assembly. They are usually designed for specific models of vehicles.Get Free Sample Copy of Report atCompany Coverage (Sales Revenue, Price, Gross Margin, Main Products etc.): Wurth, Araymond, ITW, KAMAX, STANLEY, Aoyama Seisakusho, Meidoh, LISI, NORMA, Nifco, Meira, ZF TRW, Precision CastpartsCorp., Topura, Chunyu, Boltun, Fontana, Sundram Fasteners, SFS intec, Samjin, Keller & Kalmbach, Piolax, B?llhoff, EJOT Group, GEM-YEAR, RUIBIAO, Shenzhen AERO Fasteners, Dongfeng Auto Fasteners, Chongqing Standard Fasteners and Changshu Standard Parts.Application Coverage (Market Size & Forecast, Different Demand Market by Region, Main Consumer Profile etc.): Automotive OEM AftermarketRegion Coverage (Regional Production, Demand & Forecast by Countries etc.): North America (U.S., Canada, Mexico) Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Italy, Russia, Spain etc.) Asia-Pacific (China, India, Japan, Southeast Asia etc.) South America (Brazil, Argentina etc.) Middle East & Africa (Saudi Arabia, South Africa etc.)Browse Complete Report atReason to Buy- Save and reduce time carrying out entry-level research by identifying the growth, size, leading players and segments in the global Automotive Fasteners market- Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies.- The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the Automotive Fasteners market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long term strategies.- Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets.- Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it.- Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to products, segmentation and industry verticals.Place Direct Purchase Order of Automotive Fasteners Market atNote: If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Contact Info:Name: Research For MarketsEmail: alan.naidu@researchformarkets.comPhone: +44 8000-4182-37Research For Markets indulge in detailed and diligent research on different markets, trends and emerging opportunities in the successive direction to cater to your business needs. We have established the pillars of our flourishing institute on the grounds of Credibility and Reliability. RFM delve into the markets across Asia Pacific, North America, South America, Europe, Middle East And Africa.Level 21, Dashwood House69 Old Broad StreetLondon EC2M 1QS, United Kingdom
Cookies Market to Register Significant Growth of US $38 Bn by 2022

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The presence of established players, such as Barilla G. e R. Fratelli S.p.A, Campbell Soup Co., Arcor U.S.A. Inc., Mondelez International Inc., United Biscuits Ltd., Nestle SA, PepsiCo Inc., Britannia Industries Ltd., M. Dias Branco SA, and Kellogg Co., points towards a highly fragmented and competitive business landscape in the global cookies market, states a new research report by Persistence Market Research (PMR). Due to the intensive rivalry between the leading players, the degree of competition within this market is significantly high and the scenario is likely to remain so over the forthcoming years, thanks to innovations, cookie vendors are making in terms of flavor, ingredients, and packaging, notes the research study.Request to View Sample of Research Report @According to the research report, the global market for cookies is projected to expand at a CAGR of 5.80% over the period from 2017 to 2022 and increase to US$38 bn by the end of the period of the forecast. Currently, chocolate cookies are witnessing the most prominent demand among consumers, especially the younger ones. Researchers at PMR predict this trend to continue in the years to come, thanks to the augmenting popularity of chocolates across the world, and result into the rise of the chocolate cookies segment at a CAGR of more than 6% between 2017 and 2022. North America and APEJ have surfaced as the prime regional markets for cookies. With the extensively widening consumer base, both the regional markets are likely to retain their spots over the next few years, reports the research study.Innovation in Products to Drive Market's GrowthPrimarily, the worldwide market for cookies is driven by the continual introduction of novel and innovative products in the global marketplace. The taste, flavor, shape, nutrients, and packaging are the main areas of innovation among cookie vendors across the world. The increasing urbanization and the rise in disposable income of consumers across the world are also important factors behind the growth of this market.Over the forthcoming years, the market is expected to benefit from the advent of healthy cookies, which means cooking made up with oatmeal. The augmenting concerns over the adverse effect of cookies, which is high in carbohydrate, on health and fitness and the rising awareness about the advantages of oatmeal are projected to stimulate this market in the years to come, states the research report.Access Report with Table of Contents @Demand for Bar Cookies to Remain HighAmong the type of cookies, bar cookies acquire the leading position. Analysts expect the bar cookie segment to maintain its dominance over the next few years thanks to the high demand for bar cookies in North America and Asia Pacific excluding Japan. The APEJ and North America bar cookie markets, collectively, are likely to surpass US$2 bn in revenues by the end of the forecast period.Among other types of cookies, drop cookies, which currently have a relatively smaller market presence, is gaining considerable impetus across the world, converting into one of the most promising cookie type segment with potential that cannot be overlooked. Companies, which are looking to enter the drop cookies segment are advised to formulate unique strategies, which can help them gain a competitive edge over their rivals in this market, states the research report.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,Telephone - +1-646-568-7751USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Global Wireless LAN Controllers Market Size, Share, Growth, Analysis and Top Key Players (Allied Telesis, Hirschmann, Juniper, Netgear, Samsung, Avaya Corporation, D-Link) | Forecasts 20182025

Wireless LAN Controllers Market 2018

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Global Wireless LAN Controllers Market 2018-2023 Report shares information about key driving factors, risks, and opportunities with its impact by regions. The report also discusses the key market players that are evaluated on several parameters such as company summary, product portfolio, revenue generation and sales analysis of Wireless LAN Controllers Market segment in the forecast period.Get Sample Copy of this Report @Additionally, Wireless LAN Controllers Market gives a tenor of market utilization value, investment return analysis, investment feasibleness, product volume, market strategies, industry chain structure, supply and demand ratio and market chain value. Conclusively, the Wireless LAN Controllers Market Research report inspects distinct traders, distributors and suppliers of Wireless LAN Controllers Market industry along with sales channel, data resources, research findings and appendix.Top Key Players analyzed in Global Wireless LAN Controllers Market are - Cisco Zyxel Fortinet Huawei Allied Telesis Hirschmann Juniper Complete report Wireless LAN Controllers Market spreads across 121 pages profiling 18 companies and supported with tables and figures, Purchases this Report @Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand Figures, cost, price, revenue and gross margins.Market Segment By Type - 2 Port Wireless LAN Controllers 4 Port Wireless LAN Controllers 6 Port Wireless LAN Controllers 8 Port Wireless LAN Controllers 16 Port Wireless LAN Controllers 32 Port Wireless LAN Controllers OthersMarket Segment By Application  Enterprise Residential OthersThe main contents of the report including: Wireless LAN Controllers MarketSection 1: Product definition, type and application, Global market overview;Section 2: Global Market competition by company;Section 3: Global sales revenue, volume and price by type;Section 4: Global sales revenue, volume and price by application;Section 5: United States export and import;Section 6: Company information, business overview, sales data and product specifications;Section 7: Industry chain and raw materials;Section 8: SWOT and Porter's Five Forces;Section 9: Conclusion.Get direct copy this report @Major Points from Table of Contents 1 Market Overview2 Global and Regional Markets by Company3 Global and Regional Markets by Type4 Global and Regional Markets by Application5 Regional Trades6 Key Manufacturers7 Industries UpstreamContinue.List of Tables and Figures..About UsOrian Research is one of the most comprehensive collections of market intelligence reports on the World Wide Web. Our reports repository boasts of over 500000+ industry and country research reports from over 100 top publishers. We continuously update our repository so as to provide our clients easy access to the world's most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, and products. We also specialize in custom research in situations where our syndicate research offerings do not meet the specific requirements of our esteemed clients.Contact Us:Ruwin MendezVice President  Global Sales & Partner RelationsOrian Research ConsultantsUS: +1 (832) 380-8827 | UK: +44 0161-818-8027Email: info@orianresearch.comWebsite:Follow Us on LinkedIn:
In-depth Insights on Global Humus concentrate Market with Focus on Prime Regions, Top Players, Cost Structure and Competitive Scenario till 2028

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A fresh study, covering Humus concentrate Market Forecast, Trend Analysis & Competition Tracking - Global Review 2018 to 2028 has been broadcasted to wide online repository of FactMR, which presents deep focus on the Humus concentrate Market. This smart study contains precise data that offers a clear insight about market current scenario and future projections for the benefit of readers. Moreover, the study enclosed significant data which tends to make the research a powerful source for analysts and industry experts who are looking to gain necessary knowledge about the prevailing market trends, opportunities and drivers present in the Humus concentrate Market.Humus Concentrate Market Outlook:In the field of agriculture, fertilizers and pesticides are the major inputs that are required. The recent decade has shown an immense growth in the fertilizer market. For the past 50 years the chemical fertilizers and pesticides played a major role in the agriculture field, however the chemical fertilizers and pesticides have a very short history in the modern agriculture. In recent years the agrochemicals were used immensely for obtaining higher yield. Extensive application of agrochemicals will definitely lead to poor cropping system and several agricultural issues. Indiscriminate use of the chemical fertilizers result in loss of soil productivity along with some salts that will affect the yield. Bio fertilizers came forward in order to revive the soil health and has become a good supplement for the chemical fertilizers. Bio fertilizers are a renewable source of nutrients which play a vital role in order to maintain the soil fertility and sustainability. Humus is an organic material that is found in the soil of any agricultural land which has the capacity to serve as a soil conditioner. The recent trends in the modern agriculture includes usage of humus concentrate, which consists of natural and organic compounds that are obtained from the soil. There will be a growth in the market for humus concentrate as there is an increasing demand for safe and residue free food.Request TOC of this Report-Reasons for covering this title:Humus concentrate are environmental friendly bio fertilizers which has ensured sustainable agriculture in the recent decade. The soil already has good amount of humus which is not adequate for the soil fertility. By adding the humus concentrate externally, then the soil will have ample of humus which will result in soil fertility at a faster rate. Humus concentrates are non-toxic, eco-friendly, easy to apply and cost-effective. Humus concentrate have a long term environmental implications, negating the chemical effects. Humus concentrate consist of three main components, i.e., Humin, fulvic acid, humic acid and microorganisms like bacteria, fungi and algae which will help in the nitrogen fixation for the soil. The humic acid content in the humus concentrate are much higher when compared to chicken dung (>5%) and human waste (50%), hence the humic acid also has a natural way of controlling pests. The humus concentrate has satisfied the nutrient requirements for the soil and also resulted in a good amount of crop yield as it has organic compounds which can provide the necessary requirements. Globally, there will be a good market growth for the humus concentrate if the growers start using humus concentrate over other bio fertilizers.Global Humus concentrate market: Market SegmentationOn the basis of form, the global Humus concentrate market has been segmented as Powder Granules LiquidOn the basis of end use, the global Humus concentrate market has been segmented as Horticulture Landscaping Soil remediationOn the basis of function, the global Humus concentrate market has been segmented as Soil structuring Drought tolerant pH regulator Growth promoter Yield promoterOn the basis of region, the global Humus concentrate market has been segmented as North America Europe MEA Latin America APACGlobal Humus concentrate market: Key playersSome of the key players operating in the global Humus concentrate market are Novihum, Humintech, Humusolver, Fertrell, Ohio Earth food, Sustainable farming, Plasmabiotec, Organic approach, Natures force organics, AgriEnergy resources, King Humus Plus, Down to Earth all natural fertilizersIn order to cater safe and residue free food, it is necessary to create promotional activities among the growers about the usage of humus concentrate. Creating promotional activities is key for the market growth of humus concentrate. In few places there is less amount of awareness about the benefits of humus concentrate. This can be achieved by targeting the growers who are more specific about their usage of bio fertilizers for their agriculture purposes. There is definitely an expected growth for the humus concentrate market on a global level, provided if the demand for it increases.To know more about the Humus concentrate Market Trends, Visit the link Key Developments: Global Humus Concentrate MarketIn the year 2018, Humintech joined GreenTech, Amsterdam as a trade partner in order to provide more solution for the horticulture industry. The aim is to provide answer for the question in the innovation for fruits, flowers and vegetables. This can actually enhance the market growth of Humus concentrate.In the year 2014, Novihum has started a research project in Oman on artificial humus which is about to get established in Oman. This is also a certain approach to increase the market potential of humus concentrate.Opportunities for market participants in humus concentrate marketThe possibility for the growth of humus concentrate in the market is quite high. It has a high potential driven by various factors which can increase the purchase of humus concentrate to a certain level. So there is high market potential for the humus concentrate in the market.Brief Approach to ResearchA modeling-based approach and triangulation methodology will be followed to estimate data covered in this report. A detailed market understanding and assessment of the applications, types, forms, and end uses of the product segments covered in the study is followed by carrying out a demand-side approach to estimate the sales of target product segments, which is then cross-referenced with a supply-side assessment of value generated over a pre-defined period. The statistics and data are collected at a regional level, consolidated and synthesized at a global level to estimate the overall market sizes.Key Data Points Covered in the ReportSome of the key data points covered in our report include: An overview of the humus concentrate market, including background and evolution Macroeconomic factors affecting the humus concentrate market and its potential Market dynamics, such as drivers, challenges, and trends Detailed value chain analysis of the humus concentrate market The cost structure of the products and segments covered in the study In-depth pricing analysis, by key product segments, regions and by major humus concentrate market participants Analysis of humus concentrate supply and demand, such as top producing and consuming geographies, imports/exports, and overall trade scenario Analysis of the humus concentrate market structure, including a tier-wise categorization of key market participants Competitive landscape of the humus concentrate market, including detailed profiles of the top players in this marketRequest Brochure of this Report-About FactMRFactMR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports.Contact UsFactMR11140 Rockville PikeSuite 400Rockville, MD 20852United StatesEmail: sales@factmr.comWeb:
Marine Radar Market 2018-2023| Major Players-Garmin, Raytheon Company , Raymarine Inc, Nautilus LLC, Lockheed Martin Corporation , Northrop Grumman Corporation , Saab Group, BAE Systems and Rutter Inc,

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Marine Radar Market 2018 Industry Research Report provides important statistics, analytical and comparative data to give a complete understanding of the market Share, Size, Growth, Rising Trends and Cost Structure analysis.Request Sample Copy of this Report at -This report offers in-depth information obtained through extensive primary and secondary research methods. The information has been further assessed using various effective analytical tools. The report puts special emphasis on the most important details of the Global Marine Radar Market Report 2018 market, filtered out with the help of industry-best analytical methodsRegionally, North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, And The Middle East & Africa constitute the key market segments.For more details Enquire @Top Key Players Analyzed in Global Marine Radar Market are Garmin, Raytheon Company , Raymarine Inc, Nautilus LLC, Lockheed Martin Corporation , Northrop Grumman Corporation , Saab Group, BAE Systems, Rutter Inc, Kelvin Hughes Limited, Koden Electronics Co.Ltd, Johnson Outdoors Inc, Alphatron Marine BV, Tokyo keiki inc, Japan Radio Co. Ltd. and OtherComplete report on Marine Radar Industry spread across 122 pages, profiling 16 companies and supported with tables and figures. Enquire for more at -Key Benefit Of This Report:This report examines market size and growth rate by 2025This report provides current market and future growth expectationsMarket drivers, challenges, opportunities and threats in Global MarketImpacts of disruptive technologies and examine the changing competitive dynamicsMarket factor analysis delivers treasured information regarding the possible purchasers and suppliers and understanding the stakeholders involvedExamine forecast period using Porters five forces, supply chain and value chain analysisData regarding companies and business decision by having complete insights on the market and creating in-depth analysis of market segmentsTarget Audience:Marine applicationRaw material suppliers and distributorsResearch and consulting firmsGovernment and research organizationsAssociations and industry bodiesGet Direct Copy of this Report @Major Points Covered in Table of Contents:Executive SummaryDemographic OverviewResearch MethodologyPremium InsightsMarket OverviewMarket Factor AnalysisGlobal Marine Radar Market By Product TypeGlobal Marine Radar Market By ApplicationsGlobal Marine Radar Market By RegionMarket Trends and Competitive AnalysisCompany ProfilesAbout UsOrian Research is one of the most comprehensive collections of market intelligence reports on the World Wide Web. Our reports repository boasts of over 500000+ industry and country research reports from over 100 top publishers. We continuously update our repository so as to provide our clients easy access to the world's most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, and products. We also specialize in custom research in situations where our syndicate research offerings do not meet the specific requirements of our esteemed clients.Contact Us:Ruwin MendezVice President  Global Sales & Partner RelationsOrian Research ConsultantsUS: +1 (832) 380-8827 | UK: +44 0161-818-8027Email: info@orianresearch.comWebsite:Follow Us on LinkedIn:
Bone Biopsy Market 2018 | Needle Biopsy | Open Biopsy | Bone Cancer | Bone Infection | Brief overview of the Entire Industry 2018-2023

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The Global Bone Biopsy Market is growing continuously and expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.7% from 2017 to 2023. Bone biopsy is performed to diagnose various bone disorders such as bone cancer, bone infection, osteoporosis and chronic kidney disease. Nowadays, biopsy procedure has received great importance in oncology as one of the promising methods in cancer diagnostics. The demand for needle biopsy is found to be increasing from last few years... Furthermore, increasing healthcare expenditure and overall growth of healthcare industry also influence the market growth. Splendid research in the field of oncology also boost the market.According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cancer was the leading cause of the total number of deaths globally as of 2015 and was responsible for 8.8 million deaths. The most common causal agents identified are cigarettes, cigars, pipes and chewing tobacco. According to the Cancer Research U.K, looking at the lifestyle factors responsible, it has been found that out of 3 diagnosed cases, 1 may be linked to smoking. MarketGet Exclusive Sample Copy @Top Players in Bone Biopsy Market: C R Bard (U.S.) Becton, Dickinson and Company (U.S.) B. Braun Melsungen AG Hologic, Inc. (U.S.) Cook Medical (U.S.) Devicor Medical Products Inc. (U.S.) Argon Medical Inc. (U.S.), and othersMarket Segmentation of Bone Biopsy Market:The global bone biopsy market is segmented on the basis of type, indication and end user.On the basis of the component, market is segmented into needle biopsy and open biopsy.On the basis of the application, the market is segmented into bone cancer, bone infection, chronic kidney disease, osteoporosis, and others On the basis of the end user, the market is segmented into hospital & clinics, surgical centers, diagnostic centers, and others.Regional Analysis of Bone Biopsy Market:America is the largest market for bone biopsy owing to the rising prevalence of bone cancer and osteoporosis along with other bone disorders, extensive use of diagnostic services in hospitals & surgical centers and increasing importance of early diagnosis of bone cancer. As per the International Osteoporosis Foundation, over 2 million American men have osteoporosis. In women, bone loss can begin at as early as 25 years of age. Most of the American healthcare providers recommend building strong bones before the age of 30, as a best preventive measure for osteoporosis. Additionally, growing emphasis on healthy lifestyle and importance of exercise for good health boost the market growth. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2015) in the U.S., 4.9 million adults were diagnosed with kidney disease. Similarly, according to the U.S. National Kidney Foundation (2015), more than 660,000 Americans were treated for kidney failure also called end stage renal disease (ESRD).Europe is the second largest market owing to the prevalence of osteoporosis, increasing demand for needle bone biopsy devices and innovative healthcare solutions. Additionally, changing population demographics is projected to the affect prevalence of osteoporosis in the European Union (EU).The market in Asia Pacific is expected to grow rapidly owing to the rising prevalence of osteoporosis in women after menopause. Moreover, women healthcare is gaining roots in Asian countries owing rising prevalence of diseases in women such as osteoporosis, obesity, and diabetes. Japan is the largest market for bone biopsy in Asia Pacific owing to the flourishing growth of healthcare industry and presence of key players in the market.The Middle East & Africa also show a steady rise in the market owing to comparatively lesser demand for bone biopsy than the developed nations and high emphasis on primary care services. In the Middle East, the market is driven by increasing demand for specialty care services.Browse Complete ReportSome of Major Table of Content for Bone Biopsy Market:Table Of Contents1.1 DEFINITION1.2 SCOPE OF STUDY1.2.1 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE1.2.2 ASSUMPTIONS & LIMITATIONS1.2.2.1 ASSUMPTIONS1.2.2.2 LIMITATIONS1.3 MARKET STRUCTURE:2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY2.1 RESEARCH PROCESS:2.2 PRIMARY RESEARCH2.3 SECONDARY RESEARCH:3 MARKET DYNAMICS3.1 DRIVERS3.2 RESTRAINTS3.3 OPPORTUNITIES3.4 MACROECONOMIC INDICATORS4 MARKET FACTOR ANALYSIS4.1 PORTERS FIVE FORCES MODEL4.2 BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS4.3 BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS4.4 THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS4.5 THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES4.6 INTENSITY OF RIVALRYTOC Continued.!Get Discount @About US:Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact Us:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone: +1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Stable Isotope Labeled Compounds Market Making New Ways In Pharmaceutical And Biotechnology Industry With Top Players Like 13 C Molecular, C D N Isotopes, 3M, Isoflex, Isosciences, Merck, Urenco, Medical Isotopes,

Stable Isotope Labeled

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Stable isotope labeled compounds market report explaining benefits in interactive marketing, outlook, overview, share, trends, analysis report, consumer opinion, market research, techniques, advertisement companies, marketing research, definition, what is market survey, best advertising agencies, stable isotope labeled compounds market research definition to comforts conjunction.Global Stable Isotope Labeled Compounds Market is expected to reach USD 321.27 million by 2025, from USD 254.6 billion in 2017 growing at a CAGR of 2.9% during the forecast period of 2018 to 2025.The upcoming market report contains data for historic years 2016, the base year of calculation is 2017 and the forecast period is 2018 to 2025.Global Stable Isotope Labeled Compounds Market Analysis By Type (Deuterium, Carbon-13, Oxygen-18, Nitrogen-15, Neon-22, Boron-10, Other Stable Isotopes), By Application (Research, Biomedical Research, Pharmaceutical Research, Environmental & Ecological Research, Agricultural Research, Clinical Diagnostics, Industrial, Other Applications), By End User, By Geography (North America, South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East And Africa) With Industry Trends and Forecast to 2025Get Free Sample of This Information Analysis:Competitive Analysis: Global Stable Isotope Labeled Compounds MarketThe global stable isotope labeled compounds market is highly fragmented and the major players have used various strategies such as new product launches, expansions, agreements, joint ventures, partnerships, acquisitions, and others to increase their footprints in this market. The report includes market shares of stable isotope labeled compounds market for global, Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and South America.Major Market Competitors/Players: Global Stable Isotope Labeled Compounds MarketSome of the major players operating in the global stable isotope labeled compounds market are CambridgeIsotope Laboratories, Inc., 13 C Molecular, 3M, C D N Isotopes Inc., Isoflex, Merck KGaA, Urenco Limited, Isosciences, LLC, Medical Isotopes, Inc., Los Alamos National Laboratory, Omicron Biochemicals, Inc., Nordion (Canada) Inc., Trace Sciences International, Isosciences, Alsachim, JSC Isotope, Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation, Perkinelmer Inc. and Rotem Industries Israel Ltd, and others.Major Market Drivers and Restraints: Increase in research activities in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector Rising prevalence of cancer are the major factors Growing proteomics research High cost of stable isotope-labeled compoundsWant Full Report? Enquire Here:Market Segmentation: Global Stable Isotope Labeled Compounds Market Based on type, the global stable isotope labeled compounds market is sub segmented into deuterium, carbon-13, oxygen-18, nitrogen-15, neon-22, boron-10 and other stable isotopes. Based on application, the global stable isotope labeled compounds market segment is further segmented into research, biomedical research, pharmaceutical research, environmental & ecological research, agricultural research, clinical diagnostics, industrial, and other applications. On the basis of end users, the global stable isotope labeled compounds market is classified into pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic and research institutes, hospitals and diagnostic centers and other end users. Based on geography, the global stable isotope labeled compounds market report covers data points for 28 countries across multiple geographies namely North America & South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and, Middle East & Africa. Some of the major countries covered in this report are U.S., Canada, Germany, France, U.K., Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, China, India, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and, Brazil among othersVisit Report Description or Request TOC of Full Report:About UsData Bridge set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with an unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Data Bridge adepts in creating satisfied clients who reckon upon our services and rely on our hard work with certitude. For Customization and Getting Discount on Report by emailing sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com . We are content with our glorious 99.9 % client satisfying rate.Contact UsData Bridge Market ResearchToll Free: +1-888-387-2818Mail: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com
Acoustic Emission Testing Market at a Highest CAGR of 7.5% with Top Competitors like SGS SA, General Electric, X-R-I Testing, Applus+, Arcadia Aerospace and Global Forecast to 2025

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Global Acoustic Emission Testing Industry Market Research Report has been analyzed in detail to assist clients with all the vital data to frame tactical business judgments and propose strategic growth plans. The Global Acoustic Emission Testing Market report offers a comprehensive insight into the development policies and plans in addition to manufacturing processes and cost structures.The Global Acoustic Emission Testing Market accounted for USD 227.1 billion in 2017 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.5% the forecast period of 2018 to 2025. The upcoming market report contains data for historic years 2016, the base year of calculation is 2017 and the forecast period is 2018 to 2025.For In depth Information Get Free Sample Copy of this Report@Global Acoustic Emission Testing Market, By Equipment (Sensors, Amplifiers , Others), By Service (Inspection , Calibration), By Application (Storage tank, Pipeline , Others), By Geographical Segments (North America, South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa)-Industry Trends and Forecast to 2025Complete report on Global Acoustic Emission Testing Market Research Report 2018-2025 spread across 350 Pages, profiling Top companies and supports with tables and figuresMarket Definition: Global Acoustic Emission Testing MarketAcoustic emission is a procedure that is being used increasingly in the field of structural integrity assessment using fracture mechanics. The ability of acoustic emission (AE) is to recognize, with high affectability, the mechanical energy discharged by steam flow, which might be utilized to get data about growth and new development, capturing of defects and their dynamic conduct, amidst the principal hydro-test and later requalification testing of atomic parts and consistent checking of intensity plant activity. In recent years, many AE processes such as deformation, slow crack growth, fatigue processes, intergranular stress corrosion cracking and leak monitoring have been studied and considerable efforts have been taken in preparing guidelines, recommended practices and standard procedures based on AE.Key Questions Answered in Global Acoustic Emission Testing Market Report:-Our Report offers:- What will the market growth rate, Overview and Analysis by Type of Global Acoustic Emission Testing Market in 2025? What are the key factors driving, Analysis by Applications and Countries Global Acoustic Emission Testing Market? What are Dynamics, This Overview Includes Analysis of Scope, and price analysis of top Vendors Profiles of Global Acoustic Emission Testing Market? Who are Opportunities, Risk and Driving Force of Global Acoustic Emission Testing Market? Who are the opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in Global Acoustic Emission Testing Market? Business Overview by Type, Applications, Gross Margin and Market Share What are the Global Acoustic Emission Testing Market opportunities, market risk and market overview of the Market?Request for Detailed TOC:Top Key Players: Olympus Corporation MISTRAS Group, Inc. SGS SA General Electric X-R-I Testing Applus+ Arcadia Aerospace Exova Group Limited Acuren COMET Ashtead Technology Eddyfi Inc. Sonatest and NDTS India (p) Ltd. among others.Key Reasons to Purchase: To gain insightful analyses of the market and have comprehensive understanding of the Global Acoustic Emission Testing Market and its commercial landscape. Assess the Acoustic Emission Testing production processes, major issues, and solutions to mitigate the development risk. To understand the most affecting driving and restraining forces in the Acoustic Emission Testing Market and its impact in the Global market. Learn about the market strategies that are being adopted by leading respective organizations. To understand the future outlook and prospects for Global Acoustic Emission Testing Market.Avail 10% Instant Discount on Purchase of This Report Mail @ sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.comKey Insights in the report: Historical and current market size and projection up to 2025 Market trends impacting the growth of the global Acoustic Emission Testing market Analyze and forecast the Acoustic Emission Testing market on the basis of applications and reactor type Trends of key regional and country-level markets for applications and reactor type Company profiling of key players which includes business operations, product and services, geographic presence, recent developments and key financial analysisMarket Drivers and Restraints: Growing safety concerns to enhance productivity. Increasing need for asset health monitoring. Government initiatives for implementation. High system cost. Lack of skilled labor.Inquire Before Buying @Customize report of "Global Acoustic Emission Testing Market" as per customers requirement also available.Market Segmentations:Global Acoustic Emission Testing Market is segmented on the basis of Equipment Service Application GeographyMarket Segmentations in Details:By Equipment Sensors Amplifiers Detection Instruments Calibrators others (cables, terminal blocks, and connectors).By Service Inspection Calibration.By Application Storage Tank Pipeline Aging Aircraft Turbine Structural Monitoring Nuclear Tank Marine Tube Trailer Advanced MaterialBy Geography, North America South America Europe Asia-Pacific Middle East & AfricaCompetitive Analysis: Global Acoustic Emission Testing MarketThe global acoustic emission testing market is fragmented and the major players have used various strategies such as new product launches, expansions, agreements, joint ventures, partnerships, acquisitions and others to increase their footprints in this market in order to sustain in long run. The report includes market shares of fiber optics component market for global, Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and South America.Speak to Author of the report @Other ReportGlobal Innovation Management Market  Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Global Innovation Management Market, By Geography; Type (Software, Services); Organization Size (Large Enterprises, Small & Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)); Deployment Model (On-premises, Cloud); Application (Product Research & Development Platforms, Marketing, Design, Idea Platforms, Collective Intelligence & Prediction Platforms, Human Resource & Freelancers Platforms); Vertical (Banking, Financial Services, Insurance, IT, Media & Communication Technology, Aerospace & Defense, Public Sector & Education, Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals, Retail & Consumer Goods, Automotive & Manufacturing, Transportation & Logistics)  Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Report Access:About Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Data Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com
Global Military Load Carriage Systems Market Anticipated for Progressive CAGR Growth during 2018-2025

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The market for Military Load Carriage is growing with the expansion of this Industry Sector Worldwide. Market Research Hub (MRH) has added a new report titled Global Military Load Carriage Systems Market Size, Status and Forecast 2025 which offer details about the current trends and analysis, as well as scope for the near future. This research study also covers information about the production, consumption and market share based on different active regions. Furthermore, an anticipated growth at a double-digit CAGR for the Military Load Carriage sector is highlighted in the report which indicates a prosperous future.Request Free Sample Report@@This report studies the global Military Load Carriage Systems market size, industry status and forecast, competition landscape and growth opportunity. This research report categorizes the global Military Load Carriage Systems market by companies, region, type and end-use industry.In 2017, the global Military Load Carriage Systems market size was million US$ and it is expected to reach million US$ by the end of 2025, with a CAGR of during 2018-2025.This report focuses on the global top players, coveredAegis EngineeringBAE SystemsBoston DynamicsCQCLockheed MartinADSAustralian Defence ApparelHoneywellPivotal Defense SolutionsMarket segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaMarket segment by Type, the product can be split intoBackpacksWearableMarket segment by Application, split intoSoldiersOthersThe study objectives of this report are:To study and forecast the market size of Military Load Carriage Systems in global market.To analyze the global key players, SWOT analysis, value and global market share for top players.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, end use and region.To analyze and compare the market status and forecast between China and major regions, namely, United States, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India and Rest of World.To analyze the global key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the marketTo analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the marketTo strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Military Load Carriage Systems are as follows:History Year: 2013-2017Base Year: 2017Estimated Year: 2018Forecast Year 2018 to 2025For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2017 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered.Key StakeholdersMilitary Load Carriage Systems ManufacturersMilitary Load Carriage Systems Distributors/Traders/WholesalersMilitary Load Carriage Systems Subcomponent ManufacturersIndustry AssociationDownstream VendorsBrowse Full Report with TOC@Table of ContentsGlobal Military Load Carriage Systems Market Size, Status and Forecast 20251 Industry Overview of Military Load Carriage Systems1.1 Military Load Carriage Systems Market Overview1.1.1 Military Load Carriage Systems Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Military Load Carriage Systems Market Size and Analysis by Regions (2013-2018)1.2.1 United States1.2.2 Europe1.2.3 China1.2.4 Japan1.2.5 Southeast Asia1.2.6 India1.3 Military Load Carriage Systems Market by Type1.3.1 Backpacks1.3.2 Wearable1.4 Military Load Carriage Systems Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Soldiers1.4.2 Others2 Global Military Load Carriage Systems Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Military Load Carriage Systems Market Size (Value) by Players (2013-2018)2.2 Competitive Status and Trend2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate2.2.2 Product/Service Differences2.2.3 New Entrants2.2.4 The Technology Trends in Future3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 Aegis Engineering3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Military Load Carriage Systems Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.2 BAE Systems3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Military Load Carriage Systems Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.3 Boston Dynamics3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Military Load Carriage Systems Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.4 CQC3.4.1 Company Profile3.4.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.4.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.4.4 Military Load Carriage Systems Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.5 Lockheed MartinContinue...@@$Enquire about this Report -About Market Research Hub:Market Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.Contact Details:90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free : 800-998-4852 (US-Canada)Email : press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite :
Global Prenatal and Newborn Genetic Testing Market 2018 Key Players: Roche Diagnostic, Elitech Group, Myriad Genetics, Biocartis, IntegraGen, Perkin Elmer,.

Prenatal and Newborn Genetic Testing Market

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Prenatal and Newborn Genetic Testing Market:WiseGuyReports.com adds Prenatal and Newborn Genetic Testing Market 2018 Global Analysis, Growth, Trends and Opportunities Research Report Forecasting to 2025 reports to its database.Executive SummaryThis report studies the global Prenatal and Newborn Genetic Testing market size, industry status and forecast, competition landscape and growth opportunity. This research report categorizes the global Prenatal and Newborn Genetic Testing market by companies, region, type and end-use industry.This report focuses on the global top players, coveredRoche DiagnosticElitech GroupMyriad GeneticsBiocartisIntegraGenPerkin ElmerWaferGen BiosystemInterpace DiagnosticsQuest DiagnosticBio-RadAutoGenomicsAbbottCepheidEKF DiagnosticsNateraAgilent TechnologiesIlluminaAriosa DiagnosticsSequenomMarket segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaMarket segment by Type, the product can be split intoArray-Comparative Genetic Hybridization (aCGH)Fluorescence In-Situ Hybridization (FISH)Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)Market segment by Application, split intoHospitalsDiagnostic OrganizationOtherRequest Sample Report @The study objectives of this report are:To study and forecast the market size of Prenatal and Newborn Genetic Testing in global market.To analyze the global key players, SWOT analysis, value and global market share for top players.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, end use and region.To analyze and compare the market status and forecast between China and major regions, namely, United States, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India and Rest of World.To analyze the global key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the marketTo analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the marketTo strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Prenatal and Newborn Genetic Testing are as follows:History Year: 2013-2017Base Year: 2017Estimated Year: 2018Forecast Year 2018 to 2025For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2017 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered.Key StakeholdersPrenatal and Newborn Genetic Testing ManufacturersPrenatal and Newborn Genetic Testing Distributors/Traders/WholesalersPrenatal and Newborn Genetic Testing Subcomponent ManufacturersIndustry AssociationDownstream VendorsAvailable CustomizationsWith the given market data, We offers customizations according to the company's specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:Regional and country-level analysis of the Prenatal and Newborn Genetic Testing market, by end-use.Detailed analysis and profiles of additional market players.Table of ContentsGlobal Prenatal and Newborn Genetic Testing Market Size, Status and Forecast 20251 Industry Overview of Prenatal and Newborn Genetic Testing2 Global Prenatal and Newborn Genetic Testing Competition Analysis by Players3 Company (Top Players) Profiles4 Global Prenatal and Newborn Genetic Testing Market Size by Type and Application (2013-2018)5 United States Prenatal and Newborn Genetic Testing Development Status and Outlook6 Europe Prenatal and Newborn Genetic Testing Development Status and Outlook7 China Prenatal and Newborn Genetic Testing Development Status and Outlook8 Japan Prenatal and Newborn Genetic Testing Development Status and Outlook9 Southeast Asia Prenatal and Newborn Genetic Testing Development Status and Outlook10 India Prenatal and Newborn Genetic Testing Development Status and Outlook11 Market Forecast by Regions, Type and Application (2018-2025)12 Prenatal and Newborn Genetic Testing Market Dynamics13 Market Effect Factors Analysis14 Research Finding/Conclusion15 AppendixContinuousFor further information on this report, visit Contact Us:Norah Trentsales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US); +44 208 133 9349 (UK)About Us:Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Addres:WISEGUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone :+91 841 198 5042
Heavy Payload Robotic Arm Market Worth $13,620.96 Million by 2025

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The heavy payload robotic arm market was valued at $9,740.57 million in 2017 and is expected to reach $13,620.96 million by 2025, registering a CAGR of 4.39% from 2018 to 2025. Automotive industry dominated the heavy payload robotic arm market, accounting for around one-third share of the total revenue by end-user industry.The heavy payload robotic arm helps perform heavy duty tasks such as picking & placing, machine loading, parts transfer, and palletizing. Moreover, these mechanical arms deliver superior performance in tasks that are labor intensive, repetitive, physically enduring, and potentially dangerous for human labor.Request for sample copy or access summary of this report@Increase in expenditure towards improving the production capabilities through adoption of industrial robotics and robotic arms is the major factor driving the growth of heavy payload robotic arm market. Also, the adoption of industrial automation solution such as robotics has gained traction among small and medium enterprise owners, subsequently fueling the demand for robotic arms in the past few years. As a result, the heavy payload robotic arm market is expected to generate profitable opportunities for the manufacturers during the forecast period.Dominating Market Players Profiled In this Study:ABB Ltd.Kuka RoboticsFanuc CorporationKawasaki Heavy Industries LtdYaskawa America IncVulcan Engineering Co.Ellison TechnologiesApex Automation and Robotics Pty LtdNachi-Fujikoshi CorpComau SpAPurchase Inquiry@The increase in emphasis over improving the production capabilities through adoption of automated industrial robotics solutions has gained popularity in past few years. Thus, the demand for robotic arms, especially for heavy duty applications has increased across different industry verticals in the past few years. Thus, it fuels the growth of the heavy payload robotic arm market among various end-users. The robotic arm of 500-700 Kg payload capacity was valued at $5.53 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach around $7.73 billion by 2025 registering a CAGR of 4.38%Heavy Demand Recorded for Automotive Industry:The automotive industry accounted for a major share in the heavy payload robotic arm market due to rise in adoption of industrial robotic solutions by various automotive manufacturers over the past few years. As a result, the automotive industry alone accounted for almost one fourth of the market share by end-user industry in the global market in 2017. Further, the increase in demand for commercial and passenger vehicles, especially in the Asian market is anticipated to provide numerous opportunities for the robotic arm manufacturers in automotive industry. Thus, the automotive industry is projected to remain dominant in the coming years.Request for Customization@Key findings of the Heavy Payload Robotic Arm Market:In terms of market share, the 500-700 Kg segment generated the maximum revenue in 2017 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.38% during the forecast period.The automotive industry is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 3.82% from 2018 to 2025 and reach $3.34 billion by 2025.Asia-Pacific is expected to witness high s CAGR growth of 5.34% from 2018 to 2025.About Us:Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions. AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.Contact:Shriram Dighe5933 NE Win Sivers Drive#205, Portland, OR 97220United StatesToll Free: +1-800-792-5285UK: +44-845-528-1300Hong Kong: +852-301-84916India (Pune): +91-20-66346060Fax: +1855550-5975help@alliedmarketresearch.comWeb:
Global Automotive Tyre Sales Market Expected To Reach High Growth Rate By End Of 2025

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"The Latest Research Report Global Automotive Tyre Sales Market Report 2018 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"The main objective of this report is to aid the user in understanding the market as a whole, its definitions, segmentation, market potential, influential trends, and the barriers that it is facing. Meticulous research and analysis were an important part of the report preparation. Those reading the report will be able to get a detailed understanding about the market. Industry experts have verified and checked the data and information that have been taken from credible sources like websites, annual reports of companies, journals, and other resources. In order give the facts and data a pictorial form, diagrams, graphs, pie charts, and other representations have been used. That augments the visual appeal of the report and makes understanding it much easier.This report studies the global Automotive Tyre market status and forecast, categorizes the global Automotive Tyre market size (value & volume) by key players, type, application, and region. This report focuses on the top players in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia India and Other regions (Middle East & Africa, Central & South America).Automotive Tyre is a ring-shaped vehicle component that covers the wheel's rim to protect it and enable better vehicle performance. Automotive Tyre provide traction between the vehicle and the road while providing a flexible cushion that absorbs shock.In 2014, the global production of the Tyre reaches over 115666 (10K Units); the growth margin is around 25% during the last five years.Automotive Tyre are mainly produced by Bridgestone, Michelin, Good Year, Continental, Sumitomo, Pirelli, Hankook, Yokohama, Cheng Shin Rubber (Maxxis), Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber, and these companies occupied about 58.23% market share in 2014.Get Sample Copy of this report @The global Automotive Tyre market is valued at xx million US$ in 2017 and will reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of xx% during 2018-2025.The major players covered in this reportBridgestoneMichelinGoodYearContinentalSumitomoPirelliHankookYokohamaCheng Shin Rubber (Maxxis)Zhongce RubberGitiCooper TireKUMHO TIRESTOYO TyreTriangle groupLinglong TyreApollo TyresMRFNokian TyresDouble CoinXingyuanNexen TireAEOLUS TYREJK TYREDoublestar groupJINYU TYREHENGFENGSailunKENDA TYREGUIZHOU TYRESHENGTAICordiantGeneral Science TechnologyBelshinaWanda BOTO TyreWanli TireNANKANG RUBBER TIRE CORPNizhnekamskshina(TATNEFT)Geographically, this report studies the key regions, focuses on product sales, value, market share and growth opportunity in these regions, coveringUnited StatesEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaWe can also provide the customized separate regional or country-level reports, for the following regions:North AmericaUnited StatesCanadaMexicoAsia-PacificChinaIndiaJapanSouth KoreaAustraliaIndonesiaSingaporeRest of Asia-PacificEuropeGermanyFranceUKItalySpainRussiaRest of EuropeCentral & South AmericaBrazilArgentinaRest of South AmericaMiddle East & AfricaSaudi ArabiaTurkeyRest of Middle East & AfricaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoBias Automotive TyreRadial Automotive TyreOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate for each application, includingCommercial VehiclePassenger VehicleRequest For TOC Report @The study objectives of this report are:To analyze and study the global Automotive Tyre sales, value, status (2013-2017) and forecast (2018-2025);To analyze the top players in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India, to study the sales, value and market share of top players in these regions.Focuses on the key Automotive Tyre players, to study the sales, value, market share and development plans in future.Focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the market competition landscape, SWOT analysis.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region.To analyze the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the marketTo analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the marketTo strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Automotive Tyre are as follows:History Year: 2013-2017Base Year: 2017Estimated Year: 2018Forecast Year 2018 to 2025For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2017 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered.Key StakeholdersAutomotive Tyre ManufacturersAutomotive Tyre Distributors/Traders/WholesalersAutomotive Tyre Subcomponent ManufacturersIndustry AssociationDownstream VendorsAvailable CustomizationsWith the given market data, QYResearch offers customizations according to the company's specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:Regional and country-level analysis of the Automotive Tyre market, by end-use.Detailed analysis and profiles of additional market players.About usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Cars and Light Trucks Market Will Rise to $3.6 trillion by 2023

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Recent research and the current scenario as well as future market potential of "Artificial Intelligence (AI) Cars and Light Trucks Market Size, Shares - Industry Trends, Strategies, and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2017 to 2023" globally.As of now, every automobile company is looking to incorporate artificial intelligence in their cars for achieving heightened levels of automation. Automobile companies are striving to achieve driverless cars by making use of artificial intelligence, boosting the market for AI in cars and light trucks. The installation of AI-based systems in new cars and light trucks is increasing steadily from the past few years. All big companies are investing extensively in the research and development for achieving different levels of automation for autonomous driving by making use of artificial intelligence and sensor technologies. The use of AI and sensors help in detecting and avoiding obstacles. The demand for artificial intelligence in cars and light trucks is increasing as it helps to avoid collision, prevent accidents, lane assistance, and parking assistance. The growing disposable income of the people and thus, their increased spending or budget on luxury items is an important factor driving auto makers to develop cars that have enhanced automated features.Get the sample copy of this report :The 2017 study has 826 pages, 290 tables and figures. Worldwide markets are poised to achieve significant growth as Artificial Intelligence (AI) cars and light trucks permit users to implement automated driving. Fleet vehicles from Uber, Google and similar users are likely to be the early adopter groups, creating vehicles that do package delivery and ride sharing. Tesla, Mercedes, and Audi are among the vendors with a leadership position in the personal luxury vehicle artificial intelligence (AI) car markets. These cars provide performance and cater to individual preference in feature function packages and styling.Every car maker seeks to participate in this Artificial Intelligence (AI) personal vehicle market. The ability to do so depends on implementing next generation technology that is very expensive to get working. Vendors ae seeking to work together to set standards and develop shared modules that provide basic functionality. Cameras, sensors, artificial intelligence software, and LiDAR are among the modules being developed.Autonomous vehicle technology has the potential to institute major change in personal mobility. Autonomous cars are the next generation of manual cars, poised to provide thrust for a large replacement market. Autonomous vehicles are the base for building personal car services, particularly in large cities. Carmakers and Silicon Valley companies bring different skills to the task of building a Artificial Intelligence (AI) car. Together they are finding common ground to transform the personal vehicle industry. One thing they are unlikely to transform is performance.Every person who owns a vehicle has a preference on performance. The Tesla has gained recognition for offering a Artificial Intelligence (AI) vehicle, but it is first and foremost a performance vehicle. This characteristic will not change as Artificial Intelligence (AI) vehicles come on the market. People like the customization of features and functions in their car.This customization aspect of Artificial Intelligence (AI) vehicles does not get talked about much, but it is a very important part of the industry. It will not go away just because cars are run by software. From auto racing to personal preference, ever car has its own personality and its own comfort. Performance is part of the package. Every car maker seeks to participate in this Artificial Intelligence (AI) personal vehicle market with a distinctive offering. The ability to have unique appear to customers depends on implementing next generation technology in a manner that works effectively and is relatively inexpensive to implement.Get full report TOC:Apple, IBM, and Google are sure to be among the significant software vendors for all the Artificial Intelligence (AI) car and light truck market participants. IBM has a huge head start with its excellent middleware branded integrated solutions that are hardened and reliable. Google has mindshare and early market success with its early market trials.As automated process hits the auto industry as a disruptive force, it parallels the automated piloting of the airline industry that saw significant labor savings implementation. Automated vehicle driving can be done anywhere just by connecting the car to integrated adaptive cruise control, adaptive steering and braking, and lane assist systems all working off one central processor.Artificial Intelligence (AI) cars and light trucks incrementally add automated process to driving. As software is added to cars and light trucks it is done in concert with modification to the steering, breaking, and other automotive systems. Autonomous functions for vehicles are increasingly adopted.Change is incremental, we do not have fully functioning Artificial Intelligence (AI) cars immediately, rather, steering, collision avoidance, parking, test driving, series of camera and radar based monitoring systems, lane assist, and adaptive cruise control are being implemented, presaging rapid adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) cars and light trucks as the various functions mature and work in the real world.According to Susan Eustis, team leader for the preparation of the study, The market for Artificial Intelligence (AI) car and light truck vehicles is anticipated to expand in parallel with the deployment of appropriate roadway controls funded by government programs. The large public investments for Artificial Intelligence (AI) vehicles so far has been for development of technology that works for military purposes. The extension of this type of automated system to commercial fleet vehicles will be rapid after 2019The Artificial Intelligence (AI) car designs amalgamate a group of features to represent an automated process solution. These include the hardware, the software middleware, the steering system, adaptive cruise control, numerous software applications, an integrated systems approach, and related services. Significant investments in research and development are necessary as the emerging Artificial Intelligence (AI) cars and light trucks industry builds on incremental technology roll outs.Artificial Intelligence (AI) car and light truck commercial market shipments forecasts indicate that markets beginning to develop in 2016 will rise to $3.6 trillion by 2023. Spectacular growth is a result of various moves toward autonomous vehicles that can go across the US by themselves, provide automated navigation,, integrated braking and steering. Most auto vendors have gone beyond the testing stage to offer vehicles that have strong navigation capability.Safety modules are complimented by mapping vehicles that provide navigation. The Tesla and other vehicles provide driver alerts but fall sort of complete Artificial Intelligence (AI).Market driving forces relate primarily to the need for increased safety and personalization for autos. Car manufacturers are positioning with Artificial Intelligence (AI) car models to meet demand at the high end, and in every category of car and light truck. Many Artificial Intelligence (AI) vehicle car vendors are making automation for personal vehicles and light trucks a reality.Companies ProfiledMarket LeadersAMDAppleBMWBoschDaimler AG / Mercedes-BenzFordFujiGMGoogleHyundaiIBMIntel / MobileyeKairosNissanNVIDIANXPQualcommSamsungSoftbankTesla GroupTexas Instruments (TI)ToyotaUberVolkswagen / AudiMarket ParticipantsAudiBAE SystemsBoston DynamicsBosch GroupBMWBuick GroupChrysler / DodgeDaimler AG/Mercedes-BenzECA RoboticsElbit SystemsEvatran GroupFord / LincolnFuji Heavy Industries / SubaruGeneral DynamicsGoogle Artificial Intelligence (AI) CarGM / CadillacKongsbergJaguar Land RoverLockheed MartinMesa RoboticsMitsubishiNissanQualcommToyota / LexusVecna TechnologiesVolkswagen / PorscheVolvoVisteonWiTricityKey TopicsAuto Artificial IntelligenceAutomotiveAutomated drivingAutomated vehiclesAutonomous vehiclesin-vehicle compute, Infiniti, Internet of thingsAI machine learningMobileyeRobot Cars and TrucksRobot steeringRobot brakingRobot automotive systemsAutonomous functions for vehiclesCollision avoidanceAutomated parkingRobot ParkingRobot test drivingCar camerasCar LiDARCar radarTruck follow me systemsRadar based monitoring systemsLane assistAdaptive cruise controlMRRbiz supports your business intelligence needs with over 700,000 market research reports, company profiles, data books, and regional market data sheets in its repository. Our document database is updated by the hour, which means that you always have access to fresh data spanning over 300 industries and their sub-segments.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948(USA-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Helpdesk Outsourcing Global Market 2018: Key Players  Qcom Outsourcing, ABS, ActivSupport, CGS, 4Results

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Helpdesk Outsourcing IndustryDescriptionWiseguyreports.Com Adds Helpdesk Outsourcing -Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities and Analysis Of Top Key Player Forecast To 2023 To Its Research DatabaseThis report studies the global Helpdesk Outsourcing market size, industry status and forecast, competition landscape and growth opportunity. This research report categorizes the global Helpdesk Outsourcing market by companies, region, type and end-use industry.Helpdesk outsourcing is the process of the business engaging resources outside the company to manage customer service and technical assistance support for their customers. Outsourcing helps the organization to decrease the operational cost and to reach maximum end users.In 2017, the global Helpdesk Outsourcing market size was xx million US$ and it is expected to reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, with a CAGR of xx% during 2018-2025.This report focuses on the global top players, coveredQcom OutsourcingABSActivSupportCGS4ResultsAdaptiveAlfaVoxBatyckie Centrum BiznesuBusiness Support SolutionCall Center Inter GalaticaRequest for Sample Report @Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaMarket segment by Type, the product can be split intoOutsourcing Level 1Outsourcing Level 2Technical Helpdesk Support ServicesMarket segment by Application, split intoAutomotiveConsumer GoodsITTelecommunicationOil & GasOthersLeave a Query @Table of ContentsGlobal Helpdesk Outsourcing Market Size, Status and Forecast 20251 Industry Overview of Helpdesk Outsourcing1.1 Helpdesk Outsourcing Market Overview1.1.1 Helpdesk Outsourcing Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Helpdesk Outsourcing Market Size and Analysis by Regions (2013-2018)1.2.1 United States1.2.2 Europe1.2.3 China1.2.4 Japan1.2.5 Southeast Asia1.2.6 India1.3 Helpdesk Outsourcing Market by Type1.3.1 Outsourcing Level 11.3.2 Outsourcing Level 21.3.3 Technical Helpdesk Support Services1.4 Helpdesk Outsourcing Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Automotive1.4.2 Consumer Goods1.4.3 IT1.4.4 Telecommunication1.4.5 Oil & Gas1.4.6 Others...3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 Qcom Outsourcing3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Helpdesk Outsourcing Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.2 ABS3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Helpdesk Outsourcing Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.3 ActivSupport3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Helpdesk Outsourcing Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.4 CGS3.4.1 Company Profile3.4.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.4.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.4.4 Helpdesk Outsourcing Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.5 4Results3.5.1 Company Profile3.5.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.5.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.5.4 Helpdesk Outsourcing Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.6 Adaptive3.6.1 Company Profile3.6.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.6.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.6.4 Helpdesk Outsourcing Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.7 AlfaVox3.7.1 Company Profile3.7.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.7.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.7.4 Helpdesk Outsourcing Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.8 Batyckie Centrum Biznesu3.8.1 Company Profile3.8.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.8.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.8.4 Helpdesk Outsourcing Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.9 Business Support Solution3.9.1 Company Profile3.9.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.9.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.9.4 Helpdesk Outsourcing Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.10 Call Center Inter Galatica3.10.1 Company Profile3.10.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.10.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.10.4 Helpdesk Outsourcing Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)4 Global Helpdesk Outsourcing Market Size by Type and Application (2013-2018)4.1 Global Helpdesk Outsourcing Market Size by Type (2013-2018)4.2 Global Helpdesk Outsourcing Market Size by Application (2013-2018)4.3 Potential Application of Helpdesk Outsourcing in Future4.4 Top Consumer/End Users of Helpdesk OutsourcingBuy Now @Continued...Contact Us: Sales@Wiseguyreports.Com Ph: +1-646-845-9349 (Us) Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (Uk)About Us:Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Addres:Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt LtdPune  411028Maharashtra, GlobalPh: +91 841 198 5042
Healthcare eDiscovery Market 2023 Top Key Players are Commvault, Actiance, Inc., Barracuda Networks Inc., Global Relay Communications Inc., Google, IBM, Microsoft Corporation, Allscripts and More

Healthcare eDiscovery Market

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The study report worldwide Healthcare eDiscovery Market covers the market analysis for the regions - North America, Europe, Asia Pacific/ Southeast Asia and Row and country analysis of China, Japan, and India focusing on top manufacturers in world market and the market share they hold including their contribution to the market growthThe Global Healthcare eDiscovery Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 11.5%.Healthcare eDiscovery Market Key Players:Commvault (U.S.), Actiance, Inc. (U.S.), Barracuda Networks Inc. (U.S.), Global Relay Communications Inc. (U.S.), Google (U.S.), IBM (U.S.), Microsoft Corporation (U.S.), Allscripts (U.S.) and others.Get Sample Copy @Market Scenario:Many organizations in healthcare do not have the right information systems to address data storage and retrieval requirements cost-effectively. In the healthcare industry, organizations have to comply with numerous rules and regulations. Therefore, there is a need for an information governance solution with a purpose-built eDiscovery platform, for the management of healthcare data. Healthcare data is of two types namely, structured and unstructured. Structured data can be referred to as alphabets, numbers and can be easily processed and stored whereas unstructured data can be referred as emails, images, audios, and video files which constitutes a scattered data. Therefore, there is a need for the reliable healthcare data management system to maintain the security of information of the patients.The healthcare eDiscovery market is driven by increasing demand for an information system for the management of electronic health records, strict regulation of storage of clinical and patient data on a cloud-based platform, and increasing use of software for healthcare system for data management. Risks of managing healthcare data include the use of pirated software, data security issues and the threat of cyber-attacks, which retrains the growth of this market. The high cost of healthcare data management solutions and unawareness among the medical staff may restrain the market growth.Healthcare eDiscovery Industry Segments:The Global Healthcare eDiscovery Market is segmented on the basis of deployment, application, and end-user.On the basis of deployment, the market is segmented into the on-premise system and cloud system. On the basis of application, the market is segmented into application audit trail via metadata, communication, EHR-hosting, and other applications. On the basis of end-users, the market is segmented into healthcare IT companies, hospitals, clinics, pharmacy, and others.Get Quality Discount @Global Healthcare eDiscovery Market - Regional Analysis:Healthcare eDiscovery market is segmented into four regions consisting Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East & Africa. Americas is the largest market for healthcare eDiscovery. It comprises of two regions namely North America and South America. Increasing awareness regarding storage, maintenance, and recovery cost of medical image are the key driver of this market in America. North America comprise largest market share in this market. North American region has one of the best medical facilities of the World. Innovative software developed by software development companies for healthcare and technological advancement are responsible for growth of this market in North America. Awareness of healthcare professionals regarding the use of healthcare eDiscovery helpful in saving time and manual efforts while storing a retrieving data also drives this market North America. Other factors responsible for market growth include blooming growth of Healthcare IT. Huge population, increasing awareness about Patient Management and importance use of software for sharing clinical information between healthcare centres are driving the growth for the market in South America. Europe is the second largest market owing to increasing adoption of healthcare IT for management of medical records and improving healthcare system. Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing region for the healthcare e-discovery market. The growth of market is attributed to increasing need for the sophisticated healthcare facilities and increasing acceptance of healthcare IT. For instance countries such as India and China are the major contributor for the growth market. However, The Middle East and Africa has the lowest market for healthcare e-discovery because of limited development in healthcare sector.Table of Content:1 Report Prologue2 Market Introduction2.1 Definition2.2 Scope of the Study2.2.1 Research Objective2.2.2 Assumptions2.2.3 Limitations3 Research Methodology3.1 Introduction3.2 Primary Research3.3 Secondary Research3.4 Market Size Estimation4 Market Dynamics4.1 Drivers4.2 Restrains4.3 Opportunities4.4 Challenges4.5 Macroeconomic Indicators4.6 Technology Trends & AssessmentContinued!Reports Enquiry @Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone: +1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Europe Digital Health Monitoring Devices Market focusing on top players like MEDTRONIC EUROPE, Apple, Mobisante, LifeWatch Services, Inc., Nike, Johnson & Johnson, AT&T, Qualcomm, Cerner Corporation, Cisco, OMRON Group

Europe Digital Health Monitoring Devices Market

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Latest Research Report on Europe Digital Health Monitoring Devices Market Added by Data Bridge Market Research which covers Market Overview, Future Economic Impact, Competition by Manufacturers, Supply (Production), & Consumption Analysis Till 2024.Europe Digital Health Monitoring Market, By Product Type (Devices (Blood Pressure Monitors, Blood Glucose Monitors, ECG, Oximeters, Peak Flow Monitors, Multi Parameter Monitors, Sleep Apnea Monitors, Neurological Monitors, Others), Software (Healthcare Apps, Chronic Disease Apps, Personal Health Apps, Others), Services (Remote Monitoring, Consultancy Services, Treatment Services, Fitness and Wellness Services, Others), By Country (Germany, France, U.K., Spain, Italy, Russia, Belgium, Turkey, Switzerland, Netherlands)  Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Market AnalysisThe Europe digital health monitoring devices market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 35.8% from 2017 to 2024. The new market report contains data for historic years 2015, the base year of calculation is 2016 and the forecast period is 2017 to 2024.Download Free PDF Sample Report @Frequently Asked Questions? What will the market size be in 2024? What are the key factors driving the European market? What are the challenges to market growth? Who are the key players in the market? What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key players? What will be the growth rate in 2024? Which strategies are used by top players in the Europe Digital Health Monitoring Market?Company Share AnalysisThe players in this Europe digital health monitoring devices market are using mergers, acquisition and development of technology as penetration strategies. The report also includes new developments, future technological advancements, recent strategically decisions, expansions and product launches.Based on geography the market is segmented into 11 countries,Ask for Discount on Premium Research Report @ sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.comMarket SegmentationThe Europe digital health monitoring devices market is segmented based on product types into 3, namely digital health devices, digital health software and digital health services. The digital health devices market includes mobile devices and is further segmented into blood glucose monitors, ECG monitors, blood pressure monitors, oximeters, peak flow monitors, neurological monitors, sleep apnea monitors, multi parameter monitors, and others. Blood glucose monitors are expected to grow at the highest CAGR due to the increasing prevalence and risk of diabetes in the global marketThe digital health software market includes mobile apps for healthcare and is segmented into healthcare apps, chronic disease apps, personal health apps and others. Some of the major inclusions in this segment are weight loss apps, fitness tracking apps, aware and alert apps, diabetes maintenance apps, pregnancy apps, blood pressure monitoring apps, PHR apps among others. The digital health services market includes remote monitoring, diagnosis and consultation services, fitness and wellness services, prevention services and others. The software and services market is propelled by the acceptance of android and ios phones in developing markets.Based on geography the market is segmented into 11 countries, Germany, France, U.K., Spain, Italy, Russia, Belgium, Turkey, Switzerland, Netherlands and Rest of Europe. U.K. is the costliest as it spends maximum share of its GDP In healthcare as compared to other European countries. U.K. is expected to be the highest growing market for healthcare IT in Europe. While Germany is the dominant market in terms of value due to its largest spending in EU union on healthcare. France is one of the other nations that are doing extremely well in Healthcare IT acceptance.Inquiry before Buying @ Germany, France, U.K., Italy, Spain, Russia, Turkey, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and rest of EuropeMajor Market CompetitorsSome of the major players of the Europe digital health monitoring devices market Medtronic Inc., Apple Inc., Omron Corporation, Withings, Sanofi, Mobisante Inc., Air Strip Technologies Inc., Alive Cor Inc., LifeWatch AG, Nike Inc., Koninklijke Philips N.V., Johnson & Johnson, Jawbone,The study objectives of this report are:1. To study and forecast the market size of Digital Health Monitoring Devices Market in European market.2. major regions, namely, United States, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India and Rest of World.3. To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the market4. To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.5. To analyze the global key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.6. To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.7. To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.8. To analyze the global key players, SWOT analysis, value and global market share for top players.9. To define, describe and forecast the market by type, end use and region.10. To analyze and compare the market status and forecast between China and11. To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the marketAbout Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Data Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com
Opportunities for the emission control catalyst market to reach $14.82 billion by 2021

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According to a new market report published by Lucintel, the future of the global emission control catalyst market looks promising with opportunities in the segments of transportation, industrial, and others. The global emission control catalyst market is expected to reach an estimated $14.82 billion by 2021 and it is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 7.7% from 2016 to 2021. The major growth drivers of growth for this market are stringent environmental policies adopted by various governments and environmental protection agencies combined with an increase in vehicle production and growth in industrial sectors.In this market, transportation and industrial are the major end use segments of emission control catalyst market. On the basis of its comprehensive research, Lucintel forecasts that the industrial segment is expected to show above average growth during the forecast period.Within the global emission control catalyst market, the transportation application segment is expected to remain the largest market. Economic development in Asia Pacific, particularly China and India, has presented opportunities for emission control catalysts in the transportation industry, which would spur growth for this segment over the forecast period. The light duty vehicle segment is expected to remain the largest market in the transportation industry due to increasing light duty vehicle production especially in the APAC region.The palladium based emission control catalyst segment is expected to remain the largest market by metal type because of its excellent chemical properties, low cost, and availability. Therefore, its demand is increasing significantly across a number of emission control catalyst applications.Europe is expected to remain the largest region due to stringent emission regulations, such as Euro 6, and increasing vehicle production. Asia pacific is expected to be the fastest growing region over the forecast period due to higher economic growth and increasing vehicle production in China and India.For business expansion, Lucintels report suggests new product development to enhance particulate filter performance and reduce the need for costly platinum group metals to lower the cost of catalyst manufacturing. The report further suggests the development of partnerships to create win-win situations and the development of low-cost solutions for end users.Emerging trends, which have a direct impact on the dynamics of the market, include increasing demand for new cold start concept catalysts and increasing uses of the four way catalyst. Johnson Matthey, BASF, and Umicore are among the major suppliers of emission control catalysts.Lucintel, a leading global strategic consulting and market research firm, has analyzed growth opportunities in the global emission control catalyst market by metal type, end use industry, vehicle type, and region, and has compiled a comprehensive research report entitled, Growth Opportunities for the Global Emission Control Catalyst Market 2016-2021: Trends, Forecast, and Opportunity Analysis. The Lucintel report serves as a springboard for growth strategy, as it provides comprehensive data and analysis on trends, key drivers, and directions of the market. The study includes a forecast for growth opportunities in the global emission control catalyst market by metal type, end use industry, vehicle type, and region, as follows:By metal type [$ Billion Shipment from 2010 to 2021]: Platinum Palladium Rhodium OthersBy end use industry [$ Billion Shipment from 2010 to 2021]: Transportation Industrial OtherBy vehicle type [$ Billion Shipment from 2010 to 2021]: Light Duty Vehicle Heavy Duty Vehicle OtherBy fuel type [$ Billion Shipment for 2015]: Gasoline Vehicles Diesel VehiclesBy region [$ Billion Shipment from 2010 to 2021]: North America Europe Asia Pacific The Rest of the WorldThis 185-page research report will enable you to make confident business decisions in this globally competitive marketplace. For a detailed table of contents, contact Lucintel at +1-972-636-5056 or helpdesk@lucintel.com. Lucintel offerings include Chemical Market Research Reports, Chemical Industry Analysis Report, Opportunity Screening and Analysis, Strategic Growth Consulting and Capital Investment Analysis.Lucintel, the premier global management consulting and market research firm, creates winning strategies for growth. It offers market assessments, competitive analysis, opportunity analysis, growth consulting, M&A, and due diligence services to executives and key decision-makers in a variety of industries. For further information, visitLucintel LLCLucintel, 8951 Cypress Waters Blvd., Suite 160, Dallas, TX 75019Ph: +1-972-636-5056 Fax: +1-877-883-5140marketing@lucintel.com
Cloud Monitoring Market New Research Highlights the Current Trends, Opportunities And Challenges

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Cloud monitoring refers to the process of monitoring, reviewing, and managing of operational processes and work within a cloud-based IT infrastructure. Cloud monitoring is implemented by using manual or mechanized IT monitoring and management technology for the optimal performance of cloud infrastructure.Download PDF To explore detail study @Major applications of cloud monitoring include website monitoring, virtual machine monitoring, database monitoring, virtual network monitoring, and cloud storage monitoring. These functions of cloud monitoring enables easy detection of potential security threads in infrastructure, by tracking the process, and monitoring traffic. Cloud monitoring solutions involves scanning, classifying, analyzing of data and then take action to protect against loss of data, before it leaves the network.Growth of the global cloud monitoring market is led by the high demand for monitoring huge data set. According to Coherent Market Insights analysis, the global data sphere is expected to reach up to 163 zettabytes by 2025, due to increasing adoption of cloud monitoring. This is in turn, expected to increase due to advantages of cloud monitoring such as cost effectiveness, performance, scalability, and flexibility have also accelerated growth of the market.High demand for cloud monitoring for financial applications is expected to increase market growthSoftware-as-a-service is an on-demand application, used to control and rectify performance of a system. Increasing adoption of software-as-a-services offerings such as customer relationship management (CRM), human capital management (HCM), enterprise resource management, and other financial applications creates a favorable environment for adoption of cloud monitoring, specifically in large organizations. Unlike conventional banking application software, it does not require employees for smooth running of the system. Also, it does not require major investment in PCs, network infrastructure, and backup systems. Moreover, it provides data security and does not require frequent software upgrade. Hence, it reduces the overall cost of the system. Additionally, growing inclination of the enterprise buyers towards adoption of the software-as-a-service solutions is expected to boost growth of the market for cloud computing in the near future. According to Coherent Market Insights analysis, around 45% of adoption by large enterprise in the U.S. will comprise software-as-a-service. This in turn, is expected to boost growth of the market for cloud monitoring.Browse More About the Market Study @North America is expected to hold a dominant position in the cloud monitoring market during the forecast periodNorth America held a dominant position in the global cloud monitoring market in 2016. The U.S. and Canada hold the largest market share in the region, owing to the shifting of data to cloud infrastructure in these countries. In 2015, North America accounted for around 42% of the global cloud data center workload.For instance, Amazon Web Services (AWS) enables scalability and flexibility of IT services to be delivered to end-use industries. Moreover it also provides externally hosted computing resources to the organizations for their individual services and applications.Competitive BackgroundMajor players operating in the global Cloud Monitoring market include CA Technologies, Solarwinds, Dynatrace, Idera, Sevone, Cloudyn, Zenoss, Datadog, Kaseya, Logicmonitor, and Opsview.Ask for Discount before Buying @:About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com
Renewable Materials In Construction Market Size, Analysis, and Forecast Report 2014-2020

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Global Renewable Materials in Construction Market: IntroductionThe materials which can be recycled and which help in reducing greenhouse gas emission and pollution are considered as renewable materials. Renewable materials in construction consist of timber and recyclable materials (concrete, metals, plastics, rubber, composites, etc.). Different types of renewable materials in construction such as recyclable concrete, lime mortars, timber materials, natural fiber composites, timber concrete composites, low carbon materials, etc. are used in different end use applications to reduce the harmful effects on the environment. In global renewable materials construction market, crop-based renewable materials account for a considerable share. The common crop-based renewable materials used in construction are insulation materials, light structural walls, natural paints and finishes, thatch, geotextiles, etc.Request Sample Report @Global Renewable Materials in Construction Market: DynamicsThe global construction industry is growing with growing urbanization and population. Upsurge in end-use industry (i.e. construction) is a crucial factor boosting the demand for global renewable materials in the construction market. In the growing global construction industry, the green construction segment holds a significant share. Renewable materials play a vital role in the green construction segment where they help to reduce carbon foot print, enhance the life of building structures and rehabilitate aging structures. Due to environmental friendly characteristics of renewable materials and government regulations that support the use of renewable materials by providing incentives, the global renewable materials in construction market is expected to show significant growth in future.Higher costs and market barriers (i.e. less investment by property owners as occupants get comparatively more benefits) are the two major restraining factors affecting the growth of global renewable materials in the construction market.Now a days, end users prefer renewable materials for their homes to transform their homes into an energy saving zone.Global Renewable Materials in Construction Market: SegmentationThe global renewable materials in construction market can be segmented on the basis of type, application and end use. On the basis of type, the global renewable materials in construction market can be segmented into crop-based materials and non-crop based materials. Crop-based materials segment is further divided into insulation material (sheep's wool, hemp, flax), light structural walls (straw bale, straw-clay, hemp-lime), natural paints and finishes, wall and floor coverings, geotextiles, thatch and timber and timber products. Non-crop based materials are further segmented into recyclable metals, plastics, composites, concrete and others. On the basis of application, the global renewable materials in the construction market can be segmented into exterior products (windows, green roofing, green doors and green siding), interior products (green floor coverings, green insulation and green gypsum board), building systems (HVAC systems, nonresidential glazing, water-efficient plumbing fixtures & fittings and residential lighting fixtures), solar power products, structural products (recyclable concrete, lumber and wood) and permeable pavement. On the basis of end use, the global renewable materials in the construction market can be segmented into residential and non-residential segments. The non-residential segment is further divided into office & commercial, institutional, industrial and other non-residential construction sites.Global Renewable Materials in Construction Market: Region-wise OutlookStrict government regulations in the North America region encourage people to use renewable materials in the construction segment. Hence, the demand for renewable materials in the construction market in North America is expected to grow at a relatively higher rate and account for a maximum share of the global renewable materials in the construction market. European countries have started implementing green building technology for retrofitting and renovating purposes. Renewable materials market in Asia Pacific and rest of the world also shows high growth due to adverse climatic conditions and favorable government initiatives.Request to View TOC @Global Renewable Materials in Construction Market: Market ParticipantsSome of the market participants involved in the manufacturing of renewable materials in construction include BASF SE, Alumasc Group Plc., Binderholz GmbH, Bauder Limited, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Interface Inc., Forbo International SA, Kingspan Group plc., Surfaces, Inc., Cold Mix Manufacturing Corp., Cemex S.A.B. de C.V., Green Fiber, LLC, National Fiber Technology, LLC, Sika AG, ZinCo USA, Inc., PPG Industries, Inc., Soben International Eco Ltd., Sunlight Electrical Pte Ltd. GE Sealants and Adhesives, Inc., Madar Emirates, UAE Enterprises, Calvert Company, United Agencies, Bena German Emarati Co., Hydro-turf International, Scheuten Solar, etc.ABOUT US:Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance. To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Mead Global Market 2018 Analysis By Key Players  Redstone, Brothers Drake, Medovina, Schramms, Nektar, Kuhnhenn, Schramm's Mead

Mead

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SummaryWiseGuyReports.com adds Mead Market 2018 Global Analysis, Growth, Trends and Opportunities Research Report Forecasting to 2023 reports to its database.This report provides in depth study of Mead Market using SWOT analysis i.e. Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threat to the organization. The Mead Market report also provides an in-depth survey of key players in the market which is based on the various objectives of an organization such as profiling, the product outline, the quantity of production, required raw material, and the financial health of the organization.Global Mead market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingRedstoneBrothers DrakeMedovinaSchrammsNektarKuhnhennSchramm's MeadGeographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Mead in these regions, from 2013 to 2025 (forecast), coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoHerbs TypeSpices TypeFruits TypeOn the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, includingConvenience StoreSupermarket and HypermarketBarsOthersRequest a Sample Report @Major Key Points in Table of Content1 Market Overview1.1 Market Segment Overview1.1.1 Product Definition1.1.2 Market by Type1.1.2.1 Herbs Type1.1.2.2 Spices Type1.1.2.3 Fruits Type1.1.3 Market by Application1.1.3.1 Convenience Store1.1.3.2 Supermarket and Hypermarket1.1.3.3 Bars1.1.3.4 Others1.2 Global and Regional Market Size1.2.1 Global Overview1.2.2 Market by Region1.2.2.1 Asia-Pacific1.2.2.2 North America1.2.2.3 Europe1.2.2.4 South America1.2.2.5 Middle East & Africa2 Global and Regional Market by Company2.1 Global2.1.1 Global Sales by Company2.1.2 Global Price by Company2.2 Asia-Pacific2.2.1 Asia-Pacific Sales by Company2.2.2 Asia-Pacific Price by Company2.3 North America2.3.1 North America Sales by Company2.3.2 North America Price by Company2.4 Europe2.4.1 Europe Market Sales by Company2.4.2 Europe Price by Company2.5 South America2.5.1 South America Sales by Company2.5.2 South America Price by Company2.6 Middle East & Africa2.6.1 Middle East & Africa Sales by Company2.6.2 Middle East & Africa Price by Company..6 Key Manufacturers6.1 Redstone6.1.2 Company Information6.1.2 Product Specifications6.1.3 Business Data (Capacity, Sales Revenue, Volume, Price, Cost and Margin)6.2 Brother?s Drake6.2.1 Company Information6.2.2 Product Specifications6.2.3 Business Data (Capacity, Sales Revenue, Volume, Price, Cost and Margin)6.3 Medovina6.3.1 Company Information6.3.2 Product Specifications6.3.3 Business Data (Capacity, Sales Revenue, Volume, Price, Cost and Margin)6.4 Schramm?s6.4.1 Company Information6.4.2 Product Specifications6.4.3 Business Data (Capacity, Sales Revenue, Volume, Price, Cost and Margin)6.5 Nektar6.5.1 Company Information6.5.2 Product Specifications6.5.3 Business Data (Capacity, Sales Revenue, Volume, Price, Cost and Margin)6.6 Kuhnhenn6.6.1 Company Information6.6.2 Product Specifications6.6.3 Business Data (Capacity, Sales Revenue, Volume, Price, Cost and Margin)6.7 Schramm's Mead6.7.1 Company Information6.7.2 Product Specifications6.7.3 Business Data (Capacity, Sales Revenue, Volume, Price, Cost and Margin)At any Query @Continued....Contact Us: sales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US) ; Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)ABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.ADDRESS:WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Know How Painting Tools Market is Thriving Worldwide? Key Players - Gordon Brush, Braun Brush, Purdy, Anderson Products, Mill-Rose Company and Milton Brushware.

Painting Tools Market

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Rollers accounted more than 25% Painting tools market demand in 2016. Construction industry is the major consumer of rollers as it provides enhanced paint layoff and reduce bristle loss. Offering unique design to the walls is among the key factor driving product demand in modern wall designs.Painting Tools Market size is estimated to surpass USD 14 billion by 2024. Growing urbanization along with increasing infrastructure spending is anticipated to drive painting tools market growth. Increase in government spending in tourism, commercial & building renovation coupled with rise in retail industry has positively influenced the product demand.Sample copy of this Report @Construction applications is projected to surpass USD 10 billion by 2024. Rising population, ongoing industrialization, expanding foreign investment funding across developing economies will fuel the painting tools market. Globally, construction industry is projected as one of the most lucrative industries in the coming years and is forecast to have 4.5% growth rate in next five years.Rising demand for corrosion resistant and attractive textures in residential & commercial building are the preliminary factors driving painting tools demand. Increasing architectural paint & coatings application in commercial buildings to enhance aesthetic appearance will boost product penetration.Rise in the global purchasing power parity from USD 13,100 in 2013 to USD 15,800 in 2015 provides a positive outlook for consumer goods industry. Increasing application of coatings on consumer electronics products will stimulate demand.High painting tools market price trend along with limited consumer awareness regarding the product usage may hamper business growth.Germany accounted over 15% of Europe painting tools market in 2016. Presence of major automobile brands including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Porsche, Opel and Audi in the country makes it a substantial contributor in European automotive industry. Russia is expected to surpass 20% of the regional industry share by 2024.APAC painting tools market is set to witness growth over 6% through 2024. Infrastructural advancement in China, Japan and India positively stimulates product penetration in the regional industry.Brushes are the largest selling and widely recognized product. Global production of paint brushes surpassed 440 million units in 2016. Plastic handle brush are extensively used in emerging countries, while high quality wooden handle is more popular in North America and Europe.Knives and scrapers will witness a substantial growth owing to rising demand for high-class paint & coating application in residential and commercial construction. The segment accounts over 17% demand in LATAM painting tools market by 2024.Browse Report Summery @Demand from automotive industry contributed over USD 550 million in 2016. Rising demand for luxury vehicles including Cadillac, Infiniti, Maserati Ghibli, Jaguar, Range Rover, Rolls-Royce, Porsche and Bentley has encouraged vehicle manufacturers to utilize spray guns for vehicle coatings. Additionally, appealing finishing of vehicles is accredited to usage of modern coating tools including trowels and sanding coat equipment.Global painting tools market share is fragmented owing to presence of large number of industry players. Mergers and acquisition plays a crucial role in gaining industry share.Prominent manufacturers in painting tools market include Gordon Brush, Braun Brush, Purdy, Anderson Products, Mill-Rose Company and Milton Brushware. Other significant manufacturers are Allway, Nespoli Group, Harbor Freight, EPOS Egypt, Shawky Brush & Roller Factory, Makinah, Dura Paints, MAAN and Nour Egypt.Partial Chapter of the Table of ContentChapter 2. Executive Summary2.1. Painting tools market 3600 synopsis, 2013 20242.1.1. Business trends2.1.2. Product trends2.1.3. Application trends2.1.4. Regional trendsChapter 3. Painting Tools Industry Insights3.1. Painting Tools Industry segmentation3.2. Painting Tools Industry landscape, 2013 - 20243.3. Painting Tools Industry ecosystem analysis3.3.1. Raw material suppliers3.3.2. Manufacturers3.3.3. Profit margin analysis3.3.4. Distribution channel analysis3.3.4.1. B2B3.3.4.2. B2C3.3.5. End-users3.3.6. Vendor matrix3.4. Industry best practices & key buying criteriaMake an Inquiry for purchasing this Report @3.5. Pricing Analysis3.5.1. Paint brushes3.5.2. Paint rollers3.5.3. Scrappers3.5.4. Knives3.5.5. Trays3.5.6. Spray gun3.5.7. Masking tapes3.5.8. Others (extension poles, sanding tools, trowels)3.5.9. Regional pricing3.5.10. Cost structure analysis3.6. Regulatory landscape3.6.1. U.S.3.6.2. Canada3.6.3. Europe3.6.4. China3.6.5. Japan3.6.6. India3.7. Industry impact forces3.7.1. Growth drivers3.7.1.1. Rising construction of commercial & residential buildings3.7.1.2. Expansion in global automotive industry3.7.2. Industry pitfalls & challenges3.7.2.1. Lack of availability of skilled labor3.8. Growth potential analysis3.9. Global paints & coatings market outlook (Parent market overview)3.9.1. Trends3.9.2. Customer requirements3.9.3. Paints & coatings market analysis & forecast 2013  20243.9.4. SWOT analysis3.10. Raw material trends3.11. Innovation & sustainability3.12. Porter's analysis3.13. Company market share analysis, 20163.13.1. Market share analysis3.13.2. Strategy dashboard3.14. PESTEL analysisAbout Global Market Insights:Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Contact Us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone:1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb:
Hemodynamic Monitoring Systems Market Development, Trends and Demand Forecast Report

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The global hemodynamic monitoring systems market is growing due to technological advancement in hemodynamic monitoring systems, such as minimally invasive and noninvasive technologies. The minimally invasive and noninvasive technologies are preferred, in order to reduce infection associated diseases, decrease pain, and increase comfort of the patient. The massive unexplored market in the hemodynamic monitoring systems industry of the developing economies is creating abundant opportunities for the growth of the global hemodynamic monitoring systems market.Access Detailed Report Summary:Hemodynamic monitoring is the continuous movement of blood and pressure exerted in the veins, arteries, and heart. Hemodynamic monitoring systems are used to monitor oxygenation of tissue and organ, blood pressure, and cardiac output. It is also used to evaluate effectiveness of the cardiovascular function. These tests are performed to monitor loss of cardiac functions, such as cardiomyopathy, congestive heart failure and myocardial infarction, decreased urine output, decreased cardiac output, and gastrointestinal bleeding.Request to Get the Sample Pages at:On the basis of product, the global hemodynamic monitoring systems market can be categorized as systems and disposables. Disposables lead the global hemodynamic monitoring systems market, in terms of market size, and is expected to grow at a fast rate in the coming years. Systems are further segmented as display systems and unified hemodynamic monitoring systems. In addition, disposables are further segmented as sensors, , guide wires, and measurement probe.On the basis of type, the global hemodynamic patient monitoring systems market can be categorized as minimally invasive systems, invasive hemodynamic monitoring systems, and noninvasive systems. Invasive hemodynamic monitoring systems leads the global hemodynamic monitoring systems market in terms of market size, due to identification, early detection, and treatment of life threatening diseases; whereas, the market share minimally invasive hemodynamic monitoring systems is expected to grow at the fastest rate in the coming years. In addition, on the basis of end user, the global hemodynamic patient monitoring systems market can be categorized as hospitals, catheterization laboratories, and home and ambulatory sites. Hospitals lead the global hemodynamic monitoring systems market in terms of market size, and are expected to grow at the fastest rate in the coming years.Make Enquiry Before Buying the Report:Geographically, North America is likely to dominate the global hemodynamic monitoring systems market in the coming years, due to growing geriatric population, increasing prevalence of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, and increasing sedentary lifestyle. Asia-Pacific is the fastest growing region in the global hemodynamic monitoring systems market, due to presence of huge pool of patients, upsurge in healthcare expenditure and intensifying government support in the region. Moreover, the market in Asia-Pacific is also growing due to refining healthcare infrastructure and increasing healthcare awareness in the emerging countries, such as India and China.Some of the companies operating in the global hemodynamic monitoring systems market are Edward Lifesciences Corporation, Pulsion Medical Systems Se, Cheetah Medical Inc., HEMO Sapiens Inc., Deltex Medical Group PLC, ICU Medical Inc., Tensys Medical Inc. Osypka Medical GMBH, Lidco Group PLC and Schwarzer Cardiotek GmbH.About P&S IntelligenceP&S Intelligence, a brand of P&S Market Research, is a provider of market research and consulting services catering to the market information needs of burgeoning industries across the world. Providing the plinth of market intelligence, P&S as an enterprising research and consulting company, believes in providing thorough landscape analyses on the ever-changing market scenario, to empower companies to make informed decisions and base their business strategies with astuteness.Contact:P&S Intelligence347, 5th Ave. #1402New York City, NY - 10016Toll-free: +1-888-778-7886 (USA/Canada)Email: enquiry@psmarketresearch.comWeb:
Biometrics Market Key technologies explained by David Link, EyeVerfiy, Iris ID, NEC Corporation and More

Biometrics Market, Biometrics Market Study, Biometrics Market Size, Biometrics Market Segmentation, Biometrics Market Growth

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The prime objective of Biometrics Market report is to help the user understand the market in terms of its definition, segmentation, market potential, influential trends, and the challenges that the market is facing. Deep researches and analysis were done during the preparation of the report.Biometrics Market size is estimated to surpass USD 50 billion by 2024Description: High acceptance among various verticals including mobile banking and financial services owing to rising security concerns has enhanced biometrics market size. Government initiatives for biometrics implementation coupled with high deployment for criminal identification will remain the key factors driving industry demand.Industry players focus on technological advancements and new product launches to cater to the customer requirements. Benefits offered including provision of precise and accurate validation as compared to traditional validation methods such as PINs and ID cards, are anticipated to increase the industry penetration across the globe till 2024.This report focuses on the top Manufacturers and players in global market are given bellow:-BIO Key International, David Link, EyeVerfiy, Iris ID, and NEC Corporation are among the prominent players in the biometrics marketRequest a Sample premium Biometrics Market Research Report@Non-AFIS will account for the highest biometrics market share, surpassing USD 18 billion till 2024. This can be attributed to its high usage in various applications which include cashless vending and workforce management. Moreover, it finds use in various public areas that assure keyless entry and efficient security. Iris recognition will exhibit over 20% CAGR owing to wide integration of iris scanners mainly in smartphones.Benefits such as unauthorized vehicle use detection, reduction of overtime expenses, and identification of billing anomalies will support the transportation & logistics segment growth from 2017 to 2024. Banking & finance applications will benefit from the rising demand from various financial institutions for precise authentication and streamlining of operations.North America biometrics market is expected to account for more than 30% share till 2024. Rising demand from government & security sector in U.S. coupled with the presence of major industry participants will escalate the industry growth. Moreover, favorable regulatory landscape in the U.S will help in fostering the industry demand. Asia Pacific is poised to grow at the highest CAGR owing to various government initiatives in the countries including China and India. National enrollment program (UIDAI Aadhar) in India, and China Resident Identity Card (CRIC) are among the implementation examples across the region.Biometrics Market Size By ApplicationBanking & Finance, Consumer Electronics, Defense Services, Government, Transportation, HealthcareBy ProductAFIS, Non-AFIS, Hand Geometry, Signature, Voice, Iris, FaceIndustry Analysis Report, Regional OutlookU.S., Canada, UK, Germany, France, Russia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, BrazilApplication Potential, Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2017 - 2024Request a Discount on standard prices of this premium Biometrics Market Research Report@More Report At:Marketstudyreport.com allows you to manage and control all corporate research purchases to consolidate billing and vendor management. You can eliminate duplicate purchases and customize your content and license management.Market Study ReportThe Green Suite #4594,Dover, DE 19901United StatesPhone: 1-201-355-0868US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email:sales@marketstudyreport.comWebsite:News:More Report at:
Digital Logistic Market Outlook with Market Size, Profit, Standard and Top Players (ADVANTECH CORPORTION, DIGILOGISTICS, HEXAWARE TECHNOLOGIES, IBM CORPORATION,), Profile Analysis and Forecast 2018 to 2023

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The use of advanced technology and communication in logistics, which helps to reduce operating costs, improves supply chain, enhances overall efficiency, and provide customer centric solutions, is termed as Digital Logistics. Digital logistics allow various companies and supply chain logistics applications to closely integrate with labor management systems, core warehouse and transportation systems to enable novel process models and ensure fulfillment excellence.This report on United States Digital Logistic market is a detailed research study that helps provides answers and pertinent questions with respect to the emerging trends and growth opportunities in this particular industry. It leverages historical statistics about the Digital Logistic market, data from various other paid websites and sources, and inputs by the experts of the industry.Download Sample Copy @Some of the key players in the digital logistics market ADVANTECH CORPORTION, DIGILOGISTICS, HEXAWARE TECHNOLOGIES, IBM CORPORATION, JDA SOFTWARE, ORACLE, SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO, SAP AG, TECH MAHINDRA, UTI WORLDWIDE INC, COGNIZANT, TCS, INFOSYS, PREACTOR, CENTUMIn the geographic segmentation, the regions such as North America, Middle East & Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe and Latin America are given major importance. The top key driving forces of Digital Logistic market in every particular market is mentioned with restraints and opportunities. The restraints are also given a counter act which prove to be an opportunity for this market during the forecast period of 2018 to 2025 respectively.The study segments the market by geography into: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World. It provides in-depth forecasts of revenue of the market as a whole as well as each and every application segment. The competitive landscape is mapped depending on product and technology. This study also offers an overview of pricing trends and ancillary factors that will be influencing pricing in the United States Digital Logistic market.The report provides detailed industry analysis of the United States Digital Logistic market with the help of proven research methodologies such as Porters five forces. The forces analyzed are bargaining power of the buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, and the degree of competition.To offer a clear understanding of the United States Digital Logistic market, several questions have been addressed in the research study concerning the growth of the United States Digital Logistic market. It is also been discussed with respect to projected growth rate of the United States Digital Logistic market in the near future.Highlights of the report: A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent market Important changes in market dynamics Market segmentation up to the second or third level Historical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volume Reporting and evaluation of recent industry developments Market shares and strategies of key players Emerging niche segments and regional markets An objective assessment of the trajectory of the market Recommendations to companies for strengthening their foothold in the marketGet More Information @Research N Reports is a new age market research firm where we focus on providing information that can be effectively applied. Today being a consumer driven market, companies require information to deal with the complex and dynamic world of choices. Where relying on a sound board firm for your decisions becomes crucial. Research N Reports specializes in industry analysis, market forecasts and as a result getting quality reports covering all verticals, whether be it gaining perspective on current market conditions or being ahead in the cut throat Global competition. Since we excel at business research to help businesses grow, we also offer consulting as an extended arm to our services which only helps us gain more insight into current trends and problems. Consequently, we keep evolving as an all-rounder provider of viable information under one roof.Sunny Denis(Sales Manager),(Research N Reports)10916, Gold Point Dr, Houston, TX, Pin - 77064,+1-8886316977,sales@researchnreports.com
Qyresearchreports include new market research report "Global Dihydroxybenzenes Sales Market Report 2018" to its huge collection of research reports. The global market for Dihydroxybenzenes is the topic of study of our recent-most report. Our team of in-house subject matter experts have thoroughly analyzed the market to present crucial information on it in a comprehensive manner. They have banked upon charts and graphs to give insights into the major market trends. The report 
Officials posted caution signs Monday afternoon after suspected blue-green algae blooms were identified at Vancouver Lake in Clark County, Washington.

Suspected blooms were identified at Burnt Bridge Creek inlet and the flushing channel near the swim beach, according to a Clark County news release. A bloom has not been detected at the swim beach area, but authorities want the public to be on the lookout, even though the inlet and flushing channel are not directly connected to the swim beach, a spokeswoman said.

Officials are sampling the water at the inlet and flushing channel to determine if toxins are present. Results are expected later this week. Vancouver Lake Regional Park is still open, and water in park restrooms and shelters is safe to drink.

Blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria, produces toxins that can be harmful to people and deadly for small pets that drink the water, according to a Clark County news release. Toxins may be present during a visible bloom or persist after the bloom is gone, according to information on Clark County Public Health's website.

Public Health is advising people to watch for other blooms in the lake and to avoid direct contact with lake water in areas with blue-green-colored scum. Officials also recommend cleaning lake-caught fish well and discarding their organs.

Row for the Cure is scheduled for Saturday at Vancouver Lake. Ann Berryman, a spokeswoman for Susan G. Komen Oregon and SW Washington, said the organization is aware of the situation and is monitoring it with help from officials.

--Hannah Boufford

hboufford@oregonian.com / @hannahboufford
The second in a series of three major ramp closures this summer begins at 10 p.m. Wednesday when the connector from westbound Interstate 84 to northbound Interstate 5 will close until 5 a.m. Monday Aug. 6.

Along with that closure, ODOT will need to close the center lane of I-84 westbound near Lloyd Boulevard exit during to work on the northbound ramp to I-5.

The Banfield is a slow commute during regular rush hours, and this closure could cause hourslong backups extending into midday and beyond. Drivers should consider alternatives including the MAX lines that run along I-84. Several Park and Rides are available to commuters. Check with TriMet.org to plan your trip.

***

NORTHWEST PORTLAND 8:12 a.m.; A head-on crash has blocked Northwest Germantown Road down the hill (north) from Skyline Boulevard.

***

Expect delays the next two nights on Cornelius Pass Road, between south of Cornell Road to house number 1830 as crews will be paving the area. The work hours are 8 p.m.-5:30 a.m. Tuesday-Wednesday, July 24-25.

PBOT has closed the eastbound Southwest Capitol Highway ramp to northbound Barbur Boulevard. Late last week, an eight-inch hole was discovered in the deck of the flyover ramp. The road will be closed for repairs until August 27. Traffic (including bicyclists) heading eastbound on Capitol Highway should follow detour signs to Southwest Bertha Boulevard and then access Barbur northbound from Bertha. Drivers can also take Southwest Terwilliger Boulevard toward OHSU as a detour into downtown.

Travelers in the area reported long delays due to the closure on Thursday and Friday. Plan for extra time. Also, TriMet buses that use Capitol Highway to Barbur are also using the detour route.

Check back throughout the morning for the latest commuting updates and follow us on Twitter: @trafficportland
By Daniel Hemel, University of Chicago

(THE CONVERSATION) New York authorities have opened an investigation into the Donald J. Trump Foundation to determine whether the president or his charity broke state tax laws.

The state tax probe is just the latest example of the legal trouble the president's foundation faces. In addition, New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood is suing the foundation for allegedly violating state laws governing charities. And she has alerted the IRS and the Federal Election Commission about the foundation's possible federal tax and campaign law violations.

As a scholar of federal and state tax law, I believe that these allegations raise serious concerns about Trump's management of the charity that bears his name. I think it is unlikely, however, that the New York state investigation into the Trump Foundation will lead to any criminal charges.

A civil lawsuit and a potential criminal probe

Underwood's lawsuit is a civil action, not a criminal proceeding. She is asking a state court to dissolve the foundation, to order the president to pay US$2.8 million in restitution plus additional penalties and to temporarily prohibit Trump and his three oldest children from serving on the board of any nonprofit based in the state.

That case, in my view, is strong. Underwood's petition details several apparent violations of federal and state law by the foundation dating back to 2007. Among the most flagrant of these is a $25,000 contribution that the foundation made in 2013 to the re-election campaign of Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. Not only does that run afoul of laws barring foundations from contributing to political campaigns, but the Trump Foundation now admits that it misreported the gift in federal and state tax filings.

The Trump Foundation's allegedly illegal actions have led to some speculation that the president or others associated with his charity could face criminal charges. But not all tax law violations rise to the level of a crime. New York law imposes criminal consequences for only a few tax-related offenses - most notably, tax fraud.

Under New York law, criminal tax fraud occurs when a person "knowingly" submits "materially false or fraudulent information" in connection with a tax return. To hold someone criminally liable, the prosecution must prove that the person acted "willfully" - which means with "intent to defraud" or to avoid "a known legal duty." Criminal tax fraud is, at a minimum, a class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail.

Before bringing criminal tax fraud charges, the attorney general would need a criminal referral from either the governor or the state's top tax official. New York Gov.Andrew Cuomo's office says his administration is willing to provide a referral. But there are several more hurdles that state authorities would have to overcome before they would have a plausible criminal case.

Barriers to prosecution

The first barrier is New York's statute of limitations. Prosecution for misdemeanor tax fraud must begin within three years of the crime's commission. That would rule out most of the actions outlined in Underwood's lawsuit.

Prosecutors, however, can look back five years in cases of felony tax fraud. That could potentially make charges related to the Trump Foundation's misreporting of the Bondi gift fair game. But for tax fraud to be a felony rather than a misdemeanor, it must result in an underpayment to the state of more than $3,000. The Bondi incident probably falls below that threshold.

A second challenge is showing that foundation officials or Trump family members acted "willfully." For example, Underwood's petition alleges that the Trump Foundation made false statements in a 2016 filing when it said that an Iowa fundraiser was a foundation event rather than a presidential campaign stop. But even if the foundation mischaracterized the event in its filing, the foundation's statements fall short of the out-and-out lie that would typically support criminal tax fraud charges.

What's next?

For now, Underwood's office says it still is "evaluating the evidence" to determine whether a criminal prosecution related to the Trump Foundation might be warranted.

In the meantime, she will proceed with the civil lawsuit. The judge in that case has urged both sides to settle the claims against Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump, and has scheduled an October court date for the claims against the president and his charity.

The potential for a criminal prosecution is emerging as a major issue in the race to succeed Underwood, who isn't running, as New York's next state attorney general. One candidate vying for the Democratic Party nomination, Zephyr Teachout, has called for a criminal probe into the Trump Foundation, and she has suggested that a criminal prosecution could lead to the release of Trump's own tax returns.

Nonetheless, in my view, any effort by New York state to prosecute the Trump Foundation, the president or his relatives for criminal tax fraud would encounter significant and likely insurmountable legal obstacles.

A better path to public disclosure

And given the significant obstacles standing in the way of a criminal prosecution of the Trump Foundation or the Trumps, I think it is unlikely that the state's ongoing probe will result in the president's tax returns becoming public. Even if the state attorney general does move forward with charges, it is far from clear that the president's personal tax returns would be released as part of a prosecution focused on his foundation.

In any event, New York has a much better way to ensure that voters can review the president's own tax filings. It could pass a law requiring the release of state tax returns filed by the president. Trump's New York state tax returns include most of the information contained in his federal returns, and state tax filings are not covered by the federal tax return confidentiality statute.

Half of New York state's Assembly members have signed on as co-sponsors to a bill that would lead to the release of the president's state tax returns. Similar legislation is pending in the state Senate, yet leaders in both chambers have not scheduled any votes so far.

-- Daniel Hemel, University of Chicago

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)
I just came back from a month-long trip to Europe, where I visited Paris, Winchester and four cities in Croatia, Venice and Bergerac. I saw exactly two pan-handlers, and both were on the steps of the underground when I was passing through London. I didn't see a single homeless encampment. Granted, I did see people in Venice hawking toys to tourists, but they weren't obnoxious and they definitely weren't asking for a blatant handout.

When I arrived in Portland, everywhere I looked I saw tents in areas clearly posted, "No overnight camping." Garbage and panhandlers are all over the city, and forget walking on the Eastside Esplanade. It's scary and filthy.

What is the matter with Portland? It used to be a lovely place to live and I felt proud to take visitors around. Now, I don't want them to come here because, frankly, it's disgusting.

Surely if cities like Paris or Dubrovnik can figure out a way to house the homeless and keep the streets clean, Portland can do it.

-- Carole Orloff, Northeast Portland
This whole problem from the very beginning has been a total mess "Oregon rancher pardoned by Trump: 'I tried to do the right thing,' " July 14) .First, Dwight Jr. and Steven Hammond's burning is what ranchers in the area have done for generations.

They didn't think about or realize times have changed and what they did was a horrible crime. Then came the sentence, the initial sentence pretty much fit the crime. However, our society no longer trusts judges to find the penalty that fits the crime, so we have the mandatory minimum.

Maybe this will bring up some discussion on mandatory minimums since it also affects people like the Hammonds -- not just stupid kids of all races.

-- Bill Hall, Northeast Portland
By Dov Waxman, Northeastern University

(THE CONVERSATION) Early last Thursday, July 19, while most Israelis were sleeping, Israel's right-wing coalition government narrowly passed a highly controversial law that had been years in the making.

The so-called "nation-state law" legally enshrines Israel's Jewish character and makes it one of the state's guiding judicial principles, akin to a constitutional amendment in the United States.

The new law declares that Israel is "the national home of the Jewish people," that only Jews have a right to national self-determination in Israel, that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, and that Hebrew is the only official language - downgrading the official status of Arabic.

Among its other provisions, the most contentious one says that "the state views the development of Jewish settlement as a national value and will act to encourage and promote its establishment and consolidation." Critics fear this deliberately vague language could be used to legitimize Jewish-only communities and even exclusive towns.

The one thing that proponents and opponents of the nation-state law agree on is that its passage is of profound and historic importance - representing a milestone in Israel's 70-year history.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proudly hailed it as "a pivotal moment in the annals of Zionism and the State of Israel."

On the other side of the political spectrum, Ahmad Tibi, an Arab Knesset member who belongs to the Joint List party - a coalition of primarily Arab parties - bitterly denounced the law as "the end of democracy," and "the official beginning of fascism and apartheid."

As a scholar of Israeli society and politics, I think that both sides have overdramatized the new law's significance, for their own political purposes. It is largely a declarative and symbolic measure, with no immediate, practical application.

Nevertheless, the law could eventually have far-reaching implications for Jewish-Arab relations within Israel and for Israeli-Palestinian relations.

From the beginning

Most of the new law's provisions will have no impact because they are already contained in other laws.

There are, for example, numerous laws that codify and express Israel's Jewish identity. The most famous is the Law of Return, passed in 1950, which automatically grants citizenship to any Jew emigrating to Israel.

Since its founding in 1948, Israel has declared itself a Jewish nation-state. Whereas most states see themselves as serving only the interests of their citizens, Israel's Jewish identity means that its primary mission is to serve the Jewish people, wherever they live.

Consequently, Israel's non-Jewish citizens - one in four Israelis - are of lesser importance. This has been most consistently apparent in the treatment by Israel's governments of the country's Arab minority, which comprises 21 percent of Israel's population.

The Arab minority has long been discriminated against and neglected by the state. That fact was officially acknowledged in a groundbreaking report issued in 2003 by the Orr Commission, an Israeli government-appointed body headed by a former Supreme Court justice.

Although Arab citizens of Israel - most of whom also identify as Palestinian - have the same democratic rights as Israeli Jews, they have generally been treated as second-class citizens.

Despite the fact that Arabs have become more successful, more visible and more outspoken in recent years, they remain marginalized in Israeli society and politics, and there are still large inequalities between Arabs and Jews in many areas of life such as education, housing and employment. Worse, Arabs must contend with land confiscations, home demolitions, municipal underfunding, and both formal and informal discrimination. They are still treated and widely perceived as a demographic and security threat, a potential "fifth column" in Israel's conflict with the Palestinians.

Enshrining inequality

Israel, therefore, has never been a truly liberal democracy that treats all its citizens equally regardless of their ethnicity or religion.

Instead, from the outset it has been an "ethnic democracy" or "ethnocracy" as scholars have labeled it, serving Jews first and foremost.

While Arab living standards have certainly risen over the years, Israel has never fully lived up to the promise contained in its Declaration of Independence to "foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants," and "ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex."

Most Arab citizens of Israel have come to believe that they will never attain full equality with Israeli Jews as long as Israel defines itself as a Jewish state. Hence, they have increasingly advocated for Israel to redefine itself as a "state for all its citizens."

The new nation-state law was primarily intended to counter such demands.

Avi Dichter, the Likud Knesset member who first proposed the bill and was one of its main sponsors, made that clear during the stormy Knesset debate over it.

Dichter said, "We are enshrining this important bill into a law today to prevent even the slightest thought, let alone attempt, to transform Israel to a country of all its citizens."

In other words, the new law is aimed at preserving the status quo, not radically changing it. Rather than transform Israel into an undemocratic "apartheid state," as some of its critics charge, the nation-state law is more likely to ensure that Israel cannot be easily transformed into a liberal democracy or a bi-national state.

The fact that the words "democracy and "equality" do not appear at all in the law is telling. Nor is there any recognition of the presence of a Palestinian-Arab minority in Israel. On the contrary, the new law implicitly denies their very existence as an indigenous national minority that also has a legitimate claim to national self-determination, or at least collective rights.

In doing so, the nation-state law will only anger, and further alienate, Israel's Arab citizens. The message the law sends to them is unequivocal: This state is not yours and this land does not belong to you.

The law also delivers a clear message to Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, who are now considering giving up their demand for a separate Palestinian state in favor of seeking equal citizenship within an expanded Israel - a "one-state solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

By legally entrenching Israel's Jewish character, and potentially legitimizing Jewish privileges when they are challenged in court, the law could be used to ensure that Israel remains a Jewish state and continues to give preference to Jews even if - or perhaps when - Israel officially annexes much of the West Bank and Jews become a minority within its borders.

Ultimately, the nation-state law's long-term impact will depend upon how Israeli policymakers apply it, how judges interpret it, and how Palestinians in Israel and the occupied territories respond to it.

-- Dov Waxman, Northeastern University

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)
By Marc Thiessen

WASHINGTON -- With his interference in the 2016 election, Russian President Vladimir Putin achieved something that none of his murderous Soviet predecessors were able to accomplish: He has turned Democrats into Russia hawks.

A few months after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ronald Reagan addressed the 1992 Republican National Convention and said: "I heard those speakers at that other convention saying 'we won the Cold War' -- and I couldn't help wondering, just who exactly do they mean by 'we'?" He had a point. Today, Democrats may be deeply concerned about the threat Russia poses to our democracy.

But during the Cold War, when the Soviet Union posed an existential threat to our democracy, not so much. Most Democrats opposed the Reagan policies that led to the fall of the Soviet empire. They fought the Reagan defense buildup and his Strategic Defense Initiative (which Sen. Edward M. Kennedy dismissed as "Star Wars" and Sen. John F. Kerry called "a dream based on illusion"). They supported the Soviet-supported nuclear freeze movement and opposed Reagan's deployment of intermediate-range nuclear missiles to Western Europe. They criticized Reagan's efforts to arm freedom fighters seeking to overthrow Soviet puppet regimes and support to pro-American governments fighting communist insurgencies.

Not only did Democrats oppose Reagan's policies, they heaped scorn on his blunt anti-Communist rhetoric. After Reagan called on the Soviets to "tear down" the Berlin Wall, Democratic House Speaker Jim Wright declared he had "utter contempt for Reagan" because he had "spoiled the chance for a dramatic breakthrough in relations between our two countries." While Reagan denounced the Soviet Union as an "Evil Empire" and promised to leave it on "the ash-heap of history," Democrats such as Kennedy criticized Reagan for his "misleading Red-scare tactics."

There were exceptions, to be sure. The legendary Democratic Sen. Henry "Scoop" Jackson was a fierce anti-Communist. Those like him were known as "Scoop Jackson Democrats." They were given this name for a reason: to distinguish them from most other Democrats who did not share Jackson's hard-line approach.

Old habits of appeasement die hard, so when the Cold War ended the Democrats continued their soft line toward Moscow. Democratic opposition to President George W. Bush's withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty was more strident than that of Vladimir Putin. There was virtual silence from Democrats when President Barack Obama callously threw Poland and the Czech Republic under the bus by canceling our missile defense agreements in an effort to appease Moscow. In 2012, when Mitt Romney called Russia our "number one geopolitical foe," Democrats mocked him mercilessly. Obama told Romney, "The 1980s, they're now calling to ask for their foreign policy back." And Vice President Joe Biden said Romney "acts like he thinks the Cold War is still on." The Republican focus on Russia was considered laughable by most Democrats.

But now, a quarter century after the fall of the Soviet Union, the Democrats have belatedly decided that Russia is a threat.

For decades, while the Soviet Union sowed tyranny across the globe, sent millions to rot in the Gulag, and threatened America with nuclear annihilation, Democrats were for detente and peaceful coexistence. Even as Putin continued Russia's pattern authoritarian aggression, undermining democracy at home and invading his neighbors, they advocated a "reset" of relations. It was only when Russia invaded John Podesta's privacy that Democrats were finally -- finally! -- outraged.

But before Republicans gloat over the Democrats' hypocrisy, they need to be careful and not to mirror the Democrats' Russia transformation by becoming Kremlin apologists. The fact that Democrats are suddenly channeling their inner Reagan is no excuse for those on the right to start channeling their inner Kennedy. Conservatives don't have to take the Democrats' belated Russia outrage seriously. But they do need to take Russia seriously.

As for Democrats, let's hope their newfound antipathy for Russia is not just a convenient way to get President Trump. Russia is a threat not just because it interfered in the 2016 election. Russia is a threat because it assassinates Putin's critics with chemical weapons, shoots down civilian airliners, arms the Taliban, supports Iran, violates its treaty obligations, targets NATO allies with nuclear missiles and annexes the territory of its neighbors. That threat will still be there when Trump is gone. The question is: Will the Democrats still be Russia hawks then?

-- Marc Thiessen writes a twice-weekly column for The Post on foreign and domestic policy and contributes to the PostPartisan blog. He is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and the former chief speechwriter for President George W. Bush.

Follow Marc A. Thiessen on Twitter, @marcthiessen.

(c) 2018, The Washington Post Writers Group
Prospective jurors summoned to federal court Tuesday for the trial of indicted FBI agent W. Joseph Astarita are expected to face vigorous questioning from his lawyers to expose possible bias in the wake of frequent "public attacks against the FBI - some made by the president of the United States himself."

Defense lawyers have pushed for a written questionnaire for jurors with attorneys asking follow-up questions in court considering the high-profile nature of the case, the high-level criticism of the FBI and what they believe is misinformation about the agent's role in arresting the men who led the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Astarita, a member of the FBI's elite Hostage Rescue Team, is charged with lying to conceal that he allegedly fired two shots at the truck of Robert "LaVoy" Finicum, the occupation spokesman, on Jan. 26, 2016. One hit the roof of the truck and the other went astray, Oregon investigators said.

"This trial will largely pit the credibility of local law enforcement against the credibility of FBI agents, which makes for a uniquely challenging jury selection process," Astarita's lawyers wrote to the court this month. "A jury questionnaire that permits potential jurors to privately express themselves on these hot-button political issues is essential in this extraordinary case.''

U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones last week threw out two of the five charges against Astarita.

At trial, he'll face two counts of making a false statement, alleging he lied to his immediate FBI supervisor at the scene and another FBI supervisor days later. They asked him separately if he had shot at Finicum's truck.

He also faces one count of obstruction of justice stemming from his initial interview with two Oregon State Police detectives the night of the shooting. Astarita, 41, has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The two shots in question came as Finicum emerged from his truck and said, "Go ahead and shoot me!'' with his hands raised in the air. He had just swerved into a snowbank at a police roadblock after speeding away from an initial police stop on U.S. 395 as the FBI and state police moved in.

Moments after the disputed shots, two state troopers fired and killed Finicum, 54, as he stepped away from his truck and was seen reaching inside his jacket. Investigators said he had a loaded handgun in an inner pocket.

Prosecutors will argue that forensic evidence, as well as audio and video recordings, will yield one conclusion: Astarita fired the disputed shots at Finicum's truck and then lied about it.

"Only defendant was squarely in position, with his rifle shouldered and pointing toward Finicum's truck, when those shots were fired," they wrote in a trial brief.

Astarita's lawyers will argue that the government's case is based on weak circumstantial evidence and unreliable forensic analyses riddled with errors.

They contend the shots could have come from a number of other officers, in particular a state police SWAT officer who fired five other bullets that day, including three that hit the driver side, front hood and radiator grill of Finicum's pickup as it was racing toward the roadblock and two that later struck and killed Finicum.

The judge has urged both sides to keep the case focused on the two essential questions: Did Astarita fire his rifle? Did he lie about it?

The trial is expected to last four weeks, with nearly 100 witnesses called, competing forensic experts testifying and more than a thousand exhibits, including photos and video screenshots of the scene, officers' rifles and a photo of a bloody shoulder wound Ryan Bundy suffered as a back-seat passenger in Finicum's truck.

Toward the end of the government's case, jurors will be led into the courthouse sallyport to view Finicum's truck and the bullet hole in the roof. They will watch a prosecution witness demonstrate how he determined the bullet's path.

Finicum's widow, Jeanette Finicum, said she will attend the trial to represent her husband. On Facebook, Finicum supporters have started an event page called "Justice For LaVoy'' to publicize the case. Jeanette Finicum has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the FBI and Oregon State Police.

"Our family is praying that justice will be applied fairly and truthfully, and that the jury will see and hear all the facts in the case. It is our hope that if this agent committed these crimes that he would be treated no differently than the rest of us,'' Jeanette Finicum said Monday. "Our prayer is that this will not happen again to another family.''

Lawyers from both sides will attempt to distinguish the case against Astarita from the refuge takeover and two earlier trials of the refuge occupiers.

Jurors will be asked whether they've seen, read or heard anything about the refuge takeover or Finicum's shooting. They'll be asked if they've formed opinions about the U.S. Department of Justice or the prosecutors bringing charges against Astarita.

"This case is indirectly related to the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. It does not have anything to do with the occupiers' conduct at the refuge during the takeover. It does not have anything to do about land rights,'' prosecutors and defense lawyers wrote in a proposed statement for the jury questionnaire. "This case is about the conduct of an FBI agent during and in the aftermath of the Oregon State Police's shooting of Robert LaVoy Finicum.''

The final jury questionnaire hasn't been made public, but a list of questions proposed by lawyers from both sides is filed in court. One proposed question asks if prospective jurors have "strong enough feelings'' about the occupation or any of its occupiers that would make it difficult for them to be impartial.

The prospective jurors will be asked to fill out the questionnaire when they arrive at court and then will face additional questioning by the prosecutors and defense lawyers. Jury selection is set to start at 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Among some of the other questions attorneys from both sides proposed for the questionnaire: Does anyone have a relative or close friend who has been the victim of a crime, worked in law enforcement, been arrested, had a problem with law enforcement, have any training in firearms ballistics, computer animation or audiovisual surveillance?

Another potential question sought by attorneys: "The jury may not follow some rules and ignore others. Even if the jury disagrees or dislikes the rules of law or does not understand the reasons for some of the rules, the jury must still follow the law. Will any of you have difficulty following the judge's legal instructions?''

The two state police troopers who shot and killed Finicum are expected to testify, but the court has agreed to let them be identified only as "Officer 1'' and "Officer 2,'' out of concern about threats from militias, though Astarita's lawyers said federal officials couldn't identify any specific threats.

Astarita's fellow FBI Hostage Rescue Team agents who were at the scene are also expected to be called to testify. Prosecutors noted that some of the team agents were "overtly hostile'' to them as they prepared for trial.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian
Nearly a year after being diagnosed with stomach cancer, Portland City Commissioner Nick Fish said his treatment is progressing well, but that it will temporarily ramp up in intensity, affecting his ability to work.

"My doctors are modifying my treatment for a few months to maximize our progress  and it will have an impact on my public and private life," Fish said in a memo posted to his city website Thursday.

At the time he went public with his diagnosis of an adenocarcinoma of the abdomen, Fish said having cancer is "the biggest challenge I have ever faced," adding, "I intend to fight this disease with every fiber of my body."

In his Thursday memo, Fish, 59, said he will receive infusions every two weeks at Oregon Health & Science University's Knight Cancer Institute. The treatments will cause lethargy and may result in hair loss, he said. Fish added that his tumor "will continue to take a pounding."

The longtime public servant, who was elected to a third full term in May, said he will also need more time to recover from treatment. He said he will maintain a full schedule but attend fewer evening events.

Fish thanked the public for support and said that given his progress, he is "even more confident" he will "win this fight" against cancer.

-- Gordon R. Friedman

503-221-8209
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler on Monday warned protesters camping at the Portland office of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to disband before they are removed by police.

During a press conference at City Hall, Wheeler, flanked by Commissioner Chloe Eudaly, Chief Danielle Outlaw and Fire Marshal Nate Takara, said occupiers should "peacefully disengage."

The mayor said officials will post a camp sweep notice Monday evening. Protesters will have until Tuesday to leave voluntarily, according a city notice. The notice states that protesters who remain may be face citation or arrest for trespassing, illegal camping and building structures on public rights of way.

Authorities move to reopen ICE facility in Portland 89 Gallery: Authorities move to reopen ICE facility in Portland

Occupiers set up a makeshift camp five weeks ago at a building leased by ICE on Southwest Macadam Avenue and have been at the building around the clock since. They said their intention is to protest the Trump administration's policy of separating children and parents who are detained after border crossings and seek the abolishment of ICE.

The field office closed for days because protesters blocked its entrances. Several demonstrators were detained and charged with misdemeanors when federal police moved to reopen the building. Protesters carried on, with tensions between their ranks and federal officers flaring up on occasion.

Demonstrations came to a head last week, when members of the right-wing Patriot Prayer group came to the campsite and argued with protesters. Three demonstrators were arrested at the time for crossing police lines and preventing access to the building.

A faction of protesters left voluntarily Monday, Eudaly said. Wheeler encouraged others to follow suit.

Wheeler said he supports protesters' cause, but believes the camp-out demonstration is no longer "sustainable."

"To all demonstrators: I urge you to keep up this effort," Wheeler said. He added that he believes it is time to for protesters to "move on" and focus on changing immigration policy, rather than camping at the ICE field office.

Wheeler declined to answer reporters' questions about what would happen to protesters who do not leave voluntarily and what he considers an acceptable demonstration, saying he would not "answer hypotheticals."

Occupiers announced Monday that they cannot achieve their goal of abolishing ICE "using occupation as a tactic alone," according to a statement sent by Occupy ICE PDX.

"We need to diversify and evolve our tactics in order to level this many-tiered beast," the announcement said, adding that protesters intend to "decentralize the movement" and "transition" out of an occupation.

Occupy ICE PDX gave a conflicting message on Twitter. Following Wheeler's press conference, the group tweeted, "Camp consensus: We don't move until ICE is out of Portland and abolished."

A spokesman for the demonstration Monday evening said protesters would continue to "hold our ground," and called on others in the city to join them at the encampment.

"We are going to be here, we are not going anywhere until [the Trump administration's] zero tolerance policy is lifted, until the last child is reunited with their parents, until not another local family is separated by ICE," said Jacob Bureros.

He said a four-person Occupy ICE PDX committee working as liaisons with Portland City Hall earlier released an "autonomous statement" about decentralizing the movement, but a poll taken later at the encampment showed the majority of people there favored staying put. Bureros said avenues of negotiation with city hall closed when city officials informed them that there was no legal way to remove ICE from Portland.

"This movement started because we were tired of waiting for the politicians and the so-called leaders to fix this," Bureros said. "We were tired of waiting for the rigged system to bring this to a reasonable end. We needed to stand up and do this ourselves."

Portland police officers later escorted people through the encampment who posted notices of intent to "clear the unlawful campsite" starting Tuesday. Anyone who doesn't leave could be arrested or cited, the signs said.

Everton Bailey Jr. of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report.

-- Gordon R. Friedman

503-221-8209
Portland protest leader Micah Rhodes is back in jail on allegations that he violated terms of his probation by having contact with minors.

Rhodes, 24, was ordered to stay away from anyone under 18 years old after he was convicted this year on three counts of second-degree sexual abuse for having illicit sexual contact with a 17-year-old girl in Washington County and a 17-year-old boy in Multnomah County. The sexual abuse occurred in 2014 and 2015, and Rhodes was 20 and 21 years old at the time.

Washington County Circuit Judge Janelle Wipper and Multnomah County Circuit Judge Jerry Hodson decided in separate hearings not to sentence Rhodes to two to 2  -years in prison, as state sentencing guidelines recommended. Instead, the judges ordered five years of probation for Rhodes with a long list of conditions, including that he was forbidden from being around children without the prior permission of his probation officer.

Micah Isaiah Rhodes from Wednesday, July 18, 2018 -- taken by the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office before he was transferred to Washington County.

Last Wednesday, Rhodes was arrested and brought to the Multnomah County Detention Center on accusations that he had been in the presence of children. On Thursday, he was transferred to Washington County Jail, where he remains.

Hes scheduled to appear before Wipper on Wednesday. If the judge finds that he violated the terms of his probation, she could choose from a wide range of punishment -- running from a verbal reprimand to revoking his probation and sending him to prison for two or more years.

The circumstances of Rhodes' alleged contact with children are unclear. Court papers don't offer details. But a YouTube video posted by blogger Robert West on June 22 shows a man who appears to be Rhodes at a protest outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Southwest Portland. He is standing on top of a canopy next to the trolley tracks, with dozens of protesters nearby on the ground.

The title of Wests video states that there are children at the protest.

The video appears to be taken after Rhodes was sentenced in May in Washington County but before he was sentenced earlier this month in Multnomah County. At Rhodes sentencing hearing in Multnomah County, he said he was committed to following court orders.

I have atoned for what Ive done, Rhodes said. Ive acknowledged that I made mistakes. I reported them myself.

He said he has a new home, a good job and a drive to help people.

Thats whats important to me. Its the only thing thats important to me, Rhodes said.

Rhodes was a leader of the protest group Portlands Resistance, which rose to prominence after Donald Trump won the presidential election in November 2016. The group helped organize day after day of marches and rallies against Trump.

Before then, Rhodes was part of Portlands activist scene and a familiar face at Portland City Council meetings. In 2016, he helped stage a camp-out in front of then-Mayor Charlie Hales home.

-- Aimee Green
RFPIO, a Beaverton startup whose software helps clients seek big contracts, said Tuesday it has raised $25 million to expand.

The latest in a series of large investments in Oregon tech companies reflects the strong, steady growth in the state's economy. RFPIO's new investment stands out because it's a large sum, by Oregon standards, for a new company.

Launched two years ago, RFPIO offers technology to help clients manage their bids for large contracts - requests for proposals, in the industry's lingo.

The company has 50 employees, split roughly evenly between its Beaverton headquarters and an office in India. With Tuesday's funding, RFPIO said it expects to double or triple its workforce over the next year.

"We are very optimistic about what we have in front of us," said chief executive Ganesh Shankar. RFPIO's clients include Adobe, Siemens, LinkedIn and several Oregon companies, including Smarsh, Janrain and Viewpoint Construction Software.

Tuesday's funding comes from K1 Investment Management, a California private equity firm. K1 also owns Portland digital archiving company Smarsh.

RFPIO had previously raised $1.5 million from two local investment groups, Elevate Capital and TiE Oregon. Shankar said K1 acquired a minority stake in his business, and that Tuesday's investment will cash out some early investors.

The Oregon tech renaissance that began a decade ago had been focused on companies in and around downtown Portland, but the renewal has now found its way to other areas. This year's surge in tech funding has benefitted companies in Clark County, Gresham and Salem.

Shankar said he and his co-founders had been working in Beaverton before starting RFPIO and intend to stay there.

-- Mike Rogoway | twitter: @rogoway | 503-294-7699
The principal of Liberty High School in Hillsboro has agreed to apologize to a student who was told to go home or cover up his "Donald J. Trump Border Wall Construction Co.'' shirt in January.

Addison Barnes, an 18-year-old senior, was suspended for wearing the shirt backing Trump's immigration and Homeland Security policies. He then sued the high school, the principal and the Hillsboro School District, arguing they violated his First Amendment rights.

In late May, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order, essentially barring the school for the remainder of the school year from enforcing its earlier decision prohibiting Barnes from wearing the shirt.

On Tuesday, Barnes' lawyers announced they reached a settlement with the district: Principal Greg Timmons will issue a letter of apology and the district will pay $25,000 for Barnes' attorney fees.

"I brought this case to stand up for myself and other students who might be afraid to express their right-of-center views,'' Barnes said in a statement. "Everyone knows that if a student wears an anti-Trump shirt to school, the teachers won't think twice about it. But when I wore a pro-Trump shirt, I got suspended. That's not right.''

Barnes' lawyers said the message on the shirt wasn't the point of the case. High school students have the right to express their political views, they said.

"We brought the case to police the thought police,'' attorney Brad Benbrook said.

School district officials said in a statement that courts have ruled differently in similar cases, leaving students' First Amendment rights in school a "gray area." They said they decided to settle the T-shirt case "given the cost and disruption of litigation."

The principal's letter was brief, apologized for Barnes' initial suspension and wished him well in the future, they said.

"As an educational institution," the statement said, "Hillsboro School District and each of our schools supports, encourages, and celebrates free speech and reasoned debate. We also have a responsibility to ensure that each of our students feels welcome and safe in our schools so they can effectively learn. This was an instance where we were challenged to do both simultaneously and the decision landed on the side of ensuring student safety. Moving forward, we will continue to use professional discretion to meet both objectives and will actively seek ways to turn sensitive situations into learning opportunities."

School officials had defended their actions in court, saying the shirt would contribute to a "hostile learning environment'' and would make students feel insecure in school, noting that about 33 percent of the high school's students are of Hispanic descent. They also said the school had been the site of recent student walkouts and sit-ins to protest Trump's immigration policies.

The district described increased racial tensions arising from racially charged language around immigration, school officials said.

But U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman found the school district couldn't justify its censorship. The judge said he balanced constitutionally protected speech with the orderly running of a school.

The school district is entitled to be concerned about the response of other students to the T-shirt, the judge said. But the "thin" court record offered little support for the district's argument that the shirt could "substantially disrupt'' the school, he said.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian
The Midland Branch of the American Association of University Women will host a candidate forum on women's issues on Thursday, July 26.

The forum will take place from 7-9 p.m. at the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library Auditorium, 1710 W. St. Andrews St. The forum is free and open to the public.
Cloudy skies Saturday and the threat of rain didn't dampen the dedication of the Sanford Flag Memorial on Saturday. A crowd of more than 100 people gathered at the Sanford Trailhead on the Pere Marquette Rail Trail to dedicate the memorial that honors veterans from every branch.

"I am especially grateful to see all of you today, because you are saying that, 'rain or shine, no matter what, you support your local service members.' And rain or shine, this monument will always be here showing support for our local veterans," said U.S. Army Capt. Catherine Hodges.

Veterans, Legion Riders, elected officials and supporters gathered around the seven flagpoles that formed an arc surrounding pavers and a mock-up of a Field Cross.

Surrounded by flags of the U.S. Marine Corps, Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force and MIA/POW, the American flag stood tall in the center.

"When you have a family that lost a loved one and you build a memorial, not for the one you lost, but for all the veterans in the area, that's special. It's amazing that this family would go out of their way to honor all of us," said Vietnam veteran Tom Talbot.

The idea sprang from John and Kim Burgess, who lost their son, Lance Cpl. Ryan Burgess, on Dec. 21, 2006, in Iraq.

"This is an emotional, roller coaster for our family," Kim Burgess said. "The catalyst for the idea was the Ryan Burgess Memorial Foundation. We wouldn't have been able to do this without the help of Ryan's Foundation. Yet, we wouldn't have a foundation if we hadn't lost our son in Iraq."

Guided by project manager Greg Wallace, over 50 individuals, businesses and organizations contributed to the project.

"This journey has a been a labor of love for so many. This started as a goal of John and I, but quickly turned into a community project." Kim said.

Following reveille by John Rickert, Lindsey Elias, Ryan Burgess' sister, along with Ryan's niece, Ainsley Elias, Ryan Maciejewski and Kayla Maciejewski raised the American flag.

Before raising the six individual flags, Kim Burgess showed her appreciation for veterans during her dedication speech.

"On behalf of our family we thank all the veterans who have protected our families. Your service to this country has not been forgotten. With the raising of these flags, we officially dedicate this monument to all veterans who have served our country.

Staff Sgt. Tim Risnes raised the Air Force flag, Gunnery Sgt. Benjamin Dittenbir hoisted the Marine Corps flag, Hodges raised the Army flag, and the Navy flag was raised by Joshua Campbell. E3 Jacob Miller hoisted the Coast Guard flag and Spec5 Tom Talbot raised the MIA/POW flag.

To raise money for the memorial, the foundation sponsored an Adopt-a-Pole campaign. Four of the seven flagpoles have been adopted:

 The family of Clay Maxwell adopted a pole in honor of Clay, a Vietnam veteran.

 The family of Bob Spitler adopted a pole for Bob, who is Kim Burgess' brother and an uncle to Ryan.

 Tim and Jodie Risnes adopted the U.S. Air Force pole.

 The Box Family adopted a flagpole. Noel Box, along with sons, Devin, Noel and Dustin all served in the military.

There is still work to be done on the memorial. The Field Cross needs completing along with Blue Star and Gold Star banners.

"The Blue Star banner represents the families of those serving, the Gold Star banner represents the families of those fallen," Kim Burgess said. "Contributions and donations will be necessary to complete those editions."

Anyone wishing to donate may make checks payable to: Ryan Burgess Memorial Foundation, 321 W. Hull Road, Sanford, MI 48657.
The first of two public engagement sessions to discuss the results of the 2017 Midland Storm and Sanitary Sewer Study will take place from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 25 in the Midland High School.

The session will include a detailed discussion of the study results from consultants at Hubbell, Roth, and Clark and OHM Advisors and will address proposed solutions for all impacted areas of the community. Following the presentation, time will be provided for residents to share feedback and ask questions.
Republican primary voters on Aug. 7 will choose their nominee for the state House seat representing Midland and other parts of Bay and Midland counties.

Thanks for this opportunity to share my thoughts on Michigan's future and to ask for your vote.

I'm a mother of five and grandmother of six. For your family's sake, and mine, I'm focused on how we can best ensure we'll have the healthy economy and job market that allows our children to live, work, and raise their families here, with us.

Three reforms top my list to make Michigan's economy stronger and more attractive:

 A decade ago, Gov. Jennifer Granholm and a Democratic House "temporarily" -- they promised us -- raised Michigan's income tax, taking more money from working families. I support repealing that income tax increase. As President Donald Trump's income tax cuts have proven -- drawing on reforms first proposed by Dave Camp -- leaving more money with individual families and job creators will result in economic expansion and a surge of new jobs.

 Michigan has the lowest K-3 reading scores in the nation. Unless we improve the quality of our education system, families and businesses will locate elsewhere. Funding for public schools has increased to record highs every year under our Republican governor and Legislature, but too many of our children still don't learn the most fundamental skill: reading. I've talked at length with the director of the Bay City Dyslexia Center and other reading experts on strategies to ensure every child learns to read, and teachers have the resources they need to teach reading.

 Michigan has the highest auto insurance rates in America. A bipartisan coalition of House members this year fell just short of winning enough votes to reform the no-fault catastrophic care system that makes us the only state in the nation to provide unlimited lifetime benefits to victims of severe car accidents. I support allowing drivers to choose varying levels of coverage and lifetime benefits to bring down our insurance costs.

Finally, I'm the only candidate of either party who is endorsed by Right to Life of Michigan and believes the promise of the Declaration of Independence that every prenatal child is endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, including the right to life, since the right to liberty and pursuit of happiness are meaningless without the first right, life.

These are passions I'll take to Lansing if you allow me that opportunity.

Annette Glenn is a Republican candidate in the Aug. 7 primary election for the 98th District of the Michigan House. She is opposed by Carl Hamann. The unopposed Democratic candidate is Sarah Schulz.
A forum was organized last week in Beijing by Tsinghua University, under the title Constructing a security community: Equality, equity and justice. There were four plenaries and 26 panels dealing with a wide range of security issues. When the subject is security, the Middle East comes automatically to the forefront. As the former foreign minister of Turkey and founding member of the ruling AK Party, Yasar Yakish writes in the article China moves slowly into the Middle East for Arab News, despite every effort by China to be as open and peaceful as possible, any move by it, no matter how insignificant, is enough to startle many countries worldwide.

Last year, it built a support base in Djibouti on an area of 0.5 sq km, staffed by some 300 personnel. At the forum, American participants insistently referred to it as a military base, while the Chinese hosts said it was a supply facility within the framework of Chinas Belt and Road Initiative. Japan and the US also operate bases on the southern outskirts of Djibouti. While these bases do not cause any international objections, Chinas presence creates sensitivity because of the countrys size.

The Belt and Road Initiative of Chinese President Xi Jinping interests almost every country in Eurasia. China has extended credit to many countries governments to construct infrastructure that will complement the project. China needs both raw and semi-manufactured materials for its industries, and markets for its agricultural and industrial products. The US is Chinas biggest market with 18 percent of its exports, and its third-biggest supplier with 8.5 percent. It is likely to remain the biggest trade partner. Nonetheless, China wants to increase and diversify its trade relations with countries in Africa and Eurasia.

It is penetrating Africa much to the discontent of former colonial countries. China will be able to source many raw materials from Africa, and semi-manufactured goods from Eurasia. The Belt and Road Initiative is important for this reason, and profitable for both China and target countries.

China is closely interested in Middle East developments because of the countrys almost insatiable need for oil. The division between the regions Sunni and Shiite blocs has forced the US to take the side of the group opposing Iran. This has created opportunities for Beijing, which has no problems with any country in the region. A $10.7 billion refinery is being built in Oman with Chinese capital. China is interested in improving the Suez Canal and the possible construction of a second canal there. In Israel, it is investing in ports and railways; this cooperation helps two high-tech countries to further their technological advances over others. China is Irans biggest trade partner; with US President Donald Trumps revocation of the Iran nuclear deal, Chinese-Iranian trade has jumped from $31 billion to $37 billion.

China is nowhere close to dislodging the US from the Middle East as the main arms supplier, but it is penetrating the region steadily, beginning with drones and other weapons that are not particularly sophisticated.

If Iran is admitted to the Shanghai Cooperation Council as a full member, from its present status as an observer, Chinas Middle East footprint will deepen. So far, Beijing has remained neutral by abstaining in UN Security Council votes regarding regional conflicts, but it may not be possible to maintain neutrality when its involvement deepens.

Trump seems eager to withdraw from the Syrian crisis, but the deep state in the US is reluctant to do so for fear of Iran becoming more deeply entrenched in Syria. Russia is already very much present in Syria. In such a complicated scenario, China is using its traditional cautious approach to penetrate the region steadily without military involvement, because that would startle many countries. Chinas unstoppable penetration in various regions, including the Middle East, will certainly affect power balances.
Editors Note: Audrey Murray is an American writer and comedian whose debut book, Open Mic Night in Moscow, hits shelves today. The book chronicles Murrays solo travels in the former Soviet Republics, and many of her stories are wild. Check out her essay below to read an anecdote you wont find in the book.

When I walked into my hotel room in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, the first thing I saw was a man in a police uniform scrubbing the toilet.

Oh, sorry! I yelped, assuming I had stumbled into the wrong room.

But no! He was just a hotel employee finishing up his work, which he quickly did and then left.

I dont know about you, but Im not used to seeing police officers moonlighting as hotel cleaning staff. But isnt that why we travel? To see things that are different, that make us think, that prompt us to wonder things like, What is the average salary of a police officer in Turkmenistan?

I quickly forgot about this incident, because so much in Turkmenistan had been similarly bizarre. The country was run by a dictator whose portrait hung everywhere you could conceivably hang a photograph. The side of banks! The walls of airplanes! The capital city also boasted the highest density of marble buildings in the world, which seemed like the type of record that had been deliberately pursued rather than subsequently awarded. Most of the city had been razed and rebuilt 20 years earlier, so everything looked almost futuristicif you could pretend architects 100 years from now wanted to build skyscrapers out of marble. In this context, the steady stream of police officers passing through my hotel lobby didnt stand out to me.

A few nights later, I was on the phone with an English-speaking tour guide the hotel had called to help translate a problem I was having.

Well, the tour guide replied after I finished my story, Im not sure what happened, but you will be fine now. Your hotel is run by the police.

Wait, what? I said.

You didnt notice, everyone is walking around in police uniforms?

Now that he mentioned it, I had been a little surprised by the police officer offering turn-down service the night beforeand the one taking my breakfast order this morning. But when you travel, youre so busy keeping an eye out for the new and unexpected, you sometimes put up blinders for anything that registers as remotely familiar. After finding a police officer in my bathroom, I assumed that was normal and then stopped noticing.

Had I been paying more attention, I might have taken in the sign beside the front door that read: Ministry of Internal Affairs Hotel.

I was certainly seeing it now. The name was printed in English on a small plaque that did not explain what the Ministry of Interior Affairs was or why it was running a hotel. But untangling those mysteries would have to wait until I left the country. The government of Turkmenistan keeps such a tight grip on the flow of information that internet access in the country is, for all practical purposes, nonexistent.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs, I later learned, had been a Soviet agency charged with everything from issuing visas to rooting out white-collar crime. For a while, it ran the countrys secret police force. When the KGB broke off into its own independent institution, the Ministry of Internal Affairs kept the regular police. In many post-Soviet countries, that setup remains the same today.

Because it was charged with such a wide range of disparate tasks, the Ministry of Internal Affairs was also responsible for coming up with some of its own budget. To this end, the ministry launched its own hotel and catering businesslike if the CIA decided to start a bakery.

The hospitality industry was, in an albeit roundabout away, a logical choice for the organ that ran the secret police. The Ministry was responsible for keeping tabs on the Soviet Unions foreign visitors, and if you ran the hotels they stayed in, it made spying less of a hassle. Catering, however, seems like more of a stretch. But maybe the Ministry had a killer recipe for pulled pork or made the best hollandaise sauce in the Eastern Bloc.

Weve all heard stories of someone who opened a restaurant because she loved cooking only to realize she did not love running a business. By the 1950s, the Ministry of Internal Affairs started to divest itself of many of its food-and-beverage holdings. But it kept its hotels, ostensibly because it was a budget-friendly way to house its own traveling employees.

Perhaps thats another reason I hadnt stopped to question the cops folding laundry; by this point, the police in Turkmenistan had been running hotels for half a century. None of the people pushing service carts or opening the door for me saw anything strange about their particular beat. And thats the other thing we do when we travel: we take our cues on whats normal from the people around us.

On the morning of my departure, a young uniformed officer helped me a hail a taxi to the airport. In that moment, I wished I had an internet connection so that I could Google, How much do you tip a secret police bellhop?

Audrey Murray is a redhead from Boston who moved to China and became a standup comedian. A co-founder of Kung Fu Komedy, Audrey was named the funniest person in Shanghai by City Weekend magazine. She is a contributing writer for Reductress.com and a regular contributor at Medium.com; her writing has also appeared in McSweeneys, The Gothamist, China Economic Review, Nowness, Architizer and on the wall of her dads office.
Not a moment goes by on the wonderful world of Twitter without a stunning display of ignorance, but this one is staggering enough that it merits further attention. First, we need some background:

1. The American Enterprise Institute is a conservative think tank responsible for churning out terrible intellectual content that has a terrible impact on American policy. To give you an idea of exactly how their for-profit brain trust operates, read this instructive paragraph from a 2013 story at The Nation:

The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) has emerged as one of the Beltways most consistent advocates for the sale of advanced fighter jets to Taiwan. Previously undisclosed tax filings reveal that while issuing research reports and publishing articles on US-Taiwan relations, AEI received a $550,000 contribution from the government of Taiwan, a source of funding the think tank has never publicly acknowledged.

Of course, selling jets to Taiwan is the least of the damage theyve caused. One of their main donors (almost $20 million between 2002 and 2011) is DonorsTrust, a neocon conglomerate funded by people like Charles Kochwhich means that AEI is constantly stumping for lower environmental protections. They fought net neutrality after receiving money from Comcast; they fight minimum wage hikes; they fight Wall Street regulations; they pay scientists handsomely to cast doubt on global warming.

You get the pointbasically, theyre hired guns for every gross conservative policy that our ruling class can dream up. For a good primer on how think tanks like AEI spread the gospel of corporate America, check out this NYTimes piece.

2. Danielle Pletka is the senior vice president for foreign and defense policy studies at AEI. Shes been there since March 2002, and none other than Eli Lake described her as prominent advocate for the war in Iraq. Hilariously, she actually worked for Jesse Helms before AEI. WaPo described her as a staunch conservative with a caustic manner. She writes op-eds for Fox News when she gets mad that America wont fight impossible wars. Shes married to an extremely awful war-cheerleading lobbyist who helped create the Department of Homeland Security.

AEI in general was key in pushing regime change in Iraq, and worked side by side with the Project for the New American Century. Sourcewatch describes AEI as one of the leading architects for George W. Bushs foreign policy. As recently as March of this year, they were posting revisionist nonsense like this.

Heres what Pletka had to say in 2013, a decade after the disastrous war began:

Ask the people who lived under Saddam Hussein whether they regret the war. People have forgotten what happened when you disagreed with Saddam. You had your tongue cut out if you were lucky. People have forgotten what totalitarianism looks like, because they became obsessed with George W. Bush. There is a lot of bad stuff in Iraq today. Had President Obama chosen not to withdraw from Iraq, it would be a different picture there. We made a lot of mistakes, though.

Thats who were dealing with here.

Now, being a complete policy ghoul is one thing. We have lots of them, and Pletka doesnt really stand out from the pack in that regard. But were here today to go beyond heinous geopolitical policy; were here to talk about staggering ignorance.

The incident in question began when the French ambassador to the U.S., Gerard Araud, tweeted a response from his personal account to a media matters story about Ari Fleischer arguing for destabilizing Iran. Obviously, that is a terrible idea that will lead, at best, to another hopeless quagmire in the Middle East, and Araud drew the obvious parallel to Iraq:

Iraq was not enough. Sigh. Some people never learn. https://t.co/T8ONImCT50  Gerard Araud (@GerardAraud) July 23, 2018

That prompted Pletka to emerge from the dark abyss of the AEI dungeon to tweet out one of her famous caustic zingers:

Last I checked, France joined us in Iraq. And then talked Barack Obama into Libya. So was Iraq enough? Or Libya? Or is human freedom just a cliche these days? https://t.co/0fTj5nPfZj  Danielle Pletka (@dpletka) July 24, 2018

One problem: France didn't fight with us in Iraq. In fact, they adamantly refused, and it was a pretty big deal at the time. Remember freedom fries?

Now, you may be thinking, wait a minute. How on God's green earth did someone like Danielle Pletka not know that? And your befuddlement would be correct. It's weird and sort of funny and also horrifying.

Twitter had some fun reactions:

No we opposed the war in Iraq, an illegal intervention, a terrible geopolitical blunder and a human tragedy. https://t.co/Vn9ASBpfuI  Gerard Araud (@GerardAraud) July 24, 2018

Wait, you work at @AEI and don't know the history of the Iraq war? That's nuts.  Spencer Windes (@spencerwindes) July 24, 2018

Not knowing the history of the Iraq is actually a prerequisite for joining the @AEI  Mustafa (@imnotmufasa) July 24, 2018

Actually, Congressional Republicans were so mad about France's opposition to invading Iraq that they literally changed the name of fries in their cafeteria from French Fries to Freedom Fries. Ambassador @GerardAraud is on solid ground here. https://t.co/1MkotntiMO   Timothy E Kaldas (@tekaldas) July 24, 2018

Just piling on here. You're really, really bad at checking things.  E.J. Kalafarski (@skeeJay) July 24, 2018

Pletka is a major figure in neo-conservative foreign policy world, a senior vice president at the American Enterprise Institute. Yet does not know that France did not join America in Iraq war. https://t.co/b0ADxoIxbb  Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) July 24, 2018

It is absolutely no surprise that Pletka is eager to join the full-throated push for war with Iran. What is shocking, coming from one of the people responsible for the greatest foreign policy blunder of the century, is forgetting or not knowing a key part of that history. Its a bracing reminder of the type of mindsimple, vicious, and above all incompetentthat has pushed America into failure after failure across the world.
For those of you who do the right thing and refuse to let Twitter rot your brain, let me catch you up on why this column needs to be written.

To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018

Yes, that's a real tweet from the President of the United States. I know that it looks like one sent by a pissed-off 10-year-old boy who just lost at Fortnite, but I promise that it's 100% realDonaldTrump. If you're wondering what could lead the most powerful man in the world to launch an all-caps late-night tirade, well, it's this fairly boilerplate quote from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in response to the ongoing Iran Deal dispute:

Mr Trump, don't play with the lion's tail, this would only lead to regret. America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars. You are not in a position to incite the Iranian nation against Iran's security and interests.

Iranian Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif, decided to have a little fun at our president's expense yesterdaymocking Trump's formatting while echoing the threatening, yet ultimately peaceful message behind Rouhani's quote.

COLOR US UNIMPRESSED: The world heard even harsher bluster a few months ago. And Iranians have heard them albeit more civilized onesfor 40 yrs. We've been around for millennia & seen fall of empires, incl our own, which lasted more than the life of some countries. BE CAUTIOUS!  Javad Zarif (@JZarif) July 23, 2018

If Trumps tweet implicating the total nuclear annihilation of Iran has you scared, dont be. Its almost certainly just bluster from the Bluster-in-Chief, and let me explain why.

Middle East Wars Are Over Oil

Quick question: why did we invade Libya when Muammar Kaddafi threatened a massacre, yet did not do the same in Syria when Bashar al-Assad committed mass war crimes? Sure, the strong Iranian and Russian presence in Syria is an inescapable and central part of the problem, but we have been fighting a proxy war with both of them in Syria for quite some time. One of the main reasons that Libya got special treatment while Syria did not is the fact that Libya produces over three times the amount of oil that Syria does. Libya isnt in the Middle East, but from an American foreign policy perspective, any country with a ton of oil is eligible to get wrapped up in our Middle East-style fiascoes.

So that logic would mean that Iran is directly in the crosshairs of the American military, right? After all, theyre the 4th largest oil producer in the world, and we already invaded the 5th largest oil producer earlier this century. However, Iran is not Iraq, and the lessons of George W. Bushs disastrous Iraq War should inform our present dispute with Iran. Not to mention, the relative strength of the Saddam Hussein government versus the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is basically the difference between checkers and chess.

Another reason Iran is not Iraq? Iran is not surrounded by staunch American allies.

Photo by: Wikimedia Commons

In Iraq, we had all the logistical support we needed flowing through Saudi Arabia and Turkey (and a short flight away in Israel). Iran is surrounded by the sea, small countries under Russian influence like Azerbaijan, the Iranian-fueled chaos that is Iraq, and the dual clusterfuck of Afghanistan and Pakistan. There are no easy supply routes for American troops into Iran.

Plus, war with Iran means disrupting the most important oil trade route in the world. In Iraq, we could logically assert that knocking over Saddam Hussein and pressing the reset button on all of Iraqs oil contracts could benefit global oil markets. With Iran, its a far more delicate situation, thanks to their control over the Strait of Hormuz.

Photo by: Wikimedia Commons

One-third of all sea-borne oil passes through that chokepoint every single day. The shipping lane is only two miles wide in each direction, and it transports oil coming to and from Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq. Invading Iran for the oil is FAR more complicated than invading Iraq over oil. Its impossible to invade Iran and keep the global supply of oil steady (In 2011, the U.S. Energy Information Administration calculated that shutting down the Strait of Hormuz would reduce the global oil supply by at least 20%).

In fact, war with Iran would be counter-productive to our war with Iran, as we would cut off a major route that we desperately need to keep our army properly supplied. Its not hyperbolic to say that if Iran were to shut down the strait (something the Iranian Revolutionary Guard threatens whenever theyre provoked) it would eventually lead to a collapse of the global economy.

Which is why President Obama felt it was worthwhile to come to an agreement with Iran to bring them into the international order. Their economic interests are our economic interests. Their pursuit of nuclear weapons is about ensuring their sovereignty far more than its about threatening war (although their Ayatollahs ideological belief that Israel shouldnt exist cannot be ignored in this context).

As tough as Americas adversaries like to act towards the openly incompetent Trump administration, every one of them understands not to go crazy pushing the envelope thanks to the fact that going a step too far would put them up against the most well-funded military force in history. No rational actor wants all-out war with the United States. Not Russia. Not Iran. No one.

And Iran is a rational actor. The bigger question is whether America will act in its own interests with war-hawk John Bolton at the helm of Trumps foreign policy team (but even Bolton has demonstrated the difficulty of invading Iran by recently shifting his rhetoric from air strikes to aid to protesters trying to overthrow the regime). Iran is a rich country (whose government spends much of their wealth on funding terrorism across the globe) who wants to get richer and more powerful. That means joining the international order (which would also mean decreasing their terrorist operations). As Trumps tariffs are demonstrating, trade wars benefit no one. An actual war with Iran would also function as a de facto trade war over the globes most important commodity: oil.

So breathe, folksthis bluster is almost certainly just about shoring up popular support in two countries run by insecure strongmen. This kind of madness is what happens when propaganda supersedes reality in domestic politics, and our psychosis is not too dissimilar from the web of lies constructed by the Iranian government through their state television apparatus (Im talking about you, Fox Newsnot to mention the contingent of mainstream media who gets uncontrollably giddy at the mere mention of war). The Earths True Rulers would undoubtedly be economically crippled in an Iranian-American war, and given the way that our oligarchic world works, that provides me with enough reason to sleep easy at night.

Jacob Weindling is a staff writer for Paste politics. Follow him on Twitter at @Jakeweindling.
The GOP is rushing to reform the Endangered Species Act before Democrats potentially take control of Congress during the midterm elections. The ESA has protected vulnerable endangered species for 45 years, but the proposed reforms will protect the interests of fossil fuel and agriculture companies instead. Big surprise, there.

Democrats are threatening to take over Congress in November, and Republicans are scrambling to get something, anything, done before that happens. In the past two weeks, Republicans have introduced or voted on over two dozen pieces of legislation that would restrict the ESA. These new attacks on endangered species are being lead by leaders of the fossil fuel industry, agricultural groups, builders associations and ranchers  shocker.

A few of the endangered species that are being targeted by the GOP include the sage grouse, the American burying beetle and the gray wolf. The sage grouse is a small bird around the size of a chicken that currently lives on acres of oil-rich land in the Western U.S. The GOP wishes to remove the bird from the endangered species list for at least the next decade. This would ultimately ensure access to oil as well as the possible extinction of the bird. The American burying beetle is also blocking the GOP from accessing their lobbyists beloved oil, and they intend to destroy that species as well, if at all possible. Also on the list of targeted animals is the gray wolf, which inhabits Wyoming and the western Great Lakes. The proposed legislation would strip all protections of the gray wolves, a species that has been highlighted at the Smithsonian National Zoo exhibit titled American Trail.

Many Republicans argue that the ESA protections restrict economic development and Americans livelihoods. On Thursday, the Interior Department and the Commerce Department proposed fundamental changes to the ESA that would allow the government to weigh the economic consequences when analyzing if a plant or animal should be protected. If passed, species that are already on the list would remain unharmed, for now, but it would be much more difficult to add a new species to the list.

The Western Energy Alliance is a lobbying group that has pushed for Congress to reform endangered species protections. The groups president Kathleen Sgamma said, There were decades of ineffectiveness of the Endangered Species Act and heres the possibility that something might be able to be done now.

Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah) is the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee and of course, is in support of the changes. Bishop said:

The Endangered Species Act is the most inept program we have in the federal government. Its a wonderful goal, but it doesnt have an idea of what its goals actually are or where its going to be met or when it can actually be successful.

Congress currently has over a dozen proposals for ESA reform, and they all include multiple last-minute agendas tacked on as they attempt to make their way to a vote. There seems to be an overwhelming amount of sloppy, thrown-together proposals by panicked Republicans who may lose their seats in November. The senior vice president for conservation at Defenders of Wildlife, Bob Dreher, spoke to the Republicans last ditch efforts when he said,

Theres a sense that we are surrounded on all sides, but I dont see that as carefully coordinated. I think its just a whole lot of people trying to take advantage of the opportunities ahead. That they do have control of Congress, and on the House side there is a risk that Republicans could lose in the fall. A lot of this is congressmen wanting to take something home for a midterm election.
Dropbox Business begins at $12.50 per user per month for the Standard plan and is an excellent cloud storage service that fits the needs of most small to midsize businesses (SMBs). With three tiers, namely Standard, Advanced, and Enterprise, it extends way beyond being just an online repository of files and documents with various business-focused features and tools that add a lot of value. Dropbox Business eases the burden of IT staffers who have to assign and manage permissions, device approvals, and Single Sign-On (SSO). While storage and sharing are the strong suits of Dropbox Business, the ability to view or edit files inline or from within Dropbox is quite limited. Compared to Google Drive Enterprise and Editors' Choice selection Microsoft OneDrive for Business, which both offer quick view and editing, Dropbox Business has a long way to go in offering file editing. This is why it now falls behind our Editors' Choice selections that have since ramped up file editing and real-time collaboration features from last time we reviewed them.

Dropbox Business is versatile enough to serve as a document management (DM) tool. New features include the ability to Remote Wipe folders or files from lost or compromised PCs, as well as a comprehensive Smart Sync function that ensures the latest versions of locally stored as well as cloud saved files can sync automatically.

If you move up the plan ladder, then you'll find a variety of different capabilities. The Standard plan gives you unlimited storage, administrator tools, and user management, unlimited deletion and version history, and a suite of collaboration tools. You can try out the Standard plan for 30 days but you'll need to provide a credit card or PayPal payment information first. Your trial will automatically upgrade to the paid plan after the 30 days if you don't cancel.

Dropbox Business starts you at 3 terabytes (TB) of storage but you can request more at no additional cost if you happen to reach that limit. Dropbox Business' Advanced plan ($20 per user per month) gives you the unlimited storage of the Standard plan and adds advanced admin controls and security features, including device approvals and SSO. The Dropbox Business Advanced plan also enables businesses to have a billing administrator separate from a content administrator. The third plan is the custom-quoted Enterprise plan, which includes enterprise mobility management (EMM), network control, and more customized solutions whose pricing will vary depending on what a business needs.

Getting Started With Dropbox Business

To create an account, you have to supply your contact details, create a password, and provide payment information, team name, company size, the number of users, and then agree to Dropbox's Terms of Service. Once set up, you can start inviting team members and collaborators right away or go straight to your admin console. There, you'll see some tips on using features such as inviting and managing members, accessing settings, and monitoring activity usage across your team. You can always revisit this tour by clicking the question mark at top of any page.

Dropbox Business has a simple dashboard. As an admin, you can see how many team members you have, as well as pending invites and remaining licenses (the free trial includes five). On the left-hand side of the screen, you can access activity logs, sharing settings, view your team folder, set up groups, and visit the help center. As an admin, you can restrict sharing documents and links to external users, and allow or block commenting or user requests on files.

The user dashboard shows all of your files and folders, including the team folder managed by the admin. Here, you can add files and folders, share files and folders, and send file requests. You can request files from anyone via email even if they don't have a Dropbox account (for instance, a client or contractor who is not a part of your staff). There's also a folder for deleted files; you can restore them at any time, which brings a safety net convenience to the system.

Populating Dropbox Business folders with your own files is easy as there are various ways to upload files depending on how you prefer to work. You can access and directly drag and drop files from your desktop, which feels like the most natural extension of the desktop user interface (UI). You can also select files to upload from your Dropbox business online page which gives various options including Create new file, Upload files, Upload folder, New team folder, New shared folder, New folder, show deleted files, and view in Admin console.

Sharing Documents and Collaboration Options

Versatility within Dropbox business extends to how team member and users can share documents in a few different ways. First, any file you place in the team folder will automatically be available to everyone on the same Standard account. Second, you can share a folder or document link, as you can with Google Drive, which you can set as public (anyone with a link can access) or you can restrict it in several ways. If you don't want a file or folder to be public, then you can password-protect it, restrict it to only team members, and set an expiration date. You can also set editing permissions for both folders and files.

You can't edit documents inside Dropbox. When you click the Open button on a file, you're redirected to Microsoft Office 365 online where you have to either set up an Enterprise account or log into an existing one. This isn't ideal especially since Box (for Business) ($15.00 Per User Per Month at Box) includes free access to Microsoft's online Office apps. (Dropbox Basic and Pro accounts also include free access.)

Alternatively, you can sign up for Dropbox Paper, a proprietary collaboration space for Dropbox user to create and edit documents, comment, and assign related tasks. Once you link your Standard account with Dropbox Paper, you can access your Dropbox Paper documents from your Dropbox dashboard. You can insert Dropbox documents into Dropbox Paper documents but they won't be editable. If you want to collaborate on documents, then you're best off creating them in Dropbox Paper in the first place. Exporting documents created by Dropbox Paper is possible and files can be exported in Microsoft Word (.docx) format or Markdown (.md). So, while collaboration on Dropbox business is possible, it requires buying into what Dropbox Paper has to offer, which some SMBs might find too basic or non-standard for their needs.

The lack of true document-editing capabilities doesn't compare favorably with Google Drive Enterprise, which has online editing and track changes. Other DM systems such as Ascensio System OnlyOffice, Microsoft SharePoint Online, and Zoho Docs Standard offer such functionality as well.

If you download the Dropbox desktop app, then you can use a feature called Dropbox Badge, which extends some Dropbox features to Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word files. A badge appears on any of the documents saved in your Dropbox, so you can see who is viewing or editing the file, add comments, share the file, and view file history. Dropbox also recommends using the desktop app to upload entire folders and large files since the website uploader has a 10GB limit.

Any files you mark as favorites will also be available offline, though you have to do so one by one, same as you do in Citrix ShareFile ($15.00 Per User Per Month at Box) . This is a nice feature, though Evernote for Business and Google Drive Enterprise let you access all of your files offline.

In addition to a desktop app, Dropbox also has mobile apps for Android and iOS. Dropbox Business recently added some new mobile features on iOS that let users see file activity and team feedback in file preview. The company plans to add these features on Android soon. All of these mobile apps sync with your online account. The mobile apps let you create files and folders and share them. It also includes another important mobile capability, namely, document scanning using your phone, either from your existing camera roll or by taking a photo and transforming it into a document. Dropbox does a good job of outlining whatever document you're trying to scan, be it as small as a business card or a full-sized page. It straightens the image up (even in the case of the mildly crumpled receipt we threw at it during testing), and it allows you to capture up to 10 pages at a time, which you can save to any Dropbox folder either as a PDF or a PNG file. As with other documents in the Dropbox system, you can add comments to it or @mention someone to notify her that she should take a look.

Dropbox Business is excellent in regards to sharing or annotating documents in this fashion as long as you're still working with the mobile app. You can add a signature to the document if you have Adobe Acrobat installed or you can do so directly from the app. You can also annotate the image with a date or custom text.

The only miss is with Help text, which only has a brief mention of how to do text recognition, and that entry was mostly useless information. We even contacted tech support for more information (without informing them that we were press), and they simply asked for more information and then never replied after we gave it to them. The reason for the query is that the mobile app has a search field implying that you can do a text search on a scanned document you've saved in PDF. However, searching for the word "chocolate" on a two-page document that specifically concerned chocolate yielded zero results. As far as we can tell then, users should consider the mobile scanning feature more as an image capture mechanism rather than a tool for optical character recognition (OCR). If a big stack of documents needing OCR is in your future, then you'd be better off with one of the Editors' Choice winners in our mobile scanning app roundup, Abbyy FineScanner or Evernote Scannable.

Other capabilities were similarly muddled, such as sharing. You can email a scanned document to someone or create a link you can share across almost anything, but you'll spend some frustrating minutes finding these features in the interface. Once you've found them, though, Dropbox's mobile scanning is a decent enough tool, though full OCR would be a much sought-after addition in future versions.

Innovative File Storage Solutions for Business

Dropbox Business is all about collaboration, but it is also focused on keeping SMB's files secure as well as anticipating the ever-changing landscape of teams and projects. Here are some notable file storage and sharing features that are ideal for SMBs.

Smart Sync is a Dropbox feature that helps users save space on their hard drives. They can access every file and folder in their Dropbox account from a computer, using virtually no hard drive space. The feature allows users to choose if individual files or folders that might be available online-only or locally on their computer. It is possible to select a default sync setting for new files and folders that are shared with users. This means that files on your computer is available as either online-only, local, or in mixed state folders and can be synched depending on how they need to be saved or shared.

Smart Sync allows users to access large files without taking up hard drive space. Normally, synced files are completely downloaded on a PC and they take up hard drive space. Smart Sync allows you to access large files without having to download them. The full contents of the files are stored securely in the Dropbox cloud. Users can always see these large online-only files on their computers, and access them when needed. Users have the option to download these files fully on their computers if they need to work on them while offline.

Other innovative features unique to Dropbox Business include LAN Sync, which speeds up syncing when a file exists on a Local Area Network (LAN) drive or folder. During the sync process, Dropbox proactively looks for the new file on your LAN first, bypassing the need to download the file from Dropbox online servers effectively speeding up the syncing process. This is helpful for SMBs that have computers networked together over the same router.

The Streaming File Synchronization feature solves one of the issues with file sharing, which is that a file must be fully uploaded on a server before it can be shared or downloaded. With Onedrive Business, streaming sync allows file sharing to be initiated even if they aren't fully uploaded into the Dropbox cloud. This helps in time-critical file-sharing situations.

Remote Wipe is a feature that works the same way as the smartphone security feature. In the event that a team member leaves or devices with Dropbox Business are lost or stolen, files and folders can be remotely wiped from these devices. To remote wipe a team member's device or folder, administrators simply need to click on the Members section of their dashboard. Under Devices, click the X next to the device you'd like to remove. In the pop-up window, managers can check to Delete files from [Organization name Dropbox] the next time this computer comes online and click Unlink.

These new features appeal to newer SMBs that don't have to deal with legacy tools and solutions and which have built their solutions around innovative cloud and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions.

Integration and Security

Dropbox has been in the cloud storage game for a long time and has a significant API presence for custom integrations. In fact, Dropbox support has been ubiquitous among some of the most popular apps from companies such as Adobe, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Slack. It is also one of the most accessible APIs, supporting a wide variety of approachable programming languages. This translates directly to meeting future business requirements in addition to today's process and collaboration needs. In addition, the Dropbox DBX Platform offers integration with multiple tools and provides a central location to connect content, devices, and apps.

On the data security side, Dropbox maintains ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, and ISO 22301 certifications. It also maintains SOC1, SOC2, and SOC3 assurances. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance is not active by default and requires a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with your organization prior to complying. Activity audit logs are also available to administrators, which can be helpful for maintaining Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) compliance. Dropbox touts these regulatory success and attributes them largely to its investment in proprietary data centers. Unlike Jungle Disk ($15.00 Per User Per Month at Box) , for example, which simply offers its software solution on top of Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Rackspace Managed Cloud storage infrastructure, Dropbox has invested in its own data centers. That gives it more direct control of data safety and potential regulatory compliance issues than competitors who leave that to third parties.

With the increase in focus on privacy and security, Dropbox Business has some reinforced security features that appeal to businesses using the service to store and share proprietary or business-critical information. ISO 27018 is the compliance certification that ensures Dropbox does not monetize based on the files or information stored on the platform. Dropbox Business also has GDPR compliance as well as a forensic level audit log. This means it is possible to track team members, file access, and sharing information without having to dig into logs or require a System Administrator.

Dropbox has not yet produced a user encryption key management feature so any keys are under the control of Dropbox. They have, however, put in very tight controls on what data is available to technicians for troubleshooting purposes and only when it's absolutely required. It's not complete privacy but they have worked hard to ensure that their trust is earned. While this may not be enough to qualify for FedRAMP, it's most likely good enough for many cases.

Dropbox also supports several two-factor and multifactor authentication (MFA) strategies that include the use of a SMS text message that delivers a separate code to the user's mobile device, Google Authenticator, Duo Mobile, Amazon AWS MFA, or Windows Authenticator. Dropbox strongly recommends that users take advantage of these features because they add a nice layer of safety around sensitive data.

Abundant Support on Tap

Dropbox offers a lot of help should you run into issues, including a PDF guide, self-guided support, a searchable Help center and support via live chat, email, and phone (weekdays, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET). For phone support, you have to generate a pin code, which you can do directly from the main help page.

With a simple UI, unlimited storage and file retrieval, and vast user permissions, Dropbox Business helps your team collaborate more efficiently. In fact, Dropbox boasts that more than 300,000 teams use Dropbox Business. To edit files online, you have to get a separate Microsoft 365 account, which can raise costs, or use Dropbox Paper, which isn't fully integrated. Our Editors' Choice selection Microsoft OneDrive for Business ($15.00 Per User Per Month at Box) , has superior file editing functionality and the versatility to handle various file types on the fly. Dropbox Business is an excellent solution for secure file storage, advanced sharing, and backup functionality that can accommodate the needs of businesses of all sizes.

Dropbox Business 4.0 Check Price Pros Expanded functionality evolves product from storage solution to full-on file-sharing platform.

Solidly business-focused.

Offers a remote-wipe security feature. Cons Online file editing isn't included.

Lacks private key management.

Missing text optical character recognition (OCR) for mobile scanning. The Bottom Line Dropbox Business improves on an excellent cloud file storage solution for small to midsize businesses. It offers Smart Sync and Remote Wipe features and an increased focus on collaboration.
What Is a Point-of-Sale (POS) System?

You may think of point-of-sale (PoS) systems as just ordinary cash registers, but they're evolving to do much more. They can integrate with mobile devices and cloud services and satisfy the software and hardware requirements of users. In addition, you can use them with back-end accounting systems and credit card payment processors. Many small to midsize businesses (SMBs) are using these types of cloud-enabled POS services without the need to keep a physical back-end server in multiple locations.

POS systems now integrate more seamlessly with other back-end applications such as customer relationship management (CRM) and inventory management.

While there are several kinds of payment processing solutions available, including credit card readers and various new mobile payment methods, the POS systems we reviewed are full-on cash registers. This means they communicate with back-end accounting software and can handle multiple kinds of payments.

Despite the cash register motif, however, when people talk about POS systems, they're mostly referring to the software, which could be client-based or cloud-based. That's because it's the software that lets you track sales, issue receipts, and perform back-office functions. Such functions include replacing inventory, tracking employee productivity, and noting what sells and what doesn't. The POS systems we reviewed are predominantly focused on SMBs that sell from one to 25 outlets, although a few may handle up to 100.

Another important aspect of POS software is broad support for new payment systems. Your customers may be primarily using one or two payment methods now, but give how quickly payment options can change, those customers may be asking for new options soon. It's best to have a POS system in place that has payment flexibility built-in rather than having to swap out a new system. If you're wondering what kinds of payment options your POS should support, consider the chart of popular brick-and-mortar payment methods compiled by market research firm Statista from a consumer survey the firm conducted in March 2019.





Most Popular Consumer Payment Methods, 2018-2019

Key Software Features

The point of a good POS system is to let you get paid for products and services. There are a variety of ways that people get paid today and your POS system should handle all of the methods you need, including cash, checks, and credit and debit cards. Some, but not all, also accept "contactless" payment types, such as Amazon Pay or Apple Pay.

An important factor to note is that the introduction of Europay, MasterCard, and Visa (EMV), or chipped cards, has complicated things somewhat for small vendors. EMV is the standard that is said to provide more security than the swipe-and-sign tech we've been using for the past decade or so. The ability to "dip" these cards means additional or new hardware for which some POS systems charge a bit extra.

Once you get past the minimum functionality, then depending on the needs of your business, there are other features that you'll want to look for. These features include the ability for customers to use two types of payment, for example, or to allow for returns, special pricing (for sales or special customers), gift cards, and surge pricing.

Another fast-growing standard is the near-field communications (NFC) transaction, which is an electronic payment system being popularized by mobile giants such as Apple Pay and Google Wallet ( at Google Pay) . Making sure your POS system candidate can handle these new emerging systems is only half of the equation. The other half includes whether or not that implementation will annoy or please your customers as well as whether or not it will help or hinder your Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)-compliance efforts.

Another critical area may not be a POS trend but it's still something you'll need to be very careful attention to: product support. If the system crashes at the start of your busy period, then how easy is to get someone on the phone? That's a question that can often be solved by paying for the appropriate support plan. But just because you have someone on the phone doesn't mean your system is back online; you're still losing revenue every time an impatient customer walks out of the store. A backup solution is essential here and that's especially true in the case of cloud-based POS systems. These systems can suffer not only from software problems but also from internet connectivity issues. Ensuring that your vendor has your back in these situations is key, but knowing exactly how and where that support will come from is critical, too. A little more on this later.

Hardware Considerations

And while the software half of the POS system equation is probably most important, especially in a cloud-based solution, many retail businesses will still require a hardware half. In that vein, one of the most popular trends in today's POS systems is mobility. This refers to the ability to move POS functionality out from behind the cash register station and into the hands of roving employees for faster, more customer-centric business transactions. This trend adds new areas of importance to even the usual POS system setup, including an added focus on wireless connectivity, security, and support for tablet or even smartphone endpoints. Most modern POS systems run on generally available tablets such as an Apple iPad ( at Google Pay) or a Microsoft Surface Pro. Many also offer dedicated hardware systems and add-ons, such as card swipers, receipt printers, cash drawers, and barcode scanners.

The advantage of tablet-based systems is in their mobility. You can process payments on your store's floor (especially useful for cutting down lines at the register during busy seasons), at an expo, or at an outdoor pop-up shop. Systems such as Square Point of Sale are known for offering small dongles that connect to a tablet and let you swipe credit cards on the go. While you may not immediately need this type of mobility, it is good to know that it's available.

Another advantage is the amount of information that you can supply customers. A desktop POS device can sometimes be flipped so that the customer can sign on the screen or enter contact information. In addition, some states (such as California) now require some kind of customer-facing screen be available so customers can view sales information as a sale is rung up.

Back-Office Functionality

Today's robust POS systems are more than just about taking payments. They can effectively track your inventory, customers, and employees. A good POS system needs to be able to track what has been sold and how many items remain. When the items are sold out, a POS system can notify you ahead of time so you can restock. Businesses can expect their POS system to be able to subgroup items; for example, it should tell you if you're out of blue birdcages but still have three red birdcages. You should be able to print out barcodes for any items that don't already have Universal Product Codes (UPCs) so that you can scan them during a sale.

The ability to provide analytics is another key feature some POS systems offer. Analytics enables businesses to see what products sell when and to whom. If it is possible to predict that twice as many red coffee cups are sold in November than in April, then you'll know how many to order. If your sales of low-cost candy goes radically up every weekday when the local kids get out of school, then you might want to hire an extra salesperson in the afternoons to help handle things

Employee tracking is also useful. Your POS system should be able to clock your employees in and out, and offer different levels of security depending on a employees' status. This way, a cashier, for example, won't have access to the same back-office functions that a manager has.

Finally, it is useful for a POS system to collect customer information that can be utilized for loyalty programs and other promotional strategies. Some systems offer functionality which is close to that offered by CMS packages; for example, sending emails to customers to thank them for sales, advertise bargains or offer coupons, and offer other loyalty perks.

Something to be aware of: Make sure your POS system can function offline. Networks can go down at the most inconvenient moments, especially if you are selling at an in-person event. You'll want to be able to keep selling even though your POS system may be temporarily out of contact with your back office.

And if you want to do business online as well as in person, some POS systems offer the ability to create an online store that will pull from the same inventory database as your brick-and-mortar store. In fact, an online presence has become so necessary that some systems, such as Shopify POS and Vend POS, include it as part of their package. If you're starting a small retail business, then it could be an important feature to consider.

While all this data is certainly valuable, consolidating it to a central location, especially if you've got multiple retail locations, can get not only complicated, but also risks lots of personal data on the open Internet. To help, consider storing the data with a secure, business-grade cloud storage provider, and making sure that all sessions between the POS system and any remote destination are secured by a virtual private network (VPN).

Processing Payments

Keep in mind that, if you are going to be accepting credit and debit cards (and most businesses must), you're going to need a service that can process those payments. That service is also going to cost you a percentage of your take. A few services, such as Square Point of Sale, offer POS services for free, as long as you process your payments through them. Others, such as Intuit QuickBooks Point of Sale and Shopify POS, charge a monthly subscription rate for use of the software and an additional fee for processing payments. Still others, such as NCR Silver and Vend POS, do not provide processing services themselves but work with a number of third parties. Others that do provide their own processing services will also work with third-party processors. Of the products we cover here in this POS system review roundup, only NCR Silver charges a single, one-time price for its software.

As a result, you will need to think about your needs and how they relate to the POS system that you choose. If you are already using a payment-processing service and want to stick with it, then you will want to look at POS systems which work with that system (usually called "integrated processing" since the outside company's payments are integrated into the POS). However, if you are starting from scratch, then a POS system that offers an all-in-one service can be very convenient. If something goes wrong, then you'll know who to call.

Product Support

POS systems are built to be as simple to operate as possible and most of them are. But things can always go wrong, especially when you're dealing with back-office functions such as inventory or personnel management. Therefore, it's always a good idea to have a good support system in place. Most POS system vendors offer a wide range of support, starting with articles, videos, and tutorials on how to use their products. Most also provide setup assistance, either as part of the package or for an extra fee.

If you operate a business that has weekend or late hours, then you will probably want to look for a POS system supplier that offers 24/7 support services as you don't want to find yourself without help during a busy Sunday sale.

To help evaluate each POS system, in each review we've included a SmartScore and Customer Satisfaction Rating from a website called FinancesOnline, which evaluates financial solutions. According to the FinancesOnline website, it calculates its SmartScores based on a POS system's main functionalities and features as well as its "collaboration features, customization, integration with other apps, customer support, and mobility. All these factors are taken into account when calculating the final score (on a 1 to 10 scale)." FinancesOnline draws its customer satisfaction ratings from its proprietary Customer Satisfaction Algorithm that "gathers user reviews, comments, and opinions across a wide range of social media and calculates a satisfaction rating based on what people think about the product."

Attract More Sales

In the end, a good POS system enables you to easily make sales, track sales, and enhance your ability to attract more customers, which depends on your special needs. Once you have selected the system that seem to suit your type and size of business, talk to its representatives. Then try it out and make sure that it offers all of the features that won't only fit your company now but also in the coming years.






After our positive experience with the Kano Computer Kit Complete , which we reviewed in January, we were curious to see Kanos latest attempt at providing a fun, interactive, and effective way to help children grasp (literally, in this case) the mysteries of technology.

Today, there is a form of magic in the world and its the technological projectionvirtual reality, prediction, augmented realitythat so few of us understand, says Alex Klein, co-founder and CEO of Kano. Thats what makes it magic in a way, is that nobody understands it really except this small fraction of society.

The world of Harry Potter meets the world of computer coding in a new childrens coding kit by Kano (for ages 6 and up) that will hit store shelves on October 1. With the Harry Potter Kano Coding Kit ($100, available for preorder ) kids are tasked with building a wand, which in turn teaches them about computer programming through the wands magic. By pairing the wand with a tablet or computer via Bluetooth, children can learn the coding behind cause and effectas they see how the actions of the wand are reflected on the screen.

Build first, then code

The Harry Potter kit comes with all the parts for the wand: a PCB containing the devices brains, including an accelerometer, gyrometer, and magnetometer, as well as a customizable LED; a battery; and a button. A simple booklet provides easy-to-follow instructions for assembling the wand, pointing out what each part does along the way. Putting it all together takes less than five minutesthen its on to coding spells.

Our approach with the wand and the motion sensor kit has been to embed real world actions with your hand, with your arm, with your eyes, with your finger, into a context where you can actually shape the magical effect for yourself, Klein says.

The spells consist of blocks of code you combine and edit to build animations and complete challenges. When I demoed the kit, I put together the code for levitating a feather with the flick of my wand, enlarging and shrinking magic beans by moving the wand up and down, and freezing blue Cornish Pixies that darted across the screen. The kit will launch with 70 Harry Potter-themed challenges, taking you throughout an interactive Hogwarts. Kano says itll release more updates down the road.

Kano Immobilize Cornish Pixies with the flick of your wand.

But you arent limited to the challenges: You can combine and edit the blocks in a sandbox mode to create whatever visual program youd like. This is where the kits true creative potential lies. The code, or spells, can be customized via numbers you assign to a range of different code blocks triggered by the wand gestures. Its easy to imagine kids or even teenagers having a blast designing simple or complex gestures to conjure different effects. As a bit of a coder myself, I can say Kanos method successfully goes over the fundamentals of scriptingin this case JavaScriptin a fun, interactive way.

Anyone who preorders the Harry Potter kit will also get Kanos $30 motion sensor kit, which is a separate product that picks up your hand gestures to trigger code in a similar fashion as the wand.

Kano The packaging takes after the Harry Potter series.

Welcome to Kano World

Kano also has an online platform called Kano World thats nearing a quarter of a million registered users. On Kano World, you can share your creations and upvote and download other peoples work to customize.

The idea of this as it pertained to Harry Potter was really powerful, Klein says, because then people could make their own interactions with the wand and make their own on-screen effectsspell-like effectsand then someone else could change it.

Screenshot Kano World has been called a Github for kids by WIRED magazine.

When asked if Kano had plans to add augmented reality, which projects illusory 3D images in your real world surroundings, Klein pointed to the companys upcoming camera kit which will overlay codeable visuals on photos and video.

There is a potential that in the future the wand and other elements of the Kano system that provide input methods can be used to output visual and potentially spatial experiences, Klein says. And I think that would be something to explore.
Googles taking a more aggressive role in encouraging websites to encrypt their connections to protect user data. Chrome 68 starts rolling out today, and browser update labels any site that isnt using HTTPS with a valid certificate as Not secure in the address bar. Previous versions of Chrome took a more positive angle, giving encrypted websites a green secured lock icon.

HTTPS encrypts the connection between your computer and the site youre visiting. That ensures that the information isnt intercepted by other people on your network. Not only is HTTPS vital when youre sharing private information with a websitewhich is why Chrome rolled out similar warnings for unsecured pages with login fields and in Incognito mode last yearbut it also prevents the site youre visiting from being tampered with by outside parties, combating injected ads and fake websites that try to steal your passwords.

Chrome 68s Not secure warning does not mean youve been hackedbut it does mean your traffic isnt protected, so it could be hacked.

Google How Chrome used to display HTTP websites, and how it shows them now.

Encrypted websites used to be rare, limited to login pages and commerce sites, but theyre much more common in todays privacy-aware world. According to Google, 76 percent of all Chrome traffic on Android and Windows is encrypted, and 83 of the top 100 sites on the web defaulted to HTTPS. But it still isnt universal. Computer security expert Troy Hunt created a Why no HTTPS? list that names the most popular non-secure websites to coincide with Googles public shaming. Many are Chinese, but youll also see several big-name sites, including Wikia.com, Twitters link service, the BBC and Daily Mail, ESPN, Fox News, FedEx, IGN, and more.
Just Plain Yoga will have a new place to call home next month.

The company is relocating from its location at 1845 Market St. in Camp Hill to a larger retrofitted location at the West Shore Plaza in Lemoyne. The 3,600-square-foot studio at 1200 Market St. will be located next to the Goodwill store and donation center.

Tina Stroh, founder and owner of Just Plain Yoga, opened the studio in 2003, and the studio moved into the Camp Hill location in 2007.

The studio offers a variety of yoga styles, educational workshops and other fitness classes. Some of the classes include vinyasa yoga, yoga for beginners, yin yoga, Pilates-based classes, private yoga classes and tai chi. The new larger studio will also offer massages, lunch-time yoga classes, educational seminars, and professional trainings. The new studio will open on Aug. 6.

Smith Land & Improvement Corporation is the owner of the West Shore Plaza, a 64-year-old shopping center with more than 20 tenants. Smith Land & Improvement Corporation also owns the property that previously housed Just Plain Yoga.

That property is one of several properties that it purchased across the street from its headquarters on Market Street that it is redeveloping. The new retail center will be known as Neighbors & Smith. Little Black Dress, Body Logic, Underneath It All, One Good Woman, Sweet 504, Molly Bee Toys, Mitrani, and Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation will move into Neighbors & Smith, according to Smith Land & Improvement's website.

--Business Buzz

New stores and more opening in central Pa.
On July 19, the Israeli parliament passed a constitutional law that defines Israel as an exclusively Jewish nation state, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported. The draft law was backed by the majority of parliamentarians, it passed by a vote of 62-55 in the 120-member parliament. From now on, Israel is the homeland of Jewish people, and only Jews have the right of self-determination in the country.

From that moment, Hebrew acquires the status of an official language, the bill also downgrades Arabic from an official language to having "special status" in the territory of Israel. The European Union was skeptical about the advisability of proclaiming Israel as an exclusively Jewish nation state, and several political figures in the Arab World defined it as a violation of the rights of national minorities living in Israel.

The Israeli Declaration of Independence, formally the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, was proclaimed in 1948. Having built a strong and independent state, having stood in numerous Arab-Israeli wars, having the support of the United States, Israel still fears for its own existence, reiterating that the threat of Israel disappearing from the political map is quite real.

What is behind the decision to nationalize Israel? The country was created on the basis of ethnic and religion, according to which being a Jew was not enough to have Israeli citizenship. That is why the Law of Return was adopted, according to which Jews who are members of another religion are not eligible for Aliyah under the law. Without attaching ethnic and religious character to the future republic, Israel's founding fathers could cast doubt on the national character of Israel, thus appearing in the Middle East as the colonialists of Arab Palestine. Therefore, subsequent resettlement of ethnic Jews of different faiths could serve as a confirmation of the people's coming to Palestine, which was unacceptable.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statement about the defining moment in the history of Zionism was not accidental, since the merit of Zionism in the matter of confirming the right of Jews to the Land of Israel is enormous. It was the recognition of the Torah that confirmed that Jews lived on this land many centuries ago and only in the 20th century. the revival of the national home of one of the most ancient peoples has begun.

The non-recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, as a rule, is followed by arguments in favor of illegality of Israelis's rights to the Land of Israel, the leadership of the republic believes. Therefore, having legitimated the nationalization of the country, Tel Aviv seeks to protect itself from any accusations of the occupation of Palestine, considering the fact that the reputation of "occupiers" legitimizes any means of war against Israel, including terrorist actions. Finally, according to Tel-Aviv, the adoption of the law on the national state will be a blow to the falsification of the history of Israel and remove the issue of the state status of Jerusalem, which will become the unified capital of the Jewish state.

Despite the fact that Israel cites France or Italy as an example, where the status of a national-democratic state of French and Italians is fixed in the existing constitutions, it is obvious that the ideology of the Zionist state takes the upper hand in the issue of recognizing Israel as a national state of Jews. The country recognizes that the settlement of Israel by emigrants of different nationalities gave impetus to the development of the economy, the army, science and, of course, health care. Israel has started to acquire the features of a modern developed state of the Western type. But, despite the fact that Israel respects the West, the vector of the national state development is a priority, since the threat of losing statehood remains high.
The morning commute might be a tricky one thanks to road closures as a result of overnight flooding.

A dispatcher with Dauphin County 911 confirmed that there were numerous closures throughout the county, and could not provide a complete list. A dispatcher with Cumberland County 911 said no reports of flooded roadways have been reported yet, but anticipated that could change.

511PA.com indicated as of 4:53 a.m. that many roadways are closed as a result of flooding. Here are some of the closings reported:

PA 442 eastbound between Exit: US22/US322 West and Firehouse Road

PA 325 in both directions between Peters Mountain Road and Carsonville Road

Grayson Road / Milroy Road / Nyes Road in both directions between Devonshire Heights Road and M Street near Paxtonia

Oak Grove Road / Hoernerstown Road / Vine Street / Middletown Road / Hanover Street in both directions between Knight Drive and Devonshire Heights Road near Hummelstown

Seventeenth Street and Hummel Avenue in both directions between Hempt Bros. and Tenth Street near Lemoyne

Posts on social media also indicate other roads that have been closed.

CAMERON ST IS CLOSED BETWEEN HERR AND DIVISION DUE TO FLOODING  CAT Transit (@CATTransit) July 24, 2018

ALL RT 81..RT 82.. AND RT 23.....PLEASE EXPECT SOME DELAYS TODAY DUE TO FLOODING IN HARRISBURG. BUSES WILL BE DETOURING COMING INTO HARRISBURG TO ACCOMMODATE FLOODED STREETS IN HARRISBURG.  CAT Transit (@CATTransit) July 24, 2018

Closed in #Middletown on Hwy 230 Both EB/WB at Hwy 341 #traffic https://t.co/FBhe2hUCBg  TTWN Harrisburg (@TotalTrafficMDT) July 24, 2018

Closed in #MiddlePaxton on Hwy 443 EB at US 22 #traffic https://t.co/FBhe2icdZQ  TTWN Harrisburg (@TotalTrafficMDT) July 24, 2018

Overnight rain also had an impact on roadways in Schuylkill County.

The heaviest impact was on the western municipalities of Pine Grove and Tremont boroughs, as well as Pine Grove, Tremont, Washington, Frailey and Porter townships, according to an email from John Matz of the Schuylkill County Emergency Management Agency.

"Throughout Monday, water had subsided from roadways, allowing crews to inspect damage, clear debris and make repairs," he said. "With the evening rains, there was some local flooding on roads that typically are the first to flood."

An advance element of the Keystone Incident Management Team is working with county and first-response staff to develop an incident action plan, which will guide response and recover operations and Tuesday and possibly into the rest of the week.

That task force is comprised of the counties of Berks, Columbia, Luzerne, Montour, Northumberland, Schuylkill and Wyoming and also supported with staff from the counties within the South Central Mountain Task Force.

"A more detailed assessment of damage will be completed in the coming days," Matz said. "This will include local action to identify structures that have been damaged and pose an immediate hazard, as well as damage sustained by residents, businesses and public property such as roadways, storm water systems, culverts, bridges, etc."

The results of that assessment will then be forward to the state to determine if the impact can trigger a declaration from the Small Business Administration or FEMA, he added.

For more traffic information, follow live traffic updates, accident reports and road closures below from PennDOT, Total Traffic Network and other Twitter sources.

Get a look at conditions on local roads -- via PennDOT traffic cameras -- anytime here on PennLive. For Pennsylvania Turnpike updates and possible travel delays visit the Turnpike website here.

Tweet us at @pennlive with any incidents you see on your commute or send a submission to submissions@pennlive.com.
Manor Township Police have charged a Peruvian native with sexually abusing a girl for seven years, according to a new release.

Jorge Alfaro Norabuena, 57, of Peru, was charged with rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault, corruption of a minor and unlawful conduct with a minor, police said.

Alfaro Norabuena, also known as Victor Marquez or Victor Martinez, is accused of abusing the girl, age not given, at a home in Mountville between 2007 and 2014, police said.

Investigators learned Alfaro Norabuena is an undocumented immigrant, and police worked with Immigration and Customs Enforcement on the case.

Alfaro Norabuena was taken into custody and is being held at York County Prison due to his immigration status.
Flooding in Dauphin County has caused the closure of Pa 743 in Derry and East Hanover Township, but is only one of more than 30 road closures across the region.

PennDOT reports 743 is closed between Route 22 and and Hershey Park Drive as of 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Early Tuesday evening, PennDOT advised motorists that Route 39 over the Swatara Creek between Derry and South Hanover townships in Dauphin County will be closed at around 7 p.m. The closure is due to flooding and concern about pressure from the water flow on the bridge carrying Route 39 over the Swatara Creek. The bridge will reopen after flood waters have receded and conditions permit.

Sandbeach Road, which runs parallel to Route 743, is also closed closed between Route 22 and Hersheypark Drive, and Canal Road between Route 743 and Sandbeach Road is also closed.

PennDOT press officer Greg Penny said most of those 30 road closures are in Dauphin and Lebanon Counties, east Cumberland county and some of York County.

Penny said their biggest concern is around Swatara Creek.

"The biggest of advice, in addition to asking people to be patient and take it slow, is to not drive through moving or even standing water on a road - it's surprising how easily water current can lift up and carry vehicles," Penny said. "In standing water, their vehicles can become disabled."

Updated information on road closures can be found at 511pa.com, PennDOT's travel information website.

For more traffic information, follow live traffic updates, accident reports and road closures below from PennDOT, Total Traffic Network and other Twitter sources.

Get a look at conditions on local roads -- via PennDOT traffic cameras -- anytime here on PennLive. For Pennsylvania Turnpike updates and possible travel delays visit the Turnpike website here.

Tweet us at @pennlive with any incidents you see on your commute or send a submission to submissions@pennlive.com.
Soldiers Field in Mount Gretna - the former summer home of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard - will be preserved, thanks to action from the Pennsylvania Chautauqua.

The Chautauqua's board voted Friday to purchase the 18-acre site in South Londonderry Township between Timber Road and Mount Gretna Lake for close to $1 million.

Congratulations to the Pennsylvania Chautauqua for deciding to purchase the historic Soldiers Field! We can't wait to see what the future holds for the site. Posted by Mt. Gretna Area Historical Society on Monday, July 23, 2018

The vote, which was reported as 185 to 51 in favor of the purchase, ensures the land won't be developed.

The land is owned by Eastern Enterprises, and the sale price is $975,000.

The Committee to Save Soldiers Field, which organized in January, raised $810,000, and the Chautauqua will take out a loan to cover what additional funds are needed.

Planning to preserve the site has been under way for about five years, with concern in the community that the property could become a high-density housing development.

An advisory committee will be formed to discuss the future of Soldiers Field, which could be the site of passive recreation and serving as a riparian buffer for Mount Gretna Lake and Conewago Creek.

Soldier's Field by Pennsylvania Chautauqua by PennLive on Scribd
State police have identified the 19-year-old woman who was swept away in a Dauphin County creek on Monday night.

The woman is identified as Laura Olweiler.

Olweiler's family members have indicated on social media they have organized search parties to look for her.

Officials, however, are discouraging citizens from forming their own search parties due to inclement weather and dangerous water levels.

As of Tuesday morning, Olweiler is still considered a missing person by state police.

The incident occurred at about 9 p.m. Monday at Conewago Creek near the 500 block of Koser Road in Conewago Township, Dauphin County, near the border with Lancaster County.

Two women, Olweiler and a 22-year-old, were walking across the creek when the high water swept them in, according to police. The 22-year-old was able to climb out of the water.

Last evening, shortly before 9:00 PM, the Elizabethtown Fire Department was dispatch to Koser Road at the Conewago Creek... Posted by Elizabethtown Fire Dept Station 74 on Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Multiple fire departments, an aerial rescue team, the Pennsylvania National Guard, Hazmat, and multiple boats and drones were actively searching the area for the Olweiler late Monday night.

Anyone with any information about this investigation should contact the state police in Harrisburg at 717-671-7500.

Recent rainfall has resulted in flooding that has closed numerous roadways in the region, and more rain is expected into later this week.
A 19-year-old woman is still missing after she was swept into a creek in Dauphin County on Monday night.

The incident occurred at about 9 p.m. Monday at Conewago Creek near the 500 block of Koser Road in Conewago Township, Dauphin County, near the border with Lancaster County.

Two women, ages 19 and 22, were walking across the creek when the high water swept them in, according to police. The 22-year-old was able to climb out of the water.

Multiple fire departments, an aerial rescue team, the Pennsylvania National Guard, Hazmat, and multiple boats and drones were actively searching the area for the 19-year-old late Monday night.

FOX43 reports crews will resume their search sometime on Tuesday morning.

Anyone with any information about this investigation should contact the state police in Harrisburg at 717-671-7500.

Recent rainfall has resulted in flooding that has closed numerous roadways in the region, and more rain is expected into later this week.

A flash flood watch and warnings remain in effect for numerous counties in the region.
HARRISBURG - Thirty years later, Leona Telek still wonders. Did she kiss her husband goodbye?

Did she tell him she loved him before he headed back to Harrisburg to represent the people of Cambria County?

And what were William Telek's final thoughts as he died in the streets?

State Rep. William Telek.

These questions, long buried by time under a layer of happy memories, burst to the surface once again as her husband's killer was back in court, trying to regain his freedom.

Leona Telek, now 87, did not wish to read those words herself, but her daughter, Robin Telek Durst, read them for her as the family recalled the moment that changed their lives forever at today's resentencing hearing for Bernard Williams.

Williams, now 47, was 17 years old when he attacked Telek with a ball-peen hammer in the state Capitol's underground parking garage on May 17, 1988. He brutally beat him to death, robbed him of $100, and stole his car.

Bernard Williams.

Telek, a 64-year-old father of seven, was found facedown in the 100 block of Bergner Street in Susquehanna Township, and Williams was arrested the same day after a high-speed car chase.

After a jury deliberated for six hours, they convicted Williams of Telek's murder and the judge sentenced him to life behind bars without parole. But recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings deemed mandatory life sentences without parole for juveniles is unconstitutional, leading to cases like this coming back before the courts.

According to the state Department of Corrections, 291 of Pennsylvania's 518 juvenile lifers still alive have been resentenced as of June, and 129 of them have been released.

But Williams will not be among those who have a shot at freedom. Dauphin County Judge Jeannine Turgeon resentenced him, once again, to life in prison without parole.

During today's hearing, District Attorney Fran Chardo argued if any juvenile offender has not been rehabilitated by prison and is permanently incorrigible, it's Williams.

He was convicted of three assaults during his time in prison, Chardo said. In 1993, Williams attacked a correctional officer with a shank. In 1999, he used an improvised weapon to repeatedly stab another guard, Chardo said. And again in 2015, Williams came up behind an inmate in the cafeteria and stabbed him.

This is on top of at least 30 misconduct violations and transfers between at least a half dozen state prisons, he said.

Normally the court "needs a crystal ball" to see how an inmate will do in prison, but not in this case, Chardo said.

"He has shown himself to be permanently incorrigible," he said.

Chardo also presented testimony from forensic psychiatrist John O'Brien, who examined Williams' prison records. He said he finds Williams to be manipulative and has lied repeatedly about psychological conditions in prison. O'Brien called him a "malingerer," and ultimately diagnosed him as having anti-social personality disorder - a lifelong, untreatable condition.

However, Williams attorney, Andrea Haynes, argued while there is no excuse for what her client did, he is remorseful, and there are factors from his troubled life to consider.

Williams was born into a chaotic and abusive home in Philadelphia. The abuse was so extreme, she said, that Williams' twin sister was killed by their father when they were 2.

While Williams did not take part in many educational programs at the state prison in his early days there, she pointed out that many of those options were not available until recently for juveniles sentenced to life.

And Williams, who appeared in court through video conferencing, said he is remorseful.

"I apologize. I don't know what words to use," he said. "My heart goes out to the Telek family."

He admitted to having infractions on his prison record, but "you have to be hard to survive." He told the court if he's released, he would not harm anyone else, and he had only been defending himself in those prison assaults.

While it's likely the evidence presented from his time in prison that swayed the judge's decision to keep Williams behind bars for the rest of his life, the words of two of Telek's now-grown daughters painted a picture of the lasting impact this has had on the family.

"We cried ourselves to sleep only to wake up again to a nightmare," Telek's youngest daughter, Marcia Telek DePaula, who is now an attorney, recalled.

Her father was a World War II veteran who went to college on the G.I. Bill and became a teacher before being elected to the state House of Representatives. He liked to play ball with the children and played polka music after church.

There are many fun, happy memories before his death, but many of the family memories afterwards are shadowed by his murder.

"Any death is tragic, but a murder is traumatic and has long-lasting effects," she said.

Good times and bad times, because of Williams, she said, her father has missed it all. He never met six of his 14 grandchildren. He never walked three of his daughters down the aisle at their weddings. He missed three decades worth of graduations, holidays and family events.

"When they say time heals all wounds, we would have to disagree," she said.

And Telek Durst recalled her father fondly, as well.

"I miss my father every day," she said. He had seven children, but "he made every one of us feel like we were his favorite."

The sisters spoke today, they said, because they know their father would not want what happened to him to happen to someone else.

They were there, speaking in court, for him, she said.

"Why was he so well liked?" Telek DePaula asked about her father. "Because he truly cared."

This story has been updated to correct Dr. John O'Brien's job title.
(Editor's note: Removing a president from office is a two-step process. The first step is impeachment. That's when members of the House indict, or charge, an official with an impeachable offense. Impeachment does not remove the president from office. That only happens if a second step is taken and the president is convicted of the alleged crimes. Jacob Neiheisel, an assistant professor at the University at Buffalo, SUNY answers five questions about how impeachment works.)

By Jacob Neiheisel

1. What sort of crime can lead to impeachment?

The U.S. Constitution states that the president can be removed from office after being both impeached and convicted for "Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors."

Jacob Neiheisel (The Conversation, photo)

Treason is notoriously difficult to prove. For example, Aaron Burr - a former vice president - was caught stockpiling supplies and gathering a force to take over some of the lands that would eventually be obtained through the Louisiana Purchase. And yet, he still wasn't convicted of treason.

To date, no president has been charged with bribery.

What exactly constitutes a "high crime" or "misdemeanor" has always been open to interpretation, but it is clear that partisan politics plays a role.

Scholars argue that Andrew Johnson, the first American president to be impeached, was targeted because of his "soft" approach to states of the former Confederacy during Reconstruction. The official reason was his violation of the Tenure of Office Act, which was later declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Articles of impeachment were brought against Bill Clinton for perjury, or lying under oath, and obstruction of justice, but there is little doubt that there was also a Republican desire to weaken Clinton's presidency behind the charges.

Even Alexander Hamilton expected the process of impeachment to be overtly political. President Gerald Ford put the matter bluntly when he described an impeachable offense as "whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history."

2. How does the process work?

The process usually begins when a member of the House brings forth articles of impeachment. Last year, five Democrats in the House did just that.

Next comes a vote on the articles of impeachment by the House Judiciary Committee. The Judiciary Committee can choose to investigate the matter - or opt out, as they did in the case of the Clinton impeachment. The committee can then recommend for or against impeachment. Either way, their recommendation isn't binding - meaning the House can impeach over their recommendation. The current chair of the committee, Virginia Republican Bob Goodlatte, is a strong supporter of the president, but he is set to retire in 2019.

Next comes a vote in the full House, with only a simple majority required.

If the House votes to impeach, the case is referred to the Senate for trial. The trial runs much like a criminal case, and witnesses can be called on either side. A supermajority, or two-thirds, of the Senate then has to vote to convict and remove the president from office.

Although two presidents, Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, have been impeached by the House, both avoided a conviction in the Senate and a resulting removal from office.

A common misconception is that the Supreme Court plays a major role in the proceedings. The chief justice does preside over impeachment trials in the Senate, but that is the court's only role.

3. Republicans have a majority in the House and the Senate. Does that essentially make Trump bulletproof?

More or less.

Although it is possible that Republican members of Congress could join with Democrats in calling for Trump's removal, as we saw happen in the run-up to Nixon's resignation over the Watergate scandal, today's polarized political environment makes such an occurrence unlikely absent clear and convincing evidence of major wrongdoing.

While Nixon's impeachment was likely inevitable, with Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress in 1974, today substantial Republican defections from Trump would be essential to any movement toward impeachment.

Currently, there are 236 Republican House members. That means 22 Republicans would have to join with all of the Democrats in the House to impeach Trump. However, the 2018 midterm election could change this math if the Democrats pick up seats.

The articles of impeachment against Trump might look remarkably similar to those levied against Nixon and Clinton. The articles of impeachment drawn up by Democrats in November 2017 accuse the president of obstruction of justice related to the firing of FBI director James Comey, undermining the independence of the federal judiciary, accepting emoluments from a foreign government and other charges. Any attempt to accuse him of treason is extremely unlikely, in my opinion.

4. If the president is removed, who takes over? What would happen if the vice president was also implicated in the president's crime?

If President Trump was removed from office, Vice President Mike Pence would be immediately sworn in. In the unlikely event that both the president and the vice president are impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan would become president.

5. Can officers other than the president be impeached?

Absolutely. In fact, 15 federal judges have been impeached, although only eight have been removed from the bench. The most recent example was in 2010 when federal Judge G. Thomas Porteous was found guilty on multiple articles of impeachment by the U.S. Senate. Porteous was found to have accepted bribes from lawyers with dealings before his court.

The Conversation

This story updates a version posted on May 17, 2017.

Jacob Neiheisel is an assistant professor of political science at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York. He wrote this piece for The Conversation, where it first appeared.
The BRICS summit will be held in Johannesburg this week, which in addition to the leaders of Russia, Brazil, India, China and South Africa will be attended by the heads of Argentina, Egypt, Turkey, Indonesia and Jamaica. They plan to discuss cooperation in the field of economic planning in the face of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, as well as cooperation in the field of security, fight against terrorism and poverty.

Executive director of the National Committee for BRICS Study, director of the Center for Russian Strategy in Asia of the Institute of Economics, professor of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Georgy Toloraya, considers it important that the 10th BRICS summit is held at a time when fragmentation of international economic relations and a political crisis have taken place in both global economy and world politics.

"Recently, we saw that the G7 summit ended in acrimony and disarray. This has never happened before. US President Donald Trump's visit to the NATO summit also showed that now the Western countries are far away from unity. In these conditions, the BRICS acts as a bastion of stability, and the atmosphere at the upcoming summit, the problems raised by the leaders, serve to promote a new global agenda," Toloraya is convinced.

According to him, the agenda of the summit is related to the protection of the principles of trade and economic relations, multilateral organizations, including the WTO, the fight against protectionism: "In fact, BRICS is becoming a platform for leadership in the economic globalization, while the United States is acting as a brake and a revisionist power on international economic relations.

And the same goes for politics. BRICS is paying increasing attention to security issues. This agenda was especially important this year due to the June meeting of top security officials, the meeting of foreign ministers, the meeting on the Middle East, meetings on certain aspects of security. A serious real progress has been made here, up to the creation of an intelligence forum. That is, BRICS is a factor of stabilization, peace and harmony, and not a factor in destroying the world order, which we are witnessing on the other side of the globe. And this is not the merit of the BRICS, but the circumstances are such that it should be used."

Georgy Toloraya hopes that BRICS will have the courage to realize itself as a decisive factor in world affairs: "Some countries are too shy in this sense and not used to the idea that it's time to take control of their own destiny. The time has come when BRICS should present itself in a new capacity: not just as a platform for expressing interests of a limited group of countries, but as a driving force in establishing a multipolar and stable international order. This is the main purpose of the current summit."
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WASHINGTON (Reuters)  The Republican candidate in a close U.S. House of Representatives special election on March 13 in Pennsylvania conceded to his Democratic opponent on Wednesday, cementing a Democratic upset in a long-time Republican area that President Donald Trump handily won in 2016.

In an ominous sign for Trumps Republicans eight months before national midterm elections, moderate Democrat Conor Lamb led conservative Rick Saccone by a fraction of a percentage point in the race for the southwestern Pennsylvania seat.

Trump won the district by almost 20 points in the presidential election. He campaigned for Saccone, who started the race well ahead of Lamb.

Just got off the phone with my opponent, @RickSaccone4PA, who congratulated me & graciously conceded last Tuesdays election, Lamb said on Twitter.

An official at Saccones campaign confirmed the candidate had conceded.

The earliest the final election result could be certified is March 26, but the final tally could be unknown for weeks.

Lamb led Saccone by 627 votes unofficially, state returns showed last week; Lamb had 49.8 percent of the vote and Saccone 49.6 percent.

House Republicans had called the race unique, noting that Lamb, 33, a Marine Corps veteran, had distanced himself from his partys leaders and staked out positions to the right of many Democrats.

The patchwork of small towns, farms and Pittsburgh suburbs that make up Pennsylvanias 18th congressional district has been so staunchly Republican that Democrats did not field candidates in the previous two House elections.

Come November, the district will cease to exist because boundaries have been redrawn. Both Lamb and Saccone are expected to run again, though in different districts.

The election, held to replace a Republican who resigned amid a scandal last year, was the latest forceful electoral showing for Democrats, who also won a governors race in Virginia and scored a U.S. Senate upset in conservative Alabama.

Lambs strong showing could buoy Democrats nationally as they seek to win control of the House from Republicans in the November elections. Democrats see 118 Republican-held districts in play. If they flip 24 seats, they could reclaim a House majority.

The Lamb win vindicates a strategy Democrats are using in some races to enlist candidates whose positions and ideologies are well suited to the district even while conflicting in significant ways with the positions of the Democratic leadership in Washington.

(Reporting by Eric Walsh; additional reporting by David Morgan; editing by Toni Reinhold and Grant McCool)
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Rep. Adam Schiff saw through Trumps threat to take away national security clearance from several former national security officials to call it what it really is, a presidential enemies list.

Schiff tweeted:

Politicizing security clearances to retaliate against former national security officials who criticize the President would set a terrible new precedent. An enemies list is ugly, undemocratic and un-American. Is there no length Trump will not go to stifle opposition? Wake up GOP.  Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) July 23, 2018

Trumps plan to strip national security clearances from former CIA director John Brennan, former FBI director James Comey, Michael Hayden, Susan Rice, and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper is really nothing more than a list of enemies and critics of the Russia scandal who he wants to silence. It is interesting that there wasnt a single former official named on the list who has not criticized Trump.

Donald Trump also wants to take away security clearances from people who have a media profile in the national security realm.

Rep. Schiff was correct. No one should be fooled. Trumps threat has nothing to do with national security. Trump is trying to get back at people who he views as enemies. It also just so happens to be that his enemies are either people who have investigated the Russia scandal or people with expert knowledge on Russia and national security.

Trump is trying to stifle criticism, and it is up to every single American to make sure that it does not happen.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
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By Mark Hosenball

LONDON (Reuters)  Former Donald Trump political strategist Steve Bannon and a top associate have created a Brussels-based political organization intended to undermine, and ultimately paralyze, the European Union, Bannon and the associate told Reuters.

In an interview and email conversations, Bannon and Raheem Kassam, a former chief aide to British anti-EU leader Nigel Farage who now serves as a Bannon lieutenant, said the group, known as The Movement, is already operating and hiring.

The Movement will be our clearing house for the populist, nationalist movement in Europe. Were focusing attention on assisting individuals or groups concerned with the matters of sovereignty, border control, jobs, amongst other things, Kassam said.

We decided to headquarter out of Brussels because it is the heart of the European Union  the most pernicious force against nation state democracy in the West today.

The organization is already a structured foundation with a significant annual budget and we have started to staff up, he said.

Kassam declined to give further details about the foundation.

Bannon, who during a London visit last week met Farage and Louis Aliot, a close associate of French far-right politician Marine Le Pen, described the organization he was creating as a populist project intended to touch off a tectonic plate shift in Europe.

Next years European parliamentary elections are going to be a major test for both Eurosceptics and reformers alike, and The Movement is where those two causes dovetail, Kassam said.

The political establishment has worked with the assistance of innumerable NGOs for decades, one hand washing the other. We felt like it was time there was an organization on the side of ordinary people, instead of the vested, big business lobbying interests in Europe, he added.

The European Union traces its origins back to the aftermath of the Second World War, meant as a way of fostering economic cooperation and curbing national rivalries. Today it is the largest economic bloc in the world and has expanded its political powers.

Its goals and values state that it promotes peace, offers freedom, security and justice without internal borders and enhances solidarity among member states. Proponents say it defends European interests, whether against global powers such as China and the United States or against multinational companies seeking monopolistic footholds.

TARGETING ELECTIONS

Bannon and Kassam said their plan was to use their new movement to organize a major turnout of nationalist and populist voters in European Parliament elections which take place in all EU member states next May.

Voter turnout in European Parliament elections historically is low, and Bannon said he and his organization hope that by mobilizing local anti-EU groups they can elect a large enough group of Members of the European Parliament to disrupt and even shut down the Parliament and the European Commission.

Asked about Bannons plans on Monday, the Commissions chief spokesman told reporters that the EU executive noted them but declined further comment.

Senior EU officials gearing up for the 2019 election acknowledge that parties hostile to the Union could do well, but few expect them to have enough seats to disrupt the functioning of the institutions.

Parliament in itself is the weakest of the three main political bodies in Brussels, after the Council of member states and the Commission. It cannot propose legislation and would need a majority to block laws and budgets.

Right-wing, anti-EU groups have about 100 seats in the current 751-seat assembly.

With Britains departure next March, Farage and 18 other UK Independence Party members will lose their seats in what will be a 705-seat chamber.

Irrespective of the EU election results, new deals to form transnational party groups in the parliament after the vote will also be key to the strength of any anti-EU bloc.

Some experts on Europes far-right parties and movements question the extent to which Bannon and his associates will be able to unite enlarged right-wing European Parliamentary factions.

After the 2014 election, efforts to unite the far-right failed, leaving Farage and Frances Marine Le Pen leading rival groups and Farage accusing the French of being anti-Semitic.

(Additional reporting by Alastair Macdonald in Brussels; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
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Donald Trumps new threat against former intelligence officials is much worse than it looks.

Its not just an effort by the president to silence a group of his critics. Instead, it could be an attempt to undermine the credibility of witnesses in the ongoing Russia investigation.

As MSNBCs Ari Melber pointed out on Monday, the figures now being targeted by the White House arent just former members of the U.S. intelligence community that dont approve of Trumps job performance. They are also witnesses in Muellers criminal investigation of Trump and his campaigns ties to Russia.

This may be even worse than potentially punishing them for what they have said, Melber explained on Monday. This may be an attempt, out in the open, to discredit them over what they saw.

Video:

Melber explained why Trumps threat is so dangerous:

Here are six of the former national security officials the White House is targeting. There are intelligence and FBI officials, plus former CIA director Brennan who, full disclosure, is now an analyst for NBC news. But the most important thing here that those people may have in common is they are all witnesses against the president in an open criminal probe. Comey, McCabe and Brennan, for example, involved in critical Russia meetings during Donald Trumps transition. So this move may actually be even worse than potentially punishing them for what they have said. This may be an attempt, out in the open, to discredit them over what they saw and what they could potentially tell prosecutors.

Trump is abusing his power

Its frightening enough that a president would use his authority to target those who disagree with him, whether they are activists, journalists or former government officials.

But using it to threaten and undermine witnesses in an ongoing criminal probe is something much worse.

Trump isnt just petty and thin-skinned  a man who likes to bully others but isnt tough enough to withstand criticism. Hes also a guy clearly in a state of panic over the direction each of these investigations is taking.

From Muellers criminal probe to Cohens secret tapes, Trump is in big trouble, and now hes trying to abuse his power to get out of it.
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Its safe to say that Republicans in Congress dont want Donald Trump to star in a sequel to his disastrous meeting with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki.

According to The Hill, the second-most powerful GOP senator urged the president to put his second meeting with Putin off for a while.

Im one who thinks that its a good thing for leaders of countries to talk, but I would consider putting that one on the back burner for a while, Texas Sen. John Cornyn said.

When the Texas Republican was pushed on whether a potential second summit between Trump and Putin should be put off until after the midterm elections, Cornyn repeated that he thinks any meeting should be put off for a while.

More from The Hill:

GOP senators have shown little enthusiasm for a second meeting between Trump and Putin after the president sparked fierce, widespread backlash for refusing to condemn Moscows interference in the 2016 presidential election last week. Asked about a potential second meeting between Trump and Putin, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) laughed and said he had mixed emotions about it. I dont particularly want to see a grand ceremony for Putin, but I dont have any problem with the two leaders sitting down and hopefully having a better discourse than theyve had until now, Hatch said, adding he hopes Trump rethinks his Helsinki comments.

Trumps Russia-related rhetoric after his performance in Helsinki has not improved since the backlash.

On Sunday, in fact, Trump again called Russian interference and the special counsel investigation all a big hoax.

So President Obama knew about Russia before the Election. Why didnt he do something about it? Why didnt he tell our campaign? Because it is all a big hoax, thats why, and he thought Crooked Hillary was going to win!!!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 22, 2018

Republicans know Trumps meeting with Putin was a disaster

The GOP has been missing in action since Trump took office. Every step of the way, they have either stood silently by or made excuses for every reckless move the president has made. At their worst, they have aided him in his efforts to undermine an ongoing criminal investigation.

But the Helsinki summit  when Trump proudly sold out America in order to satisfy the man who installed him to the presidency  seems to have set off alarm bells for the party.

To be sure, Republicans arent doing enough to tame this president. They likely never will, which is why a blue wave in November is exactly what the doctor ordered.

But the fact that they are speaking out on Trumps dumpster fire meeting with the Russian president is an admission that they know how disastrous it was  not just for their party, but for the country.

If they allow Trump to have an encore performance, they will face dire consequences in the upcoming midterms.
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By Tom Hals and Reade Levinson

(Reuters)  More than 450 immigrant parents who were separated from their children when they entered the United States illegally are no longer in the country though their children remain behind, according to a joint court filing on Monday by the federal government and the American Civil Liberties Union.

The absence of the 463 parents, which U.S. government lawyers said was under review, could impede government efforts to reunite separated families by Thursday, the deadline ordered by a federal judge. The filing did not say why the 463 parents had left the country, but government officials previously acknowledged that some parents had been deported without their children.

As of Monday, 879 parents had been reunited with their children, according to the filing.

About 2,500 children were separated from their parents after the Trump administration announced a zero tolerance policy in April aimed at discouraging illegal immigration. The policy was ended in June amid an international outcry about the governments treatment of immigrant children.

U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw in San Diego ordered last month that the government had to reunite the children with their parents in a case brought by the ACLU.

On Monday, the government also said 917 parents were either not eligible to be reunited or not yet known to be eligible to be reunited with their child. That number includes parents no longer in the country as well as those deemed unsuitable because of criminal convictions or for other reasons.

Immigration advocates have expressed alarm about parents deported without their children, saying it can create problems with the childrens immigration cases.

How can we go forward on a case if we dont know the parents wishes? Megan McKenna, spokeswoman for Kids in Need of Defense, told Reuters earlier this month.

While Mondays report indicated progress with reunifications, the ACLU made clear its frustrations with the process. The rights group said it did not have a list of parents who signed a form electing to be deported without their child.

These parents urgently need consultations with lawyers, so that they do not mistakenly strand their children in the United States, the ACLU wrote in the court filing.

The ACLU asked Sabraw to order the government to turn the information over by the end of Tuesday.

The government said it had cleared an additional 538 parents for reunification pending transport.

(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware, and Reade Levinson in New York; Editing by Sue Horton and Leslie Adler)
The Attorney General of the United States, Jeff Sessions, laughed and joined in as students chanted lock her up while he gave a speech in DC.

Video:

Sessions said as the students at the Turning Point USAs High School Leadership Summit, chanted lock her up, Go get them. Rather than  lock her up. Well, so I heard that a lot of times over the last campaign.

Lock her up is a phrase that now means using the power of the federal government to lock up political opponents. The Trump cultists are mindlessly mouthing a golden oldie callback to the days before their president was labeled a treasonous betrayer of the United States, but it goes to show how out of touch with reality these Americans are.

It is difficult to know whether Jeff Sessions was wistfully laughing about the good old days when the Trump campaign could call for the imprisoning of Hillary Clinton without the reality of members of the campaign actually sitting in federal prison today, or if he was laughing at the rubes who were conned by the Trump campaign into believing this nonsense about locking Clinton up.

The one question that Trump, Sessions, and the rest of the gang cant answer is what would Hillary Clinton be locked up for?

Clinton committed no crime. She broke no laws.

A responsible attorney general would have shut down those chants. He or she might have admonished the crowd that here in the United States of American, we dont lock up political opponents for no reason, but Jeff Sessions is not a responsible Attorney General. He is a Trump stooge who is into the Russia scandal up to his eyeballs, and it is only a matter of time before those who chanted lock her are themselves locked up.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
(Reuters)  The criminal trial of President Donald Trumps former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was delayed on Monday by one week, with a U.S. judge making public the names of five witnesses granted immunity to testify.

Manaforts trial on 18 charges, including bank and tax fraud and failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts, will now begin on July 31. The longtime Republican operative and businessman has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

It will be the first trial to originate in the special counsels investigation of Russias role in the 2016 U.S. election.

Following is a summary of some of the individuals set to play key roles in the case:

Paul Manafort was Trumps campaign chairman from May 19 to Aug. 19, 2016. His bail was revoked on June 15, and he remains jailed ahead of his trial. He faces a separate trial in September for related charges, including witness tampering.

Robert Mueller is the U.S. special counsel for the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, possible obstruction of justice and alleged financial crimes by Manafort and others. He was appointed on May 17, 2017, by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

Richard Gates is a former deputy campaign chairman for Trump who has agreed to cooperate with the Mueller probe. He pleaded guilty in February to conspiring against the United States and lying to investigators.

George Papadopoulos is a former Trump campaign adviser who pleaded guilty last autumn to making false statements to the FBI about his contacts with Russia. He has been cooperating with Mueller. According to documents released with his guilty plea, Papadopoulos offered to set up a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and then-candidate Trump.

Corey Lewandowski had been Trumps campaign manager before Manafort took over in May 2016. He was fired from the campaign a month later. Lewandowski has been interviewed several times by the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, which is also investigating possible meddling by Russia in the election. Committee members said Lewandowski refused to answer many of their questions.

Carter Page, also a former Trump campaign adviser, was under surveillance by the FBI as part of a probe into whether he conspired with the Russian government to undermine the 2016 election. Documents released on Saturday related to the surveillance said that Page has established relationships with Russian Government officials, including Russian intelligence officers.

Michael Flynn, former White House national security adviser and campaign aide, pleaded guilty in December to lying to FBI agents about his conversations with Russias then-ambassador, Sergei Kislyak, and agreed to cooperate with Muellers investigation. He was the first member of Trumps administration to plead guilty to a crime uncovered by Mueller.

U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III is presiding over Manaforts case and has questioned the scope of Muellers probe. He said that Manaforts indictment seemed aimed at getting him to provide information on Trump. Ellis, appointed by former President Ronald Reagan in 1987, is based in Alexandria, Virginia.

Alex Van der Zwaan is a Dutch lawyer who previously worked with Manafort and Gates. He was sentenced in April to 30 days in prison for lying to Muellers investigators. He was the first person to be sentenced in Muellers probe.

Jeffrey Yohai is Manaforts former son-in-law and business partner. He reached a plea deal with Muellers office in May requiring him to cooperate with other probes.

Bruce Baldinger is a longtime real estate lawyer for Manafort. He signed biennial statements as the authorized person for two of Manaforts New York companies, which prosecutors allege were part of a scheme to take tens of millions of dollars earned overseas and launder it in the United States. In June, Baldinger retained an ethics attorney as a legal consultant.

Rick Davis, one of Manaforts business partners, arranged in 2008 for then-Republican presidential candidate John McCain to meet with Oleg Deripaska, a Russian billionaire. He served as McCains presidential campaign manager in 2000 and 2008.

Tony Podesta, a prominent Washington lobbyist, stepped down from his firm in October as investigators examined his companys ties to Manafort. The firm, Podesta Group, lobbied on the behalf of the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine, which was named in the Manafort indictment.

Potential government witnesses whose identities were made public on Monday by Ellis:

Dennis Raico was an executive at Federal Savings Bank, a Chicago-based lender that extended Manafort $16 million in loans against his New York real estate. Mueller has said he would introduce evidence at trial showing a connection between the loans and an effort by Manafort to get the banks CEO positions on Trumps campaign and in the administration. Federals chief executive is Steven Calk, who had an advisory role in the Trump campaign.

James Brennan is also an executive at Federal Savings Bank.

Donna Duggan is an insurance agent at Moody Insurance Worldwide, based in Germantown, Maryland. She worked on insurance related to a Brooklyn, New York, townhouse against which Manafort borrowed money from Federal Savings Bank, according to an email listed as potential evidence in Manaforts trial in a court filing submitted by Mueller.

Cindy Laporta is an accountant at the Virginia-based accounting firm KWC. The firm said it prepared individual and business tax returns for Manafort.

Conor OBrien was formerly employed at KWC.

Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis, Warren Strobel, John Whitesides, Sarah Lynch and Nathan Layne; Compiled by Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Dan Burns and Peter Cooney
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Back in March Democrat Conor Lamb set the political world on fire when he won the special congressional election in Pennsylvanias 18th district. He narrowly converted a GOP seat to the blue column in a district won by Donald Trump by over 15 percentage points.

Since then Pennsylvania has changed its congressional districts meaning Conor must run for a seat in the new 17th congressional district against three-term Republican Congressman Keith Rothfus.

Now there is a new Monmouth poll for the 17th district which is also setting the political world on fire, since it shows Lamb with a 12 percentage point lead over the GOP incumbent.

PENNSYLVANIA CD17 POLL: US House election

All potential voters:

@ConorLambPA (D) 51%

@KeithRothfus (R) 39%

PENNSYLVANIA CD17 POLL: US House election

All potential voters:

@ConorLambPA (D) 51%@KeithRothfus (R) 39% Likely voters:

Standard model  Lamb 53 / Rothfus 40

Dem-surge model  Lamb 54 / Rothfus 39

#PA17 #Midterms2018https://t.co/3XrGUk9tGL  MonmouthPoll (@MonmouthPoll) July 24, 2018

According to Monmouth, many voters are expressing doubts about economic policies put forth by both the White House and the GOP-controlled Congress.

This poll is significant for several reasons:

The size of Lambs lead is very surprising since Rothfus is an incumbent, The poll shows that the new Pennsylvania congressional districts are more fair (less gerrymandered) and this will help Democrats pick up House seats in November, and It also shows that the young Democratic candidate, who has been in office just three months, is drawing very strong support from the Pittsburgh suburbs.

Many political analysts believe that the key to a Blue Wave election, and a takeover of Congress by the Democrats, is support from suburban voters. Historically these affluent voters have favored Republican candidates, but they are known to have unfavorable views of President Donald Trump. Many suburban districts are currently represented by Republicans but are expected to go Democratic in the fall, and if this happens the House will go Democratic.

An interesting side note to the polling results is the impact of Nancy Pelosi and Donald Trump on congressional races. Both are seen to be drags on their partys candidates in moderate congressional districts, so both candidates have tried to keep their distance from these controversial party leaders.

According to Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth Poll, Lamb made a point of distancing himself from Pelosi in his razor thin victory last March. It will probably be easier for him to maintain that distance than it will be for Rothfus with Trump.

Murray also said voter enthusiasm could help the Democratic candidate.

Another factor bolstering Lambs prospects is relatively higher enthusiasm among Democratic voters. Overall, 54% of PA-17 voters say they have a lot of interest in the House race, but Democrats (62%) are more likely to report a high level of interest than either Republicans (54%) or independents (43%), Murray said.

Although this is just one poll, it provides some very important and interesting insights into the mindsets of voters right now, with just 3  months to go until the midterm elections.
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Trump tweeted that he fears that Russia is going to interfere in the election to help Democrats, as he is trying everything to distract from his own betrayal of America.

Trump tweeted:

Im very concerned that Russia will be fighting very hard to have an impact on the upcoming Election. Based on the fact that no President has been tougher on Russia than me, they will be pushing very hard for the Democrats. They definitely dont want Trump!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 24, 2018

The Russians Are Not Working To Help Democrats

The idea that the Russians would be trying to help Democrats after Trump stood beside Putin and gave him everything that he wanted is laughable. Trump was ready to turn over former US officials to Putin for questioning until a public outcry and a Senate rebuke forced him to back down. Trump stood beside Putin and betrayed the US intelligence community. Trump has attacked US allies and done his best to destroy the Western alliance. It is Trump who Putin admitted that he wanted in the White House, so the facts make the case that Trumps tweet is nonsense.

The Russians are trying to interfere in the midterm election for Trump and the Republicans, not Democrats. Its Republican members of Congress who are making trips to Russia, not Democrats.

Virginia Senate candidate Corey Stewart tried to make the same argument that Trump made about his strength against Russia, and he was laughed at during a debate.

As usual, Trump is trying to blame others for what he is doing. It is Trump and his party who are counting on Russia pushing hard for them, because a blue wave is coming, and without the help of their Russian handlers, the Republican Party is could be facing a massive defeat in November.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
US President Donald Trump's proposal for a follow-up summit this fall with Russian President Vladimir Putin is supported by a majority of Americans, according to a poll released yesterday.

The American Barometer poll, a joint project of The Hill and the HarrisX polling company, found that 54% of respondents back Trump's plan for a second summit with Putin, this time in Washington, D.C. 46% of respondents opposed the idea.

The survey also found that 61% of Americans say better relations with Russia are in the best interest of the US.

The survey was conducted online July 21-22 among a randomly selected sample of 1,001 voters.

For instance, the poll found 60% of Americans disapproved of Trump's handling of Russia in the aftermath of the summit, but they approve of holding another summit, with 87% of Republicans and 54% of independents supporting another meeting with Putin.
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Trump was supposed to be addressing the VFW in Missouri, but he invited Republican Senate Candidate Josh Hawley on stage and allowed him to speak in what was an illegal use of taxpayer money to pay for what turned into a campaign event.

Video:

Trump said, Hopefully, your new senator to be Josh Hawley. We need Josh badly. Josh. Thank you. In fact, Josh, do me a favor, come up here just for a second. Just shake my hand. This guy is a special man. Come here, Josh, come here.

Hawley said, Its an incredible honor to be here today. Thanks to all of you for your service and what you mean to this country. How about the leadership of President Donald Trump? What do you think? You know, when I think about president Trump, theres one word that comes to mind. That word is courage. Do you agree? How many people over the years have said that theyll do this, or theyll do that, but theres one guy who had the guts to actually fulfill his promises? The guts to move our embody to Jerusalem? The guts to actually stand up against our enemies overseas? The guts to put conservatives over the supreme court of the United States, and thats Donald Trump. You know, the president always said were at a turning point moment as a country. Its a critical time for our country. And hes providing the leadership that this country needs as we lead the world into this new century. Now I tell you what, I think he needs reinforcements in Washington, D.C. Do you agree with that? So lets do this. Lets show our appreciation again for president Trump and the leadership that he is giving to this country. And lets redouble our efforts and recommit ourselves to standing together, working hard and making America great again.

It is against the law for Trump to use presidential resources for campaign events

This topic came up during the 2016 election when Trump accused Obama of illegally using taxpayer money to campaign for Hillary Clinton (He didnt.)

Presidents are supposed to reimburse for their travel on Air Force One for campaign events. It is illegal for presidents to use government resources, besides the Secret Service because they go with the president everywhere for campaign events.

The problem with what happened in Missouri is that the White House is claiming that Trumps speech is a presidential event, not a campaign event, but as you can clearly see, Trump was campaigning with Hawley in Missouri.

What Trump did was illegal, and the taxpayers need to be paid back for his use of governmental resources for campaign activities.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Angie Jackson covers crime and breaking news for The Post and Courier. She previously covered the same beat for the Grand Rapids Press and MLive.com in Michigan. When shes not reporting, Angie enjoys teaching yoga and exploring the outdoors.
It's OK. The error is fixable and not intentional

Terrible lack of due diligence

I am not sure

I don't care

Vote

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Today is the runoff election in Georgia to select the GOP nominee for governor. Its a fascinating and hugely contentious race between Lt. Governor Casey Cagle and Secretary of State Brian Kemp.

The winner will face Stacey Abrams, a state legislator who is African-American. If Abrams wins, she will become the first African-American female governor in U.S history.

Cagle was considered the front-runner on the GOP side. He raised several times as much money as any rival and was endorsed by virtually anyone who is anyone. In the five-way primary, he garnered 39 percent of the vote. Kemp tallied 25.6 percent.

However, the tide began to turn against Cagle after the primary when he sought the endorsement of Clay Tippins, a defeated rival. Tippins, a former Navy SEAL, secretly recorded the conversation.

Cagle admitted to Tippins that he backed school choice legislation so that the Walton Family Foundation would not make a $3 million contribution to another Republican candidate. He said he knew it was terrible policy but backed the legislation anyway because of [expletive] politics.

In an another portion of the recording, released later, Cagle said that the five-man primary race came down to who had the biggest gun, who had the biggest truck, and who could be the craziest.

Cagle must have been referring to the race for second place. Kemp, who finished second, ran an ad in which he held a shotgun and pretended to threaten a young man interested in his daughter. In another ad, Kemp said, I got a big truck just in case I need to round up criminal illegals and take em home myself.

Cagles remarks propelled Kemp into contention, and probably the lead. Hoping to stem the tide, Gov. Nathan Deal endorsed Cagle, but the move may have backfired.

Gov. Deal has long feuded with the Perdues, Sen. David Perdue and Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, both allies of President Trump. The day after Deal endorsed Cagle, Trump strongly endorsed Kemp.

Polling now shows Kemp in the lead. An online poll by Survey USA of 2,950 Georgia adults, from July 15-19, showed Kemp with a 40 percent of the vote, compared to 34 percent for Cagle. 26 percent were undecided, a very large number for this late in a race (though the fact that adults rather than likely voters were surveyed probably influenced this).

A more recent survey of likely voters by Trafalgar Group, taken on July 21-22, that excluded undecideds found Kemp in the lead by 59-41.

Regardless of who prevails, the winner might face a tough race in November. Georgia is no longer a deep-red state, and Abrams will receive large amounts of national attention and money due to her race/gender.

I assume the GOP candidate will be favored, but the viciousness of the Cagle-Kemp struggle isnt going to help the GOP in November.
This weekend, C-SPAN ran a series about Alaska that included an interview with the states senior Senator, Lisa Murkowski. Along with Sens. Susan Collins and Rand Paul, Sen. Murkowski is considered one of the Republican Senators who might vote against confirming Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

Murkowski has consistently voted to confirm judicial nominees, whether selected by a Democratic or Republican president. However, the concern (or hope, if youre a Democrat) is that Murkowski might not vote to confirm Kavanaugh because his ascension to the Supreme Court in place of Justice Kennedy could put Roe v. Wade in jeopardy.

However, during her interview with C-SPAN (beginning at around the 22 minute mark), Murkowski said that her vote would not be based on a single issue. She added that, though she is concerned about womens reproductive rights, there are so many other issues of importance. The one she identified was Second Amendment rights.

Accordingly, Murkowski stated that trying to distill or identify one issue that will guide my decision is not how I operate. Rather, she will consider Kavanaughs holistic record.

She will be looking at his judicial temperate, character, intelligence, balance, and desire to follow the law as opposed to moving things in a fixed way based on ideology. She will also want to know Kavanaughs views on judicial precedent.

I believe that, absent unexpected news about the judges past, Murkowski will rate Kavanaugh highly in these categories. I havent heard anyone question his temperament, character, or intelligence.

Moreover, Kavanaughs opinions display respect for precedent and the law, as well as a balanced, fair-minded approach. Indeed, these qualities have, in several cases, resulted in criticism from some conservatives.

These cases include Garza v. Hargan, involving the claim of a right for unlawful immigrant minors in U.S. government detention to obtain immediate abortion on demand; Priests for Life v. Department of Health and Human Services, involving a religious-liberty challenge to the Affordable Care Acts contraceptive coverage mandate; and Seven-Sky v. Holder, a challenge to Obamacares individual mandate which Kavanaugh said the court should not decide because the mandate is a tax that has not yet been enforced.

This is not the place for an analysis of Judge Kavanaughs reasoning in these three cases. Many conservatives disagree with his Obamacare opinion and some say he should have gone further than he did in the other two cases. Ive provided links to each of the cases so readers can decide for themselves.

My point here is that in each case, Kavanaugh provided the kind of careful, non-ideologically driven legal analysis that Sen. Murkowski is looking for.

The Senator may also be impressed by Kavanaughs forceful pro-Second Amendment dissent in Heller v. District of Columbia, a follow-on case to the Supreme Courts famous decision. As I have noted, Murkowski cited the Second Amendment as an issue of major concern to Alaskans.

Kavanaugh is solid on the Second Amendment.

It may also be worth noting that Murkowski voted to confirm two Obama appointees  Justices Sotomayor and Kagan  both of whom clearly were never going to be favorably disposed to Second Amendment rights. It would be odd if she voted not to confirm Kavanaugh based on speculation that he might vote to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Absent some sort of bombshell revelation, I dont think it will happen.
When he was 14 years-old, Jayden Myrick was arrested for armed robbery. He agreed in a plea deal to a 15 year sentence. The final seven years were to be served in adult prison.

But after just two-and-half years in juvenile detention, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Doris Downs set Myrick free. She put him on probation and placed him in a special program whose director claimed could keep tabs on Myrick and reform him.

Now, Myrick, age 17, is accused of shooting and killing a 34 year-old Washington, D.C. man during the course of another armed robbery, as the man was waiting for an Uber ride after leaving a wedding reception in Atlanta. Christian Broder is survived by his wife and a 9-month-old daughter. He would be alive today if Judge Downs hadnt stupidly subscribed to the tenets of those pushing sentencing reform.

The judge explained that Myrick has been in prison now for two and a half years and I dont think it helped him much, I havent noticed a whole lot a change. Lost on the judge, as on many sentencing reform advocates, was the fact that the primary purpose of putting Myrick away was to protect society from his menace, not to help him.

The key fact about Myricks time in detention was that he hadnt committed any felonies, not that he hadnt changed.

To change Myrick, Judge Downs placed him in a program called Visions Unlimited. Its director assured the judge that Myrick would be subject to a very, very structured plan that would include education, career readiness, and life skills to get away from criminal thinking. This is the same sweet-sounding recipe used by the evidence-based rehabilitation programs touted by the lenient sentencing crew.

The judge told Myrick, I am expecting you to become a changed person through the program. She thus assumed (1) that hard cases like Myrick quickly can become a changed person and (2) that Myrick cared what the judge was expecting.

Both assumptions were idiotic. Notwithstanding Visions Unlimited very, very structured program, Myrick promptly began putting posts on Instagram showing him with guns, known gang members, and a baggie of pills for sale.

The DA asked that Myricks probation be revoked. Judge Downs ordered Myrick back to jail, but only until February.

On February 21, Myrick was released. He was supposed to go back into the Visions Unlimited program but, predictably, did not report.

The DAs office said it found more posts on Instagram showing that Myrick was violating his probation and reported this to the the judge. She took no further action in response.

Thus, Myrick was free to take the life of Christian Broder. This was a murder waiting to happen.

Judge Downs is Exhibit A in the case for mandatory minimum sentences. They limit the ability of foolish judges to give lenient sentences, as routinely happened in the bad old, crime-riddled days before the mandatory minimums.

Jayden Myrick is Exhibit A in the case against snake-oil claims that rehabilitation programs can be expected to create changed persons. Programs rarely change people. Its the passionate internal desire to change that produces change. . .sometimes.

This is the main fallacy of proposals to induce prisoners into evidence-based rehabilitation programs by reducing sentences in exchange for participating. Most of those who participate do so in order to reduce their prison time. A prisoner who passionately wants to change will participate in a rehabilitation program without the inducement, assuming he has reason to believe the program isnt just BS.

Myrick wasnt interested in changing. He was interesting in getting back on the street to commit more crime. In Judge Downs, he found a sucker who would put him back. Christian Broder is dead as a result.

Judges need less discretion to inflict this dreadful kind of harm, not more.
Justine Damond was killed in the alley behind her Minneapolis home late on the evening of July 15 last year. She lived with her fiance in the safest neighborhood in Minneapolis. Having heard sounds of a woman under assault in the alley, she had called 911 for help. A Minneapolis police officer killed her when she went out in her pajamas to meet up with him and his partner. Officer Mohamed Noor shot Justine through the open driver side window of the squad car in which he was riding with Officer Matthew Harrity at the wheel.

The case has received international attention and we have followed it closely on Power Line. Noor isnt talking. He was charged with third degree murder by the Hennepin County Attorney in March. We posted the criminal complaint and the video of Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freemans press conference here at the time.

Justines father, John Ruszczyk, has been appointed the trustee of her next of kin for the purpose of bringing a civil lawsuit against the authorities. The family has retained Minneapolis attorney Bob Bennett to represent them in the lawsuit. Yesterday the lawsuit was filed in federal district court here and Bennett held a press conference. I have posted the video of Bobs press conference below and a copy of the 45-page complaint. The complaint asserts claims against Noor, Harrity, the past and present Minneapolis police chief and the city itself. The Star Tribune story on the lawsuit is here. KSTPs story here includes a copy of John Ruszczyks statement (read by Bennett at the press conference) as well as a link to the complaint that KSTP has posted online.

The Star Tribune story does a poor job of providing any account of the lawsuit. It is almost as though neither of the two reporters on the story has read the complaint.

Bob Bennett is probably the most experienced attorney in town representing plaintiffs in civil lawsuits against police officers for excessive use of force and other misconduct. He wins the cases he takes. This case might be the best one he has ever had. I dont think it will be tried. I think it will be settled. The discovery, however, should shine a light on the kakistocracy running the show in Minneapolis.

Bob alleges facts by which he intends to undermine the credibility of Officer Harrity and any claim of reasonable force, especially at paragraphs 139-144, 153, and 167-233, but also elsewhere throughout. The complaint asserts the existence of a blue wall of silence around the case within the department under the guidance of the police union attorney. The facts alleged regarding the departments alteration of selection procedures  see, for example, paragraphs 253-284  are of particular interest.

The complaint asserts four civil rights claims including claims against the officers, the chiefs and the city itself. I thought that readers who have been following the case may want to take a look at the video and the complaint themselves.

Damon d Death Family Lawsuit by Scott Johnson on Scribd
The good people at the Washington Free Beacon have compiled a highlight reel of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezs greatest hits, framed by DNC chairperson Tom Perez praising Ocasio-Cortez as the future of the Democratic Party. I certainly hope so! Occupy the Democratic Party! Enjoy:

Chaser, from the Miami Herald:

Centrist Dems begin arguing against far-left agenda as 2020 play Leading moderate Democrats forcefully argued this week that the party can embrace a robust agenda of change while still praising capitalism and downplaying income inequality. In other words, everything the empowered liberal base has spent a year and a half mobilizing against.

Good luck with that moderate Dems. Youre having another McGovern moment. Im old enough to remember how the last one turned out.
The post immediately below addresses the fact that voters dont care much about the Democrats Helsinki hysteria. Most voters, I think, are smart enough to understand that Donald Trump, unlike his predecessor, is unabashedly pro-America. Thus, the Lefts insane claim that he committed treason by not denouncing Vladimir Putin in a public forum convinces no one, especially since the news outlets promoting that attack cheered Barack Obamas give-away-the-store approach enthusiastically. The average American may not be brilliant, but he isnt that stupid.

That said, what do voters care about? Illegal immigration, for one thing. Here again, the Democrats have mostly misfired. Their separated children campaignwhich was exquisitely coordinated with virtually every newspaper and television network in America, I give them credit for thatfell rather flat. Most people are much more concerned about the many adverse impacts of illegal immigration on our country.

Crimes by illegal immigrants are just one issue among several; lower wages for unskilled and semi-skilled Americans is another. But crime grabs headlines, so this Judicial Watch survey is highly relevant: Busy Month for Illegal Immigrants Committing Heinous Crimes.

As the separation of families pouring in from Mexico dominates the airwaves several disturbing cases involving illegal aliens shift the focus back to the devastating impact of Americas poorly guarded southern border. In the last few days alone, an illegal immigrant who had been deported eleven times attacked his wife with a chainsaw in front of their children, another got charged with a series of violent rapes and dozens were arrested for operating a major human and drug smuggling enterprise in a major U.S. city. The gruesome chainsaw attack occurred in Los Angeles County, which has long offered illegal immigrants sanctuary. A man named Alejandro Alvarez-Villegas, deported to his native Mexico 11 times since 2005, tried to kill his wife with a chainsaw.

Deported 11 times? I never know how to interpret such news accounts. Was he actually deported, i.e. taken to the border and sent on his way, or just ordered deported? Deportation orders are generally ignored, as I understand it.

Several hundred miles north in San Francisco, an illegal immigrant from Peru recently got charged with rape by force or violence and other crimes. The 37-year-old, Orlando Vilchez Lazo, was a driver for the ride-sharing company Lyft who somehow passed a background check. Lazo faces life in prison and is being held in jail in San Francisco on $4.2 million bail. San Francisco has long provided illegal aliens with sanctuary and forbids it law enforcement agencies from cooperating with federal immigration officials.  Back in 2008 Judicial Watch investigated the SFSDs handling of an illegal alien (Edwin Ramos) charged with the triple murder of three innocent American citizens. Ramos, who had been arrested on three prior occasions and convicted with two felonies, was never turned over to federal immigration authorities for removal to his native El Salvador under San Franciscos sanctuary policies.

Sanctuary policies are, perhaps, the single greatest scandal in 21st century America. Admittedly, the competition is stiff.

In the other recent case involving serious illegal immigrant criminal activity, 18 human smugglers and 117 illegal aliens got arrested in three stash houses in the area surrounding El Paso, Texas and southern New Mexico. Most of the illegal aliens93are from Mexico and the rest from Guatemala (12), Honduras (6), Brazil (3), El Salvador (2) and Peru (1). At least three of the illegal immigrants have serious criminal records, according to information released by ICE. A 32-year-old Mexican man busted in the ring has convictions for child endangerment and driving while intoxicated as well as being arrested for illegally re-entering the U.S. after being deported. A 30-year-old Mexican has ties to a drug cartel and was previously arrested for fraud and misuse of visas. A 34-year-old Guatemalan has an outstanding warrant in Florida for driving under the influence and has also been charged with illegally re-entering the U.S. after deportation, according to the feds. Besides arresting the criminal elements, the feds also seized more than 1,000 pounds of marijuana in the El Paso bust, large amounts of U.S. and Mexican cash, nine vehicles and three tractor-trailers.

The litany goes on and on. Reading these accounts, I always wonder: have we become the dumbest country in world history? A nation without borders wont be a nation for long.
Azerbaijan's trading house has opened in Latvia, Riga yesterday. The trade house aims to promote products under the Made in Azerbaijan brand in the Latvian market, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Economic said in a statement.

The trading house organized an exhibition of various kinds of the Azerbaijani products: wine, cognacs, vodka, tea, juices, fruits and vegetables.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister of Economy Sahib Mammadov described the launch of Azerbaijans trading house in Latvia as indicative of the importance the two countries heads of state attach to the development of economic and trade relations between the two countries, as well as the interest that Latvia shows in Azerbaijani goods, AzerTAc reported.

In addition, the event saw the signing of memorandums of understanding between the Azerbaijani and Latvian companies on export of the Azerbaijani products to Latvia.
PR-Inside.com: 2018-07-24 11:29:03

24 July 2018

Acron Groups Output Up 4% in H1 2018

Groups Consolidated Output (including operating results for Acron, Dorogobuzh and North-Western Phosphorous Company)





Product, 000 t H1 2018 H1 2017* YOY, % MINERAL FERTILISERS Ammonia 1,285 1,258 2.1 Incl. in-house consumption 1,065 996 Nitrogen fertilisers 2,081 1,897 9.7 Incl. in-house consumption 484 525 AN 939 990 -5.2 Incl. in-house consumption 199 304 Urea** 475 410 15.9 Incl. in-house consumption 285 221 UAN 667 497 34.1 Complex fertilisers 1,277 1,394 -8.4 Incl. in-house consumption 22 31 NPK 1,148 1,108 3.6 Incl. in-house consumption 22 31 Bulk blends 129 285 -54.9 Total commercial output for Mineral Fertilisers 3,072 2,996 2.5 INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS Organic synthesis products 235 217 8.1 Incl. in-house consumption 117 107 Methanol 54 51 5.9 Incl. in-house consumption 43 39 Formalin 85 78 9.0 Incl. in-house consumption 73 67 Urea-formaldehyde resins 95 88 8.7 Incl. in-house consumption 1 1 Non-organic compounds 414 398 4.1 Low-density and technical-grade AN 88 75 16.7 Industrial urea** 53 30 77.7 Calcium carbonate 244 263 -7.3 Liquid carbon dioxide 26 27 -3.5 Argon 3 3 29.4 Total commercial output for Industrial Products 532 508 4.7

PHOSPHATE INPUTS Apatite concentrate 619 544 13.9 Incl. in-house consumption 465 449 Total commercial output for apatite concentrate 154 95 62.5



TOTAL COMMERCIAL OUTPUT 3,758 3,599 4.4

Note:

Commercial output is output less in-house consumption.

* Brought up to date

** H1 2017 data is adjusted due to reclassification of a part of urea as an industrial urea





Chairman of Acrons Board of Directors Alexander Popov commented on the results:

In H1 2018, commercial products output increased 4% year-on-year to 3.7 million tonnes, setting yet another record. Mineral fertiliser output was up 2.5% to 3.1 million tonnes.

The Groups facilities increased ammonia output 2%. At the new Ammonia-4 unit, output was 417,000 tonnes, up 7% year-on-year. Following further improvements, we plan to increase the units capacity to 2,500 tonnes per day. Expanding total ammonia output will allow us to increase production of nitrogen and complex fertilisers.

In 2017, Acrons site in Veliky Novgorod implemented a number of measures to modernise its urea units, boosting output in H1 2018 to 475,000 tonnes, up 16% year-on-year. We already announced the launch of a sixth urea unit in Q4 2018, which will increase urea solution capacity to 3,650 tonnes per day. As we ramp up production of urea solution, we will be able to increase output of value-added products based on it. Due to the favourable UAN market conditions in the reporting period, Acrons production of liquid nitrogen fertiliser increased 34%, setting yet another record. There was also a significant increase in high-quality industrial urea production (including for AdBlue), which was up 78% to 53,000 tonnes.

Acron Groups complex fertiliser production was down 8%. In the reporting period, there was a significant decrease in bulk blends production due to lower regional demand. However, instead of decreasing the utilisation rate at its main production facilities, the Group shifted end product sales towards AN and NPK. As a result, output of commercial AN and NPK increased.

In H1 2018, apatite concentrate output was 619,000 t, up 14% year-on-year, mainly due to decreased overburden operations at the open-pit mine compared to H1 2017. The total of 2.099 million tonnes of ore were produced in the reporting period, including 353,000 tonnes produced at the underground mine.

Market Trends

Urea prices dropped as expected from USD 230 FOB Baltics to USD 215 in Q2 2018, a period with traditionally low seasonal demand. However, in June, prices suddenly started to rise and reached peak values of USD 270 by July, mainly due to lack of supply on the global market as Chinese producers pulled back on their exports in response to cost pressures. High prices for coal, the main feedstock for urea production in China, force local producers to keep their prices above USD 300 FOB China and focus on the domestic market. Chinese companies exported just 0.6 million tonnes of urea in the first five months of the year, down from 2.1 million tonnes year-on-year and 4.3 million tonnes during the same period in 2016. In order to attract additional Chinese products, prices in other regions had to go up. However, despite significant growth, it is expected that global prices will remain high until the end of Q3 due to strong demand from Brazil and India.

Along with urea, AN prices also increased from USD 150 FOB Baltics in May to USD 210 by July. UAN prices are expected to recover with a delay, as they have not yet reacted to price growth in the segment.

In Q2 2018, NPK prices remained stable, showing a slight increase in late June due to the positive dynamics of nitrogen and phosphorous fertiliser prices.





Average Indicative Prices, USD/t, FOB Baltic/Black Sea

Q2 2018 Q1 2018 Q2 2017 Q2 2018 /

Q1 2018

change Q2 2018 /

Q2 2017

change NPK 16-16-16 291 284 264 +2.5 % +10.3 % AN 166 186 168 -10.8 % -0.7 % UAN 155 162 137 -4.5 % +13.1 % Urea 225 224 191 +0.4 % +17.5 % Ammonia 232 284 284 -18.4 % -18.6 %







Media contacts:

Sergey Dorofeev

Anastasiya Gromova

Tatiana Smirnova

Public Relations

Phone: +7 (495) 777-08-65 (ext. 5196)

Investor contacts:

Ilya Popov

Investor Relations

Phone: +7 (495) 745-77-45 (ext. 5252)

Background Information

Acron Group is a leading vertically integrated mineral fertiliser producer in Russia and globally, with chemical production facilities in Veliky Novgorod (Acron) and Smolensk region (Dorogobuzh). The Group owns and operates a phosphate mine in Murmansk region (North-Western Phosphorous Company, NWPC) and is implementing a potash development project in Perm Krai (Verkhnekamsk Potash Company, VPC). It has a wholly owned transportation and logistics infrastructure, including three Baltic port terminals and distribution networks in Russia and China. Acrons subsidiary, North Atlantic Potash Inc. (NAP), holds mining licenses for 13 parcels of the potassium salt deposit at Prairie Evaporite, Saskatchewan, Canada. Acron also holds a minority stake (19.8%) in Polish Grupa Azoty S.A., one of the largest chemical producers in Europe.

In 2017, the Group sold 7.3 million tonnes of various products to 65 countries, with Russia, Brazil, Europe and the United States as key markets.

In 2017, the Group posted consolidated IFRS revenue of RUB 94,342 million (USD 1,617 million) and net profit of RUB 14,260 million (USD 244 million). Acrons shares are on the Level 1 quotation list of the Moscow Exchange and its global depositary receipts are traded at the London Stock Exchange (ticker AKRN). Acron employs approximately 11,000 people.

For more information about Acron Group, please visit www.acron.ru/en.
America's Finest 360 is offering new services that will help your company get found faster and more often on Google and Google Maps.

PR-Inside.com: 2018-07-24 17:58:42

Press Information

America's Finest 360

San Diego, CA



Brad Gamson

Owner

619-316-9671

email

http://www.americasfinest360.com



Published by

Brad Gamson

6193169671

e-mail

http://www.americasfinest360.com







# 771 Words

San Diego, CAOwner619-316-9671Brad Gamson6193169671

America's Finest 360 is now offering new services that will help your business get found faster and more often on Google and Google Maps.Google Virtual Tours are by far one of the best and economical way to get double the interest and better click through rates on Google and Google Maps. But they are only a part of what is needed for your "local" SEO efforts.Did you know that when someone does a Google or Google Map search, Google will pull from 60 to 70 other websites to bring your company up? Some of these sites include The Yellow Pages, Angies List, Bing, Yahoo, Infogroup, Superpages and Citysearch. So, with that being said, every site with your listing on it, MUST match exactly what your Google Business Listing says. If your company is not listed on all of these sites, your business will come up less and less. America's Finest 360 is now offering a citation building service that will put your business listing on each of the 60 + sites that Google pulls from.America's Finest 360 will make sure the information that you have on your Google Business Listing will match exactly with all the 60+ sites. If your business does not have a listing on any of the sites that Google and Google Maps pulls from, we will put a listing on for you. We will also monitor each listing every month. So, if a change is made to any listing on any site, we will fix it and make sure it matches your Google Business Listing information.Secondly, our research team has been looking at companies who use Google PPC. What they have found is absolutely staggering. They found that most companies who use Google PPC have no follow up system to their PPC campaigns.Companies are blindly throwing their money at this client getting system by the thousands with no hope of ever getting that client in their doors or to pick up the phone to call them.Check your Google analytic report this month. Look at how many people came to your website from your PPC campaign. I am sure you ask new clients how they found you, dont you? How many people say they found your ad on Google and then went to your website. Or, they just found you on Google.Do the analytic numbers match up to your client count? I can bet they dont.96% of people that visited your website this month never bought anything from you or even came in to visit you, but you paid to drive them to your website and you have no way to keep your message in front of them. It does not have to be this way!For as long as you have been using Google PPC, you have been wasting your money because you have no system of tracking your prospects website search behavior.Now, I am not saying that using Google PPC is bad, in fact, just the opposite. It is a great client getting mechanism. But you also need to have a system in place that can keep your message in front of your prospects while helping you prevent money waste.Introducing, Website Retargeting!This system is the best way to keep your message in front of your prospect. Heres how it works.1. Someone sees your Google PPC ad.2. They click the ad.3. They go to your website.4. We drop a Tracking Pixel onto their browser (internet marketing ninja tactic).5. They leave your website.6. Your banner ad (that we build for you) will follow them around when they go to other sites.Now, how awesome is that? Pretty simple, right? This is how Amazon got so massive. This is also how companies get more clients to respond after the initial website contact.This internet marketing ninja tactic used to be just for the multi million dollar companies, UNTIL NOW.Our company is in a beta test right now with our website retargeting division. We are looking for companies that want to capture more prospects with their Google PPC campaigns.We will set up a complete digital banner ad campaign to track your prospects as they crawl through the web. These banner ads will show up when they visit other websites and will contain your companies message.With these two strategies, not only will your business get found faster and more often, but they will also track website visitors from your Google Ad words campaign for greater conversion and higher profit. Put all three tactics together (Google Virtual Tour, citation building and website retargeting) you will blow your competition away. Contact us TODAY!
Brachytherapy is type of radiotherapy in which a closed radiation source is positioned directly into or next to area that requires treatment.

Brachytherapy Afterloaders Market

PR-Inside.com: 2018-07-24 10:33:57

Press Information

Coherent Market Insights

1001 4th Ave,



#3200



Seattle, WA 98154



Mr.Shah

CEO

2067016702

email

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/





# 616 Words

1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154CEO2067016702

Brachytherapy is type of radiotherapy in which a closed radiation source is positioned directly into or next to area that requires treatment. It is used to cure cancer tissues at specific sites and is frequently used as an effective treatment for breast, cervical, skin, and prostate cancers. In a normal EBRT (external beam radiation therapy), a high energy x ray is generated by the source system is focused towards the tumor. In this type of radiation therapy, rays are guided from outside the body with the help of radiation system. However, brachytherapy involves placing a radioactive material directly inside the tumor or next to it. One of the main characteristic of brachytherapy is that the treatment is conducted at a particular area around the radiation source, which reduces exposure of radiation on healthy tissues.Request Sample Copy Of This Report: https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/1952 A treatment course of brachytherapy can be completed in less than other radiotherapy techniques, which minimizes the chances of surviving cancer cells to grow and divide in the long intervals between each radiotherapy session. Based on the technique, two types of brachytherapy afterloaders are available in the market: low dose rate (LDR) afterloader and high dose rate (HDR) afterloader.Brachytherapy Afterloaders Market  DynamicsIncreasing prevalence of cancer among the global population is a major factor driving growth of the brachytherapy afterloaders market. For instance, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2018 report, cancer was the second-leading cause of death around the globe and was responsible for around 8.8 million death in 2015. Globally, around 1 out of 6 deaths is due to cancer. The same report showed that, most common causes of cancer death was lung cancer with around 1.69 million deaths followed by liver cancer with 788,000 deaths, colorectal 774,000 deaths, stomach 754,000 deaths, and breast cancer having 571,000 deaths.Rising geriatric population around the globe is also another factor for increasing incidence of cancer, as aged population is most likely susceptible to cancer. This is another factor propelling growth of brachytherapy afterloaders market significantly. For instance, according to United Nation 2017 report, the geriatric population in 2017 is expected to increase over double by 2050 and to over triple by 2100. These figures are expected to rise from 962 million globally in 2017 to 2.1 billion in 2050 and 3.1 billion in 2100.Download PDF Brochure @ https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-pdf/1952 Brachytherapy Afterloaders Market  Regional InsightsBased on the region, the global brachytherapy afterloaders market is segmented into North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa. North America holds the dominant position in the global brachytherapy afterloaders market, owing to increasing adoption of new innovative technology and rise in funding for research and development for cancer treatment. For instance, in 2013, Varian Medical Systems, Inc. awarded US$ 100,000, a second year renewal grant to The American Board of Radiology Foundation (ABRF), for the brachytherapy research work.Brachytherapy Afterloaders Market  Competitive LandscapeKey players operating in the brachytherapy afterloaders market includes Elekta, Eckert & Zieglar BEBIG, and Varian Medical Systems, Inc. Market players are engaged in adopting various strategies such as acquisitions, new product launches, acquisition, and partnerships to retain their position in the market. For instance, in April 2018, Proton Partners International Ltd. acquired Elekta MR-linac systems to provide cancer patients with the most advanced treatment across U.K.Click To Continue Reading On Brachytherapy Afterloaders MarketBrachytherapy Afterloaders Market  TaxonomyOn the basis of technique, the global brachytherapy afterloaders market is segmented into: Low Dose Rate (LDR) Afterloaders, High Dose Rate (HDR) Afterloaders,. On the basis of application, the global brachytherapy afterloaders market is segmented into: Prostate Cancer, Breast Cancer, Cervical Cancer, Others,. On the basis of region, the global brachytherapy afterloaders market is segmented into: North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa,.
PR-Inside.com: 2018-07-24 14:01:02

St. Louis, July 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

ButcherJoseph & Co. (ButcherJoseph) advised Entech Sales and Service, Inc. (Entech or the Company) on the optimization and recapitalization of the Companys ownership structure, which includes an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). Based in Dallas, Entech has more than 375 dedicated employees who provide services to commercial and industrial buildings in several key markets within the state of Texas. The transaction officially closed on June 1, 2018.



Nick Kollasch  Vice President of Entech, explained, Maintaining employee ownership is very important to our culture. As we matured in our life cycle as an ESOP-owned Company, we recognized that there was an opportunity to realign and refresh our ownership structure to better match Entechs strategic plans moving forward. Creating new ownership options and meaningful incentives for our future leaders will ensure that Entech remains a great place to work, and will further foster the entrepreneurial spirit through which all of our customers and key relationships will benefit.

ButcherJoseph Managing Director Jeff Buettner expressed, It was an honor to craft an innovative and expansive form of employee ownership for Entech. Quite often, mature ESOP companies find that the status quo model of employee ownership doesn't always align with new growth initiatives, nor may it offer future employees and leaders worthwhile incentives, and believe the only solution to be a sale of the business. After extensive analysis, our team designed a broader form of employee ownership that will provide both durability and flexibility to support Entechs vision moving forward.

About Entech Sales and Service, Inc.

Entech consists of several cohesive business groups working together to provide services for commercial and industrial buildings. Each division is dedicated to a special area of expertise such as mechanical services, building automation, security/card access systems, chemical water treatment, rental HVAC & generator equipment. Entech has grown from a Dallas-based mechanical service business to a diversified, employee-owned company with offices in several key Texas cities. Entechs business philosophy remains unchanged over the years. We provide the best in professional service to our customers, with highly trained, self-motivated people who accomplish our customers goals. Entech has developed an excellent reputation in Dallas-Ft. Worth and surrounding areas with the help of 375 dedicated employees.

About ButcherJoseph & Co.

ButcherJoseph & Co. (ButcherJoseph) is an investment bank headquartered in St. Louis with coverage in Chicago, Washington, DC, and Charlotte, NC. ButcherJoseph provides investment banking advisory services to middle market companies. With more than $7 billion in successfully completed Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) transactions, ButcherJoseph & Co. is known as a leader in the ESOP field.

###














PR-Inside.com: 2018-07-24 17:46:02

Dense Air and Airspan Spectrum Holdings support DCMS proposals for innovative spectrum release at 3.6-3.8 GHz to enable new business models for 5G

Dense Air: UKs Future Telecom Infrastructure Review

Dense Air

Paul Senior

media@denseair.net

Dense Air today announced its strong support for the UKs Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Future Telecom Infrastructure review and specifically the proposals for 3.6-3.8 GHz which will drive forward 5G innovation in the UK.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180724005

Dense Air is a new class of wholesale-only network operator, that enhances and extends the coverage and capacity of existing Mobile Networks and will operate as Carrier of Carriers operator, typically on a neutral host basis.

Dense Air uses Airspan Networks comprehensive portfolio set of 4G and 5G small cells to offer Small Cells as a Service to Mobile and Fixed operators in licensed spectrum. Typically, this means the deployment of small cells for urban densification and the deployment of small cells for rural extension of mobile coverage. Dense Airs technology platforms enable highly targeted mass deployment of 4G and 5G infrastructure in an efficient and economical fashion. The suggested dynamic spectrum licensing, light licensing and sharing frameworks proposed by this review for 3.6-3.8 GHz potentially would enable Dense Air to start its operations in the UK as soon as the spectrum is released.

Paul Senior, Acting CEO of Dense Air, and Managing Director of Airspan Spectrum Holdings said We are very excited about the opportunity to bring a completely new type of wholesale service to the UKs mobile industry. Dense Airs Carrier-of-Carriers mobile service offering will complement existing 4G deployments and planned 5G investments. By adding neutral host 4G and 5G small cells, running in licensed spectrum, to these networks at cell edge, either outdoors or indoors, we can dramatically improve the experience to end users, increasing their speeds and the available network capacity. Importantly Dense Air doesnt and wont compete in any way with existing retail mobile service providers. Our mission is to help MNOs and MVNOs improve their business case for the rollout of pervasive 4G and 5G networks.

Eric Stonestrom, CEO and President of Airspan Networks. "Airspan's unique 4G and 5G products and technology leadership in intelligent small cells with integrated LTE relay and millimeter-wave backhaul technologies allows Dense Air to provide innovative solutions that drive forward 5G deployment in a cost-effective way. The AutoAir DCMS funded 5G Testbed and Trial project created a platform to accelerate 5G deployment in the UK, and this announcement by DCMS provides a way to bring these technologies to market rapidly.

What is Dense Air?

An optimised network densification and network extension service.

Solution delivered using Indoor and Outdoor Small Cells

Service operates in licensed, dedicated spectrum

Dense Air small cells provide services on a Neutral Host basis

We support 4G LTE and soon for 5G NR networks

Services are offered on a wholesale Carrier of Carriers basis

Our services are delivered in Urban, Suburban or Rural areas

The focus is on mobile use cases, including eMBB, IoT, Public Safety

About DENSE AIR:

Dense Air is based in London, UK and has offices in Ireland, Belgium and Portugal, its target launch markets. Dense Air provides unique carrier of carriers neutral host small cell services to deliver cost effective densification to any existing LTE Mobile Carrier or Service Provider. Dense Air is conducting extensive trials and Proof-of-Concepts in 2018 and will offer its first commercial services in 2019.

About Airspan Networks Inc.:

Airspan (OTC PINK : AIRO) is a leading 4G and 5G RAN solution provider, with over 1000 customers in over 100 countries. Airspan is regularly recognized as a leader and pioneer in LTE Access and innovative Backhaul solutions. Airspan has an expansive product portfolio, which includes indoor and outdoor small cells, and all-outdoor, compact Micro and Macro base stations, a variety of user devices and network optimization products. These connectivity solutions operate in bands from 400 MHz up to 6.4 GHz and 60-80GHz millimeter wave. www.airspan.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180724005
Businesses and Public-Sector Agencies throughout the UK, and across the globe, are hours away from being exposed as NOT SECURE online, with many organisations seemingly unaware of the Data Protection risk to their customers, staff, and supply chain, and the risk to their brand reputation.

Website owners need to ensure that they use an SSL certificate to avoid having their site marked as NOT SECURE.

PR-Inside.com: 2018-07-24 21:36:10

Press Information

Trustify Ltd

5 Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow G1 3AH UK



Alistair Murray

CEO

+44 (0)8443343347

email

https://www.trustify.com





# 372 Words

5 Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow G1 3AH UKCEO+44 (0)8443343347

The changes coming with the 24th July, global release of Chrome 68, the Google web browser used by 58% of all website visitors, are likely to cause significant public concern and loss of Trust, as many sites where users surf, shop, or login to vital services will be branded NOT SECURE in the address bar of their browser. Research carried out by Ipsos shows that 7 out of 8 people will not use or buy from a website that shows security warnings.Other browsers such as Microsoft Edge, Safari, and Mozilla Firefox are following Googles lead, as the latest moves in a long-term plan to drive better Personal Data Protection and public awareness of Security and Trust issues across the internet.The changes will affect businesses of all kinds, as well as government sites, Councils, NHS, charities  over 54% of UK websites are likely to be affected as they are still HTTP on the day before the change.Trustify is leading the way in helping organizations adjust to this change and protect their reputations online, with Trustifys SITEFIX offering delivering a one-stop way to FIND, FIX and SECURE every HTTP site across organizations of any size.Trustifys CEO Alistair Murray says Many organizations are set to be taken by surprise when Chrome 68 launches, and members of the public will be understandably concerned when sites appear as NOT SECURE. Our SITEFIX service at www.trustify.com/sitefix enables organizations to FIND, FIX and SECURE all their exposed websites and stem the loss of visitor traffic and loss of business. Notes for Editors Google Chrome is by far the most widely used web browser in the UK and worldwide - http://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share  The global move to HTTPS  the whole story from DigiCert - Straight from the horses mouth  In the Press  NOT SECURE, now SECURE  the view from Entrust Datacard  https://www.entrustdatacard.com/blog/2018/march/chrome-will-show-not-secure-for-all-http-sites-starting-july-2018  Todays press CONTACT:Alistair Murray, CEOOffice: +44 (0)844 334 3347Mobile: +44 (0)7715 207250Email: alistair.murray@trustify.com Steve Boland, CMOOffice: +44 (0)844 334 3347Mobile: +44 (0)7580 977937Email: steve.boland@trustify.com
Disclaimer: If you have any questions regarding information in this press release please contact the company added in the press release. Please do not contact pr-inside. We will not be able to assist you. PR-inside disclaims the content included in this release.
Authorities said six people were killed and 10 others injured on Monday evening in a firing at a political gathering in Chakwal district of Pakistans eastern Punjab province.

General elections are scheduled to be held in Pakistan on Wednesday to elect the members of the National

Assembly and the four Provincial Assemblies of Pakistan.

The incident took place when a person opened fire with his automatic gun at the participants of a political

rally in Torote area of Talagang region of Chakwal district.

Police and rescue teams rushed to the site and shifted the bodies and injured to the hospital.

The assailant committed suicide with his gun soon after spraying bullets at the crowd.

Police said that the attacker was an insane person who opened fire after getting infuriated by the rally

of a party he did not support.

NAN reports that on July 16, officials said 140 people were killed at an election rally in Pakistans southwestern Baluchistan, putting it among the deadliest attacks in the south Asian nations history.

The attack at a rally for the Baluchistan Awami Party (BAP) outside the town of Mastung was claimed by militant group Islamic State. Among the dead was the partys provincial candidate, Siraj Raisani.

A video clip showed Mr Raisani beginning his speech just before the attack, greeting crowds seated on the ground under a large tent before the blast hit and the image cut off.

Provincial government officials said they were not told about the rally and so had not provided security to Mr Raisani, beyond the bodyguards in his security detail.

Many of the wounded remain in critical condition at hospitals in Mastung, the provincial capital of Quetta and in the southern city of Karachi. Officials expect the death toll to rise.

Until the attack, Pakistans election campaign had been relatively peaceful, compared with frequent Pakistani Taliban attacks during the 2013 election, when 170 people were killed, figures from the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies show.

(Xinhua/NAN)
Pakistan on Tuesday closed two major border points with Afghanistan for its efforts to maintain security during the July 25 elections, officials said.

The Embassy of Pakistan in the Afghan capital Kabul has announced that the Chaman border in southwestern

Balochistan and Kharlachi in the Kurram district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will remain closed on Tuesday and Wednesday due to parliamentary elections in Pakistan.

However, officials said the major border crossing at Torkham in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will remain open as usual.

Meanwhile the Afghan consulate in Peshawar has advised all Afghans to avoid unnecessary movement in view

of the elections in Pakistan.

According to the UN refugee agency, Pakistan still hosts around 2.4 million Afghan refugees.

On July 17, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had assured Pakistani caretaker Prime Minister Nasir-ul-Mulk and

Army Chief Gen. Qamar Bajwa that his government will take measures on the Afghan side of the border

for security during the elections.

Pakistan has deployed 800,000 security personnel for the security of elections of the National Assembly,

lower house of the parliament, and provincial assemblies.

NAN reports that as campaigning steps up for the general elections on Wednesday, bombings across Pakistan

have stoked fears of more violence in the country of 208 million, where political rallies can draw

tens of thousands of people.

Violence in Pakistan has ebbed since the military began major operations against militants along the

tumultuous border with Afghanistan following a shocking 2014 attack on a Peshawar school that killed

149 people, most of them children.

(Xinhua/NAN)
Ankara will not implement the United States unilateral sanctions on Iran, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said, noting that they conveyed this message to a recent U.S. Treasury delegation.

"We have told them we will not join these sanctions," Cavusoglu said, recalling a visit by U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorist Financing Marshall Billingslea to Ankara last week, Hurriyet Daily reported.

"We buy oil from Iran and we purchase it in proper conditions. What is the other option?" Cumhuriyet cited the minister as saying.

"While we are explaining why we will not obey these sanctions, we have also expressed that we do not find these U.S. sanctions appropriate," Cavusoglu added.
The UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has called for peaceful and credible presidential election in Zimbabwe.

Ahead of the July 30 poll, the first since former President Robert Mugabe resigned under pressure in November 2017 after 37 years in power, OHCHR spokesperson Liz Throssell said there were increasing reports of voter intimidation and coercion linked to the ruling ZANU-PF party.

The OHCHR said it was appealing to Zimbabwes Government, political parties and other institutions following concern over Zimbabwes alleged human rights violations and level of electoral violence in the past.

The international community imposed sanctions on the country in the early 2000s, following reports of election-rigging and suppression of the opposition.

Ms Throssell said that UN staff members were not in a position to verify the reports, which had nonetheless surfaced in a context of a widening of the democratic space in the country.

We note the signing of the peace pledge by the political parties on 26 June, under the auspices of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission.

We welcome their commitment to promote a climate of peace and tolerance, accept the results of the elections or challenge the results through the due process of law, she said.

The frontrunners in the election are President Emmerson Mnangagwa from the ruling ZANU-PF party and his opponent, Nelson Chamisa, head of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

The OHCHR spokesperson noted a cautious optimism surrounding the elections amid political rallies and peaceful demonstrations in the capital, Harare, adding it is to be welcomed that international human rights organisations and national rights monitors are present, too.

The run-up to elections previously in Zimbabwe was very different, very much marred by violence. From what we have been seeing, what we have been monitoring, there has not been that scale of violence.

In fact, civil society has spoken to express this cautious optimism. Its far from perfect, but there are encouraging signs, Ms Throssell said.

In spite of these positive developments, several rural areas  Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Midlands and Manicaland Province  have been linked to an increasing number of reports of harassment and coercion of voters, Ms Throssell cautioned.

She said reports of intimidation linked to ZANU-PF and traditional leaders who support the ruling party have been made by civil society organisations and cannot be verified by OHCHR.

The issue of verbal attacks against women has also been a feature of the election campaign, taking place largely on social media and in local languages, she added.

From what I understand from information Ive been given, theres about 15 per cent of the candidates that are women.

Now the kind of disparaging language is really not going to come of any surprise to you  its targeting them on the basis of them being women.

Calling them bra-burning feminists, calling them, sort of, substandard candidates, attacking them personally, the OHCHR spokesperson said.

(NAN)
Rwanda signed loan agreements worth more than $300 million with China and India to fund roads and irrigation, officials said, as leaders from the two Asian powers made their first visits to the East African nation.

Chinese President Xi Jinping was in Rwanda for a state visit from Sunday to Monday and granted a loan to build two roads.

Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived on Monday on the way to a summit in South Africa and agreed

$200 million in loans.

With India we signed a loan of 100 million dollars for irrigation in three separate areas in the country

and 100 million dollars for developing special economic zones, Rwandas minister of finance

Uzziel Ndagijimana told Reuters.

With China we signed a loan agreement of 76 million dollars for the road from Huye to Kibeho and for the new

Bugesera airport access road it is 50 million dollars, Mr Ndagijimana said.

(Reuters/NAN)
An airport in central Mali was hit by shells, the regional governor said on Tuesday, the latest unrest just six days before the country votes for a president.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack overnight, but jihadist groups with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State have intensified deadly raids this year across the desert of central and northern Mali, parts of which have become ungovernable.

The government has repeatedly said the election, due on July 29, will go ahead despite the turmoil.

President Ibrahim Keita is bidding for a second term, facing former finance minister Soumaila Cisse and two dozen other candidates.

While the militants have not specifically threatened the running of the vote, the violence threatens to seriously dent turnout in polls that some observers hoped would chart a way out of years of political and ethnic unrest.

The extent of any damage at the airport near the town of Sevare was not immediately clear but an airport technician at the scene said there were no casualties.

Ambodedjo Airport is the only terminal serving the regional capital of Mopti.

The city is home to the headquarters of the G5, an African military taskforce tasked with rooting out jihadists in the West Africa Sahel region.

Six people were killed in Mopti city in June when Islamist militants raided the headquarters of the G5, a sign emboldened jihadist movements are stretching further south.

They fired on Sevares Ambodedjo Airport around midnight, the governor of the Mopti region, General Sidi Toure, said.

The technician at the scene confirmed that shells were fired on the site.

Mali has been in turmoil since Tuareg rebels and loosely allied Islamists took over its north in 2012, prompting French forces to intervene to push them back the following year.

Those groups have since regained a foothold and used the lawless area to launch attacks across West Africa.

Ethnic militia violence has added to the countrys woes, killing nearly 300 civilians this year, the UN human rights office said on Friday.

(Reuters/NAN)
The United States is providing more humanitarian aid to Ethiopians displaced by conflict facing severe food insecurity, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) said on Tuesday.

Today, the United States announced an additional $170 million in humanitarian assistance to support the people of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

Many of the victims who left their homes because of escalating conflict or natural disaster and who are facing severe food insecurity as a result.

About 8.5 million Ethiopians are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance because of insecurity and large-scale displacement.

The package will try to address needs such as nutrition, life-saving medical care, and sanitation, the release said.

According to the release, the additional funding brings the total U.S. aid contribution in Ethiopia to over $802 million since 2016.

U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Michael Raynor in the release said it was up to all Ethiopians to work together to implement reforms and end the ethnic violence.

(Sputnik/NAN)
Despite several bailouts from the Federal Government, the Kogi State government has continued on the path of borrowing from commercial banks to purportedly pay salaries and run other recurrent expenditures, PREMIUM TIMES can report today.

According to documents obtained by our reporter, the state has borrowed about N30billion from commercial banks since January 2018.

How the state utilized the bailout funds, close to N50billion, remain unclear. Although critics say a huge chunk of it was either misappropriated or diverted.

The new debts are being amassed despite the Debt Management Office (DMO) listing the state as one of the nations most indebted.

The DMO put the states debt liability at N102.4billion, as at December 31, 2017. That possibly excludes the several billions the Governor Yahaya Bellos administration is owing contractors, civil servants and pensioners.

The state government has for long been in arrears in the payment of workers salaries. It cleared four months salary liability in December 2017, courtesy of the N1.2billion second tranche of the Paris Club refunds and a N10billion bank loan.

The staggering salary backlogs, spanning between seven to 25 months, suggest the huge borrowing by the state are hardly used for payment of workers salaries as the government usually claim in loan requests to banks.

According to the Kogi State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress, workers had not been paid since March. Even before then, several months of arrears had accumulated and remained unpaid.

In December 2017, the Commissioner for Finance, Idris Asiru, claimed the state government needed N30billion extra to clear arrears of salaries. The states internally generated revenue averages N1.2billion monthly.

An Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) issued by the state government on March 20 to Zenith Bank for the deduction of principal and interest indicated a N3.5billion loan secured from Fidelity Bank.

The ISPO, signed by Mr Asiru, the finance commissioner and Momoh Jibrin, the accountant general of the state, followed the granting of the loan by the bank.

The state government had applied for the loan on October 30, 2017 purportedly for offsetting salaries of civil servants.

The application went further to state that the loan would be repaid within three years through the expected inflow of funds from the Paris Club refund of 21.2billion; refund of N14billion capital projects executed on behalf of the federal government; and expected N30billion revenue from the implementation of a GIS project.

Revenues to the tune of N75 billion are also being expected from the sales of Kogi State Liaison Office in Lagos, Kogi House in Abuja, and Kogi International Market and others. The government said that inflow would be used to liquidate the loan.

The Kogi State House of Assembly also on December 5, 2017 approved another loan request by Governor Bello.

The money  N1.29billion  is to be used as counterpart funding for a grant from the Universal Basic Education Commission, the governor said.

The loan was eventually secured from Fidelity Bank, with the state offering to repay using its internally generated revenue for a period of 12 months, from 26 October 2017 to 26 October 2018.

PREMIUM TIMES also gathered that on January 31, 2018, the state government made another request of N3.5billion loan also from Fidelity Bank purportedly for the payment of salaries.

This is beside a N12billion Local Contractor Receivable(Promissory Notes) with United Capital.

Not done with borrowing, the finance commissioner via a memo dated January 31, 2018, called the attention of the state government to the dwindling financial fortunes of the state, and requested a N12 billion loan to be jointly provided by four participating banks with each supplying N3billion, for the payment of salaries.

The state executive council approved the proposal with Zenith, Access, Union and Fidelity Banks tapped as participating banks.

Recall also that Kogi had in 2015 requested bailout worth N50.8billion from the Federal Government to enable it settle its outstanding arrears of workers salaries.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the monthly wage bill of the state at the time was N2.7billion. Workers were owed two months in arrears, amounting to N5.4billion.

The balance of N45.4billion, it was gathered, was supposed to be used to pay the arrears of local government workers and primary school teachers. But the state government said it only got N20billion. It is unclear if the state later received the balance of N30.8billion or not.

The state government also received funds from the Paris Club refund worth over N20billion, which was also meant to offset salaries.

Onu Edoka is the chairman of the Kogi State chapter of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC). He told PREMIUM TIMES that workers are in the dark regarding the loans and how they were utilised.

He said it was difficult for labour to determine whether the loans obtained were actually used for offsetting workers salaries as claimed by the government.

I cannot categorically say state government took loans to pay salaries, because I was not in the picture of any loan they took to pay salaries, and government has not told us categorically that it took loans to pay so and so category of arrears of salaries, Mr Edoka said.

I am only aware that when the bailout came, it was meant to clear salary arrears.

We demanded for a committee to be put in place so we can be in the picture, but the government said it was not for us to dictate to them, that they can pay the money.

He also lamented the condition of the workers, whom he said were suffering, particularly local government workers and primary school teachers who are receiving as low as 25 per cent of their monthly salaries in the last two years.

They would say they have paid salaries at the local government level up to April, but what is paid at that level is in percentage. We have been on percentage payment of salaries since the assumption of this government at the local government and primary school levels, Mr Edoka said.

The percentage is as worse as 25per cent. That is to say if your salary is supposed to be N18,000, the 25 percent of that salary is N4,500. That is what local government workers and teachers earn at the end of the day.

The Executive Director, Centre for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution, Idris Maliki, who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES on the development, said despite the huge allocations to the state running up to N200billion in the last two years, the state government was yet to commission any road or housing project.

He also complained of lack of transparency when the state government seeks for loans, adding that the state assembly was also complicit in the shrouding of the process in secrecy.

When the government is seeking a loan and writes to the state assembly, such letters are not read on the floor of the house, said Mr Maliki.

For nine years I have been working with the state assembly, and I have attended 90 per cent of the sittings of the state assembly, yet letters of request for loans are not known to us.

A lot of people in Kogi State do not even know that loans are continuously being taken on behalf of the state. What is the rationale for loan taken? The House of Assembly is not even querying the loans because it has turned itself into department or a unit of the Government House. Unfortunately such letters are not read on the floor of the assembly.

Mr Maliki added, We have a government in Kogi State that did screening for 14 months and the outcome of that screening has not assisted the state. The payroll is still the same thing, he said.

So what is the reason for continuous borrowing. It is unfortunate, it is regrettable. The state government has continued borrowing and nobody knows what it is doing with the money.

The Director General of the Kogi State Bureau of Information, Abdulkareem Abdulmalik, would not respond to enquiries by PREMIUM TIMES.

When contacted, he said he would not speak to our reporter on the telephone.
The Peoples Democratic party (PDP) says it has set up a committee to consider changing its name.

The national publicity secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan, made this known while briefing journalists at the partys secretariat on Monday after its emergency 88th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.

There have been reports that the party, which recently signed a memorandum of understanding with 37 other political parties including the reformed APC, wants to change its name following demands from the other parties under the coalition.

The spokesperson of the party however did not release the names of the members of this committee, known as the harmonisation committee. He promised it will do so as soon as possible .

We also considered the issues of our alliances, particularly the one that has to with the grand alliance and our agreement with rAPC and NEC applauded the decision of NWC to work with the grand the alliance members of about 38 political parties, he said.

NEC also applauded the infusion of rAPC into the PDP and we have been encouraged as the NWC to continue to seek for those who are sick and tired of the government of the day and are very desirous of liberating our nation from the misrule of the APC led federal government.

On the issue of change of name, the party has immediately instituted a committee on harmonization and the responsibility of the committee is to commence the process of the possibility of a change of name as part of our efforts to rebrand our party and to reposition it for the 2019 election so we await the outcome or the returns of the committee.We will give you the chairman and members.

On the time frame for the committee set up, the party said time is not on its side therefore it can take a decision anytime.

As a matter of fact based on the workings of the PDP, and rAPC and other ministers, governors and members of the political class, who are desirous of rallying with the PDP, the issue is not about time frame, the issue is now and those who are willing to work with the PDP know it as a fact that the issue is not about time frame. We dont even have time; the time is now so we can wake up tomorrow morning and say this is the time frame. We can wake up on Thursday and say the time is now. Lets follow the wave as it unfolds.

On the issue of Ekiti election, the party said the NEC approved the decision of the NWC to go to court as it established a legal committee under the leadership for its legal adviser, Emmanuel Enoidem.

The party also warned those it described as the APC undertakers to understand and to know that Nigeria and Nigerians would never accept a repeat of what they did in Ekiti state.

The PDP, which lost the state which it was in control of before the election, insists the election was not fair and that it was rigged in favour of the ruling party whose candidate, Kayode Fayemi, won the election.

NEC approved the decision of the NWC to go to court over the Ekiti matter and as such a legal committee has been constituted under the national legal adviser to take all issues bordering on the election in Ekiti satte to the court, he said.

Mr Ologbondiyan revealed that the NEC of the party also approved the audit report of the party, and also considered the timetable ahead of 2019 election which has been approved and released to members.

When asked what the PDP was offering the rAPC in its negotiations, Mr Ologbondiyan said a party structure would be shared.

Explaining that the party has drafted a framework for the distribution of its structure, the party spokesperson said the party would however not impose this frame work on its states chapter as the states and its members will look at it and implement it the best way they can.

For the PDP this is not the first time we are having infusion. Either members of other political parties or structures and what this NWC has proposed which has gained the approval of the caucus, the BOT and the NEC is just similar to what we have always done in the past.

We have created a template and framework for the respective state on how to handle the infusion. In states where we have governors who are either returning to the party or they are joining afresh , we have provided a percentage is structure. In states where we have qualitative members of the national assembly and state assembly that are not members of our party, but are coming to our party, we have structured what percentage they can take .

States where we have senators and members who are just constituency, these are also found in the template. What is important in all these is the fact that the NWC is not enforcing its will on the state structure so in any state where we have such infusion, what will happen is that the stakeholders of such states will take this framework back to their respective states and discuss with other stakeholders on how to implement it . The NWC is not going to implement anything of this framework in the respective states, he said.

When asked what percentage the structure would be shared, he said the members are already aware of the percentage for every state where they have such situations.

The legal adviser is a member of the integration committee and all members of the BOT and NEC have been made to understand, that is why we had this meeting . the situations and structures as it affects the grand alliance or the infusion between the PDP and the rAPC, all aspects, we have reached conclusion as a party on how we need to work on the agreement we reached. So it is not a problem, he said.

Reacting to the statement of the APC chairman in which he said no responsible person who left the PDP would consider returning to the party, he said the party is a serious party and wont waste its time on what the opposition is saying.

Well as you know the national chairman of the APC who is a factional chairman of the APC Adams Oshiomole, is talking on both sides of his mouth in one breath. in one breath he saw tired legs, in another breath, he woke up at 2am and nicodemously began to visit people in their respective home and begging them either not to go or they should take offers that they have not been 0ffered before.

We would not dwell time because we are a serious party. The PDP is the founder of democracy in this nation and as a matter of fact, Mr Adams Oshiomhole benefited greatly from the Performance of the PDP and we challenge him to this for a denial. He became governor by the efforts of the PDP, he cannot deny that.

So we are not going to waste precious time on whatever he is saying, the most important thing to us as a party, is that today the PDP has become a party of choice for Nigerians and that is what is important to us and as a matter of fact , Adams Oshiomhole must accept the fact and he quickly needs to do that, that he is in APC as an undertaker. He was brought in to bury the party and weeks ahead like we said in our statement will clear his doubt.
Security agencies are reportedly laying siege on the homes of Senate President Bukola Saraki and Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu in Abuja.

The move is said to be an apparent ploy to prevent them from making it to the National Assembly today because of an alleged plan by many lawmakers to decamp en masse from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Mr Saraki was summoned to appear at police department for further investigation into alleged killings in Kwara State at 8:00 a.m. today. It remained unclear why the police blocked his residence at dawn.

Mr Ekweremadu had no prior police invitation.

The planned cross carpeting, if allowed to take place, would render the APC a minority party before the end of Tuesday, a fact attested to by the Peoples Democratic Party leader in the House of Representatives on Monday.

Mr Sarakis spokesperson, Yusuph Olaniyonu, confirmed the siege to PREMIUM TIMES.

As I am talking to you, I cannot access the street. They have barricaded the road and I cannot say his whereabouts now, Mr Olaniyonu told PREMIUM TIMES.

I hear they are doing the same thing at the Deputy Senate Presidents house, Mr Olaniyonu said.

He said he suspects that the police want to stop Messers Saraki and Ekweremadu from presiding over the Senate sitting.

The media aide to Mr Ekweremadu, Uche Anichukwu, also confirmed the siege to PREMIUM TIMES Tuesday morning.

The house is currently surrounded by security agencies, Mr Anichukwu said since early in the morning.

Mr Anichukwu is not sure if his boss will be allowed to attend todays plenary.

That I cannot say. When you attack a mans house, how is he supposed to be at plenary? he questioned.

Entrance to Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu residence

Kola Ologbondiyan, a spokesperson for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said Nigerias democracy was under assault, a development he said would be resisted.

Democracy has been placed under a jackboot. We are now in a totalitarian government, Mr Ologbondiyan told PREMIUM TIMES by telephone Tuesday morning. You can not stop the National Assembly, which is a key element of a constitutional republic.

We will resist this.

A spokesperson for the APC did not immediately answer calls seeking comments.

The police are yet to provide reasons for the apparent siege. However, Mr Saraki was summoned by the police and asked to report by 8:00 a.m. today in connection to the Offa robbery incident in Kwara State for which the police said some suspects mentioned Mr Saraki as a sponsor.

Mr Anichukwu said Mr Ekweremadu was scheduled to preside over todays plenary following polices invitation to Mr Saraki last night.

Some of the security officers said to be present at Mr Ekweremadus residence at Apo Legislative Quarters were those from the State Security Service and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

A spokesperson for the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, said he could not immediately speak about the role of his agency in the siege.

I will get back to you, he told PREMIUM TIMES by telephone shortly before 9:00 a.m. Tuesday.

Mr Ekweremadu was previously investigated and arraigned by the police on allegations he forged Senate rules in June 2015 to pave way for the emergence of Mr Saraki as Senate President against the dictates of the APC. Those charges were eventually dropped by the federal government.

He was also investigated on allegations of owing questionable properties abroad. But it was widely doubted whether todays development had anything to do with past investigations into his activities.

By 8:50 a.m. when PREMIUM TIMES arrived Mr Sarakis residence in Maitama, Abuja, the siege appeared to have been lifted and the situation normalised. About 10 security operatives, mainly police officers, were, however, seen lined up at the junction by the house with observers saying that was a normal occurrence.

It was not clear whether Mr Saraki was still holed up in the house, or had maneuvered his way out, reportedly to the National Assembly as rumoured at his residence. His aides kept mum about it when asked.

As at 9:35 a.m., the siege on Mr Ekweremadus house at the Apo Legislative Quarters was still on.

When PREMIUM TIMES visited, two police vehicles  a Toyota coaster bus and another Toyota Hiace bus  as well as a Toyota Hilux, were used to block two ends of the road to the house.

One of the several police officers, stationed at the blockade, politely told our reporter to leave the area.

Journalists are not allowed here for now, he said as he walked the reporter away from the scene.

EKWEREMADU UPDATE

Although Mr Saraki arrived the Senate and presided over plenary, the whereabouts of Mr Ekweremadu is uncertain.

As at 11:10 a.m. officials of the Nigerian police were still seen at all the entrances to the residence of deputy Senate president.

One of the police officers who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES in confidence said they will be there till they receive an order from their superior.

The three access roads to the house were blocked with a Toyota Coaster bus, two Toyota Hiace buses and a hilux van.

Some of the police officers also blocked an exit gate at the back of Mr Ekweremadus house that leads to a stream.

Asked if Mr. Ekweremadu will be arrested when he comes out, the officer declined to comment.

However, sources in the legislative quarters said Mr. Ekweremadu was not in the house.

His supporters were seen trooping into the legislative quarters in droves.

More details later
The melodrama in Abuja, Nigerias seat of power Tuesday morning was part of a grand plan by persons loyal to President Muhammadu Buhari to execute a coup on the Senate leadership, multiple sources told PREMIUM TIMES.

Sources familiar with the plan provided PREMIUM TIMES with details of the operation that went awry.

Nigerians woke up Tuesday morning to stories of security sieges on the residences of Nigerias Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and that of his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu.

Mr Saraki later relieved the saga to his colleagues, saying he escaped on the intervention of the almighty God.

The execution of the plot began Monday night with the police divulging the content of a letter by Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, inviting Mr Saraki for questioning.

Mr Saraki was invited in connection with the recent Offa robbery incident which occurred in his state of Kwara in April.

The Police had in the aftermath of the incidence alleged links between the suspected robbers and Mr Saraki.

An earlier invitation to Mr Saraki to appear before police investigators was suddenly withdrawn and a written explanation from the senate president demanded instead.

The letter on Monday said Mr Saraki was needed to clarify aspects of his statement. He was ordered to report to the police at 8 a.m. on Tuesday. Mr Saraki said the letter was delivered to his office at 8 p.m. on Monday.

However, as Mr Sarakis convoy reportedly planned to leave his house for the polices offices, a detachment of police personnel blocked the convoy.

A security source familiar with the matter told PREMIUM TIMES the plan was for Mr Saraki to be arrested by the police at that point.

In what appeared more like a choreographed happenstance than a coincidence, operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrived at the residence of Mr Ekweremadu around the same time.

Senator Ahmed Lawan [Photo credit: Thenigerialawyer]

A letter of invitation signed by EFCCs Head of Operations, Mohammed Abba, seen by PREMIUM TIMES, requested Mr Ekweremadu to report to the EFCC at 10 a.m. Tuesday. The letter was dated July 24 (today).

The commission said it was inviting Mr Ekweremadu in connection with a case of conspiracy, abuse of office and money laundering which it claimed it was investigating.

This commission is investigating the above mentioned case in which your name feature prominently and the need to obtain certain clarification from you become imperative, the letter partly reads.



THE MASTER PLAN

A government source told our reporter that afraid the Senate was bent on carrying on a mass defection plan, some loyalists of President Buhari in the red chamber sold the idea of taking over the Senate leadership to some officials of government.

That was after spirited attempts to stop the exodus by the new leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Buhari looked fruitless.

A plan was therefore hatched to create vacancy in the presiding officer post by taking out the two presiding officers from the Senate on the same day.

To achieve this, the police, which had kept mum on its investigation of the Offa incident for over a month, was mobilised to revisit the Offa robbery matter by inviting Mr Saraki and then detaining him pending the execution of the take-over plan at the Senate, our sources disclosed.

The EFCC was allegedly also tapped to arrest Mr Ekweremadu, effectively leaving the Senate without a presiding officer.

The spokesperson for the Police, Jimoh Moshood, and EFCCs head of publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, could not be reached to clarify their organisations roles in the imbroglio.

While Mr Moshood did not respond to repeated calls placed by our reporter, Mr Uwujarens telephone was switched off.

The planners from the Senate, reportedly led by the Senate Majority Leader, Ahmed Lawan, had planned to use the vacuum expected to be created to invoke the Senate Rules to appoint Senate President pro-tempo, paving the way for the sacking of the two principal officers.

Attempts to get Mr Lawan failed as his known telephone line was not going through. He also did not respond to a text message sent to him.

HOW IT FAILED



A principal actor in the anti-Saraki camp of the Senate told PREMIUM TIMES Tuesday morning that the plan, which he described as the second attempt at taking over the Senate, after the mace theft saga, was thwarted on the altar of hypocrisy.

He said a few senators led by Mr Lawan sidelined other loyalists of the president, including the Parliamentary Support Group, led by Abdullahi Adamu, in executing the latest plan.

There is too much hypocrisy and selfishness. Those who planned it wanted to be the sole beneficiaries of the leadership change, the senator said, asking not to be named.

A decision among the senators on who succeeds Mr Saraki, in the event the plot succeeded, reportedly punctured the plan.

Two names were prominent  Mr Lawan, who was leading the putsch, and Ali Ndume, a former Senate Leader who was removed from his post and suspended allegedly at the instance of Mr Saraki.

Ali Ndume

A senator from the South-south told PREMIUM TIMES that presenting an acceptable candidate like Mr Ndume, who he described as a friend of all would have helped the cause of the Buhari loyalists.

Mr Ndume however claimed ignorance of the plan when contacted Tuesday afternoon.

I just got back to Abuja last night. I cannot comment, he said.

Some of us told them that it would be illogical and it amounted to insensitivity to take the Senate president slot to the North-east, the same zone as the Speaker of the House of Representatives,another APC senator explained.

And since the speaker [Yakubu Dogara] is very strong at the House pf Representatives and there is nothing we could do about him, the best thing was to keep the Senate President position in the North-Central.

The altercations over who takes the throne eventually led some of the involved in the plot to leak the plan to Mr Saraki who acted fast to counter it.

Although PREMIUM TIMES is yet to get details of how Mr Saraki made it to the National Assembly despite the siege on his convoy, a source close to the senate president said Mr Saraki actually sold a dummy to the Police.

He was not in the convoy. By the time they were holding the convoy at Lake Chad [Crescent] the SP was already at the National Assembly, the aide say. He asked not to be named because he was not authorised to make that disclosure to the media.

Another source told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Saraki stayed away from his house for the night, after learning that the plan to oust him would be executed Tuesday morning.

Mr Saraki later surfaced at the Senate, and presided over plenary.

Fifteen senators announced their decamping from the APC at the sitting. Mr Ekweremadu could not attend as he was prevented from leaving his home. That blockade was lifted only after the days Senate sitting ended.
A total of 37 members of the House of Representatives on Tuesday defected from Nigerias ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Of this number, 32 joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) while four joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC). One later announced he was also leaving the APC but did not state his new party.

Announcing their defection on Tuesday during plenary, the first 36 lawmakers cited division at all levels of the APC as the reason for their defection.

Neither the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, nor his deputy, Yusuff Lasun, was named among the defectors.

Few minutes after the 36 announced their defection, the chairman of the House of Representatives Rules and Business, Orker Jev, announced he was also resigning from the APC.

He also cited division in the APC as his reason for leaving the party. He however did not announce the party he is moving to.

Members who defected from APC to ADC are: Sunday Adepoju (Oyo), Olugbemi Samson (Oyo), Taiwo Michael (Oyo) and Olasupo Abiodun (Oyo).

The 32 who defected to PDP are: Garba Umar (Kano), Olayonu Tope (Kwara), Ahmed Garba (Kano), Kabiru Marafa (Sokoto), Zakari Mohammed (Kwara), Abubakar Amuda-Kanike (Kwara).

Others are: Ali Madaki (Kano), Hassan Saleh (Benue), Ahman Pategi (Kwara), Mark Gbillah (Benue), Shehu Usman (Kano), Aminu Shagari (Sokoto), Nuhu Danburam (Kano), Atunwa Abdulrazak (Kwara).

Also, Salisu Zakari (Bauchi), Hassan Omale (Kogi), Oker-Jev (Benue), Rufai Chanchangi (Kaduna), Abdulsamad Dasuki (Sokoto), Sani Zoro (Jigawa), Benjamin Okolo (Kogi), Funke Adedoyi (Kwara), Bode Ayorinde (Ondo), Bashiru Salihu (Sokoto), Barry Mpigi (Rivers) were among.

Others are: Nasiru Sule (Kano), Segun Ogunwuyi (Oyo), Lawal Rabiu (Kaduna), Sani Rano (Kano), Dickson Tarkighir (Benue) Musa Adotsamiya (Kano) and Emmanuel Udende (Benue).

Earlier in the day, 15 senators announced their defection from the APC, majority moving to the PDP.
The general overseer of the Living Faith Church, also known as Winners Chapel, David Oyedepo, on Sunday, asked President Muhammadu Buhari to resign over the persistent killings across the country linked to armed herdsmen.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how violence involving armed nomadic herdsmen and farming communities has led to the death of hundreds of people across many states, especially Taraba, Benue and Plateau.

The government has, in a bid to stop the violence, announced plans to create ranches. However, the plan has also been criticised by many Nigerians and is believed not to have the support of some key members of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

In a YouTube video posted on his churchs official page, the cleric said the honourable thing for the president to do was to resign since he seems unable to stop the violence.

Mr Oyedepo, one of Nigerias most influential Christian clerics, titled his sermon enough is enough.

That is my word for Mr President, resign and get out of the place, he said.

Even our Islamic friends from Northern Nigeria are calling for him to resign, it is the most noble thing to do, he said.

The cleric also gave his view on the persons responsible for the killings.

Herdsmen dont shoot and they have been with us all along, he said. But these group of people just take over the herdsmen to attack innocent citizens, wake up in the night and slice children to pieces and you have a government in place.

The cleric, who called for a seven-day prayer and fasting in order to pray Nigeria out of trouble, said if you dont push war back, you will be suffering the plague for years.

Forever, I stand on the fact that no government has the authority to collect any land from those who own it and transfer it to another, he said.

We are not the only ones observing the prayer and fasting. It cuts across churches and we are praying the same thing, he said.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how Mr Oyedepo, earlier in January, flayed the attacks by herdsmen in Benue State.
Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said an Israeli law declaring that only Jews have the right of self-determination legitimises oppression and shows that Israel is a fascist and racist country where the spirit of Adolf Hitler has re-emerged.

According to Erdogan, the law showed Israel was "the most Zionist, fascist and racist country in the world", and called on the international community to mobilise against Israel.

"The Jewish nation-state law passed in the Israeli parliament shows this countrys real intentions. It legitimises all unlawful actions and oppression," Reuters cited Erdogan as saying.

"There is no difference between Hitlers Aryan race obsession and Israels mentality. Hitlers spirit has re-emerged among administrators in Israel," the president said.

Last week, the Israeli Knesset passed a nation-state law, angering members of the countrys Arab minority and prompting Turkey to accuse Israel of trying to form an apartheid state.

The law, backed by Israels right-wing government, passed through parliament after months of political argument.
The senator representing Oyo Central senatorial district in the Nigerian Senate, Monsurat Sunmonu, has explained why she defected from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The senator, in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, said she defected to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and not the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Mrs Sunmonu, alongside 14 other lawmakers, defected from the APC Tuesday morning.

Announcing their exit from the party via a letter jointly signed by 14 of the senators, Senate President Bukola Saraki said the senators defected into the PDP.

For many months, Mrs Sunmonu and other APC bigwigs in Oyo state have been having a running battle with the Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi.

The aggrieved members had earlier listed their grievances through a coalition, Unity Forum, formed in the middle of the crisis.

On Tuesday, shortly after the defection was announced on the floor of the Senate, Mrs Sunmonu announced that she left the APC because of unresolved issues in the ruling party.

Today, 24 July 2018, a letter was read during the Senate Plenary announcing the defection of some Senators from the All Progressives Congress (APC), she wrote on her Facebook page.

Please be advised that my defection is as a result of issues within the APC Oyo State Chapter. As we know, politics is local and despite the rhetoric, there has been little or no effort at the state level to reconcile differences by incorporating various stakeholders and interests.

The senator later confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that, contrary to the content of the letter signed by the senators, she defected to the ADC and not the PDP.
A prosecution witness, Chuks Igboerika, a manager with Access Bank Plc, on Monday told Justice M.S. Hassan of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos how a suspected fraudster, Ifeanyi Nwaneri, had carried out fraudulent transactions to the tune of N1,231,105,297.00 (One Billion, Two Hundred and Thirty-one Million, One Hundred and Five Thousand, Two Hundred and Ninety- seven Naira, Eighty Kobo) using a Point of Sale, POS.

Mr Nwaneri is facing trial alongside Omede Silas Shehu and Monday Akor on an 11- count charge bordering on money laundering to the tune of N1.2 billion.

The complainant, Access Bank Plc, alleged it deployed a POS terminal enabled for international transactions/cards to Nwaneri, who is one of the banks customers with account number 0047820964.

It was further alleged that Mr Nwaneri, who claimed to be a businessman, was later found to have carried out fraudulent transactions on the POS.

The bank also alleged that on September 22, 2017, the POS Unit of the bank received a mail from Interswitch on alleged fraudulent transactions totalling N1.2billion via the merchants terminal, a development that led to the arrest of Mr Ifeanyi at the Dopemu, Agege, Lagos branch of the bank.

At the time of his arrest, Mr Nwaneri was said to have withdrawn a sum of N532, 929,914.91 (Five Hundred and Thirty Million, Nine Hundred and Twenty Nine Thousand, Nine Hundred and Fourteen Naira, Ninety One Kobo), leaving a sum of N677, 856,826.80 (Six Hundred and Seventy Seven Million, Eight Hundred Fifty-six, Eight Hundred and Twenty-six Naira, Eighty Kobo) in his account.

At the resumed hearing today, the prosecution witness told the court that findings and reviews done by VISA and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, revealed that the POS transactions did not follow the normal procedure for international card transaction.

Led by the prosecution counsel, Nnemeka Omewa, the witness said: The transactions should have procedurally gone through the issuing bank, which is Access Bank Plc. Then, it should have gone to VISA, that is the owner of the card, through Interswitch, which serves as a switching company and finally to the POS merchant (the first defendant) through the consent of Access Bank.

He said the transaction, however, went from the merchant POS to Interswitch without getting to VISA.

But they were all approved by Interswitch as successful transactions, he added.

He also told the court that findings by the CBN revealed that the transactions were fraudulent and consummated between Interswitch and the POS merchant.

 Consequently, Interswitch was sanctioned with 75 per cent of the total loss to Access Bank; UBA was sanctioned with five per cent of the total loss for its role in the transactions; Access Bank (the merchants bank) was sanctioned with 20 per cent of the total loss based on its negligence on Know Your Customer (KYC) policy, the witness further said.

Giving further testimony, the witness told the court that a sum of N677million was recovered from the first defendants bank account, leaving a debit balance of over N532m deficit, which was shared amongst the three parties  Interswtich, UBA and Access Bank by CBN.

The case was adjourned to July 2 for continuation of trial.
Reactions have continued to trail the reported siege on Senate President Bukola Saraki sresidence and that of his deputy, Ike Ekeremadu by security operatives and the subsequent defection of some lawmakers from the All Progressive Congress.

The security officers, who were seen in vehicles, blocked the access routes to the residences of the Senate leaders in the early hours of Tuesday.

The siege was suspected to have been planned to abort the subsequent defections by some lawmakers.

However, Mr Saraki, who had earlier been summoned by the police to appear on Tuesday in relation to a criminal investigation in his home state, Kwara was able to evade the operatives and superintend the plenary where the lawmakers eventually defected.

Evidence also emerged on Tuesday that Mr Ekweremadu had been summoned by the EFCC to appear on Tuesday over criminal investigations.

In a statement by his media office, President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, John Nwodo, warned that nothing should happen to Mr Ike Ekweremadu.

Mr Nwodo said that the alarm has become necessary following some disturbing reports that operatives of the state besieged his (Ekweremadu) house this morning for yet undisclosed motives.

In a democratic setting as ours, we expect security agencies to be civil and work within the rule of the law without breaching the civil liberty of any individual, he said.

Mr Nwodo said that Mr Ekweremadu, being the highest Igbo man in the government is much cherished by his people and is expected that he should be accorded all the respect deserving of his position.

He recalled that another Igbo son, Senator Enyinna Abaribe was incarcerated for three days without any tangible reason disclosed to Nigerians till date.

We will not want to be sentimental into believing that there are grand design to silence and humiliate Igbo leaders at the national level who are legitimately representing their people very well but whose stance on issues is not agreeable with the ruling authorities.

If the Deputy Senate President breached any law, he should be taken to court not put under house arrest. This certainly is a bad omen for our country, Mr Nwodo added.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of Nigeria Bar Association, Abakaliki Branch, Festus Nweke, described the defections as good for democratic experience and growth.

It is democracy at work in Nigeria. An unambiguous confirmation that the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of association is working without inhibition. It is good for our democratic experiment and growth.

Also, the Ebonyi State PDP, Chairman, Onyekachi Nwebonyi described the defection as victory for democracy.

He said that the outcome of Tuesdays plenary at the National Assembly was a clear indication that the party had gathered momentum to take over power from the ruling APC.

He noted that Nigerians were no longer satisfied with the way and manner the Buhari-led Federal government was piloting the affairs of the country.

On the siege, he described it as a rape of democracy but not surprising as President Buhari has never shed his military dictatorship tendencies.
Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), an NGO says 90 per cent of vehicles imported into Africa are old and are dangerous to public health.

Priyanka Chandola, the Programme Manager, Clean Air and Sustainable Mobility Programme of CSE disclosed this after a study on used vehicles made available in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday.

She said there was urgent need for global intervention to stop the unregulated dumping of used vehicles in Africa to reduce health and climate risks.

She said that the action plan was to enforce stringent measures to stop end-of-life, unsafe, damaged and recalled vehicles from entering the market.

About 85 per cent of the vehicles in Ethiopia, 80 per cent in Kenya and 90 per cent in Nigeria are second-hand, while the vehicle ownership rate in Africa is lower than the world average, the growth rate has increased.

The global community which has, time and again, expressed its deep concern about the deteriorating air quality in the southern world, cannot look away from this problem of dumping anymore.

If this continues unchecked, without the exporting countries sharing the responsibility of addressing this problem, the poorer countries will not be able to meet their clean air and climate mitigation goals, she said.

Ms Chandola said that based on the affordability levels, an outright ban on used vehicle import might not be immediately possible in many importing countries.

She said, however, that putting an age restriction along with higher taxes on older vehicles was needed to eliminate the dirty stream.

According to her, though several countries have increased taxes on older vehicles, these are seen more as a revenue source than a deterrent for imports.

(NAN)
A Lagos-based human rights lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa. has withdrawn a suit filed before a federal court against a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, who accused the Supreme Court of receiving bribes from Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State.

Joe Igbokwe, the publicity secretary of the APC in Lagos State, on July 16 posted on Facebook that Wike will not have the audacity and the temerity to kill again and run to the Supreme Court to buy justice. It will never happen again in Nigeria where Buhari is the President.

In a response to the post, the Rivers State government gave Mr Igbokwe seven days to name the Supreme Court justices, Mr Wike had allegedly bribed or be ready to face the consequences.

Also, Mr Adegboruwa instituted a suit before a Lagos Division of the Federal High Court seeking among others a declaration that Mr Igbokwes post warranted to a denigration of the integrity and authority of the Supreme Court.

Joined as a respondent in the suit was the Attorney-General of the Federation.

Mr Adegboruwa also sought an order directing the APC chieftain to forthwith vacate, relinquish and surrender any and all public positions that he presently occupies.

Mr Igbokwe also serves as the chairman of the Lagos State Wharf Landing Fee Collecting Authority.

Last Friday, the APC chieftain tendered an apology for the post saying: It was a mistake and I take responsibility for my action. It was a personal opinion. This is to tender an unconditional and unreserved apology to all those felt (sic) offended by my post and a promise to avoid such drivel in future.

Mr Adegboruwa said since Mr Igbokwe had apologised, there was no need to continue with the suit.

In my mind, this settles the substance of the case filed in court, which was meant to protect the judiciary as an institution, not necessarily to shield any person identified or suspected to be involved corrupt practices, from probe or prosecution, he said in a statement on Tuesday.

I have consulted widely, I have read and digested all comments and suggestions in this regard and Im mindful to align with the view that the apology and undertaking of Mr Joe Igbokwe should suffice to put an end to the case filed in court.

Accordingly, the entire claims stated Suit No. FHC/L/CS/1240/2018, between Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, Esq. v. The Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation & Mr. Joe Igbokwe, have been wholly discontinued against all the defendants in the said suit.

A notice of discontinuance has been filed at the Federal High Court on July 24, 2018, effectively withdrawing the case.

Individual Judges may err, some lawyers may falter and even the judicial system may appear weak and feeble, but we cannot afford to destroy the institution itself, as the options for our nation, to function without a respectable judiciary, will be catastrophic. A society where the rule of might prevails cannot enjoy peace and prosperity.

Last week, PREMIUM TIMES reported how Mr Igbokwe was caught spreading fake news on his Facebook wall when he posted that President Muhammadu Buhari had one Obinna Chukwuka as his new chief security officer.
The Reformed All Progressives Congress (R-APC), which recently pulled out of the mainstream ruling party, has hailed the lawmakers who defected Tuesday saying the move will redirect the compass for better politics.

The spokesperson of the R-APC, Kassim Afegbua made this known in a statement on Tuesday.

The statement reads in part:

We salute our gallant lawmakers for their bold decision to exit from this colony of maximum rulers called the APC and helping to redirect the compass for better political engagements and sustenance of our hard-earned democracy.

We salute the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, for his bravery, courage and boldness in confronting agents of the oppressors to preside over the Senate for legislative duties. He was firm and calm in his disposition, and collected in his delivery of the message of hope during plenary.

While the nation is suffering in the hands of bandits, Fulani herdmen, terrorists and kidnappers, as if it were unpoliced, the Inspector-General of Police has suddenly developed erection in trying to undermine the institution of the Legislature. We say never again shall we allow anyone, no matter how highly placed, to undermine our democracy.

Also, speaking on the seige by security operatives on the residences of the senate president and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, in the early hours of Tuesday, the group described the situation as pathetic and ridiculous.

We woke up on Tuesday, 24th July to the very pathetic, ridiculous, fascistic, gangsteristic, and gestapoeic realities that have occupied our democratic space when President Buharis police decided to lay siege on the house of the leadership of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki. He was prevented from proceeding to the hallowed chambers to carry out his legitimate duties as the duly elected Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Barely three days after our earlier note of caution, the well-scripted drama to undermine the rights of our members have come to light but in a very disturbing and utterly condemnable, Gestapo manner similar to that of members of the Jacobian scandal club of mideaval ages in American 16th Century political history.

According to the group, the police, who should serve as the custodian of the democratic rights of the people and provide a good anchorage to safeguard the lives and properties of the people, have suddenly become instrument of oppression, suppression and willing tools in the hands of the xpowers-that-be.

We are particularly disturbed that those who glorify themselves as democrats and fighters for democracy, by condemning military rule have suddenly maintain conspiratorial and ominous silence.

They have not only endorsed this act of ignominy, but also watching with rellish in the closet of their homes as the nation drifts on the plane of fascism, democratic militarism, gangsterism, and bare-faced dictatorship. It baffles us that while we are putting in place concerted efforts to secure our democracy by fighting brazen injustices and outright abuses, the APC government that prides itself as fighters of corruption have been trying hard to crumble this democracy.

It also flayed the APC national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, for his dismissive remarks over the defections.

The utterances of the disputed chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole who has become the National President of the APC churning out presidential orders, signpost a dangerous trend in our democracy. Those symptoms of.maximum rulership which have dominated political discourse in recent times represent sad commentary in our attempt to build and sustain democratic ethos and values in a country troubled by bad leadership.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has reacted to Tuesdays siege on the residences of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu.

In a statement, the association described the action of the security operatives as a siege against Nigerias democracy.

The statement signed by the media assistant to the CAN President, Adebayo Oladeji, warned President Muhammadu Buhari and the Nigeria Police to desist from threatening Nigerias democracy.

We express grave concerns over the poor handling of polices invitation to the Senate President, Saraki, over the infamous Offa robbery saga that led to the death of no fewer than 30 people. And the alleged plan by the EFCC to arrest Ekweremadu over alleged money laundry.

The Christian umbrella body condemns in strong terms the way and manner the police were deployed in subjecting the leadership of the National Assembly to needless embarrassment and harassment. The ongoing action of the police is a siege against democracy.

CAN notes with every sense of responsibility that the only difference between democracy and dictatorship is the presence or absence of the National Assembly. As stakeholders in the survival of the Nigerian democracy, we have no choice but to speak out against unfolding political imbroglio that is capable of not portraying in good standing in the comity of nations.

We caution the Police against being used to threaten democracy. CAN needs to remind the Nigeria Police that once a suspect has been invited to any of its offices, the best international practice is to exercise patience until the invitee fails to honour such an invitation. We are shocked, disappointed and alarmed at the aborted moves by the Police to stop both the Senate President and his deputy, from attending Tuesdays proceedings for whatever reasons.

CAN said the police force should avoid making itself an instrument of any arm if government since it is constitutionally supposes to be a neutral body.

It also called on civil societies in the country to speak up in defence of Nigerias democracy.

We urge the presidency to avoid any action that could threaten the democracy of our nation. The Nigeria Police are supposed to be neutral in order to ensure the survival of democracy. We call on both leadership of the National Assembly and the Presidency to stop acting in a manner that constitutes international disgrace and embarrassment. It is needless to remind the legislative and executive arms of government to work in synergy for the interest of our nations democracy.

Security operatives blocked the residences of the Senate leaders on Tuesday, in what has been described as an attempt to stop a massive defection of members out of the ruling All Progressive Congress during Tuesdays plenary.

Mr Saraki had on Monday been invited for questioning by the police.

According to the invitation, Mr Saraki was supposed to arrive at 8 a.m. to answer questions regarding the Offa Bank robbery.

A latter dated July 24 also indicated that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was investigating Mr Ekweremadu for allegations of fraud and abuse of office.

The letter emerged hours after the siege on Mr Ekweremadus residence.
A bill seeking an amendment to the Nigerian Constitution to accommodate state and community policing was read for the second time at the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

The bill, titled, Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) Bill, 2018, was sponsored by the leader of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila (APC, Lagos) and seeks to delete item 45 from the exclusive legislative list and move it to the concurrent list.

Leading the debate on the bill, Mr Gbajabiamila said Nigerians are united on state police in the face of killings ongoing in the country.

He said with the passage of the bill, the federal government can look at smart ways to fund the state police, and the good of the state police outweigh the bad.

He made reference to the U.S. where people elect police chiefs which takes them off the whims and control of state governors.

It is not enough for us to talk, talk and just condemn killings, it is time for us to change the security architecture, he said.

Supporting the motion, Oker Jev (Benue) stated that he has been opposing state police since the 6th Assembly, but his view has changed in the face of security challenges facing the country.

Muhammed Monguno (APC, Borno) opposed the bill as he said instead of creating state police, the constitution should be amended so as to ensure the states get more funds.

State governors are finding it difficult to pay wages, adding state police to it is not acceptable. I do support amending the constitution so that states can get more money, then we can talk about state police, he said.

Also speaking against the bill, Henry Archibong (APC, Akwa Ibom) stated that deleting schedule 45 which reads, Police and other government security services established by law would mean giving states power to create all sorts of security agencies.

Thereafter, members of the lower chamber unanimously voted in support of the bill and it was referred to the ad hoc committee on constitution amendment.

The Senate had read the bill for the first time on June 12.

The Senate on July 4 directed its Constitution Review Committee to put in motion a machinery to amend the constitution to allow for the creation of state police.

It had also resolved to call on security agencies to stop involving themselves in the politics of the nation.

Calls for state police have grown in recent months with rising incidences of mass killings in many parts of the country.
Nigeria would be better off without political parties!

That is the opinion of Victor Attah, a former founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a former governor of Akwa Ibom State.

Mr Attah said that left for him, the country would not have political parties.

Fifteen senators and 36 members of the House of Representatives, on Tuesday, defected from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The development is seen as a major political upset for the APC, as the country prepares for general elections in 2019.

There was a time President Babangida called for memoranda on how we are to return to politics, my position was that there should be no parties, Mr Attah said, July 10, in a radio interview with Inspiration 105.9 FM, Uyo, Akwa Ibom state.

PREMIUM TIMES recently obtained audio of the interview.

Mr Attah, 79, has been involved post-independence efforts of re-writing the Nigerian constitution. He is one of the notable campaigners for true federalism in the country.

He resigned from partisan politics in 2015.

I did not like the idea of parties. I just wanted persons to put themselves forward and then we would judge them and decide whether they are good enough for the positions they were seeking, we elect them into those positions, and that would be it.

And if they serve us well, we re-elect them. If they didnt serve us well, we elect somebody else to take over from them.

Mr Attah asked if there was anybody who could give meaning to what is called political party in todays Nigeria.

People stay in the party, they break away and form a new branch of that party, they go into something else, they break away and form a reformed branch of that other thing that they went into.

So, what is the meaning of party? Party should be based on ideology, you should subscribe to an ideology. If you subscribe to an ideology, certainly you cannot be so fickle that you want to change your ideology so often, he said.

With what is going on in the country, he said, political parties are just platforms for people to stand election.

I still believe that forming parties was one of the worst things that happened to Nigeria, he said.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu says the approved private sector driven Refinery in Mashi, Katsina State will be completed in 2021.

Mr Kachikwu, who made this known to State House correspondents in Abuja on Tuesday, said the refinery would have the capacity to produce 150, 000 barrels per day when completed.

Mr Kachikwu and the Nigerien Minister of Energy, Foumakaye Gado had on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Nigeria and Niger Republic on the construction of the refinery at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

However, presently, we have mentally structured our minds for a three-year period to finish the work on the refinery but that depends on what we find during the technical studies.

According to the minister, there is potential to also establish another extension of the refinery in Kaduna State.

Its going to be in Katsina but there is a potential for an extension to Kaduna but bear in mind, this started first from a perspective of they (Niger) wanting to build a pipeline from Niger to Kaduna refinery.

But at the Board of NNPC, we shut that down because the asset quality of the crude from Niger was not the same with our own and we would have had to take almost 90 per cent of our own crude to match their own 10 per cent of crude so it just didnt make any sense.

So at that point, we decided to do a refinery that is targeted at their crude, he further explained.

Also speaking on the proposed refinery, a Nigerian investor, Ibrahim Zakari, said about two billion dollars was needed for the construction of the Mashi Refinery in Katsina.

He pledged to spearhead the take-off of the first 100 per cent private driven refinery.

Mr Zakari announced that his company, Blak Oil Energy Refinery had mobilised substantial part of two billion dollars needed for the construction of the refinery.

I think the two presidents have already said everything.

It is going to be private driven by investors. We are one of the investors who are willing to invest almost two billion dollars.

The funds are coming from abroad, U.S., Canada, India and the Middle East.

Its going to be a 50,000 barrel refinery then we will scale it up to 100,000 with the crude coming from Niger Republic, Mr Zakari said.

According to him, it will take the company about five years to complete the project.

He said the project when completed would provide job opportunities for more than 2,500 Nigerians.

(NAN)
Iran will respond with equal countermeasures if the United States tries to block its oil exports, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said.

"If America wants to take a serious step in this direction it will definitely be met with a reaction and equal countermeasures from Iran," IRNA cited the spokesman as saying.

Irans parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani described US President Donald Trumps comments as the words of a troublemaker.

"The United States is experiencing disorder and wildness in its diplomatic relations," IRNA cited Larijani as saying.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday backed President Hassan Rouhanis suggestion that Iran might block Gulf oil exports if its own exports are stopped, Reuters recalled.

On Monday, Iran dismissed an angry warning from Trump that it risked dire consequences the like of which few throughout history have suffered before if it made threats against the United States.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has invited Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, for questioning.

A July 24 letter to Mr Ekweremadu said he was under investigation for alleged conspiracy, abuse of office and money laundering.

Mr Ekweremadu had been under investigation by the EFCC for allegedly owning questionable properties abroad.

He was also arraigned for allegedly forging Senate standing rules to pave way for the emergence of Bukola Saraki as Senate President in June 2015.

The charges on alleged forgery were later dropped by the federal government.

The letter to Mr Ekweremadu, which was shared by Mr Sarakis aides moments ago, came hours after EFCC operatives joined State Security Service officers to lay a siege to the home of the Deputy Senate President.

The siege was said to still be ongoing as at 11:30 a.m. at the Apo Legislative Quarters residence of the top lawmaker.

This commission is investigating the above mentioned case in which your name feature prominently and the need to obtain certain clarification from you become imperative, said the letter which was signed by the EFCCs director of operations.

It added that the request is brought pursuant to Section 38 (1) of the EFCC Act.

Mr Saraki said on the floor of the Senate Tuesday that security agencies were being used by President Muhammadu Buhari to bully All Progressives Congress lawmakers who planned to abandon the ruling party in a mass defection today.

Mr Saraki was also briefly prevented from going out of his home by security agents, but reports said the siege was short lived after officers realised the top lawmaker had outsmarted them and escaped.

Mr Saraki later turned up at the Senate and convened plenary after 10 a.m. Within a few minutes after the Senate convened, about 15 senators were announced to have decamped from the APC, effectively making the party a minority at the upper chamber.

Mr Saraki himself did not announce his cross carpeting, although he is widely expected to make the move any day now, especially since the APC has become the minority party.

The police on Monday night summoned Mr Saraki to appear at 8:00 a.m. for questioning by homicide detectives over the killings that occurred during the April 5 robbery attack in Offa, Kwara State.

Mr Saraki appeared to have ignored the police invitation when he realised that Mr Ekweremadu, who should have presided over plenary in his absence, was being prevented from going out of his home.

Meanwhile, lawyers have reacted to the siege describing it as an executive overzealousness.

In his opinion, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Simon Ameh, said although the police have powers to invade the residence of a suspect, the siege at the home of Mr Ekweremadu and that of the Senate president can best be described as a step too far.

That is really surprising.although I havent seen it, but I think they are being too harsh. Just overzealous.

However the police are empowered to invade a place if they suspect things like armed robbery or fraud going on.

Its also based on their own opinion of what the situation it by law. That is what makes it subjective, Mr Ameh said.

In another opinion, another senior advocate, Sebastian Hon, described the act as totally unacceptable.

I condemn in the strongest terms the siege on the residences of the Senate President and his Deputy. Speculation is rife that this action by the security agencies is precipitate and is aimed at either preventing the planned mass defection at the Assembly or to illegally effect changes in the National Assembly leadership.

This is descent to fascism. All lovers of democracy and our dear country must resist this, using all lawful means. Remember how the jugular of the Judiciary was aimed at, in the guise of fighting corruption. Now, after failing to blackmail the national assembly or failing to destroy it through smear campaign, its leadership is being targeted, using the same security forces who are being paid using tax payers money. This is totally unacceptable in any democratic set up. I condemn this in no mistaken terms.
Members of the House of Representatives are currently collating a list of members that will possibly leave Nigerias ruling party, APC.

Razak Atunwa, Ali Madaki and Abdulsamad Dasuki, all elected under the platform of APC, are spearheading the move.

Sources among the defecting lawmakers told PREMIUM TIMES there are about 100 names on the list. This could not be independently confirmed.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, is expected to make the announcement of the defections before the end of plenary on Tuesday.

Fifteen senators earlier defected from the APC.

The House plenary was ongoing at the time of this report.
More reactions have continued to trail Tuesdays siege on the residences of Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, by security operatives in Abuja.

The security officers who were seen in multiple vehicles blocked the access routes to the residences of the Senate leaders in the early hours of Tuesday.

The siege was suspected to be linked to the planned defection of many senators from the ruling All Progressives Congress on Tuesday. However, Mr Saraki had earlier been summoned by the police to appear on Tuesday in relation to investigation into murder cases in his Kwara State. Evidence also emerged on Tuesday that Mr Ekweremadu had been summoned by the EFCC to appear on Tuesday.

Despite the siege, Mr Saraki was able to manoeuvre his way to the Senate where he presided over plenary and announced the defection of 15 lawmakers from the ruling party, APC. His deputy could not attend.

In his reaction, a former vice president and presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, said the APC should avoid biting the fingers that gave the party victory in the last general elections.

The news of the sieges on the residences of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, is both troubling and unsettling. No democratic nation ought to treat the leadership of its Parliament like common criminals in the course of a political disagreement.

I remind the powers that be that on August 31, 2013, when Senator Bukola Saraki walked out of the Peoples Democratic Party and began the process of joining the All Progressives Congress, there was celebration in their camps.

I also remind them that their electoral victory, which they have so badly mismanaged today, would not have been possible without the Senate President. Power is transient and is also a trust that should only be used for the good and advancement of the people one leads and not for the persecution of real and imagined political opponents, Mr Abubakar said.

He called for the lifting of the sieges on the persons and homes of Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu by security forces.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar . [Photo credit: Guardian Nigeria]

I remind President Muhammadu Buhari of his public words of solidarity to Senator Saraki after his ordeal of malicious prosecution, which thankfully was brought to a halt by the Supreme Court, and I urge him to live up to those words today and always.

In a reaction to the siege, the Gombe State Governor, Ibrahim Dankwambo, described the action of the security operatives as the manifestation of tyranny in a democratic system.

I condemn in its entirety the siege on the houses of the Principal Officers of the National Assembly by officers and men of the Nigerian Police.

The National Assembly as an arm of the government must be accorded the due respect that it deserves. This is tyranny, Mr Dankwambo said in a tweet on Tuesday. His aide had earlier confirmed that the twitter handle is that of his principal.

Gombe State Governor, Ibrahim Dankwambo [Photo credit: The Worldfolio]

Also in a similar reaction, a former Kaduna State governor, Balarabe Musa, described the siege as bad for Nigerias democracy.

In an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Musa said the situation should not be allowed to degenerate.

Its an unfortunate end of the fight to the death between the Presidency and the Legislature. Its bad for the countrys democracy. This can result to anything, he said.

Mr Musa said although it is lawful for a suspect to be investigated, even if its the Senate president, but the pattern adopted by the security operatives is totally out of place.

Yes he should be investigated but that was not the way to do it.

Remember we are talking about the Executive and Legislature. The two of the three fundamental institutions of government.

Former governor of the old Kaduna State, Balarabe Musa

Now if the Executive and Legislature are not compatible, how can we have peace and progress under this situation? So actually even though the right thing should be done, there are ways and means of doing it in a better way without creating tension in the country, he said.

Mr Musa noted that the security operatives could only be acting on instructions of the president and called on President Muhammadu Buhari to warn his offers

The advice should go to the president. The president should know that he is the chief security officer of the country.

He is the commander in chief of the armed forces, he is the controller of the resources of the country. So, the last blame lies on the president, he said.
The Chinese government has provided scholarship support of N100,000 each to 45 underprivileged students selected from Modibbo Adama University of Technology (MAUTECH) Yola, and Adamawa State University, Mubi in Adamawa State.

Speaking at the ceremony held at MAUTECH, the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Zhou Pingjian, said the measure was to mark the 47-year bilateral relationship between China and Nigeria.

Mr Pingjian reiterated the commitment of the Chinese government to continue to partner with Nigeria in many fields.

Speaking at the occasion, the Vice Chancellor of MAUTECH, Mohammed Kyari represented by Abraham Mokolo, lauded China for the gesture.

Mr Kyari said the university has similar support programme for intelligent underprivileged students; and urged for more support for the programme.

The vice chancellor also solicited for Chinese support to the institution particularly in areas of technology.

The Admawa Commissioner of Education, Julius Kadala, lauded Chinese government for the support, adding that Adamawa government was committed to education.

In his remarks, convener of the programme, who is also the House of Representatives Committee Chairman on Nigeria/China Relations, Yusuf Buba of Hong/Gombi Federal Constituency, urged beneficiaries to reciprocate the gesture by taking their studies seriously.

In another development, Mr Pingjian lauded Mr Buba for contributing in transforming his constituency.

The diplomat gave the commendation in his speech at the inauguration of some empowerment projects in Hong and Gombi local government areas executed by the lawmaker.

He urged the people of the constituency to make proper utilisation of the projects and facilities provided which included 310 boreholes, 270 vehicles, two feeder roads with a bridge, six blocks of classrooms and tools for 800 trained entrepreneurs.

Inaugurating the project, Governor Muhammadu Bindow represented by Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Ahmad Sajoh, also lauded the lawmaker.

Also speaking, the representative of Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Garba Hammanjulde, and APC National Vice Chairman North-east, Mustafa Salihu, lauded Mr Buba for making APC proud in serving his constituency effectively.

In his remarks, Mr Buba thanked the people of his constituency for the support and cooperation accorded him so far.
Nigeria and the Republic of Niger have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), for the construction of a hydrocarbon pipeline and a petroleum refinery.

The pipeline is to be constructed from Niger to Katsina state where the new refinery would be sited.

The MoU was signed on behalf of Nigeria by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, while Foumakaye Gado, the Minister of Energy for Niger Republic signed on behalf of his country.

Shortly after the signing of the MoU, Mr Buhari inaugurated a Steering Committee for the projects which is to be co-chaired by the Nigerian & Nigerien Ministers.

Mr Buhari also inaugurated a separate team to develop the implementation roadmap and strategy for both the refinery and pipeline projects.

Speaking after the signing ceremony, Mr Buhari said Nigeria and Niger have excellent relations for several decades, as neighbours sharing a long border with common cultural and historical ties.

Nigeria sees this cooperation on crude oil export from the Republic of Niger and construction of refinery facilities in Katsina State as a win  win for both nations, Mr Buhari said.

He also said the initiative will not only provide a reliable market for the stranded crude from the Niger Republic but will also provide petroleum products for Nigeria, as the country aggressively pursues its aspiration on petroleum product self-sufficiency.

The president also expressed the hope that the current exploration efforts in the Northern part of Nigeria, including (Chad Basin, Gongola Basin, Sokoto Basin, Bida Basin and Benue trough) will also result in the provision of additional hydrocarbon inflow to the corridors of the proposed pipeline and a potential refinery around Kaduna State.

I am happy that several productive engagements held between the Nigerian and Nigerien authorities have resulted in the positive agreements to progress with activities on this important project.

This project will be private sector driven with the full support of the governments of both countries and I am happy to understand that several expressions of interest from prospective investors are already being received, he said.

Mr Buhari said he expects that by December 2018, the two committees inaugurated will come up with a detailed roadmap and guideline leading to actual execution of the projects.

He said the detailed roadmap should cover bankable feasibility studies for both the Refinery and pipeline projects; Optimal project site, pipeline routes and details; Security plan and selected consortia of investors for both the refinery and pipeline projects.

In his remarks, the President of Niger Republic, Mahammadou Issoufou, said the signing of the memorandum is an important step in the consolidation of the mutually beneficial bilateral relations between the two countries.

He said Nigeria and Niger are countries from the same empires divided only by colonialism. He said both countries names were driven from a River which transcends them; the River Niger.

He said the MoU signing also shows the commitment of both countries to work together and enrich their economies.

Mr Issoufou, who spoke in French, said there is a greater need for more integration among African countries.

Speaking earlier, Mr Kachikwu said Mr Buhari has personally driven the initiative to have the pipeline and the refinery.

President Muhammadu Buhari and President of the Republic of Niger, Mahammadou Issoufou witnessing the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

He said Mr Buhari was propelled by the sole desire to create a more favourable investment opportunity in Nigerias downstream sector.

He said as part of the strategy to reposition the Nigerian oil and gas industry, a roadmap of short and medium term priorities tagged 7big wins was developed.

He said the fourth initiative in the launched roadmap is the Refinery and Local Production Capacity, part of which, he said, has to do with the establishment of third party financed Greenfield refineries to improve domestic petroleum products sufficiency in the country.

Pursuant to this refinery initiative, our two presidents, guided by the existing friendly relationship between both countries initiated these projects.

The projects would allow the export of otherwise stranded Nigerien surplus crude oil to Nigeria for the sole purpose of processing the crude oil in a new refinery in Nigeria for improved economic activities and the benefit of the two neighboring countries.

The proposed projects for the construction of crude oil pipelines from Republic of Niger to Nigeria and establishment of new refinery at a border town in Nigeria is envisaged to be private sector financed, he said.

Mr Kachikwu also said his ministry had already received several expressions of interest (EOI) from prospective investors.
The Socialist Party of Nigeria has elected Alfred Adegoke as its governorship candidate in the coming Osun governorship election scheduled for September 22, 2018.

A statement by SPN on Monday by its state secretary, Kola Ibrahim, said Mr Adegoke was elected at the partys state congress on Saturday, and the election was monitored by four officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The statement said the election which held at the partys secretariat in Osogbo, was also attended by the partys Acting National Chairman, Abiodun Bamigboye.

According to Mr Ibrahim, the delegates were unanimous in the choice of Mr Adegoke to fly the partys flag at the polls in September.

Mr Adegoke is legal practitioner and an activist and has a record of participating in the struggles for democracy during the dark days of military dictatorship.

SPN called on workers and the poor of the people to reject all anti-poor and corrupt political parties that represent capitalist ideology, and vote for its candidate in the coming election.

We call on workers, youth and the poor to vote Alfred Adegoke, the socialist candidate of SPN in the forthcoming Osun Governorship Election holding in September, 2018, the statement further said.

SPN will end all anti-poor anti-worker policies of the ruling party in Osun State.
The National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, Olu Falae, has expressed his commitment to ending the internal crisis within the party ahead of the September 22 governorship election.

The former Secretary to the Government of the Federation on Monday in Osogbo, formally handed to Iyiola Omisore, the certificate of return following his victory at the just concluded governorship primaries of the SDP in Osun State.

Mr Falaes gesture erases the doubt as to the position of the partys national leadership on who would be flying its flag at the coming governorship election.

This is in spite of the election of Munirudeen Atanda as candidate by another faction of the party led by Ademola Ishola.

The SDP primaries won by Mr Omisore, just like that of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was direct primaries. He polled 123,485 votes to defeat his runner-up, Mr Atanda, who polled 1,802 votes in absential.

Mr Falae however, told PREMIUM TIMES on Monday in a telephone chat that the crisis in the party would be resolved.

I have been resolving crisis in Osun in the last five years, he said. I can assure you that the crisis will be resolved.

He also said that he was certain Mr Omisore would emerge winner in the governorship election, arguing that the SDP remained the preferred political party in the country at the moment.

While presenting the certificate to the governorship candidate, Mr Falae said the present APC administration in Osun had brought hardship to the people.

He said workers in the state had gone on for several months without salaries, assuring that the SDP would take over the reins of leadership and turn the state around after the governorship election.

According to him, Mr Omisore would not just be governor but would impact positively on the lives of the people in line with the ideals of the party.

You are going to be riding the white horse to the government House in Osun state. Your excellency we feel as a party, your experience, your pedigree, your antecedent, that you are the man for the job and the people of Osun state deserve this person with the knowledge to turn the state around because the government in place has failed the people, Mr Falae said.

I was there practically, salary has not been paid. So many things, I saw poverty with my own eyes and I believe that you are not just going there to be a governor but you are there to put smile and enrich peoples lives and that is what the party represents and that is the focus and vision if the party.

Also speaking at the event, the National Secretary of the party, Shehu Gavan, said the partys direct primaries which produced Mr Omisore demonstrated that Nigerians were tired of the delegate system of conducting primaries which short-changes party members.

For us at the SDP this is a very serious land mark, Mr Gavan said.

We have set the stage for transparency on the conduct of elections and we promised Nigerians that we will conduct free and fair elections devoid of imposition, recklessness and so on an so forth. Coming from a background where candidates are being imposed, we thought that SDP should have a paradigm shift and this is the definition of the paradigm shift.

Our aim is to create an environment for every Nigerian to have a sense of belonging, a sense of participation and indeed we are about to state that Osun state stands as a reference point. We are glad that the exercise was free and fair, we are glad that the security agencies witnessed it.

Mr Gavan also said the party would back the candidate during his campaigns and urged him to do well to lead the party to victory

Mr Omisore, in his response, said he would win the forthcoming governorship election.

He said the state was in a deplorable situation with poor health facilities and unpaid salaries.

He said it is unreasonable to tax the citizens without first creating jobs for the people; promising that his government, if given the chance, would ensure that citizens were gainfully employed before being taxed.
The Ekiti State Governor-elect, Kayode Fayemi, has warned the management of the College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti, to stop working with the incumbent governor, Ayodele Fayose, to embark on illegal mass employment at the college in favour of supporters of the state government.

The Director, Media and Publicity, Fayemi Campaign Council, Wole Olujobi, in a statement in Monday, cautioned the management of the college to stay clear of the contrived sabotage mission by Governor Ayodele Fayose to cripple the administration of the Governor-elect, from the outset.

He alleged that there were similar plans by Mr Fayose to use other governments agencies and institutions to dispense favours to only members of his party. He that political consideration in public recruitment scheme is illegal and will be so treated on assumption of office.

Mr Olujobi said it was dangerous to erect political structures in non-partisan institutions of government, warning that the incoming administration would not inherit institutions that would be threatened by political cleavages.

We are aware of a long list of cronies of Governor Ayodele Fayose who are forced on the management of the College of Education and waiting to be employed in their large numbers on the orders of the governor, he said.

We wish to caution the management of the College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti, and other institutions of government on the danger of conniving with an administration that has refused to employ just one man in about four years to now choose to embark on mass recruitment of supporters for the purpose of crippling the incoming administration at a time that Fayoses administration is owing backlog of salaries with no hope of payment till the end of his administration.

We hereby alert the people of Ekiti State to this clear act of sabotage which the management of the college is trying to execute on behalf of Governor Fayose to intentionally cripple the smooth running of the administration of the college when the new administration comes on board, particularly coming at the time that subvention to the college has not been paid for a long time while research and capital funding has been abandoned.

The recruitment becomes more illegal, as the beneficiaries of the exercise are mainly Fayoses cronies who he wants to compensate after deceiving them for three years.

We do not believe in political affiliation in the consideration of people for employment, therefore, what is going on in the College of Education is clearly a political exercise in a non-partisan setting, and to that extent, the exercise is political and, therefore, illegal because it is wrong to turn the college to the enclave of one political party.

In the last dispensation, Fayemi engaged Ekiti people in social security scheme, Youths in Commercial Agricultural Development (YCAD), Volunteer Corps, EKSTMA and Peace Corps, among other schemes, based on merit and without consideration for political leaning.

This is the way to go and we hope to continue on this path when we assume office to fill all necessary vacancies and create new job opportunities for all Ekiti people based on merit irrespective of political affiliation.

We therefore advise the management of the college and other institutions of government to stay clear of the sabotage mission by Fayose and strive to ensure that the present status quo of salary payment default is resolved in favour of the hard-working workers, teaching and non-teaching staff, by paying all their salary arrears and other entitlements, including payment of subventions and capital spending, instead of embarking on political patronage in appointments that will further worsen crises for our institutions.

Responding to the allegation, the Special Assistant to the governor on Public Communication and New Media, Lere Olayinka, said Mr Fayemi and his team should wait until October 16 before trying to implement their policies.

He said Mr Fayose remained the governor of the state until October 16 and that if there was a need to employ workers, the governor would do so legally.

The last time that we checked, Dr. Peter Ayodele Fayose was still the governor of Ekiti state and he remains the governor till October 16, 2018, said Mr Olayinka.

Governor Fayose will carry out all the functions of his office till October 16 and if there is need to employ workers, he will do so legally and no one can prevent him.

That is more so that the process of employing 2000 workers had commenced even before the July 14 election.
The outgoing Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has described President Muhammadu Buharis administration as a government of beasts.

Mr Fayose said this while visiting the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, on Tuesday.

The visit, Mr Fayose said, is to solidarise with the duo on their recent travails with security agencies.

Mr Fayose condemned the siege on the residences of the Senate leaders on Tuesday.

Why we are here is to equally salute their courage for doing what they have done to salvage from these government of beasts which have no use for humanity. Beasts destroy, beasts cannot be cultured, beasts cannot be managed, beast have come to destroy the country.

Let me say that we want to condemn in totality what happened early this morning, last night. Invitation of Senator Bukola Saraki and the letter from the EFCC to the Deputy Senate President, Ekweremadu.

It shows the level of their status. They behave like defeated souls who will stop at nothing to remain in power. If PDP had done this ahead of 2015 election, these people will not be in power. I want them to know that every plan without God will fail. I want the senators not to be intimidated. They should continue to struggle to make sure that this country is freed from the shackles of these taskmasters.

Mr Fayose commended the 15 senators who defected from the APC.

It is long overdue. All the shenanigans in Ekiti, all the manipulations in Ekiti, this was one of the reasons they did that to make sure they intimidate and prevent them from carrying out this national defection. They are defecting because of Nigerians, not PDP. Just that PDP is the credible alternative.

Everybody needs to come together to drive away this government. If this man should return as president, we will be doomed financially. If you look at killings, nobody even counts anymore. It has gone beyond counting. What they do represents the feeling of Nigerians.

On Ekiti elections, Mr Fayose accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of holding on to election documents despite several requests to access it by the PDP.

As I speak to you, we have not been able to get documents out of INEC. These are supposed to be public documents. If you have the capacity to release the result on the election day, you should have the capacity to release the documents. We have written. This is the 10th or 11th day after the election, they have not given us the documents. They are busy manipulating the documents. I want Nigerians to stand up to these people.

Mr Fayoses deputy, Olusola Eleka, lost the Ekiti governorship election to Kayode Fayemi of the APC.

Mr Fayose described people who said he would run away after his party lost the election as idiots.

Some people say Fayose will run away after election, they are idiots. Im a leader in this country, I am not afraid of death or incarceration. I am 58. The abundance of a man does not consist of the things he possesses. Life is for the coming generation to live, we must pay the dues now, he said.
Europe will not bow to threats from the United States in a trade dispute and wants to resolve it via negotiations, Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said today before European Commission talks with Washington on the issue.

Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will meet U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss the imposition of U.S. tariffs on EU steel and aluminum and his threats to expand those measures to European cars.

"It is good that Jean-Claude Juncker will be in Washington tomorrow to talk and to seek a solution but we are not heading to negotiations with a pistol at our chest. I dont think threats bring us closer to a solution," Reuters cited the Foreign Minister as saying.

"We in Europe must stick together...I hope that we succeed in resolving this via consensus but we will not be threatened and climb down so easily," Maas told German public television.

The German minister, about to visit Japan and South Korea, who are also threatened by U.S. tariffs, said no one had an interest in new and higher tariffs.

"In the end, all sides would lose, also the Americans," Maas said, adding he hoped that U.S. officials would realize this.
For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME.

Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire.

Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III.





to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever.





Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation.





View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union.

Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history.

Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words.




Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri said that U.S. threats against Iran will draw a strong, unimaginable and regrettable response from Tehran

"As the dominant power in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, (Iran) has been the guarantor of the security of shipping and the global economy in this vital waterway and has the strength to take action against any scheme in this region," Reuters cited Bagheri as saying.

"As our president correctly pointed out, the enemies, particularly America, whose centres of interest are within reach of the visible and hidden defence forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, should not play with the lions tail," the Armed Forces Chief of Staff said in a statement, according to IRNA.

"Because they will receive a strong, unimaginable and regrettable response of great magnitude in the region and the world," he stressed.

On Monday, Iran dismissed an angry warning from US President Donald Trump that it risked dire consequences the like of which few throughout history have suffered before if it made threats against the United States.
Gary Chartrand will remain Acosta's Executive Chairman of the Board and will work closely with Rodriguez Bas during the transition and beyond. Chartrand has a 35-year history with Acosta, having served as its CEO, Executive Chairman of the Board, and, most recently, the added responsibility of its interim CEO.

"After a thorough and extensive search by our Board of Directors, Alejandro's appointment marks an exciting milestone in Acosta's history," said Chartrand. "Alejandro is an astute and accomplished leader with strong relationships in our industry. These relationships, coupled with his impressive record of driving growth, innovation and operational excellence, will enable him to effectively lead Acosta. We're looking forward to Alejandro's leadership and building upon our momentum as we continue to innovate and drive results for our clients and customers."

Rodriguez Bas brings more than 20 years of CPG and retail industry leadership to Acosta. Prior to joining Acosta, he was Executive Vice President of New Business and Market Development for C&S Wholesale Grocers, the nation's largest wholesale grocery supply company, which delivers more than 140,000 different food and grocery items to 14,000+ independent and chain stores across the U.S. During his time at C&S, Rodriguez Bas led the creation of a division that serves the natural, organic, specialty, gourmet and international, ethnic and local markets.

Rodriguez Bas was also CEO of Grupo LALA Mexico & Central America, Latin America's largest dairy company. In this role, he led the company through an initial public offering valued at $5 billion, the largest IPO of a CPG company in Latin America. Prior to his time at Grupo LALA, Rodriguez Bas spent nearly a decade at PepsiCo in various leadership roles, culminating with CEO, Australia & New Zealand.

"I am excited and privileged to join a forward-thinking company that is taking a lead role in creating innovative technologies and solutions that deliver results for its clients and retailers," said Rodriquez Bas. "Acosta's broad expertise, top talent, and passion for delivering best-in-class results are the right ingredients for longevity and success in this complex, ever-changing industry."

Rodriguez Bas received his bachelor's degree from Universidad Panamericana in Mexico and master's degree from Harvard Business School.

About Acosta

Acosta is the sales and marketing powerhouse behind most of the trusted brands seen in stores every day. The company provides a range of outsourced sales, marketing and retail merchandising services throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe. For 90 years, Acosta has led the industry in helping consumer packaged goods companies move products off shelves and into shoppers' baskets. For more information, please visit www.acosta.com.

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Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Held to Commemorate Company Milestone

BOTHELL, Washington, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- AGC Biologics, a global leader in clinical and commercial manufacturing of therapeutic proteins, celebrated the opening of the company's new Global Headquarters facility in Bothell, Washington on Wednesday, July 18, 2018.

The Ribbon Cutting Ceremony included AGC Biologics employees, special guests from the AGC Japan Corporate Office, representatives from the Consulate General of Japan, and distinguished attendees from Washington State, Snohomish County, and the City of Bothell.

Ceremony speakers were comprised of Gustavo Mahler, President and Chief Executive Officer of AGC Biologics; Hideyuki Kurata, Chairman of the Board and General Manager of AGC Life Science General Division; Masao Nemoto, President of AGC Chemicals Company; Cyrus Habib, Lieutenant Governor of Washington State; Patricio Massera, Chief Operating Officer of AGC Biologics; and Jin Wang, Site Head and General Manager of AGC Biologics, Seattle.

AGC Biologics' new global headquarters facility holds the company's corporate administrative offices and process development labs, with expansion space for additional mammalian and microbial manufacturing capacity. The site will also house a state-of-the-art R&D center dedicated to novel manufacturing technologies for faster development of therapeutic proteins.

"This was a wonderful occasion and a meaningful step for AGC Biologics in our continued expansion within the United States; as well as reaffirmation of our strong commitment to our operations within the dynamic Washington State Life Sciences Community," said Gustavo Mahler, President and Chief Executive Officer of AGC Biologics. "We sincerely thank everyone to joined us to celebrate this momentous event, and we look forward to many exciting things to come as we continue our trajectory of growth and innovation."

About AGC Biologics

AGC Biologics is a leading global Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO), with a strong commitment to deliver the highest standard of service to our clients and partners. AGC Biologics is the product of the convergence and integration of Asahi Glass Company (AGC) Bioscience, Biomeva GmbH, and CMC Biologics. The company currently employs more than 850 employees worldwide. Our extensive network spans three continents, with cGMP-compliant facilities in Seattle, WA; Berkeley, CA; Copenhagen, Denmark; Heidelberg, Germany; Yokohama, Japan; and Chiba, Japan.

AGC Biologics offers deep industry expertise and unique customized services for the scale-up and cGMP manufacture of protein-based therapeutics; from pre-clinical to commercial production, for mammalian and microbial. Our integrated service offerings include cell line development, bioprocess development, formulation, analytical testing, antibody drug development and conjugation, cell banking and storage, and protein expression  including our proprietary CHEF1 Expression System for mammalian production. Further information can be found at www.agcbio.com.

AGC Biologics Media Contact Information:

Ms. Kim Yang

Director, Global Marketing and Communications

Email: [email protected]

Office: +1 425.415.5438

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SOURCE AGC Biologics
FARMINGDALE, N.Y., July 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Louis Basso, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chairman of the Board at Alcott HR (www.alcotthr.com), a leading provider of human resources outsourcing (HRO) solutions and a Certified Professional Employer Organization (CPEO) with offices in Farmingdale and Buffalo, New York, announced the promotion of Chief Operating Officer (COO) Steven Politis, Esq. to President, a position formerly held by Basso. Politis, who joined Alcott HR in 2015 as Vice President, will retain his role as COO.

According to Basso, "Steve has always been part of our succession plan at Alcott HR. Our working relationship with Steve spans over two decades, including simultaneous chairmanships of the New York and New Jersey leadership councils for the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO). When we approached him about joining our executive team, it was with the intention that he would ultimately assume the reins of leadership as part of our transition plan." Basso noted that Barry Shorten, with whom he cofounded Alcott HR in 1987,continues to serve as a consultant following his pivotal role as Executive Vice President where he spearheaded the company's successful migration to a new leading-edge Information Technology platform.

Basso continued, "Steve has all of the right skills and expertise to continue advancing Alcott HR's growth plan. Politis noted that, "Alcott HR is uniquely positioned to continue fulfilling its mission while also expanding its offerings to serve more organizations. We have an enviable combination of financial stability and longevity, along with a culture of entrepreneurship and creativity that enables us to be nimble and flexible in meeting the demands of the market, as well as our current and prospective clients. For us, every client engagement begins with a genuine Human Resources Assessment to best identify their needs and the respective fit, rather than simply shoehorning a one size fits all solution."

Under Basso and Shorten's leadership, Alcott HR has enjoyed a steady growth attributed to its high-quality service and active role in promoting higher standards and accountability within the PEO industry. Politis expects to bring his own brand of leadership, building on the legacy established by the founders. Over the past few years, he has initiated enhancements to the company's management infrastructure, introducing new roles such as Director of People and Culture and Strategic Projects Manager, and has plans for other new positions such as Data Scientist to help Alcott's clients continue to grow and prosper.

Continued Politis, "For Alcott HR and many of our clients and their employees, the workplace includes members of as many as five distinct generations, each with their own needs and motivations. We know, for example, that the millennial generation places a high priority on flex time, more health plan options, and a benefit that helps with their student loans. By contrast Generation Z, which is now entering the workforce, places a higher value on financial security, as their childhoods where often framed by the great recession. By recognizing and accommodating changing workforce dynamics, Alcott HR is able to achieve the highest levels of employee engagement and productivity."

Politis shared a quote Basso frequently says, which is, "Regardless of the political climate, it is tough being an employer and Alcott will be there to help their clients." He added that Alcott HR is constantly evaluating how it can deliver its services in additional ways that can bring its value proposition to more organizations for which the PEO platform may not be ideal.

"We're looking to extend our offering with solutions that bridge to the PEO offering or can be accessed as standalone services," said Politis. "We also expect to further leverage our standing as a member of the Cameron group of companies, which includes premier organizations such as American Fidelity, First Fidelity Bank, First Financial Group of America and many more, all of which have synergistic offerings that would benefit everyone's clients."Currently, Alcott HR, which began as a New York PEO, has clientslocated throughout the United States.

About Alcott HR

Founded in 1987, Alcott HR is a leading nationwide provider of Human Resources Outsourcing (HRO) services. The company provides comprehensive and customizable HR solutions that empower business leaders to focus on core revenue-producing functions instead of time-consuming and expensive HR tasks. Services include regulatory compliance, HR best practices, payroll, risk management training and development, employee benefits and payroll tax administration.

Headquartered in Farmingdale, NY and with an office in Buffalo, Alcott HR services a wide range of clients in diverse industries, including growing businesses, professional associations, not for profit organizations and other for profit corporations. These clients are located across the United States.

For more information, visit www.alcotthr.com.

Contact: Donna M. Autuori

Autuori Corporate Communications, Inc.

631.321.0045

SOURCE Alcott HR

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EMERYVILLE, Calif., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Schools across the nation are struggling to fill primary and secondary educator positions, according to the U.S. Department of Education. In an effort to continue teaching core subjects, some states are even placing applicants with no formal training in teaching positions. A 2017 educator survey conducted by NPR suggested the trend has a multifaceted cause, with teaching pay, rising education costs and reliance on student loans named as some of the issues teachers face. In addition to the costs of education and the impact of debt, there are fewer entrants to teaching programs. American Financial Benefits Center (AFBC), a document preparation service company, acknowledges that student debt can have a disproportionate impact on those in the education field.

"Student loan debt is a heavy weight for everyone to bear, regardless of their industry, but it's especially burdensome for teachers," said Sara Molina, manager of AFBC. "Their debt can be difficult to manage once they've graduated and are starting out in their first teaching job."

Becoming a K-12 teacher has traditionally required a bachelor's degree in education, along with a state certification. A report by the Learning Policy Institute says that even after adjusting for the shorter work year, starting salaries for teachers are 20 percent less than those with the same level of education who work in a different industry. They also found that the pay difference can be as much as 30 percent by their mid-career. According to the National Education Association, the national average public school starting teacher salary during 2016-2017 was $38,617. The average amount of debt racked up by those pursuing their four-year teaching degree? $52,596 according to Bankrate. In 2017, a Payscale report listed teaching jobs as one of the worst careers to have for paying back student loan debt. The NPR survey also found that teachers are often pressured to earn master's degrees, which means more school  and potentially more debt.

"It's a bit of a catch-22," mused Molina. "Base pay is low, and teachers can make a better living with a master's degree. To get that, though, they often have to take on more debt, which can cancel out the extra money they'll be making with that higher degree."

AFBC suggests that income-driven repayment plans (IDRs) may be a good option for teachers who find themselves having trouble making their federal student loan payments. These plans recalculate affordable loan payments based on discretionary income and family size.

"Teachers are essential to every community," Molina said. "Students with an interest in teaching shouldn't be discouraged to enter the field or have to struggle after graduation. At AFBC, we're proud to be able to assist them with services to apply for federal repayment programs which may better afford someone to continue to do what they love and focus on educating our youth since such programs tend to have lower monthly repayment requirements."

About Financial Education Benefits Center

Financial Education Benefits Center is located in San Ramon, California. The membership company has already helped thousands save money and obtain the necessary education required to live a financially healthy life.

Financial Education Benefits Center has partnered with several name brand third-party companies to expand the financial and educational products and services available to its members and to provide a variety of wellness services as well.

Financial Education Benefits Center Newsroom

Contact

To learn more about Financial Education Benefits Center, please contact:

Financial Education Benefits Center

2010 Crow Canyon Place Ste. 100

San Ramon, CA 94583

1-800-953-1388

[email protected]

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SOURCE American Financial Benefits Center
CLEVELAND, Tenn., July 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Hardwick Clothes, on the eve of celebrating their 138th anniversary, calls for tariffs, especially on clothing imported from Mexico and Canada. Allan Jones, Chairman of Jones Capitalcorp, LLC, rescued Hardwick from bankruptcy in 2014, pumping millions of his own money into the venture in an attempt to salvage the company, maintain employment for the company's 300-plus employees, and keep America's oldest tailor-made clothing manufacturer in business.

"When the Tariff of 1824 was instituted, the goal was admirable: protect woolen mills in America," Jones said. He explained that a century later in 1930, Hardwick Woolen Mills in Cleveland, Tennessee, was the largest clothing manufacturer and mill in the world. When the company leadership saw the decline of mills, Hardwick sold the milling business to Burlington Fabrics to concentrate on their tailored clothing.

Unfortunately, Jones said, "While fine woolen fabric mills in America have since ceased to exist, the tariffs have not. Today, manufacturers based on both of America's bordersCanada and Mexicopay no tariffs on imported fabrics (which come primarily from Europe), whereas American manufacturers pay a twenty-five percent tariff on the same goods, only to see Canadian and Mexican manufacturers ship their tailored clothing tariff-free to America."

Though there is a rebate program through the Farm Bill, the construction of the rebate is based on historical purchasesnot actual purchasesand goes disproportionately to two manufacturers that receive much more rebate than they have paid in tariffs.

"This isn't a rebate," Jones insisted. "It's a subsidy that places other American clothing manufacturers at a distinct disadvantage."

One of these disadvantaged is Hardwick, America's oldest tailor-made clothing company that was founded on July 28, 1880. Jones explained, "The company has survived a mountain of obstacles during its 138-year history, including two major fires, two World Wars, the Great Depression, and even leisure suits! Today, the company is penalized by tariffs on raw materials necessary to manufacture clothing and an unfair, disproportionate rebate subsidizing the company's competitors."

In an effort to level the playing field for all, Jones is requesting that during NAFTA negotiations, a tariff of twenty-five percent be placed on all imported tailored clothingmenswear in particularespecially clothing that is imported from Canada and Mexico, and any rebate be based on actual, not historical, purchases. This will allow Hardwick to pay higher wages and allow the company to grow its market.

"After NAFTA, there was a giant sucking sound, with tailored clothing manufacturing moving to Canada and Mexico," Jones said, "while Hardwick remained an American company. Now, we're seeking a level playing field. The future of the tailored clothing industry in America depends on it."

"Trump needs a substantial negotiating tool," Jones concluded, "and we need to get out of the way and let Trump be Trump. He'll manhandle these tariffs and bring about a level playing field for all American manufacturers."

Toby Pendergrass

Chief of Staff

Jones Management Services

(423) 473-4227

[email protected]

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SOURCE Hardwick Clothes
SAN FRANCISCO, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Google NEXT -- Aqua Security, a leading platform provider for securing container-based and cloud-native applications, today announced it is introducing a commercial Kubernetes application to all users of the Google Cloud Platform Marketplace (GCP Marketplace). The new offering provides customers with Aqua's enterprise-class container security platform available in hourly per-node consumption pricing, making it much simpler to protect applications quickly with no up-front investment. For the first time ever, commercial Kubernetes applications are available to deploy with one click to Google Kubernetes Engine with a usage-based pricing model. Commercial Kubernetes applications can be deployed on-premise or even on other public clouds through the GCP Marketplace.

GCP Marketplace is based on a multi-cloud and hybrid-first philosophy, focused on giving Google Cloud partners and enterprise customers flexibility without lock-in. It also helps customers innovate by easily adopting new technologies from ISV partners, such as commercial Kubernetes applications, and allows companies to oversee the full lifecycle of a solution, from discovery through management.

The full-featured Aqua Container Security Platform, which is now available in GCP Marketplace, provides security across the application lifecycle, from development to production, and crucially secures those applications in runtime, leveraging native Kubernetes capabilities:

Image Assurance Controls: Aqua can block unapproved images from running on Google Cloud Platform, at the individual node level, as well as across entire clusters, ensuring that only trusted, approved images will be able to run. Aqua's image drift prevention feature ensures that containers remain immutable and do not deviate from their originating image, further limiting the potential of abuse.

Aqua can block unapproved images from running on Google Cloud Platform, at the individual node level, as well as across entire clusters, ensuring that only trusted, approved images will be able to run. Aqua's image drift prevention feature ensures that containers remain immutable and do not deviate from their originating image, further limiting the potential of abuse. Zero-Configuration Runtime Protection: Aqua automatically profiles container behavior to enforce least-privilege controls on running containers and pods, ensuring that they only perform actions that are required in the application context and alerting on or blocking specific actions that violate the policy.

Aqua automatically profiles container behavior to enforce least-privilege controls on running containers and pods, ensuring that they only perform actions that are required in the application context and alerting on or blocking specific actions that violate the policy. Network Controls: Aqua's container-level firewall enables enterprises to control network traffic based on Kubernetes namespaces, clusters or deployments. This allows admins to enforce network segmentation for compliance purposes, as well as limit an attack's "blast radius" across clusters and applications.

Aqua's container-level firewall enables enterprises to control network traffic based on Kubernetes namespaces, clusters or deployments. This allows admins to enforce network segmentation for compliance purposes, as well as limit an attack's "blast radius" across clusters and applications. CIS Kubernetes Benchmark: Building upon Aqua's open-source Kube-Bench, the tool widely used by the community to validate the security posture of Kubernetes deployments, Aqua incorporates CIS Kubernetes benchmark checks alongside updated Docker CIS benchmark checks. Automated checks can run daily, providing a detailed report that can also be exported for compliance.

Building upon Aqua's open-source Kube-Bench, the tool widely used by the community to validate the security posture of Kubernetes deployments, Aqua incorporates CIS Kubernetes benchmark checks alongside updated Docker CIS benchmark checks. Automated checks can run daily, providing a detailed report that can also be exported for compliance. Audit Trail and Compliance: Aqua's granular event logging includes all container-related system events and policy violations to provide additional visibility for compliance and forensics.

Aqua's platform is currently in use by dozens of Global 1000 customers, running both on-premise and in the cloud, providing a comprehensive full-lifecycle solution for securing container-based and cloud-native applications. The Aqua platform drives DevSecOps automation and provides visibility and runtime protection for cloud-native workloads, including both host-level and network-level controls.

"As the market for cloud-native technologies and container-based applications evolves, customers are looking for accessible, flexible ways to consume these technologies" said Upesh Patel, VP, Business Development at Aqua. "We are thrilled to be part of GCP Marketplace and provide advanced cloud-native application security to Google Cloud customers in a consumption-based model."

"To remain competitive and deliver on user demands, organizations adopting cloud need ready access to trusted, tested and portable applications that can run across their entire infrastructure. At Google Cloud we strive to make it as easy as possible for customers of all sizes to deploy, purchase and manage leading solutions in the cloud," said Jennifer Lin, Director of Product Management Google Cloud. "The availability of commercial Kubernetes applications from providers like Aqua Security is a critical part of extending enterprise investments and can simplify adoption of container-based infrastructure no matter what environment they operate in, either on-premise or in the public cloud."

Availability and pricing: Aqua is available now on GCP Marketplace. Pricing starts at $0.05/hour per GKE node.

For additional information and to get Aqua on the GCP Marketplace:

About Aqua Security

Aqua Security enables enterprises to secure their container and cloud-native applications from development to production, accelerating application deployment and bridging the gap between DevOps and IT security. Aqua's Container Security Platform provides full visibility into container activity, allowing organizations to detect and prevent suspicious activity and attacks in real time. Integrated with container lifecycle and orchestration tools, the Aqua platform provides transparent, automated security while helping to enforce policy and simplify regulatory compliance. Aqua was founded in 2015 and is backed by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Microsoft Ventures, TLV Partners, and IT security leaders, and is based in Israel and Boston, MA. For more information, visit www.aquasec.com or follow us on twitter.com/AquaSecTeam.

Press inquiries:

Rachel Kaseroff

RJK Communications

[email protected]

+1 (415) 341-5625

SOURCE Aqua Security

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BOSTON, July 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Aqua Security, the market-leading platform provider for securing container-based and cloud-native applications, announced today that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has named Aqua to its 2018 Emerging Vendors List in the Security category. This list recognizes recently founded, up-and-coming technology suppliers who are shaping the future of the IT channel through unique technological innovations. The list is divided into seven categories: Cloud, Data Center, Security, Big Data, Unified Communications, Internet of Things (IoT) and Storage. In addition to celebrating these notable companies, the Emerging Vendors list serves as a valuable resource for solution providers looking to expand their portfolios with cutting-edge technology.

Aqua's container security platform increases the security of cloud-native applications by applying security controls across their entire lifecycle, from development to production. Dozens of Global 1000 customers use Aqua to secure their container-based and cloud-native applications that run either on-premises or in the cloud across both Linux and Windows runtime environments.

"The technology suppliers on CRN's 2018 Emerging Vendors list are creating a bright future for the IT channel, aggressively developing products to meet complex IT market demands, while positively impacting the bottom line of solution providers," said Bob Skelley, CEO, The Channel Company. "The array of leading-edge products delivered by these organizations will have a lasting impact on the channel for years to come."

Enterprises are deploying containerized applications at an accelerated pace. While containers can create more secure application development environments, they also introduce new security challenges. A recent survey of 1,200 IT decision-makers by research firm CyberEdge found that containers are now the biggest security challenge organizations face.1

Aqua Security enables solution providers to help their customers mitigate those risks and realize the tremendous business benefits that containers offer.

"Aqua Security is a pioneer in the container security software market, and unlike the majority of vendors jumping into this category with first-generation products, we offer a mature, proven enterprise solution," said Dror Davidoff, CEO, Aqua Security. "We are committed to providing resellers, systems integrators and consultants with the technology, support and expertise they need to grow their businesses in the rapidly-growing container security market."

The complete Emerging Vendors list is featured online at www.crn.com/emergingvendors.

Follow The Channel Company: Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook

Tweet This:

@TheChannelCo names @AquaSecTeam to @CRN 2018 Emerging Vendors list #CRNEV www.crn.com/emergingvendors

About Aqua Security

Aqua Security enables enterprises to secure their container and cloud-native applications from development to production, accelerating application deployment and bridging the gap between DevOps and IT security. Aqua's Container Security Platform provides full visibility into container activity, allowing organizations to detect and prevent suspicious activity and attacks in real time. Integrated with container lifecycle and orchestration tools, the Aqua platform provides transparent, automated security while helping to enforce policy and simplify regulatory compliance. Aqua was founded in 2015 and is backed by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Microsoft Ventures, TLV Partners, and IT security leaders, and is based in Israel and Boston, MA. For more information, visit www.aquasec.com or follow us on twitter.com/AquaSecTeam.

About The Channel Company

The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelco.com

1 "2018 Cyberthreat Defense Report," 2018 CyberEdge Group, LLC

Press Inquiries:

Rachel Kaseroff

RJK Communications

[email protected]

+1 (415) 341-5625

SOURCE Aqua Security

Related Links

http://www.aquasec.com


ALPHARETTA, Ga., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Avanos Medical, Inc. (NYSE: AVNS) will webcast its conference call discussing financial results and business highlights for the second quarter 2018 on Tuesday, Aug. 7 at 9 a.m. ET. The company will issue a news release detailing its results before the market opens that same day.

The conference call will be hosted by Joe Woody, chief executive officer, and Steve Voskuil, chief financial officer.

To join the live conference call, dial 877-240-5772 in the United States. A simultaneous webcast of the call and a related presentation will be accessible via the Investors section of the Avanos Medical website, https://avanos.investorroom.com/.

A replay of the conference call will be available Aug. 7 at noon ET by dialing 877-344-7529 in the United States and entering passcode 10122367. It will be available for one week. A replay of the webcast also will be accessible in the Investors section of the website, approximately one hour following the completion of the conference call.

About Avanos Medical, Inc.

Avanos Medical, Inc. (NYSE: AVNS) is a medical technology company focused on delivering clinically superior breakthrough medical device solutions to improve patients' quality of life. Headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, Avanos is committed to addressing some of today's most important healthcare needs, such as reducing the use of opioids while helping patients move from surgery to recovery. Avanos develops, manufactures and markets its recognized brands in more than 90 countries. For more information, visit www.avanos.com.

SOURCE Avanos Medical, Inc.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 24)  Filipino celebrities and personalities are saying love  not hate  "is all we need" to change the minds of senators blocking the Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) equality bill.

The social media campaign "#LoveIsAllWeNeed" made the rounds on Monday, the day the 17th Congress opened its third session.

The campaign encourages the public to show love to lawmakers who "show hate" for the SOGIE equality bill, which is also known as the Anti-Discrimination Bill.

The campaign infographics specifically asked SOGIE supporters to send messages of love to Senate President Tito Sotto and Senators Manny Pacquiao and Joel Villanueva, who have expressed opposition to the bill.

Celebrities, personalities, and netizens poured their messages of positivity on social media to get the opposition senators to take notice.

Heart Evangelista and Tootsy Angara, the wives of Senators Chiz Escudero and Sonny Angara, respectively, also expressed their support for the SOGIE equality bill by wearing LGBTQIA+ rainbow pins during the State of the Nation Address on Monday.

"The truth is, the bill has a lot of enemies in the Senate, who express loud opposition and hate for the bill," the campaign infographics said. "By sending letters and messages of love straight to the senators who fight against the bill, and sincerely asking for their love and support," it added.

It gave tips on how to reach out to the solons: Supporters can send a sincere personal plea in the form of a tweet, a Facebook post, an Instagram post to the senators, despite their resistance to the bill.

"The message should be about how you know they have love in their heart and their love is your last remaining hope for the SOGIE Bill," it added.

The bill seeks to protect LGBTQ+ Filipinos against sex- and gender-based discrimination, which includes denial of access to public services, health services, employment and education.

The SOGIE equality bill was approved in the House of Representatives on September 20, 2017. Yet, its counterpart bill in the Senate has been languishing on second reading since early 2017.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Turkey was becoming a "dark dictatorship" as he hit back at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's harsh criticism of a "racist" new Israeli law.

"Erdogan is massacring Syrians and Kurds and has imprisoned tens of thousands of his citizens," Netanyahu said in a statement. "Turkey under Erdogan is becoming a dark dictatorship, while Israel is meticulously maintaining equal rights for all its citizens, before and after the law."

Earlier Tuesday, Erdogan branded Israel "the world's most Zionist, fascist and racist state" after the Israeli parliament passed a law defining the country as the nation state of the Jewish people, the Daily Mail recalled.
RICHARDSON, Texas, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) has reached an agreement with Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance (BSWQA), Baylor Scott & White's accountable care organization (ACO) to deliver high-quality and lower cost care to more than 140,000 BCBSTX members in North and Central Texas.

"This agreement is a major step forward as we shift from a fee-for-service to a fee-for-value healthcare model," said Dan McCoy, MD, president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. "We now have more than 1 million lives under value-based-care arrangements. It goes without saying that aligning with a health system with Baylor Scott & White Health's reputation means our members and their patients will receive high-value, coordinated and quality care."

The BCBSTX agreement represents BSWQA's largest value-based arrangement with a commercial insurance company. BSWQA, one of the largest ACOs in Texas, now has more than 600,000 covered lives. Value-based care focuses on improving quality of care and the member experience while reducing medical costs for a specific group of patients.

BSWQA is composed of over 6,000 primary and specialty care physician members, 50 hospitals, more than 95 post-acute care facilities and other healthcare stakeholders that agree to be accountable jointly for improving quality, enhancing the patient experience and reducing healthcare costs. BSWQA has earned National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) ACO accreditation. NCQA's ACO accreditation rates the level of preparation by ACOs to improve healthcare quality and efficiency while reducing costs.

"This opportunity aligns with our strategy to provide quality, value-based care, an improved customer experience and increased affordability for those we serve," said James H. Hinton, CEO, Baylor Scott & White. "Members enrolled in this new ACO arrangement have access to BSWQA's comprehensive network of primary and specialty care doctors and facilities with a proven track record for accountability and delivering quality care that is efficient and affordable."

An ACO is a healthcare collaboration that, among other things, ties payments to quality measures and the cost of care. ACOs are formed by a group of providers, hospitals, payers and other health care stakeholders committed to being accountable to patients and payers for the quality, appropriateness and efficiency of healthcare services. ACOs strive to ensure that patients get the right care at the right time and at the right cost.

The relationship between BCBSTX and Baylor dates to 1929, when the then-superintendent of Dallas schools, Justin Ford Kimball, became a Baylor University official. Wanting to improve the quality of healthcare for educators, Kimball devised a plan that allowed teachers to contribute to a fund that would guarantee up to 21 days of hospital care at Baylor Hospital. The program became the first Blue Cross and Blue Shield plan in the U.S.

Over years, the relationship between BCBSTX and Baylor Scott & White has grown, with the BCBSTX/BSWQA ACO arrangement  effective this month  further linking the two healthcare organizations and serving as an evolution in their professional collaboration.

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX)  the only statewide, customer-owned health insurer in Texas  is the largest provider of health benefits in the state, working with nearly 80,000 physicians and healthcare practitioners, and 500 hospitals to serve more than 5 million members in all 254 counties. BCBSTX is a Division of Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC) (which operates Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in Texas, Illinois, Montana, Oklahoma and New Mexico), the country's largest customer-owned health insurer, and fourth largest health insurer overall. Health Care Service Corporation is a Mutual Legal Reserve Company and an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

BCBSTX.com | Twitter.com/BCBSTX | Facebook.com/BlueCrossBlueShieldOfTexas | YouTube.com/BCBSTX

About Baylor Scott & White Health

As the largest not-for-profit health system in the state of Texas, Baylor Scott & White Health promotes the health and well-being of every individual, family and community it serves. An integrated care delivery network, the system includes the Scott and White Health Plan, Baylor Scott & White Research Institute and Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance. Through 48 hospitals and more than 1,000 access points including flagship academic medical centers in Dallas and Temple, the system offers the full continuum of care, from primary to award-winning specialty care, throughout Texas, and via virtual touchpoints. If its service area were a state, it would be the eighth largest, providing care to a population larger than that of the state of Georgia. Founded as a Christian ministry of healing, Baylor Scott & White is proud to honor its century-long legacy through its commitment to improving accessibility, affordability and the customer experience for all. For more information, visit BSWHealth.com.

SOURCE Baylor Scott & White Health

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MARLBOROUGH, Mass., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) has been notified of an unsolicited "mini-tender" offer by TRC Capital Corporation (TRC) to purchase up to three million shares of Boston Scientific's common stock, constituting approximately 0.217 percent of our outstanding shares of common stock. TRC's offer price of $31.90 per share is approximately 4.35 percent below the closing price per share of Boston Scientific's common stock on July 13, 2018, the last trading day before the commencement of the offer.

Boston Scientific does not endorse TRC's unsolicited mini-tender offer and is not associated with TRC, its mini-tender offer or the mini-tender offer documents.

Because TRC's offer price is at a price below the current market price, Boston Scientific recommends that stockholders not tender their shares (i.e., take no action) into the offer or, if they have already tendered shares, withdraw their shares by providing the written notice described in the TRC mini-tender offer documents prior to the expiration of the offer, currently scheduled for 12:01 a.m., New York City time, on Tuesday, August 14, 2018. TRC may extend the offering period at its discretion.

Boston Scientific encourages brokers and dealers, as well as other market participants, to review the SEC's letter to the Securities Industry Association regarding broker-dealer mini-tender offer dissemination and disclosures at http://www.sec.gov/divisions/marketreg/minitenders/sia072401.htm. Additional SEC guidance to investors on mini-tender offers is available at http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/minitend.htm.

Stockholders should obtain current market quotations for their shares, consult with their broker or financial advisor, and exercise caution with respect to TRC's mini-tender offer.

Boston Scientific requests that a copy of this press release be included with all distributions of materials relating to TRC's mini-tender offer for shares of Boston Scientific's common stock.

About Boston Scientific

Boston Scientific transforms lives through innovative medical solutions that improve the health of patients around the world. As a global medical technology leader for more than 35 years, we advance science for life by providing a broad range of high performance solutions that address unmet patient needs and reduce the cost of healthcare. For more information, visit www.bostonscientific.com and connect on Twitter and Facebook.

CONTACTS:

Kate Haranis

Media Relations

(508) 683-6586 (office)

[email protected]

Susie Lisa, CFA

Investor Relations

(508) 683-5565 (office)

[email protected]

SOURCE Boston Scientific Corporation

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SAN FRANCISCO and SAN DIEGO, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Brightside, a trusted partner in financial health for employees, and TrueConnect, a small-dollar loan provider for employees, today announced that the TrueConnect service is now available on Brightside's employer platform.

"Access to small-dollar loans can often make a big difference in people's lives and may keep a short-term situation from being a long-term problem. By partnering with Brightside, a company that is sharing our solution as part of a broader financial health benefit offering to employees, employees can also get personalized assistance to meet their financial goals," said Doug Farry, vice president of partners at TrueConnect.

Last month, the TrueConnect loan program became available to a pilot group of employees on the Brightside financial health platform. TrueConnect allows qualified employees to apply for short-term loans for up to $2,000 without accessing the employee's credit score. Qualified applicants receive loan funds as soon as the next business day. "These loans can help employees get out from under higher interest payday loans and reduce 401(k) hardship withdrawals, while helping employees build their credit. These are key objectives for employers," said Christine Tozzi, chief strategy officer at Brightside.

"We're excited to add TrueConnect to the Brightside platform to round out the broad solutions we already have, including building emergency savings, reducing credit card debt and reducing bills," said Callum King, president of Brightside.

As a trusted partner, Brightside offers its service as an employee benefit. The company supports each employee's unique financial situation with a mobile app and financial assistants, both backed by a proprietary financial methodology, modern behavioral science, and easy access to the best financial product options curated personally to save them money. For example, Brightside helped one employee save $3,000 in credit card interest payments, reduced the time to be debt-free by two years and improved their credit score in the process.

About Brightside

Brightside is the first employer-based financial wellness solution that uniquely combines personal assistants, smart technology and innovative products to relieve employee stress and its impact on the workforce. Brightside delivers improved outcomes for employees through its financial assistants, who engage employees, establish trust, and provide tailored support, as well as unbiased access to financial products that save them money. Headquartered in San Francisco, Calif., Brightside was founded in 2017 and is funded by Comcast Ventures and Trinity Ventures. For more information, please visit: https://www.gobrightside.com.

TrueConnect

TrueConnect is available at no cost or risk to the employer. TrueConnect is a voluntary benefit program offering employees a small-dollar loan without using the employee's credit score. Learn more about TrueConnect at www.trueconnectloan.com.

Media Contact

Doug Farry, VP Partners, TrueConnect

Phone: 858-405-9529

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Brightside

Related Links

https://www.gobrightside.com


LOS ANGELES, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The ruling in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles, No. S222732 (Cal. Sup. Ct. Apr. 30, 2018) will disrupt California's established tradition of utilizing independent contractors in many industries, says Jacob Stein, managing partner of Aliant, LLP.

In a unanimous ruling on April 30, the California Supreme Court adopted a new standard to test whether a worker should be classified as an employee or an independent contractor. The new standard in Dynamex uses the "ABC Test," which assumes that workers are employees unless they can meet the three primary requirements for an independent contractor. The worker must be free from the control and jurisdiction of the hiring company regarding performance of the work, be able to perform work that falls beyond the domain of the hiring company's business and must be regularly engaged in a recognized trade that is independently pursued. While Dynamex establishes a new standard, it also interprets existing law, and has a retroactive effect.

Practical Effect:

The difference between an employee and an independent contractor is especially significant for those industries that frequently use subcontractors  construction, janitorial, transportation and delivery. For example, a construction company may classify its own workers as employees but may use sub-contractors who classify their workers as independent contractors. The misclassification liability will attach not only to the construction company but will also result in personal liability for the individual owners of the construction company.

The stricter standard of classification for independent contractors will contribute to a general increase in the number of wage and hour lawsuits against California employers. "We have had numerous phone calls from clients and prospective clients in construction, janitorial, delivery and many other industries, who are all afraid that Dynamex will bankrupt them," says Jacob Stein, the managing partner of Aliant, LLP. "The Dynamex decision interprets existing law and reaches far into the past history of every employer," continues Stein. "The liability for misclassification, including the personal liability of the owners, will be catastrophic for many California businesses."

California employers may be liable, at a minimum, for penalties of 1.5% of the wages, 40% of Social Security and Medicare (FICA taxes) not withheld, and 100% of the matching FICA taxes not paid by the employer.

Fortunately for many California employers and the individual owners of California businesses there are pre-emptive steps that can be taken to protect assets from lawsuits and plaintiffs' claims. Jacob Stein of Aliant, LLP has represented hundreds of California employers facing wage and hour and other employment related lawsuits. "There are sensible asset protection structures that we develop for our clients that allows them to insulate their business and personal assets from claims of creditors," says Stein, "but they must act quickly before they are hit with a lawsuit. Once the lawsuit has been filed asset protection becomes an uphill battle."

California employers concerned with their exposure in light of the Dynamex decision should contact Aliant, LLP at 818-933-3838.

About Jacob Stein

Jacob Stein, Esq. is the managing partner of Aliant, LLP, and is one of the country's best-known asset protection lawyers. Over the past 20 years Jacob has completed over 3,000 asset protection transactions for both individuals and businesses. He is the author of numerous articles and several books and has taught over 600 seminars. To learn more about Jacob and the asset protection planning that can be implemented for California business owners, please visit www.maximumassetprotection.com.

Media Contact:

Natasha Zammiello

[email protected]

818-933-3838

SOURCE Aliant, LLP
BOSTON, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A recent ruling by the Massachusetts Superior Court establishes that an attorney cannot be sued for advocating on behalf of a client by threatening to publicly question the reputation of an adversary during pre-suit negotiations while litigation is still under consideration, according to William E. Gildea, a Boston-based associate at national law firm LeClairRyan.

William E. Gildea

"In Wise v. Big Tuna, LLC et al, 2018 WL 2049357 (Mass. Super. Ct. Feb. 26, 2018), Betsy Wise originally brought claims for misappropriation of corporate funds, breach of contract, and other allegations against other company owners and LLC members in which Wise is a member and shareholder," Gildea writes in a column, Absolute Litigation Privilege Bars Claims Arising Out of Settlement Negotiations. The post appears in LeClairRyan's Summer 2018 Accountant and Attorney Liability NewsBrief.

Wise also named attorney Elliot M. Loew as a defendant "for his role in acting as an attorney on behalf of the company and LLC during alleged unauthorized transactions unrelated to the company and LLC's operations, and assisting the defendants in delaying distributions that Wise was entitled to," adds Gildea, a member of LeClairRyan's Business Litigation practice. "Wise also claimed Loew breached his fiduciary duty by obstructing her from discovering company documents."

Loew subsequently asserted claims for abuse of process, tortious interference with a contractual relationship, and civil conspiracy against Jeffrey Fink, Wise's "settlement counsel" during negotiations between Wise and the company's president. "Loew further alleged in his Third-Party Complaint that he was named as a defendant only to pressure or advise his client to offer a larger settlement amount, and disrupt their attorney-client relationship," Gildea summarized. "Loew alleged Fink threatened to publicly question the reputation of the company and another shareholder, and refer the case to litigation counsel if no agreement was reached."

The Court said Loew's allegation that Fink "threatened the reputation of the company and shareholder" cannot serve as a basis for any claim against Fink, because the statements were made while this litigation was being contemplated and are therefore protected by the absolute litigation privilege, explains Gildea. The Court further dismissed the other claims because they failed to state a claim and were far too conclusory.

"This decision is influential because it bolsters the absolute litigation privilege," Gildea says. "Attorneys can still zealously advocate for their clients without fear of retaliatory litigation. Surely, attorneys will continue to remain civil and professional when negotiating their clients' interests. Looking forward, at least in Massachusetts, attorneys can feel confident when negotiating on behalf of a client and still maintaining their ethical duties. The Court's order will dissuade prospective plaintiffs from filing claims related to prior litigation."

The full column is available at:

https://www.leclairryan.com/pubs/xprPubDetail.aspx?xpST=PubDetail&pub=1153

About LeClairRyan

As a trusted advisor, LeClairRyan provides business counsel and client representation in corporate law and litigation. In this role, the firm applies its knowledge, insight and skill to help clients achieve their business objectives while managing and minimizing their legal risks, difficulties and expenses. With offices from coast to coast, the firm represents a wide variety of clients nationwide. For more information about LeClairRyan, visit www.leclairryan.com.

Press Contacts: At Parness & Associates Public Relations, Bill Parness, (732) 290-0121, or Lisa Kreda, [email protected]

SOURCE LeClairRyan

Related Links

http://www.leclairryan.com


SAN JOSE, Calif., July 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Vexata, a leader in high-performance NVMe Flash storage systems, was today recognized by CRN for its technological advancements in the Storage category of the 2018 Emerging Vendors List.

This list recognizes recently founded, up-and-coming technology suppliers who are shaping the future of the IT channel through unique technological innovations. The list is divided into seven categories: Cloud, Data Center, Security, Big Data, Unified Communications, Internet of Things (IoT) and Storage. In addition to celebrating the companies featured in these categories, the Emerging Vendors list serves as a valuable resource for solution providers looking to expand their portfolios with cutting-edge technology.

Since launching from stealth in September 2017, Vexata has made tremendous strides in the storage industry. The San-Jose based company most recently unveiled a new version of its Vexata Operating System (VX-OS), which added NVMe over fabric (NVMe-oF) and higher capacities to support half a petabyte in a dense, 6U chassis. The Vexata VX-100 Scalable NVMe Flash Array delivers 5-10x the performance of leading all-flash arrays at a fraction of the cost, targeting high performance analytics and machine learning cognitive era applications. Other notable milestones in the past year include:

Introducing the world's fastest family of all-flash storage, featuring both NVMe Flash and Intel Optane based systems, powered by the Vexata Active Data Architecture  a new software layer that enables companies to dramatically reduce storage latency and achieve 10x performance on their existing infrastructure

Signing customers like Oath, Tata Consultancy, Pacific Data Center and Sanmina  adding on to its list of Fortune 1000 caliber customers

Appointing industry veteran and former Brocade vice president, Charles Leeming , as chief sales officer to further build out the company's extensive sales organization and its work with global resellers and channel partners

, as chief sales officer to further build out the company's extensive sales organization and its work with global resellers and channel partners Raising $54 million in funding from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Intel Capital, Mayfield, Toshiba and Redline Capital

in funding from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Intel Capital, Mayfield, Toshiba and Redline Capital Completing the STAC-A3 benchmarks  which evaluate the performance of financial services infrastructure technology  further validating Vexata's breakthrough price performance leadership

"The technology suppliers on CRN's 2018 Emerging Vendors list are creating a bright future for the IT channel, aggressively developing products to meet complex IT market demands, while positively impacting the bottom line of solution providers," said Bob Skelley, CEO, The Channel Company. "The array of leading-edge products delivered by these organizations will have a lasting impact on the channel for years to come."

"What started as a vision to address the fundamental architectural gap in all-flash storage systems has quickly grown into a solid business based on an extremely differentiated solution," said Zahid Hussain, CEO and co-founder of Vexata. "To gain recognition as a rising star in the storage arena is good affirmation that what we're doing is necessary and groundbreaking  and I couldn't be prouder of our team who made it all possible."

The complete list of 2018 Emerging Vendors can be found online at www.crn.com/emergingvendors.

About Vexata

Vexata powers today's cognitive era applications driving predictive analytics and autonomous decisions. Based on a patented active data architecture, Vexata delivers 10x performance and efficiency improvements at a fraction of the cost of existing all-flash storage solutions. The result is transformative performance with breakthrough economics enabling machine learning and artificial intelligence infrastructure to operate at scale. For more information, please visit Vexata.com or follow us @VexataCorp.

Contact

Haley Rodriguez

(415) 891-4700

[email protected]

About The Channel Company

The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace.www.thechannelco.com

Contact

Kim Sparks

(508) 416-1193

[email protected]

SOURCE Vexata

Related Links

http://www.vexata.com


DETROIT, July 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The following statement is being issued by Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca, LLP, Larson  King, LLP, and Barrett Law Group, P.A. regarding the Automotive Parts Antitrust Litigation:

Legal Notice

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN

In re Automotive Parts Antitrust Litigation, No. 12-md-02311

If You Are an Automobile Dealership that Purchased New Vehicles or Purchased Certain Parts for a Vehicle in the U.S. Since 1996

You Could Receive Money From Settlements of Class Actions

Lawsuits involving the prices of certain vehicle component parts have been settled with certain Defendants in various class actions in this litigation ("Settling Defendants"). The Settling Defendants are identified below. The cases are separate class actions within the lead case known as In re Automotive Parts Antitrust Litigation, 12-md-02311 (E.D. Mich.), which is currently before United States District Judge Marianne O. Battani.

You can make a claim for money benefits if you are an automobile dealership that indirectly purchased certain component parts and/or purchased new vehicles containing these parts ("Dealer") in the District of Columbia or one or more of the following states: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

These Settlements may affect your rights. Read on for more information.

What Are The Lawsuits About?

The separate lawsuits claim that the Defendants in each lawsuit engaged in unlawful agreements that had the effect of impacting the price of certain vehicle component parts. The lawsuits claim that, as a result of the relevant Defendants' conduct, Dealers paid more than they should have for the parts at issue and paid more for the new vehicles in which those parts are contained. The lawsuits also allege that Dealers were unable to pass on all of these increased costs to their customers.

These cases are proceeding as class actions for monetary recovery for Dealers in the states listed in this Notice and the District of Columbia. The lawsuits also seek nationwide injunctive relief. Although the Settling Defendants have agreed to settle, the Settling Defendants and certain affiliates deny that they engaged in any wrongdoing or are liable and owe any money or benefits to Plaintiffs. The Court has not yet decided who is right. The Settling Defendants have settled to avoid the cost and risk of trials.

The Court has appointed the law firms of Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca, LLP, Larson  King, LLP, and Barrett Law Group, P.A. as interim class counsel ("Class Counsel") in these lawsuits to represent your dealership and all other members of the Dealer class actions. Your dealership will not be charged directly by these lawyers, and any fees that they are paid will come from any settlements or recovery in these lawsuits. If your dealership wants to be represented by its own lawyer, it may hire one at its own expense.

Who's Included In The Settlements?

Your dealership is part of one or more of the Settlements if it is a Dealer and falls within the definition of one or more of the settlement classes ("Settlement Classes") approved by Judge Battani. The class definitions are set forth in the full-length Notice, which is available at www.AutoDealerSettlement.com . The term "Dealer" or "dealership" means an entity or person authorized to engage in the business of selling and / or leasing new vehicles at retail in the United States. A list of the parts included in these Settlements and their manufacturers can be found at www.AutoDealerSettlement.com .

Who Are The Settling Defendants?

The Settling Defendants involved in this Notice are: Aisan Industry Co., Ltd. Franklin Precision Industry, Inc., Aisan Corporation of America, Hyundam Industrial Co., Ltd. (collectively, "Aisan"); Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. and Aisin Automotive Casting, LLC (collectively, "Aisin Seiki"); Alps Electric Co., Ltd., Alps Electric (North America), Inc., and Alps Automotive Inc. (collectively, "Alps"); Robert Bosch GmbH, Robert Bosch LLC (collectively, "Bosch"); Bridgestone Corporation and Bridgestone APM Company (collectively, "Bridgestone"); Chiyoda Manufacturing Corporation and Chiyoda USA Corporation (collectively "Chiyoda"); Diamond Electric Mfg. Co., Ltd. and Diamond Electric Mfg. Corporation (collectively, "Diamond Electric"); Eberspacher Exhaust Technology GmbH & Co. KG and Eberspacher North America Inc. (collectively, "Eberspacher"); G.S. Electech, Inc., G.S. Wiring Systems, Inc., and G.S.W. Manufacturing, Inc. (collectively, "G.S. Electech"); Hitachi Metals, Ltd. and Hitachi Metals America, Ltd. (collectively, "Hitachi"); Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd. ("HIAMS"); INOAC Corporation, INOAC Group North America, LLC, and INOAC USA Inc. (collectively, "INOAC"); JTEKT Corporation, JTEKT Automotive North America, Inc., and JTEKT North America Corp. (formerly d/b/a Koyo Corporation of U.S.A.) (collectively, "JTEKT"); Kiekert AG and Kiekert U.S.A., Inc. (collectively, "Kiekert") Koito Manufacturing Co., Ltd., North American Lighting, Inc. (collectively, "Koito"); MITSUBA Corporation and American Mitsuba Corporation (collectively, "Mitsuba"); NGK Insulators, Ltd. and NGK Automotive Ceramics USA, Inc. (collectively, "NGK"); NTN Corporation and NTN USA Corporation (collectively, "NTN"); Nishikawa Rubber Company, Ltd. ("NRC"); Tokai Rika Co., Ltd. and TRAM, Inc. d/b/a Tokai Rika U.S.A. Inc. (collectively, "Tokai Rika"); Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd., Toyo Tire North America Manufacturing Inc., Toyo Tire North America OE Sales LLC, and Toyo Automotive Parts (USA), Inc. (collectively, "Toyo"); Yamada Manufacturing Co., Ltd. and Yamada North America, Inc. (collectively, "Yamada"); and Yamashita Rubber Co., Ltd. and YUSA Corporation (collectively, "Yamashita").

A list of the Defendants involved in this Notice, their affiliates, and the alleged co-conspirators for each case involving the parts described in the Settlement Class definitions and settlement agreements is available at www.AutoDealerSettlement.com .

What Do The Settlements Provide?

Dealers in the United States who indirectly purchased certain component parts and/or purchased new vehicles containing these component parts, listed in the Settlement Class definitions, in the states listed in this Notice or the District of Columbia may receive money benefits from the Settlements. Dealers in the United States who indirectly purchased certain component parts and/or purchased new vehicles containing these component parts, listed in the Settlement Class definitions, may receive other, non-monetary benefits from the Settlements as explained in further detail at www.AutoDealerSettlement.com .

The settlement funds (the "Settlement Funds") for Dealers in these Settlements total approximately $115 million. A table detailing the respective Settlements and the parts involved can be found in the full-length Notice, which is available at www.AutoDealerSettlement.com . The amount of money your dealership may receive, if any, will depend upon where the dealership purchased the affected vehicles or component parts, the type and quantity of vehicles and parts the dealership purchased in the states listed above and the District of Colombia, and the total number of claims made by eligible Dealers. Attorneys' fees and expenses and class representative awards will be requested and may be awarded by the Court.

Under all of the Settlements, the Settling Defendants will provide certain cooperation in the Dealers' continuing litigation against the Non-Settling Defendants. Some of the settlement agreements give the Settling Defendants the right to reduce the amount they are required to pay and/or to withdraw from their respective Settlements in the event that certain percentages of Settlement Class members elect to exclude themselves from the respective Settlement(s). The final judgments and/or settlement agreements with respect to certain of the Settling Defendants will provide for additional non-monetary relief in the form of an agreement not to engage in certain conduct with respect to the identified parts for a period of two years from the date of entry of the final judgment. These terms are all contained in the proposed final judgments and/or settlement agreements relating to these Settling Defendants, and may also be viewed at www.AutoDealerSettlement.com.

What Are My Rights And Options?

1. File a Proof of Claim to participate in the Settlements

If your dealership filed a valid Proof of Claim in either of the first two rounds of dealership settlements in this litigation, you may rely on that Proof of Claim and do nothing further to participate in the current settlements. If you choose this option, the information you provided in the prior Proof of Claim will be used to determine your dealership's share in the net proceeds of the current proposed Settlements.

To remain in the Settlement Classes, you do not need to take any further action at this time. However, to share in the Settlement Funds, and only if your dealership did not submit a Proof of Claim form in the prior dealership settlements in this litigation, your dealership must submit a Proof of Claim form that is available at www.AutoDealerSettlement.com . Proof of Claim forms must be filed on or before January 21, 2019 at www.AutoDealerSettlement.com or sent via USPS Mail, postmarked by January 21, 2019 to:

Auto Dealer Settlement Administrator

PO Box 8060

San Rafael, CA 94912-8060

If you choose the File a Proof of Claim option, your dealership will share in the net proceeds of the Settlement Funds if: (1) your dealership's Proof of Claim is timely and valid; (2) your dealership is entitled to a distribution under the Plans of Allocation that have been or will be approved by the Court; and (3) the proposed Settlements are finally approved by the Court. Your dealership will be bound by the judgments and releases to be entered by the Court as described in the full-length Notice.

2. Opt your dealership out of the Settlements

If your dealership does not want to be included in one or more of the following settlements: Aisan Fuel Injection Systems Settlement Class; Aisin Seiki Valve Timing Control Devices Settlement Class; the Alps Heater Control Panels Settlement Class; the Bosch Settlement Classes (i.e., the Windshield Wipers System Settlement Class; the Starters Settlement Class; the Fuel Injection Systems Settlement Class; or the Spark Plugs Settlement Class); the Bridgestone Anti-Vibration Rubber Parts Settlement Class; the Chiyoda Wire Harness Systems Settlement Class; the Diamond Electric of Ignition Coils Settlement Class; the Eberspacher Exhaust Systems Settlement Class; the G.S. Electech Automotive Wire Harness Systems Settlement Class; the Hitachi Automotive Brake Hoses Settlement Class; the HIAMS Shock Absorbers Settlement Class; the INOAC Interior Trim Settlement Class; the JTEKT Settlement Classes (i.e., the Automotive Bearings Settlement Class or the Electronic Powered Steering Assemblies Settlement Class); the Kiekert Side Door Latches and Latch Minimodules Settlement Class; the Koito Settlement Classes (i.e., the Automotive Lamps Settlement Class or the HID Ballasts Settlement Class); the Mitsuba Settlement Classes (i.e., the Windshield Wiper Systems Settlement Class; the Radiators Settlement Class; the Starters Settlement Class; the Automotive Lamps Settlement Class; the Electronic Powered Steering Assembly Settlement Class; the Fan Motors Settlement Class; the Fuel Injection Systems Settlement Class; the Power Window Motors Settlement Class; or the Windshield Washer Systems Settlement Class); the NGK Ceramic Substrates Settlement Class; the NRC Body Sealings Settlement Class; the NTN Bearings Settlement Class; the Tokai Rika Wire Harness Systems Settlement Class; the Toyo Settlement Classes (i.e., the Anti-Vibration Rubber Parts Settlement Class or the Automotive Constant-Velocity Joint Boot Products Settlement Class); the Yamada Electronic Powered Steering Assemblies Settlement Class; and / or the Yamashita Anti-Vibration Rubber Parts Settlement Class (as defined in the full-length Notice), it may request to be excluded. If your dealership timely submits a valid request for exclusion, it will not share in the Settlement Funds from the corresponding Settlement, and it will not be bound by the corresponding Judgment(s). It will then be your dealership's responsibility to pursue any of the claims that it preserves by opting out of one or more of the Settlement Classes. To be valid, the request for exclusion / opt out must follow the instructions set forth in the full-length Notice and be postmarked by August 15, 2018. The full instructions and requirements for opting out may be viewed at www.AutoDealerSettlement.com.

3. Object to the Settlements

If your dealership wishes to object to one or more of the Settlements or the request for attorney's fees, expenses, and service awards, it may (as discussed below) write to the Court and counsel about why it objects. It is possible that the Settlements and request for fees, expenses, and service awards will be approved despite your objection. To be considered, your dealership's objection must be filed according to the procedures set forth in the full-length Notice and postmarked no later than August 15, 2019. The full instructions and requirements for objecting to one or more of the Settlements may be viewed at www.AutoDealerSettlement.com.

4. Attend the Final Approval Hearing

The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing on September 26, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse, 231 W. Lafayette Blvd., Courtroom 272, Detroit, MI 48226 to decide whether to approve the Settlements and the request for attorney's fees, expenses, and service awards. You may attend and ask the Court's permission to speak, but you don't have to participate in the hearing in order to attend. To request to speak at the Final Approval Hearing, you must follow the procedures set forth in the full-length Notice no later than August 20, 2018.

This notice is a summary only. The complete terms, including the definitions of what parties and claims are being released are set forth in the full-length Notice, settlement agreements, and the Court filings which may be obtained at www.AutoDealerSettlement.com .

For More Information, Contact the Settlement Administrator Toll Free at (888) 565-3171 or Visit www.AutoDealerSettlement.com .

SOURCE Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca, LLP, Larson  King, LLP, and Barrett Law Group, P.A.

Related Links

http://www.AutoDealerSettlement.com


Through the partnership, Cybint's cyber literacy courses and its Cyber Security Analyst (CSA) hands-on simulation lab will be accessible via the platform. The cyber literacy offering provides non-technical students and professionals with an understanding in cybersecurity and cyber intelligence, enabling them to understand cyber terms, threats and opportunities. The more advanced CSA lab offers advanced practical training in a simulated environment, providing learners with the hands-on skills required to work as a cyber security analyst in Security Operation Centers.

The Odigia platform provides an immersive learning experience with tools designed to drive engagement and collaboration to improve student and employee outcomes. The platform's easy-to-use interface enables users to progress through course content at their own pace and focus on areas that are most relevant to them. It also provides educators and employers with tools to engage students and employees across all learning modalities, ensuring greater success rates and more measurable outcomes.

"We're extremely excited about partnering with Odigia to advance our vision of a more cyber literate and skilled workforce," said Cybint CEO, Roy Zur. "Offering these courses through the higher ed, business and government sectors enables us to deliver critical cyber education to professionals, students and other learners within an intuitive, easy-to-use platform proven to foster better outcomes."

"With the continued growth of connected students and employees in all environments, coupled with a growing gap between qualified professionals and cyber-related job openings, we recognize that the need to offer cyber-related content in education and workforce training is critical," added Joshua Moe, Odigia founder and CEO. "With Cybint, we've found a partner who shares our values and commitment to student success and training offerings that have a positive impact on our society as a whole."

Learn more at Odigia.com and Cybint.com.

ABOUT CYBINT

Cybint is an international cyber education company, providing training, certifications and learning solutions across the cyber security and intelligence spectrum. At Cybint we believe that protecting our assets, companies, and national security, starts with cyber education. That's why we are dedicated to building the most knowledgeable cyber teams for governments, educating the best cyber experts at universities and colleges, and training employees around the world to be aware of cyber threats.

Cybint is a collaboration between military-trained cyber security and intelligence experts and the education experts at BARBRI. Together, we've created programs that address cybersecurity and intelligence at the individual level  creating a deep and powerful network of cyber expertise that goes far beyond the typical technical expertise.

ABOUT ODIGIA

Odigia's innovative platform provides an immersive teaching and learning experience with tools designed to drive engagement and collaboration. Simplified analytics measure student and employee performance, while pinpointing learning gaps to improve retention and success.

Odigia was created to empower students, instructors, and content creators with tools to engage the mind, to prepare, inspire curiosity, create collaborative learning, and ultimately inspire the Desire to Learn.

Odigia runs independently and also integrates with existing LMS/CMS platforms. Visit ODIGIA.com for more information, or follow Odigia on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter @Odigia.

Contact: Cindy Parks

913-526-6912

[email protected]

SOURCE Cybint

Related Links

https://www.cybintsolutions.com/education


INDIANAPOLIS, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Delta Faucet Company announced its partnership with the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), in collaboration with the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory, to study the formation of water droplets, water flow and pressure in microgravity. The experiment will leverage Delta Faucet Company's proprietary H 2 OKinetic Technology to shed light on water flow in microgravity and how to deliver an enhanced shower experience for consumers.

Delta Faucet created H 2 OKinetic Technology to sculpt shower water into a unique pattern by manipulating the size of water droplets, providing three times the coverage of a standard shower head.1 However, in space, the impact of gravity on water droplet formation and size has the potential to transform the technology into something never seen before.

"We are thrilled to collaborate with CASIS  manager of the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory  and are eager to send our innovative technology to space to glean unique research and insights," said Paul Patton, senior manager of innovation and regulatory for Delta Faucet Company. "The results of this investigation will be incredibly important to our future work at Delta Faucet. The potential to expand our knowledge of how water droplets are formed, and potentially enhance everyday experiences in the shower, will increase the boundaries of our technology and the impact we can make for consumers."

Delta Faucet will speak at the International Space Station Research and Development Conference this week to announce the partnership and share a preview of the space experiment. With the help of the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory and CASIS officials, astronauts, and investigators from dlhBOWLES Engineering, Delta Faucet plans to launch the microgravity investigation from Wallops Island Flight Facility in Virginia as early as November 2018. Once the testing is complete, the same study will be conducted on Earth in order to compare results.

"The research Delta Faucet and CASIS will compile this year has the potential to truly impact the plumbing industry as well as other spray applications," said Russell Hester, director of business development at dlhBOWLES. "As a key player in fluid management systems, we are fascinated with the opportunities research in a microgravity situation will uncover."

Results of the testing will be made final after a successful launch to the International Space Station.

About Delta Faucet Company

Founded by Masco Corporation in 1954 with the introduction of the single-handle faucet, Delta Faucet Company is proud to be America's faucet innovation leader, featuring Delta, Brizo and Peerless products. A WaterSense partner of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Delta Faucet is a global organization offering kitchen and bath faucets, showerheads, toilets and related accessories, selling products in more than 53 countries. For more information, visit deltafaucet.com.

About CASIS

The Center for Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) is the nonprofit organization selected to manage the International Space Station U.S National Laboratory with a focus on enabling a new era of space research to improve life on Earth. In this innovative role, CASIS promotes and brokers a diverse range of research in life sciences, physical sciences, remote sensing, technology development, and education.

Since 2011, the U.S. National Lab portfolio has included hundreds of novel research projects spanning multiple scientific disciplines, all with the intention of benefitting life on Earth. Working together with NASA, CASIS aims to advance the nation's leadership in commercial space, pursue groundbreaking science not possible on Earth, and leverage the space station to inspire the next generation.

About dlhBOWLES

dlhBOWLES is the recognized leader in the design, development and manufacture of fluid management and systems components, supplying to the world's leading manufacturers. We have the experience, expertise and capability to provide your program with the best, most cost-effective systems possible. Our dedication to producing high quality, cost-competitive products has yielded over fifty years of growth and product expansion, making dlhBOWLES one of the most reliable suppliers in the industry. Dependability is as core to our business as it is to our products.

Delivering highly engineered solutions for more than 50 years, we leverage our deep knowledge and diverse expertise to position our partners on the leading edge of quality, performance and constant innovation.

dlhBOWLES is a respected contributor to the plumbing industry and works with some of the biggest household names in the industry. Our dedicated team of engineers optimize the use of reduced flow rates to produce water saving products and create energy efficient products without compromising user experience

SOURCE Delta Faucet Company
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Board certified cosmetic surgeon and Medical Director of Inland Cosmetic Surgery Dr. Jacob Haiavy recently published a paper on the history of cosmetic surgery and cosmetic surgery training in The Journal of Cosmetic Surgery. The paper, titled "Cosmetic Surgery History of the Specialty: The Importance of AACS Fellowships and the Webster Legacy," appears in the February 2018 edition and can be accessed on Sage Journals.

Dr. Haiavy's paper traces the history of cosmetic surgery through the 20th century, when advancements in medicine allowed cosmetic surgery to be performed safely and effectively for the first time. "Cosmetic surgery pioneers in the late 1800s and early 1900s were otolaryngologists, orthopedic surgeons, and neurosurgeons, among others. The cosmetic surgery specialty developed out of these and other branches of medicine, and remains multidisciplinary in nature to this day," states Dr. Haiavy. He aims to dispel ideas that cosmetic surgery is simply a subset of plastic surgery. "Plastic surgery only emerged as a distinct specialty after World War I and was limited almost exclusively to reconstructive surgery. For several decades, plastic surgeons distanced themselves from cosmetic procedures, and physicians who showed a primary interest in cosmetic surgery were excluded from plastic surgery societies."

He explains that while plastic surgeons tended toward exclusivity, cosmetic surgery specialists such as Dr. Richard C. Webster, the "founding father" of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, favored a collaborative culture that respected the specialty's multidisciplinary nature.

Fellowship training is vital to ensure the highest standard of cosmetic surgery care

Understanding cosmetic surgery's historical context, Dr. Haiavy advocates for the current fellowship-based training model for board certified cosmetic surgeons. Currently, there are no residency programs dedicated to cosmetic surgery in the United States, as the majority of funding for residencies comes from Medicare, which excludes elective procedures. Fellowship programs approved and accredited by the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (AACS) allow qualified surgeons who have first completed residency training in a related specialty to train full-time in cosmetic breast, body, facial and non-surgical procedures in an established practice setting.

Dr. Haiavy says that AACS fellowships offer a superior cosmetic surgery education, allowing aspiring cosmetic surgeons to develop extensive skills and gain necessary experience in cosmetic medicine. Ultimately, this training leads to better patient outcomes:

"By allowing surgeons to focus 100% on all aspects of cosmetic medicine while collaborating with leaders in the field, fellowship-trained cosmetic surgeons are better prepared to offer the exemplary cosmetic surgery care patients deserve."

Completing a 12-month AACS fellowship training program is required for certification by the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery. Currently, there are 25 general cosmetic surgery fellowships and two facial cosmetic surgery fellowships throughout the U.S.

Dr. Haiavy concludes by encouraging experienced board certified cosmetic surgeons to serve as Fellowship Directors. "Patients need access to the highest quality careand when it comes to cosmetic medicine, that means a fellowship-trained board certified cosmetic surgeon. I invite my esteemed colleagues to join me in creating more fellowships around the country. Together, we can produce highly trained cosmetic surgeons who are worthy of American Board of Cosmetic Surgery certification and will stand with us as leaders in the field."

About Inland Cosmetic Surgery: Inland Cosmetic Surgery offers comprehensive cosmetic surgery and aesthetic services to patients in Rancho Cucamonga and surrounding areas in Southern California. As Medical Director of Inland Cosmetic Surgery and Ahava Medical Spa, Dr. Haiavy has performed over 10,000 cosmetic surgery procedures and is known for his caring approach and superb results. Visit www.inlandcosmetic.com for more information about Inland Cosmetic Surgery.

Media Contact: Dr. Jacob Haiavy, (909) 939-6626

SOURCE Inland Cosmetic Surgery
The total cartel damage in Russia is estimated at 1.5-2% of GDP, according to the files released by the countrys Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS).

"The total cartel damage 1.5% to 2% of GDP," TASS cited the regulator as saying.

According to FAS deputy head Andrei Tsyganov, "tender collusion accounts for 85% of cartels."

"This is a huge problem, which takes billions of rubles from the Russian budget and Russian consumers," he said at the regulators meeting.
NEW YORK, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Flocabulary, a learning platform that brings the K-12 curriculum to life through its standards-aligned hip-hop videos, today announced the appointment of Din Heiman as president. Heiman brings 15 years of education management experience to Flocabulary, which is used in more than 25,000 schools nationwide.

"Din's experience -- and mission alignment -- will enable our team to scale in ways that respond to the growing popularity of Flocabulary among educators and students in districts around the country," said Alex Rappaport, co-founder and CEO of Flocabulary. "This is about pairing a platform rooted in the experiences and passion of artists and educators, with expertise navigating the complexity of K-12 education, to scale our reach  and impact."

Founded in 2004, Flocabulary began as a revolutionary SAT prep platform that taught vocabulary through rap lyrics. Today, the platform includes more than 1,000 captivating, standards-aligned lessons on topics ranging from English and Social Studies to Science and Math. Flocabulary's pioneering approach draws upon the artistry of hip-hop to make rigorous academic content catchy, relevant and fun. Schools and districts nationwide, including Cleveland and Atlanta now utilize Flocabulary's research-based activities help students master standards, build vocabulary and develop the 21st-century skills necessary to thrive in the classroom and beyond.

"Flocabulary's growing following among educators has been astounding to watch. The company is tapping into districts' need for culturally relevant offerings in an unrivaled fashion, enabling teachers to reach students in ways that will have a profound impact both on learning outcomes and on school climate," said Heiman. "I'm thrilled to join the talented, creative and diverse team giving voice to a generation of students."

Over the course of his career in education management, Heiman has developed a reputation as a driver of accelerated business growth, strategy and innovation. Before joining Flocabulary, he served as longtime COO and General Manager at BrainPOP, Interim President at Achieve3000, and as Executive Director of Operations at Kaplan Test Prep. Education is Heiman's second career, following his tenure as career diplomat in Germany, Argentina, Panama and Israel.

For more information about Flocabulary, visit: http://www.flocabulary.com.

About Flocabulary

Flocabulary is a learning platform that helps students thrive by bringing the K-12 curriculum to life. The company's rappers, artists and educators develop videos and activities that are captivating, relevant and research-based. By engaging students in rigorous academic content, Flocabulary supports teachers in their daily instruction and helps students master standards, build vocabulary and develop 21st-century skills.

SOURCE Flocabulary

Related Links

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Last year, at the behest of company employees, found Able involved with Hurricane Harvey relief efforts, wounded veteran moves for the Wounded Warrior Foundation, the staging of a retreat for Serving Willing Warriors, and multiple food and clothing drives in partnership with Northern Virginia Family Services. The company diverts millions of pounds of disposables to charities and other outlets to reduce landfill usage as a part of its "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" program.

"Every one of these programs came from the idea of an employee," says co-founder and Vice President Jim Singleton. "We could not be more proud of the amount of pro-bono manpower efforts put forth by the employees who choose to be part of our family."

Founded in 1987 by the Singleton brothers and their father Bill, the company has always compensated its employees well. A great health plan that pays for 50% of the entire family, matching 401k program, 100% Employer-funded profit sharing, paid holidays and time off, and weekly pay all go a long way to making an employee feel cared about. The company also believes this is what gives employees the confidence to come forward with their ideas for making a difference in the community.

Able recognizes that a large portion of the rocket-like growth it has experienced in the last five years is due to this feeling of employee happiness and confidence, and it is taking further steps to recognize and encourage these qualities. It recently kicked off its very own "YOU2 Movement".

"The YOU2 Movement is about recognizing extraordinary efforts from employees with regard to the passion and attitude that they bring to the workplace," explains Able Chief Operating Officer Steve Kuhn.

Employees displaying this behavior receive a medallion symbolizing appreciation by Able for the individual that has gone out of his or her way for others. Embossed with its company logo, a YOU2 medal is circled with its engraved credo: "To Foster an environment for people who move people, where everyone and everything matters!"

Check out our website at www.ablemoving.com

Follow us on Twitter @ablemovinginc

Like us on [email protected]

SOURCE Able Moving & Storage

Related Links

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BOSTON, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Equality Asset Management ("Equality"), a next-generation private equity firm whose mission is to help build exceptional companies for the long term while offering investors innovative fee structures, today announced that it has formed its Advisory Board, which will be responsible for providing Equality and its companies with strategic guidance, industry insight, and deep functional expertise. The board is comprised of the following six members, all who are seasoned executives with strong track records and diverse backgrounds: Jose Alvarez (Harvard Business School), Kim Goodwin (Avanico Holdings), Brent Henry (Mintz Levin), Jay McGonigle (FactSet), Susie Mulder (NIC+ZOE), and Luis Ubinas (Electronic Arts).

"These six individuals are highly accomplished leaders in their fields," said Thomas S. Roberts, Founder and CEO of Equality. "They are not only visionaries and thought-leaders, they are CEOs themselves, and long-time mentors to CEOs. Together, they provide a diversity of thought, disciplines, industries, and backgrounds. I am honored to have six such outstanding leaders join our Equality team."

Equality Asset Management Advisory Board Biographies

Jose Alvarez

Jose Alvarez is a leading expert in supply chain management logistics, marketing, and retail strategy. He is currently a member of the faculty at Harvard Business School. Jose most recently served as President and CEO of Stop & Shop, a subsidiary of Royal Ahold. Previously, he worked with Shaw's Supermarkets, American Stores Company and Jewel Food Stores. Jose also served as a Board Director of TJX Companies for eleven years. Jose serves on the Board of Trustees of Princeton University and Daily Table and is Chairman of the Board of the Joyce Foundation. Jose earned an MBA from the University of Chicago, and an AB degree in History from Princeton University.

C. Kim Goodwin

C. Kim Goodwin is an accomplished CEO, CIO, portfolio manager, and Board Director. Kim currently serves as CEO and CIO of Avanico Holdings in Puerto Rico, and is currently a Non-Executive Director of PineBridge Investments, and an independent Director of Popular Inc. (BPOP) based in Puerto Rico. Previously Kim served as the Global Head of Equities for Asset Management at Credit Suisse Group, and as CIO of Equities of State Street Research. Previously Kim served for many years on the Board of Akamai Technologies and CheckFree Corporation (acquired by FiServ in 2005), and as a Director of various equity funds within the Allianz Global Investors family of funds. Kim also serves on the Board of Trustees and on the PRINCO endowment board of Princeton University. Kim holds two Master's degrees from the University of Texas at Austin, one in Public Affairs, an M.B.A. in Finance from The McCombs School of Business, and an AB cum laude in Politics from Princeton University.

Brent Henry

Brent Henry has spent over thirty years advising health care clients on complex strategic and regulatory issues. Currently, Brent serves as the Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of Princeton University, and as an Attorney at Mintz Levin. Previously, Brent was SVP and General Counsel of Partners HealthCare, the largest hospital network in New England. Brent also served as VP and General Counsel at MedStar Health, and taught health care law at Howard University and the University of Maryland. Brent earned a J.D. from Yale Law School, a Master of Urban Studies from the Yale School of Art and Architecture, and an AB degree from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School.

Jay McGonigle

Jay McGonigle has an exceptional thirty-year plus track record of leading, advising, and growing successful companies. Jay is the Lead Outside Director of FactSet (NYSE: FDS) a provider of software and information to the financial services industry. Previously, Jay served as Chairman and CEO of the Corporate Executive Board Co. which he led through its IPO, and as a consultant for McKinsey & Company. Jay has also served as Board Member and Senior Advisor to numerous information services companies, including SNL, Motista, Ogone, and Payscale. Jay has also been an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business, and a Visiting Professor at ESADE Business and Law School in Barcelona. Jay earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and an AB from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School.

Susie Mulder

Susie Mulder has been both a CEO and a counselor to CEOs, for over twenty years. Susie is currently the Chief Executive Officer of NIC+ZOE, a privately-held woman's apparel company. Prior to joining NIC+ZOE, Susie was a Senior Partner with McKinsey & Company where she was a leader in the retail and consumer practice for fifteen years, specializing in marketing and organization. Susie also serves on the Board of Directors of Sally Beauty, and on the Board of Overseers of Boston Children's Hospital. Susie received her MBA from the Harvard Business School with distinction, and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree with great distinction from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec.

Luis Ubinas

Luis Ubinas is a well-known leader in the telecommunication, technology, and media industries. Luis has led CEOs of Fortune 100 companies and significant nonprofit organizations for several decades. In the private sector, Luis is Lead Director of Electronic Arts (EA), and serves on the Boards of CommerceHub, Boston Private Financial Holdings, GFR Media, and Shorelight Education. Previously Luis was a Director at McKinsey & Company, leading the firm's media practice on the West Coast. Additionally, Luis has had a distinguished record of leadership in the nonprofit sector. Luis is currently President of the Board of Trustees of the Pan American Development Foundation, and previously served as President of the Ford Foundation, on the Advisory Board of the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships, the New York Public Library, among many others. Luis received an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he graduated as a Baker Scholar, and earned an AB degree magna cum laude from Harvard University, where he was named a Truman Scholar and a John Winthrop Scholar.

About Equality

Equality Asset Management is a next-generation private equity firm founded by industry veteran Thomas S. Roberts whose mission is to help build exceptional companies for the long term while offering investors innovative fee structures. Equality intends to provide $100-$300M per company for growth equity and buyout transactions focusing on durable technology, health care, and tech-enabled growth companies. For more info, visit www.equalityassetmanagement.com.

Media Contact

Andrew Merrill

Prosek Partners

[email protected]

646 503 5789

SOURCE Equality Asset Management

Related Links

http://www.equalityassetmanagement.com


SAN DIEGO, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Shareholder rights law firm Johnson Fistel, LLP has launched an investigation into whether the board members of FCB Financial Holdings, Inc. ("FCB Financial") (NYSE: FCB) breached their fiduciary duties in connection with the proposed sale of the Company to Synovus Financial Corp ("Synovus") (NYSE: SNV). FCB Financial provides various financial products and services to individuals, small and medium-sized businesses, large businesses, and other local organizations and entities in south and central Florida.

On July 24, 2018, FCB Financial announced that it had signed a definitive merger agreement with Synovus. Under the terms of the merger agreement, FCB Financial shareholders will receive a fixed ratio of 1.055 shares of Synovus common stock for each common share of FCB Financial in an all-stock transaction. Based on Synovus' closing share price on July 23, 2018, the transaction is valued at $58.15 per FCB Financial share. However, shareholders will be subject to the future price fluctuation of Synovus' stock price.

The investigation concerns whether the FCB Financial board failed to satisfy its duties to the Company shareholders, including whether the board adequately pursued alternatives to the acquisition and whether the board obtained the best price possible for FCB Financial shares of common stock. Nationally recognized Johnson Fistel is investigating whether the proposed deal represents adequate consideration, especially given Wall Street analysts' projections for FCB Financial's future earnings and revenue growth. Additionally, one Wall Street analyst has a $67.00 price target on the stock.

If you are a shareholder of FCB Financial and believe the proposed buyout price is too low or you're interested in learning more about the investigation or your legal rights and remedies, please contact lead analyst Jim Baker ( [email protected] ) at 619-814-4471. If emailing, please include a phone number. Additionally, you can [click here to join this action].There is no cost or obligation to you.

About Johnson Fistel, LLP:

Johnson Fistel, LLP is a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm with offices in California, New York and Georgia. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in shareholder derivative and securities class action lawsuits. For more information about the firm and its attorneys, please visit http://www.johnsonfistel.com . Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Contact:

Johnson Fistel, LLP

Jim Baker, 619-814-4471

[email protected]

[Click here to join this action]

SOURCE Johnson Fistel, LLP

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EXTON, Pa., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- First Resource Bank (OTCQX: FRSB) announced financial results for the three months ended June 30, 2018.

Highlights for the second quarter of 2018 included:

Net income of $520,825 was the highest quarterly profit in the Bank's history

was the highest quarterly profit in the Bank's history Net income grew 8% over the quarter ended March 31, 2018 and 25% over the quarter ended June 30, 2017

and 25% over the quarter ended Total interest income grew 7% over the quarter ended March 31, 2018 and 17% over the quarter ended June 30, 2017

and 17% over the quarter ended Total loans grew $10.3 million , or 5%, to a total of $233.6 million at June 30, 2018

, or 5%, to a total of at Total deposits grew $12.3 million , or 6%, to a total of $223.8 million at June 30, 2018

, or 6%, to a total of at Non-interest bearing deposits increased 19% during the second quarter

Attracting key personnel at the management level to enhance the Bank's growth opportunities

Navigating through the township planning commission process for the opening of our third branch in the spring of 2019

Glenn B. Marshall, President & CEO, stated, "We continue to see the Bank's profitability increase as we continue our growth as an organization. As loans and deposits continue double digit annual growth, the Bank has allocated current year tax savings to add key personnel in the second quarter to ensure the Bank's continued success. The third branch site development plans are moving forward on schedule and we anticipate opening our Wayne, PA branch in mid-2019."

Net income for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 was $520,825, which compares to $480,992 for the previous quarter and $417,701 for the second quarter of the prior year.

Net income for the six months ended June 30, 2018 was $1,001,817, a 22% increase over the same period in the prior year. The increase in net income is primarily attributable to a 14% increase in net interest income and lower income tax expense as a result of the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, partially offset by lower non-interest income and a higher provision for loan losses and higher non-interest expense.

Net interest income was $2,493,870 for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 as compared to $2,397,303 for the previous quarter, an improvement of 4%. The net interest margin decreased 1 basis point from 3.98% for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 to 3.97% for the quarter ended June 30, 2018. The overall yield on interest earning assets increased 14 basis points during the second quarter led by a 13 basis point increase in loan yields to 5.36%. The cost of interest bearing deposits increased 16 basis points during the second quarter to 1.12%.

Net interest income for the six months ended June 30, 2018 was $4,891,173, a 14% improvement over net interest income of $4,300,076 for the six months ended June 30, 2017. This growth was driven by a 16% increase in loan interest income.

Non-interest income for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 was $139,730, as compared to $115,742 for the previous quarter and $99,552 for the second quarter of the prior year. There were $28,725 in gains on sales of SBA loans recognized during the second quarter of 2018, as compared to none in the prior quarter or the second quarter of 2017.

Non-interest income for the six months ended June 30, 2018 was $255,472 as compared to $360,822 for the same period in the prior year. There was $28,725 in SBA loan sale income in the first six months of 2018 as comparted to $155,337 in the first six months of 2017.

Non-interest expense increased a nominal $5 thousand in the three months ended June 30, 2018 as compared to the prior quarter. The increase was primarily due to an increase in salaries and benefits, professional fees and data processing costs, partially offset by a decrease in occupancy, advertising and other costs.

Non-interest expense increased $288 thousand, or 9%, in the six months ended June 30, 2018 as compared to the same period in the prior year. This increase was due to higher salaries and benefits expense, advertising, and data processing costs, partially offset by lower occupancy costs and professional fees.

Deposits grew a net $12.3 million from $211.5 million at March 31, 2018 to $223.8 million at June 30, 2018. During the second quarter, non-interest bearing deposits increased $4.7 million, or 19%, from $25.0 million at March 31, 2018 to $29.8 million at June 30, 2018. Interest-bearing checking balances increased $1.2 million, or 14%, from $8.6 million at March 31, 2018 to $9.8 million at June 30, 2018. Money market deposits decreased $13.7 million, or 13%, from $107.7 million at March 31, 2018 to $93.9 million at June 30, 2018. Certificates of deposit increased $20.1 million, or 29%, from $70.2 million at March 31, 2018 to $90.3 million at June 30, 2018. The deposit portfolio grew $12.9 million, or 6%, in the first six months of 2018, with a $4.8 million increase in total checking balances and a $22.7 million increase in certificates of deposit, partially offset by a $14.6 million decline in money market balances. The deposit portfolio experienced year-over-year growth of $20 million, or 10%, from June 30, 2017 to June 30, 2018.

The loan portfolio grew $10.3 million, or 5%, during the second quarter from $223.3 million at March 31, 2018 to $233.6 million at June 30, 2018, with the majority of that growth in commercial real estate loans. Year-to-date net loan growth in 2018 was $16.2 million, or 7%, with increases in all loan categories, with the vast majority of that growth in commercial real estate loans. Year-over-year net loan growth was $28.5 million, or 14%.

The following table illustrates the composition of the loan portfolio:



June 30, 2018

Dec. 31, 2017

June 30, 2017











Commercial real estate $ 160,356,631

$ 147,895,320

$ 138,997,879 Commercial construction 20,853,766

19,794,234

19,925,026 Commercial business 30,942,553

28,315,241

25,350,384 Consumer 21,487,555

21,459,111

20,829,024











Total loans $ 233,640,505

$ 217,463,906

$ 205,102,313

The allowance for loan losses to total loans was 0.87% at June 30, 2018 as compared to 0.81% at December 31, 2017 and 0.80% at June 30, 2017. Non-performing assets, which include non-performing loans of $3.3 million and other real estate owned of $199 thousand, totaled $3.5 million at June 30, 2018, a 17% increase as compared to the prior quarter due to one loan relationship being placed on non-accrual during the quarter. Non-performing assets to total assets increased from 1.17% at March 31, 2018 to 1.30% at June 30, 2018.

Total stockholder's equity increased 2% from $23.5 million at March 31, 2018 to $24.0 million at June 30, 2018, primarily due to net income generated. Book value per share increased 18 cents during the second quarter of 2018 to $9.15 per share at June 30, 2018.

Total assets increased $13.7 million, or 5% during the second quarter of 2018. This increase was primarily the result of strong loan growth funded by deposits.

Selected Financial Data: Balance Sheets (unaudited)



June 30,

2018

December 31,

2017







Cash and due from banks $ 5,530,776

$ 2,998,367 Time deposits at other banks 599,000

599,000 Investments 19,525,126

36,219,930 Loans 233,640,505

217,463,906 Allowance for loan losses (2,034,295)

(1,751,953) Premises & equipment 5,747,450

5,671,763 Other assets 8,460,218

7,353,942







Total assets $ 271,468,780

$ 268,554,955







Non-interest bearing deposits $ 29,770,431

$ 24,987,354 Interest-bearing checking 9,798,555

9,755,198 Money market 93,927,020

108,500,566 Time deposits 90,312,104

67,658,995 Total deposits 223,808,110

210,902,113 Short term borrowings -

17,997,000 Long term borrowings 18,515,500

11,287,500 Subordinated debt 3,981,850

3,977,603 Other liabilities 1,141,561

1,227,099







Total liabilities 247,447,021

245,391,315







Total stockholders' equity 24,021,759

23,163,640







Total liabilities &

stockholders' equity $ 271,468,780

$ 268,554,955

Performance Statistics (unaudited)



Qtr Ended June 30, 2018

Qtr Ended Mar. 31, 2018

Qtr Ended Dec. 31, 2017

Qtr Ended Sept. 30, 2017

Qtr Ended June 30, 2017



















Net interest margin 3.97%

3.98%

3.90%

3.96%

3.87%



















Nonperforming loans/

Total loans 1.42%

1.35%

1.39%

1.54%

0.99%



















Nonperforming assets/

Total assets 1.30%

1.17%

1.13%

1.28%

0.83%



















Allowance for loan losses/

Total loans 0.87%

0.85%

0.81%

0.86%

0.80%



















Average loans/Average

assets 86.6%

86.1%

84.3%

84.6%

84.3%



















Non-interest expenses*/

Average assets 2.72%

2.84%

2.57%

2.68%

2.78%



















Earnings per share  basic

and diluted $0.20

$0.18

$0.15

$0.18

$0.18



















Book value per share $9.15

$8.97

$8.83

$8.72

$8.55



















Total shares outstanding 2,625,130

2,623,575

2,621,887

2,619,773

2,617,596

* Annualized

Income Statements (unaudited)



Qtr. Ended June 30, 2018

Qtr. Ended Mar. 31, 2018

Qtr. Ended Dec. 31, 2017

Qtr. Ended Sept 30, 2017

Qtr. Ended June 30, 2017



















INTEREST INCOME

















Loans, including fees $3,076,950

$2,849,596

$2,768,463

$2,714,301

$2,615,571 Securities 126,632

130,141

113,230

109,255

102,142 Other 1,733

2,563

15,593

13,976

10,888 Total interest income 3,205,315

2,982,300

2,897,286

2,837,532

2,728,601



















INTEREST EXPENSE

















Deposits 513,174

441,063

433,287

410,731

408,308 Borrowings 130,785

76,810

47,575

47,005

49,122 Subordinated debt 67,486

67,124

67,843

67,847

67,486 Total interest expense 711,445

584,997

548,705

525,583

524,916



















Net interest income 2,493,870

2,397,303

2,348,581

2,311,949

2,203,685



















Provision for loan losses 191,321

134,322

89,233

123,974

20,085



















Net interest income after

provision for loan losses 2,302,549

2,262,981

2,259,348

2,187,975

2,183,600



















NON-INTEREST INCOME

















BOLI income 37,564

35,040

28,258

28,473

28,522 Gain on sale of SBA loans 28,725

-

-

41,536

- Other 73,441

80,702

65,463

65,797

71,030 Total non-interest income 139,730

115,742

93,721

135,806

99,552



















NON-INTEREST EXPENSE

















Salaries & benefits 1,055,702

1,028,005

923,583

947,285

895,634 Occupancy & equipment 178,119

194,772

175,539

188,968

187,672 Professional fees 99,919

87,452

90,275

82,922

144,447 Advertising 45,638

62,222

24,802

41,717

47,905 Data processing 111,828

105,617

102,435

93,119

98,353 Other 309,324

317,187

309,388

292,103

294,235 Total non-interest

expense 1,800,530

1,795,255

1,626,022

1,646,114

1,668,246



















Income before income tax

expense 641,749

583,468

727,047

677,667

614,906



















Federal income tax expense 120,924

102,476

325,290

215,963

197,205



















Net income $ 520,825

$ 480,992

$ 401,757

$ 461,704

$ 417,701

Income Statements (unaudited)



Six Months Ended June 30, 2018

Six Months Ended June 30, 2017







INTEREST INCOME





Loans $ 5,926,546

$ 5,119,148 Investments 256,773

200,965 Other 4,296

32,611 Total interest income 6,187,615

5,352,724







INTEREST EXPENSE





Deposits 954,237

817,981 Borrowings 207,595

100,057 Subordinated debt 134,610

134,610 Total interest expense 1,296,442

1,052,648







Net interest income 4,891,173

4,300,076







Provision for loan losses 325,643

140,109







Net interest income after provision for

loan losses 4,565,530

4,159,967







NON-INTEREST INCOME





BOLI income 72,604

56,892 Gain on sale of SBA loans 28,725

155,337 Other 154,143

148,593 Total non-interest income 255,472

360,822







NON-INTEREST EXPENSE





Salaries & benefits 2,083,707

1,759,456 Occupancy & equipment 372,891

378,453 Professional fees 187,371

257,941 Advertising 107,860

90,380 Data processing 217,445

194,631 Other non-interest expense 626,511

626,968 Total non-interest expense 3,595,785

3,307,829







Pre-tax income 1,225,217

1,212,960







Tax expense 223,400

388,706







Net income $ 1,001,817

$ 824,254

About First Resource Bank

First Resource Bank is a locally owned and operated Pennsylvania state-chartered bank with two full-service branches, serving the banking needs of businesses, professionals and individuals in Chester County, Pennsylvania. The Bank offers a full range of deposit and credit services with a high level of personalized service. First Resource Bank also offers a broad range of traditional financial services and products, competitively priced and delivered in a responsive manner to small businesses, professionals and residents in the local market. For additional information visit our website at. Member FDIC.

This press release contains statements that are not of historical facts and may pertain to future operating results or events or management's expectations regarding those results or events. These are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements about our plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts. When used in this press release, the words "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "seeks", "estimates", or words of similar meaning, or future or conditional verbs, such as "will", "would", "should", "could", or "may" are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are either beyond our control or not reasonably capable of predicting at this time. In addition, these forward-looking statements are subject to assumptions with respect to future business strategies and decisions that are subject to change. Actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in these forward-looking statements. Readers of this press release are accordingly cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. First Resource Bank disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any of the forward-looking statements herein, whether in response to new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE First Resource Bank

Related Links

http://www.firstresourcebank.com


CSE:HUGE

OTC:FSDDF

TORONTO, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - FSD Pharma Inc. ("FSD" or the "Company") (CSE:HUGE) (OTC:FSDDF) is pleased to announce its strategic partner Cannara Biotech Inc. ("Cannara") closed $17.66 million common share equity financing.

FSD is a significant Cannara shareholder and has applied for a second site license at the Cannara facility. FSD made an investment of $1 million dollars in this round of financing. First Republic Capital Corp. was the sole broker for the offering, the proceeds of which will support the first Phase build-out at Cannara's Farnham, Quebec facility, as well as fund product development.

Thomas Fairfull, President and CEO of FSD stated, "As a strategic partner of Cannara, we are committed to supporting Cannara's efforts to build out the Farnham facility, a 625,000 foot secure indoor location to grow the highest and most consistent quality medical cannabis in Quebec. The facility is similar to our former Kraft plant in size and is ideally situated within 45 minutes' drive of Montreal, the second largest city in Canada. Our company will continue to make strategic partnerships and investments to maintain the largest high quality indoor growing footprint in Canada."

"The success of our financing initiative, which included a number of key opinion leaders in the Cannabis industry, is a vote of confidence in our strategy of defining and developing the Cannara brand to be synonymous with the highest quality medical Cannabis," said Zohar Krivorot, President and CEO of Cannara. "We will continue to expand our production capacity with additional properties and select M&A activity. Product branding will play a prominent role in Cannara's growth in the Cannabis marketplace."

About FSD Pharma Inc. (CSE:HUGE) (OTC:FSDDF)

FSD Pharma, owns, through its wholly-owned subsidiary FV Pharma Inc., a license to produce marijuana under the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR) which was originally granted on October 13, 2017. Headquartered at the former Kraft plant in Cobourg, Ontario, approximately an hour's drive from Toronto, FSD Pharma's management's mission is to transform the facility into the largest hydroponic indoor cannabis facility in the world. FSD Pharma intends to target all legal aspects of the cannabis industry, including cultivation, processing, manufacturing, extracts and research and development. Please visit www.fsdpharma.com for more information.

About Cannara Biotech Inc.

Cannara Biotech plans to operate the largest indoor medical cannabis cultivation facility in Quebec, a modern and secure 625,000 square foot facility located in Farnham, less than 45 minutes from downtown Montreal. Leveraging Quebec's low electricity costs, Cannara will produce high-grade indoor medical cannabis for Canadian and international markets. Working with partners from various industries, Cannara will generate licensing revenues, rental revenues and revenue streams from joint-venture arrangements leveraging this highly valuable property. For more information, visit our website: www.cannara.ca

Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Corporation's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. In particular, this release contains forward-looking information relating to the development of the Corporation's indoor cannabis facility and its business goals and objectives. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is made as of the date hereof, and the Corporation is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward looking-information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulation services provider accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE FSD Pharma Inc.
DUBLIN, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The "Global Biopharmaceutical CMO Market - Analysis By Region, By Country: Opportunities and Forecast (2018-2023) -- By Region (North America, Europe, APAC), By Country (U.S, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Korea, Japan, China)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global market value is projected to display a steady growth represented by a CAGR of 14.36% during the forecast period of 2018 - 2023.

Amongst the regions, Europe accounts for the largest share by value in global Bio CMO market in 2017. Additionally, Asia Pacific will be a growing region in the forecasted period, 2018-2023 as population is increasing along with growing number of pharmaceutical requirements. Growing number of chronic diseases is also supporting the market of Bio CMO industry.

The report intends to provide cutting-edge market intelligence and help decision makers take sound investment evaluation. Besides, the report also identifies and analyses the emerging trends along with major drivers, challenges and opportunities in the global Bio CMO market. Additionally, the report also assesses the financial performance and strategies of various companies operating in the Biopharmaceutical CMO market.



Scope of the Report

Global Bio CMO Market (Actual Period: 2013-2017, Forecast Period: 2018-2023

Global Bio CMO Market - By value

By Type - Mammalian & Microbial

Regional Markets - North America, Europe, APAC (Actual Period: 2013-2017, Forecast Period: 2018-2023)

Bio CMO Market - By value

Country Analysis - U.S, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Korea, Japan, China and Others

Bio CMO Market - By value

Other Report Highlights

Market Dynamics - Drivers and Restraints

Company Analysis - Lonza, Boehringer Ingelheium, Samsung Biologics, Wuxi Biologics

Key Topics Covered:



1. Research Methodology



2. Executive Summary



3. Biopharmaceutical CMO Market Outlook



4. Global Bio CMO Market: Growth and Forecast



5. Global Biopharmaceutical Market: Segment Analysis



6. North America Bio CMO Market: Growth and Forecast



7. U.S Bio CMO Market, By indications



8. Canada Bio CMO Market , By Indications



9. Europe Bio CMO Market: Growth and Forecast



10. Germany Bio CMO Market, By indications



11. U.K Bio CMO Market, By indications



12. France Bio CMO Market, By indications



13. APAC Bio CMO Market: Growth and Forecast



14. China Bio CMO Market, By indications



15. India Bio CMO Market, By indications



16. Japan Bio CMO Market, By indications



17. Bio CMO Market: Country Analysis



18. Global Bio CMO Market Dynamics



19. Company Profiles



Lonza

Boehringer Ingelheium

Samsung Biologics

Wuxi Biologics

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/rr2vkm/global?w=5





Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

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"We're using cutting-edge technology to make things faster and safer for our patients," said Dr. Hany Atallah, Grady's Chief of Emergency Medicine. "It answers the most pressing question when treating a potential traumatic brain injury: 'Does the patient have blood in his head or not?' And, if the answer is no, then he can be discharged, and we can treat the next patient who's waiting for care," Atallah said.

"BrainScope One is an efficient and cost effective way to assess most mild head injuries. The wait time before and after a CT scan is significantly longer when compared to the BrainScope One EEG test, which produces results that do not require a radiologist to interpret," Atallah said. "The device will significantly reduce unnecessary head CT scans on patients who may not really need them."

About Grady Health System

Grady Health System is one of the largest safety net health systems in the United States. Grady consists of the 953-bed Grady Memorial Hospital, six neighborhood health centers, Crestview Health & Rehabilitation Center, and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Hughes Spalding, which is operated as a Children's affiliate.

With its nationally acclaimed emergency medical services, Grady has Atlanta's premier Level I trauma center - Metro Atlanta's only nationally verified Level 1 center - and serves as the 911 ambulance provider for the city of Atlanta. Grady's American Burn Association/American College of Surgeons verified Burn Center is one of only two in the state. And the Marcus Stroke and Neuroscience Center is a Joint Commission designated Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center.

Other key services/distinctions include Grady's Regional Perinatal Center with its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Georgia's first Cancer Center for Excellence, The Avon Comprehensive Breast Center, the Georgia Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center, and the Ponce de Leon Center - one of the top HIV/AIDS outpatient clinics in the country. Grady is one of an elite group of hospitals to earn the Baby-Friendly USA international recognition as a Baby-Friendly Designated birth facility. In 2017, Grady earned the prestigious Stage 7 on the HIMSS Analytics Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model, becoming Georgia's first adult acute care hospital to earn the highest rating for improving patient care and safety through health information technology.

SOURCE Grady Health System
Grounded in luxury, Lhuillier's designs are sought by celebrities on the red carpet and brides around the world. Helzberg Diamonds is bringing her signature romantic and elegant aesthetic to a line of engagement rings to offer future brides a look that is the very essence of modern femininity.

"Designing a wedding gown is a privilege  it's a huge part of an iconic and memorable day in a woman's life. But designing an engagement ring is, in some ways, even more impactful because it's a permanent symbol of love," says Lhuillier. "My collection at Helzberg Diamonds features many of the same characteristics as the dresses I design; there's a level of sophistication and glamour, but there's also something very romantic and personal."

A love story told in a ring

The new Monique Lhuillier diamond rings express the beauty of enduring love through a range of designs with movement and draping, flower-petal shapes and intricate details such as hand-engraving, stunning scalloped side profiles and more. Each ring is semi-mounted, making it possible to personally select and customize the size and shape of the center diamond.

"Helzberg Diamonds has always focused on creating beautiful jewelry with exceptional attention to detail and quality. Monique Lhuillier shares our philosophy, making her an ideal partner to bring this collection to life," said Julie Yoakum, chief merchandise officer, Helzberg Diamonds.

To learn more about the Monique Lhuillier collection at Helzberg Diamonds visit helzberg.com/moniquelhuillier. For store availbility call 1-800-HELZBERG (1-800-435-9237). Prices range from $599 to $2,999.

About Helzberg Diamonds

Helzberg Diamonds, a retail and online jewelry store focused on customer service, was founded in 1915 and has more than 200 stores nationwide featuring a wide selection of fine jewelry, including diamond engagement rings and wedding rings, precious gems and watches. Helzberg Diamonds takes pride in its history of offering exceptional value, exclusive designs and timeless jewelry. Helzberg Diamonds is based in North Kansas City, Missouri, and is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK/A and BRK/B). For the locations nearest you, call 1-800-HELZBERG (800-435-9237) or visit Helzberg.com.

About Monique Lhuillier

Monique Lhuillier is internationally recognized as one of America's foremost designers. Established in 1996 by Monique Lhuillier and her husband, Tom Bugbee, the company is considered one of the leading fashion houses in design, quality and creativity. Fans include Emma Stone, Blake Lively, Taylor Swift, Reese Witherspoon, Kristen Bell, Anna Kendrick, first lady Michelle Obama and others. Monique's signature design sensibility has led to the launch of many licensed products, including fine jewelry, ML Monique Lhuillier diffusion fashion apparel, Monique Lhuillier Bridesmaids, ML x Pottery Barn, ML x Pottery Barn Kids, home fragrance, eyewear and fur, transforming the company into a luxury lifestyle brand.

For more information:

Lauren Cox

Carmichael Lynch Relate

612-375-8570

[email protected]

SOURCE Helzberg Diamonds
Schools often have hundreds of advertisements on their campuses, but what do they get out of it? By allowing this, schools are providing free advertising to brands that have multimillion-dollar advertising budgets, receiving nothing in return.

SkoolLive is advocating for schools across the country by confronting these brands and demanding schools be compensated. SkoolLive provides schools with free digital interactive kiosks. Along with the kiosks, schools receive dedicated advocates who work closely with schools and brands. One of their main objectives is to ensure fair compensation which maximizes fundraising efforts. SkoolLive wants to educate schools on their worth and provide them with the additional revenue needed to improve campus life and save student programs.

Here is what SkoolLive can do for you:

Increase school fundraising efforts by connecting campuses to SkoolLive's network of National Brand Partnerships

Give schools a platform to sell Sponsorship Banners to local and national businesses, also furthering fundraising efforts

Improve school-to-student communication by digitalizing and streamlining announcements

School budget cuts are all too common and teachers often spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars of their own money purchasing necessary classroom supplies, while brands are turning their heads. It's time for these brands to start paying schools what they deserve in return for access to their campus. Is it free to display a commercial during the Super Bowl or to post a billboard along the highway? Of course not, so why should schools be treated any differently? Every campus has worth. Each one is incredibly valuable, in more ways than one. Do not let brands take advantage of schools along with their staff and students any longer. Let SkoolLive fight for your school.

For more information, visit www.skoollive.com.

SOURCE SkoolLive

Related Links

http://www.skoollive.com


Suspects in the murder of the Kazakh figure skater Denis Ten handed over the knife, a murder weapon, to the police, the Almaty Department of Internal Affairs said.

Arman Kudaibergenov showed the place where he hid the knife. Nuraly Kiyasov also confessed his guilt, saying that it was him who stabbed Ten, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported.

Denis Ten was stabbed after a dispute with people who allegedly tried to steal a mirror from his car in Almaty. He died in hospital of massive blood loss from multiple wounds on July 19.
HERSHEY, Pa., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Hope On Wheels 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, celebrates its 20th year in the fight funding pediatric cancer research and will present Dr. Barbara Miller and Penn State Children's Hospital with a $100,000 Hyundai Impact Award. This institution is one of 21 recipients of this year's award, which is given to pediatric oncology departments at select children's hospitals nationwide. The $100,000 Hyundai Impact Award will be officially presented to Dr. Miller and Penn State Children's Hospital on Thursday, July 26th at 10:00 a.m.

In 2018, Hope On Wheels will award over $15 million toward pediatric cancer research and programs. This brings the organization's donation total to $145 million since Hyundai joined the fight against pediatric cancer 20 years ago in 1998. With this latest grant, Penn State Children's Hospital has received more than $1,735,000 from Hope On Wheels.

"Throughout the country, talented doctors are working tirelessly to help kids fight cancer by conducting research or providing bedside care," said Scott Fink, chairman, Hyundai Hope On Wheels Board of Directors. "Our goal at Hope On Wheels is to provide these doctors with the grant funds they need to perform their lifesaving work."

During the event, children being treated at Penn State Children's who are battling cancer will participate in the program's signature Handprint Ceremony, in which they'll dip their hands in paint and place their handprints on a white canvas. Their colorful handprints on the canvas will represent their individual and collective journeys, hopes and dreams.

For more information about Hyundai Hope On Wheels and to view a complete list of this year's grant winners, please visit HyundaiHopeOnWheels.org/research. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram at facebook.com/HyundaiHopeOnWheels, twitter.com/HopeOnWheels or instagram.com/HyundaiHopeOnWheels.

HYUNDAI HOPE ON WHEELS

Hyundai Hope On Wheels is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is committed to finding a cure for childhood cancer. Launched in 1998, Hyundai Hope On Wheels provides grants to eligible institutions nationwide that are pursuing life-saving research and innovative treatments for the disease. HHOW is one of the largest non-profit funders of pediatric cancer research in the country, and primary funding for Hyundai Hope On Wheels comes from Hyundai Motor America and its more than 835 U.S. dealers. Since its inception, Hyundai Hope On Wheels has awarded more than $145 million towards childhood cancer research in pursuit of a cure.

HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA

Hyundai Motor America, headquartered in Fountain Valley, Calif., is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company of Korea. Hyundai vehicles are distributed throughout the United States by Hyundai Motor America and are sold and serviced through 835 dealerships nationwide. All new Hyundai vehicles sold in the U.S. are covered by the Hyundai Assurance program, which includes a 5-year/60,000-mile fully-transferable new vehicle limited warranty, Hyundai's 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain limited warranty and five years of complimentary Roadside Assistance.

For more details on Hyundai Assurance, please visit www.HyundaiAssurance.com

Please visit our media website at www.hyundainews.com

Hyundai Motor America on Twitter | YouTube | Facebook

SOURCE Hyundai Hope On Wheels

Related Links

https://hyundaihopeonwheels.org


Company to host groundbreaking event on Tuesday, July 31, to celebrate start of construction of facility in Orange County, NY

NEW YORK and TORONTO, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - iAnthus Capital Holdings, Inc. ("iAnthus" or "the Company"), (CSE: IAN,OTCQB: ITHUF), which owns, operates, and partners with licensed cannabis operations throughout the United States, is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Citiva Medical, LLC ("Citiva"), has begun construction on its 39,500 sq. ft. medical cannabis cultivation and processing facility, located at the former Mid-Orange State Correctional Facility in the Town of Warwick, New York. Citiva, one of only ten New York State licensed medical cannabis Registered Organizations, received its license to operate one cultivation/processing facility and four dispensaries on August 1, 2017.

The facility will implement high-end technology and cultivation practices to maximize efficiencies and production, including a positive pressure air system, mobile containers, desiccant dehumidification systems, acrylic glazing, and a unified program for environmental, irrigation and lighting controls. These state-of-the-art processes will enable perpetual harvesting, with an estimated yearly production of 2,400 kg of medical cannabis.

"We're excited to be taking the first steps in building out our robust and comprehensive medical cannabis program in the State of New York. The iAnthus and Citiva teams have worked incredibly hard to reach this milestone," said Hadley Ford, CEO of iAnthus Capital. "The growth and success of our Warwick facility will lay the foundation for the rest of our operations across New York State, and we look forward to continued expansion, development, and most importantly, service to our patients, through our vertically integrated operations."

Phase 1 of the buildout is projected to be completed in the first half of 2019. The Warwick site can eventually support up to 125,000 sq. ft. of total cultivation and processing space and will be built out in several phases. Citiva purchased the eight and a half acres of land for the Warwick facility in May of 2018 for US$526,000.

"Warwick is pleased to welcome one of the nation's leaders in the medical marijuana industry to the Warwick Technology Park and is honored that Citiva has found a home in our town," said Michael Sweeton, Town of Warwick Supervisor. "Our goal in acquiring the Mid-Orange Correctional Facility was to bring well-paying jobs to the area, and we look forward to seeing this come to fruition through the official groundbreaking of Citiva's medical cannabis facility."

To celebrate this milestone, iAnthus and Citiva are hosting a groundbreaking event at the Warwick facility site on July 31 for notable members of the community, employees, and local dignitaries, including special remarks from Town of Warwick Supervisor Michael Sweeton. The event will begin at 11:00am, with the ceremony taking place promptly at 11:30am. Refreshments and social hour to follow immediately after the completion of the groundbreaking ceremony.

About iAnthus Capital Holdings, Inc.

iAnthus Capital Holdings, Inc. owns and operates best-in-class licensed cannabis cultivation, processing and dispensary facilities throughout the United States, providing investors diversified exposure to the U.S. regulated cannabis industry. Founded by entrepreneurs with decades of experience in operations, investment banking, corporate finance, law and health care services, iAnthus provides a unique combination of capital and hands-on operating and management expertise. The Company uses these skills to support operations across six states. For more information, visit www.iAnthusCapital.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements in this news release that are forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed here and elsewhere in iAnthus' periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. When used in this news release, words such as "will, could, plan, estimate, expect, intend, may, potential, believe, should, our vision" and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, build out of existing assets, additional strategic opportunities, proposed allocation of capital, and other statements of fact.

Although iAnthus has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, there can be other factors that cause results, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, including, but not limited to: dependence on obtaining regulatory approvals; investing in target companies or projects which have limited or no operating history and are engaged in activities currently considered illegal under US Federal laws; change in laws; limited operating history; reliance on management; requirements for additional financing; competition; hindering market growth and state adoption due to inconsistent public opinion and perception of the medical-use and adult-use marijuana industry and; regulatory or political change.

There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate or that management's expectations or estimates of future developments, circumstances or results will materialize. As a result of these risks and uncertainties, the results or events predicted in these forward-looking statements may differ materially from actual results or events.

Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date of this release. iAnthus disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise such information, except as required by applicable law, and iAnthus does not assume any liability for disclosure relating to any other company mentioned herein.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the content of this news release.

SOURCE iAnthus Capital Holdings, Inc.
NEW YORK and TEL AVIV, Israel, July 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Illusive Networks, the leader in deception-based cyber defense, announced today that CRN  , a brand of The Channel Company, has named Illusive to its 2018 Emerging Vendors List in the Security category. This list recognizes recently founded, up-and-coming technology suppliers who are shaping the future of the IT channel through unique technological innovations. In addition to celebrating these notable companies, the Emerging Vendors list serves as a valuable resource for solution providers looking to expand their portfolios with cutting-edge technology.

Illusive's deception-based technology preeempts attacks by depriving attackers of hidden keys they need to reach critical assets, detects attacks in their earliest stages, and enables security teams to quickly respond with actionable, real-time forensics. Enterprise customers are rapidly adopting Illusive's breakthrough platform to protect against insider threats, exfiltration of intellectual property, personal identity information, financial cybercrime, and other critical cyber related business risk.

Frost and Sullivan, recognizing Illusive with a 2018 New Product Innovation Award stated, "Illusive Networks' deception-based cybersecurity technology offers a new approach to post-breach solutions, one that catches attackers early on in the kill-chain by neutralizing targeted attacks and APTs to risk-sensitive and business-critical digital assets."

Illusive is a 100% channel-committed company, selling exclusively through value added resellers (VARs), managed security service providers (MSSP), and managed detection and response (MDR) partners around the world.

"The technology suppliers on CRN's 2018 Emerging Vendors list are creating a bright future for the IT channel, aggressively developing products to meet complex IT market demands, while positively impacting the bottom line of solution providers," said Bob Skelley, CEO, The Channel Company. "The array of leading-edge products delivered by these organizations will have a lasting impact on the channel for years to come."

"By continually enhancing our unique, pre-emptive approach to cybersecurity, Illusive enables enterprises to stay one step ahead of attackers," said Tracy Pallas, Illusive's vp of channel sales strategy. "Our channel-led sales model is driving rapid adoption across all verticals in both mid-enterprise and Fortune 500 firms. Illusive and our partners are delighted that CRN continues to recognize and commend our efforts."

The complete Emerging Vendors list will be featured online at www.crn.com/emergingvendors.

Follow The Channel Company: Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook

Tweet This:

@TheChannelCo names @illusivenw to @CRN 2018 Emerging Vendors list #CRNEV www.crn.com/emergingvendors

About Illusive Networks

Illusive Networks is a pioneer of deception technology, empowering security teams to take informed action against advanced, targeted attacks by preempting, detecting, and disrupting attackers early in the attack life cycle. Agentless and driven by intelligent automation, Illusive enables organizations to proactively defend critical information assets with minimal operational overhead. Conceived by cybersecurity experts with decades of combined experience in cyber warfare and cyber intelligence, Illusive helps customers avoid significant operational disruption and business risk, while operating with greater confidence in today's complex, hyper-connected world.

For more information, visit us at www.illusivenetworks.com, contact us at [email protected] or follow on LinkedIn, @Illusivenw on Twitter and Facebook.

About The Channel Company

The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelco.com

SOURCE Illusive Networks

Related Links

http://www.illusivenetworks.com


VIENNA, Austria, July 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

For the first-time, researchers at IMBA - Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences - develop organoids, that mimic the onset of brain cancer. This method not only sheds light on the complex biology of human brain tumors but could also pave the way for new medical applications.

Brain tumors are among the most aggressive and deadly cancers and a leading cause of cancer-related death in children and young adults.

Glioblastoma is a particularly aggressive form of brain tumor that is characterized by a very rapid tumor growth of glia cells - the most abundant cell types in the central nervous system, that surround and support neurons. The tumor is notoriously difficult to treat as it forms tentacle-like structures, that makes it difficult to remove the tumors surgically. Also, glioblastoma tend to liaise with blood vessels, helping cancerous cells to grow and spread very quickly. With each cell division, they accumulate mutations that can render them resistant to drugs. Because of the molecular characteristics of the human brain, it has been very difficult for scientist to find a suitable model organism to study brain cancers.

Organoid technology could now lead to a paradigm shift in studying glioblastoma and other forms of brain cancers. In recent years, researchers have managed to develop more and more lab grown organ like structures, or organoids. Already in 2013 Jurgen Knoblich and his team at IMBA were the first ones to use brain- organoids from iPS cells for studying molecular and developmental characteristics as well as neurological diseases of the human brain. Now, they have succeeded to grow one of the deadliest cancers, brain cancer, in a dish. The novelty: this method allows the researchers to replicate the process of brain carcinogenesis in a dish, where they can observe brain cancer onset already at its early stages and watch the brain-organoid growing a tumor in a dish.

In a publication in the current edition of the journal Nature Methods the group reports on the new neoplastic cerebral organoids they have developed to study brain tumors. These organoids faithfully reproduce unique aspects of the human brain, such as its diverse cell types and the stages by which it develops, allowing scientists to get a handle on the ways tumors arise, and also provide a system to try out new cancer therapies. "For the first time, we established a human model for brain cancer to rapidly test or screen for the tumorigenic potential of gene mutations found from cancer genome sequencing projects. Using genome-editing techniques, we introduced clinically-relevant mutations into the cerebral organoids. With this method, we are trying to mimic the brain tumor onset in vivo by only mutating a very small population of cells," explains Shan Bian, postdoc at IMBA and first author of the study.

Over the past few years, huge cancer genome sequencing projects have catalogued thousands of mutations found in patient tumors. Such genetic defects arise through natural mistakes in the copying of DNA, through the consumption of carcinogens or other causes. They trigger fundamental changes in healthy cells that cause them to spin out of control, reproducing at an astounding pace. Each time such a cell divides it may generate new mutations, leaving scientists with a huge puzzle to assemble. The novel brain-cancer or neoplastic organoids now offer a means to investigate, how some of these mutations are driving forces in tumors, crucial in triggering the onset of cancer, and necessary to address through treatments, while others are simply side effects.

From bench to bedside

The scientists carried out studies of these miniature tumors to identify additional changes they had undergone, identifying new markers that may help in diagnosing the disease and classifying the tumor a patient has.

Once a tumor has developed, the scientists can target a specific mutation to determine whether the defect is also essential for the long-term survival of the tumor. Any change that causes it to shrink or disappear makes a good candidate for future therapies.

The scientists tested this principle by applying a drug called Afatinib, which is currently being used in clinical trials as a treatment for glioblastoma. They found that after 40 days, administration of the drug significantly reduced the number of tumor cells in two combinations of mutations, but not in the third or in cells with too much MYC. Afatinib inhibits a molecule called EGFR - which is specifically overexpressed in those two types of tumors. When testing four additional EGFR inhibitors used in therapies, a drug called Erlotinib significantly reduced the number of tumor cells as well, while the effects of others were minimal.

"These results show that brain organoids also have significant impact for cancer research and public health. We can now develop organoids from brain tumor patients allowing us to test the efficacy of different combinations of therapies," says stem cell pioneer Knoblich, who is interim director of IMBA. "As a next step it will be important to foster clinical partnerships, so we can work towards translating our findings from the bench to the bedside."

Publication: Bian et al., 2018, 'Genetically engineered cerebral organoids model brain tumor formation', Nature Methods; doi: 10.1038/s41592-018-0070-7

Press Photos: https://www.imba.oeaw.ac.at/about-imba/information-material-download/

About IMBA

IMBA - Institute of Molecular Biotechnology is one of the leading biomedical research institutes in Europe focusing on cutting-edge functional genomics and stem cell technologies. IMBA is located at the Vienna Biocenter, the vibrant cluster of universities, research institutes and biotech companies in Austria. IMBA is a subsidiary of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the leading national sponsor of non-university academic research.

http://www.imba.oeaw.ac.at

IMBA - Institut fur Molekulare Biotechnologie GmbH

Dr. Bohr-Gasse 3, 1030 Wien

Tel: +43-1-790-44-3626

[email protected]

[email protected]

Website: http://www.imba.oeaw.ac.at

SOURCE IMBA Institute of Molecular Biotechnology
PETALUMA, Calif., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Not every individual will get along. With co-workers, in a way, that is more easily managed. Either they figure out how to get along enough to work or there will be consequences of some kind, though not necessarily punishments. If in the case of a client not getting along with an employee, things might be trickier. An employee is expected to maintain a certain amount of professionalism at all times. Not all clients will behave in a similar manner or mindset, though. For reasons of their own, customers may not always be in the best of moods and can cause quite the disturbance if they choose to. If a customer does cause a scene of some sort, damage control is important, but an employee is only human and may not react well depending on what is happening, and Brandon Frere, CEO and president of Frere Enterprises, says that is okay, because all events can be worked around in one way or another.

Andy Dean Photography/Bigstock.com

"Working with a customer base is a difficult task with how much someone or a team has to do to keep them happy. And sometimes there's just no pleasing a customer who is hell-bent on causing trouble," said Frere.

Understanding that employees are people, too, is easy to say and hear, but fully understanding and working with that in mind may be a bit harder of a step. What is meant by that statement is that individuals don't always respond to events in an anticipated way. If an employee is being yelled at, cussed out, or similar, and they have a bit of an adverse reaction like being less than 100 percent polite, don't let in on them once the situation has been dealt with. They've just had enough trouble with trying to keep their cool and as long as they handled the situation to the best of their ability, that's often good enough. Situations like an irate customer are less than ideal, but they can be handled. "Good judgment on the situation, in both what happened and for how to handle future situations, can be beneficial, but in the moment, there is often enough going on already," said Frere.

About Frere Enterprises

Brandon Frere is an entrepreneur and businessman who lives in Sonoma County, California. He has designed and created multiple companies to meet the ever-demanding needs of businesses and consumers alike. His company website, www.FrereEnterprises.com, is used as a means to communicate many of the lessons, fundamentals and information he has learned throughout his extensive business and personal endeavors, most recently in advocating on behalf of student loan borrowers nationwide.

As experienced during his own student loan repayment, Mr. Frere found out how difficult it can be to work with federally contracted student loan servicers and the repayment programs designed to help borrowers. Through those efforts, he gained an insider's look into the repayment process and the motivations behind the inflating student loan debt bubble. His knowledge of the confusing landscape of student loan repayment became a vital theme in his future endeavors, and he now uses those experiences to help guide others through the daunting process of applying for available federal repayment and loan forgiveness programs.

FrereEnterprises.com

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Unhappy Customer

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SOURCE Frere Enterprises

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COSTA MESA, Calif., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Building on the trust consumers and brands have put in J.D. Power studies for decades, the marketing data and analytics company today announced it is launching the J.D. Power Senior Living Community Certification ProgramSM this month to recognize communities that provide an exceptional customer service experience.

"As our population ages, consumers will have more choices and senior providers will face more competition," said Greg Truex, Senior Director of the Healthcare practice at J.D. Power. "Certification from J.D. Power will give consumers peace of mind that a community has their best interests in mind and enables those communities to separate themselves from their competitors."

The certification program will reflect the commitment and dedication of senior living communities to provide their customers with a residential experience that meets or exceeds today's customer expectations. To that end, demonstrating their commitment to exceeding resident expectations, Five Star Senior Living is the first organization to pursue certification from J.D. Power.

As the first qualification criterion, communities must rank among the top 20% in overall customer satisfaction as defined by the 2018 J.D. Power Senior Living Satisfaction Study.SM J.D. Power will capture residents or decision-makers' voice and quantify community performance across 17 performance metrics and 14 key performance indicators.

In addition, qualifying brands must pass a rigorous, on-site evaluation of 140 operational best practices developed by J.D. Power and senior living industry expert Andrew Carle, President of Carle Consulting and Adjunct Professor and Founding Director of the Program in Senior Housing Administration at George Mason University.

"The U.S. senior living industry has grown rapidly in the past 30 years, today serving more than 1 million residents in more than 40,000 independent, assisted living, and memory care communities nationwide," Carle said. "This certification recognizes that growth and the contributions such communities have made in improving quality of life for both older adults and family caregivers. It also recognizes the need to provide those same consumers with valuable information to make an informed decision when choosing a community."

The best practices include, but are not limited to: community mission, culture and structure; licensing and safety; community staff; resident relations; resident services; and sales, marketing, and move-in coordination. Once certified, the organization will receive a certification icon for their community and have the option to promote its achievement for 12 months through online marketing collateral and in-community displays.

For senior living communities interested in signing up for the program or to receive additional program information, please visit http://marketingforms.jdpa.com/SLCProgram.

J.D. Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services and data and analytics. These capabilities enable J.D. Power to help its clients drive customer satisfaction, growth and profitability. Established in 1968, J.D. Power is headquartered in Costa Mesa, Calif., and has offices serving North/South America, Asia Pacific and Europe. J.D. Power is a portfolio company of XIO Group, a global alternative investments and private equity firm headquartered in London, and is led by its four founders: Athene Li, Joseph Pacini, Murphy Qiao and Carsten Geyer.

Media Relations Contact

Geno Effler; J.D. Power; Costa Mesa, Calif.; 714-621-6224; [email protected]

About J.D. Power and Advertising/Promotional Rules www.jdpower.com/about-us/press-release-info

SOURCE J.D. Power

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http://www.jdpower.com


CLEVELAND, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) announced today the launch of its instant payment solution with Ingo Money. Through Ingo Push, Ingo Money's turn-key push payment platform, KeyBank business clients can disburse guaranteed funds in real-time.

Ingo Money enables businesses, banks and government agencies to meet consumer demand for instant money proceeds while saving time and money. Through Ingo Money's platform, KeyBank commercial clients will be able to quickly and easily turn slow, expensive paper checks and ACH deposits into instant, fully guaranteed funds that are immediately available in their customers' accounts. Ingo Money's network reach and intelligent routing system ensure industry leading delivery rates for these commercial clients.

"With potential delays and security risks, it comes as no surprise that organizations are seeking ways to substitute paper-based payments with digital transactions. Consumers are increasingly demanding an instant experience," said Matt Miller, head of product and innovation at KeyBank Enterprise Commercial Payments. "Our priority is to provide businesses with secure solutions that address these pain points while also streamlining processing and enhancing the consumer experience. By replacing paper and manual systems, this digital payment solution can help businesses cut operating costs and eliminate the delay and risk of check deposit."

The latest collaboration with Ingo Money exemplifies KeyBank's model of partnering with companies whose solutions align with the broader strategy of delivering innovations that make clients' businesses grow, avoid risk and be profitable. It marks the most recent in a series of relationships with emerging fintech providers.

Earlier this year, KeyBank and Snapsheet announced the joint launch of Snapsheet Transactions, a multi-channel payment platform for insurance carriers which will include the Ingo Push payment platform,

"The Instant Economy opens a path for businesses to exceed customer expectations while adding to their own bottom line," said Ingo Money CEO Drew Edwards. "With KeyBank, we can broaden the reach of our leading instant payment platform, transforming traditional disbursements for insurers, lenders, and any other business committed to digitizing the last mile of a modern payments experience."

About Ingo Money

Ingo Money is the instant money company. Founded in 2001 with a mission to digitize the paper check, our push payments technology enables businesses and banks to disburse instant, safe-to-spend funds to more than four billion consumer debit, prepaid, credit, private label credit and mobile wallet accounts. This transformation of traditional payments helps businesses reduce cost and delays while dramatically improving the consumer experience. Headquartered in Atlanta, you can learn more at ingomoney.com/enterprise, or follow us on LinkedIn, Google+ and Twitter.

About KeyCorp

KeyCorp's roots trace back 190 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $137.8 billion at June 30, 2018. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,200 branches and more than 1,500 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank is Member FDIC.

SOURCE KeyCorp

Related Links

https://www.key.com


"We're honored to be invited to the White House's 'Made in America Product Showcase' and to represent the great state of Illinois," says Tom Klein, Sr., chairman of Klein Tools. "My great-great-grandfather founded Klein Tools in Chicago over 160 years ago, and we continue his legacy of manufacturing tools right here in the United States. In fact, no other manufacturer of hand tools used in electrical applications makes more items in America than Klein Tools."

Founded in 1857, Klein Tools designs, develops and manufactures premium-quality, professional-grade hand tools used in the construction, electrical, utility and mining industries. Klein Tools' commitment to American manufacturing runs deep  with eight facilities in six states, including its corporate office and world-class forging facility in suburban Chicago, and its state-of-the-art manufacturing headquarters in Mansfield, Texas.

"Over the past seven years, Klein Tools has invested over $200 million in our U.S. manufacturing facilities," Klein says. "Providing American-made products not only supports our corporate values, it also allows us to maintain the quality that the professionals who use them every day rely on. That's why we try to keep our manufacturing as close to home as possible, while delivering only the highest-quality products."

To combat the nationwide skills gap and attract new talent to the fields that use Klein Tools products every day, the company partners with and donates to multiple organizations that provide training for aspiring tradespeople.

"We are proud not only to be part of driving awareness and support for the American manufacturing industry, but also for the skilled trades as a whole," Klein continues. "We put a lot of resources behind encouraging and training the next generation to enter the skilled trades through our support of technical schools and universities that provide manufacturing, engineering and CNC machining curriculums.

"On a national level, we support the IBEW-NECA Electrical Training Alliance to develop hands-on opportunities for electrical apprentices throughout the country," Klein adds. "We also work with SkillsUSA, an organization comprised of students, teachers and industry partners throughout the country, to help ensure that America continues to have a competitive skilled workforce."

Through ongoing investments in research and development, Klein Tools continues to add new products to its line of American-made products, including the new Hybrid Pliers, Heavy-Duty Wire Stripper, Long-Nose Wire Stripper/Crimper, All-Purpose Electrician's Scissors and Heavy-Duty Diagonal-Cutting Pliers.

"We are proud to be an American manufacturer that not only supplies tradespeople with quality products, but also is doing its part to support the next generation of America's skilled workforce. With more American tradespeople, the stronger America will be," adds Klein.

For more information about Klein Tools and its American manufacturing, please visit: www.kleintools.com.

About Klein Tools

Since 1857, Klein Tools, a family-owned and operated company, has been designing, developing and manufacturing premium-quality, professional-grade hand tools. The majority of Klein tools are manufactured in plants throughout the United States and are the No. 1 choice among professional electricians and other tradespeople. For more information, visit www.kleintools.com.

Klein is a registered trademark of Klein Tools, Inc.

SOURCE Klein Tools

Related Links

http://www.kleintools.com


LONG BEACH, Calif., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Labor Commissioner's Office has issued wage theft citations of $1.9 million to Fullerton Pacific Interiors Inc. for failing to properly compensate 472 workers on 26 construction projects throughout Southern California. An investigation determined that none of the workers were provided rest periods as required by law, 289 workers were not paid for overtime and 28 workers were paid less than minimum wage.

The Fullerton-based contractor provided drywall work at hotel, recreation center and casino projects in Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties from August 2014 to June 2016. Workers performing taping and drywall installation were paid a daily rate that did not properly compensate them for overtime hours. Workers were allowed a 30-minute meal period but did not receive rest breaks.

"In construction, unscrupulous contractors attempt to obscure their wage theft by paying workers a flat rate rather than for all hours worked," said Labor Commissioner Julie A. Su. "But a daily or other flat rate system does not take the place of minimum wage and overtime obligations."

The $1,964,679 citation penalty amount includes $1,892,279 payable to the workers and $72,400 in civil penalties. Of the total due to workers, $798,664 is for rest period violations, $386,685 for unpaid overtime and $692,500 for wage statement violations. The 28 workers shorted on minimum wage pay are owed a total of $14,431 for unpaid wages, liquidated damages and waiting time penalties. Fullerton Pacific Interiors, Inc. did not provide accurate itemized wage statements as required by law.

The Labor Commissioner's Office launched an investigation of Fullerton Pacific Interiors after workers complained about pay violations to Carpenters Contractors Cooperation Committee, a non-profit labor-management organization.

Enforcement investigations typically include a payroll audit of the previous three years to determine minimum wage, overtime and other labor law violations, and calculate payments owed and penalties due. Civil penalties collected are transferred to the State's General Fund as required by law.

When workers are paid less than minimum wage, they are entitled to liquidated damages that equal the amount of underpaid wages plus interest. Waiting time penalties are imposed when the employer intentionally fails to pay all wages due to the employee at the time of separation. This penalty is calculated by taking the employee's daily rate of pay and multiplying it by the number of days the employee was not paid, up to a maximum of 30 days.

Most workers in California must receive a paid 10-minute rest period for every four hours worked. If workers do not receive rest breaks as required by Industrial Welfare Commission orders for their occupation, the employer must pay one hour of pay at the worker's regular pay rate for each workday that the break is not provided, and civil penalties of $50 per worker per pay period for the initial violation, which increases to $100 each for subsequent violations.

The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, or the Labor Commissioner's Office, is the division within the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) with wide-ranging enforcement responsibilities including adjudicating wage claims, inspecting workplaces for wage and hour violations, investigating retaliation complaints and educating the public on labor laws.

In 2014, Labor Commissioner Su launched the Wage Theft is a Crime multilingual public awareness campaign. The campaign defines wage theft and informs workers of their rights and the resources available to them to recover unpaid wages or report other labor law violations.

Employees with work-related questions or complaints may contact DIR's Call Center in English or Spanish at 844-LABOR-DIR (844-522-6734).

Members of the press may contact Peter Melton or Frank Polizzi at (510) 286-1161, and are encouraged to subscribe to get email alerts on DIR's press releases or other departmental updates.

The California Department of Industrial Relations, established in 1927, protects and improves the health, safety, and economic well-being of over 18 million wage earners, and helps their employers comply with state labor laws. DIR is housed within the Labor & Workforce Development Agency. For general inquiries, contact DIR's Call Center at 844-LABOR-DIR (844-522-6734) for help in locating the appropriate division or program in our department.

https://www.facebook.com/CaliforniaDIR

https://twitter.com/CA_DIR

http://www.youtube.com/CaliforniaDIR

http://www.dir.ca.gov/email/listsub.asp?choice=1

SOURCE California Department of Industrial Relations; California Labor Commissioners Office

Related Links

http://www.dir.ca.gov


SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- LeanData, the leader in Lead-to-Account Matching, Routing, and Marketing Attribution solutions, today unveiled the expanded Ops-Stars 2018 agenda, featuring breakout sessions, workshops, and an additional executive keynote, bringing together Sales and Marketing leaders. This year's conference will feature industry experts, thought leaders and senior-level business executives from notable global brands and influencers including Google Cloud, Bluewolf (IBM), Airbnb, Marketo, Demandbase, IDC, Xactly, TOPO, Forrester, Heinz Marketing and many others. Ops-Stars, the premier Operations event of the year, will be held September 25th-26th at the San Francisco Mint, hosting more than a dozen sponsors and 1,400 sales and marketing decision makers.

"Each year, Sales and Marketing Operations professionals flock to Ops-Stars to engage with and learn from leading Ops executives and experts. For Ops-Stars 2018, attendees can expect to have an unparalleled experience. This year's conference will feature some of the most notable thought leaders and industry executives and practitioners from the world's most recognized B2B brands," said Karen Steele, chief marketing officer, LeanData. "OpsStars, a complimentary two-day event, is designed to provide a community of experts and practitioners with ideas and best practice sharing, networking, and an engagement-rich experience. LeanData is committed to creating an informative and elevated event where Operations professionals can obtain the necessary knowledge and tools that will empower them to become the next generation of business leaders."

The Ops-Stars 2018 conference agenda, under the theme of "Follow the Money," now features more than 35 keynotes, breakout sessions, and interactive workshops including:

The newly unveiled sessions, along with the earlier announced keynote addresses, featuring Forrester, Xactly, G2Crowd, GE Digital, Splunk, RingCentral, SiriusDecisions, and Shasta Ventures, reaffirms LeanData's commitment to delivering an elevated and informative conference that will empower Operations leaders to become the next generation of C-suite executives.

Ops-Stars 2018 event sponsors include LeanData, DataFox, PFL, Terminus, InsideView, Demandbase, Insight Squared, Aviso, S&P Global Market Intelligence, Squelch.io, and Ambition.

To register for Ops-Stars 2018, please visit https://bit.ly/2t0PJsy.

About LeanData

LeanData is the leader in Lead-to-Account Matching, Routing, and Marketing Attribution solutions. We stand at the center of your CRM, connecting data to the right people. By aligning marketing and sales with accurate matching, routing, and trustworthy attribution, sales reps only get the leads, contacts, accounts, and opportunities they need to work on, so they can close more deals and drive more revenue, faster.

LeanData is helping over 360 customers, including Marketo, Adobe, and Glassdoor, reduce complexity and frustration while accelerating revenue.

Visit leandatainc.com for more information.

Media Contact

Margo Mendez-Penate

LeanData

[email protected]

669.600.5676

SOURCE LeanData

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http://www.leandatainc.com


White House national security adviser John Bolton plans to meet with his Russian counterpart next month to follow up on US President Donald Trump's historic summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.

"The only specific agreement made was the two national security teams from both the United States and Russia would continue at a working level," she said at the press briefing before making the announcement about Bolton.

Sanders said that in addition to meeting with his Russian counterpart, Bolton will meet with European allies, though the focus of those discussions was unclear.

Sanders statement came in response to a question about why the White House still hasnt released details about the closed-door meeting between the two leaders a week after it took place, Politico reported.
All of the music on The U.K. Singles Volume One: 1972-1978 was remastered from the analog source tapes while each of the 16 7" vinyl discs in the collection features detailed reproductions of the original sleeves and labels from the 1970s.

Nine of these singles--including "Roll Over Beethoven," "Evil Woman," "Livin' Thing," "Telephone Line" and "Mr. Blue Sky"--reached the Top 10 of the British charts and remain among the world's most enduring classic rock songs. On rock radio and beyond, ELO's hits continue to permeate pop culture. In 2017, "Livin' Thing" was featured in a widely-seen advertisement for Volkswagen while "Mr. Blue Sky" underscored a pivotal scene in the Marvel Studios blockbuster Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2.

Formed in Birmingham, England in 1970, ELO was designed to create progressive modern pop music combining classical and rock elements wrapped in futurist iconography. Jeff Lynne is ELO's guiding light and driving force, writing virtually all of the group's original material while arranging and producing their albums.

From 1972 through 1986, ELO racked up more combined UK and US Top 40 hits than any other band on the planet while selling more than 50 million records worldwide. During the same period, ELO scored twenty Top 20s on the UK Singles Chart and fifteen Top 20s on the US Billboard Hot 100.

ELO was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on April 7, 2017.

A new concert documentary, "Jeff Lynne's ELO: Wembley or Bust" will make its U.S. television premiere on SHOWTIME on Friday, July 27 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on-air, on demand and over the internet. A celebration of ELO's enduring and ongoing musical legacy, director Paul Dugdale documents Lynne's ELO performance at London's famed Wembley Stadium in front of a sold-out crowd of 60,000 fans in 2017.

On August 3, 2018, Legacy Recordings will release, for the first time ever on 12" vinyl, Secret Messages , Electric Light Orchestra's tenth studio album, first issued on CD in 1983. The Legacy 35th Anniversary Edition of Secret Messages , available as a 2LP 12" 150 gram vinyl set, presents Jeff Lynne's "eclectic creation" as "originally conceived" with six previously unreleased tracks "all with cutting-edge synthesizers as well as up-front guitar mastery" finally restored to the ELO masterpiece.

Electric Light Orchestra

The U.K. Singles Volume One: 1972-1978

Disc 1: 10538 Overture b/w First Movement (Jumping Biz)* (1972  U.K. No. 9)

Disc 2: Roll Over Beethoven** b/w Queen Of The Hours (1973  U.K. No. 6)

Disc 3: Showdown b/w In Old England Town (Instrumental) (1973  U.K. No. 12)

Disc 4: Ma-Ma-Ma Belle b/w Oh No Not Susan (1974  U.K. No. 22)

Disc 5: Can't Get It Out Of My Head b/w Illusions In G Major (1974)

Disc 6: Evil Woman b/w 10538 Overture (live) (1974  U.K. No. 10)

Disc 7: Nightrider b/w Daybreaker (live)(1976)

Disc 8: Strange Magic b/w Showdown (live) (1976  U.K. No. 38)

Disc 9: Livin' Thing b/w Fire On High (1976  U.K. No. 4)

Disc 10: Rockaria! b/w Poker (1976  U.K. No. 9)

Disc 11: Telephone Line b/w Poor Boy (The Greenwood) / King Of The Universe (1977  U.K. No. 8)

Disc 12: Turn To Stone b/w Mister Kingdom (1977  U.K. No. 18)

Disc 13: Mr. Blue Sky b/w One Summer Dream (1978  U.K. No. 6)

Disc 14: Wild West Hero b/w Eldorado (1978  U.K. No. 6)

Disc 15: Sweet Talkin' Woman b/w Bluebird Is Dead (1978  U.K. No. 6)

Disc 16: The ELO EP: Can't Get It Out Of My Head / Strange Magic b/w Ma-Ma-Ma Belle / Evil Woman (1978  U.K. No. 34)

All songs written by Jeff Lynne except:

*"First Movement (Jumping Biz)" written by Roy Wood

**"Roll Over Beethoven" written by Chuck Berry

SOURCE Legacy Recordings

Related Links

http://www.legacyrecordings.com


AutoNavi, a Subsidiary of Alibaba Group, Will Guide Riders Directly From its Popular Mapping Application to Link Motion's Smart Ride Service

BEIJING, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Link Motion Inc., (NYSE: LKM), a leading smart car and smart ride company, has formed a new strategic partnership with AutoNavi Software Co., Ltd., a leading digital mapping, navigation and location service solutions provider in China and a subsidiary of e-commerce conglomerate Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA).

Pursuant to the terms of the agreements that have been executed establishing the strategic relationship, AutoNavi will guide riders directly from its popular mapping application to Link Motion's smart ride service in all of Link Motion's operational markets and locations. In addition, Link Motion will utilize AutoNavi's leading mapping and navigation solutions and services in its smart ride business and applications.

"As we prepare for the commercial rollout of our Smart Ride business scheduled for this summer, we recognize AutoNavi as a key partner," said Duo Tang, executive vice president and head of Link Motion's Smart Ride Business. "We will rely on their best-in-class mapping and navigation services as a key technology solution for our smart ride platform, and we believe the significant order flow that could be generated directly through integration with their mapping application could be of paramount importance to rapidly securing a large user base. We look forward to further strengthening our strategic partnership with AutoNavi and announcing further initiatives with them in the near future," concluded Tang.

"Link Motion's innovative smart ride concept is a natural fit for AutoNavi users, who are accustomed to seamless and best-in-class transportation and mapping solutions," said Mr. Curtis Tong, General Manager of AutoNavi's Open Platform. "As active technology leaders in the transportation space, we believe that our mapping solutions are highly synergistic with Link Motion's smart ride service.

"Cars are an environment, where individuals spend a significant amount of time, and which through connectivity can become an important part of life. We believe there are many high-value opportunities for cooperation with an industry thought leader like Link Motion, and look forward to a strong working relationship going forward," concluded Mr. Tong.

About AutoNavi Holdings Ltd.

AutoNavi is a leading provider of digital mapping content, navigation, and location service solutions provider. Since its inception in 2002 and after 16 of development, AutoNavi has accumulated leading technology, built a high barrier for the entire mapping industry, and become an industry leader in the development of other related businesses. In April 2014, the Company was acquired by Alibaba Group, a leading e-commerce conglomerate (NYSE : BABA). AutoNavi's business capabilities cover the entire industry ecosystem of mobile maps, navigation and transportation including the data, software, cloud service, open platforms, tourism service, information service, and auto navigation market.

About Link Motion Inc.

Link Motion Inc. ("Link Motion" or the "Company"NYSE: LKM) is a leading smart car and smart ride company. Link Motion's portfolio of offerings includes enabling technology solutions and secure connected carputers for the ecosystem of car businesses, consumer ride sharing services, as well as legacy mobile security, productivity and other related applications. For more information on Link Motion, please visit www.lkmotion.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact in this press release are forward-looking statements and involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about the Company and the industry in which the Company operates, but involve a number of unknown risks and uncertainties. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that such expectations will turn out to be correct, and actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results. You are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements contained herein and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements.

Media & Investor Relations



MZ North America

Chris Tyson

Managing Director

949-491-8235

[email protected]

www.mzgroup.us

Luke Zimmerman

Senior Associate

949-259-4987

[email protected]

www.mzgroup.us

SOURCE Link Motion Inc.

Related Links

http://www.lkmotion.com/


CHICAGO, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Liquidware, the leading third-party provider of platform-agnostic end-user computing solutions, today announced that its FlexApp application layering software has nosed out Citrix's App Layering and VMware's App Volumes products to take top billing in WhatMatrix's community-curated independent analysis of application layering solutions.

"We compared these three products against some 140 key criteria in our rigorous evaluation of Application Layering software," said Rory Monaghan, lead consultant at WhatMatrix. "Liquidware FlexApp emerged as community number one  with the richest feature set of all Application Layering products on the market."

WhatMatrix is different from other product comparison endeavors in that its community evaluations are all based on in-depth technical analysis, reflected in comparisons of 100-plus evaluation points, and untainted by vendor submission or pay-to-play models. Comparisons are moreover managed by named, independent community experts and validated by open community curation.

Significantly, Liquidware remains the last independent platform-agnostic player in this market segment that is dominated by giants  a fact that is of particular importance to enterprises aiming to avoid vendor or platform lock-in when it comes to their business-critical software. The company's FlexApp application layering software delivers applications instantly to any Windows desktop environment, regardless and independently of the operating system version in use. The solution is optimized for Citrix and VMware desktop platforms, for Microsoft RDS/RDmi and physical desktops, as well as Amazon WorkSpaces, and desktops running on Amazon, Google and Microsoft Azure cloud platforms.

Among the criteria measured by WhatMatrix, FlexApp was the sole solution to: offer per named user licensing; allow users to layer their own apps; offer click-to-layer; allow apps to upgrade while in use; provide data store support of MongoDB; offer both Azure and AWS native features; centrally manage file type associations; and hide layers from other users on shared machines.

"This accolade really means a great deal to us. With only three products to be measured in this comparison, it was David versus the Goliaths," said Jason E. Smith, VP of Product Marketing of Liquidware. "What an honor to be measured against industry-leading companies, such as VMware and Citrix, and whose desktops FlexApp supports. To be number one in this category is not only gratifying but validates the tremendous functionality of FlexApp."

Visit https://www.whatmatrix.com/comparison/app-layering to view the complete report. WhatMatrix is a living community that updates information frequently. Report criteria are subject to revision at any time. The information quoted here was accurate on the date of publication.

About Liquidware

Liquidware provides industry leading, platform-agnostic desktop solutions for hybrid Windows desktop environments including Citrix XenApp/XenDesktop, VMware Horizon View, Amazon WorkSpaces and physical Microsoft Windows PCs and desktops running on Amazon, Google and Microsoft Azure cloud platforms. The company's Stratusphere UX solution delivers visibility into desktop environments to support assessment, design, monitoring and diagnostics (Health Checks). ProfileUnity provides just in time delivery of User Profiles, application and user rights management and context-aware policies. FlexApp delivers advanced Application Layering. The solutions are available in an extremely cost-effectively priced bundle called Liquidware Essentials. Liquidware products are Citrix Ready, VMware-certified, and are available through a global network of partners. Visit www.liquidware.com for further information.

Media Contacts:

Waters Communications | Sarah Shkargi | [email protected]

SOURCE Liquidware
ENGLEWOOD, Colo., July 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Mantix4, a cyber threat hunting platform provider, announced today that CRN  , a brand of The Channel Company, has named Mantix4 to its 2018 Emerging Vendors List in the Security category. This list recognizes recently founded, up-and-coming technology suppliers who are shaping the future of the IT channel through unique technological innovations. In addition to celebrating these notable companies, the Emerging Vendors list serves as a valuable resource for solution providers looking to expand their portfolios with cutting-edge technology.

Due to the shortage of IT and cybersecurity personnel, it is more important than ever to be proactive in hunting down threats before they can wreak havoc on a company's network. Mantix4's cyber intelligence platform was designed to cut through noise and clutter by spotting abnormal patterns and behavior on the network, the platform is then able to prioritize advanced and persistent threats. The technology allows enterprises to predictively, proactively and forensically identify and remediate dangerous cyber threats before reputations are tarnished and money is lost.

"The technology suppliers on CRN's 2018 Emerging Vendors list are creating a bright future for the IT channel, aggressively developing products to meet complex IT market demands, while positively impacting the bottom line of solution providers," said Bob Skelley, CEO, The Channel Company. "The array of leading-edge products delivered by these organizations will have a lasting impact on the channel for years to come."

The complete 2018 Emerging Vendors list is featured online at www.crn.com/emergingvendors.

About Mantix4

Mantix4's M4 Cyber Threat Hunting Platform was originally developed in 2011 by a team of defense intelligence, cyber security, and military experts. Mantix4 leverages advanced threat intelligence, big data analytics, and behavior anomalies, to give users context-based threat intelligence through a highly-visual platform. The system can even detect and neutralize sophisticated breaches, including advanced viruses that can 'play dead,' and lie dormant in a company's systems for months. The solution is delivered over the cloud in a Tier III Gold Certified Data Center, and also through MSP/MSSPs with security operations centers throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Within 24 hours, the platform is proactively collecting and displaying actionable information about inbound, outbound and lateral traffic. For more information, visit www.mantix4.com.

About The Channel Company

The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelco.com

Press Contact:

Brandy Whalen

Keeton PR

303-886-8874

[email protected]

SOURCE Mantix4

Related Links

http://www.mantix4.com


CAPITOL HEIGHTS, Md., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Midas Companies is launching into the energy market with focused, niche solutions related to fluid and water transfer in the oil and gas industry. Midas will be able to strategically utilize its existing assets from the municipal space to diversify its offerings, expand its customer base and increase its geographical footprint. Efforts began this week with water transfer for fracking operations with a key energy player in Colorado.

"The senior management team reviewed our current solutions and how we could use them to diversify our scope to accelerate our growth over the past few years," said Dan Cathell, Midas's Chief Executive Officer. "Moving into the energy and industrial space makes sense for our company. One of our key solutions is the movement of fluids, which fits well with the needs of the E&I marketplace and helps satisfy a currently underserved need in the industry. This represents a great opportunity and supports our strategic vision for the future of the company."

The company has traditionally focused efforts in the municipal marketplace, but this project represents the first foray into the energy space with a focus on the increasing needs within the oil and gas sector. Midas has focused on expansion and diversification efforts over the last several years, including the acquisition of key utility companies that have allowed for growth within the southeastern United States and building strong relationships with prime contractors and asset owners throughout its expanding markets. The Colorado project provides an opportunity for Midas to partner with a major energy company, allowing for growth not only in the oil and gas industry but also within the western region.

"We've been working on this opportunity for a while now, acquiring experienced crews with strong industry knowledge and focusing our expansion efforts on the needs of the E&I market," said Chris Englebrake, Midas's Vice President of Operations. "Our significant fleet is at the ready, so this allows Midas to strategically increase our asset utilization to add an end market in the industrial space while increasing our geographical reach."

About Midas Companies

Founded in 1972 and headquartered in Capitol Heights, Maryland, Midas offers a comprehensive portfolio of rehabilitation services and products for critical water, wastewater and industrial pipe infrastructure throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Southern regions, with an expanding reach into the western United States. The Company's suite of specialty services encompasses trenchless solutions, flow control and utility (traditional dig) for complete turnkey solutions. For more information, please visit the company's website at www.midascompanies.com.

SOURCE The Midas Companies

Related Links

http://www.midascompanies.com


"Without more accountability, our field will continue evolving into a sector where success is predicated not on whether patients get well and families heal, but on the size of your advertising budget, website analytics, search engine optimization and call center tactics," said Mishek, whose nonprofit organization is a leading national addiction treatment provider, with 17 sites in nine states.

Mishek testified Tuesday in front of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, which is taking a bipartisan look at deceptive marketing practices in the addiction treatment field and "patient brokering"  the practice of paying for patients and patient leads.

Mishek, whose organization was referred to as a gold standard throughout the hearing, called for Congress to pass legislation banning patient brokering and to help states bolster state licensure requirements; accreditation standards; clinician education qualifications; and access to comprehensive, evidence-based care and support that is coordinated and integrated with the rest of the healthcare system.

"Most in our field do great work. But to ensure ethical, quality care for all who seek help for addiction, we believe it is time to establish quality standards and a consistent, enforceable regulatory framework for the addiction treatment industry. The stakespatient safety and public confidence in addiction treatmentare high," Mishek said.

Growing market demand for addiction treatmentdriven by the opioid crisis and expanded insurance coveragehas attracted unprecedented private investment and an influx of new providers operating in a field that is under-regulated and lacks consistent quality standards. It is in this environment, Mishek said, that the treatment industry has seen the rise of unprofessional, unethical and sometimes illegal practices such as deceptive marketing, patient brokering and fraud.

"In too many cases, people who need help are instead being harmed," he said.

Subcommittee members noted that patient brokering and fraud are often enabled by deceptive marketing. While all of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation's treatment marketing leads to a single, clearly branded website  HazeldenBettyFord.org  that is not the case for others in the field who use multiple sites and multiple brands to acquire patients. Often, it is not clear who is behind ads for addiction treatment, or who consumers will get when they reach out for help. Some providers obscure their affiliations to other organizations, or misrepresent the services they provide, the conditions they treat, the credentials of their staff, or the insurance they accept. And some use online bait-and-switch techniques to get calls from people intending to call a different treatment center  something Mishek said his organization sees frequently.

"These marketing tactics can lead to bad treatment for consumers. The lack of transparency, on top of minimal quality standards in the industry, puts patients at risk. These kinds of practices certainly would not be tolerated in any other area of healthcare," said Mishek, a former hospital executive.

Industry reform is the Hazelden Betty Ford Institute for Recovery Advocacy's top priority for 2018 and has been the focus of its conversations with policymakers at the federal and state level. Mishek said he would like to see the federal government develop and disseminate quality and regulatory standards for states to consider, provide training and technical assistance, and work with organizations like the National Association of Addiction Treatment Professionals (NAATP) to disseminate standards and best practice guidance.

"Now is the time to restore faith and accountability in the addiction treatment field," Mishek said. "It is time to establish quality standards and an enforceable regulatory framework to guide all treatment organizations. It is time to ensure ethical, quality care for all people who seek help for addiction."

Video of the hearing and links to witnesses' prepared statements are available on the House Energy and Commerce Committee website.

About the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is a force of healing and hope for individuals, families and communities affected by addiction to alcohol and other drugs. It is the nation's largest nonprofit treatment provider, with a legacy that began in 1949 and includes the 1982 founding of the Betty Ford Center. With 17 sites in California, Minnesota, Oregon, Illinois, New York, Florida, Massachusetts, Colorado and Texas, the Foundation offers prevention and recovery solutions nationwide and across the entire continuum of care to help youth and adults reclaim their lives from the disease of addiction. It includes the largest recovery publishing house in the country, a fully accredited graduate school of addiction studies, an addiction research center, an education arm for medical professionals and a unique children's program, and is the nation's leader in advocacy and policy for treatment and recovery. Learn more at HazeldenBettyFord.org and on Twitter @hazldnbettyford.

SOURCE Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Related Links

http://www.hazeldenbettyford.org


HUNTSVILLE, Ala., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA has selected 304 proposals from U.S. small businesses to advance research and technology in Phase I of its 2018 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and 44 proposals for the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program, totaling $43.5 million in awards. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, will manage 43 SBIR and STTR awards, totaling $5.375 million.

"The Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs enable Marshall to work with industry and academic partners to tackle technological challenges that must be overcome to explore deep into space," said Marshall Center Director Todd May. "Not only do they help NASA and the aerospace industry in conquering technology challenges, they also benefit small business in Alabama and across the nation."

The selected proposals will support the development of technologies in the areas of aeronautics, human space exploration and operations, science, and space technology. Awards from Marshall cover a breadth of research and development needs, including projects focused on developing stronger and more durable additive manufacturing components, high-tech rocket engine nozzles, novel spacecraft design modeling, visualization and assessment software, low cost reaction control systems for small satellites, and more.

Proposals were selected according to their technical merit and feasibility, in addition to the experience, qualifications and facilities of the submitting organization. Additional criteria included effectiveness of the work plan and commercial potential.

The SBIR Phase I contracts last for six months and STTR Phase I contracts last for 13 months, both with a maximum funding of $125,000. Phase I work and results provide a sound basis for the continued development, demonstration and delivery of the proposed innovation in Phase II and follow-on efforts. Phase III is the commercialization of innovative technologies, products and services resulting from either a Phase I or Phase II contract.

The SBIR and STTR programs encourage small businesses and research institutions to develop innovative ideas that meet the specific research and development needs of the federal government. The programs are intended to stimulate technological innovation in the private sector, increase the commercial application of research results, and encourage participation of socially and economically disadvantaged persons and women-owned small businesses. Since the 1970s, small businesses have created approximately 55 percent of all jobs in the United States.

The SBIR and STTR programs are managed for NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate by NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley. STMD is responsible for developing the cross-cutting, pioneering new technologies and capabilities needed by the agency to achieve its current and future missions.

For more information about the SBIR/STTR program, including the selection list, visit:

https://sbir.nasa.gov/

For more information about NASA's investment in space technology, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/spacetech

SOURCE NASA

Related Links

http://www.nasa.gov


Entrants are invited to pitch their own enterprising ideas for a chance to be selected as a finalist of the Bold Pioneer Contest and participate in a mentoring session with Ohanian. With a grand prize of $18,500, the recipient will foster an impactful idea that makes a difference among today's trailblazers. The contest is live now and will accept entries through August 28, 2018 via Instagram and Twitter with video entries using #1850BoldContest.

"The official launch of 1850 Brand Coffee and the Bold Pioneer campaign marks our Company's most significant coffee growth initiative to date," said Tina Meyer-Hawkes, Vice President, Coffee Marketing, The J. M. Smucker Company. "Made from fire-roasted and steel-cut beans, 1850 Brand Coffee was crafted with coffee enthusiasts in mind who prefer stronger, bolder blends. Embarking on this bold new endeavor, we could not have picked a better partner than Ohanian. We're excited for him to not only be a part of this big moment for the brand, but also the journeys of today's trailblazers as an inspiration and mentor."

Ohanian is kicking off the contest in New York City today at an exclusive launch event where there will be an 1850 Brand Coffee-inspired "Bold Pioneers" Facebook Live Q&A Session and immersive 1850 Brand Coffee tastings. Coffee experts will be on-hand to help showcase the flavorful distinctions between the portfolio's four unique roasts, among other coffee centric experiences. You can tune into the Q&A by visiting the 1850 Brand Coffee Facebook Page at 6:30 p.m. E.T. Inspired by the brand's roots of San Francisco during the California Gold Rush, the uniquely bold and smooth 1850 Brand Coffee pays tribute to the pioneering spirit of J.A. Folger and embodies the hustle and grind of today's pioneers.

"Coffee is fuel for so many entrepreneurs and I'm excited that Folgers decided to create the 1850 Brand specifically with this ambitious audience in mind," said Initialized Capital and Reddit co-founder, Alexis Ohanian. "1850 Brand Coffee was made for bold people to help fuel original ideas and inspire new commitments and brave endeavors of today's pioneersultimately being an ally to the hustle of being bold. I'm looking forward to seeing some of the creative pitches through the Bold Pioneer contest and to work closely with the winning entrepreneur to take a step forward in their own pursuits."

Later this fall, three finalists will appear in front of a panel of judges and sponsor representatives to pitch their bold ideas. Ohanian will not only judge the presentation of pitches, but also mentor the finalists to help address their unique idea challenges and make their dreams a reality. The finalists' pitches will be recorded and shared online for viewers to vote on their favorite Bold Pioneer idea, with a grand prize winner selected in December.

The Bold Pioneer initiative is supported through a full 360 marketing campaign including its new "Not Pressed for Time" ad spot. The music heard in the TV spot, Marvin Gaye's "Far Cry," came first, providing the brand an opportunity to build creative that works in concert with the tracks and establishes a distinct vibe and personality. The campaign is also supported through ongoing digital, social, PR and paid media execution, as well as a partnership with Forbes 30 Under 30.

1850 Brand Coffee is available at retailers nationwide in Ground, Whole-Bean, and K-Cup Pods in four new blends:

Black Gold Dark Roast, a smooth cup balanced with dark chocolatey notes and sweetness

Trailblazer Medium-Dark Roast, with notes of strong roasted nut flavors with chocolate undertones

Pioneer Blend Medium Roast, a bold, balanced and smooth cup with hints of roasted nuts

Lantern Glow Light Roast, notes of lemongrass and jasmine tea with sweet, lemony undertones

In addition, 1850 Brand Coffee offers three Ready-to-Drink flavors:

Sweet Cream, fire-roasted coffee balanced with sweet cream flavor



Mocha, fire-roasted coffee with mocha flavor



Vanilla, fire-roasted coffee balanced with creamy vanilla flavor

For more information or to learn how to submit your original idea for the 1850 Bold Pioneer contest (see rules for details), visit 1850coffee.com.

About The J.M. Smucker Company

For more than 120 years, The J.M. Smucker Company has brought families together to share memorable meals and moments. Guided by a vision to engage, delight, and inspire consumers through trusted food and beverage brands that bring joy throughout their lives, Smucker has grown to be a well-respected North American marketer and manufacturer with a balanced portfolio of leading and emerging, on-trend brands. In consumer foods and beverages, its brands include Smucker's, Folgers, Jif, Dunkin' Donuts, Crisco, Cafe Bustelo, R.W. Knudsen Family, Sahale Snacks, Smucker's Uncrustables, Robin Hood, and Bick's. In pet food and pet snacks, its brands include Rachael Ray Nutrish, Meow Mix, Milk-Bone, Kibbles 'n Bits, Natural Balance, and Nature's Recipe. The Company remains rooted in the Basic Beliefs of Quality, People, Ethics, Growth, and Independence established by its founder and namesake more than a century ago. For more information about our Company, visit jmsmucker.com.

The J. M. Smucker Company is the owner of all trademarks referenced herein, except for the following, which are used under license: Dunkin' Donuts is a registered trademark of DD IP Holder LLC, and Rachael Ray is a registered trademark of Ray Marks Co. LLC.

Dunkin' Donuts brand is licensed to The J.M. Smucker Company for packaged coffee products sold in retail channels such as grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, and drug stores. This information does not pertain to Dunkin' Donuts coffee or other products for sale in Dunkin' Donuts restaurants. [Keurig and K-Cup are trademarks of Keurig Green Mountain, Inc. used with permission.]

SOURCE J.M. Smucker Company

Related Links

http://jmsmucker.com


LONG BEACH, Calif., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Long Beach's newest residents are moving in. The opening of Educare Los Angeles at Long Beach marks the culmination of a fast-tracked, year-long effort to build the 31,483-square-foot facility adjacent to Clara Barton Elementary School. Built by American Modular Systems (AMS), the four-building Gen7 campus is state-of-the-art, offering research-based, year-round child care and early education programs that help close the achievement gap between children from disparate socioeconomic backgrounds.

Educare Los Angeles at Long Beach Educare Center built by American Modular Systems

Studies show the quality of early learning classrooms and the opportunities provided for positive interactions are key predictors of a child's future successand key influencers for the new Educare's innovative building design.

"We wanted the buildings to be healthy, sunny and engaging," said Tony Sarich, VP of Operations for AMS and Gen7 Schools. "Flexible, wide-open spaces can become breakout areas for reading, music, arts and craftscreative activities that make learning fun."

Sarich said the forward-thinking modular campus not only closes the achievement gap for students; it closes the affordability gap for schools, offering a cost-effective option for school districts looking to provide high quality, high performance facilities on tight budgets.

Designed to Educare's unique requirements, the prefabricated Gen7 buildings incorporate custom features and smart technology once available only in site-built facilities. High ceilings with skylights, walls of stacked windows and colorful finishes make the space bright and cheerful, filled with natural light and fresh air. Premium acoustics buffer sound. Automated LED lighting and climate control optimize the learning environment, reducing energy usage by up to 60%.

Every space is child-centered, purposefully designed to foster the social, physical and emotional growth of children from birth to age five. Sixteen large, open-concept classrooms and a play therapy room occupy three single-story buildings, all connecting to a shared playground. A two-story Gen7 administration building offers a double-height lobby and gross motor/multipurpose roomboth with 25-foot ceilingsa kitchen, conference room, nurse's office and parent resource and training center.

Funded by a public-private partnership, the progressive campus was originally designed as conventional construction, but rising costs prompted Architect-of-Record Brian Dougherty to explore modular, collaborating with AMS to modularize the design.

"Our design expectations were very high, and we didn't want to scale down space, eliminate features or sacrifice quality to bring our vision into line with our budget," Dougherty said. "Customizing factory-built buildings allowed us to deliver the same amenities and high-end aesthetic at a lower cost."

While most prefab buildings are constructed of same-size modules, AMS went outside-the-box, mixing three-dimensional module sizes to achieve the two-story building's cutting-edge look. Installed on a concrete foundation, the modular buildings have the same permanence as a traditional building. Staircases, elevator and architectural details, like courtyard shade structures, window overhangs and the sculptural Educare arch defining the entrance, were integrated onsite.

Modular buildings aren't a compromise, Dougherty said; they're a smart solution to the real economic challenges facing California's schools. "If you compare the original drawings to the finished campus, we built exactly what we set out to build, and we did it in half the time."

About Gen7 Schools

Gen7 healthy, high performance classrooms offer a 21st century solution for California schools looking to expand, modernize or build new facilities quickly and affordably, without sacrificing quality or style. Manufactured by American Modular Systems, Gen7's award-winning one- and two-story designs are highly sustainable and fully customizable, integrating advanced technology with flexible floorplans that can adapt and evolve to fit any school's program needs and budget. For more information, visit www.gen7schools.com or www.americanmodular.com.

Photos Available Upon Request

Contact:

Maggie Howland

American Modular Systems

(415) 716-7553

[email protected]

SOURCE American Modular Systems
DUBAI, UAE, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

New Zealand's preparation for Expo 2020 Dubai is ramping up and the search is now on for service providers to support the operational excellence of the country's pavilion.

New Zealand's theme for Expo 2020 is Care for People and Place. Its pavilion will feature an exhibition space, restaurant, hosting facilities and a design store and be located in the Sustainability District of Expo 2020.

"At Expo 2020, we want to give our pavilion visitors a top-quality and authentic New Zealand experience," says Clayton Kimpton, New Zealand's Commissioner-General to Expo 2020.

The country has begun procurement for service providers that will run the pavilion's operations, hospitality and retail design store.

"The restaurant and hospitality offering should feature the very best of New Zealand food and beverage and we're looking for a design store that conveys a contemporary and innovative New Zealand, a country that is good for the world", Mr. Kimpton says.

Interested parties should refer to the New Zealand Government Electronic Tender Services (GETS) platform or the Expo 2020 Procurement Portal for more information.

Further procurement for the pavilion's hardware and consumables will take place in the coming months.

New Zealand was one of the first countries to confirm participation in Expo 2020. Its pavilion design was revealed in May during His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan's meeting in Wellington with New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Winston Peters.

The pavilion is designed by leading New Zealand architecture firm Jasmax and inspired by beautifully carved treasure boxes that were made by Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, to hold items of considerable intrinsic value.

Expo 2020 Dubai is the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, South Asia or Africa. Around 180 nations will participate in the six-month event that is expected to attract 25 million visitors.

About New Zealand Trade & Enterprise (NZTE)

NZTE is New Zealand's international business development agency. Its role is to help New Zealand businesses build strategic alliances and develop commercial relationships internationally. Through a global network of 46 offices, NZTE connects New Zealand businesses with the world, sharing opportunities, knowledge, experience and networks. For more information, visit http://www.nzte.govt.nz

SOURCE New Zealand Trade & Enterprise (NZTE)
Iran dismissed US President Donald Trumps all-caps tweet  saying it was "unimpressed" by the late-night Twitter threat.

"COLOR US UNIMPRESSED: The world heard even harsher bluster a few months ago. And Iranians have heard them albeit more civilized ones  for 40 yrs. Weve been around for millennia & seen fall of empires, incl our own, which lasted more than the life of some countries. BE CAUTIOUS!," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote in a tweet.

The response comes less than a day after Trump fired off his aggressive Twitter warning to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

Earlier on Sunday, Rouhani said the US should know that peace with Iran will be the mother of all peace while war with the country will be the mother of all wars.
There are many unique features and conveniences of these sophisticated wire-free security systems:

Up to 80ft infrared night vision  With infrared night vision capability, wire-free cameras can continue to watch your property all night long. Equipped with powerful infrared LEDs, they can record night vision video up to 40ft in total darkness or 80ft with the help of some ambient lighting. They are also fitted with an infrared cut filter that automatically disengages at night. This ensures that the infrared lights have no effects on the colors in daytime video recordings.



 With infrared night vision capability, wire-free cameras can continue to watch your property all night long. Equipped with powerful infrared LEDs, they can record night vision video up to 40ft in total darkness or 80ft with the help of some ambient lighting. They are also fitted with an infrared cut filter that automatically disengages at night. This ensures that the infrared lights have no effects on the colors in daytime video recordings. Up to 6-8 month's battery life  The wire-free cameras in this system are powered by a four-cell rechargeable lithium-ion power pack. With this power pack, the user can expect up to six to eight months of use before having to recharge the battery. However, battery life largely depends on its usage. Cameras in low traffic areas, for example, will have longer battery life than cameras in high traffic areas since the cameras will turn on more often. With the Lorex Secure app, the user will be notified if the battery needs charging or replacing.



 The wire-free cameras in this system are powered by a four-cell rechargeable lithium-ion power pack. With this power pack, the user can expect up to six to eight months of use before having to recharge the battery. However, battery life largely depends on its usage. Cameras in low traffic areas, for example, will have longer battery life than cameras in high traffic areas since the cameras will turn on more often. With the Lorex Secure app, the user will be notified if the battery needs charging or replacing. No monthly fees with secure local storage  The system comes with a professional-grade Digital Video Recorder (DVR) with a built-in 1TB hard drive (upgradable to 6TBs). This local storage can provide up to two years' worth of motion recordings. Plus, since the video is locally stored, there are no monthly fees for cloud storage.



 The system comes with a professional-grade Digital Video Recorder (DVR) with a built-in 1TB hard drive (upgradable to 6TBs). This local storage can provide up to two years' worth of motion recordings. Plus, since the video is locally stored, there are no monthly fees for cloud storage. IP65 waterproof  The wire-free cameras in these systems are IP65 rated. They are designed to withstand harsh weather conditions, such as heat, cold, snow and rain. As such, these cameras are safe for outdoor installations. They are engineered to operate in temperatures as low as -4 degrees Fahrenheit (-20 degrees Celsius) or as high as 113 degrees Fahrenheit (45 degrees Celsius).

Other Features of the Wire-free Security Camera

Aside from a quick and easy installation, wire-free security cameras have plenty of other unique features such as crisp 1080p HD quality recordings, a long-distance wireless range up to 450ft away from the camera's receiver, and an auto-reconnect feature that will automatically reconnect the camera to the DVR should the wireless signal become too low or if the battery fully depletes. Remote monitoring is also possible with the Lorex Secure app for smartphones and tablets. Using this app, users can easily view live video, review past motion events, and receive push notifications the moment a camera detects motion. Users can also simply turn off a camera using the new Privacy Mode feature within the app.

"Wire-free connectivity is the core of IoT technology. In fact, many people nowadays are already embracing the convenience of wire-free connectivity," said Sufi Sulaiman, Vice President of Digital and Commerce of Lorex Technology. "Security surveillance is no different. At Lorex, we always want to be the first in the industry to introduce new technologies to our customers with wire-free connectivity. This security system with wire-free connectivity is our most recent offering."

About Lorex Technology

Established in 1993 in Markham, Ontario, Lorex Technology is the authority in the home and small business video surveillance solutions. For over 25 years, the company has provided top-of-the-line video technology products to its customers in North America and around the world. Today, it prides itself as a pioneer in wire-free security solutions. The company aims to develop cutting-edge technologies with wire-free connectivity to empower customers, so they can protect their loved ones and property even when they are away.

Find out more about Lorex Technology at www.lorextechnology.com or on Facebook and Twitter.

SOURCE LOREX Technology Inc.

Related Links

https://www.lorextechnology.com


HUNTINGTON, Ind., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Northeast Indiana Bancorp, Inc., (OTCQB: NIDB), the parent company of First Federal Savings Bank, has announced that the Corporation will pay a cash dividend of $0.24 per common share. The dividend will be payable on August 21, 2018 to shareholders of record on August 7, 2018.

The book value of NIDB's stock was $30.13 per common share as of June 30, 2018. The last reported trade of stock at the close of business on July 23, 2018 was $37.75 per common share and the number of outstanding shares was 1,206,327 as of the same date. The annualized dividend yield is currently 2.5% when annualizing the current quarter cash dividend of $0.24 per common share against the July 23, 2018 closing price of $37.75 per common share.

Northeast Indiana Bancorp, Inc. is headquartered at 648 N. Jefferson Street, Huntington, Indiana. The company offers a full array of banking and financial brokerage services to its customers through its main office in Huntington and five full-service Indiana offices in Huntington (2), Warsaw and Fort Wayne(2). The Company is traded on the OTC Markets Group, Inc. (www.otcmarkets.com) utilizing the OTCQB platform under the symbol "NIDB". Our web site address is www.firstfedindiana.bank.

SOURCE Northeast Indiana Bancorp, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.firstfedindiana.bank


SAN DIEGO, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Nuvve Corp. has been selected as a Vehicle to Grid (V2G) system provider of V2G demonstration project by Toyota Tsusho Corporation and Chubu Electric Power Co. Both companies had already been selected for awards to initiate a "V2G Aggregator Demonstration Project" as a part of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Agency for Natural Resources and Energy's "FY2018 Subsidies for Virtual Power Plant Demonstration Project for Improvement of Energy Management in Demand Side." Nuvve's purpose of the project is to demonstrate Nuvve's V2G aggregator technology in the Japanese market, guide Japanese market regulations, and provide Japan's electrical system with solutions for managing their grid. This demonstration project began on May 29th 2018.

Nuvve's CEO Gregory Poilasne said, "since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the Japanese energy providers and automotive industry have tried to find solutions for mitigating energy risks for the Japanese people, including solutions such as Vehicle to Home (V2H). It just makes sense that we use electric vehicles (EV) as part of the energy solution. Aggregating a large number of vehicles can provide a significant amount of power that can be used not only during emergency situations, but also for day to day grid balancing. These batteries will generate revenues for the vehicle owners, thus reducing the cost of ownership of an EV. We are excited to be part of this project and look forward to working with our partners in this project."

V2G technology, especially the more advanced forms of V2G, such as the ancillary service that provides frequency regulation to the electric grid from distributed electric vehicles, was conceptualized at the University of Delaware by Professor Willett Kempton (also Nuvve's CTO) and has since been developed and deployed commercially by Nuvve Corporation. Nuvve Corporation will bring its existing V2G deployment experience to the Japanese market, enabling a faster implementation.

This innovative technology will enable the Japanese economy to support a wide deployment of electric vehicles across the country, as each vehicle becomes part of a virtual powerplant that will be adapted to support the grid on a second by second basis. This flexibility allows the grid to adapt not only to the large foreseen EV growth, but also helps new renewable variable sources of energy such as wind and solar to be included in the country's energy mix, thus contributing to reducing CO2 content of electricity for Japanese consumers.

About Nuvve: Nuvve Corp. is a San Diego based company, whose mission is to lower the cost of electrical vehicle (EV) ownership while supporting the integration of renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar. Their Grid Integrated Vehicle platform GIVe transforms EVs into grid assets when plugged while guaranteeing the expected level of charge when the vehicle owner needs it. The aggregation of thousands of electric vehicles into a virtual power plant using the GIVe platform, allows Nuvve to participate in electricity markets with a power capacity comparable to traditional generators. Based on vehicle-to-grid technology or V2G, the GIVe platform gives benefits to public organisations, businesses and homes by reducing the cost of electric infrastructure and reducing CO2 emissions.

Visit: www.nuvve.com, Follow: @NuvveCorp / #NUVVEgives

About Toyota Tsusho Corp.

Toyota Tsusho Corporation (TTC), based in Nagoya and Tokyo, is a trading company and member of the Toyota Group. Toyota Tsusho has a worldwide presence through its many subsidiaries and operating divisions, including over 150 offices, and 900 subsidiaries and affiliates around the world. While its primary role is to support its automotive partners, Toyota Tsusho's business is very diverse, spanning industrial, commercial, and consumer sectors. Business areas include industrial raw materials, agricultural products, high technology, and renewable energy. www.toyota-tsusho.com

About Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc.:

Chubu Electric Power, based in Nagoya, is the third-largest electric power utility in Japan. Main generation facilities include nuclear, thermal and hydro power with the capacity of 33GW. The length of transmission lines and distribution lines reach 12,000 km and 130,000 km, respectively. Chubu Electric Power has been diversifying its business, other than electric power supply, to gas supply, on-site energy business, overseas consulting and investment, real estate management service and IT business. http://www.chuden.co.jp/english/index.html?cid=gn

SOURCE Nuvve Corporation

Related Links

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Pals who travel together stay together. Those in search of cultural and natural attractions will find both in the Central Valley region. The country's capital, San Jose, is home to many of Costa Rica's most popular museums including the Gold Museum, Jade Museum, National Museum and the architectural jewel of Costa Rica, the National Theater. Surrounded by beautiful mountains, volcanoes and cloud forests friends can take a day trip to explore what Central Valley has to offer. The area offers numerous coffee estates, dairy farms, as well as sugarcane mills all waiting to be explored.

To go fast, go alone. To go far, go together. Those looking to enjoy the "Pura Vida" life at a more relaxed pace can head to the Limon Province in Costa Rica's Caribbean coast. The area, which is also known for its rich Afro-Caribbean culture, attracts anglers, naturists and water enthusiasts in search of unique experiences. Friends can head out bass fishing, embark on a fascinating excursion through the area's interconnected canals or have the opportunity to witness green turtles nesting during the months of July through October at Tortuguero National Park. The area also provides visitors with the opportunity to enjoy some of Costa Rica's best beaches and picturesque parks, which are complemented by the areas inviting culture. A wide range of activities allow traveling buddies to mix adventure with natural history, present day culture, gastronomy and music.

Life was meant for good chums and great voyages. The combination of breathtaking white-sand beaches, sweeping mountain views and ideal tropical climate has made Guanacaste one of Costa Rica's most popular regions. Located in the northwestern corner of the country, the area presents a diverse geography, active nightlife and boasts many of Costa Rica's most popular beaches, including those found at Playas del Coco, Tamarindo and the Papagayo Peninsula. Friends can enjoy everything from snorkeling, zip lining, hiking and more. Travelers can also visit an active volcano with natural hot springs, fumaroles and majestic waterfalls at Rincon de la Vieja National Park, or visit the Nicoya Peninsula for world-class surfing, quaint towns and wonderful nature reserves.

Good friends dream of adventure. Best friends go on them together. High up in the mountains of La Fortuna, travelers have the opportunity to experience ecological tourism in a natural and picturesque environment. Visitors can set out on adventures like zip-lining, a mountain water slide, horseback riding, thermal springs and more. Guests also have access to natural hot springs, scenic trails, pristine waterfalls, bubbling volcanic mud pools and more. Visitors to the region may also enjoy exploring the inlets and mangrove swamps of the south side of the region and marvel at the arrival of the Ridley sea turtles at the Ostional Wildlife National Refuge or discover Barra Honda National Park, home to Costa Rica's only underground caves.

From mountain ranges and rain forests to breathtaking beaches and cloud forests, Costa Rica's diversity of landscapes, climates and natural wonders provide friends with unlimited experiences to bond, enjoy thrilling activities together and make memories to last a lifetime.

For more information, visit www.VisitCostaRica.com.

About Costa Rica

Set between Nicaragua and Panama, Costa Rica offers visitors an abundance of unique wildlife, landscapes and climates -- meaning a trip to this Central American country is anything but run-of-the-mill. The country proudly shelters approximately five percent of the known biodiversity in the world and has become a global leader in sustainable practices. Visitors to Costa Rica enjoy a highly organized tourism infrastructure offering a broad terrain of activities and accommodations.

About Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT)

Established in 1955, the Costa Rica Tourism Board (the ICT), alongside its partners in the private sector, spearheads the vital task of regulating and promoting Costa Rica's extensive tourism offerings.

SOURCE Costa Rica Tourism Board

Related Links

http://www.VisitCostaRica.com


Advanced Maneuverability and Ease of Use: Fiber optics and placement of the video chip in the handle of the bronchoscope help free up space in the insertion tube and allow for a wider instrument channel, providing ultra-slim design that facilitates access to up to two branches beyond the previous bronchoscope's accessible range. Insertion tube rotation of up to 120 left and right may effectively reduce hand rotation and supports easier insertion and positioning of endoscopic devices. The wide angulation range can be maintained even when an endoscopic device is inserted, making it easier to access difficult-to-reach peripheral areas of the lung. The waterproof one-touch connector minimizes the effort required for set up, and is fully submersible, eliminating the need for a water-resistant cap.

Advanced Visualization: The BF-MP190F's expanded reach, when used with proprietary Olympus radial EBUS probes, allows for real-time confirmation of the lesion location which can assist in targeted sampling.

Advanced Versatility: With a 1.7mm working channel, the BF-MP190F is compatible with an array of Olympus diagnostic and sampling devices, including the radial EBUS probe, biopsy forceps, cytology brush, and the PeriView FLEX needle for transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA). Equipment standardization made possible through the EVIS EXERA III processor platform allows facilities compatibility across multiple specialties and devices. Standardization of equipment, support and service help in meeting goals of lower total cost of equipment ownership.

"The ultra-slim profile of this bronchoscope may address some limitations to our current practices by improving accessibility to peripheral lesions without compromising our ability to use recommended tools such as the radial EBUS probe and transbronchial needle aspiration," said Dr. Alexander Chen, Director, Interventional Pulmonology, Washington University in St. Louis, MO. "For these reasons, the BF-MP190F bronchoscope may be a valuable addition to assist in the diagnosis and management of peripheral pulmonary lesions."

"A goal of our innovation is to expand the capabilities of our physician customers," said Kurt Heine, Group Vice President of the Endoscopy Division at Olympus America Inc. "The further into the body we can go with minimally invasive equipment, the more power we will have to diagnose disease earlier and more accurately, which can lead to combined benefits of reduced cost and improved patient outcomes and satisfaction."

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control, with more than 400 Americans each day dying from the disease. About 70-80 percent of cancers are diagnosed at the advanced stage when the survival rate is only 5 percent (defined as surviving for five or more years from diagnosis). Only 15 percent of patients are diagnosed in the early stage, when the survival rate is much more promising, at 55 percent.i

In July 2013, The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) announced new recommendations for lung cancer screening for people at high risk for lung cancer, leading to increases in CT screening. Around the same time, the American College of Chest Physicians changed its lung cancer guidelines, now recommending Endobronchial Ultrasound over surgery for lung cancer staging. Many of these patients require follow-up care that could, by USPSTF estimates, prevent roughly 14 percent of the 160,000 lung cancer deaths each year. Recent CMS increases in reimbursement for procedures related to lung cancer diagnosis allow hospitals to more readily build their lung cancer program.

The Olympus BF-MP190F ultra-slim bronchoscope is part of the Olympus EBUS Solution family of products, designed to give bronchoscopists all they need to perform real-time lymph node and peripheral lesion sampling in one complete system.

For more information about the BF-MP190F, please call 1-800-848-9024 or visit us at http://medical.olympusamerica.com.

About Olympus Medical Systems Group

Olympus is a global technology leader, crafting innovative optical and digital solutions in medical technologies; life sciences; industrial solutions; and cameras and audio products. Throughout our nearly 100-year history, Olympus has focused on being true to society and making people's lives healthier, safer and more fulfilling.

Our Medical Business works with health care professionals to combine our innovative capabilities in medical technology, therapeutic intervention, and precision manufacturing with their skills to deliver diagnostic, therapeutic and minimally invasive procedures to improve clinical outcomes, reduce overall costs and enhance quality of life for patients. For more information, visit medical.olympusamerica.com.

i Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER), 18 registries, National Cancer Institute, 2016.

SOURCE Olympus Medical Systems Group

Related Links

http://medical.olympusamerica.com


AUSTIN, Texas, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Social impact film company, OnBuzz, hosted a private screening of their unreleased film "Friday's Child," which tells the story of a child aging out of the United States foster care system. Upon the film's release, OnBuzz will launch its iCan Social Impact Accelerator to create a nationwide movement that raises awareness for foster care and sex trafficking. Advocates for the cause gathered to discuss the film and the social project, and how networks can band together to commence the monumental task of turning the movie into a movement to help foster children succeed when they age out of the system.

"Friday's Child" tells the story of an 18-year-old boy who ages out of the foster care system-- left alone to his own devices. The film highlights the tragic reality that 25,000 children face every year when they age out of the system with little to no resources necessary to survive let alone thrive; 40 percent become homeless, and 60 percent live a life of crime. With two top international film festival awards and an internationally-acclaimed cast, Tye Sheridan ("Ready Player One"), Imogen Poots ("Green Room"), Caleb Landry Jones ("Get Out"), and Jeffrey Wright ("Westworld"), the film is on track to reach large audiences upon its theatrical release.

Advocates assembled in an Austin theater on the morning of July 18, 2018, representing the Governor's Commission for Women, the Governor's Child Sex Trafficking Team, Texas Department of Family Protection Services, and RWR Legal, on behalf of the Austin-based nonprofit Lifeworks. Tyrone Obaseki, a foster care success story, author, and practicing therapist, was also in attendance. The group came together on the basis of foster care and its tie to sex trafficking; of the 100,000 children that the FBI estimates to be involved in sex trafficking, 60 percent are from the foster care system.

In the spirit of collaboration, the group engaged in an energetic brainstorming session lead by Alan Elias, OnBuzz CEO, and Todd Latiolais, Associate Director of the Governor's Child Sex Trafficking Team. The discussion focused on ways to employ the film as a catalyst to address this well-documented $167 billion American tragedy--applying the OnBuzz Social Impact Accelerator to drive positive social change for foster children and to gain momentum around the movement.

"This is a monumental task, but it can be done," Elias said to the gathering of change-makers.

OnBuzz believes in utilizing media to plant seeds that call people to action and grow positive social impact movements. The company constantly seeks to grow its network of like-minded organizations and individuals with the common goal of helping children who have been failed by the system. Stay tuned for more buzz from the company about "Friday's Child" and the iCan Social Impact Accelerator.

OnBuzz is an end-to-end film financing, production, distribution, and marketing firm focused on sustainable filmmaking.

If you would like more information, please contact OnBuzz at [email protected] or +1 (512) 968-3809.

SOURCE OnBuzz
NEW YORK, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. ("Oppenheimer")  a leading investment bank, wealth manager, and a subsidiary of Oppenheimer Holdings (NYSE: OPY)  announced today that Tim Rezvan, CFA joined the Firm as Managing Director and Senior Analyst in New York. He will lead the Firm's Exploration & Production (E&P) research efforts.

"Given Tim's depth of experience covering the E&P sector and oil and natural gas markets, we are excited to have him rejoin our team," said John Parks, Director of Research at Oppenheimer. "We're seeing more investor interest in small- and mid-cap E&P stocks that have strong growth potential, and Tim's deep knowledge and understanding of the industry will allow him to identify the best opportunities on behalf of the Firm's clients. We're already doing this across a number of sectors including technology, consumer and financial, so the expansion into E&P is a natural addition to that focus."

Prior to joining Oppenheimer, Rezvan was a Managing Director and Senior Analyst with Mizuho Securities covering mid- and large-cap E&Ps and energy stocks. He also spent six years with Sterne Agee in a similar role. Apart from his sell-side experience, Rezvan brings extensive buy-side experience, having spent nine years in an investment capacity, including six years at BlackRock covering the energy sector.

"I began my sell-side career covering E&Ps, integrated companies and refiners at Oppenheimer, and I'm thrilled to return to this great company," said Rezvan. "There's an abundance of growth potential in the E&P space with new technology and innovations changing the way energy companies operate. This presents a large opportunity for Oppenheimer's clients and, together with our esteemed team of research analysts, I'm confident in our ability to create value."

Rezvan earned an MBA from New York University's Stern School of Business. He also earned a BBA in Finance and completed the degree requirements for a BA in Spanish from the College of William & Mary. He has been a CFA charterholder since 2001.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. (Oppenheimer), a principal subsidiary of Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. (OPY on the New York Stock Exchange), and its affiliates provide a full range of wealth management, securities brokerage and investment banking services to high net-worth individuals, families, corporate executives, local governments, businesses and institutions.

SOURCE Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Related Links

http://www.opco.com


The report includes additional context for the findings in light of the changing rating structure of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The study also explores the potential ramifications of "cherry-picking"  the concern that private insurers might target only attractive risks, leaving the NFIP underfunded.

Key findings from the study include:

Across each state, approximately 94% of homes in New Jersey and 96% in New York could see cheaper premiums with private insurance than with the current NFIP structure.

and 96% in could see cheaper premiums with private insurance than with the current NFIP structure. In New Jersey's high-risk zones (NFIP's Special Flood Hazard Areas), 85% of homes could see premium rates cheaper than the NFIP, while in New York , 72% of homes could see premium reductions.

high-risk zones (NFIP's Special Flood Hazard Areas), 85% of homes could see premium rates cheaper than the NFIP, while in , 72% of homes could see premium reductions. Over 360,000 homes could be newly insured for flood if just 10% of homeowners outside high-risk zones purchased cheaper policies in a private market.

Of the vast majority of homes located outside high-risk zones, approximately 94% ( New Jersey ) and 95% ( New York ) could see private insurance premiums as low as $250 annually.

"Hurricanes Harvey and Irma just last year, and Sandy before them, demonstrated the devastating financial effects flood can have on those who are not sufficiently insured," says Nancy Watkins, a principal and consulting actuary at Milliman and co-author of the market feasibility study. "As the NFIP begins to modernize its rating structure, Milliman's study sheds light on how a private market could work in conjunction with the federal program to reduce premiums for many consumers, provide more choices and increase coverage across New Jersey and New York."

"As demonstrated in this study, an established private flood market brings with it many benefits, including the opportunity to close the insurance protection gap in the United States," says Holly Widen, RMS Product Manager, Americas Climate Models. "There are ample opportunities for private insurers to offer competitive coverage in the market, but a strong understanding of the underlying flood risk is critical to maintaining their profitability."

The study reflects the market of single-family homes in those states, not only those who are currently purchasing flood insurance from the NFIP, and the modeled NFIP premiums do not include the effects of grandfathering. The estimated private insurance premiums were developed using RMS catastrophe model results and reasonable assumptions selected by Milliman. To view the complete report including additional findings and critical assumptions, visit www.milliman.com/NJNYfloodinsurance.

About Milliman

Milliman is among the world's largest providers of actuarial and related products and services. The firm has consulting practices in healthcare, property & casualty insurance, life insurance and financial services, and employee benefits. Founded in 1947, Milliman is an independent firm with offices in major cities around the globe. For further information, visit milliman.com.

About RMS

RMS solutions help insurers, financial markets, corporations, and public agencies evaluate and manage catastrophe risks throughout the world. RMS has over 1,200 employees across 13 offices in the US, London, Bermuda, Zurich, India, China, Japan, Singapore and Australia - our products and models covering six continents. We lead an industry that we helped to pioneercatastrophe risk modelingand are delivering models, data, and risk management solutions on the RMS(one) platform to transform the world's understanding and quantification of risk through open, real-time exposure and risk management. More than 400 insurers, reinsurers, trading companies, and other financial institutions trust RMS solutions to better understand and manage the risks of natural and human-made catastrophes, including hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, terrorism, and pandemics. Visit RMS.com to learn more and follow @RMS.

SOURCE Milliman, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.milliman.com


DENVER, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ProtectWiseTM, the leader in cloud-delivered Network Detection and Response (NDR), today announced it has joined CrowdStrike's Elevate Partner Program and global network of strategic partnership. ProtectWise will combine its on-demand platform, The ProtectWise GridTM, with CrowdStrike's industry-leading next-generation endpoint protection platform, threat intelligence, and response services to help customers stop breaches.

Through this partnership, ProtectWise will integrate CrowdStrike's Falcon Platform with The ProtectWise Grid to provide organizations with comprehensive endpoint and network detection and response capabilities. Together, ProtectWise and CrowdStrike will help their joint customers ensure the readiness of their cybersecurity posture to detect, prevent and remediate threats. The CrowdStrike FalconTM Platform has revolutionized the way organizations stop breaches and dramatically advanced customers' ability to fight off persistent and sophisticated cyber threats. The company leverages a broad set of sophisticated and easy-to-use APIs to support customers' and partners' ability to integrate and gain immediate value out of the technology with no added cost, friction, or complexity.

ProtectWise provides analysts with a platform for automated detection of advanced network attacks, an unlimited packet capture retention window, and the ability to intuitively interact with massive volumes of security data through an advanced visual presentation. The ProtectWise Grid transforms how organizations handle complex threats with security delivered entirely from the cloud. Its platform provides customers with an enriched forensic workbench and intuitive workflows across their security stacks. The company's partnership with CrowdStrike is its latest technology alliance with leaders in the current enterprise security market to make threat investigation and defense faster and more effective.

"Our integration with CrowdStrike enables security analysts to more rapidly investigate and remediate any incident detection they find, from endpoint to network," said Ramon Peypoch, Chief Product Officer, ProtectWise. "Joining the CrowdStrike Elevate Partner Program enables us to combine the ProtectWise and CrowdStrike platforms to give our customers unprecedented protection."

"CrowdStrike is excited to welcome ProtectWise into our Elevate Partner Program," said Matthew Polly, Vice President of Alliances, Channel and Business Development at CrowdStrike. "ProtectWise delivers customers network detection, forensics and visibility to enhance the strength of CrowdStrike Falcon at the endpoint, ensuring comprehensive threat detection and response everywhere. By integrating with the ProtectWise Grid, CrowdStrike Falcon's coverage is being extended to the network, allowing customers to benefit from CrowdStrike's threat intelligence, endpoint forensics, remediation capabilities and IR workflows."

The CrowdStrike Elevate Partner Program provides technology partners, solution providers, system integrators and managed service providers with the capability to deliver bespoke solutions to customers. Along with the CrowdStrike Orchestration and Automation initiative and the introduction of new and updated APIs via CrowdStrike Falcon Connect, partners can seamlessly integrate their solutions with CrowdStrike's Falcon Platform. Joint customers of ProtectWise and CrowdStrike have access to combined, advanced capabilities that leverage all of the existing assets within a customer's environment, allowing them to operate their security efforts in a more efficient and effective manner responding to security threats faster and with greater accuracy and fidelity.

Demonstrations at Black Hat 2018:

ProtectWise will be demonstrating its integration with CrowdStrike Falcon at Black Hat 2018, taking place August 4-9 in Las Vegas. Visit the team at Booth 1653 or schedule a meeting for a customized demonstration at https://info.protectwise.com/blackhat2018.

About ProtectWise:

ProtectWise provides Cloud-delivered Network Detection & Response (NDR). Organizations can achieve defense-in-depth via advanced analytics in Enterprise, Cloud and Industrial environments with real time and retrospective detections. Full-fidelity packet captures, indexed and retained indefinitely, create a perfect, rapidly searchable network memory. By unifying detections and forensics in an intuitive and immersive visualizer, The ProtectWise Grid delivers unique advantages over current security products. The platform integrates with hundreds of existing security products, features the ease and cost-savings of an on-demand deployment model and enables companies to consolidate multiple, disconnected point products.

Founded in April 2013, ProtectWise is based in Denver and led by a team of security and SaaS industry veterans from McAfee, CrowdStrike and Symantec. Register for a free 24-hour test drive of The ProtectWise Grid at https://www.protectwise.com/TestDrive.

Contact:

MacLean Guthrie

[email protected]

SOURCE ProtectWise

Related Links

http://www.protectwise.com


TEL AVIV, Israel, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- PureSec, the leader in serverless security, announced today that its research team helped improve the security of the Apache OpenWhisk serverless platform. OpenWhisk is the leading open source platform for serverless computing, and there are several commercial deployments of the technology.

Apache OpenWhisk executes functions in response to events with rapid auto-scaling. It provides a programming model to create functions as cloud-native event handlers, and executes the functions automatically, inside runtime containers, as the events occur.

The PureSec threat research team demonstrated how under certain conditions, a remote attacker may overwrite the source code of a vulnerable function which is being executed in a runtime container, and influence subsequent executions of the same function in the same container. An attacker that manages to overwrite or modify the code of the serverless function can then perform further actions such as leaking sensitive data during subsequent executions within that function, which may belong to other end users.

"As part of our continuous research efforts into serverless security, our team discovered this function mutability in an OpenWhisk runtime and upon verifying it, reported it directly to the Apache OpenWhisk team," said Ory Segal, CTO & co-founder at PureSec. "We were extremely pleased and impressed with the promptness of the Apache OpenWhisk team, which took this issue very seriously."

PureSec also provided the Apache OpenWhisk team with a suggested fix, which mitigates the risk.

"The security of functions is an important tenet of serverless computing. The Apache OpenWhisk community thanks PureSec and its research team for improving the OpenWhisk platform and making it more secure." said Rodric Rabbah, one of the creators of Apache OpenWhisk.

The vulnerabilities are tracked under the following CVEs: CVE-2018-11756, CVE-2018-11757

The full details of the weakness can be found in the following research paper:

https://www.puresec.io/hubfs/Apache%20OpenWhisk%20PureSec%20Security%20Advisory.pdf

PureSec also released a 5-minute video explaining the weakness:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQSyN4j6Cqc

About PureSec

As the global leader in serverless architectures security, PureSec enables its customers to build and maintain secure and reliable serverless applications. The company's end-to-end serverless security solution is the industry's first and most comprehensive Serverless Security Runtime Environment (SSRE).

To learn how PureSec solutions and its team of serverless security experts are helping businesses to secure their serverless applications, please visit www.puresec.io, and follow @PureSecTeam on Twitter.

Media Contact

Lazer Cohen

WestRay Communications

[email protected]

SOURCE PureSec
OLD WESTBURY, N.Y., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Alexander Wagman, a New York-based, Russian-born artist and sculptor, recently completed a political satire piece entitled "Putin's Puppet."

The sculpture, a freestanding 39" high acrylic painted urethane resin and polyurethane rubber cast, depicts the head of the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, atop the body of a wriggling octopus. Wearing an impish grin, Putin covertly wraps his tentacles around the bigheaded, small-handed, likeness of current US president, Donald Trump.

Wagman Studios

The analogy is clear; the octopus, a stealthy and cunning hunter, catches its prey by surprise and under camouflage. It consumes its food from the inside out, leaving only an empty shell behind. Its arms not only encircle the body of President Trump, but are also seen entering the figure's pockets, suggesting not only a physical influence but a financial influence as well.

Wagman, whose family fled Communist Russia under Stalin in 1957, and later immigrated to the US, has a personal connection to the piece and felt it was important to make a statement on the current political climate between the US and Russia and provide commentary on the current leaders of both nations.

About Alexander Wagman

Born in Russia, Alex Wagman was attracted to art as a child, drawing and sculpting images from American popular culture. With his family, he immigrated to Israel in 1957. Following three years in the army, including the Six Day War, he emigrated from Israel to the United States in 1972.

Wagman's own satirical bent is clearly expressed in his work, which often turns its attention to the public sphere. His pieces are typically biting, incensed portrayals, representing the political and social extremists that Wagman sees as trying to hijack the ideals of a free and democratic society.

Contact

To learn more about this piece, and other works, please contact:

Alex Wagman

[email protected]

www.alexwagman.com

Related Files

PutinsPuppet_PressRelease_FINAL_072318.docx

SOURCE Wagman Studios
NEW YORK, July 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ROI Training, Google Cloud Premier Partner, today announced that it has received the 2017 Google Cloud Global Partner of the Year Award for Excellence in Training. This year's award was presented today at the Google Cloud Next Partner Summit, an event that showcases Google Cloud partners in San Francisco.

ROI Training was recognized for this year's award due to the company's demonstrated expertise in Training, empowering customers and partners of all sizes and industries to take advantage of the entire range of Google Cloud Platform technologies to achieve success in the cloud. ROI Training delivers cutting-edge Google Cloud training on 6 continents across 30+ countries, leveraging the largest team of Authorized Trainers globally.

"We are honored to receive this award and value our ongoing partnership with Google Cloud to drive innovation through training and certification," said David Carey, CEO & Co-Founder of ROI Training. "Our joint customers recognize the critical role enablement plays in a successful move to the cloud and continue to invest significantly in training their engineers."

"Our partners are fundamental to providing a great product to customers, particularly as demand for Google Cloud innovations grows," said Nina Harding, Global Channel Chief, Partner Strategy & Program, Google Cloud. "We're proud to provide this recognition to ROI Training, who has demonstrated their expertise in Training, helping customers to transform their businesses. We're delighted to continue building together with ROI Training on behalf of customers."

About ROI Training

Established in 2002, ROI Training, Inc. is the industry recognized leader in designing, developing, and delivering customized Technology & Management training programs. ROI has trained over 35,000 people globally in Cloud and Data Engineering technologies. ROI's world-class Instructors and Mentors work closely with clients to deliver the skills and best practices required in a fast-paced, global enterprise. ROI supports customers in the United States, Canada, Europe, Latin America, Asia, India, and Australia. Our comprehensive curriculum includes Cloud, Big Data, Web and Mobile Application Development, Agile Development, Security, Java, Python, and Technology Project Management. Information about ROI Training can be found at http://www.roitraining.com

Media Contact: Rachel Strong, [email protected]

SOURCE ROI Training, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.roitraining.com


WILMINGTON, North Carolina and LONDON, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

nCino, the worldwide leader in cloud banking, today announced that Secure Trust Bank Plc ("STB"), a 1.9 billionasset British retail and commercial challenger bank, has selected the nCino Bank Operating System as its new technology platform to digitise operations and enhance the customer journey for its Real Estate Finance (REF) business.

Adopting nCino's Bank Operating System gives STB a single cloudbased environment, built on the Salesforce platform, that combines customer relationship management (CRM), loan origination, deposit account opening, workflow, enterprise content management, business process management, digital engagement and instant reporting. The range of features offered by the nCino Bank Operating System, including the ability to improve the quality and availability of management information across the entire customer journey, execute transactions, and utilize a CRM for both new and existing customers, is aligned to STB's requirements and need for scalability. STB also appreciated the extensive level of outofthebox functionality offered by nCino, which will effectively reduce the time it will take to customise the platform to STB's own business requirements.

"It was important to us that our operating platform provider was able to demonstrate both a depth and breadth of banking knowledge and offer solutions for real industry issues, not just technological ones. During the selection process, nCino clearly demonstrated its mantra of 'built by bankers, for bankers," said Stephen Marrow, Head of Operations, Real Estate Finance, at STB. "We're pleased to have found our longterm partner to help us build the foundations for continued growth of the REF business in a manner that ensures we remain compliant with regulation and legislation, and also enhances our customer journey."

STB's REF business was founded at the end of 2013 and in only four years of operating has grown its loan book to 581 million. To support its continued growth aspirations, STB decided to look for an operating platform that could provide the REF business with a single view of the customer - from origination through to integration to the existing core - and also enhance the customer experience by reducing the time it takes to close a loan. Additionally, with nCino, STB will be able to provide customers with anytime, anywhere access to the loan approval process and all tasks via nCino's Customer Portal, which streamlines document collection and account maintenance while providing customers with complete transparency throughout the entire loan lifecycle.

"Secure Trust Bank is an established bank that is well poised to build on its current position through an innovative strategy and customer first mentality," said Pullen Daniel, Managing Director - International at nCino. "With nCino's Bank Operating System, STB will be able to reduce manual processes in favour of increased automation, and provide new levels of productivity, transparency, and faster loan turnaround times. Combined, these efficiencies will lead to stronger customer relationships and a better experience for customers and bank employees alike. We are proud to be on this growth journey together with STB."

About Secure Trust Bank

Secure Trust Bank is an established, wellfunded and capitalised UK retail bank with a 66 year trading track record. Secure Trust Bank operates principally from its head office in Solihull, West Midlands, and had 767 employees (fulltime equivalent) as at 31 December 2017. The Group's diversified lending portfolio currently focuses on three sectors:

Business Finance through its Real Estate Finance, Asset Finance and Commercial Finance divisions, Consumer Finance through its Motor Finance and Retail Finance divisions and Consumer Mortgages.

As at 31 December 2017 the Group's loans and advances to customers totalled 1,599.0 million, customer deposits totalled 1,483.2 million and the Group's total customer base was approaching 1 million.

Secure Trust Bank PLC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

Secure Trust Bank, PLC, One Arleston Way, Solihull, B90 4LH.

http://www.securetrustbank.com

About nCino

nCino is the worldwide leader in cloud banking. With its Bank Operating System, built on the Salesforce platform, financial institutions can deliver the speed and digital experience that customers expect, backed by the quality and transparency that bankers need. Follow @nCino or visit http://www.ncino.com .

SOURCE nCino
Join host John Stamos for an unforgettable WE Day Special featuring young world-changers, A-list celebrities, and global thought leaders, including Jennifer Aniston , Dierks Bentley , The Chainsmokers , Will Ferrell , Whoopi Goldberg , Selena Gomez , Cyndi Lauper , JD McCrary , Dr. Phil , Martin Sheen , Lilly Singh , Founders of the #NeverAgain movement and organizers of The March for our Lives Jaclyn Corin and Cameron Kasky , and more. Together with social entrepreneurs and WE co-founders Marc and Craig Kielburger, the WE Day Special celebrates an extraordinary community of difference-makers who are shaping America's future by making a real impact in their communities and around the world.

"I am honored be a part of a movement that brings Americans together to do good. These kids are bringing the passion and belief that they can create change, and that's exactly what they are doing," said Emmy nominated actor and producer, John Stamos. "It is inspiring to see this generation celebrated at WE Day for using their voice to make positive impact, and motivating us all to keep the momentum of real change alive."

Featuring energetic and moving performances combined with motivating speeches, comedic interludes and documentary-style features highlighting remarkable young Americans who are making a difference, the WE Day Special showcases how WE is giving Americans the tools to change the world.

"Now, more than ever, young people across America are at the forefront of a movement to create meaningful impact on issues they are passionate about," said WE co-founder, Craig Kielburger. "The WE Movement is all about empowering the voices of young people and their families to create the change they want to see in their communities and beyond. All WE asks is that they bring the belief that they can change the world, and WE will provide the tools to help them do it."

Released today, the official WE Day Special trailer can be viewed here. To download the trailer in high resolution, access high resolution images, b-roll footage, and the latest WE Day Special teasers, please visit our Electronic Press Kit.

The WE Day Special is sponsored by title partner Allstate Foundation Good Starts Young , and is also sponsored by presenting partners Walgreens and Microsoft.

A catalyst to support the movement of young people leading change, WE Day is a series of 19 stadium-sized events held across the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and the Caribbean. This past year, more than 200,000 students from over 10,000 schools attended WE Day events, alongside thousands who watched online and millions more through two national North American TV broadcasts. Students can't buy a ticket to WE Dayyouth earn their way by the actions they take on one local and one global cause of their choice.

WE Day is connected to the free, yearlong educational program WE Schools. Providing schools and community groups with curriculum, educational resources and action campaigns, the program is designed to enhance a school's existing social initiatives or spark new ones. As part of the program, educators and community leaders can access the free, interactive WE Schools Kit, which helps them collaborate with students as they create action plans throughout the year. Globally over 3.8 million students are part of the WE movement, taking part in service learning programs and campaigns.

Beyond the classroom, WE offers free family resources, providing tools to help Americans create change together as a family. WE Families provides parents and caregivers the support they need to raise caring and compassionate children and set them on a path for life success. Bonding together, families rally around causes that matter to them and, in turn, grow closer as a family unit.

Stay connected on the latest news and updates on WE:

#WEday | @WEmovement | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Visit our Electronic Press Kit for photos, videos, the latest WE Day Special teasers and more.

Trailer Embed Code:





About the WE Day Special

The WE Day Special is a national broadcast airing on ABC on August 17, 2018, at 8P ET/7P CT. WE makes doing good doable by supporting Americans who want to make a real impact in their communities and around the world. The WE Day Special is a celebration of next-level doing good, honoring youth and families across the country who prove that when they harness their belief, their passion and their energy, they are an unstoppable force for good. It features a star-studded lineup of chart-topping performers, iconic celebrities and inspiring young Americans, including host John Stamos, Jennifer Aniston, Dierks Bentley, The Chainsmokers, Will Ferrell, Whoopi Goldberg, Selena Gomez, Cyndi Lauper, JD McCrary, Dr. Phil, Martin Sheen, Lilly Singh, Founders of the #NeverAgain movement and organizers of The March for our Lives Jaclyn Corin and Cameron Kasky, and more. The WE Day Special is sponsored by title partner Allstate Foundation Good Starts Young, and is also sponsored by presenting partners Walgreens and Microsoft. Learn more at WE.org

About WE

WE Day is part of WE a family of organizations making doing good, doable. WE is made up of WE Charity, empowering domestic and international change, ME to WE, a social enterprise that creates socially conscious products and experiences to help support the charity, and WE Day, filling stadiums around the world with the greatest celebration of social good. WE enables youth and families to better the world  supporting 7,200+ local and global causes by volunteering millions of hours of service, shopping daily with an impact, and raising millions of dollars that directly benefit their local communities and the world. Globally, WE teams in Asia, Africa, and Latin America have provided more than 1 million people with clean water, built 1,000 schools and schoolrooms overseas, and empowered more than 200,000 children with access to education. WE was founded more than 20 years ago by social entrepreneurs, brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger. Join the movement today at WE.org.

SOURCE WE Charity
"We are thrilled to offer a premium Angus beef chili as yet another option for Chili Nation and chili eaters across the country," said Mark Beierle, brand manager at Hormel Foods. "Made with 100 percent Angus beef, HORMEL Angus Beef Chili delivers a bold flavor and texture perfect for consumers who enjoy the exceptional taste and eating experience of Angus beef."

HORMEL Angus Beef Chili (MSRP $1.99  2.99) comes in 14 oz. cans and is available in select retailers nationwide.

For more information about all HORMEL Chili varieties, including recipes, nutritional information and where to buy, visit www.hormel.com/brands/hormelchili or follow the brand on social media at www.Facebook.com/hormel.chili, www.Pinterest.com/hormelchili, and www.twitter.com/HormelChili.

About Hormel Foods  Inspired People. Inspired Food.

Hormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minn., is a global branded food company with over $9 billion in annual revenues across 80 countries worldwide. Its brands include SKIPPY, SPAM, Hormel Natural Choice, Applegate, Justin's, Columbus, Wholly Guacamole, Hormel Black Label and more than 30 other beloved brands. The company is a member of the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, was named one of "The 100 Best Corporate Citizens" by Corporate Responsibility Magazine for the tenth year in a row, and has received numerous other awards and accolades for its corporate responsibility and community service efforts. In 2016, the company celebrated its 125th anniversary and announced its new vision for the future - Inspired People. Inspired Food. - focusing on its legacy of innovation. For more information, visit www.hormelfoods.com and https://csr.hormelfoods.com/.

Contact: Brian Olson

507-434-6352

[email protected]

SOURCE Hormel Foods

Related Links

http://www.hormel.com


ORANGE, Calif., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- With avocado fans clamoring for more and more ways to enjoy their favorite fruit, the makers of the WHOLLY GUACAMOLE brand dips invite Los Angeles-area avo-lovers to visit Guaclandia, its one-of-a-kind mobile exhibit dedicated to all things avocado, coming to the International Surf Festival in Manhattan Beach on Friday and Saturday, August 3-4, from 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; and Sunday, August 5, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. This photo-ready Instagram-able bus will bring the nation's love for avocado to life through interactive activities, engaging photo ops and unlimited samples of America's No. 1 refrigerated guacamole. Guaclandia will make millennials and avocado lovers' dreams come true, spreading real guac goodness and the brand's "keepin' it real" mentality throughout key cities in the U.S., including Los Angeles, this summer.

"Guacamole is more than a foodit's a cultural phenomenon," said Diana Pusiri, senior brand manager of the WHOLLY GUACAMOLE brand. "Guaclandia is designed to celebrate guacamole's place in pop culture by providing guac fans with a fun and immersive avocado experience. It's an opportunity to have fun with friends and family while enjoying great tasting guacamole made with real ingredients."

Visitors of Guaclandia will have the chance to take selfies at the pop art-style avocado wall, sit in the "pit" of a giant avocado chair, enjoy inspiring tips on "keepin' it real"just like WHOLLY GUACAMOLE brand foods, and vie for a variety of prizes in a retro, avo-inspired arcade that includes a claw machine featuring avocado pool floats, pins, tote bags, pop sockets, dad hats and other branded swag. Plus, fans will exit Guaclandia by sliding into a jumbo ball pit!

Guaclandia makes its debut as part of the national launch of the company's portable and perfectly portioned WHOLLY GUACAMOLE Snack Cups, a new and convenient way for people to enjoy the WHOLLY GUACAMOLE brand they know and love while on the go. The new offering features its signature guacamole made from hand-scooped Hass avocados conveniently paired with just the right amount of crunchy tortilla chips. Visitors will have an opportunity to sample all three flavor-packed varieties of this great tasting, gluten-free snack  Classic, Spicy and Homestyle.

Guaclandia is free and open to the public, but space is limited, according to Pusiri.

To learn more about WHOLLY GUACAMOLE products and what it means to keep it real, be sure to check out the Guaclandia bus nearest you or visit www.eatwholly.com.

About the WHOLLY GUACAMOLE Brand

The WHOLLY GUACAMOLE brand is a brand of MegaMex Foods, one of the largest manufacturers of pre-prepared Mexican food across the country. A global leader in food safety, quality and innovation, the WHOLLY GUACAMOLE brand uses High Pressure Processing (HPP) to create WHOLLY products. In addition, each product is made with hand-scooped Hass avocados and is gluten free and kosher certified. All WHOLLY GUACAMOLE products are available nationwide in the produce or deli section of grocery stores. For more information, visit www.eatwholly.com.

SOURCE WHOLLY GUACAMOLE

Related Links

http://www.eatwholly.com


ATLANTA, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants, a retail property & casualty insurance brokerage and employee benefits consultant, announced today that Atlanta-based Risk Management Consultant Thompson Mackey will be hosting an event with the non-profit he leads locally, Young Risk Professionals, at the rooftop of The Ivy in Buckhead on Wednesday, July 25 from 5:30  8:30 p.m.

The "Helping Students Navigate Internships" event features a panel discussion with four top insurance industry executives, providing guidance to current interns on building a career in the insurance industry. The panel includes:

Matthew Klaw  Vice President - Southeast Major Accounts Inland Marine Manager, Chubb

 Vice President - Southeast Major Accounts Inland Marine Manager, Chubb Doug Pera - Head of Corporate Risk & Broking - Atlantic South Region, Willis Towers Watson

- Head of Corporate Risk & Broking - Atlantic South Region, Ben Powers , Vice President  P&C Unit Manager, Lockton

, Vice President  P&C Unit Manager, Lockton Michael Shneibaum , Vice President  Commercial Officer, CNA

Following the discussion, attendees will have the opportunity to meet and network with insurance industry executives and other young risk management professionals.

About Young Risk Professionals

YRP's mission is to build next-generation leadership in risk management and insurance through networking, mentoring, and education initiatives. YRP was founded in 2013 in Texas and quickly grew. Today, YRP is active in six cities in Texas, Georgia, and Oklahoma. EPIC is a founding sponsor of Young Risk Professionals (YRP) of Georgia, Inc., and is the 2018 Title Sponsor of the organization.

About EPIC

EPIC is a unique and innovative retail property & casualty and employee benefits insurance brokerage and consulting firm. EPIC has created a values-based, client-focused culture that attracts and retains top talent, fosters employee satisfaction and loyalty and sustains a high level of customer service excellence.

EPIC team members have consistently recognized their company as a "Best Place to Work" in multiple regions and as a "Best Place to Work in the Insurance Industry" nationally.

EPIC now has more than 1,400 team members operating from 50 offices across the U.S., providing Property & Casualty, Employee Benefits, Specialty Programs and Private Client solutions to more than 20,000 clients.

With run rate revenues greater than $400 million, EPIC ranks among the top 20 retail insurance brokers in the United States. Backed by Oak Hill Capital Partners, the company continues to expand organically and through strategic acquisitions across the country. For additional information, please visit https://www.epicbrokers.com/.

*PHOTO Link for media: Send2Press.com/300dpi/18-0724s2p-mackey-300dpi.jpg

This release was issued through Send2Press, a unit of Neotrope. For more information, visit Send2Press Newswire at https://www.Send2Press.com

SOURCE EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants

Related Links

http://www.epicbrokers.com


BATTLE GROUND, Wash., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Treasure Investments Corporation attended the MoneyShow in Las Vegas with incredible results. The MoneyShow, founded in 1981, is a privately held financial media company headquartered in Florida. The company has a global network of investing and trading partners. MoneyShow presents an extensive agenda of live and online events that attract over 75,000 investors, traders, and financial advisers from around the world.

Treasure Investments Corporation

As a sponsor of the show, Treasure Investments Corporation (TIC) displayed an art collection in a large 10' X 20' booth at the entrance of the exhibition hall. TIC was also invited to present the company during the opening ceremonies in front of thousands of investors. Kim Githler, CEO of the MoneyShow, gave a gracious introduction for Treasure Investments and Michael Sheppard, Senior Consultant for TIC, delivered the opening presentation for TIC at the conference. "After the introduction and presentation, we were very busy at our booth. Our team made many presentations to very interested investors. As a result of just that event, not only did we sell many pieces from our collections, we raised a substantial amount of investor equity and welcomed many valuable and enthusiastic shareholders to our family," says Mark Russo, CEO of Treasure Investments Corporation.

Treasure Investments will be sponsoring and participating in the upcoming MoneyShow in San Francisco on Aug. 23-25 and also the Dallas, Texas conference in October.

To learn more about the company and its work with nonprofits, visit Fineart1.com.

About Treasure Investments Corp

TIC has a diverse business platform, creating and providing fine art in original sculptures from small desktop images and collectibles to larger than life heroic monuments. The company's master mold collection contains hundreds of original molds from world-famous artists in the United States and Europe. For more information, visit Fineart1.com.

Media Contact:

Mark Russo

Phone: 360.954.5453

Email: [email protected]

Related Images

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American Patriot

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Opening Ceremonies

mark-russo-ceo-founder-michael.jpg

Mark Russo (CEO & Founder) & Michael Sheppard (Senior Consultant)

treasure-investments-corps-booth.jpg

Treasure Investments Corp's Booth

SOURCE Treasure Investments Corporation

Related Links

http://treasureinvestmentscorp.com


WASHINGTON, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- VUV Analytics, Inc. announced today that it will be hosting another Executive Roundtable in Chevy Chase, Maryland, after the success of the event hosted in the Midwest. The event will focus on novel tactics being employed by forensic experts to combat the opioid crisis and the abuse of designer drugs like fentanyl derivatives, synthetic cathinones, and synthetic cannabinoids. The half-day event is being held on August 8 at the Courtyard Marriott---Chevy Chase with Ira Lurie, Research Professor, GWU and IUPUI Forensics Department.

VUV Analytics

It will feature a combination of technical presentations and an interactive forum covering challenges in seized drug analysis and technology solutions that can address the limitations of traditional approaches. Invited speakers Dr. Ira Lurie, The George Washington University, and Dr. John Goodpaster, IUPUI, will share recent work in advancing synthetic drug identification. The meeting will conclude with roundtable discussions of the most persistent challenges in identifying seized drugs, best practices to overcome limitations of current methods, and promising new technology that can improve the accuracy and speed of seized drug analysis.

"We're really excited by the opportunity to assemble forensic thought leaders and experts who are on the frontline in the battle against illegal opioids and designer drugs," said Ray Himmel, Senior Vice President of Global Sales, VUV Analytics. Synthetic drugs of abuse have led to thousands of hospitalizations and overdose deaths over the past few years. These compounds enter the United States through a combination of legal herbs and illicitly manufactured drugs.

"It's clear from the ever-increasing volume of seized opioids, and their related overdoses, that something different has to be done," said Dr. John Goodpaster, Director, Forensic and Investigative Sciences Program (IUPUI), "We hope that this roundtable will serve as a starting point for raising awareness of better ways to identify these drugs and curb their flow into the U.S."

More information about the executive roundtable and registration can be found at by visiting https://vuvanalytics.com/drugs-of-abuse-east-coast-2018. Space is limited, and reservations are prioritized for invited attendees.

About VUV Analytics

VUV Analytics manufactures universal vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) spectroscopic detectors that provide a new dimension of chemical analysis accuracy. Unlike legacy GC detectors, VUV detection delivers scalable data analysis automation with reduced analytical error and higher analytical throughput. For more information, visit www.vuvanalytics.com.

Media Contact:

Catie Clemens 512-333-0860

[email protected]

Related Links

Approaching the Opioid Epidemic

Forensic Drug Analysis

SOURCE VUV Analytics

Related Links

http://www.vuvanalytics.com


KELOWNA, British Columbia, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- CoreHealth Technologies is pleased to announce that Dr. Tyler Amell, a widely known and recognized thought leader on workplace health and productivity, has joined as chief relationship officer.

"We at CoreHealth are extremely pleased to announce that Dr. Amell has joined our growing organization. Workplace health and wellbeing have become ever more important to organizations looking to improve the engagement and productivity of their workforce, in addition to controlling various costs. This is generating a high demand for solutions and platforms that support evidence-informed strategies," says Anne Marie Kirby, founder and CEO of CoreHealth Technologies. "Dr. Amell brings extensive knowledge and thought leadership along with relationship development and management expertise. His evidence-informed strategies and health data analytics skills will help further develop our products and ensure a fit with current and future customers and partners. He has a great ability to evaluate health solutions and see how seemingly different solutions can fit together and connect the dots in the broadest sense of workplace health."

Dr. Amell takes a global, de-siloed approach to workplace health and advises organizations on strategies related to:

integrated workplace health and productivity,

wellness and well-being programs,

absence and leave management,

medical assessment,

occupational rehabilitation,

disability management and prevention,

workers' compensation,

mental health,

musculoskeletal health,

chronic disease,

and workplace health and safety.

He uses data analytics, among other evidence-informed tactics, to improve and evaluate programming. Dr. Amell has given seminars and presentations at approximately 150 national and international events to date and has authored over 35 peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Amell is also an adjunct faculty at the Pacific Coast University for Workplace Health Sciences.

Dr. Amell is a past partner at a global human resources consulting, technology and services firm, the past chief executive officer of a human resources technology company and a former vice president of Canada's largest independent health care and rehabilitation company. He currently serves on the executive board of directors of the Canadian Association for Research on Work and Health as well as the College of Pedorthics of Canada and is a past board member of the San Francisco-based Integrated Benefits Institute (IBI). In addition, he has advised numerous health and technology companies, analytics companies, workplace health service providers, insurance carriers, third-party administrators, employers and other vendors on their strategies and will be looking to share this knowledge and use his full skill set at CoreHealth and with affiliated customers and partners.

"I am extremely pleased to have joined CoreHealth at such a pivotal time in the organization's evolution and look forward to helping to grow relationships with both existing and new partners. The dynamic world of workplace health has never been more important of an investment to organizations as the very nature of work continues to evolve and provide new challenges. The culture at CoreHealth, along with the best technology platform available, combine to form an award-winning solution that I am proud to be a part of," says Dr. Amell.

About CoreHealth Technologies:

CoreHealth Technologies Inc. is the leading corporate wellness platform trusted by more than 1,000 organizations, ranging from medium-sized businesses to Fortune 500 enterprises. Over 2.5 million lives are covered globally on the platform. At CoreHealth, we believe that developing the best employee wellness programs is all about giving wellness companies the right code, design and access to the latest innovations. With the most customization, integrations and reliability of any software in its class, CoreHealth's powerful platform lets users focus on growing great companies. For more information, visit the CoreHealth website.

Visit us on Linkedin | Twitter | Workplace Wellness Blog

Media Contact:

Anne Marie Kirby, CEO & Founder, CoreHealth Technologies

[email protected]

1-866-396-2673, ext. 101

Related Files

CoreHealth Brochure_Corporate Wellness Platform.pdf

CoreHealth Testimonials_Wellness Partners.pdf

Related Images

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CoreHealth Technologies

CoreHealth logo

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Dr. Tyler Amell

Photo of Dr. Amell, the new Chief Relationship Officer at CoreHealth Technologies

anne-marie-kirby.jpg

Anne Marie Kirby

Photo of Anne Marie Kirby, the Founder and CEO of CoreHealth Technologies

Related Links

CoreHealth Customers

CoreHealth Blog

Related Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJRn0Fbvr8g

SOURCE CoreHealth Technologies

Related Links

https://corehealth.global


MENLO PARK, California, July 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- XL Innovate, a leading insurtech-focused venture fund that has backed breakthrough companies like Lemonade, Cape Analytics, and Slice Labs, today announced it is promoting Chris Downer from associate to principal. As part of his new role, Chris Downer will help lead XL Innovate's venture investments globally into new categories within insurtech, including data and analytics, AI, and new insurance business models.

Since joining XL Innovate in 2016, Chris has focused on insurtech investments in North America, Europe, and Asia, and led due diligence and deal sourcing for the fund. Chris has served as a board observer at Pillar Technologies, an end-to-end environmental monitoring solution for construction sites, as well as Stonestep, which provides microinsurance as a service in emerging markets. He has also contributed to new ideas in the insurance technology industry, regularly speaking at conferences and on podcasts, dispensing the latest in insurtech news via a daily newsletter, and writing articles on the future of the space.

"Chris represents the next generation of venture investors who will help move the insurtech industry forward. He combines an extremely diligent work ethic, expertise in [the field of insurance technology, and the financial modeling and analysis underpinnings to support intelligent investment decisions and help build and scale successful ventures," said Tom Hutton, Managing Partner at XL Innovate.

Prior to joining XL Innovate, Chris worked in the alternative investments group at Goldman Sachs, in New York City and London, which managed $100+ billion in long-only equity and fixed income assets. Chris graduated magna cum laude from Dartmouth College.

About XL Innovate

XL Innovate is a venture capital fund focused on investing in companies that address the world's most complex risks with new technologies and products for the insurance industry. XL Innovate provides companies with equity capital, unparalleled experience in building new ventures in this specific space, and access to XL Catlin's global insurance expertise and underwriting. To learn more, visit http://www.xlinnovate.com.

SOURCE XL Innovate

Related Links

http://xlinnovate.com


"I am delighted to welcome Steve to our senior team. His deep knowledge of the healthcare sector and online higher education with particular domain expertise in nursing is the perfect skill set for AP," said Randy Best, Chairman of Academic Partnerships. "I have no doubt that he will immediately add great value and drive strong partner performance by focusing on innovation, program differentiation and operational excellence."

Steve joins AP from Adtalem Global Education Group (formerly DeVry Education Group) where he served for more than 13 years in roles including Group President, Professional and International Education as well as President, Online Services Group supporting DeVry University, Chamberlain College of Nursing, and Carrington College. Steve has also served as CEO for a startup education software company as well as Chief Operating Officer for Compass Medical Education Network affiliated with Rush University Medical Center.

"I am very pleased to be joining the team at Academic Partnerships. As a champion of growth, I look forward to helping expand the services and solutions we provide to our university partners to help them take their high demand healthcare programs online and accelerate their growth," commented Steve.

Steve earned a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University and an MBA from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business.

About Academic Partnerships

Academic Partnerships is a leading online service provider for higher education. The company assists universities in converting their on-campus degree programs into an online format, recruits qualified students for those programs, and supports enrolled students through graduation. Serving primarily public, not-for-profit universities, Academic Partnerships is guided by the principle that the opportunities presented through technology-aided learning make higher education more accessible and affordable. The company was founded by a group of social entrepreneurs who have spent nearly 20 years developing innovative learning solutions to improve education. For more information, please visit www.academicpartnerships.com.

Media Contact:

Molly Casey

214-210-4017

SOURCE Academic Partnerships

Related Links

http://www.academicpartnerships.com


"It's valuable for our students to understand the skill sets and creativity these artists bring to the table," said Tracey Tomme, Cosmosphere COO. "Sometimes our camp participants are so bogged with math and science they forget about the importance of artistic expression. We think blending our future engineers and scientists with more creative thinkers who see the world differently makes everyone's lives brighter."

Eden Craig, a Cosmosphere camper from Raymore, MO, enjoyed the project. "It's really neat to work with these amazing people," she said. "This project allows more personalization of the experience and I'm able to bring something home I've done in camp."

Space 501 camp counselor Blake Lee, said that later in the week, when campers toured NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, art was specifically mentioned.

"We were on a behind-the-scenes tour, and our guide brought up the need for artists on the JPL team. They need creative-minded people in design all the time," Lee said.

But the creativity doesn't stop at the artwork. Both Tomme and Rick Staab, DSGP President and CEO, agree this partnership will grow.

"We are planting the seeds of possibilities," said Staab. "Our clients have the capacity to make this initiative more successful than you or I," he added. "There's no filter on how they perceive, they go all in and will embrace every aspect of this project openly."

For information about Cosmosphere camps, visit www.cosmo.org/camps.

More about Cosmosphere:

The Cosmosphere International SciEd Center & Space Museum in Hutchinson, KS features the largest combined collection of U.S. and Russian Space Artifacts in the world and offers aerospace camps to thousands of campers each summer.

More about Disability Supports of the Great Plains:

Disability Supports of the Great Plains has served adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities since 1996, meeting the needs of those they serve through individual attention, higher professional standards and innovative care.

SOURCE Cosmosphere

Related Links

http://cosmo.org


(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/586695/AgDevCo_Logo.jpg )



(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/598884/Mastercard_Foundation_Logo )



(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/721928/UK_Aid_Logo.jpg )



(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/721929/GADC_Uganda.jpg )



Faranaya is the leading sorghum buyer in a remote, arid region of northern Ghana where farmers have limited access to markets. US$235,000 from the SDU is enabling Faranaya to provide input credit and training to raise the production and governance capacity of its network of 4,000 smallholders.

Mother's Shea, a mother- and daughter-led Ghanaian shea butter processor and exporter, will link 12,000 women shea producers to international markets. US$220,000 from the SDU will support producers' capacity building and attainment of FairTrade and organic certifications.

Silverlands Ranching, a Zambian cattle operation, engages with smallholders by providing cattle dipping services and training in mixed farming, livestock and drought tolerant crops. US$300,000 is being provided to scale up their outgrower support to reach 8,000 farmers.

Malawian groundnut processor and AgDevCo investee Afri-Oils will purchase groundnuts from 15,000 farmers, helping them to transition away from tobacco farming. The SDU's US$355,000 will support training to improve groundnut quality and access to higher-value regional markets.

GADC is a Ugandan cotton ginner providing outgrower and extension services to cotton and sesame growers. The Company recently expanded to the West Nile region where there are many refugees farming cotton without much success. US$810,000 from the SDU will establish a scheme providing agronomic training to 30,000 farmers in the region to improve their productivity and overall household income.

The SDU operates alongside AgDevCo's core activity of providing long-term debt and equity to SMEs. In partnership with the Mastercard Foundation and UKAID, the SDU partners with agri-businesses to co-finance equitable and sustainable outgrower schemes. The SDU is on track to deliver 25 projects and benefit 490,000 farmers by 2021.

ABOUT AGDEVCO

AgDevCo is a social impact investor and agribusiness project developer. With support from UKAID, AgDevCo invests patient capital in the form of debt and equity into early-stage agribusinesses. AgDevCo's mission is to reduce poverty and improve food security, and it has invested over US$120 million in 69 agribusinesses in sub-Saharan Africa to date, connecting more than 400,000 farmers to markets and generating 7,313 jobs. For more information, visit http://www.agdevco.com.

SOURCE AgDevCo
ARLINGTON, Va., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --The Air Force Association (AFA) announced today that it has launched a new website including mobile and tablet-friendly formatting, live updates on news and publications, and simplified navigation.

"Modernizing and improving the AFA website will allow us to connect closer to current and prospective members and more clearly highlight our mission and programs," said AFA President, General Larry O. Spencer, USAF (Ret). "As we move further into a digital age, it is important to expand our website's versatility and convenience, which was crucial in creating this new site with our members - both current and prospective - in mind."

The new AFA website provides a community portal for AFA leaders with the ability to store and upload chapter information, as well as a detailed calendar of events occurring nationwide.

"AFA's updated website allows AFA to offer expanded content on our important programs including our Wounded Airman Program, aerospace education initiatives, and association events," said Bridget Dongu, AFA's Director of Communications. "I am thrilled to unveil the website redesign that the staff worked hard on for our members and Airmen for Life who visit our website."

Learn more and visit AFA's new website at www.afa.org.

The Air Force Association is a non-profit, independent, professional military and aerospace education association. Our mission is to promote a dominant United States Air Force and a strong national defense, and to honor Airmen and our Air Force Heritage.

SOURCE Air Force Association

Related Links

http://www.afa.org


NEW YORK, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Apex Group Ltd. ("Apex"), one of the world's largest fund administrators, today announced that Joseph Holman has been appointed as Global Head of Allocators for the Group. Holman will manage relationships with institutional-sized investors and allocators worldwide and brings with him more than 25 years of industry experience in building and integrating businesses in the fund management space.

As Global Head of Allocators, Holman will report to the Group's recently appointed Chief Revenue Officer, Fred Jacobs, and will be based alongside him in the New York office. Holman's relationship management expertise will guide the Group's strategic interactions with institutional investors and allocators as it moves into the top five fund administrators.

Prior to joining the Apex team, Holman held a variety of senior positions throughout the fund services space. In 2004 he founded Columbus Avenue Consulting, a fund administrator offering services to hedge funds, fund of funds and private equity funds. After nearly a decade of leading the business, Holman then worked as CEO of Orangefield-Columbus Fund Services following the Orangefield Group's acquisition of Columbus Avenue Consulting. Most recently, Holman served as Managing Director at Vistra upon the company's acquisition of the Orangefield Group, managing and overseeing the integration of all U.S. offices following the transaction.

Peter Hughes, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Apex Group Ltd., said:

"Joseph's extensive expertise in driving growth and business development, in addition to his thoughtful approach to relationship management, delivers the perfect blend for Apex as we move upmarket and focus on institutional businesses. Although his remit will be global, his presence on the ground in the U.S. is pertinent as we continue to expand our brand and capabilities there. Joseph will be a critical asset to Apex's operations and delivery of advanced services as we step into this next chapter."

Joseph Holman, Global Head of Allocators, Apex Group Ltd., said:

"I'm excited to be joining the Global Apex team during this time of impressive domestic growth here in the U.S. in addition to its well-documented global expansion. The Group has a strong reputation for providing responsive, high-quality and holistic fund administration solutions to asset managers worldwide, and I am looking forward to being a part of that legacy and contributing to the continued success of both clients and the business itself."

About Apex

The Apex Group, established in Bermuda in 2003, is one of the world's largest fund administration and middle office solutions providers with offices in 37 locations worldwide. Apex has continually improved and evolved its product suite by surrounding these core administrative services with additional products spanning the full value chain of a fund: from information delivery and regulatory products to a full middle office services and custody and depositary solutions. Apex now administers the investments of some of the largest funds and institutional investors in the world. www.apexfundservices.com

MEDIA CONTACT: Jill Epstein, Group Gordon

212-784-5698, [email protected]

SOURCE Apex Group Ltd.

Related Links

https://apexfundservices.com


CHEYENNE, Wyo., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of Argus Worldwide Corp. (www.argusworldwide.com) reported today that the Company has signed a Share Purchase Agreement with India based smart tech firm, Tejovat Technologies Pvt Ltd. (www.tejovat.com). The agreement gives the Company an initial 40% stake in the advanced engineering based smart tech hardware designer and manufacturer with terms and conditions that provide for Argus Worldwide to increase its stake to 100% ownership of Tejovat over a 12-18 month period. Selling Tejovat shareholders will be receiving a stock position in Argus Worldwide Corp. in return for their share position in Tejovat.

In addition, Santosh Labade, Tejovat founder and CEO, has agreed to serve as a Board Member and Senior Executive at Argus' new technology enterprise, CyberJ Inc set to launch before year end. Just 3 weeks ago, the Company reported that Mr. Labade has agreed to take on the interim role of Director, Technology at Argus Worldwide. With the signing of the Share Purchase Agreement, Mr. Labade will begin the process of phasing in to the day to day development activities at the Company's Cyber Junky unit.

Says Michael Wexler, Chairman and CEO, Argus Worldwide, "The signing of this Share Purchase Agreement with Tejovat, marks a great day for both our companies as we forge together not only to advance the development of our Cyber Junky aggregator, but equally important, to give Argus a strategic opportunity to work closely with Tejovat management to build a major stake in the rapidly expanding multi billion dollar markets for state of the art consumer and industrial smart tech hardware products for use in both the home and institutional settings worldwide."

Tejovat Technologies Pvt Ltd., was founded by Santosh Labade in 2015 and is headquartered in Pune, India. Tejovat is a leading consumer electronics company, engaged in the field of design, development, manufacturing, marketing and servicing of smart home products, tablets and mobile phones.

Argus Worldwide Corp. is a diversified operating company engaged in the development or acquisition of corporate properties in 'go to' business segments including but not limited to digital/internet products and services and health industries such as generic pharmaceuticals. The Company maintains its registered corporate office in Cheyenne, Wyoming and has affiliated offices in Ottawa, Canada; Warsaw, Poland; and Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Shares of Argus Worldwide Corp. are traded on the US OTC Markets; Pink Current (OTC: ARGW).

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "will" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Corporation's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. Various assumptions or factors are typically applied in drawing conclusions or making the forecasts or projections set out in forward-looking information. Those assumptions and factors are based on information currently available to the Corporation. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and the Corporation is not obligated to update or revise any forward looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained here.

SOURCE Argus Worldwide Corp.

Related Links

http://www.tejovat.com


SAN DIEGO, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- BioAtla, LLC, a global biotechnology company focused on the development of Conditionally Active Biologic (CAB) antibody therapeutics, today announced the appointment of Lawrence Fong, M.D., as a scientific advisor. Dr. Fong is a leader in clinical research and has dedicated 20 years to the field of cancer immunotherapy. Dr. Fong's research focuses on understanding the ways by which immunotherapies can lead to clinical responses as well as to treatment-induced side effects. This work includes tracking antigen-specific T cell responses both in pre-clinical models and in treated cancer patients and developing biomarkers that are associated with clinical outcomes.

"The knowledge, experience and insight of Dr. Fong will provide valuable contributions to the direction and prioritization of our CAB development programs. In particular, his advice will enhance our decisions and design of clinical trials for combination CAB bispecific antibodies and CAB immunotherapies," said Jay M. Short, Ph.D., Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of BioAtla.

About Dr. Fong

Lawrence Fong, M.D. is Efim Guzik Distinguished Professor in Cancer Biology and leads the Cancer Immunotherapy Program at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). He is a physician-scientist in the Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology directing both a translational research program and an NIH funded research lab. At UCSF he also co-directs the Parker Institute of Cancer Immunotherapy and co-leads the Cancer Immunology Program in the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. He has served on multiple NIH study sections and committees including the NCI Investigational Drug Steering Committee (IDSC) and Genitourinary Cancers Steering Committee (GUSC). He has also served on multiple scientific advisory boards and journal editorial boards including the Journal of Clinical Oncology and Cancer Immunology Research.

About Conditionally Active Biologics (CABs)

Conditionally Active Biologic proteins are generated using BioAtla's proprietary protein discovery, evolution and expression technologies. These proteins can be monoclonal antibodies, enzymes and other proteins designed with functions dependent on changes in microphysiological conditions (e.g., pH level, oxidation, temperature, pressure, presence of certain ions, hydrophobicity and combinations thereof) both outside and inside cells.

Studies have shown that cancerous tumors create highly specific conditions at their site that are not present in normal tissue. These cancerous microenvironments are primarily a result of the well understood glycolytic metabolism associated with cancer cells, even in the presence of oxygen, referred to as the Warburg Effect. CAB proteins are designed to deliver their therapeutic payload and/or recruit the immune response in specific and selected locations and conditions within the body and to be active only in the presence of a particular cellular microenvironment. In addition, the activation is designed to be reversible to repeatedly switch 'on and off' should the CAB move from a diseased to a normal cellular microenvironment and vice versa. CABs can be developed in a variety of formats including monoclonal antibodies, antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), bispecific antibodies, chimeric antigen receptor T-cells (CAR-Ts) and combination therapies.

About BioAtla, LLC

BioAtla is a global biotechnology company with operations in San Diego, California, and Beijing, China. BioAtla develops novel monoclonal antibody and other protein therapeutic product candidates designed to have more selective targeting, greater efficacy, and more cost-efficient and predictable manufacturing than traditional antibodies.

Learn more at www.bioatla.com.

Contact:

Richard Waldron

Chief Financial Officer

BioAtla, LLC

[email protected]

858.356.8945

SOURCE BioAtla, LLC

Related Links

http://www.bioatla.com


Your Pores Shouldn't Be Your Main SQUEEZE: Let Biore Skincare's new Limited Edition Citrus Crush Deep Cleansing Pore Strips do the heavy lifting instead! Infused with a citrus scent, these strips turn lemons into lemonade, working like a magnet to lift out deep-down grime, oil and blackheads inside even your most clogged pores. Each strip is specially shaped to follow the contours of your nose so proprietary C-bond technology can lift impurities and debris from every pore. Even moreCitrus Crush Deep Cleansing Pore Strips are lightly and refreshingly scented, so you get a serious treat for your pores and your senses with every use.

CRUSH Illiteracy: To celebrate the launch of their new Limited Edition Deep Cleansing Pore Strips, Biore Skincare is partnering with Girl Up, a campaign of the United Nations Foundation that mobilizes girls and women across the globe to raise awareness and funds for United Nations programs that help adolescent girls in need. With actress and Brand Ambassador Shay Mitchell supporting the partnership, Biore Skincare's donation will go towards constructing classrooms in Uganda to increase refugee girls' school enrollment and quality of learning by addressing overcrowded classes.

Lemon- AID For Your Pores: While you're showing your support for girls in need, these colorful, zesty pore strips will draw out an entire week's worth of buildup in just 10 minutesnow those are fruitful results making your selfies 100% chic. When used regularly, Biore Skincare's Pore Strips not only decongest your pores, but also reduce their appearance to itty bitty, so your skin is left looking flawless all summer long and through back to school season.

How To Use: After washing your face, thoroughly wet your nose or other face area. Peel the plastic liner off the back of the strip and press it on your skin, smooth-side down. Let it dry for 10-15 minutes, while you snap selfies of your Citrus Crush pore strips and share them with your friends. Then slowly and carefully peel off the strip, starting at the edges. Because the strip interacts with the outermost layer of the skin, it won't cause pain, damage or unsightly irritation.

Available for a limited time starting June 2018  November 2018; $6.49 at select food, drug and mass merchant stores. For more information, visit www.biore.com .

For more information on Girl Up visit www.girlup.org

The Experts Behind It: Kao USA Inc. is a leading manufacturer of premium beauty care brands that are recognized around the world for their innovation and quality. The Kao USA Inc. portfolio includes Ban antiperspirant-deodorants and Total Refresh Cooling Body Cloths; Jergens and Curel hand and body lotions; Biore facial care; John Frieda Frizz-Ease, Root Awakening, Luxurious Volume, Sheer Blonde, Brilliant Brunette, Radiant Red, Full Repair, Luminous Glaze Clear Shine Gloss, Precision Foam Colour and Colour Refreshing Gloss. Founded in 1882, Kao USA Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kao Corporation.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

MEREDITH CAMMAKER/ JACQUELINE MELUSO

TRACTENBERG & CO. / 212.929.7979

SOURCE Biore

Related Links

http://www.biore.com


JERUSALEM, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- With the goals of fostering technological innovation and boosting bilateral opportunities, a diverse, bipartisan delegation of California state legislators is visiting Israel for intensive dialogue and briefings with AJC (American Jewish Committee) Project Interchange. The visit this week highlights topics important to the legislators, including medicine and humanitarian work, agriculture and water management, immigrant absorption and integration, and innovation, while also exposing participants to Israel's politically and ethnically diverse society.

The delegation is sponsored entirely by Project Interchange, an educational institute of AJC (American Jewish Committee) at no cost to California taxpayers.

Featuring California State Senate and Assembly leaders, the program is designed to strengthen Latino-Jewish, Asian-Jewish, and interfaith relations, and interaction of California's and Israel's diversity and strong economies. Meeting with their Israeli counterparts, the California delegation will explore opportunities for bilateral collaboration.

"California and Israel share similar challenges with respect to natural resources and an appetite for innovative solutions," said Robin Levenston-Kudisch, AJC Project Interchange Executive Director. "The meetings and briefings with Israeli experts will provide a fitting setting for great minds to share information, discuss partnerships, and explore opportunities for mutually-beneficial collaboration between California and Israel."

"I hope to share the connection the Jewish people have with Israel, the innovation and entrepreneurship Israelis bring to the world, including water conservation and technology, and the collaborative partnership Israel and California share," said Assemblymember Marc Levine, D-Marin County, chair of the Legislative Jewish Caucus.

Previous Project Interchange delegations have contributed to the formation of innovative enterprises, including the University of California and Israel Innovation Authority Partnership.

Chaired by Marc Levine, Assemblymember, 10th Assembly District, North Bay, California, the delegation includes:

Marc Berman , Assemblymember, 24th Assembly District, Los Altos, California

Mike Gipson , Assemblymember and Democratic Caucus Chair, 64th Assembly District, Compton, California

Timothy Grayson , Assemblymember, 14th Assembly District, Concord, California

Kevin Kiley , Assemblymember, 6th Assembly District, Granite Bay, California

Ricardo Lara , Senator, 33rd Senate District, Los Angeles, California

Chad Mayes , Assemblymember, 42nd Assembly District, Rancho Mirage, California

Al Muratsuchi , Assemblymember, 66th Assembly District, Torrance, California

Blanca Rubio , Assemblywoman, 48th Assembly District, Baldwin Park, California

The AJC Project Interchange program will provide these policymakers with a deeper understanding of Israel, its dynamic society and democracy, and often-times complicated reality. The trip includes meetings with influential figures across Israel's political and social spectrum, including senior Israeli, Palestinian, and Israeli Arab leaders.

The delegation is expected to traverse much of Israel, including Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Israel's Northern border with Syria, and the Southern border with Gaza for a first-hand look at Israel and its geo-strategic realities. Discussion topics with renowned Israeli experts will range from best practices on economic development and technology start-ups, environmental management and renewable energy, absorption and integration of immigrant communities, and education -- all issues facing communities the legislators represent. Several sessions dealing with Israel's strategic environment, diversity issues and inter-religious cooperation, are also on the agenda, including Israeli high-tech initiatives that foster effective economic cooperation between Jews and Arabs.

The delegation also will travel to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian experts in the Palestinian Authority.

About AJC Project Interchange: For 35 years, Project Interchange, a nonprofit educational institute of AJC (American Jewish Committee), has brought nearly 6,000 influential figures to Israel from 110 countries and all 50 U.S. states, offering them broad exposure and firsthand understanding of the complex issues facing Israel and the region. Projectinterchange.org

SOURCE American Jewish Committee

Related Links

http://www.ajc.org


Dawkins captivated a worldwide audience when he briefly escaped from his crate on the way to Born Free USA's Primate Sanctuary in south Texas and was loose for a short period of time in the cargo area at San Antonio International Airport. The Chuffed crowdfunding campaign's goal is $10,125, which will fund the construction of a warm house  a structure that helps the monkeys stay warm during winter  in the new enclosure complex that Dawkins will share with Creed and Oscar, two other rhesus macaques at the Sanctuary. Dawkins, Creed, and Oscar were retired to the Primate Sanctuary after years of being used in research.

"As Creed, Oscar and Dawkins settle into Sanctuary life and continue to adjust to their new home, they will need a larger, permanent enclosure, which will allow them to live alongside the Sanctuary's other rhesus macaques," said Prashant Khetan, Born Free USA CEO and general counsel. "We believe that there are enough people out there who believe in what we do and are compassionate and care enough to donate. In return, we're offering a variety of perks to those who donate as our way of saying thank you."

The crowdfunding campaign has currently raised $2,766.

Large open living spaces at the Sanctuary allow its residents to live a life as close as possible to what they would experience in the wild, with opportunities to explore nature, play, forage, and socialize with other members of their species.

Born Free USA's Primate Sanctuary is a nearly 200-acre facility where approximately 500 primates rescued from zoos, research facilities, and private ownership are able to retire to a life as close to the wild as possible.

To learn more and to donate, visit https://www.chuffed.org/project/bornfreeusasanctuary/.

About Born Free USA

Born Free USA, a national 501(c)(3), believes that every individual animal matters. Inspired by the Academy Award-winning film Born Free, the organization works locally, nationally, and internationally on the conservation frontlines, in communities, classrooms, courtrooms, and the halls of Congress, to end wild animal cruelty and suffering and protect threatened wildlife.

Launched in 2002, Born Free USA was inspired by Virginia McKenna and her (late) husband Bill Travers, who, along with their son, Will, founded The Born Free Foundation (UK) in 1984. Their experience in Kenya filming the classic 1966 Academy Award-winning film Born Free, the story of Joy and George Adamson's fight to successfully return Elsa the lioness to a wild and free life, launched the couple's "compassionate conservation" movement, aimed at keeping wildlife in the wild. This movement continues to motivate millions of followers and activists across the globe. In 2007, Born Free USA merged with the Animal Protection Institute.

Located in south Texas, Born Free USA's Primate Sanctuary is the largest such facility in the U.S. and provides a permanent home for roughly 500 primates retired from research facilities or rescued from inhumane conditions at zoos and private ownership. These primates have often endured a lifetime of abuse, neglect, and cruelty, and many come to the Sanctuary with special physical and emotional needs, requiring extensive care and services. Current species in residence include: bonnet macaque, long-tailed macaque, pig-tailed macaque, rhesus macaque, stump-tailed macaque, Japanese macaque, olive baboon, and hamadryas baboon.

Follow or friend us at: www.bornfreeusa.org, www.twitter.com/bornfreeusa, www.facebook.com/bornfreeusa, www.instagram.com/bornfreeusaorg.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Heather Ripley

Ripley PR

865-977-1973

[email protected]

SOURCE Born Free USA
"Unfortunately, Brooklyn mourned a fatal gas explosion in 2015, and already this year we had four neighbors injured in a January residential gas explosion and three National Grid workers injured in a June public gas explosion," said Michael Petri, owner of Petri Plumbing & Heating. "We're working to educate the public and urge homeowners to never attempt any gas work on their own, and to please contact a qualified professional immediately if you detect a leak."

Petri Plumbing & Heating offers the following advice regarding the use of natural gas in the home:

Never move or install a gas appliance yourself. Only a certified professional should ever install or relocate a gas appliance, such as an oven or furnace. Attempting to do so yourself could result in improper gas line disconnection, a dangerous leak or worse.

Only a certified professional should ever install or relocate a gas appliance, such as an oven or furnace. Attempting to do so yourself could result in improper gas line disconnection, a dangerous leak or worse. Use gas appliances properly and safely. Gas appliances should always be properly vented to allow carbon monoxide to safely escape, and they should never be used for anything other than their intended purpose. For example, never use a gas stove or oven to add heat to the home.

Gas appliances should always be properly vented to allow carbon monoxide to safely escape, and they should never be used for anything other than their intended purpose. For example, never use a gas stove or oven to add heat to the home. Schedule annual inspections. All homes utilizing natural gas should schedule annual inspections. A professional will check the lines to make sure they are showing no signs of wear or leaking, and they will also check vents and flues to make sure there are no blockages or issues.

All homes utilizing natural gas should schedule annual inspections. A professional will check the lines to make sure they are showing no signs of wear or leaking, and they will also check vents and flues to make sure there are no blockages or issues. Detect an odor? Call a professional immediately. Natural gas is odorless, so a scent similar to rotten eggs is added to aid in detecting leaks. If you smell natural gas in the home, do not try to locate or stop the leak. Refrain from switching any electrical devices on or off, get out of the home immediately and contact a professional from a safe distance.

New York state law currently mandates that anyone wishing to perform gas work possess either a Full or Limited Gas Work Qualification. Full Gas Work Qualifications are currently presented only to those registered as a Journeyman Plumber or higher, and Limited Gas Work Qualifications must be applied for through a detailed vetting process. These qualifications will be updated with more stringent requirements beginning January 1, 2019.

"There are good reasons that the qualifications to perform gas work are being made more difficult to attain," Petri said. "Our fellow New Yorkers deserve to live in safety, and they should only allow fully-licensed professionals to install or service their gas appliances."

For more information about natural gas safety and the laws governing gas work in New York, please visit www.petriplumbing.com or call 718-748-1254.

About Petri Plumbing & Heating, Inc.

Petri Plumbing & Heating, Inc. is a family owned and operated business serving Brooklyn and the New York City area. Founded in 1906, the company offers a 100 percent guarantee on all services, upfront pricing, and friendly and knowledgeable Service Experts for all kinds of home and business plumbing and heating needs. Services offered include water and gas pipe leak repair and installation, fixture installations, inspections, boiler repair, water heater installation, complete bathroom, kitchen, laundry & utility room remodeling and more. Petri is also licensed and certified by Green Plumbers USA, the first in New York City to receive this designation. For more information, please visit www.petriplumbing.com or call 718-748-1254.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Heather Ripley

Ripley PR

865-977-1973

[email protected]

SOURCE Petri Plumbing & Heating, Inc.
FALFURRIAS, Texas, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Commissioners in Brooks County voted July 9 to adopt the most up-to-date voting technology available in the U.S., the Verity Voting system from longtime election partner Hart InterCivic. Elections Administrator Anna M. Garcia said the choice was driven by the South Texas county's long-term relationship with Hart. "Their customer service is awesome. We never really considered anyone else."

Hart InterCivics Verity Voting system is compact, lightweight and easy for election workers to carry and set up.

"Once I saw Verity operating (at a statewide election conference last year), I had to see more," Garcia said. She arranged with Hart to present a live demonstration for the Commissioners Court. "We were impressed with the system's accuracy and accountability, and I like that Verity will be easier for our workers to learn and operate."

"We appreciate Brooks County's confidence in Verity's secure new technology. We've partnered with the County since 2005, and we look forward to our ongoing relationship," said Phillip Braithwaite, Hart's President and CEO. Hart is an Austin-based company with more than 100 years of experience providing election solutions. "Verity's technology is versatile and trustworthy; it will serve the County well for many years."

Verity is a federally and state certified system with all new hardware and software designed from the ground up to be secure and easy to use. The system is user friendly for voters and poll workers, who also welcome the lightweight, compact design for simple transport and setup.

"The new technology eliminates so many steps," Garcia said. "Plus, the size of each unit makes it easier for our election workers to bring to precincts."

Verity will debut in Brooks County for the November General Election, and Garcia is confident in the training process that Hart has planned. "There is no rush here. They told me to take my time; trainers will be here for everything we need. Plus, Hart staff will be on hand when we vote for the first time."

Brooks County joins a growing number of Texas jurisdictions moving to Verity. Since the Texas Secretary of State certified the latest release of the system in late 2016, Hart has shipped more than 7,700 Verity devices across the State. Federally certified in 2015, the secure and efficient system is also in use in numerous counties throughout the U.S.

At each precinct, Brooks County voters will have the choice of marking their paper ballots by hand or filling out choices using an ADA-compliant electronic device.

"I'm looking forward to reactions from the voters," Garcia said. "For those voters choosing a paper ballot, the scanner is mistake-proof. And voters that use the ADA units will like the easy-to-use touchscreen. And it gives me a good feeling that if we have questions, Hart is only a phone call away."

Braithwaite expects more announcements throughout 2018 as jurisdictions refresh their election technology across Texas and nationally.

Learn more about Verity in Texas: https://www.hartintercivic.com/texas/

About Hart InterCivic, Inc.

Austin-based Hart InterCivic is a full-service election solutions innovator, partnering with state and local governments to deliver secure, accurate and reliable elections. Working side-by-side with election professionals for more than 100 years, Hart is committed to helping advance democracy one election at a time. Hart's mission fuels its passionate customer focus and a continuous drive for technological innovation. The company's new Verity Voting system makes voting more straightforward, equitable and accessibleand makes managing elections more transparent, more efficient and easier. Only Hart offers a completely new, secure voting system with electronic, paper and hybrid options.

SOURCE Hart InterCivic, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.hartintercivic.com


WASHINGTON, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on Fox News to withdraw its representatives from an upcoming conference sponsored by a notorious anti-Muslim hate group.

Several Fox News hosts and commentators are scheduled to appear at the September 4-5 conference of the hate group ACT For America in Arlington, Va.

Host Tomi Lahren, along with commentators Jeanine Pirro and Lisa Daftari, are listed as "Invited and Confirmed Speakers" for the conference.

ACT For America, founded by "Brigitte Gabriel," is an anti-Muslim hate group with growing ties to white supremacist, neo-Nazi hate organizations that exhibits the same bigoted themes as seen at the Charlottesville neo-Nazi rally. [NOTE: "Brigitte Gabriel" is also known as Hanah Kahwagi Tudor and Brigitte Tudor.] Last year, ACT For America organized widely-condemned anti-Islam rallies nationwide.

CAIR: Anti-Islam Hate Rallies Show Convergence of White Supremacism, Islamophobia

https://www.cair.com/cair_june_10_anti_islam_hate_rallies_show_convergence_of_white_supremacism_islamophobia

CAIR Calls Nationwide Anti-Islam Rallies a 'Bust,' Says Counter-Protests Far Overshadowed Hate Marches

https://www.cair.com/cair_calls_nationwide_anti_islam_rallies_a_bust_says_counter_protests_far_overshadowed_hate_marches

In the past, CAIR released two short videos exposing ACT for America's bigotry and its links to White supremacist organizations.

SEE: CAIR Releases Videos Exposing Anti-Muslim Hate Group ACT for America's Bigotry, Links to White Supremacist Organizations

CAIR Islamophobia Monitor: ACT For America

http://www.islamophobia.org/islamophobic-organizations/36-act-for-america.html

CAIR Islamophobia Monitor: Brigitte Gabriel

http://www.islamophobia.org/islamophobic-individuals/65-brigitte-gabriel-aka-hanah-kahwagi-tudor.html

ACT for America has been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). The SPLC has named "Brigitte Gabriel" as a member of the nation's "Anti-Muslim Inner Circle."

Gabriel has argued that, "America is at stage two Islamic Cancer." She believes "every practicing Muslim is a radical Muslim," a Muslim "cannot be a loyal citizen of the United States," and that Arabs "have no soul."

"If Fox News wishes to be viewed as a legitimate media outlet, it cannot allow its representatives to take part in events designed to promote bigotry and religious hatred," said CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw. "We urge Fox News officials to ask the network's representatives to withdraw from this anti-Muslim hate conference."

He said CAIR has witnessed an unprecedented spike in bigotry targeting American Muslims, immigrants and members of other minority groups since the election of Donald Trump as president.

Earlier this month, CAIR released an update on anti-Muslim incidents nationwide in the second quarter (April-June) of 2018 indicating that anti-Muslim bias incidents and hate crimes are up 83 and 21 percent respectively, as compared to the first quarter of 2018.

CAIR Report: Anti-Muslim Bias Incidents, Hate Crimes Spike in Second Quarter of 2018

https://www.cair.com/cair_report_anti_muslim_bias_incidents_hate_crimes_spike_in_second_quarter_of_2018

Community members are being urged to report any bias incidents to police and to CAIR's Civil Rights Department at 202-742-6420 or by filing a report at: http://www.cair.com/report

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.

La mision de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprension del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.

CONTACT: CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-999-8292, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]

SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

Related Links

http://www.cair.com


Deepens partnership with Persistent Systems for new Self-Service Data Lake

WALTHAM, Massachusetts, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Cazena announced it has closed a $10M financing round to further accelerate channels for its Big Data as a Service. Cazena's strategic round was led by existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Formation 8, and Northbridge Venture Partners, with participation from Persistent Systems and other technology partners.

Cazena is the industry's First Fully-Managed Big Data as a Service with built-in DevOps. The company has gained significant traction as enterprises face massive skills shortages in big data, cloud and analytics. Cazena enables enterprises to have supported, production-grade Hadoop/Spark data environments in the cloud, without hiring expensive and hard-to-find DevOps resources.

The investment will support Cazena's go-to-market activities.

"Since going GA last year, we have seen a 300% growth in our business. Our goal is to accelerate enterprises' ability to leverage analytics and machine learning/AI, without hiring or re-training their workforce. This round reinforces the support of our existing investors and we are proud to announce our strategic partnership with Persistent," said Prat Moghe, Cazena Founder and CEO.

Cazena's flagship solution is its fully-managed and automated cloud Data Lake, which offers a SaaS-like experience for analytics and business teams, with enterprise features for IT. Cazena solutions embed security, data management and 24x7 production operations along with cloud IaaS and PaaS from AWS, Microsoft Azure and Cloudera. Cazena cloud data lakes are delivered production-ready for immediate data ingest and analytics. Data sources and tools are seamlessly integrated via Cazena's hybrid gateway or AppCloud.

As part of the investment, Cazena has partnered with Persistent Systems to further extend the cloud Data Lake to include self-service data discovery and data services for enterprises that don't have data engineering or ML skills.

"Persistent consistently drives forward rapid digital transformation for our enterprise clients. Partnering with Cazena enables us to extend innovative solutions for analytics and ML for our customers. We are excited to announce the new Self-Service Data Lake, a combination of Cazena's Big Data as a Service with Persistent's ShareInsights analytic solutions and our ML/AI data services. This solution provides enterprises immediate and actionable access to data to help unlock the "how" of digital transformation," said Dr. Anand Deshpande, Chairman and Managing Director, Persistent Systems.

Full announcement on Cazena.com [link]

Contact: Hannah Smalltree, [email protected]

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/722079/Cazena_Logo.jpg

Related Links

http://www.cazena.com/



SOURCE Cazena
LONDON, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Chubb European Group today announced the achievement of an important regulatory step in its Brexit preparations to redomicile its businesses to France. This provides Chubb customers with continuous, uninterrupted service regardless of the outcome of Brexit negotiations between the UK and the European Union.

On 19 July, both Chubb European Group and ACE Europe Life converted to Societas Europaea (SE), which enables these companies to redomicile to another EU jurisdiction and continue to undertake business both across the EU and into the UK via a branch. Previously, on 11 July 2018, Chubb received authorisation from the Board of the French supervisor Autorite de Controle Prudentiel et de Resolution (ACPR) to redomicile the businesses to France on 1 January 2019, subject to the fulfillment of certain administrative requirements by year-end 2018.

David Furby, Regional President, Chubb European Group, said: "We are delighted to announce these important milestones in our Brexit preparations. From the outset, our primary aim has been to ensure a seamless transition and to offer certainty and continuity of service for all our clients and business partners, regardless of location or the final outcome of the Brexit negotiations. We are confident our new corporate structure will achieve these objectives. At each stage of the process, we have worked closely with the French and UK regulators and authorities, who have been extremely helpful as we have executed on our strategy."

From 1 January 2019, the new registered address for Chubb European Group SE and ACE Europe Life SE will be La Tour Carpe Diem, 31 Place des Corolles, Esplanade Nord, 92400 Courbevoie, France.

From 1 January 2019, Chubb European Group SE and ACE Europe Life SE will be supervised by the ACPR, 4 Place de Budapest, CS 92459, 75436 PARIS CEDEX 09.

Until 31 December 2018, Chubb European Group SE and ACE Europe Life SE will still be domiciled and have their registered office at the same address in England and will remain authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

Further information about Chubb's Brexit plans can found at www.chubb.com/brexit

About Chubb

Chubb is the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. With operations in 54 countries and territories, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. As an underwriting company, we assess, assume and manage risk with insight and discipline. We service and pay our claims fairly and promptly. The company is also defined by its extensive product and service offerings, broad distribution capabilities, exceptional financial strength and local operations globally. Parent company Chubb Limited is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Chubb maintains executive offices in Zurich, New York, London and other locations, and employs approximately 31,000 people worldwide. Additional information can be found at: chubb.com/uk

SOURCE Chubb
KINGMAN, Ariz., July 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- "Every city has resident voices that challenge respect and dignity for others. They are wrong and unfortunate. That was no exception on Sunday's 'Who Is America?' show on Showtime in which an actor baited purported residents to vociferously oppose a fictitious, supersized mosque in our city.

Another in the audience also stated negative feelings towards African-Americans. No matter the instigation or that numerous 'focus group' participants don't even live in Kingman, the show's characterization in the words of one member of our Kingman City Council 'broke her heart.' Why? Because our community has made great strides to erase previous perceptions. We do have a mosque. We do have a robust Latino community. We do welcome tourists from all over the world, especially more and more from Asia fascinated by our Route 66 history. We do have African-Americans applying for leadership positions with the city. This is the Kingman of today, not of yesterday.

It might be easy to laugh off what took place Sunday night on a show with very low ratings that tries to make everyone look bad. After all, New York City rejected a mosque not too many years ago and Scottsdale, Arizona once had a big debate over a Jewish Community Center.

But shrugging this off is not going to be us. We're going to use this opportunity to keep moving our community forward with the help of many community stakeholders including the Kingman Interfaith Council. And while we've been making progress, the comments in the show, fairly or unfairly, show that we still have more work to do.

So here are additional steps we are going to be taking as ours is a community like too many others in America that still encounter such issues. For the first time our City Manager will be bringing to the City Council a resolution in support of National Hispanic Heritage Month, beginning on September 15th, in honor of our significant Latino community.

We intend to invite Phoenix Pastor Warren Stewart to help us honor Martin Luther King Junior Day in January. Stewart admirably and courageously led the fight for the State of Arizona to honor the fallen civil rights leader. We also plan to work with our Interfaith Council to develop the community's first Diversity Commission that will be charged with expanding what our city and community does for people of all types and persuasions that have contributed, and will contribute, to this great country.

This is the Kingman of today, and will be the one of tomorrow," -City Government of Kingman, Arizona.

SOURCE City Government of Kingman, Arizona
DENVER, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Coda Signature, an award-winning producer of premium, cannabis-infused edibles, topicals and concentrates for adult and medicinal use, is pleased to announce that Co-Founder and CEO Mark Grindeland will be speaking at the upcoming NCIA Cannabis Business Summit in San Jose, CA on July 25 - 27.

Mr. Grindeland will participate in the panel Cannabis Economy Bootcamp: How to Propel Your CannaBusiness. With decades of experience driving innovation into successful businesses including five start-up companies, a large global advertising agency and several publicly traded brands, Grindeland brings both practical and strategic insights to the evolution of the cannabis industry.

"I'm delighted to join Sumit Mehta from Mazakali, Patrick Rea from CanopyBoulder, Brian Sheng from Arcview Ventures and Keegan Peterson from Wurk. They each bring a unique perspective to the discussion about the future of the cannabis industry and I look forward to participating in a lively panel," commented Grindeland.

To learn more about the event, visit www.cannabisbusinesssummit.com

About Coda Signature:

Founded in 2016, Coda Signature is an award-winning producer of premium, cannabis-infused edibles, topicals and concentrates for adult and medicinal use. The company creates differentiated products using proprietary flavor combinations and manufacturing techniques. Winner of 6 industry awards, Coda Signature products can be found in over 500 dispensaries in Colorado. The company is currently preparing to launch its product line in California in 2019. For more information about Coda Signature, visit www.codasignature.com.

Media Contact:

Mark Grindeland

[email protected]

1617-818-2480

SOURCE Coda Signature

Related Links

http://www.codasignature.com


DENVER, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- America's leading yoga studio CorePower Yoga is launching CorePower Yoga On Demand, an online resource dedicated to helping students take class with CorePower whenever, wherever. The program launches with over 30 videos taught by CorePower Yoga teachers and developed with both the new and experienced yogi in mind. CorePower Yoga On Demand will include full-length 60-minute formats of the signature C1, C2 and Yoga Sculpt classes, complemented by shorter versions, pose breakdowns and lessons. Now, students can experience an intensely physical workout rooted in the mindfulness of yoga from the comfort of their home or while on the go. As with its in-studio classes, CorePower Yoga will offer students one free week to try Yoga On Demand before subscribing.

"We're excited to offer everyone the chance to practice with CorePower Yoga whenever and wherever it works for them," says Tess Roering, chief marketing officer for CorePower Yoga. "Yoga on Demand offers classes just like the ones you'll find in-studio as well as unique options that you'll only find with the online subscription."

CorePower Yoga will keep content fresh by adding new and engaging classes each month and featuring a mix of its top instructors from across the country. Access to CorePower Yoga On Demand will be available through any web browser on any device, as well as through iOS, Android, Roku and Amazon Fire. A subscription of $19.99 per month or $199.99 per year provides unlimited access to online classes.

CorePower Yoga On Demand has something for every level, from those who are exploring yoga for the first time to those who regularly practice. To learn more about CorePower Yoga On Demand or subscribe, please visit www.corepoweryogaondemand.com.

About CorePower Yoga

CorePower Yoga strives to show the world the incredible, life-changing things that happen when an intense workout is rooted in the mindfulness of yoga. Through a variety of yoga classes, convenient times and more than 180 studio locations, CorePower Yoga provides a highly intense and incredibly mindful form of fitness.

CorePower Yoga's passionate and encouraging certified instructors take a typical yoga practice and crank it up to 11, working every muscle and every emotion. The beautiful, spa-like studios are built to meet the highest standards of service and quality. For more information, visit corepoweryoga.com.

Media Contact

TURNER

212-889-1700

[email protected]

SOURCE CorePower Yoga

Related Links

https://www.corepoweryoga.com


"Creativity is a universal yearning that all humans possess," said Rosalind Rodgers, MA, R-DMT, GLCMA, creative arts coordinator at Timberline Knolls. "Our goal as a creative arts team is to provide experientials and interventions that emphasize creative exploration for our residents."

As residents at Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center begin their recovery journey, they are asked to talk about their experiences of the past, present and future. Through the use of art, dance and yoga, residents are invited to explore and play. Creative arts invites residents to get back to their core-self, by providing a safe place to re-engage with their creativity.

Rodgers talks more about the benefits of creative arts therapy at Timberline Knolls:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVDR9Buiz1U&feature=youtu.be

"Our residents have found ways to cope and manage emotional dysregulation in order to survive," adds Rodgers. "We provide a safe space for residents to heal their minds, bodies, and spirits through the use of music, movement and art. Empowerment and self-efficacy are experienced within the group therapy dynamic. A sense of universality is experienced as residents realize they are not alone in feeling inadequate, silly, or self-critical when participating in movement, yoga or art therapy. Our focus is on the process, not the end product."

Overall, the therapeutic goal of creative arts therapy is to:

Express feelings

Participate in human relationships/interactions/connections

Increase personal self-esteem/self-efficacy

Develop a more realistic concept of one's body image

Increase self-compassion

Achieve feelings of relaxation and enjoyment

Increase a sense of empowerment through accomplished movement, art and relational goals.

"We are focused on providing an invitation for residents to show up as their authentic self, without fear of judgement or rejection," adds Rodgers. "Creative arts differs from traditional talk therapy because it provides the space for residents to describe their experience more fully, whether it's through art, music or dance."

About Timberline Knolls:

Timberline Knolls is a leading private residential treatment center for women and adolescent girls (ages 12  65+) with eating disorders, substance abuse, trauma, mood and co-occurring disorders. Located in suburban Chicago, residents receive excellent clinical care from a highly trained professional staff on a picturesque 43-acre wooded campus. An adult partial hospitalization program is also available on campus for step down as well as in Orland Park, Ill., for women to direct admit. For more information on Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center, call us at 877.257.9611. We are also on Facebook  Timberline Knolls, LinkedIn  Timberline Knolls and Twitter - @TimberlineToday.

Contact:

Mary Anne Morrow

1-602-359-6989

[email protected]

SOURCE Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center

Related Links

http://www.timberlineknolls.com


The National Assembly of South Korea held elections on July 13 th , and Moon Hee-sang was elected as the second half of the 20 th speaker by overwhelming support. Moon Hee-sang was Chief Presidential Secretary, the Chieftain of the ruling party, Chairman of Emergency Committee of the New Political Alliance for Democracy, Deputy Speaker of National Assembly and the Special Envoy of President Moon Jae-in to Japan.

Moon Hee-sang extended his appreciation to Dato' Sri Baima Aose for active contribution on South Korea-China public diplomacy for the past 11 years though religious, cultural and art exchanges improving the bilateral understanding and friendship. He also praised World Trade United Foundation founded by Dato' Sri Baima Aose since it has been organizing celebrations for anniversary of South Korea-China Relations and activities for economic and cultural exchanges for many years.

Dato' Sri Baima Aose first extended his gratitude to Moon Hee-sang for supporting his cause in public diplomacy for years. Dato' Sri Baima Aose congratulated Moon Hee-sang being elected as the Speaker of National Assembly and hopes Moon Hee-sang could play an important role to strengthen the high-level communication between China and South Korea. The China-South Korea Strategic Partnership and cooperation in "Belt and Road" could be advanced by his leadership, for South Korea joining China and other countries in building the Human Community of Human Destiny, Dato' Sri Baima Aose said.

SOURCE World Trade United Foundation
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Delphi Behavioral Health Group, a leading nationwide provider of addiction and detox treatment programs, announced today the opening of its newest outpatient treatment facility, New Perspectives, located in Delray Beach, Florida.

New Perspectives will provide high-quality evidence-based clinical and medical services to those seeking meaningful, long-term recovery from addiction and substance use disorders. Specifically, the facility will provide an Intensive Outpatient Treatment Program (IOP) and FDA-approved Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) to deliver addiction treatment that is designed to help patients avoid relapse and achieve lasting sobriety.

IOP will be extremely useful for those with a co-occurring disorder(s) or history of relapsing, but does not require round-the-clock medical monitoring or intervention that is commonly associated with inpatient treatment. Instead, the Intensive Outpatient Treatment Program at New Perspectives will consist of at least three appointments per week for sessions lasting between two to four hours at a time. Medication-Assisted Treatment will have three distinct purposes in the overall addiction treatment program: relieve withdrawal symptoms, treat co-occurring disorders, and balance brain chemistry. In addition, it will also be available to assist patients detoxing from opioid addiction and alcoholism.

"Every patient admitted will have a treatment plan such that, after illicit drug use has ceased and their recovery has stabilized, it will allow for a gradual medically-directed taper to commence with the goal of zero dosage within nine months," said Dr. Neeraj Gandotra, Chief Medical Officer at Delphi Behavioral Health Group. "This program within the Delphi family provides the opportunity to complete the process of recovery while utilizing the components of harm reduction, adaptive care and opioid substitution therapy."

"We are excited to announce the opening of New Perspectives, the seventh outpatient treatment site within our complete spectrum of detox and treatment centers across the country," said Dominic Sirianni, CEO at Delphi Behavioral Health Group. "Delphi is committed to serving the needs of the people in our community and to meeting those individuals where they live, work and reside. To that end, New Perspectives is an Intensive Outpatient program that is the first Delphi site to offer medication assisted treatment. We have carefully and meticulously created a program that combines psychoeducation, motivational interviewing and other evidence based therapies in conjunction with agonist therapy."

Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, FL, Delphi Behavioral Health Group's family of treatment centers offers patients a variety of individualized programs to begin the process of recovery from addiction. Each treatment center is equipped with a team of highly trained addiction professionals and follows the company's philosophy on addiction care, which includes a high clinician-to-patient ratio, intimate settings and comprehensive, tailored treatment solutions, including cognitive and behavioral therapies, aftercare services and relapse prevention.

For more information, please visit www.delphihealthgroup.com.

About Delphi Behavioral Health Group

Delphi Behavioral Health Group was created in 2016 with the goal of creating long-term recovery from addiction for individuals suffering from substance abuse and chemical dependence. Addiction and medical professionals use proven methods to heal individuals with the disease of addiction through a variety of detox and residential options designed to address the core issues behind the disease. With over 350 inpatient beds available currently, we are able to extend our services across the country, offering much-needed programs and services to those suffering and seeking help with their addictions. For more information visit www.delphihealthgroup.com.

SOURCE Delphi Behavioral Health Group

Related Links

http://www.delphihealthgroup.com


"We are thrilled to have Kenn as a part of the Dickey's Barbecue Pit family," says Laura Rea Dickey, CEO of Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. "His extensive background in the restaurant industry coupled with his experience working with franchisees has put him in the perfect position here at Dickey's and we look forward to his success."

Originally from Oklahoma, Kenn embraced the opportunity to move to Dallas and work with the oldest family owned restaurant in the area as well as the largest barbecue chain in the world. With a wealth of restaurant experience, he has worked with brands such as Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Quiznos and most recently, was the Senior Vice President of Operations and Development at Taco Bueno.

"Dickey's Barbecue Pit is a well-known, family-owned brand. The Dickey family prides themselves on their heritage as well as offering only the best authentic, Texas-style barbecue, which is why I was originally drawn to becoming a part of the team," says Kenn. "I look forward to growing the brand and working with everyone in the Dickey's Barbecue Pit family to achieve success in the future."

About Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc.

Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., the nation's largest barbecue chain, was founded in 1941 by Travis Dickey. Today, all meats are still slow smoked on-site in each restaurant. The Dallas-based family-run barbecue franchise offers several slow-smoked meats and home style sides with 'No B.S. (Bad Stuff)' included. The fast-casual concept has expanded to more than 550 locations in 45 states as well as internationally. In 2016, Dickey's won first place on Fast Casual's "Top 100 Movers and Shakers" list and in 2018 was featured in the top 10 on the list. Dickey's Barbecue Pit has also been recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine, Franchise Times, and Nation's Restaurant News. For more information, visit www.dickeys.com.

Media Contact:

Callie Head

[email protected]

Ashley Richardson

[email protected]

SOURCE Dickey's Barbecue

Related Links

http://www.dickeys.com


FAIRFAX, Va., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- DIGITALSPEC, LLC (DSPEC), a leading provider of business consulting services and technical solutions and services in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area, was awarded the TEAMS prime contract for Public Affairs support with the MDA.



The DSPEC public affairs team will support the MDA Public Affairs Office with planning, coordinating, facilitating and implementing communication strategies, policies and programs for internal and external audiences. Positions will be located in Virginia, Alabama and Colorado. "This exciting partnership with MDA will provide significant opportunities to support the Department of Defense," said Vishal Dadoo President of DSPEC. "As we continue to grow and extend our operations to federal and private clients in Washington, D.C., we are excited to expand our services in the defense and intelligence community."



DSPEC has a strong presence in homeland security, defense and intelligence projects locally and along the South East coast. This award builds on DSPEC's footprint in the federal public affairs and communications support field. In addition to MDA, DSPEC supports the Department of Homeland Security with strategic communications and public affairs in both the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). This work also highlights DSPEC's commitment to support warfighter and national security strategies.



About DIGITALSPEC, LLC

DIGITALSPEC, LLC is a Small Business Administration (SBA) 8(a)-certified ISO 9001, 20000, and 27001 company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Fairfax, VA. We are a leading provider of Business and Technical Solution & Services delivering true business value and return on investment to Federal clients in the metropolitan Washington, D.C area. DSPEC provides solutions and services in markets such as: Homeland Security and Law Enforcement, Defense and Intelligence, Financial Services and Social & Citizen Services. We work collaboratively with clients to create solutions that "fit" the client environment and use industry best practices.



Federal clients include the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), National Background Investigation Bureau (NBIB), Department of Justice (DOJ)/Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Department of Defense (DOD)/Washington Headquarters Services (WHS), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Department of Education/Federal Student Aid (FSA), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and Department of Homeland Security (DHS).



Our headquarters are in Fairfax, Virginia, along with additional locations in Washington, DC, Arlington, VA, Boyers, PA, Fort Meade, MD, Crystal City, VA, and Falls Church, VA. For more information, please contact us at 703-626-7445, 443-818-2736 or at [email protected].

This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com.

SOURCE DIGITALSPEC, LLC

Related Links

http://www.digitalspec.net


SANTA MONICA, Calif., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Douglas Emmett, Inc. (NYSE:DEI), a real estate investment trust (REIT), announced today that in order to avoid scheduling conflicts with other earnings calls, it will delay its 2018 second quarter earnings call by one hour. The call is now scheduled for Wednesday, August 1, 2018, at 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time / 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Jordan Kaplan, President and Chief Executive Officer, will host the call along with Mona Gisler, Chief Financial Officer, Kevin Crummy, Chief Investment Officer, and Stuart McElhinney, Vice President Investor Relations. Interested parties can listen to the call via the following:

INTERNET: Go to www.douglasemmett.com/investors at least fifteen minutes prior to the start time of the call in order to register, download and install any necessary audio software.

PHONE: 888-349-0488 (U.S.) or 412-542-4156 (International)  ask to join the Douglas Emmett, Inc. (DEI) call.

REPLAY: A rebroadcast of the live call will be available for 90 days on our website at www.douglasemmett.com/investors.

About Douglas Emmett, Inc.

Douglas Emmett, Inc. (DEI) is a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT), and one of the largest owners and operators of high-quality office and multifamily properties located in the premier coastal submarkets of Los Angeles and Honolulu. Douglas Emmett focuses on owning and acquiring a substantial share of top-tier office properties and premier multifamily communities in neighborhoods that possess significant supply constraints, high-end executive housing and key lifestyle amenities. For more information about Douglas Emmett, please visit our website at www.douglasemmett.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Except for the historical facts, the statements in this press release regarding Douglas Emmett's business activities are forward-looking statements based on the beliefs of, assumptions made by, and information currently available to us about known and unknown risks, trends, uncertainties and factors that are beyond our control or ability to predict. Although we believe that our assumptions are reasonable, they are not guarantees of future performance and some will inevitably prove to be incorrect. As a result, our actual future results can be expected to differ from our expectations, and those differences may be material. Accordingly, investors should use caution in relying on forward-looking statements to anticipate future results or trends. For a discussion of some of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Stuart McElhinney, Vice President  Investor Relations

310.255.7751 [email protected]

SOURCE Douglas Emmett, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.douglasemmett.com


BOSTON, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Keith Ablow, MD, considered one of the 5 most influential psychiatrists alive (www.gescienceprize.org) and one of the 35 most famous psychiatrists to ever have lived (www.ranker.com) has added a color series of supersized prescriptions to his art work, which has already been acquired by some of the most serious art collectors in the world.

Collectors of Ablow's work include billionaire stock trader and modern art aficionado Steve Cohen, Guggenheim Capital founder Todd Morley, public relations icon Ronn Torossian and billionaire art collector Doug Meijer.

The works of art are displayed at www.projectprescription.com.

"As a psychiatrist, I know my profession is a powerful lens that can bring the truth about individual lives into focus and help people see that truth for themselves.," Ablow reflects in his Artist's Statement, online. "I believe the same lens I use to treat patients can be trained on our culture, in a search for insights that will move human beings toward bold thought and action. I reject the notion that psychiatry is only a listening profession. I think psychiatry and psychiatrists have a lot to say, given all we have been privileged to hear. If only, I have thought in lighthearted moments, a psychiatrist like me could write prescriptions that would prompt people not only to take medicine, but to reflect deeplythe way patients will sit back in my office and wrestle with questions I have askedthen perhaps many could be coaxed a bit closer to living with passion and purpose."

PROJECT PRESCRIPTION is Ablow's way of harnessing his psychiatric skills, the power of prescription writing and the power of art and media to make people think and make them debate.

Dr. Ablow is the former host of the nationally-syndicated Dr. Keith Ablow Show (Warner Brothers), a New York Times bestselling self-help author and New York Times bestselling true crime writer and a former 10-year Fox News Contributor. He has appeared over 1,000 times on Oprah, Today, CBS This Morning, Inside Edition, 20/20 and a host of other television programs.

For more information on Dr. Ablow's art, contact [email protected] call 978-462-1125 or contact Vivian Horan Fine Art in Manhattan (www.vivianhoran.com).

SOURCE Keith Ablow, MD
BERKELEY HEIGHTS, N.J., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- EY announced that Co-founder and CEO, Jassi Chadha, and Co-founder and CTO, Navi Chadha, of Axtria, a global Big Data analytics company, received the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2018 Award in the software category in the New Jersey region. The award recognizes entrepreneurs who are excelling in areas such as innovation, financial performance, and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. Jassi and Navi were selected by an independent panel of judges.

"It is an honor for all the associates at Axtria to have Navi and me recognized as winners of EY's New Jersey Entrepreneur Of The Year 2018 award," said Jassi Chadha. "When we founded Axtria, we had a vision of building cutting-edge cloud-based solutions that would help global companies to effectively manage sales and marketing operations with software and data-driven insights. We are proud to be the only company focused on the complete commercial success journey from data management and advanced analytics to operational effectiveness, supported by integrated cloud platforms."

With global customers in over 30 countries, Axtria helps customers transform their commercial operations and ensure optimal execution of strategy. "We are laser-focused on becoming the leader in the cloud-based solutions in the commercial arena for the life sciences industry," explained Navi Chadha.

Since 1986, EY has honored entrepreneurs whose ingenuity, the spirit of innovation and discipline have driven their companies' success, transformed their industries, and made a positive impact on their communities. The program has honored the inspirational leadership of such entrepreneurs as:

 Howard Schultz - Starbucks Corporation

 Pierre Omidyar - eBay, Inc.

 Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner - LinkedIn

As award winners, Jassi and Navi are now eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2018 National Awards being announced on November 10, 2018. The awards are the culminating event of the Strategic Growth Forum, the nation's most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies.

About Axtria

Axtria helps customers improve operational effectiveness with solutions that leverage Big Data, cloud software, predictive analytics, and machine learning. Axtria has a strong focus on sales and marketing operations in the life science industry. The company works with global customers in over 30 countries.

Axtria SalesIQ, Axtria MarketingIQ, and Axtria DataMax are cloud based software platforms that enable customers to manage data, leverage data science to deliver insights for sales and marketing planning, and manage end-to-end commercial operations.

This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com.

SOURCE Axtria
STOCKTON, Calif., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The family of Misty Holt-Singh, who was killed during a shootout between police and three gunmen, settled the lawsuit filed against the City of Stockton over the incident.

"This is a bittersweet day for our entire family," said Paul Singh, Misty Holt-Singh's husband. "I am grateful that the legal process is over, but the loss of Misty has left a void in our hearts that will never be filled."

On July 16, 2014, Misty Holt-Singh, a devoted 41-year-old wife and mother-of-two, went to the Bank of the West in Stockton, California. She was making an ATM withdrawal at the bank while her then 12-year-old daughter sat in the car. At the same time, three armed robbers were in the process of robbing the bank, ended up pulling Misty inside, and later fled with three hostagesincluding Misty. A high-speed pursuit with the bank robbers followed through populated city streets, at times with over 50 police vehicles in pursuit and air support overhead. The pursuit ended with 32 Stockton Police officers firing over 600 bullets into the perpetrators' disabled vehicle, tragically killing Misty.

"We are glad that this matter is now settled," said attorney Gregory L. Bentley. "Misty Holt-Singh's family, including her husband and their children, can now focus on healing and mourning the loss of a great woman and mother without the extra stress of protracted litigation." As part of the settlement, the City agreed to honor Misty by naming a street or park in her name. The City will work with Paul Singh in bringing this to fruition. "We are very appreciative of the gesture, and we look forward to healing as a family and community," added Paul Singh.

The Police Foundation, a research group in Washington, D.C., conducted an independent review of the shooting after the fact and determined that the 600 rounds fired "were excessive and unnecessary." The case name is Paul Singh, et al. v. City of Stockton, et al.

About Bentley & More LLP

Bentley & More LLP specializes in working closely with clients to deeply understand their lives and tell their individual stories. The firm's success comes from tailoring each solution to a client's particular needs. That success is measured in far more than awards, verdicts, and peer recognition, it is measured in the real differences made in our clients' quality of life. Bentley & More focuses on the representation of consumers in the fields of catastrophic personal injury, product liability, insurance bad faith, and workers' compensation, with particular expertise in matters that cross over multiple fields.

Joe Marchelewski, Juris Productions

310-462-2252, [email protected]

SOURCE Bentley & More LLP

Related Links

http://www.bentleymore.com


SAN FRANCISCO, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Figure Eight, the Human-in-the-Loop artificial intelligence (AI) platform for data science and machine learning (ML) teams, announced today a new collaboration with Google Cloud making Figure Eight a data annotation launch partner for Google Cloud AutoML. AutoML is a suite of Machine Learning products that enables developers with limited machine learning expertise to train high quality models by leveraging Google's transfer learning and Neural Architecture Search technology.

With this partnership, aimed at helping AutoML customers with data collection, preparation, and model experimentation, Figure Eight will include AutoML specific templates and simplify the process of uploading training data to AutoML. Additionally Figure Eight will offer consultation to AutoML customers to assist with training data creation and provide guidance on AI fairness. This will provide AutoML customers with the ability to create high quality training data to train, test and tune their machine learning models and continuously improve them.



"Democratizing AI so its benefits are available to companies of all shapes and sizes is a common mission for Google Cloud and Figure Eight," said Robin Bordoli, CEO of Figure Eight. "We're excited companies can use the Figure Eight platform to create the necessary training data to deploy computer vision machine learning models faster, more effectively and at a larger scale without having to build an internal team of machine learning experts."



Figure Eight currently provides high quality training data for Google teams such as Jigsaw. Extending Figure Eight's platform capabilities for Google Cloud AutoML ensures Google customers will have the same ability to create customized high quality training data needed to build quality models.

"Human labeling is a key need for our customers, and we are excited to partner with Figure Eight to enhance our support in this area," said Francisco Uribe, Google Cloud AutoML Product Manager.

"We are excited to see this integration between Google Cloud and Figure Eight to accelerate our ability to train and build AI models for the real world," said Etienne Manderscheid, VP of Engineering, AI - Machine Learning for Dialpad.

Learn more about the Figure Eight and Google Cloud AutoML collaboration by visiting https://www.figure-eight.com/company/partners/google/

About Figure Eight

Figure Eight is the essential Human-in-the-Loop AI platform for data science and machine learning teams. The Figure Eight software platform trains, tests, and tunes machine learning models to make AI work in the real world. Figure Eight's technology and expertise supports a wide range of data types - text, image, audio, video - and use cases including autonomous vehicles, intelligent chat bots, facial recognition, medical image labeling, aerial and satellite imagery, consumer product identification, content categorization, customer support ticket classification, social data insight, CRM data enrichment, product categorization, and search relevance. The Figure Eight platform operates at an unprecedented scale having generated over 10 billion data labels to power AI applications.



Headquartered in San Francisco with a presence in Tel Aviv and backed by Canvas Ventures, Trinity Ventures, Industry Ventures, Microsoft Ventures, and Salesforce Ventures, Figure Eight serves Fortune 500 and fast-growing data-driven organizations across a wide variety of industries. For more information on the company, visit www.figure-eight.com

Press Contact Information:

Sammy Totah

[email protected]

SOURCE Figure Eight

Related Links

http://www.figure-eight.com


Frisbie is the former chairman of RobustWealth, a FinTech startup focused on robo-advisory which grew successfully and was acquired in June 2018 by Principal Financial Group. Prior to RobustWealth, Frisbie served for over 20 years in a number of senior positions with Franklin Templeton, including Chief Administrative Officer and Head of Franklin Templeton Solutions.

The FinTech Consortium is expanding its FinTech hub model after international success in Bahrain and Singapore. Gerben Visser, founder of FinTech Consortium said, "We are pleased to work towards accelerating Detroit's position in the FinTech ecosystem. The new hub will further the development and acceleration of FinTech startups, as well as foster interaction between investors, entrepreneurs, government bodies, and financial institutions. Moreover, we are very pleased to announce the appointment of Rick Frisbie as our chairman to assist us with expansion into the United States."

"Detroit was chosen for the flagship North American location because of the region's raw talent for innovation and technology," said Frisbie. "Blockchain and other FinTech solutions are disrupting society much like the auto industry did a century ago. Detroit has all the right ingredients to be significant in this growing market, and it's an ecosystem I'm energized to join and nurture."

Detroit FinTech Bay is a dedicated FinTech coworking space, and a platform-neutral incubator, meaning there is not one sponsor or bank, but many. "We're looking for businesses who want in on the next generation of innovation, and entrepreneurs of excellence who are poised for success with the right support," said Maissan Almaskati, managing partner of FinTech Consortium and resident metro Detroiter. "Our model of bringing together banks and corporations alongside startups has proven to accelerate creativity and growth for everyone involved."

FinTech Consortium will bring together a local team to manage the hub, as well as integrate Detroit FinTech Bay into its global partner network and FinTech platforms such as BlockOn, InsurByte, RegFact, and others.

A key mission of Detroit FinTech Bay will be to drive collaboration between the great minds creating innovative FinTech solutions, and the institutions who need those solutions. Within the space, the community of residents, investors, and institutions will thrive through leadership courses and activities, monthly classes, hackathons, demo days, pitch practice, mentorship relationships, and more. Talent development, education and access to investment capital are additional hallmarks of the FinTech hub model.

Renovations on the 1938 building will be underway later this summer. Detroit FinTech Bay will occupy the basement and second level of the former bank building, retaining vaults and much of the original character in the design. State of the art facilities, including dedicated offices and desks, hot desks, private meeting rooms, communal areas, and a variety of other shared infrastructure, make it the ideal hub for local and international corporate innovation labs and FinTech startups.

Detroit FinTech Bay is scheduled to open in early 2019, and its leaders expect the partnerships and resident space to be filled in advance of the opening.

Businesses and financial institutions interested in becoming founding or corporate partners, or in incubating new innovations, as well as startups interested in becoming residents of the 20,000 square foot coworking space can now submit an application by visiting https://www.detroitfintechbay.com/.

MEDIA CONTACT

Adela Piper

Siren PR for FinTech Consortium

586.212.4792, [email protected]

ADDITIONAL CONTACT

Jolyn Goh, FinTech Consortium

Email: [email protected]

ABOUT DETROIT FINTECH BAY

Detroit FinTech Bay ("DFB") will be the leading FinTech Hub in Michigan. It will be a physical hub to incubate insightful, scalable and impactful FinTech initiatives and innovations and a foothold into the North American FinTech industry in a resurgent and fast-changing part of the United States.

Detroit FinTech Bay will partner with governmental bodies, financial institutions, corporates, consultancy firms, universities, associations, media agencies, venture capital and FinTech startups to bring the full spectrum of financial market participants and stakeholders together. We believe in partnership and collaboration to drive forward Detroit's FinTech ecosystem. https://www.detroitfintechbay.com/

ABOUT FINTECH CONSORTIUM

The FinTech Consortium is a FinTech Incubator and ecosystem builder that aims to further the development, interaction and acceleration of the global FinTech landscape.

We foster synergies among market players, including government bodies, financial institutions, corporates, investors and innovators, who believe that technology can bring added value to the financial industry. We facilitate corporate incubation and venture acceleration as well as access to analytical tools and FinTech related resources. http://www.fintech-consortium.com

SOURCE Detroit FinTech Bay

Related Links

https://www.detroitfintechbay.com


JACKSONVILLE, Fla., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Furthering its mission to support first responders, Firehouse Subs invites guests to join its effort to hydrate local heroes and communities with the seventh annual H 2 O for Heroes bottled water collection drive. On Saturday, Aug. 4, Firehouse Subs restaurants will provide one medium sub* to each guest who donates an unopened, 24-pack of bottled water, benefitting local fire and police departments, emergency victims, senior and community centers, and more.

As a brand founded by firemen, Firehouse Subs hosts the one-day drive to offer lifesaving support and relief to first responders and vulnerable citizens who have an imperative need for protection against dehydration and other heat-related situations. More than 768,000 bottles of water were donated during last year's collection efforts; in 2018, the brand hopes to increase collections by 10 percent.

"As former firefighters, my brother, Chris, and I know firsthand the risks first responders face, the dangerous conditions they encounter and the very real need to be properly equipped when responding to an emergency," said Firehouse Subs Co-Founder Robin Sorensen. "Through the H 2 O for Heroes program, we're proud to provide water that will aid hundreds of first responders and their communities. Some people may not consider water a life-saving tool, but to a firefighter performing physically strenuous tasks in extreme temperatures, as well as those they serve, it is an essential resource."

H 2 O for Heroes began in 2012 as the passion project of Phoenix-area franchisees Jerry and Windy Griffin; in 2016, Firehouse Subs expanded the program into a nationwide effort.

To enjoy Firehouse Subs' signature hot subs near you and to participate in the H 2 O for Heroes collection drive efforts, visit www.firehousesubs.com. Download the brand's mobile loyalty rewards app, Firehouse Rewards, available on Google Play and the App Store.

*Limit one medium sub per person, per case of unopened 24-pack bottled water.

*Excludes Firehouse Subs restaurants in Puerto Rico and airports.

About Firehouse Subs

Firehouse Subs is a fast casual restaurant chain with a passion for Hearty and Flavorful Food, Heartfelt Service and Public Safety. Founded by brothers and former firefighters Chris Sorensen and Robin Sorensen, Firehouse Subs is a brand built on decades of fire and police service, hot subs, steamed and piled high with the highest quality meats and cheeses and its commitment to saving lives through the establishment of the non-profit Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation. The founders are the real deal, the food is their creation and the restaurant is built upon a family of franchise operators who share their same passion for generously serving food and community. Today, the brand operates more than 1,135 restaurants in 44 states, Puerto Rico and Canada. This year, Firehouse of America, LLC (franchisor for the brand) will donate a portion of all purchases at U.S. Firehouse Subs restaurants to Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation. This percentage will result in a minimum donation of one million dollars. Firehouse Subs is consistently recognized as one of the leading brands in the U.S. among consumers. In 2017, Firehouse Subs received Technomic's Chain Restaurant Consumers' Choice Award as No. 1 Overall Brand and was recognized as No. 1 among the Top 10 Most Craveable Sandwich Chain Sandwiches by Technomic for its signature Hook & Ladder sub.

Enjoy more subs. Save more lives. To learn more, visit http://www.firehousesubs.com.

Quick Facts:

More than 1,135 restaurants in 44 states, Puerto Rico and Canada

$35+ million donated to public safety organizations via Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation

Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla.

For More Information:

Michelle Kelly  Maria Coukoulis

The Zimmerman Agency  850.668.2222

[email protected]

SOURCE Firehouse Subs

Related Links

http://www.firehousesubs.com


HELENA, Mont., July 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Montana offers many opportunities to learn about the indigenous cultures of its 12 tribes through celebrations, community attractions and history. From powwows to historic battlefields, plan to enjoy these experiences in Montana's Indian Country.

100th Anniversary of Crow Fair and Rodeo

Experience 100 years of tradition this August at the Crow Fair and Rodeo

For an opportunity to experience native culture and festivities while celebrating 100 years of tradition, plan to attend the 100th Anniversary of Crow Fair and Rodeo from Aug. 15-20, 2018, at Crow Agency. This will be the centennial celebration of Montana's largest Native American event, and one of the largest powwows in the nation. In addition to the powwow and parades, the celebration includes an Indian National Finals Rodeo (INFR) sanctioned All-Indian rodeo that will display the native horsemanship tradition through adrenaline-pumping competitions such as Indian Relay racing.

Rocky Boy's Annual Powwow

Powwows are important celebrations of native culture where attendees can expect to enjoy traditional dancing, drumming, food, beautiful Native American regalia, and other special customs unique to each tribe. The Rocky Boy's Annual Powwow at the Rocky Boy's Reservation from Aug. 3-5, 2018, is the largest event hosted by the Chippewa Cree Tribe. You'll enjoy events like regalia dancing and drumming competitions, as well as traditional food and cultural demonstrations.

Nez Perce National Historic Trail: Big Hole National Battlefield and Bear Paw Battlefield

There are many ways to learn about the Indian wars throughout Montana's history while honoring the lives that were lost in battle. Explore the sacred Nez Perce National Historic Trail in Montana by starting at the Big Hole National Battlefield in Wisdom. The National Battlefield stands as a memorial to the people who fought and died on Aug. 9 and 10, 1877. To the north, the Bear Paw Battlefield in Chinook is the final stop on the 1,300 mile historic trail. It was here the Nez Perce Indians surrendered to the U.S. Army on Oct. 5, 1877, and Chief Joseph spoke these words during his infamous speech: "From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever."

A trip to learn more about tribal culture, tradition and history is a great way to discover your #MontanaMoment. Find more travel resources for Montana's Indian Country, including events, trip ideas and where to stay.

If you're not able to experience Montana's Indian Country this year, here are a few annual events you can plan for next year:

Battle of Little Bighorn Reenactment

Find a truly authentic reenactment experience by watching the annual Battle of Little Bighorn Reenactment at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument at the end of June. The Real Bird family is committed to providing an immersive experience of the most famous Indian war battle over the anniversary of when it was fought.

The Arlee Celebration

The annual Arlee Powwow "Esyapqeyni" Fourth of July celebration is an opportunity to experience a historic summer powwow in Montana. Esyapqeyni, the native word for "Celebration," is sponsored by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes and is the longest running tribal celebration of its kind.

North American Indian Days

The North American Indian Days, hosted annually in July by the Blackfeet Nation, is the largest and most impressive of the Blackfeet events. This celebration hosts Native Americans from every region of the country and Canada. Featured events include traditional dancing contests, Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) rodeo events, stick game tournaments, a parade, carnival, and Indian Relay racing.

About The Montana Office of Tourism and Business Development (MOTBD)

MOTBD markets Montana's spectacular unspoiled nature, vibrant and charming small towns, breathtaking experiences, relaxing hospitality and competitive business climate to promote the state as a place to visit and do business. For more information, go to VISITMT.COM.

SOURCE Montana Office of Tourism and Business Development

Related Links

http://www.visitmt.com


The new, 240,000 square foot distribution facility is located at 480 E. 55 th Ave. in Denver, Colorado. The new service center will replace the Aurora warehouse, which closed on July 13. The current Denver location, located at 1375 W. 47 th Ave., will remain open as a full-service counter, will call, staging and storage facility.

The new facility will provide access to approximately $15 million in inventory and approximately 12,500 SKUs, as well as product staging, kitting, will call, jobsite boxes and carts, and wire and cable management services. The facility represents Graybar's commitment to sustainability and features LED lighting with daylight harvesting, high efficiency HVLS fans and automatic/low flow fixtures to reduce water consumption.

"This new service center will help us better serve our electrical, communications and industrial customers in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico and Montana," said Dennis DeSousa, Graybar Regional Vice President  Western Region. "The service center is in a prime central location, and the additional space will allow us to offer enhanced logistics capabilities and increased local inventory."

A grand opening event is scheduled to take place in October.

Graybar, a Fortune 500 corporation and one of the largest employee-owned companies in North America, is a leader in the distribution of high quality electrical, communications and data networking products, and specializes in related supply chain management and logistics services. Through its network of nearly 290 North American distribution facilities, it stocks and sells products from thousands of manufacturers, helping its customers power, network and secure their facilities with speed, intelligence and efficiency. For more information, visit www.graybar.com or call 1-800-GRAYBAR.

Media Contact:

Tim Sommer

(314) 578-7672

[email protected]

SOURCE Graybar

Related Links

http://www.Graybar.com


NEW YORK, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- As educational priorities in the United States continue to shift towards test-taking skills vs. original thinking, how can we raise our children to become competitive in the international arena and promote invention and innovation? A panel of experts recently convened by The Genius of Play and the Smithsonian's Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation in Washington, DC explored just that. The consensus? Allowing kids ample time and opportunities to play will nurture their creative spirit and give them the tools they'll need as adults to discover solutions to our most pressing world issues.

Findings from the panel, which took place at the National Museum of American History, are included in a new report that is now available: "Raising a Generation of Inventors: How Play Fosters Creativity and Innovative Thinking in Children."

"There's no denying that we are faced with a creativity crisis, with studies showing that American creativity has been on the decline since the 1990s. Unfortunately, really young children are suffering the most," said Ken Seiter, executive vice president of marketing communications at The Toy Association. "Many parents and educators see playtime as an extracurricular activity, when in fact it is crucial to helping children learn how to think outside of the box, and instrumental in ensuring a bright and prosperous future for our country. We hope this report will encourage more families and schools to let kids flex their creativity through play."

The panelists included Vikas Gupta, co-founder and CEO of Wonder Workshop, Molly James, kindergarten teacher at the highly selective all-girls Kent Place School, James McLurkin, senior hardware engineer at Google, and Jeri Robinson, vice president of early childhood initiatives at the Boston Children's Museum. Each explored the following questions posed by moderator Monica M. Smith, head of exhibitions and interpretation at the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation:

What is play  and how does it define who we are?

Is creativity innate, or can it be learned?

Is there a "magic age" to support and encourage a child's learning through play?

How do we get more play into formal education?

What resources in life make great toys to inspire creativity?

How can parents help their children engage in playful learning?

The experts highlighted the importance of bringing more play into the school curriculum, giving parents the confidence to play with their children, and helping society understand and value the benefits of play. With these key ingredients, parents and educators can help children grow into successful, inventive, and innovative adults.

"Supporting play is key to broadening the demographics of who becomes an inventor, scientist, or engineer," said Arthur Daemmrich, PhD, director of the Smithsonian's Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. "Perspectives brought forward in this report provide insights on how to keep the world creative, today and for the future."

"Raising a Generation of Inventors: How Play Fosters Creativity and Innovative Thinking in Children" can be downloaded at TheGeniusOfPlay.org.

About The Genius of Play

The Genius of Play is a national movement to raise awareness of play's vital role in child development, spearheaded by The Toy Association. Deeply rooted in research and facts, The Genius of Play is a leading resource on the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional benefits of play that serve children throughout their lives. The Genius of Play enables today's busy parents and caretakers to use the power of play to help raise a happier, healthier, and more productive next generation. Visit TheGeniusOfPlay.org for easily accessible play ideas and tips, expert advice and other play resources. It's More Than Play!

About the Lemelson Center

The Lemelson Center engages, educates, and empowers the public to participate in technological, economic, and social change. The center undertakes historical research, develops educational initiatives, creates exhibitions, and hosts public programming to advance new perspectives on invention and innovation and to foster interactions between the public and inventors. The Lemelson Hall of Invention and Innovation, featuring Draper Spark!Lab, "Places of Invention" and "Inventive Minds," is a signature part of the National Museum of American History's 45,000-square-foot space centered on the theme of innovation. For more information, visit invention.si.edu.

SOURCE The Genius of Play
NATICK, Mass., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Examity, the world leader in online proctoring and identity verification, today announced that its team has expanded with the addition of more than 45 new hires in the second quarter of 2018. Responding to growing demand for secure online assessments, Examity has bolstered its team at all levels of the organization, including the addition of business development leaders and technologists who will support the company's pioneering approach to data analytics and artificial intelligence in online proctoring.

"Expanding access to high-quality online learning is the primary mission of our work at Examity, and we are excited to welcome a dynamic and experienced group to advance that mission," said Michael London, Founder and CEO of Examity. "Online programs have unprecedented potential to democratize higher education -- but that potential can't be realized unless we ensure quality and integrity. We're excited to continue supporting our partners around the world as we work to create more a more secure online learning environment."

Research suggests that nearly one-third of all college students take at least one course online, driving increased demand for high-quality learning opportunities and secure online assessments. To meet this growing need, Examity will tap the expertise and experience of new team members including Jessica Benjamin, who most recently served in a leadership role at Monster Worldwide; and Sarah Pauling, who joins the team with nearly two decades of experience driving creative marketing and thought leadership campaigns for high-growth companies and higher education institutions.

The new additions join Examity at a time of accelerating growth: the company recently announced the acquisition of Atlanta-based proctoring provider BVirtual, broadening its reach to include hundreds of new partnerships across the U.S. and Europe, and was named the sixth fastest-growing company in Massachusetts by the Boston Business Journal. Examity also recently launched its 4th leadership development program, designed to provide recent college graduates with a pathway to career opportunities in online higher education.

Examity is the only online proctoring service to provide a full suite of proctoring options, including live, record-and-review, and fully automated proctoring. The company currently serves more than 500 higher education institutions and certification programs, including Northeastern University, Amazon, and the Texas A&M System, to provide sophisticated online proctoring and authentication services driven by AI and machine learning technology.

About Examity

Examity was founded to meet the needs of the growing number of online education and certification programs looking to ensure integrity. Examity provides a cost effective and flexible test integrity solution including live, recorded, and automated options. Examity's proprietary solution, examiGO, streamlines the authentication process using leading-edge mobile technology to confirm identification. Since its founding five years ago, Examity has partnered with 500+ institutions and certification programs worldwide. For more information, visit Examity.com or follow the company on Twitter @examity.

SOURCE Examity

Related Links

http://www.Examity.com


NEW YORK, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Information Builders, a leader in business intelligence (BI), analytics, and data management solutions, today announced it has been positioned by Gartner, Inc. as the only Visionary in the 2018 Magic Quadrant for Data Integration Tools*1.

Information Builders offers iWay central data integration platform and its additional tools; iWay Service Manager, iWay DataMigrator, and the iWay Universal Adapter Suite.

Tweet This: The July 2018 @Gartner_inc Magic Quadrant for #Data #Integration Tools recognizes Information Builders (@infobldrs) as the only Visionary: http://ow.ly/4W4e30l6aLI

Data silos are one of the biggest challenges for businesses looking to harness the full value of analytics. Modern enterprises have a growing number of information sources that span internal, partner, and third-party applications that often lead to information silos and insights guided by a narrow or incomplete view of the business. A robust data integration tool can help break down those silos and deliver the complete and the holistic business view necessary for strategic decisions and improving operational efficiencies.

Consider the following iWay solutions:

Omni-Gen  is the central iWay platform for data integration, data quality, and master data management applications. This highly powerful solution drastically reduces the time for integration projects and ensures that enterprise-wide data sources are combined efficiently

is the central iWay platform for data integration, data quality, and master data management applications. This highly powerful solution drastically reduces the time for integration projects and ensures that enterprise-wide data sources are combined efficiently iWay Service Manager is a highly scalable, customizable integration solution that delivers rapid access to up-to-date, accurate data across all systems. It allows organizations to reuse existing applications and infrastructure to create highly optimized internal and external web-based services

is a highly scalable, customizable integration solution that delivers rapid access to up-to-date, accurate data across all systems. It allows organizations to reuse existing applications and infrastructure to create highly optimized internal and external web-based services iWay DataMigrator is designed to facilitate and automate the extraction of data from various sources. This drastically simplifies the user process as the data "transformation" into usable data is completely automated

is designed to facilitate and automate the extraction of data from various sources. This drastically simplifies the user process as the data "transformation" into usable data is completely automated iWay Adapter Suite helps organizations break down any data silos and easily unify existing data sources. The suite comprises more than 300 adapter technologies with each adapter containing predefined user interfaces, eliminating the need to modify existing systems or write additional code

Frank J. Vella, chief operating officer, Information Builders, said:

"We are thrilled to be recognized as the only Visionary in the Gartner 2018 Magic Quadrant for Data Integration Tools. We believe it's a testament to our work, iWay's powerful data integration capabilities and the superior customer service we deliver. Data integration is a crucial aspect of analytics and BI as digital enterprise technologies, including blockchain and the Internet of Things, become increasingly advanced. We'll continue to strive to innovate the iWay solution to always stay ahead of our customers' needs."

Access a complete complimentary copy of the Gartner 2018 Magic Quadrant for Data Integration Tools today.

1Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Data Integration Tools, Mark A. Beyer, Eric Thoo, Ehtisham Zaidi, 19 July 2018.

*Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product, or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed, or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

About Information Builders

Information Builders provides the industry's most scalable software solutions for data management and analytics. We help organizations operationalize and monetize their data through insights that drive action. Our integrated platform for business intelligence (BI), analytics, data integration, and data quality, combined with our proven expertise, delivers value faster, with less risk. We believe data and analytics are the drivers of digital transformation, and we're on a mission to help our customers capitalize on new opportunities in the connected world. Information Builders is headquartered in New York, NY, with global offices, and remains one of the largest privately held companies in the industry.

Visit us at informationbuilders.com, follow us on Twitter at @infobldrs, like us on Facebook, and visit our LinkedIn page.

Press Contacts

Kathleen Moran

Information Builders

(917) 339-6313

[email protected]

Katie Schira

LEWIS

(706) 550-2325

[email protected]

SOURCE Information Builders

Related Links

http://www.informationbuilders.com


Pre-registration has been underway for two months, the number of attendees and their registration growth rate are both beyond that of the same period of last year. Many well-known medical device manufacturers will visit Medtec China as part of delegations to meet hundreds of industry peers at the largest gathering in China. More importantly, they are coming to search for high-quality suppliers, purchase new products and access product innovation ideas over the three-day duration of the show.

Up to now, companies such as Shanghai Microport Medical (Group), Stryker (Suzhou) Medical Technology, J&J SUZHOU; Abbott, MicroPort, Tuoren, Shinva and PINS Medical Equipment have registered to attend. For more information about Medtec China Buyers, please call +86-21-6157-7217.

400+ Suppliers covering 21 exhibits categories optimizes visiting experience

This year, 400+ suppliers are going to exhibit their cutting- edge products, technologies and services at Medtec China 2018, covering the entire medical design and manufacturing chain. For example, DuPont (China) Research & Development and Management, Safe Secure Packing (Shenzhen), Shanghai Pumao Packing, Bemis Flexible Packaging (Suzhou) will showcase medical packaging materials; DSM, Nusil, and Visaido Technology will exhibit implant materials; Lubrizol Management (Shanghai), Eastman Chemical (China), INEOS Styrolution Polymers (Shanghai), Covestro (Hong Kong) Limited, ALBIS PLASTIC (SHANGHAI), and Trinseo (Hong Kong) Limited will show polymer materials; Johnson Matthey, Fort Wayne Metals, and TANAKA, TOKUSEN will introduce medical metals; HnG Medical, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions (China) Co., Ltd, Norson, and Pall Filter (Beijing) will exhibit medical components; and DSM, SCS, Unitak Science & Technology Co., and Siansonic Technology Ltd. will introduce their surface treatment services.

50 Plus Keynote Speakers discuss trendy topics of Regulation, Quality and Technology

Every year, Medtec China holds the MDiT Forum and Regulation Summit 2018 and many other onsite conferences and activities to provide visitors with a great opportunity to learn and communicate with keynote speakers, professionals in specific industries, peers and government officers from all over the world. Several speakers have confirmed their participation in and support of Medtec China 2018: Jiang Hua, director of biology division, CFDA Tianjin Medical Device Quality Supervision and Inspection Center; Yan Liang, Chairman of Shanghai Pudong Medical Device Trade Association; William Bill, Assistant Director of the FDA China office; Yu Zeli, RAC Global; Yi Manqi, Regulation director of J&J, and Thomas Jaw, Medical Manager at NAMSA. Besides, WuXi AppTec will bring the VP of its Safety Assessment Center, Director of Technical & Regulatory, Director of Analytical Chemistry and Technical Director to share Biological Evaluations of Medical Devices and ASCA of medical device to FDA and CFDA standards during the Regulatory Lecture.

Only seven booths remain available, and booth reservation ends in July. If you want more information about 2018 exhibitors, visitor purchasing needs, or booth reservation, please click here or call us.

Media\Exhibit\Visit\Conference Contact:

Carina Li

UBM China

T: +86-10-5730-6163

E: [email protected]

Get more information: www.medtecchina.com

SOURCE Medtec China

Related Links

http://www.medtecchina.com


Pre-registration has been underway for two months, the number of attendees and their registration growth rate are both beyond that of the same period of last year. Many well-known medical device manufacturers will visit Medtec China as part of delegations to meet hundreds of industry peers at the largest gathering in China. More importantly, they are coming to search for high-quality suppliers, purchase new products and access product innovation ideas over the three-day duration of the show.

Up to now, companies such as Shanghai Microport Medical (Group), Stryker (Suzhou) Medical Technology, J&J SUZHOU; Abbott, MicroPort, Tuoren, Shinva and PINS Medical Equipment have registered to attend. For more information about Medtec China Buyers, please call +86-21-6157-7217.

400+ Suppliers covering 21 exhibits categories optimizes visiting experience

This year, 400+ suppliers are going to exhibit their cutting- edge products, technologies and services at Medtec China 2018, covering the entire medical design and manufacturing chain. For example, DuPont (China) Research & Development and Management, Safe Secure Packing (Shenzhen), Shanghai Pumao Packing, Bemis Flexible Packaging (Suzhou) will showcase medical packaging materials; DSM, Nusil, and Visaido Technology will exhibit implant materials; Lubrizol Management (Shanghai), Eastman Chemical (China), INEOS Styrolution Polymers (Shanghai), Covestro (Hong Kong) Limited, ALBIS PLASTIC (SHANGHAI), and Trinseo (Hong Kong) Limited will show polymer materials; Johnson Matthey, Fort Wayne Metals, and TANAKA, TOKUSEN will introduce medical metals; HnG Medical, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions (China) Co., Ltd, Norson, and Pall Filter (Beijing) will exhibit medical components; and DSM, SCS, Unitak Science & Technology Co., and Siansonic Technology Ltd. will introduce their surface treatment services.

50 Plus Keynote Speakers discuss trendy topics of Regulation, Quality and Technology

Every year, Medtec China holds the MDiT Forum and Regulation Summit 2018 and many other onsite conferences and activities to provide visitors with a great opportunity to learn and communicate with keynote speakers, professionals in specific industries, peers and government officers from all over the world. Several speakers have confirmed their participation in and support of Medtec China 2018: Jiang Hua, director of biology division, CFDA Tianjin Medical Device Quality Supervision and Inspection Center; Yan Liang, Chairman of Shanghai Pudong Medical Device Trade Association; William Bill, Assistant Director of the FDA China office; Yu Zeli, RAC Global; Yi Manqi, Regulation director of J&J, and Thomas Jaw, Medical Manager at NAMSA. Besides, WuXi AppTec will bring the VP of its Safety Assessment Center, Director of Technical & Regulatory, Director of Analytical Chemistry and Technical Director to share Biological Evaluations of Medical Devices and ASCA of medical device to FDA and CFDA standards during the Regulatory Lecture.

Only seven booths remain available, and booth reservation ends in July. If you want more information about 2018 exhibitors, visitor purchasing needs, or booth reservation, please click here or call us.

Media\Exhibit\Visit\Conference Contact:

Carina Li

UBM China

T: +86-10-5730-6163

E: [email protected]

Get more information: www.medtecchina.com

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/722143/Medtec_China_1.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/722136/Medtec_China_3.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/722140/Medtec_China_4.jpg

Related Links

http://www.medtecchina.com



SOURCE Medtec China
PITTSBURGH, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The burial site of the "Anne Frank of Lithuania" and her family has been discovered by an international team of researchers, including Duquesne University professor Dr. Philip Reeder.

Matilda Olkin and her family were killed by a local militia affiliated with Nazi Germany in 1941 in Rokiskis, Lithuania. The finding is significant because Olkin's recently discovered writings and poems capture the thoughts of a young college student caught in the horrors of the Holocaust in a manner similar to Anne Frank's diary, which was penned during the German occupation of the Netherlands.

The discovery of Olkin's burial site was made on July 18 and confirmed on July 20. Rokiskis Mayor Antanas Vagonis made the announcement at a special event on July 21 at the Manor House National Museum in Rokiskis.

The dean of Duquesne's Bayer School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Reeder mapped the area, which was discovered using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) with digital precision using GPS coordinates and a total station survey to locate the grave site, which was believed to be on the edge of a forest outside a small village near Rokiskis. Using GPR and spatial analysis, the team determined that there was a rounded four-by-two meter depression eight meters inside the edge of the forest.

"There are very few times that you pose a hypothesis and the research design you set forth quickly uncovers the data required to prove your educated guess," Reeder said. "But it has happened in this case."

Working with colleagues from the University of Hartford, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, WorleyParsons, Inc., and local archeologists and specialists, Reeder said that identifying the location of the mass burial without excavation has been an important element of the team's work.

"The Jewish religion generally prohibits excavations that involve human remains. And given the millions of Holocaust victims, we do not want to cause any more pain to the victims or their families," Reeder said. "So we use non-invasive sub-surface mapping and investigation techniques, along with historical documents and testimonies, to help us locate the grave sites."

The site, on a nearly deserted road surrounded by open fields, will be appropriately marked by the local government to pay homage to its populations before the Holocaust and to ensure that its history is not forgotten. The team included students who documented the GPR and mapping work.

The team's research was sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Vilnius, the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad, the Targum Shelishi Foundation, the Rokiskis Mayor's Office and Philip and Aldona Shapiro of Centerville, Va. The project will be featured in Smithsonian Magazine in November.

Duquesne University

Founded in 1878, Duquesne is consistently ranked among the nation's top Catholic universities for its award-winning faculty and tradition of academic excellence. Duquesne, a campus of nearly 9,500 graduate and undergraduate students, has been nationally recognized for its academic programs, community service and commitment to sustainability. Follow Duquesne University on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

www.duq.edu

SOURCE Duquesne University

Related Links

https://www.duq.edu


WARRENTON, Va., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Who really owns and controls your private property  you or Big Brother? Tom DeWeese, a nationally known expert on property rights, says, "Rules, regulations, taxes, licensingthey are all governments at every level talk about. Rarely does one hear a word about protecting an individual's property, or encouraging building the economy with free enterprise, or individual creativity. Such concepts have become a threat to well-laid government plans and projects. Those who propose such ideas of freedom are labeled as radicals. Meanwhile government invades every aspect of our livesunabated."

Tom DeWeese Sustainable: The WAR on Free Enterprise, Private Property and Individuals by Tom DeWeese

In his new book, the #1 Amazon best-seller Sustainable: The WAR on Free Enterprise, Private Property and Individual, DeWeese describes in detail the process being used at every level of government to reorganize our society through the destruction of private property. Even more worrisome, perhaps is the toll so-called "sustainable development" or "smart growth" programs is taking on our inner cities, America's poor and America's rural heartland.

He argues that private property ownership is the single most effective tool for eradicating poverty, yet it is being systematically eliminated under these programs.

The assault on the inner cities destroys hope

DeWeese points out that low income and ethnic neighborhoods have traditions, history and family ties. Yet city smart growth programs, funded by federal grants, attack with bulldozers, destroy small local businesses and private property. Massive high-rise condos and corporate businesses replace the original residents who are now unable to afford to live in their old neighborhood. Their fate is to be forced into government housing and welfare programs, from which there is little ability to leave or plan lives of their own.

Moving people off rural lands

"How do you remove people from the rural areas and herd them into the cities?" DeWeese asks. Make it impossible to live there, DeWeese says. "When you control water and energy use the land is locked away from human activity."

Selling an international agenda as "local"

Finally, he says, sustainable development's agenda is being sold to the public as a "comprehensive blueprint for the reorganization of human society." And it is exactly that. Yet, the public is being conned into believing it is being created locally. But all of the policies enforce international building, electrical and plumbing codes, he observes.

About the Author

Tom DeWeese is president of the American Policy Center in suburban Washington, D.C., a grassroots action and education foundation dedicated to the promotion of free enterprise and limited government regulations over commerce and individuals. He is also the author of the policy book Now Tell Me I Was Wrong, and the political thriller, ERASE.

To promote his strongly held philosophy of free enterprise, national sovereignty, and limited government, he travels extensively across the nation speaking out as an advocate of private property rights and personal privacy protections. Recognized internationally as an expert in these fields, DeWeese has been quoted in such national publications as the New York Times, Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, while making regular appearances on a large list of national and local radio and television news programs.

Contact: Tom DeWeese, (540) 341-8911; [email protected]; https://americanpolicy.org

SOURCE Tom DeWeese
Ozamiz City (CNN Philippines, July 23)  A village councilor in Ozamiz City was shot dead by motorcycle-riding gunmen around 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon, Monday, July 23.

Police identified the victim as 40-year old Ian Pintacasi, a resident and third councilor of Brgy. Bagakay.

According to Barangay Captain Archie Romero, Pintacasi attended their session in the afternoon and was going home when he was attacked by unidentified suspects.

Witnesses revealed that there were three motorcycles roaming around the vicinity of the barangay hall during session of the village officials.

Allegedly these motorcycle-riding suspects followed the victim and shot him while he was aboard his single motorcycle going home.

The victim sustained 19 gunshot wounds which led to his death, based on the recovered empty shells of caliber 45 pistol.

Further investigation of this incident is underway to determine the motive of the crime and possible arrest of the fleeing suspects.

Barangay Councilor Pintacasi is the third shooting victim recorded in the month of July in Ozamiz City.
GAINESVILLE, Fla., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ITProTV, the home of binge-worthy learning for IT professionals and the fastest growing online learning membership platform, is pleased to announce that it was named one of the "Best Companies to Work For in Florida" for 2018 by Florida Trend magazine.

ITProTV ranked number 17 in the midsized company (50-250 employees) category.

The annual competition identifies and recognizes Florida's best employers in small, midsized and large categories. Honorees were selected after a thorough, two-step process involving an evaluation of the workplace, its policies, practices, philosophies and demographics  in addition to a random and confidential survey of company employees designed to measure their engagement and satisfaction.

"We were attracted to this program because the ranking is determined in large part by the voices of our team members," ITProTV CEO Tim Broom said. "As our team grows, preserving our culture is vital, and this is an indication that we're meeting that challenge."

ITProTV is the highest-ranked Gainesville-based company in the survey.

"While our recruiting reach stretches nationwide, we also find a great deal of talent right here in Gainesville," Broom said. "This recognition will help us attract more of the best from the local professional community."

ITProTV was founded in 2013 and this is the first time the company has entered into the competition. The Best Companies Group has been ranking Florida-based companies since 2009.

ABOUT ITProTV

ITProTV is an online membership platform addressing the global IT skills gap by delivering binge-worthy learning to train IT professionals in every stage of their careers. ITProTV turns IT education into a conversation that connects learners to experts and each other. With new content added daily, IT pros can access 4,000+ hours of content, plus practice exams and virtual labs, and be a part of an IT community. ITProTV offers flexible and cost-effective membership options for both corporate teams and individual learners who can learn at their own pace wherever it is most convenient. Learn more at www.itpro.tv.

CONTACT: Valerie Riley, [email protected] (352) 389-5528

SOURCE ITProTV

Related Links

http://itpro.tv


The bridge is equipped with smart technologies that monitor weather, corrosion, motion and strains on the structure amassing cloud-based data analytics for advanced warnings to pre-empt potential issues. Computer monitoring systems and sensors built into the bridge allow for Integrated Transportation System (ITS) technology which facilitates the management of traffic and ensures the continued health and efficient maintenance of the structure. This technology improves traffic flow, reduces congestion and improves road safety by allowing mandatory variable speed limits to be applied. Wind-protection shields and the innovative design of the bridge's cable-stayed solution help enhance journey time reliability without the need of closing the bridge.

The Queensferry Crossing project won the Outstanding Transport Project in a Generation award at the Scottish Transport Awards 2018, which is not a customary award of the event, but one that was created to highlight the significance of the Queensferry Crossing project. Now in its 16th year, the awards celebrate industry achievements that are enhancing transport networks across Scotland. The special award was presented to the project delivery team of Transport Scotland, the Jacobs Arup joint venture (JV) and Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors at the ceremony in Glasgow.

On the same evening, the Queensferry Crossing project won two additional awards. The Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation (CIHT) / Causeway Major Projects award at the CIHT Awards 2018 in London, recognizing its successful delivery and its major contributions to national and local transport networks. In Canada, the Association Quebecoise des Transports (AQTr) awarded Transport Scotland and the Jacobs Arup JV the Prix Ambassadeur 2018, which recognizes transport projects undertaken around the world, distinguished by the quality of planning, technical implementation, innovation and sustainability.

The Queensferry Crossing project also won the Project of the Year (over 30m) at the 2018 Construction News Awards, with the judges commending the focus on innovation on a project of national significance, which created tangible benefits for people and businesses across Scotland and the U.K. The project was also named Project of the Decade in the Ground Engineering Awards 2018, which celebrate the best in geotechnical engineering. To commemorate the 10th year of the awards, previous project winners were shortlisted and the winner of the decade was selected by an online public vote; the project had previously won Project of the Year in 2015.

"These awards recognize the quality and legacy of the Queensferry Crossing project," said Jacobs Buildings and Infrastructure Europe Senior Vice President and General Manager Donald Morrison. "It's been a tremendous collaboration of diverse talent and technical expertise, fully engaged with the wider community, to deliver a dramatically enhanced user experience and accessibility in the region."

"Recent awards for the Queensferry Crossing cover a wide range of disciplines and recognize the fantastic achievement this project represents," said Transport Scotland Chief Executive Roy Brannen. "The Transport Scotland and Jacobs Arup JV team worked closely on site with our contractors to deliver a high-quality project. I would like to pay tribute to the spirit of collaboration and the endeavor of all of those involved with this hugely successful project."

The Jacobs Arup JV was the lead consultant and delivery partner, working with Transport Scotland to develop and manage the entire $1.6 billion (1.3 billion) Forth Replacement Crossing project in the east of Scotland, completing 22 kilometers (13.7 miles) of major motorway upgrades to the cross-Forth transport corridor.

Further success at the CIHT Awards saw Jacobs Senior Engineer Nicola Blaney win the CIHT Young Professional of the Year, and Ringway Jacobs receive the CIHT Asset Management award for Setting the Asset Management Standard.

Jacobs leads the global professional services sector delivering solutions for a more connected, sustainable world. With $15 billion in fiscal 2017 revenue when combined with full-year CH2M revenues and a talent force of more than 77,000, Jacobs provides a full spectrum of services including scientific, technical, professional and construction- and program-management for business, industrial, commercial, government and infrastructure sectors. For more information, visit www.jacobs.com, and connect with Jacobs on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Arup is the creative force at the heart of many of the world's most prominent projects in the built environment and across the industry. Working in over 140 countries, Arup has more than 14,000 planners, designers, engineers and consultants delivering innovative projects across the world with creativity and passion.

Statements made in this release that are not based on historical fact are forward-looking statements. We base these forward-looking statements on management's current estimates and expectations as well as currently available competitive, financial and economic data. Forward-looking statements, however, are inherently uncertain. There are a variety of factors that could cause business results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements. For a description of some of the factors which may occur that could cause actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements please refer to our Form 10-K for the year ended September 29, 2017, and in particular the discussions contained under Items 1 - Business, 1A - Risk Factors, 3 - Legal Proceedings, and 7 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements made herein.

For press/media inquiries:

Kerrie Sparks

214.583.8433

SOURCE Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.

Related Links

http://www.jacobs.com


As Chief Risk Officer, Oberg will report directly to Comerica Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ralph W. Babb Jr., as well as to the Enterprise Risk Committee of the Comerica Incorporated Board of Directors. He will be responsible for overseeing risk on an enterprise-wide basis, including governance of all risk management operations at the company, integration of risk principles into strategic planning; leading the second line risk management function; and identification of emerging risks related to regulation, products, services, customer types and channels.

A 27-year veteran of Comerica, Oberg joined the bank in 1991 as a financial analyst in the Controller Department. After moving to Corporate Development in 1995, his scope of work grew increasingly as he assumed leadership of Comerica's Corporate Planning and Development function in 2007. He began managing Comerica's Corporate Development, Strategy and Capital Planning division in 2016, where he is currently responsible for corporate development activities, long-term strategic planning, corporate pricing oversight, venture capital investments and the related warrant portfolio, capital planning, resolution planning, model development, and credit risk review.

Oberg earned his bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Michigan.

"Jay's strong expertise in enterprise risk and his long history with Comerica will allow him to continue our efforts to successfully manage risk controls within our organization as the banking industry continues to experience change," said Babb. "We are grateful for Mike, who has accomplished so much for Comerica over the past 30 years as we have navigated many economic cycles. As he plans for retirement, we thank Mike for his many achievements and his service to Comerica."

Michalak joined Comerica in 1988 in the Asset Liability Management area and was named Treasurer of the Corporation in 1996. He assumed responsibility of Corporate Planning, Development and Risk Management in 1997. He also served as Interim Treasurer, a position he held during the second half of 2011 while he was Executive Vice President, Planning, Forecasting, Analysis and Enterprise Risk. In that latter role, he has been responsible for a variety of activities, including annual planning, corporate forecasting exercises, and enterprise risk, including the coordination, production and submission of the annual capital plan. Michalak was named Chief Risk Officer in 2014.

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA) is a financial services company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and strategically aligned by three business segments: The Business Bank, The Retail Bank, and Wealth Management. Comerica focuses on relationships, and helping people and businesses be successful. In addition to Texas, Comerica Bank locations can be found in Arizona, California, Florida and Michigan, with select businesses operating in several other states, as well as in Canada and Mexico. Comerica reported total assets of $72.0 billion at June 30, 2018.

SOURCE Comerica Incorporated

Related Links

http://www.comerica.com


MCLEAN, Va., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Commercial real estate veteran, Richard K. Henneberg announced last month the opening of Keel Commercial Real Estate, based in McLean, Virginia, the heart of Northern Virginia's fast-growing tech and business corridor. Check out the new website for Keel Commercial Real Estate at www.keelcre.com.

"Commercial real estate development is on the upswing and there's an influx of businesses and their employees looking to call Northern Virginia home, particularly in Fairfax & Loudoun Counties. The metro rail extension has been a game changer for developers, city planners, tenants and employees, allowing an outdated and antiquated model to be repositioned, creating amenity based, ergonomic hubs," said Henneberg, citing his reason for selecting the McLean headquarters location. "What differentiates Keel Commercial Real Estate is its hands-on approach to the client relationship. Too often in today's fast paced CRE business cycle, the art of making the right deal work for both sides is sacrificed for expedient results. Our approach is to assist fewer clients through these cycles to ensure they receive the best service possible."

About Keel Commercial Real Estate

Keel Commercial Real Estate has more than 50 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry, delivering transactional services and solutions to meet client needs including tenant representation, assets/investment acquisition and sales, asset leasing, workplace and strategic planning, market research, industry insight, financial analysis, and post transaction advisory services. For more information, visit www.keelcre.com.

About Rick Henneberg, President, Founder, Broker, Keel Commercial Real Estate

A Washington DC metropolitan area veteran of commercial real estate, Rick Henneberg has been a top producer, having leased and sold in excess of 6 million square feet of commercial office/flex/warehouse and land. Prior to launching Keel Commercial Real Estate, Henneberg was a partner at Summit Commercial Real Estate for over 13 years where he successfully built, managed, and grew the Virginia office. Prior to Summit, Henneberg served as Managing Director and Vice President at two of the largest U.S.-based multi-national commercial real estate firms, Cushman & Wakefield and CB Richard Ellis.

SOURCE Keel Commercial Real Estate

Related Links

http://www.keelcre.com


Keranique has experienced impressive year over year growth winning the loyalty of over 2 million customers. "Since launch in 2010, we have invested over $100 M in broadcast media to educate and share a message of hope to the growing number of women who experience thinning hair and hair loss", explains Thomas Shipley, Co-Founder and CEO of Atlantic Coast Brands. With over 46 million women struggling with thinning hair and hair loss, Keranique is well positioned for even greater expansion in 2018 and beyond. "This year we are taking our business to the next level," says Andrew Surwilo, Co-Founder and CEO of Atlantic Coast Brands. "We've created an astounding customer base supported by retailers and industry professionals and are excited to now implement additional initiatives which will provide even wider access to the proven solutions Keranique offers."

In 2017, Keranique doubled in-store presence for consumer retail channels including Ulta Beauty, CVS, Sephora, HSN, and Nordstrom.com among others. This year marks the exciting expansion into professional salons with the full line and new exclusive in-salon treatment. This decision was led by the brand's findings from a study conducted by Research Now, where customers attributed their stylist recommendation as the top reason behind their purchase of Keranique. "We were surprised by this data so we took a hard look at how we can become an even greater resource for stylists and salons as they look for meaningful solutions for their customers with thinning hair. Today, we are excited to announce our distribution agreement with direct-to-salon wholesalers, TruBeauty Concepts and Princess Professional", states Surwilo. Taking this expansion one step further, Keranique has developed a unique in-salon treatment tailored to the importance of scalp health with their Hair and Scalp Facial Treatment, available at salons that carry the brand. Keranique has also created an online hair loss training and certification program to support and educate its new salon partners to ensure the highest level of service to the end customer.

Continuing to build professional, retail and international expansion, Keranique will, for the first time, showcase at the exclusive beauty trade show, Cosmoprof North America, held at The Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. This three-day event in July provides the brand the opportunity to discover new channels for distribution while forming key relationships with top industry professionals, retailers as well as press and influencers. "We are excited to be a part of Cosmoprof this year and share Keranique to a new audience of beauty professionals. We will also be joined by Board-Certified Hair Restoration Physician and CEO of Bauman Medical, Dr. Alan J. Bauman, to showcase a leading hair loss diagnostic tool and discuss hair regrowth solutions for women at our booth", states Shipley.

On the consumer front, in an effort to translate user testimonials on a larger digital scale, the brand will work with key beauty influencers on a personal hair journey campaign that shares their struggle with hair loss or hair thinning and their experience with Keranique. This influencer campaign will feature celebrity stylist and brand ambassador, Franco Della Grazia, and a board certified dermatologist to share how various industry professionals recommend Keranique to a wide audience of consumers.

Looking ahead, the brand will expand internationally with retail distribution in Canada beginning early 2019. With a significant existing direct-to-consumer business, Keranique is excited for this growth opportunity and will support this expansion through radio, TV, and social media campaigns in both French and English.

ABOUT KERANIQUE

Keranique, the Women's Hair Growth Experts, has developed a system of haircare solutions to effectively address the underlying causes of women's hair thinning and loss. Formulated with its proprietary Keratin Amino Complex, the collection of mild cleansers, gentle conditioners, intensive treatments, and light-weight styling products help nourish the scalp and fortify thinning hair, in order to promote healthy hair growth, protect against hair loss and damage, maximize fullness and create the optimal environment to grow fuller, thicker, healthier hair.

SOURCE Keranique
SAN FRANCISCO, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- KPMG International today announced an integration of its Intelligent Interactions solution with Google Cloud's new Contact Center AI, a solution that combines multiple artificial intelligence (AI) products to improve the customer service experience and productivity of contact centers.

KPMG's Intelligent Interactions uses machine learning (ML), AI and data and analytics to automate and enhance customer experiences and touchpoints through five main channels: voice, chatbots, virtual assistants, search and email.

When integrated with Contact Center AI  a solution that allows enterprises with limited ML expertise to deploy AI in their contact centers  KPMG clients can improve the quality of customer service, gain new insights with data and analytics and remove significant annual operating costs.

"Contact Center AI accelerates an organization's ability to understand customer trends so they can enable customer interaction channels with operational, training and decision making analytics," said Miriam Hernandez-Kakol, Global Leader for Customer & Operations Advisory, KPMG in the US. "With faster access to insights and enhanced understanding of intent and reason, businesses can proactively respond to trending customer needs, while reducing costs and improving efficiencies."

Key features of KPMG's Intelligent Interactions integration with Contact Center AI include:

Offering customers proactive outreach, relevant choices and expeditious service from virtual conversational agents that automatically chat with customers.

Enhancing human contact center agents and channels with AI to help improve service by receiving automatic suggestions and articles to answer customer concerns.

Ability to provide a live agent with full context of the virtual agent conversation.

Generating actionable analytics to distill trends and influence new product and service creation.

Increasing revenue and profitability through higher customer satisfaction and the resulting competitive advantage.

Extracting email topics and customer sentiment to generate intelligent responses and predict which templates agents need to resolve customer issues.

"Contact Center AI empowers enterprises with AI to complement and enhance their contact centers," said Rajen Sheth, Director of Product Management, Google Cloud. "Google Cloud's goal  through our relationships with key alliance partners like KPMG  is to make it as easy as possible for our customers to use AI for contact centers."

The integration leverages KPMG's deep industry and functional experience with Google Cloud's wide-ranging data analytics and ML platform built for large-scale elasticity and stability, security and performance. KPMG has decades of experience in architecting and integrating enterprise contact center solutions in many industries.

Hernandez-Kakol, added, "The art of the possible with analytics is where we really help provide value in teaming with Google Cloud. Our investment and capability in machine learning, smart analytics and other intelligent automation technologies is underpinned by a business-first, issues-led approach that helps KPMG clients achieve a more consistent and improved customer experience spanning email, voice, chat, search and virtual assistant channels."

The integration with Contact Center AI expands KPMG's global alliance with Google Cloud and is part of a growing AI portfolio of tools and technologies within the Intelligent Interactions ecosystem.

Through its strategic alliance with Google, KPMG has certified more than 65 Google Cloud consultants and established an innovation lab to help clients integrate the latest Google Cloud technologies, including the Contact Center AI, into their business and operating models.

During Google Cloud Next '18, Traci Gusher, Data & Analytics Principal, KPMG in the US, will showcase how to apply Google Cloud's Contact Center AI during a session, AI Powered Contact Center Analytics, on Wednesday, July 25, at 11:00 a.m. PT. The demo uses data from KPMG's IT Help Desk and includes more than 95,000 contacts from a nine-month period.

Future of Retail Banking on Display

During the Next '18 Financial Services Showcase, KPMG will join Google Cloud and Samsung Electronics America, Inc. for an immersive demo of the future of retail banking. Experience a next generation mortgage application process at "home" and at the "branch" that combines multiple Google Cloud technologies with the KPMG Intelligent Interactions solution.

For example, from the comfort of their living room, a customer can provide some basic information and shop for a mortgage for a new home. This automation-enabled process uses smartphone, tablet, virtual assistant and other technologies to connect with the lender, make a face-to-face appointment, conduct the meeting, and be pre-approved for the mortgage in a simple, streamlined process without having to re-enter or recap data already provided.

Phil Rolland, Advisory Managing Director, KPMG in the US, said, "KPMG and Google Cloud are using machine learning and analytics to radically reimagine the home mortgage application process for customers of our Financial Services clients. This automation is designed to reduce the 45 to 60 day average mortgage approval process by half or more, and it's just the beginning of what is possible."

KPMG at Google Cloud Next '18

KPMG is a sponsor of Google Cloud Next '18, July 24-26, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Learn how KPMG and Google Cloud are solving business challenges during the following speaking sessions:

Speaker Topic Date and time Arthur Franke, KPMG in the US 20-Minute Cloud Talk:

Enterprise Machine Learning from the Trenches Tuesday, July 24

12:30 p.m. PT Bill Cline, KPMG in the US Leaders Circle: Financial Services Tuesday, July 24

3:45-4:30 p.m. PT Sander Klous, KPMG in the Netherlands Panel: Principled Use of AI Wednesday, July 25 11:00 a.m. PT Bharat Rao, KPMG in the US KPMG HealthCare Breakout: Profitable Growth through Patient Loyalty and Provider Productivity Wednesday, July 25

4:35 p.m. PT

Google Cloud Next attendees can learn more at the KPMG booth #W3318, Moscone West, level 3, or by visiting www.kpmg.com/us/google-next.

Media contacts:

Kristen Morgan

KPMG LLP (US)

410-949-2668

[email protected]

Jennifer Samuel

KPMG International

416-451-8185

[email protected]

About KPMG International

KPMG is a global network of professional services firms providing Audit, Tax and Advisory services. We operate in 154 countries and territories and have 200,000 people working in member firms around the world. The independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"), a Swiss entity. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such. Some or all of the services described herein may not be permissible for KPMG audit clients and their affiliates.

SOURCE KPMG International
Attendees had the opportunity to learn from each other through a variety of enjoyable learning activities designed to foster team building, group discussion, critical thinking and creativity. In this unique learning environment, students heard from inspirational former Kumon Students who have completed the Kumon Program, some of whom are now successful professionals.

"The beauty of Kumon is that it's a learning program based on ability rather than age or grade, which allows our students the opportunity to study above their school grade level," said Sung Park, vice president of materials development and instruction at Kumon North America, Inc. "It was our founder Toru Kumon's vision to nurture as many students around the world who can contribute to their community. With this conference, we are able to celebrate our students' accomplishments and inspire them to continue developing their skills through program completion and to aspire to become individuals who tackle some of the world's challenges."

Attendees of the student conference were encouraged to pursue "J by 6" or the study of advanced algebra and critical reading (Level J in Kumon) before the end of sixth grade. Many of the students selected to attend have already reached this goal, while the rest are well on their way. The goal of completing the Kumon Math and Reading Program, which goes up to calculus and critical reading, is to make students well prepared for the study of high school material. This desire was one of the founding principles of the Kumon Method.

Discover how Kumon is unlocking the potential of every child through self-learning and advanced study.

About Kumon Math & Reading Centers:

Kumon is an after-school math and reading enrichment program that unlocks the potential of children, so they can achieve more on their own. The learning method uses an individualized approach that helps children develop a solid command of math and reading skills. Through daily practice and mastery of materials, students increase confidence, improve concentration, and develop better study skills. Founded in 1958, Kumon celebrates its 60th year serving children worldwide. Kumon has over four million students enrolled in nearly 25,000 learning centers in 50 countries and regions.

SOURCE Kumon North America, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.kumon.com


LIMA, Peru and SILVER SPRING, Md., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Leadership Association returns to Latin America for its 2nd Latin American leadership conference in partnership with The Center for Leadership, Ethics and Social Responsibility at Universidad del Pacifico. Exploring the Dilemmas of Leadership in Latin America will take place 8-10 August at the university's beautiful facilities in the heart of Lima, Peru. Complete details for the conference may be found at: ila-net.org/Lima.

Peruvian Congressman Alberto de Belaunde will share his stories and experiences as a young leader having an impact in Peru during a plenary session at Exploring the Dilemmas of Leadership in Latin America this August. The International Leadership Association returns to Latin America for its 2nd Latin American leadership conference in partnership with The Center for Leadership, Ethics and Social Responsibility at Universidad del Pacifico. Exploring the Dilemmas of Leadership in Latin America will take place 8-10 August at the university's beautiful facilities in the heart of Lima, Peru. Complete details for the conference may be found at: ila-net.org/Lima.

Organizations and individuals from business, higher education, government, and community and nonprofit sectors will share actionable ideas and solutions-oriented approaches as they dialogue on the leadership challenges facing Latin America today. The conference pays special attention to the development of ethical leadership, social progress and responsibility, and the capacities needed to fulfil the promise of the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Guiding questions include: What role do Latin American leaders play in designing socio-economic development programs that foster inclusion? What types of leadership do Latin American societies need to move forward? And, what are the leadership success stories and trends currently taking shape across Latin America?

Conference headliners Stefan Reich and Annette Richardson will be joined by Alberto de Belaunde and Sara Maria Cifuentes Ramseyer, young leaders having an impact in Peru. De Belaunde, an independent congressman pursuing liberal reforms, and Cifuentes Ramseyer, the head of Asociacion Taller de los Ninos, an NGO that works with children and families in need, will share their stories and experiences in a keynote conversation with Stefan Reich, Director and Founder of the Adaptive Leadership Center and a Professor at Adolfo Ibanez University. Together, they will discuss the challenges of leadership and the systemic and personal stakes involved in trying to mobilize a system towards greater progress and prosperity. Later the same day, Reich will lead a special workshop, "How to Survive in Leading Change?" which will provide tips and tools for leaders.

Annette Richardson is a partner of Ambershore Group and a Special Advisor to the Executive Director of UN Women who also serves on the Board of Governors for The International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX). She will share her experiences implementing global, multi-stakeholder policy, advocacy, and outreach programs and campaigns in support of the global development priorities needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Richardson's keynote will focus on "Bolder Commitments to Gender Leadership" and discuss how to sustain women's leadership and achieve economic gender parity.

In addition to the inspiring slate of plenary speakers, the conference includes two days of concurrent sessions on a variety of leadership topics. A featured panel, "Empowered Female Indigenous Leaders," will showcase the work of Peruvian Congresswoman Indira Huilca and Yesica Patiachi, the Director of Quality Management, Ministry of Education, Madre de Dios Region.

Visit the conference website and complete agenda for details. The conference is open to anyone with an interest in leadership in Latin America. Register online in advance or onsite at the Auditorio Maes Heller at the Universidad del Pacifico. If you are an NGO or community organizer in Peru, please contact Bridget Chisholm for a special conference rate ([email protected]). With a stellar list of plenary speakers and expert concurrent session presenters, Exploring the Dilemmas of Leadership in Latin America promises to inform and inspire.

To request media credentials, please visit the onsite registration desk at the Auditorio Maes Heller at the Universidad del Pacifico or contact Cecilia Montes at [email protected] prior to the conference.

International Leadership Association

8601 Georgia Avenue, #1010

Silver Spring, MD 20910 USA

Debra DeRuyver, Communications Director

[email protected] | 1.202.470.4818 x 102

SOURCE International Leadership Association
BERRIEN COUNTY, Mich., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Midwest Boston Terrier Rescue (MWBTR) announces that its annual summer fundraiser will step it up a notch in celebration of the organization's 20th anniversary. The Saturday, July 28th event, Boston Bonanza 20 Years and Counting, will be held from 2:00 to 5:00 PM CDT at the Craft House, 711 Plaza Drive, Chesterton, IN.

This annual event helps raise the necessary funds to continue the mission of the organization, but 2018 is special as it marks a twenty-year milestone. "We are funded entirely by donations and run by the hearts of our volunteers who are dedicated to rescuing Boston Terriers and finding them permanent homes," commented Gwen Eder, MWBTR co-founder.

Craft House welcomes people and pups on the patio for this fundraiser. Tickets cost $35.00 per person and include a buffet dinner, silent auction and "doggy bags" of goodies for furry family members. Those interested in celebrating can purchase tickets on Eventbrite.com by searching "MWBTR" or "Midwest Boston Terrier Rescue". More details can also be found on the non-profit's Facebook page.

Each year, the breed-specific rescue re-homes 250 to 300 Boston Terriers in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio that they save from a variety of situations: from kill-shelters, owner surrenders, strays, to puppy mill survivors. Each animal receives necessary individualized medical care, with expenses starting at $350, and are fostered in a breed-knowledgeable home prior to being adopted by a new loving, responsible home.

"We rescue Boston Terriers because we know and love this breed, and for no other reason than our concern for their welfare," states Eder. "So many dogs are dumped, lost or given up and unfortunately this breed is no exception."

To attend the Boston Bonanza 20 Years and Counting event, visit MWBTR's Facebook page: www.facebook.com/MidwestBostonTerrierRescue/ or go to Eventbrite.com: www.eventbrite.com/e/midwest-boston-terrier-rescue-20th-anniversary-dinner-tickets-46039062074

About Midwest Boston Terrier Rescue:

Midwest Boston Terrier Rescue is a 501(c)(3), Non-Profit Organization funded entirely by donations. MWBTR's mission is to rescue Boston Terriers in need in the states of Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana that are relinquished for any reason by their owners, or are abandoned at shelters, animal control centers, veterinarian offices, Humane Society, SPCA or other facilities. Address any issues the dog may have that caused him/her to be surrendered or abandoned. Providing public awareness of pet overpopulation by ensuring that any dog adopted is spayed or neutered. Providing breed education and training assistance to those interested in adopting, and to those after they adopt. The MWBTR focus for each Boston Terrier in need is to provide a safe, healthy environment while we strive to find the best home available for that specific dog's needs.

For more information visit: www.midwestbtrescue.org

www.eventbrite.com/e/midwest-boston-terrier-rescue-20th-anniversary-dinner-tickets-46039062074

Contact: Erin A. Hennessy

Phone: (708) 297-1842

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Midwest Boston Terrier Rescue

Related Links

http://www.midwestbtrescue.org


VIENNA, Va., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its Vision 2030 strategic plan, Saudi Arabia's national attention has turned to the small & medium-sized (SME) sector as a fundamental source of economic dynamism whose growth and progress would benefit the country as a whole. With this pivotal focus in mind, the U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council ("the Council") is pleased to release its latest report Small & Medium-Sized Enterprise Development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The comprehensive report offers a wide range of recommendations for generating, increasing, and maintaining high-quality growth in a vital sector of the Saudi economy.

Today, estimates show that SMEs comprise 90 percent of businesses in Saudi Arabia and account for 60 percent of total employment. Vision 2030's focus is to increase SME contribution to GDP from 20 percent to 35 percent, lower unemployment from 11.6 percent to 7 percent, and increase non-oil exports from 16 percent to 50 percent.

The Council's report aims to support the goals of Vision 2030 by focusing on issues which, if addressed, will contribute to Saudi SMEs playing a greater and more effective role in creating a new economic environment in the Kingdom. The report provides an overview of the state of Saudi SMEs; identifies gaps and opportunities; offers international best practices for stakeholder consideration; and presents practical recommendations for promoting growth. In developing the report, the Council partnered with AccountAbility, a renowned global research and advisory firm.

In conjunction with the report, the Council, in collaboration with Saudi Aramco and the U.S. Commercial Service, will be convening the "U.S.-Saudi SME Forum: Accelerating Growth and International Partnerships" to be held October 1-2, 2018, in Los Angeles, California. The SME Forum will facilitate translating the recommendations of the report into concrete gains for Saudi SMEs and bolster their role as a major contributor to the growth of the Kingdom's economy. The two-day conference will provide a venue where Saudi and American SMEs can network and share their experiences as serious entrepreneurs operating in challenging environments. The gathering will provide a unique opportunity for highly ranked American and Saudi government and corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, and key stakeholders to discuss the main focus areas of the Council's report:

Improving Sales Opportunities to Public Private Sector Entities

Navigating Regulatory Hurdles and Financing Challenges

Developing Business Management Skills and Financial Literacy

Building Workforce Technical Skills and Subject Matter Expertise

Data Sharing

Over the coming weeks, check-in at the Council's website: www-us-sabc.org for detailed information on forum registration, program agenda, speakers, and much more pertaining to this event.

For a copy of the report, please click HERE.

For media with questions about the report and/or attending the Forum, please contact:

Wasif Shah

Business Strategy Analyst

U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council

Tel.: 703-962-9300

Email: [email protected]

About the USSABC

Established in 1993, the U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council is the premier bilateral business-promotion organization linking the American and Saudi Arabian business communities. On an annual basis, the work of the Council informs, influences, and assists hundreds of its member companies in both countries, as well as thousands of Saudi and American non-member companies, in building successful partnerships. Through trade missions, business development services, conferences, networking opportunities, and publications the Council organizes and produces, these partnerships have resulted in tens of millions of dollars in new business for the U.S. and Saudi business communities. The Council has offices in the Washington, D.C. region and in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. For more information on the Business Council, please visit www.us-sabc.org.

SOURCE U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council

Related Links

https://us-sabc.org


In June alone, ONT welcomed nearly 436,000 air travelers, an increase of 14.3% over June a year ago. Domestic passengers totaled more than 412,000, up 12% over last year; 23,500 were international travelers, nearly double the total from June 2017.

"We are gratified by the confidence our customers show in Ontario month after month," said Alan D. Wapner, president of the Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA). "ONT management and staff work tirelessly to deliver a seamless and hassle-free customer experience that air travelers demand, and the increasing passenger volumes speak for our success."

Wapner expressed optimism that the strong results of the first half of the year and previous announcements of new commercial air service beginning later this summer bode well for ONT in the second half of 2018.

"With the arrival of new transcontinental service by Frontier Airlines in August and JetBlue in September, we are looking forward to an equally strong second half. Ontario's performance is even more remarkable since the transition to local control took place less than two years ago."

Shipments of commercial freight and mail also grew at a robust rate from January through June, increasing 17% to more than 351,000 tons from 300,500 tons during the same period a year ago.

In June, ONT handled more than 62,500 tons of cargo, a boost of nearly 17% over June last year.



June 2018 June 2017 % Change YTD 2018 YTD 2017 % Change Passenger Traffic











Domestic 412,390 368,452 11.9% 2,340,645 2,113,747 10.7% International 23,500 12,860 82.7% 94,398 67,587 39.7% Total 435,890 381,312 14.3% 2,435,043 2,181,334 11.6% Air Cargo (Tons)











Freight 59,749 51,034 17.1% 336,433 286,312 17.5% Mail 2,765 2,503 10.5% 15,206 14,210 7.0% Total 62,514 53,537 16.8% 351,640 300,522 17.0%

About Ontario International Airport

Ontario International Airport (ONT) is located in the Inland Empire, approximately 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles in the center of Southern California. It is a full-service airport with nonstop commercial jet service to 18 major airports in the U.S., Mexico and Taiwan, and connecting service to many domestic and international destinations. There is an average of 64 daily departures offered by 8 air carriers. More information is available at www.flyOntario.com.

Follow @flyONT on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

About the Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA)

The OIAA was formed in August 2012 by a Joint Powers Agreement between the City of Ontario and the County of San Bernardino to provide overall direction for the management, operations, development and marketing of ONT for the benefit of the Southern California economy and the residents of the airport's four-county catchment area. OIAA Commissioners are Ontario Mayor Pro-Tem Alan D. Wapner (President), Retired Riverside Mayor Ronald O. Loveridge (Vice President), Ontario Council Member Jim W. Bowman (Secretary), San Bernardino County Supervisor Curt Hagman (Commissioner) and retired business executive Julia Gouw (Commissioner).

News Media Contacts:

Atif Elkadi, Chief Commercial Officer, (858) 361-9319 [email protected]

Steve Lambert, (909) 841-7527 [email protected]om

SOURCE Ontario International Airport

Related Links

http://www.flyontario.com


MASON CITY, Iowa, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Ozonics Hunting, the industry leaders of harnessing the power of ozone and oxidation technology through active scent control while afield, have filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Mojack Distributors, dba Scent Crusher and seeks an immediate injunction to stop Scent Crusher's infringement.

Ozonics Hunting logo

Founded in 2007, Ozonics' proprietary and patented technology covers its portable ozone generators designed for use by hunters in the field. Since filing its first patent application in 2004, it has invested significant resources to develop this patented technology. This innovation literally created a new product category in the hunting industry and Ozonics has diligently and successfully enforced its patents and has declined to sell this proprietary and patented technology to any third parties. Instead, as the Patent Act allows, Ozonics is the exclusive provider of in-the-field ozone generators for hunters.

Ozonics brings its patent infringement lawsuit after Scent Crusher's recent announcement of two new products for 2018 -- the "Field Lite" and "Field Pro" portable ozone generators designed for use by hunters in the field.

In the motion for preliminary injunction, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas, Ozonics asserts that "rather than blazing its own trail of innovation and securing patent rights to protect that innovation, Scent Crusher's imminent emergence into the market is based on a concerted and deliberate decision to unlawfully take what it failed to obtain through proper means."

The filing further states that "Scent Crusher's deliberate, wholesale, and systematic campaign to rip-off Ozonics' technology must be stopped. Such illegal conduct makes investments in innovative technologies costly and pointless and will serve to encourage others to knowingly violate hard earned intellectual property rights when they feel the monetary upside justifies it."

"We will continue to invest heavily in producing the best possible active scent elimination products on the market," stated Ozonics Founder Scott Elrod, "and we will continue to protect these patented inventions from being stolen by others who are looking to unlawfully capitalize on our significant physical and financial efforts. Our goal has always been and will continue to be to create products that revolutionize the way big game hunters combat human odor  the greatest single factor of success in the field."

About Ozonics:

Founded in 2007, Ozonics is the industry leader in active scent control and has the first and only in-the-field ozone generator that has been designed to blanket human scent with scent-destroying ozone. Unlike any other scent control product, Ozonics continuously deals with the scent in your hunting area by using ozone to eliminate, alter and reduce scent molecules making them undetectable by deer and other scent-wary game. For more information visit www.ozonicshunting.com. See Parah, LLC, and Ozonics, LLC vs. Mojack Distributors, LLC d/b/a Scent Crusher (Civil Case No. 6:18-cv-1208)

Media Contact:

Jeff Bergmann

979-285-2400

[email protected]

SOURCE Ozonics Hunting

Related Links

https://www.ozonicshunting.com


The expansion of the Parkinson's Foundation Center of Excellence network was made possible by the support of Stephen Bittel, chairman and founder of Terranova, a real estate firm based in Miami. This year, Bittel also pledged to raise additional funds to support the Parkinson's Foundation fellowship grants.

The Parkinson's Foundation Center of Excellence network is comprised of 45 leading academic medical centers, 31 of which are in the United States, which serve more than 120,000 individuals diagnosed with Parkinson's annually. This sought-after designation identifies hospitals and academic medical centers with specialized teams of neurologists, movement disorders specialists, physical and occupational therapists, and mental health professionals, who are at the leading edge of the latest medications, therapies and innovations in Parkinson's disease.

"The Center of Excellence designation recognizes the leaders in providing high-quality Parkinson's care," said John Lehr, president and chief executive officer of the Parkinson's Foundation. "The Parkinson's Foundation will continue to expand our reach across the country to ensure that every person diagnosed with Parkinson's disease has access to treatments that will improve their quality of life today."

Every Center of Excellence designation is awarded based on a rigorous application and peer-review process with the following criteria:

Must see at least 700 unique patients with Parkinson's disease annually

Conduct research relevant to Parkinson's and/or conduct clinical trials for Parkinson's

Provide exemplary team care, including a neurologist with training in movement disorders, nurse, social worker, physical therapist, occupational therapist, and speech-language pathologist

Promote access to wellness programs for patients

Facilitate educational events for patients and families

"This recognition reflects the tireless and dedicated effort of our entire team," said Hubert Fernandez, M.D., director of the Center for Neurological Restoration at Cleveland Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic Parkinson's Center of Excellence. "We will carry this designation with pride and it will re-energize us to reach even greater heights in providing compassionate care, offering the latest in research and surgical clinical trials, and continuing to reinvent how we treat Parkinson's disease."

Nearly half of the Parkinson's Foundation Centers of Excellence participate in the Parkinson's Outcomes Project  the largest clinical study of Parkinson's funded by the Foundation which tracks more than 10,000 people living with the disease over time to identify which treatments and therapies provide the best outcomes.

Added Ergun Uc, MD, professor of neurology and director of the Division of Movement Disorders with University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics: "Building upon our strengths in providing world-class care for patients and conducting leading-edge research, we will use the support by the Parkinson's Foundation to expand our interdisciplinary care, to increase our community involvement and educational activities for other health care professionals and patients across Iowa, and to attain even greater heights in the treatment of everyone affected by Parkinson's disease."

The Parkinson's Foundation brings the Centers of Excellence together annually for a "Center Leadership Conference" to provide updates on care and research initiatives. Every center must recertify after five years to ensure requisite standards of care. For a full list of Parkinson's Foundation Centers of Excellence visit, Parkinson.org/COE.

"We are thrilled that the PD community of South Carolina now has its first internationally recognized clinical, resource, and research center at their doorstep, which will enhance access to services, resources for patients, and community activities," said Vanessa Hinson, MD, PhD, director of Medical University South Carolina Movement Disorders Program. "We have been working tirelessly over the past 15 years to put all the pieces in place for this to happen and it feels good to see it come to fruition with the center designation."

Added Bittel, "Expanding the Parkinson's Foundation Center of Excellence network ensures that more people have access to the best Parkinson's care. I am proud to support the Parkinson's Foundation in its efforts to make life better for people with Parkinson's."

To search for a Parkinson's Foundation Center of Excellence, visit Parkinson.org/search or call 1-800-4PD-INFO.

About the Parkinson's Foundation

The Parkinson's Foundation makes life better for people with Parkinson's disease by improving care and advancing research toward a cure. In everything we do, we build on the energy, experience and passion of our global Parkinson's community. For more information, visit www.parkinson.org or call (800) 4PD-INFO (473-4636).

About Parkinson's Disease

Affecting nearly one million Americans and 10 million worldwide, Parkinson's disease is the second-most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's and is the 14th-leading cause of death in the United States. It is associated with a progressive loss of motor control (e.g., shaking or tremor at rest and lack of facial expression), as well as non-motor symptoms (e.g., depression and anxiety). There is no cure for Parkinson's and 60,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the United States alone.

Martin Diaz

Roar Media

305-239-8970

SOURCE Parkinson's Foundation

Related Links

http://www.parkinson.org


SAN DIEGO, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Ricardo Fogel has been named Ashford University's Outstanding Alum of the Month for July 2018. The Ashford University Outstanding Alum of the Month recognition highlights Ashford graduates who have used their Ashford education as a springboard to personal and professional achievement.

After being injured on a construction site while working as a driller assistant and service technician, Ricardo was dismayed to learn that after six months of healing, his body wasn't fully recovered.

"I already knew I no longer had the strength or ability to continue working," he says. "It was then [that] I decided to go back to school and further my education while I was unable to work."

He had applied to a community college in the San Francisco Bay Area, but was drawn to the flexible online learning environment of Ashford, which many students dealing with an injury or physical disability find ideal.

Knowing that he couldn't return to a career that required so much physical labor, Ricardo chose to pursue real estate. By the second course in his Bachelor of Arts in Real Estate Studies program he began earning As and Bs on his assignments. He was also invited to join Ashford's Delta Alpha Pi Honor Society, a group that is open to students with a documented disability who demonstrate an interest in disability issues.

"I love learning," says Ricardo. "I enjoy the subject matter I am training for, and I have an internal motivation that is so strong."

Following his graduation in October 2017, Ricardo has begun preparing for his California real estate exam. Having forged contacts with a real estate company during his time in school, he's already on his way to securing a career for the next phase of his life.

To read more of Ricardo's story, visit https://www.ashford.edu/online-learning-experience/student-success-stories/ricardo-fogel.

About Ashford University

Where heritage meets innovation  that's Ashford University. At Ashford, students discover relevant degree programs, innovative technology, and cherished tradition. Ashford offers associates, bachelor's, and master's degree programs online, allowing students to balance life by providing the flexibility to do school work anywhere, anytime. For more information, please visit www.ashford.edu, www.facebook.com/ashforduniversity, or www.twitter.com/AshfordU.

Contact: Lauren Coartney

858.513.9240 x11636  [email protected]

SOURCE Ashford University

Related Links

http://www.ashford.edu


BOSTON, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Santander Bank today announced that it has donated more than $3 million to 119 non-profit organizations that support low- and moderate-income individuals, families and communities primarily located in its Northeast footprint. The biggest area of focus for this round of funding  the first of three in 2018  is economic and small business development, with more than $1.1 million allocated to 25 organizations that provide valuable technical assistance and education to aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners.

"Small businesses are instrumental in contributing to the economic health and vibrancy of our communities, which is why we allocated a significant portion of our grant funding to support non-profit organizations that help them grow," said Gwen Robinson, Santander's Director of Corporate Social Responsibility. "We are committed to helping our customers and communities prosper and one way we do this is by supporting organizations that help individuals, families and small businesses succeed and neighborhoods flourish."

The Santander Bank Charitable Contributions Program awards grants in the spring, fall and winter by investing in programs that improve the quality of life for the residents in the neighborhoods where the Bank's customers and colleagues live and work. In addition to supporting economic and small business development, grants from this funding cycle also support affordable housing, community services, financial education and neighborhood revitalization.

Economic and Small Business Development grant recipients from around the Bank's footprint include:

CommonWealth Kitchen - $285,000 to support the development of aspiring entrepreneurs working in the food industry in Greater Boston's low- to-moderate income neighborhoods through Santander's signature philanthropic small business initiative  Cultivate Small Business . The program helps small business owners build and sustain their businesses by providing industry-specific education, networks and mentoring, and small capital grants. CommonWealth Kitchen is one of Santander's strategic partners in the program.

- to support the development of aspiring entrepreneurs working in the food industry in low- to-moderate income neighborhoods through Santander's signature philanthropic small business initiative  . The program helps small business owners build and sustain their businesses by providing industry-specific education, networks and mentoring, and small capital grants. CommonWealth Kitchen is one of Santander's strategic partners in the program. Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship - $46,000 to support an entrepreneurial training program for low- and moderate-income middle and high school students in Philadelphia , including resources to train classroom teachers in the course methodology.

Other large grants awarded during this funding cycle to support affordable housing, community services, financial education, and neighborhood revitalization include:

Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance - $102,200 to assist in furthering the development of permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless adults.

- to assist in furthering the development of permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless adults. Change Capital Fund - $100,000 to support the next four-year class of grantees comprised of eight to 10 neighborhood anchor institutions whose work will increase economic mobility in NYC's high-poverty neighborhoods.

- to support the next four-year class of grantees comprised of eight to 10 neighborhood anchor institutions whose work will increase economic mobility in high-poverty neighborhoods. Greater Boston Latino Network - $50,000 to support increasing network membership, advocacy for Latino leadership, commission report on Latino non-profit organizations and bring diversity to Boston Public Schools.

- to support increasing network membership, advocacy for Latino leadership, commission report on Latino non-profit organizations and bring diversity to Public Schools. The Center for New York City Neighborhoods - $100,000 to support the second phase of the Financial Capability Integration program as well as homeowner stabilization services.

- to support the second phase of the Financial Capability Integration program as well as homeowner stabilization services. Housing and Neighborhood Development Services - $20,000 to support the development of two affordable housing projects in the heart of the Orange neighborhood and provide artist entrepreneurship support services in the Valley Arts District of Orange, NJ .

Non-profit organizations interested in applying for a grant can access Santander's grant application guidelines by visiting the Santander Charitable Contributions Program or sending questions to [email protected]. The second round of grants in 2018 will be awarded in the fall and the third round will be awarded in the winter.

A full listing of charitable grants awarded in the first round of funding for 2018 is available at www.santanderbank.com/us/about/media-center.

Some of the grant recipients were recognized in May when Santander turned the U.S. Small Business Administration's 'National Small Business Week' into a month-long celebration. In addition to donating funding to leading organizations supporting economic and small business development, Santander's Business Banking team donated their personal time to mentor and provide financial education workshops to small business owners and entrepreneurs.

Santander Bank, N.A. is one of the country's largest retail and commercial banks with $74.5 billion in assets. With its corporate offices in Boston, the Bank's approximately 9,600 employees, over 600 branches, more than 2,000 ATMs and 2.1 million customers are principally located in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. The Bank is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Madrid-based Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE: SAN)  one of the most respected banking groups in the world with more than 125 million customers in the U.S., Europe, and

Latin America. It is managed by Santander Holdings USA, Inc., Banco Santander's intermediate holding company in the U.S. For more information on Santander Bank, please visit www.santanderbank.com.

Santander Holdings USA, Inc. (SHUSA) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Madrid-based Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE: SAN) (Santander), one of the most respected banking groups in the world with more than 125 million customers in the U.S., Europe and Latin America. As the intermediate holding company for Santander's U.S. businesses, SHUSA includes six financial companies with approximately 17,000 employees, 5.2 million customers and assets of over $129.2 billion as of March 31, 2018. These include Santander Bank, N.A., one of the country's largest retail and commercial banks by deposits; Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SC), an auto finance and consumer lending company; Banco Santander International of Miami; Banco Santander Puerto Rico; Santander Securities LLC of Boston; and Santander Investment Securities Inc. of New York.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Ann Davis

617-757-5891

[email protected]

Nancy Orlando

617.757.5765

[email protected]

SOURCE Santander Bank, N.A.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Saudi Ministry of Justice have announced that its plans for the soon to be launched Labor courts are all on track. Judges are being trained, staff are getting proper induction and court buildings are being prepared and connected digitally.

Saudi Arabia has been working hard to push through initiatives that will organize the labor market, utilize this market and help it reach its highest potential, which will eventually boost investment in Saudi Arabia and drive the economy towards development and the achievement of Saudi Vision 2030 objectives.

According to latest statistics revealed in Q1 2018; there are around 13 million workers in Saudi Arabia (10 million foreign and 3 million locals). These numbers are expected to increase with the ongoing mega projects across the Kingdom and the increasing demand for labor force. Labor court's role will be a major drive towards creating ease and efficiency in conducting projects and ensuring those workers are working within a well defined system that protects them.

"Labor courts will be connected to all government entities that deal with labor, we have already started studying labor dispute cases from the past few years and building our operational plan," says the Ministry of Justice.

"We are looking into achieving four objectives; boosting investment opportunities, achieving excellence, swiftness of labor judiciary, and benefitting from the rich databases of courts," concluded the Ministry.

SOURCE Saudi Ministry of Justice
bioLytical's INSTI HIV Self Test Perfect Fit for New Campaign to Reach Men

RICHMOND, BC, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - bioLytical Laboratories, a world leader in rapid infectious disease tests and developer of the 1 minute INSTI HIV Self Test, commends Sir Elton John and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex for the launch of the MenStar Coalition to engage men in new and innovative ways to break the cycle of HIV transmission.

"New, energetic and innovative solutions are needed more than ever before  and that is exactly what you are about to see from Sir Elton John and the MenStar Coalition partners," said the Duke of Sussex.

"Young people are the only age group where HIV infections are rising, not falling," warned rock star and veteran AIDS campaigner Sir Elton John as he announced the launch of the MenStar Coalition focused on testing and treating HIV infections in men at the 2018 International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam today. "We have to do much, much more to bring men, especially younger men more fully into the fold," he insisted.

Much work has been done to protect women and girls but "we can't solve the whole problem if we are only addressing half the situation," he said. "If we want to win this fight, if we want to end AIDS once and for all, we must make men part of the solution" and teach them to protect themselves, "not only their wives and girlfriends, their sisters, and daughters, but also critically their brothers and their sons."

The MenStar Coalition brings together seven founding partners to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030 including PEPFAR, UNITAID, The Global Fund, Elton John AIDS Foundation, Children's Investment Fund Foundation, Johnson & Johnson and Gilead.

The MenStar Coalition will invest $1.2 billion in the fight against HIV/AIDS and the group's first project is to launch a new HIV self-testing campaign aimed at young men in Kenya. "It makes sense to start the HIV self-testing campaign in Kenya as the INSTI HIV Self Test is already widely available and is the only test to hold all local regulatory approvals due to its superior performance and 1 minute time to result," said Ryan Bennett, Senior Director of International Sales. "The test is on the ground, pharmacies are stocked but demand generation has been lacking in the drive to reach young men to get tested. That's the single greatest reason why this initiative is so important - to drive awareness and eventually testing."

According to an UNAIDS report, in sub-Saharan Africa, men and boys living with HIV are 20% less likely than women and girls living with HIV to know their HIV status, and 27% less likely to be accessing treatment. Despite their many social and economic advantages, men are less likely than women to seek out health care, to take an HIV test, or to initiate and adhere to HIV treatment.

Prince Harry has long campaigned for HIV awareness and is no stranger to INSTI. In 2016, the Prince made headlines by taking an INSTI HIV test in a Facebook Live video, in an appeal for more people to get tested. "It's amazing how quick it is," said Harry about the test; his results were negative. And then in 2017, Terrence Higgins Trust welcomed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to Nottingham Contemporary, on World AIDS Day to remember the lives lost to HIV and mark the incredible medical progress made in the fight against the virus.

The Duke of Sussex was at the Amsterdam conference as the Patron of Sentebale, a charity he founded in 2006 to assist vulnerable children in Lesotho and Botswana affected by extreme poverty and HIV/AIDS. His Royal Highness and the #LetYouthLead advocates discussed challenges and experiences for young people living with HIV/AIDS.

About bioLytical Laboratories Inc.

bioLytical Laboratories is a privately owned company engaged in the research, development and commercialization of rapid, point-of-care in vitro medical diagnostics using its proprietary INSTI technology platform. Today, the company markets and sells its INSTI HIV test and INSTI HIV/Syphilis Multiplex Test with a world-wide footprint of regulatory approvals including WHO Prequalification, US FDA, Health Canada and CE mark from European regulators. INSTI tests provide highly accurate test results in as little as 60 seconds translating into a compelling value proposition for patients, healthcare professionals and public health organizations. For more information, please visit www.biolytical.com and www.insti.com.

SOURCE bioLytical Laboratories

Related Links

http://www.biolytical.com


UPLAND, Calif., July 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Tamara Michelle Hodges is recognized by Continental Who's Who as a Pinnacle Professional Member in the field of Jewelry Creation in recognition of her role as Founder of Tamara Michelle Jewelry.

An artisan jewelry store recognized for generating customized pieces with the consumer in mind, Tamara Michelle Jewelry creates one of-a-kind abstract jewelry pieces for their clients. Dedicated to offering superior customer service to her clients, Tamara Michelle ensures that her client's needs are met one jewelry piece at a time.

Inspired at a young age with the art of jewelry making, Hodges is proud to say that all jewelry is one of a kind and handmade by her. Hodges recalls being, "madly in love with making jewelry since I was a young girl". Hodges states that," in the beginning, I beaded and wire wrapped like a champ but always felt something was missing when I created jewelry. I had this burning desire to bring my designs to life and trigger an emotional response in those who came across my work. I found and fell in love with semi-precious gemstones, and realized these gorgeous works of art might just help in this pursuit."

With over four years of experience in her current role as Founder and Owner of Tamara Michelle Jewelry, Hodges has become an artisan within the realm of jewelry making. Throughout her career,

Hodges attained extensive expertise in the development of silver and rare gemstone artisan jewelry.

Gaining expertise within the areas of business development, design and construction, Hodges displays her exceptional creativity capabilities through her personalized, pieces.

Early in her educational career, Hodges attained her Bachelor of Science degree in Business from California State Polytechnic University  Ponoma.

In an effort to further advance her professional career, Hodges is a distinguished fellow of several elite organizations including the MSJA, the National Association of Professional Women and Ethical Metallurgy.

With the intention of taking her customers on an "emotional yet fashionable journey of self-expression and individuality," Hodges believes in putting her customer's creative needs first. A firm believer in the philosophy of "working hard and inspiring creativity with style and grace," Hodges strives "to produce the best ethically sourced products available." Holding in high esteem her ability to develop priceless pieces designed with her consumers needs in mind, Hodges is a distinguished professional in the field.

Charitable to various organizations, in her spare time Hodges donates her time and talents to cancer research foundations as well as City of Hope. When she is not working, Hodges enjoys reading, painting, drawing, spending time with her husband and animal rescue.

Hodges dedicates this recognition to her father, Neal Anthony Hodges.

For more information, visit www.tamaramichellejewelry.com.

Contact: Katherine Green , 516-825-5634, [email protected]

SOURCE Continental Who's Who

Related Links

http://www.continentalwhoswho.com


SALINAS, Calif., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Taylor Farms, North America's leading producer of ready-to-eat healthy fresh foods, announces today the opening of two employee training centers dedicated to the continued education and advancement of employees across the organization.

As the agriculture industry evolves, Taylor Farms is prioritizing the implementation of automation and robotic initiatives throughout its operations. The new employee training centers are designed to transition team members to work alongside more sophisticated equipment and create an environment that fosters the development and advancement of employee skill sets.

"Our business is constantly evolving and we are now entering a new era centered around automation," said Mark Borman, COO, Taylor Farms Foodservice Division. "Automated technologies are reframing the traditional, labor intensive role and these training centers are investments in making sure our current employees have the resources to learn and grow along with our company."

In creating these centers, Taylor Farms has invested more than $1 million in a 4,500-square foot facility in Yuma, AZ and a 2,200-square foot facility in Salinas, CA. The centers currently offer training around programming, engineering and machine operation. These training opportunities have been enthusiastically embraced by employees.

"I've never had the opportunity for a job like this. I thought everything was done manually," said Erika Torres, Taylor Farms. "I got to the training facility, saw the robots and couldn't believe it. I'm very interested in getting this education and advancing with the company. I'm going to take advantage of these opportunities."

Taylor Farms' top priority is providing high quality fresh foods to its customers, consumers and communities across North America every day. Educating our employees, who prepare these products, on the advancements in the agriculture industry is critical. With these training centers, Taylor Farms is demonstrating its commitment to empowering its team members while advancing the future of the fresh food industry.

ABOUT TAYLOR FARMS

Taylor Farms is North America's favorite maker of salads and healthy fresh foods. Taylor Farms is grounded in a commitment to quality with products harvested, packaged and shipped at the peak of freshness. Taylor Farms focuses on innovation by consistently developing new products and improving production methods. Taylor Farms is family owned and based in Salinas, California with fourteen production facilities throughout North America. www.taylorfarms.com

SOURCE Taylor Farms

Related Links

http://www.taylorfarms.com


SUGAR LAND, Texas, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas) --Tampa Electric Company (Tampa, Florida), a unit of Emera Incorporated (Halifax, Nova Scotia), plans to invest about $1.7 billion to convert one of its coal-fired units to gas, close a second coal-burning unit, and build about 600 megawatts (MW) of new solar generation, the company said. In 2023, when these proposed projects are set to be completed, Tampa Electric's resource mix will be dramatically different from what it was in 2017.

Within this article: Details on how Tampa Electric plans to install new capacity and convert existing units at its facilities.

For details, view the entire article by subscribing to Industrial Info's Premium Industry News, or browse other breaking industrial news stories at www.industrialinfo.com.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to [email protected] or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.

William Ploch

713-783-5147

SOURCE Industrial Info Resources, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.industrialinfo.com


FAIRFAX, Va., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Fascination with Tudor-era history seems destined never to wane. Each year new sees new books, films, television dramas and documentaries about King Henry VIII and his famous daughters, Queen Elizabeth I and "Bloody Mary" Tudor. This insatiable appetite for Tudor-era fare has created a market for Tudor fiction that constantly seeks new offerings. With The Baker's Daughter, Bonny G. Smith enters the ranks of historical fiction writers who excel at relating the Tudor tale. And for those who revel in historical accuracy, this book is a rare treat. Together with The Nymph from Heaven, the first book in Ms. Smith's Tudor Chronicles, The Baker's Daughter provides a historically accurate tale of Tudor times and sixteenth century European politics at their most fascinating.

"The Baker's Daughter" - The Second Book of The Tudor Chronicles, now available for sale on Amazon.com Author of "The Baker's Daughter", Bonny G Smith

The Baker's Daughter is the story of England's first queen regnant. Mary Tudor was the ill-fated daughter of Henry VIII and a Spanish princess, Katharine of Aragon. How did a sweet, beautiful princess become the fearsome tyrant known as Bloody Mary? In The Baker's Daughter, Mary's tragic tale is told with an objectivity and level of understanding that is reflected in the enigmatic title of the book. The discontent of the English people regarding Mary's proposed match with a Catholic king, Philip of Spain, was cruelly expressed in a contemporary broadsheet circulating London at the time of her ill-fated marriage:

"The baker's daughter in her russet gown, better than Queen Mary without her crown."

"I decided to write The Baker's Daughter after learning Mary's sad story while researching the Tudor Era," says Bonny G. Smith, author of The Nymph from Heaven. "Mary's story deserves to be told without the contemporary bias that is the foundation for Queen Mary's evil reputation. In The Baker's Daughter, I have striven not to apologize for Mary's actions, but rather to better understand them."

Reviews:

"For those who love the Tudor period and authors such as Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir, this book is a must. The Baker's Daughter is a well-researched, captivating read, following the life and passions of Mary Tudor. A worthy 5 stars, and well-suited to a mini-series."

- K. Dagger

"Ms. Smith's books are well-written, easy to understand history."

- L. Hudson

"The Baker's Daughter is a captivating look at 16th century England and her relationship with Continental Europe, as well as a heartbreaking presentation of this misunderstood queen. I was sorry to see the book end; I read this remarkable rendition of Mary Tudor's life as if I didn't already know the ending. Intriguing and well written."

-Kristine Landry McCarthy

The Baker's Daughter is now available on Amazon for Kindle download and Print on Demand. The Baker's Daughter

For more information about Ms. Smith's novels and short stories, visit www.bonnygsmith.com.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Bonny G. Smith

[email protected]

703-628-2261

Facebook @bonnygsmith

Instagram @authorbonnygsmith

Twitter @bonnygsmith2

Pinterest @bonny_gsmith

www.bonnygsmith.com

SOURCE Bonny G Smith

Related Links

http://www.bonnygsmith.com


PORTLAND, Maine, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Beacon Group is pleased to announce the appointment of Michaela Monahan as a Director joining our Healthcare & Life Sciences practice. Ms. Monahan will work alongside our Healthcare Senior Vice President, Oliver Richards, and Beacon's President and CEO Cliff Farrah.

"Michaela's addition to our healthcare team continues the high standard of excellence that we have developed in our Healthcare and Life Sciences practice. I look forward to her contributions as our practice continues to lead in the field of growth strategies and tactics for our clients," said Cliff Farrah, Beacon's President and CEO.

Michaela brings extensive healthcare business development and marketing experience to Beacon. With more than seven years of experience, Michaela most recently worked with a leading healthcare company to successfully implement a $100m marketing campaign. As Marketing and Business Development Manager, she led the cultivation of 500 consulting sales opportunities that resulted in 25% revenue growth over three years. Michaela's experience in business development and healthcare research will add to Beacon's already robust background of in-industry experience.

"We are excited to welcome Michaela to our Healthcare & Life Sciences team. She has a wide range of experience serving clients in the non-profit sector combined with a breadth of healthcare expertise," said Senior Vice President Healthcare & Life Sciences, Oliver Richards.

Michaela holds an MBA from University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business, along with a Bachelor of Arts, French Literature and Women's Studies from Colgate University.

Michaela resides in New Gloucester and will be based out of Beacon's Portland, Maine Headquarters.

Media Contact: Natalie Barr, [email protected]

SOURCE The Beacon Group

Related Links

http://www.beacongroupconsulting.com


CLEVELAND, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Consolidated net sales increased 27.8% in the quarter to a record $4.77 billion ; Valspar increased consolidated net sales $783.9 million , or 21.0%, in the quarter, as Valspar annualized June 1st

Net sales from stores in U.S. and Canada open more than twelve calendar months increased 6.8% in the quarter

Diluted net income per share increased 26.5% to $4.25 per share in the quarter, including charges of $1.23 per share for acquisition-related costs and $.25 per share related to environmental provisions, compared to $3.36 per share in the second quarter 2017

Adjusted diluted net income per share, excluding acquisition-related costs and environmental provisions, increased 26.8% to a record $5.73 per share in the quarter compared to $4.52 per share in the second quarter 2017

Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) from continuing operations increased 29.3% in the six months to $1.33 billion

Raising FY18 adjusted EPS guidance to $19.05 to $19.35 per share, excluding acquisition-related costs and environmental provisions, compared to $15.07 per share on a comparable basis in FY17

The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE: SHW) announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018. Compared to the same period in 2017, consolidated net sales increased $1.04 billion, or 27.8%, to $4.77 billion in the quarter and increased $2.24 billion, or 34.5%, to $8.74 billion in six months due primarily to the addition of Valspar sales, higher paint sales volume in The Americas Group and selling price increases. Incremental Valspar sales from April and May 2018 increased net sales by 21.0% in the quarter. Incremental Valspar sales from the five months ended May 2018 increased net sales 28.5% for the first six months. As a result of the new revenue standard (ASC 606) adopted in the first quarter of 2018, certain advertising support that was previously classified as selling, general and administrative expenses is now classified as a reduction of revenue with no effect on net income. The new revenue standard reduced consolidated net sales approximately 1.1% in the quarter and .6% in the first six months.

Diluted net income per share in the quarter increased to $4.25 per share from $3.36 per share in 2017. Second quarter 2018 diluted net income per share included charges of $1.23 and $.25 per share from acquisition-related costs and environmental expense provisions, respectively. Valspar operations increased diluted net income per share by $.91 per share in the quarter, including a $.40 per share charge from interest expense on new debt. Currency translation rate changes decreased diluted net income per share in the quarter by $.04 per share. Second quarter 2017 diluted net income per share included a $.72 per share charge from acquisition-related costs. Diluted net income per share in the first six months increased to $6.86 per share from $5.90 per share in 2017. First six months 2018 diluted net income per share included charges of $2.18 and $.25 per share from acquisition-related costs and environmental expense provisions, respectively. Valspar operations increased diluted net income per share by $1.59 per share in the first six months, including an $.80 per share charge from interest expense on new debt. Currency translation rate changes had a minimal impact on diluted net income per share in the first six months 2018. Diluted net income per share for the first six months 2017 included a $.44 per share charge for discontinued operations and an $.80 per share charge from acquisition-related costs.

Net sales in The Americas Group increased 7.7% to $2.63 billion in the quarter and increased 7.2% to $4.71 billion in six months due primarily to higher architectural paint sales volume across most end market segments and selling price increases. Currency translation rate changes decreased Group net sales by .5% and .3% in the quarter and six months, respectively. Net sales from stores in the U.S. and Canada open for more than twelve calendar months increased 6.8% in the quarter and 6.1% in six months over last year's comparable periods. Segment profit increased $37.2 million to $569.9 million in the quarter and increased $69.4 million to $907.3 million in six months due primarily to higher paint sales volume and selling price increases, partially offset by increased raw material costs. Segment profit as a percent to net sales decreased in the quarter to 21.7% from 21.9% last year as improved operating margins were not enough to offset unfavorable foreign currency transaction losses and a postretirement benefit settlement gain in the second quarter 2017. In the first six months, segment profit as a percent to net sales increased to 19.3% of net sales from 19.1% last year due to higher paint sales volume and selling price increases partially offset by increased raw material costs.

Net sales of the Consumer Brands Group increased 45.0% to $777.7 million in the quarter and increased 66.8% to $1.43 billion in six months due primarily to the inclusion of Valspar sales and selling price increases, partially offset by lower volume sales to some of the Group's retail customers. Incremental Valspar sales from April and May 2018 increased Group net sales 42.7% in the quarter. Incremental Valspar sales from the five months ended May 2018 increased Group net sales 67.4% for the first six months. Currency translation rate changes increased Group net sales by .7% and 1.1% in the quarter and six months, respectively. The new revenue standard reduced Group net sales by 5.1% in the quarter and 3.7% in six months. Segment profit increased to $90.9 million in the quarter from $76.1 million last year due primarily to the inclusion of Valspar operations and selling price increases, partially offset by increased raw material costs and acquisition-related impacts. As a percent of net external sales, segment profit decreased in the quarter to 11.7% from 14.2% last year due primarily to acquisition-related impacts and higher raw material costs, partially offset by selling price increases. In the quarter, segment profit was increased by incremental Valspar operations profit for April and May of $19.5 million. Purchase accounting net expense in the quarter was $28.5 million, an increase of $8.0 million over the prior year. Segment profit increased to $165.1 million in the first six months from $132.0 million last year. Segment profit for the first six months was increased by incremental Valspar operations profit for the first five months of $75.8 million. Purchase accounting net expense through six months was $60.4 million, an increase of $39.8 million. As a percent of net external sales, segment profit decreased in the first six months to 11.5% from 15.4% last year due primarily to acquisition-related impacts.

The Performance Coatings Group's net sales stated in U.S. dollars increased 79.9% to $1.37 billion in the quarter and increased 108.5% to $2.60 billion in six months due primarily to the inclusion of Valspar sales and selling price increases. Incremental Valspar sales from April and May 2018 increased Group net sales 72.9% in the quarter. Incremental Valspar sales from the five months ended May 2018 increased Group net sales 102.2% for the first six months. Currency translation rate changes increased Group net sales by .7% and 1.9% in the quarter and six months, respectively. Stated in U.S. dollars, segment profit increased in the quarter to $144.2 million from $62.3 million last year due primarily to the inclusion of Valspar operations and selling price increases, partially offset by increased raw material costs. Currency translation rate changes decreased segment profit $2.5 million in the quarter. As a percent to net external sales, segment profit increased in the quarter to 10.5% from 8.2% last year. In the quarter, segment profit was increased by incremental Valspar operations profit for April and May of $86.3 million. Purchase accounting net expense in the quarter was $47.6 million, an increase of $9.3 million over the prior year. Stated in U.S. dollars, segment profit increased in the first six months to $235.0 million from $119.5 million last year due primarily to the inclusion of Valspar operations. Currency translation rate changes increased segment profit by $2.1 million in the first six months. Segment profit for the first six months was increased by incremental Valspar operations profit for the first five months of $184.3 million. Purchase accounting net expense through six months was $105.1 million, an increase of $66.8 million. As a percent of net external sales, segment profit decreased in the first six months to 9.0% from 9.6% last year.

The Company purchased 850,000 shares of its common stock in the six months ended June 30, 2018. At June 30, 2018, the Company had remaining authorization to purchase 10.80 million shares of its common stock through open market purchases. In the first six months, the Company opened 22 net new store locations in The Americas Group. The Valspar acquisition valuation was finalized in the second quarter 2018 resulting in depreciation of $44 million and amortization of $300 million on an annual basis.

Commenting on the second quarter, John G. Morikis, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "The Company posted record results in net sales, gross profit, and profit before taxes in the second quarter, aided by the Valspar acquisition which continues to build momentum. Consolidated earnings per share expanded by 26.8% percent in the quarter, excluding acquisition-related costs and environmental expense provisions impacts in both years. Underlying demand remained solid across most of our end market segments during the quarter. At the same time, raw material costs continued to inflate during the quarter at a rate slightly higher than anticipated. We continue to focus on offsetting these escalating costs by controlling spending and implementing price increases.

"All three operating segments delivered year-over-year improvement in net sales and profit. The Americas Group posted another strong quarter of volume growth and profit improvement. The Consumer Brands Group is executing well on its expanded partnership with one of its largest customers. The Performance Coatings Group had sales and volume growth across most of its businesses and improved their operating margin on good cost control and effective pricing actions. The Valspar acquisition passed the one year anniversary on June 1, 2018, and both the Consumer Brands and Performance Coatings Groups are ahead of schedule in integrating their respective businesses.

"For the third quarter, we anticipate our consolidated net sales will increase a mid-to-high single digit percentage compared to last year's third quarter. For the full year 2018, we expect our consolidated net sales will increase by a high teens to low twenty percentage, including incremental Valspar sales of $1.85 billion for the first five months of 2018, compared to the full year 2017. With annual sales at this level, we are updating our full year 2018 diluted net income per share to be in the range of $15.00 to $15.20 per share, including charges of $3.80 to $3.90 per share for acquisition-related costs and $.25 per share for environmental expense provisions. Diluted net income per share in 2017 was $18.67 per share, including a one-time benefit of $7.04 per share from deferred income tax reductions, a one-time charge of $.44 per share for discontinued operations and a charge of $3.00 per share for acquisition-related costs. We are raising our full year 2018 adjusted diluted net income per share to be in the range of $19.05 to $19.35 per share, excluding acquisition costs and environmental expense provisions, compared to $15.07 per share on a comparable basis in 2017. We now expect our 2018 effective tax rate to be in the low twenty percent range."

The Company will conduct a conference call to discuss its financial results for the second quarter, and its outlook for the third quarter and full year 2018, at 11:00 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, July 24, 2018. The conference call will be webcast simultaneously in the listen only mode by Issuer Direct. To listen to the webcast on the Sherwin-Williams website, www.sherwin.com, click on About Us, choose Investor Relations, then select Press Releases and click on the webcast icon following the reference to the July 24th release. The webcast will also be available at Issuer Direct's Investor Calendar website, www.investorcalendar.com. An archived replay of the live webcast will be available at www.sherwin.com beginning approximately two hours after the call ends and will be available until August 13, 2018 at 5:00 p.m. EDT.

Founded in 1866, The Sherwin-Williams Company is a global leader in the manufacture, development, distribution, and sale of paints, coatings and related products to professional, industrial, commercial, and retail customers. Sherwin-Williams manufactures products under well-known brands such as Sherwin-Williams, Valspar, HGTV HOME by Sherwin-Williams, Dutch Boy, Krylon, Minwax, Thompson's Water Seal, Cabot and many more. With global headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio, Sherwin-Williams branded products are sold exclusively through a chain of more than 4,900 company-operated stores and facilities, while the company's other brands are sold through leading mass merchandisers, home centers, independent paint dealers, hardware stores, automotive retailers, and industrial distributors. The Sherwin-Williams Performance Coatings Group supplies a broad range of highly-engineered solutions for the construction, industrial, packaging and transportation markets in more than 110 countries around the world. Sherwin-Williams shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: SHW). For more information, visit www.sherwin.com.

Regulation G Reconciliation

Management of the Company believes that investors' understanding of the Company's operating performance is enhanced by the disclosure of diluted net income per share excluding the Valspar acquisition-related costs. This adjusted earnings per share measurement is not in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). It should not be considered a substitute for earnings per share computed in accordance with U.S. GAAP and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. The following tables reconcile diluted net income per share computed in accordance with U.S. GAAP to adjusted diluted net income per share.



Three Months

Six Months

Year Ended

Ended

Ended

December 31, 2018

June 30,

June 30,

(guidance)

2018

2018

Low

High















Diluted net income per share $ 4.25



$ 6.86



$ 15.00



$ 15.20

















Environmental expense provision .25



.25



.25



.25

















Transaction and integration costs .62



.86



1.10



1.20

Purchase accounting impacts .61



1.32



2.70



2.70

Total acquisition costs 1.23



2.18



3.80



3.90

















Consolidated excluding Valspar acquisition costs

and one-time items 5.73



9.29



$ 19.05



$ 19.35

















Valspar operations income 1.31



2.39





























New debt interest expense (.40)



(.80)









Total Valspar income contribution (1) .91



1.59





























Adjusted diluted net income per share $ 4.82



$ 7.70

































(1) Valspar income contribution is not presented separately in the full year guidance as the acquisition annualized on June 1, 2018.



Three Months

Three Months

Six Months

Year

Ended

Ended

Ended

Ended

March 31,

June 30,

June 30,

December 31,

2017

2017

2017

2017















Diluted net income per share $ 2.53



$ 3.36



$ 5.90



$ 18.67

One-time charge related to discontinued operations 



.44



.44



.44

Diluted net income per share from continuing operations 2.53



3.80



6.34



19.11

















One-time benefit from deferred income tax reductions











7.04

















Transaction and integration costs .08



.30



.38



.88

Purchase accounting impacts



.42



.42



2.12

Total acquisition costs .08



.72



.80



3.00

















Consolidated excluding Valspar acquisition costs

and one-time items 2.61



4.52



7.14



15.07

















Valspar operations income



.29



.29



1.72























New debt interest expense



(.19)



(.19)



(.92)

Total Valspar income contribution 



.10



.10



.80

















Adjusted diluted net income per share $ 2.61



$ 4.42



$ 7.04



$ 14.27



Management of the Company believes that investors' understanding of the Company's operating performance is enhanced by the disclosure of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). This measurement is not in accordance with U.S. GAAP. It should not be considered a substitute for net income or net operating cash. The following table reconciles net income from continuing operations computed in accordance with U.S. GAAP to EBITDA from continuing operations.



Six Months

Six Months









Ended

Ended









June 30, 2018

June 30, 2017

$ Change

% Change















Net income from continuing operations $ 653,731



$ 599,803



$ 53,928



9.0 % Interest expense 185,054



82,424



102,630



124.5 % Income taxes 187,941



215,805



(27,864)



-12.9 % Depreciation 144,133



94,965



49,168



51.8 % Amortization 158,942



35,088



123,854



353.0 % EBITDA from continuing operations $ 1,329,801



$ 1,028,085



$ 301,716



29.3 %

This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements," as defined under U.S. federal securities laws, with respect to sales, earnings and other matters. These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believe," "expect," "may," "will," "should," "project," "could," "plan," "goal," "potential," "seek," "intend" or "anticipate" or the negative thereof or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are based upon management's current expectations, estimates, assumptions and beliefs concerning future events and conditions. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the control of the Company that could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements and from the Company's historical results and experience. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include such things as: general business conditions; the Company's ability to successfully integrate past and future acquisitions into its existing operations, including Valspar, as well as the performance of the businesses acquired; risks inherent in the achievement of anticipated cost synergies resulting from the acquisition of Valspar and the timing thereof; strengths of retail and manufacturing economies and the growth in the coatings industry; changes in the Company's relationships with customers and suppliers; changes in raw material availability and pricing; unusual weather conditions; and other risks, uncertainties and factors described from time to time in the Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Since it is not possible to predict or identify all of the risks, uncertainties and other factors that may affect future results, the above list should not be considered a complete list. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

The Sherwin-Williams Company and Subsidiaries Statements of Consolidated Income (Unaudited)





Three Months Ended June 30,

Six Months Ended June 30, Thousands of dollars, except per share data

2018

2017

2018

2017

























Net sales

$ 4,773,796

$ 3,735,817

$ 8,738,802

$ 6,497,204 Cost of goods sold



2,735,168



2,001,200



5,013,327



3,419,534 Gross profit



2,038,628



1,734,617



3,725,475



3,077,670 Percent to net sales



42.7%



46.4%



42.6%



47.4% Selling, general and administrative expenses



1,307,861



1,153,779



2,522,426



2,164,800 Percent to net sales



27.4%



30.9%



28.9%



33.3% Other general expense - net



26,979



1,775



29,969



2,051 Amortization



73,893



28,918



158,942



35,088 Interest expense



93,507



56,729



185,054



82,424 Interest and net investment income



(559)



(3,091)



(2,177)



(4,371) Other income - net



(1,139)



(12,496)



(10,411)



(17,930) Income from continuing operations before income taxes

538,086



509,003



841,672



815,608 Income taxes



134,482



148,352



187,941



215,805 Net income from continuing operations



403,604



360,651



653,731



599,803

























Loss from discontinued operations























Income taxes









41,540









41,540 Net loss from discontinued operations







(41,540)







(41,540)

























Net income

$ 403,604

$ 319,111

$ 653,731

$ 558,263

























Basic net income per share:























Continuing operations

$ 4.34

$ 3.89

$ 7.02

$ 6.47 Discontinued operations









(.45)









(.45) Net income per share - basic

$ 4.34

$ 3.44

$ 7.02

$ 6.02

























Diluted net income per share:























Continuing operations

$ 4.25

$ 3.80

$ 6.86

$ 6.34 Discontinued operations









(.44)







(.44) Net income per share - diluted

$ 4.25

$ 3.36

$ 6.86

$ 5.90



















































Average shares outstanding - basic



92,926,421



92,841,148



93,132,993



92,695,853

























Average shares and equivalents outstanding - diluted

94,884,187



94,968,636



95,258,956



94,697,439

The Sherwin-Williams Company and Subsidiaries Business Segments (Unaudited)







































































Thousands of dollars 2018

2017

Net

Segment

Net

Segment

External

Profit

External

Profit

Sales

(Loss)

Sales

(Loss) Three Months Ended June 30:





















The Americas Group $ 2,625,057



$ 569,897



$ 2,437,655



$ 532,687

Consumer Brands Group

777,746





90,903





536,441





76,064

Performance Coatings Group

1,369,324





144,194





761,094





62,345

Administrative

1,669





(266,908)





627





(162,093)

Consolidated totals $ 4,773,796



$ 538,086



$ 3,735,817



$ 509,003

















































Six Months Ended June 30:





















The Americas Group $ 4,705,472



$ 907,289



$ 4,389,401



$ 837,911

Consumer Brands Group

1,434,125





165,131





859,807





131,978

Performance Coatings Group

2,597,099





234,960





1,245,548





119,457

Administrative

2,106





(465,708)





2,448





(273,738)

Consolidated totals $ 8,738,802



$ 841,672



$ 6,497,204



$ 815,608



The Sherwin-Williams Company and Subsidiaries Consolidated Financial Position (Unaudited)











Thousands of dollars June 30,



2018



2017 Cash $ 154,973



$ 210,049

Accounts receivable

2,625,066





2,377,874

Inventories

1,874,651





1,854,937

Other current assets

402,932





411,141

Short-term borrowings

(650,718)





(51,904)

Current portion of long-term debt

(1,179)





(701,101)

Accounts payable

(2,049,123)





(1,783,648)

Other current liabilities

(1,489,067)





(1,615,260)

Working capital

867,535





702,088

Net property, plant and equipment

1,776,378





1,889,917

Deferred pension assets

301,664





224,695

Goodwill and intangibles

12,457,724





13,180,647

Other non-current assets

581,761





568,138

Long-term debt

(9,722,918)





(10,751,284)

Postretirement benefits other than pensions

(276,796)





(253,434)

Deferred income taxes

(1,380,370)





(2,467,348)

Other long-term liabilities

(837,472)





(702,159)

Shareholders' equity $ 3,767,506



$ 2,391,260



Selected Information (Unaudited)























Thousands of dollars Three Months Ended June 30,

Six Months Ended June 30,

2018

2017

2018

2017 The Americas Group - net new stores

18





20





22





33

The Americas Group - total stores

4,642





4,552





4,642





4,552

Performance Coatings Group - net new branches

(4)











(3)







Performance Coatings Group - total branches

287





290





287





290

























Depreciation $ 72,542



$ 50,370



$ 144,133



$ 94,965

Capital expenditures

59,573





42,156





101,826





83,635

Cash dividends

80,613





79,484





161,641





158,934

Amortization of intangibles

73,893





28,918





158,942





35,088

























Significant components of Other general expense - net:











Provision for environmental related matters - net

31,253





1,110





32,018





1,629

(Gain) loss on sale or disposition of assets

(4,274)





665





(2,049)





422

























Significant components of Other income - net:











Dividend and royalty income

(1,521)





(1,198)





(2,972)





(3,042)

Net expense from banking activities

2,450





2,513





4,686





4,985

Foreign currency transaction related losses (gains)

5,626





976





3,164





(2,610)

Other (1)

(7,694)





(14,787)





(15,289)





(17,263)

























Intersegment transfers:





















Consumer Brands Group

955,270





864,337





1,721,333





1,560,175

Performance Coatings Group

6,570





7,232





12,414





11,031

The Americas Group

220





2,021





273





4,361

Administrative

3,182





3,356





6,461





6,535

























(1) Consists of items of revenue, gains, expenses and losses unrelated to the primary business purpose of the Company. No items are individually significant.

CONTACTS

For The Sherwin-Williams Company:

Investor Relations Contact:

Bob Wells

Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs

Sherwin-Williams

(216) 566-2244

[email protected]

Media Contacts:

Mike Conway

Director, Corporate Communications

Sherwin-Williams

(216) 515-4393

[email protected]

SOURCE The Sherwin-Williams Company

Related Links

http://www.sherwin.com


TusPark Cambridge is the first overseas science park invested by TusHoldings, consisting of 4 buildings and over 34,000 square meters office and laboratory space. TusPark Cambridge will join TusHoldings, a global leading science and technology service enterprise, and the Cambridge Science Park, a world-renowned hub of talents and industrial cluster, especially in the biotechnology field. The mission of the newly constructed Bio-Innovation Centre is to incubate start-ups and biotechnology enterprises, promote the development of biotech. As the first of Bio-Innovation Centre in the history of Cambridge Science Park, TusPark Cambridge will play a key role in TusHoldings' global network. The network will be instrumental in promoting the advanced science and technology innovation system of Cambridge and the UK in bio-tech to the world.

In the opening speech, Sir Greg Winter, Master of Trinity College, University of Cambridge, stated that TusHoldings has become a major strategic partner of Trinity College, University of Cambridge. The collaboration between TusHoldings and Trinity College will bring new strategic development opportunities for the Cambridge Science Park. Trinity College will work with TusHoldings closely in the fields of life sciences, digital technology, energy storage and environmental protection, thereby providing innovative solutions to major global challenges.

Mr. WANG Jiwu, Chairman of TusHoldings, said the cooperation of TusHoldings and Cambridge is an milestone in TusHoldings' global innovation network development. TusPark Cambridge will make every effort to realise its motto of "Taking Science and Technology as a Belief", and "Serving the Science and Technology, and Serving with Science and Technology" and strive to promote the two parties' collaboration in technology innovation resources and ecosystem. In the next 3-5 years, the collaboration is projected to bring together global talents, facilitate the commercialisation of technology breakthroughs, and globalisation of local companies. TusPark Cambridge will become a classic case.

The ceremony was also presided over by Julie Spence, Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, MA Hui, Minister of the Embassy of PRC in the UK, WANG Yan, Vice Chairperson of Tsinghua University Council of Tsinghua University, WANG Shugui, Chief Operating Officer of TusHoldings and other representatives of two countries also attended ceremony.

SOURCE TusHoldings
SHANGHAI, July 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The entrepreneurial leader was named the "Best Youth Model" for 2018 at the 7th China Finance Summit held from July 19-20. The group won this year's "Best Business Model" Award.

The China Finance Summit is one of the most influential business events in China. Organizers of the summit recognized Unisun Energy Group Chairwoman He Yisha's commitment to the development of the alternative, renewable and sustainable energy sectors (generally referred to in China as the "new energy sector"). Unisun Energy, the firm that she founded, is currently the largest distributed energy strategic investor in China and global leader in providing integrated clean energy solutions. The firm has received a strategic investment from international energy giant ENGIE Group. Her achievements in the new energy field are well known across the sector, including the build out of Shanghai's first industrial and commercial roofs, distributed PV - ShanghaiMart, the collaboration with Wanbang Logistics City to create the largest rooftop distributed photovoltaic project in China, standing out from many competitors to be selected as Unilever's Clean Energy partner in China. Ms. He also partnered with Hangzhou-based food giant Wahaha Group, a group with whom she had worked with previously, to jointly build China's largest photovoltaic project group as well as China's largest power transformation system project.

The organizers pointed out in their laudatory comments that, as an entrepreneur, rather than only pursuing profits, Ms. He prefers to use technological innovation to change the way companies think about how they use energy, to promote the use of "green" energy, to improve the natural environment, and to drive the establishment of a low carbon society, characterized by energy conservation and reductions in emissions, with the ultimate goal of having a positive impact on society and enabling more people to enjoy clean energy' benefits. Ms. He is a recognized leader among the youth demographic in modern society.

Previously, due to the outstanding contributions from Unisun Energy that helped drive the global clean energy process and the transformation in how energy is used by leading multinational firms, Ms. He was honored with the coveted "The Social Eco Game Changer Award", one of the Women Eco Game Changer Awards at the Global Green Economic Forum, becoming the first Asian female entrepreneur to win the accolade. As the sole representative from China's industrial sector, she accepted an invitation from former U.S. Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Al Gore to take part in the broadcast event "24 Hours of Reality: Be The Voice of Reality", a public service undertaking which is part of the former vice president's The Climate Reality Project initiative.

With the slowdown in the growth of the Chinese economy and the increasing competition in the distributed energy market, Unisun Energy, under Ms. He's leadership, has taken steps proactively to adapt to the new business environment, creating innovative business and customer service models to better take advantage of new market opportunities. The new approach includes taking distributed power stations as the investment focus, establishing the country's largest distributed smart energy management cloud platform to drive the optimization of energy systems operations; stimulating expansion into overseas markets, especially emerging markets; and increasing holdings in power stations by taking advantage of some new opportunities presented by China's policy reform, most notably the national electricity reform. All signs point to the firm having entered the electricity transmission and distribution business at the most propitious time.

He Yisha, a female entrepreneur, has been focusing on promoting and encouraging women to not hesitate to follow their dreams and get what they rightfully deserve as they embark on and progress their careers. Recently, Women in Renewables Asia, an alliance initiated by Ms. He and 13 outstanding women in the new energy sector, was formally established, forming a women's self-help development platform to drive gender diversity across the alternative and renewable sector, while creating greater value and encouraging social innovation by diversifying the sector's industrial development.

Unisun Energy has, since 2016, been increasing investments in the distributed power sector. The group has already installed, in the aggregate, 800 MW of distributed rooftop solar PV systems, developed facilities delivering 100 MW in Japan, established a 15 MW ground distributed PV power station in India's Telangana Sate, and implemented PV facilities in Romania, the Netherlands and Australia. The group has helped drive the energy transformation of dozens of leading companies worldwide including Wahaha, Taiwan-based international food conglomerate Uni-President and Unilever. During the first half of the year, the group collaborated with several of China's top firms, among them automobile maker BYD, snack food chain operator Laiyifen, packaged foods producer Tenwow and Wahaha, to provide them with green energy solutions.

SOURCE Unisun Energy Group
FOX CROSSING, Wis., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Members of Local 2-482 of the United Steelworkers (USW) ratified a tentative agreement with Kimberly-Clark (KC) with the goal of preserving and expanding employment at the company's Fox Crossing plant.

Earlier this year, the governor and State Assembly committed as much as $115 million in taxpayer money to entice Kimberly-Clark to remain in Wisconsin. KC indicated that it would not ask elected officials to vote on the enormous subsidy package until it was able to renegotiate a contract with its workers.

Following the passage of a massive federal tax cut, the multinational personal hygiene and paper product giant announced plans in January to shut down up to 10 plants around the world and eliminate 5,500 jobs. Those cuts included the company's plants in Neenah and Fox Crossing, Wis. Last week, Kimberly-Clark was said to be considering selling its tissue business in Europe, while other financial publications have speculated that the company was contemplating much broader asset sales as well. The handling of the announcement by KC has sparked outrage in the global labor community leaving workers on five continents wondering about their future.

Since KC's January announcement, the USW has been meeting with company officials in an effort to negotiate a deal that would preserve good jobs.

"While our local leaders have done what needed to be done to preserve the jobs for workers and the community, we are extremely disappointed by the way Kimberly-Clark approached this matter," said Michael Bolton, director of USW District 2, which includes Wisconsin and Michigan. "The company's behavior throughout this process underscores why it is having global labor relations issues."

Kimberly-Clark, founded in Neenah, Wis., in 1872, considers the Fox Crossing facility one of its "flagships."

"The company's handling of the announcement of its intention to shutter up to 10 plants has created enormous anxiety for communities and workers across the globe," said USW International Vice President Jon Geenen, who oversees the union's paper bargaining. "We are proud of local union leaders for the work that they have done to keep jobs in the community. Now it is time for the state Senate to move a package forward that is conditioned on long-term preservation of all KC jobs in Wisconsin, including the economically critical mill in Marinette. Any deal that fails to meet that objective would be a massive abuse of taxpayer trust."

The USW represents 850,000 workers in North America employed in many industries that include metals, rubber, chemicals, paper, oil refining and the service and public sectors. For more information: http://www.usw.org/.

SOURCE United Steelworkers (USW)

Related Links

http://www.usw.org


DENVER, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- In an unprecedented act of generosity and commitment to the outdoors, VF Foundation pledged $1 million to the Outdoor Foundation's core goal to invest in communities to help kids and families get outside  and do so more often. VF is joined by Patagonia and Thule, which have made significant multi-year pledges. In addition, REI has committed to a future investment. This generous support will be invested in innovative programs and with organizations in key "Thrive Outside Communities" to ensure that outdoor experiences become woven into the fabric of communities.

The leadership shown by VF, Patagonia, Thule and REI builds momentum and enthusiasm for participation and support from many companies in the industry, including financial, gear and mentorship contributions. The goal is to engage companies of all sizes in the Outdoor Foundation's effort to dramatically increase outdoor participation.

Getting kids and families into a regular routine of exercising and playing outside is an extremely challenging goal. According to the Outdoor Foundation's 2018 Outdoor Recreation Participation Report:

91 percent of Americans say getting outside for their health is moderately to extremely important, but their actions do not reflect this

20 percent of Americans participate in an outdoor activity only once per week, and 50 percent of Americans are active outdoors only once per year

Less than 21 percent of children are active outdoors once or more per a week

The focus of the Outdoor Foundation is to create Thrive Outside Communities that bring together coordinated programming for kids and families of diverse backgrounds. The Foundation will weave the outdoors into the lives of many and provide repeat experiences of fun and joy that will help build healthy individuals and healthy communities.

"VF's outdoor brands, most notably The North Face, are proud supporters of Outdoor Industry Association and have had a strong partnership with OIA over the years," said Steve Rendle, chairman, president and chief executive officer of VF Corporation. "Throughout our longstanding relationship, we have continually seen important work being done by OIA and its Foundation to advance the spirit and passion of the outdoor industry. With this founding-partner gift from VF Foundation, we express our deep gratitude and hope that it inspires others to join in support."

"The connection to the outdoors is broken, as both adults and children are overscheduled and over-screened with TVs, smartphones, video games and busy lives," said Amy Roberts, executive director of Outdoor Industry Association. "The generous support from VF Foundation, Patagonia and Thule will go to communities, organizations and programs focused on reversing the decline of outdoor participation. It is our hope that this support will inspire other outdoor businesses to invest in this critically important work."

"The Outdoor Foundation is an important force for getting more young people outside, and Patagonia is humbled to invest in growing the next generation of advocates for the planet and outdoor enthusiasts," said Patagonia President and CEO Rose Marcario. "The strength of our industry comes from those who enjoy getting outside and are committed to protecting wild places, and we hope this gift helps to inspire solutions and leaders at the community level for years to come."

"As a proud member of Outdoor Industry Association and supporter of the Outdoor Foundation, we are pleased to be help them further their mission with this gift," said Fred Clark, Thule group Americas president. "Thule is a brand that strives to encourage active consumers to embrace the outdoors and pursue their passions, and through the hard work done by OIA and its members, we join in their commitment and pledge to furthering participation in the outdoors."

"In today's world, there are too many barriers to access quality, safe and close-to-home outdoor experiences with positive, affordable programming by trusted community partners," said Lise Aangeenbrug, executive director of the Outdoor Foundation. "We plan to change that through our focus on investments in multiple organizations working within communities to get kids and families connected to the outdoors and reap the benefits this provides. This funding will help us make getting outside a healthy habit for all."

About the Outdoor Foundation

The Outdoor Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Outdoor Industry Association, is a national 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to getting people outside for their health, the health of communities and the health of the outdoor industry. Through community investment and groundbreaking research, the Outdoor Foundation works with many partners to get more people outside more often. Visit outdoorfoundation.org for more information.

SOURCE The Outdoor Foundation

Related Links

http://www.outdoorfoundation.org


WASHINGTON, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Yesterday, Cynthia Dunbar, an RNC National Committeewoman from the Commonwealth of Virginia appeared on Washington Watch with Tony Perkins, a national radio show which airs on more than 240 stations across the country. On the show, Committeewoman Dunbar highlighted last weekend's unanimous adoption of a Republican National Committee resolution calling on public schools to obtain written consent from parents before exposing children to sex education.

Committeewoman Dunbar commented, "It's a landmark resolution." Dunbar continued, "This whole resolution is simply going to underscore the supremacy of the parents to be able to determine what their children are taught. So proactively requiring the districts to reach out to the parents, give them information as to what the content is going to be, and then let them decide whether or not they want their children to be exposed to it."

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, and host of Washington Watch, added, "No doubt it will have an impact. I think it's critically important that parents be brought back into the loop in terms of the education of their children. Educators are lamenting the fact that parents are not involved, yet we've seen consistently and with greater frequency them trying to cut parents out  this brings them back in."

To listen to the full interview, click this link: https://soundcloud.com/family-research-council/cynthia-dunbar

SOURCE Family Research Council
LONDON, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Phone, live-chat and email support is now available 24/7

Vision Direct, the leading online retailer for contact lenses in the UK, has expanded its support hours to provide customer service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is an industry first in the UK and will enable customers in the UK and the US to receive help at any time when they are ordering products from Vision Direct's website.

From helping customers understand their prescription to offering product advice, the service makes the process of ordering contact lenses faster and easier:

Customers can obtain answers to important questions before they purchase products

Specialist advice will help to reassure customers who are new to wearing contact lenses or unfamiliar with ordering them online

24-hour service will enable new customers to speak to a team member at any time before ordering to receive next day delivery

ORDERING CONTACT LENSES ONLINE MADE EASIER WITH 24/7 CUSTOMER SERVICE

"Being available 24/7 will provide a better and more efficient service to our customers" said Ashley Mealor, Chief Marketing Officer at Vision Direct. "Trips to the optician are often overlooked because they are time consuming and expensive, leaving customers' questions and concerns unaddressed. Now they can speak to our customer service team whenever it suits them."

The customer service team members have specialist knowledge both in terms of products and general eyecare, enabling them to answer a wide range of questions, so customers can feel reassured that they are receiving the best advice possible.

Vision Direct's extended customer service team will be run by teams in York and Manchester, where there will now always be team members available to answer queries. This will have a positive effect on customers in the US especially, as they will be able to receive an immediate response during their daytime hours, making the entire process of ordering more efficient. Extended hours will also be beneficial to customers in the UK, who will no longer need to worry about visiting the site within a certain time frame or waiting until the next day for a response if they need to make a quick purchase.

For more information about Vision Direct visit http://www.visiondirect.co.uk

ABOUT VISION DIRECT

Vision Direct is Europe's largest online contact lens supplier, stocking over 1 million lenses from leading brands, including Focus Dailies, Air Optix and Acuvue Moist. Vision Direct is dedicated to making the purchase of contact lenses easy, quick and affordable. It offers free, fast delivery and 24/7 customer support, as well savings of up to 42% against high street opticians. Customers can order their lenses through the UK Vision Direct website, http://www.VisionDirect.co.uk, any of its European web properties, or by calling the telephone number, 0207-768-5000. Customers can also benefit from a free repeat prescription and reminder service and receive free eye care advice from Vision Direct's resident optician.

SOURCE Vision Direct
SOUTHFIELD, Mich., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- WardsAuto announces the details for the 2018 WardsAuto User Experience (UX) Conference, to be held Tuesday, October 2, at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, Michigan.

The event will showcase center stage discussions, panel sessions on UX-focused topics, exhibits from leading technology suppliers and the annual Wards 10 Best User Experience awards ceremony.

"In three years 'user experience' has evolved from a consumer electronics term to the hottest buzzword in automotive," says Drew Winter, Senior Content Director at WardsAuto. "Connectivity, new mobility concepts and autonomous features now have automakers talking about vehicles being 'fun-to-be-in' rather than 'fun-to-drive.'"

"UX now is a key product differentiator. It is the hottest topic in the automotive design community and the number of automotive user experience designers is exploding," Winter notes.

The format of the conference  now in its third year  has been modified to squeeze more information into less time with shorter sessions and a greater variety of topics.

"We now have eight sessions on specific topics, plus two center-stage discussions that tackle the biggest issues of the day in UX," Winter adds. "The morning discussion looks at how to get everyone inside and outside autonomous cars to trust what they are doing; the afternoon conversation is about what future cockpits will look like. It's all aimed at giving attendees lots of information and lots of choices."

Topics to be explored at the conference include:

Creating a Happier Life with AI in the Cockpit

How to Personalize Shared Vehicle Platforms

Smart, Functional Materials and Morphing Controls

What We Can Learn from Other Industries

Minimizing Distraction While Adding Features

The Coolest New HMIs in Production

Newest Tech and Concepts for Enhancing UX

Making Safety a UX Feature, Not a Glitch

"WardsAuto has a unique perspective in the UX arena because each year we immerse ourselves in the user experience world by spending weeks testing UX and ADAS systems for all the significant new vehicle models. Then we recognize the designers of the best systems with our 10 Best UX awards," Winter says.

The event will feature the third annual Wards 10 Best User Experience awards ceremony, calling winning automaker UX teams to the stage to accept their honors. WardsAuto judges are currently evaluating new model vehicles in areas such as human-machine interface design, connectivity, infotainment, controls and advanced driver-assist technologies  in addition to overall value.

Registration for the event is now live at http://wardsauto.com/ux, which also includes the agenda and other key conference details.

About WardsAuto

WardsAuto is a world-leading provider of automotive insights and analysis, having served the industry's information needs for more than 90 years. A Southfield, MI-based Informa business, WardsAuto provides a forward-looking perspective on all aspects of the automotive business, from the tech center to the plant floor to the showroom. Its services include the premium Subscribers.WardsIntelligence.com resource and suite of customizable data reporting tools, the WardsAuto Interiors and Wards Intelligence Outlook and Focus Conferences, and digital newsletters and magazines. Subscribe to WardsAuto and attend its events by visiting http://www.wardsauto.com.

ABOUT INFORMA

WardsAuto is part of Informa, the international business intelligence, academic publishing, knowledge and events group. Informa serves commercial, professional and academic communities, helping them connect and learn, and creating and providing access to content and intelligence that helps people and businesses work smarter and make better decisions faster.

Informa employs over 11,000 people in more than 30 countries in North and South America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 100.

Media Contact

Chris Lamphear

Director of Marketing

WardsAuto

248 799 2658

[email protected]

SOURCE WardsAuto
Linda C. Severin joined the practice in January of this year, having previously collaborated with Bob and Suzanne on the hugely successful False Claims Act qui tam litigation against biotech giant Amgen and others that settled in 2012. Linda comes to the practice with vast litigation and prosecutorial experience, having served with distinction as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York (Manhattan) including as the Deputy Chief and Acting Chief of the Narcotics Unit, as a Deputy Chief of Appeals, and as Chief of the New York / New Jersey Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. As a federal prosecutor, she investigated and tried cases involving fraud, racketeering, drug trafficking, money laundering, and extortion. She later worked as a litigation attorney for The Boeing Company and in private practice in Seattle, Washington. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney's Office, she served a law clerk to the Honorable John E. Sprizzo, District Judge for the Southern District of New York. She received her J.D. from the University of Virginia Law School and her B.A. from the University of Michigan, where she was a member of its women's basketball team. She currently serves on the Board of Governors of the University of Michigan Alumnae Council.

Bruce C. Judge joined the practice in May of this year, after an impressive 24-year career as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Michigan (Detroit) and the District of Massachusetts (Boston). Bruce has deep experience in the prosecution of financial crimes and political corruption cases, including bribery, corporate fraud, money laundering, bank fraud, and obstruction of justice. He was the lead prosecutor on grand jury investigations that resulted in the indictment, trial, and conviction of corporate executives, bank officers, legal and financial professionals, union officials, military personnel, elected politicians, and corrupt law enforcement agents. He has over two decades of federal trial experience and has briefed and argued numerous cases in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. During his tenure as a federal prosecutor, he also served on the DOJ national working group on money laundering prosecutions, and received many commendations and awards. He earned his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School and his A.B. from Princeton University.

"We are delighted to add these two exceptional people to our team," Bob said. "They are talented, wise, and great with clients." "Linda and Bruce have decades of experience investigating and litigating cases," Suzanne added. "They, along with David Lieberman who joined us in 2016, have greatly increased our capacity to do this important work."

"I am thrilled to join this established and nationally-recognized team," commented Bruce. "Helping whistleblowers come forward and working with the government to recover money for the taxpayers is very fulfilling." "I love this work," said Linda. "Joining this firm gives me the opportunity to have a positive impact while working with a great group of people."

Based in Boston, the Whistleblower Law Collaborative is a nationwide practice handling cases involving the federal and state False Claims Acts, as well as the SEC, IRS, and CFTC whistleblower laws. Bob Thomas and Suzanne Durrell were chosen by Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund in November 2017 as "Whistleblower Lawyers of the Year" for their recent results (including the $465 million settlement against Mylan) and also for their cumulative body of work representing whistleblowers over the last fifteen years.

"We hope and expect that with the additions of David, Linda, and Bruce  really a dream team  this practice will be equally successful for the next fifteen years as well," Bob and Suzanne said.

The Whistleblower Law Collaborative LLC is recognized nationwide for its successful representation of whistleblowers in a wide variety of contexts, and handles cases involving the state and federal false claims acts, as well as the SEC, IRS, and CFTC whistleblower programs. The Whistleblower Law Collaborative's successes for its clients include Mylan ($465 million), Amgen ($762 million), International Nephrology Network ($15 million), Elan/Eisai ($214.5 million), Forest Labs ($330 million) (co-counsel), Pfizer ($2.3 billion), Serono ($704 million), Amedisys ($150 million) (co-counsel), and WellCare Health Plans ($137.5 million).

For more information, contact the Whistleblower Law Collaborative at 617.366.2800

Follow us on Twitter @ThomasDurrell and on Facebook



www.WhistleblowerLawCollaborative.com

SOURCE Whistleblower Law Collaborative

Related Links

http://www.whistleblowerlawcollaborative.com


LOS ANGELES, PUNE, India and TOKYO, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

According to the report, global revenue for White Box Server was valued at $ 5,733.07 million in 2017, and is expected to generate revenue of $ 12.8 billion by end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of 17.59 % between 2017 and 2022.

(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/719476/QY_Research_Logo.jpg )



In terms of volume, global White Box Server sales volume was 2108.52 Kilo units in 2017 and is expected to reach 4000.20 Kilo units by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of 13.66 % between 2017 and 2022.

The factors which are driving the growth of market include low cost and high degree of customization, increasing adoption of white box servers among end users, growing number of data centres, and rising adoption of Open Platforms such as Open Compute Project, Project Scorpio, and so on.

Increase in the demand for micro servers from data centres provides ample of opportunities for the white box server market. The drawback of choosing a white box server over a standard OEM server, is that they are less reliable and the components often lack redundancy. White box servers lower their risks of downtime by using clustering techniques for deployment.

A cluster enables high availability in a computer system by grouping servers together to act like as a single system. With this in mind, a company should do a strong evaluation on the pros in cons of deploying white box servers to ensure that it is actually cost-effective.

Request Sample Report or Customized Sample Report as per your [email protected] https://www.qyresearch.com/sample-form/form/390056/global-white-box-server-market

Key vendors analysed in White Box Server Market research,

Quanta, Wistron, Inventec, Hon Hai, MiTAC, Celestica, Super Micro Computer, Compal Electronics, Pegatron, ZT Systems, Hyve Solutions, Thinkmate. The major players of White Box Server, Quanta maintained its first place in the ranking in 2017. Top 3 players include Quanta, Wistron and Inventec.

White Box Server Market, by Region

North America

Europe

Asia-Pacific

Latin America & Middle East and Africa

In this study, the consumption region of White Box Server divided into five geographic regions: North America hold the largest market share. North America White Box Server accounted for 48.01% in 2017, followed by Asia-Pacific.

White Box Server Market, by Type:

Rack-mount Server

Blade Server

Whole Cabinet Server

On the basis of product type, the Rack-mount Server segment is projected to account for the largest volume market share during the forecast period; this segment was estimated to account for 77.97 % volume share in 2017.

White Box Server Market, by End User

Data Center

Enterprise Customers

In the applications, the Data Center segment was estimated to account for the highest volume market share of 74.75 % in 2017 and is expected to gain significant market share by the end of 2022.

Request to buy Full Report and Delivered within 24 [email protected] https://www.qyresearch.com/request-discount/form/390057/global-white-box-server-sales-market

More Server Related Reports Listed below:

Global Print Server Market: https://www.qyresearch.com/index/detail/572904/global-print-server-market

Global Cloud Server Market: https://www.qyresearch.com/index/detail/547961/global-cloud-server-market

Global Cloud Server Market: https://www.qyresearch.com/index/detail/546945/global-cloud-server-market

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Dhaka, July 24 : Charges have finally been pressed against eight militants over Bangladesh's most horrific terror attack in 2016 that left 22 people, mostly foreigners, dead.

Monirul Islam, chief of Bangladesh's Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit, on Monday submitted the charge sheet against the accused in a case before a court in Dhaka, Xinhua news agency reported.

Of the accused, he said six Neo-JMB (an offshoot of banned militant outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh or JMB), operatives are now in jail while the two others are on the run.

Five gunmen stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery cafe in Dhaka's diplomatic area Gulshan on July 1, 2016.

They then brutally killed the hostages with guns and machetes, and used the victims' phones to publish images of the bodies on the social media.

Nine Italians, seven Japanese, two Bangladeshis, an Indian and a Bangladeshi-born US citizen were among the 20 people hacked to death by the attackers.

The gunmen also murdered two Bangladeshi police officers in the early hour of the attack.

Around 12 hours later, Bangladesh Army commandos stormed the restaurant. Five attackers were killed.

Islamic State (IS) had then claimed responsibility for the Dhaka cafe attack. But Bangladeshi authorities rejected the claim, saying operatives of a banned local militant outfit plotted the attack to boast about their existence.

Since the deadly cafe attack in Dhaka in 2016, Bangladeshi police have tightened anti-militant drive and conducted series of large-scale operations against militants, killing and arresting scores of militants.

Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi-Canadian, and Sarwar Jahan, identified as Neo JMB chief who was killed during a raid later, have been blamed as the mastermind of the brutal attack.

Chowdhury was also killed in a police raid.
Nairobi, July 24 : The homes of at least 30,000 people have been demolished in a Kenyan slum to make way for a new $20 million dual carriage way in the capital Nairobi.

The residents, living in part of the city's largest slum, Kibera, were given just two weeks notice to leave, BBC reported on Monday.

Bulldozers moved in at dawn as people watched helplessly from the sidelines.

Amnesty International has condemned the evictions, but Kenyan officials said the people living in the area were there illegally.

Residents fought the road in court, filing two legal challenges, but lost when a judge ruled the dual carriageway - which authorities say will ease the traffic in the west of the city - was in the public interest last year.

On Monday, some of the residents of Kibera informal settlement sat beside their belongings and cried out in anguish.

"We were raised here, we went to school here and we got married here. Now we don't know where to go," Jacqueline Anzemo, a 30-year-old mother-of three who has lived in Kibera for 16 years, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Arthur Shakwira was also watching as the area he has called home for more than two decades, was flattened.

"I've taken my belongings to a neighbour. My wife and kids have moved to my brother's place to stay there for the time being. I don't know where to start from," he said.

"We've not refused for the road to pass but they need to consider our wellbeing."

According to The Daily Nation, two primary schools and a children's home were among the buildings demolished.

Amnesty International has described the evictions as tragic and illegal, saying the sight of young children carrying away their families' belongings was heart-breaking.

The human rights group's executive director for Kenya Irungu Houghton added the demolitions "betray" a deal made to agree a resettlement plan before evicting the residents.

The Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura), a government agency, refused to comment on Houghton's criticism directly, referring Thomson Reuters to an earlier statement saying it was working with outside groups to resettle residents.
Yangon, July 24 : Myanmar which will host the next Asean Education Ministers Meeting (ASED) in October seeks to boost its education sector by cooperating with India, China and the US among others.

Vice President U Myint Swe has said that the 10th meeting of ASED and Dialogue Partners would promote cooperation with Southeast Asian nations and partner countries, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) partner countries include India, China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Russia, the US and Australia.

The first ASED was held in Singapore in 2006, while the last in Malaysia.
Dhaka, July 24 : A British man detained in Bangladesh following a deadly cafe siege two years ago has been freed without charge, the BBC reported.

Hasnat Karim was celebrating his daughter's 13th birthday at the Holey Artisan cafe with his family here in July 2016 when it was targeted by Islamist militants.

An Indian girl was among the 22 people killed, who were mostly foreigners in the 12-hour siege that was the country's worst terrorist attack.

Karim, who is in his late forties and has dual British-Bangladeshi citizenship, was taken hostage when gunmen stormed the cafe.

Eyewitnesses at the time said he became a police suspect because he agreed to become a human shield during the siege, the BBC reported.

Human rights group Amnesty International had campaigned against Karim's continued detention.

The head of the police's counter terrorism and transnational crime unit Monirul Islam said on Monday that Karim had been acquitted.

"During our two-year long investigation, we did not find any involvement (of Karim) in this attack directly or indirectly, so he was acquitted from this case," Islam said.

The attack was claimed by the Islamic State group, although Bangladesh disputed this and said a local militant group was responsible.

Five militants inside the cafe were killed by the police. Eight others have now been charged over their involvement, six of whom are in custody, according to Islam.
United Nations, July 24 : Special UN Envoy to Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener has said that the return of 900,000-plus Rohingya refugees stranded in Bangladesh to Myanmar will take time.

There is no "quick fix", Burgener told reporters after briefing the 15 UN Security Council members on the Rohingya refugee situation on Monday.

The special envoy of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said she has "visited many, many people to have an overall picture of the complex situation in Myanmar" since she took office, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to UN refugee agency UNHCR, more than one million ethnic minority Rohingyas have fled their homes in Myanmar's northern Rakhine State since August 2017.

The refugees fled as far as Malaysia and Indonesia, but mainly to neighbouring countries, with the overwhelming number going to adjacent Bangladesh.

During her two trips to Myanmar, Burgener said she worked with Myanmar's State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi on the Rohingya refugee issue, attended a peace conference, and visited refugee camps, particularly in Cox's Bazar in southern Bangladesh.

Getting the refugees to return home willingly in a safe and dignified manner is a big problem, she said.

While Myanmar's government wants them back, some members of local communities in northern Rakhine State do not.
San Francisco, July 24 : Taking the latest $5 billion fine by the European Commission into account, Google's parent company Alphabet reported $26.24 billion in revenue for the quarter that ended on June 30, making a profit of $3.2 billion while beating Wall Street expectations.

Excluding the fine, the tech giant would have had $32.6 billion in revenue and a profit of $8.2 billion.

"We are analysing the decision and I think it's too early to comment or speculate beyond what we've already said, but we will always take a constructive approach," Google CEO Sundar Pichai said during the company's earnings call with analysts late on Monday.

Riding on Search engine and YouTube growth, Google's revenue jumped 26 per cent to $23.3 billion.

"We delivered another quarter of very strong performance, with revenues of $32.7 billion, up 26 per cent versus the second quarter of 2017 and 23 per cent on a constant currency basis," Ruth Porat, CFO of Alphabet, said in a statement.

"Our investments are driving great experiences for users, strong results for advertisers, and new business opportunities for Google and Alphabet," Porat added.

Traffic acquisition costs, a key metric in Google's ad business, went up to 23 per cent of ad revenue in the second quarter.

Last week, US President Donald Trump attacked the European Union (EU)for the fine slapped, and said: "The European Union just slapped a $5 billion fine on one of our great companies, Google," Trump tweeted. "They truly have taken advantage of the US, but not for long!"

The European Commission fined Google for monopoly with its Android operating system, accusing it of violating the EU competition rules.

"I'm confident we find a way to make sure Android is available at scale to users everywhere," Pichai said during the call with analysts.
Mexico City, July 24 : A "window of opportunity" to resolve complex issues in renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) has shown up, Mexican Minister of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo has said.

"Clearly there is a window of opportunity to be able to bed down a series of open issues," Guajardo said on Monday at Puerto Vallarta.

The minister is scheduled to meet with Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington on July 26.

Nafta renegotiations began in August 2017 after demands made by the Donald Trump administration, which denounced the deal and threatened to abandon it.

The negotiating teams hoped to reach an "agreement in principle" at the beginning of May, but talks were suspended after Mexico and Canada disputed over the demands made by the US.
Jul 24, 2018 | By Thomas

Chattanooga, Tenn.based architectural fabricator Branch Technology officially unveiled a bandshell pavilion at Nashvilles oneC1TY development that is billed as the world's largest 3D-printed structure. Made of carbon fiberreinforced Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene and finished with an ultraviolet protective metallic paint, the 20-foot-tall, 42-foot-wide pavilion was unveiled last week at the 2018 International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures, an architecture and engineering symposium at MIT, in Cambridge, Mass.

The OneC1TY bandshell pavilion was commissioned by Cambridge to embody some of the UN Sustainable Development Goals the site is seeking to demonstrate, and was designed and fabricated by Branch Technology.

The original design was digitally created and analyzed but found that it would need an obtrusive steel substructure to support the large spans that would have tripled the the project cost. The team, led by Branch Technology designers Melody Rees and Jason Vereschak worked with New Yorkbased structural engineering firm Thornton Tomasetti's R&D incubator CORE Studio. They redesigned the bandshell using in-house and aerospace software programs and created an optimum structure needing no steel to make the large 42 diameter spans, except for anchoring base plates at the foundation. Using the company's Cellular Fabrication (C-Fab) 3D-printing technology, the Branch team 3D printed 40 panels off-site over a period of 10 weeks and then assembled them on the designated spot in Nashville.

Branch Technologys C-Fab techniquethe uses a customized industrial robotic arm (the Kuka KR 90), which extrudes a carbon fiber reinforced ABS plastic material into complex, large-scale structures up to 8,772 cubic feet in size. What sets these structures apart from other concrete additive manufacturing processes, is that they only actually make up the inner framework of the building structure. That is, once printed, the additively manufactured framework can be sprayed with traditional low-cost building materials like foam insulation and concrete to make a strong, hybrid building structure.

"CFab is distinctive in that it prefabricates volume as cellular matrices," according to the company. "The opencell nature allows for efficient builds and endless geometric form. For architectural application, the matrix acts as a formwork or scaffold to accept traditional building materials. The results deliver a product that is as robust as it is revolutionary."

Images credit: Branch Technology

The OneC1TY pavilion weighs around 3,200 pounds and can withstand 1 inch of ice, up to 12 inches of snow, and 90 mph wind.

Of course, without a Guinness World Records standing by, its hard to verify the studios claim. Records are obviously meant to be broken, and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) currently holds the Guinness World Record for largest single-piece 3D printed object: a 17.5 feet long, 5.5 feet wide, and 1.5 feet tall wing tool that was custom-made for Boeing.

Posted in 3D Printing Application

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lies and half truths wrote at 7/24/2018 12:44:36 PM:Its modular then assembled... that is cheating.




San Francisco, July 24 : US President Donald Trump is unlikely to get the boot from Twitter even after threatening Iran with dire consequences as the microblogging site sees the world leaders with a different lens.

In a tweet on late Sunday, Trump warned his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani that if Tehran threatened the US again, it would suffer "consequences the likes of which few have ever suffered before".

The tweet in all-caps followed an apparent warning by Rouhani, in which he asked the US President to "not play with the lion's tail, because you will regret it eternally".

The kind of threat that Trump made on Twitter on Sunday could have attracted penalty from the social network for any regular person as Twitter's policy bars users from making threats of violence on its platform.

In December last year, Twitter began enforcing new rules on violent and hateful content posted on its platform to reduce the amount of online abuse, hate speech, violent threats and harassment associated with its service.

"You may not make specific threats of violence or wish for the serious physical harm, death, or disease of an individual or group of people," as per Twitter's rule about violent threats.

But for world leaders, Twitter has a different standard as it believes that removing their controversial tweets would hide important information people should be able to see and debate.

In a blog post in January, the company acknowledged that there has been a lot of discussion about political figures and world leaders on the platform.

Blocking world leaders on Twitter won't silence them, but it would certainly hamper necessary discussion around their words and actions, the company said.
Athens, July 24 : At least 50 people have died and 156 have been injured in forest fires raging near Athens, the Greek Civil Protection Agency said on Tuesday.

Emergency services said that 11 of the injured were in a critical condition, while warning that the casualty toll was expected to rise as authorities continued to receive reports of missing people, Efe news reported.

Earlier on Tuesday, government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos had put the death toll at 20 and said most of the victims were trapped in the seaside resort of Mati, 40km from here.

They died either in their homes or their cars while trying to escape after the fires began on Monday. There were 16 children among the casualties, the BBC reported.

Hundreds of firefighters were battling the blazes as people left their homes behind near the capital. Authorities urged people in the path of the flames to get out while they can.

A spokesman for the EKAV emergency service told radio station 24/7 that the dead included a 15-year-old girl and at least 11 of the injured were listed in critical condition at hospitals in the Attica region.

Greece declared a state of emergency and appealed to its European Union partners for assistance in dealing with the fires, Efe news reported.

In eastern Attica, some people on a beach threatened by the flames dived into the water. The coast guards told EFE that while 15 people were rescued, eight Danish tourists were reported to be adrift on a boat.

A search and rescue operation is underway for them.

"We will do whatever is humanly possible to control it," Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told reporters.

He cut short an official trip to Bosnia in order to help coordinate the response to the situation, which firefighters have described as "extremely difficult".

Dramatic video posted on social media showed damaged buildings, orange smoke-filled skies, and people fleeing the fires by car.

Citing police, ERT television said that some 300 residents of several villages in east Attica were trapped in their homes by the fires.

Tsipras assured that "all emergency forces have been mobilised" and declared a state of emergency in the Attica region around Athens.

The government also asked other European countries for helicopters and additional firefighters to help tackle the fires, the BBC said.

Earlier on Monday, residents of a coastal region near Athens were told to abandon their homes as the uncontrolled fires spread. Hundreds of children were also evacuated from holiday camps.

Countries including Italy, Germany, Poland and France have all sent help in the form of additional planes, vehicles and firefighters.

But with temperatures set to soar again, they are in a race against time to get the fires under control.
Srinagar, July 24 : A youth in Jammu and Kashmir has shunned violence and joined his family on Tuesday, police said.

"With the help of community one more joins his family and shuns the path of violence," the zonal police headquarters here tweeted.

The authorities have not disclosed the identity and other details of the youth who renounced violence like others did before him and returned to lead a normal life following persuasion from family.
Barcelona, July 24 : Barcelona will loan Brazilian defender Douglas Pereira to the Turkish club Sivasspor for one season, the Spanish club said.

Douglas signed for BarAa in the summer of 2014 from Sao Paulo for 5.5 million euros ($6.4 million), but played only eight games in the following two seasons, reports Efe.

"Barcelona and the Turkish club agree to a deal for the right back to play for the latter in the 2018/2019 season," the La Liga champions confirmed on their official website on Monday.

Douglas had been on loan for most of his time with Barcelona, spending a season at both Sporting Gijon and Benfica.

Both the defender and his ex-club wanted to resolve their situation before the team's exhibition-match tour in the United States, and he will not travel on Tuesday with the rest of the squad.
Kabul, July 24 : Two security forces personnel and two Taliban commanders were among 24 killed in an overnight clash in Afghanistan's Ghazni province, police said on Tuesday.

"The clash erupted in Jaghatu and Gelan districts late on Monday in which Taliban divisional commanders Mubaraz Kochi and Khalid were killed," police officer Farid Ahmad Mashal told Xinhua news agency.

Twenty other militants were also killed and at least 17 were wounded.

The Taliban-led insurgency has been on a rampage since the beginning of 2015 when the Afghan security forces took over full responsibilities of security from the US and NATO troops.
New Delhi : The Supreme Court on July 13 took strong note of the Ministry of Information and Broadcastings decision to set up a social media hub for monitoring online data. It observed that such a move will be "like creating a surveillance state" and issued a notice to the central government on a plea by Mahua Moitra of the Trinamool Congress (TMC).

Surveillance and data driven methods would lead to discrimination against people.

Social media giant Facebook stated in its biannual transparency report in May that the Indian government had requested the company to share data over 12,000 times in the second half of 2017. The Indian government is second in the global list -- right after the US -- of countries that sought the data of Facebook users from their respective countries.

Many dimensions of surveillance are exploited by both government and private agencies. From CCTV cameras capturing our images routinely, government-provided IDs, our smart phones, credit cards, biometric recorders, etc., are all used for various surveillance purposes.

A major problem with surveillance is that it reduces identity to data packages like "where we live", "what we consume", "how we spend", "where we surf", etc. They ignore the human core of our multifaceted existence and create categories of administrative, organisational and business convenience.

The need for such varied, sometimes insensitive, and intense surveillance is justified by these agencies citing safety of citizens, speedy processing, control of anti-social elements and better coordination for governance. However, ensuring the safety of the data, the merit of the agencies involved in processing the data is often unconvincing. Even Mark Zuckerberg had to admit and apologise to a Congressional committee after the massive data leak, affecting the privacy of millions of FB users worldwide.

Along with worries over breaches of privacy, surveillance often brings mechanisms to discriminatively categorise people. As a country with a history of multiple forms of discrimination, India is at greater risk. People in liminal spaces, those culturally, legally, or politically marked as the "other", are more likely to fear negative labelling, since it could limit their life chances.

Four UN rapporteurs recently raised an alarm about whether the Bengali Muslim minorities in Assam might get discriminated against in the National Register of Citizens compilation process, raising anxiety over the data generated through surveillance mechanisms.

The coding and classifying mechanisms in many Big Data processes can consciously or unconsciously perpetuate such categories of socio-culturally prevalent existing prejudices and stereotypes. The post-September 2001 grip of Islamophobia is worth reflecting over. Narratives like "My Name is Khan" typify the problems of marking members of a specific community as "suspect".

Surveillance came into the public sphere with colonisation. India is one of the earliest spaces were fingerprinting was used for pinning identities. The British employed it for two different purposes: To sign business contracts with the natives and to identify and notify criminals. Today, with Automatic Identification and Data Capture Technologies (AIDC) like Aadhar, the state could use data for various purposes and monitor us in newer ways. Those who approve are more likely to get a positive, law-abiding identity than those without it.

Automation, standardisation and instrumentality involved in the process reduce negotiable spaces of social interaction and convert them into binaries, viz. accept or reject, legitimate or illegitimate, etc. This decreases the chances of the oppressed and excluded -- who are more likely to be ignorant of the data-driven norms -- by depriving them of negotiable spaces for empowerment. If credit worthiness of someone seeking a loan has to be determined by CIBIL, or Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited, people with less access to banking are more likely to lose.

So, the use of data generated through surveillance becomes not merely a matter of safety and privacy, but also one for the denial of social justice. While the rich capitalise on data-driven modes of transaction by virtue of their technological competence and affordability, the poor become victims of surveillance. Thus, the digital divide furthers the gulf between the rich and poor.

Today, across the globe, debates on the use of data are largely a trade-off between national security, development and civil liberties, with the former two taking precedence. Production of searchable databases increases the exclusion of undesirable people. This varies according to changing circumstances and government policies. For example, the government's logic of finding eligible beneficiaries for welfare programmes has changed with the increase in population and its diversity. Databases make it possible to quickly identify and establish new categories of convenience.

Data is neither devoid of the government's policy goals nor a conspiracy in itself. Considering the challenges of governance and global shifts, data-driven approaches have come to stay. However, irrespective of the goals, the complex process of data assemblage leads to privacy concerns. The state's potential to assign identities aggravates with surveillance and may lead to the loss of the individual's agential power.

Data-based processing fosters superficial and surveillance-driven approaches. A healthy society must repose faith on the mutual trust between individuals and institutions. If a society leans heavily on such standardised Big Data processes, it is bound to compromise on the humane and democratic ethos.

It is the duty of civil society to educate and kindle the thought process of "ordinary citizens" to understand and resist the uncritical acceptance of drowning in data.

(The authors are Assistant and Associate Professors respectively at Christ University, Bengaluru. The article is in special arrangement with South Asia Monitor)
New Delhi : Last week, after more than a year of intense negotiations, United Nation member states, except US and Hungary, agreed on the first-ever Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. The pact aims to address the challenges of international migration, strengthen migrant rights and provide a platform for cooperation.

In the current scenario, it is a significant achievement as the pact has the potential to change how the world approaches migration - one of the most politically debatable issues today. There is stark contrast between the academicians view on migration which is backed by economic evidence and the public discourse on migration that in most cases shapes the political agenda.

On one hand, migration is considered to pave way for growth and prosperity for both immigrants and the host country. For migrating individuals, it is the most effective way to reduce poverty. A World Bank study mentions that migrants' incomes increase three to six times when they move from lower- to higher-income countries. The average income gain for a young unskilled worker moving to the United States is estimated to be about $14,000 per year. Similarly, research suggests that if 100 million young people migrate from developing to developed countries, it will increase the host country's GDP by $1.4 trillion, thus bringing prosperity to the nations.

On the other hand, despite compelling economic evidence, there is strong political opposition to immigrants in many countries. This opposition comes from the view that immigrants scale down jobs for the citizens, drive down the wages by creating competition in the market. The labour market concentration of immigrants creates anxiety and insecurity in the mind of native born workers as immigrants are ready to accept low wages and can work in more demanding work conditions. Destination countries often blame immigrants for their economic woes and accuse them of the displacement of native-born citizens from their jobs. This is the reason that immigration was one of the top three concerns during the last round of elections in the United States and every Western European country.

It is important to acknowledge that studies do show a displacement effect among the citizens. The concentration of immigrants in certain destination countries, occupations, and regions driven by market forces i.e. to fulfil unmet demand is the main cause of the economic problems and cultural anxieties of local populations. However, this impact is limited to low skilled and less educated workers where substitution is easy. In fact, the group of native born citizens that do not compete directly with immigrants experience significant economic gains. Also, the displacement costs are outweighed by the economic benefits generated for the destination country by labour mobility.

The evidence sheds light on the fact that immigration has unequal effects. It benefits workers in high-skilled jobs that are characterised by knowledge spillover and skill complementarities and creates huge costs for low skilled workers who mainly belong to the low and lower middle-income groups. This section of the society is already vulnerable, and any economic shocks can drive them below poverty line. This is the reason for strong political opposition to immigration.

However, changemakers should realise that ceasing the incoming immigrants in the destination country won't serve as a justification to the economic growth. For instance, The Penn Wharton Budget Model, capturing the economic impact of RAISE (a policy aimed towards reducing immigration levels by half) on US GDP, projected that a 50 per cent reduction of legal migration will reduce the US economy by two per cent and 4.6 million jobs by 2040. Similarly, countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia that were predominantly labour scarce, have brought drastic transitions in the structure of their economies from primary to secondary and tertiary sector, through the adoption of friendly immigration policies.

It is critical to adhere to correct policies that are designed after addressing the legitimate economic concerns. The policymakers should work towards the twin goals of accruing maximum benefits from labour mobility and addressing the concerns of the displaced workers. Programs can be designed to aid the low skilled native-born workers to adjust with the changing scenario. Assistance mechanisms for displaced workers can involve skill development and training, transitory welfare benefits and unemployment insurance payments. The financing of such assistance programmes can be partially done by taxing the beneficiaries.

Policymakers should keep in mind that though rising immigration raises questions concerning displacement of native-born workers and economic constraints, the path to liberal migration with clearly designed immigration policies can facilitate economic integration and economic growth in the long run.

(Amit Kapoor is chair, Institue for Competitiveness, India. The views expresed are personal. He can be contacted at amit.kapoor@competitiveness and tweets @kautiliya. Manisha Kapoor, senior researcher, Institue for Competitiveness has contributed to the article)
New Delhi, July 24 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Rwanda that is the final resting place of over 250,000 victims of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi people in the East African nation.

It honours the memory of over one million Tutsis killed by the then Hutu majority government in the course of 100 days.

"Beginning the day on a poignant note! PM @narendramodi visits the Genocide Memorial Centre in #Kigali," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted following Modi's visit.

"The Memorial honours the victims of the worst excesses of violence," Kumar said.

"It is also symbolic of the admirable and exemplary process of reconciliation Rwanda has embarked upon."

Modi reached Rwanda on Monday on the first leg of his five-day, three-nation tour of Africa that will also take him to Uganda and South Africa.

Following delegation-level talks with Rwandan President Paul Kagame, India and Rwanda signed eight agreements, including in the areas of defence, agriculture and dairy production, trade and leather and allied sectors.

Modi also announced that India will open a new High Commission in Rwanda in what can be seen as yet another manifestation of India's increasing engagements with Africa.

India's current High Commissioner to Rwanda has residence in Uganda.

Modi's visit is the first ever Prime Ministerial visit from India to Rwanda.

This is also his second visit to mainland Africa after he visited Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya in 2016.
New Delhi, July 24 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday visited a village in Rwanda and donated 200 cows for an economic development project of the East African nation.

"Being part of a transformative project towards economic development of Rwanda!"External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

"PM @narendramodi donates 200 cows under #Girinka - One Cow Per Poor Family Programme at Rweru village," Kumar stated.

"Girinka is an ambitious project that provides both nutritional and financial security to the poor."

Girinka is a social protection scheme of the Rwandan government personally overseen by President Paul Kagame.

The poorest families are gifted dairy cows by the government and the first female calf born of the cow is gifted to the neighbour, thus promoting brotherhood and solidarity in the community.

Earlier in the day, Modi visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial that honours the memory of over one million Tutsis killed by the then Hutu majority government in 1994.

Modi reached Rwanda on Monday on the first leg of his five-day, three-nation tour of Africa that will also take him to Uganda and South Africa.

Following delegation-level talks with Rwandan President Paul Kagame, India and Rwanda signed eight agreements, including in the areas of defence, agriculture and dairy production, trade and leather and allied sectors.

Modi also announced that India will open a new High Commission in Rwanda in what can be seen as yet another manifestation of India's increasing engagements with Africa.

India's current High Commissioner to Rwanda has residence in Uganda.

Modi's visit is the first ever Prime Ministerial visit from India to Rwanda.

This is also his second visit to mainland Africa after he visited Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya in 2016.
Mumbai, July 24 : The benchmark BSE Sensex on Tuesday afternoon traded in the green, although the index retreated from the all-time high of 36,902.06 points it had hit earlier in the day.

Healthy buying in metal, consumer durables and healthcare stocks supported the gains, analysts said.

However, selling pressure on banking stocks after the stocks rose sharply earlier in the day's trade limited the gains.

At 1.56 p.m., the Sensex traded at 36,841.91 points -- higher by 123.31 points or 0.34 per cent -- from the previous close of 36,718.60 points. It had also opened at a fresh high of 36,859.69 points, surpassing the previous high of 36,749.69 points recorded on Monday.

The intra-day low for Sensex was 36,709.72 points so far. The BSE market breadth was bullish with 1,893 advances against 690 declines.

The wider Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange traded at 11,129.65 points, up 44.90 or 0.41 per cent from its previous close of 11,084.75 points.
New Delhi, July 24 : Reiterating that 1984 Sikh riots was the biggest incident of lynching, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said the central government is taking the incidents of lynching "very seriously" and might bring a law, if necessary, to stop it.

"I want to make it clear that the government is not just concerned but has taken lynching incidents very seriously," Rajnath Singh told the Lok Sabha after opposition members raised the issue days after a cattle farmer was killed allegedly by cow vigilantes in Rajasthan's Alwar.

Rajnath Singh said the biggest incident of lynching had occurred in 1984 when thousands of Sikhs were killed in the aftermath of the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

"But, the incidents of lynching should not be politicised. The Supreme Court has also given its observations on lynchings," he said.

The Home Minister said the government on Monday set up a high-level committee and a Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by him to check mob lynchings and suggest measures to stop mob violence in the country.

He said the Home Secretary-led committee would give its recommendations to the Group of Ministers within four weeks.

"After deliberations, we will take a decision as to what needs to be done to take strong action against the incidents of lynchings. We will also bring a law if that is required," he said, adding that such incidents have been happening for the past many years.

In the officials committee to be headed by Home Secretary R.K. Gauba, the Secretaries of the Departments of Justice, Legal Affairs, Legislative and Social Justice and Empowerment will also be members.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad and Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawar Chand Gehlot are members of the GoM.

The GoM will submit their recommendations to the Prime Minister.

During the discussion, Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge demanded that the government should appoint a sitting Supreme Court judge to probe the incidents of lynchings.

Referring to the Alwar lynching case, Kharge said: "There was a direct involvement of police in the death of the victim (Rakbar Khan). The Gau Rakhshaks who lynched the victim were followers of the local MLA (Ramgarh MLA Gyan Dev Ahuja)."

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan interrupted and said no allegations should be levelled as the investigation was on.

"Since the state (Rajasthan) government is not responding, we demand that the Centre should also appoint a sitting Supreme Court judge to probe the incidents of lynchings apart from the high-level committees," he added.

Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha M. Thambi Durai said even though law and order is a state subject, the states need the support of the Centre to modernise the police staff in order to tackle such incidents.

CPI(M) MP Mohammed Salim said a trend of mob justice on the streets is increasing based on rumours, cow protection or child-lifting.

"Such an environment has been created in the country for the past 10-12 years and the situation is worsening. We need to accept the fact. Such incidents of hatred are spreading across the country and it is very dangerous. It is not just a Hindu-Muslim issue or a matter of cow protection, even Swami Agnivesh was attacked.

"If we garland the convicts in mob lynching case and protect them... such incidents are also happening in West Bengal and Tripura, which had never occurred earlier," said Salim.
Kolkata, July 24 : Indian paint industry is expecting over 10 per cent growth in sales in the current fiscal year, following the lowering of Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates by 10 per cent, which is expected to boost demand, an official said here on Tuesday.

The GST Council has decided to lower the rate on paints by 10 per cent at its meeting on Saturday.

"We expect a 10-15 per cent growth in sales in this fiscal, particularly, after the reduction of GST rates. The lowering of tax rate is likely to push demand up," Indian Paint Association's Vice President Mahesh Anand said after attending the 55th Annual General Meeting.

The benefits of lower tax rates should entirely be passed on to the consumers but raw material prices and other factors are also important in taking a decision on lowering the prices, he said.

In his address at the Annual General Meeting, Anand said the Indian paint industry had been adversely affected during the month of June and July 2017 due to reduction in off take by the dealers on account of uncertainties and lack of familiarity in GST implementation.

The dealers in the Tier II and Tier III cities had initiated adoption of digital payment during the period. More importantly the 28 per cent GST levied on paints had also put the industry in a challenging situation, he added.
New Delhi, July 24 : Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday dismissed as "baseless" the allegations of a 50 per cent jump in deposits by Indians in Swiss banks and said the Congress was trying to tarnish India's image on the international stage by "spreading lies".

He said that contrary to Congress President Rahul Gandhi's assertion that deposits by Indian nationals in Swiss Banks had increased by 50 per cent, the actual Indian deposits had gone down by 34 per cent between 2016 and 2017 and by over 80 per cent since the BJP government came to power in 2014.

Goyal told reporters that the data referred to by Rahul Gandhi includes non-deposit liabilities, business of Swiss branches located in India, inter-bank transactions and fiduciary liabilities.

"The Swiss government has informed us that the news being spread by Rahul Gandhi is baseless and that the figures quoted by some political leaders are completely irrelevant to this issue," he said.

The minister said the Swiss government had told India in writing that the figures published by the Swiss National Bank are regularly mentioned in the Indian media as a reliable indicator of the amount of assets held with Swiss financial institutions in respect of Indian residents but more often the media reports do not take into account the way the figures have to be interpreted.

"This has resulted in misleading headlines and analyses. Moreover, it is frequently assumed that any assets held by Indian residents in Switzerland are undeclared-- so-called 'black money'," Goyal said quoting the Swiss government's response.

"To analyze Indian residents' deposits held in Switzerland, another data source should be used. This is the so-called 'locational banking statistics', which the Swiss National Bank collects in collaboration with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS)," he added.

Goyal said that Rahul Gandhi raked up the issue without understanding the seriousness of the matter.

"He's habitual of making allegations without knowing the reality as we saw in the no-confidence debate as well which led to a rebuttal by the French government the same day. And now we have the Swiss government dismissing his claims," he said.

Goyal said that since 2014, there has been an 80 per cent reduction in money held by Indians in Swiss banks from $2.2 billion in 2014 to just over half a billion dollars in 2017.

"In 2017, deposits have reduced by 34 per cent from $800 million to $524 million. And this has been reducing every year.

"This shows how attempts are being made to malign India's image in international stage through false allegations by the Congress and some other motivated elements," Goyal said.
Panaji, July 24 : A day after a Goa BJP leader called Congress President Rahul Gandhi a "loafer", Congress MLA Aleixo Reginaldo on Tuesday called the former a "bootlegger".

"The BJP has lost credentials and lost touch with human nature. (Goa BJP Spokesperson) Dattaprasad Naik is a bootlegger...," Reginaldo remarked.

"Rahul Gandhi is not involved in any illegal activities nor any crime, whatsoever. The Bharatiya Janata Party has called Rahul Gandhi a lot of names, but he has been decent enough. He is the best human being India has ever produced...

"It is high time the BJP understands the messages. The BJP is a party that is spreading hatred," Reginaldo told reporters on the sidelines of the ongoing Assembly monsoon session.

Naik on Monday called Rahul Gandhi a "loafer" for winking in Parliament on July 20.

On Sunday, the state Congress chief had called Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar a "kathputli" (puppet) for bowing to the unreasonable demands of the ruling allies in the coastal state.
New Delhi, July 24 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called for boosting economic ties between India and Rwanda while describing the East African country as the gateway to the whole of Africa.

"We want to boost economic ties between India and Rwanda," Modi said while addressing the India-Rwanda Business Forum in Kigali.

"Our nations can do a lot together," he said. "There are several opportunities in rural development and small scale industries."

He said that though India is growing exponentially, "our mantra is 'sabka saath sabka vikas'".

"We will grow but we will also help those grow, who are with us," the Prime Minister said. "We will walk together."

He said that at a time when the world was not even looking at Africa, Indians went to the continent and became a part of its development.

"When you have come to Rwanda, don't think that you are confined within its boundaries," Modi said.

"You will find the gateway to the whole of Africa here."

Modi reached Rwanda on Monday on the first leg of his five-day, three-nation tour of Africa that will also take him to Uganda and South Africa.

Following delegation-level talks with Rwandan President Paul Kagame, India and Rwanda signed eight agreements, including in the areas of defence, agriculture and dairy production, trade and leather and allied sectors.

India extended two lines of credit (LoCs) worth $200 million to Rwanda.

Modi also announced that India will open a new High Commission in Rwanda in what can be seen as yet another manifestation of India's increasing engagements with Africa.

India's current High Commissioner to Rwanda has residence in Uganda.

Earlier on Tuesday, Modi visited a village in Rwanda and donated 200 cows for an economic development project of the East African nation.

He also visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial that honours the memory of over one million Tutsis killed by the then Hutu majority government in 1994.

Modi's visit is the first ever Prime Ministerial visit from India to Rwanda.

This is also his second visit to mainland Africa after he visited Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya in 2016.
Beijing, July 24 : China on Tuesday said it discussed the vexed boundary issue including the Doklam plateau with Bhutan during Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou's three-day visit to Thimpu.

India and China were locked in an over two-month long military stand-off near their boundary in the Doklam plateau, contested by both Beijing and Thimpu.

The stand-off began in June when Indian troops stalled a road building by the Chinese Army in the area, citing the disputed status of the region and its close proximity to India's artery in the northeast.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said Xuanyou was in Bhutan from July 22 to July 24 and was accompanied by China's envoy to India Luo Zhaohui.

"During his visit, he met the fourth and fifth kings (Jigme Singye Wangchuck and Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck) of Bhutan and its Prime Minister (Tshering Tobgay). He also held talks with Bhutan's Foreign Minister (Dmacho Dorji)," Geng said.

The two sides exchanged views on China-Bhutan ties, boundary issues and reached many agreements," he added.

China has no diplomatic ties with Bhutan with which it has a border dispute. The Doklam plateau is a part of the disputed border where the boundaries of India, China, and Bhutan meet.

China has offered 269 square kilometres of area in the western sector to Bhutan in lieu of 100 square kilometres in Doklam. Bhutan refuses to accept this.

"The two sides should continue to push forward the border negotiations, abide by the principled consensus reached, jointly safeguard peace and tranquillity in the border areas, and create positive conditions for the final settlement of the border issue," said the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

In June 2017, New Delhi objected to Chinese road building in Doklam because of the disputed status and its proximity to the Siliguri Corridor which links India's northeast to the rest of the country.

The stand-off ended in August after both sides retreated from the point of the face off.
Los Angeles, July 24 : Rapper G-Eazy has moved here specifically for the purpose of breaking into acting.

The rapper has signed with talent agency UTA and has been auditioning for roles, primarily in movies, reports TMZ.com.

The 29-year-old rapper said that he is supremely confident, saying "Will Smith, watch out!"

G-Eazy is also producing a few projects and using his connections.

He says he's been in touch with rappers Ludacris, Master P and others who know their way around Hollywood.
New York, July 24 : The Islamic State (IS) has made changes to the way it refers to its regional branches in Syria and Iraq, in a likely indication that the outfit has made internal structural changes after losing territory in 2017.

The Islamic State dropped the term "Wilayah", meaning official branch or "province", to refer to areas within Syria and Iraq which had previously held the status of separate "provinces" -- such as Damascus, Raqqa, Kirkuk and northern Baghdad, BBC citing SITI reported.

The term "Wilayah" is now being used to describe the larger territories of Syria and Iraq -- the "Wilayah of Sham (Syria)" and the "Wilayah of Iraq", regional designations that the IS had not used before.

The changes were first spotted in the latest edition of the group's weekly Arabic-language newspaper al-Naba on July 20. But there was no fanfare and the IS made no announcement of the changes.

Since then, claims of attacks within Syria and Iraq have been attributed to "Wilayah of Sham" or "Wilayah of Iraq".

In a video released by the IS in July 2016, the group set out the administrative structure of what it termed as caliphate. It said the Wilayat (plural of Wilayah) were established following the group's expansion in order to "create effective ways to administer and supervise its territory".

The report said that the latest changes to the official status of the regions reflected a restructuring following territorial setbacks in 2017, with each of the regions within Syria and Iraq no longer requiring its own governor or ministry offices.

It was not clear whether countries such as Libya, Yemen or Saudi Arabia underwent a similar restructuring process.

The group did, however, continue to refer to its Egypt branch as the "Wilayah of Sinai" and for the first time described its affiliate in Southeast Asia as a Wilayah -- effectively upgrading its status, possibly as compensation for the downgrading of regions in Syria and Iraq.
Mumbai, July 24 : Superstar Salman Khan says he has always looked up to Anil Kapoor and that the actor-producer respects the work he gets.

The two shot together for an episode of the show "Dus Ka Dum - Dumdaar Weekend".

"Anil Kapoor is one of the most generous actors I've ever worked with. He has grown as an actor and as a human being. Anil and I have been friends since the start of our careers and I've always looked up to him for his acting skills and his contribution to this industry," Salman said in a statement.

"He makes sure he is perfect on screen and also that the co-star is as comfortable as he or she should be. He really respects the work he gets. Anil has decided till the time he keeps on working, it will be his best and I'm sure such an actor will never be out of work," he added about Anil, who has featured in films like "Mr. India", "Nayak: The Real Hero" and "Pukar".

The actors and friends have worked together in films like "Race 3" and "No Entry".
Mumbai, July 24 : Heaping praise on female directors in Bollywood, Priti Rathi Gupta, one of the producers of the forthcoming film "Karwaan", says that gender diversity is healthy for the business of cinema.

"We can see so many successful film directors in recent times... whether it is Meghna Gulzar or Ashwini Iyer Tiwari, they are bringing some interesting stories in the world of cinema. It is the time that more women producers also come into the picture because gender diversity is healthy for business," Gupta told IANS.

"I think it is important to bring the female gaze in storytelling because it shows a different perspective of stories. The way the female director treats a film, a screenplay writer writes it, the kind of stories get commissioned by women are different and interesting," she added.

She took the example of "Waiting" -- her first film as a producer. It was directed by Anu Menon and featured Kalki Koechlin.

She said: "That was an all women crew...not by design, but by co-incidence. I believe the way the film came out on-screen and we tried to elaborate the emotional quotation of the story, happened because it is shown through a different lens. I am not talking about right or wrong, I am saying different."

Gupta has produced "Karwaan" along with Ronnie Screwvala. It features Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan and Mithila Palkar.

Sharing her future plans, she said she wants to go to a film school as she wishes to get into film direction.

"Such a study will help me to learn more about the art of storytelling in the form of cinema. In fact, I am planning my next project on an international platform. I am planning to take Indian stories to the international market, approaching Hollywood studios to transcend all boundaries.

"You know that is how we can actually work on the style of storytelling," she added.

"Karwaan" is releasing on August 3.
Patna, July 24 : A Bihar court on Tuesday convicted all the 15 accused in the 2012 Ara hooch tragedy in Bhojpur district of the state, which had claimed 21 lives, a government lawyer said.

Ordering judicial custody of all the 15 convicts, R.C. Diwedi, Additional District Judge in Ara civil court, slated the hearing on the quantum of punishment for July 26.

Four years before Bihar was declared a dry state following imposition of total prohibition, 21 people had died after consuming spurious liquor in Anaitha village of Ara. All the victims were Dalits.

The deaths had sparked widespread protests in Bhojpur, with hundreds of students blocking roads and the then opposition Bharatiya Janata Party leaders blaming the state government for the incident.
New Delhi, July 24 : Attacking Congress President Rahul Gandhi as a leader with "inherent and inbuilt limitations", Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday accused his party of manufacturing a controversy around Rafale deal by creating "fake issues".

He also accused the Congress of engaging in an implied battle with the Federal Front in order to reclaim the minority vote by comparing Hindus with 'Taliban' and using phrases such as 'Hindu Pakistan'.

Making a sharp attack on Gandhi, he said the opposition party was resorting to such strategies of creating "fake issues" because it had "an inadequate leader and no real issue".

"The Congress realises that there is a danger of the next election becoming a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's performance. The popularity gap between the Prime Minister and his competitors is very wide," he said.

He said the Congress with a leader who has "inherent and inbuilt limitations" was left with no choice and no issue.

"If you have no issue, manufacture one. Hence the Rafale's fake controversy. The Congress's strategy is, therefore, two-fold. It has manufactured the issue of the Rafale deal. The issue is failing to cut much ice.

"The second strategy of the Congress is directed against the federal front. By attacking the BJP on certain issues, it is engaged in an implied battle with the federal front in order to reclaim the minority vote. Comparison of Hindus with 'Taliban' and phrases such as 'Hindu Pakistan' are intended to help it against the federal front to reclaim the minority vote," he wrote.

The minister said that such a strategy to redefine secularism would backfire as in doing so the Congress was antagonising the majority against itself.

"As equal participants in the Indian electoral process, the minorities have a constitutional right of a vote. But so does the majority. By redefining secularism as a euphemism for majority bashing, the Congress Party is antagonising the majority against itself," Jaitley said in a Facebook post.

The senior BJP leader said the Congress had a history of creating fake issues and was resorting to the same strategy of concocting controversies as it did in 1989 when there was an outrage in the whole country against the Congress party and its leadership on the Bofors issue.

"The Congress party's strategists invented a counter strategy of diversion by creating a fake issue. A bank account in St. Kitts was created in the name of V.P. Singh's son so that the Congress could now have a face saving argument - if we are corrupt, so are you," Jaitley wrote.

He added that the opposition party used the same strategy in 1999 when the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, in the backdrop of the Kargil conflict, was likely to come back to power.

"The Congress was faced with a massive defeat, it manufactured an issue of sugar export to Pakistan. Some two dozen press conferences on the issue were organised to question the government's commitment to nationalism. The truth of the allegation was that a mid-level unknown Chandni Chowk trader had been exporting an OGL (open general licence) item, sugar, to Pakistan," he said.

Jaitley said just like the strategy fell flat then, so will it now as the Congress was either non-existent or a poor third or fourth in larger states which account for 50 per cent of the Lok Sabha seats.

"Of the balance seats, if it enters into some form of alliance, it may have to concede seats in several states to its allies. It is, therefore, faced with the prospect of effectively contesting only about 225 seats where it will face a direct clash with the BJP," Jaitley said.

"If the first part of the Congress-mukt Bharat was scripted by the BJP, the Federal Front is more than eager to script the part-2 of the same. Its message to the Congress is clear - 'you will have to support us; the other way is not possible'," he said.
New Delhi, July 24 : The Delhi Cabinet on Tuesday re-approved its plan of providing Rs 1 crore compensation to the kin of martyrs belonging to the national capital.

Under the scheme, a member from the family of the dead will also be given a job in the Delhi government if the Centre does not offer a job.

The offer covers Delhi-based security personnel from all the three services of the armed forces, Delhi Police, paramilitary forces, fire service, Home Guards and the district disaster force personnel.

The scheme will also cover war-disabled, war prisoners and those missing in war.

"As a token of respect to the forces, the Cabinet has approved Rs 1 crore compensation to the immediate kin of these personnel who die in the line of duty," Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said.

The scheme, launched in April 2015, was stalled by then Lt Governor Najeeb Jung.

"In the past three years, no such family of martyrs has been given the compensation. At least 10 cases are pending before us," Kejriwal said.

"We will give Rs 50,000 per month to the family of those who went missing in the wars," he said.

A three-member ministerial group will be formed, headed by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who will take a call on these matters.

Kejriwal also asked the Modi government to implement a similar scheme.
Panaji, July 24 : Janata Dal-Secular MLA C.K. Nanu on Tuesday said that the LDF government in Kerala had cracked down on the misuse of formalin to preserve fish meant for human consumption, adding that the initiative was yielding results.

"A special team has been formed in Kerala and officers are cracking down on misuse of formalin for fish preservation. Trucks are being checked with the help of police and other officials. If it (formalin-laced fish) is found, the driver and owner are arrested," said Nanu, whose JD-S is an alliance partner in the ruling Left Democratic Front in the southern state.

Nanu, who is part of the five-member delegation from Kerala Assembly presently visiting Goa, also underlined the need to act against traders who used formalin, which is carcinogenic.

"It affects the people's health. Formalin affects our health. We must be very cautious as we have found out how these people (traders) are making more money. We have to safeguard public interest," the MLA from Payyannur told reporters at the Goa Assembly complex here.

The delegation of Kerala Assembly's Committee on the Welfare of Fishermen and Allied Workers is travelling across the country to study schemes related to fisherfolk along the Indian coastline.

The committee is led by C. Krishnan, a Communist Party of India-Marxist MLA from Payyannur.

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday tried to quell criticism of his government and Ministers' attempts to shield fish traders using formalin, claiming that fish inherently contained formalin, adding that tests had revealed that no additional formalin was used in fish consignments in question.
Alappuzha, July 24 : Minister for public works G Sudhakaran lost his cool and entered into a verbal duel with a person during a visit to relief camps set up for victims of monsoon havoc in Alappuzha district on Tuesday.

As the minister was about to embark on a boat to go to another relief camp after having visited a few camps in Thalavady panchayath in Alappuzha, an irate inmate of one of the camps asked the minister whether he had skipped visiting some camps because the majority of the inmates there were members of the scheduled caste (SC) community.

In a video aired on news channels, the agitated inmate is seen pointing to the direction of a relief camp and asking the minister why he chose not to call on the inmates there who had been waiting for him. Is it because they are members of scheduled castes, the inmate asked.

The video shows a visibly upset minister asking the man to come close and asking him whether he belonged to the SC community. When the man replies in the affirmative, the minister berates him for raking up the issue of caste.

You should keep quiet. How can I know which caste they (inmates of camps) belong to? Do not say unnecessary things, Mr. Sudhakaran chided the inmate.

However, the aggrieved inmate stood his ground and repeated the charge that he believed the minister chose not to visit their camps because they belonged to scheduled castes.

Following this, Sudhakaran blew his top and told the man in a fit of rage, You are not from the SC community; you are a Brahmin and walked away in a huff.

Complaints of caste discrimination in flood relief camps had come up earlier. According to a report in The Hindu, Dalit inmates of a relief camp in Alappuzha had written to the chief minister the other day accusing a group of Christians of discriminating against them on the basis of their caste.
Thiruvananthapuram, July 24 : Former Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan on Tuesday wrote to state police chief Loknath Behra demanding the arrest of Franco Mulakkal, the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jalandhar (Punjab), who is alleged to have sexually abused a nun.

In his statement issued to the media, Achuthanandan says that a detailed statement and supporting evidences from the father of a nun who has suffered at the hands of this bishop has been handed over to Behra.

"It's most unfortunate that this nun continues to be under the bishop and is living in fear. Now that the allegations raised by the nun is true, the police should immediately arrest the bishop," says Achuthanandan in his letter.

His statement comes two days after police have stepped up protection to the convent near Kottayam, which is home to the nun who had alleged that she was sexually abused by the Catholic bishop.

Trouble began for Mulakkal, in June when the nun alleged that she was sexually abused by him several times between 2014 and 2016.

An FIR was registered against the bishop and a 114-page detailed statement was taken from the nun and other inmates of the convent at Kuruvalangadu. She alleged that the abuse took place at the convent.

Mulakkal maintains that he has done no wrong.
New Delhi, July 24 : Xiaomi-backed wearable brand Huami on Tuesday announced its debut in the Indian market with the launch of two smartwatches -- "Amazfit Bip" and "Amazfit Stratos".

"Bip" priced at Rs 5,499 and "Stratos" at Rs 15,999 are available on Flipkart as well as select stores across tier I and II markets.

Technology distribution and logistics company PR Innovations in association with Udaan -- the distribution partners of Huami Amazfit products -- will focus on the regional markets, the company said in a statement.

"Huami's 'Amazfit Stratos' and 'Bip' are equipped with superior technological capabilities and premium designs. These smartwatches provide consumers great value at a highly accessible price point," said CP Khandelwal, Founder, PR Innovations.

Equipped with multi-sport tracking, these smart smartwatches enable the growing fitness conscious millennials to track their movements and stay active, the company added.
Union MoS Development of North Eastern Region (I/C) Jitendra Singh addresses at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Barak Hostel for the Students from North Eastern States, in New ... Image Source: IANS

New Delhi, July 24 : The Parliament on Tuesday passed an anti-corruption Bill that provides for punishment to bribe givers and takers, and extends prior nod for prosecution to former public officials with the Lok Sabha giving its assent to the law.

The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2018, passed by the lower house after a reply by Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh, was passed by Rajya Sabha last week.

The bill makes specific provisions related to giving a bribe to a public servant, and giving a bribe by a commercial organisation and it also modifies the definitions and penalties for offences related to taking a bribe, being a habitual offender and abetting an offence.

The Bill provides for imprisonment from three to seven years, besides fine, to those convicted of taking bribes. Bribe givers have also been included in the legislation for the first time and they can be punished with imprisonment up to seven years, fine, or both.

In his reply, the minister said the Bill provides safeguards to officers who perform their duties with honesty.

"We have brought amendments so that honest performing officer does not get intimidated or his initiatives get killed," he said.

Singh said the "historic legislation" has provisions to ensure speedy trial in corruption cases.

Noting the ideal situation is when the nation and society becomes incorruptible, he said: "But maybe we are yet to evolve to that level of evolution. To be fair, 70 years is a very small life span in the history of a democracy or a nation. We are still evolving and when we evolve to that level of incorruptibility, then we will not require a legislation like this or any further amendments."

Referring to delay in appointment of Lokpal, he said the blame laid with Congress as it did not get enough seats for its leader to be recognised as the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

The Leader of Opposition is a member of Lokpal selection panel. Singh said the government had sought to include the leader of the largest opposition party in the meetings concerning appointment of Lokpal.

Many members who took part in the debate stressed on the need for electoral reforms to curb corruption.

Some opposition members accused the government of "diluting" the anti-corruption act through the amendments. They also cautioned the government over the provision to punish the bribe giver.

Citing some other decisions related to the government, Shiv Sena's Arvind Ganpat Sawant said "it is easy to talk about corruption and difficult to walk the talk".

He asked if expenses of a party meeting addressed by Prime Minister or a Chief Minister are borne by the exchequer or the political party concerned.

"Election is den of corruption, school admission is den of corruption," he said.
Jaipur, July 24 : Even as Rajasthan home minister Gulabchand Kataria on Tuesday promised strict action in the Alwar lynching case, his colleague and state Labour Minister Jaswant Singh asked Muslims and the Mev community to "stop consuming beef' and "keep away from cow smugglers to respect the Hindus."

"We will ensure punishment to the guilty," home minister Kataria said while inspecting the site at Ramgarh (Alwar) where Rakbar alias Akabar was lynched by a mob over cow smuggling on Saturday night. Kataria was accompanied by Director General of Police OP Galhotra.

Earlier, Labour Minister Jaswant Singh, who was also in Alwar, said: "These incidents (of violence) are almost a daily occurrence," adding that since the "root cause" is cow smuggling, "the Muslims should avoid eating beef and not support cow smugglers."

Kataria met Chief Secretary DB Gupta, DGP Galhotra and special Director General (Law and Order) NRK Reddy to review the situation following the lynching incident. He said that a few lapses have come to the fore on police's part and an assistant sub-inspector has been suspended. "Action has also been taken against four constables. We will take right action," he said.

The post-mortem of Rakbar has confirmed that he died due to multiple internal injuries sustained from severe beating, sources said.

Amid a charged atmosphere in Alwar, district Shiv Sena chief Bhupendra Singh Naruka said his party supported the 'innocents' caught by the police and would fight their case in the court "on its expenses." He also questioned BJP on its delay to declare cow as a "national animal" of the country.

Meanwhile BJP legislator from Ramgarh (Alwar) Gyandev Ahuja on Tuesday said that Rakbar had died in police custody and not by a mob. He also said that action taken against four policemen on Monday was to "shield" senior police officers. He also demanded a judicial probe into this matter.

The Rajasthan police late on Monday accepted "error of judgement" by its personnel which delayed the victim's arrival to the hospital. Rakbar was declared brought dead in the hospital.
Lucknow, July 24 : Two alleged Bangladeshi terror operatives were arrested from Uttar Pradesh's Noida on Tuesday in a joint operation by the Uttar Pradesh's Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) and the West Bengal Police, an official said.

"A team is interrogating the operatives," an Uttar Pradesh Police spokesman told IANS. Identified as Musharraf and Rubel, the two operatives of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, based in Bangladesh.

Inspector General of Police, ATS, Aseem Arun informed that the two were arrested from city's Surajpur, adding their presence came to be known after the ATS had intercepted a telephone call few days back following which police zeroed down on them.

Officials indicated that a deadly attack was being planned either on August 15 or during the 'Kanwar Yatra' beginning July 28.

The two are being brought to Lucknow for further interrogation about their associates and plans.
Kolkata, July 24 : Focusing on the 2019 general elections, the BJP will hold three massive rallies in the state which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi towards the end of this year, said West Bengal chief of the party Dilip Ghosh on Tuesday.

Ghosh said apart from these three "Jansampark" (connecting with people) rallies, similar rallies will also be held in all the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha constituencies in Bengal, demanding reinstatement of democracy and speeding up the state's development.

"There will be three or four 'Jansampark Yatras' in Bengal towards the end of this year, ahead of the 2019 general elections. The rallies will focus on reinstating democracy and speeding up the development of Bengal under the leadership of Modiji. The three big rallies will conclude in Kolkata in the presence of PM Modi," he said.

Claiming that a lot of people are joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state every day, the party leader said the party's membership drive through missed-call on a cell phone number will be relaunched in the state from August to September this year.

"There will be training sessions for the party's grassroot level organisers. The activists and leaders who have joined BJP from other political parties will be given the opportunity to work for party's betterment," he said.

Referring to the BJP's success in the state rural body elections this year, he said the party is appointing several of the new joinees as observers in different districts to formulate strategies for the hung Panchayat seats.

"Our party has won in 300 Gram Panchayat seats while it has the chance to formulate Panchayat boards in 100 more seats. Our aim will be to stop Trinamool Congress from forming the boards in the hung Panchayat seats. Either BJP will try to form the board, or we will look for suitable alternatives," Ghosh said.

The state BJP chief also stated that his party leadership is focusing more on the common people to join it rather than trying to lure heavyweight leaders in Bengal as that would help them build a robust party structure.

He claimed that the BJP's strategy to bank upon the masses rather than leaders without people's backing will take them ahead of the state's ruling party in the future.

"Trinamool took some senior leaders, MLAs and MPs from other parties during their Martyr's Day rally, but these leaders do not have backing and support of common people. The BJP is focusing on taking such leaders who can bring in hundreds of their supporters along with them. This basic difference between Trinamool and BJP's strategies will be the deciding factor in Bengal politics," Ghosh claimed.

"We initially thought that without heavyweight leaders, the BJP will not be able to grow in Bengal. But now we can see that thousands of general workers are joining us every day which is leading to significant growth of the party. The CPI-M and the Congress' support base are becoming hollow," he added.
Jerusalem/Damascus, July 24 : Israel said it shot down a Syrian warplane that entered its airspace and that the jet crashed on the Syrian-held side of the Golan Heights.

The Israeli military said in a statement that two Patriot missiles were launched at a Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet, which it said had flown about 2 kilometres into skies above Israel, the BBC reported.

"It was shot down and it crashed," Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus told reporters. "We do not have any information so far about the pilots. I do not know of any reports of parachutes being spotted and we do not know if any pilots have been retrieved."

Syrian news agency Sana said Israel had targeted one of its jets over Syrian airspace, but did not say it was hit.

The agency quoted a military source as saying the plane was conducting raids against "armed terrorist groups" near the southern Yarmouk Valley.

Israel's Haaretz news website said residents in northern Israel saw interceptor missiles fired and heard explosions.

The Israeli military spokesperson said that the plane was Syrian, not Russian. "The only thing we know about the aircraft is that it crashed, most likely in the southern part of the Syrian Golan Heights," he said.

The Israeli Defence Forces said they were on "high alert" following "an increase in the internal fighting in Syria" and greater activity by Syria's Air Force in the region.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 and still occupies the area. The UN deployed a peacekeeping force between the two sides in 1974.

Syrian forces have been battling rebels and Islamic State militants at the frontier with Israel in recent weeks. Tuesday marked the first time government forces reached the border fence with the UN's Disengagement Observer Force at the edge of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
: Kampala: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uganda President Yoweri Museveni co-chair the delegation level talks in Uganda's Kampala on July 24, 2018. (Photo: IANS/MEA). Image Source: IANS/MEA

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uganda President Yoweri Museveni co-chair the delegation level talks in Uganda's Kampala on July 24, 2018. Image Source: IANS/MEA

Kampala, July 24 : India and Uganda on Tuesday agreed to boost bilateral cooperation in the areas of economy and defence as New Delhi extended two lines of credit to the East African nation following delegation-level talks co-chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni here.

"India will always support Uganda's economic development and nation-building efforts," Modi said in a joint address to the media with Museveni following the talks.

"Training, capacity building, technology and infrastructure are among the areas of of aid from our side.

"In the future too, we will keep aiding Uganda according to its priorities," he said.

The Prime Minister also announced two lines of credit worth nearly $200 million for energy infrastructure, agriculture and dairy sectors.

He also announced a gift of a cancer therapy machine for the Uganda Cancer Institute in Kampala as a sign of friendship between the people of India and Uganda.

Stating that bilateral trade and investment is growing stronger, Modi said that both he and Museveni will meet CEOs of both countries here on Wednesday.

He said that it is a matter of great satisfaction that defence cooperation between the two countries is progressing well.

"We are ready to further strengthen our defence ties," he said.

The two sides signed four MoUs, including in the areas of defence cooperation and cultural exchange.

The Prime Minister also said that India will continue to provide vehicles and ambulances for civilian and military use in Uganda.

Modi appreciated Museveni for the love he has shown to the Indian community in Uganda, where there are over 30,000 people of Indian origin.

On his part, Museveni said that the two sides emphasised on trade, investment and tourism during Tuesday's talks.

Inviting Indians to visit Uganda, he said that promoting tourism would go a long way in boosting bilateral trade.

In this connection, he sought permission for Ugandan Airlines to fly to Mumbai.

According to Museveni, one of Modi's suggestions during the talks was for Indian companies to invest in Uganda's healthcare sector.

Modi arrived here earlier on Tuesday from Rwanda on the second leg of his five-day, three-nation tour of Africa that will also take him to South Africa.

This is the first Prime Ministerial visit from India to Uganda in over 20 years.

For Modi, this is his second visit to this East African nation after his visit in 2007 as Gujarat Chief Minister.
Aurangabad (Maharashtra), July 24 : A policemen and four others were injured, four persons attempted suicide, over a dozen vehicles damaged or torched, road and rail links blocked while a MP and MLC were roughed up, as the stir for the Maratha quota turned violent in parts of Maharashtra on Tuesday.

Several Maratha organisations have now called for a "Mumbai shutdown" on Wednesday, with the Maratha Sakal Samaj (the state-level body) appealing to all community members to observe it peacefully.

"Thousands of people are returning from the Pandharpur festival so Mumbai and Konkan region shall observe a shutdown on Wednesday. We appeal to all people to maintain peace and discipline," said Maratha Kranti Morcha Convenor for Mumbai, Virendra Pawar.

Starting with Aurangabad, a series of processions were taken out on Tuesday in various districts of northern, western Maharashtra and Marathwada with thousands taking to the streets demanding reservations in government jobs and education.

Roads were blocked in Aurangabad, Osmanabad, Pune, while a fire brigade van, a bus and a truck (in Aurangabad), a police van (in Hingoli), at least five state transport buses (in Kolhapur), were pelted with stones and other several vehicles also damaged by angry Marathas, while there was rail blockade for half an hour at Parbhani this afternoon.

The Mumbai-Agra National Highway in Nashik was blocked, while protests were carried out in Nanded, Jalgaon, Parbhani, Kolhapur, Osmanabad, Ahmednagar, Jalna, Nandurbar, Yavatmal and Akola districts, and roads were blocked by burning tyres in Nashik and Hingoli.

In view of the violence, state transport bus services were suspended in Aurangabad, Osmanabad and Nanded, stranding thousands of passengers in the moffusil areas, while a silent protest procession was taken out in Nagpur, though Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai and some other cities remained unaffected by the shutdown on Tuesday.

As a precautionary measure, the authorities suspended internet services in Aurangabad, some schools and colleges remained shut in Nanded, Osmanabad and certain other places, even as the protests subsided by evening.

Several districts observed a spontaneous shutdown on Tuesday, mourning for Kakasaheb Dattatreya Shinde, 28 who committed by jumping in the River Godavari in Aurangabad's Kaigaon on Tuesday.

At his funeral - which witnessed a huge turnout in his native Kaanad village - angry Marathas objected to the presence of Shiv Sena MP Chandrakant Khaire and roughed him up, forcing him to make a hasty exit in his vehicle. Similarly, Congress legislator Subhash Zambad was also manhandled and had to be whisked off to safety by police.

A policeman from Osmanabad, Shyam Katgaonkar, posted on duty in Kaigaon for the funeral security, suddenly collapsed and died of heart attack here this afternoon.

Earlier, the Maharashtra government announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for Shinde, but various parties including Congress, Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena have demanded Rs 50 lakhs as the issue figured in the Lok Sabha.

In Aurangabad, two persons Jayant Sonawane and Jagannath Sonawane, attempted suicide by jumping into a river and consuming poison respectively, but both were rushed to a hospital and are under treatment.

In Beed, two persons sought to commit suicide by jumping from the building terrace of the Tehsildar office, but police prevented them at the last minute.

Various prominent groups held meetings in different parts of the state for finalizing the main programme of a Maharashtra shutdown on August 9 - celebrated as August Kranti Divas - to intensify the ongoing two-year old agitation.

Meanwhile, speaking on behalf of the government an embattled Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil, who was in Sangli, urged the Marathas to remain calm and call off their agitation.

"Agitations, violence and protests will not ensure reservations. We are keen that the Maratha community should get reservations... we have to consider various aspects," he said.

Patil, and Education Minister Vinod Tawde added that since the matter is sub-judice before Bombay High Court and the Bharatiya Janata Party government was trying its best to resolve the issue.

Preparing for Wednesday's shutdown, the police have made deployed tight security in the country's commercial capital and are in touch with Maratha leaders to ensure a peaceful agitation, said Deputy Commissioner of Police Deepak Deoraj.

The Congress, Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena have urged the ruling BJP government to immediately resolve the long-pending Maratha reservations issue for which the community is agitating peacefully since over two years.
New Delhi, July 24 : An Indian Air Force contingent comprising of four frontline Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft on Tuesday participated in Exercise Pitch Black-2018, a multinational exercise hosted by Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

The fighters, supported by a C-130J Super Hercules and a C-17 Globemaster-III, landed at Darwin Air Force Base in Australia, a Defence Ministry spokesperson said.

This is the first time the IAF is participating in this exercise that involves over 100 aircraft from around the globe operating in a dynamic warlike environment.

"Su-30 MKI aircraft flew across the ocean to once again demonstrate our strategic reach and professionalism. As part of military diplomacy and reassuring our neighbours of our commitment to regional peace and security, while en-route to Australia, IAF engaged with the Indonesian and Malaysian Air Forces," an official statement said.

As a part of Commonwealth countries, India and Australia have always enjoyed amicable bilateral relations and air forces of both the countries have participated in the Second World War.

"After the success of recently concluded Exercise Gaganshakti 2018, IAF engagement with Indonesian and Malayasian Air Forces and participation in the Exercise Pitch Black-18 in Australia, IAF will once again showcase its capability to be an effective net security provider in the region," the statement said.

Scheduled from July 24 to August 18, Exercise Pitch Black is a biennial multi-national large force employment exercise conducted from RAAF bases Darwin and Tindal.

Participation in multinational air exercise assumes importance in view of the continued engagement of the IAF with friendly foreign countries. Over the last decade, IAF has been actively participating in operational exercises hosted by various countries, wherein collaborative engagements are undertaken with the best air forces in the world.
New Delhi, July 24 : Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said that the BJP-led Central government has fulfilled "around 90 per cent" of the commitments made under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, and was committed to fulfil the rest "at any cost".

"Our government will fulfil all the commitments made not only by our Prime Minister but also those made by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh," he said in Rajya Sabha while replying to a short duration discussion on the implementation of AP Reorganisation Act that carved out the state of Telangana out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a former NDA coalition partner, had asked for a discussion on the issue, alleging that "justice" was not being done with the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh in terms of granting it special category status.

In his reply, Rajnath Singh said that he could not understand why some members were stuck with the word "special category status" when the Centre was actually giving Andhra "even those incentives not mentioned in the Act".

"There was some conflict between the commitments made by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission, and hence it was decided in consultation with Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu that instead of granting special category status, Andhra Pradesh should be given special assistance.

"The Chief Minister had in September 2016 agreed to this arrangement and said in the state Assembly in a statement that special assistance was more useful than the special category status," he said.

"I would also like to clarify that special category status is different from special industrial incentive. The former does not necessarily include industrial incentive. But the promise of giving the Telugu states industrial incentive has already been fulfilled," he added.

The Home Minister underlined that Andhra was being given Rs 22,123 crore as revenue deficit spread over five years ending FY 2019-20.

He said that out of the 11 higher education institutions promised in the Act for Andhra, 10 have already been approved and many of them "have started functioning", and stressed that the railway zone as promised under the act "will be established".

He said that for the "lifeline" Pollavaram Irrigation Project, the Centre has already released over Rs 6,764 crore and it has also accepted the state's proposal about implementation of the project. He hoped that it will be completed in a "record time".

He said that the Centre even agreed to the state's demand of giving a loan through NABARD but since it could not be given directly for technical reasons, the Andhra government was asked to create a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the same to whom the loan would be disbursed.

"The state hasn't got back about the SPV so far," he said.

"We want development of all states whether we have our party government there or not. Because we realize that until all states progress, our dream of making India progress will not come true. I would also like to clarify that we don't do politics just to make governments but to build the nation," he said.
New Delhi, July 24 : Kerala MP M.B. Rajesh on Tuesday urged the central government to withdraw a bill to replace the University Grants Commission with the Higher Education Commission, saying the move will have "disastrous consequences" in the field of free thought, critical thinking and "increases the political control" over academia.

The new bill proposes to establish the Higher Education Commission ostensibly to improve the quality of higher education in the country and bring it at par with international standards.

"With this act, the regulatory role will be played by the Higher Education Commission and the funding will be directly controlled by the Ministry," the Palakkad MP said in the Lok Sabha.

Raising apprehensions over the government's proposed move to bring in the Higher Education Commission of India Bill, 2018 that seeks to repeal the University Grants Commission (UGC) Act, 1956, the CPI-M Lok Sabha member said: "The UGC was the product of post independent India to serve a social purpose in the field of higher education, but in recent days... the purpose has been diluted, it is a deliberate attempt to undermine the functioning of UGC."

He said the entire academia is opposing the move and the new proposed body "will not sync" with the federal principles of the country.

However, on Monday, Human Resource and Development Minister Prakash Javadekar told the Lok Sabha that the Higher Education Commission will be autonomous and not a bureaucratic body.
Kathmandu, July 24 : India on Wednesday announced that it is closing its camp office in Nepal's Biratnagar from August 1.

"All services, including issuing of motor vehicle permits, registration certificates for Indian nationals, attestation of documents and miscellaneous services (birth/death registrations) being rendered by the camp office, Biratnagar, will cease with effect from August 1, 2018," the Indian Embassy here said in a statement.

The camp office was established in 2008 to assist Nepali vehicles enter India after deadly floods in Kosi River damaged huge portion of the East-West Highway of Nepal.

After Nepal repaired the damaged portion of the highway, it urged the Indian side to draw down the field office, said Nepali officials.

During the visit of Nepali Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli to India in August, Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured him that New Delhi will wind up the field office in Biratnagar with immediate effect.

The Indian Embassy urged the service seekers to contact its office in Kathmandu for any services that were provided by the Biratnagar office.
Islamabad, July 24 : Radesh Singh Tony has claimed that he will become the first candidate from Pakistan's Sikh community to contest an election for a general seat on Wednesday.

"I am probably the first minority member in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa who is contesting the elections as an independent candidate," Dawn reported him as saying.

"Normally, members of our community are assigned tickets by political parties for reserved seats and not the general ones. Hence, I have decided to contest the elections as an independent candidate and try my luck," Radesh Singh Tony said.

The PK-75 candidate is a prominent member of the local Sikh community and the president of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's Pakistan Minorities Alliance.
New Delhi, July 24 : The government on Tuesday rejected the opposition's demand to extend Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh even as former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that he had made this assurance on behalf of Parliament and had expected his successor to fulfil it.

Replying to over three-and-half-hours-long debate in Rajya Sabha over non-implementation of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, Union Home Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the BJP-led Central government has fulfilled "around 90 per cent" of the commitments under the Act and was committed to fulfil the rest "at any cost", including those made by Manmohan Singh.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a former NDA coalition partner, had asked for a discussion on the issue, alleging that "justice" was not being done with the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh.

Rajnath Singh said that he could not understand why some members were stuck with the word "Special Category Status" when the Centre was actually giving Andhra "even those incentives not mentioned in the Act".

Noting that due to "some conflict" between the commitments made by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the 14th Finance Commission's recommendations, "it was decided in consultation with Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu that instead of granting Special Category Status, Andhra Pradesh should be given special assistance".

"The Chief Minister had in September 2016 agreed to this arrangement and said in the state aassembly in a statement that special assistance was more useful than the Special Category status," he said.

The Home Minister underlined that Andhra was being given Rs 22,123 crore as revenue deficit spread over five years, out of the 11 higher education institutions promised, 10 have already been approved and many are functional, while the promised railway zone "will be established".

For the "lifeline" Pollavaram Irrigation Project, the Centre has already released over Rs 6,764 crore, he said.

Intervening during the Short Duration Discussion, Manmohan Singh said that Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh was an assurance made by him on behalf of the Parliament and had been discussed with then Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley and other senior BJP leaders.

"Government is a continuing entity. Commitments made on the floor of the house have to be honoured and fulfilled. They are in nature of assurance on behalf of the Parliament. I had expected that my distinguished successor to fulfil the commitments I had made after consultations with his own colleagues," he said.

Earlier, initiating the debate, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader and former Union Minister Y.S. Chowdary accused former ally BJP of "violating the principles of friendship and political morality".

"The BJP took a U-turn and violated the principles of friendship and political morality. Their sole aim is to destroy the TDP for their own expansion. That is why we parted ways with a heavy heart," he said.

Chowdary said there was a "disconnect" between the words and deeds of Modi who had "not once, but thrice during his election campaign in 2014 promised special status for 10 years for the residual state of Andhra Pradesh.

Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said the demand of a separate Telanagana was just and so was the demand of Andhra Pradesh for Special Category Status, while though the Centre, in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, claimed that all the commitments had been addressed, he said that nothing has been done.

"There will be a privilege against you. I don't know why a privilege has not been raised so far," he said, accusing the government of "deceiving the nation, the parliament and the people of Andhra Pradesh".

BJP's G.V.L Narsimha Rao claimed that the centre was allocating more funds to state while the state government was not performing its duties and only blaming the centre.

Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav supported the TDP's demand but opposed the idea of creating small states.

"We should learn lessons from history. We have seen the adverse results of the Partition of the country. We did not learn lessons from division of states..... Its not that after creation of states, small states get developed. We have seen there was no Maoism in undivided Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. Today Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand are facing this menace."

Trinamool Congress' Derek O'Brien said: "This issue is beyond Andhra Pradesh. Making promises the BJP is too good. In marketing, they are super good but implementation is the problem with them. They give only speeches but no action on ground."

BJD's Prasanna Acharya said that Odisha, which is "suffering", also meets the requirement for Special Category Status.

Janata Dal-United's R.C.P. Singh said the day any state is provided Special Category Status, Bihar should also get it.
New Delhi, July 24 : The government has no specific data on the number of journalists killed in the country because a repository of information on crime and criminals does not collate data in categories of professionals, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.

"While (the) National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) collects data pertaining to murders, it does not collect data in respect of separate categories of professionals, including journalists," Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Gangaram Ahir said in a written reply.

The reply came in response to a question, seeking state and union territory wise data on the number of journalists or media persons attacked or killed during each of the last three years and the current year and the laws to curb such attacks.

The Minister said that existing laws were adequate for the protection of citizens including media persons.

"The Press Council of India takes appropriate action on receipt of specific complaints from affected journalists. Representations on providing security are received from or on behalf of individuals, including journalists.

"All such representations are examined and based on inputs received regarding threat assessment, required action is taken. There is no mechanism (or) requirement to segregate the protectees according to the profession of the individuals."

According to a media count, 14 journalists have been killed in the country since 2014.
New Delhi, July 24 : With alarming shortage of staff in the Health Department, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday set up a deadline of September 15 to fill up all vacancies on contract.

The decision came after Kejriwal chaired a review meeting on the matter along with Health Minister Satyendar Jain and other senior officials of the department.

"Health sector has been one of the top priorities of the Delhi government and the sector has got a major fillip since the present government came to power in 2015. However, the shortage of staff has been ailing the sector for long as hiring could not be done due to several reasons, " said an official statement.

During the meeting, Kejriwal went through the list of the vacancies which included the posts of pharmacists, nursing staff, radiographers, lab assistants, technicians, OT assistants, physiotherapists, sanitary inspectors in different hospitals and discussed it with the Health Minister and other officers.

The Chief Minister then ordered that all the posts must be filled on contract basis till the permanent hiring process is completed through several government agencies, stressing that "patients can't suffer because of shortage of staff" due to time being taken by agencies to hire on a permanent basis.
New Delhi, July 24 : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said he will do whatever is required to implement his schemes.

While talking to the media, he said he would fight wherever and whenever required for the welfare of the public.

"We have faced so many hurdles and have fought for it. We will now also ensure that all our schemes are implemented," Kejriwal said.

"It will take time, but I will try my best to expand the benefits of our schemes to each and every person in Delhi," the Chief Minister added.

His remarks came as the matter related to services is pending before the Supreme Court and the Delhi government is facing issues over officers not following its orders.
New Delhi, July 24 : The Congress on Tuesday submitted a notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to move a privilege motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for allegedly misleading the House by not revealing the price of the Rafale fighter jets bought from France.

"I give notice of my intention to move a privilege motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making a misleading statement in his speech on the debate of no-confidence motion in (the) Lok Sabha on July 20," Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said in a letter to the Speaker.

Noting that Modi had "asserted that the demand for revealing the purchase price of Rafale jet fighters was against the interest of the nation and had to be contradicted by both the governments, India and France", and further claimed the acquisition "is fully transparent", whereas "the Defence Minister in his presence on the floor of the House had refused to reveal the price citing a Confidentiality Agreement" between the two countries.

Kharge said that the French government, in its statement, had nowhere contradicted what was demanded in the House by the opposition, which is to disclose the purchase price of Rafale jet fighters and had "merely referred to the 2008 Confidentiality Agreement".

He also said that the Prime Minister was fully aware that the Confidentiality Agreement is regarding defence cooperation including acquisition, purchase and transfer of technology, and "does not state that 'Commercial Costs' of procurement of defence deals cannot be revealed," he said.

It is not specific to Rafale jet fighters and nowhere prohibits the disclosure of purchase price to the Parliament and thus the Prime Minister's claim on transparency in the agreement was "factually incorrect, untrue and deliberately made with the intention to mislead the House".

The Defence Minister's assertion on the floor of the House, Kharge alleged, was "absolutely false" and that she "has wilfully misled not only the members of the House, but also the entire nation".

He also noted that the Minister of State for Defence had on November 18, 2016 ,in a reply to a Parliamentary question, revealed the price of Rafale aircraft as approximately Rs 670 crore and this was again disclosed in Rajya Sabha on March 19, 2018.

"The PM and Defence Minister are contradicting the reply of this MoS," he said.

Kharge requested that the the notice be accepted and referred to the Privilege Committee of the House for further proceedings.
New Delhi, July 24 : The Travancore Devaswom Board on Tuesday cited the Islamic practice of barring women from entering mosques to justify the prohibition on women in the age group of 10 to 50 years from entering the famed Sabarimala temple in Kerala.

Calling it a "bonafide belief", senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi told the five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipaak Misra that women were not allowed to enter mosques and cited other places of worship where women were barred from entering during their menstruating period.

Singhvi, appearing for the Devaswom Board, described the Sabarimala temple as a denominational temple whose practices could not be called into question.

Asserting that the practice of barring women from entering the temple was not discriminatory, Singhvi said: "The maximum number of devotees are women."

"Maximum number of devotees at Sabarimala temple are women. It is not something that the male chauvinistic society has imposed on women," said Singhvi.

Apparently unimpressed by the argument, Justice D.Y. Chadrachuud, referring to the predominantly male chauvinistic patriarchal society, said that right from the birth, woman were made to go through social conditioning on how to behave, what to say, what to do.

Can a public temple practice prohibition, asked CJI Misra.

Once again making a comparison with the Muslim Shia practice of self-flagellation during Muharram mourning procession, Singhvi said: "My belief may be fickle, irrational. There is a practice of self-flagellation by the Shias. Many will call it barbaric, others will say it is religious."

Certainly it is not in consonance with the notion of 2018 but still it is my belief, Singhvi said, asserting the practice of prohibiting women in the age of 10 to 50 years can't be called in question.

As Justice Chadrachud said that the puberty age was not applied to men as it was done in the case of women, Singhvi said: "I can't prohibit men from entering the temple as they don't have this disability.

"You are in the realm of speculation that men who go to the temple do observe 41 days of celibacy," observed Chief Justice Misra. "You impose a condition which is impossible."

The day-long arguments by Singhvi saw the court telling him that prohibiting women from entering the temple in the age of 10 to 50 years was not a practice which was time immemorial and it had not been established that it was a denominational temple.

The Constitution bench is hearing an October 13, 2017 reference by a three-judge bench which had framed four questions to be addressed by it.
New Delhi, July 24 : Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his silence on Rafale deal, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday claimed that he had personally re-negotiated the deal with France and none of the four "revolving" Defence Ministers knew anything about it.

"Since 2014, India has had 4 revolving Raksha Mantris. Now we know why. It gave the PM space to personally re-negotiate RAFALE with the French.

"India has had 4 "RAFALE Mantris". But, none of them know what really transpired in France. Except the PM. But he won't speak!" he said in a series ot tweets.

Congress on Tuesday gave a notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to move a privilege motion against Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for allegedly misleading the House by not revealing the price of the Rafale fighter jets bought from France.
Panaji, July 24 : Goa Police has registered a case of outraging the modesty of a woman against a Mangueshi temple priest, earlier accused by a US medical student of a similar offence, following a complaint by another woman based in Mumbai.

In the First Information Report (FIR) registered at the Ponda police station in South Goa late Monday evening, the woman accused priest Dhananjay Bhave of trying to kiss her near the sanctum.

"I touched his feet. Before I could stand up, he grabbed me by my shoulders and pulled me towards him... before I could even understand what he was trying to do, he tried to kiss me, and managed to kiss my on the cheek," read the FIR registered under Section 354 (outraging modesty) of the Indian Penal Code says.

Last week, a US-based medical student who is a Goa native, had filed a FIR against the priest who has moved the Ponda Additional District and Sessions court. The Shree Manguesh Devasthan committee has already suspended him.

Bhave has pleaded before the court that the medical student filed the complaint against him because he refused to allow the unmarried woman to enter the sanctum of the temple as per rules framed by its management. The temple is about 35 km from Panaji.

The court will hear his plea for interim bail on Wednesday, whereas police is expected to urge the court for custodial interrogation.

The Mangueshi temple, home to Lord Manguesh who is considered an incarnation of Lord Shiva, is one of the most visited temples in the state by tourists and locals alike. Several influential Gaud Saraswat Brahmin clans are followers of the deity.
New Delhi, July 24 : The number of ceasefire violations increased during the month of Ramadan -- from May 17 to June 16 - this year by over double at 338 as against 139 in the previous month, Parliament was told on Tuesday.

"At least 586 incidents of ceasefire violations and cross border firings were reported from Pakistan along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir this year from April to June," Minister of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

He said that 14 security personnel were martyred in the one-month period from April to June and 39 were injured while there were 11 civilians who lost their lives in this period, and 77 got injured.

Ahir, in reply to another question, said that the cross-border infiltration has come down since 2015 when about 62 such cases were reported with 25 cases of infiltration in 2016 and 21 in 2017.
Bengaluru, July 24 : Taiwanese industrial major Wistron Technologies would invest Rs 3,000 crore in the Narasupra industrial sector in Karnataka's Kolar, an official statement said on Tuesday.

"Welcoming the huge investment, Chief Minister H.D.Kumarasway told an expert team from Wistron to submit its proposal for granting land for the company," said the statement from the Chief Minister's Office.

He advised the company to set up a mobile repair and technology facility in the Narsapura industrial sector, about 100 km from Bengaluru, it said.

"Wistron India head Gururaj said the company said would set up a i-phone making unit in the 43 acres of land allotted to it, with employment potential to 10,500 people," said the statement.

State Revenue Minister R. V Deshpande said an agreement would be signed in a week with the company to provide employment to locals.
New Delhi, July 24 : Infiltration across the Indo-Myanmar border increased in 2017 comparison with 2016 while the number of cases of illegal crossing of the Line of Control (LoC) dividing Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan went down, Parliament was told on Tuesday.

The number of infiltration cases reported on the Indo-Myanmar border went up to 99 in 2017 from 74 in 2016, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju told the Lok Sabha in a written reply, adding this increase could be in the wake of the mass exodus of Rohingyas from Myanmar, following turmoil in the Rakhine province of the country.

However, the number of infiltration cases reported on the Indo-Myanmar border in 2015 was same as 2017.

The cross-border infiltration from Pakistan has come down since 2015, when about 62 such cases were reported. There were 25 cases of infiltration in 2016 and 21 in 2017.

There were no infiltration cases reported on the Indo-Bangladesh Border in 2017 while three such cases were reported in 2016 and two in 2015.
New Delhi, July 24 : Farmers have been paid claims of Rs 9,628 crore for kharif season 2017 under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), Parliament was told on Tuesday.

"During Kharif 2017, out of total estimated claims of Rs 15,895.85 crore, claims of Rs 9,628.61 crore have already been paid to the farmers," Minister of State for Agriculture Parshottan Rupala told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

He also said during Kharif 2016 and Rabi 2016-17 claims amounting to Rs 10,505.27 crore and Rs 5,991.74 crore were estimated respectively, out of which claims of Rs 10,283.91 crore and Rs 5,052.84 crore have been paid for these seasons.
Bhubaneswar, July 24 : Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday launched the 'Green Mahanadi Mission', a plantation drive under which 2 crore saplings will be planted along the Mahanadi river and its tributaries.

The Chief Minister launched the campaign during his visit to Boudh and Subarnapur districts where he planted a sapling on the bank of the Mahanadi.

A massive plantation drive will be undertaken along the Mahanadi, Ib and Tel rivers. Two crore trees will be planted along the rivers in the state, said an official.

The plantation drive will be carried out in 16,500 hectare and 500 km, the official said.

Forest and Environment Minister Bijoyshree Routray said the aim of this programme is to protect the Mahanadi and keep it alive.

"Mahanadi's water is decreasing. If trees will be planted along its bank, the roots will store water. Following this, water level will increase as well as the river will store water," said Routray.
Chandigarh, July 24 : Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday suggested a shorter tenure for Border Security Force (BSF) personnel at the border to break the alleged nexus between them and drug smugglers.

In order to check smuggling of narcotics from across the border, the Chief Minister also ordered setting up of Wi-Fi CCTVs at all 'nakas' (check posts) at the border.

Punjab shares a 553 km-long international border with Pakistan.

The entire border has electrified barbed wire fencing but smugglers from both countries take advantage of gaps along the border due to riverine areas and agricultural land. The drugs are also smuggled by throwing packets over the fence or pushing them through plastic pipes.

Amarinder, who reviewed the Punjab government's anti-drug campaign here on Tuesday with senior officers, underlined the need for effective exchange of information with neighbouring states, as well as the Central agencies, to coordinate the fight against drugs.

The Chief Minister, who is under fire from the opposition parties for diluting the powers of the Special Task Force (STF) set up to fight against the drug mafia, said the decision to bring the STF under the purview of the Punjab Police was necessary for better coordination among various agencies.

"The STF will now work directly under the control of DGP, Punjab Police, as in the case of the Intelligence and Vigilance departments. The STF had done excellent work under my office but, like the armed forces, the need was now felt to bring the agency under the leadership of the DGP for more cohesive functioning," the Chief Minister said.
New Delhi, July 24 : The central government on Tuesday ruled out giving special category status to Andhra Pradesh and said the bifurcated state had got a better deal.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh was replying to a nearly four-hour debate in the Rajya Sabha on special category status to the residual state of Andhra Pradesh during which former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took a veiled dig at his successor Narendra Modi.

Manmohan Singh said the assurance to Andhra Pradesh was made by him on behalf of parliament and he expected it to be fulfilled by the government.

The issue came up for discussion in the Rajya Sabha three days after it figured prominently during a debate on the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha on a notice given by a Telugu Desam Party (TDP) member.

Rajnath Singh asked why some members were stuck with the phrase special category status when the Centre was giving Andhra "even those incentives not mentioned in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act" that led to the creation of Telangana.

Manmohan Singh said he had made a "solemn commitment" on the floor of the Rajya Sabha as Prime Minister for special category status to Andhra Pradesh.

"For purposes of Central assistance, special category status will be extended to the successor state and this had been decided in view of the fact that the revenue collection in Hyderabad will accrue entirely to Telangana."

He said the commitment to Andhra Pradesh had been discussed with then Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley and other senior BJP leaders.

"(The) government is a continuing entity. Commitments made on the floor of the House have to be honoured and fulfilled. They are in nature of assurance on behalf of Parliament. I had expected my distinguished successor to fulfil the commitments I had made after consultations with his own colleagues."

Intervening in the debate, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said the Andhra Act was being respected and will be respected. "The government remains committed to ensure the welfare of state of Andhra Pradesh and people of Andhra Pradesh."

In his reply, Rajnath Singh said the BJP-led central government had fulfilled "around 90 per cent" of the commitments made under the Andhra Act and was "committed" to fulfil the rest "at any cost".

"Our government will fulfil all the commitments made not only by our Prime Minister but also those made by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh."

He said there was some conflict between the commitments made by Manmohan Singh and the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission, and hence it was decided in consultation with Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu that instead of granting special category status, Andhra should be given special assistance.

The demand for special status to Andhra Pradesh is being strongly articulated by the ruling TDP and the opposition YSR Congress Party in the state. The Congress has also supported the demand for the state that will go to the assembly polls along with Lok Sabha elections in 2019.

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) member Y.S. Chowdary accused the BJP of "violating the principles of friendship and political morality" and of trying to expand in Andhra Pradesh at the expense of his party.

"Now the government is misleading the people of Andhra and the media by saying that the 14th Finance Commission has recommended that there should be no special category status for any state. This is far from truth," Chowdary said.

"We are not begging, we are not asking for any favours. We are asking for what is rightfully ours."
New Delhi, July 24 : A septuagenarian and her grandson were killed on Tuesday when their car was crushed between two buses in north Delhi, police said.

Deceased Leelawati, 78, and her grandson Amit Garg were returning home after getting registry documents from a District Magistrate's office in Nand Nagri around 11.30 a.m. when their Hyundai i10 car was rammed from behind by a speeding cluster bus at the Nand Nagri roundabout. The car was crushed between the cluster bus and a Delhi Transport Corporation bus moving ahead.

"Some passersby tried to extricate both but the car doors got jammed. Police later used a gas cutter to pull them out. They were declared brought dead at a hospital," a senior police officer said. The accused bus driver fled the spot after the accident.

Leelawati stayed with her husband Basant Lal, 84, and other family members in Nand Nagri. The family was into the garments business and owns shops in Gandhi Nagar in east Delhi, he said.
Washington, July 24 : US President Donald Trump on Tuesday praised the use of tariffs as a negotiating strategy, the day before European Commission (EC) President Jean-Claude Juncker was to visit the White House.

"Tariffs are the greatest! Either a country which has treated the United States unfairly on Trade negotiates a fair deal, or it gets hit with Tariffs. It's as simple as that," Trump said in a Twitter post.

In another tweet the US President said: "Countries that have treated us unfairly on trade for years are all coming to Washington to negotiate."

"This should have taken place many years ago but, as the saying goes, better late than never!" Trump added.

This praise of tariffs as a trade policy came this Monday after he repeated his threat, during a display of products at the Made in America event organized by the White House, to impose tariffs on automobiles imported from the European Union (EU), Efe reported.

At that expo, Trump seemed to associate his decision on the matter to the probable results of his meeting with Juncker, scheduled for Wednesday.

Trump has insisted in recent months that the EU agree with his demands and facilitate the access of American products to the European market, and has threatened to apply tariffs of up to 20 percent on European auto imports if no such trade concessions are forthcoming.

Washington has already imposed tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum from the EU as part of Trump's aggressive protectionist agenda, a measure to which Brussels has responded with an increase in tariffs on a number of US goods.
New Delhi, July 24 : The Central government on Tuesday asked states to appoint nodal officers of the rank of Superintendent of Police in each district to monitor social media content and conduct publicity and awareness campaigns to check incidences of mob violence and lynching.

The advisory issued by the Union Home Ministry asks states to constitute a special task force to procure intelligence reports about the people likely to commit such crimes or involved in spreading hate speeches, fake news and provocative statements.

It also seeks identification of places, within in three weeks, where instances of mob violence and lynching have occurred in past five years.

The advisory has been sent to the states and Union territories following a Supreme Court directive issued in this regard on July 17.

One of the key directions in the advisory seeks nodal officers to hold regular meetings with local intelligence units in the districts to identify the existence of the tendencies of vigilantism, mob violence or lynching and take steps to prohibit it besides making efforts to eradicate a hostile environment against any community or caste.

This is second advisory on the issue within a month.

On Monday, the government had set up a high level committee chaired by Union Home Secretary to formulate appropriate measures to address the situation.

It also decided to constitute a Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to consider the recommendations of the high level committee. The GoM will submit their recommendations to the Prime Minister.

The advisory also says wide publicity and awareness campaigns should be done on radio and television and other media platforms.

All law enforcement and intelligence agencies shall monitor the social media platform and take action under Information Technology Act and other relevant laws, it says.

Police should register FIR against persons who disseminate irresponsible and explosive messages and videos having content which is likely to incite mob violence and lynching of any kind, as per the directives of the advisory.

It also asks state government to prepare compensation scheme for victims of lynching and mob violence.
Chandigarh, July 24 : Taking a serious note of the issue, Punjab Assembly Speaker Rana K.P. Singh said on Tuesday that he will take up the matter of two state legislators being sent back from Ottawa airport by Canadian authorities.

The legislators, Amarjit Singh and Kultar Singh, both from the Aam Aadmi Party, were sent back by Canadian immigration authorities despite having the required visa and relevant travel documents. Both arrived back in India on Monday.

The Speaker told an AAP delegation, which met him here on Tuesday, that he will write to the External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to take up this matter with the Canadian government.

"India and Canada are Commonwealth countries and they should concentrate on further strengthening of ties and cooperation. The Canadian Government should respect public representatives. This episode is very unfortunate and condemnable," he told the delegation, led by Leader of Opposition and senior AAP leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira.

Khaira told media later that sending the two duly elected representatives from Punjab back from Canada in such a fashion was also an insult of the Punjab Assembly.
Patna, July 24 : Amid growing demand for a CBI probe into the alleged rape of over 40 minor girls in a shelter home in Muzaffarpur of Bihar, state police chief K.S. Dwivedi on Tuesday said there is no need for a probe by the central agency as the on-going probe by the police is satisfactory.

"I don't think there is any need for a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) probe into the case. The state government has so far not taken any decision in this regard. The probe by state police is satisfactory," the Director General of Police (DGP) told the media here.

Dwivedi's statement assumes significance since after the opposition's demand for a CBI probe both in Lok Sabha as well as in Bihar Assembly, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said a CBI probe would be ordered once the Centre receives a request to this effect from the state.

Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) members raised the demand both inside and outside the state assembly here on Tuesday. Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav alleged that the state government was doing everything to save the accused.

Former state Chief Minister and RJD leader Rabri Devi has also reiterated the demand for a CBI investigation, alleging that the accused had links with the ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and government officials.

Meanwhile, Muzaffarpur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Harpreet Kaur said a special police team has been constituted to search half-a-dozen missing girls of the girls' home.

She said the police had been investigating the case ever since an inmate of the shelter home recorded her statement before a judicial magistrate recently, as required under the law.

The SSP said no buried body girl was found after police dug the ground at girls' home on Monday. Two girls, who had alleged that a girl was buried after she was raped and killed, were present during the digging of the said ground.

"It was they (the two girls) who had identified the site at 'Balika Grih' (girls' home), where a girl was allegedly buried," Kaur said.

She said the shelter home had been sealed after allegations of sexual abuse of the girls came to light during a social audit conducted by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

The report of the audit was submitted to the state Social Welfare Department, which directed local officials to lodge a complaint.

Last week, medical examination of 44 girls of the home had revealed that 21 of them were raped. The district police have arrested an official of the home but main accused are still out of the net.
New Delhi, July 24 : Number of crimes recorded against women went up in 2016 to more than 3.3 lakh (338,954) from 3.2 lakh (329,243) in 2015, according to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, Parliament was told on Tuesday.

Minister of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir informed the Lok Sabha, in a written reply, that the data showed that crimes against Scheduled Castes also went up from over 38,000 (38,670) in 2015 to more than 40,000 (40,801) cases in 2016.

He said that several steps have been taken by the ministry to increase safety for women such as the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 24 hours helpline service, deployment of Special Mahila Police Volunteers, safe-city projects in sight cities, separate portal for Cyber-Crime against women and children and other schemes.

"The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 has been amended in 2015 to make it more effective. The amendments include new offences, re-phrased existing sections, expanded scope of presumptions and institutional strengthening," he added.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 23)  Tax reform remains to be one of the key legislations being pushed by the administration.

In his 2018 State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Rodrigo Duterte said that he will not stop the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law, which critics say is one of the leading causes of the recent uptick in prices.

"Some have incorrectly blamed our effort towards a fairer tax system for all the price increases in the past months, and some irresponsibly suggesting to stop the TRAIN implementation. We can not and should not," Duterte said.

The President reiterated that one of the goals of the tax reform program is to fund the government's infrastructure spending, which is meant to bring sustainable growth to all Filipinos.

The TRAIN also provides for mitigating measures against the expected uptick in prices in the form of subsidies for the poor, the elderly, and the public utility vehicle sector. Duterte highlighted how the government has started doling out these subsidies.

"We have distributed unconditional cash transfer to 4 million people and will help 6 million more this year. Following the 1 discount per liter in gas stations we have started releasing fuel vouchers to public utility jeeps and other valid franchises," the President said, adding that the administration has fast-tracked the distribution of affordable rice from the National Food Authority (NFA).

Duterte said that the government will dole out an estimated 149 billion in subsidies to the poor and vulnerable within the year, to be increased to 169 billion next year.

The TRAIN is only the first part of the administration's Comprehensive Tax Reform Program.

In his SONA, Duterte said that the other tax reform packages have already been submitted to Congress for its approval.
New Delhi/Kigali (Rwanda), July 24 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that Rwanda is the key to Africa.

Prime Minister Modi was addressing the India-Rwanda Business Forum jointly organised by Ficci and the Rwanda Development Board in Kigali.

Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda, in his address at the forum said that his administration is willing to address any bottleneck such as visa issues to further strengthen trade relations between the two countries.

At present, India is amongst the top trade, investment and development partner of Rwanda.

"Over the past decade, Rwanda has been hailed as a rising star of Africa and is one of the fastest growing economies," a Ficci statement said.

Rwanda ranks second in Africa in terms of competitiveness as per the Global competitiveness report of World Economic Forum 2017-18.

Ficci President Rashesh Shah said that India considers Rwanda a serious strategic partner in Africa.

"Rwanda is a rising star in the Africa growth story which resonates well with India. Trade between India and Rwanda has crossed $100 million. We expect that to cross $1 billion in the next few years," Shah was quoted as saying in the statement.

He added: "There are plenty of opportunities in both the countries. Ficci as the apex chamber and the Indian industry would support wholeheartedly in harnessing the potential."

Shah who is also Chairman and CEO, Edelweiss Group, led an over 100-member strong Indian business delegation to Rwanda.

Apart from the business forum and B2B meetings, several MoUs were signed on this occasion between RDB and Ficci, RDB and Avaada Power and others.
New Delhi : Rome, 24 July (AKI) Italy wants European solidarity on boat migrants rather than money, populist Premier Giuseppe Conte said Tuesday, commenting on a reported European Union plan to pay member states cash to shelter rescued migrants.

"Italy's position has never been based on economics - European solidarity is priceless," said Conte.

Other EU states were "completely indifferent" to the drama being played out in the Mediterranean, he added.

Conte was commenting on a Financial Times report that the European Commission has proposed paying 6,000 euros for each migrant rescued in the Mediterranean and sheltered "on a voluntary basis" by an EU country in "secure centres", up to a maximum of 500 migrants.

Hardline Interior Minister Matteo Salvini earlier slammed the EU executive's reported plan, saying that Italy "doesn't need charity".

"If they want to give money to someone else let them do so, Italy doesn't need charity," said Salvini, who is also Deputy Premier.

In a letter to Conte on Thursday, EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker pledged to try and identify nations that would shelter migrants rescued in the Mediterranean.

Better coordination mechanisms were needed on migration to Europe, "but only as a stage towards a more stable framework," he wrote, adding that "ad hoc" solutions such as the relocation of rescued migrants on a ship-by-ship basis were "unsustainable".

Juncker received a letter last week from Conte urging the EU to set up a "crisis cell" that would mediate with states on the relocation migrants as follow-up to the conclusions of a European Council summit in late June.

At their fractious June 28-29 summit in Brussels, European leaders controversially agreed to set up secure centres for migrants in the bloc, to tighten its borders, create 'disembarkation platforms' outside the bloc and to redistribute refugees among member states.
Jaipur, July 24 : The CJM's court of Alwar on Tuesday ordered a judicial inquiry into the mob lynching incident on Saturday night that led to one Rakbar Khan's death, and handed over the case to Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM), Rajgarh for investigation.

The police had requested the Alwar Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) to order a judicial inquiry into the case.

Rajasthan Director General of Police O.P. Galhotra also confirmed that in view of the death of Khan allegedly in police custody, the police department had requested the CJM for a judicial inquiry.

"Paying heed to our request, the Alwar CJM has ordered judicial inquiry into the case and handed it over to Rajgarh ACJM," Galhotra said.

Earlier in the day, after visiting Ramgarh in Alwar to inspect the site where Khan was allegedly lynched on suspicion of being a cow smuggler, Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria said evidence suggest it to be a case of custodial death.

Kataria said that an initial compensation of Rs 1.25 lakh has also been ordered for the family of the victim.
Thiruvananthapuram, July 24 : After 100 people, including people from the film industry, wrote to the Kerala government that Mohanlal should not be invited as the Chief Guest to the annual state film awards here in August, support started coming for the Malayalam superstar.

Award winning actor Prakash Raj, who was said to be among the 100 signatories, on Tuesday denied that he was among them.

"I wish to say that I have not signed any such thing that Mohanlal ji, should not be invited," he said.

State Culture Minister A.K. Balan told the media that no decision was taken that Mohanlal will be the chief guest.

After this, Edavela Babu, General Secretary of actors body AMMA, said that there seemed to be some conspiracy that was being whipped up against Mohanlal.

"When the state government itself has now said that Mohanlal was never invited, then how come there is a demand that he should not be invited. There is something happening against the actor," he said.

Film bodies like FEFKA, and Film Chamber as well as distributors and exhibitors have also come out in support of the superstar.

Mohanlal, who last month took over as President of AMMA, first came under fire from the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) for revoking the suspension of accused actor Dileep's membership of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA). Dileep is an accused in the 2017 kidnapping of an actress.
Lucknow, July 24 : Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Tuesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of patronizing and promoting people behind mob lynching in states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh to communalize politics in the poll-bound states.

In a statement issued here, the four-time Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said that incidences of mob lynching by cow vigilantes had the backing of the BJP, which was trying to communally polarize the states which were headed for assembly polls.

"The BJP is trying to convert democracy into mobocracy so that they can spew venom against the forces opposed to it" she said which terming such incidents "dark blots" on India.

Mayawati also said that the "BJP has always been anti-minority, disrupts communal harmony, destroys social fabric, peace and mutual trust for their own political benefits".

In the 2014 general elections, the BJP garnered some 31 per cent votes and this it cannot claim to be the "choice of the people", she pointed out while adding that the ruling party was by now well aware that its return to power in 2019 was impossible and hence the Narendra Modi government had now turned to being arrogant and reckless.

The Dalit leader also said that mob lynching was a well thought out plan by forces which were being backed by the BJP. She added that in present circumstances she was reminded of the words of her mentor and BSP founder Kanshiram, who often said that the Union government should not be "mazboot" (strong) but "majboor" (weak).
New Delhi, July 24 : An illegal arms peddler was arrested here with 407 cartridges that were to be supplied to Maoist camps in Maharashtra's Garchiroli, Delhi Police said on Tuesday.

Police said the accused, identified as Ram Krishna Singh, 55, a resident of Bihar's Bhojpur district, was arrested on Sunday near Shanti Van in east Delhi following a tip off.

According to police, Singh is a member of a Bihar based group that supply cartridges of prohibited bore to Maoists groups in Garhchiroli and other rebel-affected areas of Maharashtra.

A total 407 cartridges of different caliber, including those used in INSAS and self-loading rifles also used by paramilitary forces, were recovered from Singh's possession.

"A police team had on May 25 this year had arrested arms supplier, Dhirender from Uttar Pradesh, with 95 cartridges. Dhirender disclosed that he used to supply illegal cartridges to Ram Krishna Singh who further supply it to some Maoist-affected areas," said Deputy Commissioner of Police P.S. Kushwah.

"On interrogation, Singh told police that he was supplying illegal arms since 2015. He earlier worked as a teacher in a private school in Bihar. He later came in contact with some arms supplier of Munger and joined their gangs. He used to procure fire arms from Munger for supplying to criminals in Bihar and western Uttar Pradesh. He later supplied the arms to Maoists active in Maharashtra," he added.

"He also claimed that he has supplied over 15,000 cartridges to Maoists in Garchiroli," the DCP said.
Paris, July 24 : United Nations culture organisation Unesco's head on Tuesday urged an investigation the death of Niraz Saeed, a Palestinian photojournalist whose death after years of detention in Syria was announced last week by his widow.

"I wish to express my condolences to the family of Niraz Saeed.

"I urge the authorities to conduct a transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the arrest of Niraz Saeed, his long detention, and death in custody," said Audrey Azoulay, stressing that "freedom of speech is a fundamental right, essential for any society".

Saeed's widow announced her husband's death on July 16, but information about the date or cause of his demise were not available.

At least two news reports from the region cited an unnamed source as saying Saeed died after being tortured in custody, the Committee for the Protection of Journalists reported.

Saeed who documented life in the sprawling Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk in Damascus had been in detention since October 2015.

In 2014, aged 23, he had won a photo contest organized by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, UNRWA, and the European Union.
Ankara, July 25 : Turkey is gearing up for seeking reconciliation with the European Union (EU) following President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's victory in the June 24 elections.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Tuesday vowed to restore ties with its European partners, which have been strained by tension in the past few years, Xinhua news agency reported.

"In the new term, we will make further efforts to resolve current problems," Cavusoglu was quoted by the media as saying.

"Normalisation with the Netherlands has already started. We have good dialogue with France. In the upcoming period we will realize tripartite and quartet meetings in Europe," he said.

In the past few years, especially after the 2016 failed coup, Turkey's ties with its European partners, including Germany, Netherlands and Austria, have deteriorated due to the campaign tours by Turkish officials targeting Turkish diaspora in the European countries and the EU criticism of Turkish massive crackdown on dissidents.

The tensions in the Turkey-EU ties have adversely affected Ankara's EU membership bid.

Cavusoglu was pessimistic about resuming EU membership talks, but adding that his government should continue reforms whether Turkey's EU process gains momentum or not.

"Maybe, we cannot take many steps on the process of membership, but we can enhance our cooperation on other issues," he said, underlining the mutual interests of Turkey and the EU for upgrading existing Customs Union agreement.

Experts said that the Turkish minister's remarks signalled Ankara's wiliness to reconcile with EU countries, which could pave the way for restarting the membership talks.

"Normalisation of the relations between Turkey and the West does seem to be appearing on the horizon," said Beril Dedeoglu, a professor of international relations at Galatasaray University, who served as the minister of EU affairs in the interim government in 2015.

The Europeans are recently taking a "relatively milder position" towards Turkey, Dedeoglu noted.
Focus Estate Fund has closed the transaction on the acquisition of the Galeria Awangarda shopping center in Bartoszyce. With this investment, Focus Estate Fund has increased its portfolio in the retail sector of the medium-sized format in Poland and the Czech Republic to five properties with a total lease area

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Paper giant Visy Australia has signed a 20-year lease with Frasers Property Australia.

The new $46 million purpose built cardboard manufacturing and distribution centre is situated in West Park Industrial Estate in Melbournes western suburb of Truganina.

The state of the art facility will sit on 7.843 hectares of land located at 27 Doriemus Drive.

The facility will be 42,770 square metres.

It includes a 1,025 square metre office and 124 car spaces.

The facility is now under construction by Frasers Propertys in-house construction division in two stages.

Stage 1 is expected to be completed by September 2018, while Stage 2s completion date is December 2018.

The industrial park boasts access to the Western Ring Road, Deer Park Bypass and Melbournes ports and airport.

Visy Australia will join several significant groups in the estate including Ceva Logistics, Toll, DB Schenker and National Tiles.

The transaction was brokered by Ben Fahey from Frasers Property, Stuart Duncan from Visy and Michael Green from Cushman Wakefield.
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Cleaning a swimming pool at home is something that seems impossible. It is better to contact a professional who can take care of the pool. East Valley has one of the finest swimming pool cleaning service in Gilbert, Arizona. They offer all type of services from cleaning of the pool to draining it.

The company has a team of skilled workers who understand exactly how to take care of a swimming pool. They work in a way that the water wont cause any problem to the environment. East Valley ensures that only trained workers reach their customers who know how to take care of everything.

They offer great services to their customers this is one reason why people most often approach them again and again. People can register themselves with the company, after which they pay regular visits to their clients, in order to check the condition of the pool. That means people dont have to call them regularly at the end of the month.

Besides just, cleaning the pool they also check whether the filtration system is working fine or not. This is important because swimmers cant see the bacteria in the water. Most of the time, when the water looks clean it is full of germs. So, a regular check is very important to see if everything is working fine.

Tile cleaning and water draining is also part of their regular services. Water draining is performed to get to the root of the thing that is causing most of the pool problems. The team has an impressive customer service and make sure that the pool remains clean and works fine throughout the year.

About Us:

East Valley has a team of one of the finest pool cleaners in Gilbert, Arizona. The company is located in Gilbert, Arizona and works 24 hours to take care of their customers. For more information: https://www.eastvalleypoolmaster.com/

Media Contact

Company Name: East Valley

Contact Person: Owner Rick Grant

Email: Send Email

City: Gilbert

State: AZ

Country: United States

Website: https://www.eastvalleypoolmaster.com/
One of Australias largest hotel portfolios will soon be placed on the market by AccorInvest.

The AccorInvest hotel portfolio is made up of 23 real estate assets and lease interests located across Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and Perth, together with several major regional cities.

JLL Hotels & Hospitality Groups Craig Collins and Peter Harper are handling the sale.

The AccorInvest Australian Hotel Portfolio encompasses 17 real estate assets comprising 1,797 rooms of which four are branded as ibis hotels and the other 13 ibis Budget hotels. Notable assets include the ibis Hotel & Apartments Melbourne, ibis Sydney Airport, ibis Budget Sydney Olympic Park and ibis Newcastle.

The six lease interests include The COMO Mgallery by Sofitel in Melbourne, the Novotel, Mercure and ibis hotels in Brisbane and the Mercure and ibis hotels in Perth. A full overview of the Portfolio is provided overleaf.

All hotels within the Portfolio are currently operated by AccorHotels, Australias largest hotel management company, under hotel management agreements.

Never before has an offering of this nature been presented to the open market in Australia," Craig Collins, CEO Australasia, JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group, said.

"The pure scale of this portfolio and its diversity  in terms of location, market positioning and income profile - presents investors with an opportunity to immediately establish an unparalleled foothold in one of Asia Pacifics most highly sought after hotel investment destinations.

Economy hotels are a highly proven and successful hotel model in the Australian market.

"Their typically low operating costs and high level of profitability make them very attractive investments, Collins added.

Peter Harper, Executive Vice President, JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group said the portfolio occupy a combined 54,500 square metres of land.

AccorInvest Australian Hotel Portfolio:
Centuria has settled on its 80 Grenfell Street, Adelaide purchase with half of the property to be held in a single asset fixed-term unlisted fund.

Demand for the fund was unprecedented with the offer closing 200% oversubscribed in only four and a half days.

Centuria raised $57.1 million, with 30% coming from major overseas investors.

Jason Huljich, head of real estate and funds management for Centuria, said Adelaide offers some of the best value in the country right now.

"The infrastructure pipeline for South Australia will drive economic and job growththe $90 billion submarine and frigate contract is forecast to create up to 8,000 direct and 25,000 direct roles," Huljich said.

He added as of 1 July stamp duty was zero in South Australia, "which means transaction costs are significantly lower than in other states.

It is one of the Adelaide CBDs most high tech buildings added to its $4.7 billion portfolio.

The ASX listed Centuria Capital Group has exchanged unconditional contracts for the purchase of a 50% stake in the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank headquarters at 80 Grenfell Street for $92.3 million.

Acquisition of the $184.6 million office tower was made in partnership the Lederer Group, which will take up the remaining 50% stake.

80 Grenfell Street is a A-grade office building, that is 96% let to Bendigo and Adelaide Bank.

The weighted average lease expiry (WALE) is long, at 7.3 years and rental increases are fixed at 3.75% annually.

Huljich said the Adelaide market has become increasingly attractive to property investors.

The SA governments decision to reduce stamp duty has been a positive strategic move to help drive investment into the state, he said.

Compared with other states, where stamp duty averages 5.5%, SAs is zero from July 1.

When transaction costs are lower, yields are higher, which means better returns for investors.
A jail term has been suspended for a real estate leasing agent in Sydney after he pleaded guilty to stealing more than $210,000 worth of rental bonds refunds while the tenants were still in occupation.

Matthew Thomas Williams was sentenced to two 15-month jail terms for dishonestly claiming the refunds of 42 rental bonds from the NSW Rental Bond Board.

The jail term was suspended on the condition that the 36-year-old enter a good behaviour bond.

He was disqualified from holding a real estate licence for a period of 10 years.

As a real estate licence holder, Williams had access to the Rental Bonds Online system that enabled him to lodge rental bonds on behalf of his agencys tenants, which he later refunded into his own account during ongoing leases.

Williams fraudulently accessed the bonds while working at different real estate agencies based initially in Glebe and then Double Bay.

The Minister for Better Regulation Matt Kean told Fairfax Media that Williams had used his position of trust to claim the rental bonds of tenants, and used the money primarily for gambling.

His deception was uncovered and reported to Fair Trading by his employer after a tenant requested a bond refund.
Maine campers benefit from nature, lifelong friendships, learning new skills, and more! Camps tech-free policies mean that kids arent glued to their phones and gaming devices. Theyre living in the moment, connecting with peers, and focusing on experiences in the here and now.

Overnight summer camp may be the most beneficial investment that parents and grandparents can make in their children. Its a gift of fun and acquired life skills that carry into college, careers and beyond. Maine Camp Experience, the community of 36 overnight premier camps in Maine and a comprehensive camp planning resource, shares 10 reasons why camp is so beneficial.

The benefits to overnight camp are undeniable, said Laurie Kaiden, Director and Campcierge of Maine Camp Experience. Unplugging from tech devices, connecting with peers, and learning 21st century skills are just a few of the incredible reasons why camp is key.

Top 10 benefits of overnight summer camp for kids:

1. Unplug from technology. Camps tech-free policies mean that kids arent glued to their phones and gaming devices. Theyre living in the moment, connecting with peers, and focusing on experiences in the here and now. Its also a nice relief from the pressures of social media.

2. Connect with nature. According to research in Japan, the smell of pine needles strengthens our immune systems (and Maine is the Pine Tree State!). Being outside exposes us to more Vitamin D, which is important for eyesight and for bone growth. Being outside also fosters friendships, and spurs creativity. Being outside can lower anxiety, lower blood pressure, lower stress hormones, and help us sleep better.

3. Its fun!  Camp is a happy place where kids can be kids. Its a nice break from school and schedules at home. Campers participate in activities throughout the day, including: land and water sports, arts, nature, and outdoor adventures. They get to enjoy camp traditions, which can involve silly costumes and games, campfire songs and Smores, friendly competitions and more. And every night in their cabins, campers get a sleepover with 10 or so of their friends and counselors.

4. Make lifelong friendships. Strangers become sisters and brothers as kids from different places come together at camp and grow year after year. Its so refreshing and wonderful to have a network separate from their school friends. Camp friends turn to each other for fun times, advice, and support. They learn from each other. Friendships made at camp often continue into life at college, in business, in relationships and beyond.

5. Try new things. Campers get to explore new interests and have new experiences they might not try at home. They learn to sail, horseback ride, waterski, play lacrosse, do gymnastics, paint, take digital photography, learn to play guitar, and much more. They expand their horizons in other ways too! For instance, in the dining room, campers may sample foods they wouldnt have which at home when they see other campers eating them.

6. Obtain life skills. Kids learn to do things for themselves at camp that they might not have to do at home. Campers make their own beds, pick out their own outfits, keep their clothing neat in cubbies, are responsible for their hygiene (teeth brushing, showering, nail clipping), and work as a team to keep their cabins clean with rotating jobs on the work wheel like sweeping and wiping the sinks.

7. Gain 21st century skills. At camp, kids learn collaboration and teamwork. They enhance their creativity and imagination. They develop their critical thinking and problem solving. They become resilient and empathetic, and gain confidence and independence. They learn to advocate for themselves and navigate situations.

8. Become part of a community greater than yourself. Most camps are decades or even 100+ years old. Its nice to be a part of generations that have come before you and traditions that will carry on. Knowing that past generations sang the same songs, climbed the same mountains and canoed the same rivers are special feelings shared by scores of children who have forged lasting memories.

9. Participate in social action initiatives. Maine camps engage campers in programs that teach them to give back and help others. Campers have worked on programs including helping the elderly, supporting food pantries, and working with environmental conservation groups, and with great organizations including Camp Sunshine, World of Change, and MaxCure Foundation Dunk Your Kicks.

10. Take incredible trips. Campers at Maine camps experience memorable out-of-camp trips ranging from blueberry picking to make pies, to touring pretty coastal towns like Boothbay Harbor, to active adventures like hiking Cadillac Mountain at Acadia National Park or rafting on the Kennebec River. Memories that last a lifetime.

Families interested in sending their kids or grandkids to camp can visit http://www.mainecampexperience.com where they can learn about child readiness, read about the different camps, learn how to choose including getting free, expert guidance from the Campcierge, plan trips to Maine, and more.

Maine has the greatest number of the oldest, most established camps in the country. Each summer more than 20,000 kids from every US state and more than 30 countries abroad spend time at summer camps in Maine. Maine Camp Experience is a community of premier camps and a comprehensive camp-planning resource. Maine Camp Experience camps are for children ages 7-17 with sessions from 1-8 weeks in length. Camps typically run from end of June through mid-August. Some Maine camps offer family camp or camp rentals after the traditional camper season.

Contact: Laurie, Maine Camp Experience: laurie(at)mainecampexperience(dot)com

Facebook: Facebook.com/MaineCampExperience

Twitter: Twitter.com/MaineCamps

Pinterest: Pinterest.com/MaineCamps

Instagram: Instagram.com/MaineCamps
With the added assets and personnel of Arco Industries strengthening Digital Pac Inc.s position as a top purveyor in its industry, the company is poised to significantly elevate its level of service, for the loyal community of customers that have continued to do business with them. Nevertheless, this acquisition in addition to Digital Pacs expertise in all facets of packaging and printing operations, is sure to attract a new generation of customers to the Digital Pac Inc. family. Furthermore, the company is looking forward to introducing new concepts such as custom marketing boxes, also known as kits. These custom marketing boxes are ideal for informational marketers and motivational speakers, looking for new and special ways to get their message across.

For clients both old and new interested in purchasing a custom marketing box, they can do so knowing that the box will be tailored to market their message according to their precise specifications. Using many of the same trusted techniques and materials employed at Arco Industries, Digital Pac Inc. crafts these custom marketing boxes with the utmost care in regards to both quality and personal preference. Considering the vast range of possibilities available to existing and potential customers, one thing is for sure- your custom marketing box is 100% American-made.

About Digital Pac Inc.

Beginning in Tustin and now operating in Santa Ana, Digital Pac Inc.s highly-trained staff has been proudly serving loyal customers for the last 35 years. What began as a simple plan to sell custom vinyl binders and tabs, eventually evolved to incorporate high-quality promotional boxes and custom cigar boxes. The other products that the company has grown to purvey include custom boxes and totes, custom folders, custom litho wrap binders, custom packaging, custom recycled binders and custom turned edge binders. Despite the significant expansion that the company has undergone, Digital Pac Inc. hasnt veered too far from its roots. Therefore, the company places an emphasis on its customer retention rate, in addition to gaining new customers everyday. With over three and a half decades of industry experience, Digital Pac Inc.s seasoned staff looks forward to serving its community for the next three and a half.
Come Out and See Us at Our Back-to-School Event! A proper education can open doors in a childs future that may have remained closed otherwise. Its so important that all children are able to pursue their full potential during their time in school. And having the necessary supplies can make all the difference.

Summer is slowly coming to a close and its almost time to send the kiddies back to school. At Glen Lerner Injury Attorneys, we want to help take some of the stress off your back-to-school prep.

Merrillville Back-to-School Event and Giveaways

Join Glen Lerner Gives Back on August 11th for our much anticipated Back-to-School Giveaway Event in Merrillville! Come down to our office at 421 81st Ave. for an afternoon of games, free stuff, and fun. The festivities begin at 10am and will wrap up at 1pm. Weve joined forces with Chicago Cares to give out free backpacks chocked full of necessary school supplies. However, supplies are limited! So be sure to show up early so you can cross these supplies off your back to school shopping list. We will also have additional items and prizes available to give away while supplies last.

*All adults must have a child present with them in order to participate in the giveaways.*

Personal injury attorney Glen Lerner knows that, a proper education can open doors in a childs future that may have remained closed otherwise. Its so important that all children are able to pursue their full potential during their time in school. And having the necessary supplies can make all the difference. We know that these supplies can be expensive and hard to find. Thats why weve taken it upon ourselves to ensure that the future of our community's youth always shines bright.

Glen Lerner Injury Attorneys

For over 25 years, Glen Lerner Injury Attorneys has been helping people pursue their rightful compensation when faced with personal injury. With over 50 attorneys and nearly three hundred employees, his team has become one of the largest plaintiffs personal injury law firms in the country. You can find offices located in Indiana, Illinois, Nevada, California, and Arizona. But what if you dont live in one of theses states? Glen Lerner has spent years building positive working relationships with attorneys across the country, so you never have to face a personal injury claim alone. The team also has experts that can assist with social security claims, dangerous product lawsuits, such as talcum powder, and cases involving injuries from dangerous drugs. For more information, visit our website at glenlerner.com, or call (702) 877-1500.

Follow the law firm on Twitter (twitter.com/glenlerner) and like their Facebook page (facebook.com/glenlernerinjuryattorneys) for current updates regarding legal topics and their community involvement and contributions.
"Im proud of the solutions we provide to the world, the respected standing we have within the industry, and our amazing team of employees. Its a true honor to be named among the Best Places to Work once again for 2018. ~ Tim Sullivan, ActivePDF Founder and CEO

ActivePDF, the leading provider of PDF automation technologies and digital transformation solutions, has once again been named as one of the 2018 Best Places to Work in Orange County. The awards program was created in 2009 as a project of the Orange County Business Journal and Best Companies Group. ActivePDF is a multi-year winner of the award and continues to hold a prominent presence in Orange County, California, supporting local charities, fundraisers, PGA TOUR winner Charley Hoffman, PGA TOUR Champions winner Scott McCarron, and a long-time sponsor of the Anaheim Ducks.

ActivePDF is known across the world as the leading provider of .NET PDF tools and digital transformation solutions. In addition, the company has built a reputation for giving back to the community by sponsoring many local charities such as the Getzlaf Shootout and Auction Benefiting Cure Duchenne, the Anaheim Ducks Foundation, and the Charley Hoffman Foundation.

My original vision for ActivePDF was to not only be a leader in PDF technology solutions, but to extend that leadership by sharing our success within the community through strong philanthropic efforts, says Tim Sullivan, ActivePDF Founder and CEO. The ActivePDF team is a reflection of that vision and Im proud that we continue to be recognized for those attributes. Im proud of the solutions we provide to the world, the respected standing we have within the industry, and our amazing team of employees. Its a true honor to be named among the Best Places to Work once again for 2018.

To be considered for participation, employers had to fulfill the following eligibility requirements:

 Have at least 15 employees working in Orange County

 Be a for-profit or not-for-profit business or government entity

 Be a publicly- or privately-held business

 Have a facility in Orange County

 Must be in business a minimum of 1 year

The Best Places to Work in Orange County survey and awards program is designed to identify, recognize, and honor the best places of employment in Orange County, benefiting the local economy, its workforce, and businesses.

To determine the Best Places to Work in Orange County, organizations from across the county entered the two-part process. The first part consisted of evaluating each employers workplace policies, practices, and demographics. The second part consisted of an employee survey to measure the employee experience. The combined scores determined the top organizations and the final ranking.

To learn more about how ActivePDF can help your organization achieve digital transformation, visit http://www.ActivePDF.com. For more information on sponsorships visit the ActivePDF Sponsorship Page.

The ranking of the winning organizations is available in the July 23 issue of Orange County Business Journal.

About ActivePDF

Developers, Product Managers, CIOs, and CTOs partner with ActivePDF to embed digital transformation and powerful PDF tools into their enterprise applications that reliably scale for millions of users. Originally known for providing low-code .NET PDF APIs that create, convert, modify, and view files, ActivePDF has naturally evolved over the years to further provide OCR data capture and intelligent workflow automation solutions within existing business processes. While represented amongst 40% of Fortune 500 companies, the full suite of ActivePDF technologies are currently deployed in industries such as Banking, Financial Services, Government, Healthcare, Legal, Manufacturing, Utilities, and more. Explore everything PDF, visit ActivePDF.com.

For additional information, please contact:

Derek Gerber, Director of Marketing

derek.gerber@activepdf.com

ACTIVEPDF and the ActivePDF Logo are registered trademarks of ActivePDF, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.


Quarterly Business Review - Q4 FY2018

Brisbane, July 24, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Oventus Medical Ltd ( ASX:OVN ) (Oventus, the Company) announces its Appendix 4C Report for the three-month period ending 30 June 2018 (Q4 FY2018) and is pleased to provide a review of progress made during the quarter.Highlights- Cost reduction program continues with transitional activities well underway to transform Oventus from being a predominantly R&D focussed company to a sales oriented company; spend reduction expected to kick in during calendar Q4 2018- Strong clinical trial results further validate 'Oventus Airway Technology' with the Oventus' personalised treatment platform tested on an additional 45 patients (total 95 patients trialled to date across 4 studies) suffering from Obstructive Sleep Apnoea; further clinical trial results to be released in the current quarter- New clinical data shows that over three quarters of patients may be able to be successfully treated without the need for CPAP- Oventus' 'Sleep Treatment Platform' continues to evolve with the launch of more effective and user friendly variations and extensions of the product range over the next six months- Focus on building Oventus USA team continues with several key appointments during the quarter. USA team undertaking marketing and educational activities targeted at driving adoption of 'Oventus Airway Technology' with sleep clinicians- Oventus remains in a strong cash position with $9.90m as at 30 June 2018Quarterly salesReceipts from customers totalled $79,000 in the June quarter (Q4 FY2018), compared to $101,881 in the March 2018 quarter (Q3 FY2018).During the reporting period, work continued to build Oventus' two main sales channels; with dentists through 'the dental channel' (predominantly through our agreement with Modern Dental) and with sleep physicians through 'the sleep channel'. To help drive referrals through both channels, Oventus is focussed on stakeholder education and generating clinical data.Sales volumes are yet to accelerate since launching with Modern Dental in early CY18 due to long lead times on treatment uptake and the additional education typically required when launching a new treatment modality. To this end Modern has also been investing heavily in education for the dental channel.In the sleep channel, Oventus is focussed on the generation of clinical data and education of stakeholders to drive referrals for Oventus Airway Technology. The investment in the sleep channel is being spear-headed by a newly formed, but very experienced and well credentialed US sales team.Early feedback from the sleep community has been exceptional and the Company remains very positive that sales will build in the second half of CY18.Founder and Clinical Director, Dr Chris Hart commented, "The Oventus treatment platform and the clinical trial data to support its adoption has undergone a rapid evolution over the last two years.Historically we have been viewed by dentists, the sleep profession and the market as another sleep apnoea mouthguard company selling into a very competitive oral appliance market. However, with the product development undertaken and supporting clinical trial data being generated, in combination with access to existing reimbursement codes and a clear regulatory pathway, Oventus is now emerging as an airway management company.With strong interest in our 'Sleep Treatment Platform' and continued adoption across dental and sleep channels, we should start to see increasing revenues in future quarters."Operational staff appointmentsOventus continued to build out its operational, sales and marketing capability in North America to support the implementation of the Modern Dental distribution arrangement and the introduction of products into the Sleep channel.Peggy Powers, Clinical Educator, North America joined the team during the quarter. Peggy will support expansion through developing and running comprehensive training programs. She joins Robin Randolph, Vice President, Marketing and Operations and Greg Eaton, Vice President Sales, who were both appointed earlier in the year. Importantly the team has long standing relationships through prior roles in industry.Dental channel updateProduct roll out with Modern DentalAustralia: Following the launch by Southern Cross Dental in late 2017, there has been increased focus on training dentists. This includes three target groups:1. Dentists that don't currently incorporate Dental Sleep Medicine into their practice - raising awareness on how screening for sleep disorders can expand their practice offering and profitability.2. Dentists already delivering mandibular advancement devices (MADs) - explaining how 'Oventus Airway Technology' can be tailored to patients to improve treatment outcomes.3. Advanced Sleep Dentists that have the ability to incorporate combination therapy into clinical practiceDentist training and education partnerships- Oventus is bringing Dr Leopoldo Correa to Australia in August to provide training on Dental Sleep Medicine and OSA. Dr Correa is an Associate Professor and Director of the Dental Sleep Medicine Fellowship Program at Tufts University School of Dental Sleep Medicine, Boston. This training is set to coincide with the launch of Oventus's Optima product range and the first of its PEEP valve products, named Oventus ExVent- Oventus has been developing a Sleep Program in partnership with Australian Medical Home Sleep Testing (AMHST) to assist dentists with the screening, diagnosis and treatment of patients suffering OSA. The program will launch in August and include screening for increased nasal resistance, which is a key clinical indication for prescribing 'Oventus Airway Technology' as part of a patient's oral appliance therapy- Oventus recently secured prominent dental-sleep educational course relationships with National Sleep Alliance and DreamSleep, both of which will offer comprehensive training and incentives to Modern dentists.USA: Oventus continues to implement its distributor strategy, with a dental channel training program being rolled out in conjunction with Modern Dental.Smile Source Exchange conferenceIn early May, Dr Chris Hart presented by invitation at a Smile Source Exchange conference in Anaheim, California. Smile Source supports a network of 500 dental clinics across the US and offers a range of member-based training initiatives. This work was conducted in combination with efforts to on-board larger groups of sleep physicians and sleep labs.Sleep channel updateAustralia:Following the release of clinical evidence, sleep specialists have indicated a willingness to adopt and recommend 'Oventus Airway Technology' as a treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) when continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment fails. The development of the new PEEP technology "ExVent" and "ONEPAP" and the clinical trial data being generated at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) by Prof Danny Eckert and his team, is showing that this extension of 'Oventus Airway Technology' may be able to treat over half of patients that have previously failed both CPAP therapy and oral appliance therapy, increasing the reach of 'Oventus Airway Technology' to successfully treating more than three quarters of patients with-out the need for CPAP.USA: In recent months, Robin Randolph and Greg Eaton from Oventus USA have met or forged relationships with a range of prominent US Sleep networks.The recent American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM) and SLEEP 2018 exhibitions in Baltimore in June provided excellent opportunities to network with key executives whilst raising awareness with the wider dental and sleep community.Dr Chris Hart will be undertaking activities in the USA later in the current quarter, presenting to sleep physicians the benefits of Oventus' personalised 'Sleep Treatment Platform' and onboarding them with the technology.Product developmentAs a result of the launch of a number of new appliances over the coming six months that all incorporate 'Oventus Airway Technology', Oventus will be able to treat an increasing number patients suffering from obstructive sleep apnoea with minimal intervention, offering a viable CPAP alternative. The Oventus 'Sleep Treatment Platform' offering will enable a personalised patient-centric approach to sleep medicine.An overview of appliances in the Oventus 'Sleep Treatment Platform' and their relative efficacy based on clinical trial results is shown below (see link below).Product development has been guided by clinical trial results and market feedback on the existing range of devices.The titanium O2VentTM appliance range currently on the market has continued to evolve to make the devices lower profile and more ergonomic as well as being compatible with the newly developed Oventus ExVent and ONEPAP devices.The O2VentTM Optima bespoke nylon devices are ultralight weight and much lower cost to produce than the titanium O2Vent(TM) appliances. These products remain on schedule for launch in the 4th quarter of calendar 2018 and will be backed up by six clinical trial data sets being presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress in Paris this September and the Australasian Sleep Association's Sleep Down under in Brisbane in October.Alongside the O2VentTM nylon appliance range, Oventus will soon launch the ExVent positive end expiratory pressure (PEEP) valve. The ExVent integrates into the 'duckbill' in the airway of the O2VentTM oral appliances, further enhancing efficacy for a number of patients. This device accessory controls exhalation for patients utilising the Oventus' O2VentTM airway, generating positive air pressure on exhalation, creating a micro CPAP-type effect.The O2VentTM ONEPAP appliance (incorporating a titratable PEEP valve and nasal pillows) is on track for launch in early 2019. This appliance is designed for patients with more severe sleep apnoea and is undergoing trials as part of the NeuRA study. ONEPAP is possibly the most exciting extension of Oventus Airway Technology and in fact has the potential to elevate the efficacy of oral appliance therapy to that of CPAP for many patients.Clinical trial resultsVery positive clinical data covering an additional 45 patients in clinical trials was released during the quarter from two studies; OVEN-005 'Sydney NeuRA' trial and the OVEN-003 'Brisbane' trial.Click here view the 'Sydney' clinical trial result announcements. (see link below)Brisbane studyFinal results were announced for a randomised, crossover clinical trial in Brisbane examining the treatment outcomes of oral appliance therapy with and without 'Oventus Airway Technology' in a group of 32 patients suffering from obstructive sleep apnoea.Click here to view the 'Brisbane' clinical trial result announcement. (see link below)Summary of trial result findingsTo date, data has been collected and analysed across 95 patients suffering from OSA over four clinical studies, all consistently showing strong clinical efficacy of the O2VentTM oral appliance, validating 'Oventus Airway Technology' for use in both oral appliances and as a CPAP interface. See the ASX announcements section of our website for reported data: http://oventus.com.au/investors/asx-announcements Further results are expected in calendar Q4 2018 from the OVEN-004 'Perth' study covering 23 patients and the OVEN-005 Sydney NeuRA Study with a further 16 patients.Cost reductionOventus is well progressed into a program of reducing R&D spend and diverting resources into sales channels while containing costs as part of a transition, moving from being a predominantly R&D focussed company to a sales oriented company.The Company aims to further reduce operating overhead by reducing activities in its Melbourne office and by fully outsourcing manufacturing of its titanium O2VentTM appliance in a strategic move to become a virtual device manufacturer. This move will enable Oventus to focus on its core value proposition of driving innovation in airway management and the incorporation of its technology into existing workflows and channels.Patent application approvalsPatent approval was received from the US Patent and Trade Mark Office, number US-10,010,444, and European Patent Office, number EP-2,709,572 in June. The approvals provide Oventus with protection for its 'Airway Technology' incorporated into its O2VentTM oral appliances for the treatment of sleep apnoea and snoring. This newly approved patent sits within an existing family of patents previously approved and, importantly, provides Oventus with patent protection in its key target market of the US and Europe. Oventus already holds patent protection in Australia.Cash positionAs at 30 June 2018, the Company maintained a solid cash position of $9.90m.Upcoming eventsOventus will be taking part in the upcoming Sleep DownUnder 2018 conference in Brisbane from 17-20 October at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, run by the Australasian Sleep Association (ASA).OutlookLooking forward, Oventus is well positioned to drive sales in this current second half of calendar 2018.Oventus invites you to follow our progress via our website at http://www.oventus.com.au To view figures, please visit:About Oventus Medical Ltd

Oventus Medical Ltd (ASX:OVN) is a Brisbane based medical device company that is commercialising a unique treatment platform for the treatment of sleep apnoea and snoring. Unlike other oral appliances or CPAP interfaces, the Oventus devices have a unique and patented airway within the treatment platform that allows air to flow to the back of the mouth unobstructed while maintaining an oral seal and stable jaw position, bypassing multiple obstructions from the nose, soft palate and tongue, reducing airway collapsibility and managing mouth breathing while maintain a stable airway with or without nasal CPAP. They are particularly designed for the many people that have nasal obstructions and consequently tend to mainly breathe through their mouth. While it may seem counterintuitive, this technology actually manages mouth breathing by converting it to device breathing and normalising ventilation. The O2Vent(TM) is designed to allow nasal breathing when the nose is unobstructed, but when obstruction is present, breathing is supplemented via the airways in the appliance.

For more information on Oventus' Sleep Treatment Platform, please visit http://www.oventus.com
AdsWizz today announced its Podcast Platform Partnership Program with an inaugural wave of leading Podcast Platform and Solution providers. By integrating with AdsWizz audio monetization suite, the Podcast Platform and Solution Providers now provide a seamless offering that enables podcasters to massively accelerate their revenue growth from their content while leveraging their initial investment and avoiding unnecessary switching costs. Podcasters benefit from the most robust, full-featured audio monetization solution in the industry, while enjoying the full freedom to select the enterprise-grade podcast hosting, publishing, and distribution solutions that best address their needs.

The initial wave of Premier AdsWizz Podcast Platform Partners include:



Libsyn, who pioneered the hosting and publishing of podcasts in 2004, and has since grown into the leading podcast publisher, with over 50,000 shows delivering over 7 billion downloads in 2017;

Blubrry, a premier host and stats provider with the most extensive directory (535,000+ shows), seamless WordPress integrations and solutions built to scale;

Voxnest, the company behind Spreaker and BlogTalkRadio, that develops podcast audio content management solutions for publishers and media enterprises;

StreamGuys, an AdsWizz partner since 2011, and 18-year veteran of live and on-demand audio and video streaming, podcasting delivery for frequent top 20 iTunes podcasters, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) tool sets for enterprise-level broadcast media organizations; and

EmpireStreaming, a leading, audio-centric CDN and Saas Management platform for live and on-demand content, provider of the newly announced full-service podcast CMS, Podium.

We are thrilled to be working with these industry leading podcast solution providers to provide an integrated, seamless solution for podcasters that will drive podcast industry growth, said Alexis van de Wyer, CEO of AdsWizz. This will enable any podcaster to offer targeted, programmatic buying on their podcast content, without switching their podcast platform provider, which is a huge benefit for podcast publishers.

With the AdsWizz suite of monetization products, podcasters get the most advanced monetization features in the industry.



With AdsWizz Ad Insertion Suite, podcast publishers get real time ad insertion (or replacement of host read ads), contextual targeting, the ability to limit competitive ads within the same podcast (ad clashing), and streaming vs. download data, as well as offline ad reporting.

With AdsWizz AudioServe, podcasters enjoy robust, user-level targeting for their ads based on geo, day parting, devices, contextual, behavioral profiles, weather, and more. They also get detailed reporting on delivery and engagement metrics, along with access to innovative audio formats like ShakeMe, second screen, voice interaction, and personalized ads.

With AudioMax, AdsWizz audio-centric SSP, podcast publishers get holistic yield management, and enable programmatic buying on their inventory, including Private Marketplaces (PMPs), programmatic guaranteed, direct orders, and 1st or 2nd price auctions.

More information on AdsWizz podcast solutions and the Podcast Platform Partnership Program can be found at https://www.adswizz.com/podcast-solutions/.

About AdsWizz

AdsWizz has created the end-to-end technology platform that is powering the digital audio advertising ecosystem. AdsWizz powers well-known music platforms, podcasts and broadcasting groups worldwide with a comprehensive digital audio software suite of solutions that connect audio publishers to the advertising community. From dynamic ad insertion to advanced programmatic platforms to innovative new audio formats, AdsWizz efficiently connects buyers and sellers in digital audio. AdsWizz is headquartered in San Mateo, California, with an IT Development hub in Bucharest, Romania, and presence in 39 markets around the world.

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WHAT:

Hosted by Data Connectors, the 2018 Raleigh Cybersecurity Conference will bring together cybersecurity experts from every major industry to discuss critical issues such as cloud security, email security, VoIP, LAN security, wireless security & more. The conference will showcase the broad spectrum of new and emerging information security products and services to solve todays complex IT security challenges.

During the conference, Steven Aiello, chief security and compliance architect at AHEAD, a leading provider of IT consulting and enterprise cloud solutions, will present a session titled, Cybersecurity KPIs to Secure Your IT Environment. This will not be a theoretical approach to security, rather an analysis of the most common attack vectors and patterns that are used to compromise IT assets. Attendees will walk away with actionable steps to start proactively protecting their environment from the latest security breaches.

WHEN:

Session Seven: Cybersecurity KPIs to Secure your IT Environment

Date: July 26, 2018

Time: 1:30 p.m.  2:00 p.m. EST

WHERE:

Raleigh Cyber Security Conference

Sheraton Raleigh Hotel

421 South Salisbury Street

Raleigh, NC 27601

For more information about the Raleigh Cyber Security Conference and to register, visit: https://www.dataconnectors.com/event/raleigh2018/

WHO:

Steven Aiello is a chief security and compliance architect at AHEAD, a leading provider of IT consulting and enterprise cloud solutions. An expert in enterprise IT security, Aiello helps clients build better security operations programs to identify risks and mitigate security concerns. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in technology management and a Master of Science with a concentration in information assurance from Eastern Michigan University.

His certifications include CISSP (Certified Information System Security Professional), ISACA CISA, SANS GSEC, SANS GCIH, VMware VCP (VMware Certified Professional), VMware VCAP-DCD (VMware Certified Advanced Professional  Data Center Design), and Cisco CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate)

About AHEAD

AHEAD transforms how and where enterprises run applications and infrastructure. From strategic consulting to implementation and managed services, AHEAD creates tailored solutions at all stages of the enterprise cloud journey. Headquartered in Chicago, AHEAD maintains offices in Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin. To learn more, visit http://www.ThinkAhead.com and follow AHEAD on Twitter at @ThinkAheadIT.
CoinMD logo "Texas caught my attention when Ripple invested $2 million to support a Universitys blockchain research initiative and a Texas-based health care technology company announced a collaboration on patient identity blockchain applications," said Amazon best-selling author, Tom McMurrian

Amazon best-selling author, Tom McMurrain, will be visiting San Antonio, August 2, Lubbock, August 3 and Duncanville, August 4 to give a free lecture that will explore blockchain technologys growth, discuss cryptocurrency and note the economic impact of blockchain technology in Texas. Texas caught Toms attention when Ripple invested $2 million to support the University of Texas at Austins blockchain research initiative and a Texas-based health care technology company announced a collaboration on patient identity blockchain applications.

Tom McMurrain authored The 7th Disruption: The Rise of the Digital Currency Billionaire (https://amzn.to/2LTjxOP), which delves into the dynamic market disruptions created by technological advances. His book details how and why disruptions create trillion dollar markets, reshape human culture, bankrupt companies (Blockbuster Video vs. Redbox), disrupt industries (taxis vs. Uber) and transform countries.

In the last 100 years, six disruptions notably TV, Internet, email, mobile, e-commerce, and social media have created thousands of multi-billion dollar industries. Global banks, financial institutions and even governments are moving into blockchain and cryptocurrency applications. This includes the UKs central bank, Qatars commercial bank, Tennessees smart contracts, Nevada, Delaware, Dubai and Canada, said Tom McMurrain, The 7th Disruption author. My mission is to educate as many people as possible regarding the true impact of blockchain and cryptocurrency. Blockchain technology possesses the potential to lift more people out of poverty than any other human advance in history.

People can attend Tom McMurrains free blockchain and cryptocurrency lecture on Thursday, August 2, at 6:30pm at Milano On Wurzbach at 11802 Wurzbach Road in San Antonio, Friday, August 3, at 6:30pm at Hotel Ava at 3201 Loop 289 South in Lubbock and Saturday, August 4, at 11:30am at Pappadeaux's at 800 E Highway 67 in Duncanville. The lectures will cover the evolution of blockchain, how cryptocurrency has created wealth faster than any other technology in history, how people can participate in this trend and the potential economic impact for Texas. On August 4, Tom McMurrain will be giving a private lecture on the application of cryptocurrency to the healthcare market as part of his latest project called CoinMD. This company provides the worlds first universal healthcare marketplace, called the CoinMD Choice Healthcare Marketplace, which accepts cryptocurrency.

About Tom McMurrain

Tom McMurrain is the author of an Amazon best seller - The 7th Disruption: The Rise of the Digital Currency Billionaire. He highlights business models that disrupt companies, industries and countries. Speaking to audiences around the world, he is known for his ability to help people clearly understand what digital currency is and how people can make it part of their lifestyle. His thesis is that blockchain is a major disruptor and that it will lift more people out of poverty than any other technological advance in human history.

http://www.coinmd.io

facebook.com/coinmdinc

twitter.com/coinmdinc

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Russell Wolf: 308.383.8383, rwwmims(at)aol(dot)com
Emphasizing the Stemgene Element of Gene Therapy The well-known difficulties of identifying, isolating, quantifying, and producing tissue stem cells that continue to limit progress in stem cell medicine also limit progress in gene therapy and gene editing.

James Sherley heads a biotechnology company that offers a technology-enabled service to the fields of stem cell research, stem cell regenerative medicine, and drug discovery. Asymmetrex offers the first-in-kind technology for specific counting of adult tissue stem cells, which include blood stem cells and stem cells isolated from fat tissue. The companys AlphaSTEM Test service determines the number of stem cells in research experiments, the stem cell-specific dose of therapeutic treatments, the quality of stem cells supplied by stem cell production companies, and drug candidates that are likely to cause organ failure.

Just as the inclusion of drug discovery on the list of AlphaSTEM Test services may seem odd to some, Sherley discovered that so did gene therapy and gene editing. Asymmetrex has been pursuing gene therapy and gene editing companies as prospective sponsors, since the companys AlphaSTEM Test technology became available. However, as Sherley observes in the featured ClinicalTrialsArena essay, in the high pace of medical development, there can often be surprising disconnects between scientific knowledge and clinical research practice.

When approached by ClinicalTrialsArena to provide an informational essay for contract research organizations (CROs) working to supply services to stem cell regenerative medicine sponsors, Sherley says, I had been waiting for an opportunity to share our experience and suggest a solution to the disconnect Asymmetrex encountered between the recognition, in the scientific literature, of the importance of targeting stem cells for successful gene therapy and the widespread resignation, in gene therapy clinical trials practice, to not address this clear requirement with any specifically designed strategies. This surprisingly agnostic approach seemed especially true of newly appearing gene editing companies.

The Stemgene Therapy Consideration, posted July 20 on the Oncology page of ClinicalTrialsArena is an attempt by Sherley to bring more attention to this difficult to account shortcoming. His essay recommends that Gene Therapy be called Stemgene Therapy instead. This change would keep the importance of stem cells at the forefront of research and development for more effective gene therapies.

The success of long-term gene therapy depends on the introduction of therapeutic genes or gene edits into long-lived tissue stem cells. However, accomplishing such specific targeting is quite challenging, because tissue stem cells are vastly outnumbered and obscured by mature tissue cells that have short lifetimes in the body. The well-known difficulties of identifying, isolating, quantifying, and producing tissue stem cells that continue to limit progress in stem cell medicine also limit progress in gene therapy and gene editing. Sherley warns that not enough attention is given to these needs to improve the design of gene therapy clinical trials. Similarly, research dedicated to breaching these technical barriers to genetically engineering tissue stem cells falls short of the level of attention and resources warranted, given the crucial requirement of tissue stem cell targeting for attainment of durable gene treatments.

In addition to changing the name of the medical discipline, Sherley calls on CROs and their gene therapy sponsors to collaborate towards reducing the stem cell-related barriers that presently preclude more effective gene therapies. These key players may have to step outside of their conventional commercially-motivated interactions into more dynamic stem cell research collaborations in order to discover and engineer solutions to the stem cell challenges that presently limit progress in stemgene therapeutics.

About Asymmetrex

Asymmetrex, LLC is a Massachusetts life sciences company with a focus on developing technologies to advance stem cell medicine. Asymmetrexs founder and director, James L. Sherley, M.D., Ph.D. is an internationally recognized expert on the unique properties of adult tissue stem cells. The companys patent portfolio contains biotechnologies that solve the two main technical problems  production and quantification  that have stood in the way of successful commercialization of human adult tissue stem cells for regenerative medicine and drug development. In addition, the portfolio includes novel technologies for isolating cancer stem cells and producing induced pluripotent stem cells for disease research purposes. Asymmetrex markets the first technology for determination of the dose and quality of tissue stem cell preparations (the AlphaSTEM Test) for use in stem cell transplantation therapies and pre-clinical drug evaluations.
BSG Financial Groups service helps us actively monitor a customers financial position and tailor overdraft limits to mitigate risks for both the customer and the bank.

BSG Financial Group, a provider of revenue-enhancement programs and compliance solutions for financial institutions nationwide, announced today its continued expansion into the Midwest U.S. by adding Carroll, IA-based Availa Bank ($666 million in assets) to the list of clients that utilize its CourtesyConnect/CourtesyLimit technology to manage discretionary overdraft services.

According to Jeff G. Scharfenkamp, President and CEO of Availa Bank, the bank selected BSG Financial Group as its partner first and foremost to help the institution provide improved service to its customers. Scharfenkamp said a major factor in the bank selecting CourtesyConnect/CourtesyLimit is its ability to calculate overdraft limits that may change daily based on a customers ability to repay an overdraft and the corresponding fees. Availa Bank wants to provide an overdraft service that is readily available for our customers who are in a financial position to use it for emergencies or funding shortfalls, he said. BSG Financial Groups service helps us actively monitor a customers financial position and tailor overdraft limits to mitigate risks for both the customer and the bank.

Additionally, Scharfenkamp said that the programs process and procedures regarding Reg E opt-ins was a prominent element in the banks decision to select BSG Financial Group. Now, our customers can take advantage of the overdraft service at the ATM and at point-of-sale, if they wish to do so. With CourtesyConnect/CourtesyLimit, we are better equipped to facilitate Reg E decisions through automation and a customized communications process, he said.

BSG Financial Group provides each CourtesyConnect/CourtesyLimit client with comprehensive program training for bank personnel, as well as a detailed set of best practices to ensure compliance with all federal guidelines regarding overdraft management. In addition, the company conducts annual program performance reviews; hosts ongoing educational webinars; produces training videos; and distributes periodic compliance updates.

A few years ago we searched for an overdraft provider that could meet our customer service needs, but came up short, said Scharfenkamp. This time, we were referred to BSG Financial Group by one of its existing clients and we immediately liked what we saw. Every reference we contacted spoke very highly of BSG Financial Group and its way of doing business. We are confident we have made the right decision.

About Availa Bank

The roots of Availa Bank run deep in the Iowa soil. In 1870, German Bank of Carroll County began operations to serve its local community in western Iowa. Although the name of bank changed to Carroll County State Bank during World War I, the commitment to local businesses, farmers and individuals remained the cornerstone for continue growth in the area.

Over the years, the bank has partnered with other banks in the region who shared its commitment of local people serving local needs. These banks included Council Bluffs Savings Bank in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and CSBank with offices in Pocahontas and Fort Dodge, Iowa. In 2017, Carroll County State Bank and its affiliates made the decision to adopt a single name for all institutions. That name was Availa Bank.

Today, Availa Bank celebrates a close to 150-year tradition in each and every location  providing local service to the local communities.

About BSG Financial Group

Louisville, Ky.-based BSG Financial Group is a group of independently organized companies that provides revenue-enhancement and compliance solutions for financial institutions nationwide. BSG Financial Group has been a provider of innovative overdraft programs since 1999, including the industry's first cloud-based overdraft management solution, Courtesy Connect/Courtesy Limit. The company's additional revenue-enhancing solutions include: Fee-Based Packaged Checking Accounts; Digital Lending Solutions; Vendor Management; Social Media Management; and CD Pricing and Selling Strategies.

BSG Financial Group includes the following companies: CourtesyCloud Management Solutions, LLC; BSG Financial, LLC; and IQ Development, LLC. For more information about the company, visit http://www.BSGfinancial.com.
2017 Aviation Expo Scholarship Winners We believe the Expo has the potential to motivate, inspire, and ultimately change a students destiny. - Julie O'Brien, ProJet Aviation

ProJet Aviation will host the 13th annual Aviation Education & Career Expo on Friday, October 26th, 2018 at the Leesburg Executive Airport. More than 700 students, educators, and parents are expected to attend the Expo, which is designed to showcase exciting careers in aviation and aerospace to young adults (ages 16-22). This free event features keynote speakers, live demonstrations, and static displays with representatives from over 70 aviation organizations, including the US military, emergency medical airlift, law enforcement, maintenance/avionics repair, government agencies, private charter, in-flight catering, and more. The theme for this year's event is DESTINY," said ProJet Aviation GM Julie OBrien, who is the Co-founder of the event. "We believe the Expo has the potential to motivate, inspire, and ultimately change a students destiny.

The Aviation Education and Career Expo is a unique opportunity for students interested in the aviation/aerospace industry to explore exciting career paths and talk one-on-one with industry experts. Students get an "up close and personal look at occupations that are in high demand worldwide.

This years line-up of guest speakers and demonstrators include:



Michael Rutledge - Commanding officer of the Executive Flight Detachment at the United

States Military Academy at West Point.



Heidi Kemner  National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)

The US Air Force Honor Guard Drill Team

K-9 Demonstration by Metro Washington Airport Authority (MWAA)

Drone Demonstration by V1 Aviation

National Agricultural Aviation Aerial Demonstration by Jeff Corman & Sons

In addition to founding sponsor ProJet Aviation principal sponsors include: Advanced Helicopter Concepts, Air Culinaire, American Helicopters, AOPA, Av-Ed Flight School, Avemco Insurance Co., Averett University, Avfuel, Aviation Adventures, Aviation Institute of Maintenance, Aviation Insurance Resources, Aviation Relocation International, Aviation Week Network, Bravo Flight Training, Eastern Aviation Fuels, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Frederick Flight Center, Geico Flight Dept., General Dynamics, Greater Washington Business Aviation Assoc., Harris, Hoxton Agency, Jet Linx Aviation, Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus, MAG Aerospace, Marywood University, Meiya Group, Middle Tenessee State University, Mosaix, Natl Air Traffic Controllers Association, Natl Air Transportation Association, Natl Business Aviation Association, National Agricultural Aviation Assoc., Paragon Aviation Detailing, Paragon Aviation Group, Paramount Business Jets, Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics, Regent University, Republic Airline, SAAB Sensis, Sharp Details Inc., Southern Utah University Aviation, Sugarloaf 99s, The Aviation Foundation, Toth Financial, University of MD - Eastern Shore, USAIG, Vaughn College of Aeronautics & Technology, Ventus Intl, Western Michigan University, Whirlwind Aviation, and World Fuel.

Registration for students and scholarship applications are online and available at the event website: http://www.aveducationexpo.com. Space is limited, and all award winners MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN.

About The Aviation Education & Career Expo

The Aviation Education & Career Expo is one of the largest and most successful aviation education events in the United States, awarding hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships to high school and college students pursuing careers in the aviation and aerospace industry, since its inception in 2005. Over 700 students will attend this year. Cofounded by aviation professionals Julie OBrien and Sarah Thompson, the Expo is committed to helping students explore the many career opportunities available to them through the world of flight. The Aviation Education & Career Expo is hosted by ProJet Aviation at Leesburg Executive Airport (KJYO), in Leesburg, VA.

About ProJet Aviation

ProJet Aviation is the DC metro region's premier aviation hospitality company, dedicated to helping people accomplish extraordinary things through the wonder of private flight. The company operates ProJet Center, a Fixed Base Operation (FBO), at Leesburg Executive Airport (KJYO), general aviations gateway to Washington DC, Dulles, and Virginia's Horse & Wine Country. Established in 2007 as a partnership between former airline pilot and entrepreneur Shye Gilad and noted entrepreneur and philanthropist Sheila C. Johnson, Founder & CEO of Salamander Hotels and Resorts, ProJet Aviation combines the operational integrity of the worlds best airlines with the refined service of a world-class resort. ProJets numerous accolades include recognition as a Washington Business Journals Best Place to Work, Loudoun County Chambers Service Business of the Year, Town of Leesburgs Tourism Ambassador Award, and an Inc. 500/5000 Fastest Growing Company.
The Witch of Oz has dedicated more than five decades of her life studying and teaching Wicca. She wanted to have an educational truth in a series of training the true seeker of Wicca. It prompted her to write Complete Teachings of Wicca: Book One: The Seeker (published by Balboa Press AU), the first of the series in which she explains how the ancient pagan system can lead to a reawakening. For more details about the book, please visit https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Teachings-Wicca-Book-Seeker/dp/1504311752.

In book one of the series, the author highlights on how to improve communication and move into the Age of Aquarius and invites seekers to embark on a journey of self-exploration and study the oldest religion in the world known as Witchcraft, but now called Wicca . It also includes training exercises, that will leave them with deep insights about the mysteries of Wicca and the Goddess, (Mother Earth) and identify the eight paths to enlightenment.

Life is a great classroom, but we have forgotten how to see and really look; listen and hear; sense and openly feel, the author says. I am hoping that my series of books, where I have over 50 years of learning, training and teaching hundreds of seekers, will open your eyes, ears and soul to the truth of the universe so you can learn and know just a small fragment of what Magick is really about. It does not matter about your religious background, what matters is that you come into Wicca with an open mind and a non-judgmental attitude. Acceptance and tolerance is the key to truly being a Wicce.

Let us together go on a journey that will hopefully educate you and take you on a path to self-discovery and the discovery of the true and real Magick, which is called Wiccecraft and Wicca.

Complete Teachings of Wicca: Book One: The Seeker

By The Witch of Oz

Softcover | 7.5 x 9.25in | 446 pages | ISBN 9781504311755

E-Book | 446 pages | ISBN 9781504311939

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

About the Author

The Witch of Oz has dedicated more than five decades to studying and teaching Wicca. She was the first to confront the Australian establishment to accept Wicca as a religion. She is the founder of The Church of Wicca, which was the countrys first legal neo-pagan church and she has lectured at universities throughout the world. She has also appeared in dozens of documentaries, television shows and on the radio.

Balboa Press Australia is a division of Hay House, Inc., a leading provider in publishing products that specialise in self-help and the mind, body and spirit genre. Through an alliance with indie book publishing leader Author Solutions, LLC, authors benefit from the leadership of Hay House Publishing and the speed-to-market advantages of the Author Solutions self-publishing model. For more information or to start publishing today, visit balboapress.com.au/ or call 1800 050 315. For the latest, follow @balboapress on Twitter and Like us at facebook.com/BalboaPress.
BountyJobs and Recruiting.com Creating an authentic career site and employer brand goes hand-in-hand with the BountyJobs focus of giving the employer the best tools to successfully make those top hires.

BountyJobs, Inc., provider of the leading recruiting technology platform for collaboration between employers and search firms with over $1.25 Billion in placement fees to recruiters, today announced a strategic partnership with innovative recruiting software and career site solution, Recruiting.com.

This Strategic Partnership with Recruiting.com is part of a BountyJobs led initiative to pursue innovation in Talent Acquisition by building a network of like-minded technology providers, focused on improving the way companies recruit, attract and retain talent.

Recruiting.com helps organizations attract and engage job seekers through world-class career site and web solutions, optimized for search engines, social media, and mobile devices. Organizations can compete more effectively by sharing their employment story and career opportunities in a more compelling and dynamic way, therefore giving candidates a better experience and a reason to apply.

The technology that Recruiting.com offers expands the impact of hiring organizations at a critical time, said Stacey Steiger, Vice President of Product and Marketing at BountyJobs. Creating an authentic career site and employer brand goes hand-in-hand with the BountyJobs focus of giving the employer the best tools to successfully make those top hires.

Were passionate about helping connect the right employers and job seekers. At Recruiting.com, we do this by building world-class career and website solutions to help companies and staffing firms attract and convert top talent, said Jessica Rush, CEO of Recruiting.com. BountyJobs unique platform gives companies another important tool for reaching the right talent through an extensive network of third-party recruiters.

The new relationship, which combines progressive technology in recruiting solutions with traditional talent acquisition strategies, creates the perfect blend of expertise in the hiring space and allows companies of all sizes to leverage innovation in order to compete more effectively for talent.

About Recruiting.com

Recruiting.com builds innovative recruiting software to help organizations compete for talent through more relevant, authentic and personalized experiences. We enable employers to attract and engage job seekers through our world-class career site solutions, optimized for search engines, social media, and mobile devices. For more information visit http://www.recruiting.com.

About BountyJobs

Sometimes sourcing talent for business-critical positions requires a little help. Our web-based platform features a marketplace of over 10,000 highly-qualified agencies and a performance-based matching algorithm that helps hiring teams of all sizes find and engage the recruiters for each of their roles. All this inside our simple yet effective platform designed to keep you in control of the entire recruitment process. Help makes hiring happier. Learn more at http://www.bountyjobs.com.
BullGuard is a market leader in consumer cybersecurity. We make it simple to protect everything in your digital life  from your data, to your identity and your smart home. "As BullGuard continues to grow, enhancing the BullGuard team with seasoned leaders who will help us maintain our technical leadership and product expertise at the necessary global scale is critical," said Paul Lipman, CEO of BullGuard.

BullGuard, a market leader in consumer cybersecurity, today announced the appointment of two experienced senior executives to its global team. Nat Maple, a 20+ year veteran of high-growth enterprise companies, has joined as general manager of eCommerce and new products based in Silicon Valley. Asaf Livne, a seasoned expert with nearly two decades of experience in cybersecurity research and development (R&D) has been appointed as vice president of IoT R&D, based in the BullGuard Israel office, the companys headquarters for its Dojo by BullGuard IoT security products. BullGuard has achieved significant growth over the course of the past year, increasing its international workforce by 30 percent and rolling out a new, comprehensive, enterprise-grade cybersecurity solution for Communication Service Providers (CSPs), the Dojo IoT Security Intelligent Platform.

"As BullGuard continues to grow, enhancing the BullGuard team with seasoned leaders who will help us maintain our technical leadership and product expertise at the necessary global scale is critical," said Paul Lipman, CEO of BullGuard. "Nat's business acumen and Asaf's technical expertise will be indispensable as we look to the next phase of our international growth, unveil new and exciting partnerships, and leverage our deep R&D capabilities to bring new products to market."

Maple, who has more than two decades of strategic business experience and ran Symantecs billion dollar plus global eCommerce business earlier in his career, will head all new product go-to-market activities, and oversee the companys online presence and revenues.

Even with the rise of cyber attacks in recent years, most people still dont consider a security solution until after their information has been hacked, said Maple. As worldwide connectivity continues to grow at a rapid pace its important for consumers to understand that internet security, privacy and smart home protection doesnt need to be complicated or expensive. I look forward to helping BullGuard further cement its position as a market leader in consumer cybersecurity as the threat landscape continues to evolve.

BullGuard acquired smart home security pioneer Dojo Labs in 2016 and has since experienced tremendous growth, increasing its talent in the BullGuard Israel office by 400 percent. In 2017, BullGuard began shipping Dojo by BullGuard, the worlds most comprehensive smart home cybersecurity solution for consumers, and last month expanded its offering to include an IoT network scanner for both consumers and CSPs.

Livne, a cybersecurity R&D expert, spent a decade at Check Point Software Technologies and boasts a wealth of experience in the internet security industry, where he developed and scaled world-class software security products, deliveries and processes. Throughout his career, Livne has managed large development teams and has been integral in driving the execution of market leading security products. Reporting to Yossi Atias, Dojo founder and General Manager, IoT Security of BullGuard, Livne will play a key role in Dojo by BullGuards innovation roadmap, helping to drive the development of Dojos Intelligent Platform for CSPs during the companys high-growth phase.

Gartner predicts that by 2020 there will be over 20 billion smart devices connected to networks. Its clear that as an industry, we need to be doing much more to help people secure their everyday lives, said Livne. BullGuard has the technology, talent and vision to transform how consumers and CSPs manage the security of their data and privacy. Im excited to join the Dojo by BullGuard team and to be part of this mission-critical journey.

BullGuard has three main offices including Redwood City, California, Bucharest, Romania and Herzliya, Israel. In total, the company has over 150 employees across seven countries who serve BullGuards global customer base and more than 2,000 channel partners spanning 198 countries.

About BullGuard

BullGuard is a market leader in consumer cybersecurity. We make it simple to protect everything in your digital life  from your data, to your identity and your smart home. The BullGuard product portfolio extends to PCs, Macs, and Android tablet and smartphone protection, and includes internet security, comprehensive mobile security and 24/7 identity protection. BullGuard released the worlds first IoT vulnerability scanner and leads the consumer cybersecurity industry in providing continuous innovation.

Dojo by BullGuard is an award-winning intelligent cyber defense system and service that provides the highest level of protection to consumers across all of their connected devices and smart homes. Dojo is the cornerstone of a smart home, ensuring a connected world where every consumer in every home, is smart, safe and protected.

Privately held, BullGuard is based in Bucharest, London, Silicon Valley and Herzliya, Israel. Follow us on Twitter @BullGuard and @DojoSafe, like us on Facebook at BullGuard and Dojo or learn more at https://www.bullguard.com.

All trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
Buyatab Online Inc. announced today that Matias Marquez, has been named the companys next President and Chief Executive Officer, effective July 6, 2018. Matias is the companys founder and serving Chief Operating Officer. Johann Tergesen, the companys preceding CEO, has been appointed Vice Chair of the Board.

Buyatab has grown to become a leader in digital gift giving, with a solution that allows merchants to transform and expand their gift card programs by leveraging the powerful trends toward online commerce and mobile device usage. Buyatab has been recognized for its rapid revenue growth, having been named to Deloittes Technology Fast 50 list, as well as earning the fastest growing software company in Canada title by Profit 500 in 2017. In 2018, Buyatab also earned the Growth Company of the Year Award at the 25th annual Technology Impact Awards, hosted by the BC Technology Industry Association.

For the past several years, Ive had the privilege of watching Matias grow to be the leader that he is now, said Yuri Fulmer, Chairman of Buyatabs Board, adding His continuous commitment to learn, natural ability to connect vision, people and ideas to drive results has allowed him to elevate rapidly in his professional career. The board and I would like to thank Johann for his years of service and for the great work he has done to help build Buyatab to the level it is today. Having Matias become our next CEO was a natural transition that the Board overwhelmingly supported. Matias ability to inspire, motivate and connect with his team members, partners and industry leaders is precisely what Buyatab needs going into its next chapter.

Matias has served in senior leadership roles within the organization since the companys inception in 2009 and has continuously held a directorship position on Buyatabs Board. Over the years, Matias has been recognized with numerous awards for his entrepreneurial success, including: being named a BC Business Top 30 Under 30 recipient in 2016; winner of the 2016 EY Entrepreneur of The Year award; and being named to Canadas Top 40 Under 40 for 2017. A digital gift card industry pioneer, Matias has been instrumental in driving Buyatabs growth and customer-focused success.

I began the journey of building Buyatab when I was a student at University, said Matias Marquez, adding Buyatab has evolved to become an industry-leading platform with an exceptionally talented team that is passionate about our vision and fiercely committed to our customers. The ability to lead the company in its next chapter of growth is an opportunity that I welcome with great pride.

About Buyatab

Buyatab is a leading provider of advanced online gift card infrastructure for medium- and large-sized businesses. Buyatab provides merchants with a seamless solution to sell, market and distribute digital and physical gift cards through their online properties across various channels and devices. With clients in the United States, Canada, and Europe, Buyatab provides online gift card services to merchants in a wide variety of sectors, including retail, hospitality, restaurant, shopping, hotel and others.

http://www.buyatab.com


New High-Grade Assay Results Expected to Expand Grants Lithium Mineral Resource

Adelaide, July 24, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Emerging lithium developer Core Exploration Ltd ( ASX:CXO ) ("Core" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the return of wide, high-grade intersections confirming the discovery of significant extensions to the Grants Lithium Deposit, part of the Company's wholly-owned Finniss Lithium Project, located near Darwin in the Northern Territory.HIGHLIGHTS- Multiple new high-grade lithium intersections outside the Mineral Resource at Grants include:o 67m @ 1.57% Li2O from 191m in FRC151-- Including 16m @ 2.17% Li2O-- And 12m @ 2.08% Li2Oo 45m @ 1.72% Li2O from 188m in FRC154-- Including 22m @ 2.09% Li2Oo 45m @ 1.72% Li2O from 142m in FRC159-- Including 16m @ 2.03% Li2Oo 30m @ 1.70% Li2O from 206m in FRC153-- Including 2m @ 2.12% Li2O- New assays confirm significant extensions directly south along strike and at depth at Grants - outside of the existing defined Mineral Resource.- These extensions demonstrate the potential to further increase the size of the Mineral Resource and mine life at Grants, which is expected to have material positive impact on the financial returns from development of the proposed 1Mtpa Finniss Lithium Project.- Drilling underway at BP33 and first assays expected in coming weeks.- Drilling then to recommence at Grants to test further down plunge.Regional exploration drilling continues within the larger Finniss Lithium Project with results expected from Carlton, Hang Gong, Highland and Far West Central expected next monthNew drilling results are located outside of the existing defined Mineral Resource at Grants and therefore highlight the potential to immediately grow the currently defined Mineral Resource at Grants (see Figure 1 in link below), which underpins the strong economics of the recent Pre-Feasibility Study.The average grades of the new significant extensions intersected at Grants are above the Mineral Resource grade of 1.5% Li2O and include wide intervals up to 22m, grading >2% Li2O.These new intersections are expected to add to the existing Mineral Resource at Grants and highlights that the spodumene pegmatite orebody is open along strike and down-plunge to the south (see Figure 1 in link below).These extensional targets at Grants will be the focus of the next round of drilling once the RC rig has completed drilling at BP33.Drill Results from GrantsMultiple new high-grade lithium intersections from Grants include:o 67m @ 1.57% Li2O from 191m in FRC151-- Including 16m @ 2.17% Li2O-- And 12m @ 2.08% Li2Oo 45m @ 1.72% Li2O from 188m in FRC154-- Including 22m @ 2.09% Li2Oo 45m @ 1.72% Li2O from 142m in FRC159-- Including 16m @ 2.03% Li2Oo 30m @ 1.70% Li2O from 206m in FRC153-- Including 2m @ 2.12% Li2OThese new results highlight the potential to increase the size of the Grant's Mineral Resource to be incorporated in the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) later this year. The DFS will build on the strong economics defined in the recently released Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) (see ASX- CXO 25/06/2018) focused on the production of lithium concentrate, commencing in late 2019 from the Finniss Project.All but one of the 12 exploration holes drilled in this recent phase of drilling (see ASX- CXO 6/07/2018) intersected pegmatite extensions to the Grants Mineral Resource. Six of these had significant intercepts, one failed to reach target depth, and the remaining five holes at the extremes of the deposit were not mineralised (see Figure 1 in link below).Drilling is advancing at BP33, testing a similar pegmatite model to Grants, targeting extensions to the initial JORC-2012 Mineral Resource (see ASX- CXO 23/05/2018). Results from BP33 drilling are expected in the coming weeks. Once that first-pass drilling is completed, the rig will return to Grants to test for further down-plunge extensions and infill the successful holes outlined herein.A second RC rig has made progress at a number of other prospects in the northern part of the Finniss Project area, including Carlton, Hang Gong, Highland and Far West Central, and will continue on to other targets in the greater Grants area. Results from this drilling will be released in due course (see Figure 2 in link below).Commenting on these recent results, Core's Managing Director, Stephen Biggins said "These high-grade results highlight the significant upside potential for the Finniss Project."These new extensions to the Mineral Resource area, as well as the addition of BP33 Mineral Resources, are expected to have a material impact on the economics for the Finniss Project."The Pre-Feasibility Study for Grants highlighted exceptional returns and these results, which have the potential to extend the mine life of the project at minimal to no additional capex, are extremely exciting."To view tables and figures, please visit:About Core Lithium Ltd

Core Lithium Ltd (ASX:CXO) is an emerging lithium producer focused on development of its Finniss Project near Darwin in the Northern Territory. Core owns 100% of Finniss, a major developing project that lies close to existing infrastructure such as the Darwin Port, grid power, gas and rail infrastructure.

The Finniss Project covers a 500km2 tenement holding and 25 historic pegmatite mines. The project area is about 80km from Darwin Port. Exploration work has generated a near term development timeline, with feasibility studies to be completed over the course of 2018 ahead of receipt of approvals in early 2019 and planned first production during 2019.

An aggressive exploration program is under way, which has confirmed the high quality prospectivity across much of the Finniss Project area. Core's stated ambition is to upgrade Finniss' resource base to fast-track commercialisation options.
Cantsink Named #1 Manufacturer Installer

Metro Atlanta-based Cantsink has been named by Solar Power World as the #1 Manufacturer Installer on the magazines annual ranking of U.S. solar companies.

In addition to being named #1 Manufacturer Installer in the nation, Cantsink also topped the ranking of Georgia Solar Contractors at #1 and was ranked #16 nationally on the Utility Contractors list and the overall Top Contractors list. Cantsink first appeared on the annual Solar Power World Top Contractors list in 2013.

Produced annually, the Top Solar Contractors list celebrates the achievements of U.S. solar developers, subcontractors and installers within the utility, commercial and residential markets, ranking contractors by kilowatts installed in the previous year.

Solar Power World is very excited about the 2018 class of Top Solar Contractors, said Kelly Pickerel, the magazines editor in chief. Our 2017 list showed impressive installation numbers after 2016s huge rush to meet ITC requirements, and many companies were hesitant to show unavoidable installation dips after last years high. Were happy to feature a strong group of thriving U.S. solar installers on the 2018 Top Solar Contractors list. These companies truly are at the top of their markets.

In 2017, the non-residential solar market grew 28% year-over-year, the fourth straight year of annual growth for commercial, industrial and community solar. Last year, 30% of all new electric generating capacity brought online in the United States came from solar, second only to new natural gas capacity.

The first quarter of 2018 showed 13% growth over the first quarter of 2017, and Cantsink is a recognized contributor to that increase.

Cantsink, which manufactures and installs piling systems that secure ground-mounted solar installation equipment and solar racking systems (branded through its Brilliant Rack division), is a net-zero-energy operation powered with solar energy. The company is celebrating its 30th year in business and just completed a significant expansion.

Patrick Hutchinson, CEO of Cantsink, said he is delighted to see the Cantsink team honored with recognition by Solar Power World as one of the nations Top Solar Contractors and Georgias #1 Solar Contractor.

I am proud of the excellent work our Cantsink solar division does and honored that our work is recognized among the nations most sought-after solar companies. Being named #1 Manufacturer Installer is a dream come true, Hutchinson said. From our first day in business 30 years ago, we have focused on quality, expertise and customer service in every aspect of our work. To be engaged in this emerging solar market is exciting and we remain committed to its ongoing growth and vitality.

About Cantsink

Cantsink is a piling manufacturing company trusted throughout the nation to supply innovative, strong and cost-effective helical piles. Now celebrating 30 years in business, we have been in the helical pile industry since 1988 innovating piles for a wide variety of structures. Building on our pioneering experience in solar as a net-zero-energy facility, Cantsink leveraged that expertise to become a recognized national leader in the fast-growing solar industry. In 2013, Cantsink began manufacturing racking systems for ground-mounted solar and formed its branded racking system, Brilliant Rack, in 2014. Expertise and innovation have made Cantsink a trusted provider of helical piles for 30 years and a leader in the growing solar industry. For more information, visit http://www.cantsink.com.

About Solar Power World

Solar Power World is the leading online and print resource for news and information regarding solar installation, development and technology. Since 2011, SPW has helped U.S. solar contractors  including installers, developers and EPCs in all markets  grow their businesses and do their jobs better.

Solar Power World

Kelly Pickerel, editor in chief

216-860-5259

kpickerel(at)wtwhmedia(dot)com
"CatchOn is a real game-changer in delivering actionable data and insights," said Lillian Kellogg, senior vice president at ENA.

Education Networks of America (ENA) announces that CatchOn, Inc., a software as a service tool that delivers essential data about ed tech usage, was named a winner of Tech & Learning's ISTE 2018 Best of Show Awards. This prestigious award recognizes products and services that show the greatest promise according to the country's most tech-savvy educators.

Tech & Learning's panel of educator judges concluded that CatchOn exhibited the quality, effectiveness, ease of use and creativity to warrant recognition during the ISTE 2018 conference in Chicago.

Founded in 2016 by Jena Draper, CatchOn provides district technology leaders with real-time evidence about application utilization, implementation fidelity, cost and return on investment. CatchOn joined the ENA family of companies in June 2018 in a move to enhance ENA's mission to support education institutions. Draper currently serves as general manager of CatchOn.

"CatchOn is a real game-changer in delivering actionable data and insights," said Lillian Kellogg, senior vice president at ENA. "We are delighted to add CatchOn to our extensive portfolio of services designed to meet the unique requirements of today's school districts."

"It's rewarding to see CatchOn build on its track record of success as a part of ENA," said Draper. "This honor from Tech & Learning is really a testament to the need for a tool that can quickly and efficiently help technology leaders make informed decisions about school technology use."

To learn more about Tech & Learning ISTE Best of Show Awards, which is in its fifth year, click here.

About CatchOn

CatchOn is an administrative tool that provides district technology leaders with real-time evidence about app use, implementation fidelity, cost and ROI. The tool collects up-to-the-minute data on every device type and all app, software and website activity, allowing districts to see 100 percent of activity on 100 percent of devices at their schools. Using evidence from CatchOn, district leaders can measure ed tech initiatives, prescribe professional development and optimize their budget for licensed and non-licensed digital learning tools. For more information about CatchOn, follow @getcatchon or visit http://www.getcatchon.com.

About Education Networks of America

Education Networks of America (ENA) delivers transformative technology solutions, supported by exceptional customer care, to education and library communities across the United States. Since 1996, the organization has worked with customers to design and engineer high-capacity and future-ready broadband, Wi-Fi/LAN, communication, cloud and security solutions. For more information, please visit http://www.ena.com, call 866-615-1101, or email info(at)ena.com.
Dr. Sylvia Earle BRIT's 2018 Conservation Award recipient "The study of botany, whether on land or in the ocean serves as the fundamental key to solving our planets environmental challenges, said Dr. Ed Schneider, BRITs executive director. Dr. Earles dedication in keeping the ocean blue is truly remarkable.

The Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT) is proud to announce that Dr. Sylvia Earle has been selected to receive BRITs 2018 International Award of Excellence in Conservation for her lifetime of work in marine biology and ocean conservation. Dr. Earle will be the first ocean conservationist to receive BRITs conservation award in its 23-year history. The award will be presented at BRITs annual ceremony on October 25, 2018 at the Worthington Renaissance Fort Worth Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas.

An American oceanographer and explorer known for her research on marine algae, Dr. Earle has lived by her mantra, no blue, no green. She has spent her lifetime protecting and conserving the worlds oceans.

Earning undergraduate and post graduate degrees in botany helped form Dr. Earles belief that understanding vegetation was the first step in understanding any ecosystem. Dr. Earles 1966 Duke University dissertation, Phaeophyta of Eastern Gulf of Mexico shed new light on the regions aquatic plant life and when combined with her other Gulf research, the body of work stands today as the definitive study of the regions abundant and rich aquatic plant life.

The study of botany whether on land or in the ocean serves as the fundamental key to solving our planets environmental challenges, said Dr. Ed Schneider, BRITs executive director. Dr. Earles dedication in keeping the ocean blue is truly remarkable. On behalf of the BRIT board, I commend her for her important, ongoing work. We are thrilled to have her among our illustrious Conservation Award honorees.

Dr. Earle has led more than 100 expeditions and logged more than 7,000 hours underwater. In 1970, she led the first team of women aquanauts during the governments historic Tektite II deep-sea research project, during which time, the team conducted groundbreaking work on the effects of coral reef pollution. She has participated in ten saturation dives and set the womens solo diving record in 1,000 meters depth. The New Yorker and the New York Times have called her Her Deepness and the Library of Congress named her a Living Legend. She was the first recipient of Time Magazines, "Hero for the Planet" and the 2009 TED Prize winner.

Dr. Earles recent research focus is on developing a global network of marine protected areas - Hope Spots - to safeguard the living systems that provide the underpinnings of global processes. Today, she is Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society and a prolific author and lecturer.

Created in 1995, the International Award of Excellence in Conservation is presented to honor individuals and organizations that exemplify the ideals expressed in BRIT's mission. Honorees include scientists, conservationists, heads of state, philanthropists, Pulitzer Prize winners, politicians and other notables. BRITs annual award event has played an important role in raising public awareness of its mission and has brought an increased understanding of the importance of conservation issues and environmental awareness. Through the education of supporters, BRIT has added to the global efforts to save the diminishing resources of the planet.

The award will be presented at BRITs annual event on October 25, 2018 at the Worthington Renaissance Fort Worth Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas. Tickets may be purchased at: http://www.brit.org/international-awards/international-award-excellence-conservation/2018.
Organizational Behavior, Brewing History and Racial and Ethnic Relations are just a few of the many hundreds of courses available for the fall semester at Kalamazoo Valley.

Help registering for classes is one of the many services that will be available at the

Get it Done  Get Ready for the Fall Semester event held at Kalamazoo Valley Community Colleges Texas Township Campus Aug. 1 from 4  7 p.m. in the Student Commons.

The event will serve as a one-stop option for students, parents and community members who have questions or are interested in attending Kalamazoo Valley. Representatives from the Financial Aid Office, Office for Enrollment Management, the Admissions, Registration and Records Office, Student Activities and Organizations and Student Success Services will be on hand to assist those in attendance. Academic deans and faculty members also will be present.

Kalamazoo Valley offers a wide variety of programs in a number of different career pathways, Executive Vice President for Instructional and Student Success Services Dr. Dennis A. Bertch said. Information about these programs will be available at the August 1 event. I encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about the services and programs that are available at Kalamazoo Valley.

Additionally, attendees at the Get it Done event can complete a number of the necessary steps to becoming a Kalamazoo Valley student, including: touring the Texas Township Campus, completing placement tests, talking to an academic advisor or counselor, registering for New Student Orientation and enrolling for the fall semester, which begins Sept. 4. If available, participants should bring any educational documents, including high school and college transcripts and placement test scores to ensure proper course placement.

The event is free and open to the community.

For more information, call 269.488.4100.
Author David Tucker has experienced what it was like to have one dream and end up following a dream he never knew he had. He details his and his fathers clash of wills in his new memoir, The Hard Bargain: Music, Medicine and My Father (Richard Tucker, Opera Legend).

The Hard Bargain is a compelling memoir based on Tucker's own life with his father, celebrated tenor Richard Tucker. As a young man, Tucker dreamt of enjoying an opera career like his dad, but Richards vision for his son's future as a doctor brought their relationship into significant conflict.

The memoir also provides readers a glimpse into the world of opera, the long path to a medical career and the importance of hard work and interweaves it into a narrative of the Jewish American life.

I wrote this book as a testament to the great life my father lived and the awesome career he helped me pursue, Tucker said. I thank him every day for helping me see my true calling.

The US Review of Books describes The Hard Bargain as an inspiring story of ambition and compromisethe memoir examines the process of evaluating our talents and accepting when our gifts are best served on a different stage.

A father-son struggle, both hilarious and humiliating, this memoir is an honest depiction of the occasional turmoil and relentless love in relationships between parents and children.

The Hard Bargain: Music, Medicine and My Father (Richard Tucker, Opera Legend)

By David Tucker and Burton Spivak

ISBN: 978-1543445572 (softcover); 978-1543445589 (hardcover)

Available at the Xlibris Online Bookstore, Amazon and Barnes & Noble; Spanish version coming soon

About the authors

Dr. David N. Tucker is a retired ophthalmologist with degrees from Tufts University and the Cornell University Medical College. For over thirty years, Tucker was in private practice in Cincinnati and was the director of the Department of Ophthalmology at Cincinnati Jewish Hospital for twenty-seven years. After retiring in 2004, he taught part time as a clinical assistant professor of ophthalmology at the NYU School of Medicine. He and his wife Lynda celebrated their golden anniversary in 2013 and have four children and nine grandchildren. To learn more about Tucker and his book, please visit http://www.thehardbargainbook.com.

Burton Spivak, Ph.D is a lauded writer and former recipient of the Stuart L. Bernath Lecture Prize for outstanding achievement in teaching and scholarship. His book Jeffersons English Crisis: Commerce, Embargo, and the Republican Revolution has been featured by C-SPAN as an honest look at Thomas Jeffersons life. He currently is an Adjunct Professor of History at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut.

Review Copies & Interview Requests:

LAVIDGE  Phoenix

Kalin Thomas

480-998-2600 x 540

kthomas(at)lavidge(dot)com
Genscape ignites passion and pride in their employees and is cutting edge in their space; thats the type of company I want to be a part of, said Tara. Im anxious to dive in and tell the story theyve been writing for almost 20 years now.

Genscape Inc, the leading global provider of near-real-time data and intelligence for commodity and energy markets, recently welcomed Tara Leigh Goode, new Head of Public Relations and Communications, to oversee external communication, press outreach, and reinforce the Genscape brand and breadth across the energy trading industry. Tara Goode brings over 13 years of public relations, communications, and client management experience to the new role. Prior to Genscape, Taras career spanned both public and private sector communications as well as small business ownership where she co-founded a PR consulting firm. In her most recent role as an executive for a meteorological remote sensing manufacturer, she managed a global portfolio of over 1,000 clients spread across over 90 countries on every continent. After five years in the weather industry, the innovation and data intelligence bug bit her. She plans to bring her background in a high-technology environment and help tell the Genscape story to a broad audience, leveraging the unique intelligence and impactful insights the company is already known for. Genscape ignites passion and pride in their employees and is cutting edge in their space; thats the type of company I want to be a part of, said Tara. Im anxious to dive in and tell the story theyve been writing for almost 20 years now.

Tara works closely with the Marketing Team to contribute and outline strategies that align with the Genscape voice. She is now Genscapes primary point of contact for all media inquiries, pitching, and external communications and can be reached at - tgoode(at)genscape.com or (859) 473-4433.
Geoff Logan believes that tales and stories from his familys ancient Scottish history that shows events in the past could repeat itself in modern times. His historical novel titled Friedrichstrasse Central (published by AuthorHouse UK) tells the tale of an Australian adventurer who sets out a dangerous journey to unearth past elements and rekindle the ancient legacy of two Gemini knights. For more details about the book, please visit https://www.amazon.com/Friedrichstrasse-Central-Geoff-Logan/dp/1546291180

Some 700 years ago, two Gemini knights placed Europe and the Middle East in a perpetual state of animosity and conflict, leaving their legacy in limbo until the ring cycle could restart again. It is not until the Nazi party comes into power in Germany in 1933 that the flame of the knights is rekindled again prompted by the number of unlikely heroes passing through the Friedrichstrasse Central railway station in Berlin.

Now it is 1979 and like his predecessor William McBride, Australian Iva Davies is attempting to unearth past elements by traveling to places like Dresden, Edinburgh and the Greek island of Kastellorizo. Accompanied by his older German friend, Peter Maueraberger, Iva stumbles across aspects of the Templar treasure, the Jerusalem copper scroll and the last imam of Islam that seemingly point to the answers they desire. However, the path to these past secrets is filled with danger and intrigue for Iva. As he enlists help from a rag doll, the Black Madonna statue, and Solomons ring, Iva can only hope he will survive his ordeal and enhance the legacy of the Gemini knights and the building of the last Temple in Jerusalem.

I would like to take away a sense that we are more vulnerable in the future from the influences of the past than we give it credit for in our obsession with the electronic here and now, Logan says.

Friedrichstrasse Central

By Geoff Logan

Hardcover | 6 x 9in | 388 pages | ISBN 9781546291190

Softcover | 6 x 9in | 388 pages | ISBN 9781546291183

E-Book | 388 pages | ISBN 9781546291176

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

About the Author

Geoff Logan is the author of several books including the novel, The Legacy of Two Gemini Knights. He comes from an academic background and enjoys researching his ancient familys ties to England and Scotland. Logan currently lives in Leeming, Western Australia.
The deep expertise that John, Valerie, and Charles bring to GuideSpark will accelerate our ability to help enterprises deliver targeted communications to their increasingly diverse and dispersed workforces.

GuideSpark, the leader in employee communication, today announced key executive appointments of industry veterans John Staines, CHRO and SVP People & Culture, Valerie Burman, CFO and SVP Solutions & Strategy, and Charles Lee, SVP and Head of GuideSpark Studios. The recent appointments extend GuideSparks executive team to support the companys ongoing strategy while positioning it for future success.

Leading organizations recognize the critical role that communication plays in driving employee engagement, program adoption, and company culture, said Keith Kitani, GuideSpark co-founder and CEO. The deep expertise that John, Valerie, and Charles bring to GuideSpark will accelerate our ability to help enterprises deliver targeted communications to their increasingly diverse and dispersed workforces.

Im excited to join Valerie, Charles, and the entire GuideSpark team, especially because Ive experienced firsthand the need for high-impact employee communications, said John Staines, GuideSpark CHRO. Enterprises spend billions on strengthening their EVP but this investment is lost without a targeted communication strategy that ties those benefits to the employee experience.

The executive hires strengthen GuideSparks ability to expand its employee communication market leadership and accelerate the adoption of GuideSpark Communicate Cloud.

John is a seasoned HR leader with global executive experience at nationally recognized companies like PepsiCo, Mattel, The Gap, and Cigna. He has also led two start-ups and most recently has focused on helping organizations build an inclusive culture through the development of cultural agility competencies. While at Cigna, John introduced skilled-based volunteering to one of his senior leadership programs. This cutting-edge approach to talent development was recognized as best-in-class by the Boston Globe, Northeastern University, and Catalyst, a nonprofit organization that focuses on building workplaces that work for women.

Valerie is an enterprise technology veteran with more than 20 years of software experience and brings a unique combination of strategic leadership and operational excellence to her role. Valeries impressive executive and management career spans both public software companies such as SAP and Business Objects and private VC-backed SaaS companies such as Mindjet and Spigit. The breadth of Valeries roles includes strategy, product management, corporate development, business development, legal, and finance. During her nearly decade-long investment banking career, Valerie also guided companies through their funding cycles and served as a trusted M&A advisor.

Charles leads a global team of highly talented multimedia experts who script, design, and produce GuideSparks end-to-end customer content. Previously, Lee owned and managed successful creative agencies across the United States, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. His clients have included major motion picture studios, television networks, and Fortune 500 companies like Nike, Coca-Cola, and the Ford Motor Company. In 2008, Lee won a PrimeTime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Interactive Media Programming on behalf of Disney Channel.

The executives will oversee GuideSparks strategic expansion to serve enterprises who demand a comprehensive communication solution that improves employee engagement in key HR programs and company-wide initiatives.

About GuideSpark

GuideSpark is the leader in employee communication, with 600 enterprise customers who use its software and solutions to effectively engage over 22 million employees and achieve HR program adoption goals. GuideSpark is the only company that blends software and content experiences to deliver communication campaigns that inspire, inform and activate employees. The result is measurable employee engagement and greater connection to the employer value proposition. To learn how you can transform your employee communications, visit https://www.guidespark.com.
Owner, John Dzurka, at Huilloc village We insure the sustainability of the local Andean communities and their Quechua cultures.

Guiding Peru, a top-rated Peru tour company, providing guided tours of Machu Picchu to visitors of Peru, announced its support of Andean communities in the Cusco region through a combination of donations and policies that support the local economy.

Guiding Peru donates time, in terms of labor on local projects, and monies to assist with the support of local projects to the Andean mountain villages where our staff reside, said John Dzurka, owner and Executive Director of Guiding Peru.

Each of Guiding Perus tour guides are native to the local Andean mountain villages surrounding Cusco, providing travelers inside knowledge of the area and unique insights into their unique culture. The Peru tour company also works with local organizations to reserve the best rates for its travelers.

In addition to providing the best travel experience for their guests, the Machu Picchu travel agency is focused on giving back to the local communities in which it operates.

By employing locals of the region, we insure the sustainability of the local Andean communities and their Quechua cultures, Dzurka said.

Providing employment to those locals puts money directly back into the community. Those residents then have the means to shop in the community and support businesses in the community, which helps the regions economy thrive.

In addition to providing employment, Guiding Peru and its Inca Trail tour guides also contribute to the economy through its choice of tour locations.

Guiding Perus tours include community visits to our staffs local Andean mountain villages where, in a form of reciprocity, we provide our guests the option of purchasing local, hand-made wool crafts that directly support the people of the community, Dzurka said.

Through these policies, travelers are able to explore the region with an insiders perspective, and the local community gets the support it needs to grow and prosper. As the community grows, it has more to offer travelers, which makes it a more attractive place to visit. As a result, the number of people traveling to the region increases, creating a feedback cycle that has a long-term, positive impact on the region.
Hodges-Mace helps employers improve their overall delivery of benefits by implementing cutting-edge solutions coupled by robust employee engagement and decision-support services, said Hanna Wilson, Managing Editor of HR Tech Outlook magazine. We are delighted to select them as a 2018 Top 10 Cloud

Hodges-Mace, LLC, an award-winning benefits delivery innovator, has been recognized as one of the Top 10 Cloud Solution Providers in 2018 by HR Tech Outlook magazine. The company is profiled here in the July issue featuring an interview with Co-CEO, Greg Hodges, and President and CTO, Kevin Andrews.

This spring, HR Tech Outlooks editorial board, along with a panel of CEOs, CIOs and analysts, evaluated eligible companies with proven track records for assisting enterprise companies with robust cloud solutions. Hodges-Mace was selected for its ability to deliver a powerful mobile benefits solution that helps employees understand and optimize complex benefit packages.

Since 2007, Hodges-Mace has been creating customer success stories by leveraging the power of technology to innovate and improve the employee experience. The companys AI-enabled SmartBen solution can be layered on top of an underlying healthcare management system (HMS) and has proven to boost employee engagement, trust and retention more than 200 percent in a single year.

Hodges-Mace helps employers improve their overall delivery of benefits by implementing cutting-edge solutions coupled by robust employee engagement and decision-support services, said Hanna Wilson, Managing Editor of HR Tech Outlook magazine. We are delighted to select them as a 2018 Top 10 Cloud Solution Provider.

Hodges-Mace understands todays heightened security concerns around the cloud as witnessed by major data breaches by companies including Facebook, Equifax and Ticketmaster. Hodges-Mace is the only benefits delivery firm to offer each client its own unique encryption key while still allowing for universal updates and enhancements.

About HR Tech Outlook

Published from Fremont, California, HR Tech Outlook is a technology magazine, which gives information about the latest technologies in the industry that helps the technology, business leaders, and start-up ecosystems to achieve business goals. A panel of experts, technology leaders and board members of HR Tech Outlook magazine has finalized the Top 10 Cloud Solution Providers 2018 and short listed the best vendors and consultants. For more information visit http://www.hrtechoutlook.com

About Hodges-Mace

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Hodges-Mace, LLC is a leading provider of benefit management software and services. Their portfolio ranges from mid-size companies and Fortune 500 enterprises in a variety of industries, including education, energy, gaming, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, and retail. Hodges-Mace is a respected leader in the employee benefits industry and is dedicated to helping employees and employers make smarter benefits decisions through a blend of innovative technologies and intelligent service solutions. The company was named one of the Best Companies to Work for in Georgia in 2016 and 2017. For additional information visit http://www.hodgesmace.com.
Updated Measured Graphite Mineral Resource of 21.9 Mt at 13.4% TGC (8% cut-off)



Caula Project - Graphite Mineral Resource Increases 317%

Sydney, July 24, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Mustang Resources Ltd ( ASX:MUS ) ( FRA:GGY ) ( OTCMKTS:MTTGF ) is pleased to announce that its Caula Vanadium-Graphite project in Mozambique has taken another key step towards development with the completion of an upgraded JORC-compliant Graphite Mineral Resource estimate.Key Points- Total Updated JORC (Measured) Resource of 21.9 Mt @ 13.4% TGC (8% cut-off) at the Caula Vanadium-Graphite Project in Mozambique- 317% increase in size of Mineral Resource from 702,600 tonnes to 2,933,100 tonnes of contained Graphite- The entire Graphite Resource now in the Measured Resource category and upgraded from the initial December 2017 Inferred Resource- Caula Graphite Resource is subdivided into two zones:o Oxidised Zone - 8.5 Mt @ 13.4% TGC for 1,130,000 tonnes contained Graphite (8% grade cut-off)o Fresh Zone - 13.4 Mt @ 13.5% TGC for 1,803,100 tonnes of contained Grapite (8% grade cut-off)- Substantial scope for further growth in the Graphite Resource through exploration- Metalurgical testwork confirms exceptional quality graphite with more than 63% of cumulative proportion in large to super jumbo flakes sizes (>180Micronsm) and excellent concentrate grades of more than 97% TGC- Caula's modified and improved flowsheet design allows for integrated vanadium and graphite extraction- Following the merger of Mustang's ruby project with Fura, Mustang ideally positioned to become a leading vanadium and graphite companyThe Mineral Resource, which is all in the Measured category, is 21.9Mt at 13.4% Total Graphitic Carbon ("TGC") (8% cut-off) for a total of 2,933,100 tonnes of contained Graphite. The Mineral Resource is an update from the previous Inferred Graphite Resource of 5Mt at 13% TGC for 702,600 of contained Graphite1 based upon the completion of eleven additional cored boreholes during November and December 2017. The upgraded Mineral Resource represents a 317% increase in the size of the Mineral Resource from 702,600 tonnes of contained graphite to 2,933,100 tonnes of contained graphite.Mustang Managing Director Dr. Bernard Olivier said: "This is an exceptional result, Caula's Graphite Mineral Resource has not only increased over 300% but the entire resource is now in the Measured Category. The combination of the upgraded Graphite Mineral Resource and our recently announced maiden Vanadium Mineral Resource now paves the way for the fast-tracked development of the Caula project into production."Geology of the Caula Graphite DepositThe Caula deposit is located in northern Mozambique in the Cabo Delgado Province. The graphite mineralisation is hosted in quartzitic schists of the Xixano Complex. The most common lithologies include Graphitic Schists, Gneisses and thin Pegmatoidal zones. Sulphides are occasionally logged but are usually absent. The surrounding country rock consists of Quarzitic and Micaceous Schists and Gneisses.The project area is situated in the Mozambique Belt of the East African Orogen, and contains highly metamorphosed meta-sediments and meta-volcanics. The rocks of the East-African Orogen are dated 850 - 620 Ma in which metamorphic facies vary from amphibolitic to granulitic.The mineralised zone is contained within a reclined isoclinal fold structure which dips at roughly 60 degrees to the west (Error! Reference source not found.). Due to the region's tectonic history these meta-sediments have been altered to the extent that no sedimentary structure remains.Drilling, Sampling and Sub-sampling TechniquesThe drilling program comprised of one RC (reverse circulation) and 16 DD (Diamond Drilling) boreholes. The initial part of the hole was drilled with PQ (III) until the rock was competent to be drilled with HQ (III). Drill core was orientated wherever possible. The mineralised core was sampled as half (Leco analysis) and quarter (metallurgical test work) core, with the remaining quarter retained in the stratigraphic sequence in the core trays. Appropriate QA/QC samples (standards, blanks, duplicates and umpire samples) are inserted into the sequence as per industry standard.Sample AnalysisSample preparation and analysis was completed by SGS in Johannesburg. Sampling procedure which includes drying, crushing, splitting and pulverising ensures that 85% of the sample is 75 micron or less in size. A split of the sample is analysed using a LECO analyser to determine total carbon in graphite (TGC%) content. A second split of the sample is prepared for element analysis by XRF to determine V2O5 content. Rougher and multiple re-grind and cleaner flotation, Final concentrate PSD and fraction assays was also done.Resource Estimation MethodologyThe geological models used for the resource estimation was created in Voxler (Version 4.2.584), a modelling package developed and distributed by Golden Software in Colorado. The deposit was divided into an upper oxidised zone and a lower fresh zone. Once a specific grade volume has been calculated a weighted average density is applied to the volume and a tonnage is determined.Weighted averaging for sample length was applied. No grade truncations were applied. A cut-off grade of 8% has been applied. Grade-tonnage curves were produced and can be used to determine the effect of cut-off grades on remaining mineralised tonnages, but the drilled resource is calculated as intersected in-situ. The calculated grade is weighted for representative mass, as calculated in Voxler.Cut-off ParametersAn 8% TGC grade cut-off was applied. The modelling is limited by drilling extent. The drilling has not intersected nor delineated the outer edge of barren host rock. The physical limits of the mineralisation will be established with additional future drilling.Grade-tonnage curves were produced (see Figures 2 and 3 in link below) and the influence of various cut-off grades can be investigated. The physical deposit boundaries have not been intersected in the drilling work to date and hence the model is suspended within graphite and roscoelite mineralised rock. The western and northern deposit boundary (at shallow depth), is expected to be delineated with the next phase of drilling. The eastern and southern boundaries are open to at least 200m and several kilometres respectively.Caula Graphite Resource EstimateThe Caula Mineral Resource estimate is based on 16 diamond drillholes totalling 2,233.21 metres (484.72m in 2016 and 1,748.49m in 2017) and one reverse circulation (RC) drillhole totalling 99 metres (see Figure 4 in link below). Drillholes are spaced approximately 85 metres apart along a 540 metre strike length. With the exception of drillhole MORC004 (-77deg), all holes were drilled at inclinations of between 55deg and 60deg from the horizontal.The drillhole samples were submitted to SGS in Randfontein (South Africa) for analyses as well as to SGS (Malaga), Independent Metallurgical Operations Pty Ltd ("IMO") and Nagrom, Perth for metallurgical testwork. In total, 1,128 assay results were generated and these were used with the drillhole data to complete the updated Graphite Mineral Resource estimate.Grade estimation was completed using an inverse distance squared method. The deposit was divided into an upper oxidised zone and a lower fresh zone. Points of equal grade within the model boundary are draped with a wireframe shape (of which the anisotropy settings are defined in the gridder module) and the volume for the shape is calculated in Voxler. This is repeated for grades of 0.01% TGC to 24% TGC for the oxidised zone and up to 26% TGC for the fresh zone.Once a specific grade volume interval had been calculated (by difference) a weighted average density was applied to the volume and a tonnage determined.The Measured Mineral Resource totals 21.9 million tonnes at an average grade of 13.4% TGC for 2,993,100 tonnes of contained Graphite.The results of the Mineral Resource estimate are summarised in Tabel 1, below. Drillhole information and reporting in accordance with the JORC Code 2012 Edition are included as Appendices to this announcement.The grade-tonnage curve for the oxidised zone is shown in Figure 2 below (see link below). The Oxidised Zone displays the following grade-tonnage relationship: at a cut-off grade of 2% TGC the deposit will have as a balance 13.4 Mt of mineralised tonnes at an average grade of 10.4% TGC, for 1,390,900 tonnes of contained graphite. At a cut-off grade of 4% TGC the deposit will have as a balance 12.0 Mt of mineralised tonnes at an average grade of 11.2% TGC, for 1,350,100 tonnes of contained graphite. At a cut-off grade of 8% TGC the deposit will have a balance of 8.5 Mt of mineralised tonnes at an average grade of 13.4%, for 1,130,000 tonnes of contained Graphite in the Oxidised Zone.The grade-tonnage curve for the Fresh Zone is shown in Figure 3 below (see link below). For the Fresh Zone the following relationship is seen from the grade-tonnage curve; At a cut-off grade of 2% TGC the deposit will have a balance of 20.5 Mt mineralised tonnes at an average grade of 10.6% TGC, for 2,180,600 tonnes of contained TGC. At a cut-off grade of 4% TGC the deposit will have a balance of 18.6 Mt mineralised tonnes at an average grade of 11.4% TGC, for 2,121,400 tonnes of contained Graphite. At a cut-off grade of 8% TGC the deposit will have a balance of 13.4 Mt mineralised tonnes at an average grade of 13.5%, for 1,803,100 tonnes of contained TGC in the Fresh Zone.Mineral Resource Classification CriteriaThe resource is classified as Measured. The core losses in the DD boreholes were assigned 0% TGC values as a conservative measure. With additional drilling in the future, the confidence in the estimate may very well improve. The Competent Person has no reason to doubt the input data from the core logging to the laboratory results. The estimate is conservative and probably understated in both tonnage and grade.The surface area of 12.2 Ha is covered by 17 regularly spaced boreholes for an average grid of just less than 85m squared.In addition, the geovariance which was calculated over 14 ranges with 27 data-pairs shows a sill distance of 170m. This calculation is based on information from 17 boreholes, and may well change as it gets updated with new drilling information. Based on this geovariance, the drill spacing at an average of 85m is considered to be sufficient to determine a measured resource.Mining and Metallurgical Methods and ParametersThe resource estimation has assumed that the deposit could potentially be mined using open cut mining techniques. No assumptions have been made for mining dilution or mining widths, however mineralisation is generally broad.On 25 June 2018 Mustang announced the results of additional metalurigcal testwork on the Caula Graphite - Vanadium project. The testwork was conducted on composites from borehole 15 which is centrally located in the measured resource area. The testwork flowsheet was a modification of a similar flowsheet used for the earlier work. The graphite concentrate recovery procedure comprised an initial coarse grind, a de-slime stage (by-passed on Fresh), then rougher flotation followed by three re-grind & cleaner flotation stages and two final cleaner flotation stages. By graphite industry standards, this is a remarkably simple flowsheet.The cumulative proportion of large to super jumbo flakes (>180?m) comprises 60% of the Oxide Zone while the cumulative proportion of large to super jumbo flakes (>180?m) comprises 68% of the Fresh Zone. The high concentrate grades of more than 97% Total Graphitic Carbon have been maintained in the modified flowsheet.The flowsheet has been extended to allow integrated extraction of both graphite and vanadium. The first vanadium concentration work is currently in progress and results are expected in due course.Project Area PotentialThe Caula Project is located within a world-class graphite province and there is significant potential to expand this Graphite Resource estimate through ongoing exploration and drilling.In the immediate vicinity of the Caula discovery, graphite mineralisation has now been defined over a 540m strike length. This mineralisation is up to 230m wide (estimated true thickness) and the depth is completely open-ended at the limit of the current drilling.A new program of diamond and reverse circulation drilling has been planned to test for both up-dip and down-dip extensions to the Caula deposit in this area.In addition to the potential to define additional graphite and vanadium mineralisation immediately adjacent to the Caula discovery, there is also very strong potential to define high grade graphite mineralisation over the much larger project area.The Caula discovery is located at the northern end of a suite of large-scale geophysical (TEM) anomalies that extend over an 18km strike length within Mustang's tenements (see Figure 5 in link below). Drilling at the Caula site confirms a strong spatial correlation between the TEM anomaly and high grade graphite drill hole intersections. The larger-scale TEM anomaly has received minimal drilling to date and therefore remains largely untested.Mustang proposes systematically to drill test the large-scale TEM target through progressive step out drilling from the Caula discovery. This drilling has commenced.The Company is highly encouraged by the results received to date from its updated Graphite Resource Estimate and the Caula deposit as a whole. The combination of high grade drilling results, positive metallurgical testwork, a large Graphite Measured Resource estimate, large-scale untested exploration targets and the project's location within a demonstrated world-class vanadium-graphite province confirm the project's potential to create significant future value for the Company.As previously reported, due to unexpected delays in receiving the final vanadium and graphite assay results from the independent laboratory, the completion of the maiden vanadium resource estimate as well as this graphite resource update was delayed. This delay means that the estimated completion of the Scoping Study has been updated to Q3 2018.To view tables and figures, please visit:About New Energy Minerals Ltd

New Energy Minerals Ltd (ASX:NXE) (FRA:GGY) is an ASX listed junior mining company, that recently announced the divestment of the Company's Caula vanadium - graphite project and the Montepuez Ruby project in Mozambique.
During my 14 years, its been amazing to hear and share thousands of different stories. 10,000 owners, each connected through SOLA, is something I could not have imagined at the start. Congratulations to all of the Sola 10,000!

This milestone was announced at the recent Sola Sessions event in Jupiter, Florida, where over 250 Sola professionals were in attendance.The celebration of this milestone included Sola Culture Ambassador, first-ever Sola business owner and Paul Mitchell educator, Kim Bennett Horvath. The choice I made to be part of Sola 14 years ago, provided me with the best opportunity for the rest of my career, noted Horvath. During the event, a stunned Katie Oakes from Savannah, Georgia was called on stage as she was officially unveiled as the 10,000th salon owner. After I left my last job, I showed up at Sola with my mother, signed a lease and never looked back. Its been the best thing and the community has been great. Sola has given me the freedom to be my own boss and the space to be myself, commented Oakes. Nodding to Solas legacy of creating a community of like-minded, independent, creative owners, Kim added, During my 14 years, its been amazing to hear and share thousands of different stories. 10,000 owners, each connected through Sola, is something I could not have imagined at the start. Congratulations to all of the Sola 10,000!

By removing the majority of the risk and overhead costs of running a traditional salon, Sola Salon Studios empowers artists whom are ready take full creative and business control of their careers. This allows them to do what they do best in highly-designed, supportive, yet private work-spaces. With state-of-the-art tools including technology such as the SolaGenius and SolaPro apps, Sola helps support each business owner and provides them with valuable education/product information, at the tips of their fingers.

For pros dreaming of their own business, yet worrying about losing the camaraderie of colleagues a sink away, that fear is quickly dissipated through Solas attention to attracting engaging owners within each locale. Stylist Alex Sylvester, a 2018 Faces of Sola honoree observes, It opened my eyes to see this huge community that I really had no idea about coming into it. There are many inspiring owners here working to make their careers and brands noticeable. Its so much fun, having like-minded people ready to make something of themselves, surrounding you every day. Furthermore, nail artist Julie Nguyen noted "I decided to move to Sola because I wanted to surround myself with a community of people with similar ideas and goals. Being here allows me to stay on top of my performance and learn so many new things. Finally, Minneapolis stylist Mahogany Plautz summed it all up nicely, The community at Sola is very supportive of each other. We interact, communicate and share ideas (and clients) often. If I get someone who comes in and asks me to do something not in my wheelhouse, there are other professionals just steps away that I can refer them to. Ours is a big circle of support and inspiration. We celebrate each other.

Currently our Sola Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus, Ohio locations offer high-end salon studios, with exceptional beauty professionals servicing our local community. For information on our location and how to be part of the Sola family of beauty professionals, please contact Daniel Barbour at (513) 342-4464 or Daniel_Barbour@solasalons.com.

About Sola

In 2004, Sola Salon Studios was established with the opening of our first location in Denver, CO. Now with more than 400 locations open in the US and Canada, we are proud to offer salon professionals the freedom and benefits of salon ownership, without the upfront costs and risks associated with opening a traditional salon. Our innovative salon model empowers hairdressers, estheticians, nail techs, massage therapists and other like-minded professionals, to take control of their lives and their careers. We provide beauty professionals with high-end, fully-equipped salon studios, alongside the support and tools that they need in order to launch their salon business in no time.
Hackers are smart and know how to leverage multiple psychological triggers to get the attention of an innocent victim. -Perry Carpenter, chief evangelist and strategy officer, KnowBe4

KnowBe4, provider of the worlds largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, today shared its Top 10 Global Phishing Email Subject Lines for Q2 2018. The messages in the report, which were compiled from analyzing KnowBe4 user data, are based on simulated phishing tests users received or real-world emails sent to users who then reported them to their IT departments. Ironically, the top three messages for Q2 2018 show that hackers are playing into users commitment to security, all tricking users with clever subject lines that deal with passwords or security alerts.

Hackers continue to take advantage of the human psyche. A recent report from Webroot validates this notion with IT decision makers believing their organizations are most vulnerable to phishing attacks  more so than new forms of malware. Fifty-six percent of IT decision makers in the U.S. believe their businesses will be most susceptible to phishing attacks, while 44 percent of IT decision makers in the U.K. are most concerned with ransomware attacks. By playing into a persons psyche to either feel wanted or alarmed, hackers continue to use email as a successful entry point for an attack.

Hackers are smart and know how to leverage multiple psychological triggers to get the attention of an innocent victim. In todays world, its imperative that businesses continually educate their employees about the tactics that hackers are using so they can be savvy and not take an email at face-value. Hackers will continue to become more sophisticated with the tactics they use and advance their utilization of social engineering in order to get what they want, said Perry Carpenter, chief evangelist and strategy officer at KnowBe4.

KnowBe4 understands that humans are the attack surface of choice for cyber criminals. This is because humans can be easily manipulated or fooled by social engineering tactics. The company examined tens of thousands of email subject lines from simulated phishing tests to uncover just what makes a user want to click. They also examined in-the-wild email subject lines that show actual emails users received and reported to their IT departments as suspicious.

The Top 10 Most-Clicked General Email Subject Lines Globally for Q2 2018 include:

1. Password Check Required Immediately 15%

2. Security Alert 12%

3. Change of Password Required Immediately 11%

4. A Delivery Attempt was made 10%

5. Urgent press release to all employees 10%

6. De-activation of [[email]] in Process 10%

7. Revised Vacation & Sick Time Policy 9%

8. UPS Label Delivery, 1ZBE312TNY00015011 9%

9. Staff Review 2017 7%

10. Company Policies-Updates to our Fraternization Policy 7%

*Capitalization and spelling are as they were in the phishing test subject line

**Email subject lines are a combination of both simulated phishing templates created by KnowBe4 for clients, and custom tests designed by KnowBe4 customers

When investigating in-the-wild email subject lines, KnowBe4 found the most common for Q2 2018 included:



Microsoft: Re: Important Email Backup Failed

Microsoft/Office 365: Re: Clutter Highlight

Wells Fargo: Your Wells Fargo contact information has been updated

Chase: Fraudulent Activity On Your Checking Account  Act Now

Office 365: Change Your Password Immediately

Amazon: We tried to deliver your package today

Amazon: Refund - Valid Billing Information Needed

IT: Ransomware Scan

Docusign: Your Docusign account is suspended

You have a secure message

*Capitalization and spelling are as they were in the phishing test subject line

**In-the-wild email subject lines represent actual emails users received and reported to their IT departments as suspicious. They are not simulated phishing test emails.

Businesses that are not already working with KnowBe4 to train their workforce into an effective last line of defense can utilize a number of free tools at http://www.knowbe4.com to test their users and their network.

About KnowBe4

KnowBe4, the provider of the worlds largest integrated security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, is used by more than 19,000 organizations worldwide. Founded by data and IT security expert Stu Sjouwerman, KnowBe4 helps organizations address the human element of security by raising awareness of ransomware, CEO fraud and other social engineering tactics through a new-school approach to security awareness training. Kevin Mitnick, internationally recognized computer security expert and KnowBe4s Chief Hacking Officer, helped design KnowBe4s training based on his well-documented social engineering tactics. Thousands of organizations trust KnowBe4 to mobilize their end-users as the last line of corporate IT defense.

Number 231 on the 2017 Inc. 500 list, #70 on 2017 Deloittes Technology Fast 500 and #2 in Cybersecurity Ventures Cybersecurity 500. KnowBe4 is headquartered in Tampa Bay, Florida with European offices in England, the Netherlands, Germany and offices in South Africa and Singapore.
Nathan Kooi, VP and GM, dancker. Nathan is widely recognized for his ability to partner with clients and will ensure that dancker provides research and insights, as well as the applications and resources required to successfully deliver great experiences wherever work happens.

Nathan Kooi has been named Vice President and General Manager of integrated interior solutions firm dancker. Kooi will lead danckers offices in Baltimore and Capitol Heights, Maryland.

dancker recently announced the acquisition of the assets of furniture dealer U.S. Business Interiors (USBI), which formerly operated the Baltimore and Capitol Heights offices. The acquisition significantly expanded danckers presence into the Baltimore-Washington market, increasing its ability to serve clients in the region.

Prior to joining dancker, Kooi served as Regional Sales Manager for Steelcase, Inc., with responsibility for Steelcase sales in New York and New Jersey. With a portfolio which includes architectural, furniture, and technology products, Steelcase is renowned for delivering a better work environment to its customers by providing products, services and insights into the ways people work and learn.

Nathan is the ideal choice to lead our sales strategy in Baltimore and Washington-DC markets, says Steven Lang, dancker President & CEO. With 13 years of experience in the contract office furniture industry, he has broad experience working with both public and private global institutions. Nathan is widely recognized for his ability to partner with clients and will ensure that dancker provides research and insights, as well as the applications and resources required to successfully deliver great experiences wherever work happens.

Prior to joining Steelcase in 2007, Kooi worked with a Steelcase dealer. He served in various roles at Steelcase, including Business Development Manager in Florida and Dealer Business Manager in the Southeast, before being named Regional Sales Manager. He is a graduate of Calvin College and recently earned his Executive MBA from Columbia Business School.

In his new post, Kooi will work closely with danckers leadership team and alongside Kurt Weiss, formerly the President of USBI, to lead the sales efforts expanding danckers client base and overall presence in this new market. He will be assisted by an integration team from dancker that is currently on location in Capitol Heights, MD to ensure continuity in business practices and assimilation of company culture.

At nearly 200 years old, dancker creates effective and flexible environments for organizations that include several Fortune 100 companies. dancker is the only Northeastern company to be named Steelcase Premier Partner for five consecutive years and has strong relationships with over 400 manufacturers in the furniture, architectural products and audiovisual industries, including partners like Steelcase, DIRTT, Maars Living Walls, Crestron, and Microsoft.

About dancker

Founded in 1829, dancker is one of the countrys oldest privately held companies. dancker integrates architectural, furniture, technology and logistics solutions as a one-source provider to corporate, education and healthcare facilities. A leading interior solutions firm, dancker works with its clients to create spaces that maximize the flow between people and ideas to unleash creative, productive, human potential.

The core of danckers culture is to inspire creativity, promote productivity, and improve engagement for both customers and employees. dancker operates from Experience Centers and logistics facilities in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, supporting clients locally and across North America.

For more information, visit http://www.dancker.com, email info(at)dancker.com or call us at (908) 231-1600.
San Francisco Sexual Harassment Attorneys A free and informed discussion is essential to our democracy.

California Civil Rights Law Group, a San Francisco Bay Area law firm specializing in sexual harassment litigation, is proud to announce that firm attorney, Larry Organ, was recently quoted in the New York Times. The article, entitled, "A Fight for Mens Rights, in California Courts," was published on July 13, 2018, and discussed the so-called "Men's Rights movement" in California.

"A free and informed discussion is essential to our democracy," explained Larry Organ, principal attorney at the Bay Area-based law firm. "I was happy to discuss my perspective with Katherine Rosman of the New York Times on these issues."

The article can be reached at https://nyti.ms/2uyQev5. The paragraph referencing Larry is as follows:

"The use of Unruh by mens rights activists reflects 'a gross misunderstanding of the nature of our sexist society and of what is specifically going on in the state of California,' said Larry Organ, the lead lawyer at the California Civil Rights Law Group, whose headquarters are in Oakland, Calif."

Persons who feel that they may have experienced sexual harassment are urged to visit the firm's informational page at https://www.civilrightsca.com/sexual-harassment-discrimination/sexual-harassment/. With offices in Oakland, San Anselmo, and now San Francisco, the firm's attorneys are available for confidential consultations either in person or over the telephone. As no two situations are alike, any such person is urged to reach out for a consultation with an attorney to compare the facts of a potential case against the law.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT LITIGATION FOR SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA CLIENTS

Recent cultural phenomena such as the #METOO movement have drawn a growing attention to sexual harassment at the workplace. Even in seemingly "liberal" cities such as Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, women may face both overt and covert sexual harassment at work. Many times, such women may be reluctant to come forward. By being proactive vis-a-vis the journalist community, having a vibrant website, and offering confidential consultations, the attorneys at California Civil Rights Group are making it easier to come forward and investigate whether or not one may have a case.

Being cited in the New York Times is yet another indication of the firm's high profile in the nation as one of the "goto" law firms for issues concerning sexual harassment, discrimination, and gender equality. Journalists, bloggers, or others who are looking for an expert to interview on these topics can do no better than reaching out to Larry Organ, the founding principal of the law firm. Information on Larry can be found at https://www.civilrightsca.com/about/lawrence-organ/.

ABOUT CALIFORNIA CIVIL RIGHTS LAW GROUP

Headed by renowned trial lawyer Larry Organ, California Civil Rights Law Group (http://www.civilrightsca.com/), is a leading employment law firm with San Francisco Bay Area offices in Oakland, Alameda County and San Anselmo, Marin County, California. Employees experiencing sexual harassment, race harassment, disability discrimination, LGTBQ discrimination, pregnancy discrimination, whistleblower retaliation and/or wrongful termination should reach out for an attorney consultation in either our Oakland/East Bay or San Anselmo/Marin County office.

Media Relations.

Tel. 415-453-4740
"A vast number of small business owners are unnecessarily getting declined by banks and other lenders, yet they need access to capital in order to grow their operations and fuel economic growth."

Lendio, the nations leading marketplace for small business loans, today announced record growth across all areas of its business, including 90 percent year-over-year quarterly revenue growth. To date, Lendio has helped facilitate more than $900 million in financing to over 45,000 small businesses across the U.S. and Canada through its marketplace of more than 75 small business lenders. The growth milestone comes after an 80 percent increase in loans funded through the Lendio platform in the last year.

From July 2017 to June 2018, Lendio facilitated nearly $400 million in loans to more than 22,000 small businesses. The average initial loan size among Lendios small business customers grew to nearly $35,000. The top five industries funded through Lendios marketplace include construction, retail, restaurants, health care and information media.

Our passion and motivation is to help small business owners across the U.S. get access to much-needed capital. A vast number of small business owners are unnecessarily getting declined by banks and other lenders, yet they need access to capital in order to grow their operations and fuel economic growth, said Brock Blake, CEO and founder of Lendio. We know the economic benefits of lending spread far beyond the borrower. To date, Lendio has helped small business owners pump an estimated $3 billion back into the economy.

Dale Glazer, owner of Visiting Angels in Sacramento, California, is one such business owner. The companion-level home care service for senior citizens was a dream business for Glazers sister, who had retired from a long career in hospice care. When she passed away suddenly, Glazer took over running the operation. Gaps between invoice payments from insurance companies created increasingly challenging cash flow problems for the small business, and Glazer came to Lendio for help.

"While I was waiting for the bait and switch, it never happened. In fact, the rate and terms improved as the process unfolded. It was professional, and I was funded in four days, said Glazer. Why cant traditional lenders, local or large banks fund business loans the same way?

Nearly half of small businesses need additional funding each year, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland report. Lendio helps these small businesses get loans fast; 87 percent of businesses that get approval through Lendio receive funds within three days. Over 50 percent of Lendios first-time borrowers return for additional growth financing.

Lendio is committed to bridging the financing gap for small business owners, who are critical to the nations economic growth and job creation, Blake added.

In March 2017, Lendio became the worlds first franchised online lending marketplace. Through its franchise model, Lendio is now reaching small business owners in industries and geographic areas that were previously unreachable. The program has grown to include 26 franchise owners in 49 territories, and has facilitated more than $11 million in total funding in communities across the U.S. In February 2018, Lendio Franchising earned a ranking at #201 on Entrepreneur magazine's prestigious Franchise 500 list and ranked No. 1 in the Business Financial Services category.

For more information about Lendio, visit http://www.lendio.com.

About Lendio

Lendio is a free online service that helps business owners find the right small business loans within minutes. With a network of over 75 lenders offering multiple loan products, Lendios marketplace is the center of small business lending. Bringing all options together in one place, from short-term specialty financing to long-term, low-interest traditional loans, our technology makes small business lending simple and decreases the amount of time and effort it takes to secure funding. For every loan facilitated on Lendios marketplace platform, Lendio Gives, an employee contribution and employer matching program, donates a percentage of funds to low-income entrepreneurs around the world through Kiva.org. More information about Lendio is available at http://www.lendio.com. Information about Lendio franchising opportunities can be found at http://www.lendiofranchise.com.
Leonard Perlmutter, American Meditation Institute Founder The more physicians incorporate Yoga Science and the allied disciplines of AMI MEDITATION into their daily lives, homeostatic balance can be restored, and most symptoms of stress-related burnout can be diminished or eliminated.

According to Leonard Perlmutter, founder of The American Meditation Institute (AMI), the curriculum presented at AMIs tenth annual CME conference October 23-27, 2018 at the Cranwell Resort and Spa in Lenox, Massachusetts can help physicians relieve and prevent burnout, and establish a more rewarding work-life balance. Entitled The Heart and Science of Yoga, this comprehensive 32 credit CME training is accredited through the Albany Medical College and the American Medical Association.

A living link to the worlds oldest, continuous health and wisdom tradition, meditation master Leonard Perlmutter (Ram Lev) will present the core Yoga Science curriculum including AMI Meditation, diaphragmatic breathing and gentle yoga exercises. Perlmutters award-winning book and curriculum, The Heart and Science of Yoga, is a practical, modern interpretation of the ancient Yoga Sutras written by the Indian sage Patanjali circa 400 BC. Leonard has taught on the faculties of the New England Institute of Ayurvedic Medicine, the Himalayan Yoga Teachers Association and the College of Saint Rose. He is a disciple of holistic health pioneer Swami Rama of the Himalayas, the Yoga scientist who, in laboratory conditions at the Menninger Institute, demonstrated that blood pressure, heart rate and the autonomic nervous system could be voluntarily controlled. Leonard has presented Yoga Science courses at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Albany Medical College, UConn School of Medicine, Commonwealth Club of California, The New York Times Yoga Forum, and the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Leonard Perlmutters 41 years of personal study and teaching will provide healthcare providers a complete set of AMI MEDITATION tools that can relieve physician burnout, reduce pain, boost the immune system, heal relationships, enhance problem solving abilities, and help them experience greater life-work balance. In 2007, AMI conducted a retrospective case study of participants who had completed Leonard Perlmutters foundation Yoga Science course. The findings included these positive, reproducible, long-term health-promoting changes: significant reductions in stress and fear, decreased anxiety and depression, lowered blood pressure, lowered heart rate, improved restorative sleep, improved energy levels, increased creative capacity, diminishment of migraine headaches, elimination of irritable bowel syndrome, enhanced happiness and optimism, reduced cholesterol levels, diminished or extinguished acute and chronic pain, weight loss and increased breathing capacity.

According to program director Leonard Perlmutter, The more physicians incorporate the therapeutic practices of Yoga Science and the allied disciplines of AMI MEDITATION into their daily lives, homeostatic balance can be restored, and most symptoms of stress-related burnout and chronic complex diseases can be diminished or eliminated."

The dedication, enthusiasm, and teaching methodology of the entire AMI faculty create a dynamic and interactive course for their students. Each faculty member is committed to the advancement and training of Yoga Science as holistic mind/body medicine. In addition to Leonard Perlmutter, AMI founder, other presenters include: Mark Pettus MD, Director of Medical Education and Population Health at Berkshire Health Systems; Anthony Santilli MD, board-certified in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine; Holistic physician Beth Netter, Sat Bir Singh Khalsa, PhD, Director of Research for the Kundalini Research Institute, and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School; Susan Lord MD, a private practice holistic physician focusing on prevention and treatment, and former course director for The Center for Mind-Body Medicines Food As Medicine program in Washington, DC; Jesse Ritvo MD, Assistant Medical Director, Inpatient Psychiatry, University of Vermont Health Center; Renee Rodriguez-Goodemote, MD, Medical Director of the Saratoga Hospital Community Health Center; Joshua Zamer, MD, Medical Director for Addiction Medicine at Saratoga Hospital Community Health Center and Chairman of the Department of Family Practice; Beth Netter MD MT, holistic physician and acupuncturist, Albany, NY; Anita Burock-Stotts, MD, board certified in Internal Medicine; Gustavo Grodnitzky PhD, Chair of the AMI Psychological Education Committee; Lee Albert, NMT, acclaimed neuromuscular therapist and gentle yoga instructor; and Jenness Cortez Perlmutter, faculty member of The American Meditation Institute.

Noted physicians Mehmet Oz MD (Dr. Oz), Dean Ornish, Bernie Siegel and Larry Dossey have endorsed Mr. Perlmutters The Heart and Science of Yoga treatise, which serves as the primary curriculum for the conference. Previous conference attendee, board certified psychiatrist, Rebecca Aspden MD shares, Since attending this retreat, my mind is open to a different way of seeing the world. I am looking forward to implementing what I learned in my own life and imparting this new knowledge and new perspective to my patients.

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About the American Meditation Institute

The American Meditation Institute is a 501(c)3 non-profit educational organization devoted to the teaching and practice of Yoga Science, meditation and its allied disciplines as mind/body medicine. In its holistic approach to wellness, AMI combines the healing arts of the East with the practicality of modern Western science. The American Meditation Institute offers a wide variety of classes, retreats, and teacher training programs. AMI also publishes Transformation a bi-monthly journal of meditation as holistic mind/body medicine. Call 518.674.8714 for a mail or email subscription.

Media Contact:

Robert Washington

60 Garner Road

Averill Park, NY 12018

Tel: 518-674-8714

Fax: 518-674-8714
Custom labels have the potential to transform a company's branding, and that value really comes through in person.

The BIG Industry Show, an annual gathering for leading participants in the smoke shop industry, is set for August 30 and 31. Lightning Labels will be among the companies exhibiting at the BIG Industry Show 2018, demonstrating in person how the right labels can make all the difference in marketing vaping products, as well as both medical and recreational cannabis.

A Busy Show

Put on by Buyer's Industry Guide, The BIG Industry Show is a bustling gathering, going beyond vaping and cannabis to encompass the larger alternative retail sector. This includes tattoo shops, specialty gifts and more. The show floor is the place for companies to make valuable connections that will improve their prospects in the years ahead.

"We're excited to be exhibiting at The BIG Industry Show," said Lightning Labels Director of Sales and Client Services Gary Paulin. "Custom labels have the potential to transform a company's branding, and that value really comes through in person."

Learn About Labeling

The BIG Industry Show's L.A. edition is well-placed to serve an exciting and growing market, as California's recreational cannabis legalization movement is in full swing.

If your company is planning to sell cannabis products, come see the Lightning Labels booth and learn how a distinctive labeling strategy can set your goods apart from competitors' offerings.

About Lightning Labels:

Lightning Labels uses state-of-the-art printing technology to provide affordable, full-color custom labels and custom stickers of all shapes and sizes. From small orders for individuals to the bulk needs of big businesses, Lightning Labels is equipped to handle and fulfill custom label and sticker projects of all types. Best of all, like the name implies, Lightning Labels provides a quick turnaround for every customer's labeling needs. Uses for Lightning Labels' custom product labels and custom stickers include food packaging and organic food labels, wine and beverage labels, bath and body labels, and nutraceutical products, such as vitamins, essentials oils, and herbal remedies, as well as event stickers, adhesive window stickers and more. Lightning Labels strongly supports the development of environmentally friendly printing materials and carries EarthFirst PLA, a new kind of green label material made from corn instead of petroleum. While operating as a high-tech printer, Lightning Labels prides itself on its personalized customer service. Lightning Labels provides one stop shopping for all of your custom label needs. For more information and to place orders online, visit LightningLabels.com. For the latest in packaging news and labeling promotional offers, find Lightning Labels on Twitter (@LightningLabels), Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ and LinkedIn.
Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce that Lisa D. Duran, member partner in our Phoenix office, has been named one of the Most Influential Women In Arizona Business by Arizona Business Magazine.

Duran is one of only 43 women receiving this years honor. The Most Influential Women in Arizona Business for 2018 will be honored at a reception on August 23, 2018.

Its an honor to be included as a Most Influential Woman in Arizona, said Ms. Duran. Im proud that through my law practice, I change lives for the better every day. I am humbled to be in the company of the 42 other women receiving this honor.

Ms. Durans practice focuses on immigration. She has received Lawyer of the Year recognition for her practice area from both Best Lawyers and Global Law Experts and has been consistently listed in Southwest Super Lawyers. In addition to her active law practice, Ms. Duran maintained an adjunct faculty position for many years at ASUs Sandra Day OConnor College of Law. She has also served on the Board of Directors for the UMOM New Day Center and as Chair of the Board of Directors for Make-A-Wish Foundation of Arizona.

About Dickinson Wright PLLC

Dickinson Wright PLLC is a general practice business law firm with more than 475 attorneys among more than 40 practice areas and 16 industry groups. Headquartered in Detroit and founded in 1878, the firm has 19 offices, including six in Michigan (Detroit, Troy, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Saginaw) and 12 other domestic offices in Austin and El Paso, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Lexington, Ky.; Nashville and Music Row, Tenn.; Las Vegas and Reno, Nev.; Phoenix, Ariz.; Silicon Valley, Calif.; and Washington, D.C. The firms Canadian office is located in Toronto.

Dickinson Wright offers our clients a distinctive combination of superb client service, exceptional quality, value for fees, industry expertise and business acumen. As one of the few law firms with ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification, Dickinson Wright has built state-of-the-art, independently-verified risk management controls and security processes for our commercial transactions. Dickinson Wright lawyers are known for delivering commercially-oriented advice on sophisticated transactions and have a remarkable record of wins in high-stakes litigation. Dickinson Wright lawyers are regularly cited for their expertise and experience by Chambers, Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and other leading independent law firm evaluating organizations.
We continue to see a divided real estate market in Miami-Dade with strong overall demand for local properties.

Miami-Dade County luxury real estate sales continue to increase while lower price points experience strong demand and limited supply, resulting in price increases countywide, according to a new report by the MIAMI Association of REALTORS (MIAMI) and the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system.

Total Miami luxury sales ($1 million-and-above) increased 21.5 percent from 181 to 220 in June 2018. Condo luxury sales led the surge by posting a 28.0 percent jump to 96 transactions. Condo and single-family $1 million-and-above transactions have each now increased year-over-year in six of the last seven months.

We continue to see a divided Miami real estate market with strong overall demand for local properties, MIAMI Chairman of the Board George C. Jalil said. There is limited inventory available under $600,000. And while luxury sales have significantly increased over the last few months, high supply in the luxury sector offers great opportunities for buyers.

Sales Decrease Slightly Due to Very Limited Supply in the Mid- and Lower Price Points

Miami existing condominium sales decreased 5.0 percent year-over-year in June 2018, from 1,323 to 1,257. The change follows increased sales in both April and May 2018.

Total Miami home sales decreased 2.8 percent year-over-year, from 2,669 to 2,492. Miami single-family home sales decreased a negligent 0.8 percent in June 2018, from 1,346 to 1,335. The change is due to a lack of inventory in lower and mid-price points.

Sales Dollar Volume Jumps 8 Percent to $1.3 Billion

Total sales volume increased to $1.3 billion from $1.2 billion in June 2017. Existing condo sales volume increased from $508.5 million to $552.5 million (an increase of 14.4 percent). Single-family home total dollar volume rose 17.1 percent, from $682.5 million to $799.0 million.

Lack of access to mortgage loans continues to inhibit further growth of the existing condominium market. Of the 9,307 condominium buildings in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, only 12 are approved for Federal Housing Administration loans, down from 29 last year, according to Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation and FHA.

More than 6.5 Consecutive Years of Price Appreciation in Miami

Miami-Dade County single-family home prices increased 6.0 percent in June 2018, increasing from $335,000 to $355,000. Miami single-family home prices have risen for 78 consecutive months, a streak of more than 6.5 years. Existing condo prices rose 2.1 percent, from $235,000 to $240,000 in June. Condo prices have increased in 82 of the last 85 months.

Low mortgage rates make purchasing a home more affordable. According to Freddie Mac, the average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage decreased to 4.57 percent in June from 4.59 percent in May.

Miami Distressed Sales Continue to Drop, Reflecting Healthy Market

Only 6.3 percent of all closed residential sales in Miami were distressed last month, including REO (bank-owned properties) and short sales, compared to 9.2 percent in June 2017. In 2009, distressed sales comprised 70 percent of Miami sales.

Total Miami distressed sales declined 33.5 percent year-over-year, from 245 in June 2017 to 163 last month.

Short sales and REOs accounted for 1.7 and 4.6 percent, respectively, of total Miami sales in June 2018. Short sale transactions dropped 35.0 percent year-over-year while REOs fell 33.0 percent.

Nationally, distressed sales accounted for 3 percent of sales (lowest since NAR began tracking in October 2008), down from 4 percent a year ago.

Miami Real Estate Selling Close to List Price

The median number of days between listing and contract dates for Miami single-family home sales was 43 days, an 10.4 percent decrease from 48 days last year. The median number of days between the listing date and closing date for single-family properties was 94 days, a 6.0 percent decrease from 100 days.

The median time to contract for condos was 74 days, a 1.4 percent increase from 73 days last year. The median number of days between listing date and closing date decreased 3.4 percent to 115 days.

The median percent of original list price received for single-family homes was 95.7 percent. The median percent of original list price received for existing condominiums was 93.67 percent.

National and State Statistics

Nationally, total existing-home sales decreased 0.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.38 million in June from downwardly revised 5.41 million in May. With last months decline, sales are now 2.2 percent below a year ago and have decreased year-over-year for the third straight month.

Statewide closed sales of existing single-family homes totaled 27,836 last month, down 1.3 percent compared to June 2017, according to Florida Realtors. Statewide closed condo sales totaled 11,128 last month, up 1.2 percent compared to a year ago.

The national median existing-home price for all housing types in June was $276,900, an all-time high and an increase of 5.2 percent from June 2017 ($263,300). Junes price increase marks the 76th straight month of year-over-year gains.

The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes was $260,000, up 6.1 percent from the previous year, according to Florida Realtors. The statewide median price for townhouse-condo properties in June was $190,000, up 7.5 percent over the year-ago figure.

Miamis Cash Buyers Represent almost Double the National Figure

Miami cash transactions comprised 38.0 percent of June 2018 total closed sales, compared to 37.0 percent last year. Miami cash transactions are almost double the national figure (22 percent).

Miamis high percentage of cash sales reflects South Floridas ability to attract a diverse number of international home buyers, who tend to purchase properties in all cash. Miami has a higher percent of cash sales for condos due to lack of financing approvals for buildings.

Condominiums comprise a large portion of Miamis cash purchases as 53.1 percent of condo closings were made in cash in June compared to 24.6 percent of single-family home sales.

3.9 Months of Supply for Single-Family Homes below $600K

Inventory of single-family homes increased 2.5 percent in June from 6,052 active listings last year to 6,206 last month. Condominium inventory increased 1.3 percent to 15,264 from 15,0676 listings during the same period in 2017.

The increase in inventory is for properties above $300,000 for condos and for properties above $600,000 for single family homes.

Monthly supply of inventory for single-family homes increased 11.1 percent to 6.0 months, which indicates a balanced market. Existing condominiums have a 13.9-month supply, which indicates a buyers market. A balanced market between buyers and sellers offers between six and nine months supply of inventory.

There is 3.9 months supply inventory for single-family homes and 10.4 for condos below $600,000. In contrast, there is 16 months supply for single-family homes and 40.3 months of supply for condos above $600,000.

Total active listings at the end of June increased 1.7 percent year-over-year, from 21,19 to 21,471. Active listings remain about 60 percent below 2008 levels when sales bottomed.

New listings of Miami single-family homes increased 2.9 percent to 1,696 from 1,745. New listings of condominiums decreased 4.1 percent, from 2,272 to 2,179.

Nationally, total housing inventory at the end of June climbed 4.3 percent to 1.95 million existing homes available for sale and is 0.5 percent above a year ago (1.94 million)  the first year-over-year increase since June 2015. Unsold inventory is at a 4.3-month supply at the current sales pace (4.2 months a year ago).

To access June 2018 Miami-Dade Statistical Reports, visit http://www.SFMarketIntel.com

Note: Statistics in this news release may vary depending on reporting dates. MIAMI reports exact statistics directly from its MLS system.

About the MIAMI Association of REALTORS

The MIAMI Association of REALTORS was chartered by the National Association of Realtors in 1920 and is celebrating 98 years of service to Realtors, the buying and selling public, and the communities in South Florida. Comprised of six organizations, the Residential Association, the Realtors Commercial Alliance, the Broward Council, the Jupiter Tequesta Hobe Sound (JTHS-MIAMI) Council, the Young Professionals Network (YPN) Council and the award-winning International Council, it represents more than 46,000 real estate professionals in all aspects of real estate sales, marketing, and brokerage. It is the largest local Realtor association in the U.S. and has official partnerships with 178 international organizations worldwide. MIAMIs official website is http://www.MiamiRealtors.com.
The history of Macmillan has been defined by high quality and innovative products, and its an honor and privilege to add to the next chapter of the Macmillan story. --Macmillan Learning CEO, Ken Michaels

If a large tree grows from this small seed we shall be grateful." --Daniel Macmillan, London, 1843

Macmillan Publishers are celebrating their 175th anniversary across their global divisions throughout 2018. Reflecting on a rich heritage and the foundations established by two entrepreneurial and inspiring brothers, Daniel and Alexander, Macmillan Learning will use the occasion to celebrate their mission in education and the distinct family feel and personality of their business. Activities and publications planned throughout the year will serve as a reminder of the passion and commitment that has brought Macmillan publishing companies to where they are today, while showcasing a long-standing commitment to learning, storytelling, sharing ideas, and engaging curious minds.

From a small seed

Macmillan was founded by two brothers Daniel and Alexander Macmillan, the sons of Scottish crofters, in London in 1843. Their story is inspiring  with no formal education and continuously embattled by illness in the case of Daniel Macmillan, they established a company while aged just 30 and 25. Opening a bookshop in February 1843 and publishing their first two titles by November of the same year, the company grew to become one of the largest publishing houses in the world by the turn of the 20th century, with offices in Australia, Canada, India and the United States of America.

A Focus on Education

The imprints and enterprises that make up Macmillan Learnings educational publishing group each have distinctive origin storiesstories of individuals with unique ideas for producing educational material using the latest technology, created in full awareness of what works in the classroom. What they have in common is that those ideas were realized and implemented through deep partnerships with the very people shaping contemporary education itselfleading researchers, educators, administrators, and developersmaking sure those innovations would indeed improve lives through learning.

From General Chemistry by Nobel laureate Linus Pauling, and Nobel Laureate Paul Krugmans Economics to bestselling Psychology by David G. Myers, and the most widely used English handbook of all time, A Writers Reference by Diana Hacker, as well as innovative digital learning solutions such as Sapling and iClicker, Macmillan Learning has a legacy of lighting the way for the future of education.

At Macmillan Learning, we are tremendously proud of our achievements throughout the years, namely the deep relationships forged with researchers, educators, administrators, and students, declared Macmillan Learning CEO, Ken Michaels. The history of Macmillan has been defined by high quality and innovative products, and its an honor and privilege to add to the next chapter of the Macmillan story.

2018 also marks the bicentenary of Alexander Macmillans birth on 3 October 1918. Taking over the business after Daniels death in 1857, Macmillans early success can be attributed to Alexanders wide-ranging curiosity, his generosity towards authors and colleagues, his business acumen and a lifelong passion for reading, learning and books. Passed down through Daniel and Alexanders children and colleagues, Macmillan Learning continues to embody these characteristics today.

By 1999, the various companies founded by the Macmillan Family  including the independent US publishing house  were brought back together under the shared ownership of the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, another independent, family-owned publisher based in Stuttgart, Germany.

Celebrating The Macmillan Story in New Publications

Its been 175 years since the publication of the first Macmillan book, The Philosophy of Training by A.R Craig. In October 2018, Pan Macmillan will publish a new edition of one of the most successful anthologies in English literary history, The Golden Treasury of the Best Songs & Lyrical Poems in the English Language, edited by Francis Turner Palgrave.

The original edition, published in 1861, sold close to 100,000 copies and helped popularize Wordsworth and the other Romantic poets around the world. The new edition will be part of the Macmillan Collectors Library. Featuring a foreword by the UK Poet Laureate and Picador author, Carol Ann Duffy, it will be bound in real cloth and feature a ribbon marker and gilt edges.

To further commemorate this milestone anniversary, Macmillan will also publish a comprehensive international history of the company called The Macmillan Story in September 2018, for distribution to employees, customers, and authors.

Continuing the Tradition of Uniting Thought Leaders

Alexander Macmillan was renowned for his support for authors and for bringing thought leaders together from the fields of science, philosophy, literature, politics and the arts. His salons in the London offices of Macmillan, dubbed Tobacco Parliaments, formed the hub of conversation about books, writing and reading which led to the development of friendships and new ideas, including the foundation of Nature and the publishing of Millicent Fawcett, Thomas Hardy, Henry James, Rudyard Kipling and Alfred, Lord Tennyson, in Macmillans Magazine.

Throughout the year Macmillan 175 branded activities will continue this tradition by bringing authors, educators, researchers, learners, and readers together to discuss new ideas. Macmillan companies will also carry Macmillan 175 branding at key conferences and trade fairs, including Educause, SXSWedu, EconED, The Conference on College Composition and Communication, as well as staff celebrations around the world.

Macmillans Impact

In addition to the remarkable education content the companies have produced, Macmillan companies have published some of the best-loved fiction and childrens books of all time, including Alices Adventures in Wonderland, The Jungle Book, the poetry of Yeats and Rossetti, Casino Royale, Bridget Jones Diary, The Gruffalo, and more. This extraordinary list of books continues to be expanded by Pan Macmillan and Macmillan Childrens Books today.

Macmillan companies have also produced a wealth of globally influential educational, non-fiction, academic and reference texts, including the science journal Nature, Nesfields Manual of English Grammar, The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, The Statesmans Yearbook and Keynes General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money.

Palgrave Macmillan continues to publish award-winning research across the humanities, social sciences and business, while Macmillan Education supports students, teachers and institutions worldwide through a lifetime of learning.

Today Macmillan books, products, and services are enjoyed by children and adults in over 120 countries, and, according to its employees around the globe, continues to feel a very special place to work.

Macmillan CEO John Sargent said, "Macmillan has always been a family owned company. That has allowed us, over the generations, to take a long view. And though we clearly operate as a business, we always try to keep a family feeling in the workplace. Our goal is to be a company that is human, where creativity and joy in our work can prosper."

For more information visit: macmillanlearning.com or watch a commemorative video about #Macmillan175.

Macmillan Learning:

Macmillan Learning improves lives through learning. Our legacy of excellence in education informs our approach to using user-centered design, learning science, and impact research to develop world-class content and pioneering products that are empathetic, highly effective, and drive improved outcomes. Through deep partnership with the worlds best researchers, educators, administrators, and developers, we facilitate teaching and learning opportunities that spark student engagement and lift course results. We provide educators with tailored solutions designed to inspire curiosity and measure progress. Our commitment to teaching and discovery upholds our mission to improve lives through learning. To learn more, please visit our website or see us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN or join our Macmillan Community.

Pan Macmillan:

Pan Macmillan is the consumer publishing arm of Macmillan, a global publishing company. Its imprints include Macmillan, Mantle, Pan, Picador, Bluebird, Boxtree, Sidgwick & Jackson, Bello, Tor, Macmillan Children's Books, Campbell Books and Macmillan Digital Audio. Pan Macmillan was named Publisher of the Year at The Bookseller Industry Awards in 2015 and again in 2017.

Springer Nature:

Springer Nature is a leading research, educational and professional publisher, providing quality content to our communities through a range of innovative platforms, products and services. Every day, around the globe, our imprints, books, journals and resources reach millions of people  helping researchers, students, teachers and professionals to discover, learn and achieve more. Springer Nature is home to Palgrave Macmillan, Macmillan Education and Macmillan International Higher Education. Visit: http://www.springernature.com/group and follow @SpringerNature.


Wiluna Tailings (Wiltails) - Maiden Resource

---------------------------------------------------------------- Prospect Total Number of Holes Total Metres Drilled ---------------------------------------------------------------- Squib 2 40 Adelaide 2 40 Moonlight 1 20 Golden Age 2 40 Western Cell 3 49 Dam H 16 286.5 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Totals 26 475.5 ----------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------- Prospect Total Number of Holes Total Metres Drilled ---------------------------------------------------------------- Squib 8 218 Adelaide 4 78 Moonlight 6 165 Golden Age 6 146 Dam H 8 120 Western Extension 6 105 Dam C 25 744 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Totals 63 1,576 ----------------------------------------------------------------

Perth, July 24, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Blackham Resources Limited ( ASX:BLK ) ( OTCMKTS:BKHRF ) (Blackham or the Company) is pleased to provide an initial Mineral Resource estimate for the historical tailings at the Company's Wiluna Gold Operations all within 2km of the Wiluna processing plant. The historical tailings have accumulated at the site since the 1930's and recent independent metallurgical test work has shown that potential gold recoveries of between 42-50% can be achieved through standard mining and gold leaching processes. Additional metallurgical test work will potentially enhance the gold recovery and validate how this material may supplement the Company's operating plans.Highlights- 620,000oz added to Wiluna free milling gold Mineral Resource base- The maiden Mineral Resource for the Wiluna Tailings is 33.6Mt at 0.57 g/t Au. 77% of the Mineral Resource is classified under JORC 2012 as Indicated Resources (see Table 1 in link below)- Metallurgical test work completed to date indicates a recovery of between 42-50% for the historical tailings in a standard gold leaching process similar to the existing Wiluna CIL circuit.- Ongoing technical work will be completed on the tailings to confirm potential mining and processing options for possible integration into the Company's future operations.Blackham has successfully identified additional free milling ore associated with the Golden Age mineralisation and the Wiluna oxidised zones (see announcements "Wiluna High Grade Free Milling Mineralisation Extended" dated 21 June 2018 and "Multiple High-Grade Extensions Identified at Golden Age" dated 12 June 2018).The Company also continues its exploration programs into its priority Lake Way targets and has now completed the first phase of drilling. This drilling is the first new drilling in that area for 12 years and the Company is awaiting final results.Blackham will continue to add to its free-milling resource inventory at its Wiluna operations with a view to fully utilising its available assets and increasing shareholder value. Annual updated Mineral Resource estimates are currently underway for all areas at Wiluna and will be reported in the current quarter.Mineral Resource EstimateTailings material has been deposited since the 1930's around the Wiluna processing plant from over 4.4Moz of gold production. Since the mid 1990's both purpose built tailings storage facilities (TSF) and open pit voids have been utilised. The tailings being deposited from current operations into Storage Dam J is not included in this resource.Resources were estimated by Blackham personnel for the various tailings impoundments using historical data and the data from two recent drill campaigns.A significant proportion of the tailings resulted from processing of the Wiluna UG sulphide ores through the Biox(R) plant with historic processing records indicating an average tailings grade of 0.72g/t over the last 13 years. This was deposited into all of the above locations except Dam C which was the first storage location. Recent metallurgical testing has indicated that further recovery of the residual gold is possible through the oxide milling circuit. Two recent drill programmes have enabled sufficient data to estimate the grade for the separate repositories.The separate tailings storage areas are:- Dam C - largest single resource. The material is layered with the upper part resulting from processing of sulphide ore (~40%) and the lower part from oxide ore treatment.- Dam H and the Western Extension of Dam C. Both containing residue from sulphide ore treatments.- Pits - Adelaide, Golden Age, Moonlight and Squib. All containing residues from largely sulphide ore treatment. (Tailings have also been placed in the Gun Barrell Pits, North and South, - these potential resources have not yet been tested.)The Mineral Resource has been classified as Indicated (77%) and Inferred in accordance with the JORC Code, 2012 Edition on a qualitative basis taking into consideration numerous factors including drill hole spacing, estimation statistics and sample data. All factors that have been considered are detailed below or included in the Appendices. There have been no prior estimates for this material.Project LocationThe Wiltails resource base is located on the Wiluna mine site within approximately 2km of the operating CIL processing plant at the northern end of the Norseman-Kalgoorlie-Wiluna gold belt 600km north of Kalgoorlie.Geology and Geological InterpretationThe tailings material has been derived from the treatment of the ores around the Wiluna mine area. The mineralisation is shear hosted typical of Archean gold deposits. Rock types range from sedimentary rocks and Felsic to Mafic volcanics. Gold is contained in quartz vein and in alteration zones. In un-weathered rock the mineralisation is commonly associated with sulphides such as pyrite and arsenopyrite.Processing records indicate that the majority of the tailings were emplaced during the treatment of fresh sulphide rich ores. The notable exception is the material in the bottom part of Dam C that contains primarily oxide and transitional ore residues from the mining of the Wiluna open pits between 1985 and 1997.Drilling and Sampling TechniquesTwo recent drill campaigns were completed over the Wiluna tailings. An initial programme of rotary auger drilling in 2017 tested:The holes were drilled vertically with most holes 20m long to the base of the TSF. Holes were sampled by removing material from the auger at 5m intervals. Only the 16 holes drilled in Dam H were used in the resource estimation.A second programme of AC drilling was drilled on a nominal 100mx100m grid with a total of 63 holes for 1,576m completed in June 2018. The holes were drilled vertically and varied in length to reach the base of the TSF or pit being assessed. Holes were sampled in 2m intervals.The six holes drilled in Dam H were not used in the resource estimation owing to sample contamination caused by overlying calcined tailings stockpiles.Sample Analysis MethodSamples from both programmes were assayed for gold using a 50g charge fire assay by independent certified laboratories following standard sub-sampling procedures. Samples from the initial auger drilling programme were further analysed for their metallurgical properties by an independent consultant.Bulk DensityA further phase of drilling was completed in July 2018 using sonic core drilling aimed primarily at providing bulk density data for use in the resource estimation. Standard Penetration Tests were taken periodically during drilling to obtain density, strength and consolidation characteristics for the tailings. For the current Mineral Resource Estimate a figure of 1.6 t/m3 was assigned as the global dry bulk density.Estimation MethodologyThe volume of the tailings was estimated either within an existing open pit or a tailings storage facility (TSF). Digital terrain models based on final pit surveys conducted prior to the tails deposition were constructed for the open pits with current topographic models being used for the TSF discounting the material being used for building bunds and/or walls of the TSF.Gold grades were estimated into the model by inverse distance squared using the block model field coding to constrain the estimate. Only samples contained within each individual domain were used for the estimate of that domain. Top cuts were used to cap anomalously high grade data. The stage 2 drill holes (aircore) for Dam H were not used owing to contamination of samples. Any assays that appeared as outliers from the median grade were cut.The search ellipse was based on considerations of the drill hole spacing and domain geometry. In addition, visual inspection, using tools available in Surpac, were undertaken to assess the pattern of informing sample selection. The search ellipsoid radii ratios were then chosen to provide an optimal sample neighbour selection for estimation. The search neighbourhood radii were chosen to be as small as possible while still fulfilling the requirement of filling all blocks in the estimation domains with estimates. Search ellipse orientations were flat. Some stratification of the tails sediments was observed in the drilling and the grade interpolation attempted to honour this stratification.One search pass was used to populate blocks allowing for a maximum of 2 samples per drill hole with a maximum of 8 samples per block estimate. The estimate was validated using a number of techniques including but not limited to:- A visual comparison of block grade estimates and the drill hole data;- A comparison of the composite and estimated block grades;- SWATH PlotsCut-off GradesNo cut-off grade was applied to the resource estimate and it is quoted as a total in-situ resource.Mineral Resource ClassificationThe Mineral Resource is classified as Measured, Indicated and Inferred, in accordance with the JORC Code (2012 Edition). A range of criteria were considered when addressing the suitability of the classification boundaries to the resource estimate including:- Drill hole spacing;- Quality of dill hole information accounting for type, and sampling technique; and- Available mining information.The classification for this model has predominantly being based on the drill hole type and spacing. In resources drilled by Air Core with 4.5" diameter holes with the specialised 'vacuum bit' with at least 100m x 100m on the TSF and 50m by 50m in the open pits an indicated classification was given. Where rotary auger drill sampling was completed an inferred resource was given due to the lower quality of the sampling.Economic ExtractionA scoping study was competed for the Wiluna tailings retreatment in 2016 by Independent Metallurgical Operations Pty Ltd. The study comprised preliminary metallurgical test work using Dam H tailings data and a review of potential recovery and treatment options for all storage facilities and pits. The options considered produced acceptable financial returns and indicated a potential metallurgical recovery of 42-50% for gold via a whole of ore leach.Initial test works have confirmed the tailings material is sized between 38-75micron removing the need for further grinding - significantly reducing re-processing costs. The tailings can be treated through the current operating CIL circuit without the need for further milling or concentration, making reprocessing a simple, low cost option.This resource and scoping study justifies the assumption for eventual economic extraction and treatment of the Wiluna Tailings.Further feasibility studies are ongoing aimed at:- Confirming the metallurgical properties and optimal flowsheet;- Assessing best method of materials handling (mining, dredging or re-pulping); and- Integration with the existing free milling and planned sulphide operations.To view tables and figures, please visit:About Wiluna Mining Corporation Ltd

Wiluna Mining Corporation (ASX:WMC) (OTCMKTS:WMXCF) is a Perth based, ASX listed gold mining company that controls over 1,600 square kilometres of the Yilgarn Craton in the Northern Goldfields of WA. The Yilgarn Craton has a historic and current gold endowment of over 380 million ounces, making it one of most prolific gold regions in the world. The Company owns 100% of the Wiluna Gold Operation which has a defined resource of 8.04M oz at 1.67 g/t au. In May 2019, a new highly skilled management team took control of the Company with a clear plan to leverage the Wiluna Gold Operation's multi-million-ounce potential.
We opened our first store in the Chicago area back in 1973, so its exciting to continue that 45-year tradition with these new developments.

Metro Storage LLC announced the opening of two new state of the art self storage stores in the Chicago suburbs of Addison and Naperville. Developed in partnership with Fremont Realty Capital, the addition of these new ground up developments brings the total number of Metro stores in the Chicagoland area to 23.

We opened our first store in the Chicago area back in 1973, so its exciting to continue that 45-year tradition with these new developments, said Blair Nagel, CEO of Metro Storage LLC.

The Addison store, located at 1951 W. Lake Street, opened on March 19, 2018. The modern 744-unit facility encompasses 77,525 RSF and offers top notch features and amenities including: 100% climate control units, large interior loading bays, multiple elevators, state of the art security, and a large modern retail office.

The Naperville store, which opened on July 2, 2018, is a 575-unit, single story facility with 74,988 RSF. Located at 1752 N. Aurora Road in Naperville, the new facility is a mix of climate and non-climate-controlled units, and interior and drive-up accessible units. Additional features of the store include a large interior loading bay, state of the art security, and a modern retail office.

Weve had great success in the Chicagoland market, said Marty Gallagher, President of Metro Storage LLC. Both of these stores are located in areas with strong demographics, excellent visibility, and features that will serve the storage needs of the surrounding communities.

About Metro Storage LLC

Metro Storage LLC is a privately owned, fully integrated, international self-storage company specializing in the development, construction, acquisition, and management of self-storage facilities in the USA, Brazil, and Central America. Metro operates under the trademark Metro Self Storage in the US, being one of the top 10 largest owner/operators of self-storage facilities in the United States with over 130 stores covering 14 states. Metro Storage International (MSI) has an affiliate/partner in Brazil which operates under the trade name MetroFit, one of the fastest growing self-storage companies in Brazil. MSIs affiliate/partner in Central America operates under the trade name Mr. Bodeguitas, and is Central Americas leading self-storage operator with locations throughout Guatemala, El Salvador, and Costa Rica. More information about the firm is available at http://www.metrostoragecorporate.com.

About Fremont Realty Capital

Fremont Realty Capital (FRC) is the real estate private equity business unit of the Fremont Group, the investment office of the Bechtel family of San Francisco. Since formation in 1997, FRC has provided its investors with superior risk-adjusted returns and value-creation through investments in non-traditional and traditional real estate sectors, both domestically and abroad. FRC has been has been investing in U.S. and European self-storage businesses since 1998. Its success is based on a disciplined investment strategy, enduring long term relationships with best-in-class operating partners, and the collective experience of the firms principals. FRC has made investments in 365 properties in 11 countries, totaling over $5 billion.
A domestic violence survivor hugs her beloved dog outside Noahs Animal House. Up to 65% of domestic violence victims remain in abusive homes out of fear for their pets safety, and even more women residing in domestic violence shelters reported that a pet was harmed by their abuser, said URI President and CEO Nathaniel Fields.

A group of nonprofit and for-profit organizations have joined forces to better protect domestic violence survivors by establishing, validating and promoting the criticality of protecting their pets, too. This coalition is urging passage of the Pet and Women Safety (PAWS) Act (H.R. 909, S.322), a bill that is adamant about removing a roadblock that is essential to the safety of these survivors with pets, enabling them to live healthy, safe lives, together. Organizations in the coalition include:



Nestle Purina PetCare

Bayer Corporation

Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI)

Noahs Animal House

Pet Partners

Urban Resource Institute

Two of these organizations, Noahs Animal House and Urban Resource Institute are just a couple of the only 3% of domestic violence shelters across the country who are working to keep both pets and their owners away from the dangers of domestic abuse. Together these two incredible organizations have saved more than 1,500 pets from abusive conditions, so that no domestic violence survivor is forced to choose between staying in an abusive relationship and leaving their pet with their abuser.

Up to 65% of domestic violence victims remain in abusive homes out of fear for their pets safety, and even more women residing in domestic violence shelters reported that a pet was harmed by their abuser, said URI President and CEO Nathaniel Fields. Through the Urban Resource Institutes innovative People and Animals Living Safely (PALS) program, domestic violence survivors in New York City are able to find safe harbor with their pets in one of our dedicated shelters. PALS is the largest and only model of its kind in New York State, and this new coalition will help extend that life-saving, pet-inclusive approach to domestic violence shelters across America.

Did you know?



Up to 65% of domestic violence victims remain in abusive situations out of fear for their pets safety .

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 4,774,000 women in the United States experience physical violence by an intimate partner every year.

The majority of domestic violence situations include pets in the household, and 85% of women residing in domestic violence shelters reported a pet was harmed by their abuser .

A growing body of science has demonstrated a link between domestic violence and animal cruelty . An outlet of emotional support for victims, the family pet often becomes a target for physical abuse .

The PAWS Act Coalition members have been working to promote awareness and encourage support for the legislation, with 247 bipartisan co-sponsors in the House of Representatives and 37 in the Senate. There is now new momentum with the bills language included in the recently-passed Senate Farm Bill.

The PAWS Act Coalition is especially grateful for the efforts of Senator Dean Heller (R-NV), Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) for their leadership and commitment to pass the Pet and Women Safety Act.

I was proud to work with my colleague Senator Gary Peters and several advocacy groups to introduce the PAWS Act, bipartisan, bicameral legislation that would ensure victims are not forced to choose between their personal safety and the safety of their pet, said U.S. Senator Dean Heller (R-NV). As the 5th most bipartisan senator in the U.S. Senate, Ill continue working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to see that domestic violence survivors in Nevada and around the country have access to critical, life-saving services and programs that meet their needs and allow them to escape abuse and find safe haven.

For most pet owners, the bond with their pet is incredibly strong, and for people in abusive relationships, their pet can be an important source of comfort, said Dr. Kurt Venator, DVM, PhD, Chief Veterinary Officer at Purina. Purina is very proud to support efforts to keep families and their pets together during this time of healing.

Since 2007, Noahs Animal House has cared for and protected over 1,400 pets of domestic violence survivors for 90,000 boarding nights, said Staci Columbo-Alonso, Founder, Noahs Animal House. The need to provide safety and protection for the pets of these women and children is on the rise, and we are hopeful that in joining this important group of like-minded organizations, we can help more shelters across the country care for these families together.

Bayer recognizes the great need to support domestic violence shelters that care for both survivors and their beloved pets, said Lauren Dorsch, Deputy Director, Communications, Bayer Animal Health. Survivors of domestic violence should not have to choose between their safety and a loved one, and these shelters make it possible for them to heal in a safe place, without saying goodbye to their pets.

Pet Partners therapy animal team handlers and advocates all across the country are using their grassroots power to support the PAWS Act Coalition, so that pets and people can stick together in traumatic situations - when they need each other most, said Annie Peters, CEO of Pet Partners.

About Nestle Purina PetCare

Nestle Purina PetCare promotes responsible pet care, community involvement and the positive bond between people and their pets. A premiere global manufacturer of pet products, Nestle Purina PetCare is part of Swiss-based Nestle S.A., a global leader in nutrition, health and wellness.

About Bayer Animal Health

Science For a Better Life: the Bayer business unit Animal Health is a global leader in animal health, supporting the health of animals, as well as the farmers, veterinarians and pet owners that care for them through its offering of innovative therapies and solutions. Responsible relationships between humans, companion animals, as well as farm animals mean taking care of their health and well-being. Bayer has secured a leadership position in researching and developing products for animal health and pest control since 1919, and is constantly developing new, better products and improved forms of administration for the benefit of the animals in our lives.

About Pet Partners

Pet Partners is the national leader in demonstrating and promoting animal-assisted therapy, activities and education. Forty-one years since the organizations inception, the science that proves these benefits has become indisputable. Today, Pet Partners is the nations largest and most prestigious nonprofit registering handlers of multiple species as volunteer teams providing animal-assisted interventions. Therapy animals, such as those who participate in the Pet Partners Therapy Animal Program, provide affection and comfort to members of the public, typically in facility settings such as hospitals, assisted living, and schools. These pets have a special aptitude for interacting with members of the public and enjoy doing so. Therapy animal handlers volunteer their time to visit with their animals in the community. For more information about Pet Partners, visit http://www.petpartners.org.

About the Urban Resource Institute

Urban Resource Institute (URI) is a leading non-profit organization that provides comprehensive, holistic, and supportive social services that aid and empower New Yorkers in times of crisis. URI's programs provide care for survivors of domestic violence, individuals with developmental disabilities, homeless families, and other at-risk populations, allowing them to live in safety and recover from trauma in both residential and non-residential settings. With deep community relationships and a flexible, innovative approach to program development and service delivery, URI is uniquely equipped to provide solutions to the challenges affecting New York City's most vulnerable populations. URI is merging with the Center Against Domestic Violence, the first licensed provider of domestic violence shelter in New York. With nearly 80 years of combined experience, the organization will be the largest provider of domestic violence residential services in the country, with the ability to shelter over 1,000 individuals, including survivors and their families, on any given day.

About Noahs Animal House

Noahs Animal House was the first stand-alone full service pet boarding facility in the country built on the grounds of and in partnership with The Shade Tree Shelter in 2007 to provide safety, shelter and support for the pets of the clients of the shelter. A second location serving up to 36 animals in Reno, Nevada opened February 2018 in partnership with the Domestic Violence Resource Center. In a national survey, 71 percent of women seeking safety in a domestic violence shelter reported pet abuse in their home and more than 25 percent delayed leaving because they did not have an escape plan that could include their pets. To learn more about Noahs Animal House, visit http://www.noahsanimalhouse.org.

About HABRI

HABRI is a not-for-profit organization that maintains the worlds largest online library of human-animal bond research and information; funds innovative research projects to scientifically document the health benefits of companion animals; and informs the public about human-animal bond research and the beneficial role of companion animals in society. For more information, please visit http://www.habri.org.

https://www.drmartybecker.com/healing-power-of-pets/people-pets-caught-domestic-violence-personal-story/

Prevalence and Characteristics of Sexual Violence, Stalking, and Intimate Partner Violence Victimization  National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, United States, 2011 CDCs Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) September 5, 2014 / 63(SS08); 1-18. Web: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6308a1.htm?s_cid=ss6308a1_e

Ascione,F.R.,Weber,C V., Thompson,T.M.,Heath,J.,Maruyama, M.,Hayashi,K. (2007). Battered Pets and Domestic Violence: Animal Abuse Reported by Women Experiencing Intimate Violence and by Nonabused Women. Violence Against W omen,13(4),354373.

Faver, Catherine A., and Elizabeth B. Strand. "Domestic violence and animal cruelty: Untangling the web of abuse." Journal of Social Work Education 39.2 (2003): 237-253.

Matthews, Kevin, and Kelly McConkey. "Examining the nexus between domestic violence and animal abuse in a national sample of service providers." Violence and victims 27.2 (2012): 280.
Adding opportunity zones coverage is a natural extension of the journal, considering how well opportunity zones complement other incentives that benefit underserved populations and communities, such as the low-income housing tax credit and new markets tax credit, -Michael J. Novogradac, CPA.

The Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits announced today that it will debut in its September issue a new section dedicated to opportunity zones, a community development tool designed to spur economic development in underserved communities by providing tax benefits to investors. The opportunity zones incentive was created as part of the 2017 tax reform bill.

The new section of the Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits will report opportunity zones news, analysis and insights, and will feature stories about opportunity zone funds and investments.

Adding opportunity zones coverage is a natural extension of the journal, considering how well opportunity zones complement other incentives that benefit underserved populations and communities, such as the low-income housing tax credit and new markets tax credit, said Michael J. Novogradac, CPA, publisher of the Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits and managing partner of Novogradac & Company LLP. Just as with our coverage of other tax incentives, the content in our opportunity zones section will be aimed at giving readers the insights they need to make informed decisions.

As with any tax incentive, understanding the rules and discovering best practices increases a participants chances of success, said John Sciarretti, CPA, the Novogradac & Company LLP partner who leads the Novogradac Opportunity Zones Working Group. The Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits opportunity zones coverage will be an important resource for readers to learn how the incentive works, keep abreast of emerging issues and discover best practices of others using the incentive.

To subscribe to the Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits, visit http://www.novoco.com/journal. To advertise in the Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits, contact Christianna Cohen at (925) 949-4216 or Christianna.cohen(at)novoco(dot)com.

About the Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits

The Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits is a comprehensive full-color monthly publication that provides its readers with the very latest news, analysis and commentary on the opportunity zones incentive and the affordable housing, new markets, renewable energy and historic rehabilitation tax credit industries, as well as HUD programs. Readers enjoy access to columns written by industry experts, Q&As on technical tax credit issues, articles about and photos of tax credit developments and dealmakers, Facts & Figures, and monthly collections of shorter news items on people, projects, and industry and states issues, all informed by Novogradac and Companys more than 25 years of experience on the front lines of the tax credit industry.

About Novogradac

Novogradac is a national professional services organization that consists of affiliates and divisions providing professional services that include certified public accounting, valuation and consulting with offices in San Francisco, San Rafael, Walnut Creek and Long Beach, Calif.; Dover, Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio; Austin, Dallas and El Paso, Texas; Toms River and Iselin, N.J.; St. Louis; Boston; New York; Chicago; Portland, Ore.; Naples, Fla., Raleigh, N.C.; and the greater metropolitan areas of Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; Atlanta; Detroit; Kansas City, Mo.; and Seattle.

Specialty practice areas include tax, audit and consulting services for tax-credit-assisted affordable housing, community revitalization, rehabilitation of historic properties, renewable energy and opportunity zones. Other areas of expertise include business valuation, preparation and analysis of market studies and appraisals of multifamily housing investments and renewable energy tax credit projects.
The Object Management Group (OMG), an international, open membership, not-for-profit technology standards consortium, adopted six new specifications and issued three new RFPs at its quarterly members meeting, held from June 18-22, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. The meeting was sponsored by No Magic, RTI and Sparx Systems.

Newly Adopted Specifications

The board of directors adopted the following submissions and reports:



ARTS XML Video Analytics enables multi-vendor interoperability for advanced analytics like facial recognition, people/demographic counting, and hazard identification. Examples include software that recommends specific offers to shoppers who are recognized to be enrolled in a retailer's loyalty program, or an alert sent to a clerk if there is a problem in an aisle.

DDS_XRCE extends the security, scalability, performance and quality-of-service benefits of the Data-Distribution Service (DDS) databus to resource-constrained devices, such as limited CPU and memory devices using very low-bandwidth communications, and battery-powered devices that need to undergo deep-sleep cycles.

IEF Reference Architecture is a framework to develop a family of specifications for policy-driven, data-centric information sharing and safeguarding services. This framework will benefit operational environments that require the ability to share information within and beyond organizational boundaries and are challenged by unpredictable changes in operational contexts (e.g., threat, risk, roles & responsibilities, scale, scope, and severity) such as the military, public safety, national security and border safety.

OPC UA/DDS Gateway defines a standard, bi-directional gateway that maps the operations and information flows in each technology (Data-Distribution Service or OPC-UA) to the other one so that an application using OPC-UA can consume information and services produced in DDS and vice-versa.

Tools Output Integration Framework (TOIF) provides a standards-based environment that integrates the outputs of multiple static analysis tools in a single uniform view of vulnerability information. Cyber security professionals, responsible for managing risks of software intensive systems, will find that TOIF-enabled static analysis tools and other TOIF-enabled tools provide enhanced vulnerability detection capability that builds upon both commercial and open source tools.

UnifiedPOS Version 1.15 is a widely accepted architectural specification for application interfaces to point-of-service devices used in a retail environment. It defines the structure of application interfaces to retail devices such as scanners, printers and scales, and describes the range of functionality in these devices that would typically be needed for point-of-sale (POS) software solutions.

All existing OMG specifications are available to the public for free download.

New Standard Development

New RFPs were issued to solicit submissions for new standards. Organizations interested in submitting must submit a letter of intent (LOI) by the LOI deadline in order to submit to a RFP. Submitting a LOI does not commit an organization to being part of a submission team. The most recent RFPs issued were:



EDI Standards for Non-Medical Workplace Benefits seeks input to establish a uniform standard that transmits electronic data for non-medical workplace benefits between benefit administration/HRIS organizations and insurance carriers. Letters of Intent are due by September 14, 2018 and submissions are due on November 12, 2018.

OARIS v2.0 (Additional Sensors) seeks support for additional sensor types and their command and control requirements, such as sonar, electronic surveillance (of radar and other radio frequency transmissions), electro-optic and infra-red, and invites additional Platform Specific Models that apply to different sensor types. Letters of Intent are due by June 21, 2019 and submissions are due on November 11, 2019.

SysML 2 API and Services specifies requirements for an Application Programming Interface (API) that includes services to operate on SysML v2 models and connect SysML v2 models with models in other disciplines. Letters of Intent are due by December 10, 2018 and submissions are due in February 1, 2020.

To view these and other RFC, RFI, and RFP documents, visit http://www.omg.org/public_schedule/.

Special Events

During the week, OMG held informational events for the public:

Intro. to OMG Modeling & Middleware Specifications Tutorial

Location-based Technology & Analytics in Retail

OMG Meet & Greet: Computer-Aided Cyber Security Using Code Analysis Web Portal Demonstration - Addressing Privacy and Security Issues in Healthcare IT

Realizing Effective End-to-End Quality Management within the Health Domain: Case Studies Using OMG Standards

The events' agendas can be found here.

Next Technical Meeting

The early-bird registration deadline for the next TC meeting from September 24-28, 2018 in Ottawa, Canada is August 17, 2018. Exhibit space is also available; contact event_marketing(at)omg.org no later than Friday, September 14, 2018 to reserve space. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available. For more information, contact the OMG Business Development team at bd-team(at)omg.org or call +1-781-444-0404.

About OMG

The Object Management Group (OMG) is an international, open membership, not-for-profit technology standards consortium with representation from government, industry and academia. OMG Task Forces develop enterprise integration standards for a wide range of technologies and an even wider range of industries. OMG modeling standards enable powerful visual design, execution and maintenance of software and other processes. Visit http://www.omg.org for more information.

Note to editors: Object Management Group and OMG are registered trademarks of the Object Management Group. For a listing of all OMG trademarks, visit https://www.omg.org/legal/tm_list.htm. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
New Precision ADM white paper: Additive Manufacturing of Customized Medical Devices The flexibility of additive manufacturing to accommodate unique designs is not nearly as cost prohibitive as traditional manufacturing. It is possible to provide superior medical devices that could improve patient outcomes while lowering overall costs.

Precision ADM, Inc. (Precision ADM or "the Company"), a global engineering and additive manufacturing solutions provider, announced today the release of a new white paper explaining the additive manufacturing and development process in a case study which sought to manufacture a customized surface-guided knee implant.

The case study found that unique geometry, such as a patient-optimized knee implant, lends itself to the flexibility of additive manufacturing. By contrast, traditional casting manufacturing methods which deviate from set sizes can be penalized with high production costs.

The white paper explores the results of kinematic validation simulation testing on the implant done by the Orthopaedic Innovation Centre. The testing reveals that utilizing additive manufacturing and key post-processing operations on this customized knee implant resulted in samples that exceeded expectations in the following ways:



The surface polish was mirror-like and exceeded specifications.

The complex and customized shape was highly accurate which allowed the testing to replicate knee movements that were in close agreement with the in silico simulations of the implant.

The flexibility of additive manufacturing to accommodate unique designs is not nearly as cost prohibitive as traditional manufacturing. It is possible to provide superior medical devices that could improve patient outcomes while lowering overall costs, commented Martin Petrak, CEO of Precision ADM.

To download the white paper in full, visit https://www.precisionadm.com/resources/white-papers/

About Precision ADM Inc.

Precision ADM is a global engineering and manufacturing solutions provider that uses Additive Manufacturing, also known as 3D Printing, as a core technology, complimented by multi-axis machining to manufacture high value components and devices for the medical, aerospace, energy, and industrial sectors. Precision ADM has created a comprehensive Advanced Digital Manufacturing process which includes Design Support, Engineering, Manufacturing and Finishing. Precision ADM is ISO 13485:2016 certified and headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Renewal Design-Build is proud to announce their transformation to Alair Homes Decatur. Pictured from left to right: Ken Carter, David Michelson, Heather Shuster and Peter Michelson. We believe our transformation to Alair Homes Decatur will help us better serve our clients and continue to grow in a community we love.

Founded in 2001, Renewal Design-Build has earned an outstanding reputation in Atlanta as a full-service design-build firm receiving over 80 prestigious awards. In 2018, the Atlanta Business Chronicle once again listed Renewal as the #3 remodeling company in their annual Book of Lists.

To better serve their clients in the future, Renewal Design-Build is proud to announce they are becoming Alair Homes Decatur. Alair Homes is the largest and fastest growing premium construction management franchise in North America. Alair Homes Decatur is locally owned and operated by brothers Peter Michelson and David Michelson.

The Michelson brothers have developed an impressive reputation in metro Atlanta. As fourth generation builders, they have a long and proud history of helping families realize their dreams. Their drive to continue improving and growing the family business is what brought them to Alair Homes.

While researching better ways to serve our clients and manage our business, we discovered Alair, said Peter Michelson. Alair brings an entirely new business model to the residential construction industry, and they provide the backbone of support, services and branding to propel our business forward. We were impressed with their unique and transparent approach to the construction process and their commitment to unparalleled customer satisfaction. We believe our transformation to Alair Homes Decatur will help us better serve our clients and continue to grow in a community we love.

The Michelsons were also impressed with Alairs Client Control model that combines the best qualities of Fixed Price and Cost Plus. The companys cloud-based proprietary software system allows clients radical transparency to access information about costs, materials selections and subcontractor bids throughout every stage of construction. Clients are in control of their project using this system. By offering this unique cloud-based software, Alair Homes Decatur takes much of the mystery out of construction and helps to virtually eliminate unexpected costs and delays. This makes building a new home or renovating an existing space easier and more enjoyable than ever.

The Michelsons represent the best of the best in the area, and their reputation truly set them apart as we were looking for the right partner to expand our presence. Alair is the fastest growing construction management company in North America, and our strategy of partnering with the absolute finest contractors in every market has made this phenomenal growth possible said Blair McDaniel, founder and CEO of Alair Homes.

As the Michelsons complete their conversion to Alair, clients and partners can expect the same level of unparalleled service and world-class quality. The same great team you have come to know is still here and very excited to offer something new and unique to everyone, said Peter Michelson. Renewal Design-Build will continue to operate while we complete projects that are currently in progress. We will offer support and honor warranty issues on all current and completed projects.

By the end of 2018, the Michelsons are scheduled to become the Regional Partners of Alair for the region that includes all of metro Atlanta and all of north Georgia. As Regional Partners, Peter and David will be meeting with the best remodelers and custom home builders in their region who are also looking for the incredible opportunity to grow their businesses with the systems and support of Alair, while thrilling their clients and having a greater balance in their personal lives. At Alair, we are vigorous and highly selective as to whom we invite into this opportunity, says David Michelson. We will be looking for quality companies, for 20 of the very best leaders, with proven track records, who want to transform their lives and their companys future. We will not compromise. But for those that make the cut, the opportunities are endless.

About Alair:

Alair is the largest and fastest growing premium construction management franchise in North America. Since its founding in 2007, Alair has grown to more than 100 markets across Canada and the United States. Alair is in the business of helping individuals, families and businesses overcome the obstacles they face to live a healthier, happier, more comfortable and more productive lifestyle. For more information, please visit http://www.alairhomes.com.

About Alair Homes Decatur:

Alair Homes Decatur is locally owned and operated by Peter Michelson and David Michelson, formerly of Renewal Design-Build. Alair Homes Decatur specializes in offering value, integrity and impressive craftsmanship through their custom home building and home renovation services. The franchise is well-equipped to assist clients with projects of all scopes and sizes from smaller home renovations to building multi-million dollar custom homes. Every client receives the same premium service where they remain fully informed, in control, and a central player throughout the design and construction process.

Whether clients are building an estate in Druid Hills or renovating a kitchen in Ansley Park, Alair Homes Decatur remains committed to their complete satisfaction long after construction is complete. The company offers complimentary three, six and 12-month post-construction inspections and a comprehensive warranty that protects their investment. This further ensures that clients spend less time worrying and more time making memories in their beautiful new homes. For more information, please visit http://www.alairhomes.com/decatur or call 404-378-6962.
Oscar Sanchez, President & Chief Executive Officer "The expectation is to do great things. Thats exactly what I plan to do.

KYOCERA Document Solutions America, Inc., one of the worlds leading document solutions companies, today announced that effective September 1, 2018, Oscar Sanchez will become its President & Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Sanchez will be transitioning from his current position as Executive Vice President of KYOCERA Document Solutions Europe. Current KYOCERA Document Solutions America President Yukio Ikeda will remain in the U.S., continuing in an executive role.

Under Mr. Ikedas leadership, the Americas continued to experience strong growth, said Norihiko Ina, President of KYOCERA Document Solutions Corporation. As markets evolve, as our business grows in new ways, we must add new strengths. Mr. Sanchez offers a unique skill set within our company.

Oscar Sanchez earned an International MBA in Marketing at the Instituto de Empresa during which he spent the final semester studying at the UCLA Anderson School of Management. He started at Kyocera in 1996 and by 2002 had risen to General Manager of KYOCERA Document Solutions Spain, delivering the highest revenue in the companys history and increasing profits over 1,000%. Mr. Sanchez then took on the additional responsibilities for Business Development throughout Europe, eventually relocating to the Netherlands to head both the Corporate Sales Division and Marketing Division as Executive Vice President of KYOCERA Document Solutions Europe.

In Spain and throughout Europe, Mr. Sanchez is known to challenge the status quo, to continuously search for opportunities to innovate, and to deliver exceptional results in major strategic initiatives. Oscar is a dynamic individual, said Mr. Ikeda. I look forward to working with him to build on the success weve had in the Americas.

In the last 2 years, Mr. Ikeda presided over major advancements, most notably the acquisition of DataBank IMX, North Americas leading end-to-end business process solutions provider. Ikeda invested heavily in support of the companys independent dealer partners, rolling out the industrys most advanced dealer portal, and dramatically increasing dealer adoption of KYOCERA Fleet Services, the companys remote monitoring service. Usage in the U.S. has outpaced the rest of the world by a wide margin.

Mr. Sanchez understands that the road ahead is not fully paved. The Americas represent a number of rapidly expanding and rapidly changing markets, including the U.S., the worlds biggest market. Success in the years ahead will only result from further accelerating the pace of innovation.

At each stage of my career, Ive embraced the next challenge, said Sanchez. The Americas are our companys biggest market, and therefore both our biggest challenge and biggest opportunity. The expectation is to do great things. Thats exactly what I plan to do.

ABOUT KYOCERA DOCUMENT SOLUTIONS AMERICA

KYOCERA Document Solutions America, Inc. (https://usa.kyoceradocumentsolutions.com), headquartered in Fairfield, N.J., is a leading provider of computer-connectable document imaging and document management systems, including network-ready digital MFPs/printers, laser printers, color MFPs/printers, digital laser facsimiles, and multifunctional and wide format imaging solutions. KYOCERA Document Solutions America is a group company of KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc., a core company of the KYOCERA Corporation, the world's leading developer and manufacturer of advanced ceramics and associated products, including telecommunications equipment, semiconductor packages and electronic components.

KYOCERA Document Solutions America, the first document solutions company with third-party certified sales data, has received numerous honors for its products high performance, reliability, and cost efficiency. KYOCERA Corporation's consolidated net revenues were in excess of $14 billion for the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2018.
RMIT University, a top-ranked global university, today announced the launch of a new initiative to provide students with blockchain-enabled digital credentials. In partnership with leading digital credentialing platform, Credly, the initiative will give students the option to seamlessly publish data about earned skills and capabilities to blockchain, in addition to sharing through social networks, including LinkedIn.

RMIT is an innovator, and with this initiative were exploring the latest application of this technology as part of our commitment to enhancing our students experience, said Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education and Vice-President, Professor Belinda Tynan.

Its yet another way that we are working with industry to demonstrate we are providing real world benefits and meaningful student outcomes, she added.

The partnership illustrates early, and significant, applications of blockchain technology which extends to working alongside like-minded global organisations from diverse industry sectors in order to gain valuable insights around issuing, publishing and tracking digital credentials added to the blockchain.

RMIT is at the forefront of helping both students and employers leverage the potential of blockchain to fill long-standing skill and communications gaps. Our collaboration will provide students with the tools to better communicate industry-relevant skills and experiences into economic and life opportunities, said Tynan.

With global blockchain investment expected to exceed $2 billion, and related job postings set to triple this year, this latest move comes just months after RMITs launch of its Blockchain strategy short course, in what was an Australian first.

Through the partnership with Credly, RMIT will offer blockchain-enabled credentials to students who complete the Developing Blockchain Strategy course, as well as a selection of industry-relevant digital credentials from its new RMIT Creds portfolio including the popular Global Leader Experience program.

Originally designed to enable the exchange of digital currencies, blockchain is emerging across industry sectors including finance, manufacturing and health, allowing data to be authenticated, shared and distributed but not altered. Credentials published to a blockchain provide enhanced, independent verification of the credentials authenticity and accuracy--helping organisations to future-proof the credentials they issue.

Blockchain aligns with principles that have informed Credlys work from the very beginning: user ownership, choice, portability, security, and independent verification, said Jonathan Finkelstein, founder and CEO of Credly. This collaboration with a pioneering global partner provides an opportunity to test and refine the application of blockchain in unlocking the full potential for individuals -- and organisations -- to communicate and discover skills and competencies.

RMIT will begin issuing blockchain-enabled credentials in late August, 2018.

For general media enquiries: Karen Phelan (03) 9925 3987 or 0420 557 114 or karen.phelan@rmit.edu.au

For interviews: Deputy-Vice Chancellor and Vice-President Professor Belinda Tynan and CEO and founder of Credly, Jonathan Finkelstein (contact Karen Phelan at the details above)

About RMIT University

RMIT is a global university of technology, design and enterprise in which teaching, research and engagement are central to making an impact and creating life-changing experiences for our students.

Founded in 1887, RMIT is a multi-sector university with more than 87,000* students and 11,000 staff globally. The University enjoys an international reputation for excellence in professional and vocational education, applied and innovative research, and engagement with industry and the community.

RMIT offers postgraduate, undergraduate, VE and online programs, offering students work-relevant pathways between vocational and higher education qualifications. A range of scholarships are available to support education and research.

With three campuses and two sites in Australia, two campuses in Vietnam and a research and industry collaboration centre in Barcelona, Spain, RMIT is a truly global university. RMIT also offers programs through partners in Singapore, Hong Kong, mainland China and Indonesia, and has research and industry partnerships on every continent. RMIT is ranked in the worlds top 500 in every major ranking schema.

RMIT is ranked 250th in the 2018/19 QS World University Rankings and is ranked 15th in Australia. In the latest QS Top 50 Under 50 index, RMIT is 21st in the world among universities less than 50 years old.

RMIT is 11th in the world (highest ranked in Australia) in Art and Design, and 26th in the world (fourth highest in Australia) in Architecture and the Built Environment. We are among the worlds top 100 universities in Business and Management; Communication and Media; Computer Science and Information; Development Studies; Education and Training; Engineering (Civil and Structural); and Engineering (Electrical and Electronic), based on 2017/18 QS World University Rankings by Subject.



All enrolments including Foundation Studies and Open Universities Australia

rmit.edu.au

About Credly

Credly is a leading digital credential provider, helping the world recognize lifelong achievement with the most popular platforms for verifying, sharing, and managing digital credentials and badges. The enterprise-class system allows organizations to officially verify skills and competencies; distribute portable and secure digital credentials and open badges; and gain actionable data and insights. Thousands of education institutions, industry associations, employers and workforce development programs use Credly to make achievements visible. https://credly.com.
Ruffalo Noel Levitz (RNL), leading provider of higher education enrollment management, student success, and fundraising solutions, has recognized nine colleges and universities for their innovations, strategies, and results in recruiting college students, strengthening student retention and success, and increasing alumni engagement and fundraisingthe three pillars of the college lifecycle.

Three institutions received Marketing and Recruitment Excellence Awards

The Peter S. Bryant Marketing & Recruitment Excellence Awards recognize programs that have made an impact on campus enrollment. A panel of RNL experts evaluated nominees on criteria related to student awareness, inquiry, application, admission, deposit, and enrollment.



Barry University of Miami Shores, Florida, created new recruitment strategies that led to a 69 percent increase in freshman enrollment and a 98 percent increase in applications.

Weber State University in Utah implemented a strategic enrollment plan that produced a 57 percent increase in out-of-state enrollments as well as in-state enrollment gains.

Bates Technical College of Tacoma, Washington, produced double-digit gains in first-time enrollment in a highly competitive market for community and technical colleges.

Four campuses honored with Retention Excellence Awards

The Lee Noel-Randi Levitz Retention Excellence Awards Program was established in 1989 to recognize the most successful, state-of-the-art retention programs in use at many kinds of institutions. Winners were selected by a national panel comprised of leading retention practitioners.

Palo Alto College of the Alamo Colleges District in California was honored for increasing its first-to-second year persistence by more than 7 percentage points while serving a population of many first-generation, low-income students.

Augustana University of South Dakota raised fall-to-fall freshman retention from 80.7 percent to 86.2 percent in three years through a variety of measures.

Saint Louis Universitys Retention and Student Success Council not only increased retention and graduation rates to all-time institutional highs, its increase in graduation rates helped reduce average student loan debts by $5,600.

The University of Utah created a Student Success Advocates program that resulted in 29,000 interactions between university students and the SSA staff reaching out to them across multiple channels.

Two universities received inaugural Fundraising Innovation Awards

RNL also chose two institutions for its first-annual Fundraising Innovation Awards, created to recognize higher education fundraising programs that make an impact on annual giving, alumni affinity, and advancement. Institutions were chosen by a panel of RNL fundraising experts.

The Montana State University Alumni Foundation achieved a 15 percent growth in donor counts and 29 percent increase in revenue for its annual fund in the 2018 fiscal year.

The University of Connecticut Foundation received an award for a number of strategic enhancements, particularly its use of alumni engagement scoring and automated marketing.

In an increasingly competitive and difficult environment, colleges and universities must continuously innovate to shape their enrollments, maximize student outcomes, and amplify their fundraising results, said Brett Frazier, chief customer officer at Ruffalo Noel Levitz. These nine colleges and universities illustrate the way forward in these critical areas and follow the data-driven strategic approach RNL recommends for all institutions.

For more information, visit RuffaloNL.com.

About Ruffalo Noel Levitz

Ruffalo Noel Levitz is the leading provider of higher education enrollment, student success, and fundraising solutions. The firm serves more than 1,900 colleges and universities through data-driven solutions focused on the entire lifecycle of enrollment and fundraising, assuring students find the right program, graduate on time, secure their first job in their chosen field, and give back to support the next generation. With a deep knowledge of the industry, Ruffalo Noel Levitz provides institutions the ability to scale their efforts by tapping into a community of support and resources.
Massachusetts is moving to enact legislation to protect abortion rights in the wake of Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court.

Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, told reporters Monday that he plans to sign a bill passed by the state legislature last week that would repeal several archaic state laws, including a prohibition on abortion, which technically has been criminalized in the state since the mid-19th century.

But abortion is already legal in Massachusetts thanks to Roe v. Wade, which upholds a woman's right to have an abortion nationwide, and a 1981 Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling that also upheld the right, citing the Roe decision. If Roe were to be overturned or struck down, legal challenges to the Massachusetts Supreme Court decision could default the state's abortion law to the centuries-old law outlawing the practice in the Bay State.

Progressives and abortion rights activists fear Kavanaugh's confirmation could imperil Roe. Although Kavanaugh has not expressed outright opposition to the 1973 ruling, President Donald Trump has pledged to place anti-abortion rights justices on the Supreme Court, and retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy was a key swing vote in a pivotal 1992 case that upheld the landmark ruling.

The bill, which would also repeal other archaic laws that punish adultery and fornication, is dubbed the "NASTY Women Act", named after Trump's 2016 remark to opponent Hillary Clinton. According to Massachusetts Senate President Harriette Chandler, lawmakers in Massachusetts have wanted to pass similar legislation for six years, but the bill's quick passage was due to Kennedy's retirement.

"I think people are beginning to realize these are strange times we live in. Nothing is impossible, and we've got to have a 'Plan B.' If these laws are enforced, what do we do?" Chandler told Time magazine. "We're not willing to sit back and say, 'Well, it's not going to happen here.' The word for that is denial."

Several states have moved to strengthen abortion rights in recent years. In 2014, Vermont repealed its abortion ban and Delaware followed suit in 2017. Should Baker sign the Massachusetts legislation, nine states would still have pre-Roe abortion bans on the books, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion research group.

In the wake of Kennedy's retirement, other officials in progressive-leaning states have called for the protection of abortion rights.

"I think we've been a little bit lazy on that front until now, because we thought, well, there's a federal constitutional right, what do we need state statutes for," New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood said in remarks made before the New York Citizens Budget earlier this month, adding that it was urgent that states like New York pass statutes protecting the rights afforded by Roe.

Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, a Democrat, similarly announced earlier this month that she would like the state legislature to return for a special session revisiting abortion rights, saying it is "more urgent and necessary than ever."
Serisys Solutions Thailand (Serisys) today announced that SCB Securities Co., Ltd. (SCBS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Siam Commercial Bank Plc., and one of Thailands leading securities firms, has renewed Thai DECIDE service for a further five years to provide DMA, care order processing, and algorithmic trading to its domestic and international institutional customers.

Thai DECIDE is a state-of-the-art trading platform, co-located at the SET Data Center, which supports retail and institutional trading on both the SET and TFEX exchanges.

Named Best Prime Broker in Thailand in 2016 and 2017 by Triple A Asset Asian Awards, Best Brokerage House in Thailand 2017 by Triple A Country Awards, and Best Domestic Equity House in Thailand 2016 by Asiamoney Awards, SCBS was established in 1995 and quickly became one of Thailand's leading securities companies providing financial products and services to both institutional and retail investors in the capital markets.

Ms. Boontip Kritchaikul, Managing Director Head of Equities of SCB Securities, commented: As part of SCBs digital transformation strategy, we are exploiting the power of Thai DECIDE to provide advanced trading services to our institutional customers. In the next phase of our transformation, we will be offering enhanced trading services to our retail customers. These moves will help SCBS reach its goal of becoming Thailands Most Admired Broker.

Thai DECIDE gives brokers a competitive edge through its world class features, functionality, and performance. We offer the most complete digital trading solution in Thailand today said Thibaud Langlet, Director of Serisys for South East Asia.

About Serisys

Serisys is a subsidiary of Serisys Group Limited, a financial technology provider to the capital markets headquartered in Hong Kong. Serisys provides Thai DECIDE trading software from its servers co-located at the SET Data Center and provides ADYPT pre- and post-trade software from a Thai-based private cloud.
We realized that many veterans and active military members are looking for new skills and certifications, and we wanted to provide them with a discount on their training.

In honor of Independence Day and as a way to thank the men and women who serve in the United States Military, School of PE recently announced it will begin offering a military discount on its engineering exam review courses.

School of PE provides Fundamentals of Engineering (FE), Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE), Structural Engineering (SE) and surveying review courses to help individuals prepare for licensure exams.

School of PEs military discount provides $100 off engineering and surveying exam review courses to members and veterans of the United States Military. This discount is also extended to immediate family members of veterans and those who are currently serving in the U.S. Military.

Chris Miller, School of PEs program director, explained that School of PE has had many members of the military take their review courses in the past.

We realized that many veterans and active military members are looking for new skills and certifications, and we wanted to provide them with a discount on their training, said Miller. We are happy to offer a discount to the men and women who serve our nation.

According to Miller, obtaining an engineering license helps individuals to better integrate into the civilian workforce after they are no longer actively serving in the military.

Even individuals who are actively serving can participate in review courses. With School of PEs online courses, students can prepare for the exam anytime and anywhere. For more information regarding School of PEs exam review courses, visit http://www.schoolofpe.com/.

School of PE is a division of EduMind. EduMind strives to provide lifelong learning opportunities through exam preparation and continuing education.
Small Business Expo (SBE), the nations largest small business networking and educational event in the country, today announced that it is now accepting entries for its inaugural Best of Small Business Awards, which celebrate the top small to mid-sized businesses and leaders in the United States. With finalists and winners being announced in December 2018, the awards are a powerful opportunity for entrants to demonstrate their business acumen, celebrate their industry success and promote their teams on a national stage.

Across 27 different categories, the Best of Small Business Awards recognizes the contributions companies, their teams and affiliates are making to the burgeoning small business landscape in the U.S.

Awards include:



The SBE 100  Honors the top 100 small to mid-sized businesses in the U.S. and celebrates their growth and accomplishments over the previous year.

Small Business of the Year  Recognizes the many achievements of a small business that demonstrate exceptional growth in the marketplace, diversity, customer service, leadership, a positive workplace environment and a profitable business model.

Start-Up of the Year  Celebrates the most innovative and promising start-up in the U.S. that demonstrates the greatest potential to transform from a start-up to a company with explosive growth.

CEO of the Year  Awarded to a true leader who demonstrates clear vision, judgement and empowerment skills that drive his/her business to enormous success and growth.

Young Entrepreneur of the Year  Recognizes and inspirational and successful individual who is under 40 years old, who doesnt just dream about starting a business but actually executes and turns those dreams into successful business realities.

The regular deadline for award entries in 11:59pm EST on September 7, 2018, with an extended deadline of 11:59pm EST on October 5 for late applications. Public voting on all entries will run from October 6 to November 30, during which period anyone visiting the awards website will have the opportunity to review each application and cast their vote for the most deserving submissions. Finalists will be informed via email on December 1st and the winners will be announced on December 18.

Small to mid-sized businesses make up 99% of the nations businesses and they make a huge contribution to the continued growth of our economy, said Zach Lezberg, Owner, Small Business Expo. We founded this awards series to recognize the incredible success these firms are seeing  businesses that make up the backbone of the U.S. economy. Winners of the Best of Small Business Awards will not only gain recognition as one of the top small businesses in the country but will also be able to demonstrate their companys achievements and further boost their success.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, in 2016 there were more than 28.8 million small businesses in the United States, accounting for 99.7% of all of the countrys business. The SBE was founded in 2008 to provide valuable insights and tools to entrepreneurs and business professionals that are trying to build a company from the ground up. The group recently announced record growth for the SBEs shows in the first half of 2018, with key cities including New York City, Philadelphia and Dallas seeing significant increases in both exhibitor and attendee registration.

About Small Business Expo

Small Business Expo is the nations largest small business networking and educational event in the Country. From 2015-2017 it was ranked as an Inc. 5000 company as the fastest-growing privately held business. Every year, over 100,000 small business professionals and entrepreneurs across the Country register for Small Business Expo to take their business to the next level. The shows owner, Film, Stage & ShowBiz Expo LLC. was founded in 2008 by Zachary Lezberg. For more information, visit thesmallbusinessexpo.com.

Contact:

Kite Hill PR for Small Business Expo

Kayla Engebretsen

Kayla(at)kitehillpr.com
The U.S. Ambassador to Romania, Ambassador Hans Klemm, was one of many prestigious speakers at the 2017 Symposium in Romania. We expect to have a lot of uniforms from the NATO and EU in attendance at this landmark Symposium. - Stu Bradin, GSF President

The third Global SOF Symposium - Europe will focus on the European, North African, and Latin American special operations communities and the shared issues they face. Madrid, Spain, is the ideal location for this event, with its proximity to North Africa and many cultural and historical ties to Latin America.

The Symposium is hosted by the Global Special Operations Forces (SOF) Foundation, the only professional association for the international SOF community. This non-profit organization has partnered with the Spanish Ministry of Defense to execute this three-day opportunity, which features high-level speakers, networking opportunities, and an expo space for industry participation.

On September 26-27, the Symposium agenda features influential confirmed speakers, to include the Spanish special operations commander, the EUs Chairman for the Military Committee, and the Commander of the NATO SOF Headquarters. Other speakers range from CNNs Peter Bergen, the Global SOF Foundation Chairman of the Board, to Jeff Newton, a Senior Producer at National Geographic. These speakers will address a variety of topics such as, Illicit Networks Spanning Ibero-America, North Africa and Europe and, The Future of War and the Role of SOF.

The Global SOF Foundation is a networking organization; ample time is built into the schedule to allow attendees to discuss the presentations, make introductions, and peruse the Exhibit Hall. Networking events at this Symposium will bring many new faces together. On the 25th, the European Union and NATO SOF representatives will host a joint government-only meeting in the symposium spaces, which will lend to a high level of government attendance. Additionally, NATO Parliamentarians are scheduled to participate on the final day.

This is a unique opportunity to meet directly with policymakers from many NATO nations. The Symposium has confirmed representatives attending from Belgium, Chile, Colombia, France, Italy, Libya, The Netherlands, Senegal, Spain, and the United States.

This Symposium will take place at the largest conference hotel in Europe--the Madrid Marriott Auditorium. Conveniently located near the airport, this venue allows for a large exhibit hall. Defense companies with capabilities relevant to European SOF will have the opportunity to purchase exhibit space or sponsorship opportunities, all of which are detailed on the event website.

Dont miss this rare opportunity to join the global SOF community in Madrid, Spain, from September 25-27, 2018. Register at https://www.globalsofsymposium.org/madrid.

The Global Special Operations Forces (SOF) Foundation (GSF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that aims to build and grow an international network of military, government, commercial, and educational stakeholders in order to advance SOF capabilities and partnerships to confront global and networked threats.
We believe wine was made for food, and Chef Cavazos was the catalyst to fulfill a longstanding promise to our clients and friends. Chef brings a lightness to an environment already built on fun, and a craft that can only be attributed to his dedication and passion for cooking. - MacCartee

Tank18, located in the heart of San Franciscos SOMA neighborhood, is officially accepting reservations for their new seated dinner service starting Friday July 19th. Founders Patrick MacCartee and Cherlyn Chin expand their ever-present hospitality with a logical addition to their already popular wine program and event productions  a full kitchen complemented by craft cocktails and house-brewed beers.

At launch, dinner service will run Thursday to Sunday, from 5:30pm until 11:30pm. MacCartee has tapped local chef Brandon Cavazos to prepare a menu artfully referenced as the intersection of Japanese technique, Italian heart, and American pantry. Cavazos finds inspiration from family nostalgia for dishes that are grounded in soul and crafted by 12 years of culinary experience.

Dishes include Sea Salt and Vinegar Fries with Tahini Sauce, Fried Chicken with Chili Sauce, a Grilled Romaine Salad with Romano Beans and Parmesan, their Impossible Burger with King Trumpet Slaw, and Skirt Steak with Farro Verde, Roasted Summer Squash, Grilled Torpedo Onion and Salsa Verde. The menu encourages collaborative eating, with ample large format tables also fostering a communal aspect to the dining room. A semi-private dining space claims the front street views, allowing room for a 14-person seated service or 30 person standing reception.

The restaurants design is pulled from the menu concept, marrying Japanese craft and the warmth of an Italian home. Custom tables were inspired by artist Sam Strand and utilize sleek black and natural wood, playing off positive and negative spacing and the straightforwardness of any kitchens centerpiece  the butcherblock. Other structural additions include a full kitchen and an improved back bar displaying the same stripped color palate and clean lines, complete with draft beer and cocktail capabilities.

An event space perfect for intimate groups and large gatherings, the Howard Street warehouse atmosphere reflects the boisterous and convivial Tank18 team and boasts over 6,000 square feet of modular space, making it one of the largest urban winery destinations for those seeking an in-city experience. The interior uses lush trees to integrate private dining, restaurant seating, lounge, and bar top tasting service, making for a welcoming and shared experience. The Dore Alley wall features a mural by local artist Nathan Elliot.

The Tank18 team will to continue to provide unique amenities and experiences such as custom designed wine labels and their wildly popular BYOB once-a-month event.

Location:

1345 Howard St., San Francisco, CA 94103

Prices:

Appetizers: $6-$24

Entrees: $16-26

Wine: Glass: $8  $13, Bottles: $32 - $52, Bottles to go: $16  $26

Beer: $4-6

Cocktails: $8-$16

Full menu can be found at: http://www.tank18.com

Reservations are available via OpenTable: https://www.opentable.com/r/tank18-san-francisco

Photos: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/kg5hqjtvm94l8f6/AADfO56GXTlPhmvUwR6u28Q5a?dl=0

Hours:

5:30pm  10:30pm Thursday and Sunday. 5:30pm-11:30pm Friday and Saturday.

Open for special events year round.

About Tank18

Tank18 is an urban winery located in San Franciscos SOMA district that opened its doors in January 2013. Part winery, tasting room, event venue, and restaurant, Tank18 delivers a unique offering to the neighborhood and the San Francisco wine and food scene. Founders Patrick MacCartee and Cheryln Chin proudly describe their space as a reflection of themselves  big, loud, and full of alcohol. The concept of Tank18 began over a very long lunch in the winter of 2011 at Duartes in Pescadero, CA, when a group of tech heads from the Bay Area decided what they were doing at that very moment was the life experience they wanted: wine, food, and fun.

http://www.tank18.com

About Puccini Group

Puccini Group has been creating inspired concepts, interior designs, and brand identities for the worlds leading hospitality brands since Bob Puccini founded the firm in 1996. Puccini Groups client roster includes the Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, InterContinental, Hilton, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Starwood, St. Regis, and more. Puccini Group's multi-studio specializations include Concepts, Interior Design, Marketing, Branding, and Operations, which together results in a holistic approach to successful hospitality experiences in projects both within its home state of California, and internationally. http://www.puccinigroup.com
Digitizing this antiquated manual system used by millions of commercial drivers gives more visibility to the drivers of fleets that are performing their responsibilities effectively, " said Mike Cook, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Product, at TENNA.

TENNA, the technology company that empowers construction companies to find more value across their inventory of equipment, vehicles and physical assets, today announced it has launched its new Driver Vehicle Inspection Report (DVIR) solution for the Android platform. Now available for millions of commercial vehicle drivers, TENNAs solution eliminates the daily manual chore of filling in DVIR forms by hand as part of pre-or post-trip inspection requirements mandated for compliance by the Federal government.

A DVIR needs to be completed by drivers for any commercial vehicle they operate, as specified by Federal Law.

Digitizing this antiquated manual system used by millions of commercial drivers gives more visibility to the drivers of fleets that are performing their responsibilities effectively, while enhancing their performance and reducing the time and effort required to perform these daily routine monitoring tasks, said Mike Cook, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Product, at TENNA.

DVIRs, commonly used in asset management, are supported by the latest technology used to optimize vehicle performance with digital maintenance reports. Drivers can complete and submit daily DVIRs via their smartphone. The mobile device electronically details pre-trip and post-trip inspections, sends digital reports directly to fleet managers and stores reports for audits and record keeping. As mandated logs from the Department of Transportation (DOT), DVIRs are important for companies to identify vehicle operation and safety issues in real time. Now they can be submitted digitally and therefore faster, without wasting paper.

DVIRs are completed electronically using TENNAs mobile app scanned through TENNAs proprietary software codes. The report fields include mandatory inspection areas that force drivers to physically inspect the vehicle and generate a thorough and accurate report using QR codes placed around the vehicle, rather than just 'pencil whipping' the form and submitting an incomplete record. Drivers dont have to hand-write forms, and fleet operators can simply identify each driver with a QR code on their badge.

Non-commercial vehicles that are not regularly inspected by the DOT can apply TENNAs DVIR system as well. This is beneficial because it identifies which driver is operating the vehicle. While these vehicles may not require regular inspection reports by law, owners can benefit from the inspection results to optimize their vehicle health and keep drivers operating safely and efficiently. These benefits have positive long-term cost and productivity impacts.

Benefits of Implementing a DVIR Solution

Digital DVIRs for commercial vehicle operators are a long overdue and much needed necessity. The technology is now here to automate the hand-written documentation process and turn it paperless. Advantages of TENNAs solution include:



Faster inspections Digitize quicker, eliminating the manual process of completing forms on paper and the risk of losing or damaging a hard copy record. No special hardware or inspection tools are required; drivers simply install the app on their mobile device and complete the electronic form. QR codes are scanned for the visual inspection, and the report signed off with a digital signature.

Better accuracy - Both drivers and back-office teams need to be able to read the DVIR; drivers to complete and sign off on the last report and back office to review, pass on to maintenance when necessary and file. Digital reports minimize errors that occur with handwritten reports and manual filing and decrease the risks of incomplete reports with missing information.

Easier reporting - The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requires that at least three months of DVIRs be available on request for reviews and audits. With the FMCSA putting more effort into reviewing safety related issues, all fleets should be well-prepared for a review with complete digital records.

Quicker turnaround on repairs - Defect reports are instantly routed to the service department for attention and repair. This is imperative for safety-related faults to minimize downtime.

Its not just about replacing one system with another - its about taking advantage of recent technology advancements to stay competitive and keep drivers safe in a rapidly changing industry. The DVIR system also helps with process and visibility.

TENNAs DVIR system is currently being tested for the Apple iOS platform and is scheduled to be available shortly. The DVIR module is offered as a premium fleet tracking functionality on an annual subscription basis. Unlike other providers, TENNA offers DVIR both as a standalone feature, or as part of a driver compliance package with an Electronic Logging Device (ELD). Interested parties may visit TENNA website, email support@tenna.comor call (833) 50-TENNA.

About TENNA

TENNA, http://www.tenna.com, is an Internet of Things (IoT) technology company that helps industrial organizations find more value from their current equipment and physical assets. TENNA delivers comprehensive industrial asset tracking and analytics to clients in construction, equipment rental, logistics, transportation and utilities who seek to control and optimize their business. Clients rely on TENNA solutions to track and manage inventories of critical equipment, vehicles and materials and gain increased control and maximum efficiency of their physical assets. Follow us on Twitter. Join the discussion on the TENNA blog and connect with TENNA on LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.
Attending members of the Surety Alliance Working with a peer group of like-minded professional entrepreneur surety brokers from around the United States and the world provides an excellent platform to support surety programs for multinational businesses.

Alliance members, including Americas leading provider of surety bonds, Nielson, Hoover & Company, and its President, David Hoover, came together from around the world to take part in discussions focused on the impact of geopolitical developments on the surety world. The first days meetings were dedicated to conversations about international surety success stories experienced by each of the members in attendance. No matter the distance between the SA members, many of our issues are the same. How we approach the issues may differ, yet we all can learn from one another. As a result, we become more valuable to our own businesses and our clients needs, said David Hoover. The second days morning session was kicked-off by keynote speaker, Sean McGroarty, the Global Head of Bonding from Euler Hermes headquartered in Paris, France, with the afternoon session continuing with more industry reviews, analysis and success stories. The day ended with a presentation from one of the Surety Alliances most important partners, Zurich Insurance. After the sessions ended, Hoover went on to say, Working with a peer group of like-minded professional entrepreneur surety brokers from around the United States and the world provides an excellent platform to support surety programs for multinational businesses.

The 3-day event concluded with a taste of Italy, as members attended a guided tour of Museo del Vino di Barolo, the prestigious Wine Museum located in the well-known historical town of Barolo. After lunch, members visited the Antiche Cantine dei Marchesi di Barolo, Ancient Cellars of the Marquis of Barolo. This was the perfect way to end the conference by sharing a little Italian culture, while at the same time, helping their economic development along the way.

About Nielson, Hoover & Company, Inc.

Nielson, Hoover & Company is Americas number one provider of surety bonds. They bond more projects than any other agency. Throughout the years, NHC has developed a deep understanding of the surety industry. This knowledge allows them to provide superior services and comprehensive solutions to maximize your bonding capacity with the best terms and conditions. They have the capacity and experience it takes to support the largest national contractors and the hometown knowledge and personal service to ensure mid and small size contractors receive the same attention and expertise. NHC does business with over fifty sureties which ensures you will be matched with the surety that is best for your particular need. As your needs change, they have the market that will best match your changing needs. Whether you are out growing your existing relationship, or have gone through some difficult times, they can help you.

Nielson, Hoover & Company is the largest independent surety agency in the South East with offices in Miami, Palm Beach, Orlando, Tampa, Pensacola, Atlanta, Savannah, Charlotte, and Asheville. They have an extensive network of more than 20 experienced surety bond specialists. Their producers average over 20 years each in the industry with their customer service representatives averaging nearly 15 years.

To learn more about how Nielson, Hoover & Company can help you obtain the best rates and most favorable terms and conditions, please visit nielsonbonds.com or call 305.722.2663.

About The Surety Alliance

The Surety Alliance is an exclusive peer group of professional construction and commercial surety brokerages located in major money centers throughout the United States, Canada, South America and Europe. Its members are committed to pooling their knowledge and strengths among fellow members with a singular objective of providing unsurpassed service and depth of resources to clients.

SA members are sophisticated regional surety firms, widely respected and recognized as having a deep knowledge of the surety industry, and are dedicated to the maintenance of professional standards that earn them the respect of clients and surety carriers alike.

Best of breed construction firms now have a choice that moves beyond the traditional large brokerage houses. These multi-national firms have office locations around the world, but dots on a map do not equate to talent, value, or exceptional service.

The Surety Alliance provides you with talented, resourceful, entrepreneurial firms and individuals around the world. Every Surety Alliance location provides your firm with access to the very best surety professionals in that geographic region.

To learn more about how Surety Alliance, please visit thesuretyalliance.com
WHAT:

The 2nd Billington Automotive Cybersecurity summit will bring together senior decision-makers from U.S. and allied governments, academia and industry experts to address solutions to secure todays connected and tomorrows autonomous vehicles from cyber-attacks.

Michael Chertoff, executive chairman and co-founder of The Chertoff Group and former secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, will deliver the opening keynote and participate in an interactive Q&A. During his keynote, Secretary Chertoff will discuss cybersecurity challenges in the age of connected and autonomous cars while revealing insights from his latest book, Exploding Data: Reclaiming Our Cybersecurity in the Digital Age.

WHERE:

2nd Billington Automotive Cybersecurity Summit

Cobo Center

1 Washington Blvd

Detroit, MI 48226

WHEN:

Keynote: Reclaiming our Cybersecurity in the Digital Age

Date: August 3, 2018

Time: 8:05 a.m.  8:35 a.m. EST

For more information about the 2nd Billington Automotive Cybersecurity Summit and to register, visit: https://www.billingtoncybersecurity.com/2nd-billington-automotive-cybersecurity-summit/

About The Chertoff Group

The Chertoff Group is a global advisory services firm that applies security expertise, technology insights and policy intelligence to help clients build resilient organizations, gain competitive advantage and accelerate growth. Through its investment banking subsidiary Chertoff Capital, the firm provides M&A advisory services in global security markets and growth equity investments in cyber and tech-enabled security companies. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., The Chertoff Group maintains offices in Menlo Park, Calif. and New York, N.Y. For more information, visit http://www.chertoffgroup.com.
FirstNet Certified Push-to-Talk

ESChat (Enterprise Secure Chat) today announced its selection by the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System (LA-RICS) to continue testing secure Push-to-Talk over Broadband service with its member agencies, including the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the Los Angeles County Fire Department. This expanded testing will include providing ESChat capabilities for up to 1,000 broadband users, plus interoperability with the Countys traditional Land Mobile Radio (LMR) networks by use of radio gateways previously purchased by LA-RICS. ESChat will add advanced LMR interoperability with the LA-RICS network via the P25 Inter RF Subsystem System Interface (ISSI).

Los Angeles County public safety agencies continue testing Push to Talk over Broadband technology as part of the LA-RICS Public Safety Broadband Network (PSBN) early builder initiative. ESChat was evaluated during the Tournament of Roses Parade and West Hollywood Halloween Carnival events of 2016, 2017 & 2018. ESChat was used on ultra-rugged Android devices by Sonim Technologies and operating over the LA-RICS dedicated Band 14 LTE spectrum, as well as iOS devices on the commercial Verizon and AT&T networks. Using ESChat, public safety professionals were able to securely communicate with each other, and also with users on the countys LMR networks.

The LA-RICS Band 14 LTE network has recently been integrated with FirstNet, which is operated by AT&T. FirstNet is a Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN) that is dedicated for use by public safety. FirstNet uses a public safety dedicated LTE core and provides first responders with enhanced Quality of Service (QoS), as well as radio access network (RAN) Priority and Preemption, ensuring subscribers access to the LTE network with sufficient bandwidth for Push-to-Talk communication during times of high network congestion, such as a law enforcement emergency, a natural disaster or large public event.

ESChat is a FirstNet Certified Push-to-Talk solution that is offered exclusively for use by military, public safety and enterprise business users. The ESChat base feature set includes secure push-to-talk voice, multimedia messaging (text and images), plus live and historical (bread crumb) location tracking and mapping. All ESChat communications are encrypted using AES-256 to ensure voice and message privacy.

Public safety personnel utilizing the LA-RICS network using ESChat will be operating over FirstNet and Verizon Wireless, who has also committed to launching a dedicated LTE core for public safety. One of ESChats benefits is its native ability to provide secure communications across these dedicated public safety networks.

The ESChat product suite supports Android and iOS smartphone devices and personal computers. ESChat is available as a monthly service when hosted on the Amazon AWS Commercial or GovCloud platforms. ESChat servers can optionally be hosted by the end customer where required.

About ESChat:

ESChat (http://www.eschat.com) is the leading solution for carrier independent Secure Push-to-Talk (PTT) over LTE communications. ESChat includes AES-256 encrypted PTT voice and multimedia (text and image) messaging. ESChat also provides live and historical (bread crumb) tracking and mapping. Currently used by the U.S. Military as well as Federal, State and Local law enforcement, ESChat is able to operate over and across any wireless network, including all commercial carriers, private 3G/4G networks and WiFi. ESChat supports interoperability with all LMR radio networks, including P25 via the native Inter RF Subsystem Interface (ISSI) protocol and DMR via the native Inter Application Interface Specification (AIS) protocol.

About LA-RICS:

LA-RICS (http://www.la-rics.org) is a Joint Powers Authority formed and operated by the County of Los Angeles and 23 municipalities in Los Angeles County. It is a network of 74 fixed and mobile transmission towers that allow data such as video, photos, maps and medical data to be shared by first responders, emergency services personnel and hospitals in Los Angeles County. Construction continues on the LMR portion of the system that will include 61 communications sites across Los Angeles County. It will replace an aging system, significantly improving interoperable communication between agencies during large-scale emergencies.

Additional Information can be found at http://www.eschat.com/
The Reverend Dr. Michael W. Waters

Flyaway Books is proud to announce their partnership with the Muhammad Ali Center on a powerful upcoming childrens book called For Beautiful Black Boys Who Believe in a Better World by pastor, scholar, and activist Rev. Dr. Michael W. Waters.

The book, which celebrates African American boys and focuses on the importance of working together to create a better world, will tell the story of a young black boy named Jeremiah, who is exposed to gun violence both personally and through the media. As Jeremiah reflects on the stories of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, the Charleston Nine, the five Dallas police officers, and other victims of gun violence, he discovers that he can help improve our world by participating in hopeful forms of activism and advocacy. The Muhammad Ali Center will provide educational material for the book around the topic of anti-racism.

The moment we saw Dr. Waters manuscript we knew that it would fit with our mission at Flyaway Booksto create books for children that celebrate diversity and encourage compassion, said David Dobson, Associate Publisher. And we immediately thought that our Louisville neighbors at the Ali Center could help us spread this message even further. Their contribution in the form of educational material for teachers and parents will help this book find its way into classrooms and living rooms, encouraging dialogue and helping children understand that they can create a better world and, even more important, that they have the ability to do so.

The opportunity to collaborate with Flyaway Books and Reverend Dr. Michael Waters is in direct correlation with our mission of promoting respect, hope, and understanding, said Muhammad Ali Center President and CEO, Donald Lassere. Muhammad Ali, who experienced racism and social and civil injustices during his early life, believed in a better world for all people. By conquering adversities and through hard work, Muhammad succeeded in his career and in life. Our goal in creating the educational material to accompany this new book will be in line with what Muhammad wanted from the Ali Center; to be the place that helped othersespecially young peopleachieve greatness.

Across the globe, the name Muhammad Ali bespeaks brilliance, fearlessness, integrity, and an unwavering commitment towards championing the common good, said Rev. Dr. Michael W. Waters. That For Beautiful Black Boys Who Believe in a Better World will bear Alis name is a humbling gift and a tremendous affirmation because of the courageous life that he lived. It will provide a unique opportunity to reach young people across the globe and encourage them to embrace their own brilliance, fearlessness, and integrity, and, in so doing, create a better world.

For Beautiful Black Boys Who Believe in a Better World is currently scheduled to release in late 2019.

About the Muhammad Ali Center

The Muhammad Ali Center, a 501(c)3 corporation, was co-founded by Muhammad Ali and his wife Lonnie in their hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. The international cultural center promotes the Six Core Principles of Muhammad Ali (Confidence, Conviction, Dedication, Giving, Respect, and Spirituality) in ways that inspire personal and global greatness and provides programming and events around the focus areas of education, gender equity, and global citizenship. Its newest initiative, Generation Ali, fosters a new generation of leaders to contribute positively to their communities and to change the world for the better. The Centers headquarters also contains an award-winning museum experience. For more information, please visit https://www.alicenter.org/.

About Flyaway Books

Flyaway Books is a new childrens book program dedicated to creating books that will inspire the next generation to fly. Books featured in the program carry themes of diversity, inclusion, self- esteem, kindness, compassion, and care for our world, and the titles are intentionally multicultural in their artwork and characters. Visit https://www.flyawaybooks.com/ for more information.

About The Reverend Dr. Michael W. Waters

The Reverend Dr. Michael W. Waters is the founder and Senior Pastor of Joy Tabernacle A.M.E. Church in Dallas, Texas. He is also a professor, activist, award-winning author, and sought-after speaker. For more information, visit http://www.michaelwwaters.com.

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REDDING, Calif. - An officer-involved shooting occurred Monday morning on Mary Street, not too far from Shasta High School in West Redding.

Neighbors in the 700 block of Mary Street said they heard five gunshots just before 10:00 a.m. and seconds later, ambulances and law enforcement converged at the scene.

Action News Now reporter Spencer Joseph has been at the scene, working to get more details on this story.

Spencer has learned that police thought the person that was shot was a burglar, and that the person was armed.

The suspect, who was shot by Redding Police, was still alive and was taken away by ambulance. We don't know anything yet about that person's medical condition.



The investigation has now been taken over by the Shasta County Sheriff's Office and new information is expected to come from them soon.
Township of Verona joins the New Jersey Purchasing Group In addition to the time savings we anticipate, our vendors will also benefit from registering in one location for all local bid opportunities.

The Township of Verona announced today that it has joined the New Jersey Purchasing Group, a regional purchasing group that helps local governments post, distribute and manage RFPs, quotes, addendums and awards online. BidNets New Jersey Purchasing Group provides notification to registered vendors of new relevant solicitations, and any addenda and award information from nearly 20 participating agencies from across New Jersey. The Township of Verona invites all vendors to register online at http://www.bidnetdirect.com/new-jersey.

The Township of Verona joined the purchasing group in July. In joining, the Township of Verona has become the 16th participating local government agency utilizing the system to streamline their purchasing process. The New Jersey Purchasing Group is a single, online location for managing sourcing information and activities and provides local New Jersey government agencies a method to minimize costs and time delays associated with the procurement process. The Township of Verona was distributing bids and managing their procurement process manually before joining the system. In joining, the Township of Verona looks to save time, increase competition and achieve cost savings over the traditional paper-based bid process.

The Township of Verona now has access to an extensive vendor pool, thereby enhancing competition without increasing distribution costs. In addition to the existing vendors on the New Jersey Purchasing Group, all vendors looking to respond to bids with local government agencies can register online: http://www.bidnetdirect.com/new-jersey. The Township of Verona invites all current vendors not already registered on the purchasing group to do so today. Vendor registration is easy and takes only a few minutes online.

Registered vendors can access bids, related documents, addendum and award information. In addition, the New Jersey Purchasing Group offers a value-added service to notify vendors of new bids targeted to their industry, all addenda associated with those bids and advance notice of term contract expiration. A robust NIGP code category list allows vendors registering to find the correct codes and receive matched bids.

By using the New Jersey Purchasing Group, our valued vendors can now access not only our open bids, but those from other municipalities, counties and school districts throughout the state. In addition to the time savings we anticipate, our vendors will also benefit from registering in one location for all local bid opportunities. We invite all of our current vendors to register or contact the vendor support team with any questions, stated Matthew Cavallo, Township Manager of the Township of Verona.

Vendors may register on the New Jersey Purchasing Group: http://www.bidnetdirect.com/new-jersey. BidNets vendor support team is available to answer any questions regarding the registration process or the bid system at 800-835-4603 option 2.

Other local New Jersey government agencies looking to switch from a manual bid process, please contact the New Jersey Purchasing Group for a demonstration of the no-cost sourcing solution.

About the Township of Verona:

Verona is a medium sized, primarily residential community with a population of about 14,000, but it is also home to commercial areas and factories, making it a wonderful place to raise a family or start or relocate a business. Originally, Verona was a part of Newark, then later a part of Caldwell Township, before initially being incorporated as the Borough of Verona was incorporated in 1907. Located in the valley between the First and Second Watchung Mountains, Verona has four elementary schools, a middle school and high school as well as a free public library. Verona maintains a small town feel while providing modern amenities. At the center of it all sits one of the most striking features of the town, Verona Park. The 54-acre park was designed by the Olmstead Brothers, and features twin lakes and a picturesque bridge that is a favorite location of wedding photographers during the summer months. Verona was listed No. 3 of "25 Great Towns" by New Jersey Monthly Magazine and continues to grow as one of the best places to live in New Jersey.

About the New Jersey Purchasing Group:

The New Jersey Purchasing Group is a part of BidNets regional purchasing groups available at no cost to local government agencies throughout the country. With years of input from procurement professionals, BidNet specifically developed the bid system to fill the need for a robust bid and supplier management solution for local government agencies. BidNet runs 30 regional purchasing groups used by over 1,300 local governments. To learn more and have your government agency gain better transparency and efficiency in purchasing, please visit http://www.bidnetdirect.com/buyers
Canadas leader in professional commercial trailer rental, leasing, service, parts, and storage, Trailer Wizards Ltd. announced today the launch of its newly revamped website.

The redesigned site offers quick and easy access to essential information and features while offering a more comprehensive understanding of Trailer Wizards products and services. The website also offers updated information on news, career opportunities, an interactive search for customer care locations, and a real-time social media platform.

Created with the user experience firmly in mind, the website has been designed using the latest technology so the site is compatible with today's browsers and mobile devices. It has a clean uncluttered design, improved functionality and enhanced rich content focused on the Company's mission to provide an industry leading customer experience. Visitors are encouraged to explore the website at http://www.trailerwizards.com.

About Trailer Wizards Ltd.:

Trailer Wizards Ltd. is Canadas largest and only national commercial trailer rental, leasing, sales, service, parts, and storage company. For over 50 years, Trailer Wizards Ltd. has been delivering professional commercial trailer solutions with fast, customer-friendly service while continuously driving out costs. Trailer Wizards Ltd. provides Local Service Nationwide. For more information, visit http://www.trailerwizards.com and follow on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
The response has already been overwhelming from Extractors in the industry says Will Whalen, head of sales for the new Botanasolv200 Product.

Ultra Pure, LLC, the largest privately held supplier of Bulk Alcohols in the United States, introduces a new extraction alcohol to the Marijuana Botanical Extraction Market called Botanasolv200. BotanaSolv200 will be introduced at the Cannabis Business Summit & Expo in San Jose, CA on July 26-27th.

The recreational and medicinal cannabis markets are growing rapidly across the country and we are excited to offer a product of such high quality, and at such a low and competitive delivered cost says David Tull, Division Manager of Industrial Ethanol at Ultra Pure. Botanasolv200 is unique in that customers will not have to pay the $27.00 per gallon Federal Tax so the savings are tremendous. This product fits well into our 5 year growth plans for the Industrial Division and we are excited for its success. Ultra Pure currently sells to over 200+ recreational and medicinal cannabis companies nationwide.

BotanaSolv200 is a blend of 200-proof grain alcohol with 5% highest purity n-heptane which is exempt from Federal Excise Tax and does not require any special permits to ship. BotanaSolv200 is currently available to ship from Ultra Pures St. Louis facility. Extractors will be able to purchase in drums, totes and even bulk tanker quantities with lead times of 2-5 business days depending on geographical location.

The response has already been overwhelming from Extractors in the industry says Will Whalen, head of sales for the new Botanasolv200 Product. We are excited for the launch next week at the Cannabis Business Summit & Expo in San Jose and it is the perfect place for the launch considering that California is the largest Cannabis Market.

Founded in 2006, Ultra Pure is located in Darien, Connecticut and is the largest privately held supplier of Bulk Alcohol in the United States. Ultra Pure supplies high quality bulk ethanol & high proof spirits for varying uses and industries. These products include Grain Neutral Spirits, Organic Alcohol, aged Bourbon, Unaged Whiskey, Rum, non-GMO Sugar Cane Alcohol and all specialty denatured Alcohols. Ultra Pure services not only the industrial and commercial industries but also Food and Beverage. http://www.ultrapure-usa.com. Check out the NPR Planet Money Episode 826 The Vodka Proof https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2018/02/23/588346329/episode-826-the-vodka-proof
Cradlepoint, the global leader in cloud-delivered 4G and 5G wireless network edge solutions, today announced the University of Illinois has deployed its wireless branch network solutions to provide instant connectivity at live theater venues across the U.S. By working with Cradlepoint, the university ensures audiences enjoy a reliable, responsive and interactive experience regardless of a venues network infrastructure.

The University of Illinois Laboratory for Audience Interactive Technologies (LAIT) developed an innovative mobile application and system that enables event producers to send content to audience members phones on cue, and in real-time. The app fosters new levels of interactivity with audiences. For instance, at various times audience members receive alerts asking them to come on stage. The system, which has augmented reality capabilities, also connects to lighting and music controls.

People have a special relationship with their phones. Its almost become a part of them, said John Toenjes, director of University of Illinois LAIT program. Its another communication tool; its almost as if they become a part of the show through that device in a much deeper way.

The performance requires instant and reliable connectivity within the venue, along with access to the cloud for an uninterrupted audience experience. Previously, establishing connectivity proved problematic due to the widely varying network architectures at each event venue. LAIT needed its own pop-up network solution that deploys quickly and easily for mobile app users in the audience to connect to cloud-based elements of the interactive audience system over a 4G LTE connection.

A lot of venues dont have the network infrastructure we need to accommodate the app, said Toenjes. When we perform in places that dont have Wi-Fi or the necessary infrastructure, we have the flexibility to just plug and play with Cradlepoint.

LAIT chose Cradlepoint and its NetCloud solution for branch networks and AER Series routers. The cloud-managed, all-in-one solution integrates 4G LTE and Wi-Fi connectivity to deploy a reliable wireless network instantly at any venue and prevent network problems that can interrupt a show. The audience simply connects their phones to the Cradlepoint Wi-Fi, and they become immersed in a glitch-free, interactive experience.

The value of LAIT bringing its own pop-up network to events goes beyond ensuring a superior audience experience by collecting a wealth of data and insights to improve future performances.

For more information, visit: https://cradlepoint.com/content/aer-routers and https://cradlepoint.com.

About Cradlepoint

Cradlepoint is the global leader in cloud-delivered wireless edge solutions for branch, mobile, and IoT networks. Cradlepoints Elastic Edge visionpowered by NetCloud servicesprovides a blueprint for agile, pervasive and software-driven wireless WANs that leverage 4G and 5G services to connect people, places and things everywhere with reliability, security, and control. More than 20,000 enterprise and government organizations around the world, including 75 percent of the worlds top retailers, 50 percent of the Fortune 100, and first responders in 10 of the largest U.S. cities, rely on Cradlepoint to keep critical branches, points of commerce, field forces, vehicles, and IoT devices always connected and protected. Major service providers use Cradlepoint wireless solutions as the foundation for innovative managed network services. Founded in 2006, Cradlepoint is a privately held company headquartered in Boise, Idaho, with a development center in Silicon Valley and international offices in the UK and Australia.

Learn more at cradlepoint.com or follow us on Twitter @cradlepoint.

About University of Illinois

The University of Illinois, located at Urbana- Champaign, was founded in 1867 and is home to nearly 45,000 students. In 2016, U.S. News & World Report ranked U of I the 11th-best public university in the country.
"This conference is a valuable opportunity to engage and build relationships with knowledgeable professionals so that the auto re-marketing industry may benefit from their insights as future regulations affecting dealers are legislated." - Lynda Thomas, Used Car News Publisher

General Media LLC today announced the opening of registration for its national compliance conference for automotive dealers. Carpliance is a first-of-its-kind event hosted by Used Car News, the trusted voice of the auto remarketing industry for more than 20 years. It brings together some of the top legal counsel and other experts in the used-car business. Carpliance is intended to help Dealer-Principals, Chief Compliance Officers (CCOs) and other senior personnel at used-car dealerships enhance their compliance programs and better protect their businesses.

The Carpliance conference will be held October 22-23, 2018 at the Sheraton Charlotte Hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina. In-person attendance is limited to 120. The Early Bird rate is $999 per person (registration deadline July 22, 2018).

The agenda for the conference topics will range from risk assessment to credit applications to collections. Speakers will discuss the latest issues facing dealers, including sexual harassment and consumer privacy.

Hosting this conference is one of the key ways we are working to improve compliance in the auto industry, said Used Car News General Manager, Colleen Fitzgerald. Dealers today face more regulatory and legal pressure than ever before, with challenges coming from D.C. all the way down to their local city councils. To make sure they avoid costly problems, dealers must educate themselves. Currently, there is no compliance specific educational event for the auto industry. This is the reason Carpliance was developed.

This conference is a valuable opportunity to engage and build relationships with knowledgeable professionals so that the auto remarketing industry may benefit from their insights as future regulations affecting dealers are legislated, said Used Car News Publisher, Lynda Thomas.

To register and more conference information visit carpliancecenter.com. For sponsorship inquiries send email to kelly.beach@usedcarnews.com.

About Used Car News

As the first newspaper devoted solely to the used car industry, Used Car News gathers all the news, feature stories, data, studies, statistics and surveys together under one roof and make sense of them for dealers. To advertisers, they provide an affordable advertising medium to promote industry specific products and services. Used Car News targeted advertising medium is designed for independent used car dealers, wholesalers, buyers and new-car dealers who are the core of the used car industry.
Author Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, a leading figure in Tibetan Buddhism, has stepped back from his role as head of the global network of meditation centers, Shambhala International, amid accusations of sexual misconduct. A report from the New York Times on July 11 indicated Sakyong Mipham is taking leave following allegations of harassment and abuse from at least three women that date back to 2002.

He is the author of several books with the Crown Publishing Groups Harmony imprint, including The Lost Art of Good Conversation (2017) and Running with the Mind of Meditation (2013). In an emailed statement, Harmony Books said its publishing relationship with Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche is not currently active and that it will not be pursuing future publications by him.

Though Shambhala Publications is an independent Buddhist publisher unassociated with Shambhala International, the press shares a community with the organization and has ties to Sakyong Mipham through its author, Reggie Ray, who was a student of Sakyong Miphams father, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Shambhala Publications president Nikko Odiseos extended sympathy to those in their shared community who have been hurt in a statement to PW.

We of course share a name and some history, and we recognize that many members of that community who are confused, upset, and grieving, are members of our own as well and we wish them solace and comfort in this difficult time, said Odiseos.

Meanwhile, Sakyong Mipham issued an apology on June 25, stating that he is entering a period of self-reflection and listening.

Correction: A previous version of this story said Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche resigned from his duties at Shambhala International. He has not resigned, but stepped back.

Editors note: PW reached out to author Reggie Ray for a comment via Shambhala Publications, but he was unavailable. An independent representative for Ray told PW that the author, who studied at Shambhala International with Sakyong Miphams father, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, has no ties to Sakyong Mipham.
Italian Novel Moves to Spain

Jumping From High Places by Chiara Parenti, which was originally published by Garzanti in Italy in June, has sold to Ediciones B in Spain. Agent Vicki Satlow controls all rights. The novel centers around Sole, whose last words from her best friend are for her to do one thing that terrifies her everyday. So Sole does just that for the next 100 days, and challenges herself to live without fear.

German Novel Sells in Flurry of Deals

The debut novel German House by Annette Hess has recently sold to HarperOne where the HarperCollins division bough world English rights. Other deals have been signed by Planeta (Spain), Actes Sud (France), Sextante (Brazil), and Atlas Contact (Holland). An auction is underway in Italy, and offers have come in from other territories, as well. Originating publisher Ullstein Buchverlage in Germany controls all rights for the title and will publish in September. Set in the 1960s during the Auschwitz trial, the novel follows a woman who is hired to translate witness testimonies and starts to question her own family's past during the war.

Christmas Tale Picks Up Sales

The Snow Sister: A Christmas Story by Maja Lunde (author of the bestseller The History of Bees) is an illustrated story about Christmas told in 24 chapters, focused on a boy whose sister died around Christmas time. Rights have sold in Germany, Denmark and Hungary, and the book will be published in all territories this fall. Oslo Literary controls all rights, and Kagge is the originating Norwegian publisher.
I want to say it here, police men are meant to protect citizens, not to assault citizens. So the measures that the Inspector General of police (IGP) has taken to sanction the erring policeman and to try and make sure that these things dont happen again, they have my complete support.

I support a 100% the measures that he has taken, so that we can stop these incidents from proliferating, he told a gathering in the capital, Accra.

The officer identified as Lance Corporal Godzi Frederick Amanor was filmed assaulting a nursing mother who had gone to a savings and loans bank to withdraw money.

Reports indicate that she had arrived at a time the bank had closed and the officer used slaps, blows and shoves to kick her out of the premises he was guarding at the time.
It follows the removal of Mrs Charlotte Osei and her two deputies, Amadu Sulley and Mrs Georgina Opoku Amankwaa, for stated misbehavior.

A statement signed by the Chief of Staff Akosua Frema Osei Opare named Mr Samuel Tettey and Dr Eric Asare Bossman as Deputy Chairpersons. Ms Adwoa Asuama has also been named as a member of the Commission. She replaces Mrs Pauline Dadzawa who has proceeded on retirement.

The party in a statement said it is shocked by the nomination, given that President Nana Akufo-Addo until his nomination, had assured that persons to be nominated as EC officials would be persons whose integrity and political neutrality would be above board.

For President Akufo Addo to proceed contrary to his earlier assurance to appoint a known pro-NPP and on-avowed anti NDC person like Mrs. Jean Mensa to chair a commission which would organize elections invoking the NPP and NDC as the main contenders defies all series of decency, fairness and justice, and amounts to a gross abuse of the discretionary powers of appointment vested in him by the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, the statement signed by the General Secretary of the NDC added.
The twelve chosen were Nigerian startups VoguePay, CredPal, Loystar and Growsel as well as Kenyan startups M-Changa, Mookh, WayaWaya and LipaPlus.

Howler and FinChatBot were shortlisted from South Africa whereas Uganda and Zambia will be represented by Swipe2Pay and Brig Africa respectively.

The initiativetasks start-ups to solve commerce challenges of tomorrow, further enhance their own product propositions and provide visionary solutions for Visas vast network of partners.

We are delighted with the response to our Visas Everywhere Initiative and the quality of submissions we received is an indication of the regions rich talent pool and innovative spirit," said Geraldine Mitchley, senior Visa director for Digital Solutions for Sub-Sahara Africa in a statement.

Strides

The finalists were selected from 238 entries from the dynamic Sub-Saharan African (SSA) technology startup community.

One winner per challenge will be selected, with each receiving Sh2.5 million ($25,000). The overall winner will receive an additional Sh2.5 million.

Fintechs in Africa are making huge strides with the aim being expanding the ways in which people transact beyond traditional banking.
The hunt for a man police say killed an 18-year-old woman in an unprovoked stabbing in Oakland has ended where it began: In a train station.

Authorities arrested 27-year-old John Cowell on an Antioch-bound train Monday night at a Bay Area Rapid Transit station about a dozen miles from Oakland.



Victim, Nia Wilson, 18 Victim, Nia Wilson, 18

Police say Cowell killed Nia Wilson with a knife and wounded her sister at an Oakland station Sunday night.

It wasn't immediately known if Cowell had a lawyer.

BART Police Chief Carlos Rojas says the motive for the attack is still being investigated. The victims were black and Cowell is white.

Police say vigil held at a BART station later swelled into a crowd of about a thousand that marched downtown.

The 18-year old woman was stabbed to death at a public transit station Sunday evening in Oakland, California, marking the third death in less than a week from unrelated attacks on the Bay Area transit system known as BART.

On Sunday night, Nia Wilson was walking on the subway platform with her sisters when a man stabbed her in an unprovoked attack, according to the Bay Area Rapid Transit officials. Nia's sister Lahtifa, was also stabbed and seriously injured.

"In my close to 30 years of police experience, it was probably one of the most vicious attacks that I've seen," BART Police Chief Carlos Rojas said, citing surveillance video in a Monday press conference.

Police identified the suspect as John Cowell, 27, who was taken into custody Monday, according to BART police.

Rojas described Cowell as a violent felon, saying he was currently on parole after getting out of the California prison system four months ago. Surveillance video showed not just the stabbing on the platform, but the attacker removing his clothing in the parking structure as he fled, police said.

BART police officers were patrolling the MacArthur station on Sunday night when the two sisters were stabbed around 9:36 p.m. They rendered aid to the two victims, according to a BART news release.

As the search intensified for Cowell in the hours after the attack, BART police received a call Monday evening that a passenger had spotted the suspect on one of the trains, Rojas said. Officers were able to take Cowell into custody.

He was not armed when he was detained, Rojas said.

"We're very glad that less than 24 hours, we were able to get this suspect into custody," Rojas said.

It was unclear whether Cowell has a lawyer. Rojas said he had not yet been charged.

On Monday evening, marchers held a vigil for Wilson that brought nearly 1,000 people to downtown Oakland, according to an estimate by the Oakland police.

"The senseless and violent stabbing of two young women on a BART train platform last night has shaken our community," said Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf in a statement.

"Although investigators currently have no evidence to conclude that this tragedy was racially motivated or that the suspect was affiliated with any hate groups, the fact that his victims were both young African American women stirs deep pain and palpable fear in all of us who acknowledge the reality that our country still suffers from a tragic and deeply racist history," she said.

Cowell is white, but police say no motive has been established. Cowell hasn't been connected to any radical right wing or white supremacist group, but police are investigating all angles because he "has a violent past," Rojas said.

Cowell was paroled in May after being sentenced to two years in prison for second-degree robbery, according to California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Terry Thornton.

Discussing the motive that it is so far unknown, Wilson's godfather Daryle Allums said, "We are asking the African-American community to stand down right now."

Attacks on the public transit system

Wilson's stabbing was the third death after other attacks in recent days on the BART system, which serves as the backbone of public transportation in the Bay Area.

Rojas discussed the two other incidents. In each case, the victim died after an assault at a BART station.

On early Saturday morning, a 47-year-old man was found injured on the platform at the Bay Fair Station, which is located in San Leandro, south of Oakland.

He was declared brain dead at the hospital. The victim, identified as Don Stevens, a transient, was punched at the side of his head by an unidentified suspect, according to BART surveillance videos. After being struck, Stevens fell to the cement ground on the platform. Authorities are searching for a suspect.

On Wednesday, a 51-year-old man was assaulted at the Pleasant Hill Station in Walnut Creek. The victim, identified as Gerald Bisbee suffered a minor bloody lip and small cut to the back of his knee, and went to the hospital the next day because he said he wasn't feeling well. The man went to the hospital on Thursday, and was later released. On Friday, he was found dead in his bed.

An autopsy found the cause of death came from an infection stemming from a small cut on Bisbee's knee, according to BART. The suspect in this case is in custody, according to BART.
The government has said that it will introduce the double tracking system to accommodate the increasing student population following the introduction of free SHS last year.

However, the President of IMANI Africa Franklin Cudjoe told Accra-based Starr FM that It doesnt make sense.

Why dont you if you really insist on doing thisuse a voucher system so that you give vouchers to parents up to a certain amount to choose which schools they [parents] want [their kids] to go to. Education is not like vaccination you give, you have to prepare the environment. So what? People go in and then some people sit at home and then what happens? Is it a shift system? At IMANI we are just fed up.

But the Deputy Education Minister Dr Adutwum disagreed with IMANIs position. He explained that the new system will help contain the surge in enrollment due to free SHS.

It is a time-tested practice used around the world whenever theres a surge in enrolment. Thats a stop-gap measure used around the world it is time-tested.

A total of 362,118 first-year students from public Senior High Schools across the country are currently benefiting from the governments fee-free education policy since its inception. Of the above figure, 117,692 are day students with 244,426 being boarders.

Based on last years enrollment, the government has projected enrollment figures for 2018 to stand at 472,730 against available seats of 290, 737 leaving a gap of 181, 993 to be created in order to accommodate the expected number of enrollment.

The double tracking system, according to the Ministry of Education will offer students more instructional and contact hours with teachers.

Double Track System

Double Track System will be like the semester mode of learning in the universities at the SHS level. This system will allow each track to be in school for specific days for each semester and go on vacation and come back for the second semester.
It's seems the tiny waisted actress is well prepared for the table she has shaken.

It's been months after radio personality Kofi Okyere Darko came under huge pressure from a section of female celebrities for describing them as all over the place.

Princess Shyngle shared pictures of various celebrities weddings including that of Trigmatic, Stonebwoy, John Dumelo, and Sarkodie who got married recently. But she could not fathom why most female celebrities were never getting married but rather galavanting at various weddings.

She wrote:

The most gorgeous couples seeing the images of Sarkodie's wedding online just got me thinking like seriously all the male celebrities are getting married to calm, chill, decent and well mannered no Instagram or social media girls but all the female celebrities above 30 almost 40 are all still single and busy attending weddings every weekend like dont they feel bad no shade though abeg dear future hubby start coming now before I turn 28 abeg congratulations Sarkodie and Tracy.

Such comments as Shyngle's has shattered some female celebrities in the past. Actress Yvonne Okoro had this to say when radio presenter Kofi Okyere Darko made a similar comment.

She retorted: "
Dr Addison further indicated that 6 banks have already met the new requirement. 9 others are in the process of hitting the mark.

READ ALSO: Shiashie branch of Midland Savings and Loans closed temporarily

Speaking at a media briefing after the Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Monday [July 23, 2018], the Governor said Per the data available to us, we have six banks that have met, four banks that are most likely to meet and another five banks that are likely to meet. So straight away you could say that at the very least we could have fifteen banks by the end of the year.

Failure to do so could result in a bank losing the license or have its status reduced.

After this directive was given, the indigenous banks appealed for an extension of the deadline by petitioning the President.

A committee established by the President to look into the concerns raised by the local banks is yet to publish its findings.
The former president was given a befitting burial in 2012 by being buried at Ghanas first presidential mausoleum, the Asomdwee Park.

However, his burial ground has since been left unattended to, with the place currently in disarray.

The state-owned Daily Graphic reports that the park is no longer secure as the centres security had been breached and no longer held firmly together.

Also, some parts of the fencing protecting it have broken down, leaving the burial ground in ruins and totally exposed to intruders.

The present state of the mausoleum has made it possible for animals such as cattle to invade the grounds to munch on the grass and leave their excreta behind around the grave.

The report suggests protecting the place has become more difficult due to inadequate security guards stationed at the park to ward off intruders.

According to the Daily Graphics report, the park is also now a place for relaxation for hawkers and trespassers, whiles vendors have also taken over the other side.

Close checks also found that the tomb of the late Atta Mills was also in an unpleasant condition.

Despite being maintained just over 12 months ago, the tomb has seen its metallic cover developing grim cracks due to exposure to the weather.

A library located at the park, which is meant to provide knowledge on the rich Ghanaian culture, had also been abandoned.

The guards come to meet condoms lying all over the place every day. Sometimes, they catch people red-handed having sex here and they drive them away. The young and old all come here to do their things and they do not even know where they come from, a security source told the Daily Graphic.

About two weeks ago, the government deployed artisans, including welders, electricians and carpenters, here to take inventory of the place.
Current controversy surrounding removal of EC Chair and deputies and subsequent appointment of new commissioners is regrettable and carries a potential to erode Ghana's democratic credentials.

Mr Mahama, who is on an observer mission in Zimbabwe, attached a photo of himself and Ghanas former EC Chair Dr Afari Gyan, and wrote that he was proud to serve on the same mission with the highly-respected former EC Chair, Kwadwo Afari Gyan, who for almost two decades established Ghanas worldwide reputation for credible election management.
He said the new policy will allow a lot of students to access the programme.

Speaking at a stakeholders forum on education at the Tamale SHS as part of his tour of the Northern Region last Sunday, the President said the 2018/19 academic year would witness a 31 per cent increase in the population of new students of about 472,000 entering SHSs and which had resulted in a deficit of some 183,000.

Despite providing 96,403 mono desks, 33,171 pieces of dining hall furniture, 3,033 tables and chairs for teachers, 12,953 bunk beds, 4,335 student mattresses and 5,135 computer laboratory chairs to address the infrastructural deficit over the year, it has not been enough to address all issues of infrastructure, he said.

The double track system, according to President Akufo-Addo, would create room to accommodate the increase in enrolment.It will reduce class sizes, increase the contact hours, as well as increase the number of holidays, and all this is going to be achieved with the existing infrastructure. So we are moving to this intervention to be able to accommodate this larger population of SHS students, he explained further.
According to the party, Mrs. Jean Mensah is unfit to be EC Chair, insisting she has strong ties with the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).

On Monday, the IEA head was nominated by the President to replace Charlotte Osei, who was recently axed from the post as EC boss.

However, shortly after her nomination, the NDC organised a press conference to register their displeasure with Mrs. Mensas nomination.

Addressing journalists, General Secretary of the NDC, Asiedu Nketia, described the nomination as shocking, accusing President Akufo-Addo of appointing a politically biased person to head the EC.

We are shocked because until this appointment, the President had given assurance to the nation that the persons to be appointed into the Commission would be persons whose integrity and political neutrality would be above board, he lamented.

For President Akufo-Addo to proceed contrary to his earlier assurances to appoint a known pro-NPP and avowed anti-NDC person like Mrs Jean Mensa to Chair a Commission which would organise elections involving the NPP and NDC as the main contenders, defies all senses of decency, fairness and justice and amount to a gross abuse of the discretionary powers of appointment vested in him by the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, Mr. Nketia added.

Also nominated for consideration as deputies are a political science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr Eric Asare Bossman; Ms Adjoa Esuama Abrefa, a corporate legal practitioner with specialisation in land property acquisition, and Samuel Tettey, Director of Electoral services in charge of elections at the Electoral Commission.

Read the NDCs full statement below:

NDC DISAPPOINTED AT THE CHOICE OF JEAN MENSAH AS CHAIRPERSON OF THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION

The National Democratic Congress received the news about the appointment of Mrs. Jean Mcnsah as a Chairperson of the Electoral Commission by H. E The President with shock and disbelief.

We are shocked because until this appointment the president had given assurance to the nation that the persons to be appointed Into the Commission would be persons whose integrity and political neutrality would be above board.

For President Akuffo Addo to proceed contrary to his earlier assurances to appoint a known pro-NPP and an-avowed anti-NDC person like MRS. JEAN MENSAH to chair a commission which would organize elections involving the NPP and NDC as the main contenders defies all senses of decency, fairness and justice and amounts to a gross abuse of the discretionary powers of appointment vested in him by the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.
According to him, there will be no compromises when it comes to dealing with the nominated EC Chair despite his acquaintances with her.

On Monday, Mrs. Jean Mensa was nominated by President Akufo-Addo as new Chairperson of the EC  a move which will see her replace the axed Charlotte Osei.

However, her nomination has been criticized by the opposition NDC, who believe she has strong ties with the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).

In a statement following Jean Mensahs nomination, the NDC described the Presidents decision as shocking whiles referring to the nominee as pro-NPP and an-avowed anti-NDC person.

It is a view backed by Koku Anyidoho, who has warned the incoming EC Chair not to expect to have things easy when she assumes office.

Speaking to Accra-based Accra FM, he said the road will be bumpy, especially at Inter-Party Advisory Committee () meetings.

I hope she enjoys the ride because it's going to be bumpy. It's going to be very, very bumpy, especially when your classmate Koku Anyidoho is concerned, its going to be bumpy especially at IPAC meetings, he said.

Ordinarily, the circumstances under which, she is coming, draped in political colours, at IPAC meetings Im also going to be in my NDC colours, too bad for her. When we meet outside IPAC meetings, we can be friends, but at IPAC meetings Ill be representing the National Democratic Congress and no compromises.
Mahama said this in commemoration of the sixth anniversary of the late Professor.

Mr Mahama, who is on an observer mission in Zimbabwe, took to his Facebook Wall on Tuesday, 24 July 2018, and stated that Professor Mills epitomised the principles of peace and treated all Ghanaians equally no matter their political affiliation.

READ ALSO: School built under Atta Mills credited to Mahama

Professor Mills died 24 July 2012 at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra, three days after his 68th birthday.

Though the cause of death was not immediately released, he had been suffering from throat cancer and had been to the US for medical reasons.
It will now be possible to have breakfast in Durban, lunch in Mbabane and dinner in Maputo after the much awaited Africas longest suspension bridge was completed.

Known as the Maputo-Catembe Bridge, the 3km-long bridge located at Mozambique, aims to connect Maputo with Catembe on the southern part of Maputo Bay cutting down the driving time to four hours from the current more than ten hours taken to drive round the bay.

With a width of 680m, the suspension bridge will also be able to carry high volumes of traffic comfortably in both directions, effectively replacing the current ferry system and various fragmented road systems that transport goods and tourists from South Africa and Swaziland into Mozambique.

Construction of the US $700 million Bridge began in 2014 in a joint construction and management project between the Mozambique and Chinese governments under the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and was set for completion in 2017 but was postponed due to insufficient construction materials.

 After verifying that it was not possible to complete the work in 2017, we defined the first half of this year as a new deadline to finish the construction of the bridge and so far the work executed accounts up to 97% of the project, said Silva Magaia, the president of Empresa de Desenvolvimento de Maputo Sul.

Also read: Here are top five largest dams in Africa

Hundreds of thousands of people travel between Mozambique and South Africa through border gates every month, often taking up to 12 hours to navigate the 90 kilometres to Maputo on often hazardous and unmaintained roads. The bridge will change everything about the journey.

This is truly one of the tangible legacy projects of the East3Route, said Ndabo Khoza, chief executive of KwaZulu-Natal Tourism. It will make it possible for one to have breakfast in Durban, lunch in Mbabane (Swaziland) and dinner in Maputo.

Before the bridge was completed, the only direct access to Maputo by vehicle from South Africa was via the border post of Kosi Bay in northern KwaZulu-Natal.

The bridge will offer one direct route, on suitable roads, linking Kosi Bay and Swaziland to Maputo and the rest of Mozambique.

Maputo-Catembe Bridge will also pave way for development at the Catembe area, particularly in commercial and housing sectors, overcoming the problem of a lack of space for more buildings in the capital city.
GFIA said that such guidance would be essential in 2018, since PFIC classification for the year is irreversible. Companies need the guidance to determine whether they will be able to maintain their non-PFIC status by meeting the qualifying insurance corporation (QIC) test. It added that US shareholders will be significantly impacted by PFIC characterisation. Guidance is critical as early as possible to provide affected companies sufficient time to make structural and capital related decisions, if necessary, which may affect their QIC status. GFIA warned that, without further guidance, a non-US parented insurance group may not be able to determine if it is characterised as a PFIC for the current year, and its US shareholders would be the ones subject to US tax consequences, such as higher tax obligations and payment of estimated tax and penalties. It is important that non-US parented insurance groups can determine their QIC exemption status, so as to advise their shareholders of a possible PFIC classification. To make this assessment, insurance groups need clarification of the rules for qualifying as a QIC. GFIA also called for guidance on the following topics:

 Clarifying that a US insurance company is a QIC.

 Providing methods for electing an exemption tied to a facts and circumstances test.

 Providing guidance on the scope of the alternative facts and circumstances test as provided in the new law.


Farmers in Kwale County, Kenya have found riches in a crop often overlooked but thanks to rising demand and sure market it is now proving to be a real money maker and a sure way out of poverty.

Kwale farmers have turned to sorghum, an orphan crop, in their droves and have no regrets.

According to statistics from Pamba Viazi (PAVI), a cooperative funded by Base Titanium Limited which helps farmers to improve their living standards, show that the number of sorghum farmers in Kwale County has increased from 33 in 2017 to 771 currently.

One such farmer is Daniel Kitivo, a retired director in the Ministry of Agriculture and a seasoned maize farmer, who after years of making losses with Kenyas staple crop maize, switched to sorghum and currently swears by the orphan crop.

"It is a promising crop and I will take advantage of the ready market to increase my acreage," he said, adding that it is a crop of hope because of its high demand and stable price.

Maize greatest disadvantage is and continues to remain unstable market prices and poor yields as a result of poor weather.

Sorghum on the other hand is a drought-resistant crop and thrives even rainfall fails with the cherry on the pie being its ready market as it is a key ingredient in alcohol making and breweries such as Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL) buy it in tonnes and even commission farmers to farm the crop.

Also read: Kenyan farmers ditch maize and wheat over unsteady returns for strong barley

Sorghum is also an important food for not only humans but livestock as well.

Mr Kitivo plants the crop on his 40 acres land located in Lunga Lunga sub-county.

Meanwhile, the refurbished Sh15 billion Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL) plant in Kisumu now awaits official commissioning after it concluded tests of the production process Tuesday.

We have invested at least 900,000 man-hours to date. It marks a major milestone that we are truly proud of. We will be producing safe and quality alcohol especially to people who have been consuming illicit alcohol so that we contribute to government efforts to reduce the impact of illegal brews by offering an affordable, quality alternative, said KBL managing director Jane Karuku.

The first Senator Keg pint was test-tasted at the brewery Tuesday by the brewer's top management as they marked one year since a ground-breaking ceremony presided over by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Since then, couple with the fact that the government scrapped its 2013 decision to tax Keg at the same rate as mainstream beers such as Tusker, Senator Keg beer has slowly emerged as the beer of choice of many Kenyans.

So high is the demand for the lower-taxed Senator Keg brand that Kenya Breweries Ltd (KBL) has had to raise the output by 20 per cent just to meet the demand.

The plant will initially produce Senator Keg, made using locally-sourced sorghum, for the next couple of years, after which it will start producing other portfolio brands of KBL such as Tusker.

The firm is currently trying to recruit more than 15,000 small-scale sorghum farmers from Migori, Homa Bay, Kisumu, Siaya and Busia to produce the necessary raw materials for production of Keg.
Switzerland has taken the first step in the recovery and repatriation of stolen funds from Kenya.

The Swiss government has frozen more than $2 million (about Sh201 million), suspected to be proceeds of corruption in Kenya, which had been stored in Swiss bank accounts.

The money is linked to the multi-billion Anglo leasing scam  one of the largest in the history of corruption in Kenya.

Money has been frozen in Switzerland in relation to the Anglo-Leasing case in the amount of approximately $2 million, Saskia Salzmann, a diplomatic attache at the Embassy of Switzerland to Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, Somalia and Uganda, told a local business daily.

The diplomat added that the frozen stolen funds would probably be the first assets to be returned to Kenya.

The recovery of the money is part of a revamped and wider offshore scrutiny of proceeds of graft and assets that corrupt Kenyans have hidden in the European country's banks, according to Swiss authorities.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and Swiss President Alain Berset early this month signed an agreement dubbed the Framework for the Return of Assets from Corruption and Crime in Kenya (FRACCK).

The Framework for the Return of Assets from Corruption and Crime in Kenya is not limited to a specific case or amount of money to be returned, Ms Salzmann said, hinting at recovery and repatriation of more stolen assets that Kenyans have kept in Swiss banks.

Kenya is suspected to have lost more than $600 million (more than Sh50 billion) in the Anglo Leasing scam.

The money was lost in 18 security-related contracts awarded to companies that did not render services or deliver goods paid for.

Some of the companies were later found to have supplied substandard equipment at highly inflated prices.

Some of top government officials in former President Mwai Kibakis government were adversely mentioned in the Anglo Leasing scandal. The list included former Vice-President Moody Awori, former Internal Security minister Chris Murungaru and former Finance minister David Mwiraria.

However, despite the renewed pressure, the amount of money that rich Kenyans have kept in Swiss banks continue to rise.

The total amount stored in Swiss accounts was reported to have increased 4.3 percent to Swiss francs 950 million (CHF) or about Sh96 billion last year from 911.4 million or about Sh92.1 billion in 2016, according to a Swiss National Bank (SNB) report.

The additional amount alone can finance the construction of three equivalents of the 50km Thika superhighway. The funds, however, once reached a record high of CHF 1.7 billion (Sh172 billion) in 2007.

The funds include deposits from Kenyans and duciary liabilities or money held in Swiss banks in trust on behalf of Kenyans.
Well, the slum can boast of an elite bilingual private school although not attended by the kids in the slum.

In Nima, as in many of Africas slums, there is an overcrowded population living in precarious circumstances, occupying substandard housing structures with few, if any, public services to rely upon. The hallmarks of a slum are everywhere, from the tangles of small shacks to the abundance of dust and debris.

Children living in the slum face barriers to accessing and remaining in school that are accentuated by very low family incomes, poor infrastructure and high population density.

The town is popular because of its market  the Nima market.

However, the middle of this slum has one of Accra's most expensive private schools which runs a bilingual curriculum; German Swiss International School.

German Swiss International School was founded in Accra at the beginning of 1966.

Here is an inside view of the bilingual school.
As the nation prepares for 2019 general elections, about 15 serving senators and 36 Representatives, including Rabiu Kwankwaso, a powerful and former governor of the northern state of Kano, Senator Dino Melaye joined the Peoples Democratic Party while others joined the African Democratic Congress, a party linked to former president Olusegun Obasanjo.

The announcement of their defection was made known on the floor of the upper chamber on Tuesday, July 24, 2018, by the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki.

The latest defection at the National Assembly turned the ruling All Progressives Congress to a minority in the Senate, though the party said it will consolidate on its strength in states assemblies.

Power tussles between the executive and the legislative arm

For the last two years, there has been a power-play between the executive and the legislative arm. The Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, Nigerias third-highest ranking civil servant after President Muhammadu Buhari and his deputy, believed that there is a cabal within the government of President Buhari.

Saraki believed as a member of the ruling party he has faced more political battles than the opposition and other members of Buhari's kitchen cabinet accused of corruption. This has caused strain relationship between Nigerias legislature and executive.

In a statement released on Monday, Saraki described an invitation to appear at a police station in Abuja on Tuesday for questioning over his alleged link to an armed robbery in his home state of Kwara as witch hunt due to his moves to join the opposition.

Nigeria's ruling party believed defectors are opposition mercenaries

Adams Oshiomhole, ruling elected National Chairman of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) and former governor Edo state said that he is happy that some members of the Senate and House of Representatives left his party for opposition parties.

Oshiomhole said the governing party is not disturbed at all and that he is not losing sleep over the defections.

He assured President Muhammadu Buhari that the defectors cannot affect his fortunes to get more votes in 2019.
This, the government will be doing by making a provision of $55 million as upfront startup which will be used to ensure the initial take-off of the airline later this year.

Hadi Sirika, Nigeria's Minister of State for Aviation, stated this on Monday, July 23, 2018, while responding to questions on the plans of the new airline slated to kick-off in December 2018.

He said, "In order to ensure take-off of the airline in 2018, the government will provide $55 million upfront grant/viability gap funding to finance startup capital and pay commitment fees for aircraft to be leased for initial operations and deposit for new aircraft whose delivery will begin in 2021.

The government is not funding the entire project. Its just providing startup capital in the form of an upfront grant/viability gap funding. Once the strategic equity investor is in place, they will be expected to build on the initial investment made, Sirika explained

Opinions of some Nigerians about the new national carrier

Nigeria Air operations

The government said it will own 5% of the equity while the companys shares will be sold through an initial public offering. The rest of the 95% equity of Nigeria Air Limited will then be owned by the strategic equity investor and the general public.

On domain name

Immediately after the launch of the Nigeria Air in London last week, a Nigerian registered www.nigeriaair.ng in anticipation of a buy-out at a whopping amount but the government said it has registered www.flynigeriaair.ng as its domain and will become active soon.
In many Nigerian universities, you can have two to three group assignments in one week. Ask a Nigerian undergraduate.

Many students might not like the idea of having a group work in which all members get the same grades irrespective of their contributions. But if you look at it, there are actually some benefits in group assignments. Let's check it.

1. It boosts your grade

Unlike individual assignments, group assignment offers you the opportunity to boost your grade, especially when every member of your group works for the group.

If two heads are better than one, what would you say of four good heads coming together to complete a task?

2. You learn more than just course content

When your lecturer gives you a group assignment, the purpose is not just to help you understand the course content.

Group assignment is a teamwork, and with it, you can learn and develop leadership skills and team spirit. These are valuable skills you'll need in your place of work and they arent really directly taught in universities or polytechnics.

3. It prepares you for the workforce

Group assignment can suck especially if you have lazy students as members. Sometimes you just want to ignore the lazy members and do the assignment yourself. Doing that could defeat one of the reasons lecturers bring you together with others for the task.

Whether you like it or not, your working life will be full of group work, team projects, desk meetings and so on. Group assignment exposes you helps you get used to situations like this early.

4. You meet people

It can be very tricky to make friends on campus, In fact, it always takes a conscious effort for new students to make new friends. However, with group assignments, it is much easier as you get to know many students on a personal level.

5. It plays to everyones strengths and interests

Every student has different skills and talents. Most times, groups assignment require students to write a report and make a presentation on their assignment.
The Board at its 2018 stakeholders meeting recently held at Gbogan in Osun State pegged the cut-off mark for the 2018 UTME for universities at 140, while polytechnics and Colleges of education were pegged at 120 and 100 respectivey.

Criticisms have therefore followed the cut-off mark policy as many people accuse JAMB of favouring northern states, but the examination body says the policy is more favourable to candidates and institutions in the southern part of the country.

JAMB reacts to the allegation

Reacting to the allegation, JAMB Public Relations Officer, Fabian Benjamin in an interview with the Guardian says, It is not true that the policy was introduced to favour the educationally less disadvantage states. For instance, the cut-off mark for medicine in Obafemi Awolowo University is 200, but that Bayero University, Kano is 250. The policy favours the universities in the southern part of the country and the statistics are there for everyone to check.

Contrary to many people's opinion, Benjamin says the reduction of the cut-off marks is not an indication of failure in Nigerias education sector.

ALSO READ:

It will be wrong for anybody to say that the cut-off point for an examination that is conducted for candidates determines the standard of education. Contrary to the complaints of some stakeholders, JAMB does not compel higher institutions to admit candidates with the seemingly ridiculous cut-off mark.

It was only agreed by stakeholders to provide institutions with a benchmark, universities could raise the marks above 140 but not more than 200, he said.
The VC asked the mediapreneur to help the University of Lagos to produce the student who accused the lecturer of sexual harassment if she truly cares about the image of the university she graduated from.

In May 2018, Linda Ikeji Blog published the sexual allegation of a student, Joy Nwanna accussing Prof Awonusi of sexually harassing her in his office.

The student also released some nude pictures of the lecturerwhich were published on Linda Ikeji Blog.

Meanwhile, in a bid to investigate the sexual allegation, UNILAG management had earlier appealed to Linda Ikeji to help the institution in its investigative efforts since Nwana has not come out to defend her case.

The VC says the allegation has subjected UNILAG to public ridicule adding that staff and members of the university community were embarrassed by the development.

Ogundipe also said the presence of the accuser is needed to help the fact-finding panel to investigate the allegation.

ALSO READ: UNILAG lecturer in alleged sex scandal says he was blackmailed

Promising to protect the female student, Ogundipe said Ms. Ikeji should help in producing Nwana if she is truly committed to protecting the image of her alma mater, and not just in the business to run the university down.
Punch News gathered that she did this in order to defraud her father Taiwo Adilewa of a sum of N600,000.

She had an accomplice Ifeoluwa Ogunbanjo who was also arrested.

Lagos State Police Commissioner Edgal Imohimi confirmed the arrests while addressing journalists yesterday.

The kidnapper told the father that if he did not want his daughter killed, he should pay a ransom of N600,000 to secure her release.

Investigation into the case immediately commenced and the phone number that was used by the callers was geo-located to the Ijebu Igbo area of Ogun State.

"The head of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit led his men to Ijebu Igbo at about 10pm the same day and combed the area in search of the supposed victim till the following morning," the police chief revealed.

While a search for Dorcas went on, her collaborators relocated to Ikotun, Lagos, after suspecting an imminent police arrest.

The 19-year-old reportedly called her father to confirm that she has been released by the fictional kidnapping gang believed to have taken her.

The supposed kidnappers relocated to Ikotun in Lagos and the search party also moved to Ikotun to rescue the victim.

When the fake kidnappers realised that the police were closing in on them, the supposed victim called the complainant to inform him that she has been released after she gave them the N8,000 the father sent to her bank account," Imohimi added at the press briefing.

ALSO READ: Fraudsters pose as kidnappers to demand ransom for missing baby

Teenager made up lie in order to pay her school fees

While responding to interrogations, Dorcas Adilewa explained her motivation for pulling off a disappearance.

Punch was told that she made up a story about being kidnapped in order to pay for her school fees.

When the payment of my school fee was delayed, I went to my friends (Ogunbanjo) place, where I called my father.

I was at her place on Thursday and I went back home on Friday when my dad said he could not afford the money.

Ifeoluwa Ogunbanjo, who was captured as an accomplice maintained that she is innocent.

She revealed that her mother entertained her friend Dorcas after learning about her ordeal with kidnappers.
They were reportedly inside the trading store when the wire dropped on Friday, July 20, 2018.

According to Punch News, the incident occurred during a rainstorm in the late hour of the morning.

Chidi Ossai identified as one of the children reportedly died at a hospital where they were taken.

A disturbed father wants government support

Their father was only able to raise half the sum of N100,000 needed for their treatment but officials at Ikeja Electric have promised to foot the bill being the owner of the cable which killed one of the victims.

I got the shop two months ago for my wife to sell provision so that she can have something to do.

I was at work when someone called me that I should rush down to a hospital in the area, adding that my wife and children had been rushed there.

When I got there, I was told to collect hospital card for the three of them and deposit N100,000 for treatment before I could be allowed to see them. They later told me that I lost my boy.

I was able to raise N50,000 for them to start treatment for the ones alive.

The next day, some officials of IE came and said I should not worry about the bill, but I have not heard from them although they told the Managing Director of the hospital to continue treatment.

I was told that the officials had come to the street to work on the pole four days before the incident, but the wire they worked on cut where they joined it, fell on the shop and electrocuted my family.

"My daughter is seriously injured and my wife and last child are on drip," Sunday Ossai the father of the deceased told Punch.

He has requested for government assistance in order to deal with the situation.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 24)  Newly-installed House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo maintained the Bangsamoro Organic Law must be ratified by congress immediately.

Arroyo said on Tuesday that her primary objective as leader of the Lower House is "to carry out the legislative agenda of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and that means for today, we must get the Bangsamoro Organic Law ratified."

Arroyo said this was among the statements she was shouting from the rostrum on Monday while the microphones were off after taking her oath as House Speaker.

While the Senate ratified the Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (OLBARMM) earlier on Monday, the House of Representatives failed to do the same due to the political power-play that led to the change in leadership.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque had earlier said Duterte would have signed the Bangsamoro Organic Law during his third State of the Nation Address. He was unable to do so as the bill needs to be ratified by both Houses of Congress first.

The Palace said the delay in the ratification was just a "temporary setback," and that it remains hopeful the law would be signed within the week.

During his address, however, Duterte committed to signing the OLBARMM within 48 hours.

Duterte, the first Philippine President who hails from Mindanao, earlier certified the bill as urgent, prompting Congress to fast-track the passage of the draft measure. The bicameral conference committee approved the final version of the bill on July 18.

The historic law, if passed, would abolish the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) established in 1989 through Republic Act No. 6734. The ARMM groups the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

The ARMM will then be replaced by the the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The proposed law, which is the result of decades-long peace talks, institutionalizes provisions of the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro, the 2014 peace agreement signed by the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The Bangsamoro government will be parliamentary-democratic in form, a first in the country's political history. It will be headed by the regional leader called Chief Minister, who will preside over an 80-member parliament.
Across Europe, workers in the UK today are the least likely to say they expect to stop work all at once and fully retire Only 1 in 4 UK workers plan this, compared to half already retired who say that they stopped working all at once and entered full retirement The number of workers over the age of 55 has increased steadily in the UK and other OECD countries* UK pension policy and employment laws leading the way to gradual transition into retirement

Workers in the UK were previously more likely to move straight into full retirement after giving up work with half of current retirees taking this option. However, stopping work on a set date like a 65th birthday is no longer seen as the norm. Across Europe, workers in Spain (54%) and France (52%) are the most likely to still envisage taking this route, however UK workers are the least likely to stop work one day and start a life of leisure the next, with only 1 in 4 (27%) favouring this option. When it comes to retirement one thing that distinguishes men and women is their likelihood to transition into retirement, with UK men far more likely (32%) than women (23%) to stop work all at once and hang up their tools for good. The concept of retirement is changing. Since the year 2000, the balance of the workforce has changed as people delay retirement or work in a different capacity beyond typical or state pension ages resulting in a higher numbers of older workers. Retirement has become an active stage of life with people remaining economically active. In fact, the majority of UK workers, 61%, see some form of transition to retirement where they continue working as they currently are or work part time for a while during their retirement. The two most common reasons for workers in the UK to continue working longer are positive: keeping active/keeping brain alert (62%) and enjoying work (39%). However, staying in the job market was seen as less positive for some, who saw extending their working life as a necessity. The state pension providing enough money was a specific concern for 33%, while running out of money caused anxiety for 30% of respondents. Steven Cameron, Pensions Director at Aegon, commented: Gone are the days when reaching state pension age meant a sudden and complete end to work. The UK seems to be leading the charge here compared to other countries with less than half as many planning a sudden stop compared to those in France and Spain. Many people are choosing to keep working and earning, perhaps by cutting back their hours gradually, even once theyve started taking their pension. The UK governments introduction of pension freedoms and banning employers from having a fixed retirement age has made it easier for more people in the UK to choose to work past traditional retirement ages.
If there's one thing the movie Mamma Mia knows how to do, is give us travel envy. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, released in cinemas on July 20, is said to feature vibrant island shots. Although the action is set on a picture-perfect Greek island of Skopelos, the filmmakers chose the sun-soaked holiday hotspot of Vis instead.

Of all the islands in Croatia, Vis is said to be the most mysterious even to locals, according to the Lonely Planet. The remote island itself looks like something out of a travel brochure  white sands, turquoise waters, pristine white buildings and lush greenery.

There are lots to see and do in Vis, though Vis Town is where you'll find the bulk of tourist engagements. The Roman bath remains, Greek architecture and a few museums can be seen in town.

Stiniva Bay is home to crystalline waters you can go swimming in, fine sands to bask on and some pretty impressive rock formations to gaze at.

You can also climb up the Mount Hum path - it's one of the best vantage points for panoramics of the entire island  with Tito's Cave on your way back down (an abandoned bunker)
A statement signed by DSP Emeka Iheanacho, Police Public Relations Officer of the zone, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Benin, on Tuesday said the directive followed recent attacks on police officers in the area.

According to Iheanacho, the order was given by the AIG during a security meeting with theCommissioners of Police under the zone.

He said Akintunde condemned the attacks on policemen in Edo and Delta Commands which resulted in the death of policemen and ordered the Commissioners of Police in both States to fish out the perpetrators of the crime.

He also said that the AIG described the situation as appalling and ordered the arrest of the criminals.

According to the spokesman, the AIG also advised officers to be security conscious and professional in the discharge of their duties.

He warned criminals to steer clear of the zone or be made to face the wrath of the law.

He said that the AIG warned that the use of illegal firearms remained prohibited and anyone found in possession of those arms would be arrested and prosecuted.

Akintunde reaffirmed the commitment of the Zonal Command to ensuring adequate security of lives and property of the people of Bayelsa, Delta and Edo, at all times.

He said the recent attacks on Policemen in different parts of the zone would not deter officers from carrying out their constitutional duties as the command remained resolute in its fight against crime and criminality.

Apart from the recent attack on policemen, the AIG also reviewed other crime situations such as kidnapping, armed robbery, cultism and murder in the zone which he said had gone down considerably, he said.

The AIG noted that several arrests, recoveries and other breakthroughs had been made in these areas and commended officers and men of the zone for their tireless efforts and urged them not to relent.

He further reminded the public that security was the responsibility of all citizens and called for continued support for the police through provision of useful information that would help in the detection and arrest of criminals.
This is following reports that the police laid siege of on the home of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki earlier in the day.

In his response, Saraki described the police invitation as a mere political game aimed at intimidating him and lawmakers who intend to leave the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadus home was also cordoned off by men of the Department of State Services and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Though the police boss did not address newsmen after the meeting, Vanguard reports that Idris might have briefed the President on what happened earlier today.

Police threatens Saraki

The police has also vowed to use of force if Saraki fails to honour its invitation.

Its spokesman, Jimoh Moshood, also denied reports that policemen stooped the Senate Presidents convoy from leaving his house.

Reacting to comments by Nigerians on the invitation of the President of the Senate by the police, presidential spokesman, Buhari does not tell the police what to do.

Shehu also frowned at the orchestrated campaign against President Buhari whenever a Very Important Person (VIP) was invited by the law enforcement agencies, in the discharge of their legitimate duties, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
According to a statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the President, Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, Buhari commended the APC leadership for its commitment to the partys unity.

Over 50 APC membersin the National Assembly, on Tuesday, July 24, 2018 dumped the ruling party.

According to Shehu, the President wished the decampees well and said that their exit will not affect the APC.

Committed to democracy

The President also expressed that he is totally committed to the values of democracy and freedom of choice.

He also wished the who left the APC for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), well.

You will recall that former APC spokesman, Timi Frank, on Sunday, July 22, 2018 had earlier hinted that 5 Governors, 30 Senators and 135 members of the House of Repswould dump the ruling party.

See the full statement below:

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed his total commitment to the values of democracy, freedom of choice as well as total willingness to work with all members of the National Assembly, irrespective of their political party, for the benefit of the nation.

In his reaction to the developments Tuesday morning at the National Assembly, the President noted that none of the defecting federal lawmakers of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had any specific grievances against him or the government he leads; neither did he harbour anything against any of them.

As the saying goes, all politics is local. We understand that some of the distinguished and honourable lawmakers have issues with their home states, especially on zoning which bars some of them from seeking another term in their constituencies.

Noting that the APC had done its utmost to stop the defections, the President commended the leadership of the party for relentlessly working for its unity and ensuring success in the upcoming elections.

President Buhari assured members of the APC of his total support and urged party faithful not to despair but to see the defections as a seasonal occurrence that happens on election eve.

He expressed confidence that no harm or injury will be done to the party and its aspirations by the movements.

President Buhari wished all the decamped members the best in their future undertakings.
The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, had invited Saraki to appear before the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), at the Guzape area in Abuja at 8am on Tuesday, July 24, 2018, to answer questions bordering on the Offa bank robbery.

Saraki described the IGPs invitation as mere politics.

The Senate President Bukola Saraki also revealed plans by security agencies to arrest him in order to prevent some lawmakers on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from dumping the party.

At 7:30am Tuesday morning, Policemen barricaded Lake Chad crescent, the road leading to Sarakis residence.

Twitter and other social media platforms soon caught the buzz with most Nigerians criticizing the move.

Plot Twist

While the Policemen were at Sarakis street, the Senate President had mapped out a plan similar to that applied in 2015 before he emerged Nigerias number 3.

A source told Pulse that Saraki had left his residence through the rear gate and boarded a taxi to the National Assembly.

If you see the car that brought Saraki. Nat taxi o, an official at the National Assembly said to her colleague while standing at the lobby.

Gods plan?

But, Saraki said he got to the National Assembly by Gods intervention.

If it was by the plan, I too, would not be here. It was just by the intervention of the almighty God that I was able to get myself here, Saraki announced.

The road leading to my place was cordoned off and all cars coming in and out as early as 6:30 were being stopped and you have to come down.

My convoy was stopped from moving. Given something that one was prepared for, I had my own car too. So the deputy senate president called me and said he could not come here.

And as you are all aware, very late yesterday, at about 8 p.m., I received a letter asking me to report to the police on a case of this Offa robbery which had been concluded before now, he added.

Security operatives at Ekweremadus house

Saraki condemned the presence of heavy security operatives at the residence of the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu.
The Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, had invited the Senate President to answer questions on his alleged links to the criminal gang that carried out the Offa robbery attack that led to the death of 33 people in April.

In response to the summon, Saraki had said that it was a political persecution but promised to honour the invitation on Tuesday morning.

Videos have emerged on social media showing several police trucks blocking the Senate President's convoy in his neighbourhood.

When contacted for comments, the Senate President's media aide, Olu Onemola, told Pulse Nigeria, "No comments. The videos are self-explanatory."

While Saraki was scheduled to meet with the police by 8am, officers were reported to have blocked his residence at dawn.

Uche Anichukwu, the media aide to Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, told Premium Times that the lawmaker is also under siege by security agents, for unexplained reasons.

Police officers and operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) laid siege to Ekweremadu'sresidencelocated at Apo Legislative Quarters, Abuja.

"The house is currently surrounded by security agencies since early in the morning," he said.

UPDATE

Saraki condemns actions of security operatives

It's unclear how the Senate President made it out of his residence, but he appeared at the National Assembly and presided over the day's session.

While speaking during Tuesday's plenary, the Senate President said he decided to chair the day's session after Ekweremadu called to inform him that he couldn't leave his house to deputise for him while he honoured the police invitation.

He said, "As you know the seat of the DSP, Ike Ekweremadu is absent. He cannot get out of his house. He is being held under seige.

"This morning I could not also leave my street as well because some people believed today's seating must not hold because some members want to move or defect.

"This is not something that started today. It will not end today. People have gone and come back, but these types of actions do not allow for such.

"As we are speaking, our DSP cannot leave the house. We must save this democracy. People have free association. They can even move tomorrow. I am sitting here and 16 members have decamped or defected to one party to another and there has been no seige.

"I don't believe that this should come to this level where people would be laid under siege for something that is personal to them."

EFCC questions Ekweremadu over money laundering

Reports later emerged that the EFCC questioned Ekweremadu over allegations of money laundering, conspiracy and abuse of office.

In a letter of invitation, dated July 24, the EFCC asked the lawmaker to show up at its office by 10am on Tuesday, the same day the letter was issued.

The letter read, "The commission is investigating the above mentioned case in which your name featured prominently and the need to obtain clarifications from you became imperative.

"In view of the above, you are kindly requested to report and interview the undersigned at 5, Famela Street Off Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent Wuse II, Abuja on Tuesday 24th July, 2018 at 10am prompt.

"This request is made pursuant to section 38 (1) of the Economic and Financial Crimes (Establishment) Act, 2004."
This was made known to newsmen by the Force Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood.

On Tuesday, July 24, 2018, policemen reportedly cordoned offthe Senate Presidents house, refusing his convoy from leaving.

Also, a joint team of Department of State Services (DSS) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) personnel laid siege on Ekweremadus home.

Police denies

According to Vanguard, the police authorities denied knowledge of any deployment of its personnel to the homes of the top Senate leaders.

According to the police spokesman, the policemen seen in the video circulated on social media were those attached to the Senate President.

Moshood issued a statement sayingFurther to the press release from this office early this morning on the above subject, where I mentioned that the Nigeria Police Forces attention was drawn to the innuendos in the early hours of today, 24th July, 2018, that some police personnel were seen surrounding the residence of the Senate President in Abuja; the Force categorically stated that there was no authorised deployment of police personnel to besiege the residence of the Senate President or his deputy as reported in the media.

The police personnel seen in pictures in the media were those in the convoy of the Senate President and others attached to him and his residence.

However, the Inspector General of Police directed a thorough investigation to ascertain the facts in the episode.

In addition to the early statement of the Nigeria Police Force mentioned above, the Force hereby wishes to reiterate that no police personnel was sent to besiege, blockade the residence of the President of the Senate, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Sen. Bukola Saraki.

It is also absolutely untrue that the Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki was harassed, threatened or intimidated physically or otherwise by any Police personnel either from the Force Headquarters or any other Formation of the Force.

Offa robbery

Moshood also said that the police force will not be distracted from its constitutional duties.

According to the spokesman, the police will thoroughly investigate the Offa robbery case.

He said The Nigeria Police Force will not abdicate from its constitutional responsibilities of detection of crimes and criminalities, and will always treat crime as crime no matter who is involved. The Force remains focused and will not be distracted from carrying out a discrete and thorough investigation into the indictments of the Senate president, Sen. Bukola Saraki, from confessional statements of some of the Five (5) gang leaders arrested for their active participation in the Offa bank robbery and gruesome murder of more than 33 persons and snatching of 21 AK47 rifles on the 5th of April, 2018 by the gang leaders namely; Ayoade Akinnibosun, Ibukunle Ogunleye, Adeola Abraham, Salawudeen Azeez, Niyi Ogundiran arrested for direct involvement and active participation in the Offa Bank Robbery and the gruesome killing of THIRTY THREE (33) innocent persons.

They also admitted and volunteered statements that they were political thugs of the Senate President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Sen. Bukola Saraki and the Executive Governor of Kwara State, Alh. Abdulfatah Ahmed.

The Five (5) gang leaders further confessed during investigation that they are political thugs under the name Youth Liberation Movement a.k.a Good Boys admitted and confessed to have been sponsored with firearms, money and operational vehicles by the Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki and the Governor of Kwara State, Alh. Abdulfatah Ahmed.

These confessions were made before the media and the public on the 3rd of June, 2018. It is therefore, evidently clear that the Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki has case to answer, and it is consequent upon this that the Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki was invited to appear before the Investigation Team at Intelligence Response Team Office, Guzape Junction, Abuja today, 24th July, 2018 which he refused.

The members of the public are hereby implored to disregard and discountenance the report of the blockade of the residence, harassment and threat on his person in its entirety as untrue and misinforming.
Officers of the Nigeria Police Force blocked the convoy of the Senate President at his Abuja residence at Lake Chad Crescent in Maitama on Tuesday, July 24, 2018. The home of his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, was also besieged by police officers and operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at Apo Legislative Quarters, Abuja.

The blockade of Saraki's convoy is believed to be in connection to his scheduled meeting with police authorities to answer questions over his alleged links to the criminal gang that carried out the Offa robbery attack that led to the death of 33 people in April.

It's unclear how the Senate President made it out of his residence, but he appeared at the National Assembly and is presiding over the day's session.

UPDATE

Saraki condemns actions of security operatives

While speaking during Tuesday's plenary, the Senate President said he decided to chair the day's session after Ekweremadu called to inform him that he couldn't leave his house to deputise for him while he honoured the police invitation.

He said, "As you know the seat of the DSP, Ike Ekweremadu is absent. He cannot get out of his house. He is being held under seige.

"This morning I could not also leave my street as well because some people believed today's seating must not hold because some members want to move or defect.

"This is not something that started today. It will not end today. People have gone and come back, but these types of actions do not allow for such.

"As we are speaking, our DSP cannot leave the house. We must save this democracy. People have free association. They can even move tomorrow. I am sitting here and 16 members have decamped or defected to one party to another and there has been no seige.

"I don't believe that this should come to this level where people would be laid under seige for something that is personal to them."

15 Senators who were members of the APC dumped the ruling party during Tuesday's session.

EFCC questions Ekweremadu over money laundering

Reports later emerged that the EFCC questioned Ekweremadu over allegations of money laundering, conspiracy and abuse of office.

In a letter of invitation, dated July 24, the EFCC asked the lawmaker to show up at its office by 10am on Tuesday, the same day the letter was issued.

The letter read, "The commission is investigating the above mentioned case in which your name featured prominently and the need to obtain clarifications from you became imperative.

"In view of the above, you are kindly requested to report and interview the undersigned at 5, Famela Street Off Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent Wuse II, Abuja on Tuesday 24th July, 2018 at 10am prompt.

"This request is made pursuant to section 38 (1) of the Economic and Financial Crimes (Establishment) Act, 2004."
Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant, in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday, said the law of the land is intended for all, not for the poor or those at the lowest rungs of the social ladder.

The presidential aide was reacting to various comments by VIPs and other Nigerians over the invitation of the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki by the police over the Offa robbery incident where over 30 people were killed.

The police had on June 4 asked for Sarakis reaction to the statement made by some of the suspects arrested in connection to the most deadly robbery in the history of Nigeria.

Saraki wrote a statement dated 7 June.

The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris had on July 23 asked the Senate President to report on July 24 by 8.a.m, to make further statement on the robbery in Offa, and Saraki was yet to report to the police as at the time of filing this report.

However, Shehu said: It is odd, strange and bizarre that while ordinary citizens can be called up to answer questions or be interrogated, the VIP cannot be questioned without the annoying insinuations of partisanship, persecution or outright politicization.

This country cannot achieve development in peace when important cases are viewed through a political prism and the law is considered as being applicable to some, and not applicable to others.

According to the presidential aide, the workings of law enforcement agencies are set out in the constitution and the laws of the country.

If they worked at the discretion of past presidents, who decided who to question and who to detain, Nigerians should get used to the fact that this President is different, he added.

Shehu maintained that President Buhari had never and would not influence or interfere with cases.

He stated that the nations constitution had clearly directed law enforcement agencies to promptly report and investigate any actual or potential infringement of the law and also initiate proceedings against all those involved.

This President is not the one who directs them on what to do.

President Buhari does not stand in the way of law enforcement either. Under our constitution, he has no powers to stop the investigation of anyone or institution.

When they are set to investigate anything and anyone, the best friend of the law is the one who lets them do their work.

ALSO READ:Saraki presides over session hours after drama with Police

"The Presidents constant refrain is that he will not tolerate any form of illegality including corruption and the law enforcement agencies have been given complete freedom to identify and bring all culprits to justice.

His instructions to them are very clear: Anyone with a case to answer or found guilty should not be spared.

He advised that accused persons should approach the courts to plead their innocence rather than going to the public to plead persecution.
Security operatives blocked the residences of Senate President, Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, early on Tuesday, July 24, 2018, leading to fears that Senators who are supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari will attempt to remove both leaders of the chamber.

In response, Murray-Bruce took to his Twitter account to urge every PDP Senator to head over to the complex to stop the plot.

He posted, "Every OfficialPDPNig Senator should immediately go to the NGRSenate. We must stop any attempt by loyalists of dictatorship to use the ensuing confusion to play a fast one and change the leadership of the Senate. Nigerians, be on guard. Help preserve independence of the Senate!"

As rumours of an impeachment plot grows, unusual police presence has been reported at the National Assembly complex, with crowds also gathering outside the gate.

Plenary is scheduled to commence by 11am but the status of both Saraki and Ekweremadu is currently unknown.

UPDATE

The Senate President arrived at the National Assembly complex around 10:40am and presided over the day's plenary.

It's unclear how he made it out of his residence, but he disclosed that Ekweremadu was unable to leave his house and was being questioned by security operatives.

EFCC questions Ekweremadu over money laundering

Reports later emerged that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) questioned Ekweremadu over allegations of money laundering, conspiracy and abuse of office.

In a letter of invitation, dated July 24, the EFCC asked the lawmaker to show up at its office by 10am on Tuesday.

The letter read, "The commission is investigating the above mentioned case in which your name featured prominently and the need to obtain clarifications from you became imperative.

"In view of the above, you are kindly requested to report and interview the undersigned at 5, Famela Street Off Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent Wuse II, Abuja on Tuesday 24th July, 2018 at 10am prompt.

"This request is made pursuant to section 38 (1) of the Economic and Financial Crimes (Establishment) Act, 2004."

In a statement signed by Ekweremadu's Special Adviser on Media, Uche Anichukwu, early on Tuesday, he said the lawmaker was never invited until the morning siege.
14 Senators, who were members of the APC in the upper legislative chamber, dumped the party, with 12 of them defecting to the oppositionPeople's Democratic Party (PDP), before 37 members of the House of Representatives also dumped the party.

While 32 of them defected to the PDP, four lawmakers moved to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the political party adopted by the Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM) launched by former president, Olusegun Obasanjo; but the last one, Emmanuel, remained unclear on his destination.

Senator Muritala Nyako (Adamawa Central) and Senator Monsurat Sumonu (Oyo Central), also defected to the ADC.

After meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa on Tuesday, Oshiomhole said the lawmakers that decamped are masquerades with little or no electoral value to the party. He further said the defections will not affect President Buhari's chances in the 2019 elections.

He said, "The thing going on is that we have a lot of so-called big masquerades with very little or no electoral value. I insist that I will not miss a sleep one minute over machinery activities. I have said and I want to repeat, this business of governance must be driven by men and women of honour.

"If the only motivation is personal interest, what is the need for me, what have I gained, if that is the basis, the earlier for those in this business for personal gain return to where they belong, the better.

"The party that I am privileged to chair is not worried at all, we are not disturbed, I am not going to miss my sleep.

"Go to the campaign, check the electoral results you will find that a lot of those who claimed to have decamped on a good day, the votes they got that made them members of the senate, our president got much more votes in their constituencies. So, we are not fooled at all."

Oshiomhole's statement mirrors the official position of the party according to a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, who said the party is unfazed by the departure of those he said were unwilling to yield to its attempts to solve differences.

Despite the defection leading to the party's loss of the Senate majority on Tuesday, Abdullahi said the party will consolidate on its majority in the federal House of Representatives and state assemblies.

He further urged members to remain calm and be assured that the party will perform strongly in the 2019 general elections despite the defections.

He said, "APC remains in firm control of 25 states of the 36 states of the federation and maintains a clear majority in the federal House of Representatives and state assemblies.

"We assure members and supporters that our great party will continue to consolidate on our majority status in the leadup to the 2019 General Elections, even as our government continues to work hard to deliver on our promises to Nigerians."

List of Senators who dumped APC

Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West) and Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano Central ) are two of the most notable lawmakers that dumped the APC for the PDP on Tuesday.

Others are Lanre Tejuoso (Ogun Central), Shaaba Lafiagi (Kwara North), Barnabas Gemade (Benue North East), Rafiu Ibrahim (Kwara South), and Shitu Ubali (Jigawa North-East)

The others are Danbaba Ibrahim (Sokoto South), Usman Nafada (Gombe North), Nasif Nafada (Bauchi North), Isah Misau (Bauchi Central) and Suleman Hunkuyi (Kaduna North).

Senator Muritala Nyako (Adamawa Central) and Monsurat Sumonu (Oyo Central) defected from the APC to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Even though his name was read by Senate President, Bukola Saraki as one of the PDP defectors, SenatorSoji Akanbi (Oyo South) has announced that it was a mistake and declared his commitment to the APC.

"I remain a bona fide, committed, unrepentant member of APC," he said.

House of Reps members who dumped APC

The 32 lawmakers that dumped the APC for the PDP are Garba Umar (Kano), Olayonu Tope (Kwara), Ahmed Garba (Kano), Kabiru Marafa (Sokoto), Zakari Mohammed (Kwara), Abubakar Amuda-Kanike (Kwara), Ali Madaki (Kano), Hassan Saleh (Benue), Ahman Pategi (Kwara), Mark Gbillah (Benue), Shehu Usman (Kano), Aminu Shagari (Sokoto), Nuhu Danburam (Kano), and Atunwa Abdulrazak (Kwara).

Others are Salisu Zakari (Bauchi), Hassan Omale (Kogi), Rufai Chanchangi (Kaduna), Abdulsamad Dasuki (Sokoto), Sani Zoro (Jigawa), Benjamin Okolo (Kogi), Funke Adedoyi (Kwara), Bode Ayorinde (Ondo), Bashiru Salihu (Sokoto), and Barry Mpigi (Rivers).

The remaining defectors are Nasiru Sule (Kano), Segun Ogunwuyi (Oyo), Lawal Rabiu (Kaduna), Sani Rano (Kano), Dickson Tarkighir (Benue) Musa Adotsamiya (Kano) and Emmanuel Udende (Benue).
As part of the New-PDP faction that orignially formed the APC and then a reported member of the Reformed APC faction that has threatened to break away, many have anticipated the Senate President's departure from the APC back to the People's Democratic Party (PDP) on whose platform he was elected twice as Kwara State governor.

With the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, summoning Saraki for the second time to answer questions on his alleged links to the Offa robbery incident that led to the death of 33 people, the Senate President has dropped the biggest hint that he's close to leaving the ruling party.

In June, the police had linked Saraki to the ringleader of the Offa Robbery, Ayodele Akinnibosun (aka, AY), who alleged that he was a political thug for Saraki. Even though he was first summoned, he was later asked to send in a written response, which he did.

However the IGP has asked Saraki to report at the Force Intelligence Response Team at Guzape, Abuja on Tuesday, July 24, 2018, for further investigation over the April 5 Offa bank robbery.

In response to the new summon, Saraki accused the IGP of being a tool in a political game orchestrated by the "party in power to suppress perceived opponents". He said the invitation is a clear ploy to stop the defection of certain members of the National Assembly from the ruling party.

"I have been reliably informed that the police invitation was planned by the IG as a ploy to stop an alleged plan by some Senators and House of Representatives members from defecting from the All Progressives Congress (APC). It was also said that if I was detained between Tuesday and Wednesday, that will abort the so-called defection plan," he said.

While maintaining his innocence on his alleged involvement with the robbery whose investigation he alleged has been "corrupted and politicised" by the police, the Senate President said its intent to stop him and his colleagues from leaving the party will fail.

"This plot aimed at compelling me and my associates to stay in a party where members are criminalised without just cause, where injustice is perpetrated at the highest level and where there is no respect for constitutionalism is an exercise in futility and it will fail," he noted, with a hint that suggests he's getting ever closer to the exit door.

ALSO READ: Why Police force wants to question Saraki over links to Offa robbery

Buhari-Saraki crisis meeting

The summon by the police comes just days after the Senate President met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa in a meeting that's widely been reported to have been one where the president tried to mend fences.

In the Thursday, July 19 meeting, the president is reported to have appealed to Saraki to stick with the ruling party, especially since he's considered to be the most influential member looking to jump ship to the opposition.

The meeting between the two is reported to have been inconclusive as Saraki failed to assure the president that he would stay with the APC.

Saraki's links to Offa robbery gang

In his confessions to the police and the media, Akinnibosun said that Saraki and Kwara state governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, are his political sponsors.

He said, "I am the chairman of Liberation Youths Movement, Kwara South. My involvement with the senate president is we're his boys; we work for him at Kwara South. We're the ones that hold Kwara South for him. We've been working for him since he was Governor of Kwara.

"We mobilise and do political arrangement there (Kwara South). For example, where we can't win, we make dabaru (disruptive) arrangement there; we scatter elections if we don't win."

Nine police officers and 24 others lost their lives when a group of around 30 armed robbers attacked Union Bank, Eco Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, First Bank, Zenith Bank and Ibolo Micro Finance Bank,as well as the Owode Police Stationin Offa on April 5, 2018.
Officers of the Nigeria Police Force blocked the convoy of Senate President, at his Abuja residence at Lake Chad Crescent in Maitama on Tuesday, July 24, 2018. The home of his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, was also beseiged by police officers and operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at his Apo Legislative Quarters residence in Abuja.

While reacting to the actions of security operatives, Atiku released a signed statement where he condemned them as "troubling and unsettling".

He urged President Muhammadu Buhari to stick to his word and allow the nation's judicial process to take its course without undue interference.

He said, "The news of the sieges on the residences of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, is both troubling and unsettling. No democratic nation ought to treat the leadership of its Parliament like common criminals in the course of a political disagreement.

"I remind the powers that be that on August 31, 2013, when Senator Bukola Saraki walked out of the Peoples Democratic Party and began the process of joining the All Progressives Congress, there was celebration in their camps.

"I also remind them that their electoral victory, which they have so badly mismanaged today, would not have been possible without the Senate President.

"Power is transient and is also a trust that should only be used for the good and advancement of the people one leads and not for the persecution of real and imagined political opponents.

"I therefore call for the lifting of the sieges on the persons and homes of Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu by security forces.

"I remind President Muhammadu Buhari of his public words of solidarity to Senator Saraki after his ordeal of malicious prosecution, which thankfully was brought to a halt by the Supreme Court, and I urge him to live up to those words today and always."

Why Saraki, Ekweremadu were hounded by security operatives

The blockade of Saraki's convoy is believed to be in connection to his scheduled meeting with police authorities to answer questions over his alleged links to the criminal gang that carried out the Offa robbery attack that led to the death of 33 people in April.

In a letter of invitation, dated July 24, the EFCC asked Ekweremadu to show up at its office by 10am on Tuesday to answer questions over allegations of money laundering, conspiracy and abuse of office.

The hounding of both leaders led to fears that Senators who are supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari will attempt to remove both leaders of the chamber. This was because of fears that a lot of lawmakers in the Senate were planning to dump the ruling All Progressives' Congress (APC).

It's unclear how Saraki was able to leave his residence after his convoy was blocked, but he arrived the National Assembly complex around 10:30 and presided over the day's session. He announced the defection of 15 senators who dumped the APC as previously feared.

Saraki condemned the siege on Ekweremadu's residence which stopped him from attending Tuesday's plenary.

"As you know the seat of the DSP, Ike Ekweremadu is absent. He cannot get out of his house. He is being held under siege," he said.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  Purdue University researchers have developed a technique they hope will provide valuable information about the growth of certain cancers and the ability of drugs to fight them.

The team created a new way to grow tumors that focuses on cancers of the breast, prostate and pancreas, some of the most aggressive types of the disease. The National Cancer Institute estimates those three types will make up 30 percent of new cancer cases this year in the United States.

The team created a technique, called disease-on-a-chip, which uses a 3D cell culture environment and a curved surface that more closely resemble human body conditions than their traditional 2D counterparts do. In addition to testing and screening for drug development projects, the technique is geared towards creating personalized models of tumors that doctors can use to help determine the best course of treatment.

This is an extraordinary leap for Purdue in the fight against cancer and one of the most serious issues for doctors and patients  resistance to treatment,  said Sophie Lelievre, a professor of cancer pharmacology at Purdue, who helped lead the research team. Health researchers teamed up with engineers for intellectual discourse, which led to this breakthrough. We have proven that a curved surface for the culture of carcinomas provides a tremendous advantage in the area of cancer research.

Lelievre, whose interest in this discipline began after her mothers best friend died of breast cancer, said the team compared its technique against two commercially available systems for drug screening. The Purdue researchers found that only their technique could accurately determine how anti-cancer drugs would react both in laboratory testing and in living organisms.

The physical properties of our technique, including the 3D element and curved shape, allow us to better follow cancer growth and determine the effectiveness of drugs, Lelievre said. Our testing structure closely mimics the tumor growth in ducts for the areas of the body where these aggressive types of cancer develop.

One of the challenges the team faced was figuring out a method to create the curved design for very narrow channels and cells that are very sensitive to their environment.

At Purdue, we are focused on working across disciplines to move innovations forward to save lives in Indiana and across the world, said Rahim Rahimi, a postdoctoral scientist in Purdues School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Rahimi led the engineering portion of the research with another postdoctoral scientist, Manuel Ochoa from the Ziaie laboratory, in collaboration with Farzaneh Atrian, a biologist and graduate student in the Lelievre laboratory.

The team worked with the Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization to patent the technology. The research team is looking for partners.

About Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization

The Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S. Services provided by this office support the economic development initiatives of Purdue University and benefit the university's academic activities. The office is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, which received the 2016 Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities Award for Innovation from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. For more information about funding and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org. For more information on licensing a Purdue innovation, contact the Office of Technology Commercialization at innovation@prf.org. The Purdue Research Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation created to advance the mission of Purdue University.

Purdue Research Foundation contact: Chris Adam, 765-588-3341, cladam@prf.org



Source: Sophie Lelievre, lelievre@purdue.edu
Kiwis are however not in favour of commercialised cannabis or growing for friends. Sixty percent wanted selling from a store to remain illegal, while 69 percent wanted growing for friends to stay against the law.

Drug foundation executive director Ross Bell told RadioLIVE's Mark Sainsbury that the survey shows the majority of Kiwis across the board want reform, regardless of political affiliation.

What we're doing isn't working.

"Importantly, the number are consistently high [for a law change], regardless of where someone sits on the political spectrum" he said.

Mr Bell says the time has come to treat marijuana as a health issue, not a criminal one.

Regardless of what people think about cannabis law, what were doing isnt working, he said.



Many young people are still accessing cannabis and the country continues to criminalise those involved with the drug, explained Mr Bell. So we need to try something different, he suggested.

Just saying this is illegal, dont do it is not working for us, and those harms that people are concerned about - which I share - exist right now under our prohibition approach.



The Green Party's confidence and supply agreement promises a referendum on cannabis use before or during the 2020 general election.

The Government has also introduced a medicinal cannabis Bill, which would make it legal for patients with a terminal illness to use medicinal cannabis.

A separate Bill from the Green Party that would have allowed terminally ill and debilitated people to grow their own cannabis failed at its first reading.

Listen to the full interview with Ross Bell above.



Morning Talk with Mark Sainsbury, 9am - 12pm Weekdays and streaming live on 'rova' channel 9 - available on Android and iPhone.

Elements of this article appeared earlier on Newshub.co.nz

Newshub/RadioLIVE.
Every Tuesday night after the 10pm news, Mitch Harris talks with Elevation Capital CEO Chris Swasbrook on the latest business news.

On the table tonight:

- The 'billionaire's bolthole' - if money was made worthless, how would billionaires react? What on Earth would be worth the most as currency? (eg. oil, water, gold, food, tobacco, coffee etc)

- New Zealand's taxes on tobacco and cigarettes - how big is the 'black market' of tobacco in NZ?

- Ikea are finally launching their first store in India after 6 years of trying. Ikea India have already employed 150 people just to assemble furniture. Why don't Indians like to put together their own flat-pack furniture?

- The European Union has fined Google a massive $5billion Euro for abusing it's position in the cellphone market. The EU found Google was denying rivals a chance to innovate and compete on merit. But even with this fine, Google has still posted a massive profit for the last quarter (in which the fine was paid).

- For the final story tonight, Chris tells us of a couple who bought a lock-up in Chelsea, London for $15,000 pounds. A box of over 200 paintings was found hidden in the lock-up, and those paintings are potentially worth tens of millions of dollars!

Night Talk with Mitch Harris, 8pm - 12am Monday-Thursday nights on RadioLIVE, and streaming live to the rova app on Android and iPhone.

RadioLIVE.
South-East Asian video-on-demand (VOD) service HOOQ has appointed Bryan Seah as its head of original productions and Tina Arwin as its head of content, Indonesia.





Both appointees have extensive programming expertise and will focus on deepening the original and local content for the over-the-top (OTT) video streaming service.Seah (pictured) will be based at HOOQs headquarters in Singapore and Arwin will work in the Jakarta office.I am delighted to have talents of Bryans and Tinas calibre joining the HOOQ content team. We have been aggressively expanding HOOQs local content line-up, including original productions with the successful inaugural run of HOOQ Filmmakers Guild. As we continue to build our strength in Asia, it is integral for us to continue to expand the content slate on our platform, said Jennifer Batty, chief content officer, HOOQ With their vast experience in the industry and across the region, I am confident that Bryan and Tina will be key in driving HOOQs content strategy in our next phase of growth.Prior to HOOQ, Bryan Seah was the head of original content at Discovery Network where he oversaw original branded content for companies including Nestle, Audi and Samsung. Bryan has gained 15 years experience in producing and developing programmes for Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, NHK and TLC.Theres really no better time to be a consumer or producer of quality content today  OTT platforms have given audiences full control of the viewing experience, while producers have more avenues than ever to share their stories. HOOQ has led the charge in delivering premium content in partnership with top producers, said Bryan Seah.I am delighted to join the dynamic team at HOOQ and to be part of this commitment to bring world-class content to our audiences, and I look forward to working closely with the production community across Asia to showcase the unique stories from our dynamic region.Tina Arwin, meanwhile, was previously head of content and programming at Viu Indonesia where she led the content acquisition and programming strategy for the market. She has over 18 years of experience in the industry, working with MTV Indonesia, Fremantlemedia, Astro Indonesia and Vivasky.HOOQ presents an exciting opportunity, particularly in Indonesia where it is the market leader. Known for bringing in the best of local and Hollywood content to local viewers, I am thrilled to be joining the team and look forward to work together with the team to bring more local and original quality content that are both engaging and entertaining, said Tina Arwin.
Murder Mystery and My Family was one of the springs stand-out hits for the BBC, regularly bringing in more than two million viewers in a 09.15 daytime slot. The format sees top criminal barristers Sasha Wass and Jeremy Dein team up with the relatives of those convicted of murder and subsequently executed to re-investigate the case with the help of modern forensic techniques. The objective is to determine whether the original conviction was sound and, if not, to clear the family name.The UK public broadcaster has also commissioned its 10 x 60 partner show Murder Mystery and My Family: Case Closed which will delve further into cases covered in the original series, which sees two criminal barristers re-investigate potentially unsafe historical murder convictions. It will update viewers on the familys quest to clear their relations name, along with unexpected reunions with long-lost family members, submissions to the Criminal Cases Review Commission and any new evidence that has emerged since the original show.The series were ordered by BBC commissioning editor Lindsay Bradbury to air in daytime slots throughout 2019. When Chalkboard Television pitched the territory of murder crimes, they were slightly cautious because it felt so different for a Daytime audience, she remarked. But this type of distinctive format is exactly what we are after. The audience have really got stuck into the intrigue, suspense and emotion so brilliantly brought to life by Sasha and Jeremy.Both series will be executive produced by Mike Benson for Chalkboard and will once again be series produced and directed by Simon Cooper. Chalkboard executive producer and director Benson added: The response to the first series of Murder Mystery and My Family was extraordinary and the concept and cases seemed to really connect with the BBC audience. Its testament to the strength and quality of the format that we can expand the show with the diversified Case Closed? commission.
Adding over-the-top services to its DTH and IPTV bouquet has been success for European pay-TV operator M7 Group, which has seen its OTT app now used by close to 300,000 customers, 30% growth since launch in December 2017.





The app meets what the company says is the rapidly growing subscriber demand to watch content at any time on any device. It is designed to allow subscribers to watch content from the various M7 TV platforms at any time on any device. M7 has also introduced a dedicated app for smart TVs in partnership with Samsung, allowing viewers to access both linear and interactive services via a cmart TV, without the need for a set-top box. Support for other TV manufacturers will follow shortly.As a result of the rapid uptake of hybrid TV viewing among its subscribers, M7 has revealed that its special interest channels targeting smaller viewing audiences are now primarily distributed via OTT. These include thematic Dutch channels NPO Zapp, NPO1 Extra, RTL Crime, RTL Lounge and AT5. OTT distribution also allows for the addition of new channels. Thus, NPO2 Extra, NPO3 Extra and NPO Nieuws will be added shortly to the companys Canal Digitaal line-up. OTT is now an essential part of M7s hybrid TV offering, both for linear and on-demand content said Bill Wijdeveld, VP business development at M7 Group : While the usage of hybrid set top-boxes and smart TV s is growing steadily, the take-up of the M7 TV app is impressive, he remarked. By July, the total number of users of the M7 TV app, available via Apple and Android devices.
Next year will mark the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. As Ill spell out more in a moment, the 40 years of fruit from the revolution has been bitter. Forty years of kleptocracy. Forty years of the peoples wealth squandered on supporting terrorism. Forty years of ordinary Iranians thrown in jail for peaceful expression of their rights. Why has the regime conducted itself in such an abhorrent way over the past 40 years and subjected its people to these conditions? Its an important question.
President Trump hailed him as a catalyst of the summit with Kim Jong-Un. But what happened to Warmbierthe American college student who was sent home brain-damaged from North Koreais even more shocking than anyone knew.
A Democratic blue wave may or may not be able to overcome the Republicans majority and structural advantages in the 2018 midterm elections. But the bigger story thats brewing is the dramatic and nationwide leftward shift of the Democratic Party. The socialist surge has potential to reshape not just the party but American politics for generations to come.

Democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezs victory over 10-term incumbent Joe Crowley in a New York primary was the most significant political upset since Tea Party Republican Dave Brat defeated then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in 2014. Her victory wasnt an isolated incident. Democratic-socialist candidates also scored wins in Pennsylvanias House of Representatives and, in 2017, in Virginias House of Delegates.

Meanwhile, in California, the Democratic state party executive committee decided to endorse progressive stalwart Kevin de Leon over Dianne Feinstein. (Feinstein won the open primary, but in California the top two finishers, even if members of the same party, run against each other in the general election.) Feinstein has major advantages in the November face-off (name ID and fundraising) and will likely prevail. But when Dianne Feinstein is deemed too conservative for the Democratic Party a major shift is underway.

The Democratic socialists hoped to start a new chapter in their crusade with a rally last week in the heart of America: The event took place in Wichita, Kansas. For Kansass conservatives, the rally was the political equivalent of Red Dawn. The Bernie Sanders liberation army, under the leadership of General Ocasio-Cortez, parachuted into the heart of Koch country (Wichita is the headquarters of Koch Industries) to pick a fight and make a point. Ocasio-Cortez said they chose the location to prove that an honest, grassroots, lobbyist-free movement for working-class Americans can work anywhere.

Kansas Republicans, who understand their states history as a proxy battleground for populist movements, are taking this threat seriously. In the 3rd Congressional District, which includes the Kansas City suburbs and more moderate Johnson and Wyandotte counties, socialist Brent Welder claims he is beating Republican Kevin Yoder in a head-to-head matchup. The Welder campaign reportedly received $50,000 in small donor contributions after Ocasio-Cortezs victory. Perhaps not coincidentally, Vice President Mike Pence made a stop in Kansas to support Yoder on July 11.

In the 4th Congressional District, Republican Ron Estes, who represents Wichita, called the rally a declaration of war against the American free enterprise system. Estes confronted the socialists populist message head on. Socialists dont trust you, he said. They only trust themselves to use your money for their utopian agenda. Its not about working people. Its about power.

In the 2nd District, Republican Caryn Tyson, a leading candidate to replace retiring Republican Lynn Jenkins, asked: Wheres Paul Davis? Davis, the likely Democratic nominee, is trying to thread a needle by not alienating moderate voters or his progressive base, as he needs both to be competitive in a general election.

In Kansas, only the 1st District, represented by Republican Roger Marshall seems immune from the socialist surge. An R+24 district, according the Cook Political Reports Partisan Voting Index, KS-1 sits near the top of the Republicans big hill.

Conservatives nationally should follow the lead of Sunflower State Republicans and take serious steps to counter the socialist surge. Demagoguing socialists as extreme or scary wont be enough.

Three national trends could conspire to give socialists widespread electoral and policy success:

1. We live in an age of movements, not parties. National Democrats are terrified of the rise of Ocasio-Cortez, and for good reason. They may not have any more influence over the socialist surge than Republicans had over Donald Trumps rise in 2016. Trump broke through Republican establishment opposition as if it didnt exist  because it didnt. Todays national parties are event planners for movements. Parties belong to movements more than movements belong to parties. Movements like the Tea Party, and now Democratic socialism, have supplanted party structures as organizers of ideas and debate.

As a longtime aide to U.S. Rep. and then-Sen. Tom Coburn, I can testify to the fact that confronting entrenched power was not mere theory. In fight after fight  especially our successful campaign to eliminate congressional earmarks  we experienced the overwhelming strength of grassroots movements and weakness of national party structures.

Joe Lieberman, the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2000, is right to warn that Ocasio-Cortezs policies could bankrupt America, but todays Democratic Party left Lieberman long ago. Todays Democrats lack the credibility and political power to stop the socialist surge.

2. Americas anti-incumbent mood is less ideological than Republicans realize. Rick Santellis rant is often described as the start of the Tea Party. But that moment was only one chapter in a quarter-century-long anti-incumbent movement that remains ongoing. In fact, the movement that became the Tea Party wasnt started by conservatives but rather by a Democratic outsider named Virgil Cooper.

In 1994, the 71-year-old retired middle-school principal with no political experience and virtually no money defeated eight-term incumbent Mike Synar in Oklahomas 2nd Congressional District Democratic primary. Though Coburn went on to win the general election, it was Cooper who started the Gingrich Revolution that became the Tea Party and then the Trump movement.

Coburn never forgot that a Democrat cleared his path to victory. He understood the rumble felt in the electorate was a not a doctrinaire conservative movement but a more ideologically diffused anti-incumbent uprising. Bernie Sanders watched conservatives harness this movement and has spent the last 25 years dreaming about how to direct its course toward Democratic socialism.

3. Millennials like socialism. Millennials are now the largest sector of the labor market and the largest voter-eligible generation in America. They are also the victims of generational theft and may well choose generational retaliation rather than reform along the lines of what reformers proposed through the Simpson-Bowles Commission, for instance.

Polls consistently show millennials like socialism  but theres a catch.

The only path forward for conservatives is to appeal to millennials who are undecided about economic theory. For instance, a Gallup poll from 2016 showed a majority (55 percent) of Americans between the ages of 18-29 had a positive view of socialism. Yet, the same poll revealed that millennials view small business, entrepreneurs, the free enterprise system and capitalism more favorably than socialism. Free enterprise was viewed favorably by 78 percent of younger Americans while capitalism was viewed favorably by 57 percent. Gallup also found that millennials have a higher opinion of small business and free enterprise than Americans over 65.

Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez understand these trends and have a plan to respond to them. They view this struggle as a long-term generational and worldview conflict that transcends mere politics. So should conservatives. Movements rise to prominence not necessarily by offering the right answers but by asking the right questions. In the 18th century, abolitionist Josiah Wedgwood changed the world by asking the right question: Am I not a man and a brother?

The heart of the Sanders/Ocasio-Cortez Democratic-socialist movement is a question more than a set of policies: Is it right and moral that in a modern and wealthy country some people are too poor to live? That is the right question. Conservatives have the best response and should welcome this struggle. They should also share their answers with passion and moral clarity, rather than dismissing the socialists as a fringe movement. If they dont, the socialist surge may become unstoppable.
Good morning, its Tuesday, July 24, 2018. On this date in 1984, a former U.S. Marine named Kirk Bloodsworth worked a 12-hour shift unloading freight at a furniture import business in Baltimore County. Afterward, he met his wife for drinks at 10:30 p.m. in a neighborhood bar. They bickered, unfortunately for him, so she spent the night at her mothers house. Bloodsworth went home and slept it off, awaking around 10 a.m.

Puttering around his house until the afternoon, he watched as a tragedy unfolded on the local television news. Nine-year-old Dawn Venice Hamilton had wandered away from her familys apartment complex in an unincorporated area of Baltimore County called Rosedale. Hours later, Dawns lifeless body was discovered in a wooded area nearby. She had been battered, strangled, and sexually violated.

Two boys fishing in a pond told police theyd seen a tall man lead her into the woods. A police sketch was quickly publicized. An anonymous caller told police that it looked like someone named Kirk, which is sometimes all it takes for your life to become a nightmare. Kirk Bloodsworth was arrested, put on trial, convicted and sentenced to death. Except that he never set foot in Rosedale on that fateful day.

In a moment Ill have more a story that shows why innocent until proven guilty is supposed to be more than a bromide. First, Id point you to RealClearPolitics' front page, which presents our poll averages, videos, breaking news stories, and aggregated opinion columns spanning the political spectrum. We also offer original material from our own reporters and contributors, including the following:

* * *

Georgia Runoff Puts Trumps Clout on the Line -- Again. Sally Persons previews todays election in the GOP race for governor.

Trump Considers Revoking Security Clearances of Critics. Sally reports on possible action aimed at several former U.S. intelligence officials, including onetime CIA Director John Brennan and ex-FBI Director James Comey.

Progressive Dems Push Party Toward Medicare for All. Adele Malpass has the story.

Any Recourse When Fact Checkers Get It Wrong? Kalev Leetaru examines Facebooks policy -- or lack thereof -- regarding appeals of fact checks that result in blacklisting of stories on the social media website.

Dont Underestimate Socialist Surge on the Left. John Hart writes that a rally held last week in Kansas offers proof that the rise of Democratic socialism isnt limited to easterners Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders.

Trump, Putin and Nixonian Politics. In RealClearDefense, Francis P. Sempa advises critics of the administrations foreign policy to consider historical antecedents.

Conservatism in the Age of Millennials. In the latest installment of RealClearPolicy's "American Project" series, Michael Hendrix urges conservatives to stick to their principles rather than "jettisoning beliefs to win over young voters.

Party Unity Is an Illusion. Also in RCPolicy, Philip A. Wallach & James Wallner warn that when party leaders suppress disagreement among their members, it is to everyones detriment.

School Choice Movement Needs Better Messaging. In RealClearEducation, CJ Szafir & Cori OConnor spotlight results from a new survey in Wisconsin.

* * *

Although he never encountered poor little Dawn Hamilton in his life, Kirk Bloodsworth did meet her killer. In prison, he lifted weights with fellow inmate Kimberly Shay Ruffner, a sexual predator with a long record -- who never said a word to Bloodsworth about the case that put the ex-Marine behind bars. But Bloodsworth should never have crossed paths with this monster in the first place. His conviction was effectuated by shoddy police work, junk science, lousy lawyering, prosecutors who hid exculpatory evidence, and two gullible juries. No physical evidence linked him to the crime. He never confessed. On the contrary, he insisted on his innocence and supplied alibi witnesses. But they were disregarded in favor of eyewitnesses who didnt come forward until they saw Bloodsworth on television. The first conviction was overturned on appeal, but the second trial ended with the same verdict: guilty.

Kirk Bloodsworth spent his time behind bars studying extensively in hopes of finding some way to prove his innocence. In 1992, after reading an article about how a DNA test had cleared a double-murder suspect in England, he ran through the cellblock screaming for joy.

Initially, Maryland authorities claimed that the DNA evidence taken from Dawn Hamilton had been destroyed. This assertion was as false as the rest of the prosecutions case, and ultimately Bloodsworth was freed. That happened on June 28, 1993. Hed spent nine years in prison, two of them on Death Row, for a crime he hadnt committed. Even then, Marylands criminal justice system was uninterested in finding the real killer. Nearly a decade later, however, a Baltimore County forensic biologist found stains that had not been analyzed and ran the DNA through a sex offender database. The name it kicked back was Kimberly Ruffner.

The following year, Ruffner admitted his guilt in a plea deal sparing him the death penalty. In court, he mentioned neither the girl nor the innocent man whose life hed ruined. Kirk Bloodsworth did not attend the hearing. Its Dawn Hamiltons time, he explained over the phone to Stephanie Hanes of the Baltimore Sun before breaking into sobs. Its finally over.

Carl M. Cannon

Washington Bureau chief, RealClearPolitics

@CarlCannon (Twitter)

ccannon@realclearpolitics.com
Last summer, Georgia experienced an onslaught of national attention for a special election in the states 6th Congressional District, a race widely seen as a test of President Trumps political strength. The Trump-backed candidate won, but this summer brings another test of his clout in the Peach State.

The contentious gubernatorial primary runoff between Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and Secretary of State Brian Kemp is neck and neck as voters head to the polls Tuesday. Both candidates have taken aim at each other using the Trump-style tactic of assigning nicknames, in this case Lyin Brian and Pinocchio.

One major factor that could tip the scales in the tight race is the presidents recent endorsement of Kemp on Twitter.

Brian Kemp, who is running for Governor of Georgia and has my full endorsement, is campaigning tonight with VP @mike_pence. Brian is very strong on Crime and Borders, LOVES our Military, Vets and the 2nd Amendment. He will be a GREAT Governor! Trump tweeted last week.

Cagle led in the first round of primary voting in May with 39 percent of the vote, and was widely considered the favorite. Kemp came in second with 26 percent, but because neither topped the 50 percent threshold required to win the nomination, a runoff was triggered. A recent Atlanta-Journal Constitution poll shows a change in the dynamics of the race, with Kemp in the lead at 44 percent compared to Cagles 41 percent. The poll was taken prior to Trumps endorsement.

One GOP strategist in the state said that a runoff attracts a different kind of voter than seen in a traditional primary, noting that grassroots efforts are key to generating turnout.

It is not about big dollars or media ads, but about who has the best grassroots, get-out-the-vote apparatus. Momentum for Brian Kemp has been very strong across Georgia during the runoff and the president's endorsement has most certainly given him more earned media and ignited the base of the party, said the strategist, Julianne Thompson.

She said that the presidents backing will likely push some undecided voters towards Kemp. Other key endorsements in the race include the National Rifle Association, which endorsed Cagle ahead of the initial primary, and GeorgiaCarry.org, a state-level gun rights group, which supports Kemp.

Cagles standing in the recent poll could be due to an audio recording on which he is heard saying that voters dont care about the issues in a primary race and instead care more about who could be the craziest candidate.

This primary felt like it was who had the biggest gun, who had the biggest truck, and who could be the craziest, he is heard saying on the tape, according Columbus, Ga., TV station WRBL.

This is the second secretly taped audio recording spotlighting Cagle. In June, the lieutenant governor was heard explaining how he pushed a bad bill through to head off the potential candidacy of former state Sen. Hunter Hill. The latest audio recording was released by Kemps campaign. The first was released by former GOP primary contender Clay Tippins.

The Georgia Republican Party says that supporters will unite around whoever is the nominee to keep their state red.

After Tuesdays election, Republicans will be a united and fortified force. The primary was just our warm-up, John Watson, chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, said in a statement.

Democrats, however, see the state turning blue for the first time since Democratic Gov. Roy Barnes lost his re-election bid in 2002. The state party believes that by mobilizing its base and attracting disaffected Republicans, it will win in November regardless of who the Republicans have on the ballot.

Were excited to get tomorrow over with. Were ready for either one, said DuBose Porter, chairman of the Democratic Party of Georgia.

He said hes confident that the partys nominee, former state Rep. Stacey Abrams -- who would be the first female African-American to serve as governor in any state if elected -- will win.

Shes smarter, shes more qualified.  Our issues are better, DuBose said.

RealClearPolitics rates the race as likely GOP ahead of the runoff.
The results of the Helsinki summit are in. President Trump couldn't handle statecraft or, for that matter, double negatives, but he came out of the meeting undefeated and invincible. Like the Charlottesville hatefest or the "Access Hollywood" tape, it was just another day at the office for Trump. Unlike the mocking balloon that soared over London, Trump never loses air.

The post-summit poll numbers are instructive. While 50 percent of Americans disapproved of the way Trump handled Vladimir Putin, his Republican base stayed both loyal and comatose. In a Washington Post-ABC News poll, 66 percent of Republicans approved of Trump's performance. An earlier Axios/SurveyMonkey poll put the GOP figure at 79 percent, not only more impressive but downright eerie.

It is safe to say that these numbers might have surprised even the shaken White House staffers who flew back to Washington with Trump. The commentariat was already on the air, reporting on the summit as if it were a multicar Beltway collision. Even Fox News was critical and Newt Gingrich, whose wife is Trump's ambassador to the Holy See, called the meeting "the most serious mistake" of Trump's presidency -- an extremely high bar.

National security adviser John Bolton got to work. On the plane, according to The Wall Street Journal, he went about the painful business of damage control and hammered out talking points advising Trump on how to reclaim reality. One idea was for Trump to assert his support for the U.S. intelligence community, the sort of prosaic statement, like a belief in God, that no president had ever had to make. Trump, of course, did so -- and stuck to his guns for almost a day.

There is such a thing, we are told, as Trump Derangement Syndrome. It is an ideological version of Tourette syndrome, which causes certain people to denounce Trump in obscene ways. It has come over the likes of Robert De Niro and, when it came to Ivanka Trump, Samantha Bee. It has prompted others to call Trump a traitor, which is a slanderous accusation too often used for crass political reasons. Sen. Joseph McCarthy called the Roosevelt-Truman administrations "20 years of treason."

Yet, the more dangerous variant of the syndrome is the willingness of most Republicans to support Trump no matter what. One of the first outbreaks of this occurred in the 2016 South Carolina Republican primary, which Trump won handily. He did so running against fellow Republicans, not the reliably useful Hillary Clinton. He even swept the evangelical Christian vote, beating such staunch conservatives as Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ben Carson, both of whom had only been married once. The thrice married Trump, in vivid contrast, had run casinos and exchanged countless smirky remarks with Howard Stern. His piety was in question.

As far as the evangelical community is concerned, nothing has changed. Trump has been accused of adultery and of buying the silence of his alleged paramours. He has referred to impoverished nations as "shithole countries" and -- unforgivably -- belittled the wartime torture of Sen. John McCain. None of this shook his base. On the contrary, his support within the Republican Party has risen and solidified. It now stands at around 90 percent, which is what tin-pot dictators get in rigged elections.

The upshot is that we now have two political parties -- one pro-Trump and one anti. Some celebrated Republicans -- George F. Will, for instance -- have already declared their apostasy. Will is now "unaffiliated," but no one runs for president as that. In this country, if you're anti-Trump, realism says you've got to vote Democratic. (Please, no more of this Libertarian or Green Party nonsense.)

It's impossible to say at this point if the pro-Trump/anti-Trump dichotomy is just about the man himself or represents a wider and more permanent political realignment. (Who's the next Trump?) But it's clear that something beyond economics -- and certainly not foreign policy -- motivates Trump's people. My guess is that it's a low-boil rage against a vague and threatening liberalism -- urbane, educated, affluent, secular, diverse and sexually tolerant. It is, in other words, some of the same forces that once fueled European fascism.

Those of us who write newspaper columns know that sheer brilliance, should it happen, gets a silent nod of the head, but affirmation -- saying what readers already think -- gets loud hurrahs. This is Trump's appeal as well. He validates the thinking -- some of it ugly -- of many Americans. To them, Helsinki and even Putin doesn't matter. Only Trump does. To them, he hates the right people.

(c) 2018, Washington Post Writers Group
US President Donald J. Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker are expected to discuss ways to defuse the trade war between the United States and the European Union (EU) when they meet at the White House on July 25. This escalating situation, which also involves China, has brought increased attention to trade in goods, at the expense of trade in services, which account for three quarters of US gross domestic product (GDP) and four out of five jobs in the United States. Consequently, a policy that is focused on trade in goods misses not only the largest sector of the US economy, but also the United States prowess in providing services to international partners and the enormous potential for US service providers if allowed access to additional markets. The Trump administration should be working hard to expand markets for US services and to conclude and strengthen new agreements that encompass services trade.

Dubbed The Most Important Free Trade Agreement Youve Never Heard Of, the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) is the first plurilateral trade deal in twenty years to explicitly focus on updating the international standard for trade in servicesthe only other being the World Trade Organizations (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) in 1995. TiSA aims to liberalize trade in services, which currently face a plethora of barriers, such as technical standards, licensing, permits, and qualification requirements. Negotiations between twenty-three economies (encompassing roughly 70 percent of global trade in services) began in 2013 but have since stalled, due to uncertainty around the United States position.

Importantly, TiSA concerns an increasingly critical part of the global economy: services constitute upwards of 60 percent of modern domestic economies, with the three top exporters being the United States, the EU, and the United Kingdom. The share of services in total world exports has increased from around 9 percent in 1970 to more than 20 percent currently.



If trade is to be a driver of economic growth and stability in the years ahead, proponents should focus on areas where there is much more to gain, and specifically on trade in services rather than goods. Given the Trump administrations preference for bilateral trade deals over multilateral ones, TiSAs chances of completion are currently limited at best. However, its potential and importance remains large. Thus, it is crucial to evaluate TiSAs goals, implications, and future.

What is trade in services?

Broadly, services refer to the sale and delivery of intangible product[s], such as transportation, legal counsel, and financial products. They encompass an immense breadth of economic activities and participants, filling a variety of roles in national and global value chains, from assembly to e-commerce to human resources. The unique and intangible nature of services renders their trade equally complex. Rapid progress in information and communications technologies (ICT) serves as a significant driver of expanding services trade by facilitating international transfers of various services with increased ease and speed.

The WTO has defined four modes or classifications of deliveries of service:

Mode 1: Cross-border supply: The service is supplied from one country to another and both the supplier and consumer remain in their respective countries. For example, call centers providing customer service to customers abroad.

Mode 2: Consumption abroad: The consumer physically travels to another country to obtain the service. For example, tourism or medical tourism.

Mode 3: Commercial presence: The supply of a service by a firm in one country via its branch, agency, or wholly-owned subsidiary located in another country. For example, a hotel chain opens a new location in another country.

Mode 4: Temporary presence of natural persons: Individual suppliers travel temporarily to another country to supply services. For example, an IT consultant, an engineer or an architect travels to a company in another country to perform a short-term project.

These classifications allow the broad umbrella of services to be divided into different categories with specific sets of regulatory challenges.

Trade in services is largely regulated by national or sub-national governments through non-tariff barriers (NTBs) in the form of government regulations like labor or professional certifications, environmental standards, or privacy laws. All limit the capacity of providers to deliver services internationally. For example, if two countries have different licensing requirements for doctors, then a doctor from one country could not freely move to and practice in the other. Fully liberalizing trade by reducing NTBs implies establishing common, harmonized, or mutually recognized standards of service. These reduce inefficiencies, while providing quality assurances.

Presently, GATS is the only multilateral framework codifying trade in services among all 164 WTO members. Its basic principles reflect that of its companion, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). GATS adopts the concept of most-favored-nation (MFN) treatment, which means that countries cannot discriminate among WTO members; for example, the United States cannot burden Canadian shippers more than British shippers providing the same service. It also requires transparency, or that states publish all measures of regulations and establish impartial inquiry points for questions. Specific commitments to GATS include market access, in that states must uphold negotiated agreements on agreed-upon sectors with other states; and national treatment, in that states must not discriminate against foreign suppliers to benefit domestic suppliers in sectors identified in the agreement.

While GATS has been particularly useful in providing a foundation for future trade in services agreementsTiSA includedit has not been updated to reflect new developments over the past twenty plus years. Efforts to update the GATS framework during the ambitious Doha Development Agenda, or Doha Round, have stalled alongside the broader Doha Round negotiations. Member states instead have chosen to pursue bilateral or regional free trade agreements instead.

Consequently, GATS fails to address a variety of issues raised by the widespread proliferation of ICT innovations that have expanded the ability to provide services remotely across borders. It fails to address new concerns such as data geolocalization, mobile payments, and privacy protection. Its application to the financial services sector also raises difficult questions about the intersection of prudential regulation and free trade frameworks. This creates significant challenges for domestic governments and places pressure on global trading rules to adapt.

TiSA: Why is it important and what is its future?

Following the collapse of the Doha Round of WTO negotiations, in April 2013, TiSA negotiations officially began when a sub-group of WTO members who called themselves the Really Good Friends, including the EU, the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Japan initiated talks to build on the GATS negotiations under a different name and strategy. According to position papersreleased by the EU, TiSA adopts the GATS framework and definitions but applies a sectional approach to decision-making whereby each negotiator can propose a new section to the draft.

TiSA negotiations involve twenty-three WTO membersincluding twelve of the G20 countrieswhich together account for more than 70 percent of the worlds trade in services. However, this group does not include major emerging markets such as China, Brazil, or India, which are net importers of services.

After twenty-one rounds of negotiations, the most recent one concluding in late 2016, the agreement, if talks can restart, would likely contain four parts:

1) a core text that builds on key provisions of GATS and is horizontally applied to all parts of the agreement;

2) special commitments on market access;

3) specific sectoral regulatory annexes; and

4) institutional provisions that set rules for how TiSA would function, expand, or be amended.

An EU report indicates that the agreement will also include at least seven proposed sectoral annexes which would create a trade-based regulatory structure for the following sectors:

transport (land and air only),

e-commerce,

distribution and direct selling,

energy and environmental services,

telecommunications, and

financial services

Liberalization in these sectors would expand cross-border market access for foreign and domestic providers on a more equal footing. It would also create a more open and predictable environment for foreign direct investment by creating comparable regulatory standards in those sectors pursuant to treaty requirements.

Proponents of the agreement focus on highlighting its positive results. The European Commission estimates that TiSA could lower service trade costs by as much as 3.4 percent in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries and 5.8 percent in low- and middle-income countries. More broadly, this liberalization would promote greater domestic competition, benefitting consumers. International standardization (if agreed) would likely promote better standards and best practices. A high degree of commitment in the new treaty would also generate significant benefits to treaty counterparties, including leveling the playing field for service providers and opening many new market opportunities.

Nevertheless, critics claim that the treaty would do more harm than good by driving wages down through increased competition. Some fear that increased market access and competition would also undermine public services and accelerate privatization. Consistent with other critics of traditional trade agreements, some TiSA skeptics also assert that treaty requirements would restrict government authority, bounding democratic sovereignty with unamendable standards. TiSA critics share with broader free trade critics a concern over related dispute resolution mechanisms that they assert undermine domestic courts. Others worry about in-shoring, or the increase of foreign individuals temporarily being brought into a country who do not have to be protected in the same manner as domestic citizens.

Finalizing TiSA will be an uphill battle. Five years have passed since the beginning of negotiations, with minimal progress since 2016. The policy and political climate is not favorable to a trade liberalization agenda generally. The United States, the EU, and others are currently engaged in escalating trade conflicts, propelled forward by domestic populist movements.

However, it is possible that economic trends may create a more favorable foundation for a trade in services framework. As noted, a broad cross-section of developed economies currently enjoys trade surpluses as net exporters of services to the rest of the world. In addition, China continues to make strong strides in expanding market penetration and presence around the world, including services provision. If the leading global net exporters of services can agree on solid standards, they can create a foundation for reliable best practices, norms and standards in the services sector which will create a level playing field in these strategically significant sectors as they continue to grow and as more countries (such as China) begin to increase their own services exports.

In the midst of current deteriorating trade relations among Western economies, the possibility of reenergizing TiSA negotiations would represent a leap forward. Not only could it foster freer services trade via a more level playing field, but TiSA could provide a creative way to help reframe hostilities in trade in goods and find a way out of the current dead end. Overall, a successful TiSA would make clear the benefits of greater global commerce at home and abroad by promoting additional growth and prosperity.



Reprinted with permission from The Atlantic Council. Barbara C. Matthews is a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Councils Global Business & Economics Program. Follow her on Twitter @BCMstrategy. Earl Anthony Wayne is a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Councils Global Business & Economics Program. Follow him on Twitter @EAnthonyWayne.


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By John Stone

"Perhaps the most fundamental point is that having established this uninterrupted global pipeline for the industrys products to the worlds children they have failed to ensure manufacturing standards even according to their own criteria."

An experienced pharma watcher has said to me repeatedly in the past few days: "There is something going on". He is not looking directly at pharma he is watching the prolonged and hostile media coverage of the friendship of Andrew Wakefield and Elle Macpherson as revealed to the public by the Daily Mail: something which to most people - except those who might know them personally - might be of only momentary interest, if any: but also the source of a great swirling mist of unprincipled junk journalism which has now be going on for a week. I was drawn into this maelstrom myself last week by a Daily Telegraph feature writer, Rosa Silverman, who wanted to interview me about this non-issue (certainly not a public one) and the "anti-vaccine movement in the US". Rosa quoted me a number of times, which I barely expected (that was the one thing which surprised me). Nevertheless, having thought about the article "Whatever happened to Andrew Wakefield: the curious rehabilitation of the doctor behind the MMR scare" (18 July)" for a day I felt obliged to complain about both the stereo-typing and failure to address the information I had passed to her (my letters to her and the Telegraph with information I emailed her are published below).

But the big question is Why?. The answer is surely with all bathetic baying and shrieking from the press about nothing in particular that the global vaccine government complex could not be in more trouble. What would happen if anyone outside our sphere started to put together the stories we have seen in recent days? Perhaps the most fundamental point is that having established this uninterrupted global pipeline for the industrys products to the worlds children they have failed to ensure manufacturing standards even according to their own criteria. So, now we have had in a matter of days the China scandal, we have RFKjnrs revelation that the HHS has shirked its responsibility to inspect and report on vaccine safety every two years for the last three decades, and we have the Italian CORVELVA group saying that 5 out 7 schedule vaccines they had independently inspected failed to meet biological standards.

Also running are stories about MMR in Samoa and oral polio vaccine in Kenya. We have the long running saga of Gatti and Montanari in Italy. Even before you get to the issue of whether the products could be considered safe by design, we have the great unlikelihood in many parts of the world, or possibly any part of the world, that they are routinely manufactured and delivered correctly. And rather than admit that the products are faulty the powers that be just prefer that they go on being injected into everybodys children without saying anything, because the only important thing for them is that everyone goes on believing in the infallibility of the program.

I do not mention in this context other important stories like Dengvaxia in the Philippines , Christopher Exley's revelations about aluminium in autistic brains or Gayle DeLongs about HPV vaccines and infertility - things beginning to impinge on the reputation of the vaccine complex.

The point at this juncture is that the global industry is in monumental trouble, acting in such a way as to strain the faith of persons normally much less sceptical of the aims of the program than the traditional readers of this column, and it needs to create a distraction - and what we have from at least the British media in Orwellian terms is this pathetic chant of Four legs good, two legs bad. They are attempting to drum out the very possibility of thought: all anyone needs to know now is that Andrew Wakefield - who once dared to question the vaccine project in some way - was/is a very bad man. But I would point out another possibility that most onlookers will be completely perplexed: they will just be saying like my pharma watcher as they get daily more fed up with the feeble-mindedness and illogical antics of the mainstream media: There is something going on.

You bet there is!

Complaint letter to the Telegraph: Case: 17796369 - Re: Daily Telegraph feature on anti-vaccination movement (anyone wishing to support write to telegraphenquiries@telegraph.co.uk)

Dear Sirs,

I wish to make a formal complaint against Rosa Silverman's article "Whatever happened to Andrew Wakefield: the curious rehabilitation of the doctor behind the MMR scare" (18 July). I wrote to her four days ago (below) making some of my concerns known and she has failed to reply. As will be seen from previous emails I had taken every trouble to point out the solid basis of the concerns of vaccine critics, the systematic misreporting of the Wakefield affair and although she quoted me extensively she made no attempt to report on the foundations of people's concerns rather than simply disparaging them as people. I note that in our interview (which took place on a pleasant and respectful basis) RS posed the intelligent question whether opposition to vaccines in the US was ideological or more commonly because the sceptics were parents whose children had been injured (then characterised as anti-vaccine), and I confirmed that I believed the latter (and coming from all over the political spectrum): but in the article everyone is reduced to a conspiracy believing post-Trump phenomenon.

The reality at the present time is that the US Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting Database has reported more than 650,000 events since 1990 and being a passive reporting database this is likely no more than 1% of cases, many of which may include irreparable harm. Additionally, in the last few days Robert F KennedyJnr has wrung an admission from the HHS that they failed to honour their obligation under the National Childhoood Vaccine Injury Act to report on the safety of vaccines every two years: in fact going back to 1986 they never did at all. In the UK and Europe further questions arise over the alertness and independence of bodies like the MHRA and the EMA which are largely funded by the industry. These are people's real concerns, not Andrew Wakefield's private life, which should have remained private.
A group of experts on Tuesday called on the international community to do more to intervene in Cambodias rollback of democracy, as the country prepares for a general election next week that has been widely derided as unfree and unfair amid an ongoing political crackdown.



Cambodias Supreme Court dissolved the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) in November over allegations it was involved in a plot to topple the government, stripping the partys officials of their posts and banning many lawmakers from politics for five years.



The dissolution of the CNRP and the arrest of its president, Kem Sokha, as well as a months-long crackdown on NGOs and the independent media, are measures widely seen as part of a bid by Prime Minister Hun Sen to ensure that his ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) stays in power in Cambodia following the July 29 general election. Hun Sen has ruled the country for more than three decades.



The U.S. and European Union have already withdrawn donor support for Cambodias ballot, citing government actions seen as limiting democracy in the country, and Washington has pledged to deny visas to Cambodian officials responsible for implementing the crackdown.



But neither the U.S. nor the EU have removed preferential trade access for Cambodian exports, despite mounting criticism over the actions of Hun Sens government in the lead up to the vote.



On Tuesday, John Cavanaugh, the Cambodia country director for U.S.-funded National Democratic Institute (NDI) said the response of the international community to Cambodias slide had been disappointing, and called for a stronger reaction.



I think one of the reasons for the muted international response is the international community might be caught up in a feeling of complacency because of the Hun Sen's government pattern of applying pressure and then reverting back to normal, he told a press conference in Bangkok.



What we're seeing is this is not going to revert back to the old normal, this is a new normal ... so we really are calling for a much more aggressive international response.



Charles Santiago, a member of the Malaysian Parliament and chairperson of the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) said that the lack of a strong international stance against Cambodias crackdown risked emboldening other regional dictators who might follow Hun Sens blueprint for solidifying their hold on power.



Dictators in the region are colluding with each other and growing legitimacy for their rule when they are in total violation of rule of law, Santiago said.



It's important for countries ... to stand up to such violation of people's rights in Cambodia, he said, adding that the international community should not give any form of legitimacy to [Cambodias] sham election.



The CNRP received more than 3 million votesaccounting for nearly half of the countrys registered votersin Cambodias 2013 general election, and enjoyed similar success in last years commune ballot, making it the only legitimate challenger to the CPP ahead of the vote.



The party has called on Cambodians to boycott the election in protest over its dissolution, but the government has responded with the unsupported claim that doing so is in direct violation of the countrys electoral laws and will be dealt with in court.



Phil Robertson, deputy director of New York-based Human Rights Watchs Asia division, dismissed next weeks election as fatally flawed from the start and the final funeral ceremony for democracy in Cambodia.



This election was won back in November 2017 when the CNRP was dissolved, and everything that has happened since then, in our view, has been a mockery of democracy, rather than an upholding of democracy, he said.



There is no real excuse, frankly, for the failure of governments to speak out.



Call for boycott



Even with a ban in place against the CNRP, the CPP has aggressively courted votesincluding outside of the official campaign periodand deployed senior members of the security forces to publicly endorse Hun Sen, Human Rights Watch said recently, in what is seen as an intimidation tactic and a violation of Cambodias electoral laws.



Reports also continued to trickle in Tuesday of authorities harassing members of the CNRP for organizing a boycott of the election, following a threat from Minister of the Interior Sar Kheng over the weekend to fine anyone who posts a picture of themselves online with a clean fingerreferencing the India ink voters dip their index finger into to show they have cast their ballotup to U.S. $5,000.



Kong Mass, a former CNRP official in Svay Rieng province, told RFAs Khmer Service that local authorities came to arrest him on Sunday, and have been closely monitoring other members of the dissolved party in the region.



They follow our CNRP supporters and officials closely, wherever they go and when they get together for meals at a friend or relatives house, he said.



They wrongly accuse us of joining in the clean finger campaign.



Last week, United Nations Special Rapporteur to Cambodia Rhona Smith expressed concerns over reports of voter intimidation in the lead up to the election, highlighting reports of government representatives stating that abstaining from voting was illegal and that fines would be imposed on people messaging about a boycott of the vote.



On Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs slammed Smiths remarks, saying in a statement that they merit several questions due to their substantive bias and prejudice in the context of electoral sensitivity, and suggesting she is supportive of the CNRPs efforts to sabotage a democratic contest by encouraging a boycott.



But Smith returned fire on Tuesday in a statement relayed to RFA by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Cambodia.



Cambodian law permits people to choose whether or not to vote, and all voters should be able to exercise this right in the election on Sunday, Smith said.



While Cambodian law does indeed prohibit anyone preventing or deterring voters, this provision should not equate with a restriction on boycott calls which are permitted by international human rights law, she said.



Restrictions on calls for boycott of a non-compulsory vote impede political debate and any such restrictions are inconsistent with the right to freedom of expression.



Reported by Vanrith Chrea for RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Sok Ry Sum. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Dozens of unofficial Protestant "house churches" in Beijing issued a statement on calling on the ruling Chinese Communist Party to respect their constitutional freedom of religion.



In the wake of recent revisions to rules governing the activities of religious believers, many church members have suffered disruption to religious services and prayer gatherings, the statement, signed by 34 churches, said.



"The normal religious lives of believers have been violated and obstructed, causing serious emotional harm and damage to their sense of patriotism, as well as causing social conflict," the statement said, adding that "the situation seems to be getting worse and worse."



The statement called on the authorities to respect freedom of religion enshrined in China's constitution, which contains many rights that are not upheld in practice in the one-party state.



"The belief that religious believers are some kind of dissenting force, to be managed and rectified, or a target for containment or direct attack, is misguided, and a fundamental error," it said.



"House churches have a strong desire to contribute to a necessary dialogue to achieve better relations with the government in the new era," it said, in a nod to President Xi Jinping's slogan, "socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era."



A pastor surnamed Dong with the Beijing Olive Tree Church, which was among the groups that signed, said house church followers felt they had to speak out in the face of worsening persecution by religious affairs officials and police.



"I think they have a mistaken understanding of us," Dong said. "We aren't a cult, but a law-abiding group."



"I hope they will act in accordance with the constitution and in accordance with the law," he said, adding that his cell phone is likely being monitored by police.



Xu Yonghai, an elder of the Beijing house church Christian Saints Love Fellowship, said the police appear to be monitoring his communications, too.



"There was a correspondent based in Beijing who wanted to come to one of our services, but the police got there first and wouldn't let him come upstairs," Xu told RFA. "I'm certain that they got their information from listening in to our phone calls."



"They still come; they have been to our services a number of times, and they make us show our ID," he said. "We even had the state security police come here a while back."



"They said they wanted to take part in the service, and we said fine, stay awhile, we'll even take a photo with you," Xu said. "This keeps happening."



'Further forms of persecution'

Xu, whose church is being harassed by its landlord, likely at the instigation of police, said he doesn't necessarily expect the statement to improve matters, however.



"They won't listen to us just because we speak out," he said. "It's far more likely that churches will have to put up with further forms of persecution as a result of speaking out."



Repeated calls to the State Religious Affairs Bureau rang unanswered during office hours on .



Calls to a number of churches named on the statement also rang unanswered, while some church members answered but declined to comment when contacted by RFA on .



In 2016, China's cabinet, the State Council, released a set of draconian rules setting out measures aimed at eliminating unofficial Christian worship in unregistered "house churches."



The rules took effect on Oct. 7, 2016 and include bans on preaching or running religious events in schools, and on "providing religious services online."



Individuals and groups are also prohibited from "organizing citizens to attend religious training, conferences and activities overseas." Xu has previously been prevented from traveling to the democratic island of Taiwan.



Some of the rules call on government agencies to "take precautions against separatism, terrorism and infiltration by foreign forces."



They also impose restrictions on the acceptance of teaching posts in foreign countries, while a clause forbidding "religious activities in unapproved sites" calls on local governments to extend a nationwide crackdown on house churches.



Reported by Gao Feng for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Wong Lok-to for the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Chinese police are holding 15 people -- including the chairwoman of Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology -- under criminal detention amid an ongoing probe into fraudulent quality control at the company that sparked a recall of rabies vaccines already given to thousands of children.



The ruling Chinese Communist Party in Beijing has sent an investigative task force to the headquarters of Changchun Changsheng in the northeastern province of Jilin after the company's manufacturing permit for the vaccine was revoked by the country's drug regulator last week.



"The Changchun new district public security bureau has detained 15 people, including the chairwoman and others, who are involved in the Changsheng case," Communist Party mouthpiece the People's Daily and state broadcaster CCTV reported.



China's Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) has accused the company of fabricating production and inspection records linked to the rabies vaccine regularly given to infants.



Provincial-level Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCs) in Shanghai, Henan, Hainan, Chongqing, Shandong, Shanxi, Guangxi and Hebei have since announced a total suspension of rabies vaccinations.



The Changsheng recall is the latest in a string of tainted or substandard vaccine scandals to hit China, with commentators hitting out at endemic corruption and profiteering in the country's biotech industry.



Changchun Changsheng itself had previously sold 252,600 doses of ineffective DPT vaccines to inoculate children against diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus.



Legal channels

Parents of children given substandard vaccines have previously detailed severe health problems suffered by their children, including bone marrow problems, paralysis, swelling and lasting damage to internal organs.



A parent surnamed Qi in the southwestern mega-city of Chongqing said parents there have banded together to form an activist group to pursue the company through legal channels.



"We are gradually putting this into practice here in Chongqing, within the limits of the law," Qi said. "We hired some human rights lawyers, but we haven't decided if we're going to each file a lawsuit, several dozen of us, or whether we will do it as a single case."



In 2016, the ruling Chinese Communist Party launched a nationwide probe of hundreds of people believed to be involved in an illegal vaccine-selling operation that peddled out-of-date or improperly stored vaccines, following reports of child and infant deaths and illnesses following immunizations.



Some 350 local officials were blamed for the tainted vaccines scandal that began to emerge in the eastern province of Shandong, but parents of affected children have said the moves don't go far enough, and that they were targeted by the authorities to prevent them from speaking out or campaigning for compensation.



Shandong-based parent Chen Binggan said his son had developed paralysis in both legs after being given the DPT vaccine at the age of three months.



"We got the vaccine from the batch that was substandard, that didn't pass quality checks," Chen said. "Not long after that happened, the health ministry kept contacting us, to say that there was nothing wrong with the vaccine."



"But my son is now paraplegic and I can't think of anything else except the DPT that could have had such an effect on his legs," he said.



Parents targeted for complaining

And Wang Hailan, from Shandong's Yucheng county, said her son had suffered severe health problems after being given an influenza jab in 2010.



"The vaccines we are getting are harming our children, and yet the government doesn't seem to be taking it seriously," Wang said. "Some [parents] have been fighting this for years, to no avail, and they are targeted for complaining by the authorities."



She said she had found multiple problems with the way her son's flu jab was administered when she took up the case.



"The batch number on the certificate issued by the hospital when it vaccinated my son didn't match the batch number on the vaccine's quality control certificate," Wang told RFA.



Meanwhile, political commentator Lam Kei said the recent condemnation of Changchun Changsheng by President Xi Jinping and premier Li Keqiang rang somewhat hollow, "like parents who wash their hands of their own offspring."



"There was another issue with the DPT vaccine identified by the Jilin provincial FDA way back last October," Lam wrote. "They on that for nine months and didn't report it."



Lam said the Jilin FDA official in charge of vaccines had also been responsible for the melamine-tainted infant formula milk scandal that erupted in 2008.



" Xianze was 'punished' for the Sanlu infant formula tainted milk scandal 10 years ago, with a so-called 'administrative punishment'," Lam said in a commentary broadcast by RFA's Cantonese Service.



"Not long after that, he was on the fast track for a promotion," he wrote, adding that was promoted to deputy head of the Jilin FDA, before being relieved of that post in February, with no reason given.



Reported by Wen Yuqing for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Qiao Long for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Chinese authorities in a Tibetan-populated region of Sichuan are removing young monks from their monasteries so that they can return to government-run schools and learn to serve society, a Tibetan source says.



All monks in the Dzachuka region under 18 years of age must now return to the community schools in which they were previously enrolled, a Tibetan living in the area told RFAs Tibetan Service.



They are not allowed to stay in their monasteries, in accordance with the law, RFAs source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.



They have to serve society, the source said, adding that Chinese authorities see monks enrollment in the monasteries at a young age as a loss to their communities.



The Chinese say that they should not be allowed to join the monasteries because they are too young and immature, and cant think for themselves yet, he said.



About 20 novice monks aged 15 and under have already been removed from Jowo Ganden Shedrub Palgyeling monastery in Dzachuka, an area in historic Tibets eastern region of Kham, sources told RFA in an earlier report.



Many had enrolled in the monasterys courses in Buddhist logic and philosophy, and some were top students in their class, sources said.



Can come back when they're grown



Meanwhile, authorities forced around 200 novice monks to leave Dzachukas Dza Sershul monastery on July 10, according to a Tibetan social media report titled Current News Under Red Chinese Oppression: Really Feel Like Dying.



The monks expelled on July 10 have now returned to their former Chinese government-run schools in Sershul county, RFAs source said.



Some of them are as young as seven years old, and all of them came from local areas, he said.



Some parents who are very devoted to the monastery were disappointed and sad that their sons could not remain there, but there are other parents who did not mind too much.



When the boys are grown and leave school, they may return to their local monastery if they wish, the source said, adding, but they are not allowed to enroll in monasteries in other places.



If they comply with this order, the Chinese government will even provide them with financial assistance, he said.



Chinese authorities have long sought to restrict the size and influence of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, traditionally a focus of Tibetan cultural and national identity, sources in the region say.



Authorities have strictly limited the numbers of monks and nuns enrolled there and forced those allowed to remain to take part in classes promoting loyalty to China and the ruling Chinese Communist Party, sources say.



Reported by RFAs Tibetan Service. Translated by Dorjee Damdul. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Jailed Vietnamese blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, also known as Mother Mushroom, may be in failing health in what could be the third week of a hunger strike behind bars, according to her mother, who says she last received news of her daughter in a letter sent by prison authorities on July 18.



My daughter was still on hunger strike as of that date, and I havent heard anything about her since then, the jailed bloggers mother Nguyen Thi Tuyet Lan told RFAs Vietnamese Service on July 24.



I dont know if she is still on hunger strike or not, or what her health condition is, Lan said, adding that she has written to prison officials asking for permission to visit her daughter on Thursday.



They have not responded, though, and we have no other information about her. They gave me a phone number to call, but no one answered the phone when I called.



I am very worried, Lan said.



Quynh began her hunger strike on July 6, citing authorities refusal to transfer her to a cell away from a hostile and threatening cellmate.



She has continued since then to refuse food despite being moved to another cell, saying her new cell lacks privacy, with even the toilet visible to guards.



'Propaganda against the state'



Now serving a 10-year prison term following her June 2017 conviction on charges of spreading propaganda against the state, Quynh had blogged about human rights abuses and official corruption for more than a decade.



She had also criticized the governments response to a 2016 toxic waste spill by the Taiwan-owned Formosa Plastics Group that destroyed the livelihoods of tens of thousands of Vietnamese living in four coastal provinces.



In a July 24 statement, the Vietnam-based Vietnam Bloggers Network called on friends and supporters, the UN Human Rights Council, rights groups, and foreign embassies in Vietnam to pay urgent attention to Quynhs case.



Visits should now be organized to Quynhs prison in Thanh Hoa province to demand information about her current condition, the Network said, adding that letters of encouragement should be sent to the jailed blogger and foreign governments persuaded to apply pressure on Vietnam to secure her release.



Authorities have long targeted activist writers and bloggers in an ongoing crackdown in one-party Communist Vietnam, where dissent is not allowed.



Rights group Amnesty International estimates that at least 97 prisoners of conscience are currently held in Vietnams prisons, where many are subjected to torture or other ill-treatment.



Reported by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Viet Ha. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Chaudhry Saeed Gujjar is a member of the Milli Muslim League, a radical Islamist party blacklisted by the United States as a terrorist group.

He is also a candidate in the country's July 25 national elections, vying for a seat in the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly. Gujjars bid to represent the capital, Islamabad, has been approved by the Pakistan Election Commission.

Gujjar is among an unprecedented number of religious extremists and members of militant groups running for seats in the national and provincial assemblies in Pakistan, which has long been accused of failing to crack down on extremist groups.

Numbering more than 1,500, the unparalleled presence of candidates from radical religious and militant groups among the more than 12,000 candidates overall has raised fears they could bring extremist ideologies into the political mainstream.

When Pakistan's election authorities refused to register the Milli Muslim League (MML) for the elections, Gujjar and other MML members entered the field under the banner of Allah-o-Akbar Tehreek (AAT), another hard-line Islamist party in Pakistan.

"Groups that were refused registration by the Election Commission are now simply participating under another name," says Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, the head of the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency, an Islamabad-based think tank.

The United States considers the MML to be a foreign terrorist group, calling it a front for the Lashkar-e Taiba (LeT) militant group co-founded by U.S.-designated terrorist Hafiz Saeed, who has a $10 million bounty on his head.

The United States and India accuse Saeed of masterminding LeT's 2008 attacks in Mumbai that left 166 people dead, an allegation he denies. LeT is an Al-Qaeda-linked armed militant group that is fighting against Indian control in the divided Himalayan region of Kashmir and was banned in 2002 after being linked to an attack on India's parliament.

AAT has more than 260 candidates contesting the polls. Its campaign posters feature Saeeds face alongside their candidates and are emblazoned with the name of the MML, which has officially endorsed the AAT.

Gujjar, the candidate, rejects that he is a member of MML, although other candidates openly admit that AAT and the MML "are one party."

"The mainstream political parties have disappointed the people of Pakistan, and our aim is to bring real change," Gujjar told RFE/RLs Radio Mashaal.

Gujjar insisted that AAT is not an armed group and seeks a peaceful solution to the "Kashmir dispute." The majority-Muslim Himalayan region is divided between India and Pakistan. Each country claims the region in its entirety and have fought two wars over it.

Extremist Tickets

Lashkar-e Taiba is not the only extremist group suspected of running in the elections under the guise of another political party. Many of the militant groups deny exploiting the loophole, but a list of candidates published by election authorities suggests otherwise.

Sectarian groups such as the Ahle Sunnat Wahl Jamaat (ASWJ)  banned by the United States and Pakistan  are fielding candidates under the banner of the little-known Rah-e Haq party. The ASWJ was banned for allegedly being the political wing of the militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), which has been allied with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) extremist group and is responsible for the killing of hundreds of Shi'a. More than 150 candidates with former ties to the ASWJ are running with the Rah-e Haq party or as independents.

Muhammad Amir Rana, whose Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies has long tracked radical groups in the region, says that while banned groups have resurfaced under different names, their ideologies remain the same.

"These new entrants are still exploiting religion and religious sentiments to further their cause," Rana says.

It's a practice that Mehboob says should not be allowed.

"If a party is banned, it should not be allowed to contest under another name," he says.

Others suggest that while such parties are unlikely to sweep to power by using this method, their influence on the vote is potentially significant.

"By enabling these groups to contest elections, you bring toxic views into the political mainstream and risk legitimizing the types of ideologies that can spawn radicalization," says Michael Kugelman, South Asia associate at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington. "That's a particularly bad thing in Pakistan, where society is already radicalized to a great extent."

'Political Motive'

Many extremist candidates were taken off Pakistans terrorism watch list by the caretaker government in place to oversee the elections. Election authorities say they have simply followed court orders. But activists say the courts are influenced by the country's all-powerful military, which has an oversize role in domestic and foreign affairs.

Over the weekend, protesters lined the streets outside the army headquarters in the city of Rawalpindi in a show of defiance. Demonstrators condemned the army and its spy agency, the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, for alleged manipulation of the vote.

Many in Pakistan have criticized the move.

"The interior minister should reveal how [members of] banned organizations were allowed to contest the elections," Senator Raza Rabbani, a member of the Pakistan People's Party, said on July 16.

"How were the names of [members of] banned outfits removed from the Fourth Schedule?" added Rabbani, referring to the name of Pakistans terrorism watch list.

"People from the Fourth Schedule are being allowed to contest the poll," Senator Pervaiz Rasheed, a member of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), said the same day. "Be afraid of the day when those people will be present in this [parliament]."

Shamila Chaudhary, a senior South Asia fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington, says that the participation of extremists in elections could, in theory, offer them an incentive to abandon extremist views.

"But based on the extremist candidates running for office and their rhetoric, there is no evidence to suggest they will refashion themselves," says Chaudhary.

Kugelman suggests that the Pakistani establishment, dominated by the military, could benefit from extremists vying for office.

"The establishment hopes to use these groups as a tool to siphon off votes from the PML-N, which the military does not want to return to power," he says.

Opposition leader Imran Khan's Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) is seen by many as the militarys favored party. Ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif fell out with the military brass and the PML-N has accused the army of trying to deny it a second term. The military has rejected allegations that it is interfering in the vote.

Sharif was dismissed from office by the Supreme Court in July 2017 for allegedly concealing assets abroad and other corruption allegations. He denies any wrongdoing. Allies of the three-time prime minister, who was toppled in a military coup in 1999, have called the proceedings a political vendetta and suggested the army might be behind it.

Kugelman says the presence of extremists in the elections could have unintended consequences.

"Supporters of conservative parties like the PTI and PML-N may simply gravitate to these hard-line groups instead," he says. "In this sense, the establishment risks undercutting the electoral prospects of PTI, the very party that the establishment is likely trying to bolster at the polls."
Iran will respond with equal countermeasures if the United States moves to block its oil exports, the Foreign Ministry says.

"If America wants to take a serious step in this direction it will definitely be met with a reaction and equal countermeasures from Iran," Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi was quoted as saying by the government news agency IRNA on July 24.

The United States has told countries that they must stop buying Iranian oil from November or face consequences.

The warning came after U.S. President Donald Trump announced in May that he was pulling the United States out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and moving to reimpose tough sanctions.

The deal with six world powers provided Iran with some relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear program.

Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has backed President Hassan Rohani's suggestion that Iran may block oil exports from the Persian Gulf if its own exports are stopped.

Tensions have increased between the two countries in past days.

Trump warned Rohani on Twitter earlier this week to "NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE."

The tweet appeared to be in response to Rohani saying any conflict with Iran would be "the mother of all wars."

Tehran dismissed Trump's warning on Twitter, which he wrote in capital letters.

Mimicking Trump's tweet, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif replied, "UNIMPRESSED ... We've been around for millennia & seen fall of empires, incl our own, which lasted more than the life of some countries. BE CAUTIOUS!

Speaking on July 24, parliament speaker Ali Larijani said Trump's tweet did not deserve a response, saying his comments were "undiplomatic and demagogic."

"The United States is experiencing disorder and wildness in its diplomatic relations," Larijani was quoted as saying by Iranian media.

With reporting by Reuters, IRNA, and Mehr


More than 200 environmental activists were killed last year for opposing large-scale agricultural and mining projects, a global rights watchdog said on July 24.

The British-based Global Witness said it had documented 207 cases in 22 countries where activists were killed while trying to protect land from development, often for the production of consumer staples such as coffee and palm oil.

The toll made 2017 the deadliest year since 2001, when the group started collecting data.

Global Witness said it had found evidence that government security forces were responsible for 53 of the deaths.

"When people dare to stand up for their rights and demand that the environment be protected they are silenced in the most brutal way," Ben Leather, senior campaigner at Global Witness, said.

Brazil was the most dangerous country for land activists in 2017 with 57 killed, while the Philippines accounted for 48, the organization said in its annual report.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP


2 Shachko (right) and Femen co-founder Inna Shevchenko speak to journalists at a hospital in a small town near Minsk in 2011. The activists told reporters they were seized by police in Belarus, forced to strip, threatened with violence, and then abandoned naked in the woods.
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has reportedly lodged an extremism charge against an activist who promotes indigenous cultures and languages following a post on the Internet.

The news site Tayga.info reported on July 24 that it had obtained FSB documents related to the charge against Lidiya Bainova, an activist in the Khakasia region of Siberia.

The documents show that the FSB has accused Bainova of calling "for violence against [ethnic] Russian people residing in the region."

In a post on the Russian social network VKontakte that went viral earlier in July, Bainova wrote about what she described as racism faced by ethnic Khakas people on their own land on a daily basis.

In her post, Bainova said that her daughter had tried to enter playgrounds and been told by small children that they were "for Russians only."

"At such a moment one wants to make a revolution.... To get back the power, the land for our people! To fight for it! So that we could feel like masters of this place," Bainova wrote.

Khakas are Turkic-speaking indigenous people of Khakasia, making up 12 percent of the region's population of 540 thousand.

With reporting by Tayga.info


The Moscow-based human rights group Memorial says it has determined that Mikhail Savostin, an activist charged with illegal drug possession, is a political prisoner.

Memorial said on July 23 that the authorities' case against Savostin contains "elements of intentional falsification."

Savostin, who is a senior member of Assembly of the Peoples of the Caucasus and the independent trade union Solidarnost (Solidarity), was arrested in April after police stopped his car in his native city of Mineralnyye Vody in the North Caucasus.

Police said they found two packets of marijuana in his possession. Savostin denies it and contends that the drugs were planted by police to frame him.

In late June, Savostin started a hunger strike protesting his arrest.

A similar case in another North Caucasus region, Chechnya, has also been highlighted by human rights groups since January.

The head of Memorials branch in Chechnya, Oyub Titiyev, was arrested after police stopped his car in early January and claimed they found a pack of marijuana in the automobile. Titiyev is now currently on trial on a charge of illegally possessing the drug.

Titiyev and colleagues at Memorial have called the accusation absurd and accused the police of planting the drugs.

If convicted, Savostin and Titiyev could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.




Russia has offered to keep pro-Iranian forces in Syria about 100 kilometers from the border with Israel as part of an agreement with the United States and Israel to help guarantee Israel's security, media are reporting.

A Russian delegation headed by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made the suggestion while meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on July 23, Israeli television and western media reported, citing Israeli officials.

As he has in the past, Netanyahu demanded during the meeting that all Iranian fighters and their allies be removed from Syrian soil in the long term, media said. He also insisted that Iran should remove all long-range missiles and its air-defense system from the country, media said.

But Israeli media did not characterize Netanyahu's response as a rejection of the Russian plan to keep Iranian military advisers and pro-Iranian fighters, including Lebanon's Hizballah militia, at a substantial distance from Israel as Syrian troops reassert control in the border region.

However, Reuters cited an Israeli official as saying that, while Russia was "committed" to its offer, Netanyahu rejected it and told Lavrov: "We will not allow the Iranians to establish themselves even 100 kilometers from the border" because Iran has long-range missiles that can reach Israel from Syria.

Reuters said Israel previously rejected a Russian proposal to keep Iranian forces about 80 kilometers from the frontier.

Russian officials did not immediately comment on Netanyahu's meeting with Lavrov and the chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces, General Valery Gerasimov.

Before the meeting, Netanyahu thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump for their agreement at their summit in Helsinki last week to work together to safeguard the security of Israel.

"I appreciated the words that were spoken by President Putin together with President Trump regarding the security of Israel during the recent summit," Netanyahu said.

But with regard to Iran, an avowed enemy of the Jewish state, Netanyahu said: "Israel will continue to act against any attempt by Iran and its proxies to entrench militarily in Syria."

Netanyahu said the Russia delegation came to Israel on short notice at Putin's request to discuss the situation in Syria, where the Syrian Army has been rapidly reasserting control over rebel-held areas of the southwest near Israel's border under surrender agreements brokered by Russia.

As a condition of accepting the return of the Syrian Army to the border region, Netanyahu said Israel was demanding strict adherence to a 1974 disengagement deal that created a buffer zone patrolled by UN forces between Syria and Israel.

Syria and Israel fought two wars over their shared border, in 1967 and 1973, leading to Israel's seizure of the Golan Heights in what was Syria's Quneitra province. The Israeli occupation has never been recognized internationally.

While Israel and the United States have been pressuring Russia to limit Iranian influence in Syria, Moscow contends that it has little influence on the tight relationship between Syria and Iran, and it would be unrealistic to expect Iran to fully withdraw from the country.

Russia and Iran have backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government throughout the war, which started with a crackdown on protests in 2011 and is estimated to have killed more than 400,000 people and displaced 11 million others.

Russia stepped up its military support in 2015, starting a campaign of air strikes and boosting its presence on the ground in a move that helped turn the tide of the conflict in Assad's favor.

Iranian leaders have dismissed U.S. and Israeli calls to leave country, saying that will happen only when Assad asks Iran to go.

With reporting by AP, AFP, dpa, and Reuters


Hackers working for Russia claimed "hundreds of victims" last year in a major, long-running campaign that enabled them to gain control over some U.S. electric utilities, where they could have caused blackouts, the Wall Street Journal is reporting.

Citing officials at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Journal reported on July 23 that the Russian hacking campaign has likely continued this year and involves a state-sponsored group known as Dragonfly or Energetic Bear.

The hackers broke into supposedly secure networks owned by utilities with relative ease by first penetrating the networks of vendors who had trusted relationships with the power companies, the Journal reported.

"They got to the point where they could have thrown switches" and disrupted power flows, Jonathan Homer, a department analyst, told the Journal.

'Hundreds' Of Victims

The department has been warning utility executives with security clearances about the Russian threat to critical infrastructure since 2014.

But on July 23, the department gave out detailed information about the intrusions publicly for the first time at an unclassified briefing for the industry. It did not provide the names of alleged victims, but said there were "hundreds."

It also said some companies still may not know they were compromised, because the attacks used credentials of actual employees to get inside utility networks, potentially making the intrusions more difficult to detect.

"Theyve been intruding into our networks and are positioning themselves for a limited or widespread attack," Michael Carpenter, former deputy assistant secretary of defense, who is now a senior director at the Penn Biden Center at the University of Pennsylvania, told the Journal. "They are waging a covert war on the West."

Russia has denied targeting critical infrastructure.

Homer told the Journal that the long-running cyberattack, which surfaced in the spring of 2016 and continued throughout 2017, exploited relationships that utilities have with vendors who have special access to update software, run diagnostics on equipment, and perform other services that are needed to keep millions of pieces of gear in working order.

He said the attackers began by using conventional tools -- spear phishing e-mails and watering-hole attacks, which trick victims into entering their passwords on malware-infected websites -- to compromise the corporate networks of suppliers, many of whom were small companies without big budgets for cybersecurity.

Automated Attacks?

Once inside the vendor networks, they pivoted to their real focus: the utilities, officials told the Journal. They said it was a relatively easy process, in many cases, for the intruders to steal credentials from vendors and gain direct access to utility networks.

Then they began stealing confidential information. For example, the hackers vacuumed up information showing how utility networks were configured, what equipment was in use and how it was controlled.

The hackers also familiarized themselves with how the facilities were supposed to work, because attackers "have to learn how to take the normal and make it abnormal" to cause disruptions, Homer told the Journal.

The department said it plans three more industry briefings and hopes to determine whether there are any new network infections, and whether the hackers have figured out ways to defeat security enhancements like multifactor authentication.

In addition, the department is looking for evidence that the Russian hackers are automating their attacks, which investigators worry could presage a large increase in hacking efforts.

It isn't yet clear whether the hackers used their access to prepare for some future, devastating blow to the U.S. electric grid, investigators told the Journal.

With reporting by the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, and CNBC


A prison guard in western Russia's Bryansk region has been detained on suspicion of suffocating an inmate to death by binding his face with a piece of cloth.

The Investigative Committee said on July 24 that the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) officer is accused of "using violence and special security means that limited a convict's ability to move."

The guard "bound [the inmate's] face with cloth, as a result of which the latter died of asphyxiation," the committee said in a statement. It said the incident occurred on July 22.

It is the second case of alleged violent abuse at a Russian penitentiary to emerge into the open in recent days.

The Investigative Committee said on July 23 that six FSIN officers were detained after a video showing the brutal beating of a prison inmate circulated in the Internet last week.

The video, which Public Verdict NGO said was shot at Corrective Colony No. 1 in the Yaroslavl region, northeast of Moscow, showed a prisoner identified as Yevgeny Makarov lying on a desk without pants while two people in uniform forcibly hold his hands up behind his back. At least 10 other uniformed men methodically hit the man's legs and heels with rubber truncheons and fists, while he cries and begs them to stop beating him.

The Investigative Committee said that all the officers on the video had been identified and a probe was launched into what it called "a crime."

A lawyer who gave a Russian newspaper the video has fled the country while seeking protection from state law enforcement authorities.

The FSIN said on July 24 that it will investigate all reports about violence in penitentiaries across Russia in 2017.

With reporting by RIA Novosti and TASS


Satellite images indicate North Korea has begun dismantling key facilities at a site used to develop engines for ballistic missiles, in a first step toward fulfilling a pledge made to U.S. President Donald Trump, a Washington think tank said on July 23.

The recent images show work at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station to dismantle a building used to assemble space-launch vehicles and a nearby rocket engine test stand used to develop liquid-fuel engines for ballistic missiles and space-launch vehicles, the 38 North think tank said.

"Since these facilities are believed to have played an important role in the development of technologies for the North's intercontinental ballistic missile program, these efforts represent a significant confidence-building measure on the part of North Korea," it said in a report.

Trump told a news conference after a June 12 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that Kim had promised to destroy a major missile engine testing site "very soon."

Trump did not identify the site, but a U.S. official subsequently told Reuters that it was Sohae.

The 38 North report comes amid growing questions about North Korea's willingness to live up to the commitments Kim made at the summit, particularly in terms of working toward denuclearization.

Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters
At least three people have been injured after several rockets hit the Afghan capital.

Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanekzai told RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan that three rockets were fired into Kabuls fifth district on July 24, injuring three people.

He said the rockets were fired from an unknown location.

He added that the police have launched an investigation into the explosions.

The rocket attacks come two days after a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance of Kabul international airport, killing at least 14 people.

The Islamic State (IS) extremist group claimed responsibility for the attack , saying a suicide bomber targeted a crowd celebrating the return of Afghanistans controversial Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum.

Dostum, a powerful former warlord accused of human rights abuses, had left the airport minutes before the blast.
U.S. President Donald Trump says he believes Moscow will try to influence November congressional elections in favor of the Democrats and not his fellow Republicans, although the U.S. intelligence community has concluded that Russia tried to help Trump win the 2016 poll.

"I'm very concerned that Russia will be fighting very hard to have an impact on the upcoming Election. Based on the fact that no President has been tougher on Russia than me, they will be pushing very hard for the Democrats. They definitely dont want Trump!" the U.S. president tweeted on July 24.

Trump did not provide evidence to support his claim. U.S. intelligence officials have said Russia is still trying to interfere in the electoral process and is now targeting the November 6 congressional polls.

Democrats need two more seats to take over the Senate and 23 seats to have a majority in the House of Representatives.

In case Democrats will manage to win control of one of the two chambers, they could derail or stall much of Trumps policy agenda and more aggressively push for a congressional investigation of Trumps administration.

Trump, at a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, appeared to dismiss findings by the U.S. intelligence community that Russia meddled in the 2016 election and gave credence to Putin's denials.

Critics accused Trump of siding with Russia over his own country's intelligence agencies.

Trump later said he misspoke in Helsinki and that he agreed with the conclusioins of U.S. intelligence. He called the summit a success and last week invited Putin to visit Washington in the autumn.

But Paul Ryan, the Republican speaker of the House, said on July 24 that Putin will not be invited to address Congress if he accepts Trump's invitation.

"We would certainly not be giving him an invitation to do a joint session," Ryan added. "That's something we reserve for allies."

With reporting by Reuters and AP
A U.S. federal judge has postponed the trial of President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort until next week, and disclosed the identity of five witnesses who have been granted immunity to testify.

Manafort must defend himself against charges ranging from bank fraud to failing to register as a foreign agent for lobbying work he performed on behalf of Viktor Yanukovych, the former pro-Russia president of Ukraine.

The trial had been scheduled to start on July 25 in Alexandria, Virginia.

But U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III on July 23 delayed the trial until July 31 to give Manafort's lawyers more time to review documents.

Ellis also said the office of Special Counsel Robert Mueller must provide a list of about 30 witnesses to lawyers for Manafort, who is a target of Mueller's investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. election.

Manafort has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

According to court filings unsealed by Ellis, Mueller had requested immunity for Dennis Raico, Cindy Laporta, Conor O'Brien, Donna Duggan, and James Brennan.

The charges against Manafort largely pre-date the five months Manafort worked on the Trump team in 2016.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AP


The White House is threatening to retaliate against six prominent critics of U.S. President Donald Trump's stance on Russia by revoking their government security clearances, drawing accusations that Trump is abusing his office by trying to stifle dissent.

The White House said on July 23 that it was targeting six former heads of U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies -- two of whom Trump fired amid disagreements over the FBI's investigation of alleged Russian efforts to sway the 2016 election in his favor.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the six were targeted because they have "politicized and in some cases monetized their public service and security clearances, making baseless accusations of improper contact with Russia or being influenced by Russia."

Among those targeted is former CIA Director John Brennan, who was one of the severest critics of Trump's handling of his summit last week with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki.

After Trump at a news conference appeared to dismiss findings by the U.S. intelligence committee that Russia meddled in the 2016 election and gave credence to Putin's denials, Brennan tweeted that Trump was "wholly in the pocket of Putin" and his remarks were "nothing short of treasonous."

Also among those targeted is former FBI Director James Comey, who was in charge of the Russia investigation when Trump fired him in May 2017 and who later called Trump "morally unfit to be president."

Critics charge that the targeting of Comey, Brennan, and former top intelligence and national security aides James Clapper, Michael Hayden, Susan Rice, and Andrew McCabe represents an unprecedented "politicization" of what should be a politically neutral security clearance process.

"An enemies list is ugly, undemocratic, and un-American. Is there no length Trump will not go to stifle opposition?" asked U.S. Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.

Sanders, who said Trump is "exploring the mechanisms" to remove the security clearances, denied that the officials were being targeted because of their criticism of Trump. But she cited Brennan's "treason" comment in explaining the president's threat.

"The fact that people with security clearances are making these baseless charges provides inappropriate legitimacy to accusations with zero evidence," she said.

Trump came under criticism after his summit with Putin from nearly every quarter in Washington, including from some previously loyal Republicans.

One of the few who publicly sided with him at the time, Senator Rand Paul, said he met with Trump on July 23 and asked him to revoke Brennan's security clearance. Brennan currently is a paid analyst for MSNBC.

"John Brennan and others [sic] partisans should have their security clearances revoked," Paul tweeted. "Public officials should not use their security clearances to leverage speaking fees or network talking head fees."

Many former U.S. officials retain security clearances after leaving government service because they continue to advise their former agencies or because it is a condition of employment as government contractors or consultants.

Stripping the officials of their clearances might force them to sever their connections with the intelligence community and would amount to a public rebuke.

"Clearances are taken away for security violations, usually after an investigation," former deputy CIA director John McLaughlin said on Twitter, defending the officials named by the White House.

"These people do not talk classified publicly. It would be political punishment infringing on first amendment [freedom of speech] rights. It's something Putin would do," McLaughlin said.

Former National Intelligence Director Clapper, who is now a paid analyst for CNN and has accused Trump of placing American democratic institutions "under assault," called the White House move "an abuse of the system" and "just a very, very petty thing to do."

Hayden, a former director of the CIA and National Security Agency, said he won't be intimidated by the move.

"Won't have any effect on what I say or write," he wrote on Twitter.

Two of the targets -- Comey and former FBI Deputy Director McCabe, who also was fired by Trump -- say they already have lost their security clearances.

Comey's firing led to the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who took over the Russia investigation, which Trump has repeatedly called a "witch hunt" and a "hoax."

Trump's reaction to his critics "is what totalitarianism looks like," Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono wrote on Twitter.

With reporting by AP, dpa, and Reuters


Aeromexico announces new direct Cancun-Medellin flight

Cancun, Q.R.  As of November, Aeromexico says they will begin offering a new Cancun to Medellin route.

In order to expand their presnece in Colombia, the airline says they will begin offering the new direct flight in November for five months. Anko van der Werff, Executive Director of Aeromexico, stressed that with the addition of the new flight, Aeromexico becomes the first airline to operate the route with a direct flight.

The new flight, they say, complements the connectivity between Mexico and Colombia since the airline has had a presence in the South American country for the past seven years.

To date it operates three daily flights from Mexico City to Bogota and one from Mexico City to Medellin. The new Cancun to Medellin flight will operate twice a week. Passengers can enjoy a Saturday or Sunday flights.

Adolfo Castro, CEO of ASUR at the Cancun International Airport, congratulated Aeromexico for the opening of its new Cancun-Medellin route, which he said, will further strengthen the ties between the two countries.

It highlights the importance, since more than 76,000 passengers traveled between these two cities in the last year. Starting the month of November, passengers will be able to do it directly with greater comfort and speed in their flights, explained Sara Ramirez Restrepo, general manager of Airplan, a company of the ASUR Group.
Mahahual fishermen say sargasso killing lobsters

Mahahual, Q.R.  Fishermen in Mahahual say that the large amounts of sargasso is having a negative impact on lobster trapping this year, with many surfacing dead.

Anselmo Leal May, president of the Cooperativa Pesquera Langosteros del Caribe, explained that sargasso weakens and kills lobsters. He explained that large volumes of the seagrass has landed along Mahahual shores, increasing the mortality rate of the lobsters.

We have to go deeper to get the lobsters because where there is sargasso, the lobster dies, he explained.

Leal May said that as marketers, they have plans to sell to Japan but that operation is in danger due to the sargasso.

We have the plan to export two tons per week, said the fisherman. Leal May indicated that their production also supplies the market throughout the state.

In March, a Canadian investor made a deal with a cooperative in Cozumel to buy live lobsters that would be shipped to Canada and Hong Kong.
Mexican navy escorts Panama vessel towing American sailboat to Isla Mujeres

Isla Mujeres, Q.R.  The Navy of Mexico assisted in escorting an American sailboat Monday after the crew of two lost propulsion.

The navy says they proceeded with support after receiving a call from Puerto Juarez informing them that a Panamanian vessel, Century Emeral, was heading toward Isla Mujeres towing an American sailboat, Minstrel.

The navy of Mexico headed out to sea, locating both vessels 33 nautical miles northeast of Isla Mujeres. The Mexican Navy proceeded to escort them to safety with the Panamanian boat towing the American vessel.

When they arrived to the island, navy health care officials were on hand to tend to the two American crew members, who were reported to be in good health.
More than a dozen arrested after search finds weapons

Playa del Carmen, Q.R.  An SUV that was stopped by municipal police outside Playa del Carmen ended with the arrest of more than a dozen along with the seizure of several weapons.

When the municipal police of Solidaridad received a report of an SUV traveling with weapons, they requested the help of municipal police in Tulum along with federal police assistance to intercept the vehicle.

Photo: PGR

When stopped, police searched the vehicle, finding it loaded with weapons. Those inside the SUV said they worked for a private security company called Energy Solutions of America and that the weapons belonged to the company.

The driver of the SUV, Julio Cesar N, identified himself as the supervisor of the company but was unable to prove carrying permits for the weapons.

Police stopped the SUV in the town of Paamul. The Coahuila-plated vehicle was searched and those inside arrested and handed over to officials along with the vehicle and guns. In all, 14 people were taken into custody.
Angela Harrison, clerk to Whiston Parish Council, which received 3,000 towards the completion of a play park in the village, with Lewis Stokes, community relations manager at The Banks Group.

AN ENERGY supplier which runs a wind farm in Rotherham is inviting applications for grants from community groups.

Banks Renewables set up the community fund as part of its development of the Penny Hill Wind Farm near Ulley and has now handed over 100,000.

The fund will provide over 500,000 of funding over the 25-year lifespan of the wind farm, which equates to more than 20,000 every year, and is ring-fenced to support community projects within the parishes of Aston, Thurcroft, Treeton, Ulley and Whiston.

Beneficiaries so far include Thurcroft Welfare Community Hall, Ulley Sailing Club, Whiston Parish Council, Treeton Community Centre and the Friends of Ulley Country Park.

Grants are allocated by Banks in conjunction with a local funding committee which includes representatives from the five nearest parish councils.

Banks said it was seeking further grant applications from across the local community.

Community relations manager Lewis Stokes said: The funding committee meets every few months and were always on the lookout for new ideas for how the Penny Hill fund can meet community priorities, so would urge any local groups to get their ideas and applications to us as soon as possible.

Projects, community groups, or voluntary organisations in the vicinity of the Penny Hill Wind Farm which are looking for a grant of up to 3,000 should contact James Eaglesham at the Banks Community Fund on 0191 378 6342 for further information.
According to our estimates, global diamond reserves are about 2 billion carats, while diamond resources reach 4.4 billion carats. Taking into account the rather high rates of production (134.1 million carats in 2016), the raw material base of precious stones can be exhausted in little more than thirty years.

Currently, almost 99% of diamonds are mined by nine countries: Russia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Botswana, Australia, Canada, Angola, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. We will consider the prospects of diamond mining for each of them, based on the data provided by mining companies on their output and resources of specific fields, also taking into account the projects for the development of new facilities and planned expansion of the existing mine capacities (Fig. 1). We have managed to collect fairly complete statistics for all the mentioned countries, except for the DRC and Zimbabwe, where local diamond mining companies do not publish the results of their work.

Fig. 1. Forecast of diamond production based on the resources of major producing countries in 2016-2035, million carats (data sources: company reports and estimates for DRC and Zimbabwe). Inscriptions on the graph, from top to bottom: Zimbabwe, Angola, South Africa, Australia, Namibia, Canada, Botswana, DRC, Russia.

Let's start with Russia, the leader of the world diamond mining, where more than 90% of diamonds are produced by ALROSA. In the next two years, the country expects a small decrease (by 2.5%) in its diamond output caused first of all by the conservation of the Mir mine due to the accident. Nevertheless, starting from the next decade, the countrys diamond production will grow due to the planned expansion of the Udachny underground mine, the Botuobinskaya open-pit mine in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and the diamond pipes being developed on the Lomonosov group of diamond fields in the Arkhangelsk region. However, it is expected that this growth will continue only until 2027, after which, having reached a maximum (about 45 million carats), the production level will decrease first by 5-6% due to the exhaustion of the resources at the Nyurbinskaya and Internatsionalnaya pipes, and by 2031 production will go down by 30% due to possible depletion of the resources at the Yubileinaya pipe, which is currently the main source of diamonds in the country. The drop in production may be even more significant if ALROSA does not implement plans for resuming operations at the Mir underground mine scheduled for 2024.

In the last five years, three large new deposits were commissioned in Russia: the Botuobinskaya diamond pipe in Yakutia, the Karpinsky-1 diamond pipe (which is part of the Lomonosov group) and the Grib diamond pipe in the Arkhangelsk region. Among the significant areas under study there are only three kimberlite pipes of the Lomonosov group (Karpinsky-2, Lomonosov and Pionerskaya), which are planned to be engaged when the resources will start to deplete at the Arkhangelskaya and Karpinski-1 diamond pipes, as well as at the Verkhne-Munskoye deposit in Yakutia, which is a cluster of several pipes. Its commissioning is scheduled for September 2018, but even after reaching full capacity of 3 million tons of ore per year its contribution to the total production of the domestic diamond mining industry will not exceed 2 million carats. Despite the availability of a rich mineral base of diamonds and annual efforts to expand it, the country may exhaust its diamond resources in a quarter of a century at the current level of production.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a major producer of diamonds in terms of carats, but the value of diamonds mined in the country is very low - $ 8-10 per carat. There are several diamond-bearing areas in the DRC, the largest of which is Mbuji-Mayi, where both primary and placer deposits of diamonds are identified. A considerable proportion of diamonds is mined by artisanal miners; the only major producer of diamonds in the country is Societe Miniere de Bakwanga (Miba), a state-owned company. There are no reliable data on the amount of diamond resources, but by our estimate they can be exhausted by the mid-2020s, as the country's diamond production in general tends to decline.

The basis of Botswana's diamond resources is made up of kimberlite pipes Orapa and Jwaneng having enormous resources, which provide 95% of the country's diamond production. According to the existing mining plan of Debswana, the development of these pipes will be carried out until 2030 and 2034, respectively, but their resource potential will allow diamond production at the current level until 2035 and beyond. Debswana also operates Damtshaa and Letlhakane pipes, which totally produced little more than 600,000 carats of diamonds in 2017. There are three smaller diamond mines in the country: Ghaghoo, Lerala and Karowe, but only the last one is currently operating. In general, the prospects for Botswana diamond mining are determined by the amount of resources at the Orapa and Jwaneng pipes discovered in the late 1960s and early 1970s, since there have not yet been discovered any new diamond fields of similar scale in the country, despite the fairly active geological exploration works.

All the Australian diamonds are mined at Argyle, a pipe composed of olivine lamproites and operated by mining giant Rio Tinto. At the end of 2017, the Argyle mine became the world's largest diamond mining enterprise having produced 17 million carats of diamonds, but the downside was the fast exhaustion of resources - at this level of production, the mine will be completely depleted by 2021. As there are no other significant diamond projects in the country, Australia may leave the group of major diamond producers in the short term.

The diamond mining industry in Canada is dynamically developing after the discovery of primary kimberlite deposits in the Lac de Gra area (Northwest Territories) in the 1990s. Currently, the Ekati and Diavik mines provide about 60% of the country's diamond production. There is a project to prolong the life span of Ekati - which currently has enough resources to continue mining operations up to 2035 - at least to 2042 (the Fox Deep project). Diavik will be exhausted by 2025. The Victor mine will be depleted even earlier - in 2019. It is owned by De Beers Canada, which at the end of 2015 mothballed its Canadian Snap Lake mine due to its low profitability. In 2016, De Beers Canada together with Mountain Province launched a new mine at the Gahcho Kue diamond field, which in 2017 reached its full capacity and provided nearly a third of the country's diamond output. At this level of production (5.9 million carats) the resources of the field will be exhausted by 2030. The annual capacity of the second new Canadian mine based on the Renard diamond field and also launched in 2016 is much smaller - about 1.6 million carats, but its life span is correspondingly longer. Another project is being implemented in the country to develop the Star and Orion South diamond fields, on which it is planned to build a mine with an annual diamond output of 1.8 million carats. The date of its launch has not yet been announced, but it will not happen before 2020. In addition, active geological exploration for diamonds is underway in Canada, which allows us to speak with a fairly large degree of certainty about favorable prospects for the country's diamond mining, even despite its expected decline by 2030.

In Angola, the main source of diamonds is the Catoca kimberlite pipe, whose actual resources are not published, but according to our estimates, they can be depleted by 2025. The depletion may be offset by the planned project for commissioning of a new diamond field, which is Luaxe, implemented by the state-owned company Endiama in team with Russias ALROSA. According to ALROSA, the mine will be commissioned in 2022-2023 and after reaching full capacity it will annually produce 8-10 million carats of diamonds. On the territory of Angola, a large number of kimberlite pipes have been identified, and the government is interested in attracting foreign investors and in developing the diamond mining industry.

Approximately half of South Africa's diamonds are now mined at the Venetia diamond field, which is a cluster of several kimberlite pipes. A significant amount of diamonds (1.8 million carats in 2017) is being produced by the Finsch mine, while the remaining volume is almost completely provided by the Kimberley, Cullinan and Koffiefontein mines operating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The depletion threat is facing only the Kimberley mine and the Voorspoed mine located on a small diamond field. There is no information on major exploration and development projects within the country.

The "diamond fever" in Zimbabwe, which broke out in 2010 due to the discovery of ancient diamondiferous placers in the Marange area conglomerates and which has led to the growth of smuggling and numerous conflicts, is gradually ceasing. In 2012, the country took the fourth place in the world in terms of diamond production by volume extracting 12 million carats of diamonds, but then, contrary to forecasts of analysts, production began to decline. The reason for this was the depletion of weathered high-diamond-grade rocks and the unwillingness of diamond-mining companies (mainly Chinese) to invest in the development of poorer conglomerates lying at depth. At the beginning of 2016, the new state-owned Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC), which is currently mining diamonds there, received the licenses of the companies that left the country. Most likely, diamond mining in this country will be conducted in limited quantities.

Diamond mining in Namibia, where only placer diamond deposits are known to date, is conducted in relatively small amounts - 1.5-2 million carats per year, however this is compensated by the high quality of the stones produced. The country is developing its coastal-marine land and underwater placers on the Atlantic coast, as well as the alluvial placers in the basin of the Orange river. The major amount of diamond resources in the country, exceeding 100 million carats, is enclosed in the sands of the Atlantic 1 seabed placer.

Thus, by 2035 the world diamond output may be reduced by almost half, and Australia and the DRC may fall out from the list of major diamond producing countries. But the main problem is the forecast decrease in diamond output in Russia, because of which the country risks losing its leading position to its main competitor, Botswana.

Anastasia Smolnikova, Chief Specialist, Solid Minerals Section at All-Russia Research Institute of Mineral Raw Materials
World Diamond Council (WDC) executives traveled to Angola last week for a series of meetings with stakeholders involved in the Kimberley Process (KP). WDC Acting President Stephane Fischler and Executive Director Marie-Chantal Kaninda made the trip at the invitation of Angolan authorities, marking the first time there has been a WDC mission to Angola outside of a formal KP meeting. The meetings are part of a larger effort by the diamond industry to raise awareness of the challenges and opportunities for African countries as part of their participation in the KP. The trip follows a meeting in Antwerp earlier this year between the WDC, the Antwerp World Diamond Center (AWDC) and the President of Angola. The WDC also recently completed a visit with KP stakeholders in the Democratic Republic of Congo.





WDC executives meet with KP stakeholders in Angola. Pictured left to right: Estanislao Buio, Executive Secretary of the National Commission of the KP; Stephane Fischler, WDC Acting President; Marie-Chantal Kaninda, WDC Executive Director; Jose Ganga Junior, President of the Board of Directors of Endiama E.P.; Paolo Mvika, Coordinator of the National Commission of the KP. Image credit: WDC.



An estimated 60 percent of the worlds diamonds are sourced from African countries. In Angola, diamonds are the countrys second-largest export. For the whole of 2017, diamond exports brought in gross revenues to Angola of USD $1.1 billion.*

With diamonds being such a critical part of African economies, I cannot underscore enough how critical it is to listen and engage directly not only to help reach a more sustainable global diamond industry, but one that brings back to local communities the social and economic benefits they rightly deserve and ensures fair income for African governments and their trading partners, said Stephane Fischler, Acting President of the World Diamond Council. This mission is yet another example of our commitment to this process and to fulfilling the duty of care we all owe to local communities where diamonds are produced as well as to global consumers.

WDC executives were hosted by Angolas KP Focal Point representatives Mr. Estanislao Buio, Executive Secretary, and Mr. Paolo Mvika, Coordinator. KP Focal Points are part of the National Commission of the KP and act as official KP representatives for their respective countries.

While there, Mr. Fischler and Ms. Kaninda met with H.E. Diamantino Azevedo, Angolas Minister of Mineral Resources and Petroleum.

They also met with Mr. Eugenio P. Bravo Da Rosa, President of the Board of Directors of SODIAM, Angola's National Diamond Marketing Company, and Mr. Jose Ganga Junior, President of the Board of Directors of Endiama E.P., Empresa Nacional de Diamantes E.P., the national diamond company that is the exclusive concessionary of mining rights for diamonds in Angola.

At the invitation of the Minister of Mines, the visit included a tour to an Angolan diamond polishing factory.

One-on-one discussions with KP stakeholders focused on the ongoing reform of the KP, including the challenges and opportunities related to the scope of the definition of conflict diamonds.

WDC and Angolan stakeholders discussed at length the important efforts underway today in Angola to formalize the artisanal mining sector. This effort is part of the countrys strategy to improve its position globally in the production and commercialization of diamonds.

Artisanal mining is an area of heightened focus globally. Though it only represents 20 percent in volume of overall diamond production worldwide (80 percent the result of industrial production), it is the area where the most progress is yet to be made with respect to safety, security and fair wages for diamond miners and their families.

In this context, challenges linked to local and regional realities were shared as well as ideas and opportunities for solutions, such as the Regional approach led by the KP Working Group on Artisanal and Alluvial Production.

Discussions concluded with broad support from the Angolan representatives for reform of the KP process, as well as support for the establishment of the KP Permanent Secretariat.

We are very happy with the success of our visits to both the Democratic Republic of Congo and now Angola, Ms. Kaninda said. There was strong support from the parties we met with and we feel that there is a recognition for the need for progress right alongside us. We are encouraged by the open and honest character of the discussions and thankful for the warm and generous hospitality. As we begin to plan more visits with other African governments to raise awareness around ethical artisanal mining production, I am confident that together we will achieve the goals of improved prosperity for diamond producing nations, communities and citizens.

*Source: www.paulzimnisky.com/chart-of-diamond-production-by-nation


The collapse released 5 billion cubic meters of waters, sweeping away several houses in the Sanamxay district of Attapeu province. Hundreds of people are missing and several are feared dead. Some people climbed on rooftops of partially submerged houses. Some seven villages home to about 1,300 families and over 6,000 people were under water, authorities declared. Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith suspended a monthly government meeting to visit the stricken region and review evacuation and relief efforts. The disaster left more than 6,600 people homeless.

SK Engineering & Construction said the company ordered the evacuation of 12 villages as soon as it became clear that the dam would collapse. The dam collapsed at 8:00 p.m. local time on Monday. The collapsed dam was expected to start commercial operations by 2019 and export 90 percent of its power to Thailand under a Power Purchase Agreement between the Xe-Pian-Xe Namnoy Power Company (PNPC) and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT). Environmental rights groups have for years raised concerns about Laos hydropower ambitions, including worries over the impact of dams on the Mekong River, its flora and fauna and the rural communities and local economies that depend on it.
The first fire closed one of Greeces busiest motorways, shut train services and sent plumes of smoke over the capital. Later in the late afternoon, Monday, a large fire also erupted north and east of Athens. Greece asked the European Union to send help and declared a state of emergency. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras cut his visit to neighboring Bosnia and quickly returned to Athens. It was suggested that arsonists caused the fires. Wildfires are however not unusual during Greeces hot, dry summers. A huge plume of smoke was visible on Acropolis hill and he sky glowed orange. Heavy smoke reduced visibility. In Penteli and Rafina, northeast of Athens, children were evacuated from summer camps.

Residents and vacationers were rescued by the coast guard. People from the beaches were evacuated by navy vessels, yachts and fishing boats. At least three villages have been evacuated. A coast guard helicopter and vessel were searching the sea near the town of Rafina, northeast of the Greek capital of Athens. Residents were urged to abandon their homes.Firefighters also battled other fires around the country: on Crete, in the northern town of Soufli and near Corinth. At daybreak Tuesday, Ambulance Service deputy director Miltiadis Mylonas said the number of casualties was likely to rise. The fire posed no immediate threat to Greeces ancient monuments.

Update

Wildfires in Greece killed at least 80 and hundreds are missing.
The Jinnah House, a sea facing bungalow

The Jinnah House, a sea facing bungalow in South Mumbai, is a property of the government of India and the question of disposing it does not arise, the Lok Sabha was informed today. Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir said Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah's house does not come under the purview of the Enemy Property Act and the house stands under the category of 'Evacuee Property'.

Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah

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The house is under the administration of the Evacuee Property Act, 1950, the minister said. "Jinnah's house is a government of India property and the question of disposing the said property does not arise," Ahir said in a written reply. Evacuee property means any property in which an evacuee has no right or interest, whether personally or as a trustee or as a beneficiary or in any other capacity. Jinnah's house - South Court - is an unoccupied property in Malabar Hill, a premium neighbourhood of Mumbai. It was built by Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, and remained his main residence till he left India following the partition.
Muzaffarpur shelter home rape-murder case

The alleged rape and murder of a girl at a government-funded shelter home in Bihar figured in Rajya Sabha today with the RJD demanding an investigation in the matter. Raising the issue during the Zero Houri, RJD member Manoj Kumar Jha said "a chilling (rpt chilling) incident" occured in Muzaffarpur where more than 40 'Nirbhayas' (victims named after the girl who was brutally raped and murdered in Delhi in December 2012) have been abused.

RJD member Manoj Kumar Jha

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Expressing anguish over the incident, he alleged that the shelter home was being run by a person, while the contract was in the name of another person. The RJD member also expressed concern over reports of sexual assaults against women being reported from different parts of the country. As Jha demanded probe into the Muzaffarpur case, a JD(U) member said the Bihar government has already started an investigation. Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu termed the incident as "very serious".

Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu

Medical reports have suggested that more than half of the 40 girls, lodged at the shelter home, may have had sexual intercourse at some point of time, police had said earlier. The inmates of the shelter home have also alleged that one of the girls was beaten to death and buried at the premises of the facility, while several others were raped. Following the allegations, the Bihar Police has launched a probe and dug up the ground of the shelter home in search of the body.
Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump said he had given up "nothing" during his summit with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, following a week of withering, bipartisan criticism over his handling of the meeting. "When you hear the Fake News talking negatively about my meeting with President Putin, and all that I gave up, remember, I gave up NOTHING," Trump said on Twitter. "We merely talked about future benefits for both countries. Also, we got along very well, which is a good thing, except for the Corrupt Media!"

Vladimir Putin

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Trump and Putin met in Helsinki a week ago behind closed doors, with no one else but their interpreters present. In the press conference and interviews afterward, Trump did not offer any specific details on any agreements he might have made with Putin, drawing scorn from Democrats, who sought to interview his interpreter. Moscow has said "agreements" had been reached over the situation in Syria.

Trump and Putin met in Helsinki a week ago behind closed doors

Trump faced intense criticism after the press conference, during which he appeared to support Putin's "extremely strong and powerful" denial of subverting the 2016 US presidential election. A day later, Trump was forced to attempt to walk back a comment in which he said "I don't see any reason why it would be" Russia that had hacked the election. "The sentence should have been, 'I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be Russia.' Sort of a double negative," he said.
Posted on: July 24, 2018 2:17 PM

Church leaders in South Sudan, including the Anglican Primate Archbishop Justin Badi Arama, have issued a joint statement calling on political leaders in the war-torn country to pursue peace. After a meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, the heads of Churches in membership of the South Sudan Council of Churches issued a joint statement lamenting the violence and suffering of the nations people. We as the shepherds of the people of South Sudan continue to mourn and grieve for our country, they say. Our hearts pain for the suffering, tired, hungry flock and for our leaders with all their fears, anger and trauma as they struggle both across our nation, the region and the world.

They say that the winds of violence and conflict have continued to obscure our road to light and peace, while the international community remains discouraged and frustrated by the absence of peace.

They spoke of the role that the Church has played in bringing the opposing sides together earlier this year for the first face-to-face meetings in several years; and said that they remain ready to facilitate space for genuine dialogue.

Peace is the call from the hearts of all the people of South Sudan, they said. We are tired of war, violent conflicts of interest and we are urgently calling for all communities in South Sudan to shun tribalism and all kinds of fragmentation that inhibit from attaining true nationalism, durable unity and working together for comprehensive peace and genuine reconciliation. . .

In their strongly worded statement, the Church leaders say We have sought to meet our leaders and encourage them through prayer into dialogue. We have facilitated and mediated within neutral forums and community conversations. We have spoken out for peace and justice, and we have called for our leaders to be accountable and we pledge to work continually for peace in our country, encouraging all of our people to hold on to faith and hope, trusting wholeheartedly that peace will return to our country sooner rather than later. We believe and therefore we speak!

They say that genuine dialogue, healing, substantial trust building amongst the parties [and] political will be needed for the successful implementation of a peace agreement; and that without them, all efforts will be void. The Church reiterates to all stakeholders that peace is not an event, nor a document, but a process requiring commitment and sacrifice.

Since the war began in December 2013, several agreements have been signed but never fully implemented, and as a result our country remains in despair. The people of South Sudan will no longer accept false promises.

They conclude with a commitment to stand and work together for peace and say that they continue to express our prophetic voice as we listen and are guided by the Holy Spirit.

They add: We reach out to all the leaders without seeking popularity or favour, acting to remind them of their duties to protect life. We seek to pursue a vision that will bring our people out of the desert of this violence to an oasis of peace where all teh fragmented people of South Sudan will seek a vibrant and cohesive nation that is one people, one nation, and one South Sudan.

Oh God bless South Sudan.

In addition to Archbishop Justin Badi Arama, the joint statement, which is headed Peace Now!, was signed by the Chairman of South Sudan Council of Churches, Moderator Peter Gai Lual Marrow; its General Secretary, Father James Oyet Latansio; the Presiding Bishop of the Africa Inland Church, Dr Arkanjelo Wani Lemi Jeberi; the General Overseer of the Sudan Pentecostal Church, Dr Isaiah Majok Dau; the Moderator of the South Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church, James Par Tap Hon; the Moderator of the Equatoria Presbytery of the Presbyterian Churhc of South Sudan and Sudan, Alex Gabriel Lado Lungaju; and the Chairman of the Sudan Interior Church, Simon Awan Ador.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines)  In a historic move, President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), creating the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, home to minority Muslims fighting for self-determination in the predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines.

During a speech in Zamboanga City on July 26, the President said he had signed the new law.

READ: Duterte signs Bangsamoro Organic Law

Duterte, the first Philippine President who hails from the South, promised to help the Moro people resolve their grievances, many of which stem from disputes on ancestral land and decades of neglect. But he is just the latest in a string of leaders to attempt to put an end to decades of conflict in the troubled region.

Numerous administrations have conducted peace negotiations with rebel groups such as the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), resulting in multiple versions of the proposed law, which was earlier called Bangsamor Basic Law.

Here is a guide to help you understand what the Bangsamoro Organic Law is, and what the Moro people are aiming for.

What is the BOL and why do we need one?

The BOL, now officially called the Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (OLBARMM), is the result of decades-long peace negotiations between the rebel groups in Mindanao, mainly the MILF, and the Philippine Government.

The OLBARMM abolishes the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), established in 1989 through Republic Act No. 6734 and strengthened in 2001 through Republic Act No. 9054. Officials have earlier called the ARMM a failure, marred by corruption and mismanagement.

The new law then creates the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), or simply the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.

University of the Philippines Islamic law and politics professor Jamel Cayamodin said the Bangsamoro law is designed to address the grievances, sentiments, and demands of Muslims in the region.

"When you talk about the BBL, it's the advocacy of every Muslim For the past years, since martial law, the Muslims have been asking for self-determination," Cayamodin said.

He added the MILF previously called for total independence when under the helm of its founder Salamat Hashim. When Hashim died in 2003, the rebel group toned down its demands and instead lobbied for a truly autonomous region.

Cayamodin said provinces in the ARMM are consistently among the poorest sectors of the country, mainly due to corrupt and inefficient government officials. Clan wars or Rido were also prevalent in the region.

TIMELINE: Road to peace in Mindanao: The Bangsamoro Organic Law

In 2011, Malacanang said former President Benigno Aquino III considers the ARMM a "failed experiment."

After multiple rounds of talks that spanned almost a decade, the government and the MILF signed the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) in 2012.

In 2014, the two parties signed the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), which incorporated the FAB and annexes on transitional arrangements, wealth, power-sharing, and water territories. It served as the basis of the draft BBL.

Several versions of the BBL have been proposed by lawmakers, including the first version submitted by Aquino to Congress in 2014. In 2015, a House committee approved the draft and renamed it the Basic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region. The Senate, meanwhile, passed its version of the bill and renamed it the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region Law.

While there were efforts to pass the BBL during the Aquino administration, the length and complexity of the bill led the Senate to temporarily defer its proceedings. The 16th Congress eventually failed to pass the measure before it adjourned.

The OLBARMM - the latest version of the BBL passed during the Duterte administration - reconciles versions of the proposed measure acceptable to both the government and the rebel groups.

MILF Vice Chairman Ghazali Jaafar, who also chairs the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) that created the first draft of the BBL, earlier said they will not accept an autonomy that is equal to or less than the ARMM, which was the result of peace deals between the government and the MNLF.

How will the OLBARMM quell the rebellion in Mindanao?

In the peace deal that led to the creation of CAB in 2014, the MILF promised to decommission its troops and end the decades-long rebellion once the national government delivers its commitment of a new Bangsamoro region.

The MILF will then create its own political party to be involved in the governance of the new entity.

Jaafar said they are satisfied with the version approved by the bicameral conference committee.

"Satisfied kami, maganda po 'yung proceeding ng both Senate and House of Representatives. Doon sa provisions ng Bangsamoro Organic Law, more or less, ang gusto (naming) mapasama ay napasama sa provisions," Jaafar said.

[Translation: We are satisfied, as there were good proceedings in both Senate and House of Representatives. The provisions we want were more or less included in the Bangsamoro Organic Law.]

He added the MILF will work with the MNLF to achieve a unified government in the region.

"Hanggang ngayon, nakakausap ko 'yung prominent leaders ng MNLF in Davao. At sa pag-uusap naming ito, hindi nila nasabi sa akin na hindi sila pabor sa BBL. Pabor sila sa BBL," Jaafar said. "Natitiyak ko naman na tutulong sila, at hindi sila sasalungat. After all, itong gobyerno na ito ay inclusive to everyone."

The MILF is a breakaway group of the MNLF. The establishment of the ARMM is the result of negotiations between the government and the MNLF.

"Hindi po ito gobyerno ng MILF o MNLF. Ito po ay gobyerno ng lahat ng tao na nandoon," he added.

[Translation: Until now, I still get to talk to prominent leaders of MNLF in Davao. In all our conversations, they never told me they were against BBL. They are for BBL. I am sure they will help and will not oppose. After all, this government is inclusive to everyone. This is not a government of the MILF or MNLF. This is a government of all the people residing there.]

Under the OLBARMM, Moro Islamic Liberation Front combatants may join the police force of the Bangsamoro region.

What are the differences between the ARMM and the BARMM?

Political structure and justice system

While the ARMM has a unitary form of government, the BARMM will have a parliamentary-democratic one. This means that the legislative and executive bodies in the ARMM are independent, while those in the BARMM are more closely related and empowered to enact its own laws.

In the ARMM, the residents elect their regional governor and vice governor. The regional governor has his own Cabinet and advisory council. The legislative power lies with the regional legislative assembly, whose 24 members are also elected by the people.

In the BARMM, the residents will elect an 80-member parliament representing different parties, districts, and sectors, including indigenous peoples. The members of the parliament will then elect a chief minister and two deputy chief ministers among themselves. The chief minister shall also appoint members of his Cabinet.

For the judiciary, both autonomous regions give Shari'ah courts jurisdiction over cases exclusively involving Muslims in the region. The OLBARMM gives the Supreme Court the authority to grant the incumbent Shari'ah District and Court judges who are not regular members of the Philippine Bar a period to qualify. Tribal laws will still apply to disputes of indigenous peoples within the region.

Fiscal autonomy and special development fund

Regional government officials under the ARMM must justify their funding before the Congress like other agencies. This resulted in the dependency of the supposed autonomous region on the national government for its annual budget.

Meanwhile, the BARMM will have an automatic allocation of the annual block grant, equivalent to five percent of the net national internal revenue of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs.

The region's share in government revenue taxes, fees, charges, and taxes imposed on natural resources will increase to 75 percent from the current 70 percent.

The national government will also allocate the Bangsamoro P5 billion annually for a period of ten years, which will be used for the rehabilitation of conflict-affected areas.

Territory

The ARMM covers the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi. The same provinces also comprise the BARMM.

However, a plebiscite still has to determine if 39 barangays in North Cotabato, six municipalities in Lanao del Norte, and the cities of Cotabato in Maguindanao and Isabela in Basilan will be included in the Bangsamoro territory. The plebiscite will be held within three to five months after Duterte signs the law.

Lanao del Norte and North Cotabato will also have to vote as provinces if they are willing to let go of their towns and barangays to join the Bangsamoro.

Contiguous areas may also be included in the BARMM if there is a local government resolution or a petition where at least 10 percent of registered voters seek to join the plebiscite.

For territorial waters, existing laws define only municipal waters nationwide, including those in ARMM. These cover 15 kilometers from the low-water mark of coasts that are part of the territory. The Organic Law, meanwhile, introduces regional waters for the BARMM extending up to 19 kilometers from the low-water mark.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pwKEMT-x4_JbQuste-KPT9nW13m3u7uI/view BOL FINAL BICAM REPORT 7-23-2018.pdf

Inland waters

According to the administrative code of the ARMM, inland bodies of water in the region like Lake Lanao remain an "integral part of the national territory" of the country.

For the BARMM, all inland waters will be preserved and managed by the Bangsamoro government. However, those that are utilized for energy in areas outside the BARMM will be co-managed by the Bangsamoro government and the Department of Energy.

All government revenues from the development and usage of natural resources within the BARMM will go to the Bangsamoro government, but revenues from fossil fuels and uranium will be equally shared with the national government.

Defense and security

Like the ARMM, the national government will be responsible for the defense and security of the BARMM.

The Philippine National Police will also organize, maintain, and supervise a Police Regional Office to enforce the law.

Members of the MNLF and MILF may be admitted to the police force. The qualifications for age, height, and educational attainment may be waived if availed within five years after the ratification of the OLBARMM. Recruits from the two rebel groups must fulfill the requirement on educational attainment within 15 years.

Bangsamoro identity

Republic Act 9054, which strengthened the ARMM, provided an all-encompassing definition of the Bangsamoro people.

Section 3(b), Article X of the law states that they are "citizens who are believers in Islam and who have retained some or all of their own social, economic, cultural, and political institutions."

The OLBARMM, meanwhile, recognizes and retains the historical and geographical identity of the Bangsamoro people.

Section 1, Article II of the Organic Law states that Bangsamoro People are "those who, at the advent of the Spanish colonization, were considered natives or original inhabitants of Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago and its adjacent islands, whether of mixed or of full blood," including their spouses and descendants.

Filipino Muslims perform 'Tarawih' prayer as they start the Islamic holy month of Ramadan at the Pink Mosque in Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Maguindanao, Philippines.

How will the transition take place?

The transition from ARMM to BARMM will take place after the Commission on Elections holds a plebiscite, ratifying the latter.

President Duterte will then appoint 80 members to the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), which automatically includes the incumbent officials of the Regional Government. There must also be representatives for non-Moro indigenous communities, youth, women, settler communities, traditional leaders, and other sectors.

Duterte will also appoint an interim Chief Minister among the BTA members, who will then organize an interim Cabinet. Government personnel in education, health, and social welfare agencies will be retained.during this time.

The BTA will hold legislative and executive powers and is considered the Bangsamoro government during the transition.

The first local elections will be held in 2022. The BTA will be dissolved once elected officials assume office.

"When you talk about the BBL, it's the advocacy of every Muslim For the past years, since martial law, the Muslims have been asking for self-determination."  Professor Jamel Cayamodin

Is the OLBARMM constitutional?

One of the major roadblocks faced by all versions of the BBL is constitutionality.

In 2008, the Supreme Court declared the Memorandum of Agreement on the Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) unconstitutional due to the failure of the government and the MILF to engage and consult the affected communities. The MOA-AD proposed the creation of an autonomous political region in Mindanao with its own police, military, and judicial systems.

However, lawmakers and the BTC conducted several consultations with various communities for the OLBARMM.

House Majority Floor Leader Rodolfo Farinas said they even changed the wording of the law from a "basic law" to an "organic law" to adhere to the Constitution.

He added the draft measure originally proposed for the new entity to be referred as the Bangsamoro, but it was changed to Bangsamoro Autonomous Region to make it "very clear" that it is an autonomous region of the Philippines.

However, Farinas said lawmakers still welcome questions of constitutionality on the OLBARMM, even if it is brought up to the Supreme Court.

"Of course, that's their right. And we want them to bring it [up so] it will pass the test of constitutionality," Farinas said.

How will the Bangsamoro government work with the national government?

The Bangsamoro government will have an asymmetrical relationship with the national government, as the BARMM will have more autonomy than other regions in the country.

While the national government will retain powers over constitutional and national matters such as foreign affairs and defense, the Bangsamoro government will have exclusive powers over some areas including budgeting, administration of justice, agriculture, customary laws, creation of sources of revenue, disaster risk reduction and management, economic zones, ancestral domain, grants and donations, human rights, local government units, public works, social services, tourism, and trade and industry.

Various intergovernmental bodies will also be created to improve relations and resolve issues between the national and Bangsamoro governments.

These bodies include the Philippine Congress-Bangsamoro Parliament Forum, the Fiscal Policy Board, the Joint Body for Zones of Joint Cooperation, the Infrastructure Development Board, the Energy Board, and the Bangsamoro Sustainable Development Board.

The Muslim community in Mindanao is counting on the passage of the Bangsamoro Organic Law to hopefully attain the peace they long for.

CNN Philippines' Correspondent David Santos, and Digital Producers Amanda Lingao and Alyssa Rola contributed to this report.
[ACCRA] Partnerships involving researchers, policymakers and industry should be promoted to help address challenges facing urbanisation in Africa and foster sustainable cities, a conference has declared.

The conference on sustainable cities, which was held this month (3-6 July) in Ghana and attended by experts mainly from the academic and government institutions, called for people-centred approach in planning and implementing urbanisation agendas in Africa.

According to the conference, doing so will nurture sustainability and help the continent to achieve UNs Agenda 2030, particularly Sustainable Development Goal 11, which focuses on sustainable cities and communities.

Advancing debates on current challenges and exploring future pathways for sustainable cities in Africa, the delegates at the conference said that most agendas on urbanisation in Africa are developed without capturing the real needs of the people such as jobs and proper housing.

Theres a need for more research to develop solutions that boost academic progress and address the challenges facing African cities Volker Meulen, InterAcademy Panel

Key among the issues that the delegates thought required home-grown solutions include urban ecosystems, housing, urban spatial management, food security, health, disaster preparedness and climate change.

The conference was organised by the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS) in collaboration with the German National Academy of Sciences (also called Leopoldina), the Network of African Science Academies and the Academy of Science of South Africa.

Funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany, the conference had more than 200 delegates from 14 countries including Canada, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, United Kingdom, Zambia and, Zimbabwe.

In a communique shared with SciDev.Net on 6 July, the delegates urged investors to strike a balance between making profits and addressing inequalities such as gender and poverty in African cities.

Mayors and other political and technical actors in charge of running African cities need to be exposed to the opportunities in collaborating and sharing ideas among themselves, noted the communique. This can include research, experiences and best practices on issues of mutual interest.

The communique also challenged African countries to develop and promote home-grown solutions that can, for example, be used in waste management to prevent diseases and help save money spent on curative healthcare.

Theres a need for more research to develop solutions that boost academic progress and address the challenges facing African cities such as unemployment, said Volker Meulen, former president of Leopoldina and co-chair of the InterAcademy Panel, a global network of science academies.

Meulen told SciDev.Net that key institutions with interest in aiding sustainable development need to look at issues affecting African cities holistically.

Daniel Buor, a professor of medical geography at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana, said that sustainability in African cities should be centred on people and their health.

We can achieve the goal of sustainable cities if people have access to clean water and sanitation, said Buor, noting that about 42 per cent of health facilities in Africa lack of access to clean drinking water.

Buor added that water pollution frequently experienced in cities such as Accra, Addis Ababa and Nairobi has led to increased water-borne diseases such as typhoid and cholera.

Aba Andam, president of the GAAS, said that the increasing rate of urbanisation growth in Africa and its associated social, economic and environmental problems present an opportunity for Africa to develop strategic solutions that can accelerate sustainability.Disclaimer: The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research sponsored Gilbert Nakweya to attend the event in Accra, Ghana.

This piece was produced by SciDev.Nets Sub-Saharan Africa English desk.
Our genome is made up of 20,000 genes, all of which may cause disease. At present, 4,141 genes have been identified as being responsible for genetic abnormalities, leaving around 16,000 genes with unknown implication in disease. Researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, -- working in collaboration with scientists from Pakistan and the USA -- have investigated a recessive genetic disorder that destroys the eyes from developing and results in childhood blindness. After analysing the genomes of each member of a consanguineous family with affected children, the geneticists pinpointed pathogenic mutations in a new gene, MARK3, as being the cause. They subsequently confirmed their findings -- published in the journal Human Molecular Genetics -- by modifying the homologous gene in drosophila flies, which resulted in abnormal eye development and blindness. The identification of the MARK3 related disease will help to understand the mechanism of the disease, provide diagnostic services, and initiate efforts for a personalized treatment.

Monogenic genetic disorders fall into two main categories: the first -- so-called dominant disorders -only need one copy of the gene to be mutated to cause the disorder, such as Huntington's disease. The second -- recessive disorders -- are triggered by a mutation on both copies of the gene, as is the case with cystic fibrosis. "In our attempts to uncover new recessive genetic disorders, we looked at families where there was consanguineous marriage and where both parents carried one copy the mutant gene and passed it on to the child," explains Stylianos Antonarakis, a professor Emeritus in UNIGE's Faculty of Medicine. Supported by the the ProVisu Foundation of Geneva, the Geneva-based geneticists then joined forces with Liaquat University in Pakistan, a country where over 50% of marriages take place between close relatives (usually first cousins).

An unknown disorder that destroys eyesight

The geneticists directed their interest at an unknown illness that prevents the eyes from developing properly and gradually destroys them. "We found that the disorder was present in children from consanguineous parents. As a result, we hypothesised that it was a recessive genetic disorder," continues professor Antonarakis. For a disorder to fall into this category, it must affect at least two children from the same family (regardless of their sex) and the parents must be in good health.

Two hundred Pakistani families that fulfilled these criteria were selected for the research programme. "We started by sequencing the genomes of every member of a family that had three children with the genetic abnormality and two healthy children. The aim was to see which gene had mutations on two copies in the affected children, on one copy in the parents, and one or zero copies in the normal siblings," says Muhammad Ansar, a researcher in the Department of Genetic Medicine and Development at UNIGE. After carrying out a bio-informatic analysis and genetic segregation to look for the mutations of each gene in the healthy and affected children and their parents, the scientists have succeeded to isolate the MARK3 gene as being responsible for the recessive disorder.

Confirming the result with drosophilae

"To confirm whether MARK3 really was the gene responsible for the blindness, we checked to see if a similar mutation in drosophilae led to the same eye abnormalities," says Ansar. The UNIGE researchers have collaborated with experts at Houston's Baylor College of Medicine, to genetically modify drosophilae by introducing the mutation of two copies in the MARK3 gene of the flies. The result was that the flies had undeveloped eyes, and they were blind very similar to the affected children in the Pakistani family. These results provided a validation of the the research findings in human patients.

The search for the genes responsible for recessive disorders is only just the beginning.

This discovery means that a new recessive disorder can be accurately diagnosed. "We can now concentrate on studying the mechanisms behind the disorder with the aim of finding a treatment," enthuses Antonarakis. It is also possible to perform a quick and inexpensive test on people in the same extended family to determine whether or not they will pass on the mutant gene for this eye disorder to their children and, in some cases, so they can avoid marriage among carriers of the pathogenic gene mutation.

"Our collaboration with Pakistan helped us identify about additional 30 genes that are potentially responsible for recessive genetic disorders. We are currently refining the analyses so that, little by little, we can reduce the total number of 16,000 genes whose mutations and disorders are yet to be discovered," conclude the Geneva researchers.
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated that ordinary blue light can be used to significantly improve the ability to see objects engulfed by large, non-smoky natural gas fires -- like those used in laboratory fire studies and fire-resistance standards testing.

As described in a new paper in the journal Fire Technology, the NIST blue-light imaging method can be a useful tool for obtaining visual data from large test fires where high temperatures could disable or destroy conventional electrical and mechanical sensors.

The method provides detailed information to researchers using optical analysis such as digital image correlation (DIC), a technique that compares successive images of an object as it deforms under the influence of applied forces such as strain or heat. By precisely measuring the movement of individual pixels from one image to the next, scientists gain valuable insight about how the material responds over time, including behaviors such as strain, displacement, deformation and even the microscopic beginnings of failure.

However, using DIC to study how fire affects structural materials presents a special challenge: How does one get images with the level of clarity needed for research when bright, rapidly moving flames are between the sample and the camera?

"Fire makes imaging in the visible spectrum difficult in three ways, with the signal being totally blocked by soot and smoke, obscured by the intensity of the light emitted by the flames, and distorted by the thermal gradients in the hot air that bend, or refract, light," said Matt Hoehler, a research structural engineer at NIST's National Fire Research Laboratory (NFRL) and one of the authors of the new paper. "Because we often use low-soot, non-smoky gas fires in our tests, we only had to overcome the problems of brightness and distortion."

To do that, Hoehler and colleague Chris Smith, a research engineer formerly with NIST and now at Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, borrowed a trick from the glass and steel industry where manufacturers monitor the physical characteristics of materials during production while they are still hot and glowing.

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"Glass and steel manufacturers often use blue-light lasers to contend with the red light given off by glowing hot materials that can, in essence, blind their sensors," Hoehler said. "We figured if it works with heated materials, it could work with flaming ones as well."

Hoehler and Smith used commercially available and inexpensive blue light-emitting diode (LED) lights with a narrow-spectrum wavelength around 450 nanometers for their experiment.

Initially, the researchers placed a target object behind the gas-fueled test fire and illuminated it in three ways: by white light alone, by blue light directed through the flames and by blue light with an optical filter placed in front of the camera. The third option proved best, reducing the observed intensity of the flame by 10,000-fold and yielding highly detailed images.

However, just seeing the target wasn't enough to make the blue-light method work for DIC analysis, Hoehler said. The researchers also had to reduce the image distortion caused by the refraction of light by the flame -- a problem akin to the "broken pencil" illusion seen when a pencil is placed in a glass of water.

"Luckily, the behaviors we want DIC to reveal, such as strain and deformation in a heated steel beam, are slow processes relative to the flame-induced distortion, so we just need to acquire a lot of images, collect large amounts of data and mathematically average the measurements to improve their accuracy," Hoehler explained.

To validate the effectiveness of their imagining method, Hoehler and Smith, along with Canadian collaborators John Gales and Seth Gatien, applied it to two large-scale tests. The first examined how fire bends steel beams and the other looked at what happens when partial combustion occurs, progressively charring a wooden panel. For both, the imaging was greatly improved.

"In fact, in the case of material charring, we feel that blue-light imaging may one day help improve standard test methods," Hoehler said. "Using blue light and optical filtering, we can actually see charring that is normally hidden behind the flames in a standard test. The clearer view combined with digital imaging improves the accuracy of measurements of the char location in time and space."

Hoehler also has been involved in the development of a second method for imaging objects through fire with colleagues at NIST's Boulder, Colorado, laboratories. In an upcoming NIST paper in the journal Optica, the researchers demonstrate a laser detection and ranging (LADAR) system for measuring volume change and movement of 3D objects melting in flames, even though moderate amounts of soot and smoke.
A new scientific study published in PeerJ -- the Journal of Life and Environmental Sciences has tracked juvenile whale sharks across the Philippines emphasising the importance of the archipelago for the species. The study is the most complete tracking study of whale sharks in the country, with satellite tags deployed on different individuals in multiple sites.

The Philippines is an important hotspot for whale sharks and globally hosts the third largest known population of whale sharks. While the species has been protected in the Philippines since 1998, globally the species was uplisted in 2016 to 'endangered to extinction' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due to a population decline of more than 50%, largely caused by continued exploitation in the Indo-Pacific. Particularly in South East Asia, concerns remain due to continued fishing in regional waters; understanding the movements of whale sharks in the Philippines is vital if we are to identify conservation priorities for the species.

By attaching Wildlife Computers SPOT5 satellite tags to whale sharks, researchers from Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines (LAMAVE), Marine Megafauna Foundation (MMF) and Tubbataha Management Office (TMO) were able to follow the movements of juvenile whale sharks in near real-time to gain an insight into their behaviour. The tags work by communicating with passing ARGOS satellites, transmitting a location when the wet/dry sensor is triggered when a tagged whale shark breaks the surface. To aid transmission tags were tethered to a whale shark by a 1.8-meter line to ensure the tags broke the surface more frequently.

17 individual whale sharks were tagged in three different locations in the Philippines: Panaon Island (Southern Leyte), northern Mindanao (Misamis Oriental and Surigao del Norte) and Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (Palawan). Tagging took place between April 2015 and April 2016. All tagged whale sharks were juveniles, ranging in size between 4.5 -- 7 meters and 73% of them were male.

In their paper, peer-reviewed and published in PeerJ -- the Journal of Life & Environmental Sciences, the researchers discovered that the tracks from the tags showed that all whale sharks stayed within the Philippines over the tracking period, emphasising the importance of the archipelago for the species. The longest track observed was from a whale shark originally tagged in Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, which appeared to swim through the Sulu and Bohol Seas and into the Pacific, a journey accumulating over 2,500 km in length. While whale sharks are not known for their speed, results revealed that one individual whale shark was averaging 47km a day, further emphasising the species' mobile tendencies.

Lead author of the study, Gonzalo Araujo stresses that "this research highlights the high mobility of whale sharks, even juveniles, and the need for broader scale management and conservation plans for this endangered species."

Dedicated research by LAMAVE and citizen science has identified over 600 individuals in the Sulu and Bohol Seas, yet the proximity of this population to fisheries in the broader region (South China Sea) means it is vital to monitor this population as a whole to understand if this population is in recovery or continuing to decline. Identifying threats and mitigation strategies is a conservation priority for the species. LAMAVE continues to study whale sharks in five key areas in the Philippines, working with local and national governments as well as collaborating organisations to develop conservation strategies for this iconic species.
Coral reefs buzz with activity around the clock. As the day-active fishes retreat at dusk, the night-active or nocturnal fishes venture out to forage and hunt. Equipped with special traits, these fishes are adapted to lead a life in darkness. So how do the dark surroundings influence the way they see?

An international team of scientists led by Dr. Teresa Iglesias and Prof. Evan Economo from Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) set out to investigate this question. They examined how the brains of nocturnal fishes adapt to the low-light conditions they live in. Their findings were recently published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology.

The retina of the eye has on its surface two types of specialized nerve cells: cones and rods. While cones are activated in bright light, rods work better in dim light. The information captured by these cells is transported by nerves to the visual processing centers in the brain and pieced together into coherent images. In most vertebrates, a brain region called the optic tectum processes visual information, explains Prof. Economo. However, "it is unclear how it should change to maximize effectiveness of low-light vision," he adds.

To find out, the research team compared the sizes of optic tecta within the brains of fishes that are active during the day and those active at night. More than a hundred fishes from nearly 66 different species were caught from reefs around Hawaii and North Carolina, USA. This catch comprising 44 day-active species and 16 nocturnal species with a wide range of food habits: some ate other fish, others fed on microscopic plankton, and still others were bottom dwelling scavengers. Once caught, the fishes were photographed and their heads preserved in formalin. Later in the lab, the researchers measured the size of each fish's eye and lens, then scanned the animals' preserved brains using micro CT scanners.

Bright environments are rich in visual information such as colors, patterns and textures, and deciphering them requires more complex processing than deciphering poorly-lit environments. Take photographs, for example: the latest camera can capture rich colors and minute details of a person or an object. On the other hand, the black and white photographs from an old family album do not reveal as much. Likewise, optic tectum in the brain must be able to process color, pattern and brightness.

The eyes of squirrelfish (Holocentrus rufus), a common nocturnal inhabitant of coral reefs, are almost three times larger than the eyes of day-active fishes of similar body size. Other nocturnal fishes also follow this design pattern. The optic tecta in nocturnal fishes might adapt to darkness by expanding, in order to process the larger volume of information that larger eyes might take in, or it could shrink if the information from low light environments is reduced. Initially, the researchers speculated that retina in such fishes would be loaded with more rods and cones than the day-active fishes, and thus require larger optic tecta to process it.

To their surprise, however, they found that the optic tecta of squirrelfish and other nocturnal fishes were smaller than those of day hunters, suggesting that their brains have sacrificed capabilities that are not as useful at night. Since color is not visible in light-deficient environments, these fishes have limited color acuity and limited depth of vision, but instead, they are adept at detecting movement.

The study also suggests that behavioral traits like the ability of some fishes to camouflage can influence the size of the optic tecta. Among the 66 species of fishes that the scientists sampled, the peacock flounder (Bothus mancus) was found to have the largest optic tectum amongst all. Peacock flounders dwell on sandy floors of reefs and are active during the day, though they prefer to hunt at night. Like chameleons, they are masters of camouflage, and can mimic their surroundings to blend in. This trait, according to the scientists, may explain why peacock flounders possess such highly-developed optic tecta. "Their visual centers may be important for adopting the correct camouflage, but they are also important for detecting predator movements in both bright and dim light," says Dr. Iglesias.

We still have much to learn about how the environment and behavior of a species can shape the evolution of its brain, the scientists say. However, they believe these findings may help understand how changes in habitat due to human activities, such as light pollution, can interfere with the neuro-sensory capabilities of fishes and other organisms.
On July 24, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Matthew Brunstrum, formerly a financial analyst at Stericycle, Inc., with insider trading and with tipping his mother, who was also charged with insider trading.

The SEC's complaint, filed in federal court in Chicago, alleges that in April 2016, Matthew Brunstrum learned through his job that Stericycle's first quarter 2016 financial results would be much worse than had been expected and used this material non-public information to trade in Stericycle securities in advance of the company's upcoming April 28, 2016 earnings announcement. The complaint also alleges that Matthew Brunstrum disclosed Stericycle's earnings information to his mother who traded on that information. Stericycle's stock fell by $26.18 the day after Stericycle announced its first quarter financial results, losing almost 22 percent of its value. The SEC's complaint alleges that as a result of their illegal trading, Matthew Brunstrum avoided losses and earned profits in the amount of $159,904, and Susan Brunstrum avoided losses and earned profits in the amount of $170,252.

The complaint charges Matthew Brunstrum and Susan Brunstrum with violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. Without admitting or denying the allegations, the defendants each agreed to be permanently enjoined from future violations of anti-fraud provisions of the securities laws and agreed to pay disgorgement equal to each of their ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest. The court will determine the civil penalty amounts. The settlements are subject to court approval.

The SEC's investigation, which is continuing, was conducted by Kristopher Heston, Jake Schmidt and Ann Tushaus and was supervised by Amy Cotter, all of the Chicago Regional Office. The SEC's litigation will be led by Doressia Hutton and Mr. Heston. The Commission appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Chicago Office.
Yesterday the search community got the gut wrenching news that Jordan Kasteler has passed away. Everyone was floored, shocked, saddened, and deeply upset by the news. Jordan Kasteler has been part of our industry since he was a kid, young adult. He has been a fixture at so many search conferences, so many local meet ups, so many online forums, video hangouts and so much more. But he is no longer with us today - he is in a better place.

Jordan Kasteler has given so much of his life to the search community. Besides for the countless articles he has written at Search Engine Land, Search Engine Journal, on his professional site, and so many niche SEM blogs. He was always someone who smiled and made his colleagues laugh. As I browse through Facebook, I see photo after photo of Jordan smiling with his friends, making his colleagues laugh through fun acts and embracing someone who needs to be listened to.

His personal feed is not just filled with SEM advice and tips but also his passion to protect animals and support animal rights. Just last week, I saw he updated his Facebook profile that he started to work freelance again. It is shocking news to me and to the community of his passing.

The community has set up a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for funeral expenses for the family and also to help support his family and young son Jax. Please give what you can and spread the word to give.

I asked some folks to share their thoughts of Jordan, here are some of those:

Mark Jackson from Vizion Interactive:

I am shocked. Jordan was only employed at Vizion Interactive for a short period. He was one of the brightest minds in our Industry. And, even though he quit after only 9 months (hes very independent), we remained friends. I was close with him when he learned that he was becoming a father. His son meant everything to him. Im at a total loss and feel absolutely sick. Our Industry was better with him in it.

Ross Dunn from StepForth:

Every time I had the good fortune to see Jordan throughout the years he was smiling, warm, and always made a point to say hi. I fondly remember meeting a glowing Jordan and his beautiful new bride in the midst of his honeymoon for drinks with some colleagues. We later connected on our shared love of animals. The SEO industry is diminished in his passing. My heart goes out to his family and his boy Jax.

Keith L. Goode from IBM:

I've spent the day reading remembrances of Jordan Kasteler, and every one sounds like mine. He was charming, friendly, warm and loving, and he was, I think more importantly, consistent in being that way to everyone he met. I've known Jordan for several years now, and I look forward to seeing him each year at Pubcon, where we generally are most likely to cross paths. He has always greeted me with a warm smile and a big hug. I'll miss that this year and every year going forward. Rest in peace, buddy.

Jim Hedger from Digital Always Media:

Knowing people like Jordan Kasteler are around makes the mayhem and craziness of life on Earth more bearable. Jordan was a good person. He was genuinely nice. He genuinely cared about other living things, all other living things. Jordan was one of the few people who understood life on a barricade as well as he understood how the Web works and I really appreciated that about him. If you had a problem he's probably one of the people who helped you solve it. He was smart and lived his convictions. If you ask anyone he'd known about him, they would always use the word "friend". If you ever ask me about Jordan I'll say the same. Jordan Kasteler was a great person to know. He was a great person. He'll be greatly missed. He was a friend.

Chris Silver Smith from Argent Media:

I crossed paths and spoke with with Jordan Kasteler so many times over the years, and we sometimes traded clients back and forth. Jordan was always someone I respected and admired. Not only his online marketing abilities, but his dedication to social consciousness. I often communicated and shared with him about our mutual enjoyment of veganism. He will be missed - we need more people like him in this world.

Shelly Fagin from Highly Searched:

Everyone will probably mention just how great Jordans smile was, it was truly infectious and will no doubt be the way Ill remember him. He was such a fun person to be around and I have some incredibly fun conference memories with Jordan that Ill forever cherish. Aside from all the fun, Jordan was also such a brilliant SEO contributing so much to our industry over the years. For that, Ill forever be grateful. The Search community lost a wonderful member of our family today, Jordan you will be terribly missed.

Eric Enge from Stone Temple:

Im just stunned by this news. Something sudden like this shakes you to the core, especially when it involves a person as caring, open and friendly as Jordan. I have nothing but positive interactions with him. My condolences to his family. He will be sorely missed!.

Like I said, the community is deeply sad by the news. In fact, we have lost many people in our industry before but I don't believe I have ever seen the industry so shaken up from a passing as much as this one. And for good reason, as I said above, he was so tight and close with so many of us. Plus, his young age and young family just makes the news so much harder.

Here are some posts on Twitter from just some of the folks in our industry, I am sure I missed many of you, the posts are so overwhelming, I couldn't find them all:

Our industry lost a good one over the wknd. Heartbroken. RIP @JordanKasteler His contributions to the industry @sengineland @Marketingland were huge, he was a dearly loved speaker & the idea for @SLCSEM #UtahDMC was originally born at a lunch he & I had. He will be missed by many pic.twitter.com/DkR20FVHI5  Elisabeth Osmeloski (@elisabethos) July 23, 2018

Now I can't even focus on work. The sadness is overwhelming. Another one of the best in the industry, another heart & soul human I was grateful to know. Gone. Gone. I hate this world sometimes. Hate how the good ones are too often gone too soon. pic.twitter.com/4PttomkYv0  Alan Bleiweiss (@AlanBleiweiss) July 23, 2018

@JordanKasteler hey brother, I heard the news :( I'll always love and support you. Till we meet again!  AJ Wilcox (@wilcoxaj) July 22, 2018

Was just informed that fellow SEO @JordanKasteler lost his life on 7/21. Details are still pending. Jordan was a great, great site auditor and well-known on the conference speaking circuit. My sincere sympathies and best wishes to his family. Damn.  Casey Markee (@MediaWyse) July 23, 2018

I'm shocked to hear this. I worked with @JordanKasteler for a while at @vizionweb, then had the pleasure to work with him again over the last several months. What a great SEO, friend, and great guy Jordan was. He will be truly missed.  Bill Hartzer (@bhartzer) July 23, 2018

I've been trying to work all day, but it is so hard to focus & simultaneously lament the sadness for everything about the loss of @JordanKasteler. We've lost so many great people in our industry this year-It breaks my heart. You are so right @armondhammer Beautiful story -Thanks. https://t.co/7EQyVKaHQs  Cindy Krum (@Suzzicks) July 23, 2018

My head says work but my heart and welling eyes say its time for a personal twitter thread on suicide and more. (1/x)  Steve Hammer (@armondhammer) July 23, 2018

Oh no. This is really terrible to hear.  Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan) July 23, 2018

@JordanKasteler Rest In Peace. My heart is broken for your family. Gone too soon.    JO FOXX (@tickleapony) July 23, 2018

Conviction. Loyalty. Heart. Vision. Purpose.



There are few like Jordan Kasteler. The world lost a good man yesterday and I lost a brother. https://t.co/xjtEIWZYJz  James P (@JazzInJersey) July 22, 2018

Just heard the news about @JordanKasteler and man, that one hurts. What a great guy he was.



You will be missed, my friend.  John Doherty  (@dohertyjf) July 23, 2018

Ive had quite a few amazing conversations today. Turns out 14 years in an industry that just suffered a big human loss brings out good things. Gone but not forgotten, homes I still feel ya. RIP @JordanKasteler https://t.co/VbU6T4Xegc  Kenny Hyder (@kennyhyder) July 24, 2018

Rest in Peace @JordanKasteler #UtahSEOPro. Friend and former business partner. Went through the good times and the bad. Sucks that it ended like this. pic.twitter.com/hFlKImq4Vp  lorenbaker (@lorenbaker) July 23, 2018

RIP @JordanKasteler - you will be missed. Had some wonderful times with you and @davesnyder either cooking up ideas or having a blast at a conference.  Martin Bowling (@martinbowling) July 23, 2018

So sad, RIP my friend @JordanKasteler, peace to all bereaved, G_d has a better marketing team, again.  pic.twitter.com/RJJNMfTdFF  martyweintraub (@martyweintraub) July 23, 2018

Can't even think of the words to say or the thoughts to think. One of my first friends in the industry and always so fun to hang around. And smart. And helpful -- so freaking helpful and generous with his time and knowledge. You're already missed, Jordan. https://t.co/PfwqhW7LKy  Matt McGee (@mattmcgee) July 23, 2018

So my heart is crushed. I loved @JordanKasteler. I have no words just endless tears.  Melissa Fach (@SEOAware) July 23, 2018

Beyond heartbroken. Not only was he talented and generous professionally, but passionate about what he believed in. And downright hilarious. We'll miss you @JordanKasteler - RIP.  https://t.co/xL2nSs6Gva  Monica Wright (@monicawright) July 23, 2018

RIP @jordankasteler. Ill always remember the good times, you and the rest of the SLC crew really got me into the music scene. Its sad to see someone I grew up with feel the need to take his own life, please know none of you are alone- Suicide prevention hotline:1-800-273-8255  Ryan Seaman (@ryanseaman) July 22, 2018

From someone whos lost two people last year to suicide and has been on suicide watch themselves.



Sometimes help doesnt help, its upsetting and sad. Yes

But selfish of us to keep them here when they feel it doesnt get better. That eating is an effort, breathing is an effort.  Raven Hadley Fowler (@raven_hadley) July 23, 2018

Learning that @JordanKasteler passed away. RIP Jordan. You will be missed.



Reminder to everyone else - reach out to those you haven't heard from in a while.  Ryan Jones (@RyanJones) July 23, 2018

Here is the public post from Jordan's sister:

His sister set up a meal train to cook for the family for a bit and don't forget these is this GoFundMe.

Jordan - as you can see from just a sampling of the public community tweets, you will be so so deeply missed.

Forum discussion at Twitter.
A former school groundskeeper, diagnosed with terminal cancer, told a San Francisco jury Monday that he called a Monsanto Co. hotline twice  once before his diagnosis, once after  and asked whether the herbicide he was spraying on the job, the most widely used weed killer in the world, could cause harm to humans.

Both times, Dewayne Lee Johnson said, the person at the other end of the line listened to his account of being accidentally doused with the herbicide glyphosate, and said someone would call him back. No one ever did.

I would never have sprayed the product around school grounds or around people if I thought it would cause them harm, Johnson told a Superior Court jury hearing his suit against Monsanto. They deserve better.

Johnson, 46, of Vallejo, was a groundskeeper and pest-control manager for the Benicia Unified School District from 2012 until May 2016. He was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in October 2014 and with what his lawyers described as a more aggressive form of the cancer in March 2015.

Even after the latter diagnosis, Johnson said he continued to spray Monsantos product, a high-concentration brand of glyphosate called Ranger Pro, until he became convinced that it was dangerous and refused to use it in his final months on the job.

His damage suit, now into its third week, is the first of about 4,000 nationwide to go to trial against Monsanto, now a subsidiary of Bayer. The company markets glyphosate, the worlds leading herbicide, as Roundup, and in higher concentrations, as Ranger Pro. In 2015, the World Health Organizations International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen.

Monsanto disputes the assessment, noting that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has never classified glyphosate as a carcinogen or restricted its use. The companys lawyers also said Johnsons primary treating physicians have not determined the cause of his cancer.

Earlier Monday, his wife and a physician described Johnsons deteriorating condition, although he did not appear frail on the witness stand, speaking calmly in a deep, resonant voice. But jurors saw photos of the painful welts and lesions  on his legs, arms, face, and even his eyelids  that have arisen while he undergoes radiation treatment and chemotherapy. Johnson is scheduled for another round of chemotherapy next month and said he would next turn to a bone-marrow transplant.

He has self-published two books and is working on a third  about people and how theyre judged by their faces  and hopes hell get to finish it. He tries to shield the couples two sons, aged 13 and 10, from his bouts of depression and tears, and said that despite a grim prognosis, Ill keep fighting till my last breath.

Araceli Johnson, his wife of 13 years and a nurse practitioner, said she now works 14 hours a day at two jobs to support them. My world shut down when her husband told her he had cancer, she told the jury.

Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle

Johnson started working for the Benicia schools as a delivery driver but then applied to become the districts first pest-control manager and passed a licensing exam. I liked the job a lot, he said, recalling how some students gave him a poster for ridding their school of a skunk.

He said the district told him to use the Ranger Pro form of glyphosate because Roundup wasnt strong enough to remove all the weeds from hillsides on district-owned property. A supervisor told him the product was safe as long as he wore long-sleeved shirts, pants, shoes and socks.

In addition, Johnson said, he wore a sturdy jacket, rubber gloves, goggles and a face mask while he mixed the herbicide with water in 50-gallon drums and sprayed it 20 to 30 times a year for two to three hours a day, mostly during summer months. But he said he couldnt fully protect his face from wind-blown spray. And twice, he said, he got drenched with herbicide, once when a spray hose became detached from a truck that was hauling it, and another time when the chemical somehow leaked onto his back. He said he had no access to a shower until much later in the day.

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.

It was after the first exposure, Johnson said, that he started noticing rashes on his skin and called the company hotline.

I had this uncontrollable situation on my skin, which used to be as perfect as this table, he said, pointing to the brown witness stand. It was a very scary, confusing time.

During cross-examination, Monsanto lawyer Sandra Edwards asked Johnson about his past statement to his doctors that he had first developed a skin rash in the autumn of 2013, before he was accidentally doused with glyphosate. The company has contended that the sequence of events suggests other causes for Johnsons illness.

Its hard to remember all that way back, said Johnson, whose wife testified that her husband has sometimes suffered memory lapses since his diagnosis. That appeared to be on display early in his testimony Monday, when he said he had stopped working for the school district about five years ago, then was shown a document noting that he had worked there until May 2016.

Jurors also heard from Dr. Ope Ofodile, a dermatologist who coordinated Johnsons medical treatment at Kaiser Health Care in Vallejo from 2014 through mid-2016. She said she saw him more than 25 times, removed one of his lesions, administered radiation, and wrote a letter in 2015 asking the school board not to expose Johnson to airborne chemicals.

He was not responding (to treatment). He was heading in the wrong direction, she said. But he was very much motivated to get better.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @BobEgelko
Its lunchtime in San Franciscos Mid-Market neighborhood, and only a few people are trickling in and out of the local food joints. A bar and restaurant on Ninth Street has rows of empty tables, while only about six people sit inside the Perennial, where a renowned San Francisco chef was recently hired to oversee lunch.

But inside the surrounding office buildings that house tech companies Twitter, Uber and Square, there are thousands of employees sequestered in private company cafeterias, where the food is free.

And you cant compete with free, said Gwyneth Borden, executive director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association.

In an attempt to attract employees to local restaurants and businesses, Supervisors Ahsha Safai and Aaron Peskin are co-sponsoring an ordinance that would ban employee cafeterias from new office buildings in the city. This comes as local retailers, particularly those downtown, complain of a drop in business as more companies offer their workers meals in private corporate cafeterias, Safai said.

This is another way to help support small businesses, he said.

An employee cafeteria is defined in the San Francisco health code as a space inside an office where employees are provided or sold tax-free food on a regular basis. These facilities are either operated by company employees or contractors. There are currently 51 such cafeterias around the city, Safai said.

The supervisors proposal would put the city at odds with the tech industry, which largely views free food as an essential perk to lure talent.

Companies like Google, Facebook and Square have full-blown cafeterias, where employees are provided everything from fresh-made omelets to hand-rolled sushi. While some make it a point to source their food from local companies, Safai said that wouldnt matter under this proposal.

This is also about a cultural shift, he said. We dont want employees biking or driving into their office, staying there all day long and going home. This is about getting people out of their office, interacting with the community and adding to the vibrancy of the community.

Square and Uber declined to comment, while Twitter could not be reached Tuesday afternoon.

When Square, a payment processing company located in Mid-Market, closes its employee cafeteria every other Friday, Corridor, a nearby restaurant, experiences such a dramatic uptick in business that it sometimes has to increase its staffing, said Ryan Cole, partner and CEO of Hi Neighbor Restaurant Group, which manages Corridor. But other days, he said, the restaurant sees very little foot traffic.

Anthony Myint, co-owner of the Perennial, said he was drawn to opening a restaurant in the neighborhood because of the number of companies  and, potentially, customers  that he thought would flood the streets at lunchtime. While he knew about the private cafeterias, he said he didnt think they would impact his business this much. On an average day, he said, he sees only a handful of people during lunch.

We misunderstood the pervasiveness of the companys cafeterias inside, he said, adding that he likely would have chosen another neighborhood had he known the extent of the problem.

Companies and startups would be able to get around the ordinance by using catering companies to deliver to their offices at lunchtime. Some of those catering companies, including Zesty, ZeroCater and Eat Club, source from local restaurants and deliver individual or family-style meals.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

Eat Club, for example, serves hundreds of companies in San Francisco, from public tech companies to small startups, said founder Rodrigo Santibanez. Many of his clients choose Eat Club, which buys from local suppliers, because it improves productivity and collaboration when employees eat together.

Food in the workplace plays an important role, Santibanez said. All of that helps company culture, and it also helps companies create an attractive environment.

The ordinance wouldnt apply retroactively to companies that now have cafeterias, but instead to new construction  such as the roughly 7 million square feet of new office space proposed under the Central SoMa Plan that will soon go before the Board of Supervisors.

In a similar effort, Mountain View barred companies from providing employees with fully subsidized meals inside a new office development.

Given how ingrained employee cafeterias have become in modern tech company culture, Peskin said he is aware that this proposal may be controversial. But, he said, this is a groundbreaking piece of legislation that will benefit the restaurant industry and city overall.

The historic model is that people would go to work, and then flow outside during lunch. And in recent times it has been much more inward facing, where companies dont want their workers to leave, he said. The idea here is to bolster, not only the restaurant business, but other ground-floor retail businesses that are suffering.

Trisha Thadani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani
The Trump administration could move this week to revoke Californias decades-old ability to set its own pollution limits for cars, a potential blow to the states fight against global warming.

The move, widely expected for months, will ignite another pitched legal battle between California and federal officials, who spent much of the George W. Bush administration sparring in court over the states efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions from cars.

And for automakers, it could create years of uncertainty over which standards their cars must meet.

These were issues that were resolved 9 years ago, and its almost like picking at a scab that healed long ago and reopening it, only to cause the automakers a lot of bleeding, said Simon Mui, a senior scientist and clean vehicles specialist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group.

Bloomberg reported Monday that the administration this week will propose stopping planned increases in fuel efficiency after 2020 and challenging Californias unique ability to set its own auto air pollution standards. Thirteen other states and the District of Columbia also follow Californias emission standards.

The possibility that the administration could take both steps was first reported in April and enraged California officials, who promptly sued to block any freeze in fuel-efficiency standards. The office of Gov. Jerry Brown declined to comment before seeing the proposal.

Since 1970, California has had under the federal Clean Air Act the ability to set air pollution standards that are more stringent than the federal governments. Although the state initially used that power to regulate smog-causing pollutants, it has become a key weapon in the states fight against climate change.

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images 2014

In 2002, the state imposed on automakers new standards for how much greenhouse gas their cars could produce, with the requirements growing tougher over time. The Bush administration sued, arguing that the move would require tightening fuel-economy standards, which were under federal control. Automakers, who didnt want to face different fuel requirements in California and the rest of the country, backed the administration.

California, however, prevailed, and President Barack Obama took Californias standards nationwide in 2009, his first big action against global warming. So Californias standards are now in sync with the federal governments.

The Trump administration has made rolling back Obamas environmental and climate programs a high priority. Yet the federal government, under Obama, already approved Californias emission standards  and the underlying fuel standards  for car model years 2017 through 2025. By 2025, the standards call for a fleet-wide average mileage, for cars and light trucks, of more than 50 miles per gallon (although the actual average would be lower, due to credits and loopholes).

They cant just pull something theyve already given, without public comment, Mui said. Theyre on legally shaky ground, here.

For California, blocking future fuel-mileage increases and stripping the state of its ability to set its own standards would imperil the states ambitious climate goals.

An annual report issued this month by the California Air Resources Board found that California has already met its 2020 goal for cutting greenhouse gas emissions back to 1990 levels. State law now calls for slashing emissions another 40 percent by 2030. And yet, the states emissions from transportation have been rising, due to a strong economy, relatively cheap fuel, and consumers preference for SUVs over small cars or electric vehicles.

In California, transportation has been the only sector where emissions have been flat or even going up, so this is very important, said Daniel Sperling, a member of the Air Resources Board and founding director of UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies. By simple math, if we dont get the substantial reductions from vehicles, well have to get them from industry or some other way.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

The administrations actions could place automakers in a bind.

Shortly after President Trumps election, an auto industry lobbying group sent him a letter asking for more flexibility in the fuel-mileage program. But the prospect of an across-the-board freeze  and another protracted fight between California and the federal government  appears to have unnerved the industry. Top executives of Ford, for example, spoke out this spring against a rollback.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which sent Trump the letter, on Monday referred to a statement the group issued in April, which praised the administration for revisiting the standards but said the companies remain committed to increasing mileage per gallon.

One of the reasons theyve been somewhat quiet is because theyre torn, said Karl Brauer, executive publisher of Autotrader and KBB.com, speaking of the car companies. Theyre in a tough spot.

American drivers, he said, clearly prefer SUVs, which will make achieving the 50-mile-per-gallon fleet average difficult. And yet, auto companies dont want California to once again have its own standard  the scenario if the Trump administration succeeded in rolling back federal fuel-economy standards but California was able to maintain its emissions requirements.

And a long legal fight between the state and federal governments could make it difficult for the automakers to plan, since the process of designing, engineering and introducing a new car typically takes more than three years, Brauer said.

Californias not just going to roll over, he said. That means uncertainty, and uncertainty is synonymous with expense in the auto industry.

David R. Baker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dbaker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @DavidBakerSF
Spectacular Yosemite Valley, where the smoke from a raging wildfire is so thick that the giant granite monoliths are all but invisible, will be evacuated and closed to visitors for several days beginning Wednesday, the National Park Service said.

Hotels, campgrounds and visitor services in the valley and at Wawona at the south end of Yosemite National Park will shut at noon Wednesday and will stay closed at least until Sunday, park spokesman Scott Gediman said Tuesday.

The closure means that thousands of visitors will be forced to leave the park on the pair of two-lane highways  routes 120 and 41  that remain open. The Ferguson Fire, burning largely unchecked at the parks western boundary, has forced the indefinite shutdown of Highway 140. Glacier Point Road has been closed to allow for creation of a firefighting base camp.

Yosemite Valley, which can be so crowded in the summer as to resemble a small city, has been emptying out on its own as conditions deteriorated.

Thick smoke has largely obliterated visibility in the valley. On Tuesday, a half-dozen live webcams on the Yosemite visitor website were displaying vistas of near-solid gray.

Other parts of Yosemite, including Tuolumne Meadows and high-country areas accessible via Tioga Road (Highway 120), remained open.

A desk clerk at the Majestic Yosemite Hotel, formerly called the Ahwahnee, said by phone Tuesday afternoon that guests had already begun to depart. The hotel, usually full during the summer, has been half-empty in recent days as guests canceled reservations because of the fire.

Our eyes are stinging, our noses hurt and so many employees have left that were operating with skeleton crews, said a store employee at Half Dome Village, formerly known as Camp Curry, who asked to not be identified. Its very surreal to look out the window and see no guests, no hordes of hikers, no cars. Its way worse than a smoggy day in Los Angeles.

The smoke is so thick, the clerk said, that a visitor can stand at the base of El Capitan and look up  and not see El Capitan.

Thats eerie, he said.

Air quality in Yosemite Valley and in the Hodgdon Meadow area to the west was listed as unhealthy, the U.S. Forest Service said. In Mariposa, southwest of the valley and just outside the park, the air was unhealthy for sensitive individuals.

Camp Mather, the San Francisco-owned family camp near the northwestern corner of Yosemite, remained open.

Some campers had reported eye irritation, but there was a marked improvement in air quality on Tuesday, camp spokeswoman Tamara Barak Aparton said.

Yosemite Valley has been evacuated twice in the past two years  this past April and in January 2017  because of flooding caused by heavy rain. More extensive flooding that destroyed roads and campgrounds occurred in 1997.

The Ferguson Fire began July 13 and has been burning in steep, rough, parched terrain near Yosemite. It has been spreading toward the park, although firefighters are gaining ground.

Fire Tracker Follow wildfires across the state Latest updates on wildfires burning across Northern and Southern California

The wildfire, which has devoured 37,795 acres, is 26 percent contained, fire officials said Tuesday night.

We are slowly making progress, said Rich Eagan, a fire spokesman. Maybe not as fast as some people would like, but were working hard and making progress.

Favorable weather conditions allowed crews to establish more lines around the blaze with the aid of planes and helicopters dropping water and fire retardant.

However, high temperatures expected Wednesday and Thursday  forecast as high as 103 degrees  are expected to make firefighting tougher, Eagan said.

The fire started in the Merced River Canyon, west of Yosemite along Highway 140. Flames have reached within about 2 miles of the park and forced the closure of Highway 140 and the Arch Rock entrance. Some employee and visitor housing has been evacuated.

The fire has killed one firefighter and injured six. The cause of the blaze is under investigation.

As of Tuesday night, 3,434 firefighters were battling the inferno. Included in the fire fight were 220 engines, 47 water tenders, 16 helicopters, 91 hand crews and 59 bulldozers. Firefighters from around the country continue to flow into Mariposa County.
2 1 of 2 Courtesy Matthew Smith / Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Evan Sernoffsky / The Chronicle Show More Show Less



Authorities on Monday identified the two occupants of a vehicle that fled from Orinda police this past weekend before a deadly single-car crash shut down Highway 24 for hours.

Lawrence Martin, 20, of Oakland was killed Saturday and Danny Lockett, 20, of San Francisco was arrested and booked at the Martinez Detention Facility after both men fled during a traffic stop in Orinda, officials said.
Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle

A man shot his wife before turning the gun on himself Tuesday morning in the small community of Terra Linda in San Rafael, authorities said.

At 8:21 a.m., San Rafael police received a 911 call from a residence on the 700 block of Penny Royal Lane. The man who made the call stated that he had just shot his wife and intended to shoot himself, said Sgt. Lisa Holton, a Police Department spokeswoman.
Americans have a constitutional right to carry guns openly outside the home, a federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled Tuesday on an issue that has divided federal courts and is likely headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The 2-1 ruling by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a case from Hawaii may not last long  it was written by one of the courts most conservative judges, Diarmuid OScannlain, whose previous decision striking down a California concealed-weapons law was overturned by the courts liberal majority. But it highlights a Second Amendment issue the high court has sidestepped since 2008, when it ruled for the first time that the Constitution guarantees the right to possess a handgun at home for self-defense.

Supreme Court intervention in the open-carry issue appears likelier with the widening split among lower courts  three federal appeals courts have found no right to carry guns openly in public  and with the possible addition on the court of President Trumps nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, to succeed the retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. As a federal appeals court judge, Kavanaugh has interpreted the Second Amendment broadly, saying in one dissenting opinion that it protects the right to own semiautomatic weapons.

Meanwhile, Tuesdays ruling potentially applies to gun laws in nine Western states covered by the Ninth Circuit, including California.

If this ruling stands, states like Hawaii and California will have to allow far more guns on the streets than they do today, said Adam Winkler, a UCLA law professor who has written extensively on firearms laws.

The court majority said the text of the Second Amendment, which guarantees a right to both keep and bear arms, showed that it applied outside the home.

The right to bear arms must guarantee some right to self-defense in public, OScannlain said in an opinion joined by Judge Sandra Ikuta. While the right to keep arms protects the core purpose of the Second Amendment within the home, he said, the separate right to bear arms protects that core purpose outside the home.

States do not have to allow everyone to carry guns openly in public and can enact reasonable regulations, OScannlain said. But he said a Hawaii law that allows open-carry permits only to those engaged in the protection of life and property was unconstitutional because it effectively excluded everyone except police and security guards.

OScannlain said his reading of the law was borne out by scholarly commentary from the nations early years, like a writer who said in 1803 that in many parts of the U.S. a man no more thinks of going out of his house ... without his rifle or musket in his hand, than a European fine gentleman without his sword. OScannlain also said some 19th century gun restrictions stemmed from efforts of many Southern states to disarm free blacks after the Civil War.

Dissenting Judge Richard Clifton viewed legal history differently, saying states, both Northern and Southern, have long regulated and limited public carry of firearms. He also said Hawaiis gun fatality rate is 4.5 per 100,000 population, the nations fourth-lowest rate. Californias rate of 7.9 per 100,000 is the seventh-lowest.

Clifton also said the Supreme Courts 2008 ruling, and most of the lower courts that have interpreted it, have defined the core of the Second Amendment as defense of hearth and home. States, therefore, have more leeway to enact restrictions on gun possession in public, including laws like Hawaiis, he said.

OScannlain was also the author of a 2-1 ruling in 2014 that temporarily struck down a California law requiring local law enforcement permits to carry concealed handguns in public, permits that are largely unavailable in San Francisco and other metropolitan areas of the state. But the full appeals court ordered a rehearing in that case, and a larger panel upheld the law in a 7-4 ruling, which the Supreme Court declined to review.

Since then, the Ninth Circuit has upheld Californias 10-day waiting period for gun purchases and several local gun laws in the state, including Alameda Countys ban on new gun stores within 500 feet of a residential neighborhood or school. The Supreme Court has declined to hear appeals from those rulings.

The National Rifle Association praised Tuesdays ruling.

This is a critical issue for law-abiding gun owners, said the NRAs Chris Cox.

Alan Beck, a lawyer for the Hawaii man who challenged the states law, said the ruling, if it stands, would enhance public safety because private citizens are now going to be able to defend themselves, especially when police are unable to come to the rescue.

But attorney Adam Skaggs of the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence said the court ignored historical evidence and Ninth Circuit precedent concluding that strong laws restricting the public carry of firearms are consistent with the Constitution and have been so since the moment America was founded.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko
Although California has received an all-clear from government agencies looking into Russian attempts to hack into voting data for states across the nation, safe today doesnt mean safe tomorrow, a leading computer security expert warned.

The bottom line is, be nervous, said Matt Bishop, a UC Davis computer science professor who specializes in computer security.

California has been pushing hard to make its voting systems more secure and more efficient since Floridas famous hanging chad election of 2000. That was the presidential election in which the final result was delayed for more than a month while partisans for Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore battled in courts and county election offices over how  or even whether  thousands of contested ballots in Florida should be counted.

That was the biggest election controversy of modern times  until Russias interference with the 2016 campaign that was designed to help Donald Trump win the presidential election.

In September 2017, the Department of Homeland Security warned election officials in California and 20 other states that Russian hackers had tried to break into their voting systems during the campaign.

This month, Robert Mueller, the special counsel leading a probe into the Russian interference, indicted 12 Russian intelligence officers and said they had hacked into one states registration database. The defendants stole information related to approximately 500,000 voters, including names, addresses, partial Social Security numbers, dates of birth and drivers license numbers, according to the indictment.

There is no evidence of a breach of Californias election systems in 2016, Secretary of State Alex Padilla said in an email this week. Muellers indictment, however, is a stark reminder that cyber threats to our elections are very real  and they wont be going away.

Theres no evidence that Russian tampering altered any votes in 2016. Doing so would be difficult because of security measures that are standard in California and most of the nation.

San Franciscos system is typical, said John Arntz, the citys elections chief. Theres an air gap in the electronic voting machines and the equipment that tallies the votes, he said.

Those machines are never connected to the Internet, Arntz said. The way the system is set up, if someone physically hacked into one voting machine, they couldnt affect the other machines, because theyre not connected. And even then, theyd have to just about destroy the machine to hack in.

California has another safeguard, which Arntz called the ultimate fail-safe. Since 2006, all touch-screen voting systems in the state have had to provide a paper receipt that confirms the electronic totals.

About a dozen states allow electronic voting without requiring a paper trail audit.

Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle

That requirement has been one of the most talked about election cyber-security reforms at the national level, Padilla said. But California has required a voter-verified paper audit trail for every vote for over a decade.

While the prospect of outside groups changing individual ballots or flipping final vote totals are the flashiest election security issues, thats far from the only damage hackers can cause, said Bishop, the UC Davis computer science professor. He has been involved in officially sanctioned efforts to break into voting systems in California and other states.

For example, the one successful Russian hacking effort cited in Muellers indictment is believed to have involved voter registration data in Illinois, officials in that state said. California and many other states allow residents to register to vote electronically, and those databases must be connected to the Internet, where hackers lurk.

The leak of the voter registration data is bad, Bishop said. But whats really bad is if you can get in there and change things.

Social Security and drivers license numbers are a potential treasure trove for identity thieves. But hackers looking to disrupt an election could change addresses, misspell names, flip party registrations or take dozens of other actions that could slow voting to a crawl.

Who knows what they could do? Bishop said. Hackers could even scrub out the names of voters entirely, effectively disenfranchising them.

Concern about hacking is one of the most important reasons for the slow progress of efforts to move toward a system in which voters could cast their ballots over their smartphones, laptops or tablets via the Internet. Computer security experts like Bishop and David Dill of Stanford University argue that the potential problems far outweigh any benefits.

Computers are very complicated things, and theres no way with any reasonable amount of resources that you can guarantee that the software and hardware are bug-free and that they havent been maliciously attacked, Dill, who also is a director of the nonprofit election security group VerifiedVoting.org, said in a 2016 article. From that perspective, looking at a system that relies on the perfectibility of computers is a really bad idea.

State election systems arent the only concern. With only a handful of companies providing the bulk of the countrys voting machines and software, hacker attacks on those vendors could endanger systems used across the country, Bishop said.

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.

Last week, for example, Election Systems and Software, one of the nations largest manufacturers of voting machines, revealed that for a time in the 2000s, it sold election management systems equipped with remote access software that allowed its technicians to connect to the machines via the Internet.

But if the technicians can get in electronically, so can hackers.

Installing remote-access software and modems on election equipment is the WORST decision for security short of leaving ballot boxes on a Moscow street corner, Sen. Roy Wyden, D-Ore., said in a July 17 tweet.

Since 2016, California has been working to strengthen its voting information system in advance of this years elections, Padilla said.

We conducted an agency-wide security audit, replaced obsolete devices, enhanced security of our servers and upgraded firewalls and applied security patches, he said. We have also strengthened agency procedures related to security, including increased 24/7 monitoring and alert capabilities and implementing additional security tools to detect and prevent malware and viruses.

The state also must certify any voting system before it can be sold in California, which means intensive testing and even red team security testing, with experts trying to hack in, Padilla said. San Francisco is among the counties looking to replace outdated machines.

The most important security measure, however, could be Californias growing shift from electronic voting to vote-by-mail, where every vote is cast on an old-school paper ballot.

In the June primary, more than two-thirds of the votes were cast on mail ballots. That number will only grow as more counties sign on to a state program that calls for providing every voter with a mail ballot, which eliminates any concerns about the security of the electronic voting machines used at polling places.

But even if every possible measure is taken to protect the states elections, there are no guarantees, Bishop admitted. If theres corruption or incompetence, all bets are off.

There is no such thing as absolute security, he said.

John Wildermuth is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jfwildermuth
Every day, the opioid epidemic claims 115 American lives, while communities across the country are awash in prescription drugs that fuel the crisis. But while the human toll of this tragedy has become all too clear, the fight to hold accountable those responsible for exacerbating the crisis continues. Nowhere will this be more apparent or urgent than at San Francisco-based McKessons annual meeting Wednesday.

At the crossroads of our nations drug pipeline are Americas three largest drug distributors  McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health  which have played an outsized role in fueling the flow of opioids into our communities. McKesson, the largest of the Big Three, supplied 5 million doses of prescription opioids over two years to a town in West Virginia with a population of 400, according to a letter released by a congressional committee investigating opioid abuse. That is more than 12,000 doses for every man, woman and child.

But rather than accept responsibility for their role, the big distributors have stuck with a game plan of deny, deflect and obfuscate. At a recent congressional hearing on the opioid crisis, executives from the Big Three refused to acknowledge that their companies contributed to the epidemic, instead expressing regret and pointing fingers at doctors, pharmacists and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Who is footing the bill for this regret? The families of loved ones lost, the communities destroyed by prescription drugs and the investors exposed to hundreds of millions of dollars in regulatory penalties and lawsuits.

Holding deep-pocketed corporations, like McKesson, and their top executives accountable can feel like an impossible task, but its not.

Over the past year and a half, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters has led a growing shareholder movement to bring real reforms and accountability from within at the Big Three distributors. As a long-term investor in these companies, weve helped to transform the proxy ballot into an agent of change.

At McKessons shareholder meeting last July, our efforts led to a rare, historic shareholder revolt that rejected the boards executive pay package and pushed the company to separate the CEO and chairman positions. Only months later, Cardinal Health conceded to Teamster demands for an independent chairman and calls from other investors to strengthen the companys ability to claw back executive pay for misconduct. In March, AmerisourceBergen faced overwhelming support from independent shareholders for a string of governance reforms brought forth by the Teamsters and other institutional investors.

Were proud of these victories, but we know theres still work to be done.

At this years annual meeting, McKesson investors will have the opportunity to vote against the re-election of McKessons Audit Committee chair, the very person responsible for ensuring that the companys drug distribution practices comply with federal standards. Even after a costly 2008 settlement with the DEA, the committee, under the leadership of Marie Knowles, failed to review the companys controlled-substance monitoring program for more than four years  even as millions of pills flooded into cities and towns across the country. When it finally did in 2013, it was already too late  that same year, the DEA raided a McKesson distribution center in Colorado for failing to report suspicious opioid orders, quickly escalating into a nationwide investigation that ended with a second DEA settlement in 2017.

Its becoming increasingly clear that shareholders and the American public wont stand for the human, financial and reputational costs caused by the behavior of our countrys biggest pill distributors. For McKesson to do the right thing, it must go beyond small changes and pledge to act differently in the future. The crisis in leadership that fueled the opioid epidemic must be brought to light, and those at the center of these failures must be held accountable.

And if McKessons board of directors isnt ready to act, it can bet that investors will.

Ken Hall is the general secretary-treasurer of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
To: Sens. Jeff Flake, John McCain,

Bob Corker and Susan Collins

From: Robert Reich

Senators, I write you not as a Democrat reaching out to Republicans, or as a former Cabinet member making a request of sitting senators.

I write you as a patriotic American concerned about the peril now facing our democracy, asking you to exercise your power to defend it.

A foreign power has attacked our democratic institutions and, according to American intelligence, continues to do so.

Yet the president of the United States is unwilling to fully acknowledge this, or aggressively stop it.

Most of your Republican colleagues in the Senate will not force his hand. As a result, because your party has control of the Senate, there is no effective check on the president  or on Vladimir Putin.

What is America to do? We will exercise our right to vote on Nov. 6. But by that time our system may be compromised. The president must be constrained, now. Putins aggression must be stopped, now.

If just two of you changed parties  becoming independent and caucusing with the Democrats  the Republican Party would no longer have a majority in the Senate.

The Senate would become a check on the president, as the framers of the Constitution envisioned it would be. And the president could be forced to defend the United States, as the framers intended.

I implore you to do so.

There is precedent. Im sure you remember Jim Jeffords of Vermont, who served as a Republican senator from 1989 until 2001. He then left the GOP to become an independent and began caucusing with the Democrats.

Jeffords switch changed control of the Senate from Republican to Democratic. Jeffords left the Republican Party because of issues on which he parted with his Republican colleagues and the George W. Bush administration. As he said at the time, Increasingly, I find myself in disagreement with my party. ... Given the changing nature of the national party, it has become a struggle for our leaders to deal with me and for me to deal with them.

I knew and admired Jeffords years before he switched parties. We worked together on a number of initiatives when I was secretary of labor. He was a humble man of principle and integrity. He retired from the Senate in 2007 and died in 2014.

I appeal to the four of you to follow his noble example.

The stakes for the nation are far higher than they were in 2001. The issue today is not one on which honorable people like Jeffords may reasonably disagree. The issue now is the fate of our system of government.

All of you recognize the danger. All of you have expressed deep concern about what is occurring.

Sen. Flake recently introduced a non-binding resolution acknowledging Russian involvement in the 2016 elections, expressing support for the Justice Department investigation and calling for oversight hearings about what happened in Helsinki. But Flakes fellow Republicans blocked that resolution.

Sen. McCain said the president has proved not only unable, but unwilling to stand up to Putin; that Trump made a conscious choice to defend a tyrant against the fair questions of a free press, and to grant Putin an uncontested platform to spew propaganda and lies to the world; and that the president has failed to defend all that makes us who we are  a republic of free people dedicated to the cause of liberty at home and abroad.

Sen. Corker has likened the Republican Party to a cult and conceded that its not a good place for any party to end up with a cult-like situation as it relates to a president that happens to be of purportedly of the same party.

Moreover, the three of you have decided against seeking re-election. You have no reason not to follow your consciences.

Sen. Collins represents a state that has had a long and distinguished history of independent-minded politicians. (The other senator from Maine, Angus King, is an independent.) Her constituents will surely forgive her if she leaves the Republican Party.

There is a scene in the Robert Bolt play A Man for All Seasons in which Thomas More, having angered Henry VIII, is on trial for his life. After Richard Rich commits perjury against More in exchange for the office of attorney general for Wales, More says: Why, Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world. ... But for Wales?

You have not pledged your souls to the Republican Party. You have pledged yourselves to America. Now is the time to deliver on that pledge.

 2018 Robert Reich

Robert Reich, a professor of public policy at UC Berkeley, is co-creator of the new Netflix documentary Saving Capitalism and author of The Common Good. To comment, submit your letter to the editor at SFChronicle.com/letters.
Although California has received an all-clear from government agencies looking into Russian attempts to hack into voting data for states across the nation, safe today doesnt mean safe tomorrow, a leading computer security expert warned.

The bottom line is, be nervous, said Matt Bishop, a UC Davis computer science professor who specializes in computer security.

In September 2017, the federal Department of Homeland Security warned election officials in California and 20 other states that Russian hackers had tried to break into their voting systems during the previous years presidential campaign.

Earlier this month, Robert Mueller, the special counsel leading a probe into the Russian interference, indicted 12 Russian intelligence officers and said they had hacked into one states registration database  apparently Illinois. The defendants stole information related to approximately 500,000 voters, including names, addresses, partial Social Security numbers, dates of birth and drivers license numbers, according to the indictment.

There is no evidence of a breach of Californias election systems in 2016, Secretary of State Alex Padilla said in an email Monday. Muellers indictment, however, is a stark reminder that cyber threats to our elections are very real  and they wont be going away.

Theres no evidence that Russian tampering altered any votes in 2016. Doing so would be difficult because of security measures that are standard in California and most of the rest of the nation. But there are potential vulnerabilities, here and elsewhere. The full story is here.

Deep dives and late takes

Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, says shes running for the House Democrats No. 4 job. She would be first African American woman to hold a leadership post in either party.

Proponents of a ballot measure to roll back Californias gas-tax increase are focusing on families and long-distance commuters.

California taxpayers are spending thousands of dollars a day to provide round-the-clock protection to the lieutenant governor, state controller and other officials.

Kevin de Leon isnt the California Senates leader anymore, but hes still being given a state security detail at taxpayers expense.

Democrats trying to flip GOP-held House seats in California hope their strong fundraising numbers are a sign the votes will be there in November.

The battle lines are forming over a California ballot measure that would let cities expand rent control.

John Cox, the Republican candidate for governor in California, opposes abortion in all cases. Democratic candidate Gavin Newsom calls that extreme.

A discussion of the politics of food and a San Francisco supervisorial candidates debate highlight the Bay Area political calendar.

The Political Punch newsletter publishes every Tuesday and Thursday between noon and 3 p.m. It is produced by the staff of the San Francisco Chronicle and edited by politics editor Trapper Byrne. Email: tbyrne@sfchronicle.com
Defense Secretary James Mattis reinforced President Trumps Twitter warning to Iran on Tuesday, saying its time for Iran to shape up and show responsibility.

Speaking to reporters alongside Secretary of State Mike Pompeo after two days of meetings with Australian officials at Stanford University, Mattis appeared unconcerned that Trumps all-caps tweet warning Sunday to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani not to threaten the U.S. would accelerate tensions in the Middle East.

Responding to a speech in which Rouhani said a conflict with the U.S. would be the mother of all wars, Trump tweeted that Iran could suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif returned Trumps rhetorical fire Monday, tweeting, Weve been around for millennia & seen fall of empires, incl our own, which lasted more than the life of some countries. BE CAUTIOUS.

Asked Tuesday whether he was concerned about the escalating rhetoric, Mattis focused on Irans history as a destabilizing influence in the region.

The only reason that the murderer (Syrian President Bashar) Assad is still in power  the primary reason  is because Iran has stuck by him, reinforced him and funded him, Mattis said.

Its time for Iran to shape up and show responsibility as a responsible nation, Mattis said. It cannot continue to show irresponsibility as some revolutionary organization that is intent on exporting terrorism and exporting disruption across the region.

Mattis joins other administration officials in talking tough on Iran. In a speech Sunday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley (Ventura County), Pompeo said, The level of corruption and wealth among regime leaders shows that Iran is run by something that resembles the mafia more than a government.

Before joining the Trump administration, both Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton called for air strikes on Iranian facilities as a way to thwart its nuclear capabilities.

Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli
For the first time since Californias dam-building boom ended nearly a half century ago, state officials on Tuesday approved a windfall of cash for new water storage projects, setting the stage for at least a mini-resurgence of reservoir construction.

The historic $2.7 billion of voter-approved bond money will go to elevating two Bay Area dams, at Los Vaqueros Reservoir near Livermore and Pacheco Reservoir east of Gilroy, as well as to the development of two much larger dams in the Central Valley. Funds also will go to four less traditional endeavors that store water underground.

Collectively, the projects would add about 4.3 million acre feet of water storage across the state, the equivalent of about a dozen of San Franciscos Hetch Hetchy reservoirs. The new supply is intended to help California weather drought as longer, deeper dry spells are expected to take hold with climate change.

Although the larger dams, at the proposed 13-mile-long Sites Reservoir along the Sacramento River and 18-mile-long Temperance Flat Reservoir on the San Joaquin River, are still well short of the money they need to get off the ground, the Bay Area projects are now close to moving forward.

Getting the money is a greater step toward water reliability for the Bay Area region, said Oliver Symonds, a spokesman for the Contra Costa Water District, which was allocated $459 million for the proposed $980 million expansion of Los Vaqueros Reservoir.

The state money comes four years after voters approved Proposition 1 in the throes of the recent drought. The $7.5 billion bond measure committed funding for upgrading water infrastructure, restoring watersheds and developing new water storage, with more than a third of the money earmarked for reservoirs and underground water banks.

Tuesdays decision on storage projects was made by the California Water Commission, an independent advisory board appointed by the governor, following a years-long technical review in which about a dozen proposals were considered.

To make sure the projects wouldnt serve special interests, each was scored by how much public benefit it would provide  for example, whether it offered boat recreation, improvements to fish habitat or wastewater treatment.

Among the winners were two efforts to recycle wastewater by treating it and storing it underground. The projects were submitted by the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District and the Inland Empire Utilities Agency.

Two other funding recipients, in Kern County and Southern Californias Antelope Valley, plan to recharge stressed groundwater basins with surplus surface water.

But the bulk of the money, close to $2 billion, is headed to reservoirs.

With its allocation, the Contra Costa Water District hopes to break ground in two years on raising the dam at Los Vaqueros Reservoir in the East Bay hills by 55 feet. The reservoir, which holds water piped in from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, would grow by 70 percent, increasing its capacity to 275,000 acre-feet of water, enough to supply more than a half million households for a year.

The district intends to share its additional supplies with other Bay Area providers, including the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and the East Bay Municipal Utility District. Those agencies are expected to help foot the balance of the projects cost.

With $485 million of Prop. 1 money, the Santa Clara Valley Water District plans to construct a new $969 million dam on Pacheco Creek in eastern Santa Clara County, in the footprint of a smaller dam. The project will increase water storage from the creek, which gets much of its water through releases from nearby San Luis Reservoir, from 5,500 to 140,000 acre feet of water.

An acre foot is 326,000 gallons and can meet the needs of about two households for a year.

The outstanding balance for the expanded Pacheco Reservoir is expected to come from other water agencies that will benefit, including the San Benito County Water District and Pacheco Pass Water District, as well as customers served by the project.

Richard Santos, chairman of the Santa Clara Valley Water District Board of Directors, said he hopes construction will start in the next few years.

Its a reliable source of water that will provide for all of Santa Clara Countys residents, he said.

The biggest recipient of the Prop. 1 funding was the proposed Sites Reservoir, a $5.2 billion venture slated for the west side of the Sacramento Valley in rural Colusa County. The project would store 500,000 acre feet of water piped in from the nearby Sacramento River.

However, the $816 million allocated for the reservoir is much less than the projects backers wanted, leaving the future of the effort uncertain. The reservoirs anticipated public benefit did not score as high as what supporters had hoped.

My concern is that this (money) is more of a down payment on what we need and not an end solution, said Jim Watson, general manager of the Sites Project Authority. But its a step in the right direction.

Watson said he is pursuing funding from other sources, including the many water agencies that would benefit from Sites, largely districts that provide water for farms.

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.

Proponents of the proposed Temperance Flat Reservoir, near Fresno, said they, too, are having to look elsewhere for cash.

The $3 billion project, which would add 1.3 million acre feet of water storage from the San Joaquin River, was awarded $171 million. The public benefit of the project was also deemed low.

Mario Santoyo, the projects executive director, said hes hoping President Trump, who has committed to increasing agricultural water supplies, will pick up with where the state left off.

Theres no guarantees, but we have a new administration that wants to build, Santoyo said.

The Prop. 1 funding for water storage is the most the state has allocated since construction of the State Water Project, which consists of 21 dams and hundreds of miles of canals, built largely in the 1960s.

Californias last major reservoir, New Melones Lake near Sonora (Tuolumne County), was constructed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in the 1970s.

Jay Lund, director of the Center for Watershed Studies at UC Davis, said Prop. 1 was largely an aberration since the state and federal governments have retreated from the dam-building business.

The reasons are numerous, he and other water experts say. For one, the best spots for reservoirs are taken. Also, the harm that dams do to fish and rivers has become increasingly clear. And finally, theres just not much money for the pricey endeavors.

This is pretty unprecedented that the state is providing general fund revenues for water storage. Its rarely done on this large of scale, Lund said. But Im not sure theres anymore economically promising surface storage to be built no matter how much money you have. This may well be the last hurrah for water storage.

Kurtis Alexander is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kalexander@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kurtisalexander
The first time I saw the pants, last summer, was on my friend Jordan.

It was the rare warm San Francisco evening. Jordan showed up to the bar wearing simple leather slides and a billowy white oxford shirt, half-tucked into pants that looked like nothing Id ever seen: high-waisted and wide-legged and sturdy, fanning out in an A-line before culminating midway between the ankle and the knee.

Everlane, Jordan told me, when I asked. She looked breezy. She looked chic. She looked effortless in a way that I was never going to look in my tight-fitting skinny jeans. She looked  at least, she did to me at the time  original.

A gracious friend, Jordan lent the pants to me when we traveled to Portugal together the next month. I didnt want to give them back. I loved them and couldnt quite articulate why. Our boyfriends were confused. What exactly was so great about the pants, they asked us? To them, the pants looked kind of  weird. They definitely preferred the skinny jeans.

And suddenly, everywhere I looked, there were the pants. My friend Minda had them in two colors. Caitlin, my former roommate, wore hers at least once a week. Once, I saw three women wearing them at a single party. I spotted them on strangers on Market Street, on Union Street, on Valencia Street. Of course, as soon as I was back from Portgual, I went to Everlane in the Mission to buy a pair. And there, in the store, was a sea of shopgirls wearing the pants, some with a T-shirt, some with a blouse, some with a cropped tank top. They let me take a picture with them in my new pair.

Turns out, the phenomenon of Everlanes wide-leg crop pant extends far beyond my myopic San Francisco circle. When the style was first released in February 2017, it sold out within the week, creating a big demand and hype, says Kelli Dugan, Everlanes head of product strategy. The pants had a 12,000-person wait list until coming back in stock five months later. Now, a year on, we have not seen momentum drop down at all, Dugan says. It is our No. 1 casual bottom. A new version with a slimmer leg will launch Aug. 6.

Audaciously, Everlane calls the wide-leg crop the most flattering pant youll ever try. Its ad campaign included women wearing sizes zero to 10  Everlanes first time including diverse body types. The claim is based on a few features: Its weighty cotton fabric contains just 1 percent stretch, so it doesnt hug your folds. The pant hits at the smallest point of the waist, then again at the thinnest part of the leg. A pant that shows your ankle bone makes your legs look longer, Dugan says.

But that claim has been debunked. Peruse the internet and youll discover a deep subculture dedicated to taking down the wide-leg crop pant  offered now by brands ranging from Anthropologie and Gap to designers like Jesse Kamm and Rachel Comey. Fashion writers have called the wide-leg crop fashion trending at its worst. They are ostensibly chill and yet they are not comfortable, wrote Molly Fischer. One woman tried them on and felt like the love child of a teen Juggalo and a pregnant sailor.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

This more or less summarizes the feelings of many of my friends significant others (though one friends boyfriend, Paul, praises the wide-leg crops emphasis of a womans backside). And to tell you the truth, I kind of agree. Ankle slimming notwithstanding, the pants dont feel that flattering on me. They bunch around the crotch. They make the stomach look a little distended. They do not slim the thighs.

But thats the whole point of the wide-leg crop. I love the way it looks on me, and not because I think it makes my figure look good. I love the pants because they free me, if only momentarily, from wondering whether my thighs look thin or my stomach looks flat. The pants are about rising above that. Its about looking cool for other reasons. Its about confusing our boyfriends. Its about feeling breezy and effortless and comfortable, like Jordan at the bar last summer.

Esther Mobley is The San Francisco Chronicles wine critic. Email: emobley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Esther_mobley Instagram: @esthermob
Ivanka Trump announced Tuesday, July 24, that she is closing her namesake womens fashion brand after 11 years, on the heels of another major retail group dropping the controversial line.

Trump, an adviser to her father, President Donald Trump, released the following statement via the company: When we first started this brand, no one could have predicted the success that we would achieve. After 17 months in Washington, I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business, but I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington, so making this decision now is the only fair outcome for my team and partners. I am beyond grateful for the work of our incredible team who has inspired so many women; each other and myself included. While we will not continue our mission together, I know that each of them will thrive in their next chapter.
Burton Richter, whose discovery of an unexpected particle revealed a new building block of matter and brought him a share of the 1976 Nobel Prize in physics, died last Wednesday at Stanford Hospital. He was 87.

The cause was heart failure, according to a statement by the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park, which Richter led for 15 years in the 1980s and 90s.

Richter was the rare particle physicist who possessed a broad expertise both in the engineering of how accelerators slam together subatomic particles at near-light speeds and in understanding what comes out of those collisions.

Burt was very different, said Samuel Ting, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology physicist who shared the Nobel with Richter. I know of no one else like him.

Richters versatility proved to be a boon in the early 1970s, when he designed the Stanford Positron Electron Accelerating Ring, or SPEAR, and cajoled the Energy Department into financing $6 million to build it. The machine accelerated electrons and positrons  the antimatter version of electrons  in opposite directions around a circular ring. The physicists hoped that the high-energy collisions would reveal new particles.

He was the force behind building SPEAR, Martin Breidenbach, a professor at SLAC and Stanford University who began working with Richter as a postdoctoral researcher in 1972, said in a telephone interview.

Experiments began in 1973. Richter was eager to push on to higher energies, where discoveries seemed more likely, but Breidenbach and others wanted first to sort out some inconsistent readings that they had observed at one particular energy level, 3.1 billion electron volts.

We were given a weekend to waste, Breidenbach said. What happened that weekend became all consuming.

On that Saturday, Nov. 9, 1974, the physicists figured out that the readings were inconsistent, because the energy of the earlier runs had not been set precisely. No one had thought that was a crucial parameter.

By Sunday, Richter and his colleagues had homed in on a sharp peak in the number of particles coming out of the accelerator at a particular energy  the hallmark of a new particle. They started writing a draft of a paper to describe the discovery, naming the new particle psi, the 23rd character of the Greek alphabet.

The next day, by coincidence, Ting was at SLAC attending a program advisory meeting.

When I met Sam early that morning, he said to me, Burt, I have some interesting physics to tell you about, Richter recalled in an article published in the laboratory newsletter in 1976. My response was, Sam, I have some interesting physics to tell you about!

Ting was surprised to learn of the discovery of psi, and Richter was surprised to learn that Tings team had a few weeks earlier observed the same particle in experiments at Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island in New York. The team had not yet announced the finding. Ting had named it the J particle.

Later that day, the two teams jointly revealed the discovery and gave it the combined name J/psi. That set off what physicists called the November revolution  a wave of ensuing excitement in exploring a bounty of new particles that required revising the foundations of physics.

The new particle is something separate and new, and it has formed the beginning of a new family of its own, the Nobel committee said in announcing the physics prize for Richter and Ting less than two years later. Both men were in their 40s, among the youngest to win the physics Nobel.

Theorists figured out that explaining the existence of the J/psi required a new type of quark. (Quarks are the building blocks of particles like protons and neutrons.) At the time, physicists knew of three types of quarks, known as up, down and strange.

The new quark became known as charm. The J/psi consists of two quarks: a charm quark paired with a charm antiquark, each circling the other like twirling square dancers.

Burton Richter was born on March 22, 1931, in Brooklyn, the oldest child of Abraham Richter, a textile worker, and Fanny (Pollack) Richter. After graduating from Far Rockaway High School in Queens, he enrolled at MIT at 17. He obtained his undergraduate degree in physics there in 1952, and a doctorate four years later.

Richter then joined Stanfords High-Energy Physics Lab as a research associate and became an assistant professor of physics in 1960. In 1963 he also took a position at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, one of the leading particle physics laboratories in the world. (The name was changed to SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in 2008.)

As laboratory director from 1984 to 1999, Richter oversaw the construction of the Stanford Linear Collider, a new type of machine that, instead of guiding positrons and electrons along a circular ring, fired them at each other along straight paths. Construction ran into many difficulties and delays, but ultimately the machine lived up to its promise.

Richter later realized that the next generation of accelerators would not be built at SLAC and so began shifting its focus to high-energy X-ray lasers and astrophysics  endeavors that would not require large swaths of pricey California real estate.

I really think Burt was a visionary leader at SLAC, said Persis Drell, the Stanford provost who served as SLAC director from 2007 to 2012. Drell said Richter had been careful not to tell her what he would have done if he were still director, but he was also blunt when asked for advice. It was kind of refreshing, actually, Drell said. With Burt, it wasnt subtle.

Richter turned to energy issues in the latter part of his career, asserting his views with similar bluntness  as he did when he worked on an Energy Department advisory committee on nuclear energy.

Drell said: Hes quoted as saying in the minutes, DOE has done an abysmal job of explaining that nuclear energy is part of the nations energy mix, and if fossil energy had to pay the cost of garbage disposal instead of pushing its waste products up a smokestack, nuclear energy would be the low-cost option. And thats classic Burt. Its clear. Its concise. Its to the point, and its not what the audience wanted to hear.

Richter was the author of Beyond Smoke and Mirrors: Climate Change and Energy in the 21st Century (2010). In 2014, he received the National Medal of Science from President Barack Obama in a White House ceremony.

He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was also a member of Jason, an independent group of scientists that advises the federal government.

He is survived by his wife, Laurose; a daughter, Elizabeth Richter; a son, Matthew; and two grandchildren.

Breidenbach fondly remembered the arguments he and Richter would have every week or so. We usually argued about the management of SLAC, whats important in science, why the place cant be better and stuff like that, he said. It was something we both enjoyed.

He went to visit Richter the day before he died.

He was sitting in a chair with oxygen, Breidenbach said. He was as acute as ever. He was a little down, not surprisingly, and I asked his wife, Laurose, if it was OK to argue with him. And she laughed and said, Of course. And so we set off doing it.

Kenneth Chang is a New York Times writer.
This story originally appeared on KSBW.com.

SANTA CRUZ, Calif.  A young Santa Cruz woman who was fatally struck by an SUV while walking on Modesto Avenue was identified by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office Monday as 23-year-old McKenzie Gilbert.

Kelsey Anne Knoll, the driver who allegedly struck Gilbert with a black Infiniti SUV, was arrested on murder charges.

Gilbert was walking at 3:25 p.m. Friday when she was struck.

On Monday, police Lt. Warren Barry told KSBW that 24-year-old Knoll intentionally struck Gilbert.

"She was targeting this pedestrian. This appears to be an intentional act. From what witnesses are telling us, and partial video that we have, the driver drove into the other lane, striking the victim from behind," Barry said.

It's still unclear if the two women knew each other.

Police booked Knoll into jail on one count of first degree murder. Her bail was set at $2.5 million.

Dozens of flowers and a sign reading, "You were very loved," were placed on the corner where Gilbert died.

According to arrest records, Knoll was arrested on suspicion of DUI on Mount Hermon Road at 1:20 a.m. on July 11, just eight days before Friday's deadly accident. A California Highway Patrol officer suspected that Knoll was under the influence of drugs when she crashed into a CVS store in Felton.

A witness of a third traffic incident -- on Market Street in Santa Cruz -- said Knoll struck a bicyclist two days before Gilbert was killed. KSBW has not been able to confirm the third incident with police.

So far, Knoll has not been charged with DUI in connection with Friday's crash.

However, "Investigators brought in a CHP drug recognition expert to examine Kelsey Knoll and determine if she was driving the vehicle under the influence. The results of blood and alcohol testing are pending," police said.

"The police investigation into the crash remains open and active. It is unknown at this time if alcohol, drugs, or vehicular speed were a factor in the collision," police said.

No motive has been released by investigators.

In 2015, when Knoll was 21 years old, she was arrested twice in one week on suspicion of selling drugs. A Scotts Valley K-9 unit allegedly found heroin and methamphetamine in her car during both arrests.

Knoll was also arrested in 2017 on suspicion of possessing heroin and methamphetamine packaged for sales on Willowbrook Lane in Soquel, according to the Sheriff's Office.
At the height of the tourism season, Yosemite Valley is choked in smoke from the Ferguson Fire, and now officials say they plan to close large sections of the national park in California's Sierra Nevada as air quality reaches hazardous levels.

The closures of Highway 41, the Yosemite Valley and Wawona were announced Tuesday at a public meeting. Officials said visitors are being asked to leave by noon Wednesday. Firefighters plan to use Highway 41 to create fire breaks and prevent the wildfire from spreading.

The areas of the park will remain closed until at least July 29, and include all hotels, campgrounds, and visitor services in Yosemite Valley and Wawona.

Tioga Road and Tuolumne Meadows, including Big Oak Flat and Tioga Pass entrances, and Hetch Hetchy remain open.

Since the fire began on July 13 Glacier Point Road, Bridalveil Creek Campground, the Wawona Campground and the Merced Grove of Giant Sequoias have been closed.

The blaze has scorched 36,587 acres, racing through dry brush and timber between the town of Mariposa and the steep terrain just outside the border of the park's western edge. It's now 25 percent contained.

MORE: Calif. summer weather like the 'Twilight Zone': From piles of hail to 120-degree temps

Hot, dry weather has hindered efforts to slow the growth of a fire that killed a California firefighter. On Wednesday and Thursday, temperatures are expected to soar as high as 103 degrees.

On some days over the past week, Half Dome has completely disappeared behind a blanket of thick, ashy air as a high-pressure system hunkered over Northern California, acting as a lid and trapping smoke in the valley.

The air quality levels in the park ranged from unhealthy to very unhealthy to hazardous on Monday and similar conditions are unfolding Tuesday as a blanket of sooty haze blankets the region.

Mandatory evacuations are in place in several areas while others have been advised to be ready to leave.

More than 3,300 firefighters, 194 engines and 16 helicopters are battling the blaze. One firefighter was killed July 14 and six others have been injured.

The last time the valley was closed because of a wildfire was 1990.

Find the latest information on forest fires on SFGATE's California wildfires page.

More stories on the Ferguson Fire:
Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle 2016

In April, the Tenderloin Museum teamed with the organizers of San Francisco Neon, a group dedicated to the preservation of the neighborhoods historic signs, to host a weekend-long festival called Neon Speaks.

Now theyre doubling down. Through Aug. 12, the Tenderloin Museum is hosting a group art exhibition of neon-centric work titled Neon Home. And the museum and San Francisco Neon are teaming up to offer a guided Tenderloin Neon A-Z walking tour of the signs that still light up the areas streets.
A man calling himself Stockton's "Batman" says he has made hundreds of citizen's arrests for crimes ranging from arson to shoplifting to drug use, primarily in areas with heavy foot traffic.

He's not a police officer or in law enforcement, at least as far as we know, and he maintains that the arrests are perfectly legal within the state.

The kicker? No one seems to know who he is. And other than telling CBS Sacramento that he's a local business owner and father of two, he's not telling.

RELATED: Stockton hopes to curb gun, gang violence through monetary incentives

"I grew up in Stockton and things weren't always this bad when I was a child," he told KOVR. "When I was a child, I could run around and play."

Sometimes his arrests, like the one in the incident above, go without effect  the man in handcuffs wasn't arrested or cited by police  but he says many result in charges and jail time.

Some locals are receptive to his actions  likely because Stockton continues to battle violent crime rates  but some are tentative to embrace the mystery man's vigilantism.

RELATED: Stockton man arrested after two carjackings in a row

"What a joke," wrote one Twitter user.

The Stockton authorities advise locals to call police when witnessing any criminal activity instead of approaching any potentially violent individuals.

Stockton has a well-documented and ongoing issue with violent crime. Between January and July 2017, the city had documented 68.8 violent crimes per 10,000 residents  one of the highest rates for any large city in the United States.

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.
DENVER  As a candidate for Colorado governor, Walker Stapleton has touted a distinguished biography: two terms as state treasurer, a business degree from Harvard and a long family history of public service.

But there is one aspect of his familys past that Stapleton has largely avoided mentioning: His great-grandfather, Benjamin Stapleton, a five-time mayor of this city, was also a powerful member of the Ku Klux Klan, a bespectacled former judge who helped the group seize control of Colorado government in what is now considered one of the states darkest periods.

Three years after a massacre at a black church in Charleston, S.C., spurred a wave of U.S. institutions to reconsider memorials to the Confederacy, Colorado is having its own reckoning. Here, the debate is not about Civil War statues, but about whether to rebrand institutions that have come to bear the Stapleton name: a well-to-do neighborhood, several schools, many businesses.

And now Walker Stapleton, the candidate for governor, finds himself in the difficult position of attempting to lead voters into the future just as the state grapples with his familys past.

The West is troubled land, said Patty Limerick, a state historian. Its a temptation to look at the South and say, Look at that very dark place. Well, we had segregation. We had lynching. We had all those things, but its somehow gotten a pass.

The Colorado governors race has turned into a nationally watched contest that is largely viewed as a test of the political direction of one of the purplest states in the nation. Stapleton, a Republican with a commitment to the fossil fuel industry and a pledge to defund so-called sanctuary cities, has come to represent an older, more traditional West.

His opponent, Jared Polis, a Democratic congressman, is a multimillionaire who made his money in e-commerce and who is pushing single-payer health insurance. He would be the first gay and Jewish governor in the nation and has come to represent a new, more liberal West.

The question is which West voters want.

So far, Polis has not raised the Klan issue on the campaign trail. But the Stapleton legacy, already the subject of debate before the race, could become a source of tension as both candidates try to win over an increasingly diverse electorate.

The fight for the future of Colorado is about education, health care and infrastructure. But it is also about demographics. Residents are younger, more ethnically varied and less likely to be registered with either main party.

Candidates are jockeying to replace Gov. John Hickenlooper, a moderate Democrat, and the race is expected to be tight: The state has 1 million registered Democrats, 1 million registered Republicans and 1.2 million unaffiliated voters.

Julie Turkewitz is a New York Times writer.
WASHINGTON  The Republican leaders in Congress are distancing themselves from President Trumps invitation for Vladimir Putin to visit Washington in the fall, saying the Russian president is not welcome on Capitol Hill.

House Speaker Paul Ryan said Tuesday that Putin will not be invited to address Congress because that is something we reserve for allies.

Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also have shown no interest in holding meetings with Putin if he accepts Trumps invitation to the White House to follow up on last weeks summit in Helsinki.

The speaker and I have made it clear that Putin will not be welcome up here at the Capitol, McConnell told reporters Tuesday.

Lawmakers from both parties have raised concerns about Trumps approach to the Russian leader. They strongly rebuked Trumps comments during a joint press conference in Helsinki when he stood beside Putin and denied U.S. intelligence findings that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Trump has since clarified his remarks to side with the intelligence community.

McConnell declined to back up a tweet Trump sent Tuesday suggesting any potential Russian interference in the fall midterm elections would be designed to favor Democrats. Instead, the Kentucky Republican issued a direct warning to Russia to back off.

The Russians better quit messing around in our elections, McConnell said.

At the same time, two key senators are joining forces on bipartisan legislation to protect NATO and impose new sanctions on Russia.

Sen. Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, and GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham issued a joint statement Tuesday, making it abundantly clear that we will defend our nation.

The bill would slap new sanctions on Russia and require a Senate vote for any proposal to withdraw the U.S. from NATO. Its being crafted after related proposals were blocked last week. GOP leaders called for hearings instead. Hearings are set to begin this week.

Meanwhile, Trump exaggerated the progress hes made on his campaign promise to provide veterans with quick medical treatment from private doctors if theyre dissatisfied with Department of Veterans Affairs care. Speaking at a Veterans of Foreign Wars convention Tuesday in Kansas City, Trump prematurely described VA benefits that have yet to be implemented as immediately available and a big success.

Lisa Mascaro and Alam Fram are Associated Press writers.
Authorities have released new sketches of two unidentified young men slain in the 1970s by John Wayne Gacy, one of the most notorious serial killers in American history.

Gacy tortured, raped and murdered young men and boys, and buried many of them in the crawl space of his home in Cook County, Ill. He killed at least 33 people between 1972 and 1978.

Six of his victims have never been identified.

Police are hoping that friends or family members will recognize the victims from the two new, highly detailed facial reconstructions made public Monday. Artists for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children teamed up with the Cook County Sheriff's Office to create the drawings of "John Doe 10" and "John Doe 13" as they appeared at the time of their murders.

Associated Press

The John Does could have come from any part of the country, as Gacy preferred to prey on youths who were hitchhikers or bus travelers rather than residents of the Chicago area where he lived. He would often lure his victims by posing as a police officer or offering construction work.

John Doe 10 was a young white male believed to be between 17 and 21 years. He was between 5-foot-7 and 5-foot-11. Investigators said he had previously suffered an injury to his left collarbone that had healed well over time. He also had a few dental fillings.

John Doe 13, was also a white male, 18 to 22. He was approximately 5'9' to 6'2' and had dark brown wavy hair. His friends would have known that one of his upper teeth was displaced behind another tooth.

MORE: Chicago teen ruled out as Gacy victim, died in SF 'cold case' from 1979

In 2011, one of Gacy's victims, 19-year-old William George Bundy, was identified through DNA testing. Last year, another unidentified victim was found to be James "Jimmie" Haakenson, a 16-year-old from St. Paul, Minn.

Gacy, was known at the "Killer Clown" because he enjoyed dressing up as a "Pogo the Clown" or "Patches the Clown" and entertaining children at hospitals, fund-raising events and other charitable events.

Sentenced to death in 1980, Gacy was executed by lethal injection 14 years later. He was 52 at the time of his death.
A trio of thieves pilfered toads known for their psychedelic properties from an Arizona park last week, and officials are asking for the public's help in identifying them.

A series of videos released Monday show at least three people scooping up Sonoran Desert toads, placing them in what appears to be plastic grocery bags and carrying them from Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area in Cave Creek, Arizona, between 9 p.m. Thursday and 12:30 a.m. Friday.

Note: The video above contains some lewd language.

The thieves violated multiple park laws, including being present in conservation areas after hours and removing park property without permission, according to a Facebook post.

The park turned the video clips over to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, which asks anyone who recognizes the people in the video to call (602) 876-1000. Arizona Game and Fish Department has also been notified.

Sonoran Desert toads are one of the largest toads native to North America and the toxins they excrete are strong enough to kill full-grown dogs, according to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. The toad is found from central Arizona to southwestern New Mexico and Sinaloa, Mexico. It once was present in southeastern California, but has not been seen in the region since the 1970s.

The toad is perhaps best known for the hallucinogenic properties of the toxins it excretes, a discovery that spurred the dangerous phenomenon of "toad licking." The federal government classifies Sonoran Desert toad venom as a Schedule I hallucinogen, along with the likes of LSD and mescaline.

The "psychedelic" toads rose to prominence in 1994, after a California teacher named Bob Shepard was arrested for possession of bufotenine, the hallucinogenic chemical found in Sonoran Desert toad venom. The New York Times reported that Shepard had dried and smoked the toxin.

A local narcotics agent told the Times: "We'd heard of people licking toads to try to get high. But we had never heard of this."

Shepard is the first person to have been arrested for bufotenine possession, the agent said.

Toad licking is extremely dangerous, Dr. Steve Curry of Banner Health told AzFamily.com. He said ingesting the toxic can lead to "life-threatening toxicity," convulsions and cardiac arrest.

Michelle Robertson is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @mrobertsonsf.
SANTA CRUZ (BCN)



A 23-year-old woman who was hit and killed Friday afternoon in Santa Cruz has been identified by police as McKenzie Helene Gilbert of Santa Cruz.



Santa Cruz police Lt. Warren Barry said today would have been her 24th birthday.



Kelsey Knoll, 24, of Mount Herman in Santa Cruz, was arrested on suspicion of murder and violating probation after the fatal collision at 3:25 p.m. on Friday.



Knoll was driving a black 1999 Infiniti SUV west on Modesto Avenue when she allegedly hit and killed Gilbert.



The collision is under investigation and police are determining whether alcohol, drugs or speed were involved. Knoll was booked at Santa Cruz County Main Jail with bail set at $2.5 million.



Anyone with information about the collision is asked to call investigators at (831) 420-5820 or make an anonymous tip at www.santacruzpolice.com.









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SAN JOSE (BCN)  The attorney for Brock Turner, the Stanford University student convicted of sexual assault in a highly publicized 2016 case, argued in an appeal Tuesday that the conviction should be overturned because his client was seeking "outercourse" rather than intercourse with his intoxicated victims.

Eric S. Multhaup defined "outercourse" as sexual contact while clothed. Turner had his clothes on when he was caught engaging in "aggressive thrusting" upon a half-naked, unconscious woman by two Swedish graduate students outside a campus fraternity party.

Turner, a member of the university's swim team, served only three months in prison after he received a six-month sentence from Judge Aaron Persky, a penalty many considered to be too lenient. Persky was recalled by voters last month.

Multhaup said because Turner was not naked and his genitals were not exposed when the two graduate students confronted him, the lack of evidence did not meet the standard of reasonable doubt pointing to an intent to rape.



Multhaup said the jury "filled in the blanks" to reach their decision, including "imagination" and "speculation" as to what had actually occurred. He also questioned the extent of the victim's intoxication at the time of the assault.



Justices Frank Elia, Adrienne Grover and Wendy Clark Duffy repeatedly asked Multhaup whether he was asking them to reweigh the jury's decision, saying he should instead be trying to prove that the evidence was insubstantial.



They also dismissed his claims that the DNA evidence on the victim's body was never connected to Turner.



"I think what you're arguing is that there must be direct evidence before someone can be convicted of any crime, but the law isn't like that," Elia said.



Responding to his claims, Deputy Attorney General Alisha Carlile said Multhaup's argument was based in proving that his "version" of events was more credible than the prosecution's.



She argued that multiple factors pointed to Turner's intent to rape, including that he took the victim to a secluded location, he first digitally penetrated her, and he failed to deny that he was planning to rape the victim when the act was interrupted.



Elia asked Multhaup to consider the case as a whole, rather than "surgically remove" portions of the case and inspect them separately to construct an appeal.

Turner was convicted of assault with intent to commit rape, sexual penetration of an intoxicated person with a foreign object and sexual penetration of an unconscious person with a foreign object in March 2016. Because Turner was convicted of the attempted rape charge, he must remain registered as a sex offender for life, the other two convictions do not carry this condition.



The judges now have up to 90 days to respond to Multhaup's appeal, according to the state attorney general's office.





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SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)



A San Francisco Municipal Railway bus collided with a historic streetcar on Market Street late this morning, according to Muni officials.



The incident occurred just before 11 a.m. on Market Street near Seventh Street, Muni spokesman Paul Rose said.



A 9-San Bruno bus made contact with the side mirror of the E-Embarcadero line streetcar. No one was injured in the incident, according to Rose.



The minor collision briefly caused delays for the F-Market & Wharves line, but regular service has since resumed.





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SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)



A 36-year-old man was arrested after hitting a 52-year-old man with his vehicle Monday night in San Francisco's Russian Hill neighborhood.



Around 8:20 p.m., officers responded to a report of a collision involving a pedestrian at Polk and Bay streets, police said.



There, they found that a driver had struck the victim as he crossed the street. The victim was taken to a hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening, according to police.



The driver stayed at the scene and was arrested, but police have not released his name or what he was arrested for.





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OAKLAND (BCN)



An Alameda County prosecutor told jurors in his closing argument today that there's enough evidence to convict an ex-felon of murder for the fatal shooting of a Berkeley activist during a fight in West Oakland last December.



Prosecutor Mark Bennett said video surveillance footage and witness statements prove that Melvin Andrew Allen Jr., 36, fatally shot 30-year-old Dominique Johnson in the vicinity of West Grand Avenue and Brush Street on Dec. 23.



Allen and Johnson got into a fight at 23rd and Brush streets at about 10:25 p.m. that night, according to a probable cause statement by Oakland police Sgt. Bradley Baker.



The two men then got into a second confrontation about a block away at West Grand Avenue and Brush Street a short time later and Allen pulled out a handgun and shot Johnson in the chest, Baker wrote.



Allen fled the scene and Johnson died at a hospital a short time later, according to Baker.



Allen was arrested by patrol officers in the 600 block of 23rd Street at about 1 p.m. on March 5, more than two months after the shooting, following a short foot pursuit, Baker wrote.



Allen's lawyer David Bryden told jurors in his closing argument today that there's not enough evidence to prove that Allen was the person who shot Johnson and suggested that Johnson might have been shot by someone else.



But Bennett said, "There's not a shred of evidence that anyone other than Mr. Allen did this killing."



Bennett also said the defense didn't produce any alibi evidence that would have shown that Allen was somewhere else at the time of the shooting.



Jurors will begin deliberating Allen's fate this afternoon.



Allen is an ex-felon who is prohibited from possessing a firearm because he was convicted of possession for sale of cocaine and cocaine base in Alameda County in September 2015, according to Baker.



Johnson's family set up a GoFundMe website to raise money to support his 7-year-old daughter and his two brothers but so far it has only raised $3,727 of its $8,500 goal.



The website at https://www.gofundme.com/rest-in-power-dom-comrade-father describes Johnson as "a loved one, an amazing father and revolutionary comrade."



The site says, "His daughter and family will remember him as a deeply loving, playful father. His comrades will remember how hard he threw down in the name of black liberation."



The website says Johnson's family has experienced great loss in recent years, "namely the loss of Dom's mother in 2016 while he was serving time in the name of black resistance."





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More than 1,000 people marched Monday evening from the site of a killing in Oakland on Sunday to a downtown Oakland bar to deter an alt-right group from promoting its message.



A gathering occurred at about 4 p.m. at the MacArthur BART station at 555 40th St. in part to demand justice following the fatal stabbing of Nia Wilson, 18, Sunday night at the station.



BART police have not ruled out that the slaying was racially motivated because Wilson was black and the alleged killer is white.



Wilson was stabbed allegedly by John Lee Cowell, 27, who was at large until he was arrested Monday. Cowell also allegedly stabbed one of Wilson's sisters.



The group of marchers also called for the community to value black lives and for people to come together as a community in the wake of the tragedy.







Santa Clara will be divided into six separate voting districts for city council elections, following a May ruling that at-large voting has prevented Asian-Americans from being elected since the city's inception, Santa Clara County Superior Court has decided.



The current system allows Santa Clara residents to vote for all six councilmembers, in addition to the mayor, regardless of where they live. During this November's election, residents will instead vote on only one city councilmember based on their address. All residents will still cast their vote for the Mayor.



Civil rights attorney Robert Rubin, who represented the plaintiffs in the case, said he was pleased the court issued the order, but it's disappointing the city has taken so long to change.



"Power is not ceded easily," Rubin said, describing the at-large voting system as one that gives power to the majority. With voting divided into six districts, minority groups will instead comprise the majority in certain districts.



According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 44.1 percent of Santa Clara's population is white, 40.4 percent of the population is Asian and 17.5 percent are Hispanic or Latino.







A Vallejo man suing the agrochemical company Monsanto, accusing it of making a dangerous herbicide that caused his cancer, has taken the stand in a San Francisco courtroom.



Following two weeks of trial, plaintiff Dewayne Johnson testified Monday for the time, saying that he used Monsanto products for multiple years when he worked as a groundskeeper for the Benicia Unified School District.



Johnson said that he began using Roundup and Ranger Pro, both of which contain the herbicide glyphosate, to kill weeds on school grounds on a regular basis.



However, around 2013 Johnson became concerned when he allegedly began to notice lesions and rashes on his body. He then sought out specialist Dr. Ope Ofodile, who has also taken the witness stand.



After allegedly seeing that the lesions and nodules on Johnson's body were rapidly worsening, Ofodile referred him to other specialists.



She described his lesions as "black scaly patches all over his body," and said "bumps were appearing in a matter of weeks."







Two men were found dead at a residence in West Oakland on Sunday night, police said.



Officers who responded to the 1700 block of Adeline Street at 8:48 p.m. Sunday after receiving a report of two unresponsive males found the two men inside a residence, according to police.



Oakland police investigators and the Alameda County coroner's bureau are now trying to determine the causes of death for the two men, authorities said.



Oakland police haven't said whether the deaths are being investigated as homicides.



Police aren't releasing the victims' names at this time.







A man who died in a crash Saturday morning in Orinda involving a suspect vehicle that fled from police has been identified by the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office as 20-year-old Oakland resident Lawrence Martin.



The case began at 9:02 a.m. Saturday when an Orinda police officer tried to pull over a Nissan Altima for vehicle code violations in the area of St. Stephens Drive and Tahos Road, sheriff's officials said.



The Nissan sped away, entering westbound state Highway 24. The officer lost sight of the vehicle, but shortly afterward found it had crashed on the highway near the Orinda BART station, according to the sheriff's office.



Martin and a second man were taken to a hospital, where Martin was pronounced dead.



The second man, Danny Lockett, 20, of San Francisco, was arrested on suspicion of felony evading causing death and a probation violation. He is being held without bail at the county jail in Martinez, sheriff's officials said.





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OAKLAND (BCN)



The godfather of an 18-year-old woman who was fatally stabbed at the MacArthur BART station in Oakland on Sunday night called today for the community to remain calm in the wake of the deadly crime.



Daryle Allums of the group "Stop Killing Our Kids," the godfather of Nia Wilson, said, "We need the community, especially the African American community, to stand down right now."



Allums said, "We're asking the community to respect the family and don't put any blood on our hands."



Joining Allums at a news conference at BART police headquarters, BART Police Chief Carlos Rojas said there's no indication at this time that the fatal stabbing of Wilson at the MacArthur station at about 9:36 p.m. on Sunday was racially motivated, even though Wilson was black and the suspect, 27-year-old transient John Lee Cowell, is white.



Later this afternoon, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf echoed those comments.



However, Rojas said he can't completely dismiss the possibility that the stabbing was racially motivated and said police haven't yet determined a motive for it.



Allums said, "We don't know if this was racist, we don't know if it was random, we don't know what it was."



But Allums said, "Let's get this information and find out what really happened. We don't need us to break down right now and act crazy and tear up our city, or do anything that's crazy right now."



He said, "Our family needs prayer, we need support."



Rojas said video surveillance and witness statements indicate that Cowell attacked Wilson and her older sister, 26-year-old Lahtifa Wilson, "very quickly" and without provocation.



He said a third sister was also with them at the time.



Rojas said Lahtifa Wilson was stabbed in the neck but is in stable condition at a hospital.



Rojas said, "In my close to 30 years of experience, it was probably one of the most vicious attacks I have seen."



BART police describe Cowell as a white male who is about 5 feet 8 inches tall who weights about 190 pounds, has short, dark hair and a closely-cropped beard and mustache.



Rojas said Cowell is considered to be dangerous and anyone who sees him should call 911 or (415) 464-7011.



Rojas said video surveillance indicates that Cowell fled through the parking lot at the MacArthur station and then entered the parking structure there and discarded his clothes.



"In my opinion that indicates consciousness of guilt," Rojas said.



Investigators recovered the knife that they believe was the murder weapon at a nearby construction site, according to Rojas.



"We have very active leads and we hope to bring the suspect into custody sooner rather than later," Rojas said.



Allums said social media accounts that state that they are raising money for Wilson's family are "fake accounts" and he asked people not to contribute to them.



Allums said that if Wilson's family sets up a GoFundMe account it will work with BART officials to publicize such an account.



Schaaf said, "I want to send my sincere condolences" to this family. Schaaf said she wants to be mindful of the tensions in Oakland and there is no room for hatred in the city.



A vigil was scheduled for this evening at the MacArthur BART station to remember Wilson.





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SAN FRANCSICO (BCN)



A 34-year-old man who died in an early morning double shooting in San Francisco's Mission District has been identified as Hubert Coleman Jr., of Richmond, according to the city's medical examiner's office.



Around 3 a.m., officers responded to a report of a shooting near the corner of 16th and Mission streets, police said.



Officers found Coleman and another man, 46, suffering from gunshot wounds. The pair was taken to a hospital.



Coleman was pronounced dead at the hospital while the second victim suffered life-threatening injuries, according to police.



Police have not released any suspect information and the fatal shooting remains under investigation.



Anyone who may have information about the case is asked to call police at (415) 575-4444 or to text TIP411 with "SFPD" at the beginning of the message.





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SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)



A Vallejo man suing the agrochemical company Monsanto, accusing it of making a dangerous herbicide that caused his cancer, took the stand today in a San Francisco courtroom.



Following two weeks of trial, plaintiff Dewayne Johnson testified for the time, saying that he used Monsanto products for multiple years when he worked as a groundskeeper for the Benicia Unified School District.



Johnson said that he began using Roundup and Ranger Pro, both of which contain the herbicide glyphosate, to kill weeds on school grounds on a regular basis.



However, around 2013 Johnson became concerned when he allegedly began to notice lesions and rashes on his body. He then sought out specialist Dr. Ope Ofodile, who also took the witness stand today.



After allegedly seeing that the lesions and nodules on Johnson's body were rapidly worsening, Ofodile referred him to other specialists.



She described his lesions as "black scaly patches all over his body," and said "bumps were appearing in a matter of weeks."



Several photos of what appeared to be lesions and open sores covering his body were shown to jurors.



Johnson was eventually diagnosed with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in August 2014 at the age of 42.



Johnson continued to work for the school district as a groundskeeper. At one point, however, Johnson emailed Ofodile, saying "I feel a little foolish spraying chemicals."



"I'm applying a chemical and it could kill me," Johnson said today in court.



Even before his cancer diagnosis, Johnson said he would always wear protective gear while spraying the herbicide, including a mask, goggles, rubber gloves and a body suit and boots.



Regardless, he said, "I would get it on my face all the time."



On another occasion, Johnson contacted Monsanto asking about a link between the herbicide and non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. An employee apparently took Johnson's information but he allegedly never heard back from the company.



Johnson said that when he once accidentally got the herbicide on his body a supervisor at work suggested that the Roundup could cause cancer and he began to refuse to spray it.



Johnson said after his cancer diagnosis, he became depressed as his symptoms worsened and he refused to be seen in public.



"Not to brag, but I used to have perfect skin," he said.



Johnson was forced to eventually stop working because of his worsening condition and his wife, Araceli Johnson, who also testified today, allegedly had to take on an extra job to provide for him and their two young boys.



"What makes this so frustrating is that he's going to pass away and this is the last time she can spend with him and she has to work It's upsetting," Johnson's attorney Brent Wisner said today outside of court.



"If they had just called him back, he would've stopped spraying. But as we see in the photos, his cancer got worse and worse at the time he was spraying. It's just egregious and we're hoping the jury agrees," he said.



Sandra Edwards, attorney for Monsanto, said outside of court, "We're obviously very sympathetic to Mr. Johnson and his family. As with anybody suffering from cancer he's looking for answers, but the data, the science and the 40 years that this product has been on the market shows that this product does not cause cancer and did not cause his cancer."



Glyphosate's herbicide properties were discovered in the 1970s and in 1974, Monsanto began selling it under the name Roundup. Roundup is widely used in many parts of the world.



In 2015, the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic to humans."





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(ANSA) - Rome, July 24 - Human trafficking must be stopped, Defence Minister Elisabetta Trenta said on a surprise visit to Libya on Tuesday.

"We must stop human trafficking and irregular immigration," she told her Libyan counterpart Najim Owida.

The Italian minister reiterated that Italy "will continue to be at Libya's side" and is "ready to step up its effort according to the needs and demands of the Libyan people".

More must be done to help stabilise the country, she said.

Trenta will meet Libyan Premier Fayez al-Serraj and visit a military hospital at Misrata later today.


(ANSA) - Rome, July 24 - Two Canadair water-dropping planes belonging to the Italian fire service are set to leave Italy to help fight wildfires in Greece in the next few hours, sources said Tuesday. They will be operational on Wednesday, sources said.

Sources said Athens authorities had asked for help.

According to the Greek fire service, 74 people have died in fires near Athens.

Some reports have suggested the toll could be as high as 100.


(ANSA) - Rome, July 24 - Italy doesn't need "charity" from the EU on migrants, Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said Tuesday.

"If they want to give money to someone else let them do so, Italy doesn't need charity," he said in reference to a Financial Times report that the EU proposes paying 6,000 euros for every migrants rescued in the Mediterranean and received by one of the EU's member States.

As well as being interior minister, Salvini is also deputy premier and leader of the anti-migrant Euroskeptic League (L) party. According to a copy of the plan obtained by ANSA, "controlled centres" would be set up "on a voluntary basis" in EU countries to improve asylum procedures and accelerate repatriation of irregular migrants.

The plan, which the EC has sent to European capitals, envisages financial support for States that agree to host the centres.

Further, countries that agree to the transfer of migrants into one of the controlled centres will receive 6,000 euros for each refugee, the plan says.


(ANSA) - Piacenza, July 24 - A 24-year-old Malian asylum seeker was arrested in Piacenza Tuesday on suspicion of repeatedly molesting a nine-year-old girl, police said.

The alleged molestation took place inside a migrant centre in the city, where the girl was staying with her mother, police said.

The girl is said to have told her parents what happened to her on several occasions.

Minors' police got an arrest warrant for the man.

Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said "An ASYLUM SEEKER, an African from Mali, was arrested by Piacenza police for SEXUAL VIOLENCE on a nine-year-old girl, A nine-year-old girl...How disgusting".

He said such alleged offenders deserved harsher punishment because they had betrayed Italians' trust, and said he would do his utmost so that "this gentleman returns to his country as soon as possible!".


Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 24)  Congress on Tuesday ratified the Bangsamoro Organic Law, which creates the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

With both Houses of Congress having ratified the Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (OLBARMM), President Rodrigo Duterte can already sign it into law.

This comes after the House of Representatives failed to ratify the bill before the SONA due to the political power-play that led to the change in leadership. The Senate had ratified the proposed law earlier.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque previously said Duterte would have signed the Bangsamoro Organic Law during his third State of the Nation Address. He was unable to do so as the bill needs to be ratified by both Houses of Congress first.

The Palace said the delay in the ratification was just a "temporary setback," and that it remains hopeful the law would be signed within the week.

During his address, however, Duterte committed to signing the OLBARMM within 48 hours.

Duterte, the first Philippine President who hails from Mindanao, earlier certified the bill as urgent, prompting Congress to fast-track the passage of the draft measure. The bicameral conference committee approved the final version of the bill on July 18.

The historic law, if passed, would abolish the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) established in 1989 through Republic Act No. 6734. The ARMM groups the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

The ARMM will then be replaced by the the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The proposed law, which is the result of decades-long peace talks, institutionalizes provisions of the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro, the 2014 peace agreement signed by the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The Bangsamoro government will be parliamentary-democratic in form, a first in the country's political history. It will be headed by the regional leader called Chief Minister, who will preside over an 80-member parliament.
(ANSA) - Rome, July 24 - Defence Minister Elisabetta Trenta told Libyan Premier Fayez al-Serraj Tuesday that there should not be fresh elections in the country before reconciliation among various warring parties.

"I believe the process of reconciliation in Libya must be inclusive" and so "speaking of fresh elections before completing this process is a mistake," she said.

"Afterwards we would find ourselves with the same problems, we as Italy and you as Libya. And we must make this understood to other countries too".

Human trafficking must be stopped, Trenta said on her surprise visit to Libya.

"We must stop human trafficking and irregular immigration," she told her Libyan counterpart Najim Owida.

The Italian minister reiterated that Italy "will continue to be at Libya's side" and is "ready to step up its effort according to the needs and demands of the Libyan people".

More must be done to help stabilise the country, she said.

After meeting al-Serraj, Trenta visited a military hospital at Misrata.


(ANSA) - Rome, July 24 - Defence Minister Elisabetta Trenta told Libyan Premier Fayez al-Serraj Tuesday that there should not be fresh elections in the country before reconciliation among various warring parties.

"I believe the process of reconciliation in Libya must be inclusive" and so "speaking of fresh elections before completing this process is a mistake," she said.

"Afterwards we would find ourselves with the same problems, we as Italy and you as Libya. And we must make this understood to other countries too".


BRUSSELS - The European Commission on Tuesday proposed migrant landing platforms in non-EU countries in close cooperation with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the UNHCR and in collaboration with third countries.

The goal is to help ensure really shared regional responsibility in responding to complex migratory challenges, the EC said, while reducing deaths at sea and ensuring an ordered and predictable landing.

It is not a question of camps or detention centres but of areas managed in the full respect of international law and human rights, the EC said.

The EC added that it will have a role in coordinating States' response to the migrant emergency.

This will be a "provisional measure", it said, pending root-and-branch reform of the asylum system.


Jordan's exports to EU climb by 33,4% in first 5 months 2018

(ANSAmed) - AMMAN, JULY 24 - Jordan's exports to the EU has increased by 33.4 percent during the first five months of the year, while exports to Saudi has dropped by 17.7 percent, according to a statement by the government on Monday.



The trade balance with the EU has been a sticking point between Amman and Brussels, as Jordan is pushing the EU to relax rules of origin criteria in order to stimulate Jordan's exports to the European markets.



An agreement to employ Syrian refugees in businesses was reached leading to surge in number of refugees joining the local market as support for refugees has been steadily dropping. Meanwhile, imports from the EU has dropped by 3.9 percent, including Germany with a drop of 3.6 percent, said department of statistics in its latest bulletin.



Jordan's foreign trade deficit reached 3.5 billion dinars, dropping by 6.3 percent compared to the same period in 2017, said the statement. The government said it was working on initiatives to revive the economy, but it is facing pressure to avoid imposing heavy taxation that could cripple businesses and encourage foreign competition. (ANSAmed).




It was 95 degrees in Palm Springs at 6 a.m. Tuesday, as a four-day heat wave has temperatures in Southern California simmering.

Many inland spots reached 120 degrees Monday and the mercury is expected to soar even higher Tuesday through Thursday. Downtown Los Angeles will be in the high 90s, about 10 degrees warmer than normal at this time of year.

Meanwhile fierce storm cells are moving across the northern Sierra Nevada, delivering sudden temperature drops, heavy downpours, flash-flooding thunderstorms and loads of hail. Social media is filled with photos and videos of hail piled up several feet high on the decks of Tahoe cabins. A storm closed I-80 briefly on Monday.

It seems California weather has entered into the "Twilight Zone" this week, but Jan Null, a meteorologist with Golden Gate Weather Services, says this is typical in the summer.

"You get hot days and heat waves in Southern California in the summer and in the Sierra we see the summer monsoons," Null says.

Also, Severe weather warning for Tahoe: 'Storms may seem like they come out of nowhere'

California has always been a land of natural extremes with its deep valleys and tall mountains, and these extremes are also seen in the weather. It's not unusual to see temperatures differences of 40-plus degrees between locations only 100 miles apart. Case in point: The high in San Francisco on Tuesday is expected to reach the mid-60s with a marine layer overhead, while Sacramento is forecast to see triple-digit temperatures.

"This happens every summer," says Null.

MORE, California: The land of natural extremes





That said, Null adds the heat wave the Los Angeles area experienced two weeks ago  when the power grid shut down due to overuse  was out of the ordinary. At UCLA, thermometers read 111 on July 8, breaking the previous daily record.
OTTAWA, Canada  Justin Trudeaus latest headache  the border  is unusual for a country bounded by three oceans and just one neighbor.

Canada has seen a steady flow of asylum seekers since Donald Trumps election, with people who fear the U.S. will deport them or reject their bids for asylum crossing the 4,000-mile undefended border and filing a claim. While the total numbers are relatively modest, the influx has strained resources and prompted calls for more funding.

The issue has the Canadian prime minister caught between demands for tighter security and his own pledge of open arms. The controversy has ramped up in recent weeks, in part because of Ontarios election of a conservative government led by populist Doug Ford. He and two other premiers have called on Trudeau to act, and a political sparring match is under way over what values are more Canadian: welcoming refugees, even those arriving illegally, or securing the border?

Trudeau moved to quiet the storm last week by naming Bill Blair, a former police chief, as minister for border security.

When conservatives across the country are playing the fear card, we need strong, reassuring voices to counter that, the prime minister said Wednesday after shuffling his Cabinet. He warned that his rivals have begun a very dangerous game by pitting Canadians against each other and raising the kinds of anxieties that quite frankly dont help solve problems.

Canada and the U.S. have signed a Safe Third Country Agreement, which means they generally dont accept refugee claims already being made in the other nation. But theres a hitch: Someone who enters Canada anywhere other than a regular border crossing, such as an airport, can make a claim, even if the act of crossing is illegal.

The issue is most prominent in Quebec, where its been percolating for 18 months. A makeshift processing center has even been built in the French-speaking province, at a border crossing that had been little more than a dirt path through a ditch.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested waves of people as they exited taxis, dragged out luggage and crossed over from New York state. Last August, more than 5,700 people were arrested crossing illegally into Canada  nearly all in Quebec, where at one point Montreals Olympic Stadium was commandeered to help handle the influx. But this year, the arrest average has been about 1,800 per month nationwide.

Josh Wingrove is a Bloomberg News writer.
JERUSALEM  Israel shot down a Syrian fighter jet Tuesday after it penetrated about a mile into Israeli-controlled airspace over the Golan Heights, the Israeli military said, a rare encounter that underscored the heightened risk of confrontation in the area.

As Syrian government forces advance to retake areas long held by rebel insurgents along the countrys frontier with Israel, the Israel Defense Forces said they had fired two Patriot surface-to-air missiles at the warplane.

The shooting down of the military jet, which crashed on the Syrian side of Golan Heights, marked only the second time during the seven-year-old civil war in Syria that Israel had intercepted a warplane; the first was in 2014.

Israeli forces were on alert for any possible Syrian retaliation. Tensions were already running high in the area as Syrian government forces advanced. But Syria, which has long been in a state of war with Israel, has so far avoided fighting on the Israeli front, focusing instead on fighting its internal enemies and largely maintaining the truce with Israel that has held since 1974.

According to unconfirmed initial reports from Syria, the downed jet was a Sukhoi 24 with a two-man crew. One pilot was said to have been killed; the fate of the other was unknown.

It was not immediately clear whether the warplane had intentionally penetrated Israeli-controlled airspace or had strayed from its path.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement the jets presence in Israeli-controlled airspace had been a gross violation of the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement with Syria.

I have reiterated and made clear that we will not accept any such violation, he added. We will not accept any such penetration of, or spillover into, our territory, neither on the ground nor in the air. Our forces acted appropriately.

The Syrian state news agency, SANA, offered a different account of the circumstances, saying the warplane was bombing insurgents in southern Syria.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a spokesman for the Israeli military, said Israel had been on elevated alert because of the increasing tensions in the area  most recently, Israel facilitated the evacuation of hundreds of Syrian rescue workers known as White Helmets over the weekend  and that there had been an irregular amount of aerial activity on the Syrian side during the day.

Isabel Kershner is a New York Times writer.
ROME - Over 100 are feared dead and at least 550 have been injured in wildfires raging near Athens.



Some 74 fatalities are known and 16 children are in critical condition. At least 1,500 homes have been destroyed, Rafina mayor Evangelos Bournous said on Tuesday, stressing that he had not received any order to evacuate the zones on fire. Some 550 people have been injured, 16 of whom are children in critical condition. Thousands of people have been evacuated and Mati, the worst hit, has been burnt to the ground.



The photos of Mati ''are reminiscent of a macabre scene in Pompeii'', with rescue workers finding the burnt bodies of two women who died embracing their children.



The dense smoke has reached the capital, where the Parthenon seems wrapped in a dense cloud. The Greek government has asked for EU help.



Italy has made two Canadair aircraft available and Turkey - the longstanding 'rival' Greece - has offered aid. Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras has meanwhile declared three days of national mourning and vowed to find out the cause of the fires. The government strongly suspects that the fires were a case of arson, since the flames sprung up in several different places far away from each other. On Tuesday morning, Tsipras spoke of ''asymmetrical fires''. Some Greek media have suggested that arsonists decided to sack homes that had been abandoned by tourists or for building speculation. The Italian foreign ministry is working through its crisis unit and embassy to keep abreast of developments with the local authorities and to help Italian citizens. The ministry has tweeted an emergency number that Italian citizens in Greece can use if necessary: +390636225.
DERBY LINE, Vt.  While the Trump administration fortifies the southern border, theres growing concern over the number of foreigners entering the country illegally across the porous northern border with Canada.

People crossing the border between Vermont and Quebec have paid smugglers up to $4,000, usually payable when the immigrants reach their U.S. destination, according to officials and court documents.

While the number of arrests is tiny compared with the southern border, the human smuggling is just as sophisticated.

They are very well organized. They have scouted the area. They have scouted us, said U.S. Border Patrol Agent Richard Ross. Basically, we are not dealing with the JV team; this is the varsity.

Driving the increase here, officials say, is the ease of entry into Canada, where visas are no longer required for Mexicans, and a border that receives less scrutiny and resources than the southern border, where thousands fleeing violence in Central America are being detained.

In the Border Patrol sector that covers 300 miles of border with New York, Vermont and New Hampshire, agents have apprehended 324 people who crossed illegally from Canada so far this fiscal year, compared with 165 in all of 2017. Last month, agents apprehended 85 people across the three states, compared with 17 in June 2017 and 19 in June 2016, statistics show.

So far this fiscal year, there have been at least 267 apprehensions along Canadas border with Vermont alone, compared with 132 all of last year, according to statistics compiled by federal prosecutors in Vermont.

The statistics show no corresponding spike in illegal immigration or apprehensions elsewhere along the northern frontier. Border Patrol agents speculate its because the area that includes Vermont is the first stretch of land border east of the Great Lakes and is a short drive from the population centers of Canada and the U.S. East Coast.

The northern border numbers are still small compared with the southern border. Federal statistics show that in fiscal 2017 there were 303,916 apprehensions on the U.S. border with Mexico, compared with 3,027 on the entire northern border.

Still, there is a growing sense of unease among U.S. law enforcement authorities.

The number of illegal alien apprehensions at the Vermont-Canada border has skyrocketed, said Christina Nolan, Vermonts U.S. attorney.

Visa-less entry into Canada for countries like Mexico and Romania, another nationality noted by Nolan and Border Patrol agents as contributing to a spike in apprehensions, play a role by making the northern border more attractive for people seeking to enter the U.S. illegally, Nolan said. A plane ticket from Mexico City to Montreal or Toronto can cost less than $350.

Wilson Ring is an Associated Press writer.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- With more than 70 percent of the storefronts leased at Empire Outlets, the project is on track to be complete this fall, according to the developer.

The Advance recently got a behind-the-scenes tour of Empire Outlets construction -- where retail buildings, public spaces and future eateries are taking shape.

Located adjacent to the St. George Ferry Terminal, New York City's first outlet mall will feature more than 100 designer retailers and a 1,250-space parking garage, along with future plans for a boutique hotel.

The construction site is looking more like an outlet mall these days as retailers, like Nordstrom Rack and H&M, have begun to outfit the interior of their spaces.

"To date, one of the milestones we've hit is retailers have started to take possession of their spaces and build out their interior suites," said Joseph Ferrara, principal of BFC Partners, Empire Outlets developer.

At the end of the month, Gap Factory, Old Navy, Nike and Banana Republic will take possession of their spaces as well, he said.

"The majority of the spaces will be turned over to tenants by the end of August," said Ferrara.

While most of the stores will open in the fall, some spaces will include "pop up" or temporary retailers, said Ferrara.

"There will be some spaces that will be programed with pop-up type of scenarios, just because there are leases we are negotiating right now. And with the length of time retailers need to build out those spaces, they just won't get there for the opening of the center," he added.

Nordstrom Rack and H&M store signs are slated to go up in the next few weeks, said Ferrara.

PANORAMIC VIEWS

The Advance was able to tour Empire Outlets' future food and beverage deck, which will be filled with an array of eateries and afford patrons panoramic views of the New York City skyline and Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

In addition to the retail spaces, Empire Outlets is in the process of rebuilding the grand staircase leading up to the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. The staircase is also expected to be complete in the fall.

Empire Outlets: A look at NYC's first outlet mall as it moves toward fall opening 45 Gallery: Empire Outlets: A look at NYC's first outlet mall as it moves toward fall opening

EMPIRE OUTLETS ROSTER

Other retailers signed on to be part of Empire Outlets include: Ghirardelli Chocolate, Francesca's, Starbucks, U.S. Polo, Crocs, White House Black Market, Columbia Sportswear Company, Guess Factory Store, Wilsons Leather, G.H. Bass & Co., Lids, Obey Your Body, Innovation Luggage, Walgreens, Haagen Dazs and Krispy Kreme.

Restaurants set to be part of Empire Outlets' diverse group of dining options include: Mamoun's Falafel, Wasabi Steak & Sushi, Shake Shack, Mighty Quinn's Barbeque, Artichoke Basille's Pizza, Nathan's Famous and MRKTPL -- a 12,723-square-foot artisanal food hall with a 3,000-square-foot outdoor dining space.

THE HISTORY

Initially set to open in 2016, the Empire Outlets project had been pushed back to Black Friday 2017 to coincide with the New York Wheel opening. But that project became riddled with contractor disputes and lawsuits, and has been stalled for the last year.

BFC Partners later pushed the opening date to fall 2018, and blamed the delay, in part, to too much interest in the project from retailers.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- High school students in foster care from schools across New York City were given the opportunity to live and study at the College of Staten Island this summer.

Through a new program, First Star Academy at the College of Staten Island, students lived on the Willowbrook campus in July. They learned life skills and participated in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses.

CSI's First Star Academy is part of the non-profit organization First Star, and is supported by AT&T, the New York City Administration of Children's Services (ACS) and New Yorkers for Children.

"The First Star Academy at the College of Staten Island is one of ACS's critical initiatives to improve education and employment outcomes for youth in foster care," said ACS Commissioner David Hansell. "This collaboration will expose our youth to career interests in science, technology, engineering and math, giving them an edge to compete in the digital economy right here in New York's Silicon Alley."

First Star partners with universities and child welfare agencies throughout the country to create academies for foster youth. These academies offer long-term programming for high school foster youth that include both four immersive residential summers on a university campus, and monthly sessions during each school year.

LEARNING LIFE SKILLS

First Star students took classes at CSI, received tutoring to address any remedial academic needs, and learned essential life skills to help them succeed in college and life.

Joy Brown, 15, who will be a junior at a Bronx high school this fall, said the program helped her realize her future career goals.

"It's a good program because you're around these different personalities and that's how the real world works," she said. "So you're preparing yourself not only in education, but how to interact with other people."

Jessica Gonzalez, 16, who will be a junior at a Brooklyn high school, said the program has helped her both educationally and spiritually.

"I feel like we also have that part of us that we don't speak about, meaning our emotions," Gonzalez said. "In life skills, we do speak about it and sometimes we even speak about it to each other or to the staff."

Both Gonzalez and Brown said they plan on going to medical school to become doctors.

On Thursday, students will demo their STEM projects from their summer workshop during a closing ceremony.

The summer program at the Willowbrook campus first began last year. Students return to the program each summer until they begin college or start their careers.

AT&T supported the STEM-specific curriculum for the program, including coding instruction, digital storytelling and video game design.

"AT&T is committed to creating additional opportunities to help open students' eyes to the possibilities around them," said Marissa Shorenstein, president of the Northeast region for AT&T. "We hope that the practical skills these students learn this summer and over the course of the program will set them up for success in college, in their chosen careers and beyond."

Students also participated in a Geographic Information System (GIS) program taught by CSI's Urban Policy Analyst and GIS specialist, Nora Santiago. Students learned the GIS production process, including data-modeling, acquisition, editing, analysis and cartographic output.

GEARING UP FOR SUCCESS

"The First Star Academy provides students in foster care with the education and resources to help them overcome the many obstacles that they face, with the goal of obtaining college degrees and success in their careers," said CSI President William Fritz.

First Star was founded as a national charity dedicated to improving life for child victims of abuse and neglect. Since 2011, First Star has pioneered support programs to launch foster children into productive lives and careers through higher education. Academies currently serve approximately 350 youth across 13 campuses.

Ninety-nine percent of First Star Academy youth who have completed four years of programming have graduated high school, and 91 percent have enrolled in higher education.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A parent of a displaced child at Gingerbread Learning Center -- a special needs preschool -- questioned city Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza on Tuesday about where her child will be going to school in September during a city resource fair.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, Carranza and city agencies were on hand at the fair, which took place at the Carter Center in Stapleton, to answer the public's questions.

They were joined by the heads of dozens of city agencies who were there to provide information.

The mayor's visit marked the second day on Staten Island -- part of of his weeklong "City Hall in Your Borough."

"A parent was concerned about what the alternate locations were going to be for their child, what the program was going to be for their child," Carranza said.

Gingerbread Learning Center's owner sent a letter to parents in May that the preschool's 4410 Board of Education Preschool program would close on Aug. 10.

He said the Department of Education (DOE) has currently identified four to five different locations on Staten Island.

"But because they're pre-K, we have to get state approval for not only the programming but the locations so we're in the process right now to get approval for both locations and programming," Carranza explained.

According to a DOE spokeswoman, 35 of the 95 displaced students have been offered placements for September on Staten Island. Placements are being made at special education 4410 community programs, district schools, Universal Pre-K programs and new DOE programs.

"We fully intend and expect to have not only a location, but the programming in place for the start of the school year for all the families here on Staten Island," Carranza said.

Gingerbread has two locations -- on North Gannon Avenue, in Willowbrook, and Woodrow Road, in Annadale.

Both sites are scheduled to shut their doors in August. The early intervention program will continue at the school in September, according to the owner's letter.

The owner of the preschool, Dennis Mosesman, was indicted along with his wife for allegedly siphoning $771,000 in taxpayer funds.

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STATEN ISLAND -- As the borough grapples with a rise in Lyme disease and ticks that carry the debilitating illness, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday at Blue Heron Park in Annadale that the city's plan to increase spending by $600,000 annually to tackle the problem.

The mayor called the future efforts the most "aggressive tick control policy of the history of New York City."

From 2012 to 2016, Staten Island saw a 250 percent rise in cases of Lyme disease -- the sharpest jump in the disease of the five boroughs over the last five years, according to data the Advance compiled from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The city's latest efforts will include stepping up tick surveillance at city parks and doubling the number of surveillance sites on Staten Island from 14 to 28.

The Health Department will also carry out more "detailed" case investigations of Lyme disease to better understand the risk factors for infection and a push for more outreach and education.

But city officials did not say how long they anticipate spending the annual $600,000 investment and said for now, it's main focus would be on disinfecting mice, despite many experts saying the rise in Lyme disease and spread of ticks is directly tied to the Island's growing deer population.

After a tick sweep conducted by researchers last summer found all of the borough's parks had ticks infected with the Lyme disease bacteria, researchers launched a tick app and decided to come to the borough this summer to conduct additional fieldwork.

Since the team started working its work on the borough in early June, they have surveyed 111 homes in areas near parks, found 151 ticks around people's homes, and 6,728 ticks in Island parks.

Researchers say one of the things they hear the most from Island residents with ticks in their backyards is that they report seeing deer almost everyday.

MICE FOR NOW, DEER LATER

As part of the increased efforts around stopping the spread of Lyme disease and ticks, the city plans to bring "bait boxes" to the borough, which applies a tick repellant on mice when they are lured into one of the devices.

To tackle the deer tick issue, the mayor said the city would remain focused on targeting mice for now as the city let's the controversial $3.3 million vasectomy program run its course.

"Obviously this issue connects to the question of the deer population," the mayor said. "It's complex because again, the ticks are carried by mice in large measure, other small animals, but the deer are a crucial piece of this equation too."

The mayor touted an 8 percent reduction in the Island's deer population in the second year of city's vasectomy program to decrease the herd's population on the Island.

Hizzoner also said he expects to see a "substantial" reduction to the population this year too.

Citing a recent article in the Advance, the mayor said the city would consider using feeding stations that apply tick pesticides to the deer's head and neck as they eat, which the state has been implementing in different upstate communities.

The Health Department also said they are considering using a biological pesticide that uses a fungus found in soil to spray plant areas where ticks look for hosts like deer.

But Health Commissioner Mary Bassett said the city is only in preliminary talks with officials from upstate about the deer feeding stations and have yet to decide whether New York City will use the devices.

The announcement came as the Health Department recently released a report which found that diseases spread through deer ticks and locally acquired cases of Lyme disease are also on the rise on Staten Island.

When asked what the Health Department thought was behind the Island's rise in locally acquired cases, Bassett said the biggest driver was global warming as well as mice.

Bassett said the deer contributed to the rise, but said would need to have a separate discussion about what their role is in the tick's lifecycle.

"This is part of the life cycle... the life cycle of the tick begins as an egg moves on to a larva and a nymph which is the baby poppy seed sized tick that's what begins it's blood meal on a mouse on small animals and possibly birds as well as they move on to the deer," Bassett said. "The maintenance reservoir is the mouse population and that's why this strategy with the bait boxes targets mice because that's where you get the bacteria in the mice giving it to the ticks, and the bacteria in the ticks giving it to the mice, so it becomes a circular pattern of infection and reintroduction of infection between the tick and mouse population."

ISLAND POLS APPLAUD ANNOUNCEMENT

Oddo, who has remained an advocate for preventing the spread of Lyme disease applauded the mayor's latest steps to fight the spread of ticks and Lyme disease.

"This is not an overnight thing, this is the culmination of a phase we've got a lot of work to do," Oddo said.

Councilman Borelli echoed Oddo's applause.

"To not take steps to address this significant public health crisis to some degree would be wrong and immoral for city government to do," Borelli said.

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STATEN ISLAND -- With just about 24 hours left before speed cameras around city schools go dark, Mayor Bill de Blasio, school, transportation and local officials rallied at PS 78 in Stapleton Tuesday calling on Albany to pass legislation tomorrow to keep the cameras running.

The mayor was joined by Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza, Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg and Councilwoman Debi Rose (D-North Shore) at an Island school where a child was struck by a taxi while crossing Hill Street near Tompkins Avenue at the beginning of June.

The rally marked the second day of the mayor's weeklong "City Hall in Your Borough."

"Because of inaction in Albany ... literally the hours and the minutes are ticking away to the point where we're not going to have these speed cameras," de Blasio said, adding that 120 cameras would stop working tomorrow.

For weeks, the city has been calling on Albany to reconvene to approve the renewal of New York City's school zone speed camera program, which is set to expire July 25 after lawmakers failed to reach a deal on the issue before adjourning the regular session last month.

A state bill sought to expand the number of speed cameras allowed in school speed zones. The bill passed the Assembly but didn't come up for a vote in the Senate before the session ended late last month.

The proposed legislation would have extended the five-year program until 2022 and allowed the city to install speed cameras in an additional 150 school zones.

MOBILE CAMERAS

De Blasio said if the program expires tomorrow, the city still has 20 mobile speed cameras it can use at different sites around the city for about the next 30 days.

"This is not necessarily a matter of policy, it's not necessarily a matter of finance, it's a matter of life and death," Carranza said.

Earlier this month Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie called on the Senate to reconvene to extend the program, however, it's unclear if they will return by tomorrow.

"These legislators have no problem talking the talk ... now they need to walk the walk and give us the right to use this life saving tool," Rose said.

NO WORD OF SPECIAL SESSION AS OF MONDAY

Island Sens. Diane Savino (D-North Shore) and Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island) previously told the Advance they would be willing to return to Albany to discuss the speed camera issue

However, Lanza said he wanted senators to consider his bill.

He and co-sponsors Sens. Martin Golden (R-Brooklyn) and Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn) proposed legislation that would require DOT to install stop signs and red lights at the intersections at over 1,000 school zones.

Savino told the Advance Tuesday evening that she had yet to hear from the majority leader about whether a special session would be held Wednesday.

CUOMO RESPONDS, SAYS HE'LL SIGN SPEED CAM BILL IF GOP RETURN

Following the mayor's rally, Cuomo called Senate Republicans' refusal to return to Albany to pass legislation to keep the speed cameras on "a complete dereliction" of elected officials' duty to keep people safe.

"This is not an ideological issue -- Senator Golden and his conference are playing politics with the lives of children, and it's transparent. I have said for weeks, there is no need for me to call a special session as the Assembly has already passed the bill during session -- all that is left is for the Senate Republicans to act," Cuomo said.

Cuomo called on Golden to hold a protest in front of Senate leader John Flanagan's (R-Suffolk County) office and demand he bring his conference back to Albany to vote for speed cameras "on the merits, like they should have done in June."

"If it helps the Senator, I will repeat the call for the Senate Republicans to immediately return to Albany and pass the bill that sits on their desk -- I will sign it the same day," Cuomo said.

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STATEN ISLAND -- Mayor Bill de Blasio and his security detail appeared to have been in a rush today to get to a press conference about Lyme disease in Annadale Monday afternoon, according to the account of a City Hall reporter.

Ahead of a press conference in Annadale on Lyme disease and ticks, a New York Post reporter spotted two of de Blasio's security vehicles cross a double yellow line to drive on the opposite side of the road and run a red light.

"Mayor's 2-car caravan just passed the press van I'm in, which was stopped at a red light," Post reporter Yoav Gonen said on Twitter. "They crossed a double yellow line to drive on the wrong side of the road to go through a red light -- on the way to a press conference on Staten Island #visionzero"

The Advance reached out to the mayor's press team to confirm the reports, but an NYPD spokesperson declined to comment, saying the department does not comment "on the security of any dignitary the NYPD's protects for their own safety [sic]."

MAYOR HEADS TO ANNADALE DINER FOR 'CLOSED PRESS' EVENT

After Hizzoner attended the press conference at Blue Heron Park, he hit the road with Councilman Joe Borelli (R-South Shore) and grabbed a bite to eat at the Annadale Terrace Diner.

The visit came after the South Shore councilman challenged the mayor to have informal discussions with constituents on the South Shore where is unpopular.

"It was productive. As everyone knows I'm pretty blunt and the conversation was polite and direct," Borelli said of the visit.

Although the mayor's visit did not appear on his public schedule, the mayor's press team tried to prevent the Advance from being at the diner or taking a picture of the pair eating.

A mayoral spokesperson told the Advance it was a "closed press" event and tried to prevent an Advance reporter from taking photographs of the pair, despite the distinction of the "closed press" lunch not stated anywhere on the mayor's public schedule announcements.

Councilman @JoeBorelliNYC and @NYCMayor share a bite at the Annandale Terrace Diner. @BilldeBlasios press team tries to prevent me from coming in and taking a pic even tho it did not say anywhere on the mayors sked the event was closed press pic.twitter.com/iS2qTGZOQc  Sydney Kashiwagi (@SydneyKashiwagi) July 23, 2018

Borelli said he and the mayor spent 1.5 hours together at the diner discussing everything from property tax reform to the need for Staten Island to have a new special needs preschool program after the Gingerbread Learning Center decided to close its doors in August.

The South Shore councilman said he and de Blasio visited almost every table in the restaurant and spoke to constituents about commercial real estate taxes, the cost of doing business in the city, and helping a tenant from Manhattan in the city's Housing Authority get a refrigerator fixed.

Borelli also said the mayor was greeted by an unlikely Democratic supporter from the South Shore who applauded his administration for going after President Donald Trump.

"When he visits parts of the city I think it's important he gets whatever unique perspective that part of the city offers and I think he got that from spending the afternoon in the diner," Borelli said.

"My goal was for him to meet people that were not planted that more than likely did not vote for him and he met them," he continued.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The city will conduct pesticide spraying in residential areas of the South Shore on Thursday night in an effort to reduce mosquito activity and the risk of the West Nile virus.

The pesticide will be sprayed from trucks from 9 p.m. Thursday until 6 a.m. the next morning, weather permitting. In the event of inclement weather, the spraying will be delayed until Monday.

The neighborhoods to be sprayed in ZIP codes 10307, 10309 and 10312 include Annadale, Charleston, Huguenot, Pleasant Plains, Prince's Bay, Richmond Valley and Tottenville. The area is bordered by the Arthur Kill to the west; the Korean War Veterans Parkway and North Railroad Street to the north; Arden Avenue to the east, and the coastline to the south.

The city Health Department will use a very low concentration of a synthetic pesticide, Anvil 10+10. When properly used, this product poses no significant risks to humans or pets, according to the Health Department.

However, some people who are sensitive to the spray ingredients may experience short-term eye or throat irritation or a rash. People with respiratory conditions may also be affected.

The city recommends that residents take the following precautions to minimize direct exposure:

Whenever possible, stay indoors during spraying. People with asthma or other respiratory conditions are encouraged to stay inside since direct exposure could worsen these conditions.

Air conditioners may remain on, but set the vent to the closed position or choosing the re-circulate function.

Remove toys, clothes and equipment from outdoor areas during spraying. If outdoor equipment and toys are exposed to pesticides, wash them with soap and water before using them again.

Wash skin and clothing exposed to pesticides with soap and water.

Always wash your produce thoroughly with water before cooking or eating.

New Yorkers also are encouraged to take precautions when spending time outdoors. The Health Department urges residents to use an approved insect repellent containing DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus (not for children under 3 years old), or products that contain the active ingredient IR3535.

Residents should also mosquito-proof their homes. In addition to making sure windows have screens that are not torn, they should eliminate any standing water from their property and dispose of containers that can collect water; make sure roof gutters are clean and draining properly; clean and chlorinate swimming pools, outdoor saunas and hot tubs, and keep them empty or covered when not in use.

Standing water is a violation of the New York City Health Code. To report standing water, call 311 or visit nyc.gov/health/wnv.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A man is sought for questioning in connection to a June 11 shooting in New Brighton, according to an NYPD Twitter post.

Jacob Morales is wanted for allegedly being involved in the New Brighton shooting, discharging a firearm and striking an individual, according to a spokeswoman for the NYPD's Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

Individuals at the scene reported that they heard multiple gunshots past Ely Street towards Stanley Avenue at approximately 4:30 p.m on June 11.

According to a police spokeswoman, Morales got into an altercation with Elijah McCall, 24, pointing a firearm and shooting McCall in the left arm.

McCall was arrested on June 12 with 11 plastic bags of crack cocaine and a loaded, .380-caliber firearm, after being treated for his gunshot wound at Richmond University Medical Center, according to a police spokeswoman.

McCall was charged with reckless endangerment, drug possession and criminal possession of a weapon.

People with information are urged to call the precinct's detectives at 718-876-8196 or NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-8477 (TIPS), or for Spanish, 1-888-577-4782 (PISTA). The public can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by texting tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. All calls are kept strictly confidential.
STATEN ISLAND -- Mayor Bill de Blasio stopped by the Carter Center in Stapleton to take questions from Staten Islanders and give them the opportunity to talk to the heads of dozens of city agencies at a resource fair Tuesday.

His visit marked the second day of his weeklong "City Hall in Your Borough."

Hizzoner stood in place in an area surrounded by cameras and journalists and made Staten Islanders line up to talk to him and did not move around the resource fair to speak to constituents.

Some Island residents came to congratulate the mayor on his second term and take selfies with him, while others had more pressing quality of life questions for Hizzoner.

"Staten Island needs a lot of help," Zoraida Marty of Stapleton told the Advance, as she waited with her grandson for the mayor to arrive.

Marty said it was her first time seeing the mayor in person, so she was excited, but wanted him to address the Island's issue of homelessness.

"If you look around you see lots of people in the streets, especially kids," Marty said.

Noelia Perez, a resident from the city's Housing Authority's Stapleton Houses right next door, said she was waiting in line to ask the mayor why it takes so long for repairs to be made in her apartment complex.

She said people in the Stapleton Houses often wait months from the time they place a call to get something repaired to the time officials actually come to fix the issue.

Perez said tenants sometimes have to pay for the repairs too.

Noelia Perez from Islands Stapleton Houses @NYCHA waits in line to talk to @NYCMayor about how tenants often wait months for things to get fixed in her apartment complex pic.twitter.com/ekzQ7RXT7P  Sydney Kashiwagi (@SydneyKashiwagi) July 24, 2018

Kim Hinkson of Stapleton said she showed up to ask the mayor about what the city can do to help children and teenagers she sees around the borough who are victims of lead paint poisoning.

Her question came weeks after it was revealed that some 820 children living in the NYCHA developments tested positive for elevated levels of lead in their blood.

It's not clear how many, if any, children from the Island's NYCHA developments are included in those numbers. But the Advance has filed a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request to get those numbers.

Hinkson said her daughter tested positive for elevated levels of lead in her blood as a child after they lived in a home on Staten Island on a Section 8 voucher.

Hinkson was able to speak to the city's Health Commissioner Mary Bassett and the mayor about the issue, and they told her they would follow up with her, she said.

YOUTH PROGRAMS, UNEMPLOYMENT

Janet G. Robinson of Stapleton said she has seen on several occasions children from the Stapleton Houses denied entry from playing on the grounds of the Carter Center.

She said she wanted to see what the mayor could do to address the problem.

"I feel like they need programs for the youth," she said, adding "this center is run poorly."

Jimmy Williams of Park Hill said he wanted to talk to the mayor about high unemployment he sees among the borough's youth, especially youth of color.

"I would imagine the unemployment is really high for minorities," Williams said.

Top officials from agencies like the NYPD, Departments of Transportation, Health, Parks and Recreation, Education, Finance, and more stood by to take borough residents' questions.

At 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Hizzoner, Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza, DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg, and elected officials plan to hold a rally at PS 78 urging the state Senate to return to Albany to approve and expand the city's speed camera program.

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GAZA - The director of operations for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNWRA was stranded yesterday in his office in Gaza while strong protests were ongoing nearby against austerity measures decided by the organization due to financial difficulties, also following the US decision to withdraw its funding.

According to local press reports, the official, Mathias Shamali, was in the end escorted out of his office by police, which used stun grenades to disperse demonstrators. In particular, protests concerned the layoff of some 1,000 temporary workers.

UNWRA in future will also reportedly need to further reduce its activity in Gaza, including the distribution of food and the management of mental health clinics.


STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Kathy Murphy is on a mission: To have a permanent, public memorial established to honor her late husband, retired District Attorney William Murphy.

"I wanted something having to do with his being the longest-serving D.A.," Murphy said, "something that people driving by would see and remember his name."

She's has been at it for a couple of years now. It hasn't been easy. She's run into red tape. Baffling rules and regulations. Jurisdictional issues.

What's easy to see is that Bill Murphy, who died in 2010, is more than deserving of an outsized honor.

Murphy, a Democrat from West Brighton, was the borough's top prosecutor for 21 years, from 1983 to 2003. He broke the longevity record set by Democrat John Braisted. All told, Murphy served for 27 years in the borough D.A.'s office.

There was nowhere Murphy went where he didn't excel. He graduated magna cum laude from Fordham University. He was a graduate of Harvard School of Law.

As a prosecutor, Murphy served under legendary Manhattan D.A.s Frank Hogan and Robert Morgenthau before coming to Staten Island in 1976.

One of Murphy's most famous cases was his 1982 prosecution of landfill supervisor John Cassiliano, known as "Johnny Cash," who was charged with taking bribes to allow toxic waste to be dumped at the old Brookfield landfill. Murphy later lobbied to have state environmental law more mimic penal law, a huge move given Staten Island's onetime status as a dumping ground for the rest of the city.

In other high-profile cases, Murphy's office won convictions against child kidnapper Andre Rand; Russian "black widow" Elena Kiejliches, and cop killer Shatiek Johnson.

Murphy was also at the center of a compelling personal story that made national headlines when then-Assistant District Attorney Mario Mattei, who is now a judge, donated one of his kidneys to Murphy in 2000. The transplant failed, but one from Murphy's bodyguard, Detective Daniel Ingellis, succeeded.

A stellar career underlined by the grace and dignity Murphy showed when facing declining health.

A memorial street sign honoring the D.A. has been installed on the block where Murphy lived in West Brighton. But Kathy Murphy is looking for something more visible to the community at large, something in St. George, where Murphy worked.

But there have been roadblocks. An idea to plant a tree in front of the building on Stuyvesant Place where Murphy served in the D.A.'s office was stymied. So was a plan to install plants and flowers there and have a landscaper maintain the space at the Murphy family's expense. Things that Kathy though would be easy lifts proved to be anything but. There are rules governing everything, it seems.

Another idea was floated to have Hyatt Street, near the new state Supreme Court building, renamed for Murphy. The idea had Kathy Murphy "jumping for joy," she said, particularly since she and Bill had had their first date at the St. George Theatre on the block. Kathy Murphy even offered to pay the costs for new stationary for all the businesses along Hyatt, just to smooth the transition should the street be re-named.

But that idea failed to gain traction as well, even though it had the support of Staten Island elected officials.

Now Kathy's come to the idea of having the courthouse itself named after Murphy. It would keep Murphy's name alive into the future, and would be a worthy honor for a man who dedicated his life to serving the borough's criminal justice system.

It's a big ask. The courts are run by the state, but the city owns the courthouse building. Kathy Murphy says she's been told that the city doesn't name courthouses. But she has a glimmer of hope having seen the city name the Manhattan Municipal Building on Centre Street in honor of former Mayor David Dinkins.

Kathy Murphy understands that getting something named in honor of her late husband may not be the most pressing issue for elected officials, despite the reverence that they may have for the late D.A.

Which means that Kathy Murphy knows it's up to her to keep pushing.

"I want the people of this borough that he represented to see something," she said. "A sign, I don't know. Something that keeps his memory alive."

It's a worthy idea.
ANZ Banks claim it was unaware its external lawyers in New York forced a former employee to recount her rape as a teenager is absolutely false as senior ANZ staff were present and witnessed the exchange, according to her lawyers.

ANZ said it was not aware of its US lawyers strategy after Fairfax Media revealed the bank grilled a former trader who is suing the bank for sexual and racial harassment about her sexual history, including her rape.

ANZ Bank has had issues with culture. Credit:Glenn Hunt

The banks legal tactics were revealed in a transcript of a deposition last year, and made available last month, undertaken as part of a multimillion-dollar workplace discrimination claim filed by the former trader against ANZ and the banks head of corporate sales America, Ravi Nursey, in New York.

ANZs lawyers also quizzed the former trader over other details of her sexual history and her activities outside of work, including whether she had sought psychiatric assistance and if she had ever had a sexually transmitted disease.
Increased advertising sales on Google's YouTube video service and the web helped drive sales growth. Alphabet chief financial officer Ruth Porat said that investment in new machine learning technology is helping the company sell better ads, and more efficiently. Alphabet also said that it reduced the cost of fees paid to competitors such as Apple to direct their search queries to Google by default.

Alphabet reported $US3.2 billion in profit, compared with analysts' estimate of $US6.72 billion. Revenue was $US32.7 billion, an increase of 26 per cent over the same period last year.

Shares of Google's parent company, Alphabet, jumped in aftermarket trading after the company reported its second-quarter earnings, despite a drop in profit from a record $US5 billion ($6.8 billion) fine imposed by the European Union .

But the company said its growth was primarily driven by ads sold on mobile devices - the very piece of Google's business that is the target of the latest EU complaint. Regulators say that Google unfairly requires smartphone makers that use its Android mobile operating system to drive users to its own services, such as search, its Play app store and its Chrome browser. Google allows companies to use Android for free in exchange for loading those Google-owned apps.

Google has more than 90 per cent of search traffic globally, according to StatCounter. The Android operating system has around 80 per cent of the world's market share of smartphones, with Apple taking nearly all of the remainder.

It's not yet clear how the company may have to change its operating system to comply with the EU's complaint that Android too heavily promotes Google search. Sundar Pichai, chief executive at Google, said on an investor call Monday that the company is committed to finding a way for Google to continue making Android "available at scale to users everywhere."

Alphabet shares soared in after-hours trading. Credit:Bloomberg

He added that Google's free model has allowed device makers to offer lower prices. "You can clearly see there's robust competition. There's a lot of innovation," he said. "I think overall it's created more choice for everyone, not less."
LJ Hooker real estate is set to revolutionise home buying with the launch of a new technology-based platform that will offer direct interaction and transparency between agents and customers.

LJ Hooker Avnu will be a company-owned business run by former executives of Google, Qantas, LinkedIn and Twitter. It will be separate to the LJ Hooker franchise model, but backed by the 90-year history of the LJ Hooker business.

The business will be run through an app and will allow home buyers/sellers real-time access to every step of the sales process, up to 200 of them when selling a house. Credit:Bloomberg

Offering cloud-based technology, the business will be run through an integrated platform and will allow home buyers/sellers real-time access to every step of the sales process, up to 200 of them when selling a house.

The business will employ its own agents and have its own shop-front and, once the agent is engaged, clients can deal with them through the app and receive real-time notifications regarding the number of viewings held to picking the photos for the marketing campaign.
The heat has come off development site sales over the past 12 months with values falling, according to Pace Development Group.

Pace has shifted focus from Brunswick in Melbournes north to Blackburn in the citys east, buying a Whitehorse Road site for $23.85 million.

Just after it completed the process of settling on 91 apartments at its 808-818 Sydney Road complex, the group has turned its attention to a permitted project with 263 apartments at 160 Whitehorse Road.

The two-level Bridgestone Tyre Centre at 81-89 Bouverie Street in Carlton sold for $10.65 million. Credit:Colliers International

Pace managing director Shane Wilkinson said he would have expected to pay up to 20 per cent more for the Blackburn site 12 months ago. Theres no more silliness in the marketplace, he said.
Agricultural property trust Vitalharvest could be tapping the market for more equity soon after its pending listing, as it seeks acquisitions to expand its tenancy base beyond the Costa fruit and vegetable empire.

Vitalharvest is due to list on August 9 after raising $185 million to fund the purchase of seven berry and citrus growing properties in NSW, South Australia and Tasmania.

One of the country's richest families is planning to list its extensive farming properties, which include blueberry farms. Credit:Fairfax Media

Vithalharvests $175 million institutional component has closed oversubscribed, with the overall raising due to close on Friday after completion of a $10 million retail component.

Vitalharvest is a subsidiary of Costa Asset Management (CAM), the Costa family investment office established by Frank Costas brothers, the late Anthony and Robert Costa.
Hunter Valley winemaker Mark Davidson has witnessed Chinese consumers' enthusiasm for Australian wine first hand at his cellar door.

Over the past five years, the number of Chinese visitors to Tamburlaine Organic Wines, where Mr Davidson is managing director, has increased dramatically.

When they think of wine they think of Australia, he said.

Hunter Valley winemaker Mark Davidson, from Tamburlaine Organic Wines. Credit:Ben Rushton

Today, Chinese tourists are the No.1 foreign visitor to Tamburlaine and one of the key questions they ask is: "How can I get these wines in China?"
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hadn't unveiled his $2 billion women's entrepreneurship strategy when Zoe Warne decided to move to Canada two years ago.

But the Canadian government's support for female entrepreneurs has made Warne feel more comfortable with her decision to relocate from Melbourne to Toronto.

Zoe Warne is the co founder of August. Credit:Luis Enrique

Speaking to Fairfax Media on the sidelines of the Dell Women Entrepreneurship Network in Toronto last week, Ms Warne said she started digital marketing agency August 13 years ago.

The business, which is headquartered in Melbourne, turned over more than $2 million last year and Ms Warne made the decision to move to Canada after August secured a contract with Engineers Without Borders in Canada.
Illustration: Simon Letch

Im thinking of starting a new social movement. Still working on the details, but Ive already decided well have lapel buttons, bumper stickers and, of course, a hashtag, all that say #letscalmdown.

I know Im supposed to be banging on about the urgent need for economic reform but, although as a nation were better off materially than ever before, I doubt were the happiest, most contented or most fulfilled weve ever been.

Even if its true we all want to be richer (which I doubt), why do we have to be in such a tearing hurry about it?

While I was calming down on holidays a few weeks back, I read social researcher Hugh Mackays latest book, Australia Reimagined, and it occurred to me that we seem to be paying quite a price for our economic success.
Cuts to weekend penalty rates have hit Victorian women and regional workers hardest, threaten the states economic growth and have not created any more jobs, according to a Parliamentary report.

The State Parliaments Penalty Rates and Fair Pay Select Committee was scathing of the effects of the cuts to Sunday penalty rates for retail and hospitality workers that began in July 2017, saying the reductions hurt the most vulnerable workers and had not achieved their stated goals.

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But Opposition MPs on the committee attacked the inquiry as a waste of taxpayers money designed to help the Labor Party attack the Turnbull governments industrial relations policies.

The committees final report, published on Tuesday, argues there is little or no evidence that the promised benefits of the cuts  more jobs and more hours for retail and hospitality workers  have materialised.
Greece, fires rage near Athens, over 50 dead 100 wounded, thousands evacuated. Cabinet asks for Europe's help

(ANSAmed) - ROME, JULY 24 - At least 54 people have died as wildfires raged north-east of Athens, Greek broadcaster Skai reported on its website, citing among others a member of the Red Cross, Bill Andriopoulos. Thousands have been evacuated and the area of Mati is burnt.



Dense smoke reached the capital and the Parthenon is enveloped in dense smoke. The Greek government has asked Europe to help.



Meanwhile Turkey, Greece's historic 'rival', has offered help. Israel, at the instruction of Premier Benyamin Netanyahu, offered ''medical help to the victims of fires'', the Israeli foreign ministry said, adding that the Israeli embassy in Athens has been activated for this purpose. In particular, Israel offered its experience to treat burns and intoxication.



Firefighting aircraft could also be sent for rescue operations, the ministry said.



Meanwhile, the Italian foreign ministry tweeted that, through its crisis unit and the embassy in Athens, it is working with local authorities also to assist nationals. It has released an emergency number in case of need: +390636225.



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Margaret Atwood once said of Richard Powers, the 61-year-old Pulitzer Prize finalist that, it's not possible for him to write an uninteresting book. On the evidence, it is true for The Overstory, an absorbing novel about climate apocalypse that opens with chestnut planting in the 1800s and grows steadily outwards until it reaches the age of virtual worlds. Everything Under by Daisy Johnson There are four authors under 30 on this longlist, and four debut novelists. Johnson, born in 1990 in Devon, falls into both categories. Her impressive first novel is about a woman who is forced to revisit the private language she once invented with her mother. In Our Mad and Furious City by Guy Gunaratne You can sense the 34-year-old Gunaratne's training as a documentary filmmaker in his debut novel, a thriller-ish social panorama of his native London. One hot summer, riots spread across the capital after a British soldier is killed; under the towers of the Stones Estate, Selvon and Ardan let the fury pass them by, sticking to their obsessions: grime music and girls. But their friend, Yusuf, is caught up in the tide of radicalism surging through his local mosque, a tide that threatens to take his brother away.

Washington Black by Esi Edugyan Snap by Belinda Bauer. This is the tale of an 11-year-old slave on a cane plantation in 19th-century Barbados, who is made servant to an eccentric English inventor and abolitionist. The 40-year-old Canadian novelist was shortlisted in 2011 for Half-Blood Blues. Snap by Belinda Bauer On a stifling summer's day, 11-year-old Jack and his two sisters sit in their broken-down car, waiting for their mother to come back and rescue them. But she doesn't come back. She never comes back. And life as the children know it is changed forever. The Man Booker judges describe Snap as an acute, stylish, intelligent novel that "offers a beautiful evocation of the lives of children, and how they perceive and manage tragedy".

The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh The 29-year-old Mackintosh's unsettling debut is one of several novels on the longlist with a dystopian flavour. With shades of King Lear and The Handmaid's Tale, The Water Cure is about three sisters  Grace, Lia and Sky  who are kept on a remote island, far away from the "toxin-filled world", under the care of their father, the domineering "King". One day, three strangers intrude on their isolation and lay claim to the girls who King has striven to protect. What follows is a dark fantasy about the limits of paternal love and the struggle for female independence. The Long Take by Robin Robertson This epic poem in free verse will be catnip to film noir obsessives. Walker, a traumatised Canadian D-Day veteran turned LA reporter, stalks the streets of the vividly conjured city, running into real-life figures such as director Robert Siodmak. The plot's just a languorous haze; it's the mood that matters. Sabrina by Nick Drnaso

Sabrina by Nick Drnaso. Sabrina, the work of 29-year-old Chicago author Nick Drnaso, is the first graphic novel to be longlisted. It is the story of what happens when an intimate, "everyday" tragedy collides with the appetites of the 24-hour news cycle; when somebodys lived trauma becomes another persons gossip; when it becomes fodder for social media, fake news, conspiracy theorists, maniacs, the bored. From a Low and Quiet Sea by Donal Ryan The Irishman was a surprise entry on the 2013 longlist, but this year, as one of only four previously longlisted writers, Tipperary-born Ryan seems an elder statesman. His new novel moves from war-torn Syria to small-town Ireland, and follows three lives  a Syrian refugee, a care worker and a crooked accountant. Milkman by Anna Burns

This darkly comic novel, set in the 1970s, takes place in a "hair-trigger society" of bomb scares, hijackings, murals  but nothing must be named, not the city of Belfast, not the IRA, not even the narrator, "Middle sister". The jokes, like the plot, come out viciously askew in this third novel by the 56-year-old Northern Irish novelist. A tale of gossip and hearsay, silence and deliberate deafness, said the judges. Normal People by Sally Rooney The 27-year-old Rooney made a splash last year with her debut Conversations with Friends, a shrewdly comic take on the modish theme of female friendship, set in post-crash Ireland. Her follow-up is a love story about students in Dublin. The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner In a California women's jail, an ex-stripper called Romy is serving two life sentences for murdering her stalker. The early 2000s unfold outside but events do not touch the lives of the prisoners, who may as well be on Mars. A salty and hilarious novel from one of America's best living novelists.
On Tuesday, it was 10 years since British cinemagoers first came face to pasty face with Heath Ledger's Joker, the Oscar-winning, era-defining supervillain from The Dark Knight. And, on Friday of this week, it was exactly 12 years since the internet embarked on a collective long-form whinge over the breaking news that Ledger had been cast. A former teen-movie heart-throb, and one half of Brokeback Mountain's gay cowboy couple, a credible bad guy? As if!

Heath Ledger made a great impression as the Joker in The Dark Knight but the casting was initially controversial. Credit:AP

Jonathan Nolan, the film's co-writer, and brother of director Christopher Nolan, recalled the outcry earlier this week in a round-table discussion convened by The Hollywood Reporter. "Everyone was coming to Chris and saying, 'We don't see it'," he recalled. "And the fan community - we were pilloried for it." Robin Williams, Mark Hamill and Johnny Depp were among the names circulated as the kind of actors Warner Bros should be casting - though now, it is impossible to picture anyone but Ledger in that moth-eaten purple overcoat and sweat-streaked pan-stick.

"For me, casting, beyond writing, is the most dangerous moment in every project," Nolan added. And the case of The Dark Knight shows how the soul of even the beefiest blockbuster depends on the alchemy of matching actor and part. It also came to light this week that Ledger had been far from the first choice for Brokeback Mountain: in an interview with IndieWire, the director Gus Van Sant revealed that Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Ryan Phillippe had all passed on the project.

For critics, titbits like this inevitably prompt daydreams of the films that might have been, now screening in a parallel universe near you.
Karlie Kloss is engaged to her long-time beau, Joshua Kushner.

The 25-year-old model, who visited Australia last year as the face of David Jones' A/W campaign, announced the news on her Instagram account on Tuesday.

I love you more than I have words to express, she wrote. Josh, youre my best friend and my soulmate. I cant wait for forever together. Yes a million times over.

Kushner is the younger brother of Jared Kushner, who is married to Ivanka Trump and a senior adviser to her father, US President Donald Trump.
Kyle Sandilands is one of the male comics who has been given the green light. Credit:AAP

So Channel 10 ran a tone deaf (and dumb and blind) ad about its new project: a week of comedy show pilots.

Conceptually I like the idea of running comedy pilots and seeing what sticks. However, from the look of the ad, Channel 10 had already decided what will work and it is blokes. White blokes, in particular. They then added insult to injury by including in the visual the merest hint of a female viewer holding the remote, presumably just about to bask in the glory of all that white male wit.

They got called out for it, predictably enough (Dear advertising and programming depts at Channel 10  do you read the newspapers? Watch TV? Follow social media?) by Jane Kennedy, herself a comic luminary. Her character, Brooke Vandenberg, ace reporter on Frontline, is one of the great satirical creations.

Kennedys criticism of the wall of blokes was quickly supported by other women including Magda Szubanski, arguably Australias most popular comic actor.
Everyone is susceptible to a good story. And share fund managers  those that buy and sell shares in the hope of beating the returns of the markets in which they invest  have been good at that.

There will have stories about how they bought shares in an unloved company and rode the turnaround to treble the value of their holdings in the company.

But in a portfolio of dozens of stocks there are always going to be winners. Overall, it is no longer such a good story for active management.

The latest report from Mercers shows that over the five years to June 30 this year the median average annual compound return for actively managed Australian share funds was 11.5 per cent.
For example, SuperRatings figures show over the 10 years to June 30 this year the median or typical return of the largest-50 balanced investment options, where most people their money, was 6.4 per cent. Bottom dwellers Yet, the worst-performing fund, not publicly identified by SuperRatings, produced a return of 3.7 per cent. Starting with $100,000 and using the calculator at ASIC's MoneySmart, the worst-performer would leave the fund member with $144,691 after 10 years. Having your $100,000 earning even the typical return of 6.4 per cent would see the money grow to $189,326, or more than 30 per cent more.

UniSuper Accumulation (1) Balanced ranks first over 10 years with an annual average compound return of 7.6 per cent. Having the $100,000 with UniSuper would see the account balance grow to $213,316, or $68,625 more than it the money was with the bottom dweller during the 10 years. It is worth noting a continuation of a long-established pattern; the better performance, on the whole, of not-for-profit funds over their "retail" rivals, the fund runs by the banks and insurers. All of the top-20 performing balanced options over 10 years are not-for-profit funds  either industry funds, public sector funds or corporate funds.

How to check Fund members used to be able to check the websites of superannuation researchers where they used to be able to see at least see the top-performing investment options for free. But the researchers have now locked away their data behind paywalls or only allow password access to the data for financial services industry professionals like financial planners. That leaves fund members with the next-best option of comparing their investment options' return with typical returns. Figures from SuperRatings show that to June 30, this year, the median return of the biggest-50 balanced investment options was 9.2 per cent over one year, 7.3 per cent over three years, 8.9 per cent over five years, 8.5 per cent over seven years and 6.4 per cent over 10 years.

If your investment option is not at least around the middle of the pack over a period of at least seven years you should be asking some questions of the fund. Super funds will start sending their annual statements to those who have elected to keep receiving paper next month. And many funds already have their June 30 numbers on their websites. Loading The two biggest reasons for differences in performance are asset allocation, how much is invested in shares, fixed interest, property and so on, and the fees, says Chris Brycki, the chief executive of Stockspot, an online investment adviser. His research finds members paying higher fees typically get lower returns.

"The returns are not guaranteed but you can be sure that the fees will come every year", he says. Bates says you will likely be better-off going for a fund that has scale and is growing and has good cash flows into the fund. "They are more likely to be able to reduce fees and are more likely to continue to be around", he says. More than good returns Investment experts say while investment performance is very important, there's more to a good fund that just returns.

Most super funds have automatic acceptance for life insurance up to certain amounts of cover. But some funds require a medical examination, or that a questionnaire be filled out, before accepting the member for total and permanent disability insurance. Some funds may have automatic acceptance but the level of cover may be lower than your current fund. Bates says there can be little point in switching your super to a better fund without also doing some other things that will help to increase the size of your retirement nest egg. That includes consolidating super accounts into one to save on fees and on multiple premiums for insurances like death and total and permanent disability cover.

Ensuring your super entitlements are paid While picking the right fund is important, so is making sure the superannuation to which you are entitled is paid into your fund in the first place. Analysis by Industry Super Australia, the umbrella group for industry super funds, estimates almost 3 million workers were short-changed their compulsory superannuation, by an average of almost $2000 each in 2015-16. More funds are introducing "push notifications" that alerts their members' mobile phones or by email when a payment is not received. For example, retail fund Future Super has a Pay Watch feature where members note when they should receive super contributions from their employer.
A Canberra vet has been fined and ordered to behave after she was caught treating animals while suspended.

However, Janet (Jan) Spate, 73, has avoided conviction for two firearms charges.

Suspended veterinarian Jan Spate, who has pleaded guilty to a series of vet practice offences. Credit:Rohan Thomson

Spate pleaded guilty in the ACT Magistrates Court to charges of pretending to be a registered vet, providing regulated vet services, possessing prescription only medication, and failing to store registered firearms and ammunition correctly.

In 2016, Spate was suspended from practicing as a veterinarian for two years.
Paramedic Bryan Woodford says people have got it wrong about Charnwood. He moved there from Victoria five years ago, initially attracted by the lower rents. He and wife Amy then decided to buy in Charnwood, moving into their house two months ago with sons Ethan, six, and Hayden, four. "I deal with the whole community, all across the ACT. I go to instances of violent crime and drug use, all the rest of it, and Charnwood definitely gets a bad rap. These issues happen everywhere,'' Mr Woodford said. Bryan Woodford, pictured with his wife Amy and their sons Ethan, six, and Hayden, four, is a paramedic and has lived in Charnwood for five years. Credit:Jamila Toderas House prices are much lower in Charnwood than those suburbs overflowing with public servants. The median non-unit property price in Charnwood is $430,000 so far this year, compared with $1.145 million in Campbell. Mr Woodford and his family might have been attracted by the cheaper housing in Charnwood initially but they stayed because of the community spirit.

"We've only been here two months [in the new house] and when we rocked up, people were giving us presents and welcome-to-the-street cards appeared in our letterbox. I think everyone in our street made themselves known to us,'' he said. Mr Woodford has been a paramedic for five years. "I think I was always attracted to the adrenalin of the job but also because it was a job where you could give someone a helping hand,'' he said. Loading Liberal Member for Ginninderra Elizabeth Kikkert was not surprised by the Census data showing a high number of carers in Charnwood.

"I am very proud of Charnwood residents and their contribution to Canberra,'' she said. "I lived in Charnwood for 10 years and during that time I witnessed their caring nature extending to their profession, but also to their neighbours. "Every week, my neighbour would take out my bin and two other households bins to the front for their weekly collection. We lived there for 10 years and I could count on one hand the amount of time I took my bins out. The rest of the time, my caring neighbour beat me to it.'' Elizabeth Hickey is a support co-ordinator who specialises in NDIS cases. She has lived in Charnwood with her husband Les for 11 years. They actually live in Mr Hickey's family home, meaning he has lived all of his life in Charnwood, save for six years when the family lived in Queanbeyan. They have two sons - Freddy, 12, and Anthony, 10 - and feel a part of the Charnwood community, especially through their involvement with the local Scouts. Elizabeth Hickey with her husband Les and their sons Freddy, 12, and Anthony, 10. Credit:Jamila Toderas

"It's a nice place to live,'' she said. "The kids can play in the park, they can walk to school without crossing roads. And we're able to own our home.'' Mrs Hickey laughs when she says the family does like to say they live in "Charnwood Heights''. "We just tell people it's a nice people to live. We're involved with Scouts and the church. And it is a close-knit community here,'' she said. Mrs Hickey has recently started her own business meaning she can work part-time. She said the cheaper costs of housing in Charnwood enabled her to stay at home when the boys were younger and to study for a degree in community services via distance education. We just tell people it's a nice place to live. Elizabeth Hickey

"That was because we lived in Charnwood and we could afford to keep the house over our head while I was studying,'' she said. Mrs Hickey said it was a simple fact that a lot of caring professions were not paid well. "In all reality, I'm still in the sector because I work for myself. Otherwise, I would have to be working full-time,'' she said. "We're just about to send our eldest to high school and he'll be going to the Catholic high school so our costs are going up. And to meet those costs I would have to be working full-time if I was still employed in the caring profession. But, in all honestly, I probably would be anyway because I like to help people solve problems.'' The charity Canberra City Care is based in Charnwood, helping people in financial hardship. Its operations manager Danielle Bate said she too was not surprised there were a lot of workers in the caring professions in Charnwood.
A serial criminal has been found guilty of breaking a guard's neck in a prison attack.

An ACT Supreme Court jury took about one day to find the 27 year old, who cannot be named, guilty of a threat to kill, unlawfully causing grievous bodily harm, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Guilty: The 27-year-old man who cannot be identified.

The jury, however, found the man not guilty of intentionally strangling another prisoner.

It can now be revealed that the man is a serial criminal who killed university student Clea Rose while driving a stolen car as a teenager in 2005.
Australian politics has become telemarketing. Credit:Mike Baker

Imagine if robo-calls were reversed. A parliamentarian, or even, lets say, a former Labor leader, sits down to dinner when suddenly the phone rings.

Hello, its the seat of Longman. We want to talk to you about jobs and, um, growth. Or, Hi! Its us, Braddon. You know, from Tassie. Have you ever considered, ahem, putting people first? All a bit inconvenient really. Possibly even intrusive?

This is what Australian politics has come to. Telemarketing, minus a pulse. Politicians have determined that talking at us instead of with us is preferable.

What happened to Malcolm Turnbulls commitment to respect the intelligence of the Australian people? When did Bill Shortens fight to win the battle of ideas run out of, you know, ideas?

Robo-calls have become a staple at nearly every recent Australian federal or state election. Labors eleventh-hour Mediscare texts set a controversial precedent at the 2016 election. At the same poll, the Greens promise of a different kind of politics entailed the reported use of robo-campaigning in the seats of Melbourne and Higgins.
French opposition calls for no-confidence vote on govt Amid Macron aide Benalla scandal

(ANSAmed) - PARIS, JULY 24 - MPs from the Republican party will be presenting a motion for a no-confidence vote against the French government after a scandal broke involving Alexandre Benalla, the bodyguard and aide of President Emmanuel Macron.



Benalla has been placed under investigation for having hit protestors during a May 1 demonstration. The announcement was made by the party whip of the Republican opposition in the National Assembly, Christian Jacob, who said that the government had ''failed''. This is the first time that such a motion will have been presented since the beginning of Macron's mandate and that of the government. There is almost no chance that the motion will be passed by Parliament.



However, a number of alliances that would have been unthinkable until a few days ago have been formed, with La France Insoumise, a left-wing populist and democratic socialist political party launched by Jean-Luc Melenchon, and the neo-Gaullist far-right.



''We will vote for it. We were the first to propose it, remember this,'' said France Insoumise MP Alexis Corbiere.



(ANSAmed).




Artist Brett Stone's grip on a stable space to make ceramics has sometimes felt as fragile as the mugs and bowls he crafts from lumps of clay in a cavernous warehouse in south-east Sydney.

Rising rents and the city's wave of development have meant the pottery studio he part owns has operated from three different premises and racked up about $100,000 in moving costs in five years.

"It's a beautiful space," artist Brett Stone said of Claypool's more permanent work premises. Credit:James Alcock

"It's kind of a perfect storm," Mr Stone said.

He is among cultural producers squeezed from inner Sydney to the city's fringe and beyond as creative spaces shrink, property values climb and industrial buildings are swallowed by apartments.
Cabinet twice voted down a compensation package for residents trapped on toxic and unsaleable properties surrounding the country's military bases, a Labor MP has alleged to a parliamentary inquiry.

It followed an emotional day of evidence as residents living near the Williamtown RAAF base, near Newcastle, accused the Turnbull government of playing "Russian roulette" with their lives by forcing them to stay on land contaminated with toxic per- and poly-fluoroalkyl chemicals [PFAS].

Defence officials Chris Birrer and Steve Grzeskowiak are grilled at a parliamentary inquiry into PFAS contamination in Williamtown, north of Newcastle. Credit:Max Mason-Hubers

Several were in tears as they spoke about the "hell" they had endured; including banks refusing to lend within their postcode, paying off mortgages on worthless properties and valuers refusing to attend their homes on safety grounds.

It came as Defence conceded responsibility for putting the chemicals "into the ground" but insisted it was told by the manufacturer they were "safe to use" and "biodegradable" and deflected questions about financial liability.
Police have found human remains in bushland during a search for missing Sydney father and businessman Minh Phouc (Paul) Nguyen.

Mr Nguyen was last seen driving out of the Hilton hotel in Sydney's CBD on May 1, 2014, and Strike Force Awols was established to investigate his alleged murder and to find his body.

Despite the fact two men were charged with murder over Mr Nguyen's disappearance in 2015, previous searches - some as recently as earlier this month - had not located his body.

Police said new information had come to light which led to Tuesday's search of bushland in the Illawarra led by Strike Force Awols detectives.
Centre re-opens

The Bush Nursing Associations centre at Enngonia, which is situated 70 miles from Bourke, was obliged to close last December owing to a lack of funds. Now, through the efforts of Lady Game, sufficient money has been raised and the centre has now re-opened. Miss Marjorie Deeble of the Adelaide General Hospital and the McBride Hospital, Menindee, has been appointed nurse in charge of the centre and a new committee has been elected.

False representation

It has been brought to the notice of the Defence Department that many civil pilots and members of unofficial aviation bodies such as model aeroplane clubs have adopted the practice of giving themselves the titles of ranks approved for use in the Royal Australian Air Force. It was pointed out today by the Minister for Defence, Mr Chifley, that these persons are apparently unaware that by so doing, they make themselves liable to a penalty of 10.

Cheap trip
The NSW Criminal Court of Appeal has just given Chinese billionaire Richard Liu a lesson in the principle that justice must be transparent and equal for all.

The online shopping mogul, known in China as Liu Qiangdong, convinced a judge to suppress temporarily his identity in the trial of Longwei Xu, who raped a woman shortly after meeting her at a party at Mr Liu's luxury apartment in The Rocks. Mr Liu even persuaded a judge to suppress the use of the words "billionaire" and "penthouse."

Richard Liu. Credit:Darrian Traynor

In this case the system eventually worked. The order suppressing Mr Liu's identity was overturned this week after the Herald challenged his application and blocked an appeal.

That battle is won but the war is far from over. Judges are are still too free in granting suppression orders preventing media organisations giving an accurate account of proceedings in open court.
Police are attempting to locate Liverpool man Marko Krivosic following the fatal shooting of George Nassiff in a targeted attack in Sydney's west on Sunday night.

Just after 5pm, Mr Nassiff, 46, opened the door to an apartment in Warwick Farm to two unknown men, who entered and shot him.

George Nassiff, who was fatally shot at a Warwick Farm apartment on Sunday night Credit:Facebook

He was taken by ambulance to Liverpool Hospital, where he died.

The gunman and his accomplice remain at large, but were captured on the apartment building's CCTV.
It was perhaps difficult, three years ago, to hold a regular job in Sydney without having your head turned by money being made in property.

So it was with Earlwood high school teacher Laki Konistis, who on Tuesday told a corruption hearing of his travails in trying to obtain a slice of the deals occurring in his area.

I was a full-time school teacher but sort of had an interest in property, Mr Konistis told the Independent Commission Against Corruption of his activities in 2015.

Laki Konistis after giving evidence at ICAC on Tuesday. Credit:Louise Kennerley

A lot of development was going on.
Supermarket giant Aldi has submitted plans to convert one of its existing stores in a north-west Brisbane suburb into a liquor barn, despite insisting it has no desire to open such a business.

Aldi submitted its plans to Brisbane City Council on Friday, proposing the conversion of its Ashgrove store in Harry Street into a liquor barn, along with the construction of a restaurant and bar on the site.

A design image of the Aldi proposed bar and restaurant as well as a liquor barn at Ashgrove. Credit:Aldi

The application said the existing store would be retained in its existing form and converted into a 1264 square-metre liquor barn as well as the conversion of a 113-square-metre extension to the existing 340-square-metre tenancy on level two to build a hotel with bar, dining and function facilities.

It would complement the existing retail and commercial activities in the precinct and provide the dining, socialising and take-away liquor opportunities afforded by an hotel, the assessment report submitted as part of the application said.
The Project hosts Waleed Aly, Carrie Bickmore and Pete Helliar. Credit:Network Ten

It doesnt matter if you have a hundred dead Indians. You need to focus on that one missing Australian.

It was 1998 and in a stuffy RMIT lecture room I was getting the 101 on how to be a journalist.

I had trained like an athlete to earn a seat in that hall. For a year I collected The Age, re-reading 365 newspapers before my journalism entrance exam to get across the crisis in the Middle East, Pol Pots trial and Senator Mal Colstons rort scandal.

For me there was no plan B. It was journalism or bust. But even as a know-nothing 17-year-old, I knew that a first-generation Indian immigrant didnt belong in an Australian newsroom.
CASERTA - NATO Naples Commander and US Admiral James Foggo said Tuesday that sailors must always save people in difficulty at sea.



"When a sailor meets a boat in difficulty he must always intervene with the aim of saving human lives," Foggo said.



"It is a rule of the sea," he said.



Foggo added: "the navy operates in complete autonomy and can also decide the mode of intervention".



Italy has had a "positive" approach on migrants, NATO Naples Command Chief of Staff General Luciano Portolano said Tuesday.



"The Italian government has approached the phenomenon of immigration in a comprehensive way and that will permit intervention to resolve the various aspects of the problem," he said. "The government is making incredible efforts to involve all the subjects taking part in various roles," he said.



"Coordinated action by NATO in the Mediterranean would be possible but all decisions are up to politics".



The NATO Strategic Direction South Hub hosted its first study day focusing on the challenges and opportunities of population growth and demographic change in Africa on July 24 in Naples.



The Hub has more than 70 members from 20 NATO nations and focuses on connecting a variety of organizations including the European Union, the African Union and other organizations ''to help optimize resources and maximize effectiveness in the region''.



Admiral James Foggo, commander of Allied Joint Force Command Naples noted that migration is an international problem and that there is a need to understand and analyze the causes of the phenomena and then act.



He stressed in the press conference in Castel Volturno that this Hub aims to serve this end. He added that since people no longer want to stay in the countries where they were born, then the economic and social conditions of the countries should be improved and stability created for the young by supporting governments that are ethical and respect the law, thus creating states under the rule of law.



Foggo stressed that people would not emigrate if that had those conditions, but that if NATO countries failed to help stabilize the Global South, then Russia and China would take on the role and ''their objectives are different from ours''. He added that it is important to involve institutions, international organizations and NGOs working in Africa and the Middle East, where the Hub operates. General Roberto Angius, director of the Hub, pointed out that immigration has always existed and that in the first year of the Hub, an attempt had been made to understand problems and that they had learned - among other things - that Libya is only an arrival point for journeys that begin long before.
A mother has been banned from her daughter's school after assaulting a 13-year-old girl she believed was a bullying her teenager.

Mother-of-four Sally Burnside had assured the principal she wouldnt attack the teenager but was filmed assaulting her on school grounds soon after.

Mother-of-four Sally Burnside admitted to assaulting a teenager on school grounds. Credit:Border Mail

The 35-year-old from Glenroy had gone to the Murray High School in Lavington, just north of the Victoria-NSW border, to talk about the apparent bullying her daughter had been subjected to, but ended up attacking the teenager.

Its OK, Im not going to touch her, Burnside said to the principal, only moments before walking over to the teenager.
Motorists could be taxed for every kilometre they drive under a radical Melbourne City Council proposal to replace car registration fees with a new congestion charge.

Drivers would not have to pay for car registration under the congestion-busting policy.

Instead, they would pay for the kilometres they travel, and pay a premium for travelling in busy areas during peak hour.

Radical moves are being proposed to arrest Melbourne's growing congestion. Credit:Paul Rovere

The council's proposal follows growing calls for a road user charge by the head of the Productivity Commission, Infrastructure Australia, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission head Rod Sims, the RACV and think tank the Grattan Institute.
One man dead, two others injured in separate house fires. Credit:Paul Jeffers

A man has been found dead after a fire destroyed a bungalow at the back of a house in the city's south-east.

Fire crews were called to the house in Barclay Drive in Cheltenham about 5pm on Tuesday, following reports of an out-of-control fire.

They arrived within five minutes of the emergency call to find the bungalow at the back of the house engulfed in flames.

Firefighters in breathing apparatus then aggressively attacked the blaze and used hose lines to bring the fire under control and stop it spreading to nearby properties, an MFB spokesman said.
The Bureau of Meteorology is warns a storm front will hit the southern corner of WA with people from Yanchep to Albany urged to make sure their homes and properties are ready.

The Bureau issued a severe weather warning on Tuesday afternoon saying Wednesday's cold front and deep low could bring "unusual weather that could cause damage to homes and make travel dangerous."

The severe weather warning was issued for parts of the Great Southern, South West, Perth Metropolitan, Lower South West, and the Bureau said people in Albany, Bunbury, Busselton, Mandurah, Manjimup, Margaret River, Mount Barker, Perth, Harvey, Lancelin, Walpole and Yanchep need to get ready.

The Bureau said the worst weather is expected southwest of a line from Mandurah to Walpole, and may produce damaging winds up to 100 kilometres per hour.
Police are investigating the death of a man in Northam overnight after he was found at a property with serious injuries.

Homicide squad detectives are heading to the town to help investigate.



Police will investigate the incident today. Credit:Eliza Wynn.

Police were initially called to a home in Queen Street about 2am.

Upon arrival officers found the man with serious injuries inside the house.
He said most costs were fixed  the biggest was labour. A hospitality business needed people front of house taking orders and at least two in the back; a chef and dishwasher. Younger staff are cheaper but didn't have the etiquette or ability to handle certain situations and then the service would fall short of customer expectations, so it was a mistake to try to cut costs there. There was no wiggle room on electricity or gas and very little in insurance, marketing and equipment. Ingredient costs were high in Perth and simplifying a menu could only save so much. Raising prices was the only way to make money. And hours were long, with owners shackled to the day-to-day running of the business, ordering and ensuring food safety standards were met.

A lot of young people and first-timers think its easy and its a good living and then they get in and realise how hard it is and they get burnt out, he said. Sweet but sad sign at Oxford Street Books. You go through all this work to manage this enterprise and after paying everyone else there is very little left. He said the only people making real money in the restaurant business were franchise owners. Franchisees invested hundreds of thousands of dollars to open a franchise somewhere, and wore all the risk in exchange for the goodwill associated with that brand. The businesses make their cash through selling the franchisees the ingredients and a cut of the profits. Youre essentially buying yourself a job, the insider said.

He said rent was a major issue. Landlords had lost track of the relationship between the landlord and the tenant and the need for the business to be healthy. The massive upswing of the boom meant many people might have been caught out and set a 10-year lease on a particular rent. Then as things have fallen off they may have seen a decline and some have failed immediately after things collapsed," he said. "There are limited opportunities to negotiate your rate. And in the past four years customers have tightened their purse strings.

A lot of landlords have kind of ignored the economic situation and kept rates going up sometimes beyond CPI. Everything is stacked against the entrepreneur. Leederville's strip. The industry source said landlords held all the power and protections. A business owner might need $60,000-$90,000 in a fund as a bank guarantee, which they could lose if their business went under. One-sided contracts that lumped all risk to the business operator meant many had lost homes when their businesses went under. Some supermarket landlords even had predatory practices such as demanding access to profit and loss statements.

Landlords think operators are making a lot but they dont understand the hours going into it. They think the resource economy is picking up so why should I reduce my rent?" he said. He said the loss of small business diversity, particularly in places such as Leederville, meant lost vibrancy. Its one of Perths best-known eating spots and theres little barrier for a new entry, he said. Small business operators in that area compete for the same foot traffic and the area is constrained by the amount of parking available. If you own property there you know theres always someone who will walk in, pay too much, set up a business, run for two years then fail. Damian Stone is "Principal and Chief Problem Solver" at Y Research, which looks at trends underpinning WA's property market.

Rents: the bigger picture Mr Stone said market rents for most commercial properties in Perth had fallen dramatically since the peak of the boom, driven by higher vacancies and strong competition for tenants. CBD office rents that were nearly $1000/sqm during the peak could can now be leased for around $400/sqm, equal to 2005 levels. Some CBD retail rents had fallen by nearly 50 per cent over the past 5 years,

Any businesses paying boom-time rents were likely to be fulfilling leases signed five to 10 years ago. "Property owners are aware of the challenging market conditions, with many believing the last few years have been the toughest they have experienced," he said. "As a result, a significant number of owners have worked with tenants to renegotiate rents." He agreed that consumer spending had dropped, and yet many businesses had fixed long-term costs. "With most businesses closing rather than choosing to relocate, it would suggest that the underlying business while profitable in the boom, may be unviable in the increasingly competitive retail market of expanded shopping centres and greater online choice," he said. "As a result it would suggest that we are likely to see more closures of local retailers despite the economy improving and potential lower rents."

Strip retail is changing in Perth The Beaufort Street strip. Mr Stone was unsuprised by stores closing in retail strips. He said while rents might have been a contributing factor, it was also symptomatic of changes in Perths retail strips. Strips typically started by offering independent retailers, primarily food and fashion, not found in major shopping centres. As these strips matured, independent retailers were priced out and replaced by more national chains. This had happened along Beaufort Street, Mount Lawley, Bayview Terrace, Claremont, and Rokeby Road, Subiaco.

It was now underway in Leederville. Rents were governed by supply and demand. There were limited vacancies in Leederville and there had been limited retail development over the past 15-20 years. National operators were able to pay higher rents, which were still significantly cheaper than shopping centre rents. And the type of stores that were closing were indicative of another shift. "Strip retail in Perth is becoming the domain of food and beverage tenants ranging from take away food outlets, cafes to small bars," he said. "In a competitive retail market, food and beverage spending has held up.

"Retail strip property ownership is typically owned by small private investors, not major property companies. It is in the interest of each small owner to maximise the return of their asset. Ku De Ta: the tip of the iceberg We have seen a number of hospitality closures over the last 12-24 months across the CBD and inner city suburbs," Mr Stone said. "We are likely to see more for a number of reasons, aside from market rents. "There is significantly more choice across Perth in 2018 than previous years. More than 40 per cent of retailers in the CBD are food and beverage tenants.
The public - not prison guards - should be the ones to decide whether Canberra's jail should have a needle exchange program, according to a former ACT health minister.

Former ACT health minister and outgoing president of the World Federation of Public Health Associations Michael Moore has renewed calls for a needle and syringe program in the Alexander Maconochie Centre, seven years after the ACT branch recommended one be set up.

In an address on World Hepatitis Day, Mr Moore said while there had been breakthroughs in antiviral medicines, prevention was better - and cheaper in this case - than a cure.

Mr Moore said ACT prisoners were being denied justice by being prevented from accessing the same standard of healthcare they would get if they were out in the community.

He said that denial had come "more than anybody" from the ACT's prison officers, who in 2016 voted overwhelmingly against the establishment of a needle and syringe exchange program and injecting room at the jail.
That vote will naturally jump this time with the Coalition not running a candidate. But after a worse-than-expected performance at the Batman byelection in March, Di Natale will be hoping for a strong showing this time around. Perth is not exactly Greens heartland, and the party would not be expected to win either seat, but if they fail to generate any momentum it might increase pressure on Di Natale. Lesson 1: Look to Perth and Fremantle to check the Greens' progress heading into the next federal poll. While were on minor parties The big political trend of the past 30 years has been the drift of first-preference votes away from both major parties.

However, because of the preferential voting system, they have still largely maintained their stranglehold on the House of Representatives. In 2013, Mayo was one seat that took the leap to a minor party, Nick Xenophon Team. It has not been a smooth road, with Xenophons departure for state politics backfiring, and forcing the party to rebadge. Sharkie, however, seems to have retained a high level of support. The Mayo byelection, then, shapes up as a referendum on the merits of minor party representation. If the Liberals cant wrest it back into the fold, both major parties will be concerned that other previously safe electorates might start seriously considering alternatives. Lesson 2: Mayo could indicate what threat minor parties pose at the next federal poll.

Turnbull vs Shorten That leaves just two seats, Braddon and Longman, to be fought out between the Coalition and Labor. A frequently used line of this campaign is that no government has won a seat from the opposition at a byelection since 1920. While true, this masks the reality that relatively few seats change hands at byelections at all. There have been 152 byelections since Federation, and only 35 (23 per cent) of those seats changed hands. Theres a reason for that. Most byelections happen in safe seats.

As Stephen Barber noted in a Parliamentary Library research paper in 2014, Political parties and individual members are only too aware of the possible political consequences of losing a seat at a byelection, and thus try to ensure that byelections caused by resignation occur only in relatively safe seats. This has meant that of the 63 byelections caused by resignations since 1949, only 12 (19 per cent) have been in a seat on a margin of less than 6 per cent. The difference here is that Labor had no choice in resigning the seats after their 2016 candidates were deemed ineligible for citizenship reasons. Braddon is on a tight margin of 2.2 per cent, and Longman a wafer-thin 0.8 per cent. Meanwhile, oppositions have lost two seats at byelections this century, just not to the government. Labor lost Cunningham to the Greens in 2002, and the Coalition lost Lyne to independent Rob Oakeshott in 2008.

There is no likely minor party winner in either of these seats, but there definitely has been swings away from oppositions before. Lesson 3: Dont believe its all upside for the government. The pendulum effect All five seats swung away from the government in 2016 on a two-party basis. The size of the swing is highly relevant, especially when considered against the sitting MP's current margin.

If even half the voters who switched sides in Braddon in 2016 decide to go back to the government, Labor will lose the seat. In Longman, if just one in nine of those swinging voters change their mind the seat falls. Longman also recorded an unusually high percentage of informal votes at the last election - 8.5 per cent - so if any party can woo those votes back into the mix they will do well. Then theres the One Nation factor. Labor only won Longman in 2016 off the back of One Nation preferences.

Pauline Hanson (and her mouthpiece Mark Latham) have been vocal in their criticism of Labor this time around. But One Nation voters are fairly headstrong, and will likely make up their own minds as to whom to place second. Lesson 4: Both sides will keenly watch the flow of preferences from One Nation to strategise how to engage with the minor party from here. How representative are the five seats? If you're going to try to extract meaning from the byelection results, it helps to know how representative these seats are of the rest of the country.

The five electorates are very different. The two WA seats are relatively wealthy, well-educated and multicultural. The others are not. In fact, Braddon is one of the poorest, least educated and least multicultural electorates in the country. So when looking at byelection results from Braddon and Longman its best not to assume this is a gauge of how the leaders are doing with the overall country, rather with a particular segment of Australia. That said, Labors number one attack on the government has been that they govern for big business and the wealthy at the expense of "working" Australians. If those messages fail to resonate in Braddon and Longman of all places, then Labors strategy - and by that rationale Shorten - is in serious trouble.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian and her deputy, Nationals leader John Barilaro, will meet on Wednesday to decide which Coalition party is best placed to contest Wagga Wagga in a byelection.

The NSW Liberals were polling voters in Wagga Wagga last night, following a round of National Party polling in the seat on Monday night.

Gladys Berejiklian had said the Liberals would be the only Coalition party to run in Wagga Wagga. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

Liberal Party sources have confirmed the two will take their polling results to the meeting to nut out an agreement over who should run in the regional NSW seat.

This is despite Ms Berejiklian's comments on Monday, in which she said the Liberals would be the only Coalition party to run in Wagga Wagga.
Migrants: Trenta in Libya says human trafficking must end Defense minister sees counterpart, meets Premier Serraj

(ANSAmed) - ROME, JULY 24 - Defense Minister Elisabetta Trenta on Tuesday told her Libyan counterpart Najim Owida shortly after her arrival in Tripoli that it is necessary to ''stop human trafficking and irregular immigration''. The minister stressed that Italy will ''continue to be beside Libya'' and is ready to intensify efforts ''according to need and the necessities of the Libyan people''.



''We share the same home with Libya, the Mediterranean - added the defense minister - and Italy wants to do more for the stability of the region and the country''. But the two countries also share the problem of immigration and for this, added the minister, ''Italy needs to intensify its efforts''.



''We are very happy to have you here - stressed Minister Owida - with Italy we have important historic relations on which we need to all invest for the stability of the Mediterranean''.



Minister Trenta travelled toTripoli aboard a C130 of the Italian air force with defense chief of staff, Gen. Claudio Graziano.



(ANSAmed).




Ipswich's longest-serving councillor, Paul Tully, on Tuesday afternoon defended his role in five council-owned business entities that have this afternoon been referred to Australia's corporate watchdog for the second time in 12 months.

Gary Duffy, an unsuccessful mayoral candidate in Ipswich, also on Tuesday sent three reports by consultants McGrath-Nichol into the five entities to Federal Attorney-General Christian Porter.

Ipswich councillor Paul Tully, right, with Ipswich mayor Wayne Wendt. Credit:Tony Moore

"I did it because I believe money is being wasted," Mr Duffy said.

Mr Porter immediately referred the allegations of breaches of the Corporations Act to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission.
The behaviour that we have seen at Parkville is completely unacceptable, a tough-talking Premier Daniel Andrews had declared in the aftermath. Those inmates will be going to adult prison and I make absolutely no apology. But Searancke, like many others who were transferred to Grevillea, had nothing to do with the riot. I was asleep when (it) happened, the now 18-year-old told The Age at his home in Frankston last week. I shouldnt have been sent there. Riot police, dog handlers called after another riot at the Melbourne Youth Justice Centre in Parkville in November, 2016. Credit:ABC

Searancke claims he was in Grevillea for five days - with multiple trips to the "hot box" - but spent no more than three hours outside a cell. His nan, Kathy, says he has not been the same since. Now, almost 18 months after the Supreme Court found the government acted unlawfully and against children's human rights by sending them to Barwon, Searancke and his family have decided to speak out in the hope the same mistakes arent repeated. Loading His is not an isolated case  The Age understands that a number of youths are considering suing the government on the grounds of alleged mistreatment. But with four months until the state election, its emblematic of a deeper and persistent problem. An Auditor-Generals inquiry due to be tabled shortly is expected to find that the reason some young people walk out of detention and reoffend is because of the way they are managed when they are incarcerated.

According to details obtained by The Age, many inmates dont even have a case plan, let alone a structure for rehabilitation, and they often dont get the mental health services or education they need. Parkville College  the school that was set up inside the justice centre in the hope of keeping kids on track  had been underfunded by millions of dollars by the education department, and the department of justice, which now runs the system, does not have enough staff to make sure students can be escorted to class. Boiled down, the Auditor-Generals inquiry is expected to align with the findings of a damning review recently conducted by the governments own hand-picked experts, Swinburne University professor James Ogloff and former corrections bureaucrat Penny Armytage. Both concluded that the system had deviated from standards of humane detention and was now doing more harm than good. Group taking part in a riot at the Parkville Youth Justice Centre on March 7, 2016. Pic is from a camera they stole during the riot.

The system as it has currently evolved is starker, harsher, and more restrictive than the Victorian adult corrections system, Ogloff and Armytage wrote in their 861-page report handed to Youth Affairs Minister Jenny Mikakos last year. Childrens Commissioner Liana Buchanan is equally concerned. As the public watchdog for vulnerable young people, its Buchanans job to investigate systemic problems in youth justice, as well as isolated incidents of alleged brutality. One case involved a boy from Parkville whose limbs were fractured after he was restrained by staff. Another review found inmates placed in isolation for up to 45 days, some forced to defecate on the floor due to the lack of sanitation. But if the welfare of young people is an issue, so too is the safety of those who work in the system. Fairfax Media can reveal that WorkSafe has paid $15.3 million worth of injury claims between January 2010 and July 2018, including 104 payments on the grounds of mental stress, and 163 resulting from being hit by a moving object. Guards have been bashed, hospitalised, threatened with rape. Public sector union boss Karen Batt says things are improving: shifts are now fully staffed, there a fewer poorly-trained agency workers, and having Special Emergency Response Group (SERG) roles undertaken by correctional officers was increasing confidence amongst staff at work.

Nonetheless, a challenge remains: how do you strike the right balance between appropriately managing an increasing complex and violent cohort of offenders, while ensuring that workers remain safe? Human Rights Law Centre director Ruth Barson says if the government was serious about young peoples welfare it would explicitly prohibit the use of solitary confinement and get rid of archaic laws, like the ones that allow children to be put behind the same razor wire as adults. But Batt argues the misplaced and misunderstood commentary about the youth justice offender being just a child, had been part of the problem, placing an enormous psychological strain on those managing their behaviour. Josh is not perfect by any means, but he didnt deserve that. Josh Searancke's nan, Kathy Some say the culture still is not tough enough.

Separation of violent offenders, proper rehabilitation, and young offenders understanding the consequences of their actions is urgently needed, says opposition spokeswoman Georgie Crozier. Neither Childrens Minister Jenny Mikakos nor her department would commented on Josh Searanckes allegations of brutality, how offenders are now being managed, or the nature of assaults in the youth justice system. Asked why Searancke was put in Barwon at all, a department spokeswoman said the transfer of young people to Grevillea was based on system capacity and an assessment of suitability while Parkville was being fortified after the 2016 riots. Since then, the government argues, its been improving the system: recruiting extra staff; providing better training; boosting security; expanding rehabilitation services. Planning is also underway for a $288 million fit for purpose youth justice centre in Melbournes west, set to open in 2021. We are fixing the mess the Liberals left us and rebuilding our youth justice system after four years of cuts, neglect and mismanagement, Mikakos says.
A Shire of Mundaring councillor vying for Labor party preselection has attempted to 'disappear' from the internet, deleting his company's business websites, his councillor Facebook page, an online resume and contact details from the council's website.

Labor preselection candidate for the marginal seat of Hasluck, James Martin, has deleted his online presence.

James Martin, who is reportedly the favourite to replace Lauren Palmer as the party's candidate in the marginal seat of Hasluck, is a director of Marketech Ltd, which develops stock market trading and analysis software.

He was elected as a Mundaring Shire councillor in 2015, but his mobile number was recently deleted from the council's website.

According to a CV circulating in Labor circles ahead of the preselection, Mr Martin has been a director of Marketech Ltd since it was formed in 2000.
Bogor: He has beaten corruption charges, spent time in jail for ordering the assassination of a Supreme Court judge, made a fortune that once ran to $US800 million ($1 billion) off the back of government concessions and grown up in the shadow of a nearly-all powerful father who ruled and shaped Indonesia for 31 years.

And now Hutomo Mandala Putra, much better known as Tommy Suharto, wants Indonesians to vote for him.

The youngest son of former Indonesian president Suharto, Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra. Credit:Reuters

The youngest son of Indonesia's longest-serving president, recently confirmed as a parliamentary candidate in Papua province for the April 2019 elections, has a new(ish) party machine, Berkarya, and has his sights set on winning 80 seats in the 575 member national parliament (they plan to stand a candidate in every seat).

Suharto told Fairfax Media on Monday that he had broken with Golkar, the party of his father and still a formidable machine in Indonesia's electoral politics, because "first of all, Golkar has moved away from its initial mission because they no longer put people's interest as priority".
Seoul, South Korea: A US research group says North Korea has started dismantling key facilities at its main satellite launch site in what appears to be a step toward fulfilling a commitment made by leader Kim Jong-un at his summit with President Donald Trump in June.

An official from South Korea's presidential office on Tuesday said Seoul has also been detecting dismantlement activities at North Korea's Sohae launch site but did not elaborate.

Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump met in Singapore in June. Credit:AP

The 38 North website says recent satellite images indicate the North began dismantling a rocket engine test stand and other facilities at the site in what appeared to be a confidence-building measure with the United States.

Other analysts say such steps wouldn't diminish North Korea's military capabilities or represent a genuine step toward denuclearisation.
Anima was called in by Macau's Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) on Friday as the bureau announced its patience had run out with Yat Yuen, the company that ran the Canidrome, saying it would be fined under animal welfare laws for abandoning the 533 greyhounds. Despite a warning two years ago that the greyhound track would close on July 21, the company had failed to re-home the dogs. Loading The fine startled Macau's elite circles  the Canidrome is controlled by prominent Macau politician Angela Leong on Kai, the fourth wife of Macau's most famous casino tycoon, Stanley Ho. When Ho retired last month, Leong took over as co-chairman of Macau's biggest and oldest casino company, SJM Holdings. Ho was granted the first exclusive casino licence in Macau in 1962, while the Canidrome opened the following year.

There is no longer any link between the Canidrome and the casinos, but some observers believe the animal welfare fine against Leong's private company may damage her ability to remain involved in the casino business. SJM Holdings declined to comment to Fairfax Media amid suggestions Leong's lawyers were preparing to fight to regain control of the dogs, in order to avoid the penalty. A dog in the Canidrome kennels. Credit:Animals Australia Under animal welfare law, an owner has seven days to reclaim an abandoned animal. This gives a deadline of Friday. But Anima is concerned at the fate of the dogs if they are returned to Yat Yuen.

Anima President Albano Martins has asked the government to instead fund his animal shelter to take care of the dogs at the Canidrome for the rest of the year so it can hire staff, cleaners and organise a proper process for adoption, including to overseas homes. Tang says Anima's dog shelter is already full, caring for 450 medium-sized dogs, so there is no space there. In the rush to try to get rid of dogs, the Canidrome put a form on its website and allowed sales to mainland Chinese without having gained permission to take dogs there, and Hong Kong pet shops where Anima alleges the dogs were later discovered in poor condition. Visitors look on as the greyhounds are exercised on the closed racetrack. Credit:AP At least one dog died, and several have since been brought to Anima's shelter. One greyhound returned by a mainland Chinese buyer was limping from an old racing injury. Tang says the vets who worked for the Canidrome weren't allowed to perform surgery on dogs, they had to recuperate by themselves.

Anima says it has already received 650 completed adoption forms from overseas families after spending two years spreading the message that the Macau greyhounds would need a home. But the next step will be proper vetting of these applications. "We need time," says Tang. Loading On August 1 the Macau government is due to decide who will take care of the greyhounds, and Martins hopes Leong's company doesn't recover them. "[Yat Yuen] had two years to prepare for this and they weren't capable, so how can they be capable in so few days?" he asks.

Animals Australia Chief Executive Glenys Oogjes says "the vast majority of the greyhounds were originally exported from Australia". But it is unlikely they will be returned to Australia because of strict quarantine laws. "It does appear that homes have been offered for most if not all the remaining Canidrome dogs from people in Europe and northern America [USA and Canada] where quarantine processes are less onerous than bringing them back to Australia," Oogjes said. Greyhounds Australasia Chief Executive Scott Parker said the industry group has offered to assist with dogs that are assessed as suitable for re-homing, and was working with an Australian vet who had recently been to the Canidrome. "We remain very keen to see all dogs capable of being re-homed, adopted out to locals, overseas or back in Australia," he said.
London: British Novichok nerve agent survivor Charles Rowley says he feels lucky to be alive but doubts he will ever get over what happened.

Rowley, 45, was discharged from hospital in Salisbury on Friday after being exposed to the deadly substance that claimed the life of his partner, Dawn Sturgess, on July 8.

Dawn Sturgess, who died after being exposed to nerve agent novichok. Credit:AP

The pair were struck down after handling a contaminated cosmetic bottle that Rowley had given his partner as a gift, with both admitted to hospital in a critical condition on June 30.

"I'm feeling very low about Dawn. I remember finding a cosmetic bottle which I had picked up and gave it to Dawn as a present," Rowley told The Sun newspaper.
Rafina: The 26 bodies were found huddled together, in a last embrace. The group, many of them children, had been driven to the sea in an attempt to escape the Greek wildfire, only to be engulfed metres from the shore.

"We assume they became trapped by the fire because it was so strong and so fast," Haris Malimagolou, from the Hellenic Red Cross, said in the resort of Mati. "Some were huddled together as if trying to protect each other. They were badly burned and have not been identified."

A Greek national flag flutters over the charred remains of a burned-out car and house in Mati. Credit:AP

The official toll from the "biblical disaster" stood at 74 on Tuesday night, but was expected to rise. Survivors described their efforts to escape, amid mounting anger at the lack of resources to tackle the blaze and to warn locals and holidaymakers.

Paulina Corvisier, 25, from Lyon, on holiday in a villa in central Mati, fought back tears as she displayed cuts and bruises sustained while scrambling over rocks to escape.
Athens: Gale-fanned wildfires raged through tourist towns near the Greek capital Athens, killing about 50 people by early Tuesday and injuring more than 150, in the country's deadliest fire season in more than a decade.

The death toll doubled at day break after 26 bodies were found near the harbour town of Rafina, according to Red Cross workers and the region's vice-mayor Girgos Kokkolis.

Earlier, state-run radio station ERT reported that 24 people had been killed, citing emergency services and local hospitals.

Fire department spokeswoman Stavroula Malliri said 49 people were confirmed adding that 156 adults and 16 children have been hospitalised with injuries. Eleven of the adults were in serious condition.
The company, based in New York's Trump Tower, had been dropped by retailers such as Nordstrom due to flagging sales.

The US President's daughter and White House senior advisor said her "focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington" and called the company's closure "the only fair outcome for my team and partners".

Its dresses, shoes and handbags - all of which were made in foreign countries such as China and Indonesia - also conflicted with her and her father's push of more jobs in the US.

The closure comes as a surprise even within the company, where officials had been discussing implementing long-delayed oversight of its foreign factory partners as recently as last week.

Ivanka Trump will close her fashion label to focus on her political work in Washington. Credit:AP

Company chief Abigail Klem said last year she had been planning her first trip to tour some of the facilities that make Ivanka Trump products, and said the company would boost oversight of the treatment of its largely female workforce. The company never shared details of those initiatives.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 24)  President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to walk out before his scheduled State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, the same day the House of Representatives witnessed an abrupt change in leadership.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III revealed to media Tuesday that the country's chief executive was not thrilled with the leadership row that saw former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo replacing Pantaleon Alvarez as the new House Speaker.

READ: Pampanga Rep. Arroyo unseats House Speaker Alvarez

"He gave a threat to that effect," Sotto said about Duterte's plan to skip the speech. He then quoted the President as saying, "Magwa-walk out nalang ako pag hindi nila inayos yan."

[Translation: I will just walk out (of SONA) if they do not fix that mess.]

But Sotto and other lawmakers were quick to remind the President that he cannot walk out of the SONA due to the constitutional mandate.

"Sabi ko naman sa kaniya, kapag nag-walk out kayo, wala nang SONA. Pero this is a constitutional mandate."

[Translation: I told him that if he walked out, there will be no more SONA. However, this is a constitutional mandate.]

The Senate President also joked that had Duterte walked out, the Senate contingent would have followed.

Meanwhile, some members of the Senate raised their sentiments regarding the sudden shake-up in the House leadership.

Senator Ping Lacson gave a stern warning that Arroyo's speakership may be a 'prelude' to her becoming a prime minister, should there be a change in constitution. Lacson was an opposition senator during the Arroyo administration.

Senator Grace Poe, daughter of then actor Fernando Poe Jr. who ran against Arroyo in the 2004 presidential elections, revealed that her late father sent a signal to her following the news.

"Hindi ko nga maintindihan eh, basta nagparamdam 'yung tatay ko sa akin," Poe said.

[Translation: I couldn't understand it, but my father sent me a signal.]

Senator JV Ejercito, on the other hand, said that while the move may be beneficial for legislation, Arroyo's corruption cases may reflect on the speakership.

"Nabanggit kahapon ni presidente na relentless 'yung war against drugs and corruption," Ejercito said. "So 'yun lang, baka hindi lang magandang image or perception sa administration because of that."

[Translation: The president (in his SONA) mentioned the relentless war against drugs and corruption. That might not be a good image or perception for the administration because of that (corruption charges).]

Amidst the criticism and row on the other side of the Congress, Sotto assured the Senate will do its best to 'work hand-in-hand' with the House of Representatives.

President Duterte's third SONA was delayed for over an hour, but his speech lasted for 48 minutes, his shortest by far.
No to Libya vote before reconciliation - Trenta-Serraj Otherwise we'd find same problems defence minister tells PM

(ANSAmed) - ROME, JULY 24 - Defence Minister Elisabetta Trenta told Libyan Premier Fayez al-Serraj Tuesday that there should not be fresh elections in the country before reconciliation among various warring parties.



"I believe the process of reconciliation in Libya must be inclusive" and so "speaking of fresh elections before completing this process is a mistake," she said.



"Afterwards we would find ourselves with the same problems, we as Italy and you as Libya. And we must make this understood to other countries too".(ANSAmed).




Washington: US President Donald Trump believes Moscow will work hard to sway November congressional elections in favour of Democrats and not his fellow Republicans, despite US intelligence agencies' conclusion that Russia tried to put Trump in the White House in 2016.

"Based on the fact that no President has been tougher on Russia than me, they will be pushing very hard for the Democrats," the US president wrote on Twitter on Wednesday morning.

The tweet goes against a clear admission last week from Russian President Vladimir Putin that Trump was Russia's preferred leader.

In a joint press conference with Trump in Helsinki last week, Putin said he wanted Trump to win the 2016 election because he was the more pro-Russia candidate.
A Texas restaurant company, which banned a customer after an employee's story of a receipt scrawled with a racial epithet went viral, said on Monday that it had parted ways with the employee and learned that the story was spurious.

"After further investigation, we have learned that our employee fabricated the entire story," Terry Turney, the chief operating officer of Saltgrass steakhouses, said in a statement. "Racism of any form is intolerable, and we will always act swiftly should it occur in any of our establishments. Falsely accusing someone of racism is equal[ly] disturbing."

A Texas restaurant owner falsely claimed that a customer left a racist message on a receipt. Credit:ABC America

The incident unfolded earlier this month when Khalil Cavil, a 20-year-old waiter at a Saltgrass outpost in Odessa, Texas, posted an image to Facebook that showed a $US108 ($145) bill with zero on the tip line, and "we don't tip terrorist", written in ink at the top. Cavil, who is of mixed black and white parentage, wrote on Facebook that he received the note from one of his tables, and that it left him "sick to my stomach".
PHILIPSBURG:--- A change in its statutes to make government companies pay 3% of their revenue to the St. Maarten Tourist Authority STA, and to give the association power to impose taxes has irked hoteliers who say the board has strayed from the tourism authoritys original concept.

There is also growing concern that such a move by the STAthe move could potentially bankrupt the government businesses and halt millions in investments in the tourism industry on St. Maarten.

Owners of Oyster Bay Beach Resort Owner and Managing Director Joshua S. Gold say the new statutes for the STA gives the organization powers equal to that of a Public Prosecutor and completely deviates from its intended purpose of destination marketing.

Gold said St. Maarten should focus on changing the international perception that the island is not open for business. He said, We need to get St. Maartens name out there and these ordinances by the STA as I see it, have nothing to do with promoting the island. According to Gold, the statutes have changed and now speak of new tax inspectors and regulations. Some of the inspections relate to facility inspection and Gold believes that while monitoring the quality of service hotels provide can help improve the overall tourism product the STA imposing its inspectors seems to be of a punitive nature.

He said, I think before the storm people were pleased with the hotels on St. Maarten. After seeing the new statutes, the Resort owners have called on Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic & Telecommunication TEATT, Stuart Johnson to intervene and return the STA to its originally intended function. Gold said the new statutes to the STA do not follow the original concept for the organization. Oyster Bay Beach Resort General Manager Ricardo Perez, also attended the meeting. He said, We also expressed our concerns at a meeting with members of the STA board. He felt that the meeting was ill-timed as the board should have given the new minister of Tourism an opportunity to evaluate the STA.

According to a release issued by the Ministry of TEATT, Our partners in the Tourism industry are concerned that the STA wants its board to have the authority to tax and control large and small hotels independently. Minister Johnson said, The STA was originally intended to be the marketing arm of the destination that would be able to act with some independence allowing for quick responses and avoiding the bureaucracy involved in getting certain approvals.

Johnson said the STA does not have his support in its present form and requires further dialogue with stakeholders to get a clear understanding of its proposed new direction. He said the STA was never intended to police hotels In fact, the St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association SHTA and private sector partners who are now concerned about the present direction of the STA, were originally fully behind it based on the concept of STA being able to spring into action to take advantage of opportunities to market the destination.

Johnson explained that If for some reason there is a storm in one area of the USA, the idea is that the STA would be able to act quickly and roll out marketing campaigns promoting vacation in Sunny St. Maarten. With the bureaucracy that the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau will have to go through before it can access the necessary funds for such a promotion, they would miss the opportunity to target those potential visitors.

Oyster Bay Beach Resort has already invested over USD$9 million in reconstruction since it was devastated by hurricane Irma in 2017 and the operators have also mentioned their eagerness to see the Princess Juliana International Airport PJIA return to full operation. They also mentioned US-Preclearance and say this addition at the airport will solidify St. Maartens position as a top Caribbean destination.
PHILIPSBURG:--- HalleluYah Assembly of Messianic Believers conducted a Kingdom Business Summer Program with its Junior class. Five children ages 3 to 10 years old received small investments to start their own businesses for two weeks. At the end of the two weeks, the group of children returned the investment and reported profits ranging from five to thirty-two times their initial funds.

The children engaged in selling arts and crafts, cupcakes, ice-cream, popcorn, and drinks. With the guidance and assistance of their parents, the mini-entrepreneurs realized their successes. The lessons learnt covered budgeting, cost-pricing, customer service, marketing and self-confidence. Nine-year-old, Gelisa Peynado of Miss Amys Delightful Treats summarized her experience by stating, I learnt that if you try to do your best, you can be happy with your results, and keep on doing what you love.

The young business people were met with positive support from the community, including a donation from Kooyman for a new cooler to Ethan Richardson of Ethans Ice Teas. The other business projects were named Antonios Express by Geovanni Peynado, Jayvonys Art & Crafts Workshop by Jayvony Ranglin, Jamaris Natural Ice Pops by Jamari Ranglin-Carty.

These young entrepreneurs will be highlighting their skills at the summer event, Koop Avond on Thursday, July 26 on Front Street. They are excited to continue with their enterprises, bearing the Scripture, Deuteronomy chapter 28 verse 13 as their motto.
Finding a place to park along Front Street in Georgetown can be a hassle. The city may consider instituting paid parking downtown.
NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft passes above Mars' south pole in this artist's concept illustration. The spacecraft has been orbiting Mars since October 24, 2001. The spacecraft serves as a vital relay for NASA's Mars rover Curiosity. [Related: <a href=http://www.space.com/16385-curiosity-rover-mars-science-laboratory.html>Mars Rover Curiosity Landing Coverage</a>]

Mars Odyssey has been circling the Red Planet since 2001. It broke a record in 2010 for being the longest-serving piece of machinery to work at Mars, and it continues to operate at the Red Planet in good health in mid-2018. (The previous record was Mars Global Surveyor, which flew around Mars from Sept. 11, 1997, to Nov. 2, 2006.)

Mars Odyssey has been making discoveries of its own  such as finding extensive water ice under the surface of Mars  but it also plays an important part in the ever-growing network of Martian rovers. It has served as a communications relay for the now-dead Spirit rover and current Opportunity and Curiosity rovers. Odyssey is also expected to assist with the 2020 European-Russian ExoMars rover mission.

Like any aging piece of machinery, Mars Odyssey has its cranky moments. It has entered "safe mode" temporarily several times during its mission, but NASA recovered it every time. In 2018, NASA said it would do its best to extend the missions of older orbiters (such as Mars Odyssey) for as long as possible, because the agency's funds are focused on putting together a sample-return mission at the Red Planet.

Science goals

Mars Odyssey is a part of NASA's Mars exploration program, which today includes a network of orbiters and rovers around the Red Planet. Members of this group include the Curiosity rover, the Opportunity rover, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN mission). Europe also has an ExoMars spacecraft called the Trace Gas Orbiter, and India has a spacecraft called Mars Orbiter Mission.

The overall goals of the Mars exploration program (according to NASA) are:

Determine whether life ever arose on Mars.

Characterize the climate of Mars.

Characterize the geology of Mars.

Prepare for human exploration.

To contribute to those goals, Mars Odyssey has these objectives:

Globally map the elemental composition of the surface.

Determine the abundance of hydrogen in the shallow subsurface (an indicator of water).

Acquire high-resolution images of the surface mineralogy.

Provide information on the morphology of the Martian surface.

Characterize the Martian near-space radiation environment to determine the radiation risk to human explorers.

Mars Odyssey has three main science instruments:

THEMIS (Thermal Emission Imaging System), which looks at the visible and infrared parts of the spectrum to determine the distribution of minerals on the surface of Mars.

GRS (Gamma Ray Spectrometer), which measures the abundance and distribution of elements. Knowing what elements are at or near the surface gives detailed information about how Mars has changed over time.

MARIE (Mars Radiation Environment Experiment), which measures radiation hitting Mars from cosmic rays emitted by the sun and other stars.

Channeling Clarke and sailing to Mars

Because Mars Odyssey was launching in 2001, NASA chose to name its orbiter after the book "2001: A Space Odyssey," which also spawned a movie in 1968 just ahead of the Apollo moon landings that began a year later. According to NASA, author Arthur C. Clarke (who was still alive at the time) "enthusiastically endorsed" the name for the mission.

A false-color mosaic focuses on one junction in Noctis Labyrinthus where canyons meet to form a depression 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) deep. Dust (blue tints) lies on the upper surfaces, while rockier material (warmer colors) lies below. The pictures used to create this mosaic image were taken from April 2003 to September 2005 by the Thermal Emission Imaging System instrument on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU)

Mapping was one of the main goals for the $297-million spacecraft. Odyssey was supposed to look at the chemical and mineralogical composition of Mars' surface in visual and infrared wavelengths. Additionally, it was supposed to keep an eye out for hydrogen (a likely indicator of water ice) and serve as a communications relay for the Spirit and Opportunity rovers that would land on Mars in 2004.

The 1,600-pound Odyssey launched April 7, 2001, without major incident and reached Mars on Oct. 23, 2001. To finalize its orbit, Odyssey used an "aerobraking" technique pioneered at the Red Planet by Mars Global Surveyor in 1997.

Essentially, Odyssey gradually used the friction of the Martian atmosphere to slow itself down. That maneuver saves on fuel and overall mission cost. This process, which took several weeks, put Odyssey into its final orbit in January.

Surface science

One of the benefits of an older spacecraft is it allows for long-term science observations. Researchers can track subtle changes on the Martian surface using the same equipment, allowing for consistent data gathering that helps them draw science conclusions. Mars Odyssey features several high-power cameras that examine the surface, as well as global weather conditions on Mars.

In 2010, NASA released a global map from Mars Odyssey stitched together from 21,000 THEMIS images taken over eight years. This map showed features of as small as 330 feet (100 meters) in size, although NASA said Odyssey has mapped certain areas at an even higher resolution. [Gallery: Pictures from Longest Mars Mission]

Odyssey's eyes on the planet also contributed to spectacular discoveries in smaller regions. In 2008, Odyssey spotted evidence of salt deposits across about 200 places in the south of Mars. NASA considers these areas to be signs of where abundant water used to sit. Scientists theorized the deposits could come from groundwater, which evaporated and left deposits of mineral behind. Since the sites are not connected with each other, they are unlikely to be signs of an ancient global ocean, NASA added.

In 2007, NASA sent out pictures of seven possible caves snapped by Mars Odyssey. The find, dubbed the "Seven Sisters," excited researchers because the caves could contain underground hiding spots for life. Scientists spotted the caves through THEMIS, which saw unusually warm spots that showed up at night.

Odyssey found evidence of water ice lying beneath Mars' surface, a finding that was confirmed by NASA's Phoenix when it arrived on Mars. Mars Odyssey also finished a radiation safety study with an eye to helping future astronauts walking on the Red Planet.

Odyssey also tracks the weather over large swaths of Martian territory. One example is in tracking dust storms. Odyssey tracked the movements of large Martian dust storms in 2007 and 2009, as well as a global dust storm in 2018. In fact, one of its early roles in orbit was to act as an early warning system to NASA mission planners concerned about protecting Spirit and Opportunity from any dust storms coming their way.

Older Mars Odyssey data (from 2002 to 2009) helped scientists discover possible water ice at the equator of Mars, a finding announced in 2017. They found a hydrogen signature in that region, in a zone where scientists previously thought water couldn't exist. But more follow-up observations will be required to learn if the signature is indeed one of water, NASA cautioned.

In November 2015, Odyssey was maneuvered into a new orbit to observe the "terminator," or the day-night line. This was expected to provide information on fog, haze, clouds and especially frosts that could disappear when the sun gets higher.

Mars Odyssey took its first images of the Martian moon Phobos in 2017, which will usher in more photos of Phobos and the other moon (Deimos) in future years. Previously, the spacecraft was focused on Martian observations, but NASA shifted its work to include the moons to better map their composition with THEMIS. A follow-up video of Phobos and Deimos was issued in 2018, based on Mars Odyssey imagery.

False-color view of part of Meridiani Planum, about 250 miles (400 kilometers) northeast of where Mars rover Opportunity landed. The image was taken from NASAs Mars Odyssey orbiter using its Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) - a camera that images Mars in 5 visible and 10 infrared colors. The image combines daytime and nighttime infrared views. Reddish areas have more rocks and hardened sediments, while bluish areas feature more dust, sand, and fine-grain material. Image (Image credit: NASA/JPL/Arizona State University.)

Working with other spacecraft

The spacecraft sometimes teams up with other spacecraft to perform work. One case was the search for a signal from the Phoenix Mars lander after a cold Martian winter.

NASA did not expect the lander to survive, but just in case, it spent weeks hailing the lander with Mars Odyssey. MRO then took a picture of the Phoenix landing site and spotted damage using its High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera. At that point, NASA declared Phoenix dead.

The rovers Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity all used Mars Odyssey to send data back to Earth. The orbiter can send information back much more quickly than the rovers. Having Odyssey handle the data transfer frees up more time for the rovers to wander around the surface and perform science experiments.

Additionally, Mars Odyssey's high-flying eyes can provide global context for any local findings the rovers scoop up. This is especially important for long-term investigations such as Mars Curiosity's search for habitable conditions. If Curiosity spots an environment on the ground that could sustain life, Mars Odyssey can search for the same phenomenon from up above.

Odyssey worked with MAVEN and MRO to examine Comet Siding Spring. The comet passed within close reach of Mars in October 2014, providing a unique opportunity for spacecraft in that area to look at the visitor from the outer solar system.

The spacecraft made optical observations with its Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) and also looked for effects on Mars' atmosphere (particularly regarding the dust) with the neutron spectrometer and high-energy neutron instruments on board. Along with MAVEN observations, NASA concluded there was a possible Martian meteor shower when the comet went by, and the dust created vaporized metal in the planet's atmosphere.
ExoMars is a multi-part European-led program to explore Mars, both on the surface and from above. The program has two phases in the works.

The components of the first phase, the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and Schiaparelli (a landing demonstrator), both arrived at Mars in October 2016. Schiaparelli failed during landing, but TGO remains in excellent health. The orbiter is performing science work and will serve as a communications relay for the second phase of the program  a rover and landing surface platform.

The rover, named Rosalind Franklin, was expected to launch in July 2020, but heads of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, delayed the launch until 2022 due to technical issues.

Related: Europe's ExoMars missions to Mars in pictures

The ExoMars program took on new significance in June 2018, when NASA's Curiosity rover once again found evidence of ancient organic molecules  carbon-based chains of molecules that can be associated with life near the surface of Mars. Since the ExoMars rover can dig farther below the surface  where radiation and wind wouldn't destroy delicate samples  it is possible that more organics might be found there. ExoMars has a special set of instruments designed to search for organic molecules, particularly lipids and organics that have characteristics that are favorable for life.

Astronomers are also interested in the methane spikes that Curiosity observed from the surface of Mars. Methane can be a sign of microbial activity, or a sign of geological activity  it's difficult to tell which from a single site. The ExoMars trace gas orbiter is designed to search for methane and other minor constituents of the Martian atmosphere on a global scale. Over time, the orbiter is expected to provide information on the different kinds of gases, their abundances, and if they vary seasonally or by region.

ExoMars development history

In 2001, ESA started ExoMars as part of the larger Aurora program, which was to have taken humans to Mars. While Aurora was eventually abandoned, ExoMars was formally approved by the ESA member states in 2005. In 2009, NASA and ESA signed a Mars Exploration Joint Initiative that was supposed to meet the goals of both ExoMars and the planned NASA Mars Science Laboratory.

Related: How the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity works (infographic)

The NASA/ESA missions were restructured into two phases. The first phase, which would launch in 2016, was supposed to include a European orbiter and landing demonstrator module, which later became the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and Schiaparelli. The second phase initially was planned to include two rovers, but was deemed too complex and scaled back to one European rover with U.S. instruments.

In 2012, however, NASA pulled out of ExoMars, in part due to budget overruns with the James Webb Space Telescope. ESA then made an agreement with Roscosmos to replace the launch vehicles and parts of the payloads that NASA was supposed to provide. TGO and Schiaparelli launched in March 2016 as planned.

The European rover and a Russian landing platform were expected to launch in 2018, but delays with industrial activities and the payloads pushed that back two years to July 2020, then more technical issues have now pushed the scheduled launch date to sometime in 2022. (Mars launch opportunities from Earth only take place roughly every two years, when the planets are relatively close to each other and a spacecraft can use a minimum of fuel to get there.)

Trace Gas Orbiter and Schiaparelli

The goal of the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) is to search for less-abundant components of Mars' atmosphere. The Martian atmosphere is mostly made up of carbon dioxide, but concentrations of other molecules are poorly understood. For example, methane  a sign of either biological or geological activity  has been measured in different concentrations by different ground-based telescopes. The Curiosity rover has made repeated measurements of methane on the surface, but a global view of Mars would give a better sense of the methane's source or sources.

"Since methane is short-lived on geological time scales, its presence implies the existence of an active, current source of methane. It is not clear, yet, whether the nature of that source is biological or chemical," ESA stated. "Organisms on Earth release methane as they digest nutrients. However, other purely geological processes, such as the oxidation of certain minerals, also release methane."

TGO and Schiaparelli were launched together on March 14, 2016, from a Proton rocket from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. TGO successfully entered orbit at Mars on Oct. 19, 2016, the same day of Schiaparelli's landing attempt, which failed. Two days after the malfunction, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter photographed evidence of Schiaparelli's crash site, and additional pictures were sent in over several weeks. In 2017, an ESA investigation showed that a data glitch caused the Schiaparelli crash.

Meanwhile, TGO was inserted into a highly elliptical orbit at Mars that took four Earth-days to complete. To perform its main science mission, it was lowered into a near-circular altitude of about 400 kilometers (250 miles) and had a two-hour orbit. Starting in 2017, mission controllers made a series of controlled skims through the edge of the Martian atmosphere. This technique is called "aerobraking" and has been performed by several other Mars missions, as well as the European Venus Express mission. It finished its aerobraking in February 2018 and sent its first image, of Korolev Crater, that April. More science results are expected to come now that TGO is in its main mapping orbit

TGO has four principal instruments:

NOMAD (Nadir and Occultation for Mars Discovery)  a package of three spectrometers (two infrared, one ultraviolet) to identify methane and other parts of the atmosphere. Some elements will be found by looking at the atmosphere with the sun behind it, while others will be examined by direct reflected-light observations.

ACS (Atmospheric Chemistry Street)  three infrared instruments will provide information on the Martian atmosphere's chemistry and structure.

CaSSIS (Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System)  provides high-resolution images of the surface that will give geological context  and the possible sources or sinks  for trace gases found by NOMAD and ACS.

FREND (Fine Resolution Epithermal Neutron Detector)  maps potential deposits of water ice by looking for hydrogen on the surface to depths of up to one meter (3 feet).

Besides its science mission, TGO is expected to serve as a communications relay for the ExoMars rover when it reaches the Martian surface. (TGO was also supposed to send communications from the failed Schiaparelli lander to Earth, but that part of the mission was never realized.)

ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover

The ExoMars mission will include a European rover and a Russian surface platform. The Rosalind Franklin rover will provide information about potential signatures of life on Mars, specifically by looking at environments where water could have flowed. It also will carry a drill that can penetrate up to 2 meters (6 feet) below the surface.

The rover and surface platform will travel together to Mars inside a European carrier module. Shortly before descent, a Russian-led descent module will separate from the carrier and bring the rover and surface platform to the surface, using elements such as parachutes and thrusters to reduce the speed of landing.

An artist's depiction of the Rosalind Franklin rover, which Europe plans to launch in 2022. (Image credit: ESA/ATG medialab)

After landing, the rover will leave the landing platform behind to move around Mars and look for organic material from the planet's past. Meanwhile, the surface platform (which is stationary) is expected to operate for about one year. The platform will take pictures of the landing site, watch the local weather, probe the internal structure of Mars, and do investigations of the atmosphere. It also will look at subsurface water distribution and radiation around the landing site, in comparison with measurements from TGO.

"The primary objective is to land the rover at a site with high potential for finding well-preserved organic material, particularly from the very early history of the planet," ESA said.

Related: How Europe's ExoMars missions to Mars work (infographic)

"The rover will establish the physical and chemical properties of Martian samples, mainly from the subsurface. Underground samples are more likely to include biomarkers, since the tenuous Martian atmosphere offers little protection from radiation and photochemistry at the surface. The drill is designed to extract samples from various depths, down to a maximum of two meters."

In January 2018, the life-detection package successfully found microbes in the Canadian Arctic, an analog environment to Mars. Checkouts are continuing on the rover as its instruments are completed.

Instruments on the rover include:

PanCam (Panoramic Camera)

ISEM (Infrared Spectrometer for ExoMars)

CLUPI (Close-UP Imager)

WISDOM (Water Ice and Subsurface Deposit Observation On Mars)

Adron (which will look for subsurface water and hydrated minerals, in combination with WISDOM)

MA_MISS (Mars Multispectral Imager for Subsurface Studies)

MicrOmega (a visible and infrared imaging spectrometer)

RLS (Raman Spectrometer)

MOMA (Mars Organic Molecule Analyser)

Instruments on the surface platform include:

LaRa (Lander Radio-science experiment)

HABIT (Habitability, Brine, Irradiation and Temperature Package)

METEO-M (a meteorological package). This includes sensors to measure pressure (METEO-P), humidity (METEO-H), radiation and dust (RDM) and magnetic fields (AMR).

MAIGRET (a magnetometer), including a Wave Analyzer Module (WAM)

TSPP (cameras)

BIP (instrument interface and memory unit)

FAST (IR Fourier spectrometer to study the atmosphere)

ADRON-EM (active neutron spectrometer and dosimeter)

M-DLS (Multi-channel Diode-Laser Spectrometer for atmospheric investigations)

PAT-M (radio thermometer for soil temperatures, including below the surface)

A dust suite to look at dust particle size, impact and atmospheric charging

SEM (a seismometer)

MGAP (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for atmospheric analysis).

Related: Soar over the likely Mars landing site for Europe's ExoMars rover in this 3D animation

A landing site will be selected about six months before the mission launches. When the rover was originally expected to launch in 2018, ESA's landing site selection working group recommended landing in Oxia Planum. ESA reopened the site selection due to the two-year mission delay, and in 2017 Oxia Planum and Mawrth Vallis were selected as semi-finalists. Both regions have old rocks and possible regions where ancient microbes would have flourished.

The launch of the rover was postponed for a second time in March 2020 because of issues with the rover's parachute deployment system and electronic equipment. Officials said there was not enough time to test out repairs before the previously scheduled July 2020 launch date.

Additional resources:

This article was updated on March 13, 2020 by Space.com reference editor Kimberly Hickok.
Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques greets well-wishers at the Montreal Science Centre on July 20, 2018. (Image credit: Elizabeth Howell/Space.com)

MONTREAL  Lying on his back in front of 300 people on Friday (July 20), Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques gently bent his legs and pushed them against his chest.

"Imagine you are an astronaut, sitting like this, and the [rocket] motor is lit," he said, speaking in French to the Montreal Science Centre audience of children and adults. He quickly jumped back on his feet and gestured to a nearby large screen, which was showing a video of a Soyuz spacecraft on top of a Russian Soyuz rocket in Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

Saint-Jacques, 48, paused as the rocket in the video lifted off, surrounding the audience in staccato sound waves. (He just saw a Soyuz lift off for real last month, when he was a backup crewmember for Expedition 56/57.) "It's not very fast, but it accelerates, it accelerates," he continued. "It goes at 2, 3, 4, 20, 25 times the speed of sound." [Touring Baikonur: The Town Behind the Famed Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan]

Soyuz is Saint-Jacques' ticket to space after nine years of waiting on the ground, giving presentations like this all over the country. Canada is a minor partner in the International Space Station program, which assigns "space time" according to how much money or in-kind contributions each partner gives. Its small contribution means astronauts fly rarely; the last one was Chris Hadfield, who commanded the station during Expedition 35 in 2013.

Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques speaks about his upcoming Expedition 58/59 mission to space at the Montreal Science Centre on July 20, 2018. (Image credit: Elizabeth Howell/Space.com)

A decade of waiting pays off

Saint-Jacques' visit to the space museum was deliberately timed for July 20, the 49th anniversary of the first human moon landing by Apollo 11 in 1969, museum officials told Space.com. Coincidentally, July 20 also happens to be exactly five months before Saint-Jacques' scheduled Expedition 58 liftoff on Dec. 20.

Canada is quickly waking up to the fact that one of its own will finally fly to space again. Canadian journalists are making so many requests of Saint-Jacques these days that his media team at the Canadian Space Agency did not respond to a Space.com request for an interview in Montreal. The CSA is also hosting a series of "media days" at a Moscow training facility in August, but the requests for TV time with Saint-Jacques there quickly exceeded the agency's capacity to host journalists from other types of media.

Fortunately, the CSA anticipated these demands on his time and generously granted me a half-hour interview in March so that I would have material to draw from during Saint-Jacques' six-month space mission. They also found room for me on a European Space Agency media trip in Kazakhstan in June, arranging multiple interview opportunities with Saint-Jacques while I was there.

In the March interview, Saint-Jacques explained that he was assigned the left-hand co-pilot seat in the Soyuz. The assignment is a huge coup for a first-time flyer, and although Saint-Jacques didn't say this, it is probably an acknowledgment of his many years of training with NASA.

"I will be the co-pilot for that launch, so that's a pretty big responsibility," Saint-Jacques said in an unpublished portion of the March phone interview from Moscow, which was in English. "That's why I'm spending pretty much half my time here for the last year and a half, learning to fly the Soyuz. It's my first responsibility. That will be a big thing, and that will be done in 7 minutes."

In that interview, Saint-Jacques spoke in general terms of what he'll be asked to do on the station. That will be about 50 percent science  including a series of Canadian medical and psychological experiments  and 50 percent maintenance. In Kazakhstan in June, CSA space officials told me they are asking NASA to make the most of Saint-Jacques' time in space. This means he may be assigned to demanding tasks such as a spacewalk, or using the station's robotic arm, Canadarm2, to pick up a cargo spacecraft.

Canadian astronaut David-Saint Jacques holds his youngest child, a toddler, just prior to a presentation at the Montreal Science Centre on July 20, 2018. (Image credit: Elizabeth Howell/Space.com)

"It's best not to make a mistake"

In Montreal, Saint-Jacques swiftly guided his audience through his activities on the space station as his family watched closely. In the front row were his wife, Veronique Morin, and their three small children. One of the boys played with a paper airplane. Occasionally, one of his children shouted to Saint-Jacques on stage. Their father once shouted back playfully to his offspring, in French, "That's right!" The audience laughed.

Saint-Jacques was only 5 or 6 years old when he became aware of the photos taken by Apollo astronauts of Earth from space, he told the audience. He wanted to be an astronaut, but his goal was so far away that it felt like moving toward a distant star, he explained  but he made every step count, thinking of what to study, what career to pursue, even what to eat.

Early in his career, Saint-Jacques held posts as an astrophysicist, an engineer and finally, a medical doctor working in a remote part of northern Quebec. He learned half a dozen languages. And after he and Jeremy Hansen were selected as Canadian astronauts in 2009, Saint-Jacques took part in training expeditions underwater  in caves and in the Arctic  to get used to being in tough environments. Hansen, a former fighter pilot, also helped Saint-Jacques with flight training.

"Flying is for learning how to think as an astronaut," Saint-Jacques explained in French. He said it's very hard to concentrate in a jet plane while wearing an oxygen mask, keeping an eye on the panels and having 10 people speaking in your ear at the same time. "There is no 'pause' button. That [flying] is not a game," he continued. "If you make a mistake, well " he paused dramatically. "It's best not to make a mistake."

Near the presentation's end, Saint-Jacques knelt and knocked his fist gently against the stage  touching wood for luck as he talked about his scheduled flight. "After all this, we will lift off in five months," he said. "Just the complexity, the difficulty of the space environment, boggles the head."

He spent 10 minutes answering questions from the audience. The last speaker, a small child, stammered for nearly 30 seconds in shyness. "Um, um, what's your favorite color?" the child finally cried out in English, drawing a roar of laughter from the audience.

Saint-Jacques, not missing a beat in promoting spaceflight, told the child seriously that it's probably "sunrise orange" and "the black of space." He left the stage surrounded by well-wishers and fans, quickly disappearing from the auditorium, going on his way to his last few appointments before resuming training.

Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
Did life ever exist on the moon? Maybe! Have scientists found evidence of life on the moon? Definitely not.

Why are we talking about this? A new paper was published online today (July 23) in the journal Astrobiology with a thrilling headline: "Was There An Early Habitability Window for Earth's Moon?" Its associated press release had an even more exciting title: "Researcher sees possibility of moon life." Wowza! This is genuinely cool stuff. But it's important to understand what it's really saying and what it's not.

The paper, written by a pair of astrobiologists from Birkbeck College in London and the Technical University of Berlin, offers no evidence that life existed on the moon. In fact, it doesn't present new evidence of any kind. The paper doesn't represent the conclusions of any study at all. Instead, it's an argument, aimed primarily at other scientists, that, based on existing research, there may have been a period in the moon's history when living things on its surface wouldn't have immediately died. [Top 10 Amazing Moon Facts]

Today, the authors wrote, the moon is totally inhospitable to life. It has, they wrote, "no significant atmosphere, no liquid water on its surface, no magnetosphere to protect its surface from solar wind and cosmic radiation, no polymeric chemistry [the building blocks of life], and it is subject to large ... temperature variations."

In their paper, they pointed to recent research from a number of sources that suggests this might not always have been the case.

Thanks to the moon's more volcanically active past, they pointed out, there may have been two periods (one 4 billion years ago, just after the moon formed, and the next 3.5 billion years ago) when the moon may have been a bit more habitable for periods of a few million years.

Volcanic gases could have spewed water vapor onto the moon's surface, the authors wrote, especially given recent evidence that the moon has more water than scientists once thought. The same processes might have thickened the atmosphere. The moon might also have formed a magnetic field similar to Earth's that would have deflected the worst stellar radiation, they said.

That solves three of the key problems with the moon's habitability. The researchers didn't directly address the moon's temperature swings again, but perhaps an atmosphere would have resolved that issue as well. Still, there's one piece missing: the building blocks of life.

No expedition to the moon has ever found amino acids or other chemicals that might link up to form living things, even as similar chemicals have turned up as far away as Mars. Perhaps, the researchers wrote, those chemicals might have formed natively. Otherwise, they might have arrived via asteroid impact  the same process some scientists think seeded Earth.

This new paper is best understood as a call to look for those chemicals more closely on the moon, especially in volcanic deposits dating back to those periods. But for now, there's no reason to think that life actually existed there  just that (maybe, perhaps) it could have.

Originally published on Live Science.
NAPLES - A network of 14 Unesco sites in southern Italy has been promoted as part of a project to promote tourism. The project will involve the Campania region from Thursday to Sunday with a series of performances and seminars to join efforts and promote together local sites, culture, food and wine with an integrated offer for tourists.

The network includes Matera with four other provinces (Barletta Andria Trani, Caserta, Foggia, Salerno), six municipalities (Alberobello, Benevento, Matera, Monte Sant'Angelo, Noto, Barumini), Siracusa, Enna and the metropolitan cities of Bari and Palermo. In Campania, the Unesco sites affected by the project are: the Amalfi coast, the national park of Cilento and Vallo di Diano, the archaeological sites of Paestum, Velia and the Certosa di Padula, the monumental complex of Santa Sofia, and the Reggia of Caserta.

''The project - stressed the president of the Association Unesco provinces of South Italy, Giuseppe Canfora, promoter of the initiative - has made c concrete collaboration between numerous agencies to boost our ability to be a strong and unique tourist destination. IT is a project of the South for the South, where local actors collaborate to enhance their territories, increasing sustainable tourism in the area. In the provinces of southern Italy, this immense heritage is still sensibly underused and we must invert this trend''.

One of the strong points of the project is the ''UNESCO festival experience'', an itinerant event with tours of Unesco sites in the south that are part of the network. Each performance is held under a theme based on the place where it is set. The history of a place is discovered to understand its past and contemporary culture. On Thursday, July 26, the complex of Santa Sofia in Benevento will host the event theater-music ''Suggestioni''. The Arsenale della Repubblica in Amalfi on Monday, July 30, will host a seminar called ''I Presidi UNESCO: quali fattori di sviluppo turistico e culturale'' (Unesco sites: which facors of touristic and cultural development) and the evening performance ''Hercules and Amalfi''.

One of the innovations is a virtual app card which guarantees discounts, promotions and gives visibility to operators that are part of the network.
Two rockets will go up  and one will come down  in a pair of commercial satellite launches early Wednesday morning (July 25).

An Arianespace launch is scheduled for 7:25 a.m. EDT (1125 GMT), and a SpaceX launch is scheduled for 7:39 a.m. EDT (1139 GMT), according to Spaceflight Now. You can watch both launches here on Space.com, courtesy of Arianespace and SpaceX.

The Arianespace launch, using an Ariane 5 rocket, will be the company's fourth of the year and will carry four Galileo satellites for Europe, according to a company statement. The Galileo satellites provide global-positioning services across Europe, and Wednesday's launch should complete the network.

The Arianespace launch will take place at Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana.

The SpaceX launch, using a Falcon 9 rocket, will be the company's second of the week, after a launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Sunday, July 22. The company is planning to launch 10 additional Iridium satellites in this constellation, and this is the seventh launch of the series, according to a statement from the company.

The launch is scheduled for Wednesday at 7:39 a.m. EDT (1139 GMT, 4:39 a.m. local time) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. SpaceX completed a static fire test of the rocket on July 20, the company tweeted.

See more

After the launch, the company will attempt to land the rocket on a drone ship called "Just Read the Instructions," SpaceX confirmed in a statement.

The launch may also include an attempt to catch the rocket's fairing with a giant net stretched across a boat called Mr. Steven. After a failed capture attempt on June 1, the company replaced the net with one four times the size. According to a recent tweet, the company said it intended to use the net sometime in July, which means it could be used for Wednesday's launch.

See more

The Iridium satellites will join a fleet of 55 already in operation as part of the NEXT network, which keeps track of objects participating in the internet of things (IoT). After Wednesday's launch, SpaceX will have just one more batch of satellites to carry before the network is complete, according to a statement from Iridium.

Wednesday's launch comes just three days after the company's most recent flight, on Sunday morning. That rocket carried a Telstar communications satellite and represented the second flight of the company's Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket. Yet another Falcon 9 launch is scheduled for Aug. 2, as SpaceX continues an aggressive launch schedule.

Email Meghan Bartels at mbartels@space.com or follow her @meghanbartels. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.




Ten years after Mamma Mia! The Movie grossed more than $600 million around the world, you are invited to return to the magical Greek island of Kalokairi in an all-new original musical based on the songs of ABBA



To celebrate the release of Mamma Mia! Here we go again, Universal Pictures have sent us a very special prize pack to giveaway to three lucky winners. You can find all of the details below on what you can win and how you can enter. Don't forget the movie is out now, so check your local cinema listings!







TowelSummer BagBeach BagSunglassesSandalsPin badge set1) The Competition is Open to Everyone worldwide2) This is official merchandise from Universal Pictures and can not be bought in shops.3) The Competition will close on 30th July 2018 (23:59GMT). Winner will be selected a few days later.To Enter just click on one of the available Login options below in the Giveaway Widget and then select as many or as few of the entry methods that you want. The more steps you complete, the more entries you'll have into the prize draw and hence an increased chance of winning. Good Luck.Make sure to follow all of our social media for more giveaways soon!
Jul 24th, 2018

As much as weve seen a lot of entirely new supplements and flavors from Redcon1 this year, weve also seen it grow equally as much in distribution. In 2018 the brand has expanded out into a number of new stores in the US, including the Vitamin Shoppe, as well as found its way into a number of other countries.

In the past couple of months, Redcon1 has continued that worldwide takeover and partnered with more companies for distribution in more countries. The brand has now joined forces with Wawan Protein for distribution in Oman, UAE, and Kuwait, Fitness Shop for Iraq, and Shredded Diesel Nutrition for Bahrain.

Basically, if youre in any of those countries you can look forward to seeing the growing Redcon1 lineup on shelves sometime soon.
Purdue Pharma announced Tuesday a corporate turnaround specialist as its new board chairman and also changed its top lawyer, marking the latest in a series of organizational shifts for the embattled maker of the OxyContin opioid.

The new chairman of the board of directors, Steve Miller, has served in a nearly 50-year career in a number of senior leadership positions, including as chairman or CEO of several automotive, financial and industrial companies. He has led several companies revivals, including the 1981 rescue of Chrysler, according to Purdue officials. He is also the author of the 2008 book The Turnaround Kid.

New General Counsel and Senior Vice President Marc Kesselman previously served as general counsel of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and deputy general counsel of the White House Office of Management and Budget. His responsibilities will encompass legal strategy, ethics and compliance, government affairs and corporate governance.

We are thrilled to welcome Steve and Marc to the organization, Purdue President and CEO Craig Landau said in a statement. Steve is a world-class leader who is uniquely qualified to help us navigate the business challenges in front of us. Similarly, Marc is an experienced general counsel who will be a valuable addition to our outstanding legal and leadership teams at Purdue.

In accompanying statements, Miller and Kesselman also expressed their enthusiasm about joining Purdue. The company did not make Miller or Kesselman immediately available for interviews.

Miller and Kesselman will provide senior-level strategic counsel as the company works to reduce opioid abuse and addiction and develop new medications for patients suffering from cancer and certain central nervous system disorders, according to the companys announcement. Miller will report directly to Landau.

Purdue is grappling with hundreds of lawsuits from local and state governments across the country that accuse the company of fueling the national opioid crisis with deceptive marketing of opioids such as OxyContin.

Observers said the move makes sense.

Its not unusual for companies going through major ethical and legal crises to change leadership. Its more of a norm than anything else in this type of situation, said Angela Mattie, a professor in the schools of business and medicine at Quinnipiac University. Its up to leadership to establish an ethical and law-abiding organizational culture.

Mattie said Miller and Kesselman appeared qualified for their new positions. But she described the combination of the legal and compliance responsibilities in Kesselmans post as puzzling, citing guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General that recommend separating those functions.

The previous general counsel, Maria Barton, would remain with the company during a brief transition period. Barton was promoted to general counsel in February 2017, having joined the company a year earlier.

The change in corporate counsel may reflect a different legal leadership style needed at the organization, said Robert Bird, a professor of business law at the University of Connecticut. An organization facing ordinary market challenges is different than one in legal crisis like Purdue Pharma. Im sure that the prior corporate counsel was effective, but may have a different skill set.

Since Landau took over as CEO in June 2017, Purdue has carried out a series of sweeping changes. Last month, it announced it would eliminate its already-downsized sales force, a move that cut 175 jobs. Another 175 positions were axed at the same time. About 90 of those laid off in that round worked in Stamford.

About 550 remain with the company, including some 250 who still work at its downtown headquarters, at 201 Tresser Blvd. Just four months ago, the company reported employing about 1,100.

pschott@scni.com; 203-964-2236; Twitter: @paulschott
The T.J. Maxx store in the Candlewood Plaza Shopping Center will close early next month and relocate to the Berkshire Shopping Center on Newtown Road in Danbury.

TJX, the parent company of T.J. Maxx, announced on Tuesday the grand opening for the new store will be Aug. 9. The new store will be next door to HomeGoods, another TJX store.

Our newest store in Danbury will offer an ever-changing selection of high-quality, on-trend and brand-name merchandise at the amazing prices T.J.Maxx is known for, Tim Miner, T.J. Maxx president, said in a release. Our buyers create a unique mix that offers value for styles in every department, and were excited to bring this experience to a new neighborhood.

T.J. Maxx sells clothing, accessories, home and beauty products, and pet toys. Miner said the Danbury store will offer a constant flow of new products. T.J.Maxx has more than 1,200 stores in 49 states and Puerto Rico.

Plaza landlord David Hawley, a partner with The Hawley Cos. in Danbury, said the store will be a great addition to the shopping center.

The new store will be about 25,000 square feet. It is in the former location of Namco Pool, which has moved to a smaller space within the same plaza.

To mark the opening of the new store, T.J. Maxx announced it would donate to $10,000 to Catholic Charities of Connecticut during the grand-opening ceremony at 7:30 a.m. on Aug. 9. T.J. Maxx also supports programs such as Save the Children, Autism Speaks and Joslin Diabetes Center.

In addition to T.J. Maxx and HomeGoods, the Berkshire Shopping Center also has a Marshalls and Sierra Trading Post, both of which are TJX properties. TJX, which is based in Framingham, Mass., specializes in off-price retailing.

Weve developed a good relationship with them, Hawley said. Their stores do well there. To have all four of their stores in one plaza is a good draw. It creates traffic for them and for the other tenants in the plaza.

The writer may be reached at cbosak@hearstmediact.com; 203-731-3338
GREENWICH  When children who are in the country legally learn their parents are undocumented and could face deportation, they face a dilemma: Who can they talk to without outing their parents?

Some Greenwich students in this position decided to talk to Jody Bell, a 16-year-old rising senior at Greenwich High School. She listened. When she joined the inaugural class of Girls with Impact, an entrepreneurship program for teen girls, she already knew her project would help her friends. A year and a half later, she launched I.C.O.D., In Case of Deportation, a website connecting children whose caregivers could be deported with condensed versions of government resources and helpful links.

Its a hub to make information publicly available more digestible for children, she said. If you go online and search, My parents are being deported, there are so many parameters and dense information thats hard to understand.

Bell has received offers of help from immigration attorneys and website coders, and Greenwich High and New Rochelle High School in New York have agreed to list the hub on their student resource pages. She has even pitched her idea to the governors office and to the American Civil Liberties Union.

Bell launched her website when the White House started implementing policies that separated families at the border.

As policies are changing daily and lawsuits are changing the course of the immigration debate, this wont be a static website, this will be reactive, said Bells mother, Deena Merlen, a workplace discrimination attorney. I hope Jody continues to hear from lawyers and politicians.

Bells goal is to present the complicated material on a streamlined platform. Her reason for starting the website, however, is personal.

The main reason I started this was because I had peers coming to me asking about it because they didnt feel they could talk to guidance counselors and people that are supposed to be helping, Bell said.

As friends opened up, she realized children need emotional support and scripts for initiating hard conversations with their parents, in addition to basic information. The website encourages children to ask their parents about their legal status, their life before immigrating and their reasons for leaving.

A lot of them were actually resentful toward their parents, that they didnt tell them prior to that point, Bell said.

People tend to think the issue of deportation does not affect people in Greenwich, but it does, Bell said. She has been surprised by the number of residents who have come forward to thank her.

Girls with Impact CEO Jennifer Openshaw advised Bell on building a business plan, constructing a website and planning pitches. She praised Bells determination to follow through with her vision.

Shes not afraid to dive in, Openshaw said. Whether its putting together a proposal for the governors office, putting her website together over the weekend, or learning how to make phone calls, she did it.

Bell has already started thinking about ways to expand her service to other states, where even seeking help could implicate migrants for deportation.

Connecticut is a far friendlier environment than many, Merlen said.

Policy variances from state to state challenged Bells progress, particularly during her research on drafting guardianship papers to determine a legal caregiver if a parent must leave the U.S.

I consider myself fairly internet savvy, and I couldnt find that information, she said. For someone new to the issue, if they were trying to get their guardianship papers altered, I could only imagine how much more difficult that would be.

Kids  with computer skills and Internet access at school, better English and more time than their working parents  are more able to research the documents and processes their family might need to get desired help, Merlen said.

By getting this information to the children, that might be a better conduit for getting the information to the parents, Merlen said.

Bell has always been engaged in civic and human-rights advocacy, from organizing rallies at school to volunteering to protect the integrity of elections in Florida, she said.

Its not like she woke up one day and said, I want to get involved,  Merlen said. Throughout her life, shes been drawn to figuring out what the right thing is, then doing it.

Girls with Impact seeks high school girls who want to differentiate themselves, Openshaw said. Bell exemplifies the capability of this generation of girls, she said.

If they learn this in college, its a little too late, Openshaw said. If they learn and take action in high school, it sets them up for huge success, whether moving into jobs or college.

Bells activism, and the activism of her peers at Girls with Impact and in school, encourages Merlen.

People like to knock the next generation as being lazy and self-centered, but I cant with this one, she said. Im excited, really really excited, to see the sort of activism and impact that Jody and her contemporaries are already having. Theyre not waiting to be the leaders of tomorrow.
In this series, Open Every Door, Entrepreneur staff writer Nina Zipkin shares her conversations with leaders about understanding what you have to offer, navigating the obstacles that will block your path, identifying opportunity and creating it for yourself and for others.

Amy Lacey would have pizza and game nights with her husband and three kids every Friday, but on Saturday morning, she'd be in debilitating pain. For the longest time, she didn't know why.

In 2010, a Lupus diagnosis solved the mystery of her symptoms, as the autoimmune disease often presents with gluten intolerance. But with that information in hand, she had a new mission: find things to eat that she enjoyed, would help maintain her health and not send her back to the doctors office. It was out of that goal that Cauliflour Foods was born.

Six years later, Lacey launched her first product, a pizza crust made out of cauliflower, cheese, eggs and spices. Her hope was that she could generate buzz for the brand online and build a solid ecommerce following, which would then carry her company when its products went into grocery stores.

That focus has paid off. Lacey says the business ended the year negative $269,000 in 2016. But it finished out 2017 with $5.3 million in sales. In 2018, she say it's on track for $16 million in ecommerce sales and $4 million in grocery stores

Related: This Single Mom Turned Tech Entrepreneur Shares How She Rose Above Self-Doubt

Cauliflour Foods now makes five products and counts celebrities including Halle Berry and SNLs Leslie Jones as fans. The company also donates all proceeds from its apparel to The Mentor Project, the American Diabetes Association and Lupus Foundation.

Even though the company comes from a personal place, in the beginning, Lacey says she struggled with believing that she was the leader the business needed to succeed. One of my biggest mistakes was hiring a CEO early on because I didn't have the confidence that I was CEO material. I did it out fear, Lacey tells Entrepreneur. When you make decisions out of fear, you make mistakes.

Lacey says that it was a costly mistake. Bouncing back from it required developing a routine of meditation, journaling and seeking out advice from advisors and fellow entrepreneurs. Having built up that foundational confidence, she says she was able to right the ship, boosting morale and quadrupling sales in the process.

She noted that part of taking on that leadership role has been motivating herself to get out of her comfort zone, by getting in touch with influencers who could potentially partner with the company -- even if their stature might make them seem out of reach -- and going to conferences to build out her network.

Related: The First Black Woman to Own and Run a Billion-Dollar Company Says That Trusting Yourself Is Key to Success

Even if you might be feeling laid low by the stressors and loneliness of entrepreneurship, Lacey says that going to an event with likeminded people in similar positions can give you a boost of energy. Refueling yourself, just going on your hunch and taking a chance sometimes pays off big time, she says.

Stepping into the role also required her to rethink how she approached the business. Lacey thought that sending emails to customers would be a waste of time. She never liked getting them, and thought they would feel similarly. But after listening to a favorite podcast, Donald Miller's Building a StoryBrand, she figured it couldnt hurt to try.

At 9:30 p.m. on a May evening, the company launched an email campaign to its list of 70,000 addresses. By noon the next day we had sold $86,000 worth of pizza from that email alone, Lacey recalls. I might have it in my mindset that this isn't going to work, because I personally hate it. But when you listen to other people who are more experienced than you and you're open-minded, things like that can happen. The company now sends out three emails a week.

Ultimately, Lacey says her advice for new entrepreneurs is to stick to your vision. In the beginning of the company's life, she was asked if she would make a pizza crust with fillers to make the manufacturing process less expensive.

I said no. I just wouldn't compromise that. I'm glad I stuck to that, Lacey says. I could've made a lot of money by now, a lot more money than I'm currently making if I would have cheapened the product. But I didn't want to mislead the public. I don't want to put out a cauliflower pizza crust that isn't healthy.  I want to be a resource [for our customers].

Related:

How the Founder of This Multimillion-Dollar Food Brand Found the Confidence to Be CEO

At 27, She Unexpectedly Became the CEO of Her Family Business. Now She is the Leader of a $120 Million Company.

Use This Mindset to Help Everyone in Your Network Succeed



Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
It was spring of 2015, and the green rush was on in New York. That state had concluded a long process and awarded the first five medical marijuana licenses to operators. Investor Gregg Smith saw many of his friends and former colleagues scouring the market, looking for any cannabis-related investments, with the most commonly sought-after being licenses to operate dispensaries. As a prior banker that had probably spent more than 50 percent of my career working on life sciences deals and with fast-growing tech companies, this smelled like the next new big industry, he tells Entrepreneur.

But while on the surface these looked like surefire bets, Smith believed that most opportunities he saw were significantly overpriced for the risk and earning potential. Plus, he felt like the coming proliferation of these stores and the ensuing margin compression that growers and sellers would eventually face were headwinds that were too strong to fight. It was like buying a New York City yellow taxi medallion at $1.2 million -- not for me, he says. NY taxi medallions now trade for less than $200,000 after Uber and Via brought technology and efficiency to the market.

Related: Here's How Warren Buffett and Other Top Investors Spend Their Days

Instead, Smith set his sights on investing in accessories and services that would benefit from the growing trend of states legalizing THC sales, without giving him exposure to the inflated values and asking prices of dispensaries. Thats when he stumbled upon Pax Labs, the No. 1 cannabis vaporizer brand, which has been referred to as the iPhone of vaporizers. It was July 2015, and not only had Pax achieved an incredible milestone in his view -- having sold 1 million of its signature vapes at $280 retail -- it had just completed an unnoticed $47 million private placement, led by Fidelity Investments, the giant mutual fund.

This stood out because it signaled to Smith that this company had public market potential and could IPO since it was blessed by blue-chip Fidelity, who had a high moral standard bar. Pax had just utilized their technology to bring to market the JUUL, a revolutionary nicotine delivery device that I thought would be a great investment hedge against the Pax and cannabis, says Smith. He believed that even if the legalization trend were to completely reverse course, consumers would still buy accessories for their black-market habits, much in the same vein that rolling papers have been sold at every c-store for many years.

Unfortunately, I didnt know anyone at the company, and they certainly didnt need any money from a New York-based, independent investor who only invested his own money and didnt even have a fund, he recalls. So Smith, a former investment banker who had spent 20 years on Wall Street at Bear Stearns, BofA Merrill, and was formerly the head of the Private Equity Group at Cowen, then set out to find shares to buy in Pax from any current holders he could find using his relationships. Within weeks, he struck gold. I found an existing Pax holder who had invested in the company in 2009 and was simply fatigued and wanted liquidity and was willing to sell, he explains.

Related: 20 Books Billionaire Bill Gates Recommends

Over the next two years, just as JUUL began to gain steam, Smith successfully purchased 1.5 percent of the company in secondary sales from more than six different holders, most at prices that were 15 percent less than what Fidelity had invested at, which was approximately a $215 million valuation. Today, after a split of the company into two separate companies -- Pax Labs and JUUL Labs -- and with JUULs recently announced raise valuing the company at $15 billion, his holdings are valued at more than $225 million, excluding his Pax shares.

Despite its meteoric rise, Smith says he has no desire to sell at the current prices and believes that JUUL has more than 4x upside over the next several years, which would value JUUL alone at $60 billion and his holdings at $900 million. JUUL has completely disrupted the combustible smoking market, and there are more than 1 billion existing smokers in the world who would benefit tremendously from switching to a JUUL. It has only just begun, Smith says. The U.S. has been won, and there is an enormous international opportunity ahead.

Related: Sand Hill Road Joins Private Capital Flooding Into Marijuana Startups

On the cannabis side, he remains extremely bullish on Pax Labs and its Pax Era product, which is aiming to be the Keurig of the oil vape market. His Pax investment continues to meet his investment thesis of not touching the plant, as Pax sells only accessories and empty pods to fillers, who bring to market their branded oil pods. I just dont see the 10x upside in the many touch the plant opportunities I have seen, he says.

Smith believes we are only in the second inning of a transition and major adoption of oil-based vapes and says the Pax Era is the best product on the market, with a wide variety of flavors meeting consumers needs. He has also invested in MJ Freeway, the leading seed-to-sale software provider to dispensaries, to help them manage the complexities of compliance in the marijuana industry. Again, this was a bet on the growth of dispensaries without actually investing in one, notes Smith. Other investors include Roger McNamee and Tao Capital Partners, an investment arm of the Pritzker family, which is also invested in Pax/JUUL.

New revenue opportunities.

Expanding from oil-based vaporizers, Smith recently made a significant investment in Hemper, the leading cannabis-accessory monthly subscription box service. To date, Hemper has shipped more than 200,000 monthly boxes (of all legal products) to smokers around the U.S. at $30 per box. This exposure and an engaged social media fan base have also allowed Hemper to achieve retail distribution in more than 800 stores, up from none last summer. In March, Smith invested $1 million in Hemper to give its three 26-year-old founders their first outside capital to ramp up marketing and new product introduction. Hemper is Supreme meets Apple -- Supreme from a brand and must-have perspective, and Apple from a focus on design and innovation, says Smith. Their products are not sophomoric; rather, they are well-designed functional smoking items that a new class of open smoker would be proud to showcase and possess. Hemper has plans to be in more than 3,000 stores by the end of 2019.

Related: Investing In Marijuana Businesses

Smith is now focused on personally investing $20 million in late seed-stage start-ups, with a focus on the N.Y. and Silicon Valley markets. He doesnt have a fund, and he doesnt want one because, he says, I dont want to be accountable to anyone but myself. He has invested in more than 30 private companies and funds, including such unicorns as Bird, Via and Coupang, and is a member of Sand Hill Angels, one of the oldest Silicon Valley-based angel investment groups. (Smith is its only East Coast member.) He has invested in many early-stage companies that have come through Sand Hill and recently led a $2.3 million series seed round for Krome Photos, of which he invested $1.5 million alongside other notable investors including River Park Ventures and Sand Hill Angels.

Smith says he prefers to focus on smaller companies where he can be an active participant and act as an outsourced business development executive, bringing strategic opportunities to them, which can accelerate the appreciation of his equity.

Where to invest next?

Investment opportunities have come to Smith from many places, but the one he is most astonished at sourcing was Honcker, an app that allows a user to lease a new car from a mobile device and have the vehicle delivered to their door the next day -- all at the best price in the market and without ever having to visit a dealership. After first seeing the app by happenstance in May 2018, Smith thought it was one of the most brilliant and scalable marketplace businesses he had ever seen, but he knew no one at the startup company, which had less than six employees. Thats when he took a flyer on a LinkedIn invitation he sent to the founder with a note that expressed his desire to invest. To his surprise, the founder returned his call and took a meeting, which marked the beginning of a process that ended with Smith leading a round and investing more than $2.2 million; he was joined by other leading New York venture investors. Smith joined the board and went to work, making introductions to car dealer groups, insurance companies, banks and, most importantly, IAC. After meeting the company and spending time with its founder, IAC proposed investing $23 million as the sole investor in Honckers A round -- just several months after Smiths investment closed. This investment was IACs first foray into the auto vertical and was at a tremendous multiple to the previous round. Honcker is on its way to becoming a billion-dollar company and has completely improved the car leasing experience. Their marketplace has been a digital extension of a dealers rooftop and enabled them to capture business they may not have. Its the Amazon Prime of car leasing, comments Smith.

Smiths passion for seed stage investing began in 1998 when he was 28 and worked full-time as an investment banker raising money for larger companies. I was approached by a 22-year-old first-time entrepreneur whod just started an online pet pharmacy called PetCareRx.com, selling prescription and non-prescription medications for cats and dogs at prices that were significantly cheaper than one would get from their local vet. He was solving a problem -- much like 1-800-Contacts -- and I wrote the first $50,000 check to help expand this fledgling business that operated out of a closet. After about two years, the young entrepreneur called Smith and told him he ran out of money and was simply going to fold that week. Smith thought the business made sense and asked the founder for 24 hours to come up with a plan. Days later, Smith and three friends injected approximately $300,000 in exchange for 70 percent of the business. Smith became the chairman. He worked to position and rename the business (its original name was EZPet) and recruit a CEO that could complement the young founder. Soon, he had successfully recruited not one, but two former Goldman Sachs retired partners who both had a passion for animals and a desire to be active in running a business and invest their own capital. Smith left the board in 2008 when PetCareRx.com had become the second-largest online pet pharmacy in the U.S. and Goldman Sachs had made a significant investment in it, and it was formally a Goldman portfolio company. Today the company is still private and growing, and Smith hasnt had a significant payday but says he is optimistic about remaining a passive shareholder.

Smith says his investment goals are simple: I want to have fun, make money and be a part of building exciting things. Since I am a one-man show and work for myself, I am always trying to learn, and I enjoy being around people smarter than me. I would be lying if I didnt say there is something so rewarding about looking through grains of sand on the beach and then finding the one that grows up and becomes a valuable diamond.













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Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
AMAC Aerospaces inauguration of the Wide Body Hangar in Milas-Bodrum, Turkey was celebrated with more than 100 guests from all over the world including politicians, airport authority officials, potential and existing clients, military personnel and the undersecretary for the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Turkey.

The new 4626 m Hangar will serve AMAC Aerospaces Maintenance Services in the Middle and Far East.

We are aiming to turn Mugla into an aircraft maintenance base in the region. Our goal is to bring private and passenger planes here. said Kadri Muhiddin, Group Executive Chairman & CEO of AMAC Aerospace.

To date, AMAC Aerospace are the first to use a mixed business model for this hangar facility where during the winter months, the hangar carries out commercial line and base maintenance. During the summer months, the MRO services flip over to VIP business maintenance. The new hangar can also be used while aircraft owners spend their holidays at the Turkish Rivera and in the meantime, the maintenance on their private jet can be performed.

Thanks to AMAC Aerospace Turkey, private jet owners in the Middle East will not have to go to Europe for the maintenance of their jets. We will be able to carry out the maintenance for all aircraft  from small sized jets to wide-body to aircraft. We want Turkey and Mugla to become a regional hub for aircraft maintenance.
STAMFORD  A city juvenile who pawned $35,000 worth of stolen possessions while allegedly robbing two occupied homes on Willowbrook Avenue two weeks ago had more burglary charges added to his adult cases.

During an appearance at the Stamford courthouse late Tuesday morning, Dereck Ramirez, 16, was charged with two counts of second-degree burglary, first-degree burglary, second-degree larceny and sixth-degree burglary.

Judge Lisa Grasso-Egan ordered that Ramirez be held in lieu of an additional $100,000 court appearance bond on the new charges. He is being held at the Manson Youth Institution in Cheshire.

A week ago, prosecutors moved the Willowbrook Avenue burglary charges from July 11 from the juvenile docket to the adult docket because of the severity of the crimes.

In October, Ramirez allegedly broke into three Stamford homes and led police in a chase to Pound Ridge, New York, in a stolen Silverado pickup truck. There, police say he rammed three Samford police cars before turning the pickup onto its roof in an attempt to get away.

He was extradited to Stamford in February and the burglary charges were put on the adult docket. But the charges were then moved to the juvenile docket, where they would have stayed had he not been allegedly caught on video for the Willowbrook Avenue burglary spree.

No pleas have been made in any of the cases. Right after Ramirez appearance in court Tuesday, his criminal defense attorney Frank Bevilacqua declined comment, saying he has not yet been presented with any of the police evidence against his client.

jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.com
T HE UKs oldest spreadbetter, IG Group, warned of lower sales on Tuesday because of an imminent ban on risky products to retail punters.

IG did not forecast the size of the drop but said last years revenue would have been down 10% if the rules had been in force.

From the beginning of next month, European law will trim the sale of contracts for difference and ban binary options for armchair investors. But professional investors will still be able to use the products.

About 20,000 of IGs retail customers have applied to become professionals to carry on using them, but only 4000 have passed the legal tests to convert.

Chief executive Peter Hetherington said the industry only has itself to blame for the crackdown. We see this as a product for the 1% not the 99% and the fact it continues to be marketed to the 99% has forced regulators to crack down on it.
L abours anti-Semitism disaster movie is an act of self-harm on a grand scale. Why does it run and run? Last night Labour MPs clashed with the partys ruling National Executive Committee over the failure to face up to charges of persistent anti-Semitism and a furious row over how far its definition should reach. The oddity is that a party so firmly in the grip of tacticians as focused as Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell should find itself in such a counterproductive position.

True, the Jewish vote is in itself very small. But it has a higher than average turnout in several key London seats. Even voters with little interest in the ins and outs of the present tensions will sense that something unpleasant might well be afoot if this story persists.

It also offends against one principle of Corbynism that has otherwise been practised with skill in the past two years  concealing extreme attitudes and remedies behind a benign were-here-to-help exterior. Contrast that with its attitudes to Jews and Israel. The Opposition has impaled itself on a hook of inactivity, implausible denial and a sullen insistence that criticism is stirred up by people of bad faith.

If Corbyn cannot rid himself of the curse of sympathisers who tweet bile about Jewishness and whose only understanding of Israel is as a cats paw of American imperialism, he is simply not trying hard enough to do so.

Anne McElvoy

The latest casus belli is the refusal of the NEC to accept the definition of anti-Semitism laid out by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, which prompted Barking MP Margaret Hodge to accuse Corbyn himself of fostering a racist argument .

I have a bit of sympathy with the awkward squad when it comes to having to abide by a long list of prohibitions on language. Labour might reasonably claim that while it is happy to absorb the spirit of the Alliances definition of anti-Semitism, it should decide itself what its code of conduct is.

However noble the aims of the Alliance in tackling the growth of anti-Semitism worldwide, its recommendations should be open to debate. However, this is neither the context nor even the letter of Labours stance. That much is evident in the bizarre argument that in order to preserve freedom to criticise Israels treatment of Arabs , it is OK to call the founding of the country a racist act.

Throughout all this a grudging tone has made it clear that the Labour leadership can muster no urgency to deal with the matter. Add to that the leaders unhappy habit of aligning himself with those who denigrate Israel and a disproportionate focus on the harms it commits compared with those of Hamas , Iran or President Assad in Syria and the disproportion is glaring. Peel back the layers of excuses and ask where this all comes from and we end up with the underlying explanation ambivalence (at best) to the historic aim of a Jewish homeland.

Plenty of people who look at what has happened in Israel and its occupied territories feel that the dream of a democratic state for Jews has failed to address the rights of Palestinians and ensure better treatment of the Arab minority. The human tragedies in the West Bank and Gaza deepen that justified criticism.

But hostility to a government is different from a hatred of the state of Israel as an expression of Jewishness  hence the revived attack on Zionism , a word used in this context as a criticism and the spawn of a very old argument about the uncertain status of Jewishness in Marxist ideology.

"If some Maleficent has cast a spell on the People's Party, it's players have little curiosity about what lies behind it."

These arcane deliberations gained fresh force in the later period of the Cold War and a concerted move to decry Israel and prod progressive opinion to oppose it, to the benefit of hostile Arab states. When I lived in East Germany in the mid-Eighties, the Communist Party daily, Neues Deutschland, was my window on the world from that perspective. Besides learning about the success of Moscow-backed guerrillas in Angola and friendly visits from Pyongyang (if you dont like mainstream media, try the state socialist sort).

A message pumped out with deadening frequency was that Israel and its American supporters were to blame for any mischief in the Middle East. This period crystallised the outlook on geo-politics that influenced Corbyn and McDonnell, his chancellor and chief ideologist. It is, as the new Left lexicon would put it, deeply problematic because it is also part of the bedrock of belief, not just a misunderstanding.

It explains which progressive international causes Labours new masters embrace  and which they dodge or talk down. The claim to be against all forms of racism misses the mark. There is a form of discrimination this creed is comfortable with and that is the kind associated with Israel.

It explains the peculiar bad luck by which friends-of-Jeremy end up in Facebook groups whose sympathy for Arab suffering has long morphed into an insatiable appetite for bashing Israel. Quirks of language tell their own story. Anti-Semitism is dismissed as a pocket of opinion  but why is it a pocket at all? Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey says the party is now in a very dark place as a result of the anti-Semitism row. But if some Maleficent has cast a bad spell on the Peoples Party, its key players have little curiosity about what lies behind it.

Now the leadership will doubtless announce that it is redoubling its efforts to (sort of) deal with the problem. But only because it is damaging Labours election chances rather than because it is wrong and dangerous to Jews in Britain and beyond. If the hard Left has such trouble getting rid of the anti-Semitic serpent in its bosom, it is because it has tolerated it for so long as an implicit part of its worldview. It cannot deal with present discontents unless it deals more openly with the recent past. And that is something Team Corbyn has zero intention of doing.
This represents double the current workforce and the most significant demand in the outlook's nine-year history.

The demand is being driven by an anticipated doubling of the global commercial airplane fleet  as reported in Boeing's Commercial Market Outlook  as well as record-high air travel demand and a tightening labor supply. This year's outlook also includes data from the business aviation and civil helicopter sectors for the first time.

"Despite strong global air traffic growth, the aviation industry continues to face a pilot labor supply challenge, raising concern about the existence of a global pilot shortage in the near-term," said Keith Cooper, vice president of Training & Professional Services, Boeing Global Services. "An emphasis on developing the next generation of pilots is key to help mitigate this. With a network of training campuses and relationships with flight schools around the globe, Boeing partners with customers, governments and educational institutions to help ensure the market is ready to meet this significant pilot demand."

Boeing offers the Pilot Development Program  an accelerated training program that guides future pilots from early stage ab-initio training through type rating as a first officer  to help operators meet their growing pilot needs. Boeing also helps operators improve crew efficiency with tools that optimize resources and minimize disruption.

Despite the commercial pilot demand forecast holding nearly steady, maintenance technician demand decreased slightly from 648,000 to 622,000, primarily due to longer maintenance intervals for new aircraft. Collectively, the business aviation and civil helicopter sectors will demand an additional 155,000 pilots and 132,000 technicians.

Demand for commercial cabin crew increased slightly from 839,000 to 858,000, due to changes in fleet mix, regulatory requirements, denser seat configurations and multi-cabin configurations that offer more personalized service. In addition, 32,000 new cabin crew will be required to support business aviation.
I n November 2016 the Mayor announced London was to have its own Night Czar. I felt proud. I felt excited. I felt slightly miffed that I didnt know that it was a career choice. London venues were dying at an exponential rate and the closure of places such Sohos Madame JoJos, one of Londons most loved clubs, was the last straw.

No, I hadnt been there in years. Yes, I would fight to the death to ensure that other people could experience a waterfall of sweat dripping on them from the clubs ceiling.

But it was OK! There was no need for anybody to panic. Our new Queen of the night, Amy Lame, was here. Appointed to shine a strobe light across London after dark and ensure that our great city was able to party like were not selling our souls to The Man.

The Night Czars appointment was accompanied by the Night Time Commission , a big bit of research to work out exactly what we all get up to between the hours of 6pm and 6am. Why? Our Mayor had outlined his vision for London as a 24-hour city .

Cut to July 2018 and wait, whats that? New venues in Hackney wont be able to open past 11pm ? Night markets have to close by 10pm? And were about to enter the most restrictive nightlife rulings this city has seen for years?

Gizzi Erskine, chef, Hackney resident and creative director of food venue Mare Street Market , says: Hackney is one of the most diverse, independent, exciting places in the world. The councils plans are a gift to big businesses and soulless chains  they risk turning somewhere as incredible as Hackney into a bland replica of Leicester Square, where only those with deep pockets can afford to do business.

The outcry on social media was a fair representation of how ludicrous this ruling is. Lame responded to the news on Twitter, stating local authorities and not the Mayors team rule on licensing  deep breath  before noting that she has demanded an urgent meeting with Philip Glanville, the mayor of Hackney, to discuss the matter further. Thank you, Night Czar.

Jonathan Downey , founder of London Union and numerous street food markets, has been vocal on the matter. Ive been opening bars, clubs, restaurants and night markets all over London for more than 21 years and this decision is easily the worst thing that has happened to the night-time economy in that time, he says.

"The most shocking part of this plan is that Hackney residents overwhelmingly voted against it"

Worse than the smoking ban, worse than the fire at the East Room in Shoreditch. It is a disastrous decision for anyone who lives, works or goes out in Hackney. This is likely to be the beginning of much more of the same right across London.

An appeal may be possible and it aint over until the fat lady sings. Not that shell be able to sing after 11pm if Hackney council gets its way.

Why the Island life is just too hot for me

London, I love you, but youre just not built for the heat. Neither am I, as it goes. My face is a permanant water feature. My showers are more regular than the 106 bus.

Dani Dyer / ITV

If there was an award for the sweatiest person in London Id be a strong contender. Im convinced that my reaction to the heat  and my ongoing frustration that London doesnt have a glistening ocean somewhere on the edge of Hyde Park to cool off in  is why Im one of the only Londoners not watching ITV2s Love Island . The thought of watching all these young, fit people swimming in the sunshine while Im sweating my bodyweight on the Central line isnt exactly appealing.

So we have a magical island. Owned by ITV and filled once a year with the children of people who were Famous At Some Point, such as Dani Dyer , oiling each other up between their daily lectures on the damaging effects of plastic on the oceans? Its educational as well as fun, isnt it? Thats why everybodys hooked, right? Guys?

*I have a confession. Last week, at a work-y type dinner, I introduced myself by my first name. Can you imagine? Its hard to even type this.

It was the most shocking thing Id done in ages. It had entirely slipped my mind that you must follow your real name with a job title, a company name or at least some sort of vital information so as not to cause confusion and unecessary stress to the person youre talking to. That toolkit of information we gift in our opening line that helps others judge us more informatively.
If, like me, you spent most Saturdays during your teen years in town trawling the rails of Tammy Girl, Morgan de Toi and Bay Trading and most weekdays attempting to bully your mum into buying you a pair of Kickers for your school shoes, theres every good chance you too will have owned a pair of Skechers Energy.

Launched in 1999 with campaigns fronted by Disney clubhouse members-turned-pop sensations Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, the chunky, lace-up sneakers were a cultural phenomenon so profound that Skechers hit sales of $960 million in 2001, and Forbes named them the hottest shoe company of the year.

Personally, I styled mine with a pair of baby blue cargo pants which, inexplicably, had vast quantity of straps hanging off them, a Punkyfish crop covered (again, inexplicably) in neon pink zips, my hair crispy from lashings of gold hair mascara and doused in enough Impulse Tropical to knock out a small cat.

I had totally resigned myself to the idea that I'd sartorially peaked in 2002.

But now, Skechers are officially back, and the fashion world is once again fizzing with possibility.

To clarify, we are not talking here about the deeply dubious body toning Shape Ups style that Kim Kardashian tried to make a thing back in 2011 (if you haven't seen Kim Kardashian's Skechers Shape-ups Super Bowl ad, you can catch it here) , we are talking about the Skechers DLite, a reworked, lighter-weight version of the 00s Energy, first launched in 2007.

The DLites were picked up again, as trends so often are, in South Korea, where bloggers and K-Pop stars began to embrace the style back in 2016. In March 2017, the Skechers flagship returned to Oxford Street after a four-year hiatus and in recent months the D'Lites have started to pop up on many a fashion influencers feed.

The style ties in perfectly with our love of '90s nostalgia, which has seen the return of brands like FILA, Ellesse and Kappa, and also with the enduring ugly, or dad, trainers trend.

And with prices for DLites starting at 59, theyre a damn sight more affordable than Balenciagas 615 Triple S ugly trainers, which have held pole position in the dad trainer stakes for several seasons.

Personally Im lusting after the all-white Bright Blossoms style, embroidered with pink flowers  almost sold out online already  which would make the sweetest, freshest accompaniment to a summery floral midi.

Skechers D'Lite Bright Blossoms, 64. Shop them here. / Skechers

Alternatively you could pair them with satin cargo pants and a white t-shirt for a fresh Dua Lipa-esque take on 2000s style.
F rom the weird to the even weirder, Camden Fringe takes over north London throughout August.

Now in its 12th year, Camden Fringe was set up by Zena Barrie and Michelle Flower as an alternative to Edinburgh Fringe, offering performers and audiences the chance to produce and enjoy the arts with less demand on time and money.

With theatre, music, comedy, spoken word, cabaret and improv spread across north London, it really is a wonderful option close to home if youre not keen on venturing up to Scotland.

There are more than 200 acts to choose from, but here are our picks of what to see.

The Sam Neill Experience: A Dance Musical

Apparently actors have to be all-singing, all-dancing these days. This new musical comedy follows a fictional version of everyones favorite Jurassic Park explorer Sam Neill, through his adventures with wine, dogs, disco and attempts to show the dance-obsessed younger generation that hes a superstar. Who hasnt wanted to see Sam Neill enter a dance contest? The answer is no one, obviously. (Very officially not-affiliated in any way to the Real Sam Neill.)

August 11-13, 2 Northdown

The best comedy at Edinburgh Fringe 2018 1 /9 The best comedy at Edinburgh Fringe 2018 The best comedy at Edinburgh Fringe 2018 Jen Brister Idil Sukan The best comedy at Edinburgh Fringe 2018 Sara Barron Carla Guler The best comedy at Edinburgh Fringe 2018 Rosie Jones Aemen Sukkar The best comedy at Edinburgh Fringe Suzi Ruffell Jiksaw The best comedy at Edinburgh Fringe 2018 Jamali Maddix The best comedy at Edinburgh Fringe 2018 Nish Kumar BBC/Endemol Shine UK The best comedy at Edinburgh Fringe 2018 Norris & Parker The best comedy at Edinburgh Fringe 2018 David O'Doherty The best comedy at Edinburgh Fringe 2018 Lazy Susan Bobby Goulding

How I Became a Dominatrix Using Damned Lies and Statistics

Ever wished you knew more about BDSM? This comedy was written with inspiration from BDSM classes, so its educational as well as entertaining. How I Became a Dominatrix Using Damned Lies and Statistics looks at sadomasochism from a factual point of view. Christie knows what she wants - she wants to become a dominatrix. Think Noel Coward rewriting 50 Shades of Grey set in the age of sexting and fetish dating sites.

July 30-August 3, Etcetera Theatre

The Passion according to BIBI

BIBI is the latest 1N5TA-5EX robot. BIBI learns, smiles, remembers your birthday, can talk about your interests, tell jokes and have sex at your will. Petar Miloshevskis new piece looks into the current conversation around the future of sex.

August 2-3, The Cockpit

Holly Burn: Gurn

c/o Camden Fringe

Feel the Burn. Comedian Holly Burn brings new material to the Fringe, with daft characters and silly voices. You might know her from ITVs Bad Bridesmaid or her viral internet hit, Victoria Beckhams Vogue 73 Questions Spoof, where she walked around a corner shop pretending to be Posh. Shes also a favourite of other comics, from James Acaster to Stewart Lee and Eddie Izzard.

August 2-3, 17, The Albany

Eurosceptic Song Contest

The Iain Duncan Smiths present the Eurovision-Brexit crossover weve all been waiting for. With performances from Borrissey, Snoop Mogg, David Davis Bowie, Corbzy and Farage Against the Machine, the Eurosceptic Song Contest is brought by two men and a guitar and some rubbish costume changes.

August 12-15, Camden Comedy Club

Fannytasticals

The female comedy troupes cabaret show has songs, sketches and skits looking at the world from a range of female perspectives. Join them on a journey into the depths of the female psyche, with performers, comedians, musicians and writers in their 20s, 30s and 40s. Leave your inhibitions at the door. Or better still, throw them away.

August 4-6, Etcetera Theatre

Crabmeat

c/o Camden Fringe

Is J being chased by an angry crab, or is he more anxious than normal? Either way, hes hiding in the loo at a gay club. Joshua Dean Perrys one-man, one-crustacean play recounts the events leading up to his toilet barricade, while the crab snaps at his heels, armed with insults and slurs. The darkly comic play is an exploration of the causes and effects of minority stress.

August 6-11, Tristan Bates Theatre

Tubman

19th century abolitionist and political activist Harriet Tubman, who led hundreds of enslaved people to freedom along the Underground Railroad, is brought to the 21st century by Lacresha Berry. Reimagined as a young woman in Harlem, she focuses on the mistreatment of black girls in school, examining the centuries old fight with race gender and equality.

August 11-12, Etcetera Theatre

Boxes

Brother and sister Toni and TJ tick an unusual combination of boxes: Mixed race, dual nationality, GI babies. Forced into a room together after their father dies, their newfound close proximity leads to revelations about themselves and their family, blowing apart the boxes they knew. Purple Theatres new play explores family, identity, race and gender in a post-modern Britain.

August 13-16, The Cockpit

The best new writing at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2018 1 /8 The best new writing at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2018 New writing at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2018 SPARKS Helen Maybanks New writing at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2018 Dangerous Giant Animals New writing at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2018 Sirens New writing at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2018 Sticks and Stones New writing at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2018 Hal Cruttenden stars in Brexit PA Archive/PA Images New writing at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2018 Kidding New writing at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2018 Busking It Helen Maybanks New writing at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2018 Angry Alan

[whalesong]

Technologist XVelastin prevents a subversive sound piece inspired by the way humanity has stolen whales voices to calming ourselves to distract us from our destruction of their ecology. It stars a submarine captain, underwater singing and a very lonely whale.

August 1-4, The Monkey House

Shes a Good Boy

c/o Camden Fringe

Called pretty the same amount of times as being called sir in an average week, Elise is often asked: Are you a boy or a girl? to which the answer is: No. Their show explores non-binary gender taking reference from their own experiences.

August 4-5, Etcetera Theatre

Tez Ilyas: Life is a Tezt

Wasting no time after his national tour, comedian Tez Ilyas is back with brand new material. Seen and heard on Man Like Mobeen, Mock the Week and TEZ Talks, his subversive and powerful topical stand-up has placed him firmly on the must-see comics list. Check out his work in progress for an early preview.

August 14-16, 2 Northdown

The Alternative Dairy Selection

c/o Camden Fringe

Vogueing, drag and contemporary dance theatre combine to explore how the LGBTQ+ community has helped everyone to embrace their own identities. Dance duo TobyLikesMILK share the stage with Haus of Anxiety, B-hybrid, The Yonis and Fay Revlon and Hannah Milan bringing new work.

August 24-25, The Cockpit

Zeus on the Loose

Theres nothing more epic than Greek mythology. Two sisters Aphrodite and Ilithyia could overturn even the most powerful of gods - though they dont know it. Hera does though, and as wife of Zeus, shes jealous and sets out to drive a stake between the sisters, enlisting the help of Hades, god of the underworld. Which is when everything starts to go wrong. (Strictly for grown-ups.)

August 23, The Cockpit

Feel the Fear

c/o Camden Fringe

Project Lockout tackles that feeling that plagues us all: fear. Combining spoken word with physical theatre, five people confront that uncomfortable sensation, hoping to make sense of it and discover its importance.

August 9-10, The Cockpit
T he Flemish Tourism Board have written an open letter to Mark Zuckerberg on Facebooks nudity policy, following the alleged removal of posts featuring nude paintings by Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens.

Flemish broadcaster VRT News reported that Toerisme Vlaanderen had issued the letter, which was signed by a number of museums, protesting about how the nudity ban was preventing them from promoting the work of the Old Master.

The letter said: We have noticed that Facebook consistently rejects works of art by our beloved Peter Paul Rubens Even though we secretly have to laugh about it, you cultural censorship is making life rather difficult for us.

Born in 1577, Rubens is widely considered the most influential artists of the Flemish Baroque movement, creating dramatic classical works that frequently include nude women, men and children, often depicted as cherubs.

The open letter also added: If Peter Paul Rubens had created a Facebook account in his lifetime, he would have had an extraordinary number of people following his fan page.

The board also produced a playful video showing security staff removing visitors to galleries if they have a Facebook profile and are found looking at paintings featuring nudity.
A n evening under the stars will become a reality for many Londoners tonight as the second supermoon of 2020 reaches its zenith.

The phenomenon is one of the annual "worm moons"  named for the earthworms that emerge as the ground thaws with the beginning of spring.

The moon will be visible from after sunset at around 5.35pm, rising in the east and appearing 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than a normal moon  so it can be seen without specialist equipment. In fact, it offers a fantastic opportunity for budding astronomers in the capital this evening.

Still, it's recommended to find somewhere with dark skies, a clear horizon and little light pollution, which means Londons parks are the top options. Do take care if visiting parks after dark, and be sure to check closing times for all of them before heading down  we've had a look but in our experience, parks can operate to their own strange schedule, which often isn't publicised. Times can sometimes vary depending on weather and time of year, but don't worry if you arrive to find the parks shut  if you're unable to access them, the streets surrounding them should offer decent views too.

Greenwich Park

Dominic Lipinski/PA

The most famous observatory in the UK is found in the bounds of Greenwich Park, and its no surprise that the area has attracted countless stargazers down the years. The picturesque setting is the perfect place to pitch up your telescope, and the higher ground leading up to the observatory offer a fantastic view. Closing time is listed as 7pm.

The WaterWorks Nature Reserve

It might be a little way out from the centre of town, but this spot is easy enough to get up, being right by Lea Bridge station. While the reserve itself is shut from 4pm, the public rights of way are and it's worth tripping up here as it's one of London's three certified Dark Sky Discovery Sites (the others are Regents Park and Grove Park). With low levels of light pollution, you're all but guaranteed a clear view of the sky.

Hyde Park

Getty Images

Theres an enormous 350 acres for stargazers to discover in this historic park. There are plenty of great vantage spots to be found, just be sure to stay well clear of the Serpentine after dark. Its also home to all sorts of wildlife, with hundreds of species making their home across the parks sprawling grounds, so keep an eye out for them too. The park is listed as being open until midnight.

In pictures - London's Royal Parks 1 /40 In pictures - London's Royal Parks St James's Park PA Richmond Park PA Regent's Park PA Regent's Park PA Regent's Park PA Regent's Park PA Kensington Gardens PA Hyde Park PA Hyde Park PA Kensington Gardens PA Kensington Gardens PA Hyde Park PA Kensington Gardens Jeremy Selwyn Kensington Gardens Jeremy Selwyn Kensington Gardens Jeremy Selwyn Hyde Park PA Greenwich Park Getty Images Greenwich Park Daniel Lynch St James's Park PA St James's Park PA Richmond Park PA Richmond Park PA Richmond Park PA Bushy Park PA Bushy Park PA Richmond Park PA Regent's Park PA Regent's Park PA Regent's Park PA Richmond Park PA Hyde Park PA Hyde Park PA Hyde Park PA Greenwich Park PA Green Park PA Green Park PA Greenwich Park PA Green Park PA Green Park PA Green Park PA

Hampstead Heath

Hampstead Heath is already a popular spot for stargazers  there are reports of a lunar loving club who head to the pub for a top up before popping out to stare at the sky. The wood is probably your best bet for the least light pollution; though, of course, the trees might get in the way. Best of luck. The park is open 24 hours a day.

The Regent's Park

PA Archive/PA Images
Ripley - Alien

Sigourney Weaver was a relative unknown when she took the lead role as Ripley in Ridley Scotts Alien in 1979. While the rest of the crew on the spaceship Nostromo are picked off one by one, Ripley shows nerves of steel and battles the terrifying xenomorph. Things only got more heroic when she returned to the role in James Camerons Aliens six years later. Ripley's performance came to embody a shining example of second wave feminism in the late 70s and its depiction of a woman overcoming extreme situations against all the odds is as enduring now as it was then.
W e live in strange times, to the point where this opening sentence could now come with a trigger warning. This month, students defaced a mural at Manchester University featuring Rudyard Kiplings poem If in a protest against his racist work. They replaced it with a piece by Maya Angelou, to take a stand against black and brown voices being written out of history. Meanwhile, a professor at Bath University has been advised to dump any use of the phrase as you know in lectures to minimise the risk of unnerving students who arent up to speed.

Attitudes like these have been called vindictive protectiveness by the authors of a new book, The Coddling of the American Mind. In it, free speech campaigner and lawyer Greg Lukianoff and psychologist Jonathan Haidt take issue with the culture of self-care and safe spaces, while also treating students as the victims, rather than the cause. They cite one professor who has written an anonymous essay titled Im a Liberal Professor, and My Liberal Students Terrify Me. So, before you drop the snowflake bomb, consider their third perspective.

Fragile vs anti-fragile

Young people today are under enormous pressure to perform academically, argue Lukianoff and Haidt, while all teens face new forms of harassment, insult and social competition from social media. Economic prospects, against a backdrop of globalisation and automation, are not rosy.

The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt is out in September (ES Local Feed ) / ES Local Feed

We have fallen into a fallacy callout culture in which mental fragility is given too great a weight, amidst a rise in safetyism.

When students are reacting to real problems, they are more likely to engage in thought patterns that make the problems seem more threatening, which makes them harder to solve, they argue. Human beings need physical and mental challenges or they deteriorate. By treating each other as fragile, were building a poorer population, the book argues.

Like an immune system, we need stress to learn, adapt and grow. Maybe youre not stressed enough?

Triggered

True, the number of skilled provocateurs and trolls booked on campuses has spiked since 2016. Milo Yiannapolous even named his 2017 speaking tour Milos Troll Academy Tour. But the idea that students should not be exposed to offensive material is now a majority position. One of the great untruths of the age, they argue, lies in the misapprehension of feelings.

We should confront our feelings and those of others, critically. No-platforming, for instance, is a non-confrontation. Wouldnt our relationships be better if we all did a little less blaming and dichotomous thinking, and recognised that we usually share responsibility for conflicts? they say.

Us vs them

Tribalism comes naturally. The bottom line is that the human mind is prepared for tribalism, write Lukianoff and Haidt. Human evolution is not just the story of individuals competing with other individuals within each group; its also the story of groups competing with other groups  sometimes violently.

The impulse is to stay within your set. But being prepared for tribalism doesnt mean we have to live in tribal ways, Lukianoff and Haidt say. The human mind contains evolved cognitive tools but we dont use all of them all the time. We can choose.

When distinctions between groups are emphasised rather than downplayed it immediately turns tribalism up, making people highly attentive to signs that reveal which team a person is on.

Break the cycle

Start as early as you can. It was foolish to think one could clear the road for ones child before the internet, the authors argue. Now it is impossible.

Children need to develop a normal immune system, rather than an allergic response.

This is a multi-step journey, partly by bike  the authors advocate bicycle riding to and from junkyard playgrounds to encourage them to take small risks.

Encourage your children to engage in a lot of productive disagreements, they advise, which is easy for them to say  they havent met your kids. Dont think about people as good vs evil  give them the benefit of the doubt. Above all, think positively.
D uring summer, it's pretty standard to see people walking around with a trusty bottle of water.

Yet a study by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) revealed that 89 per cent of Brits are not drinking enough water to maintain healthy hydration levels.

So, how much water do we really need to drink and what steps can you take to make sure you keep hydrated?

Why is drinking water important?

On average, our bodies are made up of 60 per cent water - and we need to get that from somewhere!

Water is essential for our cells and organs in order for them to work properly - and it helps get rid of waste products.

Without water, you'll become dehydrated and you'll quickly begin to feel the effects - headaches, dry mouth, dizziness and tiredness, sound familiar? This is your body's way of telling you that you need to drink up.

How much water should I be drinking?

There's no universally agreed quantity of how much water we should be drinking.

The European Food Safety Authority recommends that the minimum water consumption should be two litres for men and 1.6 litres for women, which is roughly between 6-8 glasses.

This number will vary depending on what climate you're in, however. In the summer's hot weather - or when you're exercising - you should aim to drink more water.

What are the benefits of drinking water?

Aside from maintaining overall health, there are some great benefits to drinking water.

WEIGHT LOSS: As well as being involved in the metabolic process, experts have found that drinking water before a meal could help you feel fuller and prevent overeating.

As well as being involved in the metabolic process, experts have found that drinking water before a meal could help you feel fuller and prevent overeating. ENERGY BOOST: Since our bodies are made up of 60 per cent water, dehydration can cause our cognitive processes to diminish. Next time you want to reach for the tar-flavoured office coffee for an energy, walk to the water cooler instead.

Since our bodies are made up of 60 per cent water, dehydration can cause our cognitive processes to diminish. Next time you want to reach for the tar-flavoured office coffee for an energy, walk to the water cooler instead. CLEARER COMPLEXION: Drinking water is far better for your skin than dairy-based or sugary drinks. The skin is an organ too, so it benefits from taking in water just the same.

Can you die from drinking too much water?

Well technically, yes, but you'd have to drink gallons and gallons of it. There have been cases of what's called water intoxication, but it's extremely rare.

Is filtered water better for you?

No - at least there's no evidence to prove as such. The UK has some of the cleanest and safest tap water in the world, and whilst buying a filter may help filter out additional bacteria, no one's died from drinking tap water yet so one can assume it's perfectly fine.

Some people think that filtered water tastes better though, so it's all down to preference and whether you can be bothered to waste money on a water filter.

How can I make sure I drink enough water?

The simple answer would be to guzzle water all day long, but the truth is that not a lot of people like the taste of plain old water.

Luckily, you can get your daily intake of water from plenty of other liquid sources including tea, soup, milk and coffee. We can also get water from vegetables like cucumber, celery, lettuce and fruits like watermelon, cantaloupe and strawberries.
S unshine Saturday falls this weekend, which means lots of people will be attempting to escape the January blues by booking their summer break, leaving a good few months to pay it off and save up some spends.

If you're in need of a bargainous break this year - and let's face it who isn't? - Then you might want to cast your eye back to Post Office Travel Money's most recent Holiday Costs Barometre, for an indication on where your cash will go furthest.

The report assesses the cheapest places for a beach holiday in Europe by analysing costs associated with a typical day for a family on holiday in 15 popular resorts, in places like Croatia, the Algarve, Greece, and Spain and Turkey.

It factors in the cost of 13 holiday items ranging from a lilo, to a half day on a sun-lounger, suncream, and a meal out for four, including three courses for two adults, two for two children.

It was the Turkish resort of Marmaris, below, which came out as the most purse-friendly option, however, it's important to note that costs for this report were calculated in mid-2018.

Sedir Island is a popular attraction from Marmaris (Shutterstock) / Shutterstock / Nejdet Duzen

The items in the Post Office's "barometer basket" would set you back an estimated 79.91 in the resort, according to Post Office Travel Money, which is over a third less than what it would have cost you in 2017. For example, a glass of wine would set you back a mere 2.29 and a beer 1.63. Last year's fall in costs for Brits on holiday in Turkey was down to a slump in the value of the Turkish lira against the pound.

Marmaris / Pixabay

Marmaris also knocked Bulgaria's Sunny Beach resort off the "cheapest" spot, where the same items would have cost an estimated 83.99.

The next cheapest destination was the Costa del Sol in Spain (97.09), followed by Crete (126.53) and Corfu (132.04) in Greece - the latter of which saw the biggest fall in prices of those in the Eurozone, by 24.2 per cent.
A 54-year-old man caught after a Tube driver him carrying a bag of Jihad leaflets has been jailed.

Khalid Baqa used a printing and copying shop in east London to make copies of jihad-related flyers he later distributed.

Police traced him by looking at CCTV footage which showed him leaving the Royal London Hospital with the bag before getting on the Tube.

CDs, identical to others found at Baqa's home, containing hate and terrorist-related speeches were also discovered in the chapel of the hospital, police said.

He pleaded guilty to five counts of dissemination of terrorist publications and was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Tuesday to four years and eight months in jail.

Police said Baqa, from east London, had also radicalised an impressionable teenager, who then helped him distribute the material.

The 17-year-old was given a 12-month intensive referral order at Barkingside Magistrates' Court on March 5 after pleading guilty to one count of dissemination of terrorist material and two counts of doing an act encouraging or enabling another to commit an offence, the force added.

Commander Clarke Jarrett, head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command said: "This investigation came about after a vigilant Tube driver found suspicious items that had been left on his Tube and reported this to police.
From August, the UAE national airline will introduce a range of exclusive amenity bags and toiletries for its customers travelling in The Residence on its Airbus A380s, and on long-haul First Class and Business Class services. The iconic brand will also feature in the airlines flagship First Class Lounge & Spa in Abu Dhabi.

Linda Celestino, Etihad Airways Vice President Guest Experience and Delivery, said: Acqua Di Parma is universal in its appeal, effortlessly combining, traditional know-how, craftsmanship and innovation with a modern Italian, yet very international flair. We could think of no better brand partner who stands for the same understated elegance, focus on design, luxury and warmth associated with Etihad as a world-leading airline. We look forward to exploring opportunities to expand our partnership even further.

CEO & President of Acqua Di Parma, Laura Burdese, added: After 102 years, Acqua Di Parma has become an icon of Italian style, the essence of sophistication and effortless elegance Italy is known for around the world. We are extremely selective when choosing brands to associate with, but partnering with a world-leading airline like Etihad was a natural choice due to its premium services and high-end inflight experience.

Extending this partnership through an exclusive selection of products in The Residence, First and Business Class, centered around our signature Colonia fragrance, was a highly anticipated extension and development of this long-term association. I see this partnership as an enhancement of a relationship founded on the same shared values of excellence and quality, and the perfect opportunity to bring the Italian warmth and refined elegance over the world in the most gratifying way possible.

In The Residence, the airlines revolutionary three-room cabin on Airbus A380 aircraft flying from Abu Dhabi to London, Paris, New York and Sydney, guests are provided with a bespoke range of fragrances and toiletries provided in their own private shower room, including a Colonia amenity kit. Colonia Pura is provided for men and Magnolia Nobile for women.

Yellow, the colour synonymous with the Italian brand, is used for all First Class bags, while Business Class bags are offered in the same yellow, and also in black.

The First Class unisex cylinder bag contains a miniature bottle of Colonia, a 40ml body lotion and lip balm. First Class toiletries include Colonia hand wash and hand cream, and Colonia bathroom amenity kits feature shower gel, body lotion, hair shampoo, and hair conditioner.

The Business Class unisex wallet bag, which can be buttoned to create a stylish and useful valet tray, contains a Colonia sampler and hand cream, which will also be dispensed in the Business Class washrooms.

Celestino adds: Just as Etihad is not just simply an airline, Acqua Di Parma is more than just a fragrance. Both are respected and loved luxury brands. This partnership showcases refined Italian style and Arabian hospitality and we know it will prove very popular with our guests. The range of products chosen will enhance their comfort onboard and will also define their journey through this new sensory experience.

It also highlights cross-cultural similarities and the importance of the sense of smell throughout everyday life, which can elevate the mood, and links fragrances to memorable experiences. The original Colonia was sprayed onto gentlemens tailored suits as a finishing touch, just as Oud would be anointed onto the Farokha tassel of an Emirati Kandora, or sprayed onto the Abaya.
A mother saved the life of her seriously ill child by becoming Europes first live liver and small bowel donor in a procedure carried out at a London hospital.

Anna Pierzchalas daughter Emilia, four, was born with a faulty immune system and had to have her liver and small intestine removed.

Thanks to the 10-hour transplant carried out at Kings College Hospital, however, she has now fully recovered.

Mrs Pierzchala, 38, who has worked as an economist, had part of her liver and 1.5 metres of her intestine removed. She said: When the team at Kings asked me if Id donate my liver and bowel, I thought, I gave Emilia life once, Ill do it twice.

Were both doing excellently and Emilia has a new chance at life  she really is a different child. We want to say a big thank you to everybody who played a part in Emilias care.

The procedure, which took place a year ago, required two months of meticulous planning. Doctors travelled to the US to visit a Chicago hospital which had carried out similar surgery.

Hector Vilca-Melendez, the surgeon who carried out the transplant, said: It was the first time wed been faced with the need of using a live donor to perform a combined liver and intestinal transplant on a patient so sick. But we knew it could be done.

At Kings we try to push boundaries. It was a big operation but Emilia would have died without this surgical procedure, the post-transplant care and the selflessness of her mother.

Emilia was born with an abnormal intestine, as well as issues with her immune system. She had to be fed through her veins because her bowel was too short to function properly. She was placed on a transplant waiting list but her health had deteriorated.

The hospital caring for her in Vienna, Austria, where Emilia lives, referred her to Kings. Experts at the south London acute care NHS trust decided a live combined transplant was the best option. It is one of only a handful of centres in Europe that can handle such complex procedures.
C hinatown closed its doors to diners and visitors in protest at a Government clampdown on illegal immigration.

Chefs, waiters and leading members of the Chinese business community closed their restaurants in protest at Home Office raids over illegal workers.

They marched through London calling for an end to the hostile environment towards migrant workers and what they described as the criminalisation of communities.

Lady Xuelin Li Bates, of the UK Chinese Business Association, told the Standard the community feels it is being unfairly targeted.

Earlier this month there were clashes between protesters and officers after footage of a raid in which five men were held went viral on Chinese social media sites.

The Home Office today rejected claims that immigration officers are carrying out fishing expedition raids on the area.

A Home Office spokesman said: While we respect the publics right to protest, it is important that any demonstrations do not obstruct our officers from carrying out their lawful business.

He said that enforcement teams visited businesses in Chinatown seven times in the first six months of 2018, with 19 people found to be working or living there illegally.

In a letter to the Evening Standard today, Lady Bates described the raids as heavy handed and warns the Government to ensure UK projects the right image to China.

She said: The Chinese are well behaved and wont cause any trouble, but this time they want to raise their voice. People really have had enough.
B ritains divorce bill with the EU could rise above 39 billion, the Government has admitted.

Ministers estimate the amount agreed so far is between 35 and 39 billion. But in a White Paper out today, they accept this does not include the cost of bureaucracy which might be needed for trade and other ties with the EU after Brexit.

The Government has also already committed 3 billion to preparing for the UK crashing out of the union with no deal.

Brussels will hand Britain monthly bills to pay the divorce settlement, which the Government accepts could change.

Thousands of anti-Brexit activists march to Parliament in protest 1 /12 Thousands of anti-Brexit activists march to Parliament in protest Demonstrators head towards Parliament Square. REUTERS Signs include 'I love EU' REUTERS The pro-EU march began in Hyde Park Corner. Si Carrington 'NHS? Brexit Wrexit' Oliver Day The march took protesters through the streets of London. Oliver Day One protester brought along a papier mache Queen, in reference to the blue and yellow hat she wore at the State Opening of Parliament. Peter Bailey 'Exit Brexit' Jonathan Hawley The September sun shone as activists marched through the streets. Martin Tod Roads were blocked during the protest. Maggie Jones The campaigners set off shortly after 11am from Hyde Park Corner. Maggie Jones The rally saw the activists march through the streets of central London. Johann Ketel EU colours of blue and yellow were seen throughout the march. Judi Conner

A number of technical factors could affect the size of payments due and, therefore, the ultimate value of the settlement, the document, called Legislating for the Withdrawal Agreement between the UK and the EU, explained.

The UK will employ auditors to ensure Brussels will not overcharge the UK.

The divorce bill also does not include any payments the UK might make as part of any future trade deal or to carry on taking part in EU agencies and projects.

The White Paper was published as David Lidington, the de-facto Deputy Prime Minister, urged France to ditch its hardline stance on Brexit, which has seen Paris try to lure thousands of bankers away from London.

Jeremy Hunt warns no-deal Brexit 'now a real risk'

His trip came the day after Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt travelled to Berlin to warn of the risks of a no deal by accident.

Cabinet ministers are visiting the Continent to persuade national governments to lean on Brussels to be open to accepting the bulk of Theresa Mays Chequers Brexit blueprint proposals.

Mr Lidington has been a leading advocate of a Brexit which protects the economy and jobs. A source close to Mr Lidington said: He will be setting out the detail of our proposals and underlining that both sides will need to be pragmatic.

City chiefs believe France is hoping to siphon off a significant amount of business from the Square Mile. US banks are also suggesting that Britain will have to cut taxes and red tape to protect jobs and assets in the City to stop it losing its edge on New York after Donald Trump cut corporation tax, the Financial Times reported.
T heresa May has announced she is taking personal control of EU negotiations in what has been described as a demotion for the new Brexit secretary.

The Prime Minster informed Parliament that she will lead the process and new Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab will be "deputising" on her behalf.

She announced the change in organisation following several weeks of chaos surrounding the negotiations over the UKs withdrawal from the EU.

The row saw the resignation of both Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Brexit Secretary David Davis, who was replaced by Raab.

Demoted: new Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab / PA

Mrs May said on Tuesday that the Europe Unit  led by Olly Robbins in the Cabinet Office which reports direct to the Prime Minister  will have "overall responsibility for the preparation and conduct of the negotiations", drawing on support from Mr Raab's Department for Exiting the EU, she said.

In a statement in Parliament shortly after being appointed as David Davis's replacement earlier this month, Mr Raab made clear he accepted his role as the PM's deputy in negotiations with Brussels.

Asked whether he would be "calling the shots" in his new job, the Brexit Secretary told the House of Commons last week: "No, it is the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.

New Brexit minister says EU meeting constructive

"I will be deputising for the Prime Minister in the negotiations."

In a written statement to the Commons, Mrs May spelt out how the change to operations will work.

"DExEU will continue to lead on all of the Government's preparations for Brexit: domestic preparations in both a deal and a no-deal scenario, all of the necessary legislation, and preparations for the negotiations to implement the detail of the Future Framework.

"I will lead the negotiations with the European Union, with the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union deputising on my behalf.

Mrs May has been under intense pressure / Getty Images

"Both of us will be supported by the Cabinet Office Europe Unit and with this in mind the Europe Unit will have overall responsibility for the preparation and conduct of the negotiations, drawing upon support from DExEU and other departments as required.

"A number of staff will transfer from DExEU to the Cabinet Office to deliver that."

Mrs May said that DExEU will recruit some new staff to work on preparations for Brexit, while a number of Cabinet Office officials will move over to the department.

There will be no net reduction to staff numbers in Mr Raab's department, she said.

Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, a supporter of the Best for Britain campaign for a second referendum, said: "It's a demotion for Dominic Raab - we can all see that.

"The Prime Minister has shown how wafer-thin her confidence in the new DExEU minister is, launching a desperate attempt to take back control, two years late.

"We know DExEU is a huge waste of money. Now we're going to be wasting money on a whole department to prepare for the increasingly likely no-deal nightmare.

"Let's scrap all of this rubbish and concentrate on safeguarding jobs, our public services and the future prosperity of this country.
M otorists have today been warned that roads in London could start to melt as temperatures in the capital hit a sweltering 35C.

The RAC told the Standard this morning roads may begin to soften in the extreme heat - causing surfaces to become sticky, which can lead to cars losing grip.

The warning comes after Britain sizzled in 33.3C heat yesterday - officially the hottest day of the year - with forecasters warning temperatures will continue to soar towards the end of the week.

UK weather forecast: Amber alert as heatwave continues

The Met Office, which recorded the high temperature in Suffolk yesterday, said there is a slim chance the hottest day on record - when 38.5C (101.3F) was recorded in Faversham, Kent, in August 2003 - could be smashed in the next few weeks.

Scorching temperatures have turned Britain's parks yellow / EPA

Today, temperatures of about 28C were predicted, with 32C forecast on Thursday and 31C on Friday.

RAC spokesperson Rod Dennis said: In the sweltering heat, the temperature of roads and pavements is generally far higher than the air temperature. While its not hot enough to fry an egg on - not that wed ever recommend that  some surfaces are likely to get sticky with the heat. This can cause vehicles to lose grip, so drivers shouldnt be surprised to see gritters out in a few places by the end of this week.

Brits have flocked to UK beaches as the mercury rises / Getty Images

The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning advising people to stay out of the sun until the end of the week.

Sales of many heatwave-related products have also spiked, with sales of air-cooling fans on Amazon up 2,100 per cent in the first three weeks of July compared to the same period in May, when the weather was on average a more modest 17C

Over the same period, the online retail giant has also seen a 130 per cent increase on sales for outdoor furniture sets, a 650 per cent spike on selected swimming pools - such as the 83 Intex Frame Pool - and a 500 per cent rise in inflatable hot tubs.
The row over whether the Government is right to have effectively washed its hands of the Islamic State Beatles is likely to be replicated in future, following a decision to abandon dozens of former Britons to their fate overseas.

New figures, published by Home Secretary Sajid Javid, show 104 people had their citizenship removed in 2017, in addition to 14 who suffered the same fate the year before. Not all will have been terrorists, because the powers can apply to war criminals, those who commit serious organised crime, and those who have worked for other countries.

But the principal target has been those like the two Beatles, who have travelled abroad to fight for IS. Disclosing the figures yesterday, Mr Javid argued that deprivation of citizenship is particularly important in helping prevent the return to the UK of certain dual-national British citizens involved in terrorism-related activity in Syria or Iraq, and is part of a broader range of anti-terror policies.

Many will agree with the Governments approach. But dangers remain. One, as exemplified by the potential transport of Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh to the US, is that former Britons will end up facing justice in countries that have the death penalty. Some could be exposed to the risk of torture or other human rights abuses.

The other risk is that former Britons who find themselves unable to return will either carry on fighting in Syria or move to take part in terrorism elsewhere, inflicting murder or fuelling online radicalisation of others  so the UK and its citizens might still not be immune from their threat. There are no easy options when dealing with this countrys foreign fighters.
N ovichok victim Charlie Rowley has described how the deadly nerve agent only took 15 minutes to poison his partner after she sprayed it on her wrists believing it was expensive perfume.

Mr Rowley, 45, believes he may have had the bottle in his home for a couple of days before giving it to 44-year-old Dawn Sturgess as a present.

Mr Rowley spilt some of the contents on his hands and washed it off, possibly sparing him from the fate of his partner who never recovered and died in hospital days later.

In an interview with ITV, he said he could not remember exactly where he found the glass bottle but said it came with a plastic dispenser in a small box.

Victim: Dawn Sturgess died in hospital days after being exposed to a nerve agent / AFP/Getty Images

He said that Ms Sturgess had recognised the brand as an expensive perfume and sprayed it on herself before feeling ill minutes later.

"I do have a memory of her spraying it on her wrists and rubbing them together, he said.

"I guess that's how she applied it and became ill. I guess how I got in contact with it is when I put the spray part to the bottle... I ended tipping some on my hands, but I washed it off under the tap. My hands were covered in the stuff

Investigation: the home of Charlie Rowley, 45, in Muggleton Road in Amesbury / PA

"It had an oily substance and I smelled it and it didn't smell of perfume. It felt oily. I washed it off and I didn't think anything of it. It all happened so quick.

"Within 15 minutes Dawn said she had a headache. She asked me if I had any headache tablets. In that time she said she felt peculiar and needed to lie down in the bath. I went into the bathroom and found her in the bath, fully clothed, in a very ill state."

The pair were found unless on June 30 at Mr Rowleys home in Amesbury and Ms Sturgess died on July 8.

He said: When I came round, weeks after, the police were talking to me and they mentioned a bottle they found in the flat.

They ran tests on it and I could pretty much guarantee the contents of the bottle was perfume and it was nothing to worry about.

They ran tests on it and I was in complete shock when they told me it was Novichok."

What is Novichok?

Mr Rowley also said he still feels to blame for what happened to her but criticised the "irresponsible people" who left the poison for anybody to pick up.

"It was just so unfortunate. I'm very angry at the whole incident," he added.

He paid tribute to his partner, describing her as a "lovely lady" and a "wonderful woman" with a big heart.

Dawn: Mr Rowley described his partner as a 'lovely lady with a big heart' / AFP/Getty Images

"Dawn was a loving, caring mother," he said. "She had so much time for her daughter and her two boys.

He revealed she had planned to move to Amesbury from John Baker House, her sheltered accommodation in Salisbury, within two weeks.

She was going to be very close, but it wasnt to be, he said, trailing off.

Emergency services in Salisbury following the poisoning / Getty Images

The interview comes as police announced the cordon at Ms Sturgess's home would be lifted after investigators found no contamination risk at the building.

Mr Rowley and Ms Sturgess were victims of the second nerve agent incident in four months following the case of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

They were found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury in March.
T he public sector pay cap is set to end with more than one million workers expected to receive a salary increase, it has been reported.

Pay rises of between one a four per cent to teachers, doctors and those in the armed forces are to be announced on the last day of the parliamentary term, according to the Times.

The Governments pay restraint policy has seen a two-year freeze after the Conservative-led coalition came to power in 2010, followed by a one per cent annual limit from 2013.

Some teachers will receive a pay increase of 3.5 per cent, prison service workers 2.75 per cent and armed forces two per cent, all of which will be backdated to the start of the financial year in April, the same newspaper reported.

Separately, more than one million health workers are to receive a pay rise worth 6.5 per cent for most staff over the next three years, after a deal was struck in June.

Members of 13 unions representing hospital cleaners, nurses, security guards, physiotherapists, emergency call handlers, paramedics, midwives, radiographers and other NHS staff across England voted to accept the deal.

The GMB is the only union involved in the NHS which has rejected the offer.

The proposed pay increases will be funded from departmental savings, rather than the Treasury offering new funds, The Sun reported.

It comes after members of the biggest civil service union backed strikes over pay but failed to meet a legal threshold on industrial action ballots.

The Public and Commercial Services union said on Monday 85 per cent of those voting supported strikes in protest at the Government's policy on pay.

It was the biggest yes vote in the union's history, but the turnout was 41 per cent - below the 50 per cent threshold.

In May, Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood said Britain's armed forces needed a pay rise in order to protect recruitment.
T he home of the iconic Red Arrows is set to be sold off in a string of Government cuts, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

RAF Scampton, in Lincolnshire, will be sold in a bid to save 3 billion by 2040.

Downing Street defended the plans, announced in the RAFs 100th anniversary year. It said moving to a more modern and efficient base would save taxpayers 140 million.

The base opened in 1916, and is famously known as the headquarters of 617 Squadron as it prepared for the Dambusters mission in the Second World War.

RAF Scampton opened in 1916 / PA

Scampton is also the headquarters of 1 Air Control Centre, which protects UK airspace from hostile aircraft. Tobias Ellwood, under secretary of state at the MoD, said the sale will be complete by 2022.

He said: The disposal of the site would offer better value for money and, crucially, better military capability by relocating the units based there.

The Red Arrows in a flypast over RAF Scampton / PA

Sir Edward Leigh, Conservative MP for Gainsborough, said he was "saddened" that Scampton, which is in his constituency, was to be sold.

He tweeted: "Saddened that the Ministry of Defence want to sell RAF Scampton as part of cost-saving measures. Not the best way to mark the RAF100: closing the home of the RAF Red Arrows and Dambuster squadron.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said: "That closure is part of a plan to deliver modern and efficient military bases, which will save the taxpayer about 140 million by the end of the decade.
These days there is no real let-up in the pressure on NHS services in summer in the way we used to see.

But the heatwave has meant that in some places at least, we're back to winter conditions - in hospitals, community, mental health and ambulance services - and although fewer staff are off sick there are more away on holiday.

Some trusts are reporting record numbers of people coming into A&E, with increased emergency admissions, often for respiratory problems and conditions made worse by dehydration.

We have heard concerns about large numbers of people from care homes requiring treatment.
ExecuJets MRO facility in Johannesburg is based at Lanseria International Airport, and has been a Honeywell Approved Facility for more than 20 years. ExecuJet is a Honeywell TFE731 specialist, providing manufacturer-standard services and quality workmanship to its customers. Honeywell is recognising this distinction with the awarding of this prestigious contract.

Graeme Duckworth, Executive Vice President MRO Services, ExecuJet, says: Our infrastructure at the MRO facility in Johannesburg is primed to support Honeywells maintenance operations for the entire EMEAI region. In addition to the TFE731, we also carry full overhaul authorisation and onsite test cell capability for Honeywell TPE331 engines, commonly found in smaller turboprops  a key consideration for our customers, given the popularity of these aircraft amongst regional airlines in Africa, Europe and India.

Becoming the provider of major maintenance for Honeywells TFE731 engines is a credit to the hard work and dedication to excellence of our engineers and technicians. We are delighted that Honeywell recognises ExecuJets experience in providing class-leading maintenance, and that we can extend this exclusive service to our customers.

Graeme Duckworth, Executive Vice President MRO Services, ExecuJet
A t least three Brits are believed to have been caught up in wildfires that have claimed at least 70 lives in Greece.

According to the Foreign Office, one person in hospital and is being assisted by consular staff.

It is believed that another couple from the UK have been caught up in the devastating blaze near Athens.

At least 70 people have been killed as blazes swept along the coast around Athens and a state of emergency was declared.

Greece forest fires - In pictures 1 /40 Greece forest fires - In pictures In this aerial view taken from a drone, showing the devastation caused by Greece wildfires, in the village of Mati, east of Athens AP In this aerial view taken from a drone, showing the devastation caused by Greece wildfires, in the village of Mati, east of Athens AP In this aerial view taken from a drone, showing the devastation caused by Greece wildfires, in the village of Mati, east of Athens AP In this aerial view taken from a drone, showing the devastation caused by Greece wildfires, in the village of Mati, east of Athens AP A firefighter wears a flame resistant uniform as wildfire burns in the town of Rafina, near Athens, Greece Reuters People taking refuge from fires along the beach in Argyris Akti, Nea Makri, Greece People taking refuge from fires along the beach in Argyris Akti, Nea Makri, Greece People taking refuge from fires along the beach in Argyris Akti, Nea Makri, Greece People stock up on supplies at a shop in the village of Nea Makri near Athens AP People sort supplies for residents rescued from the wildfire in the village of Nea Makri near Athen AP Damaged beach facilities at Kineta near Athens Rex Features A pall of smoke turns large parts of the sky orange over the ancient Acropolis hill, Rex Features A woman reacts as she tries to find her dog, following a wildfire at the village of Mati, near Athens, Reuters People sort supplies for residents rescued from the wildfire in the village of Nea Makri near Athen AP Burned cars remain after a fire in Argyra Akti, Mati, close to Nea Makri, in Attica, Greece EPA People bring supplies for residents rescued from the wildfire in the village of Nea Makri near Athens AP Memders of Red Cross give fist-aid to residents after a fire in Argyra Akti, Mati, close to Nea Makri, in Attica, Greece, EPA A firefighter tries to extinguish hotspots during a wildfire in Kineta, near Athens AFP/Getty Images Firefighters and soldiers fall back as a wildfire burns near Athens Reuters A house is threatened by a huge blaze during a wildfire in Kineta, near Athens AFP/Getty Images A firefighter sprays water on the fire in the town of Mati, east of Athens AP A helicopter tries to extinguish flames from the fire in Penteli, north suburb of Athens, Greece EPA Cars are blocked at the closed National Road during a forest fire in Greece AFP/Getty Images Rescuers wait at the area where bodies were found following a wildfire at the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece REUTERS Burnt cars are still in the driveways of destroyed house in Kineta village, west of Athens AP People watch a wildfire raging in the town of Rafina, near Athens, Greece Reuters Firefighters try to extinguish flames during a forest fire in Neo Voutsa, a northeast suburb of Athens, Greece EPA Flames rise as a wildfire burns in the town of Rafina, near Athens AFP/Getty Images A house burns during a wildfire in Kineta, near Athens AFP/Getty Images A firefighter reacts as a house burns during a wildfire in Kineta, near Athens AFP/Getty Images Rescuers and volunteers help local people evacuate the village of Mati during a wildfire near Athens AFP/Getty Images Firefighters inspect a burned compound in Mati, east of Athens AP A man passes burned cars in Mati, east of Athens AP Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras speaks to the media during his visit to the fire brigade's operational centre in Athens, Greece EPA A wildfire rages in the town of Rafina, near Athens, Greec Reuters A house burns following a wildfire at Neos Voutzas, near Athens, Reuters A fireman sprays water outside a burnt house at Kineta village, west of Athens AP

Many tourists and residents fled towards the coastline with some swimming out to sea, braving rough currents to escape the flames.

Andreaas Passios, who lives next to the compound, said: "Everything happened in seconds.

"I grabbed a beach towel. It saved my life. I soaked it, grabbed my wife and we ran to the sea."

Aerial footage shows devastation caused by wildfires in Greece

Mr Passios said he and his wife stayed by the sea for two hours.

"It was unbelievable. Gas canisters were exploding. Burning pine cones were flying everywhere."

More than 400 firefighters and volunteer firefighters are battling the two fires near Athens, supported by seven water-dropping helicopters and three aircraft.

Three days of national mourning have been declared / AP

Greece sought international help from the European Union.

Spain is sending two firefighting aircraft while Cyprus was sending in 60 firefighters. Israel and Turkey have both also offered assistance.

The country's prime minister Alexis Tsipras has declared three days of national mourning for those killed in the deadliest fire season to hit Greece in more than a decade.

Forest fires are common in Greece during the hot, dry summers, and temperatures recently reached up to 40C.

In 2007, more than 60 people were killed when huge fires swept across the southern Peloponnese region.
A man claiming to be a Buddhist monk has hit out at Western tourists' scathing reviews of a historic temple in Japan.

Founded 1100 years ago, Sekishoin Shukubo in Mount Koyasan offers guests the chance to stay with monks at the traditional Buddhist temple.

Visitors can participate in monastic activities while staying in Japanese-style rooms.

The temple serves vegetarian dishes for breakfast and dinner, and rooms feature tatami mat floors and Japanese futon bedding.

Some unimpressed visitors left scathing reviews on online forums Booking.com and TripAdvisor.

It drove one man, known as Daniel, who works at the temple and claims to be a monk, to create an account on TripAdvisor to respond to negative comments about the guesthouse with some particularly sassy comebacks.

And replies also appeared below Booking.com reviews slamming guests for having "unrealistic" expectations about staying at the temple.

'We cannot take responsibility for your unrealistic expectations' / Booking.com

Petra, from the Netherlands, criticised the temple on the site for being "a bit touristic".

The person believed to be a monk at the temple, writing under the username Sekishoin hit back and said: "You are a part of that."

One guest complained it was 'a bit touristic' / Booking.com

Another guest, known as officegypsy, said she was not made to feel very welcome at the temple and felt like she was "intruding" on the community.

The sassy user replied: "It's your imagination."

'I felt that I was intruding' / Booking.com

While a guest from Israel, known as Nachum, said the morning monastic ceremony was "disappointing".

But they were told "you have no understanding of what is going on".

'You have no understanding of what is going on' / Booking.com

And when Eric, from the US, said staff were "impersonal" and the food was "indifferently prepared", the self-proclaimed monk slammed his "warped view" of the temple.

He replied: "Why do we have to be friendly???? What do you ppl (sic) come here for???? Why do you have such a warped view of what a Shukubo Temple is???"

'Why do we have to be friendly?' / Booking.com

On TripAdvisor, one guest from the US gave the temple a one-star review and complained that no futons were provided.

The review said: "This is bare bones lodging. As expected, we slept on the floor. What we did not expect is that we sleep on the floor... no futon, no heat, paper walls, and it snowed that day."

The "monk" quipped back: "Ugh... do you have the right temple?

"It absolutely goes without saying that of course we prepare futons! Also, all the rooms have heating!

"Maybe you dont know what or how to operate a simple heater...? 'Paper walls'...? What even is that...?

"I assure you we offer normal walls made out of wood and insulation...
A protest by farmers brought stage 16 of the Tour de France to a halt today as bales of hay were thrown on to the road during a stage of the race.

The section of the ride from Carcassonne to Bagneres-de-Luchon was halted as police used tear gas to disperse protesters.

The gas ended up blowing in the face of the riders, which led to the race being stopped at the 187 km-to-go point.

Four-time champion Chris Froome was among several riders who had their eyes treated for the effects of tear gas.

Yellow jersey rider Geraint Thomas and world champion Peter Sagan were also affected by the burning gas.

Chris Froome was hit by tear gas / EPA

Team Sky's Thomas was seen wiping his eyes while Sagan used his water bottles to wash his eyes.

The race was stopped completely while several riders received medical treatment from the doctor's car at the rear of the peloton. The race continued after a brief halt.

Police officers carry a protester off the road (REUTERS) / Reuters

After a 15-minute interval, the race resumed with a short neutralised section before the flag was dropped once more with 33km of the 218km distance covered.

Farmers' protests are nothing new at the Tour, but the incident will add to the intense security situation in this year's edition.

Team Sky's Chris Froome was jostled and spat at on Alpe d'Huez, while 2014 winner Vincenzo Nibali saw his race ended after he was brought down in a tangle with a fan on the same mountain.

Tuesday's stage takes the race into the Pyrenees for the first time as the final week begins, with Thomas looking to hold on to a lead of one minute and 39 seconds over team-mate Froome, with Team Sunweb's Tom Dumoulin a further 11 seconds back.
W orking four days a week and being paid for five makes employees more productive, a study has found.

During the course of an eight week trial at a company in New Zealand, staff productivity went up and stress levels decreased when staff were told to work fewer days.

Andrew Barnes, the chief executive of Perpetual Guardian, a company which manages trusts, wills and estate planning, conducted the corporate experiment from March to April 2017.

The trial allowed the companys 240 person staff to retain full pay and enjoy a three day weekend.

Mr Barnes hired academic researchers from Auckland University of Technology and the University of Auckland business school to analyse the impact the trial had on his work force.

Researchers found that staff stress levels went down from 45 per cent to 38 per cent while work-life balance improved from 54 per cent to 78 per cent.

Mr Barnes told the New Zealand Herald that productivity improved with the reduced working hours.

He said: Our leadership team reported that there was broadly no change in company outputs pre and during the trial," Barnes explained in a press statement.

"They perceived no reduction in job performance and the survey data showed a marginal increase across most teams."

Helen Delaney, a senior lecturer at the University of Auckland Business School told The Guardian that she believed employees motivation and commitment to work increased because they were included in the planning of the experiment.

Employees designed a number of innovations and initiatives to work in a more productive and efficient manner, from automating manual processes to reducing or eliminating non-work-related Internet usage, she said.
U S Government geologists have warned that the eruption of Hawaiis Kilauea volcano could last for months or even years.

Kilauea began erupting on May 3 forcing thousands of Big Island residents to evacuate their homes.

Over 700 homes have been destroyed on Hawaii's largest island.

According to a new study designed to help authorities on the island deal with potential risks, the current eruption could be the longest in the volcanos history.

Aerial footage of lava entering the ocean on July 23 / AP

The previous record was 88 days in 1955.

The report warned: If the ongoing eruption maintains its current style of activity at a high eruption rate, then it may take months to a year or two to wind down.

Hawaii volcano lava causes mass evacuation 1 /8 Hawaii volcano lava causes mass evacuation Lava burns across a road as an offering to the volcano goddess lies in the foreground in the Leilani Estates subdivision near Pahoa, Hawaii AP Lava burns across a road in the Leilani Estates subdivision on Saturday, May 5 AP This photo shows some of the 1990 lava flow from Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, Sunday, May 6, 2018 AP Authorities, including police and the National Guard, check the identification of returning evacuees to their homes at Leilani Estates AFP/Getty Images A cyclist rides past the plume of volcanic smoke in the distance over the area of Leilani Estates AFP/Getty Images A man watches as lava is seen sewing from a fissure in the Leilani Estates subdivision near the town of Pahoa on Hawaii's Big Island AFP/Getty Images This image released by the US Geological Survey shows a volcanic fissure with lava fountains as high as about 70 m AFP/Getty Images A line of vechicles head for the intersection of Pahoa and Kapoho Roads as evacuees are allowed to return to their Leilani Estates homes to gather belongings and exit AFP/Getty Images

It found that a main risk to the area is a possible change in the direction of a lava flow that would put properties at risk.

A higher volume of molten rock is flowing underground from Kilaueas summit lava reservoir than previous eruptions with supply to a single giant crack showing no sign of waning.

Geologists have previously warned that Kilauea may be entering a phase of explosive eruptions, the likes of which Hawaii has not seen in nearly a century.

The volcano could hurl "ballistic blocks" and dust towns with volcanic ash and smog.

The news comes as a tourist boat was struck by lava last week.

Dramatic video shows the aftermath of a lava bomb crashing through a boat in Hawaii

The 49 passenger sightseeing boat was taking tourists to see lava flowing from the volcano and entering the sea when it was struck by lava.

A woman suffered a fractured leg while others were treated for scrapes and burns.

Additional reporting by Reuters.
D rone footage has revealed the devastating scale of huge wildfires that ravaged a region in Greece, killing at least 70 and leaving hundreds fleeing for their lives.

Officials said the death toll had risen to 74 on Tuesday afternoon.

The footage shows once-white buildings blackened and charred  some have been reduced to nothing but piles of rubble where large homes previously stood.

Swathes of shrubbery has been burned to nothing and areas of forest has been turned completely black, with an eerie cloud of smoke hanging low over the trees.

Fire: aerial view taken from a drone shows devastation caused by wildfires in the village of Mati, east of Athens / AP

The beaches, where some people were rescued by boats after becoming trapped by the fires, look almost unrecognisable from images of white sand and turquoise seas associated with the area.

Wildfires: the blazes raged through resorts, torching homes, cars and forests and killing at least 70 people / AP

Rescuers discovered 26 bodies huddled together at one holiday compound, all believed to be family members. Some of them were hugging.

Coast: drone footage shows aerial view of a burnt urban area / AFP/Getty Images

Authorities evacuated more than 700 people by boat overnight, said government minister Nektarios Santorinios, whose ministry is in charge of the coast guard.

The two largest wildfires - one 20 miles north-east of Athens near Rafina, the other 30 miles west of the capital in Kineta - were fanned by gale-force winds  spreading them rapidly into heavily populated seaside towns.

Greece forest fires - In pictures 1 /40 Greece forest fires - In pictures In this aerial view taken from a drone, showing the devastation caused by Greece wildfires, in the village of Mati, east of Athens AP In this aerial view taken from a drone, showing the devastation caused by Greece wildfires, in the village of Mati, east of Athens AP In this aerial view taken from a drone, showing the devastation caused by Greece wildfires, in the village of Mati, east of Athens AP In this aerial view taken from a drone, showing the devastation caused by Greece wildfires, in the village of Mati, east of Athens AP A firefighter wears a flame resistant uniform as wildfire burns in the town of Rafina, near Athens, Greece Reuters People taking refuge from fires along the beach in Argyris Akti, Nea Makri, Greece People taking refuge from fires along the beach in Argyris Akti, Nea Makri, Greece People taking refuge from fires along the beach in Argyris Akti, Nea Makri, Greece People stock up on supplies at a shop in the village of Nea Makri near Athens AP People sort supplies for residents rescued from the wildfire in the village of Nea Makri near Athen AP Damaged beach facilities at Kineta near Athens Rex Features A pall of smoke turns large parts of the sky orange over the ancient Acropolis hill, Rex Features A woman reacts as she tries to find her dog, following a wildfire at the village of Mati, near Athens, Reuters People sort supplies for residents rescued from the wildfire in the village of Nea Makri near Athen AP Burned cars remain after a fire in Argyra Akti, Mati, close to Nea Makri, in Attica, Greece EPA People bring supplies for residents rescued from the wildfire in the village of Nea Makri near Athens AP Memders of Red Cross give fist-aid to residents after a fire in Argyra Akti, Mati, close to Nea Makri, in Attica, Greece, EPA A firefighter tries to extinguish hotspots during a wildfire in Kineta, near Athens AFP/Getty Images Firefighters and soldiers fall back as a wildfire burns near Athens Reuters A house is threatened by a huge blaze during a wildfire in Kineta, near Athens AFP/Getty Images A firefighter sprays water on the fire in the town of Mati, east of Athens AP A helicopter tries to extinguish flames from the fire in Penteli, north suburb of Athens, Greece EPA Cars are blocked at the closed National Road during a forest fire in Greece AFP/Getty Images Rescuers wait at the area where bodies were found following a wildfire at the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece REUTERS Burnt cars are still in the driveways of destroyed house in Kineta village, west of Athens AP People watch a wildfire raging in the town of Rafina, near Athens, Greece Reuters Firefighters try to extinguish flames during a forest fire in Neo Voutsa, a northeast suburb of Athens, Greece EPA Flames rise as a wildfire burns in the town of Rafina, near Athens AFP/Getty Images A house burns during a wildfire in Kineta, near Athens AFP/Getty Images A firefighter reacts as a house burns during a wildfire in Kineta, near Athens AFP/Getty Images Rescuers and volunteers help local people evacuate the village of Mati during a wildfire near Athens AFP/Getty Images Firefighters inspect a burned compound in Mati, east of Athens AP A man passes burned cars in Mati, east of Athens AP Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras speaks to the media during his visit to the fire brigade's operational centre in Athens, Greece EPA A wildfire rages in the town of Rafina, near Athens, Greec Reuters A house burns following a wildfire at Neos Voutzas, near Athens, Reuters A fireman sprays water outside a burnt house at Kineta village, west of Athens AP

The fires spread too fast for many who were in their cars or homes to flee. Vehicles and homes were abandoned but many did not make it to safety.

In all, 47 bush and forest fires broke out across Greece, but most were quickly extinguished, the fire department said.

Dramatic footage shows horrific scale of Greece wildfires

Ten were still burning late on Tuesday morning, including blazes in Corinth, Crete, and in central and northern Greece.

Greece sought international help through the European Union. Spain was sending two firefighting aircraft while Cyprus was sending in 60 firefighters. Israel and Turkey have both also offered assistance
I vanka Trump has announced she is closing her fashion line to focus on her role as an informal White House adviser working with her father.

The eldest daughter of US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday she would be spending her time on her political work, in which she main focuses on promoting women in the workplace.

Since her father was elected in 2016 her and the Trump family have faced scrutiny over their portfolio of real estate and consumer goods businesses, which critics have said conflict with their roles as Washington power players.

Ivanka said in a statement on Tuesday: "After 17 months in Washington, I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business, but I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington.

Ivanka: The eldest Trump daughter said she wants to focus on her work in Washington / REUTERS

Her company, which sells womens clothing, shoes and accessories, said licensing contracts would not be renewed and those in place will be allowed to run their course.

Ivanka: The brand faced criticism for making many of its products overseas, despite the President being an advocate for US production / REUTERS

The 18 people who work for the 11-year-old company will be laid off as it shuts down.

The controversial Trump campaign and presidency has drawn the family's brands into political fights.

Shutting down: A clothing item made by the Ivanka Trump brand is seen for sale / REUTERS

The president has regularly stopped at properties bearing his name during his time in office, drawing the eyes of the world.

The most organized boycott of Trump-related businesses, "Grab Your Wallet," called the news a victory and the biggest possible win for Grab Your Wallet".

Ivanka Trump in Berlin 1 /10 Ivanka Trump in Berlin Ivanka Trump, daughter and adviser of US President Donald Trump, arrives for a dinner in Berlin REUTERS Ivanka Trump attends the W20 Summit in Berlin REUTERS Ivanka Trump during the W20 Summit REUTERS Ivanka Trump with German Chancellor Angela Merkel REUTERS Ivanka Trump with German Chancellor Angela Merkel REUTERS Ivanka Trump visits the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin REUTERS Ivanka Trump visiting the Siemens Technik Akademie after participating in the W20 Summit REUTERS Ivanka Trump at the Siemens Technik Akademie REUTERS Ivanka Trump in Berlin REUTERS Ivanka Trump with Christine Lagarde and Angela Merkel REUTERS
H undreds of people are missing and many are feared dead after a hydroelectric dam collapsed in Laos.

The Xe Pian-Xe Nam Noy dam released around 5 billion cubic metres of water on Monday night, sending flash floods through six villages.

More than 6,000 people have been forced to leave their homes in Attapeu province due to the floods, according to the Laos news agency, while several hundred are missing and an unknown number are dead.

Boats have been brought to the area to help evacuate villages as water levels continued to rise on Tuesday.

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Footage from the scene showed villagers wading through muddy water to safety with children and belongings in their arms.

Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith has gone to the affected area in south-east Laos alongside senior officials in order to monitor relief efforts.

Villagers are stranded on the roof of a house amid flash flooding in Laos / EPA

Local authorities have appealed for emergency aid for victims including food, drinking water, clothing and medicine.

The dam is being built by Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy Power Company at a cost of more than $1 billion (778,000). Construction began in February 2013 and it was due to begin commercial operations this year.

Plans for the Xe Namnoy dam claimed it would generate power using the gravitational force of water flowing from a height of 630m, with much of it due to be sent to neighbouring Thailand.

The company building the dam said heavy rain and flooding caused the collapse and it was cooperating with the Laos government to help rescue villagers near the dam.
N ike has announced it will be increasing the salary of 7,000 of its employees after an internal review of the companys pay structure.

From August onwards pay for 10 per cent of Nikes staff will be adjusted.

A spokeswoman for the company said the payment adjustments were being put in place to ensure that Nike salaries remain competitive within the industry and support a culture in which employees feel included and empowered.

The review was undertaken after some employees claimed of workplace misconduct and discrimination against women.

Earlier in the year some of the companys male executives were fired for behaviour issues which some media reports tied to sexual harassment and bullying.

But the Chief Executive Officer Mark Parker described the mens actions to Bloomberg as behaviour inconsistent with our values, at the time.

Nikes overhaul based on the pay review reflects a move taken by a number of companies recently to address pay inequality in the work place.

This year, Citigroup Inc announced that it would be reforming its pay structure narrowing discrepancies for for women, minorities and others who warranted better compensation.

Nike also announced that it will be addressing how it determines bonus payouts.
N orth Korea appears to have begun dismantling a rocket launch site after promising to destroy the facility following an unprecedented US summit.

Satellite images of the Sohae station seen by a US-based monitoring group suggest Pyongyang is complying with the promise which the states leader made to Donald Trump at their meeting in June.

The group, 38 North, said the pictures taken on July 20 showed work at the launching station to dismantle a rocket engine test stand used to develop liquid-fuel engines for ballistic missiles.

"Since these facilities are believed to have played an important role in the development of technologies for the Norths intercontinental ballistic missile program, these efforts represent a significant confidence-building measure on the part of North Korea," it said in a report on Monday.

North Korean leader met Donald Trump for a summit in June / AFP/Getty Images

Mr Trump told a news conference after his June 12 summit with the North Korean leader that Kim Jong-un had promised a major missile engine testing site would be destroyed very soon.

He did not identify the site in his address but a US official told Reuters news agency that he was referring to Sohae.

The 38 North report comes amid growing questions about North Korea's willingness to live up to the commitments Kim made at the summit, particularly to work towards denuclearisation.

North Korea appears to have started dismantling key facilities at a rocket-engine test centre, experts believe / AFP/Getty Images

US officials have repeatedly said North Korea has committed to giving up a nuclear weapons program, but Pyongyang has offered no details as to how it might go about this.

Jenny Town, managing editor of 38 North, which is based at Washington's Stimson Center, said the work at Sohae could be an important move to keep negotiations going.

"This could mean that North Korea is also willing to forgo satellite launches for the time being as well as nuclear and missile tests.

This distinction has derailed diplomacy in the past," she said.

On Friday, senior US officials called on Kim to act on his promise to give up his nuclear weapons and said the world, including China and Russia, must continue to enforce sanctions on Pyongyang until he does so.

Trump: North Korea destroying missile engine site

On Monday, the US State Department issued an advisory together with the departments of Treasury and Homeland Security alerting businesses to North Korea's sanctions-evasion tactics.

It said they should "implement effective due diligence policies, procedures, and internal controls to ensure compliance with applicable legal requirements across their entire supply chains."

In a tweet earlier on Monday, Mr Trump rejected "Fake News" that he was angry because progress was not happening fast enough with North Korea.

Trump-Kim historic nuclear summit - in pictures 1 /11 Trump-Kim historic nuclear summit - in pictures North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (L) shakes hands with Donald Trump during their historic summit Getty Images Kim Jong Un (L) walks with President Trump (R) at the start of the talks AFP/Getty Images A historic moment. President Donald Trump shakes hands as he meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un AP The pair made history as they shook hands for the first time in Singapore AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump smiles while seated with members of his delegation during the US-North Korea summit AFP/Getty Images The North Korea leader Trump stand together at the Capella resort AP North Korea's leader looks on while seated with members of his delegation during the talks AFP/Getty Images The summit got underway shortly after 9am local time on Tuesday AFP/Getty Images North Korea leader Kim Jong Un listens to Trump as they look out from a balcony at the Capella resort on Sentosa Island AP North Korean leader Kim Jong Un smiles as he meets with President Donald Trump AP President Donald Trump meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Sentosa Island AP

"Wrong, very happy!" he said in the Tweet.

"A Rocket has not been launched by North Korea in 9 months. Likewise, no Nuclear Tests. Japan is happy, all of Asia is happy," he said.

A report in The Washington Post at the weekend said that in spite of positive assessments Mr Trump has given on progress with North Korea, he has vented anger at aides over a lack of immediate progress.

Last week, Trump said there was "no rush" and "no time limit" on denuclearisation negotiations.
Five weekly flights to Gothenburg will be served with a Boeing 787-8 aircraft, featuring 22 seats in Business Class and 232 seats in Economy Class.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, said: It is with great pleasure that we announce the launch of direct services to Gothenburg, our second gateway into Sweden. Gothenburg is a charming city with much to offer both business and leisure travellers. This new direct route demonstrates our commitment to expanding our presence in the Nordic countries, a highly important market for us, and to further connecting these destinations on our global network. We look forward to introducing travellers from around the world to this beautiful city.

Jonas Abrahamsson, chief executive officer at Swedavia, said: "Sweden is the largest economy in Scandinavia, and at the moment it is also the strongest in Europe. New direct routes are an important contributing factor, as they improve connectivity to markets that are crucial to the Swedish business community and attract capital and knowledge to the region. This direct route is the result of successful cooperation where we, together with the region, have shown Qatar Airways the potential in the western Swedish market. Therefore, it is with great pleasure that Swedavia and western Sweden jointly welcome this large Middle East airline to Gothenburg Landvetter Airport.

Gothenburg, Swedens second-largest city, is set to grow by almost a third by the end of 2035. It is an important industrial and business centre, with the largest port in the Nordic countries.
O ne of the founding members of feminist protest group Femen has been found dead in Paris.

Oksana Shachko, 31, a member of the Ukranian group was found dead in her apartment on Tuesday.

A statement was released on the group's official blog which said: RIP. The most fearless and vulnerable Oksana Shachko has left us. We mourn together with her relatives and friends and expect the official version from the police.

At the moment it is known, that yesterday, July 23, Oksanas body was found in her apartment in Paris.

The group was founded in Kiev in 2008 / REUTERS

The group was founded in Kiev in 2008 and had won notoriety in Europe for its stands against sex tourism, homophobia and religious institutions.

During many of the protests, the group demonstrated topless.

Vladimir Putin was a particular target along with the Frances National Front Party.

In 2011, Femen claimed that Ms Shachko was one of three members kidnapped by security agents and forced to strip naked in a forest.

Agents poured oil over them and threatened to set fire to the women.
P olice bodycam footage showing the moment a 10-year-old child was restrained by an officer during his fathers arrest is being investigated.

Athens-Clarke County Police in Georgia released the clip after another video circulated of the incident online sparking claims that the officer had used excessive force to pin the boy to the ground.

The footage released by police showed the child become agitated when his father was arrested over domestic abuse charges on July 20.

As the officer told the man his rights, the young boy became visibly upset and ran at a police officer.

The video shows the officer pin the boy to the ground and tell him to stop resisting as the boy struggled to get free.

The boy can be heard in the footage apologising to the officer and claiming that he didnt want to be arrested.

After the officer calmed the boy down and informed him that he would not be arrested, he let the child go.

In a statement released by police, officers claimed the boy was emotionally distraught when witnessing the arrest and that the officer was attempting to calm the child down.

Police said they had ordered an internal affairs investigation into the matter.
A t least five people were injured when a tourist boat burst into flames along the coast of north-west Spain.

Two people suffered serious burns and were airlifted to hospital after the incident on Tuesday, authorities said. At least three others were also treated.

Shocking pictures showed the boat completely ablaze with orange flames, sending a thick plume of black smoke over the sea.

The catamaran was carrying 48 passengers and four crew members when it collided with another vessel off the island of Toxa, Spanish media reported.

A total of 48 people were travelling on board when the vessel caught fire / EPA

Some passengers reportedly jumped into the sea as the flames spread.

At least five people were injured, including two with serious burns / EPA
T he suspected gunman in a shooting in Toronto that left two dead including a 10-year-old girl has been named as Faisal Hussain, 29.

Canadian authorities said they were releasing his name due to the exceptional circumstances of this tragic incident, which unfolded the lively Greektown part of the Canadian city on Sunday.

The gunman opened fire on crowded restaurants before he was found dead in an alleyway following a shootout with police.

Hussain was identified less than a day after the two victims, a 10-year-old girl and an 18-year-old woman, were killed in the gunfire.

Victim: Reese Fallon, 18 / AP

The suspect, a Toronto resident, struggled with severe mental illness, his family said in a statement on Monday night.

"We are utterly devastated by the incomprehensible news that our son was responsible for the senseless violence and loss of life," Hussain's family wrote.

They added that he suffered from severe mental illness as well as from "psychosis and depression his entire life."

Toronto: A police officer looks for evidence under a car / REUTERS

"While we did our best to seek help for him throughout his life of struggle and pain, we could never imagine that this would be his devastating and destructive end.

Police said 13 other victims - eight women and girls and seven men - suffered injuries ranging from minor to serious. They range in age from 10 to 59.

Toronto shooting - In pictures 1 /13 Toronto shooting - In pictures People leave an area taped off by the police near the scene of a mass shooting in Toronto Reuters Toronto Police officers walk the scene at Danforth St. at the scene of a shooting in Toronto, Ontario, Canada AFP/Getty Images Police officers on the scene in Toronto AP Police escort civilians away from the scene of a shooting AP Police Chief Mark Saunders (centre) and Toronto Mayor John Tory (left) speak to the media following a mass shooting in Toronto AP Plainclothes police officers work the scene of a shooting in Toronto AP Police gather at the scene of a shooting in Toronto, Canada Reuters Police gather at the scene of a shooting in Toronto, Canada Reuters Police are seen near the scene of a mass shooting in Toronto, Canada Reuters Toronto Police officers walk the scene at Danforth St. at the scene of a shooting in Toronto, Ontario, Canada AFP/Getty Images A tactical officer works the scene of a shooting AP Police are seen near the scene of a mass shooting in Toronto, Canada Reuters Tactical police officers walk along Danforth Avenue at the scene of a shooting in Toronto AP

The suspects name was released by the independent Special Investigations Unit (SIU).

The gunman walked along the street firing a handgun into restaurants and cafes in the lively Greektown part of the city.

He then exchanged fire with two officers on a side street.

Police: officers enter a coffee shop damaged by gunfire after two people were killed in the shooting / REUTERS

He was found dead near Danforth Avenue where the shootings occurred.

A spokeswoman for the SIU would not say whether the gunman was shot dead by police. She said an autopsy would be performed on Tuesday.

The 18-year-old has been named locally as Rees Fallon, a recent high school graduate who planned to study nursing.

Local politician Nathaniel Erskine-Smith confirmed the name of the 18-year-old victim, adding in statement: the family is devastated".

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on Twitter on Monday: "The people of Toronto are strong, resilient and brave - and well be there to support you through this difficult time."

Toronto Mayor John Tory told reporters the city has a gun problem, with weapons too readily available to too many people.
A state of emergency has been declared in parts of Athens as wildfires continue to rage across areas surrounding the Greek capital.

The fires have killed more than 60 people and injured more than 100 in Greece's worst fires in over a decade.

Here's everything you need to know about where the fires are, how wildfires start and whether it's safe to travel to the Greek tourist village of Mati, near Athens.

Where are the fires?

Fires have been burning in the Attica region of Greece which encompasses the capital of Athens.

The first fire started in a pine forest near the seaside settlement of Kineta 30 miles west of Athens between the capital and Corinth, an ancient city.

The second major fire broke out on Monday afternoon in the Penteli and Rafina areas of northeast Athens.

Rafina is a port town popular with tourists, especially pensioners and children attending holiday camps.

At the centre of the disaster is the village of Mati, located in the region of Rafina, where 26 bodies were found in the yard of a villa.

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How do wildfires start?

Hot weather riddled with drought and strong winds create the perfect conditions for a wildfire to blaze for weeks and possibly even months.

Although wildfires can occur naturally, most wildfires are caused by human carelessness including the improper discarding of cigarettes, arson, campfires, not burning debris properly or misusing fireworks, matches or other flammable items.

Wildfires can also be triggered by lightning.

Fires are a common problem during the dry, summer months in Attica, and this week's flames were spurred on by strong winds.

Officials said the current fires may have been started by arsonists looking to loot abandoned homes.

Greece forest fires - In pictures 1 /40 Greece forest fires - In pictures In this aerial view taken from a drone, showing the devastation caused by Greece wildfires, in the village of Mati, east of Athens AP In this aerial view taken from a drone, showing the devastation caused by Greece wildfires, in the village of Mati, east of Athens AP In this aerial view taken from a drone, showing the devastation caused by Greece wildfires, in the village of Mati, east of Athens AP In this aerial view taken from a drone, showing the devastation caused by Greece wildfires, in the village of Mati, east of Athens AP A firefighter wears a flame resistant uniform as wildfire burns in the town of Rafina, near Athens, Greece Reuters People taking refuge from fires along the beach in Argyris Akti, Nea Makri, Greece People taking refuge from fires along the beach in Argyris Akti, Nea Makri, Greece People taking refuge from fires along the beach in Argyris Akti, Nea Makri, Greece People stock up on supplies at a shop in the village of Nea Makri near Athens AP People sort supplies for residents rescued from the wildfire in the village of Nea Makri near Athen AP Damaged beach facilities at Kineta near Athens Rex Features A pall of smoke turns large parts of the sky orange over the ancient Acropolis hill, Rex Features A woman reacts as she tries to find her dog, following a wildfire at the village of Mati, near Athens, Reuters People sort supplies for residents rescued from the wildfire in the village of Nea Makri near Athen AP Burned cars remain after a fire in Argyra Akti, Mati, close to Nea Makri, in Attica, Greece EPA People bring supplies for residents rescued from the wildfire in the village of Nea Makri near Athens AP Memders of Red Cross give fist-aid to residents after a fire in Argyra Akti, Mati, close to Nea Makri, in Attica, Greece, EPA A firefighter tries to extinguish hotspots during a wildfire in Kineta, near Athens AFP/Getty Images Firefighters and soldiers fall back as a wildfire burns near Athens Reuters A house is threatened by a huge blaze during a wildfire in Kineta, near Athens AFP/Getty Images A firefighter sprays water on the fire in the town of Mati, east of Athens AP A helicopter tries to extinguish flames from the fire in Penteli, north suburb of Athens, Greece EPA Cars are blocked at the closed National Road during a forest fire in Greece AFP/Getty Images Rescuers wait at the area where bodies were found following a wildfire at the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece REUTERS Burnt cars are still in the driveways of destroyed house in Kineta village, west of Athens AP People watch a wildfire raging in the town of Rafina, near Athens, Greece Reuters Firefighters try to extinguish flames during a forest fire in Neo Voutsa, a northeast suburb of Athens, Greece EPA Flames rise as a wildfire burns in the town of Rafina, near Athens AFP/Getty Images A house burns during a wildfire in Kineta, near Athens AFP/Getty Images A firefighter reacts as a house burns during a wildfire in Kineta, near Athens AFP/Getty Images Rescuers and volunteers help local people evacuate the village of Mati during a wildfire near Athens AFP/Getty Images Firefighters inspect a burned compound in Mati, east of Athens AP A man passes burned cars in Mati, east of Athens AP Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras speaks to the media during his visit to the fire brigade's operational centre in Athens, Greece EPA A wildfire rages in the town of Rafina, near Athens, Greec Reuters A house burns following a wildfire at Neos Voutzas, near Athens, Reuters A fireman sprays water outside a burnt house at Kineta village, west of Athens AP

Is it safe to travel to Mati?

The Foreign Office has said that most visits to Greece, including to Athens, are unaffected.

However, flights to Athens Eleftherios Venizelos airport have been diverted due to poor visibility.

Motorways and train lines have also been halted, with Reuters reporting that the main Athens-Corinth motorway has been closed.
T he clothes you wear are becoming the ultimate way to make a statement about what you stand for as well as creating awareness for the cause.

Celebrities are be leading the trend in chic charity tees and, thanks to a vast array of affordable options out there, it couldnt be easier to steal their style and show your support.

Our favourite retailers and designers  including ASOS and Henry Holland  have helped create limited edition t-shirts that not only look great, but also help raise funds for good causes.

Here are six stylish tees that donate proceedings to charity.

MM6 Maison Margiela Aids Charity Tie-Dye T-Shirt

French fashion house Maison Margiela have partnered with community based non-profit AIDES, 25 years after their 1994 collaboration that featured the text 'THERE IS MORE ACTION TO BE DONE TO FIGHT AIDS THAN WEAR THIS T-SHIRT BUT ITS A GOOD START.

This year, the luxury lable have created a chic, cotton jersey with a tie-dye detail and have mimiced the same text throughout their SS19 collection.

55 | MM6 Maison Margiela | Buy it now

Vivienne Westwood x Cool Earth: Save The Rainforest T-shirt

Fashion designer and icon Vivienne Westwood has designed a t-shirt to fight against the deforestation of the rainforest and there's already a few famous faces behind the cause - Ronnie Wood, Kate Moss, Celine Dion, Fearne Cotton to name a few.

All the proceeds from the 100 per cent cotton tee will go to Cool Earth to fund initiatives to protect the rainforest.

25 | Cool Earth | Buy it now

Wood Wood meets Moomin for Save the Children Ace T-shirt

Wood Wood and Moomin for Save The Children have joined forces to create a capsule range where the proceeds go to children in need, a sincerely important cause that anyone can and should get behind. The collection comprises of unisex products for adults and children, including this Ace in Bright tee that is composed of organic cotton and has a Double A logo patch with an illustration by Moomin. It's certainly a stylish way to give back.

55 | Wood Wood | Buy from September 15

Henry Holland Enough Is Enough T-shirt

Henry Holland shoots from the hip  and the heart  with this War Child T-shirt. All sales go towards protecting children from the effects of war. War Child UK works to provide life-changing assistance through, protection, education, various livelihood programs.

25 | Teemill | Buy it now

Woman T-shirt Mary Katrantzou X Selfish Mother

Selfish Mothers collaboration with Mary Katrantzou raises funds for Women for Women International, helping women survivors of war rebuild their lives.

40 | The FMLY Store | Buy it now

Balmain X Beyonce T-Shirt

Quick-thinking Bey hive members can still get their hands on their idols T-shirt and support a cause. According to the brand the design was "inspired by the collegiate spirit of historically black colleges and universities". Proceeds go to the UNCF.

225 | Harrods | Buy it now

River Island Pink FTBC charity print T-shirt

30 per cent of proceedings go the Breast Cancer Now charity, which is the UKs biggest dedicated funder of breast cancer research.

18 | River Island | Buy it now

ASOS Help Refugees Choose Love organic cotton rainbow print t-shirt

A collaboration between Katharine Hamnett and Help Refugees, this unisex tee is designed to raise funds and awareness for those caught in the refugee crisis.
A ctor Danny Dyer has crushed fans hopes of him entering the Love Island villa after being spotted in America.

The EastEnders hardman sparked a frenzy when he was spotted at an airport over the weekend, with many believing that he was headed for Majorca to appear on the Meet the Parents episode of the popular show.

Dyers daughter Dani has been on the show since it began back in June and, along with boyfriend Jack Fincham, is hot favourite for victory next week.

Traditionally, one episode during the last week of the programme sees parents of the contestants head into the villa to reunite with their loved ones and meet their new partners and pals.

However, a fan account for the show devastated fans when they shared a picture of Dyer posing with a fan at Disneys Hollywood Studios over in Orlando, Florida  very much not Majorca.

Writing on social media, one fan said: So I've woken up this morning to the news that Danny dyer is actually in America and not Majorca. Gutted beyond belief #loveisland.

While another wrote: So Danny Dyer is in Florida and not Majorca well thats upsetting #loveisland

Danny Dyer is at Disney Hollywood Studios in Florida so he cant be going into #LoveIsland for meet the parents :(((((, commented somebody else.

Other Twitter users also posted pictures of Dyer  who turns 41 today - out and about in the famous theme parks in America.

Family: Danny Dyer and daughter Dani / @danidyerxx Instagram

However, some fans of the show are still holding onto hope of a Dyer cameo after pointing out that it is possible to fly from America to Spain  and video links exist.

Uh oh: Jack Fincham failed the lie detector during Monday night's episode / ITV

While the polygraph revealed Jack does love Dani, the machine determined he was lying when he said he couldnt be tempted by other girls on the outside.

The test also said Jack was lying when asked if he only coupled up with Dani because of her famous father.

Is that poster above his bed the closest Jack is going to get to Dyer after all?
M ac Miller has broken his silence on Ariana Grandes whirlwind romance with Pete Davidson, admitting that he finds it a bit strange.

The pop superstar, 25, shocked fans by getting engaged to the SNL star less than a month after they started dating, and just a few months after ending her two-year relationship with Miller.

But it seems that Miller is happy for his former girlfriend, although he thinks that the whole thing is a bit odd.

It's strange. Like, the whole thing is a little strange but it's not negative. It's just a part of something that's going to continue to help make me who I am, Miller told Zane Lowe during an interview on Apples Beats 1.

Whirlwind: Pete Davidson and Ariana Grande are loved up / @arianagrande

You know, it's all positive energy. I am happy for her and moving forward with her life just as I'm sure she is with me.

Miller admitted that his relationship with Grande was stressful at times, made worse by the fact they were continually in the public eye.

PDA: Ariana Grande and Pete Davison aren't shy about sharing their love / Ariana Grande/Instagram

You know, that's the other thing is with the relationship thing is, like, the internet is wild. I kind of knew, but not really, he said.

Life is stressful. So, of course there were stressful times. It's not that unique. You know, like, I was in love with somebody. We were together for two years.

Pete Davidson Thinks Being Engaged to Ariana Grande Is F*ing Lit

We worked through good times, bad times, stress, and everything else. And then it came to an end and we both moved on. And it's that simple, you know.

Grande recently described Miller as one of my best friends and favourite people on the planet in the wake of their split.

Ariana Grande 'Dangerous Woman' Tour in Paris 1 /6 Ariana Grande 'Dangerous Woman' Tour in Paris Ariana Grande 'Dangerous Woman' Tour in Paris Rex Features Ariana Grande 'Dangerous Woman' Tour in Paris Rex Features Ariana Grande 'Dangerous Woman' Tour in Paris Rex Features Ariana Grande 'Dangerous Woman' Tour in Paris Rex Features Ariana Grande 'Dangerous Woman' Tour in Paris Rex Features Ariana Grande 'Dangerous Woman' Tour in Paris Rex Features

She wrote on Instagram: I respect and adore him endlessly and am grateful to have him in my life in any form, at all times regardless of how our relationship changes or what the universe holds for each of us.

She later described her relationship with Miller as "toxic" and said she was "not a babysitter or a mother" in response to a comment from a fan that their split was "heartbreaking", after he was reportedly arrested on suspicion of drink-driving.
J ulius Caesar once said "I came, I saw, I conquered" which is exactly what the lie detector test did  except it didn't conquer it obliterated. It ripped apart the very relationship that had restored our faith in true love. It poisoned by planting seeds of doubt and came close to making last minute easyJet bookings to whisk a broken hearted Dani back to the UK  or Danny Dyer out to Spain to sort out that geezer Jack.

The only relationship left flourishing in the fall out was Dr Alex and Jacks bromance with the pair sharing a hug as they consoled themselves after being called out by the polygraph.

The most rock solid couple in Love Island history was left broken after the test revealed Jack would be tempted by women outside of the villa. Despite telling Dani he would stay faithful more times than Georgia claimed to be loyal, babe she wasnt convinced, and to be honest who can blame her. Its not as if he hasnt cheated on every girlfriend hes ever had.

Confronting an upset Dani in bed, Jack said: You went about it wrong, Im sorry, and then you stormed off, Ive never stormed off from you.

Love Island: Jack's left fuming and tears flow for Alexandra

In a savage move of get your own back, she fired: Go away. Im getting a flight in the morning so you can enjoy the rest of your journey.

Dr Alex was also in the bin after leaving Alexandra in tears with his lies  to be fair he should never be allowed out after rocking up to the hideaway in a sparkly waistcoat.

Anyway, in what felt like a patient-doctor consultation he told Alexandra: I feel very attracted to you. Weve had a sick time. I think we just carry on the way weve been going.

Josh appeared to be delirious from the heat, telling the boys that Dr Alex and Alexandra were really good before the lie detector test proved nothing we didnt already know  that Dr Alex never wanted Alexandra. Almost as much as he doesn't want sun cream.

Love Island 2018: Series 4 - In pictures 1 /40 Love Island 2018: Series 4 - In pictures The islanders gather for the final dumping of the series ITV The final four couples learn to salsa Kaz and Josh Dani and Jack talk to Danny Dyer The islanders gather for the final toast ITV Dr Alex and Alexandra talk about their relationship as they cradle their 'baby' ITV Newborns: The baby challenge put the couples to the test ITV Megan asks Dani and Ellie whether she should ask Wes out Passion: Megan Barton Hanson and Wes Nelson are getting closer ITV Dani and Ellie go for afternoon drinks ITV Josh talks to Kaz ITV Caroline Flack arrives with some big news ITV The original islanders are about to get a shock ITV Here come the new girls... ITV ...and the new boys ITV Georgia kisses Sam during the Snog, Marry, Pie game. ITV Laura vs Wes ITV Wes kissing Megan during Snog, Marry, Pie ITV Megan and Eyal chat ITV The recoupling looms... ITV Eyal and Megan kiss. ITV Sam ruffles some feathers ITV The Islanders get to know Sam ITV Georgia and Josh ITV Laura and Wes ITV Ellie and Zara arrive ITV Wes admits he could chat to other girls ITV Eyal and Alex bicker over Megan ITV Jack and Dani take a walk ITV Dani and Jack give things another go ITV After the turbulence of the last recoupling, chill time awaits for the Islanders as a text arrives informing them that they will spend their morning in a couplesO yoga class. ITV Adam and Rosie get close ITV The original girls look on from the balcony ITV Dani Dyer uses a hairdryer on her eyelashes ITV Having spent a number of days trying to find a way forward with Hayley, Eyal is beginning to lose faith ITV The girls discuss developments in the vill ITV The Islanders party ITV The Boys chat ITV Wes, Adam, Alex and Niall chat ITV The Boys chat ITV

New Laura was also left in tears by new Jacks answers, while Megan broke down over fears Wes parents wouldnt approve of her.

And with the couples at breaking point, Love Island decided to do what every fledgling couple needs  tell them what the outside world really thinks about them.

Wes and Megan were told only 19 per cent of viewers think they will last outside of the villa, while nearly every viewer believes new Jack will dump new Laura.

To top it all off one couple will be at risk of an island dumping tomorrow night. So we guess its time to see if the boys can prove themselves, or whether theyll be heading for The Jeremy Kyle Show.
I f youre a Harry Potter fan, youll know there are few things more covetable in the popular franchise than the wands.

They're the way the characters can conjure up magic and cast spells, a central component of the Wizarding World

STEM company Kano is bringing the magical wands to life with the Harry Potter Kano Coding Kit, the first ever STEM product inspired by the Harry Potter universe.

Alex Klein, CEO of Kano, says that Harry Potter is the perfect fit for a coding product. In today's world, the programmers and the computer scientists who work at Facebook and Google are the contemporary wizards. They are a small, secret subsection of society that can write and incant these magic words that control the world around us, predict the future and can make you think and believe things," he tells the Standard.

The premise of the coding kit is you can learn these powers and wield them yourself."

The Harry Potter Kano Coding Kit is an exciting and enchanting way to learn how to code. You build the wand yourself, connecting up its pieces, including a Bluetooth sensor and its computer brain, to make it ready to use.

Then with Kanos easy to use app you go through more than 70 different challenges set in places such as Hogwarts, Diagon Alley and the Forbidden Forest. The challenges teach you about sensors, data and how to code along the way, with some help from your favourite Harry Potter characters.

The Harry Potter Kano Coding Kit is perfect if you've never coded before / Kano

In Charms class, you can learn the Wingardium Leviosa spell and really levitate a feather. Or, in Defence Against the Dark Arts, you can learn how to banish those pesky Cornish Pixies with a flick of the wand. You can also code the wand to do transfiguration tricks that even Professor McGonagall would be proud of.

The wand is built using one of Kanos original products: its sensor kit. But it goes one step further in that the wand combines: a gyroscope which determines the wand's orientation; an accelerometer which measures the wand's movement; and a magnetometer which measures magnetic forces.

This combination means the device is able to detect its own location and speed in a 3D space, making it capable of tracking your hand movements.

The sensors in the wand allow it to place a cursor on the screen exactly where you point it, to make the magical moments happen. And, you can code the wand to make sounds or light up when you do specific movements as part of a spell.

Like with all of Kanos products, the Harry Potter Kano Coding Kit is aimed at ages six and upwards, and it's perfect if youve never coded before.

By the time youve finished with a Kano product you will be able to build a real application, understand and use concepts like control flow, iteration, logic, data scripts and use javascript, explains Klein. The aspiration is that you go from zero to hero.

Kano's Harry Potter coding app works on tablets as well as laptops and computers / Kano

The company is celebrating its fifth birthday this year and has shipped over 350,000 units worldwide that are teaching people all around the world to learn how to code and interact with technology. Last year, it raised 21 million in Series B funding, one of the largest raised by a hardware company in Europe.

Klein, who taught himself to code when he was 10 years old, believes that the current environment for learning about programming isnt welcoming to young minds, which inspired him to create Kano.

In some ways, there has been this divide preserved by the tech community of 'we make the stuff and we decide and define for you it will be'. What Kano is suggesting is that if the tools are better, the experience will be more fun if you as the individual can write code and change it, he says.
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Deputy Prime Minister Ana Birchall took part on Monday and Tuesday in the meeting of the Pacific Alliance Council of Ministers with Observer States, on the sidelines of the 13th Summit of the Pacific Alliance, where she highlighted Romania's political will for a long term cooperation, under the aegis of this organization.

The Pacific Alliance is an economic and commercial integration mechanism, founded by Chile, Colombia, Peru and Mexico, on 28 April 2011, but formalized on 6 June 2012, through the signing, at the Paranal Astronomical Observatory in Chile, of the articles of association and the organization's status.

A press release sent to AGERPRES by the Government's Press Office reads that at the Work Session moderated by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the four member states of the Pacific Alliance, Deputy Prime Minister Ana Birchall highlighted the importance of the Government's political will for a long term cooperation under the organization's aegis, "founded on shared fundamental values, very good bilateral relations with all four states and on common interests and converging views concerning the future architecture of the global economy, based on multilateralism, transparency, predictability and responsibility."Birchall promoted Romania's candidacy for a UN Security Council non-permanent mandate."Our candidacy for a place in the United Nations Security Council can highlight Romania's experience and expertise, which can certainly be useful in resolving the problems and global challenges that we are facing today. We will continue to act in the same open, independent and honest way and to promote initiatives based on consensus, partnerships and inclusion," the deputy Prime Minister shows.According to the quoted source, Ana Birchall also presented the proposal advanced by Constanta Port with regard to kicking off contacts and exploratory discussions with representatives of the four states in the field, in order to accomplish a joint project, primarily aimed at increasing and multiplying trade opportunities and mutually beneficial businesses, emphasising the port's geostrategic position as a regional hub.Stressing the double identity of the Constanta Port, as a maritime and fluvial port, the Deputy Prime Minister expressed Romania's availability to invite representatives of the Pacific Alliance to the 8th edition of the Annual Forum of EU Strategy for the Danube Region (SUERD), which will take place in Bucharest, 27 to 28 June 2019.On the sidelines of the meeting, Ana Birchall had a series of bilateral meetings with the heads of the delegations of Peru, Colombia, Singapore, Panama and Uruguay, where she reiterated Romania's firm will to develop and deepen the diplomatic-political dialogue and commercial changes and continued the demarches for promoting our country's candidacy for a UN Security Council non-permanent mandate.
Prime Minister Viorica Dancila on Tuesday said that she talked with her Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar on the amendment of the public procurement law and the public-private partnership law, adding that a working group will be set up to ease a good practices' exchange.

"I saluted the fact that last year the commercial exchanges between Romania and Ireland were above 500 million euro, a historic peak. We are glad with the 892 Irish companies operating in Romania and wish to extend the economic and commercial cooperation. Meanwhile, we wish that Irish investors come to Romania, we encourage the Romanian investors to go invest in Ireland and in this respect I talked with Mr. Prime Minister about the amendment of the public procurement law and the law of public-private partnership, as well. We know about the Irish experience and expertise in the PPP and we'd like to have an exchange of good practices, therefore we've decided to create a working group," Premier Dancila said at the end at the meeting with her Irish counterpart Varadkar at the Victoria Palace.

"We have talked about the multiannual financial framework and decided that there should be a balance between the new policies - and I am talking about defence, research, migration, Erasmus+, border protection - and the traditional policies - and I'm referring here to the Cohesion Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy. We know how important the agricultural sector is to both Romania and Ireland, which is why we've decided to advocate the common topics the two countries are benefiting from, such as the youth, encouraging the youth to choose the agriculture, the protection against disasters, topics we should support within the CAP. We have also talked about the Cohesion Policy and I invited Mr. Prime Minister to attend the conference due in Bucharest on 30 October 2018. We have tackled the Brexit, we have talked about the future of the European Union and obviously about the presence at the summit due next year, in central Sibiu," the Romanian Premier said.
Prime Minister Viorica Dancila labeled the resignation requests coming from President Klaus Iohannis as a "political gesture".

"Since we assumed the mandate, I said that I want to have good interinstitutional cooperation among Parliament, the Government and the Presidency. We discussed this with PSD Chairman Liviu Dragnea and with President Klaus Iohannis. Unfortunately, as you have mentioned before, I had the surprise to be asked to resign several times, which I describe as a political gesture, because the data I have presented today show that there was no economic reason for Mr President to reach this decision," said Viorica Dancila, on Monday, on Antena 3 private television broadcaster, according to agerpres

She thus answered a question on what is her approach as prime minister in the relationship with the president after he repeatedly asked her to resign and if there was still a "correct, good, functional" relationship between the prime minister and the head of state.
Ireland will work closely to help Romania succeed during its presidency of the Council of the European Union, said Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on Tuesday at the end of the meeting at Cotroceni Presidential Palace with President Klaus Iohannis, in the context of his visit to Romania.

"There will be six months full of events. I have given assurances of the President of Ireland's commitment to work closely to help Romania succeed in its presidency [of the EU Council]. We are on safe hands in terms of having Romania at the helm. (...) Romania rightly considers the EU as a factor that will contribute to the increase of its prosperity. I wish you success on this path," the Irish official said.

He said he invited the President of Romania to pay a visit to Ireland.I hope you can make time in your schedule of future activities, the Irish Premier said.Leo Varadkar mentioned that he is not at his first visit to Romania, "I was here as a student," he added.
The probability of a Brexit without concluding an agreement with the UK is very low, President Iohannis stated on Tuesday at Cotroceni Presidential Palace.

"Much is being said about the 'hard' Brexit, but nobody wants something like that. The probability of a 'hard' Brexit is very low. (...) Politically, we do not want this scenario. The 'hard' no-deal Brexit is not wanted by anyone, either by the UK, or the 27," President Klaus Iohannis said at the end of the meeting with the Irish Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar, on an official visit to Romania.

"So, I believe the probability of a 'hard' Brexit is actually very low because everybody realizes that a 'hard' Brexit doesn't mean these complex talks are over and everyone minds his own business. That would mean that these very complicated talks become even more complicated and politically, we do not wish for such a scenario. Obviously, certain discussions could take place, certain scenarios could be carried out but the 'hard' Brexit, namely a no-agreement Brexit is not wished by anybody, be they the UK or the EU27. And it would look rather risky that now all of the 27 or 28 commence to prepare for a 'hard' Brexit, if we don't want it. We make ourselves ready for more intense talks, perhaps more flexible, very thorough talks, in any case, so that we find the best solution to finalise this Brexit," the Romanian president said at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace, after a private meeting with the visiting Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar.The president stressed that solutions must be found for the issues that will occur after the Brexit."The Brexit, that interests and affects us all, and which for Ireland has specific aspects, there are specific complications, in particular the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, obviously, alongside many other matters. We have tackled these issues and we both believe that solutions should be found to the problems surfacing following the Brexit. Romania has supported from the very beginning the position of Ireland that a special, positive solution must be found here, and we further back it," Iohannis said.He stated that a return to the "tough" border, physical border respectively, between Ireland and Northern Ireland is impossible."It is an additional argument for us as well to insist upon a negotiation with a good outcome and not upon something with no outcome. I don't believe it will come to a no-deal Brexit," Iohannis added.In his turn, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar emphasized that the odds of a no-agreement Brexit are small, but added that this scenario must be taken into account.I think it is a real risk. We must take it seriously. And yet I believe we could come to some agreements. I'd say it is a very strong probability that proper agreements will be met in October. This is what everybody wants in both United Kingdom and the European Union. The odds of a 'hard' Brexit are small currently, but obviously they must be taken into account and we must be ready for such an outcome, Premier Leo Varadkar said.He mentioned that Ireland is preparing for such a scenario and that in this context it diversifies its exports.We make sure we have access to all kinds of credit lines. We solve matters with respect to agriculture and several such things. Likewise, even in the preparation for the after-Brexit period, we will multiply our efforts, but in order to make sure that a financial agreement and an accord for the rights of the European citizens and the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will be met. We cannot accept in Ireland a "tough" border, as they say. The entire transition period might be necessary to negotiate the final blueprint of some new treaties - economic and of security and so on - these treaties will potentially be ratified by the parliaments of all member states. Therefore, there are a lot of things that can go wrong. As for those negotiations, this is one additional reason for us to make sure we have an exit treaty, an agreement regarding the Brexit, properly completed in the present, the Irish Premier said.
President Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday thanked the Irish authorities for having paved the way for the integration of the Romanian community in Ireland.

I insisted on thanking the Irish authorities for the exceptionally good and positive welcome they gave our fellow nationals, and for the way they allowed them to integrate in Ireland, Iohannis said after the meeting at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

He said that Romania - Ireland economic relations are increasingly better and that according to experts trade exchanges have doubled in the past 12 months.The head of the state emphasized that Romania and Ireland share common ideas as regards the future of the European Union.Even if Ireland and Romania sit at the geographical extremes of the Union, in the west and in the east, we have many common approaches, Iohannis said, citing the shared view on the future 2021 - 2027 Multi-annual Financial Framework, specifically the need to keep in place the common agricultural policy and the cohesion policy.During the meeting at the Cotroceni Palace, the two officials also discussed migration.Together we came to the conclusion that we need to find good solutions to be able to solve the migration issue, to turn it more orderly. This is where solutions need to be negotiated that are good, generally acceptable, feasible and sustainable, Klaus Iohannis said.In his turn, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that despite not being a forefront destination for migration, Ireland will further contribute to identifying solutions to this issue.As far as migration is concerned, we all took note of the Council's decision. In Ireland we are not at the frontline, but we will further contribute to finding solutions and discussing internal and external dimensions, said the Irish official.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 24)  The House of Representatives held its first full session under the speakership of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Tuesday.

Former President and now House Speaker Arroyo was in high spirit as she faced the media a day after Monday's dramatic ouster of Davao Del Norte Representative Pantaleon Alvarez as Speaker.

Arroyo expressed her gratitude to her colleagues and laid down her priorities as Speaker at her first full session  the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) and the assistance for districts affected by recent typhoons and monsoon rains.

"It is also a speaker's job to help the Congressmen to be able to assist their constituents when most needed. Right now, I'm very glad that there will be an end to politicking soon this afternoon so that we can attend to the calamities of the various districts that have been hit," Arroyo said.

Upon resumption of session, the ratification of the Bicameral Conference Committee Report on the Bangsamoro Organic Law was considered and approved.

And contrary to the drama on Monday, there were no controversies during the first session.

Deputy House Speaker Rolando Andaya explained, the BOL's ratification was the reason why congressmen insisted on holding a session on Monday before President Rodrigo Duterte's State of the Nation Address.

He said they wanted to elect a new Speaker and they wanted to have the BOL ratified so the president can sign it into law during his SONA.

Unfortunately, things hit a snag.

"Ang problema, yung may hawak ng papeles, tumakbo, hindi binigay yung papeles. Wala kaming maipresenta...gusto sana naming maayos ang transition para maipasa ang BOL. Nagpadala ng emisaryo sa kampo nila para mapakita ang signatures, ang problema pinalayas sa kwarto at hindi na nakapagusap," Andaya said.

Before Tuesday's session, Arroyo along with over a hundred allies met at her house in Quezon City to discuss the House's transition to the new leadership among other matters.

A new majority leader was being considered. Among the choices are Andaya, Second District of Capiz Representative Fredenil Castro, and Iloilo Representative Arthur Defensor.

Andaya said for now, there would be no changes in committee chairmanships, although this was inevitable as some committee chairmen are planning to join Alvarez in the minority bloc.

Alvarez a no-show

Former House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, meanwhile, was nowhere in sight during the House's first session.

But his ally, Justice Committee Chair Reynaldo Umali, said Alvarez looked composed when they met earlier at the House of Representatives.

Umali believes Alvarez's ouster hit the former Speaker hard after realizing 184 or a majority of House members voted for Arroyo. He said it was only a matter of time before Alvarez accepted Arroyo's election.

The lawmaker also doubts Alvarez knew this was coming, saying this was a "blitzkrieg" or a sudden demolition attack.

Umali said they could not do anything about what he called the tyranny of the majority, but believed it would not do the institution any good if Alvarez clung to his post.

When asked if the Alvarez bloc would question Arroyo's election, he said they would still have to decide.

Umali added Alvarez was looking forward to being the leader of the minority after they bolt the majority.

Of this development, Caloocan Representative Egay Erice said it would be a "highly anomalous situation simply because GMA (Gloria Macapagal Arroyo) is also PDP."

In a statement Tuesday, Erice said, "Where in the world can you find a parliament where the majority leader and the minority leader belongs to the same political party. Its a mockery of the legislative process which is supposed to guarantee check and balance."

He urged Arroyo to prevent this from happening, saying she had the responsibility to protect the "real minority, otherwise this congress will be the same as the rotten Alvarez House which we ousted."
The price of electricity on Romania's energy exchange this Tuesday was the lowest of the markets Romania is interconnected with, standing even 25 percent lower at peak consumption hours, shows data posted on the website of market operator OPCOM.

The day-ahead electricity price in Romania averaged at 40.95 euro per MWh for the entire day.

For a comparison, in Hungary the price was 55.84 euro per MWh, in Slovakia - 55.57 euro per MWh, and in the Czech Republic it was 55.57 euro per MWh.The difference was even higher during peak consumption hours (9:00 - 20:00 hrs). For instance, whereas in Romania the price at 19:00 hrs is 49.18 euro per MWh, in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia the price is 63.01 euro per MWh.
The bilateral relationship between Romania and Ireland has become more and more powerful in recent years, said Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar at the end of the Victoria Palace meeting with Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, during the joint press statements.

Varadkar highlighted the importance of the community of Romanians living in Ireland.

We have a very large community of Romanians, around 75,000, which means some 1.5pct of the country's population. It's a well-integrated community that we care about. And, as the Prime Minister mentioned, the Romanian language is taught in Irish schools and the members of the community in Ireland are indeed some good ambassadors of the nation, Varadkar pointed out.The Irish prime minister also underlined that bilateral trade has doubled over the past 10 years.We had a very pleasant conversation about Romania's plans for the first presidency of the Council of the EU and the main topic, of the European cohesion and values, is one with which we identify ourselves very well. So it will be a very busy presidency, because we have Brexit in March and the European elections in May. We are trying to negotiate a new multiannual financial framework. The agenda is extremely busy considering the fact that in May we have that meeting in Sibiu, where we will present the future of the European Union and we will discover what needs to be done, Varadkar pointed out.During lunch, we discussed the EU budget, which will have to reflect the new challenges, such as increasing economic growth and jobs, managing migration and security but also tackling climate change, which, as far as I understand, causes floods and rain in Romania, while in Ireland we have drought. And we have agreed that we must support, at least financially, at the same level, the cohesion element and the element of common agricultural policy, which is extremely important for both Ireland and Romania. And I am sure that when I am asked about what is happening in this area of Europe with regard to the Western Balkans, the European integration of Moldova or Ukraine, I am sure that Mrs. Dancila is a person who can inform me correctly on these topics, said Varadkar.
The political landscape of Greek-Russian relations has suddenly darkened. What exactly is the matter? It is almost impossible to cull any accurate information enabling us to clarify the situation and shine a light on recent developments.

Lets first sweep the picture clean of inaccurate assertions and unfounded claims. Commentators who almost always turn to the anti-Western narrative immediately took to the field. The Greek government, they claim, is trying to earn its credentials vis-a-vis NATO and the US. Although nobody has ever required such a demonstration of allegiance from Athens. Under the present circumstances Greece is not going to win any points with such behaviour. With the agreement at Prespa Lake and Athens yielding to FYROMacedonia's membership in NATO, the Greek government has already earned what it could from like-minded Western European capitals. A breakup with Russia would not have added anything to Athens pro-Western arsenal.

At a time when the US is blaming Germany for being friendly with Russia and other European states  namely Austria, Italy, and Hungary, among others  appear to be moving closer to Moscow, what would an anti-Russian gesture by Greece signify? How could Athens expect to capitalize on this? I cannot honestly discern any direct benefit for Greece. Likewise, why would Washington pressure Athens to adapt such a hostile attitude? What would the Americans expect to earn at a time when the US president himself reiterates that in Vladimir Putin he sees a man he can fully understand  and make a deal with

On the other hand, as far as bilateral relations are concerned, Athens' relationship with Moscow has been seriously wounded  without any clear benefits for Greece. Putin has made it clear how he would react if faced with a repeated challenge: "If you squeeze a spring as far as it will go, it will snap back hard. You must always remember this".

One should not overlook the fact that some months ago a meeting was called off between the Greek and Russian government ministries that had been aimed at fostering economic cooperation between the two countries. The reason given was the unexpected appearance at the meeting of some Crimean politicians  the Russians maintaining however that the Greek side had been forewarned and had not raised any objections at the time! In the end the episode was brushed aside without any major repercussions, at least public ones. But it was an issue nevertheless

At the last occurrence, culminating in the expulsion of Russian diplomats from Athens there is enough ambivalence as concerns the matter.The main issue being discussed is a possible Russian effort against the Prespa agreement, objecting in order to to nullify FYROMs future membership in NATO. Two comments must be made here. Only Northern Macedonia can render the agreement invalid at this point, not Greece. Even if the Greek parliament fails to ratify the agreement, the northern Macedonians will automatically become members of the Atlantic alliance. In order for that to happen the government in Skopje merely needs to satisfy the requirements set out by the Prespa agreement and stipulated by NATO. It is ridiculous to think that Russian diplomats are not fully aware of this situation. Why then, as some observers insinuate, should they try to nudge Greece into walking out of the agreement?

As for NATO, it is doubtful that the Russians do not recognize that the attitude of the US and of its president, who recently met with Russian officials and with President Putin himself in Helsinki, poses a greater threat to the cohesion of the alliance than the membership of tiny FYROM. My opinion is that the various reports on the issue are making the matter seem much weightier than it really is. My assessment is that Moscow is much less concerned about it than is generally acknowledged.

There is, however, definitely an issue. Otherwise we would not have reached the point of repatriating diplomats. One should never overlook the fact that great powers are usually burdened by many decision-influencing centres. Sometimes they are working outside of the official process that the governments dictate. Russia can hardly be an exception. Often the tentacles of such decision-making centres reach the state machinery. This has happened in Greece in the past, when a retired Air Force pilot attempted to bomb parts of Albania. We saw it again in the case of a fugitive from Turkey, the Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan. In the US it is very often the case that various agencies take initiatives without the knowledge of the central government authorities.

With Russia, the issue of Orthodox Christian belief is quite important. Adherence to those principles can potentially prompt actions and moves without the knowledge or approval of a central authority. Unfortunately, I am not privy to specific information. But I believe that my ideas make logical sense. Why should the Kremlin jeopardise a carefully cultivated cordial relationship with Athens just to pursue a dead-end policy on the issue of Skopje? After all, thats an issue of paramount importance to Greece! And it could not possibly produce any fruitful results

There are people in northern Greece who have often involved themselves in issues of vital importance to Greece without the slightest official authorisation or coordination with the aims of the Greek state. Some of them refer to Russia as a sister Orthodox power, without having been entrusted with such authority.

On the other hand, one should not overlook the fact that Greece carries a grudge against the Kremlin for having embraced Turkey in recent months, supplying it with missiles and accepting its friendly overtures on the Syrian front, although aware of its diverse inclinations concerning the future of that region.

It is not impossible that such sentiments may have culminated in and led to the recent crisis between the two states.

Notwithstanding the above, there is a wider issue contributing to the current misunderstandings. Russia has always been a puzzle for anyone attempting to do business with her. They find it difficult to comprehend her reactions and behaviour. Almost all are reminded of Winston Churchill's words describing Russia: "It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma". What few people remember is the rest of Churchill's phrase: "But perhaps there is a key. That key is Russian national interest".

Some years later he explained: "I am convinced that there is nothing they [the Russians] admire so much as strength, and there is nothing for which they have less respect than for weakness". No country can expect a positive appraisal if it does nothing but beg and offers little or no policy coordination. These words might adequately explain Russia's attitude towards other countries and its posture towards various global affairs.
Western states made a dramatic intervention in the Syrian war earlier this week to extricate hundreds of terrorist militants. The militants are to be fast-tracked for resettlement in Europe and Canada.

But in saving their terror assets, Western governments are risking future public safety as well as sowing seeds for increasing multicultural strife.

In a stunning revelation of the foreign links to the extremists in Syria, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his military forces to evacuate up to 800 militants belonging to the so-called White Helmets. They are the propaganda merchants for Nusra Front and other al-Qaeda-linked terror organizations.

Netanyahu announced that the blatant intervention to rescue the jihadists in southwest Syria was made at the personal request of US President Donald Trump and the Canadian premier Justin Trudeau, among others.

Separately, there were reports of four senior jihadist commanders being given safe passage by Israeli forces out of Syria as the Syrian army closed in on the last-remaining militant strongholds around the southwest city of Daraa and Quneitra province.

Nor was it coincidental that the evacuation operations were accompanied by Israeli air strikes on Syrian government facilities in Hama province.

Damascus condemned the extraction of hundreds of jihadists by Israel and its Western allies as a criminal operation and further proof of the foreign sponsoring that has fomented the nearly eight-year war.

Of course, Netanyahu, Western governments and news media sought to portray the evacuation of the White Helmets as a humanitarian gesture. This was at the same time that Israeli warplanes and snipers were stepping up the killing medics and civilians in Gaza.

Britains newly appointed foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt described the Israeli rescue of White Helmets as fantastic news, saying that the militants were the bravest of the brave.

We wont delay too much here on this fraud. The so-called first responders of the White Helmets are a CIA, MI6-backed propaganda outfit working hand-in-hand with the terrorist militia. Their fake videos of chemical weapons attacks and air strikes have been a key propaganda device aided and abetted by the Western news media to demonize the Syrian armed forces and its Russian ally.

The fictitious propaganda stunt alleging a chemical weapon attack in Douma on April 7 this year resulted in a barrage of air strikes by the US, Britain and France.

Created in 2013 by a British MI6 agent and former British army officer James Le Mesurier, the so-called White Helmets have been funded with hundreds of millions of dollars by the governments of the US, Britain and other NATO states.

There is abundant video evidence showing members of this fake rescue group participating in gruesome executions by the al Qaeda-aligned militants with whom they associate. One such video shows an execution of a Syrian army soldier in Daraa, the city from where the latest evacuation of jihadists by Israel took place. Daraa is also, by the way, mendaciously referred to in the Western media as the cradle of the revolution or the birthplace of the uprising against President Assads government back in March 2011. The only thing that Daraa was a birthplace of was the US-led foreign covert war for regime change in Syria.

Now heres a curious thing about the latest salvaging of terror assets in Syria. The United States and Israel are not taking any of the 800 militants for resettlement. Independent investigative journalist Vanessa Beeley, who has done much to expose the real macabre nature of the White Helmets and their terror links, says that both the US and Israeli no doubt realize that by taking in such war refugees they are inviting terrorists into their own societies.

Which makes you wonder why Britain, Germany and Canada are stepping up to the plate to offer the 800 White Helmets a home?

The case of Germany is particularly odd. Interior minister Horst Seehofer has personally authorized the resettlement of White Helmets spirited out of Syria by Israel. This is the same Seehofer who has mounted such a strong challenge to Chancellor Angela Merkels open door policy towards immigrants.

What we are witnessing is a suicidal ignorance by Western governments to take in these cadres of White Helmets. Perhaps Seehofer and other government ministers like Britains Jeremy Hunt are simply woefully misinformed. But surely the state security agencies of their respective countries know all too well the criminal, psychotic nature of the people whom they are allowing into their societies.

Such a callous disregard for public safety is not unprecedented. In his well-researched book, My Fight For Syrian Freedom, Irish peace activist Dr Declan Hayes details numerous cases of how jihadist assets were knowingly cultivated by British and French state security services for the purpose of waging the covert war for regime change in Syria and Libya. These assets have been allowed to return to Britain and France under the cover of being refugees, with the security services turning a blind eye to their true identity.

The nefarious relationship has resulted in these terror assets committing atrocities in Europe. For example, as Hayes points out, the Manchester concert bomb attack that killed 22 people in May last year was carried out by operatives belonging to a Libyan jihad cell that MI5 and MI6 had previously overseen for their objective of prosecuting the regime-change war in Libya against Muammar Gaddafi.

Similar murky connections between jihadists blooded in Syria and state secret services have been have uncovered in terror attacks in France and Belgium. It is not clear if these terror assets go rogue or whether they are being used by British, French and other military intelligence as a deliberate provocation in order to promote tighter national security laws and greater surveillance powers over their citizens.

Declan Hayes reckons that the problem of Western-sponsored terrorists returning to Britain and other European countries under the cover of claiming to be war refugees is much greater than Western governments or their media are admitting.

Hayes says that in his experience of visiting Syria many times during the war, most families loyal to the government were adamantly defiant about staying in the country and defending their communities. He reckons that there is a legitimate concern that many of the refugees fleeing from formerly militant-held cities like Aleppo and Daraa are jihadists and their families.

This view supports the right of some European governments to be wary about taking in large numbers of refugees from Syria and other war-torn countries. There is a case for rigorous vetting, but such a case is often emotionally blackmailed by naive media commentary as being heartless or racist.

There is no doubt that Western government agencies have fomented terrorist groups in Syria and elsewhere to do their dirty work for destabilizing target governments.

Now that the war in Syria is all but over with the Syrian army, backed by Russia, Iran and Hezbollah, rooting out the last jihadist remnants, we are seeing Western states taking in their terror assets. Maybe as a desperate intervention to stop them from revealing the dirty secrets of Western government collusion.

The repatriation of the White Helmets terrorist propagandists to the UK, Germany and Canada is a classic illustration.

Western authorities are playing with fire. Not only are they running the risk of public safety from future terrorist incidents. They are also stoking the flames of xenophobia, racism and culture wars against many innocent refugees who have been given shelter in Western countries.

Photo: caribflame.com
Patrick COCKBURN

What will be Britains standing in the world compared to other nation states after Brexit? Sane analysis has been overwhelmed by vituperative debate as we get closer to the day of the great rupture.

Boris Johnson claimed in his resignation speech that after a full-throttle Brexit, Britain will be in a good position to become one of the great independent actors on the world stage. He feared only a failure in the necessary will-power and self-confidence to believe in this country and what it can do.

But what can this country really do? How far will greater independence outside the EU be real rather than nominal? Will strength of will in pursuit of self-determination make much difference when we will always be holding a weaker hand of cards than our neighbours?

This imbalance of forces is highlighted every day in the Brexit negotiations, and there is no reason why this should change in our favour after we leave.

Supporters of Brexit discount such realpolitik, saying that they are inspired  and seek to emulate  a past in which Britain as a fully independent state won victories against the odds. Critics often deride this approach as self-indulgent nostalgia, but there are real lessons to be learned from past British experience.

The problem is that Brexiteers, when they take a serious view of British history that is not coloured by Shakespeares plays or Errol Flynn movies, have never shown much understanding of the roots of Britains successes.

The British only stood alone during the centuries when they had miscalculated the political wind direction, or had been left with absolutely no alternative. At the heart of British strategy was the drive to join or create alliances with other countries powerful enough to overcome any enemy.

It was this formula that put Britain on the winning side in the Napoleonic Wars, the First World War and the Second: the three great conflicts that shaped the contemporary world.

Against Napoleon, it was the combination of Britain with Russia, Prussia and the Habsburg Empire that produced the victory for which the British traditionally claimed exaggerated credit. In the 1914-18 war, the British priority was to bring about US intervention, and the same was true in 1939-45.

Britain only stood heroically alone during a relatively short period between the fall of France in 1940 and Hitlers invasion of the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941, followed later in the year by his declaration of war on the US after Pearl Harbour.

Churchills record as a military leader was dubious in both wars  remember Gallipoli and Norway. His greater and more valuable skill was to foster and maintain a grand alliance against Germany which was bound to win in the end. The centrality of these alliances tends to be masked by unwavering focus on Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain and the triumphs of the British codebreakers.

British pre-eminence was based on defence by the Royal Navy, which prevented invasion, and the patient construction of a war-winning coalition. The last time Britain fought a major conflict without such an alliance was the American war of independence, which concluded with disappointing results for our side.

Exaggerated presumptions of national superiority are scarcely a monopoly of the Brexiteers, or even of the British, but the referendum has made them peculiarly destructive. What is interpreted as unfair bullying by the EU, or unnecessary timidity on the part of Theresa May, is simply a reflection of our inferior  and their superior  strength.

Johnson suggested that Britain might do well to emulate Trumps negotiating style of laying down the law and threatening to walk away. But he crucially missed the point that such bravado is the perquisite of the strong, and weak countries do not dare to bluff because that bluff is likely to be called.

It would be a caricature of the Brexiteers mentality to imagine that they believe that what worked well at Crecy, Blenheim and El Alamein has much to do with what goes on at present. But this mythology does create a national mood that makes it difficult for the English  the same is no longer true of Britain as a whole  to carry out any great political enterprise.

Brexit is only the latest in a series of British ventures this millennium in which political class has miscalculated what we could accomplish. The process was already evident when Britain was engaged in wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, and failed to achieve its ends in all three of them.

There is nothing secret about what happened. The Chilcot Report, for instance, lucidly explained in great detail how the British government did not know what it was getting into in Iraq and ended up, after all its efforts, signing a humiliating truce agreement with a local Shia militia in Basra.

Britain was repeatedly caught by surprise by events, tumbling out of Iraq into even bloodier skirmishing in Helmand province in Afghanistan. In Libya, it should have been perfectly obvious that if Gaddafi fell, there was nobody but predatory militias to replace him, and much the same was true in opposing Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

At some point, the British political, diplomatic and military establishment seems to have lost its touch or capacity to learn from experience.

The difficulty people have in picturing life after Brexit is that what are essentially political issues are framed in economic terms, so anxiety and hope are directed far too much towards the future economic consequences of Brexit. This diverts attention from the fact that the political disaster is already with us and visible for all to see.

Britain has been generally more united than its rivals and opponents over the last three centuries, but Brexit has provoked a degree of disunity not seen since the 17th century. It is absurd for the Brexiteers to keep saying that the nation decided to leave the EU in the referendum, and act as if this were so, because nothing is clearer than that the nation is split down the middle.

And the very definition of that nation  is it the United Kingdom or England?  is in doubt, since Scotland voted to remain, as did a majority in Northern Ireland. The Brexiteers scarcely seem to notice that they have reopened the Ulster Question, which bedevilled British politics from Gladstones efforts to pass a Home Rule Bill in the 1880s to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

In the eyes of the rest of the world, a country that once seemed to possess the secret of stability has become permanently self-absorbed in its own divisions. Johnsons puerile bombast and jingoism has its uses because it neatly sums up what is not likely to happen: A great Brexit he claimed will unite this party, unite this House and unite this nation.

But nothing is less likely to happen. Brexit is exacerbating all other grievances and divisions. These will be worse after Brexit than before. Britain is already weaker than at any time since the end of the Stuart monarchy.

counterpunch.org
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In today's forecast we are expecting a fine day with westerly breezes.

It's a three-clothing and one-windproof layer day today with a high of 14 and an overnight low of 3 degrees. Humidity is 97 per cent.

Low tide is at 10am and high tide is at 4.20pm. There's a sea swell of .4m with a sea temperature of 15 degrees. Sunset tonight is at 5.17pm.

If you're going fishing the next best fish bite time is between 8.30 and 10.30pm.

In NZ history on this day in 2000 a New Zealand soldier was killed in Timor-Leste. Private Leonard Manning was the first New Zealander killed in combat since the Vietnam War.

In world history on this day in 1505 on their way to India, a group of Portuguese explorers sacked the city-state of Kilwa. In 1567 Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned and forced to abdicate her throne to her one-year-old son James VI.

In 1929 the KelloggBriand Pact, which renounced war as an instrument of foreign policy, went into effect.

Signatory states promised not to use war to resolve disputes or conflicts of whatever nature or of whatever origin they may be, which may arise among them.

Today is the birthday of aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart. Born in 1897, she once said "The most effective way to do it, is to do it".

To get involved in some of the many activities happening around the Bay, please check out our What's on page.

Have a great day!
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Tauranga children have been given a reason to smile when they visit community organisations throughout the Bay of Plenty, following the donation of three childrens playhouses.

NZ Certified Builders Tauranga Districts has recently donated playhouses to Tauranga Hospitals Child and Youth Outpatients Clinic, alongside early childhood centres and primary schools.

The playhouses have been built by local Bay of Plenty apprentices as part of NZCBs recent Apprentice Challenge competition.

NZCB Tauranga Districts President Paul James says its their way of giving back.

NZCB Tauranga Districts is proud to be an active member of the community, not only through the many building jobs our members carry out for families and businesses throughout the region, but also through community events and charity initiatives we are involved with.

We decided to donate a playhouse to Tauranga Hospitals Child and Youth Outpatients Clinic as our members see first-hand the impact the Clinic has on supporting local children and their families through serious health difficulties, from premature babies to cancer treatment to neurological disorders.

Some of us have visited the Clinic in the past with our own children, so we were particularly pleased to show our appreciation for the great service it provides and hope the Clinics young patients enjoy the fun and relaxing addition.

Child and Youth Outpatients Clinic Registered Nurse Julie Christophersen says they are grateful for the donation.

We are thrilled with the generosity of the NZCB team. Many children at the Clinic have multiple appointments and can be very anxious when they arrive, so we can only imagine the delight the playhouse will bring them.

NZCB Tauranga Districts also donated playhouses to Maori early childcare education providers Te Kohanga Reo o Opopoti in Tauranga and Sunset Primary School in Rotorua, where NZCBs annual conference was held in May.

The Tauranga NZCB Apprentice Challenge competition took place in April, where talented local apprentices were given a building plan, materials and eight hours to each construct a playhouse.

A total of 96 playhouses were built at regional events throughout the country, and NZCB has been donating all the finished products to community groups across New Zealand.
The New Zealand Defence Force has lent a hand to Fiji authorities in retrieving over 12 kilograms of cocaine, found on a remote island last week.

Lieutenant Benjamin Flight, the Commanding Officer of Royal New Zealand Navy inshore patrol vessel HMNZS Taupo, says the ships crew members recovered the illicit drugs from an island that forms part of Fijis Lau group, following a request from Fiji Revenue and Customs Service.

Early in July, Fiji authorities recovered 40 kilograms of cocaine from the same island, which is accessible only by ship.

HMNZS Taupo, which is currently in Fiji conducting combined maritime patrols with the Republic of Fiji Navy and other Fiji enforcement agencies, brought the cocaine cache to the Fijian capital of Suva early on Friday before resuming the fisheries patrol.

The Fiji Police Force tested the retrieved packages and confirmed that they contained cocaine.

Although our combined maritime patrols are focussed primarily on enforcing regulations for inshore fishing, we also support enforcement action by other Fiji agencies.

Visvanath Das, the Chief Executive Officer of the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service, says the joint operation sends a clear message.

Fiji authorities are determined to protect our countrys borders and will not allow it to be used as a transit or a destination for illegal drugs. Surveillance in coastal communities and seas is an ongoing challenge for Customs.

However, with the assistance and cooperation from island communities, we can protect our borders from illicit trade.

Through the combined patrols, which began in early June, the NZDF has been helping Fiji authorities enforce regulations for inshore fishing, protect fishery resources and police the South Pacific countrys borders.

For the second consecutive year, the NZDF has deployed an inshore patrol vessel to help Fiji patrol its Exclusive Economic Zone of over 1.2 million square kilometres.

Personnel from Fijis Ministry of Fisheries and Revenue and Customs Service are leading the inspections.

Crew members from Royal New Zealand Navy inshore patrol vessel HMNZS Taupo and personnel from Fiji Revenue and Customs Service wade towards the remote island where over 12kgs of cocaine were found last week.
The Crown is appealing a High Court judgement which ruled that the Ministry of Primary Industries was negligent in allowing the deadly Psa disease into New Zealand in 2009.

The Crown appeal seeks to clarify the scope for government regulators to be sued for negligence.

Psa decimated the kiwifruit industry and its impact was far reaching, not only on growers and their individual orchards, but on the New Zealand economy.

Following lengthy court proceedings, the Court established that MPI owed a duty of care to kiwifruit growers when carrying out its biosecurity functions.

Kiwifruit Claim Chairman John Cameron says the Kiwifruit industry alone is worth around $1.67 billion a year to the New Zealand economy, and MPI is the only agency in the country with the mandate to manage biosecurity risks.

"We've had to fight a really hard and expensive battle to get this decision. Some growers lost everything when PSA hit, their orchards and businesses, their life savings, and for many, the financial and emotional impact is ongoing.

Since the release of the judgement last month, a notice of appeal has been filed in the Court of Appeal against the High Courts decision in the Psa litigation.

The Courts finding traverses events dating back 12 years, pre-dating the establishment of the Ministry, says an MPI spokesperson.

The Ministry is continually enhancing and improving the way it manages pre-border risk and import processes at the border.

We have confidence in our current biosecurity system and its continued robustness. New Zealand enjoys a high level of freedom from the most damaging pests and diseases as a result of the diligent actions of MPI officers, importers and others.

No biosecurity system in the world can prevent every pest incursion from happening, which is why our ability to manage risk offshore and respond to incursions if they occur are critical parts of the biosecurity system.

A strong biosecurity system needs government, importers, industry and the public actively participating and acting to identify and manage risk.

The Ministry considers the High Court finding has the potential to significantly impact on the Ministrys biosecurity operations.

MPI takes its biosecurity responsibilities seriously, and while the decision is being appealed, it must still be applied in the interim. The impact of this for importers and others will be delays in decision-making.

As the matter will go before the Court of Appeal, we will be making no further comment.
ROME, N.Y. -- Three children were killed in a fire late Monday night in an Oneida County mobile home park.

A fire was reported at 11:48 p.m. at 154 Pine Haven Circle in Rome. When the Rome Fire Department and the New York State Police arrived in the Pine Haven mobile home park, heavy flames were engulfing the home, troopers said.

Three children were found dead inside the home, troopers said: Temprince J. Croad, 2; Patrick G. Croad III, 3; and Eliesse A. Croad, 4.

The children's parents and baby sister survived the fire. All three were rushed to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse.

Gabrielle M. Croad, 24, the children's mother, suffered second-degree burns, troopers said. Kaydence J. Croad, 1, suffered burns on both of her arms, troopers said.

Patrick G. Croad, 25, the children's father, was evaluated at the hospital.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The fire department is helping state police determine what started the blaze.

Troopers and firefighters were assisted by the Oneida County Sheriff's Office, the New London Fire Department, the Vienna Fire Department, the Oneida County Mobile Crisis Assessment Team and the Oneida County Medical Examiner's Office.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Syracuse firefighters saved two people trapped on the second-floor of a Teall Avenue apartment building Monday night, Syracuse Deputy Fire Chief Bob Cussen said.

A neighbor also helped two other tenants out of the burning building, witnesses said.

The frantic 911 calls began around 5:46 p.m. Monday.

Flames spread from a first-floor apartment at 624 Teall Ave. and blocked access to the stairwell, trapping those still on the second floor, Cussen said. Thick black smoke billowed from the apartment as heavy rain poured from the sky.

Before firefighters arrived, first-floor tenant Gary Roe, 51, said he saw his 63-year-old neighbor Joe Barry trying to climb down from the second-floor balcony. Barry, who lives upstairs, said he was trapped, but he was determined to get down.

"The smoke was getting thick and heavy so I went between the bushes and the car to get him down," Roe said.

Barry carefully climbed down the balcony railing and onto Roe's shoulders, the men said.

Roe said he also knocked on another neighbor's door. Martin Simson, 71, who lives in a first-floor apartment, said he had no idea there was a fire until Roe told him.

"The building is on fire," Roe said he told his neighbor. "Get out."

There were still two people -- a woman and her adult son -- trapped upstairs, Roe said.

But Roe said he could hear the fire trucks.

When they arrived, firefighters quickly spotted the woman and young man on the second-floor balcony. They were yelling for help, said Syracuse District Fire Chief James Farewell.

"They knew they couldn't go down," Farewell said. "It looked like the (young man) was thinking about jumping over onto the roof of a car, which he didn't do."

Firefighters told them to stay on the balcony while they set up a ladder to get them down safely.

Firefighter Chris Walker climbed up the ladder and helped the woman down first, then her son, Farewell said. Both firefighters and witnesses said the woman needed more help than her son getting down the ladder.

Syracuse Fire Lt. Mike Davis and Capt. Tim Barclay stood at the foot of the ladder, and helped the woman and man as they came down the ladder, the district chief said.

No one was injured during the fire.

"The guys did a great job, like they always do," Farewell said of the firefighters.

Fire investigators are still trying to determine how the fire started, Cussen said.

The apartment fire was at the corner of Teall Avenue and Vann Street, just south of Transfiguration Church. The fire appears to have started in Apartment 4, the first-floor apartment on the east side of the building -- farthest from the intersection.

Roe said he was in bed when he smelled smoke Monday evening.

"I looked at the cigarette in my ashtray to see if it re-lit," he said. "lt wasn't that so I got up and came outside."

Firefighters say the fire spread quickly to the second floor and attic.

The only staircase in the apartment complex was on the same side of the building as where the fire started, firefighters said. That's why some tenants couldn't get out.

Firefighters rescued the mother and her adult son about three minutes after they arrived, Cussen said. They extinguished the bulk of the fire in about 10 minutes and had the fire under control in about a half-hour, he said.

At one point early on, firefighters were ordered off the roof as flames engulfed the attic area, he said.

"They called them off the roof so they could get it under control," Cussen said. "It was for the firefighters' safety."

Firefighters also dealt with other obstacles, including driving to the fire in a downpour and battling a fire on a building with a roof that was hard to access because there was an original roof, as well as a roof on top of that, he said.

All eight people who live in the apartment building were able to get out safely and did not require medical attention. Firefighters said one apartment was vacant; the mother and son lived together upstairs; and the other six apartments had one person living in each.

None of the tenants could return home after the fire Monday night, firefighters said.

American Red Cross volunteers said they would help the residents, although they were unable to reach some who quickly left the scene.
Amy Dell

Syracuse, NY -- A bartender left her job at Destiny USA to go bar-hopping one Friday night in May 2015.

Hours later, Amy Dell killed a motorist on Interstate 81 as she went the wrong way on the hilly highway south of Syracuse.

Killed was Bruce Ham, 58, of New Jersey, who was headed home May 8, 2015 to tell his family about a new job he'd gotten in Toronto.

His family filed a lawsuit against several bars where Dell was believed to have been that night. Under law, bars can be sued if they served someone who was obviously intoxicated.

At Corner Bar, in Armory Square, manager John Hanus was accused of tampering with video equipment that showed Dell falling down three times that night outside the bar, authorities said. The video was eventually recovered and Hanus's case was dismissed after he spent a year on interim supervision and did 150 hours of community service.

But the lawsuit accused others, as well. The victim's estate eventually settled with everyone outside of court for a total of $95,000.

Last week, state Supreme Court Justice James Murphy approved the settlement. The payments included:

The former

Corner Bar

Empire Brewing Co.

Dell, who is serving an 8 1/3 to 25-year prison sentence for Ham's death, agreed to pay $50,000 toward the settlement. It's unclear if she had insurance, which would cover an amount in the case of a wrongful death.

Dell was going northbound in the southbound lanes when she crashed into Ham's car. After the crash, she gave the middle finger to deputies, told them her mom was a Skaneateles judge and hurled obscenities at them while refusing to cooperate.

Dell had a blood-alcohol content twice the legal limit that night.

The settlement came after three years of litigation.

After attorney costs, Ham's widow will receive about $59,000 of the settlement, according to court records.

Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Corner Bar manager John Hanus was convicted of attempting to tamper with evidence. In fact, his case was dismissed after he spent a year on interim supervision and completed 150 hours of community service, according to the terms worked out in court.
The notices were given over statements made by PM and Defence Minister in LS during debate on no-confidence motion on July 20.

Congress gave notices for breach of privilege against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Lok Sabha for 'misleading' the House on the Rafale deal issue. (Photo: AP)

New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday gave notices for breach of privilege against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Lok Sabha for "misleading" the House on the Rafale deal issue.

The notices were moved by Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Veerappa Moily, K V Thomas, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Rajiv Satav, sources said.

The notices were given over the statements made by PM Modi and Nirmala Sitharaman in Lok Sabha during the debate on the no-confidence motion on July 20.

"The Prime Minister has along with the defence minister deliberately mislead the House, it is, therefore, requested that this notice of breach of privilege be accepted and referred to the privilege committee for further proceedings," the notice against the Prime Minister says.

The Prime Minister in his speech endorsed the defence minister's claims, which contradicted the reply of his Minister of State for Defence in Lok Sabha on November 18, 2016 and in Rajya Sabha on March 19, 2018, the notice says.

The Prime Minister's claim of transparency in the 2008 confidentiality agreement with France is factually incorrect, untrue, and deliberately made with the intention to mislead the House, according to the notice.

The Prime Minister and his cabinet, as per the Constitution, are collectively accountable to Parliament and through it to the people of the country, it says. The minister had knowingly and intentionally misled Parliament by withholding the information that the government is obliged to reveal to Parliament, the notice against Nirmala Sitharaman says.
DENMARK, N.Y. -- A Jefferson County man was killed this weekend after he crashed a Harley-Davidson in Lewis County, state police said.

Harold R. Rogers, 63, of Watertown, was traveling west on Number Three Road in the town of Denmark just before 9:30 p.m. Saturday when the motorcycle veered off the right shoulder of the road, troopers said in a news release.

The motorcycle continued through a grassy embankment for about 200 feet before coming to rest on its right side, the release said.

Rogers was thrown from the motorcycle, state police said.

Lewis County Search and Rescue ambulance took Rogers to Lewis County General Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.

Rogers was "a jack-of-all trades and, if he couldn't fix it, no one could!," according to his obituary. "He was a man who never sat still, and would frequently say 'I've got stuff to do!'"



State police said they are continuing to investigate the crash.
110 Grill will open at Destiny USA in late 2018.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A new restaurant is coming to Destiny USA later this year.

110 Grill, which features modern American cuisine, will move into the former Uno Pizzeria & Grill location in the food court, according to Destiny USA Director of Marketing John Fazio.

Uno Pizzeria & Grill, which was one of the mall's original tenants, closed in January 2017.

110 Grill first opened in Massachusetts four years ago. Today, the company has 14 locations in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and has announced plans to open eight more. Its first New York restaurant will open Friday in Albany.

"We've been growing rapidly in New England and have been interested in bringing our concept to the Syracuse area for quite some time," 110's Grill's Chief Operating Officer Ryan Dion said in a news release. "We are thrilled to partner with Destiny USA and look forward to becoming a part of the Syracuse community."

The restaurant caters to those with food allergies and intolerances, which includes offering a gluten-free version of the entire core lunch and dinner menu. Guests can enjoy seasonal signatures such as the 110 Cucumber & Avocado Tuna with sliced Cajun tuna as well as numerous salad, sandwich, steak and seafood options.

"110 Grill is the latest in upscale-casual dining, combining a comfortable atmosphere with an affordable, wide-ranging menu," Fazio said in a news release.
Buffalo native Jason Tartick just got dumped on national television.

"The Bachelorette" star Becca Kufrin took her final three suitors -- Jason, Garrett and Blake -- to Thailand on Monday night's episode of the ABC dating show. Becca says she's "in love with two men and falling in love with a third," and Jason was that third.

According to People, Becca and Jason went on a date exploring a Thai market and eating bugs (yes, really) and other local cuisine. At one point, she said she regretted a comment during a about potentially sharing a home with Jason one day because she "felt like I couldn't see him in that future."

She admits to Jason that her feelings are stronger for the other two contestants, and ultimately rejects him before they can have a fantasy suite date. (A fantasy suite, for the uninitiated, is the reality show's code word for an overnight stay where suitors can get, ahem, intimate.)

"For the longest time, I could see everything with you," she told Jason. "And I don't know what my problem is, because you have been the most amazing, open person. But I can't put you through an overnight and me through an overnight if it's not 100 percent there."

We hope trying new foods doesn't bug you too much, Jason and Becca.  #TheBachelorette pic.twitter.com/6TYMV8loC5  The Bachelorette (@BacheloretteABC) July 22, 2018

Jason, a 29-year-old senior corporate banker in Buffalo, appeared to leave amicably but returned just before the rose ceremony to give Becca a scrapbook of memories from their time together. He didn't stick around for the actual rose ceremony, though, as he knew she was sticking with Blake and Garrett.

"What did I just do? What am I doing?" she said of Jason. "...He's such a good guy. I've dated terrible people in the past and he's such a good person. Jason is one of the best men I know. I literally just did to him what Arie did to me."

Not quite. ("But all at once, America yelled, 'No you didn't!'" Variety wrote.)

Becca was famously won the final rose on "The Bachelor" last season, but racecar driver Arie Luyendyk Jr. brutally dumped her after proposing and ended up proposing to runner-up Lauren Burnham. Kufrin, a 28-year-old publicist, was then selected for the show's spinoff series, "The Bachelorette."

"The Bachelorette" will air its season finale next Monday at 8 p.m. on ABC. After Becca chooses between Blake and Garrett, Jason is expected to appear on the "After the Final Rose" special.
Supermodel Karlie Kloss will soon have Ivanka Trump as a sister-in-law.

Kloss, 25, announced Tuesday that she's engaged to Joshua Kushner, the 33-year-old brother of Jared Kushner, after six years of dating.

"I love you more than I have words to express," she wrote on Instagram. "Josh, you're my best friend and my soulmate. I can't wait for forever together. Yes a million times over."

People reports Kushner proposed to Kloss a few weeks ago in Upstate New York. Additional details were not disclosed; the New York Post reports the "golden couple" is "extremely private, and their PR reps, from the same firm, never discuss their relationship."

He's "so not in fashion," she told People magazine in 2013. "It's really refreshing to leave all the fashion shows and shoots and chaos totally behind."

Kloss, a Chicago native, has been modeling since she was a teenager and a Victoria's Secret Angel since 2011. She's also known for her friendships with big-name celebrities like Taylor Swift and was featured in Forbes magazine for her coding skills; she launched an education nonprofit, Kode With Klossy, to teach girls the basics of computer programming last year.

Kloss and Kushner are reportedly now celebrating the engagement with a vacation in Italy. According to People, they were recently spotted hanging with music producer David Geffen and Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney.

E! News reports Joshua Kushner is a businessman and investor who runs his own venture capital firm. The Harvard graduate is also the younger brother of Jared Kushner, a White House senior advisor and President Donald Trump's son-in-law.

Ivanka Trump converted to Judaism before marrying Jared and People reports Kloss converted last month. Extended family gatherings could be awkward, though, as Kloss said she voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.
From an outsider's perspective, the Haven at Skanda in Cazenovia looks like a traditional farm, right down to its horse barn and a surplus of chickens, goats and pigs.

But for students living in Madison County, the property is a place to learn valuable life skills that extend beyond the farmhouse.

The Haven at Skanda established its "Summer at Skanda" youth program last year, designed to teach children who have been through abuse and trauma how to interact with animals.

This year, the program was expanded under a grant from the Central New York Community Foundation to include children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds who struggle with emotional and behavioral issues.

Ellen Beckerman, the executive director at the Haven at Skanda, said the summer program is about more than arts and crafts and playtime with the chickens. Its primary focus is teaching children who have faced extreme trauma and loss in their own lives how to be empathetic and sensitive to the experiences of others.

"There's this unspoken love and support that happens between the kids and the animals that they feel from day one," Beckerman said. "They know the stories of the animals and they know what the animals have been through. I think it shows them what's possible."

The Haven at Skanda started as a nonprofit organization in 2012, following a call from the Central New York SPCA about a group of wild ponies found in a deserted field that needed shelter. Beckerman said the practice of caring for these animals and seeing them relax out of their trauma into their authentic selves inspired her to create a similar program for children in the surrounding community.

"We realized that this had a lot of potential for teaching kids and adults, humans, how to move through difficult situations quickly and sort of recover their sense of self and their freedom and their joy," Beckerman said.

Beckerman said the summer program was designed to follow a positive youth development curriculum, allowing students to take a more hands-on approach in caring for the animals and outlining their days at the farm. For children who are often micro-managed and scheduled to the minute, the program is an opportunity for them to both relax into their true selves and develop their leadership skills along the way.

"They become a really integral part of the farm," Beckerman said. "We follow their lead a lot, and hopefully that's building not only self-esteem, but confidence, competence -- a sense of them really being able to make a difference in the world."

Danielle Gill, the director of grant-making at the Central New York Community Foundation, said that working alongside the Haven at Skanda has allowed her to witness firsthand the development of these children throughout the duration of the program.

"Knowing what the kids who participate in this program have been through and seeing the way that they interact with the animals and with each other has been really amazing," Gill said. "I think that they, at times, see themselves in the animals, just in terms of tough life experiences."

Beckerman said she hopes to expand the summer program next year to include children from outside Madison County -- including Syracuse -- as well as to get an official camp license to accommodate more students. The program is currently split into two sessions, serving nine children each. Moving forward, Beckerman said the opportunity to expose more children and adults alike to compassionate care for animals is one she wouldn't pass up.

The "Summer at Skanda" program has not only been a collaboration between the Central New York Community Foundation and the farm, but with the surrounding community, as well. The farm is run entirely by 40-50 volunteers from throughout Central New York, showcasing the impact of the initiative and the power that empathy and kindness can have on a community.

"It's a very, very deep sense of purpose and extremely satisfying to see those changes," Beckerman said. "The kids eyes light up when they discover that it's safe to be caring, that it's safe to be vulnerable."

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Hollywood's summer blockbuster season is underway, but one Central New York filmmaker is paying homage to his hometown with the release of his locally-produced independent film.

Syracuse native James Froio will premiere his feature length film, "Salt City," at the Manlius Art Cinema on Saturday, July 28. A 2015 graduate of Ithaca College's cinema production program, Froio's "Salt City" was filmed and is set in the city of Syracuse and features a group of local talents from Upstate New York.

"Salt City" follows its protagonist, Kid, as he returns to his hometown after ten years to find his ex-girlfriend, highlighting his interactions with various people along the way. This is Froio's second feature length film, following the release of his senior thesis project, "The Girl with No Name," in 2015.

Froio classified the film as a "comedy-mumblecore" piece, a type of independent film noted for its low-production quality and emphasis on character relationships. Froio said he was first exposed to the sub-genre through director Jay Duplass' 2005 film, "The Puffy Chair," and was immediately hooked.

"It just really inspired me because you could tell it was shot on a shoestring budget, but they found a way to kind of mold the low-production of the film to its own unique visual style."

We have decided to change the location of one of the film's significant scenes, and will now be filming at Syracuse's famous Gem Diner! Posted by Salt City on Saturday, March 11, 2017

Froio said "Salt City" doesn't follow the traditional blueprint for film-making. Using handheld cameras, natural lighting and improvised dialogue, he said the experienced helped him to develop into a stronger director and trust the film's natural evolution.



"If I had a specific idea of where I wanted the film to go, sometimes the improv would just lead it into a completely different direction, and I had to learn how to adjust based on that," Froio said. "I just wanted the film to organically become what it was going to become by itself."

With so much emphasis placed on the big-budget productions and CGI effects of Hollywood blockbusters, Froio said independent films have become even more essential in maintaining a level of authenticity with its viewers.

"I think when you're working independently, you have just complete creative freedom to experiment and try new things," Froio said. "There's a risk in that too, because it might not end up working ultimately and audiences might not connect with the film. But it's still nice having complete creative freedom to try new things and not have a big producer over your shoulder all the time."

Froio praised Manlius Art Cinema's commitment to highlighting independent film-making and owners Nat Tobin and Eileen Lowell's enthusiasm for his project.

"They welcomed it with open arms," Froio said. "He's [Nat] into supporting local talent, and he has a real love for cinema."

One of the benefits of working on this film, Froio said, was engaging and exposing members of the Syracuse community to diverse artwork.

"I just hope it can open people's minds and it can get the to want to check out other low-budget, independent films that are trying to create a unique voice," he said. "The film is a love letter to Syracuse, in a way."

"Salt City" will premiere at the Manlius Art Cinema on Saturday, July 28 at 9:30 p.m.
For years, Juliet Giglio heard stories of how her in-laws came to the United States: they boarded a boat from Italy during World War II to escape the Holocaust and settled in New York.

But seven years ago, when Giglio moved to Central New York from California, she saw how special their journey was from Europe. She took a job at SUNY Oswego and realized she was just 10 minutes away from Fort Ontario's Safe Haven, the place where her in-laws lived for 18 months.

In 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt allowed European refugees into the United States. Rikica Levi Giglo, Giglio's mother-in-law, and David Levi, her mother-in-law's cousin, were among the 982 refugees who boarded the USS Henry Gibbins, which was the only boat of refugees allowed into the country during WWII.

The Levis are now 81 years old and Giglio thought it was time to preserve whatever memories they have left of their childhood.

- Rikica Levi Giglio (left), David Levi (middle) and Ella Levi (right) lived at Fort Ontario from 1944 to 1946 after fleeing the Holocaust. They returned last weekend to be featured in a documentary about their journey. Keith Giglio

"This is such an important part of history and I knew I wanted to get them on camera now before their memories are gone," said Giglio, a SUNY Oswego screenwriting professor.

She spoke with people in the community about filming a 15-minute documentary based on her in-law's history. In January, she heard about the SCAC Challenge Grant, which supports a professor-student collaboration. Giglio chose journalism student Mic-Anthony Hay to help with filming and editing while she produces and directs. Victoria Jayne, a recent cinema and screen studies graduate, will help with audio work.

Last week, Giglio brought the Levi cousins -- Rikica, David, and Ella (Rikica's younger sister who was born months after they arrived) -- back to Fort Ontario for interviews. The film crew and the cousins walked through the exact sites of their old home, school, hospital and playground. Giglio also received hundreds of photos and newspaper clippings from the Safe Haven museum.

"All of their memories are still in tact, they talked about living at the fort and were able to tell us everything they heard from their parents over the years," Giglio said.

In 1946, a year and a half after arriving at the fort, refugees were given the option of going back to Europe or staying in the United States. The Levis decided to stay, and now live in the New York and New Jersey area.

The documentary will be titled ONLY 982 and must be finished by Sept. 14. The majority of the filming is done and the students are now working on editing. The documentary will be shown at the Fort Ontario museum and Giglio plans on submitting it to film festivals.

"This is such a timely story in light of immigration issues today and I think people will really find it fascinating how much history is in this part of New York," Giglio said.

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Republican Rick Guy may fall short in his effort to force a GOP primary against Bob Antonacci in the 50th District New York Senate election.

A preliminary review by the state Board of Elections found that about 600 of the 1,400 signatures Guy submitted on nominating petitions are invalid, according to Guy and Onondaga County Republican leaders.

Candidates must have at least 1,000 valid signatures to appear on the Sept. 13 primary ballot.

Guy, of Onondaga, said in an interview Tuesday that most of the signatures ruled invalid have to do with a technicality. His son, Joseph, passed petitions as a Republican even though he is not enrolled in a political party.

State election law allows petitions to be passed only by registered members of the same party as the candidate seeking elected office, or a commissioner of deeds or a notary public.

Rick Guy said his son has a valid license to serve as a notary public, and should have included that fact on petitions containing about 350 signatures he witnessed.

"We didn't know until yesterday that he apparently never enrolled in a party," Guy said. "If we had any inkling, he would have witnessed it as a notary public."

The state Board of Elections has scheduled a hearing at 1 p.m. Wednesday where Guy and his lawyer will be allowed to argue their case.

Guy is opposed by leaders of the Onondaga County Republican Committee, including its chairman, Tom Dadey. The committee designated Antonacci, the Onondaga County comptroller, as its candidate in May.

Guy said the objections filed by Antonacci's supporters "accused my family of colluding to provide false signatures to the New York State Board of Elections" when, in fact, his son made an innocent mistake.

Dadey said Guy, who has run for public office on the local, state and federal level, should know better.

"Rick Guy is a lawyer who should know the law and follow the law rather than engage in potentially fraudulent activities," Dadey said Tuesday.

John Conklin, a spokesman for the state Board of Elections in Albany, could not confirm the board's bipartisan staff recommendation to rule about 600 signatures invalid. Conklin said the board's lawyer asked officials not to discuss the review until after Wednesday's hearing.

Regardless of the hearing's outcome, both Guy and Antonacci's supporters will have the right to appeal the decision in court.

If there is no primary, Antonacci will face Democrat John W. Mannion in the November election for the seat that will open with the retirement of state Sen. John DeFrancisco, R-DeWitt.

The 50th Senate District includes towns in Onondaga and Cayuga counties, including a small portion of Syracuse and most of the city of Auburn.

Contact Mark Weiner: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751
A naked man arrested at Planet Fitness may have been trying to challenge the gym chain's judgment-free policy.

The Boston Globe reports Eric Stagno, 34, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, was arrested at a Planet Fitness in Plaistow, New Hampshire, on Sunday. Police said he removed all his clothing and did yoga poses in the nude, prompting complaints at the crowded gym.

"When officers arrived, they found him there, completely nude: on his knees in a yoga-type position," police Captain Brett Morgan told the Globe. "He walked into the gym, stripped down at the door, then proceeded to walk back and forth a couple of times before settling in on the yoga mats."

Morgan said fitness members and staff described Stagno as unaware that his nudity was making others uncomfortable, even as he checked his physique in the mirror. Many witnesses said they felt "disgusted, sick and unsafe" as Stagno worked out on a yoga mat.

I look up and I did a double-take. This guy just walked right by me completely naked. Witness describes naked man arrested at #PlanetFitness in #Plaistow, NH. He actually did say, I thought this was a judgment-free zone. @boston25 @ 10 and 11. pic.twitter.com/t4NPoJfyhE  Christine McCarthy (@ChristineMNews) July 24, 2018

When approached by police, Stagno said he thought Planet Fitness was a "judgement-free zone."

The gym's website promises customers "a judgement free experience": "At Planet Fitness, you belong. Our non-intimidating, welcoming and supportive environment fosters a sense of community among our members."

"It's not a clothing-free zone," Morgan told the Globe.

CBS reports Stagno was arrested without incident and charged with indecent exposure/lewdness and disorderly conduct. He was released on $1,000 bail is due back in court Sept. 21.

Morgan told the Globe that Stagno had "some drug paraphernalia in his possession" when he was arrested, but it wasn't clear if he was under the influence. He was evaluated by first responders but refused further treatment.
As the stir for reservation in jobs and education intensified, the Maratha Kranti Morcha decided to call for a Mumbai bandh on Wednesday.

Pro-reservation outfits of Maratha community burn a vehicle after a clash with the police personnel. (Photo: PTI)

Mumbai: A constable died and another was injured in stone pelting on Tuesday as a state-wide protest called by outfits seeking reservation for the Maratha community turned violent with agitators clashing with police and torching vehicles in Aurangabad and adjoining districts of Maharashtra.

As the stir for reservation in jobs and education intensified, the Maratha Kranti Morcha, which is spearheading the agitation, also decided to call for a Mumbai bandh on Wednesday.

Initially, the outfit had called for a Maharashtra bandh on Tuesday after the death of a protestor on Monday during a protest march in favour of reservations.

The 27-year-old Kakasaheb Shinde, had jumped off a bridge over Godavari river in Aurangabad. He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead.

Quotas for Marathas, a politically influential community that constitutes around 30 per cent of the state's population, has been a hugely contentious issue.

Another protestor, 31-year-old Jagannath Sonawane from Aurangabad district, on Tuesday sought to emulate Shinde's example by jumping onto a dry river bed. He has been admitted to a government hospital in Aurangabad, police said.

Shiv Sena MP Chandrakant Khaire faced the ire of the protestors when he went to attend Shinde's last rites at his Kaygaon village in Aurangabad on Tuesday.

Khaire was manhandled by the crowd present there and had to beat a hasty retreat, police said, adding that there was stone pelting as well on the MP's car.

Shinde's death has triggered a fresh set of protests in several parts of Maharashtra. Internet services were suspended in rural areas of Aurangabad district to prevent any untoward incident.

At Kaygaon, protesters shouted slogans hailing Shinde as a 'martyr', police said.

Sham Atgaonkar, a police constable from Osmanabad who was deployed on duty at Kaygaon, died soon after a commotion, which followed stone pelting, police said. The cause of death is not ascertained yet, police said.

Another constable was injured in stone pelting, police said. A fire brigade van was also set afire at Kaygaon by the protesters, police said.

A protester is carried away after being injured during a protest rally demanding reservation for Marathis, in Nanded on Tuesday. (Photo: PTI)

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had cancelled his visit to a temple in Pandharpur after protesting Maratha outfits threatened to disrupt the event. The community leaders have earlier taken out several rallies in various districts to highlight their demands.

Last year, a huge rally was organised by the Maratha Kranti Morcha in this connection in Mumbai. Despite assurances from Fadnavis to fulfil the demands, nothing concrete has been done till now, community leaders have claimed.

At a meeting here in Dadar, the Morcha leaders today decided to call for a Mumbai bandh on Wednesday. At another meeting of the Sakal Maratha Samaj in adjoining Vashi, it was decided to call for a bandh in Navi Mumbai and Panvel as well.
Forward-looking: It appears that the International Space Station (ISS) may be getting a couple of new additions to its crew. Russian space agency Roskosmos has approved a plan to send two full-sized humanoid robots to the ISS in 2019.

According to Defense One, this will not be the first time an agency has sent robots into space. The US has two rovers on Mars, China has a lunar explorer, and Russia has several rovers on both the moon and Mars, but they are now defunct. Also, seven years ago NASA delivered Robonaut 2 to the ISS. It was a 330-pound, remote-controlled android.

What is notable about Russias FEDOR (Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research) robots is that they will not be delivered as if they are merely machinery. They will fly for the first time to the ISS as crew members, and not as cargo in the transport compartment, said Russian website RIA Novosti.

However, the androids will not be piloting the craft. They will be sent up in an unmanned Soyuz rocket controlled from the ground. Russian state media rightly calls the move good PR.

Originally designed for rescue work, FEDOR has since been given the ability to perform various human-like actions such as push-ups, lifting weights, power drilling, driving, and fist-bumping, said Defense One. In 2017, FEDOR added shooting guns to its repertoire.

The addition of the ability to shoot prompted criticism that the Russian Federation was creating Terminator-like robots. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin publicly denied the allegations saying that the skill was only added as part of a broader effort to improve the AI in relation to fine motor controls.

Sam Bendett, a fellow in Russia studies at the American Foreign Policy Council verified and recapitulated the prime ministers claim.

This was initially designed as a proof of concept  and the space role for this robot was implied from the beginning. It does make for a very effective military android in official videos where its shooting guns, but ultimately its a dual-use work frame for hard-to-do projects like working in space or in other hazardous environments.

The FEDOR bots will launch into space destined for the ISS in August of next year.
The big picture: Google argues that all websites should be protected with HTTPS, even if they don't handle sensitive communications. In today's privacy-conscious landscape, that's hard to argue with.

Googles effort to steer Internet users towards a more secure web takes its next step on Tuesday with the launch of Chrome 68.

The latest version of Chrome will mark all HTTP sites as not secure. Up to this point, only a subset of HTTP pages was marked as not secure in the browser. The search giant intentionally made the transition a slow one in order to give developers plenty of time to move their sites over to a secure connection.

As of this past February, more than 68 percent of Chrome traffic on Android and Windows was protected (the figure climbs to more than 78 percent on Chrome OS and Mac). Furthermore, 81 of the top 100 sites on the web now use HTTPS by default.

While most would agree that HTTPS is a good thing, not everyone is convinced. This led security researcher Troy Hunt to theorize that those against the broad adoption of HTTPS are simply pushing back because they feel they have lost control and are being forced to move due to Chromes impending changes.

Hunt has also put together an informative blog post on the matter and published a 24-minute video detailing why static websites need HTTPS.

Developers looking to transition their sites to HTTPS are encouraged to check out Googles set-up guides for more information.
In brief: Google hasnt been releasing Android distribution figures as regularly as it used to, having missed out March and skipping June. But the company has now unveiled Julys numbers, and the good news is that Oreo has finally hit double digits.

Since May, Android 8.0 Oreo has jumped 5.2 percent to 10.1 percent. Android 8.1, meanwhile, is up 1.2 points as it reaches 2 percent. They're not hugely impressive numbers, but Google will no doubt be pleased to see both versions almost double their userbase in two monthsa feat helped by several new devices shipping with Oreo and the OS finally arriving on many of last year's flagships.

In terms of growth rate, the figures mean the latest version of Android is ahead of Nougat, which sat at 11.5 percent back in July 2017.

While it did fall 0.3 points, Android 7.0/7.1 Nougat is still the most popular version of Android with a 30.8 percent distribution. Marshmallow was down 2 points and is in second place with 23.5 percent. Lollipop, which came out in 2014, is third with 20.4 percent.

The data comes from devices that visited the Google Play store over a seven-day period ending July 23. Access requires Android 2.2 or higher, so anything running an OS older than this arent counted, neither are handsets without Googles Store, which includes the numerous Android smartphones available in China. Any versions with less than 0.1 percent distribution, such as Honeycomb, arent included either, so Gingerbread will probably drop off the list soon.

Google also provided information on the screen size and pixel density of Android devices that accessed its store during the seven days. As usual, normal was the most common size, while extra-high was the most common type of pixel density.
Why it matters: Verizon currently does not have its own streaming TV service to compete with the likes of DirecTV Now, PlayStation Vue, or Sling TV. The company hopes to partner with tech giants Apple or Google to roll out a streaming TV service that showcases its 5G cellular technology.

According to a Bloomberg report, Verizon is apparently looking for a partnership with either Apple or Google to roll out a 5G streaming TV service. The service would likely replace the current Fios offerings.

Chief Financial Officer Matt Ellis explained Verizon's strategy at an investor conference back in May:

"The debut of 5G online TV with either Googles YouTube TV or Apple TV will be used to showcase the technology and mark Verizons first competitive live TV venture outside its predominantly East Coast service area. But the live-TV partnership might not be permanent. Verizon is opting for outside help until it gets 'comfortable' with its own internet-based video service".

As a point of clarification, "Apple TV" isn't referring to the actual hardware, but rather a service offering. Despite failed attempts in the past, Apple has been steadily attempting to beef up its original video content as well as streamline existing content from third party services. Adding a streaming TV subscription via Verizon might help boost Apple's efforts tremendously.

Partnering with Google would be an interesting option considering Google already has a streaming TV option with YouTube TV. Perhaps that offering would be augmented by Verizon's existing TV infrastructure allowing YouTube TV to greatly expand the number of channels it currently offers.

Hinging on either of these efforts is the promise of speedy, reliable 5G. None of the major wireless carriers have rolled out 5G commercially although Verizon plans to launch in four major cities by the end of 2018. Proponents of 5G claim that the technology can match or exceed existing landline connections, however, one can wonder if other factors such as weather or certain building materials would affect the speed and reliability.

Additionally, Ellis points out that the partnership might not even be permanent and just might be a way for Verizon to stretch its legs on 5G before it builds its own service separate from Apple or Google.
It's probably not a good idea for a person to visit the beach when they're sick  just ask all the people that were sickened when someone who had norovirus infected them all, during what should have been a delightful summer trip.

Scientists from Maine have confirmed that the highly contagious virus is responsible for the massive norovirus outbreak at Woods Pond Beach. On Friday, July 20, The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said it found 97 people who reported experiencing a few days of vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and cramps  typical norovirus symptoms.

The virus is spread through consuming contaminated food, touching a contaminated surface and then touching the mouth, or by having direct contact with someone who's infected, which is what happened at Woods Pond Beach. It spreads more quickly in places where people share close quarters, such as cruise ships, hospitals, and schools, as NBC News notes.

Are You Sick? Don't Go To The Beach

"It's highly contagious, so it would appear that there's a human element there, that somebody had it and was at the beach," Bridgton Town Manager Bob Peabody told the Portland Press Herald. "I think the message is, if you're sick or your children are sick, don't go to the beach."

Water from the pond and public bathroom sinks were tested for E. coli. Results showed the swimming water levels to be within an acceptable limit. That being said, the sink water was the opposite, and as such, the town plans to remove them following concerns. Hand sanitizers have also been installed.

Norovirus

According to the CDC, norovirus is a highly contagious virus, and anyone can get infected. Aside from the above-mentioned symptoms, those sickened might also experience stomach cramps, headache, and body aches. A person usually develops symptoms 12 to 48 hours after first exposure. Most people get better after one to three days.

The CDC recommends for people to practice proper hygienic measures to prevent catching the virus. That includes washing hands thoroughly before eating, handling food, and taking or giving someone else medicine. Sick people must not prepare food for others or provide health care for others while they still have an illness.

Norovirus outbreaks in the United States are fairly common, according to CDC's data. In fact, it is the leading cause of vomiting and diarrhea from acute gastroenteritis among people of all ages. It is also the leading cause of foodborne illness in the country, causing 58 percent of all cases.

Most norovirus outbreaks happen from November to April.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Galaxy Note branding might soon come to an end, if reports are to be believed. Samsung is reportedly going to retire the naming scheme and instead merge the S and Note series together.

After the Galaxy Note 9 is launched this August, the South Korean electronics company will shift to a new naming scheme for succeeding handsets, according to The Bell. What's more, Samsung has apparently been considering this change for well over a year.

Is The Galaxy Note Branding Going Away?

Changing an already established name is quite a drastic move, but even more so in the highly fickle smartphone market. After Apple, Samsung is perhaps the best-known mobile company in the United States, and both the S and Note series are now basically household names for most consumers. So, why is Samsung going to change that all of a sudden? The reason? Deteriorating profitability.

According to The Bell, smartphone saturation and delayed upgrade cycles are the two primary factors pushing Samsung to radically change their devices' names moving forward. The fact is more people are holding onto their devices for much longer, especially given that the line separating midrange phones and flagship devices is increasingly blurring.

Some midrange devices these days are simply more than capable of handling basic tasks. They're getting better processors, above average cameras, and nicer screens  for a fraction of what flagship devices cost. Add to that Google's Project Treble, which ensures timely software updates even for not-so-powerful phones. Both these factors make it hard to justify dropping a bucket-load of money just to get the newest model, and Samsung is apparently worried about this trend. So much so that the fate of the Note series reportedly depends on how well the Galaxy Note 9 performs.

How Will Samsung Merge The S And Note Lines?

If Samsung does cancel the Note series, it's not exactly clear how it'll merge it with the S line. Does the S naming scheme continue, or will Samsung introduce a new one entirely? Would there still be a model with an S Pen going forward? After all, the biggest differentiating factor between the two series is the stylus, which has been exclusive to the Note line ever since.

In any case, Samsung's alleged move could be a drastic change for the smartphone landscape in general. Hopefully it pulls this off right, as any wrong move could lend Apple the opportunity to seize Samsung's core base.

Do you think the Note branding should go away? As always, if you have anything to share, feel free to sound off in the comments section below!

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
No Google employee has fallen prey to phishing attacks since early 2017, which is when the company started requiring all its workers to use physical security keys.

Physical security keys, which are sold for as low as $20, are inexpensive USB-based devices that may be used to shore up user security. In the case of Google, it appears that investing in these devices is paying off.

Google Physical Security Key Protects Employees Against Phishing

Google told KrebsOnSecurity that none of its over 85,000 employees have been victimized by a phishing attack on their work-related accounts ever since the company started requiring them to use physical security keys in place of the traditional passwords and one-time codes.

"We have had no reported or confirmed account takeovers since implementing security keys at Google," confirmed a spokesperson for Google.

What are security keys? They are inexpensive devices that provide an alternative approach to two-factor authentication, a security model that requires users to input their password and sends another code to their mobile device when logging in to an account.

Phishing attacks come in various forms, but their end goal is to trick users into giving up sensitive information such as log-in details. Two-factor authentication seeks to prevent this, because even if hackers acquire an account's password, they will also need to acquire the second code. Unfortunately, there are already some hacks that are capable of intercepting the codes, which are usually sent through SMS.

The physical security key, however, makes it harder for hackers to acquire that second factor. It authenticates log-ins by being inserted into the computer's USB port, with the user then pressing a button on it. This means that hackers will need to have the security key in their actual possession.

Protection Against Phishing

A study conducted by Google late last year revealed that phishing is the biggest online threat for Google accounts followed by keyloggers and third-party breaches.

There are various ways to protect against phishing, including the simple way of not responding to suspicious emails and signing up for Google's own Advanced Protection program. However, companies may want to think about not only introducing two-factor authentication to their systems but also going the route of physical security keys instead of SMS-based codes.

Yubico's YubiKey Security Key, which is sold for $20, is an example of a device that will provide the necessary additional protection for employees. The initial cost might be a bit steep for companies with a significant number of employees, but there is no price for an impenetrable wall of cybersecurity in this day and age.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The caravan denounced that immigration agents destroyed the judicial injunctions that allow them free passage and took many to jail in Tapachula. | Read More
The man stood up during the flight and shouted that passengers should not untie their seat belts since the flight had been hijacked.

The staff of IndiGo airline lodged a complaint against the passenger after the flight landed at Srinagar. He has been detained, police said. (Representational Image)

Srinagar: Passengers en route Srinagar from Chandigarh in an IndiGo airlines, panicked after a fellow passenger shouted on-board that the plane had been hijacked.

The passenger from Punjab stood up during the flight and shouted that passengers should not untie their seat belts since the flight had been hijacked.

The staff of IndiGo airline lodged a complaint against the passenger after the flight landed at Srinagar. He has been detained, police said.

According to reports, the threat seemed to be a prank and the credentials of the passenger are being ascertained.
Gyan Dev Ahuja demanded action against ex-SP of Alwar and probationary IPS officer and held them responsible for rise in crime in district.

'Alwar has become number one in crime in Rajasthan and the functioning of former Alwar SP Rahul Prakash and probationary IPS officer Anil Kumar is responsible. I had demanded action from the Home minister against the SP, but nothing had happened and the crime kept rising in Alwar,' Ahuja said. (Photo: ANI)

Jaipur: BJP lawmaker Gyan Dev Ahuja on Tuesday said lower rank policemen were being targeted to shield senior officers in the case of alleged lynching of 28-year-old Rakbar Khan in Alwar and demanded a judicial inquiry into the case.

He also demanded action against former superintendent of police of Alwar and a probationary IPS officer and held them responsible for rise in crime in the district.

"Alwar has become number one in crime in Rajasthan and the functioning of former Alwar SP Rahul Prakash and probationary IPS officer Anil Kumar is responsible. I had demanded action from the Home minister against the SP, but nothing had happened and the crime kept rising in Alwar," Ahuja said.

Both the officers were transferred on Thursday last week while the incident of lynching took place on Saturday night in the Ramgarh area.

"Action was taken against four policemen today but this is just to shield senior rank police officers. I have also demanded a judicial probe which should investigate the matter in a time-bound manner," he said.

Ahuja, who represents the Ramgarh (Alwar) constituency, said that there were 11 kinds of crime that included cow smuggling, cow slaughtering, illegal mining, gambling, among others that saw a spurt in the recent times.

Rakbar Khan also known as Akbar Khan, was taking cows along with his friend Aslam, to their villages in Haryana through a forest area in the Ramgarh area of Alwar, where they were caught by the mob. Aslam had managed to flee.

Rakbar Khan was allegedly lynched by the mob on suspicion of cow smuggling.
Private schools will be banned from accepting new voucher students if turnover among those students is high two years in a row, state officials said Tuesday.

Vouchers are state aid that allows some public school students from low-income families to attend private schools at state expense.

State aid for vouchers lagging, and things could get worse, Louisiana education chief says The state is running $2 million short of dollars needed to finance Louisiana's 6,600 voucher students for the current school year, state Super

About 6,600 students get the assistance to attend the roughly 120 private and parochial schools that accept them.

Olin Parker, executive director of charter and non-public schools for the state Department of Education, spelled out the policy during a nearly two-hour meeting of the Nonpublic Schools Council.

Parker said the average yearly turnover of voucher students is 16.5 percent.

Under the policy, schools where turnover is double that -- 33 percent or higher -- two consecutive years will be prohibited from taking new voucher students in the third year.

If that many students are fleeing schools, officials said, it is a sign of problems.

"It is parents voting with their feet," Parker said. "It is a pretty good indication of what is going on in the schools."

Schools that see 33 percent or more of voucher students leaving after one year will get a notification from the state.

If the same thing happens the next year the sanctions will take effect.

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Parker said the policy will include waivers, such as cases where a small number of students transferring run afoul of the rules because the voucher population is so small in that school.

Vouchers, which are officially called scholarships, have sparked controversy since they were expanded statewide in 2012.

Backers contend the aid offers students a way out of troubled public schools.

Report: La. voucher students fail to stand out from public school students in math, English In the long-running debate over vouchers, a report issued Monday says voucher recipients in Louisiana bounced back from dismal scores initiall

Opponents argue that vouchers are a drain on state aid for public schools.

Critics have also said some sub-par private schools have sought voucher students to generate income.

The turnover requirement will be in effect for the 2018-19 school year.

That means the first sanctions would take effect in the 2020-21 school year.

The state is spending around $45 million in the upcoming school year for vouchers.

Average tuition last year was $4,925.
A push for $1 bet limits on poker machines in Victoria has received renewed support, with local councils tipping hundreds of thousands of dollars into a war chest to fight for gambling reform ahead of the state election.

Eighteen municipal councils have now signed up to the Alliance for Gambling Reform for the coming financial year and on Tuesday unveiled a list of policies including dropping maximum bets on the states 27,000 poker machines from $5 to $1 and trimming late-night trading hours for pubs with pokies rooms. They say the changes would help to significantly reduce rising levels of gambling harm in the community.

The push for $1 pokies bet limits has been revived ahead of the Victorian election. Credit:Fairfax Media

It comes as figures to be released on Friday by the regulator are expected to show the Andrews government has presided over the sharpest rise in state pokie losses in more than a decade. Losses are projected to increase by about $90 million to nearly $2.7 billion in the 12 months to June 30 - the biggest year-on-year increase since the aftermath of the post-GFC stimulus package, anti-gambling campaigners say.

Mayors from five major metropolitan councils  Yarra, Moreland, Whittlesea, Darebin, Wyndham  gathered at Parliament House on Tuesday morning to say enough is enough.
Packaging giant Visy Australia will move into a purpose-built $46 million manufacturing and distribution centre in Melbournes west.

Visy has signed a 20-year lease with Singapore-listed Frasers Property Australia which will underpin construction of the new distribution centre in Frasers West Park Industrial Estate in Truganina.

An artists' impression of Visy Australia's new distribution centre in Truganina. Credit:Frasers Property Australia

The 42,770 square metre facility with a 1025 square-metre office and 124 car spaces will sit on 7.843 hectares at 27 Doriemus Drive and be developed in two stages.

The first stage, being built now by Frasers construction division, will be finished in September this year, northern region general manager Anthony Maugeri said.
For that's a blatant lie. In the sequences flashing back to their first meetings when she was a student and he was her college professor, we learn that she was a very fine writer and that she became even better during the early years of their marriage. We also learn that she was ahead of her time. New York's literary world of the 1950s and early '60s was no place for women, so her talent became sublimated in his and their union is less a shared project than a mutual conspiracy.

Hovering on the edge of all this is the sly figure of Christian Slater's Nathaniel Bone, who cherishes the hope that the Castlemans will co-operate with him in his desire to write Joe's biography. Already Bone has learnt enough to suspect that Joan might go along with him and some of the film's best moments are in their scenes together as she teases him in a steely kind of way about this possibility. But all he can get from her is her insistence that she not be portrayed as a victim.

Pryce immerses himself completely in Joe. His every move reflects his conviction that he's as great as the world thinks he is. With scraggy beard and flyaway hair, he's cast himself as the personification of The Writer, as romantic hero. But he's fragile, as well  as we see during a witty scene which has all the Nobel Prize winners gathering for a rehearsal of the awards ceremony. Faced by the bad behaviour of the alpha males among the maths and science men, he suddenly loses his nerve.

It's the closest we get to the mordant humour of Wolitzer's opening and I wished there could have been more of it. Even so, we have a wonderfully potent study of a marriage corroded by male vanity and female complicity.
Two additional cranes are being erected to try and dismantle a 35 metre crane which was has been dangling dangerously near properties in Richmond after it bent backwards in wild winds.

Road blocks in place on Bridge Road, between Punt Road and Church Street, and Lennox Street, between Highett Street and Swan Street.

Trams along Bridge Road are being diverted via Swan and Victoria streets.
CM Devendra Fadnavis called the death 'unfortunate' and has appealed for calm and said the government is serious about a resolution.

The protesters set a truck ablaze in Aurangabad's Gangapur during their protest. (Photo: Twitter | ANI)

Mumbai: Various parts of Maharashtra are witnessing upheavals after a protester jumped into the river in Aurangabad on Monday. Agitators have been demanding for quota for Maratha people in government jobs and education.

Two more people attempted suicide on Tuesday. Jayant Sonavne attempted suicide by jumping into river and Jagannath Sonavne alias Guddu consumed poison in Deogaon Rangari in Aurangabad. Both are in hospital, reports news agency ANI.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis called the death "unfortunate" and has appealed for calm and said the government is serious about a resolution.

The Maratha Kranti Morcha has given a statewide shutdown call to protest against the death of the 27-year-old farmer.

The protesters set a truck ablaze in Aurangabad's Gangapur during their protest. Tyres were burnt in front of the Osmanabad collector's office and trains were blocked in Parbhani district.

#WATCH: Maratha Kranti Morcha workers set ablaze a truck in Aurangabad's Gangapur as a mark of their protest demanding reservation for Maratha community in government jobs & education. #Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/OIdBJlSLpo  ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2018

Some Maratha Kranti Morcha workers tonsured their heads in Aurangabad's Gangapur during their protest.

(Photo: Twitter | ANI)

Reports of protests were also received from Sangli and Shirdi in Ahmednagar district.

Kakasaheb Shinde, who was participating in the protests, jumped off a bridge into the Godavari River. He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead, police said.

Also Read: Maratha outfits call for state bandh in Maharashtra after protestor kills self

A pro-reservation Maratha leader said the protests would continue until the Chief Minister apologised to the community.

"We will continue our agitation until Chief Minister Fadnavis apologises to the Maratha community. We will observe bandh in Aurangabad and other parts of the state today," Ravindra Patil, the coordinator of a pro-reservation group of Marathas, said.

Some Maratha groups have also planned to protest in Mumbai on Wednesday.

The Maratha Kranti Morcha had on Monday demanded an apology from Fadnavis for alleging that some members from the community were planning violence at Pandharpur town in Solapur district, where the chief minister was earlier scheduled to visit a temple on 'Ashadhi Ekadashi'.

The Chief Minister had said on Sunday that he was cancelling his visit, scheduled on Monday, to the temple in Pandharpur after protesting Maratha outfits threatened to disrupt the event.

(With inputs from PTI and ANI)
"There are a lot of small businesses and small traders, some have been here for many years ... this certainly has been a terrible disaster. [For these businesses] it's a lot of money, they have to pay staff, pay rent, those things aren't going away." He said several traders were thinking about banding together and getting legal advice. "What we are thinking of doing is talking to traders and coming together as a group and seeing whether we should meet up with a legal representative to see if there is a potential claim as a group. Just see what our options are," he said. He urged locals to visit Bridge Road and enjoy the shops while the street was relatively quiet. Construction workers began dismantling the crane on Wednesday. Credit:James Ross/AAP

Slater and Gordon senior lawyer Lily Boskovski said those Bridge Road businesses forced to close could have a claim. Shop owners who were forced to close their business due to the threat posed by the crane will have an entitlement for those losses, she said. A second crane removes the boom from the damaged crane. Credit:James Ross/AAP Were it not for the hazardous worksite and unsafe practices at the worksite, the shop owners would not have been forced to shut their doors, presumably at a not so insignificant financial burden to them. Peter Frayman, the owner of clothing alteration service Alter It on Bridge Road, said he was talking to his insurance company about the lost business.

"We don't know yet what the outcome will be," he said. "The insurer suggested we wait until we know the damage to know the best course of action and weigh up what we do then. "We have lost business, fortunately our customers contact us and we explained to them and they were very understanding but a number had urgent things, were going interstate and needed things done ... we will need double the staff this week to catch up." He said he still had not been able to get back into the shop, which had been sitting directly under the broken crane's boom. He estimated the business bled thousands of dollars during the two-day saga. Construction had been going on at the Lennox Street site for a while, he said. Parts of Bridge Road remain closed on Wednesday. Credit:James Ross/AAP

"The whole area has been a worksite for a long time, over a year, and has been disruptive to business, customers can't park  it was a headache the day it started," he said. On Wednesday morning, WorkSafe was overseeing the operation to dismantle the crane in conjunction with construction experts.

Their efforts had been hampered on Tuesday by the strong winds. But after two days of damaging conditions, the severe weather warning for Victoria was cancelled on Wednesday. The manager of the CFMEU's occupational health and safety unit Gerry Ayers said the calmer conditions allowed for two cranes to be established at the site as efforts begin to try and dismantle the dangerous crane. "There's been a lot of meticulous planning going into this which is why it's taken so long, you can't take second chances which is why it's taken a bit of time. You want to do it right the first time," he said.

He said it was too early to guess what went wrong with the crane, but an investigation was underway to try to figure out whether it was human error. The owner of the company that provides the crane, Michael Clark from Clark Cranes, told radio station 3AW on Tuesday it seemed the jib of the crane  the boom or arm of the crane  had not been left in the correct upright position which allows it to swing in the wind. The company refused to comment on Wednesday.
Canberra plumbers have been inundated with call-outs for frozen and burst water pipes with a run of temperature well below zero.

Plumbers are in high demand to repair damage to both residential and commercial water pipes.

The director of Plumbing Connections, Sharon Hitchins, said it had been the worst year for frozen pipes she had seen in her 20-plus years in the industry.

With extreme drops in temperature over consecutive days, we have call-outs all day, every day, Ms Hitchins said.

She recounted two flooded homes, one in Cooma and another in Canberra, after owners returned from holidays to find pipes had burst and their houses flooded.
Vandals have destroyed a popular Canberra street library and burnt all the books, sparking community outrage.

Lyneham and O'Connor Little Library founder Tim Hollo said he discovered the charred remains of the library on Sunday morning.

The remains of the Lyneham and O'Connor Little Library after vandals set fire to it. Credit:Tim Hollo

Mr Hollo helped set the library up about a year ago, with books kept inside a bar fridge by the bike path near the intersection of Banksia and Miller streets.

People were able to borrow from the collection or add their old books to it, and Mr Hollo estimated about 50 books would have been in the fridge when it was set on fire.
A man attending to his broken-down truck has been killed on the M2 motorway in Sydney's north-west after he was struck by a van.

Emergency services were called to the westbound lanes of the M2 at Baulkham Hills about 7.40pm on Tuesday, after reports a pedestrian was struck by a van.

In a statement, NSW Police said officers found a man aged in his 20s already dead when they arrived at the scene.

While the exact circumstances of the crash are yet to be determined, it's believed the deceased was a truck driver who had exited his vehicle after it broke down.
There may still be a future for the iconic Castlemaine Rock boiled lolly, with lots of interest being shown in the company following the news that it was closing.

The Barnes family, the confectioner behind the lolly, hopes that somebody will continue to make it in Castlemaine after The Age revealed that the sweet would no longer be produced.

There might be a future for Catelmaine Rock. Credit:Meredith O'Shea

Confectioner Peter Barnes said there had been significant interest from companies looking to buy the business.

Theres been quite a big response, Mr Barnes said.
The state government will move to put GHB traffickers behind bars for life under proposed laws set to be tabled in Parliament this week.

The controlled substance, called 1,4-Butanediol, is legitmately used as a cleaning agent but when it is ingested by users their livers turn the bute into GHB.

Often sold in fish-shaped soy sauce bottles, the liquid has been linked to dozens of overdoses in nightclubs and at music festivals across Melbourne.

Police seize hundreds of litres of the chemical used to make GHB. Credit:Jason South

Police Minister Lisa Neville said the new laws would particularly target those organised crime syndicates behind the chemical's importation into Victoria.
By the time she came to Australia shed been stripped completely of her identity. She was no longer Ziba. Loading Child marriage is entrenched in the deeply conservative culture of Afghanistan. For families like Zibas, arranged marriages are often a way out of crippling poverty. In Afghanistan, almost 60 per cent of girls are married before they are 19, with most married at either 15 or 16.

Zibas family say her father agreed to the marriage believing that she would have a better life in Australia. Parwana said that after the wedding, a fake Afghan national identification card was made on the black market under Zibas new married name "Sadif Karimi", by using her marriage certificate and a fake birth certificate. Only 36 per cent of births are registered in rural Afghanistan according to the most recent UNICEF statistics, compared with just under 64 per cent in urban areas. The lack of birth records makes it easier to forge certificates and other documentation. Ziba with her daughter. The identification card was then used to make up a fraudulent passport which falsely stated that Ziba was 18.

Months later, Ziba left her home in the small impoverished village of Dawood to migrate to Australia on a partner-sponsored visa. She had just turned 15 when she got off the plane at Melbourne Airport. She moved into a small, brick-veneer house in Cranbourne with her new husband, his parents, his brother and his family. At the age of 17, she gave birth to a baby girl. Six months later she was dead. "The pain is there all the time, Parwana said. I cannot escape it or digest it. I feel like Zibas death happened just yesterday. We feel like we have been burnt with her. She burnt and she died, but we are living and we are still burning. It's so hard for everybody, my whole family. We just want answers on what happened to her.

The phone call from Zibas brother-in-law came in the middle of the night, rousing Parwana from her sleep. He said Ziba burnt herself and shes dead now, Parwana said. I went into complete shock and had to be taken to hospital. I felt like I had lost everything. Each time Parwana looks at her own baby girl, the same age as Zibas child, she thinks of her niece. Parwana and Ziba were close and would Skype almost every day. Ziba was always kind, gentle and loving, her aunt said.

Whoever she was with she always had this natural energy that could draw people to her, Parwana said. Loading The last time they spoke was the same day Ziba was burnt in the backyard. She seemed calm and happy, she said. As a Hazara woman, an ethnic and religious minority in Afghanistan, Ziba was born into persecution.

Her first dream was to escape war-torn Afghanistan. Despite the end of Taliban rule in 2001 it remains among the most dangerous countries in the world for women and girls. They face endemic violence and human right violations including child marriage. When she got married in Afghanistan she was so happy and excited that she was going to a foreign country to have a new and better life, Parwana said. But Zibas escape from the terror came with new challenges.

Most of the Skyped conversations between Parwana and her niece would take place from Zibas bedroom. Ziba's death is under investigation. She would be sitting on her bed, cradling her daughter in her arms, and at times be in tears about how much she missed home. Often, she would say she was overwhelmed with loneliness. Ziba and her daughter were inseparable, her aunt said.

Whenever Ziba was not around she was crying out for her, Parwana said. She was very little, always crawling towards her, and kissing her mum. She had big dreams for her daughter and was always saying that she wished that when her daughter gets to the age of three she can have her own room in their own house. Ziba's aunt said she could not believe her niece would ever leave her daughter. The Australian Government criminalised forced marriage under the Commonwealth Criminal Code in 2013. Since then, the Australian Federal Police have received more than 230 referrals relating to people in, or at risk of, forced marriage including 49 between July 1, 2017, and April 30 this year.

Good Shepherd Australia New Zealands forced marriage specialist Laura Vidal said Zibas story reflected the harrowing situation of many migrant women. Ms Vidal said there was often a grey area between forced and arranged marriage, which many women fell into. She said women who migrate as wives from overseas were often subjected to horrific violence, forced labour and sexual servitude and needed long-term support to overcome the trauma. Ziba had sought help from family violence crisis service Safe Steps in the months leading up to her death. But sources close to the organisation allege the service did not adequately follow up her case, including failing to make obligatory phone calls to her.

Ms Vidal said education was required to trigger changes to cultural practices for those living in Australia. There is often heavily and deeply ingrained identity attachments to certain practices ... ways in which people see and understand the world which are not unravelled overnight, she said. But Ms Vidal said mainstream family violence services were not equipped to deal with the complexities faced by migrant women and called for a Forced Marriage Unit to be formed, mirroring a British initiative. She said Ziba did not have the resources she needed to potentially leave her situation and what happened to her was a devastating outcome. But Ms Vidal said tightening immigration laws was not the answer and could have unintended consequences for the safety of at-risk women and girls.

"The fact remains, [women] will likely be safer in Australia than overseas and more likely able to get access to services and support," Ms Vidal said. Director of Anti-Slavery Australia, Professor Jennifer Burn, said that in the past two years, 143 people had contacted the service for help, mostly via the My Blue Sky website, a secure portal for those wishing to avoid or escape a forced marriage. But she believed it was just the "tip of the iceberg". There is no national database gathering intelligence on the issue and it's difficult to capture the full extent of the problem with many women reluctant to come forward for fear of bringing shame to their family. The Department of Home Affairs declined to comment on an individual case but said it had no control over genuine passports issued by foreign governments, even if they were based on fraudulent documents.

All identity documentation provided with visa applications is thoroughly checked by the department and, where necessary, verified with relevant authorities in the issuing country, a department spokeswoman said. Any applicant who provides false identity documents as part of an application cannot be granted a visa for 10 years. Under Australian law prospective marriage and de facto partner visa applicants must be at least 18 years of age when an application is made. Married applicants who are 16 or 17 years of age must have parental permission and their marriage must be valid under Australian law. For more information on forced marriage or help, visit mybluesky.org.au or call (02) 9514 8115.
Its a fair distance from Brunswick East to East Gippsland, even further if you take the long way round like Jane Garrett did.

In the 10 months since she announced she would leave her inner-north seat of Brunswick in search of less Green pastures, the former emergency services minister has been linked with no less than nine state or federal seats.

Jane Garrett outside State Parliament on Tuesday. Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui

The journey that has seen her land in the state upper house spot of Eastern Victoria, via a typically complicated Labor factional deal, also took in a detour past the byelection for lord mayor of Melbourne.

Just passing by, thanks.
States are being urged by the Energy Security Board to sign onto its National Energy Guarantee and end 15 years of costly instability on climate policy.

The Victorian government is being put under intense pressure to reject the Turnbull governments energy blueprint by lobby and environmental groups as the August 10 deadline looms for states to sign on.

Waubra wind farm, central Victoria. Credit:Simon O'Dwyer

Activist group GetUp is among the groups calling on the Andrews government to oppose the proposal, releasing research it commissioned showing jobs growth in the renewable sector would be slashed if the plan is adopted.

The architects of the National Energy Guarantee argue that the political deadlock on climate policy has discouraged long-term investment in Australia and made energy less reliable and more expensive.
The GoM will examine the recommendations and submit a final report about steps to taken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

New Delhi: Taking serious note of rising incidents of wanton mob lynching across the country, with the two most recent ones being reported from Alwar and Madhya Pradesh, the Modi government finally swung into action on Monday and set up two high-level committees to examine these incidents and give their recommendations, including legal framework, on how to stop these incidents.

The committee headed by home secretary Rajiv Gauba has been asked to submit its report within four weeks to a five-member Group of Ministers (GoM) which will be headed by home minister Rajnath Singh.

The GoM will examine the recommendations and submit a final report about steps to taken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Apart from the home secretary, the committee will include secretaries from other key ministries and departments like legal affairs as well as social justice and empowerment.

The GoM headed by Mr Singh will include external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, road transport minister Nitin Gadkari, law and justice minister Ravi Shankar Prasad as well as social justice and empowerment minister Thawar Chand Gehlot.

The governments move to set up two committees came a week after the Supreme Court asked the Central government to enact a law to deal with incidents of lynching and take action on mob violence. Since the September 2015 lynching of Mohammed Akhlaq in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh, around 200 such incidents have been reported from across the country. About 90 per cent of the victims have been Muslims.

Earlier this month, on July 6, a controversy erupted after photographs of Union minister Jayant Sinha felicitating eight men convicted of killing a meat trader at his residence on the outskirts of Hazaribag went public.

On June 30, 2017, in Ramgarh, Jharkhand, 11 men, including a local BJP leader, had dragged Alimuddin, 55, out of his car and beaten him to death. The meat trader was killed on suspicion of carrying beef.

However, on Monday, sources said there is considerable concern in the government over increasing incidents of mob lynching in the country and even though law and order is primarily a state subject, Centre is keen to put a mechanism in place to contain that these incidents.

Government is very serious to stop these incidents and thats why the home secretarys high-level committee has been mandated to suggest measures, which may also include recommending changes in existing laws, to deal with such cases. The committee will examine all aspects, including how the Centre can play a wider role in curbing these incidents, rather than leaving it to the states to handle them, a senior official said.

Top government functionaries, sources added, discussed the recent incidents of mob lynching, particularly those related to cow vigilantes, following which it was decided to constitute the committee with clear instructions of submitting its recommendations within four weeks.

Once the committee submits its report, the GoM too, after examining its recommendations, will prepare a final report to be given to PM Modi on a priority basis.

Since the Centre is keen to stop these incidents, the entire process is being treated as a top priority issue and the whole exercise will be completed in a time-bound manner. One of the key issues the committee will examine is whether existing laws are adequate to deal with these cases or some new mechanism and changes are required to be made, the official added.

Meanwhile, home ministry has sought a detailed report from the Rajasthan government over the recent incident of lynching of 28-year-old Rakbar Khan. The state government has been asked specifically to give details of the entire sequence of events and the timeline related to the killing.

Officials claimed this was done in view of allegations that the local police wasted almost three hours in taking the victim to the hospital even though the hospital was only 6 km away. The state government has already instituted an inquiry into the alleged lapses by Alwar police.
Jerusalem: An elderly worshipper had a close call on Monday when a 100-kilogram stone suddenly fell from Jerusalem's Western Wall and crashed at her feet.

The Israel Antiquities Authority said the boulder may have been dislodged by erosion caused by vegetation or moisture in the biblical wall, the holiest place where Jews are permitted to pray.

An observer looks at part of the Western Wall where one of the stones dislodged and crashed into the prayer area. Credit:AP

"I didn't hear or feel anything until it landed right at my feet," Daniella Goldberg, a 79-year-old Jerusalem resident who had gone to the wall in the early morning to worship, told Reuters.

A security camera captured the rare occurrence at the site revered by Jews as a remnant of the compound of the Second Temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.
The Broadway premiere of Young Jean Lee's Straight White Men toasted its opening night on July 23. Following the performance at Second Stage's Helen Hayes Theater, the company of Straight White Mean headed to DaDong to celebrate.

In Straight White Men, "it's Christmas Eve, and Ed has gathered his three adult sons to celebrate with matching pajamas, trash-talking, and Chinese takeout. But when a question they can't answer interrupts their holiday cheer, they are forced to confront their own identities." The production is directed by Tony Award winner Anna D. Shapiro.

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Straight White Men stars Kate Bornstein, Josh Charles, Ty Defoe, Armie Hammer, Stephen Payne, and Paul Schneider.
Diane Paulus, whose 2009 production of Hair earned that year's Tony for Best Revival of a Musical, will return to the show as director of NBC's upcoming live telecast. Hair Live! is set for broadcast on Sunday, May 19, 2019, in front of a live audience.

Paulus first staged Hair at the Public Theater's Delacorte Theater as part of the free Shakespeare in the Park series, before it transferred to Broadway. After closing at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre in 2010, her production played a return engagement at the St. James Theatre in 2010. For the telecast, she will work with Alex Rudzinski, who will serve as live television director.

With book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni, and music by Galt MacDermot, Hair features a score including musical numbers such as "Let the Sun Shine In," "Aquarius," "Hair," and "Good Morning Starshine."

The musical premiered at the Public Theater in 1967 and tells the story of a group of hopeful, free-spirited young people who advocate a lifestyle of pacifism and free love in a society riddled with intolerance and brutality during the Vietnam War.
Young Jean Lee has chosen a provocative title for her Broadway debut. Depending on the circles in which you travel, Straight White Men could be the description of the dominant power group in America; or it could be a besieged minority that is just now claiming its identity in a country all about identity politics. Either way, it's a dangerous combination of words from which to launch a Broadway debut  but Lee's work has never been safe.

The author of Untitled Feminist Show (a nude female ballet) and We're Gonna Die (a cabaret that told graying Lincoln Center subscribers just that) has never been constrained by conventional form or content. That may be why her decision to write a living-room drama about a bourgeois white family is the most unexpected career move of all.

Kate Bornstein, Armie Hammer, and Ty Defoe star in Straight White Men.

( Joan Marcus)

Straight White Men tells the story of Ed (a gruff Stephen Payne), a retired engineer and widower. He is hosting his unmarried professor son, Drew (Armie Hammer), and divorced banker son, Jake (Josh Charles), for Christmas. Ed already lives with his oldest (also unmarried) son, Matt (an inscrutable Paul Schneider). Matt is a graduate of Harvard and Stanford currently working a temp job at a community organization while helping dad with housework. His father and brothers wonder why. With his education, Matt should be the executive director of that organization. Why doesn't he seem to have any ambition? Drew thinks he's depressed, while Jake suspects he's taking a principled stand by not occupying a position that could go to a woman or minority. Ed thinks he's just too burdened by student loans. Matt sobs into his lo mein on Christmas Eve, but cannot seem to articulate what the problem is  if there even is one.

In my review of the play's 2014 off-Broadway run, I criticized its class blindness, suggesting it ought to be called Rich Straight White Men. So I approached this Broadway run from Second Stage Theater expecting Straight White Men to be a bitterer experience now that millions of poor straight white men in the Midwest, tired of hearing Ivy Leaguers harangue them about their privilege, opted to elect a champion in the form of President Donald Trump. And at first it is bitter, but this has more to do with the Broadway audience than Lee's play.

Kate Bornstein and Ty Defoe play the people in charge in Straight White Men.

( Joan Marcus)

Lee frames her white guy safari through two tour guides that directly address the audience and are definitely not straight white men: Trans performance artist Kate Bornstein and Native American lyricist Ty Defoe. "My gender identity is Niizhi Manitouwug," Defoe informs us, "which means 'transcending gender' in the Ojibwe language." The night I attended, this led some audience members to ululate as if they were attending a Bedouin wedding. I braced for an evening of Broadway ticket-holders congratulating themselves on their wokeness, but Lee is too clever to allow that: By the end of Straight White Men, we're left with a nagging feeling that we're all complicit in the story we have just witnessed.

Director Anna D. Shapiro's highly recognizable family dynamic and production is a huge part of that. Set designer Todd Rosenthal has crafted a typical suburban family room, overflowing with life and abundance. Charles, Hammer, and Schneider have real fraternal chemistry, roughhousing like overgrown teenagers while also (in a more adult fashion) exhibiting concern for one another as a way to deflect from their own failings. Dripping in smug superiority, Charles is particularly convincing as Jake, the banker bro who sings hosannas to Matt's martyrdom on the cross of social justice (conveniently allowing him to do nothing to make the world a better place).

Drew (Armie Hammer) confronts Matt (Paul Schneider) as Ed (Stephen Payne, center) looks on in Straight White Men.

( Joan Marcus)

In a more religious era, Matt might have become the one son of a prosperous family led into the clergy (costume designer Suttirat Larlarb adorns him in baggy jeans and a form-swallowing sweatshirt, his modest postmodern robes). Matt insists that he just wants to be useful, but Ed rebukes, "What you're doing isn't actually useful. Especially considering everything that's been invested in you."

And there it is: Matt is an investment and after all the fancy schooling and important non-profit work, he hasn't produced a desirable return. This is the cold logic of capitalism applied to our children. The Costco-sized containers of junk food and laundry detergent that Rosenthal has prominently placed in the side pantry are just the least example of how such efficiency analysis has thoroughly infiltrated every aspect of bourgeois life in America.

So Straight White Men isn't as class-blind as I initially thought. Rather, it is a hard look at the underlying assumptions of the American upper-middle class that disproportionately makes up Broadway audiences. The play's title is still the theatrical equivalent of a reductive click-bait headline, but if viewers really watch and listen, even the queerest, brownest, and femalest audience members might find they have more in common with straight white men than they would care to admit.
Manley Jumps Into CEO Role With Both Feet

Published the 07/23/2018

Turin IT July 23, 2018; Theodore Chiarelli writing for La Stampa reported that Manley immediately entered the FCA fray. Without a moment of breath. The ruthless business laws do not allow for breaks even in the face of the drama that is being consummated at the Universitatsspital, the university hospital in Zurich where Sergio Marchionne has been hospitalized since 26 June. Already today and tomorrow in Turin the newly appointed FCA delegate, Mike Manley, will have to lead the work of Gec, the Group Executive Council, the maximum decision-making and strategic body of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. It meets periodically and the top managers of the various companies in the group take stock of the situation in every respect. It is the first time without Marchionne. And today the markets will tell us how the sudden and shocking exit of the manager with the black sweater will be welcomed. The debut with the financial community for Manley as ad of FCA is instead scheduled for Wednesday when the half-year accounts will be approved followed by the traditional call conference, in which the ad and the cfo, chief financial officer officer, or financial manager.

Yesterday John Elkann wrote to the 250 thousand employees (of which 55 thousand in Italy) of FCA inviting them to square around the new ad. "I am sure that you will all provide maximum support to Mike, working with him and the leadership team to achieve the goals of the 2018-2022 business plan with the same commitment and integrity that have guided us so far". It will not be a simple challenge that will have to face Manley, even if the man, from nine years to the Jeep brand, has been able to conquer respect and consideration in the very self-referential world of the automotive. The numbers speak for themselves: from 300 thousand to 1.4 million cars sold in ten years. With the aim of growing again. Up to 5 million in the plan to 2022. English of Edenbridge, 54 years on March 6, an engineering degree at Southbank University in London and a master's in business, the successor of Marchionne and creator of the miracle Jeep right on the US brand bets together with its president Elkann. The new automotive couple is aiming hard with a plan, the one outlined by Marchionne, which provides for the release of ten new models by 2022. "We will consolidate the brand to resist the competition. In the next five years we will enter into three new segments: small uv (utility vehicles), pick-ups and large suvs ", the British manager, who has been running Ram since October 2015, explained last June in Balocco. "Years of glory are waiting for us," Manley had told the investor day. Just he had made it clear that the unpublished little Jeep, a car the size of the Panda, would be built in Italy.

Yes, Italy. Marchionne in June had ensured that all the establishments of the Belpaese would keep work and occupied. Concentrating in Italy the Premium productions of Made in Italy: Maserati and Alfa Romeo and part of the family 500. Di Jeep said, but we must add that in the States Fca also focuses very much on the Ram brand, that of pick-ups that drive the Americans. Manley will then have to accelerate on innovation, above all on hybrid and electric engines that have not been invested so far, also due to lack of adequate resources. But now FCA earns and has no more debts. The plan that leaves the Italian Canadian manager legally envisages investments of 9 billion over five years on electrification. It's not much if you look at the competition, but it's a good place to start.

After all, Manley will always be able to count on Marchionne's legacy: teaching to always look at new goals. "Continuous improvement is a fundamental part of our culture", said the manager of Abruzzo origin in Balocco. And he also mentioned Ernest Hemingway: "There is nothing noble about being superior to someone else, true nobility is to be superior to who we were yesterday." Words, he had explained, that reflect the way the FCA world of being different. "Continuous improvement is a fundamental part of our culture. We will never live the same day twice, because we know that it is always possible to improve something. We will never rest on the laurels of the results achieved because the only approach we know is to always look ahead, to reach new and higher goals. Our ultimate goal, the real goal, is what we have yet to achieve. A way of being, this, deeply rooted in our organization and is what makes it capable of dealing with changes in the market. It's what makes FCA a special group and I think it's also the element that guarantees us the ability to reach our goals, every time ". Then he had closed, alas, prophetically: "This is the legacy we can be proud of leaving to those who will come after us."

Marchionne and Elkann, despite some divergence that has remained within the limits of a normal dialectic between manager and shareholder, have always stubbornly pursued the design of a global and integrated FCA in which American and European culture merge, without forgetting the Brazilian side. Marchionne's premature exit of the scene could open new scenarios? The very recent public releases of Elkann seem to indicate a road in the wake of continuity. But you can not ignore the risk represented by the destructive fury of the duties war that could mess up everything. And then even the stew considered absolutely indigestible by Marchionne could end up being taken into consideration. Giving space to those who would see an "American" conflation for Jeep and Ram, or a marriage with GM or Ford that would make Trump so happy. While Alfa, Maserati and 500 could end up with a German wedding (Bmw, Mercedes or Volkswagen). In both cases with Exor as a financial partner.

Opposite the Made in Italy branch could flow into a luxury pole next to Ferrari, under the hat of the Agnelli financial company. But here we are really in a futurable for now inscrutable. The near future is called Manley and will be declined according to the road traced by Marchionne.
Volkswagen (Audi) Hires BMW Engine Development Expert Markus Duesmannew

Mr. Duesmann, currently Board of Management Member for Purchasing and Supplier Network at BMW AG, will take up his new position as soon as he is able to do so, Volkswagen said in a statement.

German newspaper Handelsblatt reported that Volkswagen wanted Duesmann to fill the post of Audi chief executive following the arrest of former boss Rupert Stadler.

Duesmann cannot take over as Audi CEO full time until Stadler permanently steps down as head of the Audi brand. Stadler has been temporarily replaced while he remains in custody on suspicion of interfering with a probe into the carmakers excessive emissions.

Duesmann will become Audi CEO on Jan. 1, according to sources at Automobilwoche, a sibling publication of Automotive News.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Photo: Dan Videtich/The Washington Post/Getty Images

This weekend, Virginia Kruta, an associate editor at the conservative news website the Daily Caller, witnessed an absolutely chilling display.

At a rally for Democratic congressional candidate Cori Bush at the Ready Room bar in St. Louis, Kruta watched Bush and 28-year-old Bronx-born Democratic Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez discuss topics like childrens education and health care, and as she told the hosts of Fox & Friends this week, the whole thing made her uncomfortable.

They talk about things that everybody wants, especially if youre a parent Kruta said in a clip shared on Twitter by Aaron Rupar, a journalist for the website ThinkProgress. They talk about education for your kids, health care for your kids  things that you want. And if youre not really paying attention to how theyre gonna pay for it, or the rest of that, its easy to fall into that trap and say, My kids deserve this, and Well, maybe the government should be responsible for helping me with that.

Fox & Friends had Daily Caller editor @VAKruta on to discuss the fear she felt attending @Ocasio2018 rally.



"They talk about things everybody wants, especially if you're a parent. They talk about education for your kids, health care... it was really uncomfortable." #BeyondParody pic.twitter.com/BULE0KFuPJ  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 24, 2018

How did all that talk of government-funded education and health care make Kruta feel?

I was mostly uncomfortable, because I was surrounded by a group of people who were talking about how they had gotten involved because they were tired of being angry all the time, and it seems like so much effort to be angry about everything instead of to focus on what you can do to change it.

She did not elaborate on why getting involved did not count as focusing on what you can do to change it.

Kruta also wrote about her experience in an essay titled, Im a Conservative and I Went to an Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Rally. In it, she explains the truly terrifying allure of dangerous progressive concepts like human rights and healthcare for children:

 I saw how easy it would be, as a parent, to accept the idea that my children deserve healthcare and education.  I saw how easy it would be, as someone who has struggled to make ends meet, to accept the idea that a living wage was a human right.  Above all, I saw how easy it would be to accept the notion that it was the governments job to make sure that those things were provided.

On Tuesday, Ocasio-Cortez responded to Krutas essay on Twitter, writing: Breaking News: Conservative goes to our Cori Bush rally in St. Louis and gets inspired? And then gets uncomfortable about being inspired by a Democrat? *laughing crying emoji*

Breaking News: Conservative goes to our @CoriBush rally in St. Louis and... gets inspired? And then... gets uncomfortable... about being inspired by a Democrat?  https://t.co/PrOzylu95y  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 24, 2018

But as Kruta explained in her essay  unlike the Democratic Socialist simpletons who are all, George Washing-WHO? and Bill of WHATS?! and the founding fathers were slave-owners  she is certain of our nations founding and its history, and therefore isnt going to fall for the promises of equality and fairness proffered by the likes of Ocasio-Cortez.

I left the rally with a photo  in part to remind myself of that time I crashed a rally headlined by a socialist, but also in part to remind myself that there, but for the grace of God, go I.

Brave.
Oksana Shachko. Photo: Foc Kan/WireImage

Femen co-founder and Ukrainian artist Oksana Shachko, 31, was found dead in her Paris apartment on Monday, July 23. The feminist group posted to their blog announcing the news on Tuesday morning.

RIP. The most fearless and vulnerable Oksana Shachko has left us. We mourn together with her relatives and friends and expect for the official version from the police, wrote Femen. At the moment it is known, that yesterday, July 23, Oksanas body was found in her apartment in Paris.

Shachko was a founding member of Femen, a feminist activist group known for their controversial, and often topless, political protests across Europe  including interrupting Woody Allens jazz-band performance in Germany last year. Shachko was also one of the members of the group that was allegedly kidnapped, forced to strip naked, and beaten by KGB agents in Belarus in 2011.

French authorities have not released an official cause of death, and the Ukrainian embassy confirmed her passing to a Russian-language television network.

In a separate post on the Femen website, Shachko was described as one of the heroines of our time. She was remembered as a real fighter, someone who fought against injustice, fought for equality, fought for herself and for all women as a hero.

This post will be updated as more information becomes available.
Photo: Showtime

With his new show Who Is America?, Sacha Baron Cohen tries to be an equal-opportunity offender. Interviewing men and women on the right and left, in politics and culture, the show aims to make asses of them all. In the first two episodes, though, the disparity between the shows failures and successes have been glaring. The shows standout moments have all consisted of conservative men revealing their own inner depravity, from gun lobbyists advertising firearms for toddlers to a Georgia state representative screaming racial slurs and Dick Cheney signing a waterboarding kit. The shows most confusing and uncomfortable moments have been those in which Cohen interviews women. It bears noting that these episodes were the product of an all-male writers room.

In the first episode, Cohen  in character as an ex-con turned aspiring artist named Ricky Sherman  interviewed a Laguna Beach art gallerist named Christy Cones. Unlike most of the other people in the episode, she is not famous, nor does she have any great cultural power, other than getting people to buy expensive art. Cohen gives her a painting ostensibly made with his feces and then gets her to give him some of her pubic hair to be part of a homemade paintbrush, which he says contains trimmings from Banksy and Damien Hirst. She plays along good-naturedly. At one point, he goes to the bathroom and returns with a portrait of her supposedly painted partly with his own semen.

These kinds of gross-out jokes are Cohens bread and butter. Given the selection of interviewees in the rest of the episode, though, Cones stands out: shes the only nonpolitical person, and one of the only interviewees who isnt a public figure. Her inclusion carries a sense of false equivalence, as if shes supposed to be just as worthy of our disdain as the gun lobbyist trying to promote a unicorn-shaped uzi for toddlers. Is the mild amusement of an obvious gag (The art world: absurd and pretentious!) a satisfying payoff?

In the second episode, Cohen again interviews only one woman amid a string of powerful male political and media figures: Bachelor alum Corinne Olympios. Unlike Cones, she does not acquit herself well; Cohens character, an Italian TV photographer named Gio Madando, gets her to lie and claim she went to Sierra Leone to help fight ebola, and has her do an ad encouraging people to sponsor child soldiers (so they can get better weapons). Yet theres little comic triumph watching her put her foot in her mouth. She seems flummoxed and out of her depth the whole time. As Kathryn VanArendonk writes for Vulture, Why is the assumption that its hilarious to watch a powerful man manipulate a fame-hungry, clueless younger woman?

On his show, Cohen has all the power. He controls the situation entirely; he has the knowledge and his interview subjects are in the dark. Seeing powerful figures be embarrassed and rendered powerless by a prankster comedian is funny because it upends the existing order of things. When Cohen interviews people who dont have power, the dynamic changes. The burden on Cohen to justify what he is doing becomes higher; the embarrassment needs to feel warranted, or at least surprising or revealing in some way.

As I said, Cohens bits with nonpublic figures are hit and miss. I thought the segment where he interviewed the Trump-supporting couple worked, because their responses (making a real effort to understand his point of view and be welcoming to him, as well as some beautiful facial expressions) were unexpected. The segment where he interviewed people in a focus group about a proposed mosque development in Arizona exposed the deeply ingrained nature of American racism; even if we already knew it abstractly, it was still shocking to witness. While its a matter of personal taste, neither Cones nor Olympios seem to warrant this lampooning to me, nor do either of them reveal anything very surprising about who America is  they teach us that art people are self-serious and reality stars are desperate for publicity, which is hardly news.

Cones gave an interview to Vulture after the show where she said she was delighted to be a part of it, and ultimately came off looking pretty good. Yet in post-show interviews from this week, Olympios spoke about how she felt scared and manipulated throughout shooting. I was getting really upset and I had no idea what was going on, she told the Daily Beast. The whole thing left a bitter taste in my mouth, especially given the context: Olympios had first found her 15 minutes of fame on a franchise notorious for exploiting and manipulating women, and later alleged that a fellow contestant sexually assaulted her. (He was ultimately cleared of wrongdoing, but the whole thing still casts a shadow over The Bachelor universe.)

Last week, news broke that Who Is America? has an all-male writers room (a writers room that includes rape apologist Kurt Metzger). It is hard not to think that the show, which purports to reveal Americas inner character, is hamstrung by the limited range of people behind the scenes, both selecting its targets and weighing in on the optics of Cohens exploits. I am by no means saying that Cohen should not be mean to women, or that women cant handle it. On the contrary: There are many bad and stupid women out there whom I would delight in seeing interviewed by one of his characters. (For example, I look forward to the upcoming Sarah Palin segment, although even Sarah Palin jokes feel a little stale at this point.)

If Cohen had asked the Cut staff, I feel confident we could find many women who would be great objects for his satire. There are plenty of culturally influential, female-focused fields where he might have found targets who might be more revealing of contemporary America: new-agey woo woo wellness, girl-boss style corporate empowerment, social-media influencers, panic-mongering parenting gurus  the list goes on. Yet the social types he lampoons here  the clueless culturati, the vapid reality star  feel like cheap, dull targets, ones he could easily have pushed beyond had he had a few more women in the room.
Trader Joes. Photo: Damian Dovarganes/AP/REX/Shutterstock

On Saturday, a woman was shot and killed during a hostage situation at a Trader Joes grocery store in south Los Angeles. Now, the Los Angeles Police Department has confirmed that one of their officers shot the woman, a manager at the store.

As the Los Angeles Times reports, the hostage situation broke out earlier on Saturday after a man, Gene Atkins, allegedly shot his grandmother multiple times during a violent argument. The suspect then forced his girlfriend into his grandmothers Toyota Camry. Police tracked the car using the vehicles anti-theft system and a chase occurred. Atkins then crashed his car into a utility pole and ran into the Trader Joes. A three-hour hostage situation ensued in the grocery store.

A woman, who was identified by family members as 27-year-old Melyda Corado, was killed during the ordeal. On Tuesday, the LAPD finally released details of her death.

According to the Times, Atkins fired at officers as he ran toward the store, and the officers shot back. At that time, the stores manager stepped into the parking lot  and was subsequently killed by an LAPD officer during the gun battle.

The Times notes that the LAPDs decision to open fire in a crowded parking lot full of bystanders has drawn criticism. The victims neighbor, Jesse Palmer, told the Times, How are police deciding to open fire in a packed place, in the afternoon, on a Saturday? Its not like its an empty lot. Its not like its an abandoned warehouse. What sort of protocol is required before you shoot into an area thats congested and booming with commerce?

However, retired Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department commander Sid Heal, told the Times, We try to have a clear field of fire, but obviously the suspect has a substantial, even a decisive, advantage if we dont return fire. There is no easy answer.
Naidu, who is the Chairman of the Upper House, said the official residence of the Vice President of India is facing monkey menace.

New Delhi: Monkey menace has now struck the official residence of Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu. Ram Kumar Kashyap of the Indian National Lok Dal raised the issue of monkey menace in the national capital through a zero hour mention in the Rajya Sabha.

He said monkeys uproot plants as well as carry away clothes left out for drying. A Member of Parliament was delayed for a committee meeting as he was attacked by monkeys, he said asking the government to find a solution to the problem.

Naidu, who is the Chairman of the Upper House, said even the official residence of the Vice President of India is facing monkey menace.

"Hope Maneka Gandhi is not there," he remarked in a lighter vein referring to animal rights activists and Union Minister. "Some solution has to be found about monkey menace in Delhi," he told Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel.
Steel is loaded onto a truck for shipping at the NLMK Indiana steel mill in Portage, Indiana, on March 15. The Trump administration imposed a 25 percent tariff on imported steel in March. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

American Steelmakers Are Thriving

Domestic producers are restarting plants that have been shuttered for years

President Donald Trumps tariffs on steel imports have been a boon for domestic producers, helping revitalize an industry that has been in decline for decades. Following the levying of the tariffs, domestic producers have announced nine investments in recently shuttered plants. Meanwhile, U.S. aluminum companies have pledged to reopen production lines in Kentucky and Missouri.

Our steel industry is coming back at a level that nobody thought possible. Factories are opening up all over, President Donald Trump said at the second annual Made in America event on July 23.

U.S. Steel Corp. restarted two blast furnaces at its Granite City Works in Illinois. The Pittsburgh-based company said it would be fully operational and its steel production would nearly double by October.

There have been also facilities restarted in recent months in Lorraine, Ohio; Georgetown, South Carolina; Durant, Oklahoma; Mingo Junction, Ohio; Frostproof, Florida; and Brownsville, Texas.

Despite objections over the Section 232 tariffs from foreign producers and governments, the tariffs are on track to accomplish what they were intended to do, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross wrote in an op-ed for Cleveland.com.

They are helping re-establish two vital industries for our national security.

Imports of steel have been rising recently, making up nearly 33 percent of the U.S. steel market last year. The majority of steel producers have been taking losses since 2009, losing their ability to invest in new technologies and labor.

We were being dumped on, Trump said. They were dumping all over this country.

Steel dumping is a major problem worldwide. The United States and Europe accuse China of selling its steel at a loss so that other producers cannot compete.

Chinese producers, 70 percent of which are state-owned, lose at least $34 on every ton produced, according to estimates by the British trade association UK Steel.

Through state subsidies, China allows its manufacturers to produce far more steel than the global demand. And much of the excess steel ends up in the United States, where it is sold at rock-bottom prices, according to experts. Excess steel, therefore, creates a destructive ripple effect for domestic producers and workers.

Tens of thousands of American workers have faced layoffs and dozens of factories have been shut down since 2000 because of imports, according to the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM), a nonprofit organization formed by manufacturers and the United Steelworkers.

With the recent tariffs on imports, the steel industry is seeing some positive signs, said Scott Paul, president of AAM.

There have been, in steel alone, about 3,500 to 4,000 workers that have been called back to the job, some after several years of unemployment, he said.

The order books of domestic producers are busy, he added. The relief is certainly having its intended effect for the steel industry, so far.

In April last year, Trump ordered an investigation into whether imports of steel and aluminum posed a threat to national security. The U.S. Department of Commerce carried out the investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.

In February, Ross concluded that steel and aluminum imports threaten to impair the national security and suggested immediate action. Trump agreed with the findings of the investigation and signed orders on March 8 imposing a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and a 10 percent tariff on imported aluminum.

To supply the United States military with advanced metals and U.S. industry with the steel and aluminum needed for critical infrastructure, the American manufacturers providing them must be commercially viable, Ross stated. These companies cannot stay in business only as military and critical infrastructure contractors; the mills and smelters cannot continue to operate at reduced capacity and survive.

As a result of tariffs, U.S. steel prices rose sharply in March. Although the prices have come down in recent months, the ongoing uncertainty still creates a risk for industries that depend on steel including automotive, aerospace, manufacturing, and construction.

Theres certainly been a spike in steel prices, Paul said.

Im sure thats been very frustrating for steel consumers  but I think it will settle down to more of a realistic market price, he said.
A U.S. Coast Guardsman aboard an interceptor boat launched from the Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast pursues a suspected smuggling vessel as the suspected smugglers throw bales overboard during a high-speed chase in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean July 11, 2018. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

Coast Guard Intercepts $729 Million Worth of Cocaine in 2 Months

Coast Guard crews interdicted more than 50,000 pounds of cocaine with a street value of $729 million in the past two months, from boats headed to the United States from Central and South America, according to Coast Guard spokesman Chad Saylor.

The Coast Guard also arrested 57 suspected drug traffickers.

A fleet of Coast Guard boats returned from a deployment last week in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Basin. Both zones are used by drug cartels to transit drugs into the United States.

Suspected vessels are first detected by allied military forces or law enforcement personnel who then inform the Coast Guard. The responding crews then work on a case-by-case basis to intercept the vessel. In some cases, snipers aboard helicopters fire precision shots to disable engines on fast-moving boats.

Coast Guard Cutters (CGC) Alert, Steadfast, and Venturous seized most of the cocaine, with Hamilton, Mohawk, and Tampa contributing.

Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast offloaded more than 17,000 pounds of cocaine worth nearly $260 million wholesale in San Diego on Monday. The illicit haul came from two interdictions by Steadfast and two interdictions by Alert between late June and mid-July.

The Steadfast crew recovered more than 11,000 pounds of cocaine from a single fast-moving panga-style boat. The smugglers dumped their load and evaded capture after a high-speed chase, but the bales of cocaine recovered afterward added up to the largest interdiction since March 2016.

I continue to be impressed by the dedication and tenacity of the crews aboard our cutters and the difficult, dangerous missions they perform, Commander Alain Balmaceda, the commanding officer of the Steadfast, said in a press release.

Their hard work means two things, Balmaceda added. First, more than eight tons of cocaine wont reach our streets and add to the drug-related deaths and health problems facing our nation. And second, hundreds of millions of dollars are being denied to transnational criminal organizations who spread instability, death and despair wherever they operate.
Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper during a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill on May 11, 2017. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Commentary: Trump Would Be Right to Revoke Security Clearances of Former Officials

Commentary

The White House announced on July 23 that President Donald Trump is considering revoking the security clearances of former officials James Comey, James Clapper, Michael Hayden, Susan Rice, and Andrew McCabe.

The announcement was reportedly met with an audible gasp in the White House press room.

Revoking the security clearances of former top officials, who now regularly appear on television attacking the current administration, makes a lot of sense.

After leaving office, these officials have in essence become political actors who spread disinformation into society.

The officials singled out by the White House include those who have admitted to leaking classified information, have had questionable relations with media while in office, or have been referred for criminal investigation over their actions.

Former FBI Director James Comey, for example, has proven to be a leaker of secret government information.

He admitted as much under oath before Congress in June last year when he admitted giving memos recalling conversations with President Trump to a friend with the intention of leaking them to the media.

Many of those memos were later proven to have been marked Secret/Noforn and Confidential/Noforn.

The memos were leaked by Comeys friend to The New York Times, which in turn used it to attack Trump.

Leaking of classified information is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

In the case of former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, he was referred for criminal investigation by the Justice Departments Inspector General for lying about leaking information to the media.

An investigation by the IG had found that McCabe had made unauthorized leaks to the media designed to advance his personal interests at the expense of Department leadership.

Lying to federal investigators is punishable by up to five years in prison.

Former director of national intelligence James Clapper also appears to have lied to congressional investigators about having leaked information to CNN, who he now works for as a contributor.

Former DNI Clapper flatly denied discuss[ing] the dossier [compiled by Steele] or any other intelligence related to Russia hacking of the 2016 elections with journalists, a report by the House intelligence committee reads.

Clapper subsequently acknowledged discussing the dossier with CNN journalist Jake Tapper, and admitted that he might have spoken with other journalists about the same topic, the report reads.

The conversations between Clapper and Tapper took place in early January 2017. On Jan. 10, 2017, CNN published a story citing U.S. officials that President Trump had been briefed about the contents of the dossier.

That news hook, which likely came from Clapper, was what news organizations around the world used to report on the unverified dossier.

Comey admitted in one of his memos, which have since been declassified and made public, that CNN needed a news hook to be able to report on the dossier.

Media could not report on the dossier without a credible news hook as the dossiers contents were outrageous, unverified, and potentially libelous.

After leaving office, Clapper was hired by CNN as an analyst.

These few examples underscore the problematic nature of former officials having security clearances. They still have legal access to secret information while having proven to have misused this power.

Taking away their security clearance will not only send a strong message, it will also take away the implied credibility of some of their attacks on the current administration.

Furthermore, it will make them subject to prosecution, just like any other citizen would, for improperly obtaining and distributing classified information.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
DOJ Announces 7 Pedophilia Cases in One Day

Seven separate cases involving men committing acts of or distributing pedophilia were announced by the Department of Justice (DOJ) all on the same day.

The cases, posted on July 23, encompass men from different states across the country with crimes ranging from engaging in an illegal illicit act with a minor, distributing or being in possession of child pornography, to producing child pornography. At least 5 additional cases were announced on July 24.

The sheer number of arrests just this year (nearly 37 pages of cases as of July 24) highlight that child exploitation and human trafficking, in general, has continued to ramp up in the United States.

One of the more heinous cases out of the group was of James Daniel Arbaugh, from Virginia. The 40-year-old was sentenced to 276 months behind bars, followed by a life term of supervised release after he traveled from the United States to Haiti in order to engage in sexual conduct with a minor back in 2016.

James Arbaugh was a wolf in sheeps clothing: he posed as a selfless missionary when in reality he was exploiting his position to prey on and sexually abuse vulnerable children in one of the most impoverished areas of the world, said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski in a statement.

The barrage of arrests was made as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched by the DOJ in 2006 to fight the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. A quick browse of the departments website reveals that nearly every day there is an arrest, sentencing, or indictment. Just days ago on July 20, a total of 10 cases were announced nationwide.

PSC prosecutions by United States Attorneys Offices have increased each year since the launch of the initiative, the website said.

Another case announced on July 23, involved Saul Aguilar, a Lexington man who was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison for using two minors to produce sexually explicit images, later transporting them through Dropbox. The 20-year-old man must serve 85 percent of his federal prison sentence.

According to a 2016 DOJ report (pdf) delivered to Congress (the latest comprehensive data), there were 3,964 cases filed and 4,300 defendant cases filed by PSC in 2011. In 2o15, the number increased to 4,211 cases and 4,458 defendants filed. Since the projects inception, the DOJ said they have identified thousands of children depicted in pornography.

Charles Bertsch, 59, from Maryland, pleaded guilty to the distribution of child pornography on July 23. A forensic examination of his electronic devices seized pursuant to a search warrant revealed over 100,000 image files and over 2,000 video files of child pornography.

Bertch must also register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). He faces a minimum mandatory sentence of five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years in prison.

In 2015, the most common crimes reported by PSC were child pornography-related offenses, including the transportation, receipt, distribution, sale, possession, and accesses with intent to view. The second most common crime was sexual exploitation of children for the purpose of production/live streaming of child pornography, and advertising, the 2016 DOJ report revealed.

On case involved 46-year-old Christopher Robert Woods, from Pittsburgh, who pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor. Between the periods of November 2014 and January 2015, Woods had sexually explicit images in computer files which contained minorssome younger than 12 years old.

Woods could face a total of more than 20 years in prison, a fine not more than $250,000, or both.

In April this year, Backpage.com, the largest human-trafficking portal in the United States was shut down by the FBI. It comes after President Donald Trump signed into law the same month a bill that stopped the shielding of website operators from state criminal charges or civil liability if they facilitate sex ads or prostitution.

Jordan Combs, 29, was sentenced to 30 years behind bars for inducing minors to produce sexually explicit images. The Nicholasville man was convicted in March this year on 10 counts of receipt of sexually explicit images in interstate commerce, four counts of producing such images, five counts of distributing such images, and one count of possession of such images.

In a similar case, Daniel Arthur Hill, 30, was sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of production of child pornography last year. Hill, from Delaware, must serve 300 months in prison.

The DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for more updated statistics.

In the past week, a number of high-profile Hollywood figures including Dan Harmon, the creator of the NBC sitcom Community, and Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn, were coiled in scandals involving old posts that made light of child abuse, rape, and pedophilia. In the wake of the scandals, Harmon deleted his Twitter account and Gunn was fired from Disney.
Falun Dafa Practitioners Parade Brightens Chicagos Chinatown

CHICAGOWhat started as a rainy, gloomy morning on July 21 turned into a mild and sunny afternoon. Practitioners of Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) from all over the Midwest gathered in Chicagos Chinatown. At about noon on this Saturday, their parade began and almost immediately the rain stopped.

Falun Dafa is a peaceful meditation practice rooted in the guiding principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. It has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime for over 19 years now. The practitioners hold a parade several times a year to promote awareness of the practice and showcase its peacefulness and beauty, as well as to call for an end to the brutal persecution.

Carrying colorful banners, some of which read Falun Dafa Is Good and Stop the Persecution of Falun Gong in China, the practitioners marched from Sun-Yat-Sen Park to Chinatown Square and back. Drummers in colorful uniforms supplied the rhythm to the song that was being played, Falun Dafa Hao, which translates Falun Dafa Is Good.

On a float, elaborately decorated with lotus flowers, several practitioners demonstrated the exercise movements of the Falun Dafa practice. In addition to the core beliefs of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, the followers practice five slow moving or even completely still exercises.

Marc Belanger, a political science professor from St. Marys College in South Bend, Indiana, came to Chinatown with his wife and some students to have lunch and stopped to watch the parade. This is a protest against the oppression of Falun Gong in China.  I didnt realize it is a big issue among Chinese people in the U.S., so seeing the protesting is interesting to me, he said.

It is pretty cool [to see], because a lot of people were coming for a great cause. It is great to see. You dont see it very often anymorea bigger community coming together, said college student Ethan Gogel, who was also passing by. I see there is a lot of change coming. They are going to lead it. What they are doing is great, he added.

Not only did the parade participants represent people of many different cultures, but the onlookers did as well. Christopher Stoltez, a Christian priest from London, was surprised to bear witness to this event. Although he had seen Falun Dafa practitioners activities in various places throughout London, he had never seen a parade. It is very pleasant, very comforting, very reassuring. It seems to speak of something It is lovely, he said.
Safaa Boular (L), convicted of terrorism offenses on June 4 along with her mother, Mina Dich (top R), and her sister, Rizlaine Boular (bottom R), who both pled guilty to terrorism charges, together with a fourth woman. (Met Police)

Foreign Women and Minors Who Joined ISIS Significantly Underestimated, Says Report

LONDONThe number of foreign women and minors involved in ISIS in Syria and Iraq has been significantly underestimated, according to the first detailed study of its kind.

Twenty-five percent of foreign ISIS-affiliated individuals are women and minors, according to the report by the International Center for the Study of Radicalization (ICSR), which says they pose a significant security risk.

Recent high-profile terror plots have highlighted the growing role of women in ISIS terrorist attacks. In June, Safaa Boular in London became the youngest convicted ISIS terrorist after plotting to carry out a gun and grenade attack on the British Museum with her sister and mother.

Until now, however, there have only been crude estimates of the number of women who traveled to Syria and Iraq to join ISIS.

The report by the ICSR used 283 sources to make the first concrete data set on women and minors.

The report also found that 20 percent of the 41,970 ISIS members and affiliates have returned to their home countries.

Although the ISIS caliphate in Syria/Iraq was brought to its knees last year, it was established for long enough to bring in women and children from other countries, with 730 children born to foreigners, according to the report.

We do see IS as an intergenerational problem now. We are going to be dealing with it for 10, 20 years, said Dr. Joana Cook, co-author of the report From Daesh to Diaspora: Tracing the Women and Minors of Islamic State.

Because theyve established this so-called caliphate, held an administered territory, they indoctrinated a generation of children and they were able to bring in women in a way that no other group has before, Cook said.

Cook said that recording the involvement of women and minors is vital to understanding the threat and tackling the extremism spawned under the caliphate.

She also notes that some women and minors are victims, and some are both victims and terrorists. For example, young children given military training and forced to carry out atrocities are similar to the child soldiers from other locations in the worldsimultaneously guilty of crimes and victims of indoctrination.

The report uses the term ISIS-affiliated individuals, to allow the inclusion of those who may have been taken against their will, or born there, along with the die-hard jihadist terrorists.

According to the study, of the 5,904 European ISIS-affiliates 17 percent are women, 25 percent are minors.

The study found that 1,765 have already returned to Europe.

The report said that ISISs ability and hunger to recruit minors cannot be underestimated.

The report notes, Women and minors are poised to play a significant role in the organisation going forwardthey may assist in keeping the ideology alive, passing it to the next generation, continuing to recruit new members, support IS in other ways such as fundraising, or perpetrating violence on behalf of the group.

The report says that, Women played a variety of roles beyond those of simplistic jihadi brides, traveling to Syria and Iraq for a variety of motivations.

Pull factors ranged from ideological motivations, efforts by IS to portray womens empowerment in IS, fulfillment of a perceived obligation to make hijra and live under strict Islamic jurisprudence and governance, supporting ISs state-building project, seeking adventure, seeking a husband or traveling to join one already in theater, traveling with family (whether willingly or not), and even seeking free healthcare or education.

ISISs caliphate was the first time a jihadist group allowed and facilitated womens roles in security and combat training.

Many children were taken to ISIS territory primarily for material or ideological benefits, such as free education and healthcare, or correct upbringing under sharia law, notes the report.

Watch: Body camera footage shows the arrest of Khalid Ali, a British Taliban bomber who was later convicted over a planned knife attack on lawmakers and police on the streets of London.
Lava erupts in Leilani Estates during ongoing eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii, on June 5, 2018. (Terray Sylvester/File Photo/Reuters)

Hawaii Eruption Could Last Years, Destroy New Areas: Geologists

The eruption of Hawaiis Kilauea volcano could last for months or years and threaten new communities on the Big Island, according to a report by U.S. government geologists.

A main risk is a possible change in the direction of a lava flow that would destroy more residential areas after at least 712 homes were torched and thousands of residents forced to evacuate since Kilauea began erupting on May 3, the report by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said.

A higher volume of molten rock is flowing underground from Kilaueas summit lava reservoir than in previous eruptions, with supply to a single giant crackfissure 8showing no sign of waning, according to the study published last week.

If the ongoing eruption maintains its current style of activity at a high eruption rate, then it may take months to a year or two to wind down, said the report designed to help authorities on the Big Island deal with potential risks from the volcano.

Lava is bursting from same area about 25 miles down Kilaueas eastern side as it did in eruptions of 1840, 1955 and 1960, the report said. The longest of those eruptions was in 1955. It lasted 88 days, separated by pauses in activity.

The current eruption could become the longest in the volcanos recorded history, it added.

Geologists believe previous eruptions may have stopped as underground lava pressure dropped due to multiple fissures opening up in this Lower East Rift Zone, the report said.

The current eruption has coalesced around a single fissure, allowing lava pressure to remain high.

A 1,300-foot-wide lava river now flows to the ocean from this source cone through an elevated channel about 52 to 72 feet above ground.

The main hazard from the source cone and the channel system is a failure of the cone or channel walls, or blockage of the channel where it divides in narrower braids. Either could divert most, if not all, of the lava to a new course depending on where the breach occurs, the report said.

The report said it only considered risks from a change in lava flow direction to communities to the north of the channel as residents there have not been evacuated, whereas residents to the south have already left their homes.
A staff member counts money at Matou Town Rural Credit Cooperatives in Linyi City, Shandong Province, China, on June 20, 2011. (VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

In China, Regional Banks Bad Loans Soar Amid Economic Slowdown

BEIJINGSmall banks in Chinese provinces affected by Beijings efforts to slash excess industrial capacity and reduce pollution are being hit by a spate of non-performing loans, according to reports from Chinese credit rating agencies.

Some small lenders in provinces such as Henan and Guizhou have seen their capital adequacy ratios fall to near zero or even negative due to the increase in bad loans, the reports say.

The troubles facing the regional lenders have been masked by slow overall bad-loan growth in China this year as big state-backed banks register faster profit growth.

At least 13 lenders, including 10 rural commercial banks, have had their credit ratings cut or outlooks downgraded to negative since the start of 2017, according to a Reuters analysis of 271 reports issued by several domestic rating agencies.

The reports attribute the rise in bad loans to small business failures as the local economy stalls, as well as the closure of factories and mines as part of Beijings campaign to slash excess capacity and curb pollution, hurting the ability of companies to repay debts.

Many small banks are racing to replenish their capital to raise additional funds as provisions against non-performing loans. The spate of rating downgrades is making it harder for some of them to raise funds in capital markets.

Small banks are the main forces for small business financing, said Xu Chengyuan, chief analyst at Golden Credit Rating International, adding that under capital constraints, they have to reduce lending.

For now, the provinces of Guizhou, Henan, Liaoning, Shandong, and Jilin have the highest non-performing loan ratios in China, according to Chinese investment bank Citic Securities.

But risks could spread to more regions if companies are increasingly hit by Beijings financial deleveraging campaign, which has pushed up borrowing costs and reduced credit availability, analysts say.

Risks are more significant at rural commercial banks as they lack sufficient capability to diversify in terms of geography, industry, or clients, analysts say. Many of the banks are involved in unregulated shadow financing, allowing them to circumvent rules capping a lenders credit exposure.

Jilin Jiaohe Rural Commercial Bank was downgraded to A from A+ in February by Shanghai Brilliance Credit Rating & Investors Service partly because it had lent 601 million yuan (about $88.4 million) in shadow loans via trust products to Chinese phone maker Cosun Group, which defaulted in January 2017 amid a high-profile shadow banking scandal involving 14 financial institutions.

Local government also put pressure on small banks with ties to Chinese authorities to support murky local government financing vehicles, said a source who deals with the products.

State-owned financial services firm Guosen Securities estimates that Chinese banks are exposed to 28 trillion yuan (about $4.1 trillion) of debt implicitly guaranteed by local governments, including 17.2 trillion yuan (about $2.5 trillion) in on-balance sheet loans and 10.5 trillion yuan (about $1.5 trillion) categorized as so-called non-standard investment, which typically refers to shadow loans.

Some local government funding vehicles have missed payments due to refinancing difficulties and weak local economic growth, dragging regional banks into a tough fight against rising bad loans and bureaucratic protectionism.

By Shu Zhang, Ryan Woo, and Andrew Galbraith
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 24)  Former President and newly-elected House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Tuesday said the House of Representatives will wait for the Senate's decision on changing the Constitution to allow the shift to a federal form of government.

"Remember we already passed a resolution before to convene a Con-Ass... so we wait for the Senate," Arroyo told reporters as she arrived at the Batasang Pambansa for her first session as House Speaker.

Her stance is different from that of Pantaleon Alvarez, who was ousted Monday by a majority vote of lawmakers in favor of Arroyo. Alvarez had said the House would push through with revising the Constitution with or without the Senate.

The House of Representatives had approved a resolution that will convene Congress as a constituent assembly, but the Senate has yet to pass their measure. As of now, a resolution calling on Congress to convene into a constituent assembly is still pending at the Senate committee level.

The Senate has yet to decide on pertinent issues: Whether there is a need to amend the Constitution, and if so, whether it will be done by a constitutional convention or a constituent assembly.

In a constituent assembly, members of the House of Representatives and the Senate shall convene and decide on constitutional amendments themselves. A constitutional convention, meanwhile, requires nationwide elections to select delegates who will draft the constitutional amendments.

The shift to a federal form of government was among President Rodrigo Duterte's campaign promises, saying it would pave the way for more equitable distribution of wealth and political power and bring peace in Mindanao.

Arroyo on Tuesday also promised to push for the legislative agenda of the Duterte administration.

CNN Philippines' Joyce Ilas contributed to this report.
Submitted my resignation in larger interests of party, says Madni.

Srinagar: Muhammad Sartaj Madni, the maternal uncle of former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday resigned as the vice-president of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The sources said that Mr Madni quit after being asked to do so by Ms Mufti, the party president, in an attempt to patch up with rebels who have publicly accused her of ruining the PDP by promoting nepotism. Mr Madni is also facing charges of corruption and misusing his official position and family bond with Ms Mufti to serve his own interests.

Mr Madni is reported to have strongly denied the allegations. He maintained that he submitted his resignation to the PDP president in the larger interests of the party and for its strengthening, stability and unity.

The party sources said that some of the disgruntled party men, including legislators, had conveyed to Ms Mufti that it was possible to patch things up with her if Mr Madni is removed from the post of vice-president. They have also asked her to distant herself from some other people who they think have tarnished the image of the PDP through their actions.

More than half a dozen PDP lawmakers had earlier this month raised the banner of revolt against Ms Mufti and publicly accused her of obliterating the party by promoting nepotism and khandani raaj (family rule). They insisted that there was urgent need of looking for an alternative to the tradition of family rule in Jammu and Kashmir.

It was former minister and Shia cleric Imran Reza Ansari who first spoke against Ms Mufti publicly days after she had to quit as chief minister after the PDPs ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) walked out of the coalition government resulting into it premature collapse. He had publicly said that he and others feel suffocated in the party.

Mufti Muhammad Sayeed had a dream of making this party a force to reckon with but he never allowed his relatives to get on his nerves. Ever since Ms Mehboobaji took over we do see mamaji, tayaji and bhai sahib ruling the roost, he had said.
Israel Shoots Down Syrian Fighter Plane With Patriot Missiles

Israeli military forces shot down a Syrian warplane near the border of Israel and Syria, with Israel saying that the jet went into its airspace. Syria said that the jet was fired upon as it took part in operations against terrorists.

Syrian state-run SANA said Israel, which it described as the enemy, targeted one of our warplanes raiding terrorist gatherings in Saida area on the outskirts of Wadi al-Yarmouk in the Syrian airspace.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that two Patriot missiles were fired at a Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet that went about one mile into Israeli airspace. The IDF monitored the fighter jet, which was then intercepted by the Patriot missiles, the IDF said on its Twitter page.

Israeli forces first tried to warn the plane, according to the Reuters news agency.

It was shot down and it crashedmost likely in the southern part of the Syrian Golan Heights, Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus said. We do not have any information so far about the pilots. I do not know of any reports of parachutes being spotted, and we do not know if any pilots have been retrieved.

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Israel shot down a Syrian fighter jet in 2014 when another Russian-made Sukhoi plane entered Israeli airspace and was hit with a Patriot missile, according to the Times of Israel. In February, an Israeli F-16 plane was shot down by Syrian anti-aircraft fire, Reuters noted.

The IDF, in a statement Tuesday, said that it noticed increased activity in southwestern Syria near the Israel-Syria border.

Since this morning, there has been an increase in the internal fighting in Syria and the Syrian Air Forces activity. The IDF is in high alert and will continue to operate against the violation of the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement, tweeted the IDF. The Separation of Forces Agreement requires Syria to acknowledge a demilitarized zone between the two nations.
A man wipes perspiration from his head in Tokyo on July 24, 2018, as Japan suffers from a heatwave. (MARTIN BUREAU/AFP/Getty Images))

Japan Authorities Declare Heatwave a Natural Disaster as Death Toll Reaches 80

Authorities in Japan have declared a heatwave there a natural disaster as at least 80 people have died due to the intense weather conditions.

Japans Fire and Disaster Management Agency declared the record-breaking weather a natural disaster in a statement, reported Channel News Asia.

The agency said 22,647 people were hospitalized in the previous week, while 80 people have died from the heat since the beginning of July. Among those who have died was a 6-year-old male student who lost consciousness on his way back from a field trip; and a 91-year-old woman who collapsed in a field.

Officials are working to combat the heat, with one effort supplying funds to all schools to ensure air conditioners are equipped by next summer. Right now, fewer than 50 percent of the countrys public schools have air conditioning.

Government officials are also considering extending the summer break for students.

As a record heatwave continues to blanket the country, urgent measures are required to protect the lives of schoolchildren, top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters Tuesday.

Japan heatwave: Temperature breaks national record  BBC News https://t.co/4X5ZhEEp6h   (@maipyon310) July 24, 2018

Temperatures on Monday reached a high of 106 degrees Fahrenheit (41.1 degrees Celsius) in the city of Kumagaya, which set a new national heat record (the government began recording temperatures in 2008).

Meteorologists warned that temperatures will continue to rise above 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius) until early August.

We are observing unprecedented levels of heat in some areas, Japan Meteorological Agency spokesman Motoaki Takekawa said, adding that the heatwave was a threat to life and we recognize it as a natural disaster, BBC reported.

One Japanese resident, Nur Rosmawati, 27, who works in international business development, told the Straits Times that she blacked out while walking for five minutes from her house to a convenience store over the weekend.

It was not sheltered but I had my umbrella with me. At the entrance of the convenience store, I started to feel faint and my ears started to ring, she said, noting she quickly consumed an energy bar and a drink and felt better.

VIDEO: An 'unprecedented heatwave in Japan has killed at least 65 people in one week, government officials say, the weather agency now classifying the record-breaking weather as a 'natural disaster' pic.twitter.com/RCLEIjLGxP  AFP news agency (@AFP) July 24, 2018

Layla Tan, 28, an international business adviser, said she felt heat exhaustion on Sunday.

First I felt a migraine-like headache. I drank lots of water but by then it was too late, she said. The headache got worse, and I started feeling nauseous, followed by muscle aches.

Japanese officials have been advising people to use air conditioning, stop to rest often when outside, and drink plenty of water and other fluids.

Temperatures in nearby South Korea have also set new records. The temperature reached 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40.3 degrees Celsius) in Yeongcheon in North Gyeongsang Province on Tuesday, reported The Korea Times.

That set a new record for the Korean Peninsula, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration, which has been collecting weather data since 1907.

From NTD.tv
Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort in Washington, D.C., on May 23, 2018. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Judge Unveils Names of Witnesses With Immunities in Manafort Case

Federal Judge Thomas Selby Ellis III has granted immunity to five witnesses and ordered them to testify in the case against former Trump campaign consultant Paul Manafort.

The witnesses are James Brennan, Dennis Raico, Cindy Laporta, Donna Duggan, and Conor OBrien, who all seem to be connected to Manaforts financial and real-estate dealings.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller asked for the immunities on July 17 and also asked for them to be sealed until and whether the witnesses were called to testify.

Mueller charged Manafort in two separate lawsuits (in October and February), saying he hid from authorities millions of dollars in payments from former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, dodging taxes in the process. He also allegedly lied to banks about his income to get better loans, lied to investigators, and failed to register as representing foreign interests.

Manafort joined the campaign of then-candidate Donald Trump in March 2016 and served as the campaign manager from June to August that year. He stepped down after his previous work in Ukraine was revealed.

Manafort is scheduled for trial on July 25, 2018. Based on court documents, the five witnesses with immunity offers havent been charged in the case, but will not testify or provide other information on the basis of their privilege against self-incrimination.

Granting immunity is a way to compel a testimony, as a witness who then refuses to testify to a federal grand jury may be held in contempt.

The witnesses were granted the limited use immunity, which only covers the testimony compelled by Ellis and doesnt shield the witnesses from charges based on other evidence.

Fox News Tucker Carlson on July 19 reported, based on two anonymous sources, that Mueller offered immunity to Tony Podesta, lobbyist and Democrat donor, who previously worked with Manafort.

The Epoch Times reported the sources claim appeared inconsistent with information provided to the court by Muellers prosecutors, who stated the five witnesses have not been identified publicly with the case. Podesta has been linked to the Manafort case in media.

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Las Vegas Shooting Victims Speak Out Against Hotel Lawsuit Against Them

Survivors of the October 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting spoke out against the lawsuits that were filed against them by MGM Resorts International, the owner of the Mandalay Bay hotel.

The hotel was the site of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history when gunman Stephen Paddock, 64, opened fire on a crowd of country music concertgoers, killing 58 and wounding hundreds more.

Earlier this month MGM filed a lawsuit against the shooting survivors as well as relatives of those who were killed to protect itself from legal claims. The firm wants to move the court fight to a federal court.

Its not only insulting, it enrages me to think that this company can just try to skip out on their responsibility and liability for what happened, said Jason McMillan, who was paralyzed in the shooting, according to the Wall Street Journal.

I rarely ask for help and I love helping other people, McMillan, a sheriffs deputy from Riverside County, California, said at a news conference in Newport Beach on Monday. He was joined by other survivors. I couldnt help anybody, he said.

The lawsuit, he said, brings up bad memories of the attack. It brings it all up again and takes me right back to being helpless, he said.

An MGM representative said that it was heartbreaking to hear these personal accounts of an unspeakable tragedy. No one wins from endless litigation and it will not change the fact that one person is responsible for this horrendous act of violence and he took his own life rather than face justice.

Another statement read: Plaintiffs lawyers have filed and refiled dozens of lawsuits, in multiple jurisdictions, in state and federal court. Resolving each case individually would require years of testimony from victims, first responders and employees. We believe Congress determined these cases should be in federal court and that getting everyone in the same court, is the best and fastest way to resolve these cases. As we have said from the beginning, we filed actions involving individuals who have retained attorneys and either have sued or threatened to sue, Fox5 reported.

In all, the MGM suit names more than 1,000 victims in the shooting.

Its not American, its not what we do, its not what our justice system does, you dont sue the victims, Mark Robinson, the attorney for some of the victims , told Fox5.

The fact that theyre trying to sue us now or that they are suing us, its outrageous. I am so pissed, Joyce Shipp said. Shes the mother of Laura Shipp, who was shot and killed.

Ive gotta live without the most important person in my life and youre gonna try to sue me for that? Lauras son, Corey Shipp, told the outlet.

Im disgusted in the fact that Ive already lost my son and now they want to sue me, Wayne Meyer added.
More Than $600,000 Raised for a Survivor of Missouri Duck Boat Accident

More than $600,000 has been raised for Tia Coleman, a survivor of a Missouri duck boat accident that left nine people from her family dead. Of the 29 passengers and two crew members on board during the disaster a total of 17 people died.

Coleman was one of only two survivors of the accident in her family, which killed her husband Glenn, their three children, and other family members.

The money has been raised through GoFundMe, a popular online fundraising platform.

Thirty-one people were on board the vessel, which was on Table Rock Lake on Thursday. Coleman and her 13-year-old nephew were among the survivors, but along with Colemans immediate family, her nephews mother and brother also died, as well as several older members of the family.

Coleman told Fox that the captain of the duck boat had told the passengers that they wouldnt need life jackets, despite a visible storm headed their way.

Dont worry about grabbing the life jackets, you wont need them, she said, recounting his words.

I felt like, if I was able to get a life jacket, I could have saved my babies because they could have at least floated up to the top and somebody could have grabbed them, Coleman added during a press conference on Saturday at Cox Medical Center in Branson, according to the New York Post.

She said her son was next to her as the water filled up the boat but she couldnt see as the boat sank.



She was about to give up after hitting her head on something but soon found herself on the surface.

I dont know how I got out. I couldnt see anything, she said. I thought, Theres no use in keeping me here. And I started floating, and as I started floating I felt the temperature change. I believe I survived by God.

People on a vessel nearby were throwing out life rafts and jumping into the water to help the passengers.

Somehow, I managed to get to the boat, Coleman said. They were beautiful people, angels, I dont know who they were. They pulled me up into the boat  I didnt see any of my family.

Apple, iPhone, and iPad are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

Coleman said shes struggling to cope with the loss of her family, reported People magazine.

Going home, I already know is gonna be completely, completely difficult. I dont know how Im going to do it, she said. Since Ive had a home, its always been filled with little feet and laughter. And my husband. I dont know how Im gonna do it.

From NTD.tv
Mother Killed in New Jersey House Collapse Shielded Teen Daughter

A New Jersey mother who was killed in a house collapse shielded her youngest daughter as the structure came down, officials said on Tuesday.

Tika Justice, 38, was found on top of her 16-year-old daughter, officials told WPVI.

The teenager and her 20-year-old sister, both survived and are now recovering in the hospital.

The 20-year-old woman was found chest-deep in debris when first responders first arrived at the three-story collapse in Hamilton Township, in Mercer County, early Monday morning. Neighbor James Feig, the first one on the scene, tried to free the 20-year-old but was unable to but stayed with her until firefighters arrived.

He said the 20-year-old called 911.

Hamilton fire & rescue on scene of house collapse @NBCPhiladelphia pic.twitter.com/LlYuq4CnpW  Pamela Osborne (@PamelaOsborne) July 23, 2018

NBC10 EXCLUSIVE -> A look at the woman who was rescued after her S Broad St home in Hamilton NJ collapsed.

I spoke to the man who says he stayed with her to comfort her until firefighters arrived. She also tells him 3 more people are trapped, rescues underway @NBCPhiladelphia pic.twitter.com/fZHsO6bu93  Pamela Osborne (@PamelaOsborne) July 23, 2018

Soon as I saw the fire truck come up the road I told her here comes the fire truck, hold on. It brought tears to my eyes, Feig said.

The 20-year-old apparently awoke and heard cracking in the house and started screaming before trying to run out of the home. She was freed first and firefighters later found the mother on top of her teenage daughter under rubble on the second floor, Hamilton Police Chief James Stevens told NBC.

The daughters are in stable but serious condition at the hospital.

The cause of the collapse isnt known yet, but Hamilton Fire Department Capt. Ferdinand Mather told NJ Advance Media that is not believed to have been the result of an explosion.

At this time we do not believe that to be the case, given that the house had a pancake-type collapse, Mather said. Everything was compacted at the scene.

The home was a rental unit.

Family members said Justices actions, which may have saved her daughters life, were part of who she was.

Shes that type of person, Justices brother Brushaun Davis told NBC. Shell save her kid before she saves herself.

From NTD.tv

Apple, iPhone, and iPad are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
Occupy ICE Takes Down A Local Portland BusinessWhose Profits Feed the Homeless

In June, the latest Occupy movement began in Portland, Oregon, demanding the abolition of ICEImmigration and Customs Enforcement. So far, the only thing that the large Occupy encampment in the Rose City has taken down is a small business across the street whose profits went to feed the homeless.

Some of the Occupy ICE radicals who have set up a tent city outside Portlands ICE headquartersmost of them drawn from the ranks of and supported by Marxists, socialists, Antifa, anarchists, and the homelessrecently targeted the Happy Camper, a food cart run by Scott and Julie Hakes right across the street from ICE and the sprawling Occupy encampment. The food cart is part of the tax exempt 501(c)3 organization that the Hakes set up to assist homeless people.

As KATU2 in Portland reported, The Hakes use the food cart to raise money for their non-profit organization, Operation Off The Grid, which helps the homeless around Portland.

According to Operation Off The Grids Web site, the organization:

is a non profit 501C(3) Organization that was founded and put into action by Scott and Julie Hakes in 2017. Their passion stemmed from the two of them both living on the streets themselves in their past and always knew the time was right, they would give back to those in need. The organization was begun with the intentions of feeding Hungry individuals living on the streets of Portland Oregon and surrounding communities once a week.

In recent news broadcasts, three of Portlands TV stations reported that Occupy ICE protesters allegedly began targeting the legal operation of the Happy Camper for harassmentmost likely because employees of ICE were observed to be eating there.

The Hakes claimsupported by cell phone videos, according to the television news reportsis that that they have been harassed and threatened with violence by people from Occupy ICE. Their customers have also been harassed, and their business is down about 80 percent as a result, according to Scott Hakes.

The Hakes family insists that they have reported the harassment by people from Occupy ICE to Portland police.

However, Portlands mayor has ordered the police to stand down as far as the Occupy ICE tent city is concerned. No action by the local police has been taken to protect the private businesses in the area that have been affected by the ongoing Occupy tent-in.

With their business way down, the Hakes have decided to close their The Happy Camper business and try to sell their food cart at a substantial loss.

It is ironic that a federally-approved non-profit dedicated to helping some of Portlands homeless population would be a casualty of the Occupy Movement, which advocates for a variety of social justice aims in addition to the abolition of ICEincluding no borders and no prisons.

Many Democratic Party politicians at the local level, including Portlands mayor and members of the city council, are on the record supporting the stated aims of the various Occupy ICE encampments that have sprouted up in at least a dozen cities. A number of prominent national Democratic politicians have also endorsed the Occupy Movements demands calling for ICEs abolition.

Follow Peter Barry Chowka on Twitter: @pchowka
A Chinese man holds his son as a nurse administers an injection at a hospital in Hefei, Anhui Province on April 7, 2010. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Online Censorship in Full Swing as Vaccine Recall Scandal Erupts in China

Chinas censorship regime is in full swing after another domestic vaccine scandal caused an uproarparticularly as details have emerged of an apparent coverup by the Chinese pharmaceutical company involved and an egregious oversight by the Chinese authorities.

On July 19, Changsheng Bio-Technology, a biotech company based in Changchun City, the capital of northeastern Chinas Jilin Province, announced on its website that its fully owned subsidiary, Changchun Changsheng Bio-technology, had been fined by the Jilin Food and Drug Administration for manufacturing and selling substandard doses of DTap vaccinea combination vaccine for young children to develop immunity against diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus, according to a July 21 report by the state-run National Business Daily.

After a randomized testing, it was revealed that over 253,330 doses of the DTap vaccine manufactured by Changchun Changsheng were substandard. However, the administrations findings came a little too late, as most of the faulty dosesabout 252,600had already been sold and shipped to the Shandong Province disease control and prevention center in eastern China.

The Jilin FDA confiscated the remaining 186 doses of the substandard DTap vaccine still in Changchun Changshengs possession. It also fined the company 3.44 million yuan (about $507,809).

Just last week, on July 17, Changchun Changsheng was found to have forged manufacturing data in its production of the Vero-cell rabies vaccine. Its GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) certification was revoked by the Jilin FDA as a result.

According to the latest announcement, Jilin FDA began its investigation into Changchun Changshengs DTap vaccine about 10 months ago, on Oct. 21, 2017.

At press time, Changsheng Bio-technologys website was down.

It turned out that the Shandong Province Food and Drug Administration had known about the substandard vaccines from Changchun Changsheng all along, but made a decision not to make a public announcement, according to a widely circulated copy of an official document issued by the Shandong FDA that was leaked on Sina Weibo, Chinas equivalent of Twitter.

The document, dated Oct. 31, 2017, showed that after a sample test by the National Institutes for Food and Drug Control (NIFDC), the central government agency confirmed there were 252,600 doses of substandard DTap.

Additionally, the document instructed municipal FDA offices within Shandong Province to start recalling the substandard vaccines, while closely monitoring public opinion, a euphemism for censorship. The bottom of the document is marked with the words not to be publicized.

On July 23, the Shandong Disease Control and Prevention Center issued a public statement, explaining that it began quietly recalling the substandard doses in November 2017 after the Shandong FDA received the information. But by then, 247,359 doses of the substandard 252,600 had already been used. More than 215,000 children were inoculated with the substandard vaccine.

It is unclear whether other areas were affected by the rest of Changshengs supply of the substandard DTap vaccine.

The statement added that the Chinese authorities have not detected adverse health reactions in the children who were inoculated with the vaccine.

Online Censorship

Large numbers of Chinese netizens have since taken to Weibo to express their frustration and anger at the authorities and Changchun Changsheng, while consoling the affected children and their families.

However, many online comments have since been removed, according to Free Weibo and Weiboscope, websites that track censorship on Chinas social media.

According to Free Weibos database, many online posts with the keyword vaccine were deleted by the Chinese authorities, beginning on July 21. One of the deleted posts, written by a netizen with the moniker Na Xiaofang from central Chinas Henan Province, stated: Posts are being deleted fast. The people who are in charge of deleting posts probably dont have children. If they do have children, they probably dont get inoculated with these vaccinesreflecting a public sentiment that Chinese officials get special treatment and are usually protected from such health scares.

Another deleted post written by a netizen from central Chinas Hubei Province states, Please have the main officials in charge at the CFDA and Jilin food and drug administration resign, if these people still have a bit of political shame left in them.

In the event of a social crisis, the Chinese regime commonly orders an information lockdown, including online censorship and fabrication of fake news storiessuch as during the 2008 infant formula scandal, when a brand of milk and infant formula was found to have been tainted with the chemical melamine.

Persistent Problem

China has been plagued by vaccine scandals, and the authorities have failed to squelch the problem.

From Dec. 6 to 22, 2013, seven newborn babies died after being inoculated with a hepatitis B vaccine. Chinese authorities later determined that the deaths were caused by adverse event following immunization (AEFI)meaning the children had a dormant illness that was triggered by the vaccine. The three Chinese pharmaceutical companies were not held accountable, according to a July 22 report by state-run The Paper.

In February 2016, Pang Hongwei and her daughter were arrested for running a vast ring selling out-of-date vaccinations. The vaccines had already been sold to 20 provinces.

The Paper, in a July 22 opinion article, stated that the lack of harsh penalties against the manufacturers of faulty vaccines is to blame for the persistent problem.

Parents who seek financial compensation and legal redress for their affected children often face police harassment and detention.

Despite Changsheng Bio-technology and Changchun Changsheng being involved in more than 10 bribery cases from 2001 to 2017, the companies have continued to operate without much intervention.

Wu Yuhai, a salesperson working for Changchun Changsheng, provided kickbacks to Wang Feng, a former director of the disease prevention center in Ningling County, Henan Province, according to a July 23 report by The Paper. For the purchase of 13,600 doses of chickenpox vaccine from June 2010 to March 2013, Wu provided kickbacks of five yuan ($0.74) per dose to Wang.

Wu also provided kickbacks of 20 yuan ($2.95) per dose from Wangs purchase of 4,800 doses of rabies vaccines from June to September 2015.

Wang was sentenced to eight years and three months for accepting bribes, on July 18. It is not known whether Wu was punished.
Lower Parel ROB has been closed for pedestrian and vehicle traffic after an inspection which stated structure as unsafe, owing to corrosion.

Mumbai: Another rail overbridge (ROB) closed for repairs creates chaos in and around Mumbais Lower Parel as both train travelers and motorists struggled to reach their offices.

According to reports, Lower Parel ROB, the Delise bridge has been closed for both pedestrian and vehicle traffic after an inspection which stated structure as unsafe, owing to corrosion.

The bridge connects NM Joshi Marg to Elphinstone Road and Lower Parel. It is mostly used by passengers traveling on Central Railway.

Commuters complained that the entire bridge shouldnt have been closed and should have at least allowed the pedestrians to use the bridge as only a portion over railway line is dangerous.

Railway commuters who wanted to exit from east side had no choice but to exit from the west side of the bridge which leads to a narrow lane which is already packed with vehicles and was dangerously crowded during peak hours.

Traffic police have diverted the vehicles via Senapati Bapat Marg and NM Joshi Marg. People have been asked to use either Elphinstone Road or Mahalaxmi ROB for the east-west journey from Lower Parel.

The bridge was built in 1921 and was found unsafe during an inspection by the Western Railway, BMC and IIT-Bombay team on July 17.

Mumbai: #Visuals from Lower Parel bridge that is closed for traffic movement from 8 am today after a decision of its reconstruction was taken following a joint inspection by Western Railway (WR), IIT Bombay, and the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM). #Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/G5pHiALvrP  ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2018

The inspection of bridges is being conducted after the collapse of the Andheri bridge collapse due to heavy rains.

Ajay Chaudhari, Shiv Sena MLA said, We had asked them to close the dangerous portion of the bridge, but the railways insisted on closing the entire bridge.


The NSW government issued a public warning on July 24, 2018, about an imported cosmetic eye liner that has dangerous levels of lead and has been linked to three children becoming sick. (NSW Government)

Public Warned Against Lead-Based Eyeliner Brand After 3 Children Found Sick

The NSW Government issued a public warning about a brand of eyeliner on July 24 after tests showed increased levels of lead in the Hashmi branded products.

Testing of the imported eyeliners Hashmi Surmi Special and Hashmi Kohl Aswad yielded 84 percent lead content, alongside other harmful metals. Arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and mercury were among those identified, according to a press release. The Hashmi eyeliners are manufactured in Pakistan.

The discovery came after three children from the same family became sick from using the eye makeup. Doctors found elevated lead levels in their bloodstream upon testing and notified the local public health unit in Western Sydney, Minister for Better Regulation Matt Kean said in the press release.

NSW Health said people should stop using the products and seek medical advice from their doctor as soon as possible.

An investigation indicated the health concerns were likely to have been caused by one of the Hashmi brand eyeliners, Kean said.

NSW Fair Trading has since referred the products to the Australian Border Force.

According to Kean, the products are mainly sold in stores that stock Indian and Pakistani goods.

Some of the product packaging even specifically states that no lead is present, which is a total disgrace, Kean said. Im absolutely appalled by this as we know that use of cosmetics containing lead can have long-term health effects, including brain and kidney damage in both adults and children.

New York City Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had previously warned the public against the use of kohlArabic for traditional lead-based eye makeup, also known as kajal or surma depending on the regionthat is found in the above-mentioned brands.

In 2010, a letter to the editor featured in the Oman Journal of Ophthalmology called for greater public awareness about the health risks of the dangerous cosmetic kajal.

Most commercially produced kajal contain high levels of lead, the letter read.

Prolonged application may cause excessive lead storage in the body, affecting the brain and bone marrow, causing convulsions and anemia.

Despite recommendations against the use of kajal, it is routinely used in children. It is necessary that the health care providers should educate the parents regarding the use of kajal.

From NTD.tv

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This picture from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) taken on Aug. 29, 2017 and released on Aug. 30, 2017 shows North Korea's intermediate-range strategic ballistic rocket Hwasong-12 lifting off from the launching pad at an undisclosed location near Pyongyang. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Report: Satellite Images Show North Korea Dismantling Missile Test Facility

A day after President Donald Trump said he wasnt concerned with a lack of visible progress on dismantling North Koreas nuclear weapons, a report suggests that the North Korean regime is doing just that.

Washington-based website 38 North, which offers analysis and news on North Korea, published satellite images that it says show the dismantling of an important satellite launch facility, based on images from July 20 and July 22.

The Sohae Satellite Launching Station, which sits near North Koreas west coast, has been the countrys main space launch facility for over five years, according to 38 North.

It has lain dormant since last December, but is still intact, and a new building was being built at the site since as recently as this March.

On July 20, the images seemed to show a crane and several vehicles at the Sohae launch pad, and a rail-mounted processing structure with its top removed.

At the Sohae vertical engine test stand, the test stand structure appeared partially demolished and a rail-mounted environmental shelter had been razed and removed. Some older fuel/oxidizer bunkers appeared to be in the process of being razed.

Two days later, the vehicles and cranes were still at the launch pad, but the rail-mounted processing structure had been further dismantled.

The test stand had been completely demolished, although the older fuel/oxidizer bunkers seemed to have stayed the same.

Since these facilities are believed to have played an important role in the development of technologies for the Norths intercontinental ballistic missile program, these efforts represent a significant confidence-building measure on the part of North Korea, wrote 38 North analyst Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., the CEO and founder of KPA Associates LLC, which specializes in forensic architecture.

If verified, the development is significant, as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last week that North Korea was trying to evade oil sanctions meant to force it to negotiate on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

In the first five months of the year, North Korea made 89 illegal ship-to-ship oil transfers to get around international sanctions on oil imports, Pompeo said.

Pompeo called on the world leaders to keep up the pressure on North Korea, saying that if sanctions are loosened, the prospects for the successful denuclearization are diminished.

Trump said he remained upbeat about the prospects of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and added that progress is happening.

Addressing a July 22 article in The Washington Post, Trump refuted the articles claim that he is frustrated by the lack of progress and has fumed privately to his aides about it.

A rocket has not been launched by North Korea in 9 months. Likewise, no Nuclear Tests. Japan is happy, all of Asia is happy. But the Fake News is saying, without ever asking me (always anonymous sources), that I am angry because it is not going fast enough. Wrong, very happy! he wrote in a July 23 tweet.

A Rocket has not been launched by North Korea in 9 months. Likewise, no Nuclear Tests. Japan is happy, all of Asia is happy. But the Fake News is saying, without ever asking me (always anonymous sources), that I am angry because it is not going fast enough. Wrong, very happy!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018

Trump seemed to acknowledge the report by 38 North today during a speech in Kansas City, Missouri, on July 24.

Were all pursuing the denuclearization of North Korea and a new future of prosperity, security, and peace on the Korean Peninsula and all of Asia, Trump said at the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention.

New images just today show that North Korea has begun the process of dismantling a key missile site and we appreciate that. We had a fantastic meeting with Chairman Kim, and it seems to be going very well.

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Zhang Erping, spokesperson for Falun Gong, at the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom on July 24 in Washington. (Wu Wei/NTD)

The First Ever Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom Inspires Hope

WASHINGTONThe first ever U.S. Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom officially launched at the State Department in Washington on July 24, with more than 40 foreign ministers and representatives from 80 countries attending.

In his opening remarks, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback said, We must commit to using all the might, the machinery, and the moral authority we have to stop those nations and actors who trample on free souls. 

Writing about the goal of the ministerial in an op-ed published by USA Today, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said that religious freedom is a God-given right to which all people are entitled.

We need governments to recognize religious discrimination and persecution, take a firm stand against it, and treat religious freedom as a foreign policy priority, Pompeo said.

Zhang Erping, representative of the spiritual discipline Falun Gong, said he felt encouraged by seeing religious freedom discussed at a ministerial level for the first time. He hopes that international condemnation can do more to end the persecution of the practice in China, which has lasted for more than 19 years.

We hope that the international world, all democratic countries, NGOs that care about religious freedom, can openly condemn the Chinese Communist Partys persecution of Falun Gong. Private dialogues have been proven to be a failure, Zhang said.

Zhang also hopes that, based on the Magnitsky Act, the U.S. government can impose legal actions against human rights abusers in China, including freezing their assets, denying entrance to the United States, or suing them if they enter the country.

The Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom will last until July 26, with a wide range of events scheduled for the same period.
Greg Mitchell, co-chair of the International Religious Freedom Roundtable, hosts the Religious Persecution in China roundtable at the Russell Senate Office Building, in Washington on July 23, 2018. (Wu Wei/NTD)

The First Ever Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom Sends a Message to the World

WASHINGTONA roundtable focusing on religious persecution in China set the stage on July 23 for the U.S. Department of States first ever Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom. The ministerial signals that the Trump administration intends to place religious freedom at the center of its foreign policy agenda.

Greg Mitchell, co-chair of the International Religious Freedom Roundtable in Washington, hosted the event, which he described as the kick off for the ministerial. Dozens of human rights experts and advocates, as well as victims of religious persecution in China, shared their views and personal stories.

Mitchell noted that similar stories of people being tortured and even killed for their religious beliefs have been shared over and over again in the past, but he said things will be different this time.

It was always the pattern or habit for the government to not put pressure on those governments that are partners,  said Mitchell.

We want to change that. The Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom sends a message to the world, to the governments of the world, that we are building this global religious freedom movement now.

Even if you are an economic partner, a national security partner, a partner in the war on terror or nuclear nonproliferation, the U.S. government wants you to be a partner on this now, too, to advance religious freedom.

In an interview transcript released by the State Department, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, This is a big deal, the first time the State Department has ever hosted such a gathering. 

Well have folks from over 80 countries, 40-plus foreign ministers, all kinds of religious groups and NGOs all coming together on a common theme, which is that the advancement of religious freedom matters to every individual in every country, Pompeo said. The human dignity, human rights attached to religious freedom, I feel personally, and I know President Trump does as well.

We want this administration to make religious freedom a true priority for the United States State Department in every interaction we have with our foreign partners.

Sam Brownback, the U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, expressed the same idea at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, as it launched a week of activities to advance international religious freedom, on July 23.

This is something in the DNA of the United States. We believe in this in our very soul. We believe this is a God given right, Brownback told NTD, a part of Epoch Media Group. I am delighted that this administration has made this a top foreign policy priority. And we are going to push it, and push it aggressively.

From July 24 to 26, a wide range of events will be held at the State Department and other locations in Washington, with senior U.S. officials providing an overview of foreign policy goals in relation to international religious freedom.

Civil society groups, including religious leaders and survivors of religious persecution, will convene to tell their stories. More than 175 civil society representatives and more than 100 religious leaders from around the world will participate.

At the July 23 roundtable, Falun Gong practitioner Chi Lihua and her daughter, Xu Xinyang, were some of those who came to tell their stories of religious persecution.

They held up before and after photos of Chis husband and Xus father, Xu Dawei, who was tortured while in custody in China. While Chi was pregnant, Xu Dawei was sentenced to eight years for practicing Falun Gong.

When he was released after eight years, he met his daughter for the first time. But only 13 days later, he died due to the severe torture he had suffered in prison. Xu Xinyang is now 16 years old.

For Mitchell, the days of the U.S. government doing nothing are over.
The U.S. Border Patrol said that it encountered an unaccompanied 8-year-old child along the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas, according to a release on July 24, 2018. (US Border Patrol)

Unaccompanied 8-Year-Old Boy Rescued by Border Patrol Near Rio Grande River

The U.S. Border Patrol said that it rescued an unaccompanied 8-year-old child along the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas, according to a news release on Tuesday.

The boy, according to agents from the Weslaco station, cannot communicate with agents because he only speaks dialect. He was smuggled across the Rio Grande and was abandoned on a road near the river.

Officials said aside from learning his name and age, the boy was not able to provide any other basic biographical information to Border Patrol agents.

Upon arriving to the Rio Grande Valley Centralized Processing Center, agents attempted to gather additional information from the child but were unsuccessful due to the language barrier. The Border Patrol is currently working with consulate offices to determine the childs nationality and dialect origin to process him accordingly, the Border Patrol stated.

Meanwhile, on July 23, the Border Patrol said that one of its agents was rocked, meaning someone threw rocks at the agent, after locating a group of illegal immigrants near Progreso, Texas.

They were under the Progreso International Bridge when agents made the discovery.

As the agent approached the area, a group of approximately 10 illegal aliens began to throw rocks, which impacted the vehicle multiple times, the Border Patrol wrote.

After the agent called for backup, additional units arrived, and the group retreated back into the Rio Grande and swam to Mexico.

Earlier this month, Border Patrol agents were credited with rescuing 64 illegal immigrants hidden inside sweltering tractor-trailers in one weekend. In two months, 406 were rescued.

In addition to securing and protecting our nations borders, frontline Border Patrol agents are committed to reducing heat-related injuries and preventing deaths along our borders, said Border Patrol Acting Chief Carla Provost in a statement in early July. These rescues are a result of stepped-up enforcement at our immigration checkpoints coupled with our search and rescue efforts that are key to preventing unnecessary loss of life.

In late June, the Border Patrol released footage that purported to show 57 people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border near Arizona. They were met by agents there.

Tens of thousands of immigrants are crossing the southwest border every month, according to statistics by Customs and Border Protection. In March alone, more than 33,000 unaccompanied minors and family units were apprehended by Border Patrol after crossing the border.
Book Review: A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II
A South Korean soldier (R) stands before North Korean soldiers walking towards the military demarcation line separating North and South Korea at the truce village of Panmunjom on Oct. 12, 2017. A North Korean soldier at Panmunjom defected to the South on Nov. 13, 2017, and was shot and wounded by the North Korean military while crossing the border. (AFP/Getty Images)

US Issues Warnings on North Korean Supply Chains, Slave Labor

The U.S. government has issued a warning to businesses that they may be sanctioned if North Korean companies or slave-like laborers are found in their supply chains. The July 23 advisory describes the tactics used by North Korean companies to conduct business despite sanctions, in an effort to help businesses ensure they are not in violation.

According to the advisory, businesses should be aware of deceptive practices employed by North Korea to ensure they are not sanctioned for their connections. It notes the evasive tactics used by North Korea that could expose businesses include using manufacturers, buyers, and service providers.

It says that with multiple U.S. and U.N. sanctions on trade with North Korea, and in regard to using North Korean labor, there are two primary risks for businesses: first, the inadvertent sourcing of goods, services, or technology from North Korea, and second, the presence of North Korean citizens or nationals in companies supply chains if the profits go to the North Korean government.

North Koreas system of forced labor operates both domestically and internationally, it states. Most North Korean laborers work 12 to 16 hours a day, with only one to two days of rest each month. The North Korean government takes 70 to 90 percent of their earnings.

It adds, The U.S. government is focusing its disruption efforts on North Korean citizens or nationals whose labor generates revenue for the North Korean government.

The warning was in a North Korea sanctions and enforcement advisory from the Department of State, the Department of Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control, and the Department of Homeland Securitys Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Despite recent peace talks between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, North Korea is still under sanctions for its nuclear weapons programs and threatswhich may be ended only after the communist regime demonstrates that it has ceased its nuclear weapons programs.
President Donald Trump embraces 94-year-old WWII veteran Allen Q. Jones at the 119th annual Veterans of Foreign Wars conference in Kansas City, Mo., on July 24, 2018. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Veterans Embrace Trumps Military Focus

Veterans say they're glad to have a president who believes military might will bring peace

KANSAS CITYTheres no mistaking the resounding support President Donald Trump elicits from veterans.

Despite the disproportionately high amount of grey hair, a crowd of veterans and their families was lively and vocal as they welcomed the president to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) conference in Kansas City on July 24. The VFW is the oldest service organization for veterans, founded in 1899.

My thinking is always on military and military strength, Trump said. That is why Im proud to report that we are now undertaking the greatest rebuilding of our United States military in its history.

He rattled off a list of new military equipment, including 147 new F-35 Lightning fighters, 239 Apache and Black Hawk helicopters, 19 major naval vessels, and nearly 8,000 Humvees.

America is a peace-loving nation. We do not seek conflict. But if conflict is forced upon us, we will defend ourselves. And if we must, we will fight and we will do nothing but win, Trump said.

The president said the new Defense budget allows for 30,000 more new soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines. And Ive directed the Pentagon to begin the process of creating the sixth branch of our military. Its called the Space Force, he said.

To every single member of the VFW, because of your service, your courage, and your example, we are restoring the dreams and the glory, and the greatness of America.

We will never give in. We will never give up. And we will never stop fighting for our country, our flag, and our freedom.

Trump invited 94-year-old World War II veteran Sgt. Allen Q. Jones to join him on stage.

I had four brothers serve in World War II, Jones said. My oldest brother was lost off the coast of Italy. Many times, I just wish that he could come back to the land of the free and the home of brave again.

Amid much cheering, Jones asked the president if he could visit the Oval Office on his 95th birthday in April next year.

Yes, Trump said, without hesitation. Anytime you want. Anytime.

We pay tribute not only to Allen, but to all of the heroes of the Greatest Generation, the president said. And Id like to take this moment to recognize every World War II veteran in the audience today. Each of you is a national treasure. Its true.

Help for Veterans

Trump touted his impressive resume in backing veterans and their needs post-war.

On June 6, he signed the VA Mission Act of 2018, which means veterans can use doctors outside the VA for more timely treatment.

Thats got to be the biggest improvement you can have, Trump said. Thousands and thousands of lives are going to be saved. And your quality of life is going to be so much better.

The GI Bill has been expanded so that veterans can use their education benefits anytime; they no longer expire.

Last year, Trump signed the VA Accountability Act, which has helped rid Veterans Affairs of ineffective staff. From the beginning of the Trump administration through May 2018, the VA took more than 3,200 accountability actions, which include removals, suspensions, and demotions, according to the White House.

Blue to Red

Veteran Joseph Bragg, who fought during the Vietnam era, said he flipped from Democrat to Republican to vote for Trump.

Trump is my man, because he is for building up the military and not cutting it down, like all the other ones, Bragg said. He takes care of the veterans.

Veteran Armando Gonzales served in Vietnam in 1968.

I got wounded and came home in a coma, he said. But I made it.

Gonzales lives in San Antonio, Texas, and was a lifelong Democrat until Trump came along.

He said he is satisfied with what Trump is doing, for veterans and in general.

Hes solid. He means what he says, he said. Hes listening and he delivers.

John Griffith from Ann Arbor, Michigan, is a retired special agent with the Justice Department and a Vietnam veteran. He spent 32 years in law enforcement, including on Secret Service detail during the Clinton era.

Griffith said Trump is doing a fantastic job and has also noticed a marked positive difference in VA treatment since Trump took office.

Hes got this country back on track with the economy. Hes got the country back on track with being leader of the free world, he said. I think peace-through-strength is the only way to go. Its like Ronald Reagans been resurrected.

Griffith added, And if we can get the snowflakes and liberals out of the way, he could turn this country upside down and headed in the right direction.

Griffith called the growing push for socialism mind-boggling and blames the education system for not teaching children about socialism, communism, and other forms of government.

They have no concept that not everything can be freesomebodys got to pay for it. And its not free when your neighbor is paying for it, he said. Socialism hasnt worked in any country its ever been tried.

Griffith said when he went off to fight in Vietnam, he was an 18-year-old idealistic kid.

I thought I was fighting for Mom, apple pie, and the American Way. And its been a long road, but I still believe in America.  With President Trump, I have a lot of hope for this country.
White House to Give $12 Billion in Aid to Farmers Hit by Tariffs

The administration of President Donald Trump will provide up to $12 billion in aid to farmers impacted by retaliatory tariffs imposed by Americas trading partners, according to Sonny Perdue, the secretary of the Department of Agriculture.

The size of the aid package is in line with the estimated $11 billion cost of the tariffs to American farmers. In a briefing call on July 24, Perdue and top department officials explained that the financial boost is designed to provide temporary relief to farmers as the United States negotiates long-term trade deals.

The president promised to have the back of every American farmer and rancher, and he knows the importance of keeping our rural economy strong, Perdue said. Unfortunately, Americas hard-working agricultural producers have been treated unfairly by Chinas illegal trading practices and have taken a disproportionate hit when it comes [to] illegal retaliatory tariffs.

Trump approved tariffs on steel and aluminum and imposed a 25 percent levy on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods. The affected nations imposed counter-tariffs on American products, including soybeans, pork, dairy, fruits, nuts, and other specialty crops.

Farmers and producers should be able to begin signing up for the aid beginning in September. The funds will be split between three programs.

The Market Facilitation program will distribute the bulk of the money to farmers and ranchers producing commodities directly impacted by the tariffs, including soybeans, sorghum, corn, wheat, cotton, and pork. The Department of Agriculture will determine the payment to each farmer based on the size of a crop multiplied by a specific subsidy rate.

The Food Purchase and Distribution Program will buy up surplus fruit, nuts, legumes, rice, pork, and dairy, distributing the products to food banks and nutrition programs. The Trade Promotion Program will help farmers seek out new export markets.

Perdue noted that the move is a signal to China that the United States will not cave to retaliatory tariffs.

It is clear to everyone that President Trump has gotten Chinas attention like never before, Perdue said. At every step along the way during these recent trade disruptions, it is important to highlight that the correct action from other nations would be to stop their bad behaviornot to retaliate with unjustified tariffs.

The United States is engaged in an escalating tit-for-tat tariff exchange with China. After Beijing imposed tariffs on $34 billion worth of American goods, Trump threatened to impose tariffs on $500 billion worth of Chinese products. On July 10, the Trump administration released a list of $200 billion worth of Chinese goods that could be subject to a 10 percent tariff.

The European Union, Mexico, and Canada also rolled out tariffs after the United States levied duties on imported steel and aluminum. Trump approved a 10 percent tariff on imported steel and a 25 percent tariff on imported aluminum in May.

The president has said that he favors free trade but uses tariffs as leverage.

Tariffs are the greatest! Trump wrote on Twitter on July 24. Either a country which has treated the United States unfairly on Trade negotiates a fair deal, or it gets hit with Tariffs. Its as simple as thatand everybodys talking! Remember, we are the piggy bank thats being robbed. All will be Great!

The White House argues that the short-term pain from retaliatory tariffs is negligible compared to the benefits the country stands to reap from fair trade deals and lowered trade barriers.

In a speech on July 24, Trump told supporters that his predecessors are to blame for the existing deals, which he called a disaster. 

Referring to Americas trade partners, Trump said: Theyd do whatever they wanted, and wed just put up with it. Not any longer folks. Not any longer.

Were making tremendous progress. Theyre all coming. They dont want to have those tariffs put on them. Theyre all coming to see us. And the farmers will be the biggest beneficiary.

Watch, were opening up markets. You watch whats going to happen. Just be a little patient.

Though details are not yet final, the aid package is not expected to breach the $19.1 billion limit the World Trade Organization allows for internal subsidies, according to Brad Karmen, the USDAs assistant deputy administrator for farm programs.

The USDA was expected to announce farm aid on Labor Day. Officials explained that Labor Day remains the effective date for when the programs will begin operating.

Perdue came up with the plan at the behest of Trump, who asked the secretary to come up with ways to mitigate the damage from retaliatory tariffs.

Tariffs on U.S. goods have impacted all sectors of the economy, according to the USDAs trade counsel to the secretary, Jason Hafemeister. The aid package is likewise expected to have a positive ripple effect beyond the farmers, according to Greg Ibach, the USDAs undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs.

The $12 billion budget is not subject to congressional approval since the three programs are already authorized to provide aid. The USDA will instead draw on funds from the Commodity Credit Corporation. The government-owned company has the authority to borrow up to $30 billion per year from the Department of the Treasury and its net losses are covered through the budget appropriations process.

In addition to tariffs, evidence has surfaced that American commodity shipments are being deliberately slowed down through unusually strict or cumbersome entry procedures, according to a press release from the USDA. The slow-down affects the marketability of perishable products.
Swami Swarupanand slams BJP, saying its not interested in Ram temple.

Lucknow: Dwarka Peeth Shankaracharya Swami Swarupanand Saraswati has approved Congress president Rahul Gandhi as an alternative to the Modi government in the 2019 elections.

Rahul is opposing the policies of the BJP and not Mr Modi at a personal level. If other leaders agree, the grand alliance can provide an alternative to the Modi government. I see nothing wrong in the manner in which Rahul Gandhi embraced the prime minister and I do not understand the hue and cry being made about it, he told reporters at Vrindavan in Mathura.

He said that the BJP is apparently not serious about the promises it had made to the people, who are now feeling cheated.

The Shankaracharya also slammed the BJP and said that the party was not interested in getting the Ram temple constructed.

The BJP wants to use this issue once again to regain power in 2019. The BJP is misleading people in the name of the temple, he said, adding that it was wrong for the BJP to say that it would build the Ram temple.

The temple could be made either with the orders of the Supreme Court or by the saints and seers, the Shankaracharya said.

The Shankaracharya further added that if the Modi government wanted to, it could stop cow slaughter in one stroke instead of allowing violence over the issue.

Similarly, he said that the Centre should abolish Article 370, but the BJP wants these issues to continue to fester to gain political mileage for the upcoming 2019 general elections. He reiterated his support to Mr Rahul Gandhi.
The cannabis-infused candy marketplace is one of the most competitive in the cannabis industry. While, flower, the industrys leading product, demands relatively little in terms of product development, ingredient sourcing, testing, branding, and packaging, edibles require extensive savvy with all of the above and more. For this reason, the most successful brands have teams of skilled professionals behind them.

The competition was negligible when adult-use sales first began in Colorado in 2014, but more serious competition is mounting--and for good reason. According to ongoing research conducted by BDS Analytics, between January and May of 2018, dispensaries in California, Oregon, and Colorado sold $280 million worth of cannabis-infused cookies, candies, beverages, and other edibles, representing 16 percent of the periods $1.75 billion in cannabis sales. Here is a closer look at five things you need to know about the cannabis-infused candy business.

Related: 5 Things You Need to Know About Edibles

1. Know your category.

The edibles category contains everything from pills, brownies and tea to tinctures and crackers. No brands dabble in all of edibles myriad styles and the best brands focus on at most a few categories. Often, leading brands play in just one cannabis sandbox.

Candy is the leading category of cannabis-infused edibles in all states with legal adult-use cannabis sales. Candy includes a range of different edibles styles, including gummies -- the No. 1 edibles product in all states -- hard candies, taffy, mints, gum, caramels and more. Candy represents 44 percent of all edibles sales in California, Oregon, and Colorado between January and May of 2018, with $123 million in sales. During that period, California dispensaries alone sold $53 million worth of candy. This is a booming market, and significant growth is expected.

Much will change, however. Sophisticated teams from mainstream industries are increasingly entering the cannabis industry, bringing with them immense consumer-marketing and food technology experience along with committed investors. In addition, rules surrounding CBD--a non-psychoactive part of the cannabis plant that is experiencing spiked consumer demand--are in flux. Be prepared for innovation beyond straightforward gummies and taffy. Study the market with intense scrutiny before launching that new brand of Blue Dream Bubblegum.

Related: 5 Things You Should Know About CBD

2. Focus one one category.

Once you have the licensing, the facility and the team in place, and you have achieved success with your new brand of taffy, it can be tempting to hatch entirely new products in different categories. Resist! The leading brands in the edibles industry are exceptionally strong in just one category, such as gummies, and they may have just a few products in the category. They dont start crafting mints just months after they launch gummies. Keep a laser-focus on gummies and pay close attention to what other gummy brands are doing  in your state and in others. Best practices win the day, and those who pay close attention to the competitive landscape have the best chance for commercial success.

3. Stay local, local, local.

Your year-old tea brand is crushing it in Oregon and you decide its time to swoop into the California market. Take a step back, a deep breath and a few sips of that tea. Look, the executive leadership of a leading mainstream tea brand in Oregon just left the company and they are entering the cannabis industry. Look, California already has three tea brands, all of which are backed by significant investments from people in Silicon Valley. Look, the product managers at a few of your most important dispensary accounts in Oregon just left. Will the new managers decide to keep your tea? Before deciding to make the leap, make sure your backyard is thriving and understand the risks in other markets. At the same time, pay attention to big players in those other states. While you examine their markets for opportunities, they are studying yours, too.

Related: Legal Marijuana a 'Powerful Force' in Oregon Economy

4. Remember that quality and consistency are paramount.

Cannabis consumers are picky. If they try your product and the experiences vary or the effect they are trying to achieve never occurs, they wont buy your product again. Our Consumer Insights Division found that 43 percent of Californias past-six-month Consumers agree that manufacturers need to do a better job of making product dosages reliably consistent from serving-to-serving. Thats a significant chunk of the consumer market worried about dosing. Before your product lands on its first dispensary shelf, make sure it has been tested extensively. The best branding and marketing in the world will never surmount an unreliable product. Once-leading brands have fallen fast due to problems with quality and consistency.

5. Know your target customer.

Consumer research is an investment, not an expense. This is a rapidly evolving market where products that rule the market one day, fall behind the next. Chocolate bars led all edibles sales in Colorado for several years until gummies took over. In Colorado, the percentage of the public consuming cannabis grew from 25 percent to 35 percent in just the past year, according to BDS Analytics recent report Public Attitudes and Actions Toward Cannabis in Colorado. As more and more businesses enter the market, the face of the Consumer is changing and looking more like the general population in their region. Reach beyond demographics to define the motivations, needs, and benefits potential consumers seek. Always begin with consumers--they will determine your success.

Related: New Customers Drive Innovation in Legal Marijuana Products

Related:

5 Recipes for Sweet Success in the Cannabis Candy Market

5 Things You Need to Know About Edibles



Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
NORWALK  Its jiggly. Its sweaty. It simulates exercise, said Elizabeth Lew, owner of Kure Spa and Wellness Center, the first Vibrosaun-authorized clinic in the U.S.

The Vibrosaun looks like a space-age hibernation pod and combines vibrations and sauna-like temperatures (hence the name); it was originally invented as a weight-loss machine but paradoxically found a second life as a relaxing form of therapy. Its just one of a number of alternative forms of healing offered at Kure Spa and Wellness Center. There is a machine that ticks forcibly as it sends electric-magnetic pulses through your body and old-fashioned massages, glowing essential oil diffusers are scattered throughout the premises and one half of the center is an organic bar featuring juices, smoothies and shooters with names like blue majik and natures flu shot.

Its almost like a European spa, a customer observed approvingly as she awaited her treatment.

The venture has been so successful, Lew said she has plans to expand to the space next door. Sales have been growing every year, she said. The massages are booked up.

While clients have used the Vibrosaun to help with medical conditions, Lew is clear that there are no studies proving the machines efficacy.

Its not medically research backed, she said. Its simply what companies have noticed for 30 years. Its empirical, based on the feedback that people get. I dont think any hospital or doctor of pharmaceutical company is going to spend money on research because it does not behoove them, because its not medicine based.

One of those empirical experiences are her own.

For fourteen years, Lew said, she had been reliant on sleeping pills. When she and her husband were opening Kure, she happened to run into someone who sold Vibrosauns. He suggested she try one.

I wasnt doubtful, because at this point, I had already dipped into so many alternative modes of healing because I was getting nowhere with Western medicine, she said. So I was already open to trying new things.

Lew used the Vibrosaun several times a week, and after about a month, she remembers lying in bed and dozing off for the first time in years without having to resort to a sleeping pill. This has to be it, she said. Its helping me.

A representative from Norwalk Hospital said pain management physicians could not comment on whether this type of heat or vibration therapy was effective because they were unfamiliar with the machine.

But if Yelp reviews and the plans to expand are any measure, the spas services have been a success.

Were just so grateful  so grateful, Lew said. And happy that people feel like theyre getting something great out of it.

rschuetz@hearstmediact.com; @raschuetz
NORWALK  While the rest of us have been staring at screens, a group of girls at Norwalk High School have been building screens of their own.

Over the past two weeks, theyve wired screens to keyboards and small single-board computers known as Raspberry Pis. They screwed together lime-green plastic casings to house and protect their contraptions. And Tuesday afternoon, they powered up their newly built laptops and began using them to program.

I wanted them to build it, said Cynthia Barnett, founder of Amazing Girls Science. The computer boot camp launched this year, which Barnett plans to repeat next summer, involves building laptops, learning to code and crafting a website. By Friday, the girls will be able to take their hand-built machines home.

Thirteen-year-old Marissa Contreras used a colored wire to connect a breadboard to her laptops breakout board.

Its been in my dreams since I was a little kid to build a computer, she said. Contreras sometimes sees changes shed like to make to electronics  for example, making her laptop battery last longer  and she wanted to turn those ideas into reality. I want to be able to make it happen.

Following the directions of Clare Woodman, a computer science teacher at Staples High School in Westport, she added a resistor and an LED lightbulb, then began writing a program. When Contreras pressed play, the bulb lit up.

Oh, cool, she whispered.

I think its just great to expose girls to all the possibilities of coding and the things they can build that they dont normally think about, said Maryann Quermorllue, a mathematics teacher at Norwalk High School known more commonly as Mrs. Q. It was her classroom the girls had gathered in. Some of them, its really awesome, because you can see them take it and run with it.

After laptop sessions with Woodman, Quermorllue shares stories of women in technology, such as Ada Lovelace, a mathematician who is considered to have written the first computer program.

Vanessa Liles, who has taught multicultural education at Texas A&M and now does grassroots organizing in Bridgeport, rounds out the day with a lesson in self reflection.

Its definitely important for STEM because one of the things you see in the research is there are girls entering the field, but they dont stay in the field, Liles said. Women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics professions can face challenges that dont relate to their expertise. So unless they have the self-belief, the understand of themselves and the confidence in themselves, theyll go somewhere where they feel more accepted, more affirmed.

Meanwhile Faith Walker, a freshman at Masuc High School in Monroe, examined a line of code that had been highlighted red, then brightened as she figured out her mistake. Capitalization, she explained, really matters in JavaScript.

Its kind of frustrating at first when you dont know what to do, she said of coding, but once you get it, its really fun. You can make amazing things from it  like I didnt know you could make a laptop like this.

Walker changed a capital letter to lowercase, then hit play. The lightbulb cheerily began flashing in the pattern she had prescribed.

Barnett smiled. I get so much pleasure out of watching girls build, she said. So when they look at a computer, theyll never look at them the same.

rschuetz@hearstmediact.com; @raschuetz
Media reports said a website had access to records of 250,000 students and data was available for payment of up to Rs 2 lakh.

'I am shocked by this wide-scale theft of personal data that has compromised the privacy of candidates across the country,' Rahul Gandhi said. (Photo: File)

Mumbai: Congress president Rahul Gandhi has urged CBSE chairperson Anita Karwal to direct an inquiry in the alleged NEET data leak issue, news agency ANI reported.

In a letter to Karwal, Rahul said that the alleged data breach calls into questions the ability of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to ensure the sanctity of the examination process. I am shocked by this wide-scale theft of personal data that has compromised the privacy of candidates across the country, he added.

(Photo: ANI/Twitter)

Several media reports have claimed that a website had access to records of 250,000 students along with their gender, roll numbers, rank in the exam as well as their mobile numbers, and the data was available for a payment of up to Rs 2 lakh.

A state-wise data of candidates was available on the website which included those from Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand.

The website also offered interested buyers a chance to verify whether the data was genuine or not, as well as a free sample, The Wire had reported.

NEET is administered by CBSE as the entrance exam for medical colleges across the country. More than 13 lakh candidates appeared for the exam this year out of which data for 250,000 students is available for anyone willing to shell out lakhs of rupees for access to this data.
WILTON  A 37-year-old White Plains man posed as the owner of the Boston Bruins and is now facing criminal charges, according to police.

Police said Jeffrey Jacobs, 37, lied about his identity to curry favor with a tree service company after a tree fell on his home on Drum Hill Road during a storm last year.

The tree companys owner, who told police he was an avid Bruins fan, was enticed to come out to the home in the middle of the storm and later billed the $5,100 job to Jeremy Jacobs, the actual owner of the Bruins.

In May 2017, Wilton police learned of the incident when they received a call from the security department of Delaware North, a hospitality and food service management company chaired by the Bruins owner.

Police were familiar with Jacobs. They said he was pulled over in November and used a similar lie to try and get out of a traffic ticket.

A warrant for Jacobs arrest was obtained by police. Jacob was arrested Friday, July 20, by police in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., after he was pulled over for using his phone while driving. He was transferred to the Wilton Police Department later that night.

Jacobs was charged with criminal impersonation. He was released on a $5,000 bond and given a court date of July 30.
EDWARDSVILLE

In the early morning hours of May 26, calls began arriving at the Edwardsville Police Department from residents in the Sunset Hills subdivision, reporting that their homes had been spray painted with swastikas.

Soon Glen Carbon police began receiving calls that swastikas had bee spray painted on tombstones at Sunset Hill Cemetery in Glen Carbon. Investigators would later find that more than 200 tombstones had been vandalized in that way.

Before the day was over, the story was making national news and would appear in media outlets across the country. And because the damage had been done two days before a Memorial Day event was scheduled, the dozens of workers and volunteers had to move quickly to power wash the tombstones and clean up the area.

The investigation into the swastika incident was recounted at the July 17 meeting of the Edwardsville City Council, when Edwardsville police presented a Citizen Commendation certificate to Paul King for helping them track down the suspect.

It was still very early on that Saturday morning when King, a technician with the George Alarm Co. affiliate in Glen Carbon, received a phone call from Edwardsville police seeking his help.

"Paul responded while many in this community were still sleeping and still unaware of what had occurred," Edwardsville Police Officer Greg Bauer told aldermen. "This allowed not only the case to be solved expeditiously but also gave community members peace of mind knowing the case would be solved. And it allowed them to come together to clean up."

King, Bauer told them, acted professionally from the moment he arrived until hours later when he called to tell Bauer that he felt he had done everything he could possibly do to help them solve the case.

"Paul had everything he needed to access the surveillance system, and he reviewed the video surveillance in a quick and timely manner, including a large computer monitor for viewing, as many of the residents from the subdivision now began to gather around, interested in the findings as their property was damaged overnight," Bauer said.

King, he added, worked hand-in-hand with the head of the subdivision's Home Owners Association, residents of the subdivision and with Edwardsville and Glen Carbon officers. That, he said, gave everyone confidence that the case would eventually be solved.

Bauer noted that before the vandalism was discovered surveillance equipment had been installed at the entrance to the subdivision and King was able to load the video onto a thumb drive to make it easier for police to disseminate it on Facebook. It wasn't long before the public began offering tips.

The investigation continued, and soon officers presented their evidence to the Madison County State's Attorney's Office. On Tuesday, May 29, Timothy McLean was charged with 22 felony charges ranging from hate crimes to criminal damage to property. Two of those counts  one dealing with hate crime and the other a Violation of the Cemetery Protection Act  pertained to the cemetery vandalism. Six other charges alleged that McLean spray painted swastikas on three churches in Glen Carbon: St. James; St. Ceclia's; and Glenview Church of the Nazarene.

Fourteen of the felonies alleged similar vandalism to homes and vehicles in Edwardsville.

McLean's bond was set at $100,000 for the Glen Carbon incidents and $100,000 more for the Edwardsville incidents.

"Without Paul's diligent work and knowledge of the security system in place at the entrance to the Sunset Hills subdivision, neither this department nor the Glen Carbon police department would have been able to solve this case as fast as possible," Bauer said. "Paul responded while many in this community were still sleeping and still unaware of what had occurred."
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill.  Col. Robert Henderson assumed command of the 635th Supply Chain Operations Wing from Col. David Sanford during a change of command ceremony hosted by Lt. Gen. Lee Levy II, Air Force Sustainment Command commander, at the Scott Event Center, July 20.

Henderson takes control of the only operational warfighting wing of the AFSC under Air Force Materiel Command. The unit is stationed at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.
BELLEVILLE  Our Lady of the Snows is celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Novena to mark the feast of Our Lady of the Snows.

Fr. Andy Knop, O.M.I., the Shrine Director, said the novena will run from July 28 to August 5. He explained the origin of the novena.

"In 352, Mary appeared to an Italian couple and predicted snow in August," he said. "This would be very rare in Rome. Mary told the couple to build a church where the snow falls. The Pope said it was a miracle and the Basilica of Mary Major was built on the site." August 5 is the feast day of Mary Major. The novena ends on this day.

The devotion to Our Lady of the Snows comes to the shrine through Fr. Paul Schulte, O.M.I . Schulte was a priest with the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (O.M.I.). He was known as the flying priest of the Arctic. "He was flying the Inuit people supplies," Knop said.

An artist, J. Watson Davis, painted a picture of Schulte and his airplane. The painting shows Schulte ministering to the Inuit while Our Lady of the Snows looks over them from the sky. After his time in the Arctic, Schulte lived at St. Henry's Seminary in Belleville and the painting was hung in the seminary chapel.

Schulte and Fr. Edwin Guild, also a Missionary Oblate of Mary Immaculate, began the novena to Our Lady of the Snows in 1943. The first outdoor novena was in 1951.

The Oblates purchased the 100 acres that would become the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in 1958. The Shrine is still run by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.

"It started growing with more people coming," Knop said. The Oblates built the grotto to Mary and then the amphitheater. "We have 200 acres here. We have 60 years at this site," Knop said.

"Every year we have the novena," Knop said. "Attendance has its ups and downs through different decades and different times and through changes in the church," he said.

A novena is a traditional Catholic devotion consisting of nine days of prayer. At the Shrine, each day's devotion includes Mass and prayers. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is also available each day.

"This year, we have two major events to celebrate the anniversary," Knop said. On Saturday, July 28, there will be a Concert for Hope with Eric Genuis at the church. "On the last day, we will have a presentation by Bishop Anthony Krotki, O.M.I., of Churchill-Hudson Bay, Canada. He works with the Inuit people like Schulte did.

"Different Oblates will preach each night, Knop said. Each day, there will be an Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament from 3  5 p.m. Mass is at 7:30 each evening followed by the Rosary. On Sunday, August 5, Vespers will be prayed at 4:30.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation, or confession, will be offered from 6  7:15 on Saturday and Sundays and from 6:30  7:15 on Monday through Friday.

Anointing of the Sick will be offered on the first night of the Novena during mass.

"The main part of the Novena is that people send thousands of different petitions asking for healing or thanking God," Knop said. "We ask the Blessed Mother to intercede."

The novena mass is held in the outdoor amphitheater at the Shrine. "We will move it indoors if the weather is bad," Knop said.

After mass each night, there is a Rosary procession. "We have a float with Our Lady of the Snows," Knop said. "We say the Rosary while following the float. On the last night, we will have an international Rosary with parts said in different languages that are part of the Shrine." The languages will be Polish, French, Spanish, a language from the Philippines, and English.

This year, the theme for the Novena is Mary's Journey of Faith. "We'll have a topic for each night that centers on an event from Mary's life. We'll look at how Mary's journey of faith fits in with our life. We see Mary go through difficult times and how it can help us when we need strength," Knop said. "We'll see how Mary can be an example for us, knowing that she always leads us to Jesus."

Knop stressed that although the Novena runs for nine nights, people are welcome to come to any number they would like. "Come for as many nights as you can," he said. "One or two or whatever. There is nothing wrong with coming from one."

He also stressed that the Novena always includes mass. "The main thing for us is the Eucharist. It is the center of our life. We pray the Novena prayer with the Eucharist."
The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Police Department continues to be a strong, involved supporter of the Team Illinois Youth Police Camp.

Coordinated by Illinois State Police (ISP) and hosted in partnership with SIUE Police and other Metro East agencies, the 14th annual residency program was held from Sunday, July 15-Saturday, July 21. Nearly 60 cadets from across the region participated.

According to the ISP, Team Illinois Youth Police Camp is a highly structured weeklong residency program, which addresses todays teenagers who are under many societal pressures. The camp is based upon a military model of discipline and includes para-military drills, physical fitness exercises and classroom instruction on drug abuse resistance, team building principles and other life-enhancing skills.

Four SIUE Police female officers volunteered as leaders and mentors for the entirety of camp. On Friday, July 20, the cadets visited SIUEs campus for an interactive day that included bowling at Cougar Lanes and a BBQ prepared and served by SIUE Police.

This is an incredibly active camp, explained SIUEs Lt. Lisa Johnson. Usually, by the end of the week many of the teens say theyre interested in a police career. They dont always come in feeling that way. These kids have different backgrounds and not all of their interactions with police have been positive. We are here to show them the other side of what we do, and educate them on the positive impact they can have in life.

ISP Trooper Calvin Dye Jr. and Sgt. Joey Watson emphasized how SIUEs support and honorable minority hiring practices have boosted the camps growth and success.

This camp couldnt function without the great participation and support we receive from SIUE Police, Dye said. Chief Schmoll never lets us down. He sees the value of this wonderful camp and the impact these experiences have on our youth.

The SIUE Police Department is progressive in its hiring processes, and our camp and cadets have reaped the benefits of the foundation the department has set, added Watson. We also have other amazing community volunteers who want to be a part of something worthwhile, like this camp.

Team Illinois Youth Police Camp teaches a set of life skills that will help kids grow and develop as emerging leaders. Watson says those skills begin with courteous and respectful behavior. Cadet Valerie Huston, of Mount Vernon, says she has benefited from those lessons.

Its a good opportunity to be here, the 16-year-old said. Most kids dont get this chance. I dont regret coming, because its a fun place to be.

When were here, were all family, Hutson continued. Family works together. You have to push your way through challenges and cheer each other on. At camp, if you do what youre told to do, you will have the fun that you want to have.

Darrell Perryman, a 14-year-old cadet from Swansea, agrees it takes personal effort and teamwork to succeed.

I want to join the military someday, so I thought Id try this camp, Perryman said. Weve gone fishing and done physical training drills and teambuilding activities. You have to strive for and achieve things that youve never done before. Its been fun to work together.

SIUE senior Cynthia Holten, of Shiloh, is slated to graduate with a bachelors in criminal justice studies in December 2018. The camp mentor says her passion for being a positive influencer in law enforcement was ignited when she attended Team Illinois Youth Police Camp at the age of 15.

This camp made a huge influence on my life, Holten said. She has completed an internship with ISP and aspires to become a state trooper.

My mentors had a big impact on me and changed my perspective on a lot of things, she added. I want to serve and protect and help those that need a little more guidance in life. I would like to make a difference in my community and across the state.

The weeklong camp concluded Saturday, July 21 with a graduation ceremony at Calvary Baptist Church in Alton. The ceremonys guest speaker was Olympic legend and gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville provides students with a high quality, affordable education that prepares them for successful careers and lives of purpose to shape a changing world. Built on the foundation of a broad-based liberal education, and enhanced by hands-on research and real-world experiences, the academic preparation SIUE students receive equips them to thrive in the global marketplace and make our communities better places to live. Situated on 2,660 acres of beautiful woodland atop the bluffs overlooking the natural beauty of the Mississippi Rivers rich bottomland and only a short drive from downtown St. Louis, the SIUE campus is home to a diverse student body of nearly 14,000.
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Billionaire tax hits critics as Biden pushes for budget deal

WASHINGTON (AP)  The Democrats' idea for a new billionaires tax to help pay for President Joe Biden's social services and climate change plan quickly ran into criticism as too cumbersome with some lawmakers preferring the original plan of simply raising the top tax rates on corporations and the wealthy. Biden said Monday hes hopeful the talks with Congress can wrap up overall agreement on the package this week.

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The lynching issue was also raised in Parliament by Alwar MP Karan Singh Yadav, triggering protests from BJP members.

New Delhi: A major political slugfest erupted between the Congress and the BJP over the alleged delay in giving treatment to a man thrashed by a mob on suspicion of cow smuggling, which led to his death in Rajasthans Alwar. Congress president Rahul Gandhi alleged that hatred had replaced humanity in Prime Minister Narendra Modis brutal New India, while two Union ministers hit back at him, accusing him of being a merchant of hate and of indulging in vulture politics.

The lynching issue was also raised in Parliament by Alwar MP Karan Singh Yadav, triggering protests from BJP members. Mr Yadav, whose adjournment motion on these issues was rejected by the Chair, raised it during Zero Hour and said it was the fourth such incident in the state. The Alwar MP insisted that those who claimed to be gau rakshaks (cow protectors) were behind this murder and amid protests by some BJP members, also attacked the state police for wasting time in taking the victim to hospital, leading to his death.

Last week, 28-year-old Rakbar Khan was allegedly lynched in Rajasthans Alwar district by a group of people who accused him of smuggling cows. Citing a media report, the Congress president tweeted on Monday: This is Modis brutal New India where humanity is replaced with hatred and people are crushed and left to die, forcing a reaction from two Central ministers.

Mr Gandhi also tweeted: Policemen in #Alwar took 3 hrs to get a dying Rakbar Khan, the victim of a lynch mob, to a hospital just 6 km away. Why?

They took a tea-break enroute. The media report cited by Mr Gandhi claimed the policemen stopped for tea and took the cows to a shelter before taking Khan to the hospital.

Hitting at the Congress president, Union minister Piyush Goyal tweeted: Stop jumping with joy every time a crime happens, Mr Rahul Gandhi. The state has already assured strict and prompt action. You divide society in every manner possible for electoral gains and then shed crocodile tears. Enough is enough. You are a MERCHANT OF HATE. His remark echoed the attack on Narendra Modi by Sonia Gandhi in the 2007 Gujarat Assembly poll campaign when the then Congress chief used the phrase maut ka saudagar (merchant of death) to target the then chief minister.

Mr Goyals Cabinet colleague, Ms Smriti Irani, accused Mr Gandhi of doing vulture politics and claimed that not a single instance goes by where he doesnt attempt to rupture social bonds for electoral gains.

Rahul Gandhis family presided over the worst form of hate in 1984, Bhagalpur, Nellie and many other instances. It is shameful that he is doing the same through vulture politics, she tweeted.
The FIR and initial statement of police has been contradicted by hospital record as well as eye witnesses.

Jaipur: Rajasthan director general of police O. P. Galhotra has constituted a high level committee of senior police officer to look into all aspects of Akbar alias Rakbars death on Saturday. He has asked the committee to submit its report soon. The team comprising ADG (Law & order) N.R.K. Reddy, ADG (Crime) P. K. Singh, IG (CID CB) Mahendra Choudhary and IG Jaipur range Hemant Priyadarshi has reached Alwar in the afternoon.

DGP Galhotra said the team will find out why there so much time was wasted in transporting Rakbar, alias Akbar, to a hospital that was just four kilometres away from the site where he was beaten up on Saturday. The police first took Akbar to a police station and not the hospital. Also, it is alleged that the policemen on the way stopped to have tea.

Meanwhile, Akbars post-mortem report has been received. The post-mortem conducted by Dr Rajiv Gupta, Dr Amit Mittal and Dr Sanjay Gupta of Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital, Alwar, reportedly found 8 to 10 injuries on his body. There was a fracture in his left hand and leg. However, the reason of the death is said to the excessive beating he received on his ribs, which punchered his lungs. Akbars viscera have been sent to FSL and SMS hospital in Jaipur for further investigation.

Meanwhile, the Alwar police have a lot to answer for delaying in taking Rakbar to hospital and for allegedly torturing him. The cops also need to answer for the discrepancies in filing the FIR in the death of Akbar on Saturday. The FIR and initial statement of police has been contradicted by hospital record as well as eye witnesses.

In the FIR, the police had mentioned that Akbar had given them a statement on the spot, which is now questionable because in the hospital record he was admitted as unidentified. The doctor on duty that night in Ramgarh community health center also claimed that the police had not mentioned the victims name saying that he was unidentified.

Another contrarian entry in the FIR is that the police team had washed Akbar on the spot. The FIR says that when the police reached the spot in Lalawandi forest, a person was lying in the mud. We poured water on the injured man to clean the mud on him to look at him in torch light, The FIR read. Assistant sub-inspector Mohan Singh, who wrote the FIR, said the same thing when the this newspaper spoke to him.

However, Akbar was found in two different shirts  in a coloured shirt inside the police jeep and later in a white shirt.
The apex court expressed dissatisfaction over Centre's response on appointment of search committee members for a Lokpal.

A bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi, R Banumathi and Navin Sinha asked the Centre to file a fresh affidavit giving relevant details of the search committee. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed dissatisfaction over the Centre's response on the appointment of search committee members for a Lokpal.

A bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi, R Banumathi and Navin Sinha asked the Centre to file a fresh affidavit giving relevant details of the search committee.

During the hearing, Attorney General K K Venugopal submitted an affidavit and said a meeting of the selection committee was held but the names for the search committee were not finalised. He said another meeting would be held soon for appointing members of the search committee, keeping in mind the provisions of law for such appointments.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for petitioner NGO Common Cause, said the Centre has not specified the date of the next meeting and they are actually delaying the appointment of a Lokpal despite the passage of a law nearly five years ago.

He said contempt action should be initiated against the concerned authorities or the court may proceed ahead for appointing the Lokpal by exercising its power under Article 142 of the Constitution (enforcement of decrees and orders of Supreme Court).

The bench, in its order, said it's unsatisfied with the Centre's reply and sought a fresh affidavit in four weeks giving all necessary details.

The Centre had earlier told the apex court that the Lokpal selection committee, headed by the prime minister, was scheduled to meet to set up a search panel for recommending a panel of names for the appointment of the anti-graft ombudsman and its members.

The government had said the search panel would lay down its procedures, following which the selection committee would fix the time frame within which the names for selecting the chairman and members of the Lokpal would be recommended.

The committee comprises the prime minister, the chief justice of India, Lok Sabha speaker, the leader of the largest opposition party and an eminent jurist.

The court was hearing a contempt petition filed by the NGO which has raised the issue of non-appointment of Lokpal despite the apex court's judgement of April 27 last year.

The apex court, in its last year's verdict, had said there was no justification to keep the enforcement of Lokpal Act suspended till the proposed amendments, including on the issue of the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, were cleared by Parliament.
Jealous tomboy admits to vicious assault on girlfriend

BANGKOK: A tomboy who used her motorcycle crash helmet to beat her girlfriend about the face and then stomped on her has admitted to police she was drunk at the time and acted in a fit of jealousy.

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By Bangkok Post

Tuesday 24 July 2018, 06:20PM

Kanchana Sinprasert, 27, is seen in a video clip bashing her 22-year-old girlfriend at a dormitory in Bangkok in the early hours of July 19. The suspect was later arrested in Sukhothai province and returned to Bangkok where she confessed to the assault, explaining that she was drunk and jealous at the time. Photo: Screngrab via video clip

The vicious attack at the entrance to a dormitory in Bangkok last Thursday (July 19) was videoed by onlookers who kept telling her to stop, and later posted on Facebook, drawing heavy fire.

Kanchana Sinprasert, 27 was arrested at a house in Sukhothai province on a court warrant on assault charges and was returned to Phahol Yothin Police Station in Bangkok today (July 24). .

The large-framed woman was later taken for a crime re-enactment at SB Place dormitory on Soi Ratchadapisek 36 in Chatuchak district.

Kanchana admitted assaulting her 22-year-old girlfriend Fang (whose full name was withheld), who was sitting at the front of the dormitory, around 1.45am on July 19 in full view of male tenants.

Another woman and a man later came to her rescue.

The video clip showed the assailant shoving the victim and then using a crash helmet to hit her about the face. The attacker dragged the victim by the hair and repeatedly stomped on her, beating her head against the ground several times.

The victim was badly hurt and is being treated at a hospital. Doctors said she would need medical treatment for about two months.

Metropolitan Police Bureau deputy commissioner Sompong Chingduang said the suspect confessed that she had acted under the influence of alcohol and assaulted her girlfriend in a jealous rage.

She would be taken for a urine test to see if their were traces of drug use in her system. If she tested positive for illicit drugs, additional charges would be pressed against her, Maj Gen Sompong said.

Kanchana would be taken to the Criminal Court tomorrow (July 25), where police would seek to detain her for another 12 days to allow further investigation. Police would oppose bail, the deputy city police chief said.

The current charge against her carries a penalty of six months to 10 years in jail and/or maximum fine of B200,000.

The family of Fang planned to file a complaint with police against Kanchana today. The victim suffered a fractured eye socket and required surgery.

The suspect had promised to pay her medical bills and compensation, Thai media reported.

Read original story here.
Phuket croc remains unsighted, spurs warning on illegal pet crocodiles

PHUKET: The Phuket Governor today (July 24) warned that any persons found in illegal possession of a privately owned crocodile could be fined up to B10,000 or even face up to one year in jail if they are caught.

tourismanimalsmarineSafety

By The Phuket News

Tuesday 24 July 2018, 05:19PM

Gov Norraphat warned that people who illegally kept crocodiles as pets could face a fine of up to B10,000 or even up to one year in jail. Photo: PR Dept

Governor Norraphat said that the search for the corocdile had been hampered by strong wind and waves. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

For those who have not registered (their crocodiles) yet, they must urgently notify the province, Gov Norraphat said.

Crocodiles may be kept as private pets in Thailand, but owners must be issued a permit by the Director-General of the Department of Fisheries, or the Fisheries Department provincial office.

The warning by Governor Norraphat Plodthong today (July 24) comes after the crocodile spotted at Tri Trang Beach just south of Patong yesterday remains unsighted for the past 24 hours  leaving search teams to scour the shore for any sign of the reptile.

It also came as Paisarn Sukpunwan, head of the Administration Department at the Phuket Fishery Office, confirmed that the elsuive crocodile had not escaped from any of the five registered crocodile farms in Phuket.

Apparently, all those crocodiles have been accounted for, leaving Mr Paisarn to say, We still have not been able to identify where the crocodile came from.

Mr Paisarn said that from the images he had reviewed he believed the missing crocodile to be no more than 1.5 metres long.

It is not a big crocodile, and so it will not be as aggressive as a big one, he said.

Governor Norraphat assured that the search for the crocodile is continuing. But the search has been made difficult because of strong wind and waves, he said, despite flat seas at Tri Trang beach yesterday.

Governor Norraphat also warned tourists not to play in the water, or by the waters edge.

Officials have been stationed at Tri Trang Beach all the way to (and including) Patong Beach for tourists safety, he added.

Any persons who believe they have seen the crocdile were urged to report the sighting by call 092 -2468366 or 081- 8673664. Both lines are open 24 hours.
Bob Dylan announces Live 1962  1966: Rare Performances From the Copyright Collections, a two-CD set previously only available in Japan, will be getting a global release on 27th July via Sony.

The songs are drawn from limited-run compilations Sony has released over the past six years to protect the rarities from European copyright law that stipulates any recordings will enter the public domain if unreleased for 50 years.

The collection is said to include the earliest known recording of "Blowin' in the Wind" taped in 1962 and a duet with Joan Baez on "When the Ship Comes In", recorded just before Martin Luther King Kr. gave his famed "I Have a Dream" speech. It also features "Ballad of a Thin Man" where Dylan performs with The Hawks in Scotland.
MONTREALCanadian National Railway Co. named Jean-Jacques Ruest as president and chief executive officer, four months after he took over as interim leader amid service stumbles that tarnished the companys vaunted efficiency.

Ruest, 63, will also join the board, the Montreal-based railroad said in a statement Tuesday. His appointment to the top job is effective immediately.

The 22-year Canadian National veteran has been rushing to improve performance after the railroad proved unable to accommodate a surge in freight starting in the second half of last year. Canadian National is spending a record $3.4 billion this year to fix bottlenecks by adding staff, tracks, sidings and locomotives.

Read more:

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This announcement comes as expected and we view it as favourable as it brings continuity to the management team and the company, Walter Spracklin, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets, said in a note to clients. We expect the company will continue to improve its service, clear the backlog and realign costs in 2018.

The shares have gained 16 per cent since Ruests interim appointment to replace Luc Jobin was announced March 5, compared with an 11 per cent increase for Canadian industrial stocks.

Total traffic at Canadas biggest rail carrier is up 3.7 per cent since the start of the year, according to data from the Association of American Railroads compiled by Bloomberg. Carloads jumped 5.6 per cent to 1.37 million in the second quarter, the data show.

In April, Canadian National cut its earnings forecast for 2018, saying the additional spending required to clear the logjams would weigh on profit. Adjusted earnings this year will be $5.10 to $5.25 a share, Canadian National said April 23, 15 cents lower at both ends than the previous projection.

Ruest brought the team together to tackle the immediate operational and customer service challenges the company was facing since the fall of 2017, chair Robert Pace said in the statement.

Canadian National is focusing investments on the western section of the companys network  from the British Columbia ports of Prince Rupert and Vancouver to Chicago  where growth is strongest. Some of the spending is needed because of the expansion in intermodal traffic, which requires more track capacity, Ruest told analysts in April.

Investing in track capacity and locomotives, and adding train crews, is something that we should have probably triggered back in April of last year, the CEO told Bloomberg in an interview in April. We delayed the decision at that point regarding capacity. In hindsight, it would have been a good time to start.
NEW YORKIvanka Trumps clothing company is shutting down after some stores dropped her line and she decided ethics restrictions were holding back its ability.

In an email to CNBC, Ivanka Trump said: When we first started this brand, no one could have predicted the success that we would achieve. After 17 months in Washington, I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business, but I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington, so making this decision now is the only fair outcome for my team and partners.

The New York Post reported that staff have been informed that theyre being laid off. The Wall Street Journal is also reporting the closure.

Ivanka Trump, who is a senior adviser to her father, U.S. President Donald Trump, has recently been encouraging U.S. companies to pledge to hire American workers. Her company has been accused in the past of using foreign workers to make its products abroad.

Views on the brand have become highly polarized and it has faced boycotts from anti-Trump protesters.

With sales flagging by some measures, Nordstrom dropped the Ivanka Trump line last year and recently Hudson Bay reportedly did the same.

Read more:

Hudsons Bay phases out Ivanka Trump brand

Politics may trump style for Ivanka Trumps brand

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump made at least $82 million in 2017, documents show

The company has also come under attack by government ethics experts for trademarks granted by foreign governments such as China seeking to curry favour with the president.

Views on the brand have become highly polarized and it has become a lightning rod for protests and boycotts, said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail. While the company is still viable, doing business has become far more challenging and these problems will only increase.

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The mixed bag that is Bill 2, currently making its way through the legislature, aims to make Hydro One accountable (again), get York University students back to school (again) and drive a stake through the White Pines Wind Project in Prince Edward County.

It is the latter schedule, the White Pines Wind Project Termination Act, that drew Germanys ambassador to Canada, Sabine Sparwasser, into media interviews Monday, offering a big picture take on the implications of the projects cancellation.

Ive been involved in numerous activities where we say, Come to Canada, this is a very good place to do business, Sparwasser said in an interview with the Star.

You know where this is going. That sentence is like one of those narrative cliffhangers where the action pivots and you anticipate that, bam, events are not going to unfold as originally predicted.

Were trying to enhance direct investment, and in that context it is not good news if you have a case where a project by a German company that has been here for the last 10 years and a project thats close to completion and that has respected all the regulation and has produced all the licences required, is suddenly or is in the process of being suddenly unilaterally cancelled and basically dismantled.

The swift cancellation of the nine-turbine wind farm is an obvious blow to WPD AG, the German parent to White Pines and a company with a two-decades-plus history in offshore and onshore wind projects, extending now into 18 countries and more than 2,000 turbines.

In May the company, which promotes the merits of wind energy as a future worth living, dispelled rumours of a $1-billion (U.S.) sale for all or part of the business. That same month Ontarios Independent Electricity System Operator issued a Notice to Proceed to White Pines based on the companys satisfying certain prerequisites, including regulatory approvals, a completed financing plan and documentation related to impact assessments.

The ordered demise of White Pines is an obvious win for the legion of protesters who have spent years fighting the down-scaled project  the original plan was for 27 turbines  which was scheduled to go into operation this fall. Prince Edward County keeps the company of close to 100 municipalities and counties that declared themselves unwilling hosts for industrial turbines, a reminder of the deeply unpopular rural stance to the pro-wind power initiatives of the deceased Liberal government. Anti-turbine forces are jubilant, or would be were it not for the ongoing construction of the project, pending passage of the legislation. Four of the turbines are up. The supporting infrastructure is largely in place. Construction continues.

If the German parent saw an opportunity to intervene in a swift and firm way, it wasnt immediately obvious. CEO Harmut Brosamle sent a letter to Premier Doug Ford that managed to sound both strangely courtly and to make Ford sound like a newly sprung Kim Jong-il.

A new elected government has any right to pursue a different energy policy. That is a fundamental principle of democracy, Brosamle wrote. But do you think, dear Premier, that it is fair and equitable that a project right before completion is now being ruined retroactively and that our company is suffering serious damage through no fault of its own? Your reconsideration would be greatly appreciated.

So it has fallen to Ambassador Sparwasser to advance the broader trade argument. Were living in a very uncertain world in terms of world trade policy, she says. Germany and Canada and the EU and Canada are very like-minded partners. We have concluded the most progressive, comprehensive economic and trade agreement. We do want to do more business. We do want to do more in trade co-operation.

And direct investment? Were all trying to enhance the good relationship and more co-operation and more direct investment, and in that context a story where investors actually who have invested in good faith and have fulfilled all the obligations but find themselves in a really, really difficult position and their project is basically cancelled on the spot.

That, Sparwasser concludes, is not a good story to tell.

Nor does the closing chapter scan well. Bill 2 bars any action for compensation or damages, and limits compensation to a proscribed formula that takes into account direct expenses incurred (construction, employee termination, etc.) along with decommissioning costs associated with leaving the lands in a clean and safe condition.

Eight years ago, White Pines obtained a FIT (feed-in tariff) contract, the program that was supposed to position Ontario as a North American leader in clean energy. The company now estimates its potential loss as something in the area of $100 million.

Bay of Quinte MPP and Government House Leader Todd Smith, who promised during the provincial election to see the project through to cancellation, offered White Pines this tip in the Picton Gazette last week: The best advice for the company is to honour the will of the government standing up for the will of the people.

Go quietly, in other words. White Pines has chosen a different path, highlighting how poorly this reflects upon Ontarios open-for-business mantra. In this the company is right.

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CALGARYCalgary police are continuing to work with community advocates to review sexual-assault investigations as new data shows a drop in the percentage of cases deemed unfounded last year.

Data released by Statistics Canada Monday shows 14 per cent of sexual assaults reported to police in 2017 were classified as unfounded, meaning police determined no crime had taken place. The number is down from 2016, when police classified 19 per cent of sexual assaults as unfounded.

Calgary police said 4 per cent of sexual assaults reported to them were classified as unfounded in 2017. Thats the lowest number over the last five years, when the average unfounded rate between 2013 and 2017 was 6 per cent. In 2014, the rate of cases classified as unfounded hit a high of 10 per cent.

Overall in Alberta, police classified about 14 per cent of sexual assaults as unfounded in 2017.

CPS is currently working with Calgary Communities Against Sexual Abuse and other community organizations to review 89 sexual-assault cases from 2018 where charges werent laid, a move thats part of the forces adoption of the Philadelphia Model. Staff Sgt. Bruce Walker, head of the CPS sex crimes unit, said he is planning to meet on a quarterly basis with the review committee over the next year to discuss gaps in police training or possible changes to the way the force investigates sexual-assault cases.

I think we need to get a couple reviews under our belts to see if there are any trending issues, he said.

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The new StatsCan report also notes that the number of sexual assaults reported to police rose in 2017, and compared with 2016, the largest increases in the number of reported sexual assaults were in October, November and December  likely due to social media campaigns such as #MeToo.

Walker said he has noticed an uptick in people reporting historical sexual assaults over the past year, as the public conversation about sexual abuse became more prominent through the #MeToo movement.

Were seeing lots of people reporting incidences from a decade ago, 20 years ago, even 30 years ago, he said.

He said thats an encouraging trend, and the forces push to use a trauma-informed approach to examine sexual-assault complaints is an important factor in helping people come forward.

When (police) go into that interview (with someone who has reported a sexual assault) ... they may be acting completely not what you would expect from anybody who has been a victim of a crime, he said. Its understanding that behaviour is very specific when it comes to sexual violence. When you have that understanding, you come to that interview with less bias.

Madeline Smith is a reporter/photographer with StarMetro Calgary. Follow her on Twitter: @meksmith

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VANCOUVERIn the wake of an explosive provincial government report that detailed the extent of money laundering at B.C. casinos, a Vancouver councillor is calling for the city to take a leading role in preventing money laundering in sectors like marijuana dispensaries and real estate.

But experts are divided on whether municipal governments have a role to play in tackling money laundering.

Coun. Melissa De Genova said she decided to draft her motion, which is scheduled for the July 24 council meeting, after receiving several emails from city residents saying they were concerned about whether the proceeds of crime were flowing through vulnerable sectors like the semi-regulated cannabis market or real estate.

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Theres concern when the city is taking large licence fees or collecting taxes on empty homes, said De Genova, referring to the citys $30,000 marijuana dispensary licence fee and Vancouvers relatively new empty homes tax, which is expected to raise $30 million by the end of this year.

If were looking at these multimillion homes that are empty, Im not saying that everyone who owns an empty home is involved in money laundering, she said.

But Im just asking our staff to investigate that, to work with the province to make sure were doing all that we can. Because I think it would be very unfortunate if we were accepting money that we thought could be the product of money laundering.

On June 27, investigator Peter German and B.C.s Attorney General David Eby released a report that revealed more than $100 million had been laundered in the provinces casinos. The report warned that other areas, like real estate and horse racing, are also vulnerable to money laundering.

De Genovas motion asks staff to work with the provinces Attorney General and police to share information that may help prevent and deter money laundering, and to develop some sort of system to identify funds that may have been laundered.

Robert Gordon, a criminologist at Simon Fraser University, warned municipalities away from getting involved, saying they could compromise investigations by tipping off the players involved in illegal activity.

If somebody is coming in to undertake an investigation into wrongdoing, the last thing you want to have happen is for that wrongdoing to stop while you are looking, Gordon said.

But Peter German, the former RCMP commissioner who authored the casino report, welcomed De Genovas motion.

The intent of the motion appears to both support the work being undertaken in this area by the Attorney General, and the findings and recommendations in (the) Dirty Money (report), German said in an email. I am pleased whenever I hear of preventative measures. It is most important to get these things right before and not after the fact.

He declined to specify what kind of role municipal governments should play. But he reiterated that more attention needs to be paid to cash-based enterprises, such as the drug trade, real estate, horse racing, jewelry or luxury cars.

German now intends to investigate the provinces real estate sector, an area Gordon has long suspected includes contaminated funds.

I think (Germans) going to roll over a very large rock there and find some nasty stuff underneath, Gordon said.

When it comes to cannabis, the other sector De Genova identifies in her motion, its going to be difficult to pull apart legitimate and illegitimate funds, Gordon said. Thats because the cannabis sector is in transition, from an entirely illegal enterprise financed by criminal organizations, to a legalized and regulated market.

That has led to accumulation of capital, which will now become shortly a legal drug trade, Gordon said. There is no bright line to say now were dealing solely with clean money.

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Last month, Reese Fallon graduated from Malvern Collegiate Institute with the admiration of teachers and friends, excited to start nursing school at McMaster University in the fall.

That bright future was extinguished on Sunday night, when the 18-year-old was killed in a shooting rampage on the Danforth that has left her family and friends mourning the loss of a whip smart young woman with a magnetic personality.

Another young victim, a 10-year-old girl who died, has not yet been identified. Thirteen people remain in hospital with injuries ranging from minor to critical.

In a tribute on Instagram, Fallons younger sister said she was crushed by the loss of her lifelong best friend.

You had so much going for you. You are so smart, funny, kind, caring, beautiful and thats why I know you are a perfect angel, she wrote. You were in the wrong place at the wrong time and you were the victim of this story.

Read more:

Suspected Danforth shooters family cites psychosis, severe mental health challenges, after SIU identifies him as Faisal Hussain, 29, of Toronto

From Alexander the Great Parkette to a shootout on Bowden St., how a gunmans walk hit at the heart of the Danforth

You can see it on peoples faces: Danforth shooting leaves Toronto reeling from another collective trauma

Fallon, who lived in Torontos leafy Beach neighbourhood, not far from Malvern, was an engaging student who was highly regarded by staff and loved by her friends, said John Malloy, director of education for the Toronto District School Board, in a statement on Monday.

Malloy said Malvern would be opened on Tuesday to provide support to students and staff, and that the flags at all TDSB buildings would be lowered to half-mast in Reeses memory.

McMaster University president Patrick Deane said, We are particularly saddened to learn that a young woman who was going to begin her studies at McMaster this fall was one of those who died in the attack.

Fallon was a member of the BeachesEast York Young Liberals. Her family declined to speak with reporters, but BeachesEast York Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith issued a brief statement on their behalf.

The family is devastated (and) asks that their privacy be respected at this time, it said.

Erskine-Smith told the Star outside Fallons home that he knew her personally and she was whip smart. She cared about making a difference in the world and this is a huge loss, he said.

Julie Steel, whose husband taught Fallon at Malvern, set up a GoFundMe page on Monday to create an annual scholarship in her honour. The funds will go towards a graduate of Malvern CI who is entering a nursing program.

Steel, a nurse herself, said Fallon, whom she described as kind and caring, would have been an amazing nurse.

I could just see it in her  that was the career path for her, Steel said in an interview. Knowing that shes not going to be able to do that has really broken our hearts.

Steel set up the GoFundMe campaign with an initial goal of $5,000. Within three hours, it had raised nearly $3,000.

Reese was just a wonderful, lovely girl, Steel said. For this to happen to her is just unthinkable. We just dont even know how to process it.

News of Fallons death travelled quickly on social media Monday, as friends and family members took to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to share their messages of remembrance and grief.

In absolute shock. Reese Fallon was such a great person and good friend, Frank Hong, 16, wrote on Facebook. She did not deserve to die this way.

In an interview, Hong, a fellow Young Liberal, said: Reese just had a magnetic, bubbly, fun personality. She would always greet people with a big, fat hug. People would just want to be around her.

The last time Sarah Lomon, 14, saw Fallon was at the Pride parade in June.

She was literally an amazing person. She was smart, she was funny, she was beautiful, she had so many friends, Lomon, who was friends with Fallons younger sister, told the Star. She had a bright future. She got into a good university. Its just really hard to believe that she passed away when she had so much going for her.

Witness Ali Demircan, who was sitting with friends on a bench near Logan and Danforth Aves. Sunday night, told the Star he saw an injured woman during a break in the shooting.

Demircan said the woman, who was holding her arm where she appeared to have been shot, approached him and asked him to call 911, but the shooting started again before he could do so.

When I turned back, there she was lying behind a small tree on Logan Ave. People were trying to help her and do CPR, Demircan said. It was terrible.

The surviving victims range in age from 17 to 59 years old, police said.

Three victims were taken to Sunnybrook hospital. Five were taken to St. Michaels Hospital with injuries ranging from serious to critical. Three of the patients at St. Mikes underwent immediate, life-saving surgery, said Dr. Najma Ahmed, acting head of the trauma surgical unit.

Michael Garron Hospital, formerly known as Toronto East General, confirmed its staff treated seven people who were injured during the shooting. Five were released and two were in stable condition on Monday.

Our hearts are heavy today as we try to comprehend the tragic events, Dr. Paul Hannam, chief of emergency medicine, told journalists assembled outside the hospital on Monday afternoon. Many of our friends, patients and colleagues not only work in this neighbourhood, but live in this area and frequent the restaurants and local shops with their families  This is our home.
CAATSA waiver is intended at preventing US sanctions on India, which is planning to buy five S-400 Triumf air defence systems from Russia.

India's dependence on Russia for its military hardware has experienced sustained reduction over the last one decade. At the same time, India's defence trade with the US has increased. (Photo: PTI | Representational)

Washington/New Delhi: A US Congressional committee on Tuesday proposed waivers for countries like India from punitive sanctions against those doing business with Russia's defence industry.

The Senate and House Armed Services Committee in a joint conference report to the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA)-2019 provided a modified waiver to section 231 of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act or CAATSA.

A conference report refers to the final version of a bill that is negotiated between the House of Representatives and the Senate via conference committee.

CAATSA waiver though general in nature is intended at preventing US sanctions on India, which is planning to buy five S-400 Triumf air defence systems for around USD 4.5 billion from Russia.

Unlike the existing version of the act, the proposed modified waiver requires presidential certifications designed to protect US alliances, military operations, and sensitive technology, said a statement issued by the Senate Armed Services Committee after the two committees announced details of the conference report.

The John McCain National Defence Authorisation Act for Fiscal Year 2019, which authorises funding for the Department of Defence and the national security programmes of the Department of Energy, encourages US allies and partners to reduce inventory of Russian-produced major defence equipment and advanced conventional weapons.

At the same time, it excludes the possibility of waivers for Russian intelligence agencies and other entities engaged in cyberattacks.

The move comes days after US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis asked the Congress to give the Secretary of State the waiver authority.

"Doing so allows nations to build a closer security relationship with the US as they continue to transition from reliance on Russian military equipment," he said.

"The fundamental question we must ask ourselves is do we wish to strengthen our partners in key regions or leave them with no other option than to turn to Russia, thereby undermining a once-in-a-generation opportunity to more closely align nations with the US vision for global security and stability," Mattis said.

The Pentagon, the State Department and the Indian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to request for their comments on the latest CAATSA development.

Before the NDAA 2019 is signed into law by President Donald Trump, the conference report, which aligns the different House and Senate versions of the defence budget, needs to be passed by the two chambers of the US Congress.

Traditionally, it is considered to be a done deal, as this has the support of leadership of both the ruling Republican party and the opposition Democratic party.

The proposed legislative amendments would provide a valid ground to the Trump administration to provide necessary waiver to India, even if it goes ahead with its decision to buy S-400.

India's dependence on Russia for its military hardware has experienced sustained reduction over the last one decade. At the same time, India's defence trade with the US has increased.

India is in the process of placing orders worth of billions of dollars to the US - ranging from fighter jets to unmanned drones. Over the past few months, CAATSA had emerged as a major irritant to India-US relationship.

An India-centric top American business advocacy group today welcomed the Congressional move.

"The language (of the report) would represent a special carve-out for India on a delicate political issue," Mukesh Aghi, the president of the US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF) said.

"If enacted, the language advanced by the NDAA conference committee demonstrates the US Congress' bipartisan commitment to the US-India relationship," said Aghi.

"The exemption provides flexibility for strategic partners and allies to move away from the use of Russian military equipment to American equipment, while ensuring that US defence and security interests remain protected," the USISPF said.

Early this month, influential US lawmakers had indicated that they were working to get a waiver for India.

The Indian Ambassador to the US, Navtej Singh Sarna, said India was not the target of the federal law and it should not become collateral damage of it. The administration has to find a way in which they can find a waiver for the partner on this particular thorny issue, he had then said.
It was the perfect night to be on a patio in Torontos Greektown  a warm summer evening, skies finally clear after a day of rain.

The bustling stretch of Danforth Ave. around the parkette named for Alexander the Great is the street at its most vibrant, a place where children play near the stone fountain, where locals eat takeout french fries sprinkled with feta and sip after-dinner cappuccinos.

Its the heart of the community, and its where a shooter on Sunday began a brazen attack that left two dead and 13 others injured. The attacker also died following an exchange of gunfire with police.

The deceased victims are 18-year-old Reese Fallon, from the Beach neighbourhood, and a 10-year-old girl who has not been identified.

The Special Investigations Unit identified the gunman as 29-year-old Faisal Hussain of Toronto. His family said in a statement Monday that he suffered from severe mental health challenges, including depression and psychosis.

Read more:

Suspected Danforth shooters family cites psychosis, severe mental health challenges, after SIU identifies him as Faisal Hussain, 29, of Toronto

What we know and what we dont know about the mass shooting on Torontos Danforth Sunday

You can see it on peoples faces: Danforth shooting leaves Toronto reeling from another collective trauma

The crack of gunshots sounded just before 10 p.m. on Sunday, startling Andrew Mantzios, who had been having coffee with friends in the parkette at Danforth and Logan Aves. Mantzios was standing by the fountain, preparing to leave.

The shooter was tall, skinny, dressed in black. Witnesses said he carried a bag and wore a black ball cap. He had this horrible look on his face like a dog baring his teeth, Mantzios said.

Someone yelled for everyone to get down. Everybody was falling down and somebody pushed me, Mantzios said. I saw people being hit by bullets and falling.

The shooter kept firing.

A lady tried to run away and tripped and fell by the tree next to the fountain, Mantzios said. The gunman turned, took two steps and shot her point-blank.

Ali Demircan also saw the woman by the tree. He was sitting with three friends on a small stone bench in the parkette when the shots rang out. A woman bleeding from her arm approached him looking for help, but the shooter began firing another round and everyone fled, he said.

People stop by the growing memorial at Alexander the Great Parkette in Toronto on Tuesday to remember the victims of the Danforth shooting. The shooter fired multiple rounds at the parkette Sunday and several people were shot here, according to witnesses. It's a popular community gathering place on the Danforth. (Richard Lautens/ Toronto Star)

When I turned back, there she was lying behind a small tree on Logan Ave. People were trying to help her and do CPR, Demircan said. Another victim was down on the patio of the coffee shop that borders the parkette, witnesses said.

Lenny Graf had been having dinner at a restaurant nearby with his wife, their 9-year-old son and their sons friend when the kids asked to go play at the fountain. The gunfire began soon after they arrived.

I thought it was firecrackers, except that people started to run away, and crouch down and scream, Graf said.

He looked up and saw his son huddled near the fountain, about three metres from the shooter. He frantically searched for his sons friend, but could not see her. I thought, OK, what do I do? I crouch down, I get shot? I run, I get shot?

The attacker appeared to be shooting at random, like someone in a video game, Graf said. He was very relaxed. It was pretty disturbing.

Graf took his son and fled to an alley that runs behind the businesses on the Danforth, seeking refuge through the back door of the Friendly Greek restaurant, where he was reunited with his wife and sons friend.

At Logo, a bar across the street from the parkette, patrons on the patio turned to see what the noise was. Someone yelled: Theyre shooting at us  run inside.

Mantzios said the shooter crossed the street, fired a few shots, then crossed back to the north side, reloaded, and continued walking west. In the aftermath, there were five or six people on the ground, he said.

A video posted on social media shows a man walking briskly along Danforth, carrying a gun. He stops, turns and fires into a storefront.

The shooter passed the TD Bank and a fruit stand, which were closed for the night, then fired near Mezes restaurant, where patrons ran for cover. A Mezes waiter was shot in the hand and taken to hospital, a restaurant employee told the Star.

Moving further west, the shooter passed a shoe store, a gelato shop, a convenience store. Then he approached Caffe Demetre, a popular dessert shop near Chester Ave. that is open late. He stood at the window and fired through the glass at the people inside, witnesses said.

A woman named Diana who said she works at Demetre told CP24 she was serving a family that included the child who was shot. (The Star was not able to independently verify the location where the child was shot.) Diana said she saw a gunman aim at the restaurant and fire about three shots through the patio doors.

At exactly 10 p.m., a surveillance camera at Burger Stomper captured the shooter walking past the restaurant, which had closed for the night, owner Nick Balkos said.

Balkos was in his office above the burger shop when he heard gunshots. He looked out the window and saw a man with a gun running across the street to the south side of Danforth, his weapon aimed at the Second Cup. He fired six to 10 shots into the store, Balkos said. Unbelievable.

Jessica Young, a Second Cup employee who was not working at the time but was visiting a friend at the coffee shop, said the commotion outside did not immediately cause alarm. I heard a loud pop sound. I thought someone had maybe dropped something, but then I saw three of the customers that were sitting outside start running, she said.

Then she saw the shooter through the window. She said he pointed his gun in her direction and fired through the glass. She ducked and escaped unharmed.

The shooter continued west, now on the south side of Danforth. He passed a tailor, a dry cleaner, a florist.

Simryn Fenby said her uncle encountered the man in black near 7Numbers, an Italian restaurant at Danforth Ave. and Bowden St.

This guy was walking towards him and told him, Im not going to shoot you and then told him to get out of his way, Fenby said. And then fired at two people coming out of 7Numbers.

Other neighbourhood residents said the shooter entered the Italian restaurant through a side door and shot two people.

Fenbys uncle, who did not want to be named, ducked behind a car and heard four or five shots fired, she said. The shooter then fled the area.

Half a block south of 7Numbers on Bowden, a quiet tree-lined residential street, a shootout erupted between the attacker and police. The shooter fled and was found dead of a gunshot wound on Danforth Ave.

Danforth was closed between Broadview and Carlaw Aves. until after 5 p.m. Monday as investigators pieced together what happened and collected evidence. When the police tape came down, life resumed, but not without signs of the carnage that had taken place. The shattered windows at Caffe Demetre were boarded up. Cracks spidered from bullet holes in the windows at Second Cup. Workers in white hazmat suits sprayed chemicals on the ground and scrubbed at the blood stains on the pavement in front of the statue of Alexander the Great.

And at an evening vigil at Calvary Church on Pape Ave., people came out to show they are not afraid.

The gunmans deadly walk along the Danforth

1 Alexander the Great Parkette

The shooter fired multiple rounds in this small parkette that is a popular community gathering place. Several people were shot here, according to witnesses. I thought it was firecrackers, except that people started to run away, and crouch down and scream, said witness Lenny Graf.

2 Mezes

As patrons on the patio ran for cover, a waiter was shot in the hand and taken to hospital by a co-worker, according to an employee.

3 Caffe Demetres Danforth

The shooter fired into Demetres Danforth, a popular dessert place, witnesses said.

4 Burger Stomper

A surveillance camera at Burger Stomper caught the shooter walking past the restaurant at exactly 10 p.m. The shooter then crossed to the south side of the Danforth.

5 Second Cup

The shooter fired into Second Cup, witnesses said, and then continued west on the south side of the Danforth.

6 7Numbers

The shooter fired into this popular Italian restaurant and then proceeded down Bowden St.

7 Bowden St.

Police confirmed that a shootout occurred on Bowden St.

8 Danforth Ave.

The shooter was found dead on Danforth Ave.
Police have arrested the last two outstanding suspects in a group of four men that they believe are responsible for the death of a 27-year-old Brampton man earlier this month.

On July 16, in the late afternoon, emergency services rushed to a residence on Donwoods Crt. in the area of Airport Rd. and Countryside Dr. for the report of a shooting. A man was found suffering from obvious signs of trauma, and he was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later.

He was identified by Peel police as Palwinder Singh, of Brampton. He was the regions 16th homicide.

A GoFundMe set up in his name has raised almost $13,000 in five days. The description for the campaign called him a gem of a person, and said the money was to help send his body back to his parents in India.

The day after Singh was killed, two men surrendered to police  Sean Ponto, 18, and Andrew Edward, 19, both from Mississauga  and are now facing first-degree murder charges.

At the time of their arrest, two more suspects remained at large.

Police put out a Canada-wide warrant for the arrest of 18-year-old Nebill Albayaty last Friday.

On Monday, investigators located Albayaty in a Hamilton hotel and arrested him. The fourth suspect, in Albayatys company at the time, was also arrested.

Hamas Khan, 18, and Albayaty have both been charged with first-degree murder. They were expected to make a court appearance the same day of their arrest.

Police say they believe theyve located all the suspects responsible for Singhs murder, but urge anyone who may have information to come forward and speak to them.
A hastily drawn plan to combat recent gun violence was approved after a daylong debate at city hall on Tuesday, in the wake of Sundays deadly shooting on the Danforth.

Councillors approved the $44-million, five-year plan with few major amendments. It included the controversial listening technology called ShotSpotter.

The plan was developed by city staff before Sundays violence, and came as Mayor John Tory and police Chief Mark Saunders reacted to a modest increase in the number of shootings this year. (There have been 228 shootings so far in 2018, including Sundays violence, compared to 205 at the same point in 2017 and 208 in 2016.) The plans entire budget relies on federal and provincial funding that has not yet been approved.

If funding is provided, more than $8 million will be spent in 2018: just over $1 million on community initiatives, including $500,000 in one-time funds for established programs working with at-risk youth in priority neighbourhoods and curbing gang violence, and $7.4 million for stepped-up enforcement and surveillance, including 40 new CCTV cameras.

Tory and a majority of councillors supported a motion from Councillor Joe Cressy asking the federal government to ban the sale of handguns in Toronto and asking the provincial government to ban the sale of handgun ammunition.

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The mayor urged councillors to support the package as a whole, saying Saunders had requested the ShotSpotter technology, which is said to be able to detect the sound of gunshots and report it in real time to police.

Chief Saunders is my police expert, Tory said on the council floor. This is what I want to give the chief because this is what he says he needs in order to do the job.

Much of the concern in the council chamber Tuesday focused on ShotSpotter. Tory proposed the implementation of that technology at an earlier Toronto Police Services Board meeting without community consultation. The technology would cost $1.26 million in 2018 and $600,000 in ongoing annual operating costs.

One of the technologies being submitted, theres very little information about, said Councillor Mike Layton ahead of the vote. There has been no public discussion about this technology. In fact, when I asked very simple questions about how this technology worked, the chief of police didnt have those answers.

A motion from Councillor Josh Matlow to eliminate the funding for CCTV cameras and ShotSpotter lost by a vote of 12 to 33. But his request that the equivalent amount of funding, $2.6 million, be added to the plan to implement initiatives in the citys youth equity strategy approved by council in 2014 was approved unanimously.

Council also approved a motion from Councillor Justin Di Ciano that the ShotSpotter technology be monitored by city staff and the community consulted, with a report back to council on its effectiveness in the first quarter of 2019.

I just feel strongly that if theres something we can do to quell the gun violence in the city, it needs to be done, Di Ciano said. I dont feel theres any need to delay the implementation of this technology when the problem is now.

A group of community activists, scholars and artists published a letter in Now magazine Tuesday condemning the approach of responding to recent violence with policing and not addressing the root causes of violence.

What the city needs now is to understand that violence is a public health issue, social issue and economic issue, the letter said. Our communities need mental health supports, social and economic programs that create healthy communities and ease economic hardship.

Money for ShotSpotter, the letter said, would be better spent on programs that are part of a human-centred, violence prevention approach, rather than being added to the more than $1 billion the city already spends on policing.

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Ontarios Special Investigations Unit is investigating after a 43-year-old Bolton man died after he was arrested.

Officers from the OPPs Caledon detachment arrested the man in a business parking lot near Landsbridge St. and Allan Dr. in Bolton after several calls had been made about him, according to the SIU.

The calls came in around 1:15 p.m. Monday.

SIU said the officers called emergency services after they had arrested the man due to concerns about his health. He was taken to a hospital, where he was found to have no vital signs and was pronounced dead at 4:29 p.m.

Three investigators and two forensic investigators have been assigned to the case, SIU said.

The agency is encouraging anyone with information to step forward and contact the investigators.

The SIU is a unit which investigates any incident involving police that result in death, serious injury or any allegations of sexual assault.

Premila DSa is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Stars radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @premila_dsa

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SANTIAGO, CHILEChile has investigated 158 members of the countrys Roman Catholic Church for committing or covering up sexual abuse against minors and adults, the national prosecutors office said Monday.

The investigations include reports of abuse by bishops, clerics and lay workers filed since 2000. Some of the cases date as far back as 1960.

In all, the number of victims is 266. That includes 178 children and teenagers, and 31 adults. The age of victims was not established in 57 other cases.

The nationwide figures follow an avalanche of sex abuse and coverup cases that have recently embattled Chiles Catholic Church and prompted Pope Francis earlier this year to publicly denounce a culture of abuse and coverup.

The pope also said he was ashamed that neither he nor Chilean church leaders truly ever listened to victims as the countrys abuse scandal spiralled.

The temptation would be to focus on those investigated within the Church, but today we must first focus on the number of victims, which is what worries us, the Chilean churchs Episcopal Conference said in a statement after the report was released.

In the past, prosecutors in Chile have had to drop charges against members of the clergy accused of sex abuse because the statute of limitations had expired.

But the national prosecutors office said it wants to rigorously investigate all sex abuse case cases committed by priests or people related to the Church against children and adults, regardless of whether the crimes have prescribed or not, because the victims have a right to be heard by the justice system.

The report said that out of the 158 people investigated in 144 separate investigations, 65 are bishops, priests or deacons who belong to a congregation; 74 do not belong to any congregation; 10 are lay persons in charge of pastoral parishes or linked to schools; and nine were undetermined.

Authorities said 36 of the 144 cases are currently being investigated, and 22 have been sent to another judicial office because the alleged crimes were committed before a judicial reform in 2000. Another 22 cases have resulted in convictions, while 64 cases have been either closed or temporarily suspended for various reasons.

Prosecutors said the vast majority of the sexual abuse crimes were committed by parish priests connected to an educational establishment. There are at least five cases where the heads of congregations or bishops in charge of a diocese are accused of coverup or obstruction of an investigation.

The prosecutors announcement is the latest sign that the impunity of the Catholic Church is ending in Chile. Increasingly, Chilean bishops and clergy are being treated simply as fellow citizens, subject to secular laws, said Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org, a U.S.-based group that compiles a database of clergy abuse.

Todays report will encourage more Chilean victims to file complaints. Each complaint filed will lead to a safer church.

For decades, victims and their advocates have pointed to the hierarchys culture of coverup as the Vaticans main failure in dealing with the problem.

But Francis apparently came around to their view after meeting earlier this year with Chilean victims of the Rev. Fernando Karadima, the countrys most notorious predator priest, and reading a 2,300-page report prepared for him by Vatican investigators, who also interviewed victims of Karadima and others in Chile.
ATHENS, GREECEGale-fanned wildfires raged through holiday resorts near Greeces capital, killing at least 20 people by early Tuesday and injuring more than 104, including 11 in serious condition, in the deadliest blaze to hit the country in more than a decade.

Greece sought international help through the European Union as the fires on either side of Athens left lines of cars torched, charred farms and forests, and sent hundreds of people racing to beaches to be evacuated by navy vessels, yachts and fishing boats.

Winds reached 80 km/h as authorities deployed the countrys entire fleet of water-dropping planes and helicopters to give vacationers time to escape. Military drones remained in the air in the high winds to help officials direct more than 600 firefighters below.

We were unlucky. The wind changed and it came at us with such force that it razed the coastal area in minutes, said Evangelos Bournous, mayor of the port town of Rafina, a sleepy mainland port that serves Greek holiday islands.

The dock area became a makeshift hospital as paramedics checked survivors when they came off coast guard vessels and private boats. The operation continued through the night.

The fire posed no immediate threat to Greeces famed ancient monuments, but as it raged inland childrens summer camps and holiday homes were hastily abandoned. Fleeing drivers clogged highways into Athens, hampering the firefighting effort.

It was the deadliest fire season to hit Greece in more than a decade. More than 60 people were killed in 2007 when huge fires swept across the southern Peloponnese region.

Its a difficult night for Greece, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said after flying back to Athens from a trip to Bosnia that was cut short.

Authorities said Cyprus and Spain offered assistance after the request for EU help was made.

Greek Fire Service officials issued public pleas for residents in fire-affected areas to comply with evacuation orders and not stay on in an effort trying to save their homes.

Rafinas mayor said he believed about 100 houses in that area had burned. The fire service was not able to confirm the figure.

Showers that passed over the Greek capital Monday missed the two big fires  one at Rafina, 30 kilometres to the east, and the other at Kineta, 55 kilometres to the west. Heavy rain is forecast across southern Greece on Wednesday.

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NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF.Victims of a mass shooting at a Las Vegas country music festival said Monday they were outraged when they learned they were being sued by the company that owns the hotel where the gunman opened fire.

Jason McMillan, a 36-year-old Riverside County sheriffs deputy who was shot and paralyzed, said he cant believe MGM officials would try to foist blame onto anyone but themselves.

I just cant believe the audacity, McMillan said at a press conference in Southern California where survivors, victims relatives and attorneys railed against the decision to file lawsuits against hundreds of victims.

Im not just a victim from the concert. Im a survivor, and theyre not going to get away with anything. Well keep this going as long as it takes, McMillan said.

MGM Resorts International sued victims in at least seven states last week in a bid to get federal courts to declare the company has no liability for the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

In October, high-stakes gambler Stephen Paddock killed 58 people and injured hundreds at the festival by firing onto the crowd from his room at the Mandalay Bay casino-resort in Las Vegas. Paddock then killed himself.

MGMs lawsuits  which target victims who have threatened to sue or who have sued the company and voluntarily dismissed their claims  argue that that the shooting qualifies as an act of terrorism and that federally certified security services were used at the concert venue, which is also owned by MGM.

After 9-11, the U.S. enacted a law giving companies a way to limit their liability if their federally certified products or services failed to prevent a terror attack.

The companys decision to file the lawsuits stoked a public outcry. On Monday, MGM Resorts spokesperson Debra DeShong said the company has faced dozens of lawsuits in multiple jurisdictions and resolving each case on its own would take years.

We believe Congress determined these cases should be in federal court and that getting everyone in the same court is the best and fastest way to resolve these cases, she said.

McMillan said he felt helpless at the concert when he fell to the ground and couldnt feel his legs. His girlfriend helped drag his body over a fence and others helped load him onto the back of a pickup truck where he lay staring at the night sky, struggling to breathe, while the driver plowed over curbs and through bushes to rush him and other victims to the hospital.

When he woke, doctors told him he had a bullet in his spine. He was afraid his 4- and 7-year-old daughters would look at him differently in a wheelchair. He was afraid of what they might miss out on, he said, because of him.

It was insulting to learn he was being sued by MGM at the same time he was struggling to rebuild his life, McMillan said. And it brought him right back to feeling helpless again.

It enrages me to think that this company can just try to skip out on their responsibilities and their liability for what happened, he said.
ISTANBULTurkeys president has slammed Israel for a controversial law passed last week in parliament defining Israel as a nation-state of the Jewish people.

Addressing lawmakers in Ankara on Tuesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Israel the worlds most Zionist, fascist, racist state.

He said the soul of Hitler has risen again within some of Israels officials, and that theres no difference between Hitlers obsession with a pure race and the understanding that these ancient lands are just for the Jews.

Erdogan warned the move would lead the region and the world to blood, fire and pain and promised to stand with Palestinians. He also called on the international community to stand against Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted in response that Turkey has become a dark dictatorship under Erdogan.

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NEW YORKAn heiress to the Seagrams liquor fortune was arrested Tuesday in connection with her work with an upstate New York self-improvement organization accused of branding some of its female followers and forcing them into unwanted sex.

Clare Bronfman, a daughter of the late Canadian-born billionaire philanthropist and former Seagram chairman Edgar Bronfman Sr., and three other people associated with the NXIVM organization were taken into custody and charged with racketeering conspiracy, the U.S. attorneys office in Brooklyn announced. She was scheduled to be arraigned later Tuesday in Brooklyn.

A former competitor in international equestrian show jumping competitions, Bronfman is accused in an indictment of taking a number of steps to help NXIVMs founder and leader, Keith Raniere, exercise control over members of the group, including identity theft, intercepting electronic communications and money laundering.

Raniere was arrested in Mexico this year and brought to the U.S. to face charges that he, along with an adherent, the TV actress Allison Mack, coerced followers into becoming slaves to senior members.

Bronfmans attorney, Susan Necheles, said in a statement that her client did nothing wrong.

NXIVM was not a criminal enterprise but instead was an organization that helped thousands of people. The charges against Clare are the result of government overreaching and charging an individual with crimes just because the government disagrees with some beliefs taught by NXIVM and held by Clare. This is not how things should be done in America. We are confident that Clare will be exonerated, she said.

Read more:

Master, please brand me: Inside the secretive self-help organization Nxivm

Charges filed against leader of secretive group where women were branded

Smallville actor Allison Mack charged with sex trafficking in guru to stars case

Also arrested Tuesday were Nancy Salzman, who was the organizations longtime president, her daughter, Lauren Salzman, and a former bookkeeper for the group, Kathy Russell.

Despite criticism for years by ex-followers who called NXIVM a cult and a pyramid scheme, the organizations intense self-improvement classes had, at one point, earned it thousands of adherents, including some with Hollywood ties. They included Nicki Clyne, an actress who appeared on Battlestar Galactica, Bronfmans sister Sara, a son of former Mexican president Carlos Salinas de Gortari and India Oxenberg, a daughter of Dynasty actress Catherine Oxenberg.

In an indictment, prosecutors say Mack, who played a teenage friend of Superman in the CW networks Smallville, helped Raniere recruit women to a secret sub-society within NXIVM whose members were branded by way of a surgical tool with a symbol that resembled his initials. Women were also expected to be subservient to masters, prosecutors said, including giving in to demands for sex.

The arrest of Bronfman, who has long been affiliated with NXIVM, wasnt a surprise. At a court hearing in June, a judge rejected an attempt to get Raniere released on $10 million bail paid for by Bronfman after prosecutors labelled her a co-conspirator.

In earlier court filings, the government detailed how Bronfman gave away tens of millions of dollars of her fortune to support Raniere and his group, including paying for private air travel at a cost of $65,000 a flight. It also said Bronfman has paid for numerous lawyers to bring suits against Nxivm critics.

In a website post last year, Bronfman called the secret society a sorority that has truly benefited the lives of its members, and does so freely. She added, I find no fault in a group of women (or men for that matter) freely taking a vow of loyalty and friendship with one another to feel safe while pushing back against the fears that have stifled their personal and professional growth.

Raniere and Mack have also denied the allegations. In their court papers, the defence lawyers have said the alleged victims of the group were never abused, and were in fact independent, smart, curious adults searching for happiness, fulfilment and meaning.
OAKLAND, CALIF.The hunt for a man police say killed an 18-year-old woman in an unprovoked knife attack in the San Francisco Bay Area ended where it began: In a train station.

John Cowell, 27, a recently paroled robber with a violent history, was peacefully arrested on an Antioch-bound train Monday night about 19 kilometres from the Oakland station where investigators believe he killed Nia Wilson and wounded her sister Sunday night.

This is the first step to achieving justice for Nia and her family, Bay Area Rapid Transit Police Chief Carlos Rojas told reporters.

A phone call from a train rider led police to stop and search a Richmond-bound train at the MacArthur Station in Oakland but Cowell wasnt aboard, Rojas said.

About 10 minutes later after we got the call, another patron told us the subject got on an Antioch-bound train, Rojas said.

That train was stopped at the Pleasant Hill station in Walnut Park, northeast of Oakland. Cowell was on board and was arrested without incident. It wasnt immediately known if Cowell had a lawyer.

Asked how a wanted man could have gotten back into the BART system, Rojas said he didnt immediately know but said the public transportation system is porous and large.

Rojas said police officers were on duty at the MacArthur station where the attack took place but wasnt sure it could have been prevented because of the suddenness of the unprovoked and possibly random attack.

In a prison-style attack, Cowell stabbed Nia Wilson twice in the neck and then attacked her sister before fleeing and apparently removing his pants and sweatshirt to evade capture, Rojas said. The knife believed to have been used in the attack was found at a nearby construction site.

Letifah Wilson, 26, said that she, Nia and a third sister had been returning from a family outing when they were blindsided by a maniac.

He didnt know us, we didnt know him, Wilson said.

I looked back and he was wiping off his knife and stood at the stairs and just looked. From then on, I was caring for my sister, she told ABC7 News on Monday, speaking outside a family members home with a bandage on her neck.

The womens father, Ansar Muhammad, said one of his daughters called him, crying hysterically, and told him to get to the MacArthur station.

Its nothing imaginable, seeing your child on the BART platform with a yellow tarp over her body, Muhammad said Monday evening. That is an image Ill never forget for the rest of my life. So I want justice. All I want is justice.

Surveillance video on the train and at the stations platform showed Cowell had been riding the same car as the sisters Sunday, but they did not interact, Rojas said.

A motive for the attack remained unclear. Rojas said Cowell hasnt been connected to any radical or white supremacist groups, although he added: We are going to explore all options and all possibilities.

The victims were black and Cowell is white.

Monday night, Oakland City Councilmember Lynette McElhaney said she had spoken to the district attorney and was told that Cowell will be arraigned Wednesday and the office hasnt ruled out charging him with a hate crime.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf issued a statement acknowledging that there currently was no evidence that the attack was racially motivated but the fact that his victims were both young African American women stirs deep pain and palpable fear in all of us who acknowledge the reality that our country still suffers from a tragic and deeply racist history.

A Monday night vigil held at the MacArthur BART station later swelled into a crowd of about a thousand that marched downtown, police said.

Marchers demonstrated about perceived abuses and neglect of the citys large African-American community.

Police said some people in the crowd became disruptive when two men were detained because of a dispute, and some firecrackers were thrown but police broke it up and the two men were later released.

Cowell has a reported history of drug use, homelessness and violence.

He was released from state prison on May 6 after completing a two-year sentence for second-degree robbery, said Vicky Waters, spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Cowell pulled a knife and a replica gun on a supermarket clerk who confronted him over stealing, court records show.

In 2016, a hospital in Richmond obtained a restraining order against Cowell, who was homeless, for allegedly showing up repeatedly in the emergency department and harassing and threatening staff members, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Cowell also had convictions for battery, being under the influence of a controlled substance and assault with a deadly weapon, the East Bay Times reported.

A neighbour Carol Kincaid of Concord, told the Times that she had known Cowell since he was a baby and said he was always in trouble.

His behaviour worried neighbours, especially since he recently returned to his aunts house across the street, Kincaid said.

Hes no good at all, Kincaid said.

Nia Wilsons death was the third involving an attack in the BART system in five days, making it one of the deadliest weeks in the systems history.

On Sunday, a homeless man died after he was punched by an attacker Saturday at a station in San Leandro, fell down and struck his head on pavement.

Another man who was attacked last week died Friday after a small cut he suffered became infected, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. An arrest was made in that case and authorities said neither case was connected to the stabbings.
After the one-on-one talks with President Kagame, PM Modi announced that India will soon open its mission in Rwanda.

'It is a matter of honour for us that India has stood with Rwanda in their economic development journey,' PM Modi said, adding that India will continue to back Rwanda's development. (Photo: @narendramodi | Twitter)

Kigali/ New Delhi: India extended USD 200 million lines of credit to Rwanda as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held wide-ranging talks with President Paul Kagame and discussed measures to boost the bilateral strategic ties by strengthening cooperation in defence, trade and agriculture sectors.

After the one-on-one talks with President Kagame, PM Modi, the first Indian prime minister to visit the East African country, announced that India will soon open its mission in Rwanda.

"We are going to open a High Commission in Rwanda. This will not only establish communication between our respective governments but also enable facilities for consular, passport, visa," PM Modi said at a joint press statement.

He noted that India and Rwanda relationships have stood the test of time.

"It is a matter of honour for us that India has stood with Rwanda in their economic development journey," PM Modi said, adding that India will continue to back Rwanda's development.

Besides one-to-one meeting, the two leaders also participated in delegation level talks to strengthen partnership in trade and investment, capacity building, development partnership and people to people ties.

The two countries signed agreements on cooperation in the field of defence, trade, agriculture and animal resources.

They agreed on cooperation in defence capacity building, industry, science and technology.

India extended two lines of credit -- one of USD 100 million for development of industrial parks and Kigali special economic zone (SEZ) in Rwanda and another one for USD 100 million for agriculture.

The two sides signed MoUs on collaboration in the areas of leather and allied sectors, dairy cooperation, agricultural research and education collaborations between Rwanda Agricultural Board (RAB) and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

The two countries agreed to facilitate, diversify and promote trade and economic cooperation.

President Kagame in his remarks said that Prime Minister Modi's visit represents a milestone between the long standing friendship and cooperation between Rwanda and India.

PM Modi arrived in Rwanda on Monday night on the first leg of his three-nation Africa tour as part of India's outreach to the resource-rich continent, soon after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Kigali.

The prime minister's aircraft landed at the Kigali International Airport where he was received by President Kagame. He was accorded a red carpet welcome at the airport.

"A historic visit starts with a special gesture. President @PaulKagame personally welcomed PM @narendramodi to Rwanda," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted.

His two-day state visit to Rwanda -- one of Africa's fastest growing economies -- assumes significance as it could boost India's strategic ties with this country.

"A special gesture by a close friend and a strategic partner! Prime Minister @narenderamodi personally received by Rwandan President @PaulKagame at #Kigali International Airport on the first leg of his three-nation tour. First-ever visit by an Indian PM to Rwanda," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had tweeted.

A special gesture by a close friend and a strategic partner! Prime Minister @narenderamodi personally received by Rwandan President @PaulKagame at #Kigali International Airport on the first leg of his three-nation tour. First-ever visit by an Indian PM to Rwanda. pic.twitter.com/sxskyIqx7T  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) July 23, 2018

PM Modi will also meet the business leaders and the Indian communities.

Today, Prime Minister Modi will visit the Genocide Memorial and participate in an event on "Girinka" (one cow per family), a national social protection scheme of Rwanda initiated by Kagame.
Still lacking conversation about taxes, July 21

Canadas tax rates are among the lowest in the G20.

Canadians take pride in our social programs, yet complain about hospital wait times, failing infrastructure, rising university tuitions, and so on. But in every election, voters fall for slogans and rhetoric promising lower taxation.

No politician can get elected if they mention a tax increase. Buck-a-beer and cheaper gas win over voters every time. Its the old cut off your nose to spite your face tactic.

Taxes are not inherently bad. Indeed, they are vital to the functioning of an enlightened and caring society.
A breach of privilege notice is given by an MP against a House member accused of withholding or distorting facts.

New Delhi: Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman of misleading Lok Sabha on the Rafale fighter aircraft deal, the Congress on Tuesday submitted breach of privilege notices against the two.

In the letter sent to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that Mr Modi misled the House by claiming that the Rafale deal was transparent and the defence minister had withheld facts during the non-confidence motion debate on July 20.

Mr Kharge claimed that not disclosing price details of the Rafale deal was never in the confidentiality agreement signed in 2008 between India and France.

The Prime Minister had asserted that the demand for revealing the purchase price of Rafale jet fighter was against the interest of the nation He had further claimed the acquisition of Rafale jets is fully transparent whereas the defence minister refused to reveal the price citing a confidentiality agreement between the two countries, India and France in 2008, he said.

Ms Sitharaman had knowingly and intentionally misled Parliament by withholding information that the government is obliged to reveal to Parliament, he added.

The Prime Minister has, along with the defence minister, deliberately misled the House, it is, therefore, requested that this notice of breach of privilege be accepted and referred to the privilege committee for further proceedings, the notice against the Prime Minister said.

Besides Mr Kharge, Congress leaders M. Veerappa Moily, K.V. Thomas, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Rajiv Satav also moved identical privilege notices against Mr Modi and Ms Sitharaman.

The Congress claims that the price of 36 Rafale jets, as per an international bid in 2012 during the UPA government, came to Rs 18,940 crore. However, the Modi government purchased the same number of aircraft for Rs 60,145 crore, paying an extra amount of Rs 41,000 crore from public money.

The Congress also accuses the Prime Minister of favouring one industrialist in the Rafale deal.

The Congress MPs privilege notices appear to be a retaliatory action against the ruling BJP whose four MPs  Nishikant Dubey, Anurag Thakur, Dushyant Singh and Prahlad Joshi  submitted privilege notices on Monday against Congress president Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of misleading Parliament by making false allegations against Mr Modi and Ms Sitharaman during the July 20 debate.

On Tuesday, Mr Gandhi took a fresh pot shot at the Rafale deal and tweeted, Since 2014, India has had four revolving Raksha Mantris. Now we know why. It gave the PM space to personally re-negotiate Rafale with the French India has had 4 Rafale Mantris. But none of them knows what really transpired in France. Except the PM.

Quoting the Indo-French inter-governmental agreement (IGA) on purchase of Rafale jets, the Congress notice said, protection of the classified information and materials exchanged under the IGA shall be governed by the provision of Security Agreement signed on January 25, 2008.

The 2008 confidentiality agreement is restricted only to classified information that is related to security and weapon specifications and does not refer to the price for purchase or acquisition, the notice said.

The IGA is not specific to Rafale jet deal and does not prohibit the disclosure of purchase price to Parliament, it added.

Meanwhile, Union minister Arun Jaitley accused the Congress of manufacturing fake Rafale controversy and redefining secularism to win the minority votes.

In a social media post, Mr Jaitley said, Its (Congress) strategy is one of distortion. If you have no issue, manufacture one. Hence, the Rafales fake controversy. Mr Jaitley said the Rafale issue has failed to cut ice as the fighter jet deal was a government-to-government agreement with no involvement of a private player.

France has also said that the security agreement it concluded with India in 2008 legally binds the two countries to protect the classified information relating to operational capabilities of defence equipment, he added.
John Badman | The Telegraph

WEST ALTON, Missouri  St. Charles County Police were investigating Tuesday after the department said burned human remains were found in West Alton.

A call for service was dispatched to the area of Maple Island Access around 7 a.m. Tuesday, according to a release from the St. Charles County Police Department.
A Jacksonville church has built a replica of a shipwrecked boat on its front lawn in hopes of encouraging more children to join its Vacation Bible School program this week.

Faith Tabernacle Church on Sandusky Street built the boat to go with its VBS theme, Shipwrecked: Rescued by Jesus.

The ship started as a simple way of encouraging people to join the churchs program, pastor Roger Davis said.

The ship, which is split in half, includes several sails and replicates a shipwreck on an island, which will be part of the week-long VBS theme.

Its pretty cool, Davis said. Its probably the biggest advertisement weve had. We think the kids will love it.

Church members began building the boat last week.

Roger Lauder came up with the ships design.

It was just in my head and it evolved from there, Lauder said. I dont think they thought it would be this big. We even had to trim the tree limbs to fit the sails.

Its made of plywood, PVC pipe and other materials, he said.

We built on it for several days before people could tell what it was, he said.

The program began Monday night, but Davis said children can come any night. The program will be from 6 to 8:30 p.m. each night through Friday.

Each nights activities will allow children to take part in games, music, science projects and Bible readings. There also will be a skit each night, Davis said, adding that children also will be able to walk through the shipwreck.

Our message throughout the week is that Jesus will rescue you, Davis said. When you are shipwrecked on an island, you have to be rescued. Each time they see it, I think itll drive that home.

Once the week is over, the existing boat will be deconstructed, though the plan is to build a similar one in the churchs backyard as a play area for the children.

We just want as many children as possible to come to the program, Davis said. We hope this will help attract them to our Vacation Bible School.

Faith Tabernacle Church is at 571 Sandusky St.

Samantha McDaniel-Ogletree can be reached at 217-245-6121, ext. 1233, or on Twitter @JCNews_samantha.
ALTON  Alton firefighters retrieved a young boy Monday evening, submerged and unconscious in pitch black water at the Alton Marina public boat launch just under the Clark Bridge.

Alton Fire Chief Bernie Sebold said rescuers were dispatched to the Alton Marina at 4:48 p.m. Police radio traffic first indicated that a 9-year-old boy was in the water and couldnt swim.

Sebold said he responded with five firefighters, all who immediately entered the water, joining an Alton police officer who was the first to arrive.

A methodical search of the water was conducted with the aid of other rescuers.

After several tense minutes, the boy was located submerged in murky water that was approximately 10 feet deep, about 9 feet away from the end of a dock.

The boy, unconscious, was sprinted up the ramp and loaded into an Alton Fire Department ambulance and transferred to OSF Saint Anthonys Hospital emergency department. It was unclear how long the child had been underwater.

Any official information on the childs condition remained unavailable Monday night, but a woman posting on The Telegraphs Facebook page said she was the boys sister and that he didnt survive the incident.

Several children and adults were on the scene of the rescue, but it wasnt clear if the boy was there with friends or family. Official reports were not immediately available.

Sebold said such rescues are extremely difficult, as firefighters arent equipped with diving equipment. He described the visibility situation of Mondays incident as pitch black.

Youre searching blindly underwater, and you just have to stay down as long as you can, he said.

An air medical helicopter arrived in Alton to transfer the child to a St. Louis hospital shortly before 6 p.m.
President Donald Trump plans to visit Granite City on Thursday, visiting a U.S. Steel Corp. mill that began recalling workers in March.

The White House said Trump plans to discuss trade during his visit to the steel mill, where about 800 employees have been called back to work for the U.S. Steel Corp since the president announced he would be placing tariffs on foreign steel in March.

U.S. Steel has a long history of welcoming elected officials, including presidents, to our facilities, U.S. Steel spokeswoman Meghan Cox said. We look forward to continuing that tradition by welcoming President Trump to our Granite City Works facility this week. 

The tariffs were aimed mainly at China, which had been accused of dumping steel into the U.S. market at lower costs.

U.S. Steel Corp said in March that the change was due to an anticipated demand for steel in the United States because of Trumps announcement that the federal government would impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports.

Trump mentioned U.S. Steel at the White Houses Roosevelt Room during a ceremony surrounding the tariffs, according to St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The newspaper reported that Trump said the reopening of the Granite City plant is a big one and thought it was the start of many closed plants reopening across the country.

Trump going to Granite City helps promote his agenda and allows him to show the positive effects of the tariffs especially in the industrial Midwest, according to John Shaw, the director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.

I think the president is looking for places to go and people to hang out with who support his broad agenda, and is looking for any sort of sign that policies he has advanced is helping boost growth and creating jobs, Shaw said.

U.S. Steel idled Granite City Steel in late 2015, leading to the layoff of 2,000 workers. About 200 of those jobs came back last year, when U.S. Steel had planned outages to carry out upgrades at other plants around the country.

Given the struggles the manufacturing sector has gone through, a message of being tough with your trading partners, tends to resonate at kind of a gut level and is seen as having an appeal, Shaw said. A lot of serious thinkers believe that kind of trade policy over time is not going to work and is going to cause far more harm than is going to provide benefits. In the short term there is some political appeal to it, and when theres some evidence of some positive development you can claim to be partially responsible for, you obviously gravitate toward that.

Dan Simmons, president of the United Steelworkers Local 1889, said in a previous interview that Trumps tariffs were just icing on the cake for the mills reopening.

In March, Simmons said they have been advocating for the reopening of the plant for years. While Simmons said Trumps announcement poised them in a position to reopen, market trends indicated the mill could have reopened long before Trumps announcement.

Whether GOP congressmen from the metro-east, U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, and U.S. Rep. John Shimkus, will join Trump on Thursday has yet to be determined.

Granite City is in Bosts district, which is expected to be a toss up in November. Bost is being challenged by Democratic St. Clair County States Attorney Brendan Kelly. Green Party candidate Randy Auxier also is on the ballot.

Shaw said he expects to hear at least a shout out to Bost during the remarks.

I think it would be very unlikely he would do or say anything other than words of praise for the congressman, Shaw said. I would expect a brief acknowledgment to the congressman.

Trumps visit to Granite City will be his first visit to Illinois since becoming president.

Local progressive groups on Monday already planned protests against Trump. According to a Facebook event page, the group plans to have demonstrations at Civic Park in Granite City.

The visit could also have an impact in the governors race between Democrat J.B. Pritzker and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Rauners office said the governor does not plan to attend the presidents visit. Rauner has events in Rockford, Peoria and Chicago on Thursday.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 24)  Expect a continued power struggle between Pantaleon Alvarez and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for the House Speaker post when legislators return to session on Tuesday afternoon, a lawmaker said.

Buhay Party-list Rep. Lito Atienza said there can be a debate in the lower house if solons allied with ousted Alvarez protest the change in leadership.

"I will not discount the possibility and the probability of people questioning what happened. Weakness ng mga pulitiko iyan: Walang natatalo, lahat nagrereklamo... Kung ipipilit, magkakaroon tayo ng matinding debatehan. I hope they don't do that," he told CNN Philippines on Tuesday.

The ruckus over the change in leadership in the House on Monday delayed President Rodrigo Duterte's State of the Nation Address for more than an hour. It also delayed the expected ratification of the proposed Bangsamoro Organic Law. At the end of the long and confusing day at the House, Arroyo took her oath  for the second time  after at least 184 out of 228 members of the lower chamber voted for her to lead them.

Atienza said it is pointless to protest as the lawmakers have already voted in favor of Arroyo. But if the row happens, he said they are ready to defend Arroyo's right to the post.

"Sa palagay ko, academic nang mag-protesta pa sila. They can do their worst, we will do our best," he said.

He urged Alvarez and his allies to respect the decision of the majority.

"Let's all be good sport and let's accept our fate. Huwag na nating ipilit ang gusto natin at tanggapin natin ang kapalaran natin. Sometimes you are rejected," he said.

The lawmaker also said he is against an overhaul of the chairmanship and it is best to leave it on status quo because they are working effectively. But he said it will be up to Arroyo if she wants to keep them in their posts.

Atienza said the office of Arroyo has arranged a meeting with lawmakers at the residence of the House Speaker in La Vista subdivision in Quezon City prior to the session at the Batasang Pambansa, which the new House Speaker will attend.

Arroyo, the country's former President, said she is honored by the support. She added she will help carry out President Rodrigo Duterte's legislative agenda.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Tuesday said they forsee no problem with the change in leadership.

"We have had very good relations with Speaker Arroyo. She was one of the staunchest supporters of the President during the elections, they share the same political agenda, so we foresee absolutely no problems with working with Speaker Arroyo," he said.

"Whatever the decision of the House is, the Palace has always been amenable to accepting the choice of leadership," Roque added.
In the 30- second video, the 22-year-old victim can be seen pleading with folded hands as he is constantly being assaulted and abused.

The incident took place on July 18 and an FIR has been filed against three men. (Representational Image)

Meerut: A Dalit youth from Uttar Pradesh's Meerut was brutally assaulted by a group of upper caste men. The men also forced the 22-year-old youth to abuse B R Ambedkar and recorded the entire incident on their phones.

The video clip of the incident was later circulated on social media.

According to reports, in the 30- second video, the 22-year-old victim can be seen pleading with folded hands as he is constantly being assaulted and abused. The upper caste men also force him to abuse Dr Ambedkar.

The incident took place on July 18 and an FIR has been filed against three men, Rahul, Bholu and Beenu, reported Times Of India.

Raids are on to arrest the accused who have been absconding ever since the matter was reported to us, Rajesh Kumar, superintendent of police (rural areas) told TOI.

The police have filed a case of causing hurt, kidnapping and other sections of the Indian Penal Code and also under the SC/ST Act.
Just when Im tempted to believe that Christian evangelical has become synonymous with right-wing Republican, Jimmy Carter reminds me that isnt the case.

While many conservative Christians maintain that women should remain submissive and subservient to men, Carter stated in a 2014 interview, It would be a fruitless search to look through the scriptures and find a single instance where Jesus did not treat women equal or superior to men.

A disturbingly large number of evangelicals arent bothered by the fact that our nations wealth is now concentrated in the hands of a few families and individuals. Well, it bothers Jimmy Carter. Weve now become an oligarchy instead of a democracy, hes on record as saying. And I think thats been the worst damage to the basic moral and ethical standards of the American political system that Ive ever seen in my life.

Carter has again spoken up  and conservative Christians are infuriated. During an interview this month on HuffPost Live, the former president said that he has no problem with gay marriage and thinks everybody should have the right to get married.

While that alone would have invited spirited rebuttals from right-wing Christians, Carter went on to say that he thought Jesus would approve of gay marriage. He then added, I think Jesus would approve any love affair if it was honest and sincere and was not damaging to anyone else and I dont see that gay marriage damages anyone else.

Carters comments evoked a firestorm among right-wing Christians. Franklin Graham, who has successfully married evangelism with fervent support for Trump, took the ex-president to task. Grahams Facebook post reads in part: Jesus didnt come to promote sin, He came to save us from sin. The Bible is very clear. God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because of homosexuality.

Lets be Biblical literalists and assume that God indeed destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah as described in Genesis 19:24-25. Was it because the cities residents engaged in homosexual activity, which is the traditional explanation?

According to Christianity, Social Tolerance and Homosexuality, John Boswells 1980 work, Lot was violating the custom of Sodomby entertaining unknown guests within the city walls at night without obtaining the permission of the elders of the city. Consequently, God destroyed Sodom not for sexual immorality, but for the sin of inhospitality to strangers.

The prophet Ezekiel didnt believe that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed for their inhabitants homosexuality. Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom, he wrote in chapter 16, verse 49 of the Old Testament book that bears his name, she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food, and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy.

In other words, God destroyed these cities because their prosperous inhabitants lacked compassion for the impoverished. Americans who support Republican trickle-down economics might want to reassess their politics.

I can almost hear some readers of this column exclaiming, Well, what about other Biblical passages that are critical of homosexuality? Ill counter by citing Pauls admonition in II Corinthians 3:6 that the letter killeth but the spirit giveth life.

If you insist on interpreting those passages literally, do you also intend to adhere to Ephesians 6:5 and Colossians 3:22, which command slaves to obey their masters? Does a literal interpretation of Deuteronomy 21:18-21, which sanctions the public stoning of a stubborn and rebellious son, merit your support?

If you feel called to be a Christian, may I suggest that you base your faith on this verse: If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well (James 2:8). Your life  and the life of our nation  will be so much richer for it.

John J. Dunphy is the author of Lewis and Clarks Illinois Volunteers and Abolitionism and the Civil War in Southwestern Illinois. He owns The Second Reading Book Shop in Alton.
Alphabet Inc on Monday reported that expenses from its Google search business grew more slowly in the second quarter while revenue rose more steeply than analysts had anticipated, boosting profit above Wall Street targets and pushing shares up 3.6 percent after hours.

Googles dominance in online advertising has been challenged this year by the antitrust battle over its Android mobile software, which led to a $5 billion fine for the quarter, and other regulatory actions, including new European privacy rules.

Government pressure to improve moderation of user-created content has forced Google to hire more analysts. YouTube, a Google-owned streaming service, has increased spending on video content to keep consumers from shifting to offerings from Netflix Inc and expanding media conglomerates such as AT&T Inc.

But those issues have yet to halt Alphabet, which has grown quarterly revenue at least 20 percent year-over-year for two straight years.

There was never a question about Googles dominance of a buoyant digital ads market, said analyst Richard Kramer of Arete Research.

The quarterly growth rate of what the company pays ad partners, called traffic acquisition costs, fell for the first time in three years, which Atlantic Equities analyst James Cordwell described as the most impressive piece of the results.

Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai told analysts that investments in artificial intelligence software meant to better predict where to place ads are making its services more attractive to advertisers. The company is selling more ads as its YouTube video service and Google search grow globally, he said.

Profit margins have dipped as more ads get shown on mobile devices, where Apple Inc and other firms charge fees to distribute Google search on their devices and apps.

But Google in the second quarter entered the second year of its latest multi-year deal with Apple, which analysts said helped even out costs.

Operating margin rose to 24 percent from 22 percent last quarter, excluding the $5 billion antitrust fine issued last week by the European Commission over Googles anticompetitive licensing of Android software. The margin was down from 26 percent a year ago.

Net profit dropped to $3.2 billion from $3.5 billion, due to the fine, but analysts focused on operating results.

Adjusted earnings per share were $10.58, excluding the fine and the effects of other investments. Analysts estimated $9.52 per share, according to research aggregated by Thomson Reuters. Some analysts excluded other items as well, and Alphabet also beat that consensus of $9.59.

Alphabets $32.66 billion in second-quarter revenue, 86 percent of which came from Googles advertising business, beat an average estimate of $32.17 billion.

The rest of the revenue came from Googles non-advertising businesses, which include selling apps, gadgets and cloud computing services, and ventures such as offering internet service.

The newer businesses are sucking up investments as Google adds data centers and employees to support them. But Alphabet Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat told analysts on Monday that the advertising unit is also getting new capital.

Alphabet, Facebook Inc and other leading application makers have become big forces in advertising as consumers globally, and in turn, advertisers devote increasing attention to smartphone and TV apps instead of newspapers and traditional TV broadcasts.

Pichai said the company had opportunity to show ads on Google Home smart speakers and Google Maps and was slowly determining the best way to do so.

Company shares have benefited from easing regulatory concerns. A new privacy law enacted by the EU in May has had a minimal effect on Googles advertising business, and smartphone industry executives have described the EU antitrust case over Android as too late to matter. The company has cautioned that it is too early to measure the impact on both fronts.

But Alphabets outlook is tempered by cost concerns, and Amazon.com Incs encroachment into advertising has threatened Googles lucrative deals with media companies and advertisers.

Alphabet trails Facebook, Amazon and Twitter Inc in valuation as measured by the ratio of enterprise value to expected earnings. Its enterprise value, or market capitalization and debt minus cash, trades at 13 times expected earnings for the next 12 months, compared with about 14 times for Facebook, 24 times for Twitter and 26 times for Amazon, according to TR data.

- Reuters
Veteran actor Rishi Kapoor, whose next film Mulk is about a family fighting for its honour in the court of law, says brotherhood is the need of the hour in the society.



"Brotherhood is needed the most to end communal violence in India," Rishi, who plays the head of a Muslim family in the Anubhav Sinha directorial, told the media here on Monday.



"If North Korea and America can solve their dispute, then why can't India and Pakistan," he asked.



Rishi was here with the cast and crew of Mulk. The team also launched a specially conducted survey called 'My Mulk Survey' to understand the issues faced by Muslims in India.



Mulk, which also features actors Taapsee Pannu, Prateik Babbar, Rajat Kapoor and Neena Gupta, is slated to release on August 3.


The adage that failures can teach many lessons seems quite...
If preliminary figures of tiger presence released by Madhya Pradesh Wildlife Department are to be believed, the state may soon get back its status of Tiger State. The tag had gone to Karnataka in 2014 after the population of tigers dwindled drastically in Madhya Pradesh.

Madhya Pradesh essentially had been a tiger state for decades as it had a huge population of wild cats in the forests spread over 30 per cent of its geographical area. Ever since the creation of first Tiger Reserve in the state in eighties, Madhya Pradesh has been house to the highest number of tigers in the country.

Till 2002, it had over 700 tigers. The higher number of tigers got the state the sobriquet of 'Tiger State'. However, the state lost the tag when the majestic cats started dying mysteriously in Madhya Pradesh. The Panna Tiger Reserve and half a dozen other habitats of tigers saw several cases of poaching and unnatural death of tigers.

In the recently released data of geographical mapping by State Forest Research Institute, it has come to notice that tigers have been cited at 1,432 beats as opposed to 717 beats in 2014.

Officials of the forest department point out that this evidence will certainly lead to more number of tigers when the actual counting of tigers is done by the year end. As per 2014 Tiger Census, the state had 308 tigers while Karnataka had 403.

According to forest officials looking after wildlife protection in the state, the current data suggest that the tiger population may reach over 400.

In the recent geographical mapping done between February 5 and March 26, the entire state was divided into seven zones. These zones were further divided into 9,000 beats where 5,500 trap cameras were deployed.

Sources said that tigers have been sighted at 1,432 beats as against 717 beats in 2014. The surprising fact this time is that tigers have been seen in the areas which were not known for having tigers. Places like Dewas in Malwa region and Gwalior in Chambal region were never known to have tigers. However, in the recent mapping tigers were sighted even at these places.

Officials say that the presence of tigers at several places is the result of work being done by Forest Department for conservation and protection of flora and fauna. Many tiger corridors have been created between forest reserves and sanctuaries.
The suicide of a Maratha youth in the Godavari river on Monday has once again brought to the fore the social tension in rural Maharashtra as the Maratha Kranti Morcha gave a shutdown call across the state on Tuesday.

Violent protests led by Maratha community youth erupted in parts of Maharashtra on Tuesday, with the protesters demanding reservation in jobs and education.

The immediate reason behind Tuesday's agitation was the suicide of Kakasaheb Shinde. Shinde is alleged to have jumped into the Godavari river as part of the 'Jal Samadhi' agitation organised in Aurangabad district.

According to reports, Shinde was a Shiv Sainik and driver by profession. Shinde had participated in almost all the Maratha Kranti Morcha events. Belonging to a family of farmers, he had completed his SSC. Shinde's family owns just an acre of land and his younger brother is still studying. Shinde took up a job as a driver to support his family. He was working for a local Shiv Sena youth wing leader as a driver.

Restive Maratha community youths have once again started their agitation in support of their demands of quota in jobs and education. They want the recruitment process for 76,000 government jobs to be put on hold till they get reservation.

On Monday, angry protests in Pandharpur forced Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to cancel his visit to the temple town to perform the puja of Lord Vithoba on the auspicious day of Ashadhi Ekadashi.

Ashadhi Ekadashi, the 11th day in the Hindu month of Ashadha, is one of the most important religious festivals of Maharashtra. On this day, the state chief minister performs puja at the temple of Lord Vithoba at Pandharpur, Maharashtra's most important temple town. Lord Vithoba is the most revered deity in Maharashtra and every year, lakhs of people walk to Pandharpur from various corners of the state and reach Pandharpur a day before Ashadhi Ekadashi.

This year, however, the Maratha Morcha organisers had declared that they would not allow Fadnavis to perform the puja at the Vithoba temple in Pandharpur. The Maratha activists had taken this stand to protest what they termed as government inaction over demands of the Maratha community like reservation.

A number of leaders including Fadnavis himself had urged the Maratha Morcha leaders not to obstruct the puja on the occasion of Ashadhi Ekadashi. Udayanraje Bhosale, NCP MP and 13th generation descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji, too had appealed to Maratha Morcha leaders to allow Fadnavis to perform the puja.

But the protesters did not yield to the pressure and Fadnavis had to cancel his Pandharpur visit. Instead, Fadnavis performed the puja of Lord Vithoba at his official residence in Mumbai.

Maratha Kranti Morcha leadership, which gave a call for a statewide shutdown on Tuesday, made sure that they dropped districts of Satara, Solapur, Pune and Mumbai from the shutdown to enable lakhs of pilgrims to return from Pandharpur.

The Maratha Kranti Morcha leadership now wants an apology from Fadnavis for his remarks that there were plans to cause violence during his visit to Pandharpur.

At the cremation of Shinde in Aurangabad on Tuesday, Maratha community leaders demanded assistance of Rs 50 lakh to Shinde's family. They also didn't allow local Shiv Sena MP Chandrakant Khaire to attend his last rites. Fadnavis had said that Shinde's death was an unfortunate incident. The government announced compensation of Rs 10 lakh to Shinde's family and a promise of a government job to Shinde's younger brother Avinash.
The deadline for completing rape trials to be 2 months.

New Delhi: Aiming to take stringent action against those convicted of rape of girls below the age of 12 years, including death penalty for the guilty, the government on Monday introduced in the Lok Sabha the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2018.

The amendment bill, once approved by Parliament, would replace the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance promulgated on April 21, following an outcry over the ra-

pe and murder of a minor girl in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir and the rape of another woman in Unnao in Uttar Pradesh.

It stipulates stringent punishment for perpetrators of rape, particularly of girls below 12 years. Death sentence has been provided for rapists of girls under 12 years.

Introducing the bill, Union minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju said the recent incidents of rape and gangrape of women under the age of 16 years and 12 years have shaken the nations conscience.

Therefore, the offences of rape and gangrape of women under the age of 16 years and 12 years requires effective deterrence through legal provisions of more stringent punishment, he said.

Some incidents in recent years have been marked by increased brutality and violence against minor girls. This has fuelled demands from various sections of society to make penal provisions more stringent and effective, immediate arrest of the accused and speedy trial, Mr Rijiju added.

The minimum punishment in case of rape of women has been increased from rigorous imprisonment of seven years to 10 years, extendable to life imprisonment.

According to the legislation, in case of rape of a girl under 16 years, the minimum punishment has been increased from 10 years to 20 years, extendable to life imprisonment, which means jail term till convicts natural life.

The punishment for gang-rape of a girl below 16 years will invariably be life imprisonment.

Stringent punishment for rape of a girl under 12 years has been provided with the minimum jail term being 20 years which may go up to life in prison or death sentence. Gang-rape of a girl under 12 years of age will invite punishment of jail term for the rest of life or death.

The measure also provides for speedy investigations and trial.

The time limit for investigation of all cases of rape has been prescribed, which has to be mandatorily completed within two months.
Maratha outfits have called for a bandh in Maharashtra on Tuesday, a day after a man demanding reservation for the community jumped to his death in a river in Aurangabad district.

A pro-reservation Maratha leader said they have called the bandh across the state on Tuesday and that they would continue their agitation until Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis apologises to the community.

"We will continue our agitation until Chief Minister Fadnavis apologises to the Maratha community. We will observe bandh in Aurangabad and other parts of the state today," Ravindra Patil, the coordinator of a pro-reservation group of Marathas, said.

Some Maratha groups have also planned to protest in Mumbai in the near future.

Yesterday, a 27-year-old protester, Kakasaheb Shinde, jumped off a bridge over Godavari River in Aurangabad. He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead, police said.

The Maratha Kranti Morcha had yesterday demanded an apology from Fadnavis for alleging that some members from the community were planning violence at Pandharpur town in Solapur district, where the chief minister was earlier scheduled to perform puja at a temple on 'Ashadhi Ekadashi'.

The outfit, which led the 'jal samadhi' protest in which Shinde died, is leading the agitation seeking reservation for the community in government jobs and education.

Shinde's death had triggered a fresh set of protests in several parts of Maharashtra, with opposition leaders seeking to put the onus on the BJP-led government in the state.

In the last few days, protests have take place in Buldhana, Akola, Parali, Washim and even in Mumbai.

Fadnavis had said on Sunday that he was cancelling his visit, scheduled yesterday, to the temple in Pandharpur after protesting Maratha outfits threatened to disrupt the event.

Quotas for Marathas, a politically influential community that constitutes around 30 per cent of the state's population, has been a hugely contentious issue.

The community leaders had earlier taken out several rallies in various districts to highlight their demands. Last year, a huge rally was organised by the Maratha Kranti Morcha in this connection in Mumbai.

Despite assurances from Fadnavis to fulfil the demands, nothing concrete has been done till now, community leaders have claimed.
A US Congressional committee on Monday proposed waivers for countries like India from punitive sanctions against those nations doing business with Russia's defence industry. The move is expected to ensure India's deal to buy the S-400 missile system from Russia will not hit US defence cooperation with Delhi.

The Senate and House Armed Services Committee in a joint conference report to the National Defense Authorisation Act (NDAA)-2019 provided a modified waiver to Section 231 of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act or CAATSA.

A conference report refers to the final version of a bill that is negotiated between the House of Representatives and the Senate via conference committee.

The CAATSA waiver, though general in nature, is intended at preventing US sanctions on India, which is planning to buy five S-400 Triumf air defence systems for around $4.5 billion from Russia.

Unlike the existing version of the act, the proposed modified waiver requires presidential certifications designed to protect US alliances, military operations and sensitive technology, said a statement issued by the Senate Armed Services Committee after the two committees announced details of the conference report.

The John McCain National Defence Authorisation Act for Fiscal Year 2019, which authorises funding for the Department of Defense and the national security programmes of the Department of Energy, encourages US allies and partners to reduce inventory of Russian-produced major defence equipment and advanced conventional weapons.

At the same time, it excludes the possibility of waivers for Russian intelligence agencies and other entities engaged in cyberattacks.

The move comes days after US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis asked Congress to give the secretary of state the waiver authority.

"Doing so allows nations to build a closer security relationship with the US as they continue to transition from reliance on Russian military equipment," Mattis said.

"The fundamental question we must ask ourselves is do we wish to strengthen our partners in key regions or leave them with no other option than to turn to Russia, thereby undermining a once-in-a-generation opportunity to more closely align nations with the US vision for global security and stability," Mattis said.

The Pentagon, the State Department and the Indian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to request for their comments on the latest CAATSA development.

Before the NDAA 2019 is signed into law by President Donald Trump, the conference report, which aligns the different House and Senate versions of the defense budget, needs to be passed by the two chambers of the US Congress.

Traditionally, the waiver and NDAA is considered to be a done deal, as this has the support of the leadership of both the ruling Republican party and the opposition Democratic party.

The proposed legislative amendments would provide a valid ground to the Trump administration to provide the necessary waiver to India, even if it goes ahead with its decision to buy the S-400 system.

India's dependence on Russia for its military hardware has experienced sustained reduction over the last one decade. At the same time, India's defence trade with the US has increased.

India is in the process of placing orders worth of billions of dollars to the US ranging from fighter jets to unmanned drones. Over the past few months, CAATSA had emerged as a major irritant to the India-US relationship.

An India-centric top American business advocacy group welcomed the Congressional move.

"The language (of the report) would represent a special carve-out for India on a delicate political issue," Mukesh Aghi, the president of the US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF), said.

"If enacted, the language advanced by the NDAA conference committee demonstrates the US Congress' bipartisan commitment to the US-India relationship," said Aghi.

"The exemption provides flexibility for strategic partners and allies to move away from the use of Russian military equipment to American equipment, while ensuring that US defence and security interests remain protected," the USISPF said.

Early this month, influential US lawmakers had indicated that they were working to get a waiver for India.

The Indian Ambassador to the US, Navtej Singh Sarna, said India was not the target of the federal law and it should not become collateral damage of it. The administration has to find a way in which they can find a waiver for the partner on this particular thorny issue, Sarna had then said.

-PTI
The US authorities refused to comment on Monday on media reports that Pakistani-American convict in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack case David Coleman Headley was battling for his life after being attacked by inmates at a detention centre.

"We are not able to locate information about this individual," the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago said in a brief email response to PTI when asked about the incident.

According to some media reports, Headley was attacked on July 8 by two other inmates.

The reports said he suffered serious injuries and was rushed to North Evanston hospital, where he was admitted to the critical care unit.

Headley has been sentenced to 35 years in prison by a US court for the 2008 terrorist attack on Mumbai that killed more than 160 people.

Headley who recced various Indian cities, including Mumbai before the 26/11 attacks was arrested in 2009.
Satellite images indicate North Korea has begun dismantling key facilities at a site used to develop engines for ballistic missiles, a first step toward fulfilling a pledge made to US President Donald Trump, a Washington-based think tank said on Monday.

The July 20 images showed work at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station to dismantle a building used to assemble space-launch vehicles and a nearby rocket engine test stand used to develop liquid-fuel engines for ballistic missiles and space-launch vehicles, the 38 North think tank said.

Since these facilities are believed to have played an important role in the development of technologies for the Norths intercontinental ballistic missile program, these efforts represent a significant confidence-building measure on the part of North Korea, it said in a report.

Trump said after his unprecedented June 12 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore Kim had promised that a major missile engine testing site would be destroyed very soon.

Trump did not identify the site, but a US official subsequently told Reuters that it was Sohae.

An official said on Tuesday South Koreas presidential Blue House was briefed about the sites dismantlement based on government intelligence but did not elaborate.

According to Yonhap, Nam Gwan-pyo, deputy director of the Souths national security office, said: Its better than doing nothing.

And it seems like they are going step by step toward denuclearization, Nam said.

The 38 North report comes amid growing questions about North Koreas willingness to live up to the commitments Kim made at the June summit, particularly to work toward denuclearization.

US officials have repeatedly said North Korea has committed to giving up a nuclear weapons program that now threatens the United States, but Pyongyang has offered no details as to how it might go about this.

Shares of South Korean companies with exposure to North Korea rose after the news that the satellite site was being dismantled.

PEACE ZONE

Jenny Town, managing editor of 38 North, said the work at Sohae could be an important move to keep negotiations going.

This could (and thats a big could) mean that North Korea is also willing to forgo satellite launches for the time being as well as nuclear and missile tests. This distinction has derailed diplomacy in the past, she said.

Separately on Tuesday, South Koreas Defence Ministry said it was planning a test reduction of some guard post troops and equipment along the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides North and South Korea.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed at a summit in April to reduce tensions along the border with an eye to turning the DMZ into a peace zone.

Senior US officials called on Kim on Friday to act on his promise to give up his nuclear weapons and said the world, including China and Russia, must continue to enforce sanctions on Pyongyang until he does so.

The US State Department issued an advisory on Monday together with the departments of Treasury and Homeland Security alerting businesses to North Koreas sanctions-evasion tactics.

It said they should implement effective due diligence policies, procedures, and internal controls to ensure compliance with applicable legal requirements across their entire supply chains.

Trump rejected Fake News that he was angry because progress was not happening fast enough with North Korea.

Wrong, very happy! he said on Twitter on Monday.

A Rocket has not been launched by North Korea in 9 months. Likewise, no Nuclear Tests. Japan is happy, all of Asia is happy, he said.

A report in The Washington Post at the weekend said that, despite positive assessments Trump has given on progress with North Korea, he has vented anger at aides over a lack of immediate progress.

Trump said last week there was no rush and no time limit on denuclearization negotiations.

US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said on Thursday it was technically possible for North Korea to eliminate its nuclear weapons program within a year, but added that it was not likely to happen.
Our bandwidth is very limited. Established leadership is also helping us grow in those areas, Mr Sisodia said.

New Delhi: Gearing up for Lok Sabha polls due next year, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi is in the process of finalising the seats it plans to contest in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Goa.

Senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia said that the party was analysing every Lok Sabha seat in these states to finalise ones the party intends to contest in the 2019 polls.

The team is working on analysing each and every seat. We are focusing on Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Goa, and maybe a few more seats around Delhi. We will be focusing on certain pockets in these states where the party enjoys peoples support, Mr Sisodia, who is in Goa to participate in a lecture series, said on Monday.

The deputy chief minister of Delhi also said that meetings were being held to decide whether AAP should contest the two Lok Sabha seats in Goa.

The situation in Goa is not stable right now. We dont know when Goa is going to have its next Assembly election. It would be premature to say anything right now, Mr Sisodia said.

He said that the 2014 Lok Sabha polls were an experiment for the party with workers wanting to contest just to establish themselves as leaders.

It was a successful experiment. We did not expect everyone to win. But most established themselves as leaders in their own areas, he claimed.

Calling the party a small one with a limited bandwidth, Mr Sisodia said AAP was contesting in different states depending on its leadership and strength of volunteers.

We are a very small party and have hopes from all across the country. We have people who look up to us. Our bandwidth is very limited. Established leadership is also helping us grow in those areas, Mr Sisodia said.
Xcel Energy, Inc. operates as a holding company, which engages in the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity. It operates through the following three segments: Regulated Electric Utility, Regulated Natural Gas Utility and All Others. The Regulated Electric Utility segment generates, transmits and distributes electricity primarily in portions of generates, transmits and distributes electricity in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Texas and New Mexico. In addition, this segment includes sales for resale and provides wholesale transmission service to various entities in the United States. It also includes commodity trading operations. The Regulated Natural Gas Utility segment transports, stores, and distributes natural gas primarily in portions of Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Michigan and Colorado. The All Others segment engages in steam, appliance repair services, nonutility real estate activities, processing solid waste into refuse-derived fuel and investments in rental housing projects that qualify for low-income housing tax credits. The company was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN.

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Andeavor Logistics LP operates as a diversified midstream company in the United States. The company's Terminalling and Transportation segment comprises the Northwest pipeline system, including a regulated common carrier products pipeline running from Salt Lake City, Utah to Spokane, Washington and a jet fuel pipeline to the Salt Lake City International Airport; a regulated common carrier refined products pipeline system connecting its refinery to its terminals in Anchorage, Alaska; tankage and related equipment at the refinery; and crude oil and refined products terminals and storage facilities in the western, and southwest and midwestern U.S. This segment also consists of marine terminals in California and Washington; a rail-car unloading and petroleum coke handling facilities; marine terminals; a manifest rail facility; an asphalt trucking operation; a petroleum coke handling and storage facility; asphalt terminalling and processing services; and other pipelines, which transport products and crude oil from its refineries to nearby facilities in Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. Its Gathering and Processing segment includes crude oil and natural gas, NGLs, and produced water gathering systems in the Bakken Shale/Williston Basin area of the Bakken Region, the Green River Basin, the Rockies Region, the Permian Basin System, and the Four Corners System, as well as crude trucking operations, and gas processing and fractionation complexes. The company's Wholesale segment consists of bulk petroleum distribution facilities and a fleet of refined product delivery trucks. Tesoro Logistics GP, LLC operates as the general partner of the company. The company was formerly known as Tesoro Logistics LP and changed its name to Andeavor Logistics LP in August 2017. Andeavor Logistics LP was founded in 2010 and is based in Findlay, Ohio.

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Bausch Health Companies Inc. develops, manufactures, and markets a range of pharmaceutical, medical device, and over-the-counter (OTC) products primarily in the therapeutic areas of eye health, gastroenterology, and dermatology. The company operates through four segments: Bausch + Lomb/International, Salix, Ortho Dermatologics, and Diversified Products. The Bausch + Lomb/International segment offers products with a focus on the vision care, surgical, and consumer and ophthalmology Rx products in the United States; and Solta products, branded and generic pharmaceutical products, OTC products, and medical device products, and Bausch + Lomb products in Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. The Salix segment provides gastroenterology products in the United States. The Ortho Dermatologics segment offers dermatological products in the United States; and Solta medical aesthetic devices internationally. The Diversified Products segment provides pharmaceutical products in the areas of neurology and other therapeutic classes, as well as generic and dentistry products in the United States. The company was formerly known as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. and changed its name to Bausch Health Companies Inc. in July 2018. Bausch Health Companies Inc. is headquartered in Laval, Canada.

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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.
The accused identified as Balkishan Kushwaha, 58 and his son Rajendra Singh, 32, are residents of Noida, police said.

With their arrest, the police claimed to have solved four cases of cheating.(Photo: PTI | representational)

New Delhi: Two men were arrested for allegedly posing as retired army officers and cheating around 200 people in the national capital, police said on Tuesday.

The accused identified as Balkishan Kushwaha, 58 and his son Rajendra Singh, 32, are residents of Noida, they added.

With their arrest, the police claimed to have solved four cases of cheating.

The accused along with one Ompal formed a fake firm-'Ex-serviceman success vision' in 2012 and 2013 and used to introduce themselves as retired army officers.

They allegedly cheated around 150-200 people in Naraina village by convincing them to invest in their firm and lured them with bonus and high returns, Deputy Commissioner of Police (west) Vijay Kumar said.

On the complaints filed by the victims, a team was constituted to trace and arrest the accused. The three accused were absconding since 2013. Through intelligence, electronic surveillance and local enquiry, the current address of the accused persons were traced to Sector-61, Noida. Subsequently, the police team conducted raid and the two accused were arrested from their current address, the officer said.

During interrogation, both the accused disclosed their involvement in the case, he said.

Meanwhile, the police are trying to trace the third accused Ompal Singh.
Chatham

Charter Communications has completed a $15 million project to bring its Spectrum high-speed internet and phone service to eastern Columbia County, in addition to upgrades to its Spectrum cable TV services in an area stretching from Chatham and New Lebanon down to Ancram.

The project was a requirement under Charter's $65 million acquisition of Time Warner Cable in 2016.

Although Time Warner Cable did not serve that part of Columbia County at the time, Charter agreed to make the upgrades in Columbia County, which was one of only two small areas of the state that Charter previously had upstate customers. The other was in Plattsburgh.

Residents in the eastern area of Columbia County along the Massachusetts and Connecticut borders had long been trying to get high-speed internet service. The new Spectrum service has speeds of 100 megabits per second just like the rest of Charter's upstate territory.

"We are working hard to bring the best TV, internet and voice services possible to consumers," Spectrum area vice president Mark Leibowitz said in a statement. "We're proud of the great value these new Spectrum services provide and to be bringing them to residents and businesses in these areas."

Charter completed the upgrades five months ahead of schedule. Under its agreement with the state Public Service Commission, Charter was required to complete the upgrades by the end of this year.

The completion of the Columbia County upgrades is a bright spot for Charter and the Spectrum brand in its efforts to complete its required investments from the 2016 Time Warner acquisition.

The PSC has accused Charter of misleading both it and the public on plans to bring high-speed internet service to 145,000 customers statewide who previously didn't have it. Charter says it has expanded its service to 61,000 of the 145,000 addresses, although the PSC has claimed that Charter has used addresses that already had access to high-speed internet or were existing customers.

The disagreement has gotten so hostile that PSC Chairman John Rhodes has accused Charter of "gaslighting" its Spectrum customers. The PSC has also fined Charter $2 million and is threatening more fines and legal action.

"Charter's performance has been terrible," said PSC spokesman Jim Denn. "Not only has it failed to meet its obligations to New Yorkers, but it is also misleading the public through a false advertising campaign. It's clear that the company is out of compliance with the merger order, and the PSC is taking aggressive action in response and on behalf of New York consumers."

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"The fact is that Spectrum has built out our broadband network to more than 61,000 unserved or underserved homes since the merger," Charter spokesman Andrew Russell said in a statement. "We find it baffling that the PSC thinks that some New Yorkers count and others don't, given their belief that access to broadband is essential for economic development and social equity."

The additional addresses that Charter built its network to in Columbia County do not count toward the 145,000 required under the PSC agreement.

It's unclear how many homes Charter built out to in Columbia County. It originally had 2,500 cable TV customers countywide, but the internet and phone expansion would require building out its infrastructure to eight towns where it sold cable TV. Those eight towns have a population of roughly 23,000.

The Spectrum cable TV enhancements in Columbia County include 200 HD channels and 18,000 on-demand titles.

Charter has also a pop-up location for customers at the Blue Seal Feeds store, 90 Hudson Ave., Chatham through Aug. 1. Hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and until 5 p.m. on Saturday.
As historical artifact homecomings go, this was a major triumph and also a sad coda on unsavory collectors.

The story of the unlikely return in June of a pipe tomahawk given to Seneca Chief Cornplanter in 1792 by President George Washington during treaty negotiations, which was stolen 71 years ago, peels back a layer of the sometimes sordid and shadowy underworld of unscrupulous dealers who traffic in stolen artifacts.

A decorative ax that Washington presented to Cornplanter as a gift was stolen in 1947 from a locked display case in the old State Museum in the state Education Building. The theft was not reported until 1950, when a new collections manager took over and began asking questions. Outgoing collections manager Noah Clark refused to meet with his replacement to discuss the missing artifact. "It does seem very suspicious on Clark's part," said Gwen Saul, curator of ethnography at the State Museum.

The striking pipe tomahawk features silver inlay on a curly maple handle that is hollow and doubles as a pipe, with a bowl for smoking tobacco attached to the iron blade. The Seneca leader's name is etched into the blade. The artifact is now displayed in the lobby of the State Museum at the Empire State Plaza, just off Madison Avenue, where it exerts a powerful historical pull and a backstory as compelling as a detective novel.

Pipe tomahawks were often smoked at Colonial-era ceremonies and passed between parties after they reached an agreement or treaty. They used the decorative war implements to smoke tobacco, a plant that held cultural and spiritual significance to indigenous people. They were prized possessions, often presented as peace offerings during intercultural exchanges in the 1700s between Native Americans and Colonial officials.

After 1947, the case of the State Museum's stolen Cornplanter pipe tomahawk went cold. Seven decades passed. The artifact was gradually forgotten.

In April, Saul received an unsolicited letter from an attorney in Portland, Ore. "We have a connection who may or may not know the whereabouts of a pipe tomahawk that might belong to your museum collection," the letter began.

Saul immediately called the lawyer and began negotiations to broker the pipe's return. They agreed that the pipe tomahawk would be shipped to Albany as a donation, as long as the donors  an elderly couple who live in the Pacific Northwest who are downsizing their private collection  could remain anonymous.

The donors shared with Saul a file with a long paper trail chronicling the many illicit transactions of Cornplanter's pipe tomahawk. The artifact changed hands at least seven times since 1947 and was bought and sold at auction repeatedly. In 2010, the anonymous donor couple and a partner paid $75,000 for it, according to Saul. In 1989, it was on the market for $25,000. In 1982, it was purchased for $6,000.

No criminal investigation is planned. The State Museum has its artifact back.

Case closed.

"It feels absolutely wonderful to have a mystery solved," Saul said. "It feels great to get this piece back because it has such importance to our understanding of Seneca history and the relationships that formed between the Haudenosaunee nations and the early American government."

Saul is at a loss to explain why no upstanding collector came forward to return the stolen artifact when so many had an opportunity to do the right thing over the decades.

"It should have been returned to us, but it didn't happen," Saul said. "It offers a glimpse into the world of elite items up for auction. There is an attraction to possessing these prized objects, almost a feeling of entitlement to own it."

Cornplanter was a key warrior and leader of the Seneca, part of the Haudenosaunee, People of the Longhouse, often referred to as the Iroquois Confederacy or Six Nations. In the 1790s, there were several meetings between Washington and Haudenosaunee chiefs. They were trying to deal with the chaotic impact on indigenous peoples as the French and British fought across upstate New York for control of North America. The battles of the American Revolution further disrupted the Native Americans' way of life and land rights. Treaty negotiations and pipe tomahawks were central tools to help disparate cultures shape an uneasy truce instead of resorting to the bloodshed of war.

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"Cornplanter and the other Haudenosaunee leaders first and foremost wanted to protect lands for their future generations, but also to establish a way of living peacefully with the new settlers," Saul said. "There was a long smoking culture among Native peoples and smoking together was a sign of agreeing to a decision, which is what the pipe tomahawk symbolized."

Cornplanter's personal life epitomized this fraught effort at bridging white European and Native cultures. He was the son of a Seneca woman and a Dutch trader named John Abeel, who lived in Albany. Cornplanter was considered Seneca because it was a matrilineal society. He was mocked in his youth because his skin was lighter than other Seneca boys'. He struggled to come to terms with his mixed heritage. He became a skilled politician and negotiator among the Six Nations, who were often in dispute over how to divide up the frontier.

Cornplanter did not prevail in every negotiation. He was outvoted by other Senecas and, despite his misgivings, fought alongside the British and against American forces during the Revolutionary War.

Cornplanter retired as an old man to a land grant parcel he received in western Pennsylvania along the Allegany River, where he raised horses and lived quietly. He was given a U.S. government pension for his role in treaty negotiations. He eventually became disillusioned with the white settlers and the impact they had on Seneca culture. He made a public show of destroying awards and items presented to him by Washington.

Fortunately, the pipe tomahawk was preserved. Ely Parker, a Civil War lieutenant and Seneca attorney, met noted anthropologist Lewis Henry Morgan in a bookstore in Albany. The two men became lifelong friends. Parker convinced Morgan to donate the pipe tomahawk and hundreds of Native artifacts he possessed to the State Museum in 1850.

Cornplanter's pipe tomahawk will be on display at the State Museum through Dec. 30. Saul has an additional plan for it. "I would love for it to travel back to Seneca territory," she said.

Cornplanter died in 1836. A church, school and homes on his tract in western Pennsylvania were bulldozed during the 1960s construction of the Kinzua Dam. Cornplanter's descendants hold a family picnic on the land each August to honor the great Seneca leader.

Paul Grondahl is the director of the New York State Writers Institute at the University at Albany and a former Times Union reporter. He can be reached at grondahlpaul@gmail.com.
GREENWICH  The passage of a resolution to allow same-sex couples to be married in an Episcopal Church, regardless of a particular diocese's policy, has prompted Bishop William Love to call for a special meeting of clergy within the Episcopal Diocese of Albany.

Love opposes same-sex marriage, and earlier this month voted against the resolution authorizing it at the Episcopal Church's national meeting in Austin, Tex. In a letter to Albany diocese parish members last week, he said that the passage of the resolution, labeled B012, by the Episcopal House of Bishops and House of Deputies is "the most problematic and potentially damaging within the Diocese of Albany as well as the wider Anglican Communion."

"While I know that there are some in the Diocese of Albany who applaud the passage of B012," he wrote, "the vast majority of the clergy and people of the Diocese, to include myself, are greatly troubled by it."

He said he must consult with his Standing Committee and advisors on the subject and has asked clergy to gather on Sept. 6 at the church's Christ the King Center in Greenwich.

The resolution, a compromise reached by church leaders after years of debate, does not make same-sex marriage part of the official theology of the church. But it allows priests to conduct a same-sex marriage even if a local bishop disapproves, by inviting another bishop to oversee the service, so that congregants could marry in their home parish.

Currently, Capital Region Episcopalians seeking same-sex marriage travel to a neighboring diocese, mainly in Vermont and Western Massachusetts, to be married, said Nancy Davidge, the interim public affairs officer of the world-wide Anglican Communion.

"This particular resolution was put forward as a compromise," Davidge said. "We looked to find a way for those people who in good conscience would not allow same-gender marriage to not compromise their beliefs while considering the marriage rites of couples."

The resolution also committed the church to "continue to honor theological diversity in sexuality."

Bishop Love, who was one of only three bishops who voted against it, said in his letter to congregants that same-sex marriage is at odds with his beliefs and compromises his authority.

"B012 not only goes against the Marriage Canons of the Diocese of Albany, but also attempts to severely limit the bishop's role and ministry as chief pastor, priest and teacher of all the people and parishes entrusted to his or her care regarding the sacrament of marriage," he wrote. "More importantly, it goes against my understanding of what God has revealed through Holy Scripture and over 2000 years of Church teaching about marriage."

At 2015's General Convention, Davidge explained, the Episcopalians passed a resolution on a trial basis to allow same-sex marriage, subject to local bishops' authority. Of the 101 dioceses, only eight did not comply, including Albany, with its the 130 churches in 19 upstate counties in eastern New York.

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The seven that stood with Albany were dioceses of Dallas, Florida, Central Florida, North Dakota, Tennessee, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Springfield, Ill.

At the national convention, bishops were allowed to speak for two minutes on the subject. The Episcopal News Service reported that Bishop Love "was the most vocal" and spoke for 10 minutes saying that the resolution "put him in the awkward position of violating parts of his ordination vows."

The spokeswoman for the Albany diocese, Meaghan Keegan, said that Bishop Love would not speak further on the matter.

More for you Episcopal bishop's opposition to same-sex marriage creates rift

"At this time he is processing and spending time in thought an prayer in preparation for a Clergy Day he will be holding in September," she wrote in an email.

The resolution on same-sex marriage goes into effect on Sunday, Dec. 3.

"The resolution was crafted with care and grace-filled conversations," Davidge said. "It was done with care and concern and was passed overwhelmingly. Some feel it didn't go far enough in the direction they wanted it to go, but it was created from a place of love, acceptance and deep listening. We want to honor the conscience of bishops and support and respect the lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer members of the church."
ALBANY  A superseding indictment unsealed Tuesday charged several top members of the secretive NXIVM organization with running a criminal enterprise that engaged in crimes including money laundering, extortion and obstruction of justice.

The criminal case against NXIVM co-founder Keith Raniere and television actress Allison Mack now includes NXIVM's president, Nancy Salzman, and her daughter Lauren, along with Clare Bronfman, the organization's operations director and an heiress of the Seagram's liquor empire. Kathy Russell, a longtime bookkeeper for NXIVM, also was indicted.

Federal agents in Albany arrested Salzman and her daughter along with Russell early Tuesday. Bronfman was taken into custody by federal agents in New York City.

The seven-count superseding indictment charges the six defendants with crimes that also included identity theft, harboring of aliens for financial gain, forced labor, sex trafficking and wire fraud.

The charges allege the defendants took part in recruiting and grooming sexual partners for Raniere and of using "harassment, coercion and abusive litigation to intimidate and attack perceived enemies and critics of Raniere."

The indictment, which describes NXIVM as having been run as a type of pyramid scheme, alleges that they encouraged "associates and others to take expensive NXIVM courses, and incur debt to do so, as a means of exerting control over them and to obtain financial benefits for the members of the enterprise."

The indictment unsealed Tuesday is a crippling blow to an organization that took shape in the Capital Region in the late 1990s. Under the direction of Raniere and Salzman, who had touted NXIVM's training curriculums as a way for participants to improve their lives, the organization quietly built a following that included actors as well as the wealthy and politically powerful.

NXIVM, which has been described by some experts as a cult, also developed a reputation for aggressively pursuing critics and defectors who broke from its ranks. The organization has been accused of using litigation to punish defectors who have criticized Raniere, the organization, or its training methods. NXIVM required its employees and devotees to sign non-disclosure agreements that were often used as weapons in their litigation against defectors or critics.

One of the counts in the federal indictment unsealed Tuesday includes an allegation that NXIVM officials destroyed "videotapes of Nancy Salzman" as part of an effort to conceal evidence from use in a civil case in which NXIVM had sued Rick Ross, a cult expert. The lawsuit, filed in 2006, accused Ross of publishing  without authorization  protected materials from its training programs. NXIVM has denied it is a cult. Ross eventually prevailed in the litigation, which dragged on for years.

Ross had accused the corporation of hiring a New York investigative and security firm, Interfor, to conduct background checks on him, including obtaining details of his banking records, phone calls and personal relationships.

The Salzmans and Russell made their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Daniel Stewart in Albany on Tuesday afternoon.

Russell, who has been associated with NXIVM since coming to the Capital Region from Alaska in 2002, was the first to appear in federal court. Accompanied by U.S. marshals, she shuffled down the hallway to the fourth floor courtroom with shackles on her ankles and her hands cuffed behind her back.

Federal prosecutors asked Stewart to set bond for Russell at $50,000, but he lowered it to $25,000 at the request of her attorney, William Fanciullo. However, Fanciullo told the judge his client had very little cash, a car worth about $8,000 and no assets. He said she lives in a Clifton Park apartment.

"She is a 60-year-old woman," Fanciullo told the judge. "She has next to no money. ... Her release poses no danger to anyone or to the community."

Prosecutors noted that Russell, who has an accounting background, is known for her ability to travel long distances and is accused of helping commit identity theft and aiding in an illegal border crossing. They said she also allegedly took part in a scheme to help obtain computer user names and passwords of people "believed to be NXIVM enemies," prosecutors said.

Lauren Salzman remained in custody at the Rensselaer County jail late Tuesday after the judge had agreed to her release on $5 million bond. The release required her grandparents  traveling from New Jersey on Tuesday  to pay $50,000 cash to secure the bond.

Nancy Salzman was also ordered released pending the execution of a $5 million surety bond that was to be signed by her parents and a friend, Capital Region resident David Messing. It was not clear late Tuesday whether she remained in custody.

The Salzmans will be allowed to maintain contact, the judge said, primarily because Lauren Salzman is helping care for her mother, who is facing what was described in court as a "life-threatening" medical condition.

The Salzmans were ordered to appear in federal court in Brooklyn at 2 p.m. Wednesday. Russell also remained in federal custody late Tuesday pending her release.

Bronfman made her initial court appearance at a federal courthouse in Brooklyn on Tuesday afternoon and was released on $100 million bond after pleading not guilty, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

All of the defendants were described as flight risks by federal authorities, and their conditions of release include home detention and electronic monitoring.

The arrests are part of an investigation that led to the indictment in April of Raniere and Mack, a longtime NXIVM member. They were initially charged with sex trafficking and conspiracy for allegedly organizing a secret group within NXIVM in which some of its female members said they felt coerced into joining a slave-master club, and were later branded with a design that included the initials of Raniere and Mack.

But the indictment unsealed Tuesday sharply expanded the breadth of the case. Among the allegations are that Bronfman aided in the illegal entry of an immigrant for her personal gain and committed money laundering using international wire transfers.

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Prosecutors filed a memorandum Tuesday outlining details of the alleged crimes against Bronfman. They said she conspired to commit identity theft, facilitated Raniere's use of his deceased girlfriend's credit card, and led efforts to discredit Raniere's alleged victims.

Lauren Salzman's alleged crimes include trafficking a victim for forced labor, including helping facilitate the captivity of a Mexican woman who was Raniere's sexual partner; the woman was allegedly locked in an apartment for more than a year as punishment for showing interest in another man.

Prosecutors said Lauren Salzman also was a "first line master" in the underground slave-master club, and led efforts to disseminate misinformation about the secret group to discredit victims who defected.

Nancy Salzman, president of NXIVM, was revealed as a target in the probe several months ago when the Times Union first reported that FBI agents seized more than $520,000 in cash after they raided her Saratoga County residence as part of the intensifying investigation of NXIVM's business dealings.

Federal court records indicate she took part in illegally obtaining user names and passwords to monitor the email accounts of NXIVM's perceived enemies. She also allegedly altered videos of her training seminars that were ordered to be turned over to a former student who was sued by NXIVM  and countersued  as part of pre-trial discovery.

Salzman "agreed to edit the videos to remove material that they believed would have supported the former student's claims and to make it look as if the videos were unedited," prosecutors wrote in memorandum filed Tuesday.

People familiar with NXIVM's inner workings said that Lauren Salzman has served as CEO of some of the businesses connected to the organization. Russell, they said, left her family in Alaska to join NXIVM and had helped with its financial and business operations for more than 15 years.

In 2000, during a deposition in a bankruptcy proceeding, Nancy Salzman, who records indicate has been a licensed nurse in New York since 1983, described herself as a "psychotherapist," while acknowledging that it is "not an earned degree ... it's a descriptive term." She also testified that beginning in 1985 and continuing through 1992, she had taken "neurolinguistic programming courses."

The Times Union reported last October that Nancy Salzman had recruited participants who took part in unsanctioned brain-activity and other human experiment studies that were conducted by at least one doctor, Brandon Porter, associated for years with NXIVM. Porter is facing disciplinary charges from New York state for his unsanctioned experiments and did the work for both NXIVM and a non-profit set up by Bronfman, who has been a close confidante of Raniere's and Salzman's and one of the organization's biggest sources of funding.

NXIVM, headquartered in Colonie and with offices in Los Angeles, Canada and Mexico, recently suspended its operations in the wake of Raniere's arrest.

While the case had focused on the alleged sex trafficking of Raniere and Mack, the investigation also has probed the business dealings of NXIVM and allegations that large amounts of cash had been smuggled into the United States from Mexico.

In the sex trafficking charges against Raniere, the government alleged that some of the women said they felt coerced into having sex with Raniere because of the threat of having their personal material or "collateral" released if they tried to leave the group or failed to follow orders.

Prosecutors have not described NXIVM as a cult or raised that issue in the indictment or other court filings. They have described NXIVM as a multi-level marketing  or pyramid  scheme.

A federal judge recently rejected Raniere's request to be released from custody while his criminal case is pending. He is being held at the U.S. Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

Raniere, 57, was arrested in March at a luxury beach villa in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. In Mexico, authorities said, Raniere got rid of his mobile phone and used encrypted email to communicate. It took authorities nearly two months to locate him before he was deported and arrested by U.S. federal agents.

Mack was released on bond under conditions that include remaining at her parents' California residence and wearing an electronic monitoring device on her ankle.
They were planning major strike in NCR: Police.

The JMB, founded in 1998 by Shaikh Abdur Rahman, was banned in 2005 for setting off about 500 bombs simultaneously all around Bangladesh. (Photo: PTI/Representational image)

Greater Noida: In a major breakthrough, a joint team of Uttar Pradesh anti-terror squad (ATS) and the West Bengal police has arrested two members of the terror outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) from Greater Noida, officials said on Tuesday.

The two arrested JMB members were identified as Musharraf aka Musa and Rubel Ahmed, both Bangladeshi nationals, SSP Ajay Pal Sharma said.

The duo was arrested from Surajpur in Greater Noida on the outskirts of the national capital. They are being interrogated by officials of the UP ATS and the intelligence department.

According to sources in the police department, the two JMB members were planning to carry out a major terror strike in the National Capital Region (NCR). More revelations in this regard can be made only after interrogation, they said.

The JMB, founded in 1998 by Shaikh Abdur Rahman, was banned in 2005 for setting off about 500 bombs simultaneously all around Bangladesh.

The intelligence department had received a tip-off that some JMB members were collecting funds in the NCR for their outfit. During interrogation it was revealed that they were active members of JUM and had escaped from Bangladesh in March 2018.

Security has been tightened in NCR ahead of Independence Day on August 15.

Security and intelligence agencies have warned of a possible terror attack ahead of the Independence Day planned by Pakistan-based terrorist outfits.

The information was revealed by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists Syed Muneer-ul-Hassan Qadri, Ashiq Baba, and Tariq Ahmad Dar, who were recently arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for their role in the Nagrota Army camp attack in 2016 that killed seven Indian soldiers.

During interrogation, the counter-terror probe agency found out that JeM has been sending its trained agents, which mostly include misguided Kashmiri youths, under various garbs.

The authorities are also keeping an eye on all the sewer lines and manholes leading up to the Red Fort and on the trees, doors, windows, and pillars facing the monument.

D13
ALBANY  A recently appointed Guilderland town justice who is seeking re-election to the position testified in federal court Monday that town Democratic Committee operatives had pledged to undermine her political career for continuing her campaign against their "hand-selected" candidate.

The hearing in U.S. District Court centered on a federal Civil Rights lawsuit filed last week by town Justice Christine M. Napierski and her father, Eugene E. Napierski, against the Democratic committees for the town and Albany County, as well as the county Board of Elections.

The political tensions began a few months ago after one of Guilderland's three town justice positions became vacant when Richard Sherwood was suspended from the bench following his arrest for stealing more than $11 million from estates associated with a deceased couple that had used him for legal services. Sherwood later pleaded guilty to felony charges and is awaiting sentencing.

The Town Board interviewed more than a dozen candidates to fill Sherwood's unexpired term, including Napierski and Bryan M. Clenahan. The board voted unanimously to appoint Napierski to fill the position through the end of the year.

Napierski subsequently filed paperwork to seek election in the November elections to a four-year term as town justice. But the town's Democratic Committee had a different plan, and voted unanimously to endorse Clenahan, a county legislator.

The committee's endorsement is only a recommendation and the appointment of a Democratic candidate for the position must be be voted on by Democrats who attend a caucus scheduled for Thursday evening at Tawasentha Park.

Despite the committee's support of Clenahan  a politically connected attorney who is a staff counsel to state Sen. Diane Savino  Napierski forged ahead with her campaign. In May, she said, town Democratic operatives began pressuring her to abandon her campaign, including threatening her political future if she didn't.

Napierski said in the complaint that she was contacted by a town Democratic Committee member last month who told her the committee would be "very angry" if she did not withdraw from the race. Two days later, she alleged, another committee representative called her and demanded that she withdraw her candidacy, threatening that "she would never be elected to public office" if she didn't.

"The gentleman told me ... that I was done, it was over," Napierski testified Monday. She said another person relayed a message to her from Jacob Crawford, the young chairman of the committee, that "this was not going to change."

Clenahan, who received unanimous support from the town Democratic Committee, is "of counsel" to the law firm of another town justice, Denise Randall, as well as her son-in-law, the federal complaint states.

Napierski also testified that a Democratic operative she did not identify informed her that there had been a tentative deal discussed to have her run for Sherwood's position  with the backing of the Democratic committee  and that Clenahan would wait and run next year for the term of town Justice John W. Bailey, who is retiring. But she said they told her that since she had gone forward with her campaign against their wishes that deal would never take place.

The lawsuit accuses the town party's leaders of deliberately using the antiquated caucus system  where only registered Democrats who are present at the event can vote by a show of hands  to disenfranchise many of the town's 9,229 registered Democrats. The lawsuit notes that people who are permanently disabled, or otherwise unable to attend the caucus, have no way to vote.

Napierski testified that she has talked to registered Democrats who pledged to support her but said they are unable to attend the caucus at the town park, many because of health problems.

The town Democratic Committee "has exploited the caucus method to ensure that the candidate it has hand-selected coasts through to nomination without any meaningful opposition or challenges," the lawsuit alleges.

The case before U.S. District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby has raised questions about porously written state election rules that have enabled the caucus system, which is most often used in smaller communities, to persist in an era when many disabled and elderly voters permanently rely on absentee ballots.

"They might as well have it on the moon," said Richard Akullian, a registered Democrat from Guilderland who is disabled and testified Monday that he would be unable to attend the caucus.

Akullian, who had his right leg amputated four years ago, said that he cannot see well at night for driving and that he has trouble standing for long periods of time.

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Andrew S. Holland, an attorney for Napierski, suggested through his questioning of witnesses whether poor advertising for the caucus  and holding the event in a town park at the height of the summer vacation season  had been a deliberate attempt by town Democratic leaders to keep attendance low.

Holland also pressed Crawford, the town's Democratic chairman, about whether the Democratic Committee's caucus events are normally attended mostly by committee members and their families.

"The more voters who get out to vote the better," Crawford said during his testimony.

The town's GOP Committee and other political parties in Guilderland use a petition process that results in primary elections. The Democrats are the only party in Guilderland that routinely use the caucus system, according to testimony at the hearing.

The dynamics of Monday's hearing were unique. Town Supervisor Peter G. Barber, an attorney, is a Democrat and had voted to appoint Napierski to finish Sherwood's term this year. But on Monday he was the attorney for town Highway Superintendent Peter Wier and at one point cross-examined Napierski, who told him that prior to running for town justice she was not aware the committee conducted caucuses.

Much of the testimony at Monday's hearing focused heavily on the accessibility limitations of Tawasentha Park and whether the event is violating federal Civil Rights Law.

An architect hired by attorneys for Napierski and her father testified that the parking lot, a ramp providing access to the pavilion, and the bathroom facilities there all fail to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The town last week added a second handicapped parking spot at the site in an apparent attempt to head off the lawsuit, but the architect said the striping was still not in compliance.

Napierski and her father, both attorneys, are seeking an injunction to prevent the caucus from taking place at the park's pavilion, which they said has capacity only for about 2 percent of the town's registered Democrats. They also are challenging whether the caucus system is unconstitutional because voters with disabilities or others who cannot attend are unable to cast votes.

Attorneys for the town and county Democratic committees filed arguments noting that the state Constitution allows political parties to use the caucus system. The town park, they said, also is adequate to handle the number of participants who normally attend a political caucus.

Suddaby indicated from the bench that he would issue a written decision on the complaint this week.
BALLSTON - The town may be getting its first supermarket.

On Wednesday night, the town's Planning Board will call a public hearing on a plan for a Hannaford near the intersection of state routes 50 and 67. This is on the same property where Walmart was approved in 2015, but opposed by residents who didn't want big-box stores nor the traffic they bring.

Frank Rossi Jr., whose parents Frank and Rose Marie Rossi are proposing the project on 22 acres, doesn't believe that the Hannaford's 38,000-square-foot store will be as controversial as Walmart's 137,000 square feet store was.

"Back in 2015, we were told that a supermarket is exactly what people wanted," Rossi, Jr. said. "We went back to the drawing board and we are excited to bring this to the town."

Hannaford, if built, will be the only grocery store in the town. The nearest stores is Aldi in the village of Ballston Spa. The next closest ones are the Price Chopper in Malta and the Hannaford in Milton.

As proposed, the store would include a pharmacy and a Hannaford To Go online shopping service. Hannaford said it will employ 100 to 110 full and part-time associates. It will be slightly smaller than the Milton store, which Rossi Jr. said, is about 43,000 square feet.

"Hannaford looks forward to working with residents, charitable organizations and municipal officials, in making this supermarket a vibrant, contributing member of the Ballston community," said Eric Blom, the company's spokesman.

Rossi Jr. said that the supermarket will provide sewer, water and traffic enhancements, which are part of the initial Planned Unit Development District plan approved in 2011.

Supervisor Tim Szczepaniak said Ballston hasn't had a grocery store since the Grand Union went out of business in Burnt-Hills years ago.

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"There are a lot of seniors who don't want to travel too far," Szczepaniak said. "It's definitely well-needed and I think it will be a great business for the community."

Szczepaniak hopes approvals will move quickly so construction can begin within months.

Hannaford is based out of Scarborough, Maine, and operates 180 stores in the northeast.

The public hearing is set for 7:30 p.m.
SARATOGA SPRINGS  A city public works employee who crashed a city truck on Thursday was unlicensed.

Frank Brimhall, 53, was driving a city 2012 Ford truck too closely to another vehicle when it struck it in the rear at Division Street and Broadway, Saratoga Springs police said. Police found Brimhall didn't have a driver's license.

The 10:30 a.m. crash did not lead to injuries, police said. Brimhall was ticketed for following too closely, aggravated unlicensed operation and operating a motor vehicle by an unlicensed driver.

Brimhall's driving is not only a violation of state law, but a violation of the city's Fleet Safety Policy. The policy all city drivers must agree to requires them to have a valid New York state driver's license that "cannot be restricted use, suspended, conditional or temporary."

The policy also restricts Public Works Commissioner Anthony "Skip" Scirocco's son, Mark Scirocco, whose license was suspended on Tuesday in Milton Town Court. Judge Tim Brown suspended the city's water meter reader's license pending the court outcome of the younger Scirocco's aggravated DWI charge.

Brown said Scirocco is allowed to drive to work and to go to the doctor's office. But the Fleet Safety Policy restricts his driving while on the job.

His father remedied the restriction by assigning another worker, Phil "Skip" Colucci, to chauffeur his son around.

On Tuesday, Commissioner Scirocco would only say the situation with Brimhall and his son "are personnel matters that are being handled appropriately, no further comment."

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In May, Commissioner Scirocco called his son's DWI "unfortunate." and said "I'm dealing with the situation."

The city should have known the status of Brimhall's license as the city is enrolled in DMV's License Event Notification System (LENS). The LENS reviews driver license records and automatically reports changes, such as a driver license suspension, directly to participating companies and municipalities.

Mayor Meg Kelly did not want to comment on the DPW driving situation. Marilyn Rivers, the city's director of risk and safety who oversees the driving policy, did not return Times Union phone calls.

This follows another incident where DPW crew supervisor Tom "Tug" McGraw was videotaped in June using a DPW truck for personal use at the Saratoga Springs City School District campus.
TROY  A veteran city school teacher was charged with slamming two 12-year-old Troy Middle School students into a classroom wall, injuring both, according to city police and City Court records Tuesday.

David A. Laiacona, 52, of Albany, was arraigned on two misdemeanor counts of third-degree assault and two misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child, according to court records.

Laiacona allegedly pushed a 12-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl into a wall at about 12:30 p.m. March 15. One student suffered a concussion and the other student sprained a shoulder, court records show. The students' identities were not released due to their ages.

One student was holding the classroom door shut to keep some students out of the room, while the other student was trying to open the door to let them in, according to statements made to police and filed in court records.

We were there about 15 or 20 seconds. The teacher, Mr. Laiacnoa came over and smacked my head into the wall and then he pushed (name withheld) into the wall. My head hit the wall. It hurt a little bit, the student holding the door closed said in a statement.

Laiacona placed the student on in-school suspension, according to the statement. Later, in the statement the student said, The doctor said I had a severe concussion. I missed school for a couple of days and could not take gym.

The other student said Laiaona pushed me into the the wall. My right shoulder hit the wall. I felt pain in my shoulder right away. The student went to the nurse and later went to the doctors where, they took x-rays and found that I had a sprain to my shoulder, according to the students statement.

The case was investigated in May and an arrest warrant was issued for Laiacona, who surrendered this month, police said.

Laiacona was appointed a technology teacher at the middle school in August. 2005, according to Troy Board of Education records.

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The Troy school district declined to address specific questions regarding Laiacona, his background or the alleged incident, but issued a statement.

While the school district cannot comment on this specific case as it is a personnel issue, our procedures are clear. Whenever we become aware of concerns about one of our employees which might negatively impact the safety and security of our students, we promptly investigate the concerns and take appropriate action, Superintendent John Carmello said.

The safety and security of our students is our top priority and we will continue to cooperate fully with Troy Police on this matter. We are committed to protecting our students and to fostering a safe and positive environment that is conducive to learning, Carmello said in the statement.
Angelo Orlando and Kelly Becker's recent walk down the aisle at Price Chopper ended in an "I do." Or at least a, "Yes, I will."

The Capital Region couple got engaged in the frozen food aisle at Price Chopper up in Malta  complete with a custom pint of Ben & Jerry's "Marry Me Mint" ice cream.

Once Orlando decided he was going to propose, he researched unique proposal ideas.

"I knew Kelly's taste was very simple. She wouldn't want something over the top," Orlando said. "To her, having her siblings there so we could all celebrate together was one of the most important pieces." (You'll see/hear them in the background on the video above.)

The proposal took months to prepare and involved Orlando working with Ben & Jerry's to design the custom pint (the flavor name had to be 12 letters or fewer) and with Kelly's siblings to assure she'd go to the store that evening.

While everything leading up to that Friday night proposal went smoothly, recalls Orlando, Becker almost foiled the plan.

"Kelly was totally in the dark, but she didn't feel like going to the market. She asked us all to go while she would stay home," Orlando said. "[Becker's sister] managed to persuade her into coming. ... Once we got there it was easy."

Becker's family kept the fiancee-to-be busy in the store while Becker's sister, Jen, and Orlando went to the ice cream aisle to "plant" the pint.

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"I was hoping to actually get her to look in the cooler and see the pint on her own, but she didn't want ice cream," Orlando said. He then stayed by the freezer, keeping an eye on his custom creation and texted Becker's friend who led her to the frozen food section.

The store staff did not know about the proposal in advance and didn't find out about the engagement until Orlando contacted them after it happened, said Maureen Murphy, manager of consumer trends, nutrition and lifestyles with Price Chopper/Market 32.

"This is the first time that I've heard of someone getting engaged in the stores," Murphy said, adding the idea was cute and fun.

It seems, Price Chopper may play a role  however small  in their wedding which is tentatively planned for October 13, 2019.

"We'll do some gesture to help them celebrate," Murphy said.

Read more and comment on Kristi's blog.
This was a crucial motion and Shiv Senas absence in the Lok Sabha was as good as supporting the no-trust vote.

The BJP is already preparing to go solo for the upcoming polls next year, and the state leadership has been apprised of the same by BJP president Amit Shah.

Mumbai: After being embarrassed by the Shiv Senas abstention in the no-confidence motion against the PM Narendra Modi government last week, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided not to initiate any dialogue with the Sena for an alliance for the next elections.

The BJP is already preparing to go solo for the upcoming polls next year, and the state leadership has been apprised of the same by BJP president Amit Shah.

Meanwhile, Uddhav Thackeray continued his tirade against the BJP and Mr Modi. In an interview given to his partys mouthpiece Saamana, the Sena leader stood by his decision to not support the BJP government in the no-confidence motion and said that the Sena is not going to fight for Mr Modis dream. Though the Shiv Sena is an ally of the NDA, and a partner in the Union and Maharashtra governments, it remained absent despite phone calls from BJP president Amit Shah.

This was a crucial motion and Shiv Senas absence in the Lok Sabha was as good as supporting the no-trust vote.

Mr Thackeray and Sanjay Raut have repeatedly been slamming PM Modi and Mr Fadnavis. In other embarrassing postures by the Sena, Mr Thackeray didnt allow MP Anil Desai to be sworn in as a minister in the Union government after his name was communicated to the President of India. After that, in November 2014, PM Modi did not offer any more ministerial posts to the Sena and Anant Geete was given the less important portfolio of heavy industries. According to BJP sources, PM Modi and Mr Shah will never again compromise with the Sena.

When Mr Shah met Mr Thackeray at Matoshree recently, he assured him of another meeting and gave the go-ahead for talks on forming an alliance. However, with the Senas recent stance and criticism the BJP is in no mood to have talks for an alliance.

Mr Shah was in Mumbai on Sunday and asked cadres to be prepared to go solo in the upcoming elections. The BJP has already started preparations up to booth level in the constituencies of sitting Sena sitting MPs and MLAs.

Mr Shah said,  No need to wait till the decision of an alliance with Shiv Sena. Be prepared to fight with Congress-NCP alliance and Shiv Sena also.

Meanwhile, Sena chief Thackeray slammed PM Modi and the CM Fadnavis governments in an interview. He said, The Shiv Sena is fighting for the dreams of the common people and not for PM Modi. We dont have only one friend. We are friends of the public. He taunted: He will hunt without using anyones shoulder and he doesnt require a gun also.

Mr Thackeray spoke on issues, ranging from Hindutva to womens safety. He said: I dont accept that Hindutva is being adhered to in this country for the last three-four years. This is the not our idea of Hindutva. Women are unsafe today, and the government is protecting cows. Government cant target people on their eating preferences.

Mr Thackeray was asked about what made the Sena continue with the BJP government in Maharashtra. If their (BJPs) Chanakyaneeti is acceptable, why not my style of politics, he replied.

The Sena has been blaming the BJP of ill treatment since 2014.
PLAISTOW, N.H. (AP)  A man who stripped naked before working out at a New Hampshire gym told police officers that he thought he was in a "Judgement Free Zone," before being arrested.

NECN reports 34-year-old Eric Stagno, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, was charged with indecent exposure, lewdness and disorderly conduct on Sunday for taking off his clothes and exercising at a Plaistow Planet Fitness.
Within hours of the U.S. Supreme Court decision on the Janus vs. AFSCME case, union-haters launched a shadowy misinformation campaign in an attempt to get public employees to leave their union. They started emailing nurses, firefighters, teachers, and other hardworking New Yorkers who provide important services every day and launched a website targeting our members with their propaganda.

It came as no surprise. We have said all along, the Janus case is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to silence the voice of working men and women and their unions. This case was never about a man named Mark Janus. It was, and continues to be, an attack by right-wing ideologues who know that when working people join together, they have the power to improve their wages, benefits and working conditions. And that is exactly what these corporate special interests are afraid of.

Anti-labor groups, operating in the shadows, refuse to say who is funding their campaign and claim to simply want to "inform" and "help" public employees by providing step-by-step instructions on how they can leave the union. They claim they are not trying to influence public employees, just educate them. It's laughable and frankly insulting to our members.

If these outside groups suddenly feel a need to educate public employees, then why don't they join us in giving working men and women a voice in the workplace? Why don't they join us and help public employees earn a better living and improve their working conditions? That's the kind of help and education working people appreciate. That is how you grow the middle class, by speaking up together and raising the standard of living and quality of life for all workers.

We know that because here in New York state we have the strongest and most successful statewide labor movement in the country.

And our members know it.

They know that by being a member of a union, their median yearly income will be $11,000 more than nonunion workers. They know that by being a member of a union, they are far more likely to have health insurance coverage and a pension. They know that by being a member of a union, they have a better chance of achieving the American Dream.

Governor Cuomo recently announced the state Department of Labor has issued guidelines for public employers in the wake of the Janus decision. Those guidelines and clarifications are necessary because of these anti-union misinformation campaigns. It will ensure all public employers honor the law and the rights of their employees.

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Public employees have always had a choice to become a union member. The Janus decision doesn't change that.

Our opponents are salivating over the hope that the Janus decision will defund and defang unions. I have news for them: You're in for a big disappointment.

Unions are family. We are a group of people who care about one another, help one another and support one another. And, like a family, if you pick on one of us, you pick on all of us.

We are ready for this fight and for the next one. In fact, these attacks will only make our family stronger and more determined than ever to stand up, fight back and make our voices heard.

So while our opponents continue to try to divide working people, we will continue to unite them and build an even more vibrant labor movement that will result in a thriving middle class.
Fianna Fail Spokesperson on Food and Horticulture, Jackie Cahill has said Irish farming faces destruction unless the Government intervenes to deal with the growing lack of fodder on Irish farmers.

I dont make this prediction lightly but the situation is stark for farmers, and I dont see anything on the horizon that will limit the risk to animals and farmers.

We have been in an extended fodder crisis for nearly six months. Recent wet weather and now an extended warm weather period has both depleted current stocks and reduced the ability of farmers to save fodder for the coming winter.

Minister Creed has been sleepwalking from one crisis to another in his department over the past 12 months. He seems either ignorant of the challenges or unwilling to do anything about them.

However, there are things that can be done to deal with both the immediate challenges and to prepare for the coming winter and spring period. We need flexibility from the Government. The current supply of feed is being used up at an extraordinary rate, and if something isnt done, animals will suffer and farmers will lose their livelihoods.

There are five things that I, and Fianna Fail, believe must happen immediately:

1. The Department must incentivise tillage farmers to grow catch crops such as kale and turnips rather than planting more winter cereals. This will deliver more food for animals later in 2018.

2. Extend the deadlines for the spreading of chemical fertilisers and slurry to allow grass to keep growing and for farmers to keep animals out longer.

3. Start importing and storing fodder from overseas to prepare for winter and spring. Waiting till later in the year will only see farmers paying higher prices.

4. The Minister must seek to open new markets for 18 month plus beef. These animals should be finished off indoors but there is a worry that there wont be the feed needed.

5. Roll out the low-cost credit facilities promised by Minister Creed in Budget 2018 this year. Farmers cash flow is already under severe pressure, and low-cost credit is critical to helping this survive



Additionally, to ensure fairness, factories must be monitored to ensure fair pricing for farmers. I have already heard of farmers being offered reduced prices for beef.

There simply isnt enough feed in the country for our animals. Most farmers would be replenishing their fodder stocks for next winter, but there are burning through whatever they have just to keep their animals alive. With little to no grass growth, its unlikely that any more fodder will be stored up.

We have one chance to prepare for next winter and spring. Minister Creed must do what is needed and what is necessary to prepare for the looming emergency. Anything else will leave farmers high and dry, concluded Cahill.
[July 23, 2018] Security as a Service Market: An Insight On the Important Factors and Trends Influencing the Market

An outsourcing model to manage security in organizations is known as Security-as-a-service (SaaS). Service providers offer their services on a subscription basis to organizations, to provide complete security and cost-effective solutions. Traditionally, to maintain business security, solutions such as spam filtering and virus protection were provided locally by systems with internal responsibility to ensure that all policies and security updates were properly maintained and installed.







This usually entailed installation costs for hardware and ongoing costs for software licensing. Security as a service offers several benefits to organizations (over traditional methods) such as constant virus updates, high level of security, faster operations, and cost effective solutions.



Use of cloud technology has increased prominently over the years, which has created the need to have more protected and cost-effective security solutions. Intense competition and government regulations have encouraged the market to create a better service, complying with government regulations.





Get Brochure For More Technological Advancements https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=37970 There are various factors driving the growth of the security as a service market. One of the key factors is the increase in online criminal activities and the increase in number of mobile devices. Also, the ample growth of organizational data is an important factor to consider.



Availability of cost-effective security solutions, advance security tools, and access to contextual expertise are some of the driving factors of the software as a service market. The growth in trend of bring- your- own device (BYOD), increased e-businesses, increased awareness about data security, and acceptance of managed security practices create adequate opportunities in the market.



However, the security as a service market also has some challenges such as the absence of trustworthy security tools. Availability of access to sensitive data to the vendors entails security concerns. SaaS is accessible online, which poses security threats to the system. Additionally, the adoption rate of security as a service is limited due to reluctance of customers to share sensitive information, availability of free of cost security service, and unwillingness of organizations to use cloud based security solutions.



For Detail Analysis Get Table Of Content https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=37970 The security as a service market is segmented on the basis of solution, service, application area, organization size, vertical, and geographic region. By solution, the market is bifurcated into security information and event management (SIEM), end-point protection, intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS), identity access management (IAM), data loss prevention (DLP), and email encryption.



On the basis of service, the market is segregated into groups which include consulting services, and training and education. Furthermore, the market is divided based on application area into email security, web security, network security, and database cloud security. On the basis of organization size, the market is sub divided into small and medium enterprises (SMES) and large enterprises. By vertical, the market is segmented into BFSI, healthcare, IT and telecom, government and defense, oil and gas, and retail. As a community-building service, TMCnet allows user submitted content which is not always proofed by TMCnet editors. If you feel this entry is of inferior quality or wish to report it for some reason, please forward the URL to "webedit [AT] tmcnet [DOT] com" with your comments.

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[July 23, 2018] Priority Power Management Launches New Website

Priority Power Management, LLC ("Priority"), a Texas-based leading independent energy management and consulting services firm, is pleased to announce the launch of its newly redesigned website at www.prioritypower.net. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180723005787/en/ Priority Power Management launches new website (Graphic: Business Wire) The new website has been designed to more fully articulate Priority's deep experience in providing a full sute of energy management and consulting services across functional areas that include energy information, supply and risk management, demand-side management and energy infrastructure solutions.



"We have been serving clients in multiple market segments for nearly 18 years now and our services offerings have evolved as our clients' needs have changed," said John J. Bick, Managing Principal of Priority. "Our new website reflects our comprehensive service offerings and lets the marketplace know our capabilities, deep experience and that we have a proven track record of success. It's our way of letting our existing and future clients know that they are in good hands." Priority has plans to continue to build upon the new website platform by adding additional client case studies and infrastructure services projects in the project gallery section, as well as integrating and using various social media outlets to communicate with its current and future clients.

The website was design by Big D Creative of Dallas, and search engine optimization services provided by Dallas SEO Dogs. About Priority Power Management Priority Power Management, LLC (www.PriorityPower.net) is a leading Texas-based independent energy management and consulting services firm to large commercial, industrial and government customers. Priority provides unbiased and objective energy management services in the areas of energy information, supply and risk management, demand-side management and energy infrastructure solutions. Since its establishment in 2001, Priority Power Management has grown to procure and manage approximately $1 billion of annual energy spend on behalf of clients from its offices in Midland/Odessa, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston and Abilene. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180723005787/en/

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[July 23, 2018] Waypoint Leasing Enters Taiwanese Market by Delivering Three AW169 Helicopters to Emerald Pacific Airlines

Waypoint Leasing (Ireland) Limited ("Waypoint"), the largest independent global helicopter leasing company, announced today that it has completed a lease transaction for three new AW169 helicopters to Emerald Pacific Airlines ("Emerald Pacific") in Taiwan to be used in EMS operations and other missions. This transaction marks Waypoint's third, fourth, and fifth AW169 deliveries globally, as well as the first helicopter lease in Taiwan. Philip Stransky, Waypoint's Vice President of Sales & Relationship Management, Asia Pacific, said, "This is a very important transaction for Waypoint as it marks the beginning of a collaborative partnership with a new, well-respected customer, and the entry into a very important market - Taiwan. Emerald Pacific is well positioned to take advantage of the growth in demand for EMS services in Taiwan, and we look forward to supporting their financial and leasing needs. We would like to thank the Taiwanese Civil Aeronautics Administration for their professionalism and Leonardo for assisting our team in the execution of the first helicopter lease in Taiwan." James Lee (News - Alert) , Chairman of Emerald Pacific, said, "Waypoint proved themselves to be a strong partner in supporting our important government EMS operations. Their customer-focused dedication and operational kowledge were key elements to the efficient and flexible execution of this agreement. We are pleased to sign our first helicopter lease with Waypoint and look forward to working with them as we continue to expand our fleet in the future."



Since its inception in 2013, Waypoint has been active in supporting oil and gas, utility, firefighting and other industrial-focused helicopter operators. Waypoint's portfolio includes more than 160 aircraft for 35 customers in 34 countries with total assets in excess of $1.6 billion. Additionally, Waypoint has firm and option orders with aircraft manufacturers for more than 70 helicopters valued at more than $750 million, to be delivered over the next four years. About Waypoint

Waypoint is a global helicopter leasing company that provides operating lease and financing solutions to helicopter operators worldwide. Headquartered in Limerick, Ireland, Waypoint differentiates itself with a senior management team that has direct helicopter operating and leasing experience in key helicopter markets around the world, having leased helicopters across Africa and the Middle East, Asia, Australasia, Europe, and North and South America. Waypoint serves a wide range of sectors including oil and gas, emergency medical service, search and rescue, firefighting and governmental support. In addition to Ireland, Waypoint has offices in London, the United States, Canada, Hong Kong, Brazil, South Africa, and Australia. Further information is available at www.waypointleasing.com. About Emerald Pacific Airlines Emerald Pacific Airlines was established in 1994 in Taichung City, serving customers throughout Taiwan. Offering services in helicopter offshore operations, heavy lift, agricultural engineering, medical evacuation, aerial photography and powerline insulator cleaning. Emerald Pacific is the largest civil helicopter operator in Taiwan. # # # View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180723005488/en/

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[July 23, 2018] Bergman Draper Oslund: Lone Star Industries to Pay $1.1M in Wrongful Death Suit

A jury has awarded the family of a Poulsbo man $1.1 million in a wrongful death lawsuit. The jury's verdict found Lone Star Industries, based in Stamford, Connecticut (formerly called Pioneer Sand and Gravel), culpable in the death of Andrew Miller (News - Alert) , who died from mesothelioma in November 2016. Medical experts testified that Miller, who worked as a machinist at Lockheed Shipyard and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard between 1967 and 1980, experienced high exposure to asbestos insulation products supplied by Pioneer Sand and Gravel. Jurors found that the exposure to these products was a substantial factor in causing his mesothelioma, a rare form of terminal cancer. Attorneys Chandler Udo, Craig Sims and Kaitlin Wright from Seattle firm Bergman Draper Oslund argued that Lone Star was aware of the hazards of its asbestos-containing thermal insulation products yet failed to furnish warnings. And while the company denied that they supplied asbestos products to Lockheed Shipyard or Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Udo, Sims and Wright presented multiple eye-witness accounts of delivery and installation of these products. Matthew Bergman, Principal at Bergman Draper Oslund, said: "This is the first time in the state of Washington that Lone Star Industries has been held responsible for supplying asbetos products to these local shipyards, after well over a decade of denying responsibility. We view this case as a significant breakthrough, and we are pleased to bring some closure to Mr. Miller's family."



Washington state has one the highest rates of mesothelioma in the country. Kitsap, King, Pierce and Benton-Franklin have appeared in the "top 10" counties in the U.S. with the highest percentage of cases. Washington courts have developed a distinctive body of jurisprudence applicable to proving exposure in asbestos cases, specifically as it relates to the type of circumstantial evidence sufficient to demonstrate that exposure to a defendant's product was a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff's harm. In Lockwood v. AC&S, the state Supreme Court held that where there is evidence that an asbestos-containing product was used at plaintiff's jobsite an inference arises that the plaintiff was exposed to that product. This case was originally filed with the Superior Court of Washington King County in October 2016 and spent three weeks at trial. After careful deliberation, the jury awarded Diane E. Miller, a representative of Andrew Miller, with the $1.1 million award on Tuesday, July 17, 2018.

About Bergman Draper Oslund: Bergman Draper Oslund is a Seattle-based firm of lawyers and dedicated staff with over 25 years' experience, devoted solely to helping mesothelioma clients, with an emphasis on the Northwest. The firm has won more than $700 million for its clients, achieving record setting awards for victims exposed to asbestos at work or at home and through primary or secondary exposure. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180723005797/en/

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Anti-social elements are taking advantage of situation in state: Min.

Smoke billows from a burning tyre during a protest rally where agitators demanded reservation for Marathas at Neknoor village in Beed. (Photo: PTI)

Nagpur: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah has asked Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to handle the ongoing agitation by Maratha community, seeking reservation, in a calm manner and advised him against taking any aggressive step while dealing with it.

Mr Fadnavis has been trying to initiate a dialogue with the pro-reservation organisations and has discussed the issue with senior party leaders and ministers. Revenue minister Chandrakant Patil, meanwhile, alleged that antisocial paid elements are taking undue advantage of the agitation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr Shah have been concerned about the protests in the state over Maratha reservation issue since one week. Both of them have sought updates about the situation and advised Mr Fadnavis about the strategy, sources said.

Meanwhile, when Mr Fadnavis declared to skip the Mahapooja of Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur, he accused Maratha organisations of using religious platform for the agitation. Further, Mr Fadnavis alleged about the conspiracy to cause harm to pilgrims attending Mahapooja. The accusation by Mr Fadnavis have intensified the anger of the community. The remarks could have been avoided, revealed state BJP leaders.

Sources further revealed that Mr Fadnavis is trying to initiate a dialogue with the leaders of the Kranti Morcha. In next few days senior ministers and Mr Fadnavis will invite the leaders for discussions to subside the situation.

Meanwhile, Revenue minister Chandrakant Patil alleged that, violent protests can't resolve the issue as the matter is pending in the court. Further, last year the Maratha Kranti Morcha leaders had organised silent marches in the state.
[July 23, 2018] Famous Dave's Joins Seasoned in Battle Against Restaurant Turnover

AUSTIN and SAN FRANCISCO, July 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Seasoned.co, the first professional community focused on improving both sides of the restaurant industrys hiring process, locked in 6 Famous Daves locations to utilize their platform for all hiring needs. From scheduling interviews to gathering referrals, Seasoned handles tedious details so that managers can focus on running their restaurants. The platform makes it easy for employers to find, attract and hire the right candidatesfor free and without the hassle of managing multiple job boards.

Famous Dave's signs on with Seasoned to improve recruiting and lower churn



"We used to have tohire using multiple job sites, social sites, walk insusing up to 6 platforms at a time. Seasoned is a one-stop shop that provides streamlined communication among our management when it comes to hiring," said Kelly Yakopec, Regional Manager of the 6 franchise Famous Daves locations across Nebraska, Missouri and Kansas.



With store culture being at the heart of how job seekers decide to apply to jobs, and one of the top reasons they stay, we're so pleased to work with a brand like Famous Dave'swhere they lead with both their heart and their culture, said Raechel Barnes, Seasoneds Director of Sales and Customer Success. With over 700,000 members and more than 17,000 stores currently in the network, Seasoned continues to build one of the richest communities of job seekers and job fillers in the restaurant industry. Even as the numbers grow, they remain motivated to grow their marketplace to a point where the entire hiring landscape sees meaningful improvements.

The platform and tools are already there, now were looking forward to seeing how this community evolves. Were excited to be part of the change, said Yakopec. Job seekers in the Nebraska, Missouri and Kansas area can find Famous Daves openings at Seasoned.co. About Seasoned

Based in San Francisco with offices in Austin, Seasoned is the first foodservice-centric community designed to connect workers with jobs and career development resources and prospective employers with qualified candidates. From cooks and dishwashers to servers and hosts, gig workers to lifers, Seasoned aims to help improve the lives and livelihoods of those who work hard serving others. Seasoned is a sister company to restaurant industry veteran, HotSchedules, also a TPG Growth-funded company. About Famous Daves

Famous Daves develops, owns, operates and franchises barbeque restaurants. Its menu features award-winning barbequed and grilled meats, a selection of salads, sandwiches, side items, and made-from-scratch desserts. As of June 19, 2018, the Company owns 15 locations and franchises an additional 136 restaurants in 32 states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Canada, and United Arab Emirates. Contact info:

Anders Pers

Phone Number: +1 510-506-2249

Email: anders.pers@seasoned.co A photo accompanying this announcement is available at //www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5b8f3c84-0ac5-4feb-9226-ae87b4f0abe9

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[July 23, 2018] TUV Rheinland invited by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce to share steps for GDPR readiness and trends for Cybersecurity in 2018

HONG KONG, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Privacy and data security have always been important issues for the European Union (EU). The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which became mandatory on 25 May 2018, set rigorous standards for the protection of personal data and privacy. On July 13th, TUV Rheinland Hong Kong was invited by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce to help its members understand the challenges and opportunities presented by the GDPR, and to share their insights on best practices in privacy management and ways to minimise potential risks. 4 Step Check for GDPR Readiness YenEe Tan, Regional Consultant, IT Service and Cybersecurity of TUV Rheinland used a four-step approach to explain how enterprises can meet the GDPR standards and prepare for cybersecurity threats. Step 1 - Identify personal data processing activities and mapping data flow

Step 2 - Perform gap analysis and risk assessment on GDPR readiness

Step 3 - Implement GDPR compliance improvement programme

Step 4 - Consider GDPR and data privacy centric certification Sales, Marketing, Customer Service and the various departments of any organization all have a role to play in personal data processing. The GDPR emphasises the role of data ownership, which requires enterprises to focus on accountability in relation to the collection, storage, usage and transfer of personal data. Through effective penetration testing and IT/OT security analysis, TUV Rheinland can enormously reduce enterprises' vulnerability to potential hackers. Using gap analysis, customers can identify their current security posture and weaknesses which they can then plan to take the appropriate remediation steps to strengthen the technical and organizational security measures in their operations and continuously protect their systems and data from internal and external attacks.



8 Cybersecurity Trends in 2018 How can businesses better protect themselves from the increasing volume and complexity of cyberattacks while preparing for automation and digitalisation opportunities? TUV Rheinland sheds light on these questions in "Cybersecurity Trends 2018", which is available for download at http://bit.ly/trcybertrend2018. The report is based on a survey of TUV Rheinland's leading cybersecurity experts and input from clients in Europe, North America and Asia.

TREND 1: A rising global tide of cyber-regulation increasing the price of privacy

TREND 2: The Internet of Things drives the convergence of safety, cybersecurity, and data privacy

TREND 3: Operational Technology emerges as a frontline for cyberattacks

TREND 4: With cyber defences in place, focus shifts to threat detection & response

TREND 5: Increasing use of Artificial Intelligence for cyberattacks and cyber defence

TREND 6: Certifications become necessary to inject trust into cybersecurity

TREND 7: Passwords being replaced by biometric authentication

TREND 8: Industries under siege: Healthcare, Finance, and Energy "Our goal is to raise awareness of the increasing cybersecurity risks affecting business and the safety of our clients", said Frank Luzsicza, Executive Vice President of ICT & Business Solutions, TUV Rheinland. "In this year's report, we focus on where we see the most significant threats and opportunities emerging. We highlight the implications of our increasingly connected world, how global regulation is responding, the need to inject trust into cybersecurity, ways to protect ourselves from 'intelligent' cyberattacks, and what we should do to close the skills gap in an environment starved of cybersecurity talent, yet overwhelmed by volumes of data." For more information, please contact: Simon Hung

+852-21921948

simon.hung@tuv.com

Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20180723/2193192-1 SOURCE TUV Rheinland

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[July 23, 2018] Hanergy Kick-starts its CSR Project, 'Lighting Africa' in Tanzania

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, July 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Hanergy Thin-Film Power Group, a pioneering multinational clean energy company, launched the "Lighting Africa" project at its first stop Tanzania on July 18th together with China Foundation for Peace and Development and Tanzania-China Friendship Association by promising to donate the first 100 Humbrellas this October. "Lighting Africa" is a philanthropic project initiated by Hanergy and joined by China Foundation for Peace and Development this April in Beijing, aiming to provide environmental-friendly lighting devices to African children to improve their reading time and help the electricity deprived populations in Africa.

The event had a fully lit Humbrella demonstration that was witnessed by: Minister of International Department of Communist Party of China, Song Tao, President of Tanzania China Friendship Association, Hon. Dr. Salim.A.Salim, Hanergy Kenya Sales Directors Li Chuan and Zhang Xu, and over 700 local residents from Kagera Region along with teachers and pupils from the Oysterbay Primary School in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) reports that there are 880 million people who are living with insufficient electricity, power shortages have become an important factor that restricts the development of Africa.





Minister Song Tao said, "We hope more NGOs, enterprises, and individuals can join the cause of building a prosperous Tanzania, making the people's lives better."

"We hope 'Lighting Africa' Project will be a successful program at its first stop in Tanzania," added Minister Song. Donating the Humbrella, a path-breaking product from Hanergy, Mr. Li Chuan, Hanergy Kenya, Country Sales Director, said "At Hanergy, we're steadfast to ensure the all-round development of Africa. We're confident that the Humbrella will surely light up the lives of African children and facilitate the fast-paced development of Africa. Today's step to donate Humbrella to Tanzania is a testimony of our commitment to helping the underdeveloped regions of Africa facing power shortages."

"This is just the beginning of Hanergy's philanthropy in Africa. We're poised to bring more Humbrellas to Africa," he added. Humbrella is a new thin-film solar product developed by Hanergy. Weighing only 8.8 kilograms and a diameter of 2.7 meters, Humbrella is covered with thin-film solar panels, which is available for power generation on both sunny and cloudy days. Equipped with integrated functions of off-grid power supply, electricity storage, night lighting and terminal charging, the newly unveiled product is expected to store as much as 40000 mAh, ensuring a 10-hour high-quality reading time for children, or charging more than ten 3000mAh smartphones.

About Hanergy Hanergy, the world's largest clean energy company, has a comprehensive clean energy solution, covering hydro-power, wind-power, and solar power. Since 2009, Hanergy has focused on thin-film solar power research and development, and is launching a series of products including solar roof tiles, foldable solar-paper power bank, solar backpack, building integrated photovoltaics, solar roads and many others. With a worldwide staff of more than 16,000, Hanergy is devoted to providing the world a clean energy solution for a better life and sustainable world. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hanergy-kick-starts-its-csr-project-lighting-africa-in-tanzania-300685220.html SOURCE Hanergy Holding Group Ltd.

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[July 23, 2018] FICO's Intelligent Collections Help Metrobank Card Meet Growth and Improve Customer Service

One of the largest payment solution providers in the Philippines redeploys staff to more strategic work using FICO Customer Communication Services SINGAPORE, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Highlights: Metrobank Card Corporation (MCC) has automated its early collections using FICO  Customer Communication Services (CCS)

Customer Communication Services (CCS) FICO CCS has given Metrobank Card greater scalability to deal with a fast-growing customer base

Automation of early collections has freed staff to address collections cases that need more attention, which has improved customer and employee satisfaction Metrobank Card Corporation (MCC), one of the largest payment solution providers in the Philippines, has adopted FICO Customer Communication Services (CCS) to automate its collections and achieve scale as its business grew rapidly. Using intelligent, analytically driven communications, Metrobank Card has improved its customer service and automated its early reminders to free collections staff to work on more complex, strategic work. More information: https://youtu.be/HLbEs41z5KI Prior to implementing FICO's cloud-based solution, Metrobank Card was using customer communications in a very siloed manner. Messages that were sent using voice, SMS or email were not connected or informing a single view on a customer account. They were usually simple payment reminders that did not allow for resolution via a two-way customer response. This meant that agents would have to start a new interaction with the customer if they chose to shift from one communication channel to another. Now, the payments company is not only able to track communication across channels but has freed up a vast number of hours in its collections team. Automation of early-stage collectios has fundamentally changed the way the business can resource its team. Metrobank Card was able to scale using the team it already had, avoiding the need to quickly hire dozens of extra collections staff and the associated costs and training headaches.



"Metrobank Card Corporation was growing faster than the industry average and we needed a solution that could maintain the high standards that we had in collections while providing us with the scalability that we needed," said Roxy Castro, head of credit operations, Metrobank Card Corporation. "With CCS, we were able to augment our collections capacity rapidly and address the tremendous growth of our bank's card business. CCS has given us scalability for the early part of the collection buckets, where dialogues were simple and repetitive and automation took care of that. On the other hand, for dialogues that were more complicated, we left them to our highly trained collections agents." Improving Staff Operations

In addition to automating tasks, FICO Customer Communication Services has provided Metrobank Card with greater insights on performance management. Staff now have access to paydown curves and metrics to keep track of their performance.

Castro added, "It's about more than just measurements -- FICO's solution has contributed to a cultural shift amongst the collections department at Metrobank Card. The collections team is now spending more time discussing innovations they could introduce and are making better use of the wide range of skills amongst the team members." Through this partnership, FICO has also extended consultation sessions to Metrobank Card's collections team. "One of the biggest benefits that we get from CCS is the partnership we have with FICO. With the consultation that they offer us, we are able to broaden our knowledge through sharing of best practices and we are able to benchmark our team with the rest of the world," said Cristine Reyes, head of collection and recoveries, Metrobank Card Corporation. "Metrobank Card's move to automate the collections process underscores the growing demand for banks and other organizations in the Asia-Pacific region to manage resources more intelligently and provide greater emphasis on the customer," said Dattu Kompella, managing director in Asia for FICO. "It's not a matter of if they will use automated collections, but rather a question of when. It's great to see the significant performance improvement at Metrobank that's delivered when automation works side-by-side with a highly skilled collections team." About Metrobank Card Corporation

Metrobank Card Corporation (MCC) aims to be the leading payment solutions provider in the Philippines. It is dedicated to its customers, committed to its people and their development, steadfast in fulfilling its responsibility to the community, and consistent in delivering maximized shareholders' value. Launched in 2003, MCC has since then tripled its cardholder base and has launched a string of new products that offer distinct advantages to its customers, such as special installment plans, unmatched perks and privileges, and invitations to exclusive events. About FICO

FICO (NYSE: FICO) powers decisions that help people and businesses around the world prosper. Founded in 1956 and based in Silicon Valley, the company is a pioneer in the use of predictive analytics and data science to improve operational decisions. FICO holds more than 185 US and foreign patents on technologies that increase profitability, customer satisfaction and growth for businesses in financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications, health care, retail and many other industries. Using FICO solutions, businesses in more than 100 countries do everything from protecting 2.6 billion payment cards from fraud, to helping people get credit, to ensuring that millions of airplanes and rental cars are in the right place at the right time. Learn more at www.fico.com.

Join the conversation at https://twitter.com/fico & http://www.fico.com/en/blogs/ FICO is a registered trademark of Fair Isaac Corporation in the US and other countries. Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLbEs41z5KI

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/153740/fico_logo.jpg SOURCE FICO

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[July 23, 2018] Hong Kong Customer Support Software Receives Global Recognition

HONG KONG, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- M800 Limited, Hong Kong's leading telecommunication & IT solutions provider, has once again won another award on the world stage, this time for their customer support platform liveConnect. The award received was the highly-esteemed 2018 Unified Communications Product of the Year Award from TMC, a global, integrated media company helping clients build communities in print, in person and online. Touted to be the most powerful chat and messaging platform, liveConnect is built to expand the recognition and services of a company leading to an increase in business revenue. This revolutionary customer service platform is backed by M800 proprietary globally distributed network infrastructure which provides the highest standard of security and reliability while maintaining customer privacy as its top priority. This exceptional software makes M800 stands out as a groundbreaking communication solution provider. liveConnect provides ultimate flexibility for both the customer and the agents. The platform supports and connects all existing communication channels together, be it a landline, mobile phone or computer. This allows agents to handle inquiries with full mobility and make themselves accessible in a number of routes. A standout feature - the calling function, enables customers to contact its customer service center by the convenience of pushing the call button on the web or app. At the same time, custoer service representatives can also call back the customers - through the platform, saving telephony costs.



A further exclusive feature of liveConnect is its ability to allow a company to integrate its pre-existing toll-free number into the platform. Many enterprises have used this unique capability of liveConnect to enhance its traditional customer services and add on-net communication functions such as voice and instant messages into its offerings for a seamless customer support experience. "This award win is a testament to our continuous efforts to creating superb communication solutions. Moving forward, we will build on this award win and strive for further excellence," says Steven YAP, Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of M800.

liveConnect has been gaining tremendous traction with companies in all stages of development since its debut in Italy earlier this year, with reliability and security being the top reason these companies choose liveConnect. "It gives me great pleasure to honor M800 Limited as a 2018 recipient of TMC's Unified Communications Product of the Year Award for their innovative product, liveConnect," said Rich Tehrani, CEO, TMC. "Our judges were very impressed with the ingenuity and excellence displayed by M800 Limited in their groundbreaking work on liveConnect." The 2018 Unified Communications Product of the Year Award is the second honor awarded to liveConnect in recent months. Prior to this win, liveConnect received a Silver trophy in the 2018 Asia-Pacific Stevie Award in the category of Innovative Use of Technology in Customer Service -- Telecommunications Industries. liveConnect Features Reliable Voice Calling

Unique amongst communication solution providers, provide crystal-clear voice calling for both on-net and off-net users. Toll-free Integration

Companies that are currently using toll-free can easily integrate their numbers into the platform. Secure Instant Messaging

Allow two-way live chat communication between users. File Sharing

Allow agents and customers to send and receive documents and multimedia files. Multi-device Platform

Users can contact each other via web, mobile app, and landline. Full Brand Customization

The colors and background of the platform can be fully adjusted to match a company's brand image. Companies can also add a branded video on their calling screen to enhance company recognition. About M800 Limited M800 is a leading global CPaaS provider which is recognised for offering reliable communication solutions through its globally distributed network infrastructure. Providing the highest security and reliability in the industry, the award-winning company offers carrier-grade communication solutions for enterprise and businesses. These include communication SDKs for Internet of Things (IoT) and apps, an integrated communication platform for customer service, and a white-label communication app for businesses looking to improve their internal and external communication securely. The company has over 500 enterprise clients globally, across different industries including Fortune 500 companies. Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20180724/2194303-1-a SOURCE M800 Limited

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[July 24, 2018] Productcaster Launches as Trusted Google Comparison Shopping Service Partner for European Retailers and Agencies

LONDON, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Launch retail clients include Argos, Cdiscount, Durex, Evans Cycles, Gear4music, H. Samuel, River Island, Wayfair and Yours Clothing Today sees the launch of Productcaster (http://www.productcaster.com), one of the first agencies in the UK to run a Comparison Shopping Service (CSS) approved by Google as part of its move to increase competition in its Shopping ad space across Europe following the EU's antitrust ruling last year. (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/721587/Productcaster_on_Google.jpg )

Productcaster has launched with leading retailers in the European Economic Area (EEA), and enables both retailers and agencies to take advantage of Google's favourable Cost-Per-Click (CPC) offer across it's updated CSS format. With launch retailers including Argos, Durex, Evans Cycles, Gear4music, H. Samuel, River Island, Wayfair and Yours Clothing, and leading ecommerce retailers in Europe such as Cdiscount in France, Productcaster looks set to become an important Google CSS partner in Europe. Uniquely, the Productcaster CSS solution can also service agency clients through a tailord white-label solution. Omnicom Media Group (OMG) and several leading independent agencies are the first to partner with Productcaster to offer their retail clients the opportunity to take advantage of the lower CSS media rates.



Productcaster was created by UK-based specialists in online retailing, Summit, which used its 18-years' experience servicing retailers and developing award winning marketing technology to create an effective, trustworthy CSS solution for Europe. Ian Carrington, MD Performance Media Solutions EMEA at Google, said, "We're pleased to welcome Productcaster to the table as a Comparison Shopping Service partner. Their technological capability and retail experience makes them a welcome arrival to our CSS programme."

Justin Opie, Managing Director at retail association IMRG, said, "The savings to be had through this new retail offering from Google are potentially significant given that our data shows that on a last-click attribution basis, paid media on average accounts for around 20% of the online retail revenue that is derived from all marketing channels. With the current uncertainty facing retail, we anticipate retailers to be interested in any opportunity to increase their ROI from their marketing channels." Hedley Aylott, CEO of Summit, said, "We recognised the desire amongst retailers for a trusted, transparent CSS partner that offers sensible fees and a reliable service. When we became aware of this opportunity for retailers we created the Productcaster service to get our clients and agency partners live on CSS within a matter of days across Europe. They are already seeing a 15-25% benefit in CPC savings through Productcaster. We want to make it as easy as possible for retailers and agencies take advantage of the lower media fees in an ever-competitive market as fast as possible." Visuals of Productcaster can be downloaded here: https://propellergroup.box.com/s/8ie3ma99tkdndecpa8eqozdzo98640kr About Productcaster Productcaster is a product-feed powered publishing engine designed to help retailers have their products reach the widest possible audience across all digital channels. An official Google Comparison Shopping Partner, Productcaster enables retailers of any size to improve their PLA performance by entering the Google Shopping Ads auction at a more competitive media rate via a Comparison Shopping Service partner. Productcaster is part of the marketing technology stack built by Summit's technology division. Summit is a UK-based specialist in online retailing and has been trusted by leading retailers and brands around the world for over 18 years, helping them sell more online. SOURCE Productcaster

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[July 24, 2018] Harbour City Livestream Success Leads to Two AMEC Awards

Harbour City receives GOLD in the Most Innovative Use of Measurement in a Digital Campaign and BRONZE in the Best Use of Social Media Measurement, at AMEC Awards 2018.

Sets New Sina Hong Kong Livestream Record with over 28.2M Views HONG KONG, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Harbour City picked up Gold and Bronze awards at the AMEC Awards 2018. Harbour City, Hong Kong's largest shopping mall, received the Gold Award for Most Innovative Use of Measurement in a Digital Campaign in "ISentia for Harbour City Estates: Unleashing the New Retail Experience". The Harbour City campaign also received the Bronze Award for Best Use of Social Media Measurement. Harbour City strives for innovation in their marketing campaigns. While in past years, installations were primarily utilised to draw consumer attention, during this campaign, Harbour City relied upon the amplifying power of digital streaming media only. This innovative campaign's success can be attributed to the combination of leveraging the popularity of a new live streaming platform, striking a partnership with a top influencer, and capitalizing on Harbour City's position as Hong Kong's "Beauty Kingdom". Designing the Campaign Leveraging its strategic position as Hong Kong's "Beauty Kingdom", with more than 320 global beauty brands under one roof, Harbour City launched a highly engaging 90-minute livestream onsite in May 2017. Harbour City invested vast amounts of time and energy in the planning of the campaign to ensure the one-hour-and-a-half livestream would be engaging enough to capture and hold the audience's attention. Harbour City incorporated a designated "purchase intention" measurement model to identify the top influencer in the beauty category. After shortlisting and identifying the most relevant, and most popular social media talent in its category, Harbou City launched a campaign on one of China's most popular social media sites, Sina Weibo, which at the time was experiencing dizzying amounts of attention and engagement on its livestreaming platform.



After an exhaustive search, the Harbour City campaign featured celebrity stylist "Perry", the No.1 Beauty influencer on Sina Weibo with 36 million followers, and featured six different cosmetic brands, all available at Harbour City. The campaign successfully converted consumer intent to action by showcasing Perry's popular usage tips and expertise. The judging panel was impressed by the conversion of engagement into purchases. Due to the popularity of Perry's live streaming, his live stream appeared on the list of the top live stream recommendations on Yizhibo that day. This, along with the promotions of Sina Microblog and Harbour City, led to the increase in the video's popularity. Additionally, post campaign, Perry launched an activity with incentives where he encouraged fans to replay the live stream and answer questions for the opportunity to win a gift. This follow-up action triggered another wave of engagement. The accumulated video views, after the incentive-driven activity, surged from the original 25 million to 28.2 million.

Record-breaking Results By incorporating the livestream and social influence, Harbour City successfully pushed an Online-to-Offline-to-Online strategy, boosting quantifiable business and marketing results. Perry broke his own livestream audience views record. As importantly, the campaign helped improve customer sentiment towards Harbour City's brand image, and its "Beauty Kingdom" reputation was also further enhanced. China's Sina Weibo achieved a record-breaking viewership in Hong Kong, with 28.2M views gained for this individual livestream. The expert judging panel from AMEC commented: "This entry does a fabulous job of tying the communication objectives to the business results in clear and measurable way, exceeding the business goals." With two awards, 2018 marks the most successful year at AMEC for Harbour City -- who has been the recipient of an award each year for the past five years. Harbour City was among 93 shortlisted entrants and one of five double-award recipients in 2018 -- a rare feat in the history of the AMEC Awards. The awards were announced on 14th June in Barcelona, Spain. About Perry Perry is known in the media as the "Beauty Magician" and he is the hottest celebrity stylist in Asia. He was the exclusive stylist for celebrities Dee Hsu (Little S), Barbie Hsu (Da S), Vivian Hsu and other popular artists. He has also involved in styling Taiwan's Golden Bell Award, Golden Horse Award and other significant awards many times. Perry's WeChat public attention exceeds 40 million; and the highest views of his livestream broke records with 28.2 million. He is a fashion industry entrepreneur, establishing P.StylE (professional style salon), Bright Eyelashes (eyelashes and nail brand), and Hulls (skin management center). He created China's first online fashion beauty weekly program #Magical Class#, which was launched 7 years ago with thousands of video programs, and has been viewed by more than 2 billion views. He is also a best-selling author. He has written 8 books in the past few years and the latest one published in April 2017 is his first autobiography titled "The Way of Achieving Your Dreams is Incomparable", which had online sales of more than 50,000 in the first month. About AMEC AMEC, the International association for the Measurement and Evaluation of Communication, reviews and recognizes the excellence of digital campaign application, social media measurement and insights worldwide. Its awards are recognition from industry peers for exceptional achievements and a sign of quality. About Harbour City Harbour City is the largest shopping mall in Hong Kong. With over 320 brands featured across 3 beauty stores Lane Crawford, FACESSS, Joyce Beauty and other standalone beauty boutiques. It is renowned as the "Beauty Kingdom" for offering the largest number of beauty brands in Hong Kong and likely across the region. In addition, Harbour City brings together leading international fashion flagship stores, more than 450 shops, 50 food and beverage outlets, and three hotels. Related Links: www.harbourcity.com Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20180712/2185506-1

Logo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20140721/8521404095LOGO SOURCE Harbour City

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[July 24, 2018] TNS and INET Partnership Revolutionizes Thanachart Bank's Merchant POS Service

Thanachart Bank in Thailand is strengthening the point-of-sale (POS) services it provides to its merchants and their 30,000 terminals, thanks to a new agreement with Transaction Network Services ( TNS (News - Alert) ) and INET. TNS, in partnership with INET, will upgrade Thanachart Bank's merchant offerings with the TNS managed dial service, Secure Internet Gateway and Global Wireless Access solutions. These solutions will allow Thanachart Bank to deliver a reliable, high bandwidth payments service which is capable of carrying a large volume of transactions quickly and securely. A spokesperson for Thanachart Bank said: "We are excited to be working with INET and TNS. This new agreement will allow us to provide our merchants with a more feature-rich service with higher levels of resiliency and security. The combination of TNS' technology, experience and security features, and INET's position as one of the leading secure managed payment service providers in Thailand, made this partnership stand out from our alternative options. "We are pleased to report that the migration over to the TNS infrastructure was completed within just five months so our merchants are already enjoying the enhanced benefits we can offer." Prior to using TNS, Thanachart Bank handled its POS transactions in-house, but managing and expanding this infrastructure was proving costly and time-consuming as its customer base of retail outlets, hospitality providers and other small-medium businesses has continued to grow.



John Tait, Managing Director of TNS' FinTech Solutions business across the Asia Pacific region, said: "We are delighted to be helping Thanachart Bank enhance its POS services and gain a competitive advantage within the Thai market. Our partnership with INET continues to strengthen. INET's local expertise and consultancy complements our global reach and technical capabilities so together we can very effectively meet the needs of banks and merchants in Thailand." TNS' Secure Internet Gateway is a PCI (News - Alert) DSS compliant payment delivery solution which enables merchants to connect both online and offline IP-based transactions to acquirers, processors and banks. The TNS Dial service can deliver all types of transaction traffic, including credit and debit cards, pre-paid mobile top-ups, gaming, alarms, inventory control, order entry and other transaction-oriented applications.

Global Wireless Access is an Internet of Things solution designed specifically for POS terminals. It provides comprehensive international coverage with in-country domestic roaming to minimize coverage blackspots, an advanced SIM management portal, dedicated POS terminal application and a strongest signal SIM feature. Songsak Danubumrungsart, Senior Consultant at INET said: "The INET and TNS partnership will allow Thanachart Bank to capitalize on growth opportunities as the services we are providing are flexible and scalable to suit their changing needs. With these solutions they can also better manage their compliance and reporting capabilities." Founded in 1990, TNS has expanded to provide services across Europe, the Americas and the Asia Pacific regions. The organization has secured a strong payments heritage and is a Level 1 PCI DSS certified service provider and a global board member of the ATM Industry Association (ATMIA). TNS' secure network is supported 24x7x365 by multiple Network Operating Centers around the world. For more information about TNS, please visit www.tnsi.com. ENDS About Transaction Network Services (News - Alert) : Transaction Network Services (TNS) is a leading global provider of data communications and interoperability solutions. TNS offers a broad range of networks and innovative value-added services which enable transactions and the exchange of information in diverse industries such as retail, banking, payment processing, telecommunications and the financial markets. Founded in 1990 in the United States, TNS has grown steadily and now provides services in over 60 countries across the Americas, Europe and the Asia Pacific region, with our reach extending to many more. TNS has designed and implemented multiple data networks which support a variety of widely accepted communications protocols and are designed to be scalable and accessible by multiple methods. For further information please contact: View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180724005036/en/

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[July 24, 2018] Secure Trust Bank Selects nCino to Enhance the Customer Journey and Automate Business Processes

WILMINGTON, North Carolina and LONDON, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- nCino, the worldwide leader in cloud banking, today announced that Secure Trust Bank Plc ("STB"), a 1.9 billion-asset British retail and commercial challenger bank, has selected the nCino Bank Operating System as its new technology platform to digitise operations and enhance the customer journey for its Real Estate Finance (REF) business. Adopting nCino's Bank Operating System gives STB a single cloud-based environment, built on the Salesforce platform, that combines customer relationship management (CRM), loan origination, deposit account opening, workflow, enterprise content management, business process management, digital engagement and instant reporting. The range of features offered by the nCino Bank Operating System, including the ability to improve the quality and availability of management information across the entire customer journey, execute transactions, and utilize a CRM for both new and existing customers, is aligned to STB's requirements and need for scalability. STB also appreciated the extensive level of out-of-the-box functionality offered by nCino, which will effectively reduce the time it will take to customise the platform to STB's own business requirements. "It was important to us that our operating platform provider was able to demonstrate both a depth and breadth of banking knowledge and offer solutions for real industry issues, not just technological ones. During the selection process, nCino clearly demonstrated its mantra of 'built by bankers, for bankers," said Stephen Marrow, Head of Operations, Real Estate Finance, at STB. "We're pleased to have found our long-term prtner to help us build the foundations for continued growth of the REF business in a manner that ensures we remain compliant with regulation and legislation, and also enhances our customer journey."



STB's REF business was founded at the end of 2013 and in only four years of operating has grown its loan book to 581 million. To support its continued growth aspirations, STB decided to look for an operating platform that could provide the REF business with a single view of the customer - from origination through to integration to the existing core - and also enhance the customer experience by reducing the time it takes to close a loan. Additionally, with nCino, STB will be able to provide customers with anytime, anywhere access to the loan approval process and all tasks via nCino's Customer Portal, which streamlines document collection and account maintenance while providing customers with complete transparency throughout the entire loan lifecycle. "Secure Trust Bank is an established bank that is well poised to build on its current position through an innovative strategy and customer first mentality," said Pullen Daniel, Managing Director - International at nCino. "With nCino's Bank Operating System, STB will be able to reduce manual processes in favour of increased automation, and provide new levels of productivity, transparency, and faster loan turnaround times. Combined, these efficiencies will lead to stronger customer relationships and a better experience for customers and bank employees alike. We are proud to be on this growth journey together with STB."

About Secure Trust Bank Secure Trust Bank is an established, well-funded and capitalised UK retail bank with a 66 year trading track record. Secure Trust Bank operates principally from its head office in Solihull, West Midlands, and had 767 employees (full-time equivalent) as at 31 December 2017. The Group's diversified lending portfolio currently focuses on three sectors: Business Finance through its Real Estate Finance, Asset Finance and Commercial Finance divisions, Consumer Finance through its Motor Finance and Retail Finance divisions and Consumer Mortgages. As at 31 December 2017 the Group's loans and advances to customers totalled 1,599.0 million, customer deposits totalled 1,483.2 million and the Group's total customer base was approaching 1 million. Secure Trust Bank PLC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Secure Trust Bank, PLC, One Arleston Way, Solihull, B90 4LH. http://www.securetrustbank.com About nCino nCino is the worldwide leader in cloud banking. With its Bank Operating System, built on the Salesforce platform, financial institutions can deliver the speed and digital experience that customers expect, backed by the quality and transparency that bankers need. Follow @nCino or visit http://www.ncino.com .

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[July 24, 2018] Zecotek Restructures to Align Intellectual Property, Technology and Business Functions Across Operating Divisions

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Zecotek Photonics Inc. ("Zecotek" or the "Company") (TSX-V: ZMS) (Frankfurt: W1I) (OTCPK: ZMSPF), a developer of leading-edge photonics technologies for healthcare, industrial and scientific markets, is pleased to announce an internal restructuring to better align its intellectual property, photonics technology and business functions across its three operating divisions: Zecotek Imaging Systems Pte. Ltd. (Singapore), Zecotek Optronics Systems Pte. Ltd., and Zecotek Autotronics Systems Pte. Ltd. (formerly known as Zecotek Display Systems Pte. Ltd.). All three operating companies are incorporated in Singapore. "Due to the considerable interest in our technology and investment potential in our operating divisions, it was necessary to better align our photonics technology, intellectual property and associated business functions across our three operating divisions," said Dr. A.F. Zerrouk, Chairman, President, and CEO of Zecotek Photonics Inc. "We have recently completed two divisional equity financings in Zecotek Imaging Systems (Singapore) and Zecotek Imaging China, from the same strategic group, which puts us in a strong financial position moving forward. Our LFS Crystal Production Facility in Shanghai is coming online and has produced its first crystal boules. The company is building strength and gaining control of the production of its technologies." All patents, with the exception those patents covering LFS scintillation crystals, have been transferred to Zecotek Optronics Systems. Patents pertaining to the LFS scintillation crystals will remain in Zecotek Imaging Systems (Singapore). Zecotek Display Systems has been renamed Zecotek Autotronics Systems to focus on developing components for autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles and industrial machinery. Zecotek Optronics Systems has granted exclusive license rights to: Zecotek Autotronics Systems, for its patented 3D display technology, solid-state MAPD/T photo detector and transistor, and the recently announced wireless ASIC microchip, to be used in a 3D head-up display and in-automobile ntertainment multi-view flat screen display, LIDAR photo-sensing, and for communication, data processing and navigation control, respectively; Zecotek Imaging System ( Singapore ) for the solid-state MAPD/T photo detector and transistor, and wireless ASIC microchip, for applications in positron emission tomography (PET) medical imaging and high energy physic imaging; Zecotek Imaging Systems ( Singapore ) for all intellectual property covering projects in joint development with the University of Washington including the NeuroPET/MRI.



Singapore ) and Zecotek Autotronics Systems. Zecotek Imaging China, a subsidiary of Zecotek Imaging Systems (Singapore), is commercializing patented LFS scintillation crystals through its new crystal production facility in Shanghai, China. Zecotek Imaging China is poised to become a leader in large-scale production, cutting and polishing of scintillation crystals grown by the Czochralski method in China. Using a proprietary manufacturing process, very large-diameter boules with uniform properties and without cracks are produced resulting in high element output with lower unit costs.

Zecotek's patented (US patent No. 7,132,060) LFS scintillation crystals are known for their superiority in performance. Zecotek's LFS crystals are known for their high light yields and ultra-fast decay times which allow for faster and higher-resolution operation of medical and industrial imaging devices including PET medical scanners. The Company's line of LFS crystals also cover a wide range of emission wavelengths which can be tailored to match the spectral sensitivity of various photo detectors including the Company's own solid-state MAPD photo detector arrays. About Zecotek Zecotek Photonics Inc. (TSX-V: ZMS; Frankfurt: W1I; OTCPK: ZMSPF) is a photonics technology company developing high-performance scintillation crystals, solid-state photo detectors, 3D displays and related technologies for applications in medical, high-tech and industrial sectors. Founded in 2004, Zecotek has three operating divisions: Zecotek Imaging Systems, Zecotek Optronics Systems, and Zecotek Autotronics with labs located in Canada, Korea, Russia, Singapore and U.S.A. It is commercializing over 55 patented and patent pending novel photonic technologies directly and through strategic alliances with the Shanghai EBO Optoelectronics Technology Company (China), Hamamatsu Photonics (Japan), the European Organization for Nuclear Research (Switzerland), NuCare Medical Systems (South Korea), the University of Washington (United States), and National NanoFab Center (South Korea). For more information visit http://www.zecotek.com and follow @zecotek on Twitter. This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are based on management's expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual future results and trends may differ materially from what may have been stated. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release. If you would like to receive news from Zecotek in the future, please visit the corporate website at http://www.zecotek.com. For Additional Information Please Contact:

Zecotek Photonics Inc.

Michael Minder

T: +1(604)783-8291

ir@zecotek.com



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Policeman dies in line of duty, 9 cops hurt; 2 protesters attempt suicide.

Mumbai: Even as the Maharashtra bandh called by the Maratha Kranti Morcha (MKM) turned violent on Tuesday, the oganisation has given a call for bandh in Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Navi Mumbai and Palghar districts on Wednesday. These districts were excluded from Tuesdays bandh. Meanwhile, a policeman died and nine more cops were injured as violence spread across the state on Tuesday.

A day after the death of a protester in Aurangabad after he jumped into a river on Monday, the seventh day of the Maratha agitation for reservation turned violent on Tuesday with two more protesters attempting to take their lives in Aurangabad district and others burnt a fire brigade vehicle. Internet services were suspended in Aurangabad on Tuesday in the Maharashtra bandh called by MKM that saw a complete shutdown of Marathwada and parts of Vidarbha and Western Maharashtra.

A 50-year-old police constable Shyam Kathgoankar died due to heart attack while on duty at Kaygoan Toka in Gangapur, Aurangabad. Gajendra Ingale, police sub-inspector, Gangapur police station, Aurangabad, said, Kathgoankar was managing crowd of Maratha Morcha at Kaygoan Toka, a place where Kakasaheb Shinde committed suicide. He started getting chest pains and was taken to Ghati District Hospital in Aurangabad. But, he died on the way.

He added, He was posted with the headquarters in Osmanabad. We have asked for extra police to manage law and order situation here." Nine other policemen were injured.

The state government and Opposition parties appealed for peace, but protesters were aggressive and held rasta rokos across the state. The MKM had called for a statewide bandh on Tuesday. It mainly affected Marathwada and parts of Western Maharashtra. Aurangabad region of Marathawada, which has been epicenter of the agitation, completely shut down. Trying to commit suicide, protester Jayesh Sonawane, a youth from Devgav Rangari jumped into a Velganga river whereas, Jagannath Sonawane, 50, consumed poison. They were immediately taken to hospitals.

The state government suspended Gangapur tehsildar Chandrakant Shelake and police inspector Sunil Birla over Kakasaheb Shindes death. Mr Shinde died after jumping into the Godavari. On Tuesday, Shiv Sena member of Parliament, Chandrakant Khaire, had to face the wrath of Maratha volunteers when he arrived to pay tribute to Mr Shinde.

Tuesdays bandh saw a total shutdown of all public services in Jalana, Parbhani and Beed districts. Protestors blocked roads on Aurangabad-Ahmednagar Highway and Latur-Aurangabad Highway.

Stones were pelted at the Baramati administrative office. Protesters also blocked roads in Pune city. However, Pune still functioned despite the call for bandh.
[July 24, 2018] High Speed Serial Switch Fabrics: Global Market Outlook to 2027 - ResearchAndMarkets.com

The "Global High Speed Serial Switch Fabrics Market Analysis & Trends - Industry Forecast to 2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Global High Speed Serial Switch Fabrics Market is poised to grow strong during the forecast period 2017 to 2027. Some of the prominent trends that the market is witnessing include increase in research and development activities, rise in demand for technological advancements and growth opportunities/investment opportunities. Based on product, market is segmented into VLAN switching, layer switching, network core switching and other products. Depending on application, market is divided into security, audio and video transmission, data center consolidation and other applications. Report Highlights The report provides a detailed aalysis on current and future market trends to identify the investment opportunities

Market forecasts till 2027, using estimated market values as the base numbers

Key market trends across the business segments, regions and countries

Key developments and strategies observed in the market

Market Dynamics such as Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities and other trends

In-depth company profiles of key players and upcoming prominent players

Growth prospects among the emerging nations through 2027

Market opportunities and recommendations for new investments



Key Topics Covered 1 Market Outline

2 Executive Summary 3 Market Overview 4 High Speed Serial Switch Fabrics Market, By Product 5 High Speed Serial Switch Fabrics Market, By Application 6 High Speed Serial Switch Fabrics Market, By Geography 7 Key Player Activities 8 Leading Companies Integrated Device Technology Inc.

Curtiss-Wright (News - Alert) Corporation

Intel Corporation

Macom

Pentek, Inc.

Sierra Wireless

Cisco Systems, Inc.

Microsemi (News - Alert) Corporation

Broadcom Corporation For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/x55nc2/high_speed_serial?w=4 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180724005409/en/

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[July 24, 2018] New Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 Version 2 Extends Hyper-Availability with Data Protection for SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business

Veeam Software, the leader in Intelligent Data Management for the Hyper-Available Enterprise, today released new Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 Version 2. This new release now protects Microsoft (News - Alert) OneDrive for Business, SharePoint Online, and SharePoint on-premises installations, in addition to Exchange Online and Exchange on-premises. This newest version of Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 follows one of Veeam's most successful product launches, Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office v1 and v1.5. To date, more than 35,000 organizations, representing 4.1 million Microsoft Office 365 mailboxes, have downloaded Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365. Downloads during H1 2018 increased by 151 percent compared to H2 2017, and product bookings increased 135 percent during this same period. Now with more than 50 new enhancements, it is easier than ever to set up, manage, and maintain protection, visibility and compliance across all Office 365 data, while ensuring the Hyper-Availability of critical Microsoft Office 365 applications for organizations of all sizes. Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 v2 protects data inside the Office 365 infrastructure, enhancing the automatic data replication Microsoft provides across its data centers. The combination of Veeam and Microsoft solutions enable companies to have complete control of their data and helps ensure availability to users across Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business. With Veeam, IT can securely back up Office 365 to on-premises or to the cloud with Microsoft Azure, Amazon AWS, IBM (News - Alert) Cloud, and over 18,000 service providers to: Enhance Protection of Office 365 data from accidental deletion, security threats and retention policy gaps;

from accidental deletion, security threats and retention policy gaps; Quickly restore individual Office 365 items and files with industry-leading recovery flexibility; and

with industry-leading recovery flexibility; and Meet legal and compliance requirements with efficient eDiscovery of Office 365 backup archives. "With our latest release, Veeam extends our long-term commitment to provide additional security controls and backup of Microsoft Office 365 data," said Danny Allan, Vice President of Product Strategy at Veeam. "No company with Office 365 should be without Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 v2. With Veeam, the enterprise remains in complete control and data remains available and protected." This latest version of Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 includes: New data protection for OneDrive for Business. Provides fast, efficient backup of Office 365 OneDrive for Business accounts with the ability to restore and export files and folders with the NEW Veeam Explorer for Microsoft OneDrive .

Provides fast, efficient backup of Office 365 OneDrive for Business accounts with the ability to restore and export files and folders with the NEW Veeam Explorer . New data protection for SharePoint. Enables IT to back up SharePoint Online and SharePoint onpremises. Provides reliable and flexible recovery options to restore SharePoint sites, documents, libraries and lists with the already-familiar Veeam Explorer for Microsoft SharePoint.

Enables IT to back up SharePoint Online and SharePoint onpremises. Provides reliable and flexible recovery options to restore SharePoint sites, documents, libraries and lists with the already-familiar Veeam Explorer Ease-of-use and backup flexibility improvements: A newly redesigned job wizard provides an easier and more flexible selection of Exchange Online, OneDrive for Business and SharePoint Online objects. It's now easier than ever to set-up, search and maintain visibility into Office 365 data. IT can granularly search, scale and perform management of backup jobs for tens of thousands of Office 365 users, saving time and valuable resources



NEW Free Community Edition In its long-standing tradition to give back to the IT community, Veeam is also releasing Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 Community Edition. This new edition provides access and control of Office 365 data for free, with functionality identical to that of the paid version, but limited to 10 users and 1 TB of protected SharePoint data. Download Veeam Backup for Office 365 Community Edition.

Enables Veeam Cloud & Service Providers to tap into the $2.5 billion Microsoft Office 365 backup market The rapid adoption and growth of Microsoft Office 365 has created a tremendous opportunity for service providers, opening the door to create new revenue opportunities in a $2.5 billion market. With Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365, Veeam Cloud & Service Providers (VCSPs) can securely back up customers' Office 365 Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business data; quickly restore individual Exchange items, SharePoint objects and OneDrive files; and efficiently automate and scale an Office 365 backup revenue stream. Availability and Pricing Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 v2 is available in one to five-year annual subscriptions, with the ability to be billed annually or up-front. Veeam recommends a three-year subscription, billed annually at a MSRP of $1.28 per user, per month. For additional details on Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 pricing, visit https://www.veeam.com/backup-microsoft-office-365-pricing.html. Supporting Quotes "Only 38 percent of SaaS (News - Alert) users are familiar with all the data protection/recovery SLAs associated with the services they use. This means compliance and data recoverability risks that can negatively impact any organization, in particular with regards to email and collaboration tools. The newest version of Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 simply solves this problem and puts users back in control of their data protection process." - Christophe Bertrand, Senior Analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group "With SharePoint being the back-end file storage for almost all Office 365 services such as Office 365 Groups and Microsoft Teams, having a product such as Veeam, which can backup both Exchange, SharePoint and OneDrive, is a must-have solution for companies that want to protect their Office 365 investment." - Vlad Catinescu, Top SharePoint Market Influencer and Microsoft MVP "Microsoft Office 365 is an absolutely vital application for us. With Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365, it's been easy to ensure that our Office 365 data is protected. Any time we need to restore an email, I can rest easy knowing that we can get the data back in a matter of seconds or minutes in just a few clicks. I'm looking forward to having a similar experience with SharePoint and OneDrive." - Alex Hobler, IT Manager, Americas at Septodont "Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 v2 has the familiar look and feel of our other well-known Veeam products. It works intuitively, exactly as expected." - Jorg Deelen, Technical Sales Consultant at Openline B.V. "Data today is expected to be hyper-available, intelligent, and compliant - simply without risk, and we are again delivering that critical business continuity with our Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 expansion to SharePoint and OneDrive, a platform that most users take for granted as being protected." - Matt Chesterton, CEO at OffsiteDataSync, a Platinum Veeam Cloud & Service Provider partner "We recently tested out the Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 v2 beta and we're really pleased. Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 v2 brings the familiar Veeam backup and recovery technology to SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business. It provides efficient and easy backup handling of our Office 365 customers." - Mikael Norman, IT Systems Management (News - Alert) at ITS Nordic a Gold Veeam Cloud & Service Provider partner About Veeam Software Veeam is the global leader in Intelligent Data Management for the Hyper-Available Enterprise. Veeam Hyper-Availability Platform is the most complete solution to help customers on the journey to automating data management and ensuring the Hyper-Availability of data. We have more than 307,000 customers worldwide, including 75 percent of the Fortune 500 and 58 percent of the Global 2000. Our customer satisfaction scores, at 3.5X the industry average, are the highest in the industry. Our global ecosystem includes 57,600 channel partners; Cisco (News - Alert) , HPE, and NetApp as exclusive resellers; and nearly 19,800 cloud and service providers. Headquartered in Baar, Switzerland, Veeam has offices in more than 30 countries. To learn more, visit https://www.veeam.com or follow Veeam on Twitter @veeam. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180724005443/en/

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[July 24, 2018] Arc Bio Established to Develop NGS Tools to Revolutionize Infectious Disease Field

MENLO PARK, Calif. and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Arc Bio, founded by leading geneticists and bioinformaticians, announced today the launch of its proprietary antimicrobial resistance software, marking the first in what will be a series of new next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based products aimed at revolutionizing the field of pathogen detection. Galileo AMR is an antimicrobial resistance (AMR) detection software that provides fast, accurate annotations for any gram-negative bacterial DNA sequence in less than five minutes. "At Arc Bio, we are on a mission to improve the human condition by delivering new tools that profoundly change how disease is diagnosed, treated and managed. The launch of Galileo AMR is our first step towards achieving this goal," said Arc Bio Chief Executive Officer Dr. Todd Dickinson, a founding scientist of Illumina. "As the CDC reports, every year over 2 million people are infected by antibiotic resistant bacteria, causing more than 23,000 deaths in the U.S.1 Rapid identification of various strains of antimicrobial resistance, and better understanding their transmission and evolution, is vital to protecting public health." Arc Bio, an EdenRoc Sciences Company, was co-founded by Dr. Carlos Bustamante, a population geneticist, Professor of Biomedical Data Science, Genetics, and (by courtesy) Biology at Stanford University, where he serves as the Inaugural Chair of the Department of Biomedical Data Science; and Dr. David Andrew Sinclair, a Professor of Genetics at Harvard University and founding Director of the Paul F. Glen Laboratories for the Biological Mechanisms of Aging. Both serve on Arc Bio's Scientific Advisory Board.



"Our goal at Arc Bio is to revolutionize pathogen detection by developing a unique NGS lab workflow and software solution that allows for smarter and simple to use analysis," Bustamante said. "Our current emphasis is on assisting those in public health and life science research who study antimicrobial resistance transmission and evolution of gram-negative bacteria." "We know that there are more efficient ways to detect and annotate resistance in order to better protect and improve public health," Sinclair said. "As Arc Bio evolves, we aim to play an increasingly significant role in combatting the global challenges of infectious disease and antibiotic resistance."

Formerly known as MARA and acquired from Spokade  a leading company in the field of monitoring and controlling antimicrobial resistance -- Galileo AMR features the most extensive archive of expert-validated gram-negative AMR genes, cassettes and other mobile elements.2,3 The software incorporates advanced analytics in a user-friendly interface to 1) quickly and efficiently detect AMR in gram-negative bacteria, 2) precisely annotate AMR genes and mobile elements in DNA sequences of any length, and 3) provide accurate annotation of plasmid AMR insert sequences. The Galileo AMR cloud-based proprietary software provides precise AMR annotations, quick and reliable results, an intuitive user interface that does not require bioinformatics expertise, and detailed, easy-to-understand diagrams. About Arc Bio

Arc Bio is revolutionizing the field of antimicrobial resistance and infectious disease by developing next generation sequencing tools that allow for fast, accurate and cost-effective analysis. Its Galileo AMR  an antimicrobial resistance (AMR) detection software -- can provide fast, accurate annotations for any gram-negative bacterial DNA sequence in less than five minutes. Arc Bio is based in Menlo Park, California and Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information on Arc Bio, its technology and its service offerings visit www.arcbio.com. References: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention https://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/index.html. Tsafnat G, Copty J, Partridge SR. RAC: Repository of Antibiotic resistance Cassettes. Database. 2011; bar054. doi:10.1093/database/bar054/470201 Partridge SR, Tsafnat G. Automated annotation of mobile antibiotic resistance in Gram-negative bacteria: the Multiple Antibiotic Resistance Annotator (MARA) and database. 2018 Apr 1 ;73(4):883-890. doi: 10.1093/jac/dkx51 View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/arc-bio-established-to-develop-ngs-tools-to-revolutionize-infectious-disease-field-300684270.html SOURCE Arc Bio

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[July 24, 2018] 3M Reports Second-Quarter 2018 Results

3M (NYSE: MMM) today reported second-quarter 2018 results. "3M had a strong quarter, including organic growth of 6 percent that was broad-based across all business groups and geographic areas," said Mike Roman, 3M chief executive officer. "Our team delivered record sales and a double-digit increase in earnings per share, while keeping our commitment to investing in our business and returning cash to shareholders. "Going forward we will continue to prioritize 3M's portfolio, strengthen our innovation capabilities and accelerate our transformation, while developing our people. The 3M Playbook is working and we're just getting started. We are well positioned to deliver even greater value for our customers and shareholders in 2018 and beyond." Sales were up 7.4 percent to $8.4 billion. Organic local-currency sales increased 5.6 percent while acquisitions, net of divestitures, increased sales by 0.8 percent. Foreign currency translation increased sales by 1.0 percent year-on-year. Total sales grew 15.8 percent in Safety and Graphics, 6.8 percent in Industrial, 4.9 percent in Health Care, 4.6 percent in Consumer, and 3.6 percent in Electronics and Energy. Organic local-currency sales increased 8.5 percent in Safety and Graphics, 5.7 percent in Industrial, 5.2 percent in Electronics and Energy, 4.3 percent in Consumer, and 3.8 percent in Health Care. On a geographic basis, total sales grew 9.5 percent in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), 7.9 percent in Asia Pacific, 7.1 percent in the U.S., and 3.1 percent in Latin America/Canada. Organic local-currency sales increased 6.0 percent in Latin America/Canada, 5.8 percent in EMEA, 5.6 percent in the U.S, and 5.5 percent in Asia Pacific. Second-quarter GAAP earnings were $3.07 per share, an increase of 19 percent versus the second quarter of 2017. During the quarter, the company recorded a benefit of $0.48 per share related to the divestiture of the communication markets business, net of related restructuring actions. Second-quarter 2017 GAAP earnings were $2.58 per share which included a net benefit of $0.33 per share from the identity management business divestiture gain, partially offset by portfolio and footprint investments. Second-quarter operating income was $2.4 billion with operating margins of 28.6 percent. Operating income includes a benefit of $389 million from the communication markets business divestiture, net of related restructuring actions. The company paid $802 million in cash dividends to shareholders and repurchased $1.6 billion of its own shares during the quarter. 3M updated its 2018 GAAP earnings expectations to reflect the full-year impact from the communication markets business divestiture and related actions. The company now expects its GAAP earnings to be in the range of $9.08 to $9.38 per share versus $8.68 to $9.03 previously. Excluding the full-year impacts from the communication markets business divestiture gain and related actions, a first-quarter legal settlement, and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act-related expense, 3M now expects its adjusted 2018 earnings to be in the range of $10.20 to $10.45 per share versus prior expectation of $10.20 to $10.55. The update to the range reflects the impact of the divested income associated with the communication markets business which was not included in prior guidance. The company maintained its full-year organic local-currency sales growth guidance of 3 to 4 percent and free cash flow conversion of 90 to 100 percent, as referenced in the "Supplemental Financial Information Non-GAAP Measures" section. Second-Quarter Business Group Discussion Industrial Sales were $3.1 billion, up 6.8 percent in U.S. dollars. Organic local-currency sales increased 5.7 percent, foreign currency translation increased sales by 1.2 percent, and divestitures decreased sales by 0.1 percent.

On an organic local-currency basis: Sales increased in all businesses led by separation and purification, advanced materials, abrasives, and industrial adhesives and tapes. Sales grew in all geographic areas led by EMEA, the U.S., and Latin America/Canada.

Operating income was $724 million, an increase of 27.4 percent year-on-year; operating margins were 23.0 percent. Safety and Graphics Sales were $1.8 billion, up 15.8 percent in U.S. dollars. Organic local-currency sales increased 8.5 percent, foreign currency translation increased sales by 1.0 percent, and acquisitions, net of divestitures, increased sales by 6.3 percent.

On an organic local-currency basis: Sales increased in all businesses led by personal safety, commercial solutions, and transportation safety. Sales grew in all geographic areas led by EMEA, the U.S., and Asia Pacific.

Operating income was $480 million, down 43.6 percent year-on-year; Q2 2017 operating income included the identity management divestiture gain of $457 million; operating margins were 26.4 percent. Health Care Sales were $1.5 billion, up 4.9 percent in U.S. dollars. Organic local-currency sales increased 3.8 percent, foreign currency translation increased sales by 1.0 percent, and acquisitions increased sales by 0.1 percent.

On an organic local-currency basis: Sales growth was led by food safety, medical solutions, and health information systems; drug delivery declined. Sales grew in all geographic areas led by Asia Pacific, Latin America/Canada, and EMEA.

Operating income was $435 million, an increase of 6.7 percent year-on-year; operating margins were 28.6 percent. Electronics and Energy Sales were $1.3 billion, up 3.6 percent in U.S. dollars. Organic local-currency sales increased 5.2 percent, foreign currency translation increased sales by 1.1 percent and divestitures decreased sales by 2.7 percent.

On an organic local-currency basis: Energy-related sales grew by 9 percent; electronics-related sales increased 4 percent with growth in both electronics materials solutions, and display materials and systems. Sales grew in all geographic areas led by the U.S., EMEA, and Asia Pacific.

Operating income was $865 million, an increase of 167 percent year-on-year, reflecting a benefit of $494 million from the communication markets divestiture gain; operating margins were 64.7 percent. Consumer Sales were $1.2 billion, up 4.6 percent in U.S. dollars. Organic local-currency sales increased 4.3 percent and foreign currency translation increased sales by 0.3 percent.

On an organic local-currency basis: Sales grew in home improvement, stationery and office, and home care; consumer health care declined. Sales grew in the U.S., Latin America/Canada, and Asia Pacific; EMEA declined.

Operating income was $261 million, up 32.3 percent year-on-year; operating margins were 21.4 percent. 3M will conduct an investor teleconference at 9:00 a.m. EDT (8:00 a.m. CDT) today. Investors can access this conference via the following: Live webcast at http://investors.3M.com.

Live telephone:

Call 800-762-2596 within the U.S. or +1 212-231-2916 outside the U.S. Please join the call at least 10 minutes before the start time. Webcast replay:

Go to 3M's Investor Relations website at http://investors.3M.com and click on "Quarterly Earnings." Telephone replay:

Call 800-633-8284 within the U.S. or +1 402-977-9140 outside the U.S. (for both U.S. and outside the U.S., the access code is 21863182). The telephone replay will be available until 11:30 a.m. EDT (10:30 a.m. CDT) on July 31, 2018. Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking information about 3M's financial results and estimates and business prospects that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by the use of words such as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "aim," "project," "intend," "plan," "believe," "will," "should," "could," "target," "forecast" and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance or business plans or prospects. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are the following: (1) worldwide economic, political, and capital markets conditions and other factors beyond the Company's control, including natural and other disasters or climate change affecting the operations of the Company or its customers and suppliers; (2) the Company's credit ratings and its cost of capital; (3) competitive conditions and customer preferences; (4) foreign currency exchange rates and fluctuations in those rates; (5) the timing and market acceptance of new product offerings; (6) the availability and cost of purchased components, compounds, raw materials and energy (including oil and natural gas and their derivatives) due to shortages, increased demand or supply interruptions (including those caused by natural and other disasters and other events); (7) the impact of acquisitions, strategic alliances, divestitures, and other unusual events resulting from portfolio management actions and other evolving business strategies, and possible organizational restructuring; (8) generating fewer productivity improvements than estimated; (9) unanticipated problems or delays with the phased implementation of a global enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, or security breaches and other disruptions to the Company's information technology infrastructure; (10) financial market risks that may affect the Company's funding obligations under defined benefit pension and postretirement plans; and (11) legal proceedings, including significant developments that could occur in the legal and regulatory proceedings described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2017, and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q (the "Reports"). Changes in such assumptions or factors could produce significantly different results. A further description of these factors is located in the Reports under "Cautionary Note Concerning Factors That May Affect Future Results" and "Risk Factors" in Part I, Items 1 and 1A (Annual Report) and in Part I, Item 2 and Part II, Item 1A (Quarterly Reports). The information contained in this news release is as of the date indicated. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this news release as a result of new information or future events or developments.



3M Company and Subsidiaries CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF INCOME (Millions, except per-share amounts) (Unaudited) Three months ended Six months ended June 30, June 30, 2018 2017 2018 2017 Net sales $ 8,390 $ 7,810 $ 16,668 $ 15,495 Operating expenses Cost of sales 4,227 4,020 8,463 7,902 Selling, general and administrative expenses 1,800 1,620 4,373 3,234 Research, development and related expenses 468 478 954 954 Gain on sale of businesses (506 ) (461 ) (530 ) (490 ) Total operating expenses 5,989 5,657 13,260 11,600 Operating income 2,401 2,153 3,408 3,895 Other expense (income), net 51 11 93 16 Income before income taxes 2,350 2,142 3,315 3,879 Provision for income taxes 488 557 847 968 Net income including noncontrolling interest $ 1,862 $ 1,585 $ 2,468 $ 2,911 Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest 5 2 9 5 Net income attributable to 3M $ 1,857 $ 1,583 $ 2,459 $ 2,906 Weighted average 3M common shares outstanding - basic 591.4 598.1 593.8 598.1 Earnings per share attributable to 3M common shareholders - basic $ 3.14 $ 2.65 $ 4.14 $ 4.86 Weighted average 3M common shares outstanding - diluted 604.2 612.8 608.5 612.4 Earnings per share attributable to 3M common shareholders - diluted $ 3.07 $ 2.58 $ 4.04 $ 4.74 Cash dividends paid per 3M common share $ 1.36 $ 1.175 $ 2.72 $ 2.35 As discussed in note (c), results of operations for the first quarter of 2018 were impacted by an $897 million pre-tax charge related to settlement of a previously disclosed lawsuit with the State of Minnesota and a $217 million measurement period adjustment relative to the accounting for the 2017 enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Results of operations for the second quarter of 2018 reflected the net $389 million pre-tax impact of the Communication Markets divestiture gain, net of restructuring actions. In addition, as discussed in 3M's Form 8-K dated May 8, 2018, (which updated 3M's 2017 Annual Report on Form 10-K) the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2017-07 relative to the presentation of pension and postretirement benefit costs in the first quarter of 2018 with retroactive impact to prior periods. 3M Company and Subsidiaries CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET (Dollars in millions) (Unaudited) June 30, December 31, 2018 2017 ASSETS Current assets Cash and cash equivalents $ 2,801 $ 3,053 Marketable securities - current 385 1,076 Accounts receivable - net 5,383 4,911 Inventories 4,238 4,034 Prepaids 713 937 Other current assets 370 266 Total current assets 13,890 14,277 Property, plant and equipment - net 8,645 8,866 Goodwill and intangible assets - net 12,894 13,449 Other assets 1,349 1,395 Total assets $ 36,778 $ 37,987 LIABILITIES AND EQUITY Current liabilities Short-term borrowings and current portion of long-term debt $ 3,225 $ 1,853 Accounts payable 1,871 1,945 Accrued payroll 646 870 Accrued income taxes 293 310 Other current liabilities 2,867 2,709 Total current liabilities 8,902 7,687 Long-term debt 11,294 12,096 Other liabilities 6,154 6,582 Total liabilities $ 26,350 $ 26,365 Total equity $ 10,428 $ 11,622 Shares outstanding June 30, 2018: 586,613,476 shares December 31, 2017: 594,884,237 shares Total liabilities and equity $ 36,778 $ 37,987 3M Company and Subsidiaries CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS (Dollars in millions) (Unaudited) Six months ended June 30, 2018 2017 NET CASH PROVIDED BY OPERATING ACTIVITIES $ 2,042 $ 2,630 Cash flows from investing activities: Purchases of property, plant and equipment (669 ) (589 ) Acquisitions, net of cash acquired 13 - Purchases and proceeds from sale or maturities of marketable securities and investments - net 672 136 Proceeds from sale of businesses, net of cash sold 806 862 Other investing activities 85 18 NET CASH PROVIDED BY INVESTING ACTIVITIES 907 427 Cash flows from financing activities: Change in debt 774 (763 ) Purchases of treasury stock (2,537 ) (1,184 ) Proceeds from issuances of treasury stock pursuant to stock option and benefit plans 305 496 Dividends paid to shareholders (1,612 ) (1,403 ) Other financing activities (26 ) (2 ) NET CASH USED IN FINANCING ACTIVITIES (3,096 ) (2,856 ) Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents (105 ) 55 Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents (252 ) 256 Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year 3,053 2,398 Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $ 2,801 $ 2,654 3M Company and Subsidiaries SUPPLEMENTAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION NON-GAAP MEASURES (Dollars in millions, except full-year 2018 forecast) (Unaudited) Three months ended Six months ended June 30, June 30, Major GAAP Cash Flow Categories 2018 2017 2018 2017 Net cash provided by operating activities $ 1,899 $ 1,642 $ 2,042 $ 2,630 Net cash provided by investing activities 626 517 907 427 Net cash used in financing activities (3,142 ) (1,705 ) (3,096 ) (2,856 ) Free Cash Flow (non-GAAP measure) Full-Year

2018 Forecast

(Billions) Net cash provided by operating activities $ 1,899 $ 1,642 $ 2,042 $ 2,630 $6.7 to $7.2 Purchases of property, plant and equipment (365 ) (302 ) (669 ) (589 ) ($1.5 to $1.8) Free cash flow (a) 1,534 1,340 1,373 2,041 $4.9 to $5.7 Net income attributable to 3M $ 1,857 $ 1,583 $ 2,459 $ 2,906 $5.5 to $5.7 Free cash flow conversion (a) 83 % 85 % 56 % 70 % 90% to 100% (a) Free cash flow and free cash flow conversion are not defined under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Therefore, they should not be considered a substitute for income or cash flow data prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. The Company defines free cash flow as net cash provided by operating activities less purchases of property, plant and equipment. It should not be inferred that the entire free cash flow amount is available for discretionary expenditures. The Company defines free cash flow conversion as free cash flow divided by net income attributable to 3M. The Company believes free cash flow and free cash flow conversion are meaningful to investors as they function as useful measures of performance and the Company uses these measures as an indication of the strength of the company and its ability to generate cash. June 30, December 31, Net Debt (non-GAAP measure) 2018 2017 Total debt $ 14,519 $ 13,949 Less: Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities 3,212 4,156 Net debt (b) $ 11,307 $ 9,793 (b) Net debt is not defined under U.S. GAAP and may not be computed the same as similarly titled measures used by other companies. The Company defines net debt as total debt less the total of cash, cash equivalents and current and long-term marketable securities. 3M believes net debt is meaningful to investors as 3M considers net debt and its components to be an important indicator of liquidity and a guiding measure of capital structure strategy. 3M Company and Subsidiaries SUPPLEMENTAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION NON-GAAP MEASURES - (CONTINUED) (Dollars in billions, except per share amounts) (Unaudited) Estimated Full-Year 2018 Adjusted income, earnings per share, & effective tax rate (non-GAAP measures) GAAP

Measure Adjustment

for

Measurement

Period

Accounting of

TCJA Adjustment

for MN

NRD

Resolution Adjustment for

Communication

Markets

Division

Divestiture, Net

of Related

Restructuring

Actions Adjusted Non-

GAAP Measure

(c) Income before taxes $ 7.3 to 7.4 $ - $ 0.9 $ (0.4 ) $ 7.8 to 7.9 Provision for income taxes $ 1.7 to 1.8 $ (0.2 ) $ 0.2 $ (0.1 ) $ 1.6 to 1.7 Effective tax rate 23 to 25 % 20 to 22 % Net income attributable to 3M $ 5.5 to 5.7 $ 0.2 $ 0.7 $ (0.3 ) $ 6.1 to 6.3 Earnings per diluted share $ 9.08 to 9.38 $ 0.36 $ 1.16 $ (0.40 - 0.45 ) $ 10.20 to 10.45 (c) In February 2018, 3M reached an agreement with the State of Minnesota that resolved the previously disclosed Natural Resource Damages (NRD) lawsuit filed by the State against the Company related to certain PFCs present in the environment. Under the terms of the settlement, 3M agreed to provide an $850 million grant to the State for a special "3M Water Quality and Sustainability Fund." This Fund will enable projects that support water sustainability in the Twin Cities East Metro region, such as continued delivery of water to residents and enhancing groundwater recharge to support sustainable growth. The projects will also result in habitat and recreation improvements, such as fishing piers, trails, and open space preservation. 3M recorded a pre-tax charge of $897 million, inclusive of legal fees and other related obligations, in the first quarter of 2018 associated with the resolution of this matter. Also during the first quarter of 2018, 3M recorded a tax expense of $217 million related to a measurement period adjustment to the provisional amounts recorded in December 2017, from the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). 3M's provisional accounting continues to be subject to adjustment during the measurement period of up to one year following the December 2017 enactment of TCJA. In the second quarter of 2018, 3M completed the sale of substantially all of its Communication Markets Division and reflected a pre-tax gain of $494 million as a result of this divestiture. During the second quarter of 2018, management approved and committed to undertake certain restructuring actions related to addressing corporate functional costs following the Communication Markets Division divestiture. These actions resulted in a second quarter 2018 pre-tax charge of $105 million. In addition to providing full-year estimated 2018 financial results in accordance with U.S. GAAP, the Company also provides non-GAAP measures that adjust for the impacts of the NRD resolution, measurement period adjustment to the impact of enactment of the TCJA, and the impact of the Communication Markets Division divestiture gain, net of restructuring actions. These items represent significant charges/benefits that impacted the Company's financial results. Income before taxes, provision for income taxes, net income, earnings per share, and the effective tax rate are all measures for which 3M provides the estimated GAAP measure and an adjusted measure. The adjusted measures are not in accordance with, nor are they a substitute for, GAAP measures. The Company considers these non-GAAP measures in evaluating and managing the Company's operations. The Company believes that discussion of results adjusted for this item is meaningful to investors as it provides a useful analysis of ongoing underlying operating trends. The determination of these items may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. 3M Company and Subsidiaries SALES CHANGE ANALYSIS (d) (Unaudited) Three months ended June 30, 2018 Europe, Middle Latin Sales Change Analysis United Asia- East and America/ World- By Geographic Area States Pacific Africa Canada Wide Volume - organic 4.6 % 5.1 % 4.0 % 3.9 % 4.5 % Price 1.0 0.4 1.8 2.1 1.1 Organic local-currency sales 5.6 5.5 5.8 6.0 5.6 Acquisitions 2.8 0.8 3.1 0.9 2.1 Divestitures (1.3 ) (0.6 ) (2.0 ) (1.5 ) (1.3 ) Translation - 2.2 2.6 (2.3 ) 1.0 Total sales change 7.1 % 7.9 % 9.5 % 3.1 % 7.4 % Three months ended June 30, 2018 Worldwide Sales Change Organic local- Total sales By Business Segment currency sales Acquisitions Divestitures Translation change Industrial 5.7 % - % (0.1 )% 1.2 % 6.8 % Safety and Graphics 8.5 10.5 (4.2 ) 1.0 15.8 Health Care 3.8 0.1 - 1.0 4.9 Electronics and Energy 5.2 - (2.7 ) 1.1 3.6 Consumer 4.3 - - 0.3 4.6 Total Company 5.6 % 2.1 % (1.3 )% 1.0 % 7.4 % Six months ended June 30, 2018 Europe, Middle Latin Sales Change Analysis United Asia- East and America/ World- By Geographic Area States Pacific Africa Canada Wide Volume - organic 3.1 % 4.9 % 1.4 % 3.3 % 3.4 % Price 0.9 0.2 1.6 1.5 0.9 Organic local-currency sales 4.0 5.1 3.0 4.8 4.3 Acquisitions 2.7 0.7 3.1 1.0 2.0 Divestitures (1.4 ) (0.6 ) (2.0 ) (1.4 ) (1.3 ) Translation - 3.7 7.5 (0.7 ) 2.6 Total sales change 5.3 % 8.9 % 11.6 % 3.7 % 7.6 % Six months ended June 30, 2018 Worldwide Sales Change Organic local- Total sales By Business Segment currency sales Acquisitions Divestitures Translation change Industrial 4.0 % - % (0.1 )% 3.1 % 7.0 % Safety and Graphics 7.7 10.2 (5.4 ) 2.9 15.4 Health Care 3.3 0.1 - 2.6 6.0 Electronics and Energy 3.4 - (1.4 ) 2.1 4.1 Consumer 3.3 - - 1.5 4.8 Total Company 4.3 % 2.0 % (1.3 )% 2.6 % 7.6 % (d) Total sales change is calculated based on reported sales results. The components of sales change include organic local-currency sales, acquisitions, divestitures, and translation. Organic local-currency sales includes both organic volume impacts (which excludes acquisition and divestiture impacts), plus selling price changes. Acquisition and divestiture impacts are measured separately for the first 12 months post-transaction. 3M Company and Subsidiaries

BUSINESS SEGMENTS

(Dollars in millions)

(Unaudited) As part of 3M's continuing effort to improve the alignment of its businesses around markets and customers, the Company made the following changes, effective in the first quarter of 2018, and other revisions impacting business segment reporting: Consolidation of customer account activity within international countries - expanding dual credit reporting The Company consolidated its customer account activity in each country into centralized sales districts for certain countries that make up approximately 70 percent of 3M's 2017 international net sales. Expansion of these initiatives, which previously had been deployed only in the U.S., reduces the complexity for customers when interacting with multiple 3M businesses. 3M business segment reporting measures include dual credit to business segments for certain sales and related operating income. This dual credit is based on which business segment provides customer account activity with respect to a particular product sold in a specific country. The expansion of alignment of customer accounts within additional countries increased the attribution of dual credit across 3M's business segments. Additionally, certain sales and operating income results for electronic bonding product lines that were previously equally divided between the Electronics and Energy business segment and the Industrial business segment are now reported similarly to dual credit. Centralization of manufacturing and supply technology platforms Certain shared film manufacturing and supply technology platform resources formerly reflected within the Electronics and Energy business segment were combined with other shared and centrally managed material resource centers of expertise within Corporate and Unallocated. In addition, 3M adopted ASU No. 2017-07, Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost, effective January 1, 2018, on a retrospective basis. As a result, operating income for 3M's business segments has been revised to reflect non-service cost components of pension and postretirement net periodic benefit costs within other expense (income) net. The financial information presented herein reflects the impact of the preceding changes for all periods presented. Refer to 3M's Current Report on Form 8-K furnished on March 15, 2018, for additional supplemental unaudited historical business segment net sales and operating income information. In addition, these business segment changes were reflected in 3M's Current Report on Form 8-K dated May 8, 2018, (which updated 3M's 2017 Annual Report on Form 10-K) and 3M's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2018. BUSINESS SEGMENT INFORMATION Three months ended Six months ended NET SALES June 30, June 30, (Millions) 2018 2017 2018 2017 Industrial $ 3,148 $ 2,946 $ 6,292 $ 5,882 Safety and Graphics 1,815 1,569 3,598 3,119 Health Care 1,520 1,449 3,056 2,884 Electronics and Energy 1,337 1,290 2,687 2,581 Consumer 1,223 1,169 2,350 2,242 Corporate and Unallocated 12 2 12 3 Elimination of Dual Credit (665 ) (615 ) (1,327 ) (1,216 ) Total Company $ 8,390 $ 7,810 $ 16,668 $ 15,495 BUSINESS SEGMENT INFORMATION Three months ended Six months ended OPERATING INCOME June 30, June 30, (Millions) 2018 2017 2018 2017 Industrial $ 724 $ 568 $ 1,443 $ 1,238 Safety and Graphics 480 851 963 1,250 Health Care 435 408 895 837 Electronics and Energy 865 325 1,202 581 Consumer 261 198 479 421 Corporate and Unallocated (e) (206 ) (51 ) (1,252 ) (144 ) Elimination of Dual Credit (158 ) (146 ) (322 ) (288 ) Total Company $ 2,401 $ 2,153 $ 3,408 $ 3,895 (e) Corporate and Unallocated operating income was impacted of certain restructuring actions related to addressing corporate functional costs following the Communication Markets Division divestiture recorded in the second quarter of 2018. These actions, in addition to the legal settlement recorded in the first quarter of 2018, impacted operating income for the first six months of 2018, as further discussed in note (c). About 3M

At 3M, we apply science in collaborative ways to improve lives daily. With $32 billion in sales, our 91,000 employees connect with customers all around the world. Learn more about 3M's creative solutions to the world's problems at www.3M.com or on Twitter @3M or @3MNews. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180724005441/en/

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[July 24, 2018] Affinity Federal Credit Union Implements Continuity to Enhance Compliance Management

NEW HAVEN, Conn., July 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Continuity, a provider of automated compliance management technology for financial institutions, today announced that $3.1 billion-asset, Affinity Federal Credit Union, the largest credit union headquartered in New Jersey and proudly serving the tri-state area, has implemented Continuitys RegAdvisorPro and RegControls solutions to streamline and enhance its compliance management.

Previously, the tools Affinity leveraged to manage compliance were largely manual. Because of Continuitys strong presence and reputation in the industry, Affinity ultimately decided to partner with the company to centralize and automate its compliance efforts. The credit union now has a comprehensive compliance management system that allows them to effectively analyze regulations and implement necessary compliance actions, consistently monitor activity and easily create reports. At Affinity Federal Credit Union, we realize that the more compliant we are, the better we can serve our members, explained Olivia Leach, compliance officer at Affinity. Continuitys technology takes the guess work out of compliance by helping us to easily determine how regulations impact us, and then supporting associated implementation and training actions. The platform assigns different tasks to the appropriate employee, boosting accountability and transparency of the overall compliance management process. Continuitys RegAdvisor Pro solution analyzes regulatory changes and delivers an easily digestible summary to the credit union, freeing employee time that used to be spent reading and trying to undestand compliance updates for other strategic and growth-focused activities. RegControls contains hundreds of pre-built compliance procedures that enables employees to automate previously manual processes. By leveraging these solutions, Affinity is able to better prioritize tasks and more quickly and accurately complete necessary compliance updates.



Several areas of the credit union are being onboarded to Continuitys platform, including marketing and public relations, loan administration and consumer lending and mortgage origination. Leach added, Compliance touches everything, which is why its a priority for us to maintain a strong and pervasive culture of compliance. Continuity provides employees with detailed steps for understanding and applying compliance management to their daily functions, making the entire process easier and delivering new levels of transparency. Savvy institutions like Affinity realize that in todays complex and uncertain regulatory landscape, it simply no longer makes sense for compliance management to be manual, said Mike Nicastro, chief executive officer of Continuity. By leveraging our automated, streamlined compliance management system, Affinity is benefitting from increased regulatory expertise while boosting process efficiency. We are thrilled to work with forward-thinking institutions like Affinity that understand the importance of proactive compliance management.

About Continuity

New Haven, Connecticut-based Continuity is a provider of regulatory technology (RegTech) solutions that automate compliance management for financial institutions of all sizes. By combining regulatory expertise and cloud technology, Continuity provides a proven way to reduce regulatory burden and mitigate compliance risk at a fraction of the cost. Continuitys solutions are designed to automate all aspects of compliance management, from interpretation of regulatory issuances through intuitive task delegation, vendor management, and board reporting. Continuity serves hundreds of institutions across the United States and its territories. For more information about Continuity, visit Continuity.net. About Affinity Federal Credit Union

With more than 20 branches across the tri-state area, Affinity is the largest credit union headquartered in the state of New Jersey, proudly ranking in the top 2% of all credit unions in terms of asset size1. As a member-owned, not-for-profit, full-service financial institution federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), Affinitys products and services are designed to fit member needs, all while offering great rates and fewer fees. For more information, visit affinityfcu.com , and follow us on Facebook (AffinityFCU), Instagram (AffinityFCU) and Twitter (@AffinityFCU).



1Source: CUDATA.com Amber Bush

+ 1 678-781-7219

amber@williammills.com

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[July 24, 2018] SIA Applauds New DoD Research Partnerships to Advance Transformative Semiconductor Technologies

WASHINGTON, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), representing U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, design, and research, today welcomed newly announced research partnerships between the Defense Department's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and research teams from industry and academia that aim to bolster long-term semiconductor research. The research partnerships, part of new programs within DARPA's Electronics Resurgence Initiative (ERI), will target advances in semiconductor circuit design, materials, and systems architectures. The selected research teams were unveiled yesterday in San Francisco during the first annual DARPA ERI Summit, a three-day event bringing together hundreds of members of the microelectronics community. "As the brains of modern electronics, semiconductors are central to America's economy, national security, and global competitiveness," said John Neuffer, president and CEO, Semiconductor Industry Association. "The DARPA research partnerships announced yesterday will help catalyze transformational advances in semiconductor technology and enhance semiconductors' positive impacts on our country." The ERI is divided into three main research thrust areas  Design, Materials & Integration, and Architectures. Each thrust area will feature two new research programs. The Design research thrust area will include the Intelligent Design of Electronic Assets (IDEA) program and the Posh Open Source Hardware (POSH) program. The Materials & Integration research thrust area will include the Three-Dimensional Monolithic System-on-a-Chip (3DSoC) program and the Foundations Required for Novel ompute (FRANC) program. The ERI Architectures research thrust area will include the Software Defined Hardware (SDH) program and the Domain-specific System on Chip (DSSoC) program.



"The semiconductor industry plows about one-fifth of its revenues into R&D  among the highest shares of any sector  and has a long record of partnering with our government to advance early-stage research," Neuffer said. "The new DARPA research partnerships mark a major commitment to furthering semiconductor technology and keeping America at the tip of the spear globally in semiconductor innovation." Neuffer also noted SIA's longstanding support for basic scientific research funded through other federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science. He expressed the semiconductor industry's eagerness to work with the Administration and Congress to advance research investments that will promote America's economic and national security and technological leadership.

In total, the ERI will invest upwards of $1.5 billion over five years to jumpstart innovation in the electronics industry. In addition to fostering advancements in semiconductor technologies used for national security, the ripple effect from this research will be felt across the full range of semiconductor applications: communications, computing, health care, transportation, clean energy, and countless others. For more information about the Electronics Resurgence Initiative and the first annual ERI Summit, please visit http://www.eri-summit.com/. Media Contact

Dan Rosso

Semiconductor Industry Association

202-446-1719

drosso@semiconductors.org About SIA

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) is the voice of the U.S. semiconductor industry, one of America's top export industries and a key driver of America's economic strength, national security, and global competitiveness. Semiconductors  microchips that control all modern electronics  enable the systems and products we use to work, communicate, travel, entertain, harness energy, treat illness, and make new scientific discoveries. The semiconductor industry directly employs nearly a quarter of a million people in the U.S. In 2017, U.S. semiconductor company sales totaled $189 billion, and semiconductors make the global trillion-dollar electronics industry possible. SIA seeks to strengthen U.S. leadership of semiconductor manufacturing, design, and research by working with Congress, the Administration and other key industry stakeholders to encourage policies and regulations that fuel innovation, propel business and drive international competition. Learn more at www.semiconductors.org. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sia-applauds-new-dod-research-partnerships-to-advance-transformative-semiconductor-technologies-300685318.html SOURCE Semiconductor Industry Association

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PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust Announces Date for Release of Second Quarter 2018 Results

PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE: PMT) will announce results for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 in a news release to be issued after the market close on Thursday, August 2, 2018. The release will be available online at www.PennyMac-REIT.com.

The Company's executives will review the results in a recorded presentation. The recording and accompanying slide presentation will be available on the Company's webite concurrently with the news release.







Individuals who are unable to access the website but would like to receive a copy of the slide presentation should contact the Company's Investor Relations department at (818) 224-7028.

About PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust

PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust is a mortgage real estate investment trust (REIT) that invests primarily in residential mortgage loans and mortgage-related assets. PMT is externally managed by PNMAC Capital Management, LLC, a controlled subsidiary of PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE: PFSI). Additional information about PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust is available at www.PennyMac-REIT.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180724005261/en/
[July 24, 2018] Therapy Brands Closes Investment from Lightyear Capital and Oak HC/FT to Accelerate Growth

Therapy Brands (the "Company"), a leading provider of mental and behavioral health software, today announced a majority investment from investment funds affiliated with Lightyear Capital LLC ("Lightyear"), a New York-based private equity firm investing in financial services companies, and Oak HC/FT, a venture growth-equity fund investing in tech-enabled healthcare and financial services companies. Providence Strategic Growth ("PSG"), Therapy Brands' previous lead investor, will retain a significant minority investment going forward. Greater Sum Ventures ("GSV") will also retain a minority investment going forward. With this transaction, Lightyear becomes the Company's lead investor, followed by Oak HC/FT, PSG, GSV and a group composed of Therapy Brands' Founder and CEO Shegun Otulana, Chairman Ross Croley, other members of management as well as other investors. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Originally founded as TheraNest in 2013, the Company has capitalized on a number of secular macro growth trends in mental and behavioral health markets, including heightened public awareness, expanded coverage by insurers, outcomes-based payment and care delivery models, and the recognition of the impact of mental health on the overall cost of care. Therapy Brands' comprehensive information technology platform addresses the highly fragmented and underserved practice management needs of mental and behavioral healthcare professionals. By providing several solutions, including practice management and electronic health records, payments, revenue cycle management, data collection and reporting solutions to the increasing number of practitioners and organizations in these markets, the Company has allowed professionals in both large and small practices to spend less time on the administrative burden of practice management and more time treating patients, improving outcomes and growing their businesses. "We are excited to partner with Shegun and the management team at Therapy Brands," said Mark F. Vassallo, Managing Partner of Lightyear. "Therapy Brands reflects our continued focus on investing at the intersection of financial services and healthcare. We believe the Company is well-positioned to capitalize on the market trends in payments and in mental and behavioral healthcare." "Therapy Brands has built an innovative SaaS (News - Alert) platform management solution aimed at tackling a critical concern in mental and behavioral healthcare: managing timely, complex tasks while delivering superior quality of care," said Andrew Adams, Co-Founder & General Partner of Oak HC/FT. "We look forward to working with Shegun and the Therapy Brands team, as they roll out their technology platform to new customers and expand reach into adjacent markets." "We are engaged in a very significant period of expansion for the business, having added thousands of new customers organiclly since we entered the market, and we expect to continue this trend of customer growth as practitioners migrate from manual processes and inadequate solutions to our comprehensive software platforms," said Mr. Otulana. "We continue to implement growth initiatives to add new customers to the platform and provide existing customers new features and additional functionality. In addition, we are investing in new product development and exploring opportunities for add-on acquisitions. We are pleased to welcome Lightyear and Oak as investors and look forward to partnering with them as we continue to serve our customers."



About Lightyear Capital LLC Founded in 2000, Lightyear Capital is a financial services-focused private equity firm based in New York. Through its affiliated private equity funds, Lightyear makes primarily control investments in North America-based, middle-market companies across the financial services spectrum, including asset and wealth management, banking, brokerage, healthcare financial services, insurance, payments and processing and specialty finance. The firm brings focus and discipline to its investment process, as well as operating, transaction and strategic management experience, along with significant contacts and resources beyond capital. For more information, please visit www.lycap.com.

About Oak HC/FT Founded in 2014, Oak HC/FT (http://oakhcft.com) is the premier venture growth-equity fund investing in Healthcare Information & Services ("HC") and Financial Services Technology ("FT"). With $1.1 billion in assets under management, we are focused on driving transformation in these industries by providing entrepreneurs and companies with strategic counsel, board-level participation, business plan execution and access to our extensive network of industry leaders. Oak HC/FT is headquartered in Greenwich, CT with offices in New York, Boston and San Francisco. Follow Oak HC/FT on Twitter, LinkedIn and Medium. About Providence Strategic Growth Providence Strategic Growth ("PSG") is an affiliate of Providence Equity Partners. Established in 2014, PSG focuses on growth equity investments in lower middle market software and technology-enabled service companies, primarily in North America. Providence Equity Partners (News - Alert) is a premier, global asset management firm with $57 billion in capital under management across complementary private equity and credit businesses. Providence pioneered a sector-focused approach to private equity investing with the vision that a dedicated team of industry experts could build exceptional companies of enduring value. Since the firm's inception in 1989, Providence has invested in more than 160 companies and is a leading equity investment firm focused on the media, communications, education and information industries. Providence is headquartered in Providence, RI, and also has offices in New York and London. For more information on PSG, please visit http://www.provequity.com/private-equity/psg, and for more information on Providence Equity, please visit www.provequity.com. About Greater Sum Ventures Greater Sum Ventures ("GSV") is an operationally-focused, long-term equity investor that provides transformational capital to growth-oriented software/SaaS, technology-enabled information services and technology-enabled business services companies. GSV is headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180724005429/en/

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[July 24, 2018] Hitachi Vantara Federal Enhances Cloud Services Portfolio

Hitachi Vantara Federal, today announced that its parent company, Hitachi Vantara, intends to acquire REAN Cloud, a global cloud systems integrator, managed services provider, and solutions developer of cloud native applications across big data, machine learning and emerging IoT spaces. "The addition of REAN Cloud's industry-leading cloud solutions to our robust portfolio will enhance our ability to provide end-to-end data solutions to the U.S. Federal government" said Dave Turner, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hitachi (News - Alert) Vantara Federal. Hitachi Vantara Federal will be able to offer these expanded cloud services qualifications and intellectual property to the Federal market. REAN Cloud's industry and domain expertise is currently being deployed and actively marketed to many of Hitachi Vantara Federal's existing and perspective customers. The transaction is expected to close later this year, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Financial terms of the deal are not being disclosed. About Hitachi Vantara Federal Hitachi Vantara Federal implements data and analytics solutions that meet the federal government's needs today and tomorrow. Hitachi Vantara Federal provides pathways to the cloud and converged IT systems through virtualization, storage and DCC to reduce IT complexity and increase the efficiency of the U.S. government. Hitachi Vantara Federal is able to offer the best information and operation technology from across the Hitachi family to provide exceptional value to government agencies. Hitachi Vatara Federal is headquartered in Reston, Virginia. For more information, please visit: www.hitachivantarafederal.com.



About Hitachi Vantara Hitachi Vantara, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., helps data-driven leaders find and use the value in their data to innovate intelligently and reach outcomes that matter for business and society. The company combines technology, intellectual property and industry knowledge to deliver data-managing solutions that help enterprises improve their customers' experiences, develop new revenue streams, and lower the costs of business. Only Hitachi Vantara elevates your innovation advantage by combining deep information technology (IT), operational technology (OT) and domain expertise. The company's experts work with organizations everywhere to drive data to meaningful outcomes. Visit us at www.hitachivantara.com.

About Hitachi, Ltd. Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, delivers innovations that answer society's challenges, combining its operational technology, information technology, and products/systems. The company's consolidated revenues for fiscal 2017 (ended March 31, 2018) totaled 9,368.6 billion yen ($88.4 billion). The Hitachi Group is an innovation partner for the IoT era, and it has approximately 307,000 employees worldwide. Through collaborative creation with customers, Hitachi is deploying Social Innovation Business using digital technologies in a broad range of sectors, including Power/Energy, Industry/Distribution/Water, Urban Development, and Finance/Social Infrastructure/Healthcare. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com. About REAN Cloud REAN Cloud, a global cloud systems integrator and Managed Service Provider (MSP), is a Premier Consulting Partner in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Partner Network (APN) and a Microsoft (News - Alert) Azure Silver Partner. REAN Cloud offers managed and professional services and solutions for hyperscale integrated IaaS and PaaS providers and is one the few systems integrators capable of supporting the entire cloud services lifecycle. Backed by extensive security DNA and deep compliance IP and expertise, REAN Cloud specializes in helping enterprise customers that operate in highly regulated environments - Financial Services, Healthcare/Life Sciences, Education and the Public Sector -to get the most from their cloud investment while enabling them to accelerate the value gained from the cloud once there. REAN Cloud's team has worked with global organizations including the American Heart Association, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Ditech Mortgage, Ellucian, Globus Genomics, Philips, PierianDx, SAP (News - Alert) , Symantec, Teradata and Veritas. REAN Cloud solutions are bundled with advanced security features to help address clients' compliance needs. HITACHI is a trademark or registered trademark of Hitachi, Ltd. All other trademarks, service marks, and company names are properties of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180724005493/en/

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[July 24, 2018] NCP engineering Releases New VPN Clients for macOS

NCP engineering today announced the NCP Secure Enterprise macOS Client version 3.1 and the NCP Secure Entry macOS Client version 3.1 for secure virtual private network (VPN) connections. New features of the NCP macOS Clients include advanced authentication via fingerprint and the extended protection against authorized third-party access to an unlocked MacBook Pro. As employees are increasingly accessing corporate networks from remote devices, secure data connections must be enforced to reduce the risk of cyberattacks. The NCP Secure macOS Clients allow employees to securely access corporate networks from anywhere in the world with data encryption. Ideal for mobile users, seamless roaming enables reliable and uninterrupted VPN connections even when switching between networks. In addition, an intuitive graphical user interface shows all connection and security states before and during data connections. The NCP Secure Enterprise Client version 3.1 also has a centrally managed personal firewall in place. "The new NCP Secure macOS Clients provide enhanced security including fingerprint authentication," said Patrick Oliver Graf, CEO of NCP engineering. "As a one-click solution, the IPsec client software automatically selects the appropriate firewall policy, controls internet connectivity, and initiates the setup of a VPN tunnel. NCP's VPN Path Finder Technology ensures that a connection to the remote gateway can always be established. This provides secure communications for all corporate networks, even when employees are accessing sensitive information from remote devices." The NCP Secure Entry macOS Client version 3.1 is available for single users and small installations. The new Entry Client includes all of the functionality of the Enterprise Client except for the capability to be centrally managed. Compatible with all common VPN Gateways, the NCP Secure Entry macOS Client 3.1 provides a dynamic personal firewall, an integrated internet connector, and a GUI that looks and functions similarly across all devices. Download a full version for a free 30-day trial.



Resources To learn more about the NCP Secure Enterprise macOS Client, please see the corresponding product page.

To learn more about the NCP Secure Entry macOS Client, please see the corresponding product page.

Reach NCP engineering on its blog, VPN Haus, or LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or YouTube. About NCP engineering

Since its inception in 1986, NCP engineering has delivered innovative software that allows enterprises to rethink their remote access, and overcome the complexities of creating, managing and maintaining secure network access for staff. NCP's award-winning product line spans the spectrum of remote access, from IPsec/SSL VPNs to endpoint firewalls and network access control (NAC) functions. The company's products support organizations with complex remote user needs, and that want to leverage the latest end-devices to increase staff productivity, reduce network administration and adapt policy changes on-the-fly. Each solution is interoperable with existing third-party software or hardware. With global headquarters in Nuremberg, Germany and North American headquarters in the San Francisco Bay Area, the company serves 35,000-plus customers worldwide throughout the healthcare, financial, education and government markets, as well as many Fortune 500 companies. NCP has established a network of national and regional technology, channel and OEM partners to serve its customers. For more information, visit www.ncp-e.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180724005129/en/

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Leading columnists have had their columns dropped; TV stations have introduced a 90-second delay to beep out anything sensitive.

One of the potential paradoxes of the elections taking place in Pakistan today is that regardless of who is the winner the Armys image and reputation seems to be a clear loser. Its intimidation of politicians and journalists and its enormous power to manipulate the electoral outcome has been recognised and adversely noted across the country. As scholar Ahmed Rashid puts it: For the first time, not just the elite, but the public is aware of the Armys major role. Its now talked about at the village level.

The story of the Pakistani militarys interference in the nations politics is not new. It stretches back to independence. However, the recent episode arguably began with the dismissal of Nawaz Sharif as Prime Minister followed by his debarment from politics and leading to his arrest and imprisonment.

After the election was called, Pakistans Human Rights Commission reported that the militarys security agencies put pressure on Nawaz Sharifs candidates to switch loyalties and return their tickets. Alongside the Pakistan Peoples Party and Awami Party candidates, they have been harassed, their movements monitored and restricted and their electoral banners removed. The BBC says nearly 17,000 of his party members face criminal cases for breaking unspecified election rules.

Working with the judiciary, which played a key role in eliminating Nawaz Sharifs electoral prospects, the Army also ensured that extremist outfits under new aliases and identities could contest. Some 200 Lashkar-e-Tayyaba candidates are in the field. Ironically, they were given permission to stand just after Pakistan was placed on the watchlist of the Financial Action Task Force.

Today, as people cast their votes, some 371,000 troops will be deployed both outside and inside polling stations. Theyve been assigned magistrate powers to hold on-the-spot trials of anyone accused of breaking the laws and, thereafter, to sentence them. As Ahmed Rashid said: The real power appears to rest with Pakistans military and the judiciary, which sees undiluted democracy as a threat.

The Human Rights Commission chairman, Mehdi Hasan, calls this blatant, aggressive and unabashed attempts to manipulate the outcome of the upcoming elections. He says there are now ample grounds to doubt their legitimacy  with alarming implications for Pakistans transition to an effective democracy.

Side by side with this sorry story is the disturbing saga of what has progressively happened to those parts of the Pakistani media that have the courage to speak out and criticise. The Human Rights Commission says theyve been subject to censorship, intimidation, harassment and abduction. Hameed Haroon, the chief executive of Dawn, says: Our hawkers are being stopped, they are being threatened, they have had their newspapers removed. The groups well-known news channel was shifted by Islamabads main cable network from the number 9 to number 28 slot. Consequently, many can no longer find or see it. In addition to losing viewership, its losing advertising revenue.

Munizae Jahangir, an Aaj TV anchor who travelled with Mr Sharif on his return from London, was threatened by security and intelligence operatives when she filmed the former PM being taken off the plane. Do you want to see our hospitality? one official said, according to Londons Sunday Times, as he took his gun out of his pocket.

Self-censorship is the new norm, according to Raza Rumi, editor of the Daily Times. He says its unwritten, unstated ... all very subtle and carefully orchestrated. Leading columnists have had their columns dropped; TV stations have introduced a 90-second delay to beep out anything sensitive. For the first time after 31 years of reporting on Pakistan, Sunday Times chief foreign correspondent Christina Lamb was denied a visa.

Haroon, who is also president of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society, accused the Pakistani military in a BBC Hard Talk interview of an unprecedented assault on press freedom.

Last week, an Islamabad high court judge, Shaukat Siddiqui, publicly said the militarys ISI was putting pressure on the Chief Justice and other judges for favourable verdicts in different cases. Today the judiciary and the media have come in the control of the bandookwala. Judiciary is not independent. Even the media is getting directions from the military. The media is not speaking the truth because its under pressure, he said. Siddiqui claimed the ISI has formed judicial benches of its choice to get the desired results. He says it asked the Chief Justice to ensure Nawaz and Maryam Sharif were denied bail until the elections were over. He also claims the National Accountability Court, which is trying corruption cases, is required to report to the ISI every evening.

In the circumstances its hard to resist the conclusion of outspoken former senator Farhatullah Babar: A creeping coup has taken place against the authority of the civilian government. It is different from the martial law of the past, with two resulting outcomes  the civilian government exists, but has no authority; press freedom exists, but journalists have no freedom. Clearly discernible behind this is the iron hand of the military. Its velvet glove has worn very thin.
[July 24, 2018] Demand for Tyler Technologies' EnerGov Solution Increases Hiring in Duluth, Georgia

Tyler Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: TYL) announced that it has expanded its Duluth, Georgia, office to accommodate growth. Over the past three years, Tyler has added 164 employees, and the company expects to hire at least an additional 50 employees in 2018. The rapid growth is the result of the large number of clients selecting Tyler's EnerGov Civic Services solution. Since the acquisition of EnerGov Solutions in 2012, Tyler has added more than 300 EnerGov clients across 42 states to its overall client base of more than 15,000 public sector clients. EnerGov is the leading product within Tyler's Civic Services solutions, one of Tyler's eight major public sector sub-verticals. Tyler has executed many successful go-lives of EnerGov across U.S. and Canada, including Los Angeles County, California; Lake County, Illinois; and city of Burnaby, British Columbia. The Duluth office has expanded its footprint to accommodate the growing employee base supporting the EnerGov solution. The complex includes two buildings featuring a combined 35,000 square feet of space. While its larger office building is currently being renovated to accommodate for future growth this year, the smaller of the two offices was also recently renovated for the same reason. The renovated office space features lounge and recreational areas, open work stations, collaboration areas, and updated furniture and textiles for a contemporary office atmosphere. Tyler's Duluth employees enjoy a unique office culture that suports a number of charitable activities and local community initiatives, such as the Kaiser Permanente Fun Run and the Angel Tree program, supporting the Quinn House, a full-service outreach operation that assists hundreds of individuals and families in need within Gwinnett County.



"We are very proud to offer a premier work environment in Duluth and for Gwinnett County to satisfy the growth we've experienced over the past few years," said Rusty Smith, general manager of Tyler's EnerGov solution. "Not only are we attracting strong, local talent in the greater Atlanta area to work for Tyler, but we've also been able to form many great client relationships here. The EnerGov solution is just one of many Tyler products being used by public sector offices in the greater Atlanta area. We look forward to continuing to grow and help local government create healthy and vibrant communities." Tyler has an established presence in the greater Atlanta area, with many local government appraisal, tax, civic services, financial, courts, public safety, and school clients. For example, Tyler's EnerGov solution was recently selected by the city of Atlanta to manage and process approximately $400 million in annual business tax and licensing related revenues.

DeKalb and Fulton counties also rely on Tyler's iasWorld appraisal and tax administration solution and Tyler Verify to aid in mass appraisal and reassessment procedures; Tyler's Odyssey case management solution, which provides seamless access to courts and justice applications; as well as eFileGA, Tyler's e-filing platform, which helps its courts streamline processes, reduce costs, and save paper. Finally, Atlanta Public Schools, Gwinnett County Public Schools, and the DeKalb County School District all use Tyler's Versatrans solutions for tracking field trips and planning school bus routes, and the DeKalb County School District and Cobb County School District also use Tyler's Munis solution for school financial planning and management. About Tyler Technologies (News - Alert) , Inc. Tyler Technologies (NYSE: TYL) is a leading provider of end-to-end information management solutions and services for local governments. Tyler partners with clients to empower the public sector - cities, counties, schools and other government entities - to become more efficient, more accessible and more responsive to the needs of their constituents. Tyler's client base includes more than 15,000 local government offices in all 50 states, Canada, the Caribbean, Australia, and other international locations. In 2017, Forbes ranked Tyler on its "Most Innovative Growth Companies" list, and Fortune included Tyler on its "100 Fastest-Growing Companies" list. More information about Tyler Technologies, headquartered in Plano, Texas, can be found at www.tylertech.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180724005043/en/

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[July 24, 2018] Unified Trust Company Gears Up for Community Day

Unified Trust Company, a national bank trust company and fiduciary that serves individual, institutional and retirement plan investors with a mix of digital and traditional advice, is gearing up for its seventh annual Community Day in Lexington, Ky., where the firm is headquartered. On Friday, August 17, over 70 Unified Trust employees will head out to locations throughout Lexington and surrounding counties to support five nonprofit organizations, including Military Missions, Dress for Success, Habitat for Humanity, Ronald McDonald House and FoodChain. "Giving back to the community and our partners is central to our philosophy. We strive to give our clients peace of mind in whatever goal they are trying to achieve, be it funding retirement or a child's college education or helping with charitable giving or estate planning. The 'giving' part of our job is the most rewarding, and it's exciting to extend that perspective to our larger community, as well," said Managing Director of Wealth Management, Kevin Avent.



Giving back has been ingrained in Unified Trust's culture since it was founded. Community Day was launched in 2012 and continues to be a special event for the company and community, alike. The firm has contributed time and talent to over 20 area charitable organizations during its history. "In my 13 years working at Unified Trust, it is without a doubt my favorite day of the year to come to work. Knowing that the service we provide across the firm will mean fewer families go hungry, or that a child's health will improve, or that a soldier will feel the warmth of a care package from home is incredibly rewarding. All of us at Unified Trust are fortunate to work for a company that encourages this spirit," said Avent.

Unified Trust Company Unified Trust Company, N.A. (Lexington, Ky., $5 billion in assets under management) is a national bank trust company and discretionary trustee, serving individual, institutional and retirement plan investors. As a fiduciary, the firm is dedicated to helping people achieve successful financial outcomes. It is the first trust company in the U.S. and among the first globally to be certified for fiduciary best practices by the Centre for Fiduciary Excellence. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180724005104/en/

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[July 24, 2018] Ricoh and its dealer partners announce successful ConvergX, celebrating the next wave of innovation

MALVERN, Pa., July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Ricoh USA, Inc. today announced that its Ricoh Family Group (RFG) Dealer Conference, ConvergX, was its most successful dealer event to date. With more than 1,200 attendees representing more than 200 dealerships in North America, ConvergX saw more interest than ever before. Top Ricoh executives, including Jake Yamashita, President & CEO of Ricoh Company, Ltd., and Joji Tokunaga, President & CEO of Ricoh in the Americas, took the stage to share Ricoh's vision for empowering digital workplaces and reinforced the company's commitment to help dealers deliver exceptional customer experiences. Positive feedback from dealer attendees was seen and heard throughout ConvergX, which took place June 25-28, 2018 in Las Vegas. To hear more from dealer attendees, watch this video: https://youtu.be/0VASkrkbVjg. "What really stood out to me this year at ConvergX is how much our message of partnership and working together for success really resonated with our dealers," said Jim Coriddi, Vice President, Dealer Division, Ricoh USA, Inc. "We looked to the voice of our dealer partners to really emphasie how, together, we've seen positive growth. Those voices were heard on the main stage, in the breakout sessions and even in our Dealer Experience Center. We made some major changes to our dealer organization over the past year  including a new lead generation strategy for our dealer partners  that have been extremely well received. Each of these steps is going to make our collective businesses unstoppable. We're excited."



ConvergX main stage presentations included topics on: Ricoh's continued investment in R&D and a sneak peek into future innovations;

Ricoh's global growth strategy, entitled RICOH Ignite;

Ricoh's recent milestones, including growing its dealer business and continued year-over-year growth;

Ricoh's vision for helping dealers deliver exceptional customer experiences, by anticipating the future needs of digital workplaces and demands for security with a suite of services and tools that delivers each time. Breakout sessions focused on the challenges facing dealers and their customers, including security, ways to grow businesses, expanding dealers' portfolio to include applications for production print and more. The event concluded with Ricoh's Awards for Excellence dinner, during which Mr. Yamashita, Mr. Tokunaga and Mr. Coriddi presented more than 30 awards to dealer partners, highlighting their successes over the past 18 months.

To learn more about Ricoh's ConvergX, read these articles from industry leaders Frank Cannata and Andy Slawetsky. | About Ricoh | Ricoh is empowering digital workplaces using innovative technologies and services enabling individuals to work smarter. For more than 80 years, Ricoh has been driving innovation and is a leading provider of document management solutions, IT services, commercial and industrial printing, digital cameras, and industrial systems. Headquartered in Tokyo, Ricoh Group operates in approximately 200 countries and regions. In the financial year ended March 2018, Ricoh Group had worldwide sales of 2,063 billion yen (approx. 19.4 billion USD). For further information, please visit www.ricoh.com

 2018 Ricoh USA, Inc. All rights reserved. All referenced product names are the trademarks of their respective companies. Contacts:

John Greco

Ricoh USA, Inc.

(973) 882-2023

john.greco@ricoh-usa.com Tracey Sheehy

Breakaway Communications for Ricoh

(212) 616-6003

tsheehy@breakawaycom.com View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ricoh-and-its-dealer-partners-announce-successful-convergx-celebrating-the-next-wave-of-innovation-300685459.html SOURCE Ricoh USA, Inc.

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[July 24, 2018] Micronotes Adds Another FinTech Veteran to Drive Revenue Growth

Sherre Bennett, who held sales leadership positions with Fiserv and FIS,

joins leader in AI-driven marketing automation as regional VP of sales BOSTON, July 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Micronotes, the leader in AI-driven marketing automation for financial institutions, announced today that Sherre Bennett has joined the company as regional vice president of sales, based in Texas. Bennett, who held senior positions at leading financial technology companies, is responsible for driving revenue growth by bringing the benefits of the Micronotes SaaS platform to more financial institutions. Bennett joins Micronotes from FIS where she was senior sales executive for digital payments. Previously, she was national sales manager for Venminder, and also spent eight years as senior sales executive in the digital banking group ofFiserv.



One of Micronotes key differentiators in the fintech marketplace is how rapidly financial institutions can deploy and gain valuable insights from our conversation-marketing solution that enables them to engage with digital users who do their banking online and on mobile devices, said Christian Klacko, COO and cofounder of Micronotes. Sherre has tremendous experience in fintech sales and will use her contacts and expertise to drive new revenue opportunities for Micronotes. The Micronotes platform provides banks and credit unions with a turnkey conversation-marketing solution that enables them to stop guessing and start asking digital users what they want. Through conversations that take just a few seconds during or at the conclusion of digital banking sessions, Micronotes helps FIs reduce attrition and delinquency, increase revenue, and build sustainable relationships with their digital users, who far outnumber people who do their banking in branches.

Over the years, I have worked closely with some of the most successful financial institutions in the country, bringing them the benefits of fintech solutions to help them serve customers and members more efficiently, said Bennett. But I have never had the opportunity to represent a software solution as unique as Micronotes. We provide the dual benefits of business growth and user engagement in an easy-to-deploy, rapid ROI solution. Its an exciting time to join the company. About Micronotes

Micronotes is the leader in AI-driven marketing automation for financial institutions. The companys fast, automated and cloud-based digital marketing automation platform applies machine learning to customer data to improve engagement and effectively cross-sell financial services through digital service channels. Privately held, Micronotes is based in Boston. For more information visit www.micronotes.com. Contact: Kevin Flanagan Micronotes +1-857-302-0731 media@micronotes.com

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[July 24, 2018] ThreatConnect Expands Functionality with 10 New Partner-Focused Orchestration Applications

Today, ThreatConnect, Inc., provider of the industry's only extensible, intelligence-driven security platform, announces its latest series of Partner-centered Playbooks applications to help orchestrate and automate security processes. These new applications focus on enriching indicators, analyzing malware, and exporting indicators for further analysis and security event triage. ThreatConnect CEO Adam Vincent said, "We continue to work with industry-leading partners to help our customers better manage and improve their security processes. Adding these important Playbook applications to our growing list ensures that ThreatConnect allows organizations to have more control, automation and effectiveness in their response to threats and to protect their businesses." New Playbooks applications include: IBM (News - Alert) X-Force Enrichment ThreatConnect has created 5 new Playbooks apps that allow users to retrieve a variety of IBM X-Force enrichments based on the specified indicator type. With this series of Playbooks, users can query IBM X-Force to retrieve DNS records, IP reports, Malware reports, URL reports, and WHOIS records.



McAfee (News - Alert) Advanced Threat Detection (ATD) ThreatConnect has created 3 new Playbooks apps that allow users to submit Files and URLs to McAfee ATD for zero-day malware analysis. Users can also leverage Playbooks to automatically retrieve a malware report from McAfee ATD based on a specified Hash value.

Malware Information Sharing Platform (MISP) With 2 new playbooks apps for MISP, ThreatConnect users can easily export indicators from ThreatConnect to MISP as either Events or Attributes. These apps can create any attribute based on Category and Type within the MISP data model. *Playbooks apps are only available to TC Manage and TC Complete users. About ThreatConnect: ThreatConnect Inc., the pioneer in threat intelligence platforms, arms organizations with a powerful defense against cyber threats and the confidence to make strategic business decisions. Built on the industry's only extensible security platform, ThreatConnect provides a suite of products designed to meet the threat intelligence aggregation, analysis, automation, and orchestration needs of security teams at any maturity level. More than 1,600 companies and agencies worldwide use the ThreatConnect platform to integrate their security technologies, teams, and processes with relevant threat intelligence resulting in reduced detection and response time for enhanced asset protection. To register for a free ThreatConnect account or learn more, visit: www.threatconnect.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180724005551/en/

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[July 24, 2018] Riptide Managed IT Service Division Organizes for Continuing Growth

Riptide's managed IT services division is busier than ever and is continuing to grow recently adding multiple, new Florida-based clientele. The growth of the IT division has resulted from adding new cybersecurity products and services to protect Riptide's clients' infrastructure while managing the day to day activities. Riptide will be adding additional employees to the team through the end of the year. "Defending against network intrusion and cyber threats is becoming our highest priority as the number of attacks increases every day," said Philip Loeffel, Riptide Software's CEO. "Our latest combination of activity network monitoring, application penetration testing, and old-fashioned diligence is helping our customers stay safe." As part of the IT division's growth strategy and market-assessed needs, Riptide will now be offering penetration testing services in addition to their current portfolio of services. Four types of penetration testing are now available: website penetration testing, LAN intrusion testing, network and Intrusion (News - Alert) attempts testing, and host intrusion and exfiltration attempts. The team is excited to offer these new services to support organizations' business security. Riptide Software's IT Services Manager, Walid Costandi, added: "The use of Riptide's proprietary penetration testing tool set combined with military grade analysis and pathing procedures is providing our customers with a level of security not previously seen. This increased level of support guards against phishing attempts, network intrusions, and a host of other dangerous actions being committed by bad actors every day."



In addition to offering new services, Riptide has also brought on additional IT employees to the team for greater flexibility and to support their customer-focused approach. Riptide Software offers managed IT services for any industry and business size within Florida. More information on Riptide's managed IT services can be found on: https://solutions.riptidesoftware.com/ About Riptide Software, Inc.

Riptide Software is an award-winning CMMI Level 4 technology company headquartered in Central Florida. Since 1995, Riptide has delivered state-of-the-art military training systems that support our War-fighters through software and integrated hardware design, development, manufacturing, and sustainment of advanced technology systems using live, virtual, and constructive simulations. Riptide's four divisions also include a wide array of products and services for the Department of Defense and various commercial industries. These services include: defense modeling and simulation, training systems, managed IT services, on-demand technologies, and machine learning/AI. Visit https://www.riptidesoftware.com/ for more information. Note to Editor: Technology Resources and Riptide's CEO are available for interview. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180724005569/en/

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[July 24, 2018] PVH Corp. Named to Forbes' Inaugural List of the Best Employers for Women

PVH Corp. (NYSE:PVH), one of the world's largest apparel companies and owner of iconic brands including CALVIN KLEIN, TOMMY HILFIGER, Van Heusen, Speedo, Warner's and IZOD, today announced it has been named to Forbes magazine's inaugural list of America's Best Employers for Women. PVH ranked No.187 overall. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180724005683/en/ PVH hosted a special session of its "Women Who Lead" speaker series featuring members of the PVH Board of Directors. The list of 300 American companies encompasses 16 industries and represents those that are creating the best workplaces for women. "We're honored to be recognized for our commitment to creating an inclusive and diverse environment," says Emanuel Chirico, Chairman & CEO, PVH Corp. "We value women at our company - as we do all of our associates - for their individuality, and we believe that everyone should be respected for their unique contributions and perspectives. It's what makes PVH a great place to work." Inclusion & Diversity is central to how PVH conducts business and the company continually advances its commitment to its associates by incorporating feedback from its associate engagement survey, known as PVH Listens. PVH has also introduced Business Resource Groups (BRGs), voluntary, associate-led groups that share commonalities to foster inclusivity and support the company's business objectives. Current BRGs include groups supporting women, working parents, LGBTQ associates and African American associates. The company recently introduced several programs, such as a global pay equity audit, an expanded parental leave policy and the launch of a flexible workplace program in the United States in response to input from these initiatives. "As a member of PVH's Inclusion & Diversity Council, I'm proud to be involved in creating a culture where inclusivity is engrained in our Core Values, and women feel supported and empowered to reach their full potential," added Dana Perlman, SVP, Treasurer, Business Development and Investor Relations. PVH has taken actions to advance gender equality, including its commitment to the UN's Women's Empowerment Principles and support for initiatives such as the United Nations' HeForShe initiative and the Human Rights Campaign. Earlier this year, PVH committed to the United Nations' Free & Equal Campaign to support LGBTI rights and also joined the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion, a company pledge to take advance inclusion and diversity in the workplace. PVH was also recognized by Forbes as one of the 2018 Best mployers for Diversity and named to its list of the Most Just Companies.



Forbes, with data partner Statista, surveyed more than 40,000 employees, including 25,000 women, at companies across the country. The top 300 companies of those surveyed were named as The Best Employers for Women 2018. The ranking took into consideration general workplace factors, including diversity, development and working conditions in addition to topics particularly relevant for women, such as parental leave, flexibility, pay equity and family support. Forbes and Statista also examined diversity in top executive and board of director roles. For access to the full list of America's Best Employers for Women, visit https://www.forbes.com/best-employers-for-women/list/.

About PVH Corp. With a history going back over 135 years, PVH has excelled at growing brands and businesses with rich American heritages, becoming one of the largest apparel companies in the world. We have over 36,000 associates operating in over 40 countries and nearly $9 billion in annual revenues. We own the iconic CALVIN KLEIN, TOMMY HILFIGER, Van Heusen, IZOD, ARROW, Speedo*, Warner's, Olga and Geoffrey Beene brands, as well as the digital-centric True & Co. intimates brand, and market a variety of goods under these and other nationally and internationally known owned and licensed brands. *The Speedo brand is licensed for North America and the Caribbean in perpetuity from Speedo International Limited. Follow us on Social Media: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter, and visit PVH.com for more information about the Company. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180724005683/en/

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[July 24, 2018] New Frontier Corporation Announces the Separate Trading of its Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants, Commencing July 27, 2018

New Frontier Corporation (NYSE:NFC.U) (the "Company") announced that, commencing July 27, 2018, holders of the units sold in the Company's initial public offering of 28,750,000 units completed on July 3, 2018 may elect to separately trade the Class A ordinary shares and warrants included in the units. The Class A ordinary shares and warrants that are separated will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols "NFC" and "NFC WS," respectively. Units that are not separated will continue to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "NFC.U." This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities of the Company, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. The offering was made only by means of a prospectus, copies of which may be obtained by contacting Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC (Address: Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Prospectus Department, Eleven Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010; Tel: (800) 221-1037; Email: newyork.prospectus@credit-uisse.com); UBS Securities LLC (Address: UBS Securities LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 1285 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019; Tel: 888-827-7275; Email: ol-prospectusrequest@ubs.com).



About New Frontier Corporation New Frontier Corporation is a special purpose acquisition company formed by New Frontier Public Holding Ltd., an affiliate of New Frontier Group, for the purpose of entering into a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. While the Company may pursue a business combination target in any business or industry, the Company intends to focus its search for a target with operations or prospects in the healthcare, technology or education sectors in China. New Frontier Group is a China-focused investment group that invests in, builds and operates diversified businesses in the Chinese new economy sectors.

Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements," including with respect to the initial public offering and the anticipated use of the net proceeds thereof. No assurance can be given that the offering discussed above will be completed on the terms described, or at all, or that the net proceeds of the offering will be used as indicated. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section of the Company's registration statement and prospectus for the Company's offering filed with the SEC (News - Alert) . Copies are available on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release, except as required by law. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180724005725/en/

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[July 24, 2018] SADA Systems Achieves Location-Based Services and Enterprise Collaboration Partner Specializations in the Google Cloud Partner Specialization Program

Google Cloud Recognizes SADAs Technical Proficiency and Proven Success In Location-Based Services and Enterprise Collaboration

LOS ANGELES, July 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SADA Systems, a leading business consulting and cloud technology services firm, today announced that it has achieved the Location-Based Services and Enterprise Collaboration Partner Specializations in the Google Cloud Partner Specialization Program. By earning the Partner Specializations, SADA has proven its expertise and success in building customer solutions in the location-based services and enterprise collaboration fields using Google Cloud Platform (GCP) technology. The Google Cloud Partner Specialization Program is designed to connect Google Cloud customers to partners that have demonstrated technical proficiency and success in specialized solution and service areas. Partners that have achieved the Location-Based Services Specialization have shown the ability to build and manage applications using Google Maps Platform and GCP in both web and mobile environments. Partners that achieved the Enterprise Collaboration Specialization have demonstrated significant success deploying G Suite to enterprise organizations, which includes providing services across all project workstreams (i.e. Governance, Technical, People, Process and Support). As a Google Cloud Premier Partner, SADA specializes in heling large and mid-market companies transform their businesses using modern methods and cloud technologies. The firm has deployed location-based services built on GCP at organizations such as the Seattle Department of Transportation, Marriott and Viiz, and implemented G Suite, Googles enterprise collaboration platform, at companies including Hunterdon Healthcare, Colgate-Palmolive and Digital First Media.



Its very gratifying to be recognized by Google for the hard work of our entire Google Cloud practice team, successfully creating and implementing cutting-edge solutions, says Tony Safoian, President and CEO at SADA Systems. We will continue to develop innovative solutions to meet our customers needs and help them meet their business goals. Executives from SADA will be participating in three customer panels  Why Large Healthcare Organizations are Going Google, Google Cloud Platform: The What, The How, and The Why, and Google Cloud Search: A Fully Managed Secure Enterprise Search Platform from Google at the Google NEXT conference this week in San Francisco. Conference attendees can learn more about SADA services, capabilities and customer solutions, and experience a virtual reality game by visiting the SADA booth, #1302 - West Hall.

About SADA Systems SADA Systems, Inc. is a privately-held global leader in providing business and technology consulting services that transform organizations through innovative cloud-based solutions. As a Google Cloud Premier Partner, a Microsoft Cloud Solutions Provider, and a Facebook Workplace Service Partner, SADA Systems has gained global accolades as an exceptional service provider with proven expertise in enterprise consulting, cloud platform migration, custom application development, managed services, user adoption and change management. Recognized on the Inc. 5000 America's Fastest Growing Private Companies for ten years, CRN's MSP Elite 150, the 2017 Best Places to Work in Los Angeles, and 2018 Inc. Magazines Best Workplaces. SADA prides itself on continuous innovation, strong partnerships and corporate culture, and exceptional customer service. Media contact:

Kevin Wolf

TGPR

(650) 483-1552

kevin@tgprllc.com

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[July 24, 2018] Appcast Launches Programmatic Publisher Rating for Job Sites

LEBANON, N.H., July 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Appcast, the leading developer of programmatic job advertising technology, today announced the launch of its Programmatic Publisher Rating (PPR). Appcast PPR measures the ability of job boards and aggregators to support sophisticated, high volume programmatic ad buying, giving employers and recruitment ad agencies data to make better and more informed media purchasing decisions.

As recruitment marketing moves to performance ad units and software-driven buying, publishers that have invested in developing programmatic technology are delivering significantly better results compared to traditional publishers. Appcast PPR is the first data-driven rating system that allows recruitment media buyers to measure the programmatic investment job sites and aggregators have made.



Appcast PPR measures the sophistication of job sites by looking at the following integration points:

Data Exchange & Frequency: Publishers are rewarded with a higher PPR ranking when they increase the frequency and quality of data exchanged with theirAppcast customers.

Publishers are rewarded with a higher PPR ranking when they increase the frequency and quality of data exchanged with theirAppcast customers. Business Alignment: In partnership with its customers, Appcast has developed a set of programmatic best practices that rewards publishers based on their consistency and alignment of how their data is used, measured, and validated.



Matt Molinari, Appcasts vice president of Global Business Development, commented, When publishers compete, customers win. Our new publisher rating system encourages publishers to innovate more quickly and become more programmatic-friendly. He continued, We are opening up discoverability within our marketplace, fostering a new level of transparency that will enable Appcast customers to view each performance profile and readily identify their best fit publishers.

Michael Halperin, Chief Strategy Officer at Bayard Advertising commented, "We rely on Appcast's programmatic job advertising technology to drive cost-efficient recruitment outcomes for our clients. With the introduction of the Programmatic Publisher Rating system, we can now make smarter media buying decisions because of the transparency and trust it provides on how publishers perform." For publishers interested in learning about the program, visit https://appcast.io/clickcast-certified/. About Appcast

Appcast is using data and programmatic targeting to revolutionize the global recruitment advertising industry. From its pay-per-applicant job ad exchange to its market-leading recruitment media optimization platform, Appcast is changing how leading employers, ad agencies, and job boards attract high quality job seekers. To learn more, visit: http://www.appcast.io. Note to editors: Trademarks and registered trademarks referenced herein remain the property of their respective owners. Media Contacts: Rob Green Appcast rob.green@appcast.io Jeanne Achille The Devon Group (732) 706-0123 ext. 700 jeanne@devonpr.com

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Net profit dropped to $3.2 billion from $3.5 billion, due to the fine, but analysts focused on operating results.

Googles dominance in online advertising has been challenged this year by the antitrust battle.

Alphabet Inc on Monday reported that expenses from its Google search business grew more slowly in the second quarter while revenue rose more steeply than analysts had anticipated, boosting profit above Wall Street targets and pushing shares up 3.6 per cent after hours.

Googles dominance in online advertising has been challenged this year by the antitrust battle over its Android mobile software, which led to a $5 billion fine for the quarter, and other regulatory actions, including new European privacy rules.

Government pressure to improve moderation of user-created content has forced Google to hire more analysts. YouTube, a Google-owned streaming service, has increased spending on video content to keep consumers from shifting to offerings from Netflix Inc and expanding media conglomerates such as AT&T Inc.

But those issues have yet to halt Alphabet, which has grown quarterly revenue at least 20 per cent year-over-year for two straight years.

There was never a question about Googles dominance of a buoyant digital ads market, said analyst Richard Kramer of Arete Research.

The quarterly growth rate of what the company pays ad partners, called traffic acquisition costs, fell for the first time in three years, which Atlantic Equities analyst James Cordwell described as the most impressive piece of the results.

Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai told analysts that investments in artificial intelligence software meant to better predict where to place ads are making its services more attractive to advertisers. The company is selling more ads as its YouTube video service and Google search grow globally, he said.

Profit margins have dipped as more ads get shown on mobile devices, where Apple Inc and other firms charge fees to distribute Google search on their devices and apps.

But Google in the second quarter entered the second year of its latest multi-year deal with Apple, which analysts said helped even out costs.

Operating margin rose to 24 per cent from 22 per cent last quarter, excluding the $5 billion antitrust fine issued last week by the European Commission over Googles anticompetitive licensing of Android software. The margin was down from 26 per cent a year ago.

Net profit dropped to $3.2 billion from $3.5 billion, due to the fine, but analysts focused on operating results.

Adjusted earnings per share were $10.58, excluding the fine and the effects of other investments. Analysts estimated $9.52 per share, according to research aggregated by Thomson Reuters. Some analysts excluded other items as well, and Alphabet also beat that consensus of $9.59.

Alphabets $32.66 billion in second-quarter revenue, 86 per cent of which came from Googles advertising business, beat an average estimate of $32.17 billion.

The rest of the revenue came from Googles non-advertising businesses, which include selling apps, gadgets and cloud computing services, and ventures such as offering internet service.

The newer businesses are sucking up investments as Google adds data centres and employees to support them. But Alphabet Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat told analysts on Monday that the advertising unit is also getting new capital.

Alphabet, Facebook Inc and other leading application makers have become big forces in advertising as consumers globally, and in turn, advertisers devote increasing attention to smartphone and TV apps instead of newspapers and traditional TV broadcasts.

Pichai said the company had an opportunity to show ads on Google Home smart speakers and Google Maps and was slowly determining the best way to do so.

Company shares have benefited from easing regulatory concerns. A new privacy law enacted by the EU in May has had a minimal effect on Googles advertising business, and smartphone industry executives have described the EU antitrust case over Android as too late to matter. The company has cautioned that it is too early to measure the impact on both fronts.

But Alphabets outlook is tempered by cost concerns, and Amazon.com Incs encroachment into advertising has threatened Googles lucrative deals with media companies and advertisers.

Alphabet trails Facebook, Amazon and Twitter Inc in valuation as measured by the ratio of enterprise value to expected earnings. Its enterprise value, or market capitalization and debt minus cash, trades at 13 times expected earnings for the next 12 months, compared with about 14 times for Facebook, 24 times for Twitter and 26 times for Amazon, according to TR data.

(Source)
[July 24, 2018] Old Navy's Cause Platform ONward! Teams Up with Kristen Bell to Rock Your First Day of School

To support its cause platform ONward!, Old Navy is teaming up with Kristen Bell for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rock your first day of school. A lucky winner and guest will be flown to Los Angeles for a $1,000 back-to-school shopping spree and a special singalong session with the musically talented actress. The sweepstakes raises funds for Old Navy charitable partner Boys & Girls Clubs,1 and fans can enter through the online fundraising platform Omaze. For just $10, entrants can support club youth and have the chance to win by visiting Omaze.com/OldNavy.2 This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180724005740/en/ Old Navy's Cause Platform ONward! Teams Up with Kristen Bell to Rock Your First Day of School (Photo: Business Wire) To launch the sweepstakes, Bell will perform a back-to-school anthem penned from interviews with Boys & Girls Club kids. Bell will also share some of her personal past back-to-school looks in preparation for styling out the lucky winner in their first day of school outfit. "Heading back to school each year is an unforgettable moment in every child's life," said Kristen Bell. "I am excited to help the winner of this campaign look and feel their best, so they can start the school year with a sense of confidence and empowerment. It is an honor to partner with Old Navy's ONward! program to raise money for Boys & Girls Clubs and help turn learners into leaders." ONward! is how Old Navy pays it forward in local communities. Through the cause platform, the brand partners with nonprofits to empower the next generation wth real-world skills, training, and job opportunities to make a difference in communities and blaze a path forward to a brighter future. For over a decade, Old Navy has partnered with Boys & Girls Clubs to help turn learners into leaders and provide first jobs through the This Way Ahead internship program.



This back-to-school season Old Navy is also launching an ONward! capsule collection of clothing to celebrate the brand's cause work. The collection includes tees and hoodies for boys & girls, as well as totes and water bottles with the inspiring message "Our Generation Will Change the World." Old Navy will donate $50,000 to Boys & Girls Clubs3 in honor of the special collection, available for sale in all U.S. and Canada stores and online at OldNavy.com. In addition to the online sweepstakes fundraiser, Old Navy is also sponsoring an in-store fundraising campaign with the goal of raising $1 million to benefit Boys & Girls Clubs. From July 26 to August 8, Old Navy will match in-store customer donations up to $300,000.4 Customers can donate at the register at all U.S. and Canada stores. Customers who donate $5 or more in stores will receive an entry voucher to the Omaze sweepstakes, as well as $5 off of a future purchase of $35 or more.5

About Old Navy Old Navy is a global apparel and accessories brand that makes current American essentials accessible to every family. Originated in 1994, the brand celebrates the democracy of style through on-trend, playfully optimistic, affordable and high quality product. A division of San Francisco-based Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), Old Navy brings a fun, energizing shopping environment to its customers in more than 1,000 stores around the world. For more information, please visit www.oldnavy.com. About Omaze Omaze makes giving fun and easy by offering donors around the world the chance to win once-in-a-lifetime experiences and purchase exclusive merchandise to support critical causes. Omaze campaigns connect influencers, nonprofits and donors to create lasting impact, and have raised funds and awareness for nearly 400 charities with donations from over 180 countries. Omaze is a for-profit company that collects a 20% fee on net raises from experience-driven campaigns. For more information, please visit omaze.com. 1 Proceeds to benefit Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) and Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada (BGCC). 2 See Omaze.com/OldNavy for Official Rules, including details on alternate method of entry. 3 Donation will benefit BGCA and BGCC. 4 Old Navy will match total in-store customer donations to BGCA and BGCC up to $300,000. The match will be divided proportionally between BGCA and BGCC based on the donations received in US and Canadian stores, respectively. 5 Get $5 off your purchase of $35 or more: Offer valid on Old Navy merchandise only from 8/9/18 at 12:01 am ET through 8/22/18 at 11:59 pm ET in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico) at Old Navy stores and online at oldnavy.com. Exclusions and restrictions apply - see store associate or oldnavy.com for details. Qualifying amount applies to merchandise only, to value of gift cards purchased, packaging, applicable taxes or shipping & handling charges. No adjustments on previous purchases. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180724005740/en/

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[July 24, 2018] K2 Intelligence Recognized for Forensic Accounting and Private Investigations in The Recorder's Best of 2018 List of Legal Services Providers

K2 Intelligence, an industry-leading investigative, compliance, and cyber defense services firm founded by Jules B. Kroll and Jeremy M. Kroll, announced today that it has been named by California-based legal news site, The Recorder to the "Best of 2018" list of legal services vendors in the categories of "Forensic Account Provider" and "Private Investigation Firm." "As a long-time partner to the legal industry, it's gratifying to be recognized by The Recorder for the many investigative services we provide to law firms and their clients to help them succeed," said Robert Brenner, chief operating officer for K2 Intelligence. "We believe it is our unique combination of investigative expertise, the best multidisciplinary teams, and customized technology that positions us to address the most complex legal challenges. For The Recorder and the members of the California legal community to acknowledge these facets of our investigative, analytic, and advisory excellence is a great honor."



According to The Recorder, the "Best Of" awards were developed to help lawyers and law firm administrators identify the finest legal products and service providers. The annual "Best Of" supplements recognize the vendors that stand out among their competitors in providing lawyers with the essentials they require to compete in today's legal market. About K2 Intelligence

K2 Intelligence is an industry-leading investigative, compliance, and cyber defense services firm founded in 2009 by Jeremy M. Kroll and Jules B. Kroll, who is credited with originating the modern corporate investigations industry. Redefining 21st-century corporate intelligence, the firm combines subject-matter expertise with cutting-edge technology, bringing to bear the industry's best multidisciplinary teams to solve its clients' most difficult problems. With offices in New York, London, Madrid, Geneva, and Los Angeles, K2 Intelligence advises governments, companies, boards, and individuals in business areas including investigations and disputes; regulatory compliance, cyber defense, construction and real estate, strategic risk and security, and private client services. For more information, visit www.k2intelligence.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180724005741/en/

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[July 24, 2018] A.M. Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Central Reinsurance Corporation

A.M. Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "a" of Central Reinsurance Corporation (Central Re) (Taiwan). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. The ratings reflect Central Re's balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorizes as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, favorable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. Central Re's risk-adjusted capitalization remained sound in 2017, supported by retained earnings accumulation and a prudent and highly liquid investment portfolio. The public company status also enhanced Central Re's financial flexibility. The company has demonstrated a favorable track record of underwriting results over the past five years, underpinned by stable and strong profitability in its life reinsurance segment and a generally stable combined ratio in the domestic non-life reinsurance segment, as well as a relatively benign catastrophe claims experience in its international book of business over the past five years. Moreover, the company's large investment asset allocation to cash and cash equivalents, and fixed-income securities delivered a stable stream of interest income, despite the yield remaining low. Leveraging its long operating history as the sole domestic reinsurer in Taiwan, Central Re has built solid and long-term relationships with local life and non-life insurers. The company has maintained a strong and stable market position and a diversified underwriting portfolio, with a majority of the premium income sourced directly from cedants, despite the geographic coverage remaining mainly in Taiwan. Offsettin rating factors include potential volatility in earnings and capital and surplus, arising from Central Re's catastrophe exposures. The company has arranged a comprehensive retrocession program to mitigate the undue risks. The sustained soft condition and increased competition in the reinsurance market continue to post challenges to the operating environment.



While positive rating actions are not likely in the near term, negative rating actions could occur if the company experiences significant and sustained deterioration in its operating performance, or if there is a material adverse change in its risk-adjusted capitalization. Ratings are communicated to rated entities prior to publication. Unless stated otherwise, the ratings were not amended subsequent to that communication.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on A.M. Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see A.M. Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Understanding Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Best's Credit Ratings and A.M. Best press releases, please view Guide for Media - Proper Use of Best's Credit Ratings and A.M. Best Rating Action Press Releases. A.M. Best is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. Copyright  2018 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180724005752/en/

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[July 24, 2018] Anthem Blue Cross Medi-Cal Health Plan Launches Health Homes Program to Help Improve Access to HealthCare

Anthem Blue Cross Medi-Cal Health Plan is launching a new Health Homes Program as part of its commitment to increase access to quality care and help improve the health of the people and communities it serves. The program is designed to serve eligible Medi-Cal beneficiaries with multiple chronic conditions or severe mental illness who have frequent hospital or emergency room visits, or who are homeless and may benefit from enhanced care management and coordination. "At Anthem, we view the Health Homes Program as an innovative model for the future of healthcare collaboration in California that will provide greater access to coordinated care," said Steve Melody, Anthem Blue Cross Medi-Cal Health Plan President. "It is a blueprint of how Anthem can support Medi-Cal providers in managing not only the medical determinants of health, but also the social determinants in our communities by successfully partnering with local county organizations." Anthem will partner with community clinics and community-based organizations to provide a full range of services to address needs related to physical health, behavioral health, and community-based long-term services and supports. A care coordinator will be assigned and responsible for providing comprehensive care coordination across health providers and can assist in finding and applying for community programs and services, such as food and housing.



In July, Anthem will be one of the first two plans in the state to introduce the State-sponsored program in San Francisco County. San Francisco Health Plan will also begin providing services through the program in July, and has worked closely with Anthem and the State Department of Healthcare Services to prepare for this implementation. Anthem is also piloting a limited version of the program in Alameda County in partnership with Alameda Care Connect beginning in July, and in 2019, plans to expand the program to Fresno, Sacramento, Santa Clara, Tulare, and Los Angeles Counties. For more information about the Health Homes Program, visit the California Department of Health Care Services website.

About Anthem Blue Cross Medi-Cal Health Plan Anthem Blue Cross is the trade name of Blue Cross of California. Independent licensee of the Blue Cross Association. ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. Additional information about Anthem Blue Cross is available at www.anthem.com/ca. Follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) at @AnthemBlueCross, or @AnthemBC_News, and on Facebook at Anthem Blue Cross Medi-Cal. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180724005070/en/

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[July 24, 2018] State of New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department Selects PaymentExpress as New Payment Processing System

Today, Grant Street Group announced that the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department (NMTRD) has selected PaymentExpress as its new electronic payment platform. Known as the "Land of Enchantment", New Mexico is home to over two million citizens, and includes the cities of Albuquerque, Las Cruces, and Santa Fe. New Mexico joins many other large government agencies across the country who rely on PaymentExpress to collect over $5 billion in government revenue each year. PaymentExpress, an e-payment system designed for the unique needs of government agencies, will allow the NMTRD to accept all major debit and credit card brands (Visa, MasterCard (News - Alert) , Discover, American Express) for payments online, over the phone (IVR), via mobile or tablet devices, and at 85 Motor Vehicle Department office locations throughout the State. The State selected PaymentExpress follwing a thorough competitive procurement process. The NMTRD's Final RFP Evaluation Committee Report noted that PaymentExpress was selected based on its "significant relevant corporate experience implementing and operating e-payment programs ... including Ohio's Bureau of Motor Vehicles, San Bernardino County, Auditor-Controller/Treasurer/Tax Collector, Sacramento County, Miami-Dade County Tax Collector, and Broward County Records, Taxes and Treasury Division," and concluded that PaymentExpress "represent[s] the best value to the State of New Mexico."



"The addition of New Mexico is a significant addition to our payments portfolio," said Phil Runyard, Grant Street's Director of ePayments. "The State's thorough evaluation and ultimate selection of PaymentExpress is a testament of our track record delivering technically advanced and secure solutions, and uncompromising customer support. As a FinTech focused on government, we hone our applications and support to the unique requirements of government entities, as illustrated by our references contacted by New Mexico, which all rated Grant Street as "Excellent in our knowledge and experience," continued Mr. Runyard. PaymentExpress will support NMTRD tax programs including fines and fees collected from the Motor Vehicle Division. The implementation will begin this month, with a scheduled go-live in October 2018.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180724005973/en/

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Samsung Galaxy S20 FE review: A value triumph Editor's Choice

The Galaxy S20 FE packs all the best features of the Galaxy S20 into a more affordable package, but there are some trade-offs if you get this phone.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Drexel Police Department are searching for a maroon Hyundai that fled the scene of a hit-and-run fatality accident Sunday evening. Police said the accident occurred around 9:15 p.m. Sunday when 15-year-old Gavin J. Kush of Drexel, Missouri, was walking in the northbound lane of Route D.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Gap on the Country Club Plaza will shut down for good next weekend. The story originally planned to move into the old Ann Taylor store but those plans fell through. Old Navy will now into Gap's old spot. The company says current Gap employees will be able to transfer to other locations.
The house overwhelmingly smelled like bleach, and investigators interviewed Kidwell after getting a search warrant. He initially denied any knowledge of what happened to the missing woman, but later admitted that Cooper-Williams' body was inside his home. He claimed that a group of people from Kansas City killed her, but then told detectives that he'd never be released from prison for what he was about to admit.



He went on to say that he and Cooper-Williams had a fight, and she grabbed a knife from her purse and hit him in the hand with it. He said he "flipped out" and repeatedly punched her in the face before getting the knife and stabbing her in the neck. He then continued to punch her.



Kidwell told authorities that he wrapped Cooper-Williams' body in trash bags and put her in a trash can. He claimed what he did wasn't premeditated, and said that when he gets mad, "I make the exorcist look like a *****".

Nazi tattoos and old school symbols of the South pretty much convict this dude of a horrific attack in the public eye. Meanwhile, his claims of self-defense aren't garnering much traction.Take a look:Deets:Developing . . .
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 24)  Moves to unseat ousted House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez have been brewing since last year as he increasingly alienated his colleagues with his brusque and divisive leadership style, his peers said Tuesday.

Akbayan Representative Tom Villarin told CNN Philippines' The Source that it has been "brewing since last year."

"He has many policy statements na hindi dinidiscuss sa House," said Villarin, saying his pronouncement pushing for no elections next year and a people's initiative for federalism were the latest.

"Prior to that, his divisive style of leadership at yung brusko masyado na approach -- turnoff iyan sa karamihan ng mga kongresista," he added. "It was highlighted during yung sa zero budget (threats), then yung away nila ni Mayor Sara Duterte."

[Translation: He has many policy statements he doesn't discuss with the House. Prior to that, his divisive style of leadership and his rough approach are a turn-off for many congressmen. It was highlighted during his zero budget (threats), and his fight with Mayor Sara Duterte.]

Alvarez was unseated by former President and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo just ahead of the President Rodrigo Duterte's State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday. Arroyo took an oath as House Speaker after a manifesto was passed around in her favor and a viva voce vote was conducted.

But the House gatherings  which were off-session  left many confused about the validity of the proceedings.

Related: Pampanga Rep. Arroyo unseats House Speaker Alvarez

The twist of fate comes after Alvarez removed Arroyo as a Deputy House Speaker when she would not vote in favor of the death penalty.

Earlier this year, Alvarez also threatened congressmen to support federalism or get no budget. He later backtracked and dismissed the statement as a joke. But last year, about 24 congressmen critical of the administration  including Villarin  were denied funds. He also slapped the Commission on Human Rights with a measly P1,000 budget, although this was later undone at the bicameral level.

Related: Alvarez: Infra budget of opposition solons realigned to fund free tuition, police salary

In February, Duterte-Carpio took Alvarez to task on Instagram for supposedly calling her part of the opposition. "You messed with the wrong girl," she wrote.

Related: Sara Duterte lashes out at House Speaker Alvarez

ACTS OFW Partylist Rep. John Bertiz similarly named the no election pronouncement and Alvarez's row with Duterte-Carpio as the triggers of his ouster.

"Marami nang pinag-ugatan [It had a lot of roots]," he told The Source.

Bertiz voted for Macapagal-Arroyo, while Villarin  who is an opposition lawmaker and critic of the administration  abstained.

Even Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque also surmised that Alvarez's push for no elections had to do with the ouster. PDP-Laban Party founder and Consultative Committee member Nene Pimentel warned that this would make Filipinos believe that federalism was only an excuse for term extension.

"I'm now speculating but even the President had problems with the call of the House Speaker on no-elections," Roque said in a press conference on Tuesday. "(The President) said, 'Absolutely not. We'll not have any hand in that.'"

Duterte-Carpio 'made calls'

Villarin said some of his colleagues received calls from Duterte's daughter "as early as in the morning." Among those whom he named were ABONO Party List Rep. Conrado Estrella and Zamboanga del Norte Rep. Seth Fredrick Jalosjos.

"She personally called some of the legislators who are heads of these political parties. And the political parties agreed to support that move," said Villarin.

"Ibig sabihin, Sara Duterte has really asserted her role in this House," he added.

However, Villarin did not say whether Duterte-Carpio advocated for Arroyo from the onset. Prior to the SONA, three congressmen tipped CNN Philippines about the upcoming ouster, also crediting it to the presidential daughter's hand.

The congressman also said that many of the members of the ruling party, PDP-Laban, were at a loss regarding the directive. Some supposedly called Special Assistant to the President Bong Go.

"At ang sinabi lang [ni Go] ay huwag naman pahiyain si Mayor Sara," said Villarin.

[Translation: (Go) just said don't embarrass Mayor Sara.]

Bertiz confirmed that he received a call, not from the mayor, but from a party affiliate.

"They didn't mention the name of GMA," he recalled. "Parang iniinform lang na baka merong pangyayaring magaganap bukas... Huwag lang kayo magulat."

[Translation: They didn't mention GMA's name. They just informed us that something would happen tomorrow... and not to be surprised.]
The subsidiary is registered in Hangzhou, home of e-commerce giant Alibaba.

Facebook has set up a subsidiary in China with registered capital of $30 million, according to an official business registration, hinting that the US firm may be ramping up its presence in the restrictive market where its social media sites remain blocked.

The subsidiary is registered in Hangzhou, home of e-commerce giant Alibaba, according to a filing approved on Chinas National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System last week and seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

The filing listed Facebook Hongkong and no other entities as a shareholder.

Facebooks website remains banned in China, which strictly censors foreign news outlets, search engines and social media including content from Twitter and Alphabet's Google.

Last year Facebooks messaging app WhatsApp was also blocked in the run up to the countrys twice-a-decade congress, and it has remained mostly unavailable since.

While censorship controls have hardened under Xi Jinping, who was formally appointed president in 2013, US tech firms with blocked content are increasingly looking for new ways to enter the market without drawing the ire of regulators.

Google has several hundred staff in China, and recently launched its own artificial intelligence (AI) lab. It has also tentatively launched several apps for the Chinese market in recent months, including an AI drawing game and file management app.

Apple has also heavily modified its app stores to fit Chinese censorship restrictions in the past year, removing hundreds of apps at the request of regulators.

According to Facebooks recent filing, the wholly-owned Chinese subsidiarys operations will include network information technology development and related services, investment consultancy and marketing planning. It did not elaborate on specific services.
KMBC: Kansas City Missouri police are investigating a homicide in the 3800 blk of East 59th Street. Officers found a man in his mid-20's shot in a vehicle Monday evening around 7:30pm.

Check the latest local murder report this evening as KCMO isn't anywhere close to becoming safer again . . . Actually, the level of violence has been pretty consistent with increasing fluctuations upward andRead the latest . . .Again, this is the 65th homicide so far this year compared to 85 at this time last year and 57 the year before that . . .Developing . . .
The VFW told KMBC 9's Micheal Mahoney that President Donald Trump's speech tomorrow morning in Kansas City has been moved to Municipal Auditorium. Trump was originally scheduled to address the VFW national convention at the Kansas City Convention Center, in downtown. Doors to Municipal will open at 6 a.m., and you must have a VFW convention credential for entry.
Domestic violence victims often have a hard time moving to safety because landlords won't let them out of their leases. That could soon change in Kansas City. City Councilwoman Jolie Justus says abusers often live with domestic violence victims or know their address.
"Theres no evidence that McCaskill played any part in directing federal funds to businesses affiliated with her husband . . . The analysis showed that businesses Shepard is invested in are getting more federal awards, a fraction of which Shepard receives as personal income. Projects affiliated with Shepard were awarded $62 million in McCaskills first term and $69 million in her second term, for a total of more than $131 million."

Financial connections and Midterm election red meat . . .Deets:You decide . . .




KCMO Double Take Talking Points

Seg. 1: Bird Scooters Debut In Kansas City. Seg. 2: VFW Priorities In The Age Of Trump. Segment 1: Zippy new scooters are the newest form of transportation in Kansas City. A Los Angeles scooter-rental company called Bird has brought a new transportation service to Kansas City. Its sleek, black electric scooters go for 15 cents a minute, travel at up to 15 miles an hour, and you just leave them on the sidewalk for the next rider when you're done.

Local Lesson In Loyalty

Student accused of being drunk at school, parents say breathalyzer clears him A Jackson County family says their elementary-aged son was accused of being drunk at a Fort Osage school but it's now obvious a mistake was made. "No way, no way!" the boy's mother, Stacey Gardner, exclaimed about her son Erik.

Help Find This JoCo Dude

Lenexa police put out alert on missing man Lenexa police are looking for missing man. 39-year-old Thomas Lee was last seen on Thursday, July 19th. Lee currently has a shaved head. He drives a 1991 blue Jeep Wrangler with Kansas 188-KJR. If you've seen him, call Lenexa police at 913-477-7301 or 911.

12th & Oak Talk Northland Trash

KC Council to address piles of trash going uncollected in Northland KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Rotting smells and piles of trash: Those are just some of the complaints people living in the Northland have voiced for more than six months. Now Kansas City council members are getting involved and will meet with trash haulers Tuesday.

Rock Chalk Artsy/ACLU Demands

Warhol Foundation Calls on University of Kansas to Reverse Removal of Josephine Meckseper Flag - Joel Wachs, the president of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, has written a letter to officials at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, urging them to return a flag artwork by Josephine Meckseper to its original location atop a flagpole on campus that was removed earlier this month after allegations by politicians in the state that it represented a desecration of the American flag.

Fixing Meth Town History

Future of historic cabin in Independence debated within community There's conflict in Independence over the future of a historic log cabin in the city. The Historic Pioneer Spring Log Cabin, located near Truman and Noland Roads, is in disrepair. On Monday, the Independence City Council discussed how it could be fixed.

Check Creamy Country Club Cuisine

Southern Charm Gelato Shoppe Opens on Kansas City's Country Club Plaza The Country Club Plaza in Kansas City has welcomed a new gelato shop that is serving up comforting American flavors of the traditional Italian frozen treat. Southern Charm Gelato Shoppe opened this past Saturday in the former L'Occitane space at 511 Nichols Road near the Court of the Penguins fountain.

Home Team Stays Losing Again

Detroit Tigers takeaways from comeback win over Kansas City Royals KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Detroit Tigers' bats came to life late Monday night, scoring three times in the top of the ninth inning to defeat the Kansas City Royals, 5-4. Against Royals closer Brandon Maurer, the Tigers opened the inning with two hits: Jeimer Candelario singled and Victor Martinez doubled.

Perspective on patriotism to start this historic day . . .And right now we start our news journey with these Kansas City MSM news links. Take a look:is the song of the day and this is thefor right now . . .
In case you were unaware, Mazzanti Automobili is a high-performance supercar producer based out of Italy. The company was first established in 2002 and specializes in building just a single nameplate - the Evantra. Over the years, Mazzanti has created a few variations on the Evantra, including the Evantra Millecavalli, a four-figure monster first introduced in 2016. The more recent follow-up to that outrageous twin-turbocharged speed machine is called the 771, and it was designed to slot between the Millecavalli and the base-model Evantra with a little extra under the hood, an update to the aero package, and a modernized interior.

Mazzanti Evantra 771 Exterior Styling

Purposeful appearance

Shaped used CFD

Aluminum body panels

LED lighting signatures

New aero package upgrades over the standard model

More downforce tanks to new splitter, rear wing

Unique doors

Boxy rear end

While the standard Evantra offers plenty of visual impact, the 771 ups the ante even further thanks to a host of unique aero enhancements.

Before we dive into the specifics of what makes the Evantra 771 unique, lets first explore the base model Evantra. The original design comes from the pen of founder Luca Mazzanti, and the look is both aggressive and chunky, with tons of features added front to back to give it a unique, yet purposeful look. Theres definitely no question this thing was designed with speed as its top priority.

Indeed, Mazzanti says the Evantras shape was sculpted using computational fluid dynamics simulations, while the entire body is made from hand-formed aluminum panels. The wheels are pushed to the outer corners of the vehicle, creating extremely short overhangs at both ends, and the profile reveals a low, squat stance and coupe-like roofline. LED lighting signatures add extra gloss to the front end.

While the standard Evantra is certainly not lacking when it comes to visual impact, the 771 ups the ante even further, implementing a ton of new aero enhancements to create a somewhat unique style.

Up front, the 771 gains a restyled fascia and a new front splitter, with a deep central intake and a pairing of side intakes to gulp down the fresh atmosphere. Up top, theres a new intake added to the roof as well, presumably to help force feed the mid-mounted engine without creating an abundance of aerodynamic drag. The front hood gets the usual muscular bulges, while vents close to the windshield help to keep the nose firmly planted to the tarmac.

Further upgrades are seen in the profile, where the 771 gets revamped sideview mirrors with thin stalks and small lower winglets. The large side intakes remain as is, hovering above huge side skirts that jut out from the lower body, keeping the rushing atmosphere where it belongs.

The weird doors are part style, part functional, opening up and out from rear hinges.

The weird doors are part style, part functional, opening up and out from rear hinges. The opening for ingress and egress looks particularly small, but the setup should help to provide additional bracing low down on the chassis, which in turn helps to keep it stiff and the handling sporty.

Finally, in the rear, the 771 gets a new wing, which was added to the trailing edge of the tail as a replacement for the standard Evantras much smaller wing. The shape is similar, but taller, and the 771s wing gets a pair of black side extensions that mimic the shape of the lower diffuser element. The whole rear end is boxy in its appearance, with hard angles added for extra style points. The exhaust is centrally placed and uses two trapezoidal tips to get the job done.

Indeed, while it might not look terribly different from the standard Evantra, Mazzanti definitely took care to give the 771 the proper exterior upgrades, all in the name of greater performance.

The pure design of the Evantra is also enriched by a stylish and functional aerodynamic package whose main purpose is exploiting every single cubic centimeter of air, making it a useful ally in increasing the downforce of the car at high speed and while cornering, Mazzanti says.

And while much of the Evantra is customizable, the 771 is shown here comes with some rather impressive exterior styling colors. The blue and gold scheme looks good to us, and helps demonstrate whats possible for the aesthetic.

Mazzanti Evantra 771 Exterior Dimensions

Overall Length 4,325 mm (170.3 inches) Overall Width 1,980 mm (78 inches) Overall Height 1,225 mm (48.2 inches)

Mazzanti Evantra 771 Interior Design

Useable, daily-driver friendly

Tailored driving position for each customer

Broad, unique dashboard design

High-end materials throughout

Enormous shift paddles

Optional racing steering wheel with digital readout

Upgraded infotainment bits

Cargo space in the rear

Tons of customization options

Note: standard Mazzanti Evantra pictured here.

The Mazzanti Evantra 771 offers loads of performance attitude, but Mazzanti says its still comfortable enough for everyday use.

Clearly, the Mazzanti Evantra 771 offers customer loads of performance attitude and racy cues, but Mazzanti says its still comfortable enough for everyday use. To that end, the upholstery includes high-end treatment and acres of leather, including a special aniline leather application with a particularly soft-touch appeal.

The driving position is also unique between each example, as owners get to set theirs up to taste courtesy of a special meeting at the Mazzanti Atelier. As a result, Mazzanti says the Evantra provides a cabin that will fit perfectly, as a precious tailor-made suit.

The layout itself is a mix of colors and shapes, with a broad, horizontal aesthetic that takes after the exterior styling in terms of chunkiness, giving it a bit of composite appearance. Its not really streamlined, but rather, it incorporates disparate parts to create a cohesive whole, with carbon faces, aluminum surrounds, leather panels, and other bits and pieces splayed across the surface. The door panels also incorporate some of these styling elements, with quilted upholstery and geometric cuts in the armrests.

Of course, for all its spruced-up luxury stuff, the Evantra comes with a good deal of performance intentions as well. That includes positively enormous paddle shifters on the flanks of the three-spoke steering wheel, which also gets upscale trim along the upper rim, a flat bottom, large hand bolsters at the 10 and 2, and contrast stitching for the wrapping. The standard steering wheel comes with an airbag, but theres also a racing steering wheel option offered with more performance touches, such as a digital center section and LED shift lights to indicate the perfect shift points.

Theres also a single-button engine starter that gets decked out in the Italian colors, while the center console gets a floating knob to twist and set it into the various drive modes.

The Mazzanti Evantra 771 comes with a new digital dashboard and a new infotainment system as well, both of which help to underline its credibility as a daily driver.

Back on the usability front, the Mazzanti Evantra 771 comes with a new digital dashboard and a new infotainment system as well, both of which help to underline its credibility as a daily driver. Bluetooth support keeps your devices connected, while an additional screen and new digital instrumentation help you keep tabs on all the vitals.

The choice of adopting new digital elements as well as more simple styles, underlines the unique characteristic of all the Mazzanti cars to be extremely customizable, appearing as blank portraits on which the client is guided in drawing his or her own wishes, Mazzanti explains.

Another solid practicality feature is the available space in the trunk, where the Evantra gets a small cargo area just behind the engine to place a weekend getaway bag or a few odds and ends.

Finally, the Evantra once again offers a variety of customization options for the interior, just like the exterior spec. That means the colors, materials, and features can get upgraded to suit your taste, and with it all matched to your custom driving position, the cabin should offer a nice bit of kit overall.

Mazzanti Evantra 771 Drivetrain And Performance

Mid-engine, RWD layout

N/A 7.0-liter V-8

771 hp (+20 hp), 642 lb-ft (+8 lb-ft)

Estimated 0-to-60 mph at 3 seconds

Estimated top speed of 209 mph

Optional carbon brakes

Curb weight around 2,800 pounds

Huge Pirelli tires

Note: standard Mazzanti Evantra pictured here.

The 771 ups the ante with extra power to complement the revised aero package. The 771 nomenclature should give you a hint as to where this is headed.

Like any other proper supercar, the Mazzanti Evantra 771 utilizes a mid-engine, RWD drivetrain layout, mounting a naturally aspirated 7.0-liter V-8 powerplant in the middle of the machine to turn the rear wheels. However, unlike the base model Evantra, the 771 ups the ante with extra power to complement the revised aero package.

The 771 nomenclature should give you a hint as to where this is headed - indeed, its a nod to the peak output, as the V-8 motivation was uprated to a mind-warping 771 horsepower at 7,700 rpm. Meanwhile, torque also gets a boost, up to 870 Nm (642 pound-feet) at at 6,890 rpm.

Compared to the standard Evantra, the 771 throws in about 20 extra horses and 8 pound-feet extra pound-feet, as the former model makes 751 horsepower and 634 pound-feet total.

The 771 upgrade is also available to owners of the standard Mazzanti Evantra, leading us to believe that its most likely a very simple refit.

Mazzanti declined to provide specifics on how exactly it managed to massage out an additional 20 horsepower and 8 pound-feet of torque from the eight, but did mention that the same upgrade was also available to owners of the standard Mazzanti Evantra, leading us to believe that its most likely a very simple refit (something like an ECU retune would probably do the trick).

That said, its probably safe to assume that the majority of the engines specs are indeed a carryover from the standard Evantra. Standouts include a 11:1 compression ratio, a dry-sump lubrication system, and the incorporation of titanium for the valves and connecting rods. Slick.

It should also be noted that the Mazzanti Automobili website lists the 771 as rocking an engine capacity of 7400 cc. Of course, were thinking this is probably a mistake on Mazzantis part, but it bears mentioning all the same.

Unfortunately, Mazzanti declined to outline how the extra power and aero stuff affect the actual performance numbers, such as acceleration and top speed, but given how close the 771 is compared to the standard Evantra, theres a few assumptions we can make here as well. Lets start with the sprint to 60 mph, which takes less than 3 seconds in the standard Evantra, which means the 771 will most likely shave off a tenth at best. The standard Evantra will also max out with top speed 360 kph, or 224 mph, and even though its got more power, we think the 771s greater levels of downforce will slow it down significantly, possibly shaving off as much as 15 mph at the other end.

The standard Evantra takes less than 3 seconds to sprint to 60 mph, which means the 771 will most likely shave off a tenth at best.

However, one component thats a straight carryover is the transmission, with the 771 once again utilizing the standard Evantras race-style six-speed sequential gearbox.

Under the skin, the Evantras chassis is a high-tensile boxed-section frame made from a blend of standard steel and molybdenum chrome (molybdenum chrome is known more commonly as chromoly steel). The roll cage is also made from molybdenum chrome, and Mazzanti brags that the subframe is connected to the monocoque with just 14 bolts.

The Evantras fuel tank is placed between the front axle and the cockpit, which gives the engine and drivetrain a better position inside the chassis, which in turn helps to even out the overall weight distribution. Speaking of which, the supercars curb weight comes to 1,300 kg, or 2,866 pounds, which is roughly equivalent to a Toyota 86 with a supermodel in the passenger seat (not that that would ever happen).

To help manage the weight, the Evantra 771s suspension setup utilizes MacPherson struts both in front and in back, with adjustability offered to hone yours to your handling tastes. Theres also a pair of drive modes to choose from, including Strada - Street and Corsa - Race.

Throwing the anchor is a big brake package from Brembo.

Throwing the anchor is a big brake package from Brembo, which includes large discs measuring in at 380 mm (15 inches) in front and 360 mm (14.2 inches) in the rear. For those who are concerned about repeated hot stops (perhaps a track day is order?), Mazzanti offers the Evantra with a carbon ceramic disc package that comes as an optional extra. Either way, the calipers are 6-pot units in front and 4-pot units in the rear.

The wheels are lightweight units from OZ Racing, with the fronts sized at 9.5 inches in width and 20 inches in diameter. Meanwhile, the rear wheels measure in at a staggered 12 inches of width, although the diameter matches the front at 20 inches. Pirelli is on hand to provide the the grip thanks to its classic P Zero rubber, a compound used on countless supercars in the past. This time around, the tires measure in at 255/30R20 in front and a sizable 325/25R20 in the rear.

Mazzanti Evantra 771 Performance Specs Drivetrain Layout Mid-engine, RWD Engine N/A 7.0-liter V-8 Horsepower 771 hp @ 7,700 rpm Torque 642 lb-ft @ 6,890 rpm 0-to-60 mph 2.85 seconds (est.) Top Speed 209 mph (est.) Chassis Steel frame with chromoly Suspension Type MacPherson strut Brakes 15-in front (6-pot), 14.2-in rear (4-pot) Wheels OZ Racing (9.5 x 20 front, 12 x 20 rear) Tires Pirelli P Zero (255/30 front, 325/25 rear) Curb Weight 2,866 pounds

Mazzanti Evantra 771 Prices

No exact price was given, but considering the company is only making five examples a year, you can bet its gonna be expensive.

The Mazzanti Evantra 771 made its big public debut at the Bologna Auto Show in 2016, with sales kicking off in the spring of 2017.

As previously mentioned, the boutique automaker offers a host of customization options, both inside and out, which means pricing can vary greatly between examples.

Whats more, Mazzanti has declined to list any exact figure when it comes to the price tag, but considering the company is only making five examples a year, you can bet its gonna be expensive.

That said, if we were to guess, wed say around $800,000 should fit the bill.

Mazzanti Evantra 771 Competition

Heres our first competitor for the Italian-bred Evantra 771, and believe it or not, this one comes from Scandinavia. Its called the ST1, and it comes from the boutique supercar-maker Zenvo. It might sound a bit odd, but this thing is quite serious indeed, rocking a twin-charged (that is, both supercharged and turbocharged) 6.8-liter V-8 placed just behind the cockpit. Power comes to a heady 1,104 horsepower and 1,050 pound-feet of torque, which is sent to the rear wheels by way of either a six-speed manual transmission, or a seven-speed paddle-shifting automatic. Despite its huge power advantage, the Zenvo still takes just 3 seconds to hit 60 mph. Top speed, however, bests the Evantra 771 by a wide margin, maxing out an astonishing 233 mph.

Read our full review on the2010 Zenvo ST1.

Rebranded from Gumpert to Apollo a few years back, this German supercar producer makes some seriously quick machines. The Apollo N is a prime example, taking the original formula laid out by the original Gumpert Apollo and giving the volume knob a nice twist. Outside, the styling is all function, while the interior is composed of a revised instrument cluster and a simplified two-seater layout. However, the real draw is in the engine bay, where the N mounts a twin-turbo 4.2-liter V-8 that cranks out 690 horsepower and 649 pound-feet of torque. Properly applied, its enough to propel this machine to 60 mph in just 3 seconds flat, while top speed is rated at 224 mph.

Read our full review of the 2017 Apollo N.

Final Thoughts

Wed be lying if we said the Evantra 771 was anything other than a way of providing incredible performance and a thrilling drive.

All told, theres a lot to like about the Evantra 771. First off, its quite striking to look at, with a unique, yet purposeful appearance. Its also quite comfortable, at least relatively speaking, offering a surprising degree of luxury and practicality for a vehicle so obviously hellbent on creating speed. Third, its very exclusive, with just five created annually.

However, wed be lying if we said these characteristics were anything other than a way of providing incredible performance and a thrilling drive, and in that respect, we think the Evantra 771 delivers.

Indeed, the Evantra is very fast, keeping pace with both the boutique supercar segment and the majority of the mainstream segment as well. That said, there are a few things that give us pause - for example, the lack of official specs on what impact the new aero package and power upgrade has on performance. More stick and a trickle extra power are never bad things, but we wanna know how exactly the 771 gear makes the Evantra a better performer. Numbers, please.

Truth be told, were not totally sold on the styling.

Secondly, were not totally sold on the styling. Yeah, its unique, but we wouldnt exactly call it beautiful. And thats a shame, especially coming from an Italian marque.

That said, at the end of the day, this isnt a car you buy with logic - you buy it with passion and zeal, maybe because you disagree with our opinion on the styling and think that extra power and wing are never a bad thing. You might not be wrong. And hey, its not like youll ever run into another one on the street.

Love it More power, more wing Civilized interior Incredibly fast, low weight

Leave it Very expensive Why get this over a mainstream supercar? Why get this over the standard Evantra?



Further Reading

Read our full review on the 2017 Mazzanti Evantra Millecavalli.
In 2014 the model received a major update and got a displacement increase of 49 cc, the new model is called CB650F, which is currently sold in the US for $ 8,249. And according to Fabrice Recoque, director of the motorcycle division of Honda France, the world is getting TWO new 650cc naked motorcycles.

The Honda CB600F (known as the Hornet in Europe and Brazil) was undoubtedly one of the most influential middleweight naked motorcycles. Originally launched in 1998, it had close ties to the race-winning CBR600RR but had always presented its own unique package of sporty performance and light, user-friendly handling.

One will be an exclusively new model, while one will be catering mainstream

Honda CB650F

While the French magazine Moto Revue was launching the European Forza scooter, the Honda boss cleared any doubts regarding closing the books to the Hornet name. The Hornet was not taken to North America as AMC had trademarked the name with the AMC Hornet.

The Hornet / 650F will either be updated heavily for 2019 or Honda is going to be adding a couple of new models in the 650cc segment. The current Honda CB650Fenjoys being one of the most wanted middleweight naked models in its class offering a great mix of comfort, great handling, and sporty performance. It produced a good 86 hp and 46 lb-ft of torque.

Honda CB600F / Hornet

The first new 650 will be a bit more expensive but also very different and slightly off the competition. Naked or a full faired motorcycle, no one can say for sure. The second 650cc based machine will be more volume-oriented model that will be probably sold in multiple markets.

Our strategy will not be to attack the MT-07 with the same style or a similar price. We will propose a very different motorcycle with a unique style and very different positioning. Added Recoque.

A new funky model and a mainstream model concepts will be first showcased at the 2018 EICMA in Milan, and we cant wait to see whats in store for us.

Source: MoreBikes
Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the West African country of Senegal over the weekend, building trade ties which could bear fruit in terms of Chinas access to U.S. markets. Xi met with his Senegalese counterpart Macky Sall, as well as Senegalese Prime Minister Mohammed Dionne, as part of a two-day visit which began on Saturday.

Following bilateral talks, Senegal signed up to be the first West African nation committed to Chinas Belt and Road Initiative, a multi-billion dollar scheme to resurrect ancient trading routes centered on China. Senegal, with a population of just 16 million, might seem like a curious stop for Xi given that Nigeria, Africas largest economy, is also in the West Africa region.

But according to Ibrahima Diong, who has served as Senegals minister of Chinese affairs, the countrys location is particularly attractive. For any Chinese companies that would like to export to the U.S., you cannot get better than Senegal, he told CNBC via telephone, highlighting its position on the west coast of the African continent.

China is Senegals second largest trading partner after its former colonial power France. Xis visit to Senegal was the first stop of a broader tour of the African continent. He landed in Rwanda on Monday and will then attend a BRICS summit in South Africa, before stopping in Mauritius. The Chinese president visited the United Arab Emirates earlier last week.

Xi's Africa visit is his fourth to the continent since he took office in 2013, and his first overseas trip since beginning his second term as Chinese president in March of this year. While Senegal is the first West African country to partner with China as part of its Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese-built infrastructure projects are mushrooming in the region. Last week a railway network was opened in Nigerias capital Abuja, helping to address the countrys need for infrastructure.

But, China has been accused of lending to its Belt and Road partner countries under conditions that they will not be able to fulfill. Diong pointed out that Senegal is a favorable place for China to do business given its stable democracy. He added that Senegal is already an established exporter of its oil and gas reserves, enabling China to carve out a different kind of relationship. While China needs some commodities, (it doesnt) want a relationship thats just commodity driven, he said.

Partnership with Senegal enables China to make a dent in the francophone world, added Diong. He said that Africans are being extremely pragmatic in their business decisions, and are no longer constrained by colonial ties.That perspective was echoed in an editorial published in several South African newspapers over the weekend, in which Xi wrote that South Africa and China had forged a deep friendship during our common struggle against imperialism, colonialism and racism.

It detailed that "Chinas direct investment in South Africa has grown by more than 80 times and (now) exceeded $10.2 billion in cumulative terms." For Diong, China's inroads in Africa are symptomatic of a shifting geopolitical order, particularly as global media attention is largely focused on the U.S.' relationship with Russia. Africans love the Chinese story, Doing said. Beyond just money, China is seen by many Africans as a model to aspire towards, he added.
The new sensor features 48 effective megapixels.

Sony Corporation today announced the upcoming release of the IMX586 stacked CMOS image sensor for smartphone cameras. The new sensor features 48 effective megapixels, the industrys highest pixel count. The new product achieved a world-first ultra-compact pixel size of 0.8 m, making it possible to pack 48 effective megapixels onto a 1/2-type (8.0 mm diagonal) unit, thereby supporting enhanced imaging on smartphone cameras.

These days, high-end smartphone models require even greater imaging quality from their cameras. The new Sony sensor features 48 effective megapixels,*2 a pixel count which rivals that of high-performance SLR cameras, making it possible to capture beautiful, high-resolution images even with a smartphone.

The new sensor uses the Quad Bayer colour filter array, where adjacent 2x2 pixels come in the same colour, making high-sensitivity shooting possible. During low light shooting, the signals from the four adjacent pixels are added, raising the sensitivity to a level equivalent to that of 1.6 m pixels (12 megapixels), resulting in bright, low noise images.

In addition to these advantages, original Sony exposure control technology and signal processing functionality are built into the image sensor, enabling real-time output and a dynamic range four times greater than conventional units. Even scenes with both bright and dark areas can be captured with minimal highlight blowout or loss of detail in shadows.

Main Features

1. Worlds first 0.8 m ultra-compact pixel size enables industrys highest pixel count at 48 effective megapixels.

Generally, miniaturization of pixels results in poor light collecting efficiency per pixel, accompanied by a drop in sensitivity and volume of saturation signal. This product was designed and manufactured with techniques that improve light collection efficiency and photoelectric conversion efficiency over conventional products, resulting in the worlds first 0.8 m pixel size, with both high sensitivity and high saturation signal level.

This smaller pixel size allows the new product to deliver 48 effective megapixels on a compact unit with 8.0 mm diagonal, which can be fitted on many smartphones. The increased pixel count enables high-definition imaging even on smartphones which use digital zoom.

2. The Quad Bayer array enables both high sensitivity and high resolution

By adopting the Quad Bayer colour filter array, where the adjacent 2x2 pixels come in the same colour, the new sensor delivers both high sensitivity and high resolution. In low light situations, such as shooting at night, the signal from the four adjacent pixels is added, raising the sensitivity to a level equivalent to that of 1.6 m pixels (12 effective megapixels), to capture bright, low-noise photos and videos. When shooting bright scenes such as daytime outdoors, the built-in, original signal processing function performs array conversion, making it possible to obtain high-definition 48 effective megapixel images in real time.

3. Four times greater dynamic range than previous products and real-time output

Original Sony exposure control technology and signal processing functionality are built into the image sensor, enabling real-time output and a superior dynamic range that is four times greater than conventional products. Even scenes with both bright and dark areas can be captured with minimal highlight blowout or loss of detail in shadows while viewing the image on the smartphone display.

(Source)
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David Headley has been sentenced to 35 years in prison by US court for the 2008 terrorist attack on Mumbai that killed more than 160 people.

According to some media reports, David Headley was attacked on July 8 by two other inmates. (Photo: File)

Washington: The US authorities refused to comment on media reports that Pakistani-American convict in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack case David Coleman Headley was battling for his life after being attacked by inmates at a detention centre on Monday.

"We are not able to locate information about this individual," the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in Chicago said in a brief email response to PTI when asked about the incident.

According to some media reports, David Headley was attacked on July 8 by two other inmates.

The reports said he suffered serious injuries and was rushed to North Evanston hospital, where he was admitted to the critical care unit.

David Headley has been sentenced to 35 years in prison by a US court for the 2008 terrorist attack on Mumbai that killed more than 160 people.

David Headley - who recorded various Indian cities, including Mumbai before the 26/11 attacks - was arrested in 2009.
laxmi@tribune.com

Vijay C Roy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 24

The nationwide truckers strike has almost crippled industrial activities due to acute shortage of raw materials, which has resulted in temporary shutdown of several units in the northern region, including TVS Motor Companys Nalagarh unit in Himachal Pradesh.

The nationwide raw material supply disruption has hit over 200 industrial units in the northern region and forced most of them to suspend production. The factory managements have asked regular workers not to come to work until situation improves. They will, however, work overtime to compensate after the raw material supply is normalised, industry sources said.

The contract labourers and daily wagers are the worst sufferers as they have to forgo the man-days lost. The All India Motor Transport Congress had launched a nationwide indefinite strike of truckers on July 20. They are demanding an immediate reduction in diesel prices and abolition of highway tolls in line with one-nation-one-tax that was introduced through the GST.

The exporters are worried over the continuation of the strike as they are unable to meet their export obligations. According to industry estimates, the northern region, particularly Punjab, Haryana and Himachal, is losing over Rs 600 crore daily in the organised sector. The consumer is, however, protected as supplies of food items and essential commodities are by and large unaffected.

We dont have much inventory and if situation doesnt improve in a day or two we will have no option but to resort to partial production, said a senior official in TVS Motor Company. The Nalagarh unit of the two-wheeler manufacturer had already given a day off to its workers on Tuesday. The unit will, however, work on Sunday to compensate the output disruption. The unit produces 1,800-2,000 motorcycles every day.

The shutdown of the units would also affect the ancillary units located in the northern region, industry sources said.

Mohali-based Hitech Lights Baddi unit has been closed due to supply disruption. We get raw materials from across the country. We were expecting packing materials from Uttarakhand, which is being held up because of the strike. So, we have suspended operations from today, said companys chairman RS Sachdeva.

Exporters also fear cancellation of orders. The industry is already suffering on account of credit crunch. With the strike, the raw material supply will be delayed, affecting production. This may result in the purchase orders being cancelled, said an exporter.

We are unable to meet the export obligations and if the disruption continues, not only exporters would lose precious foreign exchange but it will also impact the Central and state governments. We have written to the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) to resolve the issue with the ministry concerned soon, said SC Ralhan, a Ludhiana-based exporter and past president of FIEO.

The inter-state movement of goods has also come to a halt, said Northern Chamber of Medium and Small Industries president Sharad Aggarwal. It is high time the government intervenes and resolves the issue to save trade and industry, particularly the already distressed MSMEs, he said.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, July 24

After facing criticism for not entertaining the Morni gang rape victims complaint, the Haryana Police have transferred Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Women, Mamta Sauda and the SHO of the women police station, Sector 5, Rajesh Kumari.

While SHO Rajesh Kumari has been transferred to the Haryana Police Headquarters, ACP Mamta Sauda has been posted as the ACP, Panchkula City.

The Haryana Police have posted Sunita Rawat as the new SHO of the women police station. ACP Noopur Bishnoi, who was holding charge of the ACP (Traffic), has been posted as the new ACP (Women).

After four cops were suspended, there were allegations that the Panchkula Police were protecting senior police officials.

The WhatsApp chat between the suspended cop, ASI Saraswati, whom the victim had approached, and Rajesh Kumari, SHO of the women police station, had also surfaced. In that chat, Saraswati had sent a photo of the victims complaint on WhatsApp to Rajesh Kumari for further directions, but the latter forwarded her the Mani Majra SHOs number. The ASI had messaged the SHO that no PCR vehicle was available and that the control room too had refused to provide one.

As there were directions from the SHO, Saraswati had sent the victim and her husband to the Mani Majra police station.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, July 24

While the Haryana Police are facing criticism over the Morni gang rape case, it is not the only case of rape in Panchkula district. There has been a spurt in the rape cases in Panchkula in the recent past.

According to figures, 13 cases of rape, sexual abuse involving minors and molestation have been reported in the past four months from Panchkula.

Similarly, 20 cases of rape were reported in 2016 and 19 cases in 2017 in Panchkula district.

Advocate Sameer Sethi said special training should be given to cops to handle complaints lodged by rape and sexual abuse victims.

DCP Rajender Kumar Meena said they were making police stations children-friendly. They were also working on these cases and the accused would be nabbed soon.
P Stobdan

P Stobdan

AS the Dalai Lama turned 83 this year, the main plot-line of Tibet is noticeably shifting to the 17th Karmapa  Ogyen Trinley Dorje  who suddenly disappeared from the radar screens of Indian intelligence in May 2017. Amidst rumours, the Karmapa was finally traced in Europe and later in the US where he has been staying on the pretext of poor health. He is staying in New Jerseys Wharton State Forest area, on a 150-acre farm estate gifted to him by a Chinese/Taiwanese couple.

Recent media reports suggest that he may not return to India where he spent his last 18 years. Earlier, he promised to return by June 2018, but the dateline is already over. Sources say there are signs of tension among intelligence circles after his disappearance.

The Karmapa also made a daring escape from Tibet in 1999, which had caused huge embarrassment to the Chinese government. The jostling for control over the 17th Karmapa has heightened among the Chinese government, Dalai Lamas administration and the Indian establishment after his flight.

His sudden arrival in 2000 had raised many eyebrows in India. Many believed his escape was facilitated by the Chinese. Indian media was quick to label him as a Chinese spy. Others believed it was ostensibly masterminded by none other than Dharamsala itself. In 2001, the Karmapa feared the Chinese may use him for political purpose to separate Tibetans from the Dalai Lama and promised not to return to Tibet until the Dalai Lama returned. In India, he was confined to the Gyuto Tantric monastery near Dharamsala under the surveillance of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) and Indian intelligence agencies. The government had imposed travel restrictions on him, banning him from visiting the Rumtek monastery built by his predecessor.

In 2011, he was implicated in a controversy over the illegal recovery of a large stash of cash, including Chinese currency, fuelling suspicion whether he was a monk or a Chinese plant. And yet, considering his importance, the Tibetans in exile propped up the Karmapas stature to make him the next powerhouse to play a pivotal role in the post-Dalai Lama scenario.

Clearly, the Karmapas escape has caused embarrassment to the CTA, especially the Dalai Lama, for he has been vehemently defending the Karmapas authenticity and credentials. It is an embarrassment for the government as well, because the decision to revoke travel restrictions on him by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in 2000 was taken only recently  possibly in spite of intelligence agencies cautioning against it.

Not surprisingly, both New Delhi and Dharamsala tried their best to get him back. They sent a number of special emissaries to convince him to return.

As regards what may have triggered the escape, the Karmapa made some stunning revelation in a message through video telecast from the US in March, wherein he said his childhood was manipulated by others; he was denied proper education both in Tibet and India; he virtually lived a prisoners life in the Gyuto monastery. He claimed that his own Karmapa sect was torn into rival factions and internal strife. In addition, pressures were brought to bear on him to play a political role against his wish. He confessed to his inability to meet the obligation of the Karmapa title as he never had any high qualities and realisations of being the 17th Karmapa, and hence, he desired to give up and live an ordinary life.

The fact that he had to webcast on his troubled life from the US set the alarm bells ringing. Initially, the Karmapa cited his concurrent medical problem as reason for his prolonged stay and denied any insidious plans.

The Karmapas escape and confession comes at a critical juncture, on the heels of Xi Jinping becoming the lifetime President; the declining interest on the Tibetan issue in the Western world, as well as in India; and the ageing of the Dalai Lama.

The Karmapa shared his feelings with humility and honesty. Yet, he wasnt clear about what he intended to do in the future except for subtle hints. First, he fears he may not get a fair deal if he returns to India in terms of movement. Second, he will have to confront stiff competition from a rival Karmapa. Third, sources say he was disappointed over multiple hindrances to get suitable land for his Tsurphu headquarters in India. In fact, this, besides the ban on Rumtek, may have been the key sticking point. In a belated attempt to woo him back, the top security panel  CCS  in March this year allowed him to visit Sikkim, except the Rumtek monastery. Sources say he was finally offered a plot in Dwarka, New Delhi, at the cost of Rs 22 crore an acre.

Against all these odds, the Karmapa might be weighing the option of seeking asylum in the US, so he could travel freely to China and elsewhere.

Anyhow, he would rather play the waiting game from outside where he has a larger audience with a huge network of followers. Possibly, he may be trying to buy land in the US to set up the Karmapa seat in exile.

To be sure, his escape provides propaganda fodder to China  look, what India does to Tibetan lamas!

If the rumours are to be believed, the Karmapa may also opt for returning to Tsurphu monastery. Last year he talked about his desire to visit Tibet to meet his parents.

All in all, there is little possibility of Karmapa returning to India. The assumption that high Tibetan lamas offer a degree of strategic depth to India in the Tibetan plateau vis-a-vis China is misplaced. On the contrary, the Chinese may already be acquiring a reverse strategic depth in India.

The argument that various sects of Tibetan Buddhism and their lamas of Kagyu, Geyluk, Sakya, Nyingma, etc., control the Indian Himalayan borderland is only a myth. Sectarian affiliations across Indias borderland with Tibet have nothing to do their historical and political loyalties towards India. As such, any undue keenness for India to seek high-stake bidding for the Tibetan lamas will remain an exercise in futility.

A former envoy and expert on Trans-Himalayan affairs
sanjiv@tribunemail.com

London, July 23

Britains strong Sikh community is all set to be listed in the 2021 census as a distinct ethnicity rather than only as a religion, the UK Statistics Authority has said, a major step that will give the community a fair access to all public services in the country.

Last year, over 100 British MPs, including Indian-origin lawmakers, had asked the authority to include Sikh as a separate ethnic box for the 2021 census. The 2021 census is set to list Sikhism as a distinct ethnicity rather than only as a religion, The Sunday Times reported.

In the most recent census in 2011, more than 83,000 Sikhs refused to tick any of the choices in the question on ethnicity, rejecting options such as Indian in order to write Sikh in the space for any other ethnic group, it said.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is considering the inclusion of Sikhism as an ethnicity on the 2021 form, but had raised concerns over the issue of public acceptability and whether the move would have backing across Britains 430,000-strong Sikh community, the report said.

The all-party parliamentary group for British Sikhs offered to write to gurdwaras to assist the ONS with its public consultation, it added.

Sikhs are a legally recognised ethnic group under the UKs Race Relations Act 1976 and campaigners for the change believe this gives them a right to be able to identify themselves separately from current census options, such as Indian or British Indian.

In preparation for the 2021 census, the ONS ran a test version of the census in 2017 with Sikh included as an option under ethnicity. It found that almost a quarter of those who specified Sikhism as their religion also chose Sikh as their ethnicity.  PTI

What it could mean for community
editorial@tribune.com

Pradeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 24

Following in the footsteps of several states, including Bihar, Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu, Haryana is set to launch the Haryana State Disaster Response Force (HSDRF) on the pattern of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to deal with natural and man-made disasters.

The proposal of the Revenue and Disaster Management Department to have one battalion of the HSDRF (about 1,000 personnel) has been sent to the Finance Department following nod from Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. After approval from the Finance Department, the proposal will be sent to the Central Government for final approval, a senior functionary of the Haryana Government told The Tribune here on Tuesday.

The proposal of the HSDRF is the offshoot of Central Governments directive to the state governments to have the disaster response teams in their respective states. The directive was considered at a high-level meeting chaired by Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue and Disaster Management) Keshni Anand Arora and attended by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) SS Prasad and DGP BS Sandhu.

Following deliberations at the meeting, a project report was prepared under which it was proposed to have one battalion of the HSDRF in the first phase, besides equipment, vehicles and other modern gadgets for relief and rescue operations during natural and man-made disasters, including earthquake, floods, fire, industrial mishaps and road, rail and air accidents.

Currently 8th Battalion of the NDRF, located at Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, is responsible for undertaking relief operations in Haryana. In the event of natural calamity, it takes time to mobilise the NDRF personnel and that is the reason why Haryana wanted to have a dedicated disaster management team, the functionary asserted.

Chief Ministers Media Adviser Rajiv Jain said the Haryana Government had promptly acted on Central Governments directive to have the HSDRF. Once the proposal is approved by the Central Government, the HSDRF would start functioning in the state, Jain added.

Recently, the NDRF has also decided to set up a new regional response centre in Panchkula with around 50 personnel to oversee and coordinate deployment of its units in times of calamity.
by Sumon Corraya

The police present the results of two years of investigations. In total, at least 21 people involved in the bloodiest attack in the country's recent history. The suspects are members of the New Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh; two of them are on the run. Police chief: "The militants wanted to put pressure on the government".

Dhaka (AsiaNews) - Bangladesh police formally indicted eight Islamic terrorists who were held responsible for the attack on the Dhaka foreign bar on July 1, 2016. Monirul Islam, head of the anti-terrorism unit to Contrast Transnational Crime in Bangladesh (Cttc), gave the news yesterday, presenting the results of two years of investigations and interrogations at a press conference.

Many express satisfaction with the work of the investigators. Commenting to AsiaNews, Liton Gomes, a young Catholic, said: "I am pleased that the police have closed investigations quickly. This is a good example for our country and will help protect it from the activities of Islamic fundamentalists ".

The attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery Cafe in the capital, a meeting place for numerous foreigners and business people who live in the Gulshan district, home to several embassies, was the bloodiest in the recent history of the Asian country.

On the evening of 1 July 2016, armed with rifles and other weapons, five Islamist militants broke into the bar and took their customers hostage. Those who knew how to recite the verses of the Koran by heart, were let go; the others, murdered without hesitation.

Throughout the night, the bombers engaged a gun battle with the special police departments. At the end of the 12-hour siege, 20 victims were counted, including 17 foreigners; of these, nine were Italian. Added to these are the killed terrorists, the material executors of the attack, all of them from wealthy families.

Monirul Islam said that 21 people were found guilty of the massacre: the five militants killed in the police blitz; eight terrorists murdered in the following months when a real manhunt was conducted, including the one who is considered the "mastermind" of the attack; the eight radical Muslims against whom the formal accusations were presented.

The head of the anti-terrorist unit released the names of the eight suspected members of the New Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh. They are: Rakibul Islam Regan, Hadisur Rahman Sagor, Jahangir Hossain Rajeeb aka Rajeeb Gandhi, Aslam Hossain Rashed aka Rash, Abdus Sabur Khan aka Sohel Mahfuj, Mizanur Rahman aka Baro Mizan, Mamunur Rashid aka Ripon and Shariful Islam Khaled, former student of the faculty English at Rajshahi University. "The first six - added the policeman - are in prison, while the last two are on the run. [For the fugitives] we will ask for an arrest warrant ".

The official gave further details on the results of the investigation: the terrorists had been preparing the attack for at least five months and the money needed to do it - about 2 million taka (20,400 euros) - would have come from a Middle Eastern country. "The attackers - he concluded - wanted to make the nation fail and create a situation of instability. They wanted to make Bangladesh a fundamentalist country. They wanted to pressure the government."
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Shimla, July 24

With illegal cultivation and trafficking of cannabis and poppy assuming alarming proportions, Himachal has decided to act tough with drug peddlers and make amendments to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act besides setting up a state-level Special Task Force to check the drug menace.

The decision was taken by the Cabinet which met here on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur. With studies indicating rising addiction amongst youth, especially in schools and colleges, there is a demand from various quarters that the government initiate a crackdown on the people involved in this illegal activity. The arrest of some drug peddlers in Shimla, Solan and Una in the recent past and their suspected link with foreign nationals, including Nigerians, has indicated involvement of international drug mafia in supplying drugs in Himachal. The increasing addiction of synthetic drugs is another cause of alarm for the police. With Punjab taking a very hard stand on the issue of drugs, the Himachal Government too is under tremendous pressure to act in a stern manner.

The Cabinet directed that a special campaign should be launched in the state to check drug menace by involving Education, Health, Police, Social Justice and Empowerment departments besides ensuring active participation of panchayats, mahila mandals, parents, school children and teachers. Directions were issued to promote alternative crops in the traditional cannabis growing areas. It was stressed that a state level Special Task Force be formed to nab drug peddlers in the state. The Cabinet also directed the Home Department to hold regular coordination meetings at the Director-General level with the neighbouring states. The Cabinet also directed to conduct joint police operations with neighbouring states to check inter-state drug flow.

The Cabinet was apprised that during the last six months poppy was destroyed from 1,366 bighas as compared to only six bighas in 2017. Apart from this, 831 drug offenders were arrested and cases were registered against them under NDPS Act. Police officials said cannabis destruction begins in the month of August and carries on till November.

Special Task Force on the anvil
harinder@tribunemail.com

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 24

A passenger from Punjab aboard a Chandigarh-Srinagar flight was detained at the Srinagar airport for raising a false alarm. The flight has been hijacked, he cried as the IndiGo flight landed at the Srinagar airport on Tuesday.

An alarmed cabin crew alerted the security manager and the passenger was detained at the airport by the anti-hijacking wing. He was then handed over to the Jammu and Kashmir Police.

Sources said he told the police it was all a joke. Not amused, Budgam SSP Tejinder Singh said they were checking his credentials with the Punjab Police.

Lakhwinder Kumar, 32, from Amloh in Punjab, a mill employee, was on his way to Amarnath, said Akash Deep Mathur, Director, Airports Authority of India.

There was an incident regarding a passenger not following the rules an IndiGo spokesperson said.
editorial@tribune.com

Srinagar, July 24

A three-member team of the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) on Tuesday visited the Srinagar Central Jail to ascertain the facts behind the ongoing indefinite hunger strike of inmates.

The team headed by SHRC member Abdul Hamid Wani visited the jail premises in the afternoon and is likely to submit his inspection report within this week.

The prisoners in the high-security jail are on an indefinite hunger strike to protest the shifting of inmates to jails outside the Valley, poor quality of food, alleged denial of medical aid, and delay in trials.

The SHRC passed the orders of jail inspection on Monday following a petition by a human rights activist in which he brought to the fore the plight of the prisoners at the jail, where the security has been beefed up following the escape of Lashkar commander Naveed Jatt from a Srinagar hospital on February 6. Jatt was lodged in the jail before his dramatic escape. In the incident, two policemen accompanying him were killed by the militants who planned the operation.  TNS
editorial@tribune.com

Amit Khajuria

Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 24

The expansion of the Jammu airport is still a distant dream as the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is still waiting for the state to handover 1,100 kanals to it since 2008.

The airport expansion is an immediate requirement as it caters to more than 4,000 passengers on a daily basis.

There has been a considerable growth in the air passenger traffic in Jammu in the last six years but the aircraft and infrastructure is insufficient to cater to the increase in flyers.

The expansion plan includes the construction of a new airport terminal which will have a new building at Balicharana for 1500 Pax peak hour capacity, 22 parking stands (for aircraft), six passenger boarding bridges and a multilevel car parking for 500 vehicles. The new terminal will be constructed at a cost of Rs 500 crore.

The state government was requested to hand over 137 acres, free from all encumbrance, to the AAI for the project. The request for the land was sent in 2008, but nothing has been done on the ground.

Though the state administration had agreed to handover the land to the AAI during the Governors rule in 2016, the proposal was not taken up during the PDP-BJP regime.

Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Sanjeev Verma said the state was ready to provide land to the AAI and 400 kanals had already been identified for the airport expansion.

The state has agreed to handover land to the AAI for expansion of the airport, but we have to see its plan and work out the possibility of giving them 1,100 kanals, the Divisional Commissioner said.

Caters to 4,000 passengers daily
editorial@tribune.com

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 24

Militants on Tuesday attacked Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel guarding the civil secretariat, killing a constable and wounding another in broad daylight. The attack occurred around 4.30 pm near the civil secretariat in the Batamaloo locality here.

The militants fired at our men who were deployed in the outer cordon of the civil secretariat from inside a building and ran away, Inspector General of the CRPF (Srinagar sector) Ravi Deep Singh Sahi told The Tribune. Two of our personnel sustained bullet injuries and they were immediately taken to a hospital where one of them attained martyrdom. The CRPF retaliated keeping in view the circumstances and the area. Our men took appropriate action, he said. The slain CRPF man was identified as Constable Shanker Lal of 23rd Battalion. He had sustained bullet injury near his neck. Another Constable Satish Kumar of 49th Battalion sustained bullet injury on the right hand. His condition was said to be stable.

Soon after the incident, additional forces were rushed to the area to trace the militants involved in the attack. Initially, the forces suspected the militants were holed up inside a building near the site which is located close to the office of IGP, Kashmir, and SSP, Srinagar. A senior officer said the ammunition recovered from the spot suggested that the militants were carrying an AK and Insas rifles. The militant group, Hizbul Mujahedeen, has claimed the responsibility for the attack. The police begun investigation after registering a case. Initial investigation into the case has led to some tangible leads on which the police are working, a police spokesman said.

The attack took place in a high security zone where a large number of policemen and CRPF are deployed for the secretariats security.

This is the first major attack in Srinagar in the past 40 days. On June 14, a top journalist, Shujaat Bukhari, was shot dead along with his two police guards in the city centre. A day later, militants targeted security forces in the Karan Nagar locality in which a policeman was killed.

Militant gives up arms

The police on Tuesday said a militant had given up arms and joined his family. "With the help of community, one more joins his family and shuns the path of violence," the police said on Twitter. The police did not disclose the identity of the militant who returned home

Wounded constable stable
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 23

The police have arrested a person and seized 3 quintal poppy husk from him. The accused has been identified as Sham Kumar of Kadiopatra village, Sipol district, Bihar.

The police have also impounded the tractor-trolley, in which he was allegedly smuggling the drug. The accused was arrested by a police team from Dehlon police station near Dehlon Bypass on Monday.

During a press conference, ACP (South) Ramandeep Bhullar and ADCP-II Sandeep Sharma said: A police team led by Dehlon SHO Inspector Kulwant Singh was searching vehicles at a police naka near Dehlon Bypass, when a tractor trolley was stopped. The police found 12 plastic bags containing poppy husk hidden in it. The driver was arrested.

During preliminary questioning, the accused confessed that he used to purchase poppy husk from Mandsour district of Madhya Pradesh and then smuggle it into Punjab, where he used to sell it to his clients at higher rates. The accused told the police that he had been involved in drug peddling for a long time and used to supply the drug to his clients in various villages of Ludhiana, the ACP said. A case under the NDPS Act was registered at Dehlon police station and further investigation was on. The police expect more revelations from the accused during further questioning.

Woman held with 17-gram heroin

Ludhiana: The Ludhiana police have arrested a woman and seized 17-gram heroin from her. The accused has been identified as Babli, a resident of New Punjabi Bagh, Tibba Road, Ludhiana. The accused woman was arrested by the police during a routine checking on Tibba Road on Sunday. Giving details, Sub-Inspector Major Singh said he along with a police team had put up a naka on Tibba Road. The police spotted a woman approaching and on seeing the police, she turned back, which made us suspicious. We stopped the woman and when searched, we recovered 17-gram heroin from her, the SI said. The police have registered a case against the accused under the NDPS Act at Tibba police station and further investigation was on.  TNS
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Sumedha Sharma

Tribune News Service

Gurugram, July 24

In a twist to the alleged lynching of 28-year-old Akbar Khan, Lalwandi villagers have confessed in front of enquiry committee, headed Director General of Police (Law & Order) N R K Reddy, that an "attack" was planned to nab alleged cow smugglers who had been frequenting their fields since past fortnight.

Land owners of Lalwandi village said since last 15 days their fields were being trespassed into and misused to smuggle cows. They had asked 'Gau Rakshaks' to set up a "trap" and nab cow smugglers and hand them over to police.

A local VHP Leader, Naval Kishore, has been named as one who informed police of lynching in the FIR. He was the first one to accuse cops of having thrashed and killed Akbar.

So far, there was no clear explanation to what Naval Kishore and 'Gau Rakshaks' were doing in the deserted fields. The answer came from the villagers who claimed that ever since vigilance was stepped up on roads, cow smugglers used fields to walk animals across the border every night. To curb the menace, villagers said, they had sought help from the 'Rakshaks', who stood waiting there.

"They were cattle smugglers and we were sure that it was fourth time in 15 days that they had walked through our fields which is shortcut to a nearby Meo village. If they were cattle buyers, why did they wait till midnight to set out as they could have done so during the day or in the evening," said a man who owns a field where Akbar was allegedly attacked.

"For the past few days, we were noticing footprints of men and cows in our fields. We had spotted armed men with animals but at that hour just one or two people manning the fields could not dare to confront them. So we sought help from 'Gau Rakshaks' to get the smugglers arrested. This field was chosen because this was our area. Had the smugglers managed to cross nobody could touch them in their Meo villages," he added.

The 'Gau Rakhsa' activists were summoned and they lay in waiting, presumably to ensure that the "smugglers" were caught before they entered "their own" area. Akbar, who had reportedly bought two cows from the neighbouring village of Khanpur and was walking them home to Ferozpur Jhirka with Aslam ran into the mob that lay waiting for "smugglers".

"Even police cannot touch them if they cross this village as the Meos would go to any extent to shield smugglers. Even authorities cannot enter these villages so we had to seek help of locals to stop them from trespassing into our fields. 'Gau Rakshaks' beat them up to teach them a lesson. After this, they have them clothes before handing them to the police. Nobody was killed in these fields," said GR Yadav, another farm owner.

According to sources, ASI Mohan Singh, who has been suspended, was taking Akbar to police station along with the VHP leader to book him for smuggling when he died.

Lynching unjustified but so is smuggling: BJP MLA

"Lynching is unjustified but so is smuggling. You can't imagine the menace of armed cattle smuggling in this area people have no choice but to guard own villages and cattle," Ramgarh MLA Gyan Dev Ahuja said.

"This is last Hindu majority village and if you fail to catch smugglers here and they cross over to 'their' villages you can't catch them. Cow smuggling is big menace here with hundreds of cows being stolen and taken away. With more vigilance by Rakshaks on roads these smugglers have started using fields leaving residents scared. The man (Akbar) was not killed by farmers or Gau Rakshaks but they did their job by catching him and calling police who allegedly killed him," Ahuja claimed.
gspannu7@gmail.com

Mumbai, July 24

Female government employees in Maharashtra as well as their widower male colleagues with children below the age of 18 will be entitled to 180 days of special leave to look after them.

A decision to this effect was taken by the state Cabinet earlier this month in Nagpur and the Government Resolution (GR) on the matter was issued today.

According to the GR, the eligible employee can avail a minimum leave of two months in a year. The two-month paid leave can be spread over three spells.

The special leave will be for looking after two children. The onus will be on the sanctioning officer to ensure the leave provision is not misused, it said.

Male employees, who are widowers or whose wives are bed-ridden and not capable to look after their children, are also eligible to avail the special 180-day leave till the children turn 18.

Besides state government employees, Zilla Parishad teaching and non-teaching staff, their counterparts in recognised and aided educational institutions, agriculture and non-agricultural universities and colleges affiliated to them will be entitled for the special leave, the GR said.

Leave Travel Concession (LTC) will not be granted during the leave period, the GR said.  PTI
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Smita Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 25

China and Bhutan discussed the unresolved boundary dispute during the rare visit of a senior Chinese official to the landlocked country, which concluded on Tuesday.

According to sources, talks included the 73-day standoff with India at the Doklam tri-junction last year.

China and Bhutan do not have formal diplomatic relations. Accompanied by Chinese envoy to India Luo Zhaohui, Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou stressed that China respects Bhutans sovereignty.

Kong, who visited India twice in the last six months, met with Bhutans King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and PM Tshering Tobgay on Tuesday.

Kong, who technically holds rank equivalent of Indian foreign secretary, also discussed matters of mutual interest with Bhutanese Foreign Minister Damcho Dorji.

Both sides should continue to promote border talks, abide by the principles and consensus already reached, and jointly protect peace and tranquillity in the border region to create positive conditions for a final resolution, a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement cited Kong as saying, reported news agency Reuters.

China and Bhutan have held 24 rounds of talks so far to resolve the boundary dispute with last round of talks in 2016.

Talks last year were stalled when the Indian Army and Chinese PLA had a tense confrontation in Doklam.

The 25th round of talks is expected to be held later this year in Beijing which will now be led by Kong on the Chinese side.

Sources say Thimphu and New Delhi discussed related developments during the Kings state visit to India earlier in July.

Sino-Bhutanese boundary talks have focussed on Pasamlung in central-north sector and four points in the western sector, including Doklam so far.

China has also been pushing Bhutan for early establishment of diplomatic ties, stressed by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during the 24th round of border talks.

The two sides exchanged views on China-Bhutan ties, and also the boundary issue and reached many agreements, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang was cited as saying by local media.

Kongs visit assumes significance in light of polls in Bhutan likely in October this year.
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Smita Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 24

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday arrived in Uganda after his first official visit to Rwanda as part of his three-nation tour en route South Africa for BRICS summit.

Interestingly, PM Modi's arrived in Rwanda just hours after Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the African nation and both leaders were received by President Kagame at the airport on Monday. Asked about India and China competing for strategic dominance in Africa, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said, "We all want to help Africa speed up industrialisation under south-south cooperation."

"We hope India and China can implement consensus reached by leaders to explore new modes of cooperation like China India Plus to realise win-win for China, India and other counties and contribute to peace, stability, development of region and the world," Geng added.

PM Modi and President Xi are expected to meet along the sidelines of the BRICS summit in South Africa this week, less than three months since the informal summit meeting in Wuhan. At Wuhan, the two top leaders agreed to collaborate on joint development projects in Afghanistan focussing on capacity-building training programs of security forces.

Indian officials though so far have denied proposals floated by Beijing of any Sino-India cooperation towards infrastructure projects in Nepal.

On his first visit to Uganda, PM Modi will address its Parliament on Wednesday.

Today, PM Modi held talks with President Yoweri K Museveni and both sides signed four agreements, including MoU on Defence Cooperation, visa exemption for diplomatic and official passport holders, Cultural Exchange Programme and Material Testing Laboratory.

Earlier on Monday, post official talks between PM Modi and President Kagame, India and Rwanda exchanged eight MoUs and documents, including a Defence Framework Agreement on Cooperation In Capacity Building, Defence Industry, Science and Technology.

Cow diplomacy with Rwanda, a major beef exporter

Meanwhile, the BJP government's Gau Raksha programme today found diplomatic bonding with Girinka in Rwanda in Central and East Africa. Narendra Modi -- the first ever Indian PM to visit Rwanda -- gifted 200 cows to villagers at Rweru Model Village in the Bugesera district in the Easter Province.

Supporting the Rwandan government's Girinka Programme, the cows were handed over to villagers who do not yet own a cow, in the presence of President Paul Kagame. Appreciating the Girinka initiative, PM Modi underlined that "people in India too would be pleasantly surprised to see the cow being given such importance as a means of economic empowerment in villages, in faraway Rwanda".

Initiated by Kagame to fight high rates of childhood malnutrition and integrate livestock and crop farming into rural economy, Girinka roughly translates into 'may you have a cow'. It marks a centuries-old cultural practice in Rwanda of gifting cows as a sign of respect and gratitude. PM Modi on the occasion drew similarities between the rural lives and economies of India and Rwanda.

Incidentally, though beef or cow meat happens to be one of the biggest export items for Rwanda. According to reports, the country recorded near 18 per cent growth in volumes, shipping out some $30 million of beef in the financial year 2016-2017. Rwanda that is currently implementing a six year dairy development project also recorded a boost in milk production and exports during the same period.
Another scandal has hit Chinas healthcare sector and pharmaceutical industry. Experts blame corruption and lack of controls. President Xi Jinping calls for certain and severe penalties for those responsible. In eight years, there have been many fatalities linked to the sector.

Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies)  Poor monitoring and corruption are the main causes of the repeated scandals that have swept Chinas healthcare sector.

Chinas main regulator, the National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, certifies medical drugs and food products comply with standards.

However, one of its former employees said that the official watchdog does not have enough staff to do its job. We are the only institute in China that is capable of testing the quality and effectiveness of vaccines  not even provincial level testing institutes can do that, the source said.

At the same time, China produced more than 1 billion vaccines each year; the gap is huge. No country on earth has the manpower to test every batch of vaccines before releasing them into market.

In fact, about 5 per cent of samples are tested, and even those that are tested are not examined for all effectiveness indicators.

Changsheng Biotech, which has been caught up in the latest scandal, is the countrys second largest vaccine maker.

An unannounced inspection in July found that the company forged production data, processing data and testing data, and exposed that is supplied ineffective DPT (diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus) vaccines.

Prime Minister Li Keqiang and President Xi Jinping called for an immediate investigation into substandard vaccines, claiming that pharmaceutical companies have crossed a "moral bottom line".

Changsheng Biotechs chairwoman, Gao Junfang, and four senior executives, were taken away by police in Changchun for questioning.

The company has lost nearly half of its share value since the State Drug Administration uncovered its data forgery.

The company, based in Changchun, Jilin, was Chinas second biggest supplier of rabies and chickenpox vaccines last year, according to its latest annual report.

It supplies government procurement centres with vaccines to be given to the public.

In China, compulsory vaccines such as DPT are given to children under a state-sponsored health programme at hospitals and disease control centres.

The scandal has also involved state officials who should monitor the industry. Court verdicts on China Judgments Online show officials accepted anywhere from thousands of yuan to hundreds of thousands of yuan to approve a vaccine.

Some officials at some Centres for Disease Controls also took kickbacks to introduce vaccines, the court records show.

One official who was only identified as Xia and used to head the vaccination programme at the Yuhua district CDC in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, accepted 100,000 yuan in bribes from a company that was not certified to sell vaccines.

The scandal involving Changsheng Biotechs is but the latest in a string that goes back eight years.

In March 2010, in Shanxi province, about a hundred children died and others suffered permanent disabilities following vaccination.

In December 2013, 17 children died in Sichuan as a result of a hepatitis B vaccine. In this case, the authorities denied any connection between the deaths and vaccinations.

In August 2014, whole batches of rabies vaccine contaminated with poisonous substances were found in Liaoning.

Two years later, in Shandong, a pharmaceutical company distributed vaccines worth 260 million yuan across the country without respecting proper refrigeration procedures.
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 24

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, responding to issue of mob lynching raised by political parties in the Lok Sabha, on Tuesday assured that the government was serious and concerned about the matter.

Singh was replying to the Congress, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the AIIDMK and Left parties, who had raised the matter during Zero Hour.

The high-powered committee headed by the Union Home Secretary has been tasked to give its report within four weeks, he said, adding that he himself would be heading a Group of Ministers (GoM) on the matter. If need be, we will frame a law, the minister said. |

The External Affairs Minister, Road Transport Minister, Gangas Rejuvenation Minister, Law Minister, and Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment will be part of the GoM. The GoM will submit its recommendation to the Prime Minister.

Singh had replied after Speaker Sumitra Mahajan had asked why the parties wanted to raise it every day.

TMC leader Sudip Bandhopadhyay demanded exemplary punishment for lynchers. Mallikaarjun Kharge of the Congress wanted that a sitting Supreme Court judge be tasked with monitoring the cases.
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Sumedha sharma

Tribune News Service

Gurugram, July 24

Lalwandi village residents in Alwar, Rajasthan, have reportedly told a police inquiry committee, headed by DGP (Law & Order) NRK Reddy, that the attack on cow smuggler Akbar Khan had been planned as he had been spotted in the village for days at a stretch before he was nabbed and thrashed.

Insisting the deceased and his associate (who fled) were cow smugglers, farmers in the village told the panel that they had approached gau rakshaks to lay a trap, nab the two and hand them over to the police. Local VHP leader Naval Kishore, named in the police FIR, was the first to accuse the cops of having thrashed Akbar to death.

They were cattle smugglers. It was the fourth time in 15 days that they had walked through our fields  a shortcut to a nearby Meo village, one of the two brothers in whose fields the lynching took place told the committee, sources said.

Akbar had reportedly bought two cows from Khanpur village and was walking them home to Ferozpur Jhirka, along with his associate Aslam, when they were mobbed. Nobody was killed in the fields, claimed another farmer.
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 24

India and Rwanda have signed 8 MoUs and documents during PM Modis visit, the first ever visit by any Indian PM.

The documents exchanged include Defence Agreement on Cooperation in Capacity Building, Defence, Industry, Science and Technology.

Also includes LOC Agreement for US $ 100 million for development of Industrial Parks and expansion of Kigali Special Economic Zones as well as LOC Agreement for US $ 100 million for agriculture irrigation scheme in Rwanda and a Trade Cooperation Framework.

PMs visits to Rwanda and Uganda en route South Africa for the BRICS summit are seen as an important outreach to vie for influence in Africa where China has deepened its foothold.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will be attending the BRICS summit where he is likely to hold a bilateral with PM Modi, three months after the informal summit at Wuhan

We are going to open a High Commission in Rwanda. This will not only establish communication between our respective governments but also enable facilities for consular, passport, visa and others, said Modi after holding official talks in Rwanda with President Paul Kagame.
uttara@tribuneindia.com

New Delhi, July 24

Indian deposits in Swiss banks was down 34.5 per cent in 2017 and 80 per cent since the Narendra Modi government came to power in 2014, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday, citing data from the global body of central banks, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

He said this in Parliament rebutting reports last month, which quoted the Swiss National Bank, the country's central bank, as saying in its annual report that Indian deposits had risen by 50 per cent in 2017.

He told Rajya Sabha during question hour that he discussed the issue with Swiss authorities, who told him in a written reply that media reports "have not taken account of the way the (SNB) figures have to be interpreted". Last month, PTI had reported SNB data that the money parked by Indians in Swiss banks rose to CHF 1.01 billion (Rs. 7,000 crore) in 2017 after falling for three consecutive years.

"The Swiss Authorities say that the figures published by the Swiss National Bank are regularly mentioned by the Indian media as a reliable indicator of the amount of assets held with Swiss financial institutions in respect of Indian citizens. They clarify how this is wrong. They say more often than not, the media reports have not taken into account the way the figures have to be interpreted which has resulted in misleading headlines and analysis. This is (the Swiss) government response," he said.

Goyal said according to Swiss authorities, the more reliable data source for deposits held in Switzerland is the Locational Banking Statistics (LBS) of Bank of International Settlements.

LBS measures international banking activity from a residence perspective, focusing on the location of banking office and captures around 95 per cent of all cross-border banking activity.

He said SNB data includes non-deposit liabilities, business of Swiss branches located in India, inter-bank transactions and fiduciary liability. BIS data show non-bank loans and depositswhich constitute the individual and corporate deposits and exclude inter bank transactionshave fallen by 34.5 per cent in 2017 to $524 million compared to $800 million in 2016, he said and vowed to continue the crackdown against black money.

"Further, there has been significant reduction in Swiss non-bank loans and deposits of Indians by 80.2 per cent between 2013 and 2017," he said adding the figure in 2013 was $ 2.6 billion which came down to $2.3 billion in 2014 and $1.4 billion 2015.

"Moreover, it is frequently assumed that any assets held by Indians are undeclared," he said. "So if you want to know the deposits of Indian residents in Switzerland, the correct data source is called locational banking statistics." The minister said the Automatic Exchange of Information based on Common Reporting Standard has commenced from 2017 with many countries enabling India to receive financial account information of Indian residents.

"This will also be useful in bringing the unaccounted income and assets to tax," he said. PTI
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Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 24

It's not for judges to impose secular notions on religious belief and practices of a community, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi-representing Travancore Devaswom Board which runs Sabarimala Temple in Kerala-told the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

"If a person has a belief, it is not for a secular judge to sit in judgment of that belief," Singhvi told a five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, citing a Supreme Court verdict in a case where a Parsi testator had bequeathed some property for celebration of his religions festivals.

"If this is the belief of the community and it is proved undoubtedly to be the belief of the Zoroastrian community - a secular judge is bound to accept that belief. It is not for him to sit in judgement on that belief. He has no right to interfere with the conscience of a donor who makes a gift in favour of what he believes to be the advancement of his religion and the welfare of his community and mankind," it was ruled in that case, Singhvi submitted.

Drawing a parallel, he said in the Sabarimala temple case also the court should refrain from disturbing the long-held belief of Lord Ayyappa's devotees and the practices followed by them.

The bench also comprising justices RF Nariman, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra is seized of PILs against the age-old tradition of keeping women of menstruating age (10-50 years) out of the famous Sabarimala Ayyappa temple-one of the holiest Hindu shrines-situated on a hilltop in Kerala. The tradition is rooted in the belief that the deity is a celibate (Naisthik Brahmachari).

The petitioners have challenged Rule 3(b) of the Kerala Hindu Places of Public Worship (Authorisation of Entry) Rules, 1965, which restricts entry women between the age of 10 and 50 into the shrine.

The Bench kept on interrupting him with questions ranging from constitutional morality to patriarchy. At one point Justice Chandrachud said the practice was because of subjugation of women in a patriarchal society as they (women) were considered to be like chattels.

"Your lordship is imposing a subjective viewpoint," replied Singhvi. Defending the age restrictions, he said these were not based on gender and the intention was not to exclude anyone. Rather the practice had its origin in physiological reasons, he added.

Singhvi cautioned the Bench against possible implication of putting religious practices to constitutional morality test. "There are a millions of faiths and beliefs that may not fit into Constitutional morality," he said, adding women were not allowed into mosques of Sunni Muslims and many of the 'dargahs'.

He said there were several temples across India in which men were not allowed. It's a question of practice followed by a religious denomination, he said, adding that "in many of these cases, the originating thought was not gender".

As the Bench questioned the antiquity of the practice, Singhvi said, "I have shown my belief. If the court is going into my beliefs, then it is giving a finding on them. How can the Supreme Court do that without a trial? The court can do that only based on evidence. If not, you will be disturbing a part of Hindu faith."

As Singhvi said such decisions cannot be taken based on progressive values, Justice Nariman said if somebody's fundamental rights were violated, "then the burden shifts to you."

The hearing would continue on Wednesday.
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Mukesh Ranjan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 24

The Ministry of Home Affairs today informed the Lok Sabha that the Jinnah House, a sea-facing bungalow in South Mumbai, belonged to the government as it was an evacuee property, and not an enemy property.

In a written reply to a question by BJPs Karnal MP Ashwini Kumar, Union MoS (Home) Hansraj Gangaram Ahir said Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali Jinnahs house did not come under the purview of the Enemy Property Act, 1968. The minister said the house was under the administration of the Evacuee Property Act, 1950. Jinnahs house is a Government of India property and the question of disposing it does not arise, Ahir said.

Evacuee property means any property in which an evacuee has no right or interest, whether personally or as a trustee or as a beneficiary or in any other capacity. The house is an unoccupied property in Malabar Hill, a premium neighbourhood of Mumbai. It was built by Jinnah and remained his main residence till he left India following the Partition.

Jinnahs daughter Dina Wadia, who died last year in the US, had fought a long legal battle with the Government of India to reclaim the property as she wished to spend her last years in the house. She approached the Bombay HC demanding the property be handed over to her, she being Jinnahs sole heir.
uttara@tribuneindia.com

Ravi S.Singh

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 24



Top leaders of five Left parties, including CPI (M) chief Sitaram Yechury and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, on Tuesday charged West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of being hand-in-glove with the BJP in promoting communal politics and helping expansion of the saffron party.

Left leaders tough stand against Banerjee, the chief of Trinamool Congress, brings to fore the deep schism among the opposition parties, and raises questions on their efforts to float an umbrella anti-BJP Front before the 2019 General Elections.

The left held a dharna against the Trinamool government in West Bengal and the BJP government in Tripura, and gave a call to intensify protests against their undemocratic practices.

The dharna was in response to a joint call for nation-wide protest by Left parties, namely the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)-Liberation, Revolutionary Socialist Party and the All India Forward Bloc.

Addressing workers, Yechury alleged that Banerjee was promoting RSS-BJPs communal agenda. They are playing Didi-Bhai politics, CPI (M) chief Sitaram Yechury said, referring to West Bengal chief minister having once addressed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as bhai (brother) during a public meeting and the latter returning the compliment but calling her didi (sister).

He stressed that the West Bengal Chief Ministers tough talk against Modi and the BJP was mere posturing.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said: While professing democracy and freedom at national level, the TMC is behaving like a bunch of goons who is thwarting democracy and freedom at every possible instance.

It is the duty of all of us who work to strengthen democracy, to ensure that state government of West Bengal is taken to task for their continuous effort to undermine or constitutional provisions. Their dereliction of duty should be thoroughly exposed before the people of or country, he added, cautioning other opposition parties against Banerjee, who has projected herself as a key leader in stitching up an anti-BJP front.

CPI Chief Sudhakar Reddy, former Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and other leaders spoke in similar vein.
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Ananya Panda

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 24

Calling prostitution as the worst form of slavery, Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chairperson Swati Maliwal on Tuesday came down heavily on pro-sex work groups and said legalising sex trade would only promote trafficking going by the experiences of other countries where such a move has led to an increase in exploitation and trafficking of women and children.

The remarks assume significance coming in the backdrop of a proposed anti-human trafficking Bill, tabled last week in the Monsoon Session of Parliament, despite the opposition by a section of legal activists and sex workers who want consenting adult sex workers to be kept outside its ambit saying the Bill is an attempt to criminalise sex work.

Maliwal also criticised their supporters and advocacy groups rallying for legalising sex industry asking if they would allow their daughters, sisters or wives to get into the business.

I am strongly against legalisation of prostitution Prostitution is the worst form of slavery and it will only promote trafficking. See worldwide wherever prostitution has been legalised there has been an increase in exploitation and trafficking, the DCW chief said adding that only poor women would be pushed into it if it gets legalised.

Referring to the red light area of the national capital, Maliwal said the life on GB Road is against civilisation as women there are often subjected to unimaginable level of sexual torture and how attempts to rescue trafficked victims by the DCW and some NGOs over the last three years have been foiled due to the alleged connivance of the Delhi Police.

Brothels could not thrive barely 200 metres away from the local police station without the collusion of the police, the DCW chairperson added while questioning the inaction by the MP concerned on the matter.

Prostitution is not limited to GB Road, she pointed out adding that the commission which is getting complaints about sex rackets operating from spa centres in the capital, is trying to work closely with the police to tighten the noose around such centres.

Maliwal also demanded a strong law against politicians and celebrities who are known for making misogynistic statements that encourages rapes and supports a culture of violence in the country.

She also backed the recent law banning surrogacy in the country.

Nirbhaya Fund remains unutilised

DCW head Swati Maliwal was critical of how the Centre has failed to disburse the Nirbhaya Fund to states meant for installing CCTV cameras in police stations and buses, providing compensation and rehabilitating rape and trafficking survivors and setting up shelter homes, among others despite her several requests to PM Narendra Modi.

DCW chief lauds successes, spells way forward

Presenting the commissions work and initiatives of the last three years, the DCW chief lauded the successes in major legislation changes, including a recent ordinance prescribing death penalty to rapists of children below 12 years and mobilising people that paved in for reduction of age of juvenile in conflict with law to 16 under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015.

Fighting prostitution, drug and liquor mafia and ensuring strict implementation of the amended criminal law awarding death penalty to rapists of children are going to be the top three focus areas, said Maliwal, during her second term as DCW chairperson starting this week.

One major achievement of the commission is women now repose faith in DCW whose efforts have contributed to major changes in countrys laws, Maliwal underlined.

When asked about the DCWs work in gender sensitisation, Maliwal said she has been in talks with the education department to ensure that gender sensitisation exercises are not limited to good or bad touch and curriculum in schools are made gender sensitive.

Going by the DCWs data, it has dealt with 52,473 complaints in the last three years under Maliwals tenure that is an increase of over 700 per cent against work done by the commission under the previous chairperson in eight years.
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 24

The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed displeasure over the Centres affidavit on appointment of Lokpal after it found that the document didn't give any timeframe for installing India's first anti-corruption ombudsman.

We are not satisfied with your affidavit, a Bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi told Attorney General KK Venugopal after perusing the Centres affidavit.

It asked the NDA Government to file a comprehensive affidavit in four weeks.

The Bench--which had on July 17 asked the Centre to expedite the process for Lokpals appointment--was unhappy with the NDA Governments affidavit as it didnt give any timeframe as to when and how steps were to be taken to constitute a screening committee.

The Congress leader in the Lok Sabha had last week boycotted the meeting of the selection panel headed by the Prime Minister. The panel has decided to go ahead with the selection process.

Venugopal told the Bench that the Lokpal appointment was a complicated process which would take time because a search committee had to be set up first for the purpose.

On behalf of petitioner Common Cause, advocate Prashant Bhushan once again requested the top court to use its extraordinary power under Article 142 of the Constitution to appoint a Lokpal as the government was allegedly delaying the entire process.

Bhushan said the court could initiate contempt proceedings against the government officials concerned.

Enacted in 2013, the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act received presidential assent on January 1, 2014 and came into force on January 16, 2014. However, the first Lokpal is yet to be appointed and many states were also dithering in appointing Lokayuktas.

The Supreme Court had on July 17 asked the Centre to expedite the process for shortlisting suitable candidates for the post.

It told the government to expedite the process for Lokpals appointment after the Attorney General informed it that the selection panel headed by the Prime Minister would hold a meeting on July 19. It had refrained from issuing any directions in view of Venugopals statement. The meeting had already taken place, the Bench was told.

Lets begin on an optimistic note. We do not wish to issue a mandamus. We hope that the selection and search committee will expeditiously finalise the names, it had said.

The selection panel will have to first appoint a search committee which would have to recommend a panel of names for appointing the Lokpal, the Bench had said.

We cannot rush through, Venugopal had told the Bench, which also included Justice R Bhanumathi.

As the appointment of Lokpal gets delayed, the Supreme Court had on July 2 asked the Centre to inform it in 10 days the timeframe for steps to be taken for appointment of Indias first anti-corruption ombudsman.

Accusing the government of dilly-dallying, petitioner Common Cause, an NGO, had moved a contempt plea against the government for its failure to appoint Lokpal despite the courts direction.

Terming the Act as an eminently workable piece of legislation, the top court had in 2017 said there was no justification to keep the enforcement of Lokpal Act suspended till the proposed amendments, including on the issue of the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, were cleared by Parliament.

In its April 27, 2017 verdict, the Supreme Court had termed the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, an eminently workable piece of legislation which does not create any bar to the enforcement of the provisions.

In May, former Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi was appointed eminent jurist in the Lokpal selection panel tasked with shortlisting names for appointment of Lokpal, replacing senior advocate PP Rao who died in September 2017.
Satellite photos show that the North Koreans have begun to dismantle the Sohae Satellite Launching Station. Seoul monitors the situation. "In all likelihood it will have a good effect on denuclearization. It is a small signal, we believe that North Korea is moving step by step towards denuclearization ".

Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - North Korea has taken a first step towards denuclearization. Satellite images taken on July 20 show that the structures of the Sohae Satellite Launching Station, a launching base for the missiles, is being dismantled. The news was reported by 38 North, a site that monitors military activities in the peninsula.

The Sohae site includes a railway and a platform where the missiles are assembled before being placed on the launch pads. The photos show that even the test bases for rocket engines, ballistic missiles and space launch vectors are about to be decommissioned.

A Seoul intelligence official said: "We have found that North Korea partially dismantled the crane tower on the launch platform on July 20 and 22."

Seoul is monitoring developments. At present it would seem that the North Koreans are willing to respect the pacts signed with the President of the United States Donald Trump, at the Singapore summit on 12 June. Trump had announced that Kim Jong-un would begin to destroy a missile launch site.

A senior officer from the South Korean National Security Office (NSO), Nam Gwan-pyo, comments: "In all probability it will have a good effect on denuclearization. It's a small sign, and I think [North Korea] is moving step by step towards denuclearization. "

Satellite images follow the dispute between Washington and Pyongyang on speed and the procedure to follow for denuclearization. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in his talks in early July with his North Korean counterpart had said the talks had been "productive". However, North Korea had accused the United States of making "mob" requests.

Nam sees in the dismantling of the missile testing site the fact that North Korea is pushing ahead in its efforts towards denuclearization despite frictions with the United States.
harinder@tribunemail.com

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 24

Indias multi-billion dollar military equipment market coupled with its dexterous handling of simultaneous relations with the US and Russia has helped it secure a waiver against sanctions that Washington had threatened to impose.

A committee of the US Congress last night (early this morning in India) okayed a country-specific waiver for India to escape punitive sanctions over its military deals with Russia. A US legislation, Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), says sanctions must be imposed against those dealing with Russia.

A waiver has been granted to India, Indonesia and Vietnam  the trio using Russian military equipment and all vital for the US Indo-Pacific outreach. The imposition of sanctions on India would have impacted military ties and pushed New Delhi back to its Cold War-era friend  Russia.

Matters were clear that India was not going to back down under US threat as Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on July 13: We told the US Congress delegation (that visited India) this is a US law, and not one of the UN. Aware the US could ill-afford to lose the multi-billion deals, Sitharaman said the S-400 missile deal with Russia would go on as per plan.

The US Congress keeps the waiver powers to itself even as the administration has been seeking that these be with the government. Providing the Secretary of State with a CAATSA waiver authority is imperative, US Secretary of State Jim Mattis had said four days ago.

Defence deals with cold war-era rivals

United States

American firms vying for deals to supply 110 jets for Indian Air Force and 57 jets and 120 helicopters for the Navy Rs 2,75,320 or $40 billion approximate collective cost of the above deals

India has already ordered 22 Apache attack helicopters, 15 heavy-lift Boeing Chinook copters (deliveries about to commence), 145 pieces of M777 ultra-light howitzers (deliveries have started arriving)

In the past 10 years, India bought from the US C-17 planes, the C-130 transporter and the P8I maritime surveillance system

Russia
harinder@tribunemail.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 24

Based on Supreme Court directions issued on July 17, the Centre has shot off a fresh advisory to states and Union Territories (UTs), asking them to effectively control incidents of mob violence and lynching.

In the advisory, which was sent on Monday, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked all states to appoint a Superintendent of Police (SP)-level officer in each district, set up a special task force for gathering intelligence and closely monitor social media contents, so that no one is attacked on the suspicion of being child-lifter or cattle-smuggler.

The states and UTs have also been advised to take strong punitive action against official concerned in the district administration if he/she fails to comply with the directions so as to prevent, investigate and facilitate expeditious trial of any case of mob violence and lynching. This must be considered as an act of deliberate negligence and misconduct, it added.

Instances of persons taking the law in their own hands run against the basic tenets of the rule of law, the advisory, the second one within a month, read.
rchopra@tribunemail.com

New Delhi, July 24

Monkey menace has now struck the official residence of Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu.

Ram Kumar Kashyap of the Indian National Lok Dal raised the issue of monkey menace in the national capital through a zero hour mention in the Rajya Sabha.

He said monkeys uprooted plants as well as carried away clothes left out for drying.

A Member of Parliament was delayed for a committee meeting as he was attacked by monkeys, he said asking the government to find a solution to the problem.

Naidu, who is the Chairman of the Upper House, said even the official residence of the Vice President of India is facing monkey menace.

Hope Maneka Gandhi is not there, he remarked in a lighter vein referring to the animal rights activist and Union Minister.

Some solution has to be found about monkey menace in Delhi, he told Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel. PTI
harinder@tribunemail.com

Our Correspondent

Jaipur, July 24

Calling it a custodial death owing to error of judgement by the Ramgarh police, Rajasthan Home Minister GC Kataria on Tuesday ordered a judicial probe into the alleged lynching of Haryana native Akbar Khan, 28, in Alwar district on the night of July 20-21 on the suspicion of cow smuggling.

The police have submitted a report to the Additional CJM with evidences, Kataria, who visited the crime site along with Chief Secretary DB Gupta and DGP OP Galhotra, told mediapersons in Alwar. The court will hand over the case to the competent judicial officer at the earliest.

The minister said it appeared to be a custodial death as the policemen on duty did not take the injured Akbar to CHC hospital, barely 300 metres away, choosing to first transport rescued cows to a gaushala. Had Akbar been provided medical aid in time, he would have probably survived, Kataria said.

The minister, who met the victims family, said an initial compensation of Rs 1.25 lakh had been ordered. As in the Pehlu Khan lynching case, the state government has ordered a compensation of Rs 1.25 lakh to Akbars family and further compensation will be provided on the recommendations of the district legal committee.

Facing a barrage of questions on whether Akbar had been tortured at the Ramgarh police station, as reported in a section of the media, he replied in the negative. There was no manhandling. The policemen even offered him tea at a vend. It was ASI Mohan Singh (now suspended) who decided to transport the cows to a shelter home instead of rushing Akbar to hospital.There was no senior officer on the spot.

A four-member committee set up by the Rajasthan Police had on Monday ordered the suspension of the ASI and transferred three others to the Police Lines. The action was taken after a video purportedly showing ASI Mohan Singh admitting his mistake went viral.

Will frame new law, if needed: Rajnath

New Delhi: Responding to queries on incidents of lynching, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said in the Lok Sabha: If need be, we will frame a law (to check lynching incidents). He said a decision would be taken by the group of ministers (GoM) headed by him after considering recommendations made by the committee headed by the Union Home Secretary that would file its report in four weeks. The panel will suggest ways and legal framework to effectively deal with such incidents. TNS

Akbar died of injury-induced trauma: Autopsy
uttara@tribuneindia.com

Kampala, July 24

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday arrived in Uganda on the second leg of his three-nation Africa tour as part of India's outreach to the resource-rich continent.

The Prime Minister's aircraft landed at Entebbe International Airport, marking the start of his two-day Uganda visitthe first bilateral tour by an Indian prime minister since 1997.

He was accorded a red carpet welcome at the airport.

His programme in Uganda includes a call on President Yoweri Museveni, restricted and delegation-level talks, and participation at a India-Uganda joint business event.

Modi will also address the Ugandan Parliament, the first Indian prime minister to do so. He will also address an Indian community event here.

From Uganda, Modi will head to South Africa on Wednesday to participate in the BRICS Summit, whose theme this year is 'BRICS in Africa'. PTI
editorial@tribune.com

tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 24

Amid the growing outrage and changing narrative around the killing of Akbar Khan, which is now a big political issue, senior RSS and BJP leaders have condemned the lynching but added that such incidents would cease if people stopped eating beef and the cow was declared rashtra mata  mother of the nation.

RSS leader Indresh Kumar said cow slaughter was banned across religions like Islam and Christianity. So while mob lynching was condemnable, cow-slaughter was also a sin across religions.

Jesus was born in a cowshed that is why they call it the Holy Cow. Cow slaughter is banned in Mecca and Medina. We should make it a resolution to rid humanity of this sin. If humanity gets rid of this sin, society would get rid of this problem (mob lynching), senior Sangh leader was quoted as saying.

He was supported by senior BJP leader and union minister Giriraj Singh, who called Kumar a mature man who said what he had after proper thought. Former BJP MP and Hindutva poster boy Vinay Katiyar also termed the Alwar incident highly condemnable but counseled people from the Muslim community to refrain from touching cows and provoking Hindus.

There are a lot of Muslims who are sheltering cows but are also killing them. Cow meat is also being consumed by them, he said.

Meanwhile, BJP MLA from Goshamahal in Hyderabad T Raja Singh Lodh also declared he did not want any khoon-kharababloodshedon the issue but if it has to stop cow should be declared mother of the nation. The statements follow the alleged lynching of Rakbar in Alwar, one more shocking addition to the increasing cases of such killings by the mob. While the Centre has formed a group of ministers to deal with the issue, the BJP is treading the politically sensitive issue cautiously.

BJP leaders also claim that gau rakshaks can never be killers and cannot be blamed for the killing in the area notorious for cases of cattle theft. However, as per activists, deliberate attempts were being made to let off gau rakshaks in Akbars case.
harinder@tribunemail.com

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 24

Debunking as baseless and unfounded the reports of increase in Indian money in Swiss banks, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday told the Rajya Sabha that Indian deposits, in fact, fell by 34.5 per cent in 2017 and by 80 per cent since Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed power at the Centre in 2014.

He cited data from the global body of central banksthe Bank for International Settlements (BIS)to refute reports quoting the Swiss National Bank that Indian deposits in Swiss banks went up by 50 per cent in 2017, leading to ruckus and adjournment of the House.

Replying to a question by INLDs Ram Kumar Kashyap seeking information on black money from Switzerland, Goyal said he had discussed the issue with the Swiss authorities, which, in a written reply, said media reports have not taken account the way SNB figures have to be interpreted.

Reports that money parked by Indians in Swiss banks rose by over 50 per cent to Swiss Francs (CHF) 1.01 billion (Rs 7,000 crore) in 2017, reversing a three-year downtrend amid Indias clampdown on suspected black money, had made headlines last month.

Goyal told the House that figures published by the SNB were regularly mentioned by the Indian media as a reliable indicator of the amount of assets held with Swiss financial institutions in respect of Indian citizens. They (Swiss officials) have clarified how this is wrong.

They say more often than not, the media reports have not taken into account the way the figures have to be interpreted, which has resulted in misleading headlines and analysis. This is (the Swiss) government response, he said.
uttara@tribuneindia.com

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 24

Pulled up by the Supreme Court for failure to take appropriate measures to preserve the historic Taj Mahal, the Uttar Pradesh Government on Tuesday said the entire precinct of the monument of love should be declared a no-plastic zone and all polluting industries in the region closed.

Known as one of the Seven Wonders of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Taj Mahal was built between 1632 and 1653 at Gara by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a tomb for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. She had died in 1631 while giving birth to their 14th child.

In a draft report of a vision document on protection and preservation of Taj Mahal filed in the Supreme Court, the Uttar Pradesh Government suggested creation of more tourism hubs.

The document suggested that a comprehensive traffic management plan was needed to promote pedestrian movement in the Taj heritage precinct. Roads along the Yamuna riverfront should be planned so that traffic was limited and pedestrian movement was encouraged.



There should be no construction on the Yamuna floodplain and the riverbank should only have natural plantations, the Uttar Pradesh Government submitted.

State Additional Advocate General Advocate Aishwarya Bhati mentioned the matter before a Bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur, which allowed her to file the draft vision document.

On July 11, the Benchwhich also included Justice Deepak Guptahad ordered day-to-day hearing of the matter from July 31.

The top court  which has been monitoring development in the area to protect the Taj Mahal -- has ordered a moratorium of the expansion of industrial units in TTZ -- an area of about 10,400 sq km spread over the districts of Agra, Firozabad, Mathura, Hathras and Etah in Uttar Pradesh and Bharatpur district of Rajasthan. It had also asked why only four ambient air monitoring stations were set up at Agra against the 22 required.

The draft vision document comes almost two weeks after an anguished Supreme Court had said, Either restore it (Taj Mahal) or demolish it.

You can shut down Taj. You can demolish it if you like. You can also do away with it if you have already decided, the Bench had said on July 11 after getting a vague answer from the Ministry of Environment and Forest.

The judges had lost temper after Additional Solicitor General AS Nadkarni said the Centre had set-up a committee to hire external experts as advised by the court to find out exact source of pollution in and around Taj which would take three-four months.

Uttar Pradesh is not bothered. There is no action plan or vision document. We want you to give us an action plan so do what you propose to do. We will hear it and finally dispose it (of). If it has to be shut down let it be shut down, the bench had told the ASG.

Eiffel Tower gets 80 million visitors every year. This is eight times more than what Taj Mahal attracts and it is more beautiful than Eiffel tower that looks like a TV tower. Due to sheer apathy of officials, this country is losing crucial foreign exchange, it had said.

Do you realise the loss due to this sheer lethargy? Foreign exchange, infrastructure, everything is lost due to this. There is a loss to tourism. One monument can do it, but there is apathy, the Bench had told the ASG and directed the Centre to file an affidavit detailing the steps taken and proposed for protection of Taj Mahal.

It had on May 9 pulled up Archaeological Survey of India for its failure to take measures to protect the monument.

Vision document
uttara@tribuneindia.com

Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, July 24

Violent members of the Maratha community went on a rampage in several parts of Maharashtra after a youth who was among the protesters demanding reservation for the community in government jobs and educational institutions committed suicide on Monday.



According to the police, 27-year old Kakasaheb Dattatrey Shinde while participating in the protests suddenly drowned in the river Godavari. Police officials said it was not clear whether Shinde intentionally jumped off a bridge or fell because of the huge crowds gathered during the protests. However, he swam a short distance after plunging into the river before being rescued by onlookers. Shinde died in hospital on Monday sparking off protests.



Protesting Maratha youth said Shinde had committed 'jal samadhi' or ritual suicide for the cause of community reservations and called for state-wide bandh on Tuesday. Though Mumbai, Pune and other cities saw only sporadic protests, incidents of violence were reported from Aurangabad where the dead youth hailed from. Other districts like Parbhani and Osmanabad also saw rampaging mobs attacking vehicles, according to state police.



Though the government announced an ex-gratia compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the kin of Shinde, the protesters were not appeased. At many places youths tonsured their heads and demanded that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis resign for failing to bring about reservation for the Maratha community. Protesters were also demanding that the government suspend the recruitment drive to hire 72,000 people in the state government over the next two years till reservation for Marathas is implemented.



One youth who consumed poison and another who jumped into a river as part of the protests were rescued by police and taken to hospital, police said.



According to the police several vehicles were torched and a fire engine toppled by angry protesters in Aurangabad. Shiv Sena's Member of Parliament Chandrakant Khaire who went to condole the relatives of Shinde was manhandled and almost beaten up before being rescued by police, according to sources.



Several Maratha outfits called for a bandh on Wednesday also.



Police said internet on mobile phones have been suspended in Aurangabad, Parbhani and other places following the incidents of violence.
by Khosrow Shirazi

For many Iranians, the US presidents harsh words, as well as those of Rouhani and Zarif, are only "propaganda". US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tries to get Iranian-Americans on board but an open letter slams the US administrations "disastrous approach" on Iran, noting "If you truly wish to help the people of Iran, lift the travel ban, adhere to the Iran nuclear deal".

Tehran (AsiaNews)  For many Iranians, the twitter war between US President Donald Trump, his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif is just propaganda.

For Darius, a Tehran businessman in the Iranian capital, "we are only afraid that the price of oil will fall so much as to create problems for Irans already battered economy".

Since May, when Trump pulled out of the Iranian nuclear agreement, promising harsh sanctions against the country, Iran has become Americas number one enemy.

On Sunday, Rouhani said in a message directed at the United States that ""America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars.

Hours later, Trump fired back at Rowhani on Twitter, in all caps: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE.

A few hours later, Javad Zarif reacted, also on Twitter: COLOR US UNIMPRESSED: The world heard even harsher bluster a few months ago. And Iranians have heard them albeit more civilized onesfor 40 yrs. Weve been around for millennia & seen fall of empires, incl our own, which lasted more than the life of some countries. BE CAUTIOUS!

In his tweet Zarif is perhaps referring to the volley of jibes between Trump and the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who insulted each other only to put that aside when they met.

Some Iranians hope that the relationship between Iran and the US might take the same turn; for this reason, they see clashes of words as propaganda.

Two days ago, when Trump posted his all-cap tweet, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tried to rally Iranian-Americans against the "nightmare" Iranian regime, which he said "resembles the mafia more than a government".

Reacting to Pompeos statement, the National Iranian American Council, released an open letter signed by thousands of Iranian-Americans.

The letter, which ran as a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times, yesterday, said: If you truly wish to help the people of Iran, lift the travel ban, adhere to the Iran nuclear deal  the JCPOA  and provide the people of Iran the economic relief they were promised and have eagerly awaited for three years, as every independent media has reported."

The statement goes on to say the Iranian-American community [. . .] have been shocked and dismayed by this administration's disastrous approach.

In fact, many on social media in Iran have noted that any outside threat would only unite the Iranians because most do not want a regime change but peaceful reforms.

What most fear is the White Houses total embargo on Iranian oil exports. "If this were to happen, the Iranian economy would nose-dive, Darius, the Tehran businessman said. The international community would also have to deal with rising oil price. But if the United States and Saudi Arabia agree to keep the price of oil low, it will be hard times for us."
editorial@tribune.com

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 23

Taking cognisance of marriages being performed by self-styled granthis, pandits, purohits and other fake institutions after charging huge amounts without following the legal procedure, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered clampdown on all such bogus bodies.

If need be or found guilty, such granthis, pandits and purohits be taken to task by registering FIR against them to send a meaningful message to society, the High Court has asserted in its order. The direction by Justice Ramendra Jain came in the case of a runaway couple seeking protection of life and liberty. They had annexed along with the petition certificate allegedly issued by a fake institution.

Justice Jain asserted the petitioners had staked claim of their marriage on the basis of a marriage certificate dated July 16 issued by Granthi Kulvir Singh. Directing the Mohali SSPto get the matter investigated, Justice Jain asked the officer to verify the number of illegal marriages the granthis got solemnised in a year without the consent of family.

The SSP was also asked to find out how many letter pads of different fake self-styled institutions, trust etc were ordered to be printed by him to issue marriage certificates. Photocopy of marriage certificate be sent to the SSP, Mohali, for help of the investigating officer, Justice Jain added.

Justice Jain said it had become dire necessity to take judicial note of the fact that everyday a large number of protection petitions were being filed in the High Court by runaway couples after solemnising their marriage against the wishes of parents. They were annexing certificates of self-styled granthis, pandits, purohits and fake institutions, like in the present case of Gurdwara Guru Nanak Niwas Sahib, Karor Kalan village, Kharar tehsil, Mohali district.

He said they were indulging in illegal activities and performing marriages by charging enormous amount without following the procedure enshrined under the Hindu Marriage Act or any other Act under which the parties fell.

He added that such type of granthis, purohits, pandits and fake institutions acted as a team, consisting of cameraman. In these circumstances, there is no option left with the court but to curb such menace by ordering to close down such fake institutions , he said.

Without commenting on the legality and validity of the marriage, Justice Jain also directed the Kapurthala SSP to look into the couples threat perception and do the needful.

Register FIR, if needed

If need be or found guilty, self-styled granthis, pandits and purohits be taken to task by registering FIR against them to send a meaningful message to society, the High Court asserted in its order

The direction by Justice Ramendra Jain came in the case of a runaway couple seeking protection of life and liberty

They had annexed along with the petition a certificate allegedly issued by a fake institution

.
editorial@tribune.com

Sanjeev Singh Bariana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 24

Even as the transfer policy for school staff has been put on hold by the state government, the Education Department is going ahead with the shifting of teachers. Besides transferring nearly 3,000 teachers recently, Education Minister OP Soni on Tuesday issued orders for 160 more. A list of at least another 200 teachers has been prepared for Wednesday.

Sources said the department had already submitted a draft transfer and rationalisation policy with the office of the Education Minister. Soni, however, said it would be reworked after certain missing links were found in the draft. Avoiding any comment on the missing links, the minister said: There are certain technical matters that need a relook.

The sources said one of the issues was giving power to transfer teachers under emergency conditions to the Education Minister. In the draft policy, such powers were given to the Chief Minister.

Soni said: The ongoing transfers have nothing to do with the policy. These are being made purely on the basis of need as pointed out by MLAs and local leaders.

At least 3,800 recently promoted master cadre teachers will also be transferred shortly. It is an ongoing process, he said.

The departments draft policy has allotted marks for academic qualification, term of service at a particular area, participation in extracurricular activities and class results. The policy will make the transfer process online. The department has already withdrawn the provision of transferring teachers every seven years after protests.

Davinder Singh Punia, state convener of the Adhayapak Sanjha Morcha, said: We met the Education Minister on Tuesday. We have been assured that rationalisation and other demands will be taken care of. The president of another teacher union, requesting anonymity, said: Transfers are being made even as the policy is yet to be approved. It means the entire exercise in the name of a system revamp is a farce.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 24

The Dal Khalsa and SAD (Amritsar) on Tuesday asked the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) to clear all vagueness and ambiguity in its Sikh Referendum 2020 proposal.

The heads of both the organisations have sent a joint letter to SFJ coordinator Gurpatwant Singh Pannu.

Simranjit Singh Mann, president of the SAD (A) and Harpal Singh Cheema, president of the Dal Khalsa, hoped that the SFJ leadership during an upcoming event on August 12 in London would spell out their thoughts as people of Punjab wanted to know how much feasible and practical their proposal was.

The leaders have sent several posers to the SFJ asking them to explain their plan.

SFJ trying to divide state: Amarinder

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Tuesday called for a concerted battle by various agencies against the efforts of fringe elements like the Sikhs For Justice (SJF), which was seeking to divide the state with its motivated campaign of Referendum 2020. We have to counter this move aggressively, he added.
editorial@tribune.com

Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, July 24

Uncertainty and delay in MBBS admissions has made prospective medical students restless. With the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) keeping the counselling in abeyance for the past over a week, students with average ranking in NEET are being lured by agents to do MBBS abroad.

Sources said many students with average rank in NEET had started negotiation with agents for their adjustment in medical colleges in foreign countries, including Russia and China.

After Supreme Court stayed the orders of the Madras High Court that awarded 196 marks for students who had taken NEET exam in Tamil this year, the second counselling for admission on All-India Quota (AIQ) seats has been stopped after an order of the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court. In view of an order of the Nagpur Bench on the ESIC quota, the MCC is keeping the counselling process for AIQ seats in abeyance.

As no vacant AIQ seat (Punjab has total 75 AIQ seats) could be reverted to the state till the completion of counselling by the MCC, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) is not able go ahead with the second round of counselling for over 2,200 MBBS and BDS seats in 22 medical and dental colleges in the state.

As per the MCC schedule, all vacant AIQ seats were to be transferred or reverted to the state on July 23 and the state was to start its second round of counselling on the basis of all available vacant seats.

This delay in conducting the second round of counselling by the MCC will further cause delay in the starting of the 2nd round of state counselling and mop-up and it will delay the commencement of new academic year 2018-2019 scheduled to start on August 1.

For this mess in the admission process and anticipating more such problems ahead, we dont know how long the uncertainty about the admissions will continue, said father of an aspiring candidate.

Dr Raj Bahadur, Vice-Chancellor, BFUHS, said the university was waiting for the court verdict and directions from the MCC to proceed with the counselling.
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Islamabad, July 24

Over 3.7 lakh troops have been deployed across Pakistan for Wednesdays General Election, the largest military deployment on a polling day in the nations history, amid concerns over the powerful armys interference after it was granted magisterial powers.

The Pakistan Army has said it would deploy 3,71,388 troops at 85,000 polling stations for the election. This would be the largest deployment for any election in the countrys history.

The countrywide election campaign, marred by a string of terrorist attacks, came to an end on Monday night, as political parties culminated their poll campaigns. Armed soldiers stood guard as election officials in the capital distributed ballot boxes and voting material at polling stations across the city. The troops along with local security agencies will provide a safe and secure environment for voting, the military said.

Security forces have also warned that leaders of mainstream parties and certain candidates face serious security threats. This has also affected the traditional election fervour.

In the run-up to the election, the country was hit by a series of terror attacks on candidates and campaign rallies, including one that killed 151 persons in Balochistan province on July 13. Questions have also been raised about the role of the military after reports that it was given magisterial powers. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was also criticised for deploying the army both inside and outside polling stations.  PTI

Battle for Power

3,70,000 troops on duty

10.5 crore voters

85,000 polling stations

16 lakh electoral staff

11,855 candidates in the fray: 3,459 will contest the 272 National Assembly seats; 8,396 will fight for 577 provincial seats

Key players
uttara@tribuneindia.com

ANKARA, July 24

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday an Israeli law declaring that only Jews have the right of self-determination legitimises oppression and shows that Israel is a fascist and racist country where the spirit of Adolf Hitler has re-emerged.

Last week, the Israeli Knesset passed a "nation-state" law, angering members of the country's Arab minority and prompting Turkey to accuse Israel of trying to form "an apartheid state".

Speaking to members of his ruling AK Party in parliament, Erdogan said the law showed Israel was "the most Zionist, fascist and racist country in the world", and called on the international community to mobilise against Israel.

"The Jewish nation-state law passed in the Israeli parliament shows this country's real intentions. It legitimises all unlawful actions and oppression," Erdogan said.

"There is no difference between Hitler's Aryan race obsession and Israel's mentality. Hitler's spirit has re-emerged among administrators in Israel," he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by saying that under Erdogan, Turkey was turning into a "dark dictatorship", accusing the Turkish president of "massacring Syrians and Kurds".

Erdogan said Israel had shown itself to be a "terror state" by attacking Palestinians with tanks and artillery, adding that the move would "drown the region and world in blood and suffering".

The law, backed by Israel's right-wing government, passed through parliament after months of political argument.

"This is a defining moment in the annals of Zionism and the history of the state of Israel," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had told the Knesset.

The European Union's foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini also expressed her concern last week, saying the law would complicate a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Turkey and Israel, former allies, expelled each other's top diplomats in May during a row over clashes in which dozens of Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces on the Gaza border.

However, the two sides continue to trade with one another.

The two countries have long been at loggerheads over Israel's policy towards the Palestinians and Jerusalem's status.

Erdogan has called for a summit of Muslim leaders twice in the past six months after US President Donald Trump decided to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Reuters
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Tokyo: The sky is no longer the limit for lovers looking for unusual ways to commemorate their nuptials. Warpspace, a Japanese start-up based in Tsukuba City outside Tokyo, in partnership with a local hotel is offering to blast commemorative wedding plaques--16X8 mm titanium plates with newlyweds' names embossed--via a tiny satellite into space for about 30,000 yen ($270 or Rs 1.85 lakh). Customers will receive photos of the craft carrying their plaques as it swirls among the stars. AFP
uttara@tribuneindia.com

London, July 24

The number of women and children who travelled to war zones like Syria and Iraq to become Islamic State affiliates has been significantly under-estimated and under-analysed, new research warns.

According to the report 'From Daesh to "Diaspora": Tracing the Women and Minors of Islamic State' by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) at King's College London, these women and children could pose a significant international security risk moving forward unless efforts are made to fully comprehend the challenge.

"These findings are significant as considerations of foreign IS-affiliates in Syria and Iraq have largely focused on the status and activities of its male members," said Shiraz Maher, Director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation.

"Women and minors are poised to play a significant role in carrying on the ideology and organisation of Islamic State now that the 'caliphate' has fallen, so it is essential that governments recognise these affiliates as two distinct groups who need their own unique responses," she said.

The report, which was presented to the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Council Executive Committee (UNCTED) last week, was released in the UK on Monday. Key statistics highlighted in the report indicate that between April 2013 and June 2018, 41,490 international citizens from 80 countries became affiliated with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Around 4,761 (13 per cent) of these were recorded to be women and 4,640 (12 per cent) were recorded to be minors.

At least 730 infants have been born inside the so-called Islamic State "caliphate" to international parents and the researchers warn that it is estimated that this number is much higher and that many of these infants have a right to the citizenship of their foreign parents. Around 7,366 of this group are now believed to have returned to their home countries (20 per cent) or appear to be in repatriation processes to do so.

"There has never been a more pertinent time to recognise and integrate gender and minor considerations into all streams of effort to counter Islamic State. We hope this report encourages similar future analysis so that we can understand and counter Islamic State and its underlying ideology," said Dr Joana Cook, one of the researchers on the report.

Cook and Gina Vale, both from the Department of War Studies at King's College London, analysed over 90,500 individual items drawn from 283 sources in the largest mapping exercise of its kind. The majority of the data comes from official government sources and figures, however when these were not deemed reliable or available, figures were taken from academic or institutional publications and media reports deemed credible. In cases where only individual cases were found, these were compiled and highlighted as individual cases recorded (ICR).

The dataset is based on figures reported between April 2013 and June 2018 in line with the formal announcement of "ISIL" by Abu Bakr al Baghdadi on April 8, 2013.

Alongside the findings, the report also provides several recommendations specific to women and children, highlighting that these Islamic State-linked women and children require "specific attention", including access to a fair trial, and that minors in particular require "nuanced consideration".

It notes: "Clear rehabilitative (rather than punitive) policies for returning minors may encourage more families to report missing children, reduce the burden on IDP [Internally Displaced People] camps and detention centres within Iraq and Syria, and reduce the risk of statelessness for IS orphans.

"All actions in theatre of engagement, including military efforts, should reflect gender and minor-conscious considerations." The report warns that the considerations of Islamic State in Syria and Iraq largely focus on the status and activities of its male members, which simultaneously appears to neglect the status and response to the females and minors that were affiliated with the organisation. In terms of the long-term physical and ideological survival of Islamic State, and the globally shared potential security implications these hold, the findings indicate that women and children hold growing importance and therefore demand increased attention. PTI
uttara@tribuneindia.com

London/Islamabad, July 24

Nobel Laureate and education activist Malala Yousafzai on Tuesday urged the people of Pakistan, specially the women to vote in tomorrow's general elections.

In a tweet, Malala urged the Pakistanis to get up, and exercise their right to vote.

"The people of Pakistan - especially women - the power is in your hands," she said, adding: "Democracy shall win".

The 21-year-old Pakistani national, who lives in UK, did not say whether she voted.

In 2012, Malala was shot in the head, neck and shoulder by a Taliban militant while travelling home from school after writing an anonymous diary about life under the extremists.

After recovering from her near-fatal injuries, she and her family relocated to Birmingham, UK. She is studying politics, philosophy and economics at Lady Margaret Hall in Oxford.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has directed its polling staff to ensure proper guidance and assistance to voters, especially to elderly, transgender and pregnant women on the polling day. PTI
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Washington, July 24

North Korea has begun dismantling key facilities at a site used to develop engines for ballistic missiles, according to an analysis of satellite imagery of the location, the first significant step towards denuclearisation following last months historic summit between Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump.

The Sohae Satellite Launching Station has been the main site for North Korean satellite launches since 2012. The testing facilities at the site are thought to play a role in the development of liquid-fuel engines that can also be used in North Koreas ballistic missile programme.

The images published by 38 North, a US-based website focused on North Korea that is affiliated with the Stimson Centre in Washington, were taken on July 20 and July 22, respectively.

New commercial satellite imagery of the Sohae station indicates that the North has begun dismantling key facilities, the 38 North said in a report.

If the analysis of the satellite imagery is accurate, North Korea may be taking a small but significant step towards the disarmament that was agreed upon by the North Korean leader and President Trump during a landmark meeting in Singapore on June 12, it said.

Most notably, these include the rail-mounted processing buildingwhere space launch vehicles are assembled before moving them to the launch padand the nearby rocket engine test stand used to develop liquid-fuel engines for ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles, the 38 North said.

Since these facilities are believed to have played an important role in the development of technologies for the Norths intercontinental ballistic missile programme, these efforts represent a significant confidence-building measure on the part of North Korea, the North Korea-focused website said.

According to 38 North, commercial satellite imagery of the launch pad from July 20 shows that the rail-mounted processing/transfer structure has been moved to the middle of the pad, exposing the underground rail transfer pointone of the few times it has been seen in this location.

The roof and supporting structure have been partially removed and numerous vehicles are present, including a large construction crane, it said, adding that an image from two days later shows the continued presence of the crane and vehicles.

Noting that considerable progress had been made in dismantling the rail-mounted processing/transfer structure, it said one corner had been completely dismantled and the parts could be seen lying on the ground.

In both images the two fuel/oxidizer bunkers, main processing building and gantry tower remain untouched.

38 North said the imagery of the vertical engine test stand from July 20 shows the presence of a crane and a number of vehicles.

The rail-mounted environmental shelterwhich had not been moved since December 2017has been razed and removed, the older fuel/oxidizer bunkers are in the process of being razed, and portions of the test stands upper steel framework have been dismantled and its panelling removed, it said.

Two days later fewer vehicles are present and the test stand superstructure has been completely dismantled, leaving only the base, which is also in the process of being removed, it added.

No additional progress is noted on the demolition of the older fuel/oxidizer bunkers. In both images, the two newer fuel/oxidizer bunkers and vehicle garage remain untouched, as does the concrete foundation of the test stand. Given the state of activity, work is likely to have begun sometime within the past two weeks, 38 North said.

Meanwhile, President Trump in a tweet on Monday rejected the Fake News that he was angry because progress was not happening fast enough with North Korea.

Wrong, very happy! he said in the tweet.

A Rocket has not been launched by North Korea in 9 months. Likewise, no Nuclear Tests. Japan is happy, all of Asia is happy, he said.

The US, however, has been fretting over a lack of North Korean actions toward dismantling its nuclear and missile programmes and in spite of positive assessments Trump has given on progress with North Korea, he has vented anger at aides over a lack of immediate progress, the Washington Post reported.

Last week, Trump said there was no rush and no time limit on denuclearisation negotiations. PTI
A woman and her two daughters were accused of causing death and disease in the village of Kandal Tuol. After taking an oath, peace came to the residents. Cambodian culture is closely linked to the occult and spirits. Traditional beliefs are so strong that they sometimes hinder the journey of those who want to become Christians.

Phnom Penh (AsiaNews/Agencies)  Accused of sorcery, a woman and her two daughters have claimed their innocence in a pagoda in Kampong Trach district, Kampot province.

About 170 residents of Kandal Tuol, a village near Kampong Trach Khang Lech, were present at the ceremony (pictured), which took place two days ago and during which the women took a solemn oath.

Some villagers had accused Koh Sok, 38, and her daughters of being sorcerers, said the local police chief, Seng Sokun Chatt. According to rumours, the three were responsible for the deaths and illnesses that affected local residents.

The service took place at the Dang Tong pagoda in a nearby district with 30 policemen, soldiers and representatives of the local government providing security.

As a result of the ceremony, "Both sides agreed yesterday to stop accusing each other after drinking holy water," the police chief said.

Prum Kim Cheu, the second deputy head of Kampong Trach Khang Lech, added that only about sixty villagers drank it, while others claimed that they were present only as observers.

"The woman and her daughters have sworn that if they had really practised witchcraft, death would have fallen on the whole family" Cheu noted.

Last week, the woman had sought local government protection after neighbours made the accusations.

They believe the three learnt black magic from Koh Sok's 80-year-old mother, who is also accused of being a sorcerer.

"They claim that the old woman performed rituals during which she would dance and chant the names of people who later died," Cheu said.

In case of illnesses, locals "often prefer to rely on traditional healers rather than [modern] medicine", he explained.

In certain social contexts, the first approach to illness "consists in driving away the spirit or the spell that struck the sick person".

"Cambodian culture is very tied to the occult and to the spirits, in whatever form they are presented, a priest who has lived in Cambodia for 20 years told AsiaNews.

Buddhism, the countrys dominant religion, however, addresses other aspects of life. It answers some questions but leaves others unanswered. The veneration of spirits addresses to the latter.

"In each pagoda, in addition to the central statue of the Buddha, there are altars dedicated to entities to propitiate. Buddhism and spirits are cultural aspects that have grown together.

Outside pagodas, in the villages there are people, both men and women, who take care of officiating the blessing ceremonies or making amulets that protect the wearer."

The link between Cambodian society and traditional beliefs is so strong that it sometimes hinders the journey of those who want to become catechumens.

"With my faithful I often insist on the figure of Jesus driving out demons and spirits, the clergyman explained. I try to make them understand that the Lord is stronger than everything and that if you rely on Him, you need not fear anything.

"One of the images I often use during catechism is the one that depicts the Risen Christ who, enveloped in light, causes the spirits to flee. The question I ask of those who want to be baptised  something that allows me to understand if the person is ready  is this: 'From now on, to whom will you entrust yourself: Jesus or them?'"
harinder@tribunemail.com

Fasihur Rehman Khan

Islamabad, July 24

Pakistan goes to the polls on Wednesday that may result in a hung parliament amid widespread belief that a multi-party alliance may form the next government in Islamabad. Similarly, coalition governments may rule the countrys four provinces. Sensing an expected split mandate, mainstream party leaders are urging voters for a clear majority to help them implement their manifestos.

Imran Khan, the PTI chief, a pro-military establishment politician, is believed to be the front-runner in the premiership race with his main competitor former PM Nawaz Sharif, ousted in July 2017, behind bars in a graft case. Khan is closely followed by Sharifs younger brother, Shehbaz Sharif, a three-time Punjab CM, who spearheaded the PML (N) campaign. If not elected as premier, he may wish to settle for a fourth term as chief minister.

Bilawal Bhutto, the PPP chairperson, seems third. But his party may play a key role in formation of the next government along with some small parties and pressure groups.

All depends on the number of seats each party gets. In the 2013 elections, Sharifs PML-N got 14.7 million votes, bagging 166 seats, and formed the central government, along with allies. It also formed governments in Punjab and Baluchistan. The PTI secured 7.67 million votes, with 35 seats in the National Assembly. It sat on the Opposition benches, but formed the KP provincial government with the help of allies. The PPP got 6.91 million votes, bagged 42 seats in the National Assembly and formed the government in Sindh single-handedly.

Any party or alliance will require 172 seats in the National Assembly out of a total 342 to see its leader as PM. But a number of nationwide surveys have predicted a hung parliament. In such a situation, it is anybodys guess as to who will form a successful coalition.

Three mainstreamparties  Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) led by Imran Khan, jailed former PM Nawaz Sharifs PML-N led by his brother Shahbaz Sharif, and late Benazir Bhuttos PPP headed by her son Bilawal Bhutto  are pitched against one another for a bulk of the seats nationwide. But, regional, religious ethnic-linguistic parties, such as the MQM Pakistan and Grand Democratic Alliance in Sindh, MMA and ANP in KP province, Pushtun and Baluch nationalist parties in Baluchistan and Tahreek-e -Labaik can play spoilers.

Generally, a three-way fight, small regional, religio-political parties as well as pressure groups with presence and influence across the four provinces of the country, may hold the key to formation of government at the Centre as well as the provinces.

In Punjab, there is a direct fight between the PML-N and PTI with the PPP having insignificant pockets. Punjab has been ruled by the PML-N since 2008 with Shahbaz Sharif as CM. His rival PTI chief Imran Khan has worked hard to woo Punjab voters whose support will be decisive.
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Toronto, July 24

Faisal Hussain, the 29-year-old shooter responsible for the rampage in Torontos Greektown neighbourhood, was from Pakistans Jhelum.

Files, being reviewed by the police, include concerns that Hussain expressed support for a website that was seen as pro-ISIL, says a law enforcement source.

Sources say Toronto Police and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) officials in Ottawa, as well as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), are looking into his past, which sources say, include his residence in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Hussain apparently had been spoken-to by authorities about his online activities. Sources say Toronto Police, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and the RCMP have all had an interest in the now-deceased alleged shooter.

What law enforcement agencies are saying is that the attack was planned, and Hussain was well known to Toronto Police for investigations into past crimes involving weapons and violence. According to sources quoted by the Canadian media house Global News, Hussains family had been going through major challenges.

Hussain lost his sister to a car accident, while his brother was hospitalised following a stroke. He also struggled with mental health issues since 2010, as confirmed by Hussains parents.

We are at a terrible loss for words but we must speak out to express our deepest condolences to the families who are now suffering on account of our sons horrific actions. Our hearts are in pieces for the victims and for our city as we all come to grips with this terrible tragedy. We will mourn those who were lost for the rest of our lives, a statement from the Hussain family, quoted by Global News, read.

Our son had severe mental health challenges, struggling with psychosis and depression his entire life. The interventions of professionals were unsuccessful. Medications and therapy were unable to treat him. While we did our best to seek help for him throughout his life of struggle and pain, we could never imagine that this would be his devastating and destructive end, the statement added.

Toronto Chief of Police, Mark Saunders said a girl aged 10 and a young woman of 18 were killed in the shooting that took place at Greektown (Danforth) neighbourhood in the city, while at least 13 others were left injured.

He added that the police are investigating every possible motive, including terrorism. According to Toronto Police, the shooting took place at around 10 pm on Sunday (local time).

Canadian authorities, meanwhile, have not said whether the shooter was killed by a self-inflicting wound or by the police after he was found dead in an alley following an exchange of gunfire with Toronto Police.

Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condoled the terrible incident on social media.

My thoughts are with everyone affected by the terrible tragedy on the Danforth last night in Toronto, and may the injured make a full recovery. The people of Toronto are strong, resilient and brave--and well be there to support you through this difficult time, he tweeted. ANI
editorial@tribune.com

Armyman shot dead in Narnaul

Narnaul, December 23

An Armyman was gunned down by two motorcycle borne assailants near Baba Thekanath Complex on Mahendragarh road here today. The killers managed to flee from the spot after the crime.

Sandeep Gurjar (35) of Khairauli village, was an eyewitness in a murder case. Old enmity is believed to be the reason behind the killing.

The police have registered a case against two youths on the complaint of Sandeeps maternal grandfather-Phool Singh of Biharipur village- in this regard.

The shotting took place around 10.30 am when Sandeep was on his way to Singh at the bus stand on his motorbike. The assailants first hit his motorbike and then fired several rounds at Sandeep from close range. The deceased tried to run from there but failed to do so. He reportedly died on the spot shortly. TNS
The Integrity Commission has issued a warning that from today it will publish, in the newspa
Hi Victoria,

Everyone travels differently/different strokes for different folks, but I think your paragraph 2 hit the nail on the head. 7 cities(8 if you count Amsterdam twice) in 5 different countries in 14 days is barely enough time to unpack let alone see anything for anything other then a quick snapshot.

We think WE(early 60s/late 50s)have a tendancy to overcrowd itineraries and we spent 12 days between Brussells/Bruges, 12 days in Paris, 12 days touring southern Germany(Wurzburg, Rothenburg, Hohenschwangau, Black Forest & Heidelberg by car(Heidelberg wasnt a favourite), 12 days in Italy twice(Venice/Florence/Rome), Florence/Rome/Naples) 12 days in Edinburgh & Highlands, 12 days from Edinburgh to Oxford, Salisbury & London and leave for 12 days in Netherlands this fall(Amsterdam, Giethoorn, Utrecht & Haarlem) and 12 days in Austria(Vienna, Durnstein, Salzburg, St.Gilgen)next fall.

You should consider a travel day as a bonus if you get anything crossed off your list; if you can spend two nights(including your arrival, that gives you one legitimate full day of sightseeing followed by one travel day to the next location. That would be my bare minimum to include a destination. As it is, even that turns into a sightsee-pack/travel, sightsee-pack/travel alternating routine where you tend to miss the flavour of all the places you visit.

With Holland/Belgium, France/Paris, Germany/Austria I think you have at least 3 separate trips shoehorned into one. We met an Australian couple on a walking tour in Paris that were doing about a dozen countries in 2 1/2 weeks and could barely remember where they had been and where they were going next; it all turned into a blur.

If you can, slow it down and get more out of the spots you do see. Hard to do when youre all excited about a trip, but probably better results in the long run.

Note; we lost our car keys in Rothenburg and had to spend an extra two nights waiting for extra keys to be retrieved and that extra time made Rothenburg our favourite part of that trip, particularly after the day-trip tourists left in the late afternoon.
Still working on planning for 1.5 to 2 years out... we will be 4 adults ages 30 to 55 and 3 children ages 4 to 8. We ant to come during shoulder season to avoid some of the crowds. Please help me determine which off peak month would be best for the following possible destinations

Melbourne

Sydney

Brisbane

Cairns(GBR)

If I understand, correctly, Cairns and Melbourne could be significantly different air and/or water temps during the same time of year?

Air temp is probably more flexible... we probably woul like to have options in the water at all locations..is that possible outside of summer?

The one event that really intrigues me is Vivid Sydney...end of May thru June..is that too late in Fall for warmer temps?

I am not sure which 3 destinations we will wind up with but these are the areas that I am looking right now
Hi guys,

I will have about three to four days to spare on my first visit to Australia in a few weeks, and I am hoping to go to the Daintree Rainforest along with a visit to the Great Barrier Reef. Based on the feedback I received staying Port Douglas would be better than Cairns with Palm Cove being another option to consider.

I am traveling solo and was really hoping to avoid renting a car unless it really is the best way to get around. I would love some suggestions on where to stay. I am open to airBnB, just not sure if that makes getting around more difficult as there is most likely not a shuttle offering.

Any suggestions on areas or places to stay in Port Douglas?

Thanks,

mpakow
We arrived in Melbourne around 9pm and took an Uber into town to our hotel, the Adelphi on Flinders Lane.

About half an hour later Anne realised that she had left her handbag in the cab, with her passport, driving licence and all her credit cards in it. As it happened I had the Uber drivers number as he had rung to find me at the airport, but I couldnt get through to him (I found out later that it was operator error, not ringing the right code).

As we had no idea whether we would get the handbag back I then started cancelling all the cards, which took a couple of hours and also reporting the loss to Uber through the app. The message there was that we should give them 24 hours. We were not feeling very confident, assuming that that whilst its unlikely the driver would steal the handbag any subsequent client could easily have taken it.

Tuesday 20 February

After breakfast we set off to the UK Consulate to enquire about an emergency travel document to get home, assuming this might take some time and we were only in Melbourne for two days. Luckily the Consulate was only five minutes walk away. We were told that the process would only take two hours so we agreed to leave it until the day after in case the handbag was returned.

We then decided to get the train out to Brighton for a walk along the beach and to see the bathing boxes. Remarkably Anne didnt go for a swim. We did both have a paddle and when drying off my feet I put a foot on my rucksack to keep it clean. About an hour later I realised why this was a very bad idea  I had forgotten my iPad was in the rucksack and it was now bent and the screen completely smashed. It had not been a great 24 hours in Melbourne.

From Brighton we caught the train back to St Kilda and took a walking tour. It was good but maybe a bit too heavy on the legacy of Nick Cave, who was clearly the guides idol. We had an Italian meal in St Kilda and then got the tram back to the hotel. Lo and behold, Annes handbag was waiting at Reception, completely intact  a plus for Uber. Anne celebrated with a swim in the roof top pool  small but it has a spectacular overhang over Flinders Lane.

Wednesday 21 February

We decided to take a walking tour of the city but it wasnt until the afternoon so after breakfast I went off to get a new Australian Sim card for my phone and then we had a swim in the pool and a relaxing time in the warm sun.

Before the tour we went to the Immigration Museum that we had been recommended to visit  it had an exhibition on the history of the British coming out to Australia after the Second World War. The walking tour was excellent, although we are still not sure whether the guides claim to have dated both Kylie and Danii Minogue was true  he said he was at school with Kylie.

We ate at an average Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. We seemed to have managed two rather average meals in a city with a great foodie reputation.
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Thanks everyone for the advice!

We decided on 3 nights at Arenal and forget MA. We'll stay till noon in Arenal on our last day to fit in a short activity like Coffee tour or Bogarin trail. We'll have 1 day for Ski Trek and Arenal hiking and 1 day for Mistico Hanging bridges and la Fortuna waterfalls...then 6 nights in Nosara (Playa Guiones) in a lovely Arbnb by the beach with plenty to do! If we really need to stay one extra night at Arenal, I'm sure since it's mid week, we'll be able to extend.

And I agree mlmdaisy, accommodations are important so we'll be looking forward to our house by the beach after sharing a hotel room for 3 nights! To kill two birds with one stone, we decided to stay at Arenal Springs Resorts (nothing like eco thermal and Tabocan, but good enough for us!). They only have rooms with 2 Queen beds, but we decided that for 3 nights we'd live. Kids really enjoy that resort feeling and independence of walking the grounds and hotel breakfast (is it just my kids?). I was really tempted by Arenal Lodge as it looked truly beautiful and prices were way better and offered a larger room with an option for a cot. However many of the reviews said the road to the hotel was 2km and pretty bad (especially in the dark) and mentioned the rooms were outdated (although that did not bother us). With only 3 days, we want to be able to get in and out easily and not spend too much time driving or nervous to drive out for dinner at night! Hopefully my instincts are correct!

Our last night will be somewhere near San Jose, Atenas or Alajuela, so we don't have to stress about getting to the airport!

I'm sad about MA...but I guess one more reason to return (among many others I'm sure!)!

Now to find a car rental!!!
Hi guys,

Me and my husband are travelling to South Vietnam in December and I am still wondering about our itinerary.

We dont like very touristy place and rather than city, we prefer nature and mountains. We have 19 day and we were thinking about:

1. Landed in HCMC spend a night there

2. HCMC sightseeing and take a night train to Nha Trang

3. From Nha Trang go to Dak Lak (somehow  I think by bus or car)

4. Dak Lak (waterfall, nature, coffee orchards and so on)

5. Dak Lak

6. From Dak Lak to Buon Ma Thuot

7. Vinh Hy Bay  we choose this because my husband want to go diving and this place was recommended somewhere online. If you know about better place let me know 

8. Vinh Hy Bay

9. Vinh Hy Bay

10. Vinh Hy Bay  heading back with night train to HCMC

11. From HCMC to Ben Tre

12. Ben Tre

13. From Ben Tre to Can Tho to see the floating market

14. Going to HCMC

15. Flying to Singapore

16. Singapore

17. Singapore

18. Singapore

19. Flying to HCMC

20. Flying home

What do you think? Are we missing something important? Do you think that there is chance that this area we are visiting could be possible dangerous because of typhoons and floods?

If you think we could change the route, I am really open to any suggestions its hard to find something online about Mekongs delta without possible hidden agenda for travel agencies :-)

Thank you so much!

Tereza
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Hi there,

I could really use some help planning this part of my trip, I've done lots of reading but just getting myself confused!

I will be departing from my Shinjuku hotel in the early morning to travel to Hakone where I will stay for one night. At the moment I think I will have the JR pass and I will also get the Hakone Free Pass, but I'm wondering if it's more convenient to get the Romance Car from Shinjuku instead of the shinkansen despite the additional cost? Which is the quicker route? I understand the JR station at Hakone is further away - what transportation is available to the 'loop'?

When I leave Hakone the next day I'll be travelling to Kyoto, and if I do have the JR pass I would prefer to use it. Assuming I stay at the Hotel Green Plaza, what's the best route from there to Kyoto.

I'm also extremely undecided between staying at Green Plaza or Fukuzumiro Ryokan. Green Plaza onsen looks nice and if the weather cooperates, hopefully a nice Mt. Fuji view but I'm not sure about whether the location is too inconvenient.

Any and all feedback much appreciated, thank you!
Niagara Falls is an eight-hour drive from New York City. The best way to visit it is to fly, either into Toronto or Buffalo, NY. Also, you don't say when the trip will be. Niagara Falls is a destination where a lot of what goes on there shuts down in the winter, and it could be more difficult to get to and leave if there are snowstorms. The best view of the Falls is from the Canadian side, so you might want to consider that -- it may be necessary to get travel visas or other documents for entry into Canada.

Washington is easier. It's a 3 or 3.5 hour train ride on Amtrak from NYC. You could also take a bus, which would be cheaper, but not as comfortable; and the ride will be longer.

If you do intend to see all three places, I would plan to stay at least one night at the Falls (maybe fly into Buffalo/Toronto; don't start in New York); then spend two or three nights in NYC; then take the train to DC and spend two or three nights there; and finally, fly home out of DC. Or, do the reverse order, depending upon the weather.
- Chumo said his 32 years of service at KPLC deserved to be hailed as he was a role model

- He claimed to have never been involved in any corrupt deals even after he took over as CEO in 2012

- During his vetting, he revealed his net-worth was about KSh 212 million

Former Kenya Power CEO Ben Chumo on Monday, July 23, distanced himself from claims he was among a clique of officers who defrauded the power company, stating he considered himself a great role model.

Chumo claimed that during his tenure at KPLC, no single case of graft or such allegation was leveled against him.

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READ ALSO: I am not a rich man, I am only worth KSh 212 million - Former Kenya Power boss

Former Kenya Kenya Power CEO Ben Chumo facing corruption charges says he is a role model. Photo: KPLC/Facebook

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Jinsi simu ya Rais Uhuru ilivyomwokoa Kipchumba Murkomen baada ya matamshi yake kuhusu Mau

The embattled ex-Kenya Power boss made the remarks during a vetting exercise seeking to establish his suitability for the chairman's position at the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).

I have served as a role model among young people and professionals alike, Chumo said

READ ALSO: Kakamega senator Cleophas Malala is not fit to satisfy his wife - Boni Khalwale

He added that even as he climbed the ranks to CEO from the Human Resource docket, his term in office remained untainted and had never been put to question.

I never had any challenges that undermined my integrity and trust in public other than the most recent development that is in public domain, said Chumo.

On Saturday, July 14, he was arrested and jointly charged in court alongside other KPLC senior officials.

They faced counts of economic crimes that linked them to the purchase of faulty transformers to a tune of KSh 4.6 billion.

On Saturday, July 14, Chumo was arrested and jointly charged court alongside other KPLC senior officials. Source: UGC

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Some of the stalled multi-billion shilling projects that could have made Uhuru angry

Having served in different positions at the power distributor for at least 32 years, Chumo said he could not have waited for the final years to engage in graft.

I could not have waited 32 years to mess up, I think someone is looking to deny me this opportunity, I really deserve it. I dont think this challenge should deny me this opportunity, he said.

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Source: Tuko Newspaper
- Duale said Chumo had already contravened the Integrity Chapter of the constitution thus unfit for the SRC job

- He stated Uhuru would have to appoint another nominee for the position

- Chumo however said he was shouldering a burden that was not his

- He said the courts would soon establish that he was innocent

- The ex-Kenya Power boss was jointly charged in court with others and freed on a KSh 1 million cash bail

National Assembly Majority leader Aden Duale has said ex-Kenya Power boss Ben Chumo is not fit to take up the Chairmanship position at the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).

Duale said Chumos appearance before a vetting committee seeking to establish his suitability for the SRC job was a waste of time as he had already breached Chapter six of the constitution.

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READ ALSO: 23 Kenya Power staff fired as scandal-filled company fights to save face

Chumo defended himself claiming that his record was clean and that he remained innocent until proven guilty. Photo: KPLC/Facebook

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Wahindi 21 wakamatwa usiku wakifanya ukahaba katika danguro la mtaa wa kifahari Nairobi

This ensued after Chumo was mentioned in a fraud scheme that saw the power distributor loose to a tune of KSh 4.6 billion for the procurement of faulty equipment.

Whether he appears before the probe committee or not, I can comfortably say that within the reading of the constitution and power of Public Parliamentary Approval Act, he has failed and can not be approved, said Duale on Monday, July 23, hours after the ex-Kenya Power boss was vetted.

Duale said Chumos appearance before a vetting committee seeking to establish his suitability for the SRC job was a waste of time. Photo: Duale/Facebook

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: I am not a rich man, I am only worth KSh 212 million - Former Kenya Power boss

Duale said the dice was already cast against Chumo adding the approval committee would require President Uhuru Kenyatta to make a fresh appointment for the vacancy.

On his part, the former CEO on Monday defended himself claiming his record was clean and that he remained innocent until proven guilty.

READ ALSO: Former Kenya Kenya Power CEO Ben Chumo facing corruption charges says he is a role model

He further expressed optimism the courts would clear his name claiming the allegations leveled against him were not true and did not hold any water.

The spirit of constitutionalism should prevail, I am innocent until proven guilty. It is clear that the counts pressed against me are a scheme by someone who doesn't want me to get the SRC job. The fraud that is said to have played at KPLC took place when I was not the boss, said Chumo.

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 news.

Anne Ngirita at The Center of The NYS Scam Probe | Tuko TV

Source: Tuko News
- Wamalwa ended longstanding rivalry with Wetangula with a handshake

- The CS and the senator have been fighting for political influence within the Bukusu community

- The duo now wants to extend the unity deal to ANC leader Mudavadi who hails from Vihiga county

- They also want to strike a deal with ODM deputy party leader Oparanya in new Luhya unity deal

Devolution and Planning Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa and FORD Kenya party leader Moses Wetang'ula have began courting other prominent Western Kenya leaders in the quest for the elusive Luhya unity a few days after ending their nine-year political rivalry.

Speaking during a public event on Monday, July 23, Wamalwa said they were in advanced stages to bring Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya and Amani national Congress (ANC) party leader Musalia Mudavadi on board.

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READ ALSO: Moses Wetang'ula shakes hands with fiercest Luhya political rival Eugene Wamalwa

FORD Kenya party leader Moses Wetangula and Devolution CS buried the hatchet after nine years of rivalry and vowed to champion for elusive Luhya unity. Photo: FORD Kenya/Facebook.

Source: Twitter

READ ALSO: Wetang'ula, Ruto trade barbs during burial of Kijana Wamalwa's widow in Kitale

"It has been nine years of fighting. I was in New FORD Kenya and Wetang'ula was in FORD Kenya but now that is over. Mudavadi formed United Democratic Forum ahead of 2013 elections and Oparanya was in Orange Democratic Movement which showed how divided the Luhya community was," Wamalwa said.

The CS said it was time to reverse the notion that Western Kenya leaders would never speak in one voice as they had done in 2002 under the the leadership of former Vice President Michael Wamalwa Kijana.

Devolution CS Eugene Wamalwa said despite years of division in Luhya land, they are determined to build a united nation from Western Kenya which will speak in one voice. Photo: Eugene Wamalwa/Facebook

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Aisha Jumwa lauds DP Ruto for being behind appointment of coast ODM leaders to government

"Kenyan people have been made to believe the Luhya nation can never be united. Even in the bible, masses ruled out something good could come out of Nazareth until the Messiah came. We are turning tables around just watch this space. The train for our unity is unstoppable as we already closing in on meeting Oparanya and Mudavadi to ensure we form one formidable force," Wamalwa said.

He expressed confidence the elusiveness of Luhya unity was finally coming to an end courtesy of their deliberate efforts to shelve personal and political interest for the good of the western Kenya community.

The two, as reported by TUKO.co.ke on Friday, July 20, announced they would not dwell in their past which was characterised by friction between Wetang'ula's FORD Kenya and Wamalwa's New Ford Kenya (NFK), the latter having been dissolved to form Jubilee party.

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How street Women In Kenya Deal With Periods | Tuko TV

Source: Tuko
Ukrainian aircraft are ready to respond to threats from the sea, the headquarters of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) has reported.

According to Ukraine's Channel 5, the military checked the combat readiness of aircraft and helicopters.

The exercises were held in the Mariupol sector in Donetsk region. According to the results of the checks, aircraft are capable of precisely hitting a target and therefore ready for an adequate response in the event of a threat.

Earlier, President Petro Poroshenko said that Russia had considerably built up naval groups in the Azov Sea. He also described the military situation in the Black Sea region as tense.
Ukrainian furniture and IT companies, which take part in the trade mission in Israel, will conduct over 70 B2B meetings with representatives of Israeli business circles.

"The Government continues to open new promising markets for Ukrainian exports. The Israeli market is one of them; it imported $69.1 billion in 2017. The free trade agreement will be an important tool to strengthen trade with Israel, and our task is to show Ukrainian business how to take advantage of new opportunities and to unleash the potential of trade and economic cooperation," First Vice Prime Minister - Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine Stepan Kubiv said, the Governmental portal reported.

According to Head of the Export Promotion Office Mariana Kahaniak, each of 15 Ukrainian furniture and IT companies will hold several B2B meetings organized by the Export Promotion Office with the help of a professional Israeli business consultant.

"In total, we expect more than 70 business negotiations. These meetings will allow companies to better understand the needs of the market and their potential consumers, as well as to establish useful contacts, which can later turn into contracts, "she said.

ish
For five months of 2018, the export of Ukrainian goods to Israel amounted to $297.3 million - an increase of $15.9 million compared to the same period in 2017.

The press service of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine reported this with reference to Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade  Trade Representative of Ukraine Natalia Mykolska.

"We have great potential for increasing bilateral trade and exporting our goods and services to the Israeli market. Only for the first five months of this year, the export of Ukrainian goods to Israel amounted to $297.3 million  it grew by $15.9 million compared to the same period in 2017. As for the sector of information and communication technologies, which is represented by 5 IT companies in this trade mission [to Israel], together with business we are developing a sector strategy," Mykolska said.

On July 23, the Ukrainian business and government delegation chaired by First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine - Minister of Economic Development and Trade Stepan Kubiv arrived in Israel to attend a trade mission. Ukrainian furniture and IT companies, which take part in the trade mission in Israel, will hold over 70 B2B meetings with representatives of Israeli business circles.

ish
The Cabinet of Ministers is ready to provide the necessary assistance to Greece to combat large-scale wildfires near Athens, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has said.

Groysman said this to his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras, Ukrainian government press secretary Vasyl Riabchuk told an Ukrinform correspondent.

According to him, the Ukrainian premier sent a respective letter to Tsipras.

"The Government of Ukraine is ready to provide the necessary assistance to Greece to tackle the natural disaster," Groysman said, addressing the Greek prime minister.

He also stressed that Ukraine had learned with great sadness about the death of many people as a result of large-scale forest fires in the vicinity of the Greek capital Athens.

Groysman offered his condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to those injured.

op
Italian Ambassador to Ukraine Davide La Cecilia has assured the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry in Italys firm and consistent support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

He said this during a meeting with Ukraines Deputy Foreign Minister for European Integration Olena Zerkal, the press service of the Foreign Ministry reports.

The diplomat was invited to this meeting to explain the inadmissible statements of Interior Minister of Italy Matteo Salvini regarding Ukraine.

"Italy's support for sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine is firm and consistent. Italy officially declares this at all the international venues, including the recent events held within the framework of the EU, NATO and G7," the ambassador said.

As the Foreign Ministry stressed, Ukraine hopes that Italy will continue to contribute to the unified EUs support for Ukraine in fighting Russian aggression.

As a reminder, Interior Minister of Italy and leader of center right Lega party Matteo Salvini said in an interview with The Washington Post that Russia had lawfully annexed the Ukrainian Crimea and called the Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine "fake."

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Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Liudmyla Denisova intends on Wednesday to discuss with Ombudsman of the Lithuanian Seimas Raimondas Sukys the issues of cooperation with the European network of ombudsmen regarding visits to Ukrainian political prisoners.

She wrote this on Facebook following a meeting of government representatives with the families of political prisoners on Tuesday.

"Tomorrow I will meet with the ombudsman of the Republic of Lithuania. We will resolve issues of cooperation with the European network of ombudsmen regarding visits to Ukrainian political prisoners," Denisova wrote.

In addition, she said that a meeting of representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) with the families of political prisoners would be organized in the near future "in order to find a way to visit Ukrainians held in the Russian Federation and in the occupied Crimea".

As reported, Denisova urged the Russian side to adjust a list of Russians held in Ukraine for visits to them by the Russian ombudsman and grant permission for mirror visits to Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia.

ish
A total of 161 Ukrainians are currently held in Greek prisons, and most of them were jailed, because they were compelled to transport illegal immigrants, Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Liudmyla Denisova has reported on Facebook.

"According to available information, there are currently 161 Ukrainians held in the prisons of Greece, 112 of them on charges of transporting illegal migrants," she said.

According to Denisova, Ukrainians are fraudulently invited to work on cruise liners, yachts, but instead they are obliged to transport illegal immigrants across the sea to Europe under threat of force and death.

"That's why hundreds of Ukrainian sailors were detained by Greek law enforcement agencies," the ombudsman said.

She also noted that for such illegal work criminal gangs recruit Ukrainians who are in financial difficulties. Thus, according to the ombudsman, seamen are offered official employment, work on a contract, but very quickly, just in a few months, they find themselves in Greek prisons.

At the same time, Denisova said that the rights of detained Ukrainians are violated in prisons, while interpreters provided to Ukrainian citizens do not have sufficient knowledge of Ukrainian or Russian. She added that the court does not take into account the mitigating circumstances, sailors' testimony, and the conditions for their detention do not meet minimum standard rules for the treatment of prisoners. In particular, according to the relatives of sailors, they are in terrible conditions and they are denied medical treatment, Denisova said.

At the same time, the ombudsman said that Ukraine and Greece are signatories to the Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings, and Article 26 of the Convention provides for exemption of persons from punishment if they were compelled to commit a crime, like Ukrainian sailors in most cases.

In this regard, Denisova called for cooperation with Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic and expressed hope that together they will be able to return Ukrainian citizens home.

As reported, on July 20, two Ukrainians - Serhiy Shvayuk and Petro Lytvynchuk - were sentenced in Greece to 180 years in prison on charges of illegal transportation of migrants.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 24)  The Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed that former Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla, Jr. and alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles cannot be allowed to post bail for their plunder charges.

The High Court denied their separate petitions challenging the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan's 2014 decision to deny their applications for bail. A similar motion filed by Revilla's former chief aide Richard Cambe was also junked.

"The Sandiganbayan committed no grave abuse of discretion in denying bail as there was, on record, strong evidence of guilt, as required by the Constitution and the Rules of Court, to deny bail as a matter of right," the High Court said in a statement on the result of its en banc session.

"In so denying the petitions, the Court expressly stated that this Decision does not touch upon the guilt or innocence of the accused," it added.

Revilla earlier withdrew the petition involving his bail plea.

Revilla, Napoles, and Cambe were among those charged in the P10-billion pork barrel scam, where Napoles allegedly funneled lawmakers' pork barrel funds to bogus non-government organizations.

The High Court on Tuesday also dismissed the prosecution's plea to have the accused transferred from the Philippine National Police Custodial Center to a jail under the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.

"The Sandiganbayan did not gravely abuse its discretion as the PNP Custodial Center is considered a jail and there is nothing in the law or rules that provide that the accused must be confined in a BJMP facility," the Supreme Court ruled.

The resolution is moot in Napoles' case since she was earlier transferred to Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig.

Another resolution the Supreme Court made Tuesday junked Revilla's petition for it to order the Sandiganbayan to unfreeze over P220 million in assets owned by him and his wife, Lani Mercado.

But the High Court said it was just right for the anti-graft court to issue the writ of preliminary attachment over Revila's assets because he is accused of misappropriating public funds.
A total of 55 children from Donetsk region will have a rest in Croatia.

This was reported by the Department of Family, Youth and Sport of the Donetsk Regional Military Civil Administration.

"55 children that are among the internally displaced persons of Donetsk region have left for the Republic of Croatia to rest on the Adriatic coast," the report says.

The children's rest became possible due to the cooperation of Croatias Government with Ukrainian MPs.

ish
A high-ranking delegation from Constantinople from Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will arrive in Kyiv at the invitation of President Petro Poroshenko to celebrate the 1030th anniversary of the conversion of the Kyivan Rus-Ukraine to Christianity, reads a report posted on the Facebook page of the Ukrainian local Orthodox church.

"Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the first persons of other local Orthodox churches ignored the invitation of the UOC-MP to celebrate the 1030th anniversary of the Christianization of the Rus-Ukraine, but did not deny the president of Ukraine - a delegation from the Mother Church in Ukraine will still attend the holiday," the report reads.

At the same time, it notes that other local Orthodox churches, "in order to withstand the already established 'church-diplomatic protocol'," send their delegations to Russia at the lowest possible level.

As Ukrinform reported, on the occasion of the 1030th anniversary of the Christianization of the Kyivan Rus on July 27 and 28, prayer services will be held in Kyiv and religious processions will be organized from the Orthodox Churches of Kyiv and Moscow Patriarchates.

The celebration of the 1030th anniversary of the Christianization of the Kyivan Rus-Ukraine will be held in accordance with a presidential decree of August 8, 2017.

On July 19, Deputy Prime Minister Pavlo Rozenko said at a meeting of the organizing committee on preparing for and marking the 1030th anniversary of the Christianization of the Kyivan Rus-Ukraine that foreign guests, representatives of the Orthodox and Catholic churches from around the world, in particular an official delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate, representatives of Ukrainian churches in the diaspora had been invited to mark the 1030 anniversary of the conversion of the Kyivan Rus-Ukraine to Christianity.

op
Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Liudmyla Denisova has demanded that Russia adjust a list of Russians held in Ukraine for visits to them by the Russian ombudsman and grant permission for mirror visits to Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia.

She wrote this on Facebook following a meeting of government representatives with the families of political prisoners on Tuesday.

"The Russian side provided us with a list of 51 people who should be visited, but only 13 people from this list have Russian citizenship. Moreover, some of them refused to meet with Russian Ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova. At the moment, we demand that Russia adjust its list. From her part Tatyana Moskalkova has already visited seven sailors from her list," Denisova said.

She also stressed that Ukraine again offers the Russian side a road map of mutual visits to detained citizens of the countries and requires urgent permission for visits to Ukrainians in Russia.

"Now, in accordance with the agreements, we want to visit our citizens. We again offer them a 'road map of visits.' I have already publicly appealed to FSB, FSIN and the Russian Presidential Administration with the request to grant permission to visit Ukrainian political prisoners. But they do not answer any of our requests. Earlier, they proposed beginning mirror visits in August-September. So let these visits start at least now," she said.

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State Secretary of the Information Policy Ministry of Ukraine Artem Bidenko has presented the Ukraine NOW brand in London.

The presentation took place during the round table meeting "Innovation and opportunity in Ukraine now," the Ministrys press service reports.

"On July 23, 2018, the Information Policy Ministry of Ukraine held the round table meeting "Innovation and opportunity in Ukraine now" at the Museum of London to discuss Ukraine's potential in the context of global economy. During the event, State Secretary of the Information Policy Ministry of Ukraine Artem Bidenko presented the Ukraine NOW brand," the statement reads.

Bidenko also told about the opportunities the brand opened for the attraction of investment in Ukraine.

"Our goal is to raise the awareness of the world business community about the reforms that are taking place in Ukraine, about the investment potential of our economy and innovation, which will make it even more competitive in the international arena", the State Secretary of the Information Policy Ministry of Ukraine said.

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The anticipation of Constantinople possibly granting Ukraine church a tomos on autocephaly thus ensuring independence of Russia by July 28, the 1030th anniversary of Baptism of Rus-Ukraine, earlier hinted at by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, led to full mobilization of pro-Moscow forces opposing the move.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the first persons of other Local Orthodox Churches have ignored the invitation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) of the Moscow Patriarchate (MP) to celebrate the 1030th anniversary of Baptism of Rus-Ukraine. However, he accepted the invitation by the president of Ukraine, and the delegation from the Mother Church does plan to arrive to attend the celebrations.

Other Local Orthodox Churches are sending at the Moscow Patriarchate's invitation their lowest-possible level delegations simply to stick to long-established "church diplomatic protocol," according to a Ukraine-based religious expert Oleksandr Sahan, LB.ua reports.

The anticipation of Constantinople possibly granting Ukraine church a tomos on autocephaly thus ensuring independence from Russia by July 28, the 1030th anniversary of Baptism of Rus-Ukraine, earlier hinted at by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, led to full mobilization of pro-Moscow forces opposing the move.

Read alsoNo obstacles on Bartholomew's way to make fundamental decision on Ukraine church independence  expert

Pro-Russian Ukrainian MP Vadym Novinsky seems to perceive almost literally the calls from the Moscow Metropolity "to fight autocephaly to blood." Thousands of believers will be brought to Kyiv not only from across Ukraine, but also from Russia, all under the pretext of their "pilgrimage" to the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra.

However, the fact that the Tomos is not yet being granted by the said date has breached Moscow's plans, the expert believes, as "it turns out that there is nothing to fight with."

The Patriarchate of Constantinople put the issue on a reasonable pause: on the one hand, it would allow them seeing the actual level of public countering of Tomos within Ukraine. On the other hand, Constantinople will see how other local Orthodox churches will respond to the position of the Ecumenical Patriarch on the Ukrainian issue. The indicators are very clear: the number of participants in religious processions and possible provocations, as well as the number and level of representation of the delegations of the Orthodox Churches that will come to Kyiv on the invitation of the UOC MP.

According to the expert, as of July 23, the following churches confirmed the sending of their representatives to the holiday: Jerusalem's, Romanian, Polish, Cyprus OC, and the Orthodox Church of the Czech lands and Slovakia.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the UOC MP is trying to "compensate" for the small number of foreign delegations and the extremely low level of their representation.

Read alsoMoscow could stage provocations on Rus Baptism anniversary in Kyiv to tar Ukraine church image - MP

As UNIAN reported earlier, on the following day after the "Moscow-promoted" procession, namely July 28, a meeting of representatives of the embassies of Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Greece, Cyprus, Serbia, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Romania is scheduled on the territory of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. And to enhance the "mass" effect, there will be also representatives of the Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Georgian, Belorussian and American Orthodox Churches.

Almost all church members are either part of the Moscow Patriarchate (Belarusian and American Orthodox Churches), or the Churches remaining under the considerable influence of the Moscow Patriarchate (Serbian and Bulgarian).

The agenda is rather predictable: "the situation with granting Tomos to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church". The main messages to be channeled at the meeting are also rather obvious on the Moscow part: "split in world Orthodoxy", "bloody confrontation on religious grounds," etc.

Read alsoExpert warns of threat to safety of Patriarch Bartholomew amid Russia's vehement opposition to independence of Ukraine church

As a result, attendees will be called to "unite" around the Moscow Orthodoxy (actually provoking that very "split" in world Orthodoxy, against which Russia is allegedly warning).

"Summing up, it is possible to state that the number and level of church delegations that will visit Kyiv during the 1030th anniversary of the baptism of Rus-Ukraine, as well as the list of countries that generally responded to the invitation of the UOC MP, testify to the strategic victory of the Constantinople Patriarchate over Moscow's Church diplomacy," the expert concludes. "This means that the idea of Tomos for the Ukrainian Orthodoxy 'has matured' not only in Constantinople and Kyiv, but also in other Orthodox 'diptychial' Churches."
The meeting is set to take place in Berlin.

Political Directors of the foreign ministries of the Normandy Four  Ukraine, Germany, France and Russia  are expected to hold talks in Berlin, Germany, this week.

"We are planning to hold a meeting at the end of the week," a source told UNIAN.

According to sources in diplomatic circles, the meeting is set to take place in Berlin.

As UNIAN reported earlier, the Normandy Four foreign ministers met in Berlin, Germany, on June 11, 2018.

Read alsoDonbas warlord Zakharchenko threatens to shoot UN peacekeepers if mission deployed Ukraine's way

Following the meeting, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said the parties considered the prospects for holding a meeting at the level of leaders of four states in the near future. They also discussed the deployment of the UN peacekeeping mission in Donbas, as well as for the first time addressed the issue of the release of Ukrainian political prisoners, illegally detained in Russia.

In turn, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that at the Normandy Four meeting a dispute arose over the sequence of steps to implement the Minsk agreements.
Ukraine is still waiting for an official response from Russia to a proposal to swap 36 Russians for 23 Ukrainian nationals, the official said.

Ukraine's Representative in the humanitarian subgroup of the Tripartite Contact Group for the Donbas settlement, First Deputy Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Iryna Gerashchenko has said the Ukrainian side at the talks of the Trilateral Contact Group on the settlement of the situation in Donbas in Minsk on July 25 will again raise the issue of the release of Ukrainian hostages and political prisoners.

According to her, during another meeting with families of political prisoners and hostages of the Kremlin, Ukrainian Ombudsperson Liudmyla Denisova, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Presidential Administration and other institutions informed about the work carried out by the authorities to release and support hostages and political prisoners.

In this regard, Gerashchenko said she shared the indignation of the families of political prisoners who still do not receive assistance from the state for lawyers defending Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars in Crimea.

Read alsoGerashchenko explains why chief of Russian RIA Novosti's Kyiv office not on swap list

In this regard, she recalled the parliament had laid significant amounts in the budget for the support of political prisoners and their families, including for legal services, worth over UAH 90 million.

"We have reported that together with Liudmyla Denisova, as well as colleagues Maria Ionova and Iryna Fryz, we appealed to the government with a request to take a decision and register an algorithm for supporting families of political prisoners, as well as informed about legislative initiatives on the status of political prisoners. I hope the Verkhovna Rada will return to these issues in September," she wrote on Facebook.

The participants of the meeting also exchanged actual information on the state of health of political prisoners, the latest news received from consuls and lawyers, from relatives about the health of Oleh Sentsov, Volodymyr Balukh, Pavlo Hryb, Stanislav Klykh and others.

Read alsoRussian court extends until Oct 22 arrest of Ukrainian teen abducted by FSB

"We have also coordinated our next actions to put pressure on the world community to press Russia on the issue of releasing hostages and political prisoners, to demand that the International Committee of the Red Cross knock on all doors to gain access to our prisoners illegally detained in the Russian Federation, occupied Donbas and Crimea," Gerashchenko said.

In addition, she said the Ombudsperson continued to make efforts to gain access to Ukrainians in Russian prisons. "We will raise these issues, the non-compliance of the Russian Federation with the agreements of the presidents on the humanitarian exchange of visits by ombudsmen, at a meeting in Minsk on July 25, as well as the issue of the release of hostages, the search for missing persons. We are still waiting for an official response from the Russian Federation to the proposal to swap 36 Russians for 23 our citizens," Gerashchenko added.
According to intelligence reports, four occupiers were wounded.

Russia's hybrid military forces mounted 21 attacks on Ukrainian army positions in Donbas in the past 24 hours, with two Ukrainian soldiers reported as wounded in action (WIA).

"According to intelligence reports, four occupiers were wounded," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation (JFO) said in an update on Facebook as of 07:00 Kyiv time on July 24, 2018. The Russian occupation forces opened aimed fire at the defenders of the towns of Avdiyivka and Maryinka, and the villages of Krymske, Maiorsk, Lebedynske, Hnutove, Talakivka, Pavlopil, Vodiane and Shyrokyne.

Read alsoTwo civilians injured in blast of unknown explosive device in Maryinka, eastern Ukraine

At the same time, the invaders shelled the Ukrainian positions from 82mm mortars near Krymske and Lebedynske, as well as from a 120mm mortar near Talakivka.

Since day-start, militants of the Russian occupation forces opened fire four times on the positions of Ukrainian defenders near Avdiyivka, Maryinka and Pavlopil.

No casualties have been reported since Tuesday midnight.
If the charges against Maria Butina are accurate, she is only the latest in a long line of Russian agents to go undercover on U.S. campuses.

Maria Butina, who received a masters degree in international relations this past spring from American University in Washington, D.C., courted the National Rifle Associations top guns and sought access to Republican presidential candidates Scott Walker and Donald Trump. She pleaded innocent last week to charges of conspiring to act as a foreign agent.

If the charges against Butina are accurate, shes only the latest in a long line of Russian agents to infiltrate U.S. universities, according to TPM.

Under the alias Cynthia Murphy, Russian spy Lydia Guryeva attended Columbia Business School, and ingratiated herself with a key fundraiser for Hillary Clintons 2008 presidential campaign.

Guryevas instructions from Moscow, according to a 2010 FBI complaint, were to strengthenties w. classmates on daily basis incl. professors who can help in job search and who will have (or already have) access to secret info and to report on their detailed personal data and character traits w. preliminary conclusions about their potential (vulnerability) to be recruited by Service.

Now another graduate student at an urban East Coast university, who similarly cultivated powerbrokers and political operatives, is accused of being a Russian spy and taking orders from high-ranking officials in her homeland.

Russian intelligence understands that todays professor of international relations may be tomorrows assistant secretary of state, and vice versa. Although cyber-spying and hacking offer opportunities to glean secrets at less personal risk, the traditional strategies of human espionage persist, and sending a spy to school is prominent among them.

Read alsoRussian woman with close NRA ties arrested in U.S. on spy charges

Sometimes, Russian agents join the academic community as students or instructors. Of Guryeva and the other nine illegals  sleeper agents without diplomatic cover  who pleaded guilty in 2010 to conspiring to act as foreign agents and were swapped back to Russia, seven went to U.S. universities. One taught politics for a semester at Baruch College, lambasting American foreign policy.

In other cases, agents hold diplomatic posts at an embassy or consulate and forage in nearby campuses for recruits and information. It is easier, cheaper and less conspicuous for Russian intelligence to enlist a student or professor who can be steered to a federal agency than to lure someone already in a sensitive government position. Exploiting open campuses, spies slip unnoticed into lectures, seminars and cafeterias, where they befriend the computer scientist or Pentagon adviser sitting beside them.

Butina enrolled in American Universitys School of International Service in the summer of 2016, university spokesman Mark Story said. She concentrated in cyber policy and became a research assistant at the universitys Kogod School of Business.

Beyond the university, Butina wooed gun-rights activists and influential conservatives. Shortly after Clinton called Trump to concede defeat on the morning of Nov. 9, 2016, Butina sent a direct Twitter message to a Russian official: I am ready for further orders.

Read alsoReuters Exclusive: Accused Russian agent Butina met with U.S. Treasury, Fed officials

In 2013, the FBI recorded two Russian spies under diplomatic cover, Igor Sporyshev and Victor Pobodnyy, discussing efforts to recruit several young women with ties to New York University. That same year, in a classic example of how spies mine conferences for prospects, Pobodnyyusing his cover as a diplomatic attachemet Carter Page at an energy symposium in New York. Pobodnyy then received documents about the energy business from Page, later a Trump campaign foreign policy adviser whose communications were monitored by the FBI as part of an investigation into links between the campaign and Russia. In July 2016, Page gave a speech at the New Economic School, a Moscow university, exchanging nice pleasantries afterwards with Russias deputy prime minister.

Page has denied any wrongdoing, saying, I had a very brief hello to a couple of people. That was it.

The nexus between espionage and academia has surfaced elsewhere in the Trump-Russia imbroglio. One incident involved a professor in the United Kingdom  hardly a surprise, since Russian intelligence has long been notorious for recruiting communist sympathizers from British universities, including Kim Philby and the other Cambridge Five.

Read alsoCNN: Judge grants immunity for five witnesses in Manafort case

Joseph Mifsud has been a professor at the University of East Anglia and the University of Stirling in Scotland (which touted his meeting with Russian president and ex-intelligence officer Vladimir Putin), as well as honorary director of the London Academy of Diplomacy. In 2016, he told George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign, that the Russians had dirt on then-candidate Hillary Clinton in the form of thousands of emails, according to court documents and media reports. Papadopoulos, who pleaded guilty in October 2017 to lying to federal agents, understood that Mifsud had substantial connections to Russian government officials, and had met with them immediately before telling him about the Clinton emails, legal filings show.

Mifsud has denied being a Russian agent. I am an academic, I do not even speak Russian, he told The Washington Post.

U.S. universities, ever-sensitive to their finances and global relationships, have largely ignored the threat of foreign espionage: Theyre ramping up enrollment of full-paying international students as well as opening campuses abroad, which are often subsidized by the host countries. Columbia didnt revoke Murphys diploma after she turned out to be a spy named Guryeva  though Harvards John F. Kennedy School of Government did rescind the degree of another illegal, Andrey Bezrukov, who had posed as a Canadian named Donald Heathfield. Story declined to say whether, if Butina is convicted, the university will take away her degree.
"That's a fact," the diplomat says.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley says the United States will never trust Russia and Vladimir Putin.

We dont trust Russia, we dont trust Putin, we never will, Ambassador Haley said in an exclusive interview with CBN News.

Theyre never going to be our friend. Thats just a fact, the diplomat said.

However, Haley does acknowledge the need for dialogue. What I do think is, whether its the President sitting down with [North Koreas Dictator] Kim or whether the President sits down with Putin, those are things that have to happen. You cant get to the end of the other side if you dont have those conversations.

Much of those discussions between the leaders happened in private, something that has brought criticism. But Ambassador Haley chalks it up to President Trumps style.

Read alsoRussian spies focus on U.S. universities

As UNIAN reported earlier, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin on July 16 held their first summit in Helsinki where the two leaders had an opportunity to have private eye-to-eye talks which lasted for two hours.

Following the meeting, Trump said the constructive dialog with Russia would open up new paths toward reaching peace and stability in the world. The U.S. president said he intended to settle, alongside his Russian counterpart, various global problems, while Russia was set to cooperate with the U.S. on North Korea denuclearization.

The joint press conference of the two leaders, in particular, a number of Donald Trump's statements, sparked bipartisan criticism in the U.S. However, on July 23, Trump said he had not gone for any concessions to Putin during the meeting.
One of the youngest victims was thought to be a six-month-old baby who died of smoke inhalation.

A wildfire killed at least 50 people and injured more than 150 as it swept through a small resort town near Athens, with huge flames trapping families with children as they fled.

The fire which hit Mati, 29 km (18 miles) east of the capital, late Monday afternoon was by far the country's worst since flames devastated the southern Peloponnese peninsula in August 2007, killing dozens, as reported by Reuters.

People scrambled to the sea as the blaze closed in close to the shore. Hundreds were rescued by passing boats but others found their way blocked by smoke and flames.

"I was briefed by a rescuer that he saw the shocking picture of 26 people tightly huddled in a field some 30 meters from the beach," Nikos Economopoulos, head of Greece's Red Cross, told Skai TV.

"They had tried to find an escape route but unfortunately these people and their kids didn't make it in time," he said. A Reuters witness also saw several bodies in the area.

Mati is in the eastern Rafina region, a popular spot for Greek holidaymakers, particularly pensioners and children at camps.

The 26 deaths came on top of more than 20 casualties reported by government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos earlier on Tuesday. He said more than 88 adults and 16 children were injured.

One of the youngest victims was thought to be a six-month-old baby who died of smoke inhalation.

A Reuters witness earlier saw at least four dead on a narrow road clogged with cars heading to a nearby beach.

The coastguard later said the bodies of four more people were retrieved from the sea. In total, coastguard and other vessels rescued 696 people who had fled to beaches. Boats plucked another 19 people from the sea.

Greece issued an urgent appeal for help to tackle fires that raged out of control in several places across the country, destroying homes and disrupting major transport links. Cyprus and Spain offered assistance after Greece said it needed air and land assets from European Union partners.
The woman's friends say this was her third, this time successful, suicide attempt in the past two years.

On July 23, a civic activist and one of the founders of the FEMEN movement, Oksana Shachko, had committed suicide.

Oksana left a note in English, allegedly addressed to a motley crew of Paris-based people of art, with whom she had recently closely communicated: "You are all a fake."

Her friends say this was her third suicide attempt in the past two years.

Another FEMEN co-founder, Anna Hutsol, told Ukrayinska Pravda that Shachko had committed suicide by hanging herself in her Paris apartment.

Read alsoReuters: Topless woman shouts 'Zeman  Putin's slut' at Czech president during vote (Photos, video)

"Preliminary reports say it's suicide, but we are waiting for an official report from police. Oksana hanged herself. Her friends say last time they saw her was on Friday, while yesterday they decided to knock out the door and that's how they found her," Hutsol said.

She added they had already contacted the Ukrainian embassy. The issue of the funeral details remains open.

FEMEN is widely known for its extravagant acts of protest as topless members of the organization confront top politicians to attract public attention to certain pressing topics.
The Act also bolsters international partnerships and provides additional funding for cyber warfare and influence operations to counter Russian aggression, cyber, and information warfare threats.

U.S. congressmen have decided to extend the ban on cooperation between the Pentagon and the Russian Defense Ministry.

"Russia has violated key arms control treaties, expanded and modernized its nuclear arsenal, tested counter-space weapons, and used emerging technologies to undermine its neighbors," according to the Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

In order to face emerging threats, the NDAA includes the following steps to confront Russia's misdeeds: provides flexibility for strategic partners and allies to move away from the use of Russian military equipment to American equipment, while ensuring that U.S. defense and security interests remain protected, through a modified waiver under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act; prohibits military-to-military cooperation with Russia; bolsters international partnerships and provides additional funding for cyber warfare and influence operations to counter Russian aggression, cyber, and information warfare threats, etc.

As UNIAN reported earlier, U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, said the U.S. would never trust Russia or Vladimir Putin.
On July 16, a first-ever summit was held of U.S. President Donald Trump and President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders has said the only agreement that was made during the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is that National Security Adviser John Bolton plans to have a meeting with his counterpart from Russia.

"The only specific agreement that was made was that the two national security teams from both the United States and Russia would continue at a working level, these discussions. I can tell you that Ambassador Bolton plans to have a meeting  a follow-up with his counterpart from Russia next month, in addition to meetings with other European allies to further those discussions. And we'll keep you posted when we have specific details on what that meeting," she told a briefing on July 23.

Read alsoRussia never to become U.S. friend  Ambassador Haley

As UNIAN reported earlier, on July 16, a first-ever summit was held of U.S. President Donald Trump and President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin.

According to the Guardian, Donald Trump's extraordinary attempt to walk back remarks made in Finland that he saw no reason to believe that Russia had interfered in the 2016 U.S. election has been received with incredulity and amusement on the internet.
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Patients suffering from dementia can now be treated with the ultrasound applied to the brain.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Jul, 2018 ) :Patients suffering from dementia can now be treated with the ultrasound applied to the brain.

Ultrasound waves, applied to the whole brain, improve cognitive dysfunction in mice with conditions simulating vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

The research published in the journal - Brain Stimulation, conducted by scientists at Tohoku University in Japan, suggested that this type of therapy may also benefit humans.

Led by cardiologist Hiroaki Shimokawa, the team found that applying low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) to the whole brain of the mice improved blood vessel formation and nerve cell regeneration without having obvious side effects.

"The LIPUS therapy is a non-invasive physiotherapy that could apply to high-risk elderly patients without the need for surgery or anesthesia, and could be used repeatedly," said Shimokawa.

Dementia affects about 50 million people worldwide, with 10 million new cases occurring every year.

Shimokawa and his team had conducted previous studies showing that LIPUS improved blood vessel formation in pigs with myocardial ischemia, a condition where there is reduced blood flow to the heart.

The researchers conclude that their study has provided the first experimental evidence that whole-brain LIPUS therapy markedly improves cognitive dysfunctions without serious side effects by enhancing specific cells related to dementia's pathology.
Borouge has awarded the Engineering, Procurement and Construction, EPC, contract for an additional Polypropylene Plant, PP5, to be integrated with the existing Borouge 3 complex in Ruwais and grow the polymer production capacity to almost 5 million tonnes per annum by 2021.

ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 24th Jul, 2018) Borouge has awarded the Engineering, Procurement and Construction, EPC, contract for an additional Polypropylene Plant, PP5, to be integrated with the existing Borouge 3 complex in Ruwais and grow the polymer production capacity to almost 5 million tonnes per annum by 2021.

The EPC contract has been awarded to Tecnimont SPA, a subsidiary of Italys Milan-based Maire Tecnimont, that provides engineering, procurement, and construction services to oil, gas, petrochemical, and chemical industries.

Borouge, a joint venture of ADNOC and Borealis was established 20 years ago and production has progressively increased as the Borouge 1, 2 and 3, plants have come on stream. Borouge 2030 Growth Strategy aims to double the production capacity by 2030.

Commenting on the announcement, Abdulaziz AlHajri, Director of ADNOCs Downstream directorate, said, "At the heart of the downstream strategy is an AED165 billion (US$45 billion) investment, over the next five years, that will create the worlds largest integrated refining and petrochemicals hub in Ruwais, where ADNOC will convert 20% of its crude to chemicals, tripling petrochemical production capacity to 14.4 million tonnes per year, by 2025. In parallel, ADNOC intends to build an international, integrated downstream presence, including securing additional crude refining capacity in growth markets."

Under ADNOCs In-Country Value, ICV, programme, this project will maximise spend on local products, manufacturing, services and infrastructure. The ICV initiative also seeks to catalyse socio-economic development, improve knowledge transfer and create additional employment for UAE nationals.

Based on Borealis Borstar technology, the new plant will have a nameplate capacity of 480,000 tonnes per annum and is expected to come on stream in Q3 2021.

With this investment the total polypropylene production capacity of Borouge will grow to 2.24 million tonnes per annum.

In turn, Ahmed Omar Abdulla, CEO of Abu Dhabi Polymers Company, Borouge, said, "Todays announcement is a significant milestone in the expansion of Borouges growth ambition to become the recognized leader in creative plastics solutions that have a positive impact on society today and tomorrow."

"The awarding of the PP5 EPC contract, after a rigorous and robust competitive tendering process, is not only a signal of our intent to grow our position as a reliable provider to petrochemical products but also a signal of the further growth of Ruwais as the biggest world-class petrochemical complex."

Building this new capacity in the UAE will help Borouge to expand its product portfolio and deliver leading edge solutions to its customers across the globe, supporting our customers growth ambitions in the transportation and energy markets as well as rigid and flexible packaging sectors, infrastructure and agricultural film.

The awarding of the EPC contract comes one year after Borouge shareholders ADNOC and Borealis, announced plans for the construction of a Borouge 4 complex in Ruwais, which will encompass a world-scale, mixed feedstock cracker and downstream derivatives units for both polyolefin and non-polyolefin products.

Increasing petrochemical production capacity is a key pillar of ADNOCs aggressive downstream expansion strategy, which will see it become a world class producer, supplier and trader of refined and petrochemical products as it focuses on markets in Asia, including China.
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The Emirates Red Crescent, ERC, has sent a relief convoy to the people of Dammun in Tarim District, as part of its efforts to assist the Yemeni people during the Year of Zayed, in implementation of the directives of the UAEs wise leadership.

HADRAMAUT, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 24th Jul, 2018) The Emirates Red Crescent, ERC, has sent a relief convoy to the people of Dammun in Tarim District, as part of its efforts to assist the Yemeni people during the Year of Zayed, in implementation of the directives of the UAEs wise leadership.

Mohammed Obaid Al Shamsi, Head of the ERC Team in Hadramaut, stated that the ERC has promptly responded to the humanitarian calls of the residents of eastern and western Hadramaut to ease their humanitarian suffering.

"The convoy seeks to improve the living conditions of local people, through providing basic supplies, as part of the UAEs humanitarian, relief and development efforts in Yemens liberated areas that are aimed at easing Yemeni people's suffering from food shortages," he said.

Khalid Huwaidi, Director-General of Tarim District, praised the diligent efforts made by the ERC to meet the needs of Yemenis in the country's liberated areas and governorates.

The beneficiaries thanked the UAEs leadership, government and people for standing by the Yemeni people across different parts of the country.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

At the end of the tripartite meeting between His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, the President of Eritrea, Isaias Afwerki, and Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, held in Abu Dhabi on 24th July, the UAE hailed the historic peace agreement between Eritrea and Ethiopia which paves the way for improved bilateral relations and contributes to enhancing the security and stability of the two countries in particular, the Horn of Africa and the wider region.

ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 24th Jul, 2018) At the end of the tripartite meeting between His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, the President of Eritrea, Isaias Afwerki, and Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, held in Abu Dhabi on 24th July, the UAE hailed the historic peace agreement between Eritrea and Ethiopia which paves the way for improved bilateral relations and contributes to enhancing the security and stability of the two countries in particular, the Horn of Africa and the wider region.

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed praised the wisdom of President Afwerki and Prime Minister Ahmed, and commended the bold historic step that led to the signing of a peace agreement between the two countries, which reflects their astute statesmanship and paves the way for years of stability, development and prosperity for the neigbouring countries.

The tripartite statement underscores the deep relationship the UAE enjoys with both Eritrea and Ethiopia, and their common interests, which will enhance the prospects for peace and development based on this agreement, which is a solid foundation for peace and stability in the region.

The UAE affirmed its support for the peace agreement between the two countries in the interest of maintaining a proper relationship in a framework of good neighbourliness and respect for international laws and charters.

In their statement, the parties called upon the international community to support this historic and constructive agreement to promote peace, stability and development and to benefit the peoples of the two countries and the wider region.

The two Ethiopian and Eritrean leaders also appreciated the wisdom of King Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Saudi King and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and the contribution of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince, Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Defence, in sponsoring and pushing forward the peace agreement to be a catalyst for positive relations that will benefit the neighbouring countries and the Horn of Africa.

President Afwerki and Prime Minister Ahmed thanked the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the UAE for their contribution to the efforts to end the dispute between the neighbours. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the UAE have spared no effort to help the two countries re-establish good relations for the sake of their people and the wider region.
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Lana Nusseibeh, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations, has honored the environmental legacy of late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, in the presence of UN member states. The ambassador delivered opening remarks at an event co-hosted by the Permanent Mission of the UAE to the UN and the Zayed International Foundation for the Environment, in collaboration with Dubai Police and the UN Office for South-South Cooperation.

NEW YORK, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 24th Jul, 2018) Lana Nusseibeh, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations, has honored the environmental legacy of late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, in the presence of UN member states. The ambassador delivered opening remarks at an event co-hosted by the Permanent Mission of the UAE to the UN and the Zayed International Foundation for the Environment, in collaboration with Dubai Police and the UN Office for South-South Cooperation.

The ambassador highlighted Sheikh Zayeds regional leadership in environmental sustainability and applauded the Zayed International Foundation for the Environment and Dubai Police for advancing his legacy and vision.

"Sheikh Zayed understood the importance of protecting the environment for future generations," underlined Ambassador Nusseibeh. "He understood that social and economic progress should not come at the expense of the environment. Today, the UAE continues his great legacy. Through government policies that empower private and public sector leaders to find solutions, the UAE has emerged at the forefront of environmental sustainability."

The event featured remarks by Dr.

Meshgan Al Awar, Secretary-General of the Zayed International Foundation for the Environment, who elaborated on Sheikh Zayeds vision for environmental conservation.

"Sheikh Zayed placed a strong emphasis on education and capacity building, particularly of youth. He invested heavily in protecting endangered species such as the Arabian Oryx, Falcons, Sea Turtles, in addition to the establishment of Protected Areas, because he believed that each living organism has a role to play in natural balance," emphasised Dr. Al Awar.

She added, "The best manifestation of Sheikh Zayeds efforts is what we can see in the UAE today - a green oasis in the desert, providing a model for development in an arid region. His dedication to sustainability came 41 years before the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals, and his dreams have been translated into the policies and programmes that we see in the UAE today."

Jorge Chediek, Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on South-South Cooperation also commemorated the vision of the founding father of the UAE, as demonstrated through the nations foreign policy, which places a strong emphasis on international cooperation and support.
Over 17 million registered voters of Khyber Pakthunkhwa (KP) are all set to go for polling for election of 97 members for the provincial assembly.

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Jul, 2018 ) :Over 17 million registered voters of Khyber Pakthunkhwa (KP) are all set to go for polling for election of 97 members for the provincial assembly.

They would elect the new government of a political party securing majority of the house on Wednesday besides electing 51 members for the national assembly.

Polling will start at 8am and continue till 6pm without any break. However, voters inside premises of polling stations would be allowed to cast their votes.

The counting of ballot papers would begin soon after completion of polling process and results of would be displaced at permanent place of polling stations.

The Government has declared July 25 as public holiday for facilitation of voters. The ECP has dispatched all election materials to the respective DROs and ROs amid tight security arrangements.

Election would be held on 97 general seats out of 99 as polling on two Constituencies have been postponed after assassination of the running candidates including Haroon Bilour (PK-78 Peshawar) and Ikramullah Khan Gandapur (PK-99DI Khan) in the suicide blasts.

The Khyber Pakthunhkhwa has been swelled for 2018 general election both in terms of area as well as number of seats in the provincial assembly and national assembly.

Though, the number of general seats of KP Assembly remained the same as that of 2013 i.e 99, however, the fresh delimitation of the constituencies in the province have led to the increase of certain PA seats in parts of the province whereas in some districts the number of seats were reduced.

The numbers of provincial assembly seats of Peshawar district have been increased from 11 to 14 whereas in some district the number of seats was decreased after 2017 population census.

In 2013 elections, PTI was emerged the single largest party with 50 seats on its board and thus formed the coalition government with the support of Jumat e Islami and some independents.

All the major political parties have fielded candidates in sufficient numbers against 99 general seats of the provincial assembly with PTI on the top of the list followed MMA, PPP, ANP, PMLN and independents.

Major contenders running for the national assembly seats from KP included heavyweights like Bilawal Bhutto from Malakand Shehbaz Sharif from Swat, Fazlur Rehman from DI Khan, Imran Khan from Bannu, Asfandyar Wali Khan and Aftab Sherpao from Charssada and Sirajul Haq from Dir Lower districts.

Four former Chief Ministers including Akram Khan Durrani, Haider Khan Hoti, Aftab Sherpao and Pervez Khattak are also flexing muscles from their respective home districts. Former Governor KP, Gen Retd Iftikhar Hussain Shah is also contesting from his home constituency Kohat as independent candidate after he was refused ticket by the PTI.

As many as 17.827million registered voters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including seven tribal districts would exercise their right of franchise to elect 51 MNAs and 97 MPAs amongst 1993 candidates for next five years 2018-23 amid tight security arrangements on Wednesday (July 25).

In overall 15,316,299 registered voters including 8,705,831 male and 6,610,468 female voters would exercise right of franchise for 39 NA seats in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 2,510,154 registered voters for 12 national assembly seats of tribal districts recently merged into KP, thus raising totally number of voters to 17.826 million in KP would go for polling on Wednesday.

In KP, around 87,269 security personnel would be engaged in election duties to provide safe environment to voters in 11,132 polling stations. Out of 11,132 polling stations, around 2,572 have been declared most sensitive and 4,427 sensitive that would be guarded by security personnel for smooth conduct of elections.

A total 25,720 personnel would be deployed on most sensitive polling stations, 30,989 on 4,427 sensitive polling stations and 20,680 security personnel at 4136 normal polling stations in the province.

As many as 14,530 presiding officers, 83,692 assistant presiding officers and 41,846 polling officers will perform duties in KP and tribal districts and frontier regions recently merged in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

All Deputy Commissioners have been nominated as District Monitoring Officers (DMCs) who would be assisted by monitoring teams comprising senior officials of district administration and others lines departments including Assistant Commissioners, Additional Assistant Commissioners, Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMO) officers etc for smooth and transparent conduct of elections. Around 10,351 closed-circuit television cameras have been installed at 2,572 most sensitive polling stations and 7,779 polling booths inthe province. The candidates would not be allowed to take law in hands and disrupt polling process in the province and would be dealt in accordance with law.
Caretaker Home Minister Punjab Shaukat Javaid Tuesday said that the government has taken all steps to hold transparent, free and fair general election 2018.

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Jul, 2018 ) :Caretaker Home Minister Punjab Shaukat Javaid Tuesday said that the government has taken all steps to hold transparent, free and fair general election 2018.

In a joint press conference with the caretaker Punjab Minister for Law, Finance and Excise & Taxation Zia Haider Rizvi here, the ministers said that the caretaker government had done its best to hold fair elections while all departments concerned had cooperated with the government in this regard.

They said that Caretaker Chief Minister (CM) Dr Hasan Askari believed in transparent elections.

They said that PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif had been provided all required facilities in the prison, adding that decision about shifting of Nawaz to a hospital would be made on the basis of the medical reports under the law.

Shaukat said that all prisoners of the Federal government are kept in Adiala Jail. Nawaz Sharif is a prisoner of the federal government, and that was why he had been lodged in Adiala Jial under the same law, he added.

"Earlier, a fan, a mist fan and later an air-conditioner had been provided to Nawaz Sharif and his food is being supplied from his home," he added.

He said that according to the medical board report, Nawaz Sharif is generally fit and he would be shifted to a hospital if it was recommended in the detailed medical report.

To a question, he said that the governor had constitutional authority to visit anybody in any jail and governors of two provinces used their constitutional authority.

He said that the caretaker government was not supporting any political party.

To another question, he said that 832 cases had been registered during election campaign against political activists, whereas 192 cases had been registered against the workers of PTI, 23 against Pakistan People's Party and 115 against independent candidates.

" As many as 205 workers of the PML-N and 145 of the PTI were arrested while all political workers were released on bail," he added.

To another question, the minister said that all reporters having Election Commission cards could go into the polling stations, but without cameras and they could not stay there for more than 10 minutes.

He said that 6,000 polling stations had been declared sensitive.

He said that four army jawans would be deputed at every polling station while more than four policemen would be deputed at sensitive polling station.

"Magisterial powers will only be used by the army officers," he added. He said that the caretaker government had not made any new rule or code for election, adding that law on banning camera was made by the former government.

Responding to a question about recovered Identity cards from a nullah, he said that investigation was under way in this regard. "Locals had seen a man throwing a bag there," he said.

Shaukat said that NADRA had been asked to find out reality of the cards, adding that it appeared as if some persons threw the bag after seeing in place foolproof arrangements for polling by the government.

To a question about security, the home minister said that proper arrangements had been made to counter security threats.

"The CTD and other law-enforcement agencies had arrested terrorists from the province," he added.

Zia Haider Rizvi said that no one could say that the caretaker government was controversial.

To a question, the ministers said that NAB prisoners could see their relatives within first 24 hours, after that meeting could only be held on the fixed day.

The ministers urged the media to support the caretaker setup if someone criticises it as the government did its job with dedication.

"All cabinet members worked together and the chief minister was not alone," they added.

They thanked heads of all departments for their cooperation.
There is dire need to bring reforms in the code of conduct for using public address system irrationally at every nook and cranny of the country for electioneering as noise pollution is affecting routine life general public.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Jul, 2018 ) :There is dire need to bring reforms in the code of conduct for using public address system irrationally at every nook and cranny of the country for electioneering as noise pollution is affecting routine life general public.

Isloiites have demanded of the quarter concerned to ensure its judicious use of amplifier system for public comfort and ease, especially, sick and children.

Asghar Khan, an old citizen, complained APP that the campaigns are scattered to everywhere till late hours which has brought hooliganism disturbing senior citizens and children's comfort time.

"Enthusiasts only care about the promotion and projection of their candidates but nobody bother about the comfort of the general public," he added.

Shahbaz Abbasi, suffering from heart disease, said he is having restless nights due to consistent campaign of political parties on loud speaker system these days.

He said, "I am going through serious agony of discomfort due to high volume of speakers installed at political parties' camps offices located in residential units.

Sugra Abid, a working woman said her baby is feeling uncomfortable and unable to sleep properly due to panic of noise pollution created by political campaigners round the clock.

She said she is also mentally disturbed due to her baby's uneasiness and not in a position to perform her official duty as per aspirations of her immediate supervisor.

Sugra urged Election Commission of Pakistan to take a serious notice on this issue of public interest and issue a directive into the matter to prohibit such noisy activities from residential areas.

Dr Waseem Khawaja - a health expert - warned that noise pollution is injurious to public health especially for those suffering from hypertension and high blood pressure.

He said public awareness campaign is the need of the hour about health hazards of noise pollution and it is psychologically detrimental to those suffering from different ailments.

Uzma Saeed, an environmentalist, said noise pollution creates electromagnetic radiations which disturbs flora and fauna by directly affecting their brains and senses.

Uzma said only humans were not vulnerable to radiations and noise frequencies but animals are more sensitive due to weak defense system and limited ability to regulate their body temperature.

As the political campaigns which are culminated last night (Monday), the electoral reforms' bodies should come up with a solid solution before next election for properly use of public address system.
Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, who is on an official visit to Sultanate of Oman, Tuesday called on Commander Royal Navy of Oman Rear Admiral Abdullah Bin Khamis Al Raisi and the Commandant of Sultan Qaboos Naval Academy separately.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Jul, 2018 ) :Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, who is on an official visit to Sultanate of Oman, Tuesday called on Commander Royal Navy of Oman Rear Admiral Abdullah Bin Khamis Al Raisi and the Commandant of Sultan Qaboos Naval academy separately.

Upon arrival at the Royal Navy of Oman Headquarters, he was received by Rear Admiral Abdullah Bin Khamis Al Raisi, said a press release issued here by the Directorate of Public Relations of Pakistan Navy.

A smartly turned-out contingent of Royal Omani Navy clad in ceremonial dress presented him the guard of honour.

Later, the Chief of the Naval Staff called on Commander Royal Navy of Oman.

During the meeting, discussions on professional matters including bilateral naval collaboration and security environment in Indian Ocean Region were held.

Various avenues of cooperation between the two navies were also focused. A comprehensive brief on Royal Oman Navy was given to Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi.

Admiral Zafar Mahmood highlighted Pakistan's contributions in the fight against terrorism and ensuring maritime security at sea by protecting national and international shipping plying in the Indian Ocean region against threats of piracy, maritime terrorism, narco-arms smuggling and human trafficking etc.

Rear Admiral Abdullah Bin Khamis Al Raisi lauded Pakistan Navy's efforts and focused commitments in support of maritime security in the region. He also appreciated the professionalism of Pakistan Navy personnel and acknowledged the valuable training support being provided to Royal Navy of Oman by Pakistan Navy.

Both the dignitaries agreed to further enhance the interaction between the two navies in diverse fields of training, mutual visits and defence collaboration.

Later, during the day, the Naval Chief visited Said Bin Sultan Naval Base, Sultan Qaboos Naval Academy, Royal Navy of Oman Ship and Fleet Maintenance Facility. During the meeting, matters of mutual interest including professional and academic training and grooming of young officers were discussed. The Naval Chief also visited various segments and sections of the Academy and interacted with midshipmen and cadets.

This visit of Naval Chief is taking place concurrent with the port visit of Pakistan Navy Ship SAIF to OMAN currently deployed in North Arabian Sea; that is yet another manifestation of the ongoing collaboration, which will further expand and strengthen in future.
(@rukhshanmir)

Minister for Energy Barrister Syed Ali Zafar Tuesday said Pakistan and Turkmenistan shared historical and religious linkages as their brotherly relationship was deeply rooted in the heart of their people.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Jul, 2018 ) :Minister for Energy Barrister Syed Ali Zafar Tuesday said Pakistan and Turkmenistan shared historical and religious linkages as their brotherly relationship was deeply rooted in the heart of their people.

Talking to Turkmen Ambassador Atadjan Movlamov here, he said Pakistan would like to enhance cooperation and collaboration with Turkmenistan in various areas mutually beneficial to each other, according to a press release.

Dilating upon the importance of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) Gas pipeline project, the minister said the landmark energy project would not only fulfill the energy requirements but would also open avenues to generate economic activities helping people to ameliorate their standards of living.

Pakistan, he said, was keen to strengthen bilateral ties by further extending cooperation in multiple areas of mutual interest.

The two sides discussed in detail the level of progress and implementation so far achieved in TAPI gas pipeline project and reiterated their resolve to further augment mutual support for timely implementation of the energy project.

Earlier, the ambassador briefed the minister on the present status of TAPI gas pipeline project and said the project would start a new era of cooperation among regional countries.
(@FahadShabbir)

Press Information Department (PID) has established well equipped "Election-2018 Media Centres" with internet, fax, and telephone connections for the facilitation of media during General Elections 2018 in Islamabad as well as its Regional Offices.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Jul, 2018 ) :Press Information Department (PID) has established well equipped "Election-2018 Media Centres" with internet, fax, and telephone connections for the facilitation of media during General Elections 2018 in Islamabad as well as its Regional Offices.

The "Election-2018 Media Centre" at Islamabad will be connected to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for disseminating official election results in real time, said a press release issued here on Monday.

The Media Centres will work round the clock from the morning of July 25 and will remain operative till results are announced.

Media persons who want to avail facilities should reach PID, Zero Point, Islamabad as well as its Regional Offices on the morning of July 25 at 8 am. Regional Information Offices of PID, Karachi, Hyderabad, Multan, Lahore, Faisalabad, Peshawar, D.I. Khan and Quetta have been issued instructions to provide necessary facilitation to media persons in the performance of their professional duties.
(@FahadShabbir)

The Supreme Court was informed on Tuesday that Pakistan Railways faced losses of Rs 40 billion during financial year 2016-17.

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Jul, 2018 ) :The Supreme Court was informed on Tuesday that Pakistan Railways faced losses of Rs 40 billion during financial year 2016-17.

The statement was made by a representative of a private audit firm before the bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar, who was hearing a suo motu notice regarding losses in the Railways.

The representative, presenting an audit report of Pakistan Railways, submitted that although the revenue increased during last five years, it was not sufficient and railways faced problems.

To a court query, he submitted that the situation was prevailing for the last 70 years in the department, adding that during the last five years, the government failed to take adequate measures to fix the problems.

He submitted that out of total 500 railway stations, only 50 were computerised. He submitted that major part of the railways revenue was being spent for payment of pension.

He contended that lack of a policy and delay in execution of projects were main reasons for losses.

At this, the bench issued notice to the railways administration and sought a reply over the report, while adjourning the matter.

The chief justice observed that former railways minister should also be summoned on the next hearing.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Belarus and Thailand will sign an agreement on cooperation in science and technology. The draft agreement between the two governments was approved by Resolution No.559 issued by the Council of Ministers on 23 July 2018, BelTA informed with reference to the website of the Belarusian government.

MINSK, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Jul, 2018 ) :Belarus and Thailand will sign an agreement on cooperation in science and technology. The draft agreement between the two governments was approved by Resolution No.559 issued by the Council of Ministers on 23 July 2018, BelTA informed with reference to the website of the Belarusian government.

The draft agreement on cooperation in science and technology was approved as a basis for further talks.

The State Science and Technology Committee has been authorized to conduct the talks on the draft agreement (if necessary, make changes and additions that are not fundamental in nature) and sign the agreement within the scope of the approved draft.

The resolution comes into force from the date of its adoption.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Hundreds of people are missing and an unknown number believed dead after a partly constructed hydropower dam in southeast Laos collapsed, sending flash floods surging through six villages, state media reported Tuesday.

Bangkok, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Jul, 2018 ) :Hundreds of people are missing and an unknown number believed dead after a partly constructed hydropower dam in southeast Laos collapsed, sending flash floods surging through six villages, state media reported Tuesday.

Communist Laos is traversed by a vast network of rivers and there are several dams being built or are planned in the impoverished and landlocked country, which exports most of its hydropower energy to neighbouring countries like Thailand.

Laos News Agency said the accident happened on Monday evening at a dam in the country's far south, close to the border with Cambodia, releasing five billion cubic metres of water -- more than two million Olympic swimming pools.

The agency said there were "several human lives claimed, and several hundreds of people missing" while some 6,600 people had been made homeless as authorities scrambled to evacuate villagers from the devastation.

Aerial footage posted on the Facebook page of local news outlet ABC Laos showed a vast brown inundation swamping houses and jungle alike over a huge area.

Another video showed families waiting for rescue on the rooftop of their house, with a nearby Buddhist temple partially submerged.

Nearly 24 hours after the dam's collapse local authorities said they were struggling to gauge the extent of the disaster.

"We do not have any formal information yet about any casualties or how many are missing," an official in Attapeu province, where much of the flooding occurred, told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that was "no phone signal" in the flooded region.

"We sent rescue teams who will help them and provide basic assistance first," the official added.
(@rukhshanmir)

Two mortar rounds landed on central Mali's Sevare airport late Monday in a suspected jihadist attack days ahead of a presidential poll, according to security sources and local authorities.

No casualties were reported.

Bamako, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Jul, 2018 ) :Two mortar rounds landed on central Mali's Sevare airport late Monday in a suspected jihadist attack days ahead of a presidential poll, according to security sources and local authorities.

No casualties were reported.

Sevare lies close to the regional capital of Mopti and is home to a UN mission (MINUSMA) base as well as to the headquarters of the G5 Sahel anti-terror force which draws troops from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger.

The G5 Sahel's headquarters were hit by a terror attack on June 29, killing three people and two of the attackers.

Malians are due to vote in a presidential election on Sunday.

Shortly before midnight (GMT) on Monday evening, Sevare's airport "was targeted in a terror attack. Two shells were fired," a foreign security source on the ground told AFP on Tuesday.

A Malian security source confirmed the incident. "Both rounds came from the east of the airport. One exploded in the south and the other in the north, close to the fuel depot, which obviously was a target," the source told AFP.
Rabat, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Jul, 2018 ) :Morocco and the European Union signed a new fishing agreement on Tuesday, after concluding three months of negotiations to replace a deal that expired last week.

The new agreement allows EU boats to access Morocco's fishing waters for 52 million Euros per year ($60m), a 30 percent increase on the old deal, a document circulated by Morocco's ministry of agriculture and fishing said.

"It is a win-win agreement," said Claudia Wiedey, the head of the EU's delegation in Morocco.

The deal will come into force "by the end of the year", a Moroccan diplomatic source told AFP.

But the text still has to be approved by the North African country's legislature and the EU parliament.

Morocco's Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita claimed the new agreement includes waters off the disputed Western Sahara region and called the deal a "response to manoeuvres" by the Polisario Front independence movement.

Morocco and the Polisario Front fought for control of Western Sahara from 1975 to 1991, with Rabat taking over the desert territory before a UN-brokered ceasefire in the former Spanish colony.

In February, the European Court of Justice said including the territory of Western Sahara and its adjacent waters within a fishing agreement between the EU and Morocco would be "contrary to certain rules of general international law".

But in the EU's negotiating mandate, the European Commission said it was "possible to extend bilateral agreements with Morocco to Western Sahara under certain conditions", angering the Polisario Front.

Rabat views Western Sahara as an integral part of the kingdom and has proposed autonomy for the resource-rich territory but the Polisario Front insists on a UN referendum on independence.
New Zealand Justice Minister Andrew Little on Tuesday launched a public information campaign to raise awareness about the problem of money laundering by domestic and foreign criminals here in New Zealand.

WELLINGTON, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Jul, 2018 ) :New Zealand Justice Minister Andrew Little on Tuesday launched a public information campaign to raise awareness about the problem of money laundering by domestic and foreign criminals here in New Zealand.

"The Keep Our Money Clean campaign is about keeping our international corruption-free reputation and making sure Kiwi businesses are informed and prepared," Little said in a statement.

The campaign uses print and digital advertising and will run in four phases as new business sectors come under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act, which affects lawyers from July, accountants from October, real estate agents from January next year and high value goods dealers and the New Zealand Racing board from August 2019.

"New Zealanders are rightly proud that our country is free from corruption. To keep it that way we need all Kiwi businesses to be vigilant so criminals with dirty money won't do us any harm," Little said.

Money launderers undermine the country's financial and justice systems and leave the country vulnerable to trans-national crime, he said.

The government has prepared "Keep our Money Clean" information packs for law practices, accounting business agents and real estate agents so that customers can understand the anti-money laundering requirements, according to the minister.
Sri Lanka's Tourism Promotion Bureau will soon launch mega campaigns in China, India and the Middle East to promote the island among tourists during the off season, local media reported Tuesday.

COLOMBO, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Jul, 2018 ) :Sri Lanka's Tourism Promotion Bureau will soon launch mega campaigns in China, India and the middle East to promote the island among tourists during the off season, local media reported Tuesday.

The first campaign is to be launched from September to November before winter season starts, Tourism Minister John Amaratunga said.

The main activity of this campaign is to promote special tour packages on offer during Sept. 1 to Nov. 30 to attract tourists from China, India and Middle East, media reports, quoting a bid document said.

The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau has called for bids from advertising agencies for an international campaign for digital, social and print media, which is expected to be carried for three months, Amaratunga added.

Amaratunga said last week, the tourism promotions office was negotiating with airlines, hotels and travel agencies to create value for money deals to attract foreign visitors during the off season.

If the campaign is successful, it will be repeated annually, and a similar campaign will be also launched from March to July, Amaratunga added.

Sri Lanka's tourism industry, which was once heavily scarred by a 30-year civil conflict, has become one of the leading industries after it was dubbed as one of the world's greatest tourist hot spots by several international publications.

Tourist arrivals has recorded a growth of 15.3 percent during the first half of 2018 compared to the same period last year, recent statistics from the Tourism Ministry showed.

Amaratunga said recently the government was targeting a revenue of 4.4 billion U.S. Dollars through its tourism sector this year.
Two people were killed Tuesday and six, including a security commander loyal to Yemen's government, wounded in a suicide attack in Aden, a security source said.

Aden, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Jul, 2018 ) :Two people were killed Tuesday and six, including a security commander loyal to Yemen's government, wounded in a suicide attack in Aden, a security source said.

The attacker blew himself up while riding a motorbike near a vehicle carrying the commander of a battalion of UAE-backed forces, the source told AFP.

The explosion killed a female passerby and a soldier driving the vehicle that was carrying the commander, who was among four wounded passengers, the source said.

Two civilians were also wounded, added the source, who is loyal to Yemen's internationally recognised government.

A doctor in Aden confirmed the toll of two dead and six wounded to AFP.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack in the southern city.
Ahead of the July 25 elections, the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) of the Pakistan Catholic Bishops' Conference (PCBC) issued a statement saying the elections must express the will of voters with the participation of every community.

By Robin Gomes

Ahead of the July 25 elections, the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) of the Pakistan Catholic Bishops' Conference (PCBC) issued a statement saying the elections must express the will of voters with the participation of every community.

Signed by NCJP president Archbishop Joseph Arshad of Islamabad-Rawalpindi Diocese, national director Fr Emmanuel Yousaf and executive director Cecil Shane Chaudhry, the statement demanded that "elections be transparent, that every step of the electoral process be easily understood and be open to public scrutiny by all interested stakeholders (voters, political parties, external observers). Furthermore, all results must be independently verified."

Civilian and military governments



More than 105.9 million Pakistanis are voting to elect a prime minister, transferring power from one civilian government to another for only the second time since its independence in 1947. The first was in 2013. No Pakistani prime minister has ever completed a full five-year term in office.

The nations 70-year history has alternated between quasi-democracy and the rule of the countrys powerful military. Wednesdays elections come at a critical moment for the countrys some 200 million people who are stressed by violence and Islamist militancy.

Democracy for common good



According to Archbishop Arshad, the president of Pakistans Catholic bishops, "democracy is, in essence, people who work and walk together to support the common good.

Speaking on the phone to Vatican News, Archbishop Arshad expressed satisfaction that the democratic process is going ahead with the elections, which, he said, is very important for the country. However, he expressed fear that without any clear winner, the process for development and progress will suffer.

Listen to Archbishop Joseph Arshad

Fr Emmanuel Yousaf also stressed on the importance of democracy for the nation and hoped that during the elections all observers, civil society groups, activists and volunteers can play their part impartially," and that the members of "all communities can cast their votes regardless of the political party they support".



The NCJP shared the concern of the citizens about an uncertain social climate with respect to vital sectors in people's lives, particularly health, education, safety, the promotion of solid human values and international responsibility." (Source: AsiaNews)
In a telegramme to Church and civil authorities in Laos, Pope Francis expresses his sadness at the loss of life and injury caused by flooding after a hydroelectric dam collapsed on Tuesday.

By Devin Watkins

Pope Francis sent his condolences to the people of Laos on Tuesday, following the collapse of a hydroelectric dam in the southeast part of the country.

Hundreds of people are missing and feared dead after the dam collapsed in the San Sai district of Attapeu province on Tuesday, causing flash flooding that swept away homes. The disaster left more than 6,600 people homeless, according to the Lao News Agency.

Heartfelt solidarity



In a telegramme signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, Pope Francis expressed his heartfelt solidarity with all those affected by this disaster.

He prayed especially for the repose of the deceased, the healing of those injured and the consolation of all those who grieve the loss of their loved ones and who fear for the lives of those still missing.

Pope Francis also offered his encouragement to civil authorities and all those involved in the search and rescue as they assist the victims of this tragedy.

The South Korean company building the dam told Reuters news agency that heavy rain and flooding caused the collapse.
Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes holds the Blessed Sacrament in a crowd of worshipers (AFP or licensors)

The bishops of Nicaragua are calling for a return to dialogue with the government of President Daniel Ortega, as Pope Francis continues to follow the situation and pray for the country.

By Devin Watkins

Nicaraguas Catholic bishops on Monday decided to continue mediating talks with the government of President Daniel Ortega, following a closed-door meeting in Managua.

Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, Archbishop of Managua, said the bishops held the meeting to debate whether or not to continue participating in the National Dialogue Process.

After their meeting, the bishops said dialogue is the way forward in order to bring reconciliation to the crisis-hit country.

The Church is mediating talks between the government and protesters who have called for the resignation of President Ortega and early elections.

Deadly violence



Peaceful, student-led rallies against social welfare reforms spiraled into clashes with paramilitary and police forces shooting live ammunition. At least 360 people have been killed in clashes with security forces over the past 3 months.

Numerous attacks on bishops and Church representatives have taken place, including one on Cardinal Brenes and the Apostolic Nuncio to the country.

Prayer and solidarity



Pope Francis says he is following the situation closely and praying for all Nicaraguans. The Holy Father appealed on June 3rd for an end to the violence.

He said the Church is always in favor of dialogue but that it requires active engagement in respect for freedom and, above all, life.

Catholics in Latin America and around the world held a Day of Prayer on Sunday as a sign of solidarity with the victims of political violence in Nicaragua.

Bishop Silvio Jose Baez, auxiliary bishop of Managua, wrote on Twitter: The Catholic Church of Nicaragua will remain at the side of the people, because Jesus has always been at the side of those who suffer.


Go Greek Yogurt, an authentic yogurt bar inspired by Greek culture and cuisine, will open its first location outside of Southern California at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas. Popular with health-conscious celebrity A-Listers, make no mistake, Go Greek Yogurt is not an ordinary made-to-order grab-and-go.

We are excited to bring the first authentic Greek yogurteria to Las Vegas, said Wayne Lipschitz, Go Greek Yogurts President. Las Vegas visitors and locals alike are always looking for fresh, healthy and fast options and we know they will embrace Go Greek Yogurt.

Scheduled to open mid-August, Go Greek Yogurt is known for its healthy living revolution dedicated to providing nutritious meal alternatives and snacks throughout the day through delicious yogurt creations. The fresh yogurt bar features master yogurtiers who customize each dish both fresh and frozen. The fresh Greek yogurt is particularly authentic, imported by air from Greece, where the thick and creamy yogurt is made using old-world methods and traditions. Ingredients to finish the product and various toppings are also imported from Europe.

It gives me great pleasure to have brought this wonderful yogurt and other ingredients, some from my home island of Crete, Greece to Los Angeles where it has been so well received and where we have such a loyal following, said Jonathan Williams, co-founder, and now to have the opportunity to serve it to all The Venetian guests from around the world.

After choosing a fresh or frozen yogurt option, guests can select a variety of nutritious toppings, including fresh fruits and superfoods like goji berries, shaved dark chocolate, flax seed, hemp seed, toasted coconut, cacao nibs, carob chips, imported gourmet Greek toppings and more.

The diverse menu also features made from scratch menu choices that can be either a sweet or savory option made with a yogurt base. These combination menu items are a wonderful meal alternative for breakfast, lunch or dinner, or just as a snack on the go.

In Greek yogurt, you have a lot of protein, natural carbohydrates, potassium, calcium, probiotics, and when you mix it in with the superfood toppings  either the vegetables or the fruit  it carries you a long way, said Tanja Subotic, co-founder.

It is lower in lactose and has twice the protein content of regular yogurt making it a favorite at the five Los Angeles area locations in Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Glendale, Woodland Hills and Thousand Oaks. Each location has a very unique look and footprint; in-line street, beach front, inside mall, outside mall, kiosk, etc., though we are so thrilled with the design of The Venetian location that we are retrofitting all the locations to have some similar touches, said Wayne Lipschitz.
A catastrophic dam collapse in Laos has left hundreds missing and thousands homeless with at least several feared dead, according to state media and observers.

The dam "was fractured, and the water had leaked to the downstream area and down to the Xe-Pian River, which is about five kilometers from the dam," said Kijja Sripatthangkura, chief executive officer of Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Company.

Just hours before the disaster on Monday night, the consortium building the project warned in a letter that millions of tons of water would surge down the Xe-Pian River if the dangerously unsafe dam failed.

And within hours of this letter in the evening, the dam did actually break. So its clear that the warning system appears to have been inadequate and appears to have been too late for many people, Maureen Harris, Southeast Asia director at International Rivers, told VOA.

Some 4,000 people have been displaced downstream from the dam, one of five that make up the Xe-Pian-Xe-Namnoy dam cascade project on the Bolaven Plateau, Harris said.

And its whats called a saddle dam, meaning it's a supporting dam for a main dam, a primary dam. And it's built to confine the reservoir to enable a higher level of water elevation, a storage which obviously explains, I guess, why theres so much water thats been released on the break, Harris said.

The 410-megawatt project that was set to be completed next year is being built by Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy Power Company, or PNPC, at an estimated cost of about $1 billion.

The consortium is made up of Korean firms SK Engineering and Construction, and Korea Western Power, as well as Thailands Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Company, and Lao Holding State Enterprise.

In their warning letter, PNPC said the saddle dam had become unsafe due to heavy rainfall and would release 5 million tons of water into the Xe Pian River if it failed. The project reservoir is intended to rise 73 meters high by 1,600 meters long, with the capacity to store about 1,043 million cubic meters of water.



State news agency KPL put the number of displaced downstream from the dam in Attapeu province, some 550 kilometers south of the capital, Vientiane, at 6,600.

The Laos Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has not responded to VOA inquiries, while the Mekong River Commission, the MRC, said it was investigating the disaster and would comment Wednesday.

Videos and photos posted to Facebook by state media showed huge areas inundated and people stranded on the roofs of their flooded houses. Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith is pictured visiting the affected area.

The Xe-Pian-Xe-Namnoy dams flow down into the Sekong River through Cambodia, and there are concerns of potential downstream impact.

Monitoring closely



Te Navuth, secretary-general of the Cambodia National Mekong Committee, said they were closely monitoring water levels on the Sekong at a station in Siem Pang, about 80 kilometers from Stung Treng province, which borders Laos.

The Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology has already informed local authorities about this disaster and has requested them to watch closely and prepare a resettlement plan for the local people, Navuth said.

He said they tried many times to get more detailed information but were still waiting for Laos to report to the MRC.

Nuanlaor Wongpinitwarodom, director of Thailand's Mekong Management Bureau, said they were still waiting for more information from Laos. The majority of the power produced by the project is intended for sale on the Thai market.

Water levels across the Mekong region have been rising rapidly since July 15, in one case by more than four meters in the Laotian city of Luang Prabang, due to extremely high rainfall caused by tropical Storm Son-Ting, according to the MRC.

Harris said the incident raised concerns about the risks around dam designs unable to cope with extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change, and the adequacy of warning systems, including for dams currently under construction.



More than 70 dams are currently under construction or planned in Laos, including several on the Mekong mainstream. Harris said the roles and responsibilities of private companies developing these projects should be seriously questioned, in light of the disaster.

Theres been, I think, at least a couple of other occasions that havent been on the scale of this but of dams collapsing or experiencing difficulties because of extreme levels of rain or weather, she said.

Late last year, the reservoir of the Nam Ao dam in Xaysomboun province in central Laos burst its banks, flooding eight villages with hundreds of thousands of cubic meters of water.

In Cambodia on Tuesday, the owner of a luxury floating resort on the Tatai River in Koh Kong province blasted the Chinese operators of an upstream dam whom he said opened the facilitys floodgates without warning.

Valentin Pawlik, managing partner of 4 Rivers Floating Lodge, alleged in a statement that his resort was smashed into pieces when a surge of water released from the Tatai dam carrying logs smashed into his resort July 17, raising the water level 1.5 meters in two hours.

Under the combined pressure of the sudden water wave and the pounding of the logs, the 4 Rivers attachment to the shore snapped, and the structure was twisted and broken into six separate pieces, he wrote.

Zhao Wensheng, deputy general manager of Cambodian Tatay Hydropower Limited, denied his facility was at fault, saying the water released was a small amount within safe margins. Spikes in water levels due to recent heavy rainfall on another tributary of the Tatai had caused surges responsible for the damage, he said.

We open a little bit, release a little bit [under normal operations]. There's no need to inform anyone, he said.
At Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field this June, Kenny Chesney flew in a large group of VIP guests to visit with him before performing for some 55,000 fans. They weren't music industry bigwigs.



They were school children and teachers from the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Hurricane Irma made landfall last year and caused massive destruction. And they also happened to be his neighbors on the island of St. John.



"I've spent the majority of my adult life walking those beaches and hanging out in those bars and writing songs," Chesney, 50, recalled later in his manager's office in Nashville, Tennessee. "All of a sudden, it was a place that was very beautiful and that was very broken."



St. John was among several Caribbean islands hit last September by the most powerful hurricane to develop over the open Atlantic. Throughout the Caribbean, the Category 5 storm knocked out power and cell phone towers for weeks or months, damaged roads, airports and hospitals and smashed up boats, businesses and homes.



Chesney was not on the island, but he opened his home there to friends and neighbors so they could ride out the storm. They survived, but his home was destroyed.



"I could hear the anxiety and the stress on everyone," Chesney said. "The people that actually rode the storm out in the bottom of my home, I was able to get them off the island a couple of weeks after the storm. And you know when they got to my home, they were wearing the same clothes they had on that morning (of the storm)."



Immediately after the storm hit, he wrote the title track of his new album, "Songs for the Saints," out Friday.



"I was writing the songs as a lot of the destruction and devastation was happening," Chesney said. "I've never made a record like that in the middle of such anxiety."



Although born in landlocked East Tennessee, Chesney has become an islander at heart. On St. John, he made friends and enjoyed the peace and isolation away from the demands of his superstar life. There were years where he'd step off a tour bus and head straight for a boat.



"The people that I met there didn't care what I did," Chesney said. "They had no idea. It was great."



He turned that island lifestyle into his brand and the loyal No Shoes Nation that pack out stadiums. The island had fed his human spirit and his creative side as a songwriter, but now he had his chance to give back.



Within days, Chesney set up a foundation called Love for Love City, also the title of the second song he wrote after the storm. He helped bring in medical supplies and equipment, had crews clear out debris and rescue pets and bought new musical instruments for the St. John School of the Arts.



"Not many people know what Kenny has done and is still doing for the rebuilding efforts in the Virgin Islands," said his friend and country star Eric Church. "It's a place that is a part of his DNA, of his story. It tells you the kind of person he is and how big his heart is to see him helping in this way."



Chesney was also in the midst of working on a new record deal with Warner Music Nashville, making his move from Sony after more than two decades. He called up John Esposito, the chairman of Warner Music Nashville, and told him he was ready to work with Warner, but he had a caveat.



"He says, 'The first record I'm doing is a charity record,'" Esposito said.



Esposito absolutely agreed that proceeds of the record should go to the foundation, but beyond that Esposito said the record is just a great album.



"I've actually listened to this album 250 times and not only am I never bored with it, I hear something else unveiled with every listen," Esposito said.



The album has already produced Chesney's 30th No. 1 single, "Get Along," making him the artist with the most songs to top Billboard's Country Airplay chart, surpassing Tim McGraw, Alan Jackson and George Strait.



On the title track, Chesney's vocals take center stage at the beginning with an acoustic guitar and a single drum beat, as he sings that "God lifted these islands from the ocean." On "Love for Love City," Chesney adds delicate steel drums and Ziggy Marley to the loping, reggae-inspired song in which he promises to be a part of the island's encore.



The songs aren't sad odes to what was lost, but reflective of the grit and hope necessary to keep going. At the end of the album, Chesney covers a song called "Better Boat," written by Travis Meadows and Liz Rose, which is a poignant description of the struggle of personal recovery.



Others like "Trying to Reason (With Hurricane Season)," a duet between Chesney and Jimmy Buffet, who wrote the song, are more lighthearted. Mac McAnally, an acclaimed guitarist and songwriter who worked on the record, said that Chesney kept the instrumentation to a minimum to keep the focus on the lyrics.



"That kind of framework lets you be a little more contemplative as you listen," McAnally said. "A song that's got some depth to it benefits from being listened to a little quieter."



In February, Chesney visited students and their teachers at St. John School for the Arts after donating new instruments and he talked to them about life post-Irma.



"It was a really emotional day when we went there, just to see the look on their faces when you give them a guitar or a steel drum," Chesney said. "You never know what one of those guitars will do. I know what one guitar did for me."



There's still a pressing need for help in the islands as hurricane season starts anew this year. Chesney, who says he is a firm believer in global warming, predicts that the catastrophic storms will continue to be a threat to the Caribbean as well as the United States. He'd like the foundation to help build up the infrastructure of the islands, possibly even opening a hospital on St. John and improving schools.



Chesney isn't always comfortable talking about his philanthropy and he's quick to point out that many people have been helping with hurricane recovery. But he does know how his music can affect people, which is why he considers this album among the best of his career.



"If you believe music heals and rebuilds the human spirit, this has the potential to be one of the most important albums I've made," Chesney said.
Retired Afghan national security forces, both from the national army and from the national police, would be recruited as part of a new Afghan regional force to provide security for areas retaken from Islamic State militants and Taliban insurgents, an Afghan official told VOA.

General Mohammad Radmanish, a spokesperson for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, told VOA the Afghan regional force would be well-equipped and provided with air support when needed.

These forces will be stationed in areas that are important to the Afghan government from a strategic point of view and areas that are already cleared of militants and needs to be protected, Radmanish said.

The force would be administered by the Afghan Ministry of Defense, and the recruitment process has already begun in eastern Laghman, northeastern Kapisa, southern Kandahar and western Herat provinces. The plan is to expand to other provinces in the future as well.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani ordered the creation of the new force earlier this year and the eventual goal is to establish a force of 36,000 personnel, according to Afghan officials.

Not a militia

The Afghan government has relied on militias in the past in an effort to fill the security gap in parts of the country. The militias have been accused of widespread abuse in rural areas. The creation of the new force has some concerned in Afghanistan that they might also resort to abuse of power in areas under their control.

But government officials say the new regional force is not going to serve as a militia. Rather, all those recruited under the new initiative will be subject to the same recruitment and training process as other Afghan national security forces.

Afghan Army Regional Force will strictly follow and obey military rules, and no indiscipline in its ranks will be tolerated, Radmanish said.

Nangarhar

The new force also would be deployed to eastern Nangarhar province , the traditional stronghold of the Islamic State terror group in Afghanistan.

The local branch of Islamic State in Afghanistan, known as IS-Khorasan, first emerged in parts of Nangarhar province in 2015.

The group has since made inroads to other neighboring provinces and several provinces in the north of the country as well.

Attaullah Khogyani, Nangarhar provincial governor's spokesperson, told VOA that the new force will provide security, and prevent IS and Taliban militants from re-emerging in areas already cleared by Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces.

Afghan regional forces will be stationed in Khogyani, Pachir Wa Agam and Deh Bala districts of eastern Nangarhar province, Khogyani added.

He added that local people have welcomed the creation of the regional force to provide security for the region and pledged to support them.

U.S. and Afghan forces have carried out several military operations against IS in eastern Afghanistan. More than 150 IS militants have been killed over the past two months during joint U.S.-Afghan operations, according to the U.S. military.

Military operations against the terror group continue in the area. Earlier this month, the Deh Bala district, an IS stronghold in Nangarhar province, was captured by U.S. and Afghan special forces.

VOA's Zia Urahman Hasrat contributed to this report from Nangarhar, Afghanistan.
An al-Qaida suspect linked to a plot to kill a Swedish cartoonist pleaded guilty on Monday in a U.S. court to a terrorism charge.



Ali Charaf Damache was escorted into federal court in Philadelphia for the change of plea hearing wearing a drab green prison jumpsuit and handcuffed behind his back. The Algerian-born Irish citizen had been extradited from Spain last year after authorities said they were able to track his online efforts to recruit American and European citizens to join a jihadist movement.



The 53-year-old, whose online handle was Theblackflag, was accused of being involved in a terror cell that wanted to kill Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilk, who depicted the Prophet Muhammad as a dog. The plot never materialized, authorities said.



"This is exactly the kind of case that we want to be involved in because we want to be in the business of preventing disasters from happening not dealing with disasters after they happen," said U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain.



Authorities issued an indictment for Damache in 2011 and worked with multiple entities to extradite him to face charges in a civilian court, a move that was counter to President Donald Trump's promise to send terror suspects to the military prison at Guantanamo Bay. McSwain said each case has to be handled individually, but the extradition requests that began years ago were always based on Damache being tried in U.S. federal court.



Damache pleaded guilty to conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists in exchange for prosecutors recommending a 15-year prison sentence including about four years of time served in Ireland and Spain and his agreeing to be deported. An identity theft charge was dropped as part of the deal.



Sentencing is scheduled for the end of October.



Prosecutors said Damache sought to recruit light-skinned women and others who did not fit the traditional terrorist profile to wage jihad. His targets included Colleen LaRose, a Pennsylvania woman who called herself "Jihad Jane," online; Jamie Paulin-Ramirez, a single mother from Colorado; and Mohammad Hassan Khalid, who at the time was a high school honors student from Maryland. They were all eventually arrested.



Damache married Paulin-Ramirez the day she traveled to Ireland to meet him in 2009. Paulin-Ramirez eventually helped the FBI investigate the terror cell.



As part of the plea, Damache admitted to training a child to prepare for jihad. Prosecutors later identified the minor as Paulin-Ramirez's child, who she brought with her.



Officials said that Damache's group recruited men online to wage jihad in South Asia and Europe, and sought to recruit women with western passports to travel through Europe in support of the cause.



LaRose is serving a 10-year prison term. Paulin-Ramirez and Khalid have been released after serving their sentences.
China, the wealthiest member of the bloc of nations known as BRICS, is looking to further improve its international position as the group holds its annual summit in South Africa this week.



President Xi Jinping made a state visit to summit host South Africa a day before the start of the three summit on Wednesday.

Xi, who was unanimously elected by China's parliament to a new, limitless presidential term in March, praised China's 20-year diplomatic relationship with South Africa, as part of what appears to be a push to strengthen all of China's relationships.

In his interpreted comments, Xi praised the relationship, which he said encompassed infrastructure, trade, investment, science and technology initiatives, and invited South African President Cyril Ramaphosa for a state visit in September.



Ramaphosa reciprocated, saying in brief comments to assembled press:



"The dynamism of the partnership between China and South Africa derives from a common desire to develop our bilateral relationship. And in fact, our common view is that the relationship between the two countries in many ways has gone beyond just being a bilateral relationship. It is a very strategic relationship which touches on a number of issues where we cooperate extremely well together for the mutual benefit of our two peoples."



And the two put a value on that relationship, signing various economic and investment agreements worth $14 billion.



Preparing for trade war



But not all of China's relationships are so rosy as Xi prepares for this year's summit of the five BRICS nations  Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.



The summit comes amid a rapidly shifting world order, one that has China as the main target of a brewing trade war, in which U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to impose tariffs on all $505 billion worth of Chinese imports.



In response, China has said it will seek to build cooperation with other nations, like those in BRICS, where it is on more comfortable ground, according to China-Africa analyst Cobus Van Staden



"Everyone who is actually involved would strenuously deny that there is a pecking order," he told VOA. "But I think also, the weight of the Chinese economy, the weight of China as an actor in the world, is significant; you can't talk around that,"



Van Staden says other global developments  like the relationship between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian Vladimir Putin  could also affect this year's summit deliberations. Putin is expected at the summit.



"This is definitely a very weird year," Van Staden said. "There's going to be a lot of other weirdness in the room as well, including tensions between China and India around the Belt and Road initiative. India is not very happy, but has not come out actively opposed to it. So that's another part of the tensions in the room."
The family of the man accused of killing two people and wounding 13 others in a shooting spree on a busy street in Toronto, Canada, says he suffered from mental illness.

Authorities have identified the suspect as Faisal Hussain, 29, of Toronto, who also died in the attack. It is not clear if the suspect killed himself or was shot by police.

They say he killed a 10-year-old girl and an 18-year-old woman Sunday night in the city's Greektown neighborhood.

Hussain's family issued a statement Monday saying they are "devastated by the incomprehensible news" that he was responsible for the shootings and that he had dealt with psychosis and depression.

"While we did our best to seek help for him throughout his life of struggle and pain, we could never imagine that this would be his devastating and destructive end," the family said.

Police are still working to determine a possible motive for the attack and say they have not ruled out any possibilities.

Cellphone video of the attack shows a man wearing all black firing shots from the sidewalk into at least one restaurant in the lively residential area with Greek restaurants and cafes. Witnesses reported hearing at least 20 shots.

Toronto Mayor John Tory said the shooting was "evidence of a gun problem" in Toronto.

"There are far too many people carrying around guns in our city, and our region who should not have them," he said.

Toronto Councilor Paula Fletcher said the attack was not gang-related. She described the gunman as shooting indiscriminately into restaurants and into a park.

In recent days, police have deployed additional officers in Toronto in response to an increase in gun violence.

Sunday's shooting comes three months after the driver of a van plowed into pedestrians on a Toronto sidewalk in the city's north end, killing 10 people and shaking residents' confidence in the city's safety.

"It's almost inconceivable that these things can happen," Tory said. "We were so used to living in a city where these things didn't happen, and as we saw them going on in the world around us, (we) thought they couldn't happen here."

Flags at Toronto City Hall were lowered to half-staff on Monday.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted on Monday: "The people of Toronto are strong, resilient and brave  and we'll be there to support you through this difficult time."
Opposition legislators on Tuesday accused Canadian government ministers of mishandling the flow of asylum seekers from the United States, adding to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's problems ahead of a 2019 election.

More than 30,000 would-be refugees have crossed the border since January 2017, many saying they were fleeing U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration policies.

Aid agencies are struggling to house the new arrivals as the inflow has clogged the system for processing asylum claims. Toronto's mayor says the city cannot accommodate any more asylum seekers.

Trudeau's ruling Liberals say the flow is diminishing as they take steps to deter border crossers. But at a special parliamentary committee hearing on Tuesday, both the right-leaning Conservatives and left-of-center New Democrats termed Ottawa's response as inadequate.

"We have not had a plan from the government. We have had a reactionary approach from the government," said New Democrat legislator Jenny Kwan.

Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, saying there would be no easy quick solutions to what he called a global problem, told legislators that "there is a challenge, but it is not a crisis."

The newly-elected government in Ontario, Canada's most populous province, is demanding more funding to deal with the spike. The Liberals won most of Ontario's seats in the 2015 poll and will need to do the same in the October 2019 election to stay in power.

A Nanos Research poll on Tuesday showed the Liberals and Conservatives tied at 36 percent of public support, suggesting that if an election were held today, Trudeau could lose power.

Trudeau shuffled his cabinet last week as the political pressure built up, and he named Bill Blair to take up the new post of border security minister.

Toronto says 800 asylum seekers in college dormitories will have to move out by August 9. Blair said they would move into hotels.

"Do you think it's reasonable to house 800 people in hotels ... would you characterize housing someone in a hotel for an indeterminate period as adequate housing?" asked Conservative legislator Michelle Rempel.

"They are undergoing due process in the review of their claim for asylum and in that period, I think this is ... appropriate," Blair replied.

The Conservatives contend that if the government does not take a tougher approach to deter migrants, it will undermine Canadians' belief in one of the world's most welcoming immigration systems. Canada aims to attract 310,000 permanent residents in 2018, just under 1 percent of the population.
The Chilean civil authorities are investigating 36 accusations of sexual abuse against bishops, clerics and lay workers in the Roman Catholic Church, the national prosecutor's office said Monday.

The investigations are among 144 reports of sexual abuse implicating 158 Church workers made since 2000, it added in a statement.

The figures were released at a news conference in the capital Santiago by Luis Torres, the head of human rights and gender crime divisions for the Chilean national prosecutor's office.

"We have met [with the Chilean Church] and sought to agree to a coordinated approach that will help to advance these [live] cases," he said.

The national prosecuting authority gathered the figures about complaints from around the country for the first time in a bid to take control of a persistent scandal over sexual abuse within the country's Catholic Church.

Until now, most cases of sexual abuse in the Church that have been made public have fallen under the country's statute of limitations and been handled by the Church under canonical law.

Victims groups say the sanctions handed out were inappropriate given the severity of the crimes, and in some cases the Church failed to take any action.

In addition to the 36 cases under investigation, 108 have been closed, with 23 people convicted, two exonerated, and 22 cases sent to another judicial office because they alleged crimes committed before the year 2000. The rest were struck off for lack of evidence or other reasons, the dossier found.

Of those implicated in wrongdoing, it said, 139 were bishops, priests or deacons. Of the 266 alleged victims, 178 were children and teenagers.

In May, Pope Francis summoned Chile's 34 bishops to Rome where he challenged them over the contents of a report compiled by his top sex abuse investigator that accused them of "grave negligence" in investigating allegations that children were abused and suggested evidence of sex crimes was destroyed.

Anne Barrett-Doyle, of the U.S. press group Bishop Accountability, told Reuters that the cases reported to the civil authorities likely represented a "drop in the ocean" compared to the number of cases only reported to Church authorities and others not reported at all.

"What's really significant here is that the prosecutor has taken such responsible action against the Catholic Church," she said. "It is abundantly clear the impunity of the Catholic Church in Chile is ending, that bishops and cardinals will now be answerable to secular law just as average citizens are."
Congolese opposition leader and former warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba, whose war crimes convictions were quashed in May, will return to the country next week to submit his candidacy for president, a party official said on Monday.

His homecoming after serving a decade in prison at The Hague could dramatically shake up Congolese politics ahead of December's long-delayed election, which is meant to choose a successor to Joseph Kabila.

Kabila, who has governed since 2001, has refused to commit to stepping down despite his two-term mandate expiring in 2016.

Allies in his ruling coalition have in recent weeks advanced a legal argument they say would justify his candidacy.

Bemba finished runner-up to Kabila in the 2006 election and commands a large and loyal following in western Congo. Despite still being in prison at the time, Bemba came third in a rare nationwide opinion poll in March behind two other opposition leaders.

"He is going to return on Aug. 1," the secretary-general of his Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) party, Eve Bazaiba, told Reuters. "Everything is in order."

Bazaiba said that Bemba planned to file his candidacy with the national electoral commission while in Kinshasa. The registration period opens this Wednesday and runs through Aug. 8.

If Kabila does step down, December's election would herald Congo's first democratic transition following decades marked by authoritarian rule, coups and civil war.

The ICC quashed Bemba's convictions in May related to murder, rape and pillage by fighters he sent to Central African Republic to back the country's then-president Ange-Felix Patasse. An appeals court ruled that Bemba could not be held personally responsible for those crimes.

Bemba was one of only four people convicted by the permanent war crimes court in its 16 years of operation, and the highest ranking among them.

Kabila's government moved quickly to provide Bemba a passport after his release from prison last month but has offered mixed messages about whether he might face further criminal prosecution or be allowed to contest the presidential election.

He still faces sentencing for a witness tampering charge by the ICC but has likely already served enough prison time for that.
Former Congolese warlord and vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba said on Tuesday that he believed he would be the best candidate to represent the opposition in December's presidential election but that he was open to supporting another candidate.

In his first in-depth public remarks since being acquitted in May on appeal for war crimes at The Hague, Bemba told a news conference in Brussels that standing for president was not an obsession but touted his experience and leadership qualities.

Candidate registration is due to open on Wednesday.

President Joseph Kabila, who has governed since 2001, is barred by term limits from running but has refused to commit publicly to not standing.

That and rising militia violence in Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern borderlands have raised fears the country could be dragged back to the civil wars of the turn of the century that killed millions, most from hunger and disease.

Kabila's opponents have struggled to coalesce behind a single standard bearer for the election and Bemba's release from prison and planned return to Congo next week have further muddied the waters.

Asked why he should be the sole opposition candidate, Bemba cited his "experience, management of men, management of security, of the army and also of economic development."

"It is not an obsession. It is so that we, the opposition, can win and do everything so that a candidate from the opposition can win by presenting a program that is credible for the population."

Bemba, who is popular in western Congo, finished runner-up to Kabila in the 2006 election, which touched off days of combat in the capital Kinshasa between militia fighters loyal to him and state troops.

He was arrested in Europe in 2008 and charged with responsibility for murder, rape and pillage committed by fighters he sent to Central African Republic in 2002 to back then-president Ange-Felix Patasse.

The International Criminal Court convicted him in 2016 but an appeals court then ruled in May that he could not be held personally responsible for his fighters' actions.

Bemba said he would meet with opposition leaders upon arriving in Kinshasa on Aug. 1. Besides Bemba, opposition leaders Moise Katumbi, Felix Tshisekedi, Martin Fayulu and Vital Kamerhe have been nominated by their parties to run for president.
A former senior security aide for French President Emmanuel Macron is insisting he was trying to help police when he was caught on video assaulting a protester at a May Day demonstration.

The outcry sparked by the video is the most damaging scandal to hit Macron since he took office last year.

The former security aide, Alexandre Benalla, who was fired by Macron on Friday, said Monday his action was "vigorous but without violence and caused no injury," according to a statement released by his lawyers.

"This personal initiative ... is obviously being used to tarnish the president in circumstances that defy comprehension," the statement read.

Benalla, along with another member of Macron's ruling party, Vincent Crase, were charged Sunday with violence, interfering in the exercise of public office and the unauthorized public display of official insignia.

The video made public by Le Monde newspaper last week shows Benalla, who is not a police officer, wearing a police helmet with visor as well as a police armband while dragging a woman away from the crowd and later beating a male protester as riot police looked on while breaking up a May Day protest in Paris.

Benalla said in the statement issued by his lawyers Monday that the man and woman he was filmed scuffling with were "particularly virulent individuals" whom he had been trying to "bring under control" while "lending a hand" to police.

On Monday, Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told lawmakers he took no action against Benalla after the presidency assured him in early May that Benalla would be punished.

Three high-ranking police officers have been charged with misappropriation of the images and violating professional secrecy for illegally giving Benalla video surveillance footage of the incidents to help him try to clear his name. They have been suspended from their jobs.

Benalla, 26, handled Macron's campaign security and has remained close to the president.
For years, Dumbo the Flying Elephant hung from his living room ceiling, a Mr. Toad Wild Ride car was parked in his library and Bashful's cart from Snow White's Scary Adventures sat on his front lawn in suburban California.

Now collector Richard Kraft is selling off his 750-item collection of theme park vehicles, props and artifacts spanning six decades of Disneyland history.

Kraft, a Hollywood agent, began his collection 25 years ago, spurred by nostalgia for his visits with his late brother to Disneyland in southern California.

Van Eaton Galleries in Los Angeles said the result was an extraordinary array of Disneyland memorabilia.

"Through Richard's passion for the park and his love for his brother and family, he has amassed a collection that is unequaled," co-founder Mike Van Eaton said.

Such is its scale that hundreds of the items are being displayed for a month at a free public exhibition called "That's From Disneyland" at a 20,000 sq. ft. (18,500 sq. meters) abandoned store in suburban Los Angeles ahead of the auction on Aug. 25 and 26.

Visitors will be able to dance along with six singing animatronic dolls from It's a Small World, or board one of the pirate ships from Peter Pan's Flight.

"Real artisans made this and I love putting it in an exhibit setting so it could be admired differently. You never actually see this stuff up close and personal the way you would see it in this exhibit," Kraft said.

"We had Dumbo hanging in the living room of our house - 800 pounds (360 kg.) of elephant hanging over people's heads," Kraft said. "We used to decorate Dumbo for Christmas."

The Dumbo the Flying Elephant vehicle is expected to be among the top sellers with an estimate of $100,000-$150,000, while a Peter Pan's pirate ship vehicle is seen fetching $75,000-$100,000.

Other artifacts include a Disneyland ticket booth, an animatronic singing bird from the Enchanted Tiki Room, as well as original drawings, concept sketches and posters from the 63-year-old theme park.

Kraft intends to donate a portion of the proceeds to two organizations benefiting children who, like his four-year-old daughter Daisy, suffer from the rare genetic disorder Coffin-Siris Syndrome, and other special needs.

"She's in a special school program that is so underfunded. This collection I've had for all these years can be put to good use in helping kids and people with disabilities," he said.
Bring up the subject of Native Americans to any group of Americans, and at least one person will claim to have a Cherokee ancestor, pointing to high cheekbones or straight dark hair as evidence. Chances are, theres not a single Indian in his or her family tree.

Dubbed the Cherokee Syndrome, it is a growing trend in America: More than 819,000 Americans self-identified as Cherokee on the 2010 federal census, alone or mixed-race. By comparison, the combined population of the three federally recognized Cherokee tribes  the Cherokee Nation and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee in Oklahoma, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee in North Carolina  amounts to fewer than 400,000.



Some of those checking the American Indian box on census forms may indeed have Cherokee ancestors, but a significant number do not. Even so, they are going Native in increasing numbers. Furthermore, they are connecting with one another on social media to form groups.

Its really not that big of a deal for people to come together and discuss their common beliefs and history, said David Cornsilk, historian and genealogist, and citizen of the Cherokee Nation and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee. But then they start calling themselves tribes.



More than 200 unrecognized tribes that claim to be Cherokee exist across the country, some of them selling fraudulent tribal ID cards, representing Native culture to non-Natives, and selling counterfeit Native art.



To give themselves Indian cache, they appoint chiefs and give themselves outrageously ridiculous Indian names, said Cornsilk. For recognized Cherokee, we dont use names like this. Our Cherokee names are kept private.



The advent of do-it-yourself DNA test kits has made things worse, said Cornsilk. The tests are unreliable and cant prove genetic affiliation with individual tribes. Even if they could, they would not satisfy criteria for tribal citizenship, which demands direct descendancy from individuals listed in historic government Indian rolls.



The trail where they cried



The original Cherokee homeland stretched across all or portions of eight present-day southern states. By the 1820s, they had ceded 75 percent of this land to the U.S. government.

By this time, the Cherokee had developed extensive cultural and economic ties with white culture, developed their own written language and a republican government, which its leaders hoped might help discourage further cessions of land or their removal altogether.



But after gold was discovered in Georgia, the federal government convinced a renegade faction of Cherokee to sign a treaty ceding all their remaining land. And in 1838, the first of 16,000 Cherokees began the 1,000-mile journey along what the Cherokee remember as Nunna daul Isunyi, the trail where they cried. At least 4,000 died along the way.

Some 800 Cherokee managed to avoid removal. Their descendants constitute the Eastern Band of Cherokee, today headquartered in western North Carolina.



In the years leading up to the Civil War, white Georgians in particular felt they were under siege by the North, said Virginia Commonwealth University historian Gregory D. Smithers, and began to romanticize the Cherokees plight at the hands of the northern government.



Historians believe this marked the beginning of Cherokee syndrome.



By either appropriating a Cherokee identity or drawing parallels between Cherokee removal and their own struggle to preserve and extend the slave system, white Georgians constructed a false equivalence to justify their pro-slavery politics, Smithers said, adding that those who did fabricate Indian heritage chose a relative who was distant enough to ensure their white privilege wasn't tarnished.

In the early 1900s, the U.S. government agreed to compensate the Eastern Cherokee for lands it had earlier seized. Encouraged by lawyers, fake Cherokees began popping up across the country, hoping for a share of the windfall.



Eventually these false claims wove their way into family legends, many of which are firmly fixed today. A growing number of individuals are either joining up with fake tribes or applying for citizenship in federally recognized Cherokee tribes.



Filling voids



Many assume that Cherokee wannabes are looking to cash in on government benefits, casino earnings, educational scholarships or added cache as academics. But Cornsilk believes the explanation isnt so simple.



They feel lost. I think Gloria Steinem probably said it best when she described white Americans as a people without a tribe, he said. They hunger for it. But rather than going back and finding their own tribe  Ireland, England, France or Germany  they want a connection to this continent.



And they choose Cherokee identity, he added, because the Cherokee are historically emblematic of the so-called civilized Indian.



Circe Sturm, University of Texas anthropologist and author of Becoming Indian: The Struggle over Cherokee Identity, suggested another reason:



I believe that there is a retreat from white guilt that is happening here, she said. Whiteness is responsible for indigenous dispossession and the lack of societal connection that characterizes modernity.



Today, federally recognized Cherokee tribes have taken a public stand against these individuals and phony tribes.



They undermine the authority of the Cherokee people themselves to say who is and who is not a part of our community, said Cornsilk. It is utterly dismissive of the sovereignty and status of the Cherokee Nation, the United Keetoowah Band and the Eastern band of Cherokee.
One man who knows a great deal about Washington-Moscow summits is not ready to call the latest one in Helsinki a failure, despite its confused aftermath.

From 1985 to 1991, across ten summits that brought the Cold War to an end and ushered in unprecedented cooperation between Washington and Moscow, Pavel Palazhchenko was a constant presence as chief interpreter for Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze. In innumerable news photos from that era, he's the guy with the dark suit and mustache discreetly standing beside or just behind Gorbachev.

So when Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin took to their podiums in Helsinki last week, Palazhchenko was watching from Moscow to see how the latest chapter in the story would unfold.

His take on the controversial meeting: Next time, it might be a good idea to get things set down in writing.

But, he says, please keep holding these summits  even if the going gets difficult.There's too much at stake not to talk.

Palazhchenko declined to call Helsinki an outright failure, even though after the meeting Trump walked back comments saying that he believed Putin when the Russian leader says that Russia was not involved in election meddling in the United States. Palazhchenko did concede there was a lack of clarity on exactly what the two world leaders agreed upon.

"A couple of mistakes were made ... it was a mistake not to try to craft some kind of a joint statement," Palazhchenko told The Associated Press in an interview. "The press conference did not go well. Those things happen, stuff happens. But nevertheless, one has to move forward. Perhaps they will correct some of the mistakes that were made and move forward by trying to build a coalition."

He said it would "take time to understand what really happened" at the July 16 meeting in the Finnish capital.

"I think both Trump and Putin will be talking in the near future about what was achieved, about what they hope to achieve," he said, add that, for Trump, the important thing "is to try to create a coalition in favor of improved relations and to have public support for that process."

Palazhchenko stressed that the U.S.-Russian relationship was simply too important  to each side and to the world  for Russia and the United States not to talk.

"Those are still the two nuclear superpowers, even though more than 80 percent of the nuclear weapons that existed at the height of the Cold War have now been destroyed," he said. "They still are both very influential and so strategically I think good relations between Russia and the U.S. are very, very necessary."

Palazhchenko, 69, graduated from what is now Moscow State Linguistic University in 1972. He left government service after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and later worked at the Gorbachev Foundation as head of international and media relations.

He noted that just because two leaders disagree on important topics doesn't mean a summit wasn't worth it.

At a Geneva summit in 1985, then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Gorbachev argued vigorously over U.S. plans for the Strategic Defense Initiative missile defense, better known as "Star Wars." But, Palazhchenko said, the summit ended with the declaration that nuclear war "cannot be won and must never be fought." It also relaunched cultural and educational exchanges between the two superpowers and paved the way for later agreements to reduce the number of nuclear weapons.

And spontaneity isn't all bad  the 1990 Helsinki summit between U.S. President George H.W. Bush and Gorbachev "was something that was done almost on the spur of the moment."

Palazhchenko says those summits succeeded because "both sides  Gorbachev and Reagan,Gorbachev and Bush  wanted it to succeed" and were able to set aside friction over spy scandals and other incidents taking place at the same time.

"The lesson is the value of process, mutual respect and persistence," he said.

"I think Putin and Trump, too, wanted to succeed," he added. "The way ahead will be very difficult ... a lot of mines have not yet exploded and they will. But they I think are determined to improve their relationship."

Democrats in Congress are now seeking to summon Trump's State Department interpreter Marina Gross to find out what was discussed in the one-on-one talks with Putin in Helsinki.Palazhchenko called their request "extraordinary" but added "I don't think it's going to happen."

The interpreter said he believes that history will look more kindly on this latest Helsinki summit than the media is doing now.

"It will be very difficult to repair what has been done over the past years [to U.S.-Russia relations] but it is something where I think, once the forward movement starts, I think history will be on their side," he said.
Fire officials in Greece said Tuesday at least 74 people have been killed and more than 140 injured in wildfires raging through resort towns near the country's capital.

Regional authorities have declared a state of emergency in areas east and west of Athens and deployed the army to help fight the blazes.

Athens has asked the European Union for aerial and ground support to help battle the flames. Greece said Cyprus offered to send firefighters, while Spain offered water-dropping aircraft. BBC News reported countries, including Italy, Germany, Poland and France, have sent planes, vehicles and firefighters.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras cut short a visit to Bosnia on Monday and returned to Athens to preside over an emergency-response meeting.

"We are doing everything humanly possible to try and tackle these fires," Tsipras said. "What concerns us is that there are fires occurring simultaneously."

The first fire broke out in a pine forest near the small town of Kineta, 50 kilometers west of Athens.

Three communities were evacuated, and the blaze shut down a nearly 20-kilometer section of a major highway.

High temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius have been predicted for Greece, and authorities have warned that the risk of forest fires is high. Wind gusts of up to 80 kph were hampering efforts to contain the blazes.

Another fire was burning northeast of Athens, in the Penteli area, moving into the town of Rafina. The mayor of Rafina estimated at least 100 homes have been destroyed.

The Greek coast guard sent boats to the area to evacuate residents trapped on the beach by the flames. It was also searching for a boat reported missing that was said to be carrying Danish tourists fleeing the fires.

A local fire chief went on state TV to appeal to people to leave the area after some tried to stay in their properties.

"People should leave, close up their homes and just leave. People cannot tolerate so much smoke for so many hours," Achilleas Tzouvaras said. "This is an extreme situation."




A leading international watchdog has called on the Iraqi government to investigate the excessive use of force against protesters demanding better services and jobs in the country's south.

In a report issued on Tuesday, the Human Rights Watch also urged that members of the security forces responsible for using lethal force at the rallies be disciplined or prosecuted.



Early this month, residents of oil-rich Basra province staged protests against the lack of jobs and poor services. The rallies spread to other provinces in Iraq's Shi'ite heartland.



The protests turned violent with security forces killing a number of protesters who attacked policemen and damaged government property.



HRW's Mideast chief Sarah Leah Whitson has warned that "as the government fails to address protester grievances, the danger of further bloody protests remains real."
U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley has blasted Arab and Muslim states for offering rhetoric on the Palestinian situation while not taking more concrete action to alleviate humanitarian suffering and support the peace process.

Haley told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that "talk is cheap" and called out many countries, including U.S. allies Kuwait, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, for their lack of or small contributions to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, known as UNRWA.

"Last year, Iran's contribution to UNRWA was zero. Algeria's contribution to UNRWA was zero. Tunisia's contribution to UNRWA was zero," Haley said. "Other countries did provide some funding. Pakistan gave $20,000. Egypt gave $20,000. Oman gave $668,000."

She also called out China and Russia, which provided $350,000 and $2 million, respectively.

"Last year, while Algeria was providing nothing to UNRWA, and Turkey was providing $6.7 million, the United States gave $364 million," Haley said. But she did not mention that in January the Trump administration slashed its 2018 funding by $300 million, leaving UNRWA in an unprecedented financial crisis.

Emergency sessions

Since then, the agency has held two emergency pledging conferences and raised $238 million, but it still faces a $217 million shortfall and has warned that it may have to delay the start of the September school year. UNRWA schools educate more than a half-million children in the Palestinian territories and across the region.

You cannot come to the Security Council in an arrogant way and say you are the only one helping and others arent doing anything -- thats not the case, Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour told reporters. If they care about the humanitarian situation of the Palestinian refugees, especially the 1.2 million in Gaza, you do not stop $300 million away from UNRWA under any pretext.



Several envoys took issue with Haleys comments, including Saudi ambassador Abdullah al-Moallemi, who said in the past year his government has given $100 million to UNRWA  half of that came after the U.S. funding cut to help make up the shortfall. While Chinas ambassador Ma Zhaoxu said Beijing is making an additional $2 million contribution to UNRWA this year.



In this regard, China has always been doing what we believe we should do and what we are capable of doing, Ma told council members. We have no intention of competing with any other countries, he added.

Haley also chided Arab countries for not condemning Hamas and not supporting compromises that are necessary for peace.

"If they really cared about the Palestinian people, they would not do that," Haley said. "Instead, they would condemn extremism and they would put forth serious ideas for compromises that could end this struggle and lead to a better life for the Palestinian people."

In 2002, Arab leaders did put forward a plan known as the Arab Peace Initiative that called for normalizing relations between Arab states and Israel in exchange for Israel's full withdrawal from the occupied territories, including East Jerusalem, and settlement of the refugee issue.

It has been met with mixed reaction. The Palestinian Authority welcomed the plan, but Hamas, which controls Gaza, did not. On the Israeli side, support for the proposal has run the gamut from rejection to tentative support over the years.

Haley also said the Palestinian Authority looks foolish for dismissing the anticipated U.S. peace plan before they have even seen it.



Palestinian envoy Mansour said his government is not interested in any U.S. proposal because the status of Jerusalem is off the table, UNRWA is being destroyed through U.S. funding cuts, Jewish settlements are more or less acceptable and the two-state solution is fading.



So if you have that kind of behavior that is being exhibited by the U.S. administration, what is left on the table? Mansour asked. Thats why we dont want to engage in something that is useless because all the things that theyve announced unilaterally are things that will not pave the way for peace and progress.

Gaza on the brink

Meanwhile, the U.N. warned that tensions between Israel and Hamas were at the highest levels since the 2014 Israel-Gaza war.

"Over the last two weeks, however, the situation quickly spiraled out of control, nearly to a point of no return," said U.N. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Nickolay Mladenov. "I reiterate my call to all in Gaza to step back from the brink; those who seek to provoke Israelis and Palestinians to war must not succeed."

In the past month, Mladenov said 19 Palestinians, including seven children, were killed by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza and one in the West Bank. An IDF soldier was killed by gunfire from Gaza, and four Israeli civilians and a soldier were wounded.

Tensions are also rising between Israel and Syria. Earlier Tuesday, Israel shot down a Syrian fighter jet it said had crossed 2 kilometers into its territory.
The World Health Organization says the rapid, aggressive and coordinated health response to the Democratic Republic of Congo's latest Ebola outbreak is largely responsible for quickly containing the deadly virus. WHO and Congo's Ministry of Health have officially declared the end of the ninth outbreak of Ebola in the DRC in the capital Kinshasa.

Ebola killed more than 11,300 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone by the time this devastating epidemic, which began in 2014, was brought to an end two years later. In contrast, the Ebola outbreak in the DRC infected 38 people, caused 29 deaths, and was stopped in fewer than four months.



Michael Ryan, WHO's assistant director-general of emergency preparedness and response, was part of the large team of health specialists working on the strategic response plan in DRC. He said the Ebola outbreak in West Africa quickly spiraled out of control because of delays in detecting the event and getting a full-scale operation under way to combat the virus.



"In this case in Congo," he told VOA, "what we had was very, very, very effective early containment measures and then an effective scale-up of both national and international partners working together. So, that is the difference for me. I know it sounds extremely simplistic. But, in many of these situations, it is the simple things that make the difference. Speed and coherence."



Ryan said it is too early to suggest the vaccine used in the operation has played a significant role in stopping the epidemic. He believes the rapid identification of cases and contacts, as well as contact tracing and follow-up, were probably the major factors in containing the disease.



He noted, however, the presence of the vaccine has provided the affected communities with an element of hope that they could survive this fatal disease.



"The aim of vaccination is to protect those people who potentially are being exposed," he said, "But, the fact that you are bringing something that can help protect people  it just introduces that element of hope, rather than hopelessness."



Ryan warned the Ebola virus could re-emerge, so extensive follow-up measures are necessary. He said intensive surveillance is continuing and that much hard work lies ahead to strengthen the health system, so it can rapidly detect and respond to future outbreaks.
Hundreds of migrant children, mostly from violence-plagued Central American countries, remain separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border, as American officials face a court-ordered Thursday deadline to reunite them.

U.S. officials and lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union are appearing again Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw in San Diego, California, to update him on progress in carrying out his order to return 2,551 children to their parents who were separated weeks ago as they crossed illegally into the United States. They were detained as part of President Donald Trump's "zero tolerance" policy to stop illegal migration into the U.S. at the Mexican border.

After an international outcry, Trump halted the breakup of families, most of them from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. "It's about keeping families together while ensuring we have a powerful border," Trump said at the time.

But Trump's order ending the separation of children from their parents left government officials unprepared to deal with the reunification of families where children had already been split from their parents. In a report to Sabraw on Monday, the U.S. said it has reunited 1,187 children with their families or other relatives.

But U.S. officials said 463 parents of children aged five and older are not in the United States anymore, an indication they may have already been deported without their children. The government said the number is being reviewed but has maintained that those deported willingly left without their children. However, immigrant activists have questioned whether those leaving the United States fully understood what they were agreeing to.

In all, the government says 879 families have been reunited, many of them held at detention centers and shelters around the U.S. while they await their credible fear interviews.

If they pass the interview, then most will pay bonds and be released into the United States with electronic monitoring devices on the promise to appear at future immigration court hearings. This is standard legal proceeding for asylum claims for those who did not enter the country at a port of entry.



If an immigrant entered the United States through a port of entry, they are then classified as "arriving aliens" and are not bondable by a judge- only Immigration and Customs Enforcement can set a bond or parole them.

Another 538 parents are in government custody and cleared for reunification with their children but are awaiting transportation.

Of the 2,551 separated children, 1,634 have been cleared for potential reunification, with nearly 200 ineligible for one reason or another. About 260 cases are under review. More than 460 are believed to have left the U.S.

Of the parents still in the U.S., about 900 are facing deportation. But Sabraw has temporarily blocked sending them back to their homelands as he weighs whether to give them time to consider their options once they have been reunited with their children.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a $205 million loan to Uganda during a visit to the country, the second stop in his tour of Africa ahead of this weeks summit of the BRICS emerging economies.

The money will be used to expand Ugandas electricity grid and to promote agriculture and dairy farming, the governments said in a joint statement after signing bilateral agreements.

Ugandas government depends heavily on outside money, especially loans from Chinese banks, to implement increasingly ambitious infrastructure projects.

Modi first stopped in Rwanda, where he signed bilateral agreements and visited a model farm to which he donated 200 cows.

In Uganda he met with the Indian community and will address the national assembly on Wednesday. He also will participate in a Uganda-India business summit. Modi then goes to South Africa for the BRICS summit.

Uganda has a substantial Indian community, including a group of industrialists who have flourished in the years since they returned to claim assets that had been seized during the reign of dictator Idi Amin.

In 1972 Amin ordered the expulsion of Asians, many of them Indian traders, from the East African country, saying he wanted to put the economy back in the hands of local people. Most of the seized property has since been handed back to the original owners under the government of current President Yoweri Museveni.

Businessmen of Indian origin have invested heavily in Ugandas manufacturing, agricultural processing and pharmaceutical sectors.

Members of Ugandas Indian community have said they want to be recognized by the countrys constitution as a tribe, something neighboring Kenya achieved last year.

India has been trying to build trade relationships in Africa. In 2015 Modi invited African leaders to New Delhi for an India-Africa summit that was the biggest of its kind.
Israeli officials speaking to a U.S. conference of pro-Israel Christian activists have vowed to keep pressuring Iran to stop perceived human rights abuses and to withdraw military forces from Syria.

The tough stances of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, drew cheers and applause from the thousands of evangelical Christians attending Mondays gathering in Washington.

The two-day event that ends Tuesday is the 13th annual conference of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), which calls itself the largest pro-Israel U.S. advocacy group with millions of supporters.

Speaking to attendees via satellite, Netanyahu addressed one of their concerns  the fate of the Middle Easts minority Christians, who have been fleeing the region in recent years to escape violence and harassment.

Netanyahu said Christians have been brutally persecuted in Iran. Christians are a recognized religious minority under Irans Islamist constitution. But, the U.S. State Departments latest report on International Religious Freedom said Iran has restricted various Christian practices and sentenced several Christian converts to 10 years in prison for their religious activities.

Let me say clearly: Israel stands in complete solidarity with persecuted Christians in Iran, Netanyahu said. And I ask: Why are so many people silent as Christians are jailed  in Iran? Well, I can say this: We in Israel will not be silent, and I will continue to raise the plight of the long-suffering Iranian people  Christians, Bahais, students and journalists.

Israeli Ambassador Dermer told the conference that Israel also will increase pressure on Iran to back down from its nuclear ambitions and involvement in regional conflicts.

For our part, Israel will continue to confront Iran, Dermer said. We will act to prevent Iran from establishing military bases in Syria, from transferring game changing weapons to Hezbollah and from manufacturing precision guided weapons in either Syria or Lebanon.

CUFIs founder and chairman Pastor John Hagee, who leads a megachurch in San Antonio, Texas, said his followers will urge the administration of President Donald Trump and U.S. lawmakers to support the Israeli strategy of confronting Iran.

Hagee also had a message for Iranians. To the young people of Iran, who are protesting its rogue regime and its practices, CUFI stands with you tonight, he said. You deserve a bright and predictable future, you deserve fair and free elections, and you deserve better than the iron-fisted dictators that have enslaved your nation. Previous administrations have not heard you. We hear you, loud and clear.

Representing the Trump administration at the conference, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley drew the loudest cheers of the evening for her record of defending Israel from its many critics at the world body.

Our demand for fairness for Israel is actually a demand for peace, Haley said. The U.N.s bias against Israel has long undermined peace by encouraging an illusion that Israel will just go away. Israel is not going to go away. When the world recognizes that, then peace becomes possible. It becomes possible because all sides will be dealing with realities, not fantasies.

Haley did not mention Iran by name in her speech, but the Islamic republic is the only nation whose leaders repeatedly have called for and predicted Israels downfall.

This report was produced in collaboration with VOAs Persian Service.
The Israeli military said it shot down a Syrian warplane Tuesday after it entered Israeli airspace.

Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said the Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet approached Israel at a "relatively high speed" before the Israeli military fired two Patriot interceptor missiles at the jet after it entered Israeli territory.

Syrian state media reported, however, the warplane was fired on as it participated in operations against rebels in Syrian territory.

"The Israeli enemy confirms its support for the armed terrorist groups and targets one of our warplanes, which was striking their groups in the area of Saida on the edge of the Yarmouk Basin in Syrian airspace," the official Syrian Arab News Agency quoted a military source as saying.

Lt. Col. Conricus said the plane "most likely" crashed in the southern part of the Golan Heights. It was not known if the plane intentionally entered Israeli airspace. He also said the pilot's fate was unknown.

Conricus said heightened activity near Israel's frontier with Syria put the military on "elevated alert." The increased activity has prompted Israel to issue a series of warnings to ensure the 1974 disengagement agreement between the two countries, which established a demilitarized buffer zone along the Golan Heights frontier, is enforced.

Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967. The U.N. deployed a peacekeeping force there two years later.




Lawyers for an Ecuadorean immigrant who was detained while delivering pizza to a Brooklyn Army installation will ask a federal judge to stop his deportation.

A hearing is scheduled Tuesday afternoon in the case of Pablo Villavicencio.



Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a statement saying the federal government has "cruelly" kept Villavicencio from his wife and two young daughters "for no legitimate reason."



Villavicencio was detained on June 1 after a routine background check revealed an arrest warrant for immigration law violations.



Immigration and Customs Enforcement says an immigration judge granted Villavicencio voluntary departure in March 2010 but he failed to leave as ordered.



The U.S. District Court judge already temporarily blocked his deportation but he has remained in ICE custody in New Jersey.
A U.S. missionary will spend 23 years in prison for sexually abusing a child in Haiti.



James Arbaugh pleaded guilty in February and was sentenced by a federal judge in western Virginia Monday.



Arbaugh lived in Haiti for about 15 years as a Mennonite missionary, visiting children in small towns and villages.



He admitted inappropriately touching a 12-year-old child in 2016.



"James Arbaugh was a wolf in sheep's clothing," Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski said in a Justice Department statement on Monday. "He posed as a selfless missionary when in reality he was exploiting his position to prey on and sexually abuse vulnerable children in one of the most impoverished areas of the word."
The U.S.-based North Korea monitoring group 38 North said recent satellite images show North Korea has begun dismantling key facilities at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station on the country's northwest coast.

The satellite images show the dismantling of a rail-mounted processing building, where space launch vehicles are assembled before being moved to the launch pad, and the nearby rocket engine test stand, where liquid-fuel engines are developed for ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles, 38 North said.

38 North analyst Joseph Bermudez called the move an "important first step towards fulfilling a commitment" made by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his summit with Trump in Singapore.

Earlier Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump declared that he is "very happy" with the pace of ongoing negotiations with North Korea to end Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program, rebuffing news accounts to the contrary.

"A Rocket has not been launched by North Korea in 9 months. Likewise, no Nuclear Tests. Japan is happy, all of Asia is happy," Trump said on Twitter. "But the Fake News is saying, without ever asking me (always anonymous sources), that I am angry because it is not going fast enough. Wrong, very happy!"

A day after the summit last month Trump said in a tweet, "There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea."



But their agreement contained no details about when or how North Korea would abandon its nuclear weapons program or shut down its existing nuclear facilities.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met in Pyongyang recently with North Korean officials to try advance discussions, but there appeared to be little progress. Some diplomats say the North Koreans have canceled meetings and failed to maintain basic communications with the U.S.

As he did Monday, Trump has publicly professed satisfaction at the pace of negotiations with North Korea, saying last week there was "no rush" in completing talks with Pyongyang because U.S. and United Nations economic sanctions against North Korea remain in place.

On Monday, the U.S. State, Treasury and Homeland Security departments said, "The international community cannot let up on pressure" until North Korea ends its nuclear weapons program.

Trump said last week that U.S. relations with North Korea "are very good and the process is moving along." He said that with eventual denuclearization, there would be "big benefits and exciting future for North Korea at end of process!"

But several news outlets have reported in recent days that behind the scenes at the White House Trump has voiced his displeasure to aides at the pace of talks in pushing North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program.
Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega said he will not move up elections despite street protests that have seen more than 300 deaths in the past three months, but is open to continuing a dialogue mediated by the Roman Catholic Church.



In a recorded interview broadcast Monday by Fox News, Ortega denied that he controls paramilitary groups blamed for most of the killings. They are supported by his political opponents and foreign interests, he said.



That is counter to what international organizations and Nicaraguan human rights groups have documented. Last week, the Organization of American States adopted a resolution condemning human rights abuses committed by Nicaraguan police and armed pro-government civilians.



"We were elected by the voters," Ortega said. The next election is not scheduled until 2021. "And then we'll have to see who will be voted in for the new administration."

Ortega also denied responsibility for attacks on the Catholic Church, whose facilities and clergy have faced a number of aggressions in recent weeks.



Last week, in a speech on the anniversary of the Nicaraguan revolution, Ortega accused Catholic bishops of working with coup plotters, saying that disqualified them as mediators.



But in the interview, Ortega said, "We invite the Catholic Church to continue with the dialogue so the dialogue can grow and develop in an open manner." Nicaragua's bishops met Monday behind closed doors to discuss how to restart talks between the government and opposition.



Monday saw marches in Managua both against and in favor of the government.

It was the Day of the Student in Nicaragua, a remembrance for four students killed in Leon by the National Guard during a protest in 1959. Monday's peaceful student march ended in front of the locked gates of the private Universidad Centroamericana, one of several universities that have been closed since protests erupted in mid-April against since cancelled cuts to the country's pension system.



Angelica Mayorga, a shopkeeper, stood in front of the campus waving a Nicaraguan flag at passing traffic. In spite of the fact that in recent days Ortega's government retook control of the last student-held campus and snuffed out public displays of resistance in the city of Masaya, Mayorga said she and others will continue their public protest.



"We're going to continue forward until this student-killing dictator leaves," she said. "We want a free Nicaragua. We're not afraid."
A new book speculates about how war could begin again on the Korean peninsula. The central plot of the book talks about how renewed tensions involving North Korea and a deadly border incident could quickly escalate into nuclear war, due to political miscalculation, miscommunication and brinksmanship.



The new novel is titled, "The 2020 Commission Report on the North Korean Nuclear Attacks Against The United States," written by arms control expert Jeffrey Lewis, the director of the East Asia nonproliferation program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey in California.



It is a work of fiction that portrays what could happen if current diplomatic efforts to end the North Korean nuclear threat fail, and the U.S. resumes its maximum pressure campaign.



It really was an opportunity to explain how crisis instability might play out in the Korean Peninsula in a way that is a bit more accessible than my academic work, said Lewis.



The novel expounds on a hypothetical nuclear conflict scenario he wrote about last year in the Washington Post newspaper, and provides more fact-based background and detail to justify his assumptions. While a work of fiction, it incorporates likely actions and reactions by real leaders such as U.S. President Donald Trump, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.



Denuclearization skeptics



Lewis, like many North Korea analysts, is skeptical that Kim will unilaterally give up his nuclear and missile deterrent, despite the vague promises made at the Singapore Summit with Trump and the inter-Korean Summit with Moon. And he worries that what he sees as Washingtons unrealistic expectations for the Norths complete denuclearization will doom any hope for peaceful resolution to the threat of nuclear war.

I have long thought that it is a mistake to focus heavily on the idea of disarmament, because it is not likely to happen and it distracts us from how important it is to reduce tension, he said.



Denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang have made little progress following the Singapore Summit, although satellite images released on Monday indicate North Korea has begun dismantling key facilities used to develop engines for ballistic missiles at its Sohae Satellite Launching Station. Trump had said Kim promised to dismantle the engine-testing site at the Singapore Summit in June.

Analysts say the goodwill gesture by the North will not significantly reduce its ability to conduct future tests from other launch sites or rebuild this facility in the future.



Rational restraint



Lewiss novel presumes that diplomatic negotiations ultimately fail and the Trump administration again ramps up its military pressure tactics, including the resumption of joint military exercises with South Korea that Trump recently suspended, and flying U.S. fighter jets and bombers close to the inter-Korean border in a demonstration of military force.



In the novel, the heightened tensions caused by U.S. military pressure contribute in part to North Koreas deadly overreaction to a border incident.



What is ominous is that at the early stages of the fictional crisis, leaders in Seoul and Washington respond with what they consider is restrained and proportional deadly force to punish Pyongyangs aggression while trying not to escalate the conflict.



There is a kind of, I think, naive confidence about how easy it is to signal, when in fact we know in the real world that signals get crossed and that people misinterpret things, said Lewis.



As the plot of the novel continues, Kim Jong Un, feeling his survival threatened, ultimately retaliates with nuclear attacks, first against South Korea, and Japan to deter an invasion, then targeting the U.S. mainland with intercontinental missiles. Missile defense systems deployed in South Korea, Japan and the United States prove inadequate to stop the large number of incoming ballistic missiles.



In this nuclear war scenario the United States prevails but at the cost of millions of lives, and catastrophic destruction in Asia and the United States.



Lewiss cautionary tale is a reminder of the grave risks at stake if diplomatic talks with Pyongyang fail, and the dangerous consequences that could follow if Washington returns to military brinkmanship and threatening rhetoric in a renewed attempt to pressure North Korea to unilaterally disarm.
Several hundred people protested outside the Polish parliament on Tuesday against planned legal amendments aimed at making it easier for the ruling party to name the next Supreme Court head.

The European Union, human rights groups and opposition have all accused the government of infringing judicial independence, but the ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party says an overhaul is needed to improve the courts' efficiency and rid them of residual influence from Poland's communist past.

The upper chamber of parliament is expected to approve the amendments on Tuesday evening with President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally, then signing them into law.

However, the numbers of protesters were sharply lower than the tens of thousands who joined demonstrations last summer against the PiS government, which came to power three years ago.

This month 22 Supreme Court judges were forced into early retirement but Chief Justice Malgorzata Gersdorf has refused to go, saying her constitutional term expires in 2020. She has become a symbol of resistance to the judicial revamp.

Gersdorf accepted on Tuesday the judiciary requires "real modernization". However, she said that for almost three years it had been "subject to personnel changes aimed by the governing majority at obtaining influence over the courts' actions".

This "exceeds the borders designated in the constitution", she added in a statement in which we thanked the protestors.

Since the PiS won power in 2015, dozens of judges have been dismissed from the Constitutional Tribunal, the National Judiciary Council - which decides judicial appointments - and now the Supreme Court.

New appointments have been made using procedures giving parliament, where the PiS holds a majority, more say over the courts and the government more control over judges.

The European Commission is running an unprecedented rule of law investigation and has opened several separate legal cases against Poland, the largest former communist EU state, including over the Supreme Court.

Warsaw risks losing billions of euros in European aid if it is found to be subverting the rule of law.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said last week Gersdorf had to be replaced quickly to avoid legal chaos and that Poland would not heed demands by Brussels to reverse its judicial laws.

At Tuesday's rally, some protesters drew pavement pictures of a duck, the nickname of PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski. Police officers asked them to produce their identity documents, writing down the details.
In the pre-Internet era, spies faced more challenges than now when trying to infiltrate Western political circles in order to gather information, identify potential recruits, enlist the assistance of sympathizers and mount active operations, like meddling in a foreign countrys election.

Now they have the benefit of Facebook and LinkedIn and other social-media networking sites to expand their contacts, say former and current U.S. and British intelligence officials.

Western governments accuse Russian intelligence services of exploiting widely for propaganda purposes social media platforms, where they can plant fake news, deepen political discord in adversary states and mount influence campaigns in a bid to shape Western public opinion. But Russian spies  as opposed to trolls  are using networking sites also in highly sophisticated ways to work their way into Western political circles.

Maria Butina, the latest Russian female alleged spy who U.S. prosecutors believe they have unmasked, is an object lesson in how social media can assist covert influence operations  and not solely as propaganda platforms aimed at swaying or warping public opinion, says a U.S. counter-intelligence official who asked not to be identified for this article.

In the pre-internet era Russian influence-peddlers had to make do with trawling for "targets" at think tank and embassy events, political conferences and trade fairs. But now they can combine the physical and virtual. Butina was using old tradecraft, turning up at political events, making contacts and then befriending them on Facebook or LinkedIn and vice versa. Social media platforms are useful in mapping out friendship networks and opening doors, he adds.

Butina, 29, was charged last week with acting as an agent for the Kremlin in the United States. The Justice Department alleges she was in regular contact with Russian intelligence services. She has been indicted for conspiracy to operate on behalf of the Russian government and failing to register as a foreign agent.

She has not been formally charged with espionage  most likely as her role was not to steal state and military secrets but to insinuate her way into U.S. political circles in ways useful for Russias foreign-policy aims, including deepening partisanship in Western countries and opening up avenues of influence.

Federal prosecutors accuse Butina of conspiring with two American citizens, one of whom she cohabited with, and a top Russian official to influence U.S. policy toward Russia by infiltrating the National Rifle Association gun rights group and other conservative special interest groups potentially influential on the Trump administration.

U.S. prosecutors allege in a memorandum filed in support of a request for Butina to be held in detention while she awaits trial that the Russian gun-rights activist maintained contact information for individuals identified as employees of the Russian FSB. Additionally, prosecutors claim FBI surveillance observed Butina having a private meal with a Russian diplomat whom the U.S. government expelled in March 2018 for suspicion of being a Russian intelligence officer.

From court papers filed by U.S. prosecutors last week it remains unclear whether her operation was initiated by Russias Federal Security Service, or FSB, or whether it was conceived by her patron, Alexander Torshin, a Russian central banker, as a way to boost himself within the Kremlin administration, with the FSB only getting involved subsequently.

A former British counter-intelligence officer says thats a distinction without much meaning in a Kremlin administration seeded with so-called siloviki, Russian intelligence officers who have formally left the security agencies but are considered still active by Western intelligence officials. Many occupy high-ranking positions in the government of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, himself a former KGB officer.

Among the more traditional tradecraft techniques Butina allegedly used was offering sex to cozy up to U.S. politicians and lobbyists; in one case, according to U.S. prosecutors, to try to secure a job with an American special interest organization she had targeted. She lived with a Republican political operative twice her age. He has been identified in U.S. media as lobbyist Paul Erickson. She chafed, though, at the cohabitation, and, according to prosecutors she treated the relationship as simply a necessary aspect of her activities.

Butina has pled not guilty. Her lawyer, Robert Driscoll, says all she was doing was trying to help improve relations between the United States and Vladimir Putins Russia. And he denies shes a spy, telling CNN Friday that much of the case against her was taken completely out of context.

Butina, who came to the United States in 2014 on a student visa, founded a pro-gun group in Russia called Right to Bear Arms and used gun activism in what U.S. prosecutors allege was a calculated, patient plan directed by Torshin to infiltrate the NRA and conservative special interest groups to make inroads into American political circles. Social media platforms were highly useful in the endeavor as she cut a swathe through U.S. conservative politics, boasting on her Facebook page of meetings with, among others, former Republican presidential candidates Rick Santorum and Scott Walker, the current Wisconsin governor.

In one e-mail to Butina, disclosed in court papers, Torshin praised her efforts, comparing them to Kremlin agent Anna Chapman, another flame-haired Russian who gained international notoriety after her 2010 arrest in the United States. Chapman and a handful of other Russians were deported to Russia in July 2010, as part of a prisoner exchange. You have upstaged Anna Chapman, Torshin declared.

Journalist Michael Isikoff at Yahoo News had a front seat view of Butinas methods. He co-authored with David Corn the book Russian Roulette: The Inside Story Of Putin's War On America And The Election Of Donald Trump and had been tracking Butinas activities.

He said she and Torshin had been making efforts to influence American conservative political organizations. He told the American public broadcaster NPR in an interview:

As we reported in the book  David Corn and I  there's a Republican lobbyist who remembers being approached by her at a CPAC conference  Conservative Political Action Conference  and just being struck by how solicitous she was, how she wanted to stay in touch with him and become his Facebook friend. And this is a somewhat elderly gentleman, balding, wasn't used to this kind of attention from a young, attractive Russian woman.

Hiding in plain sight on the internet, using overtly social media networking platforms holds risks, too. Being active on Facebook increases the chance of exposure, prompting the attention of counter-intelligence watchers, as well as journalists. In an e-mail exchange with VOA, Isikoff noted, he friended her [on Facebook] in order to get in touch so I could interview her.

And a U.S. counter-intelligence official says Butina drew attention to herself as much by her social media activity as her physical activities. So much so that she was called to testify earlier this year by the Senate Intelligence Committee, during which, according to CNN she disclosed her gun activism received funding from Russian billionaire Konstantin Nikolaev, another Kremlin-tied oligarch.

The Butina case is adding to an unfolding picture of a sophisticated and disruptive covert Russian influence campaign in the United States and the West, with the Kremlin targeting both sides of the political spectrum, say Western officials. In Soviet times, Moscow focused on far-left parties and nuclear-disarmament groups, but as a 2014 report by the Budapest-based think tank Political Capital noted, the Kremlin in recent years has become more sophisticated, courting overtly and covertly groups on the populist right of the Western political spectrum as well as the left.

The politically ambidextrous nature now of Russian intelligence and influence campaigns was dramatically captured during the 10th anniversary celebrations of the Kremlin-funded RT broadcaster in December 2015, when Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein was an invitee to a gala dinner. She sat at the same table as President Putin  along with Gen. Mike Flynn, who served briefly as President Donald Trumps national security adviser, before pleading guilty to lying to the FBI about contacts he had with Russian officials during Trump's presidential transition.
LONDON  Before the Internet, being a spy was more challenging.

Now, spies have Facebook and LinkedIn and other social-media networking sites to expand their contacts, say former and current U.S. and British intelligence officials. And younger spies may be more skilled using social media to do their jobs.

Western governments accuse Russian intelligence services of exploiting social media platforms as propaganda, where they can plant fake news, deepen political discord and try to influence Western public opinion. But Russian spies  as opposed to trolls  also use networking sites in highly sophisticated ways to work their way into Western political circles.

FILE - Maria Butina speaks at a rally in support of legalizing the possession of handguns, in Moscow, Russia, April 21, 2013.

The case of Maria Butina -- who came to the United States in 2014 on a student visa and whom U.S. prosecutors allege is a Russian female spy -- shows how social media can assist covert influence operations, says a U.S. counter-intelligence official who asked not to be identified for this article.

Butina was using old tradecraft, turning up at political events, making contacts," the official said, "and then befriending them on Facebook or LinkedIn and vice versa. Social media platforms are useful in mapping out friendship networks and opening doors.

This courtroom sketch depicts Maria Butina, in orange suit, a 29-year-old gun-rights activist suspected of being a covert Russian agent, listening to her attorney Robert Driscoll, standing, as he speaks to Judge Deborah Robinson, left.

Butina, 29 and a recent graduate at American University in Washington where she attended the School of International Service, was charged last week with acting as an agent for the Kremlin in the United States. The Justice Department alleges she was in regular contact with Russian intelligence services. She has been indicted for conspiracy to operate on behalf of the Russian government and failing to register as a foreign agent.

She has not been formally charged with espionage, which would indicate stealing state and military secrets. Experts see her focused on getting into U.S. political circles in ways that would be useful for Russias foreign policy, including further seeding division between political parties in Western countries, and opening avenues of influence.

Federal prosecutors accuse Butina of conspiring with two American citizens, one with whom she cohabited, and the other a top Russian official. They are accused of trying influence U.S. policy more favorably toward Russia by infiltrating the National Rifle Association gun rights group and other conservative special interest groups that could be influential with the Trump administration.

FILE - Public figure Maria Butina (R) attends a meeting of a group of experts, affiliated to the government of Russia, in this undated handout photo obtained by Reuters on July 17, 2018.

U.S. prosecutors allege in a memorandum filed in support of a request for Butina to be held in detention while she awaits trial. The memorandum says that the Russian gun-rights activist maintained contact information for individuals identified as employees of the Russian FSB, or Russian Federal Security Service.

Additionally, prosecutors claim FBI surveillance observed Butina having a private meal with a Russian diplomat whom the U.S. government expelled in March 2018 for suspicion of being a Russian intelligence officer.

From court papers filed by U.S. prosecutors last week it remains unclear whether her operation was initiated by Russias FSB, or whether it was conceived by her patron, Alexander Torshin, a Russian central banker, as a way to boost himself within the Kremlin administration.

Court papers unsealed Monday, July 16, 2018, photographed in Washington, shows part of the criminal complaint against Maria Butina.

Many Russian intelligence officers occupy high-ranking positions in the government of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, himself a former KGB officer.

Among the more traditional techniques Butina allegedly used was offering sex to cozy up to U.S. politicians and lobbyists; in one case, according to U.S. prosecutors, to try to secure a job with an American special interest organization she had targeted. She lived with a Republican political operative twice her age. He has been identified in U.S. media as lobbyist Paul Erickson. She chafed, though, at the cohabitation, and, according to prosecutors she treated the relationship as simply a necessary aspect of her activities.

Posts are seen on Maria Butina's Twitter page. Butina has been arrested on charges of conspiring to act as an agent of the Russian government in the U.S. without notifying the attorney general.

Butina has pled not guilty. Her lawyer, Robert Driscoll, says she was only trying to help improve relations between the United States and Vladimir Putins Russia. He denies shes a spy, telling CNN Friday that much of the case against her was taken completely out of context.

Butina founded a pro-gun group in Russia called Right to Bear Arms and used gun activism in what U.S. prosecutors allege was a calculated, patient plan directed by Torshin to infiltrate the NRA and conservative special interest groups.

Social media platforms were highly useful as she cut a swathe through U.S. conservative politics, boasting on her Facebook page of meetings with, among others, former Republican presidential candidates Rick Santorum and Scott Walker, the current Wisconsin governor.

In one e-mail to Butina, disclosed in court papers, Torshin praised her efforts, comparing them to Kremlin agent Anna Chapman, another flame-haired Russian who gained international notoriety after her 2010 arrest in the United States. Chapman and a handful of other Russians were deported to Russia in July 2010, as part of a prisoner exchange.

You have upstaged Anna Chapman, Torshin declared.

Journalist Michael Isikoff at Yahoo! News had a front seat view to Butinas methods. With co-author David Corn, he published Russian Roulette: The Inside Story Of Putin's War On America And The Election Of Donald Trump and had been tracking Butinas activities.

He said she and Torshin had been working to influence American conservative political organizations. He told the American public broadcaster NPR in an interview:

As we reported in the book  David Corn and I  there's a Republican lobbyist who remembers being approached by her at a CPAC conference  Conservative Political Action Conference  and just being struck by how solicitous she was, how she wanted to stay in touch with him and become his Facebook friend.

"And this is a somewhat elderly gentleman, balding, wasn't used to this kind of attention from a young, attractive Russian woman.

Hiding in plain sight on the Internet holds risks, too. Being active on Facebook increases the chance of exposure, prompting the attention of counter-intelligence watchers, as well as journalists. In an e-mail exchange with VOA, Isikoff noted, he friended her [on Facebook] in order to get in touch so I could interview her.

And a U.S. counter-intelligence official says Butina drew attention to herself on social media as much as her personal activities. She was called to testify earlier this year by the Senate Intelligence Committee, during which, according to CNN, she disclosed that her gun activism received funding from Russian billionaire Konstantin Nikolaev, another Kremlin-tied oligarch.
The White House is turning up the pressure on Senate Democrats to meet with President Donald Trumps Supreme Court nominee, though with little success.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh has met with 23 senators, all of them Republicans, since his nomination two weeks ago. Democratic lawmakers have been pushing for more information before holding any one-on-one meetings with the 53-year-old nominee.

Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that before hell meet with Kavanaugh, Republican leadership needs to agree to make available documents from his work in President George W. Bushs administration, his writings and draft writings, and everything that is conceivably relevant to his professional work prior to the bench.

Its a threshold, absolute condition, Blumenthal told reporters in a conference call.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders began Mondays press briefing by criticizing Democratic senators  particularly Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.  for not meeting with Kavanaugh.

For members of the opposing party to demand answers to questions and yet refuse to even meet with the qualified Supreme Court nominee is unprecedented, Sanders said. Sen. Schumer should stop these political games and meet with Judge Kavanaugh.

The meetings are a precursor to a confirmation hearing and a final Senate vote, which Republicans want to occur before Oct. 1. Democrats have called for no vote before the November midterm elections.

Democrats are demanding access to paperwork from Kavanaughs tenure as staff secretary in Bushs White House, on the 2000 election presidential recount and on special counsel Kenneth Starrs probe of President Bill Clinton. The tally could stretch at least 1 million pages. The paper chase has become a game of high-stakes political strategy.

Recent Supreme Court confirmations have generated massive record searches: 173,000 pages of documents for the confirmation of Elena Kagan in 2010 and 182,000 pages for the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch last year. Republicans want to work out an agreement that is in keeping with that history, but Democrats are signaling they have a broader search in mind.

Blumenthal said he was only speaking for himself, but he wants to see any documents with (Kavanaughs) name on them, whether he is a direct recipient or a sender or he is copied, because all of them are relevant to questions that we may have.

Avoiding Kavanaugh could be politically risky for Democrats in conservative-leaning states. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is scheduled to meet with Kavanaugh next Monday, while the office of Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., is working with the White House to set up a meeting, but it has not been scheduled yet.

A Senate Democratic leadership aide said Schumer is fine with some Democrats meeting with Kavanaugh, but he wont unless there is progress in releasing documents. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a private conversation.

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the No. 2 Republican in the chamber, said half of the Democratic lawmakers have already signaled theyll vote against Kavanaughs confirmation. He said some of the demands for documents are a stalling tactic, but that wont keep the Senate from voting.

Instead of chasing after irrelevant records from the Bush White House, I would urge our colleagues to read Judge Kavanaughs opinions and meet with the judge and get to know him, Cornyn said.

Cornyn warned that if the nomination process continues after the Supreme Court begins its next term in October, then the Senate will remain in session until the midterm elections on Nov. 6.

That would mean Democratic senators would be in Washington for the weeks leading up to the election, historically a time when lawmakers have the flexibility to spend time on the campaign trail. That scenario could be problematic for senators seeking re-election in states that Trump won in 2016.

We will vote on his nomination before the midterm election, Cornyn said.

Kavanaugh had no meetings lined up with lawmakers Monday but will resume making the rounds on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
A court in Senegal has found former Chadian president Hissene Habre guilty of crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture and sentenced him to life in prison. Rights groups are hailing the landmark verdict as a strong warning to leaders who brutalize their citizens.



Guilty. That was the verdict announced by head judge Gberdao Gustave Kam of Burkina Faso.



The court found Habre to have been directly involved in ordering detentions, executions, systematic torture and other abuses against people identified as opponents of his regime.



Judge Kam said Habre presided over eight years of "uninterrupted" repression. Rights groups say Habre was responsible for over 40,000 killings.



'Impunity and terror'



During sentencing, Judge Kam said Habre "created and maintained a system where impunity and terror were law. He was at the head of a regime of generalized suspicion, so paranoid that he himself turned against his own agents."



Victims of Habre's regime and relatives of victims in the courtroom Monday wept and cheered after Habre was sentenced to life in prison.



"It is by the grace of God that we won," said one woman. Her husband, a civil servant under Habre, was detained and tortured. He died before the trial.



She said, "I cannot find the words. I am very moved. A lion, a man who took himself for God on the Earth, has been brought down."



Habre said nothing. He joined his hands in a fist and waved at supporters as he was escorted from the court.



Habre had refused to stand or acknowledge the judge throughout the trial, his eyes hidden behind sunglasses, his head and face wrapped in a white scarf.



He had to be forcibly brought into the court last June when the trial began. He and his lawyers refused to participate, and the trial was briefly suspended while court-appointed attorneys prepared his defense.



Habre fled to Senegal in 1990 after he was ousted in a coup.



Long, sordid history



The case against him has been over 20 years in the making. The Extraordinary African Chambers is an African Union tribunal created in 2013 within Senegal's justice system and funded by the international community.



More than 4,500 victims were registered as civil parties in the case. Chadian lawyer Jacqueline Moudeina, lead counsel for the victims, said, "today marks the end of the victims' relentless search for justice."

She said "it is a great joy for the victims and for Africa because we are sending a strong message to tyrants all over the world."



Among those who testified were 69 survivors of detention and abuses, including a woman whom Habre was found guilty of raping four times.



Habre's lawyers have 15 days to appeal the verdict.



Alpha Jallow contributed reporting from Dakar.

A photogallery of Habres victims and those bringing him to justice:
Somali soldiers repelled an attack by al-Shabab militants on a military base in the Lower Juba region Monday, though the militants temporarily seized a section of the camp, according to the government.

"Al-Shabab took control of a section of the camp," said Acting Information Minister Adan Isaac Ali, who spoke on government-owned television. "We sent more troops from the surrounding areas to support others in the camp, and they were successful in repulsing the al-Shabab attack.

"We have lost six fighters  our forces were successful in defeating al-Shabab in this operation, and we have killed 87 militants."

Somali military officials said the militants first attacked the camp with two vehicles full of explosives, then followed with gunfire. The officials say the first explosion killed five soldiers.

Al-Shabab spokesman Abdiaziz Abu Mus'ab said the militants overran the camp.

"In a fight that did not last long between our fighters and military forces, the government forces abandoned and fled the base after the attack and our fighters took control of the camp. We took all the weapons in the camp. We killed 27 soldiers," Mus'ab said.

In June, al-Shabab attacked the same camp with mortars, killing an American soldier. The U.S. has a small contingent of military personnel in Somalia assisting the army.

Security expert Richard Tuta says al-Shabab will sacrifice everything to attack a military base.

"They are signaling to the military guys, 'Look we have the capacity, and we can come for you,' ... even if its suicidal for them," Tuta said. "Sometimes even after the attack, they end up having more casualties than even the military installations itself, but the fact that they can attack, to them is a score."

Al-Shabab has battled the internationally recognized government for more than a decade in its effort to enforce a strict version of Islam in Somalia.
South Korea is considering withdrawing some forces from the demilitarized zone separating it from North Korea in the first step towards transforming the area into a "peace zone."

The defense ministry issued a report to lawmakers Tuesday saying it will remove some soldiers and equipment from border guard posts on a trial basis, before gradually withdrawing all forces in stages from the DMZ.

The military's plans are part of an agreement reached between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their summit in April in Panmunjon. The two leaders agreed to cease all hostile acts and turn the demilitarized zone into a peace zone.

The defense ministry also informed lawmakers it would seek a joint program with the North and the United States to unearth the remains of war dead buried in the buffer zone.

The demilitarized zone was created as part of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War that split the communist-held North and democratic South, although the two sides are still technically in a state of war.
The U.N. Human Rights Office is warning about rising tensions as presidential and parliamentary elections draw near in Zimbabwe. The OHCHR is also appealing to the government and all political parties to ensure that elections are peaceful.



July 30th will mark the first elections in Zimbabwe since former president Robert Mugabe was forced to resign last November after 37 years in power. State-sponsored violence that usually characterized elections during the Mugabe years has been notably absent during the current pre-election campaign.



U.N. Human Rights Office spokeswoman Liz Throssel says it is encouraging to see political rallies and peaceful demonstrations in the capital, Harare, and the cautious optimism expressed by civil society.



"We remain concerned however at the increasing number of reports, particularly in some rural areas, of voter intimidation, threats of violence, harassment and coercion, including people being forced to attend political rallies," she added.



Zimbabwe's constitution reserves 60 seats for women in the 270-member parliament. Despite the legally-enforced quota system, Throssel said women political candidates are being met with resistance and hostility and are subjected to disparaging language.



"Now, the kind of disparaging language is really not going to come to any surprise," she told VOA. "It is targeting them on the basis of them being women, calling them bra-burning feminists, calling them sort-of sub-standard candidates, attacking them personally."



The constitutional quota system, which is set to expire before the 2023 elections is creating uncertainty about the future participation of women in politics.



U.N. Human Rights Officials say violence and other forms of intimidation must not be allowed to mar what could and should be a credible election process, free of fear for all Zimbabweans.
President Donald Trump has praised recent satellite images showing North Korea beginning the process of dismantling key facilities at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station on the country's northwest coast.

"We appreciated that," Trump said on Tuesday after the U.S.-based North Korea monitoring group 38 North first reported the images.

They show the dismantling of a rail-mounted processing building, where space launch vehicles are assembled before being moved to the launch pad, and the nearby rocket engine test stand, where liquid-fuel engines are developed for ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles, 38 North said.

At a press conference in California, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the activities are entirely consistent with the commitment made by North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un at the Singapore summit where Kim and Trump met in June.

We've been pressing for there to be inspectors on the ground when that engine test facility is dismantled," said Pompeo after meeting with his Australian counterparts on Tuesday.

"They need to completely, fully denuclearize. That's the steps that Chairman Kim [is] committed to and the world has demanded through U.N. Security Council resolution, Pompeo added.

On Capitol Hill, Democrat Chris Coons, who is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was cautiously optimistic.

"This is the first sign that there may be some movement by the North Korean regime in the direction of meeting the commitments that were made," Coons said. "It would be more encouraging to me if we saw the return of the remains of Americans killed in action during the Korean War. It would be even more encouraging if there were some detailed plan discussed about how irreversible and verifiable denuclearization might happen, but this is an encouraging first step."

38 North analyst Joseph Bermudez called the move an "important first step towards fulfilling a commitment" made by Kim during the Singapore summit.

"We had a fantastic meeting with Chairman Kim, and it seems to be going very well," Trump said Tuesday.

A day after the summit last month, Trump said in a tweet, "There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea."

But their agreement contained no details about when or how North Korea would abandon its nuclear weapons program or shut down its existing nuclear facilities. Pompeo met in Pyongyang recently with North Korean officials to try to advance discussions, but there appeared to be little progress. Some diplomats say the North Koreans have canceled meetings and failed to maintain basic communications with the U.S.

Trump has publicly professed satisfaction at the pace of negotiations with North Korea, saying last week there was "no rush" in completing talks with Pyongyang because U.S. and United Nations economic sanctions against North Korea remain in place.

On Monday, the U.S. State, Treasury and Homeland Security departments said, "The international community cannot let up on pressure" until North Korea ends its nuclear weapons program.

Trump said last week that U.S. relations with North Korea "are very good, and the process is moving along." He said that with eventual denuclearization, there would be "big benefits and exciting future for North Korea at end of process!"

But several news outlets have reported in recent days that behind the scenes at the White House, Trump has voiced his displeasure to aides at the pace of talks in pushing North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program.
U.S. President Donald Trump spoke warmly of Mexico's incoming leftist president on Monday, saying he expected to get "something worked out" on NAFTA, while a top Mexican official said there was scope to revive the trade talks this week.

"We're talking to Mexico on NAFTA, and I think we're going to have something worked out. The new president, terrific person," Trump said in a speech at the White House about American manufacturing.

"We're talking to them about doing something very dramatic, very positive for both countries, he said, without giving more details.

Talks to reshape the 1994 trade accord have been underway since last August. But they stalled in the run-up to the July 1 presidential election in Mexico, which produced a landslide victory for veteran leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

The United States, Mexico and Canada have been at odds over U.S. demands to impose tougher content rules for the auto industry, as well as several other proposals, including one that would kill NAFTA after five years if it is not renegotiated.

Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo, who last week expressed hope an agreement in principle on NAFTA could be reached by the end of August, is due to hold talks with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer at the end of the week in Washington.

He will be accompanied by Jesus Seade, the designated chief NAFTA negotiator of the incoming Mexican administration.

"There's clearly a window of opportunity to be able to bed down a series of open issues which are not numerous, but are very complex," Guajardo said on the sidelines of a summit of the Pacific Alliance trade bloc in the western coastal city of Puerto Vallarta.

Guajardo is due to meet his Canadian counterpart Chrystia Freeland on Wednesday, also to discuss NAFTA.

After the election, top officials from both the outgoing and new Mexican governments met in Mexico City with senior Trump administration officials led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Seade said the visit had sent out "excellent" signals.

"We hope these signals translate into a willingness to move forward," Seade told reporters in Puerto Vallarta.

The talks have been clouded by tit-for-tat measures over trade after the Trump administration slapped tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum imports.

The United States is also exploring the possibility of imposing tariffs on auto imports, though Guajardo said it was too early to speculate on how that would play out.

Mexico's foreign ministry said on Monday that South Korea had initiated the process of seeking associate membership in the Pacific Alliance, which comprises Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Peru and is seeking to deepen free trade.

Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Canada were last year admitted as associate members by the alliance. For Mexico, the expansion is part of a push to diversify its trading partners in the wake of Trump's previous threats to pull out of NAFTA.

Guajardo indicated that despite his optimism about reaching a deal, risks still exist.

"The biggest risk is that instead of moving forward with an agenda of opening and integration, we move backwards, closing our economy and really undoing what we've built in the last two and a half decades," Guajardo said.
Checking out a speedboat, a fighter jet and a giant industrial magnet parked on the White House driveway, President Donald Trump showcased an array of "Made in America" products Monday as his administration pushes back aggressively against critics who say his punishing tariffs on imported goods threaten to harm the U.S. economy.

Trump's event with a smorgasbord of American goods came at the start of a week in which trade discussions are expected to dominate, including talks with European officials and a trip to Illinois in which the president is planning to visit a community helped along by his steel tariffs.

Trump has vowed to force international trading partners to bend to his will as he seeks to renegotiate a series of trade deals he has long argued hurt American workers. But as he deepens the U.S. involvement in trade fights, it raises questions on whether American consumers will feel the pain of retaliatory tariffs  and whether the president will incur a political price for his nationalistic trade policies in the 2018 midterm elections.

"Our leaders in Washington did nothing, they did nothing. They let our factories leave, they let our people lose their jobs," Trump said at the White House. "That's not free trade, that's fool's trade, that's stupid trade and we don't do that kind of trade anymore."

Trump noted that he would be meeting Wednesday with European officials, including European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. The U.S. and European allies have been at odds over the president's tariffs on steel imports and are meeting as the dispute threatens to spread to the lucrative automobile business. "Maybe we can work something out," he said.

On Thursday, the president will visit Granite City, Illinois, the home of a U.S. Steel Corp. mill that has reopened after he imposed tariffs on steel imports.

On the South Lawn, the president walked among a number of products manufactured across the nation, including a Lockheed Martin F-35 aircraft from Maryland, a Ford F-150 pickup truck from Michigan, a Newmar recreational vehicle from Indiana and a Ranger speedboat from Arkansas.

National security

Trump has already put taxes on imported steel and aluminum, saying they pose a threat to U.S. national security, an argument that enrages staunch U.S. allies such as the European Union and Canada.

He's threatening to use the national security justification again to slap tariffs on imported cars, trucks and auto parts, potentially targeting imports that last year totaled $335 billion.

And he's already imposed tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese imports in a separate dispute over Beijing's high-tech industrial policies. He has threatened to ratchet that up past $500 billion.

"He likes tariffs," said William Reinsch, a former U.S. trade official under President Bill Clinton now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "His preferred remedy is always tariffs, whether it makes any sense or not."

"It's a policy of victimization: 'Other people have been taking advantage of the United States for years. ... Now they have to pay,"' Reinsch said, echoing the president's argument.

Trade analysts say the United States has not pursued such aggressive trade policies in decades.

"I can't think of another time when you had as many battles and, particularly, as many battles with no resolution in sight," said Edward Alden, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Trade war

In 1971, President Richard Nixon imposed a broad 10 percent import tax for four months to pressure Japan and European countries to drive up the value of their currencies. The idea: provide relief to American exporters, who were being put at a price disadvantage by a strong dollar.

In 1930, the U.S. raised tariffs dramatically to protect American industry, encouraging other countries to do the same in a global trade war that made the Great Depression worse.

Economists said the tariffs that Trump has imposed so far  and the resulting retaliation  are unlikely to do much economic damage. But things could escalate rapidly.

"If you look at what's teed up, particularly with China and with the auto tariffs, pretty soon you are talking about some pretty large numbers. Those will do some real damage," Alden said.

Oxford Economics has calculated that a full-blown U.S.-China trade war  in which each country taxes all the other's imports  would shave 1 percent off the U.S. economy and wipe out 700,000 jobs in the United States by 2020.

The Peterson Institute for International Economics has estimated that a trade war over autos could cost up to 1.2 million American jobs.

Critics said Trump's aggressive approach makes it tough for other countries to offer concessions, lest they be seen by their own people as caving in to bullying.

"The Trump administration has not left an easy path to walk away from the fights they've created," Alden said.
U.S. President Donald Trump contended on Twitter Tuesday that Russia "will be pushing very hard for the Democrats" in November's congressional elections, against his favored Republican candidates.

Trump's claim that Moscow would favor Democrats in the November 6 congressional contests  when the entire 435-member House of Representatives and a third of the Senate is up for election  is at odds with the U.S. intelligence community's conclusion that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election to help Trump win the White House.



At last week's summit in Helsinki with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump appeared to embrace the Russian leader's denial that Russia had interfered in 2016 and equated Putin's statement with the U.S. intelligence finding that it had meddled.



Back in Washington, Trump said he supported his intelligence officials and their conclusion, often coupling it with his oft-repeated statement that his campaign did not collude with the Russians and that the Russian interference had no effect on the outcome of the election.

By Sunday, however, he blamed former President Barack Obama for not stopping the Russian interference in the election, yet called it "all a big hoax."

Top U.S. intelligence officials say Russia is again attempting to interfere in the U.S. electoral process in the November voting, although Trump administration officials have vowed to try to stop it.



Republicans now hold majorities in both chambers of Congress, but U.S. political analysts say Democrats could wrest control of one or both houses, more likely the House.

Democrats need to pick up two seats to claim the Senate majority and 23 to control the House when the new Congress takes office in January.



Even with control now, Republicans have had difficulty approving Trump's legislative agenda and likely would have even more trouble should Democrats take over one or both houses.

If Democrats assume control of the House, Trump opponents could start numerous investigations of his administration and open impeachment hearings to remove him from office.



Special Counsel Robert Mueller is continuing his criminal investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election, probing whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow. Mueller recently indicted 12 Russian military intelligence officials for hacking into the computer files of Democratic operatives supporting Trump's challenger, Democrat Hillary Clinton.
When it comes to Republican politics, President Donald Trump is getting more involved in elections by endorsing candidates.



The latest example is Tuesday's Republican runoff for governor of Georgia. Trump tweeted his support last week for Georgia's secretary of state, Brian Kemp, over his opponent, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, surprising Kemp himself.



Such political maneuvering puts the president at risk of being on the losing side of a Republican race. That's where he ended up last year in Alabama's Senate race after he initially endorsed Luther Strange and then the Republican who won the GOP nomination, Roy Moore. A Democrat, Doug Jones, defeated Moore, creating a double loss for Trump.



In recent months, Trump has stitched together a winning streak in Republican races that could benefit him in November's voting.


U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Tuesday to slap tariffs on countries that don't negotiate with the United States in good faith and suggested they are a panacea to global trade issues.

"Tariffs are the greatest!," Trump wrote on Twitter. "Either a country which has treated the United States unfairly on Trade negotiates a fair deal, or it gets hit with Tariffs. Its as simple as that - and everybodys talking! Remember, we are the piggy bank thats being robbed. All will be Great!"

Hours earlier, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Europe won't cave in to Trump's threats.

"No one has an interest in having punitive tariffs, because everyone loses in the end," Maas wrote on Twitter. "Europe will not be threatened by President Trump," he added. "If we cede once, we will often have to deal with such behavior in the future."

Trumps threats of new tariffs were made hours before he departed the White House for speaking engagements at several events in Kansas City, Missouri.

Trump is due to meet in Washington Wednesday with European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, who hopes to prevent a full-blown trade war by convincing Trump to hold off on imposing punitive tariffs on European cars.

EU officials say that while EU taxes collected on auto imports are higher than those applied by the U.S., the U.S. rates for other products, including trucks, are higher. The EU maintains that cutting duties for cars can only be part of a broader trade deal.

The potential car tariffs, which would hurt Germany's thriving automobile industry, come on top of hefty tariffs that Trump has imposed on aluminum and steel imports.

The European Commission has already responded with retaliatory tariffs, but new levies on cars could prompt Europe to take further action.

House Republican leader Paul Ryan told reporters Tuesday he does not think "the tariff route is the smart way to go." Ryan, who is retiring from Congress when his term ends in January, said he understands Trump is seeking "a better deal for Americans" but added the U.S. should instead "work together to reduce trade barriers and trade restrictions between our countries."

The Trump administration is set to announce Tuesday billions of dollars in emergency aid to farmers who have been hurt by trade disputes with China, the European Union and other trade partners. The plan comes as Trump addressed the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention in Kansas City, which is located in the heart of the nation's farm country.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Tuesday ruled out his country's compliance with U.S. sanctions on Iran, a move that threatens to exacerbate tensions between the NATO allies.

"We have told them we will not join these sanctions," said Cavusoglu, referring to a meeting last Friday with senior U.S. officials in Ankara. "While we are explaining why we will not obey these sanctions, we have also expressed that we do not find these U.S. sanctions appropriate."

Ankara strongly opposes U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to impose sanctions after pulling out of an international agreement with Iran on its nuclear energy program. Stringent sanctions are to start taking effect at the end of August, with measures against Iranian energy exports beginning in November.

Energy-hungry Turkey is heavily dependent on its Iranian neighbor for oil and natural gas, while Turkish businesses are eyeing Iran as an increasingly important market.

On Friday, Marshall Billingslea, assistant secretary of the Treasury for terrorist financing, visited Ankara to meet with Turkish officials and business representatives. Billingslea described the talks as "positive" and acknowledged the difficulties faced by Turkish companies, but warned, "The Treasury sanctions will be enforced very, very aggressively and very comprehensively."

Washington says no to any waivers for countries trading with Iran, which puts it on a collision course with Ankara.

"We've seen this in the past. Turkey will not comply with U.S. sanctions. It will not stop importing Iranian gas and oil," said Sinan Ulgen, head of the Istanbul-based Edam research institution. "Maybe the Turkish banks will be more careful because of what happened to Halkbank, but that's about it."

Earlier this year, a New York court convicted a senior executive of the Turkish state-controlled Halkbank for violations of previous U.S. sanctions on Iran. Analysts suggest the conviction will result in Turkish banks being reluctant to offer services to Turkish companies operating in the Islamic Republic. The Halkbank conviction also provides Washington powerful leverage over Ankara.

"The Halkbank case is still open. The Treasury still has to decide on what kind of fine to impose," said analyst Atilla Yesilada of GlobalSource Partners. "I hear it will receive some kind of fine, from $1 billion to $10 or 11 billion. I think what kind of opinion is formed about [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan and whether he can be won back to the Western camp will affect the size of that fine."

Analysts warn that hefty fines by U.S. authorities could also hit other Turkish banks implicated in the Halkbank case.

Iran, Russia

Turkey's deepening relations with both Iran and Russia have strained ties with its Western allies. On Monday, the U.S. Congress delayed the delivery of F-35 jets to Turkey because of Ankara's plans to purchase S-400 Russian missiles.

Ankara maintains that it is committed to its strategic alliances with the West, claiming trade motivates ties with Tehran and Moscow along with the need to cooperate to resolve the Syrian civil war.

Ilnur Cevik, a senior adviser to Erdogan, penned a column Monday, citing growing concerns over Iran. Cevik accused Tehran of a lack of gratitude over Ankara's stance in breaking previous U.S.-Iranian sanctions.

"Turkish goodwill and friendship were not reciprocated by Tehran. As soon as the Iranians signed the nuclear deal with the West, they turned their backs on Ankara and started to hurt Turkish interests. Turkish companies were unable to win contracts in Iran," wrote Cevik in the Turkish Sabah newspaper.

Cevik also warned of the threat posed by Tehran. "There is also Iran displaying Persian expansionist policies throughout the Middle East," Cevik wrote.

Turkey and Iran historically are regional rivals. They back opposing sides in the Syrian war. Ankara is also privately voicing frustration over Tehran's lack of cooperation in fighting the Kurdish insurgent group, PKK.

The PKK has been waging a decades-long battle for autonomy in Turkey and has its headquarters in neighboring Iraq, close to the Iranian border. A senior Turkish official, speaking anonymously, acknowledged that an ongoing military operation to seize the PKK headquarters is undermined by Tehran's refusal to seal its border to prevent the rebels from escaping.

"Iran is definitely a regional competitor of Turkey, no doubt about that, whether it's PKK or in the case of many other points," said international relations professor Huseyin Bagci at Ankara's Middle East Technical University.

Bagci suggests Ankara could be more flexible toward Washington over Iranian sanctions if Washington changes its approach.

"America unconditionally expects from Turkey that Turkey follows the line on its sanctions. Turkey cannot do this. It is economic suicide. If Turkey would follow the America policy, America should contribute to the economic losses of Turkey," Bagci said.
Two Chinese flight attendants have been ordered to pay large fines and leave the United States for trying to smuggle protected box and spotted turtles out of the country.



Huaqian Qu and Renfeng Gao, who work for China Eastern Airlines, pleaded guilty last month.



Prosecutors had argued for 10-month prison terms. But a federal judge in Los Angeles on Monday rejected that recommendation, noting that the defendants did not commit a "violent" crime and that they have been cooperative.



They were each fined $5,500 and ordered to leave the U.S. within three days.



Agents arrested Qu and Gao in May as they attempted to smuggle 45 turtles in their luggage. Two of the reptiles died and two others were sickened by their ordeal.



Investigators suspect Qu and Gao planned to sell the turtles in China, where they are prized for their declarative spotted shells.



Spotted and box turtles are protected by an international wildlife treaty.
Taliban fighters have overrun two districts in the southeastern province of Paktika, on the border with Pakistan, officials said Tuesday as heavy fighting continued across Afghanistan.

Local officials said Taliban fighters began attacking security checkpoints and the centers of Omna and Gayan districts in Paktika on Sunday, forcing Afghan security forces in the area to pull out, leaving large quantities of weapons and equipment.

"After almost two days of heavy fighting, Taliban captured both district centers," provincial council member Fazel Rahman Katawazi said, adding that three members of the Afghan security forces were killed and a number of others injured.

The Taliban have taken a series of district centers this year, many of which have been subsequently retaken by Afghan security forces, which control areas with around two-thirds of the country's population.

On Monday, U.S. Army General John Nicholson, who commands the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan, said security had improved in 14 districts and declined in eight others this year, leaving the overall levels of government control across the country roughly stable.

In the neighboring province of Zabul, south of Paktika, 15 members of the security forces were killed and 18 others were injured after Taliban fighters stormed Atghar district, provincial council member Haji Atta Jan Haqbayan said.

The Taliban attackers were eventually pushed back as the Afghan security forces received air support, losing 25 killed and 20 wounded, he said.

Gul Islam Sial, provincial spokesman for Zabul, confirmed the attack and casualties among the Afghan security forces, but provided no more details.
The U.N. migration agency is launching an appeal for $22.2 million to provide life-saving assistance for hundreds of thousands of people displaced by communal violence in southern Ethiopia.

Fighting among local communities over pasture land and water resources along the border of Ethiopias Gedeo and West Guji regions has displaced some 970,000 people since April.

The spokesman for the International Organization for Migration, Joel Millman, said this rapid displacement has resulted in the loss of livelihood, a disruption of services and significant damage to infrastructure.

He said the agency does not have enough money to deal with a crisis of this scale. He said the appeal will assist 400,000 displaced in the Gedeo and West Guji regions over the next six months.

Millman told VOA people are living under very precarious conditions, so more than half of the $22 million appeal will be used for emergency shelters and non-food items.

People are sleeping in the open. They have a single sheet of tarpaulin, often sleeping in dirt or mud underneath them. So, shelter is, of course, of the utmost importance. It is the rainy season and people left usually carrying nothing but what they were wearing. We know they are in need of everything, he said.

Millman said people are clustering in different reception areas seeking help of every kind. He said the IOM will provide assistance to the displaced in collective sites as well as to those living in host communities.
The U.N. human rights chief sharply criticized Israel on Monday, calling recent killings by its soldiers during Palestinian demonstrations along the Gaza border fence "shocking" and saying living conditions inflicted by Israel's 11-year blockade of the territory are "grossly inadequate."

Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said in a video address to the U.N. Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People that the situation in Gaza has escalated dramatically in recent months with "the potential to generate threats to peace across a far broader region."

Zeid, who heads the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said it is essential for all parties to cooperate with the independent, international commission of inquiry into the recent deadly events in Gaza that his office is helping to establish. It was authorized by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council on May 18 "to advance accountability" for the killings and violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, he said.

Zeid said there are "serious concerns" that Israeli accountability mechanisms don't comply with international standards of "independence, impartiality and effectiveness."

"Very few investigations ever occur," he said. "In the rare cases where an investigation has led to an indictment, the sentence has been extremely lenient in light of the gravity of the crime committed."

Zeid said it is vital to address the root causes of the Gaza demonstrations, which have resulted in the deaths of over 100 Palestinians, including 17 children, and the wounding of more than 4,100 others with live ammunition since March 30.

In addition to "grossly inadequate living conditions" caused by Israel's blockade for the residents of Gaza, most of whom are refugees, restrictive measures have also been imposed by Egypt that have "exacerbated these conditions," Zeid said.

He added that the situation in Gaza may be "severely aggravated" in the coming months by the financial crisis facing the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, as a result of dramatic cuts to its budget by the Trump administration.

Zeid criticized last week's approval by Israel's parliament of a bill defining that country as the nation-state of the Jewish people. He said that it "anchors inherent discrimination against non-Jewish communities," most notably the Arab citizens of Israel and residents of occupied East Jerusalem. He warned that it "could also further inflame tensions."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the bill's passage a "historic moment in the history of Zionism and the history of the state of Israel," saying: "Israel is the nation state of the Jewish people, which honors the individual rights of all its citizens."

Zeid also criticized Israel's approval, planning and construction of settlements across with West Bank and East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as the capital of their future state.

Detentions

He called Israel's detention of hundreds of Palestinian children, some without charge, under a system of "administrative detention," a "fundamental human rights violation."

"It should be absolutely clear that international law requires detention only be used for children as a last resort," he said.

And whether for children or adults, Zeid said, detention without trial "contravenes Israel's obligations under international law."

"An estimated 440 Palestinians are being held in 'administrative detention,' according to the latest figures," he said. "Israel should immediately charge, or release, all of them."
More than 450 immigrant parents who were separated from their children when they entered the United States illegally are no longer in the country though their children remain behind, according to a joint court filing on Monday by the federal government and the American Civil Liberties Union.

The absence of the 463 parents, which U.S. government lawyers said was "under review," could impede government efforts to reunite separated families by Thursday, the deadline ordered by a federal judge. The filing did not say why the 463 parents had left the country, but government officials previously acknowledged that some parents had been deported without their children.

As of Monday, 879 parents had been reunited with their children, according to the filing.

About 2,500 children were separated from their parents after the Trump administration announced a "zero tolerance" policy in April aimed at discouraging illegal immigration. The policy was ended in June amid an international outcry about the government's treatment of immigrant children.

U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw in San Diego ordered last month that the government had to reunite the children with their parents in a case brought by the ACLU.

On Monday, the government also said 917 parents were either not eligible to be reunited or not yet known to be eligible to be reunited with their child. That number includes parents no longer in the country as well as those deemed unsuitable because of criminal convictions or for other reasons.

Immigration advocates have expressed alarm about parents deported without their children, saying it can create problems with the children's immigration cases.

"How can we go forward on a case if we don't know the parent's wishes?" Megan McKenna, spokeswoman for Kids in Need of Defense, told Reuters earlier this month.

While Monday's report indicated progress with reunifications, the ACLU made clear its frustrations with the process. The rights group said it did not have a list of parents who signed a form electing to be deported without their child.

"These parents urgently need consultations with lawyers, so that they do not mistakenly strand their children in the United States," the ACLU wrote in the court filing.

The ACLU asked Sabraw to order the government to turn the information over by the end of Tuesday.

The government said it had cleared an additional 538 parents for reunification pending transport.
A federal judge in Boston on Monday rejected a bid by the Trump administration to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that its decisions to end temporary protections for immigrants in the United States from Honduras, Haiti and El Salvador were racially motivated.

U.S. District Judge Denise Casper in Boston ruled that a group of immigrants and two organizations could move forward with a lawsuit challenging the administration's termination of the protective status enjoyed by thousands of people from those three countries.

She said the lawsuit's allegations about "statements of animus" by officials including President Donald Trump coupled with claims about a shift in policy "allege plausibly that a discriminatory purpose was a motivating factor in a decision."

The lawsuit cited statements it said showed Trump's "dislike and disregard for Latino and black immigrants," including reported remarks in January by Trump saying immigrants from Africa and Haiti come from "shithole countries."

"Plaintiffs have successfully made out their prima facie case," Casper wrote.

The U.S. Justice Department, which represented the administration in court, had no immediate comment. It had argued that the courts lack jurisdiction to review the decisions at issue.

Temporary protected status, or TPS, offers protection from deportation to immigrants already in the United States, including those who entered illegally, from countries affected by natural disasters, civil conflicts and other problems.

The Trump administration has shown a deep skepticism toward the temporary protected status program and has moved to revoke the special status afforded to thousands of immigrants from El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua and Sudan.

About 400,000 immigrants from countries designated for temporary protected status live in the United States, including 262,500 from El Salvador, 58,550 from Haiti and 86,000 from Honduras, according to the lawsuit.

In May, the Department of Homeland Security said it would end temporary protections for Hondurans in January 2020.

Haitians and Salvadorans are set to lose their special statuses in July 2019 and September 2019, respectively.

The lawsuit was filed by 14 immigrants from those three countries and two non-profit organizations, Haitian-Americans United and Centro Presente.

The complaint contends the administration's actions violate the U.S. Constitution's equal protection and due process provisions.

"The judge in this case made clear that TPS recipients have viable constitutional claims and that they deserve a day in court," said IvAn Espinoza-Madrigal, the executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice, which represented the plaintiffs.
Two former U.S. ambassadors to South Korea say they are confident that the security alliance between Washington and Seoul will remain in place and even grow stronger if North Korea fulfills its promises to end its nuclear programs and reduce tensions with the South.

The veteran diplomats point out that the relationship is bound by the Mutual Defense Treaty, signed at the conclusion of the Korean War in 1953, to provide a basis for the continued U.S. troop presence on the Korean Peninsula to deter a North Korean attack on South Korea and to provide a nuclear umbrella in the region.

"The fundamental basis for the alliance would continue, in terms of mutual defense commitment under the original treaty," said Alexander Vershbow, who served as ambassador to South Korea during the George W. Bush administration.

Vershbow also said, in the long run, the absence of a North Korean threat could potentially reduce the U.S. troop presence in South Korea.

"In the context of the much-reduced threat from the North, one could see the basis for the reduction of the U.S. presence," Vershbow told VOA.

Before the June 12 Singapore summit, President Donald Trump had asked the Pentagon to consider reducing U.S. troops on the peninsula in May.

After meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore, Trump called for the suspension of war games with South Korea.

The annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian joint military exercises conducted by the U.S. and South Korea that usually takes place in August have been suspended, fueling concerns of possible U.S. force reduction on the peninsula.

During his visit to Seoul in June after Trump's summit with Kim, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the U.S. will maintain the current level of military presence in South Korea and that U.S. commitment to the country will remain "ironclad."

Currently, there are 28,000 U.S. troops in South Korea.

'Overarching goal'

Vershbow said if there is going to be a reduction of U.S. troops, it is after achieving a unified and "overarching goal of denuclearization as a precondition for any fundamental change when it relates to the North."

Mark Lippert, who served as the U.S. ambassador to South Korea from 2012 to 2017, said even if the security situation on the peninsula changes, the U.S.-South Korean alliance that has "modernized and adapted in very, very strong capable ways to keep it relevant" will continue to grow robust, "not just on the Korean peninsula but helping the U.S. and Korea work on issues in the region and around the world."

Vershbow echoed Lippert, saying the alliance will continue to serve a purpose beyond deterring North Korean because it will continue by providing a deterrent throughout northeast Asia as envisioned in the defense treaty.

"The U.S. is not going to necessarily change the broader deterrent posture in the region," he said.

Mentioning that North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states found "strong overriding" reasons for the U.S. "to stay in and engage in Europe with its military and security forces" even after the fall of the Soviet Union, Lippert said, "There are all sorts of data points to suggest its beyond the [Korean] peninsula at this point."

Lippert pointed out that Americas largest overseas military base is Camp Humphreys in South Korea, as evidence that the U.S.-South Korean alliance is "one of the worlds greatest alliance, if not the greatest."

Ending 70 years of presence in Seoul, the U.S. military headquarters in South Korea relocated to Pyeongtaek in late June, about 45 miles south of the capital.

The newly expanded Camp Humphreys took more than $10 billion to build, of which Lippert said South Korea paid about 92 to 96 percent. It is expected to house approximately 45,000 troops and their families by 2022.

"One of the most important indicators of [the alliance growing strong] is the current move to Camp Humphreys," Lippert said. "This is a great symbol of alliance.  And you noticed nobody is making negative noises about Camp Humphreys and our troop presence there. I think that suggests durability over time."

Another factor suggesting the alliance remains strong and that "positive change is coming is that the Blue House has made comments that the alliance is not just about North Korea. Its about other countries, other issues  in a form of global Korea," Lippert added.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said during his three-day visit to Singapore that started July 11, "South Korea and the U.S. maintain a firm stance about the role and importance of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) for peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia."

Moon also responded to the suspension of military drills possibly leading to the reduction of U.S. troops in South Korea, saying, "USFK is a completely different issue. It is a matter of the South Korea-U.S. alliance, not something that can be discussed in denuclearization talks between North Korea and the U.S."

By providing a foundation of security and stability in northeast Asia, U.S. military presence on the peninsula and the alliance and relationship that Lippert said has grown in "multidirections" will continue to help create a condition for "unbridled economic and cultural success" in the region.
On a recent weekday afternoon in Ho Chi Minh City, the passengers bouncing along on one of the city's green buses breathed in mouthfuls of carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide and other chemicals that add to Vietnam's notorious pollution.

The toxic smoke did not come from the bus itself, but from the man driving it  one hand supporting the wheel, the other holding a cigarette.

Vietnam bans smoking on public transit, but that does not stop some of the bus drivers from lighting up on a daily basis. Amid this loose compliance and enforcement of tobacco rules, as well as an increase in overall smoking in the country, the government is looking at another policy option: taxes.

The Ministry of Health has recommended tacking on a levy of 2,000 Vietnam dong (9 cents) to each pack of cigarettes.

Cheap cigarettes

While incomes in Vietnam have gone up in recent years, cigarette prices have been slower to rise, making the tobacco product relatively more affordable than before. For example, per capita income jumped 370 percent in 2005 and 2006, but cigarettes cost just 120 percent more in that period, the government's Vietnam News Agency reported.

Supporters of higher tobacco taxes say that's why the Southeast Asian country must do more to help people kick the habit.

"To quit smoking is not easy," Luong Ngoc Khue, director of the Tobacco Control Fund at the health ministry, said on national broadcaster VTV. "However, sanctions in Vietnam have not reached the level hoped. In other countries, there are strict penalties. But in Vietnam, enforcement is difficult, even though we have the laws."

Restaurants, bars and clubs are a case in point.

Authorities prohibit smoking in these and other public places, but business owners continue to provide ashtrays to customers.

40,000 deaths

This flouting of the law contributes to the 40,000 tobacco-linked deaths that Vietnam sees each year, the World Health Organization estimates.

A single pack can cost about 10 times less in Vietnam than it does in nearby Singapore.

The defiance of the law underscores how hard it has been for Hanoi to curb the country's nicotine addiction. The government has tried other ways to influence public behavior, including a ban on tobacco sales to those under 18 years of age; no sales near hospitals and schools; not allowing industry advertising; and the introduction of graphic health warnings on labels.

There have even been groups of young campaigners donning blue shirts and biking through the Vietnamese streets to raise awareness, a common form of public service announcements in the country.

'Tobacco breaks hearts'

Worldwide, nearly a third of deaths stemming from heart problems are connected to smoking, the WHO said.

"In Vietnam and other places, many people might be aware that smoking can harm their health, particularly associating smoking with lung cancer and respiratory diseases. Many smokers and nonsmokers alike, however, still lack awareness of the impact of smoking on heart health," said Kidong Park, the WHO representative in Vietnam, explaining why the agency chose the "Tobacco Breaks Hearts" theme for this year's anti-smoking efforts.

The WHO also warned that tobacco hurts economies through the cost to public health and lost workforce productivity.

TPP and tobacco

If nothing changes, Vietnam could see an increase in smoking.

Vietnam is one of 11 countries that remained in the Trans-Pacific Partnership after President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the trade deal in 2017. The World Bank said in a 92-page report in March that the tobacco industry will be one of the big beneficiaries of TPP tariff reductions, along with the food, beverage and agriculture sectors.

While the U.S. is not in the TPP, it is still benefiting from trade growth. The U.S. exported $10 million worth of tobacco to Vietnam in 2016, an increase of more than 250 percent compared with shipments in 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Last year, the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance criticized the U.S. embassy in Hanoi for including the Philip Morris tobacco company in a trade mission with the Vietnamese prime minister.

"It is unfortunate that although the U.S. is only one of two countries in the world [Britain is the other country] that has good laws to prohibit their diplomatic missions from being used to promote tobacco, a tobacco company can still meet with a country's top leadership through an event promoted by the U.S. embassy," SEATCA said.
Zimbabwe's main opposition party has accused the country's electoral commission of planning a "manipulated" general election on July 30.

The Movement for Democratic Change Alliance spoke out Tuesday after the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission turned down several of its demands for changes to procedures in the presidential election.

Among the changes sought was a redesign of the presidential ballot, which the opposition says gives an unfair advantage to President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

The chief election officer for the MDC Alliance, Jameson Timba, spoke to VOA after meeting with the electoral commission.

"The outcome of the meeting is a confirmation that President Mnangagwa and ZEC are committed to a peaceful but manipulated election," he said. "All the issues that we had put before ZEC have all been turned down. So that is where we stand right now."

The opposition also wanted to escort ballots to polling stations, guard them and be allowed to test if votes migrated to Mnangagwa.

The spokesman for the electoral commission, Qhubani Moyo, confirmed the Tuesday meeting but dismissed opposition demands.

He said, "All practical demands were met, or accepted. No other concessions will be made. It is now a closed chapter."

The MDC Alliance said failure to reach an agreement would be met with vigils held at the commission's offices.

However, police on Tuesday denied an MDC Alliance request to demonstrate. The opposition had written to police seeking clearance and an escort for a Wednesday demonstration.

Tawanda Chimhini, director of the Election Resource Center, a think tank and advocacy organization on electoral and democracy issues in Zimbabwe, questioned the commission's assurance that the election would be free and fair.

"We are not yet out of the woods yet. It is important that the finalization of the voters roll is characterized by strict mechanisms of transparent and accountability," he said. "The roll that will be used on the day must be availed to observers and agents so that as voting is happening, there is an independent verification of people voting."

Zimbabwe's elections body is facing several lawsuits aimed at making it release the voters roll ahead of the election.

The Movement for Democratic Change Alliance plans to meet Wednesday to discuss a way forward on its demands.
A renowned political analyst says it is likely that President Emerson Mnangagwa will win Zimbabwe's presidential election despite a recent poll indicating that the race is too close to call.

But critics say the opposition has a chance of unseating Zanu PF in the poll, the first ever since former President Robert Mugabe was toppled in a defacto military coup last November.

Professor Shadreck Guto of the University of Africa says Mnangagwa appears to be having an upper hand over his rivals as he has opened up democratic space for Zimbabweans, who were oppressed by Mugabes government.

According to Afrobarometer, the presidential election will provide no clear winner, with 40 percent of voters choosing President Emmerson Mnangagwa and 37 percent his opponent, Nelson Chamisa.

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance has projected that 40-year-old Chamisa will win the presidential election by a wide margin.

But Guto says Mnangagwa seems to be the front runner in a poll widely criticized by locals complaining about lack of a transparent voters roll and other electoral issues.

David Coltart, a senior MDC Alliance member and senatorial candidate for Bulawayo region, says Gutos remarks are an opposite of what is going on in Zimbabwe where Chamisa has a huge following ahead of the general elections.

Im on the ground and what I see on the ground is something completely different. I see that Nelson (Chamisa) has incredible momentum in this election and Mnangagwas fortunes are on the wanes backed by the Afrobarometer report last Friday which was done several weeks ago which shows that at the end of June Chamisa had this momentum and that the gap was narrowing. So, I will take Shadreck Gutos assessment with a lot of salt.

He claimed that Chamisas battle in the presidential election is more to do with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission than President Mnangagwa.

Judging by the mood on the ground if it was a free and fair election this would be no contest. Chamisas battle actually is against ZEC. ZEC has demonstrated itself to be astonishingly biased and thats his battle, our greatest battle as the MDC Alliance is against ZEC and not Zanu PF because if the conduct of ZEC in the last couple of months is anything to go by it seems they are determined to subvert this process and so we will have to see what further tricks they come up with on election day and in the counting of votes.

He further noted that Gutu, who recently visited Zimbabwe to assess the political situation ahead of the elections, did not conduct any publicized scientific survey before making his remarks about the outcome of the presidential election.

Im not too sure where hes been to in Zimbabwe. He certainly would not have conducted this wide a sample Afrobatometer and I dont believe hes recognized opinion poll expert. Im relying on what Afrobarometer says and what I have experienced on the ground attending rallies  I see unprecedented large rallies conducted by Chamisa, the energy is massive. 

MDC Alliance spokesman Nkululeko Sibanda says Chamisa will emerge as the countrys president after the elections.

"You have seen already, how he has captured the hearts of the young and the old and how he is intellectually ready and prepared to deal with the challenges of our time.

"Remember, Zimbabwe must be able to progress and catch up with the rest of the world and I think that the leadership of President Chamisa provides that opportunity in a way that no other could."

Prominent South African minister of religion, Bishop Paul Veryn said the military and traditional leaders would be key in determining the outcome of Zimbabwes polls.

I think one of the critical things that has emerged is the influence of the military that compromises the concept of free and fair elections obviously. And the second thing thats gonna be critical is that there wont be any kind of violence intimidation and forcing people economically even like the traditional leaders who have access to food for very hungry people and that gets used in manipulating voting. So, there need to be a huge vigilance particularly the nearer we get to the actual day of voting.

Meanwhile, prospective Zimbabwean voters have expressed concern there could be violence during and after the upcoming July 30 general election.

The Afrobarometer poll also indicated that Zimbabweans remain apprehensive that the presidential election could be manipulated.

The survey also showed that the ongoing presidential campaign has yet to inspire confidence among the prospective voters regarding issues such as security of the vote, the counting of ballots, the announcement of election results, as well as the possibility of post-poll violence.

This, despite a majority of voters expressing optimism that the general election would be credible.

The election will be the first since former leader Robert Mugabe was removed in a de facto coup.

At the same time, a spokesperson for one of the four female candidates in this years Zimbabwe presidential election says the political climate is still hostile to women.

Linda Masarira, national spokesperson for the opposition MDC-T led by Thokozani Khupe, says the country is still highly male-controlled as evidenced by the lowest number of female presidential and parliamentary candidates in the July 30th election.

She says Zimbabwes quota system put in the 2013 constitution but set to expire in 2023 must be renewed if the country is to meet the levels of female representation gained by other African countries.

But Masarira says female presidential candidate Thokozani Khupe has a 50-50 chance of winning the July 30th election because Zimbabweans are now more politically mature.
Complex volcano 1185 m (3,888 ft)Halmahera, Indonesien, 1.68N / 127.88E(4 out of 5)1933-ongoing (as of 2014), 1868(?), 1719, 1550Explosive and effusive (lava flows)(17-day volcano trekking tour to the Molucca Sea: N-Sulawesi, Karangetang and Halmahera)

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Learn about the process of breaking up continents along continental rift zones.

Italy - the cradle of volcanology. Browse through various photo galleries mainly from its numerous volcanic areas - from Naples to Etna and the Eolian Islands and more.

Our first printed volcano calendar, featuring a paroxysm of Etna, a vulcanian explosion of Krakatau, and much more!

One of the most exciting volcano travel destinations in the world! On our adventurous expeditions, you will get close to active lava lakes on Ambrym Island and the spectacular fireworks of Yasur volcano on Tanna Island.

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Stratovolcano 3562 m (11,686 ft)Ecuador, -0.08S / -77.66W(4 out of 5)1541, 1590, 1691, 1748, 1797, 1802, 1843, 1843, 1844, 1856, 1871, 1894, 1898-1906, 1912, 1926, 1929, 1936, 1944, 1955, 1957, 1960, 1972, 1973-74, 1976, 2002 (large eruption), 2004 (Nov) - 2005 (Jan), 2005 (June) - 2006 (March), 2008 (July) - ongoingExplosive and effusive.(5 days expedition to Ecuador to observe volcanic activity from close)

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On 17 Oct, explosions were particularly violent at Anak Krakatau. We show a series of images of a spectacular explosion captured from close range by boat.

Dukono on Halmahera in Indonesia has been in permanent activity for years, often producing ash plumes that drift around the northern part of the island and have become normality.

The Saronic Gulf opposite Athens is one of the most beautiful and interesting areas of Greece, full of beautiful landscapes, small towns, islands, archeological remains and one of Europe's least known active volcanic areas. Join us on a relaxing tour to discover this fascinating area!

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88 pages, brilliant color photos, German language - this beautifully illustrated guidebook is a perfect introduction and companion for all interested in Italy's rich and varied volcanic areas.

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Our YouTube channel: volcanic activity world-wide shown through videos taken during our volcano tours and expeditions complimented by some time-lapse videos from webcams.

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Journalists and fact-checkers who reviewed the video said that the man was attacked because he was stealing a motorcycle, not for his political beliefs, and that the full unedited version showed the crowd shouting the names of different political candidates. The fact-checking group published an article with the facts as they understood them  citing local news reports  and sent it back to all the people who forwarded the original falsehood, asking them to spread it in their groups. They said they recognized the limitations of the strategy.
One day, she recalled, Thomas Keller came in for lunch. Everyone started freaking out. There were cameras in the kitchen; we could see him. Daniel came in and asked, What did he order? Lobster salad. Im on garde manger, the cold food. He comes to my station and first throws my coffee cup into the trash. I am petrified. Hes maybe 5-6, but his voice went right through you. He saw my mise-en-place and said, What is this? The lobsters were thrown around and he took paper towels and wrapped each one nicely. You have respect for ingredients, theyll respect you back, he said. Then he asked me, Can you select the nicest mussel? Im thinking for Thomas Keller, big is better, so I picked the biggest. No, Daniel said, the medium one is sweeter and more tender. He made that dish in a frenzy, the kitchen was on pins and needles. When he was done, he pointed to my station and said, This is how it should look. Every single time.  She sighed. But he could be angelic in the kitchen, too. When he cooked in his long white apron and pressed shirts, it was very thoughtful, the way he did it.
Art collecting is very personal, so I advise anyone starting a collection to see as much as they can and observe what moves them, she says. That might mean visiting a major museum such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington or the Art Institute of Chicago. Or, it might mean browsing art fairs, exhibitions featuring fine arts students at a nearby school, or even checking out whats on the walls at your local coffee shops gallery show. The goal is to discover pieces that inspire an emotional response and determine what you like about them, even if it takes time.
For a while, the only other early bird was Ed Myers, a retired engineer who had no intention of getting in line or even seeing the show. He donned his Make America Great Again hat and Socialism Sucks shirt and held a sign encouraging people to head to Venezuela if they were so enamored with the ideology. But dont forget to bring your own toilet paper, the sign said.
There are special polite social protections and leeway granted to hospital patients. You can ask the staff to say that you cannot have visitors, without the need to specify that it is because you dont want them. You can post a sign on your door saying No visitors allowed. And if they get past these barriers, you can still fall asleep during a visit, or announce the intention to do so by saying, Forgive me, I am afraid that I am supposed to be resting.
The Harrises, also the original owners of their house, said the community was designed to enhance the neighborhood with nature, including a spate of trees planted around the time they moved in. Don Harris said the homeowners association is diligent about reminding residents to tend to trees that might be dangerous, adding that problematic trees are routinely cut down.
But Burroughs said this week he also is looking to put the incident behind him. He said he has been talking to Goldson about making improvements in the 132,000-student school system, the states second largest, and says he has found Goldson to be responsive and a willing partner.
Burroughs said Monday he is looking to put the incident behind him. But he also said he had not decided on whether to pursue the assault charge against Eubanks. That complaint must undergo a screening process, according to the states attorneys office. Burroughs would have to appear on a set date, and prosecutors would have to find sufficient evidence.
I dont think that the president will be impeached, and Ill tell you why, said Brown, a Harvard law graduate and retired colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve. Impeachment, regardless of what party youre in, and who the president is at the time, that is a weighty matter and it rises to the level of potential constitutional crisis.
The charges include failure to obey a general regulation, making a false official statement and possession of illegal substances, said Cmdr. David McKinney, an academy spokesman. The charges also include possession of illegal substances with intent to distribute, use of illegal substances and distribution of illegal substances.
Marylands legislative analysts used the study to guide their report on single-payer systems. The analysts also issued a public report on a bill, HB 1516, that was introduced early this year and proposed a single-payer system, but was later withdrawn. That analysis said any savings realized by the state would likely be lower than those anticipated by California, because Maryland has already driven down some of its costs through a government commission that sets prices for hospital care.
Zuniga said its a rare day when he doesnt think of the night of Aug. 10, 2016. He and his wife, Liseth Lacayo, who works at a beauty salon, had just gone to bed when they heard the noise. The floor of their apartment gave way. Zuniga said he was knocked unconscious, with second-degree burns on his legs; his wife was left to drag him from the rubble.
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But the city, in its motions, said the judge should still uphold its denial of Kesslers permit because other demonstrators who did not sign the agreement with the city could show up bearing arms or other weapons. The city also signaled that it was skeptical that Kessler would have even adhered to the agreement.
Beginning this past weekend, Metro closed the Rhode Island Avenue and Brookland stations for 45 days. The closure is having ripple effects on the rest of the Red Line. The shutdown, for platform rebuilding and structural overhauls at both stations, has reduced service on the northeast portion of the line while resulting in fewer rush-hour trains overall from NoMa to Shady Grove. On weeknights, Metro says, trains on the rest of the Red Line are operating every 15 minutes during the shutdown. The closure is expected to last through Sept. 3. Last summer, Metro scaled back its operating hours.
Perez and his ex-girlfriend had a contentious past, marked by allegations of domestic violence filed against Perez by the woman. He attacked me, pulling my hair, kicking me in the eye and busting my lip, she wrote in a protective order petition filed in April 2017 that led a judge to order Perez to have only non-harassing, nonthreatening communications with her for 12 months.
In internal memos, the Census Bureaus chief scientist had warned that adding the question would be very costly, harms the quality of the census count, and would use substantially less accurate citizenship status data than are available from existing federal records, according to documents released last month in the case. Six former Census Bureau directors serving under Republican and Democrat administrations also had opposed adding the question.
The work of the committee, which will meet behind closed doors Wednesday, is complicated by the fact that members are about to leave for their August break. When they return, many will be preoccupied with reelection campaigns, leaving little time to complete an investigation before Garrett leaves office in December. The committee can investigate only sitting members of Congress.
On the mean streets that collectively are known here as skid row, where several thousand homeless men and women wander, the fire was just one of the many that have consumed tents in recent years. Sometimes set by jilted lovers or gang members collecting a debt, other times the result of cooking- or drug-related mishaps, the blazes have destroyed belongings, damaged property and tested the resources of firefighters.
In addition, the agencies will take comment on whether to block Californias right under the Clean Air Act to set its own emissions limit on cars and light trucks and require the sale of a certain number of electric vehicles in the state each year. Any effort to revoke Californias waiver to set its own standards would almost certainly spark a legal battle with the state and could have major implications for a dozen other states and the District, which have adopted Californias standards as their own.
The fire department also said a third fire was burning farmlands and woods on Crete. In northern Greece, a forest fire in the area of Soufli was being tackled by 50 firefighters, while the fire department said three blazes broke out in the area of Corinth in southern Greece.
The assailant, Faisal Hussain, died after exchanging gunfire with police. His family members have said that he suffered lifelong severe mental health challenges but that they never imagined he would do such a thing. It was not clear whether he took his own life or was killed by police during the Sunday attack.
The rollicking result was passionate, informed, often clever. Sometimes pleading, sometimes faltering, but never cruel. I agree with young Justice that slavery was the root of the Civil War, and, whatever the flag stood for in the 1860s, by the 1960s it was a symbol of white supremacy. But the counter-argument that the South seceded because of Northern tariffs was standard-issue history at places such as Harvard and Princeton for most of a century. Im not surprised that some iconoclastic teenagers would still believe it in 2015.
Were about there, I think  perhaps not every single one of us, perhaps not just yet, but the conditions are right and the summer is long. The entire 2016 episode has been, in some sense, an introspective journey into Americas own innermost parts, with Donald Trumps victory prompting a nervous self-inventory of what we value, whether our institutions work and to what degree we ought to trust one another. The full contents of that inward odyssey have yet to unfold. But on the question of institutional functioning, the news is unequivocally grim. Like Marlow, even after this particular chapter has ended, we are likely to find ourselves changed by what weve seen.
There are large sections of the surveillance applications that are entirely redacted. In the first application, the first and second parts cover Russian efforts to influence U.S. elections, including the 2016 election; part three introduces Page, part four reviews Pages denials of cooperation with the Russian government; and parts five and six, a total of five pages, are redacted. By the third renewal application, some of the numbering has changed, and a new seventh part has been introduced. The redactions come to a total of more than 33 pages. This means that new information was almost certainly being acquired and presented to the surveillance court, most likely through the wiretapping but perhaps from other sources.
Now, by contrast, Trump and his apologists pretend that the Russian intervention  including the WikiLeaks revelations  was no big deal. That beggars belief. Even if the Russians had failed, they still attacked our democracy. Yet they didnt fail: Trump won. Russian disinformation wasnt the only factor in the outcome and was probably less important in the end than FBI Director James B. Comeys announcement 11 days before the election that he was reopening the Clinton email investigation. But Watts concludes: Without the Russian influence effort, I believe Trump would not have even been within striking distance of Clinton on Election Day. That is the inconvenient truth the Putin Republicans wont admit.
Holder, who served during the Obama administration, told that audience that he was considering a bid for the Democratic nomination, but devoted most of his prepared remarks to his current work challenging congressional districts that have been gerrymandered to favor Republicans.
In his speech here, Trump said he was ready to make a deal with Iran, just a day and a half after tweeting an all-caps threat of a military strike. And he boasted about his summit last month with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, saying that he hopes the remains of some Americans killed during the Korean War will soon be transferred back to the United States as a result of the agreement they reached in Singapore.
What is I think doubly shocking is it seems that some of our colleagues in the Senate who have their eye on the White House seem to be adopting the view that we ought to get rid of ICE and therefore have no border security at all, he said.
We repeatedly relied on Nixon in opposing efforts by the Clinton Administration to shield important evidence from disclosure, said Starr and the deputies, Mark Tuohey and Bob Bittman. Our clear recollection of Bretts views on Nixon is that they are entirely consistent with those he expressed in articles published in 1998 (where he wrote that Nixon should be followed by the Supreme Court), in 2014 (where he identified Nixon as one of the most significant cases in which the Judiciary stood up to the President), and in 2016 (where he called Nixon one of the greatest moments in American judicial history).
Im very concerned that Russia will be fighting very hard to have an impact on the upcoming Election, Trump said in his Tuesday tweet. Based on the fact that no President has been tougher on Russia than me, they will be pushing very hard for the Democrats. They definitely dont want Trump!
When you go mess up [Mayor] Eric Garcettis inauguration party because he refuses to designate L.A. as a sanctuary city, and you block his car from leaving, youre going to want to hang out with the people who did that, said Josh Androsky, a member of Westside Los Angeles DSA. If you are then willing to spend your Saturday  the precious hours you have not grinded away by capitalism  working on a political cause, hey, it turns out these dudes who are your comrades are also your friends.
U.S. airline executives have said they are working with the White House on the matter, offering few clues as to which direction they will ultimately take. (American, Delta and United did not immediately respond to requests for comment.)
The death toll, which stood at 24 early Tuesday, rose sharply when authorities found 26 additional victims, some of them youths, near the top of a cliff that overlooks a beach, according to news reports. The bodies were huddled tightly together, some of them hugging, and were presumed to be families, the head of Greeces Red Cross told Skai television, according to the Associated Press.
The Israeli military has been on high alert as fighting inside Syria has pushed closer to Israels northern border in recent weeks. As the civil war in Syria has shifted in favor of Assad, who is backed by forces from Iran and Russia, Israel has watched with alarm. Despite being technically at war with Syria, Israel says it has no issue with Syrian government forces returning to areas they held before the civil war  as long as forces linked to Iran are excluded.
Were not only with the protesters, he added. Were with the whole people of Nicaragua. Not only the protesters were attacked, [but] also people who were walking by. Innocent people, who were carrying children, they were shot at. Anyone who was in the street, the police would pass and shoot at them. That means that the church has to be with those who suffered.
The base is key to U.S. military efforts in the Middle East and has played a central role in the Pentagons air campaign against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. In addition to the large U.S. troop presence, it is also the headquarters of Air Forces Central Command, headed by a three-star U.S. general, and a combined air operations center from which the Pentagon tracks the maneuvers of aircraft throughout the region.
Theres a huge gap between the objectives that have been laid out and the means the administration has so far been willing to employ, said former envoy Dennis Ross, who has advised Republican and Democratic presidents on the Middle East. At some point, either you revise the objectives or you embrace new means.
In Lee Child's many novels, his hard-as-nails character Jack Reacher is something of an all-conquering hero. And when it comes to borrowers of books from Australian libraries, Child is something of an all-conquering author.

The British writer had four titles in the top 20 most-borrowed books from Australian libraries in the 12 months to the end of May, according the third Civica Libraries Index, which is produced in conjunction with the Australian Libraries and Information Association. His 2016 novel, Night School, was the most popular book.

The top 20 was dominated by American crime writers, with Michael Connelly, John Grisham, David Baldacci, and James Patterson each having two or more titles in the top 20.

The best-performing Australian book was Scott Pape's The Barefoot Investor, while Liane Moriarty's Truly Madly Guilty was the most popular Australian novel. They were joined by Jane Harper, Di Morrissey and Hannah Kent in the top 20. Three years ago, Australian writers had five places in the top 10 and nine in the top 20.
Mark Ward started driving a small charter vehicle six months before Uber hit Australian shores and has seen the disruption ride-sharing has caused within the industry.

Customers will pay for the scheme over four-years with a 10 per cent levy on every single fare in on-demand transport including taxis, small charter vehicles and ride share companies like Uber and newcomer Ola.

WAtoday understands the government will introduce legislation during parliament's spring sitting session to create a $120 million scheme funding taxi-plate buybacks starting from $100,000.

Small charter vehicle operators have joined the growing chorus of opposition to the state governments proposed taxi-plate buyback levy.

He said the state governments levy would only continue to hurt an already suffering industry.

Charter vehicles are a niche service and because of that there is a higher dollar value to it, he said.

So our passengers will be slugged much more than Uber passengers who pay 10 per cent on smaller fares.

If you look at a $100 journey, GST is upfront, most fuel costs 15 to 20 per cent, theres also car insurance, rego and repayments.

Lets say for instance a small operator lives off 30 per cent of each fare, for the government to come and say we want 10 per cent again, theyre realistically taking it from the operators income.
"There was usually 10 hanging around the camp area," she said. "[They hang around] in groups of three, and they'd all have their different areas. "When you get a pack of them, of course people might feel threatened - I was actually followed by three of them on the way to the mess one morning, but I was looking around at them letting them know, you know, 'I see you'. "We're told not to handle them. I know ... at one point we were told to pick up a stick if we feel threatened." In response to concerns from some workers, a Newcrest Mining spokesman said the company had started a review of the incident and its wider dingo management program was underway.

Telfer Gold Mine in the Pilbara. Credit:Erin Jonasson "We have specific programs to control the dingoes natural presence at Telfer, protect our people, and brief our workforce and visitors on the management of personal and workplace safety around dingoes," he said. "There are also specific rules and company procedures in place to ensure the process is adhered to and human behaviour is not encouraging dingoes to interact. "As is the case for all safety incidents on the mine site, a site notification was issued to reinforce awareness of the risk and training, and a process of reviewing the incident  and wider dingo management program  is underway. The results will reinforce the effectiveness of the program. "Our over-riding concern is for the health and wellbeing of the injured person, and we are providing ongoing assistance to them and to their direct employer.

"The mine puts the safety of our people at the forefront of everything we do. The mine has detailed safety processes in place, including to manage local dingoes, and we are always reviewing these processes to ensure we minimise danger to our people and our environment - that includes again after this incident. "We provide detailed training to our workforce and visitors to site regarding dingo awareness and safety management. In its 2013 technical report, the company said it ran programs aimed at "workforce awareness of dingo ecology and discourages activities", including educating employees about the dangers of feeding animals. Following the incident, the mine site said it was undertaking a a targeted eradication program, an audit of dingoes in the area, installation of additional fencing, increased hazing to promote behavioural changes and make the animals feel unwelcome, ongoing training and a peer review of the current management system. However workers told Fairfax Media the problem wasn't the amount of dingoes in the area, but the employees who had not abided by the program's guidelines.

"People have been feeding them so they're a bit more approachable, tame, and they're getting a bit confident with the people," one worker said. "I have seen them sleeping outside ... like pet dogs," another said. "That's why people become complacent and break the rules. "The last attack when I was there was due to the guy running away and then you become prey.

"If you dont run and stand your ground and shout they back off fast. But they smell the fear in some and then [you're] toast." Another former worker said it was difficult to deter the animals. "[It's] quite daunting when you haven't experienced it," he said. "They weren't deterred and would come right up to you from behind when you are walking. [There are] signs around saying not to feed them but they clearly were hungry looking for easy pickings." It's understood DNA testing conducted in the Telfer area has indicated about 93 per cent of the animals researched in the region were "pure dingo".

Newcrest Mining Ltd. Credit:Bloomberg Curtin University wildlife biologist and animal expert Dr Bill Bateman said while mine sites were doing all they could to keep workers safe, it was also up to the worker to be aware of the dangers involved with dingoes. "You can still be fine in an area with animals as long as you treat them with respect," he said. "The case at the Telfer mine site, it sounds like they were doing all the right things. They have rules about not giving food to animals, when you throw food away put them in dingo-proof bins, a fenced-off area for people to eat, which is very sensible. "The trouble is you're dealing with a clever animal.
Police on Wednesday are continuing their search for the last inmate who escaped from a prison in WA's mid-west.

Nine inmates who escaped from Greenough Regional Prison are now back in custody, with the latest two men handing themselves into police just after 1pm on Wednesday.

WA Police spokeswoman Susan Usher said Brendan Bartley, 35, and Darryl Councillor, 18, had handed themselves in at the Geraldton Police Station and were taken into custody without incident.

WA Police are continuing their search for the other the last outstanding prisoner, with 35-year-old Bradley Silvester still unaccounted for.
Mati: At least 20 people died and more than 100 were injured on Monday as a wildfire swept through a small resort town in eastern Greece with many victims trapped by flames as they fled.

The fire in Mati village, some 29 km east of Athens, was by far the country's worst since blazes devastated the southern Peloponnese peninsula in August 2007, killing dozens. Monday's fire was one of several that broke out in the country amid a sweltering heat wave.

"Mati doesn't even exist as a settlement anymore," one woman told Greece's Skai TV. "I saw corpses, burned-out cars. I feel lucky to be alive."

Mati is in the Rafina region which is popular with local tourists, particularly pensioners and children at holiday camps.
Hans George Scheppner had been found dead in his Henderson Highway apartment by Winnipeg police.
OTTAWA  A Winnipeg MP says Ottawa needs to be talking with Greyhound Canada, after the company claimed they hadnt had a conversation with any level of government in the two weeks since the company announced it was pulling out of the Prairies.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 23/7/2018 (1190 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  A Winnipeg MP says Ottawa needs to be talking with Greyhound Canada, after the company claimed they hadnt had a conversation with any level of government in the two weeks since the company announced it was pulling out of the Prairies.

"I would be shocked and disappointed, if they hadn't actually made an effort to speak with Greyhound," NDP MP Daniel Blaikie said.

PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES NDP MP Daniel Blaikie, centre, says he would be shocked and disappointed if the federal government made no attempt to communicate with Greyhound buslines.

Ottawa and the provinces have been discussing how to respond to Greyhound's announcement that it would cease all service between British Columbia and northwestern Ontario on Oct. 31. Manitoba wants two more months of service, to allow private operators to take over those routes.

A Greyhound Canada spokeswoman wrote last Friday evening that no level of government had contacted the company by phone ever since its July 9 announcement.

"We can confirm that Greyhound Canada has not received any calls from any government officials in general or on this extension issue," the company wrote last Friday.

By Monday, the company wrote: "We confirm that no government officials have contacted Greyhound Canada about extending the October 31st exit date," but wouldnt say if Ottawa or one of the provinces had reached out over the weekend, about another topic.

The office of federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau said the two had been in touch on the day of the announcement, but wouldn't elaborate on the frequency or method of communication.

Blaikie said the Liberals need to speak with both potential new companies and Greyhound "to make sure there isn't a rough transition period where service has actually stopped being offered in some communities."

He said Ottawa cant propose or support a solution without understanding why Greyhound judged its routes to not be economically viable. "Theres a bit of fact-finding to do here, in order to make sure that they actually come up with a proposal that can work."

Last week, Garneau wrote to his counterparts in the five provinces affected by the pullout, and provided the Manitoba letter to the Free Press. He alludes to a meeting planned for this week between the deputy ministers, who are the bureaucratic heads responsible for transportation issues.

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The federal NDP has asked for an emergency committee meeting to study the issue. The federal Conservatives did not say Monday how they feel about that idea, or about Ottawas communication with the company.

Garneaus letter did not address calls for a two-month extension of Greyhound service, which Manitobas Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler said last week has the support of all five impacted provinces.

Schuler had said Ottawa, not the provinces, would have to consider a subsidy if the company said it needed one to extend the service. In keeping with his prior statements, Garneau doesnt mention subsidies and instead references "how to best enable private-sector and local operators to serve our communities."

"The full scale of the impacts of the loss of Greyhounds presence in western Canada will depend on the speed and extent to which other entrants fill the market," Garneau wrote.

Garneau also noted safety concerns that have been raised by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and various First Nations organizations. "Of particular concern is the impact on those in rural and remote communities, including Indigenous women and girls, without other available public transport options," he wrote.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
A Winnipeg lawyer who cheated at law school before being disbarred years later for misusing his clients' money has appealed his disbarment.

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This article was published 24/7/2018 (1189 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg lawyer who cheated at law school before being disbarred years later for misusing his clients' money has appealed his disbarment.

And the Law Society of Manitoba is asking for the Court of Appeal to ban the media from naming any of James Graeme Earle Young's bilked clients and  if necessary  to ban the public from the court's hearing scheduled for Aug. 31.

In a notice of motion, the Law Society is also asking for an order that the transcripts from the society's original disciplinary hearing into Young's matter not be made public.

But Rocky Kravetsky, the Law Society's lawyer, said the goal isn't to ban the public from the courtroom.

"What I really want is for the court to ban publication of anything that would identify a client," he said, noting the intention is to protect solicitor-client privilege.

"We're not trying to keep you out of the courtroom, but we don't want you to publish certain things. We have an obligation to protect these clients."

Young is appealing last year's decision by the Law Society to disbar him after ruling he had misappropriated more than $82,000 from three clients on seven separate occasions.

Young was found to have taken more than $41,000 from a trust account he held from the sale of property during a dispute between a company's shareholders, as well as misappropriating $38,000 from the estate of the deceased parents of two minor children.

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He also drove a client to a bank to get $4,000 from her, $2,500 of which was in cash.

Young, who is in his late 40s, was studying law at the University of Calgary when he was kicked out for cheating. He later graduated from the University of Manitoba's law faculty in 2004, after staff there were persuaded to give him a second chance, and he was called to the bar in 2005.

Young worked at the Winnipeg law firms of Taylor McCaffrey, Campbell Marr, Restall and Restall, and Boudreau Law before serving an eight-month suspension in 2015, after pleading guilty to 19 charges of professional misconduct.

He has not worked as a lawyer since because he was suspended on an interim basis in 2016 when more charges came forward.

Neither Young nor his lawyer Gavin Wood could not be reached for comment.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
A 58-year-old Winnipeg man drowned in a Kings Park pond Monday night while trying to rescue his family dog.

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This article was published 24/7/2018 (1189 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A 58-year-old Winnipeg man drowned in a Kings Park pond Monday night while trying to rescue his family dog.

City police said the man was out walking with other family members at about 9:30 p.m., when the dog went into the water and had difficulty swimming.

Winnipeg Police Service Const. Tammy Skrabek said two other men at the park heard a woman calling for help and went in the water in an attempt to help the man.

"He got trapped in some very thick reeds in soft mud underneath the water, which was extremely deep in some parts where you werent able to touch the ground," Skrabek said on Tuesday.

Skrabek said the two bystanders pulled the victim, who was unconscious, out of the water and performed CPR before paramedics arrived. The man was transported to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

One of the bystanders was treated in hospital and released. The other was treated at the scene.

Early Tuesday morning, members of the mans family returned to the park to search for the dog and found him within minutes.

"The dog was fine," said Linda Bouchard-Toderan, whod been searching until 11 p.m. the night before. "He was probably scared from the sirens and ambulances, and hid in the bush for the night."

Bouchard-Toderan, who had no connection to the family before Monday, said she saw the dog late in the evening but couldnt catch it. She texted the mans daughter to let her know it was still in the area.

"She was quite relieved to have her dog back," Bouchard-Toderan said.

The pond is located near one of the citys off-leash dog parks. Skrabek said there are warning signs posted, but such ponds can be deceptively dangerous.

"There is that misconception that these retention ponds are shallow... When youre talking wet, mucky soil, it very much acts like quicksand, and you could get your feet trapped in there and youre stuck," she said.

City of Winnipeg spokesman Ken Allen said the pond is a "decorative water feature" which was filled with water at the end of June, following the refurbishment of the waterfall.

"Prior to filling the pond, rooted vegetation was removed through mechanical means and with a controlled burn. Surface floating aquatic weeds are not removed and are a natural part of the ponds ecosystem," Allen stated in an email response.

"A small part of the off-leash dog section of the park borders on the pond. There are two signs posted by the pond which state: no wading, no swimming, no power boats, no dumping."

Kevin Tordiffe of Lifesaving Society Manitoba said people should not go after their pets in areas that are not designated for swimming.

"The potential consequences are too great," he said.

"You should try some form of a throwing assist, even just the dogs leash (to bite onto or as a lasso). Dont go into the water. I know its difficult to think of your pet being in distress, but your personal safety needs to be first."

At the parks off-leash area Tuesday afternoon, pet owners were continuing to allow their dogs to go into the pond.

"The drownings were very unfortunate," said Steve Payne, who has been taking his dogs to the park for nearly a decade. "But he clearly cared about his dog, and tried to help out. Its definitely a difficult one."

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Payne said his Highlands border collie, Satchmo Joe, often runs into the pond to cool off on hot days. His smaller dog, Taz, a bichon-poodle mix, wont go in. He said he would not want to see the area fenced off.

Kianah Zado, 21, said she will still let her dog, Buffy, swim in the pond, but said more signage should be added to prevent further incidents.

"Dogs cant read. So theres always a risk," she said, noting Buffy often sprints in and out, and usually goes only up to its knees. "If something were to go wrong, I also think Id be able to save her.

"But, obviously, he thought that, too," she added, after a moment.

ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca
The provincial Health Department reversed course Monday when it was asked to explain why its reporting of critical incidents involving patients is lagging.

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This article was published 23/7/2018 (1190 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The provincial Health Department reversed course Monday when it was asked to explain why its reporting of critical incidents involving patients is lagging.

A government official first said Manitoba would be filing critical incident summaries twice annually  instead of quarterly on the department's website  due to a decline in incidents.

However, a few hours later, Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen said in a statement to the Free Press he had directed his department to resume quarterly summaries, beginning with an update next month.

The last published critical incident summary covered the first quarter of 2017, when 17 incidents were disclosed, including four patient deaths. In one case, according to the three-line account provided, a patient who suffered a heart attack died after 12 hours in care in an unnamed facility as his/her condition deteriorated. "Expected standard of care not met," the incident summary noted.

Typically, critical incident reports appear roughly nine months or so after the events they describe take place. Asked to explain a 15-month backlog Monday, the provincial bureaucracy issued a statement saying its information would be updated next month.

The statement also said "given the low numbers" of incidents per quarter, the province chose to combine its first-quarter and second-quarter reports and would be reporting twice annually in the future.

When the Free Press sought comment from Goertzen, he issued a statement, countermanding his officials.

"Due to the relatively low number of critical incidents in the first quarter, the department chose to group the individual cases and opted to hold for another quarter. I became aware of the change today, and Ive directed my department to resume quarterly reporting of these incidents following the release of Augusts report, which will cover a six-month period," the minister said in a statement.

The Manitoba Nurses Union said the decline in the number of critical incidents being reported is likely due to a change in the way the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority now defines critical incidents in long-term care facilities. That's led to a drop in the number of falls reported as critical incidents.

"Nurses have seen no indication that the number of falls or other critical incidents have declined," recently elected union president Darlene Jackson said. "Changing the definition only weakens our ability to improve care for Manitobas (long-term care) residents.

"(The union) does not support the WRHAs change in criteria for critical incidents or reducing provincial reporting."

In a statement, Jackson said nurses understand critical incidents "are all too common," which is why they recommend increasing staffing levels.

NDP Leader Wab Kinew said critical incident numbers should be disclosed on a timely basis so Manitobans can be confident in the quality of their health care.

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In 2006, Manitoba introduced no-blame critical incident reporting across the health system to nurture a culture of openness and learning about such incidents. It's understood only a fraction of critical incidents are, in fact, reported.

The health department's website says "critical incidents are not reported to lay blame on individuals," but to look at how to improve care. The process does not, however, replace disciplinary investigations, including reviews by employers or complaints to professional bodies, it says.

Kinew wondered whether the number of critical incidents is down because health-care staff are under increasing time constraints. Nurses, for instance, have been working increasing amounts of overtime, he said.

"When I hear the government talking about critical incident numbers... it makes me think that maybe the nurses are too overworked or understaffed to be able to devote the time needed to file critical incident reports," Kinew said.

The 17 critical incidents recorded in the first quarter of 2017 were considerably fewer than in the previous eight quarters, where the numbers ranged from 28 to 58.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
Manitoba's health system is recording only a fraction of the number of patient critical incidents it did five years ago, but it's not because staff have become hesitant to report troubling events, a local official says.

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This article was published 24/7/2018 (1189 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba's health system is recording only a fraction of the number of patient critical incidents it did five years ago, but it's not because staff have become hesitant to report troubling events, a local official says.

Five years ago, Manitoba Health consistently reported more than 100 critical incidents every quarter. More recently, that number has fallen to the point where only 17 critical incidents were logged in the first three months of 2017, the latest information available.

Kerstin Jordan, director of patient safety with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, said health staff are still reporting as many patient events -- or more -- and the criteria on what constitutes a critical incident hasn't changed.

But she said the review process has "evolved" in the past few years, and review teams are showing greater "diligence" in assuring events are more appropriately classified.

"I would say the analysis has changed, not the level of reporting," Jordan said in an interview Tuesday.

A significant contributor to the high critical incident totals in the past was the large number of serious injuries due to falls, particularly in personal care homes.

Manitoba Health informed the WRHA in 2014 it was over-reporting patient falls as critical incidents. A 2010 provincial guideline outlines five factors in deciding whether a patient fall causing a fracture or other serious injury constitutes a critical incident.

The WRHA said it had been "erring on the side of being overcautious" in reporting such incidents in the past.

Government bureaucrats had planned to reduce the frequency of publishing critical incident reports on the Manitoba Health website to twice a year from quarterly because of the declining numbers. However, Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen quashed that idea Monday, after the Free Press raised the matter. The province also promised to publish updated numbers next month.

The thumbnail accounts contained in the critical incident reports are cryptic and often disturbing.

This is an example from the latest report: "A 20-month-old child was transported via ambulance to larger hospital in rural region. On arrival, the child remained in the arms of the mother for four hours without a nursing assessment being completed. The child was then found to be in critical condition. Both mother and child transferred to a tertiary care centre. Child found to have sepsis and possible bowel obstruction."

Jordan said health workers are "absolutely encouraged" to report patient safety events. They can do so anonymously, she added.

Patients or their families can also use a special phone line to report patient safety concerns.

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Teams consisting of patient safety consultants and clinical experts review the reported events. If the event is not deemed serious enough as to be classified as a critical incident, that isn't necessarily the end of it, Jordan said.

"If something is not a critical incident, it doesn't mean that it's not reviewed and there isn't learning over it," she said.

In 2006, the province introduced no-blame critical incident reporting across the health system to nurture a culture of openness and learning about such incidents. It's believed only a fraction of critical incidents are, in fact, reported.

Jordan emphasized declining critical incident numbers are not due to a lack of reporting of events by staff.

"I am confident that there is good reporting... I'm confident that we are doing our very best to encourage staff to report patient safety events. And I am confident in the team that is looking at these events and the tremendous amount of work that goes into making these decisions about... how they are categorized."

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
AFTER an eight-year-old girl was injured by a bear during a family camping trip in eastern Manitoba Saturday, the province is advising people to be extra cautious when trekking or tenting in the woods.

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This article was published 24/7/2018 (1189 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

AFTER an eight-year-old girl was injured by a bear during a family camping trip in eastern Manitoba Saturday, the province is advising people to be extra cautious when trekking or tenting in the woods.

The young girl was taken to hospital after a black bear attacked her tent at a campsite on South Cross Lake in Whiteshell Provincial Park, the province said Monday. She was treated for cuts to her face and was released.

The family took "many appropriate safety precautions," including hanging a bear-proof food barrel in a tree away from the campground, the release states, but it didnt stop the bear from swiping at the young girls tent early Saturday morning and hanging around until her father scared it away.

Conservation officers are searching for the bear and trying to trap it, but the animal could be difficult to locate since it was last seen swimming toward Caddy Lake, the release states.

The campsite where the attack took place was temporarily closed.

"Bears have such an acute sense of smell. For example, even using a scented shampoo, the smell, if its fruit-based, those scents can linger and smell like berries or food to a bear," said Janine Stewart, a biologist with the provinces Sustainable Development department.

That means storing anything smelly away from a campsite, Stewart said  including food, garbage and dirty dish water.

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She said Manitobans should also keep bear deterrent spray on hand when venturing into the wilderness.

Saturdays bear encounter is the second in Whiteshell Provincial Park this month.

Its an "anomaly" to have two incidents reported in such a short period of time, Stewart said.

"This type of incident is extremely rare. We have so few of these reported each year."

The province said its unlikely the bear who injured the eight-year-old girl Saturday is the same one who attacked a couple hiking the Mantario Trail in the same park July 2.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @macintoshmaggie
Several events, all important to Manitoba and to our economic well-being, took place last week. Many Manitobans missed the coverage, and more may not appreciate the importance of the activity that took place right here.

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This article was published 24/7/2018 (1189 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

Several events, all important to Manitoba and to our economic well-being, took place last week. Many Manitobans missed the coverage, and more may not appreciate the importance of the activity that took place right here.

At the beginning of the week, longtime civil servant Jim Eldridge and I were asked to brief a delegation from the Washington, D.C.-based Canadian American Business Council. The delegation represented a diverse group of businesses, on both sides of the border, which was in the city for a variety of meetings before going on to visit Churchill. Former Vermont governor Howard Dean was among them.

We discussed the close ties between Canada, Manitoba and U.S. states, and when it came to discussing trade, everyone in the room was an advocate and proponent of free trade. None expressed any sympathy for the current round of nonsense that is erecting unproductive  and, hopefully, temporary  barriers creating more costs for business, workers and consumers on both sides of the border. Its worth noting that the Canada West Foundation has estimated that every year, some $25 billion in goods and services crosses the Manitoba border to and from the U.S. Thats $69 million every day, in and out of Manitoba.

Following our session with the council, the delegates met with Premier Brian Pallister and his key economic ministers. Again, the conversation focused on the importance of trade and the critical role played by state and provincial governments. The premier spoke about the extensive work now underway to develop Manitobas economic growth strategy, an essential element to ensure Manitoba is positioned to continue to prosper and benefit from trade and investment and, more importantly, to grow the economy.

The U.S. is the single biggest export customer for many Manitoba companies. In return, Canada is the biggest customer for most U.S. states. Manitoba is the largest foreign customer for several states, particularly those in the Midwest.

The second notable event was the annual Midwest Legislators Conference, where delegates overwhelmingly supported trade and a stable, predictable trading relationship. While improvements and modernization of NAFTA are necessary, there was no support for scrapping it.

State and provincial legislators are at the ground level, closest to the businesses and the people engaged in trade. The legislators understand their communities and how dependent the jobs of their citizens are on a mutually beneficial trade relationship between our two countries, as well as Mexico.

Third, Canadian premiers held their annual conference in New Brunswick. This important institution was initiated in the days of Duff Roblin, who hosted the first informal gathering of provincial premiers. Not surprisingly, agendas have regularly included trade as a leading topic and this year the stakes are higher than ever.

The communique issued after their discussions reinforced the message that trade provides the livelihoods for millions of Canadian and American workers. Their jobs are at stake. Premiers committed to continuing the important task of engaging with their American colleagues to promote trade and a greater understanding of how we all benefit.

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At mid-week, the prime minister announced a cabinet shuffle. Notably, Manitobas minister in the federal cabinet, Jim Carr, was reassigned to international trade diversification, a renamed department. The change with the addition of a single word alone  diversification  signifies the federal government understands we must promote trade, but to prosper long-term we must also diversify our capacity with an expanded range of products, as well as expanding and diversifying our markets. The pending European Union and Asian trade agreements are critical. Manitoba can benefit from both if we prepare.

Ensuring we prosper from trade requires continued emphasis by federal and provincial governments. The Business Council of Manitoba has advocated that the provincial government have the capacity and resources to work directly with businesses engaged in trade, to provide strategic analysis and assessments when needed, and advocate for Manitoba.

In keeping with the premiers communique, the Manitoba government will be active. However, trade does not happen from a downtown office. Provincial representatives, including ministers and, at times, the premier, must engage and lead delegations to carry the message that Manitoba has an abundance of goods and services that are competitive and meet the needs of customers  and that we have the logistical capacity and infrastructure to deliver.

The soon-to-be-announced economic growth strategy should include how the Manitoba government will support and promote trade. The lead provincial agency, Manitoba Trade and Investment, has done a good job working with businesses. Now, in an increasingly competitive trade environment, government has to provide the resources to ensure it has the capacity and is focused.

Large exporters are already active. Manitoba will benefit more from the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership if the additional resources are strategically applied through Manitoba Trade to promote trade, attract inward investment and assist small and mid-sized exporters in seizing opportunities.

Don Leitch is president and CEO of the Business Council of Manitoba.
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This article was published 24/7/2018 (1189 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Putins imperial ambition

Re: White House rejects Putins idea for Ukraine referendum (July 21)

I was not surprised to read that Vladimir Putin has intentions of conducting a referendum in eastern Ukraine on the future of the Donetsk and Luhansk region. U.S. President Donald Trumps recent controversial summit with the Russian leader has stimulated this proposal by Moscow to hold such a referendum in a torn, devastated, isolated region of Ukraine. Thanks to these summits, Putin has an opportunity to overpower the eastern Ukraine and the West by suggesting a referendum is necessary to impose stability in eastern Europe, and to defuse threats to national security.

To date, Putins biggest fear is that countries once part of the Soviet orbit have slid away towards Europe and the West, joining organizations such as NATO and the European Union. It is still Putins plan to seek and create instability in the Baltic States, and especially key regions of Ukraine, justifying that he is protecting the Russian minority.

Russia has proven beyond any doubt that it is prepared to destabilize the western world, regardless of casualties (more than 10,000 people killed in eastern Ukraine) or political and economic consequences, to restore its imperialism. One way of gaining control of a region, particularly eastern Ukraine, under pro-Russian separatist control, is to empower a referendum as was the case in Crimea in the summer of 2014.

In order to stop Putin, the western world must introduce a secure and stabilized far-sighted strategy to prevent a gradual takeover and any catastrophic consequence to eastern European countries and, in particular, Ukraine. Recently, the White House rejected a Putin-backed effort to hold a referendum in eastern Ukraine.

For Ukraine, it is time to step up and restore confidence and show self-management instead of relying on allies to provide support and advisory assistance. There must be internal co-operation by all levels of government in Ukraine and by all Ukrainians; it cannot remain colonial. Ukraine cannot fall under Russias grip, or any hope for democratization in Ukraine will be gone.

If there are scheduled future talks or implementation of a referenda by Vladimir Putin, hopefully the Trump administration will not accept the obscured proposal; It has no legitimacy.

Peter J. Manastyrsky

Winnipeg

Defending western civilization

Re: Peterson leading men astray (Letters, July 20)

What can we make of Daniel Walls hatchet job against Jordan Peterson?

First, that Wall evinces little familiarity, not with the "complex historical movement" of Marxism, but with one of Petersons specialties: mass murder and the results of implementation of Marxist ideology. According to the late Hawaiian historian of democide (murder by government) R.J. Rummel, "In sum, the communist (governments) probably have murdered something like 110,000,000, or near two-thirds of all those killed by all governments, quasi-governments and guerrillas from 1900 to 1987." That is the legacy of Marxism in practice.

Second, that he hasnt heard Peterson discuss the letters he receives from young men crediting him with reeling them back from the alt-right. Far from leading them "down a path of isolation and hatred" he gives them an alternative to nihilism and to the politics of resentment, indicating that the excesses of the left can be checked without resorting to violence.

In his 1950 book The Theory and Practice of Hell, Eugen Kogon recounts how Nazi concentration camp personnel contained a disproportionate number of people we would call sadists and psychopaths, bullies and amoral bureaucrats (such as Adolf Eichmann)  in short, unjust people. These people exist, like dormant seeds, in every place and time. Totalitarian ideologies plant and water these seeds by stripping away the bases of classical liberalism  namely free speech, capitalism, justice, fair play, common sense and individualism  in the name of utopian visions.

Peterson is calling us to recognize and remedy our own flawed characters, and put them into the play of defending western civilization from blundering into the same traps as Soviet Russia, Maoist China and Nazi Germany did. Contrary to the beliefs of the quietists and ostriches in our society today, this quality of mentality exists and eagerly seeks power, and thats no joke.

Gregory Unger

Dugald

Parcels and pedestrians

Re: Solution for bus company and Take blinkers off (Letters, July 20)

The letters in Fridays Free Press were such good reading that I am responding to two different items. Firstly, Brian Spenclers suggestion that Canada Post expand into bus service on the Prairies seems like a bit of genius to me. They are already delivering mail and packages, they have the infrastructure, history, knowledge; it seems like a really clever idea to bring two essential services together in this way. Particularly as the demand for each of these services is not currently as robust as it once was.

I would add my own suggestion; have an attendant on each bus in addition to the bus driver. This person could help with the sorting and unloading of the mail/parcels and could keep a watchful eye on the passengers and attend to their comfort and safety. I believe ridership would increase if people knew there was an attendant overseeing their travels. Parents might even allow younger people, who could not yet drive, travel in this way if they knew another adult were present. And, of course, anyone who feels vulnerable in any way would appreciate the peace of mind offered by the presence of an attendant.

Secondly, to the beautifully written ode to Winnipeg by the former Torontonian, Jen Reid, I couldnt agree more. Our city is "an arts and culture capital in disguise... masquerading as its premier oh no! city." I might gently add that the opinion of the average Torontonian to our fair city is not necessarily representative of the nations opinion.

However, the letter gives some very compelling arguments for the opening of Portage and Main to pedestrian traffic. I think the strongest of them is her contention that we ought to "capitalize on Winnipegs human scale by making the city navigable on foot."

Yes, thats exactly the underlying sentiment for why people walking on our streets is so important. Winnipegs charm is in its smallness and its knowableness. Lets make the most of it, and while were at it, lets claim it and enjoy it.

Lynda Loewen

Winnipeg



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Re: Voters to decide fate of Portage and Main in fall election (July 19)

How typical of Winnipegs mayor, councillors and decision-makers to make another decision without revealing the facts to the public. Or, perhaps even having the factual information themselves.

As Prof. Aaron Moore stated, "With the potential for a free-for-all on the subject, I question whether voters have quality information on which to base their decision." If making major home renovations, I need to know the plan and the budget first. Where is the study that outlines the cost and details of opening Portage and Main? Only after this is revealed can voters have any relevant input.

Debbie Parrish

Winnipeg
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.
American Electric Power Co., Inc. engages in the business of generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. It operates through the following segments: Vertically Integrated Utilities, Transmission & Distribution Utilities, AEP Transmission Holdco and Generation & Marketing. The Vertically Integrated Utilities segment engages in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity for sale to retail and wholesale customers through assets owned and operated by its subsidiaries. The Transmission & Distribution Utilities segment engages in the business of transmission and distribution of electricity for sale to retail and wholesale customers through assets owned and operated by its subsidiaries. The AEP Transmission Holdco segment engages in the development, construction and operation of transmission facilities through investments in its wholly-owned transmission subsidiaries and joint ventures. The Generation & Marketing segment engages in non-regulated generation and marketing, risk management and retail activities. The company was founded on December 20, 1906 and is headquartered in Columbus, OH.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Abbott Laboratories: 3A Nutrition (Vietnam) Company Limited, ABON Biopharm (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd., AGA Medical Belgium, AGA Medical Corporation, AGA Medical Holdings Inc., ALR Holdings, AML Medical LLC, APK Advanced Medical Technologies LLC, ATS Bermuda Holdings Limited, ATS Laboratories Inc., Abbott, Abbott (Jiaxing) Nutrition Co. Ltd., Abbott (UK) Finance Limited, Abbott (UK) Holdings Limited, Abbott AG, Abbott Asia Holdings Limited, Abbott Asia Investments Limited, Abbott Australasia Holdings Limited, Abbott Australasia Pty Ltd, Abbott B.V., Abbott Bahamas Overseas Businesses Corporation, Abbott Belgian Investments, Abbott Bermuda Holding Ltd., Abbott Biologicals B.V., Abbott Biologicals LLC, Abbott Bulgaria Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Capital India Limited, Abbott Cardiovascular Inc., Abbott Cardiovascular Systems Inc., Abbott Delaware LLC, Abbott Diabetes Care Inc., Abbott Diabetes Care Limited, Abbott Diabetes Care Sales Corporation, Abbott Diagnostics GmbH, Abbott Diagnostics International Ltd., Abbott Diagnostics Technologies AS, Abbott Doral Investments S.L., Abbott Equity Holdings Unlimited, Abbott Equity Investments LLC, Abbott Established Products Holdings (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Finance Company SA, Abbott Financial Holdings SRL, Abbott France S.A.S., Abbott Fund Tanzania Limited, Abbott Gesellschaft m.b.H., Abbott GmbH & Co. KG, Abbott Health Products LLC, Abbott Healthcare (Puerto Rico) Ltd., Abbott Healthcare B.V., Abbott Healthcare Costa Rica S.A., Abbott Healthcare LLC, Abbott Healthcare Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Healthcare Private Limited, Abbott Healthcare Products B.V., Abbott Healthcare Products Ltd, Abbott Holding (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Holding GmbH, Abbott Holding Subsidiary (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Holding Subsidiary (Gibraltar) Limited Luxembourg S.C.S., Abbott Holdings B.V., Abbott Holdings LLC, Abbott Holdings Limited, Abbott Holdings Poland Spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Hungary Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Abbott Iberian Investments (2) Limited, Abbott Iberian Investments Limited, Abbott India Limited, Abbott Informatics Asia Pacific Limited, Abbott Informatics Canada Inc, Abbott Informatics Corporation, Abbott Informatics Europe Limited, Abbott Informatics France, Abbott Informatics Germany GmbH, Abbott Informatics Netherlands B.V., Abbott Informatics Singapore Pte. Limited, Abbott Informatics Spain S.A., Abbott Informatics Technologies Ltd, Abbott International Corporation, Abbott International Enterprises Ltd., Abbott International Holdings Limited, Abbott International LLC, Abbott International Luxembourg S.ar.l., Abbott Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Ireland, Abbott Ireland Financing Designated Activity Company, Abbott Ireland Limited, Abbott Japan Co. Ltd., Abbott Kazakhstan Limited Liability Partnership, Abbott Knoll Investments B.V., Abbott Korea Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Bangladesh) Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Chile) Holdco (Dos) SpA, Abbott Laboratories (Chile) Holdco SpA, Abbott Laboratories (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Abbott Laboratories (Mozambique) Limitada, Abbott Laboratories (Pakistan) Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Philippines), Abbott Laboratories (Puerto Rico) Incorporated, Abbott Laboratories (Singapore) Private Limited, Abbott Laboratories A/S, Abbott Laboratories Argentina Sociedad Anonima, Abbott Laboratories B.V., Abbott Laboratories C.A., Abbott Laboratories Finance B.V., Abbott Laboratories GmbH, Abbott Laboratories Inc., Abbott Laboratories International LLC, Abbott Laboratories Ireland Limited, Abbott Laboratories Limited, Abbott Laboratories Limited - Laboratoires Abbott Limitee, Abbott Laboratories NZ Limited, Abbott Laboratories Pacific Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Poland Spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Laboratories Products B.V., Abbott Laboratories Residential Development Fund Inc., Abbott Laboratories S.A., Abbott Laboratories SA, Abbott Laboratories Services Corp., Abbott Laboratories Slovakia s.r.o., Abbott Laboratories South Africa (Pty) Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Trustee Company Limited, Abbott Laboratories Uruguay S.A., Abbott Laboratories Vascular Enterprises, Abbott Laboratories d.o.o., Abbott Laboratories de Chile Limitada, Abbott Laboratories de Colombia S.A., Abbott Laboratories de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Abbott Laboratories druzba za farmacijo in diagnostiko d.o.o., Abbott Laboratories s.r.o., Abbott Laboratories(Hellas) Societe Anonyme, Abbott Laboratorios S.A., Abbott Laboratorios S.A., Abbott Laboratorios del Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Abbott Laboratuarlari Ithalat Ihracat ve Ticaret Ltd.Sti, Abbott Laboratorios Lda, Abbott Laboratorios do Brasil Ltda., Abbott Limited Egypt LLC, Abbott Logistics B.V., Abbott Management GmbH, Abbott Management LLC, Abbott Manufacturing Singapore Private Limited, Abbott Mature Products International Unlimited Company, Abbott Mature Products Management Limited, Abbott Medical (Hong Kong) Limited, Abbott Medical (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Abbott Medical (Portugal) Distribuicao de Produtos Medicos Lda, Abbott Medical (Schweiz) AG, Abbott Medical (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Abbott Medical (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Australia Pty. Ltd., Abbott Medical Austria Ges.m.b.H., Abbott Medical Balkan d.o.o. Beograd (Novi Beograd), Abbott Medical Belgium, Abbott Medical Canada Inc./ Medicale Abbott Canada Inc., Abbott Medical Danmark A/S, Abbott Medical Devices Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Espana S.A., Abbott Medical Estonia OU, Abbott Medical Finland Oy, Abbott Medical France SAS, Abbott Medical GmbH, Abbott Medical Hellas Limited Liability Trading Company, Abbott Medical Ireland Limited, Abbott Medical Italia S.p.A., Abbott Medical Japan Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Korea Limited, Abbott Medical Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Abbott Medical Laboratories LTD, Abbott Medical Nederland B.V., Abbott Medical New Zealand Limited, Abbott Medical Norway AS, Abbott Medical Overseas Cyprus Limited, Abbott Medical Sweden AB, Abbott Medical Taiwan Co., Abbott Medical U.K. Limited, Abbott Medical spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Middle East S.A.R.L., Abbott Molecular Inc., Abbott Morocco SARL, Abbott Nederland C.V., Abbott Nederland Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Netherlands Investments B.V., Abbott Norge AS, Abbott Nutrition Limited, Abbott Nutrition Manufacturing Inc., Abbott Operations Singapore Pte. Ltd., Abbott Operations Uruguay S.R.L., Abbott Overseas Cyprus Limited, Abbott Overseas Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Overseas S.A., Abbott Oy, Abbott Point of Care Canada Limited, Abbott Point of Care Inc., Abbott Poland Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Procurement LLC, Abbott Products (Philippines) Inc., Abbott Products (Spain) S.L., Abbott Products Algerie EURL, Abbott Products B.V., Abbott Products Distribution SAS, Abbott Products Egypt LLC, Abbott Products Limited, Abbott Products Limited Liability Company, Abbott Products Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Products Operations AG, Abbott Products Operations LLC, Abbott Products Romania S.R.L., Abbott Products Tunisie S.A.R.L., Abbott Products Unlimited Company, Abbott Resources Inc., Abbott Resources International Inc., Abbott S.r.l., Abbott Saudi Arabia Trading Company, Abbott Scandinavia Aktiebolag, Abbott Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable, Abbott South Africa Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Strategic Opportunities Limited, Abbott Trading Company Inc., Abbott Universal LLC, Abbott Vascular Devices (2) Limited, Abbott Vascular Devices Limited, Abbott Vascular Inc., Abbott Vascular Instruments Deutschland GmbH, Abbott Vascular International, Abbott Vascular Japan Co. Ltd, Abbott Vascular Limitada, Abbott Vascular Netherlands B.V., Abbott Vascular Solutions Inc., Abbott Ventures Inc., Abbott West Indies Limited, Abbott drustvo sa ogranicenom odgovornoscu za trgovinu i usluge, Advanced Neuromodulation Systems Inc., Alere, Alere (Shanghai) Diagnostics Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Healthcare Management Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Medical Sales Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Technology Co. Ltd., Alere A/S, Alere AB, Alere AS, Alere AS Holdings Limited, Alere BBI Holdings Limited, Alere Bangladesh Limited, Alere China Co. Ltd., Alere Colombia S.A., Alere Connect LLC, Alere Connected Health Limited, Alere Connected Health Ltd., Alere Diagnostics GmbH, Alere DoA Holding GmbH, Alere GmbH, Alere GmbH (Austria), Alere GmbH (Germany), Alere HK Holdings Ltd., Alere Health B.V., Alere Health BVBA, Alere Health Corp., Alere Health Sdn Bhd, Alere Health Services B.V., Alere Healthcare (Pty) Limited, Alere Healthcare Connections Limited, Alere Healthcare Inc., Alere Healthcare Nigeria Limited, Alere Healthcare S.L., Alere Holdco Inc., Alere Holding GmbH, Alere Holdings Bermuda Limited, Alere Holdings Pty Limited, Alere Home Monitoring Inc., Alere Inc., Alere Informatics Inc., Alere International Holding Corp., Alere International Limited, Alere Lda, Alere Limited, Alere Limited (New Zealand), Alere Medical BVBA, Alere Medical Co. Ltd., Alere Medical Pakistan (Private) Limited, Alere Medical Private Limited, Alere North America LLC, Alere Oy Ab, Alere Philippines Inc., Alere Phoenix ACQ Inc., Alere Pte Ltd, Alere S.A., Alere S.r.l., Alere S/A, Alere SAS, Alere San Diego Inc., Alere Scarborough Inc., Alere Spain S.L., Alere Switzerland GmbH, Alere Technologies GmbH, Alere Technologies Holdings Limited, Alere Technologies Limited, Alere Toxicology AB, Alere Toxicology Inc., Alere Toxicology S.r.l., Alere Toxicology Services Inc., Alere Toxicology plc, Alere UK Holdings Limited, Alere UK Subco Limited, Alere ULC, Alere US Holdings LLC, Alere s.r.o., Alisoc Investment & Co, Amedica Biotech Inc., Ameditech Inc., American Generics S.A.S., American Medical Supplies Inc., American Pharmacist Inc., Antares S.A., Apica Cardiovascular Limited, Aquagestion Capacitacion S.A., Aquagestion S.A., Arriva Medical LLC, Arriva Medical Philippines Inc., Arvis Investments Limited, Atlas Farmaceutica S.A., Avee Laboratories Inc., Axis-Shield AD III AS, Axis-Shield AD IV AS, Axis-Shield AS, Axis-Shield Diagnostics Limited, Axis-Shield Ltd., BBI Animal Health Limited, BBI Diagnostics Group 2 Public Limited Company, Banco de Vida S.A., Bioabsorbable Vascular Solutions Inc., Bioalgae S.A., Biohealth LLC, Biosite Incorporated, Bosque Bonito S.A., Branan Medical Corporation, Brandex Europe C.V., British Colloids Limited, CFR Chile S.A., CFR Interamericas EL Salvador Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable, CFR Interamericas Nicaragua Sociedad Anonima, CFR Interamericas Panama S.A., CFR Pharmaceuticals, California Property Holdings III LLC, CardioMEMS LLC, Caripharm Inc., Cephea Valve Technologies, Cephea Valve Technologies Inc., Colibri Medical Aktiebolag, Comercializadora y Distribuidora CFR Interamericas Honduras S.A., Concateno South Limited, Concateno UK Limited, Consorcio Tecnologico en Biomedicina Clinico-Molecular S.A., Continuum Services LLC, Cozart Limited, Dextech S.A., Diagnostik Nord GmbH, Distribuciones Uquifa S.A.S., Domesco Medical Import-Export Joint-Stock Corporation, Duphar International Research B.V., Endocardial Solutions, Epocal (US) Inc, Esprit de Vie S.A., European Chemicals & Co, European Drug Testing Service EDTS AB, European Services S.A., Evalve Inc., Evalve International Inc., FARMINDUSTRIA S.A., Fada Pharma Paraguay Sociedad Anonima, Fadapharma del Ecuador S.A., Farmaceutica Mont Blanc S.L., Farmacologia Em Aquicultura Veterinaria Ltda., Farmacologia en Aquacultura Veterinaria FAV Ecuador S.A., Farmacologia en Aquacultura Veterinaria FAV S.A., Fernwood Investment S.A., First Check Diagnostics LLC, Focus Pharmaceutical S.A.S., Forensics Limited, Forestcreek Overseas S.A., Fournier Pharma Corp., Fournier Pharma GmbH, Fournier Pharmaceuticals Limited, Framed B.V., Gabmed GmbH, Garden Hills LLC, Global Analytical Development LLC, Globapharm & CO LP, Glomed Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Golnorth Investments S.A., Gynocare Limited, Gynopharm Sociedad Anonima, Gynopharm de Centroamerica S.A., Gynopharm de Venezuela C.A., Hi-Tronics Designs Inc., IDEV Technologies Inc., IG Innovations Limited, IMTC Finance B.V., IMTC Holdings B.V., IMTC Technologies Inc., Ibis Biosciences LLC, Igloo Zone Chile S.A., Igloo Zone S.L., Inmobiliaria Naknek S.A.C., Innovacon Inc., Instant Tech Subsidiary Acquisition Inc., Instant Technologies Inc., Instituto de Criopreservacion de Chile S.A., Integrated Vascular Systems Inc., Inverness Canadian Acquisition Corporation, Inverness Medical (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Australia Pty Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Hong Kong Limited, Inverness Medical Innovations SK LLC, Inverness Medical Investments LLC, Inverness Medical LLC, Inverness Medical Shimla Private Limited, Inversiones K2 SpA, Inversiones Komodo S.R.L., Ionian Technologies LLC, Irvine Biomedical Inc., Kalila Medical, Kangshenyunga S.A., Knoll UK Investments Unlimited, LLC VeroInPharm, Laboratoires Fournier S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano Lafrancol S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano del Ecuador S.A., Laboratorio Internacional Argentino S.A., Laboratorio Synthesis S.A.S., Laboratorios Lafi Limitada, Laboratorios Naturmedik S.A.S., Laboratorios Pauly Pharmaceutical S.A.S., Laboratorios Recalcine S.A., Laboratorios Transpharm S.A., Laboratory Specialists of America Inc., Lafrancol Dominicana S.A.S., Lafrancol Guatemala S.A. Sociedad Anonima, Lafrancol Internacional S.A.S, Lafrancol Peru S.R.L, Lake Forest Investments LLC, Lightlab Imaging Inc., Limited Liability Company Abbott Laboratories, Limited Liability Company Abbott Ukraine, Limited Liability Company VEROPHARM, Lung Fung Hong (China) Limited, Mansbridge Pharmaceuticals Limited, MediGuide LLC, MediGuide Ltd., Medscreen Holdings Limited, Metropolitana Farmaceutica S.A., Midwest Properties LLC, Murex Argentina S.A., Murex Biotech Limited, Murex Biotech South Africa, Murex Diagnostics Inc., Murex Diagnostics International Inc., Natural Supplement Association LLC, Negocios Denia Sociedad Anonima, Neosalud S.A.C., Nether Pharma N.P. C.V., NeuroTherm LLC, Normann Pharma-Handels GmbH, North Shore Properties Inc., Novamedi S.A., Novasalud.com S.A., Nutravida S.A., OJSC Voronezhkhimpharm, Omnilab Iberia Sociedad Limitada, OptiMedica, Orgenics France SAS, Orgenics International Holdings B.V., Orgenics Ltd., PBM-Selfcare LLC, PDD II LLC, PDD LLC, PT Alere Health, PT. Abbott Indonesia, PT. Abbott Products Indonesia, Pacesetter Inc., Pantech (RF) (PTY) LTD, Pembrooke Occupational Health Inc., Penagos S.A., Pharma International Sociedad Anonima, Pharmaceutical Technologies (Pharmatech) S.A., Pharmatech Boliviana S.A., Polygon Labs S.A., Quality Assured Services Inc., RF Medical Holdings LLC, RTL Holdings Inc., Ramses Business Corp., Recben Xenerics Farmaceutica Limitada, Redwood Toxicology Laboratory Inc., Rich Horizons International Limited, SC VEROPHARM, SJ Medical Mexico S de R.L. de C.V., SJM International Inc., SJM Thunder Holding Company, SPDH Inc., Saboya Enterprises Corporation, Salviac Limited, Scanax AS, Sealing Solutions Inc., Selfcare Technology Inc., Shandong Abbott Dairy Product Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Medical Devices Science and Technology Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Shanghai Si Fa Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Sinensix & Co., Spinal Modulation LLC, St. Jude Medical, St. Jude Medical AB, St. Jude Medical ATG Inc., St. Jude Medical Argentina S.A., St. Jude Medical Asia Pacific Holdings GK, St. Jude Medical Atrial Fibrillation Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Brasil Ltda., St. Jude Medical Business Services Inc., St. Jude Medical Cardiology Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Colombia Ltda., St. Jude Medical Coordination Center, St. Jude Medical Costa Rica Limitada, St. Jude Medical Europe Inc., St. Jude Medical Export Ges.m.b.H., St. Jude Medical GVA Sarl, St. Jude Medical Holdings B.V., St. Jude Medical India Private Limited, St. Jude Medical International Holding, St. Jude Medical LLC, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings II, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings NT, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings SMI S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings TC S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Mexico Business Services S. de R.L. de C.V., St. Jude Medical Middle East DMCC, St. Jude Medical Operations (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., St. Jude Medical Puerto Rico LLC, St. Jude Medical S.C. Inc., St. Jude Medical Systems AB, St. Jude Medical Turkey Medikal Urunler Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Standard Diagnostics Inc., Standing Stone LLC, Swan-Myers Incorporated, TC1 LLC, Tendyne Holdings Inc., Tendyne Medical Inc., Thoratec Delaware LLC, Thoratec Europe Limited, Thoratec LLC, Thoratec Switzerland GmbH, Tobal Products Incorporated, Topera GmbH in Liquidation, Topera Inc., Tremora S.A., Tuenir S.A., TwistDx, UAB Abbott Laboratories, UAB Abbott Medical Lithuania, Union-Madison Realty Company Inc., Unipath Limited (dba Alere International/aka Cranfield), Unipath Management Limited, Unipath Pension Trustee Limited, Veropharm, Veropharm Limited Liability Partnership, Vida Cell Inversiones S.A., Vida Cell S.A., Vivalsol, W&R Pharma Handels GmbH, Western Pharmaceuticals S.A., X Technologies Inc., Yissum Holding Limited, ZonePerfect Nutrition Company, eScreen Canada ULC, eScreen Inc.,      ( ), and Abbott Laboratories Baltics.
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.
The following companies are subsidiares of Accenture: 2nd Road, 2nd Road Pty Ltd., ?What If!, ?What If! China Holdings Ltd, ?What If! Holdings Limited, ?What If! Innovation Singapore Holdings Pte, ?What If! Limited, ?What If! Shanghai Co. Ltd, ?What If! USA LLC, ACN Consulting Co Ltd, AD Dialeto Agencia de Publicidade SA, AD.Dialeto (Digital Agency acquired by Accenture), AGS Business and Technology Services Limited, ASM Research Inc., ASM Research LLC, ATAN, Accenture (Beijing) Mobile Technology Co Ltd, Accenture (Botswana) (Proprietary) Limited, Accenture (China) Co Ltd, Accenture (Shenzhen) Technology Co. Ltd., Accenture (South Africa) (Proprietary) Limited, Accenture (South Africa) Pty Limited, Accenture (UK) Ltd, Accenture 2 Business Process Services S.A., Accenture 2 LLC, Accenture A/S, Accenture AB, Accenture AG, Accenture AS, Accenture Africa Pty Ltd, Accenture Australia Holding B.V., Accenture Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, Accenture Australia Pty Ltd, Accenture Azerbaijan Ltd, Accenture BPM Operations Support Services S.A., Accenture BPM S.C.R.L., Accenture BV, Accenture Branch Holdings B.V., Accenture Bulgaria EOOD, Accenture Business Services for Utilities Inc, Accenture Business Services of British Columbia Limited Partnership, Accenture Business and Technology Services LLC, Accenture C.A, Accenture CAS GmbH, Accenture Canada Holdings Inc., Accenture Capital DAC, Accenture Capital Inc, Accenture Central Europe B.V., Accenture Chile Asesorias y Servicios Ltda, Accenture Cloud Services GmbH, Accenture Cloud Software Solutions Ltd, Accenture Cloud Solutions Australia Pty Ltd, Accenture Cloud Solutions LLC, Accenture Cloud Solutions Ltd, Accenture Cloud Solutions Pty Ltd, Accenture Co Ltd, Accenture Co Ltd., Accenture Communications Infrastructure Solutions Ltd, Accenture Company Ltd, Accenture Consulting Services Ltd Tanzania, Accenture Consultores de Gestao S.A., Accenture Consultoria de Industria e Consumo Ltda, Accenture Consultoria de Recursos Naturais Ltda, Accenture Credit Services LLC, Accenture Customer Services Distribution SAS, Accenture Customer Services Limited, Accenture Danismanlik Limited Sirketi, Accenture Defined Benefit Pension Plan Trustees Ltd, Accenture Defined Contribution Pension Plan Trustees Ltd, Accenture Delivery Poland sp. z o.o., Accenture Dienstleistungen GmbH, Accenture Digital France Holdings SA, Accenture Digital Holdings GmbH, Accenture East Africa Limited, Accenture Ecuador S.A., Accenture Egypt LLC, Accenture Enterprise Development (Shanghai) Co Ltd., Accenture Federal Services LLC, Accenture Finance (Gibraltar) III Ltd, Accenture Finance GmbH, Accenture Finance GmbH in liquidation, Accenture Finance II GmbH, Accenture Finance II GmbH in liquidation, Accenture Finance II Ltd, Accenture Finance Limited, Accenture Finance and Accounting BPO Services S.p.A., Accenture Finance and Accounting Services Srl, Accenture Flex LLC, Accenture GP LLC, Accenture Ghana Limited, Accenture Global Holdings Ltd., Accenture Global Services Ltd, Accenture Global Solutions Ltd, Accenture GmbH, Accenture HR Services Ltd, Accenture HR Services S.p.A., Accenture Healthcare Processing Inc., Accenture Holding GmbH, Accenture Holding GmbH & Co. KG, Accenture Holding GmbH in liquidation, Accenture Holdings (Iberia) S.L., Accenture Holdings B.V., Accenture Holdings France SAS, Accenture Holdings plc, Accenture Hungary Holdings Kft, Accenture Inc, Accenture Industrial Software Limited Liability Company (Accenture Endustriyel Yazylym Cozumleri Limited irketi), Accenture Industrial Software Limited Liability Company (Accenture Endustriyel Yazlm Cozumleri Limited Sirketi), Accenture Industrial Software Solutions Kft, Accenture Industrial Software Solutions SA, Accenture Insurance Services LLC, Accenture Insurance Services SAS, Accenture Insurance Services SpA, Accenture International BV, Accenture International Capital SCA, Accenture International LLC, Accenture International Limited, Accenture International Sarl, Accenture Japan Ltd, Accenture Korea BV, Accenture LLC, Accenture LLP, Accenture Lanka (Private) Ltd, Accenture Limited, Accenture Ltd, Accenture Ltda, Accenture Maghreb S.a.r.l., Accenture Managed Services SRL, Accenture Managed Services SpA, Accenture Management GmbH, Accenture Middle East B.V, Accenture Middle East BV, Accenture Minority I BV, Accenture Minority III Ltd, Accenture Mozambique Limitada, Accenture Mzansi (Pty) Ltd, Accenture NV/SA, Accenture NZ Limited, Accenture Newco LLC, Accenture Nova Scotia Unlimited Liability Co., Accenture OOO, Accenture Operations Sp. z o.o., Accenture Outsourcing SRL, Accenture Outsourcing Services, Accenture Outsourcing Services S.A., Accenture Oy, Accenture Panama Inc, Accenture Participations BV, Accenture Participations II Limited, Accenture Peru S.R.L, Accenture Peru S.R.L., Accenture Post Trade Processing SAS, Accenture Post-Trade Processing Limited, Accenture Process Ltd, Accenture Product Lifecycle Services, Accenture Properties, Accenture Pte Ltd, Accenture Puerto Rico LLC, Accenture S.A., Accenture S.C., Accenture S.L., Accenture S.R.L., Accenture SAS, Accenture SG Services Pte Ltd, Accenture SRL, Accenture Saudi Arabia Limited, Accenture Sendirian Berhad, Accenture Service Center SRL, Accenture Services (Mauritius) Ltd, Accenture Services AB, Accenture Services AG, Accenture Services AS, Accenture Services GmbH, Accenture Services Ltd, Accenture Services Morocco SA, Accenture Services Oy, Accenture Services Pty Ltd, Accenture Services S.r.l., Accenture Services SRL, Accenture Services Sp. z o.o., Accenture Services Sp. z.o.o., Accenture Services and Technology Srl, Accenture Services fur Kreditinstitute GmbH, Accenture Services s.r.o., Accenture Servicos Administrativos Ltda, Accenture Servicos de Suporte de Negocios Ltda, Accenture Solutions Co Ltd, Accenture Solutions Private Limited, Accenture Solutions Pte Ltd, Accenture Solutions Pty Ltd, Accenture Solutions Sdn Bhd, Accenture Sp. z o.o., Accenture Sp. z.o.o., Accenture SpA, Accenture State Healthcare Services LLC, Accenture Sub II Inc., Accenture Sub Inc, Accenture Sub LLC, Accenture Systems Integration Limited, Accenture Sarl, Accenture Tanacsado Kolatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Accenture Tanacsado Kolatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag KFT, Accenture Technologia, Accenture Technologia Consultoria e Outsourcing S.A., Accenture Technology Infrastructure Services Pty Ltd, Accenture Technology Solutions (Dalian) Co Ltd, Accenture Technology Solutions (HK) Co. Ltd., Accenture Technology Solutions (Thailand) Co. Ltd, Accenture Technology Solutions - Solucoes Informaticas Integradas, Accenture Technology Solutions - Solucoes Informaticas Integradas S.A., Accenture Technology Solutions GmbH, Accenture Technology Solutions Oy, Accenture Technology Solutions Pty Ltd, Accenture Technology Solutions S.A. de C.V., Accenture Technology Solutions SAS, Accenture Technology Solutions SRL, Accenture Technology Solutions Sdn. Bhd., Accenture Technology Solutions Slovakia s.r.o., Accenture Technology Ventures BV, Accenture Technology Ventures S.P.R.L., Accenture Uruguay SRL, Accenture Vietnam Co., Accenture Vietnam Co. LTD, Accenture Zambia Limited, Accenture do Brasil Limitada, Accenture plc, Accenture s.r.o., Acceria, Acquity Customer Insight Limited, Acquity Group, Adaptly LLC, Adaptly UK Limited, AddVal Technology, Adqptly, Advantium Inc., Agave Consultants Limited, Agilex Technologies Inc., Allen International, Allen International Consulting Group Ltd, Alnova Technologies Corporation S.L., AlphaBeta Advisors, Altima, Altima Asia Ltd., Altima SAS, Altitude, Altitude LLC, Analytics 8 LP, Analytics 8 Pty Ltd, Analytics8, Aorui Advertising (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Apis, Appaloosa Technology SAS, Arca, Ariba - BPO, Arismore, Aspiro Solutions (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Avanade, Avanade (Guangzhou) Computer Technology Development Co. Ltd., Avanade (Thailand) Co Ltd, Avanade Asia Pte Ltd, Avanade Australia Pty Ltd, Avanade Belgium SPRL, Avanade Canada Inc., Avanade Denmark A/S, Avanade Denmark ApS, Avanade Deutschland GmbH, Avanade Europe Holdings Ltd, Avanade Europe Services Ltd, Avanade Federal Services LLC, Avanade Finland Oy, Avanade France SAS, Avanade GZ Computer Technology Development Co. Ltd. (SH), Avanade Guangzhou, Avanade Holdings LLC, Avanade Hong Kong Ltd, Avanade International Corporation, Avanade Ireland Limited, Avanade Italy SRL, Avanade KK, Avanade Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Avanade Netherlands BV, Avanade Norway AS, Avanade Poland Sp. z o.o., Avanade Poland Sp. z.o.o., Avanade Schweiz GmbH, Avanade South Africa, Avanade South Africa Pty Ltd, Avanade Spain SL, Avanade Sweden AB, Avanade UK Ltd, Avanade do Brasil Limitada, Avanade Osterreich GmbH, AvantBiz Consulting Limited, Avenai, Axia Ltd., BABCN LLC, BCT Solutions, BCT Solutions Pty Ltd, BPO Servicos Administrativos Ltda, BRIDGE Energy Group, Beacon Consulting Group Inc., Beijing Genesis Interactive Technology Co. Ltd., Benext, Bionic, Blue Horseshoe, Boomerang Pharmaceutical Communications, Boomerang Pharmaceuticals Communications Ireland Limited, Bow & Arrow, Brand Learning, Brand Learning Group Limited, Brand Learning LLC, Brand Learning Ltd, Brand Learning Partners Limited, Brand Learning Pte Limited, Bridge Energy Group LLC, Brightstep AB, Byte Prophecy, CAS, CRMWaypoint, CadenceQuest Inc., Capable Marketer Limited, Capgemini - North American health practice, Capital Consultancy Services Inc., Certus Solutions Consulting Services Ltd, Certus Solutions Ltd, ChangeTrack Research Pty Ltd., Chaotic Moon Studios, Chengdu Mensa Advertising Co. Ltd., Cimation, Cimation UK Limited, Cirruseo, Cirruseo SAS, Clarity Insights, Clearhead, Clearhead Group, Clearhead Group LLC, ClientHouse GmbH, Cloud Sherpas, Cloud Sherpas (GA) LLC, Cloud Sherpas (SN) (PTE.) Limited, Cloud Sherpas New Zealand Ltd., Cloud Talent Limited, Cloudsherpas, Cloudsherpas Inc., Cloudworks, Codagenic Pty. Ltd., Computer Research and Telecommunications LLC, Concrete Desenvolvimento de Sistemas Ltda., Concrete Solutions, Concrete Solutions Ltda., Context Information Security, Coritel S.A., Corliant Inc., CreativeDrive, CustomerWorks Europe SL, Cutting Edge Solutions Ltd, D5 Global Holdings LLC, DAZ Systems Inc, DAZ Systems LLC, DAZSI Systems (India) Pvt. Ltd., DMA Solutions Limited, Davies Consulting, DayNine Consulting, DayNine Consulting (Australia) PTY LTD, DayNine Consulting (Deutschland) GmbH, DayNine Consulting (New Zealand) Limited, DayNine Consulting France SAS, DayNine Consulting Japan K.K., DayNine Consulting LLC, Declarative Holdings, Declarative Holdings LLC, Defense Point Security, Deja vu Security, Design Strategy and Research de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Designaffairs LLC, Digiplug S.A.S., Digiplug SAS, Digital Consulting & Software Services LLC, Droga5, Droga5 LLC, Droga5 Studios LLC, Droga5 UK Ltd., Duck Creek Technologies, Duck Creek Technologies LLC, Deja Vu Security LLC, ESR Labs, Elcurator SAS, Enaxis Consulting, Enaxis Consulting L.P., End-to-End Analytics, Energuia Web, Energuia Web S.A., Energy Management Brokers Ltd., Energy Quote Private Ltd., EnergyQuote JHA, EnergyQuote JHA Ltd., EnergyQuote Trading Ltd., Enimbos, Enkitec, Enterprise System Partners, Enterprise System Partners B.V. , Enterprise System Partners Bilisim Danismanlik Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, Enterprise System Partners Global Corporation, Enterprise System Partners Limited, Enterprise System Partners PR LLC, Enterprise System Partners S.A.S., Entropia, Epylon, Ethica Consulting Group, Evopro Group, Exactside Limited, Exton Consulting, Fairway Technologies Inc, Fairway Technologies LLC, Filmproduction ApS, First Annapolis Consulting, First Annapolis Consulting Inc., First Annapolis Consulting LLC, First Annapolis International, Fjord, Focus Group Europe, Focus Group Europe Limited, Formicary, Formicary Holdings Limited, Formicary Limited, FusionX, FutureMove Automotive, Gapso Servicos de Informatica Ltda., Genfour, Genfour Limited, George Group Consulting L.P., Gestalt LLC, Gestion Altima Canada Inc., Gevity, Global Public Firm S.L., GlobalView SAS, GoodFilm GmbH Filmproduktion Stuttgart, H.B. Maynard and Co. Inc., HRC Retail Advisory, Hagberg Consulting Group, Hangzhou Aiyunzhe Technology Co. Ltd., Happen, Hjaltelin Stahl, Hjaltelin Stahl K/S, Hytracc Consulting AS, Hytracc Consulting Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Hytracc Consulting UK Limited, Hytracc Holding AS, I-Faber S.p.A., IBB Consulting, IMJ Corp, IMJ Corporation, INCAD, INSITUM, IT One Company Limited, ITBS Servicios Bancarios de Tecnologia de la Informacion SL, Icon Integration, Imagine Broadband (USA) Ltd, Imagine Broadband USA LLC, Imaginea Inc, Industrie&Co, Infoman AG, Infoman Schweiz AG, Informatica de Euskadi S.L., Infusion Development Inc., Infusion Development UK Limited, InfusionDev LLC, Innoveer Solutions India Pvt Ltd, Insitum Consultoria Argentina SRL, Insitum Consultoria Brasil LTDA, Insitum Consultoria Colombia SAS, Insitum Consultoria Europa SL, Insitum Consultoria Peru SAC, Insitum Consultoria S.A. de C.V., Intrepid, Intrigo Systems Inc, Intrigo Systems India Pvt. Limited, Intrigo Systems LLC, Inventor Advertisement (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Inventor Technology Limited, InvestTech, Investtech Systems Consulting LLC, Javelin Group, Javelin Group (Bulgaria) EOOD, Javelin Group Limited (UK), Javelin Group SASU, K Comms Group Limited, KCS.net AG, KCS.net AG West, KCS.net Deutschland GmbH, KCS.net Holding AG, KCS.net Osterreich GmbH, Kaper Communications Limited, Karma Communications Debtco Limited, Karma Communications Group Limited, Karma Communications Holdings Limited, Karmarama, Karmarama Comms Limited, Karmarama Limited, Knowledge Rules Inc., Knowledgent, Knowledgent Group LLC, Kogentix, Kogentix LLC, Kogentix Ltd, Kogentix Singapore Pte. Ltd, Kogentix Technologies Private Limited, Kolle Rebbe, Kolle Rebbe GmbH, Kream Comms Limited, Kunstmaan, Kunstmaan NV, Kurt Salmon, Kurt Salmon Canada LTD, Kurt Salmon UKI, Kurt Salmon UKI Ltd., Kurt Salmon US LLC, LEXTA, LINKBYNET, LabAnswer, LabAnswer Government, LemonXL Limited, Logistics Market Place Limited (UK), Loud & Clear Creative Pty Ltd, MAXIM Systems Inc., MCG US Holdings LLC, Mackevision CG Technology and Service (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Mackevision Corporation, Mackevision Japan Co. Ltd., Mackevision Korea Ltd, Mackevision Medien Design, Mackevision Medien Design GmbH, Mackevision Singapore Pte. Ltd., Mackevision UK Ltd, Maglan, Maglan Information Defense Technologies Research Ltd., Maihiro, Matter, Matter Llc, Maud Corp Pty Limited, Maxamine International, Media Audits Ltd., Media Hive, Mediasenz Pty Ltd., Meredith Specialty LLC, Meredith Xcelerated Marketing, Meredith Xcelerated Marketing Corporation, Meridian Informed Purchasing Ltd., Mindtribe, Mindtribe Product Engineering LLC, MobGen, MobGen Technology S.L, Moonrise NV, Mortgage Cadence, Mortgage Cadence an Accenture Company, Most Champion Ltd, Mudano, N3 LLC, NBS Marketing Inc., NYTEC, Nanjing Demeng Advertising Co. Ltd., Nashco Consulting, NaviSys Inc., NellArmonia, Neo Metrics Analytics S.L., Neo Metrics Chile, Neo Metrics Chile S.A., New Content, New Content Chile SpA, New Content Editora e Produtora Ltda., New Energy Aborda, New Energy Associates Ltd, New Energy Group, New Energy S.r.l., NewsPage, NewsPage (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, NewsPage China Ltd., NewsPage Pte Ltd, Nice Agency Limited, Northstream, Northstream AB, Northstream Holding AB, OCTO Technology, OPS Rules Management Consultants, Octagon Research Solutions Inc., Octo Technology LTDA, Octo Technology Pty Ltd, Octo Technology SA, Octo Technology SPRL, Octoman SAS, Odgaard ApS, Olikka, Openmind, Openminded, Operaciones Accenture S.A. de C.V., OpusLine, Orbium, Orbium Consulting Ltd, Orbium GmbH, Orbium Holding AG, Orbium Inc., Orbium International AG, Orbium International sp. z o.o., Orbium Licences AG, Orbium Limited, Orbium Pte. Ltd., Orbium Pty Ltd, Orbium Services sp. z o.o., Orbium Sarl, Origin Digital, PCO Innovation, PCO Innovation Canada Inc., PCO Innovation EURL, PIXO PUNCH Limited, PLM Systems S.r.l, POC Holdings, PRION GmbH, PT Accenture, PT Asta Catur Indra, PT Kogentix Teknologi Indonesia, Pach Invest SARL, Pach Invest SAS, PacificLink Group, PacificLink iMedia Ltd., Paja Finanssipalvelut Oy, Parker Fitzgerald Inc, Parker Fitzgerald Inc., Parker Fitzgerald International Limited, Parker Fitzgerald Limited, Parker Fitzgerald PTY Ltd, Parker Fitzgerald Services Limited, Parker Fitzgerald Solutions Limited, Partners Technology Mexico Holdings BV, Pecaso Ltd., Pegasus Production K/S, Perseroan Terbatas. Accenture, Phase One Consulting Group, Pillar Technology, Pollux, Pragsis Bidoop, Pragsis Bidoop UK Ltd, Pragsis Technologies S.L, PrimeQ, PrimeQ Australia Pty Ltd, PrimeQ Ltd, PrimeQ NZ Pty Ltd, Procurian Germany GmbH, Procurian Inc., Procurian International I LLC, Procurian International II LLC, Procurian LLC, Procurian Singapore Pte. Ltd., Procurian Switzerland GmbH, Procurian USA LLC, Proquire LLC, PureApps Ltd., Qi Jie Beijing Information Technologies Co Ltd, Radiant Services, Radiant Services LLC, Random Walk Computing Inc., Reactive Media Limited, Reactive Media Pty Ltd., Real Protect, Realworld OO Systems Ltd., Redcore, Redcore (Asia) Pte Ltd, Redcore (India) Private Limited (India), Redcore (New Zealand) Limited, Redcore Group Holdings Pty Ltd, Redcore Pty Ltd, Renacentis IT Services, Revolutionary Security, RiskControl, Rothco, Rothco Holdings Designated Activity Company, Rothco Unlimited Company, S.C. EnergyQuote S.r.l., S3 TV Technology Limited, S3 TV Technology Ltd., SEC Servizi, SEC Servizi S.p.A., SOPIA Corp., Sagacious Consultants, Sagacious Consultants LLC, Salt Solutions, Sanchez Capital Services Pvt Ltd, Schlumberger Business Consulting, Seabury Airline Planning Group, Seabury Aviation & Aerospace (UK) Limited, Seabury Aviation & Aerospace Asia (Hong Kong) Limited, Seabury Aviation Consulting LLC, Seabury Cargo Advisory B.V., Seabury Consulting, Seabury Corporate Advisors LLC, Seabury Human Capital LLC, Seabury Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Seabury Structured Finance LLC, Search Technologies BPO, Search Technologies BPO Inc., Search Technologies GmbH, Search Technologies International LLC, Search Technologies LATAM, Search Technologies LATAM S.A., Search Technologies LLC, Search Technologies Limited, Sente Partners LLC, Sentelis, Servicios Tecnicos de Programacion Accenture S.C., Shackleton, Shackleton Barcelona S.L., Shackleton Chile S.A., Shackleton Madrid S.L., Shackleton S.A., Shanghai Baiyue Advertising Co. Ltd., Shun Zhe Technology Development Co. Ltd., Silveo, Simian Pty Limited, SinnerSchrader AG, SinnerSchrader Commerce GmbH, SinnerSchrader Content GmbH, SinnerSchrader Deutschland GmbH, SinnerSchrader Praha s.r.o., SinnerSchrader Swipe GmbH, Sinnerschrader, Sistemes Consulting S.L., Solutions IQ, Solutions IQ LLC, SolutionsIQ, SolutionsIQ India Consulting Services Private Limited, Storm Digital, Storm Digital B.V., Structure Consulting Group, Structure Consulting Group LLC, Sutter Mills, Systor AG, TQuila Limited (UK), Tadata Creative Unlimited Company, Tara Insurance DAC, Tara Risk DAC, TargetST8, TargetST8 Consulting LLC, Tech - Avanade Portugal Unipessoal Lda, Tecnilogica Ecosistemas S.A., Tecnilogica Ltd., Tecnilogica, The Brand Learning Partners Limited, The Callisto Integration Corporation, The Monkeys, The Monkeys Pty Limited, The Myrtle Group, Total Logistics, Total Logistics Supply Chain Consultants Limited, Tquila, Trivadis AG, Troop Studios Pty Ltd, VanBerlo, Verax Solutions, Verax Solutions Corporation, Vertical Retail Consulting (Shanghai) Ltd., Vertical Retail Consulting Hong Kong, Vertical Retail Consulting Hong Kong Ltd., Vertical Retail Consulting Ltd., Vivere Brasil Servicos e Solucoes SA, Vivere Brasil Solucoes De Credito Ltda., Wabion GmbH, Weblinc Pty Ltd, Wire Stone, Wire Stone LLC, Wire Stone Sarl, Wolox, Workforce Insight Inc, Yesler, Zag, Zenta, Zenta Global Philippines, Zenta Global Philippines Inc., Zenta Mortgage Services LLC, Zenta Recoveries Inc, Zenta US Holdings Inc., Zielpuls, Zielpuls (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Zielpuls GmbH, avVenta, designaffairs, designaffairs Business Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., designaffairs GmbH, designaffairs group China Co. Ltd., dgroup, i4C Analytics, iDefense, and solid-serVision.com GmbH.
The following companies are subsidiares of American International Group: AGC Life Insurance Company, AIG APAC HOLDINGS PTE. LTD., AIG Advisors S.r.l., AIG Aerospace Insurance Services Inc., AIG Asia Pacific Insurance Pte. Ltd., AIG Asset Management (Europe) Limited, AIG Asset Management (U.S.) LLC, AIG Assurance Company, AIG Australia Limited, AIG Brazil Holding I LLC, AIG CIS Investments LLC, AIG Canada Holdings Inc., AIG Capital Corporation, AIG Capital Services Inc., AIG Claims Inc., AIG Egypt Insurance Company S.A.E., AIG Employee Services Inc., AIG Europe (Services) Limited, AIG Europe Holdings S.a.rl., AIG Europe S.A., AIG Federal Savings Bank, AIG Financial Products Corp., AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd., AIG Global Asset Management Holdings Corp., AIG Global Real Estate Investment Corp., AIG Global Reinsurance Operations, AIG Holdings Europe Limited, AIG Insurance (Thailand) Public Company Limited, AIG Insurance Company China Limited, AIG Insurance Company JSC, AIG Insurance Company of Canada, AIG Insurance Company-Puerto Rico, AIG Insurance Hong Kong Limited, AIG Insurance Limited, AIG Insurance Management Services Inc., AIG Insurance New Zealand Limited, AIG International Holdings GmbH, AIG Investments UK Limited, AIG Israel Insurance Company Ltd, AIG Japan Holdings Kabushiki Kaisha, AIG Kenya Insurance Company Limited, AIG Korea Inc., AIG Latin America I.I., AIG Latin America Investments S.L., AIG Lebanon SAL, AIG Life Holdings Inc., AIG Life Insurance Company (Switzerland) Ltd, AIG Life Limited, AIG Life South Africa Limited, AIG Life of Bermuda Ltd., AIG MEA Holdings Limited, AIG MEA Limited, AIG Malaysia Insurance Berhad, AIG Markets Inc., AIG Matched Funding Corp., AIG PC Global Services Inc., AIG Philippines Insurance Inc., AIG Property Casualty Company, AIG Property Casualty Inc., AIG Property Casualty International LLC, AIG Property Casualty U.S. Inc., AIG Re-Takaful (L) Berhad, AIG Resseguros Brasil S.A., AIG Seguros Brasil S.A., AIG Seguros Mexico S.A. de C.V., AIG Shared Services Corporation, AIG South Africa Limited, AIG Specialty Insurance Company, AIG Technologies Inc., AIG Travel Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., AIG Travel Assist Inc., AIG Travel Assist Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., AIG Travel EMEA Limited, AIG Travel Inc., AIG Uganda Limited, AIG Vietnam Insurance Company Limited, AIG WarrantyGuard Inc., AIG-FP Pinestead Holdings Corp., AIG-Metropolitana Cia. de Seguros y Reaseguros S.A., AIGGRE EOLA LLC, AIGGRE Europe Real Estate Fund I GP S.a r.l., AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund I GP LLC, AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund I LP, AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund II GP LLC, AIU Insurance Company, AM Holdings LLC, Ageas Protect, AlphaCat Managers Ltd., American General Corporation, American General Life Insurance Company, American Home Assurance Co. Ltd., American Home Assurance Company, American Home Assurance Company Escritorio de Representacao no Brasil Ltda., American International Group Inc., American International Group UK Limited, American International Overseas Association, American International Overseas Limited, American International Realty Corp., American International Reinsurance Company Ltd., American International Underwriters del Ecuador-Holding S.A., American Security Life Insurance Company Limited, Arthur J. Glatfelter Agency Inc., Avondhu Limited, Blackboard Customer Care Insurance Services LLC, Blackboard Insurance Company, Blackboard Services LLC, Blackboard Specialty Insurance Company, Blackboard U.S. Holdings Inc., Chartis Takaful Enaya B.S.C. (c), Commerce and Industry Insurance Company, Crop Risk Services Inc., Eaglestone Reinsurance Company, Ellipse, Fortitude Group Holdings LLC, Fortitude Life & Annuity Solutions Inc., Fortitude Reinsurance Company Ltd., Franklin Life Insurance Company, Fuji Fire and Marine, Glatfelter Insurance Group, Globe and Rutgers Insurance Group, Grand Isle SAC Limited, Granite State Insurance Company, Group Risk Services Limited, Group Risk Technologies Limited, Illinois National Insurance Co., Jefferson Eola Venture LLC, Johannesburg Insurance Holdings (Proprietary) Limited, Laya Healthcare Limited, Lexington Insurance Company, MG Reinsurance Limited, Mt. Mansfield Company Inc., National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh Pa., National Union Fire Insurance Company of Vermont, New Hampshire Insurance Company, PT AIG Insurance Indonesia, Pine Street Real Estate Holdings Corp., Private Joint-Stock Company AIG Ukraine Insurance Company, Risk Specialists Companies Insurance Agency Inc., SA Affordable Housing LLC, SAFG Retirement Services Inc., Service Net Warranty LLC, Stratford Insurance Company, SunAmerica Affordable Housing Partners Inc., SunAmerica Asset Management LLC, Talbot Holdings Ltd., Talbot Underwriting Holdings Ltd., Talbot Underwriting Ltd., Thai CIT Holding Company Limited, The Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania, The United States Life Insurance Company in the City of New York, The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company, Travel Guard, Travel Guard Group Canada Inc./Groupe Garde Voyage du Canada Inc., Travel Guard Group Inc., Tudor Insurance Company, VALIC Financial Advisors Inc., Valic Retirement Services Company, Validus Holdings, Validus Holdings (UK) Ltd., Validus Holdings Ltd., Validus Reinsurance (Switzerland) Ltd, Validus Reinsurance Ltd., Validus Ventures Ltd., Volunteer Firemen's Insurance Services Inc., Western World Insurance Company, and Western World Insurance Group Inc..
N. Oregon Coast Events Feature Filmmaker, Intriguing Mystery Novelist

Published 07/24/2018 at 2:42 AM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff





(Seaside, Oregon)  A famed Oregon filmmaker and a rising star in the mystery novel genre are making a splash on the north Oregon coast this week, with two events that spell intrigue and the spellbinding. Manzanita boasts an appearance by a major name in Oregons film scene, while Tillamooks history museum features a mystery writer who has done some inserting of these beach towns into her novels. (Above: Rockaway Beach, where one writer's mystery novels are inspired from).

Portland filmmaker Kelley Baker is on display in the north Oregon coast town of Manzanita on July 27. The Hoffman Center for the Arts features a set of his short films that night, and Baker will be there to talk about his work and answer questions.

The presentation happens at 7:30 p.m. Admission will be $5.

Baker is an Oregon native who graduated from the University of Southern California film school, only to return home later. He has written and directed three full-length features: Birddog, The Gas Cafe, and Kicking Bird, along with eight short films and several documentaries.

His works have aired on PBS, Canadian and Australian television, and have been shown at film festivals, including London, Sydney, Annecy, Sao Paulo, Sundance, Chicago, Aspen, Mill Valley, and Edinburgh.

He is also the author of three books: The Angry Filmmaker Survival Guide, Road Dog and Parts One and Two.

Baker is also know for his work with other filmmakers, including being the sound designer on six of Gus Van Sants feature films, including My Own Private Idaho, Good Will Hunting, and Finding Forrester.

Hoffman Center for the Arts. 594 Laneda Avenue. Manzanita, Oregon. (503) 368-3846. hoffmanarts.org.

At 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 28, the Tillamook County Pioneer Museum brings in the famed author of two mystery novels set on the Oregon coast. Katherine Bolger Hyde (at right) recently penned "Bloodstains with Bronte," the second in her Crime with the Classics series that takes place in this region. Both are set in the semi-fictional town of Stoney Beach, a place strikingly similar to Rockaway Beach.

Katherine's first book about Stoney Beach was "Arsenic with Austen" and was such a hit Katherine had to return to Rockaway to get inspired for her Bronte book.

Katherine spent her career as an editor before venturing into writing. The setting of Crime with the Classics was inspired by her annual writing pilgrimage to Rockaway Beach on the Oregon coast. Katherine makes her home in the redwoods of Santa Cruz County with her husband, the youngest of her four children, and two obstreperous cats. When not reading, writing, or editing for her day job, she can generally be found knitting while watching British mystery series or singing in the choir at St. Lawrence Orthodox Church.

This program is free and open to the public. Tillamook County Pioneer Museum. Tillamook, Oregon. tcpm.org. 503-842-4553. Lodging in Manzanita, Wheeler - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours













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CARBO Ceramics Inc., a technology company, provides products and services to the oil and gas, industrial, and environmental markets worldwide. It operates through two segments, Oilfield and Industrial Technologies and Services, and Environmental Technologies and Services. The Oilfield and Industrial Technologies and Services segment manufactures and sells oilfield ceramic technology products, base ceramic proppants, and frac sand proppants to pressure pumping companies, and oil and gas operators for use in the hydraulic fracturing of natural gas and oil wells. It also provides technology to design, build, and optimize the Frac; sells fracture stimulation software under the FracPro brand; and offers fracture design and consulting services to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies under the StrataGen brand name. The Environmental Technologies and Services segment provides spill prevention, containment, and countermeasure systems for the oil and gas industry. CARBO Ceramics Inc. was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Caterpillar: Advanced Tri-Gen Power Systems LLC, Anchor Coupling Inc., Asia Power Systems (Tianjin) Ltd., AsiaTrak (Tianjin) Ltd., Banco Caterpillar S.A., Berg Propulsion International Pte Ltd., Bucyrus, Bucyrus Australia Surface Pty. Ltd., Bucyrus Europe Holdings Ltd., Bucyrus Europe Limited, Bucyrus International (Chile) Limitada, Bucyrus International (Peru) S.A., Bucyrus Mining Australia Pty. Ltd., Bucyrus Mining China LLC, Bucyrus UK Limited, Cat Rental Kyushu LLC, Caterpillar (Africa) (Proprietary) Limited, Caterpillar (China) Financial Leasing Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (China) Investment Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (China) Machinery Components Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (HK) Limited, Caterpillar (Huainan) Machinery Service Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Langfang) Mining Equipment Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Luxembourg) Investment Co. S.a r.l., Caterpillar (NI) Limited, Caterpillar (Newberry) LLC, Caterpillar (Qingzhou) Ltd., Caterpillar (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Suzhou) Logistics Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Thailand) Limited, Caterpillar (U.K.) Limited, Caterpillar (Wujiang) Ltd., Caterpillar (Xuzhou) Ltd., Caterpillar (Zhengzhou) Ltd., Caterpillar Acquisition Holding Corp., Caterpillar Americas C.V., Caterpillar Americas Co., Caterpillar Americas Funding Inc., Caterpillar Americas Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Asia Limited, Caterpillar Asia Pacific L.P., Caterpillar Asia Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Asset Intelligence LLC, Caterpillar Belgium S.A., Caterpillar Brasil Comercio de Maquinas e Pecas Ltda., Caterpillar Brasil Ltda., Caterpillar Brazil LLC, Caterpillar Castings Kiel GmbH, Caterpillar Centro de Formacion S.L., Caterpillar China Limited, Caterpillar Commercial Australia Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar Commercial LLC, Caterpillar Commercial Northern Europe Limited, Caterpillar Commercial S.A., Caterpillar Commercial S.A.R.L., Caterpillar Commercial Services S.A.R.L., Caterpillar Communications LLC, Caterpillar Corporativo Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Cote DIvoire, Caterpillar Credito S.A. de C.V. SOFOM E.N.R., Caterpillar DC Pension Trust Limited, Caterpillar Digital Services & Solutions SARL, Caterpillar Distribution International LLC, Caterpillar Distribution Services Europe B.V.B.A., Caterpillar East Real Estate Holding Ltd., Caterpillar Emissions Solutions Inc., Caterpillar Energy Solutions Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Energy Solutions GmbH, Caterpillar Energy Solutions Inc., Caterpillar Energy Solutions S.A., Caterpillar Energy System Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Engine Systems Inc., Caterpillar Equipos Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Eurasia LLC, Caterpillar FS (QFC) LLC, Caterpillar Finance France S.A., Caterpillar Finance Kabushiki Kaisha, Caterpillar Financial Acquisition Funding LLC, Caterpillar Financial Aftermarket Solutions Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Australia Leasing Pty Limited, Caterpillar Financial Australia Limited, Caterpillar Financial Commercial Account Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Corporacion Financiera S.A. E.F.C., Caterpillar Financial Dealer Funding LLC, Caterpillar Financial Funding Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Kazakhstan Limited Liability Partnership, Caterpillar Financial Leasing (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Financial New Zealand Limited, Caterpillar Financial Nordic Services AB, Caterpillar Financial Nova Scotia Corporation, Caterpillar Financial OOO, Caterpillar Financial Receivables Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Renting S.A., Caterpillar Financial SARL, Caterpillar Financial Services (Dubai) Limited, Caterpillar Financial Services (Ireland) plc, Caterpillar Financial Services (UK) Limited, Caterpillar Financial Services Argentina S.A., Caterpillar Financial Services Asia Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Financial Services Belgium S.P.R.L., Caterpillar Financial Services CR s.r.o., Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Services GmbH, Caterpillar Financial Services India Private Limited, Caterpillar Financial Services Leasing ULC, Caterpillar Financial Services Limited Les Services Financiers Caterpillar Limitee, Caterpillar Financial Services Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Caterpillar Financial Services Netherlands B.V., Caterpillar Financial Services Norway AS, Caterpillar Financial Services Philippines Inc., Caterpillar Financial Services Poland Sp. z o.o., Caterpillar Financial Services South Africa (Pty) Limited, Caterpillar Financial UK Acquisition Funding Partners, Caterpillar Financial Ukraine LLC, Caterpillar Fluid Systems S.r.l., Caterpillar Fomento Comercial Ltda., Caterpillar Forest Products Inc., Caterpillar France S.A.S., Caterpillar GB L.L.C., Caterpillar Global Investments S.a r.l., Caterpillar Global Mining America LLC, Caterpillar Global Mining Equipamentos De Mineracao do Brasil Ltda., Caterpillar Global Mining Equipment LLC, Caterpillar Global Mining Europe GmbH, Caterpillar Global Mining Expanded Products Pty Ltd, Caterpillar Global Mining Germany Holdings GmbH, Caterpillar Global Mining HMS GmbH, Caterpillar Global Mining Holdings GmbH, Caterpillar Global Mining Hong Kong AFC Manufacturing Holding Co. Limited, Caterpillar Global Mining Hong Kong Limited, Caterpillar Global Mining LLC, Caterpillar Global Mining Mexico LLC, Caterpillar Global Mining Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar Global Mining SARL, Caterpillar Global Mining U.S. Parts LLC, Caterpillar Global Services LLC, Caterpillar Group Services S.A., Caterpillar Holding (France) S.A.S., Caterpillar Holding Germany GmbH, Caterpillar Holdings Australia Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar Hungary Components Manufacturing Ltd., Caterpillar Hydraulics Italia S.r.l., Caterpillar IPX LLC, Caterpillar IRB LLC, Caterpillar Impact Products Limited, Caterpillar India Private Limited, Caterpillar Industrial Inc., Caterpillar Industrias Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Industries (Pty) Ltd, Caterpillar Insurance Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Insurance Company, Caterpillar Insurance Holdings Inc., Caterpillar Insurance Services Corporation, Caterpillar International Finance Designated Activity Company, Caterpillar International Finance Luxembourg Holding S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Finance Luxembourg S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Holding S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Luxembourg I S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Luxembourg II S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Product SARL, Caterpillar International Services Corporation, Caterpillar International Services del Peru S.A., Caterpillar Investment Limited, Caterpillar Investment One SARL, Caterpillar Investment Two SARL, Caterpillar Investments, Caterpillar Japan LLC, Caterpillar Latin America Services S.R.L., Caterpillar Latin America Services de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Latin America Services de Panama S. de R.L., Caterpillar Latin America Servicios de Chile Limitada, Caterpillar Latin America Support Services S. DE R.L., Caterpillar Leasing (Thailand) Limited, Caterpillar Leasing Chile S.A., Caterpillar Leasing GmbH (Leipzig), Caterpillar Leasing Operativo Limitada, Caterpillar Life Insurance Company, Caterpillar Logistics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Logistics (UK) Limited, Caterpillar Logistics Inc., Caterpillar Logistics ML Services France S.A.S., Caterpillar Logistics Services China Limited, Caterpillar Luxembourg Group S.ar.l., Caterpillar Luxembourg LLC, Caterpillar Luxembourg S.a r.l., Caterpillar Machinery Nantong Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Marine Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Marine Asset Intelligence, Caterpillar Marine Power UK Limited, Caterpillar Marine Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Maroc SARL, Caterpillar Materiels Routiers SAS, Caterpillar Mexico LLC, Caterpillar Mexico S.A. de C.V., Caterpillar Mining Canada ULC, Caterpillar Mining Chile Servicios Limitada, Caterpillar Motoren (Guangdong) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Motoren GmbH & Co. KG, Caterpillar Motoren Henstedt-Ulzburg GmbH, Caterpillar Motoren Rostock GmbH, Caterpillar Motoren Verwaltungs-GmbH, Caterpillar Netherlands Holding B.V., Caterpillar North America C.V., Caterpillar Operator Training Ltd., Caterpillar Overseas Credit Corporation SARL, Caterpillar Overseas Investment Holding SARL, Caterpillar Overseas Limited, Caterpillar Overseas SARL, Caterpillar Panama Services S.A., Caterpillar Paving Products Inc., Caterpillar Paving Products Xuzhou Ltd., Caterpillar Pension Trust Limited, Caterpillar Poland Sp. z o.o., Caterpillar Power Generation Systems (Bangladesh) Limited, Caterpillar Power Generation Systems L.L.C., Caterpillar Power Systems Inc., Caterpillar Power Ventures International Ltd., Caterpillar Precision Seals Korea, Caterpillar Prodotti Stradali S.r.l., Caterpillar Product Services Corporation, Caterpillar Propulsion AB, Caterpillar Propulsion International Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Propulsion Italy S.R.L., Caterpillar Propulsion Namibia (Proprietary) Limited, Caterpillar Propulsion Production AB, Caterpillar Propulsion Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Propulsion Singapore Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar R&D Center (China) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Ramos Arizpe LLC, Caterpillar Ramos Arizpe S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Ramos Arizpe Servicios S.A. de C.V., Caterpillar Reman Powertrain Indiana LLC, Caterpillar Remanufacturing Drivetrain LLC, Caterpillar Remanufacturing Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Renting France S.A.S., Caterpillar Reynosa S.A. de C.V., Caterpillar SARL, Caterpillar Services Germany GmbH, Caterpillar Servicios Limitada, Caterpillar Servicios Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Servizi Italia Srl, Caterpillar Shrewsbury Limited, Caterpillar Skinningrove Limited, Caterpillar Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd., Caterpillar Special Services Belgium S.P.R.L., Caterpillar Switchgear Americas LLC, Caterpillar Switchgear Holding Inc., Caterpillar Tianjin Ltd., Caterpillar Torreon S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Tosno L.L.C., Caterpillar Transmissions France S.A.R.L., Caterpillar Tunneling Canada Holdings Ltd., Caterpillar Tunnelling Canada Corporation, Caterpillar Tunnelling Europe Limited, Caterpillar UK Employee Trust Limited, Caterpillar UK Engines Company Limited, Caterpillar UK Group Limited, Caterpillar UK Holdings Limited, Caterpillar Undercarriage (Xuzhou) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Underground Mining Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar Used Equipment Services Inc., Caterpillar Venture Capital Inc., Caterpillar Work Tools B.V., Caterpillar Work Tools Inc., Caterpillar World Trading Corporation, Caterpillar Xuzhou, Caterpillar of Australia Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar of Canada Corporation, Caterpillar of Delaware Inc., Centre de Distribution de Wallonie SPRL, CleanAir Systems, Downer Freight Rail, ECM Railway Evolution Romania s.r.l., ECM S.p.A., EDC European Excavator Design Center GmbH, EMC Holding Corp., EMD International Holdings Inc., ERA Information & Entertainment (BVI) Limited, ERA Mining Machinery Limited, Electro-Motive Diesel Limited, Electro-Motive Locomotive Technologies LLC, Electro-Motive Technical Consulting Co. (Beijing) Ltd., Energy Services International Limited, Equipos de Acuna S.A. de C.V., Eurenov S.A.S., F. G. Wilson (Proprietary) Limited, F. Perkins Limited, FG Wilson (Engineering) Limited, GB Holdco (China) Inc., GFCM Comercial Mexico S.A. de C.V. SOFOM E.N.R., GFCM Servicios S.A. de C.V., Gremada Industries - Assets, Hong Kong Siwei Holdings Limited, Inmobiliaria Conek S.A. de C.V., JCS Co., Kemper Valve & Fittings Corp., Leo Inc., Locomotive Demand Power Pty Ltd., Locomotoras Progress Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Lovat, M2M Data Corporation, MGE Equipamentos & Servicos Ferroviarios, MWM, MWM Austria GmbH, MWM Benelux B.V., MWM Energy Australia Pty Ltd, MWM France S.A.S, MWM Real Estate GmbH, MaK Americas Inc., MaK Americas Inc. (Canada), Magnum Power Products LLC, Marble, Maschinenbau Kiel GmbH, Mec-Track S.r.l., Metalmark Financial Services Limited, Motoren Steffens GmbH, Nippon Caterpillar LLC, P. T. Solar Services Indonesia, PT Caterpillar Finance Indonesia, PT. Bucyrus Indonesia, PT. Caterpillar Indonesia, PT. Caterpillar Indonesia Batam, PT. Caterpillar Remanufacturing Indonesia, Perkins Engines, Perkins Engines (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd, Perkins Engines Group Limited, Perkins Engines Inc., Perkins Group Limited, Perkins Holdings Limited LLC, Perkins India Private Limited, Perkins International Inc., Perkins Japan LLC, Perkins Limited, Perkins Machinery (Changshu) Co. Ltd., Perkins Motores do Brasil Ltda., Perkins Power Systems Technology (Wuxi) Co. Ltd., Perkins Small Engines (Wuxi) Co. Ltd., Perkins Small Engines LLC, Perkins Small Engines Limited, Perkins Technology Inc., Progress Metal Reclamation Company, Progress Rail Arabia Limited Company, Progress Rail Australia Pty Ltd, Progress Rail Canada Corporation, Progress Rail Equipamentos e Servicos Ferroviarios do Brasil Ltda., Progress Rail Equipment Leasing Corporation, Progress Rail Holdings Inc., Progress Rail Innovations Private Limited, Progress Rail Inspection & Information Systems GmbH, Progress Rail Inspection & Information Systems S.r.l., Progress Rail International Corp., Progress Rail Leasing Canada Corporation, Progress Rail Leasing Corporation, Progress Rail Leasing de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Progress Rail Locomotivas (do Brasil) Ltda., Progress Rail Locomotive Canada Co., Progress Rail Locomotive Chile SpA, Progress Rail Locomotive Inc., Progress Rail Maintenance de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Progress Rail Manufacturing Corporation, Progress Rail Raceland Corporation, Progress Rail Rocklin Corporation, Progress Rail SA Proprietary Limited, Progress Rail Services Corporation, Progress Rail Services Holdings Corp., Progress Rail Services LLC, Progress Rail Services UK Limited, Progress Rail Switching Services LLC, Progress Rail Transcanada Corporation, Progress Rail Welding Corporation, Progress Rail Wildwood LLC, Progress Rail de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Pyroban Group, Pyroban Group, Pyrrha Investments B.V., Pyrrha Investments Limited, S&L Railroad LLC, SCM Singapore Holdings Pte. Ltd., SPL Software Alliance LLC, Sabre Engines, Servicios de Turbinas Solar S. de R.L. de C.V., Shandong SEM Machinery Co. Ltd., Solar Turbines, Solar Turbines, Solar Turbines (Beijing) Trading Services Co. Ltd., Solar Turbines (Thailand) Ltd., Solar Turbines CIS Limited Liability Company, Solar Turbines Canada Ltd./Ltee., Solar Turbines Central Asia Limited Liability Partnership, Solar Turbines EAME s.r.o., Solar Turbines Egypt Limited Liability Company, Solar Turbines Europe S.A., Solar Turbines India Private Limited, Solar Turbines International Company, Solar Turbines Italy S.R.L., Solar Turbines Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Solar Turbines Middle East Limited, Solar Turbines New Zealand Limited, Solar Turbines Saudi Arabia Limited, Solar Turbines Services Company, Solar Turbines Services Nigeria Limited, Solar Turbines Services of Argentina S.R.L., Solar Turbines Switzerland Sagl, Solar Turbines Trinidad & Tobago Limited, Solar Turbines West-Africa SARL, Tangshan DBT Machinery Co. Ltd., Tecnologia Modificada S.A. de C.V., Towmotor Corporation, Traction & Mining Motor Repairs Pty Ltd, Turbinas Solar S.A. de C.V., Turbinas Solar de Colombia S.A., Turbinas Solar de Venezuela C.A., Turbo Tecnologia de Reparaciones S.A. de C.V., Turbomach, Turbomach Endustriyel Gaz Turbinleri Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited, Turbomach France SARL, Turbomach GmbH, Turbomach Netherlands B.V., Turbomach Pakistan (Private) Limited, Turbomach S.A. Unipersonal, Turbomach Sp. Z o.o., Turner Powertrain Systems Limited, UK Hose Assembly Limited, Underground Imaging Technologies Inc, United Industries LLC, VALA Inc., Vasky Energy Ltd., Wealdstone Engineering, Weir - Oil & Gas Division, West Virginia Auto Shredding Inc., Western Gear Machinery LLC, Wetland Sustainability Fund I LLC, Williams Technologies, Yard Club, Zhengzhou Siwei Mechanical and Electrical Equipment Sales Co. Ltd., and okyo Rental Ltd..
The following companies are subsidiares of Centene: APS Parent Inc., AWC of Syracuse Inc., Absolute Total Care Inc., AcariaHealth Inc., AcariaHealth Pharmacy #11 Inc., AcariaHealth Pharmacy #12 Inc., AcariaHealth Pharmacy #13 Inc., AcariaHealth Pharmacy #14 Inc., AcariaHealth Pharmacy Inc., AcariaHealth Solutions Inc., Access Medical Acquisition LLC, Access Medical Group of Florida City LLC, Access Medical Group of Hialeah LLC, Access Medical Group of Lakeland LLC, Access Medical Group of Miami LLC, Access Medical Group of North Miami Beach LLC, Access Medical Group of Opa-Locka LLC, Access Medical Group of Perrine LLC, Access Medical Group of Tampa II LLC, Access Medical Group of Tampa III LLC, Access Medical Group of Tampa LLC, Access Medical Group of Westchester LLC, Accountable Care Coalition Direct Contracting LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Chesapeake LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Community Health Centers II LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Community Health Centers LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Elite Providers II LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Elite Providers III LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Elite Providers IV LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Elite Providers LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Elite Providers V LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Elite Providers VI LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Elite Providers VII LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Florida Partners LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Georgia LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Maryland LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Maryland Primary Care LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Mississippi LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of New Jersey Inc., Accountable Care Coalition of North Texas LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Northeast Georgia LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Northeast Partners LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Northwest Florida LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Prime Health LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Quality Health II LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Quality Health III LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Quality Health LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Southeast Partners LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Southeast Physician Partners LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Southeast Texas Inc., Accountable Care Coalition of Southeast Wisconsin LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Tennessee LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Texas Inc., Agate Resources Inc., AirLogix, Ambetter of Magnolia Inc., Ambetter of North Carolina Inc., Ambetter of Peach State Inc., America's 1st Choice California Holdings LLC, American Progressive Life and Health Insurance Company of New York, Apixio, Apixio Inc, Arch Personalized Medicine Initiative LLC, Arkansas Health & Wellness Health Plan Inc., Arkansas Total Care Holding Company LLC, Arkansas Total Care Inc., B2B Gestion Integra S.L.U., B2B Salud S.L.U., Bankers Reserve Life Insurance Company of Wisconsin, Blackcrow Asistencia Medica S.L, Bridgeway Health Solutions LLC, Bridgeway Health Solutions of Arizona Inc., Buckeye Community Health Plan Inc., Buckeye Health Plan Community Solutions Inc., CCTX Holdings LLC, CMC Real Estate Company LLC, CT Poprad s.r.o., CT Presov s.r.o., Calibrate Acquisition Company, California Health and Wellness Plan, Cantina Laredo Clayton LP, Cardium Health Services, Care 1st Health Plan of Arizona Inc., Care1st Health Plan Administrative Services Inc., Carolina Complete Health Holding Company Partnership, Carolina Complete Health Inc., Casenet LLC, Casenet S.R.O., CeltiCare Health Plan Holdings LLC, CeltiCare Health Plan of Massachusetts Inc., Celtic Group Inc., Celtic Insurance Company, Cenpatico Behavioral Health LLC, Cenpatico Behavioral Health of Arizona LLC, Cenpatico of Arizona Inc., Centene Center I LLC, Centene Center II LLC, Centene Center LLC, Centene Company of Texas LP, Centene Europe Finance Company Limited, Centene Health Plan Holdings Inc., Centene Institute for Advanced Health Education LLC, Centene International Ventures LLC, Centene Investments LLC, Centene Management Company LLC, Centene Venture Company Alabama Health Plan Inc., Centene Venture Company Florida Inc., Centene Venture Company Illinois Inc., Centene Venture Company Indiana Inc., Centene Venture Company Kansas Inc., Centene Venture Company Michigan Inc., Centene Venture Company Tennessee Inc., Centro Inmunologocia De La Comunidad Valenciana S.L., Centurion Correctional Healthcare of New Mexico LLC, Centurion Detention Health Services LLC, Centurion LLC, Centurion of Arizona LLC, Centurion of Delaware LLC, Centurion of Florida LLC, Centurion of Kansas LLC, Centurion of Minnesota LLC, Centurion of Mississippi LLC, Centurion of New Hampshire LLC, Centurion of Pennsylvania LLC, Centurion of Tennessee LLC, Centurion of Vermont LLC, Centurion of West Virginia LLC, Centurion of Wyoming LLC, Chrysalis Medical Services LLC, Clinica Santo Domingo De Lugo S.L., Collaborative Health Systems IPA LLC, Collaborative Health Systems LLC, Collaborative Health Systems of Maryland LLC, Collaborative Health Systems of Virginia LLC, Comfort Hospice of Missouri LLC, Comfort Hospice of Texas LLC, ComfortBrook Hospice LLC, Community Medical Group, Community Medical Holdings Corporation, Comprehensive Health Management Inc., Comprehensive Reinsurance Ltd., Coordinated Care Corporation, Coordinated Care of Washington Inc., Country Style Health Care LLC, Discare CZ a.s., District Community Care Inc., Dr Magnet s.r.o., Elche-Crevillente Salud, Envolve Benefits Options Inc., Envolve Captive Insurance Company Inc., Envolve Dental IPA of New York Inc., Envolve Dental Inc., Envolve Dental of Florida Inc., Envolve Dental of Texas Inc., Envolve Health, Envolve Holdings Inc., Envolve Inc., Envolve Optical Inc., Envolve PeopleCare Inc., Envolve Pharmacy IPA LLC, Envolve Pharmacy Solutions Inc., Envolve Total Vision Inc., Envolve Vision Benefits Inc., Envolve Vision IPA of New York Inc., Envolve Vision Inc., Envolve Vision of Florida Inc., Envolve Vision of Texas Inc., Essential Care Partners LLC, Exactus Pharmacy Solutions Inc., Family Nurse Care II LLC, Family Nurse Care LLC, Family Nurse Care of Ohio LLC, Fidelis Care, Forensic Health Services LLC, Foundation Care LLC, Godgrace Asistencia Medica S.L., Golden Triangle Physician Alliance, Grace Hospice of Austin LLC, Grace Hospice of Grand Rapids LLC, Grace Hospice of Illinois LLC, Grace Hospice of Indiana LLC, Grace Hospice of San Antonio LLC, Grace Hospice of Virginia LLC, Grace Hospice of Wisconsin LLC, Granite State Health Plan Inc., Growly Asistencia Sanitaria S.L., HHS Texas Management Inc., HHS Texas Management LP, Hallmark Life Insurance Company, Harmony Behavioral Health IPA Inc., Harmony Behavioral Health Inc., Harmony Health Management Inc., Harmony Health Plan Inc., Harmony Health Systems Inc., Health Care Enterprises LLC, Health Net Access Inc., Health Net Community Solutions Inc., Health Net Community Solutions of Arizona Inc., Health Net Federal Services LLC, Health Net Health Plan of Oregon Inc., Health Net LLC, Health Net Life Insurance Company, Health Net Life Reinsurance Company, Health Net Pharmaceutical Services, Health Net of Arizona Inc., Health Net of California Inc., Health Plan Real Estate Holdings Inc., HealthSmart Benefit Solutions Inc., HealthSmart Benefits Management LLC, HealthSmart Care Management Solutions LP, HealthSmart Information Systems Inc., HealthSmart Preferred Care II LP, HealthSmart Preferred Network II Inc., HealthSmart Primary Care Clinics LP, HealthSmart Rx Solutions Inc., Healthy Louisiana Holdings LLC, Healthy Missouri Holdings Inc., Healthy Washington Holdings Inc., Heritage Health Systems Inc., Heritage Health Systems of Texas Inc., Heritage Home Hospice LLC, Heritage Physician Networks, Home State Health Plan Inc., HomeScripts.com LLC, Hospice DME Company LLC, Hospinet S.L., Hospital Polusa S.A., Hospital Povisa S.A., Hudson Accountable Care LLC, IAH of Florida LLC, Illinois Health Practice Alliance LLC, Infraestructuras y Servicios de Alzira S. L., Integrated Care Network of Florida LLC, Integrated Mental Health Management LLC, Integrated Mental Health Services, Interpreta Holdings Inc., Interpreta Inc., Iowa Total Care Inc., Kentucky Spirit Health Plan Inc., LBB Industries Inc., LifeShare Management Group LLC, LiveHealthier Inc., Louisiana Healthcare Connections Inc., MH Services International Holdings (UK) Limited, MHM, MHM Correctional Services LLC, MHM Health Professionals LLC, MHM Services Inc., MHM Services of California LLC, MHM Solutions LLC, MHN Government Services LLC, MHN Services LLC, MHS Consulting International Inc., MHS Travel & Charter Inc., MR Centrum Melnick s.r.o., MR Poprad s.r.o., MR Zilina s.r.o., Magnolia Health Plan Inc., Managed Health Network, Managed Health Network LLC, Managed Health Services Insurance Corporation, Maryland Collaborative Care LLC, Maryland Collaborative Care Transformation Organization Inc., Mauli Ola Health and Wellness Inc., Medicina NZ spol s.r.o., Meridian Health Plan of Illinois Inc., Meridian Health Plan of Michigan Inc., Meridian Management Company LLC, Meridian Network Services LLC, MeridianRx IPA LLC, MeridianRx LLC, MeridianRx of Indiana LLC, Michigan Complete Health, Mid-Atlantic Collaborative Care LLC, Nebraska Total Care Inc., Network Providers LLC, New York Quality Healthcare Corporation, Next Door Neighbors Inc., Next Door Neighbors LLC., North Florida Health Services Inc., Northern Maryland Collaborative Care LLC, Novasys Health Inc., OB Care, OB Klinika, Ohana Health Plan Inc., Oklahoma Complete Health Inc., One Care by Care 1st Health Plans of Arizona Inc, Operose Health (Group) Ltd., Operose Health (Group) UK Ltd., Operose Health Ltd., OptiCare Health Systems - Managed Vision Business, PANTHERx Rare Pharmacy, Panther Pass Co LLC, Panther Specialty Holding Co LLC, Pantherx Access Services LLC, Pantherx Specialty LLC, Parker LP LLC, Peach State Health Plan Inc., Penn Marketing America LLC, Pennsylvania Health and Wellness Inc., Phoenix Home Health Care LLC, Pinnacle Home Care LLC, Pinnacle Senior Care of Illinois LLC, Pinnacle Senior Care of Indiana LLC, Pinnacle Senior Care of Kalamazoo LLC, Pinnacle Senior Care of Missouri LLC, Pinnacle Senior Care of Wisconsin LLC, Premier Marketing Group LLC, PrimeroSalud S.L., Pro Diagnostic Group A.S., Pro Magnet CZ s.r.o., Pro Magnet s.r.o, Pro RTG s.r.o, Progress Medical A.S., Prowl Holdings LLC, QCA Healthplan Inc., Qualchoice Life and Health Insurance Company, Quincy Coverage Corporation, R&C Healthcare LLC, RMED LLC, RX Direct Inc., Rapid Respiratory Services LLC, Ribera Lab S.L.U., Ribera Salud II, Ribera Salud Proyectos S.L., Ribera Salud S.A., Ribera Salud Tecnologias S.L.U., Ribera Slaud Infraestructuras S.L.U., Ribera-Quilpro UTE, Salus Administrative Services Inc., Salus IPA LLC, Secure Capital Solutions 2000 S.L.U., SelectCare Health Plans Inc., SelectCare of Texas Inc., Seniorcorps Peninsula LLC, Servicios De Mantenimiento Prevencor S.L.U., SilverSummit Healthplan Inc., Social Health Bridge LLC, Social Health Bridge Trust, Specialty Therapeutic Care GP LLC, Specialty Therapeutic Care Holdings, Specialty Therapeutic Care Holdings LLC, Specialty Therapeutic Care LP, Sunflower State Health Plan Inc., Sunshine Health Community Solutions Inc., Sunshine Health Holding LLC, Sunshine State Health Plan Inc., Superior HealthPlan Community Solutions Inc., Superior HealthPlan Inc., The Practice Properties Limited, The WellCare Management Group Inc., Torrejon Salud S.A., Torrevieja Salud S.L.U., Torrevieja Salud UTE, Traditional Home Health Services LLC, Trillium Community Health Plan Inc., U.S. Medical Management Holdings Inc., U.S. Medical Management LLC, UAM Agent Services Corp., US Script, USMM Accountable Care Partners LLC, Universal American Corp., Universal American Financial Services Inc., Universal American Holdings LLC, WCG Health Management Inc., WellCare Health Insurance Company of America, WellCare Health Insurance Company of Kentucky Inc., WellCare Health Insurance Company of Louisiana Inc., WellCare Health Insurance Company of Nevada Inc., WellCare Health Insurance Company of New Hampshire Inc., WellCare Health Insurance Company of New Jersey Inc., WellCare Health Insurance Company of Oklahoma Inc., WellCare Health Insurance Company of Washington Inc., WellCare Health Insurance Company of Wisconsin Inc., WellCare Health Insurance of Arizona Inc., WellCare Health Insurance of Connecticut Inc., WellCare Health Insurance of Hawaii Inc., WellCare Health Insurance of New York Inc., WellCare Health Insurance of North Carolina Inc., WellCare Health Insurance of Southwest Inc., WellCare Health Insurance of Tennessee Inc., WellCare Health Plans, WellCare Health Plans of Arizona Inc., WellCare Health Plans of California Inc., WellCare Health Plans of Kentucky Inc., WellCare Health Plans of Massachusetts Inc., WellCare Health Plans of Missouri Inc., WellCare Health Plans of New Jersey Inc., WellCare Health Plans of Rhode Island Inc., WellCare Health Plans of Tennessee Inc., WellCare Health Plans of Vermont Inc., WellCare Health Plans of Wisconsin Inc., WellCare National Health Insurance Company, WellCare Pharmacy Benefits Management Inc., WellCare Prescription Insurance Inc., WellCare of Alabama Inc., WellCare of Arkansas Inc., WellCare of California Inc., WellCare of Connecticut Inc., WellCare of Florida Inc., WellCare of Georgia Inc., WellCare of Illinois Inc., WellCare of Indiana Inc., WellCare of Kansas Inc., WellCare of Maine Inc., WellCare of Michigan Holding Company, WellCare of Mississippi Inc., WellCare of Missouri Health Insurance Company Inc., WellCare of New Hampshire Inc., WellCare of New York Inc., WellCare of North Carolina Inc., WellCare of Ohio Inc., WellCare of Oklahoma Inc., WellCare of Pennsylvania Inc., WellCare of Puerto Rico Inc., WellCare of South Carolina Inc., WellCare of Texas Inc., WellCare of Virginia Inc., WellCare of Washington Inc., Wellcare Health Plans Inc., Western Sky Community Care Inc., Windsor Health Group Inc., Winning Security S.L., Worlco Management Services, and nirvanaHealth LLC.
China Mobile Limited provides mobile telecommunications and related services in Mainland China and Hong Kong. The company offers local calls; domestic and international long distance calls and roaming services; and value-added services, such as caller identity display, call waiting, conference calls, and others. It also provides wireless Internet service, as well as digital applications comprising music, video, reading, gaming, and animation; wireline broadband services; and wireline voice services. In addition, it offers dedicated line and IDC services to corporate customers in a range of industry sectors; and basic corporate communication products comprising corporate VPMN and SMS, and tailor made solutions. Further, the company provides international telecommunications services, which includes IDD, roaming, Internet, MNC, and value added business services. Additionally, it offers telecommunications network planning, design, and consulting services; roaming clearance, IT system operation, and technology support services; value-added platform development and maintenance services; mobile data, and system integration and development services; network construction and maintenance, network planning and optimizing, and training services; electronic communication products design and sale of related products; and non-banking financial services. It also provides mobile cloud research and development services; call center services; e-payment, e-commerce, and Internet finance services; and mobile Internet digital content services, as well as operates a network and business coordination center. The company serves 950 million mobile customers and 187 million wireline broadband customers. The company was formerly known as China Mobile (Hong Kong) Limited and changed its name to China Mobile Limited in May 2006. The company was incorporated in 1997 and is based in Central, Hong Kong. China Mobile Limited is a subsidiary of China Mobile Hong Kong (BVI) Limited.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Illinois Tool Works: A V Co 1 Limited, A V Co 2 Limited, A V Co 3 Limited, ACCU-LUBE Manufacturing GmbH - Schmiermittel und -gerate -, AIP/BI Holdings Inc., Accessories Marketing Holding Corp., Advanced Molding Company Inc., Allen Coding GmbH, Allen France SAS, Alpine Automation Limited, Alpine Engineered Products, Alpine Holdings Inc., Alpine Systems Corporation, Anaerobicos S.r.l., AppliChem GmbH, Arylux Hungary Elektromechanikus Alkatreszgyarto Kft, Avery Berkel France, Avery India Limited, Avery Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Avery Weigh Tronix, Avery Weigh-Tronix (Suzhou) Weighing Technology Co. Ltd., Avery Weigh-Tronix Finance Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Holdings Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix International Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix LLC, Avery Weigh-Tronix Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Properties Limited, Azon Limited, B.C. Immo, Beijing Miller Electric Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Berkel (Ireland) Limited, Berrington UK, Brapenta Eletronica Ltda., Brooks Instrument (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Brooks Instrument B.V., Brooks Instrument GmbH, Brooks Instrument KFT, Brooks Instrument Korea Ltd., Brooks Instrument LLC, Buell Industries Inc., CAPMAX Logistica S.A. de C.V., CCI Realty Company, CFC Europe GmbH, CS (Australia) Pty Limited, CS (Finance) Europe S.a.r.l., CS Mexico Holding Company S DE RL DE CV, CSMTS LLC, Calvia Spolka z Ograniczona Odpowiedzialnosci, Capital Ventures (Australasia) S.a r.l, Capmax Logistica S.A. de C.V., Celeste Industries Corporation, Coeur, Coeur (Shanghai) Medical Appliance Trading Co. Ltd, Coeur Asia Limited, Coeur Holding Company, Coeur Inc., Compagnie Hobart, Compagnie de Materiel et d'Equipements Techniques-Comet, Constructions Isothermiques Bontami C.I.B., Crane Carrier Company, Despatch Industries, Diagraph Corporation Sdn. Bhd, Diagraph ITW Mexico S. de R.L. De C.V., Diagraph Mexico S.A. DE C.V., Dongguan Ark-Les Electric Components Co. Ltd., Dongguan CK Branding Co. Ltd., Dorbyl U.K. (Holdings) Limited, Duo Fast de Espana S.A.U., Duo-Fast Korea Co. Ltd., Duo-Fast LLC, E.C.S. d.o.o., ECS Cable Protection Sp. Zoo, ELRO (Holding) AG, ELRO Grosskuchen GmbH, ELRO-WERKE AG, Elga Skandinavian AS, Elro Group, Eltex-Elektrostatik-Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Envases Multipac S.A. de C.V., Eurotec Srl, FEG Investments L.L.C., Fasver, Filtertek, Filtertek De Mexico Holding Inc., Filtertek De Mexico S.A. de C.V., GC Financement SA, Gamko B.V., Gun Hwa Platech (Taicang) Co. Ltd., HOBART Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Hartness International, Hobart (Japan) K.K., Hobart Andina S.A.S., Hobart Brothers International Chile Limitada, Hobart Brothers LLC, Hobart Dayton Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Hobart Food Equipment Co. Ltd., Hobart Foster Belgium, Hobart International (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Hobart Korea LLC, Hobart LLC, Hobart Nederland B.V., Hobart Sales & Service Inc., Hobart Scandinavia ApS, Hobart Techniek B.V., Horis, ILC Investments Holdings Inc., ITW (China) Investment Company Limited, ITW (Deutschland) GmbH, ITW (EU) Holdings Ltd., ITW (European) Finance Co. Ltd., ITW (European) Finance II Co. Ltd., ITW (European) Finance III Co. Ltd., ITW (Ningbo) Components & Fastenings Systems Co. Ltd., ITW AEP LLC, ITW AOC LLC, ITW Aircraft Investments Inc., ITW Alpha Sarl, ITW Ampang Industries Philippines Inc., ITW Appliance Components EOOD, ITW Appliance Components S.A. de C.V., ITW Appliance Components S.r.l.a, ITW Appliance Components d.o.o., ITW Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, ITW Australia Property Holdings Pty Ltd., ITW Australia Pty Ltd, ITW Automotive Components (Chongqing) Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Components (Langfang) Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Japan K.K., ITW Automotive Korea LLC, ITW Automotive Parts (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, ITW Automotive Products GmbH, ITW Automotive Products Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Bailly Comte, ITW Befestigungssysteme GmbH, ITW Belgium, ITW Brazilian Nominee L.L.C., ITW Building Components Group Inc., ITW CER, ITW CP Distribution Center Holland BV, ITW CS (UK) Ltd., ITW Canada Inc., ITW Celeste Inc., ITW Chemical Products Ltda, ITW Chemical Products Scandinavia ApS, ITW Colombia S.A.S., ITW Construction Products (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Construction Products (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., ITW Construction Products AB, ITW Construction Products AS, ITW Construction Products ApS, ITW Construction Products CZ s.r.o., ITW Construction Products Italy Srl, ITW Construction Products OU, ITW Construction Products OY, ITW Contamination Control (Wujiang) Co. Ltd., ITW Contamination Control B.V., ITW Covid Security Group Inc., ITW DS Investments Inc., ITW DelFast do Brasil Ltda., ITW Delta Sarl, ITW Denmark ApS, ITW Dynatec, ITW Dynatec Adhesive Equipment (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., ITW Dynatec GmbH, ITW Dynatec Kabushiki Kaisha, ITW EAE B.V., ITW EAE Mexico S de RL de CV, ITW EF&C France SAS, ITW EF&C Selb GmbH, ITW Electronic Business Asia Co. Limited, ITW Electronic Components/Products (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Electronics (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., ITW Epsilon Sarl, ITW Espana S.A., ITW FEG Hong Kong Limited, ITW FEG do Brasil Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW Fastener Products GmbH, ITW Finance Designated Activity Company, ITW Finance Europe S.A., ITW Fluids and Hygiene Solutions Ltda., ITW Food Equipment Group LLC, ITW France Finance Alpha S.A.S., ITW GH LLC, ITW GSE ApS, ITW GSE Inc., ITW Gamma Sarl, ITW German Management LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings Y Compania Sociedad en Comandita por Acciones, ITW Global Investments II Inc., ITW Global Investments Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Europe GmbH, ITW Global Tire Repair Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Japan K.K., ITW Graphics (Thailand) Ltd., ITW Graphics Asia Limited, ITW Graphics Italy S.R.L. in liquidazione, ITW Great Britain Investment & Licensing Holding Company, ITW Group France (Luxembourg) S.ar.l., ITW HLP Thailand Co. Ltd., ITW Holding Quimica B.C. S.L. Sole Shareholder Company, ITW Holdings Australia L.P., ITW Holdings I Limited, ITW Holdings II Limited, ITW Holdings III Limited, ITW Holdings IV Limited, ITW Holdings IX Limited, ITW Holdings Inc., ITW Holdings UK, ITW Holdings V Limited, ITW Holdings VI Limited, ITW Holdings VII Limited, ITW Holdings VIII Limited, ITW Holdings X Limited, ITW Holdings XI Limited, ITW Hungary Finance Beta Kft, ITW ILC Holdings I Inc., ITW IPG Investments LLC, ITW Imaden Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW India Private Limited, ITW International Holdings LLC, ITW Invest Holding GmbH, ITW Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company, ITW Ireland Unlimited Company, ITW Italy Finance Srl, ITW Italy Holding Srl, ITW Japan Ltd., ITW Korea LLC, ITW LLC & Co. KG, ITW Limited, ITW Lombard Holdings Inc., ITW Lys Fusion S.r.l., ITW M FILMS II LLC, ITW MH LLC, ITW Meritex Sdn. Bhd., ITW Metal Fasteners S.L., ITW Mexico Holding Company S. De R.L. de C.V., ITW Mexico Holdings LLC, ITW Morlock GmbH, ITW Mortgage Investments II Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments III Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments IV Inc., ITW Netherlands Administration BV, ITW Netherlands Beta B.V., ITW Netherlands Finance Alpha BV, ITW New Universal LLC, ITW New Zealand, ITW Novadan Sp. Z.o.o., ITW PPF Brasil Adesivos Ltda., ITW Packaging Technology (China) Co. Ltd., ITW Participations S.a r.l., ITW Pension Funds Trustee Company, ITW Performance Plastic (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Japan Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Korea Limited, ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids OOO, ITW Performance Polymers (Wujiang) Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers ApS, ITW Performance Polymers and Fluids Group FZE, ITW Peru S.A.C., ITW Philippines Holdings LLC, ITW Poly Mex S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Polymers Sealants North America Inc., ITW Pronovia s.r.o., ITW Pte. Ltd., ITW Qufu Automotive Cooling Systems Co. Ltd., ITW Real Estate Germany GmbH, ITW Residuals III L.L.C., ITW Residuals IV L.L.C., ITW Rivex, ITW SMPI, ITW SPG Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Simco-Ion (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., ITW Slovakia s.r.o., ITW Spain Holdings S.L., ITW Specialty Film LLC, ITW Specialty Films France, ITW Specialty Materials (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., ITW Spraytec, ITW Sverige AB, ITW Sweden Holding AB, ITW Test & Measurement Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, ITW Test & Measurement GmbH, ITW Test and Measurement Italia Srl, ITW Test and Measurement Services Industry and Trade Ltd., ITW Texwipe Philippines Inc., ITW Thermal Films (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW UK, ITW UK Finance Beta Limited, ITW UK Finance Delta Limited, ITW UK Finance Gamma Limited, ITW UK Finance Limited, ITW UK Finance Zeta Ltd., ITW UK II Limited, ITW Universal II LLC, ITW Welding, ITW Welding AB, ITW Welding GmbH, ITW Welding Products B.V., ITW Welding Products Group FZE, ITW Welding Products Group S. DE R.L. De C.V., ITW Welding Products Italy Srl, ITW Welding Products Limited Liability Company, ITW Welding Produtos Para Solgdagem Ltda., ITW Welding Servicios Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Welding Singapore Pte. Ltd., ITW de France, ITW do Brasil Industrial e Comercial Ltda., Ideal Molding Technologies LLC, Illinois Tool Works (Chile) Limitada, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) Nederland B.V., Illinois Tool Works Norway AS, Impar Comercio E Representacoes Ltda., Industrie Plastic Elsasser GmbH, Inmobiliaria Cit. S.A. de C.F., Innova Temperlite Servicios S.A. de C.V., Innovacion y Transformacion Automotriz S.A. de C.V., Instron (Shanghai) Ltd., Instron (Thailand) Limited, Instron Brasil Equipamentos Cientificos Ltda., Instron Foreign Sales Corp. Limited, Instron France S.A.S., Instron GmbH, Instron Holdings Limited, Instron International Limited, Instron Japan Company Ltd., Instron Korea LLC, International Leasing Company LLC, International Truss Systems Proprietary Limited, Isolenge - ITW Sistemas de Isolamento Termico Ltda., KCPL Mauritius Holdings, Kester, Kester Components (M) Sdn. Bhd., Kleinmann GmbH, Krafft S.L., Loma Systems, Loma Systems (Canada) Inc., Loma Systems BV, Loma Systems sro, Lombard Pressings Limited, Lumex Inc., Lys Fusion Poland Sp. z.o.o., M&C Specialties (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., M&C Specialties Co., MAGNAFLUX GmbH, MEHB Holdings Limited, MGHG Property LLC, MOA Enterprises Inc, Manufacturing Avancee S.A., Meritex Technology (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Meurer Verpackungssysteme GmbH, Miller Electric Mfg. LLC, Miller Insurance Ltd., NDT Holding LLC, NOVADAN APS, Norden Olje AB, North Star Imaging Europe, North Star Imaging Inc., Nova Chimica S.r.l., Orbitalum Tools GmbH, PENTA-91 OOO, PR. A. I. Srl, PT ITW Construction Products Indonesia, Pacific Concept Industries Limited (Enping), Panreac Quimica S.L., Paslode Fasteners (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Peerless Machinery Corp., Penta Dnepr LLC, Penta Sever OOO, Penta Volga OOO, Polyrey, Premark FEG L.L.C., Premark HII Holdings LLC, Premark International, Premark International LLC, Prolex Sociedad Anonima, QSA Global Inc., Quimica Industrial Mediterranea S.L., Ramset Fasteners (Hong Kong) Ltd., Rapid Cook LLC, Refrigeration France, S.E.E. Sistemas Industria E Comercio Ltda., ST Mexico Holdings LLC, Sealant Systems International Inc., Sentinel Asia Yuhan Hoesa, Shanghai ITW Plastic & Metal Co. Ltd, Simco (Nederland) B.V., Simco Japan Inc., Societe de Prospection et dInventions Techniques  SPIT, Speedline Holdings I Inc., Speedline Holdings I LLC, Speedline Technologies GmbH, Speedline Technologies Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Speedline Technologies Mexico Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Stokvis Celix Portugal Unipessoal LDA, Stokvis Danmark ApS, Stokvis Holdings S.A.R.L., Stokvis Promi s.r.o, Stokvis Prostick Tapes Private Limited, Stokvis Tapes (Hong Kong) Co. Limited, Stokvis Tapes (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Taiwan) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes BVBA, Stokvis Tapes Benelux B.V., Stokvis Tapes Deutschland GmbH, Stokvis Tapes France, Stokvis Tapes Italia s.r.l., Stokvis Tapes Limited, Stokvis Tapes Limited Liability Company, Stokvis Tapes Norge AS, Stokvis Tapes Oy, Stokvis Tapes Polska Sp Z.O.O., Stokvis Tapes Sverige AB, Stolvis Holdings II S.A.R.L., Technopack Industria Comercio Consultoria e Representacoes Ltda., Teknek (China) Limited, Teknek (Japan) Limited, Teksaleco Ltd., The Miller Group Ltd, Thirode Grandes Cuisines Poligny, Tien Tai Electrode (Kunshan) Co. Ltd., Tien Tai Electrode Co. Ltd., Unichemicals Industria e Comercio Ltda., VR-Leasing Sarita GmbH & Co. Immobilien KG, VS European Holdco BV, Valeron Strength Films B.V.B.A., Veneta Decalcogomme S.r.l., Versachem Chile S.A., Vesta, Vesta (Guangzhou) Catering Equipment Co. Ltd, Vesta Global Limited, Viltronics Soltec, Vitronics Soltec B.V., Wachs Canada Ltd., Wachs Subsea LLC, Weigh-Tronix Canada ULC, Weigh-Tronix UK Limited, Wilsonart International Holdings LLC, Wynn Oil (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd., Wynn's Automotive France, Wynn's Belgium BVBA, Wynn's Italia Srl, Wynn's Mekuba India Pvt Ltd, ZF TRW (Engineered Fasteners and Components), and Zip-Pak International B.V..
Consol Glass, Mindshare SA form partnership

To meet its media requirements, Consol Glass has appointed Mindshare South Africa as its strategic media agency partner.
The following companies are subsidiares of Crown: Adularia Inversiones 2010 S.L., Angleboard Sweden AB, Bates Cargo-Pak ApS, Butimove, CMB Machinery and Technology (Shanghai) Co Ltd, CROWN AP (Thailand) Company Limited, CROWN Aerosols & Promotional Nederland, CROWN Aerosols Italia Srl, CROWN Aerosols Nederland BV, CROWN Aerosols UK Limited, CROWN Americas LLC, CROWN Arabia Can Company Ltd, CROWN Asia Pacific Holdings Pte. Ltd., CROWN Asia Pacific Investments (T) Limited, CROWN Bevcan Espana S.L., CROWN Bevcan France SAS, CROWN Bevcan Slovakia s.r.o., CROWN Bevcan Turkiye Ambalaj Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, CROWN Bevcan and Closures (Thailand) Company Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans (Cambodia) Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans (Dong Nai) Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans Beijing Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans Changchun Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans Danang Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans Hangzhou Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans Hanoi Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans Heshan Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans Hong Kong Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans Huizhou Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans Malaysia Sdn Bhd, CROWN Beverage Cans Nanning Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans Putian Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans Saigon Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans Shanghai Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans Sihanoukville Limited, CROWN Beverage Cans Singapore Pte. Ltd., CROWN Beverage Cans Ziyang Limited, CROWN Beverage Packaging LLC, CROWN Beverage Packaging Puerto Rico Inc., CROWN Cans Ghana Limited, CROWN China Holdings (Hong Kong) Limited, CROWN Commercial Belgium BVBA, CROWN Commercial France SAS, CROWN Commercial Germany GmbH & Co. KG, CROWN Commercial Hungary Kft, CROWN Commercial Netherlands B.V., CROWN Commercial Vermogensverwaltung GmbH, CROWN Cork & Seal USA Inc., CROWN Embalagens Metalicas da Amazonia S.A., CROWN Emballage France SAS, CROWN Emirates Company Limited, CROWN Envases Mexico S.A. de C.V., CROWN Famosa S.A. de C.V., CROWN Food Packaging (Thailand) Public Company Limited, CROWN Foodcan (Hat Yai) Company Limited, CROWN Foodcan (Nakhon Pathom) Company Limited, CROWN Foodcan Germany GmbH, CROWN Foodcan GmbH, CROWN Imballaggi Italia Srl, CROWN Imgallaggi Italia Srl, CROWN Italy Finance srl, CROWN Khmer Beverage Cans Limited, CROWN Maghreb Can, CROWN Magyarorszag Csomagoloipari KFT, CROWN Metal Packaging Canada Inc., CROWN Metal Packaging Canada LP, CROWN Middle East Can Co. Ltd., CROWN Packaging (Barbados) Limited, CROWN Packaging Holdings LLC, CROWN Packaging Investment (H.K.) Limited, CROWN Packaging Ireland Ltd, CROWN Packaging Jamaica Limited, CROWN Packaging Polska Sp.z.o.o., CROWN Packaging Technology Inc., CROWN Packaging Trinidad Limited, CROWN Packaging UK Limited, CROWN Promotional Packaging UK Ltd, CROWN SIEM, CROWN Senegal, CROWN Societe Malgache d'Emballages Metalliques, CROWN Speciality Packaging BV, CROWN Speciality Packaging Investment Pte. Ltd., CROWN Specialty Packaging UK Ltd, CROWN TCP Beverage Cans Company Limited, CROWN Verpakking Belgie NV, CROWN Verpakking Nederland B.V., Caretex Asia Ltd., CarnaudMetalbox Engineering Ltd, CarnaudMetalbox Food South Africa (Pty) Limited, CarnaudMetalbox Group UK Limited, CarnaudMetalbox Overeseas Limited, CarnaudMetalbox Overseas Limited, Cierres Hermeticos S.A. DE C.V., Constar International, Crown Americas Capital Corp., Crown Americas Capital Corp. II, Crown Americas Capital Corp. III, Crown Americas Capital Corp. IV, Crown Americas Capital Corp. V, Crown Americas Capital Corp. VI, Crown Brasil Holdings Ltda., Crown Canadian Holdings ULC, Crown Closures Spain S.L., Crown Colombiana S.A., Crown Comercial de Envases S.L., Crown Commercial Italy Srl, Crown Commercial Polska Sp. z.o.o., Crown Consultants Inc., Crown Cork & Seal Company (DE) LLC, Crown Cork & Seal Company Inc., Crown Cork & Seal Deutschland Holdings GmbH, Crown Cork & Seal Receivables (DE) Corporation, Crown Cork & Seal de Portugal Embalagens S.A., Crown Cork Kuban, Crown Cork and Seal Receivables II LLC, Crown Developpement SAS, Crown European Holdings, Crown Food Espana S.A.U., Crown Foodcan Turkey Ambalaj Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Crown Hellas Can Packaging SA, Crown Heshan Trading Company Limited, Crown Holdings Italia Srl, Crown Holdings Spain S.L., Crown International Holdings B.V., Crown International Holdings Inc., Crown Luxembourg Holdings, Crown Mexican Holdings S. de R.L. de C.V., Crown Overseas Investments B.V., Crown Packaging Commercial UK Limited, Crown Packaging Distribution UK Limited, Crown Packaging European Division GmbH, Crown Packaging European Division Services SAS, Crown Packaging European Holdings GmbH, Crown Packaging Lux I S.a.r.l., Crown Packaging Lux II S.a.r.l., Crown Packaging Lux III S.a.r.l., Crown Packaging Manufacturing UK Limited, Crown Packaging Maroc, Crown Receivables III, Crown Services Iberia, Crown UK Holdings Limited, Crownway Insurance Company, Dacro B.V., EMPAQUE, Fabricas Monterrey S.A. de C.V., Form Koruyucu Ambalaj Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Foshan Continental Can Co. Limited, Foshan Crown Easy-Opening End Co. Limited, Glass & Silice S.A. DE C.V., Globoplastt s.r.o., Gunther S.A.S., Haloila Bulgaria EOOD, Interstrap B.V., Josef Kihlberg AB, Kiwiplan GmbH, Kiwiplan Inc, Lachenmeier ApS, Liljendals Bruk AB, Litec France S.A.S., Mezger Heftsysteme GmbH, Mima Films S.a.r.l., Mima Films Sprl, Mima Packaging Systems S.A.S., Mivisa, Nordic S.A.S., Norsk Signode AS, Oy M. Haloila AB, PT CROWN Beverage Cans Indonesia, Package Design and Manufacturing, Prolatamex S.A. DE C.V., Quandel Verpackungs- und Foerdertechnik GmbH, SMB Schwede Maschinenbau GmbH, SMP Schwede Maschinenbau Weischlitz GmbH, SPG Denmark, SPG France Holdings SAS, SPG Germany Service Management GmbH, SPG Industrial Packaging S.a.r.l, SPG Netherlands B.V., SPG Packaging Ireland Limited, SPG Packaging Systems GmbH, SPG Packaging UK Ltd, Scybele S.A.S., Shippers Europe S.p.r.l., Signode BVBA, Signode Brasileira Ltda, Signode Hong Kong Limited, Signode Industrial Group, Signode Industrial Group AB, Signode Industrial Group Colombia S.A.S., Signode Industrial Group GmbH, Signode Industrial Group Holdings Lux S.a.r.l., Signode Industrial Group Holdings US Inc, Signode Industrial Group Lux S.A., Signode Industrial Group Mexico, Signode Industrial Group Sweden AB, Signode International Holdings LLC, Signode International IP Holdings LLC, Signode International Investment LLC, Signode Kabushiki Kaisha, Signode Korea Inc, Signode NZ Limited, Signode Netherlands B.V., Signode Packaging (Qingdao) Co., Signode Packaging (Shanghai) Co., Signode Packaging Espana S.L., Signode Packaging Group (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Signode Packaging Group Australia Pty Ltd, Signode Packaging Group Canada ULC, Signode Packaging Group NZ, Signode Packaging Systems Limited, Signode Pickling Holding LLC, Signode Polska sp. Z.o.o., Signode Singapore Pte. Ltd., Signode Sweden Holdings AB, Signode System GmbH, Signode System Packaging GmbH & Co. KG, Signode Systems (Thailand) Ltd., Signode US IP Holdings LLC, Silice De Veracruz S.A. DE C. V., Silice Del Istmo S.A. DE C.V., Silices De Veracruz, Societe Civile Immobiliere Rousseau-Ivry, Societe Civile Immobiliere des Baquets, Societe de Participations CarnaudMetalbox, Stopak India Pvt. Ltd, Strapex Austria GmbH, Strapex Embalagem L.d.a., Strapex Holdings Limited, Strapex S.A.S., Strapex Srl, Superior Investments Holdings Pte. Ltd., Superior Multi-Packaging Limited, TopFrame LLC, V.A.C. B.V., Vichisa S.A. de C.V., and Warehouse Automation Iberia S.L..
The One Club for Creativity and the 3% Movement have opened the global call for entries for their joint Next Creative Leaders programme.

Help solving the industrys diversity problem

Developed collaboratively by the organisations in 2015, Next Creative Leaders identifies and celebrates talented creative women around the world who are making their mark with both great work and a workplace perspective on diversity that helps change the industry for the better.Entries highlighting a candidates creativity, leadership and point of view can be submitted here . Deadline is 17 August 2018 and there is no fee to enter.The 10 winners will be revealed at the 3% Conference in New York, 8-9 November 2018, with some of them in attendance to speak. Winners will be profiled on The One Club for Creativity website and the 3% Movement blog and the news will be promoted through the two organisations social media channels. Honourees will also be invited to serve as judges for next years programme and may be asked to speak at future events sponsored by the two organisations.The One Club for Creativity has a long-standing commitment to providing programming that helps solve the industry's diversity problem as opposed to just talking about it, said Kevin Swanepoel, CEO, The One Club.We created our own Inclusion and Diversity Department a decade ago, and support programmes like Next Creative Leaders that identify, elevate and give voice to those who are making a real difference. They are the ones who are opening the door and inspiring the next generation of women who follow in their footsteps.Were so impressed by the 30 talented women who have been named Next Creative Leaders in the past three years  theyre all producing amazing creative work that actually makes a difference, said Kat Gordon, founder, 3% Movement. And to see this initiative grow into a global programme  with six of last years 10 winners hailing from outside the US  thats been so exciting. Its really become a global showcase for modern creative leadership.To make Next Creative Leaders as open and accessible as possible, there is no cost to enter the competition. Entrants are judged on four-to-six pieces of creative work, their background and information about how they  and their work  are pushing the industry forward and making a positive contribution in terms of diversity, mentoring and advocacy. Winners will be selected by a jury of top creatives, including past Next Creative Leaders winners.
Rogers Communications Inc. operates as a communications and media company in Canada. It operates through three segments: Wireless, Cable, and Media. The company offers mobile Internet access, wireless voice and enhanced voice, device and accessory financing, wireless home phone, device protection, text messaging, e-mail, global voice and data roaming, bridging landline, machine-to-machine and Internet of Things solutions, and advanced wireless solutions for businesses, as well as device delivery services; and postpaid and prepaid services under the Rogers, Fido, and chatr brands to approximately 10.9 million subscribers. It also provides Internet and WiFi services; smart home monitoring services, such as monitoring, security, automation, energy efficiency, and smart control through a smartphone app. In addition, the company offers local and network TV; on-demand television; cloud-based digital video recorders; voice-activated remote controls, and integrated apps; personal video recorders; linear and time-shifted programming; digital specialty channels; 4K television programming; and televised content on smartphones, tablets, and personal computers, as well as operates Ignite TV and Ignite TV app. Further, it provides residential and small business local telephony services; calling features, such as voicemail, call waiting, and long distance; voice, data networking, Internet protocol, and Ethernet services; private networking, Internet, IP voice, and cloud solutions; optical wave and multi-protocol label switching services; IT and network technologies; and cable access network services. The company also owns Toronto Blue Jays and the Rogers Centre event venue; and operates Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet World, Citytv, OMNI, FX (Canada), FXX (Canada), and OLN television networks, as well as 55 AM and FM radio stations. Rogers Communications Inc. was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

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Ralph Lauren Corp. engages in the design, marketing, and distribution of premium lifestyle products. The firm offers apparel, accessories, home furnishings, and other licensed product. It operates through the following segments: North America, Europe, and Asia. The North America segment consists of sales of Ralph Lauren branded apparel, accessories, home furnishings, and related products made through the Company's wholesale and retail businesses in the U.S. and Canada, excluding Club Monaco. The Europe segment caters to sales of Ralph Lauren branded apparel, accessories, home furnishings, and related products made through the Company's wholesale and retail businesses in Europe and the Middle East, excluding Club Monaco. The Asia segment covers the sales of Ralph Lauren branded apparel, accessories, home furnishings, and related products made through the Company's wholesale and retail businesses in Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. The company was founded by Ralph Lauren in 1967 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

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Wall Street analysts have given iShares Global 100 ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but iShares Global 100 ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

View MarketBeat's top stock picks here.
I love road trips. And this has to be one of the best places in the world to do a really great road trip. I hear the complaints about our potholes and our dreadful drivers. But, what about those lonesome vlaktes and surreal mesas in the Karoo? Drive along one of the gravel roads there and you feel alone in a vast, beautiful, sparsely populated universe.

Screen grabs from the ad.

So when I saw the ad for Toyotas newest product, the Rush entry-level SUV, my accelerator foot got itchy. Time to get out into the KarooThe ad was shot over four days in the Tankwa Karoo National Park (its always been on my bucket list, but the Rush ad has just bumped it up a few places), and the Cederberg (also a magical place and worth going back to).The scenery is a perfect backdrop for the vehicle, which is billed as ideal for roads in the back of beyond, if not an out-and-out offroader, because it is not a 44. This is a vehicle, the ad says, which will take you to those places where memories are made.And, being a Toyota, it will get you back, tooAs a vehicle for a young family, the Rush is perfect  well-priced, capable and with bags of space. And I predict it will sell like the proverbial hot cakes and give its competitors another Toyota-sized headache.Interestingly, though, the ad itself is pitched at the millennials, the group about whom every brand manager or ad creative director is gagging these days.This ad sets out to show this allegedly juicy target market how the Rush can make you much cooler  in the same way that bling makes rappers cooler and is often featured in rap songs.Hence, there is a pseudo-rap sound track following the group of young people as they blast out and about on their road trip, doing silly things striking silly selfie poses as one apparently does, if one is a millennial.I am surprised that Toyota and ad agency FCB decided on this approach, given that the group featured in the ad all seem to be single and carefree, and more likely to gravitate towards a Polo than to a Toyota Rush. I hope there is more material in the pipeline which will target families, because they are the ones who are going to be beating a path to your door, Toyota.Having said all that, though, I still quite liked the ad mainly because, as a grumpy old man, I could ignore the rap and focus on the vehicle and the scenery. Both are stunning in the ad. And, it is interesting that an ad which has such a focused target market should be able to make collateral impact on someone who is outside this target market.Were I not already driving a Subaru, I would certainly consider the Rush as road trip transport.So the ad gets Orchids for Toyota and for FCB Johannesburg, as well as Robin Goode of Figment Films.One of the dangers of social media, for a brand anyway, is the team you employ to manage it. That has already burned a few brands whose digital clevers have either spoken out of turn or upset people on social media and done some serious reputational damage in the process.Last week, it was more funny than horrible, although the lesson about ill-equipped social media responders is just as valid.A local comedian posted a tweet along the lines of Just got kicked out of Mr Price Home. Apparently scatter cushions is not an instructionHa ha ha for most of us. But the humour flew over the heads of the Mr Price social media team, who responded (quickly it must be said) with a request that the comedian contact them by direct message so they could address the matter with the particular store.And, of course, the Mr Price reaction was just as funny as the original tweet.When your marketing makes people laugh at you, rather than with you, Mr Price, you get an Onion.
Wall Street analysts have given iShares MSCI Japan ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but iShares MSCI Japan ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

View MarketBeat's top stock picks here.
Wall Street analysts have given iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

View MarketBeat's top stock picks here.
Wall Street analysts have given Invesco Zacks Mid-Cap ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but Invesco Zacks Mid-Cap ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

View MarketBeat's top stock picks here.
 Wavebreak Media Ltd  123RF.com

The gaps

Going forward

Australia is one country thats taken this approach with its 2005 Disability Standards for Education . Most countries, though, favour more general policies; Sweden and Norway are two examples of this approach.We have been critical about the absence of any policy in South Africa and welcome the development. But can a policy document lead to positive change? This is something that South Africans with disabilities will be wondering. Currently, about 7.5% of the countrys population have disabilities; about 20% of that number are enrolled in higher education institutions.Its obviously too early to answer this question. But a critical examination of the policy framework  which has been gazetted into law and cannot easily be changed  reveals some concerns. Some of these include funding, the approaches taken to understand disability, how it will be integrated with existing national policies and what support is available to universities trying to implement it.The policy framework is intended to help higher education institutions provide sufficient services to students and staff with disabilities. It spells out the challenges around disability issues in South African higher education and the ways the government plans to respond to them.But there are problems with the document.For instance, theres still enough room in the policy for universities to abdicate their responsibility when it comes to things like decent and properly equipped accommodation for students with disabilities.For example, the framework states that all institutions should make adjustments to enable people with disabilities to be on par with everyone else. But theres a contradiction. Institutions are not supposed to incur significant expenses when making these adjustments. The reality is that some alterations  like making lecture halls and residences accessible particularly to people in wheelchairs  will cost money.This will be particularly challenging for South Africas poorer, less resourced and rural institutions. The national government will to need to source the bulk of funds for whats proposed in the policy. Innovative funding mechanisms will be necessary.And that leads to another issue. The department of education and training is responsible for carrying out most of the initiatives proposed in the framework, including implementation. But a single government department can only do so much. Explicit reference ought to be made to other departments that will help with things like planning, building and sourcing funding.Theres also no mention of the private sector. Thats an oversight, since industry and businesses should be involved. They could fund some of the work, offer technological innovations to improve the lives of students with disabilities and even offer employment to graduates with disabilities.Finally, theres a particularly strange exclusion. Theres no mention of getting students and staff with disabilities involved in implementing the policy. Yet they are the experts on disability, and on how best the policy could be brought to life. They can also be powerful advocates for an end to stigma and discrimination, which is crucial if the policy to really work.Another issue is that the policy framework views all disabilities as the same. But students with disabilities have varied and unique needs. They require individually tailored services based on what each person requires to be successful.The risk with the framework is that some students may not get enough tailor made support for their specific disabilities.The first big win would be if this policy could be amended to cover some of its shortcomings. It needs to be adjusted if its going to improve the lives of students with disabilities and introduce a culture of inclusion and diversity at national, institutional, and individual level.One change thats imperative is that it should introduce a minimum threshold of support for each type of impairment. For example, students with visual impairments will be provided with accommodation on campus; those who use guide dogs will be accommodated in a dog-friendly space. They will be provided with study materials on time and in accessible formats like Braille or audio books. Assessments will be fair, offering alternative test methods such as oral exams.The second area that needs special attention is implementation. It remains to be seen how the policy framework will be implemented, and whether it will bring real change for students with disabilities.But, in the meantime, universities can take the initiative by looking at smaller systemic changes to improve these students lives. Providing reading materials in accessible formats doesnt cost much money and neither does introducing a culture of inclusion through engaging students and staff with disabilities at the institutional and departmental levels.The reality is that policy papers alone arent enough to engender change. Genuine political will and commitment is required to address disability challenges.
The following companies are subsidiares of Occidental Petroleum: 1PointFive Inc., 1PointFive P1 LLC, APC Aviation Inc., APC International Holdings LLC, APC Midstream Holdings LLC, APC Venezuela Srl, ARCO Long Beach, Altura Energy, Amarok Gathering LLC, Anadarko 20-25 Company, Anadarko 20-36 Company, Anadarko 20-47 Company, Anadarko 20-48 Company, Anadarko 20-49 Company, Anadarko Algeria Block 403 c/e Company, Anadarko Algeria Block 406B Company, Anadarko Algeria Company LLC, Anadarko Algeria Oil & Gas Company, Anadarko Brazil Investment I LLC, Anadarko Brazil Investment II LLC, Anadarko Canada E&P Limited, Anadarko China Holdings 2 Company, Anadarko Colombia Company, Anadarko Consolidated Holdings LLC, Anadarko Cote d'Ivoire Block 103 Company, Anadarko Cote d'Ivoire Company, Anadarko DBMOS Operator LLC, Anadarko Development Company, Anadarko Development Holding Limited, Anadarko E&P Onshore LLC, Anadarko Egypt Holdings Company, Anadarko Energy Holding Limited, Anadarko Energy Services Company, Anadarko Exploracao e Producao de Petroleo e Gas Natural Ltda., Anadarko Finance Company, Anadarko Gabon Company, Anadarko Ghana Mahogany-1 Company, Anadarko Global Energy S.a.r.l, Anadarko Global Funding 1 Company, Anadarko Global Funding II Ltd., Anadarko Guyana Company, Anadarko Holding Company, Anadarko International Development S.a.r.l, Anadarko International Energy Company, Anadarko International O&G Company, Anadarko International Trading Corporation, Anadarko Jordan Company, Anadarko Kenya Company, Anadarko LMM S.a.r.l, Anadarko Land Corp., Anadarko Mexico B.V., Anadarko Mexico S.a.r.l, Anadarko Midkiff/Chaney Dell BR Corp., Anadarko Midkiff/Chaney Dell LLC, Anadarko Natural Gas Company LLC, Anadarko New Zealand Company, Anadarko OGC Company, Anadarko Offshore Holding Company LLC, Anadarko Offshore Well Containment Company LLC, Anadarko Oil & Gas 5 LLC, Anadarko Peru B.V., Anadarko Petroleum, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Anadarko Realty LLC, Anadarko Rockies LLC, Anadarko Royalty Holdings Company, Anadarko UK Corporate Limited, Anadarko US Offshore LLC, Anadarko USH1 Corporation, Anadarko Venezuela Company, Anadarko Venezuela LLC, Anadarko Venezuela Srl, Anadarko WCTP Company, Anadarko West Texas BR Corp., Anadarko West Texas LLC, Anadarko Worldwide Holdings C.V., Atlantic Rim Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Aventine LLC, Baseball Merger Sub 2 Inc., Bear Branch Exploration LLC, Big Island Trona Company, Bitter Creek Coal Company, Bravo Pipeline Company, Cain Chemical, Cain Chemical Inc., Carbon Finance Labs LLC, Concord Petroleum Corporation, Conn Creek Shale Company, D.S. Ventures LLC, DMM Financial LLC, Deerwood Exploration LLC, Downtown Plaza II, Elk Hills Field, FLAG Development LLC, FP Westport Commodities Limited, FP Westport GmbH, FP Westport LLC, FP Westport Limited, FP Westport Services LLC, FP Westport Trading LLC, Fosters Mill Exploration LLC, Glenn Springs Holdings Inc., Globrep Representaciones S.A., Grand Bassa Tankers Inc., Grupo OxyChem de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Headwater II LLC, Houndstooth Resources LLC, INDSPEC Chemical B.V., INDSPEC Chemical Corporation, INDSPEC Chemical Corporation, INDSPEC Chemical Export Sales LLC, INDSPEC Holding Corporation, Ingleside Cogeneration GP LLC, Ingleside Cogeneration Limited Partnership, Interore Trading Ltd., Joslyn Partnership, KERR-McGEE TT E&P LTD., KM BM-C-Seven Ltd., KM International Insurance Ltd., Kerr-McGee Corporation, Kerr-McGee Natural Gas Company Inc., Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Onshore LP, Kerr-McGee Shared Services Company LLC, Kerr-McGee Stored Power Corporation, Kerr-McGee U.K. Energy Corporation, Kerr-McGee Worldwide Corporation, Kerr-McGee do Brasil Ltda., Kerr-McGee of Canada Northwest Ltd., Laguna Petroleum Corp., Laguna Petroleum LLC, Liwa Oil & Gas Ltd., MC2 Technologies LLC, Mariana Properties Inc., Marico Exploration Inc., Miller Springs Remediation Management Inc., Moncrief Minerals Partnership L.P., NGL Ventures LLC, Natural Gas Odorizing Inc., New OPL LLC, OEVC Energy LLC, OEVC Midstream Projects LLC, OIH LLC, OLCV CE Holdings ULC, OLCV CE US Holdings Inc., OLCV Net Power LLC, OLCV Services LLC, OOG Partner LLC, OOOI Chem Holdings LLC, OOOI Chem Sub LLC, OOOI Chemical International LLC, OOOI Chile Holder LLC, OOOI Ecuador Management LLC, OOOI Oil and Gas Sub LLC, OOOI South America Management LLC, OPM GP Inc., OPM Holdco LLC, OTCF LLC, OTH LLC, OXY CV Pipeline LLC, OXY Campus LLC, OXY Inc., OXY LPG LLC, OXY Libya E&P Area 103 BR4 B.V., OXY Libya E&P Area 35 Ltd., OXY Libya E&P Concession 103 Ltd., OXY Libya E&P EPSA 102 B.V., OXY Libya E&P EPSA 1981 Ltd., OXY Libya E&P EPSA 1985 Ltd., OXY Libya E&P NC 143 144 145 150 B.V., OXY Libya Exploration SPC, OXY Libya LLC, OXY Little Knife LLC, OXY Mexico Holdings I LLC, OXY Mexico Holdings II LLC, OXY Middle East Holdings Ltd., OXY Oil Partners Inc., OXY PBLP Manager LLC, OXY Support Services LLC, OXY Tulsa Inc., OXY USA Inc., OXY USA WTP LP, OXY VPP Investments LLC, OXY West LLC, OXY of Saudi Arabia Ltd., OXYCHEM (CANADA) INC., OXYMAR, Oakwood Exploration LLC, Occidental (Bermuda) Ltd., Occidental (East Shabwa) LLC, Occidental Advance Sale Finance Inc., Occidental Al Hosn LLC, Occidental Angola Holdings Ltd., Occidental CIS Services Inc., Occidental Canada Holdings Ltd., Occidental Chemical Asia Limited, Occidental Chemical Belgium B.V.B.A., Occidental Chemical Chile Limitada, Occidental Chemical Corporation, Occidental Chemical Export Sales LLC, Occidental Chemical Far East Limited, Occidental Chemical Holding Corporation, Occidental Chemical International LLC, Occidental Chemical Investment (Canada) 1 Inc., Occidental Chemical Receivables LLC, Occidental Chemical de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Occidental Chile Investments LLC, Occidental Chile Minority Holder LLC, Occidental Colombia (Series G) Ltd., Occidental Colombia (Series J) Ltd., Occidental Colombia (Series K) Ltd., Occidental Colombia (Series L) Ltd., Occidental Colombia (Series M) Ltd., Occidental Colombia (Series N) Ltd., Occidental Colombia (Series O) Ltd., Occidental Crude Sales Inc. (Canada), Occidental Crude Sales Inc. (International), Occidental Dolphin Holdings Ltd., Occidental Energy Marketing Inc., Occidental Energy Ventures LLC, Occidental Exploradora del Peru Ltd., Occidental Exploration and Production Company, Occidental Hafar LLC, Occidental International (Libya) Inc., Occidental International Corporation, Occidental International Exploration and Production Company, Occidental International Holdings Ltd., Occidental International Oil and Gas Ltd., Occidental International Services Inc., Occidental Joslyn GP 2 Co., Occidental LNG (Malaysia) Ltd., Occidental Latin America Holdings LLC, Occidental Libya Oil & Gas B.V., Occidental MENA Manager Ltd., Occidental Middle East Development Company, Occidental Midland Basin LLC, Occidental Mukhaizna LLC, Occidental Oil Asia Pte. Ltd., Occidental Oil Shale Inc., Occidental Oil and Gas (Oman) Ltd., Occidental Oil and Gas Corporation, Occidental Oil and Gas International Inc., Occidental Oil and Gas International LLC, Occidental Oil and Gas Pakistan LLC, Occidental Oil and Gas of Peru LLC, Occidental Oman (Block 27) Holdings Ltd., Occidental Oman Block 51 Holding Ltd., Occidental Oman Block 51 LLC, Occidental Oman Block 65 Holding Ltd., Occidental Oman Block 65 LLC, Occidental Oman Block 72 Holding Ltd., Occidental Oman Block 72 LLC, Occidental Oman Gas Company LLC, Occidental Oman Gas Holdings Ltd., Occidental Oman North Holdings Ltd., Occidental Oriente Exploration and Production Ltd., Occidental Overseas Holdings B.V., Occidental PVC LLC, Occidental Peninsula II Inc., Occidental Peninsula LLC, Occidental Permian Ltd., Occidental Permian Manager LLC, Occidental Permian Services Inc., Occidental Peruana Inc., Occidental Petrolera del Peru (Block 101) Inc., Occidental Petrolera del Peru (Block 103) Inc., Occidental Petroleum (Pakistan) Inc., Occidental Petroleum Corporation, Occidental Petroleum Corporation Political Action Committee, Occidental Petroleum de Venezuela S.A., Occidental Petroleum of Nigeria, Occidental Petroleum of Oman Ltd., Occidental Petroleum of Qatar Ltd., Occidental Power Marketing L.P., Occidental Power Services Inc., Occidental Qatar Energy Company LLC, Occidental Red Sea Development LLC, Occidental Research Corporation, Occidental Resource Recovery Systems Inc., Occidental Resources Company, Occidental Shah Gas Holdings Ltd., Occidental South America Finance LLC, Occidental Specialty Marketing Inc., Occidental Tower Corporation, Occidental Transportation Holding Corporation, Occidental West Texas Overthrust Inc., Occidental Yemen Ltd., Occidental Yemen Sabatain Inc., Occidental del Ecuador Inc., Occidental of Abu Dhabi (Bab) Ltd., Occidental of Abu Dhabi (Shah) Ltd., Occidental of Abu Dhabi Holdings Ltd., Occidental of Abu Dhabi LLC, Occidental of Abu Dhabi Ltd., Occidental of Bahrain Ltd., Occidental of Bangladesh Inc., Occidental of Colombia (Chipiron) Inc., Occidental of Colombia (Cosecha) Inc., Occidental of Colombia (Medina) Inc., Occidental of Colombia (Putumayo) Ltd., Occidental of Colombia (Teca) Ltd., Occidental of Colombia PUT-36 LLC, Occidental of Dubai Inc., Occidental of Iraq Holdings Ltd., Occidental of Iraq LLC, Occidental of Oman Inc., Occidental of Russia Ltd., Occidental of South Africa (Offshore) Inc., Occidental of Yemen (Block 75) LLC, Oceanic Marine Transport Ltd., Opcal Insurance Inc., Oryx Crude Trading & Transportation Inc., Oxy BridgeTex Limited Partnership, Oxy C & I Bulk Sales LLC, Oxy Canada Sales Inc., Oxy Carbon Solutions LLC, Oxy Carbon Storage LLC, Oxy Climate Ventures Inc., Oxy Cogeneration Holding Company LLC, Oxy Colombia Holdings LLC, Oxy Colombia TopCo Ltd., Oxy Delaware Basin LLC, Oxy Delaware Basin Plant LLC, Oxy Dolphin E&P LLC, Oxy Dolphin Pipeline LLC, Oxy Energy Canada Inc., Oxy Energy Services LLC, Oxy Expatriate Services Inc., Oxy FFT Holdings Inc., Oxy Holding Company (Pipeline) Inc., Oxy International Ventures Ltd., Oxy LPG Terminal LLC, Oxy Levelland Pipeline Company LLC, Oxy Levelland Terminal Company LLC, Oxy Low Carbon Ventures LLC, Oxy Midstream Strategic Development LLC, Oxy Oleoducto SOP LLC, Oxy Overseas Services Ltd., Oxy Permian Gathering LLC, Oxy Permian Plaza LLC, Oxy Petroleum de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Oxy Renewable Energy LLC, Oxy Salt Creek Pipeline LLC, Oxy TL LLC, Oxy Taft Hub LLC, Oxy Technology Ventures Inc., Oxy Transport I Company LLC, Oxy Vinyls Canada Co., Oxy Vinyls Export Sales LLC, Oxy Vinyls LP, Oxy Westwood Corporation, Oxy Y-1 Company, OxyChem Ingleside Ethylene Holdings Inc., OxyChem do Brasil Ltda., OxyChile Investments LLC, Oxychem Shipping Ltd., Permian Basin JV Tax Matters Member LLC, Permian Basin Limited Partnership, Permian VPP Holder LP, Permian VPP Manager LLC, Phibro, Placid Oil LLC, Ramlat Oxy Ltd., Rio de Viento Inc., Rodeo Midland Basin LLC, San Patricio Pipeline LLC, Scanports Shipping LLC, SequestCo LLC, Stetson Exploration LLC, Sun Offshore Gathering Company, Swiflite Aircraft Corporation, Transok Properties LLC, Troy Potter Inc., Turavent Oil GmbH [in liquidation], Tuscaloosa Holdings Inc., UP Petroleo III Ltd., Upland Industries Corporation, Venezuela US SRL, Vintage Gas Inc., Vintage Petroleum, Vintage Petroleum Argentina Ltd., Vintage Petroleum Boliviana Ltd., Vintage Petroleum International Finance B.V., Vintage Petroleum International Holdings LLC, Vintage Petroleum International LLC, Vintage Petroleum International Ventures Inc., Vintage Petroleum Italy Inc., Vintage Petroleum South America Holdings Inc., Vintage Petroleum South America LLC, Vintage Petroleum Turkey Inc., WGR Asset Holding Company LLC, WGR Canada Inc., Wardner Ranch Inc., Western Gas Resources Inc., Western Gas Resources-Westana Inc., Western Midstream Holdings LLC, Woodlands International Insurance Ltd., and YT Ranch LLC.
The following companies are subsidiares of Carnival Co. &: 1972 Productions Inc., 6348 Equipment LLC, A.C.N. 098 290 834 Pty. Ltd., A.J. Juneau Dock LLC, AIDA Kundencenter GmbH, Adventure Island Ltd., Air-Sea Holiday GmbH, Alaska Hotel Properties LLC, Barcelona Cruise Terminal SLU, Bay Island Cruise Port S.A., Belize Cruise Terminal Limited, CC U.S. Ventures Inc., CCL Gifts LLC, CSSC Carnival Italy Cruise Investment S.r.L, Carnival (UK) Limited, Carnival Bahamas FC Limited, Carnival Bahamas Holdings Limited, Carnival Corporation & plc Asia Pte. Ltd., Carnival Corporation Hong Kong Limited, Carnival Corporation Korea Ltd., Carnival Corporation Ports Group Japan KK, Carnival Finance LLC, Carnival Grand Bahama Investment Limited, Carnival Investments Limited, Carnival Japan Inc., Carnival License Holdings Limited, Carnival Maritime GmbH, Carnival North America LLC, Carnival Port Holdings Limited, Carnival Ports Inc., Carnival Support Services India Private Limited, Carnival Technical Services (UK) Limited, Carnival Technical Services Finland Limited, Carnival Technical Services GmbH, Carnival Technical Services Inc., Carnival Vanuatu Limited, Costa Crociere PTE Ltd., Costa Crociere S.p.A., Costa Cruceros S.A., Costa Cruise Lines Inc., Costa Cruise Lines UK Limited, Costa Cruises Shipping Services (Shanghai) Company Limited, Costa Cruises Travel Agency (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Costa Cruzeiros Agencia Maritima e Turismo Ltda., Costa Group Digital & Strategic Services GmbH, Costa International B.V., Costa Kreuzfahrten GmbH, Cozumel Cruise Terminal S.A. de C.V., Creative Travel Lab Ltd., Cruise Ships Catering & Services International N.V., Cruise Terminal Services S.A. de C.V., Cruiseport Curacao C.V., D.R. Cruise Port Ltd., Ecospray Technologies S.r.L., F.P.M. SAS, F.P.P. SAS, Fleet Maritime Services (Bermuda) Limited, Fleet Maritime Services Holdings (Bermuda) Limited, Fleet Maritime Services International Limited, GXI LLC, Gibs Inc., Global Experience Innovators Inc., Global Fine Arts Inc., Global Shipping Service (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Grand Cruise Shipping Unipessoal LdA, Grand Turk Cruise Center Ltd., HAL Antillen N.V., HAL Beheer B.V., HAL Cruises Limited, HAL Maritime Ltd., HAL Nederland N.V., HAL Properties Limited, HAL Services B.V., HSE Hamburg School of Entertainment GmbH, Holding Division Iberocruceros SLU, Holland America Line Inc., Holland America Line N.V., Holland America Line Paymaster of Washington LLC, Holland America Line U.S.A. Inc., Ibero Cruzeiros Ltda., Iberocruceros SLU, Information Assistance Corporation, International Cruise Services S.A. de C.V., International Leisure Travel Inc., International Maritime Recruitment Agency S.A. de C.V., Milestone N.V., Navitrans S.R.L., Ocean Bahamas Innovation Ltd., Ocean Medallion Fulfillment Ltd., Operadora Catalina S.r.L., P&O Princess American Holdings, P&O Princess Cruises International Limited, P&O Princess Cruises Pension Trustee Limited, P&O Properties (California) Inc., P&O Travel Limited, Prestige Cruises Management S.A.M., Prestige Cruises N.V., Princess Bermuda Holdings Ltd., Princess Cays Ltd., Princess Cruise Corporation Inc., Princess Cruise Lines Ltd., Princess Cruises and Tours Inc., Princess U.S. Holdings Inc., RCT Maintenance & Related Services S.A., RCT Pilots & Related Services S.A., RCT Security & Related Services S.A., Roatan Cruise Terminal S.A. de C.V., Royal Hyway Tours Inc., Santa Cruz Terminal S.L., SeaVacations Limited, SeaVacations UK Limited, Seabourn Cruise Line Limited, Shanghai Coast Cruise Consulting Co. Lda, Ship Care (Bahamas) Limited, Sitmar Cruises Inc., Spanish Cruise Services N.V., Sunshine Shipping Corporation Ltd., T&T International Inc., Tour Alaska LLC, Transnational Services Corporation, Trident Insurance Company Ltd., Westmark Hotels Inc., Westmark Hotels of Canada Ltd., Westours Motor Coaches LLC, Wind Surf Limited, and World Leading Cruise Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd..
Genworth Financial, Inc. is a financial services company, which engages in the provision of insurance, wealth management, investment and financial solutions. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Mortgage Insurance, Australia Mortgage Insurance, U.S. Life Insurance, and Runoff. The U.S. Mortgage Insurance segment offers mortgage insurance products predominantly insuring prime-based, individually underwritten residential mortgage loans. The Australia Mortgage Insurance segment offers flow mortgage insurance and selectively provides bulk mortgage insurance that aids in the sale of mortgages to the capital markets and helps lenders manage capital and risk. The U.S. Life Insurance segment offers long-term care insurance products as well as service traditional life insurance and fixed annuity products in the United States. The Runoff segment includes the results of non-strategic products which are no longer actively sold but continue to service its existing blocks of business. Its non-strategic products primarily include variable annuity, variable life insurance, institutional, corporate-owned life insurance and other accident and health insurance products. The company was fo

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Think about it: if you live in a high-crime area, you dont just rely on law enforcement to keep you and your possessions safe. You also lock your doors, switch on your alarm and remain vigilant. The same should be true in the online space.

1. Check if youre already compromised

Use a free service such as https://haveibeenpwned.com/ to check if your email address has been in a data breach - and dont forget to check the old Hotmail, Yahoo or Gmail accounts that you rarely access.

If your email address has been compromised, the site will show you a list of the reported data breaches in which your address was found. You should immediately do a password update on those sites and any others where that same password was used.

Have I Been Pwned is not an exhaustive list - it only includes breaches that have been made available for inclusion in the database.

Another good idea is to subscribe to receive notifications of major breaches that include your address so that you can change the relevant password on those sites.

2. Check your privacy settings on social media

Why? Because personal information feeds criminal ability to tailor-make a scam that has enough information about you to seem valid.

Also, sharing your whereabouts and when you are on vacation (and your house is unguarded) can make you a target for real-world criminals.

Change the privacy settings on social media to ensure that your personal information is only available to your friends, fans or followers.

3. Use a password application to manage all your online/app passwords

There are a number of free and paid for password management applications - find one that suits your requirements and wallet.

You know that site you registered on and thought youd never access again, so you used a simple, common password? I was suitably mortified when I checked the applications password audit, and saw how few of my passwords are strong or medium and how many are weak.

It also tells you where you have repeated a password - and lets be honest - we have all done it and probably forgotten half of them. If one of those sites is compromised, then all sites with repeated passwords are vulnerable. Instead of using the same password, rather have a standard password approach which allows you to remember the basic password and how you varied it for each site.

Heres a useful video on how to choose a good password

4. Double protect accounts that store sensitive personal or payment information

Two-factor authentication is a fancy name for a simple, but effective process. It adds a second layer of security over and above your password, using a second channel/device. When you perform certain functions on a site (this can be login, details update or purchase), you are required to input a one time pin that is sent to you by email or text.

For an account that is protected by two-factor authentication to be compromised, the criminal has to have your password and control over the device that receives the OTP.

5. Delete old accounts on sites/apps you no longer use

Take an hour to go to those sites and find out how to delete your account and remove your data. This makes you less vulnerable if one of those sites is hacked. Its like fixing holes in your fence.

Remember to also review the mobile apps you no longer use - like the local food delivery app you used before you moved cities. Deleting the app off your phone does not mean your account has been deleted or your data removed.

As important as the increased attention to data privacy is, we must remember that laws and regulations will never be enough to protect valuable property.

With the EU's data protection regulations (GDPR) coming into effect in the midst of all this, many would've been hopeful that their data might be used more responsibly.The regulations, which came into effect on 25 May, compel organisations to amend their practices, be more transparent around what data they process and do better at protecting personal information.They should not, however, be seen as a silver bullet when it comes to the privacy and personal data. No amount of legislation can keep your personal data safe without you putting in a little effort yourself.Taking the right precautions might require a little time and effort, but doing so could mean the difference between being a victim of the next major data breach, or not.What can you do to proactively protect your personal data?Dont just sit back and wonder if your details have already either been accessed by a criminal or published somewhere on the public or dark web.Based on the number of records compromised in recent years, the chances are high that they have, meaning its better to know and take action.In the early days of social media, we had no idea how valuable our personal data was to criminal elements. So, we shared . . . everything. Slowly, were waking up to how important it is to keep a tighter lock on our personal information.No, were not talking about a spreadsheet on your computer. Thats a terrible idea. If your machine is compromised, whether by a hacker or a malicious application, you can be sure that the spreadsheet will be found and used to access your online accounts.Most internet users are probably overdue for an online spring clean. Your interests have changed: maybe youve moved countries, gotten married - there are bound to be websites (and apps) that used to be relevant, but due to life changes, you no longer use.That is, after all, what your personal information is - something that has value and is worth stealing. A little bit of awareness and effort will make it that much more difficult to take.
SociAtA GAnArale SociAtA anonyme provides financial services in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Oceania, Africa, and France. The company offers retail banking services, including deposits and loans, vehicles and asset management, corporate finance, insurance, payments, investment, and online brokerage and financial information services; Internet, mobile, telephone, and service platforms; and online banking to individual and professional customers, businesses, non-profit associations and local authorities under the Societe Generale, CrAdit du Nord, and Boursorama Banque brands. It also provides international retail banking and financial services, comprising of deposit and loan products; consumer finance and car finance; mortgage facilities; corporate and investment banking; infrastructure, renewable energies, and agribusiness financing; life, retirement savings, and personal protection insurance products; vehicle leasing and fleet management services; and vendor and equipment finance services to corporate and individual customers. In addition, the company offers capital market services, such as fixed income and currencies, equities, and securities services; mergers and acquisitions, advisory and other corporate finance advisory services, and corporate banking and investment banking, as well as capital raising solutions for debt or equity, financial engineering, and hedging for issuers; transaction and payment services, comprising of cash management, trade finance, cash clearing and correspondent banking, supply chain finance, and foreign exchange services; and export finance, aircraft finance, shipping finance, real estate finance, and structured solutions and leasing. Further, it provides financial engineering and wealth management solutions; structured products, hedge funds, mutual funds, private equity funds and real estate investment solutions; and asset management solutions. SociAtA GAnArale SociAtA anonyme was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Paris, France.

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First Data Corporation provides commerce enabled technology and solutions for merchants, financial institutions, and card issuers in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through three segments: Global Business Solutions, Global Financial Solutions, and Network & Security Solutions. The Global Business Solutions segment provides solutions to merchants, such as retail point of sale merchant acquiring, e-commerce, and mobile payment services, as well as cloud based point of sale operating system that include a marketplace for proprietary and third party applications. The Global Finance Solutions segment provides technology solutions for bank and non-bank issuers, such as credit, retail private label, commercial card, and loan processing, as well as licensed financial software systems; suite of account services that include card personalization and embossing, customer communications, and professional services; and call center solutions and back office processing. The Network & Security Solutions segment offers EFT network, stored value network, and security and fraud solutions, as well as other value added solutions to its clients in GBS and GFS segments, smaller financial institutions, and other enterprise clients. First Data Corporation was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Stryker: ActiViews, Aimago SA, Alcott Indemnity Company, Arrinex Inc, Arrinex Inc., Ascent Healthcare Solutions, Berchtold, Berchtold + Fritz GmbH, Berchtold Consulting GmbH, Berchtold Corporation, Berchtold GmbH & Co. KG, Berchtold Holding Switzerland GmbH, CHG Hospital Beds, Cactus LLC, Cardan Robotics, Changzhou Orthomed Medical Instrument Company Limited, Concentric Medical, Concentric Medical Inc., Entellus Medical, Entellus Medical Europe Ltd, Entellus Medical Inc., GYS Tech LLC, Gaymar Industries, Gongping (Shanghai) Medical Devices Trading Co. Ltd., Groupe Bertec, HeartSine Technologies LLC, HeartSine Technologies Limited, Howmedica International S. de R.L., Howmedica Osteonics Corp., Hygia Health Services, Hygia Healthcare Services Inc., HyperBranch, HyperBranch Technology Inc., ITAPCo Limited, Image Guided Technologies, Imorphics Limited, Infinity MSD Corp., Infinity MSE Corp., Infinity MSF Corp., Infomedix Communications, Instratek, InstruMedics L.L.C, Invuity Inc., Ivy Sports Medicine, Ivy Sports Medicine LLC, Jiangsu Chuangyi Medical Instrument Company Limited, Jolife AB, K2M Germany GmbH, K2M Group, K2M Group Holdings Inc., K2M Holdings Inc., K2M Iberia Medcomtech S.L.U., K2M Inc., K2M Solutions Australia Pty Ltd, K2M Spine Solutions (Schweiz) GmbH, K2M UK Limited, Loon Intermediateco LLC, MAKO Surgical, MAKO Surgical Corp, Memometal Technologies, Mobius Imaging, Mobius Imaging LLC, Muka Metal, Muka Metal Ticaret ve Sanayi Anaonim Sirketi, NV Stryker SA, Nettrick Limited, Novadaq Corp, Novadaq Hong Kong Ltd, Novadaq Technologies, Novadaq Technologies ULC, OOO "Stryker", Orneo Ozel Saglk Hizmetleri Medikal Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, OrthoSpace, OrthoSpace Ltd., OrthoSpace US Inc., Orthomed (Hong Kong) Medical Instrument Company Limited, Orthovita, Orthovita Inc., OtisMed, P.C. Sweden Holding AB, Patient Safety Technologies, Patton Surgical, Pficonprod Pty. Ltd., Physio-Control, Physio-Control (Shanghai) Sales Co. Ltd., Physio-Control Brazil Vendas Ltda., Physio-Control Czech Sales s.r.o., Physio-Control Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Physio-Control Holdings Inc, Physio-Control Hungary Sales Kft, Physio-Control Inc., Physio-Control India Sales Pvt. Ltd, Physio-Control Investments LLC, Physio-Control Lebanon Sales Offshore s.a.l., Physio-Control Manufacturing Inc., Physio-Control Operations Netherlands B.V., Physio-Control Sales Limited Liability Company, Physio-Control Singapore Pte. Ltd., Physio-Control South Africa Sales Pty. Ltd., Physio-Control UK Sales Ltd., Pivot Medical, PlasmaSol, Porex Technologies, SSI Divestiture Inc., SYK Costa Rica Services Sociedad De Responsabilidad Limitada, SafeAir AG, SafeWire, Sage Products, Sage Products Coperatief U.A., Sage Products Holdings II LLC, Sage Products Holdings III LLC, Sage Products LLC, Scopis GmbH, Sightline Technologies, Small Bone Innovations, SpineCore, Spirox Inc., Stanmore Implants Worldwide, Stanmore Implants Worldwide Limited, Stanmore Inc., Stryker (Barbados) Foreign Sales Corporation, Stryker (Beijing) Healthcare Products Co. Ltd., Stryker (Shanghai) Healthcare Products Co. Ltd., Stryker (Suzhou) Medical Technology Co Ltd, Stryker (Thailand) Limited, Stryker AB, Stryker Acquisitions BV, Stryker Asia Holdings CV, Stryker Australia LLC, Stryker Australia Pty. Ltd., Stryker Austria GmbH, Stryker B.V., Stryker Berchtold BV, Stryker Beteiligungs GmbH, Stryker Canada GP ULC, Stryker Canada Holding Company, Stryker Canada Manufacturing ULC, Stryker Canada ULC, Stryker Canadian Management ULC, Stryker Canadian Sales Holding Company ULC, Stryker Capital BV, Stryker China Limited, Stryker Colombia SAS, Stryker Communications Inc., Stryker Corporation (Chile) y Compania Limitada, Stryker Corporation (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Stryker Customs Brokers LLC, Stryker Czech Republic s.r.o., Stryker Delaware Inc., Stryker EMEA Supply Chain Services BV, Stryker Employment Company LLC, Stryker European Coordination Center BV, Stryker European Holdings Cooperatief U.A, Stryker European Holdings I LLC, Stryker European Holdings II LLC, Stryker European Holdings LLC, Stryker European Holdings V LLC, Stryker European Operations B.V., Stryker European Operations Holdings I BV, Stryker European Operations Holdings II BV, Stryker European Operations Holdings III BV, Stryker European Operations Holdings LLC, Stryker European Operations Limited, Stryker European Technologies C.V., Stryker Far East Inc., Stryker Foreign Acquisitions Inc., Stryker France Holding SNC, Stryker France MM Holdings SAS, Stryker France SAS, Stryker Funding B.V., Stryker GI Services CV, Stryker Global Technology Center Private Limited, Stryker GmbH, Stryker GmbH & Co. KG, Stryker Grundstucks GmbH & Co KG, Stryker Grundstucks Verwaltungs GmbH, Stryker Holdings BV, Stryker IFSC Designated Activity Company, Stryker Iberia SL Unipersonal, Stryker India Private Limited, Stryker International Acquisitions BV, Stryker International Holdings BV, Stryker Investment Holdings B.V., Stryker Ireland Holding Unlimited Company, Stryker Ireland Limited, Stryker Italia S.r.l. S.U., Stryker Japan Holdings BV, Stryker Japan K.K., Stryker Korea Ltd., Stryker Lebanon (Offshore) S.A.L., Stryker Leibinger GmbH & Co. KG, Stryker Luxembourg Holdings S.a.r.l., Stryker Luxembourg Sarl, Stryker Manufacturing S. de R.L. de C.V., Stryker Mauritius Holding Ltd., Stryker Medical London LP, Stryker Medtech K.K., Stryker Medtech Limited, Stryker Mexico Holdings B.V., Stryker Mexico SA de CV, Stryker NV Operations Limited, Stryker Nederland BV, Stryker New Zealand Limited, Stryker Osteonics AG, Stryker Pacific Limited, Stryker Performance Solutions LLC, Stryker Polska Sp.z.o.o., Stryker Portugal - Produtos Medicos Unipessoal Lda., Stryker Professional Latin America S. de R.L. de C.V., Stryker Puerto Rico Limited, Stryker Romania SRL, Stryker Sage Inc., Stryker Sales Corporation, Stryker Servicios Administrativos S.de R.L. de C.V., Stryker Singapore Private Limited, Stryker South Africa (Proprietary) Limited, Stryker Spine SAS, Stryker Spine Sarl, Stryker Sustainability Solutions Inc., Stryker Tibbi Cihazlan Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Stryker Trauma GmbH, Stryker Turkish Holdings BV, Stryker UK Ltd, Stryker Verwaltungs GmbH, Stryker Vietnam Company Limited, Stryker do Brasil Ltda, Surpass Medical, Synergetics, TG SP Holdings Corp, TSO3 Corp, TSO3 Inc, Trauson, Trauson (China) Medical Instrument Company Limited, Trauson (Hong Kong) Company Limited, Trauson Holdings (BVI) Company Limited, Trauson Holdings (Hong Kong) Company Limited, Trauson Holdings Company Limited, VEXIM SA, Vexim, Waterloo Bedding Co., Wright Medical Group, ZipLine Medical Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ZipLine Medical Hong Kong Limited, ZipLine Medical Inc., and eTrauma.com.
SunTrust Banks, Inc. operates as the holding company for SunTrust Bank that provides various financial services for consumers, businesses, corporations, institutions, and not-for-profit entities in the United States. It operates in two segments, Consumer and Wholesale. The Consumer segment provides deposits and payments; home equity and personal credit lines; auto, student, and other lending products; credit cards; discount/online and full-service brokerage products; professional investment advisory products and services; and trust services, as well as family office solutions. This segment also offers residential mortgage products in the secondary market. The Wholesale segment provides capital markets solutions, including advisory, capital raising, and financial risk management; asset-based financing solutions, such as securitizations, asset-based lending, equipment financing, and structured real estate arrangements; cash management services and auto dealer financing solutions; investment banking solutions; and credit and deposit, fee-based product offering, multi-family agency lending, advisory, commercial mortgage brokerage, and tailored financing and equity investment solutions. This segment also offers treasury and payment solutions, such as operating various electronic and paper payment types, which comprise card, wire transfer, automated clearing house, check, and cash; and provides services clients to manage their accounts online. The company offers its products and services through a network of traditional and in-store branches, automated teller machines, Internet, mobile, and telephone banking channels. As of December 31, 2018, it operated 1,218 full-service banking offices located in Florida, Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Maryland, South Carolina, and the District of Columbia. SunTrust Banks, Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Thermo Fisher Scientific: 236 Perinton Parkway LLC, 27 Forge Parkway LLC, ABR--Affinity BioReagents, ACI Holdings Inc., ARG Services LLC, ASPEX Corporation, Abgene Inc., Abgene Limited, Acoustic Cytometry Systems Inc., AcroMetrix LLC, Acros Organics B.V.B.A., Advanced Biotechnologies Limited, Advanced Scientifics (ASI), Advanced Scientifics Inc., Advanced Scientifics International Inc., Affymetrix Biotech Participacoes Ltda., Affymetrix Biotech Shanghai Ltd, Affymetrix Inc, Affymetrix Japan K.K., Affymetrix Pte Ltd, Affymetrix UK Ltd, Afora S.A.U., Ahura Scientific, Alchematrix Inc., Alchematrix LLC, Alfa Aesar, Alfa Aesar (China) Chemical Co. Ltd., Alfa Aesar (Hong Kong) Limited, Allergon AB, Alphine Mountain Limited, Ambion Inc., Apogent Denmark ApS, Apogent Finance Company, Apogent Holding Company, Apogent Technologies Inc., Apogent Transition Corp., Apogent U.K. Limited, App-Tek International Pty Ltd, Applied Biosystems B.V., Applied Biosystems Finance B.V., Applied Biosystems International Inc., Applied Biosystems LLC, Applied Biosystems Taiwan LLC, Applied Biosystems Trading (Shanghai) Company Ltd., Applied Biosystems de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Applied Scientific Corporation, Avances Cientificos de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Avocado Research Chemicals Limited, B.R.A.H.M.S. Biotech GmbH, B.R.A.H.M.S. GmbH, B.R.A.H.M.S. UK Ltd, BAC BV, BAC IP BV, Barnstead Thermolyne LLC, Beijing Phadia Diagnostics Co Ltd, Bender MedSystems GmbH, BioTrove Corporation, BioTrove International Inc., Bioanalysis Labsystems S.A., Biochemical Sciences LLC, Biolab, BmT GmbH Laborprodukte, Bonsai Tecnologies - Sistemas para Biotecnologia e Industria Unipessoal Lda, Brammer Bio, Bumi-Sans Sendirian Berhad, CAC Limited, CB Diagnostics AB, CB Diagnostics Holding AB, CEPH International Corporation, CHK Holdings Inc., CRS Robotics, CTPS LLC, Capitol Scientific Products Inc., Capitol Vial Inc., Cellomics Inc., CellzDirect Inc., Cenduit GmbH, Cenduit LLC, Cezanne S.A.S., Chase Scientific Glass Inc., Chromacol Limited, Clintrak, Clintrak Clinical Labeling Services LLC, Clintrak Pharmaceutical Services LLC, Cohesive Technologies (UK) Limited, Cohesive Technologies Inc., Columbia Diagnostics Inc., Compendia Bioscience Inc., Comtest Limited, Consolidated Technologies Inc., Consultores Fisher Scientific Chile Ltd, Core Informatics, Core Informatics LLC, Core Informatics UK Ltd., D-finitive Technologies Inc., DCG Systems B.V., DCG Systems C.V., DCG Systems G.K., DCG Systems GmbH, DCG Systems Korea Ltd., DCG Systems LLC, DPI Newco LLC, DSM Pharmaceutical Products Inc., Dharmacon, Diagnostix Ltd., Dionex (China) Analytical Ltd, Dionex (Switzerland) AG, Dionex (UK) Limited, Dionex Austria GmbH, Dionex Benelux B.V., Dionex Brasil Instrumentos Cientificos Ltda, Dionex Canada Ltd., Dionex China Limited, Dionex Corporation, Dionex Denmark A/S, Dionex Holding GmbH, Dionex I LLC, Dionex Pty Ltd., Dionex S.A., Dionex S.p.A., Dionex Singapore Pte Ltd., Dionex Softron GmbH, Dionex Sweden AB, Distribution Solutions International Inc., Doe & Ingalls Investors Inc., Doe & Ingalls Limited, Doe & Ingalls Management LLC, Doe & Ingalls Properties II LLC, Doe & Ingalls Properties LLC, Doe & Ingalls of California Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Florida Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Maryland Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Massachusetts Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of North Carolina Operating LLC, Doublecape Holding Limited, Doublecape Limited, Drakeside Real Estate Holding Company LLC, Duke Scientific Corporation, Dynal Biotech Beijing Limited, EGS Gauging Ltd., EGS Gauging Technical Services Company, EP Scientific Products LLC, Ecochem N.V., EnviroEquip Pty Ltd, Epsom Glass Industries Limited, Equibio Limited, Erie Electroverre S.A., Erie Finance Limited, Erie LP Holding LLC, Erie Scientific Company of Puerto Rico, Erie Scientific Hungary Kft, Erie Scientific LLC, Erie U.K. Limited, Erie UK 1 Limited, Erie UK 2 Limited, Erie UK Holding Company, Erie UK Senior Holding Limited, European Laboratory Holdings Limited, Eutech Instruments Europe B.V., Eutech Instruments Pte Ltd., Eutech Instruments Sdn Bhd, Ever Ready Thermometer Co. Inc., FEI Asia Pacific Co. Ltd., FEI Australia Pty Ltd, FEI CPD B.V., FEI Company, FEI Company Japan Ltd., FEI Company of USA (S.E.A.) Pte Ltd., FEI Czech Republic s.r.o., FEI Deutschland GmbH, FEI EFA Inc., FEI EFA International Pte. Ltd., FEI Electron Optics B.V., FEI Electron Optics International B.V., FEI Europe B.V., FEI France SAS, FEI Global Holdings C.V., FEI Hong Kong Company Limited, FEI Houston Inc., FEI Italia Srl, FEI Korea Ltd., FEI Melbourne Pty Ltd., FEI Microscopy Solutions Ltd, FEI Munich GmbH, FEI Norway Holding AS, FEI SAS, FEI Saudi Arabia LLC, FEI Servicos de Nanotecnologia Ltda., FEI Technologies Inc., FEI Technology de Mexico S.A. de C.V., FEI Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., FEI Trondheim AS, FEI UK Ltd., FHP LLC, FRC Holding Inc. V, FS (Barbados) Capital Holdings Ltd., FS Casa Rocas Holdings LLC, FS Mexicana Holdings LLC, FSI Receivables Company LLC, FSII Sweden Holdings AB, FSII Sweden Holdings I AB, FSIR Holdings (UK) Limited, FSIR Holdings (US) Inc., FSUK Holdings Limited, FSWH Company LLC, FSWH II C.V., FSWH International Holdings LLC, Fermentas China Co. Ltd, Fermentas Inc., Fermentas International, Fermentas Sweden AB, Fermentas UK Limited, Fiberlite Centrifuge LLC, Finesse Scientific Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Finesse Solutions AG, Finesse Solutions Inc., Finnzymes Oy, Fisher Alder S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Asia Manufacturing Ventures Inc., Fisher Bermuda Holdings Limited, Fisher BioImage ApS, Fisher BioPharma Services (India) Private Limited, Fisher BioSciences Japan G.K., Fisher BioServices Inc., Fisher Bioblock Holding II SNC, Fisher CLP Holding Limited Partnership, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 1, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 2, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 3, Fisher Canada Limited Partnership, Fisher Chimica BVBA, Fisher Clinical Logistics LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services (Bristol) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Colombia) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Korea) Co. Ltd, Fisher Clinical Services (Mexico) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Peru) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services Colombia S.A.S., Fisher Clinical Services GmbH, Fisher Clinical Services Inc., Fisher Clinical Services Japan K.K., Fisher Clinical Services Latin America S.R.L., Fisher Clinical Services Limited Liability Company, Fisher Clinical Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Clinical Services Peru S.R.L, Fisher Clinical Services Pte Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services U.K. Limited, Fisher Emergo B.V., Fisher Germany Holdings GmbH, Fisher Hamilton China Inc., Fisher Hamilton Mexico LLC, Fisher Holdings ApS, Fisher Internet Minority Holdings L.L.C., Fisher Laboratory Products Manufacturing (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Fisher Luxembourg Danish Holdings SARL, Fisher Manufacturing (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Maybridge Holdings Limited, Fisher Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Scientific (Austria) GmbH, Fisher Scientific (Hong Kong) Limited, Fisher Scientific (M) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Scientific (SEA) Pte. Ltd., Fisher Scientific A/S, Fisher Scientific AG, Fisher Scientific Australia Pty Limited, Fisher Scientific Biotech Line ApS, Fisher Scientific Brazil Inc., Fisher Scientific Central America Inc., Fisher Scientific Chile Inc., Fisher Scientific Colombia Inc., Fisher Scientific Company, Fisher Scientific Company L.L.C., Fisher Scientific Costa Rica Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Fisher Scientific Europe Holdings B.V., Fisher Scientific GTF AB, Fisher Scientific Germany Beteiligungs GmbH, Fisher Scientific GmbH, Fisher Scientific Holding Company LLC, Fisher Scientific Holding HK Limited, Fisher Scientific Holding U.K. Limited, Fisher Scientific Holdings (M) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Scientific Holdings (S) Pte Ltd, Fisher Scientific International LLC, Fisher Scientific Investments (Cayman) Ltd., Fisher Scientific Ireland Investments Unlimited, Fisher Scientific Ireland Limited, Fisher Scientific Japan Ltd., Fisher Scientific Jersey Island Limited, Fisher Scientific Korea Ltd, Fisher Scientific Latin America Inc., Fisher Scientific Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Fisher Scientific Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Scientific Mexico Inc., Fisher Scientific Middle East and Africa Inc., Fisher Scientific Norway AS, Fisher Scientific Operating Company, Fisher Scientific Oxoid Holdings Ltd., Fisher Scientific Oy, Fisher Scientific Pte. Ltd., Fisher Scientific S.A.S., Fisher Scientific S.L., Fisher Scientific SPRL, Fisher Scientific The Hague I B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague II B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague III B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague IV B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague V B.V., Fisher Scientific U.K. Limited, Fisher Scientific UK Holding Company 2, Fisher Scientific UK Holding Company Limited, Fisher Scientific Unipessoal Lda., Fisher Scientific Venezuela Inc., Fisher Scientific Worldwide (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Fisher Scientific Worldwide Holdings I C.V., Fisher Scientific Worldwide Inc., Fisher Scientific de Mexico S.A., Fisher Scientific of the Netherlands B.V., Fisher Scientific spol. S.r.o, Fisher Servicios Clinicos (Chile) LLC, Fisher Servicios Clinicos Chile Ltda, Fisher WWD Holding L.L.C., Fisher Worldwide Distribution SPV, Fisher Worldwide Gene Distribution SPV, Flux Instruments, Fuji Partnership, G & M Procter Limited, G V Instruments Limited, GV Instruments Canada Ltd., GV Instruments Inc, Gatan Inc, General Scientific Company Sdn Bhd (M), Genomed molekularbiologische und diagnostische Produkte GmbH, Gerhard Menzel B.V. & Co. KG, Gold Cattle Standard Testing Labs Inc., Golden West Indemnity Company Limited, Goring Kerr Detection Limited, Greenville Service Company Inc., HENO GmbH i.L., Hangar 215 Inc., Helmet Securities Limited, Henogen, HighChem, HyClone International Trade (Tianjin) Co. Ltd, Hybaid Limited, I.Q. (BIO) Limited, IDnostics AG, ILS Laboratories Scandinavia AB, Inel Inc., Inel SAS, InnaPhase Inc., InnaPhase Limited, IntegenX, Intrinsic BioProbes Inc., Intrinsic Bioprobes Inc., Invitrogen (Shanghai) Investment Co. Ltd., Invitrogen Argentina SA, Invitrogen BioServices India Private Limited, Invitrogen Europe Limited, Invitrogen Finance Corp., Invitrogen Holdings LLC, Invitrogen Holdings Ltd., Invitrogen Hong Kong Limited, Invitrogen IP Holdings Inc., Invitrogen Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Ion Torrent Systems Inc., Ionalytics Corporation, JSC Thermo Fisher Scientific, Jouan LLC, Jouan Limited, Jouan SA, Kendro Containment & Services Limited, Kendro Laboratory Products Ltd, Kettlebrook Insurance Co. ltd., Keystone Scientific, KonTEM GmbH, Kyle Jordan Investments LLC, LIFE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, LTC Tech South Africa PTY Ltd., La-Pha-Pack GmbH, Lab Vision (UK) Limited, Lab Vision Corporation, Lab-Chrom-Pack LLC, Lab-Line Instruments Inc., Labomex MBP S. de R. L. De C.V., Laboratoire Service International - L.S.I, Laboratory Management Systems Inc., Laboratory Specialties Proprietary Ltd., LambTrack Limited, Laser Analytical Systems Inc., Liberty Lane Investment LLC, Liberty Lane Real Estate Holding Company LLC, Life Sciences International (Poland) SP z O.O, Life Sciences International Holdings BV, Life Sciences International LLC, Life Sciences International Limited, Life Technologies AS, Life Technologies Australia PTY Ltd., Life Technologies BPD AB, Life Technologies BPD UK Limited, Life Technologies Brasil Comercio e Industria de Produtos para Biotecnologia Ltda, Life Technologies Chile SpA, Life Technologies Clinical Services Lab Inc., Life Technologies Co. Ltd., Life Technologies Czech Republic s.r.o., Life Technologies DaAn Diagnostic (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd., Life Technologies Europe B.V., Life Technologies Finance Ltd., Life Technologies Finland Oy, Life Technologies GmbH, Life Technologies Holdings PTE Ltd., Life Technologies Inc., Life Technologies International B.V., Life Technologies Japan Ltd., Life Technologies Korea LLC, Life Technologies Limited, Life Technologies Magyarorszag Kft, Life Technologies New Zealand Ltd., Life Technologies Norway Investments US LLC, Life Technologies Polska Sp z.o.o., Life Technologies SA, Life Technologies SAS, Life Technologies s.r.o, Linkage Biosciences Inc., Linkage Biosciences S.a.r.l., Loftus Furnace Company, Lomb Scientific, Lomb Scientific (Aust) Pty Limited, MTI-GlobalStem, Marketbase International Limited, Matrix MicroScience Inc., Matrix MicroScience Ltd., Matrix Technologies Corporation Limited, Matrix Technologies LLC, Maybridge Chemical Company Limited, Maybridge Chemical Holdings Limited, Maybridge Limited, Medical Analysis Systems Inc., Medical Analysis Systems International Inc., Medical Diagnostics Systems Inc., Metavac LLC, Microgenics Corporation, Microgenics Diagnostics Pty Limited, Microgenics GmbH, Microm International GmbH, Microm Laborgerate S.L.U, Molecular BioProducts Inc., Molecular Probes Inc., Molecular Transfer Inc., NAPCO Inc., NERL Diagnostics LLC, NOVODIRECT GmbH Labor- und Industrie- Megerate, Nalge (Europe) Limited, Nalge Nunc International (Monterrey) LLC, Nalge Nunc International Corporation, Nanjing WeiKangLe Trading Industrial Co Ltd, NanoDrop Technologies LLC, National Scientific Company, Navaho Acquisition Corp., Neomarkers Inc., New FS Holdings Inc., NewcoGen PE LLC, Nihon Dynal K.K., Niton Asia Limited, NovaWave Technologies Inc., Nunc A/S, ONIX Systems Inc., OXOID CZ s.r.o., Odyssey Holdings Corporation, Odyssey Luxembourg Holdings S.a r.l., Odyssey Luxembourg IP Holdings 1 S.a r.l., Odyssey Luxembourg IP Holdings 2 S.a r.l., Odyssey Venture Corporation, Omega Data Systems, One Lambda Inc, Onix Holdings Limited, Orme Scientific Limited, Owl Separation Systems LLC, Oxoid (ELY) Limited, Oxoid 2000 Limited, Oxoid AS, Oxoid Australia Pty. Limited, Oxoid Company, Oxoid Deutschland GmbH, Oxoid Holding SAS, Oxoid Holdings Limited, Oxoid Inc., Oxoid International Limited, Oxoid Investments GmbH, Oxoid Limited, Oxoid N.V., Oxoid New Zealand Limited, Oxoid Pension Trustees Limited, Oxoid Senior Holdings Limited, Oxoid UKH LLC, PAX - DSI Acquisition LLC, PE AG, Pacific Rim Far East Industries LLC, Pacific Rim Investment LLC, Panomics L.L.C., Panomics S.R.L., Patheon, Patheon API Inc., Patheon API Manufacturing Inc., Patheon API Services Inc., Patheon Austria GmbH & Co KG, Patheon B.V., Patheon Banner U.S. Holdings Inc., Patheon Biologics (NJ) LLC, Patheon Biologics Australia Pty Ltd, Patheon Biologics B.V., Patheon Biologics LLC, Patheon Calculus Merger LLC, Patheon Cooperatief U.A., Patheon Development Services Inc., Patheon Finance LLC, Patheon France SAS, Patheon Holdings B.V., Patheon Holdings I B.V., Patheon Holdings II B.V., Patheon Holdings SAS, Patheon I B.V., Patheon I Holding GmbH, Patheon Inc., Patheon International AG, Patheon Italia S.p.A., Patheon KK, Patheon Life Science Products International GmbH, Patheon Manufacturing Services LLC, Patheon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Patheon Pharmaceuticals Services Inc., Patheon Puerto Rico Acquisitions Corporation, Patheon Puerto Rico Inc., Patheon Regensburg GmbH, Patheon Softgels B.V., Patheon Softgels Inc., Patheon U.S. Holdings Inc., Patheon U.S. Holdings LLC, Patheon UK Limited, Patheon UK Pension Trustees Limited, Pelican Acquisition Corporation, Perbio Science (Canada) Company, Perbio Science AB, Perbio Science BVBA, Perbio Science France SAS, Perbio Science Inc., Perbio Science International Netherlands B.V., Perbio Science Invest AB, Perbio Science Nederland B.V., Perbio Science Projekt AB, Perbio Science Sweden Holdings AB, Perbio Science Switzerland SA, Perbio Science UK Limited, Phadia AB, Phadia Diagnosticos Ltda, Phadia GmbH, Phadia Holding AB, Phadia International Holdings C.V., Phadia Korea Co. Ltd, Phadia Luxembourg Holdings S.a.r.l., Phadia Malta Holdings Limited, Phadia Oy, Phadia Real Property AB, Phadia Sweden AB, Phadia Taiwan Inc., Phadia US Inc., Phadia s.r.o., Pharmacaps Mexicana SA de CV, Phenom-World B.V., Phenom-World Holding B.V, Phenom-World Innovations B.V., Phinotex, Pierce Biotechnology Inc., Pierce Milwaukee Holding Corp., Pierce Milwaukee Inc., Polychromix, Power Sweden Holdings I AB, Power Sweden Holdings II AB, Power Sweden Holdings III Aktiebolag, Princeton Gamma-Tech Instruments LLC, Princeton Security Technologies, Prionics AG, Prionics Asia Ltd., Prionics Deutschland GmbH, Prionics France SAS, Prionics Italia S.r.l., Prionics Lelystad B.V., Prionics USA Inc., Priority Air Express LLC, Priority Air Express Pte. Ltd., Priority Air Express UK Limited, Priority Air Holdings Corp, Priority Solutions International, Promedica Pty Limited, Proxeon, Proxeon Biosystems ApS, Qiagen, REP GBP I-B Blocker Inc., Raymond A Lamb Limited, Remel Europe Limited, Remel Inc., Richard-Allan Scientific Company, Robbins Scientific LLC, Robocon Labor- und Industrieroboter Gesellschaft m.b.H, Rupprecht and Patashnick, Rupprecht and Patashnick (R&P), Russell pH Limited, S.C.I. du 10 rue Dugay Trouin, SCI Inno 92, STC Bio Manufacturing Inc., Samco Scientific (Monterrey) LLC, Samco Scientific LLC, Saroph Sweden AB, Schantz Road LLC, Seradyn Inc., Shanghai Life Technologies Biotechnology Co. Limited, Shanghai Thermo Fisher (C-I) Trading Co. Ltd, Shanghai Thermo Fisher (S) Trading Co. Ltd, Southern Trials (Pty) Ltd., Specialty (SMI) Inc., Spectra-Physics AB, Spectra-Physics Holdings Limited, Spectra-Physics Holdings USA LLC, Spectronex, Staten Island Cogeneration Corporation, Sterilin Limited, Stokes Bio Ltd., Sweden DIA (Sweden) AB, SwissAnalytic Group GmbH, Systems Manufacturing Corporation, TFLP LLC, TFS Breda B.V., TFS LLC, TFS Singapore HK Limited, TFSL Financing GP LLC, TFSL Senior GP Holdings 2 LLC, TK Partnership, TKA Wasseraufbereitungssysteme, TMOI Inc., TPI Real Estate Holdings LLC, TSP Holdings I LLC, TWX LLC, Technology Design Solutions Pty Ltd, Thermedics Detection de Argentina S.R.L, Thermo Allen Coding Limited, Thermo Asset Management Services Inc., Thermo BioAnalysis LLC, Thermo BioAnalysis Limited, Thermo BioSciences Holdings LLC, Thermo CIDTEC, Thermo CRS Holdings Ltd., Thermo CRS Ltd., Thermo Cambridge Limited, Thermo Cayman Holdings Ltd., Thermo Corporation, Thermo DMA Inc., Thermo Detection de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Dutch Holdings Limited Partnership, Thermo EGS Gauging LLC, Thermo Eberline Holdings I LLC, Thermo Eberline Holdings II LLC, Thermo Eberline LLC, Thermo Electron (Calgary) Limited, Thermo Electron (Chile) S.p.A., Thermo Electron (Karlsruhe) GmbH, Thermo Electron (Management Services) Limited, Thermo Electron (Proprietary) Limited, Thermo Electron A/S, Thermo Electron Australia Pty Limited, Thermo Electron Export Inc., Thermo Electron Holdings SAS, Thermo Electron Industries, Thermo Electron LED GmbH, Thermo Electron LED S.A.S., Thermo Electron Limited, Thermo Electron Manufacturing Limited, Thermo Electron Metallurgical Services Inc., Thermo Electron North America LLC, Thermo Electron Pension Trust GmbH, Thermo Electron Puerto Rico Inc., Thermo Electron SAS, Thermo Electron Scientific Instruments LLC, Thermo Electron Sweden AB, Thermo Electron Sweden Forvaltning AB, Thermo Electron Weighing & Inspection Limited, Thermo Elemental Limited, Thermo Environmental Instruments LLC, Thermo Fast U.K. Limited, Thermo Finland Holdings LLC, Thermo Finland Holdings MT1 B.V., Thermo Finland Holdings MT2 B.V., Thermo Finnigan LLC, Thermo Finnigan Limited, Thermo Fisher (CN) Luxembourg Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher (CN) Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher (CN) Malta Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher (CN-I) Luxembourg LLC, Thermo Fisher (CN-II) Luxembourg LLC, Thermo Fisher (Cayman) Holdings I Ltd., Thermo Fisher (Cayman) Holdings II Ltd., Thermo Fisher (Finland Holdings 2) LLC, Thermo Fisher (Finland Holdings) Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher (Gibraltar) II Limited, Thermo Fisher (Gibraltar) Limited, Thermo Fisher (Heysham) Limited, Thermo Fisher (Kandel) GmbH, Thermo Fisher CHK Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher China Business Trust, Thermo Fisher China Business Trust II, Thermo Fisher Costa Rica Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Thermo Fisher Cyprus Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Detection Mexico LLC, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics (Ireland) Limited, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AB, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AG, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AS, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Aps, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Austria GmbH, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics B.V., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics GmbH, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics K.K., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Limited, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics NV, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics S.L.U., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics S.p.A. , Thermo Fisher Diagnostics SAS, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Thermo Fisher Eurobonds Ltd., Thermo Fisher Financial Services Inc., Thermo Fisher GP LLC, Thermo Fisher German Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Germany B.V., Thermo Fisher India Divestco Private Limited, Thermo Fisher India Holding B.V., Thermo Fisher Insurance Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Insurance Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Investments (Cayman) Ltd., Thermo Fisher Israel Ltd., Thermo Fisher Production et Services SAS, Thermo Fisher Project Cyprus LLC, Thermo Fisher Re Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Asheville) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Australia) C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Barbados) Holdings Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Breda) Holding BV, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Bremen) GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific (CN) Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher Scientific (China) Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (China) Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (China-HK) Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (DE) Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Ecublens) SARL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance I) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance I) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance II) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance III) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance III) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Fuji) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Holding II) B.V. & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Hong Kong) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (IVGN) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (IVGN) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Johannesburg) (Proprietary) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Mexico City) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Milwaukee) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Mississauga) Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Monterrey) S. De R.L. De C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (NK) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) Austria Holding GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) UK LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) UK Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN-I) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN-II) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN1) UK Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Panama) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Panama) Dutch LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Praha) s.r.o., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Real Estate 1) GmbH & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Real Estate 1) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Schweiz) AG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Shanghai) Instruments Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Shanghai) Management Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Suzhou) Instruments Co. Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific AL-1 LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific AU II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Africa Proprietary Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Aquasensors LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Australia Pty Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific B.V.B.A., Thermo Fisher Scientific BHK (I) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific BHK (II) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics UAB, Thermo Fisher Scientific Beteiligungsverwaltungs GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Biosciences Corp., Thermo Fisher Scientific Brahms LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Brasil Instrumentos de Processo Ltda., Thermo Fisher Scientific Brasil Servicos de Logistica Ltda, Thermo Fisher Scientific C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cayman Investments LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Chemicals Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific China (C-I) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific China (S) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings I B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings III B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings IV B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Chromatography Holdings Aps, Thermo Fisher Scientific Chromatography Holdings S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus I Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus II Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus III C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus III Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus IV C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus V C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Denmark Senior Holdings ApS, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie 1 Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie Financing S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Europe GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC Finance C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSIR Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSIR Financing S.a.r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSUKHCO Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Falcon Senior Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Finance Company BV, Thermo Fisher Scientific GENEART GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Germany BV & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific HR Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings (Cayman) I, Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings (Cayman) II , Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings Europe Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific IT Services GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific India Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific India Pvt Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Malta) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Sweden) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Sweden) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments Malta (Sweden Financing) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Invitrogen Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings I B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings III B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific K.K., Thermo Fisher Scientific Korea Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific LSI Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life CV GP Holdings II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life CV GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Enterprises C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Enterprises GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing (Cayman), Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings III C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International Holdings I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments I S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments III S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments IV S.a.r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta Holding I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta Holding II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments US Financing I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments US Financing II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life NL Holdings GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Netherlands Holding C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior GP Holdings II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Switzerland Holdings GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Tech Korea Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Enterprise Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment UK I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment UK II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investments Holding LP, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Israel Investment I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Israel Investment II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Luxembourg Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Enterprise Holdings S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg German Holdings S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Life Technologies UK Holding S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Sweden Holdings I S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Sweden Holdings II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Venture Holdings I S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Venture Holdings II S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Malta Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Messtechnik GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Mexico City S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Middle East Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Milano Srl, Thermo Fisher Scientific NHK Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific New Zealand Holdings, Thermo Fisher Scientific New Zealand Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Norway Holdings AS, Thermo Fisher Scientific Norway US Investments LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Odyssey Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Odyssey Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Operating Company LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Oy, Thermo Fisher Scientific PN2 C.V, Thermo Fisher Scientific PN2 LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Panama I Cayman Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Peru S.R.L., Thermo Fisher Scientific Pte. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Re Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific SL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Senior Financing LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Senior Holdings Australia LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific South Africa Proprietary Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific SpA, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Holdings Luxembourg I S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Holdings Luxembourg II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Investments Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Switzerland Holdings C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific TR Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Taiwan Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Vermogensverwaltungs GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific West Palm Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Wissenschaftliche Gerate GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Worldwide Investments (Cayman), Thermo Fisher Scientific eCommerce Solutions LLC , Thermo Fisher Senior Canada Holdings LLC, Thermo Foundation Inc., Thermo Gamma-Metrics Holdings Pty Ltd., Thermo Gamma-Metrics LLC, Thermo Gamma-Metrics Pty Ltd, Thermo Holding European Operations LLC, Thermo Hypersil Ltd, Thermo Hypersil-Keystone LLC, Thermo Informatics Asia Pacific Pty Ltd., Thermo Instrument Controls de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Thermo Kevex X-Ray LLC, Thermo Keytek LLC, Thermo LabSystems Inc., Thermo LabSystems S.A., Thermo Life Science International Trading (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Thermo Life Sciences AB, Thermo Luxembourg Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Thermo MF Physics LLC, Thermo Measurement Ltd, Thermo Measuretech Canada Inc., Thermo Neslab LLC, Thermo Nicolet Limited, Thermo Onix Limited, Thermo Optek (Australia) Pty Ltd., Thermo Optek Limited, Thermo Optek S.A., Thermo Orion Inc., Thermo Portable Holdings LLC, Thermo Power Corporation, Thermo Process Instruments GP LLC, Thermo Process Instruments L.P., Thermo Projects Limited, Thermo Quest S.A., Thermo Radiometrie Limited, Thermo Ramsey Italia S.r.l., Thermo Ramsey LLC, Thermo Ramsey S.A., Thermo Re Ltd., Thermo Scientific Microbiology Pte Ltd., Thermo Scientific Microbiology Sdn Bhd, Thermo Scientific Portable Analytical Instruments Inc., Thermo Scientific Services Inc., Thermo Securities Corporation, Thermo Sentron Canada Inc., Thermo Sentron Limited, Thermo Shandon Inc., Thermo Shandon Limited, Thermo Suomi Holding B.V., Thermo TLH (UK) Limited, Thermo TLH L.P., Thermo Trace Pty Ltd., Thermo-Fisher Biochemical Product (Beijing) Co. Ltd., ThermoLase LLC, ThermoSpectra Limited, Trek Diagnostic Systems LLC, Trek Diagnostic Systems Ltd., Trek Holding Company II Ltd., Trek Holding Company Ltd., Trex Medical Corporation, USB Corporation, Union Lab Supplies Limited, United Diagnostics Inc., VG Systems Limited, Westover Scientific Inc., ZAO PE Biosystems, eBioscience GmbH, eBioscience Ltd, eBioscience SAS, and picoSpin LLC.
The Toronto-Dominion Bank, together with its subsidiaries, provides various personal and commercial banking products and services in Canada and the United States. It operates through three segments: Canadian Retail, U.S. Retail, and Wholesale Banking. The company offers personal deposits, such as chequing, savings, and investment products; financing, investment, cash management, international trade, and day-to-day banking services to businesses; and financing options to customers at point of sale for automotive and recreational vehicle purchases through auto dealer network. It also provides credit cards; real estate secured lending; auto finance; consumer lending; point-of-sale payment solutions for large and small businesses; wealth and asset management products, private banking, investment advisory, and trust services to retail and institutional clients; and property and casualty insurance, as well as life and health insurance products. The company also provides capital markets, and corporate and investment banking services, including underwriting and distribution of new debt and equity issues; advice on strategic acquisitions and divestitures; and trading, funding, and investment services to companies, governments, and institutions. It offers its products and services under the TD Bank and America's Most Convenient Bank brand names. The company operates through a network of 1,085 branches, 3,440 automated teller machines, and 1,223 stores, as well as offers telephone, digital, and mobile banking services. The Toronto-Dominion Bank was founded in 1855 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

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Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. is a supplier of precision instruments and services. The firm manufactures weighing instruments for use in laboratory, industrial, packaging, logistics, and food retailing applications. It also manufactures several related analytical instruments and provides automated chemistry solutions used in drug and chemical compound discovery and development; and also, metal detection and other end-of-line inspection systems used in production and packaging and provides solutions for use in certain process analytics applications. Its operations are conducted by the following segments: U. S. Operations, Swiss Operations, Western European Operations, Chinese Operations and Other. The U.S. Operations segment represents certain of the company's marketing and producing organizations located in the United States. The Swiss Operations segment includes marketing and producing organizations located in Switzerland, as well as extensive R&D operations that are responsible for the development, production, and marketing of precision instruments, including weighing, analytical, and measurement technologies for use in a variety of industrial and laboratory applications. Th

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The following companies are subsidiares of Valero Energy: AIR BP-PBF DEL PERU SAC, BELFAST STORAGE LTD, CANADIAN ULTRAMAR COMPANY, COLONNADE TEXAS INSURANCE COMPANY LLC, COLONNADE VERMONT INSURANCE COMPANY, DIAMOND ALTERNATIVE ENERGY LLC, DIAMOND ALTERNATIVE ENERGY OF CANADA INC., DIAMOND GREEN DIESEL HOLDINGS LLC, DIAMOND GREEN DIESEL LLC, DIAMOND K RANCH LLC, DIAMOND OMEGA COMPANY L.L.C., DIAMOND SHAMROCK REFINING COMPANY L.P., DIAMOND UNIT INVESTMENTS L.L.C., DSRM NATIONAL BANK, ENTERPRISE CLAIMS MANAGEMENT INC., GCP LOGISTICS COMPANY LLC, GOLDEN EAGLE ASSURANCE LIMITED, HAMMOND MAINLINE PIPELINE LLC, HUNTWAY REFINING COMPANY, MAINLINE PIPELINES LIMITED, MAPLE ETHANOL LTD., MICHIGAN REDEVELOPMENT GP LLC, MICHIGAN REDEVELOPMENT L.P., MRP PROPERTIES COMPANY LLC, NECHES RIVER HOLDING CORP., NORCO METHANOL LLC, OCEANIC TANKERS AGENCY LIMITED, PARKWAY PIPELINE LLC, PENTA TANKS TERMINALS S.A., PI DOCK FACILITIES LLC, PICKARD PLACE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, PORT ARTHUR COKER COMPANY L.P., PREMCOR USA INC., PROPERTY RESTORATION L.P., PURE BIOFUELS DEL PERU S.A.C., PURE BIOFUELS HOLDINGS L.P., Parkway Pipeline, Premcor, Pure Biofuels Del Peru, SABINE RIVER HOLDING CORP., SABINE RIVER LLC, SAINT BERNARD PROPERTIES COMPANY LLC, SUNBELT REFINING COMPANY L.P., THE PREMCOR PIPELINE CO., THE PREMCOR REFINING GROUP INC., THE SHAMROCK PIPE LINE CORPORATION, TRANSPORT MARITIME ST. LAURENT INC., ULTRAMAR ACCEPTANCE INC., ULTRAMAR ENERGY INC., ULTRAMAR INC., Ultramar Diamond Shamrock, V-TEX LOGISTICS LLC, VALERO (BARBADOS) SRL, VALERO (PERU) HOLDINGS GP LLC, VALERO (PERU) HOLDINGS LIMITED, VALERO ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO ARUBA ACQUISITION COMPANY I LTD., VALERO ARUBA FINANCE INTERNATIONAL LTD., VALERO ARUBA HOLDING COMPANY N.V., VALERO ARUBA HOLDINGS INTERNATIONAL LTD., VALERO ARUBA MAINTENANCE/OPERATIONS COMPANY N.V., VALERO BROWNSVILLE TERMINAL LLC, VALERO CANADA FINANCE INC., VALERO CANADA L.P., VALERO CAPITAL CORPORATION, VALERO CARIBBEAN SERVICES COMPANY, VALERO COKER CORPORATION ARUBA N.V., VALERO CUSTOMS & TRADE SERVICES INC., VALERO EAST BAY LLC, VALERO ENERGY (IRELAND) LIMITED, VALERO ENERGY ARUBA II COMPANY, VALERO ENERGY INC., VALERO ENERGY LTD, VALERO ENERGY PARTNERS GP LLC, VALERO ENERGY PARTNERS LP, VALERO ENERGY UK LTD, VALERO ENTERPRISES INC., VALERO EQUITY SERVICES LTD, VALERO FINANCE L.P. I, VALERO FINANCE L.P. II, VALERO FINANCE L.P. III, VALERO FOREST CONTRIBUTION LLC, VALERO GRAIN MARKETING LLC, VALERO H2 PIPELINE COMPANY LLC, VALERO HOLDCO UK LTD, VALERO HOLDINGS INC., VALERO INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS INC., VALERO LIVE OAK LLC, VALERO LOGISTICS UK LTD, VALERO MARKETING AND SUPPLY (PANAMA) LLC, VALERO MARKETING AND SUPPLY COMPANY, VALERO MARKETING AND SUPPLY DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO MARKETING AND SUPPLY DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO MARKETING AND SUPPY INTERNATIONAL LTD., VALERO MARKETING IRELAND LIMITED, VALERO MKS LOGISTICS L.L.C., VALERO NEDERLAND COOPERATIEF U.A., VALERO NEDERLAND COOPERATIEF U.A., VALERO NEW AMSTERDAM B.V., VALERO OMEGA COMPANY L.L.C., VALERO OPERATIONAL SERVICES DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO OPERATIONAL SERVICES DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO OPERATIONS SUPPORT LTD, VALERO PARTNERS CCTS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS CORPUS EAST LLC, VALERO PARTNERS CORPUS WEST LLC, VALERO PARTNERS EP LLC, VALERO PARTNERS HOUSTON LLC, VALERO PARTNERS LOUISIANA LLC, VALERO PARTNERS LUCAS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS MCKEE LLC, VALERO PARTNERS MEMPHIS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS MERAUX LLC, VALERO PARTNERS NORTH TEXAS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS OPERATING CO. LLC, VALERO PARTNERS PAPS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS PORT ARTHUR LLC, VALERO PARTNERS SOUTH TEXAS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS TEXAS CITY LLC, VALERO PARTNERS THREE RIVERS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS WEST MEMPHIS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS WEST TEXAS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS WYNNEWOOD LLC, VALERO PAYMENT SERVICES COMPANY, VALERO PEMBROKESHIRE LLC, VALERO PEMBROKESHIRE OIL TERMINAL LTD, VALERO PLAINS COMPANY LLC, VALERO POWER MARKETING LLC, VALERO RAIL OPERATIONS DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO RAIL OPERATIONS DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO RAIL PARTNERS LLC, VALERO REFINING AND MARKETING COMPANY, VALERO REFINING COMPANY-ARUBA N.V., VALERO REFINING COMPANY-CALIFORNIA, VALERO REFINING COMPANY-OKLAHOMA, VALERO REFINING COMPANY-TENNESSEE L.L.C., VALERO REFINING-MERAUX LLC, VALERO REFINING-NEW ORLEANS L.L.C., VALERO REFINING-TEXAS L.P., VALERO RENEWABLE FUELS COMPANY LLC, VALERO SECURITY SYSTEMS INC., VALERO SERVICES INC., VALERO SKELLYTOWN PIPELINE LLC, VALERO TEJAS COMPANY LLC, VALERO TERMINAL HOLDCO LTD, VALERO TERMINALING AND DISTRIBUTION COMPANY, VALERO TERMINALING AND DISTRIBUTION DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO TEXAS POWER MARKETING INC., VALERO ULTRAMAR HOLDINGS INC., VALERO UNIT INVESTMENTS L.L.C., VALERO WEST WALES LLC, VRG PROPERTIES COMPANY, VTD PROPERTIES COMPANY, WARSHALL COMPANY LLC, and ZELIG COMMERCIAL INC..
Wall Street analysts have given VanEck Vectors High Yield Muni ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but VanEck Vectors High Yield Muni ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

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Temenos appoints new head of sales for Africa

Banking software company Temenos has appointed Alexandre Menage as its head of sales for Africa



In his role as head of sales, Menage is to lead the Temenos team in delivering its growth strategy.



Menage has more than 15 years of experience in the financial services industry and has been in numerous business development and managerial roles.
Wall Street analysts have given iShares China Large-Cap ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but iShares China Large-Cap ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

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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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Christine Assange, the mother of WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange, spoke at length with the World Socialist Web Site yesterday about the dangerous situation facing her son who, according to recent media reports, confronts imminent eviction from Ecuadors embassy in London. Christine Assange commented on the US-led efforts to frame-up her son and extradite him to America on bogus espionage charges, as well as the perfidious role played by the Australian government, the opposition Labor Party and the mainstream media.

Richard Phillips: When did you last talk to Julian?

Christine Assange: The last time I spoke with my son was four months ago, just before March 28, when the Ecuadorian embassy blocked all communications. Huge political and financial pressure has been placed on Ecuador to force Julian out.

Julian Assange speaking from Ecuadorean Embassy in 2012

The US has always interfered in Ecuadorian elections, as it has in 81 other countries around the world. Thats the irony and cynicism of the US government when it talks about people interfering in their elections. The ordinary Ecuadorian people are not happy with all this. When I was there people would come up to me in the streets and tell me that they loved WikiLeaks and supported my son.

A lot of American money has gone into sections of the media in Ecuador to step up the campaign against Julian. We know that the CIA infiltrates all levels of societythe media, political circles, business circles, human rights groups, universities, student groups.

Former CIA agent Philip Agee wrote a book called Inside the Company that exposed CIA operations and its methods to bring down governments, alter elections or change policies in Americas favour. WikiLeaks exposure of US embassy cables showed that it was happening in Australia. It has happened in many countries around the world.

RP: The US-led campaign to defame Julian, blacken his name and undermine his reputation is unprecedented.

CA: Yes, and thats because Washington is afraid of WikiLeaks. The WikiLeaks site is different from other organisations in that it exposes en masse, and it does this is in order to reveal the global structure of corruption. It is not just a matter of individual corrupt politicians but an intricate web which runs from defence contractors, their links to politicians, with Hollywood and the media, and so on. This is why Julian is so persecuted. He has outed the whole structure, not just one or two people.

WikiLeaks is the gift that keeps on giving. First of all, it provides a vehicle for citizens who want to warn other citizens about what is really happening in the world. WikiLeaks has a 12-year record of accuracy in its exposures.

The second type of exposure by WikiLeaks and my son has involved outing those who take their privileges from the positions of powerthe well-paid entertainers, the corporate media and so onand who denounce Julian.

So people who are watching closely are beginning to see these sorts of operations and the underlying causes of the worlds misery. That truth is being given through WikiLeaks and, as Julian says, you cant fix anything if you dont know what the cause is. It is a band-aid exercise to send money to an African village for certain things that they need, for example, when the reasons for their poverty are not exposed. It might make you feel good to do, but it doesnt solve the problem.

RP: The intensification of the attacks on your son is bound up with the preparations being made for war by the imperialist powers. The ruling elites cannot allow WikiLeaks and independent journalists to expose these dangerous preparations.

CA: Yes thats true. I like to follow the money trail. Ive learnt a lot from WikiLeaks myself. I decided to look into the background of the most senior politicians in the world. It is unbelievable how many are connected to defence contractors. Hillary Clinton, for example, funnelled massive amounts to defence contractors when she was US secretary of state, and they, in turn, donated massive amounts to her presidential election campaign. The defence contractors donate, of course, to both sides of government.

Every time you see the drums of war beating, the shares go up and conversely. The same companies that make profit from war also make money in rebuilding after wardouble-dipping into the war.

RP: Your response to Hillary Clintons recent Australian tour?

CA: It was nauseating and the way she waved the feminism flag was disgusting. To use the cause of equality for women to persecute a truth-telling journalist, beat the drums of war or make sure a country stays in line with Washington is abominable.

Clinton, and people like Julia Gillard, use the feminist card to try to manipulate women into thinking that backing corrupt power is a good thing. How can getting on the board of a predatory corporation represent a step up for women?

In my opinion Clinton came to Australia specifically to muddy the waters about Julian Assange.

A lot of women have been fooled by this and its a great disappointment to me. Theres plenty of evidence that the CIA and the deep state have infiltrated feminist groups all round the world and this has been used against my son and used to break and divide support for WikiLeaks.

This is how the false rape allegations were used by the Swedish state against Julian. No woman has accused Julian of rape and he was never charged. The Snowden documents revealed that the US wanted Julian charged with something following WikiLeaks release of Afghanistan war diaries. Stratfor documents also revealed that there was a huge disinformation operation. It was used to split the left and the feminist forces in these organisations.

Women are told here in Australia that if they want to forge a career in this world they have to bow down to the US embassy here. And thats the message in the Labor Party and all the other major political parties. The WikiLeaks cables revealed that Gillard was being groomed by the US for the Labor leadership.

RP: How do you answer the US claims that Julian is a Russian agent?

CA: They said that about Nelson Mandela. There are two ways to destroy somebody in public and political lifeaccuse someone of sex allegations and of being a communist agent, or in todays term Putins puppet. This has gone on for years and years. There have been many serious attempts to frame up Julian but these have been exposed. There are a lot of dirty, dirty tactics being used against my son because he has revealed to the entire world that the emperors have no clothes.

RP: Can you speak about the role being played by the Turnbull government?

CA: Malcolm Turnbull has gone from supporting WikiLeaks when he was in opposition to now doing nothing. One of Julians lawyers presented a list of 16 consular assistance requests to the then Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd. They were also given to Turnbull when he was in opposition and I spoke to him about these demands. Turnbull told me Rudd was a good man.

Turnbull knows exactly whats going on. He knows that Julian has been framed, abused and persecuted. Why isnt he doing anything about it? Its because he wants to hold his position as prime minister. Hes been told this is a prerequisite. Turnbull should be standing up and saying this has gone on long enough, and working to bring Julian home. He should say that Ecuador is not honouring Julians rights and Australia has to step in and bring him home and not allow his extradition to the US. If Turnbull is not willing to do that, then we are nothing more than a vassal state of the US.

RP: What is the legal situation facing Julian and the political consequences if WikiLeaks is shut down?

CA: The real danger is that if Julian is evicted the US will prosecute him on false allegations. We dont have faith that the UK would allow any fair or just treatment of my son. The UK-US extradition treaty is unequal. If the UK wants somebody from the US they have to provide evidence, a prima facie case. The US, however, doesnt have to provide a prima facie case to extract someone from the UK. Its a very dangerous situation.

Julian faces illegal and undemocratic processes at every turn. The US is determined to get him. They could imprison him for years and not even put him on trial. Obama kept Guantanamo open, after previously promising to close it. If they prosecute Julian under the 1917 Espionage Act they could execute him.

Trump, prior to being president, said Assange should get the death penalty. He then loved WikiLeaks when it revealed true information about his opponent. But once Trump was elected he said he was OK with a prosecution and then appointed Gina Haspel, known as Gina the torturer by her colleagues, to head the CIA. Trump has also promoted others calling for Julian to be charged with treason.

Without WikiLeaks we would never know how the power structure really works in the world. You cant fix a suffering world without accurate and honest information. If WikiLeaks is destroyed its back to the dark ages as far as finding solutions to world problems.

RP: Can you comment on Australias new foreign interference laws and the whipping up of anti-China sentiment?

CA: This Russiagate business in the US and the claims of foreign influence by Chinese in Australia are total beat ups. Every nation attempts to influence outcomes to benefit their own country but the biggest culprit in all this is the US and the CIA.

Claims of foreign influence are being used to clamp down peoples democratic rights. They will use these laws to repress the population. The Gillard government also watered down the political defence against extradition, which makes it easier for the US to extradite Australian citizens. The US is demanding laws change in every country they dominate.

We are working towards becoming a totalitarian state, 1984 is here. If you dont fight it now then you will suffer under it. Julian is in the forefront of thishes the number one target at the moment and hes the one we have to stand up for. I say this, not just as a mother, but as a citizen and someone who believes in democracy and freedom. We have to fight because if they take him, they can take anyone and they will take anyone. We have to do this en masse and in this way we can hold back the forces of oppression.

I encourage young people to stand up and fight and not get side-tracked by all the identity politics stuff. The main issue is freedom of speech, freedom of the press and genuine democracy. Identity politics is a deep state diversion. They dont want us united to fight against oppression and take on the people who are really going to hurt you.

RP: And this is inseparable from the fight against war.

CA: Thats right. The message should be join the dots. The people with power and privilege are all connected. We dont have a hope unless were all connected.

People have to de-lineate between the genuine traditional left who stand up for the rights and living standards of the common people, and the so-called liberal left or pseudo-left who are only interested in their individual concerns and privileges. Young people need to understand that they will not be able to change the world by joining the pseudo-left.

I also want to thank the World Socialist Web Site for being one of the few media outlets reporting the facts on Julian and his persecution, right from the beginning. Your site was able to see what truth in journalism really is. It has steadfastly supported him through all the ups and downs, and all the changes of governments. I urge people to support the World Socialist Web Site and all other independent media. This is extremely important.
After four years, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) announced the start of administrative proceedings against Daniel Pantaleo, the officer who choked Eric Garner to death in 2014. If judged to have committed misconduct, Pantaleo faces penalties ranging from a warning, the loss of time off, or the loss of his job.

Last week marked the four-year anniversary of the murder, which was caught on video and viewed by millions. Garners death was one of a series of high-profile police killings in 2014 that provoked large-scale protests in New York and cities around the country.

Garners only crime on the day that he was killed by Pantaleo was failing to passively submit to police harassment. He was regularly targeted by local cops, accused of selling untaxed loose cigarettes. Yet on the afternoon of July 17, 2014, he did nothing more than break up a fight. As Garner protested unrelenting badgering from the police, Pantaleo attacked.

Video shows the NYPD officer jumped on the mans back and placed him in a choke hold. Even after Garner collapsed, Pantaleo and a swarm of other officers continued the assault. They continued to press amid Garners desperate cries of I cant breathe.

Garner laid on the ground unconscious for several minutes, without any aid administered by police, until he was taken away in an ambulance.

Despite the clear evidence of criminality, local and national authorities have conspired to ensure the police killing goes unpunished. The prosecutor in Staten Island secured an exoneration in the criminal case, downplaying and interfering in eye-witness testimony. A grand jury voted not to indict in December 2014.

Following an eruption of outrage and protests against the injustice, the Obama Justice Department sought to diffuse anger by initiating a federal civil rights investigation. The case lingered for the remaining two years of the Obama administration and another year and a half under Trump. In April of this year, career Department of Justice attorneys recommended moving forward with charges against Pantaleo, but senior officials have refused to act.

This outcome is consistent with the overwhelming majority of similar cases at the Department of Justice. Over the last decade, federal prosecutors have failed to bring charges against police officers in 96 percent of civil rights cases.

Pantaleo, who had a long history of misconduct even before killing Garner, has remained on the force throughout this protracted process, assigned to desk duty. NYPD officials justified delaying the administrative proceedings for four years on the grounds that the federal investigation was ongoing.

Meanwhile, Garners family and supporters have continued to demand a criminal prosecution. Gwen Carr, the victims mother, said in a statement, We want them to move forward expeditiously. But we have just been left hangingand we got the sense that nothing was happening. We want all six police officers involved in my sons murder to be held accountable.

Aside from Pantaleo, the NYPD has indicated only one other officer, Kizzy Adonis, the sergeant on duty at the time, who may face internal discipline. However, unlike Pantaleo, Adonis will not likely go before the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), where the most serious cases are prosecuted.

The CCRB itself was created in response to revelations of rampant abuse and corruption in the NYPD decades ago. It has gone through a series of reforms and reconstitutions yet has done nothing to alter the brutal nature of the nations largest police force. The CCRB in fact has a long history of covering up for and ignoring the police abuses it is charged with rooting out.

The NYPD continued its killing spree with the gunning down of a mentally ill Brooklyn resident, Saheed Vassell, in April of this year. No charges have been filed against the officers who shot the unarmed Vassell eight times.
US President Donald Trump issued a bloodcurdling threat of all-out war against Iran late Sunday night.

Using language akin to that he previously employed in threatening North Korea, a state of 25 million people, with annihilation, the US commander-in-chief tweeted that Iran would SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED, if it EVER dared to THREATEN Washington AGAIN.

Trumps all in-caps tweet was no idle bluster. His administration is pursuing a provocative and reckless drive for regime change in Iran that threatens to ignite a catastrophic war that would set the entire Middle East ablaze, and potentially trigger a head-on clash between the US and other great powers.

In May, Washington blew up the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and relaunched full-scale economic warfare against Iranan illegal act tantamount to war. Next month sanctions will snap back on Irans auto sector and trade in gold and other metals. In November, sanctions targeting Irans energy, shipping and insurance sectors and the transactions of its central bank are to take effect.

Washington has vowed to reduce Irans oil exports, which provide the bulk of the state budget, to near zero. To date it has refused to provide sanction waivers to its ostensible allies in Europe and Asia and instead demonstratively threatened them with exclusion from the US market and financial system if they do not comply with the unilateral American embargo on Iran.

The Pentagon is already engaged in fighting with Iranian forces. US troops in Syria, deployed in the name of fighting ISIS, have repeatedly targeted Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces supporting the regime of Bashar al-Assad, and Washington is providing vital logistical and tactical support for the Saudi monarchys savage war in Yemen against the Iranian-supported Houthi.

Yesterday, John Bolton, Trumps national security advisor and a longstanding proponent of a US attack on Iran, gleefully reiterated Trumps threat, saying the president had told him, if Iran does anything at all to the negative, they will pay a price like few countries have ever paid before.

Trump cast his ominous Sunday tweet as a response to a warning from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that if the US persisted in seeking to destroy Irans economy and impose a pro-US government in Tehran, it risked unleashing the mother of all wars.

Earlier this month, Rouhaniunnerved by his failure to win a commitment from the European powers that they would not bow to US pressure and renege on their obligations under the Iran nuclear accordsaid that were Iran denied the right to export its oil it might close the Strait of Hormuz.

Within hours, the Pentagon issued a statement vowing to ensure freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce through the strait, which is the conduit for one-fifth of all world oil exports.

Trumps claims that Iran threatens the US are preposterous.

It is American imperialism that for a quarter-century served as the bulwark of the tyrannical dictatorship of the Shah and that, with the aim of once again reducing Iran to a neo-colony, has waged a four-decade-long campaign of sanctions, bullying, and war threats against the Islamic Republic, the bourgeois nationalist regime that misappropriated the popular revolution that overthrew the Shah.

It is Washington that illegally invaded Irans north-eastern neighbor, Afghanistan, in 2001 and its western neighbor, Iraq, in 2003, in what top Bush administration officials, including Bolton and Vice President Dick Cheney, publicly boasted was a prelude to regime change in Tehran.

It is the US that, in pursuit of untrammeled dominance of the worlds principal oil-exporting region, has waged a succession of ruinous wars since 1991 in the Mideast and North Africa that have razed whole societies, leaving millions dead, injured and displaced.

It is the US that between 2011 and 2015 spearheaded the imposition of sanctions that halved Irans oil exports and crippled its economy. It did so while repeatedly threatening Iran with war if it did not submit to Washingtons demands that it dismantle its civilian nuclear program, and while continuing to arm Israel, Saudi Arabia and other regional client states with hundreds of billions of dollars worth of high-tech weaponry.

And it is the Trump administration that has repudiated the Iran nuclear accord and is now waging all-out economic war on Iran, although the International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly found Tehran in full compliance with the 2015 agreement.

Yesterday various Democrats and retired Pentagon and CIA officials criticized Trumps bellicose tweet. Democratic House Whip Steny Hoyer said Trump was trying to distract attention from his essentially un-American performance at his July 16 summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki. Hes weak on Putin, and he wants to prove hes tough on Rouhani, Hoyer told the Washington Post.

The Democrats share the objective of Trumps America First policythe assertion of US global hegemonyand they, no less than the Republicans, have been complicit in the drive, since 1991, to use the residual military power of the US to compensate for the vast erosion of its relative economic power and global position.

But there are deep and explosive tactical differences over how to pursue this strategy. This is exemplified by the frenzied campaign of the Democrats, mounted in close concert with the CIA and broad sections of the military-security apparatus, targeting Trump for being soft on, if not an outright patsy of, Putin.

This faction of the American ruling elite is bitterly opposed to any let-up in the US military-strategic offensive against Russia, and views Trumps focus on an immediate showdown with Iran as a distraction from the struggle against this more formidable strategic foe. It has been campaigning for the US to mount a massive military escalation in Syria, arguing that this would provide the US the opportunity to deal a body blow to Russia, while simultaneously augmenting strategic pressure on Iran.

Trump, on the other hand, calculates that a temporary accommodation with Russia could serve US interests. First and foremost, by forestalling the further strategic alignment of Russia and China, but also by smoothing the way for the US war-drive against Iran.

One of Trumps objectives in Helsinki was to pressure Putin to press for the elimination, or at least drastic curtailment, of Iranian influence in Syria as part of any peace settlement. Russia, it should be noted, has in recent months effectively given the Israelis and Americans a free hand to attack Iranian forces in Syria.

Trumps eagerness to provoke a confrontation with Iran is bound up with his calculation that China must be confronted sooner rather than later. The re-subjugation of Iran would give the US a stranglehold over the oil resources of the Middle East, which are vital to sustaining Chinas economy, as well as eliminate an important link in Chinas One Belt, One Road strategy to deepen the integration of Eurasia.

Whatever the outcome of this conflict over how best to pursue US imperialisms predatory aims, Washington is moving inexorably down the path to a volcanic explosion of violence that threatens the people of the Middle East and the world with catastrophe.

As for the European imperialist powers, they resent Trumps policies only because these threaten their own interests, including their plans to capture Irans markets and oil resources. Thus Berlin, London and Paris have all responded to the further escalation of US imperialist violence in the wake of the 2008 world financial implosion by arming themselves to the teeth.

The resurgence of class struggle around the world, including in the US and the Middle East, underscores that the struggle against imperialist war must be founded on the independent political mobilization of the international working class and the fight for socialism.
On June 29, members of the Macquarie University International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) club were confronted by the universitys security service while campaigning among students and academics over the need for a unified struggle against ongoing funding cuts.

This is an attack on the basic democratic rights of students and staff, as well as the IYSSE club, to discuss and debate the political questions raised by the deteriorating conditions throughout Australias public universities.

Two club members and a supporter had been distributing material in the Geology/Law/Indigenous Studies building. They were discussing with staff and students two important resolutions that IYSSE and Socialist Equality Party members successfully moved at a June 19 meeting of National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) members on campus, calling for such a unified fight.

Two security personnel told the IYSSE members they had received a complaint from a concerned academic, and demanded the identification of the IYSSE members. They insisted that university regulations stipulated that students must not distribute leaflets without prior authorisation.

The security guards refused to name the alleged complainant, while saying the security office would provide the persons identity. They also displayed evident confusion about the supposed regulations they were enforcing. When asked to clarify who was to grant such approval, they gave three different answers.

First, the guards said the IYSSE members must contact the dean of Macquarie Law School, inside whose area they were campaigning. Then the officers said students had to be authorised by the department head of the courses they were studying. Finally, the IYSSE members were told they had to contact Gina Lewis, the universitys assets manager.

The IYSSE club members were circulating World Socialist Web Site articles that reported the outcome of the June 19 NTEU meeting, and the events leading up to it, because most students and staff members have been kept in the dark by the union about the critical resolutions passed by the meeting.

The first resolution, adopted by 13 votes for and 9 against, with 14 abstentions, said the meeting: Opposes the splitting up of university employees, via individual EAs [enterprise agreements], and calls for a unified national struggle against the Liberal-National governments latest multi-billion-dollar cuts, and the overturn of all previous cuts imposed by both Labor and Coalition governments.

The second resolution, passed almost unanimously, with 35 for, 1 against and no abstentions, said the meeting: Demands that billions of dollars be poured into education at all levels, from pre-school to tertiary, to guarantee the social right of all young people to a free, first-class education and the social right all staff to decent, well-paid and permanent positions.

These resolutions offered a perspective for staff and students across the country to collectively fight the assault on public education, after decades in which the NTEU and other trade unions have effectively enforced intensifying budget cuts, erosion of conditions and the growing transformation of universities into corporate entities.

The votes for the resolutions reflected rising opposition among staff members to this record, and the latest enterprise agreement proposals being pushed by the NTEU, which will go even further in splitting tertiary education workers, university-by-university, and imposing the demands of each institutions management.

The articles being circulated by the IYSSE members also outlined the intensive collaboration being undertaken by the NTEU and Macquarie management on the universitys next three-year enterprise agreement.

The agreement proposes a 2 percent annual pay risewell below real cost of living increasesand a plan to permit the management to impose 80 percent teaching loads on up to a quarter of the academics, as opposed to the traditional 40 percent teaching, 40 percent research and 20 percent administration load.

This scheme will create a two-tier workforce, with teaching-only academics bearing the brunt of the extra work demanded by ever-increasing class sizes. Despite encountering significant opposition from its members at previous meetings, the union is continuing to push educators to accept the plan.

The Macquarie IYSSE has been a registered student club at the university since 2010. It has campaigned frequently on campus, including in front of the library, student centre and inside departmental buildings. It has not previously been stopped from distributing its material on the grounds that the material must be approved in advance.

Numerous attempts have been made since the incident to clarify the regulation that the IYSSE supposedly violated. However, no clarification has been given. The Macquarie IYSSE club president wrote to Lewis, the assets manager, asking her to provide the club with the details of the regulation.

The letter stated: We object to the actions of your staff in preventing the IYSSE from carrying out the legitimate activity of an affiliated student club. To carry out such punitive action because of a complaint by one person is not only extraordinary, but anti-democratic. Surely, it cannot be the case that one person is to determine the political activity of every club on campus 

Why does the security department of Macquarie University respond with such swift retaliation following the receipt of this complaint and in so doing, trample on the democratic rights not just of the IYSSE members, but of all clubs and students on campus? We request the identity of the complainant, as your staff advised would be the case.

Universities are institutions where the free flow of information, discourse and discussion should be defended and promoted, not suppressed because of disagreements by individuals or even groups of people. Please confirm that no future action of this nature will be carried out against the IYSSE or any other club at Macquarie University.

In her reply, Lewis failed to provide the requested details. Instead, she simply asserted that the university had a no flyers or posters policy unless they were approved in advance. She justified the actions of the security officers on the spurious basis that they were keeping the campus a safe space for all to enjoy, even though no safety issue was involved whatsoever.

The IYSSE then contacted the main security office, which also failed to identify any complainant, regulation or rule.

If such regulations exist, and none has ever been cited, they represent an attack on the democratic rights of students and staff to freely express their opinions on campus. The university is insisting on the right to censor the information that student clubs distribute.

Furthermore, the contradictory instructions given of whom to contact and the inability of university officials to provide the details of any regulation display a disturbing and arbitrary approach to democratic rights on campus.

These events point to the fears of management and the NTEU that years of cuts to university funding and staff conditions have produced seething discontent. The cuts to university funding have included $3 billion implemented in 2012-13 by the Greens-backed Labor minority government and $2.2 billion imposed late last year by the current Liberal-National Coalition government.

There is a growing upsurge of the international working class in response to worsening inequality and attacks on social rights, including education. This year has seen significant protests and strikes, with educational staff and students often in the forefront. There have been stoppages by schoolteachers across the southern United States, lecturers in Britain and non-academic university workers in Sri Lanka.

In response, governments have turned increasingly to authoritarian methods, accompanied by mass spying, the brutal treatment of refugees and political censorship of the Internet by Google and other social media giants. In Australia, governments have imposed sweeping counter terrorism laws, boosting police and surveillance powers, and pushed through foreign interference legislation that strips away civil liberties.

The IYSSE condemns the actions of the Macquarie University management and security services. Their actions constitute an assault on fundamental democratic rights to organise, disseminate information and freely debate political perspectives. We call on all staff and students at Macquarie and across the country to oppose this attack.

The author also recommends:

Staff at Australias Macquarie University vote for unified fight against government cuts

[20 June 2018]

Australian unions impose sweeping job and pay cuts via interest-based bargaining

[24 April 2018]
On Monday, officials from the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 689 met for the third time in a week with representatives from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), the second largest public transit system in the United States, in an effort to block any initiative by Metro workers who voted last week overwhelmingly in favor of a strike.

After emerging from closed-door meetings, which the union called productive, it announced: Due to a scheduling conflict on WMATA's part, the next negotiation meeting will be Monday, July 30. [WMATA] and ATU Local 689 will continue to confer via email and teleconference throughout the week. The union looks forward to a formal agreement in the very near future.

Last Wednesday, the ATU announced a cooling off period, promising Metro management there would be no decision to strike until their meeting Monday. At the same time, the union appealed to elected officials to force WMATA to bargain in good faith.

In a move reeking of both cowardice and duplicity, the transit union is ignoring the 94 percent vote in favor of a strike delivered by workers last week while it continues to conspire with Metro officials in ways to sell out the struggle of its nearly 9,000 members in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region, instead channeling their class anger behind the Democratic Party.

Starved of public funds and forced to rely on joint subsidies from the various jurisdictions it serves in the Washington, D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area, Metro has faced a financial crisis for decades, suffering from multiple breakdowns, derailments and infrastructural malfunctions which have caused the transit system to lose thousands of weekly riders in the recent period.

Rather than deliver funds to replenish the regions public transit, the political representatives of big business have attacked the pay and benefits of workers, agreeing to a Metro employee pay cap in return for dedicated maintenance funding.

Metro workers have been without a contract since 2016, when negotiations broke down over questions of pay cuts, job security and privatization of services. In the intervening two years, WMATA has proceeded to eliminate workers and replace unionized positions with private contractorsin essence, enacting the wish-list it sought in 2016.

The ATU has publicly argued that WMATAs flagrant violation of these and other contract stipulations means the union does not have to observe the contracts no strike clause, posting on social media Monday: [The] Compact does not prohibit strikes. It does require final and binding arbitration of ALL labor disputes to avoid strikes. WMATA is unwilling to bargain in good faith. We will strike only if WMATA continues to refuse to bargain and arbitrate, as required by law.

For their parts, the WMATA and local Democratic officials have taken the full measure of their opponents in the ATU, threatening union members with consequences for an illegal work stoppage. In a sign of how unfazed Metro officials are by the ATUs empty threats, the ATU announced Monday that WMATA General Manager Paul Wiedefeld had refused to attend meetings with union representatives, instead sending lower level spokespeople to the closed-door discussions.

At the same time, spokespeople for the political establishment have issued sharp warnings to the ATU that there will be consequences for a strike. Sean Kennedy, a visiting fellow at the libertarian-leaning Maryland Public Policy Institute, wrote in the Washington Post Friday calling for federal legislation to abolish metros unions. A day earlier, an editorial in the Post warned the ATU that it was playing with fire for threatening to violate its expired contract.

Rather than seeking to lead a fight against declining working conditions and attacks on pay, the ATU is seeking to head off any struggle of the working class under conditions in which a work stoppage could trigger a strike wave of public and private workers in the region and around the country. At the same time as Metro workers seek strike action to defend their jobs and pay, United Parcel Service (UPS) workers are denouncing a sellout deal reached by the Teamsters union and the delivery company. In June, the unions 250,000 members ratified a call to strike by 93 percent.

Metro workers have continued to denounce the ATUs backpedaling. Numerous workers have taken to social media, warning that WMATA is putting together a contingency plan in place ahead of a strike. Demonstrating the frustration in the face of the unions conscious efforts to string transit workers along, one respondent to the unions announcement stated The ATU is GUTLESS. You don't have the Balls to Strike!

It is imperative that Metro employees, if they are to avert an impending betrayal, form independent rank and file committees, consisting of transit workers and other related industries in the region, to take their struggle out of the hands of the ATU, which is seeking to demoralize workers in order to enforce managements demands.

Such a struggle can only be fought by a turn to the working class in the region, including UPS and postal service employees, who are also facing attacks on their living standards. In doing so, workers must demand substantial pay increases, job protection and a halt to privatization of services. Such committees must be independent of the Democratic Party representatives of big business who, like their Republican counterparts, are at the forefront of attacks on the working class.
An emergency vigil took place outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London yesterday following credible reports that Ecuadors government, under intense pressure from the United States and UK, is about to renege on the political asylum the former administration granted to WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange in 2012.

The vigil at the Ecuadorian Embassy on Monday

Ecuadors President Lenin Moreno is in London this week to address the 2018 Global Disability Summit. Although he has denied that any discussions on Assange will take place, behind the scenes he is involved in a conspiracy with the British, US and Australian governments to evict the WikiLeaks founder.

The threat is that his eviction would see Assange immediately arrested and jailed, pending extradition to the US and a secret Grand Jury indictment, where he could face the death penalty on espionage and conspiracy charges.

Assange has already spent more than six years incarcerated in Ecuadors embassy. In the last four months, all communication with the outside world, except his lawyers, has been cut off.

Assange has not been charged with a single crime. He is being persecuted because WikiLeaks has exposed the mass surveillance, anti-democratic machinations and war crimes being conducted by governments and corporations, particularly the US and its allies.

Emmy, who has been a key figure in the campaign outside the Ecuadorian embassy over the last six years and helped organise yesterdays vigil said, We have been very concerned about reports that Julian Assanges eviction from the Ecuadorian embassy is imminent. We are very concerned that the current Ecuadorian government is in negotiations with the UK and the US for removing the protection of political asylum that has been given to Julian Assange over the last years and handing him over to the British authorities.

Emmy at Monday's vigil

We are aware that there is a Grand Jury investigation in the US and it has been building up a national security case and preparing espionage charges against him. A sealed indictment already exists and is in the hands of the British police.

Emmy explained that Moreno is using his visit to the UK for a disability conference as a cover for talks with Prime Minister Theresa Mays Conservative government to hand Assange over to the British, and ultimately, US authorities.

We are here to say No. Julian must be protected and he must be set free. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention made a ruling that he is being arbitrarily detained and should be freed and compensated. This is right and should be respected.

However, the prognosis is not positive. [UK Foreign Secretary] Jeremy Hunt has been reported as saying there are serious charges against Assange even though there are no serious charges against him. Then there are the reports that the UK government has authorised the use of lethal force in the streets of London to apprehend him.

What is going on is very high level behind the scenes that we dont often have an insight into.

Emmy said she had sent a letter to the Labour Party London Mayor Sadiq Khan and London Assembly members about the police operation keeping Julian Assange trapped in the Ecuadorian Embassy despite UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention legal opinion that he should be released and compensated.

She disputed Khans recent claim that the Metropolitan Police Service had withdrawn the physical presence of officers [known as Operation Kudo] from outside the Embassy on 12 October 2015 and that the estimated cost of policing the Ecuadorian Embassy between June 2012 and October 2015 was 13.2 million.

This is simply not true and much needed transparency is needed on the matter of police spending in keeping Julian Assange trapped inside the Embassy. Video footage shared by WikiLeaks of police surveillance, eye witness accounts and statements by the police that covert surveillance continues makes the mayors statements simply false. The physical presence of officers is very much felt and witnessed.

In the letter to Khan, Emmy wrote, This week I read reports on the Internet that the UK government has authorised the Metropolitan Police to use lethal force to apprehend Julian Assange amidst reports in the UK and international press that his expulsion from the Ecuadorian Embassy is imminent.

UK Minister Penny Mordaunt is meeting Ecuadorian [president] Lenin Moreno in London on Tuesday, 24th of July during the International Disability Summit at the Queen Elizabeth Park, whilst British foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt has told the press that serious charges laid against him and we want him to face justice.

This UK government is backed up in parliament by the DUP [Democratic Unionist Party], a political party with long history of political violence in Northern Ireland. Reports that lethal force is OK to use in the streets of London in the apprehension of a publisher who has never been charged with any crime, but has been a beacon in the transparency in public life, are chilling to the bone.

Will the London mayor finally reveal how much money has been spent and is being spent keeping the publisher of WikiLeaks Julian Assange inside the embassy under threat of arrest by all means possible including using lethal force by the British Police? Will he confirm that the use of lethal force against Julian Assange is not the legacy he wishes to aspire to.

Khan has never defended Assange and has yet to respond to an earlier letter, delivered to him on April 11, asking he intervene.

Similarly, since he was elected leader in September 2015, Labours Jeremy Corbyn has made no public statement in Assanges defence and has made no comment on the threat of imminent moves against him.

His silence, and that of the trade unions and their pseudo-left apologists, has played the central role in helping the efforts to isolate and silence the WikiLeaks editor, and has facilitated the campaign of internet censorship by the ruling elite, with serious implications for democratic rights.

These latest developments underscore the necessity to deepen the fight for a powerful international working-class movement for Assanges freedom and for the defence of all basic democratic rights.

The urgent protests being organised in many countries to respond to Assanges eviction from Ecuadors London embassy must be seen as the beginning of a protracted campaign to defend him and oppose the increasing attack and censorship on critical voices and independent media on the Internet.

Assanges fate cannot be left up to capitalist governments and courts. The vast social power of the international working class must be mobilised for his defence, independent of all the pro-imperialist parties, trade unions and media organisations that have lined up with the ruling class against him.

The WSWS urges readers to support a protest being held in support of Assange at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on Tuesday July 24, where Lenin Moreno is addressing the Global Disability Summit. The protest begins from 7:30 a.m. at the Here East building in The Yard. The nearest rail station is Hackney Wick.

Full address: Here East

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

London, E15 2GW

Tuesday, July 24, 7:30 a.m.
She wants to Make America Corinne Again, and hes wondering who this nation is.

On Sunday nights episode of Who Is America?, Sacha Baron Cohen conned controversial Bachelor alum Corinne Olympios into claiming she was on the ground in Sierra Leone during the height of the Ebola crisis and even saved 6,000 people from a massacre after a warlord confessed to being a fan.

In an interview with The Daily Beast, the 26-year-old Miami native explained how the prank went down: She thought shed won a reality star of the year award from a British company, and once on set, producers took away her cell phone and asked her manager to leave  and the very, very strange questions began.

So Im answering all the questions, Im saying all the stuff hes telling me to say, Im visibly getting upset, and they were just trying to keep me calm basically, she said. I was like, Im leaving, and they were like no youre not, you cannot step outside the building right now. Im like, are you guys kidnapping me? I dont get it. It was like, youre holding me here against my will, what the f is going on? You guys are fing out of your minds!

In character as an Italian photographer/playboy named Gio Madando, Baron Cohen convinced her to endorse his (fake) charity for relief in Africa, prompting her to pose in a bikini and half-zipped HAZMAT suit.

Im reading this child with gun thing, and Im like what the f is wrong with you guys, I cant say this, I dont believe in this. Theyre like no, no, its fine, its just for Italy, you have no friends in Italy, who caresAt this point I just want to get out of there, so I just did it, she told The Daily Beast.

After calling her manager  who correctly suspected the entire thing was a set-up   I started crying, I was like everyones going to think Im a supporter of children with guns, and I said that I helped cure Ebola and that I went to Africa for three months, everyone knows I didnt live in Africa for three months! she said.

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Now, though, she appreciates the comedians guerilla-style humor.

Hopefully people just see that it is a Sacha Baron Cohen prank. Hes pranked a bunch of people with big names. Its light, its funny, its nothing serious, she told The Daily Beast. I hope people can see that and theyre not going to freak out about me saying certain things, because people that know me know that Im a really amazing person. And so, yeah, I just hope that I dont offend anyone, but none of it was serious anyways!

Not as amused: Who Is America? targets like Sarah Palin and Joe Walsh, who proactively blasted Baron Cohen in the press, and Jason Spencer, a Republican state representative in Georgia whose colleagues are calling for her resignation after he screamed a racial slur and pulled down his pants on the show.

Who Is America? airs Sunday at 10 p.m. ET on Showtime.
Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Arnaud Bertrande/Getty Images, CBS, Getty Images.

We pause now in our ongoing coverage of the end of Western democracy for a brief consideration of the end of the world. Along with Robert Frost, we can say that the question of fire versus ice as the agent of destruction has been settled in favor of fire, and we even know where the fire is likely to start: above the Arctic Circle, where an unprecedented heat wave has sent temperatures in the far north of Sweden as high as 86 F. The Washington Posts climate writer, Jason Samenow, recently reported that the temperature (calculated by extrapolation) in a part of northern Siberia reached 90 degrees earlier this month, 40 degrees above normal. It is absolutely incredible and really one of the most intense heat events Ive ever seen for so far north, wrote meteorologist Nick Humphrey. And after years of increasingly hot, dry summers, the great forests in the far north, all around the globe, are starting to burn.

A forest fire, like virtually all fires, releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, accelerating the greenhouse effect that drives global warming. This is especially true of wildfires at high latitudes, where trees grow back slowly, and where there are the additional risks of carbon-dense peat bogs drying and burning, and also of melting permafrost releasing huge quantities of methane. This illustrates one of the perverse facts about climate change, that almost all the feedback effects are positive (in the technical sense of self-reinforcing, not as in good.) As one example, global warming melts ice and snow cover, which tends to reflect the suns radiation out to space, while bare earth and seawater absorb it.

Higher temperatures also cause more evaporation, putting more water vapor into the atmosphere. Water vapor  humidity to those living in the rain forest, or commuting to work on the subway  doesnt just make the air feel hotter; its a greenhouse gas all by itself, which is why the temperature drops more at night in New Mexico than it does in New Jersey. Some climatologists have hopefully suggested that more water vapor would increase cloud cover and mitigate warming (a negative feedback loop), but the most recent assessment by the International Panel on Climate Change suggests that the net effect of increased evaporation on temperature will be either neutral, or positive  i.e., worse.

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Almost the entire Northern Hemisphere has been hotter than normal this summer; Denver hit an all-time high of 105 in June, around the same time that Oman reported the highest nighttime low temperature ever recorded anywhere in the world, 109. As I write this, at 10 a.m. Sunday in the East, it is 79 degrees in Austin, Texas, with a forecast high of 105, going up to 108 on Monday. It was so hot there last week that the Austin Fire Department responded to a blaze caused by the spontaneous combustion of tortilla chips (technically, the crumbs and waste from a chip factory that had been left outdoors in the sun). A heat wave in Japan last week put 10,000 people in the hospital; at least 30 died.

It is a convention of the media that any article about heat waves (or forest fires, droughts or hurricanes) must be footnoted with the observation that no one weather event can be definitively attributed to climate change. That reflects both an appropriate caution on the part of scientists, and a preemptive rebuttal to climate-change deniers like Sen. James Inhofe, who a couple of years ago noticed that it was cold in February and sought to cast doubt on decades of climatology by bringing a snowball to the floor of the Senate. But that consensus is beginning to break down. The rule that where theres smoke theres fire, which political reporters have begun to apply metaphorically to evidence of Trump campaign collusion with Russia, should apply equally to science reporters covering actual fires.

Inhofe, a mentor to former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, has come in for occasional ridicule for his belief that weather and the climate are entirely in Gods hands, absolving the coal and petroleum industries of responsibility. That is a fairly common belief among extreme conservatives. Of course, not all his Republican colleagues get their scientific information from the Bible. As reported in Climatewire, Scott Wagner, the Republican candidate for governor of Pennsylvania, placed the blame squarely where it belongs, on human activity. Unlike most scientists, though, the activity he had in mind wasnt burning fossil fuels, but, uh procreation: We have more people, he mused at a panel discussion last year. You know, humans have warm bodies. So is heat coming off?

Its true, an average person at rest generates as much heat as a 100-watt light bulb  which if you think about it, isnt really that much. But human beings are fueled by food, which is to say, ultimately by sunlight, so their metabolism doesnt actually contribute any net gain of heat to the atmosphere  its just moving calories around, from cropland to the places people live. If people walked instead of drove, they would generate (marginally) more body heat, but fewer greenhouse gases and less climate change.

Wagner had another possible explanation. I havent been in a science class in a long time, but the Earth moves closer to the sun every year  you know the rotation of the Earth, Wagner said, at the same panel discussion at which he unveiled his theory that global warming is caused by an excess of people. Were moving closer to the sun.

The Earth does move closer to the sun during the course of each year  and then further away for the next six months  but on average it isnt noticeably closer than it was before scientists noticed that the climate was changing. Also, inconveniently for Wagners theory, July is actually when the Earth is farthest away from the sun. (To save him the trouble of going back to high school, the change in seasons is a factor of the way the Earths axis is tilted, not how far it is from the sun.)

His comments were meant to illustrate that there are a lot of theories about what causes global warming, his campaign manager told reporters. Scott is running for governor, not to be a scientist, so he will leave it up to scientists to figure out what the cause of global warming is.

But scientists actually have figured it out, and if politicians would just listen to them and act on that basis  as they are doing in the rest of the world  we could go a long way toward solving the problem. One Republican who understands that is Rep. Carlos Curbelo of Florida, who is introducing a carbon-tax bill this week. Curbelo, not by coincidence, represents a district that stretches south from Miami to the Keys, an area that is considered vulnerable to both a Democratic wave in November and the kind of wave that comes from the ocean with rising sea levels. Curbelo is a co-founder of a bipartisan group called the Climate Solutions Caucus, which currently claims 43 Republicans; together with the entire Democratic caucus, that adds up to a majority of the House. But getting a proposal with tax in its name through Congress and signed by a president who is fond of boasting about how much he loves coal has (extrapolating to sometime in the not-too-distant future) a snowballs chance at the North Pole.

As for Wagner, he didnt say where he got his theory. Presumably it wasnt in science class, but one possibility is this memorable episode of The Twilight Zone from 1961. As Rod Serling so presciently put it:

The time is five minutes to twelve, midnight. There is no more darkness. The place is New York City and this is the eve of the end, because even at midnight its high noon, the hottest day in history, and youre about to spend it in the Twilight Zone.

We are there now.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
A photo of a Nigerian child has caused a stir on social media. (Photo: Instagram/mofebamuyiwa)

A photo of a 5-year-old Nigerian girl has hit it big on social media, racking up compliments such as beautiful, absolutely stunning, and doll-like.

On Friday, photographer Mofe Bamuyiwa Instagrammed a photo of the young girl named Jare, writing, Oh yes shes human! Shes also an angel! The lifestyle-and-wedding photographer based in Lagos, Nigeria, explained that by positioning Jare in a more mature pose, she illustrated the intersection between child and adulthood.

Twenty-thousand people reacted on Instagram, writing that the photo was a true work of art and that Jare is the new Barbie.

Jare isnt a professional model, Bamuyiwai tells Yahoo Lifestyle, adding that the girls two sisters, Jomi, 7, and Joba, 10, with their striking features and strong characters, have also posed for photos.

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Bamuyiwai says she inspired the childrens mother to launch an Instagram page for her daughters called The J3 Sisters, where they already have more than 5K followers. The girls mother did not respond to Yahoo Lifestyles request for comment.

Bamuyiwai is surprised by the response to her photos. All I want is for everyone to see Jares powerful potential.  I want the photo to speak to her when she has reached her adulthood.

17 !!!!!!  A post shared by Thylane (@thylaneblondeau) on Apr 4, 2018 at 3:21pm PDT

Jare is one of several child models to dominate social media. Seventeen-year-old French model Thylane Blondeau was branded the most beautiful girl in the world after her photos were published in a Vogue Paris supplement called Vogue Enfants, at the age of 6. By then she had already walked the runway for two years.

And in December, a 6-year-old Russian model named Anastasia Knyazeva was crowned by social media as Blondeaus successor.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.




Hailee Steinfeld hit the Post-it red carpet in New York City on July 23 wearing an oversized white button-down shirt as a dress, celebrating the end of her tour with Katy Perry and gearing up for another leg of Charlie Puths concert tour in a few days. While others, like Ariana Grande, love the pants-less lampshade look, they tend to style it as elevated athleisure with over-the-knee boots and a sporty T-shirt or sweatshirt on top. Hailee, on the contrary, picked a borrowed-from-dad crisp white shirt, opting instead for a boudoir-inspired-meets-Risky Business outfit that wowed.

For the Post-it branded event, the carpet was white, with a wall covered by inspirational rainbow Post-it notes, which oddly coordinated perfectly with Hailees look. Her shirt, also white, featured rainbow embellishments that clustered near her right shoulder and left hip. On her feet were ankle-strap white pointed-toe pumps and she wore no visible accessories to keep the look super simple. After walking the red carpet, Hailee made a quick change, this time opting for a metallic bustier and matching pants for an empowering talk and acoustic performance.

Hailee has been kicking it around New York City for the past week or so, even being visited by boyfriend Niall Horan for a quick shopping trip and concert support just a few days ago. Heres to more pants or no-pant looks where these came from!

Hailee Steinfeld and Post-it Brand Inspire Students to Make Dreams Stick, New York, USA - 23 Jul 2018 Marion Curtis/StarPix for Post-it Brand/Shutterstock

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Want more from Teen Vogue? Check this out: Niall Horan Flew 2,000 Miles to Go Shopping With Hailee Steinfeld
New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, left, and former Arkansas coach Bret Bielema, center, are now officially colleagues. (AP Photo)

Dwight Schrute would be proud to hear Bret Bielemas new title: Consultant to the head coach. In the show The Office, Schrute was famously given the title: Assistant to the regional manager.

Bielema, the former Arkansas head coach, is now working under that title with the New England Patriots. He and coach Bill Belichick have developed a relationship, which turned into this gig, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.

Former Arkansas head coach Bret Bielemas official title with the Patriots in 2018 is consultant to the head coach.  Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) July 24, 2018

Last November, Bielema was fired by Arkansas after five seasons as its head coach. In that time, his teams went 29-34 and 11-29 in the Southeastern Conference. As part of his buyout, he will receive a little less than $12 million from the schools Razorback Foundation.

Bielema began working with the New England Patriots this past spring, and he has continued to work with them from then on.

Now, like Schrute so many years ago, Bielema has been given an official title.

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 Kawhi Leonard apparently ghosted David Robinson

 Phillies fan expertly catches homer while holding a baby

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Dozens of people flee to the beach in Matiq - BLITZ PICTURES +447831507156

Raging wildfires have killed at least 74 people and injured scores more as flames swept through a small resort town near Athens.

Emergency crews found one group of 26 victims, including families with children clasped in a last embrace as they tried to flee the flames. They were huddled together in a field just 30 metres from the sea near Mati in the region of Rafina, eastern Greece.

Nikos Economopoulos, head of Greece's Red Cross, told Skai TV: "They had tried to find an escape route but unfortunately these people and their kids didn't make it in time. Instinctively, seeing the end nearing, they embraced."

Interior Minister Panos Skourletis described the wildfires as a "Biblical disaster", according to The Times, and said rescue workers were "still searching to see if there are more missing", while mayor of Rafina Evangelos Bournous told the channel: "The number of dead is rising."

Ferocious fires came all the way into the towns, meaning the only safe direction for people to flee was towards the sea where hundreds of people had to be rescued in local fishing boats.

Greece wildfires gallery puff

Government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said early on Tuesday that Greece had requested US drones "to observe and detect any suspicious activity" after "15 fires had started simultaneously on three different fronts in Athens".

"I am really concerned by the parallel outbreak of these fires," Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said, with officials raising the possibility they could have been started deliberately by criminals out to ransack abandoned homes.

The fire was by far Greece's worst since flames devastated the southern Peloponnese peninsula in August 2007, killing dozens. It broke out in Mati late Monday afternoon and was still burning in some areas on Tuesday morning.

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Greece wildfires | Travel advice

Cecily, 44, from Paris, on holiday with her 15-year-old daughter told The Telegraph: We were staying in a holiday villa in Mati. We saw the fires outside the house and jumped in our hire car and drove towards the beach.

"There were about 500 people crammed onto the beach. There were no warnings and no help from authorities. The local Greek people came to rescue us in their fishing boats.

"We got in one then were picked up by a military boat which took us to Rafina. All the hotels were full so we slept in the hallway. We booked a flight back to Paris today. We have had no help from anywhere.

Another French tourist Paulina Corvisier, 25, from Lyon, on holiday with her husband and mother-in-law, said: We ran to the beach. We were all crowded onto the sand and rocks. Then the trees surrounding the beach burst into flames.

"I jumped in the water because I didnt know what else to do. Ash was falling on me from the sky while I was in the water.

Coastguard vessels were combing beaches to find any remaining survivors, with military hospitals on full alert, a government spokesman said.

Dozens of people flee to the beach in Matiq Credit: Blitz Pictures

Mati is in the eastern Rafina region, a popular spot for Greek holiday-makers, particularly pensioners and children at camps, 29 km (18 miles) east of the capital.

Haris Malimagolou from the Red Cross, talking of the harrowing discovery of the 26 victims found together, said: Some members of our team found 26 bodies in a field next to the sea, we are assuming they were trapped by the fire because it was so strong and so fast. Some were huddled together as if trying to protect each other.

"They were badly burned and have not been identified yet. Their bodies have been transferred to Athens.

He explained that the fire was so devastating because a separate fire at Corinth - some 68 miles from Mati - started earlier at 11am, so all the fire service resources were sent there.

This region is also very densely populated with a lot of summer houses, old people and children. Mr Malimagolou told The Telegraph the Red Cross have treated about 100 people for both minor and serious injuries

One of the youngest fatalities at this stage is thought to be a six-month-old baby who died of smoke inhalation, officials said. Of the 156 people injured, 11 were in intensive care, they added.

Greece wildfires gallery puff

The coastguard said four bodies were retrieved from the sea. In total, coastguard and other vessels rescued 696 people who had fled to beaches. Boats plucked another 19 people alive from the water.

Greece's fire brigade said the intensity and spread of the wildfire at Mati had slowed on Tuesday as winds died down, but it was still not fully under control.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Tuesday afternoon declared a three-day period of national mourning, and said after cutting short a visit to Bosnia: "We are dealing with something completely asymmetric. It's a difficult night for Greece."

A woman walks in front of burnt cars at the village of Mati during a wildfire near Athens Credit: AFP

Tourist resorts hit

Greek authorities were rushing to evacuate residents and tourists stranded on beaches in coastal areas early on Tuesday.

Dozens of people scrambled into the ocean as the blaze raged close to the shore, and they were picked up by passing boats.

Nine coastal patrol boats, two military vessels and "dozens of private boats" assisted by army helicopters were mobilised to help those stuck in Rafina harbour.

Flames rise as a wildfire burns in the town of Rafina, near Athens Credit: AFP

There were several reports of missing persons, including four tourists from Denmark who were said to have fled on a boat that was missing on Tuesday morning.

Evangelos Bournous, mayor of the port town of Rafina, said: "We were unlucky. The wind changed and it came at us with such force that it razed the coastal area in minutes."

The dock area became a makeshift hospital as paramedics checked survivors when they came off coast guard vessels and private boats. The operation continued through the night.

Wildfire in Mati, Greece

At daybreak on Tuesday, Ambulance Service deputy director Miltiadis Mylonas said the number of casualties was likely to rise as the more gutted homes and cars were checked.

"It took people by surprise and the events happened very fast. Also, the fires broke out on many fronts, so all these factors made the situation extremely difficult," he said.

"The task we face now is organizing the identification of victims by members of their families."

State of emergency

Greece issued an urgent appeal for help to tackle the fires, saying it needed air and land assets from its European Union partners. Cyprus offered to send fire engines and personnel.

The first major fire broke out in a pine forest near the seaside settlement of Kineta, 30 miles west of Athens between the capital and Corinth.

At least 220 firefighters were on the scene there while five water-dropping planes and seven helicopters helped to fight the blaze from the air. Reinforcements were sent in from across Greece.

Residents of coastal areas of Mati and Kokkino Limanaki in Rafina, East Attica, Greece resort to the sea to escape fledging fires today July 23, 2018. ##Athens#forestfirespic.twitter.com/2SvFPN0BWB  Theodore Theodorides (@TheoTheodorides) July 23, 2018

Senior fire chief Achilleas Tzouvaras went on state TV to appeal to people to leave the area after some tried to stay on their properties.

"People should leave, close up their homes and just leave. People cannot tolerate so much smoke for so many hours," he said. "This is an extreme situation."

A man holds his son as a wildfire burns in the town of Rafina, near Athens Credit: AFP

The second major blaze broke out Monday afternoon in the Penteli and Rafina areas northeast of Athens. Children's summer camps and a seaside resort for military officers were evacuated, as well as residences in the area. Dozens of homes and cars were reportedly destroyed.

Victims flee coast

There was no official figure on how many people were evacuated overall.

The fire burned into the town of Rafina, turning the sky above the nearby port that serves ferries to the Cycladic islands black from the smoke.

Witnesses reported seeing a hillside of homes gutted by flames east of Athens. A mayor said he saw at least 100 homes and 200 vehicles burning.

An official from the Red Cross said on Tuesday morning that 26 bodies had been discovered in the courtyard of a villa at the seaside resort of Mati.

The bodies were entwined and severely burnt, a photographer at the scene said. They appeared to have been caught by the flames trying to reach the sea.

A house burns in the town of Mati, east of Athens Credit: AP

Greek authorities urged residents to abandon their homes as a wildfire burned ferociously, closing one of Greece's busiest motorways, halting train links and sending plumes of smoke over the capital.

Wildfires are not uncommon in Greece, but a relatively dry winter created tinder box conditions. It was not clear what ignited the fires.

A firefighter tries to extinguish hotspots during a wildfire in Kineta, near Athens Credit: AFP

The main Athens-Corinth motorway, one of two road routes to the Peloponese peninsula, was shut and train services were cancelled.

Fire raged around the Saronicos Gulf, ravaging tracts of pine forest, and was visible for miles. An ominous cloud of black-orange smoke hung over the Acropolis hill and the Parthenon temple in Athens on Monday afternoon.

Cars are blocked at the closed National Road during a wildfire in Kineta Credit: AFP

Several other fires broke out across the country, including in northeastern Greece and the southern island of Crete, stretching Greece's firefighting capabilities. Gale force winds that frequently changed direction and continued into the night were hampering firefighting efforts.

Disaster could top Europe's most deadly wildfires

The wildfires raging near Athens are among the deadliest in Europe, with Portugal and Russia also suffering heavy losses.

Here is a recap of the worst.

Portugal in 2017 (64)

Sixty-four people were killed and 250 injured in the deadliest wildfires in Portugal's history in June 2017.

The fires burned for five days in the central Leiria region, breaking out at the height of a summer heatwave. Many of the victims died trapped in their cars by the flames while trying to escape.

Violent winds fanned the fires, ravaging some 460 square kilometres (around 180 square miles) of hillsides covered with pine and eucalyptus.

Fire over Vieira de Leiria, Portugal, in 2017 Credit: NPA

In 2003 gigantic fires caused by a heatwave left 20 dead between July and September in central and southern Portugal.

The summer of 2003 remains the most disastrous in terms of surface destroyed, with nearly 4,250 square kilometres going up in smoke.

In 1966 a blaze in the forest of Sintra, west of Lisbon, killed 25 soldiers trying to battle the flames.

Russia in 2015 (34)

In April 2015 huge fires that started in the Khakassia region of southeastern Siberia killed 34 people as well as hundreds of cattle and thousands of sheep.

The blaze, which spread as far as Mongolia and practically up to the Chinese border, also destroyed 2,000 homes and 10,000 square kilometres of land.

Five years earlier, vast swathes of western Russia were ravaged by fires for weeks during an unprecedented heatwave and drought.

Russian wildfires in 2010 Credit: Artyom Kototayev/AFP

The blazes between July and August 2010 tore through 10,000 square kilometres of forest, bogs and brushwood, burning entire villages.

Some of the fires came dangerously close to Russia's top nuclear research centre in Sarov.

Greece in 2007 (77)

Forest fires killed 77 people at the end of August 2007 in Greece, ravaging 2,500 square kilometres in the southern Peloponnese and the island of Evia, northeast of Athens.

A Greek firefighter battles the fire at the village of Styra on the island of Evia, Greece, in August 2007 Credit: Margarita Kiaou/EPA

The fires raged for around 12 days, but most of the victims were killed early on in the disaster when they became trapped in villages cut off by the flames, some ignoring orders to evacuate.

France in 1949 (82)

In the heaviest loss of life in wildfires in France, 82 people were killed battling flames in the southwest Landes region in August 1949.

The victims - firemen, volunteers and soldiers - were caught in a ball of fire after the winds suddenly changed direction.
By Brendan O'Brien (Reuters) - Heavy rains pummeled parts of the U.S. Southwest and mid-Atlantic on Tuesday, swelling floods that have forced evacuations, disrupted air travel and cut power. Downpours were expected to continue for several more days from southern New York to northern South Carolina, with similar patterns seen further west in southeastern Colorado and northern New Mexico, the National Weather Service said. About 23,000 homes and businesses were without power in a string of states from Pennsylvania to North Carolina early on Tuesday, Poweroutages.us reported. Around Baltimore, officials had reported flooding after one inch (2.5 cm) of rain, the NWS said. Flood watches were in effect in other parts of Maryland, as well as parts of West Virginia, with minor flooding expected in North Carolina. Airports in New York, Philadelphia and Washington experienced delays of up to three hours due to thunderstorms on Tuesday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. In northern Virginia, close to the nation's capital, the NWS had briefly issued a tornado warning Tuesday. Flood waters rushed through the streets in Santa Fe, New Mexico late on Monday, destroying homes and businesses and trapping motorists in vehicles as more than 3 inches (8 cm) of rain fell, the Albuquerque Journal newspaper reported. Santa Fe opened an evacuation shelter had opened for displaced residents, Mayor Alan Webber said on Twitter late Monday, adding, "In the morning we'll launch an all-hands effort to clear roads, repair damage, and clean up from floods." More storms were expected in New Mexico on Tuesday, and the NWS warned flash flooding remained a concern, particularly in areas that had recently been ravaged by wildfires. Rescue crews used small boats to save people trapped in flooded vehicles across Pennsylvania, local media reported. Hersheypark, the chocolate-themed Pennsylvania amusement park, was scheduled to reopen on Tuesday, a day after closing due to three days of heavy rains and flooding. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee, Additional reporting by Makini Brice in Washington; Editing by Scott Malone and Alistair Bell)
(Reuters) - The Trump administration was set on Tuesday to announce up to $12 billion in aid for U.S. farmers to shield them from the repercussions of trade spats between the United States and China, the European Union and others.

COMMENTS

JIM HEIMERL, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL PORK PRODUCERS COUNCIL

President Trump has said he has the back of U.S. farmers and today demonstrated this commitment with an aid package to sustain American agriculture cutoff from critical export markets as his administration works to realign U.S. global trade policy.

U.S. pork, which began the year in expansion mode to capitalize on unprecedented global demand, now faces punitive tariffs on 40 percent of its exports. The restrictions we face in critical markets such as Mexico and China  our top two export markets by volume last year  have placed American pig farmers and their families in dire financial straits. We thank the president for taking immediate action."

RON LEE, GENERAL MANAGER, MCCLESKEY COTTON, BRONWOOD, GEORGIA

"The big news today for agriculture out of Washington is the plan to use a Great Depression-era policy to use the Commodity Credit Corporation to disperse $12 Billion, with a capital B, in aid to farmers hit by the current trade impasse.... Personally, I'm not sure how all this will play out other than to get the vibe that the Trump administration is in it for the long haul on trying to hammer out these new trade pacts. Mexico and Canada have shown a recent interest to step up talks, but China remains largely at an impasse. Most every grower I know would rather have great trade avenues and receive their revenue from the market, but this shows that Trump and the USDA plans to give his rural base some relief as these negotiations are certainly causing some financial pain to those regions in the last few months."

KIM REYNOLDS, GOVERNOR, IOWA

The $12 billion in farm aid announced today will provide a short-term fix, but its not a long-term solution. As I've said all along, nobody wins in a trade war. We must continue to expand and open markets, protect the Renewable Fuel Standard and allow Iowa products to be sold across the globe. Iowa farmers are the most productive in the world and will always win when they have unrestricted access to markets. I will never stop fighting for Iowa families affected by this trade war.

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BLAKE HURST, CORN AND SOYBEAN FARMER, PRESIDENT, MISSOURI FARM BUREAU

The payments will be helpful to farmers facing overdue loans and angry bankers, but are completely insufficient if they mean that tariffs and the trade war will last for the foreseeable future. They are a very temporary bandage to a self inflicted wound.

GABRIEL CRIVOROT, ANALYST, SOCIETE GENERALE, NEW YORK

"It's unclear for now, especially since we don't know how much of it will be dedicated to cotton. The main focus will be soybeans, which is a much larger market and has a bigger political impact."

MARK RECKER, PRESIDENT, IOWA CORN GROWERS ASSOCIATION

"When politics or market forces beyond farmers control put their business at risk, the government can and should consider initiatives to keep family farmers on the farm. As farmers, we want access to markets, which will allow us the ability to compete on a level playing field but support these payments if this stands as our only recourse. We will continue to monitor the details of this proposal as it comes together."

BRIAN KUEHL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FARMERS FOR FREE TRADE

"The best relief for the presidents trade war would be ending the trade war."

"Farmers need contracts, not compensation, so they can create stability and plan for the future. This proposed action would only be a short-term attempt at masking the long-term damage caused by tariffs."

ZIPPY DUVALL, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN FARM BUREAU FEDERATION

The $12 billion package of agricultural assistance announced today by the administration will provide a welcome measure of temporary relief to our farmers and ranchers who are experiencing the financial effects of the trade war. This should help many of our farmers and ranchers weather the rough road ahead and assist in their dealings with their financial institutions.

"We are grateful for the administrations recognition that farmers and ranchers needed positive news now and this will buy us some time. This announcement is substantial, but we cannot overstate the dire consequences that farmers and ranchers are facing in relation to lost export markets. Our emphasis continues to be on trade and restoring markets, and we will continue to push for a swift and sure end to the trade war and the tariffs impacting American agriculture.

CASEY GUERNSEY, FORMER MISSOURI LAWMAKER AND SPOKESMAN FOR AMERICANS FOR FARMERS & FAMILIES

"Rather than accepting retaliatory tariffs and seeking to offset them with federal assistance, Americas producers believe the administration should look toward solutions that will enable them to export their homegrown goods to critical markets around the globe."

"My family got into farming to sell beef, not to accept government assistance. While we need to hold our trading partners to account and ensure fair deals are reached, our government must also pursue long-term and sustainable solutions."

BRIAN SCHAUMBERG, CORN AND SOYBEAN FARMER, CHENOA, ILLINOIS

I dont know the details but Im not thrilled. Ive spent many, many years and many checkoff dollars to build our markets and all of this got thrown in the dumpster in one tweet. We (farmers) dont want direct payments  we just want open markets. Quite honestly, Ive been through the Russian (grain) embargo with (President) Carter and other trade wars  nobody wins them. And I have a bad taste in my mouth over this one. I think there are better ways around this. Im sick and tired of weaponizing food. We fight bad weather, its hard to fight tariffs and embargos.

JOHN HEISDORFFER, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN SOYBEAN ASSOCIATION, SOYBEAN FARMER, KEOTA, IOWA

Our best course of action is to expand other markets and develop new ones to buy the soybeans were not selling to China.

This means finishing the NAFTA negotiations as soon as possible so we can begin talks on new bilateral agreements with other key soybean markets including Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines.

"The American Soybean Association has consistently advised the Administration that the best way to reduce our nations trade deficit is by increasing exports, including of agricultural products.

Since the Administration has decided to use tariffs to address trade concerns with China, and China has retaliated, farmers dont have time to wait to see how this trade war turns out.

SCOTT IRWIN, AGRICULTURAL ECONOMIST WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

The direct payment program portion will be "the largest and probably the most controversial" part of the aid package.

"We have never compensated farmers directly on such a large scale for retaliatory tariffs."

"Twelve billion dollars, the vast majority of it sent to farmers mainly in the Midwest in the form of direct payments, is a shock-and-awe response to the hit that farmers have taken in the trade war."

KEVIN SKUNES, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL CORN GROWERS ASSOCIATION

"The fine print will be important. We know the package wont make farmers whole."

MARKET REACTION

Shares of farm equipment companies rose. Deere & Co jumped 2.7 percent, while Caterpillar Inc gained more than 1 percent and AGCO Corp rose 0.5 percent.

Soybean futures <0#S:> rose 1.3 percent to their highest in two weeks.
The moon passes right across Earths disk in a 2015 image captured by the DSCOVR satellite from its observation point, a million miles out in space. (NASA / NOAA Photo)

The moon is one of the last places in the solar system youd expect to find life today, but astrobiologists say life could have found a foothold there billions of years ago.

The life-on-the-moon question could provide a focus for future science missions to the moon in the years ahead, and mesh with similar searches on more promising worlds such as Mars, the Jovian moon Europa and the Saturnian moon Enceladus.

In a study published online today by the journal Astrobiology, Washington State Universitys Dirk Schulze-Makuch and the University of Londons Ian Crawford pinpoint two spans of time when conditions on the moon might have supported simple lifeforms.

Washington State University astrobiologist Dirk Schulze-Makuch. (WSU Photo)

One time frame would have started about 4 billion years ago, shortly after the moon formed from a disk of debris created by a collision between Earth and a primordial Mars-sized planet. The other time frame would have come about 3.5 billion years ago, during a peak in volcanic activity on the young moon.

Planetary scientists speculate that during both those periods, the moons interior was outgassing vast quantities of superheated volatiles, including water vapor.

Some of those gases could have condensed to form pools of liquid water on the surface and an atmosphere, the two astrobiologists say.

If liquid water and a significant atmosphere were present on the early moon for long periods of time, we think the lunar surface would have been at least transiently habitable, Schulze-Makuch said in a news release.

He said the young moons magnetic field could have shielded the atmosphere and any organisms on the surface from blasts of deadly solar radiation. There could have actually been microbes thriving in water pools on the moon until the surface became dry and dead, Schulze-Makuch said.

Its highly debatable whether the right conditions could have existed on the moon long enough for life to arise independently. The more likely scenario would involve microbes hitchhiking their way to the moon on meteorites that were blasted away from the early Earth  or perhaps even from Mars.

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Even today, the moon contains deposits of water ice that seem big enough to support future human settlements. Much of that water is thought to have been transported to the lunar surface by asteroids and comets billions of years ago. But any lunar life would be long gone.

Schulze-Makuch and Crawford acknowledge itd be tough to find a smoking gun to prove their claims. Whether life ever arose on the moon, or was transported to it from elsewhere, is of course highly speculative and can only be addressed by an aggressive future program of lunar exploration, they say in the Astrobiology paper.

One potential line of inquiry would involve analyzing samples from lunar deposits that were laid down during the key period of heightened volcanic activity, to look for biomarkers or other chemical signatures of habitable conditions.

Closer to home, researchers could conduct experiments in chambers that simulate the early lunar environment, to see whether microbial life could remain viable. Similar studies are already being done to simulate Martian conditions, in earthly labs and on the International Space Station.

Such facilities are available at many research institutions around the world and could easily be modified to simulate early lunar environmental conditions, Schulze-Makuch and Crawford say.

More from GeekWire:
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. -- A B-1B Lancer taxis down the runway upon completion of a training mission, Nov. 9, 2009.

Zachary Keck

Security, Middle East

Irans ability to defend itself against a U.S. invasion begins with its formidable geography.

No Easy War Here: Why America Isn't Invading Iran Anytime Soon

Once again, geography would work to Irans advantage, as almost all of Irans major cities are located in the north of the country, and reaching them would be a herculean challenge under the best of circumstances. For starters, the terrainas alwayswould be challenging to transverse with a large invading force. More importantly, Iran is enormous. As Stratfor notes, Iran is the 17th largest country in world. It measures 1,684,000 square kilometers. That means that its territory is larger than the combined territories of France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and PortugalWestern Europe.

Since assuming office in 2009, President Barack Obama has consistently held that the United States would carry out airstrikes to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. This position is supported by the vast majority of U.S. policy makers, lawmakers and the political elite, regardless of political affiliation.

Nonetheless, it is also generally agreed that airstrikes against Irans nuclear facilities would only have a limited impact on preventing Iran from acquiring the bomb. To be sure, a concerted airstrike effort against Iran would delay its ability to build a nuclear arsenal by several years. Nonetheless, Iran would be able to rebuild its nuclear facilities before long, especially given the windfall in economic relief it would undoubtedly receive once the sanctions regime against it unraveled in response to Americas military action.

(This fist appeared in 2015 and is being reposted due to reader interest.)

The only military action that can truly prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, then, is for the United States to invade and occupy the country, potentially turning it over to a U.S.-friendly regime that would uphold Irans non-nuclear status. Despite the widespread support in the United States for preventing Iran from building a nuclear weapon, this option is almost never proposed by any serious observer.

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(Recommended: 5 Iranian Weapons of War America Should Fear)

Part of this undoubtedly reflects Americas fatigue following the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, it goes much deeper than thatnamely, while Irans military is greatly inferior to the U.S. armed forces, the U.S. military would not be able to conquer Iran swiftly and cheaply like it did in Iraq and Afghanistan. In fact, Tehran would be able to impose prohibitive costs against the U.S. military, even before the difficult occupation began.

Irans ability to defend itself against a U.S. invasion begins with its formidable geography. As Stratfor, a private intelligence firm, has explained, Iran is a fortress. Surrounded on three sides by mountains and on the fourth by the ocean, with a wasteland at its center, Iran is extremely difficult to conquer.

While the stopping power of water has always made land invasions far more preferable for the invading party, the age of precision-guided munitions has made amphibious invasions particularly challenging. As such, the United States would strongly prefer to invade Iran through one of its land borders, just as it did when it invading Iraq in 2003.

Unfortunately, there are few options in this regard. On first glance, commencing an invasion from western Afghanistan would seem the most plausible route, given that the U.S. military already has troops stationed in that country. Alas, that would not be much of an option at all.

To begin with, from a logistical standpoint, building up a large invasion force in western Afghanistan would be a nightmare, especially now that Americas relationship with Russia has deteriorated so greatly.

(Recommended: 5 U.S. Weapons of War Iran Should Fear)

More importantly, however, is the geography of the border region. First, there are some fairly small mountain ranges along the border region. More formidable, going from the Afghan border to most of Irans major cities would require traversing two large desert regions: Dasht-e Lut and Dasht-e Kavir.

Dasht-e Kavir is particularly fearsome, as its kavirs are similar to quicksand. As Stratfor notes, The Dasht-e Kavir consists of a layer of salt covering thick mud, and it is easy to break through the salt layer and drown in the mud. It is one of the most miserable places on earth. This would severely constrain Americas ability to use any mechanized and possibly motorized infantry in mounting the invasion.

Irans western borders are not any more inviting. While northwestern Iran borders Turkey, a NATO ally of the United States, Ankara refused the United States permission to use its territory for the invasion of Iraq. Regardless, the Zagros Mountains that define Irans borders with Turkey, and most of Iraq, would make a large invasion through this route extremely difficult.

The one exception on Irans western borders is in the very south, where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers collide to form the Shatt al-Arab waterway. This was the invasion route Saddam Hussein used in the 1980s. Unfortunately, as Saddam discovered, this territory is swampy and easy to defend. Furthermore, not long after crossing into Iranian territory, any invading force would run into the Zagros Mountains. Still, this area has long been a vulnerability of Irans, which is one of the reasons why Tehran has put so much effort into dominating Shia Iraq and the Iraqi government. Unfortunately for any U.S. president looking to invade Iran, Tehran has largely succeeded in this effort, closing it off as a potential base from which America could attack Iran.

Thus, the United States would have to invade Iran from its southern coastline, which stretches roughly 800 miles and is divided between waterfront adjoining the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. Iran has been preparing for just such a contingency for the better part of a quarter of a century. Specifically, it has focused on acquiring the capabilities to execute an antiaccess/area denial strategy against the United States, utilizing a vast number of precision-guided and nonsmart missiles, swarm boats, drones, submarines and mines.

As always, Iran benefits in any A2/AD campaign from the geography of the Iranian coastline; in The Revenge of Geography, Robert Kaplan observed of Irans coastline, its bays, inlets, coves, and islands [make] excellent places for hiding suicide, tanker-ramming speed-boats. He might have added hiding ground-launched missile systems.

Michael Connell, director of the Iranian Studies Program at CNA, further reflected: Geography is a key element in Iranian naval planning. The Gulfs confined space, which is less than 100 nautical miles wide in many places, limits the maneuverability of large surface assets, such as aircraft carriers. But it plays to the strengths of Irans naval forces, especially the IRGCN. The Gulfs northern coast is dotted with rocky coves ideally suited for terrain masking and small boat operations. The Iranians have also fortified numerous islands in the Gulf that sit astride major shipping lanes.

All of this plays into an Iranian A2/AD strategy. Back in 2012, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) studied how Iran would use A2/AD against the United States, stating:

Iran is developing an asymmetric strategy to counter U.S. operations in the Persian Gulf. This strategy may blend irregular tactics and improvised weapons with technologically advanced capabilities to deny or limit the U.S. militarys access to close-in bases and restrict its freedom of maneuver through the Strait of Hormuz. Irans hybrid A2/AD strategy could exploit the geographic and political features of the Persian Gulf region to reduce the effectiveness of U.S. military operations. Such an approach may not, in itself, be a war-winning strategy for Iran. Significantly raising the costs or extending the timelines of a U.S. military intervention may, however, create a window of opportunity for Iran to conduct acts of aggression or coercion.

As this implies, the United States would sustain significant damage and casualties trying to establish a beachhead in southern Iran. Americas challenges would not end with establishing this beachhead, however, as it would still have to conquer the rest of Iran.

Once again, geography would work to Irans advantage, as almost all of Irans major cities are located in the north of the country, and reaching them would be a herculean challenge under the best of circumstances. For starters, the terrainas alwayswould be challenging to transverse with a large invading force. More importantly, Iran is enormous. As Stratfor notes, Iran is the 17th largest country in world. It measures 1,684,000 square kilometers. That means that its territory is larger than the combined territories of France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and PortugalWestern Europe.

Of course, U.S. forces would not be operating under the best of circumstances. In fact, Irans Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has long planned on mounting an insurgent and guerrilla campaign against an invading force trying to reach Irans northern cities from its coastlines. Referred to by the IRGC as a mosaic defense, the plan would incorporate the joint efforts of the IRGC, Basij and regular armed forces. Connell describes it as follows:

The mosaic defense plan allows Iran to take advantage of its strategic depth and formidable geography to mount an insurgency against invading forces. As enemy supply lines stretched into Irans interior, they would be vulnerable to interdiction by special stay-behind cells, which the IRGC has formed to harass enemy rear operations. The Artesh, a mix of armored, infantry and mechanized units, would constitute Irans initial line of defense against invading forces. IRGC troops would support this effort, but they would also form the core of popular resistance, the bulk of which would be supplied by the Basij, the IRGCs paramilitary volunteer force. The IRGC has developed a wartime mobilization plan for the Basij, called the Moin Plan, according to which Basij personnel would augment regular IRGC units in an invasion scenario. IRGC and Basij exercises have featured simulated ambushes on enemy armored columns and helicopters. Much of this training has been conducted in an urban environment, suggesting that Iran intends to lure enemy forces into cities where they would be deprived of mobility and close air support. Iran has emphasized passive defense measurestechniques used to enhance the battlefield survivability including camouflage, concealment and deception.

In Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States found that conquering a country is the easy part. Its the occupation that proves costly. While occupying Iran would be at least as difficult as the Iraqi and Afghan occupations, even invading Iran would prove enormously challenging. Consequently, while conquering Iran is the most sustainable way to prevent it from building a nuclear weapon, Washington is unlikely to attempt to do so anytime soon.

Zachary Keck is managing editor of The National Interest. You can find him on Twitter: @ZacharyKeck.

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PACIFIC OCEAN (July 17, 2018) Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Handling) 2nd Class James Spencer signals the pilot of an F-35B Lightning II aircraft

Edward Chang

Security, Middle East

The risk of miscalculation is now significantly higher.

The Real Threat to America: Iran May Close the Strait of Hormuz

President of Iran Hassan Rouhani threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to potential sanctions that could be levied upon Iranian oil exports, threats which were echoed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). President Donald Trump has given countries until November 4, 2018, to stop importing petroleum from Iran. This wide-scale ban is part of a new campaign of confrontation and pressure against the Islamic Republic. This demand comes on the heels of the U.S. departure from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal, which was signed in 2015.

During negotiations, the JCPOA was marketed as the only option for curtailing Irans nuclear program short of war. Supporters of the deal routinely cited an increased risk of war in their arguments against exiting the deal and Rouhanis statement, on the surface, appears to confirm such concerns. But how seriously should these threats be taken?

Weve Been Here Before

Iran threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz is nothing new. In fact, as recently as 2012, the Obama administration had its own confrontation with Iran over the latters nuclear program. Iran threatened to close the Strait and carried out military exercises in the area, drawing a major United States, British, and French deployment in response. But a year later, both sides resorted to negotiations that led to the JCPOA.

In 2008, citing fears of a U.S. or Israeli attack, the commander of the IRGC, Mohammad Ali Jafari, threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation. During the 198088 Iran-Iraq War, both sides targeted one anothers shipping as part of a total war effort, raising fears that Iran might attempt to make the Strait of Hormuz unpassable. Iran used mines as part of its strategy, eliciting an operation to safeguard Kuwaiti shipping, codenamed Operation Earnest Will. Beginning in summer 1987, it lasted over a year-and-a-half and involved increasingly direct combat between the United States and Iran, culminating in Operation Praying Mantis in spring 1988. In the one-day air/naval battle, the United States scored a decisive victory, with Iran losing several warships during the exchange, while inflicting no losses in return.

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Apart from the events that took place from 198788, none of these incidents resulted in open warfare. This is nothing short of remarkable, given the unrelenting level of hostility exhibited on both sides since the November 4, 1979, seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran. While the lack of actual fighting can be attributed to restraint and professional crisis management skills on the part of the United States, it can also be attributed to the fact that Iranian behavior and rhetoric regarding the Strait primarily serves as a means of crisis-management (albeit a dangerous one) and a political purpose.

Threatening Closure Is More Useful than Executing One

Closing the Strait of Hormuz has a regressive impact on Irans interests. As John Allen Gay and Geoffrey Kemp explain in War With Iran: Political, Military, and Economic Consequences:

Eighty-five percent of Irans imports come through the strait, and the oil exports so crucial to the Iranian governments solvency mostly flow out of it. Iran would be cutting off its own lifeline if it closed the strait, and it would have to live on its already dwindling currency reserves. Iran would also be inviting attacks on its own oil facilities by vengeful neighbors, and it would isolate itself internationally.

So, in contemplating any Strait of Hormuz closure scenario, it should immediately be noted such a move by Iran amounts to one of desperation, employed only in a situation in which Tehran sees no other way out of its predicament. Therefore, a Strait closure is unlikely, the United States is well-aware of this, and the Iranian leadership probably realizes Washington can call its bluff any time. So why does Tehran continue to make such threats?

By threatening to close the vital waterway linking the oil-rich Persian Gulf with the world, through which approximately a third of the worlds petroleum is ferried, Iran stokes fears of war and economic crisis. This not only raises gas prices in anticipation of supply disruptions, but it also influences world opinion towards the direction of de-escalation, which would pressure the United States to back away from its own red lines. Given the number of countries that rely on Middle Eastern oil, including that of Iran, Tehran can craft a damning narrative that shows that the United States is generating a crisis to the worlds detriment.

These narratives work well at home, too. Like most autocracies, the Islamic regime regularly employs crises to establish political dominance and domestic order. The sights and sounds of Iranian naval forces challenging and harassing U.S. warships serves powerfully as propaganda, encouraging unity against the Great Satan that is America.

And while the United States has the capability to prevent a closure or re-open the Strait, the physical and political costs of such an undertaking are considerable. Assuming Iran would attempt a closure only when it feels it has no other recourse, it would then have little to lose from doing so, while the United States and the world would bear costs not easily recouped nor as readily borne in comparison.

What If Iran Were to Attempt a Strait Closure?

Irans closure of the Strait would not involve employing its naval forces to physically occupy the waterways in a conventional sense. Rather, it would make the Strait impassable utilizing an Anti-Access/Area-Denial strategy (A2/AD) strategy. For Iran, mines would form the centerpiece of this strategy to turn the choke point into a no-go zone. Afterwards, it can use land-based anti-ship missiles (ASMs) to prevent clearance operations or to directly target enemy warships and civilian shipping. Should Iranian leadership deem it necessary to deploy naval forces, the IRGC possesses a large fleet of small fast-attack craft. Though lightly armed, the craft can prove a menace to conventional warships, via the use of swarming tactics to overwhelm adversaries and employ hit-and-run attacks that are notoriously difficult to counter. On a higher level, Iran could target United States and allied military facilities in the region or even civilian population centers with ballistic missiles as a means of deterrence.

The ability of the United States and its allies to re-open the Strait of Hormuz comes down to preparation. Should advance warning be received of an impending closure attempt, the forces of Central Command (CENTCOM) would mobilize and naval forces, particularly one or more aircraft carrier strike groups would be rushed to region to force Iran to alter its calculations or to intervene before it makes much progress in making the waterways impassible. Should the United States and its allies be caught off-guard, then the costs of re-opening the Strait could be exorbitant.

For example, Gay and Kemp estimated the cost of a Hormuz mine-clearance operation to be $230.1 million. Even something as routine as maintaining two carrier strike groups (CSGs) on-station for a week was estimated to be $106 million. In the event of a more serious military confrontation, a 2017 RAND report calls for the deployment of, among other things, twenty-one Air Force fighter squadrons and four CSGs. It is more difficult to estimate human casualties, but these numbers make clear there are prohibitive up-front costs to a crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, whether a full-blown shooting war erupts or not.

However, for reasons outlined earlier, the likelihood of a surprise closure is remarkably low. The United States and its allies are well-aware of such a possibility and have been, for decades, well-prepared for the scenario. The military superiority of the United States and its allies all but ensures an overwhelming defeat for the Ayatollahs warriors. Most importantly, a surprise closure of the Strait acts to Irans detriment, unless the strategic environment is such that Tehran feels its back is against the wall and has little to lose from such desperation. Threatening closure is more useful than attempting one, thus, absent exigent circumstances, Irans leadership will always telegraph its intentions, if only to avoid a situation where they must choose between backing down and losing face or following through and hazard overwhelming defeat.

Though risk of miscalculation remains, Iran has considerably dialed back on its hostile behavior in the Strait, while increasing its aggressive activities elsewhere. But if Tehran wants its threats to at least be taken seriously, it may need to again resort to maritime provocations against commercial shipping and the U.S. military. Irans de-emphasizing of the Gulf in its strategy does not appear to be something that will last much longer.

The Israeli Wild-Card

Some observers are predicting a cataclysmic war between the Jewish state and Hezbollah in the near future. Given Hezbollah serves as Irans most prominent proxy, there are concerns such a conflict will draw Tehran in as well, risking a major regional conflagration. Israel has, in fact, already clashed numerous times with Iran-backed militias in Syria in recent weeks and months, raising the likelihood of direct warfare between Jerusalem and Tehran.

Although Washington does not possess a mutual-defense treaty with Jerusalem, the former would still support the latters war effort through the provision of armaments, logistics, intelligence support, among other products. Furthermore, the United States currently has troops deployed in Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and elsewhere throughout the region, along with the ongoing air war against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). In the event of a war between Israel and Hezbollah, potentially including Iran, it would take incredible diplomatic and military maneuvering to keep the United States directly out of the conflict.

The true course of any conflict is difficult to predict, but Washington should consider the possibility Iran may attempt to distract American support for Israel by threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz. By creating it crisis on the opposite end of the Middle East, Iran is not so much banking on forcing the United States to reduce support for Israel, but to overstretch its commitments, and create political and strategic costs the American people may not be willing to bear, given the generally controversial nature of the U.S.-Israeli relationship. Once more, the importance of narratives emergesthreatening Strait closure mounts pressure on the White House to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict, due to the dread and uncertainty portending a U.S.-Iran clash would conjure.

Once again, however, blockading Hormuz proves an ineffective move if the United States is willing to counter Irans provocations. This means Iran is more likely to respond with low-intensity, deniable warfare by utilizing cyberwarfare its deep roster of militias and terrorist groups. Be it Lebanons Hezbollah, Gazas Hamas, or Iraqs Popular Mobilization Forces, the Ayatollah is likely to call upon these players long before seriously considering closing the Strait of Hormuz. Hezbollah, in particular, is among the most well-connected of terrorist groups in the world, possessing links with Central and South American drug cartels. A worst-case scenario would involve Hezbollah exploiting these connections to carry out terrorism on American soil. At the very least, it can be expected that Iranian-backed militias like the PMU can be used to attack U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria as the anti-ISIL campaign continues. This would force the United States/coalition to contemplate escalating their involvement in the multiple civil wars in the region, or, to their obvious detriment, refrain from retaliation.

Conclusion

Barring further developments, this latest threat from Tehran to close the Strait of Hormuz will likely pass without incident. It will, however, create the potential for close encounters between U.S. and Iranian naval forces in the region, leaving open a window of heightened risk of miscalculation. Furthermore, the likelihood of a war between Hezbollah and possibly Iran continues to grow by the day. If or when that war happens, the United States and the coalition will find it difficult to stay out of the line of fire.

Edward Chang is a freelance defense, military, and foreign-policy writer. His writing has appeared in the National Interest and War Is Boring.

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Tokyo (AFP) - The sky is no longer the limit for lovers looking for unusual ways to commemorate their nuptials, with a Japanese company now offering to blast commemorative wedding plaques into space.

Warpspace, a start-up based in Tsukuba City outside Tokyo, is introducing the new service in partnership with a local hotel popular for wedding banquets.

For about 30,000 yen ($270), newly-weds marrying at the hotel will be able to emboss their names and design elements on 16-by-eight-millimetre (one-fifth of a square inch) titanium plates that will be loaded onto a tiny satellite.

The satellite will be taken up to the International Space Station on a supply ship, and then released by astronauts.

Customers will receive photos of the craft carrying their plaques as it swirls among the stars, Warpspace chief executive Toshihiro Kameda told AFP.

"Space trips are not common yet but couples can send up plaques that carry their affections," Kameda said.

"I want them to spread their happiness across the sky."

The company aims to make space more accessible to ordinary people, he said.

"We want to make space enjoyable and usable."

The satellite launch is not expected until next year, but the company will soon start taking orders from couples tying the knot.

And while love may last forever, the commemorative plaques won't.

The satellite is expected to stay in space for one to two years, and will eventually burn up in the earth's atmosphere when it comes down.
By Anna Mehler Paperny and Danya Hajjaji TORONTO (Reuters) - The man accused of fatally shooting two people and wounding 13 others on a bustling Toronto street struggled with severe mental illness, his family said on Monday as police sought a motive in the rampage. Less than a day after a 10-year-old girl and 18-year-old woman were killed, the suspect was identified by the independent Special Investigations Unit (SIU) as Faisal Hussain, a 29-year-old Toronto resident. He was found dead shortly after the shooting, authorities said. "We do not know why this happened," Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders told reporters on Monday, adding he would not speculate about the gunman's motive. "It's way too early to rule out anything." The suspect, armed with a handgun, opened fire at 10 p.m. on Sunday on a stretch of Danforth Avenue filled with restaurants and family-friendly attractions in an area of east Toronto known as the Greektown neighborhood, the SIU said. It was the second deadly act of mass violence this year in Canada's most populous city. In April, a driver deliberately plowed his white Ryder rental van into a lunch-hour crowd, killing 10 people and injuring 15 along a roughly mile-long (1.6-km) stretch of sidewalk thronged with pedestrians. "We are utterly devastated by the incomprehensible news that our son was responsible for the senseless violence and loss of life," Hussain's family wrote in a statement, adding he suffered from severe mental illness as well as from "psychosis and depression his entire life." "While we did our best to seek help for him throughout his life of struggle and pain, we could never imagine that this would be his devastating and destructive end," the statement said. 'DEVASTATED' Police did not identify the two people killed by the gunman. Local politician Nathaniel Erskine-Smith confirmed the 18-year-old victim was Reese Fallon, a recent high school graduate who planned to study nursing. "The family is devastated," Erskine-Smith said in a statement, adding that family members had asked for privacy while they mourn a young woman who was "smart, passionate and full of energy." The gunman exchanged fire with police, fled and was later found dead, according to the SIU, which investigates deaths and injuries involving police. The suspect had a gunshot wound, authorities said, but they would not elaborate on the circumstances or cause of his death. An autopsy on the suspect will be conducted on Tuesday, SIU spokeswoman Monica Hudon said. On Monday evening, Toronto police were executing a search warrant at an apartment in a densely populated neighborhood in east Toronto, where the suspect lived. A large part of Danforth Avenue reopened for business, after police completed their forensic search of the crime site. Hours after the fatal shooting, in an apparently unrelated incident, a man with a knife was arrested during a military ceremony on Parliament Hill in Canada's capital, Ottawa. The Defense Ministry said no one was injured and gave no further details. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on Twitter on Monday: "The people of Toronto are strong, resilient and brave - and well be there to support you through this difficult time." GUN PROBLEM Toronto Mayor John Tory told reporters the city of 2.8 million residents had a gun problem, with weapons too readily available to too many people. "Why does anyone in this city need to have a gun at all?" he asked in an address to city councilors early on Monday. Bill Blair, Canada's newly appointed minister of border security and organized crime, who has been given the job of tackling gun violence, met with Tory on Monday afternoon. To own a gun in Canada, an individual must apply for a license, pass a background check and pass a firearm safety test. Guns must be kept locked and unloaded and can only be legally carried outside the home with a special permit. Handguns and other restricted firearms require passing an additional course. Canada's crime rate rose by 1 percent in 2017, the third consecutive annual increase, according to Statistics Canada. The murder rate jumped by 7 percent, due largely to killings in British Columbia and Quebec, while crime involving guns grew by 7 percent. Toronto, despite a murder rate lower than that of large U.S. cities, is grappling with a sharp rise in gun violence as gun deaths jumped to 26, up 53 percent so far this year from the same period in 2017. The number of shootings has risen 13 percent. Toronto has deployed about 200 police officers since July 20 in response to the recent spate in shootings, which city officials have blamed on gang violence. (Reporting by Anna Mehler Paperny and Danya Hajjaji in Toronto; Additional reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa and Mark Hosenball; Writing by Denny Thomas; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Peter Cooney)
Taipei (AFP) - Taiwan accused China of dragging sport into politics Tuesday after a multi-million-dollar international youth event due to be held on the island next year was suspended.

It comes as Beijing ramps up military and diplomatic pressure on self-ruling democratic Taiwan, which it sees as part of its territory to be brought back into the fold.

According to Taiwan sports officials, members of the East Asian Olympic Committee (EAOC) voted in a meeting in Beijing Tuesday to revoke Taichung city's right to host the first-ever East Asian Youth Games in 2019.

Taiwan voted for the games to continue as planned, while Japan abstained. The other members of the committee -- China, South Korea, North Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, and Mongolia -- voted for the suspension, according to Taiwanese officials.

Taiwan's presidential office said the EAOC had made the "wrong decision" and accused China of bullying.

The Taichung city government expressed indignation, saying it had already invested Tw$670 million ($21.9 million) to build facilities for the games.

The decision comes a day after gay rights activists in Taiwan accused China of pressuring organisers of the Gay Games to bar the island's national flag at next month's competition in Paris.

China is particularly sensitive to Taiwan's use of names, emblems and flags at international events.

These sensitivities -- backed up by Beijing's clout on the world stage -- mean Taiwan is forced to compete as "Chinese Taipei" at the Olympics and a host of other international sports competitions.

Taiwan's Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee said Tuesday it believed the axing of the youth games was linked to Beijing's anger over a campaign by NGOs and some leading local athletes for a referendum on whether the island should join the 2020 Tokyo Olympics under the name "Taiwan", not "Chinese Taipei".

The EAOC and the Olympic Council of Asia were not immediately reachable for comment.

Story continues

Relations between Taipei and Beijing have deteriorated since President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan's independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party took office two years ago, as her government refuses to recognise the island as a part of "one China".

Beijing has cut off official communication with Tsai's government.

Under pressure from Beijing, a growing number of international airlines and companies have recently changed their website classifications of Taiwan to "Taiwan, China" or "Chinese Taipei".

China has also poached four of Taiwan's few remaining official diplomatic allies since Tsai came to power.
We're nearing the end of the current console generation, which means rumors of all-new next-gen consoles are starting to pile up. Fallout fans get ready to jump into the wasteland a little early if you pre-order Fallout 76. Players will be able to get in on the action in October. And finally, Nintendo is cracking down on pirates who make ROMs of classic games available online for free.
By Tom Hals

(Reuters) - The U.S. government urged a federal judge on Tuesday to allow the quick deportation of immigrant parents once they are reunited with their children, rejecting a request by a civil rights group that said parents needed time to assess legal options.

The government is facing a Thursday court-ordered deadline to reunite around 2,500 migrant children that officials separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexican border as part of the Trump Administration's "zero tolerance" toward illegal immigration.

President Donald Trump ended the family separation practice in late June after video footage of children sitting in cages and audio of wailing kids sparked international outrage.

U.S. Judge Dana Sabraw in San Diego, who ordered last month that the government had to reunite the children, will consider the request to delay deportations at a Tuesday hearing.

The request was made by the American Civil Liberties Union which has argued that parents facing final removal orders should not be deported for at least a week after being reunited with their children.

The rights group said the time was necessary for the parents to consider the legal options for their children, who might be better off remaining in the United States to pursue asylum. Most of the parents fled violence in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

Parents with a final order of removal already get 48 hours to decide if they want to be reunified and return home as a family, or leave their child in the United States, the government said in a court filing on Tuesday.

The government also said Sabraw lacks the authority to block the government from carrying out a removal order.

David Jennings, a Department of Homeland Security official, said housing families costs the government $319 per person daily.

"Each additional day delay in removal would not only deplete limited taxpayer resources, but they also extend aliens time in detention," Jennings said in a court filing.

Story continues

As of Monday, at least 879 parents had been reunited, according to a joint Monday court filing by the government and the ACLU. However, another 463 parents have been deported without their children, and it was unclear when those families will be reunited.

The government reunited children under five earlier this month, although it missed a court-ordered deadline for doing so.

The reunification process has been marred by disarray within government agencies and difficulty tracking adults and children in detention.

(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Sue Horton, Lisa Shumaker, Noeleen Walder and Susan Thomas)
The High Court of Justice heard two petitions Monday by same-sex couples who adopted children and asked the court to recognize both parents in their child's birth certificate.

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In his response to a petition by a gay couple, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit was in favor of accepting the parents' request, saying that failing to recognize both adoptive parents of the same gender in a child's birth certificate "hurts equality and does not serve a worthy purpose."

According to Mandelblit, this is a legal issue and not a social one."We are not dealing with single-sex couples' adoption rights, since it was made legal in 2008 on the basis of Mr. Meni Mazuz'sIsrael's attorney general at the timeinterpretation of the adoption law," Mandelblit explained. "We are only dealing with the registration of same-sex couples on the birth certificate."

LGBT activists outside the courtroom (Photo: Roi Neuman)

Mandelblit even noted that "not allowing the registration of both parents may harm a minor whose well-being is of a major concern, as well as the parent who will not be registered as such in the birth certificate. This is unjustified."

Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, meanwhile, took the opposite stance, noting that "two fathers should not be registered on the birth certificate because the certificate's purpose is to reflect the factual situation at the time of birth. In addition, the certificate's form only allows room for the names of the mother and father."

Deri added that "this is a matter relating to the family structure in Israel, there is no violation of equality and there is no practical purpose to the petitioners' request, except for the symbolic recognition of their relationship."

Interior Minister Aryeh Deri (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)

Attorney Hagai Kalai, who represents the fathers alongside attorney Daniela Yaakobi, said: "The attorney general's position is great news, for the first time the state recognizes that the interior minister's policy is discriminatory and unacceptable."

The attorney added that Mandelblit also chose "not to order the Interior Ministry to stop discriminating against same-sex couples. Instead, he only pointed that out and rolled the hot potato towards the court."

"Let's hope that the court will indeed do what the attorney general is too afraid of doing, and will allow the registration of both parents of the same sex on birth certificates," the lawyer concluded.

'If I were a man, I'd only have to come and sign my name'

Another couple seeking the High Court's assistance are Orly and Ravit. Their story began about two years ago after the birth of their son, when the state refused to register Orly as his mother without a parenting order from a Family Court.

"If I were a man, I would just have to go to the Interior Ministry's registry clerk, write my name on a piece of paper, and that's it," Orly lamented.

The same-sex couple Ravit and Orly with their son ( )

"When it comes to an additional mother, like me, the state insists on standing idly by and sends us to court to issue an adoption order or parenting orders or any other procedure," she explained.

According to Orly, "this policy is discriminatory. First, there are many heterosexual couples where the father is not the biological parent, and no one sends him to court. Second, the state's position is consistent and is present on all fronts of the LGBT fightthey consider LGBT families to be unnatural. The time has come to move forward from this outdated ignorant position."

Ravit said that this situation makes life difficult for them. "Beyond the emotional difficulties, Orly cannot fly abroad with the child, she cannot take him to the hospital, heaven forbid, she cannot give permission to photograph or film him for the interviews we agreed to do."

The demonstration outside the court (Photo: Roi Neuman)

"Overall, it's important to understand that if something happens to me, God forbid, Orly has no right to her child, who she has been lovingly taking care of for two years," Ravit said.

"It is an injustice that needs to be corrected, and I hope it will be corrected today," Ravit concluded.

A representative of the state, Attorney Nahi Benor, insisted that a court's parenting order is required before the two mothers can be registered.

Justice Neal Hendel suggested that the issue be discussed outside the courtroom: "Once, to get an order of inheritanceand I'm not comparing between the two of coursethe petitioners came to the courts, until a new system was put in place according to which the petitioners submit their request to someone outside the courtroom who examines it."

"If the examiner finds the petition to be acceptable," Hendel added, "he would grant it. If not, the petitioners will go to court. It is possible that in many cases, there is no need for judicial proceedings."

Outside the High Court on Monday (Photo: Roi Neuman)

According to Ravit and Orly's attorney, Hagai Kalai, "Any assistance is a blessing, and if the intention is that the Interior Ministry's procedure will include a clause regarding the statement of a parent who received a sperm donationa statement that is identical to that of other parentsthis is what we asked for."

"However, if the judge's intention was to prolong legal proceedings, then we disagree. Men who have children using sperm donation were never forced to make use of a parenting order in court," the lawyer concluded.

At the end of the court hearing, Ravit and Orly were excited. "The court's tone was different from what we heard in previous hearings," Orly said.

"We really hope for the best and we will have to wait for a verdict ... It seems that the judges understood that the state's position has no place, and we hope that this will be reflected in the verdict," Ravit added.

"We are only asking for equal rights," Ravit concluded.

During the hearing, about 50 activists from the LGBT community demonstrated outside the Supreme Court.

A member of the "Pink Panthers" protest group, who attended the demonstration, said that "Orly and Ravit are entering the courtroom not with the dozens activists outside, but with the backing of the 100,000 people who came to the LGBT demonstrations on Sunday, and with the overwhelming majority of Jewish people who support full equal rights for the LGBT community.

"The fact that the state forces us to come to court time after time after time for a civil right is a badge of shame for the Israeli government, the Knesset, the State of Israel," concluded the activists.

LGBT Association Chairperson Chen Arieli said that "it was disappointing to hear the state's position in the important and decisive hearing regarding the High Court of Justice's registration order. If we had any hope that the mass outcry would soften the state's position, we were proven wrong.

LGBT Association Chairperson Chen Arieli (Photo: Guy Cohen)

"In the face of harsh questions from High Court justices, who made it clear that the current situation cannot continue, the state chose to stand firm in its position and continue the ugly and vicious discrimination against LGBT families."

"We look forward to the Supreme Court ruling in the coming weeks in the hope that it will end the discrimination against LGBT families," Arieli concluded.
Some 200 settlers returned to the evacuated settlement of Sa-Nur in the northern Samaria overnight Monday to mark the 13th anniversary of the evacuation.

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The settlers were also joined by MKs Shuli Mualem-Rafaeli and Bezalel Smotrich from Bayit Yehudi.

Settlers from the evacuated settlement of Homesh were behind the move, which was not coordinated with security forces.

(Photo: Elisha Ben-Kimon)

"Organizing this with the families and the logistics required advanced preparations," Gal continued. "When you go with families to a place that has no electricity or water, there's need for a lot of preparations."

Whole families came to Sa-Nur together. Hanna Goldmintz, who came with her seven children, explained that "this is an educational act, and that is why I chose to come with my children. This is part of our actions to make up for the disgrace of the evacuation that was done here."

(Photo: Elisha Ben-Kimon)

Bayit Yehudi MK Shuli Mualem-Rafaeli noted that "Unlike Homesh, which is far more accessible, no one has come to Sa-Nur in a long time."

"Over the past year and a half, we have been pushing for the cancelation of that Disengagement Law that was imposed on the northern Samaria, which unfortunately has gone up to the Ministerial Committee again and again and has failed to pass due to a veto by the prime minister," Mualem-Rafaeli explained.

"As we mark 13 years to the expulsion, to the complete darkness cast over the Jewish settlement that was destroyed in the communities in the northern Samaria, we are turning the light back on. We're still committed to this place," she added.

(Photo: Elisha Ben-Kimon)

Her fellow Bayit Yehudi member Bezalel Smotrich asserted that "Mistakes must be remedied. There isn't a child who doesn't understand this expulsion has been foolishness."

"The discussion is with the prime minister and the defense minister. The answer as to why this law hasn't been canceled yet is at the hands of Netanyahu," Smotrich accused. "We already learned that when public pressure is created, we eventually achieve the goal, as we did with the Regulation Law ."

The settlement of Sa-Nur was evacuated in 2005 as part of the Gaza Disengagement plan along with other northern Samaria settlements Ganim, Kadim and Homesh.

In the 13 years that have passed since, the evacuated families have been trying to cancel the Disengagement Law in order to return to the northern Samaria.

The settlers organize arrivals of families to the area from time to time in an effort to send a message to the government that they intend to return to their homes.
The call came on Saturday night. In the raging war zone that is southwestern Syria, with enemy forces on the march, the 98 White Helmets volunteers brought their spouses, children and a personal bag each. A total of 421 people massed at two collection points where they were to make their crossing to safety.

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By the time they crossed, they were 422. One woman went into labor, requiring an emergency C-section. Her son, Nairouz, came into the world in an open field under the darkness of night just short of the frontier with the Israeli Golan Heights.

It was just one moment of drama in a complicated international rescue operation to extract the Syrian volunteer rescuers who work in opposition areas through their country's bitter enemy Israel by bus to a temporary haven in Jordan.

It was a nail-biting trip to a crossing over one of the most tightly sealed frontiers in the world. Up until the last minute, those on the ground were uncertain the operation would go through.

Another nearly 400 people were meant to be pulled out as well. Most didn't make it in time to the assembly points, unable to go through roads that were closing fast by the advancing Syrian forces on one side and the expanding Islamic State militants on the other.

In all, it took about six hours to complete the evacuation, according to a person close to the operation who agreed to discuss the details on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

"It was a 'Hail Mary' operation," said the person familiar with the evacuation. "The only place of safety was through their evacuation" to Jordan.

The operation was conceived by Britain, Germany and Canada and supported by Israel, Jordan, the United States, and the UN It took an unprecedented level of agreement and coordinationsomething international players have rarely demonstrated during eight years of war in Syria that have pitted world powers against one another.

The rescue of the besieged White Helmets was not without controversy.

It raised questions about the fate of 3,000 other White Helmets still operating in opposition-held northern Syria, living with other 1 million other displaced civilians in areas where the government is expected to target next.

The Syrian government denounced the evacuation as a "criminal process" that "smuggled terrorists" whom it blamed for undermining the country's security for years. A Syrian Foreign Ministry official repeated his government's accusations that the White Helmets staged and executed chemical attacks to blame Damascus.

The White Helmets is an organization of volunteers that since 2013 took on the task of rescuing the survivors and salvaging the dead in war-ravaged held areas, whether digging them from under the rubble of bombed buildings or pulling victims of chemical attacks from site. It has had Western backing and funding, and its work brought it a Nobel Prize nomination. The government waged a virulent campaign depicting them as agents and terrorists because its volunteers helped document atrocities by government forces and their allies.

In five years of operations, over 3,000 volunteers saved more than 115,000 lives, according to the White Helmets. The cost for the group has been high, with one in four of its volunteers wounded or killed.

The plan was conceived in Europe and Canada about two weeks ago.

The Syrian government offensive in the southwest, backed by Russia, unfolded in mid-June. Though it condemned the assault, Washington, which along with Jordan had backed armed groups in the area and sponsored the White Helmets, signaled it wouldn't help stop the advances.

By early July, government forces began negotiating surrender deals with armed groups and civilians in villages and towns that were fast crumbling under the assault. The negotiations allowed those who refused to live under government controlwhether armed fighters, civilians or activiststo evacuate to the north.

Except for the White Helmets, said the person close to the planning.

Government officials and Russian representatives said the White Helmets were "a red line" who should be "eradicated," the source said.

This threat was particularly acute, he said, because during previous evacuations from fallen opposition areas elsewhere, nearly a dozen White Helmets volunteers were specifically targeted, pulled from buses, tortured and filmed making false confessions about being paid agents. They were even filmed with weapons to support the government's narrative they work closely with the armed groups.

"It was a pattern of behavior," he said.

The discussions about the White Helmets' safety started between Britain, Germany and Canada before the NATO summit on July 9. At the summit, there were leader-to-leader meetings over the issue.

Evacuating them through Jordan quickly became impossible as government forces advanced, seizing a vital border crossing from the rebels and then deploying along the border. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he agreed to let them cross through Israel, after an appeal from US President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Finding where the volunteers were in the fast-changing battlefield was a challenge. Conscious not to raise expectations, the planners only asked the volunteers whether they would accept an opportunity to evacuate through Israel.

Some declined, the source said, fearing they had no guarantees where they would end up. The leadership of the White Helmets was unanimous in accepting, despite the likelihood the government would point to the Israel route in propaganda against them.

"The political ramification had to be secondary to saving what is to be saved," the source said.

There was an unexpected twist: Advances by an affiliate of the Islamic State group. As rebel forces retreated and surrendered in many villages between Daraa and Quneitra provinces, it was the IS affiliatenot government forcesthat moved in.

This changed the landscape again, blocking some escape routes to the evacuation points.

One civil defense volunteer said before Saturday night that many of his colleagues were locked in areas seized by the government and the militants.

"In our minds, there were no guarantees this evacuation was going to happen until it happened," the source said.

The small window was quickly closing. On the night of July 21, the call came.

The evacuees congregated at two points in the northern end of the frontier.

Again, there was a problem.

A wife of one volunteer went into labor as the call was issued. "We were worried she won't make it," the source said.

An emergency C-section was performed on the Syrian side in a field near the frontier. "In a couple of hours, she was evacuated to the other side with a healthy baby boy"Nairouz.

The evacuees crossed on foot and were received on the other side by Israeli soldiers, who verified their identities and took them in buses to one of the two crossings into Jordan.

"The rescuers were rescued," the source said.

Germany, Canada and Britain said they will resettle the White Helmets and their families within three months. The US and Jordan will not take any in.

The planners are still in touch with the volunteers who didn't make it out, advising them on what to do and where to be safe.

It is unclear if a similar operation can be reproduced. As for the hundred other volunteers in northern Syria, the source said the geography and landscape are different, with Turkish forces present in the area and far more options than the southwest, with firmly sealed frontiers from all sides.

In a statement Monday night, the White Helmets thanked "all governments who contributed" to the evacuation and asked the international communityif it won't act to end Syrian offensivesto "do more to help the hundreds of thousands remaining in southern Syria."

But the international players appear unlikely to pull together that will again.

"A great many factors and partners had to interact in the right way," German Foreign Ministry spokesman Christofer Burger said.

Pressed whether the action set a precedent for further world help in evacuations, he said: "The factors that made it possible in this case to help in this way people who faced an acute threat, a very specific group, cannot be reproduced at will."
The Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that in light of major fires raging in Greece, the Prime Minister's Office, the National Security Council and the Israeli Ambassador to Athens, Irit Ben-Abba, have offered their Greek counterparts any necessary assistance they might need.

The Greek authorities said the fires are currently under control.

The Greek authorities thanked Israel for the offer, said the official statement.
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced the Kerem Shalom border crossing will be partially reopened at midday Tuesday, following a decrease in incendiary balloons being flown by Hamas from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

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While gas and fuel will be allowed into the Gaza Strip in addition to food and medicine, some restrictions remain in the crossing: No other goods, including construction materials, will be allowed in, and there is also a ban on the export of goods from Gaza.

The move is the result of the latest ceasefire agreement between Israel and terror organizations in Gaza.

A short time before Lieberman's announcement, the IDF attacked an incendiary balloon squad in northern Gaza. No injuries were reported.

The crossing was initially closed eight days ago due to the escalation on the southern border and the continuation of arson terror caused by incendiary balloons flown into Israel.

According to a statement from the defense minister's office, the decision was made in light of not only the drop in incendiary balloons being flown from the strip but also due to a drop in violent, Hamas-organized activities along the border fence.

The statement noted that the number of kites and balloons carrying firebombs into Israeli territory had been reduced but not totally eliminated.

It said the crossing could return to full activity soon "conditioned on the full cessation of fire-balloon launches and friction on the fence.

The incendiary balloons have sparked hundreds of fires since April and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage.

Palestinians in Gaza see the kites and balloons as legitimate resistance against Israel's more than 10-year blockade.

The partial reopening follows urgent warnings from United Nations officials that emergency fuel supplies are running low in the Gaza Strip and that the shortage is starting to affect hospitals and water sanitation.

The coastal enclve suffers from a severe lack of electricity and relies on fuel-powered generators during outages that last hours at a time.

On Monday, Lieberman held a situation assessment at the Kerem Shalom crossing, saying that Saturday was the calmest day on the southern border since March 30. He stressed that Hamas is responsible for the escalation and emphasized that the crossing would become fully operational only in the event of complete cessation of arson terror and violent incidents along the fence.

"Zero friction on the fence, zero rockets and zero incendiary balloons," exclaimed the defense minister.

"We completed our assessment regarding the transfer of goods through Kerem Shalom. The residents of Gaza must understand that as long as there are incendiary balloons and fires, things wont go back to normal for them  the key is quiet, calm, zero rockets or, god forbid, gunfire," Lieberman concluded.
Iran will respond with equal countermeasures if the United States tries to block its oil exports, the foreign ministry in Tehran said on Tuesday.

US officials are stepping up diplomatic efforts to pressure countries to stop importing Iranian oil.

"If America wants to take a serious step in this direction it will definitely be met with a reaction and equal countermeasures from Iran," foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA.
ISTANBUL - Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday an Israeli law declaring that only Jews have the right of self determination legitimises oppression and shows that Israel is a fascist and racist country.

In a speech to ruling AK Party lawmakers, Erdogan also said Israel had shown itself to be a "terror state" by attacking Palestinians with tanks and artillery and that the spirit of Adolf Hitler had re-emerged among some Israeli administrators.
ISTANBUL - Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Israel's Nationality Law, which declares that only Jews have the right of self determination, legitimizes oppression and shows that Israel is a fascist and racist country.

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Speaking to members of his ruling AK Party in parliament, Erdogan said the law showed Israel was "the most Zionist, fascist and racist country in the world," and called on the international community to mobilize against Israel.

"The Jewish nation-state law passed in the Israeli parliament shows this country's real intentions. It legitimizes all unlawful actions and oppression," Erdogan said.

Turkish President Erdogan (Photo: EPA)

"There is no difference between Hitler's Aryan race obsession and Israel's mentality. Hitler's spirit has re-emerged among administrators in Israel," he said.

Erdogan said Israel had shown itself to be a "terror state" by attacking Palestinians with tanks and artillery, adding that the move would "drown the region and world in blood and suffering".

Erdogan also warned the move would lead the region and the world to "blood, fire and pain" and promised to stand with Palestinians.

A spokesman for Erdogan already condemned the legislation on Thursday, denouncing it as racist and accusing Israel of trying to form "an apartheid state."

He called on the international community "to react to this injustice happening in front of the entire world's eyes."

Turkey and Israel have long been at loggerheads over Israel's policy towards the Palestinians and Jerusalem's status. Erdogan has called for a summit of Muslim leaders twice in the past six months after US President Donald Trump decided to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Condemning the law, presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin criticized what he called "this racist move that amounts to erasing the Palestinian people from their homeland physically and legally."

In a series of tweets, Kalin also repeated Ankara's long-standing objections to the construction of Jewish settlements on what he said was "occupied" territory. "We reject the Israeli government's efforts to form an apartheid state," he said.

Turkey's foreign ministry also criticiszd the law. "Identifying the right to self-determination as a right given only to Jews is the result of an outdated and discriminatory mentality," it said in a statement.

This law "tramples on the principles of universal law and disregards the rights of the Palestinian citizens of Israel," the Turkish foreign ministry added.

The largely symbolic law, which passed in the Knesset on Wednesday, stipulates that Israel is the historic homeland of the Jewish people, and they have an exclusive right to national self-determination in it.

It also strips Arabic of its designation as an official language alongside Hebrew, downgrading it to a special status that enables its continued use within Israeli institutions.
Some 20 protesters from the "Disabled Panthers" group blocked train tracks in the Rishpon area, halting train movement between Tel Aviv and Haifa for an hour and a half on Tuesday.

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Disabled persons receive a basic stipend of NIS 3,270 a month and by January 2021 their stipend will increase to NIS 3,700 under a law approved by the Knesset half a year ago.

The protesters demand the stipend to be equal to minimum wage, which currently stands at NIS 5,300.

(Photo: Disabled Panther)

"I worked my entire life with all of the illnesses I have and with three types of cancer and paid the National Insurance Institute. Today, I get NIS 2,833, and with that I'm supposed to live," said Tzeira Nachmias, one of the protesters. "No more. We won't accept crumbs. We'll take down this vicious government."

"This is the opening shot," another protester said. "This morning we launched the summer protests and we're inviting everyone to join us. There are 2 million citizens living under the poverty line, and this will end. We will force this government to its knees until it understands."

(Photo: Disabled Panthers)

But not all disabled groups support the renewed protest. Alex Friedman, the head of the "Disabled, Not Half a Person" group, said that "the protesters have gone off the rails. The demand for disability stipends as high as minimum wage is just, and we understand the increasing despair among some groups of protesters, but alongside that a protest, just as it may be, must not endanger lives."

Roi Rubinstein and Raanan Ben Zur contributed to this story.
The Syrian army has captured some areas held by Islamic State fighters in a region of the southwest near the border with the Israeli Golan Heights, state media said on Tuesday.

Engineering units were sweeping the areas taken in the Yarmouk basin region for mines and booby traps, it reported, citing a military source.

Recapturing the Yarmouk basin from Islamic State would bring all of southwest Syria, long a crucible of the uprising against President Bashar Assad, back under his control along with the entire frontiers with Israel and Jordan.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday rebuked Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, accusing him of massacring Syrians and Kurds after Erdogan strongly criticized Israel.

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Erdogan said the new Nationality Law , which declares that only Jews have the right of self-determination in Israel, legitimized oppression and showed that Israel is a fascist and racist country.

Netanyahu replied: "Erdogan is massacring the Syrians and the Kurds and is jailing thousands of his own people. This great democrat's criticism of the Nationality Law is the greatest compliment it could be paid."

Erdogan; Netanyahu (Photo: Reuters, MCT)

Speaking to members of his ruling AK Party in parliament, Erdogan said the law showed Israel was "the most Zionist, fascist and racist country in the world," and called on the international community to mobilize against Israel.

"The Jewish nation-state law passed in the Israeli parliament shows this country's real intentions. It legitimises all unlawful actions and oppression," Erdogan said.

"There is no difference between Hitler's Aryan race obsession and Israel's mentality. Hitler's spirit has re-emerged among administrators in Israel," he said.

Erdogan said Israel had shown itself to be a "terror state" by attacking Palestinians with tanks and artillery, adding that the move would "drown the region and world in blood and suffering".

The law, backed by Israel's right-wing government, passed through the Knesset on Wednesday after months of political argument.

"This is a defining moment in the annals of Zionism and the history of the state of Israel," Netanyahu had told the Knesset.

Turkey and Israel, former allies, expelled each other's top diplomats in May during a row over clashes in which dozens of Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces on the Gaza border. However, the two sides continue to trade with one another.

The two countries have long been at loggerheads over Israel's policy towards the Palestinians and Jerusalem's status. Erdogan has called for a summit of Muslim leaders twice in the past six months after US President Donald Trump decided to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
The IDF shot down a Syrian fighter jet that entered Israeli airspace from the Golan Heights border on Tuesday afternoon. Damascus confirmed one of its jets was shot down, but insisted it was taking part in operations against rebels over Syrian territory.

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The Israeli military said it monitored the advance of the Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet and shot it down with a pair of Patriot missiles after it penetrated Israeli airspace by about two kilometers (1.2 miles).

The plane apparently crashed inside Syria, with Sky News Arabic reporting it went down in the Yarmouk area.

Trails of smoke from the two Patriot missiles (:  , )

X

"It was shot down and it crashed," IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus told reporters. "We do not have any information so far about the pilots. I do not know of any reports of parachutes being spotted, and we do not know if any pilots have been retrieved."

He confirmed that the plane was Syrian, not Russian. "The only thing we know about the aircraft is that it crashed, most likely in the southern part of the Syrian Golan Heights," he said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also issued a statement on the on the downing of the jet. "Our air defense systems identified a Syrian Air Force jet that took off from the T-4 Syrian Air Force base and penetrated Israeli airspace. This is a gross violation of the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement with Syria," he said. "I have reiterated and made clear that we will not accept any such violation. We will not accept any such penetration of, or spillover into, our territory, neither on the ground nor in the air. Our forces acted appropriately. We insist that the Syrians strictly abide by the Separation of Forces Agreement between us and them."

A Syrian military official told the state news agency SANA that "The Israeli enemy confirms its support for the armed terrorist groups and targets one of our warplanes, which was striking their groups in the area of Saida on the edge of the Yarmouk Valley in Syrian airspace."

The same source told Russian news agency Sputnik that one of the pilots of the jet, Omran Muri, was killed when the aircraft was shot down, while the fate of the other remains unknown. The source insisted the plane did not infiltrate Israel and was downed over Syrian territory.

Trails of smoke from Patriot missiles fired at the Syrian jet (Photo: Shimon Elbaz)

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also confirmed the jet had been shot down, noting "We don't know what happened to the crew."

According to the IDF, the Syrian fighter jeta Sukhoi Su-24 or an Su-22took off from the T4 base, which is being used by Iranian forces in Syria and was attacked by Israel several times in the past, and "was advancing towards Israel at a relatively high speed."

The IDF also said it was in contact with the Russians during the incident.

Sukhoi fighter jets

As a result of the jet's infiltration, rocket alert sirens blared through the Golan Heights shortly after 1:30pm in the Golan Regional Council, in the Jordan Valley and in the city of Katzrin.

Syrian forces have been battling rebels and Islamic State militants at the frontier with Israel in recent weeks.

Tuesday marked the first time government forces reached the border fence with the UN's Disengagement Observer Force at the edge of the Israeli Golan Heights.

The IDF said that "Since morning hours, there has been an increase in the internal fighting in Syria, including an increase in the activity of the Syrian Air Force."

"During the day, we identified increased aerial activity in the Quneitra area and in the southern Syrian Golan and sent messages through several channels and in several languages about Israel's security interests, according to which we will not tolerate violations of the 1974 Disengagement Agreements," the army added in a statement.

Syrian fighter jets bombing rebel targets earlier Tuesday (Photo: AFP)

"The IDF is highly prepared to identify any unusual activity threatening our territory and is also prepared for ground and aerial fire," the IDF statement concluded.

This is the second time a Syrian battle plane has been shot down in the last 30 years. Previously, the Israeli Air Force shot down a Syrian fighter jet in September 2014.

Minutes before the reported shootdown on Tuesday, Syria's state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV was broadcasting footage from the fence demarcating the UN buffer zone between Syrian and Israeli forces inside the Golan Heights. A UN observer post could be seen just on the other side of the fence. The camera showed an Israeli post 400 meters (440 yards) away.

It is the first time government forces have taken up positions along the frontier since an uprising against President Bashar Assad swept through the country in 2011. Islamic State militants later seized territory from rebels along the frontier region.

Israel used its David's Sling air defense system for the first time on Monday morning in an effort to intercept 2 large Syrian surface-to-surface SS-21 missiles fired as part of ongoing civil war and appeared to be heading towards Israel.

However, one interceptor received an abort order and self-destructed in mid-flight, while the second apparently missed its targets, which hit inside Syrian territory.

David's Sling, which was declared operational over a year ago, is part of Israels multi-layered missile defense program and operates in the layer above the Iron Dome and below the Arrow systems.

The Security Cabinet is set to approve on Sunday a new NIS 30 billion ($8.225 billion) plan to arm the IDF with defense weapons to thwart missile strikes amid the rising tensions on both the northern and southern fronts.

The multi-annual plan, which is expected to start in 2019 and end in late 2028, is the most expensive plan in IDF and Israeli security history.

The plan will allocate massive resources to the IDF for the protection of the entire Israeli home front from the north to the south, increasing the IDF's missile arsenal and developing and purchasing advanced defensive measures.






The meeting of some senior level Russian officials with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot in Israel on Monday suggests that the agreements reached between Netanyahu and Putin, as well as Trump and Putin, were only agreed upon in principle and far from being concrete enough in order to solve the future of Syria and the Golan Heights.

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What is still unclear on the strategic level is Israel's demand to prevent an Iranian establishment of a military presence. Another issue is the necessary security arrangements in light of the inevitable recapture of the Syrian Golan Heights and takeover of the Quneitra province by Assads army.

The fact that there are no detailed arrangements regarding the Golan is really troubling for Israel, which is why the IDF has recently increased activity in both the Golan Heights and in the rest of Syria.

(Photo: Haim Zach/GPO)

The goal is to make it clear to the Russians and to Assad that as long as a detailed agreement on the Golan Heights is not reached, and a deal between the Russian and the Syrians isnt struck to promise the withdrawal of the Iranian forces from SyriaIsrael will continue to interfere with Assads attempts to take full control of the Golan Heights and will respond to any violation of the 1974 separation agreements.

Israel is especially concerned by the presence of Shi'ite militias, such as Hezbollah and Iranian Revolutionary guards, among the Syrian army units that are currently advancing towards the Quneitra province and other areas in the Syrian Golan Heights. This is a direct contradiction to Putin's promise to Netanyahu, and apparently to President Trump as well, to keep Iranian forces at least 100 km from the Golan.

The fact that the Syrian army has Shi'ite militia embedded in its ranks is well known to the Israeli intelligence, and apparently it was the reason for Netanyahu's phone call to Putin a few days ago, and perhaps, even for the firing of David's Sling interceptor missiles on Monday.

The Syrian SS-21 missiles, with a relatively accurate warhead weighing half-a-ton, were apparently aimed at the ISIS enclave on the border triangle between Israel and Jordan and Syria, but the missiles trajectory indicates they might have been aimed at the Israeli territory.

The commander of the David's Sling system decided to intercept them and it can certainly be assumed that he did not have a problem receiving an approval for launching the interception, partly due to Israels assessment that the Syrians would try to avenge the attack in the alleged IDF airstrike in the country a day earlier.

Another reason might have been that it was important for Israel to once again underline that it will not allow the Syrians to violate the 1947 separation agreements, and will not allow the Iranian forces operating in the country to enter the Golan Heights territory.

The Russian promise to Israel regarding Iran was made in order to avoid Israeli intervention in Assads attempts to take full control of the Golan Heights and southern Syria along the border with Jordan, but, Israel understands that the Syrians are being deceptive, and it does not intend to ignore it.

Israel also demands that Syrian rebels from the Golan Knights group will be allowed to stay in the demilitarized zone between the Israeli and the Syrian border on the Golan Heights, but only as a civilian organization.

It also became clear to Israel that the Iranians seem to be ignoring the Russian promises and Assad has allowed them to become entrenched in his army. Therefore its safe to assume that Israel has informed the Russians that it will not allow Assad to recapture the Golan Heights, which is what has brought Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov to Tel Aviv on Monday.

(Photo: Haim Zach/GPO)

In fact, Israel is not only demanding the re-implementation of the 1974 separation agreement, but also the return of the UN forces who fled the area when the revolt against Assad began. More importantly, it wants guarantees that there will be a detailed arrangement that will prevent the Shiite militias operating under the orders of the Revolutionary Guards from approaching the Israeli border.

In addition, Israel is demanding, in principle and in practice, that no Iranian missiles or defense systems be allowed to remain in Syria, especially anti-aircraft missile systemsthat would endanger Israel's airspace and freedom in to act in the skies. Therefore, Israel demands the extraction of Iranian forces from all of Syria and just 100 kilometers from the Israeli border.

Israel has shown its willingness to agree to Assad's re-establishment of his rule throughout Syria, including the Syrian side of the Golan Heights. But only on the condition that the Iranians are forbidden from establishing a long-term military presence in Syria. This is a card that Israel will try to take advantage of.

Israel has also demanded that the Iranians must not be allowed to take control of the border crossings between Iraq and Syria, which will allow them to maintain a land corridor from Tehran through Iraq, Syria, and from there to Lebanon.

It is especially important for Israel that the Iranians and their proxies do not take control of the city of Abu Kamal (Bukhmal), located on the Euphrates river, and in fact controls the main border crossing between Iraq and Syria and the main road leading to Damascus.

All of this will not only allow the Iranians to supply weapons to Hezbollah but also to establish a unified front against Israel on Syrian soil.

This was not something that Putin was willing to promise to Netanyahu or to President Trump. The US president apparently did not understand the trick that the Russian leader played when he was told that Russia, too, wanted to remove Iran from Syria, but at the moment it is not practical.

Israel wants a promise from both the Syrians and the Russians that Iran will not be allowed to establish a military presence in Syria and will leave their stronghold in Abu-Kamal.

The arrival of the somewhat alarmed Lavrov and Chief of Staff Gerasimov on Monday attests to the fact that the Israeli threat is understood well in Moscow, because it is very important for Putin to allow Assad to take control of all of Syria in order to reach a political settlement that would end the ongoing civil war. At the sme time, Assad himself wants to recapture the Golan Heights and southwestern Syria as a symbolic act that would represent his victory.

As mentioned earlier, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Chief of Staff Eisenkot will try to take full advantage of the card theyre holding in order to reach a detailed written agreement that will be binding for all sides and will prevent a new front being established along the Syrian border similarly to the current situation in Lebanon.

This is what the State of Israel wants to prevent, and this is apparently the real reason for the talks with the Russians.
A Palestinian man who was wound in May by Israeli gunfire during protests in the Gaza Strip against the transfer of the US embassy to Jerusalem has died, the Gaza health ministry said Tuesday.

Majid Aqil, 26, was wounded in the northern Gaza Strip on May 14. At least 63 Palestinians were killed that day, the bloodiest since the 2014 Operation Protective Edge.
A Syrian military source told the Russian news agency Sputnik that one of the pilots on the Sukhoi plane intercepted by Patriot missiles had been killed.

According to the report, the Syrian pilot was identified as Colonel Umran Mare. It was further reported that the fate of the second pilot is unknown.
In a video address to the UN committee dealing with the rights of the Palestinian on Monday, UN Human Rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein criticized Israel's accountability, its recent killing of Palestinians on the Gaza border, the passing of the nationality bill, supporting settlements, and detaining Palestinian children.

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According to Zeid, the situation in Gaza has escalated dramatically in recent months with "the potential to generate threats to peace across a far broader region."

The United Nations Human Rights Council (: AFP)

Zeid, who heads the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said it is essential for all parties to cooperate with the independent, international commission of inquiry into the recent deadly events in Gaza that his office is helping to establish.

It was authorized by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council on May 18 "to advance accountability" for the killings and violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, he said.

Zeid said there are "serious concerns" that Israeli accountability mechanisms don't comply with international standards of "independence, impartiality, and effectiveness...Very few investigations ever occur."

"In the rare cases where an investigation has led to an indictment, the sentence has been extremely lenient in light of the gravity of the crime committed," Zeid claimed.

Zeid highlighted the need to address the root causes of the Gaza border demonstrations, which have resulted in the deaths of over 100 Palestinians, including 17 children, and the wounding of more than 4,100 others with live ammunition since March 30.

Demonstration on the Gaza border fence (Photo: Reuters)

In addition to "grossly inadequate living conditions" caused by Israel's blockade for the residents of Gaza, most of whom are refugees, restrictive measures have also been imposed by Egypt that have "exacerbated these conditions," the UN Human Rights chief said.

He added that the situation in Gaza may be "severely aggravated" in the coming months by the financial crisis facing the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, as a result of dramatic cuts to its budget by the Trump administration.

Zeid criticized last week's passing of the controversial nationality bill declaring the status of the State of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people.

He said that it "anchors inherent discrimination against non-Jewish communities," most notably the Arab citizens of Israel and residents of occupied east Jerusalem. He warned that it "could also further inflame tensions."

Netanyahu at the nationality bill vote (Photo: Amit Shabi)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the bill's passage a "historic moment in the history of Zionism and the history of the state of Israel," saying: "Israel is the nation state of the Jewish people, which honors the individual rights of all its citizens."

Zeid also criticized Israel's approval, planning and construction of settlements across the West Bank and east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as the capital of their future state.

He called Israel's detention of hundreds of Palestinian children, some without charge, under a system of "administrative detention," a "fundamental human rights violation."

"It should be absolutely clear that international law requires detention only be used for children as a last resort," Zeid asserted.

Gaza border fence (Photo: Reuters)

And whether they are children or adults, Zeid said, detention without trial "contravenes Israel's obligations under international law."

"An estimated 440 Palestinians are being held in 'administrative detention,' according to the latest figures," he said. "Israel should immediately charge, or release, all of them," the UN Human Rights chief concluded.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Tuesday that he officially supports Minister Ze'ev Elkin in the Jerusalem mayoral race.

"As an MK, as a minister and particularly as the minister of Jerusalem and heritage, Minister Elkin has done much for our capital and proved the city is very near and dear to his heart," Netanyahu wrote on Twitter. "I wish him great success."
UNITED NATIONS - The UN Mideast envoy said Tuesday Israel and Hamas were "minutes away" from another "devastating confrontation" in Gaza on Saturdaya clash averted after UN and Egyptian diplomatic efforts got both sides to "step back from the brink."

Nikolay Mladenov told the Security Council that he just returned from Gaza and "the situation is calming down although tensions remain" and the situation remains "perilous."

He expressed hope that "with collective efforts by all sides we can avoid another war."

But Mladenov warned that "unless we begin in earnest the crucial work required to change the current deteriorating dynamics, another explosion is almost a certainty."

He stressed that "Gazans deserve to live their lives in freedom and dignity" and progress will require de-escalation and calm, greater coordination, and financial support.
Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, referred to the Syrian plane intercepted by Patriot missiles and said: "Israel warned Syria not to violate the cease-fire agreement of 1974. We will not allow any violation of our sovereignty."

If the council "really wants to improve the situation, it should condemn Hamas," added the ambassador.
ISTANBUL - Turkey has told American officials it opposes US sanctions on Iran and is not obliged to implement them, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday.

"We do not have to adhere to the sanctions imposed on a country by another country. We don't find the sanctions right either," Cavusoglu told a news conference in Azerbaijan.

"We held meetings with the United States in Ankara and told them openly: Turkey gets oil and gas from Azerbaijan, Iran, Russia and Iraq. If I don't buy from Iran now, where am I supposed to meet that need from?" Cavusoglu said.
Croatia's President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic welcomed Israel's President Reuven Rivlin on Tuesday with a state ceremony at the capital of Zagreb, with the latter reminding her of the "dark moments" in the country during its WWII collaboration with Nazi Germany.

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The two held a small meeting at the presidential palace followed by an extended meeting with Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel, Economy Minister Eli Cohen, and their Croatian counterparts.

President Rivlin visits Croatia

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Rivlin told Grabar-Kitarovic he cherished the close and deep friendship between Israel and Croatia, the growing trade between the two countries and the increasing cooperation.

He also addressed the fate of Croatian Jews in World War II, when the Croatian government collaborated with the Nazis.

"We look together to the future, but also to the past from which we learn and which we teach. Our shared past is not always simple, and it includes quite a few dark moments, but also quite a few heroes. There are 115 Croatian Righteous Among the Nations, each a candle in the dark," he said.

President Reuven Rivlin's visit to Croatia (Amos Ben Gershom/ GPO)

President Grabar-Kitarovic added that "in our conversation, we spoke about our shared history, and about our duty to prevent these tragedies from happening again. The foundations of Croatia's democracy are based on anti-fascism, which is what led to modern Croatia."

Croatia, she continued, "views its cooperation with Israeli Holocaust memorial institutions as having great importance in preserving the memory of the victims.

"Croatia has proven time and again its commitment to the global fight against anti-Semitism and all other forms of xenophobia."

The Croatian president mentioned her 2015 visit to Israel and said that it left deep impressions on her. Rivlin's arrival in Croatia, she said, is a testament to the excellent relations between the countries.

Rivlin in his official visit to Croatia (Amos Ben Gershom/ GPO)

Grabar-Kitarovic, then praised Rivlin for visiting her country, which she said would improve bilateral relations.

"Your visit here is very important not only because of the excellent bilateral relations between Croatia and Israel, but also because of our communities, especially the Jewish community in Croatia," she said.

Croatia and Israel, she continued, "should examine all opportunities to increase cooperation. We share many common issues, such as immigration, security and, of course, joint opportunities in different economic sectors: energy, industrial, agricultural and others," Grabar-Kitarovic added.

President Rivlin receives a warm welcome from Croatia's president (Photo: Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

The Croatian president also discussed her county's expected purchase of Israeli F-16 jets. "The relationship between the countries is that of allies, and the emphasis of our talks today should be put on military and economic cooperation," Grabar-Kitarovic said.

"The purchase deal of F-16s strengthened our relations, not only in terms of military equipment, but in a broader sense. This is the first step towards a long-term strategic partnership between Croatia and Israel," she concluded.
In an interview with the Arabic Facebook page of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman appealed to the residents of the Gaza Strip and said:

"We can be your best partners in the effort to turn refugee camps into Singapore of the Middle East, and all we need is the recognition of Israel's right to exist in peace, a solution the POWs and MIAs issues, and demilitarization."

"If your leaders are not ready for that, then replace the leadership," Lieberman said.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley criticized the Arab states, saying "If they really cared about the Palestinian people, they would condemn the extremists. They would tell the Palestinian leadership how foolish they seem when they reject a peace plan they have not yet seen. "
The United States could apply some of the security measures used for Israel's border with the Gaza Strip to its own frontier with Mexico, an Israeli cabinet minister said on Tuesday.

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan last month hosted his US counterpart, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, among aides to President Donald Trump who have been tasked with making good on his vow to clamp down on illegal immigration.

To that end, Trump says the United States needs a wall along its 3,200-km (2,000 mile) long border with Mexico. But he has been stymied by domestic dissent and uncertainly about funding.

During her visit to Israel, Nielsen inspected the hi-tech fences it has used to seal off the 230km (143 mile) Egyptian frontier as well as its 60km (37mile) boundary with Gaza, a Palestinian enclave controlled by Hamas Islamists.

"She told me there is certainly a lot to learn here, and I reckon that some of this will certainly be implemented in what the United States is setting up on its border with Mexico," Erdan told Israel's Ynet TV in an interview near Gaza's border.

Among Israeli technologies that he said Nielsen had looked at was an underground wall designed to block Hamas attack tunnels and early-warning systems for foiling incursions.

The US Embassy in Jerusalem had no immediate comment.

The Gaza-Israel border has seen weekly, sometimes violent Palestinian protests since March 30. The Israeli military has killed more than 140 Palestinians during the protests, saying lethal force was needed to prevent armed infiltrations. The death toll has drawn foreign censure though not from Washington, which has echoed Israel in saying Hamas was to blame.
An Israeli jet attacked on Tuesday evening a terror squad launching incendiary balloons toward Israel from northern Gaza, leaving three Palestinians wounded. Their condition was not immediately clear.

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The strike was launched after the outbreak of a fire near the adjacent Israeli community of Nahal Oz caused by an incendiary balloon.

Incendiary balloon (Photo: AFP)

Earlier, two fires broke out near the Kibbutzim of Karmia and Zikim in the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council which were extinguished by firefighters within minutes. However, according to firefighting services, there was no indication that the flames erupted as a result of an incendiary balloon.

The incident takes place a day after an IDF aircraft struck a cell of terrorists launching incendiary balloons, also from northern Gaza into Israel. There were no casualties reported.

A similar incident occurred on Sunday when another IDF fighter jet attacked a cell launching flammable balloons from Gaza.

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan commented on Tuesday to the balloon and kite terror that has terrorized Israeli communities and cities and which has incinerated thousands of acres of landscape.

More than 120 days of fighting and more than 1,100 incidents involving fires have taken place, Erdan said during a ceremony in Beer Sheva marking the inauguration of a new southern firefighting commander. Anyone who violates Israels sovereignty will pay the price.

On Tuesday morning, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced the Kerem Shalom border crossing would be partially reopened from midday, following a decrease in the number of incendiary balloons being flown by Hamas from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

While gas and fuel will be allowed into the Gaza Strip in addition to food and medicine, some restrictions remain in the crossing: No other goods, including construction materials, will be allowed in, and there is also a ban on the export of goods from Gaza.
It is not yet clear if Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh will serve another term, but meanwhile he continues to shape the face of the police. Ynet has learned that discussions have been taken place regarding significant new appointments in the police.

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The current Head of the National Fraud Investigations Unit, Brigadier General Koresh Barnor, who is the chief investigator in cases 1000 and 2000 against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will become the commander of the IDF's Military Colleges and National Defence College, which will give him a far wider remit.

Case 1000 concerns illicit gifts Netanyahu allegedly received from business moguls Arnon Milchan and James Packer, whereas Case 2000 concerns talks the premier had with Yedioth Ahronoth owner and publisher Arnon Mozes regarding the Israel Hayom daily.

Brigadier General Koresh Barnor (left) (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)

A senior officer addressed the fact that Barnor would not be promoted, however, but would simply change roles. "If these appointments really do take place, then a statement was made here, and not necessarily a positive one."

He will be replaced by Yoav Telem, an associate of former police commissioner Yohanan Danino, and the investigator in charge of the submarine affair, also known as Case 3000.

Israel Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)

In addition, Brig.-Gen. Eran Kamin, former deputy of the Head of the National Fraud Investigations Unit, whose rank was held back because of former Justice Minister Haim Ramon's case, will be transferred to the National Security College of the Israel Defense Forces.

Another officer who will receive a promotion is commander of the Central Police Unit, Major General Dudu Bueni, who is set to receive the sensitive position of the head of the Investigations Division.

Prime Minister Netanyahu in a submarine (Photo: Reuters)

Other appointments include the position of deputy commander of the Tel Aviv District, which is assigned to Brigadier General Haim Blumenfeld, and the position of commander of the Unit of International Crime Investigations, which is assigned to Major General Haim Nissim.

All appointments require the approval of Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan.
Israel's Interior Minister Aryeh Deri prevented the entry of Ana Sanchez Mera, the coordinator of the BNC organization in Europe and the director of its international campaigns.

Deri's office said that the BNC, which is based in Ramallah, is one of the world's most dominant boycott organizations, which consistently calls for the boycott of Israel.
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday kept open the possibility of negotiating an agreement to denuclearize Iran, two days after he rattled his saber at the nation on Twitter.

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"We'll see what happens, but we're ready to make a real deal, not the deal that was done by the previous administration, which was a disaster," he said during a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

President Trump and Iranian FM Zarif (Photo: Reuters)

Iran on Monday dismissed Trump's angry warning that Tehran risked dire consequences "the like of which few throughout history have suffered before" if it made threats against the United States.

Trump issued earlier this week a warning on Twitter to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that he will face dire consequences for threatening the United States, a day after the Iranian leader cautioned Trump about pursuing hostile policies against Tehran, saying an American war with Iran would be "the mother of all wars."

"You are not in a position to incite the Iranian nation against Iran's security and interests," Rouhani said, in an apparent reference to reported efforts by Washington to destabilize Iran's Islamic government.

Trump responded early Monday with a tweet that warned: "NEVER EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKE OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE."

Trump tweeted early Monday about the dangers to Iran of making hostile threats.

"American must understand well that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace and war with Iran is the mother of all wars," Rouhani said, leaving open the possibility of peace between the two countries which have been at odds since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Trump's defense secretary, Jim Mattis, declined to directly answer a question about whether he was concerned that Trump's rhetoric might ratchet up tensions in the region, increasing the chances of miscalculation.

But Mattis, speaking at a news conference in California, listed his many concerns about Iranian actions in the Middle East, including Tehran's support for President Bashar Assad in Syria's civil war and for Houthi militants fighting the internationally recognized government in Yemen.

James Mattis (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

"It's time for Iran to shape up and show responsibility as a responsible nation. It cannot continue to show irresponsibility as a revolutionary organization that is intent on exporting terrorism, exporting disruption, across the region," said Mattis, a retired Marine general.

"So I think the president was making very clear that they're on the wrong track."
The downing of the Syrian Sukhoi plane was the result of a navigation mistake, and there was no hidden intention to attack the Israeli Golan Heights.

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All the signs point to the pilot's plan to attack the so-called ISIS enclavea militia called The Khalid ibn al-Walid Armyin the border triangle of Israel, Syria and Jordan, adjacent to The Yarmuk River.

Trails of smoke from the two Patriot missiles (:  , )

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The pilot apparently arrived, at a relatively low altitude, from the T-4 airport, which is about 270 kilometers from the Syrian-Israeli border on the Golan Heights.

Within minutes the plane reached the area of the planned attack at the ISIS outposts.

Trails of smoke from Patriot missiles fired at the Syrian jet (Photo: Shimon Elbaz)

It is very difficult to identify the targets and even the towns in this area because of the vegetation in the deep wadis.

In any event, from the flight route, the speed of the aircraft, and the pilot's actions after the plane was hit, it can be concluded, almost undeniably, that the pilot was unable to navigate properly on the ground, causing him to fly almost 1.8 kilometers into our territory.

In accordance with Israel's consistent policy, the plane was shot down.

Israel has long been telling the Russians and the Syriansincluding yesterday and again this morningthat it will not allow a violation of the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement, and will respond immediately and with deadly results.

Any spillover, whether it is by a mortar shell or a fighter plane, will be met with a fierce Israeli response in order to protect Israel's deterrence, not only on the Golan Heights but along its borders.

Sukhoi fighter jets

In 2014, when the Air Force Patriot missiles downed a Syrian Sukhoi plane that accidentally penetrated the Golan Heights area, similar to Tuesday's incident, the plane was shot down without the pilot being warned in advance.

It can be assumed that if it was a Russian fighter plane, Israel would not be in a hurry to intercept it, but the Air Force has the ability to verify the identity of the plane without actually seeing it. And indeed, its identity was quickly verified.

The commander on duty in the "pit," the command center bunker at the Kirya base in Tel Aviv, authorized the downing of the plane.

Although the plane was being monitored for a few minutes before crossing the border, the duty commander did not need approval from higher command because it was a standing order that had been in the Air Force for years.

Syrian fighter jet (Photo: AFP)

The question remains: How is it that despite the warnings given to the Syrians and Russians in the past few daysincluding the warnings given Monday evening to the visiting Russian delegation, and the warnings given Tuesday morning to Syrians, through Russian coordination mechanismsa Syrian pilot still makes a navigational error and enters our territory?

There is a fairly simply answer to this question.

Even in their best days in the 1990s under President Hafez al-Assad, Syrian air force pilots were not the sharpest pencils in the Syrian military box in particular, and in the Arab military box in general.

During the 1982 air battles, the Israel Air Force shot down more than 80 Syrian aircraft in wholesale.

Syrian President Bashar Assad (Photo: Reuters)

The Syrian civil war had worn out the Syrian air force, mainly because of the desertion of a number of Syrian pilots of various ranks, members of the Sunni denomination. The remaining pilots are inexperienced young men or aging commanders.

The Syrian rebels, who received shoulder-fired missiles from their Saudi, Qatari, and American patrons, ruined the fighter planes and air force helicopters that continued to fly.

Many of these aircraft were destroyed on the ground. This is precisely why the Iranians turned to Syrian President Bashar Assad, who then turned to the Russians in 2015 and asked for their aid in attacking rebels from the Russian airspace.

Putin responded, Russian pilots came through and turned the situation in Syria upside-down while saving Assad.

With that in mind, there is no reason to be surprised if a Syrian pilot does not function as he is supposed to and pays for it dearly. It is reasonable to assume that the commander of the pilot and President Assad wont view the incident as a pretext for another skirmish with Israel.

For the Assad regime and Russia, it is important for now to control the Golan Heights in order to consolidate their control over all of Syria. Anything that can detract from this effort has to be brushed aside. The Russians are also not expected to respond since they too agree with the principle that Syria must refrain from violating the 1974 Separations Agreement in the Golan Heights.
A Syrian source said that "Damascus is not in a hurry to go to war with Israel, which is trying to stop the military operation against terror centers in southern Syria."

In an interview with the Lebanese website Elnashra, the official added that "The response to the downing of the plane will not be long in coming, and after we complete a few steps, the completion of military operations included, a direct response to Israeli forces will come at the appropriate time."

"We will thwart any attempt to remove Syria's allies from the region," the official said.
Last weeks CoreLogic Property Pulse gave a wider perspective of the ways the Australian property market has changed over the past decade throughout each of Australias biggest sub-state regions, revealing substantial change in house and unit values, as well as market movement.

From June 2008 through June 2018, national home values have risen by a cumulative 43.9%, with the combined capital cities recording an increase of 52.6% and the combined regional markets recording growth of 16.6%.

Houses values surged by 46.9% nationally over the past decade with combined capital city values rising at a faster pace (56.2%) than the combined regional markets, which were only up by 20%. Of the 88 biggest sub-state regions across the nation, 73 areas recorded a hike in home values over the past decade. The biggest sub-state regions in New South Wales (NSW), Victoria (Vic), Tasmania, Northern Territory or Australian Capital Territory have not recorded a decline in values over the last ten years. A majority of Western Australias (WA) biggest sub-state regions, on the other hand, have recorded decreases in values over the past decade.

The region to see the greatest gains in house values over the past decade was the South West region of Sydney, where values climbed 112.9%. On the other hand, house values at the following markets recorded the largest decline over the same duration  Outback (North) in WA, Outback (South) in WA, Mackay-Isaac-Whitsunday in Queensland (QLD), Central Queensland, Townsville.

Value growth in NSW and Vic has been substantially stronger than growth elsewhere. In fact, the regions of NSW (Riverina) and Vic (North West) that recorded the weakest conditions over the decade have seen value growth well in excess of the best performing WA region (Perth-North West), research analyst Cameron Kusher said.

In terms of the national unit values movements throughout the past decade, the report showed that they increased by 34.2%. Moreover, unit value growth in the combined capital cities (42%) and combined regional housing markets (0.4%) was similarly lower than that for houses, advancing only by 56.2% and 20%, respectively.

Among the biggest sub-state regions across the country, 53 have climbed in unit values over the past decade.

The South West region of Sydney recorded the greatest increase in house values of all the biggest sub-state regions (112.9%), and also saw the highest gain in unit values (98.0%). While house values doubled across seven regions in Australia over the past ten years, not one region has seen unit values double over the same period.

Only the Outer South West region of Sydney (81.0%) and Sydneys Eastern Suburbs (78.2%), along with Sydneys South West, have posted decade unit value growth of more than 75%. By comparison, 24 regions of the country have recorded house value growth over 75%.

Recording the largest declines in terms of unit values were Outback (North) WA, Outback (South) WA, Darling Downs-Maranoa in Qld, Central Queensland, and Townsville.

Kusher noted that house and unit values growth over the past decade has been very much slanted to strong growth in Sydney and Melbourne.

While the last 10 years is not predictive of the future, dwelling values are already falling in Sydney and Melbourne and regional markets are currently outperforming capital cities. With housing in a downturn in Sydney and Melbourne and affordability stretched, at this point it seems unlikely the returns of the past decade will be replicated over the next 10 years, he claimed.

Related stories:

Australian Home Values Down 0.8% Since October

Melbourne Property Prices Unfazed By Crime Rates
News

Las Cruces, New Mexico - Nathan Little, 31, an enrolled member of the Mescalero Apache Nation who resides in Ruidoso, New Mexico, pled guilty on July 20, 2018, in federal court in Las Cruces, to assaulting a federal officer.

The BIA arrested Little on April 27, 2018, on a criminal complaint charging him with assaulting a federal officer in Nov. 2017. According to the criminal complaint, Little assaulted a BIA officer on Nov. 18, 2017, punching him in the face repeatedly while he was being booked into custody at the Lincoln County Detention Center in Lincoln County, N.M., following a traffic stop that revealed that Little had outstanding warrants.

On July 20, 2018, Little pled guilty to a felony information charging him with assault on a federal officer. In entering the guilty plea, Little admitted assaulting a BIA officer on Nov. 18, 2017, by punching him in the face.

Little has been in federal custody since his arrest on the criminal complaint and will remain detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. At sentencing, Little faces a maximum penalty of eight years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI and the Mescalero Agency of the BIAs Office of Justice Services, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron O. Jordan of the U.S. Attorneys Las Cruces Branch Office.
Latest News

Albuquerque, New Mexico - Fabian Louis Bailon, 39, an enrolled member of Kewa Pueblo, N.M., who resides in Santa Fe, N.M., pled guilty last week in federal court in Albuquerque, to assaulting a federal officer.

Bailon was arrested on Jan. 12, 2018, on a criminal complaint charging him with assaulting a federal officer. According to the criminal complaint, Bailon was arrested on tribal charges on Nov. 26, 2017, after he assaulted a law enforcement officer of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Bailon committed the assault on San Felipe Pueblo in Sandoval County, N.M., by punching the officer in the face while the officer was conducting a traffic stop.

During todays proceedings, Bailon pled guilty to a felony information charging him with assaulting a federal officer. In entering the guilty plea, Bailon admitted that on Nov. 26, 2017, he assaulted a BIA officer by punching the officer while the officer was conducting a traffic stop on a vehicle in which Bailon was a passenger.

At sentencing, Bailon faces a maximum penalty of eight years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Southern Pueblos Agency of the BIAs Office of Justice Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Marshall is prosecuting the case.
President Donald Trump of the United States of America has launched a stinging rebuke of the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Twitter, warning the latter not to threaten the US.

According to CNN, the US presidents tweet on Sunday night, July 22, followed a warning from his Iranian counterpart who had stated that Americans "must understand that war with Iran is the mother of all wars and peace with Iran is the mother of all peace.

READ ALSO: Saraki, Dogara, Tambuwal, Kwankwaso, others get 2-week deadline to move to PDP

NAIJ.com gathers that Rouhani also sent a direct message to Trump, saying "do not play with the lion's tail, because you will regret it eternally."

In response, Trump tweeted:

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NAIJ.com previously reported that President Donald Trump announced the United States withdrawal from the Obama-era nuclear agreement with Iran.

Calling it "decaying and rotten", Trump said the deal was "an embarrassment" to him "as a citizen".

Going against advice from European allies, he said he would re-impose economic sanctions that were waived when the deal was signed in 2015.

How would you feel if Donald Trump bombed Boko Haram like Syria? - on NAIJ.com TV:

Source: Yen
- Afia Schwarzenegger has revealed her willingness to get beaten up by security personnel to have her destiny transformed

- The actress who was having a time of prayer in her room beseeched God to grant her request

- A few days ago, a lady who was assaulted by a policeman gained national attention leading to many people coming to her aid financially

Self-proclaimed queen of comedy in Ghana, popularly known as Afia Schwarzenegger, has made a request to God to transform her finances through beatings just like how Madam Patience Osafos life had been transformed.

In a number of self-recorded videos spotted by YEN.com.gh on the Instagram account of the TV personality, she was seen crying unto God to cause her to also meet her policeman.

However, the award-winning journalist was quick to add that she did not want a policeman assigned to a savings and loans but preferred a police man stationed at either Ecobank, Barclays Bank or Bank of Ghana.

Afia Schwar. Photo Credit: Supplied

READ ALSO: Police Brutality: Midland S&L suspends staff, prepares compensation for assault victim

The comedian also prayed for strength to withstand the punches that would come her way.

A few days ago, social media went into a frenzy over a very worrying video involving a policeman assaulting a nursing mother carrying her baby.

The video received a lot of condemnation on social media with the masses calling for the head of the policeman in the video.

Not long after the video went viral, many government bodies and individual and international bodies condemned the act resulting in the immediate arrest of the policeman.

K-NET, a service provider of Midland, absolved itself of any wrongdoing. They issued a statement in this regard following claims made by the bank that they were experiencing network issues.

Reports have it that the matter is being handled by the top hierarchy of the Ghana Police Service.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has also spoken against the abuse and has admonished law enforcers to protect citizens rather than abuse them.

READ ALSO: Akufo-Addo names Jean Mensa as new EC Chairperson

The lady in the video, has had her life transformed after the incident owing to the fact that many Ghanaians have dug deep into their pockets to support her financially.

Recent checks conducted indicate that she has already received cash donations to the tune of GHc 40,000 already.

There are also reports of an apartment being rented for her and a shop being opened so she can expand her business

Management of Midland Savings and Loans in a press statement, once again rendered an apology to the customer, Madam Patience Osafo, other customers of the institution and the general public over the incident.

The bank has announced the suspension of staff at the said branch pending internal investigations.

Management of the financial institution has also revealed that a compensation package is being prepared for the victim.

READ ALSO: Latest video of John Dumelos wife proves she is heavily pregnant

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- The entire burial grounds of the late President Mills are in a deteriorating state

- The uncompleted library at the Asomdwe Park has been turned to a brothel

- July 24 marks the 6th anniversary of Atta Mills' death

It has emerged that the burial ground of Ghana's late president, John Evans Atta Mills, has been left to rot with portions turned into a brothel.

YEN.com.gh has gathered from a report on Graphic.com that the presidential mausoleum, the Asomdwe Park as well as the burial ground are all crying for help.

In celebrating the 6th anniversary of John Evans Atta Mills on July 24th, there is nothing special to say about remnants of the late president.

READ ALSO: 4 things we gathered about Ghana's new EC boss

The stench around Mills' burial ground is just unbearable as cattle have invaded the place leaving cow dung behind.

The Asomdwe Park, which also contains a library, has been turned to a brothel where people come from far and near to engage in intimate relations.

The guards come to meet condoms lying all over the place every day. Sometimes, they catch people red-handed having sex here and they drive them away. The young and old all come here to do their things and they do not even know where they come from, the security sources said.

A call for justice against Mills's death

The maternal family of the late president says it will strictly assist any government interested in mounting an independent investigation into his death.

"If the opinion of the country is that it should be done, then it has to be done. If the investigation into what killed President Mills was done during the NDCs tenure, many people would not have believed the outcome, the first cousin to the former president, Ato Harry Brew, revealed.

Cause of Atta Mills's death

Cadman Mills, the brother of the late President John Evans Atta Mills, has denied assertions that the former president died of throat cancer, which he got from engaging in oral sex.

READ ALSO: I need your prayers to survive - Nana Addo urges clergy

Cadman said the official autopsy report of his late brother showed that he died of a "very massive stroke."

Cadman said days before Mills died, he complained of severe neck pain and sensitivity to light. He said the symptoms pointed to the very beginning of a stroke.

"Let's tell the truth. He didnt die of throat cancer I know he will forgive me. Prof Mills had a growth in his sinuses and it was quite sizable, that some people call precancerous, others call cancerous, I dont know," he said.

Watch YEN.com.gh trending video: Problems with WAEC, BBC Denies Partnering with Anas | Yen.com.gh

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Source: Yen Ghana
- Embattled Kennedy Agyapong has denied ever describing the House as "useless"

- The Assin Central MP however apologised to the House when he appeared before Parliaments Privileges Committee

Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong, has apologized to Parliament over alleged contemptuous statements he made against the House.

The outspoken lawmaker was dragged before Parliaments Privileges Committee by Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak, over certain comments he made.

Mr. Agyapong was reported to have described Parliament as useless and cheap during one of his rants on radio.

Kennedy Agyapong is the Member of Parliament for Assin Central. Source: 3News.com

READ ALSO: Minister pays GHc1,500 fine to rescue jailed pregnant teenager

Although the MP denied using the word 'useless', he nevertheless rendered an apology to his colleague Parliamentarians for his outbursts.

Appearing before Parliaments Privileges Committee on Monday, July 23, 2018, Mr. Agyapong said he rather used the word cheap and not useless as he had been accused of.

I dont mind retracting that word [cheap] but I want to say that I never said parliament was useless," he said, adding that: Im not a tin god.

You can kill me today but I will never admit that I said that parliament is useless, he further stressed.

He explained that he could not control his anger because the Ashanti Regional Vice Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwabena Nsenkyire had insulted him [Agyapong], claiming that he was not fit to be an MP.

READ ALSO: Princess Shyngle mocks unmarried female celebrities

According to the MP, his leader (Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu) also joined in the fray and that irked him, causing his rant.

Ghana News: Problems with WAEC, BBC Denies Partnering with Anas

READ ALSO: Anas catches Nigeria coach taking bribe to influence player selection

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YEN.com.gh has sighted a photo of a young Ghanaian boy who has manufactured an helicopter from plastic waste.

The eighteen-year-old boy called Gabriel Boadu, according to YEN.com.gh sources, is able to craft anything from plastic scrap.

Gabriel Boadu has not seen an helicopter before, but from what he has seen on television, he has made one branded in Ghanas colours  red, yellow, green, and black.

NB: Please use the arrows in sides of the picture below to see more photos of young Gabriel's handiwork.

READ ALSO: Next time launch your album privately like your wedding  Fan warns Sarkodie

Apart from the helicopter, Gabriel has also invented a locally-made tricycle popular called Aboboya.

He has also made a phone charger using cooking oil and also from plastic waste.

Gabriel hails from Kwahu Affram Plains North District of the Eastern Region of Ghana.

He attends Tease Presbyterian Junior High School in Kwahu.

READ ALSO: Sarkodie and Tracys wedding cake 'miraculously' appeared from the ceiling in latest video

According to his manager, Quajo Aboagye, who got in contact with YEN.com.gh on behalf of Gabriel, indicated that the boy is indeed talented and would need support to keep up with the good work he is doing.

Mr. Aboagye further indicated his desire to have Gabriel and his work shown to the world at large so he could obtain the necessary support.

READ ALSO: Tracy speaks after her plush wedding with Sarkodie

This is just one of the many exploits being championed by many young boys in Ghana these days.

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported the news of a young man who manufactured a bicycle which can be rode on water.

A similar report was made of another young boy who manufactured a wooden fan powered by electricity.

There are many of such young people championing such inventions.

YEN.com.gh wishes them well.

READ ALSO: Stunning photos of Sarkodie, Tracy and their daughter you missed from their wedding

Yenkasa: How Bad is the Healthcare in Ghana? | Yen.com.gh

READ ALSO: Sulley Muntari gives 22 Hearts of Oak players $100 each

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- Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has suggested that persons who can afford to pay fees for the education of their wards be excluded from the free SHS programme

- According to him, persons with the means can continue to pay fees for their wards while government cater for the those who can't

Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Ken Ofori-Atta has hinted that government could soon introduce drastic steps to help keep up with the funding of the Free SHS Programme.

According to him, government must begin to discriminate on the Free SHS programme, saying parents who can afford to pay the fees of their wards should be made to pay.

The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), led by President Akufo-Addo, rolled out its flagship Free SHS policy, which now allows students to enroll into public secondary schools without paying fees.

The Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta. Source: Graphiconline.com

READ ALSO: Minister pays GHc1,500 fine to rescue jailed pregnant teenager

Government has been lauded for making education affordable to every Ghanaian, however, the foundations of the Free SHS programme have been shaky due to a lack of funds.

As a result, there have been many dialogues on how government could fund and sustain the programmme for the next couple of years.

Whiles some believe the programme was rushed, other firmly hold that it is still sustainable but should be made free for only the poor.

Speaking on the subject of funding, the Finance Minister said perhaps the latter school of thought may be the way forward in the long term.

He explained that there is no need giving free education to students whose parents can afford it, suggesting the Free SHS programme should cover only those who cannot afford to pay for the educational expenses of their wards.

READ ALSO: Ken Agyapong apologises for 'cheap' comment

"On the issue of free education, it may be that there has to be changes about the way we are administering it. I can't take my child to Achimota School or Odorgono and leave him or her there and don't pay anything when I can pay for 10 people, Mr. Ofori-Atta said on Citi TV's Point of View Programme on Monday.

I think we need to have the data and begin to discriminate on the FREE SHS and allow those who can afford to pay. I think it is time to open up about the policy and take on board suggestions on how to improve it."

Ghana news: President Akufo Addo Asked For More Prayers | Yen.com.gh

READ ALSO: Kennedy Agyapong to quit parliament at end of current tenure

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Source: Yen
Isabel dos Santos. Photo: Facebook.

Just think for a minute. In a two-year span, a father gave his daughter, among several contracts, four that were worth over US $22 billion. The father is then President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, and the daughter is Isabel, Africas richest woman. These were the golden days of the presidential familys capture of Angola. Period.

In the past month, with a stroke of a pen, General Joao Lourenco has annulled the four egregious contracts. The former princess is crying foul, and is threatening to sue the Angolan state however, the state is calling out her bluff. Her fortune is about to tumble like a house of cards, just as her fathers power fell flat once he left office after 38 years.

Through her fathers presidential decrees, Isabel built her fortune. Now, ironically, the man her father personally chose to replace him is first and foremost taking away the familys fortunes that are tied with the state, thus recapturing it from their thieving hands.

Let us just review these four contracts.

The master plan: In 2015, Dos Santos appointed his daughter to lead the Luanda Metropolitan Master Plan, budgeted at US $15 billion, to revamp the capital city. Therefore, her shell company, Urbinvest, had the monopoly of the project.

Back in the day, there was no one smarter and more competent in the country than Isabel dos Santos. Public tender, and transparency became silly anti-development jargon even for foreign investors whose main mission had become to partner with the power gatekeepers. There was an international spin that cast Isabel dos Santos as a positive story for Africa, as she was hailed the most successful businesswoman on the continent. And the reality of her looting of the country under her kleptocratic father was downplayed or outright ignored.

Dams for the Damned: That same year, through Presidential Order 58/15, Dos Santos also awarded Isabel dos Santos the construction of the Caculo-Cabaca dam and hydropower station for US $4.5 billion.

The powerful China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC) had initially entered into a 50/50 consortium with Isabels shell company, Niara Holding, to win the contract and build the dam. The Industrial Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) secured the financing for Angolan oil in return. A year later, inexplicably Dos Santos signed another order adding an extra US $500 million for the daughters joint venture, thus totaling US $5 billion. Somewhat generous, she lowered her share in the joint-venture to 40%.

What was the rationale for this dam? It will be built 19 kilometers away from the recently built dam and hydropower station of Lauca, which cost over US $4 billion. It will be the fourth dam and hydropower station built along the same River Kwanza in a stretch of some 130 kilometers.

Corimba coastal road: Another one Isabel dos Santos contracts slashed by President Lourenco is the planned 7 km coastal road from Luandas city center to the Corimba neighborhood, which would include an area of 400 hectares reclaimed from the sea. This is a contract worth over US $700 million, to be financed by the International and Commercial Bank of China and the Chinese Eximbank. Her company Urbinvest S.A had the monopoly of the project, which would include 700 hectares of high density mixed-use residential and commercial development.

For more please see

https://www.makaangola.org/2018/07/isabel-dos-santos-the-fall-of-africas...
Monday on Workday Minnesota, Filiberto Nolasco Gomez reported As Prevailing Wage Laws Are Being Threatened, New Research Explains Their Importance.

Given the importance of prevailing wage laws to many construction workers, we thought it might be useful to see where the known members of the Republican Farmer Labor Caucus stand on this issue. After all, the group touts itself as a "pro-hard-hat-union" affiliate of the Republican Party of Minnesota.

Workday Minnesota explains why prevailing law laws are a boon to construction workers:

Prevailing wage (link is external) functions as a local minimum wage for different types of skilled construction work. It is typically applied to publicly-funded projects like roads, bridges, and schools, and is based on what skilled craft workers in the community are most often paid for comparable work. ... The new research on prevailing wage by MEPI and University of Colorado State Pueblo economist Dr. Kevin Duncan examined more than 600 school construction bids The researchers found those that paid higher wages did not add to the overall cost of the projects because skilled workers were more efficient and made fewer mistakes. This study brings important, new evidence that Minnesotas prevailing wage law maintains wages and benefits for Minnesota's construction workers, reducing their need for public safety programs and helping to keep these working families in the middle class, and it does this without a detectable impact on public construction costs, said University of Minnesota labor economist Dr. Aaron Sojourner, who performed a peer review of the research. Sojourner is a former economic adviser to President Trump and President Obama. Prevailing wage is a win-win-win for Minnesota taxpayers, the states economy, and the construction industry, said study co-author and Colorado State University Pueblo economist Kevin Duncan. While the data consistently shows that overall project costs and bid competition are not affected by the law, its impacts on wages, local hiring, welfare reliance, workforce productivity, and the overall stability of the labor market are especially significant. In terms of project costs and local hiring, the new data out of Minnesota mirrors whats been seen in other states, said study co-author and Midwest Economic Policy Institute Policy Director Frank Manzo IV. A repeal of Minnesotas prevailing wage law would not save money, but it would export more tax dollars to businesses from out of town. Ballard compares the Michigan prevailing wage repeal to the 2015 passing of Michigans Right to Work law, "(Right to Work) was sold to the public as giving Michigan's economy a shot in the arm," Ballard said. "But less than 10 percent of Michigan's private sector workers are part of a union, and we've seen nothing that shows it's done anything for our economy. Repealing prevailing wage is much the same. Construction is a small sector in our overall economy, and I don't foresee any long-term upside." What Michigan shows is that attacks against organized labor are expanding into prevailing wage repeals and, therefore, into the building trades. What the research shows is that prevailing wages play an important role in expanding and protecting good jobs. ..

So where are the founding members and leadership on the issue of prevailing wage? Willmar Radio host JP Cola reported on May 1:

The current members of the RFL are Miller, and fellow Republican Representatives Jeff Backer of Browns Valley, Jeremy Munson of Lake Crystal, Jason Rarick of Pine City and Deb Kiel of Crookston.

Munson swept into office during a special election in early 2018, so his online record is more slender than the rest of the caucus funders. However, Miller has in the past bee quite vocal against maintaining wages for construction workers. We reported in 2014's MN17A: Fact-checking Tim Miller's claim about prevailing wages on road construction projects that Miller attacked prevailing wages by making outlandish claims about how rural construction workers make--while hoping to drive down their wages on public projects.

That year, he also told the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce's Leadership Fund PAC [pdf with answers here] that he wanted Minnesota to become a "right to work" state and to make the prevailing wage calculation to the average wage (in short, reducing his hard-hat buddies wages and reducing other opportunities and benefits for them):

Which statement best reflects your views on requiring all workers in a union shop to pay union dues as a condition of employment: I would remove this requirement and support legislation to make Minnesota a right-to- work state. Would you support changing Minnesotas prevailing wage calculation to the average wage? Yes

With friends like that, who needs enemies.

And Miller isn't alone. Founding member Jeff Backer provided the same answer in his response.

There's no 2014 Chamber questionnaire online for Kiel that we can find. However, the Minnesota AFL-CIO gave her a 16 percent lifetime score in 2016,

The Mankato Times pointed out:

RFL Labor-Chair, Representative Jason Rarick has experience working with Minnesotas hard-hat labor unions and is a 20+ year member of the IBEW. The Republican party supports Minnesota jobs, including safely replacing the pipeline, responsible mining and a major investment in our roads and bridges  all which are vehemently being opposed by the DFL. This is why we have started the RFL  to help our States laborers understand who is in St Paul fighting for them.

But even Rarick told the Chamber in 2014 that he supported weakening labor laws and the prevailing wage:

Which statement best reflects your views on requiring all workers in a union shop to pay union dues as a condition of employment: I would support legislation to reduce the amount of fair share dues non-union members pay to unions. Would you support changing Minnesotas prevailing wage calculation to the average wage? Yes

As for RFL board member Jim Nash, he shared now familiar answers to those questions:

Which statement best reflects your views on requiring all workers in a union shop to pay union dues as a condition of employment: I would remove this requirement and support legislation to make Minnesota a right-to- work state. Would you support changing Minnesotas prevailing wage calculation to the average wage? Yes*

It's curious that a bunch who support such anti-labor positions run around tell working people they're pro-labor. Sad.

Image: the original RFL logo. Changed because of copyright infringement issues--so this bunch isn't just trying to rob money from workers' pockets, but pilfered from the DFL too. We wrote about the newly formed caucus in Roll over, Elmer Benson, tell Floyd B. Olson the news: Republican Farmer Labor Caucus formed and Roll over, Elmer Benson, part 2: DFL sends RFL cease & desist over repurposing of name & logo.

*An earlier version of this post had an editing error for Nash's views. It was corrected on September 3, 2018.

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Debswana, the countrys largest rough diamond producer is embarking on an ambitious project to expand the lifespan of the Orapa mine by an additional 35 years.

Orapa mine is the 9th biggest diamond mine in the world and is set to get even bigger through the Cut 3 project which is currently at pre-feasibility stage. Cut 3 is the next big push at Orapa, where we will be expanding the mine. At Orapa, mining is currently at Cut-2 while Cut-3 is at pre-feasibility stage; we are working towards the next push back. Cut 3 is a big expansion, said Orapa, Letlhakane and Damtshaa mines general manager, Bakani Motlhabane recently. He was addressing local newspapers and radio editors who visited the mine.

According to information from the company website, a detailed design study is underway to extend the life of the mine beyond the current open pit (Cut 2). Studies are at pre-feasibility stage and will inform the various parameters for Cut-3, said Debswana which is owned by De Beers and Botswana Government on an equal basis. The current Life of Mine, which only includes Cut-2, extends to 2030.

Motlhabane, who was giving an overview of the mine said, We are excited about Cut 3 because it is going to transform this place. It is going to make Orapa different. The GM did not go into details regarding the costs but maintained that this is not a little expansion on the sides it is about overhauling this place. Orapa, which is the oldest operating mine in the country, is currently mining at a depth of 250 metres and is expected to reach 450 metres by 2026.

Said Motlhabane, We aspire to become a global benchmark diamond business. That is really our drive, everything that we do we want to be amongst the best if we are not amongst the best we must be the ones setting the benchmark. We are focusing in the future, in future we are going to have expansions; there are projects that we are busy with that are coming in the future that will keep us going. Cut 3 will involve stripping away waste at the bottom of the mine, as well as widening and deepening the pit. The mine is expected to increase its fleet of trucks from the current 23 to 58. Orapa which currently has a staff



complement of over 2000 employees will need an extra 500 for Cut 3 with additional houses. The envisaged extension of the mine comes after President Mokgweetsi Masisi has indicated that, negotiation on new diamond sales agreement with De Beers is just about to start. We have had a wonderful relationship with De Beers and we expect that relationship to be even more cemented, Masisi said in an interview with Bloomberg. There is a way of actually achieving a win-win for both, and thats what we desire.

On a related matter, Debswana has also announced plans to further expand Jwaneng mine, a sister operation to Orapa through a project known as Cut 9.
Minergy Energy is poised to become the countrys latest coal miner after receiving a waiver to carry out pre-construction preparatory activities at its Masama coal project. Last week, the BSE listed company announced that the department of environmental affairs (DEA) has given them the nod to start bush clearing within the proposed mining area, construct access roads, preparation of plant areas, among others, ahead of the highly-expected mining licence grant in two months.

The company, which is headed by Andre Boje, is over the moon after they were given a provisional approval of its Environment and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) from government which is expected to be final within the next four weeks, starting this Friday (today). In a statement to shareholders, Minergy said once the approved ESIA has been submitted to the ministry of mineral resources, green technology and energy security, the mining licence will be issued.

As per law, the minister, Eric Molale will issue the mining licence. All things being equal, the grant of the licence will make Minergys Masama coal project the countrys second coal mine in operation after Morupule Coal Mine (MCM). Masama Coal project is located within the Kweneng District in a small village called Medie. Botswana Guardian understands that the company has already engaged stakeholders such as land boards ahead of the mining activities in the area especially relating compensations for those who will be affected.

Some people have also been hired at its Lentsweleau office. Giving an update on the Masama coal project more than a month ago, Chairman Mokwena Morulane and Boje were jointly quoted as saying; Subject to the awarding of the mining licence and given the timelines outlined in the operational review, Minergy plans to have 250 000 tonnes of run of mine (ROM) available for processing through the washing plant by September 2018 that will produce 150 000 tonnes of saleable coal and thereafter 100 000 tonnes per month.

The company, which is also planning a secondary listing in London, said that they have had numerous approaches to enter into off-take agreements with both regional end users and international coal traders which could elevate the required saleable product to an excess of 200 000 tonnes per month.

The mines ability to service this increased tonnage will be dependent on factors such as the availability of capital for expansion and projected coal pricing to 2021, said Morulane and Boje. The company said the envisaged coal mine will have access to rail infrastructure and roads, which can be used for transportation. The mining licence is expected to be for a period of 25 years. Botswana has over 200 billion tonnes of coal reserves which remains largely untapped.
| BY Ricki Green |

American Express is backing Australian businesses and the brave individuals behind them with the launch of the American Express Idea Exchange initiative, created in partnership with CX Lavender.

World-renowned businessman, entrepreneur and Shark Tank star Andrew Banks has partnered with American Express for the Idea Exchange, which encompasses intimate workshops and larger seminars across Australia as well as a series of six content videos offering advice and inspiration to help small and medium-sized businesses thrive and grow.

Watch the web series on the Idea Exchange landing page here.

In addition to the web series starring Andrew Banks, the American Express campaign, executed with CX Lavender, includes eDMs, digital advertising, social media and a campaign landing page. All content drives the audience to the landing page where they have the opportunity to sign up for the seminars and enter a competition to win a spot at the workshops.

The aim of the Idea Exchange is to offer American Express business card members additional value beyond the core product of business cards. The events will give business owners a unique opportunity to come together to share their collective wisdom, experiences and ideas with one another.

Says Ryan Stubna, ECD and associate partner, CX Lavender: Together with American Express and Andrew Banks, the Idea Exchange gave us the opportunity to truly bring to life American Express commitment to providing powerful backing to its card members. Running a business can be a lonely and high-pressure existence without a vibrant support ecosystem offering advice, guidance, validation and a vote of confidence, so were proud to be part of this initiative.

Says Peter Likoudis, vice president marketing, American Express Global Commercial Services for Japan & Asia Pacific: With the launch of the new American Express Powerful Backing brand campaign earlier this year, we wanted to create an initiative that tangibly demonstrates how we back our business customers and support their efforts to grow and attract new customers. These American Express-only events are testament to the extraordinary experiences and benefits that come with being an American Express card member and will allow businesses to build valuable connections and generate new ideas they can apply to their businesses.

Says Banks: Business owners never stop; to succeed they must stay curious and ask the right questions. But it can feel overwhelming. Its also important to realise youre not alone and that you cant do everything yourself. Youve got to proactively create the time to step back. The Idea Exchange is a great way for business owners to take time out from being in their business and to reflect on the experiences, success, learnings and ideas I can share, plus those of their peers in the American Express community.

The Idea Exchange kicks off in Brisbane on 30 August, followed by Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Sydney.

Client: American Express

Vice President Marketing, American Express Global Commercial Services for Japan & Asia Pacific: Peter Likoudis

Director, Customer Marketing, Commercial Payments, Australia: Clare Kinsey

Customer Marketing Manager, Global Commercial Services: Claire Emmison

Agency: CX Lavender

Executive Creative Director: Ryan Stubna

Head of Copy: Claire Austin

Art Director: Ernesto Sumarkho

Designer: Louis Wong

Designer: Hailie LeBas

Business Partner: Jack Mason

Business Director: Lonne Snijkers

Strategic Director: Jamie Parfitt

Agency Producer: Laila Takesh

Production Company: Taxi Films

Producer: Chris Klockner
| BY Ricki Green |

Spikes Asia has revealed that McDonalds is this years recipient of the highly prestigious Spikes Asia Advertiser of the Year Award, which is the highest accolade to recognise brands that set themselves apart through the quality and innovation of their creative campaigns in Asia.

As a global brand offering different local flavour items in different Asian markets, McDonalds successfully maintains the same strong brand integrity and propositions. By continuing to advance its marketing and creative communications efforts, specifically to cater for the cultural nuances of local audiences across Asia Pacific, the brand has demonstrated consistently excellent creative work across the region, and over the last number of years has won recognition for their bravery in advertising.

2017 alone saw six different campaigns from three different countries win 10 Spikes Asia Awards. This included a Creative Effectiveness Spike for #MacItBetter, which showed how the work drove tangible business effects for the Big Mac and the brand in Australia.

Joe Pullos, Festival Director, Spikes Asia said, The awards at Spikes Asia are all about celebrating and championing Asian creative and McDonalds has achieved monumental success for their branded communications both here in APAC as well as globally. Its an instantly recognisable brand that continues to evolve and drive for higher standards in its creativity specifically nuanced for this region. Were very excited to be able to reward the companys commitment to innovative communication.

Since 2015, McDonalds has won 21 Spikes Awards, often with a focused technological and results driven element, including McNow, which used big data to create ads in real time, Capacity Based McDelivery which used data to improve delivery times and Snaplications an innovative use of Snapchat to attract new talent through instant job applications.

Nick Rodd, Marketing & Menu Lead, McDonalds Asia Business Unit will accept the Award onstage at the Spikes Asia Awards Ceremony on Friday 28 September. He said, This award belongs to our agency partners and our market teams. They play a vital role ensuring McDonalds consistently and effectively produces innovative campaigns, great advertising and unified brand communications across the region. We work together to deliver our brand promise of making delicious, feel-good moments easy for our customers. The recognition demonstrates our success in understanding and engaging our customers, which are at the core of all we do. The credit should also go to our franchisees, suppliers and employees for offering great food and great hospitality to deliver on our brand promise.
| BY Kim Shaw |

National Hearing Care has launched a new campaign via DDB Melbourne aimed at breaking down the stigma associated with hearing loss.

The campaign aims to break down the stigma associated with hearing loss.

By demonstrating the discreetness of hearing aids and highlighting how simple hearing technology can be, the new work asks Australians to rediscover their hearing and therefore the world around them.

This campaign is the start of a longer journey to help reposition the brand and encourage people to recognise their hearing loss. NHC and DDB remapped the moments that matter in peoples lives in order to prompt Australians to take that important first step to seek help earlier, so that they can live a better, more fulfilling life.

National Hearing Care marketing director Timothy Naylor says the business was faced with a unique challenge when it came time create its new campaign.

Says Naylor: Unlike most health categories in Australia, there is little to no brand awareness of hearing care and audiology services, despite one in six Australians currently experiencing some form of hearing loss.

Additionally, hearing loss is a health issue that faces significant stigma in our society, which prevents Australians from seeking help. The compounding effect is that sufferers can remain in denial for many years, during which they become increasingly isolated and withdrawn.

Our aim with this campaign is to demonstrate to the Australian public that there is no need to suffer hearing loss in silence  help is out there. As Australias leading independent hearing care supplier, we have more than 300 locations Australia wide with expert audiologists in store to help.

DDB Melbourne executive creative director Stuart Turner said he hopes this work helps shift the attitudes of Australians when it comes to hearing loss.

Says Turner: Not only do most Australians not understand what a hearing aid looks like, theres also misconceptions about how they work. We wanted to break down the stigma by demonstrating how discreet hearing aids are and highlighting the awesome technology that is now commonplace.

The new creative is across TV, digital and social, and has been supported by PR activity and a wider rebrand aligning NHC with Italian-based parent brand Amplifon.

Click here to visit National Hearing Cares website.

Agency: DDB Melbourne

ECD: Stuart Turner

Copywriter: Anna Yates

Art director: Becky Morriss

Head of TV production: Tuesday Picken

Business director: Katie Franklin

Senior business manager: Haley Dion

Client: National Hearing Care

Global brand and customer experience director: Chiara Fracassi

Marketing director: Tim Naylor
| BY Ricki Green |

CB Exclusive  Tiger Beer, Asias number one international premium beer, has unveiled the Rare Stripes collection at the KENZO store at Ginza Six in Tokyo, Japan. The collection represents a unique partnership between WWF in collaboration with iconic French fashion house KENZO to raise awareness of endangered wild tigers. The Rare Stripes campaign was developed by Marcel, Sydney.

Talking to guests and media at the launch event, Venus Teoh, international brand director for Tiger Beer: True to our spirit of uncaging creativity and providing a platform for emerging talent to the world, Tiger Beer has brought together our partner WWF, the co-creative directors of KENZO, Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, and four handpicked young artists to create the limited edition Rare Stripes collection.

This collection is another one of the ways were raising global awareness and funds for endangered wild tigers. We want people to take action to save the wild tigers, our beloved brand icon, from extinction.

Says Michael Baltzer, leader, Tigers Alive Initiative (WWF): Every day we see tigers used in popular culture  in fashion motifs, on premium products and on billboards. Yet, tigers in the wild are in danger of becoming extinct. WWF is a leader in an ambitious global effort to double wild tigers but the tiger needs every help it can get. We are therefore delighted to have this powerful partnership with Tiger Beer and KENZO. We hope it sets a new wave of action and awareness from other brands for wild tigers.

KENZOs co-creative directors, Humberto Leon and Carol Lim and the four emerging artists that designed the collection were also present to launch the collection.

Urging guests to lend their support to the cause, Humberto shared: Carol and I had been hoping to work with WWF for some time and we were delighted that Tiger Beer brought us together. We hope our collaboration with WWF and these four great artists for this important cause will inspire people around the world to learn more about saving wild tigers. The reality is that if we dont take action now, we could very easily lose these animals forever.

The four artists hailing from Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and the United States also drew inspiration from their trip to Cambodia where they worked closely with Leon and Lim to design the collection and heard from Phurba Lendhup, a WWF Wildlife Specialist from Bhutan, first-hand about the plight of wild tigers.

The launch event, which hosted over 150 guests and members of the media, provided an exclusive preview of the eight unique designs available for sale in the collection, aptly displayed within coat hangers fashioned out of snare wire traditionally used in poaching, in a bid to further drive home the plight of wild tigers.

The Rare Stripes collection officially drops at 3pm on July 21, with a limited number available via selected KENZO retail stores internationally from the beginning of August. 100% of the proceeds from the sale of the collection, which is made using Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) compliant organic cotton, will go to WWF in support of doubling the worlds wild tiger population.

This is the second year of a six-year partnership between Tiger Beer and WWF to support WWFs global efforts in tiger conservation. The first year of the WWF partnership featured the successful #3890Tigers campaign, which invited people from around the world to pledge against illegal tiger trade by merging their selfies with one of six bespoke tiger artworks created by global artists using the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology.

L-R: Illustrator and designer Esther Goh (Singapore), illustrator and printmaker Julienne Tan (Cambodia), co-creative directors of KENZO Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, contemporary artist and sculptor Meryl Smith (USA) and visual and digital artist Sean Lean (Malaysia)

Agency: Marcel Sydney

Executive Creative Director: Wesley Hawes

Creatives: Grace OBrien, Andrea Sarcullo, Chris Wilson, Roy Leibowitz

Designer: Demian Hamann

Social Strategist : Josh Manning

Senior Strategist : Cathy Song

Leading Account Director : Fanny Bersagol

Managing Director : Ryan Bernal

Global Business Director : James Tracy-Inglis

Account Manager : Osmond Go

Executive Producer: Holly Alexander

Senior Producer: Kyla Bridge



Film Production Company  Good Company

Exec Producers: Ryan Heiferman / Brian Welsh

Director: Scott Cudmore

Producer: Brian Welsh

Director Of Photography: Pablo Berron

Stills  Jordan Taylor Adams

Cambodia Fixer: 802 AD Films

Cambodia Producers: Sreylin Meas, Mout Iv



Post Production- Heckler

Executive Producer- Will Alexander

Producer- Amy Jarman

Editor- Andrew Holmes

Colourist- Greg Constantaras

Edit Assist- Corey Farrell, Yavor Dimitrov, Clement Bouchet



Sound Production  Squeak E Clean Productions, Inc

Composers  Sam Spiegel, Elliot Glasser

Performers  Sam Spiegel, Justin Hori, Robert Barbato

Head of Production  Amy Crilly



Event Production Company  Scoundrel Projects

Executive Producer  Adrian Shapiro

Artistic Director  James Dive

Producer  Morgan Benson-Taylor

Japanese Project Manager  Seiya Taguchi



Brand: Tiger Beer

International Brand Director  Venus Teoh

Global Tiger Communications Manager  Jessie Chuah

Regional Corporate Affairs Manager  Ika Noviera

KENZO

KENZOs co-creative directors : Humberto Leon and Carol Lim

WWF

Head of Corporate Marketing Partnerships, WWF International  David Bloch

Corporate Marketing Partnerships Manager, WWF International  Edward Partridge

Corporate Communications Manager, WWF International  Egan Hwan

Corporate Partnerships Manager, WWF-Singapore  Cindy Chia

Communications Manager, Tigers Alive Initiative  Lim Jia Ling

Ogilvy Public Relations Singapore

Senior Consultants  Dani Hanlon, Eleni Sardi
| BY Ricki Green |

Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam head of planning Martin Weigel will present his case for chaos as guest speaker at this years IPA Strategic Planning course, to be held from September 2-4 at Sydneys Ovolo Hotel.

Weigel will take aim at the corporate instinct, the stupidity of orthodoxy, the illusion of best practice, the stifling effects of process, and put forward what he calls a survival strategy for creativity.

Once described by a client as the unruly offspring of Karl Marx, Martin Luther, and Morrissey, Weigel is a postgraduate of the London School of Economics, has twenty-seven years planning experience, and has lived and worked in London, New York, and Sao Paulo.

He has led strategy on everything from toilet paper to diamonds, and been head of planning for Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam since 2009.

Ahead of his Australia visit, Weigel said he is looking forward to participating in the local conversation about the industry and its future.

Says Weigel: For the most part our industry is producing landfill. Until we understand how we need to raise  and indeed change  our game, we have no chance of making progress. Im looking forward to throwing a bit of dynamite into the fish pond and seeing what happens.

The IPA three-day residential course aims to define the new era of strategy and showcase the knowledge and skills that planners need to think in an agile, flexible and influential way.

The course, which is recommended for strategic planners, account managers and brand managers with at least five years of experience, will be chaired by chief strategy officers Angela Morris (J. Walter Thompson) and Kate Smither (Saatchi & Saatchi).

The industry leaders have joined forces to shape this years course agenda: Planning in a Post Specialist Era.

Commenting on the changing role of the planner, Morris said: There is so much knowledge out there that its easy and comfortable to stick to your knitting and focus on one area. But that isnt helpful to our clients who increasingly have less budget for multiple different specialists and look to their strategist to be able to leverage multiple disciplines and knowledge areas.

Today more than ever though we need constant learning on a diverse agenda to enable the perspective necessary to provide our clients with wise counsel and brilliant strategies.

Over three days, delegates will participate in small group sessions with industry leaders, along with one-to-one guidance from the course chairs. The residential format provides the opportunity to step away from the agency environment for intensive training, networking and group discussion with industry peers.

Says Smither: Our hope is that this course makes attendees think in a whole new way. It should fill their minds with new ways to change their day jobs. To not just think differently but to be different and to create the future of planning in agencies.

The full speaker line up will be announced in the coming weeks.

To register or for more information, visit the course page here.

Course information:

Date: 2-4 September 2018

Venue: Ovolo Hotel, Woolloomooloo Sydney

Corporate member: $3,300 per person (including GST)
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District has announced a series of public meetings for the Draft Integrated Project Implementation Report and Environmental Impact Statement for the Lake Okeechobee Watershed Restoration Project.

The series of public meetings will be held from 6-8 p.m. at the following locations:

* Tuesday, July 31

Lee County Mosquito and Hyacinth Control Districts

15191 Homestead Road

Lehigh Acres, FL 33971

* Wednesday, Aug. 1

Indian River State College

Wolf High-Technology Center

2400 SE Salerno Road

Stuart, FL 34997

* Thursday, Aug. 2

Indian River State College

Williamson Conference and Education Center

2229 NW 9th Avenue

Okeechobee, FL 34972

The Corps proposes an above-ground wetland attenuation feature and several aquifer storage & recovery wells in an area north of the lake. The proposed plan also calls for restoration of 5,300 acres of wetlands in the area. The draft document was released for review on July 6, 2018.

This plan provides additional flexibility for managing water north of the lake in a manner consistent with Everglades restoration goals, said Lisa Aley, Planning Technical Lead for the Lake Okeechobee Watershed Restoration Project. We hope that people join us for the public meetings, and look forward to hearing from people living and working in the area on this proposed plan.

The Draft LOWRP Integrated PIR/EIS document is available at: www.saj.usace.army.mil/LOWRP/.

The Corps will accept public comment through Aug. 20.

Those interested in submitting comments may do so electronically at OkeechobeeWatershedRestoration@usace.army.mil.

Written comments can be mailed to:

Dr. Gretchen Ehlinger

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District

P.O. Box 4970

Jacksonville, FL 32232-0019

The LOWRP study began during the summer of 2016 with a goal to identify opportunities to improve the water storage capacity in the Lake Okeechobee watershed in a manner that would improve lake stage levels for environmental and water supply purposes while reducing undesirable discharges to the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries, and restoring wetlands along Kissimmee River.

More information on Jacksonville Districts ecosystem restoration efforts is available at www.saj.usace.army.mil/Missions/Environmental/Ecosystem-Restoration/.www.saj.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Releases/Article/1578418/corps-announces-public-meetings-for-lake-okeechobee-watershed-study/
Cape Coral police are searching for an armed robber who held up a convenience store this morning.

The gunman entered the Seven Eleven cat 2604 Skyline Blvd. around 4 a.m., brandished a silver-colored handgun, and demanded money from the two clerks.

He left with an undisclosed amount of cash and fled the store on foot.

He is described as white male was wearing a black ski mask, gray long sleeve shirt, blue sweatpants, and orange and white gloves.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Det. J. Hicks at (239) 574-3223.

To submit an anonymous tip, go to www.capecops.com/tips or text a tip- text CCPD+Your Message to CRIMES (274637).

Source: Cape Coral Police Department
Alanna Kelly

Two girls wanted to give a big thank you to those who saved their grandparents' house after a wildfire came dangerously close.

The Spencer family was evacuated last week after a wall of fire from the Mount Eneas wildfire was knocking on their doorstep.

We saw the wall of flames, really big gusts of wind, and realized it was time to get the kids out, said Tanya Spencer.

They were allowed home on Saturday, and Spencers daughters, Kenley and Kiena, made a large sign to thank the water bomber pilots.

We wanted to thank all the firefighters, pilots, forestry and RCMP, the girls said.

They grabbed brown paint and white bed sheets to create the sign in their backyard, so pilots can see it from above.

A couple of the (pilots) were tipping their wings, said the girls.
Photo: Contributed

A "Movie & Chat" event will take place Tuesday evening in Penticton, focusing on 5G technology, which the citizen organizers say is an election issue.

At 8 p.m. at Craft Corner Kitchen, a film discussing the safety of 5G wireless technology will be screened and discussed.

All current and prospective city councillors and mayors have been invited to attend.

In a press release, the organizers said the event is an opportunity for Penticton citizens to ask questions about 5G technology, including issues of privacy and safety. The event is free to attend.
Photo: Colton Davies The Mount Eneas wildfire encroaching on homes in Garnet Valley on July 19, 2018.

The District of Summerland has lifted the final evacuation order related to the Mount Eneas wildfire.

The property at 35888 Garnet Valley Road is no longer under evacuation order, but remains on alert.

An evacuation order for this and other properties may need to be reissued if conditions change, the municipality cautioned Tuesday morning.

The Regional Districts of Okanagan Similkameen and Central Okanagan have also already lifted all the evacuation orders under their jurisdiction related to the Mount Eneas fire. The RDOS says BC Hydro also restored power to 224 properties in the Faulder/Meadow Valley at 10:30 p.m. Monday night that had their power knocked out due to fire.

The blaze between Summerland and Peachland is sitting at 1,739 hectares in size since it was merged Munro Lake wildfire over the weekend. BC Wildfire Service isn't saying the fire is contained but they do not expect it to grow either.
Photo: Facebook Ethan Dillon

A Peachland man was sentenced to 20 months in jail on drug trafficking charges after he was caught picking up more than 12 kilograms of a party drug shipped from Hong Kong in 2015.

Ethan Dillon, 22, was arrested in April 2015 after police watched him pick up the package at the Kelowna Loomis courier depot and drive to Westside Road.

The package had been flagged by the Canada Border Services Agency when it arrived in Vancouver from Hong Kong, and 12.55 kg of MDEA was found inside. MDEA is a party drug similar to MDMA.

After his arrest, Dillon told police he had been asked to pick up the package for a friend and didn't know what was inside. He admitted he thought it was probably drugs, however.

Last September, Dillon's co-accused Steven Allen pleaded guilty to possession for the purpose of trafficking and was sentenced to 18 months.

Dillon's trial began on March 26, but he failed to show up for the first day and was found by police at his Peachland home. The next day, Dillon didn't show up in court again, and he wasn't found by police until almost two weeks later.

Dillon, who didn't have a lawyer, was convicted of possession of a controlled substance and possession for the purpose of trafficking on April 4, despite not being present in court.

He was given credit for 155 days of presentence custody, leaving him with just under 15 months of jail time left to serve.
Photo: Brian Helm Smoke from the Snowy Mountain wildfire hanging over K Mountain near Keremeos on July 19, 2018.

Two remote but out-of-control wildfires in the Similkameen have grown modestly in the past 48 hours.

The Snowy Mountain fire, burning about eight kilometres south of Keremeos, is now estimated at 1,530 hectares in size, up from an estimate of 1,360 hectares two days ago. Lightning started that blaze on July 17 but it wasn't considered a wildfire "of note" until Sunday.

There are currently no resources responding to the fire due to its "extremely remote and inaccessible location." BC Wildfire Service information Ken Juvik says it has, however, been monitored closely, and says a camera will be installed near the fire on Tuesday.

"If we reach any significant trigger points... then we'd get the resources in that are required, but right now that's not the case," Juvik says.

The fire is burning on the east edge of Cathedral Provincial Park, and is believed to be burning beetle-infested timber. Juvik adds "it's also in the Snowy Protected Area, and part of the management approach is to let that wildfire burn in the landscape."

Two nearby trails, the Ewart and Wall Creek trails, have been closed until further notice, and the public is advised to refer to BC Parks for future updates.

Further west in the valley, the Placer Mountain wildfire is now sized at 434 hectares, up from an estimate of 320 hectares on Sunday. The BCWS currently has 22 firefighters, four helicopters and seven pieces of heavy equipment battling the blaze.

The lightning-caused fire also began on July 17, and is burning in forest about 37 kilometres south of Princeton. It has been a "fire of note" for nearly a week.

While both are currently zero per cent contained, neither are close to any structures.
The family of a young lady who died tragically following a roadside collision last August is calling for changes to the way inattentive drivers are sentenced.

Photo: Contributed - Facebook The woman who pled guilty to driving without due care and attention in the death of 17-year-old Mercedes Mari-Lynne Fraser (left) has been fined $1,500 and prohibited from driving for 30 days.

69-year-old Rose Harman was fined $1,500 today in a Vernon courtroom after pleading guilty this past June to driving without due care and attention under the Motor Vehicle Act.

She is also prohibited from driving for a period of 30 days.

Harman was driving on Okanagan Landing Road when her vehicle entered the bike lane, colliding head on with 17-year-old cyclist, Mercedes Mari-Lynne Fraser.

The young woman, who was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, died a few hours later in hospital.

Justice Mayland McKimm said he based his decision on the existing case law, which was also presented as part of a joint submission by Crown counsel Howard Pontious and defense attorney Claire Abbott.

Judge McKimm heard that Harman, prior to the accident, had 40 years of safe driving aside from one speeding ticket four years ago.

Harman has said she doesnt know what happened, and there has been some speculation she may have fallen asleep.

Both Pontious and Judge McKimm described the circumstances as being the result of a momentary loss of attention.

There are many similar cases where you have momentary inattention with fatal consequences, McKimm said There is no evidence that someone was driving in a way that they should have known better.

The usual fine for driving without due care and attention is between $300 and $500.

Frasers family members addressed the court one after another to express their disapproval with what they felt was too light a sentence for taking a life.

There should be some changes. Just because theres a precedent, thats not OK. Somethings got to change, said Diana Mathers, who lost her own son the same way at the age of 17.

Frasers uncle, friends, and cousin also stood up to say that past examples of similar cases should not be given so much consideration in these decisions.

This is not a good way to remember a little girl who didnt even have a chance to live her life, said family friend, Carol Miller.

Judge McKimm explained his duty to impose sentencing within the confines of the charges.

These cases are always difficult, and theyre difficult because it is impossible to adequately express the principles of sentencing when a fatality is involved where the cause of the fatality is momentary inattention, said Judge McKimm.

He agreed with the family, however, that the case was aggravated by the consequences.

I agree with the family entirely that this case is aggravated by the fact that Ms. Harman caused a death. And it is for that reason that I intend to impose a greater penalty than would be the ordinary penalty, he said.

Judge McKimm said he could not imagine, as a parent, any penalty that could possibly address the wrong.
Atleast 50 people have died in wildfires burning in the Attica region around Athens, in Greece's worst fire crisis in more than a decade. According to the local mayor, 26 bodies were found in a yard in the seaside village of Mati, which is at the centre of the disaster. To rescue the people there, emergency workers used boats and helicopters to evacuate a beach. A search-and-rescue operation is being conducted for 10 tourists who fled one of the fires in a boat, officials say. Hundreds of firefighters are battling the blazes and the authorities are seeking international assistance. "We will do whatever is humanly possible to control it," Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told reporters. Also Read: Viral Video: South Korean woman throws away cash worth 15.8 million on road

Most of the victims were trapped in the village 40km (25 miles) north-east of Athens and died either in their homes or their cars.

The village is located in the Rafina region which is popular with local tourists, especially pensioners and children attending holiday camps, Reuters news agency notes.

The charred bodies in the yard were lying just 15m (50ft) from the sea, photographer Pantelis Saitas told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency.

"These people must have tried to find a way out into the sea but they were likely trapped in the flames," he said.

At least 150 people were injured in the area,

"Thankfully the sea was there and we went into the sea because the flames were chasing us all the way to the water," said Kostas Laganos, who also survived the Mati fire.

"It burned our backs and we dived into the water... I said my God, we must run to save ourselves."

Fires are a recurring problem during the hot, dry summer months in Attica. The flames this week were fanned by high winds.

Also Read: 26/11 Mumbai attack convict David Headley battling for life after attack in jail; US stay mum on assault
Naela Quadri Baloch, president of World Baloch Women's Forum, urged people of Balochistan to boycott upcoming general elections in Pakistan.

In a video issued from Canada, the Baloch activist said that Pakistan is a free country, which has been forcefully occupied by Pakistan and accused the authorities of carrying out genocide in Balochistan.

"Pakistan is responsible for the genocide of Baloch and they show that Baloch people are part of their parliamentary process. They are forcefully abducting Baloch people. They are displacing Baloch villages, women, and children and they are taking them to army camps for forceful make them cast their votes," she claimed, adding, "Baloch people do not want to be part of this country."

Meanwhile, Munir Mengal, president of Baloch Voice Association, echoed a similar sentiment and said that tailoring of election in Pakistan is 'a normal issue.'

"Pakistan elections are tailored by the Pakistan Army through its organisations like ISI and MI (Military Intelligence). Unfortunately, ISI and MI are using other state institutions like judiciary and NAB and Election Commission of Pakistan to manipulate the elections in Pakistan," he said.

He further said that it is for the first time the real face of the Pakistani Army has been 'exposed'.

(ANI)
Faisal Hussain, the 29-year-old shooter responsible for the rampage in Toronto's Greektown neighbourhood, was from Pakistan's Jhelum.

Files, being reviewed by the police, include concerns that Hussain expressed "support" for a website that was seen as "pro-ISIL," says a law enforcement source.

Sources say Toronto police and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) officials in Ottawa, as well as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), are looking into his past, which sources say, include his residence in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Hussain apparently had been spoken-to by authorities about his online activities. Sources say Toronto Police, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and the RCMP have all had an interest in the now-deceased alleged shooter.

What law enforcement agencies are saying is that the attack was planned, and Hussain was "well known to Toronto Police" for investigations into past crimes "involving weapons and violence."

According to sources quoted by the Canadian media house Global News, Hussain's family had been going through major challenges.

Hussain lost his sister to a car accident, while his brother was hospitalised following a stroke. He also struggled with mental health issues since 2010, as confirmed by Hussain's parents.

"We are at a terrible loss for words but we must speak out to express our deepest condolences to the families who are now suffering on account of our son's horrific actions. Our hearts are in pieces for the victims and for our city as we all come to grips with this terrible tragedy. We will mourn those who were lost for the rest of our lives," a statement from the Hussain family, quoted by Global News, read.

"Our son had severe mental health challenges, struggling with psychosis and depression his entire life. The interventions of professionals were unsuccessful. Medications and therapy were unable to treat him. While we did our best to seek help for him throughout his life of struggle and pain, we could never imagine that this would be his devastating and destructive end," the statement added.

Toronto Chief of Police, Mark Saunders said a girl aged 10-years and a young woman of 18-years were killed in the shooting that took place at Greektown (Danforth) neighbourhood in the city, while at least 13 others were left injured.

He added that the police are investigating "every possible motive, including terrorism."

According to Toronto Police, the shooting took place at around 10 p.m. on Sunday (local time).

Canadian authorities, meanwhile, have not said whether the shooter was killed by a self-inflicting wound or by the police after he was found dead in an alley following an exchange of gunfire with Toronto Police.

Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condoled the 'terrible' incident on social media.

"My thoughts are with everyone affected by the terrible tragedy on the Danforth last night in Toronto, and may the injured make a full recovery. The people of Toronto are strong, resilient and brave - and we'll be there to support you through this difficult time," he tweeted.

(ANI)
U.S. Senators Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Tuesday announced their committees will hold a series of hearings on Russia.

We worked closely together to write the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which substantially expanded sanctions on Russia and overwhelmingly passed both the Senate and House last summer, and are eager to continue the important work being done by our committees to push back on Russia, said Senators Corker and Crapo.

Last week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) tasked Senators Corker and Crapo with holding hearings on the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act and asked them to recommend to the Senate additional measures that could respond to or deter Russian malign behavior. Senators Corker and Crapo, along with Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), last summer authored CAATSA, which expanded sanctions against the government of Russia in response to the regimes violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine, interference in elections, and current activities in Syria. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Senate Banking Committee are responsible for the predominant share of sanctions legislation in the Senate.

The first hearing, convened by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is titled An Update on American Diplomacy to Advance Our National Security Strategy and is scheduled for Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. The hearing will feature testimony from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on President Donald J. Trumps recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, as well as the administrations ongoing dialogue with North Korea.

The Senate Banking Committee will convene a classified Members briefing with Administration officials to discuss Russia and the impact of sanctions.

The committees are planning to hold additional hearings in the coming weeks.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is planning to hold hearings on: the value of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); the broad challenges ahead for U.S. policy toward Russia; Russias current activities in Syria; and arms control issues, including Russian violations of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces.

The Senate Banking Committee is planning to hold hearings on: the implementation of CAATSA and the impact of sanctions; and what other tools can be used beyond CAATSA, if any, to further deter Russia.

Additional hearing details, including witnesses, will be announced at a later date.


"The Dodge, Chrysler and Fiat brands may go through a lot of change and there's a question as to if they might still exist," said Krebs. "But Mike was center stage at the presentation of the five-year-plan and they have a good blue print in place. They have allowed for some wiggle room in case of the economy. They've been preparing because they knew all he planned to retire."
Caribbean agreed in late 2016 to pay between $56 million and $76 million to settle the class-action lawsuit alleging the company and its co-defendants made millions of unwanted robocalls offering the free cruise trips in violation of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Individual class members are to be paid up to $500 per call received, according to the settlement.
The first reply usually goes something like this: "I understand that it can be disconcerting to receive adjustments to the tariff after your trip ended  In this case, your driver notified us that during your trip there was an incident in the vehicle and therefore a cleanup fee of $150 was added."
For as long as malort was nothing but a 1 a.m. dare shot, it might simply have been ahead of its time. In recent years, our palates have shifted toward increasingly complex and ambitious flavors, evidence of which lies in all directions. Balena, in Lincoln Park, has devised a cocktail menu based entirely on bitters. Newly opened Wicker Park restaurant Links Taproom features Fernet Branca, an Italian bitter, on tap (it's hard to convey just how unthinkable that would have been five years ago). Logan Square bar Scofflaw has done them one better, putting malort itself on tap as the one permanent handle in a constellation of ever-changing beers.
There are also a half-dozen oversize watercolors on view, but the undisputed stars of the show are five enormous, densely packed panoramic oil and acrylic panels. Six feet high by 12 feet long each, they look like a cross between the natural history museum dioramas Rockman visited as a kid in New York City; classic fantasy films like Fantasia (1941) and 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968); straightforward scientific illustrations of the kind found in Golden Field Guides; high-speed nature photography, with its supernatural, stop-motion detail; and every genre of historical painting save for portraiture. They are fit to burst. Everything is here: the Laurentide Ice Sheet, the once-plentiful lake sturgeon, the remains of a Columbian mammoth, the wreck of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald (a freighter downed by storm along with its crew in 1975), a zebra mussel-encrusted shopping cart, Paleo-Indians and the caribou they are hunting, iron ore mining and its toxic tailings, astronomically enlarged Type E botulism and hepatitis C virus, a fur trappers camp, multiple varieties of non-native salmon, commercial fishing nets, the yellow warbler and the monarch butterfly, a futuristic chicken with six wings, spongefly larvae, Horseshoe Falls, a ConAgra grain elevator and a party of explorers in a canoe.